Innholdsfortegnelse for July - August 2017 i Australian HiFi

I am always disappointed when I read misinformation on the internet. Firstly because it is misinformation, and the more of it there is on the internet, the less useful the internet becomes. Secondly because of the number of people who will be deceived by this information and make poor decisions (including purchasing decisions) as a result. And thirdly because of the number of people who will not only be deceived by the misinformation, but will promulgate it, which in turn will lead to more of my first-identified disappointment. The spread of misinformation on the internet is so virus-like that it would seem to be immaterial where it first appears, or re-appears, but in fact this is important, because most people reading any information will base their opinion of whether it’s…

The European Audio Team (E.A.T) has released a new turntable, the B-Sharp, which takes many of its engineering cues from the company’s C-Major turntable. ‘The B-Sharp sheds all of the non-essential cosmetic adornments of the C-Major without compromising performance or mechanical integrity, providing vinyl enthusiasts with a superb playback option at a more affordable price,’ said Paul Clarke of Audio Active, which distributes E.A.T. in Australia. The B-Sharp turntable is fitted with a B-Note carbon-fibre/allow tonearm that has user-adjustments for vertical tracking angle and stylus rake angle, while the aluminium alloy headshell is slotted to permit overhang/offset angle adjustments. E.A.T. says the low-noise motor driving the platter via a belt is proprietary to the company, while the turntable has a floating chassis, aluminium platter and a high-density MDF base. ‘Like…

Inakustik is once more available in Australia, this time being distributed by well-known Sydney-based distributor, Audio Marketing, which is headed up by industry veteran Nigel Macara. ‘We are very excited to be able to offer such a great and broad cable and accessory range,’ said Macara. ‘The product is wonderful, the company is very professional and it still makes almost all its products entirely in Germany and all its hi-fi cables in the Referenz and Exzellenz ranges are manufactured in-house at the company’s own production plant in Ballrechten-Dottingen.’ Macara says the products that are currently proving the most popular with Australian audiophiles are the three-metre-long made-up lengths of Inakustik’s Reference speaker cables, the LS 803 ($1,395); LS 1203 ($2,195 ) and LS 1603 ($2,995), but that customers are also buying…

Bose says that its new SoundLink Revolve and SoundLink Revolve+ Bluetooth speakers are its ‘best Bluetooth speakers ever’, ‘truly omni-directional’ and ‘astonishingly loud’. Both models are cylindrical, with the cylinders manufactured from a single piece of aluminium. ‘There’s no “front” or “back,” because Revolve speakers don’t have to be pointed to favour one location over another,’ said Glenn Gomes-Casseres of Bose. ‘Using an entirely new acoustic design, Revolve speakers spread deep, jaw-dropping sound in every direction.’ The Bose Revolve speakers combine two passive radiators (in opposing format) with a single down-firing wide-range driver that fires into an acoustic deflector. ‘This means the sound radiates uniformly in every direction, with deep, rich bass and without the sweet spots and frequency drop-offs of conventional 360-degree speakers,’ said Gomes-Casseres. Both new Revolve models…

Multiple Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist and world-renowned singer Diana Krall will be touring Australia in 2018. Krall announced that she’ll be undertaking a World Tour during 2017 and 2018 to support her latest album, ‘Turn Up The Quiet’, which was released on Verve Records on 5 May 2017. Tom Ford, of Universal Music Australia, told Australian Hi-Fi Magazine: ‘Krall’s new album celebrates a return to jazz and the great American songbook and reunites Diana with Grammy Award-winning producer Tommy LiPuma. Her unique artistry transcends any single musical style and has made her one of the most recognizable artists of our time.’ Diana Krall is the only jazz singer to have eight albums debut at the top of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. To date, her albums have garnered five Grammy…

Wharfedale has released the 11th iteration of its long-running ‘Diamond Series’ speakers. This newest release has been dramatically changed by the use of long-throw Kevlar drivers with lightweight foam surrounds, vented pole-piece tweeters and sandwich construction cabinets that have continued the curved cabinet side look of the Diamond 10 that had disappeared on the Diamond 100. Eight models are available: three floor-standers (11.3, 11.4 and 11.5) three bookshelf/standmount models (11.0, 11.1 and 11.2), and two centre-channels (11.CC and 11.CS). A feature that was introduced on the Diamond 100 and continues on in the Diamond 11 is the slot-loaded distributed port, where an internal port tube opens into a slot formed between the cabinet and the plinth. According to Peter Comeau, Wharfedale’s Director of Acoustic Design, this design reduces turbulence and…

 Newport Test Labs’ tests of the SAP201V showed that it did not meet the power output claims made for it, according to the Australian standard, which requires that an amplifier must be able to deliver its claimed power output at all frequencies from 20Hz to 20kHz when both channels are driven. Our review sample of Mitchell & Johnson’s SAP-201V only delivered its claimed rated output with both channels driven at the 1kHz test frequency. When both channels were driven into 8 it delivered only 35-watts per channel at 20Hz and 36-watts per channel at 20kHz. With both channels driven into 4 loads, it delivered only 42-watts at 20Hz and 47-watts at 20kHz. Newport Test Labs’ testing also showed that although the SAP201V was able to drive 2 loads, it was…

I like my life to be simple. And I like things to work every time… and all the time. Which is why I’ve pretty much given up on getting my music served up via a computer. I know it’s supposed to be easy, but I have lost count of the number of times I couldn’t play any music because the Wi-Fi network couldn’t connect, or one or the other of my devices couldn’t find files for one reason or another. I really don’t want to troubleshoot a computer network every time I want to play music. The cruncher for me is that my network doesn’t boot automatically after a power outage, which happens fairly regularly in my neck of the woods, and if I’m not home this means my significant…

Heavy. Really heavy! Whatever JL Audio’s Fathom f112 v2 subwoofer may lack in size—and it only measures 384 4×470×451mm, so is relatively compact so far as high-end subwoofers go—it more than makes up in weight. It’s 53kg. Wow! THE EQUIPMENT The Fathom f112v2 presents as a rather beautiful deep, lustrous black gloss cabinet that is completely sealed and sports a very high-quality 300mm driver (as you can see from the exploded diagram included in this review). The small, sealed cabinet volume means that as the driver cone moves to and fro, alternately rarefying and compressing the air inside the enclosure, the forces opposing the cone movement are enormous, so JL Audio has provided an amplifier rated at 1,800-watts to drive the cone and built the enclosure to an astonishing level…

JPLAY is piece of Windows software targeted directly at audiophiles who want the best sound performance with their computer-stored music. But JPLAY isn’t really a music player, although it has a minimal player called JPLAYmini just in case you need one. It’s actually an environment designed to allow your preferred quality audio player for Windows to operate better than it might otherwise. THE PROBLEM Computer music playing software has a major limitation. It has to be run on computers and computers are multipurpose devices. They not only can do many things, these days they must do many things, and must do quite a few of those things at the same time. Many of those things are largely invisible to you or me as users. Mostly invisible, anyway. But you will…

ABOUT US Sydney Hi-Fi Castle Hill has been operating in the Hills district for twenty-five years. We specialise in quality Hi-Fi and Home Theatre products and back it up with many years of industry experience. Top quality brands and accessories partnered with our design team and custom installation options give our customers an unparalleled choice in Hi-Fi, home theatre and outdoor systems tailored to your individual requirements. SERVICE & SUPPORT With six dedicated sound lounges, including a custom theatre, a visit to our store is a true experience for the AV enthusiast. Our audio specialists have spent many years putting together music and theatre systems to meet the requirements of discerning listeners and it remains a true passion that we still enjoy today. Come in store today and experience outstanding…

the BDP-205 (as well as the BDP-203) can be modified to support multi-region Blu-ray discs, and unlike earlier players this mod appears to be trouble-free... Oppo have now released their UDP-205 4K Blu-ray player. As expected this is an exceptional player, both for visual and audio. Priced at $2,199, the performance of this unit eclipses players costing multiples of this price. We believe that Oppo’s own press release – reproduced below – sums up the features of this player beautifully. “The OPPO UDP-205 carries many of the same features as the UDP-203: • playback of 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, regular Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, SACD, CD and many other formats; • High Dynamic Range (HDR10) and firmware upgradable to Dolby Vision; • dual HDMI outputs – HDMI 2.0 for…

The Qute is not the only piece from the Uniti range to be upgraded; in fact the entire range has changed. Along with the Atom, Naim are also releasing: UNITI CORE: This is a replacement for the Uniti Serve. It allows you to rip CDs to an external NAS drive, or with the additional of an internal hard-drive you can store up to 100,000 tracks internally. This is an excellent companion to the Uniti Atom opposite. UNITI STAR: An all-in-one package including a CD drive which can be used either as a CD player or to rip discs to its internal storage. Its amplification is rated at 70 watts/channel. UNITI NOVA: This is the top of the new Uniti range. An 80 watt/channel amplifier and streamer in one. All three…

Triangle are bringing a new loudspeaker to Australia in July this year, which will be known as the Australe EZ. This is a full-sized 3-way floorstanding speaker positioned above the current top-of-the-range Antal EZ within the Esprit line-up. Standing only slightly larger in cabinet than the Antal, at first glance you could be forgiven for thinking there’s not much difference here, but there’s much more to the Australe than meets the eye. The big differences are in the specifications of the components and construction of the cabinet, adding significantly more strength bracing and internal thickness. It doesn’t stop there either, with the cabinet construction utilising a system Triangle calls ‘Driver Vibration Absorption System’ or DVAS. This system uses strategic rubber reinforcement to isolate the respective driver magnets from each other,…

Dali has announced of a range of powered wireless loudspeakers with BluOS built in. ‘There is a wide variety of wireless multi-room audio solutions that loudspeaker companies can choose to develop on,’ said Lars Worre, Dali’s Managing Director. ‘Our team reviewed the options and our performance values led us to the BluOS platform, which has earned an enviable reputation as a world leader in this space. For Dali this is a strong pathway for our future roadmap and it provides increased flexibility for discerning audio customers around the world.’ BluOS was developed by Bluesound, a Canadian company owned by Len-brook International, which also owns NAD Electronics and PSB Speakers. BluOS is a multi-room audio ecosystem that manages stored and cloud music sources and playback, with support for high-resolution audio streams…

Danish manufacturer AM has updated its iconic range of LP cleaning products and relaunched it to target the new generation of vinyl fans. Founded in Copenhagen in 1971 by Anders Moesgaard, AM has updated and relaunched its original record and stylus cleaners, vinyl brush and anti-static mat, as well a cassette cleaner, tape-head cleaner, pick-up brush, record weight and gear wipes. ‘We’re delighted to bring back our range of cleaning products for analogue music; it’s been really fun to hear such positive feedback from both the original generation of vinyl collectors who’ve been familiar with AM for more than 40 years, and the new generation of younger music fans who are ditching Spotify to listen to vinyl,’ said Jacob Moesgaard, CEO at AM. ‘Global LP sales are predicted to surpass…

Pure Music Group has opened a new retail store in Melbourne, called Sonic Purity, and a new Web Shop. In addition to the new dedicated Melbourne showroom, which offers auditions by appointment, Sonic Purity is also selling on-line via a Web Shop at sonicpurity.com.au ‘Following continued growth and expansion, coinciding with the opening of our dedicated high-end audio showroom in Melbourne, Sonic Purity is our new retail sales division,’ said Rom Beyerle, of Sonic Purity. ‘We aim to provide exceptional levels of customer service, so that we’ll always go that extra mile for customers to help them in their quest for the best possible sound quality. And to ensure they get the best possible pricing, we offer parity pricing.’ Brands available at Sonic Purity include Antipodes Audio, Argento Audio, Audionet,…

Boulder has released a flagship preamplifier, the 3010, which retails for $159,900. Boulder says it spent around three years developing the 3010, which has four independent chassis: one for the left analog signals, one for the right analog signals, one for the logic/user interface signals, and one for the power supply. Boulder has cleverly integrated the four independent chassis so that when they’re positioned together they look like a single integrated unit. The new four-chassis preamplifier has several unusual circuits, one of which being a ‘Blend’ circuit that takes a fully separated stereo signal and incrementally converts it to mono in sixteen discrete steps. ‘This enables the creation of a true centre image from hard-panned instruments, plus it delivers stable images from mono LPs played back with stereo phono cartridges,’…

Newport Test Labs measured the output voltage of the Pioneer PD-30AE as almost exactly 2-volts in both left and right channels, meaning that the player will comfortably drive any ancillary component to which it could conceivably be attached, and that channel balance was an excellent 0.01dB. Distortion at maximum output was a little higher than I am used to seeing, at 0.067% THD+N overall. The distortion spectrogram of Graph 1 shows a second harmonic at –95dB (0.00177%), a third at –105dB (0.00056%), a fourth at –125dB (0.00005%) and a fifth at –113dB (0.00022%) after which the noise floor (down at 140dB) is very clean. Nonetheless, this is self-evidently low, yet from Graph 2, which shows distortion at –10dB, it appears Pioneer is optimising performance for lower levels, where most decoding…

Graph 1 shows the frequency response of the Boenicke W8 speakers, as measured using Newport Test Labs’ standard technique for this test, which involves using pink noise to characterise the low-frequency in-room response of the loudspeaker and gated sine wave techniques to measure the high frequencies, with the two different measurements spliced together (at 1kHz) to show performance across and beyond the audio spectrum. You can see that if we ignore the two sharp high-frequency peaks at 11kHz and 16kHz and the small dips at 28kHz and 35kHz (which we safely can, as they would be inaudible to the human ear) the overall response extends from 42Hz to 40kHz ±5dB. Interestingly, the response ‘curve’ of the W8 is very, very similar to the response curve of the Boenicke W5, so…

It’s not about fun, it’s about bling, excess and 100,000+ (in Euros, dollars, pounds, take your pick) systems… Munich’s High End show has grown to be one of the best—if not the best—places to see high end audio on the planet. The reflective surfaces of the exhibition rooms at the MOC centre are, however, not the best place to hear them! In my experience only the most relaxed systems are enjoyable at this event. But it’s not about fun, it’s about bling, excess and 100,000+ (in Euros, US dollars, pounds, your pick) systems that are the domestic equivalent of Lamborghinis or Buggattis. In fact there was a Veyron in the atrium at High End, the excuse being that it had a Burmester sound system onboard. I didn’t try it but…

Despite the recent return to vinyl, many amplifiers on the market still do not incorporate a phono stage. More importantly the phono stages in most amplifiers that do include phono stages still leave a lot to be desired. Because of this there has been a growing return to external phono stages. It is not a coincidence that one of the better ones comes from Avid HiFi, since Avid manufacture some of the best value turntables on the market. At $1,299, the Pellar is Avid’s baby phono stage and is an exceptional performer for the price. It handles both Moving Magnet and Moving Coil (both high and low gain) cartridges. The gain can be changed for all settings, and it is possible to set the resistance value for any MM cartridge…

How PS Audio got its start back in 1973 is a great story – if you have the chance, click on the ‘About’ link on their website. However it has been the last few years which have seen this extremely innovative company come to the forefront. Products like the unique DirectStream Memory Player covered in our last publication showcase a lot of technology, and have captured the interest of the audio loving consumer. Not a company to stand still, PS Audio have just released a new range of amplifiers – Stella. We are currently carrying two products from this range, the Stella Gain Cell DAC, and the Stella S300 Stereo Power Amplifier. Stella Gain Cell DAC We also made mention of the NuWave DSD DAC in our last newsletter –…

We realise that we keep repeating ourselves, but the advances in projector technology during the last decade are nothing short of astounding. Not only have prices plummeted but performance has soared. The Sony VPL-VW550ES is a great example of this. This is Sony’s second generation 4K projector. It outputs 1800 lumens brightness (more than enough for a home theatre), has a contrast ratio of 350,000:1 – and this projector is HDR (High Dynamic Range) compatible. While conventional TV screens continue to grow in size, there is still something unique about a big-screen projection system. The sense of immersion and the film-like quality of projection is very engaging. Drop in and have a quick look at the Sony – you will be impressed.…

We have regularly lambasted the current gibberish that passes for power ratings on amplifiers. In many cases the specifications quoted are laughable, and appear to be written by the marketing department rather than by the technical staff. There is no consistency in rating procedures, making any attempt of a valid comparison impossible, with Home Theatre amplifiers being the greatest culprits. We recently saw the specification for a 7-channel receiver where the power was rated with only one channel driven (not uncommon, but a worthless procedure), measured at 1kHz frequency and with 10% distortion. This is completely removed from any real-life situation. It was, then, refreshing to read the recent Hi-Fi News and Record Review review of the pictured NAD C368 stereo integrated amplifier. This amp is rated at 80 watts/channel…

Surprisingly, the viability of this product was questioned by many inside the industry when it was released. To us it made a lot of sense, and given that Sonos have been out of stock of the new PLAYBASE more often than not, it appears that our instinct was correct. The Sonos PLAYBASE is essentially a soundbar that sits under your TV rather than in front of it (see the picture above). As the profile of TV stands gets smaller this makes lots of sense – it is not uncommon for your soundbar of choice to obscure the lower portion of your screen, necessitating raising the TV. As luck would have it this is also a very good soundbar, incorporating a woofer, six mid-range drivers and three tweeters. It also features…

Yamaha MCR-N470 with MusicCast We have sold Yamaha since day one, and most of those sales have been of high performance AV receivers, which is a market that Yamaha has rightfully dominated for decades. At the same time Yamaha have always manufactured good quality ‘Midi Systems’, and the MCR-N470 is a great example of this. Firstly, be aware that this unit sells for only $699. Yet for that you will get: • CD player; • FM/DAB+ radio; • USB input; • Bluetooth – including Bluetooth output for connectivity to Bluetooth headphones or speakers; • AirPlay; • Spotify Connect; • Internet Radio; • Wi-Fi; • Control app; • …and Yamaha’s multi-room wireless system, MusicCast. This is a well-made, feature-abundant package that is perfect for smaller environments and starter systems.…

The Sonos Playbase, a device that enhances the sound of your TV, is now available in Australia for $999 (RRP). As the name suggests, the Playbase is designed as a base… for your TV screen. Sonos says that although soundbars are an ideal solution for people with wall-mounted screens, they’re not ideal for users who put their TV on a horizontal structure, such as a table or shelf, and that its research shows that this is where the overwhelming majority of users put their TV. So the Sonos Playbase is designed to sit on a flat surface, underneath your TV, and deliver higher-quality audio than from the TV itself. When it’s not delivering TV sound, it can deliver music streamed from Spotify, Google Play and so on, via a single…

Australian speaker manufacturers Brigadiers Audio and OneAudio have released new speaker systems. In the case of OneAudio, it’s the new OneAudio Mu.1 standmount speaker, which sees ScanSpeak Revelator drivers mounted in small high gloss enclosures. In the case of Brigadier’s Audio, it’s the BA-2s, which use RAAL ribbon tweeters and SEAS Excel drivers in highly inert constrained-layer enclosures. Both systems were recently demonstrated at one of Len Wallis Audio’s music evenings, which featured presentations by representatives from Brigadiers and One Audio including well-known designer Brad Serhan (Orpheus, Duntech, Richter, Axis, Subsonic, Whatmough) and industry stalwarts David Allen and Morris Swift. Len Wallis told Australian Hi-Fi Magazine that the speakers remain available for audition at Len Wallis Audio. The OneAudio Mu.1s are for $5,500/pair. Pictured above (from left to right): Len…

Melco has updated its Digital Music Library range with three new second-generation products—the N1A, N1Z and the N1ZS. All three new models feature audiophilegrade components and construction combined with unique data transfer and protection software that requires no network setup. ‘Melco Music Libraries are aimed at audiophiles who wish to store and protect their music files, whilst playing them back at the highest possible quality,’ said Mark Gusew, of BMC Wholesale, which distributes Melco in Australia. ‘Designed specifically as a music library storage (or NAS) and playback device, without an internal DAC, it should not be confused with other online music streaming devices.’ Music files from the Melco can be sent to a USB DAC or a Network Media Player. The files can also be accessed by any device sharing…

Rega’s famous Planar 2 and Planar 3 turntables are now available in a high-gloss red colour, as well as in gloss black and gloss white. ‘This new colour release will maintain Rega’s spot firmly on top of shopping lists all over Australia,’ said Philip Sawyer, of Synergy Audio Visual, which distributes Rega in Australia. ‘This red colour option comes a year after the release of the Planar 2 and Planar 3 models, but it was always planned to be included as standard for these models, however due to incredible popularity and very high demand since release, Rega has focused on meeting that demand.’ As with all Rega products, production of the red versions is at Rega’s own factory in Southend on Sea, Essex, England. Available in Australia now, the Rega…

Because I was a bit slow getting some music playing after connecting the SAP 201V I discovered one of its operational quirks straight away, which is that… Badge engineering is common in the automotive industry, where instead of manufacturing their own vehicle, a car maker will buy a model from a competitor and simply attach its own badge. So here in Australia, the Holden Nova was actually a Toyota Corolla and the Ford Laser a Mazda 323. This practise was once also common in the audio industry, most infamously with Lexicon’s BD-30 Blu-ray player, which was a re-badged Oppo BDP-83. The Mitchell & Johnson SAP201V that is the subject of this review is just such a re-badging exercise, but with a bit of a twist, because Paul Mitchell and David…

Newport Test Labs measured the frequency response of the Castle Avon 4 Loudspeakers as 40Hz to 30kHz ±3.5dB which, although it’s just slightly outside the dB tolerance of Castle’s specification (which is 45Hz~20kHz ±3dB) more than compensates by extending both lower and higher than Castle’s claimed extension. Looking at the response itself (shown in Graph 1) you can see that were it not for the tweeter rolling off a little above 15kHz, the ±dB tolerance could have been much tighter, because the response between 45Hz and 16kHz is within ±2.5dB. (Note that the trace shown on this graph is the result of two different measurements being spliced together at 1kHz. The response below 1kHz is the averaged result of nine individual frequency sweeps measured at three metres using a pink…

There was a Peanuts cartoon many years ago in which Snoopy is berated for wearing a fur coat on a warm day. ‘Some of us,’ he replies sniffily, ‘prefer to sacrifice comfort for style.’ Is there an element of this with the Pryma 01? They’re extraordinary headphones, the first product from a new brand under the auspices of the McIntosh Group, carrying the handcrafting heritage of Sonus faber, no less, the design HQ for the group, but for some reason McIntosh has decided to market the headphones under the Pryma brand, rather than Sonus faber. Perhaps it wants to differentiate between the two marques, reserving ‘Sonus faber’ for speakers and ‘Pryma’ for headphones. The choice of ‘Pryma’ is interesting, because it’s Latin. The Italian would be ‘Prima’, which means ‘before’…

 Edgar Kramer: Do you have a first memory… or a first unforgettable musical experience that left an impression? “Music goes with mood. I especially enjoy blues and jazz. I find those styles soothing. Especially Lyn Stanley’s voice. What an angel!” Peter Smith: My first memory of music came a long time ago. When I was young I grew up listening to Vietnamese singers. All my pocket money I saved it to buy cassettes tapes and I collected a whole heap of them which I still have, stored with my uncle back in Vietnam. It’s pretty amazing, really, how music can become such a part of you at such an early age. EK: And later, what was it that started you on the audio equipment quest? PS: I was always…

CD is sooo last century. But here’s the thing; vinyl is even more last century. In fact it goes damn close to being the century before. So how come it’s sooo cool? I have a theory. Everyone knows why baby boomers buy turntables. It’s because they’ve opened a box that has been under the house for 30 years and have found Uriah Heep’s ‘Salisbury’ on vinyl and have thought ‘I loved this record’ and because they’ve never heard of Spotify and couldn’t run it anyway they’ve bought a turntable, and have then gone back to the store again for a phono pre-amp, then played it at setting 11. And then they have sat back with a self-satisfied smirk and made extremely rude observations about current music. But all the retailers…

It’s been a long wait, but we are finally seeing the first of the new 2017 Panasonic TV models – and the wait has been worth it. Positive rumours of this range have been circulating since they were shown at CES in Las Vegas in January, and thankfully the chatter has been well founded. Panasonic will continue to roll out new models over the next few months. The first two models we have received represent the best of their traditional LED-LCD screens, the ’780 series. There are two sizes, 65” and 75”, and both are 4K Ultra HD screens – with a 58” version due very soon. By the time that you receive this newsletter we would also have received the lower priced (but still 4K enabled) ‘600’ series, a…

This promises to be an exceptional product. Its predecessor – the Qute – was extremely popular, and with the feature set offered by the Atom we predict that this will be an absolute winner for anyone looking for a no-compromise system in a compact package. The many features include: • Google Cast for Audio – the Uniti Atom is one of the first audio products to incorporate this new technology from Google; • Tidal – our favourite streaming service, with all the music you need available to stream in CD quality, and some albums in MQA; • AirPlay – stream music from your iDevice or from iTunes / Apple Music; • Spotify Connect – the world’s most popular streaming service; • Bluetooth (with aptX HD) – stream from your Bluetooth device in CD quality (or…

Many people are not aware that the HEOS multi-room wireless music system was initially developed in Australia, and has gone on to become one of the major players in the market – world-wide. HEOS have recently released a number of new products. HEOS AVR: A Home Theatre receiver that gives you the option of connecting your speakers by traditional cables, wirelessly, or by a combination of the two. The feature set of the HEOS AVR (pictured right) is impressive, rated at 5 x 100 watts/ channel, with the latest specification 4K-compatible HDMI 2.0, and Bluetooth streaming. The AVR also comes with built-in HEOS network technology for access to the most important online streaming services, and multi-room operation with other HEOS products. HEOS BAR: This soundbar joins HEOS’s existing HomeCinema –…

When we first heard the Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth speaker, one of the staff commented that Bose had rewritten the laws of physics. Amazing performance (and versatility) out of a compact design. That was a couple of years ago – and Bose have now done it again, with SoundLink Revolve. The most obvious aspect of the Revolve design is that it is omnidirectional, i.e. it plays music in all directions. It is also small – measuring only 15cm high. Don’t let the size put you off though – this unit really packs a punch. Other features include: • Water resistance; • Battery power, with a battery life of up to 12 hours; • Press and hold the multi-function button to access the voice input for Siri and Google Now right…

Say hello to the new Hugo 2, a powerful digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) and headphone amp that builds on the groundbreaking Hugo original. Designed for both home and mobile use, Hugo 2 transforms the sound quality of headphones and audio systems with its cutting-edge proprietary DAC technology. In 2014, Chord Electronics introduced Hugo, a revolutionary portable DAC and headphone amp that quickly became a standout product in the Hi-Fi market place. Fast forward to 2017 and the ongoing advances in digital technology, including the latest FPGAs and WTA (Watts Transient Aligned) filters, have enabled Chord to introduce a next-generation version, Hugo 2, featuring flexible new operational features, plus next-generation technical and sonic performance. Hugo 2 can be used both at home and on the go, either with headphones or within a…