Fiio F9 Pro $100 Review
December 21, 2017 Comments Off on Fiio F9 Pro $100 Review
“Due to a multitude of vents on the inner face of each earpiece, the F9 Pro provides just average levels of isolation, just sufficient for public transport but they’ll get drowned out in louder environments. They are relatively low-profile and can be slept in comfortably, they also produce average amounts of wind noise despite their rippled texture. The F9 Pro wears comfortably, with a minor ache forming at the rear of my ears after several hours due to their slightly larger dimensions.”
MCINTOSH MA8900 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER $15,000 REVIEW
December 20, 2017 Comments Off on MCINTOSH MA8900 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER $15,000 REVIEW
“The MA8900 was inserted in a system comprising SME 20/11 turntable, SME V tonearm and Koetsu Rosewood cartridge, Audio Research Reference 7 MK2 CD player, Elektra Audio pre and power amplifier driving Wilson Sasha speakers. Cabling used was Inakustik throughout, including the tonearm cable.
From the get-go, the new McIntosh drove the wicked Sasha speakers with arrogant ease. The sound was full-bodied, detailed, rhythmic, clear as a summer sky and effortlessly dynamic.”
FOSTEX TH610 HEADPHONES AND HPA4BL DAC/HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER REVIEW
December 20, 2017 Comments Off on FOSTEX TH610 HEADPHONES AND HPA4BL DAC/HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER REVIEW
“For those looking for a beautifully made pair of headphones, which can do bass like the best of them, you should definitely audition these headphones. However, for me, they are a much more attractive proposition teamed up with the HBA4BL as a partner, which is not only an excellent Headphone/DAC amplifier for the money, but also is a match made-in-heaven for the headphones.”
Pass XP-17 Phono Preamplifier Review
December 19, 2017 Comments Off on Pass XP-17 Phono Preamplifier Review
“The XP-17 finally is positioned several price classes higher, but very much deservedly so. Although the Pass has no tubes, it does sound every bit as fluid and organic as the SW1X. It is perhaps not quite as spritely nor as nimble and speedy, but it makes up for this with an even more sonorous sound with more powerful and more sonorous bass and a harmonically richer midrange, while simultaneously sounding more even-handed. Importantly, regardless of its full-bodied bass and rich midrange, the Pass sounds clear and articulate, well-balanced and very neutral. It actually combines virtues that are often contradictory: tonally full yet neutral, organic, rich and fluid yet clean, clear and detailed, and all aspects in equal measure.”
TIDAL FORCE WAVE 5 PLANAR MAGNETIC $300 REVIEW
December 18, 2017 Comments Off on TIDAL FORCE WAVE 5 PLANAR MAGNETIC $300 REVIEW
“Overall I loved my time with the Tidal Wave 5 headphones. Everything from the top flight construction, included accessories and impressive sound quality impressed! If you have always wanted to try a pair of planar magnetic headphones, then I can think of no better starting point than these wonderful headphones and you really need to check these out!”
iFi Audio’s iGalvanic 3.0 Review
December 17, 2017 Comments Off on iFi Audio’s iGalvanic 3.0 Review
“Where the Recovery cannot match the iFi piece is on its go anywhere flexibility. A wall wart power supply is required to get the Recovery out of bed whilst the iFi sucks on the host device’s bus power. For yours truly, that meant marginally better sounding MQA-d Bowie (A New Career in a New Town box set) with the Meridian Explorer2 driving a pair of Fitear Air CIEMs, all whilst sat in a hotel lobby with Microsoft Surface Pro 3 on lap. Perhaps we should see iFi’s iGalvanic 3.0 as the goto USB fixer-upper for road warriors.”
STAX SRS-3100 ELECTROSTATIC ‘EARSPEAKER’ SYSTEM REVIEW
December 16, 2017 Comments Off on STAX SRS-3100 ELECTROSTATIC ‘EARSPEAKER’ SYSTEM REVIEW
“The Stax SRS-3100 system is all about getting new people to experience electrostatic headphone (sorry, ‘earspeaker’) sound, and it achieves that goal brilliantly! People erroneously discount electrostatic headphone systems because ‘they are too expensive’, and then spend thousands on their dynamic headphone system. This deserves to be better known, because so many of those people would never look back. This really is ‘My First Electrostatic’ and if that fits your place in listening, the SRS-3100 is a joy to try.”
Rogue Audio RP-7 Tube Preamplifier $4995 – Review
December 16, 2017 Comments Off on Rogue Audio RP-7 Tube Preamplifier $4995 – Review
“I’m happy to say that the Rogue Audio RP-7 was good enough for me to use without yearning to switch back to my reference preamps. Of course, I did switch back to these reference preamps for comparisons sake. I put back into the system the Balanced Audio Technology (BAT) VK-33 preamplifier for a while, a vacuum tube preamp that is one I’ve used on and off in my system for over two years. This preamp sells for two thousand dollars more than the RP-7 in its standard configuration, and although this isn’t a shoot-out, I can honestly say that the two preamps are more the same than different, and that is great praise for the Rogue Audio preamp. I also reinstalled the two solid-state preamps I had on hand. After becoming accustomed to the different sound that a solid-state preamplifier offers, it was easy to deduce that both these preamps sounded superior to the Rogue preamp. But I was also astounded that the reference units were not necessarily better in every area. This is not a trivial matter, not only because both these preamps are 2017 Blue Note Award winners, but because these preamps much costlier than the Rogue Audio preamp.”
High Fidelity Cables Reveal RCA & XLR Interconnects Review
December 16, 2017 Comments Off on High Fidelity Cables Reveal RCA & XLR Interconnects Review
“I was listening to over 20+ interconnects when the Reveal line was introduced in the review queue. It quickly made it to one of my top picks. Most components are priced fairly but I believe the High Fidelity Cables Reveal line are priced unfairly…in a fantastic way. For under $1,000, especially for the RCA cables, I strongly believe it to be an absolute steal. As far as energy and resolution, I even preferred to HFC’s own CT-1 RCA interconnects.”
ProAc Tablette 10 loudspeaker Review
December 15, 2017 Comments Off on ProAc Tablette 10 loudspeaker Review
“the ProAc’s also differ to KEF’s similarly LS3/5a-inspired LS50 is on forward momentum and weight. The latter offer greater heft to better satisfy listeners trying to fill larger listening/lounge rooms, especially those who prefer to play it louder. Overdrive the ProAc and you’ll hear hints of upper-midrange strain. The KEF are the by far the more physically arresting speaker of the two.”
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