Vivid Audio Kaya 90 Floorstanding Speaker Review
July 16, 2019 Comments Off on Vivid Audio Kaya 90 Floorstanding Speaker Review
“One other thing that may be worth considering for readers who employ their stereo systems as the foundation pf a multi-channel system: While the Kaya brochure lists center channel and surround models, they are not yet in production. I suspect the smaller, stand-mount models from Vivid may be a viable option, but it would be nice to have the full Kaya line available for those who want to build a multi-channel system.
Lastly, the aesthetics of the Vivid Audio Kaya line are appealing to my eye, but perhaps not for everyone, especially someone with more traditional design tastes. The Kaya line is understated for Vivid Audio, but these speakers are hardly ordinary looking, with their somewhat unusual, organic shapes.”
PrimaLuna EVO 400 preamplifier Review
July 15, 2019 Comments Off on PrimaLuna EVO 400 preamplifier Review
“We all know our father’s jazz records were about the sounds of acoustic bass, saxophone, and piano. In response to all that unamplified acousticness, Ventures’ records—especially those on the Dolton label—were all about the new, powerful, driving sound of electric guitars. (The Ventures, along with Chet Atkins and Link Wray, played a significant role in making electric guitars the most important instruments in 1960s popular music.) Therefore, any playback of their recordings that doesn’t convey the expressive reality of those guitars and their associated tubed amplifiers is a fail. The all-tube EVO 400 preamp and the ProLogue Premium amplifier triumphed: They brought the Ventures’ incomparable guitar sound to ravishing new life. The PrimaLuna tubes let the Ventures’ reverb-soaked essence fill my room; they made me feel like a “ho-dad” (a greaser/hot-rodder) and let me go “ten-over” until I wiped out.
BOWERS & WILKINS 603 FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKER £1,249 REVIEW
July 15, 2019 Comments Off on BOWERS & WILKINS 603 FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKER £1,249 REVIEW
“However, a favourite disc is the Lowell George solo album, Thanks I’ll Eat It Here[Friday Music], so I slipped it onto the turntable and was immediately impressed by the overall neutrality of the sound that was being delivered. Why pay more? I kept asking myself. I do have a pair of B&W’s 800 D3s tucked away in the speaker store, and they do have some advantages over this baby, no question. That they will deliver a (slightly) wider dynamic range, with rather better all-round distribution is impossible to deny, but I do find it difficult to justify a price differential of roughly 15×.
If there’s a better example of the loudspeaker being a slave to the rest of the system, I’ve yet to find it. Bowers & Wilkins’ 603 are entirely capable of reproducing just what they were being fed, no matter how high-end you go. However you look at it, the 603 is quite exceptional value for money.”
Bel Canto Designs e.One Stream Review
July 15, 2019 Comments Off on Bel Canto Designs e.One Stream Review
“In the e.One Stream, Bel Canto has created a device that is comfortable in mulitple guises as not only a DAC/Streamer/Seek app enabled all-in-one device for those seeking computer-audio playback, but also as a Roon end point and digital source for an external DAC of your choice. That it is capable of doing this with practically no colorations of its own on the sonic signal it’s passing along, is robustly constructed, includes a DSD/PCM (24-bit/192kHz) and MQA-decoder eqipped DAC that you can add to an existing system with minimal cash outlay to become cloud-music equipped (to audiophile standards) is testament to Bel Canto’s continuing commitment to those looking at expanding their listening choices without breaking the bank.”
Pro-Ject T1 Review
July 14, 2019 Comments Off on Pro-Ject T1 Review
“On the face of it, this Pro-Ject might seem most at home rendering tracks with lots of low-end, but songs stationed in the middle of the register actually feel most natural. The warmth offered here is pleasant and, while there appears to be some rounding off of the treble, we’re treated to a generally cohesive performance.
Sparser arrangements are also beneficial, however, because this isn’t the most spacious of soundstages and can sometimes be cluttered by a throng of instruments. Detail can be lost, and the presentation somewhat muddied.”
Constellation Revelation Series Monoblock Power Amplifier Review
July 14, 2019 Comments Off on Constellation Revelation Series Monoblock Power Amplifier Review
“It may seem like an obvious observation, but the Taurus paired with either the Pictor or Virgo III was particularly felicitous. Of course preamps and power amps made by the same manufacturer should sound good together, but this is especially true with Constellation pairings. Constellation’s preamps have a bit higher gain (26dB) than a lot of preamps and have such precision between the two phases of the balanced output signal that the preamp output can drive the amplifier’s Constellation Direct input that bypasses the power amp’s input stage. The typical buffering and assuring of perfect symmetry between the two phases of the balanced signal are simply not necessary when the amp is used with a Constellation preamp (in balanced mode). The sonic improvements yielded by using the Constellation Direct input are worthwhile. The soundscape opens up more, dynamic immediacy improves, and resolution becomes even finer. You have to turn up the volume to compensate for the bypassed initial gain stage, but I heard only sonic improvements in this configuration—no downsides or compromises.”
VISION EARS VE 3.2 REVIEW
July 13, 2019 Comments Off on VISION EARS VE 3.2 REVIEW
“You get a fuller sound with excellent resolution and imaging. The Plenue L has a slightly warmer than neutral signature, which plays very well with the balanced and almost reference class sounding VE 3.2 in my opinion.
The Cowon adds some of the missing blood and emotions to the sound. It does not fall short in terms of resolution at all, as the Plenue L definitely knows how to properly do D/A conversion.”
Cambridge Audio Edge NQ/W Review
July 13, 2019 Comments Off on Cambridge Audio Edge NQ/W Review
“Moving from seventies rock to eighties pop, and this combo proves itself to be a seriously enjoyable musical performer. David Bowie Let’s Dance shows how fast, lithe and agile it is on its feet, rhythmically speaking and I can easily hear the woodblock percussion playing along, and how this is a counterpoint to the tight, fast-attack, quick-release drum sound. At the same time, Bowie uses keyboard bass in parts of this track and electric bass guitar in others, and the Edge combo is agile enough to show which is which. Indeed, the reverb on the track’s great Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar solo is clear to hear along with the brilliant rhythmic gait of his playing. The NQ/W offers both impressive amounts of detail, as well as the vital ability to string it all together in a musically coherent way.
Via its internal DAC and streamed from my Western Digital NAS drive, the Edge pre/power serves up a sumptuously wide recorded acoustic from Kate Bush’s Snowflake in 24/96 WAV format. This is truly immersive stuff, as I bask in the intricacy and vibrancy of the close-miked piano. Kate’s voice hovers over this ethereally, located with great precision in the recorded acoustic.”
Primare I35 Prisma Integrated Amplifier Review
July 13, 2019 Comments Off on Primare I35 Prisma Integrated Amplifier Review
“Given the sophistication of today’s streamer amps, organization is key. For the I35 that responsibility is mostly handled by the Prisma app—a free download onto a smart device such as an iPad or comparable Android tablet. I connected an Ethernet cable to my router, and in the time it takes to say “Swedish meatballs” I was off to the races. With my NAS drive automatically configured, I was effortlessly streaming content from Spotify, Tidal, and TunedIn within the Chromecast folder. Fortunately, the configurable world of the I35 keys well off the Prisma app. The graphical interface is nicely sorted out for selecting input sources and streaming services; it’s stable and, after brief experience, intuitive to navigate. It controls volume, renames source inputs, and even adjusts input gain per source with a swipe or the touch of a virtual button. More than likely you will end up putting the traditional remote control in a drawer. But don’t lose it—it comes in handy when your teenager makes off with the iPad.
A couple of minor quibbles: The characters of the OLED display are perfectly legible up close, but so tiny that you’ll need a pair of binoculars to read them from more than a few feet away. The front-panel menu interface on the I35 needs updating, and users are much better off getting cozy with the comprehensive Prisma app. Finally, Chromecast worked well (the more Google Home stuff the better) but, on occasion, toggling between the Prisma app and a streaming service like Tidal caused the audio output to default to the iPad’s internal speakers. It took only a moment to reselect the I35 output, but this was a reminder of the complexity of these systems.”
CHORD ELECTRONICS QUTEST DAC REVIEW
July 12, 2019 Comments Off on CHORD ELECTRONICS QUTEST DAC REVIEW
“Every manufactured chip has limitations and generally made to a price point and design criteria. The chip cannot be auditioned before production, and although it is logically and mathematically sound, you have to wonder if they’re designed with the utmost sound quality in mind?
At Chord Electronics, things are done a little differently. Rob Watts’ FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) approach allows him to design digital circuits with total control over the hardware. So by designing a DAC using FPGA and discrete analog components, it is possible to have increased flexibility over the rigid performance aspects compared to typical off-the-shelf DAC chips.
Watts’ considered approach to ultimate DAC design is to utilise far more complex calculations than was ever thought to be needed, with unheard of long interpolation filters which he designs using what’s known as a windowed-sinc technique. He calculated that a 1,000,000 tap filter (with the number of taps being the indicator of how complex the FIR filter is) is needed to guarantee 16-bit performance from the interpolation filter, a number that was so inconceivably high that many thought that it would be impossible to build. ”
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