Innuos • ZENmini Mk 3 Music Server and LPSU Power Supply Review
June 16, 2020 Comments Off on Innuos • ZENmini Mk 3 Music Server and LPSU Power Supply Review
“USB ended up as my favorite connection for the ZENmini Mk 3, so I need to add a word about cable choice. In my system, the USB output was quite sensitive to the cable used, and you may not hear the ZENmini Mk 3 at its best without some experimentation. The inexpensive but good Oyaide Neo d+ Class A USB has always been an easy recommendation, but with the ZENmini MK 3 and the BorderPatrol DAC SE, the treble became spitty and harsh with an unmistakable glare. The wonderfully good and super-expensive Shunyata Sigma USB delivered a deep and rich soundstage with excellent image placement. But its cheaper stablemate, the Venom USB, was slightly cleaner in the lower treble in my system, so I settled on it for long-term listening. It’s nice to know that the ZENmini Mk 3 could resolve these differences while not costing more than the cable’s itself.
What are the disadvantages of the ZENmini Mk 3 and LPSU? The absolute need for Ethernet might be a small impediment, but Ethernet over either A/C devices or WiFi extenders worked great. The lack of Bluetooth or AirPlay could absolutely be a non-starter for some audiophiles, as would the inability to use portable hard drives as playback devices. I have heard more expensive units do a better job at fleshing out images in the back of the soundstage and, while the ZENmini’s bass was nimble, it certainly lacked some slam and body behind the initial bass hit. Finally, if you own the ZENmini Mk 3 but use it without the LPSU, you are missing out on much of its magic and you’ll need to find the funds to complete the pair.
Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblock power amplifier $16,990/pair REVIEW
June 15, 2020 Comments Off on Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblock power amplifier $16,990/pair REVIEW
“Michael Fremer concluded his review of the original Halo JC 1 by saying “There was nothing solid-state-sounding about the JC 1. . . . There was an honesty to the overall tonal and harmonic presentation that transcended technological stereotypes. Powerful, refined, smooth, organized, dynamic, transparent, and rhythmically supple, the JC 1 offered a combination of attributes that added up to many weeks of listening pleasure.”
After several weeks auditioning the Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblocks, I don’t really have anything to add to what Mikey wrote in 2003, other than to note that even with its significant increase in price, the improvement in its sound quality and the explosion in recent years in the prices of high-end, high-power amplifiers keep the JC 1+ competitive. This is a superb-sounding amplifier that will get the best from every loudspeaker with which it is partnered. Well done, Mr. Curl.’
SteinMusic High Line Bobby M Loudspeaker Review
June 15, 2020 Comments Off on SteinMusic High Line Bobby M Loudspeaker Review
“There were a few other musical occasions where more slam would have been desirable, but obviously these are smallish speakers—even with the Bass Extensions in place—so there’s only so much one can expect given their driver complement and enclosure dimensions. That said, with their horns and other clever design elements, the Bobby Ms deliver more immediacy and nimble speed of attack than you might expect from speakers of this size. Reasonably powerful amplification benefits them, too.
The SteinMusic High Line Bobby M offered such pleasing and smoothly natural musicality and impressive dispersion that at times it was easy to forget I was listening to loudspeakers—a rare event. Nothing felt forced or aggressive. Any type of music I threw at the system just came through full of detail, with microdynamics galore, but without sterility, artificial spotlighting, or emphases in certain frequency ranges. I just wanted to keep on listening. Time seemed to pass as ephemerally as the soundwaves. No fatigue, either. ”
Simaudio Moon 700i v2 Integrated Amplifier Review
June 14, 2020 Comments Off on Simaudio Moon 700i v2 Integrated Amplifier Review
“Here’s what makes Simaudio’s Moon 700i v2 worthy of your consideration. First and foremost, it offers terrific clarity and transparency throughout the audioband, shortchanging or spotlighting nothing at all. If you want an integrated amp that comes admirably close to the ideal of a straight wire with gain, this model should be at the top of your shortlist. Add to that the best volume control I’ve ever used, and thoughtful functionality that lets the user tailor its inputs as that user sees fit, and the package becomes even more compelling. The Moon 700i v2 also has significant if not bottomless reserves of power, even into 2 ohms. Ally all of that to a beautifully built case and a ten-year warranty, and there’s little left to quibble about. In this second generation of their flagship integrated amplifier, Simaudio hasn’t messed with its winning formula. It’s easy to see — and hear — why.”
Sony WF-1000XM3S $228 Review
June 14, 2020 Comments Off on Sony WF-1000XM3S $228 Review
‘You have up to 20 different levels of attenuation which you can manually control from complete NC to almost nothing. You might think, well hold on, that’s nothing new since Huawei and 1MORE have that also with their pass-through mode. However, neither of these systems will automatically sense what you are doing and adjust accordingly. That is pure genius from Sony and it actually works.
The WF-1000XM3 built-in sensors will automatically detect if you are walking or resting and change the level of ambient sound to let in depending on your activity. You can also customize the settings before using them automatically to fine-tune it to your own preferences.
Those sensors will also automatically detect you taking out the WF-1000XM3 from your ear(s) and stop or pause any audio until you put them back in again. That only becomes an issue when I momentarily take out maybe one earphone to scratch my ear or readjust. If it is an issue for you then you can hop into the WF-1000XM3 connect app and turn it off in the system settings.”
Magico A1 Loudspeakers $7400 Review
June 12, 2020 Comments Off on Magico A1 Loudspeakers $7400 Review
“Male voices got even healthier doses of presence from the A1s, which I liked — it made these little speakers sound even more robust. For example, in “Glow in the Dark,” from Iggy Pop’s Free (16/44.1 FLAC, Loma Vista), which I streamed from Tidal, Pop’s voice . . . well, it popped onto the soundstage with such fullness and presence that I had trouble reconciling it all with the A1’s size. Later in this track, the drums, set way back on the stage, enter strongly — through the A1s they sounded not only convincingly positioned 20’ back from the front of the stage, but reproduced with startlingly massive heft and fullness.”
Rega P10 Turntable Review
June 12, 2020 Comments Off on Rega P10 Turntable Review
Bel Canto e1X power amplifier Review
June 11, 2020 Comments Off on Bel Canto e1X power amplifier Review
“And the e1X exerted a level of control over the Maggies that I’d never before experienced. Magneplanars—especially the smaller ones—are notorious for exhibiting some degree of mid-bass panel flap: Magneplanar bass panels are riveted at a number of points to control excessive panel flexure, which also restricts the panel’s free movement when relatively strong bass content is present. Lesser amplifiers will allow enough panel movement to cause a relatively loud “thunk” around the rivet location; I’ve heard this countless times with almost every pair of Maggies I’ve ever owned—and it can be particularly obvious with plucked acoustic bass content. (Think: Jimmy Garrison’s powerful acoustic bass solo on “Lonnie’s Lament” from John Coltrane’s classic Crescent [16/44.1 FLAC, Impulse 1764902].) No matter how close to or beyond reference levels I pushed the e1X-driven LRSs, they responded with absolute authority and zero driver-induced distortion.
The Bel Canto e1X was undoubtedly also the quietest amplifier I’ve ever had in my system. With the LRS speakers being so very inefficient, you generally need to really crank the volume knob to get to SPLs approaching normal levels. Full-blown orchestral passages from sources with tremendous dynamic range require an even further twist; it’s not unusual for the volume on my PS Audio preamp to reach 80 or 85 on a scale that maxes at 100. With every other amp I’ve used in my system, I could always hear some residual noise in the background, even with the most well-engineered recordings. Not so with the e1X—nothing, not a peep: It was absolutely, perfectly, completely silent.”
ELAC Vela FS 407 Loudspeaker £3670 Review
June 11, 2020 Comments Off on ELAC Vela FS 407 Loudspeaker £3670 Review
“The new Vela FS 407 is a very capable floorstanding speaker, and one that shows ELAC is now able to deliver a broad spectrum of models that are right up with the best of their contemporaries. It performs the unusual trick of both being very appealing to look at, and to hear. Fast, lithe, agile, smooth, open and engaging, it works skilfully across a wide range of music, and so will surely have far reaching appeal.”
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Wilson Benesch • Eminence Loudspeakers $235,000 Review
June 10, 2020 Comments Off on Wilson Benesch • Eminence Loudspeakers $235,000 Review
“The first point to make is that there are two distinct types of coloration, additive and subtractive. A little like odd and even-order distortion, subtractive coloration is relatively benign, whereas even small amounts of additive coloration can (and often do) wreak havoc. That’s because of the different ways in which they impact on the sense of the musical signal. The notes and different instruments in a recording constitute a three-dimensional pattern, laid out in space, time and amplitude. That pattern is what separates music from noise; it’s what a system is trying to reproduce and what our brain is trying to recognize. Subtractive distortion, as long as it is not too gross or specific, will diminish the scale or scope of that pattern, but leave it essentially intact. Once you start adding things to the pattern, especially because additive distortion is so often frequency-specific, you start to bend the pattern out of shape, so that it no longer makes sense. A bit of stored energy in a cabinet, arriving later than intended and at the wrong frequency? An energy spike in the structure of a poorly designed driver? Excessive bass output at particular frequencies? You can hear how they serve to alter not just the relative weight or amplitude of notes but their timing too — and that’s where things get destructive.”
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