Equipment Impressions
Audio research reference 5SE Preamplifier impressions
After recently buying and being utterly blown away by the elekit TU8600S tube amplifier I was really excited to inject some tube magic into my speaker chain. Enter a recently acquired ARC Ref5SE unit that I purchased from a seller in USA. ARC had a look and tested it to ensure it was in good working order. They just replaced the top plate with a thicker one less prone to warping and a Sovtek 6550WE with the Tung Sol tube for the PSU as they preferred it in terms of sonics and reliability of the former.
It was about a 2 month wait but I can say it was absolutely well worth it. Once in my system and given some hours to warm up it was immediately obvious the sound out of both my ATC SCM7s and especially NS5000 had changed significantly from my prior Audio gd HE9 preamp (my power amp is a Pass Labs X350.8) .
Imaging, sound stage
Through the ARC sound completely detached from the speakers and became much larger and diffuse sounding...
It was about a 2 month wait but I can say it was absolutely well worth it. Once in my system and given some hours to warm up it was immediately obvious the sound out of both my ATC SCM7s and especially NS5000 had changed significantly from my prior Audio gd HE9 preamp (my power amp is a Pass Labs X350.8) .
Imaging, sound stage
Through the ARC sound completely detached from the speakers and became much larger and diffuse sounding...
Tambaqui vs Rockna WD sig bal
Cross posted from my stereonet impressions:
Hi Guys,
So I managed to go see @GC HiFi (Gold Coast audio dealer) twice in the last few weeks and have to say Terry is a great dealer and host! He has set up some world class systems to show off in his beautiful home.
Session 1:
The first visit was fantastic, we listened to the Atc scm11 active speakers with S series antipodes stack and ps audio mono blocks, this is a fantastic little system, sounding far more expansive and weighty than it really should with the incredible mid-range detail that the ATC range renders so well . For entry level hifi or small rooms I would be definitely recommending the 11s.
...
Hi Guys,
So I managed to go see @GC HiFi (Gold Coast audio dealer) twice in the last few weeks and have to say Terry is a great dealer and host! He has set up some world class systems to show off in his beautiful home.
Session 1:
The first visit was fantastic, we listened to the Atc scm11 active speakers with S series antipodes stack and ps audio mono blocks, this is a fantastic little system, sounding far more expansive and weighty than it really should with the incredible mid-range detail that the ATC range renders so well . For entry level hifi or small rooms I would be definitely recommending the 11s.
...Elekit TU8600S impressions
I got the elekit TU8600S in with most all upgrades in (only thing missing is VCAP CUTF, has odam instead). Tubes are: COSSOR Black Plate 300B, Western Electric ECC83/B759, RCA 12AU7 X 2 (clear Top).
Intro
If I have to summarize the amp's sound with 1 word it would be captivating. I wanted to warm up HD800S and inject some musicality into it... the Elekit... well lets just say I am lifting my jaw off the floor after hearing it.
Setup
I had some issues initially with a bit of noise and static. I fixed this by doing 2 things. First I took the XLRs out of my denafrips terminator that were connected to my he9, second I added to the tube cage. After doing this the elekit is insanely quiet with a cosmic void like blackground. I honestly think it sounds as quiet as the he9 and possibly even quieter than my pass speaker amp.
Tone
The first thing that hits you is this supremely musical tonality throughout the frequency...
Intro
If I have to summarize the amp's sound with 1 word it would be captivating. I wanted to warm up HD800S and inject some musicality into it... the Elekit... well lets just say I am lifting my jaw off the floor after hearing it.
Setup
I had some issues initially with a bit of noise and static. I fixed this by doing 2 things. First I took the XLRs out of my denafrips terminator that were connected to my he9, second I added to the tube cage. After doing this the elekit is insanely quiet with a cosmic void like blackground. I honestly think it sounds as quiet as the he9 and possibly even quieter than my pass speaker amp.
Tone
The first thing that hits you is this supremely musical tonality throughout the frequency...
Yamaha NS5000 Impressions
Beautiful and majestic. Two words that come to mind when thinking about the NS5000. And if I had to be brief with my overall thoughts I would simply state those two words and head back into my listening room.
I first heard the NS5000 at the toronto audio fest 2019. I recall a massive huge hall and jazz ensemble music playing.. It was a triangular corner of the hotel that must have had 20 foot high ceilings and a 50 x 40 foot floor space. I noticed the yamaha sign and was curious. Why was yamaha here? Are they displaying their instruments at an audio show. No. They make speakers? Wow. Please excuse my naivety… I set my eyes on these 2 black polished boxes. I looked around expecting some massive floor standers somewhere but couldn’t find them. As I proceeded deeper in the room I was immediately struck by how real the band sounded. The tonality was just right… piano keys ringed with a pleasing crispness, saxophone blossomed and dynamically scaled in its sound through the halls the...
I first heard the NS5000 at the toronto audio fest 2019. I recall a massive huge hall and jazz ensemble music playing.. It was a triangular corner of the hotel that must have had 20 foot high ceilings and a 50 x 40 foot floor space. I noticed the yamaha sign and was curious. Why was yamaha here? Are they displaying their instruments at an audio show. No. They make speakers? Wow. Please excuse my naivety… I set my eyes on these 2 black polished boxes. I looked around expecting some massive floor standers somewhere but couldn’t find them. As I proceeded deeper in the room I was immediately struck by how real the band sounded. The tonality was just right… piano keys ringed with a pleasing crispness, saxophone blossomed and dynamically scaled in its sound through the halls the...
Impressions of the Spendor D7.2
I had the opportunity to visit a true gentlmen recently at Vinyl Sound in Richmond hill, Ontario. Daniel Kuburovski the owner of this audiophile haven who enthuastically invited me to audition his spendor D7.2 on the phone when I asked him about them. This was a stark contrast from another store I called that same day that hung up on me mid sentence.
Daniel's service from that call to the end of my visit was first class and easily the best interaction I have had at an audiophile store. For that alone this store should be praised.. but of course what about their wares?
The spendor D7.2 is a relatively small wood floor stander that was powered by dual 3010S2 Mono Power Amplifiers and a prima luna evo 100 preamp as well as a cambridge audio digital player.
The stature of this speaker belies the sound it produces. Going through my normal test tracks such as Nicholas gunn - Veracruz I was astonished at the massive soundstage cast by these diminutive 40 lb towers. Images were well...
Daniel's service from that call to the end of my visit was first class and easily the best interaction I have had at an audiophile store. For that alone this store should be praised.. but of course what about their wares?
The spendor D7.2 is a relatively small wood floor stander that was powered by dual 3010S2 Mono Power Amplifiers and a prima luna evo 100 preamp as well as a cambridge audio digital player.
The stature of this speaker belies the sound it produces. Going through my normal test tracks such as Nicholas gunn - Veracruz I was astonished at the massive soundstage cast by these diminutive 40 lb towers. Images were well...
Terminator DSP board upgrade impressions
After having my terminator dsp upgrade board for months and never getting around to finally upgrading it the day finally came. The upgrade process was pretty straight forward... probably the toughest part was sliding the denafrips beast out and back into my rack! I took out 2 screws, popped the top... took the old dsp board out (was pretty stiff in there) and replaced it with the new board.
Once everything was hooked up I listened with the HD800S (did listen to reference tracks before the upgrade). Immediately what was more apparent was simply more detail retrieval... reverberations, echoes, minute sounds were now much more easy to perceive in my standard nicholas gunn test tracks. There was a great separation of musical elements and more of a 3d holographic presentation. Soundstage grew slightly. Overall music is now more engaging, immersive and easier to connect with emotionally.
The Denafrips terminator is a superb dac and this upgrade board makes it even better! Please keep...
Once everything was hooked up I listened with the HD800S (did listen to reference tracks before the upgrade). Immediately what was more apparent was simply more detail retrieval... reverberations, echoes, minute sounds were now much more easy to perceive in my standard nicholas gunn test tracks. There was a great separation of musical elements and more of a 3d holographic presentation. Soundstage grew slightly. Overall music is now more engaging, immersive and easier to connect with emotionally.
The Denafrips terminator is a superb dac and this upgrade board makes it even better! Please keep...
Impressions of the Talis S300
So heard the Talis by T+A electroakustic at Angies audio corner. They were connected to an N100h network player and T+A PA3100 integrated amp and dac. Nate the rep there was super helpful in quickly getting things connected and setup and I listened to Tidal. Now he didn't do fine room adjustments and didn't actually listen to them and adjust them at all so they were just placed about 8 feet apart in a medium size room (I would estimate 25 feet x 20 feet but irregularly shaped and lots of openings to other rooms.
Starting with nicholas gunn - veracruz my main test track I was immediately impressed with the transparency and detail retrieval. This is the kind of detail I heard from speakers with beryllium drivers like the sopra 3 or persona 9h. The treble had a slight sparkle as I heard water flowing in other tracks on the same nicholas gunn album. The center image was incredibly strong and defined and simply sounded clean and pure. The soundstage was quite expansive and although...
Starting with nicholas gunn - veracruz my main test track I was immediately impressed with the transparency and detail retrieval. This is the kind of detail I heard from speakers with beryllium drivers like the sopra 3 or persona 9h. The treble had a slight sparkle as I heard water flowing in other tracks on the same nicholas gunn album. The center image was incredibly strong and defined and simply sounded clean and pure. The soundstage was quite expansive and although...
Impressions of the Sonja 1.3
I had the privilege of hearing the YG Sonja 1.3 system at my local dealer just a few days ago and was thoroughly impressed by these towering imposing looking speakers. The gentlemen who I will call 'R' was firstly extremely inviting and very knowledgeable. What I really appreciated about him is his kindness, preparedness (he prepared my playlist of songs ahead of time) and his very easy going personality. I really enjoyed asking him questions not only about this amazing system but about audio in general.
His system consists of the following:
His system consists of the following:
His room was approximately 16 feet by 22 feet by...
Tonda Vimberg-D and Tidal Contriva G2 impressions
Got a chance to listen to the Vimberg Tonda-D (TD) and Tidal Contriva G2 (CG2) today and wanted to share my thoughts.
Upon seeing both speakers I was immediately impressed with the fit and finish especially with the CG2. Placing hands on the cabinet and tapping each of them it was nearly as if I was tapping hardwood and while playing I felt absolutely 0 vibration when touch the top of the cabinet (I tried not to get too touch feely less I piss off the dealer). The TD has some very interesting honeycomb aluminum drivers. The white and black configuration looked nice and was surprised actually that it is quite large. The CG2 had an amazing deep wood finish with a strong reflecting gloss coating… the metal feet and rings were so polished they always sparkled under the normal room lights in the listening room. The TD has more modest brushed feet (aluminum, vs stainless steel on the CG2) but still im pressive looking nonetheless.
System:
The speakers were both compared on a...
Upon seeing both speakers I was immediately impressed with the fit and finish especially with the CG2. Placing hands on the cabinet and tapping each of them it was nearly as if I was tapping hardwood and while playing I felt absolutely 0 vibration when touch the top of the cabinet (I tried not to get too touch feely less I piss off the dealer). The TD has some very interesting honeycomb aluminum drivers. The white and black configuration looked nice and was surprised actually that it is quite large. The CG2 had an amazing deep wood finish with a strong reflecting gloss coating… the metal feet and rings were so polished they always sparkled under the normal room lights in the listening room. The TD has more modest brushed feet (aluminum, vs stainless steel on the CG2) but still im pressive looking nonetheless.
System:
The speakers were both compared on a...
Borealis and Australis - Aurorus Audio impressions from cskippy
Discorder cskippy has written some impressions on these headphones developed by UncleRuckus and the team at Aurorus audio, please have a look::
www.superbestaudiofriends.org
Aurorus Audio - Borealis & Australis
Ok, after spending a lot of time listening to them, here are my impression and measurement:...
www.superbestaudiofriends.org
Magico M2 and S7 impressions
Spent a lot longer than I thought I would listening to the M2 and S7. It was a great experience.
M2:
When I first saw them they looked nice but rather small. I immediately felt… these can’t possibly deliver a solid low end.I spoke for a good while with the seller Mark who was extremely kind and helpful. He really knows his stuff and was very welcoming and forthcoming with his vast audio knowledge, thanks Mark!
Anyhow after a bit of an intro and discussing my needs and my current gear I sat down. Please keep in mind that the speakers are in a room that Mark admits is lean and irregularly shaped so they are not 100% ideal. Basically its a basement room that is asymmetric with an opening hall way ‘port’ going far to the right, the listening area I would estimate is about 18 x 24 x 7 feet (but not totally sure). The M2 and S7 were connected to a luxman integrated 300 watt amp with chord dave + mscaler and nordost interconnects and cables.
First Mark played a Jazz piece by Lee Morgan...
M2:
When I first saw them they looked nice but rather small. I immediately felt… these can’t possibly deliver a solid low end.I spoke for a good while with the seller Mark who was extremely kind and helpful. He really knows his stuff and was very welcoming and forthcoming with his vast audio knowledge, thanks Mark!
Anyhow after a bit of an intro and discussing my needs and my current gear I sat down. Please keep in mind that the speakers are in a room that Mark admits is lean and irregularly shaped so they are not 100% ideal. Basically its a basement room that is asymmetric with an opening hall way ‘port’ going far to the right, the listening area I would estimate is about 18 x 24 x 7 feet (but not totally sure). The M2 and S7 were connected to a luxman integrated 300 watt amp with chord dave + mscaler and nordost interconnects and cables.
First Mark played a Jazz piece by Lee Morgan...