STAX Headphones SRS-X1000 Earspeaker Review
March 13, 2025 Comments Off on STAX Headphones SRS-X1000 Earspeaker Review
Wilson Audio Specialties The WATT/Puppy Loudspeaker $38,500 Review
March 12, 2025 Comments Off on Wilson Audio Specialties The WATT/Puppy Loudspeaker $38,500 Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/wilson-audio-specialties-wattpuppy-loudspeaker
As before, this latest WATT/Puppy remains a 4 ohm rated amplifier load and will draw significant power from matching amplifiers. (Wilson notes a worst-case load in the upper bass of 2.87 ohms at 86Hz, if over a short frequency range.) Most modern higher-output current solid state amplifiers will be untroubled by this, but with tubed amplifiers the 4 ohm output transformer tap is advised (to maintain best control of the speaker’s impedance). However, experimenting with both 4 and 8 ohm amplifier connections is always worth trying, listening for both bass quality and available loudness. And mitigating the demanding impedance, the specifications also claim a well-above-average voltage sensitivity of 89dB/2.83V/1m, with a suggested minimum amplifier rating of 25Wpc. (As we shall find, there is an additional sensitivity bonus.) In typical rooms of 2800ft3, amplifiers up to 200Wpc into 8 ohms will provide substantial and realistically loud soundfields of some 110dBA from a stereo pair.
Diptyque 115 Planar Magnetic Speakers Review
March 12, 2025 Comments Off on Diptyque 115 Planar Magnetic Speakers Review
REL No.31 powered subwoofer Review
March 11, 2025 Comments Off on REL No.31 powered subwoofer Review
https://www.stereophile.com/content/rel-no31-powered-subwoofer
After I began using my dedicated listening room, in early 2023, my hankering for high-quality subwoofers returned. Pinging REL Acoustics seemed like a good idea. There are other great subwoofer manufacturers, but REL—born in Britain but especially prominent in the US—is the brand that pops up more than any other when audiophiles talk about high-end subs. Owner John Hunter readily agreed to lend Stereophile a pair of REL’s No.31 Reference models ($7500 each). For my 21′ × 15′ space, the No.31, with a 12″ carbon-fiber driver and a 900W class-D amp, seemed the ideal choice. REL’s larger, louder top dog, the No.32 ($10,000), which has a 15″ driver powered by a 1000W amp, might be overkill for spaces under 400 square feet or so. The models are so named, by the way, because they were designed 31 and 32 years after the company’s founding.
Fyne Audio F501E $1299 Review
March 11, 2025 Comments Off on Fyne Audio F501E $1299 Review
https://www.whathifi.com/speakers/hi-fi-speakers/fyne-audio-f501e
We like the Fyne’s sense of scale and are impressed with the low-end authority and punch they generate on demand. Bass is taut, tuneful and articulate by class standards. We push the volume levels northward to see how the F501E cope – they tick that box confidently at anything that passes for normal listening levels.
These towers are a fun listen too, as a trip down memory lane with The Low End Theory from A Tribe Called Quest proves. The F501E are fluid and expressive. They track rhythms with determination while communicating changes in musical momentum in a natural and convincing manner. Having the acoustic centres of the tweeter and mid/bass aligned helps with integration; the result is a crisp and forthright performance with vocals that captures nuances and subtle shifts in intensity superbly. The rival Q Acoustics 5050 sound a touch disinterested and mechanical in contrast.
Audiophilepure 
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