Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Audiophilia has reviewed the Seymour AV Ice Block 5001 monoblock amplifiers ($2,198/pair). These are Class D amps with 300 watts into 8 ohms. Good looking too (photo).
Reviewer Martin Appel loved the affordability and liked the sound. He compared them to his Nuforce 9V2 SE monoblocks:
The differences manifest themselves in the midrange and high frequency performance. The Seymours demonstrated a slightly ‘bigger’ voice consistently than the Nuforce.
In the area of high frequency performance, it’s apparent that the Nuforce has greater air and extension – a little more life and sparkle.
Read the entire review for details.
6moons has posted a handful of new reviews in recent days. They include:
Check out the reviews.
TNT-Audio has posted a shootout of USB DACs. Included in the shootout are the following three DACs:
- DevilSound USB DAC (GBP 210)
- KingRex UD-01 USB DAC (GBP 150)
- SuperPro 24/192 USB DAC (GBP 85)
Reviewer Nick Whetstone also tested a couple of USB cables. See the entire review for all the details.
What Hi-Fi? posted several new reviews recently:
Hey, I think I saw a two-star rating in there…
SonicFlare has reviewed the McIntosh Laboratory MA-7000 integrated amplifier ($8,000). This is a monstrous 250WPC unit (photo), with huge aluminum handles and blue power meters.
Reviewer Sean Fowler had this to say on its sound:
Straight out of the box, one of the most standout virtues of the MA7000, aside from its power and fine integration of the main frequency bands, is the amount of detail it effortlessly extracts from a recording. Though its rendering of detail is unquestionably revealing in nature, the MA7000 sounds incredibly smooth on the top end and never dips into the grit and grain territory that plagues many other high end “tell it like it is†components.
He compared the MA7000 to his Karan Acoustic KA I-180 integrated ($10,500):
Keeping it simple, for $2500 more than the MA7000, the Karan KA I-180 will give you stronger bass, a more open and organic sounding midrange, superior linearity, and a wider sound-stage.
Read the entire review.
TNT-Audio has reviewed the Ayon Crossfire single-ended tube integrated amp (EUR 8,500). This is a gorgeous design (photo) built in Austria. The amp puts out 30WPC and is based on Ayon’s AA62B power tubes.
Reviewer Geoff Husband liked the way Ayon stands behind their tubes:
The other thing I like about these valves is that Ayon have great confidence in their longevity. The ’62’s come with a 12 month guarantee, a failed valve being replaced by a pair of new valves free of charge.
He also liked the sound:
This is the most transparent amp I’ve ever heard – including similarly priced 300b amps from Wavac, Audion, Audionote, Loth-x and Opera, not to mention half a dozen other valve amps, five of the new digital wonders and the shed load of more prosaic transistor amplifiers…
Read the entire review.
6moons has posted a whole slew of new reviews in recent days. Among them:
- Thiel Audio SCS4 bookshelf speakers (EUR 2,200/pair)
- Scheu Analog Cello turntable (EUR 1,150)
- Allnic Audio Labs L-4000 ($10,900/pair) and A-6000 ($18,500/pair) tube monoblocks
- Speaker cables by Acoustic Revive, ASI, Bastanis, Prana, Tel ($1,000-5,250)
- theLars tube integrated amp (EUR 76,000)
- TW-Acustic Raven One turntable (EUR 4,800)
- mhi Evidence bookshelf speakers ($650/pair)
- NuForce Icon Mobile headphone amp (EUR 114)
- Denon AH-D7000 headphones (EUR 999)
- Esoteric Mexcel 7N-DA2100 interconnect cables ($3,500/pair)
In addition, 6moons is now syndicating reviews from Polish publication HIGH Fidelity. Links to those reviews don’t appear here since they already appeared on this site when originally published.
DAGOGO has published a new issue. It includes reviews of the following high-end components:
Read the reviews, then a couple of new articles. Don’t miss Gary Lea’s review of the Von Schweikerts–it is both entertaining and informative. What more can you ask for?
Affordable Audio has published a new (free) issue. It contains reviews of the following audiophile gear:
- ACI Emerald XL mini-monitor speakers ($700/pair)
- Cardas Crosslink interconnect cables ($128 per 1 meter pair)
- Budget DAC Comparison: Zhaolu D2.5 ($249), CityPulse 7.2X ($449), & Musiland MD10 ($399)
- Audience E Series cables ($391-674)
Download the entire issue (13 MB PDF) by going to the Affordable Audio web site and clicking the April 2009 issue link in the left column. Also check out the article from publisher Mark Marcantonio: Ten Things Audiophiles Should Experience. This is probably the most insightful audio list I’ve ever read.
SoundStage! Network has published an update. The following high-end components have been reviewed:
Read the reviews, then check out a pair of articles on The World’s Best Audio System (1, 2). Also see the newest editorial: Three Reasons Why Measurements Matter.
