Innholdsfortegnelse for November - December 2023 i Australian HiFi

There’s no two ways about it; perceived value counts for a lot. No matter how well something performs, there’s every chance it’ll be disregarded by some in favour of something that looks better. The PMC Prodigy 1 loudspeakers I recently tested with some colleagues (review on page 14) could well fall victim to such misfortune, but for the sake of PMC’s efforts and anyone in the market for -$2,000 standmounters, I really hope it doesn’t. When comparing their build to KEF’s class-leading LS50 Meta, I politely used the Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy metaphor for their differences in stature (the PMCs tall and slim, the KEFs shorter and stockier), though I could’ve also made a Beauty and the Beast one (the PMCs being the ‘Beast’) to communicate the gulf between…

Well, hasn’t Bose been busy? Following recent rumours which pointed to a brand-new pair of premium wireless over-ears and earbuds being readied for launch, Bose has officially whipped the covers off the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones and QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. Available in Black or White Smoke, the former replace the veteran Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 while the latter take the place of the year-old, class-leading QuietComfort Earbuds II. Bose’s ‘Immersive Audio’ makes its debut on both Ultra pairs. The technology is designed to make “spatial audio accessible to all” thanks to some powerful new onboard processing. According to Bose, the mode reveals music’s “true depth, spatialising what you’re hearing by virtually placing it in front of you” and “virtually seating you in the acoustic sweet spot”. There are two modes…

A new speaker range from Bowers & Wilkins is always big news, but a new 600 Series puts expectations through the roof considering how successful the mid-priced models have been over the years. So here it is—the line’s eighth generation. The 600 Series S3, as it’s called, comprises the 606 S3 and (smaller) 607 S3 standmounts ($1,499 and $1,149 respectively), the 603 S3 floorstanders ($3,499) and the HTM6 S3 centre speaker ($1,149). According to the British brand, the four-strong range features some of the most comprehensive upgrades the 600 family has ever received, many (emphasis on the ‘many’!) of which have been inspired by the step-up 700 Series S3 range. The biggest of these upgrades has to be the introduction of a new titanium dome tweeter to the series. It’s…

The Prodigy 5 ($3,399/pair) are the range’s floorstanders, which havve been designed to take up no more space than bookshelf speakers on stands. Aside from their floorstanding stature — 90.5cm high (and 16.5cm wide and 24cm deep) — they share plenty in common with the Prodigy 1, including th .27mm tweeter and 130mm mid/ bass driver, ATL bass-loading techniqu eand (here, twin) Laminair vents. While I personally haven’t heard the Prodigy 5, my Colleagues-at What Hi-Fi? who have tell me they’re just as impressive in their class as the Prodigy 1 — hence why the publication has just awarded both Prodigys Best Buy awards. They’re supposedly very nicely balanced with excellent detail resolution, clarity and refinement, and avoid sounding overly analytical. Their ability to produce a Surprising amount of bass…

Hi-Fi Expert Group EISA Awards Australian Hi-Fi magazine is a proud member of the worldwide Expert Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) community, which is formed of expert reviewers from 60 technology magazines and websites specialising in hi-fi, home theatre, mobile and in-car electronics, photography and video from 29 countries around the globe. Each year, EISA members come together to judge the best product of the year in each class and decorate the manufacturer with a coveted EISA Award — and this year was no different. Australian Hi-Fi voted on awards allocated in the Hi-Fi category in a comprehensive process that involved webinar presentations followed by listening sessions, extensive laboratory testing and nominations, shortlists and a final voting session. On the following pages are all the winners of the ‘Best Product’…

On Test esoterica dCS Lina Network Streaming DAC • Natural, unexaggerated sonic character • Impressive resolution • Solid build • dCS Mosiac app is starting to feel clunky • Some holes when it comes to features $22,000 If the words ‘dCS’ and ‘entry-level’ spark the thought of a truly affordable digital product that embodies the qualities that have made the brand so dominant at the top end of the market, you are in for a disappointment. While buying a new Lina Network DAC is indeed the cheapest way to own something new that incorporates the brand’s trademark Ring DAC digital conversion circuitry, this product certainly doesn’t fall into what most people would consider the ‘accessible’ category. What your $22,000 does buy you, though, is a generous dose of dCS technology…

Jacky Terrasson (1995) For ‘Reach’, Jacky Terrasson’s acoustic jazz piano trio was recorded by Mark Levinson (yes, that Mark Levinson) in close quarters, and that’s exactly what it sounds like: a piano trio in a small room. The album was recorded in 1995 at the end of a six-month tour. Terrasson, drummer Leon Parker and bassist Ugonna Okegwo played in the same space, with no partitions, and every accent and offbeat tempo shift reflects the intuitive interaction of players who appear to anticipate one another’s every move. Levinson used a two-microphone recording technique capturing tracks in single takes. The spontaneous quality of the music is enhanced by the open, airy atmosphere; nothing is close mic’d and no compression was used. The dynamic range and subtlety can be a challenge both…

Music Reviews Top Picks Relentless PARLOPHONE It’s a perfect album title, as Chrissie Hynde’s Pretenders have been persistently knocking out marvellous records since 1979. If further evidence of their greatness were needed, remember how they walked away with Glastonbury this year. Johnny Marr, Dave Grohl and even Paul McCartney furiously thumbing-up from the wings were all well and good, but surplus to requirements. The Pretenders rocked like bastards, especially dexterous guitarist James Walbourne, through a timeless set of songs. On top of it all was Hynde’s golden voice, an instrument that has, if anything, improved with age. You couldn’t say the same about all the big names (hello, Mr A Rose) who togged out in Somerset. Like Pretenders’ last album, ‘Hate For Sale’ from 2020, a critical hit that deserved…

This New Noise (Live) TEST CARD Who better to celebrate the BBC’s centenary last year than vintage valve-amp electrorockers Public Service Broadcasting? Lightly remixed by frontman J Willgoose Esq, ‘This New Noise’ is a polished live recording of the London band’s ambitiously rich 50-minute paean to the wireless age, as premiered at the 2022 BBC Proms show at Royal Albert Hall with conductor-composer Jules Buckley and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Overlaying PSB’s Radiophonic burbles with sepia-tinted brass, silken strings and antique audio quotes, these tracks radiate Bisto nostalgia and Festival Of Britain idealism. Thankfully, after a tasteful start PSB galvanise themselves into pomp-rock mode with the emotionally charged fanfares of A Candle Which Will Not Be Put Out. Then the lyrical, mournful What Of The Future? imagines a desolate future…

They have been a long time coming, but we have finally received a pair of the Sonus Faber Guarneri G5 bookshelf speakers. These are about as good as bookshelf speakers get — and are priced accordingly, selling for $25,995 per pair, or $31,995 if you opt for the recommended stands as well. Naturally, the construction quality is superb, as we have come to expect from Sonus Faber. Thankfully they have performance to match — what more could you ask for? The other positive news from Sonus Faber is that it recently announced a price reduction on its Lumina and Sonetto ranges of loudspeakers, in some cases as much as 20%. Great speakers, and at competitive prices.…

Bluesound Node X The Bluesound Node — regarded by many as the best-value hi-res music streamer on the market — has just turned 10 years old. To mark the occasion, the Canadian company has released the limited-edition Node X. Based on the current Node release in 2021, the new Node X features an upgraded DAC, improved headphone amplifier and adds a remote control. $1,299 Barco projectors We are proud to announce that we are now dealers for Barco, who manufacturers arguably the finest domestic home theatre projectors on the market. The Barco range is considerable, with the base model selling for around $50,000. Designed to be the focal point of the very best domestic cinemas, Barco projectors deliver picture quality that is both immersive and aspirational. We currently have the…

IsoTek power cables Most power cables that come with hi-fi components are inadequate They are not built to maintain the electrical integrity to the standard required, and most act as an aerial to EMI/RFI. We recognise that this part of our industry is controversial, with many dismissing it as snake oil. For that reason we are happy to offer a money-back guarantee on all Iso Tek power cables. If you purchase one and are not convinced, simply send it back for a refund. One word of warning, though: returns almost never happen, but it does lead to our clients purchasing additional cables for their system! The range is extensive, so please give us a call to discuss what we believe would be the best option for your system. FLUX-Sonic stylus…

The new two-way Revela 1 standmounters and three-way Revela 2 floorstanders are special for two reasons. Firstly, they’re Quad’s first speakers since 2016; and secondly, they pack updated versions of technologies that date Way back to the British brand’s first speaker system from 1949. Encased in thoroughly modern cabinets, the designs look pretty good for 74. Key to both new Revelas is Quad’s True Ribbon high-frequency driver. This was introduced in Quad’s debut system, the Corner Ribbon, and has undergone many iterations in the decades since, with this latest version supposedly taking four years to develop. While the original was relatively fragile, only able to handle a maximum of 15 watts of power, Quad says the latest True Ribbon design has a reinforced sandwich diaphragm “capable of handling the demands…

Advance Paris has landed in Australia! Synergy Audio Visual in Melbourne has taken on exclusive distribution of the French electronics brand here, bringing its ‘something for everyone’ product catalogue to Aussie audiophiles for the first time. Advance Paris has been operating since 1995 and has come a long way since it launched five loudspeaker models into the French market that year. Today it offers a vast range of hi-fi separates and systems, from CD players and network streamers to pre/powers and streaming integrateds — and for both the price-conscious and higher-end hi-fi fan, with prices starting below $1,000 and soaring beyond twenty times that. Fans of analogue VU-meter aesthetics and valve performance should like what they see and hear, with many Advance Paris components utilising vacuum tube technologies alongside solid-state.…

Ruark Audio has unveiled its R410 all-in-one streaming system and, well, just look at it! With a 70s-inspired retro design bedecked in distinct wood panelling, a sleek touchscreen display and the company’s customary RotoDial controller, the new R410 has every bit the appeal of a contemporary one-box solution. Those handsome looks are complemented by a huge array of streaming conveniences, not to mention hi-res support, radio tuners and ample physical connections. The R410 promises to deliver “unrivalled sound and seamless connectivity options” and will naturally look to give Naim’s similar, proven proposition, the Mu-so 2, a run for its money. Indeed, while Ruark Audio has a long, strong history of making beautiful radios and speakers that combine retro charm and modern features, this R410—the first product in its new 100…

From a features point of view, it would be easier to list what’s missing on the Audiolab 9000N streamer, such is the extensiveness of its offering. We’re used to seeing music streamers tick this box and that, no matter their price point, but Audiolab’s new flagship network player must be one of the most versatile around. The 9000N brings network streaming to the British brand’s top-tier family of separates, which already comprises the 9000A integrated amplifier and 9000CDT CD transport — much in the same way the 6000N Piay and 7000N Play do to Audiolab’s entry-level and mid-range series respectively. While comparable to its streaming siblings in many ways, the 9000N has a major point of differentiation: instead of utilising the DTS Play-Fi platform to provide its core streaming and…

On Test Airpulse SM200 Active System • Great sound, particularly across the mids • Superb build and quality control • Multiple filters for frequency response customisation • No auto standby circuitry • No subwoofer output $1,450 Unlike most monitor loudspeakers, which are designed by engineers who make their living designing loudspeakers for home hi-fi use, the Airpulse SM200 active monitor system was designed and built by a man who started out as a musician, transitioned to being a recording engineer with his own studio, switched to designing loudspeakers for professional and domestic applications, and is now a freelance ‘for hire’ loudspeaker designer, as well as the owner of Phil Jones Bass, a company that builds combo amps, amp heads and speaker cabinets for bass guitars along with other guitar-related products.…

Apple has also launched ‘Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos’ technology, which is basically a soupedup Atmos predominantly for Apple’s ecosystem. It takes 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos signals and applies directional audio filters, adjusting the frequencies that each ear hears so that sounds can be placed virtually anywhere in 3D space. Apple’ spatial audio is Unique in that it doesn’t only provide virtualised surround and Atmos sound, but also tracks your head movement using accelerometers and gyroscopes implemented in the AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Max and Beats Fit Pro in order to position the sound accurately when you’re on the move. There are thousands of Atmos-powered spatial audio tracks available in Apple Music’s catalogue, with Apple saying that more are being added daily. Curated ‘Made for…

“The recording is not what one hears, but what one must make others hear” -Goorge Martin To the uninitiated, it can seem like great music production is an obliquely dark art. Often it appears to demand great technical prowess, sculpting instruments into little perfect sonic bubbles of EQ. But it can easily veer into mystical shamanism, requiring the gentle coaxing of legendary performances from bewildered musicians while unorthodox mic positions abound. Besides long hours of hard work, the best-sounding albums consistently happen when the recording studio is used as another tool to capture and communicate an artist’s vision. There are far too many excellent examples to cover in one list, but below are some groundbreakers, a few gleaming sound-check classics (consider this your Steely Dan disclaimer) and, hopefully, one or…

Steely Dan (1977) Often accused of being peddlers of yacht rock, Steely Dan are notorious for their obsessive studio process, strictly running their own sessions with military precision. This attention to detail garnered a clutch of Grammys for their long-time engineer Roger Nichols and producer Gary Katz, as well as the devotion of live sound engineers who rely on their brand of crisp, tightly honed funk to check their rigs are all in working order. Steely Dan’s reputation for pathological rigour is well-earned. On ‘Aja’, their sixth and most successful album, the band spent a year-and-a-half in the studio, remixing the album 13 times in the process and enlisting more than 40 session musicians with 19 different guitarists brought in to play versions of the guitar solo on Peg. But…

Jellyfish (1993) In the early ‘90s, West Coast pop-rock group Jellyfish had a short but eventful existence, managing to cram what should by rights be a decades-long creative arc into just two blistering albums, ‘Spilt Milk’ being the second. Combining intricate harmonies, decadent orchestration and sunshine melodies, the record was a failure commercially in part due to its unashamed craftsmanship at a time when grunge authenticity was coming to the fore. Indeed it is sometimes even accused of committing the cardinal sin of being ‘overproduced’. It bursts with late-stage grandiosity and wears its influences on its sleeve, from opener Hush — a ‘Pet Sounds’ lullaby with A Day in the Life warped orchestral line — to the bombastic Queen-style romp of Joining A Fanclub including a leftfield nod to Roy…

End BELLA UNION This is the seventh album from this quartet of reflective, instrumental Texas post-rockers, and although it’s not intended as EITS’ last ever album, it starts from the concept of finality — be it the death or simply the end of a relationship. Yet it has about it a surging, affirmative energy and a defiance, as reflected in titles such as It’s Never Going To Stop. Opener Ten Billion People is teeming and, by EITS standards, tumultuous, triumphant even. In truth, it’s difficult to divine a distinctive theme on this album, inasmuch as EITS’ pieces tend to follow a familiar trajectory: opening ruminatively, such as the submarine depths, the darkening turquoise plumped on Loved Ones, for example, or the guitar whale song of The Fight before Chris Hrasky’s drums…

Everything Is Alive DEAD OCEANS It’s six years since Slowdive, who reunited in 2014, released their first album for more than two decades. Since they surfed the shoegaze wave in the 90s, the genre itself has been rehabilitated: young people, especially in America, think it’s wonderful. Its vagueness and nebulous suggestiveness appeal and fascinate in a boxed-in, stat-driven world. Slowdive are now hailed as top-tier masters of their moods, and while this new album works nobly to move things forward, with spells of uplift and hope and (on singles Kisses and Skin In The Game) an undercurrent of pop structure, it will also gratify those who just want to hear the big, layered, melancholy mood that the music also known as dream-pop delivers when it’s clicking. It gets a touch…

Sonos has updated its popular Move portable speaker. Selling for $799, the Move 2 features several improvements over its predecessor, including: • The addition of a second off-axis tweeter, effectively allowing it to output in stereo. • The battery life has been boosted from 10 hours to 24 hours. • Redesigned controls. • Music played on the Move 2 can now be synced to other speakers in your home. • You can connect an external physical source. • It is now IP56-rated for dust and water resistance. Plus, the Move 2 is available in Olive Green in addition to its traditional black and white finishes.…

Under the pillars of ‘Art: Form: Sound’, Australian company Pantheone Audio has set out to show that design and sound can live harmoniously together. Pantheone’s first release, the Pantheone 1 (pictured right), is a daring and innovative piece of art, inspired by the Oculus within the Pantheon in Rome. Constructed from a fully molded resin cabinet, the speaker system features Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth and an Aux input. It has two subwoofers, two four-inch midrange drivers, and four 0.75-inch silk dome tweeters, driven by four Class D ampl ifiers with DSP. The speaker can be voice-controlled via Alexa. This was recently followed up with the more affordable Obsidian (above), also constructed from a resin mold. Obsidian is a single-chassis stereo speaker utilising a single bass driver and two tweeters, again accessed…

Custom Install LEN WALLIS AUDIO Nestled in one of Sydney’s most coveted neighbourhoods, a charming 19th-century terrace house established in 1790 has experienced a technological awakening. This substantial transformation began in 2019 when the homeowner, an ardent audiophile, engaged our team to fuse the past with the present. The goal? To modernise and upgrade the audio/visual and lighting control systems, as well as the HVAC, security and access control in a home where history resonates in every brick. Heritage meets high performance Modernising a heritage home is never a simple task, especially when solid brick walls and concrete foundations leave little room for concealing contemporary technology. Our challenges included hiding electrical and AV equipment that was never anticipated during the home’s original construction, and finding solutions for tricky cabling runs. A…

European hi-fi brand TAGA Harmony is bringing its eclectic range of speakers, separates and systems Down Under, with Audacity Australia becoming the exclusive distributor of the European brand, and expanding its hi-fi portfolio of Lenco and Airpulse in doing so. It’s taken TAGA Harmony a while to reach Australian shores. The brand was founded in 1990 by P. Kokocinski from Poland and K. Richard from Germany, who sought to offer something it didn’t believe the hi-fi industry was offering — high-end sound quality at affordable prices. ‘At the beginning, the company was operating in the field of sound engineering services and audio products enhancement’, reads the company’s website. ‘It took almost two years to develop the first loudspeaker prototypes which met the enthusiastic reception from audiophiles. Nowadays our brand is…

On Test PMC Prodigy 1 Loudspeakers • Hugely impressive clarity and resolution • Precise and organised • Decent bass depth and punch • Relatively low perceived value $2,299 As fantastic as PMC’s Twenty5 series loudspeakers are, there’s no denying they stood as a relatively high entry point into the company’s speakers. So when the British brand revealed a new entrylevel range with a starting price nearly half that of the previous most affordable PMC model (the Twenty5 21i), somewhat ironically during the High End Munich show earlier this year, I was a) delighted, and b) intrigued to see how it would fare against the established competition around this very popular and competitive price point. I’m talking about long-proven models from your KEFs and Bowers & Wilkins, Dalis and Wharfedales and…

Considering he was born in the UK in 1954 to a father who was a musician playing in big bands in the 50s and 60s, Phil Jones’ first love was always going to be music. Indeed he started learning bass guitar at a young age and, when he was just 15 years old, built his own electric bass guitar including carving the body and neck and winding his own pick-ups. Already interested in electronics (he built his own AM radio too), Jones then became interested in loudspeaker design. Aged 16, he built his first speakers. “They didn’t sound so great and I realised there was a lot more to speaker design, so I got Wharfedale’s Gilbert Briggs’ book on loudspeakers and that sent me down the path of my fascination…

OAD UltraFidelity UP1 Phono Preamplifier The frequency response of the OAD UP1 proved to be incredibly flat and linear when it was tested by Newport Test Labs. The frequency response between 20Hz and 20kHz is shown in Graph 1, and you can see that for the most part it tracks the OdB horizontal graph line, dipping below it from 45Hz up to 800Hz by only about a maximum of 0.1dB centered around 100Hz. Below 45Hz there’s a slight lift to +0.3dB at 20Hz, while at the other end of the audio spectrum, the response is just +0.3dB high at 20Hz. So, when normalised across the audio band of 20Hz to 20kHz, the OAD UPTs measured frequency response is within ±0.22dB of a straight line. The UP1’s frequency response is flat…

Bjök (2001) As a producer, Björk is no stranger to constructing whole sonic universes. While she may have more groundbreaking and avant-garde albums, 2001’s ‘Vespertine’ — her first to be recorded entirely on Pro-Tools — demonstrates the Icelandic artist’s mastery of complex textures. She invents a form of homespun electronica in which the interplay between synthetic and natural sounds forms an architecture of introverted chamber music. For three years before making the album, Björk recorded noises around her home —from the shuffling deck of cards heard on Hidden Place, to feet in fresh snow on Aurora — and magnified them to create ‘microbeats’. Sounds were chosen that would maintain sonic integrity even when downloaded as an MP3, and most tracks contained 30 to 40 of these microbeats combined together in…

Daft Punk (2013) Since recording techniques transitioned from primarily analogue to primarily digital, if an album’s production starts running over six figures, it’s often a sign that something has gone seriously wrong But for EDM pioneers Daft Punk, the extravagant cost of their final album, ‘Random Access Memories’, was entirely necessary for the duo to achieve their goal of making “music that others might one day sample” by paying tribute to what they believe constitutes the greatest era for music — the 1970s and early 80s. Citing Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ and Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ as just two of their reference points, Daft Punk (aka Guy-Manuel de Plomem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter) choose to go back to time-consuming analogue recording methods to help them achieve their desired sonic…

Aces Are High ONE ROADS Just three albums into their career, husband-and-wife team Aaron and Grace Bond just seem to get better and better. This album’s two mellow tunes, Golden and By Your Side, demonstrate the kind of creative and performing chemistry that simply flows from the heart. While the sweet, romantic stuff is pretty impressive, there’s no denying the heavy blues firepower they muster on the other eight tracks. With the clear aim of creating an uncompromisingly hard-rocking album, the rifting on Seen It All Before, The Secret, the title track, and seismic album closer Five Minutes Until Midnight is singularly monumental — an incendiary blend of genre authenticity and primal guitar muscle, while Grace’s crystal-clear vocals positively soar on Play My Game and Perfect Stranger. Preceding albums ‘We…

Masao Okada-san has been researching phono cartridge design and technology since the mid-60s and opened the Excel Sound Corporation factory in Japan in 1970. Following the renewed interest in vinyl playback, Okada-san developed the Hana moving-coil cartridge range in 2015. These Hana cartridges are all hand-assembled and each individually tested in the Excel factory. This is a gorgeous range of cartridges, ranging in price from $855 through to $6,600. We currently carry the SL model with a nude Shibata cut diamond at $1,195, as well as the ML model with a micro-line cut nude diamond at $1,995. There are also highoutput versions of both cartridges available if your system does not have provision for a moving-coil cartridge. Explainer: A ‘nude’ diamond indicates that the entire styli is a diamond and…