AUDIOPHILE 9.5.4 Dolby Atmos Theater Tour!
August 27, 2023 Comments Off on AUDIOPHILE 9.5.4 Dolby Atmos Theater Tour!
AudioQuest XLR Chronicles REVIEW
August 26, 2023 Comments Off on AudioQuest XLR Chronicles REVIEW
Before the AudioQuest Thunderbird and Firebird XLR interconnect cables arrived, the Wind was my go-to for AQ XLR connection. Aside from the Mythical Creatures cables, the Wind was the only AQ interconnect I had with the DBS technology. I’ve been using them a lot over the last few years.
The Wind, along with the other AQ XLR interconnect cables I have on hand, all belong to the Rivers & Elements series. It uses AQ’s Solid Perfect-Surface Silver (PSS) conductors.
While the Thunderbird and Firebird were downright triumphant when it came to disappearing within my system, the Wind wasn’t far behind. (In fact, I’ll venture to say that the Wind and the Thunderbird were fairly close in this respect, but still distant from the Firebird.) I also found that the Wind could approach the quiet, revealing nature of the Mythical Creatures cables when used with other grounding and noise-reduction products–such as those GroundGoody grounding wires. The Firebird and the Thunderbird, however, easily accomplished those goals with little or no assistance.
Musical Fidelity M8xi Review
August 26, 2023 Comments Off on Musical Fidelity M8xi Review
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/musical-fidelity-m8xi
For those power-hungry obsessives of the opinion that no matter how much power is on tap it’ll never be enough, or those that are simply looking for an integrated suitably flexible that they can invest in impossibly finickity and insensitive loudspeakers in the future, the M8xi obviously ticks all the right boxes. However, to consider it a brute that’s solely capable of boom and bombast is to miss the point. In the same way football commentator’s so often note: “He’s got a surprisingly good touch for a big man” if any forward over six feet tall shows a semblance of ball control, this is an accomplished performer that’s just as comfortable precisely replicating the smaller lighter details as it is the big stuff. Fast, flexible and impressively faithful to the recording, it’s a superb amplifier and deserves to be right near the top of any wishlist
FiiO M15S Desktop Music Player $999 Review
August 25, 2023 Comments Off on FiiO M15S Desktop Music Player $999 Review
Performance was so good with the expanse that I had no qualms stepping over to the HiFiMAN HE6se which is my hardest-to-drive headphone. Queuing up Speakers Corner Quartet’s “Further Out Than The Edge” (24-bit/44.1kHz – Qobuz), again I was able to get excellent dynamics out of lower than expected gain settings, this time “medium gain”, but I quickly moved up to “ultra high gain” which put loud at about 107 out of 120 with this electronica / jazz / hip-hop quartet, easily scaling the amp’ed up bass and percussion. Once again the result was wonderfully musical despite the HE6se’s heavy lean into the top end. Even with the USB power disconnected, I was able to get acceptable power levels out of the M15S though it did indeed perform better plugged in.
Gold Note PH-5 Phono Preamp Review
August 25, 2023 Comments Off on Gold Note PH-5 Phono Preamp Review
https://www.analogplanet.com/content/gold-note-ph-5-phono-preamp
Just as it is a golden age for vinyl reissues, the current hi-fi customer has a wide array of fine-sounding equipment to hear at every conceivable price point. At the attractive and memorable price of $999, the Gold Note PH-5 phono preamp deserves serious attention. It produced a coherent, controlled, natural, highly resolving sound that was free of ear-jabbing frequency peaks, yet was dynamic and tonally succinct. Its consummate transparency and well-balanced, well-ordered overall sound made it a perfect fit for all types of music, as well as various types and levels of equipment. Italy may be hot as blazes at this moment in the height of summer here in 2023, but the PH-5 is a cool customer with a natural, music-loving sound. In short, the Gold Note PH-5 looks to be quite the golden choice for your next phono preamp.
LampizatOr Horizon DAC Review $49,000 Review
August 24, 2023 Comments Off on LampizatOr Horizon DAC Review $49,000 Review
https://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0723/LampizatOr_Horizon_DAC_Review.htm
There is no other way to say it; the LampizatOr Horizon is simply the finest example of a stand-alone Digital to Analog engine I’ve yet experienced. Its inspired, outside-the-box design, refined and over-designed circuit approach, combined with its cutting-edge DAC chip implementation make this a sui generis product, one whose sophisticated and sublime performance has no equal in my experience, positioning it atop the mountain of similar offerings competing for your attention. I have no stronger recommendation to offer. In my experience, if your system is up to it, and you can afford it, there is no better DAC available today.
One of the strongest affirmations that I may offer about the performance of this master DAC from Poland is that I could – at moments, and mostly with DSD files – be fooled into believing I was listening to an LP. As an example, I love the Steve Morse-fronted band “The Dixie Dregs.” I have several copies of their 1980 release, Dregs of the Earth, including an early original US pressing and the 1980 Direct-Disk Labs reissue. I marveled at how remarkably engaging the 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC file sounded when directly compared to both those pressings. I honestly found the sound of the file played back on Horizon to sound more like a live performance than either LP. Those of you who understand will know what a strong endorsement that is coming from me!
The Magico M9 Experience | REVIEW
August 24, 2023 Comments Off on The Magico M9 Experience | REVIEW
New Zealand’s $30,000 Antipodes Oladra Music Server fed the $115,000 MSB Select DAC with its Dual Power Supply. Electronics were from Pilium’s Divine series of electronics, built in Greece, featuring the $50,000 Alexander Preamp, and using two pairs (four) of the Pilium Hercules Monoblock Amplifiers, at $85,000 a pair, or $170,000 total, to biamplify each M9. The gear rested on a mixture of several $34,500 Magico MRack-3s, and the $45,300 Magico MRack-4s. Magico Q-Pods, at $1,450 per 3-piece set, were used under all the smaller equipment, with the Magico M-Pods, at $3,400 per 3-piece set, used under all larger ones.
Audiophilepure 
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