Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2024 i Hi-Fi Choice

PRICE: £1,500-£2,800 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: LEEMA-ACOUSTICS.COM LEEMA ACOUSTICS HAS introduced two new products in its Quantum range: the Neutron preamp and Graviton power amp. The first all-new Leema Acoustics range in over a decade, the Quantum kit has been entirely designed, engineered and built in the company’s Welshpool factory in Powys, Wales, overseen by co-founder and ex-BBC sound engineer, Lee Taylor. Borrowing heavily from the company’s flagship Constellation series and repackaged in order to improve affordability, the amps display simpler casework while single transformers replace multi-transformers, and the board assembly has been simplified with what Leema claims is no loss of component quality. The Neutron DAC/preamp offers a high-quality switchable MM/MC phono stage, based on Leema Acoustics’ proprietary design. The preamp also benefits from an advanced asynchronous ESS 24-bit/192kHz USB…

PRICE: £137,500 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: GOLDMUND.COM SWISS COMPANY GOLDMUND has unveiled its ultra-pricey, extremely high-end Mimesis Reference analogue preamplifier. The manufacturer explains: “A masterstroke of innovation, this masterpiece is poised to redefine the boundaries of sonic clarity and purity. Driven by Class A Output Stage Drivers, this preamplifier is a maestro of minimalism, employed to guarantee the lowest Total Harmonic Distortion and Intermodulation Distortion. The result? A harmonious soundscape that resonates with authenticity and captures the very essence of the music. The Mimesis Reference defies convention with its mastery over Ultra-Low Transient Intermodulation Distortion. Every delicate transition, every crescendo, is imbued with a purity that embraces the essence of true fidelity.” There’s been a complete redesign of the power supply, utilising separate analogue and digital circuits. Custom audio-grade transformers are…

PRICE: £200-£260 AVAILABLE: NOW/APRIL WEB: SENNHEISER.COM SENNHEISER HAS ANNOUNCED the release of three new headphones: the Momentum True Wireless 4, Accentum Plus, and Momentum Sport. The company describes its Momentum True Wireless 4 as its most capable earbud yet, delivering: “unparalleled sound for the connected audio aficionado, with an impressive roster of connectivity built on the Qualcomm S5 Sound Gen 2 platform and Snapdragon Sound Technology for aptX lossless sound quality and ultra-low latency.” The Bluetooth 5.4 earbuds also support Auracast and an overhauled antenna design for signal continuity while on the go. There’s improved Adaptive ANC, evolved tuning and an upgraded battery system boasting 7.5 hours of continuous listening. It also comes with a Qi charging case and quick-charging over USB-C. The Momentum True Wireless 4 is available in…

Hi-Fi Choice employs the most methodical test and measurement regime in the business. Here’s how we do it… RECORD CLEANING MACHINES GROUP TEST THERE ARE NO hard and fast rules for this roundup of record cleaning machines, which is intended not so much a contest of price-matched machines fighting it out for supremacy, but rather a means to explore the thorny subject of record cleaning with competing methods and prices, from the humble, hands-on Spin Clean MK II to the more upmarket luxury, do-it-all, automatic ultrasonic Degritter Mark II at the top end. Obviously, it isn’t possible to guarantee accurate like-for-like sound quality assessments by artificially dirtying the same LP repeatedly (likely to ultimately degrade the LP’s sound, anyway, through short order multiple cleanings). Instead, we’ve opted to arm ourselves…

Handling and looking at the Degritter Mark II, thoughts of removing detritus from records, initially at least, are overpowered by luxury goods lust. We’re downtown in Smeg, Dualit, Kitchen Aid, Fracino country here, sleek design and lifestyle compatibility stoking desire more immediately than functional span and efficiency. It’s partly why the Degritter costs as much as a fine turntable. Other reasons are hung on the claim that in a market populated by noisy, messy, labour-intensive RCMs, it cleans painlessly, automatically, quietly and, thanks to its advanced ultrasonic tech and smarts, with spotless efficiency. Degritter’s engineers have even spent time perfecting ‘knob and button feel’, a pursuit more usually obsessed over by high-end amplifier makers. At the heart of the Degritter Mark II is its ultrasonic engine which consists of four…

After the Keith Monks bamboo multi-coloured festival of light, the Nessie Pro+ (don’t be fooled, it’s made in Germany by Draabe Technologies) is fiercely functional and probably most peoples’ idea of how an RCM should look. Technical. Dourly unfrilly. Unblinkingly serious. Yeah, tick all those boxes. But it’s also surprisingly small, which is kind of endearing, not to mention practical and more room friendly than bulkier RCMs of yore. It’s a soak-and-suck operative in the manner of the Prodigy (and, indeed, the Pro-Ject), but with a few more moves in its repertoire. For a start, its platter rotates automatically back and forth in a gentle scrubbing motion in concert with the first of its two arms which both dispense the ‘Vinylin’ cleaning fluid, which is said to dissolve dirt without…

FOR NUMEROUS REASONS covered in ‘How we test’ it’s no easier to rank this group of dirt devouring devices than it is to herd cats, safe to say they all do a more-than-acceptable job of rejuvenating tired vinyl. Albeit brief, it’s certainly a journey of discovery, at the end of which, I end up with a bunch of remarkably clean used albums I never knew I wanted. So, even more than usual, what follows is a hugely subjective call and, despite our convention of countdown grading, I’m inclined to give the whole group a tacit thumbs up. Let’s start with the smallest contender. Industrial-level record cleaning isn’t in the HumminGuru S-DUO’s skillset, but its ultrasonic stylus cleaning and digital downforce gauge are so good they aid the stylus’ everyday collection…

Referring to ‘Personalised Listening’, rather than having anything to do with oysters, Denon’s PerL Pro earbuds employ Masimo AAT adaptive acoustic technology, which uses the built-in microphones to scan your ear canal and create a sound profile to suit each individual user. Previous Denon buds have looked very similar to Apple’s AirPods, with a thin stalk that hangs down from your ear. However, the PerL Pro adopts a new design with larger earpieces and a circular outer section. I find the larger earpieces more tricky to get a good fit, but different sizes of rubber ear-tips, one set of memory foam and two sets of rubber ‘wings’ which fit into the outer ear, certainly help. The new outer chassis also means there’s room for a decent battery, and eight hours…

Against all previous evidence and sensible logic, I recently got all excited about the news that The Black Crowes were about to release their first new LP in 15 years. Named Happiness Bastards, I duly clicked on the taster track, Wanting And Waiting. And guess what? It sounded just like The Black Crowes. So much so, in fact, that it seemed and sounded kinda… pointless. Indeed, if I was of a mind to be harsh, I’d say that if you asked AI to conjure a Black Crowes track, this is exactly what it would sound like. Somewhat chastened by the disappointment, I recalled something Damon Albarn said recently about The Rolling Stones: “I do all sorts of things, whereas they’ve never been anything other than The Rolling Stones. I love…

CHORD’S RUMOURX FEATURES silver-plated oxygen-free copper conductors insulated with XLPE (Cross-Linked Polyethylene), which the company considers superior to using the PTFE dielectric material used on previous versions of the cable. It has a 6mm diameter and is flexible enough to fit easily around the back of my hi-fi. The conductors are arranged in a twisted pair configuration inside the PVC jacket. Flexible friend The RumourX is very flexible and I have no problem routing it around my listening room hooking it up to my speakers. After fixing the cable between my valve monoblocks and my transmission line loudspeakers, I start off my listening tests with a lovely Yarlung Records LP called Yuko Mabuchi Plays Miles Davis. This is a Bernie Grundman LP mastered at 45rpm and Mabuchi’s excellent rendition of…

CD PLAYERS Audiolab 6000CDT PRICE: £380 REVIEWED: HFC 447 The 6000CDT is exceptional at revealing what’s on your discs to deliver a great big soundstage with plenty of detail inside. It can dig down deep into the mix to eke out the different musical strands while dynamically and rhythmically it’s hard to beat at the price. In short, it’s a super, highly affordable audiophile CD transport. Musical Fidelity M6scd PRICE: £2,500 REVIEWED: HFC 499 An exemplary player with more than a hint of star quality to it, the M6scd paints a broad and deep soundstage populated with solid, well-focused and perfectly placed images. Regardless of genre of music or production standard, its handling of spatial elements is among the very best in the business. Cambridge Audio AXC35 PRICE: £300 REVIEWED:…

PRICE: £700-£4,000 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: FOCAL.COM FRENCH BRAND FOCAL has refreshed its Aria series with the launch of Aria Evo X, a line of loudspeakers to follow the Aria 900 range. There are five new speakers: one compact bookshelf model (Aria Evo X N°1); three floorstanders (N°2, N°3, N°4) and a centre for home cinema setups (Aria Evo X Center). M people Features include an M-shaped inverted dome TAM tweeter, successor of the TNF tweeter which the company says reproduces treble more faithfully by going further into the high and low ends of the spectrum. The surround on the midrange is equipped with TMD (Tuned Mass Damper) technology to stabilise how the surround behaves in a bid to reduce distortion and deliver balanced dynamics. The ‘M’ shape of the dome…

PRICE: £170 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: SUUNTO.COM FINNISH COMPANY SUUNTO has released its Wing earbuds. Usually associated with sporting accessories such as watches, dive computers, compasses and digital services, Suunto has branched out into the headphone business with what it claims to be: “a first of its kind, developed by athletes for athletes”. The Wings feature ‘open-ear bone conduction technology’ which the company explains makes them an ideal option whether running, climbing, cycling or hiking: “Unlike traditional headphones that transmit acoustic vibrations through the air, the Wing users a more innovative method of sound transmission. The bone-sound technology used in the Wing transmits vibrations directly to the inner ear via the cheekbones, bypassing the eardrum. This ensures that users can continue to hear sounds around them, such as a bicycle bell…

PRICE: £140-£1,400 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: FIIO.COM FIIO HAS UNVEILED its R9 Flagship Desktop Audio Player/streamer and balanced DAC/amplifier, which comes equipped with dual high-performance 8-channel ESS Sabre ES9038PRO DACs and high-power 8-Channel THX AAA 788+ desktop-grade amplification - delivering up to a claimed 7300mW of power output. The company says it features a wealth of connections – including HDMI ARC – and has been designed to work with devices including wired and wireless headphones, active speakers, smartphones, PCs and more. The R9 supports high-resolution PCM up to 32-bit/768kHz, native DSD512 and MQA decoding. Sporting 4GB of RAM, 64GB of onboard storage (expandable to 2TB via SD card), streaming applications including Tidal, Apple Music, Qobuz, Amazon Music, Deezer, Spotify, Soundcloud and many more can be installed via its pre-installed Google Play…

FEW THINGS DIVIDE vinyl-centric sensitivities quite as violently as the act of cleaning records. Record cleaning machines (RCMs) are as much sworn at as sworn by, while the whole bedevilled subject seems to raise the blood pressure of evangelists and antagonists with equal force. It’s like Game Of Thrones for analogue-addicted audiophiles, although obviously without the bloodletting and gratuitous nudity. Swerving the altogether too traumatising plastic washing-up bowl, brush and suds scenario and the only slightly less precarious use of proprietary cleaning spray kits that rely on the rotational assistance of the turntable’s platter itself, we’re examining the rise of the machines for this gathering of record bathing beauties. Two tribes Essentially, they cleave into two opposing camps: mostly industrial-looking soak-and-suck quasi turntables versus ultrasonic magic toasters. The Keith Monks…

The reasoning here is that your turntable is already equipped with the finest (in both senses of the word) record cleaner known to science. Its stylus. Nothing gets into the groove and tracks its contours quite as snugly as a diamond tip, all the better for cleaning crannies if its elliptical. So, if your creed is the best record cleaner is no record cleaner then HumminGuru’s neat and pocketable S-DUO, a combined ultrasonic stylus cleaner and digital downforce gauge, could be the ultimate, minimal interventionist, route to keeping your vinyl virginal. There are provisos, naturally. Most obvious, truly dirty and uncared for vinyl is a non-starter. The little HumminGuru’s mission in life isn’t to encourage crud ploughing expeditions likely to damage styli before it’s had a chance to clean them,…

What has the VC-S3 got that the others haven’t? A brand name that’s synonymous with turntables and the continuing march of vinyl, that’s what. Surely that must count for something? And looking at the simple elegance of the VC-S3, that would seem to be very much the case. Pro-Ject says its RCMs – there’s a cheaper VC-S2 model – are designed to motivate more and more people to buy both new and used records, expanding collections around the world. Of course it does – that’s how you sell more turntables. So, they’d better be good. Out of the box, the first impressions are positive. Apart from the neat, logical design, time spent between unpacking unit and cleaning a record is thankfully brief and uncomplicated. Pro-Ject says the VC-S3 has been…

Here’s a fun game to play: take a look through the product catalogue of US manufacturer Balanced Audio Technology and try to spot the odd one out. It should only take you a matter of seconds because all of its current models, bar one, employ tubes in either their power or preamp stages. And if you still haven’t figured it out, we’re talking about the new REX 500 power amplifier, which is also the one that’s roughly twice as big as all the others. A two-channel model rated at 500W a side, but with the option to be specified at purchase as a 1kW mono design, the REX 500 is described as BAT’s flagship solid-state amplifier, but at £22,500 also counts as its flagship amp, full stop. Below it is…

Knocking the Mystic (HFC 499) off its perch at the top of Vertere’s MC cart range, the XtraX is CNC machined from a solid aluminium alloy block. The mass of the body has been tuned to the internal generator to offer optimum support and control of unwanted mechanical The XtraX has a lower tip mass and a stiffer, faster cantilever attached to a low mass cross coil in a time-constant magnetic field. The cantilever is fitted with a Nude micro elliptical single crystal diamond stylus tip, designed for maximum tracking ability without compromising high-frequency response or increasing surface noise. The CNC machined body of the cartridge is hard anodised to provide a tough and rigid shell to the body. The low-mass generator utilises a Samarium-Cobalt magnet with a low mass…

At a recent recording session, I was admiring a wonderful-sounding violin that had been loaned to lead violinist Katerina Nazarova. It was Arthur Grumiaux’s Guarneri del Gesù and – as you might expect from a violin that is worth around $10 million – it has a wonderful sound. Nazarova asked me if I, or anyone I knew, would like to buy it for her, but sadly I wasn’t able to help her on this occasion. Investing in great art is hardly a new phenomenon and most collectors aren’t musicians. Sadly, this has resulted in many of these fine instruments being tucked away and never played. The subject of unaffordable instruments was highlighted recently when the German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann had to hand over to Portigon Financial Services AG the…

I’m reminded of actor Michael Keaton’s most iconic line as Batman addressing Jack Nicholson’s Joker: “You wanna get nuts? Let’s get nuts”. As a possible rejoinder to our editor’s suggestion that we do a roundup of record cleaning machines, the proposition would have been a chilling prediction of things to come. In the event, merely agreeing that it was a great idea, I chose to ignore the little voice whispering: “are you nuts?” over my left shoulder. I don’t think I ever appreciated by quite how much introducing the myriad rigours of a Group Test to the vast and controversial realm of hands-on vinyl hygiene would demand an entirely new and much elevated approach to havoc and stress management. Of course, things were simpler in the past. Newly pressed LPs…

Brittany Howard What Now CD EMI WHO CAN FORGET the visceral thrill on first encountering the extraordinary voice of Brittany Howard? Sounding like an amalgam of Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Macy Gray and Amy Winehouse, Hold On – the explosive lead single from Alabama Shakes’ 2012 debut album – established the band as the most exciting new name in American rock since the White Stripes. Although Howard’s voice was as soulful as they come, Alabama Shakes was essentially a rock band. Growing up in Alabama she was influenced by Motown and black singers such as Dionne Warwick, Curtis Mayfield and Prince, but at the same time she also fell in love with classic rock from the Sixties and Seventies. This collage of influences was a reflection of her own mixed race…

SAVE 33% ON THE SHOP PRICE 3 ISSUES FOR £11.99! Subscribe today and SAVE 33% on the normal shop price. Get FREE DELIVERY with every issue, straight to your door. Never miss an issue! The perfect gift! SUBSCRIBE SECURELY ONLINE TODAY! https://checkout.avtechmedia.co.uk/EGENN Or call 01858 438446 LINES OPEN MONDAY TO FRIDAY – 9AM - 6PM Calls are charged at the same rate as standard UK landlines and are included as part of inclusive or free minutes allowances. There are no additional charges with this number. Overseas calls will cost more.…

Squelching alongside a canal in Banbury might not sound like the ideal way to spend your day off, but don’t turn your nose up just yet. The prize at the muddy end of this rainbow is a record shop full of gold. The revamped Strummer Room Records is based in Cherwell Business Village, a gigantic converted Thirties laboratory building, a half hour stroll along said canal or five-minute drive from Banbury’s centre. The business has had several homes over its lifetime. “It started in October 2018”, says Chris Oakes, vinyl aficionado, punk disciple, and owner of Strummer Room. “We rented a space on the top floor of an antique centre in Banbury’s old town. Due to its eventual relocation, we took on a vacant shop unit just up the road…

PRICE: £4,400 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: ASTELLNKERN.COM SOUTH KOREAN COMPANY Astell&Kern has just launched the A&ultima SP3000 Gold, a limited-edition digital audio player which, as its name suggests, is plated with 24K gold. A&K explains: “Gold has a beautiful lustre, resistance to rust and excellent electrical conductivity, so it is used not only in jewellery, but also as a component for semiconductors and high-end audio. When building the SP3000 Gold, we used a wet process for pure gold plating rather than simply a surface treatment. To fully highlight the SUS 904L material and gold plating, nickel plating was first applied, followed by the 24K gold plating. It’s finished with an AF coating to harden the surface and prevent fingerprints.” A&K claims the SP3000 is the world’s first digital audio player with…

PRICE: £11,000-£16,000 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: LUXMAN.COM IAGGROUP.COM LUXMAN HAS JUST released the Control Amplifier C-10X, its completely redesigned successor to the C-900u from 2013. This new flagship model was developed to mark the 100th anniversary of the company this year. Featuring Luxman’s LIFES amplification feedback engine, which was first adopted for the M-10X flagship power amplifier, it uses four fully balanced preamplifier blocks, under completely identical operating conditions, to achieve: “pristine purity and a natural, three-dimensional sound”. The C-10X is equipped with LECUA-EX, which reproduces the feel of traditional audio equipment, but with modern technology under the hood in an effort to achieve smooth and tactile volume control, while thoroughly suppressing sound quality deterioration. The exterior expresses a three-dimensional layering with a contrast between the authentic, blasted white finish front…

PRICE: £10,000 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: MUSICALFIDELITY.COM HENLEYAUDIO.CO.UK MUSICAL FIDELITY HAS launched two new products: the Nu-Vista DAC, a high-end DAC with balanced, Class A nuvistor tube output stage, and the Nu-Vista Vinyl 2 flagship phono stage with balanced, discrete circuitry and a Class A nuvistor tube stage. The Nu-Vista DAC is built around ESS 32-bit HyperStream II DAC architecture with three optical, one coaxial, one USB and an AES/EBU inputs alongside an I2S in for a new Nu-Vista CD player set to come in the future. The control interface gives access to multiple customisation options and there’s a remote control. MF says: “The balanced and unbalanced, and fixed and variable output options also make the Nu-Vista DAC a simple addition to any listening system, whether as a dedicated source device…

I reviewed the original Prodigy back in HFC 470 and was introduced to the idea that machine-based record cleaning needn’t be the grim, grey and serious business started by the late Keith Monks himself, who would demo his industrial-gauge RCMs at hi-fi shows wearing a white lab coat and an earnest expression. Billed as the world’s first threadless point suction record cleaning machine, the innovation was somewhat overshadowed by the way the thing looked – almost too cool for school, being constructed mostly from bamboo and toting multi-coloured LED mood lighting – a welcome departure from the RCM norm. It’s ironic that Keith Monks’ passing in 2005 should have coincided with vinyl’s ‘second coming’ but his son, Jonathan, was determined the KM legacy shouldn’t be dormant but define a new…

The comparatively ancient Spin Clean MK II serves as a kind of entry-level proxy RCM model for those on a tight budget that still demand the best from their black stuff. Manufactured and hand-assembled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, since 1975, there’s undoubtedly a touch of genius to the thinking behind its design that’s hard to naysay. All right, it’s unashamedly low rent in operation and the fact that it’s constructed from garish yellow plastic isn’t ideal, but the colour has been chosen so you can more easily see the contrasting crud it pulls from the grooves. Its basic (and I really do mean basic) design may reach back to the Seventies (the design was basic then too), but its proven longevity speaks to its elbow grease-powered reliability and effectiveness, no electricity…

As a key player in Bowers & Wilkins’ range for the best part of 30 years, the brief for the 600 Series has been admirably simple. The speakers need to be able to take on the best that the competition has to offer at the price while also imparting a taste of what B&W ownership will provide if you stick with the brand and make your way towards the snowy peaks of the range where diamond tweeters and birch ply cabinets abound. This means that 600 Series speakers have to use design and engineering approaches that signpost this route without costing anything like as much. Indeed, the company has made a point with the new S3 models of trying to keep any price rise to a minimum. As such, the…

Many of you will have seen headlines reporting that vinyl record sales in Britain last year hit their highest level since 1990 with consumers describing “streaming fatigue” as one possible reason. Meanwhile HMV recently returned to its flagship premises in London’s Oxford Street, opened a century ago by Sir Edward Elgar but shuttered in 2019 when streaming appeared to be on the point of killing off physical sales forever. HMV says it is marketing its sales of ‘proper’ records primarily at, “a younger customer base” that’s more at home on TikTok than using a turntable. Accordingly, the BPI, the industry body that monitors these things, reports that the UK record industry saw a 12 percent year-on-year increase in vinyl sales in 2023. It all sounds highly positive - although when…

SAVE 30% ON THE SHOP PRICE 3 ISSUES FOR £11.99! Subscribe today and SAVE 30% on the normal shop price. Get FREE DELIVERY with every issue, straight to your door. Never miss an issue! The perfect gift! SUBSCRIBE SECURELY ONLINE TODAY! https://checkout.avtechmedia.co.uk/EGENC Or call 01858 438446 LINES OPEN MONDAY TO FRIDAY – 9AM - 6PM Calls are charged at the same rate as standard UK landlines and are included as part of inclusive or free minutes allowances. There are no additional charges with this number. Overseas calls will cost more.…

IT’S LONG BEEN understood that the quality of mains power can have a significant effect on the performance of a system. For many years, Atlas has been producing cables designed to deliver clean power by being resistant to external interference and noise on the mains itself. This has resulted in the introduction of the company’s latest Eos em series as part of its third-generation ‘noise-killing’ range. Double D The Eos 2.5em uses high purity 2.5mm2 low-resistance, oxygen-free copper conductors in combination with a carbon-loaded screen and Atlas’ dd (dual drain) termination configuration. The cable is sheathed within a high-efficiency stable PVC dielectric. As well as the silver-plated UK 13A termination, the Eos 2.5em is available with Schuko or Nema plugs. Given that it is fully screened, the Eos 2.5em is…

Michael Stipe sits sipping garlic soup in an art hang-out called The Grit, a disused railway station out in the boonies on the edge of town. He’s suffering from mild flu. He reaches into his satchel and produces a plastic pouch from which he proceeds to roll a cigarette, smiling benevolently as a tall black fellow waltzes in the door dressed as Lawrence of Arabia. I suggest that this is just the sort of imbecilic behaviour I’d expect from a nation that looks likely to elect George Bush to the White House and he lets slip that R.E.M.’s new album, Green, is due for release on election day. “We were hoping to get ads in some of the magazines – something like: ‘There are two things to do on election…