Paradigm Persona 9H Loudspeaker £34,000 Review
February 8, 2020 Comments Off on Paradigm Persona 9H Loudspeaker £34,000 Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/paradigm-persona-9h-loudspeaker
“That said, the speakers can be sweet and light on their feet with Copland’s own recording of ‘Billy The Kid’ [Copland Conducts Copland; Sony Classical SS 89041] and then deploy their immense power and speed with Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s ‘Welcome To The Pleasuredome’ from the Rage Hard compilation [ZTT 177SACD]. It’s a track I have used often, both as a stern test and an absolute riot, but I don’t think I have ever heard it as clean and hard-hitting as it did via these Paradigm flagships, even with my phone’s VU SPL meter suggesting we were peaking at around 105dB some 4m from the speakers.
Scale back the musical forces, or at least the complexity, and the Persona 9H ‘sound’ showed itself well-suited to the cleanly-recorded interplay of the Oscar Peterson Trio’s A Jazz Portrait Of Frank Sinatra set [Verve 0602498625750], with subtle drumming from Ed Thigpen, Ray Brown’s bass with great snap and resonance, and of course Peterson’s delicate touch on the keyboard much in evidence. It was one of those times when you fire up one track just to have a listen, and then find yourself still gripped when the album finishes.”
Chord Poly Review
February 8, 2020 Comments Off on Chord Poly Review
https://www.whathifi.com/us/chord/poly/review
“Playing Bon Iver’s 666ʇ, they deliver the opening two-chime notes and glitchy guitar attacks with greater clarity and texture, pursuing the harmonics of the distorted instruments with greater resolve.
The stepping-stone pattern, which rides underneath as Bon Iver stacks his dense synth-washed canvas layer-by-layer, has a closer-knit correlation with everything else.
And when it’s time for his warped, auto-tuned chop to come in, it’s placed centre-stage with a level of articulacy and dynamic discernment the Cambridge can’t quite match. That insight extends to the low end, with heft anchoring the tuneful bassline.”
ELAC Vela BS 403 speakers Review
February 6, 2020 Comments Off on ELAC Vela BS 403 speakers Review
http://av2day.com/2020/01/elac-vela-bs-403-speakers-outstanding-tweeter-good-sound/
The speakers were versatile in that both listening positions provided very satisfying experiences, but I felt that the equilateral triangle method provided a more intimate experience with the singer placed just in front of the listener and the musicians spread out behind the speakers.
Compared with the resident ATC SCM50 floorstanders, the soundstage and images were noticeably smaller and the BS 403’s bass could not reach to subterranean levels. This was to be expected given the size of the ELAC speakers.
However, the bass that was present was rhythmic and lively. Imaging was solid and stable and the sheer transparency of the tweeter resulted in a very detailed sound. Overall, the sound quality was more on the neutral side of the spectrum and the star component was the JET 5 tweeter which created high notes that soared effortlessly into the blackness.
ROSSON AUDIO DESIGN RAD-0 FLAGSHIP HEADPHONES REVIEW
February 5, 2020 Comments Off on ROSSON AUDIO DESIGN RAD-0 FLAGSHIP HEADPHONES REVIEW
“Meanwhile, James Hetfield’s vocals were meaty, upfront and especially transparent; conversely, Kirk Hammett’s guitar snarled with a clarity and intensity that left me with a huge smile on my face! Now on to the bass – all I could remember thinking was “WOW”! Robert Trujillo’s bass notes hit hard and fast and were both impactful and taught. These headphones can do bass with the very best out there and will have your head rocking up and down in short order. Their ability to cast a wider and deep soundscape really dazzled me grabbing my attention from the outset and never letting it go”
VITUS MP-201 MASTERPIECE D/A CONVERTER £24,000 REVIEW
February 5, 2020 Comments Off on VITUS MP-201 MASTERPIECE D/A CONVERTER £24,000 REVIEW
http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/vitus-mp-201-masterpiece-da-converter/
” Yes, the Vitus MP-201 is a masterpiece product as the name states but it can only work within the limitations of the system it sits at the heart of and this means that its likely destinations are high-end systems, or in other words, expensive systems assembled by those fortunate enough to be able to afford them. You are going to need to make sure that every detail has been thought through. This means from the router onwards. You really need to give the conductor the right tools and there are no short cuts. I have heard so many systems that cost more than a house that failed to deliver anything other than a loud and rather tiring facsimile of music. Brimmed full of the most outrageous detail but totally lacking in soul or humanity. Digital-based music can still be like this. It has always been that way since Digital began to show its (then) ugly face to the world through recordings on vinyl. I read the reviews and rushed out and bought this early stuff and ended up hating it, for years in fact. Early CD too was shockingly bad. But, where we are now is light years away from those days. What hasn’t changed is that realising the potential out of any system includes the painstaking business of considering the infrastructure that surrounds the electronics themselves.”
ABYSS DIANA V2 REVIEW
February 4, 2020 Comments Off on ABYSS DIANA V2 REVIEW
https://www.headfonia.com/abyss-diana-v2-review/
“Every pair of Diana V2 headphones is machined, finished and assembled by hand in the New York facilities of Abyss Headphones. When you order your pair from Abyss you can also select the termination of your cable. Options are 6.3 mm or 3.5 mm unbalanced, 4 Pin XLR, 4.4 mm balanced or 2.5 mm balanced. One set of Diana V2 headphones retails for 2,995$ US.
For everyone who wants to tickle even more performance out of their Diana V2, Abyss offers an upgrade cable by JPS Labs for the V2, called The Superconductor HP. Retail prices of the Superconductor HP begin at 1,400 USD. We will also find out what improvements it brings over the stock cable later.”
Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT And ATH-AWAS Headphones Review
February 4, 2020 Comments Off on Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT And ATH-AWAS Headphones Review
“The pads were soft on my head and the headphone was light and noticeable on the recording was inner detail and the beauty of the piano body with excellent inner detail retrieval. The sound was exceptional, and when I switched from the Mytek to the Auris Headonia, I noticed even more musicality coming from the body of instruments. The Mytek was exceptional but the Headonia was able to dig deeper, while both offered exceptional tonality of the piano and layering was exceptional with both amplifiers. The Auris, with the Marantz SA10, was three times more than the Mytek but differences were noticeable from the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge. I continued to be impressed with the AWKT’s ability to let me notice differences but still, both of the Amplifier/DAC combinations sounded exceptional.
Bass reproduction on the AWKT was good and offered excellent texture while digging into instruments with bass and the AT always felt balanced in the presentation. The sound was transparent and a little more on the bright side than the less expensive sister the ATH-AWAS which had a tendency to be more of a warmer sound both musical but with different sound signatures”
Naim Audio NAIT XS3 Stereo Integrated Amplifier Review
February 3, 2020 Comments Off on Naim Audio NAIT XS3 Stereo Integrated Amplifier Review
“This latest Naim NAIT XS 3 represents a subtle but really worthwhile improvement on its XS 2 predecessor and puts it back at the top of its class in terms of value for money. It has a thorough and even-handed yet engaging and enjoyable presentation that’s hard not to love. It’s a long way from the fierce and feisty NAIT of the mid-nineteen eighties – being far more civilised and powerful – yet very much retains its fundamental love of music. Indeed, if anything, the XS 3 has actually got some of this insouciant quality back, sounding less workmanlike than its XS 2 predecessor.
The only stumbling block is also arguably its greatest strength – the lack of any digital connections. Sadly in electronics, you can’t have your cake and eat it – you either go for all-out sound as your priority, or convenience. With this amplifier, Naim has chosen the former yet hasn’t sacrificed too much of the latter. The design team deliberately omitted a DAC stage to provide the best possible sonic performance at the price. Overall then, if you’re in the market for a superb sounding, purist integrated amplifier in a neat and compact package, then look no further – just go and listen.”
Bluesound Vault 2i Review
February 2, 2020 Comments Off on Bluesound Vault 2i Review
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/bluesound-vault-2i
Material played out by the music server creates a solid, believable soundstage that, while not as spacious as some streaming rivals, is able to portray Lofgren, the stage and his enthusiastic audience in a manner that makes total sense to the listener. Give it something enormous like Underworld’s mighty live recording of Push Upstairs on the Everything Everything album, and it doesn’t quite deliver the scale and visceral impact that is possible on some other devices but it’s far from unconvincing. Some of this seems to be down to the bass, which favours detail and speed over outright depth, but if I were asked to pick two of those three attributes, those are ones I’d favour.”
MOONDROP KXXS $189 REVIEW
February 2, 2020 Comments Off on MOONDROP KXXS $189 REVIEW
https://www.headphone.guru/moondrop-kxxs-review/
Metheny’s guitar was alive and detailed allowing you hearing each individual note, and Charlies Haden is behind Pat in the studio with little spacing between the 2 musicians. This well-recorded sonic masterpiece is loaded with inner detail and musicality. I was amazed at the quality of sound that the KXXS was procuring while playing this tune. The sound of Metheny’s guitar was exceptionally transparent and listening clearly showcased his style of playing and made his guitar come to life. Haden’s bass notes were detailed with excellent venture and space with air between the two musicians reproduced exceptionally.”
Audiophilepure 
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