Ifi iOne Nano – Review
May 18, 2019 Comments Off on Ifi iOne Nano – Review
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Unlike the iDSD or their larger “Micro” series DAC, the iOne doesn’t also contain a headphone amp, so it’s a different animal form the rest of the companies DACs. Listening to headphones on a laptop you’ll want to combine it with the (stackable) iCAN. This is battery powered, so it will work, but it can’t charge via USB and thus could catch you out. Although the iCAN’s 70+ hour battery is supremely impressive if it could share the iOne’s USB cable to charge it would be perfect (v2 request :P). This also makes me wonder how long it would be until the convenience of bluetooth gets added to the Nano iDSD, where both DAC & amp are combined and the device is battery powered… Hmm 🙂
Adding the iOne to a home audio / entertainment system would probably have it surrounded by powered USB ports from a receiver or games consoles etc. however, using it to add Bluetooth to an aging hifi system might not be as easy to start. You would have to buy a USB power plug and a decent length USB cable. There is a cable included in the box, but it’s only long enough to place the iOne within a few 10cm of a powered USB port. It won’t reach anything from a power socket and it wasn’t long enough to reach the back of my desk from the desktop PC, directly underneath it. Although I’ve amassed many USB cables over the years this isn’t a particularly common type any more, so I do wish there was alonger one in the box. These tend to be needed for what you get them with (printers, scanners etc.) so you will probably will have to buy one for mains power as well as the plug”
Copland CTA408 Review
May 18, 2019 Comments Off on Copland CTA408 Review
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Perhaps the biggest surprise is just how well the Copland gets along with JBL L100 Classics. These retro-themed speakers may not seem an obvious partner but their combination of high sensitivity (90dB/W/m), vivid dynamics and sheer enthusiasm works brilliantly with the CTA408’s sophisticated style of sonic delivery. We stay with these for much of the test.
The sound of Copland’s products tend to buck the valve norm. They trade the stereotypical warm and softness of many such designs for a neutral, even-handed balance that’s far more typical of a good transistor circuit. Detail levels are impressive, though the CTA408 is never one to emphasise leading edges in a bid to make the music sound more exciting than it is. Instead you get a well-organised, insightful presentation that puts the musical message first.”
LARK STUDIO LSXC $1699 REVIEW
May 17, 2019 Comments Off on LARK STUDIO LSXC $1699 REVIEW
“Lark Studio have a fairly excellent support center for guidance on ear mold impressions that work best for them. this is pretty important given the costs of getting them done and the logistics of getting them there. They will do a refit free or charge within the first 30 days but still that shipping costs to China make doing the original ear impressions right the first time all the more important.
Lark Studio ask for an open-mouth full ear impression beyond the second bend in an open jaw position. I would advise a bite block of some kind of a max of two fingers in width to keep your jaw open and steady during the process.”
Acapella Audio Arts – The Audio One music server Review
May 17, 2019 Comments Off on Acapella Audio Arts – The Audio One music server Review
“Acapella has recently come out with a music server. You’ve seen it at shows, but it is now in production and we’ve been using it here on both the big and small systems for a month or two now.
On the big system we run it into the Audio Note “Fifth Element” DAC at 24×96 and it sounds very good. Not as good as the very expensive Audio Note CDT-Five transport, but sometimes the laziness bug strikes and one just wants to set it and forget it.”
MARK LEVINSON NO515 TURNTABLE $10,000 REVIEW
May 17, 2019 Comments Off on MARK LEVINSON NO515 TURNTABLE $10,000 REVIEW
“I checked out this album during the holidays and found it to be very fun and engaging. Of course the No515 deck brought out the best in it. When we had my wife’s family over on Christmas afternoon, this was one of the albums I played during their visit. Everybody took note of the excellent sonics. It became more than just background music and soon enough there was a small group gathered around enjoying the funky arrangements. The next thing I knew, my mother in law said she could “listen to this all day”. That was another first!”
FLUANCE RT85 REFERENCE HIGH FIDELITY TURNTABLE REVIEW
May 16, 2019 Comments Off on FLUANCE RT85 REFERENCE HIGH FIDELITY TURNTABLE REVIEW
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The vaunted ‘speed regulation’, was a curious note for me initially in that the RT85 seemed to spin fast when the tone arm was lifted only to settle down after a few seconds later before properly regulating the speed. The only way to mitigate this was to lift the tonearm and remember to wait a few seconds for the speed to regulate and then place the needle down. It’s not a deal breaker but it is noticeable and mildly irritating.
I had to fight the urge to touch the vinyl as I normally do and kept the dust cover on for most of my listening, so I wouldn’t give it a shot.
While the RT85 is quite substantial in appearance, I did find that having only three isolation feet rather than four made the deck susceptible to wobbling or tipping over if nudged by accident. Again, unfairly compared to the Technics which is much heavier and planted on four feet, I realized I couldn’t be as hard on this turntable as I am with my DJ gear, as sometimes the needle would jump or even worse, I would fear flipping the turntable deck itself! So, I backed off.”
KEF LSX Wireless Music System Review
May 16, 2019 Comments Off on KEF LSX Wireless Music System Review
“There was definitely some boundary-reinforcing going on and while the bass felt large, it never sounded sluggish or boomy. Things had a noticeable improvement thanks to a little help from the KEF Control app which lets you use DSP settings to fine-tune placement parameters. KEF calls this their “Music Integrity Engine.” These parameters include; where the speakers are placed (desk or stands), distance from the front edge of desk, distance to rear wall, room size, room tuning (Dampened, Moderate, Lively), dB-adjustments (-6dB~0dB) for Desk Mode, Wall Mode, Treble Trim, Phase Correction and Bass Extension (Less, Standard, Extra). Dialling-in the DSP helped tighten-up the notes between the lower octaves without it sounding like it had lost any of its punch. Ditto for upper-frequency extension which remained sweet, and airy without sacrificing resolution. Midrange was defined, bouncy, had meat on the bones and instruments like guitars, cellos, stand-up bass, piano and organ carried impact close to commiserate with their size.”
Meet Jill, her Klipschorns were too big for her house, so she bought a bigger house
May 16, 2019 Comments Off on Meet Jill, her Klipschorns were too big for her house, so she bought a bigger house
Classical Streaming Service Primephonic Enables Easy Offline Listening
May 15, 2019 Comments Off on Classical Streaming Service Primephonic Enables Easy Offline Listening
“The services differ in several crucial aspects, however. Of major importance, Primephonic now offers two streaming tiers, Premium ($7.99 USD/month or $79.00 USD/year) that is limited to an adaptive bit-rate of 320 kbps MP3, and Platinum ($14.99 USD/month or $149.99 USD/year) that streams full CD quality and, when available, hi-rez 24-bit FLAC in adaptive bit-rate. While Primephonic’s hi-rez offerings put it a step above Idagio, which does not offer hi-rez streaming and has no current plans to do so, Idagio users who subscribe to its lossless Redbook-quality tier can store tracks for future playback at full CD quality, which sure sounds better than a sampling rate of 160 kbps.
SVS SB-3000 Subwoofer Review
May 15, 2019 Comments Off on SVS SB-3000 Subwoofer Review
“The driver uses a lightweight and rigid aluminium vented cone with a composite fibre dustcap, which is combined with a proprietary injection moulded gasket and long-throw parabolic surround to allow for extreme excursion and incredibly deep bass. There’s a dual ferrite magnet motor assembly weighing over 11kg, along with a flat edge wound split-wind voice coil within the motor assembly. Together, they deliver sufficient power at the highest excursion levels, but reduce mass and improve overall driver efficiency.The driver’s ability to move massive amounts of air is backed up by a rear-mounted Sledge STA-800D2 amplifier, combining the high current output of discrete MOSFETs with Class D efficiency to deliver a claimed 800W RMS and peaks of up to 2,500W. All this is governed by a 50MHz Analog Devices DSP with 56-bit filtering that SVS claim is the most advanced digital processor ever used in a subwoofer.”
Audiophilepure 
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