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Tag Archives: Golden Ear

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2022 Golden Ear: Empirical Design Cables

Posted on by Alan Taffel

Empirical Design Cables

Prices Vary

Empirical Design is probably the most under-the-radar, over-the-top-performing high-end cable company in existence. It’s been my reference for nearly 20 years, along the way winning two previous Golden Ear Awards. But those were back in the aughts. It’s worth noting that, through constant incremental evolution, these cables and power cords have retained what originally set them apart: top-notch parts-quality, straightforward topologies, hand-built construction, and a price roughly one-tenth that of cables of comparable merit. Recently, two events reminded of these cables’ unique attributes. First, the sonics of a review component were transformed—no exaggeration—by the insertion of a $240 Empirical Design power cord. Second, some fancy-pants speaker cable recommended by the speaker’s manufacturer was shown up by the far more neutral ED wire. At prices in the hundreds rather than the thousands, these cables are a no-brainer investment for most systems.

The post 2022 Golden Ear: Empirical Design Cables appeared first on The Absolute Sound.

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2022 Golden Ear: Tidal Audio Ferios Monoblock Power Amplifiers

Posted on by Andrew Quint

Tidal Audio Ferios Monoblock Power Amplifiers

$85,000/pair

The Holy Grail of amplifier design is to build one that furnishes ample power without muscularity becoming the product’s defining attribute, without tonal neutrality, natural detail, and that hard-to-define metric known as musicality taking a back seat. Tidal’s Ferios monoblocks provide 300 watts of continuous RMS power into an 8-ohm load, 580 watts into 4 ohms, and more than 700 into 2 ohms—enough to assure authoritative control of any consumer loudspeaker played in a real  world domestic environment. Each amplifier has two regulated 800VA power supplies and a whopping 410,000µF of capacitance. The Ferios features a DC-coupled input circuit, without capacitors or relays in the music’s pathway from start to finish. Likewise, a proprietary protection system does its surveillance without touching the signal. The result is an utterly effortless and transparent magnification of the fragile electrical impulse presented to the amplifier, whether the power required is two watts or two hundred. This makes for an exceptionally relaxed presentation that allows a listener to devote his psychic energy to making an emotional connection to music. Yes, the price of admission is high, but if it is within your means, you’ll never look back.

The post 2022 Golden Ear: Tidal Audio Ferios Monoblock Power Amplifiers appeared first on The Absolute Sound.

World News

2022 Golden Ear: Tidal Audio Ferios Monoblock Power Amplifiers

Posted on by Andrew Quint

Tidal Audio Ferios Monoblock Power Amplifiers

$85,000/pair

The Holy Grail of amplifier design is to build one that furnishes ample power without muscularity becoming the product’s defining attribute, without tonal neutrality, natural detail, and that hard-to-define metric known as musicality taking a back seat. Tidal’s Ferios monoblocks provide 300 watts of continuous RMS power into an 8-ohm load, 580 watts into 4 ohms, and more than 700 into 2 ohms—enough to assure authoritative control of any consumer loudspeaker played in a real  world domestic environment. Each amplifier has two regulated 800VA power supplies and a whopping 410,000µF of capacitance. The Ferios features a DC-coupled input circuit, without capacitors or relays in the music’s pathway from start to finish. Likewise, a proprietary protection system does its surveillance without touching the signal. The result is an utterly effortless and transparent magnification of the fragile electrical impulse presented to the amplifier, whether the power required is two watts or two hundred. This makes for an exceptionally relaxed presentation that allows a listener to devote his psychic energy to making an emotional connection to music. Yes, the price of admission is high, but if it is within your means, you’ll never look back.

The post 2022 Golden Ear: Tidal Audio Ferios Monoblock Power Amplifiers appeared first on The Absolute Sound.

World News

2022 Golden Ear: GIK Acoustics Gotham N23 5″ Quadratic Diffusers

Posted on by Andrew Quint

GIK Acoustics Gotham N23 5″ Quadratic Diffusers

$399 for two

A listening room is not a concert hall, and some attention to the acoustics of the space—the fraught subject of “room treatment”—is often required to maximize the positive attributes of an audio system. To be sure, sidewall reflections and a room’s bass nodes must be prioritized, but the introduction of well-executed diffusion can greatly increase the perceived size of a domestic listening space. Diffusers will take potentially damaging reflections and break them down into groups of smaller reflections that are then redistributed back into the room without alteration of their timing or amplitude. A “quadratic diffusor” has a series of troughs the dimensions of which have been calculated according to “quantum wavelength theory.” The device reflects the incident soundwaves back into the room in a consistent and predictable fashion. Despite what you may have heard, randomly pulling out books, LPs, or CDs from the shelving behind your speakers will not accomplish the same thing. Installing two or more of GIK’s surprisingly affordable 17.5″ x 17.5″ quadratic diffusor panels has the potential to improve soundstage depth, perceived detail, and spaciousness, in general. They are an exceptionally cost-effective upgrade to most systems, and they aren’t unattractive as things audio go.

The post 2022 Golden Ear: GIK Acoustics Gotham N23 5″ Quadratic Diffusers appeared first on The Absolute Sound.

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2022 Golden Ear: Shunyata Research Everest 8000 Power Distributor

Posted on by Kirk Midtskog

Shunyata Research Everest 8000 Power Distributor

$8995

I have had the pleasure of using the Everest 8000 power conditioner—I mean, power distributor, as Shunyata calls it—for about a year, and the more I’ve used it the more it has impressed me. When paired with Shunyata’s Omega XC power cord ($7000), which is pretty much how most people deploy the Everest, my system makes music sound both more dynamically alive and more at ease. Because the noise floor is lowered so dramatically, greater contrasts in dynamic and timbral shadings allow for a more complete rendering of recordings. Imaging and soundstaging are also more three-dimensional and lifelike. Unlike many power conditioners that can inhibit power delivery, the Everest has a patented power-reservoir technology (called QR/BB) that delivers extra power on demand. Shunyata deploys several other unique technologies, but limited space does not allow for a complete accounting. Build-quality is first rate, and the form factor (an elongated truncated-pyramid shape), equipped with “cradles” to support the cable plugs, makes it easy to use. I believe other reviewers have also given the Everest 8000 awards, including a Golden Ear Award by Robert Harley in 2020. It is so good that I must join the chorus of those who have already praised it. An easy GEA this year, too.

The post 2022 Golden Ear: Shunyata Research Everest 8000 Power Distributor appeared first on The Absolute Sound.

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2022 Golden Ear: YG Sonja 2.2i Loudspeaker

Posted on by Kirk Midtskog

YG Sonja 2.2i Loudspeaker

$88,300 with DC2 crossover; $11,500, DC2 separate

I gave the original Sonja 2.2 a Golden Ear Award in 2018, and the current 2.2i merits a GEA this year. The “i” in the model’s name indicates that YG’s unique Dual Coherent crossover, which optimizes both relative phase and frequency response, has been upgraded to Dual Coherent 2 technology. The original DC crossover favored the frequency and phase alignment in the overlap between the tweeter and mid/woofers and allowed a wider phase tolerance in the overlap between the mid/woofers and the bass driver. The new DC2 crossover brings both the upper and lower overlap zones (1.75kHz and 65Hz) to within ±5 degrees of each other in phase. Importantly, frequency response remains ±1dB in the audible band per YG. Even though the high-pass section of the mid/woofers’ bandpass filter’s phase alignment is the principal change, the overall sonic performance advancement is greater than that change alone would suggest. The entire presentation becomes more transparent, more intelligible, more immediate, more present…more alive. There is also no attendant downside, such as any sort of spotlighting or exaggeration from top to bottom. Imaging and soundstaging became more holographic and believable as a rendering of actual music-making in a physical space. The Sonja 2.2i is a wonderfully musical, accurate, and coherent full-range floorstander.

The post 2022 Golden Ear: YG Sonja 2.2i Loudspeaker appeared first on The Absolute Sound.

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2022 Golden Ear: Polk L600 Loudspeaker

Posted on by Drew Kalbach

Polk L600 Loudspeaker

$1749

The Polk L600 is an affordable, gorgeous, imposing loudspeaker. It is heavy at over 70 pounds, beautifully designed, and wonderfully finished with woodgrain sides and a smooth baffle. Its impedance is 4 ohms with 86dB sensitivity, meaning it’ll need a bit more power to truly sing, so keep that in mind when building a system. But once a pair of these beauties is situated, aligned to the room, and given enough juice, you’ll get what you paid for. The sound is deep and tight, with a fantastic low end that rumbles and kicks with amazing speed. The midrange is smooth and pleasant, and the high end has a nice sparkle thanks to the Pinnacle ring tweeter. It’s the realistic bass that makes the L600 stand out: kick drums have remarkable weight and impact without becoming muddled, perhaps due to Polk’s enhanced Power Port. I found myself flipping through genres with pleasure. Jazz, rock, electronic, whatever I threw at it, the Polk L600 delivered an engaging and exciting experience. The L600 needs to be on the radar of any budget-conscious audiophile looking for a pair of speakers with solid heft and surprising musicality.

The post 2022 Golden Ear: Polk L600 Loudspeaker appeared first on The Absolute Sound.

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2022 Golden Ear: Clearaudio Charisma V2 Cartridge

Posted on by Neil Gader

Clearaudio Charisma V2 Cartridge

$2000

Promoted as founder Peter Suchy’s “moving-magnet masterpiece,” the Charisma V2 confirms in the listening that this claim is no exaggeration. With a mass-loaded, low-resonance, ebony-wood body, Charisma employs top-notch features like the same boron cantilever and double-polished Gyger S stylus found in the legendary Goldfinger Statement mc. But it’s the raw musicality of Charisma that had me spinning LPs like a demented DJ. Naturalistic and detailed, Charisma offers up classic midrange bloom and image stability, plus a full palette of tonal colors, dynamic electricity, and top-end sweetness. As with its vaunted moving-coil brethren, it resolves even finer gradations of light and air in the upper octaves, all the while maintaining a neutral balance. There are no tonal dead spots, and tracking is unshakably excellent. Costly moving coils tend to grab all the headlines in high-end circles, but their low output generally requires pricey step-up devices, which means your wallet takes an additional hit. However, with its real-world output of 3.6mV, a Charisma means you’re likely good-to-go with an existing phonostage. Charisma…either you’ve got it or you don’t. This cartridge has got it.

The post 2022 Golden Ear: Clearaudio Charisma V2 Cartridge appeared first on The Absolute Sound.

World News

2022 Golden Ear: Legacy Wavelet II Processor

Posted on by Anthony Cordesman

Legacy Wavelet II Processor

$7950

Yes, I gave the original Wavelet a Golden Ear Award in 2020, and I’m repeating it this year, at the expense of outstanding components like the Van Alstine DVA M225 monoblock power amplifier. I’m giving it a second award for two reasons. First, I keep coming back to the fact that it provides an amazing amount of help with virtually any speaker in dealing with what now may be the worst component in my system: my main listening room. Frequency compensation is only part of the story. Thanks to the correction of reflections, the improvements in soundstage detail are equally important. Best of all, you can use the Legacy Wavelet with virtually any brand and model of speaker. Second, I keep hoping that if I mention it often enough, Robert Harley will send me a major competitive challenger to try out. Seriously, I believe that digital correction will become the wave of the future, but so far, it seems more of a ripple.

The post 2022 Golden Ear: Legacy Wavelet II Processor appeared first on The Absolute Sound.

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2022 Golden Ear: Schiit Audio Loki Max Analog Equalizer

Posted on by Robert E. Greene

Schiit Audio Loki Max Analog Equalizer

$1500

You need this, even if you think your system is already neutral or even if it actually is. Recordings do not show up perfectly balanced in any precise sense. Even though the people who made a recording heard in monitoring exactly what they had in mind, their monitoring system almost surely does not match your playback system exactly! This remote-controlled device is effectively completely transparent, doing nothing except alter frequency response and make the associated minimum phase changes. You can move the balance of each recording around to fit how it fits your system and how loudly you want to play it back. (Volume level affects perceived balance.) The device is easy to use, easy to the point that you can dial in it very fast for each recording. And there is a bypass button, so you can instantly check what you did. With only six bands of eq, the Loki is not designed to fix speaker/room problems—for that you need more bands, a lot more, or parametric with variable Q. But for the day-to-day fixing up of recordings, six bands are enough to correct the things that are most likely to need correcting. And being able to do so becomes indispensable. Take control of your life in a way that far transcends the usual audio accessories or tweaks, in a way that really counts, as you will find when you switch even small corrections in and out. You’ll be glad you did.

The post 2022 Golden Ear: Schiit Audio Loki Max Analog Equalizer appeared first on The Absolute Sound.

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