Reviews
Rogers E20a/ii Integrated Amplifier
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 January 2022 15 January 2022
Rogers… the august brand name which invariably conjures the infallible LS3/5a, that BBC-commissioned little over-performing icon, that endearing beacon of small 2-way loudspeaker design. Less famed is the company’s release in the mid-1990s of the E20a, a bespoke valve amplifier targeted to wring the very best from the LS3/5a and, indeed, the company’s then growing stable of loudspeaker offerings. With the new E20a/ii, Rogers modernises the original concept while preserving the vacuum tube design that made its speakers truly sing. So now, going on 30 years later and in a far more expansive audio landscape, will the new iteration become a universal loudspeaker-driving companion?
Stax SRM-400S Solid State & SRM-500T Tube Headphone Amplifiers
- Details
- Written by Vedran Simunovic Vedran Simunovic
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 December 2021 15 December 2021
I don’t know about you, but recently I find myself having to contemplate things that only a few short years ago would have been considered utterly unthinkable, pandemics included. If, for a moment (and strictly for the purposes of this review), one decides to extrapolate the current unfortunate experiences, it shouldn’t be too hard to imagine the following: The civilisation as we know it is no more. You’re cooped up within your ever-narrowing four walls by a rampant deadly virus, while an unruly mob pouring down the street in front of your house is baying for blood and declaring unyielding allegiance to all kinds of snake oil remedies and salesmen of salvation. When you really think of it, the only reasonable action anyone could take in that situation would be to put on some music and enjoy whatever the time is left to be had. On the other hand, you wouldn’t want to draw too much attention to yourself (mobs are, after all, fickle and easily provoked) so you’d probably decide against blasting the neighbourhood with your fancy speakers and you’d therefore reach for your fine headphones instead, and in this case, driven by inimitable Stax amplification.
Estelon X Diamond Mk II Loudspeakers
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 December 2021 01 December 2021
“He who sows the wind will reap a storm” (kes külvab tuult, lõikab tormi) asserts an Estonian proverb. That country’s Estelon, producer of uniquely-styled high-end loudspeakers, has been sowing… and sowing. And the company is reaping… while ripping through the high-end space like a hurricane. Category 5. In a relatively short time, Estelon has raised its profile to a helluva-a-high perch. Deservedly so too. It produces highly desirable and uniquely styled speaker systems which, I’d wager, have raised the eyebrows of the industry’s most robust high-end brands. The winds are about to blow a gale and the impressive X Diamond Mk II heralds the calm before the storm.
Halcro Eclipse Stereo Power Amplifier
- Details
- Written by Peter Katsoolis Peter Katsoolis
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 November 2021 15 November 2021
“He really did have super ears, you know”, says Natalie O’Neill of Halcro. In an early white paper, the company’s founder Dr Bruce Candy, middle name Halcro, claimed to “have very unusual ears; I can hear up to 23kHz in one ear and 21 kHz in the other”. At the time of the first coming of Halcro in the 1990s, Candy made claims with more front than a bullfighter in a Hemingway novel. Yet, Stereophile rewarded those ears by dubbing its October 2003 cover star, the inaugural Halcro dm58 monoblock power amplifier: “The Best Amplifier Ever”. To date, no other product has graced its cover with this ‘best ever’ proclamation. Exponential success then followed these unconventional amplifiers which boasted freakishly low “parts per billion at full power” levels of distortion. The original ‘dm’ units remain a coveted cult product today, long after the original company was sold by Candy and Halcro disappeared as rapidly as it came.
Fyne Audio F501SP Loudspeakers
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 November 2021 01 November 2021
As far as audio is concerned, one of my greatest regrets is naively selling a pair of beautifully-refurbished Tannoy Cheviot Dual-Concentric speakers. Back in the mid-‘90s, an inherited set of mint DC 12-inch raw drivers and crossovers had me embarking on an enclosure-building exercise. After much research and the generous assistance from then-importer Syntec, I commissioned South Australian craftsmen to build a cabinet to Tannoy specifications employing heavier-gauge MDF, an improved bracing scheme and a first-class Australian Jarrah wood veneer. It was a thing of beauty. The Cheviots played with a semi-vintage sound that straddled the musicality of yesteryear with the precision of more contemporary designs. Naturally, Tannoy has continued to evolve its product catalogue, however, a few years ago, a portion of its key personnel left the company, subsequently starting Fyne Audio. On an alternate path from its inception, the budding company has nurtured fresh ideologies and developed technologies of its own while respectfully drawing from former engineering achievements. How will the new mid-level Fyne Audio F501SP fare within the prestigious canon of coupled-driver masterpieces?
M2Tech Rockstars Series System
- Details
- Written by Barry Jones Barry Jones
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 November 2021 01 November 2021
M2Tech is an Italian audio business based in the ancient city of Pisa and founded by Marco Manuta and his wife Nadia, both electrical engineers by trade and with a passion for music. During my research, I discovered their philosophy which articulated perfectly something I have long known – “that the quality of the sound is fundamental to fully appreciate music”. M2 Tech believes that “the perception of the musical nuances in a musical performance, as well as the correct delivery of all the environmental sonic information that make the signature of the venue in which music is played and recorded, contribute to the emotional side of music listening”.
Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 Loudspeakers
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 October 2021 15 October 2021
Wait, what? There’s a new Bowers & Wilkins 800 series launching? That was the goss vibing around audio journos’ periphery for a couple of months prior to the official announcement. Then, a communiqué direct from the company: Tune-in to a global online press-only event. A date. A link. A whole lotta questions… and soon, a whole lotta answers. A road paved with anticipation and cobbled with excitement eventually leading to this 801 D4 review.
Chord Electronics 2go Streamer/Server and 2yu DAC Interface
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 October 2021 01 October 2021
Across its entire product spectrum, Chord Electronics offers distinctively-styled components endowed with intelligent engineering solutions. For the embodiment of creative industrial design, check out the distinctive heavy metal Sci-Fi aesthetic of the company’s most ambitious ‘Ultima’ line. Right down to the entry-point portable audio players, like the super-successful and overachieving Mojo, the ideology carries through to beautifully made devices which are unmistakably… Chord. However, the daring ‘hey you, look at me!’ styling and colour-bubble functionality is always simpatico with innovative, inspired proprietary engineering. Now, Chord’s continuum expands with a product duo which is, literally, hand-in-hand ‘2go’ about bringing digital tunes ‘2yu’.
Definitive Technology Demand D17 Loudspeakers
- Details
- Written by Mark Busby Mark Busby
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 October 2021 01 October 2021
Hailing from the USA, Definitive Technology brings you its Demand Series of which the D17 is the top of the line floorstanding loudspeaker. Formed in 1991 Maryland USA, Definitive Technology has been researching speaker design for three decades and has numerous loudspeaker design patents to its name. Let’s examine the D17’s music making skills.
Degritter Ultrasonic Record Cleaner
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 September 2021 15 September 2021
According to a number of recent, credible reports widely aired online, the ‘black circle’ has outsold the silver disc for the first time since the 1990s. Both in terms of unit numbers and monetary revenue. By quite a clear-cut margin too. Having said that, in the music industry universe, streaming is by far (and I stress far) the most popular means of enjoying music. Be that as it may, vinyl has emerged from a full samsara cycle and its reincarnation is here to stay. Plus, in addition to its wider current availability, there’s an infinite amount of it in past collections. Yes, a whole heap of vinyl out there. And it needs a regular bath.
MUTEC MC-3+ USB Smart Reclocker & REF10 Reference Master Clock
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 September 2021 01 September 2021
While the largest percentage of digital music streamers/players offer a USB output (often as the sole option), many respected engineers strongly accredit either S/PDIF or AES/EBU connectivity as the superior interface between the music source and the downstream digital-to-analogue converter. As with anything audio, this is open to debate. Equally persuasive arguments assert a well-thought-out USB interface can be at least the equal to the alternative transmittance methods. Virtues are often slaves to implementation and both sides of the coin can shimmer with objective and subjective brilliance. So, many highly capable DACs omit a USB input altogether. Conversely, many streamer/players provide that as the only output option. In those applications, a USB to S/PDIF and AES/EBU converter is required. What if said converter is also complimented with a superbly-engineered in-built clocking topology? Further, would a state-of-the-art external Master Clock elevate music enjoyment to even higher levels? Enter the Alpha specimens of the species, the MUTEC MC-3+ USB ‘Reclocker’ and REF10 Reference Master Clock.
Dynaudio Heritage Special Loudspeakers
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 August 2021 15 August 2021
When a product’s name features the word ‘Heritage’ it conjures an associated sense of… promise. And tradition. And ancestry. Expressing the word ‘Heritage’ carries a message of brand culture and company history. It celebrates the legacy of generations of evolution. With the release of its limited-run ‘Heritage Special’ loudspeakers, Dynaudio confidently advances enduring philosophies and applies long-refined technologies in a product which expresses a powerful mythology. The new speaker shouts its legacy credentials with an assured voice, accentuated by the reintroduction of a timeless enclosure aesthetic now further improved by modern craftsmanship. That’s the ‘Heritage’ box ticked. But is it also ‘Special’ or is that simply bravado?
