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Spectacular-Sounding Systems in England and Denmark—Purifi Audio Revisited

Details: Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider; Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column; Created: 01 November 2023 01 November 2023

At the end of September, I traveled to England to attend UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2023, which was held from September 29 to October 1 at the world-famous Ascot Racecourse. There, I met up with UK correspondent Jonathan Gorse, who wrote three articles for SoundStage! Global to cover the show. On October 1, I hopped on a plane to Billund, Denmark, where I was joined by SoundStage! videographers Chris Chitaroni and Jorden Guth. We visited several hi-fi companies in that part of the country and shot some videos for our YouTube channel.

Estelon Aura: A Beautiful, Great-Sounding Stereo Starts with Beautiful, Great-Sounding Speakers

Details: Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider; Category: System One System One; Created: 01 November 2023 01 November 2023

When I started this column five years ago, I intended it to feature the kind of components and systems found in real-world listening rooms, such as my living room, where I’ve set up all the equipment I’ve been writing about here. It was meant to focus on inexpensive products, which I defined in my first installment (and have reiterated several times since).

Grado Labs Sonata3 Low-Output Moving-Iron Phono Cartridge

Details: Written by Matt Bonaccio Matt Bonaccio; Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews; Created: 01 November 2023 01 November 2023

The idea of moderation as a virtue is an ancient principle. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle established his Doctrine of Means, stating that “it is the nature of ethical virtues to be destroyed by deficiency as well as by excess . . . but they are preserved by moderation, or the mean.” As the philosopher goes on to explain, this idea of finding the mean—that sweet spot between not enough and too much—works for pretty much all virtues, notably temperance and bravery, “for a man who flees from and fears everything and never stands his ground becomes a coward, but he who fears nothing at all but proceeds against all dangers becomes rash.” In modern times, the stakes are certainly much lower for a phonograph cartridge like the Grado Sonata3—and thankfully, we won’t find ourselves tasked with evaluating it from an ethical standpoint. But as audiophiles, don’t we often find ourselves weighing the mean between excess and deficiency?

Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 Integrated Amplifier

Details: Written by Phil Gold Phil Gold; Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews; Created: 15 October 2023 15 October 2023

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.

“Musical Fidelity” must be the perfect name for an audio manufacturer. While many companies are named after their founders or places of business, how relevant is that name when the founder leaves or the company moves? And forget acronyms or initials. What meaning do they convey? “Musical Fidelity” says it all. It beats “ClearAudio,” “Living Voice,” and “Definitive Audio”—my runners-up. At the bottom of my list come “Schitt Audio,” “Monster Cable,” and “Fried Products.”

Recommended Reference Component: Musical Fidelity M6x Digital-to-Analog Converter

Details: Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors; Category: Components Components; Created: 15 October 2023 15 October 2023

Recommended Reference Component Phil Gold’s review of the Musical Fidelity M6x digital-to-analog converter appeared on this site on July 15. In his review, Phil explained that the M6x, which is priced at $2500 (all prices in USD), “replaces the M6sR, which itself replaced the M6s, one of the first DACs to use ESS Technology’s Sabre ESS 32-bit HyperStream II architecture.” The brand was founded by classical clarinetist Antony Michaelson in 1982, but Phil pointed out that Michaelson “sold Musical Fidelity to Audio Tuning Vertriebs GmbH, parent company of Pro-Ject Audio Systems, and returned to his first love, making music” in 2018.

Digging in the Dirt

Details: Written by Matt Bonaccio Matt Bonaccio; Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column; Created: 01 October 2023 01 October 2023

I found it awkwardly stuffed between a Mormon Tabernacle Choir recording and an LP by the likes of Burt Bacharach or Herb Alpert. It was a copy of A Hard Day’s Night—the American pressing from United Artists with the caution-sign red-orange cover and a different track listing than the UK version. The black disc was naked inside, pressed thick in early-1960s fashion, its surface replete with tiny marks and scratches. Within its grooves lay a dozen jangly teen pop ditties preserved in glorious monaural sound. On the front cover, the cheeky black-and-white closeups of the band’s mop-top hairdos had faded to a dusty gray. The crusty, worn sleeve had suffered sufficient abuse over the past 60 years that only the bottom edge still held together—the others had split apart entirely. Oh man, I thought. Score!

NuPrime Audio Evolution Two Mono Power Amplifier

Details: Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno; Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews; Created: 01 October 2023 01 October 2023

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.

The NuPrime Audio Evolution Two mono power amplifier can trace its roots back to the NuForce Reference models from almost 20 years ago. I first heard those small monoblock class-D amplifiers around that time at THE Show, which ran concurrently with the annual CES in Las Vegas at the St. Tropez hotel. The high-end exhibits of the CES were housed at the nearby Alexis Park hotel.

Technics Grand Class SL-G700M2 Streaming SACD Player/DAC

Details: Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno; Category: Full-Length Equipment Reviews Full-Length Equipment Reviews; Created: 15 September 2023 15 September 2023

Note: for the full suite of measurements from the SoundStage! Audio-Electronics Lab, click here.

Some audiophiles still prefer reading their digital music in real time from shiny discs to streaming it from the internet or accessing it via computer from a networked or attached drive. So companies like Marantz, Denon, Esoteric, Yamaha, Luxman, Arcam, McIntosh, and Mark Levinson, among others, continue to manufacture high-quality CD and SACD players. Technics, the brand relaunched by Panasonic in 2015 and best known for its SL-series direct-drive turntables, also produces SACD players as part of its Grand Class lineup. Introduced in 2019, the SL-G700 network SACD player has been updated and replaced by the SL-G700M2, the subject of this review. While the cost has increased from its original price of $2999.95 (all prices USD), this high-quality, streaming optical disc player retails for a still reasonable (by high-end standards, at least) $3499.95.

Recommended Reference Component: Hegel Music Systems H600 Integrated Amplifier-DAC

Details: Written by SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors SoundStage! Hi-Fi Editors; Category: Components Components; Created: 15 September 2023 15 September 2023

Recommended Reference Component Norway’s Hegel Music Systems has produced separate preamplifiers and power amplifiers since the early 1990s, but in recent years it has become best known for its DAC-equipped integrated amplifiers. In August 2023, Hegel introduced the H600, priced at $12,500 (in USD), which replaced the H590 as the company’s flagship integrated amp.

Evaluating a Stereo System’s Sound with a Single Song

Details: Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider; Category: Monthly Column Monthly Column; Created: 01 September 2023 01 September 2023

As followers of my personal social-media pages know, I post something almost daily (Doug SoundStage Schneider on Facebook, Doug Schneider on LinkedIn). Sometimes I’ll deliberately choose a provocative topic that’s sure to stir up emotions to spur a lively discussion. Anything about MQA, analog versus digital, tubes versus transistors—these and such other topics fire audiophiles up. Other times I’ll choose a product, a company, or a person to write about. I recently wrote a complimentary post about Taylor Swift’s success on Facebook, for instance. Occasionally, though, I’ll post a question simply to get people’s thoughts and opinions on a subject.