I published music on Tidal to test MQA – MQA Review

May 3, 2021 Comments Off on I published music on Tidal to test MQA – MQA Review

THIEAUDIO LEGACY 4 REVIEW

May 2, 2021 Comments Off on THIEAUDIO LEGACY 4 REVIEW

For its price, the Legacy 4 has an excellent package and offers a great unboxing experience. Once you open the zippered bag, you’re welcomed with the earpieces, 6 pairs of silicone tips, and a very generous carrying case. The case itself is high quality with protected foam inside. The fact that you can use the big case which stores all the content in itself for other purposes, is awesome.

The build quality is above standard in this market for a budget level like this. The IEM looks very clean, neat, and premium. Although the inside of the shell is painted black, you can actually see the internals under some light. I can say that inside the IEM is nicely packed and clean-cut as well. The tuning switches feel very nice too, and the bass port is beautifully cut. The nozzles have a seamless connection to the shells. Everything is nice and clean here with no worries regarding build quality.

Degritter Automatic RCM £2,300 Review

May 2, 2021 Comments Off on Degritter Automatic RCM £2,300 Review

https://www.hifichoice.com/content/degritter-automatic-rcm

With some drops of cleaning fluid added to the water to aid cleaning, I opt for the Quick program and press play. The chamber surrounding the playing surface fills with the distilled water and the record slowly rotates as the ultrasonic cleaning process takes place. The status display counts down the remaining cleaning time followed by the desired drying time that’s set separately (up to 20 fan speeds can be selected).

Even after the machine’s shortest clean, I am left with a shiny piece of vinyl that looks to be rejuvenated after removing years of dirt and grease from careless fingerprints while avoiding any moisture contamination on the record label itself. The disc looks so pristine, I play it immediately to hear the result and there’s no doubt the sound is brighter and more focused and there’s a significant decrease in surface noise.

Yamaha WXA-50 Integrated Amplifier with Streaming Review

May 2, 2021 Comments Off on Yamaha WXA-50 Integrated Amplifier with Streaming Review

AUDEZE EUCLID $1,299 REVIEW

May 1, 2021 Comments Off on AUDEZE EUCLID $1,299 REVIEW

The Audeze Euclid features a wide soundstage with effortless neutrality packing fantastic mid to high range clarity. It’s accurate with the tonality and timbre of wind and string instruments and has an upper mid pronunciation giving it a bit of sparkle there. The general signature can be described as light and with a present but fairly minimal bass response. The vocals suit females more due to its flat mid-range clarity with upper mid boost. I found male vocalists to be decent but the Euclid does miss out on reproduction of the lower-vocal range making it less fitting for husky and deeper voices. The duo between Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga with the song “Shallow” is a good example of this. The earphone can also be sibilant and have a scratchy upper range at times.

Audionet Humboldt Review

May 1, 2021 Comments Off on Audionet Humboldt Review

VAC Master Preamplifier/Signature 200iQ Pre & Power Amplifier Review

April 30, 2021 Comments Off on VAC Master Preamplifier/Signature 200iQ Pre & Power Amplifier Review

https://www.hifinews.com/content/vac-master-preamplifiersignature-200iq-pre-power-amplifier

Probably the most overwhelming display of the system’s prowess via vinyl came with the admittedly-magnificent One-Step release of Patricia Barber’s Café Blue [Impex IMP6035-1]. Because this is a lean recording with just Barber on piano and a guitar/bass/drums trio, recorded with subtlety, the VAC system simply glowed – and I don’t mean the light from the valves. Fed material that oozes finesse, the VAC pre/power neither enhances nor constrains: it simply lets the music breathe.

I do realise that seems a contradiction if I’ve described the VAC combination as tending toward the warm, but that is a sensation of an arguably moot nature, rather than a readily-identifiable sonic artefact like ‘dry bass’ or ‘crisp transients’. They just seem more human, more lifelike than many over-etched, kick-you-in-the-gut amplifiers, and nowhere was it more evident than on Barber’s arresting handling of ‘Ode To Billy Joe’.

If you crave intimacy, especially if you are partial to vocals, you need to hear this set-up through LS3/5As, however incongruous that might seem. Then again, what they do with the Wilson loudspeakers…

TIDAL CONNECT on the Raspberry Pi

April 30, 2021 Comments Off on TIDAL CONNECT on the Raspberry Pi

FIDATA HFAS1-XS20U SOLID‑STATE MUSIC SERVER WITH SSD STORAGE REVIEW

April 29, 2021 Comments Off on FIDATA HFAS1-XS20U SOLID‑STATE MUSIC SERVER WITH SSD STORAGE REVIEW

http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/fidata-hfas1-xs20u-solidstate-music-server-with-ssd-storage/

Listening to the Fidata – especially in the most uncompromised, most direct ways – highlights the Japanese are eschewing the PC in an audio setting for a reason. HFAS1-XS20U server rips and plays your stored music exceptionally well, and if that means it should be unencumbered by demands for streaming services on purely sonic grounds, then so be it! Those who want to enjoy their digital music collections at an uncannily high level of resolution and musicality will find an awful lot to like about this beautifully executed and highly refined server. 

PrimaLuna EVO 300 Integrated Amplifier Review

April 29, 2021 Comments Off on PrimaLuna EVO 300 Integrated Amplifier Review

https://www.hifinews.com/content/primaluna-evo-300-integrated-amplifier

Because these recordings were of the same vintage, with known recording hardware, the transparency of the EVO 300 – categorically not found in vintage amplifiers to this degree – will delight you if you’re a student of early record labels. I am not schooled in classical, so I can’t tell you which of Mercury, Columbia, Decca or RCA did the best with symphony orchestras, but you will definitely hear the ‘Capitol sound’ versus ‘the Columbia sound’.

It’s more complex than studio versus studio, eg, you also have to factor in Mitch Miller versus Nelson Riddle, but the pleasure of discovery is there. The EVO 300, in stock form, was a revelation. But, oh, to have the time to indulge in trying every one of the tubes it can accommodate.

And The Honeycombs? So chunky was the pounding, overegged-by-Joe-Meek drumming on the title track and ‘Just A Face In The Crowd’ that I suddenly lost the urge to swap out the EL34s for 6550s. For the weight of the drums alone, you can declare that this amp rocks. Whatever the tube.