ASTELL&KERN A&ULTIMA SP2000T PORTABLE DIGITAL MUSIC PLAYER $2499 REVIEW
April 1, 2022 Comments Off on ASTELL&KERN A&ULTIMA SP2000T PORTABLE DIGITAL MUSIC PLAYER $2499 REVIEW
One issue the SP2000T seemed to solve, which was a worry, is microphonic distortion. I mentioned this earlier in my review. If you are familiar with tube gear, just touching a tube will generate a vibration that you will hear as an unpleasant audio signal. I wondered if that would be a problem in a tightly packed device. Turns out, it isn’t. Astell&Kern have come up with a floating magnetic structure for the tube mount, and in my tests, sound emerges from a silent background, even when I tap the case.
Listening in a pure solid-state mode, I found the results hyper-realistic. Again, with rock or some new age, this was not a disadvantage. For example, in the track ‘Disc Wars’ from the Tron: Legacy album, I preferred the solid-state amp sound.
T+A Caruso R multisource receiver Review
April 1, 2022 Comments Off on T+A Caruso R multisource receiver Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/ta-caruso-r-multisource-receiver
After all this discussion about the Caruso R’s functions, you may be wondering how it sounds. Paired with the S 10 three-way, bass-reflex, floorstanding loudspeakers, control and coherence were strong suits. Some of the Caruso system’s sonic characteristics—its orientation toward clean, pristine sound—reminded me a little of the Naim Mu-so 2nd Gen (although in the Muso, the speakers are internal and so inevitably more limited on the low end). This precision was coupled with musicality and a degree of that freed-up feeling I love, of the speakers releasing the music completely, a trick my reference MBL 120s perform very well. There was a sense of smooth seamlessness without harsh edges, particularly in the highs. Since this is not a review of the speakers, that’s the last I’ll say about the S 10s.
Stax SR-X9000 headphones
March 31, 2022 Comments Off on Stax SR-X9000 headphones
According to the Stax website, Stax’s “major technology advancement is the ‘MILER-3’ (Multi-Layer-Elect-Rords)—a four-layer fixed electrode combining mesh electrodes and conventional etching electrodes crimped together by thermal diffusion bonding. … The SR-X9000 diaphragm is made of ultra-thin engineering film that is 20% larger than the previous flagship SR-009S.” According to the Woo website, the diaphragm mass has been reduced “to create a lightning-fast reaction speed and more extended high-frequency response.”
On the SR-X9000, the Omega’s heavy enclosure has been replaced by a lighter, machined-aluminum one: Now the entire well-fashioned, superbly finished, open-backed headphone weighs just 432gm.
DALI Rubicon 6C Wireless floorstanding loudspeakers Review
March 31, 2022 Comments Off on DALI Rubicon 6C Wireless floorstanding loudspeakers Review
At the back of the Hub there are a series of physical inputs: analogue 3.5mm, stereo RCA, a digital coaxial and a pair of digital optical sockets. There are also stereo RCA pre-outs alongside a subwoofer pre-out, and (naturally enough) there’s a ‘Link/Connect’ button given due prominence. DALI has also included two expansion ports on the back of the Hub, allowing for later upgrades if and when they become necessary. Our review sample has one of its plug-in module slots occupied by a BluOS module that features an Ethernet socket and two USB inputs, and brings MQA certification with it too.
Arcam Home Theater Receivers & Processor Overview
March 31, 2022 Comments Off on Arcam Home Theater Receivers & Processor Overview
IFI’S ZEN AIR SERIES
March 30, 2022 Comments Off on IFI’S ZEN AIR SERIES
The core DAC technology is the same as the original ZEN DAC, using a Burr-Brown DAC chip that iFi favours for its natural-sounding ‘musicality’ and True Native architecture, combined with custom technology including bespoke XMOS firmware and digital filtering, and iFi’s GMT clock system to tackle jitter. Hi-res PCM is supported to 32-bit/384kHz, alongside DXD, and DSD64, 128 and 256. Thanks to the Burr-Brown chip’s True Native design, PCM and DSD take separate pathways – this enables both PCM and DSD to remain ‘bit-perfect’ in their native form. MQA is also supported (MQA rendering, like the original ZEN DAC, rather than full MQA decoding as performed by the ZEN DAC V2). Whilst simplified in comparison to the ZEN DAC V2’s fully balanced topology, the ZEN Air DAC’s analogue stage remains of exceptional quality at the price, with a symmetrical channel layout and audiophile-grade circuit components, including a custom op-amp offering ultra-low noise performance, and low-impedance power supply rails featuring Taiyo Yuden and Murata low-ESR inductors.
Nordost Valhalla V2 Ethernet Cable Review
March 30, 2022 Comments Off on Nordost Valhalla V2 Ethernet Cable Review
https://www.monoandstereo.com/2022/01/nordost-valhalla-v2-ethernet-cable.html#more
I remember the days when kilobytes were considered solid gold in computer terms. This goes back to the early eighties when with all the difficulties included I’ve had the luxury of getting a Sinclair ZX81 computer. At the time we’d dreamed of kilobytes. Buying this precursor to the spectacle called the Sinclair ZX Spectrum was as daunting as buying the additional ZX81 16K RAM. It cost about the same.
A lot has happened since then and in a relatively short time. Not only do we store gigabytes of data, but we send and receive it every minute.
You’ll be GOBSMACKED by this high-end audio collection!
March 30, 2022 Comments Off on You’ll be GOBSMACKED by this high-end audio collection!
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