Articles, Reviews and Measurements of Audio Products
Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3 B Review
This is a review and detailed measurements of the Pro-Ject Phono Box DS3 B phono preamplifier. It was kindly drop shipped to me by a member and costs US $799.
I have a soft spot for white aluminum cases such as we have here in DS3B. I do wish the corners were a bit softer though as they are sharp enough to cut your hand! Nice to see so much flexibility as far as settings. Even better is a rare feature: balanced input and output:
It is a shame we don't see more balanced phono stages as their are so susceptible to ground loops due to their high gains. We even have trigger control for automation.
Not a fan of the 18 volt external switching power supply though at this price level. The low voltage is also liable to limit the headroom of DS3B.
For testing, I exclusively used XLR input and outputs.
Project Phono Box DS3 B Measurements
I started my testing using the usual dashboard and setting the gain...
I have a soft spot for white aluminum cases such as we have here in DS3B. I do wish the corners were a bit softer though as they are sharp enough to cut your hand! Nice to see so much flexibility as far as settings. Even better is a rare feature: balanced input and output:
It is a shame we don't see more balanced phono stages as their are so susceptible to ground loops due to their high gains. We even have trigger control for automation.
Not a fan of the 18 volt external switching power supply though at this price level. The low voltage is also liable to limit the headroom of DS3B.
For testing, I exclusively used XLR input and outputs.
Project Phono Box DS3 B Measurements
I started my testing using the usual dashboard and setting the gain...
SMSL VMV P2 Headphone Amp Review
This is a review, detailed measurements and listening tests of SMSL VMV P2 balanced stereo headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $999.
The design follows the new look of the VMV D2R DAC. I am not a big fan of the new look but maybe you are. Nice to see the three common output jacks with the balanced output being differential (i.e. increases power). The volume control is analog with a definitive minimum and maximum. I was very surprised to see the gain controls positioned in the back:
If you use multiple headphones with very different sensitivities, this will be an annoyance, having to reach back here to change settings. Fortunately for the set of headphones I use, the medium gain was sufficient.
On positive front, the connectors seem very high quality. And oh, the whole...
The design follows the new look of the VMV D2R DAC. I am not a big fan of the new look but maybe you are. Nice to see the three common output jacks with the balanced output being differential (i.e. increases power). The volume control is analog with a definitive minimum and maximum. I was very surprised to see the gain controls positioned in the back:
If you use multiple headphones with very different sensitivities, this will be an annoyance, having to reach back here to change settings. Fortunately for the set of headphones I use, the medium gain was sufficient.
On positive front, the connectors seem very high quality. And oh, the whole...
Antelope Amari Measurements
Hi,
First review here, so don't hesitate to tell me if you see something odd.
I just bought an Antelope Amari for mastering work and Antelope's specs were not precise enough to my taste.
Since the APX555 was just there I did some measurements. I tried to be consistent with most measurements I've seen on the forum.
DAC:
Inputs: ASIO
Outputs: XLR
Fs: 44.1kHz
Monitor:
Here's the monitor with a 0dBFS input.
Frequency Response:
Here's a sweep at 0dBFS. Keep in mind the left axis scale has 2dB amplitude.
THD+N:
THD+N for a 0dB sweep (sorry for the timeout).
...
First review here, so don't hesitate to tell me if you see something odd.
I just bought an Antelope Amari for mastering work and Antelope's specs were not precise enough to my taste.
Since the APX555 was just there I did some measurements. I tried to be consistent with most measurements I've seen on the forum.
DAC:
Inputs: ASIO
Outputs: XLR
Fs: 44.1kHz
Monitor:
Here's the monitor with a 0dBFS input.
Frequency Response:
Here's a sweep at 0dBFS. Keep in mind the left axis scale has 2dB amplitude.
THD+N:
THD+N for a 0dB sweep (sorry for the timeout).
Poll: Audio Science Review in the World (2024)
Hi Folks,
Back in November 2019, I started a thread/poll thread here, in which I was wondering where our fellow members were actually living. Initially, when ASR started back in 2016, most first registered members were either from USA, UK, Canada, or Australia (according to @amirm), with somehow the intention of being multinational from the start. I remember my first days visiting ASR, when I personally felt like I had landed mostly in NA territory. With the forum getting more and more popular over the years, this feeling went away, and I observed quite an amount of people coming from literally everywhere in the world.
@AdamG made a relevant suggestion about posting a new...
Back in November 2019, I started a thread/poll thread here, in which I was wondering where our fellow members were actually living. Initially, when ASR started back in 2016, most first registered members were either from USA, UK, Canada, or Australia (according to @amirm), with somehow the intention of being multinational from the start. I remember my first days visiting ASR, when I personally felt like I had landed mostly in NA territory. With the forum getting more and more popular over the years, this feeling went away, and I observed quite an amount of people coming from literally everywhere in the world.
@AdamG made a relevant suggestion about posting a new...
Sony MDRV6 Headphone Review (with/without BRAINWAVZ Pad)
This is a review, listening tests, Equalization and detailed measurements of the Sony MDRV6 headphone with aftermarket Brainwavz suede pads. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $495 plus $19 for the pad.
No, you are not seeing double. After testing the MDRV6 from the member (right), I went to look up its cost on Amazon and it tells me I already purchased one back in 2017 (left)! It was sitting in a box with a bunch of other headphones I bought initially as I was getting into headphone testing. Other than being used a few times, it is in as new condition. So I went back and measured it as well listening to it.
As you will see noted in the measurements I could not get a proper seal on the member headphone on the right channel. I thought that was bad until I tested my stock one. That was *much* worse in both channels with the right channel also delivering significantly lower volume no matter what I did on my Gras 45CA testing rig. Ah...
No, you are not seeing double. After testing the MDRV6 from the member (right), I went to look up its cost on Amazon and it tells me I already purchased one back in 2017 (left)! It was sitting in a box with a bunch of other headphones I bought initially as I was getting into headphone testing. Other than being used a few times, it is in as new condition. So I went back and measured it as well listening to it.
As you will see noted in the measurements I could not get a proper seal on the member headphone on the right channel. I thought that was bad until I tested my stock one. That was *much* worse in both channels with the right channel also delivering significantly lower volume no matter what I did on my Gras 45CA testing rig. Ah...
TOPPING D90 III Sabre DAC Review
This is a review and detailed measurements of the TOPPING D90 III Sabre balanced stereo DAC. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $899.
As you can see, the design is what we have know about most of the Topping products. I do wish at this price that we had a high resolution display that showed VU meters and such. Usability would be better that way although the included remote is easy to use. Back panel is as you would expect:
Nice to see Topping continuing to provide trigger support for automatic turn on of the downstream amplifiers and such.
TOPPING D90 III Sabre Measurements
The DAC has two output setting modes. One that provides max of 5 volts nominal and one that is 4 volts. For fairness I tested using the latter. DAC was allowed to warm up which improved its performance by about 1 dB.
As usual, we start with our dashboard:
This is the best...
As you can see, the design is what we have know about most of the Topping products. I do wish at this price that we had a high resolution display that showed VU meters and such. Usability would be better that way although the included remote is easy to use. Back panel is as you would expect:
Nice to see Topping continuing to provide trigger support for automatic turn on of the downstream amplifiers and such.
TOPPING D90 III Sabre Measurements
The DAC has two output setting modes. One that provides max of 5 volts nominal and one that is 4 volts. For fairness I tested using the latter. DAC was allowed to warm up which improved its performance by about 1 dB.
As usual, we start with our dashboard:
This is the best...
Sonos Five Smart Speaker Review
This is a review, listening tests, and detailed measurements of the SONOS Five streaming wired/wireless smart multi-room speaker. It was kindly drop shipped by a member and costs US $549.
The Five is solidly built and feels rather substantial in hand. Packaging is always is apple-like. Usability however, is quite poor with cryptically labeled buttons with various icons. And blinking lights you are supposed to decode like a world war II Morse operator. Needless to say, the app is must have and this time unlike previous SONOS products I have tested, it found the Five quickly and proceeded to update its firmware. As with physical controls, I find the usability of the app quite poor, requiring me to fumble around to get things done. Touching a two bar icon for example, asked me if I want to "end a session." Say what?
Volume control jumps in big increments of 4 (or more?). Worst thing is the very long latency. Feed it analog audio which you...
The Five is solidly built and feels rather substantial in hand. Packaging is always is apple-like. Usability however, is quite poor with cryptically labeled buttons with various icons. And blinking lights you are supposed to decode like a world war II Morse operator. Needless to say, the app is must have and this time unlike previous SONOS products I have tested, it found the Five quickly and proceeded to update its firmware. As with physical controls, I find the usability of the app quite poor, requiring me to fumble around to get things done. Touching a two bar icon for example, asked me if I want to "end a session." Say what?
Volume control jumps in big increments of 4 (or more?). Worst thing is the very long latency. Feed it analog audio which you...
NAD PP 2e Phono Stage Review
This is a review and detailed measurements of the NAD PP2e phono stage/preamplifier. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $219 (on sale for $197).
As you see, there is not much to the box or the front panel. It only has a power button. The back side exposes the control for moving magnet vs moving coil cartridge input:
The externa dc power supply is rated at 24 volts @100 ma.
NAD PP 2e Measurements
Let's start with moving magnet input:
The major contributor to low SINAD is 120 Hz and harmonics which is from the power supply. I wanted to test with my lab supply but it uses a very uncommon connector so could not. Going...
As you see, there is not much to the box or the front panel. It only has a power button. The back side exposes the control for moving magnet vs moving coil cartridge input:
The externa dc power supply is rated at 24 volts @100 ma.
NAD PP 2e Measurements
Let's start with moving magnet input:
The major contributor to low SINAD is 120 Hz and harmonics which is from the power supply. I wanted to test with my lab supply but it uses a very uncommon connector so could not. Going...
JBL 4312M II 3-way Studio Monitor Review
This is a review, listening tests, EQ and detailed measurements of JBL 4312M II 3-way compact studio monitor (passive speaker). It is on kind loan from a member and I think costs US $1,000 for a pair.
Without its ordinary looking grill, the 4312M II definitely has that vintage vibe but with added "beauty" of that white woofer. Those were the days where drivers were positioned to look good. Speaker is a bit heavy for its compact size, which imparts a feeling of quality which its standard box does not impart. Here is the back side:
What did the originals have? Screw terminals?
Let's measure it to see if these old ideas of speaker design were any good and whether if any faults have been remedied.
Note: I am the founder of Madrona Digital, a company that specializes in custom installs...
Without its ordinary looking grill, the 4312M II definitely has that vintage vibe but with added "beauty" of that white woofer. Those were the days where drivers were positioned to look good. Speaker is a bit heavy for its compact size, which imparts a feeling of quality which its standard box does not impart. Here is the back side:
What did the originals have? Screw terminals?
Let's measure it to see if these old ideas of speaker design were any good and whether if any faults have been remedied.
Note: I am the founder of Madrona Digital, a company that specializes in custom installs...
MT-ViKI MT-431AV 4 Way Switch Review
This is a review and detailed measurements of the MT-ViKI MT-431AV 4-way audio and composite video passive switch. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $11 on Amazon:
I wouldn't be able to give you time of day for $11 (including shipping no less!) yet we have a metal box here with four nice/solid feeling selector switches. Back panel brings back horrible memories though:
Composite video! Man, those were the days of horrible picture quality with color decoder errors and lousy resolution. I assume no one uses the video feature in this day and age so let's quickly test the rca switching capability.
Audio Switcher Measurements
Let's start by measuring the performance of the Audio Precision APx555 while looping back internally with 2 volts out:
Immeasurable distortion and SINAD limited by noise. Let's now route the signal through a 6 foot switch to the...
I wouldn't be able to give you time of day for $11 (including shipping no less!) yet we have a metal box here with four nice/solid feeling selector switches. Back panel brings back horrible memories though:
Composite video! Man, those were the days of horrible picture quality with color decoder errors and lousy resolution. I assume no one uses the video feature in this day and age so let's quickly test the rca switching capability.
Audio Switcher Measurements
Let's start by measuring the performance of the Audio Precision APx555 while looping back internally with 2 volts out:
Immeasurable distortion and SINAD limited by noise. Let's now route the signal through a 6 foot switch to the...