KEF R900 3-Way Tower Review
March 19, 2016 Comments Off on KEF R900 3-Way Tower Review
” The KEF R900 related this high-res DSD jazz recording with the essential warmth and detail I am used to hearing from my high-end speakers. A nice, spacious soundstage with plenty of space between the instruments. The top-end was never hard or edgy; the aluminum-based mid-frequency driver delivered a quick, tonally correct midrange — without exaggeration or hollowness.
The basss driver were equally impressive, with the metal drivers delivering good thump, but with quick precision. Since the organ‘s mid-bass chords are emphasized in this recording, I wanted to see if the port plugs made a difference in the midbass.”
Dr. Feickert Analogue Firebird turntable Review
March 19, 2016 Comments Off on Dr. Feickert Analogue Firebird turntable Review
” So I ended up doing much of my listening with just the very familiar Kuzma 4Point mounted on the Firebird’s right armboard. Later, I managed to mount and use the Mørch and Reed arms—but in order to use the Reed on the left mount without it banging into the Mørch, I had to move the Mørch from its rest, then carefully lift the stylus of the cartridge mounted in the Reed over the widely spaced side weights of the Mørch. I was able to use both arms, but not easily.
Questyle Qpr1 Review
March 18, 2016 Comments Off on Questyle Qpr1 Review
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The Questyle takes two of those but early users report that the newer $200 SanDisk 200GB play fine as well. That’s a whopping 432GB of year 2015 max capacity! Whether your music files store on a Mac, PC or external drive, a simple drag’n’drop transfers them to Questyle’s USB device icon. Obviously your Cupid One must scan each time you add stuff to write a new table of contents or your latest additions remain invisible and unfindable. Ditto for borrowing a friend’s card. Already this little paragraph showed why a premium portable player run off batteries may make for an unsuspectingly fine digital transport to output either analog; or digital into a full-size DAC of your choice. Most the arguments of “computers were never designed for pure audio to be bad noisy transports” fly right out the window. Put differently, portable players can be viewed as basic memory card readers to which are added a proper OS, display and search/access functionality. Imagine that in a dock with HDMI output.”
Chord RED REFERENCE MKIII HDSD REVIEW
March 18, 2016 Comments Off on Chord RED REFERENCE MKIII HDSD REVIEW
” This data is fed to the rear XLR and optical output connectors and also via a dual data bus to the digital to analogue conversion electronics. Based on the QBD 76 DAC the digital signal is converted from 176.4KHz to analogue audio. The DAC also features RAM buffer technology that sequentially takes in all the data, re-times, it then sends it out giving jitter free operation. Player features also an USB input that can be fed signal from a computer or music server.”
Final Audio Sonorous REVIEW
March 17, 2016 Comments Off on Final Audio Sonorous REVIEW
” What’s more, the ear-cushion-driver-cup assemblies become your very private dual-mono listening rooms. If the cushions leak, it’s like opening French doors right behind your speakers. The bass could disappear. If internal reflections aren’t controlled or managed, a sealed headphone could sound like a nearly empty hard room. Think lots of glass, tile floors and no absorptive materials like curtains, carpets, pillows and overstuffed furnishings. You’d expect a very bright sound. It’s only at first glance then that the notion of headphone ear pads being sonically critical seems silly or perverse. Once you realize how they’re an intrinsic part of your temporary double ‘rooms’ to help define their composite shape, volume and relative lossiness or absorptive index of the walls, it all makes perfect sense. Without getting nerdy, we’ll thus say that the little pillion holes act as air-pressure-relief micro vents. Aside from manipulating the mix of their composite casing between polycarbonate and glass in a precise ratio, then cushion foam of just the right compliance, density and shape for their driver loading, Final use the small holes as final tuning features.”
Moon by Simaudio Neo 340i integrated amplifier Review
March 16, 2016 Comments Off on Moon by Simaudio Neo 340i integrated amplifier Review
” While it plays music beautifully, it’s unlikely that the Simaudio Moon Neo 340i integrated amplifier was created for the inexperienced audiophile. Its virtues are substantial and varied, but much of its wonderfulness is subtler than my descriptions suggest. The character of its lively sound was strong—but a quiet strength. None of its charms jumped out and mugged me. It danced and sang well, but at its core, the Neo 340i was really about refinement and consistency. Through it, music sounded fresh and subtly articulated, always in good balance and proportion. Like Marantz’s classic tube gear, which it resembled in sound and appearance, this integrated amplifier was created for audio cognoscenti—those who know how rare a really well-engineered amp actually is. For these reasons, I believe the Moon by Simaudio Neo 340i will hold its value: The way it satisfied this listener with its Champagne Brut audio aesthetic should never go out of fashion. Confidently recommended.”
oBravo HAMT-1 Review
March 16, 2016 Comments Off on oBravo HAMT-1 Review
” I listen again to the HAMT-1 with the NuForce; time to listen to the Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin (Telarc). Dynamics is good, and in this recording it is abundant indeed. The low range is present, it is soft and always in control (hurray for the caps!). It is always a bit prevalent on the mid range that is pushed back a little, and has a warm and pleasant sound that remains a bit too tamed. This I must admit, is a characteristic that can be found in many headphones, no matter how expensive they are. All in all the sound is pleasant and relaxing.”
Klipsch X20i A New Flagship Review
March 16, 2016 Comments Off on Klipsch X20i A New Flagship Review
” Simply enough these IEMs really rock! Not only do they portray an incredible amount of detail and transparency, they let the soul of the music through and lead to a very enjoyable listening experience as well. Some IEMs like the Etymotic ER-4P or S offer outstanding detail retrieval and clarity, but sacrifice this to the “enjoyment factor” and over time would lead to a fatiguing experience for me. Geddy’s vocals were simply outstanding and upfront, you will not find yourself cranking up the volume to hear him sing…it is all there and in proper proportion to both the bass and treble! ”
Onkyo A-9010 Integrated Amplifier-DAC – Review
March 15, 2016 Comments Off on Onkyo A-9010 Integrated Amplifier-DAC – Review
“What surprised me, though, was how well the Onkyo’s phono section did against the Linn’s. With the Art Garfunkel and Earth, Wind & Fire cuts, the A-9010 sounded nearly as silky and smooth as the Majik-1P. I think the Linn was ever-so-slightly more detailed, with a minimally wider frequency response and a greater signal/noise ratio, but I’m splitting hairs. The Onkyo’s phono stage sounded better than it had any right to, given the amplifier’s low cost. And with the EW&F cut, the Onkyo strutted its punch as well as the Linn.”
Sonore Signature Series Rendu $2,895 Review
March 15, 2016 Comments Off on Sonore Signature Series Rendu $2,895 Review
” Using the DirectStream Junio’s remote, I was able to remain in the listening seat and switch between I2S and USB, and using my iPad mini, I was able to switch between Lin’s Kazoo remote app and Aurender’s own app. Basically I would just let the same music play on both so that I could simply switch between inputs to do my comparisons.
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