Sony MDR-Z7 $700 Review
June 30, 2018 Comments Off on Sony MDR-Z7 $700 Review
“First let’s discuss the bass response, which is stunning. Nothing is invented here, so if the track you’re listening to was mixed with moderate bass, the headphones won’t be boosting the lows like roughly 75 percent of the models we test do. However, if the track in question does indeed pack some powerful, deep bass, Sony delivers the ideal melding of clarity and full depth. On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the drivers deliver an accurate thump that will sound dialed-back to anyone used to the full-throttle bass experience typical of today—but there’s plenty of depth here. You’d never accuse these headphones of sounding remotely thin, and the entire frequency range is well-represented—it’s a crisp, detailed, full sound.”
Chord Electronics TToby Stereo Power Amplifier Review
June 29, 2018 Comments Off on Chord Electronics TToby Stereo Power Amplifier Review
“he TToby is a stunning achievement by John Franks and the Chord Electronics team. He obviously wasn’t willing to compromise sound quality for size or design. Most designers won’t consult with other ears when designing products, which baffles me. Mr. Franks, on the other hand, gets the team together for listening tests and takes feedback seriously. I have no doubt this is one of the reasons why the TToby is voiced so beautifully.”
Cyrus One HD Review
June 28, 2018 Comments Off on Cyrus One HD Review
“Cyrus also keeps intact its reputation for an even balance. There isn’t heaps of low end shaking the floorboards, but it’s far from being lightweight. The sweetness is mirrored in a typically rich and unrestrained treble.Switching to digital via its SPDIF connection, each of those facets appears to have been improved upon.The performance is generally more confident and more assertive, with the assuredness to dig deeper into the detail while concurrently giving the record more space to breathe.”
JL Audio Fathom f113v2 Subwoofer and CR-1 Active Crossover Review
June 27, 2018 Comments Off on JL Audio Fathom f113v2 Subwoofer and CR-1 Active Crossover Review
“As I mentioned previously, the CR-1 confers a big advantage by splitting the frequency band with a true high-pass and a low-pass crossover. There’s very little overlap between the subwoofer and main speakers around the crossover point, eliminating the unpredictable result of having two different sources reproducing the same frequency band—the range of frequencies below the crossover point but above the lowest frequency the main speakers will reproduce. The combination of the high-pass and low-pass filter lets you decide, by listening, how much of the bass range is reproduced by the subwoofer and how much by the main speakers. If your main speakers have marginal bass quality below 100Hz, use a higher crossover frequency so that the main speakers never operate below 100Hz. Usually, a higher crossover frequency results in a more audible discontinuity at the crossover point. But the CR-1’s extensive controls provide seamless integration even at higher crossover frequencies.”
KINERA IDUN REVIEW
June 27, 2018 Comments Off on KINERA IDUN REVIEW
“Congratulations to Kinera for putting up this kind of a development with this IEM after their first hybrid model, H3. They addressed every complaint in terms of overall balance of the spectrum, and overall control. This is more like it now. A great sub 200 IEM that shines with many genres with a great bass response and clarity on mids, as well as well accentuated treble response. Some things are still there like the slight lack of midbass, and a little bit thin lower treble region. But these I think could easily be tolerated for what this IEM puts on the table.”
Klipsch R-28PF Powered Floorstanding Speaker Review
June 24, 2018 Comments Off on Klipsch R-28PF Powered Floorstanding Speaker Review
“Keeping this connection configuration, I queued up Marvel’s Doctor Strange on the Netflix app in the OPPO. The hero music sounded as triumphant as it should. Dialogue quality was strong. In one scene where Dr. Strange speaks with the Ancient One, Benedict Cumberpatch’s voice was deep and authoritative, while Tilda Swinton’s was calm and even keeled. In all the fight scenes, the combatants use magical weapons that give off wisps and whiffs of air that the Klipsch system effortlessly detailed. In the final battle scene, as buildings collapse and reassemble and all sorts of mind-bending, physics-defying attacks are traded off between Strange and the evil Kaecilius, the Klipsch speakers captured every beat with clarity and dynamism that drew me into the action.”
Bricasti Design M15 power amplifier $18,000 Review
June 23, 2018 Comments Off on Bricasti Design M15 power amplifier $18,000 Review
“This pattern of less-than-ideal bass and a toned-down top end continued through a wide range of recordings. In the sublime aria “Se potessero i sospir’ miei,” from Handel’s opera Imeneo, from Philippe Jaroussky and Artaserse’s The Händel Album (24/96 WAV, Erato 33572994), timbres were true, but the high extension was darkened. As much as I appreciated the tanginess of theorbo and violins and the subdued tinkle of harpsichord, and could hear slight changes in the weight and color of countertenor Jaroussky’s voice during one long-breathed phrase, nothing shone. Jaroussky is an exquisite artist, but a key element of his brilliance was dimmed due to the Bricasti’s darker range of colors.
BorderPatrol P21 EXD power amplifier $14,450 – Review
June 22, 2018 Comments Off on BorderPatrol P21 EXD power amplifier $14,450 – Review
“As a for-hire Stereophile scribe, my job is to communicate my impressions of the sound of the audio component I’m assigned to review, warts and all. If I can’t describe an amplifier’s sound in a clear, concise, convincing, and hopefully somewhat entertaining manner, I’m not worth what Stereophile pays me. I like to think that, most of the time, I get it right—my 22 years of hi-fi reviewing put me in good stead: in the black, not the red. But for all my juggling of sources and speakers, spinning numerous LPs, and quizzing Gary Dews until he was ready to bust, any characteristic sound that the BorderPatrol P21 EXD may have had evaded my ears, at least at first. Its standout trait seemed to be its unerring transparency. But is any audio component truly transparent, imposing on the music no personality of its own and thus influencing the listener’s perception of that music not at all? Balderdash, I say. Nonetheless, I heard what I heard—or didn’t hear
Wilson Audio Alexia Series 2 loudspeaker $57,900 Review
June 21, 2018 Comments Off on Wilson Audio Alexia Series 2 loudspeaker $57,900 Review
“Yes, I’m an engineer, but I don’t mistake the road for the destination. Designers can and do take many roads, but their ultimate destination is the same: to allow listeners to be transported by their music to that place where worldly cares cease to exist. And that the Alexia Series 2 did to perfection—without smoothing over the recordings’ imperfections, without bowdlerizing the meanings of the music. I can’t pretend that the life of a magazine editor is not stressful—I knew it was going into it. But evening after evening, after taking the subway home from the office, I cracked open a beer—Dale’s Pale Ale, or New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale, or Firestone-Walker Union Jack IPA, or Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, or even Raging Bitch Belgian-style IPA from Flying Dog Brewery (footnote 1)—settled back in my listening chair, fired up my iPad, set the Roon app to its random-play Radio function, and let the Wilson Alexia Series 2s take me far, far away. That is what great speakers do.”
Audio Research REF 75SE $10,000 REVIEW
June 20, 2018 Comments Off on Audio Research REF 75SE $10,000 REVIEW
“One of the toughest parts of the musical spectrum for tube power amplifiers to reproduce is the lowest register. More often than not, tube amplifiers don’t have that last bit of grip that the best solid-state amplifiers do, yet some solid-state designs can come across over damped at times. Hair-splitting for sure, yet the 75SE produces a hefty amount of bass extension, combined with control and definition. Listening to Jaco Pastorius tear up and down the fretboard on his self-titled album, the 75SE gives an exciting and engaging performance, full of low bass grunt, combined with the harmonics of Pastorius’ complicated technique.”
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