Jan 29

Jan 29 iFi ZEN Phono

UK based iFi audio has been on a roll lately, releasing a handful of critically acclaimed budget components under the ZEN moniker. Accolades for the ZEN DAC and ZEN CAN headphone amplifier set high expectations for the most recent addition, the ZEN Phono.

US consumers spent $232 million on vinyl records last year so iFi were wise to include some analog action in their entry level line. As with their other product lines, iFi has carefully considered the features included in the ZEN products to differentiate them from the ‘swiss army knife’ or minimalist approach of some competitors.

ZEN components are priced at under $200—high enough to offer a quality piece of hardware but low enough to have mainstream appeal. Can the ZEN Phono, priced at $150, stand up to expectations and hold its own in a competitive segment?

Jan 29

Jan 29 HiFiman HE-R10P Closed-Back Planar Magnetic Headphones

Karl Sigman

Headphones, Star Component Award

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.

Jan 15

Jan 15 Apple AirPods Max

Anthony Kershaw

Headphones

No company takes as much flack for even the merest misstep as Apple. It’s like the social media universe is just waiting for another ‘battery-gate’, ‘keyboard-gate’, or ‘bend-gate’ (not forgetting brand new ‘condensation-gate’ attached to these headphones). I guess a two and a quarter trillion dollar company will have its trolls and haters. As you read on, beware, I’m a fanboy. Also, an audiophile. Yet, rarely do the two universes intersect.

In the latest ‘faux outrage’, Apple has produced an over the ear headphone, the AirPods Max, utilizing its array of computational audio and assembled with premium parts for $549 (the trolls hate the name, and wait ‘till we get to the ‘smart’ case! Well, maybe that hate IS deserved). Of course, other fine manufacturers such as B&O, M&D and B&W produce quality built, great sounding wireless Bluetooth headphones for the same price and above. We won’t get into comparisons with open back, planar magnetic beauties meant for use with high end headphone amplifiers from manufacturers such as Abyss (the finest headphones I’ve heard; remarkable in every headphone way for $5000), T+A Solitaire P (review forthcoming—$6400) Audeze, Focal, HIFIMAN (review of the HE-R10s coming Feb—$5500). They’re for a different purpose, a different market.

Jan 15

Jan 15 Remgewogen—Martin van Hees, guitar/TRPTK

Jesús González-Monreal

Music

The new recording from classical guitarist Martin Van Hees (on the TRPTK label), brings together compositional works from prominent Dutch composers: Roderik de Man, Aart Strootman, Jan-Peter de Graaff, Christiaan Richter, Leo Samana, Louis Andriessen, as well as Van Hees himself. There’s such diversity of tone and colour in these works, I decided to briefly review each of them. All, I believe, complement the concept of the album. The expressive layers of each composition come through the guitar of Martin Van Hees, who plays the instrument with excitement and precision.

I found the idea very interesting of having all composers the same nationality. There are a few details in the album notes where Van Hees comments a little about each composer. Intrigued, I researched more and found several writings from the soloist dating back to his Master’s degree studies at The Royal Conservatory in the Hague. Since then, he showed a growing interest in these composers. A desire to learn about their work, questioning how the composers imagined the playing style of their compositions. This important work paves the way for a unique and coherent sound throughout the album. As such, he invested himself into each composition, its complexities, and even conducted interviews and played the work for some of the composers (de Man, Andriessen and Samana). The pairing of soloist and composer is for our benefit as we listen to a faithful interpretation of the score.

Jan 8

Jan 8 Apple HomePod mini

Anthony Kershaw

Loudspeakers, Digital, Star Component Award

For a deep dive into the big sibling of the new HomePod mini ($99), please refer to our review of the original, full sized Apple HomePod (and our six month follow up). Many HomePod features found at launch and in updates can be found on the new mini.

With the mini, Apple’s smart home ‘Homekit’ features have been improved. Even silly Siri is better and she has added a useful ‘Intercom’ feature. Security, as always from the mothership, is a priority. No ‘anything goes’ Alexa.

There are literally hundreds of reviews on the web and YouTube videos with in depth looks at the features of the mini. I’ll list some important ones below then jump right into our brief, with focus on its use and sound.

Dec 11

Dec 11 Audiophilia Products of the Year 2020

Audiophilia Staff

Miscellaneous

Our writers are lucky to intersect with the gear we do. Even luckier to have the kit in our homes and review it for you. There are numerous requests for reviews that we just do not have the manpower to cover. Imagine the hundreds of pieces we miss?

With that in mind, please take into account our 'winners' and rate accordingly. The equipment chosen is for a list we admire unreservedly. We hope you get a chance to listen to the kit in your system. We loved it in ours.

Dec 11

Dec 11 Audiophilia Recordings of the Year 2020

Audiophilia Staff

Miscellaneous, Music

The finest recordings/performances we listened to this year. We discussed some of the recordings on our social media channels, used them in equipment reviews, reviewed them on YouTube or they received full reviews at Audiophilia. For the latter and YouTube, clicking on the image will take you to the review.

Format and initials of nominating reviewer appear under the selection. The CDs and LPs are available at many online or artist sites (recordings must be released or rereleased in 2020), or, as streamed on Qobuz or Tidal HiFi (available presently in their libraries).

Nov 27

Nov 27 Tri-Art Audio B Series 4 Open Speaker

Charles Brown

Loudspeakers, Star Component Award

Down the ribbon of highway, due east from the frenetically paced GTA (Greater Toronto Area), lies the somnolent university town of Kingston, Ontario. Queen’s University, as an intellectual hub of all eastern Ontario, has been the centre of Kingston’s relevance for a century. But if one looks past this well established landmark, one finds a business of some significance that has been quietly sounding out its audio relevance for the last 10 years—Tri-Art Audio.

Arising out of the ashes of the great stereo retail shop of the 1970s and 80s, House of Sound, where Steve Ginsberg worked as a technician—that wonderful bricks and mortar place penurious Queen’s students like myself hung around in the few moments we had free—has come Steve’s and his sons, Simon and Evan’s extraordinary business adventure—a quality international seller of fantastically sophisticated paints and some of the hippest audio equipment on the planet—the fabulous jewel of Tri-Art Audio. A fantastically interesting business anomaly—paint and sound!

Nov 27

Nov 27 Innuos Statement Music Server

Anthony Kershaw

Digital, Star Component Award

If you would like a deeper dive into Innuos as a company and its philosophy, please read my review of their ZENith Mk3 1T Black Music Server ($4249). As promised in that review, here we have a review of Innuos’ top music server, aptly called Statement. The $13,750 Statement is a no-holds-barred entry into the super server sweepstakes. With apologies for the alliteration, the ‘super’ is appropriate—the Statement will be compared to some very serious high end digital players. With the Statement, Innuos has joined an exclusive club after only four short years of manufacturing. Quite remarkable.

Interestingly, as this type of storage device becomes more de rigueur in a high end system, prices have been creeping up. A music server is basically a computer with a high end audio personality, meaning incredibly quiet power supplies (and many other attributes) bringing extraneous noise down to micro levels (there’s so much of it on standard computers through processing, apps, etc), leading to smoother, effortless digital sound for the DAC to apply its magic. Expect to spend several thousands to get top quality servers.

Nov 20

Nov 20 Streaming the Classics: Grateful Dead in Concert

Maxwell Geiger

Music

Here we take a new approach to the Audiophilia's Streaming the Classics series. Instead of highlighting top recordings of a classical work we shift to popular music to explore the live catalog of the Grateful Dead on high resolution streaming services.

During their 30 year career from the mid-sixties to the mid-nineties, the Grateful Dead evolved from a psychedelic garage band to the ultimate jam band and became loved worldwide for their myriad contributions to music and popular culture. Although the music itself is quite approachable, the vast discography of the Grateful Dead can be overwhelming.

Oct 30

Oct 30 Keys to My Heart—Anne Bisson/45RPM Vinyl pressing

Anthony Kershaw

Music

Anne Bisson’s talents cover many musical and dramatic styles. The French Canadian chanteuse sounds as good singing and playing The American Songbook as she does singing the songs of her native language. She’s a fine songwriter, too, in addition to a mainstay on Quebec TV as an actress and a presenter. It’s an LP showcasing her multi musical talents that I bring to you in this review. Keys to My Heart is a set of Bisson’s own songs, with one standard (‘Killing Me Softly)’ and a French song (Charles Aznavour’s ‘For Me, Formidable’) included to add a different style, a different spice. The balance of the eleven songs are all by Bisson in collaboration with lyricist Pierre Lenoir. The sum makes for engrossing listening.

My home province of Quebec has produced jazz/popular singers such as Nikki Yanofsky, Ranee Lee, Diane Dufresne, Diane Tell, Martine St. Clair as well as megastar Celine Dion. And while each is very talented, all have focused on one style, sometimes, one songwriter. The great Luc Plamondon comes to mind (Dion did a whole album of Plamondon songs before she conquered the world of popular music). However, far fewer artists combine a great voice with equally wonderful (jazz) piano chops—with jazz, a much more difficult proposition than a songsmith/singer banging out simple Tonic/Dominant on the ivories. Canadians are particularly good at this marvelous combination. In addition to the superb Bisson, I give you Diana Krall (Nanaimo, BC) and my supremo in this genre, Carol Welsman (Toronto, ON, now Los Angeles-based).

Oct 16

Oct 16 Allnic Audio L-8000 DHT Preamplifier

Anthony Kershaw

Preamplifiers, Star Component Award

This spectacular, $22,900 audiophile work of art came to me as a stop gap between distributor and dealer. Victoria is not exactly midpoint between Kelowna BC and Portland OR, but I was very grateful to distributor David Beetles of Hammertone Audio and US dealer John Ketchum of Kevalin Audio for their kind consideration. As such, the L-8000 DHT Preamplifier was here for a good time, not a long time.

Beetles has been slowly tormenting me with better and better Allnic Audio products to review, which I’m happy to accept on behalf of myself and our readers; a couple of which have been generously given on long term loans (H-7000 and L-7000) to use as references in my system. So, with full disclosure, I offer you my unencumbered story of what is probably the finest and certainly most expensive component to have graced my listening room.

Sep 25

Sep 25 Innuos ZENith Mk3 Music Server

Anthony Kershaw

Digital, Star Component Award

I first heard an Innuos product and the considerable buzz about this fairly new Portuguese company—formed in 2016 in the sunny Algarve—at the 2018 Rocky Mountain Audio Show. The Innuos unit I heard at length was the Statement Music Server, the top of the line unit (up to $15,000—review unit requested). In fact, numerous Innuos units were placed in several rooms—all rooms sounding uniformly collaborative. I heard Innuos models serving products from Spatial Audio, Anticables, QLN Loudspeakers, and Vinnie Rossi integrated amplifiers, amplifiers and preamps. They were all singing Innuos’ praises and the Innuos servers, right back at them. In fact, rarely have I been so engrossed in different showrooms playing digital content.

I enquired about a review unit of any of their products for our readers. Then came the typical, glacially-paced song and dance between reviewer, distributor, dealer and manufacturer after the craziness of a show. When we did finally connect, I found the Innuos chain, from US distributor Well Pleased Audio Vida to Portuguese home base, efficient and patient. As such, I’d like to thank Mark Sossa of Well Pleased Audio Vida and Mandy De Castro, Event Manager of Innuos, for their kind considerations.

Sep 25

Sep 25 Ortofon 2M Mono Cartridge

Jesús González-Monreal

Analog

I’ve always had in mind a basic turntable setup for the beginner audiophile; the usual suspects: speakers, phono-stage and amplifier. They remain the building blocks for starting and developing better audio quality. To these components, I’ll add one more, and it’s the focus of this review: the cartridge/stylus. This needle is the connection to the grooves on the recording, the last external mechanism before it lowers and touches the LP of the music you love. But this review is not about any old cartridge, it’s a review for a monaural cart, the Ortofon 2M Mono ($356). A much needed tool in your turntable arsenal for those albums that carry so many memories.

There’s some history for me with mono albums. I remember being six years old and making the hour long drive with my mother to my grandfather’s home. As soon as I would get there, I knew I’d find a new ‘toy’ to play with. My grandfather sold used electronics, from TVs, to amplifiers, guitars, basses, to Casio watches and even turntables. The few times I visited him, listening was such a memorable experience; those memories are still with me.

Sep 14

Sep 14 IsoAcoustics zaZen Isolation Platform

Anthony Kershaw

Accessories, Star Component Award

I’ve had a lot of success using isolation devices under high end components (platforms, pucks, feet, etc). My early platform days were with a Townshend Seismic Sink (metal casing with air bladder) under a series of Rega turntables, a brief flirtation with the wondrous and very expensive Vibraplane, some home builts, including a tall ceramic planter filled with soil and a bog standard patio stone perched on top for my turntable (remarkably effective, if a little too ‘Flintstones’). From the exceptional Vibraplane, to demos of superb and expensive HRS (Harmonic Resolution Systems) gear, to supportive feet too numerous to mention, I’m a big fan of isolation gear. And utterly convinced of their efficacy.

Jackie Smiley, of Starscream Communications (a PR firm representing IsoAcoustics among others), suggested I review the newest IsoAcoustics product, the zaZen Isolation Platform. In fact, the product is debuting today.

Sep 11

Sep 11 Nordost Frey 2 Speaker Cables, Interconnects and Power Cords

Anthony Kershaw

Cables, Star Component Award

Cables are notoriously difficult to review. Capturing the subtle, even minute changes good cables make can be challenging to describe on the page. The ear is a much better arbiter than the written word. Thus, the description must be super accurate if the writer has a whisker of a chance convincing cable naysayers. Also, long term thinking is required to really hear the positive effects cables have on your system.

Connecting two or more cables from a ‘loom’ from one manufacturer makes things even more difficult, even though multiple products of the same design in the system should make changes seem more obvious. Literally, too much information in one sitting can lead to confusion (ever wonder why on black box recordings pilots ignore obvious multiple klaxon warnings when in deeply stressful situations?). As Emperor Joseph II says to Mozart, ‘Too many notes’.

Sep 11

Sep 11 Shabaka & the Ancestors—We Are Sent Here By History/Vinyl Me Please Edition

Maxwell Geiger

Music

2020 is shaping up to be a fine year for humanity to collectively ponder our mortality as a species. The global coronavirus pandemic, climate change, violent political unrest, accelerating wealth inequality and—for those of us in California—good old fashioned wildfires foreshadow how the end might come about. But what would the end times sound like? Shabaka & The Ancestors have the answer. On their epic double LP We Are Sent Here By History, Shabaka Hutchings, leading his octet of South Africa based musicians, channels the tradition of the african griot to narrate the extinction of the human race from a future perspective. Heavy, right?

Within the universe of jazz, We Are Sent Here By History is a momentous record released with appropriately high expectations. After all, it is the most ambitious record yet from the biggest name in the most exciting jazz scene in the world. Shabaka Hutchings, and his global collective of three groups, The Ancestors, Sons of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming, are the de facto torchbearers of the fertile South London jazz scene.

Aug 28

Aug 28 Allnic Audio Rose MC Cartridge

Karl Sigman

Analog, Star Component Award

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.

Aug 28

Aug 28 Sonos Arc—Three months later (incl. Sound & Installation)

Anthony Kershaw

Loudspeakers, Digital

The excitement in late Spring 2020 was palpable. Sonos was debuting its most exciting product for years, the Arc ‘Premium Smart Soundbar’ ($799), successor to Sonos’ very popular and very fine Playbar.

Getting an Arc was a challenge, with (communication) hurdles at every level, corporate, distributor, dealer and mass market. I dug deep and found one nailed to the floor of my local ‘Sonos Platinum’ dealer. As usual, the staff were very kind and allowed me a long stretch with its sole Arc for the day. You can read my thoughts here.

Aug 14

Aug 14 Icon Audio Stereo 40 MkIV 'Plus' Integrated Amplifier

Anthony Kershaw

Amplifiers, Star Component Award

Icon Audio’s Canadian distributor, Warren Lavender, has been excited to share products with Audiophilia for review. I echoed his excitement for Icon’s remarkably good phono stage, the PS1 Mk.II. It was such good value at $2400, I purchased the unit for my mono setup (it has a rare ‘mono switch’).

Lavender was equally excited about Icon amplification and preamp designs, including integrated amplifiers. As Icon owner/designer David Shaw calls them, ‘All Valve’. Brit-speak for tubes. As such, Lavender requested a review of the 50W (Ultralinear) 30W (Triode) Stereo 40 MkIV Integrated Amplifier. The MkIV is a KT88 based design. The 4 KT88s are a matched set.

Hi.