Meze Liric closed-back Headphones Review
December 8, 2022 Comments Off on Meze Liric closed-back Headphones Review
NAD C 700 Review
December 7, 2022 Comments Off on NAD C 700 Review
The musicality brought forth by the NAD C 700 BluOS Streaming Amplifier has to be heard to be believed. This amp has just about perfect tonal balance and scale, making it a magic box that handles any music you throw at it with remarkable finesse.
In addition, the simplicity and elegance of its design are hard to beat for the price. This little powerhouse is remarkably flexible from a streaming standpoint, so you can just hook up your favorite speakers and go. The only thing it’s really missing is a Phono input, but Phono pre-amps aren’t that hard to come by. This is my new favorite amp under 2k!
If you’re looking for an amp to be the centerpiece of a modern yet capable hi-fi system, you should check this one out! Highly Recommended!
Grado Labs Statement Series 3000x Headphones $1995 Review
December 7, 2022 Comments Off on Grado Labs Statement Series 3000x Headphones $1995 Review
The Grado Labs Statement Series 3000x Headphones are musical masterpieces and killer cans. No matter whether I tried them with my phono source, A&K DAP, Paravicini HP4 Headphone Amp, or my restored McIntosh MR80 FM Tuner with a headphone jack, they performed with pure sophistication and high definition. More definition overall for any Grado Headphone I know of, they always communicated with a neutral and extremely linear presentation. Their sense of reality is state of the art. Their big surprise is their huge dynamic range and sub-woofer-like bass. What great fun! I happily give the new Grado Labs Statement Series 3000x my highest “buy” recommendation.
Auralic Sirius G2.1/Vega G2.1 Upsampler/DAC Review
December 7, 2022 Comments Off on Auralic Sirius G2.1/Vega G2.1 Upsampler/DAC Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/auralic-sirius-g21vega-g21-upsamplerdac
Trying a wide range of music sources and formats, what immediately became clear was that, while playing music into the Vega G2.1 directly at high resolutions showed no advantage with or without the Sirius G2.1 in the chain, lower-resolution file formats showed enhanced air, space and detail with the upscaler activated. For example, playing the 320kbps Radio 3 HD stream of Proms concerts sounded richer and more substantial, with an overall greater sense of involvement when played from my laptop via
PMC twenty5.26i loudspeaker Review
December 7, 2022 Comments Off on PMC twenty5.26i loudspeaker Review
Soon, you can find reports from manufacturers at audio shows from around the world. You can see the likes of Aurender, Focal Naim, AudioThesis, Schiit Audio, and Magnepan, just to name a few. Right now, you can see what debuted at AXPONA 2022 and a bit from the Texas Audio Roundup, including background on the Magnepan LRS+. You can also see videos from Pacific Audio Fest in Seattle, CEDIA 2022 in Dallas, and you’ll see reports from Capital Audio Fest coming next month.
Legato Duo Loudspeakers from Sonner Audio | REVIEW
December 6, 2022 Comments Off on Legato Duo Loudspeakers from Sonner Audio | REVIEW
When Gunny handed off the Duos to me at the Pacific Audio Fest, he seemed apologetic when he told me that due to supply chain issues, he had to raise his prices. I replied that everyone is dealing with the same thing in this industry, so everyone should understand. Then he told me the new price, $9,500/pair USD. I almost laughed. These speakers, the Sonner Audio Legato Duos, were under ten grand per pair? That simple fact makes these splendid transducers an out-and-out bargain, and they’re worthy of stellar amplification—which I gave ‘em.
It’s funny, though, that now I shift my attention to the Sonner Audio Allegro Unum, a two-way bookshelf monitor that’s still the flagship of the Sonner company. I’ve already compared them to the Sonner Audio Legato Duos quite a bit, and each speaker has slightly different tastes when it comes to matching to an acoustic space, but that spirit is in both, that gentle and music-loving spirit that Gunawan Surya and his team puts into everything they do. Highly recommended.
Vincent Audio SV-737 Integrated $3499 Review
December 6, 2022 Comments Off on Vincent Audio SV-737 Integrated $3499 Review
When I first listened to the Vincent SV-737 amplifier, I immediately heard the sonic differences compared to my reference. But as time went by, and with a little tweaking, I quickly became accustomed to its sound and just enjoyed the music. Sure I was still aware of its particular sonics. I put this amp in a system that was very high resolution and it managed it with aplomb. But as soon as I switched the speakers the sound took on a whole new flavor and the differences to my reference were shortened. This amplifier has a clean, detailed top end, somewhat sweet midrange (those tubes aren’t there just for looks) and a lower end that captures the ebb and flow and power of dynamics with very good control better than a lot of amplifiers I have heard regardless of price. This aspect of its sound is what makes this amp truly exciting and fun to listen to. The styling is very nice, its loaded with features and it is built like the proverbial you know what. It runs a bit warm so give it space when installing. Maybe if one ordered it in silver the letters would be easier to read? Nah!
Esoteric E-02 Phono Preamplifier Review
December 6, 2022 Comments Off on Esoteric E-02 Phono Preamplifier Review
https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1141-esoteric-e-02-phono-preamplifier
The Esoteric E-02 is as serious a piece of electronic kit as I’ve ever had in my system, revealing better qualities than I’ve experienced before in terms of its powers of resolution, textural detail and finesse, impressive soundstaging, bass presence, and slam. My reference Pass Labs phono certainly delivers the goods and has a mellower touch, particularly with orchestral music. But the E-02 is notably the more powerful of the two units—blessed not only with its own velvet hand for rendering acoustic music but also a closed fist in a velvet glove for rock, jazz, and dynamic vocals. What’s more, it has fine physical lines—with a luxurious though understated aesthetic to its build—and a plethora of useful features that are supremely elegant to engage with, all of which make it instantly recognizable as part of the Esoteric line of prestige electronics. If I could summon the great novelist Ralph Ellison from his “hidey-hole” in Heaven to experience just what the E-02 can get from the likes of Nat King Cole, Ellington’s Orchestra, and contemporary opera diva Anna Netrebko, I guarantee he’d join me in a chorus of hosannas and kyries, as Esoteric’s phono preamplifier extracts a music both jubilant and pensive from my mono and stereo cartridges that is a sonic séance of body and soul. If you’re in the market for one of the best phono stages at the $10k price point, I urge you to audition the Esoteric E-02.
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Restored
December 6, 2022 Comments Off on Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Restored
Nordost QNet network switch & QSource linear power supply Review
December 5, 2022 Comments Off on Nordost QNet network switch & QSource linear power supply Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/nordost-qnet-network-switch-qsource-linear-power-supply
Rather than listing example after musical example, I’ll simply say that it is now much easier to follow each line in even the most complex passages of Mahler or Strauss and to understand, musically, the reasons behind the complexity. Thunderous organ now resonates strongly, without inappropriate boom. Tonal color inside my music room is beyond acid-rush intensity. Outside, however, it remains Pacific-Northwest gray.
It’s been a long time since I ended a review with “I bought the review samples.” But I did. And once I realized how vital the QNet was to my system—how a simple network switch allowed me to achieve so much more of what high-end audio is about, and how much more silent and revealing the QSource was than my other linear power supply—I bought a second QSource for my etherRegen and AfterDark clock. I didn’t think a second QSource would make another huge difference, but when the soundstage suddenly expanded beyond the front and side walls, my pleasure expanded concomitantly. Don’t you love when that happens?
Audiophilepure 
You must be logged in to post a comment.