2017 Editors’ Choice: Loudspeakers $10,000-$20,000
May 23, 2017 Comments Off on 2017 Editors’ Choice: Loudspeakers $10,000-$20,000
“The UniField Two is a 2.5-way design in which a 7″ coaxial driver is augmented below 80Hz by an aluminum-cone woofer. Internal chambers define a mini-labyrinth, which significantly dampens the vent output. The coaxial technology together with a non-resonant enclosure yields exceptional soundstaging and image focus. Expect impressive bass-range performance when the UniField is matched with a high-damping-factor solid-state amplifier, though the bass balance will be shifted toward the midbass. The UniField competes effectively with British stand-mounts from Spendor and Harbeth, offering greater rhythmic precision and bass heft.”
VISION EARS VE8 REVIEW
May 22, 2017 Comments Off on VISION EARS VE8 REVIEW
“The mids in the VE8 are quite different from the more recessed VE5’s mids. In the VE8 they have more body making the whole presentation more linear. The mids have lovely texture with good depth and layering. They sound musical and natural and the voice are perfectly incorporated in it.”
Audio Physic Step plus Speakers $2,599 Review
May 22, 2017 Comments Off on Audio Physic Step plus Speakers $2,599 Review
” The closer to the wall you go, the more bass, but there reaches a point where it begins to compromise the exquisite imaging capabilities. Move the speakers up and back a few inches at a time, and you’ll know immediately when you hit it. The magic disappears, and it disappears abruptly. A similar effect happens moving the speakers side to side, go a little too far, and your hard earned coherence vanishes.”
BOULDER AMPLIFIERS 865 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
May 21, 2017 Comments Off on BOULDER AMPLIFIERS 865 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
“Bringing these qualities to a silky mid-range centric recording like James Taylor’s October Road album’s first track ‘September Grass’ [Columbia], I can revel in the joy of simple acoustic guitar, bass, and drums in a small group setting. Recordings like this are the audio equivalent to that favourite pair of shoes. They feel right and I can spend hours in them. I want to settle in for the afternoon and let the stress of the day roll away. What I do not want is edge or grain. I do not want coloration. I am seeking that hard to find accurate timbre and have the music create the gestalt of memory triggering the daydream qualities of returning to the moment – good times made possible by the time machine of music. Few pieces of kit make this possible. The 865 is one that does with aplomb.”
WESTONE LABORATORIES W80 UNIVERSAL-FIT EARPHONE $1,500 – REVIEW
May 21, 2017 Comments Off on WESTONE LABORATORIES W80 UNIVERSAL-FIT EARPHONE $1,500 – REVIEW
” There is very little to criticise in Westone’s W80. Perhaps the only ‘downsides’ involve the fact that the earphone is (not surprisingly) extremely sensitive to the quality of associated amplifiers and source components and is noticeably harder to drive than Westone’s W60/ES60 models. The only other minor critique I would offer is that the ALO Reference 8 Westone Edition cables (which sound very good, by the way), use jackets that are relatively stiff and therefore transmit a fair amount of mechanical noise when they brush against garments or desktop objects. Apart from those minor points, though, the W80 is a world-class winner, pure and simple.”
Elac Uni-Fi BS U5 Slim $750 Review
May 20, 2017 Comments Off on Elac Uni-Fi BS U5 Slim $750 Review
” They err naturally on the lean side of even, so ideally you’ll place them 10cm or so from a wall to get a more solid foundation, and a helping hand tonally. Toeing them in also firms up the stereo image.”
MB-5 Loudspeakers $6950 Review
May 20, 2017 Comments Off on MB-5 Loudspeakers $6950 Review
“Don’t get me wrong, these small drivers matched with the right amplification, can output frequencies way below audible providing the other important part of listening to music, which is the physical part—feeling it! I’ve got a sub in my room that isn’t even connected to the system where everyone that hears these speakers assumes the sub is in the chain—but once I show them the disconnected power plug, the jaws start to drop. ”
VALVET A4 CLASS A MONOBLOCKS $6890 REVIEW
May 20, 2017 Comments Off on VALVET A4 CLASS A MONOBLOCKS $6890 REVIEW
“Of course, while I love jazz, sometimes I just need to remind myself I’m alive by kicking up the volume a notch and letting some good old heavy rock and roll fill the house. For such moments, it’s hard to beat some 1970s Deep Purple. The remastered version of Stormbringer contains some of Purple’s funkier moments but it never fails to rock, with Coverdale and Hughes sharing vocals while delivering the most cliched lyrics imaginable. Somehow, this all seems in keeping with the era as the fullness of Lord’s Hammond organ runs,”
Devialet Expert 130 Pro DAC-Integrated Amplifier $7690 Review
May 19, 2017 Comments Off on Devialet Expert 130 Pro DAC-Integrated Amplifier $7690 Review
“With the Expert 130 Pro, Devialet has continued to build on the most excellent foundation of past successes like the 120 and Expert 200. Despite my apathy for such monikers as ADH and Magic Wire, their clever circuits continue to set the bar for audio realism. The Expert 130 Pro’s bass reproduction is preposterously good, and its nonexistent noise floor and extraordinary transparency permit deep inspection of the nooks and crannies of my music. Although $7690 isn’t cheap,”
MAGNEPAN MAGNEPLANAR .7 FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKERS REVIEW
May 19, 2017 Comments Off on MAGNEPAN MAGNEPLANAR .7 FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKERS REVIEW
‘While this is a single product review I have to comment on the synergy of the two Minnesota based brands; Bel Canto, and Magnepan. For a system that comes in at under £10,000 to sound this fantastic and to be as practical from a living space point of view is terrific. Small home owners need never look with wistfulness on their friends’ ‘Audiophile’ system again. This is not a compromise at any level. It is music.”
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