TOPPING D10 USB DAC AND USB SPDIF CONVERTER REVIEW
March 2, 2020 Comments Off on TOPPING D10 USB DAC AND USB SPDIF CONVERTER REVIEW
https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/dac/topping-d10-usb-dac-and-usb-spdif-converter-review/
“There is no funny reconstruction filter that is said to sound better. The Topping has a high-performance FIR that is flat to 20kHz and has a sharp stopband down 90dB. The output at 0 dBFS comes in at 2VRMS, the industry standard. Channels were remarkably well matched in all tests. It is 0.5dB down at 80kHz!!
I have a complete set of measurements below but nothing on the market at $90 will produce numbers within an order of magnitude of what I measured above. You could stop here and run out and purchase one but I’d advise you to please read my next section on shopping advice when purchasing small brands from the Far East first.”
Music Hall mmf-9.3 Walnut Turntable with Goldring Eroica LX MC Cartridge $2,695 Review
March 1, 2020 Comments Off on Music Hall mmf-9.3 Walnut Turntable with Goldring Eroica LX MC Cartridge $2,695 Review
https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/music-hall-mmf-9-3-turntable-2/
“The synergy of the mmf-9.3 Walnut’s remarkable quietness, balanced and natural tonality, superb resolution, expressive drive and pacing, make it an overachieving entrant in this price range. Though I’ve yet to hear their flagship offering, the mmf-11, this penultimate offering from Music Hall, especially in this beautiful walnut finish, offers an incredible combination of exhilarating performance, strikingly good classic aesthetics, and most importantly, exceptional value. While there is quite a bit of competition in this class, the Music Hall mmf-9.3 distinguishes itself as a top performer, one that most LP lovers will find remarkable enough to be their “forever” turntable! Most highly recommended.”
Gato Audio DIA-250S NPM Amplifier/Network DAC Review
March 1, 2020 Comments Off on Gato Audio DIA-250S NPM Amplifier/Network DAC Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/gato-audio-dia-250s-npm-amplifiernetwork-dac
“The basic specification of 250W/8ohm and 500W/4ohm, and RCA/XLR line pre-outs to feed external power amps, active speakers and subwoofers, has not changed from the original DIA-250S amplifier. Similarly, the controls are minimal, with nothing more than that large central volume control, input selector, plus a standby button, on the front panel. The display shows volume and input as standard, but when playing digital sources the right-hand panel can be set to show input sampling rate, either for a few seconds via remote control, or by default using the display dimmer button on the rear panel.
Crucially, Gato has now added its NPM (network player module) to the DIA-250S, opening up a whole new world of digital streaming to the user. Inserted into the upper part of the rear panel, where once was just a screw terminal to connect a Bluetooth stub antenna, this adds an Ethernet port and a USB-A socket into which can be inserted a supplied Wi-Fi dongle, and upgrades the Bluetooth provision to aptX HD.”
Pure Audio One solid-state integrated amplifier $10,000 Review
February 29, 2020 Comments Off on Pure Audio One solid-state integrated amplifier $10,000 Review
https://www.dagogo.com/pure-audio-one-solid-state-integrated-amplifier-review/
“Moreover, unlike some amplifiers the Pure Audio One allows for future upgrading by serving as a power amp. Fortunately, I was provided a Pure Audio Control 1 Preamplifier for testing purposes. The Control 1 preamplifier was subsequently followed by a new preamplifier called — you guessed it — the Control 2 Preamplifier. The Control 2 updates the power supply and uses a more standardized input selector similar to the One.
Regardless, the separate preamplifier makes some significant gains to the overall presentation concerning transparency and overall clarity without taking away the richness of the presentation. I was impressed with the gains made using the Pure Audio Control preamplifiers (although when I pushed the remote control volume, it operated both units at the same time). Still, I felt the Control preamplifiers open up some of the sound creating more space, air, and articulation to vocals. Put simply, the presentation was more transparent.”
McIntosh MT2 Turntable Unboxing Video
February 29, 2020 Comments Off on McIntosh MT2 Turntable Unboxing Video
Jazzed music streaming service launches
February 28, 2020 Comments Off on Jazzed music streaming service launches
https://www.hifichoice.com/content/jazzed-music-streaming-service-launches
“Stepping up to the £5.99 (or £59.99 a year) jazzed+ tier ditches the ads, offers access to all of the curated content and exclusive videos and allows the user to skip tracks. Both tiers are streamed in a variable bit-rate in an advanced AAC+ compression format.
Expected “later in the year,” the jazzedpremium tier costs £14.99 a month (or £149.99 a year), offers more options in terms of curated audio channels and exclusive content, an advanced search facility and listen off-line functionality. Most importantly, it sees the audio quality increase to what’s described as “HD lossless audio (FLAC 16-bit)”
Focal Chora 816 Loudspeaker Review
February 28, 2020 Comments Off on Focal Chora 816 Loudspeaker Review
https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2020/1/31/sx2mawfb31qml5sp0jy537p7mznx97
“I then put on my 70s Robert Ludwig mastered copy of Patti Smith’s Horses. The first track, “Gloria”, features a chorus where background singers shout in a call and response patter with Smith. This effect was rendered incredibly lifelike on the Choras and I was able to distinguish the individual voice types in this group section, something I wasn’t used to hearing. The snappy Reggae inspired guitars and drums in “Redondo Beach” displayed excellent transient response. I could hear the pick scrape against the guitar pickup. Moving on to the track “Money”, I did sense a bit of glare in the piano tone. As much as the highs and lows of this speaker continue to impress me, as well as the three dimensionality of the soundstage, I do get a sense that the midrange comes across as a bit simple and grainy at times. Not overly so, but it is a contrast against the otherwise well-rounded areas of the frequency range. Despite this, this speaker was producing the kind of fun, toe-tapping sound that so many “audiophile” speakers at this price (and even above) lack.”
Lab12 Integre4 Integrated Amplifier Review
February 28, 2020 Comments Off on Lab12 Integre4 Integrated Amplifier Review
https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1373-lab12-integre4-integrated-amplifier
“In an attempt to push the Integre4’s upper mids to their limit, I streamed several tracks from Spotify, itself a bright-sounding platform. With the somewhat mellow-balanced Living Voice Avatar speakers I also own, the voices and guitars in “Don’t Bother Calling,” from Moses Sumney’s Aromanticism (320kbps Ogg Vorbis, Jagjaguwar), sounded fairly well balanced through the mids and into the lower treble. So, too, did SZA’s voice in “Love Galore,” from her album Ctrl (320kbps Ogg Vorbis, RCA). But through the more neutral-balanced Klipsch Epic CF-2 speakers the Integre4 pushed the presence region forward, adding some shrillness and excess sibilance to SZA’s voice. “Birds of a Feather,” from Mocky’s Saskamodie (320kpbs Ogg Vorbis, Heavy Sheet Music), also had a bit of excess glare and brightness in the sounds of tambourines and whistling, sounding at times too harsh.”
Audiophilepure 
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