MCINTOSH MA7200 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
December 21, 2018 Comments Off on MCINTOSH MA7200 INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
“A McIntosh review is almost academic. People know what they want from McIntosh, and the MA7200 is going to deliver on that. But, in a way, McIntosh needs to be reappraised in the light of modern audio. As a complete package, without recourse to any other device (so no visual mis-matches between amp and disc player) the amp stands up as a fine audio option. This is more than some blue VU meters (although familiarity has made me rethink of them as ‘cool’) and a beefy build quality. It is an amplifier that I might not have considered through sheer weight of my own snobbery, and yet I came back from listening feeling very impressed by the MA7200 as the complete package. A hefty amplifier that is capable of great things and a lot more than just brute force, the MA7200 doesn’t just look the part, it sounds the part!”
ANSUZ X SERIES CABLES AND POWER CONDITIONER
December 21, 2018 § 1 Comment
“The top-of-the-tree cables always get the praise (and the flak) because they offer cost-no-object performance for cost-no-object systems. The trouble is, so many times in audio, if you see the cost… you’ll object! The best isn’t easy to do, but it is a lot harder to climb down from the mountain top and make something that works, and works well in context. That is exactly what X-Series does. It brings a lot of the sound of top Ansuz cable to the distinctly attainable level. What it sacrifices in the process is often no real sacrifice because it will be used in the context of good – but also attainably-priced – audio electronics. That, in a very real way, is a lot harder to do, because there are often more ideosyncrasies in more attainably expensive equipment. X-Series is extremely well balanced for its market.”
Fostex TH909 Headphones Review
December 21, 2018 Comments Off on Fostex TH909 Headphones Review
“That balance is why Brent, and his listening panel of LeRena Major and John Higgins, chose to award the Fostex TH909s a 9 out of 10 for “Sound.” That high Sound rating is why the TH909s were named a Reviewers’ Choice when Brent’s review was published, and is also why they’re the latest headphones to be added to our list of Recommended Reference Components.”
MBL 101e mk2 and four MBL N11 Monos. MBL Noble Preamp and CD/DAC.
December 20, 2018 Comments Off on MBL 101e mk2 and four MBL N11 Monos. MBL Noble Preamp and CD/DAC.
CHORD ELECTRONICS BLU MK2 UPSAMPLING CD TRANSPORT REVIEW
December 20, 2018 Comments Off on CHORD ELECTRONICS BLU MK2 UPSAMPLING CD TRANSPORT REVIEW
“Listening to an old favourite CD of mine, Haydn Symphony No 77, Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music, the difference between the three oversampling/upscaling options is not small. Starting with the minimum oversampling rate, which reads as 88.2 kHz on the DAVE, I get a pleasant presentation, fluid and coherent, but not the deepest of soundstages. Changing to the maximum oversampling immediately improves imaging and increases soundstage depth, while creating much greater space between the instruments in the orchestra. It’s almost as if you have pressed a button marked ‘3D’. There is also a sense of what happens when you move back five rows in a concert hall, a hint of the concentration of the intensity and colour of the sound being slightly diluted. On this period instrument recording, I miss a bit of weight in the bass; it is true that period cellos and basses make less grunt than the modern equivalents, but it is noticeable nonetheless. Contrasting the Blu with my Esoteric K-05 CD player, used as a transport only, playing through the DAVE via a Chord cable, the latter seems to have more grunt and there is more of a sense of the bass driving the harmony and the music than with the Blu Mk2. It doesn’t, however, have the effortless sense of space that the Blu Mk2 has, or indeed the litheness of its approach to making music. ”
Acoustic Research AR-H1 Review
December 20, 2018 Comments Off on Acoustic Research AR-H1 Review
“Overall, the Acoustic Research AR-H1 is a prime example of planar technology and efficiency. At some point the voicing of these headphones is noticeably not flat. Being so, it lends itself more towards music record in the last 40 years more than anything prior. Where the AR-H1 shines best however is with modern pop, EDM, and alternative rock recordings from the last 20 years. The AR-H1’s voicing delivers an almost night club experience with genres like rap, hip-hop, house, techno, etc. Also of note, is how the AR-H1 is the only open back headphone I would recommend for travel as it’s voicing proclivity lends itself to podcasts and highlighted detail where information more than balance is priority. For home listening, there are better sounding headphones than the AR-H1, but none that I can think of are as comfortable, efficient, and detailed for the money. The AR-H1 in my mind is ideal for those who want a flexible audiophile headphone that offers stunning amounts of detail across a wide compatibility of sources and amplified devices. If toting around portable headphone amplifiers, dacs and extra cables isn’t your thing, the AR-H1 should be on your short list.”
Raidho Acoustics, D-4.1 Loudspeaker Review
December 19, 2018 Comments Off on Raidho Acoustics, D-4.1 Loudspeaker Review
LARK STUDIO LSX
December 19, 2018 Comments Off on LARK STUDIO LSX
“The lower mids and upper mids are nicely balanced out as well. So it’s not an “overdoing” type of mid presentation. It’s very well refined and effortless. Sometimes because of the mid bass focus and this lush character, you can feel the mids are a little behind or congested, but I think that’s because the IEM doesn’t stretch the sound on a very wide scale. The elements are not far away and they don’t have a big space between them. They play close to each other and this creates a rounded and intense presentation.
Since the background performance is very good, you wouldn’t have problems regarding instrumental separation. This mid performance from the LSX is wonderful to listen to. The vocals and instruments are realistic, life-like and they have a great transparency with nice dynamics. While I found the LSX’s bass nearly flawless, I think its mid performance is also phenomenal.”
MOST COLLECTED RELEASES
December 19, 2018 Comments Off on MOST COLLECTED RELEASES
“Today we’re revealing quarterly reporting from three categories within the Discogs Database and Marketplace. We break down the increasing growth of user collections based on new (2017/2018, inclusive of reissues) and catalog releases. We then take a look at the Most Expensive Items Sold via Discogs over the course of the third quarter of 2018. We also have the Top 20 Best Selling Release Variations, which looks at the distinct release variants that are selling across the Discogs Marketplace. By breaking sales down to a variant level, we’re able to surface other leading releases that aren’t rolled under a singular master release.”
How Michael Jackson Crafted His First Solo Hit
December 18, 2018 Comments Off on How Michael Jackson Crafted His First Solo Hit
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