Over the course of the first two days I had a chance to listen and re-listen to many of the systems, individual components and headphones that I found featured here at the show! An to wrap up my coverage of AXPONA I'd like to feature the systems that I felt did best within their price ranges, individual components that impressed me the most in terms of overall performance and perceived value.
To start with systems I felt that these three price points had the best bang for you buck.
- $500
- $2,500
- $9,999
An my aim more or less was for each price increment to more or less increase fidelity two fold. In the audio world diminishing returns get nasty as you start to climb the ladder your net gains become less and less per dollar spent. An to my ears, a two fold increase in fidelity is gauged by what I call the AHM or "Ahh Ha Moments." Or those moments where you hear a detail that really catches your attention or one that you hadn't heard before! Meaning when listening to the same song you might have 4 AHMs on the $500 system, around 8 on the $2500 system and 16 or more on the $10,000 system.
An while there was excessive amounts of noise at the show, having a press pass often allowed me to get in little earlier and listen before too many people showed up. As for what Song's I used?
For the entry level price point I switched between what ever was available and a few tracks that I new. Because my own reference system falls between the second and third price points I choose a mix of both music I knew and stuff that was from a genre I like but was new to me. For this truly new music I simply listened for three things;
- The tonal balance of the instruments presented
- Do they sound real or some how off
- How much congestion there was or wasn't
- So could I discern each individual instrument or did some overpower others or some how cast a haze over the others
- Are there any glaring faults
- anything that stands out so much you'r not longer able to focus on the music as a whole
Now I will say that the Hardware presented in the first system was listened to with my own reference headphone a heavily modded ES10. And the headphone that I feel would pair best with it was listened to with my Geek Out v2+. So you'll likely seem some overlap between this systems and individual components that I think excelled within there price point.
For the 2500 and 10,000 systems I again listened to only music I knew, this is because I feel my own system falls some where in-between the the 2500 and 10000 range, being closer to the $2,500 of course. So in terms of AHMs the $2500 system needed to present the level of detail that I expect or am used with each of these tracks. For the 10,000 system I was listening for at least 8 total AHMs over the three songs.
For the music I chose a very special vinyl rip of the Audiophile Classic Hotel California, in addition to yet another beautiful Vinyl Rip of Epica's Divine Conspiracy and finally Rebecca Pidgeon's Spanish Harlem completed my little trio. I also had my LG V20 acting as a USB Transport that worked in conjunction with each DAC.
Now the Best Overall Bang for you BUCK System of AXPONA 2018 had to be the;
- Cayin iDac-6
- Cayin iHA-6
- ZMF Atticus sporting a Silver Plated Copper Cable
At the $2500 System Price point I felt this one stood out above all the others, an I that it found had;
- Overall a natural tone & timbre with an engaging presentation
- With a slight mid bass hump, creamy detailed mid range and smooth airy top end
- No shortage of both texture and detail & depth,
- These two were truly complimentary in every sense of the way, with each mitigating the drawbacks of the other
- Truly a jack of all trades Headphone and Dac/Amp pairing
- All genres of music were presented with equal enjoyment an the perfect mix of technical prowess and enjoyment
- So no lack of texture, no lack of naturalness, no lack of instrument separation, no lack of sweetness nor any lack of resolution or engagement,
Really this was a system that drew you in more than any other and refused to let you go!
An if you forced me to name one drawback it would be that this system is slightly sweeter than dead neutral, and using the transistor or tubeless output from the DAC helps create a slightly more "linear" response at the expense of some low level dynamics and detail. So you have your choice between a linear tonal response or a sweeter but slightly more detail presentation.
But overall for an all in one system there wasn't much else I heard at the show that had the sheer bang for the buck that this has! I truly feel this is a system that any non-audiophile regardless of taste and preference could purchase and enjoy with very little temptation to upgrade! An seeing that each part is individual it would be very easy to swap out components as needed for personal fine tuning.
For The best $500 System I choose the;
- Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital
- E-MU Purpleheart/Ebony Pre Production Open Back
Both I felt excelled at all three metrics more so than any other mix of products. An to be fair the Pro-Ject Pre-Box S2 Digital retails for around $400, while the E-MU Purpleheart/Ebony Pre-Production Open Back is likely to retail for $100 or less.
The Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 was particular impressive, it offered but full MQA Rendering with Tidal and an exception level of tactility, overall resolve and spaciousness while presenting a very natural tonal balance!
Finally if your going for The Best Top of the Line System under $10,000 you'll want to grab the;
- iFi iDSD Pro
- iFi iCan Pro
- Audeze LCD 4
For it's;
- Clearer instrument separation
- vivid transients and a more defined envelope
- Better texture and impact in the lows
- with the initial hit was more better defined and more powerful
- Nice top end sweetness without a loss of detail
- Deeper more cohesive imaging
Now I did have the Amp set to Medium Gain and I listened with the none "+" tube setting,
Given my immense pleasure with the iFi Audio All in One portables I'm starting to appreciate how well their house tuning builds upon it self. An with their all in one system I felt it made the difference for me with the LCD 4. Compared to previous system this one had both a combined naturalness with an almost explosive sense of dynamics! An it was the Symphonic Metal band Epica that I had the most Ahh Ha! Moments, as I found that it;
- Seamlessly transitioned from the very natural classical sections to the heavier more distorted metal portion
- With enough separation in all the instruments to feel both the heavier rough edge of the distorted guitars and the softer more delicacy envelope of the acoustic stringed instruments
- Presented both the beauty and delicacy of Simon's voice again'st her husbands deeper very chesty rough growling
- Again the separation and clarity of this system allowed me not only to hear both, but feel the unique envelope of each more vividly
- Easily defined both the stringed electric bass and the deeper notes of the stringed instruments
- Consistently balanced the grit and sheer force of the band without overshadowing the more natural instruments they often feature as a quiet back drop against the metal riffs
An lastly to wrap up today's coverage I'll end with headphones. As there was really only one that stood out far above and beyond all the rest, and I'm happy to say it's from a company that's disappointed me many many times in the past couple of years. But finally, after many years of R&D I'm happy to announce that The Best Overall Headphone at AXPONA 2018 was;
The Hifiman Shangri-La Electro Static Headphone
I'll save the why for tomorrow, as I'm still in shock at what I heard and feel I really need to sleep on it before I can find the right words for the experience. I can only imagine how much better it would have sounded in a quieter environment!
So that's wraps up today's coverage! I've got a flight to catch. Non-the less I'll be continuing to post my impressions from the show in the next few days to come.
