It’s the end of the year again! And of course that means we’re going to come up with some lists. Of course, with about 100 products we’ve had our hands on, it’s hard to come up with a top five. But we’ll do our best!
Yamaha YH5000SE headphones
Yamaha’s new flagship over-ear headphones are an audacious entry into the high end headphone market; priced at €5,500 while the next model in line costs about €600. These Yamaha headphones combine the speed and airiness of electrostatic cans with the bass punch of dynamic headphones. The weight of just 320 grams and the good fit certainly add to our listening experience; we sometimes forgot we were wearing headphones because there was just music all over the place. The headphones are very easy to drive. Connect the YH5000SE to a good DAC/headphone amp and you find yourself listening to a full-fledged audio set that costs as much as the Tesla Cybertruck with 3 motors (just to put the price into perspective). Hearing is believing, don’t tell us we didn’t warn you!
Pioneer PLX500 record player
When testing six entry-level record players, this Pioneer really stood out. Not only because of its resemblance to the Technics SL1200 series but also because of its surprisingly good sound and easy installation and operation. For newbees into the world of vinyl, the fiddling with the likes of tone arm adjustment, needle pressure, anti skating setting is a dealbreaker. For a reasonable price (about €350), the Pioneer PLX500 is immediately your vinyl friend and it just sounds excellent. There’s a built-in phono preamp that can also be turned off so you can upgrade to a better phono stage. And there’s a USB output that lets you record vinyl digitally. And there’s a USB output that lets you record vinyl digitally. Buy two and you’re the DJ!
KZ ZSN Pro in-ear monitor
We published an editorial and review on in-ear headphones from the Chinese brand KZ: chi-fi at its best. KZ boasts a very wide range of in-ears; dynamic, hybrid, planar, wireless models; you name it, KZ makes it. The six in-ears we had for review all had distinctive sound characteristics. For its modest price, the ZSN pro offers more than value for money. We would have believed it if it had a price tag of €150. KZ is an excellent example of Chinese hi-fi as a quality brand in its own right.
EarMen CH-Amp, Tradutto DAC, PSU-3 power supply
EarMen demonstrates what we at Alpha-Audio fully support; good sound begins and ends with a good power supply. Power to the people! EarMen’s PSU-3 powers the CH-amp preamplifier and Tradutto DAC. The result very very quiet (low noise floor), richness in detail, airiness/soundstage and dynamics. The headphone preamp controls difficult to drive headphones effortlessly. The CH-Amp also works well as a preamplifier, single ended and balanced. The compact size of this ‘stack’ enables it to fit easily on the desk, a side table or in a rack. Connect a set of active speakers and enjoy the music. Excellent value for money.
Cyrus CD-T
In the test of CD-transports, we could the body language of my esteemed colleagues revealed that the Cyrus CD-transport is grooving! Interesting enought, it has been on the market for about 10 years. This also is a tribute to the well-made hi-fi that the British are particularly good at. Yours truly is the proud owner of a Linn set that still plays musically after 30 years. Our Rega Planet CD player also still performs very well as a transport with coax output. And let’s not forget the Tannoy Studio Monitor Gold; juggernauts of speakers from the 1980s that still sound impressive and play music with great ease and precision. They now have a permanent residence in the studio for mastering. Craftsmanship lasts even when it is 40 years or older. Kudos.