Cayin N5iiS $499 Review
May 6, 2019 Comments Off on Cayin N5iiS $499 Review
“Whether or not you listen to music on the go, there’s always room for one more piece of audio equipment. Herein lies my dilemma – I am head-over-heels in love with the musical presentation of the Cayin N5iiS, but I am having a hard time recommending it to people who, like me, focus on the user experience as a whole. Perhaps future firmware updates from Cayin will fix the noticeable lag in the response.
That aside, the N5iiS is a heavy portable powerhouse and will cater to listeners who want a player with both sound quality and connectivity options. Oh, and did I mention it has two (two!) TF card slots?”
Audeze LCD-4z Headphone $4,000 Review
May 6, 2019 Comments Off on Audeze LCD-4z Headphone $4,000 Review
“According to Audeze the 4z features their patented Fazor Element Waveguide to assist in reducing sound wave diffraction, their “most advanced diaphragm design” which consists of the company’s “exclusive nano-scale film [which] actually weighs less than the air it displaces.” Audeze says the benefits of these technologies “include faster response for better transient/impulse response, imaging, and the flattest, deepest, most accurate bass response of any headphone available.” They go on to claim that the Double Fluxor Magnet Arrays “nearly doubles the magnetic force: bringing the magnetic flux to 1.5 Tesla, nearly doubling the power driving the diaphragm for improved transient response and far greater resolution.” This type of nomenclature sounds fantastic to me… and in real-world listening I cannot refute these claims. The 4z are a slam dunk with spy-satellite resolution and detail, beautiful timbral and tonal colorations, lasting decay off upper-register notes (piano and keyboard in particular), a real sense of speed, deep, powerful bottom end and most importantly to me; real human-imbued musicality, rhythm and timing to their playback capabilities. They pretty much give you exactly what you’re feeding them from without flourish, attenuation or goosing.”
Read more at https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/audeze-lcd-4z-headphone-review#DkKdUtcCpL5810iQ.99
Burmester High-End Soundsystem (2019 Mercedes-Benz S-Class)
May 6, 2019 Comments Off on Burmester High-End Soundsystem (2019 Mercedes-Benz S-Class)
That difference in spec comes down simply to space, with different styles of car requiring compromises. For example, the S-Class coupé, tested here, loses the height speakers you find in the rear roof panelling of the saloon. The rear centre speaker has also been moved to nestle between the rear seats.
While the coupé gets a ring radiator tweeter partnered with a midrange driver in each of the front doors, the saloon gets a fancy pair of rotating tweeters that spin out of the corners of the ‘A’ pillar, close to the wing mirror. The saloon also has extra woofers positioned in the rear doors, which isn’t possible in the three-door coupé.”
Magico A3 speakers review
May 5, 2019 Comments Off on Magico A3 speakers review
“Yes, this is quite an enthusiastic first impression write up. Magico A3 speakers managed to entrapped me with their character free nature into the instant and unplanned prolonged initial listening.
There are loudspeakers and there are THE high-end audio loudspeakers. Magico A3’s laboratory-like precision and stand out potent nature allows an extraordinary music voyage. Literary out of the box they were capable of painting the sonic canvas with what a grander portion reality than expected!”
Verity Audio Monsalvat Amp-60 power amplifier $58,000 Review
May 5, 2019 Comments Off on Verity Audio Monsalvat Amp-60 power amplifier $58,000 Review
“Steve and I were of one mind about the gorgeous midrange that enriches mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa and pianist Fazil Say’s award-winning recording of Debussy’s Trois Chansons de Bilitis (24/96 WAV, Erato 564483). Turning to very different music, a recording of Xenakis’s Psappha on percussionist Kjell Tore Innervik’s superbly recorded Utopias (MQA 24/352.8, 2L 2L-141), I was thrilled by how masterfully the Monsalvat Amp-60 conveyed the contrasting colors of Innervik’s various instruments, and how well it handled the sustains and natural decays of their sounds. The complex overtones, undertones, and sonorous core of a single bell resounding in space were conveyed to perfection. Lows sounded a bit boomy and lazy, but everything else was of demonstration class.
Using the dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport, we listened to “Duke’s in Bed,” from a reissue of tenor saxophonist Ben Webster’s 1965 recording My Romance (SACD/CD, Top Music International UD-SACD8934.2). Beyond the hard-left/-right nature of the recording, we both felt the sound was too romantically warm, and the bass was mush.”
The world’s finest 300B tubes $1,695 per matched pair
May 4, 2019 Comments Off on The world’s finest 300B tubes $1,695 per matched pair
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An equal level of excitement is had on the upper register as well. Stringed instruments take on a more three-dimensional quality, with more texture. Pick your favorite acoustic guitar piece that you know well, and you will be surprised at how much more real the strings sound while being played, as well as the overtones that hang in the air after the strings have been struck. This is the stuff we all love 300B amplifiers for in the first place and the EAT tubes give you more of it.”
Klipsch La Scala and McIntosh system
May 4, 2019 Comments Off on Klipsch La Scala and McIntosh system
Focal’s $3K Stellia headphones
May 4, 2019 Comments Off on Focal’s $3K Stellia headphones
“Trumpet player Erik Truffaz’s electronica-tinged jazz is highly textured, and the ultradeep bass beats coursing through his Bending New Corners album all but massaged my eardrums. The bass goes really low, but it never felt overdone — the control down there is exceptional. Reggae had plenty of drive over the Stellia.
Sadly, I didn’t have Focal’s Utopia headphones on hand for a direct comparison, so I popped on a set of Audeze LCD-MX4 headphones and the tonal balance cooled down, and I missed Stellia’s richer tone. Though the MX4 is an open-back design, the sound felt more canned than it did on the Stellias. The Focal is a very open sounding closed-back design.
Stellia is so easy to drive it sounded fine with my iPhone 8, played over the Apple Lightning-to-3.5mm dongle. It’s hardly an ideal setup, but for travel it’s perfectly serviceable. It is after all, a very large headphone, so transporting Stellia isn’t for the faint of heart. Home listening with a Mytek Brooklyn amp kicked Stellia’s sound quality up a few notches.”
Audiophilepure 
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