Monitor Audio Platinum PL100 II Loudspeaker $5,795 Review
February 19, 2019 Comments Off on Monitor Audio Platinum PL100 II Loudspeaker $5,795 Review
“Of the speakers that I have reviewed recently, the PL100 II sounds most similar to the $2140 Xavian Perla Esclusiva, but has deeper bass and a small increase in treble resolution. The Xavians are not as particular about toe in or room position. The $4,000 per pair Revel M126Be is higher resolution across the audible frequency range while being much more particular regarding the associated power amplifier.
This is a speaker that draws little attention to itself sonically and you don’t really think about them while the music is playing. The cabinets are very nicely finished. The almost 34 pound weight of each speaker is heavier than almost any other 2-way speaker, including some with metal or proprietary-material enclosures. They don’t impress as being spectacular sounding in any area, but are quite competent at delivering an enjoyable listening experience. ”
Dan D’Agostino Momentum Integrated Amplifier w/DAC & Audio Streaming World Premiere $50,000 Review
February 18, 2019 Comments Off on Dan D’Agostino Momentum Integrated Amplifier w/DAC & Audio Streaming World Premiere $50,000 Review
“My concentration changes focus throughout the piece, in sort of a meditative way as it ebbs and flows throughout the piece. I found this happening when listening to the MLife play my favorite power orchestral pieces. Regardless of how boisterous the music might become, my focus changes throughout the piece, focusing on different instruments, different sections of the orchestra, and to its soloists. As it does in real life. The dynamic distance the MLife can create with this large group of instrument is second to none in my experience, regardless of whether I’m listening to the internal DAC fed by the Ethernet connection or a source connected through an interconnect, digital or analog. The internal DAC of the MLife was the best at conveying the characteristics inherent to the MLife itself. And sounded the best out of all the sources. Yes, there will always be something special about playing LPs, and the MLife did not diminish this pleasure. But to have digital playback sound as good as the MLife could was new to me. And quite a pleasure.
One of the pleasures of a high-end system is being to step back in time, and thus come as close as humanly possible to what bewildered audiences heard in the very early 19th Century when Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony, or Eroica, was premiered. We’re hearing modern instruments, of course, but that’s not my point. At the time of its premier it was thought as too “structurally rigorous”, and at nearly 45 minutes, much too long. It was quite a ground-breaking piece of music. Now it is regarded as one of his most celebrated works, and for good reason. It probably surprises no one that my favorite movement is the Adagio, the second movement, which Beethoven titled “Marcia funebre”, or “Funeral March”. The DSD file of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, conducted by: Kurt Masur Symphony is not only well read, it is a great recording. Via the MLife’s internal DAC it is amazing to hear how it enables the sections of the orchestra to occupy distinct areas within the huge soundstage, projecting itself between, behind and to the sides of the speakers, making the speakers very difficult to locate when closing my eyes.”
Audio Physic Step Plus loudspeaker $2599 Review
February 18, 2019 Comments Off on Audio Physic Step Plus loudspeaker $2599 Review
“Digitally sourced music gave further evidence of the Step Plus’s prowess. As I played CDs through an ATC CDA2 Mk.II CD player into the Parasound integrated amplifier, the Steps reproduced quality bass tonnage that was extraordinary. I’m not talking a merely passable low end, but deep, round frequencies. The best example of this was Forq, from the scrappy funk-jazz quartet of that name (CD, groundUP 8829514692). Forq includes members of Snarky Puppy, and their organ-generated robo funk sounds as if recorded inside a bass drum. Every ounce of bass-drum air—most plentifully produced by jazz drummers who don’t mute the drum—is present on this bass-grip-of-doom CD. Imagine Chic by way of the Meters and Tower of Power: Forq is that lowdown and dirty.”
CH Precision I1 Universal integrated amplifier $38,000 Review
February 18, 2019 Comments Off on CH Precision I1 Universal integrated amplifier $38,000 Review
“I also felt that the I1 conveyed music’s full emotional impact. When I wrote in my notes that Shostakovich’s Quartet 15 “ends with a tragic epilogue in which each disruptive pluck and skirmish conveys unadulterated fright . . . [in] music that chills with its emotional honesty and despair,” I did so in full confidence that I was hearing all the music had to offer.
Nonetheless, it was my trusted reference tracks—whose every note, dynamic shift, and emotional nuance is now inscribed in my DNA—that truly told the tale. While that long tale began to unfold, I soon confirmed that adding an outboard clock—in my case, the dCS Scarlatti—invested the sound with considerably more depth and life. Music became more involving because images were more realistically defined and three-dimensional, and set farther back on a more resonant and convincing soundstage. With additional air around individual instruments as well, the sound seemed to expand more organically in acoustic space. Bass was also more profound.
Air Tight ATM-300R power amplifier $16,995 Review
February 17, 2019 Comments Off on Air Tight ATM-300R power amplifier $16,995 Review
“After spending so much time listening to George Bernard Shaw’s two favorite composers, I found myself in the mood to hear something from Brahms, whom the playwright and occasional music critic—the latter under the name Corno di Basseto—held in contempt. The Air Tight did a lovely job with Rafael Kubelik and the Vienna Philharmonic’s recording of Brahms’s Symphony 1 (LP, London CS 6016). String and woodwind tones throughout were lusciously textured and colorful, but not pushed to unrealistic extremes in those regards: tones were beautiful and faithful. The kettledrum in the introductory measures had realistic force, and a convincing increase in intensity leading to that portion’s climax. In the scherzo-like third movement, both the clarinet’s tone and the believability of the air surrounding it in the recording space were remarkable—and the ATM-300R conveyed the rhythmic change as the bubbly first part led into the more accented rhythms of the Trio section. The sound was consistently involving, and held my attention right through the smooth transition into the final movement, with the swooping strings allowed a believable sense of scale: Here, as in Das Rheingold, the Air Tight was capable of letting the music sound big.”
R
Focal In-wall Speaker Dolby Atmos 5.2.4ch
February 17, 2019 Comments Off on Focal In-wall Speaker Dolby Atmos 5.2.4ch
FIIO FA7 $300 REVIEW
February 16, 2019 Comments Off on FIIO FA7 $300 REVIEW
“I ran the FA7 on an iPhone6, an AK120, and FiiO’s own M6 DAP as these are popular lower powered devices. On these pairings, I am hearing good resolution especially on the upper vocal range. The dynamic range is good with decent texture in its low-end and excellent articulation and detail in its treble performance despite it rolling-off at the very top-end.
The FA7 performs well technically, yet the low-end quantity can be a bit overwhelming at times. To me, lower pitched vocals are a bit laid back, particularly male vocals which, at times, compete with that stronger bass bias. You may find equalizing down the midbass by 2-3dB effective in delivering more clarity to the FA7’s vocal presence.”
YouTube Music arrives on all Sonos speakers
February 16, 2019 Comments Off on YouTube Music arrives on all Sonos speakers
“YouTube Music Premium (£10/month) offers ad-free music streaming as well as downloads for offline listening, while the £12-per-month YouTube Premium (formerly YouTube Red) subscription offers ad-free, background and offline viewing across all of YouTube, in addition to all YouTube Originals.
Naturally, owners of the smart Sonos One and Beam will be able to control playback of the YouTube streaming services through voice commands once Google Assistant arrives on the speakers, which should be very soon.”
Gold Note PA-1175 MkII solid-state stereo amplifier $6,295 Review
February 16, 2019 Comments Off on Gold Note PA-1175 MkII solid-state stereo amplifier $6,295 Review
“One last design characteristic must be addressed, and it is important enough to mention, though not technically a design flaw. The effort to make the amp balanced through and through – remember, even to the operations of the back panel – causes a logistical connection problem for speaker cables when the amp is in BTL mode. The red/positive posts only are used to connect the + and – leads of the speaker cables when the amp operates in BTL (Mono). There is a serious shortcoming, and the word “shortcoming” is a propos to describe the frustration of discovering that not a single speaker wire I have on hand had long enough leads to reach breach the approximately 14” gap between the two red posts!
I love stereo amps that go mono, but this issue drove me crazy! For some time I could not use the amps in BTL mode because the leads of the speaker cables would not stretch a necessary 15-16”. I had, just days before, returned the last of the TEO Audio Liquid speaker cables on loan following review – it figures, as they were the ones with individual positive and negative runs for each channel.”
Audiophilepure 
You must be logged in to post a comment.