Focal Has The Perfect $15k Gift For The Headphone Enthusiast In Your Life
December 18, 2019 Comments Off on Focal Has The Perfect $15k Gift For The Headphone Enthusiast In Your Life
https://audio-head.com/focal-has-the-perfect-15k-gift-for-the-headphone-enthusiast-in-your-life/
It’s France-based Focal’s 40th anniversary this year and to help get into the spirit of things, they are making some serious moves to help your audiophile-inclined friends and family have a jolly holiday season.
Focal has produced quite a bit in the personal audio space in the past few years. The open back flagship Utopia headphone along with the more recent closed Stellia are a benchmark for many other headphones now entering the market. So for the guy/gal who wants it all, you can now have it in a nifty display case… for $15k USD.
Inventory is limited for this collections of audio goodies, only 40 cases will be made available worldwide. The Focal Symphonie 40th isn’t just headphones however, but rather a end-to-end menagerie of fidelity delights:
ampsandsound Stereo ST15 Special Edition Amplifier $2800 Review
December 17, 2019 Comments Off on ampsandsound Stereo ST15 Special Edition Amplifier $2800 Review
“The fit and finish are top notch, even if the cabinet and overall look is a bit retro. I love retro. I got some serious compliments on both the overall look and the size. Not everyone wants ginormous amplifiers and thundering towers of speakers, and I suspect those audiophiles would do well to check out the entire line of ampsandsound products. As for the Stereo ST15 Special Edition, I can wholeheartedly recommend it if you are careful about speaker pairing and using a high efficiency speaker to get the most out of this amplifier, I doubt you would be sorry. You might even think about pairing it with a self powered speaker that powers the lower end, but can still be run on the top end by the ST15 SE. VonSchweikert Active speakers come to mind. Ether way, this is a amplifier that defies its relatively inexpensive price tag, and delivers way above that price with the right speaker pairing. I may well consider this or a set of the monos when I eventually downsize my system and go with a set of Avantgarde Unos! Now that would be a heavenly pairing.”
Audeze LCD-1 & Rosson Audio Designs RAD-0 Headphones
December 17, 2019 Comments Off on Audeze LCD-1 & Rosson Audio Designs RAD-0 Headphones
“While the Audeze LCD-1 attempts to tackle the lucrative, but competitive $500 mark for personal audio enthusiasts, the RAD-0 has a more bespoke approach to design and cost. For those familiar with both company’s RAD founder Alex Rosson started working at Audeze and was among the founding cast of the LA-OC based company. His first dip into the market appears at the higher end of the hobby, with most headphones costing around $2,600. A look at his product page gives you a better idea of the custom leanings he has” chosen, no two headphones appear at first glance to be colored the same.
ABYSS DIANA V2 $4000 REVIEW
December 16, 2019 Comments Off on ABYSS DIANA V2 $4000 REVIEW
https://www.headfonia.com/abyss-diana-v2/
“Diana V2 has an organic sound, with excellent body throughout the entire signature. It sounds life-like with really good imaging and resolution. The Diana Phi in comparison sounds more open, faster and more precise. But the Diana V2 has this meaty sound, that makes listening to it a big pleasure.
Both headphones give the listener a respectively different approach to music. While Diana Phi uncovers just about every little detail there is, Diana V2 invites you to sit back and just enjoy your music in the highest form.”
Astell & Kern SR15 A&norma Review
December 16, 2019 Comments Off on Astell & Kern SR15 A&norma Review
https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/astell-kern-sr15-anorma-review
“If you’re looking for something pocket-friendly that can take advantage of digital audio in both a wireless and wired world and replace your mobile phone as your main music experience that does streaming services like TIDAL, Qobuz, Deezer or Spotify via wi-fi, has gobs of internal storage, can handle every file type imaginable, and won’t break the bank, then the Astell&Kern SR15 at $699 USD is a no-brainer. The increase in SQ over the iPhone/Lightning/Buetooth pairing is obvious, and the fact you don’t get interrupted by a call or text while listening is a huge bonus for me personally. When I’m listening to music, I’d rather not be distracted with social media, the Internet, etc. That said, the fact that the A&norma is a separate unit, it allows unhindered listening while you work on your laptop or scroll Instagram on your phone, so it’s a bit of a win-win from either angle. For the level of SQ, wired and wireless feature set, and future-fi that the SR15 has built-in at its price point, I can only highly recommend it.
IBASSO DX160 REVIEW
December 15, 2019 Comments Off on IBASSO DX160 REVIEW
“The DX160 will operate as both a transmitter and a receiver and connect to multiple wireless devices using Bluetooth 5.0. You can also access some app control features though this will largely depend on the apps you are using.
I found it relatively easy to connect my Samsung Note 9 to the DX160 and by simply switching on the ‘Bluetooth DAC+AMP Mode’ in the Bluetooth menu after doing the initial BT pairing process. I was able to automatically stream audio from the Note 9 to the DX160 using any music app. That also included streaming apps such as TIDAL which sound excellent on the DX160 via the Note 9 BT connection.
Because BT5.0 allows Bi-Directional support you can also flip the audio experience and stream your audio from the DX220 to a receiver of your choice such as a smartphone or another DAP since it is backward compatible with BT4.2. I had no issues streaming from the DX160 to the R2R200 Black, for example, or any Bluetooth active wireless speaker within range.”
Naim Nait XS 3 Integrated Amplifier Review
December 13, 2019 Comments Off on Naim Nait XS 3 Integrated Amplifier Review
https://www.hifinews.com/content/naim-nait-xs-3-integrated-amplifier
“Mind you, the Nait XS 3 is no one-trick pony. As I said, the phono stage is the eye-catcher, but that sonic balance is maintained across the line inputs too, and slotting it into my system in place of the Naim Supernait 2/HiCap DR I’ve been using off and on for quite a while now, was less of a hardship than I was expecting – or is that dreading? True, the XS 3 doesn’t quite have the resolution and swagger even of the Supernait 2 alone, let alone when HiCapped, but this is a decidedly fast and punchy little amplifier by any standards. It certainly has a useful extra turn of speed over the XS 2, as was confirmed by a recent brief back-to-back listen, despite also offering a richer, more solid delivery of lower frequencies.”
Audiophilepure 
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