PS Audio Stellar M700 monoblock power amplifier $2998 Review
January 26, 2018 Comments Off on PS Audio Stellar M700 monoblock power amplifier $2998 Review
“DirectStream DAC, DirectStream Memory Player, DirectStream Junior DAC, Sprout integrated amplifier, BHK 250 stereo amplifier, BHK Mono 300 amplifier, BHK Signature preamplifier—PS Audio has been on a roll. That roll continues with the Stellar M700 power amplifier. I have had nothing but good experience with PS Audio products; still, with the Stellar M700, my expectations were exceeded. Having little sound of its own, the M700 delivered well-balanced reproduction that was always faithful to the music.
AURENDER A10 STREAMER/SERVER $5,500 Review
January 26, 2018 Comments Off on AURENDER A10 STREAMER/SERVER $5,500 Review
“The A10 is a sophisticated product that makes enjoying music simple. It is a true reference level piece. For the Headphone Aficionado, it may be the missing piece to a system that is reference but does not require a desk full of gear and a tangle of expensive cables. The A10 performed beautifully with open and closed cans, Planar Magnetic, Dynamic, whatever I paired with it and for you two-channel speaker users it also worked perfectly as a Pre-amp with my amp and speakers. It has an excellent DAC. It can replace several items in your system in one beautiful box. What’s not to like? Highly Recommended!
Astell & Kern Kann $1,000 Review
January 25, 2018 Comments Off on Astell & Kern Kann $1,000 Review
“The Kann’s only downside is its somewhat bulky shape, though the Kann’s big draws are its abundant power and high-resolution capabilities which really bloom with the very best headphones. If you have a high-end set, the Astell & Kern Kann deserves serious consideration.”
AVM Ovation MP 8.2 CD player-D/A processor Review
January 25, 2018 Comments Off on AVM Ovation MP 8.2 CD player-D/A processor Review
“I could stream all day about streaming—but here I should mention a glitch I encountered, perhaps five days in, when using a wireless connection between the MP 8.2 and my router: The AVM suddenly, and for no apparent reason, dropped the connection. I was busy with something else when that happened, so it wasn’t until a couple of hours later that I shut down the system, remade my Ethernet cable connections, rebooted the system, and set about remaking the wireless connection. It worked for less than one full song, then the AVM again dropped the connection.”
Woo Audio WA33 Fully Balanced Headphone and Pre Amplifier $7,999 Review
January 24, 2018 Comments Off on Woo Audio WA33 Fully Balanced Headphone and Pre Amplifier $7,999 Review
“With the power hungry Abyss Phi (some were using speaker amps to power the Abyss, for good reason), I preferred the WA33 with 100% of my listening. There’s an application of palpable textures and visceral impact to all genres of music and I’ve found it sounds great with poor/harsh recordings. Guitars have more crunch, drums have more smack, and violins are tactile. The WA33 provides a more dimensional and weighted sound which complements the DAVE’s DAC beautifully. Separation and smoothness are also better presented. Surprisingly enough, I felt some of the micro-details were brought forth in natural fashion while female vocals and cymbals had improved timbre. From direct DAVE, the detail was there but it quite a bit leaner and thinner. I also felt the image was larger and more forward with the WA33. There’s also more sonic extension and headroom with the WA33.”
Bryston 14B³ Stereo Amplifier Review
January 24, 2018 Comments Off on Bryston 14B³ Stereo Amplifier Review
“When it was time for the Sonus faber Il Cremonese speakers to go home, I connected the 14B³ to my stock speaker system: the Vienna Acoustic Schonberg speakers in a 5.1 setup. Being so accustomed to this setup in my room, I could clearly hear the elevated clarity, dynamic range, and imaging I got with the 14B³ connected to the system. While not as impressive as the Il Cremonese, my Vienna Acoustics speakers displayed improved detail and weight in the midrange that I never thought possible with this speaker system. The Schonberg always possessed a smoothness and balanced character, and the Bryston did not take that away, but rather improved upon it with additional subtle sonic details.”
Jam Ultra $100 Review
January 24, 2018 Comments Off on Jam Ultra $100 Review
“But the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with serious gusto—like there’s a subwoofer in your skull. There are times when the vocals sound like they are distorting—as if you are listening to a very low bit rate file. This has the effect of making the vocals sound overly sibilant—not ideal at all, but especially not when they are also being somewhat overpowered by the bass response.”
CHORD ELECTRONICS HUGO 2 TRANSPORTABLE DAC/HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER $2379 REVIEW
January 23, 2018 Comments Off on CHORD ELECTRONICS HUGO 2 TRANSPORTABLE DAC/HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER $2379 REVIEW
“So here I am about 3 months into my Chord Hugo 2 ownership and I am still one very happy camper! This little unit has served as an excellent desktop DAC/amplifier for literally all of my headphones and IEMs, but has also performed gallantly as the guts of my portable setup too! While harder to drive headphones like the Audeze LCD-4, Abyss Phi, or Hifiman Susvara headphones will likely require a dedicated (and quite powerful headphone amplifier), I can’t think of any other pair of headphones that the Hugo 2 won’t drive without breaking a sweat! Throw in truly world class transparency and tonal balance and leading edge detail retrieval, the Hugo 2 is a slam dunk in my books”
SVS PB-4000 Subwoofer Review
January 23, 2018 Comments Off on SVS PB-4000 Subwoofer Review
“In the end, I lost … and it wasn’t any of the big, dumb action set pieces that did me in. It was a scene in which Dom (played by Vin Diesel) pulls his ’71 Plymouth GTX up to a New York City intersection, revs the motor, then floors it into a right turn. At roughly six dB above reference listening levels, the bass cranked out by the PB-4000 in this scene literally made me physically discombobulated. My chest felt queasy. My heart went floopy. I had to bring the system back down to reference levels just for the sake of my own bodily comfort. At no point during any of that, though, did I hear anything other than perfectly clean, perfectly sustained, perfectly forceful and articulate low-frequency energy.”
Sony NW-ZX300 Review
January 21, 2018 Comments Off on Sony NW-ZX300 Review
“This is a Sony very much in the manner of its personal music players we’ve had the pleasure of testing, but that brings with it the same Sony shortfalls. Were the NW-ZX300 to match its clarity with equally opulent dynamic punch it would be a shoe-in for an Award, but again this is where it misses the mark.”
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