Marantz HD-DAC1 Digital-to-Analog Converter $799
December 3, 2015 Comments Off on Marantz HD-DAC1 Digital-to-Analog Converter $799
“After hearing the Marantz DAC in two very different systems, I was eager to find out how it would fare in a more expensive and highly resolving system — my own. My Thiel CS3.7s are known for their accuracy, the PS Audio DirectStream is famous for its analog-like presentation and the new CAT SL1 Black Path Edition preamp sets a very high bar for transparency. Whatever the flaws of the HD DAC-1 might be, I would have no trouble identifying them.”
Emerald Physics 4.7 Loudspeakers Review
December 1, 2015 Comments Off on Emerald Physics 4.7 Loudspeakers Review
” Apparently, soundstage height is not as simple as how tall the speakers are. Remember Silly Putty? You could flatten it and press it on a newspaper picture to copy the picture. The fun part was to pull the edges and stretch the image, making it elongated and skewed. This is what the Magnepans seem to do: stretch the image. The EP4.7 sonic image is as tall when the recording includes it, but is entirely better focused and more correct. Singers do not appear as a point in space: the EP4.7 is too competent to make the mistake of presenting performers without size and dimensions. Voices are presented as emanating from a human-size head and body, proportional to the recording space.
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Pass Labs X250.8 Stereo Amplifier Reviewed
December 1, 2015 Comments Off on Pass Labs X250.8 Stereo Amplifier Reviewed
“Now that I have had the pleasure of having both the Pass Labs X and XA .8 Series amplifiers in my system, I have come to the conclusion that this generation of Nelson Pass designs is the best that Nelson and his team have created so far. I was expecting great sonic virtues from the X250.8 stereo amplifier, but I assumed that that the XA60.8 mono blocks would at least be slightly better in their overall performance than the single-chassis X250.8. This was based on two assumptions. First of all, mono blocks, because of their different chassis and power supplies, would create better soundstaging and space around individual players. Secondly, because the XA60.8 mono blocks are pure Class A, they would be somewhat warmer and more full-bodied and grainless compared with the X250.8. But in the area of tonality and overall warmth, I was unable to tell the difference between the two amplifiers.”
TRINITY AUDIO ENGINEERING TECHNE REVIEW
December 1, 2015 Comments Off on TRINITY AUDIO ENGINEERING TECHNE REVIEW
” The inclusion of a right angle adapter is a very nice touch and something that I wish other companies would also include. The final extra you get in the Trinity Techne box is of course the small metal cylindrical tube containing the interchangeable filter tips. There are filters there so you can fine tune your listening the way you want such as enhancing the bass, displaying more treble or even to create a more neutral response. I found that with the bass tips installed they were most to my taste for how I would personally use the Techne (as a dedicated bass canon) but if you were using the Techne as your sole earphone I highly recommend the middle filter set due to its versatility. ”
Dynaudio Excite X14a Review
December 1, 2015 Comments Off on Dynaudio Excite X14a Review
” But the Dynaudios aren’t the last word in attack. They don’t tear along to the track’s upbeat tempo with as much energy and drive as we’d like and there’s more life and soul in the saxophone melody than they let on. This lack of fun factor was a bugbear of the X14s too.:
Tellurium Q Silver Diamond Speaker Cable Review
December 1, 2015 Comments Off on Tellurium Q Silver Diamond Speaker Cable Review
” . OK, I can’t know whether this is IT, whether this is Geoff’s the last word in these aspects. It is possible that he will surprise us some day with an even better product. Let’s not forget that for some time Tellurium Q believed that they wouldn’t be able to offer even better products than Silver line… But they obviously managed to achieve that and what we get is an incredibly rich, full, natural sound.”
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Pass Labs New Headphone Amp $3,500 Review
November 30, 2015 Comments Off on Pass Labs New Headphone Amp $3,500 Review
“The foundation of the HPA-1’s engineering is a custom, low-noise shielded toroidal power transformer feeding a discreet low noise regulated power supply for the audio circuits. The importance of the power supply is often overlooked and plays a large part in overall performance of the amplifier. The HPA-1’s amplifier circuits are low-feedback, wide-bandwidth discreet designs employing J-Fet input stages and Class A-biased direct-coupled MOSFET output stages. The HPA-1 easily drives headphones presenting loads from 15 to 600 Ohms, particularly excelling on planar headphone designs. The sound is rich and detailed.”
LINDEMANN/PROAC SYSTEM REVIEW
November 30, 2015 Comments Off on LINDEMANN/PROAC SYSTEM REVIEW
“It’s hard to find flaw for the money. No, the system doesn’t have the home-shuddering dynamics, the extraordinary detail and transparency, the volume headroom, the bass extensions, or the seamless coherence of a system costing at least as much as an S-Class Mercedes. And the headphone amp, though good, is no match for the anointed standalone ones. But the thing is the Lindemann/ProAc combo gets close enough. Some think there is no such thing as a law of diminishing returns in audio, but you could be mistaken for concluding that line in the sand is drawn here.”
Trafomatic Audio Head 2 $1700 Review
November 29, 2015 Comments Off on Trafomatic Audio Head 2 $1700 Review
” The Head 2 uses ECC88 input tubes and 6N30P output tubes, one in each channel for a total of 4 tubes. The tubes are in a Class-A push-pull configuration with output transformers. The amplification is 100% tube based and can deliver up to 2W of power into 50 ohms or 26dB of gain if using the Line Out. I am a huge fan of the ECC88 tube family as most of them have low noise and a clean linear tube sound. The Head 2 comes stock with Electro-Harmonix 6922 and Sovtek 6N30P tubes which worked well and provided fantastic sound right out of the box.”
ALCLAIR CURVE REVIEW
November 29, 2015 Comments Off on ALCLAIR CURVE REVIEW
” The Curve is built out of plastic. One side is gray plastic, the other is transparent. It looks plastic, and it feels plastic. The look certainly doesn’t scream high end, but then neither does the price ($250), so no problem there. More important is that, even though it does look and feel like plastic, it looks and feels like solid plastic. It may not be a modern art masterpiece, but it is functional”
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