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Jack Roberts & The Flight of the Mini-monitors, Part 7: Lowther’s worldwide debut of the DX-65 driver in the Teresonic Magus XR

Reviewer: Jack Roberts

A new driver from Lowther is real news. A new five inch driver is even rarer news, so it was with great anticipation that I waited on this pair of speakers to arrive. It was the Teresonic Magus XR with the new Lowther DX65 driver. XR stands for eXtended Range, and is the first speaker to implement the new DX65 driver to extend the capabilities of small speakers in multiple parameters: frequency response, efficiency, imaging, etc. Below is a brief technical description of the new DX65, and for a reference the same information about the DX55 that comes standard in the Teresonic Magus and other fine speakers.

This review is mostly about the difference the new Lowther DX65 makes compared to the DX55 when mounted in a Teresonic Magus cabinet. So you really need to read the recent review of the Magus Silver DX55. Teresonic dubs this version of its Magus mini-monitor the Silver XR.

Why Lowthers

On the home page of the Lowther website right next to the picture of Paul Voigt, it says:

“Since the early 1950s, Lowther has exported over 90% of its manufacturing to audiophiles worldwide. In almost every country in the world there are discerning music lovers demanding only the very best sound reproduction possible, these are Lowther owners. ‘Lowther for life’ means just that, as once heard, nothing else can suffice. Those that have “strayed” return to Lowther stating no other speakers can do what Lowther can, which is to ensure that the listener hears pure music, oblivious to the presence of speakers in the listening room.”

Paul Voigt was born in London in 1901. His first job was with the J. E. Hough Ltd company. It was part of Edison-Bell works in 1922. Paul Voigt developed several new products for them, including a slack diaphragm condenser microphone, a high flux energized speaker drive unit and horns using the “tractrix” contour. In 1926 he developed the first British electric recording system. In 1933 Voigt started his own company, “Voigt Patents”.

He released the “Domestic Corner Horn” in 1934 and it was considered to be a new benchmark for high quality sound reproduction. Another very significant thing happened in 1934 when Paul Voigt met O. P. Lowther, and a strong friendship was formed. In 1936, there was published a Lowther sales brochure entitled “Lowther-Voigt Radio”. It detailed three radios, separate amplifiers, tuners and loudspeakers. The most ambitious system used a 12-watt amplifier and the deluxe Voigt domestic corner horn loudspeaker. I could go on but if you’re interested, you can go to the Lowther Museum site and read to your heart’s content.

Let’s just say that for over seventy years, the name Lowther has been synonymous with quality single-driver speakers systems. They have had many famous users and it is absolutely amazing how the sound gets under your skin. So when a company with this kind of history and following releases a new product, its news, and I promise you the DX65 is big news.

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Fred Crowder compares the $1,600 Aural Symphonics Chrono b2 balanced interconnects to other heavyweights

Reviewer: Fred Crowder

Introduction

The Aural Symphonics Chrono b2 is more a study in contrasts than most cables. Chrono b2 refers to balanced version 2. Visually, it is a large diameter cable covered in an outer jacket that appears black with a diamond pattern etched in white thread, rather unexceptional, but functional. At night, in a darkened room, it undergoes a rather remarkable visual transformation as what appears to be black in normal light is revealed instead as a highly reflective skin that becomes bright white. Likewise, judging solely by its appearance, you would expect this cable to be heavy and relatively stiff. In reality, it is quite light, reasonably flexible and easy to use. Not surprisingly, there was also a marked contrast between the sound in early listening sessions before the cable was thoroughly broken in and that in later sessions, but more on that later. First, a brief description of its construction.

Construction

Chrono b2 is the current top-of-the-line interconnect at Aural Symphonics. All conductors and connectors are immersed for 72 hours in a deep nitrogen bath at minus 310 degrees Fahrenheit during manufacturing process. The positive conductor is configured as multiple un-insulated solid core wires. The negative is a smaller conductor. Although there is no outer shield, the Chrono b2 has an extremely low noise floor with sounds emerging from what is essentially an intensely black background. Doing away with the outer shield apparently eliminates the need to use any additional resistive load on the ground. Although the manufacturer does not specify the dielectric (other than air), the literature does mention that no crushed polypropylene filler is used in its construction. All Chrono b2 are hand assembled and made to order using a 4% silver solder. Neutrix connectors are used on the balanced interconnects.

Methodology

The Chrono b2 was inserted into three different systems: Acapella Triolon Excalibur/Audio Note Kegon Balanced amps/Esoteric X01-D2, Avalon Isis/ Edge Reference amps/Esoteric P03/D03, and Acoustat full-range electrostats/FM Acoustics amps/EMM Labs. In each instance, the Chrono b2 was initially introduced between the CD player (EMM Labs/Esoteric) and the preamplifier and in each case compared against known references, primarily Nordost Valhalla, William E. Low Signature (Audioquest), and Jorma Prime. Each of the comparison cables was significantly more expensive than the Chrono, ranging from $10,500 to $4330. While a number of reference CD’s were used, the ones most frequently in play were the FIM Reference Recordings Vol. 4, the Mobile Fidelity SACD of Patricia Barber’s Companion and Ry Cooder’s Mambo Sinuendo (Nonesuch).

Read the Aural Symphonics Chronos Interconnects and Hybrid v3 Speaker Cables Review

It is the holiday season and I am going to give you a present. This is the culmination of a long and winding and interesting and frustrating and expensive journey from that first audio component to hearing one that had me saying, “That’s the one!” It is the story of developing specific ideas about good sound reproduction, validating or replacing those concepts, and finding that some of these tenets no longer applied. Some of these tenets include:

* Only low powered amplifiers, preferably single ended tube amplifiers, can sound really good.
* High powered amplifiers can reproduce the full dynamic range of music.
* Only tubes can produce the full harmonic envelope of acoustic music.
* High bias, Class A operation is necessary for solid-state amplifiers to sound good.
* Tube amplifiers are best at creating the illusion of a real acoustic sound stage.

Each of the above has been true at certain times in the past and with certain associated components and loudspeakers. We can generally agree that most early solid-state gear was not an advance in sound quality over the tube-based components that they attempted to replace. It was a case of “one step forward and two steps back”. We gained features and possibly reliability, but the trade-off was too great: those early transistor products often sounded like fingernails on a blackboard. Having mostly lived with tube amplifiers for about 20 years and, over the last year, performed a listening survey of some of the better solid-state amplifiers, I can state with some certainty that each technology has sonic advantages. The quest is, and has always been, to find the perfect marriage of the best sonic characteristics of the different technologies.

Tube sound is typically more dynamic – both large scale (macro) and small scale (micro). It is harmonically richer, revealing far more of the fine and delicate structure of every voice and sound, without any sense of grain or harshness. Solid-state sound is usually described as having deep and tight bass and extended high frequencies, with sound that is often marred by a somewhat flat soundstage and usually rendered painfully with grainy and harmonically thin higher frequencies. The better solid-state amplifiers have a wonderful sense of focus that renders an instrument in a very specific point in space and keeps that image intact. The better tube amplifiers have far superior harmonic development and warmth in the upper frequencies. Over the last few years, the better amplifiers of each technology have begun to sound more and more alike. My preference has been to have the much more satisfying realistic harmonic resolution of tubes and simply accept their maintenance costs and relative sonic deficiency in the bass, however small.

Marantz MA-9S2 Power AmplifierThe list above has one tenet that I continue to hold true: high powered amplifiers are necessary to reproduce the full dynamic range of music with most speakers. This became apparent when I changed from the 100 Watt per channel Bella Extreme 100 to the 250 Watt Manley Neo-Classic 250s. Both models are monophonic tube amps. While the “Bellas” are sonically excellent, early in the audition of the Manleys it was apparent that the latter’s extra power was indeed sonically significant. Most of my listening is in the 10-30 Watt range with speakers of average efficiency. When you realize that a 10 dB peak pushes that power requirement from 30 Watts to 300 Watts, the need for lots of amplifier headroom becomes obvious. My personal “must have” list for the perfect amplifier includes deep, powerful and high resolution bass, an enormous and accurate spatial environment, richly detailed midrange, and high frequencies that are smooth and absolutely grain-free while preserving the life-like micro detail of such instruments as cymbals, flutes and piccolos, bells, and soprano voices. Add in high power, low maintenance requirements and also, in these “green” times, low heat output. This is where the Marantz MA-9S2, a 300 watt monophonic golden beauty, weighing 82 pounds with a list price of $7499.99 each, entered the listening room and life of this writer.

# power output:

* 300 watts into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.01% THD
* 600 watts into 4 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.01% THD

# frequency response 3-150,000 Hz (-3dB)
# signal-to-noise ratio (IHF-A): 123dB
# front-panel level meter indicates output power
# preamp-level RCA and balanced 3-pin XLR inputs
# rear-panel attenuation dial (0, -3, -6, -9, -12, -∞ dB)
# full current feedback amplifier stage
# fully balanced amplifier design
# double-shielded, low-noise toroidal transformer
# all copper-plated chassis and double layered bottom plate
# WBT® speaker terminals
# 2 sets of speaker terminals for biwiring
# detachable AC power cord
# champagne finish
# weight: 82.4 lbs
# 18-1/16″W x 7-13/16″H x 18-11/16″D
# two MA-9S2 amplifiers are required for stereo operation

www.marantz.com

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The Luckiest Reviewer plays with three Koetsu cartridges: Urushi Vermillion, Azule Platinum and Tiger Eye Platinum

Reviewer: Gary Lea

Every now and then you get a chance to do something really unique and highly enjoyable as a reviewer and the subject of this review is one of those times. I was recently offered a chance to audition two Koetsu stone body platinum cartridges. As an owner of two Koetsu cartridges, a Black (long since gone) and an Urushi Vermillion I could not resist the opportunity to be able to do listening sessions with all three cartridges and compare them side by side. Terrible what we have to endure for the arts but sometimes sacrifices need to be made.

If you are not in the know about Koetsu cartridges, well then, silly you! The brand and the man behind the legend continue to take on an air of mystery some seven years after the passing of founder Yoshiaki Sugano on January 20, 2002 just shy of his 95th birthday. He led a very long and very productive life and left behind an indelible mark on the world of HIFI. A descendant of the notable Japanese artist Honami Koetsu, Sugano was schooled in a great many Japanese arts not the least of which was the tradition of sword making. An oil painter, a formidable boxer in his youth and supposedly undefeated, he turned to the industry of automobile manufacturing in his adulthood and worked for Toyota. Through his years at Toyota he rose to the executive ranks and retired when he reached the age of 60. Clearly not ready for a simple and sedentary retirement life, his most prolific contributions came in his final 35 years.

Long before retirement from the auto industry he had a love for music, a fascination with music reproduction and a special interest in phono cartridges. He started to study and repair broken cartridges as a hobby, and as he retired from the auto industry he decided to form his own company. Thus was born Koetsu moving coil cartridges. The name is clearly homage to his ancestor.

I never had the pleasure or honor of meeting him and I came to learn about his works of art later in my HIFI journey; but once I discovered him and the Koetsu brand I have never looked upon HIFI quite the same. I have long been interested in Japanese culture and art. I have even spent time learning some of the more rudimentary aspects of the language. There is something that speaks to me in the various art forms from Japan. Koetsu cartridges combine fanatical design with material quality and control in the artistic flair of Japanese woodwork, and Urushi lacquer finishes and exotic stone bodies. He was a master craftsman and he created not only phono cartridges with extraordinary sound quality but also very small, visual works of art. To many, Sugano-san raised the art form of the phono cartridge to a degree never seen before.

From what I have been able to study about him, he was also a fastidious teacher and mentor. Always open and willing to share his knowledge and his ideas with others and always encouraging others to test their mettle at the craft. Today, the Koetsu brand is carried on by his son Fumihiko Sugano who was specifically groomed and trained by his father to carry on the legacy. Fortunately for all of us in the world of HIF there continues to be an ongoing supply of Koetsu phono cartridges for the world to enjoy. Peter Ledermann of Soundsmith had also apprenticed with Sugano closely, so he and his work may also be some of the closest things we have to reliving the art and spirit of the Yoshiaki today.

The Koetsu Line

Koetsu cartridges are not known to be absent in their own sonic signature. Quite the opposite actually. In general, they are not the most analytical or tonally accurate cartridges on the market. That distinction might go to Air Tight or perhaps Lyra. What they do possess is a magic that is undeniable. I liken it to the phenomenon of tubes. Measurements say that they should sound awful but your ears tell you a different truth.

The Koetsu line consists of 18 different cartridges divided into four sub categories. The aluminum body Black Goldline at $1800, the Rosewood series starting at $2600 and up to $5900, the Urushi line starting at $4300 to $4900, the Stone Body Platinum series starting at $8000 and rising to a staggering $24,000 for the limited edition Blue Lace Onyx with Diamond cantilever. In this review, we will examine cartridges at the $4700, $10,000 and $13,000 price points. So here is an insight into three distinctly different Koetsu cartridges from an extended usage and familiarity.

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Reviewer: Constantine Soo

Constantine Soo unravels the secrets of the $28,500 Audio Tekne TFM-9412 integrated 300B amplifier

Yujean Kang of Tangram Audio, the U.S. Importer of Audio Tekne of Japan, was particularly proud of being the U.S. representative of the Japanese company. It was not because he thought the products would sell like pancakes; on the contrary, his pride of representation stemmed from the fact that not everyone who could afford it could become an owner, regardless of his financial might. Lest I get myself into catastrophic trouble with our readers, I better explain next.

In the negotiation of his wish to become the U.S. Importer of Audio Tekne, Yujean was given a set of “rules” by Mr. Kiyaoki Imai, owner of Audio Tekne, on his business philosophy, to which Yujean must show every effort in adherence. The original words, with minor editing for syntax and usage, are included in the following:

The general plan of Audio Tekne

Please understand these:
Audio equipment is civilization and music is culture.

Don’t sell audio equipment; a seller needs to wait for the customer who understands the value of audio equipment and buys it.

1. The audio equipment for listening to music are not goods sold according to persuasion and power.

2. In short, audio equipment are the goods which are bought after a customer understands the value.

3. Supposing audio equipments are sold at persuasion and power, since the customer bought it without understanding the value, he will get bored with using them immediately.

4. A seller needs to enlighten a customer so that a customer can judge the right sound. For that reason, a seller needs to recommend a customer to go to a concert.

(The reason: Don’t get to know a real sound, and there are many people who evaluate sound quality.)

However, a seller must not force about it to a customer.

5. A seller has to introduce the good software for his customer, and a seller has to make it a matter of pride for his customer to have much software.

6. A seller does not recommend a customer on a change of audio equipments; only when there is dissatisfaction as opposed to sound quality in a customer, it is right for a seller to teach a customer the cause.

The AQVOX Phono 2CI phono preamplifier is a surprise in a number of ways. I recall a lot of discussion about the high cost of “audio jewelry”. This cosmetic feature added elaborate front panels and other adornments to audio components that may have added some sonic benefit but certainly added significantly to the cost. In recent years, I am seeing less of this extravagance in high end components. Most manufacturers are making gear that is very well constructed and nicely appointed, striking a good balance between offering gear that provides pride of ownership without unnecessary or overblown prettiness. I would rather pay less for quality and functionality than pay more for quality and functionality wrapped in eye candy.

But I digress. The AQVOX Phono 2CI phono preamplifier is very well built, both inside and out. There is one internal adjustment to bypass the output coupling capacitors which are not needed if your preamplifier has DC blocking input capacitors. The top cover can be easily removed by first removing one of the extruded aluminum side panels. All of the cartridge and gain settings are changeable from the rear panel. The technology of the Phono 2CI is a departure from any other phono preamplifier that I know. Where others amplify the cartridge’s voltage, the Phono 2CI amplifies the current. This reportedly results in an amplifier with lower distortion and noise. Interestingly, and as a welcome feature, no changes to loading are required to optimize the interface between the phono cartridge and the phono stage. Just connect your phono cable to the balanced inputs and you have a perfect interface. Just make sure that if you have RCA connectors on your phono cable, it is wired so that the shield is not grounded. This preserves the balanced signal from the cartridge – which being just a coil of wire is inherently balanced. AQVOX supplies specially wired RCA-to-XLR adapters if you need them. Standard RCA inputs with adjustable loading and gain are also provided. I tried these connections and found the balanced inputs to sound significantly better, moving the rating up the “LP Scale” about 2 LPs. That is a big improvement.

The Phono 2CI also offers balanced outputs on XLR connectors in addition to standard RCA outputs. With XLRs, you can have a balanced signal from the phono cartridge pins to your amplifier. I have always found a true balanced connection to sound better than the RCA alternative. Other features include settings for gain - up to 75dB, ground lift, input impedance and capacitance on the RCA inputs. The front panel offers separate gain knobs for the left and right channels. The purpose of these adjustments is to match the cartridge output to the Phono 2CI for the best sound quality to accommodate cartridges with outputs from 0.1mV to 3mV. This is adjusted for the best soundstage, tonality and dynamics. Although not intended for this purpose, I found that they are also capable of correcting channel-to-channel balance issues with a phono cartridge within a narrow range. They can also be used to match the overall phono gain to the gain of other components, again within a narrow range that does not adversely affect sound quality. The unit is available in black or silver.

Specifications

Input Sensitivity at 1Vrms out-XLR:
RCA Input sensitivity: 2,4 - 12 mVrms/1 kHz
RCA Input sensitivity: + 6dB: 1,2 - 6 mVrms/1 kHz
RCA Input sensitivity: +20dB: 0,4 - 2 mVrms/1 kHz

RCA Input Impedance:
47 kOhm, switchable to:
1 kOhm and 100 Ohm

RCA Input Capacity:
47pF internal, switchable to:
+ 47pF, +100pF, +220pF, +470pF
The values add up to each other, summing up to max. 884pF

RCA Gain Factor:
maximum ca. 68dB

XLR Balanced Current Amplification Input:
The amplification at the XLR input is generally higher as at the RCA input, but varies depending on the output voltage and impedance of the Moving Coil cartridge. Providing 55-76dB gain, this input is suitable for all High-Output and Low-Output-MCs down to 0.10mV noise free. No step-up transformer required.

RIAA Equalization with Neumann Constant:
+/- 0,25dB

Front Control Input GAIN:
variable per channel +14dB

Subsonic Filter:
-9dB/10 Hz, -18 dB/5 Hz, -48 dB/2 Hz

THD + Noise:
1V out-XLR: 0.009% at min., 0.04% at max. MM-RCA-In
1V out-XLR: 0.019% at min., 0.09% at max. MC-RCA-In

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (S/N) IHF-A measured:
1V-Out-XLR-MM-RCA-In:
76dB Flat, 84dB A at min., 63dB Flat, 71dB A bei max.*
1V-Out-XLR-MC-RCA-In:
69dB Flat, 78dB A at min., 57dB Flat, 65dB A bei max.*

www.aqvox.de

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Reviewer: Doug Schroeder

Doug Schroeder reveals how the Cambridge Azur 840E and 840W amplification system fared in today’s landscape

Already having been intrigued, and subsequently surprised, by the Azur 840C player I felt it only natural to investigate the newer offerings of the Azur line, the 840E Preamp and the 840W Amp. They have a lot to live up to, as the player is a pleaser. If this combo would surmount the challenges and rise to the same level of performance, Cambridge would have a trinity of tasty components worthy of consideration by anyone who wants better than average separates or a quality one-brand system.

It seems every few years the hot manufacturers swap positions, with newer, cutting edge designs taking the lead. Jockeying occurs even in the middle of the High End pack, where Cambridge holds a solid position. While more recognizable in Europe, the name seems to be gaining ground in America as their gear becomes more upscale in its performance. The Cambridge line is to me a “European Parasound”, only a bit less ambitious price-wise. Both have smart designs with respected performance. The Cambridge design team caught the leading edge of a wave with the Azur 840C player, which you are welcome to read more about. Now they are in position to capitalize on it through their preamp and power amp. I will tell you if they succeeded.

Just how many features can be packed into a component? One might think that was the driving ambition of Matthew Bramble’s design team. Nearly every conceivable option, and a few that the majority of owners would not have conceived, has been incorporated. I could spend the length of a normal review simply discussing them but I won’t. I’ll let the hefty, thorough manuals flesh out the intricacies of the operations while I will point out the salient features to two-channel enthusiasts. Before I leave discussion of the literature, I appreciated the Quick Start guide enclosed with the 840 series components. It is a thoughtful way to help busy buyers get their rig set up. The 840W has another polite gift for purchasers, a low voltage trigger cable and a cable clasp for wrapping up untidy cables; these are signs that Cambridge is thinking about the real world needs of the buyer.

Contemporary and clean marks the style of the Azur line. Both the deep charcoal colored player and the brushed silver pre/amps in my possession are simple, but aesthetically pleasing in the way that a crisp dollar bill is simple but enjoyable. Tiny blue LED’s contrast the wide, strong looking facade. A light gray illuminated display on the preamp matches that of the player. Many functions of the remote carry over between the player and amp; when the amp is selected one can have nearly complete control over it using the CD player’s remote. Since I had the player’s remote handy I never bothered using the one for the amp. An “amp” button on the player’s remote toggles commands to and from the amp. Even the modular packaging is a thing of wonder; utilization of the same scheme is evident in all three pieces. Some boxes sustained hits en route, but no components were scathed.

The Azur series is a statement grouping, displaying Cambridge’s genius and lavishness in packaging features for the dollar. A partnership with Anagram Technologies for the 840C player led to a cascade of development, first with the 840A integrated, then the 840W amp and 840E preamp. Once the amp was finalized, a return visit to the integrated was justified, thus the generation 2 class XD technology was incorporated in the 840A v2.

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Reviewer: Ed Momkus

Ed Momkus subjects the Aural Symphonics Chronos Interconnects and Hybrid v3 Speaker Cables to stringent examinations

On today’s audio menu is a review of the Aural Symphonics Chrono interconnects and Hybrid v3 speaker cables. I had them for an extended period of time, and have been able to use them with three sets of monoblock amps, four preamps and two digital front-ends. I’ve had a great time playing with them used together and in mix n’ match configurations with my Silent Source Silver Signature interconnects and speaker cables. This is a short review, because it doesn’t take any effort to tell that these are very good cables. It hits you as soon as you put them into your system.

I didn’t have much background knowledge on the Aural Symphonics when I received them, so I went to the Aural Symphonics website to see what the deal was. The following paraphrases the information from the website.

The Chrono interconnects. All Chrono conductors and connectors are cryogenic infusion processed. The positive conductor is an 8.0awg conductor configured as multiple un-insulated solid cores. The negative is a smaller conductor and there is no outer shield or crushed polypropylene fillers in the design. Aural Symphonics says that the Chrono achieves very low noise without any outer shield. They also cite as a benefit the fact that the absence of an outer shield eliminates the need for any additional resistive load on the ground conductor. Aural Symphonics claims that the Chrono is stable over long cable lengths, exhibits minimal effects on electronic component interfacing, and is appropriate with both vacuum tube and solid-state equipment.

The Hybrid v3 bi-wire speaker cable. The Hybrid v.3 includes a conductor network specifically designed for low frequencies, and one conductor designed for the mid to high frequencies. Both stranded and solid-core conductors are used. This cable design is wound in a helical (cork screw) fashion allowing a precise configuration of the circuits inductive and capacitive values. According to Aural Symphonics, they chose conductors of varying types and diameters that were selected for their individual electrical merits, but combined to maximize performance as a whole. These differing conductors address the challenge of proper signal transfer from amplifier to bi-wired speaker. In addition to reproduction of air and body, they claim that the Hybrid v.3 is designed to enhance the amplifier’s ability to control large diameter, low-frequency woofer drivers. The conductors at the amp end are bundled into a pair of spades, while the conductors at the speaker end are divided into two pair of spades – one pair for the bass and one pair for the mid and treble section of the speaker.

The price of the Chrono balanced interconnects is $1,570 for each of the two 1.5-meter pair, and $4,600 for the 5-meter pair, while the price of the 2-meter, bi-wired pair of Hybrid v3 is $2,800. These are obviously not cheap cables. As you would expect from the price, they should be high-end performers. So what do they do?

Over the years I’ve had many of earphones of various prices, fit comfort, and quality. I don’t prefer them to standard full sized headphones, but they do the job while commuting, working out or traveling.  I find that once you get in the $50-$100 price range a set of Grado SR60 or similar headphones to be much more open, give a better tonal balance, and sound stage, even if they tend to lack the sub level lows that earphones can produce.

But with pleasure, I can tell you the $60 for the iM-590 would be money well spent.

The earphone drivers of the iM-590 are 9mm neodymium with a sensitivity of (1KHz, 0.1V):>100dB, with a 12Hz-22KHz range, which puts them inline with most earphones of equal value. The iM-590 are rather revealing though.  I’ll explain more in a bit.

After letting the earphones burn in, per the manufacturer suggestion, for 8-10 hours, I plugged them into my desktop Dell PC at the office. I’m going to make the assumption that most 99.9% of the people who will purchase these earphones are not going to have a pre-amp or headphone amp, so I plugged them straight into the headphone jack on the PC, and heard a troubling amount of noise on the line that was not apparent in less revealing earphones.  I’ve recently been using a $40 pair of Sony MDR-EX76 earphones as my workout earphones and sometimes used them at the office. Those rolled off the highs at a comfortable level which hid the line noise from my PC.  The iM-590 headphones though did not.  And you know what, that was welcoming.  I knew immediately that these did not roll of the highs and would present a good sound stage.  Granted, the line noise was irritating, but it isn’t the headphone’s fault.

So out of the PC and into my iPod.  Ah clean sound at last.  But not truly tested.  The MP3s on my iPod are not even close to being of 320 kbit/s quality but they all sounded better than the day before when using the Sony earphones.  But here is the catch, or rather, something I was not expecting.  Because the iM-590 are so revealing, they made the standard EQ setting of ‘none’ much too bright.  I spent some time finding a good EQ setting on the iPod that would work well with the iM-590.  Alas, Apple is irritating and so many of the EQ settings are completely worthless, especially on a very clear and sensitive set of earphones. Eventually I found the a setting that worked for me, either ‘acoustic or R & B’ depending on the album.

So out of the iPod and into my Van Alstine Omega III for some real listening.  This is where these earbuds sounded best.  Out of a flat and clean pre-amp.  The sound stage is surprising good for earphones.  Sound didn’t appear to be just left, right and center.  But cymbal crashes across my mind and slightly off set toms where actually off set, just like on my floorstanders.

Listening to Miles Davis’s A Tribute to Jack Johnson, John McLaughlin’s guitar echoing around the recording studio, and Miles’s horns sway this way and that way. Solid, full and not piercing. The clean fuzz and power of Michael Henderson’s electric bass had my mind bobbing my and my toes tapping. The music kept it’s airy but powerful presence and I really could tell where the walls in the recorder studio were.  These still aren’t as good as real speakers, or high end phones/earpones, but they present the best sound stage I’ve ever heard in their price range.

Next on the play list was Massive Attack’s Mezzanine. I wanted to know how clean and extended the bass response was. With-in 30 seconds the back or my eyes were rumbling and and fluctuating to the heavy bass intro of Angle. The bass came on clean and didn’t over power the rest of mids or distort the highs. The earphones never cracked or showed massive signs of distortion. Even when I was going through iPod EQ settings and had on ‘bass booster’ the iM-590s managed to produce a clean the low end very well.

The nice thing about isolating earphones and you don’t have to fight outside noise and can keep the volume lower.  This helps to reduce strain on the ear and distortion of the earphones.

As far as comfort in your ear go, the iM-950 were good for me.  There are 4 sizes of ear tips to choose from and the plastic molds fairly easily to the ear for good comfort.

The iM-590 come with 4 ear tips, Shirt clip, airline dual-plug adapter, 2.5mm plug adapter, 2-ft extension cable and carrying case.

The earphone cable is not that cheap plastic stuff either, it is a nice fabric like cord protecting the sensitive parts on the inside.  It is strong and can take some abuse.  The cable never crimped in a way that severed the electrical wires on the inside and the attachable shirt clip was very handy.

So what does this all mean for the average listener who wants a good set of isolating earphones without spending too much hard earned cash?  It means the iM-590 are definitely worth checking out but might not be for everyone.  Because the iM-590 are very revealing I found that my taste for the earphones really varied with what I had them plugged into.  I even tried them on my T-Mobile G1, rocking out to White Zombie’s La Sexorcito at 320k/bits.  And though the fast kicks of drummer Ivan DePrume were clean, solid and had a nice pop, and Sean Yseult bass guitar was audible. The combination of album being mixed without much of a low end, and the headphones not making up for that, no EQ settings on the G1… and I couldn’t take much more.  But that doesn’t mean anything because I found a comfortable EQ setting for the iPod and they sound great for $60 earphones on the Omega III. Give’m a shot.

iMetal iM-590 product page and where to buy.

www.maximoproducts.com

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Reviewer: Constantine Soo

Just like all human endeavors, the audio hobby is a mental state and a psychological affair. I have always wondered if I would be a happier person were I to have remained single with a bare living room but a killer sound system and all the time in the world to listen to music through it. And without commenting on the various situations in which I wished I had remained single, and the rampant thought that all married men will contemplate sooner or later, I’ve always fathomed the degree of change one would have on the perception of his world when he became enfolded into the bubble of happiness that is music envelopment days in and out. That is until you walk out the door and see this lovely woman you have been missing, and the state of mind changes and you want a companion. Suddenly, everything you have is in her way.

Life is truly short, so if there is a way we can intensify our music listening experience when we are allowed time to do so, wouldn’t it be wonderful? Dear readers, I have discovered the conduit to music nirvana like I have never experienced, and it started with a singularity of sorts in the world scene of high-end audio establishment. This singularity occurred in the form of a new company called Ypsilon Electronics, whose principals and their U.S. Importer are packing its U.S. introduction with such wallop it can only be described as “grand”. YE was given life in 1995 by Ypsilon Live S.A., its parent company and a concert organizer in Greece. According to the YLSA website, “Ypsilon Live S.A. was founded by five young people, who were actively involved for more than 10 years in the Greek market as professional sound engineers, or lighting and sound technicians.”

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