CHORD ELECTRONICS HUEI PHONOSTAGE £990 REVIEW
August 2, 2020 Comments Off on CHORD ELECTRONICS HUEI PHONOSTAGE £990 REVIEW
“The Huei is not without criticism, but the criticism is functionality-led rather than performance-led. The polychromatic colour-coded controls are a clear indicator of set-up but do require a look-up table to determine precisely what ‘orange’ denotes in terms of loading. Also, even though they can be dimmed, this means the often fit-and-forget phono stage is potentially the most illuminated and colourful part of a whole system. Finally, there’s the power supply. In fact, Huei has a secondary switching power supply internally to create the operating voltages from the external supply, so whether you use linear or switch mode external it doesn’t matter; although changing the power supply will void the warranty! Not many people realise, and it’s not clear anywhere, really, that the main power supply is inside the unit and Chord just uses the external brick to feed ‘raw’ power into the product; the external power supply doesn’t directly power any of the audio electronics. However, the fact remains that audiophiles are allergic to ‘wall-warts’ and I hope this doesn’t put people off what is a stunning phono stage.”
SHANLING ME700 $549 REVIEW
August 2, 2020 Comments Off on SHANLING ME700 $549 REVIEW
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“The mids on ME700 transition smoothly into the treble range, which is mild, very rounded, and controlled without any harshness. Sibilant tones are well pressed down, but there is still some energy in it to brighten up the treble a bit for clarity, making the overall tuning slightly v-shaped.
With some higher-pitched vocals, you may feel some depression and dampenings with higher notes. This is the downside for those who like bright and clean upper mids and treble. I recommend listening to thicker, darker male vocals or very high pitched clean female singers, nothing with a fast BPM too.”
D’Agostino Relentless Mono Power Amplifier Review
August 1, 2020 Comments Off on D’Agostino Relentless Mono Power Amplifier Review
“Dan has been threatening to produce a true, no-limits amplifier for as long as I have known him. This is it. What I heard the Relentless amps do was – without any notion of hyperbole – demonstrate what sound without power limitations can be. This is not to suggest for a moment that one cannot live with less; neither is it to insinuate that there are no other systems so blissfully free of constraint. That said, they are few in number, and must be built around the most sensitive of speakers. The Relentless needs no such accommodation.”
PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube DAC USB Tube DAC Review
August 1, 2020 Comments Off on PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube DAC USB Tube DAC Review
“Turning to wolfgang.com’s vast selection of rare live gigs, I selected Warren Zevon in 1982 in Boston, for his rousing ‘Werewolves Of London’ at 48kHz. It proved massive in scale and sounding as it should: as if played via FM radio. Switching on Fidelia, I listened to the EVO 100 at 192kHz with a download of BB King’s ‘Sneakin’ Around’, a mono session of dubious sonic merit but musically a gem. I played it against the original LP, The Great BB King [United Records 728] and it was a dead ringer. I want an EVO 100.”
CH Precision A1.5 Power Amplifier $39,500 Review
July 31, 2020 Comments Off on CH Precision A1.5 Power Amplifier $39,500 Review
“Where it didn’t quite match the pricier amplifiers that I’ve recently had in my system like the D’Agostino Relentless, which comes in at a cool $250,000 a pair, or the Ypsilon Hyperions, is in the ultimate degree of relaxation and grip and control. It may sound wacky, but the fact is that there is even more performance to be had than this amplifier delivers. That’s something CH knows—and why you can go up the line in its offerings to bigger and better amps. But make no mistake: What the A1.5 offers you is more than an introduction to the high end. It constitutes an invitation to a high level of performance that is unlikely to leaving you feeling neutral about its sonic prowess.”
Scansonic MB5 B Loudspeaker Review
July 31, 2020 Comments Off on Scansonic MB5 B Loudspeaker Review
“If the original MB 5 would sound effortless, calm and perhaps a little creamy then the MB5 B stands ready to bring more energy, vigour and chest-pounding vitality to the music at hand. Perhaps the ‘B’ should be retitled ‘D’ because while this reworked version looks identical, when played hard it reveals itself to be a sonic dopplegänger. OK, so the MB5 B is no evil twin, but it does play Mars to the MB5’s Venus…
The ribbon-esque treble unit, unchanged here, sounds deliciously open and extended without a hint of brightness. There is still plenty of ‘air’ but absolutely no coarseness or brittleness, qualities that feed all the way down through mid and bass to ensure the MB5 B creates large and unforced soundscapes.”
OSD Black SRT4 Streaming Media Server Review
July 31, 2020 Comments Off on OSD Black SRT4 Streaming Media Server Review
“The SRT4 server arrived with zero fanfare in a plain white box with simple black lettering. Inside the box was the unit itself along with a wall-wart power plug (12-volt DC, 1.5 amp), detachable rack ears, and a user guide.
My initial impression upon removing the SRT4 from its box was how incredibly light it felt, reminding me more of a speaker selector than a four-zone media server. I didn’t bother to take the top off, but I’m guessing there aren’t a lot of parts inside. Obviously, a product’s weight only tells a part of its story, but the SRT4 doesn’t scream “build quality” when you’re holding it”
AUDIO TECHNICA ATH-AWAS REVIEW
July 30, 2020 Comments Off on AUDIO TECHNICA ATH-AWAS REVIEW
“However, a closer look at the spec sheet tells us that there are a few differences between the two Audio Technica stablemates. The ATH-AWAS uses a 53mm dynamic driver which has a nominal impedance of 40-ohms and a sensitivity of 99db/mW, slightly different to the 48-ohm/102dB/mW driver used in the ATH-AWKT. This driver features integrated pure-iron yoke, diamond-like carbon coating, and a 6N-OFC high-purity, oxygen-free copper voice coils. Audio Technica opted for synthetic leather pads for the ATH-AWAS as opposed to the sheepskin employed in the ATH-AWKT, which presumably helps to lower the cost between models by some $500. Like the ATH-AWKT, Audio Technica thankfully includes two 3.0m cables (employing their proprietary A2DC connector) as standard with the ATH-AWAS, a 6.3mm single-ended cable plus a 4-pin XLR cable. Listeners will appreciate the inclusion of the latter cable, which is both conspicuously absent from their flagship?
EMM Labs DV2 DAC-Preamplifier $30,000 Review
July 30, 2020 Comments Off on EMM Labs DV2 DAC-Preamplifier $30,000 Review
“It took a little while for me to understand and acclimate to how music was now being re-created in my room, but the more I listened and the deeper I dug, the more I liked what I heard. While the soundstage was a bit smaller, bass a smidge less pronounced, and images a tad freer, the DV2 was now better at limning the boundaries of the recording venue, refining the textural nuances of various bass instruments, and presenting images with the finest balance of precision and warmth I’ve heard in my room. “Hold On,” from McLachlan’s Mirrorball (16/44.1 FLAC, Nettwerk), had an uncanny sense of liveliness chock full of inner details and nuances I hadn’t heard before. For example, at the beginning of the track, as McLachlan plucks her acoustic guitar, I could better hear the crackle of applause and, as the audience quieted, one intricately delineated person still clapping on the left, who before had been barely audible, was now obvious. The senses of definition and distance that were communicated were uncanny, and they continued throughout the track, letting me further relish the taps of Ashwin Sood’s brass, their long decays, and the fervor with which McLachlan melodiously imbues every note she sings.”
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