Dirk Sommer, Author at Positive Feedback

Feuilleton: An Interview with Mastering Engineer Christoph Stickel

Dirk Sommer — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 23:57:16 +0000

What does mastering mean? Read and listen for yourself! The way mastering is executed at MOFI caused a lot of excitement among audiophiles, and Analog, the magazine of the German Analogue Audio Association, made mastering the cover story. And here, one of the best mastering professionals, Christoph Stickel, has his say in an interview that... Read More »

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Audioquest Niagara at CS Mastering: A Review with Download Links

Dirk Sommer — Tue, 19 Jul 2022 00:48:53 +0000

Dirk Sommer, Birgit Hammer (photography). This review is quite unusual: Audioquest's "LowZ/Noise-Dissipation" mains power technology, implemented in cables and power conditioners, which has recently received the Statement in High Fidelity award, has to show in the CSM mastering studio whether it has there just as positive an influence on the sound as in a HiFi... Read More »

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How Does Analog Become Digital - 2.0

Dirk Sommer — Tue, 03 May 2022 15:19:36 +0000

How does the analog become digital? In 2019, Roland Dietl reported about the current version of the Audiophile Optimizer and shortly after about the combination of the new optimizer with Windows Server. The playback of audio files benefited greatly from this operating system variant. Does the operating system also influence the sound of the files... Read More »

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Hifistatement interviews Michael Børresen of Borresen Acoustics

Dirk Sommer — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 21:08:29 +0000

The state-of-the-art Børresen Acoustics 05 speakers and their cables have become perfectly acclimatized in my listening room since my review of their initial installation. (HERE). The system plays even more beguilingly than when I wrote the review. But more interesting than any kind of effusiveness may be the reasons for so much euphony, and Michael... Read More »

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Børresen Acoustics 05 Silver Supreme Edition

Dirk Sommer — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 15:01:55 +0000

While visiting Ansuz in August 2020, I was so captivated by the Børresen 05's elegant appearance alone that I instantly ordered a pair in the Silver Supreme Edition for a review. Now they finally happen to be in my listening room. But the way to it wasn't that easy, and furthermore, these dream speakers also... Read More »

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AudioQuest Mythical Creatures - ThunderBird, FireBird, and Dragon

Dirk Sommer — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 21:58:45 +0000

The Mythical Creatures first appeared among the power cords. Then we spotted them among the speaker cables, and more recently, my colleague Wolfgang Kemper tracked down a few HDMI cable specimens. Now, Richard Drees, Sales Director for Germany, and Rob Hay, Marketing Director for Europe, released the NF cable variants directly into my listening room.... Read More »

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Review from Hifistatement (in English): The Thiele TA01 Tonearm

Dirk Sommer — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 15:47:18 +0000

The Thiele TA01 Tonearm If you are a regular reader of Hifistatement, you probably will have come across the name Thiele. But even if you don't, it's most likely that you know or own a product that Helmut Thiele had a hand in creating. But it's only with this very special tonearm that he steps... Read More »

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Acapella Audio Arts: the Sphäron Excalibur

Dirk Sommer — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 20:53:10 +0000

Three years ago, while visiting Acapella's showroom in Duisburg, I experienced that a Poseydon could bring you closer to the dynamics of a concert event than even the most demanding hi-fi enthusiast could have ever dreamed of. And, the acoustic transducer currently being there in demonstration is intended to narrow the gap between reality and... Read More »

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KECES Sphono and Spower

Dirk Sommer — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 16:32:38 +0000

With the matching cartridges, the KECES Ephono turned out to be a real bargain: So much superb sound and substantial usage of materials plus good workmanship can hardly be found elsewhere at this price. The Sphono now also offers higher load impedances and even more features. Does it also have more to offer in terms... Read More »

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The Bergmann Audio Odin Linear Tracking Tonearm

Dirk Sommer — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 21:52:24 +0000

The Odin currently marks Bergmann's flagship in their range of air bearing tonearms. Head of company Johnnie Bergmann did not design it specifically for one of his turntables, but as a tonearm that is intended for universal application also on turntables from other manufacturers. Whilst visiting the company's headquarters in the Danish town of Hobro... Read More »

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Feuilleton: Celebrating 10 Years of Bergmann Audio

Dirk Sommer — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 15:38:38 +0000

Bergmann Audio is a company and not an individual—and that's a good thing. Otherwise it would not have been very charming to admit that I did not quite believe the news about their tenth anniversary. For me, the Danish manufacturer appeared to be much older, basically due to their technically independent designs seeming to have... Read More »

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Transrotor JR Tamino MC Cartridge

Dirk Sommer — Fri, 08 Sep 2017 20:55:10 +0000

With its top-of-the-range models, Transrotor plays a prominent role internationally in the highest league of analogue playback. However, to date there hasn't been a cartridge matching the high-end turntables in the company's portfolio. The JR Tamino now has come to change this. Of course, the analogue specialists from the traditional region of the so-called Bergisches... Read More »

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Einstein Audio Components – The System Part 2

Dirk Sommer — Thu, 25 May 2017 23:57:17 +0000

With technical contributions by Jürgen Saile. While working on Einstein's complete audio system with its laudable analogue source, in Part 1 of this review (which you can find HERE) we had traveled from cartridge to tone arm, and from there to phono stage and preamp. Following up on that we will now take care of power... Read More »

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Einstein Audio Components – The System Part 1

Dirk Sommer — Thu, 25 May 2017 20:58:18 +0000

Anyone who has ever looked into the hi-fi world in a little bit more intensive way knows that the arbitrary combination of well-reputed audio components does not necessarily lead to a guaranteed musical enjoyment. In the field of high-end audio, only very few manufacturers offer complete solutions—mainly those featuring a digital source. To my knowledge,... Read More »

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The Audia Flight Strumento n°1 mk2 Preamp

Dirk Sommer — Sun, 14 May 2017 21:24:18 +0000

The Audia Flight Strumento n°1 mk2 Preamp Many audiophiles believe that they can get along without any preamplifier in these digital times. However, I do not share this point of view: To me a preamplifier is an indispensable partner that, by the way, also should have sufficient balanced inputs. Yet, the Audia Flight does not... Read More »

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Acoustical Systems The Palladian Cartridge

Dirk Sommer — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 06:59:48 +0000

Acoustical Systems' tonearm Aquilar, as well as the top-of-the-range model Axiom, are characterized by the UNI-DIN geometry newly developed by Dietrich Brakemeier. The analogue specialists from Bavaria have not yet invented a new generator principle, but with The Palladian Cartridge they thoroughly demonstrate how far one can get sonically with the ingenious combination of already... Read More »

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Göbel High-End Lacorde Statement USB, Ethernet, and Digital XLR Cables

Dirk Sommer — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 19:05:17 +0000

I really couldn't resist the splendid speaker and interconnect cables from Göbel Audio. To be on the safe side I therefore listened only briefly to the power cables, but exchanged them before I got used to it. However, the most recent digital cables I cannot hide from you—and really don't want to—despite this being a... Read More »

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The Legacy Audio Signature SE Loudspeaker, by Wolfgang Kemper

Dirk Sommer — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 00:19:41 +0000

[Note that this guest review is by Wolfgang Kemper of HiFi Statement, our affiliated journal in Germany, edited by good friend Dirk Sommer.] The famous New York Mercy Sound Studios has been working with Legacy Audio speakers for years. Now, thanks to the distributor Notabene-audio, Legacy Audio is also represented in Germany. The Signature SE Premium... Read More »

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The Lumen White Mystere Reference Turntable

Dirk Sommer — Sun, 16 Oct 2016 04:56:53 +0000

From the first glance onwards, the Lumen White Mystere turntable fascinates with its visual elegance and noble appearance. Its beauty however still reveals little about its price class and the technological sophistication at its core. Not to mention its sonic performance.... we are in the presence of a veritable audiophile wolf in sheep's clothing. 17... Read More »

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Feuilleton Acapella Audio Arts

Dirk Sommer — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 21:57:00 +0000

Dirk Sommer, with photographs by Helmut Baumgartner For everyone who takes a real interest in High End it's a truism that even the best equipment can't recreate a live impression. This alleged fact, however, while perhaps not refuted, would be at least seriously shaken by visiting the Audio Forum in Duisburg, Germany, the Acapella Audio... Read More »

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Chord DAVE, Part 2: The Interview With Rob Watts

Dirk Sommer — Sun, 24 Jul 2016 23:45:26 +0000

Introduction: Interviews to listen to... For the English version of the second and third parts of the review on the Chord DAVE, we have come up with something new: You can listen to Rob Watts' comments on the individual pages of his presentation, and Mr. Roland Dietl's and my intermediate questions. Roland Dietl (left) and... Read More »

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The Chord DAVE DAC, Part 1

Dirk Sommer — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 05:17:27 +0000

As reported in the News Section of HiFi Statement, I didn't have much chance to listen to some music when developer Rob Watts visited me with the Chord DAVE. But fortunately, I didn't have to wait too long for a second chance, as I could pick up the first DAVE available in Germany in the... Read More »

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Lumen White Mystere Reference Turntable

Dirk Sommer — Mon, 02 May 2016 00:15:51 +0000

I had hoped that testing the Verity Sarastro IIS would be fun rather than hard work, but I would never have expected this premium speaker to also reveal some interesting things about the acoustics of my listening room. The Verity's provide listening pleasure and insight From a purely aesthetic standpoint, taking delivery of the Sarastros... Read More »

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The Mytek Brooklyn DSD DAC

Dirk Sommer — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 06:26:26 +0000

About four years ago, the Mytek 192-DSD-DAC impressed me with its sound in a way that caused me to abstain from purchasing expensive D/A converters for quite a while. This is not bad at all in times of rapid new developments. After a venture into high-end territory, these digital experts with roots in the pro... Read More »

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Acoustical Systems Aquilar Tonearm

Dirk Sommer — Sun, 10 Apr 2016 07:03:50 +0000

I haven't introduced new tonearms to you for many years, which was due to the fact that—among the rest—really new solutions are extremely rare. Mostly, new models are about variations in the materials mix, in combination with different, known bearing kinds. With Acoustical Systems, however, this is different: The Aquilar tonearm is based on an... Read More »

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