Innholdsfortegnelse for Yearbook 2024 i Hi Fi News

Welcome, audiophiles, enthusiasts, music fans and lovers of all things luxury to our annual Yearbook. The festive season has certainly arrived early this year as Hi-Fi News & Record Review celebrates the hardware that inspired our senses and the music that stirred our souls throughout 2024. True enough, very few of the nearly 70 goodies reviewed in this special Yearbook issue could be described as stocking-fillers, but it’s certainly worth leaving this bumper annual in plain view should an especially big-hearted Santa be browsing for ideas in the run-up to the holiday season! Anticipating that next upgrade is part of the thrill of our shared passion. That and listening to fabulous music from vinyl and high-res digital sources – physical and streamed – while leafing through this lavish 180-page book……

Opening its doors on April the 12th 2024 at The Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Centre on the outskirts of Chicago, the Audio Expo of North America (Axpona) is the largest event of its kind in the US. With over 200 listening rooms, some 9000 visitors and north of 600 audio brands in attendance, the event vies with Munich and Warsaw as the show to premier products. Headphone aficionados could enjoy the Ear Gear Experience in the Expo Hall, which also housed the Record Fair where new and vintage vinyl was for sale. And there were some notable trends. Subwoofers were sneaking into the mix, with numerous 2.2 systems on display, while thanks to lossless streaming it was easy to ask exhibitors to play pretty much any track. Renowned for his visually…

It seems every time you turn around there’s a new DS Audio optical cartridge, and following a flurry of entries at the top-end, including the Grand Master EX [HFN Oct ’23], the brand has returned with a new entry-level option. The DS-E3 comes with no price increase over the DS-E1 [HFN May ’19] it replaces, and cost is crucial to the story. Buy the DS-E3 cartridge/equaliser package, at £2295, and you save £245 over buying them separately. But the cartridge on its own is £1270 (as is the equaliser), so if you own a compatible phono stage from brands including Soulnote [see p52] and Uesugi, and you’re curious about optical cartridges, the DS Audio ‘entry fee’ is no more onerous than that of many top-end MCs. In the ten years…

This special edition version of Goldring’s Ethos moving-coil cartridge fine-tunes the interior design of the standard model – and adds a new black anodised finish to the aircraft-grade aluminium body – to take its place at the top of the range. The aluminium cantilever and nude Vital line-contact diamond stylus tip, measuring 35x8µm, are carried over, but Goldring’s hand-built ‘GOL-1’ generator assembly, first seen on 1988’s Excel pick-up [HFN Feb ’89], has undergone a series of improvements to elevate its performance for this SE iteration. It still uses a cross-shaped generator made from Swedish iron, but with the pole shoes heated at a high temperature in a dry hydrogen atmosphere, preventing oxidation during the heating process, and then progressively cooled. This is expensive, so is reserved for the Ethos SE,…

Chinese MC cartridge brand Skyanalog may be unfamiliar, but the fact that it’s released a 25th anniversary model points to its longevity. However, it only recently began producing designs under its own name, having spent decades making OEM models for other companies, and it’s only now that its cartridges have reached the UK. What we have in the REF is the top model – until that anniversary Skyanalog Diamond 25th arrives later – of a mature family of hand-made MCs priced from £349 to £2699. They differ in body colour, styli and cantilevers – aluminium to boron to this model’s sapphire – and elliptical to microridge tips. The REF has the latter, plus a continuously curved machined alloy body that’s immediately distinct from Skyanalog’s more conventional-looking P and G series…

Lehmannaudio’s £2599 Phonolith wraps a trio of roles into one – an MM/MC phono stage, line level preamplifier and headphone amplifier. That said, it’s not strictly rolled into ‘one’ as it’s a two-box design with a dedicated standalone power supply. In typical Lehmannaudio fashion, both diminutive cases, which sit on the brand’s ‘3S device feet’ for improved isolation, hide a good level of focused technology and functionality, mostly based on high-specification through-hole passive componentry. On the main unit, surface mount exceptions are the op-amps in the second stage of the phono amplification, plus the single op-amp in the ALPS Blue volume control stage, and their associated bypass capacitors. The PWX II LZ power supply, meanwhile, generates twin ±15V DC outputs through its 4-pin XLR sockets. ‘Not only technically accomplished, but…

Dutch firm Mola Mola is continuing to grow beyond the Bruno Putzeys-designed pre/power amplifiers it started life with in 2013. First came the Tambaqui DAC [HFN Nov ’19], followed by the Kula integrated [HFN Oct ’21], and now the £7299 Lupe phono preamplifier. This is a development of an earlier module, in this case the phono stage originally crafted for the Makua preamp [HFN Aug ’17] and later also leveraged into the Kula. The basic building blocks of the RIAA network are retained, albeit highly refined into separate MM and MC stages, and include Mola Mola’s custom discrete op-amp modules. The balanced output stage is the same as that used in the Makua and Kula while a new, fully screened power supply supports what Mola Mola claims is ‘extremely silent…

In the world of networked hi-fi, firmware updates have become the norm. Yet while they’re often used to squash ‘bugs’ and tweak minor settings, what dCS has done with its diminutive Lina Network DAC is more noteworthy. No longer is this device aimed solely at head-fi enthusiasts for use with the Lina Headphone Amplifier and Master Clock [HFN Nov ’22]. First, the Lina 1.1 update in the spring of 2023 introduced a digital volume control, allowing the Network DAC to be used directly into a power amplifier. The Lina 2.0 goes further, adding not only more ‘ease-of-use’ adjustments (including a channel balance feature) but unlocking more of dCS’s processing potential and DAC technologies. The changes are those actually predicted in HFN when we reviewed the unit in 1.0 guise, and…

There can be an element of ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ about iFi Audio’s releases, which come thick and fast and encompass a wide range of hi-fi devices from pocket headphone amplifiers to products aimed at the pro audio market. The £899 NEO iDSD 2 is one of its more recent arrivals, and while it looks very much like the original model [HFN Mar ’21], launched in 2020, it follows the company’s trend of sensible but worthwhile upgrades. One of these is the addition of iFi Audio’s iPower2 plug-top PSU powering the iDSD 2’s headphone amplifier to 5x the output of the previous model. Over 5W/32ohm is claimed via the 4.4mm front-panel balanced output, requiring the provision of a –12dB gain setting for sensitive ’phones, alongside normal, ‘turbo’ and ‘nitro’…

A sticker gracing the top of Matrix Audio’s Element X2 Pure proclaims it a celebratory model, launched to mark the company’s 10th anniversary. That won’t seem as impressive as some of the milestones recently celebrated by other brands, including NAD (50 years), SME (60 years) and Thorens (140 years!), but it helps reinforce the idea that ‘Chinese hi-fi’ is not new, and acts as an effective calling card for a brand developing at pace. At £4500, this is Matrix Audio’s flagship DAC, above the X-Sabre 3 [HFN Apr ’22] and Element X2 [HFN Oct ’22]. The name confirms it’s an upgrade of the latter model – itself a development of the original Element X [HFN Jan ’21] – but there are enough changes here to justify simply calling it the…

Tipping the scales at 26kg, and selling for £14,900, T+A’s PSD 3100 HV appears every inch the flagship DAC/streamer/preamp. However, that spot is reserved for the German brand’s SDV 3100 HV [HFN Oct ’19], priced £26,040 and featuring a more sophisticated power supply, preamp and DAC section (supporting up to DSD1024 in place of the PSD 3100 HV’s DSD512 limit). Acting in this model’s favour, though, is an entirely new ‘Gen3’ digital streaming board promising improved ease of use (supported by the Gen3 MusicNavigator app) and more comprehensive file handling. ‘All the detail you’d want but always as part of the musical whole’ The PSD 3100 HV’s all-aluminium construction, in silver white finish, follows the rest of T+A’s top-tier HV models (where all separates employ a ‘high voltage’ rail) and…

Today’s digital audio devices are often complex. They may still be DACs, but they have streaming interfaces and often volume and preamplifier functions, plus maybe Bluetooth, Chromecast and even voice control. Refreshingly, the Weiss DAC204 does none of those things. This ‘entry-level’ model in the Swiss manufacturer’s range is just a DAC – no display, no menus, no app, no volume control. You get digital ins and analogue outs, plus a few switches to set up its operation, and the option of adding the company’s PSU102 outboard PSU [pictured] in place of the standard plug-top unit. Until you reach the DAC501 [HFN Dec ’18] and 502, at £8700 and £9800 respectively – which do have DSP and network rendering onboard – this is Weiss’s most comprehensive D/A solution. It’s able…

Newly arrived to Burmester’s Reference Line, the 218 is a stereo power amplifier rated at 165W/8ohm, while standing almost 22cm tall and weighing 42kg. Hand-built to the company’s usual standards of solidity and finish, it sells for £34,600 and is partnered here with the brand’s long-running £35,900 077 preamplifier. The latter initially launched in 2007 as a one-box preamp with the option of an offboard power supply, but is now only available in two box form. It’s a balanced line-only, analogue design, albeit with the option of modules to add digital inputs, MM/MC phono capability and an unbalanced line stage. One module of your choice is included in the price – ours was fitted with Burmester’s USB-B/coax digital card, supporting upsampling to 192kHz. The 077 and its PSU are designed…

By Copland’s own reckoning, its noughties-era CTA405 integrated amplifier [HFN Aug ’07] was an ‘object of desire for audiophiles worldwide’. Now, some 17 years later, comes the £6500 CTA407, which is both recognisably a descendant of the ’405 and also markedly different. Small LEDs along its fascia hint at one of the changes, as these show the operational status of the amplifier’s quartet of power tubes and are related to a new automatic tube biasing and diagnostic system the CTA405 was manually biased. This new platform, says Copland, is both key to the amp’s ‘tube-rolling’ flexibility (it’s fitted with Electro-Harmonix 6550s, but these can be swapped for any tube in the KT family), and the topology of its 2x50W/8ohm output stage. The CTA407 is unusual in employing high-bandwidth toroidal rather…

The latest arrivals from high end Canadian marque EMM Labs are the MTRS amplifier, yours for £65,000, and a partnering preamp, the £25,000 PRE. The second of these is a fully balanced all-analogue design, to which could be added EMM Labs’ DA2 V2 DAC and NS1 streamer, and DS Audio-friendly DS-EQ1 Optical Equaliser. Meanwhile, the MTRS is a hulking solid-state Class A/B amp some 544mm wide and 584mm deep, and a two-man lift at 82kg. Adding to its imposing nature is a 30A power socket. The amp is EMM Labs’ first two channel design – until now its focus has been solely on monoblocks. Its rated 2x330W/4ohm is far from puny, but this figure is still trumped by some (smaller) contemporaries. The reason, says company founder Ed Meitner, is a…

Part of the Classic range that gave us JBL’s revived L100 speakers, complete with Quadrex foam grilles [HFN May ’19], the £1899 SA550 Classic integrated amplifier also draws on the company’s past, with a styling that pays homage to its 1960s SA600 amp. Launched alongside a CD player, network player and turntable (plus the more powerful SA750 amp), the idea here is that you add a pair of those Classic JBL speakers to build a complete one brand ‘retro’ system. Well, in terms of styling at least. The SA550, like NAD’s C 3050 LE amplifier [HFN Apr ’23] and the re-imagined Leak Stereo models from IAG, adopts the ‘classic on the outside, modern on the inside’ approach. There are features here unimaginable decades ago, including the built-in DAC and aptX…

As the original Michi series from Rotel proved to be entirely spectacular [HFN Apr ’21], and many of the company’s ‘standard’ products have been upgraded to MkII status in recent years, Series 2 versions of the Michi X3 and X5 integrated amplifiers, and the P5 preamp, were to be expected. So too, of course, was a jump in price, from £4300 to £5999 for the X3 S2 here. The headline change over the previous model is in the DAC, with the AKM AK4490EQ part replaced by an ESS Sabre ES9028PRO run here in current mode with a custom I-to-V stage and low-pass analogue filter. Digital input switching and clock circuits have also been further optimised, while the XMOS-based USB input now handles quad-DSD (11.2MHz) as well as MQA streams. ‘Don’t…

The largest and costliest member of Burmester’s B series, the B38 makes use of its 460mm cabinet depth to accommodate side-firing 320mm bass drivers. The result, says Burmester, is a 210mm-wide floorstander still able to blend into a room while offering ‘impulsive and powerful bass reproduction’. Joining the single woofer on each cabinet is a newly developed AMT tweeter, designed in conjunction with Burmester’s long-term German supplier, and a dedicated 170mm fibreglass cone midrange. Both are mounted seamlessly within the speaker’s aluminium front panel, and internally isolated from the aforementioned 320mm woofer, whose paper sandwich cone is hidden behind a fixed grille and backed by a neodymium motor. A bass reflex design, the B38’s alignment is ‘tuned’ by a rear port, with a foam insert and ‘room adaption’ toggle enabling…

For each loudspeaker in KEF’s Reference range, there’s a parallel R series model. Therefore, the £5500 R11 Meta auditioned here appears very similar to the £17,000 Reference 5 Meta [HFN Jun ’23] – both have the latest-generation Uni-Q mid/treble driver, complete with KEF’s MAT (Metamaterial Absorption Technology), straddling a quartet of bass units. However, while the Reference 5 Meta has alloy-coned woofers, the R11 Meta’s are pulp cones with an alloy skin. The 450Hz/2.1kHz and 330Hz/2.5kHz crossovers, respectively, are also clearly ‘tuned’ differently. The R series cabinets also miss out on the luxury finishes you’ll find on the Reference models, but whether in black or white gloss, or walnut finish, and with drive units and grilles colour-coded to the cabinet, the slender R11 Meta (just 200mm wide excluding its outrigger…

As the smaller floorstander in Monitor Audio’s sixth generation Gold series, the £4000 Gold 300 6G will be the sensible choice in many households, and has a living room friendly footprint to make choosing between it and the Gold 100 6G standmount (£3000 plus £550 for the ST-2 stands) just that bit more difficult. At the same time, its three way design and driver technologies trickled down from MA’s Hyphn [HFN Jun ’23] and Platinum models promises a serious performance. Styling, including a new ‘man made’ ebony veneer finish option, is more refined compared to the last generation. The 300 5G speaker was stockier, although some elements of it are still recognisable here, such as the oval surrounding the new AMT-derived MPD III tweeter and 75mm Ceramic-Coated Aluminium Magnesium (C-CAM)…

The 5050 floorstander tops off a range that sits above Q Acoustics’ entry-level 3000 models, and below its Concept offering, which includes the Karl-Heinz Fink-designed Concept 500 flagship [HFN Jul ’17]. As you might expect, technologies are trickled down from the Concept speakers, including point-to-point cabinet bracing and internal Helmholtz Pressure Equalisers. The 5050 features a similar two-way MTM design to the series’ more affordable 5040 floorstander, but uses a bigger cabinet and larger (150mm) ‘Continuous Curved Cone’ (C3) bass/mid drivers either side of its 25mm dome tweeter. This driver is hermetically sealed to prevent interaction with the output of the larger units, and while not identical to the most recent Concept design, again there’s trickle-down at work, including mechanical isolation from the 5050’s front baffle. ‘Meg White, beating the…

After a period focused on subwoofer development, SVS has returned to loudspeakers with a new flagship series. Named Ultra Evolution, it replaces the earlier Ultra range, but ‘evolution’ doesn’t do justice to what is is no minor refresh. Many aspects of the Ultra Evolution Pinnacle here suggest an almost clean sheet approach, while the £5999 ticket reveals the US brand is aiming higher than ever. This is a seven-driver, three-way floorstander measuring 1.26m tall and 46cm deep, and offered in Gloss Black, Gloss White and Black Oak veneer finishes. Accounting for the generous dimensions is a new cabinet architecture with angled baffle for physical time alignment of its drivers – top and bottom of a symmetrical layout are 200mm glass-fibre cone woofers, sandwiching two 135mm midrange drivers, also glass-fibre types,…

Come the mid ’80s, CD player manufacturers were exploring different ways to increase sales. One was better sound quality, though for mass market consumers the format was considered good enough already. Another was to offer hardware at progressively lower price points. Yet another approach was to add additional features at little or no extra cost. Double cassette decks were popular in the middle sector of the market, so how about the same thing for CD? This was the thinking behind Toshiba’s XR-V22. Now, the easiest way to produce a twin-tray CD player would have been to use two complete mechanisms. However, the price would have been prohibitive as the precision laser optical block was still the most expensive single item in any player. ‘The Alchemy album brought the XR-V22 right…

The Cantor III is one of the forgotten heroes from the middle of KEF’s C series. It wasn’t sold in large enough numbers to become a budget classic, nor was it high-end enough to become a sought-after collectible. However, speakers like this were popular for a reason – they offered a clear performance upgrade over the budget favourites. The speaker arrived in 1983 as an improved version of the company’s Chorale III, using the very same bass driver and tweeter but also boasting an Auxiliary Bass Radiator (ABR) in the form of the BD200 (SP1185). This was used along with a 160mm bass driver, the B160 (SP1094), which featured a plastic-coated fibre cone together with a convex PVC surround and a 25mm dual-layer voice-coil. Treble, meanwhile, came courtesy of a…

My year started well when I bit on the bullet and stripped out all the surround sound gear I have been modifying since sincerely believing that ‘quad’ – and the many ‘Many.1’ formats that have followed – were just what music hi-fi needed. Ambisonics might have been, but that was not to be. Others probably started the year convinced that immersion in Atmos is not just good for gangbuster movies, but music as well. Now, as then, the town-criers for surround stand to earn royalties or sell loudspeakers. SUSTAINABLE SPINS The good news for ‘real’ hi-fi is that the market for soundbars, which promise immersion from a string of poor quality speakers, has tanked. This was confirmed at the Clarity HiFi Industry Conference when Nick Simon of market analysts GfK…

Recently, someone asked me to name the most exciting hi-fi product I’d reviewed in the past 12 months or so. I guess they were expecting me to list a few products with prices that not so long ago would have bought you a decent family car – before prices in the motor industry went silly – and required a two-man lift. Not so: instead, I went for a little black plastic box, listed at £219 including ‘next day by lunchtime’ delivery, and during one of those summer sale periods was offered for as little as £169. AUDIOPHILE ASSUMPTIONS I was delighted when I reviewed it – so much so that it’s remained in use as a benchmark product – and even more pleased when it sailed through PM’s Lab Test,…

When looking over the many listening sessions and hardware auditions I’ve had in the past year, my mind kept circling back to amplifiers. One was the WiiM Amp [HFN Nov ’24], although this impressed more for its astonishingly flexible app than its power reserves. I never knew I’d get a kick out of scrolling through 20+ EQ presets, and even though I doubt the accuracy of its near instantaneous auto-calibration routine, the graphs are fun to look at… Of a more audiophile nature were BAT’s REX 500 [p73] and EMM Labs’ MTRS [p82], two flagship stereo power amplifiers that are both very heavy (the second of those in particular) and very desirable. They’re also both solid-state designs, but different beasts, each the product of an engineer thinking outside the box…

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As tested here, with Profiler arm and Concept V2 MM cartridge, Clearaudio’s Concept Signature retails for £3116. Yet that’s not the end of the story, because this turntable system, a new iteration of a set-up that has been on sale since 2009, is no longer a single model. You can purchase the turntable on its own, from £1200 depending on finish, and then add one of Clearaudio’s arms or cartridges, bagging a 2.5% discount or 5% if you opt for one of each. The company recommends tonearm models from its Verify to Profiler, plus MM cartridges and MCs up to the Talisman V2 Gold. A main feature of the turntable is a development of the Optical Speed Control used on Clearaudio’s more expensive decks. Here designated TSC (Tacho Speed Control),…

Vinyl users have plenty of choice of turntables at the £10,000-£12,000 mark that designates entry to the scary high-end, and there are numerous models from £500-£3000. But something is needed in between, say, £3000 and £5000, and EAT’s C-Dur, at £3500 with 10in C-Note straight carbon-fibre tonearm, fits the bill. It’s shown here in its high-gloss plum (wooden) finish – a black satin option is offered too, with more promised in the future. EAT’s Jo No 5 moving-coil cartridge [HFN Dec ’18] can be added at purchase, for an all-in price of £4798. ‘The C-Dur is soothing on the ear, irresistibly more-ish and inviting’ At first glance the C-Dur appears as an unadorned rectangular slab of Bauhaus utility offering the minimum number of controls, but that doesn’t preclude a luxurious…

Turntable maker Pro-Ject often bundles cartridges from Ortofon with its turntables in Europe, and Sumiko in the US, but has lately been launching its own designs, including tweaked Ortofon models such as the Pick it 2M Silver and Pick it S2 C. Its new Pick it MC9 is something else, though. A low-output MC selling for £1249, it aims a lot ‘higher’ than previous Pro-Ject cartridges. The company also claims to have designed and manufactured the MC9 itself, albeit using parts supplied by an unnamed Japanese partner, with assembly and quality control completed in Europe. The MC9’s streamlined all-aluminium body is finished in a simple anodised black, and houses a boron cantilever that’s been subjected to a cryogenic treatment said to realign the crystal structure for ‘smoother’ signal transmission. The…

SME’s development of its flagship Model 60 [HFN Jul ’22] continues to influence turntables lower down the manufacturer’s range. All are being upgraded to MK2 status, the latest being the Model 15. On test here, for £12,067 with 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], from £10,475, and the £19,539 Synergy MK2 also feature two-part chassis, but with polymer isolators between. ‘An alto saxophone, spotlit for a brief solo, seemed large as life’ If other suspended designs have put you off, then worry not because the Model 15 MK2 is very user-friendly. Its vibration immunity is provided by three suspension towers, each with ten black elastic rings, from which the subchassis…

When we reviewed Manley Labs’ long-lived Chinook phono stage [HFN Dec ’21] it was deemed ‘irresistible’. But that unit, a ‘stripped down’ version of the company’s flagship Steelhead, climbed from £2699 to £3399 by the end of its run and has now been replaced by the Oasis at £4249. At first glance, changes mainly concern the power supply, now a universal-voltage switch mode unit, yet the company has also refined the look and made gain adjustment (45dB to 65dB here) available from rear-panel DIP switches, rather than requiring the user to remove the lid. Here you’ll also find DIP switches covering loads from 26ohm-47kohm and eight possibilities between 0-350pF for capacitance. ‘Then – bang! – in came the Horny Horns’ visceral brass’ Phono stages like the Oasis, with easy accessibility…

In the quest for a universal phono stage, designers have to accommodate all manner of cartridges, but for most of us they fall into just two categories: moving-coil and moving-magnet. Even within those types, however, there are plenty of variants such as moving-iron, moving-flux, both high- and low-output MCs, etc. The list is endless, but Soulnote’s E-2 phono amplifier handles all of the above, plus DS Audio’s growing panoply of optical cartridges via a built-in energiser, and offers various equalisations to play 78rpm records. Throw in balanced connections, a built-in degausser and more, and the result is one of the closest-to-all-embracing phono stages on the market, for £6800 in silver or black. ‘The tuba caused a jolt as it bla-a-a-r-rted out of the speakers’ All these features are wrapped in…

It feels a little strange to be now considering the CD format, launched in 1982 promising ‘Perfect Sound Forever’, as something of a niche proposition. But while it’s been a huge commercial success, and many have large collections, its star is fading. When a spokesman for HMV says that the main appeal of CDs these days is that they’re half the price of new LP releases, you know there’s something of a problem – not least that ‘physical media’ accounts for just 12.5% of a £2.5bn UK market, the rest fulfilled by streaming. This hasn’t stopped Exposure launching its 3510 CD player, for £2500, as the final link in the South Coast company’s 3510 series, where it joins an integrated amplifier [HFN Nov ’21], pre/power amps [HFN Nov ’22] and…

Lumin’s D3, its new entry-level streaming DAC, borrows liberally from the Hong Kong manufacturer’s costlier network hardware, utilising elements inside and out to effect a comprehensive upgrade on the previous D2 [HFN Jul ’20] while retaining the agreeably compact form factor. It can be lifted from its box with one hand, and from that moment on continues to be easy to live with, helped by Lumin’s slick custom app that handles both control of music playback and configuration of hardware settings. ‘A clean, revealing performance gets to the heart of the music’ As regards changes implemented for this third-gen model (the original D1 arrived in 2015), it might be easier to outline what hasn’t changed. This includes the aesthetic design, although the casework now gets a ‘silky surfacing’ finish and…

A key element of Musical Fidelity’s ‘rebirth’ since it was acquired in 2018 by Heinz Lichtenegger is the resurrection of the nuvistor tubebased Nu-Vista line. This flagship series has an integrated solution in the shape of the Nu-Vista 800.2 [HFN Aug ’23], but separates lovers can invest in the Nu-Vista PRE/PAS [HFN Mar ’23], the Nu-Vista Vinyl 2 phono stage [HFN Feb ’24], and now – for £9999 – the Nu-Vista DAC. It’s also hardly a secret that a Nu-Vista CD player is next up. ‘It had us leaping from our chairs, ready to emulate Bernstein’ Like its brethren, this DAC’s size and angled front-panel with large display make it a ‘presence’ in the room. And just to make it clear that this isn’t your run-of-the-mill D/A converter, you can…

At £19,900, Soulnote’s S-3 Reference, to give its full name, lands in the upper reaches of integrated SACD players but undercuts many high-end two-box solutions. So, having already proved its analogue mettle with the E-2 phono preamp [see p52], does the brand have similar prowess with digital? Massive at 454x170x393mm (whd), the S-3 is superbly built and comes with a wooden plinth [not pictured]. This is handsome, but if you opt to forgo it, the unit features three rather than four feet – actually huge ‘grounding spikes’ – and is easy to level. Aside from the choice of silver or black, there is only one other thing to consider, the optional X-3 Clock Generator at £4500. ‘A flawless, seamless soundstage and a sense of atmosphere’ Soulnote has mastered the art…

Every once in a while, the hi-fi industry encounters a disrupter – a brand or a product challenging the established ways of doing things. Regular readers will be familiar with the likes of Korea’s HiFi Rose [p85] and China’s Eversolo [p57], but now we have a company able to disrupt the disrupters: US-headquartered, Chinese-manufacturing Linkplay, with its WiiM lineup of network attached audio products. The Pro Plus, at £219, is its second-tier network player, below the new £349 WiiM Ultra, with 3.5in colour touchscreen, and positioned as an enhanced version (different DAC, uprated audio circuitry, plus voice remote) of the standard £149 Pro. It’s a relatively anonymous little grey box, but packed with just about every streaming option anyone could ever need. Not to mention options you never knew you…

Slovakia’s Canor Audio is not the most famous of hi-fi brands, but has been around for longer than many will realise. And, cunningly, it sidesteps the minefield of online rage around tube versus solid-state amplification by manufacturing hybrid, solid-state and all-tube products. Still, at its heart Canor sees itself as ‘a tube specialist’, and the £7500 Virtus I2 on test here is an all-analogue integrated that wholeheartedly embraces hot bottles. Claiming Class A operation, it employs KT88 tubes, here in switchable ultralinear (UL) and triode modes for a rated 2x40W and 2x20W, respectively. Two Virtus I2s can be configured as monoblocks, an option that will both drive the chill from your listening room and sidestep the need for a separate preamp. In such a set-up, one of the two Virtus…

The original Relentless monoblock [HFN Mar ’20] was CEO Dan D’Agostino’s dream of ‘an amplifier without limits’, but it’s now superseded by two siblings, the massive Relentless Epic 1600 (rated at 1600W) and the smaller Relentless 800 (you guessed it) seen here. ‘Smaller’ is a loose term though, this amp weighing 145kg, and its copper-trimmed chassis, in silver, black or custom finish, measuring 549x264x660mm (whd). Needless to say, the Relentless 800 will dominate your room almost as much as would any loudspeaker. The green-lit Breguet watch-dial inspired meter also catches the eye, even if it’s far from accurate – as the needle swings past the midday position, the amp is delivering a little under 20W/8ohm, not the indicated 800W! ‘Led Zeppelin’s scale and presence felt as close to real as…

When Hegel’s reference H600 integrated amp [HFN Oct ’23] arrived to replace the H590 [HFN Oct ’18], it didn’t require much insight into the hi-fi industry to guess that the H390 [HFN Aug ’19] would also be marching in the general direction of the exit soon enough. It took a year, though, before the replacement H400 – aka the ‘Streamliner’ – pulled into port. Cosmetic changes are limited, giving the impression that this amp is a refresh rather than a totally new unit. But just as Hegel’s top tier integrated received significant hardware upgrades, there are quite a lot of differences under the hood here too, not least a new digital/streaming board with ESS-based DAC stage (the H390 housed an AKM AK4490-based DAC solution). ‘Hegel’s H400 never tapped out, testament…

With the Model M1, Marantz is entering a very busy market segment – compact, streaming amps with multiroom and HDMI ARC connectivity, designed to appeal to people looking for something to drive loudspeakers in their living room, or be racked by installers in a boot room to power in-ceiling or in-wall speakers. Par for the course, this unit, rated at 2x100W/8ohm via Class D amplification, is matt black and shoebox-sized. It’s nicer to behold than most rivals though, with a soft-touch finish and a black metal grille top-plate. Three illuminated touch buttons on its fascia allow for volume control and play/pause/skip functions, but all other operations are governed by Marantz’s familiar HEOS app (and you can dig out an old IR remote and get the M1 to learn its commands,…

The R 2500 R, available in black or silver at £12,905, is a prime example of a feature-rich ‘just add speakers’ system. Yes, you can connect other sources to it, but – really – why would you want to? In practice, T+A’s amplifier has you covered for streamed audio of all kinds, be it from local storage or online sources; offers amplification of sufficient shove to drive just about any loudspeaker; and has your legacy listening sorted via its built-in CD drive and FM/DAB+ radio tuner. And to compound the ‘new meets old’ vibe, it even has a pair of VU meters on its modernist fascia. ‘It’s as dramatic and hard-hitting as any streamer/amp combi’ Actually, should that be ‘retromodernist’, given that the looks here date back decades? Launched in…

Seven years after Canton’s previous flagship range, the Reference K, was launched, the German brand has returned with a new lineup, dropping the ‘K’ in the process. The £6250 Reference 7 here – one of five floorstander options, alongside a standmount, home cinema speakers and an active model – is arguably the most versatile member of the family. At 98cm tall, it isn’t a large floorstander, yet while a baby brother to the Reference 5, 3, 2 and 1, it still feels like a no-compromise speaker. Shifting its 33kg carcass around underlines that fact. Canton’s latest range is a root and branch refresh. Compared to the Reference 7K [HFN May ’22], this new model looks curvier and more contemporary, especially in the White Satin version seen here, and the new…

Offered in standard black or striking Santa Barbara Red for a £250 premium, GoldenEar’s T66 – the first new model since the company’s acquisition by AudioQuest owner Quest Group – looks a little more ‘friendly’ than the earlier Triton Two+ floorstander it replaces. At the same time, it upgrades the brand’s ‘semi-active’ speaker design to the point that GoldenEar felt the need to drop the Triton moniker entirely. We’re told that the main objective for the T66 was to take the authoritative sound of the Triton Two+ and make it a bit more ‘audiophile’. In pursuit of this, the speaker’s High-Velocity Folded Ribbon (HVFR) AMT tweeter is now the same as that found on the Triton Reference [HFN Jun ’19], its mounting plate dressed in a wool felt to reduce…

The flagship S7t floorstander from Perlisten [HFN Apr ’22] introduced the company as a high-end marque. Now we get the S5t, essentially a slimmed down version to suit tighter budgets. Selling for £13,600 in standard black and white gloss, or £15,800 for the Ebony option shown here, it really does look like the S7t’s baby brother – only that two drivers have gone missing… Which ones? Not any from the DPC (Directivity Pattern Control) array, as this nest of two midrange drivers and a single tweeter is a Perlisten speciality found on all its speakers. Rather, it’s the S7t’s woofers, which exclusively covered the bass range up to 500Hz, that have been culled, leaving the S5t with a pair of bass/mid units crossing over at 1.2kHz. The effect of removing…

The ribbon-hybrid S-1 – Quad’s smallest two-way speaker – debuted in 2015 as an overperforming beer-budget (£500) bargain. Now the Revela 1 looks to repeat the experience, in much the same way as the floorstanding £3499 Revela 2 updates Quad’s S-5 [HFN Jan ’16]. Okay, at £1799 the Revela 1 is far costlier than was the S-1, but its value is arguably higher still. This new standmount speaker is substantially larger than the S-1, and its ‘Quad True Ribbon’ is much bigger (27x60mm) than the S-1’s 12x45mm variant. And, where the S-1 used a 100mm woven Kevlar bass/mid driver, the Revela 1 is fitted with a 165mm unit, called the ‘Reveal’, crossing over at 2.9kHz. This features a damped pulp/aramid fibre cone, smoothly attached to rubber surrounds and with care…

The ninth iteration of a loudspeaker first released in 1986, available from £41,998 depending on paint finish, The WATT/Puppy encapsulates all that has happened at Utah-based Wilson Audio since the previous WATT/Puppy System 8 was retired in 2011. From the first WATT to the new speaker seen here, there’s been a constant evolution in materials, components and aesthetics. Changes for this iteration include the incorporation of Wilson’s ‘Acoustic Diode’ spiking system, and a completely reimagined crossover that’s a far cry from what was available in 2011. Even the slope of the top module’s baffle has changed, not least because the new speaker allows angling of the head unit as part of the setup process. Most obviously, The WATT/Puppy features a new driver array, although its Convergent Synergy Carbon tweeter, 178mm…

Launched in 1967, the Ravensbourne was the first transistorised amp from UK brand, Rogers. Costing £64, it was rated at 2x25W – a significant upgrade over the earlier HG88 amp, which cost £46 and delivered 2x15W from ECL86 tubes. This boost in power came courtesy of new silicon transistors such as the 2N3055, the Ravensbourne employing two of these per channel connected across a split supply. This approach was not without its challenges, but these were solved by transformer-coupling the inputs to the two transistors, making them two independent floating units as far as the rest of the circuitry was concerned. ‘Strings sounded resonant rather than wiry and grating’ This gave Rogers the jump over many of its rivals, but the scheme introduced a transformer into the signal path. Designing…

Although Philips achieved success with its first and second-generation Motional Feedback (MFB) loudspeakers, including the 22RH544 [HFN Nov ’16], the third generation was far less common in the UK. Comprising three models, the new designs saw Philips apply its MFB techniques to a series of more conventional-looking speakers that were also easier to hook up to equipment from other brands. The smallest speaker in the range was the AH585 seen here. Launched in 1979, it was a two-way design featuring a 180mm MFB woofer and a 25mm soft dome tweeter. Unlike the previous small MFB model (the RH541) it used two power amps in each enclosure – a 30W module for the bass and 5W for the treble – with electronic crossover circuits. The crossover circuit had a number of…

As of mid-June, chipmaker Nvidia became officially the most valuable company on the planet, exceeding both Apple and Microsoft. Manufacturer of microprocessors to propel the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, Nvidia’s astounding market cap proved that investors believe in the inevitability of AI. Whether it will be beneficial for this planet’s occupants continues to be a matter of intense speculation. A couple of years ago, in ‘Hi-Fi in a handbag’ [HFN Aug ’22], I gushed about how impressed I was by my friend Tina’s iPhone 8 coupled to her diminutive Bose SoundLink, a Bluetooth-enabled battery-powered speaker. She has since upgraded to the iPhone 15. I’m further impressed – not merely by the sound quality of the combo, but by the sound of the phone itself, especially in speaker mode with one-on-one…

Two albums particularly leapt out for me this year: the cycle of Enescu symphonies conducted by Cristian Măcelaru on DG, and the Lawo recording of Sir Mark Elder leading Delius’s A Mass of Life. Both albums are ‘passion projects’, which bring together rarely performed masterpieces with those conductors almost uniquely equipped in our time to do them justice. Neither album will, I fancy, make back the money that was invested in it, yet both are exemplars of the kind of ‘long-tail’ thinking which used to prevail in the classical industry. PROPITIOUS PURSUIT It remains to be seen whether DG will fulfil a stated intention to follow up the symphony cycle with more Măcelaruled Enescu, including his long-gestated opera, Oedipe. The conditions look propitious. Măcelaru has at his disposal the French…

It’s been an extraordinary year for music. You’d expect a trade body to present a rosy picture of the sector it represents but when the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) gave a glowing view of the UK record business at the start of 2024, it was justified by the statistics. The BPI’s annual report showed that the UK’s recorded music market had increased by 10% in 2023. So more music is being consumed than ever before, even if a notable percentage of it is Taylor Swift’s. British artists are successful around the globe, and independent labels now account for nearly 30% of total sales. And while streaming made up 87.7% of the UK market, vinyl sales posted an increase for the 16th year in succession. PRESSING FOR CHANGE Vinyl now comes…

With the DP-3000NE, Denon has thrown its hat back into the direct-drive turntable ring. Priced £2299, this is a modern design, albeit with a legacy that stretches back to its 1970s forebear, the DP-3000 motor unit. Unlike its namesake, however, the DP-3000NE is an integrated deck, supplied as a motor, arm and plinth assembly, with a solid MDF chassis finished in an ebony veneer. ‘Denon’s work on the motor drive algorithm has not been in vain’ The heart of the direct-drive system is a torquey 16-pole, 12-coil motor built to Denon’s specification by a Chinese OEM manufacturer, with a two-part construction where the magnet ring/rotor is fixed to the underside of the platter. Denon’s motor drive circuitry employs what it calls ‘Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation’. This is a development…

There’s retro-hi-fi, and then there’s the 301 Advanced. Based around the iconic Garrard 301 [HFN Oct’ 58], this made-to-order limited edition is the result of SME (whose parent company Cadence acquired the Garrard brand in 2018) giving the fabled original – named after its ability to offer three speeds on one chassis – a complete overhaul. In the RAL 9018 (Papyrus White) plinth shown here and complete with SME Series V-12 tonearm, it will set you back £51,645, or £43,945 with an SME M2-12R arm. Changes made by SME engineers cover the main bearing, linkage and motor springs, brake pad, suppression capacitor, wiring harness, chassis fascia plates, chassis-to-motor board mounting bolts, rubber mat and more. All have been replaced with new items; even the chassis rivets use a new mix…

As direct-drive is making a comeback [see p33], will modern ‘idlers’ be the next big thing in vinyl replay? Lithuanian company Reed calls its Muse 1C, sold at £9998 without arm, a ‘friction-drive’ design that reimagines idler-drive technology for the 21st century, benefitting from improved rare-earth magnet/motor technologies, quartz-locked speed control electronics, and the promise of improved mechanical tolerances compared to the idler turntables of yesteryear. It’s also more ‘direct’, using two high-speed DC motors that press against the periphery of a sub-platter, rather than a stepper pulley and capstan wheel. Speeds (16, 33, 45 or 78rpm) are directly governed by the electronics/motors, with a specified average deviation of ±0.05%, and shown on a small display. This also indicates if the deck is level thanks to a built-in electronic inclinometer,…

The mid-range SL-1200GR2 reviewed here (known as the SL-1210GR2 in black) is presented as the first of a new generation of Technics’ classic direct-drive turntables featuring an updated motor control solution. It also adopts some features from the costlier R and G versions, including a built-in ‘silent’ power supply, but much is unchanged from the earlier SL-1200GR [HFN Nov ’17]. As is Technics’ wont, this turntable is offered as almost a full package. Tonearm, rubber mat, dust cover and cabling are included, so the only thing you (or a dealer) need to do is attach a cartridge of your choice to the deck’s unchanged aluminium tonearm. That said, those who like to regularly swap pick-ups will appreciate the supplied alignment tool and adjustable arm base that facilitates tweaks to arm…

In recent years, MoFi Electronics has drafted in Spiral Groove’s Allen Perkins to work on its UltraGold MC cartridge [HFN Jan ’22] and MasterDeck turntable, and Andrew Jones for its SourcePoint loudspeakers [HFN Apr & Aug ’23]. Now comes the £5999 MasterPhono, a flagship phono stage from the pen of ex-Audio Alchemy and Constellation Audio designer Peter Madnick. The MasterPhono is effectively a twin-chassis product, its two stages separate but held together by shared wood sleeves. The front section contains the unit’s PSU and microprocessor-based control circuitry, while the back houses the MasterPhono’s amplification circuitry and FET-based front-end, the latter housed inside a further copper box for both shielding and temperature control. All amplification is discrete and RIAA equalisation is passive. ‘Our listening room filled with the majesty of the…

When Auralic announced plans for incoming ‘G3’ versions of its Aries streaming transport and Vega streaming DAC, we didn’t expect the digital audio specialist to release new G2.2 iterations in advance. And all four models – regardless of their generation number – use the G3 version of Auralic’s Tesla streaming platform. Marrying an ARM-based chipset with bespoke software, ‘Tesla’ is the company’s secret sauce, and for G3, Auralic has moved to a 64-bit architecture and increased its onboard memory to 4GB. New circuit topology in the hardware also promises reduced latency and a claimed ‘90% reduction’ in jitter. ‘The Radiohead track acquired a grander, darker background’ There’s a focus this time on removing noise, too, with a ‘Purer-Power’ PSU said to double the capacity of the G2.2 designs, while adding…

Search online and you’ll find cheap DACs and streamers playing to every whim, making it easy to overlook Eversolo’s efforts. But this Shenzhen-based company follows a more quality-focused strategy, as shown by the £1890 DMP-A8. A streamer/DAC/preamp, it offers an astonishing range of features controlled via a large touchscreen, while AKM’s new dual-chip AK4499EX/AK4191EQ DAC solution is part of a mix designed to arouse an audiophile’s interest. The DMP-A8 can be pressed into a pure streaming role, driving an external DAC via multiple digital outputs, but many will use its built-in DAC to send music to an amplifier or active speakers via its RCA and XLR outputs. A slick R2R stepped volume control makes pairing direct into a power amp another possibility. Analogue line inputs mean the DMP-A8 can serve…

Think valve preamplifier, and chances are the image brought to mind is that of a minimalist device. McIntosh’s new C2800, however, comprehensively bucks that trend by featuring no fewer than 16 inputs (seven of them digital and two ready for a brace of turntables); more home automation connectivity than you could shake an Ethernet cable at; and even an app for setup and control. A pair of 12AX7A triodes per channel and one 12AT7 form the core of its line preamplifier, housed inside an imposing chassis that looks recognisably ‘McIntosh’, from the blue VU meters to the retro dot-matrix display. Two main controls are used – one for input, the other for volume, with both having additional functions when you push rather than twist (although the app is far better…

Perhaps surprisingly, the new AirLens streamer is PS Audio’s only networked product – unless you count its venerable Bluetooth-equipped Sprout integrated amp. Not part of the brand’s Stellar or PerfectWave series, the AirLens has a singular focus, which is to act as a bridge between your networked audio and a partnering DAC. The latter might well be the DirectStream DAC MK2 (featured here running the upgraded ‘Massive Mount’ firmware), using the units’ I2 S/HDMI connections to pass digital files up to 352.8kHz/32-bit PCM and DSD256. The only other output on the AirLens is coaxial S/PDIF, limited to DSD128 (DoP) and 192kHz PCM. There’s no USB out, nor any provision for onboard music storage or hook-up of external drives. ‘The sense of rhythmic flow was great, helped by the punchy drums’…

Since 2009, German audio company Lake People has been designing hardware under the Violectric brand, using the technology of its pro models to address the consumer market. At £1230, the compact DHA V226 is its least expensive mains-powered DAC/headphone amp, and – with its black aluminium chassis and somewhat cluttered front panel – looks ready for business as a fixed-output DAC, a minimalist preamplifier, plus, of course, a headphone amp. However, there are some limitations: the only digital input is a USB-C port (no optical or coaxial), and while the headphone section supports both single-ended and balanced headphone designs, the analogue inputs and outputs are on unbalanced RCAs only. Additionally, while the amplifier driving the headphone outputs may be balanced, the variable-gain preamp isn’t. If you want that, you’ll have…

Look through the catalogue of US amplifier 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 employ tubes in either their power or preamp stages, bar one. And that’s the solid-state REX 500 power amp, roughly twice as big as all the others and BAT’s flagship. This is a two-channel model rated at 500W a side, but can be specified at purchase as a 1kW monoblock. BAT’s ‘white paper’ tells us it employs solely N-channel FETs in both its driver and power stages, and provides a hint of the thinking behind the ‘SuperPak’ power supplies, which mix electrolytic and silver foil/oil reservoir capacitors. There is no mention, however, of a high running…

The Ultima Integrated is the new entry point into Chord Electronics’ Ultima family – which until now consisted of mighty pre/power amps – and the company’s only full-width integrated design. Yours for £8500 in black or silver, it claims 2x125W via the tried-and-tested architecture of Chord founder John Frank, where switchmode PSUs supply a MOSFET output stage, the latter employing dual feed-forward error correction. Sticking to the Ultima ethos, the amp is an all-analogue affair – and a streamlined one at that – with a ‘mere’ four inputs, one of which is on balanced XLRs. Further connections support using it either just as a power amp or preamp. Aesthetically, Chord Electronics’ industrial design will be familiar to many hi-fi enthusiasts. The Ultima Integrated boasts a robust aluminium case, fronted by…

Sawing Electrocompaniet’s AW 800 M power amplifier [HFN Sep ’23] in half is probably not advisable, but doing so would certainly bring advantages, not least that the resulting mono blocks would be more manageable than the 55kg stereo model. Well, it’s time to stop musing ‘What if…’, as the £12,100 AW 300 M seen here is, essentially, a ready-sliced AW 800 M. The rated output (300W/8ohm and doubling into 4ohm) is the same and the dimensions are roughly half that of the £19,500 stereo model, while at 30kg apiece they’re also more convenient as a one-person installation project. Indeed, the AW 300 M’s long but narrow enclosure makes it a tempting prospect for ‘next to the speaker’ locations, fed via easy-tohide cables into its XLR-only input. ‘This amp has the…

HiFi Rose delighted music enthusiasts with its £5499 RA180 [HFN Jul ’22], an amplifier that looked like it had escaped from the pages of Gibson-Sterling’s steampunk classic The Difference Engine. The brand’s RA280 is more affordable at £2999, smaller, and has less ‘unusual’ controls to fiddle with. But is that all there is to it? The higher power rating suggests otherwise… This new integrated retains the fine build quality of the R180, with the machining of its front fascia especially notable. The matt aluminium and steel housing, with regressed cooling elements on top, still makes for a striking whole, even while the layout of controls is less ‘in your face’. And the RA280’s front panel is necessarily cleaner than the RA180’s because this amp has a far tidier and focused…

After reviving its Nu-Vista range in recent years [p64], Musical Fidelity has dialled the clock back even further with a £1499 reissue of its classic 1980s-era A1 integrated amplifier. And this is not simply a vintage lookalike with unconvincing innards, but a fully symmetrical, Class A-biased amplifier that looks, and sounds, true to the original. Musical Fidelity has also resisted the temptation to stray far from the original specification by adding a digital stage or streaming functionality. The new A1 is a purely analogue amp, with six unbalanced RCA inputs flanked by tape out/pre-out RCAs and a set of speaker terminals. One of the RCA inputs is for the A1’s phono stage, which is switched between MM and MC modes by a push-button on the rear. ‘The jazz outfit’s staccato…

Only two years after the launch of its flagship 800 D4 series [HFN Nov ’21], Bowers & Wilkins has added Signature editions of the 801 D4 floorstander [HFN Sep ’23] and partnering 805 D4 standmount. Both come in gorgeous Midnight Blue Metallic or California Burl Gloss finishes, and it might be only this that’s needed to convince some to opt for the 805 D4 Signature over its standard standmount sibling. There’s no escaping the fact that, compared to the 801 D4 Signature edition, there are fewer upgrades to be found on the 805 D4. With no turbine head assembly, there isn’t a place for the 801 D4’s aluminium ‘shoulders’ and damping collar, and the two-way 805 D4 Signature doesn’t require the revisions to B&W’s Aerofoil cone bass drivers. ‘There’s a…

This loudspeaker ostensibly follows the formula of Franco Serblin’s regular Accordo standmount [HFN Jan ’18], with the same asymmetrical ‘wing’ design and cabinets supplied in mirror-imaged pairs. But while the Accordo Goldberg also retains the 29mm silk-dome tweeter, designed by Ragnar Lian, the original 150mm ‘sliced paper cone’ bass/mid driver is replaced here with a 180mm ‘microsphere cone’. Also, to house this larger woofer, the rear-ported enclosure has been upscaled to 405x240x430mm (hwd). These dimensions suggest a narrow, deep-looking speaker, but once positioned according to Franco Serblin’s instructions, toed-in so they cross in front of the listener, you get a three-quarter view. And do experiment with the toe-in, because the Goldberg – and its siblings – deliver intense focus when it comes to imaging. ‘Pace/rhythm/timing junkies would revel in these…

The newest ‘2023’ version of Magico’s S3 isn’t what you’d call a mild refresh. Despite the familiar model number, it’s basically an entirely new speaker, and one that draws both on the US company’s flagship M9 and its latest R&D technologies. A floorstander some 112cm tall and weighing a very substantial 101kg, the S3 2023 carries on the brand’s love of heavy metal. Its four extruded, precision-milled aluminium panels are crowned by a hefty top-plate, and the whole enterprise sits on an even weightier baseplate to extend the speaker’s footprint, lower the cabinet’s centre of gravity and improve its stability. This enclosure design is new, as is the S3’s driver array, from the 28mm diamond-coated beryllium tweeter with revised back-chamber and improved integration into the baffle, through to the 125mm…

Since PS Audio launched its first loudspeaker in the shape of the FR30 [HFN Jun ’22], it has introduced three more, each time adapting the original concept to a smaller cabinet and lower asking price. Yet the newest arrival, the FR5 on test here, is the first standmount design. Furthermore, at £3500 or £4000 with stands, it’s arguably the first ‘affordable’ speaker in the range. Trickledown from the FR30, through FR20 [HFN Apr ’23] and FR10 [HFN Apr ’24] floorstanders to the FR5, means a lot has changed in the Aspen design, including driver cone material and positioning. And this two-way standmount has required PS Audio’s engineer, Chris Brunhaven, to develop a new 165mm polypropylene bass/mid driver, here partnered with a single rear-facing ‘race-track’ auxiliary bass radiator. A key element…

Sonus faber has branched out into architectural and active loudspeakers since its 2016 acquisition by the Fine Sounds Group, so the new Sonetto lineup, of which the £5500 V G2 on test here is the middle model of three floorstanders, feels more ‘traditional’ of the brand. Replacing an earlier speaker from 2018, the V G2 makes changes to the shape and bracing of the ‘semilute’ cabinet to improve control of internal resonances, and while the down-firing bass reflex design has been retained, new here is a pre attached ‘concrete mix’ plinth. Sonus faber says all the Sonetto V G2’s drive units have been ‘designed from scratch’, although the silk Damped Apex Dome (DAD) treble unit, with phase bar/damper, is clearly related to the tweeters on models including the Homage Amati…

The flagship in a six-strong range of related turntables, the PL-600 was a direct drive design that offered every feature and refinement available to Pioneer at the time. As such, it was the Japanese company’s premier conventional turntable for the 1979-1980 season. The drive for the platter came from Pioneer’s ‘Stable Hanging Rotor’ quartz-locked motor, the platter itself being a substantial and accurately machined aluminium casting. Meanwhile, the arm automation was electronically controlled and used optical sensing to decouple the automatics from the arm’s cartridge-carrying duties. ‘Bass was as close to ideal as I’ve heard from any turntable’ Power cueing was included, with the traditional mechanical lever replaced by a key on the control panel. Unusually for a direct-drive deck, a suspended sub-chassis was used, hung from a die-cast alloy…

Announced in late 1975, the Beomaster 2000 receiver saw the introduction of a sleek ‘low and wide’ aesthetic to B&O’s premium line. However, the real advancements lay inside. Typically B&O’s circuitry evolved slowly across inter-related models, but the 2000 was pretty much new from the ground up. For example, the AM radio section was the company’s first IC-based design and included a ceramic filter to give precise tuning. The FM section also made extensive use of ICs and included a sophisticated active AFC system, which was said to ensure permanently accurate tuning. ‘Bass lines were rich and chewy while the sax was creamy’ The key innovation, however, was the phase-locked loop stereo decoder – B&O’s first. Even the company’s more expensive models used the older regenerative type, so in terms…

In the world of Hi-Fi News, this year has been dominated by one thing – the building of our new listening room, lab, photography and production facility. Actually, two things, with the UK Hi-Fi Show Live hosted at the home of Royal Ascot delivering a much-needed buzz, plus fresh air and elbow-room aplenty, before 2024 dips into another autumn of rainfall. Alongside Mark Henninger of our US sister title, Stereophile, I was delighted to personally meet and greet so many of you outside Ticket Office East on the third weekend of September this year. If you enjoyed the sights and sounds offered by our exclusive event, then find your diary and leaf ahead one year, for the UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2025 is scheduled to return to Ascot on 27-28th…

It has been another superb year for those fond of vinyl. With further increases in record sales, a better selection of new LPs than anyone could have ever hoped for and some fine new equipment on which to play them, 2024 is progressing very well indeed. Sadly, it also marks another vinyl milestone, for history will record 2024 as the year Koetsu – one of the most enigmatic and revered cartridge manufacturers – closed its doors. DIAMOND DISCOVERY Koetsu was founded by Yoshiaki Sugano in the 1970s. Sugano-san was an executive at Toyota, who pursued his dream of making cartridges following his retirement at the age of 60. He named his company after one of his ancestors, Hon’ami Kōetsu – founder of the Rinpa school of painting and ceramics and…

As well as providing a much needed dose of nostalgia, the HFN Vintage Review section can often reveal how the culture surrounding our hobby has evolved. And one thing that struck me this year was how hi-fi advertising has changed over the decades. It used to be everywhere. The first time I saw a JVC UX-1 micro system [HFN May ’23] was on a poster on the side of a bus. Today things are different, but the best way to enjoy the ads of yore is to buy yourself a big stack of old hi-fi magazines (HFN of course!). PERFECT PITCH Much of the hi-fi advertising of the ’70s was based around the principles devised by New York’s DDB agency for its famous campaign in the ’60s for Volkswagen. This…

AUDIOPHILE: VINYL DR. JOHN Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack Sundazed LP5658 2LPs (180g vinyl) As far as audiophile provenance goes, few can match this release: it was engineered by the late, sorely-missed Dean Roumanis, a true ‘golden ears’ who worked for Mark Levinson and later Krell. The tracks were recorded on Levinson equipment, including a modified Studer deck, and the resultant sound was that of one of the most realistic, vivid piano sessions ever committed to disc, with Dr. John’s raspy vocals matching the veracity. Naturally, it’s predominantly New Orleans funk, but there are some surprises, too. This remastered edition adds an entire LP of bonus material, thus its worth has increased exponentially. I’m a long-term Dr. John fan, and this has a place in my ‘Audiophile Top 30’. KK…