Tests

Even with digital audio components, there is potential for sound tuning, especially in the analog working areas. The power supply is of central importance here. The German digital audio specialist RME knows this only too well. It is therefore not surprising that RME has recently launched two upgrade options for …

Serve, set, but also win? With the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100, the Brits present their first over-ear headphones. They hit the audiophile heart: fine, smart, correct – and with the best noise canceling I know. At this very moment, I am entrusting my life and my time to Deutsche Bahn. …

Tube amplifiers are no longer what they used to be. And that’s a good thing. Tube amplifiers in the past: built like something out of a hobby store, operational reliability as good as hell, performance subterranean. Tube amplifiers today: built like a fortress, highly reliable and durable thanks to microprocessor …

It’s not often that we test a device twice at LowBeats. Back in December 2019, I tested the then new Lyngdorf TDAI-3400. But like an AV processor, such a completely digital streaming amplifier consists of at least 50 percent software in terms of function and quality. And over the years, …

The Backes & Müller Jubilé follows a long tradition of flagship loudspeakers that were technologically far ahead. As a companion in the industry for over 40 years, I was subconsciously aware of this, but it only really became clear to me when I was researching the LowBeats History story for …

The Acoustic Signature Verona NEO is a top-quality turntable in the guise of a normal record player. In the test, it impressed with its well thought-out practical features, high flexibility and powerful, generous sound. The Verona NEO is a little out of line with the Acoustic Signature drives. The Swabian …

At the end of 2022, Marantz presented an entire series of new AV receivers, “Cinema”, which were completely redeveloped and for the first time also adopted the current housing design of the stereo devices. After the previously tested Marantz Cinema 70s, we ordered the top model Marantz Cinema 30, which …

When Karl-Heinz Fink launches a new loudspeaker, you should listen up. The well-traveled developer has already delighted us with a number of audiophile delicacies – just think of the impressive Borg, which is still LowBeats reference. But now the master has outdone himself with the small Epos ES-7N. It sounds …

Until now, Audio Group Denmark (AGD), with its brands Børresen (loudspeakers), Aavik (electronics), and Ansuz (cables/accessories), has focused entirely on exploring hi-fidelity frontiers, resulting in products that, in terms of price, only appealed to a particularly solvent target audience or extreme hobbyists. But now the Danes have added the AXXESS …

This article creates a new genre at LowBeats: the on-site listening test. With these articles we want to gain an assessment of particularly expensive (or heavy) components that we don’t bring into our listening room – precisely because they are too expensive, too heavy or both – but which are …

Clearaudio is not modest. The Franconians (The Franconian lands lie principally in Bavaria) even call the new Clearaudio Concept Signature the “most exciting complete turntable package of all time”. Big words that you can choke on. But we can understand the proudly swelling chest in our test. With the Concept …

We know Progressiv Audio as a manufacturer of outstanding sounding loudspeakers and amplifiers; PA boss Ralf Koenen simply knows what he is doing. But now he has looked outside the signal chain and, with the Progressive Audio Power Station 1KW, a power conditioner that is as clever as it is …

Many have failed in the hunt for the arch-enemy of analog reproduction. Now Helmut Thiele is also targeting the tracking error angle – and wants to defeat it with a tricky tonearm. The test of his unique Thiele TT01/TA01 turntable/tonearm combination. “Ah, I know that one!” As soon as Helmut …

Since Audio Reference from Hamburg took over the subwoofer specialist Velodyne and re-established it as Velodyne Acoustics, they have been continuously developing the brand and model series. A giant step has now been taken with the Velodyne Acoustics MiniVee X subwoofer dwarf. The compact high-gloss cube costs just 999 euros …

The TD 1600 is perhaps the most irresistible of all the new Thorens players – both aesthetically and technically: the proportions are perfect, the sub-chassis works superbly. But together with the new tonearm, i.e. the Thorens TD 1600 with TP 160, the combination comes within reach of a quality that …