Reviews
Monitor Audio Gold 100 6G Loudspeakers
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 November 2024 15 November 2024
What audiophile and music lover worth their mettle would forget the near-iconic Studio 20SE from UK’s Monitor Audio? Hearing that speaker back in mid-1990s at a now defunct audio store in Sydney, triggered a personal reassessment of the sweet spot in performance versus cost within the high-end loudspeaker space. Large enough to provide adequate low frequencies, expertly balanced with a marvellous blending between the mids and highs, and finished in the most luxurious veneers, the Studio 20SE was once heard, never forgotten. The company has exponentially blossomed since those days, as has its product portfolio. Here, I’m evaluating the brand new Gold 100 6G, Monitor Audio’s largest standmount speaker. Will the new speaker carry, and indeed build upon, its predecessor’s classic DNA imprint?
dCS Lina Network DAC and Master Clock
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- Written by Barry Jones Barry Jones
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 November 2024 01 November 2024
When peering into the stratosphere of DAC technology one quickly meets dCS, who provides a range of exquisitely crafted and engineered ‘listening experiences’. At the pinnacle lives the recently released Varèse, along with Vivaldi, Rossini, and Bartok, products upon which dCS has built its reputation (and rumour has it a new flagship Varèse SACD/CD transport is around the corner). And now, Lina, a relative newcomer in as little as one, or as many as three pieces (Network Streaming DAC, Headphone Amplifier and Master Clock) which dCS claims represents a new frontier in music playback. I had the Lina Network DAC and Master Clock for evaluation as the subjects of this review.
ZenSati #1 Cable Loom
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 November 2024 01 November 2024
I first came across ZenSati cables at CES in Vegas many, many moons ago. There, at the Venetian, that year, company founder Mark Johansen exhibited a full line of his cables in a system which was one of the standouts. Naturally, I ended up spending quite a bit of time in that musical oasis. I got to know Johansen, whose passion for music was evident, as was his enthusiasm for its accurate reproduction. While, of course, the sum of the components was the ultimate manifestation of the excellent sound, it was the system’s musicality which drew me to consider the interface between each piece of kit. Being such honestly neutral conduits, ZenSati cables were toll-free highways to a musical destination. Through the subsequent years, I went on to review many of the company’s products, with the crowning bunch being the sublime sILENzIO range. Now, ZenSati has produced a new design, a more attainable model in the company’s Hash Tag range, which is crowned by the voluminous #X. Enter the new, and sparkly-silver #1.
DS Audio DS-E3 Optical Cartridge
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- Written by Vedran Simunovic Vedran Simunovic
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 October 2024 15 October 2024
Phono cartridges are a finicky lot, and especially the magnetic ones. If you want to make a mark in that area, you have to invest in the finest materials, meticulous assembly processes and eons of human expertise bordering on black magic. DS Audio dispensed with most of these complications by devising a line of optical cartridges that works in a completely different manner, follows completely different rules and achieves sound quality on a completely different level. The DS-E3 is DS Audio’s newest product and is a grand entry point to the company’s optical cartridge line-up.
Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista Vinyl 2 Phono Stage
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- Written by Barry James Johnston Barry James Johnston
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 October 2024 01 October 2024
Once in a while, a component comes along that really makes you sit up and take notice. Vinyl has been around for a long time and for many years, most people, had you asked for their opinion, would have gladly told you, without a shadow of a doubt, that the turntable’s era was well and truly over. Well, we all know that hasn’t been the case. Plus, with the advanced materials, mechanical and motor technologies, our groovy black plastic discs have become ever more appealing, more complex, feature packed, and OTT. Even with regards to outrageous design architectures and pricing, the playing field is now, more than ever, not even!
Wilson Audio The WATT/Puppy Loudspeakers
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 October 2024 01 October 2024
The concept of evolution can be simply described as the gradual change in constitution, or characteristics, of a species, an entity, an object, etc., across generations. Darwinism goes a step further and suggests the process comes about by natural selection where small, inherited variations, or adaptations, provide an increased aptitude to successfully compete and thrive. So it is with the new Wilson Audio The WATT/Puppy, which celebrates its 50th anniversary after a near-15-year hiatus under that moniker. In this evolutionary transmutation, the latest WATT/Puppy embodies Wilson Audio’s entire current philosophies and peak technologies, once again, elevating the compelling concept.
NAD Masters M66 BluOS Streaming DAC-Preamplifier
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- Written by Barry Jones Barry Jones
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 September 2024 15 September 2024
NAD the venerable audiophile brand has been around a long time, its reputation built on delivering high performance audio at reasonable prices. I remember as a schoolboy hearing Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon at a Hi-Fi store played with, what seemed at the time, almost unfathomable power through a system which, I later learned, was NAD’s killer power amp of that era aptly named the ‘Powertracker’. It was many years later when I could begin treading the audiophile path, but that NAD experience was still firmly etched in my mind. The NAD Masters M66 BluOS Streaming DAC-Preamplifier arrived at my office in the morning, which seemed to make the day a little longer than usual as I was eager to get this baby home and hooked up for a listen.
Mola Mola Lupe Phono Stage
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- Written by Mark Busby Mark Busby
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 September 2024 01 September 2024
The Mola Mola Lupe phono stage from the Netherlands is a godsend to the vinyl aficionado who has an interest in the black spinning disc. The thoroughly modern Mola Mola Lupe can apply its magic to vintage 78s, to legacy mono recordings and stereo records. The ability to apply specialist playback EQ curves using the Mola Mola Lupe phone app opens new sonic experiences for the listener. The Lupe is the most advanced and flexible phono stage that this reviewer has had the pleasure of using!
Cary Audio SLI-80HS Integrated Amplifier
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 August 2024 15 August 2024
Contrary to stale audiophilia lore, it can be said that just about all competently designed amplifiers, regardless of technology, can produce a realistic semblance of the tonality of instruments and the human voice. Yet, when it comes to true ‘tone’, many music enthusiasts and audiophiles persist in believing the technology that wrangles the purest timbral qualities is inherent in the perennial vacuum tube (or valve, per UK and Australia). Regardless of the technology of choice, whether valve, transistor, or ‘digital’ amplification, there’s no denying that the relative circuit simplicity of valve-based amplifiers can produce an extremely natural and convincingly realistic representation of instruments and voices. At hand at SoundStage! Australia HQ, and resplendent with an impressive array of ‘glass’ perched on its top panel, is Cary Audio’s SLI-80HS which, while seemingly simple on the surface, holds a couple of aces up its sleeve. Can this unassuming integrated deliver on the promise of purity and musical beauty?
Kudos Audio Titan 808 Loudspeakers
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 August 2024 01 August 2024
Kudos Audio may be a somewhat young entity, however, in a relatively short time it has confidently gouged deep impressions in the diverse landscape of high quality loudspeakers. The company offers a strong entry point into its wares via the accomplished Cardea series, while the notably more ambitious, and aptly named, Titan range is the showcase for the finest technologies Kudos Audio has to offer. Taking advantage of the many benefits of modular design, where the tweeter and midrange are incorporated in an independent enclosure, as are the low frequency drivers, the Titan 808 loudspeaker builds the concept with bespoke transducers and intelligent engineering. In addition, its sizable anatomy promises deep low frequencies and an overall large scale sound. So, is Kudos Audio’s flagship 808 a true Titan?
Classé Audio Delta PRE Mk II Preamplifier
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 July 2024 15 July 2024
On its website, Classé Audio states that the new Delta PRE Mk II preamplifier can be the “foundation of your perfect system”. In this case, it’s quite sensible marketing parlance because I’m also of the opinion that the good ole preamplifier is, indeed, the very heart of an audio system. On paper, the extra circuitry and interconnecting cable required to connect said preamplifier should be a backward step when compared to the simplicity of interfacing a DAC, for example, directly to a power amplifier. After all, there’s more than enough output voltage on tap there and most have an in-built volume control (bit-stripping notwithstanding). Yet, it’s been my experience that having that preamp intermediary almost always equates to a more engaging and dynamic sound. Never mind the obvious accommodation of additional sources. So, how would a high-tech, fully featured, 21st century preamplifier like Classé Audio’s new Delta PRE Mk II perform then?
Rega Research Naia Turntable
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- Written by Mark Busby Mark Busby
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 July 2024 01 July 2024
Having started out my hi-fi journey in the early 1980s with a Rega Planar 3 turntable, I jumped at the chance to hear and review the latest flagship model from Rega. Called the Naia, this turntable offers all the accumulated technical knowledge gained during the existence of Rega Research’s 51 years of knowledge. The Naia package in this review includes the option for a factory fitted Aphelion 2, Rega’s top of the line moving coil cartridge.
