Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2019 i Hi-Fi Choice

www.hifichoicemag.com Issue No. 456 December 2019 Hi-fi enthusiasts understand the importance of employing a pair of full-range loudspeakers in their listening room to achieve the best stereo soundstage. There’s no better way to bring music to life in a tangible three-dimensional way. When it comes to smart wireless speakers, however, their popularity stems from the simplicity of their single-chassis designs equipped with impressive speaker arrays and utilising multiple high and low-frequency drivers powered by sophisticated DSP technology to give an approximation of an involving soundstage. It’s a neat trick, but one that’s not always entirely convincing. Although these ‘plonk-anywhere’ wireless cabinets are targeted at those wanting to get into multi-room, I can’t help but think that true music fans are missing out. By not pairing these single-chassis designs together to…

Known for its flagship Statement and comprehensive range of Zen music servers, Innuos showcased its recently launched PhoenixUSB reclocker at the UK Hi-Fi Show Live event held at the Ascot Racecourse Grandstand at the end of October. Said to be three components in one, the PhoenixUSB is a USB regenerator, linear power supply and external master clock with its own linear power supply. Evolved from the company’s experience with its Statement music server priced from £9,800 fitted with 1TB SSD, the PhoenixUSB claims to take a USB signal from any source and regenerate it to a high-precision signal to feed any DAC with the very best audio. It’s on sale now priced at £2,250 and is finished in black. INNUOS.COM…

Philip Swift MD, Spendor Audio Systems Ltd. DP: Talk us through the updates introduced to the D7.2 floorstander and their benefits… PS: Technical highlights include our new Dynamic Damping system, a totally re-engineered cabinet, the latest 5G linear flow port technology, our unique Spendor LPZ tweeter and new bass and mid/bass drive units. New smarter, slimmer styling is the visual highlight. Tell us about the choice of EP77 polymer cone material… EP77 is a light, rigid engineering polymer, which is also remarkably free from internal resonance. This allows us to make a stiff, light mid/bass driver cone, which delivers good low-frequency performance and a wonderfully natural coherent sound. It’s difficult to mould EP77. We had to develop our own thermo forming machine so we could control the production process in-house.…

DETAILS PRODUCT Sennheiser IE 80 S BT ORIGIN Germany/China TYPE Wireless in-ear headphone WEIGHT 30g FEATURES • 10mm dynamic driver • Bluetooth 5.0 with support for aptX HD; LL and AAC • Adjustable bass output • Carry case DISTRIBUTOR Sennheiser UK TELEPHONE 0333 2408185 WEBSITE en-uk.sennheiser.com ireless in-ear headphones are growing more popular as conventional 3.5mm jack sockets disappear from portable equipment such as smartphones. Rather than build a new model from scratch, Sennheiser has taken the scissors to its IE 80 S wired in-ear (HFC 431) and the result is the IE 80 S BT. The wired version continues to be on sale at £300 alongside the new wireless model, which – should you wish – you can attach a cable to (available separately). The driver and enclosure section…

“Bextrene is a form of ABS plastic, a crispy material used for putting wafers and chocolates in,” explains Swift. “Back then it was primarily for packaging, and on its own was terrible, but it was light and with the right damping applied that combination formed the basis of a very good loudspeaker driver. It’s naturally stiff, but rattly; when you apply damping – either within a material, its molecular structure or to it – you need something for it to work against. Otherwise, when there’s a vibration, the material moves and you haven’t gained anything.” After a long period of research, Spencer Hughes figured out how to mould an 8in loudspeaker cone in his kitchen with a reversed vacuum cleaner, a fire grate and an electric heater element. “He vacuum-formed…

Three Chords & The Truth CD Caroline RECENT MORRISON ALBUMS with their Gershwin and Cole Porter covers have hinted that Van the man is rather coasting into old age – so it comes an agreeable surprise to find him back to his lyrical best with this supple, spirited set of 14 new compositions. At 74, the voice is still in soulful fettle and songs such as Days Gone By and Dark Night Of The Soul hark back to the classic sound of his late-sixties/early-seventies output, aided by the return of veteran guitarist Jay Berliner, who played on Astral Weeks. The slow blues of You Don’t Understand evokes the spirit of Bobby Bland and Early Days is a delicious piano-and-sax boogie tribute to the original pioneers. Only the awkward, strained tones of the…

Sahari CD Glitterbeat Records AZIZA BRAHIM IS a siren of the sands whose music revisits her childhood growing up in an Algerian refugee camp. Simple arrangements, often featuring little more than her voice, a drum and guitar, are gripping. I’m snared good and proper by opener Cuatro Proverbios, happily sinking into the quicksand as a group of female voices swirl and twirl around a simple yet infectious melody. Hada Jil gets the toes taping uncontrollably and the lonely, moonlit beauty of Lmanfa will break hearts, even though you’ll have no idea what’s being sung. This is the album you’ll play a lot and forever get asked "Who’s this?”…

Nocturnes/Requiem Robin Ticciati Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin Magdalena Kožená CD Linn TICCIATI COUPLES DEBUSSY’S mesmerisingly impressionistic Nocturnes with the less frequently performed full-orchestra version of Duruflé’s Requiem — two beautiful works, but not at all a natural pairing. With open and detailed sound and excellent finesse and control in the orchestral playing, Nocturnes is very impressive. The Requiem is less effective. The problem lies solely with the presentation of the choir. Perspective, clarity, balance and blend are all rather variable. The choir lacks strength in depth and one suspects that a lot of active mixing of the choir microphones was necessary in the search for an effective balance.…

Jan Morton, Missing Link and Vinyl Passion, reveals the music that she uses to help demo and develop new products Stan Getz and João Gilberto Getz/Gilberto For mono listening I always find myself turning to Getz and Gilberto on Verve. Astrud Gilberto’s voice is mesmerising on The Girl From Ipanema. Will Powers Dancing For Mental Health Though originally a comedy record, Powers’ Kissing With Confidence is a lively, fun performance captured on a simple, precise recording. The Lovin' Spoonful Daydream The title track from this glorious album is happy, positive and magical. It’s always a good test as I know it so well and I love John Sebastian’s voice. Steve Miller Band Fly Like an Eagle It’s hard to choose, as I love all of their music. But if I…

Colorado CD Reprise THERE’S ALWAYS BEEN a special chemistry between Young and Crazy Horse. They last recorded together on 2012’s Psychedelic Pill and after five albums without them, he’s saddled up the Horse for one last ride. Recorded ‘live’ without overdubs in a studio located high in the Rocky Mountains, from the country-ish Think Of Me with its undeniable echoes of Harvest to the ragged glory of the splintering, screaming electric guitar epic She Showed Me Love, this is classic Young and a more than welcome return to form on his best album since 2005’s Prairie Wind.…

Symphony No.3 Metamorphosen Sinfonia Grange Au Lac Esa-Pekka Salonen CD Alpha SCORED FOR 23 solo strings, Metamorphosen stands as one of the most profound works of the 20th-century. Strauss poignantly quotes the Funeral March from Beethoven’s Sinfonia Eroica. Despite passing moments of insecure tuning, Salonen’s performance is graced by impressive clarity of texture and is as moving as any on record. The Eroica also suffers technical imperfections, but once again Salonen’s interpretation is exemplary. Both works are recorded at a tasteful perspective, with splendid detail, but the sound is both spatially and tonally a bit boxy.…

No Treasure Like Hope CD City Slang IT'S OFTEN BEEN noted that listening to a Tindersticks record is the aural equivalent of drinking a glass of deep, rich red wine. For its 12th album, the band’s first in three-and-a-half years, the Nottingham quintet – with the charismatic Stuart Staples still at the helm – glide through 10 tracks of wistful melancholy and swooning arrangements. At once beautiful and fragile, the album plays like the best late-night collection you’ll hear this year, with a multitude of instruments giving it an intimate, almost jazz-like vibe. Welcome back.…

Brockes-Passion Academy Of Ancient Music Richard Egarr 3x CD AAM Records RICHARD EGARR DIRECTS the orchestra and choir of AAM alongside a top-notch cast of vocal soloists in a gripping performance, packed with committed and dramatic singing. As is common with large-scale works, the released recording is edited from a live concert and rehearsal/patch sessions. But here, unusually, two venues are used – the Barbican and Henry Wood Hall. Naturally, this results in a variability of quality. One suspects the Henry Wood material sounds fresher and clearer, with the concert a bit flatter. Highly recommended, despite the technical reservations.…

SONOS HAS BEEN busily expanding its range of multi-room components, with a number of new speakers, amps, and streaming media devices and in partnership with Ikea has even designed a speaker that’s also a table lamp. For a long time, there’s been one glaring omission in its portfolio – a portable speaker that can be moved around the home or used outdoors. The Move fills the gap very nicely, although its £400 price tag seems a bit steep and for the same price you could buy a pair of entry-level Sonos One speakers (HFC 444). Its black, cylindrical design looks similar to the One, although it is considerably larger and heavier, standing some 240mm high, 160mm wide and 126mm deep, and weighing 3kg. It’s not the sort of device you…

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Simon Webster Sales and marketing coordinator ES: With the Planar 10 also taking a skeletal form, is this now the future for Rega turntable designs? SW: From the Planar 6 price bracket onwards the Tancast 8 foam core plinths are very much the future – the more affordable Planar 6 cannot afford the skeletal CNC process, but the design principals remain very much the same. Currently, the latest Tancast 8 core material is used on Planar 6, Planar 8 and now Planar 10, which is certainly the direction we intend to stick with. Can the Apheta 2 make use of the new Apheta 3 stylus under the Rega’s cartridge rebuild process? The two assemblies are technically interchangeable, however we are not planning to offer an upgrade service. We are sure…

SETTING UP AND using wireless speakers should be a breeze. It isn’t always plain sailing but, on the whole, this group of two-speaker systems has been a well-behaved joy and remarkably enlightening. The gathering naturally split itself into two sub-groups, the Sonos, Bluesound and Harman Kardon representing the more traditional ‘wide-boy’ form factor of the multi-room pioneers, the KEF, Devialet and B&W applying a scaled-down aesthetic to the problem. Trying to guess how they’d all sound from their appearance is hopeless. But to answer the question, can wireless speakers do real hi-fi in stereo? Absolutely. But, as always, there has to be a ranking. First to go is the speaker from the US brand that was first on the scene. The Sonos Play:5 is still a fine wireless option with…

DETAILS PRODUCT MrSpeakers Ether 2 ORIGIN USA TYPE Open-back, overear headphone WEIGHT 290g FEATURES • 71 x 45mm planar magnetic driver • 1.8m detachable cable fitted with a 6.35mm jack plug DISTRIBUTOR Electromod Ltd. TELEPHONE 01494 956558 WEBSITE electromod.co.uk Even though the Ether 2 is almost 90g lighter than its predecessor, the lower weight has not been achieved by switching from metal to plastic components. Instead, it sports all-metal earcups, headband and a carbon fibre driver baffle that means it weighs just 290g, making it one of the lightest full-size planar-magnetic headphone designs on the market. To offer maximum comfort, the lightweight skeletal design is coupled with new ergonomic earpads and an improved webbed leather head strap. In fact, slipping the Ether 2 over my ears, I am instantly aware…

As a student in London, I was very interested in hi-fiand would go to the original Audio T store in Oxford Street – and it was through the people there that I met Spencer Hughes and became a fan of Spendor loudspeakers”, says Philip Swift. “I think at that time he had made a few loudspeakers but hadn’t actually formed a company. John Bartlett – who ran Audio T – said: ‘These are great, we can sell them. If I give you some money can you make some for me?’ This was a measure of the enthusiasm that existed for that original product based on hearing it. Spen was still a full-time employee of the BBC, then…” Thus was born Spendor’s first loudspeaker 50 years ago – the 1969 BC1.…

THIS MONTH ED SELLEY EXPERTISE: REVIEWER Active in the industry since 1999, Ed’s first record was Boss Drum by The Shamen. He splits his time between reviewing and protecting hi-fi kit from his son Will. NEVILLE ROBERTS EXPERTISE: ENGINEER Neville has an eclectic taste for classical baroque and jazz. His wife was forced to marry his transmission line speakers in the eighties and he collects BBC test card music. JASON KENNEDY EXPERTISE: REVIEWER Editor of HFC from 1998 to 2001, Jason’s first turntable was Rega’s Planar 3 and Elvis’ 40 Greatest Hits was his first vinyl, so don’t go stepping on his blue suede shoes. DAVID PRICE EXPERTISE: REVIEWER DP two-finger typed his first hi-fi review 25 years ago. Since then he’s edited Hi-Fi World and HFC. He describes himself…

I Made A Place CD Domino PROLIFIC WILL OLDHAM might be, but despite a slew of albums that reworked old classics to fabulous effect in recent years, the glorious I Made A Place is his alter ego, Bonnie ‘’Prince’’ Billy’s first new album since 2011’s Wolfroy Goes To Town. The Louisville native makes a strong return with 13 tracks that encompass everything that he’s come to be known for – from stirring hoe-down alt-country (complete with string instruments aplenty and even some horns), all the way through to aching melancholia – all featuring Oldham’s sometimes playful, more often than not cynical, take on the world. Excellent stuff.…

An American Song Album Bradley Moore SACD Pentatone THE UNITED STATES has a fine legacy of art song composition, perhaps under appreciated in the UK. Samuel Barber’s engrossing cycle Hermit Songs is the only familiar music within an interesting programme containing works by Jake Heggie, Carlisle Floyd, Aaron Copland and arrangements by Gordon Getty. With her richly toned soprano voice, Melody Moore’s performances are involving and expressive, colourfully accompanied by Bradley Moore’s intelligent pianism. Recorded in a fairly large hall, the acoustic is overly spacious, but otherwise the sound balance is very good indeed, with a pleasing perspective and beautiful reproduction of vocal and piano colour. Do you agree with our reviewers? Decide for yourself and listen to some of this month’s tracks at www.hifichoice.co.uk…

12 Conversations with Thilo Heinzmann, Echo Collective CD Deutsche Grammophon CONSISTING OF A dozen movements for string quartet, 12 Conversations sounds both archaic and modern. Although mostly slow brooding and meditative, the work is evocatively picturesque. Not knowing the composer, you might guess Arvo Pärt due to the austere spiritual purity of the music. But Jóhannsson’s score is not derivative; it just casts a hypnotic spell akin to the Estonian composer, and firmly holds one’s interest. Form is especially clear, focussed and atmospheric. The four instruments of the quartet blend together beautifully, creating ever-changing tone colours filtered through a prism of subtle harmonic shifts.…

highresaudio.com has The Beatles’ Abbey Road (2019 Remastered), Beth Hart’s War In My Mind, Tool’s Fear Inoculum, Fanie Antonelou and Kerstin Mörk’s Aff inities: Greek And German Art Songs and Ruth Maria Rossel’s Back 2The Ruth. hdtracks.co.uk has Tegan And Sara’s Hey, I’m Just Like You, Sturgill Simpson’s Sound & Fury, Zhu Xiao-Mei’s Bach: The French Suites, Baiba Skride’s Bartók: Works For Violin And Orchestra and John Coltrane’s Blue World.…

Symphonies 1-6 Semyon Bychkov Czech Philharmonic 7x CD Decca BYCHKOV’S RICH WARM approach emphasises the lyrical side of Tchaikovsky, rather than his neurotic angst, and he’s aided by outstanding orchestral playing – polished and precise. The result is very enjoyable. Pianist Kirill Gerstein plays the concertos with brilliance and panache. Decca’s recordings are smooth, open, clear and natural, with plenty of clarity and detail. The acoustic is nicely captured, with a convincing ambience that suggests space and depth without seeming ‘distanced’ or recessed. With fewer new recordings of standard repertoire being made these days, a set like this is both unexpected and welcome.…

Symphonies Nos. 6 & 9 Parsifal Prelude & Siegfried Idyll Gewandhausorchester Andris Nelsons 2x CD Deutsche Grammophon ALTHOUGH IT IS Andris Nelsons’ Shostakovich symphony cycle with the Boston Symphony Orchestra that has been scooping up major awards, his Bruckner cycle from Leipzig continues to impress. Recorded live, the occasional very minor slip may be heard, but there is no denying that the Gewandhaus is a lovely-sounding orchestra, with a wide range of sumptuous colours that is ideal for Bruckner. Nelsons’ Bruckner has a strong sense of symphonic structure, yet reveals fine detail from within the often dense scoring. The Wagner is splendidly performed, particularly the Prelude to Act I of Parsifal. The sound is very beautiful. With full and natural tonal colour, the strings fill the soundstage at an elegant perspective.…

Free To Play CD Odin IT CAN’T BE easy to consistently carve out your own unique niche in the genre of piano trios, but somehow Espen Berg and his cohorts have cut one out by pushing the form to its limits without trying to break it. Having said that, the opener here has a creaky gothic feel that breaks the mould. Thereafter things at least have the usual instrumentation, but there is a broad range of expression from the off-kilter drums of Kestrel to the heavyosity of Episk Aggressiv Syndrom and finally the gentle beauty of Furuberget. This is a solid, 3D recording that’s natural, dynamic and not too polished with plenty to enjoy.…

To get the very best from your new purchases, it’s worthwhile checking that your turntable is perfectly setup. Start off with the tracking force. This is done by setting the tracking force adjustment and the bias adjustment on the tonearm to zero and then moving the counterbalance weight so that the arm is perfectly horizontal. Now set the tracking force adjustment on the tonearm to the correct value according to the cartridge manufacturer. Next align the cartridge by setting the azimuth or vertical alignment, the overhang and the angle of the cartridge in the headshell. Setting the azimuth means making sure the stylus is perpendicular to the record when viewed from the front. Placing a small mirror on the platter and gently lowering the stylus onto it will highlight any…

PRICE: £170-£350 AVAILABLE: NOW CONTACT: 0800 2321513 WEB: BOWERSWILKINS.COM INTRODUCING FOUR NEW headphones to Bowers & Wilkins’ product portfolio, all supporting aptX Adaptive wireless tech. The flagship PX7 over-ear (pictured right) is priced at £350 and has active noise cancelling. It has a 43mm dynamic driver in each earcup and proximity sensors built in to pause music when the headphone is removed before resuming when placed back on the head. It comes with fast USB-C charging and claims battery life of up to 30 hours – a 15-minute quick charge claims five hours playback. The smaller PX5 on-ear (£270) has 35mm drivers, customisable adaptive active noise-cancelling tech and claims battery life of up to 25 hours – quick charge claims three hours playback. The PI3 (£170) is a wireless in-ear…

This twice-a-year event is the largest secondhand and vintage audio gathering in the UK. There’s something rather exciting about attending a vintage sale, with rows and rows of stalls stacked high with hi-fi goodies to tempt every kind of visitor of all ages keen to get their hands on a renovation project or simply to browse and wander down memory lane. Stepping through the doors of the Angel Leisure Centre, Tonbridge on Sunday 6 October, the main sports hall bustles with activity as enthusiasts haggle over used vinyl and previously loved hi-fi. Wading through the yesteryear components on display that many visitors remember owning – or wanting to – is a truly mesmerising experience. There are stalls selling ¼in reel-to-reel prerecorded tapes and if you’re looking for blank tape stock,…

DETAILS PRODUCT Spendor D7.2 ORIGIN UK TYPE 2.5-way floorstanding loudspeaker WEIGHT 21kg DIMENSIONS (WxHxD) 192 x 950 x 333mm FEATURES • 1x 22mm linear phase hybrid soft dome tweeter • 1x 180mm EP77 polymer coned mid/bass driver • 1x 180mm Kevlar composite coned bass driver • Quoted sensitivity: 90dB/1W/1m (8ohm) DISTRIBUTOR Spendor Audio Systems Ltd. TELEPHONE 01323 843474 WEBSITE spendoraudio.com So many speaker brands now have ‘cor-blimey’ models with high-tech drive units sporting the sort of cone materials and dramatic finishes that you’d expect on a supercar. Spendor on the other hand, has shrewdly positioned itself away from the fray of many modern speaker designs instead making more conventional boxes in a variety of sizes that simply sound good. Managing director Philip Swift is effectively repeating the success he had…

DETAILS PRODUCT Acoustic Energy AE509 ORIGIN UK/China TYPE 2-way floorstanding loudspeaker WEIGHT 22kg DIMENSIONS (WxHxD) 185 x 1,000 x 270mm FEATURES • 1x 25mm carbon fibre dome tweeter • 2x 125mm carbon fibre mid/bass drivers • Quoted sensitivity: 89dB/1W/1m (6ohm) DISTRIBUTOR Acoustic Energy Ltd. TELEPHONE 01285 654432 WEBSITE acoustic-energy.co.uk Few things are ever new in loudspeaker design, but progress sees the same ideas coming back in ever more diverse forms. In the case of the new AE509, we see the reappearance of carbon fibre driver cones and domes. Various companies from Audax to Sony have designed and manufactured these over the years, and with good reason because it is a far lighter material than many others – so can surely only be a good thing. The AE509 has twin custom-designed…

Designing a Spendor speaker is a long process, says Philip Swift. “You’ve got a nice drawing on screen that is the shape, size, you’ve decided how many drivers and you’ve got an idea of how much it has got to sell for. This tells you what you can put into it, and what you cannot. At this stage, many companies will open up a catalogue and look for a driver that somebody else is making, to buy one off the shelf. At Spendor, though, we start thinking about the electrical and mechanical parameters needed…” He continues: “If we don’t design an entirely new driver, we will rework our own existing design for the job in hand. We may have to adjust masses and suspension and springs and the number of…

KT Tunstall Acoustic Extravaganza 180g vinyl Virgin RECORDED OVER FIVE days on the Isle of Skye, Tunstall describes Acoustic Extravaganza as bridging a gap for fans by going back to her roots. As the title suggests it’s an almost completely unplugged album with electric keyboards appearing on only two of the 10 tracks, meanwhile elsewhere there is double bass, drums and acoustic guitars alongside Tunstall’s lyrics. Despite the lurid yellow and red vinyl it’s pressed on, this is a great-sounding album. Tunstall’s style is pop rock, but the absence of amplification here gives it a folk edge as well. Most of the songs have simple backing; on several numbers it’s just the voice and guitar such as Change, which only adds backing vocals on a couple of lines. The singer’s voice…

Let It Bleed (50th Anniversary Edition) 2x vinyl Abkco Records BY THE TIME of the Stones' 10th album, the band had perfected its blend of rock and roll and blues, and this – featuring Brian Jones’ final appearance and Mick Taylor’s debut – was to be the perfect transition from the poppy sixties to a rawer, grittier seventies. From arguably one of the greatest album openers in the shape of Give Me Shelter, through to the angelic voices of the London Bach Choir on the glorious You Can’t Always Get What You Want, this is the Stones at their very best (forgetting Monkey Man and Country Honk, of course). Essential listening.…

Before The Beginning: 1968-1970 Rare Live & Demo Sessions (Remastered) Vinyl Sony CMG UK WITH 41 TRACKS from the earliest incarnation of the Mac, before the melt downs turned them into a dystopian ABBA, this is not a barrel-scraping exercise – it’s as good as it gets. The live stuff is particularly infectious with Madison Blues a rambling joy perfectly placed as the starter. The drowsy beauty of Have You Ever Loved a Woman winds itself up nicely with Peter Green’s searing guitar and shattered vocal too good to be missed. The remastering fixes up some drop out here and there, which adds to the charm. It’s time to make room on any future best of… Mac compilation for some of these unearthed gems.…

Time & Eternity Camerata Bern CD Alpha ON A BROADLY Judeo-Christian spiritual theme, Time & Eternity is a heady mix of music both ancient and modern. Hartmann’s stirring Concerto Funebre is a highlight. Chorals from Bach’s St. John Passion are mixed with the movements of Martin’s Polyptyque. And there is much more besides. On paper, such a poly-stylistic collage is bewildering. The best approach is to lay aside the booklet and form a purely subjective response — and, with the help of full-blooded performances, intensely moving it is too. With slightly phasey stereo, the recording is quite close and bright, but this approach suits the spirit of the project well.…

O.T.T.O. CD Bureau B ADMIRERS OF THE sound of seventies synthesisers will find plenty to enjoy in Alexander Arpeggio and Cid Hohner’s distinctive blend of preset rhythms, disco strings and monophonic waveforms. Looking at the cover and supporting images of the duo, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Arpeggio and Hohner are actually a wedding band sent through a wormhole from the seventies to share their take on kitsch keyboard with an unsuspecting world, and it’s a glorious journey that fans of Tangerine Dream and Gary Numan will certainly want to jump aboard.…

Athena CD Stones Throw Records BRITTNEY DENISE PARKS, aka Sudan Archives, has built up quite a critical buzz with her two debut EPs. She carries on this momentum with her first album, which perfectly showcases her musical dexterity. She’s described as a violinist, singer and songwriter, and on Athena puts all of these skills to good use. Confessions, with its swooning orchestral washes, recalls Bjőrk, while the likes of Glorious and Limitless blend soul, R&B and pop to magnificent, contagious effect. Parks’ smooth, almost Sade-like voice underpins everything, but with flourishes of world influences there’s a lot to enjoy here. A very strong debut.…

Harmony Petra Haden, Hank Roberts, Luke Bergman CD Blue Note THE REVERED JAZZ guitarist’s Blue Note debut is a gentle, mesmeric off ering. It opens with Everywhere that has long-time collaborator Petra Haden providing simple ‘la las’ over Frisell’s expertly reverberating guitar strings. Its dogged simplicity and calm makes the track special. Fifty Years is representative of what follows – a gorgeous melody driven by Haden’s wordless vocals with male harmonies. It’s a beautiful album that gently and overwhelmingly takes the listener to a special place of calm and comfort. Glorious stuff…

1969 HAND SOWN… HOME GROWN A spirited, acoustic-based debut with fine covers of songs by Dylan, Randy Newman and Fred Neil and a great version of Silver Threads And Golden Needles. 1970 SILK PURSE An early country-rock classic. Backed by Nashville’s A-crew of session men, Ronstadt shows an early ability to make songs as well known as Lovesick Blues and Will You Love Me Tomorrow her own. 1972 LINDA RONSTADT Four future members of the Eagles back her on a mix of live and studio cuts, including songs by Jackson Browne and Neil Young and a killer cover of Patsy Cline’s classic I Fall To Pieces. 1973 DON’T CRY NOW The Eagles had flown to find their own success, but Glenn Frey dropped by to play guitar and Ronstadt returns the compliment by singing the hell…

The way that you store your precious record collection is key to how well it will play back and how long it lasts – with care it should give you pleasure forever. Always try to keep your albums stood up vertically, side by side and try to avoid packing them too tightly. Temperature is also an important consideration, as rapid increases can cause warping. Normal room temperature between 18°C and 21°C is thought to be ideal. Although humidity isn’t generally considered to be a problem for vinyl, it can affect the sleeves – the last thing you want is a soggy cover. More worrying, damp conditions can lead to mould growth, which results in surface dirt getting in between the grooves. Try to avoid this by keeping your LPs in…

FOUNDED IN 2012, this London-based company was set up to create high-quality cables designed for both professional and domestic markets. The Red Dusk RCA interconnect is a directional, unshielded cable made of two twisted solid-core OFHC (copper) conductors clad in silver. Each is insulated in a thick cotton dielectric. Gekko has opted to use cotton insulation as it has a Dielectric Constant of 1.2, which is close to that of air (1.0). The company recognises that a low dielectric constant minimises capacitance and inductance effects of the cable. Another claimed benefit of using cotton is that it acts as a cushion to reduce mechanical vibrations that can add colouration to the sound. The conductors are sheathed in two layers of red polypropylene braid and each cable is terminated at both…

1981 Sony launches its PCM-F1 digital recorder as Adam And The Ants’ Kings Of The Wild Frontier is the best-selling LP. 1987 Sony unveils DAT as a consumer format while Johnny Marr leaves The Smiths and shortly after, the band splits up. 1996 Sony launches the DTC-A6, while Jarvis Cocker is arrested for jumping on stage and wiggling his bottom at Michael Jackson. 2005 Sony ends production of DAT machines as Pink Floyd reunite with bassist Roger Waters for the Live 8 London concert.…