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Welcome to Audiophilia. We publish honest and accurate reviews of high end audio equipment and music.
Welcome to Audiophilia. We publish honest and accurate reviews of high end audio equipment and music.
All by Karl Sigman
Since its founding in 2007 in NYC (now located in Tianjin, China), Hifiman Electronics, known simply as Hifiman, has almost exclusively been offering over-ear, open-back planar magnetic headphones and more recently open-back electrostatic headphones. Noteworthy among their highly regarded planar magnetic releases include the HE400, HE1000 and HE1000se, the Sundara (review forthcoming) and Susvara, and even a wireless model, the Deva. Prices range from $169 for the HE400 up to $6000 for the highest-level planar magnetic model, the highly acclaimed Susvara.
Hifiman’s two electrostatic models are the Shangri-La Jr. and Shangri-La, each paired with a special electrostatic Hifiman amp and sold as a combo. The cost is $8000 for the Jr, reaching a mind-popping high of $50,000 for the truly extraordinary ‘Ultimate Flagship’ Shangri-La combo; its vacuum tube amplifier alone is a masterpiece of art—a must see (and hear, if you get a chance; I have been lucky to do so). There is no serious debate; Hifiman makes some of the finest such high-end audiophile quality headphones available, along with worthy competitors such as Audeze, Focal, Sennheiser, Grado, among others.
The new Allnic Audio Amber MC Cartridge ($4500) was recently reviewed very favorably by Audiophilia where it was also mentioned that Amber had an equally new twin sister, the focus of my review here: the Rose MC Cartridge which retails at the significantly lower price of $2900.
Although not an identical twin of Amber—for it comes in a beautiful rose-colored Duralumin 5052 housing (versus amber-colored) with the name ‘Rose’ written elegantly in white on its right side—it is identical looking otherwise, almost identical in construction and, like the Amber, is handbuilt by master Allnic Audio designer Kang Su Park. As I discovered and will elaborate on in this review, the Rose is a true bargain, handily performing above its price point, so beautiful to look at and very easy to install.
The vast majority of modern audio DACs use a Delta-Sigma DAC chip because such chips are now tiny, manufactured by companies that sell them in mass relatively cheaply, and have become outstanding in quality. Examples of such chips include the California USA Company’s ESS Technology 9038PRO SABRE chip used in many of the highest-end DACs. Even their slightly lesser chip, the ESS Technology 9028PRO SABRE has been used impressively in some high-end DACs with which I am familiar such as the Mytek Brooklyn DAC + at only $2195.
There are, however, a few companies that use other methods. One novel alternative is illustrated by PS Audio’s DirectStream (DSD) DAC at $6000 that stands out because of its use of a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) which is a circuit board that is programmed with software (that can be upgraded on a regular basis) to perform the essential conversion, and does so using DSD. This FPGA method for use in Hi-Fi audio, however, requires sophisticated software to run which most audio designers do not have the knowledge to assure (PS Audio, for example, leads their effort with one incredibly talented man: Ted Smith). The DirectStream DAC has been my reference for a number of years now.
After two reviews of Audio Art Cable products already under my belt, I am now presenting the 3rd: Audio Art Cable Statement e2 Cryo AC Cable. It is a power cable at 15A, IEC, with solid, classy-looking, silver colored Furutech Nano Crystal Formula FI-50(R) NCF and FI-48(R) NCF plug sets.
They retail for $1, 380/metre; I was sent two for my review to use with my monoblock amps. As with the other two cables I reviewed, this AC cable is from the Statement series, their flagship level of cabling, and has a similar, attractive Techflex sleeving. It is the thickest of the three cables, about 1” in diameter, but relatively easy to manipulate and connect. The wiring is a 10 gauge, 6N pure single crystal UP-OCC copper/silver plated UP-OCC hybrid array. The Furutech plug sets used are considered some of the very finest available for power cable termination.
This is my second review of Audio Art Cable products; the first review was for speaker cables. This time round, a pair of balanced (XLR) interconnects: Audio Art Cable Statement e IC Cryo Silver XLR; again from their Statement series which is their highest level.
These XLR cables offer the same attractive grey look with a braided Techflex sleeving as the speaker cables, but are thinner (3/8” diameter versus 1/2”). The cable’s MSRP is $960/1 metre pair. I was sent a 1.5 meter pair for this review at $1040. This is not expensive in the realm of high-end audio where a pair of XLR interconnects can be found at prices that can compete with a car.
Days before the World Health Organization proclaimed a pandemic in early March, 2020, I was introduced to Rob Fritz, Founder of Audio Art Cable, based in San Diego, CA; a company founded in 2005. After several emails and a phone conversation, I was impressed with what I learned and thus agreed to review from a variety of their very reasonably priced, high end, hand-made cables from among speaker, interconnect and power. The Audio Art Cable website also contained an intriguing statement that caught my eye and impressed me further:
There’s a good chance, after you’re done evaluating the performance improvement of Audio Art Cables in your system, that you’ll forget about your new cables—as you should. The music will captivate you, pull you into its magical spell, as you dance, or hum, or tap...and smile...
I would add after ‘smile’, ‘and distract you from worries’.
Every so often, when my stereo system sound quality has been inspiring delight for an unusual lengthy period of time, I decide to tinker just to see what else is possible. Can I get the sound quality even better (even if just a tiny bit) by some small adjustment? Examples include experimenting with different analog or digital interconnect cables, power cables, or isolation footers to be placed under various components.
Coincidentally, I was in just such a tinkering mood when I visited a Fall 2019 VPI Industries House event in which IsoAcoustics, a Canadian company specializing in audio isolation products, was there represented by President Dave Morrison. He was demonstrating his Gaia Series of loudspeaker isolation footers on various Focal floor standing speakers.
Mark Sossa from Well Pleased Audio Vida (AV) contacted me several months ago concerning a new DAC that he thought I would be interested to review. He tends to find products that are off the beaten track, are worthy of attention for their outstanding quality/performance, and are not in the very highest level of price range. I agreed to review it after confirming that it would work with my stereo system. The DAC was the Linnenberg Satie DAC at $8995, the newest DAC by Linnenberg and considered their reference.
Linnenberg is a German company, now 25 years old, led by Ivo Linnenberg. Their products are manufactured in Germany where they are hand-assembled. Ivo Linnenberg is an engineer, designer–and artisan.
Complimenting the ongoing upsurge in LP sales, one can find a variety of record cleaning machines in the market place from which to choose, anywhere from a low of $30 to a high of $6000 (CLEARAUDIO - Double Matrix Professional Sonic Record Cleaning Machine, fully automatic). They can look in appearance anything from a toaster to a turntable.
Certainly one of the classics (at $600) with a history going back decades is the VPI Industries HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine, combining both an 18 RPM turntable motor (while you clean with fluid and brush) and a high-powered vacuum (to remove the fluid from the grooves after cleaning)—I currently use one as my reference. Machines of this sort can be heavy and large and there are various other companies that follow this route.
van den Hul is a Dutch company, created in 1980 by renown A.J. (Aalt Jouk) van den Hul (VDH) that designs and manufactures high-end moving coil phono cartridges, audio cables and other audio electronics. (Bowers & Wilkins, for example, among others, are known to use van den Hul internal wiring in their speakers.)
On an early Autumn phone call from Mat Weisfeld, President of VPI Industries, I was informed that VPI had become the sole USA distributor for their phono cartridges and I was offered a chance to review van den Hul’s newest top-of-the-line moving coil cartridge: the Colibri Master Signature, entirely hand made and tuned by A.J.—now in his 80s—and with a retail price of $11,995. Now that I use a VPI Industries HW-40 Direct Drive turntable as reference, I thought this may be an intriguing match. Besides, it uses a high-density wood for its enclosure, and I happen to be a fan of that (my current reference cart is the Grado Labs Aeon). Last, but not least, I was attracted to the simple van den Hul philosophy of cart design in which they claim to provide ‘The link between technique and emotion’:
Five years ago, at the New York Audio Show, I came across a new Manhattan-based headphone Company, Master & Dynamic, debuting their first headphones. The MH40, at $399; was an over-the ear closed model. I was impressed, and planned on trying to get a review sample at some point soon after.
Coincidently, the next day I went back to the show with my then 3-year old daughter and started by having lunch in the hotel restaurant. At the table next to me, I recognized the two very nice ladies who had been working the show table for Master & Dynamic and they recognized me. They were lunching with a gentleman I did not know; the ladies introduced him to me: Jonathan Levine, Founder and CEO of Master & Dynamic. We had a very pleasurable conversation about his new company, and we ended up with a beautiful and priceless (to me) photo (taken by Levine using my camera) of my daughter in my lap wearing a pair of the MH40. Soon after I wrote a review of the MH40, and in my summary, I stated:
About one year ago, New York City based Master & Dynamic debuted the terrific and classy MW07 True Wireless Earphones at $299.
On October 17th, 2019, Master & Dynamic introduced two new versions of the MW07 to replace the original, and I report upon these here: the MW07 True Wireless Go ($199) and the MW07 True Wireless PLUS ($299) pictured above. I am grateful to Jonathan Levine (CEO of Master & Dynamic) and his team for alerting me of this new development and sending me review samples.
Although both new models use the same superb custom 10 mm Beryllium drivers, both have significant advantages over the original. For example, both now utilize Bluetooth 5.0 (and support both aptX and SBC) as opposed to Bluetooth 4.2 and now with a connectivity range of 30+ meters up from 20, both pack longer battery life, both charge faster, and both have a higher water resistance level. But there are differences between the two that depend on one’s needs or lifestyle. Think of the GO as a more rustic, smaller and lighter version of the MW07 meant for sports in particular (jogging, biking, going to the gym, etc.), and think of the PLUS as a premium, luxury version.
About 9 months ago PS Audio released a significant software upgrade, Snowmass, for their DirectStream (DS) DAC; I was impressed and wrote about it.
I stated that ‘I think the most apparent changes are in soundstage, imaging and reduction of noise. Snowmass throws a larger/deeper soundstage with a more stable imaging of instruments that synchs so well with my new amps; kindred spirits.’
At the recent 2019 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF), Alta Audio premiered a new $10,000/pair 2-driver loudspeaker (1 tweeter, 1 woofer) named the Alec. Unlike Alta’s flagship FRM-2 Celesta ($15,000/pair), which also has 2-drivers but is monitor sized and sits on stands, the Alec is a floor standing model, with a larger (8.75” versus 6”) woofer, and 20 more pounds in weight (75 pounds versus 55 pounds). In the showroom at RMAF, Alta’s President, Mike Levy, joined forces with VPI Industries for the source (an HW- 40 direct drive turntable loaded with an Audio Technica cartridge, and VPI phono stage) and Krell Industries for the amplification (amp, preamp). Not only was Levy in the room, but so was Mat Weisfeld, President of VPI, and Walter Schofield, Chief Operating Officer of Krell.
Whenever I entered the room, it was abuzz with crowds of listeners and was widely acclaimed as one of the finest sounding rooms at RMAF. Audiophilia, for example (including yours truly), found the room superb sounding and unanimously placed it in the top two rooms. You can imagine then my surprise and satisfaction when two weeks after RMAF, Levy pulled up to my apartment in a car with a gorgeous pair of the Alec in black Onyx for my perusal (they are also available in Rosewood); hence this review. I add that the Celesta are my reference for speakers for almost 4 years now, and the VPI HW-40 serves as my reference for vinyl.
Diamonds are formed of carbon (C) atoms that have been placed under extremely high temperatures and pressures that exist naturally very deep beneath the earth’s surface. This natural process from carbon to diamond takes an incredibly long time—about 2 billion years.
Although widely prized for their beauty as jewelry and treasured since BC, they possess other qualities such as extraordinary hardness that are ideal for various industrial applications including audio, such as diamond styli for phono cartridges. They also, under normal everyday conditions, will last forever. Fortunately, scientists can mimic the process in the laboratory, ‘growing’ diamonds in a matter of weeks. These lab-grown diamonds have essentially the same chemical, physical, and optical properties as the natural ones—but still are expensive.
What is all the buzz about Qobuz?
In a nutshell: Think Tidal—but for the connoisseur.
Qobuz is a subscription based digital music provider/streaming service that is quickly gaining attention by offering lossless streaming of high-resolution (Hi-Res) 24 bit FLAC audiophile quality music files up to 24/192 PCM in addition to CD 16/44.1 resolution (and MP3). Yes: flawless lossless streaming of even native 24/192 FLAC files. Crucially, their files are curated carefully and thoughtfully from the best original sources they can get their hands on. And they have over two million 24 bit Hi-Res files; already twice as many as Tidal’s MQA collection (more about MQA below). A Qobuz mantra is, ‘Qobuz: quality sound, always’. And they mean it. As such, Qobuz maintains a large and diverse selection of music in many genres; even their classical selection is given close attention.
Many of the albums include the names of musicians, the producers, and the lyrics, and they publish weekly interactive online articles. Qobuz also allows you to import native Hi-Res music FLAC files onto a desktop computer for offline listening (they are unique in allowing/enabling that) and to purchase Hi-Res downloads. For example, at an audio show (where the internet might be too slow or unpredictable), a company can download onto a desktop a library of native Hi-Res Qobuz files to use instead of streaming them over the internet. As an exhibitor, I’d think that was cool. You can also download a Hi-Res library on your iPhone/iPad and play music while traveling (one just has to login on a web browser and download).
Two years ago I reviewed the Grado Labs Statement v2 Cartridge ($3500), at that time the highest priced Grado cartridge—the top of their Statement Series. Reviewed using my VPI Industries Prime Turntable, I was so impressed, it has remained as my reference since—it further pulled me into vinyl. After that review, I concluded that besides speakers (which are in general large and heavy), phono cartridges (always tiny and light) are examples of a component that can significantly change the sound quality of an audio system in a way that is immediately noticeable.
The $6,000 Grado Labs Aeon Phono Cartridge debuted this year. The Aeon and its sibling, Epoch ($12,000), are two products in a new, higher-end ‘Lineage Series’. The Epoch, which was the first released, and with a very hefty price tag, has been highly praised. Grado Labs now promotes both these cartridges as their flagship models. On the Grado website it is stated that the Epoch and Aeon feature a unique system that has the lowest effective moving mass of any cartridge.
In October 2018, I was invited by Mat Weisfeld (President, VPI) to attend a party at the VPI Industries Listening House to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the company. The main event was the debut of a new and remarkable item that is the basis of this review: the VPI Industries 40th Anniversary Turntable, HW-40, named after VPI founder Harry Weisfeld (HW), who attended the event and even swapped out various high-end cartridges on the fly throughout.
Although from a distance the HW-40 ($15,000 incl. arm) appears to be a $30,000 VPI Classic Direct Drive Turntable (to be discontinued), closer inspection reveals an extraordinary revision chock full of newer technology including an updated and upgraded version of their Direct Drive Motor that now incorporates motion control software, an internal linear power supply, a JMW-12-Fatboy Gimbal tonearm (not pivot), a whopping removable 25 pound platter, a high-grade removable acrylic dust cover and exceptional new footing/isolation that defies belief in the ability to ward off resonance and vibration: You can pound your fist on the shelf top where the table is sitting and playing music and the needle does not dance; the sound is not disturbed. This is accomplished by a mix of reinforced composite absorption pads and the construction of the chassis. And to top it off, it comes with both a Stainless Steel Outer Periphery Ring (to flatten the record onto the platter, eliminating edge warps and more completely coupling the record to the platter), and a ‘Signature’ stainless steel clamp. Only 400 units are to be manufactured for sale, so this anniversary version is a Limited Edition—for now.
Audiophiles with a high-end audio system eventually recognize that cables make a difference in the sound quality (SQ) of their system. Interconnects, speaker cables, power cords, USB cables and so on. Sometimes the SQ is just different, sometimes ‘better’, sometimes ‘worse’ as compared to the cables they already have.
Controversial as it is, it is what it is. For me the time came about six years ago when I experimented with power cables that clearly made a positive difference in my ever evolving system, particularly amplifiers. That the soundstage grew in all three dimensions and the bass benefited were the most obvious improvements. As a scientist and skeptical as I should be, I was baffled; but I accepted what I heard with my own ears and moved on—keeping the new cables and enjoying the sound.
