THE REVIEWS
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BEST PRODUCT OF 2021
A time and space machine, indeed, for the when and where the Mola Mola Tambaqui transports one. Impossible it is, to write the concluding notes of this review, to break away from the spellbinding music or magic that this DAC/Headphone amplifier creates. Max Richter’s The Blue Notebook plays and the music sweeps over me as though my yellow-chair-tardis finds its way, through time and space, to this venue and that.
EDITOR’S CHOICE 2021
The STAX SR-009S may represent, for many, a transcendent listening experience. It may move you beyond expectation to that which you never imagined possible in a earspeaker or headphone. And should its stable of playmates be able—of good musical repute and like ability and up to task—then you will find yourself in another world of music, altogether…
THE FOCAL STELLIA - REVIEW
The FOCAL Stellia, from wrapping box to speaker cups to headband, is gorgeous! FOCAL has done a magnificent job in designing every aspect of this, decidedly, high-end headphone, which as I’ve mentioned above, should never be worn on the street and certainly not in a big city. Unless, of course, you are a thrill-seeker and don’t mind the prospect of your headphones and DAP going missing (read: being stolen after your mugging).
STAX SRM-T8000 - REVIEW
The STAX SRM-T8000 is, decidedly, the TOTL of the STAX energizer line, as it incorporates all that its siblings do, in terms of transparency, resolutions, transient speed, etc. and on a level far above them all. The SRM-T8000 is an apex musical component that ticks the boxes across, well, all relevant parameters and then provides a near transcendental listening experience. At least, it did so for me.
TRI-ART AUDIO P-SERIES INTEGRATED - REVIEW
If you’ve got the scratch—money, loot, bing-bings, dollars, coin—you may want to avoid some of those time-honored brands, whose parts are nowhere close to the parts or thought or environmentally friendly approach envisioned and employed by Tri-Art Audio in the Tri-Art P-Series Integrated/Headphone Amplifier.
STAX SRM-700S - REVIEW
Count me twice surprised now by a tubed electrostatic headphone amplifier—STAX SRM-700T—sporting 6SN7 tubes in the power role and now by a solid state electrostatic headphone amplifier—STAX SRM-700S—that stands at the doorway of two worlds—tube and solid state—though it is bereft of a single tube but can, nonetheless, speak both world’s languages rather fluently. The STAX SRM-700S is an extremely capable earspeaker energizer that, simply, must be heard.
KLIPSCH HERITAGE DSD HEADPHONE AMP - REVIEW
At $574, the Klipsch Heritage DAC / Preamp / Headphone amp is one of the most satisfying audiophile products we have ever auditioned under a grand. In fact, we purchased this unit, as we really could find no flaws. Sure, a “deluxe” version with a linear power supply and remote would be nice, but that is strictly a luxurious wish.