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High-End Audiophile
Equipment Reviews,
Luxury Audio Gear, News, Show Reports,
Magazine Articles And More!
Celebrating 26 Years Of Service To Music Lovers
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Enjoy the Music.com's July
2022 Luxury Audio Review Magazine
With our extensive show coverage of AXPONA and HIGH END now online, we focus on hot fun in the summertime! Within this month's issue, we have a world premiere of the highly-anticipated value-priced LampizatOr Amber 4 DAC / Preamplifier, the extraordinary dCS LINA headphone system, Crystal Cable's Monet power cable, Pass Labs' X260.8 monoblock amps, Critical Mass Systems' Center Stage 2M Footers, the marvelous McIntosh MP100 Phono Stage / Stereo Preamplifier... and more!
---> See this month's Enjoy the Music.com Review Magazine.
HIFICRITIC's Latest Issue
Is Now Available
Editorial: We Welcome Back Hi-Fi Shows
Munich HIGH END Show Report
Magico A3 Loudspeaker
Marantz Model 40N Amplifier And Network/SACD Player
Icon 4Pro Passive Line Controller
Measuring Speakers – It's All About The Bass
Q Acoustics Concept 50 Speaker
Audiolab Omnia 'Just Add Speakers' System
Russell K Red 120 SE Floorstanders
Mark Levinson No.5909 ANC Headphones
...And Much More!
---> HIFICRITIC April / May / June
2022 Magazine.
Spaced A-B Microphone Placements / Array
A recent paper from Florian Grond, Jack Kelly, and Wieslaw Woszczyk of the McGill University Schulich School of Music brings new
insights to space microphone arrays. Titled "Spaced A-B Microphone Placements Of Higher-Order Ambisonics Microphone Arrays: Techniques for recording and balancing direct and ambient sound," they end by
acknowledging that their findings may open more question than it answers. "In acoustic music recording, spaced microphone positions typically give an impression of spaciousness and depth in the rendered sound scene. Inter-channel decorrelation, particularly at low frequencies, is thought to contribute to this effect, and cannot be achieved through coincident
techniques."
---> Spaced A-B Microphone Placements / Array.
UK Audio Show To Go Large...
This just in: A significant announcement from the organizers of The UK Audio Show reveals plans for a major expansion of this premier Audio Show. For 2023,
organizers have announced that the show will occupy the whole of the Staverton Park Hotel complex at
Daventry, as it increases its National and International status. Further plans include a major concert on the
show's Saturday evening, along with an increased presence of keynote speakers, workshops and listening sessions during show days. Next
year's event will also see a special zone, dedicated to manufacturers from a specific country under a new handshake
scheme.
---> UK Audio Show To Go Large In Major Development.
A Look Into The Future
Roger Skoff peers into his hi-fi crystal ball.
Article
By Roger Skoff
Have you seen what house prices are like recently? I live in California – the State with
the highest State Income Tax rate; the highest gas prices (the cheapest near my house is well over
$6 a gallon, still cheap by European standards); and, according to Forbes
Magazine, the State that has, in terms of 2022 real estate prices, five of the ten most expensive zip codes to live in in the entire United
States. And, except for the taxes (which might also increase) all of that is likely to change – not at all for the better – very
soon. In an (futile) effort to counter the greatest surge of inflation in more than 40 years, the Federal Reserve, on June 15th, 2022, raised its interest rate by three quarters of a basis point (0.75%). That's the third increase this year, triple the usual rate for such increases, and a strong indicator of more increases yet to
come.
--->
A Look Into The Future.
Crystal Cable Monet Power Cable Review
A very pleasant surprise!
Review By Marshall
Nack
When the Monet power cables from
Crystal Cable were offered for review, the first thing I went online for a
look-see. The photos suggested a slimmed-down cable with no surplus parts,
nothing more than the elemental hardware required for the task at hand. The
Monet is the thinnest power cables in the new Art series and features the
company's latest generation of pure silver conductors. Putting these data points
together — minimum hardware, slim appearance, silver conductors — I jumped
to conclusions and replied back to Gabi Rynveld, founder of Crystal Cable,
"Might they sound a little light-weight?" She assured me,
"Absolutely not! Well, then, bring them on!" I was enthused and so,
about a month or two later, the samples arrived.
--->
Crystal Cable Monet Power Cable Review.
Pass Labs X260.8 Monoblock Amplifier Review
Prestigious power, glorious grace, and terrific transparency.
Review By
Dwayne Carter
Pass Laboratories, Inc., is a name that most audiophiles
utter, after describing a product that comes close to perfection. "XXX
amplifier almost sounds as good as the Pass Labs XXX model". We've
all done it. Fortunately, "as good as" will have to wait. Thanks to the good
people at Pass Laboratories; I get the real thing. As the world was on pause, my
listening room entertained a pair of Pass Labs X260.8 monoblock amplifiers. In full disclosure, I would like to admit that I have been a
fan of Pass Labs products for many years. I've never owned or reviewed any of
their products, so I was looking forward to this delivery.... The Pass Labs X260.8 monoblock amplifiers require two people to
move. I know most amplifier manufacturers recommend this, but this is the first
time I heeded their recommendation. Luckily, my good friend Michael was able to
help me wrestle these beasts into place.
--->
Pass Labs X260.8 Monoblock Amplifier Review.
World Premiere Review
LampizatOr Amber 4 Stereo DAC /
Preamplifier Review
It's hard to imagine a more musical DAC in its price.
Review By Rick Becker
A decade
ago LampizatOr was not yet on my radar. My review of the LampizatOr Amber 4
stereo DAC / preamplifier, as seen here, is a testament to their efforts over
the years. It wasn't until the New York Audio Show in 2014 that I first heard
one. The
rig was totally comprised of gear that was new to me. The only familiar thing
was Lyle Lovett singing "North Dakota." I didn't have much to say about the
sound quality, which is neither good nor bad. Spring forward to November,
at the Capital AudioFest 2021
and there were more than a handful of their various
DACs on display. LampizatOr has become a top brand, and while they are best
known in the US for their DACs, they offer four levels of "turnkey" systems in
which everything, including cables, is made by LampizatOr. Their speakers
feature open baffle midrange and tweeters with enclosed woofers, much like the
early Tekton Design speaker I found so delightful back in 2009. Today, I dare
say they are at the leading edge of DAC design.
--->
LampizatOr Amber 4 Stereo DAC / Preamplifier Review.
More high-end audio
reviews & articles within our Review Magazine.
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