GRADO RS1X REFERENCE SERIES HEADPHONE$750 REVIEW
March 28, 2022 Comments Off on GRADO RS1X REFERENCE SERIES HEADPHONE$750 REVIEW
The Grado RS1x Reference Series Headphone is everything you expect in a reference headphone. Linear but not sterile, musical but not veiled, dynamic, detailed, open and airy but with deep bass extension, with a massive three-dimensional soundstage, and on top of that unbelievably light and comfortable that allows for hours-long listening sessions. They also represent an incredible value performing at a level comparable to headphones costing twice as much, though like all reference headphones you buy them for their unique sound rather than their price as compared to competitor offerings as there really is no competition in that aspect.
B&W 805 D4 Loudspeaker Review
March 28, 2022 Comments Off on B&W 805 D4 Loudspeaker Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/bw-805-d4-loudspeaker
The baby model of B&W’s 800 Series D4 range needn’t feel overshadowed by its bigger, costlier siblings. Everything you’d expect of a range-topping speaker is here: glorious build quality, lush design and a sound performance that puts the price tag to the back of your mind. Usual caveats about scale and heft apply, but otherwise this is a triumphant new addition to the B&W stable. Budget for the stands too
MBL Noble Line N11/N15 Preamp & Monoblock Power Amps Review
March 27, 2022 Comments Off on MBL Noble Line N11/N15 Preamp & Monoblock Power Amps Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/mbl-noble-line-n11n15-preamp-monoblock-power-amps
Even with the woozy period production values of David Bowie’s Toy album, once thought to be mythical but now revealed as part of the Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001) boxset [Parlophone/ISO DBX 5], MBL’s Noble amplifiers deliver a sound of very fine clarity. They clearly reveal the singer’s vocals have less of Anthony Newley’s vaudevillian influence than the originals as he revisits the likes of ‘The London Boys’ and ‘Let Me Sleep Beside You’.
Similarly, the 2000 live set from the BBC Radio Theatre, also in this boxset, retains real spirit and vivacity, with both Bowie and his band on top form. Here the MBL N11/N15s drove the Wilson Alexx Vs with palpable confidence, revealing a sound of excellent presence and ambience across the eclectic set-list. It’s a thrilling, enveloping sound, with generosity and impact served up in equal measure.
Kuzma XL AIR turntable Review
March 27, 2022 Comments Off on Kuzma XL AIR turntable Review
The turntable is such a neutral vinyl platform, it allows the differences in arms to be rendered in the sharpest focus, both in terms of similarity and difference. You understand why the XL AIR has multiple arm positions, and why so many XL AIR users use more than one arm. The turntable was honest and neutral enough to ensure the ‘order’ of the Air Line and the ‘flow’ of the 4Point 14 were rendered so accurately, it wasn’t an either/or option; the choice of the arm was a natural reaction to different records. This is not audiophilia nervosa, just the logical extension of how an arm, cartridge and record interact when the turntable is simply doing its job better than all the rest.
Bowers and Wilkins Zeppelin wireless powered speaker system
March 27, 2022 Comments Off on Bowers and Wilkins Zeppelin wireless powered speaker system
FIIO FH9 SEVEN DRIVER HYBRID IN-EAR MONITORS $599 REVIEW
March 26, 2022 Comments Off on FIIO FH9 SEVEN DRIVER HYBRID IN-EAR MONITORS $599 REVIEW
Clear, dynamic, musical, with excellent deep tight bass and enough flavor combinations to satisfy even the most picky of connoisseurs, the FiiO FH9 In-Ear Monitors are well deserving of the title of flagship and easily competitive with any IEM in its price range. They easily handle any form of music and scale up well to higher resolution electronics. The combination of silicone tips and their semi-open back design makes them extremely comfortable for long-term listening, while bass heads will love them with the foam tips whether into Hip Hop or Death Metal, the FH9 deliver all music without prejudice. They even worked well with the $149 K5 Pro ESS desktop amp (review pending). So once again, FiiO delivers excellent value for the money with class beating musicality and performance.
Vivid Kaya S12 loudspeaker Review
March 26, 2022 Comments Off on Vivid Kaya S12 loudspeaker Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/vivid-kaya-s12-loudspeaker
Hypnotized and inspired, I listened to all four Viking of 6th Avenue sides, and at some point, it hit me: What was so different with the Linn and S12s playing Moondog was how intensely resolved and minutely detailed the reproduction was. I had never before peered this microscopically into the mechanics of the album’s construction. Tiny sounds I’d never heard before sounded precisely rendered and meticulously presented. I could easily identify every strange instrument and background Foley noise. I could see how the mix was laid out and marvel at every little paint stroke of Moondog’s surrealistic circus show.
Pass Laboratories XP-22 Line Pre & XP-27 Phono Pre Review
March 25, 2022 Comments Off on Pass Laboratories XP-22 Line Pre & XP-27 Phono Pre Review
Regardless, the Pass Labs XP-27 didn’t magically transform this album into a live-in-the-studio recording. Much of the music on this album is the musical equivalent of CGI, yet they had no internet or computers when recording this album. The creativity dripped from the turntable as if it were a half-used candle. The gated reverb on the drums on “Intruder” and “Biko” passed through my body not because the bass frequencies were powerful and infinitely deep, as they shook my gut and the window frames in my listening room. But I mostly mean that they went through me emotionally, as the music on this album disregarded the laws of physics, and my music brain followed suit. Yes, the midrange of the XP-27 was scarily transparent. Even though I’ve been listening to this album all my adult life, I would still lean forward in an attempt to hear every nanosecond of, for example, the reverb trail of Gabriel’s voice on “Biko,” the last track on the LP.
For this album, Peter Gabriel instructed drummers Phil Collins and Jerry Marotta not to use their cymbals on their drum kits. This left space for the treble energy of other instruments. On this cymbal-free album, the XP-27 reproduced the highs as if they were magical, regardless of the instrument, voice, or sound effect it was reproducing.
The treble sounds from every instrument and voice would fill the enormous soundstage with sparkling, reflected sound waves that sonically resembled embers rising from a campfire – the paths of the individual embers presumably random but in actuality determined by air currents.
Audiophilepure 
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