Audio Accessory ReviewsAudio Accessory Reviews
Audiolab M-DAC Digital to Analog Converter
- Written by Michael Jude Galvin
- Published on 20 May 2013
On its website, respected British manufacturer Audiolab proclaims the M-DAC is the follow-up to the 8000 DAC, introduced all the way back in 1992. I have gathered that DACs were quite popular in that era because CD players had not become all that good yet. With the market now awash in quality DACs, I guess it is safe to say we are in a DAC renaissance. Here, we review the Audiolab M-DAC, which, at $899, turns out to be an audio bargain.
Sennheiser Momentum Over-the-Ear Headphones
- Written by Stephen Hornbrook
- Published on 14 May 2013
Sennheiser will always hold a special part of my heart as the HD580 my first audiophile headphone. I can still remember the soft velvety fabric of the earpads and the revelation that was quality music playback. Since then, I have experienced the sound of many other headphones, including the Sennheiser Momentum over-the-ear headphones, which are reviewed here.
HiFiMAN HE-300 Over-the-Ear Headphones
- Written by Nick St Denis
- Published on 19 March 2013
HifiMAN headphones are well known around these parts in the Secrets community. A Headphone of the Year award will do that for you. In a possible effort to "spread the wealth" and grant access to their awesome headphones without breaking the bank, they've introduced the HE-300 over the ear headphones.
Pioneer Elite N-50 Network Audio Player
- Written by Robert Kozel
- Published on 22 April 2013
Pioneer currently offers two network audio players in their Elite product line. Both models are best described as media streamers since they do not store music within the player's chassis but rather acquire music from external music servers or devices. The first model is the N-30, which offers the ability to stream high-resolution digital music via Apple's AirPlay or from DLNA-compatible servers. The second model and subject of this review is the N-50 that builds upon the functionality of the N-30 by adding an asynchronous USB DAC as well as optical and coaxial digital inputs so the N-50 can be used as an outboard D/A converter.
XTZ Room Analyzer II Pro Room Acoustics Analyzer Kit
- Written by Tyler Stripko & Mark Vignola
- Published on 04 March 2013
We've all heard the adage a dozen times: your room is far more important to the sound that you get out of your system than the system itself. While this statement may very well be true, the process of tackling "your room" is far more difficult than deciding what type of receiver or speaker wire you should buy. Welcome to the world of acoustics: incredibly complicated and undoubtedly intimidating. The XTZ Room Analyzer may just be the thing to help get you into this world a little easier.
Anthem Room Correction (ARC) System - Part 2 - Including a Subwoofer
- Written by Dr. David A. Rich
- Published on 17 April 2013
In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the Anthem ARC (Anthem Room Correction) firmware that is present in their SSPs as well as the AVRs which have a reduced filter bank size. By far, the most significant sonic issue for acoustic music when a subwoofer is deployed occurs around the crossover from the subwoofer to the main speaker. In Part 2 of this series, we take a look at Anthem's ARC (Anthem Room Correction) when adding a subwoofer to the system.
MartinLogan Mikros 90 On-Ear Headphones
- Written by Stephen Hornbrook
- Published on 25 February 2013
Not wanting to be left out of the lucrative headphone market, MartinLogan has released the noise isolating Mikros 90. Instead of going the exotic, high-end route of designing a pair of electrostatic headphones to mimic their famous loudspeakers, MartinLogan has created a pair of lightweight, portable headphones called the Mikros 90 that at only $299, fall directly into the low-priced high-end headphone sector.
Bryston BDA-2 DAC
- Written by John E. Johnson, Jr.
- Published on 15 April 2013
Following on the highly successful BDA-1 DAC, Bryston has raised the bar with the addition of an asynchronous USB input and reduced distortion in their new BDA-2 DAC. Take a look at what I found. The performance is quite a surprise.
Meridian Explorer USB DAC
- Written by Stephen Hornbrook and Chris Heinonen
- Published on 21 February 2013
Computer audio is all the rage now, with many people moving their entire digital collections to music servers, and the laptop taking the place of the CD player in many systems. The technologies behind USB DACs have evolved rapidly to where the interface is now on the same level as Coaxial or Optical interfaces. One area that hasn't been addressed as well is the portable audio market, as most USB DACs are rack-sized components that require a wall power supply. This is certainly not a convenient option for those of us that want high-resolution audio on the go.
Anthem Room Correction (ARC) System - Part 1
- Written by Dr. David A. Rich
- Published on 11 April 2013
Among the numerous room correction systems I have tested, the Anthem ARC currently stands out as the best for consumers. In this mulit-part review, I take you through how room correction works, and give you some results I obtained in several rooms of my home.
Audeze LCD3 Planar Magnetic Headphones
- Written by Stephen Hornbrook
- Published on 12 December 2012
At $1,995 MSRP, Audeze has produced an elite set of headhphones called the LCD3 that most would consider out of their financial reach. However, think about how much would it cost to build a two-channel full size speaker system capable of the performance of the LCD3? Maybe $4K?
