Bricasti M5 network player Review
August 29, 2017 Comments Off on Bricasti M5 network player Review
“The M5 positively shines using USB. In a way it has picked up some of the enthusiasm and liveliness of the Antipodes DS while retaining all of its smooth, organic and relaxed character and for this reason I feel that it provides an overall more high end rendition. Naturally this is also a matter of taste and system matching, but when taking the Aurender as a reference, the M5 has a different character but sounds closer to it in terms of overall refinement than does the DS. Taste matters aside (although I can’t stop talking about its superb bass and gloriously lush midrange), this gives the M5 the edge.”
World Premier Review of the $3,500 Astell&Kern SP1000 A&ultima Series High-End Music Player Review
August 28, 2017 Comments Off on World Premier Review of the $3,500 Astell&Kern SP1000 A&ultima Series High-End Music Player Review
“I did not dive into all the myriad of features and future upgrades planned for the Astell&Kern SP1000 A&ultima Series High-End Music Player. You can count on a ton of them in the works, including a high speed CD ripper which will plug directly into the 1000, sans computer. The SP1000 is beautifully packaged and comes with key cables and assorted goodies. Everything has been thought through, and the IRiver team headed by Owen Kwon is ready to serve all your needs now and in the future. I have never met a friendlier group of techies and music lovers. ”
VALVET A4 CLASS A MONOBLOCKS 6890 per pair REVIEW
August 28, 2017 Comments Off on VALVET A4 CLASS A MONOBLOCKS 6890 per pair REVIEW
“With the Valvet monoblocks I found myself enjoying some of the most coherent, balanced sound I’ve heard in my listening room. Bass notes are present, separate enough from the midrange to allow you to follow instruments easily without ever thinking they were dominant or disproportionate. Midrange is simply magical, with voices, strings and keys reproduced with a level of reality that makes you relax into the music. Upper frequency resolution is not softened as might be anticipated if the amps were to seem ‘tube-like’ but instead were clean and sufficient to serve musical purpose without drawing unnecessary attention to themselves. In combination, you hear full-bodied, realistic, musical instruments and performers with appropriate dynamic punch and swing.”
AMG Giro Turntable, 9W2 ‘Arm, and Teatro Moving-Coil Cartridge Review
August 28, 2017 Comments Off on AMG Giro Turntable, 9W2 ‘Arm, and Teatro Moving-Coil Cartridge Review
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Now, their recorded performance is very fine, one of the best of the set—if not as riveting as the one we’d just attended—and the engineering is also quite fine, nicely conveying the sound of the orchestra in its home, Davies Hall. Yet if we double-back to Valin’s notion of “real,” I gotta say that the Giro setup did not disappoint. That is not, of course, to say that it was a replica of the real experience, but as the reproduction of a large symphony orchestra goes, it was nevertheless pretty damn impressive.”
Totem Acoustic Sky Loudspeaker $1850 Review
August 27, 2017 Comments Off on Totem Acoustic Sky Loudspeaker $1850 Review
“A caveat: There are two sides to the Sky personality worth taking note of. It plays easily and pleasantly with lower-priced low-to-medium power electronics—perfectly at ease, but also a bit dry with a whitish top, its limits more perceivable. Fact is, what it really needs to take flight are higher-quality electronics. After all, that’s what those big voice coils and long-throw diaphragm are all about, right? Strap on seventy-five to a hundred watts or more of high-end power and watch the Sky soar. ”
Top 10 Best Portable Music Players For Audiophiles – 2017 Edition
August 26, 2017 Comments Off on Top 10 Best Portable Music Players For Audiophiles – 2017 Edition
“The body of the NW-WM1A is made out of aluminum chassis and Sony used MELF registers instead of Fine Sound registers found on the NW-WM1Z. Whether or not there is a huge difference in the audio performance it up to your ears. But I doubt that both DAPs will have huge difference in sound quality, by huge I mean really significant. Diminishing returns in audio equipment is very real and unfortunately huge as well.”
LZ BIG DIPPER REVIEW
August 25, 2017 Comments Off on LZ BIG DIPPER REVIEW
” Separation is wonderful if you leave the 1st switch closed. If you open it to get more bass kick, it veils the mids a little bit unfortunately. So you don’t get the best resolution that this IEM offers that way. But if you can live with a flatter, reference-like bass character than you can leave the switch off and enjoy a great instrument separation. In addition, transparency across the mids is wonderful at all times. Especially listening to female vocals is a joy. You can hear their voice perfectly clear as long as the recording is well mastered.”
Audio Research Reference Phono 3 Review
August 25, 2017 Comments Off on Audio Research Reference Phono 3 Review
“The Ref Phono 3 flexed its muscles once again when I played Richter’s performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 & 2 on Philips (PHS 900-000) If you do not yet own this album please do yourself a favour and pick up an original FR-1 on ebay rather than the Speaker’s Corner version. Even though it says Philips on the label, it is actually a Mercury production of Richter’s first ever recording at the Walthamstow Town Hall in the UK, using 35mm film for the recording instead of magnetic tape. Richter’s breathtaking performance delivered through the Mercury “Living Presence” sound poses great challenges for lesser equipment To reproduce the sound of a full size concert piano with all its dynamic spectrum is difficult enough, but to render the thunderous lower notes with clarity and distinction,”
MARK LEVINSON, VIENNA ACOUSTICS, CHORD COMPANY SYSTEM REVIEW
August 24, 2017 Comments Off on MARK LEVINSON, VIENNA ACOUSTICS, CHORD COMPANY SYSTEM REVIEW
“This cable really lets the signal breathe, pushing the musical performance to the fore and the system itself well into the background. So, the bigger the system’s performance envelope the more effectively it is able to disappear – and this system has a big envelope, both in terms of bandwidth and dynamic headroom: big is no problem, loud is no sweat. In fact, the presentation is so open, the tonality so natural and devoid of edge or harshness, and the dynamics so uninhibited and engaging that it likes nothing better than to have its volume control well advanced. Unlike a lot of systems, you don’t have to play this one loud, but boy are you going to get full value when you do.”
FLUANCE SIGNATURE SERIES HI-FI THREE-WAY FLOORSTANDING SPEAKERS REVIEW
August 23, 2017 Comments Off on FLUANCE SIGNATURE SERIES HI-FI THREE-WAY FLOORSTANDING SPEAKERS REVIEW
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The Fluance Signature Series Floorstanding speakers certainly provide a serious value. Pound for pound these speakers provide a serious amount of hardware for a low price. These speakers do well at high volumes, and can take significant power. While they are large and heavy Fluance did save some money with the cabinets, using a lower priced finish and going light on the internal bracing has made the sound suffer somewhat.”
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