John E. Johnson, Jr.

Wireworld Mini-Eclipse 7 Speaker Cables Review

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Wireworld's new Eclipse Series 7 cables depart from previous designs in that the conductors are arranged in a helix as compared to a simple spiral. I tested the Mini-Eclipse 7 in 25 foot lengths to power the rear speakers in my home theater. How did they compare to generic cables? Read our review to discover.

Audio Cables

Setting up a Home Theater Speaker System that doesn’t Dominate the Room Decor – An Experiment with Axiom Audio Speakers

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Over the past decade, we have seen the number of speakers in a home theater system go from 5.1, to 7.1 and beyond. This presents a problem in having the space to put all these speakers. Although it is nice to have large speakers that will play loud for the current deluge of high impact movies full of mechanical monstors and massive guns, putting nine or more speakers in the den where your home theater is, will certainly set off an argument with your significant other, even if the speakers are beautiful. So, I decided to put together a 5.1 system of small, but high quality, bookshelf speakers and a good subwoofer. You will be shocked at the visual change this produces, and yet, this system still has good surround sound (just not quite as loud), and it looks attractive in the room without seeming like it is the centerpiece of the den.

Bookshelf Speakers

Pass Labs X600.8 600 Watt Monoblock Power Amplifier Review

John E. Johnson, Jr.

With the success of the Pass Labs Xs series, Nelson Pass set out to create a line of additional power amplifiers that have most of what the Xs series has, but at much more affordable prices. The model under current review is the X600.8, which is a monoblock specified at 600 watts RMS output, with the first 50 watts in Pure Class A, and the rest in AB. Do they sound close to the Xs amplifiers? Read on.

Power Amplifiers

Bryston BUC-1 USB Converter Review

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Modern DACs have asynchronous USB inputs to connect your computer for playing music files. This results in the bitstream being re-clocked to the outboard DAC's own clock, which is much more accurate than a computer's digital clock. However, older DACs, even expensive ones, don't have asynchronous USB inputs. The Bryston BUC-1 solves this by having a USB input for connection to your computer, and an accurately re-clocked digital output that can be connected to your old, and perhaps very expensive, DAC, giving you the essential asynchronous input.

DACs

Antelope Audio Zodiac Platinum DAC with 10M Rubidium Atomic Clock Review

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Antelope Audio is a company originally based in the USA, but is now based in Europe, with the factory in Bulgaria. The manufacture DACs and A/D converters for the pro industry (recording studios). However, they also offer these products in a high end consumer edition. The Zodiac Platinum DAC with an outboard 10M Rubidium Atomic Clock is their latest set of DAC components for audiophiles.

DACs

HiFiMAN HM-802 Portable High Resolution Music Player Review

John E. Johnson, Jr.

HiFiMAN is probably best known for their headphones and headphone amplifiers, some of which we have reviewed, but they also manufacture portable music players as an alternative to the ubiqutious iPod. The HM-802 is one of several models, including the HM-700, which is less expensive than the HM-802, and the HM-901, which is more expensive. You also have the option of having a balanced amplifier module in the player or the standard unbalanced one. In this review, I cover the model HM-802, with the standard unbalanced amplifier card, as well as with the optional balanced amp card. It plays PCM music tracks up to 24/192 and DSD64, as well as wav, flac, mp3, alac, aac, and aiff files.

 

Portable Audio