Enjoy the Music.com February 2025 Audiophile High-End Audio Review Magazine, High-Performance Hi-Fi, Luxury Premium High Fidelity, Sound Gear, Stereo System, And Immersivephile

February 2025

Celebrating Our Spectacular 30th Anniversary!
Honoring Enjoy the Music.com's exceptional articles and reviews.
During 2025, Enjoy the Music.com will feature historic audio gear reviews and articles during our past 30 years. As always, in the end what really matters is that you... enjoy the music!

High-Performance Audio & Music Industry News
Essential high-end audio news you need to know.
Stay up-to-date on the latest audiophile and music industry news.

The Future Of Our Audiophile Hobby Part 1
Roger Skoff writes of things to come and how to make them better.
Article By Roger Skoff
I was recently asked by someone why I never write about how brilliantly the consumer electronics industry is doing and how, from being initially a hobby and then a cottage industry, some hi-fi companies are now being recognized by the big companies, acquired by them, and becoming, themselves, important contributors to the world economy, elements of our lifestyle, and shapers of our common future. All of those things are true. The consumer electronics industry has become colossal and affects the lives of every one of us in more ways than I can count. The problem is that it's not our sector of the industry that's being promoted by mainstream media outlets and, in turn, becoming essential to the way we live.
---> The Future Of Our Audiophile Hobby Part 1.

Is The High-End Audio Sector Properly Represented?
Industry education? Comments? Suggestions?
Article By Steven R. Rochlin
As the yearly Consumer Electronic Show (CES) is only a few weeks away, i can not help but wonder if the high-end is properly represented. First we have the self proclaimed Academy Advancing High Performance Audio & Video (AAHPAV) who seems to be on thorazine, then there is the upcoming CES where there are no conferences scheduled for the high-end audio community, and lastly the impressive departure of many manufactures from the official CES show who are instead attending The Home Entertainment Show (T.H.E. Show). The AAHPAV was active at the Hi-Fi shows a few years back. Three years ago they has some wonderful classes lead by industry leaders and professionals.
---> Is The High-End Audio Sector Properly Represented?

Love It Or Hate It, 2025 Is About AI
Wireless mics are a critical market segment too.
Editorial By J. Martins
There was so much we had planned to talk about in this issue of audioXpress... But as always, there's only a certain number of pages. We will definitely be coming back to the topic of microphones this year, given that a lot is happening in "conventional" and wireless microphones. And likewise, we will need to cover so much of what is happening in artificial intelligence (AI) and microphone integration for audio processing. Just as we are sending this issue to the printers, pre-CES news in this field continues to flow. In this issue's Market Update, we have discussed developments in the cutting-edge MEMS microphone space that represents a massive amount of business when it comes to capturing sound sources for recording or transmission.
---> Love It Or Hate It, 2025 Is About AI.

It's All Good
We're living in the most diverse time for music acquisition and enjoyment.
Editorial By Alan Sircom
The WWI French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau famously once said, "Generals always fight the last war." That statement applies as much in audio as it did in the trenches of Ypres. Although, fortunately, audio's butcher's bill is a lot lighter. We're in 2025, now. We didn't get replicants or flying cars, but a quarter of a century into the millennium, we need to stop thinking like we are still living in the last one. What's great about right now in the audio world is we are living in an 'it's all good' time. It doesn't matter whether you want to listen to music on LP, tape, CD, SACD, streamed, downloaded, on compact cassette, MiniDisc (yes, there are still collectors) or sent by semaphore. Nobody really cares whether you listen using tubes, solid-state, IC-based, in Class A, AB, D, or F#.
---> It's All Good.

Florida International Audio Expo 2025 Show Report
High-end audio / audiophiles and music lovers rejoice in Tampa.
The Florida International Audio Expo 2025 takes place from February 21st through 23rd at the Sheraton Tampa Brandon, the event's new, and larger, venue. The Florida International Audio Expo will showcase many floors filled with exhibit spaces featuring the latest in home and portable audio gear. You may enjoy an abundance of great sound from mono to stereo and immersive, plus various exhibit room will feature never before seen new products! Show attendees are the world's first to experience many of the best new high-performance, hi-resolution modern audio products. With many floors and large conference rooms of demonstrations to explore, attendees can experience luxurious immersive premium audio electronics, loudspeakers, turntables, and high-end audio headphones produced by manufacturers from all around the world.
---> Florida International Audio Expo 2025 Show Report.

Dan D'Agostino MAS Momentum Lifestyle Integrated Amplifier w/DAC & Audio Streaming Review
Only for music lovers, because that is the MLife's raison d'�tre � to enable the listener to revel in one's love of music.
Review By Tom Lyle
Many audiophiles are familiar with the name Dan D'Agostino, by virtue of him being the founder, CEO, and chief engineer at Krell which he founded in 1980. The products made by Krell, which included everything from power amplifiers to SACD players and speakers, were some of the best high-end components available. In 2009 he was ousted by investors that he invited into the company because they thought the company should change direction. Almost immediately after leaving Krell, he formed Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems. On a personal note, when I first became interested in audio in the 1970s the common wisdom at that time, and for quite a while after that, was that all power amplifiers that measure the same, sound the same.
---> Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems Momentum Lifestyle Integrated Amplifier w/DAC & Audio Streaming Review.

Oracle Audio Delphi MK VI Turntable Review
A first-class turntable with incredibly advanced power supplies.
Review By Tom Lyle
My first "real" turntable after years of listening to crummy mass-market contraptions was an AR ES-1. Mounted on its arm-board was a Grace tonearm, but I eventually upgraded to a Magnepan model, which as it turned out was not really an upgrade but merely a move sideways. At the time I was listening to the AR table in my humble high-end system I was also spending lots of my audiophile hours with the now legendary Herb Papier, the maker of the Tri-Planar tonearm. He became, for lack of any other term, my analog and high-end mentor. Eventually he sold me his original version of the Oracle Delphi, which was one of his first "modern" high-end tables that he owned, of which he spent many hours and a good sum of money modifying.
---> Oracle Audio Delphi MK VI Turntable With SME V Tonearm Review.

First Watt / Pass Labs SIT-2 Stereo Amplifier Review
Ten excellent Watts!
Review By A. Colin Flood
On several systems including mine, the SIT-2 did not sound like a tube amplifier. It was better in some respects. Nor did it sound like solid-state either. It was better in many respects there too. The new Static Induction Transistor SIT-2 stereo amplifier from Pass' First Watt company is a plain dark-gray box. Sure, it has signature Pass cooling fins sticking out at an angle like Batman's car, but small, bright blue LED eyes replace the famous big, blue Pass meter. The amplifier doesn't look monstrously powerful. It isn't either. Intended so its first Watt is the best, the SIT-2 amplifier is rated at only 10 Watts output. Designed to sound like tubes, instead the SIT amplifier does not sound like solid-state.
---> First Watt / Pass Labs SIT-2 Stereo Amplifier Review.

Abyss AB-1266 Planar Magnetic Headphones Review
The journey is the destination.
Review By Dave Hanson
The practice of building a home system and tweaking it to perfection is a time-honored tradition among music lovers and audiophiles. And I'm not just talking about buying equipment and is plainly evident within my review of the Abyss AB-1266 headphones and you'll soon learn. It's about perfecting the angle of the speaker. Damping the reflective surfaces of the room. Perhaps even rewiring the electrical sockets in search of that last one or two percent. Few understand this practice better than Joe Skubinski of JPS Labs, a man who has built a name for himself in the world of high-end cables. A close listen to other JPS designs such as the Aluminata Power Cable ($3999) reveals a prodigious level of attention to detail at every stage of the build.
---> Abyss AB-1266 Planar Magnetic Headphones Review.

OPPO BDP-105 3D Blu-ray Universal Disc Player Review
I'd call it more of a disc player A/V processor.
Article By Bill Gaw
When you read this I'll be sunning myself during my three- month semi-retirement in the Caribbean. Why do I mention that? Because I'll probably be lying back on a chaise lounge with headphones on listening to this newest and best player that OPPO has produced. There, I've probably ruined the rest of the article for readers familiar with the units from this company. In the past, they've always shown up on lists for best "Product of the Year" especially for the price, and this one is no exception. I do have a gripe with OPPO over the naming of this unit which will become clearer as you read further; thus the parentheses in the title. Over the past several years, I've reviewed just about every one of their top- of- the- line players, and in each case have found them to be equal to or better than products two to three times their price.
---> OPPO BDP-105 3D Blu-ray "Disc Player" Review.

Benchmark DAC1 USB And Bel Canto e.One Dac3 Review
Two digital preamps under careful scrutiny and testing.
Article By Steven Stone
You may well ask, "What defines a digital preamp?" Simply stated, a digital preamp is a two-channel preamp that accepts digital input sources and outputs variable electrical levels of analog signals. It incorporates a fully featured DAC (digital-to- analog converter) so in most cases it can handle not only 44.1kHz red-book CDs but also MP3s and 48kHz on up DVD soundtracks. Such a device can reduce the number of components in a system by at least one (an outboard DAC is no longer needed) and in the case of both the Benchmark DAC1 USB and Bel Canto e.One Dac3, since they both have USB input capabilities, a USB to SPIF converter box also becomes redundant.
---> Benchmark DAC1 USB And Bel Canto e.One Dac3 Review.

PureAudioProject Duet 15 Loudspeaker Review
A benchmark performance open baffle loudspeaker.
Review By Dr. Jules Coleman
Featuring the extraordinary Voxativ Pife full range driver mated to a comparably fast 15" woofer, the PureAudioProject (PAP) Duet 15 offers the listener an unrivaled, relaxed, unhurried, yet fully resolved natural and immediate musical experience that box speakers, for the most part, can only dream of providing, and one that competitor open baffle designs will struggle, most likely with only limited success, to equal. These speakers are unassuming, seductive, and enthralling. I found myself unable to resist falling into the music's awaiting arms for the better part of the several months I was fortunate enough to have them in my home. The term 'open baffle' is vague. The standard design consists of a single baffle (think of the 'front baffle' of an enclosed speaker) on which one or more drivers are affixed. All open baffle speakers produced by PureAudioProject are of this sort.
---> PureAudioProject Duet 15 Loudspeaker Review.

LessLoss Giant Steps Equipment Feet Review
Enjoying the purity and immediacy of the music.
Review By Rick Becker
When I caught wind of the new Giant Steps footers from LessLoss audio I contacted Louis Motek immediately. Having written the first review of both his BlackGround Power Base and BlackGround for Speakers, I have very high regard for his work and the review samples of both reside in my system. The Giant Steps footers are even better, he claimed. I would like nine, I said, to try them on three successive components in the rig to experience how the effect intensifies and to try them under the corners of my loudspeakers. There was just one problem. It was the Fall audio show season and I was committed to covering the Toronto Audiofest 2024 in October and the Capital Audiofest 2024 in November. Back-to-back. I finished the Toronto report on a Wednesday and on Thursday I drove down to Rockville, MD. I knew I would not have time to write a review until the January issue....
---> LessLoss Giant Steps Equipment Feet Review.

Orchard Audio PecanPi+ Streamer Premium Review
Savory or a sweet dessert?
Review By Ric Mancuso / Bargain Audiophile
For those who are new to this relatively new class of audio components, my review of the Orchard Audio PecanPi+ Streamer Premium will further educate you on the advantages and benefits of this component. First, let me explain what an audio / music streamer does. We are all familiar with streaming movies with Apps that allow you to watch movies at your convenience without having to purchase physical media. The video/audio stream comes from the provider/server as a continuous digital stream of bits like a CD. However, with streaming the digital CD if you will, lives in the Cloud. Unlike a CD, you don't have to store it. The content is stored for you to access whenever it is convenient for listening. A music streamer (or network audio streamer) must manage many different wireless sources as well as be able to play music files from local storage on your network.
---> Orchard Audio PecanPi+ Streamer Premium Review.

World Premiere Review!
FiiO S15 Music Streamer, Hi-Res DAC, And Bluetooth Receiver Review
The FiiO S15's ease of use and impressive features is matched by its' excellent sound quality.
Review By Tom Lyle
I am a proponent of FiiO's portable digital audio players (DAPs). Since I'm an audiophile practically obsessed with music but cannot sit in front of my main audio system to listen to music 24/7, using a DAP is not an option but a must. I've auditioned many DAPs in the past, and since the spring of 2024, I've been using FiiO's top-of-the-line M17 "Portable Desktop-Class Music Player" daily. It has the best sound quality of any sub-$2000 DAP I've ever heard. When I was offered the opportunity to review FiiO's new S15 Music Streamer / Hi-Res DAC / Bluetooth Receiver, I immediately said "yes." After FiiO began marketing their all-in-one desktop system, the approximately 6" square R7, in early 2023, they decided to continue developing this type of product and now offer audiophiles and music lovers the subject of this review: their component-sized S15, a streamer that can also be used as a preamp, a DAC, and a Bluetooth receiver.
---> FiiO S15 Music Streamer, Hi-Res DAC, And Bluetooth Receiver Review.

Jupiter Copper Foil Paper & Wax Capacitor Review
Article By Jonathan Lo
The Jupiter HT line of capacitors utilizing aluminum foil in beeswax impregnated paper dielectric has been a favorite among audiophiles for quite some time. This unique dielectric and construction technique has resulted in an extremely unique capacitor that has emphasized an organic, natural presentation with the goal of minimizing synthetic, plasticky taste in many "modern" capacitors utilizing non-natural materials. The original Jupiter beeswax capacitor did have issues with the wax tending to melt at high temperatures, but the current "HT" version uses improved wax impregnation techniques and reinforced paper dielectric, resulting in temperature stability to 70 degree Celsius/158 Fahrenheit. It is proudly manufactured in U.S.A. with cryogenic treatment to top off with that proverbial cherry.
---> Jupiter Copper Foil Paper & Wax Capacitor Review.

The Intro: My Daughter Is Now Four Years Young...
Editorial By Art Dudley
By the time you read this my daughter will be four years old. This morning I took Julia to preschool, but when we got there I realized I'd forgotten to bring her lunch, so I told the teachers I would return with it later on. I went back at noon, brown bag in hand, and walked into the classroom just as everyone was settling down on the big story rug for a big story. When Julia saw me her face lit up and she shouted, "Daddy!" She jumped up and ran to me and gave me the biggest hug ever, in history. While she was hugging me she continued to say, "My Daddy! My Daddy!," and patted me on the back the way she does lately. All you parents out there know what I'm talking about, don't you?
---> The Intro: Editorial By Art Dudley.

More Than Meets The EYE
Article By Joe Roberts
In principle, everybody seems to agree that live music should be the reference by which reproduction is judged. However, one of the great dilemmas which confronts the audiophile is that you get so good at listening, so perceptive of nuance and aware of the characteristics of the media, that you can't easily be fooled into believing there is live music in your room. Paradoxically, the better we learn to hear the farther we stray from oneness with "the music." Our real break with the audio past is in the ways we listen, not in the new technologies we use. Through methodical self-reflection and meticulous training, the modern audiophile has learned to listen in new ways and for new things. In the 20 or 30 years we have been developing these novel uses for our ears, we have gotten very good at listening analytically and describing what we hear in a bizarre and specialized jargon which only makes sense to those of us in the club.
---> More Than Meets The EYE.

Why I Love Our Loyal Readership
First and foremost, this entire site is for you! Let's work together....
Editorial By Steven R. Rochlin
In a few months Enjoy the Music.com will officially be celebrating our 25th Anniversary (that's 25 consecutive years). For those who've read the About Us info, you'll notice below all the site facts n' stuff that not a single word has changed for decades. And so it began 25 years ago... and I quote, "Longtime classically-trained medal-earning musician and high fidelity audio enthusiast Steven R. Rochlin launched Enjoy the Music.com in 1995 as a way to easily answer the many questions he was receiving from others online. Since he grew tired of answering the same basic questions from various people during the very early days of the Internet, when at that time information was scarce, he felt having various common questions and answers on a website was the logical action."
---> Why I Love Our Loyal Readership.

Metronome Le Dac Digital-To-Analog Converter Review
And the Technicolor Dream.
Review By Paul Schumann
Those of you who have read some of my previous reviews know that I am in some ways a throwback, sticking with my compact discs while some audiophiles have moved to uncompressed digital files and others have embraced the vinyl side. I have a lot of CDs, and by God, I'm going to still listen to them. A few years ago I purchased the iFi Audio iDSD, and that opened up my world on how far digital has come in the last decade. At $599, it's one the great bargains in audio. But sometimes you start to wonder, are those fancy high-end DACs really that much better? A few months ago, I noticed an announcement for a new DAC by a company called Metronome. Appropriately it is called Le Dac.
---> Metronome Le Dac Digital-To-Analog Converter Review.

How A Vinyl LP Record Is Made
We tour Quality Record Pressings / Acoustic Sounds vinyl LP pressing plant.
Video By Steven R. Rochlin
Enjoy the Music.com presents to you our tour of the Quality Record Pressings (Acoustic Sounds) vinyl LP pressing plant. We join plant manager Gary and owner Chad Kassem as they take us on a step-by-step journey through how a vinyl LP record is produced. Creative Director of Enjoy the Music.com Steven R. Rochlin guides you on his Quality Vinyl Pressings factory tour to learn how they produce a vinyl LP. There are many steps that go into making the perfect album, and it is fascinating how a puck of specialized material creates your favorite music on vinyl LP. As always, in the end what really matters is that you... Enjoy the music!
---> Learn How A Vinyl LP Record Is Produced.

Nagra Tube DAC And Classic PSU Power Supply Review
Sonic glory... worth it!
Review By Tom Lyle
Nagra is a Swiss audio equipment manufacturer that has been in business for over 65 years. Their professional portable tape records were an industry standard for many decades, even appearing as props in many films and television shows. Their reputation was rock-solid even before they started manufacturing high-end audio equipment in the 21st Century. Because of this, and because of the fine high-end audio components they've been designing and manufacturing since 2012, I suppose there are many audiophiles, and plenty of non-audiophile, who might add the Nagra Tube DAC and its matching Classic PSU power supply to their systems without an audition, or without reading reviews on the subject.
---> Nagra Tube DAC And Classic PSU Power Supply Review.

Occasional Column: The Musical Point Of View
Audio systems are communicators - not just modes of communication.
Article By Jules Coleman
The audio community is a community � actually, many overlapping and intersecting ones. Like other communities, its members share norms, support and encourage excellence in one another, celebrate achievements, mourn losses, welcome new additions, and more. Communities communicate. This is an obvious truth; perhaps even a banal one. It's not always bad to be obvious or banal, however. After all, 'obvious truths' come in two varieties: those so obvious they require no defense or argument in their favor; and those that are obvious only after the argument for them has been made. And while many banalities are simply that, the history of ideas is basically a catalog of great works expanding on apparent banalities.
---> Occasional Column: The Musical Point Of View.

Chad Kassem Discusses Steely Dan's Aja UHQR Vinyl LP
An exciting recording and reissue discussion with Fagen, Grundman, Schnee, Kassem, and Kaplan.
Video By Acoustic Sounds
Thanks to Analogue Productions owner Chad Kassem, we're bringing you this curated video discussing the new UHQR 45 rpm vinyl LP release of Steely Dan's legendary Aja recording. We get a rare opportunity to hear behind-the-scenes info! We also enjoy learning more about the classic Steely Dan Aja on UHQR clarity vinyl. Within the video, none other than Donald Fagen reminisces with award-winning recording engineer Bill Schnee, mastering engineer Bernie Grundman, and the Tracking Angle's Fred Kaplan, plus Analogue Productions' own Chad Kassem. Steely Dan enthusiasts rejoice! Bonus video as Bernie Grundman revisits Aja. We're especially overjoyed to present the below video with legendary audio engineer Bernie Grundman.
---> Chad Kassem Discusses Steely Dan's Aja UHQR Vinyl LP.