The Absolute Sound Podcast

Details of the Viewer Giveaway of an Onkyo 9.2 channel Atmos receiver are after the break. Every once in a while, reviewers get products to evaluate that just doesn’t conform to the standard or to their expectations. That has certainly been the case with the new Onkyo M-80 amp and P-80 preamp. Let’s take a look, because the way this pairing deviates from normal might be very interesting to you. This video is sponsored by: theabsolutesound.com/newsletter 00:00 M-80 amplifier and P-80 streaming preamp 01:05 Giveaway 02:09 Features & Design 06:55 Sound Quality 14:20 Summary 14:58 Comparative Coda Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com Tom's reference system: Aurender N20 Streamer/Server Roon Nucleus server Mac Mini (M2) server Wiim Pro server/DAC Bluesound Node server/DAC Topping D70 Pro DAC dCS Lina DAC/Master clock Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference Series 3P with Alpha USB Reference input module MSB Premier DAC J Sikora Initial Max turntable Technics SL-1210G turntable Kuzma 4Point 9” arm J Sikora KV12 tone arm DS Audio 003 cartridge Benz Gullwing SLR cartridge Hana Umami Blue cartridge Hegel V10 phono preamp Musical Surroundings Phonomena III phono preamp DS Audio 003 optical cartridge energizer Soulution 326 preamp Wattson Madison power amp Hegel H20 power amp MBL N51 integrated amp Magico A5 speakers Perlisten S7t speakers Wireworld Platinum Electra Series 10 speaker and line cables Shunyata Omega digital cables Shunyata Venom power cables and director Audioquest Niagara 3000 power conditioner (for analog) Audioquest Niagra 7000 power conditioning Aavik Ethernet Switch Rediacoustic diffusers and absorbers Rediacoustic bass traps PSI Audio AVAA active traps Salamander racks Solidsteel Turntable rack What Is The Absolute Sound? The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles. #hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

That said, for those of you who have a budget that could accommodate the JCAT XACT S1 Evo Server at $18,600 US or for those of you who are genuinely curious about the state-of-the-art in audio streaming, you’re gonna wanna stick around while I share what I heard when listening to this refined bit of kit. This video is sponsored by: https://www.devialet.com/en-us/amplifiers/?srsltid=AfmBOopMaf_et8mOEEL6rCtYelUeonyPqFg9RVuBdr2cWi96HSBd3fMv 00:00 JCAT XACT S1 Evo 01:18 Overview 04:09 Specs & Design 07:39 Sound Quality 12:15 Conclusion Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com What Is The Absolute Sound? The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles. #hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

Last year I built a new listening room. From the ground up. In part, this is the story of that process, but much more I have tried here to organize what I learned so that it is also instructive for music lovers and audiophiles who want to get more out of their current rooms. So, you don’t have to build a new room or complete a new building like I did to get a lot of value from this. I hope. This is a long one. Acoustics is a complex subject. Per our usual practice, I’ve tried to simplify but not dumb down. Anyway, if you hate complexity, hit the eject button now. This video is sponsored by: http://theabsolutesound.com/newsletter Robert Harley's Room Tour: https://youtu.be/OtUcfiaN6CY?si=GW7B9L13ZMlHpw0P REDI Acoustics: https://rediacoustics.com/ Fundamentals of Residential Wiring: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/fundamentals-of-residential-ac-wiring-to-improve-high-end-audio-system-performance/ 00:00 Tom Martin’s Listening Room 01:28 Overview 03:37 Goals: What Are We Doing? 06:18 Building Steps 37:10 Sound Quality 39:41 DIY Budget Approach 43:17 More Approaches for a Tighter Budget Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com Tom's reference system: Aurender N20 Streamer/Server Roon Nucleus server Mac Mini (M2) server Wiim Pro server/DAC Bluesound Node server/DAC Topping D70 Pro DAC dCS Lina DAC/Master clock Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference Series 3P with Alpha USB Reference input module MSB Premier DAC J Sikora Initial Max turntable Technics SL-1210G turntable Kuzma 4Point 9” arm J Sikora KV12 tone arm DS Audio 003 cartridge Benz Gullwing SLR cartridge Hana Umami Blue cartridge Hegel V10 phono preamp Musical Surroundings Phonomena III phono preamp DS Audio 003 optical cartridge energizer Block Line and Power Block SE preamp Block Mono power amps Hegel H20 power amps MBL N51 integrated amp Magico A5 speakers Perlisten S7t speakers Wireworld Platinum Electra Series 10 speaker and line cables Shunyata Omega digital cables Shunyata Venom power cables and director Audioquest Niagara 3000 power conditioner (for analog) Audioquest Niagra 7000 power conditioning Aavik Ethernet Switch Rediacoustic diffusers and absorbers Rediacoustic bass traps PSI Audio AVAA active traps Salamander racks Solidsteel Turntable rack What Is The Absolute Sound? The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles. #hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

If there's one job for soundbars, it's to deliver deep bass. That's the Achille's Heel of every single big screen TV. In that sense the Devialet Dione does its job admirably, but it does much more than that, delivering a musicality that most other manufacturers surely are envious of... tune in to learn more! 00:00 Devialet Dione 00:57 Overview 02:11 Specs & Design 04:58 Sound Quality 10:59 Dolby Atmos 13:21 Summary This video is sponsored by: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com What Is The Absolute Sound? The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles. #hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound

The Boulder 1162 is an amplifier at a price point where you would expect excellence, and indeed you get it. Also, at this price point details matter because there are other excellent amps both below and above this segment of the market. Let’s take a look. This video i sponsored by: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-absolute-sounds-review-methodology-first-principles/ 00:00 Boulder 1162 01:29 Overview 04:45 Sound Quality 13:07 Balance Test 15:32 Summary Newsletter: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/newsletter Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theabsolutesound Substack: https://www.theabsolutesound.substack.com Tom's reference system: Aurender N20 Streamer/Server Roon Nucleus server Mac Mini (M2) server Wiim Pro server/DAC Bluesound Node server/DAC Topping D70 Pro DAC dCS Lina DAC/Master clock Berkeley Alpha DAC Reference Series 3 with Alpha USB Series 2 input module MSB Premier DAC J Sikora Initial Max turntable Technics SL-1210G turntable Kuzma 4Point 9” arm J Sikora KV12 tone arm DS Audio 003 cartridge Benz Gullwing SLR cartridge Hana Umami Blue cartridge Hegel V10 phono preamp Musical Surroundings Phonomena III phono preamp DS Audio 003 optical cartridge energizer PS Audio BHK 600 mono power amps MBL N51 integrated amp Audio Research 160S power amp Magico A5 speakers Perlisten S7t speakers Wireworld Platinum Electra speaker and line cables Shunyata Omega digital cables Shunyata Venom power cables and director Audioquest Niagara 3000 power conditioner (for analog) Audioquest Niagra 7000 power conditioning Rediacoustic diffusers and absorbers Rediacoustic bass traps PSI Audio AVAA active traps Salamander racks Solidsteel Turntable rack What Is The Absolute Sound? The Absolute Sound magazine has been a leading publication in high-end audio since 1972. Since the early 2000s, The Absolute Sound has expanded to include web, newsletter, digital magazine, social media, YouTube and Substack platforms. The Absolute Sound platforms have a global audience of over 500,000 audiophiles. #hifi #audiophile #theabsolutesound