AudioKeyREVIEWS! ISSUE 14 - JANUARY 2024 by audiokeyreviews

AudioKeyREVIEWS! HIGH FIDELITY PERSONAL AUDIO & STEREO MAGAZINE JANUARY 2024

Grimm MU2 STREAMING DAC

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Music is art, art is music.

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Claude Monet - Water Lilies, 1905

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE… MUSICIANS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 23 EDITOR'S LETTER 38 ALLNIC HPA 10000 OTL/OCL HEADPHONE AMP 64 RAIN JORDAN - JOAN OF AUDIO & MUSIC 70 INTERVIEW - DRUMMER CHRIS GAMPER 84 ATMA-SPHERE CLASS D AMPLIFIERS 96 GRIMM AUDIO MU2 STREAMING DAC 114 AUDIENCE HIDDEN TREASURE CAT7 124 PASS LABS HPA-1 HEADPHONE AMP MUSIC

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INTERVIEWS

52 DR. IRINA KUZMINSKY - MUSICAL MUSINGS

AUDIO

EXASOUND S82 STREAMING DAC

148

RECOMMENDED COMPONENTS

154

MAGICAL SYNERGIES

160

COMING NEXT

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REVIEWS ON THE WEB

VIDEO REVIEWS

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Front Inside Cover: Henri Matisse, Sárga és kék enteriőr Back Inside Cover: Henri Matisse, The Open Window - 1918

MUSIC REVIEWS

The Other Art. It is my belief that the artist and the musician are not only creatives, but they access heart and soul and experience, perhaps, in the selfsame ways. My own love for art and music are inseparable. And so art, music, and those things which facilitate the music shall share theses pages.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - SEND HERE

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE…

Pablo Picasso - Guernica Imogene Cunningham - Flowers

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E DI TO R’s CHA IR

nteresting. The word “interesting” can mean so very many things —truly interesting, concerning, problematic, indescribable, or it can be a kindly rejoinder in the face of perhaps a rather bizarre or an enlightened comment. This year has indeed been interesting for me and for AKRMedia. On the one hand, it has been our best year to date in terms of overall exposure—views, reads, followed links—which have totaled 25 million for the year—partnerships continuing and new, exceptional component discoveries and their subsequent reviews, and new friendships with a few good folks and a kindred spirit or two. On the other hand, we were sad to say farewell to several family members, loved ones, and friends who died over this past year. We recently lost Gérard Rejskind, a fellow editor and columnist who for several decades had published the Canadian audio magazine UHF and who had been a columnist for AudioKeyREVIEWS Magazine Canada for the past year. Sincere condolences to their families, friends, and colleagues. I am truly grateful for the varied experiences, the good people met, the lessons learned (and there have been plenty), the laughter and good cheer, and the opportunity to spend time with those who leave us with fond memories. Good bless. Happy New Year! Sincerely,

K.E. Heartsong Editor-in-Chief

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THE CREW Publisher/Editor-in-Chief K. E. Heartsong Managing Editor Dr. Irina Kuzminsky

Andre Marc Oliver Masciarotte Columnists Dr. Irina Kuzminsky Rain Jordan Music Reviewers (Video/Written) Dr. Irina Kuzminsky Photographer K. E. Heartsong Graphic Design Wabi Sabi Design Group

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Vincent Van Gogh - The Large Plane Trees

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Preternatural ability to play all genres of music, including choral and live music, with exceptional technical prowess and outstanding musicality. A giant stalker and eliminator of the first order.

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They never failed to please, with any musical source at any reasonable listening level. (Perhaps they really are Shmoos!). —Kalman Robinson, Stereophile

I found the VIVID Audio KAYA 45 speakers to be the most transparent and musical speakers I have reviewed in my more than 10 years of professional reviewing experience. —Jim Clements, Home Theater High Fidelity

Camille Claudel - Self Portrait 1884

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One of the Best Products of the Year and One of the Most Affordable!

ALLNIC AUDIO HPA 10000 OTL/OCL HEADPHONE AMP By K.E. Heartsong

HPA 10000 OTL/OCL HEADPHONE AMP

ntil close to three years ago, I had not yet had the opportunity to listen to a complete electrostaticheadphone system—amplifier, headphones —in the comfort of my own dedicated headphone listening room. That experience proved quite the revelation, introducing me to a musical experience that I had long sought out—incredible transparency, resolution, and detail married to superb, immersive musicality. And I would experience this unique rendering of music time and again with various electrostatic setups, though some performed to a far greater degree than others, but the core of the experience was always there. I had always enjoyed choral music and counted it a favorite. What the various electrostatic headphone systems provided audiokeyreviews.com

was a completely new rendering or “freeing’” of choral music, with superb depth and width and incredible layering of the choralists across the soundstage. The combination made choral music more real, palpable, and exceptionally enjoyable. It truth, it is difficult now to listen to choral music with nearly any system, regardless of its cost, though the Vivid Audio Kaya 45s in the two-channel reference system do a superb job of bringing back that electrostatic magic. As electrostatic headphone amplifiers and electrostatic headphones of all makes passed through Casa Heartsong’s reference HPA system, I settled on two components in the end that together summoned listening bliss above all other configurations. The headphone amplifier, the HeadAmp Blue Hawaii Special Edition, and the headphones,

Tamara De Lempicka - Lys et roses jaunes,1949

HPA 10000 OTL/OCL HEADPHONE AMP the Dan Clark CORINA electrostatics, together summoned magic time and again. This brings me to another rather wonderful revelation in regard to the audio world, a world that I have been engaged in for nearly all my life, and that revelation concerns an OTL—Output TransformerLess—amplifier design. In this case, the OTL amplifier is the ALLNIC AUDIO HPA-10000 OTL/OCL Headphone Amplifier.

(HPA) is one of if not the best HPA that I have reviewed to date, and its ability to provide an exceptional rendering of one’s music is beyond reproach. Above all, the HPA 10000 is exceptionally natural and engaging. It is also electrostatic-like in its dimensionality, its layering across and to the depths of a given soundstage and the separation that it affords musicians. It also embodies a gravitas and weight and drive in its presentation of the REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review music that few electrostatic headphone will be non-sequential, as it will start with how amplifiers can match. In this respect, the HPA 10000 relative to electrostatic HPAs is the component actually sounds and not the less “ethereal,” though a great deal more process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various parts, specifications, etc. corporeal, real, and natural in its ability to render the in-room, palpable presence of a Think of this review then, as a non-linear given performer or performers. When you movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Arrival, Eternal add how the HPA 10000 handles tone/ Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, etc.—that likewise starts at the end and winds its way to timbre and parses their various shadings, this is not your 8 or 16 or 24 box of crayons, it is the beginning. your 120 box of crayons or better, in that it THE SOUND distinguishes the various tonal/timbral “To date” is a phrase that I often use to denote shadings in a league far above most others. ALLNIC says of its various OTL/OCL that up until now this particular component has either set the standard or “crossed over” to amplifiers that they provide, and I paraphrase, “extremely detailed expression of the music another level entirely of music rendering with natural harmonics, the lowest possible capability. And I have only ever used it, I believe, with exceptional products, because one distortion, and subtle musical decay, while providing wide-ranging musical dynamics.” never knows when the current King of the In truth, given my time spent with the Hill will be edged aside. ALLNIC HPA 10000 OTL/OCL Suffice to say, that the ALLNIC HPA Headphone Amplifier, I cannot argue with 10000 OTL/OCL Headphone Amplifier audiokeyreviews.com

HPA 10000 OTL/OCL HEADPHONE AMP their marketing statements, as their to expect. Suffice to say that I set relatively low statements proved true time and time again. expectations. Better to have them surpassed The HPA 10000 is the only HPA than high expectations not met. Well, there comparable to the vaunted Viva Audio needn’t have been any worry. The ALLNIC Egoista STX electrostatic HPA ($17,000), HPA 10000 OTL/OCL HPA surged past nonetheless, the HPA 10000 comes out my expectations with a wink and a smile. ahead! And that’s saying something. The “Those expectations weren’t meant for me, power on hand with the HPA 10000 drove were they?” one imagines the HPA 10000 the ABYSS AB1266 Phi TC exceptionally saying. To which I would answer, “No, well and was, in the end, an incredible apparently not.” So, the first lesson is that the pairing, if not the best that I have ever lack of an Output Transformer does not limit experienced. Further, the range of bass extension, not at all. Or certainly not with headphones able to pair with the HPA 10000 the HPA 10000. relative to the electrostatic Viva Egoista is far The resulting bass with the ALLNIC greater and much more varied, as you would HPA 10000 OTL/OCL HPA was tight, expect. There are very few electrostatic agile, lightning quick, incredibly transparent headphones these days. and well resolved. This meant in practice that The ALLNIC AUDIO HPA 10000’s across the various Bass test tracks, from volumetric cube—its soundstage—is truly Charlie Haden to Dave Holland to Christian expansive in both width and depth, another McBride to Delfeayo Marsalis, bass area where the HPA competition fades away reproduction was being realized anew. There in direct comparison. The height of a given was, in fact, more “there there” in terms of soundstage, not necessarily an aspect that inner-detail, tonal/timbral differentiation/ draws much attention to itself, is also quite separation, and gravitas. All of the various unique with the HPA 10000, in that it attributes of the HPA 10000 combined to renders to the fullest a given venue’s height bring the music alive, as well as the venue or with openness and a dimensionality and studio in which it was recorded, in the most space that stand it in rarefied air. natural way possible, while never for a moment eschewing incredible musicality. BASS

MIDRANGE Never having experienced an OTL up close and personal and certainly not in a reference Superb. The ALLNIC HPA 10000 OTL/ headphone configuration, I did not know what OCL HPA, in its electrostatic-like way with

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HPA 10000 OTL/OCL HEADPHONE AMP voices and massed voices, brought air and ambiance and incredible transparency and resolution not only to choral music but to all music. While its heritage is that of a dynamic headphone amplifier, it provided what they are known for—weight and gravitas and pistonlike dynamics. And of course, there is its naturalness and palpability and texture that easily draws you in, and in the most engaging way. The HPA 10000 represents the synergy of the best of these headphone amplification

her voice, the tones that she invokes have never been more real, more present. The HPA 10000 does indeed compel the listener to fall in love with the human voice and much more. Andy Bey’s “Angel Eyes” (American Song, Savoy) is again the best rendering of this track that I have heard to date. Perhaps it is the lack of OutputTransformer distortion and/or colouration and also the lack of Capacitors in the signal that provides such a daunting, real life, and

technologies in a way that moves it far beyond the abilities of either. Does removing the transformer and the capacitors make such a difference? Well, apparently it does. Elina Duni’s Partir album (ECM) is more fully realized—alive, natural, and engaging than it has ever been. Elina sings as if her lips are pursed but inches away from my ear and the texture and air, the timbre of

natural experience. Bloat and overhang and a muddling of the lyrics are not allowed as they are in some very expensive kit, but not with the ALLNIC HPA 10000 OTL/OCL HPA.

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TREBLE+

Airy. Extended. Natural. The high frequencies of the ALLNIC HPA 10000 rise with an effortlessness, a compelling transparency, and a

clarity that perhaps speak to its exceedingly low distortion and its uncolored yet superbly musical rendering. Given this, our current top headphone amplifiers—Viva Egoista STX and Aurorasound HEADA—are not the HPA 10000’s match in how it so deftly scales the treble heights, completely free of all distortion, coloration, sibilance, grain, glassiness, etc. You come to a more profound understanding of the ravages of both distortion and colouration when experiencing a top-notch OTL like the ALLNIC HPA 10000. Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” (Time Out, Columbia-Legacy) rolls in with Joe Morello’s treble-rich cymbals suffused with air and ambiance, more engaging than ever, as it moved things along beautifully. And whether it’s Dave’s piano or Paul’s saxophone or Eugene’s bass, all are dimensional, with a weight/gravitas and a naturalness of tone/ timbre that is also quite new. Perhaps transformers and capacitors in the mix incite a bit of angst derived from the detritus of their distortion and their colouration. How does one convey the ease of this technically more insightful and more musical performance? Is it via the greater transparency and resolution, the microdynamics that make available the entirety of the stage to its depths and the vanishingly finite— discovered detail—that convey a more “organic” or more natural

rendering? My experience would say yes. Yes, natural comes up quite a bit with the ALLNIC HPA 10000 OTL/OCL Headphone Amplifier. Bravo! CONCLUSIONS

The ALLNIC AUDIO OTL/OCL HPA 10000 compels one to listen and to be rewarded by one of the most transparent, beautifully resolved, natural, and musically engaging headphone amplifiers that this reviewer has listened to, owned, or reviewed to date. And the surprising thing is that this also takes into account electrostatic HPAs, which had served as a revered “third rail” untouchable given their rather potent bona fides. The ALLNIC HPA 10000 has de-electrified that third rail. That it plays nice with a great many headphones and headphone types—dynamic, planar, IEMs, AMTs, etc.—than do electrostatics, in truth, seals the deal. The missing output transformers and capacitors from the signal path apparently provide a truth and reality and an unadulterated beauty to the music that many other HPAs cannot match. This is not saying that they are not good—they are, and in many cases exceedingly good, as I have discovered in my review of the PASS LABS HPA-1. But at 1/5 the price of the HPA 10000, it should not by any means be its equal, and it isn’t. Nor should the Aurorasound HEADA at 1/5 the price of

Vincent Van Gogh - Avenue of Poplars in Autumn 1884

the HPA 10000. Interestingly, not even the Viva Audio Egoista STX, comparatively priced, appears to be in the same league as the HPA 10000 and in many respects— power, varied compatibility, inputs/outputs, remote control, musicality, clarity. The ALLNIC AUDIO HPA 10000 OTL/OCL Headphone Amplifier stands as the King of the Hill with regard to headphone amplifiers as its technical and musical prowess are to date unmatched. This, coupled with its specifications—multiple inputs (2-balanced, 3-single-ended), multiple headphone outputs (2-balanced, 2-singleended), and power to drive relatively inefficient headphones (see ABYSS AB1266 Phi TC)—finds its competition wanting in many respects. That said, we give the ALLNIC AUDIO HPA 10000 OTL/OCL Headphone Amplifier our highest award— the DIAMOND AWARD, for its unparalleled excellence. Pros: Breathtaking transparency, resolution, and musicality that compel one to listen for hours on end, Single-Ended palpability, electrostatic dimensionality, and the power and gravitas of dynamics move it past all comers. Handy remote control is icing on the cake. Beautifully designed. Cons: None.

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AKRM

Paul Cezanne - Still life, fruits, jug, fruit dish

MUSICAL MUSINGS REPRISE By Irina Kuzminsky

or this review I thought I would choose a classical composer completely unknown to me. And yes, I have to admit that this particular composer’s name appealed to me – Still. Still-ness is something we could all use in a world that seems to be rapidly spinning out of control. I know that I certainly could. In any case, I am glad that this thought led me to discover William Grant Still (1895–1978) and some of his music on the very recently released album, Summerland. As recently in fact as May 27, 2022. Summerland features a selection of Still’s orchestral music performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Avlana Eisenberg with Zika Schiff (solo violin), who are actually a mother and daughter duo. What stands out straight

away about the music is the kernel of optimism, hope and faith it contains, and this despite the difficulties and discrimination Still had to face as an African American classical composer. His success was a testament to his talent and to him as a human being. “With humble thanks to God, the Source of Inspiration”, Still wrote on his scores. And his music is infused with his faith, his love of God and of his heritage and country. Still wrote close to 200 works, including symphonies, ballets, operas, choral works, art songs, and chamber music, and was part of the Harlem Renaissance. His career was littered with firsts for an African American composer and conductor, and he was the recipient of numerous awards including honorary doctorates (eight) and

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Vincent Van Gogh - Pine Trees against an Evening Sky, 1889

www.artic.edu

JULY 2022 A PUBLIC SERVICE BY AUDIOKEYREVIEWS vision-ears.de

MUSICAL MUSINGS Guggenheim Fellowships. The earliest work included on this album is from 1918, “American Suite”, and the latest from 1965, “Threnody in Memory of Jan Sibelius”, but most of the works featured are from the 1940s. This is a period when much of the classical music scene was infested with mechanistic industrial overtones and many classical composers were experimenting with atonality and dissonance. Still’s works on the other hand are strongly anchored in melodic principles and tonal reflections. He often creates evocative ‘visual soundtracks’ and each piece seems to have both time and space to unfold. The opening track, “Can’t You Line ‘Em”, is American frontier music, leaving you searching for the panoramic shot of a landscape out of a Western from the Golden Age of Hollywood. And for a

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simpler time when good and evil were clearly defined, as the trumpet announces the triumph of good at the end and puts a smile on your face. “Summerland” (No. 2 of “3 Visions”) follows, and Zika Schiff ’s violin enters with a yearning melody. This is music painting, a visual soundtrack which has you imagining stars in a clear sky over a wide prairie. “Quit Dat Fool’nish” ushers in a change of mood and tempo, while “Pastorela” (arranged for violin and orchestra) is once again more sombre in feel. Beautiful lush orchestration provides the background for the solo violin in this piece that sounds like a movement from a violin concerto. The “American Suite”, an early work from 1918, is in three parts, the atmospheric “Indian Love Song”, followed by the toe-tapping rhythms of “Danse”, and ending with “Lament” in which Still’s

OCTOBER 2021

MUSICAL MUSINGS

irrepressible optimism continues to shine through, even here. The triumphant “Fanfare for the 99th Fighter Squadron” is a stirring tribute to the Black Tuskegee airmen who fought in World War II. “Serenade” follows, another visual painting with clear sections and moods, its calm pastoral unfolding using the colours of the full orchestra. The “Violin Suite” (arranged for violin and orchestra), again featuring the beautiful impassioned playing of Zika Schiff, is a personal favourite. Its three movements were inspired by and named after three pieces of art by artists of the Harlem Renaissance, Barthé, Johnson and Savage. The first movement, “African Dancer”, returns to driving syncopated rhythms

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interspersed with more sinuous sections as the violin leads us through the steps of the dance. “Mother and Child” is a lullaby that captures the gentleness and focus of a mother on her child. Schiff ’s violin soars in a melody of sustained intensity. “Gamin” returns to syncopated cheeky rhythms rounding out a very satisfying listening experience. The album concludes with the “Threnody in Memory of Jan Sibelius”, himself a great atmospheric musical painter of the landscapes of Northern Europe whose music bears in this regard a certain affinity to the visual landscapes of Still. William Grant Still is clearly a true American classic, and this recent release is a good reminder of this fact.

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Paul Cezanne - On the Banks-of a River

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JOAN OF AUDIO & MUSIC By Rain Jordan

A HIGHER LOVE CHRISTOPHER GAMPER other peripherals. I couldn’t help but feel the n a fundamental level, the purpose excitement mount inside of me, much like the of the drums is to act as the thrill of a circus or carnival coming to town. rhythmic backbone of the band. The drums will do that. However, as I’ve They universally arouse come to learn from strong emotions. listening to live Nevertheless, Gamper music for many performed that day with years, and having guitarist, Ben Misterka, the privilege to bass player, Ryan Price, and interview musicians, saxophonist, Paul Degan. the drums are For those who are not appreciably more familiar with The Backyard than the rhythmic Improv it is a unique foundation. I say improvisational concert this to aptly series. The musicians are introduce my first playing together for the interview of the first time without rehearsal, new year with composing songs on-theChristopher spot, in front of a live Gamper, an audience. So, “it ain’t easy”. immensely versatile, But it sure was a praisedynamic, and worthy performance. talented drummer who goes way beyond Gamper’s versatility, dynamics, passion, and genres and stylistic boundaries. I met Chris Gamper late last year at The Backyard Improv, precision were on full display. He is clearly a a Peter Baron production. Prior to the start of formidable collaborator, a chameleon who ingeniously adapts and shapes the music and the show, Gamper pulled up in his very cool mood of the song in symbiotic relationship to custom van, opened up the back doors and the other musicians. The audience was wooed. began a ceremonious unloading of his My interview with Chris Gamper follows magnificent Canopus drum kit, Aquarian this article, so I won’t be spilling all the beans drumheads, a host of beautiful cymbals and here. But there are a few matters of interest AudioKeyREVIEWS! V 1

Painting by Rossetti

Joan Miro - Step Two

JOAN OF AUDIO & MUSIC that we didn’t get a chance to talk about New Orleans Jazz, Funk, Groove, and Rock during the interview that are worthy of and are very supportive of a jazz revival in the writing about. First, as a testament to Fillmore District. You can read more about Gamper’s immense versatility and talent as a the significant influence Stanton Moore has drummer (because great drummers are hard had on Gamper in our interview in this issue to come by) he currently plays in four bands of the magazine. in the San Francisco Bay area; Ghost Town There were many things that stood out Messengers, described “as a jazz fusion guitar for me when I heard Gamper perform and trio with a groove oriented and later interviewed him on the Xtemporize instrumentally rich approach”. Shook Train, Podcast (a separate interview from this one). “an eclectic five-piece musical ensemble that Aside from how truly good he is as a blends the vibrant genres of psychedelic funk, musician; he is also a deeply sincere person. I reggae and soul” (wow). Hop Sauce, “an could sense the depth of his integrity before I instrumental groove funk and jazz band even got to know his story. Why that’s balancing improvisation with composition. important is because our work is pretty much And Fourth Position, a band whose sound is a reflection of who we are. So, when you read described as “the psychedelia of the 60’s with his interview and listen to his music, I think a modern edge; a marriage of nostalgia and it is easy to recognize and feel the sincerity in innovation.” Also, as previously mentioned, his story, his drums, and in his relationship Gamper plays remarkably well with a roster with the other musicians. Drums are a deeply of incredibly talented guest musicians at the affective instrument inspiring a wide range of Backyard Improv. In other words, the man emotions. They are the universal has got talent. communicator of rhythm. And rhythm is To further testify to Gamper’s aptitude as more than a sequence of beats; it’s the a drummer and his dedication to his craft, he heartbeat of our existence as human beings. recently finalized a residency with The Boom And regardless of what language we speak, Boom Room in the Filmore District, of San rhythm speaks to our souls in equal measure, Francisco. He will be featured weekly in a whether it makes us cry or dance or both. I brand new music project honoring San think Chris Gamper chose his instrument Francisco’s Historic Jazz District, entitled, well or more accurately, the spirit of the drum “Jazz Tuesdays”. The Boom Boom Room is chose their drummer well. I hope you enjoy an iconic music club reminiscent of the old his interview and his music as much as I did. Fillmore clubs of the 1950's. It is the home to Blues, Soul, New Orleans Groove, Jazz, and Funk. Chris Gamper along with other musicians including drummer, Stanton Moore have been inspired and influenced by AKRM audiokeyreviews.com

JULY 2022

115

“Solid state dynamics, resolution, detail retrieval, and spaciousness married to tube liquidity, remarkable tone/timbre/texture, offer #%$*@! musical bliss. What more could one ask for (Aurorasound HEADA)?” —K.E. Heartsong, AudioKeyREVIEWS! Magazine

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INTERVIEW

Christopher Gamper BEYOND THE RHYTHM

Conducted by Raine Jordan

INTERVIEW: CHRISTOPHER GAMPER

hristopher Gamper’s creative aptitude, style and talent as a drummer goes far beyond genres. His passion, dedication and collaborative propensity have earned him accolades and respect among musicians, audiences, and music professionals in the San Francisco Bay area and nationwide. He’s earned a formal degree in Jazz Studies and Percussion Performance. Plays drum set, vibraphone, marimba, steel drums and hand percussion. Released three albums as GamperDrums and is currently a signed artist with Canopus Drums and Aquarian Drumheads and Reunion Blues Gig Bags. Gamper has a bigger than life presence and dances to the beat of his own drums, (Raine) How did the drums captivate your imagination as a child?

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(Chris Gamper) I remember seeing a Taiko Drum performance when I was very small, and they looked and sounded like gods to me. I’m going to have to ask my mom when that was? I can still see it and hear it clearly, like it’s imprinted in my brain, and I can still feel the feeling that I had that was, “I really want to do that!” It was more than just a drum performance. It felt powerful, and it felt like something really big was happening. It felt like something I really wanted to be a part of. (RJ) And in what ways do the drums captivate your imagination now? It never stops! Music and drums and beats are everywhere all the time and it always gives me a spark (good or bad, depending on the music) and it always gives me ideas. I need to make a list for all my lists, and I really hope I have time to get to it all. (RJ) What were your main goals as a young person while learning your craft? (CG) To play with musicians that blow me away and have the skills myself to be able to interact with them. To be able to create with

Minor White

INTERVIEW: CHRISTOPHER GAMPER musicians that inspire me, and hopefully be esteemed steel pan player from Trinidad, with able to return the favor and inspire them back. the famous band the Desperados, but also (RJ) Can you tell us a little about your studies holds a master’s degree in Marimba performance. An important part of the degree and your education? process was playing and performing in his (CG) I graduated in 1995 with a bachelor’s percussion ensemble (playing classical to degree in Percussion Performance and Jazz contemporary pieces and original Studies from compositions that he Central State composed for us). Also, University, Ohio. It his steel band. The was a five-year amazing part about intensive, a dual playing in steel band major. I had to was that I played drum demonstrate set as well as every proficiency on five position in the band. instruments (in So, I got the experience addition to piano) of being the bass player, by performing both being in the rhythm jazz and symphonic section on guitar pan percussion on all or double second or five instruments at being up front on my senior recital to tenor pan, playing the pass the jury melody and soloing. I process and receive feel like it’s given me my degree. My really good insight into instruments are every position in the drum set, band and allowed me to vibraphone marimba, steel drums and hand be a strong rhythm section player on the drum percussion (congas, Djembe, etc.). I took my set where I primarily live these days. It’s given studies very seriously and was selected to me a lot of insight into how to support the perform every quarter on one of the band. The jazz studies portion of the degree instruments at Honor’s Recital. I graduated was under the leadership of James Smith, an with honors. My Percussion performance incredibly talented and gifted, performing jazz studies were with a master percussionist guitarist. I had to study and perform jazz drum named Lennard V. Moses who is not only an set, as well as study and perform jazz harmony audiokeyreviews.com

for melodic percussion performance, primarily Vibraphone. There was a jazz big band and a small group jazz ensemble. We performed regularly at and also outside the university and traveled to Chicago every year to compete in the esteemed Elmhurst jazz festival. I received soloist awards for conga performance and drum set performance two different years. By the time I got to my third, fourth and fifth years of the degree process, I was performing in multiple bands 3 to 5 nights a week in the Dayton Columbus, Cincinnati area. This allowed me to get the experience of playing in five different ensembles every week at the university while also performing on drum set at night at clubs and bars. I’m so grateful I had such a wealth of learning experiences in such a diverse and vibrant musical community. (RJ) Who were the drummers and/or other kinds of musicians that influenced your musical development most?

Vince Genova (my jazz ensemble professor) told me to find my own voice. “Don’t just copy the masters. Find your own way to play it.” Mr. James Smith (director of jazz studies) told me “You don’t need a million licks.” Master a small vocabulary that works in every situation. Master drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts shared in an interview when asked about practicing that he doesn’t like to copy other people. He plays along with them and tries to capture the vibe of what they are doing. He also shared the power of visualization as a practice tool. There is a fantastic story about Art Blakey getting mad at a well-known drummer for “phoning it in” at a gig and schooling him on the importance of playing for the people. As for well-known or famous musicians that influenced me, my list is broad so I will give you a short list, in no particular ranking or order: Brian Blade, Robert “Sput” Searlight, Adam Deitch, Stanton Moore, Stewart Copeland, Questlove, Carter Beauford, Chad Smith etc.

(CG) My Dad was an unbelievably talented and gifted musician who taught me about the (RJ) How do you approach your own creative importance of listening. Playing without listening has no purpose. He also had perfect development now? pitch and was an audiophile, so everything had (CG) I need to listen all the time. I need to see to sound really good! He was a very important as much music being performed as possible. I figure in the new music scene and the need to play all the time. The only way to development of electronic music. (See David unlock the creativity inside of me is to be Gamper and Deep Listening Band / Pauline completely loose and free, a place I can only Oliveros). Mr. Lennard Moses (my percussion get to by playing all the time. The goal is to get professor) told me to play anything with the body out-of-the-way and be able to everybody and learn from all of it. He said, “I initiate and perform whatever I hear. I’m no want you to be able to play with anybody.” Dr.

INTERVIEW: CHRISTOPHER GAMPER master yet but it sure is fun trying as much as possible!

acknowledge that I learned a lot about what makes a great musician from drummer, Stanton Moore. He is an exceptional (RJ) Where do you get your ideas? drummer, a Grammy award- winning artist, (CG) My ideas come from every aspect of the educator, performer, and he is a great supporter world around me. Music is the best language of community and music. He was born and that I have found to communicate what I’m raised in New Orleans and has played with so experiencing. So, ideas can come from literally many other great musicians. I did intensive anything and be translated into music. study with him starting in about 2016 by (RJ) You are an incredible player, what kind of going to his Drum Camps that he puts on in New Orleans. I also did private one-on-one practice routine have you followed to get to lessons with some amazing NOLA (New that level? Orleans, Louisiana) Drum Masters as part of (CG) By performing in a lot of bands. I’m the camp. Every single night of the camp, a constantly writing new music and learning total of three or four nights, Stanton Moore new music so practice is usually dictated music, performs in a different amazing New Orleans whatever gig is coming up, with whatever venue with a different band every night. In band. Because practice time is limited with a addition to paralleling my hopes and dreams busy schedule, I have really found the tool of of playing with as many amazing people as visualization to be essential. I can imagine possible, the experience with Stanton made playing the drum set and visualize how I’m me realize that he so much a part of an going to play something and perform amazing, vibrant community and he utilizes something, and it seems to help me be able to his community to fulfill his passion, but also translate that to the physical instrument. Once lifts everybody up around him, and creates again, I’m no master at this either, but it sure is opportunity for everybody he work with while fun trying all the time! he’s doing it. This was beyond inspiring to me, because generally speaking, my experience (RJ) What do you think makes a great being in the SF Bay Area is not as musician? community-oriented or collaborative as that. (CG) Listening and being a collaborator or There are exceptions, Peter Baron’s Backyard team-player. My favorite musicians are fully engaged in what we are all doing together, so Improv and Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco are truly collaborative and uplifting that we can all lift the performance up and create something magical together. It’s a team for musicians. But I’ve really tried to take this inspiration to collaborate and uplift other sport to score that goal. I also want to audiokeyreviews.com

musicians from Stanton Moore. And I am using it to build my community. It’s a work in progress! But it has helped me to focus on making a priority of being with the right group of people doing things the right way. (RJ) Have you picked up any tools or tricks over the years that have really helped you perform better? – (CG) Visualization. Watching the room and watching the audience so I know how to play the room and make the gig a success for everybody there. The musicians, the audience, the staff of the venue, everybody happy (RJ)How would you describe your style and sound as a drummer? (CG) I would hope that people listening to me would notice a deep pocket, dynamics, interaction with my fellow musicians and a unique presentation of the drum set in the ensemble. Basically, this is a fancy way for saying “I really don’t know how to be anybody but myself for better or worse and I hope you like it!”

(RJ) Drums have a powerful emotional and spiritual impact on people. In that vein, what impact has your drumming had on you throughout your career? (CG) I mentioned my Taiko drumming experience and, I was diagnosed with epilepsy as a child, and when I looked into it, shamans were believed to potentially have epilepsy (seizures) and also happened to be the drummers in the village. So, interestingly, when I dove into serious drum set study and stopped taking my epilepsy medication in high school, my neurologist told me off the record, there was the potential to balance the right and left sides of my brain while drumming. To me that means that I literally need to drum to live. (RJ) What were the most difficult times during your career? And what did you learn from it? (CG) Learning that there is more to success as a musician than just being a great player. Learning that the job entails much more than

INTERVIEW: CHRISTOPHER GAMPER just studying your instrument and being a good player. I wish I could just play the drums all the time, but there’s a lot more to be done than that to succeed. It is not a solo art form. You need a team to succeed. Having a successful team, in such a difficult working environment with very little monetary gain for an insane amount of hours, can be extremely difficult. You have to really love what you’re doing or it’s not gonna work.

really supportive. As I said, he was a great teacher and inspiration to me. So, Stanton continues to inspire me and lift me up, and he happens to be fond of the San Francisco music scene and the Fillmore District. So, I’d like to invite everyone to check us out at the Boom Boom Room on Tuesday nights. You can find the schedule and show information here. (RJ) Any final words of wisdom from the heart of the drummer?

(RJ) What supports your happiness and sense (CG) Music is important to almost everyone of fulfillment now? I’ve met and in such a deeply personal way, like (CG) I get a lot of praise at my performances part of their identity. It is extremely rare to meet someone who doesn’t care about music for what I’m doing. It lets me know that I’m on the right track going after what I’m going and who doesn’t have strong musical likes and after. Also, to get real for a minute, since I am a dislikes. I would love for people to recognize how important the music they love is to them, drummer, the true sign of success is booty and therefore to see how valuable the shaking to the beats then I’m laying down. musicians are that make the music. We are That is the only real way to know that I’m working hard to create and showcase the doing my job correctly. music that you love so much and we need your (RJ) You’re about to start a residency at a venue support to keep the world sounding good. in the Fillmore district in San Francisco, can Please go beyond your subscription services you tell us a little about the venue and who the and get out to support your live local other musicians are and why this residency is musicians and show us all how much you love important to you? music. I for one promise to give you all that (CG) Yes, I just actually finalized the deal with I’ve got to make it a rewarding experience. In Boom Boom Room in San Francisco, and I that shared space, we will inspire each other. am beyond excited to start this project. I want Positive reverberations are sure to occur! to acknowledge the folks that supported me in Thank you for supporting live music and the this venture. All the musicians that I play with live musicians that created it. have some impact on my creative capacity as a drummer. And some of them will be playing with me there. Also, Stanton Moore has been AKRM audiokeyreviews.com

Pierre Auguste Renoir - On the Terrace, 1881

Maximilien Luce - Le Mée, 1897

ATMA-SPHERE CLASS D AMPS By Oliver Masciarotte

ATMA-SPHERE CLASS D AMPLIFIERS

n a perfect world, an amplifier would be a “wire with gain,” a box that magically increases voltage or current or both, without adding or subtracting anything. Trouble is, nothing is perfect. That said, modern amplifiers of canny design, whether they be solid or hollow state, approach that ideal quite nicely. Typically, the more money you throw at the problem, the closer you come to that golden ideal. For this review, we have that rare beast; an audiophile separate that

share of bogus beliefs and misguided choices. For a long time, I was one of those who thought DSP was an inherent degradation in a hi–fi system. Only later did I realize that it was the poor implementation that was at fault, not the foundational technology itself. Back at the turn of the millennium, I was working for loudspeaker wizard Ken Kantor on various projects, including his groundbreaking IA-643 active subwoofer. At the time, Ken was fascinated by both DSP

exhibits excellent execution without a and Class D amplifiers, but the off–the–shelf stratospheric price tag… versions then available were decidedly low Ralph Karsten and his merry men at fidelity. In the ensuing 20 years, Class D Atma–Sphere have been building fabulous moved from smirk-worthy to seriously hollow state amplifiers since the bicentennial. sublime. Hypex, Purifi, AGD, Orchard His products are known for their rugged and Audio, and GaN Systems have all moved the reliable designs, their sonic transparency and technology forward, but it’s the latter three very reasonable prices. Who could ask for that have advanced to incorporating GaN or more? I could! In 2017, he began work on a Gallium Nitride semiconductors. project that would change the face of his FETs or Field Effect Transistors have product lines. been used by many talented designers to All of us have taken missteps on the path create some memorable amplifier products. to better quality. Lord knows, I have had my “Pappa” Nelson Pass has been a marvellous audiokeyreviews.com

Vincent Van Gogh - Sprig of Flowering Almond in a Glass

ATMA-SPHERE CLASS D AMPLIFIERS proponent of FET technology for amps, having used rare silicon nitride FETs to good effect, but it’s GaN or gallium nitride devices that have changed the Class D landscape.

surprisingly like a vacuum tube. This made them perfect for the high speed “chopping” or proportional on/off cycling† that makes Class D work.

Originally commercialized for those blue LEDs we all now take for granted, GaN FETs found a place in radar circuits and motor controllers—think electric cars, where their extreme switching speed and tolerance of high current made them an exemplary match. As it turned out, their response to varying voltage and current also looks

If you are a clever designer, you can create a low distortion, low power, wide bandwidth amplifier using vacuum tubes. However, if you want more than flea strength or clean robust low frequencies, it’ll cost you. Running a tube amp will also cost you in expendables and power bills, in that vacuum

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tubes have a decidedly short service life also, for me, a strong selling point. At idle, compared to transistors, and tubes are far only 10 Watts of power are drawn from the from efficient in converting power from the wall for a stereo pair of his Class D wall outlet into music from your speakers. monoblocks, about the same as a typical Class A transistor designs address the LED lightbulb. reliability issue but still eat sadly large Karsten noted that his new amps offer a amounts of energy transmuting raw lot of power for difficult speakers. “…even alternating current into musically pleasing though our Class D easily doubles power as AC. the load impedance is halved (right up to its Enter Class D…not really “digital” but current limit protection) I’m of the opinion sharing some similarities, Class D amplifiers that the easier the speaker is to drive the work like really clever light dimmers, except better, especially since (our) Class D has a that instead of dimming a bulb, they vary the really nice first Watt.” Let’s explore that first raw power being delivered to your speakers in Watt…I’ll begin my listening observations a binary fashion such that music comes out. with a hoary old prog rock classic, Yes’ 1971 In the past 10 years, Class D tech has reached The Yes Album [Qobuz 2023]. Newly re– some semblance of a plateau, with deep released as a 192k “super deluxe edition,” the engineering transforming what was once a rambling fourth track has been a perennial rather grating and rough approximation into fave for me. With its very artificial mix and something quite wonderful. Then came GaN slightly dirty analog sound, plus real doubleFETs. tracked Anderson vocals, extreme swings of In a popular online forum, Ralph noted loudness and extra long fade at the end, I've that, “The result is a solid state amp that has Seen All Good People is a bit of a toughie to all the smoothness in the mids and highs that reproduce. The Class Ds present as good a you expect from an excellent tube amp but rendition as I’ve heard, especially when paired with considerably lower distortion, (lower) with Silversmith Audio’s wonderful output impedance and obviously higher FIDELIUM speaker cables feeding efficiency. Class D…isn't going to be as Scansonic HD’s MB2.5 B towers. More on romantic as a zero feedback tube amp, even if that in a moment, but the midrange was, dare it has the same distortion profile, simply I say, lovely. The low end was solidly quick because it has so much less distortion overall!” and tuneful, and the top, well, the top was As with other Class D amplifiers, efficiency is somehow tamed, velvety and extended. To

ATMA-SPHERE CLASS D AMPLIFIERS digress a moment: if there’s one down side to Scansonic’s MB line, it’s their very thin veneer of distortion, which to my ears announces itself as a high frequency resonance. With lesser electronics and cabling, they can be slightly raspy, unduly emphasizing sibilance. Ralph’s little amps are a synergistic fit for the minitowers, somehow

spectral and panning pocket. As I listened, I became fascinated with mixer Pat Dillett’s clever handling of the snare and bongos as they move horizontally and shift in volume from verse to chorus. Another old skool fave, Stan Getz’s classic Desafinado [Qobuz 192k Verve Reissues] beckoned with crack players in a beautifully recorded, stripped-down

suppressing that bite, which makes for a magical, marvellous combination. Moving from the slightly lo–fi Brit rock to a more modern and much higher fidelity neo–folk track, I dug into the layered and engaging A Perfect Hand from David Byrne’s masterful 2010 Nonesuch release Here Lies Love [Qobuz 96k]. In particular, the Class Ds tamed Steve Earle’s rough and road– weary vocal without dullness, while each instrument in the mix sat comfortably in its

production. More nuanced than The Girl From Ipanema, Jazz Samba through the Class Ds speaks to me with a lush, relaxed and beguiling beauty in keeping with the swaying palms and caipirinha vibe that the samba exudes. Time for a comparison…My high bias Parasound JC 5 afforded a more forward upper bottom, with a slightly more spare and immediate midrange. The Class Ds seemed “bottom up” while the JC 5 was more “top

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ATMA-SPHERE CLASS D AMPLIFIERS down”in voicing. Though I feel the monoblocks. Also, the soundstage wasn’t as Parasound presents a more honest widely expansive, which was equally representation, perfect for reviewing, I have enigmatic, though I dare say the complex to grimace slightly (’cause I love my JC 5 and interaction of loudspeaker, cables, and desire to throw no shade) and state that the amplifier can result in some unexpected Atma–Spheres, being more euphonious, were responses. I’m not saying that they weren’t more fun! The more I thought on that quite enjoyable. It’s just that, unlike the conclusion, the less surprised I was. During MB2.5 B pair, which made for a celestial our conversations, Karsten said he thought match, I much preferred the JC 5 driving that tube power amps are “…on borrowed those cables and speakers. With that time.” He rhetorically asked online, “…why realization, I retreated back to the Scansonic bother with (tube amps) when you can get HDs. sound just as good and not worry about tube Beethoven’s hoary old Sixth Symphony replacement?” I have to agree. I love his may be overly familiar to some, but I for one valve–based wares, but now I have to say, why luxuriate in that first “Pastoral” movement. A bother? Why heat the planet and screw the recent release, Beethoven: Symphonies Nos 6 & pooch for your kids, why pay for short-lived 8 from the National Symphony Orchestra parts, why piss off your significant other with with Gianandrea Noseda on their own label large homey though usually homely tubes? I [Qobuz 192k 2023], affords an up-close very know, because they can sound good. Ralph high-resolution view into the performance. Karsten has been building exceptional hollow What the Class Ds lack in sizzle and sparkle, state amps for quite some time now. He’s they more than make up for in clarity and distilled all his knowledge, as well as his fullness. Their beguiling propensity to involve house sound, into a solid state product that the listener is simply remarkable, and this competes with costly high-end vacuum tube Beethoven piece demonstrates that clearly. amplifiers and offers the same rich, polished Were textures a touch dialled down on and full spectrum sound quality without the strings and brass? Yes, ma’am. Did I care? drawbacks. Not one iota. Since I had them in the house for an By the way, as I was listening, I not only upcoming review, I wanted to try the stylish switched amplifiers and speakers to have a little Boenicke W5 stand–mounters. contrasting alternate, I also swapped player Surprisingly, the W5s seemed leaner, more apps. With lesser electronics and cabling, spare in the upper bass when driven by the player apps do not seem to make any audiokeyreviews.com

difference at all. During these listening Atma–Sphere sessions, the darker, slightly veiled voice of Saint Paul MN Audirvana Studio was easily found wanting http://www.atma-sphere.com/ in the fine detail department when compared Class D power amplifier — $2920 to Amarra Luxe. They both deliver the exact same bit–perfect stream to my reference exaSound e22 Mk. II, but what is the cause? I conjecture it’s their signature eye pattern, how † — Light dimmers and Class D amplifiers both employ PWM or Pulse Width they modulate the DAC’s power supply, or Modulation, which works by varying a square both. Frankly, I do not yet know the mechanism, but I clearly heard the difference wave’s pulse width or “duty cycle.” This is simply the amount of time the square wave is through the Class Ds. “high” and the output is “on.” Mostly off From old favourites Wolf Alice and results in small power; while on a lot yields lots Waxahatchee to new crushes Ludwig of power delivered to the load. As with digital, Göransson and Duo Deloro, the Atma– both DSD or PCM, you do have to “smooth” Sphere Class D is a class act. When I was or integrate that square wave so it’s away cooking in the kitchen, they would transformed into music. 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. We audiophiles come to the table for music, not audio. Atma–Sphere’s hand-built Class D amps represent over five years’ worth of work. Karsten is focused on how the human ear/ brain system perceives distortion, having tuned his products to be fast and transparent without being bleached or analytical. “I hope we can agree that what we really want is something that sounds like music rather than a particular technology.” Amen, brother. Go AKRM give a listen.

GRIMM AUDIO MU2 By K.E. Heartsong

GRIMM AUDIO MU2 STREAMING DAC have recounted once or twice across my writings here certain epiphanies that I have had in the high-end audio world. These epiphanies have provided incredible insight, corrected mistaken beliefs, and strengthened my love for audio in its ability to bring music to life, figuratively, speaking, and to bring me back to a grounded reality. One such epiphany happened in the

chairs. And when the subject of music came up, she moved with deliberation towards a side table, opened it, and pulled from within an album, an LP—long-playing record—and turned to face me with a wide smile. I had not seen a record player but there, several feet behind the yellow beanbag chairs and closer to the floor than our “chairs,” was a dusty, might-be-working turntable. While it

Mission District in San Francisco many long years ago. I was visiting a woman who would soon become a girlfriend. Her apartment was styled in the motif of the late 1970s— bohemian decor, candles, a rainforest of plants, lava lights, black light posters, black lights, beanbags, etc.—though we were well into the late 1980s. We sat, talked, and laughed for a long while on a matching pair of yellow beanbag

was not a Kenner Close’N Play, it was most probably an entry-level something-or-other. I chuckled quietly and held back a wisecrack, desperate to be freed. I had long been on the early digital bandwagon and had spent a pretty penny on topnotch digital fare of the time. This was not that. When she placed the record on the platter, swung the tonearm into position, and dropped the needle, there came a momentary

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HenriDiebenkorn Matisse - Cat with Red Fish Richard - Ocean Park No. 54

GRIMM AUDIO MU2 STREAMING DAC “pop,” and a smirk from me. Then from this process of physically “undressing” them and/or dust-covered might-be-working turntable laying out their various parts, specifications, came music as a compelling force and, as I etc. Think of this review then, as a non-linear had written earlier, “the music came in waves movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Arrival, Eternal tactile, sensual, rich” that filled the entire Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, etc.—that room. And when the warmth of Billie likewise starts at the end and winds its way to Holiday’s voice made contact as she sang the beginning. “God Bless the Child” and as the music and THE SYSTEM her voice wrapped their arms around me, Two-Channel Reference System drew me in, I was “stunned-humbled” to • Grimm Audio MU1 Streamer stone and momentarily catatonic. • Grimm Audio MU2 Streaming/DAC Immediately and beyond any question of • Exasound s82 Streaming/DAC doubt, what I had been listening to via my • Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Switch high-end digital fare of the late ‘80s was • Silent Angel Genesis GX Master Clock decidedly not music, not even close. This, • Bricasti Design M1SE DAC/Streamer • Lyric Audio Ti-100 MkII SET Integrated which she now played, was music that was • Vivid Audio Kaya 45 Speakers inherently more natural, more engaging, more real. I remember closing my eyes, slowly • Kubala Sosna Cables/Wires/Power Cords • RSX Power Cords (Beyond, MAX) shaking my head, as a single thought • TORUS POWER AVR ELITE Power crisscrossed my mind: “I have been deceived.” Conditioner Conditioner That experience or epiphany set a flight path that quickly brought me back to earth and to THE SOUND There is “at the forefront” and there is “at the vinyl and to real music. cutting edge and beyond all others.” I spoke of The current review brings me to yet the Grimm MU1 Streamer being at the another startling epiphany that, in many forefront of digital streaming technology, and ways, turns the table on that earlier experience. The component in question is the there it remains. The Grimm Audio MU2 Grimm Audio MU2 Streaming DAC. How Streaming DAC, however, is at the cutting edge, synergistically, of both digital streaming great is this epiphany? technology and Digital to Analog Conversion REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review (DAC) technology. This is no small feat. will be non-sequential, as it will start with how Upon placing the MU2 in the system and the components actually sound and not the running a check to see that all was well

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before run-in, I was forced to take a seat and performance and its staggering abilities just listen. Straight out of the box and still relative to all others. bearing the chill of a Minnesota winter, and The proof of the Grimm Audio MU2’s just off a FedEx “freezer truck,” the Grimm phenomenal capabilities was in fact hard not Audio MU2 unfolded or stretched its digital/ to notice. Its transients/microdynamics, streaming muscles and put on a performance blisteringly fast, provided musical attacks that to date has no peer. The reference with the power and the speed and the combos—Streamers & DACs—that have gravitas that freed the MU2’s rendering long been the mainstay at AKRMedia had, abilities from the constraints with which its in a way, been put on notice—“There’s a competition unfortunately remains saddled. stranger in town and its abilities may well be And these constraints speak to any number far superior to your own.” Suffice to say that of “veils” that obscure one’s music regardless the combination of these cutting-edge of dollars spent. technologies employed within the Grimm The MU2’s transparency, its resolution, its Audio MU2 Streaming DAC and the music ability to excavate and deliver all required that issues forth is both formidable and detail from stream after stream was not breathtaking. simply a matter of lifting veils. No, that Once the MU2 had worked out for would be an understatement relative to the several weeks in preparation for this review, MU2. What it did, in terms of transparency, its performance would require, at the very resolution, and detail retrieval, figuratively least, new descriptors to give some idea of its speaking, was to completely remove a wall-

GRIMM AUDIO MU2 STREAMING DAC sized, well-insulated, triple-paned window from an adjacent concert hall. Can you say new information? Well, stream after stream of music with which I have had decades-long

finds the music it renders in the closest sense to a master tape or Top-of-the-Line (TOTL) analog. And after hearing some of the priciest digital stacks, where you get so

relationships was rendered as virtually new little for so much, I am afraid for their and unexplored. Imagine further, the window comparison to the Grimm Audio MU2, now removed, the tonal/timbral shadings of where you get so much for so little. the music composed of a palette far more Astounding! differentiated and real and natural than the Yet the MU2 not only commands your muffled sounds that had formerly bled attention via its outstanding technical through the window (see digital technology, prowess, but it grabs your heart as well, with a to date). It was as if the MU2 had adopted a profound and immersive musicality that will palette of 152 crayons, if you will, compared find your current reference digital front-ends to the 24 crayons that the other Streaming dismissed entirely. Soon after, this reviewer DACs or DAC Streamers had used to render contemplates what will need to move to accommodate this one-box assault on the the selfsame music. There is a marked state-of-the-art. difference in the MU2’s presentation that audiokeyreviews.com

I had thought for a long time that what not at its price point, or several times its price rendered outstanding transparency, point. resolution, and detail would render left-brain BASS nirvana, while leaving the right brain Tight. Focused. Detailed. The Grimm Audio emotionally comatose. The Grimm Audio MU2 brings dimension and depth and weight MU2 brings a synergistic balance that and gravitas to the bass region that other provides nirvana all the way around, with components or component pairs can only hint nary a competitor in sight to date. I could at, distantly. With the MU2 there are the classify the experience with the MU2 as a fundamental revelation of my music beyond beginnings of a thunderous rumbling, where with others there is but a pale ghost of what the abilities of any other consumer musical should be. The difference, even in this respect, format to date, and perhaps comparable to is absolutely stunning. that of a master tape. I say this having had Charlie Haden and John Taylor’s Nightfall the opportunity to listen to vinyl rigs— turntable, tonearm, cartridge, phono preamp, (Naim Records) is an exceptional recording and to date, I had believed that all that was step-up transformer—of well nigh $250k, and they were not the Grimm Audio MU2’s there or within the streaming content had been made available to me. The Grimm equal, even as it sat in my very modest Audio MU2, however, stepped in and I was reference system. They did not move or engage in the same way as the MU2. Bravo! proven immediately and substantively wrong. The first thing I hear, witness, is the extended The Grimm MU1 DAC’s volumetric transparency and resolution that the MU2 cube—its soundstage—completely engulfs the MU1’s soundstage regardless of the DAC brings to the very first track—“Chairman Mao.” The MU2 across this track lays bare aligned to the MU1, and all DACs were exceptional until compared to the MU2. The completely the space between the two men, their interaction, the intricate details of play, soundstage positioning—where performers while introducing the two men, more are on stage, the space between performers, relative depth of performers—of the MU2 is palpably than ever, into this very listening outstanding. The MU2 rendered the texture room. and ambiance and air of a given venue with a MIDRANGE dimensionality and an in-room palpability The Grimm Audio MU2’s performance with that again no other combination of regard to the human voice has also moved it components could achieve. You will not come past all comers, and decisively so. It is as if the across its equal in this respect, and certainly

GRIMM AUDIO MU2 STREAMING DAC MU2 is also in love with the human voice and TREBLE seeks to make it flesh, or at least palpable and Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” (Time Out, in-room when played back. Further, the MU2 Columbia-Legacy) in three or four decades or provides a weight that extends across the more of listening has never sounded like this. I frequency range, provides weight and gravitas look over previous reviews in which I utilized to the midrange, and yet obscures nothing this track and am taken aback. Yes, it’s all therein. In fact, it has no equal in revealing relative and they sounded good or great at the copious amounts of detail throughout that time, but in direct relation to what I am same frequency range. Hyperbole? One listen hearing now via the Grimm Audio MU2, all and you’ll get it. prior renderings absolutely pale in comparison, Shirley Horn’s “Beautiful Love” (You Won’t even those renderings of my highly vaunted Forget Me, Verve) is a favourite that I have electrostatic headphone rigs. Say it isn’t so. literally used for decades to discern the “Take Five” cues in and it is transcendent. abilities of all manner of components and Joe Morello, drum kit, and cymbals—crash, speakers as I searched for my next ride, hi-hats—are texturally embodied in the component. In other words, I know it confines of my listening room and they are extremely well. As “Beautiful Love” plays shimmering something beautiful. The Toots Thielemans’ harmonica always stage cymbals ride high, pristine, crystal clear. The left, always holographic, now has weight and timbre and tone of Paul Desmond’s gravitas that fleshes out its holographic saxophone is itself textured, rich, effusive. image, and its timbre and tone are more Eugene Wright and bass are no disembodied organic, more real. Shirley enters and that spirits haunting the distant background, there same weight and gravitas give her in-room is no amorphous thump thump; instead, his standing. She is not now the disembodied bass is transparent, beautifully resolved, voice, as her every word and word formation detailed, and tight. and breath are clearly, texturally and naturally CONCLUSIONS rendered, full of emotion with not a wit of The Grimm Audio MU2 as a complete sibilance. Whether it was Joan Shelly or Sarah Jarosz or Andy Bey, the Grimm Audio streaming DAC is unparalleled in its ability to render one’s music in a way that is technically MU2 handled their performances with superb, while bringing unquestioned aplomb and uniquely. Bravo! musicality that rivals some of the best and

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most expensive analog rigs. A short while ago a convert, as the truth of what I’ve written I doubted, seriously, that streaming rigs would above will be easily discerned in the listening. And it won’t take long to make that ever surpass CDs in their current technological form, let alone vinyl, only to be determination. The Grimm Audio MU2 is a breakaway confronted with the daunting abilities of the Grimm Audio MU2 Streaming DAC. Well, I DIAMOND AWARD WINNER and a BREAKTHROUGH product as well. It will now eat those words and in a relatively short no doubt amass additional awards as the time frame, given the advent of vinyl, then November Best of The Year 2024 issue CDs, and now streaming. The proof of that will be in your comparative listening sessions. makes its debut. No doubt. Bravo! I’ve done mine. Pros: Unparalleled performance and able to Suffice to say that in-house Streamer and surpass component combinations at twice its DAC combinations at nearly twice the price price and dare I say far above that. It is a Roon of the Grimm Audio MU2 could not/did not Core, a streamer, and a DAC of cutting-edge compete. And this was clear the exact minute abilities. that the MU2, again just off a FedEx “freezer Cons: You’ll need to read the instructions for a truck” and placed in the reference system, went unabashedly to the head of the class. It full understanding of its abilities. was not subtle—its rendering and playback THE COMPANY abilities as compared to everything else (and there were very expensive DACs in-house for GRIMM AUDIO BV Grimm Audio MU2 Streaming DAC review, each alone more expensive than the ($17,500) MU2). This one-box epiphany called the Grimm info@grimmaudio.com grimmaudio.com Audio MU2, in this reviewer’s opinion will move all systems, into which it is configured to the front of the streaming/rendering/ AKRM playback class. It is as simple as that, and it’s a family trait, as the MU1 had easily dismissed streamers at more than twice its price. What Eelco Grimm and company have managed to do with the Grimm Audio MU2 is profound in the extreme, and I believe it will win many

A \

Edouard Manet - Steamboat Leaving Boulogne

Vincent Van Gogh - Willows at Sunset

AUDIENCE HIDDEN TREASURE CAT7 E T H E R N E T

By K.E. Heartsong

C A B L E

AUDIENCE HIDDEN TREASURE CAT7

ep, it’s tweaks again, and I have gradually come to understand that certain so-called tweaks are not tweaks at all, but necessary components for

risers that keep cables above the floor. Tweaks can be isolation platforms or stands or isolation feet or pucks or cones. Tweaks can also be spiked feet (surface-mounted or

achieving the best performance from your screwed-in) or certain inert materials— high-end stereo or headphone system. Ever try particular kinds of wood or carbon fibre or connecting up your system with chicken wire? stones or a composite material. Tweaks can How did that work out? also be devices purposed with diminishing Tweaks? What are tweaks, those new to Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) or the magazine may ask. Well, as I’ve Radio Frequency Interference (RFI), etc. Or mentioned across the various reviews of perhaps tweaks can be the combination of an tweaks, they are: inert, composite material embedded with, say, “First, tweaks are things that can electronic innards—internal trap circuits— ostensibly improve the fidelity—the overall that defeat EMI and/or RFI.” sound—of your audio system for relatively Yes, I’ve been reviewing what many little money. Tweaks can be wires or cables or consider tweaks for the past several issues,

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Pierre Auguste Renoir - The Umbrellas

AUDIENCE HIDDEN TREASURE CAT7 and I have found some real winners and returned a few products that didn’t quite fit the bill, or more precisely, products whose relevance I was unable to understand or discern. And in some cases their relevance was, well, counterproductive. The tweak currently under review is the Audience Hidden Treasure CAT7 ethernet cable, a very nicely designed cable that provided some truly exceptional results.

“We’d Be Home” ( Joan Shelly, No Quarter). My familiarity with the various pieces would make the evaluation all the easier. REFERENCE SYSTEM

Two-Channel System

• • • • REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review • will be non-sequential, as it will start with how • • the equipment actually sounds and not the • process of physically “undressing” it and/or • laying out its various accoutrement, specifications, etc. Think of this review then, as •

Grimm Audio MU1 Streamer Grimm Audio MU2 Streaming DAC Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Switch Silent Angel Genesis GX Master Clock Bricasti Design M1SE DAC/Streamer Lyric Audio Ti-100 MkII SET Integrated Vivid Audio Kaya45 Speakers Kubala Sosna Cables/Wires/Power Cords RSX Power Cords (Beyond, MAX) TORUS POWER AVR ELITE Power Conditioner

a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless THE SOUND Mind, The Queen’s Gambit, In the Shadow of The previous ethernet cable of choice— the Moon, etc.—that likewise starts at the end Platinum Starlight 8 Twinax—has been and winds its way to the beginning. supplanted by the Audience Hidden Treasure THE SETUP

For this review, I again used my two-channel and headphone reference systems to more easily determine the differences between the Audience Hidden Treasure CAT7 and all other in-house ethernet cables. As in all my cable reviews, I kept things simple in terms of the streams that would be used for evaluation. I used Dave Brubeck’s “Time Out” (Take Five, Columbia), Ólafur Arnalds’ “Árbakkinn,” and Joan Shelly’s audiokeyreviews.com

CAT7 ethernet cable. And while they did have some things in common, the Hidden Treasure cable excelled in literally every category and with an electrostatic-like openness, transparency, air and timbral beauty, much like its TOTL brethren—Audience FrontRow cables. The Audience Hidden Treasure CAT7 ethernet cable provided a full digital banquet for all downline components—streamers, DAC/streamers, streaming DAC, etc.—that

encompassed exceptional resolution of the and system the best possible signal, allowing incoming signal, a level of detail retrieval that them to bring their best to each performance. had no rival in terms of any other ethernet NOTE: For those who may be less able to cable to date. And the naturalness, the

musicality, and the technological bona fides parse differences in a given cable’s abilities on are superb. the fly, I’d suggest the Long Term Trade Out Its performance, in turn, lifted the (LTTO). That is, live with the cable for a performance of every other component in the while—several days, a week, month, etc.— system, and this too was easy to discern with then remove it and replace it with your the plug and replacement of any other previous ethernet cable. After that, you should ethernet cable. The systems—reference two- have a pretty good idea what’s what in terms channel, reference headphone—in fact, both of sound. came alive and after that there was absolutely CONCLUSION no going back. The Audience Hidden When I discovered just how good the Treasure CAT7 will feed into components Audience Hidden Treasure CAT7 ethernet

AUDIENCE HIDDEN TREASURE CAT7 cable was, I made an immediate note that it Cons: None. was time to upgrade the ethernet cable across COMPANY both of my reference systems. And several of the cables in those two systems were either the Audience Audience Hidden Treasure CAT 7 Ethernet same price as the Hidden Treasure or more expensive, but it didn’t matter, as the Audience Cable: $1,150 (2m) audience-av.com Hidden Treasure CAT7 waltzed by them all in performance after performance, which they info@audience-av.com could not attain. The Hidden Treasure cable is 760-471-0202 a two-metre run of cable—it seems impossible that it would affect the sound of your system, but it does, and demonstrably so. The Audience Hidden Treasure CAT7 ethernet cable is a must. If you’re using another high-end ethernet cable, you will want to try Audience’s Top-of-the-Line ethernet cable to see how much you’ve been missing. And God forbid if you’ve been using standard black or white cable for your highend headphone or two-channel system, as what you’re hearing is, well, off and not anything close to what it should be. That said, the Audience Hidden Treasure CAT7 ethernet cable now sits at the very top of our cable category and this, easily, finds them more than worthy of our GOLD KEYNOTE AWARD for excellence. Highly recommended. Pros: An exceptional ethernet cable that will immediately cue you in to what’s been missing, in some cases entirely, from your music, and in AKRM no small measure, a revelation.

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Pierre Auguste Renoir - Still Life with Fuchsias

AudioKey REVIEWS! I4

MAY 2022

www.porsche.com

PASS LABS HPA-1 By K. E. Heartsong

PASS LABS HPA-1

uite some time ago, I owned a full PASS LABS system, complete with its XP-30 preamplifier, XP-25 phonostage preamplifier, and XA200.5 monoblock amplifiers, if I remember correctly. The balance of the system was the Transroter Fat Bob Special turntable, a pair of Eggleston Works Andra II speakers, and the Audio Aero Capitole CD player. I don’t actually remember the cartridge. I believed it was a good system at the time, though wholly dependent on the proper setup of the Andra IIs, which were more musical than accurate and which could be problematic if not set up properly, not unlike most speakers. Though once dialled in, the system was very musical and engaging. It did, however, heat up the room by at least 15 to 20 degrees, making it nice and toasty in my San Francisco digs. Too bad I wasn’t living in Montreal or Minnesota then. In the interim, I have owned many twochannel stereo systems, from the quite simple, with a pair of stand-mounted speakers, to the quite kitted-out, with speakers standing nearly six feet above the floor. In recent years, I have discovered the headphone world in its many flavors— electrostatic, dynamic, planar, In-EarMonitors and the amplification that favors them. It has been a wonderful education, audiokeyreviews.com

and I have discovered some true gems—the Blue Hawaii Special Edition electrostatic headphone amplifier, the Aurorasound HEADA headphone amplifier, the Dan Clark CORINA electrostatic headphone, Meze Audio Empyrean planar magnetic headphones, the ABYSS AB1266 Phi TC planar headphones—that still top our “Best of ” categories. The topic of this review represents a return to PASS LABS and its long-standing headphone amplifier, the HPA-1. It is kittedout as one would expect of PASS LABS, in a simple, clear, straight-to-business way that is neither kitschy nor overly serious, but very practical. But how does it sound? REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start with how the component actually sounds and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various parts, specifications, etc. Think of this review then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Arrival, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, etc—that, likewise, starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning. THE SYSTEM

• Headphone System • Baetis Audio 4 Reference Mingo Streamer • Silent Angel Rhein Z1 Streamer • Silent Angel Bonn Pro Network Switch

Vincent Van Gogh - Window in the Study

PASS LABS HPA-1 • Bricasti Design M1SE DAC • ALLNIC OTL/OCL DAC-10000 DAC • ALLNIC OTL/OCL HPA-10000 Headphone Amp • Aurorasound HEADA Headphone Amp • Abyss AB1266 Phi TC Headphones • Meze Empyrean Headphones • ZMF Véríté Headphones

Ohms), which presented a far easier load for the HPA-1. This was a test of sorts to see the HPA-1 sailing easily in an efficient sea, as well as the HPA-1 in a roiling storm on an inefficient and tumultuous sea. When initially placed into the system, before any burn-in, I took a “sounding” of the HPA-1 and was concerned as to its

• • • •

abilities. However, once it was burned-in, those concerns evaporated quickly and completely. The HPA-1 had risen to the level that I indeed expected of PASS LABS. I began with the ABYSS AB1266 and my various treble, midrange, and bass playlists, with which I am very familiar. The volume knob of the HPA-1 was set to 2 o’clock, which provided the necessary juice to power the AB1266, though far above where the Empyrean would be set (9 o’clock). Suffice to say that the PASS LABS

Audience Front Row Cables/Wires Kubala-Sosna Cables Black Cat TRØN Signature Digital Cable TORUS AUDIO RM20 Power Conditioner

THE SOUND

The PASS LABS HPA-1 is rated to have 3.5 watts into 20 Ohms, which I believed sufficient to drive the, well, inefficient ABYSS AB1266 Phi TC (88 dB/mW, 50 Ohms) planar headphones. I also utilized Meze Audio’s Empyreans (100 dB/mW, 31.6 audiokeyreviews.com

HPA-1 could drive the ABYSS AB1266 Phi TC, and it drove them well. Not only did the HPA-1 drive the AB1266 but it was perhaps one of the best pairings I have experienced. Again, I did not at all expect this. The HPA-1 then proceeded to move beyond a great number of headphone amps with skill, technical chops, drive (see PRaT— Pacing Rhythm and Timing), and unquestioned musicality. As an optimistic skeptic, I often downplay the praise heaped upon a given component until I have had the opportunity to personally review said product. I have returned far too many products over the past several years that were highly touted—some quite expensive, but they did not cut it, so to speak. However, in the case of the PASS LABS HPA-1 it appears that the high praise over a good number of years since its introduction still rings true. There is a beautiful musicality embodied by the PASS LABS HPA-1 that in many instances rivals the best of the best headphone amplifiers. The HPA-1 also possesses exceptional holography relative to electrostatics, and while its layering does not match the best electrostatic amplifiers, it does give them a good run for the money. That said, its transparency and resolution are truly superb across the entirety of the frequency range, as is its ability to dig deep while unearthing a surfeit of detail and air in every

performance. Further, the PASS LABS HPA-1 will draw you in as the very best headphone amps tend to do. The PASS LABS HPA-1’s volumetric cube—its soundstage—is nicely wide and deep when called for, with very good height. Positioning and layering are exceptional. Detail is easily unearthed and when combined with the HPA-1’s other technical abilities, its musicality, and its gravitas and refinement, there is a very natural and engaging presentation. BASS

Charlie Haden and Chris Anderson’s “CC Blues” (None But the Lonely, Naim Records) is beautifully rendered by the HPA-1, with a surprising transparency, attendant resolution, and heaps of detail that look deep into Haden’s play in the opening moments. The HPA-1 lays Haden’s performance bare as fewer than a handful of headphone amps have even attempted. In this respect, the HPA-1 competes confidently and easily with our current in-house reference amplifier, the Aurorasound HEADA. Let it be said that the HPA-1’s musicality is unquestioned and compels one to just listen while not taking the notes when one should absolutely be taking notes! As Delfeayo Marsalis’ “The Secret Love Affair” (The Last Southern Gentleman, Troubadour Jazz Records) rolls in, its dynamics are alive,

PASS LABS HPA-1 beautifully resolved, and driving, while the bass notes are taut, clearly differentiated, and piano and trombone are presented with natural tone and timbre, which suffuses the presentation with dimension and texture and palpability. MIDRANGE

I listen to the entirety of Joan Shelly’s eponymous album (No Quarter) and am immediately drawn into the music; more often than not, I am compelled to just listen. This appears to be a first-class trait of the

HPA-1—listenability. That I know this album so well allows me to easily pinpoint the HPA-1’s many abilities. Shelly’s voice is natural, imbued with emotion, and the articulation of her every lyric is clear and easily discerned. Tone and timbre as well are easily differentiated and well rendered. Andy Bey’s “Angel Eyes” (American Song, Savoy) via the HPA-1 has more audiokeyreviews.com

weight and texture and truth than many a headphone amp has given this track. Did I mention the superb transparency that lends rather incredible insight to track after track? While the HeadAmp GS-X MkII headphone amplifier is better outfitted for balanced inputs and balanced headphone outputs, the musical and technical acumen and the transparency presented by the PASS LABS HPA-1, in my opinion, moves it beyond the GS-X MkII. Further, the HPA-1 is a good bit more engaging, which allows one to settle into the music for long hours.

TREBLE+

Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” (Time Out, Columbia-Legacy) cues and there is drive, energy, a wide openness, and goodly amounts of air to Morello’s cymbals that are very well resolved by the HPA-1, as Paul Desmond’s holographic alto sax sings at center stage, clear and prominent, its tone/timbre natural and textured superbly resolved.

PASS LABS HPA-1 Camille Thomas’ “Orfeo ed Euridice” (Voice of Hope, Deutsche Grammophon) is portrayed via the HPA-1 with all of the musical beauty and insight into the performance that easily draws you into the performance. From a technical perspective, detail is easily freed, resolution and transparency easily available, and the performance somber yet beautiful. Above all, it is organic and natural. CONCLUSIONS

I did not expect to be as impressed as I am with the PASS LABS HPA-1, given its 2016-17 introduction and the various technical improvements that have come to other headphone amplifiers made in the interim, but time has not touched the viability, technical prowess, or wonderful musicality of the PASS LABS HPA-1. In truth, it has few rivals among those I’ve reviewed in recent years, regardless of price. As mentioned earlier, the HPA-1 paired with the ABYSS AB1266 Phi TC beautifully and with more of a synergy than nearly all amplifiers that have driven the ABYSS to date. Again, I did not expect this and was curious as to whether the HPA-1 would drive the ABYSS at all. Indeed it did. The Meze was a breeze and the two also paired beautifully, though the HPA-1/ ABYSS were, well, transcendent. The PASS LABS HPA-1 is an easy audiokeyreviews.com

GOLD KEYNOTE AWARD winner and a prize even for those who plan to spend a good deal more on a headphone amp. No, it does not have remote control or balanced inputs/outputs, but it more than makes up for those functionalities in its refined and truly inspired technical capabilities and exceptional musicality. Highly recommended. Pros: Exceptional technical abilities— transparent, resolving, detailed, and dynamic, with superb musicality and refinement far above its price point. The HPA-1 is as competitive today as when it was introduced. In this respect, it has lost not a whit of its overall and competitive capabilities. Cons: No balanced inputs or headphone outputs or remote control. THE COMPANY

PASS LABS PASS LABS HPA-1 Headphone Amp ($3,675) info@passlabs.com (530) 878-5350 www.passlabs.com

AKRM

Paul Cezanne - Four Pears

David Hockney - Road to York Through Sledmere, 1997

EXASOUND AUDIO S82 STREAMING DAC By K. E. Heartsong

EXASOUND AUDIO S82 STREAMING DAC

here are numerous digital options directly to a preamp, integrated, or, out there these days, from media potentially, amplifiers (if volume control is players to streamers to digital part of the media player). The streamer and transports, as well as CD players and CD the digital transport can receive data from a transports, of course, which should not be computer and both can be connected to a forgotten in the event of a momentary internet DAC and in some cases, the streamer can glitch—just saying. And in truth, streamers also receive input from a CD transport or and their like have come a very long way in other device (Grimm Audio MU1). The

terms of their technical abilities and sound media player, with its built-in DAC, can quality. When matched to a Top of the Line receive input from other streamers or (TOTL) DAC (Mola Mola, Bricasti Audio, transports as well as, if given such etc.), the resulting sound can challenge all functionality, input from analog devices formats. (turntable, tuner). That being said, there is However, for those not in the know, the great variability between the various devices. differences between streamers, digital This brings us to the focus of this review, transports, and media players are rather the Exasound Audio s82 Streaming DAC. In straightforward. A streamer is basically a terms of the above nomenclature, the network player that may have internal storage Exasound s82 is a media player that, while capability. A networked transport has no such offering limited USB connectivity, can take internal memory applicability. And a media digital inputs—SPDIF, Toslink—from both player has both internal storage capability streamers and transports. Those who require and a DAC to boot, which connects it a one-box solution to their digital music

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Claude Monet - Water Lillies

EXASOUND AUDIO S82 STREAMING DAC needs, with millions of tracks instantly at • TORUS POWER AVR ELITE Power Conditioner their disposal via a growing list of streaming services—Qobuz, Pandora, Spotify, Tidal, etc. THE SOUND —will be well served. There was not a musical genre—classical, jazz, REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review blues, electronica, folk, R&B—where the s82 will be non-sequential, as it will start with how did not comport itself well. This translates to the headphones actually sound and not the the s82 as a media player that bats far above its process of physically “undressing” them and/or price point, making it competitive with other

laying out their various parts, specifications, etc. Think of this review, then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Arrival, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, etc.—that likewise starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning.

media players at its price point and a good deal above. The Exasound Audio s82 ($6,599), however, as compared to our two channel reference pair—Grimm Audio MU1 and Bricasti Design M1SE ($27,500)—was not at all their match or equal in any respect, nor THE REVIEW SYSTEM should it have been. The differences were • Grimm Audio MU1 Streamer quite clear, as our reference pair far exceeded • Exasound s82 Streamer/DAC the abilities of the s82. That said, our combo • Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Switch was not four times better than the Exasound • Silent Angel Genesis GX Master Clock s82, which managed to breach the 50 percent • Bricasti Design M1SE DAC/Streamer barrier at a quarter of the cost. • Lyric Audio Ti-100 MkII SET Integrated The Exasound s82 volumetric cube—its • Vivid Audio Kaya45 Speakers soundstage—connected directly to the Lyric • Kubala Sosna Cables/Wires/Power Cords Audio Ti 100 MkII SET Integrated, • RSX Power Cords (Beyond, MAX) projected a broad soundstage with quite good audiokeyreviews.com

depth, exceptional placement of performers “anemia” with regard to the weight of bass on stage, and good height as well. Tone and notes across the bass region and into the lower timbre were very good, only falling short in midrange. And in doing this, the s82 easily comparison to our reference Streamer/DAC sidestepped the loss of transparency or detail. combo, which were more natural, possessed On Charlie Haden and John Taylor’s Nightfall of greater timbral and tonal shadings, and (Naim Records), the track “Chairman Mao” is demonstrated more weight across the entirety beautifully and richly captured and all of its of the frequency spectrum. At four times the quiet intricacies, its microdynamics, and the cost, however, this comes as no surprise—and deep quiet between notes are top-shelf. Few it shouldn’t. Overall, staging—positioning, media players at the s82’s price point can separation, layering—was very good. capture the nuance, bring the clarity or push The one-box media player that is the forward the music’s progression—Pacing, Exasound s82 is an exceptionally competent Rhythm, and Timing (PRaT). The s82 source, which brings both a wonderful competently proved the latter with Delfaeyo musicality and noteworthy technical acumen Marsalis’ “The Secret Love Affair” (The Last to the reproduction of music. That its Southern Gentleman, Troubadour Jazz Records) umbilicus—ethernet input—allows it to tap where PRaT was, indeed, beautifully served. into literally millions of tracks will be for The music was propulsive, as referred to earlier, most all that is needed in the early 21st with players and their instruments—clearly century. delineated across and at depth in the Toward the end of the Exasound Audio soundstage. While the Exasound s82 is not s82 review, the Grimm Audio MU2 our reference combo—Grimm Audio MU1 ($17,500) media player arrived in-house for and Bricasti Design M1SE (Special Edition) its upcoming review. As it was placed into the —it easily pushes past 50% of their system for burn-in, it was clear from the start performance for a quarter of their combined that it could clearly rival our reference price. separates, unlike the very good s82, though MIDRANGE again, at nearly two and a half times the cost, The s82 is very proficient at capturing not only it should be. More on that later. the detail, but the nuance and decay, while BASS laying bare the intricacies of a singer’s The s82’s bass is resolute, tight, detailed, and articulation. Voices are indeed forward with very nicely resolving. There is no bloat or

EXASOUND AUDIO S82 STREAMING DAC the s82, and those wedded to the human voice will be well served. Shirley Horn’s “Beautiful Love” (You Won’t Forget Me, Verve) is superbly rendered by the s82. Toots Thielemans’ harmonica is tactile, ethereal, as it emerges from a black-quiet background. Shirley’s voice is rich, intimate, beautifully resolved, which finds her articulations and their intricacies detailed and transparent. The Exasound s82

Hahn’s quite short (27 minutes) but incredibly engaging Rest album (Deutsche Grammophon) is rendered beautifully from both a technical and musical perspective. All the technical intricacies—transparency, resolution, detail, microdynamics/transients, etc.—of her performance and its wonderfully engaging, poignant musicality are intact. To date, only our reference DAC/Streamers—

Mola Mola Tambaqui, Bricasti Audio MU1 captured “Beautiful Love” and its various musicians with technical and musical prowess. —perform at a much higher level, as well they should, given that their respective prices are at TREBLE+ least twice that of the Exasound s82. But The treble of the s82 is well extended and it again, the s82 will easily take you to 50% of does not shy away from the nosebleed heights their ability and many will be satisfied to stay of reproduction within this frequency range. here and enjoy this quite talented Streaming Thus, it is by no means agoraphobic. Hilary DAC.

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CONCLUSIONS

THE COMPANY

Before you go for the big-buck TOTL media players from other well-known brands, you will definitely want to audition the Exasound Audio s82 Streaming DAC. It’s that good, and it may well save you several thousand dollars while giving you similar or even better sound performance. Ergonomically, it’s light, one-hand portable, nice to look at, especially sitting on top of a shelf or cabinet, with a multitude of functionally appropriate bells and whistles— ROON Ready, MQA, DSD, wireless, etc.— that will easily meet your various streaming needs in one box. When we come across components that are batting above their price point and doing so while embracing technical acumen and musicality, we can’t help but recognize them for doing so. That said, the Exasound Audio s82 has easily attained our HIGH NINES Award for performing above the various components in its price class.

eXAsound AUDIO design Exasound Audio s82 Streaming DAC ($6,599) George Klissarov 3219 Yonge Street, Suite 354 Toronto, Ontario Canada M4N 3S1 www.exasound.com

Pros: Wonderful musicality, technically skilled, a one-box powerhouse that will easily fit and coalesce into most if not all audio systems. Cons: To be picky, the two-pronged power connection (though George Klissarov has said it provides better sound than the three-prong grounded connector).

AKRM

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RECOMMENDED

COMPONENTS

elcome to AudioKeyREVIEWS Magazine’s Recommended Components, which will become part and parcel of each of our various issues. The purpose of this section is to acquaint the reader with products—speakers, DACs, amplifiers, preamplifiers, turntables, headphones, IEMs, streamers, portable audio, etc.—that we feel are quite exceptional and rise above their like brethren. There will be three categories —Budget, Mid-Tier, and Top-Of-The-Line. In our Budget Recommendations there will be products that compete far above their respective price point and are, generally, also built to reflect this.Our Mid-Tier Recommendations will encompass those products within arms reach, in terms of relative affordability, that present value and a challenge to the vanguard of their respective product niches. Finally, our TOTL Recommendations will be composed of those products that are at the cutting edge of technological advancement now happening across the world. The three categories of recommendations will rotate across the various issues of our magazine and there will also be a fluidity to the products within the various lists. Things change and especially now given our current technological epoch. The various lists, however, will be fixed on the AudioKeyReviews.com website.

Joan Shelly

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COMPONENTS

RECOMMENDED AURORASOUND HEADA $2999: If you’re looking for an endgame headphone amplifier and even if your headphone amplifier is more expensive, try this one, you may be quite surprised. That said, the Aurorasound HEADA headphone amplifier is a top echelon component and an easy DIAMOND AWARD winner.

SILENT ANGEL RHEIN Z1 $2299: The Rhein Z1 and Forester F2 combo played far above the league that their combined price would indicate. For many, this $3,900 combo may well represent an endgame streamer/ power supply capable of exceptional fidelity with DACs from entry level to those on the cutting edge.

ABYSS AB1266 PHI TC $5999: I think that I’ve said it all. The Abyss AB1266 Phi TC is a phenomenal headphone. It brings an undying passion for musicality and a ferocity for transparency and clarity and detail retrieval, formerly the domain of the best electrostatic headphones. But this planar headphone speaks that language—electrostatic—fluently and well.

COMPONENTS

RECOMMENDED TORUS RM20 $3999: Can you say pristine, natural, open, and unhindered frequency response? Wide dynamic range? And there were oceans of detail, air, microdynamics, and ambience rendered by the Torus RM 20. It was not subtle. On the contrary, it was stunning.

RSX POWER8 $399: The RSX Power8 clearly holds to the dictum, “Do no Harm,” to the system in which it is being utilized. What it, in fact, offers is pure, clean power, a testament to the meticulous parts selection, research, and conscious minimalism all employed in its design. suffice to say, that it has no competitors at 3 to 4 times is cost. GESHELLI LABS ERISH2 [E2] $219.99, JNOG2 [J2] $249.99: Disinterested in ostentation, Geshelli Labs believes in real world pricing with high fidelity performance. Their JNOG2 plus ERISH2 are a petite and potent bargain. With just enough character to put flesh on bone, the classy little twosome sets your music free without excessive color or dispensable features.

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MAGICAL SYNERGIES MID TO HIGH-END Magical măj′ĭ-kəl▶ Of, relating to, or produced by magic.1 Syn•er•gy sĭn′ər-jē▶ The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.2

or us a Magical Synergy represents two components or more, that together make music far above what either make separately. Generally, we’ve discovered Magical Synergies via reviews, where we mix and match a good number of components to determine how one of the components —the component under review—sounds. And while there may be strengths and weaknesses between the various combinations, the Magical Synergy represents that combination which has very few if any weaknesses and a wealth of combined strengths. In this respect, we’ve done the homework for the reader by evaluating numerous combinations to uncover the Magical Synergy, as many of you may not have the time, options, or financial wherewithal to make these determinations. And Magical Synergies are not always uncovered in our reviews and or our research, as they tend to be, well, rare. A note on the various Magical Synergies that we uncover. We are music lovers first and foremost and not professionals who produce music or movies for a living and require different synergies, nor do measurements come into determination for us of what is a good Magical Synergy and what is not. No, for this we determine by ear, heart, and soul, that

which moves us, provides for that “vibrational” comfort food, and a rich and engaging musical experience. The experience should, of course, come with sufficient detail and resolution and fidelity to recreate venue and/or the experience of listening to live music, when appropriate. After a long and trying day in this topsy-turvy world, wouldn’t it be wonderful if some small measure of nirvana could be achieved through one’s music and the components that play it back? In other words, our Magical Synergies do not render music that is dry, unengaging, subtractively neutral (see dry, boring, etc.), flat, or lacking in dynamics, when called for. Please find for your review a number of Magical Synergies below.

1, 2 The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

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MAGICAL SYNERGIES

UNDER $9k

ABYSS AB1266 PHI TC/AURORASOUND HEADA

hat happens when transparency is, seemingly, exceeded? Realism? Or, perhaps, seeming realism? This is the conundrum raised by the Abyss AB1266 Phi TC and its easy ability to make the best of the best headphones sound dull and uneventful, while it waxes on clear as a well-made bell … Yikes! The Abyss AB1266 Phi TC is a phenomenal headphone. It brings an undying passion for musicality and a ferocity for transparency and clarity and detail retrieval, formerly the domain of the best electrostatic headphones. The Aurorasound HEADA headphone amplifier is musical from ‘Square One’, ‘Jump Street’, ‘Scratch’, or, practically, as soon as you turn it on, though it gets worlds better thereafter. It is a beautifully, carefully designed endgame component to pass down. If you’re looking for an endgame headphone amplifier and even if your headphone amplifier is more expensive, try this one, you may be quite surprised. That said, the Aurorasound HEADA headphone amplifier is a top echelon component and an easy DIAMOND AWARD winner.

JULY 2022

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MAGICAL SYNERGIES

UNDER $30k

LYRIC AUDIO TI 100 MKII & VIVID AUDIO KAYA 45

here was immediate magic from the Ti 100 MkII, though this was purely from a musical perspective, which was immersive in the extreme. However, after about 100 hours the magic suﬀused to all aspects of the Lyric Ti 100 MkII’s performance. This was easily witnessed, as it followed an exceptional pair of 200 watt/channel, solid state monoblock amplifiers with dedicated preamplifier with relatively minor lessening in overall performance. Remarkable! The Lyric Audio Ti 100 MkII is, of course, not one of those products as it has easily met our criteria for the DIAMOND AWARD, our highest award, which reflects on its excellence. The Vivid Audio Kaya 45s came in, with little expectation from me. They sat patiently while the other inhouse speakers were put through their paces And when its turn came, well, it astonished and continues to astonish. Additionally, the Kaya raised the bar of performance and award citation for not only speakers but all other equipment aw well. No small task. And this speaks to the profound abilities of the Vivid Audio Kaya 45. The Kaya 45s will beautifully play all genres of music and have you neglecting none, as was the case with this reviewer. The high-fidelity touchstones are always scrupulously met and with a refinement, naturalness, ease, and musicality, most will simply never expect. I certainly did not. That said, the Vivid Audio Kaya 45s win our highest award, the DIAMOND AWARD, while making it look easy and yet a good deal more diﬃcult for other speakers and components alike.

MAGICAL SYNERGIES

UNDER $8k

DAN CLARK STEALTH & HEADAMP GS-X MK II

he Dan Clark STEALTH planardynamic headphone is a revelation. It exceeds its prescribed edict—to excel in planar magnetic duties—and goes on to become exceedingly familiar with, if not master of the edicts of the other headphone worlds and technologies. Again, there are very few headphones capable of doing this and fewer still with such compelling musicality. You and your music, regardless of genre, will be well served…Please note that to date, I have listened to a great many headphones, and these days it takes a great deal to move me. The HeadAmp GS-X MkII is an exceptional headphone amplifier that not only outperforms its GS-X Mini sibling, but a goodly number of headphone amplifiers that have come my way for review these past years, some being a good deal more expensive. Its attributes are many, starting with its exceptional transparency and resolution, which ferret out both detail and insight in a manner that compels one’s attention. And one mustn’t forget the lickety-split transient responses or the dynamic contrast or the air and ambiance set free. When I wrote of the Mini that, “You can’t possibly be making all of this incredible music”, the same thought, though of a higher order, can now be said of the HeadAmp GS-X MkII.

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IN THE NEXT ISSUE

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MARCH 1, 2024

AUDIO

2. ALLNIC D-10,000 OTL/OCL DAC 3. HIFIMAN SUSVARA HEADPHONES 4. IDEO AYAZI DAC & 3R MASTER TIME 5. ANTICABLE LEVEL 6 SPEAKER CABLE (not pictured) 6. AND other reviews, columns, interviews, videos, etc.

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