Heron 5 Amplifier Review
June 6, 2016 Comments Off on Heron 5 Amplifier Review
” A true revelation was the ability to listen to the Rolling Stones on my HD800, any track, off of any of their albums, yes they remained poorly recorded, no “silk purses out of sow’s ears” (I was due a cliché). This is just place where my LCD-3f had always been my first choice, by a wide margin (yes the Audeze bass still makes them the first choice, just less so). The Heron 5 added warmth and bass punch as compared to the Taurus Mk.2 and was huge plus with less than stellar recordings with the HD800 and the Ether C’s that I listened to briefly at the Music City Meet. Several of the Ether C owners reported that the Airist Heron 5, in my setup, was the best that they had heard these headphones sound.
Tannoy Prestige Gold Reference Series
June 5, 2016 Comments Off on Tannoy Prestige Gold Reference Series
” You’ll notice that each member of the Prestige GR Series is similarly styled. That is, they all look like someone has fallen in love with an Edwardian-era gramophone – you know, when audio players actually looked like something you’d decorate the parlour with – and fashioned a speaker out of it. Or two speakers actually, because they do play in stereo. It’s a specific look that will appeal to those with a particular aesthetic, or perhaps those with a beautiful old villa where these beauties would look right at home. And to be honest, there is something comfortably old-world about the Prestige GR series, and when you’re sitting in a room the look of the loudspeakers staring you in the face does impact on the way you hear the sound.”
Rega Planar 2 Review
June 5, 2016 Comments Off on Rega Planar 2 Review
” Any hi-fi kit that’s going to get the best of SBTRKT has to be fairly methodical in its handling of flittering tinny beats, slicing percussions and frenetic rhythms, and while the Rega has the necessary precision and rhythmic know-how to coordinate them accurately in the soundstage, its delivery isn’t without enthusiasm.”
Meridian 808V6 Signature Reference CD player review
June 5, 2016 Comments Off on Meridian 808V6 Signature Reference CD player review
” The big news here though is the V6’s ability to decode MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) files, a Meridian-developed compression format that aims to deliver accurate sound while packaging hi-res music into about the same amount of space as conventional CD-spec (16-bit/44.1kHz) files.”
Bowers & Wilkins 802 D3 Diamond loudspeaker $22,000/pair – Review
June 4, 2016 Comments Off on Bowers & Wilkins 802 D3 Diamond loudspeaker $22,000/pair – Review
“Was the 802 D3 faultless? Yes and no. I heard no problems with it in my room and system. Its tonal balance was somewhat lighter than many, including the 802 D3’s 800-series predecessors, because the bass was entirely devoid of bloat or emphasis or resonance. Despite this, there was no lack of authority when that was called for, and the speaker’s reproduction of deep bass was formidable. However, some listeners may find fault with that new balance because it might not suit the sound of their system and room, or their taste. Further, the 802 D3 easily revealed differences among other components. Of the amps I had on hand, I liked Theta’s Dreadnaught D—it seemed most consistent with the D3’s balance of clarity and power. Parasound’s Halo A31 three-channel amp leaned a bit toward the clarity, McIntosh’s MC-303 leaned toward the power.”
Marten Coltrane 3 loudspeaker $100,000/pair Review
June 4, 2016 Comments Off on Marten Coltrane 3 loudspeaker $100,000/pair Review
” The Coltrane 3s also produced holographic, pinpoint images, both in front of and behind the baffles, as appropriate—but as I said of the original Coltranes, the sizes of these aural pictures were “more about bringing the event to you than about bringing you to the event.” I wrote that last observation a few years before I heard the largest loudspeaker models from Wilson Audio Specialties in my room, after which that distinction became more obvious. As with the similarly sized (42.5″ tall) Vandersteen Model Sevens, the overall width and height of the Martens’ soundstages didn’t compare with the Wilson Alexandria XLFs’ widescreen, floor-to-ceiling presentation.”
Parasound Halo 2.1 $2,495 Review
June 3, 2016 Comments Off on Parasound Halo 2.1 $2,495 Review
” Parasound’s effort to integrate the quality of separates into a single, functional, aesthetically-pleasing unit capable of providing high quality sound paid off in the Parasound Halo 2.1 Channel Integrated Amplifier, providing your speakers aren’t too inefficient or listening room too large. It’s certainly a well-built piece with a very nice internal DAC, adjustable analog crossover, flexible phono stage for duty in both stereo and surround sound applications, with our without subwoofers. The Halo does sound very good and is worthy of placing it on your short list of auditions.”
UNIQUE MELODY MAESTRO REVIEW
June 3, 2016 Comments Off on UNIQUE MELODY MAESTRO REVIEW
” Of all the flagship custom and universal in ear monitors I have tried this is potentially the most easy to get into. I am not going to say it’s the best, likely because there is not one, but for versatility this goes to the top along with my Heir Audio 10.A! Other than subtlety boosted, but still fast bass, nothing sticks out from this earphone, it is not forward or in your face, but not hugely distant and then it has the speed and technical capability for absolutely any music genre!”
TANNOY DEFINITION DC10 TI $9998 Review
June 3, 2016 Comments Off on TANNOY DEFINITION DC10 TI $9998 Review
” So, with the sub dialed in, I had a world-class loudspeaker system on my hands—though for reasons both philosophical and financial, I’m not sure how I feel about it. The subwoofer was not added as much for additional low-bass extension as it was to save the Definition TC10 Ti from itself—to correct the distracting midbass hump that I couldn’t eliminate with speaker placement, DSP room correction, or Tannoy’s port bungs. On the other hand, the DC10 Ti’s treble and midrange are so good that it may be well worth chopping off the speaker’s lowest octave-and-a-half and fixing the resultant deficiency with a sub. Maybe you already have a good subwoofer in use with a pair of quality stand-mounted monitors that fall short in handling the complex sonorities and dynamic power of large-scale music. Swapping out those monitors for the DC10 Ti’s could actually be a substantial (and cost-effective) upgrade.”
Aurender N100H Music Server $2699 Review
June 2, 2016 Comments Off on Aurender N100H Music Server $2699 Review
” My biggest quibble with Roon is that it lacks a Folder view, which would allow me to select individual files of the same name but different encoding. On the other hand, Roon automatically identifies and displays new albums I load onto my NAS. Roon isn’t perfect — no app in my experience is — but it found noticeably more album covers than Conductor. I preferred Conductor to the Roon remote for the iPad; it seemed easier to find albums when they were displayed by name. But the Roon remote running on my laptop computer seemed to equal Conductor. However, the laptop’s battery life was far shorter than the iPad’s, so for overall ease of use, Conductor was the winner. It also offered several more ways to sort albums. Nonetheless, Roon remains unparalleled in the amount of information it provides about the music in my collection.”
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