VPI Prime Signature Turntable $6000 Review
January 3, 2019 Comments Off on VPI Prime Signature Turntable $6000 Review
“I’m a little in awe of VPI’s Prime Signature. Each time I approach it, I see it again as if for the first time and give a little start. It’s not the most beautiful turntable out there. It’s not the biggest, and it’s certainly not the most complicated. But all that said, the Prime Signature radiates competence. Although it’s just this side of being overbuilt, there’s nothing extraneous — no frippery, nothing that doesn’t need to be there. Instead, it’s well engineered and practical in every aspect of its design and functionality. At $6000, it’s also a bargain.
My own Pro-Ject RPM 10 Carbon, descended from a long line of other RPMs before it, is also a bargain ($3499). Here in my room I have two smoking-deal turntables at two different price points. They’re so wildly different in construction, form, and design that it’s nearly impossible to find similarities between the two. The Pro-Ject radiates elegance and slickness of manufacture. In contrast to the VPI’s brute-force approach, it’s better finished, and packed full of technical innovation. That said, the JMW 10 3D tonearm is, far and away, superior to my RPM 10 Carbon’s 10cc Evolution tonearm in its adjustability.”
Dynaudio Xeo 10 review
January 3, 2019 Comments Off on Dynaudio Xeo 10 review
”
That feeling dissipates once you start playing music through the Dynaudios, as they sound fantastic. They have the same spirit as their predecessors – namely, a do-it-all attitude that’s confident with every element of delivering music – but it’s level of clarity and scale that really stands out.
For small speakers, they sure belt out a large and spacious soundstage. These boxes have no problem going loud: they remain clean and don’t harden up when pushed to high volume levels, which is very impressive for speakers of their kind. ”
KUZMA STABI R TURNTABLE REVIEW
January 1, 2019 Comments Off on KUZMA STABI R TURNTABLE REVIEW
“For me, I’m not too bothered by the myriad tonearm options, or the additional plinths and so on. Despite the job, I am more a ‘fit and forget’ guy when it comes to turntables, and the Kuzma Stabi R does that perfectly if you want. As a reviewing platform, the ability to swap a tonearm plate at will to replace an arm or fit a cartridge without tampering with the turntable should be a vital part of any reviewer’s arsenal, and – if the geometry of both arms is set in advance, you could swap arms in less than a minute. From an enlightened self-interest position, that makes for better tonearm and cartridge reviews. Aside from box-swappers who have a penchant for tonearms, that’s a very narrow outlook.’
Esoteric F-03A Integrated Amplifier Review
January 1, 2019 Comments Off on Esoteric F-03A Integrated Amplifier Review
“The F-03A’s moving-coil setting provided plenty of gain for the Sumiko Blue Point No.2 cartridge’s high 2.5mV. The phonostage was dead quiet even on the higher-gain moving-coil setting, delivering black backgrounds and good resolution of very low-level detail. I didn’t hear quite the midrange liquidity and treble smoothness through the phonostage that I do when using the Berkeley Alpha Reference DAC MQA. I attribute that difference to the Sumiko Blue Point No.2 cartridge, not to the Esoteric. Although the Blue Point No.2 is a good cartridge for the price, I suspect that the F-03A will be partnered with higher-quality cartridges. Nonetheless, LP playback had that wonderful feeling of openness and life, with bloom and air around instrumental outlines.
If the F-03A’s output power and bottom-end dynamics aren’t quite enough for you, consider doing what I did: add a JL Audio Fathom f113v2 (or f112v2) subwoofer. Although I evaluated the F-03A without the JL sub for this review, adding the f113v2 for my listening pleasure vaulted the overall system performance into another tier. Forget about any limitations in dynamics, or loudness, or bass impact; the Fathom f113 frees up the Esoteric to do what it does best—deliver delicious Class A sound—while handling the bottom-end duties and bringing 3000W to the party. This combination was the most successful mating of a subwoofer with an amplifier and speakers that I’ve experienced.”
MBL Noble Line N11 Preamplifier $14,600 and N15 Monoblock Amplifier $35,200/pr.
December 31, 2018 Comments Off on MBL Noble Line N11 Preamplifier $14,600 and N15 Monoblock Amplifier $35,200/pr.
“Another thing that the Noble electronics do not short-shrift is three dimensionality. Of course, an omnidirectional loudspeaker like the 101 E Mk.II, with 360-degree dispersion (and no enclosure), is a paragon of 3-D sound—to the extent that it is the one transducer I’m familiar with capable of making digital seem as if it’s got nearly as much bloom as analog. Already notably three-dimensional with the other speakers I used, the Noble amp and preamp made the Radialstrahlers sound, as I once said about their big brothers, the X-Tremes, like the sonic equivalent of going to a stage play rather than watching a movie. Indeed, the 101 omnis’ inherent ability to project musical energy in all directions rather than merely forward (or forward and back) is highly realistic—and a large part of the reason the Radialstrahlers sound so thrilling and real with the right sources and electronics. The Noble Line gear did them proud in this regard.
I could go on about the 101 E Mk.IIs—about their incredibly lifelike power-range weight and impact, about their bottommost octaves (which are said to extend to 22Hz), about their uncannily natural reproduction of voices, brasses, and strings, about their boxless openness and vast soundstage—and even though some of these things would also be to the credit of the Noble Line electronics driving them, the Radialstrahlers are not the subject of this review. It is the N11 and N15 that I’m focusing on, and the bottom line here is plain. Neither the amp nor the preamp is the last word in high-end electronics (even in the MBL lines), but then they don’t cost anything close to what that last word costs. What they are, like the MBL Radialstrahlers they pair up with so beautifully, is thrilling to listen to—a little dark, a little soft and sweet on top, a little lower in top-end extension and resolution than their $100k+ competition, but always enjoyable, powerful, and musical, and, given the right source and pairing, fully capable of a realism that raises goosebumps and of a soundfield of head-slapping breadth, width, and depth. In sum, these are components I can recommend to every kind of listener, and particularly to those with Magneplanar or MBL loudspeakers.”
BURSON FUN & BANG REVIEW
December 31, 2018 Comments Off on BURSON FUN & BANG REVIEW
“I am as impressed, if not more so with the Fun and Bang compared to the Play. I really like how Burson has taken this little potent black box system from a few months ago and expanded it out now to cover even more bases. Got a speaker system? Get the Bang. Got a DAC already? Get the Fun. Put them both together you got a small system right there that has brutal power for headphones and surprisingly levels of control and finesse for dedicated small room HiFi speakers and near-field monitors.
Of course, like the Play, the Fun and Bang sound best to me with the V6 Classic opamps. That’s a personal preference thing, the V6 Vivid could work really well for those who really want more low-end and better treble presence. The Basic configuration in the Fun is pretty good also with a decent DAC behind it. The transparent neutral tone has an edge over the harder sounding Play version.”
HIFIMAN ANANDA HEADPHONES $999 REVIEWS
December 30, 2018 Comments Off on HIFIMAN ANANDA HEADPHONES $999 REVIEWS
“There is little to complain about with the HIFIMAN Ananda headphones, and a great deal to like. I’ve heard equally good high end headphones, but never anything any better. (I’ll admit I haven’t auditioned any of the $5000 plus headphones being offered).
The sound is exemplary, and I think the open back design contributes to the comfort and overall sound of the Ananda phones. The sound was excellent on difficult to reproduce mass instruments and choruses, and it also earns high praise with acoustic instruments and hard rock.”
World Premiere Review! ZMF Vérité Over Ear Headphone $2,699 Review
December 30, 2018 Comments Off on World Premiere Review! ZMF Vérité Over Ear Headphone $2,699 Review
“I wouldn’t characterize the upper midrange as deeply recessed, but compared to ZMF’s previous flagship Auteur, sounds like female vocals seemed a little more distant due to Vérité having a little less presence in the upper harmonics to really “burn through” the mix. Conversely, shaving a couple of dB out of this region makes the headphone sound less fatiguing overall and sort of invites the listener to turn it up and rock out, which really allows the headphone’s spectacular dynamics to shine.
The Vérité’s treble is outstanding in terms of pure performance. Frequency plots show good energy in the lower treble around 6kHz, a bit of a dip in the mid treble centered at about 8kHz and then excellent high treble air from 10kHz on up. My ears tend to agree. Adding a little 2dB peak at 8kHz in my Roon EQ settings seemed to make things a bit flatter up top through the mid treble. However, like the presence region an octave below it, scaling back a couple of dBs in a more sensitive region gives the listener a little less fatigue at higher volumes and over longer listening sessions. Ultimately, it will be up to the individual listener as to whether this coloration is preferable or not.”
CAYIN AUDIO – N8 REVIEW
December 29, 2018 Comments Off on CAYIN AUDIO – N8 REVIEW
“This is the real, typical solid state output. It delivers punch power and everything has impact and control. For a solid state output it is very musical but it isn’t as musical and smooth as the tube output is, logically. The SS headphone out at this level of course is clean and precise, if not it wouldn’t be a high end unit. At the same time it isn’t the neutral and analytic kind of sound you expect form a flagship. It’s more musical, full bodied and comes with a smooth delivery. Something that will strike you right from the start is the excellent stereo image and L/R balance.
Bass is somewhat elevated but not too much. The detail and layering is good, as well as the separation. The mids are detailed, well layered and have that smooth, musical delivery. It’s maybe my favorite part of the N8, though the bass section isn’t far behind. There are DAPS that present more air and spaciousness but the N8 is no slouch here either. The solid state treble section is energetic and lively, but like the bass and mids it has this musical twist and slight smoothness so it will never sound harsh or sibilant or aggressive.”
Martinlogan Dynamo 1100X Subwoofer $1,099 Review
December 29, 2018 Comments Off on Martinlogan Dynamo 1100X Subwoofer $1,099 Review
“One of my favorite music tracks for testing subs is “Flight of the Cosmic Hippo” by Béla Fleck and The Flecktones. Bassist Victor Wooten’s solo, played on a five-string fretless Fodera bass, has him moving up and down the scale and reaching incredibly deep notes. Any discontinuity between your main speakers and the subwoofer is instantly heard, and only a tight, fast sub can sound tuneful as Wooten plumbs the bottom end of his instrument. Streaming the track on Qobuz, the 1100X had plenty of power to shake the floor, yet there was no hint of a one-note quality or overhang. Even though I was using the Subwoofer Control app’s supposedly lower-impact but more tuneful Music setting, the 1100X was able to move plenty of air and cause my listening chair to thrum and vibrate along with the bass. There is one additional Subwoofer Control app adjustment I didn’t mention—a Deep Bass level setting that allows you to boost or cut the very bottom half-octave from 20Hz to 30Hz by up to 10 decibels. I found that by carefully tweaking this setting I was able to dial in a perfect amount of heft to the sound without introducing boominess or bloat.”
Audiophilepure 
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