Pass Labs XA200.8 Monoblocks $44,000/pair Review
November 5, 2018 Comments Off on Pass Labs XA200.8 Monoblocks $44,000/pair Review
‘It’s worth mentioning how well the 200.8s work with any source. I’ve used these monoblocks with about two dozen different sources, balanced and single ended with no problem. Using the Pass XS Pre and the Audio Research REF 6 (the only preamplifiers I have that sound equally good through the RCA and XLR outputs) with 20-foot runs of Cardas Clear cable, I could not notice any difference in sound quality. So rest assured, whatever your source it will partner up with these amps perfectly.
And it’s the same for the output. Whether using the most power hungry Magnepans, treacherous ESLs, etc., there was no speaker that the 200.8s had the least bit of difficulty with. I’ve never used an amplifier more benign in that sense than any of the Pass products. They are impervious to speaker and cable differences, making it all that much easier to hear said nuances. This is why I love using their amplifiers as a reference – they let everything else through.”
Uniti Atom Review $3500 Review
November 4, 2018 Comments Off on Uniti Atom Review $3500 Review
“As others have reported there are a couple of killer features in the Uniti streamer. Chromecast support is one of them, but maybe turn off Google analytics; you do not need to give them stuff! I think it is terrific to get music from other sources like SoundCloud significantly expanding your horizons for music discovery. The Bluetooth support is a fun extension to allow others to play their music while in your home. The Atom is a Goldilocks device; the porridge is at the right temperature, and the bed is comfortable.”
GoldenEar Technology SuperSub X Subwoofer Review
November 4, 2018 Comments Off on GoldenEar Technology SuperSub X Subwoofer Review
“A finely tuned sub such as the SuperSub X goes beyond mere extension and actually rebalances a system along more musically authentic lines. Capturing the realism of the concert hall is my goal. This is where the SuperSub X really shines. Partnering with the Revel M126Be it raised that compact’s performance by supplying a foundation that extends perceivably into the low 30Hz range, even touching the upper 20Hz range in my room. Bass quality was full-bodied yet controlled, exhibiting the requisite bloom and resonant sustain expected of deep lower octaves. In a brass ensemble track like Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man the bass drum not only had deeper pitch extension but also reverberant drum-skin textures and more graduated sustain. Similarly, during Rutter’s Requiem the pipe organ developed denser waves of bass energy projecting into the hall. Such low-frequency density aided in defining the soprano soloist’s position as well as the vast reaches of ambient space within the venue.”
Dynaudio Contour 30 $7500 Review
November 3, 2018 Comments Off on Dynaudio Contour 30 $7500 Review
“The Dynaudio Contour 30 is a product for “other people.” It’s yet another superbly engineered loudspeaker by the Dynaudio team (wish they’d make a dud and show some personality, if I’m honest), and it brings many new and established developments (like the state-of-the-art Esotar2 soft-dome tweeter) to a much broader audience. The Dynaudio Contour 30 is an incredibly accessible product. Within five minutes of listening you will “get” 90% of what it has to offer. And I believe that’s the point here.
If you’re a hardcore hobbyist reading this (and I know that many of you are), please know that most of your non-audio friends find your pursuit… over-enthusiastically geeky. They’d probably just prefer to be allowed to listen to their music in a simple, wonderful way rather than talk about and obsess over it. If they ask you what they should do when they want to get “something nice,” please don’t suggest they follow in your burdensome (to them) footsteps, for they will quickly lose interest and race off to the local Sonos outlet, etc. Instead, head with them to a local store where they can listen to the Contour 30s. I think you’ll find they’ll thank you for introducing them to a more comfortable high-end product that they will live with and enjoy for years to come”
ABYSS AB-1266 PHI CC HEADPHONES $4995 REVIEW
November 2, 2018 Comments Off on ABYSS AB-1266 PHI CC HEADPHONES $4995 REVIEW
“Next up I selected a more bass intensive recording. As I’ve always felt that the Abyss headphones have offered some of the very best bass quality and impact I’ve heard from a pair of headphones, I wanted to specifically see just how the new ear-pads affected this already impressive performance. “Lateralus” by the progressive metal band Tool was my choice to perform this specific comparison. As soon as the rumble kicked in from “The Patient” I could tell that the bass had changed slightly; but definitely for the better. The same depth and rumble was certainly present, but what I was able to discern was that some of the bloom with the original ear-pads was tightened up and made a bit more concise. Overall, as fantastic as the bass is with the original configuration, I found that the presentation now had among the tightest and most detailed bass there is in personal audio. To hear this level of depth, detail and texturing, I used to think you’d have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a full two-channel stereo setup. Simply put, when you incorporate their expansive sound-staging, these headphones offer the closest speaker-like presentation I’ve heard in personal audio and the new ear-pads help the Abyss AB-1266 Phi / Phi CC headphones achieve a level that I didn’t think was possible.
SVS SB-4000 subwoofer Review
November 2, 2018 Comments Off on SVS SB-4000 subwoofer Review
“Even used with comparatively tiny satellite speakers and a high crossover, bass integration is excellent, although I did find I got better results using a line-level input from my Yamaha AVR (bypassing its onboard processing), than via the LFE feed. My only real criticism of the way the SB-4000 behaves is a slightly odd one. This is a superbly controlled subwoofer, aided by some clever DSP, but there are times when I’d love to be able to make it a little more boisterous. Compared to the GoldenEar SuperSub XXL, which can be persuaded into great hulking slabs of unnecessary low-end if you ask it nicely, the SVS stays absolutely controlled. I’d almost like there to be a ‘Ludicrous’ setting in the SVS Bluetooth app (to join the Music and Movie presets), which I could select when I wanted to behave like a five-year-old.”
Wharfedale D320 Review
November 2, 2018 Comments Off on Wharfedale D320 Review
“We listen to a range of music from Miles Davis’s Kind Of Blue to Eminem’s Recovery and the Wharfedales take it all in their stride. They don’t favour one genre over another, and have enough in the way of attack, tonal balance and smoothness to keep us listening. Their stereo imaging is decently expansive and stable enough to pinpoint the position of instruments, while bass, always limited in small speakers such as this, is pleasingly weighty.”
iFi Pro iDSD $2,499 Review
November 1, 2018 Comments Off on iFi Pro iDSD $2,499 Review
“I think iFi have a real hit on their hands. The Pro iDSD appeals to many distinct audio constituencies. To owners of an entry-level DAC, the Pro iDSD is a formidable upgrade, both in features and sound quality. To owners of a mid-price DAC, the Pro iDSD combined with a high-quality PSU like the JS-2 would be a compelling upgrade. To tinkerers and tweakers like me, who already have high-quality PSUs and a reference clock, the Pro iDSD provides an extremely economical way to achieve a level of sound quality associated with $5k+ DACs.”
IBASSO DX120 REVIEW
November 1, 2018 Comments Off on IBASSO DX120 REVIEW
For the first time since the iBasso DX50, the brand chose to use one DAC only. It’s the “former flagship DAC AK4495” released in 2015 by Asahi Kasei a very potent DAC capable of decoding 32bit files as well as DSD files, if the processor allows it.It’s a full symmetrical stereo DAC from the Verita series, the one bragging velvet sound every time. Quoted from AK website :
“Five digital filters are integrated into the AK4495(…) and a newly integrated super slow roll-off filter having emphasized characteristics, providing a wide range of choice in digital filters.”To summarize, even up to this day, it’s a very good DAC with a 105dB THD on paper and 111dB THD with the DX120, thanks to an additional 7V supply.”
ASTELL&KERN SR15 $700 REVIEW
October 31, 2018 Comments Off on ASTELL&KERN SR15 $700 REVIEW
“As mentioned before, Astell&Kern has two outputs. I have mostly been using the 2.5 mm balanced one, as most of my cables are terminated to that plug. I will go over the differences between balanced and unbalanced later. One thing up front though. I know people say balanced makes no difference. While I agree that there is no general rule for that, I say, it is all about the implementation. The circuit matters. I know balanced outputs that outperform the single ended one, and I also know single ended one’s that sound better than their symmetrical counterpart. It’s all about the components used and how well they act with each other.”
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