T+A Elektroakustik DAC 8 DSD High End D/A Converter Review
March 21, 2019 Comments Off on T+A Elektroakustik DAC 8 DSD High End D/A Converter Review
“Much like any top DAC these days, digital filters offer the listener a customized sound. Want a softer, gentler approach? Done. Want an etched, lean performance? You got it. I spent a few days reading the manual and pressing buttons. I settled on one filter and left it for the duration of the review. I did the same when reviewing the Mytek Manhattan DAC II; the MQA setting, which the T+A does not offer (an MQA software update is in the works). I used Qobuz, primarily, as a streaming service via Roon on my Antipodes CORE Music Server. With Qobuz, there is no MQA support, but some seriously amazing hi res recordings available from the ever growing Qobuz catalogue. You won’t miss it.
Here we get a choice of four oversampling filters, used only for PCM audio (the 8 plays DSD, too, up to 512). There are two Finite Impulse Response filters and two Bezier interpolations. My choice was the ‘BEZ 1’ (blue LED), which is said to produce results ‘similar to an analogue system’. All four filters offered refined, superior sound, with enough variation to satiate the most nit picking listener. ‘A Bézier curve is a parametric curve that uses the Bernstein polynomials as a basis.’ Deep MIT dive here. To me, ‘BEZ 1’ sounded as detailed as the three other filters but with an even more pleasing musicality. ”
JBL Synthesis L100 Classic Loudspeaker Review
March 21, 2019 Comments Off on JBL Synthesis L100 Classic Loudspeaker Review
“The trickling keys of Red Richards’ piano sounded so close to the real thing that it made me laugh a little during the recording. Likewise, for Howard Johnson’s alto saxophone. The only caveat I had during my listening test with this record was that the bass did lack that last quarter or half octave of range, which cost it a touch of scale, though its dynamics and upper registers were on absolute point. Aside from that, the L100 Classic ranks as one of the more coherent three-way loudspeakers I’ve ever heard.”
Audeze LCD-4z Planar Magentic Headphone $3995 Review
March 20, 2019 Comments Off on Audeze LCD-4z Planar Magentic Headphone $3995 Review
“In many respects, the Audeze LCD-4z comes surprisingly close to the performance of the best electrostats in fine-detail retrieval, transparency, coherence, openness, and clarity. It should appeal to those who want top-tier performance in an easier-to-drive and more comfortable package than the in LCD-4. While its price tag may be a bit daunting, when compared to reference headphones, as well as loudspeaker systems costing many times more, the LCD-4z is arguably something of a bargain. If you want the best, make sure you audition the LCD-4z”
Grado PS1000e Review
March 19, 2019 Comments Off on Grado PS1000e Review
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/grado-ps1000e
“Don’t be tempted to skimp on partnering equipment. While Grado provides a 6.3mm to 3.5mm adaptor to allow the PS1000es to be connected to a smartphone, we wouldn’t recommend it. While you’ll get a decent sound – those headphones are usefully sensitive at just short of 100dB for a milliwatt signal – you really won’t get a sense of just how good these Grados are.”
Focal Elegia Review
March 19, 2019 Comments Off on Focal Elegia Review
“This enveloping design lends itself to an immersive sound. Play something with a wide soundfield and you feel in the middle of the music. Effects at either end of the presentation are clearly coming from a wide left or wide right position, making for a big, spacious sound. Massive Attack’s Angel is a classic bass test track but also interesting for its placement of sounds deep in the mix, with distant drum parts and effects. The Focals deliver those instruments faithfully, picking up the position of parts with impressive accuracy.
Paradigm Defiance X15 Subwoofer Review
March 18, 2019 Comments Off on Paradigm Defiance X15 Subwoofer Review
“media room, not for increased output, but rather to fill in some unavoidable dips at around 45Hz (with a sub on one side of my system) and 80Hz (with a sub on the other) caused by the geometry of my listening space. Given that I knew I would only be receiving one Defiance X15 for review, I disabled one of my reference subs beforehand and spent some time listening with only one sub, so as not to create an unfair comparison. In the end, I positioned the X15 on the left side of my system, if only due to the fact that it’s too wide to fit in the subwoofer spot on the right side. It is, after all, nearly three inches wider than my reference SVS PB-4000, which is itself snug as a bug on that side of the room.
Despite the wealth of connectivity, the tried-and-true unbalanced LFE input worked for my purposes. I ran one of the subwoofer outs from the Marantz AV8805 to it, and ran ARC via the app. Other speakers in the system consisted of a pair of GoldenEar Triton One.R towers, a GoldenEar Reference center, and a pair of Triton Sevens as surrounds. Crossovers were set at 80Hz, except the Reference Center, for which the crossover point was set at 100Hz.”
Shure KSE1200SYS electrostatic in-ear headphone system Review
March 18, 2019 Comments Off on Shure KSE1200SYS electrostatic in-ear headphone system Review
“A problem with armature-based IEMs, such as my Ultimate Ears 18 Pros, is that their vibrating reeds start to run out of excursion with high levels of low-frequency tones, producing “doubling” (second-harmonic distortion). This was not the case with either the KSE1500 or KSE1200SYS earpieces, which played the low-frequency, 1/3-octave warble tones on my Editor’s Choice (CD, Stereophile STPH016-2) cleanly and with full weight down to 32Hz, provided the sleeves were making good seals with my ear canals. The combination of low-frequency clarity and weight in “Happiness Is Easy,” from Talk Talk’s The Colour of Spring (DSD64 file ripped from SACD, EMI 591452), made the sparse interjections from Danny Thompson’s double bass and Alan Gorrie’s electric bass sound suitably forceful. No, in terms of low-frequency weight, the in-ear Shures still couldn’t match my long-term headphone reference, Audeze’s LCD-Xes, driven in balanced mode by Ayre Acoustics’ EX-8 integrated amplifier. However, the over-ear LCD-Xes weigh my head down after the first couple of hours; the lightweight Shures remained comfortable throughout far longer listening sessions.”
Analog Domain Artemis power amplifiers review
March 17, 2019 Comments Off on Analog Domain Artemis power amplifiers review
“Analog Domain amplifiers are designed to give you the freedom of choice – to enjoy your music at any level. They have the ability to play gently in a late-night listening session or to shake the house foundations on a mad party. They can be safely driven to the limit, even over-driven, retaining perfect control and resolution at any power level.
When speakers are locked and loaded optimally quite a few attributes move from their typical point of operation. A properly designed amplifier can remove quite a few primary speakers’ problems (like uncontrolled lower register). It might sound a bit controversy, but when loudspeakers drivers are handled with constant and matching power delivery, there is less sonic interaction with the room. The listening environment is simply less amplified, thus serving the more unaltered sonic projection. ”
Acoustic Geometry Offers Acoustic Treatment Kits at Best Buy Magnolia Locations
March 17, 2019 Comments Off on Acoustic Geometry Offers Acoustic Treatment Kits at Best Buy Magnolia Locations
“Acoustic Geometry also offers four Pro Room Packs (6, 8, 10, and 12) for dedicated listening rooms and home theaters, recording studios, and post-production rooms. Aimed at audio professionals and serious audiophiles, the kits are intended to provide “convenient and well-balanced room treatment solutions” through a combination of phase-coherent diffusion, “proven low-frequency room-mode mitigation,” and broadband sound absorption. All Pro Packs include fabric-wrapped panels, “ceiling clouds” (absorbers), curve diffusors, CornerSorbers, and mounting hardware.
The fabric-covered panels included with the Home Room Packs are available in “ship-from-stock” gray (Graphite) and beige (Serengeti) with other colors available via special order. Pro Room panels are offered in six readily available colors and 23 additional colors, which requiring longer lead time for delivery. Colors range from the popular Onyx and Birch to “unique color textures” such as Beach Glass and Sandy Pebble.”
Moon 390 Network Player/Preamplifier $5,300 Review
March 16, 2019 Comments Off on Moon 390 Network Player/Preamplifier $5,300 Review
“While high-res audio is a selling point of the Moon 390, it didn’t exactly need to be fed high-res audio to sound great. Listening to a 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC stream of “Woodstock” by jazz supergroup Hudson, John Medeski’s acoustic piano solo had a solid, almost meaty, presence, while Larry Grenadier’s standup bass sounded sinewy and clean. The cymbals from drummer Jack DeJohnette’s kit also had a 3D-like quality that made them float realistically in space.
I wrapped up my assessment of the Moon 390’s digital chops by comparing the performance of its built-in DAC with the Pioneer universal disc player’s using a handful of reference CDs. In each case, the sound delivered by the 390’s DAC was more precise, layered, and clean. The performance of the Pioneer’s DAC, in comparison, was consistently more recessed and less engaging.
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