Audio-GD's R7HE MK2 is made in China and sold and supported with a two-year parts and labor warranty by 50-year industry veteran Walter Liederman at Underwood HiFi.
Setup and use
The Audio-GD R7HE is a standalone DAC with no volume control, so I connected its output to HoloAudio's Serene…
A few other observations: the sound of digital keeps getting better. Thanks in part to the advent of network switches and better Ethernet cables, digital has reached a new tier of performance. It has never before sounded this overall smooth, sweet, and analog-like organic—there, I said it! It's amazing how much…
"I used to regularly visit [Farad] at his London apartment and witness stages in the design of a loudspeaker that, in retrospect, would put Mission Electronics on the high-…
Setting up
The main source of music was my Roon Nucleus+ server feeding audio data over my network either to an MBL N31, a Bel Canto e1X DAC, or a dCS Rossini Apex, all of which were connected directly to a pair of Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblocks. I didn't use the Mission 770s' magnetically attached grilles, and the speakers were single-wired…
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, standmounted loudspeaker. Drive units: 8" (200mm) mineral-loaded polypropylene-cone woofer, 1.1" (28mm) microfiber-dome tweeter. Crossover frequency: 2.9kHz. Frequency response: 42Hz–20kHz ±3dB. Low-frequency extension: 30Hz, –6dB. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 88dB/2.83V/m. Recommended power: 25– 200W. Supplied accessories: stands with damped, open-frame, carbon-steel frame and stainless-steel spikes, white gloves.
Dimensions: 23.2" (590mm) H × 11.8" (300mm) W × 12.67" (322mm) D (incl. terminals). Cabinet…
Analog source: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Lingo power supply, Linn Ekos tonearm, Linn Arkiv B cartridge, Channel D Seta L phono preamplifier.
Digital sources: Roon Nucleus+ file server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; MBL N31 CD player/DAC; dCS Rossini Apex, Bel Canto e1X DAC D/A processors; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 A/D converter; NetGear Nighthawk router.
Power amplifiers: Parasound Halo JC 1+.
Loudspeakers: Audiovector QR 7, Q Acoustics Concept 50.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), AudioQuest Coffee (USB), DH Labs (1m…
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone with an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Mission 770's farfield frequency behavior and dispersion. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield and in-room responses and Dayton Audio's DATS V2 system to measure the impedance magnitude and electrical phase angle.
Mission specifies the 770's anechoic sensitivity as 88dB/2.83V/m. My B-weighted estimate was lower, at 85.5dB/2.83V/m, which is the same as that measured by Paul Miller for our sister magazine, Hi-Fi News.…
Not that there was much to see. Besides a reception room with lots of wine, water, tea, and pastries, our pre-dinner tour consisted of a small listening room with Ferrum gear feeding Wilson Sabrina loudspeakers and a large testing room. There,…
This tale of altered expectations began a few years after my birth, at AXPONA 2022, where I covered several stellar-sounding rooms that included Simaudio Moon electronics. By the third such room, I'd resolved to contact Simaudio, check in with Jim Austin, and see if there was a product that made sense to review in my system.
Simaudio co-owner…