Country of Origin
Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Main system: Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (i5, 256GB SSD, 40GB RAM, Sonoma 14), 4TB external SSD with Thunderbolt 3, Audirvana Studio, Qobuz Sublime, Singxer SU-6 USB bridge, LHY Audio SW-8 & SW-6 switch, Laiv Audio Harmony; Active filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Power amplifiers: Kinki Studio EX-B7 monos & Gold Note monos on subwoofer; Headamp: Enleum AMP-23R; Phones: Raal 1995 Immanis, HifiMan Susvara; Loudspeakers: Qualio IQ [on loan] Cables: Kinki Studio Earth, Furutech; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra on all source components, Vibex One 11R on amps, Furutech DPS-4.1 between wall and conditioners; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators, LessLoss Firewall for loudspeakers, Furutech NCF Signal Boosters; Room: 6 x 8m with open door behind listening seat; Room treatment: 2 x PSI Audio AVAA C214 active bass traps
2nd system: Source: FiiO R7 into Soundaware D300Ref SD transport to Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe; Preamp/filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Amplifier: Kinki Studio EX-M7; Headamp: Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Loudspeakers: MonAcoustic SuperMon Mini + Dynaudio S18 sub; Power delivery: Furutech GTO 2D NCF, Akiko Audio Corelli; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Sundry accessories: Audioquest Fog Lifters; Furutech NFC Clear Lines; Room: ~3.5 x 8m
Desktop system: Source: HP Z230 work station Win10/64; USB bridge: Singxer SU-2; DAC: Sonnet Pasithea; Headamp: Kinki Studio THR-1; Speaker amp: Crayon CFA-1.2; Speakers: Acelec Model One Headphones: Final D-8000 & Sonorous X, Audeze LCD-XC, Raal-Requisite SR1a on Schiit Jotunheim R
Upstairs headfi system: FiiO R7, COS Engineering D1, Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Headphones: Raal 1995 Magna, Meze 109 Pro, Fiio FT3
2-channel video system: Source: Oppo BDP-105; All-in-One: Gold Note IS-1000 Deluxe; Loudspeakers: Zu Soul VI; Subwoofer: Zu Submission; Power delivery: Furutech eTP-8, Room: ~6x4m
It's where my desktop just moved to. It's not as posh a postcode as Stratford-on-Avon but suits my poxy portemonnaie's profile. As explained in recent reviews and editorials, the above Move Mini monitors off their companion Woodnote Combo amp from Bavaria's Lindemann had cleaned house on my 8 x costlier residents and their thrice-priced amp below. Good grief!
As all good reviews must to an eventual end come, so the loaner kit had to return and I to my prior status. But had I to? Really? How irksome. I took mental stock of our hardware inventory. Wasn't there some way that I might duplicate Norbert Lindemann's inspired mix of DSD processing, class A voltage gain, class D nCore current buffers, small rear-ported mid/woofers and attendant AMT? I'd already replaced these EnigmAcoustics M1 with Acelec's Model 1 but thought their sound too cold fronted by the Laiv DAC and Enleum amp. Moving the latter to Ivette's desktop with her sound|kaos Vox3a and stealing her Simon Audio Labs i5 for mine made less of a difference than hoped. The sound got warmer but also thicker to lack the instantaneous immediacy of the small Lindemänner. An old Purifi amp shortened the Acelec's leash and tightened their reins but made the overall cadence too clipped, tone colours too pale. If I remembered correctly, that was Purifi's stock input buffer in action.
Now I remembered a set of nCore 500 Nord monos with far superior discrete input buffers sweating it out in the upstairs boiler-room sauna. And how 'bout iFi's iDSD Pro Signature DAC in my bigger downstairs HeadFi corner? It offers a two-stage tube option and/or on-the-fly resampling to DSD 1'024. These thoughts occurred to me in bed. The clock said 22:30 yet I suddenly felt wide awake. So I quietly did the needful to not wake Ivette then checked with one music track at barely-there downstairs levels for just a few seconds that I passed actual signal not just hot air. Affirmative on signal.
How to elevate the original speaker stands an extra foot? Repurpose riser segments from Track Audio stands affixed to the plinths visible at right.
The next morning was the final day of 2024. Had my nocturnal efforts met their target? Was it all a bad dream? Like the 25wpc modules in Lindemann's streaming integrated, the older 400-watt nCore boards in the Nords were even quieter than the departed Enleum since suchness increased noticeably. They also had far lower output Ω. In tandem this 2-some set of new values truly benefitted the lower SPL my desktop needs to hear myself think. If we don't want to bring down the stage curtains prematurely, we need seriously low system noise to still separate and retrieve planktonic ambient cues and harmonic distinction at whisper levels. On that score switch-mode power supplies seem to enjoy the advantage. Meanwhile replacing Laiv's op-amp outputs for iFi's discretniks plus analog volume control and optional DSD resampling injected the temporal fluidity, colour temperatures and juicy sass which my budget high-feedback switching power modules don't manage on their own. It's an unpopular conclusion mirrored by why I've not used class D in any of my systems aside from Gold Note Pascal repacks on the 2 x 15" downstairs subwoofer. I don't fancy their overdamped gestalt across the full bandwidth. The GaNFet AGD and Merrill amps had been different but my wallet too weak. Norbert Lindemann's implementation of nCore gave me the required second wind to revisit my barely used silvery Nord shoeboxes. Fronted by Thorsten Loesch's best design for iFi—the second one would be the Aurora all-in-one—I now have a very persuasive approximation of the Lindemann setup with more LF reach. Seeing that it cost me nothing but a reshuffle of existing bits and bobs, packing up the German kit for its return to the land of beer and pretzels suddenly didn't hurt at all. Et voilà, now my desktop's postcode is in Shockford-on-Shannon. It even includes munching on audiophile catnip compliments of iFi's 10MHz clock input. That now syncs to the same LHY clock as Singxer's SU-2 USB bridge. 12 hours after the unbidden idea in bed, I had shocked satisfaction in the bright light of day. It's how my 2024 ended on a real high note despite a yellow -6°C snow warning. Here's to hoping yours does, too – without the warning, inevitable icy roads and driving risks. Be safe 'n' sound! Cheers.
No appetite for catnip? Eliminate the master clock and USB bridge, enter the iFi USB direct: PC ⇒ DAC/pre ⇒ monos ⇒ speakers.
Postscript: To tickle your inner accountant, the Nord One SE Up NC500MB with revision-D buffers cost £1'720/pr seven years ago. The iFi still is €3'249. Contrast that to the €6'250 Enleum and €2'700 Laiv. That's a savings of nearly €4K. The Acelec speakers bagged €5'400/pr five years ago, the EnigmAcoustics $14'690/pr ten. That's another €'9'300 in the bank; in total, €13.3K. Not bad for a wacky late-night idea. I should wake up more often? It's a new wrinkle on snooze and loose. Of course if you bought the Lindemann stack which I just packed up, you'd spend just €4'050 all in. That's even more of a savings for on-par sound with two fewer components and an Ethernet link off the router into the streaming amp, control by Audirvana UPnP. Done. In my case, I saved those €4K with a reshuffle of what I already had.
Triple X for redacted.
What a shit show for senseless spending in Shockford-on-Shannon indeed…
