Audiovector QR 7 loudspeaker $6,500 Review
September 6, 2022 Comments Off on Audiovector QR 7 loudspeaker $6,500 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/audiovector-qr-7-loudspeaker
At $6500/pair, Audiovector’s QR 7 is competitively priced, though it is up against other floorstanding speakers in this price region, such as the PSB Synchrony T600 ($7999/pair), which I reviewed in November 2021, and the Canton Reference 7 K ($6995/pair), which I reviewed in September 2021. The Audiovector offers a different balance of qualities than those two loudspeakers: While its midrange has a little more character than the PSB, its highs are more neutral-sounding than the Canton’s, and it offers more extended, more powerful-sounding low frequencies than either of those speakers. The QR 7 will work best in medium- to large-sized rooms. Recommended.
Audience aR12-T4 Power Conditioner $11,400 Review
September 6, 2022 Comments Off on Audience aR12-T4 Power Conditioner $11,400 Review
Sometimes you eagerly anticipate a product arrival, but when you put it in—zilch, nada—you don’t hear much difference. Then, if you throw a reference-quality CD in the tray—bam, it’s right there in front of you. That’s what happens when the product has very low coloration and high fidelity to the source.
This was the case with the adeptResponse Power Conditioner. The aR12-T4 doesn’t shift the frequency response one way or another or change the aural picture you already have. Instead, it’s a matter of good being made better. If you already have good sound, the aR12-T4 will make it better by applying the finishing touches, fleshing it out, and completing it.
Midway through the audition, my path forward was laid out. The Audience adeptResponse was going to become my reference for the entirety of my system’s AC needs. It is a serious investment: $11,400 for the aR12-T4 + $6300 if you spring for a 2m frontRow High Power powerChord upgrade. That makes a tidy $17,700 to handle the front-end gear. Later on, I would add an aR6-T4 and a frontRow High Power powerChord for my amps. That’s $6600 + $6300, another tidy
Quick Visit to American Sound of Canada
September 6, 2022 Comments Off on Quick Visit to American Sound of Canada
Meze Audio Elite headphones Review
September 5, 2022 Comments Off on Meze Audio Elite headphones Review
The Elite headset weighs 430gm. Its headband is made of carbon fiber, its headrest of leather. Inside the Elite’s leather headrest, on each end, where it joins the sliding earcup pillars, are springy metal leaves that Meze calls “pressure distribution wings.” According to Meze, these wings relieve pressure points (on the user’s head) by encouraging the Elite’s headband to conform to a greater length of the head’s circumference.
My Elite review sample came packed in an aluminum briefcase, with two sets of earpads (one real leather, the other a leather-Alcantara hybrid), held in place magnetically with Meze’s own “Isomagnetic earpad coupling technology,” and a 2.5m cable that attaches to the headset with four-pin mini-XLR plugs and to my amplifiers with a 6.3mm plug. The Elite’s cable may be ordered with 3.5mm or XLR input terminations. Meze also offers two types of upgrade cables, each with four termination options, one made of braided “Furukawa PCUHD copper” wire, which Alexandra Rizolu says “adds warmth and smoothness,”
Naim Audio Solstice turntable system
September 5, 2022 Comments Off on Naim Audio Solstice turntable system
“Not all these advances made it to market – though they certainly got a lot of use in our personal systems! – but they all helped maximise the music source to enable the design of better pre and power amplifiers. I still often think about Julian, and how he would have regarded the products we have designed since he died. I was a Naim customer for 11 years before I joined the company, so I’m well and truly steeped in the Naim vision. I believe he would have very much approved of the engineering solutions and final performance of the Solstice Special Edition.”
Solstice has got that combination of drive, excitement, foot-tapping energy, dynamic punch. Sure, it’s more even-handed as befits the more 21st Century approach to music replay and also the way Naim sounds today… but it’s also got that ‘put a smile on your face’ love of music that permeated really well thought-through ‘chrome bumper’ Naim products of yore. Which fits the only sadness I feel about the Solstice; those who are no longer around who would have absolutely loved the deck. Listening to the Solstice makes me think about the late Malcolm Steward shoe-horning in a pair of SBL loudspeakers into a room only slightly larger than the boxes in which they were packed, and playing Gregson & Collister and Richard Thompson albums at ‘Def Con 1’ levels on his Pink Linnk’s, Aro’d up LP12.
Shaving Compact Discs to improve the sound
September 5, 2022 Comments Off on Shaving Compact Discs to improve the sound
Paradigm Persona 9H Loudspeakers $30,953 Review
September 3, 2022 Comments Off on Paradigm Persona 9H Loudspeakers $30,953 Review
https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2022/4/25/paradigm-persona-9h-loudspeakers
The Paradigm Persona 9H Loudspeaker is one of the finest full-range loudspeakers available, and certainly the finest Canadian loudspeaker it’s been my pleasure to review. Yes, the $30,953/pair price is very expensive, but these are your big boy/girl speakers after a lifetime of work and audiophile craziness. That they play in big Wilson and Tidal pools at twice the price is a wonderful achievement. Bravo Paradigm.
Linn Klimax DSM AV DAC-Preamplifier $39,000 Review
September 3, 2022 Comments Off on Linn Klimax DSM AV DAC-Preamplifier $39,000 Review
https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/1124-linn-klimax-dsm-av-dac-preamplifier
Linn’s new Klimax DSM has taken me on a rollercoaster ride, and I am in desperate need of an emotional rescue. On one hand, I found the analog input lacking in terms of transparency and dynamics, and I remain skeptical of the efficacy of the Space Optimization software. I’m also leery of the idea of spending this much money on a flagship DSM knowing that, based on Linn’s history, an expensive upgrade could be in the works. On the other hand, for a product of such vast capability, the Klimax DSM is an ergonomic marvel post-setup. The front display makes excellent use of its real estate in providing valuable configurable track information to the user. The theater of how the display lights up, seamlessly transitioning between volume and track information, and the way in which the beautiful glass dial illuminates to communicate volume information is second to none. The Klimax DSM is also built like a tank, enthralling to look at, enticing to interact with, and beguiling to listen to. Put simply, this is the best sounding DAC-streamer I have ever heard.
House of Marley Stir It Up turntables
September 3, 2022 Comments Off on House of Marley Stir It Up turntables
McIntosh MP100 Phono Preamplifier $2,000 Review
September 2, 2022 Comments Off on McIntosh MP100 Phono Preamplifier $2,000 Review
McIntosh MP100 Phono Preamplifier: Review
The McIntosh MP100 Phono Preamplifier isn’t cheap at $2,000 and those looking for a warm sounding phono preamp that rolls off everything at both extremes might want to look elsewhere.
Detail, resolution, clarity, dynamics, and presence?
This little box from Binghamton brings that to the party all day and night.
The MP100 is neutral enough that I think one can get away with a wide range of cartridges if you’re looking to create a specific sound and perspective — I just wouldn’t go too neutral on the cartridge.
Audiophilepure 
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