Articles, Reviews and Measurements of Audio Products

Micca MB42X G2 Budget Speaker Review

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This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the Micca MB42X G2 low cost 2-way bookshelf speaker. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $100 for a pair, shipping included.
Micca MB42X G2 budget cheap bookshelf 2-way speaker review.jpg

I expected thin, cheap plywood construction but instead, found a robust composite enclosure that actually manages to look like a professional monitor. You could sell them for $400 and I would not complain about the case being too cheap. Likewise, the woofer gives a feeling of quality. Whether it delivers on that, will be seen in the measurements.

Please note that there are multiple models in this series with very close sounding names. This is the latest "generation 2" version and company does a good job of showing the contrast with older design:
micca-mb42xg2-highlight-2000x2000-1-1024x1024.jpg

If you are not familiar with my...

Solid State Logic SSL 2 MKII vs. Topping Pro E2x2 OTG (Audio Interfaces) Comparison Review and Measurements

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Introduction

Reviewing these two devices started out from a simple motivation for replacing my dead E-MU 0404 USB. I am a long-time speaker DIY'er and the E-MU 0404 USB, a state-of-the-art device at its time, had served my needs for 16 years admirably. But then it suddenly died. After studying all audio interfaces tested by Julian Krause at his YouTube channel, I made a short list: Solid State Logic SSL 2 MKII and Topping Pro E2x2 OTG. Ordered the SSL. Loved its design and it seemed to be working fine. But I noticed distortion levels in acoustic and DAC measurements somewhat high---not great. So I ordered the Topping, too. Right after receiving it, however, I discovered the E1DA Cosmos ADCiso, and found it had been a hit in small DIY world. After seeing its amazing performance, I couldn't help getting it along with the Cosmos Scaler. I also needed a DAC for measurement tasks, so I ordered the...

Denon AVR-A1H High-end AVR Review

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the Denon AVR-A1H 15.4 channel 8K AV Receiver (AVR). It kindly drop shipped by member from our company (Madrona) for testing and costs US $6,499.
Denon AVR-A1H 15.4 Ch 150W 8K AV Receiver Home Theater Pre-out Dolby Atmos Review.jpg


Please pardon the low quality mobile phone picture. At 70+ pounds, the AVR was too heavy for me to carry upstairs to my lab. So I put it on a cart and brought my test instruments to it.

I am disappointed that the look of the unit is not any different than many models below it. Hopefully the performance is there to compensate for it.

For testing, I updated the firmware to the latest. All "DAC" tests are performed by putting the unit into "preamplifier" mode and thereby disabling its power amps. I like how Denon is consistent with volume control at 82.5 producing 2 volts on RCA and 4 volts on XLR on all of their units. That is how I conducted all the tests.

Because I was running the tests from my laptop, I could not drive the unit with HDMI. So all...

SMSL PS200 Budget DAC Review

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This is a review and measurements of the SMSL PS200 stereo budget DAC. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $89.99.
SMSL PS200 Multifunctional Audio Decoder ES9039Q2M UAC1 2 Built-in Bluetooth PS5 Stereo low co...jpg

The unit comes in a lightweight plastic package which allows my rather stiff RCA test cables to yank on it. A simple toggle switch changes inputs. There is an indicator for DSD and another for MQA. Back panel shows a feature I haven't seen in a while: selection of USB audio class:
SMSL PS200 Multifunctional Audio Decoder ES9039Q2M UAC1 2 Built-in Bluetooth PS5 Stereo low co...jpg

Looking at product description, it says that is to enable playback with Sony PS5 which I assume only works with ancient class 1 devices. Other than, power and data is provided through USB-C.

Measurements are abbreviated in order to make progress with the backlog.

SMSL PS200 DAC Measurements
Let's start with our dashboard:
SMSL PS200 Multifunctional Audio Decoder ES9039Q2M UAC1 2 Built-in Bluetooth PS5 Stereo Measur...png


Wow, I must say, I was not prepared to see such excellent performance! Distortion is vanishingly low at near -130 dB. So it is our dynamic...

Please don't post full transcript of videos

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I know it is nice to have the transcript of a video for those who don't want to sit through the video. Alas, the video is what the content owner intended for people to view. While members are good at posting the video itself and thereby, give the views the content owner wishes, it is still best to not post entire transcripts.

Of course, fair use holds and you are welcome to post snippets from such transcripts to make a point. Just don't post all of it verbatim (whether content owner offered or a tool is used to generate them).

Thanks.

McIntosh MPM4000 Power Meter Review

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This is a review and measurements of the McIntosh MPM4000 Power/dB vintage stereo meter. It is on kind loan from a member and costs used from US $500 to $999.
Purifi Class D Amplifier with McIntosh MPM4000 VU Power dB meter Review.jpg

It had come out in 1997, aimed at automotive market so requires 12 volt power. As you can see in this sample though, it can be readily used in home systems with a case and external power supply.

Unlike every other VU meter we have tested so far which are just for show, the MPM4000 is supposed to be calibrated for a 4 ohm speaker. The purpose of the review then is to see if there is an impact on the fidelity and accuracy of its markings.

FYI the sample I have has very dim lighting. I suspect the originals were brighter.

McIntosh MPM4000 Power Meter Measurements
For testing, I configured the Purifi reference amplifier for 1 watt output. Here it is by itself:

Purifi Class D Amplifier Measurement.png

As we expect, distortion is vanishingly small. Let's now connect the MPM4000 in...

Monitor Audio Apex A10 Speaker Review

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This is a review, detailed measurements and listening tests of the Monitor Audio Apex A10 "lifestyle" speaker aimed for home theater applications. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $750 each.
Monitor Audio Apex A10 home theater bookshelf speaker review.jpg

The A10 is absolutely gorgeous for this class of speaker (shown without the cover). It also feels exceptionally solid and has by far the best mount mechanism I have seen for this type of speaker:
Monitor Audio Apex A10 home theater bookshelf speaker back panel stand review.jpg

Different mounts are provided for stand vs wall or ceiling mounting, making it ideal for wall and ceiling applications for Atmos surround applications.

The finish is excellent and the woofer has nice pattern which adds to feeling of the speaker being "high end."

Let's measure it with our Klippel NFS to see if the performance matches the...

SMSL DO200 Pro DAC Review

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the SMSL DO200 Pro balanced stereo audio DAC. It was sent to me by Aoshida Audio and costs US $399.
SMSL DO200 PRO HiFi MQA MQA-CD DAC Stereo Balanced XLR Audio Review.jpg

The small curve on top of the display distinguishes this DAC from myriad of others from SMSL and adds a bit of class to it. Otherwise, the user interface is the familiar SMSL interface which is easy to use if not fancy. Rear panel shows a couple of variations from ordinary:
SMSL DO200 PRO HiFi MQA MQA-CD DAC Stereo Balanced XLR Audio back panel Review.jpg

We have USB-C instead of type 2 and importantly, inclusion of HDMI ARC support for better integration with TVs outputting the same.

Power supply is included in the case which I appreciate.

If you are not familiar with...

Fosi Audio Box X5 Phono Preamp Review

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the Fosi Audio Box X5 stereo Phono stage. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $109.99.
Fosi Audio Box X5 Phono turntable LP preamplifier stage Moving Magnet stereo Audio Review.jpg

Company manages to bring a touch of class in a category that is universally utilitarian with those rounded corners and orange power button. Flexibility is provided by supporting both Moving Magnet (MM) and Moving Coil cartridges with different gain settings:
Fosi Audio Box X5 Phono turntable LP preamplifier stage Moving Magnet  Coil back panel stereo ...jpg


The gain setting is sandwiched tightly between the input and output RCA jacks. But company has wisely put in a tall knob to allow for relatively easy adjustment.

I forgot to take a picture of the AC transformer that is rated at indicated 16 volts.

Fosi Audio Box X5 Phono Measurements
It was quite a...

SMSL RAW Pro-DAC1 Balanced DAC Review

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the SMSL RAW Pro-DAC1 balanced stereo audio DAC. It was sent to me by shezehenaudio and costs US $699.
SMSL RAW Pro-DAC1 balanced high-end stereo audio dac XLR Review.jpg

I must say, this is one of the most modern and attractive looking SMSL DACs. The UI is simple to navigate without the included remote and seems very responsive. Back panel shows the usual connection with the addition of USB-C:
SMSL RAW Pro-DAC1 balanced high-end stereo audio dac XLR back panel usb-c Review.jpg


If you are not familiar with my DAC measurements, please watch my tutorial on it:

SMSL RAWPro-DAC1 Measurements
As usual, we start with our dashboard with XLR output with volume set to 0 dB:
SMSL RAW Pro-DAC1 balanced high-end stereo audio dac XLR measurements.png

This is state of the art performance when it comes to combination of noise and distortion, easily...
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