A wishlist of gear to be reviewed by Amir

[Hifihedgehog]

Kube Sound Kube4!

@amirm, I have a new request and it is coming from the company Kube Sound who just launched a Kickstarter for their new audiophile-oriented Kube4 Bluetooth speaker. After I had backed two super early bird units, I expressed interest in them sending over a review unit to you for testing and they warmly welcomed the opportunity. Here is their response from their Kickstarter comment section, where they state they will have review units available beginning in late June and they would “love for [you] to provide a review”:

We will have our final B&O tuned units for marketing available in late June. We would love for Amir to provide a review!

Link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1903161830/kube4-portable-speaker-with-concert-like-sound/comments?comment=Q29tbWVudC0zMjI3ODY5Mw==&reply=Q29tbWVudC0zMjI4MTYxMw==

Here is some other insight I received from them about the engineering expertise that went into the design, which comes by way of Sound Hub (https://soundhub.dk/; they were cofounded by Harman Lifestyle and Bang & Olufsen) who they claim is “the best of the best”:

Check out SoundHub's website! It's been designed and tune by the best of the best! The final tuned units will be sent out for review in late June.

Our previous product did great at low volumes. I kept one in my study and would run it a low volumes after the kids were asleep and I read. This one will be even more refined on volume control, especially with the KubeSync app.

Link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1903161830/kube4-portable-speaker-with-concert-like-sound/comments?comment=Q29tbWVudC0zMjI3MzUxMg==&reply=Q29tbWVudC0zMjI4MTYzOA==

By the way, what is the best way for them to connect with you, @amirm?

 

[Thomas savage]

@amirm vivid audio have a new mini monitor speaker thats being sent out for review. Seems a ideal thing to test and find out if such a ' hi end ' speaker has any real performance merits. It carries on the design and technology ideals from their larger speakers so would make for a good window into a larger area .

Might get views !

 

[Archaea]

Im listening to music on YouTube over my Amazon 4K Firestick to my Denon x6700h, and I can tell it’s not the best source. It made me think how cool it would be to have all the popular streaming sticks measured in a shootout.

Firestick 4K
Apple 4K
Roku 4K
Others?

Each of these will let you stream off a windows DLNA or SMB share if you wanted a standardized test file to fairly compare. It’d be interesting to see which unit has the best audio capability.

 

[Hifihedgehog]

Im listening to music on YouTube over my Amazon 4K Firestick to my Denon x6700h, and I can tell it’s not the best source. It made me think how cool it would be to have all the popular streaming sticks measured in a shootout.

Firestick 4K
Apple 4K
Roku 4K
Others?

Each of these will let you stream off a windows DLNA or SMB share if you wanted a standardized test file to fairly compare. It’d be interesting to see which unit has the best audio capability.

I think it would be fair to forewarn you that this sort of request would end up being a debunking piece more than anything. Why? HDMI audio is garbage in, garbage out. It is digital audio (straight 0s and 1s) being fed directly to your AV receiver and the bits don't magically change depending on the device that is sending them to your AV receiver across the digital-only HDMI cable. Why things sound subpar to you is YouTube's compressed audio (especially at 128 kbps and below) sounds worse than a decently encoded source track. So if you want better sound, don't bother with upgrading your streaming device. Upgrade your source material to at or above ~200 kbps mp3. Then, if you are still unsatisfied, work at your room acoustics with better sound proofing and speaker positioning. And then, if you are still unsatisfied, upgrade your DAC, amplifier, (or in this case, AV receiver, since it is both your DAC and amplifier) and speakers.

 

[JEntwistle]

Would it be possible to test the NAD BluOS module with your equipment?

 

[JuliaCoder]

Because every DAC and headphone amp is on back order, I tried Dan Clark RTs plugged directly into my old MacBook Pro and my old iPhone. Turns out, that's good enough for me. Testing Macs, PCs, and phones with a range of headphones would show how good the zero extra stuff option is. A calibrated source might be a problem but I'd think a sound file with test signals could be made to work.

 

[concorde1]

A Neurochrome Modulus-686 amplifier done as prescribed by Neurochrome.

 

[jae]

YULONG DA1

 

[MZKM]

Anyone need a $100 Airplay 2 streamer? If so, please send to @amirm to test, assuming he has an iOS device he can use/borrow.

Belkin just announced it for $100.
https://www.belkin.com/us/adapters/...nect-audio-adapter-with-airplay-2/p/p-auz002/

It has digital & analog out.

 

[Roland68]

I would be very interested in the measurements of 2 devices:

Violectric DAC V850 and the Niimbus US 4+
With the DAC V850, I would be interested in whether there is a measurable difference between OFF and BEST in the RESAMPLING function.

 

[monkeyboy]

Seems like people are finding studio monitors a bit under powered for larger rooms. I wonder if PA speakers might be an option and if they have decent frequency response....

 

[Archaea]

$1200 - 13.3 channel Dolby Atmos PrePro. (9.3.4, or 7.3.6 processing).
ToneWinner is the brand name.
https://www.avsforum.com/threads/tonewinner-at-300-16-channel-preamp-processor.3202735/

 

[ripmixburn]

Starke Sound AD4.320
"To give the AD4 true audiophile performance, Starke Sound’s electronics team developed the innovative Class D NS600 amplification module. This in house custom built module is unique to the Starke brand and isn't available in any other amplifier."
https://shop.starkesound.com/products/starke-sound-ad4-amplifier

 

[Hifihedgehog]

Kube Sound Kube4!

@amirm, I have a new request and it is coming from the company Kube Sound who just launched a Kickstarter for their new audiophile-oriented Kube4 Bluetooth speaker. After I had backed two super early bird units, I expressed interest in them sending over a review unit to you for testing and they warmly welcomed the opportunity. Here is their response from their Kickstarter comment section, where they state they will have review units available beginning in late June and they would “love for [you] to provide a review”:



Link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1903161830/kube4-portable-speaker-with-concert-like-sound/comments?comment=Q29tbWVudC0zMjI3ODY5Mw==&reply=Q29tbWVudC0zMjI4MTYxMw==

Here is some other insight I received from them about the engineering expertise that went into the design, which comes by way of Sound Hub (https://soundhub.dk/; they were cofounded by Harman Lifestyle and Bang & Olufsen) who they claim is “the best of the best”:



Link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1903161830/kube4-portable-speaker-with-concert-like-sound/comments?comment=Q29tbWVudC0zMjI3MzUxMg==&reply=Q29tbWVudC0zMjI4MTYzOA==

By the way, what is the best way for them to connect with you, @amirm?

I had mentioned this request some months ago, and I am hoping in the coming months that @Amir gets a chance to evaluate the Kube Sound Kube4. The manufacturer seemed willing to supply a sample when I asked early on in their Kickstarter campaign but if that fails due to supply constraints, I would be willing to ship over a loaner unit of the two I am receiving as a backer.

Fast forward to today, in Kube Sound’s latest Kickstarter update to backers, they just revealed on-axis tweeter measurements following tuning at SoundHub, taken within SoundHub’s own anechoic chamber.

The frequency chart looks promising. The volume axis has a 5dB separation per tick mark. I superimposed a target frequency line similar to what Amir does in his on-axis tweeter measurements in his reviews. The bass measurement in particular seems amazingly deep for a speaker of its size. Quoting SoundHub’s submitted analysis:

Meanwhile, the upper bass to midrange and finally treble (100 Hz to 15 KHz) seems to tightly hug to a +/-2dB tolerance. This looks better than the KEF LS50 Meta's, which had anemic bass compared to these Kube4's.

Honestly, if SoundHub’s measurement is accurate, the Kube4 is a game changer for portable Bluetooth speakers. And all this is from a battery-powered, self-amplified, Wi-FI and Bluetooth-connected unit with an MSRP of $599 and a Kickstarter price as low as $359 (super early bird).

The manufacturer also claims exceptionally low THD and noise levels, and also very high output levels:

I am dying to see and hear just how much it lives up to the hype!

 

[deafenears]

Sparkos Aries Headphone Amplifier and Preamp - Sir Lüdendorf Geekenstein esquire the third. AKA Lütz. President and CEO of Sparkos Labs.

 

[ShiZo]

Sennheiser he-1

 

[pma]

Rotel RC-1572 MkII
preamplifier
https://www.rotel.com/sites/default/files/product/infosheets/RC-1572MKII Specification.pdf

 

[Hifihedgehog]

Can I just say that I think we should dub this month "Stinky September" just because of the long streak of products that totally stink performance-wise? I mean seriously, just scrolling down the front page, all I see is an endless sea of headless panthers! Nearly all the products Amir has tested this month have had to put on the chopping block earning that notorious headless porcelain pal. And the one product that managed to not get the headless panther instead got the very rare share world's worst cook panther. Some funny person here in the forums had suggested that Amir should review some lesser performing products after testing the Stealth to clean his palette. Well, I think he actually needs to clean his palette with an actually good product after subjecting himself to this mountain of overpriced, overrated junk.

 

[Eddy H.]

Off topic aside, that name has always bothered me.

I can't decide if it's supposed to be an intentional misspelling of the English "kinky" or if it's supposed to be "taboo" in Japanese (kinki/きんき/禁忌)

Kinky is the owners wifes name. lol

 

[tabby]

Marantz SA8005
https://www.marantz.com/en-us/product/hi-fi-components/sa8005

Marantz PM8005
https://www.marantz.com/da-dk/shop/amplifier/pm8005?status=discontinue