Vivid Audio Giya G2 Series 2 Loudspeakers $50,000 Review
August 13, 2020 Comments Off on Vivid Audio Giya G2 Series 2 Loudspeakers $50,000 Review
Toward the end of my listening sessions I swapped out the EMM preamp and DAC for Anthem’s STR preamplifier-DAC. The sound didn’t change drastically, though the total price of the system did: the Anthem costs $3999, the two EMMs $50,000. But with the STR, the soundstages of the tracks mentioned above were consistently just a bit shallower, and the sound wasn’t quite as refined. However, the width of those stages, and the way the sound floated so free of the speakers, were unchanged, as was the ability to play every musical genre with aplomb. Perhaps most important was that the sound was still top-drawer — don’t think the $50,000/pair Vivid Giya G2 Series 2s require ancillary gear as crazy-costly as themselves. The Anthem and Hegel taught me that, if you spring for a pair of G2S2s, it might be wise to experiment with upstream gear of all sizes, types, and prices.”
GRADO THE HEMP HEADPHONE REVIEW
August 13, 2020 Comments Off on GRADO THE HEMP HEADPHONE REVIEW
“Grado headphones all fall very much on the sensitive side when it comes to power requirements, and The Hemp Headphone with its 38 ohm 98 dB/mW drivers is no different. It’s an easy pair of headphones to power and will deliver excellent performance from modest sources such as your garden variety smartphone. This should be welcome news for readers who are considering getting into the hobby and might be balking at the prospect of having to spend additional money on source gear and amplifiers. While my Samsung S9+ gets them happily singing at around 60% volume, a quality discrete headphone amplifier will yield nominal audible benefits when fed with decently-recorded and mastered source material.”
Lumin D2 Music Server/DAC £1845 Review
August 13, 2020 Comments Off on Lumin D2 Music Server/DAC £1845 Review
“But in case you were thinking this player was all about delicate voices and minimal recordings, play the ‘1941 March’ from the Jerry Junkin/Dallas Wind Symphony on John Williams At The Movies [Reference Recordings RR142SACD; DSD64], and you’ll hear just how well the Lumin D2 lets the track build from almost inaudible woodwind all the way through to full band and drums bombasts, while at the same time keeping the rhythms tight and crisp.
Rhythms are also to the fore in the Philip Glass score for the opera-ballet The Witches Of Venice [Orange Mountain Music 0031], and the clarity of the Lumin D2 enables it to keep the various instrumental and vocal lines easy to follow, while delivering fine low-end extension of the synths to room-filling effect.”
Weiss Engineering DAC502 D/A processor Review
August 12, 2020 Comments Off on Weiss Engineering DAC502 D/A processor Review
“The DAC502’s Room Equalizer comprises five filters that can be set to peak/cut or high shelf for left and right speakers individually or together. To make use of this function, you download a FLAC or WAV file from the Weiss website that sweeps down from 200Hz to 20Hz. While playing this file, you note the time when the loudness is at a maximum. The Weiss processor’s manual includes a table that correlates the time with the frequency of the sinewave. You then manually create up to five correction filters, a complex process that would be more user-friendly if integrated with an app like Room Equalization Wizard.”
XDUOO TA-30 REVIEW
August 12, 2020 Comments Off on XDUOO TA-30 REVIEW
“– an Xmos XU208 for USB. A multi-core chip, fully compliant with USB 2.0 specification, and advertised as a “major upscale” from the previous U8.
Moreover, the xDuoo TA-30 now gets an FPGA chip, provided by Altera, to reduce the jitter and a dual active low phase noise crystal oscillator. That, and no less than 7 PCM filter + 1 DSD filters to adapt the DAC, to your taste”
Volti Audio Razz loudspeaker $5999 Review
August 11, 2020 Comments Off on Volti Audio Razz loudspeaker $5999 Review
“The ability of Volti Audio’s Razz to portray music of any genre with scale, realism, and thrilling dynamics is unmatched by any loudspeaker I’ve had in my system. The Razzes demonstrate a lovely midrange liquidity, but there’s no sacrifice of detail. The type of amplification—tubed or solid-state—made some difference in the Razz’s sonic presentation, but the result was never less than musical. The Razz is also beautifully constructed; the level of craftsmanship and quality is remarkable for a loudspeaker at this price. If you’re shopping for a serious, horn-based, high-sensitivity design in this price range, you should add the Volti Audio Razz to your short list.”
PS AUDIO STELLAR GAINCELL PREAMP/DAC $1,699 REVIEW
August 11, 2020 Comments Off on PS AUDIO STELLAR GAINCELL PREAMP/DAC $1,699 REVIEW
“The PS Audio GainCell preamp/DAC is a winner in every respect. It is an excellently built versatile preamplifier that can handle both the analog and digital signal switching equally well. Not only that, but it can also serve as a very capable headphone amplifier. Its audiophile quality is obvious in every aspect of its sonic performance. Transparent, great tonal balance, and good dynamics are some of the nice traits of the sonic characteristics of the GCD. As a DAC, it is capable of handling both PCM and DSD high-resolution music signals, which adds to its repertoire of capabilities. Considering that this versatile great-sounding product can be had for only $1699, the GainCell preamp/DAC truly represents a great bargain in the hi-fi world. Moreover, with 30 days home-trial offer and generous trade-in policy, this is a must audition product for someone looking for modern affordable preamp/DAC. The GCD easily earns my highest recommendation!”
Chord Ultima Pre 2/Ultima 2 Pre/Power Amplifier Review
August 10, 2020 Comments Off on Chord Ultima Pre 2/Ultima 2 Pre/Power Amplifier Review
“If the Ultima flagship is a costly ‘technology demonstrator’ then these Ultima 2 offsprings are a textbook illustration of trickledown in action. Frankly, if you were enthralled by the debut Ultimas and have been saving ever since then cash in your chips now, buy the Ultima 2s instead and spend the excess £40k on new floorstanders and music. Yes, the Ultima Pre 2 and Ultima 2 really are that good.”
SMSL M300 MKII REVIEW
August 10, 2020 Comments Off on SMSL M300 MKII REVIEW
“The M300mkII has the AKM4497EQ’s characteristics. It sounds quite balanced across the spectrum. It has this effortless character, where everything happens to fall in its place. Coherency is the real key behind this tuning. Well done. While nailing this, the M300mkII also manages to maintain good control. Sub and bass regions are very tight and punchy. The midrange is very sweet. It has a semi-bold note weight and there’s definitely not lacking any body there. Upper mids are vivid with a pinch of sparkle. The high region however, is gentle. Brilliant clarity and spaciousness helps the dispersion of the high treble very well in the stage. I said gentle but think of it as Astell&Kern kind of gentle, definitely not rolled off kind. PRaT-wise it is also very competent. It can handle fast tracks very well when combined with an equally capable amp. As for the sound stage, you get a wide but not very deep stage. The distinction between the instruments is very clear. There is enough space between them so you can track them with ease. To sum it all up, I really like how the M300mkII is tuned.”
Gold Note DS-10 D/A processor Review
August 10, 2020 Comments Off on Gold Note DS-10 D/A processor Review
“For comparisons, I planned to use the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ ($2195) and dCS Rossini DAC/Clock ($31,499 total plus three additional cables). While the Brooklyn DAC+ contains a headphone amp, which I compared to the DS-10’s, it does not accept Ethernet—for that, you need the Brooklyn Bridge streaming DAC ($2995), which I do not have here. Hence all comparisons between these two units were performed using the USB input on the two DACs. I also connected them to the MBL N11 preamp ($14,600) and attempted to answer the questions: (a) Does this preamp noticeably improve the sound of the DS-10, and (b) does its addition make more or less difference to the sound of the DS-10 than it does to the far more expensive dCS Rossini DAC/Clock combo? I also compared the DS-10/PSU-10 EVO to the Rossini DAC/Clock, both with and without the N11 preamp in the chain.”
Audiophilepure 
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