Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2024 i Hi Fi News

A chance conversation with Dr Jack Oclee-Brown, KEF’s VP of Technology, has turned into a chance of a lifetime… Ask any experienced audiophile what system component is top of their ‘fantasy upgrade wishlist’ and, nine times out of ten, the answer will be, ‘my room’. For most of us, our listening rooms are the one thing we can do little about and yet they can exert a huge influence on the sound of our systems. Of course, there’s a plethora of room treatment solutions on offer, from corner tube traps to on-wall diffusers, and sophisticated DSP available too, if you are comfortable crunching your audio through countless lines of code. Better though, in our fantasy world, not to lock the stable door after the horse has bolted… In practice, an…

AVID Hi-Fi has announced its first new turntable since 2018. Priced £10,000, the Acutus Dark Iron replaces the previous Acutus Dark Limited Edition to become the new entry model in the manufacturer’s top-line series, and debuts a new AC motor system – with DSP-generated adjustable speed control – that’s coupled to the deck’s cast aluminium sprung-suspension chassis. The spindle for the deck’s 10kg alloy platter mounts to an inverted bearing with tungsten carbide ball and sapphire jewel in a ‘self-lubricating’ sleeve. A dual belt-drive design, the Acutus Dark Iron supports up to two tonearms, and can be purchased with precision mat and aluminium record clamp upgrades for £12,950. AVID Hi-Fi Ltd, Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire, 01480 869900; www.avidhifi.co.uk…

Advance tickets are now on sale for the UK’s premier high-end audio event – The UK Hi-Fi Show Live, hosted at the Ascot Racecourse Grandstand, High Street, Ascot on Saturday and Sunday 21st -22nd September 2024. Friday 20th is reserved for accredited trade only. Tickets will cost just £20 (£30 for a weekend pass) via www.eventbrite.co.uk or via the link on the www.hifishowlive.com website. Concessionary £15 day passes will be offered for subscribers of Hi-Fi News and Hi-Fi Choice (details on the insert included with future subscriber copies). See our website for further information. Tickets On Sale Now! www.hifishowlive.com…

EMM LABS PRE With no phono stage or integrated DAC on board – EMM Labs offers the optical pick-up-compatible DS-EQ1, and DV2 and DA V2, respectively, to fulfil these roles – the PRE remains a fully analogue, balanced line preamplifier. And a remarkably transparent amplifier it is too… The volume control is precisely calibrated in both steps and absolute level, so +6.0dB on the display represents exactly +6.0dB input/output gain, 0dB is unity gain, and so on. Steps of ±0.5dB are offered down to –33.0dB, ±1.0dB from –33dB to –40dB and ±2.0dB thereafter down to the lower limit of –68.0dB. Accuracy is within ±0.0dB down to a volume/gain setting of –40dB, within ±0.05dB to –50dB and within –0.2dB at a setting of –60dB. The alternative ‘Units’ option offered by EMM…

SME MODEL 15 MK2 As with SME’s other ‘MK2’ decks, the 4.6kg platter, 19mm sintered bearing and tower suspension of this latest Model 15 are informed by the original model [HFN Oct ’15], while the AC motor and two-box PSU/speed controller [see boxout, p51] are directly trickled down from the flagship Model 60 [HFN Jul ’22]. The Model 15’s alloy chassis maintains the same profile but now has a larger cutout to accommodate the bulkier synchronous motor [see p48], the latter bringing the deck up to speed within three seconds and tightening up any flutter from a peak-wtd figure of 0.03% (DC motor) to ~0.02% here. Peak wow is very low at 0.01%, as evidenced by the ‘sharp’ W&F spectrum [see Graph 1, below]. Intriguingly, the 65Hz noise component seen…

SVS ULTRA EVOLUTION PINNACLE Measured at the statutory 1m, the Ultra Evolution Pinnacle’s forward response shows a slight step at the point the 25mm tweeter takes over from the 135mm midrange at ~1.8kHz. The minor undulations that follow are picked up as cone modes [see CSD waterfall, Graph 2] and are responsible for the ±3.1dB response errors, respectively (all re. 200Hz-20kHz), although these are greatly exaggerated by the plastic grille [blue trace, Graph 1] which should be removed for ‘serious’ listening. Pair matching is an impressively tight 0.7dB (again, re. 200Hz-20kHz) while sensitivity matches SVS’s specification at 88.2dB at both 1kHz and also when averaged over 500Hz-8kHz. The ultrasonic resonance of SVS’s alloy treble dome with its vapour-deposited ‘diamond-like’ coating is also clear at 28kHz (+12.5dB re. 1kHz), with a…

NAD MASTERS M66 All streaming/DAC products equipped with (a well-implemented) ES9038PRO-based digital section will show very low noise, a wide S/N ratio and low correlated jitter, and NAD’s Masters M66 is broadly illustrative of this trend. Although the DAC hardware comes with the option of six different digital filters NAD has had the good sense to choose one – the ‘fast’ minimum phase type – and ‘voice’ the M66 accordingly. This filter offers a moderate 67dB stopband rejection with no acausal ‘pre-echo’/time domain distortion on transients, and very flat responses that reach out to –0.03dB/20kHz, –0.10dB/45kHz and –0.21dB/90kHz with 48kHz, 96kHz and 192kHz inputs, respectively. Low-level resolution is true to ±0.15dB over a full 110dB range thanks to the 5.04V peak-level output and very generous 117.5dB A-wtd S/N ratio, all…

ELECTROCOMPANIET AW 300 M Electrocompaniet’s AW 300 M power amplifier, like its flagship AW 800 M [HFN Sep ’23], is rated at 300W/8ohm per channel. The latter is a (bridgeable) stereo amp while the amplifier under test here is a monoblock and its behaviour, to all intents and purposes, is almost identical to one channel – one power amp module – of the AW 800 M. Differences are slight and probably stem from small variations in the PSU and physical layout. So, while the AW 800 M broadly meets its spec. at 2x320W/8ohm and 2x580W/4ohm with 364W, 714W, 1352W and 1854W available under dynamic conditions into 8, 4, 2 and 1ohm loads, respectively, the AW 300 M delivers a mono 315W/8ohm and 565W/4ohm with a transient 352W, 690W, 1265W and…

Q ACOUSTICS 5050 If the forward response, with its presence band dip [Graph 1], emphasised midrange and 23kHz treble peak – made all the more irregular with the grille in place [blue trace] – look familiar then that’s because we saw the same in the Concept 50 [HFN Apr ’22] and earlier Concept 500 [HFN Jul ’17]. While there is consistency in Q Acoustics’ voicing of its larger, two-way MTM style speakers, the more affordable 5050 is also more relaxed in its specification. For example, the response errors here are a wider ±4.8dB and ±4.2dB, respectively, versus the Concept 50’s tighter ±3.5dB and ±3.7dB. That said, pair matching remains an excellent 0.7dB (200Hz-20kHz) except for an inconsequential blip of 2dB at 16.4kHz. And, again, the reinforced midband pushes up sensitivity…

PRO-JECT PICK IT MC9 Although not specifically mentioned in Pro-Ject’s literature, the MC9’s cryogenically annealed mechanism, pole pieces and boron rod cantilever all look like examples manufactured by the Excel Corporation of Japan, and illustrated by the Hana Umami Blue in particular [Umami Red – HFN Dec ’20]. The MC9 has its own solid alloy body and (possibly) slightly more cost effective ‘Special Elliptical’ 5x150μm stylus [see micrograph, p71] but output is marginally lower than specified at 315μV (re. 1kHz/5cm/sec into 100ohm) while the channel balance is below par at 0.8dB. That said, channel separation is excellent at ~35dB through the midrange while the frequency response is very extended, closely mirroring the ‘shape’ of the Umami Red with a rising treble reaching +2dB/19kHz (left) and +5dB/20kHz (right) with stereo cuts…

IFI AUDIO NEO IDSD 2 As every generation of iFi Audio’s various product lines gives way to the next there is typically a marked evolution in performance, and so it is between the NEO iDSD [HFN Mar ’21] and the mk2 reviewed here. Tested in fixed, balanced line output guise, the premature clipping reported in the mk1 has been fixed in the mk2 by iFi Audio reducing the maximum output from 5.6V to 4.3V – all achieved without comprising the wide 110dB A-wtd S/N ratio or excellent low-level linearity that holds true to within ±0.2dB over a full 110dB dynamic range. The mk1 also showed a complex pattern of jitter sidebands at ±33Hz, ±66Hz, ±99Hz, etc, amounting to some 550psec and this, again, has been addressed in the NEO iDSD…

Following on from last month’s Vinyl Release about brilliant records that nobody else likes but you, I bet I’m not the only one who has an album that, although you’ve played it on and off down the years, even the decades, you can’t decide whether it’s any good or not. On one occasion it may sound great. Significant even, a landmark piece. Other times it just sounds… well, rubbish. EXCESS BAGGAGE One such record for me is Their Satanic Majesties Request, the fifth album that the Rolling Stones released in the UK. It came out in 1967, a tumultuous year for the band, and was saddled with more baggage than any work should ever be expected to bear. For one thing, The Stones claimed to hate it. Or, at least,…

Billed as the result of ‘more than five decades of technological evolution’, QED’s Supremus Zr is the brand’s new flagship Signature series loudspeaker cable, and priced from £1399 (2m) to £2599 (5m), including termination. Giving the cable its ‘Zr’ name are plug barrels made from zirconia, an ‘advanced ceramic’ chosen for its durability and resistance to heat and eddy currents – these are then cold-welded as part of QED’s Airloc design. Internally, the Supremus Zr’s AirCore construction sees its cryogenically treated and silver-plated, oxygen-free copper conductors (6.2mm2) arranged with twisted strands around a hollow tube, and wrapped in a foamed polyethylene dielectric. QED (Armour Home Electronics), Bishop Stortford, UK, 01279 501111; www.qed.co.uk…

Sporting the familiar silver-grey finish of NAD’s Classic series models, the C 379 is the brand’s latest affordable integrated amplifier, priced £899. Class D amplification, in the form of Hypex UcD modules, promises 2x80W of ‘continuous power’ into 8ohm and 4ohm loads – it can also run in bridged mono mode, with NAD suggesting the C 268 power amplifier as a partner. Inputs as standard include 2x line and MM phono on RCAs, with digital sources covered by HDMI eARC, aptX Bluetooth and optical/coaxial pairs. Network playback, Apple AirPlay 2 and Dirac Live room correction can be added through NAD’s optional MDC2 BluOS-D module. The C 379 also incorporates a ‘low output impedance’ headphone amplifier, two independent subwoofer pre-outs and an ESS ES9028-based DAC stage. NAD Electronics, Ontario, Canada, 01732…

Attracting close to 22,000 visitors over the weekend of the 11th and 12th of May, this year’s High End Munich again confirmed its status as the most significant hi-fi show in the world. Stands were manned by 513 exhibitors from 41 countries, with nearly 1000 brands on display. This year was bolstered by a new side event called International Parts+Supply, with component and OEM manufacturers housed in a separate area. This freed up space in the regular halls for actual hi-fi brands and so made the show more relevant for consumers. As in previous years, some companies preferred to present their products in venues away from the main centre. Hence we saw a number of brands cross the street to strut their stuff at the nearby Motorworld. Standing tall against…

The promotional literature for EMM Labs’ MTRS stereo power amplifier is so sure of its designer’s cachet within the audiophile community that it simply refers to him as Ed. For those not in the know, Ed is Ed Meitner, founder of Canada’s EMM Labs, and – back in the day – the engineer tasked by Sony and Philips to help with the development of SACD. The company that bears his initials operates in the high-end (there’s a more ‘accessible’ Meitner Audio brand) and maintains a boutique separates catalogue. Its latest arrivals are the MTRS amplifier, yours for £65,000, and a partnering preamp, the £25,000 PRE. The last of these is a fully balanced all-analogue design, to which could be added EMM Labs’ DA2 V2 DAC and NS1 streamer for network-attached…

SME’s development of its formidable flagship Model 60 turntable, released a couple of years ago [HFN Jul ’22], continues to influence designs lower down the UK manufacturer’s range. All are being upgraded to MK2 status, the latest being the Model 15. On test here, retailing for £12,067 with pre-fitted SME 309 tonearm, this deck is also the most affordable in SME’s lineup with a proper suspended subchassis. The Model 12 MK2 [HFN Jan ’23], priced £10,475 with 309 arm, and the £19,539 Synergy MK2 also have two-part chassis, but there are polymer isolators between the layers. The result is good isolation, but very little ‘give’ in use. The Model 15 MK2, however, has a true suspension system thanks to its predecessor’s origins: at first intended to be an uprated Model…

Between 2017 and 2022, SVS comprehensively overhauled its range of subwoofers, introducing models from the 80kg PB16-Ultra to the compact 3000 Micro. A quiet spell followed as SVS tackled a new project – an all-new flagship loudspeaker series, topped by the model on test here. The lineup is named Ultra Evolution, replacing SVS’s previous Ultra range, which launched over a decade ago – but ‘evolution’ perhaps doesn’t do it justice as this is no minor refresh. Yes, as before there are floorstander and bookshelf models, plus Ultra Centre and Ultra Elevation home cinema speakers, but their acoustic and physical design suggests an almost clean sheet approach, particularly in the case of the Pinnacle. Since launching in 1998, SVS has earned a reputation for products that deliver value for money, and…

First announced in the spring of 2023, unexpected delays to the arrival of NAD’s M66 have only heightened anticipation of this flagship ‘streaming DAC/preamplifier’ – especially among owners of the company’s Eigentakt-based M23 power amplifier [HFN Oct ’22] who have been waiting for its companion product. And, yes, while the £4499 M66 could add its wide-ranging feature set (including app control and room correction) to any power amp, the M23 makes for an aesthetically pleasing fit. Boasting the signature ‘Masters’ design of NAD’s M series, the M66 hosts a black fascia ‘floating’ above a brushed alloy panel, and a 430mm-wide chassis with artily milled-out slots up top. It’s an attractive look that separates NAD’s toptier range from its more affordable ‘Classic’ C series, without being ostentatious. GETTING IN TOUCH Following…

Overall, ‘ I think the jazz police never forgave me for taking George Benson from the jazz area to where he became a pop artist’, record producer Tommy LiPuma told jerryjazzmusician.com in 2022. ‘I was always a pop music freak, but I was also a big jazz fan.’ But then by its nature jazz is a mutable musical form. Once away from trad jazz, there are all manner of appellations, hybrids and fusions, some occupying specialist niches, others with crossover appeal. Few albums, though, have managed to cross over in as big a way as George Benson’s Breezin’, released in 1976 and LiPuma’s first production for the jazz guitarist and singer. LEAD ON, MCDUFF Breezin’ was jazz enough to top the Billboard jazz charts, but smooth and melodic enough to…

The jury was hung on the question of his talent. Neil Young said, ‘This guy is unbelievable – he makes up the songs as he goes along, and they’re all good’. So good, Young tried to get Warner Brothers to sign him. To no avail. Beach Boy Brian Wilson wasn’t so sure and said something like, ‘He hasn’t got a musical bone in his body’. And Terry Melcher, Doris Day’s son and hotshot producer of The Byrds, told him, ‘I really do appreciate your talent but there’s nothing I can do for you’. The chap in question was Charles Manson who, in 1968, entered Studio B at Sound City to make the demo he assumed would be the first step on his journey to becoming a rock superstar. The session…

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1. ACCESSORIES HEXMAT Yellow Bird Phono Isolator, £70 plus p&p (£125 new). Six-months old. Reason for selling is that I have upgraded to the Eclipse. Email: michael.bickley@hotmail.co.uk. Tel: 07722 473417 AUDEZE LCD-XC Premium headphones, Bubinga Wood. Good condition, boxed and complete with all accessories. Can demonstrate. £650 ono. Tel: 074944 07306 RINGMAT and Statmat both bought from new. This is the ‘Real Ale’ version of the Ringmat, which I think is the current version. Tonearm must have adjustable VTA. Asking price is £40. Email: michael.bickley@hotmail.co.uk. Tel: 07722 473417 2. AMPLIFIERS TRICHORD Research D400 monoblock, pair. 400W/ch, Hypex Class D. Massive linear power supply, discrete input stage. Serviced and upgraded by Trichord. New £3495, now £1495. Tel: 07796 021637. Email: kevingldg@btinternet.com AUDIO Research GS150 power amp, low hours (912), excellent condition…

Luxman continues to launch new models in advance of its 100th anniversary in 2025, with the L-509Z integrated amplifier [HFN May ’24] now followed by the Japanese marque’s first network transport/bridge. With a ‘blaster white’ finish matching its sibling models, the NT-07 (£6500) supports playback from networked/USB storage, plus streaming services including Qobuz and Tidal, at sampling rates up to 768kHz/32-bit and DSD512 over its USB output. Optical and coaxial digital audio outs (192kHz PCM) also feature, alongside HDMI input/output/ARC connectivity for integrating a TV and other sources. Control is via a supplied remote or the Luxman Stream app (iOS/Android); user settings include up/down sampling of PCM and DSD to ensure compatibility with the connected DAC. Luxman Corporation, Kanagawa, Japan, 01480 447700; www.luxman.com…

Audiovector has returned to the design of founder Ole Klifoth’s first ever loudspeaker – the 1979 Trapez – for a new £15,500 model called Trapeze Reimagined. A floorstander measuring 87cm high, it features an angled baffle, directing its output toward the listening position. Sold in handed pairs, the speaker features a 300mm bass driver loaded, in isobaric fashion, with a 200m unit behind; a 150mm midrange with neodymium magnet; and an AMT treble. Custom-designed components, including cryogenically treated capacitors, are used in its three-way (500Hz/3kHz) first-order crossover, while the rear baffle terminal plate includes a three position ‘Damping Factor’ control to match partnering amplification. Audiovector says the Trapeze Reimagined’s cabinet is ‘generously braced’ and includes felt ‘absorption treatment’ in addition to an alloy plinth that affords some mechanical decoupling. Four…

Bands are a dying breed, it seems. As the cost of supporting four or five hedonistic and emotionally unstable young people while they record music that will attract revenue of approximately 76p per million streams becomes prohibitive, agents and record labels would rather invest in solo artists – lower overheads, you know how it is. It’s not like the old days, when the standard career arc for a pop star was to front a successful band and then go solo. Because solo was always going to be a simpler and more sustainable business model. Unlike band members, solo artists weren’t likely to get jealous of themselves when magazine photographers only wanted to photograph the frontman. And they couldn’t split up with themselves over disputed royalties or creative differences. ROCK ’N’…

SME’s decision to replace its longstanding DC motor with a custom-made bi-phase AC synchronous drive not only required its turntables’ subchassis cutout to be enlarged but it also necessitated an entirely new set of outboard electronics. Synthesising a feed for the AC motor is achieved via a two-box solution, beginning with a 4kg machined-from-solid ‘Power Unit’ [inset, left] that screens a large PSU transformer away from the dedicated DSP engine that’s housed in the well-ventilated 2.5kg resin-cased ‘Speed Control Unit’ [inset, right]. In practice the Power Unit furnishes a raw DC supply that’s regulated within the Speed Control Unit (SCU), the latter employing its DSP to generate two independent sinewaves with full control over frequency, relative phase and amplitude. These phases are matched (tuned) to each motor to optimise performance…

While iFi Audio’s refinement of the NEO iDSD 2’s DAC stage realises subtle measurable improvements [see Lab Report, p77] the model’s latest headphone amplifier, by contrast, smashes the original NEO iDSD [HFN Mar ’21] into the weeds… With Normal (0dB), Turbo (+8dB) and Nitro (+16dB) gain modes amounting to –0.5dB, +8.1dB and +17dB, respectively, the NEO iDSD 2 can muster a full 9.8V output from its unbalanced 6.35mm socket, amounting to 160mW/600ohm with distortion falling to a very low 0.0003%/1kHz over the first 10mW of its range [blue trace, inset Graph]. In Turbo mode it will raise 800mW/32ohm but this increases to 2570mW (2.5W)/32ohm in Nitro mode [black trace], only slightly lower than the ‘2832mW/32ohm’ suggested by iFi Audio. Either way, this is 10x higher than achieved by the original…

In preparation for Breezin’, the musicians spent a lot of time in pre-production rehearsing the music – the basic tracks were recorded in just three days in January 1976 at Capitol Studio A in Hollywood. Engineer Al Schmitt recalls that drummer Harvey Mason set up in the middle of the studio and the other musicians played around him on risers. Although multiple takes were laid down, five of the tracks that made it onto the album were first takes. So too was the vocal on ‘This Masquerade’, with Benson later saying that producer Tommy LiPuma ‘only allowed me one chance’. Schmitt found an Electro-Voice EV666 microphone, which then cost around $90. ‘I put it on George and he nailed it and that’s the cut that’s on the record’, the engineer…

Tested in its ‘horizontal’ guise [see pic, p120], the Red Line 60.2’s performance exceeds what might be anticipated from this unusual driver/cabinet solution. For example, the poor 2.4dB pair matching is only >14kHz so a figure of ~1.3dB is more reflective of the bass/mid matching. Far greater shifts in mid/presence balance occur if the speakers are twisted even 10o off the horizontal axis [blue trace, Graph 1], presumably as a result of diffraction in the output of the rebated soft treble dome. The axial response [Graph 1] is essentially ‘flat’ except for a ~6dB notch at 7kHz that is largely responsible for the overall +3.0dB and ±3.8dB response errors, respectively, and is also revealed as a mode in the CSD waterfall [Graph 2]. Another mode correlates with the small peak…

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KEN KESSLER TELLS IT LIKE IT IS… While I have never found a brand that makes an entirely satisfying system from source to speakers, the logic is irrefutable. Linn, McIntosh, Quad, Meridian, ad infinitum: it’s hard to dispute a case which starts with the promise of 100% synergy, guaranteeing the total absence of incompatibility – technical or sonic. For those of a nervous disposition, it’s a tonic. BOUND TO MATCH At its most basic level, the one-make approach deals with turntables with factory-fitted arm and cartridge. Price can also be a bonus because makers such as MoFi, Pro-Ject, EAT, Thorens, et al, produce truly affordable ‘all-in’ analogue front-ends. Some even have onboard phono stages. As for the rest of the hi-fi chain, each part is self-contained, eg, power amps, although…