THE REVIEWS
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TRON AES/EBU DIGITAL - REVIEW
As mentioned above, there are reviews that write themselves. This review of the BlackCat TRON AES/EBU digital cable is one of those reviews. So profound are its abilities and talents that the review simply flowed and I simply wrote that which the TRON AES/EBU was telling me to write via its voice. And a truly superb voice it is. Suffice to say, that the brevity of this review, I don’t generally write short reviews, speaks to the profound and immediate ability of the BlackCat TRON AES/EBU digital cable.
ATMA-SPHERE MP-3 PREAMPLIFIER & S-30 AMPLIFIER - REVIEW
Outstanding! Consider every technical benchmark—resolution, transparency, staging, dynamics, tone/timbre, etc.—checked, along with musicality, and the ability to present the music beyond stereo playback to that of a performance, checked. The sum total of this with the Atma-Sphere MP-3 Preamplifier and the S-30 Stereo Amplifier combo is one of the most engaging listening sessions that I’ve ever had.
GRIMM AUDIO PW1 PHONO PREAMPLIFIER - REVIEW
The Grimm Audio PW1 is a new reference for us in phono stages under $10,000. It simply checks every box imaginable. Its virtues are many, and its flaws are nonexistent to these ears. Superb transparency and spaciousness, and a perfect balance between tube-like warmth and solid-state clarity are it’s calling cards.
HIFIMAN ISVARNA HYBRID HEADPHONE - REVIEW
The HIFIMAN Isvarna is a truly exceptional headphone with great technical aptitude, extended frequency response, via its hybridization, a sublime naturalness in line with its brethren—Susvara Unveiled, Susvara—though not quite at their level, and it too is truly immersive. I’ve listened for long hours via the Isvarna late into the night and was alway happy and content.
TRAFORMATIC HEAD 2SE - REVIEW
Musically, the Traformatic HEAD 2SE is superb, as it handles the entirety of the frequency range with aplomb, is highly transparent and resolving, beautifully detailed, and it brings the midrange to life in a natural and very refined manner. Bravo.
ATMA-SPHERE MP-3 PREAMPLIFIER & CLASS D AMPLIFIERS - REVIEW
The Atma-Sphere MP-3 Preamplifier and the Class D Monoblocks are a hybrid combination, a class above a good deal of the rest. They brought continual enjoyment to both working listening sessions and personal listening sessions and my attention was alway rapt. As reviewers know, after working listening sessions, one generally needs a break from listening altogether.
TRAFORMATIC RHAPSODY 300B - REVIEW
The Traformatic Rhapsody 300B is absolutely not your pop’s or your grand pop’s 300B amplifier. It is a very much new and improved version with reach—frequency response—that other 300B’s fantasize about or, at the very least, dream about. It’s got bass, the proverbial 300B midrange, though there is an argument for it being even better than most 300Bs here, and it’s got good treble extension.