Christiaan Punter

Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Artesania Carbon Fiber and Panzerholz Decoupling Discs premium
The subjects of this review are the brand-new Carbon Fiber and Panzerholz Decoupling Discs for use primarily with the Exoteryc Audio Racks and Aire Floor Platform. However, when pairing them with optionally available Artesania 100-mm Stainless Steel discs, they can be used with any other spiked rack, platform, or speaker stand.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
26 November 2024
Driade Premium Model 9 premium
The Premium Model 9 is an advanced yet natural-sounding monitor speaker with a linear reproduction for the entire frequency range. While the famous Rogers LS3/5A has inspired some of its qualities, it also has a lot in common with the larger Driade Model 2S floorstander, topped off with a remarkable twist all of its own.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
10 November 2024
JCAT unveils the NET Card XE EVO premium
JCAT, a leader in high-performance streaming-specific products, is thrilled to announce the release of the NET Card XE EVO, a next-generation network card that sets a new benchmark for audiophile-grade network audio.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Melco E100A H80 8TB audiophile USB Drive premium
The Melco E100A audiophile hard disk drive offers an extra 8 TB of audio-grade storage for all audio systems relying on HDD storage. Naturally, this includes Melco Digital Music Libraries, as well as systems running Windows 11, MacOS, exFAT-compatible Linux-based equipment, and the Raspberry Pi.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Stack Audio AUVA Speaker Isolators premium
With the AUVAs, British manufacturer Stack Audio developed an alternative to spikes and compliant couplers. Enclosed within the AUVA’s machined aluminum cases are cells containing a mixture of particles which, when excitied by vibrations, dissipate the energy virtually instantaneously, removing remove masking vibrations.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
1 October 2024
Velikinac Audio Lab Sirius premium
The Sirius is a four-way speaker using a mix of compression drivers for treble and midrange and conventional drivers for the lower midrange and bass, designed to convey the soul of the music in the purest manner.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
22 September 2024
Laiv Harmony DAC premium
Building on an extensive background in industrial automation, Singapore company Laiv is passionate about revolutionizing the world of audio through innovative and user-centric design in which technology adapts to us, not the other way around. In this review, I will listen to the gorgeous looking Harmony DAC.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
10 September 2024
Morel Hifi, new in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany premium
Mafico is proud to announce a new brand in their already quite impressive brand portfolio. From now on they distribute the Morel Hifi brand in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
8 September 2024
XACT unveils XACT S1 EVO Music Server and PHANTOM Cables premium
XACT is proud to announce the launch of two groundbreaking products that set new benchmarks in high-fidelity audio performance: the XACT S1 EVO Music Server and the XACT PHANTOM USB and LAN Cables.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
18 August 2024
Main System 14 – August 2024 premium
A summary of the Main System and its operational components in August 2024.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
17 August 2024
Aqua LinQ Network Interface – Part 4 – Squeezelite premium
In addition to the existing UPnP, HQ Player, and HQ Player Core + NAA modules, Aqua has introduced a Squeezelite renderer module for the LinQ Network Interface, adding ongoing significance to this streamer's future-proof nature.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
XACT S1 Music Server premium
With a custom 100% linear power supply with 100% linear regulation, a fully custom motherboard, a custom Operating System written from scratch and optimized for the hardware, and proprietary Femtoserver software running, all under control from the superb JPLAY for iOS app, the XACT S1 is a truly unique proposition.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
3 August 2024
Network Acoustics Introduce the eno2 1Gb/s Ethernet Filter & Streaming Cable premium
Network Acoustics are excited to introduce the all-new eno2 range of 1Gb/s Ethernet products: eno2 Ethernet Filter, eno2 Streaming Cable, and eno2 Streaming System.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Melco N5-H50 premium
The Melco N5 Digital Music Library features a sleek build and very solid build quality. The N5 has all-new electronics, with a new mainboard, high-grade low-noise internal linear power supply, and extensive pro-grade Amphenol and Neutrik connectivity.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
1 August 2024
Manunta EVO Phono 3 and M2Tech Nash – Round 2 premium
This is a follow-up to the main review, now including a second turntable with different cartridges, leading to new insights and an updated conclusion.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
16 July 2024
Mad Scientist Audio Prime USB premium
This brand new Mad Scientist product is called Prime not just because it is the company's best cable but mainly because it uses prime numbers to define the sizes and positions of various elements to create a non-resonant "bad antenna" design that reduces noise and interference. Does this cable really make a unique proposition, or have we heard it before?
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
11 July 2024
JCAT Unveils USB Card XE EVO premium
JCAT Unveils USB Card XE EVO: The Next Generation of USB Audio Performance.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
NuPrime AGM STA-SE stereo power amplifier premium
With the AMG STA-SE, the company has issued a successor to the AMG STA. With this new model, the company sought to narrow the gap between the different sound characteristics of models such as the ST-10 and Evolution STA on the one hand,  and the AMG STA on the other
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Media Room v5 – July 2024 premium
A summary of the Media Room and its operational components in July 2024.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Main System 13 – June 2024 premium
A summary of the Secondary System and its operational components in June 2024.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Collaboration between Admire Audio and ATM-Audio premium
From the collaboration of Jesús Alejos (ATM-audio) and Daniel Reina (Admire Audio), three products associated with the AA4, AA3, AA2, and Monitor models are born.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Denafrips Ares 12th-1 premium
Based on the entry-level model Ares II (recently renamed to Enyo), the Ares 12th-1 is Denafrips' Anniversary Edition DAC, offering various performance enhancements over the Ares II/Enyo.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Clarisys Audio Minuet Plus premium
Remember how smitten I was with the Clarisys Audio Minuet when I heard it one year ago (2023) at PUUR hifidelity? Now, go figure that the speaker company issued an improved "Neodymium" model called Minuet Plus that does everything the previous Ferrite model did but with higher efficiency and improvements across the board.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
27 May 2024
Manunta EVO Phono 3 and M2Tech Nash premium
Manunta offers the richly-featured EVO Phono 3 MM/MC phono stage at a very attractive price. In this review, I will compare it with its higher-end stable mate, the M2Tech Nash.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
HFA Audio Setup History 34 – Media Room v5 – May 2024 premium
After I don't know how many room changes, breaking down walls, re-adding them, removing others, and seemingly forever shuffling the functions of the kitchen and former hallway and bedroom areas as a result of ever-changing priorities, I think (and really hope) I have finally found the most efficient use of the available space.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
HFA Audio Setup History 33 – Invaluable Advice – 2021-2024 premium
A visit by Rick Paap of Dynamic Solutions proved invaluable for me and a true turning point after following his advice positively transformed the acoustics of my room, and with it, the sound of my system.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Media Room v5 – May 2024 premium
A summary of the Media Room and its operational components in May 2024
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Munich High End 2024 Show Highlights premium
Highlights from Munich High End at the MOC and HifiDeluxe 2024 at the Marriott Hotel
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
9 May 2024
Artesania Audio at Munich High End & HifiDeluxe 2024 premium
Artesania Audio, the high end rack company, will be at Munich High End and HifiDeluxe, with two dedicated rooms and lots of collaborative exposure.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
8 May 2024
Thorens TD1600 Turntable with TP 160 Tonearm premium
Recently, Thorens issued a new tonearm, the TP 160, which is now fitted as standard to the TD 1600 and TD 1601 turntables instead of the TP 92 arm. In this review, I will assess how these two arms compare using Thorens TAS 1600 and TAS 1500 MC cartridges.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Chord Ultima Integrated premium
Chord products have always appealed to me, and I love the bold industrial aesthetic. Yet, somehow, a review never materialized. Until now!
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Halcro Eclipse Stereo Power Amplifier premium
Honestly, I did not think the moment would come that another transistor amplifier would put up serious competition for my treasured CH A1.5, but here we are. Read all about it in the review.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Main System 12 – March 2024 premium
A summary of the Main System and its operational components in March 2024.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
22 March 2024
Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro and Bonn NX Ethernet Switches and Genesis GX Clock premium
In this review, I will compare the Silent Angel Bonn N8 Pro Ethernet Switch with the new Bonn NX Ethernet Switch, first on its own and then augmented by the Genesis GX Word Clock.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Diptyque DP 140 MkII premium
With sleek and stylish new looks, improvements in structure and rigidity, optimized PPBM technology and higher tolerances across the board, the DP 140 MkII defines the sweet spot for Diptyque.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Thorens TAS 1500 and TAS 1600 premium
Further to my review of the Thorens TD 1600 with the new TP 160 tonearm, I've taken the time to carefully compare the TAS 1500 and TAS 1600 cartridges, using the new arm as well as the older TP 92 arm.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Network Acoustics tempus premium
tempus is the most recent addition to the Network Acoustics portfolio, a precision ultra-low noise Ethernet Switch with dedicated hybrid power supply.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Antipodes G4 K22 premium
Review samples supplied by Antipodes Audio Retail price (world) USD 9.000 excluding storage Upgrade price G3 to G4 USD 2.000 Storage can be included at purchase or later installed by the user Available in Black or Silver Part of the KALA series, the Antipodes K22 offers the best performance the New Zealand company can squeeze […]
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
31 January 2024
Ansuz PowerSwitch X-TC3 and D3 premium
The Ansuz X-TC3 and D3 PowerSwitches are hugely effective products with almost magical properties. But don't dismiss the Ansuz ethernet cables, especially the D2 with its active Tesla Coils, when powered by one of these PowerSwitches.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
31 January 2024
JCAT Launches ULTIMO Power Supply premium
JCAT is proud to announce the launch of its flagship linear power supply, the ULTIMO.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
16 January 2024
Antipodes G4 Oladra premium
The original Oladra performed better than any Antipodes server before it. While some of the Oladra technology has recently trickled down into the other models, these latest G4 updates ensure the Oladra comfortably retains its head start.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
4 January 2024
JPLAY for iOS premium
JPLAY is a wonderful app that offers a rich yet slick and easy-to-use interface combined with superb sound quality.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
1 January 2024
Audio Technica AT-OC9XML and AT-OC9XSL MC Cartridges premium
With the AT-OC9XML and AT-OC9XSL, I wanted to investigate the relative performance of the Special-) Fine Line versus MicroRidge/MicroLinear stylus shapes. And what better way to do this than by using otherwise practically identical cartridges of the same brand?
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Grimm MU2 premium
Principally, the MU2 does not deviate all that much from the MU1, which is a good thing! But instead of relying on active digital speakers or an external DAC, the MU2 includes the company's proprietary 'Major' DAC and a relay-based analog preamp section.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Denon DP-3000NE Direct-Drive Turntable with DL-103, DL-103R, and DL-A110 Cartridges premium
Denon has a strong reputation for its direct-drive designs of the past and the DP-3000NE is their current flagship premium direct-drive turntable. For this review, I will listen to it using the Denon DL-103 and DL-103R MC cartridges.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
8 December 2023
M2Tech Joplin MkIII phono A/D converter back in stock premium
After a long and arduous search for the necessary components, M2Tech is pleased to announce that the Joplin MkIII A/D Converter will be available again starting December 14, 2023.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
7 December 2023
JPLAY update with TIDAL MAX integration premium
JPLAY is excited to announce the latest update to its iOS app (version 1.0.14), now featuring integration with TIDAL MAX. This update represents a significant leap forward in digital music streaming, offering unparalleled audio quality for JPLAY iOS app users.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
4 December 2023
Bergmann Magne Air-Bearing turntable with DS Audio DS W3 Optical Cartridge premium
Here's a special combination: the Bergmann Magne Air-Bearing turntable with Air-Bearing tonearm with the DS Audio W3 cartridge and phono equalizer. As it turns out, they work together seamlessly.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
29 November 2023
Main System 11 – December 2023 premium
A summary of the Main System and its operational components in December 2023.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
dCS Puccini CD/DAC & Paganini Clock/USB Interface – Quick Impression premium
I only just recently heard the dCS Puccini CD/SACD Player and DAC and Paganini Master Clock/USB Interface in the context of my own system. Since many people are shopping in the second-hand market, I thought it would be worth sharing my Quick Impressions of these products.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
3 November 2023
Network Acoustics Introduce the tempus Ethernet Switch premium
Streaming specialists Network Acoustics introduce tempus, their flagship Ethernet Switch.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
2 November 2023
Wires 4 Music Completes the Osiris Signature Range premium
Wires 4 Music, a company making handcrafted high-end cables since 2018, is proud to introduce four new products, completing the OSIRIS SIGNATURE range.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
31 October 2023
Ensemble Dynaflux FSF RCA Interlink – Quick Impression premium
Connected between the CH Precision C1.2 DAC and L1 preamp, the Ensemble Dynaflux FSF Interlink surprises by sounding nothing like its appearance might suggest.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Mad Scientist Black Magic Ultra and Black Magic Gold premium
Mad Scientist introduces two new ranges: Black Magic Ultra and Black Magic Gold. Reviewed are four cables: Black Magic Ultra speaker cables, Black Magic Gold balanced analog interlink, Black Magic Ultra Power cable, and Black Magic Gold USB cable.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
17 October 2023
Reference Sounds – Wilson Sasha V with Wadax Atlantis Reference and D’Agostino premium
Michael Huigen and Nick Spier of Reference Sounds kindly hosted a private session for yours truly and two colleagues. Having attended Reference Sounds demos before, I knew this was already promising to become a great day, almost no matter the audio system. But this was not just any audio system, very far from it!
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
1 October 2023
Manunta Evo DDC 3 USB to Digital Converter premium
Manunta By M2Tech is a new daughter company from M2Tech, devised to offer audiophiles and music lovers a large portion of the M2Tech product quality at a lower price. The Evo DDC 3 can be seen as the successor of the HiFace Evo that I have used for over a decade. In this review, I am putting the sleek yet versatile Evo DDC 3 to the test and I will investigate how it performs and how it compares to its older nephew.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
27 September 2023
Network Acoustics muon2 USB Cable premium
Network Acoustics believe there’s always a way to improve the sound of music streaming. Their latest innovation is the muon2 USB Cable, the ultimate version of the award-winning muon digital interconnect.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
24 September 2023
Lejonklou Entity 1.2 MC Phono Stage premium
Building on the highly refined and musical sound of its 1.1 predecessor, the updated 1.2 model's seemingly subtle tweaks (new chassis ground parts and a specific fastening torque) yield distinct advantages.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
24 September 2023
Aequo Audio New Production Facility premium
Aequo Audio is going to expand considerably and has started the construction of a new production facility of 1200 m2. This will be the new home base for the loudspeaker manufacturer from Eindhoven in the coming years.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
AG Lifter Apollo Modular Rack premium
The AG Lifter design philosophy is to build a rack for music lovers. Apollo is the top-of-the line product with a modular nature which allows users to start with a single module and build out the system precisely as needed.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
3 September 2023
Vermouth Audio Statement XLR Interlink premium
Before the introduction of the Statement series, the Reference series was Vermouth's very best. The new Statement series, using OCC silver/gold conductors, promises further elevated performance.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Harmonic Resolution Systems (HRS) EXR Audio Stand premium
For the past five years, HRS has worked on the EXR system to get the performance and modularity on the desired level while also offering a 30% cost reduction over the model it replaced. As a result, the EXR Stand System is the brand's most cost-effective system to date.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Jorma Audio Unity Interlink, Power Cable, and Speaker Cable premium
Along with the Marten Parker Trio loudspeakers that I recently reviewed, I was also handed a trio of Jorma cables. As I found, these cables turned out not only to work superbly synergistically with the Parker Trios, but they also proved a smashing success overall. As such, I felt they deserved their own review.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
4 August 2023
Antipodes Updated Line-up for 2023 premium
Antipodes Audio is proud to announce their updated server/streamer line-up for 2023, with updates to the existing flagship OLADRA and the K Series range. Coupled with the release of the updated range is the Antipodes Audio Upgrade Program for all existing OLADRA and K Series owners, which brings their units up to the corresponding new model specification.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
Dutch Audio Event 2023 premium
Mark your calendars for a new edition of the Dutch Audio Event on October 7 and 8 2023!
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com
1 August 2023
Marten Parker Trio premium
Marten may be known primarily for its luxurious cost-no-object Mingus and Coltrane series, but fortunately for those with more modestly-sized wallets, the range also extends to the other side. The Oscar series is the starting point into the world of Marten. Positioned above is the Parker series which offers a considerably more lavish build with non-parallel walls, a so-called multi-diverse crossover technique, and more exotic drivers.
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Owner of Hifi-Advice.com