Heaven 11 Billie Amp Mk3 tube/class D hybrid integrated amplifier Review
May 26, 2026 Comments Off on Heaven 11 Billie Amp Mk3 tube/class D hybrid integrated amplifier Review
In my review of the Mk2, I suggested that Heaven 11 upgrade the RCA input jacks, but it appears for the sake of affordability they are unchanged. The company might have to retool the chassis for such a change, so I can see why they have not done so. Still, I hope that in the future with new designs such an improvement is employed. Does that issue put me off from using the Mk2 or Mk3? Absolutely not! I have had other components with similar RCA jacks. The firmness of the connection is not confidence inspiring, but it never seems to affect the operation. Thankfully, the company is putting the money into serious speaker posts, and the ones used in the Mk2 and Mk3 are exemplary! The heavy posts inspire confidence when heavier cords with spades are cinched down. Far better the speaker posts are strong than the other way around.
As it appears a similar chassis was used for the Mk3, there is still quite close spacing of the output posts, and larger spades are closely anchored. Thus, I continue my precautionary practice of slipping a piece of leather (any non-conducting material will do) between the posts and spades to ensure that if one is loosened it does not contact the other. We know what would happen then, and I take no chances with a class D amp’s output channels shorting. The spades have never come loose previously; the posts are very good. But I am not about to chance it. It may seem odd, then, that I go about system building by splitting digital signals out from sources and horizontally wiring pairs of integrated amplifiers to speakers! While these are odd methods, I have not found them to pose serious risk to components. If they did, I wouldn’t use such methods. As usual, such activities are “do at your own risk”.

Pass Labs INT-250 Integrated Amplifier Review
May 26, 2026 Comments Off on Pass Labs INT-250 Integrated Amplifier Review
Mobile Fidelity’s UltraDisc One-Step 180g Editions of Michael Jackson’s Career
May 25, 2026 Comments Off on Mobile Fidelity’s UltraDisc One-Step 180g Editions of Michael Jackson’s Career
The inner cover design — which is basically a flat black oaktag sleeve with a CD-sized matte image of the original album cover art centered in the middle — is indeed dramatic-looking, and it does conform with the design of other One-Steps like MoFi’s Van Halen reissue series and their recently released One-Step for My Morning Jacket’s Z. That said, I would have preferred those replicated cover images to be bigger on the sleeve cover, if not covered the entirety of them, but I do get why MoFi are keeping them uniform for the overall design concept of the One-Step series. (And, like AP editor Mettler, I also appreciated the full-size, four-sided inserts that did indeed replicate the cover art in full and also included the lyrics and track-by-track credits.)
As to whether you need to get these two UltraDisc One-Step editions of Michael Jackson’s two greatest solo releases, that is always a personal decision. If I had to choose between the two, Off the Wall would be my hands-down recommendation, and it is well worth shelling out the extra bucks to get it in hand right now. But, of course, Thriller is what it is — the most popular non-compilation album of all time — so if you want to hear what is quite possibly the best-sounding version of it to date, the MoFi One-Step is totally right for you.


SVS SB-2000 Active Subwoofer Review
May 25, 2026 Comments Off on SVS SB-2000 Active Subwoofer Review
https://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0518/SVS_SB2000_Powered_Subwoofer_Review.htm
But let me be frank. The SVS SB-2000 is not going to be suitable for all systems, as some listeners might (and should) devote as much resources as possible in order to properly match it with the quality of the rest of one’s system. Does the system in which I tested this sub deserve a better subwoofer than the SVS SB-2000? Probably. It would be nice to have a subwoofer with a remote control, and it would also be nice to have a way to adjust its settings automatically, short of connecting it to a receiver that has internal subwoofer setup controls, which isn’t going to happen. It would even have been nice to have a sub that was even more extended in the bass than the SB-2000 and have even better sound quality overall. But those features would have cost lots more than the SB-2000. Because of it being designed by a company that obviously knows a thing or two about subwoofers and has put this knowledge to good use by manufacturing a subwoofer that can fight way above its weight class, an audiophile (or non-audiophile!) can hook up this subwoofer knowing they are getting the most for their money.

WIlson Audio Unveils Their Newest Game Changer: The Autobiography
May 25, 2026 Comments Off on WIlson Audio Unveils Their Newest Game Changer: The Autobiography
Legacy Audio Signature XD Tower Speaker $14,500 Review
May 24, 2026 Comments Off on Legacy Audio Signature XD Tower Speaker $14,500 Review
The Legacy Signature XD floor-standing speakers deliver quality construction and musicality in a relatively compact footprint (although a heavy one indeed). Having visited the factory, I can attest to their thorough R&D, quality construction, extreme attention to detail, and amazing assortment of veneers and finishes. These are speakers made by people who love music, and it shows in their products. I give a hearty thumbs up to these exquisite speakers and hope you get an opportunity to hear them in a showroom someday. They just may turn up in your living room!

Quad Platina Integrated amplifier Review
May 24, 2026 Comments Off on Quad Platina Integrated amplifier Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/quad-platina-integrated-amplifier
This superb performance continued with two of Van Halen’s finest cover versions, ‘Where Have All The Good Times Gone’ and ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’. Here the Quad amp showed breathtaking speed on Eddie’s guitar leads while reproducing all the nuances of David Lee Roth’s vocals. You could almost see him smirk. As with The Heavy Heavy and Led Zeppelin tracks, the percussion was massive, powerful and – had I removed the grilles to see it – pumping a lot of air.
But on to subtlety. Linda Ronstadt’s Prisoner In Disguise [Mobile Fidelity MFSL 2-608] is a go-to album for vocals. What I wasn’t expecting, though, was the same powerhouse drumming, even on tracks like ‘Love Is A Rose’ which is inherently gentle. Ronstadt’s voice was sibilance-free, detectably warm and even reminiscent of Quad valves. Whoever engineered this clearly had Quad Classic valve equipment to hand, also emulating their three-dimensionality. I had to keep reminding myself there wasn’t a tube in the audio chain.

Master Artist Fresco Loudspeaker Review
May 24, 2026 Comments Off on Master Artist Fresco Loudspeaker Review
DALI Epikore 7 loudspeaker Review
May 23, 2026 Comments Off on DALI Epikore 7 loudspeaker Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/dali-epikore-7-loudspeaker
The Epikore 7 is a delight to listen to, demonstrating that tried-and-trusted DALI techniques can be brought to a higher level, creating a superb speaker which offers thrills and refinement in equal parts. The richness of its bass suggests that care needs to be taken regarding room interaction, but that aside it is a loudspeaker that enthrals as much with its sonic performance as with its lavish aesthetics

Quad PA-One+ Triode Vacuum Tube DAC / Headamp Review
May 23, 2026 Comments Off on Quad PA-One+ Triode Vacuum Tube DAC / Headamp Review
https://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0519/Quad_PA_One_Plus_DAC_Headamp_Review.htm
The PA-One+ easily handled the ramp up to the higher impedance LCD 3s reproducing a stage-side table at a dinner theater atmosphere for Dean Martin singing “Everybody Loves Somebody” [Everybody Loves Somebody in 24-bit/96kHz], with a natural laid back depiction of the upright bass, drums, and piano accompanied by an enveloping string section and a healthy choral group.
To test the balanced output I selected the MrSpeakers ETHER2s and a 24-bit/96kHz vinyl rip of Nicky Hopkins’ “No Time” from his epic album No More Changes. The piano had an authentic tonality set in a large hall, while the bass guitar was deep and palpable, the lead guitar sweet and melodic, as the steel guitar and organ provided a haunting ethereal background.
Listening to “Killer Klowns From Outer Space” by the Dickies [Killer Klowns From Outer Space in 16-bit/44.1kHz] on the 1MORE Triple Driver Over-Ear Dynamic Headphones the dynamic drivers did what dynamic drivers do, create an exciting and dynamic presentation, and the PA-One+ mellowed the sometimes strident high frequencies produced by the budget headphone.

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