KEF M400 Headphone Review
May 13, 2016 Comments Off on KEF M400 Headphone Review
” All in all, the M400 sounds refined and clear, with bass that is definitely goosed up just a tad. I’m not normally a fan of overemphasized bass, but it’s done tastefully here on the M400, and I rather enjoyed it. And that pretty much sums up my feelings about this headphone: The M400 strikes a perfect balance of comfort, value, sound quality, portability, and style.”
SONY SS-NA5ES $6000 Review
May 13, 2016 Comments Off on SONY SS-NA5ES $6000 Review
” The resolution of the sonic picture and the sense of nothing added, no grunge in the background, are continuing sources of musical pleasure. One is listening only to the music, not to any artifacts from the speaker itself. Wonderful!”
JOSEPH AUDIO PRISM Review $3699
May 13, 2016 Comments Off on JOSEPH AUDIO PRISM Review $3699
The Prism’s port is claimed to extend its low-frequency response to 45Hz. I did some sinewave sweeps from 200Hz to 40Hz in the nearfield setup (where there would be very little room-induced group delay) and found the Prisms retain bass output with only a bit of attenuation to around 55Hz. It’s no wonder that I found integrating a subwoofer so easy.”
Rhapsodio Solar Review
May 13, 2016 Comments Off on Rhapsodio Solar Review
” The overall stage depth is better on Zeus and it is airier with a bit wider stage. Zeus spreads neutral air between instruments, while Solar has much warmer air in the area due to mid-bass presentation. Both have an impressive instrument separation, but Solar’s background is blacker by very small margin. On the other hand, Zeus has definitely clearer and cleaner background. Zeus has better imaging, but Solar is more coherent with a bit better focusing ability.”
VTL • S-400 Series II Reference Stereo Amplifier $33,500 Review
May 12, 2016 Comments Off on VTL • S-400 Series II Reference Stereo Amplifier $33,500 Review
” But the S-400 II is that rarest of beasts, a genuinely capable all-rounder. With enough power, control and adaptability to drive all but the most outrageous speaker loads, the big VTL is agile and deft enough to work with far less demanding partners too. Focal’s Sopra No.2 and the Coincident Pure Reference Extreme both proved willing partners, despite their easy loads and high efficiency; and this, it should be noted, without resorting to the triode setting on the amp (something which frankly and as usual in such cases only serves to draw a veil over proceedings; if this amp sounds better in triode mode, then you have problems elsewhere in the system). This isn’t just one of the best and most enjoyable amps I’ve ever used, it’s also the most versatile, meaning not only that it will work in an astonishingly wide range of system contexts, but that it will embrace system upgrades and changes in circumstances with equal aplomb — and when it comes to hidden value, that’s not to be underestimated.”
CARDAS A8 INNER EAR MONITORS REVIEW
May 12, 2016 Comments Off on CARDAS A8 INNER EAR MONITORS REVIEW
“Cardas is primarily a high end cable firm, so as you’d expect, the A8s have a nicely innovative cable with just the right amount of springiness in them. The cable, a version of their acclaimed Cardas Clear line, is woven around a semi-elastic center core with the Clear wire stranded in a helix. It looks cool and distinctive, and terminates at the amp end with an angled 1/8 inch jack. They are comfortable too, and I did experiment with the several “tips” that are included in the zippered faux leather circular pouch that they are bundled in.”
Verity Audio Sarastro IIS Review
May 12, 2016 Comments Off on Verity Audio Sarastro IIS Review
” From this point on I left the reference records on the shelf. There were no anomalies that called for further investigation. After only one day it was obvious that during upcoming reviews of other components I would be able to rely on the Veritys just as much as on my Lumens, which I have trusted for a whole decade now. The Sarastros possess such an amazing fine resolution that you can easily judge the amount of fine detail in different Ethernet cables. When mastering engineer Christoph Stickel, who I successfully collaborated with on a number of productions in recent years, joined me to compare the Ayon S-3 to the Auralic Aries Femto combined with a Chord Hugo TT for a bit of fun, the Sarastros clearly revealed the difference in representing room depth and height.”
Kronos Adds Optional D.C. Accumulator Power to Pro Turntable
May 11, 2016 Comments Off on Kronos Adds Optional D.C. Accumulator Power to Pro Turntable
Devialet Phantom Wireless Speaker System Review
May 11, 2016 Comments Off on Devialet Phantom Wireless Speaker System Review
“Midrange and treble response wasn’t as extraordinary—I didn’t get that liquid, juicy feeling you can sometimes get from great speakers—but what I did hear I can only characterize as competent and neutral…maybe slightly hard sounding in the mid- and upper-midrange. The Phantoms can play very loud. A 55/100 volume in the Spark app produced a solid listening level. The Phantoms seemed to remain quite composed at any listening level I could stand, though their slightly hard midrange became more apparent as volume increased. Of course, that could have been my ears and brain telling me to turn it down.”
MOJO-KAI REVIEW
May 10, 2016 Comments Off on MOJO-KAI REVIEW
” Whatever the case, Mojo-Kai is especially well suited to earphones. If you’re a balanced earphone user worried by the shameful output of your DP-X1 and AK380, not to mention Opus#1, Mojo-Kai is your best bet. It plays nice with any device with USB protocol, and thanks to transformer coupling, is less susceptible to RF interference through coaxial input (tested with Lynx HILO with nearby iPhone 6). It is a good design. It is, in fact, a design that makes more sense to me than the stock Mojo, whose second output is redundant.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.