Thursday, October 2, 2008
Enjoy the Music.com has published October editions of Superior Audio and the Review Magazine. Along with a bunch of new articles, the editions include many new high-end audio component reviews:
Check out the full editions of Superior Audio and Review Magazine, and accept my apologies for linking to framed pages above. Frames have sucked for a long time now, but some sites apparently still use them…
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Stereo Times has reviewed the Audio Analogue Maestro Duecento integrated amp ($10,000) and Maestro CD player ($3,400). Reviewer Dave Thomas compared these Italian-made beauties to units from Classé and Vitus Audio. His conclusion?
The Audio Analogue Maestro CD player and Maestro Duecento integrated amp are musically spectacular performers that are as lovely to look at as they are to listen to.
Read the entire review, then check out other recent reviews which include components from Audes, LessLoss, and Audio Valve, to name a few.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
6moons has reviewed the German-made Accustic Arts CD Player I MkIII ($8,700). Reviewer Frederic Beudot compared it to the similarly-priced Esoteric X03-SE:
All discs sounded warmer than with the X03-SE as though imbued by a gentle golden hue. This golden hue which I could hear on every disc reduced the tonal diversity the AA player would otherwise have been capable of. On the other hand, it was responsible in no small part for its ease of listening and overall enjoyability.
Regarding the price, Beudot commented:
But at $8700 without SACD playback and no digital inputs, the AA CD player is a hard sell…
Read the entire review, then join me in thanking reviewers like Beudot for calling out overpriced equipment when they hear it.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
HIFICRITIC, an ad-free print-only magazine from UK, has published its 11th issue. It includes an excellent assortment of reviews and articles, two of which focus on comparisons:
- Four Quality Stand-Mounts (Focal, Guru, Opera, Sonus Faber)
- Four Inexpensive Phono Stages (Creek OBH-15, among others)
- Naim HDX hard disk player
- Wilson Sophia 2 floorstanding speakers
- AcousticRevive cables
- Subjective Sounds (PMC IB2)
- Hi-Fi Myths: Crossovers
Check out the entire table of contents, then pay a visit to the newly-launched HIFICRITIC Forums and beg them to begin offering digital subscriptions. Print mags are so dead!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Stereophile continues to republish archived reviews on its web site. When possible, they even group reviews of multiple generations of the same component, as in the case of the VPI HW-19 turntable:
Reviewers of the VPI turntable included J. Gordon Holt, Anthony H. Cordesman (twice), and Guy Lemcoe. Larry Greenhill reviewed the Chario speakers.
Monday, September 29, 2008
TNT-Audio has reviewed a new Class-T integrated amplifier; the Virtue Audio Audiophile.ONE ($249). When used with the included 24v power supply, the unit produces 30 watts into 8 ohms. With the optional 30v power supply ($29), power output jumps to roughly 50 watts.
Reviewer Nick Whetstone came to some interesting conclusions after making two key comparisons:
Compared to the four-channel regulated Gainclones the Audiophile.ONE sounded very slightly clearer, and more neutral than the warmer sounding Gainclones.
I won’t name names, but listening to one of the better lower powered class-T amps against the Audiophile.ONE clearly reveals the superiority of the Virtue amplifier. In comparison the smaller class-T sounded a bit soft, a bit less focussed, less punchy.
Read the entire review, then check out Nick’s recent review of another T-amp; the Autocostruire MC4x100.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Polish online magazine HIGH Fidelity has posted reviews for several new components as part of their September/October issue. Editor-in-chief Wojciech Pacuła wrote the following in-depth reviews (translations by Krzysztof Kalinkowski):
Check out the new issue, then explore past issues.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Audiogon member Blindjim has posted a detailed review of the Running Springs Audio Haley AC power filter ($1,400). Upon comparing it to the PS Audio Duet, the reviewer notes:
In contrast to the PS Audio Duet, which I am in favor of owning as I own two of them, the Haley leaps ahead in the degree of speed and flow the musical picture develops. There is more dynamic thrust, and pace to it’s tempo than that provided from the PSA Duet.
Read the entire review, then check out Blindjim’s system and other reviews.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Audio Ideas Guide has reviewed two models of Crystal Cables; the CrystalSpeak Micro semi-biwire speaker cables with splitters ($2,512 per 2 meter pair), and CrystalConnect Micro interconnects ($738 per 1 meter pair).
Reviewer Andrew Marshall used a Bryston 3B SST amplifier and Paradigm Reference Studio 20, V.4 speakers to compare the Crystals to his Kimber BiFocal and Select cables. He had the following to say of the CrystalSpeaks’ sound:
So this cable is not inexpensive in any configuration, but I do feel it justifies its cost in superbly detailed, dynamic, and nuanced sound.
Read the entire review, then check out Andrew’s reviews of the Bryston 3B SST power amp and Paradigm Reference Studio 20, V.4 speakers.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Steve Guttenberg, aka The Audiophiliac, has written a post about the Cayin A-50T all-tube integrated amp ($1,295). Obviously impressed with the sound for the money, Steve writes:
It’s warm and juicy, like a wet kiss, but I never felt the A-50T was soft or lacking in midrange or treble resolution. Bass is wonderfully ripe, what can I say, 35 watts never sounded this potent before.
Read the whole post, then check out his full review of the unit in the April 2008 issue of Playback magazine.