Hi.
Welcome to Audiophilia. We publish honest and accurate reviews of high end audio equipment and music.
Welcome to Audiophilia. We publish honest and accurate reviews of high end audio equipment and music.
All in Star Component Award
The HiFi reviewing challenges continue to arrive from the pearly shores of South Korea. The Allnic Audio L-8500 OTL/OCL Preamplifier ($13,500) is the third Allnic preamp we’ve had in for review. All three are beautifully designed and manufactured. The varied designs/topology made serious impressions on the rest of my components. All in different but musically fabulous ways.
Other than these gems eventually leaving my system, the primary challenge comes from trying to describe the subtle but very important differences and directing the audiophile to the best purchase choice for their components and listening habits. In this review, there will not be an indeterminate ending. One, after many happy hours of listing and comparison (two in house and one from very pleasant aural memories), did work best for my situation and needs. Ever so slightly. Continue on and read about the L-8500, a very special component, and which of the three preamps may work best for you.
This is my second review of audio equipment from our Canadian producers, Tri-Art Audio (TAA). Please see my earlier review of the Tri-Art Audio open baffle speakers, the B series 4 Open, should you wish to learn more about this Canadian gem of a company.
Note: this review includes the added functionality of the Tri-Art B-Series DC Linear (Tube Buffered) 12 Volt Power Supply, which ships with the integrated amplifier. Price for the integrated amplifier and its outboard power supply is $3799.
The Accordo Loudspeakers were the last Franco Serblin voiced before he died in 2013. Serblin was founder of Italy’s Sonus faber (1983), maker of exquisite speakers with a reputation for the finest cabinetry in high end audio. Sonus faber practically invented artisanal cabinet making. Serblin left Sonus faber in 2006 and continued the high standard of art and design with his eponymous company.
I can report to you that the build quality of the Serblin Accordo is as good or even better than the glorious looking Sonus faber speakers. The mirror-imaged Accordos are small and beautifully balanced in design—they will pass any significant other test and fit into any decor.
I’m fascinated by phono stages, or, more accurately, ‘phono preamplifiers’. I commonly use the term ‘phonostage’, and will do so herein.
I can remember back, after a flirtation with the ingenue Compact Disc, I bought a cheap, 2nd hand Direct Drive Sony Turntable. I can’t remember what I used as a phonostage. But, I do remember the exact moment when listening to the Sony I knew I had been missing something compared to the early, heady days of the CD and my burgeoning audiophilia.
First on the Sony platter was a beaten up, unremarkable CBS pressing of Murray Perahia playing Mozart Piano Concerto K503. I’m not sure what ‘it’ was, but it was something. Something in the timbre, something in the music’s communication. The soul of the performance was present. Immediately, I was involved. I had musical skin in the game rather than listening to a CD, admiring from above the platform.
In 2016, after six years out of the SL-1200 turntable business, Japanese giant Technics retooled for a new, audiophile version of the popular turntable. Over the original’s 38 year life span, upwards of 3.5 million were sold. A remarkable HiFi story. A legendary product.
The old ‘table was more of a DJ ‘scratcher’ than purist product. The new ‘G’ turntable was aimed squarely at the audiophile market with an expected jump in price. Thus, in 2016, the $4000, SL-1200G turntable was born. To this day, it is usually snapped up as soon as it is in stores and is on constant back order. I’m surprised Technics took a six year hiatus from a real money maker.
UK based iFi audio has been on a roll lately, releasing a handful of critically acclaimed budget components under the ZEN moniker. Accolades for the ZEN DAC and ZEN CAN headphone amplifier set high expectations for the most recent addition, the ZEN Phono.
US consumers spent $232 million on vinyl records last year so iFi were wise to include some analog action in their entry level line. As with their other product lines, iFi has carefully considered the features included in the ZEN products to differentiate them from the ‘swiss army knife’ or minimalist approach of some competitors.
ZEN components are priced at under $200—high enough to offer a quality piece of hardware but low enough to have mainstream appeal. Can the ZEN Phono, priced at $150, stand up to expectations and hold its own in a competitive segment?
Since its founding in 2007 in NYC (now located in Tianjin, China), Hifiman Electronics, known simply as Hifiman, has almost exclusively been offering over-ear, open-back planar magnetic headphones and more recently open-back electrostatic headphones. Noteworthy among their highly regarded planar magnetic releases include the HE400, HE1000 and HE1000se, the Sundara (review forthcoming) and Susvara, and even a wireless model, the Deva. Prices range from $169 for the HE400 up to $6000 for the highest-level planar magnetic model, the highly acclaimed Susvara.
Hifiman’s two electrostatic models are the Shangri-La Jr. and Shangri-La, each paired with a special electrostatic Hifiman amp and sold as a combo. The cost is $8000 for the Jr, reaching a mind-popping high of $50,000 for the truly extraordinary ‘Ultimate Flagship’ Shangri-La combo; its vacuum tube amplifier alone is a masterpiece of art—a must see (and hear, if you get a chance; I have been lucky to do so). There is no serious debate; Hifiman makes some of the finest such high-end audiophile quality headphones available, along with worthy competitors such as Audeze, Focal, Sennheiser, Grado, among others.
For a deep dive into the big sibling of the new HomePod mini ($99), please refer to our review of the original, full sized Apple HomePod (and our six month follow up). Many HomePod features found at launch and in updates can be found on the new mini.
With the mini, Apple’s smart home ‘Homekit’ features have been improved. Even silly Siri is better and she has added a useful ‘Intercom’ feature. Security, as always from the mothership, is a priority. No ‘anything goes’ Alexa.
There are literally hundreds of reviews on the web and YouTube videos with in depth looks at the features of the mini. I’ll list some important ones below then jump right into our brief, with focus on its use and sound.
