PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium HP Review
July 17, 2018 Comments Off on PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium HP Review
“My experiences with the HP versions of the DiaLogue Premium amps have further solidified my opinion of this brand, which is that these really are excellent amplifiers that are widely applicable. One can do better, but it will cost multiples to beat them on all accounts.In case of these PrimaLunas, big transformers mean great bass control and lots of slam, but this does seem to come at the expense of some refinement. The Audio Research Ref75SE, with its smaller transformers, on the other hand, has an excellent low-level resolution but not nearly the fullness of sound, the dynamic reserves or the amount of slam that even the smaller PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium amp has, let alone the HP version”
Ypsilon Hyperion Monoblock Amplifier $93,000 Review
July 16, 2018 Comments Off on Ypsilon Hyperion Monoblock Amplifier $93,000 Review
“At the very same time, I would caution that all its power doesn’t simply mean that the Hyperion will blow down the walls of your listening room. Even more impressive in some ways is its ability to convey soft passages without a loss of resolution or immediacy. It was quite entrancing to listen, for example, to a Harmonia Mundi CD of Javier Perianes playing Schubert’s piano sonatas in B flat major and A major. The Hyperion helped to unveil Peraines’ supreme craftsmanship in the andante movements, where the music seems to hover in the air for what feels like an eternity before resolving into a new chord. This very ability to convey the pianissimo passages with such palpability—a kind of reach-out-and-touch-me character—meant that the monumental passages (and they are there, believe you me) came across with even greater conviction and force. The ability of the Hyperion to deliver the rolling thunder of the left hand on the piano was truly something to hear. Obviously, the Wilson WAMM has something to do with this as well. But the Hyperion does an excellent job of maintaining pitch stability in the bass region, which is something that I think tends to get lost in less ambitious systems.”
Paul Hynes SR4 Power Supply Review
July 16, 2018 Comments Off on Paul Hynes SR4 Power Supply Review
“In comparison to the SR4, the SR7 is more solid and refined across the board. Objective listening converts to an enjoyable session every time with this power supply. Natural sounding soundscape with a velvety smoothness I’ve never encountered from my system. There’s no sense of digital grain or harshness and it has the lowest noise floor of the bunch. There’s something very special about the precision and articulation of the SR7.I know I gave the title to the SR4, but the truth is, the Paul Hynes SR7 is unequivocally the best power supply an audiophile could buy today.”
Alta Audio Hestia Titanium Loudspeaker Review
July 16, 2018 Comments Off on Alta Audio Hestia Titanium Loudspeaker Review
“The imaging and sound staging of the Hestia Titanium is as good as I have heard in my room. It’s vivid and well resolved, yet the smooth mid band and treble provide great contrast to the dead silent background, allowing images to really pop into focus. Not as laid back as the Lansche 4.1, or as forward as the Sonus Faber Lilium, they most resemble the GoldenEar Triton Reference in soundstage perspective. The depth is excellent, and left to right width is limited to how wide the speakers are placed and the quality of the source material. The dipole mid band calls no attention to itself, but would appear to help resolve and untangle densely recorded compositions while adding a nice rendition of air and space when present on the recording. While precise, they were not as laser focused as the more than twice the price Lilium. There is a slight rounding to the outlines which sounds very natural and convincing with the Hestia Titanium. Here the Hestia Titanium and the 55K Lansche have much in common. Both present music in a way that very slightly de-emphasizes outlines in favor of a fleshier, dimensional image. Or perhaps they are simply rendering what the signal is presenting? Either way, this is hardly a criticism and is a quality that I much prefer.”
Audioengine A5+ Wireless Powered Loudspeakers Review
July 15, 2018 Comments Off on Audioengine A5+ Wireless Powered Loudspeakers Review
“It would be remiss of me not to evaluate the A5+ wireless capabilities via Bluetooth, and the news here is excellent, as well. The A5+ has the latest generation of Bluetooth technology (Bluetooth 4.0), with support for aptX HD, aptX, AAC and SBC, so that should cover just about any wireless device (whether Android or IOS) that you need to stream from. And with an operational range of about 100 feet. However, the real star of the show here is aptX HD, which allows for 24-bit upsampling and playback, with very low latency, and for the first time allows for better than CD quality playback via Bluetooth. I have two devices that are aptX HD equipped, the Fiio Q5 and my Huawei Android phone, and I can honestly report that the results are sooooo much better than I expected.”
SCHIIT VALI 2 TUBE HYBRID HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER/MODI MULTIBIT DAC REVIEW
July 13, 2018 Comments Off on SCHIIT VALI 2 TUBE HYBRID HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER/MODI MULTIBIT DAC REVIEW
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But, the real diamond here is the Schiit Vali 2. If you have not heard a proper tube amp, you owe it to yourself to do so. The Vali 2 is incredibly musical, providing a sweet mid range, deep authoritative bass, unrestrained highs, excellent dynamic range and detail, with an exceptionally low noise floor, and the power to drive most headphones without issue. Is their a better tube amp out there, well the Lyr 3 comes to mind, but at three times the price. The Vali 2 is a personal indulgence, a guilty pleasure if you will, I would go so far as to say that if you don’t have a tube amp in your collection, buy a Vali 2, for a $149, how could you go wrong, and you will add a dimension to your music enjoyment hitherto unexplored.”
CHORD ELECTRONICS QUTEST REVIEW
July 13, 2018 Comments Off on CHORD ELECTRONICS QUTEST REVIEW
“As I mentioned a few paragraphs earlier, I like to colour the sound after the d/a conversion step with my amplifiers. I like to bring a clear sound to my tube amplifiers. That is why the Qutest has been used mainly with the white filter, which is the pure reference filter. With this one in use there is a massive amount of details going through the RCA outputs.
Where the Qutest shines the most to me is the placement and separation of instruments. It paints a clean and clear, high resolution picture with impeccable imaging. The sound stage is both deep and wide as well as nicely airy. This comes especially to life when listening to live recordings, where you can really feel the you are in the room with the performer.”
PRO-JECT 175TH ANNIVERSARY VIENNA PHILHARMONIC TURNTABLE REVIEW
July 12, 2018 Comments Off on PRO-JECT 175TH ANNIVERSARY VIENNA PHILHARMONIC TURNTABLE REVIEW
“Ballerina has the same musical insistence as does Ravel’s zany Bolero. The 175 preserved this with a subtle but enjoyable sense of timing, the music rising and dissipating, as the music demands it should.As for rendition of female vocal, a must-do/must-have quality before I buy any component, the 175 does rather nicely as it did with Joni Mitchell’s timeless song, A Case Of You from her album called Blue.”
Dunu Falcon-C Review
July 12, 2018 Comments Off on Dunu Falcon-C Review
“The Falcon-C is a modestly V-shaped earphone that impresses through its nicely even midrange and clean low-end. It’s a bright earphone up top though neutral in tone elsewhere. In addition, as the Falcon-C’s background and midrange aren’t overly bright, it doesn’t sound unnatural. Its sound ultimately demonstrates maturity and a more realistic timbre than most competitors while remaining engaging and open in its expression.”
FINAL D8000 PLANAR MAGNETIC HEADPHONE
July 11, 2018 Comments Off on FINAL D8000 PLANAR MAGNETIC HEADPHONE
“Straight out of the box, the D8000 offered astonishingly fine bass and midrange performance, but with upper mids and highs that, though very clear, also seemed a bit reticent or subdued. However, after several hours of run-in time using a ‘Cascade Noise Burn-In Sounds’ track from Tara Labs, the D8000’s mids, upper-mids, and highs opened up in a magnificent way, so that the headphone’s tonal balance became pleasingly neutral while its overall resolution, transient speed, and focus took quite dramatic steps forward. The resulting sound was, I must say, simply breathtakingly good, though in an effortless and almost self-effacing way (the D8000 offers listener’s huge helpings of sonic excellence, but never sounds as if it is working hard to do so).”
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