SONY ZX300 REVIEW
March 8, 2018 Comments Off on SONY ZX300 REVIEW
“At the ear, the ZX300 is a meaty sounding DAP. In particular, it floats across every earphone I’ve heard an incredibly wide and deep stereo scape across the entire low frequency range. Perhaps because of this, texture detail, let alone yawning, powerful bass, are at the top of what I’ve heard at length from any manufacturer, at any price. It’s the sort of texture that brings digital music a good, and grippy analogue feel. I have no idea what that means except that it pricks right near my heart. It’s not liquid-sounding like the AK240, or as precisely detailed as the AK380, but it’s got this stage that wraps you deep within, and most of that on the deep end. If you’re all about highs, I think you’ll get along with the ZX300, but its high-frequency stage isn’t as shockingly detailed as either the DP-S1’s or the AK380’s. Its mids are as good as either one, but its detailed lows are really what this player is all about. And, the longer I own the ZX300, the more I’m about. Wow.”
PIONEER PD-70AE SUPER AUDIO CD PLAYER REVIEW
March 7, 2018 Comments Off on PIONEER PD-70AE SUPER AUDIO CD PLAYER REVIEW
“But the design feature that is a standout for me has to do with the PD70-AE’s capacitors. These are no ordinary off-the-shelf caps. Instead, they were custom made for Pioneer and one huge reason why this player sounds so good and so different, from any of Pioneer’s previous flagship machines.
Connections are laid on and include one pair of gold-plated RCA outputs, one pair of gold-plated XLR outputs, one coaxial output, one optical output, one coaxial input and one optical input.”
Thales • TTT-Compact II Turntable and Simplicity II Tonearm $23,500 Review
March 6, 2018 Comments Off on Thales • TTT-Compact II Turntable and Simplicity II Tonearm $23,500 Review
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But as clever and precise as the simplicity II is, the one thing it lacks is incremental adjustment of VTA on the fly. A steady hand will allow you to adjust VTA while a record plays, but it’s not the sort of repeatable adjustment with manual lock and release featured by ‘arms like VPI’s JMW or the various Kuzmas. Given the remarkable precision engineering of the rest of the ‘arm, this is both one mechanism that I would have thought is well within the company’s compass to execute and one I’d love to see them turn their attention to.”
Franco Serblin Accordo – Review
March 6, 2018 Comments Off on Franco Serblin Accordo – Review
“Older Sonus Faber favourites can sound great but usually, I find them to sound a little too coarse, too rough, especially in the treble. Current Sonus Fabers are much more refined but somehow I also find that some of the purity and midrange magic of the classic models has gone. The Franco Serblin Accordos manage to strike a perfect balance between these two extremes. They sound fluid and refined but are also hugely communicative and immediately emotionally engaging. They demand a serious investment but reward with a sensuous luxury as well as an incredibly natural sound that I have not heard from any dynamic speakers costing less. By always allowing the listener to focus on the emotional message, not the technical details, they encourage to stop the upgrade process and just enjoy the music.”
EarSonics S-EM9 In-Ear Monitors $1799 Review
March 5, 2018 Comments Off on EarSonics S-EM9 In-Ear Monitors $1799 Review
“When compared with the similarly-priced Jerry Harvey Roxanne CIEM ($1795) the S-EM9 delivered more extended, detailed bass and sub-bass. After adjusting the Roxanne’s bass controls for a richer mix, the Roxanne did generate more midbass than the S-EM9 but not more low bass. The Roxannes were slightly more comfortable (they are a custom fit, after all), but both IEMs were comfy enough for multi-hour listening sessions. While both in-ears imaged quite well, the S-EM9 had slightly more specific image placement with greater sense of three-dimensionality.”
TriangleArt Master Reference turntable system $39,900 Review
March 4, 2018 Comments Off on TriangleArt Master Reference turntable system $39,900 Review
“The Osiris MkII’s arm tube is made of Ebony Makassar wood with a brass housing. This wood tonearm is not the same as the choices of material on similarly priced competitive arms, such as light and rigid alloys or even carbon fiber. However, the arm tube is designed to accommodate the two brass counterweights included and both are to be used even with the 11.9 grams of the Apollo. Tom’s customary reluctance in divulging technical details means all is in the listening. The tonearm’s specified cartridge range of 6 to 18g means care should be taken in selecting cartridges within that range; speaking for myself, I’d love to have the freedom to use some uber expensive and heavy cartridges on the Master Reference turntable, given its price class. Maybe Tom will create a linear-tracking arm with no practical cartridge range limitation. Lastly, the tonearm is wired with 99.9999 cryogenically treated silver wire and fitted with RCA connectors. At the opposite end, the cartridge connectors in the headshell are sturdier and more substantial than in all other headshells I’ve seen. With an effective mass of 35 grams at the highest, the Osiris MkII is a very high-mass offering.”
Beyerdynamic Aventho Wireless $449 Review
March 4, 2018 Comments Off on Beyerdynamic Aventho Wireless $449 Review
“It all comes down to price. The Aventho Wireless headphones look and feel great, and delivers a solid audio experience. The app is neat, too, though you might not notice a tremendous difference in sound quality. But we can’t quite get past the $449 price. We’ve tested plenty of headphones that cost less and deliver similar wireless audio. The Sony WH-1000XM2, JBL Everest 710, Bowers & Wilkins P5 Wireless, and B&O Beoplay H4 are all less expensive and worth your attention. We can’t say Beyerdynamic doesn’t offer a good audio experience here, but the price still seems inflated.”
IFI NANO IDSD BLACK LABEL $200 REVIEW
March 3, 2018 Comments Off on IFI NANO IDSD BLACK LABEL $200 REVIEW
“The Nano iDSD BL has a natural sounding tonality with a presentation that is easy going and slightly euphoric, especially in the vocal and instrumental timbre. Its staging is fairly open and spacious with excellent width and some decent depth and height but not the most extended. Instrumental separation in particular benefits from that open sound and black background the BL is able to project.
There are some nuanced differences that the filters bring to the sound of the BL. The listen filter adds a little more low-end warmth, particularly in the mid-bass and pulls back a bit more on vocal and treble presence. The reduction of higher frequency levels produces a very smooth and euphoric sound with good low-end body.”
Valvet E2 Stereo Power Amplifier $2,990 Review
March 3, 2018 § 1 Comment
“The constant connection to the music and outstanding level of enjoyment that is felt with the Valvet E2 can cause a complete rethink of your system, especially your speakers. After hearing what the E2 can do, it will seem unwise to have inefficient speakers that require gobs of inferior power. This is so obvious. No, you won’t be forced to replace your favorite speakers with huge horns that offer >100 dB efficiency. But speakers with sensitivities in the upper 80 to low-mid 90 dB range could be considered. As more audiophiles understand how great this and maybe other single-ended amplifiers are and demand higher efficiency speakers, speaker manufacturers will focus on developing more sensitive speakers. There are already some good options available today. The old wisdom of first buying speakers and then choosing an amplifier to drive them has a serious flaw. There are many good speakers, but very few amplifiers are on par with this Valvet E2. The sound system for the Orgasmatron will surely use this amplifier!”
HiFiMan Susvara $6,00 Review
March 2, 2018 Comments Off on HiFiMan Susvara $6,00 Review
“Another point that needs to be addressed is the paraphernalia issue. You don’t buy the Susvara and play them with a Chord Mojo. They will play and actually make nice music too but for them to properly sing you need gear with cojones the size of coconuts. Quality amplification is one thing, quality combined with quantity is another and don’t even think of playing the Sus with a single flimsy A class watt, no matter how good it is, it wont cut it. The Metaxas Memento Mori was fantastic but did not pushed them to the limit, the Air Tight was much more like it and the Viva Egoista 845 would have been great. Think Woo Audio, think Cavalli, don’t come with a knife on a bazooka fight. Trafomatic Audio has a new over the top headphone amplifier, the Primavera and I’m guessing this would be an out of this world good combo.”
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