THE REVIEWS
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THE MEZE POET - REVIEW
The Meze POET represents the second headphone of three Meze headphones being reviewed, in succession. It is the first open-back, planar, magnetic headphone in this trio of reviews. The first was the STRADA ($799), a dynamic, close-backed headphone, at about mid-tier pricing, which compared very favorably with other headphones, many of which were several times its price! The final review will be the Empyrean II.
THE MEZE STRADA - REVIEW
First, the STRADA unlike Meze’s planar headphones will need, at least, 50 hours and nearly 100 hours to sound their best. The initial listening session, prior to their burn-in, was very concerning. I initially thought I had happened upon a bad Meze headphone. Well, no I hadn’t. It is, however, crucial for a good, thorough burn-in before listening for pleasure and certainly before reviewing them.
AURORASOUND HFSA-01 INTEGRATED - REVIEW
The Aurorasound HFSA-01 ($4,290) is a compact, light weight, multi-functional integrated, which incorporates a Moving Magnet Phono Section and a 6.33mm Headphone amplifier. The HFSA-01 provides 14-watts via four EL84 tubes and it paired beautifully with the DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/96. I’m told it also works well with marginally efficient speakers (90dB+).
FERN & ROBY RAVEN III - REVIEW
The Raven IIIs are amplification-flexible—they play with 8 watts all the way up to, I’m told, 400 watts. This, given its other traits listed below, makes it a reviewer’s dream. And especially for a reviewer/audiophile/music lover who does not listen to loud, bombastic music, or who has attached his reference stereo system to his television or movie projector…just saying.
BORDER-PATROL SE-i DAC - REVIEW
The BorderPatrol SE-i DAC is a true gem that hides its wondrous capabilities beneath a simple, clean, unadorned facade. To look past it though is to look past the tattered, dirt-crusted Van Gogh at a garage sale, posing as nothing more than an amateur's well-intentioned, paint-by-numbers, work. Don’t do that. [Really!]
ATMA-SPHERE CLASS D AMPLIFIER - REVIEW
From old favourites Wolf Alice and Waxahatchee to new crushes Ludwig Göransson and Duo Deloro, the Atma–Sphere Class D is a class act. When I was away cooking in the kitchen, they would draw me in and invite me to sit a spell and listen. They made for a difficult review because all I wanted to do was let go of my analytical side and enjoy my catalogue of best–loved tracks and albums.
HEADAMP CFA3 HEADPHONE AMP - REVIEW
The HeadAmp CFA3 is a truly exceptional headphone amplifier and, dare I say, there are no other such headphone amplifiers that can compete at easily twice its price, if not far more. Its impressive 15-watts of power into 50-ohms allow it to easily drive even the most inefficient headphone on the planet, with headroom to spare.