DALI MENUET SE SPEAKER $1799 REVIEW
July 30, 2020 Comments Off on DALI MENUET SE SPEAKER $1799 REVIEW
“And so, my reviews of European speaker companies continue. As much as I like the DALI Oberons, I was really impressed with the performance of the diminutive Menuet SEs. The quality of the gorgeous walnut finish was amazing and the sound from these little speakers was much bigger than anything I thought you could get from a speaker so small. When paired with a sub, you could easily have a 2.1 system that would make many people envious. DALI has proven that size is in the eye of the beholder and if saving space is as important to you as having excellent sound, the Menuets may be exactly what you are looking for.”
AAW Halcyon Review $1,999 Review
July 29, 2020 Comments Off on AAW Halcyon Review $1,999 Review
“The Halcyon does quite well for staging with excellent headroom and an airy treble from those quad-electrostatic drivers. The depth is particularly good also, especially when you up the bass levels using the filters.
What impresses me the most is how the Halcyon electrostatic treble can deliver a clean treble without sounding overly forced and peaky. However, poor tip choice and a bright source can at times draw too much attention to anything crossing that 5-6k elevation and that is where I tend to PMEQ or tip roll to introduce a more liquid overtone.
In terms of imaging vocals are to the fore, lower-mids instruments to the rear with anything below 200Hz leveling out with the vocal positioning. Treble is more forward at 5-7k compared to 8-10k so percussion and high-pitch synth notes can resonate a little louder.”
Innuos • ZENmini Mk 3 Music Server and LPSU Power Supply $1999
July 29, 2020 Comments Off on Innuos • ZENmini Mk 3 Music Server and LPSU Power Supply $1999
“What are the disadvantages of the ZENmini Mk 3 and LPSU? The absolute need for Ethernet might be a small impediment, but Ethernet over either A/C devices or WiFi extenders worked great. The lack of Bluetooth or AirPlay could absolutely be a non-starter for some audiophiles, as would the inability to use portable hard drives as playback devices. I have heard more expensive units do a better job at fleshing out images in the back of the soundstage and, while the ZENmini’s bass was nimble, it certainly lacked some slam and body behind the initial bass hit. Finally, if you own the ZENmini Mk 3 but use it without the LPSU, you are missing out on much of its magic and you’ll need to find the funds to complete the pair.”
Wells Audio Commander Level II Preamplifier Review
July 29, 2020 Comments Off on Wells Audio Commander Level II Preamplifier Review
“Recording after recording, music through the Commander Level II was at all times without noise or artifacts. I never felt that this preamp was coloring the signal in any way. All of the desirable tubal tonality was there, but it was never overly lush or burnished, as is heard from other tubed models. There was also tremendous extension and detail at both frequency extremes, with no bottom-end bloat or top-end glare.”
Chord Ultima Pre 2/Ultima 2 Pre/Power Amplifier £18,360 Review
July 28, 2020 Comments Off on Chord Ultima Pre 2/Ultima 2 Pre/Power Amplifier £18,360 Review
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If the Ultima flagship is a costly ‘technology demonstrator’ then these Ultima 2 offsprings are a textbook illustration of trickledown in action. Frankly, if you were enthralled by the debut Ultimas and have been saving ever since then cash in your chips now, buy the Ultima 2s instead and spend the excess £40k on new floorstanders and music. Yes, the Ultima Pre 2 and Ultima 2 really are that good.”
T+A Solitaire P Headphones Review
July 28, 2020 Comments Off on T+A Solitaire P Headphones Review
“Tonally the Solitaire P resembles many other planar magnetics and runs true to what you’d expect from its frequency responses. While it lacks the shelved-up bass demanded by the latest Harman target response it conspicuously lacks treble energy. As a result it delivers a refined, low-grit and low-grain sound but can lack a little sparkle and analysis.
‘Now Is The Month Of Maying’ [96kHz/24-bit rip from Voices Unbound; AIX 80012], a track that I haven’t played for years, comprises an a cappella choir of male and female voices singing a well-known ballett written by Thomas Morley in 1595. As with all good choir recordings, reproduced at its best it allows you to ‘hear into’ the ensemble to individual voices within, which renders the performance altogether more real, more vital and engaging than a smoothed-over, lower-resolution equivalent. Arguably the Solitaire P errs slightly on the side of the latter.”
Rega io integrated amplifier $599 Review
July 27, 2020 Comments Off on Rega io integrated amplifier $599 Review
“The Rega io is so good, one is tempted to summon up a cauldron full of well-worn audiophile clichés. While it is excellent at first listen, the toughest part of reviewing a component offering such a high level of performance is that it begs being connected to much more expensive ancillaries to experience the depth of its true capabilities. You could grab a pair of budget speakers and a thrift shop turntable and live happily ever after with the io, but like that other legend from the UK, don’t be surprised to see this one in the company of much more expensive components. Watch for the audio forums of 2050 to speak of this amplifier in hushed reverence. Of course, the io is worthy of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2020, but that doesn’t truly explain a product that gets the essence of the music so right. Audiophiles beginning their journey here may be spoiled for a very long time.”
EARTHQUAKE SOUND MINIME DSP P12 SUBWOOFER REVIEW
July 27, 2020 Comments Off on EARTHQUAKE SOUND MINIME DSP P12 SUBWOOFER REVIEW
“A passive radiator is something entirely different. It is a driver with no voice coil or magnet. It is usually a round weighted planar driver (flat) mounted with a heavy surround. It is in the same air space as the active subwoofer driver. The passive radiator responds to the active driver moving because the air in the enclosure is pressurized either positively or negatively as the active driver moves. It is not in the same phase as the active driver because it takes a finite time for the passive radiator to respond to the movement of the active driver. This is the case for the Earthquake MiniMe DSP P12 subwoofer.”
NOT DEAD YET! CD ripping AND playback w/ AURALIC
July 27, 2020 Comments Off on NOT DEAD YET! CD ripping AND playback w/ AURALIC
ANDOVER PM-50 $500 REVIEW
July 26, 2020 Comments Off on ANDOVER PM-50 $500 REVIEW
“One of the lesser flaunted features of the PM-50 is also its size and use case. The typical forum response to hearing that a new headphone was planar magnetic is that it’s meant to be a sit-down headphone due to its overbearing cup size and weight; I wonder if Audeze popularized this. The PM-50s run counter to this idea with a headphone footprint just slightly larger than that of an ‘on-ear’ headphone. With a DAP in hand, the PM-50s make a surprisingly apt companion around the house. Light enough to be used when doing chores yet with just enough clamp and weight to not fall off when your head is angled down. As Linus Sebastion (one of the most popular Technology Youtubers) famously demonstrated a while back, a headphone that falls off your head when you bend over isn’t exactly up to snuff
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Audiophilepure 
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