Audeze LCD-4 Headphone $3,995 Review
May 20, 2016 Comments Off on Audeze LCD-4 Headphone $3,995 Review
” Pitting the LCD-4 against the stellar Hifiman HE1000 headphone (also a planar magnetic design), it was clear from the get-go that they’re two very different-sounding headphones. The HE1000 presented a cooler tonal balance than the LCD-4, but it also unfurled a larger, more spacious soundstage; it disappears more. The LCD-4, meanwhile, definitely put a bit more meat on the bones of the sound of acoustic instruments and vocals, so they sounded more like themselves. Both headphones’ deep-bass, ear-massaging capabilities are extraordinary; there’s no winner down there. Treble sparkle, air, and delicacy are also very close, but the LCD-4’s are more effortlessly clear. I don’t know how Audeze did it, but the LCD-4 delivers extreme clarity, while maintaining a soul-satisfyingly rich balance”
GAUDER AKUSTIK BERLINA RC 9 $175,000 REVIEW
May 20, 2016 Comments Off on GAUDER AKUSTIK BERLINA RC 9 $175,000 REVIEW
” On Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg’s performance of Prokofiev’s Sonata No.1, the speaker’s ability to capture the beauty, speed, and transient response of the violin and the realistic timbre and dynamic of Sandra Rivers’ piano in a real space was on fullest display. The superb timing of this performance was felt to a greater degree than I’d previously heard in my system”
Spatial M3 Turbo S Floorstanding Speakers Reviewed
May 20, 2016 Comments Off on Spatial M3 Turbo S Floorstanding Speakers Reviewed
” I’m a big fan of loudspeakers that use something other than a conventional crossover in the 1,000- to 2,000-Hz region, which is what you find on most conventional two-way dynamic loudspeakers. I use the crossover-less Audience 1+1 V2 loudspeakers in my nearfield monitoring system and also spend plenty of time listening to planar design headphones, which also lack a crossover. Although the Spatial M3 loudspeakers do employ a crossover, it’s down at 800 Hz, which is below the critical upper midrange region. I found the M3s had a smooth and cohesive midrange character that I usually associate with a transducer system that doesn’t have a crossover in the upper midrange region. Although I did not have a low-power, single-ended tube power amplifier to mate with the M3 Turbo S speakers, I suspect the combination would yield a midrange to die for.”
ASTELL&KERN AK500N – FULL NETWORK AUDIO SYSTEM $12,000 Review
May 19, 2016 Comments Off on ASTELL&KERN AK500N – FULL NETWORK AUDIO SYSTEM $12,000 Review
” Of course, all those features would be moot if the AK500N sounded mediocre, or even merely very good. But in fact, it sounds spectacular; in many ways, the best player I’ve heard. In particular, the bass, from all digital inputs, is positively earth-shaking, with lots of detail and impact. Treble was smooth and harmonically rich, with realistic detail. Dynamics—micro and macro—were right up there with the best I’ve heard. Soundstaging is at least as good as anything I’ve heard in my system.”
ELAC’s Uni-Fi UB $500 Review – Video
May 19, 2016 Comments Off on ELAC’s Uni-Fi UB $500 Review – Video
Jeff Rowland Design Group Model 1 power amplifier – Review
May 19, 2016 Comments Off on Jeff Rowland Design Group Model 1 power amplifier – Review
” The Rowland Model 1 may just be too self-effacing for its own good. It refuses to jump out and grab the listener by the throat. It grows on you slowly. When Stereophile’s equipment reviewers gathered in the Stereophile listening room last summer to hear the Apogee Stage speakers, the original version of the Rowland was on hand to do the honors. Peter Mitchell reported on this event in his column in Vol.13 No.11 (November 1990). To make a long story short, he (and many of those assembled) felt the sound to be too dark, and the system restricted in ultimate output level with the Rowland 1 in the chain.”
Spendor S3/5R2 Standmount Speaker Review
May 19, 2016 Comments Off on Spendor S3/5R2 Standmount Speaker Review
” There are of course caveats to this raw ability. If you absolutely, positively must have that smack in your chest from low end bass, this is not the speaker you need but I would have thought you’d have probably grasped that by now. Even using a 2.1 system is likely to have some issues as finding a sub that matches the speed and tonal honesty of the S3/5R2 is likely to be a challenge. Similarly, the absolute scale that the speaker can generate is limited. In a UK lounge, you are unlikely to run into issues but if you need real ‘pin you to the wall’ dynamics, this isn’t the speaker for you.”
Aurender N100H Music Server Review
May 18, 2016 Comments Off on Aurender N100H Music Server Review
” Roon completely integrates music streamed from Tidal with music in your local collection. In Roon, music from Tidal appears right beside music in your local collection; there’s no need to switch between the local library and Tidal. The Search feature works on both your local collection and Tidal — type in what you’re looking for and Roon displays items from your local collection along with items from Tidal, the latter marked with a small Tidal logo in the upper left-hand corner of the album cover.”
Simaudio MOON Neo 280D Review
May 17, 2016 Comments Off on Simaudio MOON Neo 280D Review
” Another feature I discovered in the MiND App is the ability to access radio stations through vTuner. I really enjoyed this. I have a Magnum Dynalab MG-807T internet runner that sounds very good particularly given its all tube triode output stage, but can’t received HD radio broadcasts, which the 280D can, and it really doesn’t offer practically remote control. I hate to sound lazy, but I often listen to internet radio late at night, and it really is awfully nice to change stations using the MiND iPad App. I haven’t decided yet, but I may let go of the MD-807T and put the 280D in its place because it does so many things so well. I still have the Aurender N100H going into my Ayre DX-5 DSD through a stealth USB cable in my two-channel home theater system. I think that sounds slightly better than the 280D with MiND module but it is difficult to tell because we are talking about two very different system with the home theater system being much more forgiving, and the N100H/Stealth USB/DX-5 DSD combination cost a whole lot more than the 280D with the MiND module. A fairer comparison would be the 380D with the MiND module, but I am already really very happy with the 280D, so much so that I decided to keep it as my current streaming solution for the main system.”
JL Audio Dominion d110 Subwoofer
May 17, 2016 Comments Off on JL Audio Dominion d110 Subwoofer
” JL Audio’s most expensive subs have a way of making even the most ordinary double-bass lines absolutely riveting, and of easily parsing the differences between the similar sounds of the double bass and cello. The Dominion d110 didn’t do those things as well as JL Audio’s best, but it provided better pitch definition than any similarly priced sub I’ve heard.”
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