Degritter Vinyl Record Cleaner Review
April 24, 2023 Comments Off on Degritter Vinyl Record Cleaner Review
XENNS MANGIRD TOP REVIEW
April 23, 2023 Comments Off on XENNS MANGIRD TOP REVIEW
The build quality of the Mangird XENNS Top IEMs is quite good. I have experienced various IEMs from Mangird and each one shows impressive elements of craftsmanship. The resin shells are not only visually appealing but also provide a solid, durable construction that can withstand the rigors of daily use. The company states that the resin is imported from Germany and is of medical grade. The build quality deserves praise as all the joints look well-built. I can’t find any imperfections on the shells. Another subtle but nice detail is the use of a sleek piece of aluminum instead of a plastic filter in the DD’s air vent. I love it.
Zesto Bia 200 Select power amplifier $15,900 Review
April 23, 2023 Comments Off on Zesto Bia 200 Select power amplifier $15,900 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/zesto-bia-200-select-power-amplifier
The Haut Brion—both versions—is a wonderful, expressive amplifier. But it has nowhere near the sparkle, precision, resolution, or extension of the Bia 200. It also lacks the Bia 200’s tight, well-controlled, tuneful low end. It compensates by seeming more immediate, organic, and natural than the Bia 200. Both exist to serve the music, but they do it in different ways. The Bia 200 is transparent, powerful, resolving, fun. Maybe it’s the top end that seems to go out for miles, or the sonorous bass, or how it steps out of the way of recordings and lets them shine on their own terms.
Different people expect to hear different things from their hi-fi—different versions of transparency, as Herb Reichert would say—even as they seek musical truth. We’re all wired for the particular sounds that make our particular hearts sing. The Bia 200 is wired in a way that, for the right person, can make that happen.
$1,000,000+ Estelon & Vitus Audio Demo | AXPONA 2023
April 23, 2023 Comments Off on $1,000,000+ Estelon & Vitus Audio Demo | AXPONA 2023
VAUGHN LOUDSPEAKER LINE ARRAY REVIEW $9000 Review
April 22, 2023 Comments Off on VAUGHN LOUDSPEAKER LINE ARRAY REVIEW $9000 Review
I normally measure distortion using an 85dB signal across the bandwidth at my listening position, which would be about 94dB at one meter from the speaker. For the Line Array Majors, a 95dB signal at the listening position was used – a full 10dB above the normal test. This was loud enough that I wore earbuds for protection while taking the measurements. This is a slow sine wave, and not an enjoyable listen. It’s also a very difficult test for a speaker.
Let’s look at some distortion data from 80Hz and up. The black line is the frequency sweep, and the blue line is the THD+N. Any point with a 40 dB or greater spread between the lines is 1% THD or less. At 80-160Hz, we saw nothing higher than 1.47% THD. Above 160Hz, the THD was below 0.5%, hitting a low of 0.14% at 1,000Hz. This is an astonishing performance and dovetails perfectly with the listening results
NAD C 3050 LE Integrated Amplifier Review
April 22, 2023 Comments Off on NAD C 3050 LE Integrated Amplifier Review
https://www.soundandvision.com/content/nad-c-3050-le-integrated-amplifier-review
NAD’s C 3050 LE fully delivers on its promise of serious audiophile amplification with a side serving of streaming tech in a comfortably/not-painfully retro package at a very fair value. That statement is complicated, however, by NAD’s bewildering array of fully one dozen other integrated amplifier models, including a few that are variously equipped with network streaming/BluOS, DiracLive, and other hybrid-Class D technologies at power levels from 80 up to 200 watts per channel and at suggested prices from a few hundred dollars all the way up to the Master Series M33 that I raved about in these pages a couple of years back and which remains a jewel today at an eye-watering $5999.
Chord Mojo 2 DAC and Headphone Amplifier Review
April 22, 2023 Comments Off on Chord Mojo 2 DAC and Headphone Amplifier Review
HIFIMAN SHANGRI-LA JR REVIEW
April 21, 2023 Comments Off on HIFIMAN SHANGRI-LA JR REVIEW
The mids perfectly connect to the bass and they share the same amount of body but also the character. Natural, but smooth that is. The mid timbre probably is the most impressive. Spaciousness, airiness and that bit of tube smoothness and warmth do it fr me here. The vocals are more to the front and the upper mids have a brighter, less smooth character. The typical vocal presentation doesn’t bother me in any way in this typical tuning, and it always keeps things exciting (but realistic).
The treble section is where the SHANGR-LA jr is less linear and starts getting peakier from around the 2K mark. It’s not so much an issue to me, and many fellow headphone enthusiasts like this typical tuning. Treble is never bright or sharp, but it is energetic, spacious and extends nicely.
VTL TP-6.5 Signature II Phonostage $18,000 Review
April 21, 2023 Comments Off on VTL TP-6.5 Signature II Phonostage $18,000 Review
Review complete except for this wrap-up: I still haven’t returned to either reference phono preamp. Grant Green’s Feelin’ the Spirit (Blue Note ST-84132/B0033488-01) plays at moderate level in the background, and both the “Tone Poet” and VTL’s 6.5 MK II nail this one. Transparency, transient precision and delicacy, harmonic richness (RVG got Herbie Hancock’s piano just right on this 1962 recording), and an enveloping sense of the large, open Englewood Cliffs studio space produce a “you are there” sensation (and I’ve been there!).
I greatly preferred the active JFET/tube input to the transformer-coupled input, though I most preferred my costly transformer into the mm input. A different cartridge or a different system might produce a different result, but I don’t think so. My only complaint about the 6.5 Mk II was that there was more background noise (“tube rush”?) than I like to hear, and I wish it had been quieter. But that’s it. Successful transplant. In an email, Luke Manley (whose signature could not be found anywhere on the “signature” phonostage) wrote that “we are selling all we can make of this design.” I believe it.
Audiophilepure 
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