Ampsandsound Kenzie Headphone Amplifier $1500 Review
March 10, 2016 Comments Off on Ampsandsound Kenzie Headphone Amplifier $1500 Review
” Will the ampsandsound Kenzie headphone amp be a great choice for you? I’ve written before that acquiring headphone products can be a “Jane! Stop this crazy thing!” habit. You could stop with any of the excellent lower priced amps and DAC/Amps I’ve reviewed (or choose one of the excellent Astell and Kern players, for example) and be absolutely fine. But we are attracted to this hobby for a reason, and this amp’s worth the extra money, to be sure. Some people will want an amp with more bite and slam than you might find in the Kenzie, especially with electronic and aggressive rock music. I’m listening to Mogwai’s “San Pedro” right now, and couldn’t wish for more, but I can see where some might want more torque in their tunes. I’m hoping that my chum, Michael Mercer, will be able to address this aspect of the Kenzie with greater facility. For me, though, this amp does many, many things exceptionally well, and rewards the listener with consistently fine, highly musical sound. Highly recommended. ”
Astell&Kern AK380 Portable Media Player Review
March 10, 2016 Comments Off on Astell&Kern AK380 Portable Media Player Review
” The AK380’s new DACs had transparency, warmth, and accuracy in spades. The stereo separation was unbelievable, which created singular imaging. And what a soundstage: wide and spacious, but with everything focused and staying put — unless the engineers intended otherwise.”
FOCAL SOPRA NO. 1 STANDMOUNT LOUDSPEAKER £6,599 per pair REVIEW
March 9, 2016 Comments Off on FOCAL SOPRA NO. 1 STANDMOUNT LOUDSPEAKER £6,599 per pair REVIEW
“But dissecting the performance of the Sopra No. 1 is actually doing it a disservice, and doesn’t even hint at its greatest asset: a tremendous sense of coherence where nothing stands out, or for that matter gets in the way. This is where on a musical level it proved to be quite addictive to listen to, whether pulling you in with a great sense of timing, or engaging one’s emotions with the sheer intimacy of a voice or an instrument. Being relatively small, after careful positioning the music was projected into a well-defined and spacious image, with the speakers all but disappearing with the right recording, and conjuring impressive dynamics from thin air. Under these circumstances, it was easy to find myself playing whole albums rather than individual tracks, and rather than sticking within familiar territory, venturing into music that I might have dismissed previously, which I think is always a healthy indication that the system is getting out of the way.”
Vivid Audio Oval B1 Decade Loudspeakers Review
March 9, 2016 Comments Off on Vivid Audio Oval B1 Decade Loudspeakers Review
” The B1Ds didn’t tame 21’s inherent brightness, but the shrieking shrillness wasn’t there — the sound was far more palatable. Listening to other recordings that have the same kind of top-frequency emphasis, I heard their top-frequency emphasis — the B1D didn’t roll off the topmost frequencies of the audioband in any way — but what I didn’t hear was the brittleness or edge produced by speakers whose HF output isn’t as well behaved. At first I was tempted to write that the B1D has one of the cleanest-sounding tweeters I’ve ever heard, but a tweeter’s sound is greatly affected by the cabinet surrounding it — diffraction can muck up even the best tweeter’s output. Instead, I’ll say that the B1D’s top end was the cleanest I’ve heard — ever.”
Devialet 800 Integrated Amplifier – Review
March 9, 2016 Comments Off on Devialet 800 Integrated Amplifier – Review
“My time with the Devialet 800 was a compelling experience. The 800 has been unfairly labeled a lifestyle product for it’s feature set, ergonomics and integrated efficiency. This is unfortunate as I strongly feel that it can compete with the very best audiophile components on any performance variable—both integrated and separates. The additional sense of ease, refinement and control compared to the Devialet 400 was easy to identify. Compared to other bench marks, the sound was “different” yet still highly enjoyable if not addictive. The Devialet 800 also provided a clear emotional connection with the music—a most important and critical requirement. All in all, a great achievement with superb design and execution.”
Fiio M3 Digital Audio Player Review
March 9, 2016 Comments Off on Fiio M3 Digital Audio Player Review
“I’ve always allowed that impression to color my perception of my car system, considering it mid-fi at best, even though I probably spent close to $2,000 on it. With the M3 playing though the car system’s aux input, which essentially bypasses all the head unit’s internal circuitry other than the volume control, I’ve been absolutely transfixed by how incredibly good the car system now sounds. The weakness of my car system is most definitely the internal digital-to-analog conversion in the head unit. With the M3 as the source, the system now plays with power, authority and finesse—I’m truly stunned! A word of warning: don’t even think about trying to make any kind of programming changes while driving, the M3’s display can be very difficult to read (especially in daylight) and the buttons are very small.”
Sonus Faber Chameleon B Loudspeakers $899 Review
March 8, 2016 Comments Off on Sonus Faber Chameleon B Loudspeakers $899 Review
” This speaker is well named. It’s the consummate Chameleon, drawing the best from a wide variety of designs and techniques of sound reproduction. Through exquisite engineering, beautiful industrial design, world-class fit and finish, and superior inner detail and resolution in its ability to make music, this speaker is a marvel.
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Nagra Audio Classic Review
March 8, 2016 Comments Off on Nagra Audio Classic Review
” Once we take a quick history lesson from the MSA, we get at a perfectly open Nagra secret. Nonetheless, it still comes as a shock to many who associate the company exclusively with tubes, hence linear technology. This engineering team from just outside Lausanne are experts at switch-mode power supplies. As Chord and Linn have done for untold years in the UK, Nagra have amassed decades of experience with this energy-efficient power-factor-corrected technology already. As you can see, the MSA had it. Would the more powerful Classic Amp? Unlike its gigantic HD elders, it’s still reasonably compact. And some of its new height is taken up by a heat sink ceiling. By necessity of its higher dissipation which supports about double the output power over the model it replaces, that thermal exchanger must amount to twice the mass over what the MSA flaunted. Everything thus pointed at an SMPS for the Classic too. ”
Definitive Technology Symphony 1 Headphones – Review
March 7, 2016 Comments Off on Definitive Technology Symphony 1 Headphones – Review
” Jazz tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine’s Blue Hour (256kbps MP3, Music Matters) showed me right off that the Symphony 1s sounded better than the Bose QC25s. I heard much more detail and sense of space, a flatter and more neutral overall frequency response, and bass that was tighter than the QC25s’, without the mild exaggeration of low-end level I hear from the Boses. I also used Blue Hour to compare the Symphony 1s with PSB’s M4U 2s, which I briefly borrowed from fellow reviewer Lauren Dragan. With this album, the M4U 2s had all the positive attributes of the Symphony 1s, plus a little extra: the sound of Turrentine’s tenor was even more open and detailed, yet also more focused, with a bit more midrange energy that slightly smoothed the sound. Still, the Symphony 1s were not at all embarrassed by the comparison; I expect that some enthusiasts might, in this instance, have preferred its sound”
Fiio M3 Digital Audio Player $55 Review
March 7, 2016 Comments Off on Fiio M3 Digital Audio Player $55 Review
” So let’s say that you’re an average Joe like me—never gonna own an AK or any other thousand-plus dollar personal player, for that matter—if for a hundred or so bucks, you could get great sound, higher resolution file playback with a pretty impressive feature set—I’m definitely on board for that! Fiio is moving in the right direction—take a look at the new flagship player on their website”
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