Displaying items by tag: review - StereoLife Magazine

PS Audio is an American company, specialising mainly in the production of the high-end power components and accessories. Especially its regenerating power stations enjoy good reputation. They convert energy from the wall socket to the DC, and then rebuild it as an ideal sine wave, thus creating a perfect electricity to supply the best audio devices, which are extremely sensitive to power quality, such as analogue and digital sources or preamplifiers. A few years ago a completely new series of components appeared in the catalogue - things like digital-to-analog converters and phono preamplifiers. Here the Americans focused on modern functionality and sound quality, so that this line has grown to five devices and two extra boards. Some time ago we saw an information about the planned launch of an integrated amplifier equipped with a full DAC, phono stage for MM cartridges, headphoneoutput and Bluetooth connectivity - all in an elegant, modern box and at an extremely attractive price.

In the era of D/A converters, streamers and amplifiers, which work almost on the basis of the perpetual motion, the loudspeakers are the last bastion of conservatives. Of course the manufacturers of speakers experiment with new materials. They work on improving improve the performance of magnets, coils and crossovers. If someone is more inventive than the rest, they install ribbon drivers, transmission lines or passive radiators, but still - the market of loudspeakers remains very classic. Most audiophile sets are based on the ideas born a few decades ago. There is nothing wrong with that, unless the engineer is able to do everything right, according to the best practices. Xavian is a Czech factory founded 17 years ago by Roberto Barletta. It is one of those companies who adhere to the great traditions of building speakers. Barletta's name doesn't sound very Czech, because he is a purebred Italian who emigrated north because of his wife. However the change of residence didn't took away the long-standing passion of building speakers.

Until recently Denon's catalog centered on devices almost exclusively dedicated to usage in stereo and home cinema systems - amplifiers, players, streamers and micro-systems. The offering was supplemented with accessories and a wide range of headphones, very interesting headphones, we have to say. However the increasing trend pushing many sectors towards mobile devices caused also a change in the catalogue of this Japanese company, causing an avalanche of propositions with different purpose. So last year we saw a few novelties, like the CEOL series of systems, the Envaya speaker looking like a lady's purse, the elegantly sleek soundbar DHT-T110 or the HEOS wireless speakers. But Denon seems not to be stopping there, as they recently presented their first DAC/headphone amplifier. This device is not only small, but also looks splendidly placed on a desktop.

Audiophiles rarely agree with one another. They even divide their community into various groups that are sometimes incomprehensible even to their members. The same kind of sound can be a true discovery for some people and a complete failure to others. Examples of such situations can be multiplied indefinitely. Therefore we found it quite strange and unique that everyone seemed to speak one voice about one of last year's exhibition at Audio Show in Warsaw. Especially remarkable that show's visitors emphasized the sonic excellence of loudspeakers made by so little known manufacturer from Poland. The name of the main company is Audiothlon but it has two brands under its wings. Historically the first one was Enerr, making power cables, conditioners and accessories. The second brand is Equilibrium making speaker and interconnect cables, and whole loudspeakers. While the cables are fairly well known and have been reviewed a couple of times, speakers evolved rather quickly. We couldn't wait to see them in the final form. The Ether Ceramique is the pinnacle among the speakers designed to fit normal and smaller listening rooms.

France is known not only for automobiles, excellent cuisine, high fashion and jammed streets of Paris. It is also one of the most important countries on the audiophile map of the world. It's the birthplace of brands such as Triangle, Lavardin, Lecontoure, Atoll, Devialet, Cabasse, Micromega, YBA, Fadel Art or Jadis. However, one of the most meaningful companies in the area of the speakers and accessories is Focal. And we are not talking only about the French, but worldwide market. Now this company, which a few years ago was known as JMLab, has several production centres. Collectively they occupy an area comparable to small refinery.

Marantz is a company which managed to successfully penetrate the area of home cinema, receivers and modern streamers while preserving audiophile roots and an aura of exclusivity at the same time. It seems that they've found a recipe how to balance between the world of modern technologies and this what is proved, classic and desired by the lovers of high-quality sound. If you are interested in the gear from previous ages, and if you like internet profiles with vintage audio, you have surely seen loads of Marantz's equipment there - beautiful amplifiers, tuners with backlit scales and oscilloscopes, CD players with massive trays and advanced optics, all in metal, wood and glass. No wonder that in times of omnipresent plastic a retro fashion came back, bringing stereo equipment to where it should be.

Some time ago we were contacted by the Auris Audio company, after we saw their products at this year's High End show in Munich. These unknown tube amplifiers from Serbia accompanied by small Boenicke Audio showed such an addictive sound, that we were very enthusiastic about having a chance to listen to these devices more closely. It was unusual situation and the surprise is all the greater, because this fresh company presented several other products - preamplifiers, integrated amplifiers, power amplifiers and even a couple of DACs and headphone amplifiers. We could have expected that at least dozens of distributors will be willing to promote this brand in their countries. Indeed Auris Audio aroused so much interest that we had to wait a few months for the first amplifier for the review.

Acoustic Zen is an American company that has never belonged to the group of the most recognized cable manufacturers such as Cardas, Audioquest, Nordost and Tara Labs, but its products are well-perceived by audiophiles because of the sonic qualities and conductors used inside them. The brand was founded by Robert Lee, who previously created Harmonic Technology cables. It's no wonder that the products of both brands combine more than just the name of the founder. There's a similar philosophy and materials, with special regard to the metal of which the conductors are made. Americans were among the first who began to use mono-crystal alloys. Methods of obtaining wires with long crystals are different, but the idea is quite simple - the less microscopic barriers in the conductor, the clearer and less distorted signal.

In our reviews we often describe the latest products of well-known brands, and so they are eye-catching devices, regardless of their functionality and price range. This time we decided to test something very rare - a tube headphone amplifier made in Greece. Although Lab12 is quite successful and presents its products at international exhibitions, the company is pretty much unknown in the audiophile world. On the web there were just a few coverages, and one review written by Matej Isak from the Mono and Stereo magazine with whom we collaborate. The company is situated in Athens, and beyond the home market its products are distributed in four European countries. They are Hungary, Norway, Switzerland and Poland. In the catalogue we find a power cord and five boxes for different uses - preamplifier, DAC, power amplifier, headphone amplifier and a passive preamp with source selector. All combine classic design and valves - even the DAC output stage is built around the tubes.

Hi-end world may seem mysterious and bizarre, but when you understand some mechanisms and taste the close contact with the music, it is not hard to get involved in this hobby. Even cables and power conditioners are of major importance for the owners of hi-end audio systems. However the speakers are the most important element. To climb higher naturally we look for the ones which are more professional and refined. It's hard not to notice that the majority of speakers available on the market look roughly the same. Many manufacturers offer big, three-way speakers with four classic drivers, high gloss finish and leather, metal or glass accents. Woofers can be placed on the front, on the sides or on the bottom of the enclosure. Treble can come from a dome, ribbon or other stuff and so on, but the problem is that most speakers apply ventilated enclosures, which is too boring and obvious for many audiophiles. Instead, you can choose the electrostatics and magnetostatics, but it requires a lot of courage to make sacrifices in interior design. It may turn out that the best place for them is right in the center of the listening room. Additionally there is a need to purchase an amplifier with a very high output power.