BEYERDYNAMIC AVENTHO WIRELESS HEADPHONES $449 REVIEW
November 13, 2019 Comments Off on BEYERDYNAMIC AVENTHO WIRELESS HEADPHONES $449 REVIEW
“To personalise the Aventhos, you install an iOS or Android app on your phone, called MIY (Make It Yours). You then specify your age and then run a series of test signals. Basically, the app plays a range of tones at 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz, 4 kHz, and 8 kHz. You tell the app when you start and stop hearing each tone (by simply pressing a button on the screen). MIY then makes and loads your profile into the Aventhos.
With an MIY profile in operation, the sound changes. The degree of the change can be tailored in the app more to the subtle side or to the dramatic. Even at the least dramatic setting, I found my first profile actually made the sound worse, with the Aventhos now obviously too bright and edgy. Fortunately, creating a new profile is so easy that you can try again and again. I did, and after a few attempts I got to a profile without some of the obvious issues of my first try.”
EAT Prelude Review
November 13, 2019 Comments Off on EAT Prelude Review
https://www.hifichoicemag.com/content/eat-prelude
“Kicking off with the hauntingly beautiful Cascades collaboration between pianist Jean-Michel Blais and electronic composer CFCF, the EAT immediately impresses. This is not a huge-scale performance, but anything with a grand piano requires a certain ability to deliver it convincingly and here the Prelude feels very capable. The piano sits centre stage in the recording with the strike and decay of notes delivered with real presence. The performance is placed in a convincingly open and three-dimensional soundstage that extends effortlessly beyond the confines of the speakers. The bass isn’t as seismic as some costlier designs, but is more than competitive at this price point.
This is not the preserve of simple material either. The more congested and complex Tomorrow’s Harvest by Boards Of Canada is reproduced with a convincing balance of scale and three dimensionality. This openness is combined with an impressive level of refinement too. I often find the 2M Red a little fatiguing in some setups, but here it is difficult to unsettle and even the brittle pressing of Resistance Is Futile by Manic Street Preachers is handled convincingly.”
Read more at https://www.hifichoicemag.com/content/eat-prelude#m4O7UrhrqEvg0GL7.99
Auralic Aries G2 digital transport
November 12, 2019 Comments Off on Auralic Aries G2 digital transport
Alta Audio Alec Loudspeakers $10,000 Review
November 12, 2019 § 1 Comment
“At only $10,000/pair Alta Audio has indeed pulled a rabbit out of a hat with the Alec. As a low cost compromise between the majestic Titanium and its smaller and addictive sibling Celesta while retaining the unique signature sound quality that makes all of Alta audio speakers so special, another winner is born; within arm’s reach of perfectly bridging the two.”
Hifiman R2R2000 $2,500 Review
November 11, 2019 Comments Off on Hifiman R2R2000 $2,500 Review
“I can hear why the Black and its PCM1704K chipset is so highly regarded and it does have a bit more dynamic range and complexity to its sound than the Red. However, for vocal lovers, the Red has a lot of charm and a stunning harmonic balance.
If you can put up with the OS limitations and can find an HWA capable transmitter smartphone we may just have the best sounding sources reviewed to date. It will be a very interesting main review so stay tuned!”
PMC Fact Fenestria Loudspeakers $65,000 Review
November 11, 2019 Comments Off on PMC Fact Fenestria Loudspeakers $65,000 Review
https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/914-pmc-fact-fenestria-loudspeakers
Each bass cabinet is finished in matte black to complement a 15mm-thick, secondary front baffle machined from a single piece of acrylic composite. This secondary baffle is “floated” over the primary baffle with an array of magnets, and isolated from the cabinet with a foam gasket. Between the primary and secondary baffles of each bass subenclosure are sandwiched two 6.5” woofers, each rigidly bolted to the main cabinet. These four woofers per speaker — PMC calls them piston drivers — are unique to the Fenestria, and were several years in development. Each cone is a diaphragm comprising two skins of triple transverse-weave carbon fiber sandwiching a core of multicellular Rohacell foam. The mass of these skins has been reduced using a special manufacturing technique that limits the diaphragms’ absorption of adhesive and lacquer, and the cones are driven by a motor assembly that includes two beefy ferrite magnets each 5.5” in diameter, 3.15” thick, and weighing 5.5 pounds.”
MEZE AUDIO EMPYREAN PLANAR MAGNETIC HEADPHONE $2999 REVIEW
November 10, 2019 Comments Off on MEZE AUDIO EMPYREAN PLANAR MAGNETIC HEADPHONE $2999 REVIEW
“As an example, try ‘Walking On the Moon’ from the The Yuri Honing Trio’s Star Tracks [Jazz in Motion, 16’/44.1]. The track begins with a subtle, softly plucked figure from bassist Tony Overwater, whose call is later answered by an expressive response from percussionist Joost Lijbaart. Then, the proceedings really take shape when Honing joins in on his saxophone. In each case the timbres and dynamic qualities the instruments sound spot-on and incredibly engaging. Major sonic treats include Honing’s powerful, evocative sax solo in the middle of the track and several dramatic bass and percussion exchanges along the way. Stated simply, the Empyrean creates large believable soundstages and the sort of gripping, you-are-there realism that’s rare to find in any transducer, regardless of type.”
McIntosh MTI100 Music System Review
November 10, 2019 Comments Off on McIntosh MTI100 Music System Review
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But as mentioned at the MTI100 is so much more than that. This is a piece of sonic artistry, that provides high-end sound from all the sources you can imagine, and looks great doing it. For many, this and a great pair of speakers will be a destination music system. For others, it will be a second or even third system. And I’m guessing there will also be a few die-hard, completist McIntosh collectors that will just have one because…
Much as I hate to profile anyone, I suspect the MTI100 will appeal to what I refer to as the “qualityphile” customer. This customer liking solutions off the beaten path, that are as technologically curious as aesthetically motivated. Gazing into my crystal ball, I expect the MTI100 is going to end up in some very design rich environments, and cherished by its owners.”
Acoustic Signature Invictus Jr. Turntable and TA-9000 Tonearm $84,999 Review
November 10, 2019 Comments Off on Acoustic Signature Invictus Jr. Turntable and TA-9000 Tonearm $84,999 Review
“Lest you think the Invictus Jr.’s magic act is restricted to one closely mic’d recording, let me assure you that is not the case. Its amazingly abundant recovery, and uncannily neutral delivery, of sonic information can make virtually any instrument or combo of instruments on very-well-recorded LPs sound “there.” From Gene Ammons’ sax on Boss Tenor [Prestige] to Chet Baker’s whispery tenor (or counter-tenor) on Chet Baker Sings [Blue Note] to David Abel’s Guarnerius and Julie Steinberg’s Hamburg Steinway D on the Debussy Sonata [Wilson Audiophile] to Belafonte and his terrific horn section on Belafonte at Carnegie Hall [Analogue Productions], to The Band’s Richard Manuel’s vocal and piano on “The Shape I’m In,” the Invictus Jr. is able to gestalt-shift you into an alternate universe where recorded artists sound “real,” and do so without losing a great turntable’s ability to tell you how well or poorly an LP was recorded.”
Schiit Ragnarok 2 i amp $1,499
November 9, 2019 Comments Off on Schiit Ragnarok 2 i amp $1,499
“To test out using the Ragnarok 2 as a preamp, I hooked up the Schiit Aegir power amp, and at first I couldn’t get any sound out of the Aegir. I checked and rechecked the connections. They were correct. The owner’s manual was no help, so I just fiddled about trying things, and when I switched off the Ragnarok 2’s speaker output and turned on the headphone output, the Aegir started playing! So in other words you need to turn on the headphone output to use the Ragnarok 2 as a preamp! That’s very strange, but easy to do once you know how to do it.
Teamed with the Aegir the sound was even more see-through, and the soundstage took on a more three-dimensional quality. The ‘2 was no slouch on its own, but the Aegir conjured more space and depth between instruments, and individual voices in choral recordings were easier to hear with the Ragnarok 2/Aegir combination.”
Audiophilepure 
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