This note reflects, essentially, my first toe in the water of a higher end headphone setup, at least as a reviewer. I've heard high end speaker systems for decades. My first "high end" headphone setup was sometime in the late 1970s, an unknown model of magical Stax "earspeakers." At the time I thought them better... Read More »
Yon Olde Editor (portrait by John Robinson) A prologue: of memories, music, and dreams… To start: An extended and quite famous passage from Proust. Just read it, it will do you good. Many years had elapsed during which nothing of Combray, save what was comprised in the theatre and the drama of my going to... Read More »
A little over three years ago, I reviewed the original PS Audio Sprout integrated amplifier (HERE). That unit received widespread acclaim throughout the audio press for its feature set, performance and price. However, those who paid attention to my review would recognize that though I respected it for its effort and its potential significance in... Read More »
This article was written by and contributed to Positive Feedback by Roland Dietl of our affiliate publication in Germany, HiFi Statement. You may remember the ZeroUnoDAC and the ZeroUno PLUS looking like a small, tubed power amp, which inspired me a lot. Now, CanEVER Audio has expanded its product portfolio through offering a real power amp – the... Read More »
High-end headphones and Personal Fi. I've evaluated a goodly handful of 'phones and headphone amps over many years, with some excellent results. Some were large cost-no-object designs, built for home, listening room, or office use only; others were compact and portable, for the music lover on the go. (I do a fair amount of flying,... Read More »
The three available finishes of the absolute: copper, black, and silver (image courtesy of Manley) Let us just cut to the chase! I have reviewed countless headphone amplifiers and the Absolute is absolutely the most elegantly designed, intensely musical, and extremely flexible of them all! Add in the superb remote and it’s game over. Provided with... Read More »
When I listened to the Spatial Audio M3 Turbo S (read that review HERE) I was hoping to pair them with the Linear Tube Audio Micro ZOTL MZ2 preamp/heaphone amp and ZOTL 40 power amp. Clayton Shaw of Spatial audio opined that the pairing of the LTA components driving his M3 Turbo S was magical,... Read More »
Headphonemania! Headphones hold top five slots in global audiophile charts! Well, that's what the headlines should say. Headphones, headphones everywhere, and now I see headphone ads from the same companies that used to make my plasma TVs. Even the President is bumpin' his Beats, although that may be just a farewell finger to his non-Beat... Read More »
We live in the true Golden Age of fine audio. I've said this before, but I don't want readers to forget the fact that we're awash in a great wave of audio designs in all categories, with the recordings to go with them. The best DSD and DACs, the best turntables, the best LPs ever... Read More »