Cambridge Audio Azur 851N Network Music Player-DAC-Digital Preamplifier
October 7, 2015 Comments Off on Cambridge Audio Azur 851N Network Music Player-DAC-Digital Preamplifier
No DAC should have a tailored frequency response, and the Cambridge Azur 851N didn’t. It sounded as flat and linear as every other DAC I’ve heard in the past couple of years. For the first week or so of background listening, I struggled to pick out what set the Cambridge 851N apart from the Benchmark DAC2 DX that had been in my system for the preceding several months. Slowly but surely, I spotted a couple of fine differences.
Music and Audio: The Blu-Ray Disc
October 7, 2015 Comments Off on Music and Audio: The Blu-Ray Disc
. There will be a complete set of test tones with detailed instructions as well as the previously described music examples and comparisons. Test your system with channel ID tones, phase and crossover tests, and frequency sweeps in a variety of formats. As the owner of all of the content on the Blu-ray demonstration disc, you can be sure that I’ll be able to deliver the project on time without having to worry about licenses from other labels
Polk’s T50 floorstander issues challenge to budget Pioneers
October 7, 2015 Comments Off on Polk’s T50 floorstander issues challenge to budget Pioneers
Sony Announces Hi-Res Audio Gear for the Car
October 7, 2015 Comments Off on Sony Announces Hi-Res Audio Gear for the Car
The XM-GS4 four-channel amplifier has a rated bandwidth of 10Hz to 100KHz and variable low pass/high pass filters. Intended as an add-on for the previously released XS-GS6921 rear speakers and XS-GS1621 and XS-GS1621C front speakers, the XS-GS1 super tweeter has a 1-inch soft dome and can be installed facing the windshield to increase high-frequency dispersion.
MAGICO M PROJECT LOUDSPEAKER $129,000
October 6, 2015 Comments Off on MAGICO M PROJECT LOUDSPEAKER $129,000
While the D-5’s ported bass and contoured frequency response are laughably “inaccurate” by Magico’s linear, low-distortion standards, the D-5 is anything but laughable in the listening. The added mid-to-upper bass sock that this speaker generates, the dark, rich, beautiful tone color from top to bottom, the Magico-equaling transient speed, and the superb treble are, in the words of my friend and colleague Andre Jennings, “simply addictive.” Another way of putting this is that the D-5 and the Wilsons are gorgeous, powerful, and finely detailed on every kind of music. Whether they also sound plausibly like the real thing on every kind of music is a different question. But let me say something else here that’ll rock the boat. For most listeners, the absolute sound doesn’t matter. Let me repeat that again: For most listeners, the absolute sound doesn’t matter. For most listeners, it is the effect of the absolute sound (or of the canned one, for that matter)—the horripilating visceral excitement and ravishing beauty of music and not a fool-ya simulacrum of, oh, a violin or a piano—that matters most.
Krell Solo 575 monoblock power amplifier
October 6, 2015 Comments Off on Krell Solo 575 monoblock power amplifier
Both versions sounded better than I’d ever heard them—but that was because I hadn’t heard this album in many years, during which time my system has greatly improved. What I learned was that the original pressing’s richer sound came at the great expense of image precision, focus, and clarity. The reissue put all of the instruments and voices in far more precise focus, though the warmth of Young’s voice in the original was now somewhat harsher. The bottom end had greater punch and precision. Though I found the reissue better focused overall, especially the drums, I could make a case for either pressing—and both demonstrated that the Solo 575 didn’t produce the velvety transients and textures I expect from class-A. With both pressings, the cymbals sounded neither romantic nor soft. In fact, they were a bit crunchier than I’d expected
CUSTOMART EI.3
October 6, 2015 Comments Off on CUSTOMART EI.3
Going balanced either works or it doesn’t for monitors. In example the Lime Ears Aether (5-driver) becomes sublime when using it in balanced configuration but the Ei.3 is one of those monitors that sound best when used single ended. In balanced you do get a more clear and spacious sound with more room between the instruments, but the mids and especially the great bass Peter put into the Ei.3 kind of disappear. When using the stock single ended cable on a non-balanced output you get good body, great impact and better focus. I fully advise to listen to the Ei.3 unbalanced but you should of course try it yourself.
DeJa Vu Audio, Western Electric, RM 1, Capital Audiofest
October 6, 2015 Comments Off on DeJa Vu Audio, Western Electric, RM 1, Capital Audiofest
Emia Audio, Dave Slagal, custom Quad ESL 57s, Triode Wire Labs, Capital Audiofest
October 6, 2015 Comments Off on Emia Audio, Dave Slagal, custom Quad ESL 57s, Triode Wire Labs, Capital Audiofest
Kronos Ltd Edition turntable review, pt. 1, introduction and overview
October 5, 2015 Comments Off on Kronos Ltd Edition turntable review, pt. 1, introduction and overview
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