Astell & Kern AK Jr Music Player $500 Review
April 20, 2016 Comments Off on Astell & Kern AK Jr Music Player $500 Review
“If these listening results seem a little mixed, it’s because I threw three headphone models with dramatically different personalities at the AK Jr, and then made its life even tougher with odd content choices—especially, as it turned out, the Beethoven symphony. If memory serves, the AK Jr seems a bit more dispassionate, and less euphonic, than either the original AK100 or its step-up siblings that I’ve tested. But it’s more truthful than schematic, and definitely don’t file it under ruthlessly revealing. It’s another winner from a company whose reputation as a class act of the high-end music-player field is well earned.’
Alluxity The PRE ONE and Power ONE amplifier review
April 20, 2016 Comments Off on Alluxity The PRE ONE and Power ONE amplifier review
” Alluxity Pre One comes as fully functional, fully balanced, module based high-end audio preamplifier with a relay based volume control. Under the hood, two large toroidal transformers serves power for the left and right channel. The Pre One is a zero global feedback design, assembled with the logic of the building blocks, making future upgrades or replacements both affordable and easy to do. ”
Pro-Ject RPM 9 Carbon$2,500 Review
April 20, 2016 Comments Off on Pro-Ject RPM 9 Carbon$2,500 Review
” Although there are decks that can carry a rhythm track with more verve and dynamic articulacy, the Pro-Ject has plenty of sonic skill and aesthetic class to rationalise its asking price.
CONSTELLATION AUDIO ALTAIR II LINESTAGE AND HERCULES II MONOBLOCK POWER AMPLIFIERS
April 19, 2016 Comments Off on CONSTELLATION AUDIO ALTAIR II LINESTAGE AND HERCULES II MONOBLOCK POWER AMPLIFIERS
” The second quality that sets the Constellation electronics apart is their reproduction of the treble. If the level of resolution I’ve just described is accompanied by the slightest bit of glare, etch, grain, hardness, emphasized transient zip, or forwardness, the sound quickly becomes annoying and fatiguing. Rather than fostering musical intimacy, such brightness precludes it. And here’s where the resolution of the Altair II and Hercules II becomes so magical; all that wonderful detail is presented in a supremely subtle, refined, suave, and sophisticated way that never calls attention to itself. There’s no need to soften the presentation of the Altair II and Hercules II to mitigate an electronic patina because there is no electronic patina. Moreover, the treble has a delicate filigreed quality that is unique in my experience. Although the top end has a full measure of energy and life, it’s also rendered with a sweetness and grace that are departures from the stereotype of a big solid-state amplifier. The combination of resolution with ease is, in my view, what distinguishes a really great hi-fi system from one that becomes transcendental. That quality is also what makes the Mk.II upgrade to the Magico Q7 such a triumph; it delivers more information and a more relaxed sound. One quality isn’t sacrificed to advance the other. In both the Q7 Mk.II and the Constellation electronics, resolution combines synergistically with ease to foster total musical involvement. The presentation is musically vivid without being sonically vivid.”
2016 EDITORS’ CHOICE AWARDS: LOUDSPEAKERS $500-$1000
April 19, 2016 Comments Off on 2016 EDITORS’ CHOICE AWARDS: LOUDSPEAKERS $500-$1000
” At just under $600, it is hard to imagine a better speaker for the money than this mini-Maggie, provided you have the space for it and a powerful-enough amplifier. Like all Maggie dipoles, the thing sounds open, airy, and unusually lifelike. Improved in overall coherence in its “revised” version, it is still not the last word in resolution, low bass, or top treble, but who cares?”
Bowers & Wilkins Audio System for the Volvo XC90 Review
April 18, 2016 Comments Off on Bowers & Wilkins Audio System for the Volvo XC90 Review
“Like a good centre channel, the front facing tweeter looks expensive and impressive and leads the musical pack. All the other drivers disappear behind silver or black metal grilles. Only a slight yellow hue of Kevlar pokes out. Through the equalizer (our choice, ‘Dynamic’) and musical modes (Individual Stage, Studio, and the choice of your reviewer, the Gothenburg Concert Hall), you can tune the speakers to your musical requirements (changing ‘Intensity’ or ‘Envelopment’ by sliders on the tablet-like screen). Look, you’ll have to suspend musical belief no matter how good the sound, especially if you want a dead centre view of the musical event with perfect stereo. If you can do that, and I could, you’ll be in for musical treats as you wait in the car or drive.”
JL Audio Dominion d108 Subwoofer Review
April 18, 2016 Comments Off on JL Audio Dominion d108 Subwoofer Review
” Audiophiles, however, know JL for their impressive-looking, audiophile-grade subwoofers like their mighty Gotham V2 flagship model, which costs $15,000. The Gotham V2 goes down past 20 Hz, and weighs a back breaking 372 Lbs! Next in line is the Fathom V2, followed by the E-Sub line, and now the recently designed entry level models, the Dominion Series”
Pro-Ject RPM 9 carbon Review
April 18, 2016 Comments Off on Pro-Ject RPM 9 carbon Review
“Finally, I turn to the Sheffield Labs direct-to-vinyl recording of Lincoln Mayorga & Distinguished Colleagues Vol. 3. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life is fast, clean and incredibly energetic. After the prolonged silence that follows the words “Alright, stand by!”, which somehow made it onto the lead-in groove, the players explode into action with all the adrenaline that comes from a live performance. The bass is meaty, tight and beautifully controlled. The saxophone is throaty and tuneful. Then the triangle kicks in and is crystal clear and perfectly positioned at the back of the group of musicians, adding a sparkle to the performance during the electric piano solo. This is a highly commendable rendition from an impressive turntable.”
SVS Prime Tower $1,000 Review
April 18, 2016 Comments Off on SVS Prime Tower $1,000 Review
“The sum total of the Prime’s package is one that feeds well into its mantra of appealing to both sides of the audio coin. I’d like to think that a two-channel application is a bit more revealing than that of home theater, but in the case of these speakers more transparency at a lower price point is a win for both applications. If you want to hear every note, foot tap and breath at $1000, then this is a speaker for you.”
NAIM AUDIO MU-SO QB $1,000 Review
April 17, 2016 Comments Off on NAIM AUDIO MU-SO QB $1,000 Review
” I’ve not logged as many hours with the Mu-so as I have with the Mu-so Qb, but in a way, the Qb is perhaps the more audio-enthusiast ready product; the Mu-so is a great gateway for people who aren’t audiophiles to gain new insight into the sound music can make, but it does have a bit of a boomy bass by hi-fi buff standards. That boom and bloom are significantly decreased in the Mu‑so Qb, and yet, it doesn’t sound particularly bass light. I can see Mu-so Qb’s springing up around the house of someone with a dedicated Naim networked music system in the listening room, and I can see that happening more with the Qb than with the original Mu-so – not because of the higher price of the Mu‑so, but because the Qb is more like a teeny-tiny Naim system than the larger Mu‑so. Some are already doing this, combining the big Naim system in the main room with devices like Sonos Play:3 and Play:5 speakers in secondary rooms. The Mu-so Qb is the perfect upgrade in such homes, and I’d wager that most of those homes will be almost entirely Sonos-free in fairly short order.”
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