Arcam SA20 Integrated Amplifier Review
August 21, 2018 Comments Off on Arcam SA20 Integrated Amplifier Review
“This low-end response is something that might be too much of a good thing depending on what you elect to partner the Arcam with. My current situation is very much standmounts only for test work but I suspect that connecting a pair of speakers that have a prodigious low end anyway might result in a slightly leaden presentation but for more ‘normal’ partnering equipment, the SA20 should be ideal for the task. This is in part because it feels very much like those claimed 80 watts are always raring to go and there never feels like there is any shortage of power. Purely subjectively as it isn’t possible to bench them to confirm it but it always feels like the Arcam has a little more in reserve than the Cyrus ONE at any given volume increment”
Paradigm Monitor SE 6000F Floorstanding Speakers Review
August 20, 2018 Comments Off on Paradigm Monitor SE 6000F Floorstanding Speakers Review
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I wouldn’t recommend this song for a first date with a Millennial, but for a solo session it’s ballsy listening. The fact that the Paradigm Monitor SE 6000Fs can hold up at 100 dB plus while being slammed by 200-watt Classe amps in a big listening room was amazing. Robert Fripp’s awkward tone is nothing short of eerie yet somehow compelling.”
Schiit Vidar Intelligent Power Amplifier $699 each Review
August 20, 2018 Comments Off on Schiit Vidar Intelligent Power Amplifier $699 each Review
“Yes, for a moment, I thought I could sell off my expensive reference system and run away with a few dollars and live a simple life. And, no, I would not do that. At least not with the Pioneers. But, for $699 for the Vidar, $129 for the Pioneers (plus stands), and a source, the sound was exceptional. The Vidar is like being around smart people—it’s easier to make points, be understood, and have engaging conversations that leave one delighted. And, it’s also able to distinguish lesser from better.”
Audeze LCD-4 FLAGSHIP Headphone $3,995 Review
August 19, 2018 Comments Off on Audeze LCD-4 FLAGSHIP Headphone $3,995 Review
“I want to bring to everyone’s attention that the new headphone cable from Audeze is simply spectacular. Definitely one of the best cables provided with any flagship headphone. Everything from the outstanding build quality (braided and cryogenically treated silver-plated OCC copper) to the ergonomics and general feel exudes quality. This is one of the very few OEM cables that I have had absolutely zero desire to try and upgrade with an aftermarket cable. I’ve tried a few great quality (and expensive) aftermarket cables with both the LCD-4 and LCD-4z, but this cable is certainly right there with the best of them”
Pass Labs INT-250 Integrated Amplifier Review
August 18, 2018 Comments Off on Pass Labs INT-250 Integrated Amplifier Review
“The results were intriguing and somewhat surprising. The INT-250 showed it’s flexibility and was an excellent match for both speakers. I was concerned that the INT-250 and Strad combination would be just “too much chocolate in the pudding” and that it would tire the senses over time. This was not the case at all as I quickly settled in on this duo for many many extended listening sessions of pure joy. Though there was excellent synergy at all frequencies, it was the bass performance that got my attention. The Strads can really deliver the thunder with the right amplifier. The INT-250 proved to be up to the challenge.”
Sennheiser HD 820 Review
August 18, 2018 Comments Off on Sennheiser HD 820 Review
“Once given a little time to warm up, you’re greeted with a smooth, full-bodied tonal balance that trades the last ounce of transparency and sonic agility for the kind of sound that’s easy to listen to for hours on end despite the quality of the recording.”
Stenheim • Alumine Five Loudspeakers $60,000 Review
August 17, 2018 Comments Off on Stenheim • Alumine Five Loudspeakers $60,000 Review
“Likewise, I heard a similar but different sense of scale and proportion to the playing in the 1965 Martha Argerich recording of the Chopin Piano Sonata No.3 in B Minor (Op.58 [Warner Classics 825646 372867]). In this case, it was the clarity in the lines and phrasing, the balance between left and right hands that illuminated the piece, a sense of musical shape and purpose built on the system’s ability to be both loud and quiet, delicate and powerful simultaneously, preserving the attack, poise, weight and placement of even the quietest notes alongside the loudest and most suddenly explosive. Even the rumbling of a repetitive bass arpeggio couldn’t disturb the crystalline clarity and astonishing delicacy of the upper registers, or the way that each note was spaced and placed with musical purpose.”
Roon Labs Nucleus+ music server Review
August 17, 2018 Comments Off on Roon Labs Nucleus+ music server Review
“Who knew Jason would have the B-52’s in his library? “Rock Lobster,” sourced from Tidal and the NUC, had excellent impact, with good low-frequency extension. Streaming the same track from Tidal via the Nucleus+, perhaps there was a touch more authority in the bass. Perhaps. With “Every Day I Have the Blues,” from the Morrison-DeFrancesco album, the sound through the NUC was less authoritative, less open. However, the comparison was unfair: Though both versions were 16/44.1, I was streaming from Tidal with the NUC, and playing a WAV file from local storage with the Nucleus+. Nevertheless, while changing to the Tidal stream with the Nucleus+ reduced the difference between the servers, the Nucleus+ sounded still a tad tidier.”
Dynaco ST-70 Series 3 Stereo Tube Amplifier World Premiere $2999 Review
August 15, 2018 Comments Off on Dynaco ST-70 Series 3 Stereo Tube Amplifier World Premiere $2999 Review
“No device is perfect. But aside from replacing the tubes every so often, an easy matter of removing four screws (two on either side) and then popping out and popping in new tubes – you can’t miss with a little care to where the pins go into the matching sockets – and four screws to re-secure the tube cover. You are back to running like new in less than five minutes! And you could potentially experiment with different brands of tubes to get a slightly different sound quality to the presentation. But I found the factory chosen matching JJ Electronics EL-34 to perform wonderfully.”
Muraudio SP1 Loudspeakers $14,700 Review
August 14, 2018 Comments Off on Muraudio SP1 Loudspeakers $14,700 Review
“In the 1990s, I had a pair of Apogee Centaur Minor speakers and, fairly or unfairly, they’ve affected my view of hybrid designs ever since. The Centaur Minor had a 6.5” dynamic woofer alongside a 26”-high ribbon tweeter, and were murder to set up properly in my room — they sounded good only in just the right places, and then only if I never moved my head. If I moved my head even an inch to left or right, the soundstage would disappear and the tonal balance would go all wrong. But even with my head in that virtual vise, I could always tell which sounds were being produced by the dynamic woofer and which by the ribbon tweeter — the former sounded a bit rubbery and soft, the latter fast and crisp. Forget any sort of convincing reproduction of the sound of an acoustic piano, which ranges from the very low bass up past 4kHz — the very different sounds of the Minor’s drivers screwed that up completely.”
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