KIMBER AXIOS HEADPHONE CABLE REVIEW
October 27, 2017 Comments Off on KIMBER AXIOS HEADPHONE CABLE REVIEW
“The bottom line is that Kimber’s Axios headphone cables can and do help high-end headphones be all that they can be—often in quite dramatic ways. The Axios cable is not inexpensive, but it rewards the enthusiast’s investment by really delivering the goods, both in sonic terms and in service of the music. Very highly recommended.”
Fiio Q1 MKII Review
October 26, 2017 Comments Off on Fiio Q1 MKII Review
“The Q1 has nice bass extension but sub-bass notes have a slightly softer, looser impact. Mid-bass is slightly elevated, granting additional fullness to its low-end, but also some added bloat when compared to cleaner, more linear sources. This sap a little texture and definition from bass notes though more mid-forward or cooler earphones such as the Rose BR5 MKII find great synergy with the Q1 MKII’s slightly larger bass notes. The Q1 MKII also benefits from a larger stage and generally impressive clarity that aids separation. Otherwise, bass is surprisingly linear, the Q1 MKII is tighter and more defined than its predecessor and appreciably more balanced than similarly priced sources like the Hidizs AP60 that utilize the same DAC chip.”
AVATAR AUDIO HOLOPHONY NUMER 4 REVIEW
October 26, 2017 Comments Off on AVATAR AUDIO HOLOPHONY NUMER 4 REVIEW
“It’s a truism but I will say it anyway, that Avatars speakers sound differently than all others. It should be obvious, even if you have never seen them before nor listen to them nor read any reviews – just read the introduction above. That does not mean, however, that they sound weird. They offer very capable performance with some typical high-end qualities, but with its elements composed in a way that initially seems very different from anything one has heard before.”
AudioQuest • Niagara 5000 and 7000 Power Conditioners $4,000 Review
October 25, 2017 Comments Off on AudioQuest • Niagara 5000 and 7000 Power Conditioners $4,000 Review
“What these records shared was a sense that the players were not just in the room with me but were in the same room with each other. The kind of noise that the Niagara 7000 was removing was not like the noise of children playing in the next room, or noise from traffic filtering into the listening room. The best noise reduction is reducing noise that’s riding along with the musical signal and disguising itself, not as background noise in the normal sense of the word. Power-line noise is an unwanted electrical signal that attaches itself to the recorded signal and strangles it of dynamic energy and rhythm. Fighting against that noise (by, for example, simply adding more amplification power) can add a more “audiophile” sound. Reducing or eliminating the noise, on the other hand, will make the performance sound less canned, reducing the sludge that prevents you from hearing the cues of real people in the same room reacting to each others’ playing. Miles Davis In Concert/My Funny Valentine [Mobile Fidelity UDSACD 2141], a fabulous Fred Plaut Columbia recording polished to perfection for this reissue, will sound pretty good on most any system, but with the Niagara inserted, the sense of Miles’s interactions with the band stood out as never before.’
REL 212SE Subwoofer Review
October 25, 2017 Comments Off on REL 212SE Subwoofer Review
“The combination of dynamics and musicality that a pair of REL 212SEs add to the mix is of such high quality, I had made up my mind after about 10 hours of listening (I was up until about 4 a.m. after Hunter left, the day he installed them) that this would be our product of the year. For my money, this could be TONE’s product of all time.”
B.M.C. AUDIO CS3 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
October 25, 2017 Comments Off on B.M.C. AUDIO CS3 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
“What held for the CS2, and still holds for the CD and DAC, holds just as much with the B.M.C. Audio CS3. This is the intelligent choice in high‑end audio right now. Aside from the CI monoblock option, you have to spend more – vastly more, an order of magnitude more in fact – to achieve any significant uptick in performance in every aspect apart from possibly its portrayal of musical timing, and even that’s questionable. There are many who say there’s no such thing as a law of diminishing returns in high-end audio, but I’d disagree. For me, it starts where B.M.C. Audio stops.”
Violectric V281 (Fully balanced German powerhouse) Review
October 24, 2017 Comments Off on Violectric V281 (Fully balanced German powerhouse) Review
“Conclusion: This is one of those products that gets out of the way and lets you enjoy the music, it doesn’t throw details at you, and yet it doesn’t veil them either. It is superbly transparent, with a smooth and natural delivery. This amp can power any headphone you throw at it and bring out the best in them without the hassle of having to try and find synergistic tube combinations.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy tubes for tuning the sound, however the V281 just works and is natural and neutral allowing you to hear the tone of your headphones and not the amp.”
SONY DSC
1MORE Triple Driver In-Ear Headphones $100 Review
October 23, 2017 Comments Off on 1MORE Triple Driver In-Ear Headphones $100 Review
“These impressions were made with the stock silicone tips. Please keep in mind the sound could change dramatically depending on the type of tips you use and the actual fit with your ears. With the supplied foam tips, the sound becomes much airier and the background blackens. This could account for some listeners who claim it sounds like an analytical IEM. I preferred the more tonally dense sound of silicon tips so reviewed in this configuration. Like many IEMs, the Triple Driver sonically transforms depending on the tips used.”
Pass Labs XA60.8 Mono Amplifiers Review
October 23, 2017 Comments Off on Pass Labs XA60.8 Mono Amplifiers Review
“Like all reviews, I hope that this one nails down one important point that bears repeating again and again: no audio system or component is perfect, even within the limited realm of home audio reproduction. It’s all about component matching to best meet each listener’s perception of perfection, whatever that may be. It’s all about trade-offs, and which ones are most acceptable to you, the listener.”
Von Schweikert Audio Endeavor E-5 Loudspeaker $35,000 Review
October 23, 2017 Comments Off on Von Schweikert Audio Endeavor E-5 Loudspeaker $35,000 Review
“I enjoyed my time with the Von Schweikert Audio Endeavor E-5s immensely. The E-5s meet their design objectives and offer a majestic, full-scale representation of complex and dynamic musical material. Although they will most certainly perform well in a large space, they manage the feat in a more typical, less capacious domestic listening environment. The pack of contending high-end loudspeakers begins to thin when you reach the $30,000 price point, and the VSA Endeavor E-5s should definitely be on the short list for anyone with $30–$40k budgeted for speakers.”
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