First Watt SIT-3 power amplifier $4000 Review
February 2, 2019 Comments Off on First Watt SIT-3 power amplifier $4000 Review
“Nelson Pass is that rare type of audio-engineering maverick who measures and listens with equal facility. He’s not wasting his time and your money trying to cram a thousand crap watts into a marketing department’s bling box. He does not believe that all measurable “distortions” are, willy-nilly, enemies of high-fidelity sound. Instead, he focuses his considerable intelligence and resources not only on reducing various types of distortion, but also on studying the essential natures of those distortions. He uses blind listening and ABX testing to understand how experienced listeners perceive distortion, and the role that distortion might play in helping our brains reconstruct the original musical event. In the SIT-3, Pass has allowed a carefully prescribed dose of negative-phase second-harmonic distortion to appear at low levels, with a tiny touch of third-harmonic distortion at higher powers. The second harmonic, he says, “fosters an illusion of expanded space and image specificity; the third appears to improve dynamics.”
Sound Lab Ultimate U-4iA electrostatic speaker Review $21,300 Review
February 1, 2019 Comments Off on Sound Lab Ultimate U-4iA electrostatic speaker Review $21,300 Review
“Depending on the music, the amount of bottom-end energy could be excessive and would call for tonal adjustments to the speaker. Hootie and the Blowfish’s “Use Me” continued the impressive demonstration of the U-4iA’s bottom-end capacity, but was so overtly present in the lower frequencies that it was in danger of overrunning the upper half of the spectrum. I adjusted the midrange and treble to +3dB to compensate and an acceptable balance was restored. To my ear, leaving the tonal controls flat brings a more “tube like” character from the Sound Lab, versus adjustment upward of them bringing out a touch of solid-state forwardness. Note that this effect can also be further increased or decreased to one’s satisfaction by proper selection of cables.
Another word about the Poem of the Chinese Drums; the U-4iA exquisitely renders the nuances of the mallet and drum skin interaction. With quite a large number of speakers, mostly dynamic or hybrid dynamic, the thump of the mallet whacking the drum comes off as a shuddering burst, an LF punch that has little character of other instruments such as piano and saxophone. To my delight, a splendid amount of the subtleties of the drum were retrieved by the U-4iA. Usually at that frequency, an electrostatic speaker coughs out a stressed throb, but the musical integrity of the LF created by the U-4iA was exemplary. This gave me the sense that it was more powerful than the rated 32Hz.”
Ayon Spirit III Integrated Amplifier Review
February 1, 2019 Comments Off on Ayon Spirit III Integrated Amplifier Review
”
The Spirit III makes music in a manner that makes it impossible to listen to passively. All Ayon products that I have heard so far sound dynamic and lively first and foremost and the Spirit fits right into this description. It sounds solid and full-bodied, but also rich in texture and emotionally involving yet without the round and creamy-rich presentation, that for some people is synonymous with typical tube sound. Indeed, amazingly, the Spirit III’s bass performance is on par with some of the best transistor amps that I have heard. Its performance is much like a live act: not obviously super-refined or very polished but highly energetic, dynamic and powerful, with articulate, fast and very solid bass to make for a delivery that is instantly infectious.”
MartinLogan Dynamo 800X powered subwoofer $799 Review
January 31, 2019 Comments Off on MartinLogan Dynamo 800X powered subwoofer $799 Review
“MartinLogan’s Dynamo 800X is the first subwoofer I’ve reviewed that combines digital control, signal connection, and room correction—all three wirelessly—in a small, powerful package. I heard no difference between the wireless and wired connections, and once I’d found good positions for the Dynamos, set their output level correctly, and identified their optimal crossover frequencies, their sound seamlessly blended with that of my Quad electrostatics, deepening the ESL-989s’ soundstages and deep-bass extension and expanding their dynamic range, and enhancing their three-dimensionality, all at a price far below that of larger subwoofers I’ve reviewed.”
EXOGAL COMET DAC AND ION STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER REVIEW
January 31, 2019 Comments Off on EXOGAL COMET DAC AND ION STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER REVIEW
“The Comet has the usual array of digital inputs plus a single pair of analogue inputs in a billet machined case with a headphone socket on one side and an almost unreadable LCD display. It does look cool though and if you get the angle right it’s possible to discern the reflective text and numbers from the matte silver background. The information is pretty basic with the chosen input at the top above the selected output, the latter offering main, Exonet, or headphones, a numerical volume indicator sits below both. A cheap remote control is supplied that can be used to change any of these but the simple app that Exogal has developed is a nicer way to do it. The latter baffled me initially because the Comet has no network connections or Wi-Fi antenna, it does however have a short Bluetooth antenna and that’s how it connects to your smartphone or tablet. Users of streaming sources will realise that this is all fine, but when you are choosing tracks with the streaming app you don’t want to have to switch to another app just to change volume. One answer is to use a second touchscreen device but the remote is probably easiest; that said, the app does make it clear when the output is muted as is the case at switch on, which can save some head scratching. Since its introduction the Comet has had one upgrade and that’s a new power supply; this is a £400 extra in a nice aluminium box (albeit with a power inlet that’s a little deep for chunky IEC plugs) and this was supplied for this review. The Ion also has an external power supply in a less sexy plastic case.”
Revel Performa3 M126Be Loudspeaker $4000 Review
January 30, 2019 Comments Off on Revel Performa3 M126Be Loudspeaker $4000 Review
“Checking boxes of individual sonic criteria is one thing, but it’s the immersion and scale of soundstage presentation, linked with image specificity, that are the M126Be’s most impressive virtues and make it the speaker it is. Most compacts excel at image detail—are born with it—but often this is the result of an overly bright tweeter, iffy inter-driver coherence, or just a light tonal balance. That’s not the effect I got listening and living with the Revel. Rather, the M126Be is more about a continuous musical embroidery of naturally scaled images within an ambient sound space. This is exactly what I got as I listened to Diana Krall’s “I’ll See You in My Dreams”—there was the sense of sitting-in with the band, feeling the wash of ambience energizing the space, the excellent upper-bass pitch definition, and the bouncy steel-string guitar solo that breaks from the speaker within its own acoustic pocket.
”
HiBy Music R6 Pro $799 Review
January 29, 2019 Comments Off on HiBy Music R6 Pro $799 Review
“This almost turned into a full review but then again there is a hell of a lot to talk about, so cutting this off at the right length to inform and I guess “tease” was a challenge. What I can say that at this point is the R6 Pro is looking very much like a contender for the price to performance ticket in 2019.
With more power, lower output resistance and an updated OS it should remain very relevant in today’s DAP market. I highly suggest you demo it in the forthcoming NAMM and CanJam events Q1 2019 and find out for yourself! Our full review will be coming along very soon also if you do not get a chance.”
LIGHT HARMONIC $1299 REVIEW
January 29, 2019 Comments Off on LIGHT HARMONIC $1299 REVIEW
“This has been a worthwhile debut challenge review for me on Headfonia. I think Light Harmonic have done a pretty decent job with the Stella in both resisting the temptation to let it all hang out with bloated dynamic driver sound or aiming for an easy darkish sound to tame the masses.
Yes, the Stella is slightly niche, more at home with audiophile standards, clean acoustical sounds and most importantly female vocals. But what it does, it does incredibly well, and it does stand out from the crowd on that basis.”
MBL Noble Line N11 Preamplifier $14,600 and N15 Monoblock Amplifier$35,200
January 28, 2019 Comments Off on MBL Noble Line N11 Preamplifier $14,600 and N15 Monoblock Amplifier$35,200
“The Noble Line N11 and N15 certainly bring out the 101s’ virtues without being hamstrung by their peculiarities. You might think that a speaker with a sensitivity of 81dB (or less), like the 101 E Mk.II, would be a challenge for any amp short of a behemoth, but the N15 (like the even more powerful MBL Reference 9011) never seemed fazed by the Radialstrahlers’ hunger for watts, volts, and amps. While I wouldn’t say that the N15s had quite the overall resolution or sensational treble snap and extension of the 9011s, they effortlessly reproduced hard-hitting bar-band rock ’n’ roll like Lake Street Dive’s “Shame, Shame, Shame” from Free Yourself Up [Nonesuch] at lifelike levels (ca. 95–96dB average SPLs), and they did this without sacrificing one of the very things that makes Radialstrahlers such a pleasure to listen to—their ability to play at very very high volumes without turning the slightest bit rough, bright, or annoying. (According to MBL’s literature, the N15 has a “soft-clipping” feature that, I assume, makes it sound even less rough and bright at very high levels, though this feature may also be partly responsible for the amp’s slight reduction in treble-range brilliance).”
Totaldac D1-Direct DAC $8,970 Review
January 28, 2019 Comments Off on Totaldac D1-Direct DAC $8,970 Review
“Each exquisitely rendered in photovoltaic relief from one another through the d1 like a strobe-light afterimage. As the almost falsetto harmonies of “doo-doo-doo-doo-do-doo-do-doo-doo” rise up glittering through the sound stage on a floating bubble of pure solid-gold energy I could feel my whole sofa vibrate in time. Just when you think their voices couldn’t go any higher the bridge hits and what has sounded etched on some sigma-delta DACs I’ve listened to this through, is glorious and liquid in its presentation, the totaldac’s R2R ladder and FPGA processing taming any treble burn completely and allowing their voices to soar up the scales. Pace, rhythm, timing – the hallmarks of PRaT – is what this cut is all about. Through the d1 every tonal and timbral nuance is presented without blurring or smearing with a speed on the leading edges of notes I’ve rarely experienced. Power, tonal accuracy, timbral delineation, a huge sound stage, three-point fadeaway jump shot decay and the ability to plumb frequency extremes without fatigue on upper regist
You must be logged in to post a comment.