Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 integrated amplifier $10,999 Review
January 10, 2024 Comments Off on Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 integrated amplifier $10,999 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/musical-fidelity-nu-vista-8002-integrated-amplifier
This was a difficult review to write given that, like other 21st century solid state amplifiers that offer superbly low distortion and noise, the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 didn’t have a readily discernible sonic character. Yes, Michael Fremer did write in his review of the original 800 amplifier that “There’s no mistaking the velvety, delicate sound of a nuvistor front end,” and I did indeed find the 800.2 easy on the ears. But Michael also wrote that while “CDs with a touch of hard edge and brightness were suitably softened and corrected, those that were hopelessly hard and bright remained so.”
I found that to be the case with the Musical Fidelity amplifier. It is exceptionally revealing of what was on the recordings I played or, with the loudspeakers I used for my auditioning, their intrinsic characters. But with its tight grip on the speakers’ woofers, its sense of almost unlimited power, its superb soundstage definition, and—again—that sense of ease to its presentation, the Nu-Vista 800.2 gets an unreserved recommendation from this audio critic.
The Best Jazz Albums (mostly reissues) of 2023
January 10, 2024 Comments Off on The Best Jazz Albums (mostly reissues) of 2023
ARCAM RADIA A25 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER AND ST5 STREAMER
January 9, 2024 Comments Off on ARCAM RADIA A25 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER AND ST5 STREAMER
After reading about the event and seeing the photos, I immediately knew that I wanted to review at least one of these components. Carlo must like me a lot because he was able to work his magic with the powers-that-be at HARMAN and ARCAM and here I am with the flagship A25 integrated amp and ST5 streamer.
So, I plan to give this gear a thorough rundown and will have a full review to share with you soon. For now, however, join me for a little unboxing teaser, just to give you a better sense of what we have with these two gorgeous components.
BOWERS & WILKINS 607 S3 BOOKSHELF LOUDSPEAKER $1200 A VIDEO REVIEW
January 9, 2024 Comments Off on BOWERS & WILKINS 607 S3 BOOKSHELF LOUDSPEAKER $1200 A VIDEO REVIEW
My favorite pair of speakers is the mighty B&W 685 S1. I bought a floor model pair from a store in Toronto. Since then, B&W has iterated the 600 series with newer models, and I have been super curious to see what they sounded like. When this most recent release of the 600 Series was released, I requested a pair. I was able to get my paws on the smaller sibling, the 607 S3. It is a beautiful small bookshelf/ stand mount and looks to be a more refined and far better-built speaker. But how does it sound?
Bryston BHA-1 Headphone Amplifier Review
January 8, 2024 Comments Off on Bryston BHA-1 Headphone Amplifier Review
The Bryston will never be confused with a tube amplifier, but texture and tone through the HD800?
Hell hath frozen over.
The Bryston BHA-1 blurs that line rather significantly offering up a cleaner sounding and more detailed presentation than any of the tube amplifiers in my collection, but with a warmer tonal balance than I would have expected.
Dan Clark Audio E3 Closed-Back Planar Magnetic Headphones $2000 Review
January 8, 2024 Comments Off on Dan Clark Audio E3 Closed-Back Planar Magnetic Headphones $2000 Review
I may have understated in this review the musicality of the Dan Clark Audio E3 Closed-Back Planar Magnetic Headphone, so let’s be clear, that is the E3’s strongest suit. I won’t say that it is exactly forgiving, that is not the type of musicality we are looking at here, believe me, if there are flaws in the recording, the E3 will not cover them up, but they make the experience so pleasurable that you won’t care about them. Like its predecessors the ETHER C Flow and the STEALTH, the E3 has an extremely neutral tonal balance, with deep well-controlled sub-bass. There might be a slight depression in the upper midrange, and a slight peak in the mid-treble, but this could just as easily be the speed of the E3 revealing information you didn’t notice before and not creating distortions you did.
It is hard to say, I can say that going from the E3 to the ETHER C Flow, the ETHER C Flow feels shouty, but going the other way, you don’t feel like you are missing anything with the E3. The bass appears to be stronger without being boomy as with open-back headphones, which may be an attribute of the increased dynamic range and bass control, in fact, increased speed, dynamic range, and bass control with lower distortion can account for pretty much everything I hear in the E3.
Questyle NHB12 In-Ear Wired Earbuds for iPhone: Review
January 7, 2024 Comments Off on Questyle NHB12 In-Ear Wired Earbuds for iPhone: Review
It is the largest of the modules visible through the window and is still small enough that four of the SIPs would fit on a dime. The whole process uses 3mA @ 2 Volts making for an extraordinarily low battery draw.
Add to that an impressively low THD+N of 0.0002% and you have a master class in miniaturization of audio components.
Needless to say, this is not a setup that is going to be usable for anything but highly efficient IEMs which may explain Questyle’s hesitancy to divulge too much information about the drivers as it might give away some proprietary trade secrets.
A single LED is illuminated for AAC or CD quality input, whilst a second LED indicates the decoding of a 24-bit/192kHz file. Testing with Qobuz confirmed this to be the case.
FiiO Q15 Desktop / Portable Hi-Res Music DAC And Headphone Amplifier $399 Review
January 7, 2024 Comments Off on FiiO Q15 Desktop / Portable Hi-Res Music DAC And Headphone Amplifier $399 Review
Using the FiiO Q15 with my Sony Walkman instead of the Sony Walkman without the Q15 wasn’t like night and day. An audiophile description I first used nearly 30 years ago was “a small but significant improvement in sound quality.” This perfectly describes the experience of using the Q15 with my Sony Walkman. Sound quality improvement was much more noticeable when listening to high-resolution files, especially DSD. There was an improvement in sound quality across the board, including the size and scale of the sound field, its apparent frequency response, micro- and macro-dynamics, and, most importantly, the perceived realism of acoustic instruments and voices.
Of course, the level of improvement the FiiO Q15 rendered depended on the recording quality and headphones used. Connecting the Q15 to the USB output of my music server was not to embarrass it when compared to my usual DAC in the main system in my dedicated listening room, the mighty EMM Labs DA2. Yet I was very impressed with this FiiO DAC, as it displayed the audiophile traits I listed above when used with my Sony portable player. A more modest desktop system would appreciate the FiiO Q15 much more than my high-end system.
Audiophilepure 
You must be logged in to post a comment.