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Equipment Reviews

Ultra Audio's site platform was changed in August 2010. For equipment reviews previous to that, use this link to transfer to the old site.

Moon by Simaudio Evolution 760A Stereo Amplifier

Written by: Aron Garrecht
Created: 01 July 2015

Reviewers' ChoiceJust over a decade ago, Simaudio introduced their Moon Evolution series: a no-holds-barred line of products representing the pinnacle of what this highly regarded Canadian company has to offer. Within the year, Jeff Fritz had reviewed three Moon Evolution models -- the P8 preamplifier, the Andromeda CD player, and the W8 stereo amplifier -- and awarded each what was then Ultra Audio’s Select Component status (now Reviewers’ Choice). And he kept the P8 as his reference preamp. Shortly thereafter, our founder, Doug Schneider, reviewed the Moon SuperNova CD player, gave it a Reviewers’ Choice award, and made it his disc spinner of choice.

Read more …

AudioQuest Cinnamon Ethernet Cable

Written by: Aron Garrecht
Created: 15 June 2015

When Steve Silberman, AudioQuest’s vice president of development, approached me a few months ago to review their Cinnamon Ethernet cable, I was a bit hesitant to respond. Despite having witnessed notable improvements from using other analog and digital AudioQuest products, I didn’t believe that the cable making an Ethernet connection could make an audible difference. Silberman told me that he was so confident I would hear an improvement that he’d send me both AQ’s Cinnamon and Vodka Ethernet and AES/EBU cables.

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Spatial Audio Hologram M1 Turbo Loudspeakers

Written by: Sid Vootla
Created: 01 June 2015

My first experience with open-baffle speakers was a few years ago, in Bangalore, India, in the showroom of ARN Systems, which then distributed the speakers made by Emerald Physics. I recall the sound of Emerald’s CS2.3 speakers as being exceptionally dynamic, nearing concert-level realism with a humongous soundstage that filled the large room. The Emerald CS2.3 was designed by Clayton Shaw, who has since moved on and now is the principal of Spatial Audio, based in Park City, Utah. (ARN is Spatial’s Indian distributor.)

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Audio Research Reference 10 Preamplifier

Written by: Peter Roth
Created: 15 May 2015

Reviewers' ChoiceAspiration. Audiophiles and reviewers have it in spades. We aspire to extract ever more from our audio systems: higher levels of performance, greater realism, more emotional connection with the music. Audiophiles are derided (often with justification) for the upgrade merry-go-round that can result from an unchecked conviction that the sound can always be improved; but if we keep system synergies and overall balance in mind, the thoughtful incorporation of new components can indeed give us more of what we aspire to.

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Bryston Middle T Loudspeakers

Written by: Jeff Fritz
Created: 01 May 2015

In 2012, when Bryston launched their first loudspeaker, the Model T, I raised an eyebrow. I wasn’t sure what to expect -- a one-off product that would end up as a back-catalog offering? Or the start of something larger for the Canadian electronics company? Three years later, the answer is clear: Bryston now offers 16 loudspeaker models, including subwoofers, center-channels, surrounds, on- and in-walls, and, of course, floorstanding and stand-mount designs. This wide array of speakers -- it would be impressive for a company that made only speakers -- comprises two lines, T and A. The T models have 8” bass drivers, the A speakers 6.5” woofers. In model-for-model comparisons, the Ts are larger, play louder and lower in the bass, and cost a bit more. I chose to review the second model from the top of the T line, the Middle T ($5400 USD per pair).

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Vienna Acoustics Imperial Liszt Loudspeakers

Written by: Aron Garrecht
Created: 15 April 2015

At the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, Vienna Acoustics introduced their flagship loudspeaker, the Music. As the top dog in their top line, the Klimt Series, the Music embodied several new design innovations, most obvious of which was a 7” midrange driver of Vienna’s Flat-Spider-Cone design (see below), replete with a newfangled silk-dome tweeter at its center. These coincident drivers, aligned in time and phase, were housed in an independent, pivoting cabinet atop the larger main cabinet, itself home to three transparent 9” Spider-Cone woofers. The adaptable cabinet architecture was intended to permit ideal alignment of both driver arrays in a room and, almost overnight, proved so successful for Vienna Acoustics that, less than two years later, the company began thinking of ways to offer these design principles for much lower prices. At CES 2014, Vienna introduced their realization of this vision, the first speaker derived from the Klimt Music: the Imperial Liszt.

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Exogal Comet Digital-to-Analog Converter

Written by: Jeff Fritz
Created: 01 April 2015

Hardly any other name in the history of high-end digital audio components is as storied as Wadia Digital. If you’ve been around high-end circles for any number of years, you’ve no doubt known an owner of a Wadia DAC, transport, or player. Maybe you’ve owned one yourself.

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NAD Masters Series M22 Stereo Amplifier and M12 Preamplifier-DAC

Written by: Jeff Fritz
Created: 15 March 2015

These are interesting times for an aficionado of high-end audio gear. Consider this: ESS Technology’s Sabre Reference ES9018 DAC chip can be found in products costing over $30,000 that are claimed to be the state of the art -- and just may be. You can find the same chip in products costing under $1000.

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Ascendo C6 Loudspeakers

Written by: Sid Vootla
Created: 01 March 2015

Last summer, Sharath Chandran, the highly knowledgeable proprietor of audio dealership Audire, in Chennai, India, where I live, invited me to attend an audition of the flagship loudspeaker made by German manufacturer Ascendo GmbH, which Audire distributes in India: the M-S Special Edition, with external crossovers. These humongous, man-sized speakers were impeccably finished and visually arresting. I was spellbound by their superb transparency and dynamic capability, and would rank them among the top few speakers that I have heard. They cost a staggering $74,880 USD per pair, and their girth means that they’ll work well only in larger listening rooms. However, as with any other manufacturer, technologies from these vanguard products ultimately trickle down to smaller, more affordable models, and it was one of those -- the Ascendo C6 -- that Sharath Chandran recommended that I review.

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Hegel Music Systems HD12 Digital-to-Analog Converter

Written by: Jeff Fritz
Created: 15 February 2015

Hegel HD12Reviewers' ChoiceNowadays, to get noticed in the entertainment industry, you have to do something flashy or downright bizarre. At least, that’s how it looks from the outside. Take, for instance, the antics of pop-music stars, whose behavior seems to find new lows each week. The argument goes that any press is good press, so these people seem to fabricate ways to get a Yahoo! story written about them -- often ways that most of us would find humiliating and degrading. The interesting thing is that these people seem to revel in the attention, making no distinction between whether their actions are considered positive, negative, or just plain stupid.

Read more …

  1. Esoteric Grandioso P1 SACD/CD Transport, Grandioso D1 Mono Digital-to-Analog Converters, and G-01 Master Clock Generator
  2. Blue Circle Audio BC60X1 Power Conditioner
  3. Octave Audio V 110 Integrated Amplifier
  4. JL Audio CR-1 Active Subwoofer Crossover
  5. fo.Q Damping Products and AB-4045 Audio Board Isolation Platform
  6. Devialet 400 Mono Integrated Amplifier-DACs
  7. Audio Research VSi75 Integrated Amplifier
  8. Triangle Magellan Cello Loudspeakers
  9. Audience Au24 SE powerChords, Interconnects, and Speaker Cables
  10. Zanden Audio Systems 120 Phono Stage
  11. Grimm Audio LS1 Loudspeakers and LS1s Subwoofers
  12. Aurender W20 Music Server
  13. Transfiguration Phoenix S Phono Cartridge
  14. M2Tech Young DSD Digital-to-Analog Converter
  15. Audio Research SP20 Preamplifier
  16. Magico S3 Loudspeakers
  17. Synergistic Research High Frequency Transducer (HFT) and Frequency Equalizer (FEQ) Room Treatments and XOT Crossover Transducer
  18. Ayre Acoustics KX-R Twenty Preamplifier
  19. Resonessence Labs Invicta Mirus Digital-to-Analog Converter
  20. Vivid Audio Giya G4 Loudspeakers
  21. Aurender X100L Music Server
  22. Sonus Faber Olympica I Loudspeakers
  23. Clarity Cable Organic Speaker Cables, Interconnects, Digital Interconnect, and Vortex Power Cord
  24. EgglestonWorks Nine Signature Loudspeakers
  25. Light Harmonic LightSpeed USB Cable
  26. David Berning Company ZH-230 Stereo Amplifier
  27. Esoteric Master Sound Works C-02 Preamplifier
  28. Vivid Audio Oval V1.5 Loudspeakers
  29. Daedalus Audio Argos v.2 Loudspeakers
  30. Octave Audio V 70 SE Integrated Amplifier
  31. KR Audio VA910 Mono Amplifiers
  32. T+A Criterion TCD 110 S Loudspeakers
  33. Birch Acoustics Raven Loudspeakers
  34. Monitor Audio Platinum PL200 Loudspeakers
  35. Essential Sound Products Essence Reference-II Power Cords and Reference-II Power Distributor
  36. JE Audio Dyad S400 Stereo Amplifier
  37. Dynamique Audio Celestial Speaker Cables, Zenith Interconnects, Firelight USB, and Infinite Power Cables
  38. Music Culture Elegance MC 501A CD Player-DAC
  39. KR Audio VA340 Mk.II Integrated Amplifier
  40. PMC IB2i Loudspeakers
  41. Cabasse Pacific 3 Loudspeakers
  42. Sonus Faber Venere 3.0 Loudspeakers
  43. Hegel Music Systems HD25 Digital-to-Analog Converter
  44. EMM Labs DAC2X Digital-to-Analog Converter
  45. Esoteric P-02 SACD/CD Transport and D-02 Digital-to-Analog Converter
  46. Vivid Audio Giya G3 Loudspeakers
  47. PBN Audio Scan-Speak B741 Loudspeakers
  48. Blue Circle Audio BC109 Preamplifier
  49. Dynaudio Confidence C2 Signature Loudspeakers
  50. First Watt J2 Stereo Amplifier
  51. Simaudio Moon Evolution 810LP Phono Stage
  52. Boulder Amplifiers 1060 Stereo Amplifier
  53. SMc Audio VRE-1C Reference Preamplifier
  54. Blue Circle Audio NSL Stereo Amplifier
  55. Audio Research Reference 250 Mono Amplifiers
  56. Von Schweikert Audio VR-35 Export Deluxe Loudspeakers
  57. Vitus Audio Signature SM-010 Mono Amplifiers
  58. YG Acoustics Kipod II Signature Loudspeakers
  59. Vandersteen Audio Treo Loudspeakers
  60. Magico Q1 Loudspeakers
  61. Hemingway Audio Prime Reference Mk.II Speaker Cables, Interconnects, and Power Cords
  62. Synergistic Research Element Copper, Tungsten, and Copper-Tungsten-Silver Interconnects and Speaker Cables
  63. Crystal Cable Arabesque Mini Loudspeakers
  64. EgglestonWorks Fontaine Signature Loudspeakers
  65. AudioQuest Diamond and Carbon FireWire 800 Cables
  66. Artos Audio Sunrise Loudspeakers
  67. Esoteric I-03 Integrated Amplifier
  68. NuForce DAC-9 Digital-to-Analog Converter
  69. Audience adeptResponse aR6-TS Power Conditioner
  70. EAR MC 4 Step-Up Transformer
  71. PBN Audio Montana InnerChoic Liberty Loudspeakers
  72. Simple Design Sonore Music Server
  73. Herron Audio VTSP-3A Preamplifier
  74. Copland CDA825 CD Player
  75. TW-Acustic Raven 10.5 Tonearm
  76. Artisan Silver MC Phono Stage
  77. MSB Technology Universal Media Transport
  78. Well Tempered Lab Amadeus Turntable
  79. Purity Audio Design Purity Reference Preamplifier
  80. Silverline Audio Sonatina Mk.IV Loudspeakers
  81. Ayre Acoustics DX-5 Universal A/V Engine
  82. Coda Technologies 15.0 Stereo Amplifier
  83. LessLoss Firewall Power Conditioner and DFPC Signature Power Cable
  84. Miyajima Laboratory Premium BE Mono Cartridge
  85. Magnum Dynalab MD 309 Integrated Amplifier
  86. Audio Research Reference 5 Preamplifier
  87. VAC Phi 200 Stereo Amplifier
  88. Ortofon Cadenza Mono Phono Cartridge
  89. Ultrasone Edition 8 Headphones
  90. YG Acoustics Carmel Loudspeakers
  91. Atma-Sphere Music Amplifier M-60 Mk.3.1 Mono Amplifiers
  92. AudioPrism Ground Control Grounding Cables
  93. Nordost Norse Frey Interconnects and Speaker Cables
  94. Ayre Acoustics KX-R Preamplifier and MX-R Mono Amplifiers
  95. Raysonic SP-300 Integrated Amplifier
  96. Synergistic Research Galileo Universal Interconnect and Speaker Cells, and Mini Power Couplers
  97. VAC Renaissance Mk.3 Preamplifier
  98. Accustic Arts Reference Tube-DAC II SE DAC and Reference Drive II CD Transport
  99. Silent Running Audio VR fp isoBASE Equipment Platforms
  100. EAR 890 Stereo Amplifier

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210x600 T+A R Criterion S (20240601)
Gryphon Audio Essence
 Electrocompaniet - AW300M
Dynaudio Contour 20BE
Vitus Audio
Vitus Audio

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