It’s the end of the year again! And that means we will be back with lists. It is the turn of Yung to share his TOP-5 with you! 2024 is the year of ‘mastery’ and ‘masters’
TOZO Open Buds Bluetooth on-ears
We tested a number of TOZO’s in 2024 and this one really stands out. The Open Buds are ear clips with a driver attached that brings ‘on-ear’ music to you.
Hearing is believing. These Open Buds simply sound excellent; the playback is balanced, neutral yet dynamic when it needs to be. Fit is excellent, as is battery life. We still often take these with us on the train and also at home because of their pleasant sound and comfort. Colleague Martijn also bought these Open Buds, doesn’t that says it all? For 50 euros, the value for money is unprecedented.
Isotek EVO3 Syncro Uni DC filter
This unit shows the potential impact of a power product and also its complexity. Because you will first have to find out whether a DC filter is something your audio system will benefit from. With me in the studio, it certainly was; listen to the differences for yourself in the livestream.
The Isotek Syncro Uni is a power product you should especially try if you work with linear power supplies; in a CD transport, DAC, preamp. Before you think of upgrading these devices, research what this box does. A new version has been released, which we hope to test soon.
Mutec REF10 Nano
We like brands that are very good at a particular niche and Mutec is one of them. Mutec specialises in making master clocks and re-clockers. At the High End in Munich, Jaap and I chatted with Christian Peters, founder of Mutec and it fits the profile we often experience with other carriers of audio brands; very open and willing to share knowledge, open to feedback and a genuine interest in music. And all this shows itself horn in the Mutec products. The REF10 Nano takes a digital audio system to another level. Warning: you can’t go back.
Auld Lang Synewave
In March, our live stream was at the Nieuwplaatz studio in Leiden. We tested power filters on an audio set from the 1980s: Tannoy Studio Gold Monitor 15, Yamaha B2 power amplifier Rega Planet CD drive and Weiss’ DAC2. Just stacked on top of each other. Please listen for yourself.
Apart from being one of the most fun livestreams, we enjoyed the musical performance of this set and its transparency immensely. Every change is audible. It provoked colleague Jaap to ask what has happened in the music industry over the past 40-50 years. Has it substantially improved? Is the lifespan of the equipment we buy now the same as 40-50 years ago? Listening to this set puts things back into perspective.
The right master
This is actually more of a sigh than a top five. With vinyl, thanks to online indices like Discogs, it is possible to find out which version you have on the turntable; year, mastering studio (sometimes even the engineer), pressing date and factory. It explains why one version sounds different. And it doesn’t just depend on audiophile lures like ‘180-gram vinyl’.
With digital, you just have to wait and see what the streaming service offers. We hear such big differences between Tidal, Qobuz and Spotify that sometimes it is literally unbearable. And a week later there seems to be another version. And sometimes the format doesn’t matter; we experienced a few weeks ago that a track on the NAS in mp3 sounded better than the losless HD versions on Tidal or Qobuz.
In fact, digital music tracks should have the same ‘track & trace’ as can be found on vinyl. See more on this in the links.