Audio Research Foundation DAC9 Digital-to-Analog Converter
- Written by: Vade Forrester
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
In March 2011, I reviewed Audio Research’s DAC8 DAC on SoundStage! Hi-Fi, which used a now-ubiquitous asynchronous USB 2.0 input to play files of sampling rates higher than 96kHz. For a conservative company like ARC, that feature was somewhat innovative, it having only recently emerged as the sonically preferable way to play recordings at what was then the highest resolution available: 24-bit/192kHz. That was before files with such exotic initials as DSD, DXD, and MQA appeared. The DAC9 is ARC’s first standalone, popular-level DAC since 2010 -- in DAC years, an eternity -- and, like most DACs, it doesn’t include the latest development in digital audio playback: the ability to decode Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) files. It can, however, play DSD files; previously, the only ARC component that could do that was the GSi75 integrated amplifier.
The Myth of Continual Improvement
- Written by: Jeff Fritz
- Category: Opinion
I’m at a point in this audiophile thing where my nonsense meter goes off regularly. That wasn’t always the case. I used to buy into the nonsense: I can remember times when a manufacturer would contact me and tell me about the latest, greatest product they were about to release. They’d send me promotional materials and specs and photos, and I’d get all excited about the thing. And there’s no doubt that, more than once, I’ve been the victim of my own expectation bias.
Vandersteen Audio Model Seven Mk.II Loudspeakers and M7-HPA Mono Amplifiers
- Written by: Peter Roth
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
“Arguably, in the last few years, the most competitive segment of the ultra-high-end speaker market has been models retailing for $50,000 to $70,000/pair. This price range includes such prominent models as Wilson Audio Specialties’ Alexia ($52,000/pair), Magico’s S7 ($58,000/pair), and Vivid Audio’s Giya G1 ($68,000/pair), to name just a few. In short, there are lots of tough competitors.”
Erasure: "Wonderland"
- Written by: Joseph Taylor
- Category: Recording of the Month
Intervention/Mute IR-009
Format: LP
Musical Performance: ****
Sound Quality: *****
Overall Enjoyment: ****1/2
Vince Clarke had already made his mark in two bands when, in 1985, he formed the synth-pop duo Erasure with singer Andy Bell. A founding member of Depeche Mode, Clarke had written three of its early hits, “Dreaming of Me,” “New Life,” and “Just Can’t Get Enough.” He left shortly after the release of that band’s first album, Speak & Spell (1981), and, with singer Alison Moyet, formed Yazoo (known in the US, for legal reasons, as Yaz).
JPlay JCAT USB Card and USB Isolator
- Written by: Howard Kneller
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
A few years ago, I fell in with a bad audiophile crowd -- hardcore computer-audio enthusiasts who ran high-end DIY music servers. Using up to three component cases, these servers featured specially made or modified parts and performance-enhancing software like AudiophileOptimizer, Bughead Emperor, and Fidelizer.
Some Personal Best-Ofs
- Written by: Jeff Fritz
- Category: Opinion
Readers have a love/hate relationship with the word best. So do reviewers. On the one hand, rarely does a day go by that I don’t receive an e-mail from a reader asking which is better for his or her situation: component A, B, or C? Typically, the reader is someone who is about to make a buying decision but is at an impasse, and wants me to break the tie.
Monitor Audio Platinum II PL300 II Loudspeakers
- Written by: Aron Garrecht
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
In the audio industry, build quality isn’t just synonymous with how well a piece of equipment is assembled, nor is it a measure of how expensive the materials are which constitute the end product. A product’s build quality stems from its innate scientific fundamentals and resulting design, into which are incorporated quality materials and refined assembly processes, to produce a component of high quality and high performance. Build quality is something British speaker manufacturer Monitor Audio takes very seriously, as evidenced by the many successful products they’ve produced since their founding, in 1972.
Alison Krauss: "Windy City"
- Written by: Joseph Taylor
- Category: Recording of the Month
Capitol B002625002
Format: CD
Musical Performance: ****
Sound Quality: ***1/2
Overall Enjoyment: ****
Alison Krauss sports big hair on the cover of her new album, Windy City. When I was a kid in the 1960s, my next-door neighbor wore hers in a similar ’do. It must have taken half a can of Aqua Net to keep it in place -- a hurricane wouldn’t muss it. Needless to say, I had a crush on her. Krauss looks elegant and stylish in the photos in the CD booklet, and the music inside matches those qualities.
Audiodesksysteme Gläss Vinyl Cleaner Pro
- Written by: Tom Mathew
- Category: Full-Length Reviews
When I first started collecting LPs, in the mid-1970s, my record cleaner of choice comprised a liquid and brush made by Discwasher. I would place an LP on my Philips GA312 turntable, and apply to it a few drops of the solution in a straight line, from lead-in groove to lead-out groove. Keeping the platter immobile with one hand and holding the brush in the other, I’d then sweep the brush around the record three times counterclockwise -- and my worn copy of Tattoo You would be good to go.
Will the Real Ultra Products Please Stand Up?
- Written by: Jeff Fritz
- Category: Opinion
I’m often pitched products for review here on SoundStage! Ultra -- the SoundStage! Network site that covers extreme hi-fi components, and where my writing has primarily appeared for more than a decade. It’s obvious to anyone who reads this site the products we review are often priced far above most audio products. It makes sense: I’ve reviewed lots of expensive electronics and speakers over the years -- it’s what I’m known for in audio circles -- and that writing is the focal point of Ultra.
- Gryphon Audio Designs Antileon Evo Stereo Amplifier
- Andrew Durkin: "Breath of Fire"
- Symposium Acoustics Osiris Stealth Ultimate Equipment Rack
- An Ugly Secret: When Reviews Are Not Really Reviews
- Focus Audio Liszt Concerto Mono Integrated Amplifiers
- Gil Evans: "Gil Evans & Ten"
- SoundStage! 2016 Products of the Year: My View
- Magico MPod Support System
- Rolling Stones: "Blue & Lonesome"
- Linear Tube Audio ZOTL40 Mk.II Stereo Amplifier
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