MoFi UltraDeck+M Turntable Review
October 2, 2019 Comments Off on MoFi UltraDeck+M Turntable Review
“With the cartridge pre-mounted in the review deck, all I had to do was ease the platter over the vertical bearing, balance the arm, apply tracking force and fit the hanging-weight-on-a-thread for anti-skating. While this may seem daunting to novices, the instructions are thorough. For you lot, it will be instinctive. The belt is fitted around the pulley and platter, with speed change from 33.33rpm to 45rpm accomplished by moving the belt to the larger, lower section of the pulley.
On/off is a square press-button on the top of the plinth, lower right, and it lights up yellow/orange – to match the belt. The overall look is sleek, with the contrasting finishes on the deck’s upper surface, and those hints of citrous breaking up the Spinal Tappishness of it. And when I fitted the lime-green Jo No5 MC cartridge [HFN Dec ’18]… wow! What a look!”
Allnic Audio L-7000 Preamplifier $16,500 Review
September 30, 2019 Comments Off on Allnic Audio L-7000 Preamplifier $16,500 Review
“The transparency the L-7000 creates is beguiling and projects the most wonderful, tactile feeling—from the ‘reach out and touch it’ variety. Many friends who heard my system just before this review’s publication said they have never heard it sound so good, so musical, and, especially, so transparent”
ABYSS AB-1266 PHI TC HEADPHONES UPDATED $7,955
September 29, 2019 Comments Off on ABYSS AB-1266 PHI TC HEADPHONES UPDATED $7,955
“The life-like bass has translated over very strongly to the Phi TC versions, but what I hear is even more definition and clarity, but I think the biggest area of improvement is the increased transparency in the mids and treble regions. I had to remind myself that these were a pair of orthodynamics and not a pair of electrostatic headphones. The sound staging was truly epic. The whirl of the vending machines around my head from “Money” placed me in a large room well beyond my personal head-space and very much mimicked a 5.1 speaker presentation. Again, this was something that no other pair of headphones could reproduce with such transparency and openness.”
Klipsch Reference R-820F Loudspeakers $898 Review
September 29, 2019 Comments Off on Klipsch Reference R-820F Loudspeakers $898 Review
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I enjoyed my time with the Klipsch Reference R-820Fs, and think their sound quality is competitive with anything in their price range. And if you like to play your music loud, and/or pressurize a home-theater room with maximum SPLs, the R-820F might be your best bet in a pair of budget floorstanders. I like the unique styling of Klipsch’s Reference models — their copper-colored woofers and horn-loaded tweeters set them apart from a crowded field of competitors. Kudos to Klipsch for remaining true to their heritage while providing excellent value in a reasonably priced floorstanding speaker.”
Olympica Nova from Sonus Faber | Review
September 26, 2019 Comments Off on Olympica Nova from Sonus Faber | Review
“My first impression revolves around the huge and particularly well-defined soundstage the Olympica Novas offered. We’re not just talking about wide and deep. The Novas did a wonderful thing—they replicated the size of my own listening room on the other side of the wall. The illusion was clear. I could easily imagine a stage of equal size beyond the speakers where the performers stood and played. The wall boundaries were clearly fixed in space on both sides of the mirror.
That sounds strange, right? But that’s what I found most intriguing about that sound, the projection of a known finite space that was perfectly natural. Do we really expect a lone note played in the middle of the Mojave? Those boundaries I sensed replicated the feeling of being in a room where music is played. It was a distinctive sound, one that seemed perfectly logical and natural.”
CHORD ELECTRONICS HUGO TT 2 DAC/M SCALER UPSCALER REVIEW
September 26, 2019 Comments Off on CHORD ELECTRONICS HUGO TT 2 DAC/M SCALER UPSCALER REVIEW
“I enjoyed similar benefits when I played the ‘Triptych (Excerpt)’ from A Company of Voices – Conspirare in Concert [Harmonia Mundi, 16/44.1]. This exuberant and syncopated piece for percussion ensemble and concert choir is not one that is easy for most DAC’s to handle, in part because of the large-scale dynamic swings involved and the perhaps slightly over-modulated choral swells that at times threaten to become ragged and strained. However, with the M Scaler assisting the Hugo TT 2, the timing and timbres of the percussion ensemble instruments improved dramatically, with more incisive transient sounds, rounder tonalities all around, and the all-important qualities of ‘swing’ and dynamic ‘jump’ in evidence. Individual choral lines also became clearer and more intelligible, while the potentially problematic vocal swells sounded better controlled and more expressive, with elements of congestion mostly (though not entirely) cleared up. In addition, the sounds of the concert venue were captured more realistically (I can say this with some conviction because I was present in the hall on one of the evenings when the recording was made) and with appropriate stage width and depth. Once again, the M Scaler/Hugo TT 2 pair made an already good recording sound a whole lot better.”
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Noble Audio’s Mighty Khan In-Ear Monitors $2399 Review
September 26, 2019 Comments Off on Noble Audio’s Mighty Khan In-Ear Monitors $2399 Review
“Noble describes Khans in-ear monitors as the King who conquered Kings. The master built his armies and was able to place himself in the history books. The Noble Khan is an exceptionally well thought out universal IEM that truly is a musical instrument in itself. The midrange delivery was exceptional and it is a top tier performer with exceptional clarity of instruments and the tight controlled bass presentation was as good as I have heard in any in-ear monitor.”
CONSTELLATION AUDIO PICTOR PREAMP AND TAURUS STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER REVIEW
September 25, 2019 Comments Off on CONSTELLATION AUDIO PICTOR PREAMP AND TAURUS STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER REVIEW
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The Pictor and Taurus are also paradoxical in performance in that they at once reveal all the performance criteria in a loudspeaker while bringing out its musical enjoyment. This left me stumped, as these are typically polar opposites; an amplifier that’s ‘revealing’ is often musically barren, while an amplifier that turns every session into an entertaining jaunt through your collection is routinely masking the limitations inherent to the speaker design. The Constellation Audio duo are unique in they show you exactly what your equipment is doing honestly and accurately, and yet make that experience as musically satisfying as it can be. Meaning it is at once the perfect tool for the designer wanting to know where the next speaker can be improved and the salesperson wanting to make their speakers sound great – that is a first, and bespeaks of the quality and accuracy of the Constellation Audio sound.”
Focal Kanta No1 Loudspeaker Review
September 24, 2019 Comments Off on Focal Kanta No1 Loudspeaker Review
“The bass synthesiser modulated in an appropriately animated way, powering the song along. Above this there was a wealth of percussive detail to take in, all delicately rendered. The lead synthesiser stabs were superbly syncopated to the backing percussion, with congas and woodblocks easily discernible, alongside the funky rhythm guitar and programmed drum machine snares and handclaps. Everything arrived in perfect time, alongside a clean and smooth portrayal of Madonna’s vocals. This track can really sound like a dog’s dinner through some speakers, yet here it sounded completely at ease.
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Auris Audio Euterpe
September 24, 2019 Comments Off on Auris Audio Euterpe
“The volume pot also doubles up as a power-on resistance-based switch and you will have to wait a few seconds after turning it on for it to activate. A small safety precaution if you will. There is no stepped attenuation design to the pot here, this is a custom Alps potentiometer design with a very smooth turn. Also, thank you so very much Auris for putting in some white markers to judge volume levels accurately.
The level of potential functionality of the Euterpe seems excellent though our primary review focus will be on the built-in DAC and amp all-in-one performance. That being said, the pre-amp and analog inputs as a pure amp combined with a higher-end DAC such as the Qutest and even an M-Scaler behind that will be intriguing to see just how good the SET amp inside really is.”
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