High-End
Audio / Audiophile Equipment Reviews
May 2019
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Industry News: Essential High-End Audio Info
Enjoy the Music.com's audiophile news and information.
Win Vanatoo Transparent One Encore Speakers
Valued At $599!
Enjoy the
Music.com is honored to join with Vanatoo for our
June 2019 contest. The Transparent One Encore (T1E, $599) series of wireless powered speakers from Vanatoo is your solution for high quality music, movie, and game playback without all of the clutter. Simply plug one speaker into the wall, run the supplied wire between the two speakers, and connect your source, which can be just about anything.
--->
Read more and enter for your chance to win!
HIGH END
2019 Show Report
High End Society Munich Germany
HIGH END 2019 show
will open their doors and welcome exhibitors and visitors from all over the
world from May 9th through 12th in Munich, Germany. As during the past 19 years, longer than any other North American magazine, Enjoy
the Music.com will once again report on HIGH END in Munich.
---> See our HIGH END 2019 show
report.
AXPONA
2019 Show Report
AXPONA 2019 show coverage by Enjoy
the Music.com Staff
Enjoy the Music.com's extensive AXPONA (Audio Expo North America)
2019 show report now features over 200 photos spanning 15 pages! There's
much more to come, so check back daily for more AXPONA 2019 show
coverage!
---> See our AXPONA 2019 show report.
Zagreb AV Show 2019 Report
This year marks the 24th annual Zagreb AV Show, which in 2019
gathered at the Sheraton Zagreb Hotel. There were 24 exhibitors from Slovenia, Slovakia, Serbia and Croatia showcasing more than 60 brands of the high-end audio industry's latest hi-fi and audiophile components, plus home theater systems too.
---> Read our Zagreb AV Show 2019 report.
Vinyl Is Back!
Plus what's within this issue and new partnership announced!
Article
By Tom Lyle
I'm puzzled. I realize that vinyl isn't
"coming back", it's back! Which means that not only serious
crate-diggers are searching for and purchasing older records made from before
the great CD-scare of the 1990s, but newly reissued vinyl, and new vinyl
releases from current artists. As a serious collector of vinyl, I have mixed
feeling about many of the records being made and sold these days. To put it
bluntly, the majority of records being made today are nothing more than CDs
pressed onto vinyl.
---> Read More
You
Are the Expert!
Roger Skoff writes about who you should rely on in putting together your system.
Article
By Roger Skoff
I talked on the phone last night with John Curl, one of the audio industry's top
electronics designers. Among the things we talked about were two subjects
that are the real bedrock of audiophilia: "What's good?" and "How can you tell?"
For audiophiles like us (Actually, among friends, we usually just call ourselves
"Hi-Fi Crazies"), the answers to those questions really are the keys to
everything.
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Will Amazon Beat Apple To The Hi-Res Music Streaming Punch?
Article By Bobby Owsinski
I've been predicting for some time that one of the major streaming services would begin to offer higher resolution music, if for no other reason than for brand differentiation. Who
would've thought that the service to make the first move would be Amazon?
A recent post from Music Business Worldwide states that Amazon is in active talks with record labels for license agreements for better-than-CD quality music material, and that one (still unnamed) is
onboard.
---> Read More
How To Do A Proper Listening
Test
Part 2
Article
By Ethan Winer
The easiest type of listening test to set up is comparing two
music files in a multi-track DAW program. You'll put the files on separate
tracks, then link (assign to the same group) the track Solo (or Mute) buttons
while they're in alternate states. Then clicking either button instantly
toggles between Track A and Track B.
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Did Someone Drop A Turd
In The Streaming Music 'PunchBowl'?
Confused about Hi-Res Music formats? So am I.
Editorial By Steven R. Rochlin
First
I need to say those familiar with my Senseless Rambling articles know there's
going to be some streaming thought-processes as this article is written. In fact
this article has been written, re-written, thrown away, then reborn, then thrown
away again and now once again reborn. Does that make sense? No? Hmmm... and if
you felt that was confusing....
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A Vibrant Performance
Roger Skoff writes about a different meaning for a common
term.
Article By Roger Skoff
According to The Oxford Dictionary the word "vibrant" means (among other things) "Full of energy and life", and, when it's used to describe sound, it means "strong or resonating". For High-End audio, either or both of those meanings can apply, and to say that something is "vibrant" can either be a distinctly positive commentary or a description of a problem with our
system.
---> Read More
How To Do A Proper Listening
Test
Part 1
Article
By Ethan Winer
There are two ways to assess the quality of audio devices:
measuring and listening. Measuring is usually the better choice because the
results are absolute, and repeatable because they avoid the vagaries of human
hearing perception. But when measuring isn't practical or possible, a
listening test using a music source is perfectly fine. For example, listening is
needed to compare CD quality at a 44.1 kHz sample rate to "high definition"
audio at 96 kHz.
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Are Your Old Vinyl Records Worth Thousands?
Here's how to sell them.
Article By Brian Morris Of Flipsy
Do you have stacks of old vinyl records packed away or collecting dust on your shelf? Ever wonder if your vinyl records are worth anything? Flipsy.com enlisted the help of experts to find out which are the most valuable records in the world, how to find record values and where to sell vinyl
records.
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A Comprehensive Guide To Digital Music Formats
Understanding digital music formats what is the
difference between MP3 and ALAC? What are the difference digital music formats?
Vinyl has made a resounding comeback for a variety
of reasons, mostly having to do with the vinyl experience. CD sales may have diminished, but the
CD isn't going anywhere soon, and even the lowly cassette tape is making a mostly un-ironic
comeback. But digital music is not only here to stay, it's the king of the playback hill. With that
in mind, we thought we'd offer a little guide to what all of those file extensions and terms
actually mean.
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What's Up With Noise Reduction In The
MHz Range?
And why does it matter?
Article By Joe Cohen Of The Lotus Group
There is a very simple explanation for why this topic is so important. It comes via my technician when I asked him why he thought the PranaWire Linebacker was so effective. Earlier I wrote that when he measured its effectiveness he was expecting to find no greater than
10dB or perhaps, at the extreme,
15dB of reduction. What we found instead was that the attenuation we were able to measure was at the noise floor of the measuring
equipment.
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Etsuro Urushi Bordeaux Moving Coil Phono Cartridge
Getting closer to the music etched into
your LP's grooves.
Review By
Tom Lyle
It was about
a year ago that I reviewed the cartridge that's one step lower in Etsuro Urushi's
line, their Cobalt
Blue. In the review I said that the Cobalt Blue is "a
super-transparent window into the recording that was etched into an LP's surface", praising this cartridge to the point where one might be led to
believe that there is no better cartridge on the market. This is not the first
time I've felt as though I have painted myself into a corner when reviewing a
piece of high-end audio equipment, which happens more often than not when the
equipment performs as well as the Cobalt Blue.
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Karan Acoustics KA S 400 Amplifier
Karan Acoustics KA L Mk3 Preamplifier
Enjoy real-time corporeal awareness into the musical experience!
Review By Professor Michael R. Bump
As a
self-professed audiophile, I find composing audio equipment reviews an
interesting and sometimes awkward dance between intent and outcome. Audio design
objectives, expressed in carefully crafted hyperbole, usually encounter a
plethora of honest, varying listening reactions born of pre-conditioned
aesthetics and physical circumstances.
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Woo Audio WA33 Balanced Headphone
Amp/Preamp
A headamp that will transport you to another world.
Review By Tom Lyle
During 2015 I reviewed the Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies headphone amplifier / DAC combination. After only a few listening sessions, this vacuum-tube based component left me practically speechless. In fact, the headline to the review in Enjoy the Music.com was "I fell in love", which pretty much summed up my feelings toward this
component.
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Read More
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Dali Callisto 2 C Wireless
System
Master Of
Contrasts
With their Callisto line, DALI aims to combine tradition and modernity, simple controls and sophisticated engineering. Has it worked?
Review By Julian Kienzle Of STEREO Magazine
Having
worked at a HiFi studio for some years, I have often heard sentences of the
following kind: "I don't need all those bells and whistles. I just want to
listen to my music." And who would blame a customer for being put off by
the sheer mass and variety of modern technologies?
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World Premiere Review!
Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III
Integrated Amplifier With MM / MC Phono Stage
Excellent build quality combined with the sonic performance of vacuum tubes.
Review By Ron Nagle
The
name Cronus is past down to us from an ancient Greek myth. Krónos was the
leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans.
I did my usual on line peeking and sleuthing and found images of the Cronus, a
very retro looking open frame amplifier. But while all of those pictures looked
like the subject of this evaluation they were actually photos of an earlier
version of the Magnum II amplifier. So these photos were taken before I ever got
my hands on this review sample. This story is about the new extensively upgraded
Cronus Magnum III. When I opened the box and peeled back the packing I lifted
(grunt) an impressive 55 pound amplifier from its cardboard container.
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Paradigm 200B Small Monitor Speaker
Impressive bottom end for a small loudspeaker.
Review By Dean Cacioppo
Paradigm
Speakers and I have a long, and personal history. Another lifetime ago, I sold
hi-end audio at the retail level. Mostly because it was my dream job. Even after
I left full time, I would work there on the weekends. Our modus operandi back
then was to get the guy who was looking for a new "stereo" and bring them in our
big room to let them experience the sound of a real audio system. Then the next step was to bring them into the "small room"
where they could experience some of that same magic in their price range.
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Quad PA-One+ Triode Vacuum Tube DAC / Headamp
The quintessential audiophile tube amp for headphones.
Review By Gary Alan Barker Of Headphone.Guru
When
I reviewed the Quad ERA-1 Planar Magnetic Headphone I knew that Quad had made
the occasional tube amp over the years, but considered them to be a speaker
manufacturer, what I didn't know (until I had researched for the ERA-1 review)
was that they had started as an amplifier company, such are the pitfalls of
redefining loudspeaker technology and producing one of the best sounding and
highest respected speakers of all time, the ESL (Electrostatic Loudspeaker).
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AURALiC ARIES G1 Wireless Streaming Transporter
New apartment lounge streaming magic!
Review By Maurice Jeffries Of Positive Feedback
AURALiC recently re-imagined its top-flight ARIES class
streaming transports, as well as its VEGA series streaming and
stand-alone DACs, from the ground up. The reference line now also
includes the newly introduced LEO GX Reference Master Digital Clock, a
unit that appears to straddle both the ARIES and VEGA product lines. The
first obvious departure from the Gen 1 AURALiC product lineup is the
liberal use of black CNC-machined, billet grade aluminum enclosures for
the new ARIES and VEGA models.
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World Premiere Review!
Audio Mirror Tubadour III DAC
A study in subtlety.
Review By Ron Nagle
In
the October 2018 issue of Enjoy the Music.com I introduced to you the
Audio Mirror monoblock amplifiers. On the heels of our World Premier Review, a
print audio magazine reviewed it and loved it too. Always glad to have others
follow Enjoy the Music.com's footsteps. And now we have a new Audio
Mirror component.
---> Read
More
Codia Acoustic Design
Stage 3000 Diagon Equipment Rack
A world-class modular design manufactured to the highest standard.
Review By Rick Becker
Before the emergence of minimalism as a lifestyle and
de-cluttering as an admirable hobby, there were audio equipment racks. In fact, there was an entire genre of mid-fi and low-fi audio systems neatly packaged in vinyl clad chipboard.
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Schiit Mani MM
/ MC Phono Stage
A thrill for any newcomer and satisfy most too.
Review By Rick Becker
The word went out on Facebook that my son-in-law Justin wanted a turntable for Christmas to try out the LP craze. Apparently the fine Sony noise cancelling headphones I gave him for Christmas last year planted a seed and the seed has sprouted. The $90 turntable on his list was a turnkey unit with cartridge and built in phono
stage.
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Wells Audio Headtrip II Headphone Amplifier
Headtrip II surpasses its progenitor with more clarity, speed, and
precision.
Review By Eric Neff of Headphone.Guru
Many
headphone community members are seeking that one amp that has enough power to
bring their hard to drive classic headphones to life. The HiFiMan HE-6, the Sony
MDR-R10, and the original Abyss AB-1266 all required huge power to light up
properly. Stories of the HE-6 being tapped to actual speaker amps are passed
around in hushed tones.
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The Core Issues: Choosing A Power Transformer
Article By Michael S. LaFevre Of MagneQuest Transformer Company
The Core
Issues examines the
function, construction, design, and
operation of magnetics for audio applications. This series will combine
practical advice in the form of useful "rules of thumb" with enough pure
theory to give us some concept of how
these magnificent devices work. This
column is not an academic engineering tutorial but rather a guide to
becoming an informed consumer.
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Triophoni:
Triode Triumph
Article By Dan Schmalle From VALVE Issue 8, August 1994
This month I will take the opportunity to show off a little
(Oh brother, not again...). I have today been putting the finishing touches on my latest amp
project, a pair of triode output power amps called Triophoni. Since I spent a fair amount of
time writing up a blurb to advertise them I will use excerpts from said blurb to describe them:
6CK4 cathode type triode valves operate class AB1 push-pull as the output tube.
---> Read More
Enjoy the Music.com Launches Monthly Audio Gear Contests
Enjoy the Music.com, a longstanding
source for luxurious high-end home and portable audio equipment reviews, news
and show reports since 1995, is launching monthly gear contests to bring great
music to our enthusiastic worldwide readership. Years ago, the site delivered
multiple contests that, in total, offered over $250,000 in prizes. During 2012,
our High-Stakes High-End Giveaway presented prizes that, in total, were valued at
nearly $90,000! This eclipses any other high-end audio giveaway at the time, and
to this day still commands the industry's largest contest.
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STEREO Magazine Teams Up
With Enjoy the Music.com
STEREO, Europe's most respected magazine,
partners with Enjoy the Music.com.
Enjoy the Music.com, a significant provider in high-end luxury audio equipment reviews, news and show reports since 1995, is elated to announce our teaming up with
STEREO Magazine. As Europe's most respected magazine, STEREO has successfully reached millions of music lovers throughout the world spanning many decades. This new partnership continues the vision of both publications to share in the joys of music and how to best reproduce it within your home, office, and everywhere possible. For nearly 25 years,
Enjoy the Music.com is an essential resource for information about the high-end audio industry and high resolution / streaming music on the
Internet.
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Positive Feedback Partners With Enjoy the Music.com
Content sharing will expand fan base of both CE audio publications.
Enjoy the Music.com, a significant provider in CE audio equipment reviews, news and show reports since 1995, is excited to announce a partnership with highly-respected
Positive Feedback magazine. Both magazines deliver on their vision of content
sharing, so that both benefit with enhanced visibility to their perspective
worldwide audience.
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Merrill Audio Christine Reference Stereo Preamplifier
Achieving sound quality competitive with the very best!
Review By Tom Lyle
It's time for
me to give it a rest. From this point forward, I'm not going to criticize anyone
for incorrectly substituting the term "preamplifier" for "linestage", or vice
versa. Basically, a preamplifier is a component that provides gain to send to
the power amplifier, and contains an internal phono preamplifier, or even might
contain an internal digital-to-analog converter. A linestage is one that has no
other functions besides providing gain. Of course, both can switch between
multiple sources and provide impedance matching between it and the power amp.
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World Premiere Review!
Elly Audio Loudspeaker
Kickstart'in a very capable and well-designed speaker both sonically and aesthetically.
Review By Rick LaFaver
Hello again everyone, I have been away awhile both enjoying
and surviving the birth of my two daughters but things have settled down to a
point where I can have some time in the evenings to pour myself a glass of my
beverage of choice and not only put time in with my system, but write about it
even. I have missed this so much, but I needed the right thing to come back to
from my retirement... semi-retirement... or we'll call it a sabbatical?
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World
Premiere Review!
Bob Carver Cherry 180 Tube Monoblock Amplifier
One of the most significant tube amplifiers of the past 60 years!
Review By Dick Olsher
Everyone, I'm sure, has by now heard that the
innovative and dare I say legend in his own time, Bob Carver, is back! Carver
LLC is about tube amplifiers, and soon loudspeakers. It is really the tale of
two Bobs: Bob Carver the designer, and Bob Farinelli the business and marketing
hub. Two tube monoblock amps are currently shipping: the Cherry 180 and Black
Beauty 305. Both share the same chassis, but the 180 is optimized for a KT88
output stage while the 305 is designed specifically for the KT120. Although
promoted as a nominal 180 Watt amp, Carver tells me that the Cherry 180 will
deliver about 270 Watts.
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Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems
Momentum Phono Stage Preamplifier
A championship phono stage from living legend Dan D'Agostino.
Review By
Tom Lyle
When I heard
that I would be reviewing the $28,000 Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Momentum phono
preamplifier for this issue of Enjoy The
Music, I was a very
happy audiophile -- on account of the time I spent with the $50,000
D'Agostino Momentum Lifestyle integrated amplifier that I reviewed
earlier this year. If this phono preamplifier had any of the sonic
characteristics of the MLife, I suspected I was going to hear my records through
a state-of-the-art phono preamp, or at the very least one that was very close to
state-of-the-art.
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Read More
Previous Issues
2019
January/February
March/April
2018
January/February
March/April May/June
July/August
September/October November/December
2017
January/February
March/April May/June
July/August
September/October November/December
Note: We have magazine issues dating back to 1999.
See our archives section for all reviews.
