Fostex TH909 Headphones Review
December 21, 2018 Comments Off on Fostex TH909 Headphones Review
“That balance is why Brent, and his listening panel of LeRena Major and John Higgins, chose to award the Fostex TH909s a 9 out of 10 for “Sound.” That high Sound rating is why the TH909s were named a Reviewers’ Choice when Brent’s review was published, and is also why they’re the latest headphones to be added to our list of Recommended Reference Components.”
CHORD ELECTRONICS BLU MK2 UPSAMPLING CD TRANSPORT REVIEW
December 20, 2018 Comments Off on CHORD ELECTRONICS BLU MK2 UPSAMPLING CD TRANSPORT REVIEW
“Listening to an old favourite CD of mine, Haydn Symphony No 77, Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music, the difference between the three oversampling/upscaling options is not small. Starting with the minimum oversampling rate, which reads as 88.2 kHz on the DAVE, I get a pleasant presentation, fluid and coherent, but not the deepest of soundstages. Changing to the maximum oversampling immediately improves imaging and increases soundstage depth, while creating much greater space between the instruments in the orchestra. It’s almost as if you have pressed a button marked ‘3D’. There is also a sense of what happens when you move back five rows in a concert hall, a hint of the concentration of the intensity and colour of the sound being slightly diluted. On this period instrument recording, I miss a bit of weight in the bass; it is true that period cellos and basses make less grunt than the modern equivalents, but it is noticeable nonetheless. Contrasting the Blu with my Esoteric K-05 CD player, used as a transport only, playing through the DAVE via a Chord cable, the latter seems to have more grunt and there is more of a sense of the bass driving the harmony and the music than with the Blu Mk2. It doesn’t, however, have the effortless sense of space that the Blu Mk2 has, or indeed the litheness of its approach to making music. ”
Acoustic Research AR-H1 Review
December 20, 2018 Comments Off on Acoustic Research AR-H1 Review
“Overall, the Acoustic Research AR-H1 is a prime example of planar technology and efficiency. At some point the voicing of these headphones is noticeably not flat. Being so, it lends itself more towards music record in the last 40 years more than anything prior. Where the AR-H1 shines best however is with modern pop, EDM, and alternative rock recordings from the last 20 years. The AR-H1’s voicing delivers an almost night club experience with genres like rap, hip-hop, house, techno, etc. Also of note, is how the AR-H1 is the only open back headphone I would recommend for travel as it’s voicing proclivity lends itself to podcasts and highlighted detail where information more than balance is priority. For home listening, there are better sounding headphones than the AR-H1, but none that I can think of are as comfortable, efficient, and detailed for the money. The AR-H1 in my mind is ideal for those who want a flexible audiophile headphone that offers stunning amounts of detail across a wide compatibility of sources and amplified devices. If toting around portable headphone amplifiers, dacs and extra cables isn’t your thing, the AR-H1 should be on your short list.”
LARK STUDIO LSX
December 19, 2018 Comments Off on LARK STUDIO LSX
“The lower mids and upper mids are nicely balanced out as well. So it’s not an “overdoing” type of mid presentation. It’s very well refined and effortless. Sometimes because of the mid bass focus and this lush character, you can feel the mids are a little behind or congested, but I think that’s because the IEM doesn’t stretch the sound on a very wide scale. The elements are not far away and they don’t have a big space between them. They play close to each other and this creates a rounded and intense presentation.
Since the background performance is very good, you wouldn’t have problems regarding instrumental separation. This mid performance from the LSX is wonderful to listen to. The vocals and instruments are realistic, life-like and they have a great transparency with nice dynamics. While I found the LSX’s bass nearly flawless, I think its mid performance is also phenomenal.”
Parasound HINT 6 Review
December 18, 2018 Comments Off on Parasound HINT 6 Review
“Listening to an old favourite CD of mine, Haydn Symphony No 77, Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music, the difference between the three oversampling/upscaling options is not small. Starting with the minimum oversampling rate, which reads as 88.2 kHz on the DAVE, I get a pleasant presentation, fluid and coherent, but not the deepest of soundstages. Changing to the maximum oversampling immediately improves imaging and increases soundstage depth, while creating much greater space between the instruments in the orchestra. It’s almost as if you have pressed a button marked ‘3D’. There is also a sense of what happens when you move back five rows in a concert hall, a hint of the concentration of the intensity and colour of the sound being slightly diluted. On this period instrument recording, I miss a bit of weight in the bass; it is true that period cellos and basses make less grunt than the modern equivalents, but it is noticeable nonetheless. Contrasting the Blu with my Esoteric K-05 CD player, used as a transport only, playing through the DAVE via a Chord cable, the latter seems to have more grunt and there is more of a sense of the bass driving the harmony and the music than with the Blu Mk2. It doesn’t, however, have the effortless sense of space that the Blu Mk2 has, or indeed the litheness of its approach to making music. ”
Empire Ears Phantom $1799 Review
December 18, 2018 Comments Off on Empire Ears Phantom $1799 Review
“This may be one of the more controversial aspects of the Phantom while simultaneously being its greatest asset; this earphone is smooth and almost redefines perceptions of naturalness, a statement I say with both positive and negative connotations. In direct comparison to other high-end IEMs, and likely most listener’s impression upon first listen, the Phantom can come across as overly full and a little boxy. It takes some time to appreciate the goal Nic, Dean and Jack were trying to achieve. After a brief adjustment and acclimatization to focussing on the midrange as opposed to bass and treble, it becomes clear that the Phantom’s speciality is its very complete notes.
To clarify, vocals and instruments are fleshed out and filled with detail, there isn’t a hint of over-articulation, thinness of artificial enhancement. In accordance, timbre is excellent, among the best I’ve encountered, and the Phantom is almost impossibly coherent and natural. Tone is undoubtedly on the warmer side and, in this sense, the Phantom produces an overly homogenous image that is not always faithful to the original recording but instead to what one would experience in a live setting. Still, the Phantom is not over-tuned to the extent that it introduces chestiness, muffle or bass spill, and separation is aided by a touch of lower-midrange attenuation.”
CH Precision I1 Integrated Amplifier Review
December 17, 2018 Comments Off on CH Precision I1 Integrated Amplifier Review
“Not an integrated amplifier for everyone – but what integrated is? – the CH Precision I1 integrated amplifier is an integrated for those looking for the most practical éntre to the ultra high-end of high fidelity that also allows for practically every configuration for most any end user’s needs. A true Swiss Army knife in high-fidelity. It is designed and built to exacting technical and mechanical standards with a modular approach to both digital and analog options engineered into its very DNA. It is constructed with a deep understanding to future-proofing your considerable investment for many years to come and to be able to slide into multiple sonic roles within the CH universe of hi-fi with minimal button pushing or module and cable swap outs. It is not a warm, romantic-sounding reproducer of music, nor is it an analytical, cold relayer of absolutes. Instead it lands in the middle with a ruthless bent to resolution and transparency. It ingratiates itself to the listener as more cerebral than emotional in its tenor, but it performs such a delicate balancing act between those two that I often found myself simultaneously wearing my heart on my sleeve during listening sessions for its holistic, cohesive musicality while keenly being able to dissect the minutiae of each instrument or vocal thread wending through every track I played back on it. It is an amp with few peers at any price point, not only sonically, but for build quality and available options. The I1 integrated could very well be the last integrated amplifier you would ever want to buy”
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Sonus faber Sonetto III Loudspeakers Review
December 17, 2018 Comments Off on Sonus faber Sonetto III Loudspeakers Review
“Turning up the volume, Peter Washington’s bass notes provided a nice vibration to the room. Quiet passages in the song were inky black. The piano sounded so alive and natural, with overtones just seeming to be suspended in midair. I know it’s a cliché, but the Sonettos made it seem more like I was in the studio listening to Bennett and Krall lay down this track than listening through a pair of speakers”
FINAL D8000 REVIEW
December 16, 2018 Comments Off on FINAL D8000 REVIEW
“The D8000 low-end is quite unlike most summit-fi planar headphones I am used to hearing. It is not razor flat, nor does it have the same amount of sub-bass roll off like the Ether and LCD-4. This is an elevated bass signature from 50Hz right up to 200Hz carrying with it both warmth and power.
There is just enough roll-off from 50Hz down to 20Hz to prevent it from becoming “all about the bass” so it remains strong but not booming to the point where nothing else shines through. There is plenty of texture and details and the layering is very nicely balanced also. Not too much “thud and boom” nor does it sound one-dimensional either. There is a slight wetness to the low-end so it is not quite as quick paced or as well defined as the TOTL Susvara.”
CH PRECISION I1 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER £29,500 REVIEW
December 15, 2018 Comments Off on CH PRECISION I1 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER £29,500 REVIEW
“The CH Precision I1 has a tough job to do. It needs to be awesome enough to justify its price and position both in the CH Precision line-up and against the rarified air of some of the best ever integrated amplifiers in the price-no-object class. But it also has to be good enough to showcase what the bigger fish in the CH Precision pond are capable of, but not so good as to outshine those bigger fish. Of these tasks, only the last is a realistic goal, because the separates CH Precision components are an order of magnitude better than both the I1 and any of its rivals. But the I1 does all the other tasks, too. This is one of the best integrated amplifiers (and I still hate that term for this design) you can buy.”
Audiophilepure 
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