Innholdsfortegnelse for Yearbook 2025 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 2025. So why not pour yourself a glass of what you fancy, sit back, and savour our annual festival of the most vivacious vinyl-playing hardware, massive monoblocks, tube integrateds and network-connected divas. We’ve some delicious digital players, DACs, and loudspeakers of every size and stripe. While leafing through the jewels of high-end audio featured in this bumper 188-page collection, I hope you’ll also be tempted to seek out some new sounds from our choice of heavyweight LPs, CDs, digital downloads and streaming media. Hi-fi is,…

Is there a more outrageous-looking cartridge than Ortofon’s MC 90X? By now we should be used to the shape since the MC 90X’s form was first introduced 15 years ago in Ortofon’s MC A90. This revised version, in a cool blue hue, still has that look of a Bizarro horseshoe from the side. Forgive the Superman reference, but this cartridge turned out to be something of a hero, with behaviour as composed as its flawless physical presence. The MC 90X is as much about its unique body material and manufacturing process as it is about the motor, cantilever and diamond stylus which it contains, supports and protects. Ortofon has employed its own sophisticated Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process to produce the MC 90X’s body, laser-welding micro particles – stainless steel…

Loosely described as ‘entrylevel’, Soulines’ tt9 turntable sells for £3990 with partnering KiVi M3 tonearm (also available separately for £2090). The Serbian brand fits the definition of boutique hi-fi, its only other turntables being the £6490 Kubrick DCX [HFN Jul ’18], and the top-of-the-range tt42 – its price yet to be confirmed for the UK. That £3990 buys you a great deal of ‘materials technology’ in the tt9. Its main plinth is made from a mixture of Delrin and acrylic, to which an aluminium sub-plinth is coupled at three points via rubber/cork washers. The inverted main bearing has a stainless-steel ball atop a stainless-steel spindle, with a brass sleeve and Delrin thrust plate. A machined acrylic main platter then sits directly on a sub-platter (also Delrin) that is securely bonded…

Transrotor has an illustrious history, but this is the first time its range of turntables has been officially available on UK shores. The Massimo Nero TMD is eight steps up the ladder of an 18-strong selection that starts with the £3000 Max and culminates in the Metropolis FMD, priced at a not inconsiderable £180,000. The German brand also offers two tonearms, the TRA 9 and TRA Studio, in 9in and 12in versions, plus six turntable power supply options, three phono stages, and a variety of cartridges. ‘Apparently, we poor Brits have been missing out for years’ In its basic form, the Massimo Nero is supplied with a single Konstant Eins (‘Constant One’) ACtype motor and armboard. A second motor can be added for £460, and up to four arms may…

Michell Engineering has returned to electronics manufacturing with its Apollo phono preamp. Yours for £3500 with matching Muse power supply, it arrives some 20-plus years after its last phono stage, the Delphini, but continues to leverage the work of that model’s designer, Graham Fowler. The Muse PSU is a linear design based around an encapsulated toroidal transformer with discrete diodes for rectification, capacitance multiplier circuitry and low-noise regulators to generate a very stable DC feed. Its ±24V DC output is then passed to the Apollo phono stage, which includes further supply regulation to ensure a low-impedance, very low noise DC feed for the highest value gain blocks. ‘The sense of space and atmosphere in the recording was palpable’ To aid in this, the PSU and phono stage are encased in…

Milan-based Aqua says the MkIII version of its La Scala DAC is ‘more than a simple upgrade’. Yours for £7850, so well below the £14,980 Formula xHD flagship DAC [HFN Apr ’20], it introduces a number of new technologies over the MkII model. These include Aqua’s PIBU (PIlot BUffer) module in the output stage, which strips away capacitors from the signal path to deliver a claimed higher output current; and revised digital drivers between the device’s FPGA (responsible for the data formatting and non-oversampling conversion circuitry) and DAC modules. ‘This fulsome sound is well-suited to large orchestral pieces’ A proprietary design, Aqua’s DAC features a discrete precision-matched resistor ladder network, as opposed to employing an off-the-shelf chipset and working around it with digital filtering options, a custom analogue output stage,…

As the ‘i’ suffix suggests, EMM Labs’ DA2i is a revised model of its original DA2 DAC, with DNA traceable right back to the company’s pro-use studio converters. That said, it’s best considered as an all-new product in its own right, given that both the digital and analogue sections have been largely reworked, the streaming platform upgraded, a new power supply installed and even the casework changed. Amplifier-sized at 440x160mm (wh) and weighing 16kg, the DA2i has the look of a no-holds-barred, purist digital solution. Yet this is not a hair-shirt, minimalist design – an impressive array of inputs includes AES/EBU, USB-B to push files over from a computer, USB-A for playback from thumb drives, and EMM’s proprietary Optilink to hook up to one of the company’s transports. On top…

As Norwegian brand Hegel explains it, Odin, God of War and master of Valhalla, had two ravens, Hugin and Munin. These birds would fly through the skies bringing Odin ‘unparalleled insights’ into the world around him. And musically speaking, Hegel’s D50 DAC, selling for £4250 and also known as ‘The Raven’, pledges to do the same. Ostensibly the successor to the HD30 [HFN Jan ’16], but lacking that model’s digital volume control and network file playback, the D50 claims to show ‘what’s possible when technology is stripped to its essentials’. In this regard it’s similar to Hegel’s Viking CD player [HFN Sep ’23], and the next piece in the puzzle the company started with its P30A and H50A pre/power amps [HFN Jun ’23]. Owners of that system can add the…

One of three products comprising Marantz’s new flagship ‘10 Series Collection’, the others being the Link 10n networked preamplifier/DAC and the Model 10 integrated amplifier [p89], the SACD 10 looks every bit the high-end disc spinner. And to ram home its rangetopping status, it weighs a hefty 33kg, in part due to a multi-layered internal construction similar to that of its amplifier partner. On the SACD 10’s base layer, Marantz’s long-standing tray-loading SACDM-3 drive mech is sandwiched between two transformers dedicated to the player’s digital and analogue power supplies. The upper section, meanwhile, houses eight-layer PCBs hosting the SHARC DSP-based MMM (Marantz Musical Mastering) processing, custom 1-bit D/A conversion and HDAM-based analogue output. ‘This top-flight player/DAC is a master of detail and clarity’ That DAC stage is not just for…

Is the ‘CD revival’ real? Japanese marque Rotel believes so, citing the format’s ‘ongoing robust global demand’ as a reason behind the four CD players in its current catalogue. Chief among them is the Michi Q5, similarly priced to that range’s amplifier models [HFN Jan/May ’24] and offering the same high-quality fit and finish. Its Michi status is further reinforced by a 23.5kg build, much of that coming from a pair of custom toroidal transformers and substantial black alloy casework. Because it has both digital inputs and outputs (as well as balanced XLR and single-ended RCA analogue outs), the Q5 is described by Rotel as a ‘Transport DAC’. The D/A stage supports 384kHz PCM and quad DSD via USB-B (there are optical and coaxial inputs too), and is said to…

When Arcam launched its HDA line in 2019 claiming ‘a complete redesign of the look and internals’ of its hi-fi hardware, it was necessary to take the first part of that statement with a pinch of salt. Amplifiers like the SA30 [HFN Jul ’20] might have benefited from some extra chrome details, but the smart-if-conservative styling wasn’t that far removed from the company’s earlier FMJ and Solo series. It’s only now, thanks to a ‘brand redesign’, that Arcam’s range of amplifiers and sources appears properly overhauled. ‘The SA45 displays the “grunt” expected of a flagship amplifier’ The SA45 is an example of the new approach. The flagship streaming amplifier in Arcam’s Radia line, it carries a large (22cm) colour display to show album art, chosen input, Internet radio presets and…

Swiss brand CH Precision has carved itself a niche in hi-fi’s high-end since launching in 2009, courtesy of a design approach showing plenty of modern and technically innovative thinking. How so? The L1 preamplifier and M1.1 power amplifier seen here both offer app-based user-tuning of their performance… These are full-size components, and – with their fascias sporting an identical swooping curve – styled to match. They’re even designed to be stacked via CH Precision’s innovative ‘composite grounding spikes’, which are installed through the L1 from above, locating into a ‘stacking cover’ on the amp below. ‘A sound that marries power, resolution, drive and finesse’ The preamp is an all-analogue, line-level design with four sets of balanced XLR inputs, plus RCA and BNC pairs, and outputs on XLR, BNC and RCA.…

As the tenth generation of Denon’s top-tier stereo integrated amplifier – excluding the limited edition PMA-A110 [HFN Dec ’20], from where it leverages a number of hardware innovations – the PMA- 3000NE has a familiar style. The huge volume rotary, the somewhat sober aesthetic, and Denon’s high-quality casework call to mind its predecessor model, the PMA- 2500NE [HFN Aug ’16]. So too does its under-specified power rating – Denon claims a 2x80W output from a Class A/B power stage utilising just a single pair of UHC (Ultra High Current) transistors, but the amp reached 2x130W in our Lab Tests. ‘Denon’s “Analog” modes shut down the amp’s digital circuitry’ The ’3000NE packs a generous assortment of digital and analogue connections, although two now-common options are missing – HDMI ARC and network…

Touted as Marantz’s most powerful integrated amplifier yet, the Model 10 – flagship partner to the brand’s SACD 10 [p69] and Link 10n network player – claims a 2x250W/8ohm output from a new power stage based on Purifi Class D modules. It also sports a hardware design where every element ‘bar the screws’ has been upgraded. Big at 440x192x473mm (whd) and tipping the scales at 33.7kg, Marantz’s amp claims ‘complete separation’ of its various internal stages. The lower ‘floor’, which sits on a triple-layer copper-plated base, is devoted to amplification and houses the dual-mono Class D modules (with internal heatsinking), and twin switchmode PSUs. A copper shielding plate separates this from a second floor, which is itself split into sections: input, preamp and volume stage circuitry, plus a potted phono…

The new Quad 33 and 303 have big shoes to fill, being resurrections of one of the best-selling pre/power amp combinations of all time [HFN Apr ’68]. Retaining the original model designations and dimensions is a start, but that’s pretty much where the resemblance stops – the 33 and 303, priced £1199 each, sport a renewed look that feels familiar yet completely fresh, and have undergone updates outside and in. On the 33, modernisation includes not just MM/MC phono and three RCA line-level inputs, but a balanced XLR input as well – bye-bye DIN sockets. Quad hasn’t added an onboard DAC, but that’s a good thing as many digital products have the shelf-life of a banana. Outputs, too, have been dragged into the 21st century, with XLRs for balanced operation…

‘Where meticulous engineering meets creative artistry’, says Audio Group Denmark of its Børresen loudspeakers. This is a not unfamiliar claim, but there’s no denying the C1, in black or white finish at £15,000, looks suitably distinctive. The slick piano lacquer over carbon-fibre on the speaker’s side panels doesn’t tell the whole story, either – the composite is only 1mm thick, and used to provide extra damping and stiffness. The speaker’s main structure is actually machined from thick hardwood laminates, contributing to a weight of 18kg a piece, rising to 24.5kg with the supplied stands. The C1’s drivers are of in-house design and construction. The isodynamic ‘ribbon’ planar tweeter claims a vanishingly low (10mg) moving mass but also boasts the robustness needed to handle even high transient peaks. It sits deep…

Dynaudio’s Confidence 60 is the £36,500 flagship of a range comprising one standmount and three floorstanders, and where ‘everything is new, from the cabinet to the drive units’. An imposing loudspeaker by any standards, at 1.68m tall including its stabilising feet, it will dominate most listening rooms. However, what immediately grabs the attention isn’t the main enclosure, but the decoupled baffle housing the drivers. The material here, a hardened and sealed foam chosen for its damping and stiffness properties, makes possible its convoluted shape, but Dynaudio is emphatic this is not about style. Rather, it’s all to do with Dynaudio Directivity Control (DDC), which is claimed to optimise dispersion of all five of the Confidence 60’s drivers and reduce wall, floor and ceiling reflections. ‘Bass rumbles and threatens, shaking sofa-bound…

For its active loudspeaker debut, Focal has teamed with sister brand Naim on a high-end design for large rooms – the Diva Utopia cabinets stand 1.2m tall and extend back 56cm. But there’s also a focus here on ‘everyday’ use, as evidenced by HDMI eARC and Bluetooth connections in addition to the system’s wired/wireless networking, USB-A and RCA stereo analogue ins. The cabinets are made from a high-density moulded polymer, FEA-optimised for structural rigidity and wrapped in a grey felt finish. A ‘head’ section houses a 27mm beryllium tweeter, below which is a 165mm ‘W cone’ midrange driver. ‘Jolly cello motifs decayed elegantly in a generous acoustic’ A glass-fibre/foam core sandwich, the W cone laminate is also used for the Diva Utopia’s twin pairs of sidefiring, ‘force cancelling’ bass drivers.…

Marten’s Parker series represents the sweet spot in the Swedish loudspeaker brand’s pecking order, above the entry-level Oscar but below the Mingus and Coltrane. The two-and-a-halfway Trio floorstander is £19,500 in its basic form, but tested here, for around an extra £10k, is the Diamond Edition, which replaces the Trio’s ceramic dome tweeter with a ‘pure diamond’ (vapour deposited) unit, and upgrades the crossover network, internal cabling and speaker terminals. Outside of these changes the Diamond Edition looks identical to the standard model, its 25mm tweeter sited above two 190mm ceramic bass/mid drivers that, like the HF unit, are protected by metal grilles that have been shaped and perforated for optimal dispersion. The driver closest to the tweeter reaches up to meet it at 2.2kHz. The lower one rolls off…

Leaving the dedicated Center 211 Gen2 aside, this three-way standmount is the smallest speaker in Piega’s new Coax Gen2 range, with the Coax 611 Gen2 and Coax 811 Gen2 being floorstanding alternatives. In all instances, ‘Coax’ refers to the speakers’ coaxial design, where a ‘ribbon’ (planar magnetic) tweeter is mounted within a surrounding ribbon midrange, while ‘Gen2’ indicates this is a second iteration of a series first introduced in 2017. To some extent the Gen2 label downplays the changes made, for this is no mere refresh. The volume and weight of this model have increased compared to its predecessor (it is disarmingly hefty at 25kg), and the bracing of the aluminium cabinets has been revised. And, of course, the drivers are entirely new – bass handled by a 160mm UHQD…

Rockport Technologies has been known by audiophiles since the 1990s as a manufacturer of high-end – and heavyweight – loudspeakers. The Orion floorstander is no exception, weighing 163kg per piece and selling from £165,000, which puts it one from the top in the American marque’s range, below the £229,000 Lyra. Like that flagship model, the cabinet here is a three-element design focused on eliminating resonances and improving rigidity. At its core is a one-piece aluminium structure, cast with integral ribbing/bracing, driver mounting surfaces, and an inner chamber for the Orion’s midrange driver. On top of this are placed two carbon-fibre ‘shell’ pieces, one flanking the sides and rear, the other forming the baffle housing. The void between the alloy core and these carbon-fibre shells is then filled with a dense…

This redesigned and rethought version of Wilson Audio’s earlier SabrinaX [HFN Dec ’20] has sharpened up the aesthetic for a tapered pyramid-style floorstander that’s a little taller, more elegant and subjectively less ‘boxy’. There’s more here than just a new look, though – all three of the Sabrina V’s drive units have been upgraded, as has the cabinet itself. Wilson’s proprietary mineral-loaded polymer X-Material is still used for the outer panels, but this is now combined with the slightly softer H-Material, which is said to offer better damping properties for the baffle. Meanwhile, the company’s V-Material is used for the cabinet base, into which supplied spikes (ready for Wilson’s optional Acoustic Diode feet) can be bolted. ‘All three of the Sabrina V’s drive units have been upgraded’ As for the…

Abest seller on its 1973 launch and a model that has enjoyed renewed popularity with the vinyl revival, generations of audiophiles have owned a Pioneer PL-12D at some point in their systems. So why was this turntable so well loved? Its specification ticked many boxes: belt-drive, removable lightweight headshell, S-shaped arm, 12in spun alloy platter, and plenty of polished, precision-finished metal. This all made it look leagues ahead of the Garrard, Collaro and BSR decks with which many listeners had begun their hi-fi journeys. What’s more, Pioneer’s lightweight arm could handle a higher-class cartridge than many rivals at its price. Stretch to a Shure V-15, for example, and the PL-12D would make the best of it. ‘Pink Floyd sounded both exciting and three-dimensional’ It’s also true that a certain amount…

Big stereo receivers really never caught on in the UK, yet in the 1970s importers occasionally offered models from Japan. Sansui had positioned itself as a specialist manufacturer producing only hi-fi equipment, yet its export range for the 1976 season included no fewer than 26 amplifiers, tuners and receivers of which the 7070 was but one. Its 2x60W rating sat between the company’s largest model (the 9090 with a mighty 2x120W) and the smallest (the 221 with just 2x10W). It featured a DC-coupled power amp using complementary output transistors that were fitted with a protection system using electronic current limiting, and a relay to safeguard the loudspeakers should anything go seriously wrong. Meanwhile, the tuner’s FM section employed the latest integrated circuits from Hitachi, one for the IF amplifier and…

I’ll remember 2025 as the year I began to have doubts. Perhaps the best way to know how a home hi-fi should sound is not by going out to hear live music. It was also the year I bought earplugs to carry around. First, the Royal College of Music staged an opera where the singers openly wore boom mics. No explanation was given for why aspiring opera singers needed electronic assistance. I also saw Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra premiere his Democracy! Suite at the Barbican Centre. The mic he used to explain his music was muffled, with overly heavy LF and almost no HF, making it hard to hear. This was a technical issue, not an acoustic one, because in the second half, a different mic…

OK, I admit it… I’m lucky enough to hear a lot of equipment some find almost impossibly covetable. It’s the kind of stuff with outlandish styling, a huge reputation and a price to challenge even the best-heeled. Towering speakers with multiple drivers and back-breaking weight, super-powerful amplifiers clad in hefty casework, and even digital players of alarming complexity and priced in the fractions of a million territory. Yes, dCS Varèse [p50], I’m looking at you… SOUND JUDGMENT And they’ve been some fascinating experiences, make no mistake. I’ve had very few instances of ‘Is that it?’, and more often an appreciation of what superbly-engineered audio equipment can deliver, and how fortunate I’ve been to hear products in a domestic setting few are likely to experience apart from at a hi-fi show…

For fans of heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath, 2025 will live long in the memory. In early July, at Villa Park stadium in the band’s hometown of Birmingham, the all-day ‘Back To The Beginning’ concert celebrated Sabbath’s legacy as the undisputed founders of the genre. Why now, some 35 years after their self-titled debut album? Because lead singer, and all-round ‘Prince of Darkness’, Ozzy Osbourne, was retiring from performing, his body ravaged by illhealth. He played that final gig and then died just a few weeks later. Happiness turned to sadness in a matter of days. METAL MILESTONES By the time I was growing up, Ozzy and the rest of Sabbath had parted ways. But the impact of the music they’d created in the 1970s lived on through the bands…

AUDIOPHILE: VINYL LORI LIEBERMAN Perfect Day LowSwing Records LSOW 012 (45rpm One-Step 140g vinyl) Here are two originals and six cover versions from contemporary sources as Lori has already shown her skills with the Great American Songbook. The title cut is the oft-covered Lou Reed classic, sounding as fine as any version yet, while others include Tracy Chapman’s ‘Baby Can I Hold You’, The Cure’s ‘Love Song’, and one each from the undervalued Ron Sexsmith and Scott Engel (aka Walker). Produced with turntable manufacturer Brinkmann, this is an audiophile LP of the most fastidious calibre, with notes so detailed – every instrument, mic and cutting technique described – that you’ll grasp how it earned the rating here, and why it’s on 140g vinyl. Arguably Lori’s best yet. KK Sound Quality:…

The 2024 UK Hi-Fi Show Live, held at Ascot’s iconic Grandstand across the weekend of September 20th and 21st, saw over 200 brands in attendance. Visitors had the chance to experience the greatest hi-fi products from the UK and around the world across the venue’s six expansive floors, including speakers from Vivid Audio, DALI, Wilson Audio and FinkTeam; turntables from Garrard, Clearaudio and Origin Live; D’Agostino, Soulnote, Gryphon and Constellation amplifiers; and DACs, streamers, headphones and more. Here’s a taster… Backed by amplifiers from both D’Agostino and Audio Research, Wilson Audio’s The WATT/Puppy [HFN Sep ’24] was one of the stars of Absolute Sounds’ takeover of the Ascot Grandstand’s On5 Suite. Released to mark the brand’s 50th anniversary, the speaker resurrects the iconic dual-enclosure design while showcasing extensive driver, cabinet…

Positioned between the X1 B and the X2 B [HFN Sep ’22], Pro-Ject’s XA B continues the Austrian manufacturer’s quest to steer all vinylistas towards balanced operation, while also harking back to a couple of its popular, historic designs. The acrylic plinth, for example, recalls that of Pro-Ject’s 6.9 Perspective in 1999, a turntable which marked the company’s move upmarket after the success of its budget models. ‘There’s a poise and sophistication to the XA B’s music-making’ There are machined recesses in the XA B’s 460x340mm (wd) plinth for the arm, power supply, motor and trio of feet. Each of the last of those is in three parts, comprising an aluminium base, damping structure above, and a threaded upper that screws into the plinth and allows for easy levelling. A…

Positioned in the middle of Technics’ Grand Class line, the SL-1300G shares the same coreless, dual-rotor direct-drive motor as the brand’s step-up SL-1200G and flagship SP-10R turntables. It also incorporates a similar alloy top-plate and ‘Bulk Moulding Compound’ (BMC) chassis structure to the ’10R, and is fitted with the same S-shaped, alloy tonearm as the SL-1200GR2. Technics’ Delta-Sigma Drive is a digital feedback system that monitors and corrects platter speed via a PWM DAC and amplifier. Care has been taken to remove ultrasonic ‘digital noise’, just as it filters both high- and low-frequency noise from the innovative multi-stage switchmode power supply. The result, says Technics, is a reduction in ‘minor rotational inaccuracies and minute vibrations to improve sound image localisation’. ‘Technics’ DJ tools are missing, but that’s no loss for…

After ten years, EAT’s E-Glo phono stage has finally been superseded by the E-Glo 2. There are cosmetic changes, including giving the external power supply the same slim alloy chassis so the units look very smart when stacked, and new glass-like cylinders, with choice of colour illumination, to protect its six valves. You can also dress the E-Glo 2 in optional high gloss Makassar or piano black magnetic side cheeks, but the valves – four ECC83s and two ECC88s – remain the same, as does the unit’s row of green LEDs to signify cartridge settings. ‘Tina Turner’s voice was as raucous and mike-busting as ever’ On the E-Glo 2’s top surface are switches to operate mute, subsonic filter and MM/MC input select, the latter on both RCA and balanced XLR…

While lacking the nuvistor valve stage and imposing casework of Musical Fidelity’s Nu-Vista Vinyl 2 phono preamplifier [HFN Feb ’24], the M8x Vinyl retains many of its key features, from the dual-mono, fully balanced design and ‘Encapsulated Super Silent’ toroidal transformer, to its flexibility in gain and loading options. It also boasts several independent inputs, including balanced connections suited to the turntables of sister brand Pro-Ject [see p43]. The M8x Vinyl, although easier to ‘park’ than the Nu-Vista Vinyl 2, is still a significant slab of alloy measuring 480mm wide. Such width enables Musical Fidelity to fill out the front panel with not only two large rotaries for source and gain selection, but also myriad blue LEDs to indicate the status of input, gain, loading, and other features. In terms…

Following on the heels of the Lina headphone amp system [HFN Nov ’22], and the massive, multibox Varèse player [p59], dCS’s Lina DAC X could almost be considered ‘conventional’. Like any number of models from rival companies, it’s a single-box design offered in a choice of silver or black finishes, and it expands on its DAC functionality with preamplifier and network streaming features. As expected of dCS, however, the Lina DAC X does things a little differently. D/A conversion is handled by the brand’s bespoke Ring DAC architecture, with its extensive choice of custom digital filters, and there are also three ‘mapper’ options, plus DXD and DSD/DSDx2 upsampling modes. Connectivity is equally extensive, with the Lina DAC X providing USB-A (storage/CD drive), USB-B (PC audio), optical, coaxial and AES/EBU inputs,…

Eversolo’s DMP-A8 [HFN May ’24] indicated the Chinese brand’s ambition to progress beyond affordable DACs and streamers into ‘real’ hi-fi territory. The DMP-A10, which ratchets up both features and finish, is the next step. It’s also Eversolo’s first full-sized component, alongside a new AMP-F10 power amplifier designed as a perfect visual match. Similar to the DMP-A8, this is a do-it-all device rather than a laser-focused hi-fi separate, as it can be configured to work as a standalone DAC, digital transport, streamer, media server and/or an analogue preamplifier. Once again, all this functionality is managed through an Android-based software platform, with a custom interface, that’s also augmented by Eversolo’s EOS ‘audio engine’ to bypass Android’s limitations on high-res playback. ‘This is a do-it-all hi-fi device rather than a laser-focused separate’ The…

Swooping into iFi Audio’s ever-expanding lineup, the iDSD Valkyrie stakes its claim as its new flagship portable. The name, of course, references the Nordic warrior maidens who brought slain combatants to Valhalla, boldly suggesting this DAC/amp will transport you to listening heaven. The quad DAC architecture, powerful amplification and extensive connectivity (including aptX Lossless Bluetooth), plus huge 20,000mAh battery for mobile use, might just get you there. Typical of iFi Audio, few buttons are visible on the low-profile metal chassis of the iDSD Valkyrie, though by differentiating between short and long presses more functionality is unlocked. The large button on the right of the front panel, for example, is used for selecting inputs, but hold it longer and it engages the K2HD filter, developed with JVCKENWOOD. Similarly, tapping the adjacent…

Part of a new three-model flagship series from Matrix Audio, the MS-1 introduces a number of firsts to its catalogue of network players/DACs. One of these is a full-width chassis, making it a match for the brand’s new MA-1 stereo power amplifier and MP-1 preamplifier. Another is the option to fit onboard storage, via NVMe solid state drives, to support local file playback. The MS-1 also features a new DPLL clock circuit, plus a 10MHz external clock input, and runs the latest generation of the brand’s custom MA Player operating system, its features managed by the very slick MA Remote 4.0 app. ‘Fedorova’s piano offered a feeling of “in-the-room” realism’ This new top-line model also employs AKM’s AK4191/AK4499 dual-chip solution, as opposed to the ESS-based DAC stages of Matrix Audio’s…

Legends on the front panel of Unison Research’s Unico CD Uno read ‘Valve CD Player’ and ‘Digital Sound Processor’, hinting that this is a CD player with a little more to it than most. Specifically, it sports a switchable tube/hybrid output stage, USB DAC, and even built-in Bluetooth streaming. With all this, and the solid build, its £2700 asking price seems far from unrealistic. This is one of two valve-based CD units from the Italian manufacturer, the other being the step-up CD Due [HFN May ’16]. They appear almost identical from the front, and, inside, both shield their tray-loading CD mech under a metal cover, and separate their digital and analogue circuits. They also share the same tried-and-tested ESS ES9018K2M DAC, although the CD Uno’s digital inputs are limited to…

This mono amplifier is not the most powerful model Audio Research has ever built, but by any standards a rated output of 330W is going some for tube technology, and will come as a shock to those who believe enjoying the sonic traits of valves means settling for low output power and high sensitivity speakers. The REF 330M will drive just about any loudspeaker you can imagine, delivering over 400W, and peaking at more than 500W under dynamic conditions, in our Lab Tests. ‘Rich vocal tones, with close focus and spine-tingling presence’ Such power isn’t new for the brand – its 750SEL amp is rated at 750W – but the 330M is described as ‘the culmination of everything we have learned over 50+ years’. That includes the use of KT170…

Selling together for £64,998, the Revelation 2 pre/power amplifiers from Constellation Audio act as the bridge between its ‘entry-level’ Inspiration models and step-up Performance and Statement series. A classic all-analogue pairing, the Revelation 2 Stereo Amplifier is said to deliver a power output commensurate with its price – 2x300W/8ohm and 2x600W/4ohm – while the Revelation 2 preamplifier provides three sets of balanced (XLR) and single-ended (RCA) inputs. ‘Tracks you’ve heard countless times before now sound brand-new’ New here, in addition to a gentle tweak of the Revelation series’ aesthetic, and an increase in power over the first-generation Taurus Stereo [HFN Dec ’17], is a switch from linear power supplies to custom switchmode designs in both the power amp and the separate PSU chassis for the preamplifier. This change, says Constellation,…

Looking unlike any other integrated amplifier on the market, Devialet’s Astra is the latest update on the model that launched the French marque some 15 years ago. Like the original D-Premier [HFN Apr ’10], it builds the company’s proprietary ADH (Analogue/Digital Hybrid) amp topology into an ultra-slender chassis, but this isn’t only a question of style. The Astra’s manageable size – 386x47x386mm (whd) – and 7.8kg weight, made possible by cutting-edge switching power supply and Class D technologies, mean it can go where many others claiming 2x150W/8ohm cannot. ‘The Astra had ample power to carry Hans Zimmer’s full-on finale’ A genuine streaming amp with a companion app, the Astra can play from Spotify, Tidal Connect, Google Cast, AirPlay, UPnP and Roon via Ethernet/Wi-Fi. Alternatively, it offers a host of user-configurable…

The claimed 2x160W/8ohm output of Musical Fidelity’s 600.2 is some way behind the 330W/8ohm rating of its flagship sibling, the 800.2 [HFN Aug ’23], but only the most power-hungry audiophile would consider this integrated amp a lightweight. No ‘mini me’ model, its chunky aluminium chassis measures 483mm wide and 510mm deep, while it weighs in at 36kg. It also adopts the fully balanced, dual-mono design of the 800.2, plus the nuvistor tube-based Class A line/preamp stage. Upgrades over the earlier 600 model, meanwhile, are comprehensive, including a completely revised and streamlined PCB layout, higher quality polypropylene capacitors, and input-switching relays in place of the older model’s IC-routing. More importantly, the power stage now leverages Musical Fidelity’s Titan architecture, where each transistor (four per channel, here) has a corresponding ‘high current’…

Offered in silver or black, the £6300 A-2 is an integrated amplifier with an air of the ‘old skool’ about it. No digital connectivity, just line-level analogue all the way, as Soulnote – established by former employees of Marantz Japan in 2004 – prefers to keep phono and DAC stages separate. The user experience is also very much plug-and-play, aided by an elegant remote and simple onboard display. But there is more to the A-2 than meets the eye. Firstly, it can run as a power amp, bypassing its internal logic, balanced resistor-ladder volume, and source circuitry. Secondly, it is configurable as a mono integrated or power amp, either in bridged (BTL) or bi-amp modes, the second of these splitting a single-channel input across the L/R output. There’s no option…

There’s the small matter of ‘you can’t argue with physics’ when it comes to delivering a big, room-filling sound from a smallscale enclosure. Germany’s Canton hopes to have cracked the conundrum with its Reference 9, the smallest model in its range-topping lineup. Okay, it’s hardly tiny at 45cm tall, but that does include a plinth that provides a vent for its down-firing bass port. This is a much more striking-looking speaker than the older, technically unrelated, Reference 9K [HFN Aug ’22]. Much has changed – not least the adoption of an ‘upside-down’ layout, with the ‘black ceramic-coated tungsten’ (BCT) coned mid/bass unit sited above a 25mm ceramic-coated alloy dome tweeter, the latter with a waveguide. Another change is the speaker’s ‘downfire’ tuning (as Canton describes it), which leads to a…

When speaker designer Karl-Heinz Fink first revived the Epos brand with the ES-14N [HFN Jul ’23], he took inspiration from the company’s 1980s-era ES-14. But both the follow-up ES-7N [HFN Nov ’24] and ES-28N floorstander, auditioned here, are new designs. Although it stands only 1.05m tall, the ES-28N is reasonably wide (25cm) and deep (36cm). Four adjustable metal feet give it the appearance of floating above the ground and, crucially, ensure the down-firing port in its base is not impeded by a thick carpet. Together with the slanted cabinet and faceted baffle (the former aiding time alignment, the latter helping to limit treble diffraction), this makes for a novel, but stylish-looking, speaker. A full-length grille is supplied, but the guidance is to remove it when playing music. ‘An excellent choice…

A fine visual match for the brand’s modern-looking speakers, the 330x353x361mm (whd) proportions of KEF’s KC92 subwoofer are very appealing in a market dominated by much larger boxes. Meanwhile, the modest £2499 price tag will encourage those intrigued by a system using two subs, rather than just one. Like KEF’s flagship Reference 8b, the KC92 has a force-cancelling, dual-driver configuration. This is an implementation with which the company is familiar, having launched the first ever force-cancelling speaker in the shape of the floorstanding Reference 104/2 [HFN Sep ’84]. The 228mm/9in woofers here are hybrid types, with paper cones skinned with aluminium, and backed by oversized motors with vented voice coils. ‘KEF launched the first ever force-cancelling loudspeaker in 1984’ Both are independently driven by a pair of 500W Class D…

If you thought the SourcePoint 10 from MoFi [HFN Apr ’23] was big, then you haven’t seen anything yet. Sporting a trio of 200mm drivers, the SourcePoint 888 is the company’s third loudspeaker and something of a beast – reasonably tall at 107cm, positively stocky at 32cm wide and 41cm deep, and hefty too at 43kg. Despite the increase in size, it is closely related to the SourcePoint 10 and smaller SourcePoint 8 [HFN Aug ’23] standmounts, which makes sense as all three were designed by engineer Andrew Jones and sport his trademark coaxial driver. On the ’888, a decoupled 32mm soft dome tweeter sits in the throat of a 200mm pulp paper midrange cone, the shape of the latter modelled to optimally load the tweeter and minimise reflections from…

Like the three standmount options in Q Acoustics’ 3000c range, the 3050c floorstander promises a bang-for-your-buck performance. There’s also the prospect of bass weight and scale not usually found at the price, courtesy of its pair of 142mm woofer/mid units. These in-house developed C3 drivers are derived from those used in the manufacturer’s step-up 5000 series [HFN Jun ’24] and claim an optimised dispersion – while avoiding aggressive breakup modes – from their computer-modelled, continuously curved cone profile. Sat symmetrically between these bass/mid units is a 22mm soft dome tweeter adapted from Q Acoustics’ Karl-Heinz Fink-designed Concept 500 flagship [HFN Jul ’17]. This HF unit is retained within a hermetically sealed housing, and mechanically decoupled from the 3050c’s baffle to reduce the transfer of vibrations to the cabinet. Further efforts…

SVS claims to be the ‘top subwoofer brand in the world’, but how has it achieved such a lofty status? Firstly, by offering plenty of choice. All its subs except its in-wall and ‘Micro’ models are available in both sealed and ported cabinets. Ease of use is also a factor with each new range since 2016 compatible with a smartphone/tablet app for control and setup. And then there’s the pricing. The SB17-Ultra R|Evolution seen here might be the company’s flagship sealed subwoofer, but at £3250 it’s an indication of the company’s goal of appealing to audio fans on ‘all budgets’. This new sealed model, and its ported sibling at £3750, showcase a freshly designed 17in/430mm glass-fibre driver, front-firing and framed by a very serious-looking ‘extreme-excursion catenary SBR rubber surround’. A…

While many will be familiar with Garrard’s SP 25 [HFN Jun ’25] and the Pioneer PL-12D [see p125], what about B&O’s Beogram 1000 turntable? Well, in the ’60s and early ’70s, it was one of the most popular high-quality decks on the market, thanks in no small part to its affordability. The design evolved from the earlier 42V, which introduced B&O’s SP1 and SP2 moving-iron cartridges offering outputs similar to those of standard MMs. For the Beogram 1000, B&O specified a 15o vertical tracking angle and launched the SP 7 cartridge. Though similar in appearance to the SP 2, the SP 7 had its outer screening can integrated with the stylus assembly. ‘The deck’s smooth, fluid character more than compensated’ The Beogram 1000 retained the 42V’s drive system with only…

Once the market for CD players had become established, manufacturers quickly added new features in order to attract fresh customers. Among them, multi-disc playback was perhaps the most intriguing. Toshiba led the way with its twintray XR-V22 [HFN Jun ’24], which was followed by bulky carousels and cartridge loaders from Sony, Aiwa and Pioneer. In 1989, Pioneer revisited Toshiba’s original concept, soon offering a new twin-tray mechanism it used in players like the popular PD-Z72T of 1989-90. Toshiba’s original player set two trays side by side, with a motorised optical unit sliding between them under logic control and motor power. Pioneer’s design was neater, stacking the trays vertically with a fixed laser below. Some slick engineering let the drawers slide over each other, allowing an empty tray to open at…

One frustrating aspect of being a vintage audio enthusiast is encountering companies who love to re-use model names and numbers. So let’s clear up any confusion before we begin. The speaker we have here is the 1990s iteration of the Magnum, from Goodmans Loudspeakers Limited (GLL). Not the original Magnum from the 1970s, or the Magnum SL or the Magnum K. Oh, and let’s not forget the Magnum K2! This model sees a 30-litre cabinet available in a choice of black ash or rosewood vinyl ‘veneer’ fronted by a 200mm driver. It was also a fascinating example of both brilliant and slightly lacklustre engineering. The 19mm alloy dome tweeter was a definite plus, incorporating GLL’s ‘Delayed Resonance Damping’, which aimed to control ultrasonic resonances. It also had a protective cover…

As of mid-July in 2025 there have been some standout trends. Hi-fi insanity is one. In early summer, one audio publication in the US gave a ‘product of the year’ award to a power cord costing US$34,000. You read that correctly – with taxes, approximately $40k for a length of wire. The fact this endorsement wasn’t satire from The Onion should make us consider how absolutely bonkers this industry can become. Playing to the cost-no-object end of the market, this same journal routinely endorses five-figure DACs as ‘surprisingly affordable’. We’ve all read of bespoke turntables more expensive than sprawling country estates. Such announcements make the rational among us shake our heads in disbelief and provoke a sudden urge for a long walk and some fresh air. AIR QUOTES We may…

A year of classical recordings is barely represented by the 48 albums covered by my monthly page of reviews. For every recording that makes it on to the page, I probably listen to six or seven others. The sources of those albums are more diverse than ever, and the landscape of classical recordings looks accordingly more atomised. It resembles one of those pointillist images that may pop up on your social-media feed, for example, inviting you to decide whether the orange dots in the middle of the blue ones resemble a fish or the number six. LABEL LEADERS Chandos and Harmonia mundi stand almost alone, among the major ‘independent’ labels, in reliably issuing six or seven albums per month, nearly all of which I want to hear for myself. The…

One of the biggest challenges over the past 12 months has been coming to terms with hi-fi components so multifunctional they resist being pigeonholed into one – or even two – categories. A prime example is the Eversolo DMP-A10 [p62], though products of its kind are appearing with increasing regularity. Is it a streamer, a DAC, a preamp, or a processor with room calibration and a wealth of DSP options? FEATURE FRENZY With products like these, the answer is invariably ‘yes’. Clearly the intention is to offer a one-stop solution for just about any audiophile need, coupled with a desire to brandish a specification and feature list longer than any rivals. It’s impressive what some manufacturers are achieving, blending (usually) solid technical engineering with more software functionality than you’ll find…

Qobuz is the high quality music streaming & download platform for music enthusiasts and audiophiles, offering unique editorial, exclusive artist interviews, expertly curated playlists, liner notes, and more. With more than 100 million tracks in lossless quality, including CD, Hi-Res (24-bit/up to 192 kHz), DXD, and DSD, you can stream or download all your favorite tracks in the highest quality. And with Qobuz Club, you can connect and share music discoveries with a community of fellow music lovers. Enter now to win http://qob.uz/hfn-giveaway *Limited to countries where Qobuz operates”…

Timed to coincide with its 85th anniversary, Nagaoka’s MP-700 is the new flagship cartridge of its MP series. Sidestepping the usual question – is it moving-magnet or movingcoil? – by answering ‘movingpermalloy’, this range is already well established, dating back to 1979. This sense of tradition is on show in the MP-700, as it retains the series’ iconic square design. Internally, of course, the mechanism features a series of refinements, but like all Nagaoka pick-ups, it is still completely built by hand in Japan. This is no heavyweight, coming in at a mere 8g. That’s a slight increase on the 7.8g of the MP-500 [HFN Jan ’23], possibly due to the frame being made here from ultra-duralumin. Nagaoka further applies a triple-layer finish to the shielded chassis, consisting of nickel…

For this update on its Model 30 turntable, SME has taken inspiration from its flagship Model 60 [HFN Jul ’22]. Most obviously, it employs the same 24-pole AC motor and external control boxes – one containing the mains transformer and unregulated DC power supply, the second sporting the turntable’s on/off and fine speed controls, and housing the regulated power supply and DSP motor drive circuitry. The enclosure of the latter item looks slightly different to that of the Model 60, but its contents are the same. ‘Bass is deep, tight, rhythmical and blessed with insight’ Also inspired by its flagship sibling are this deck’s decoupling feet with multi-point isolation. There are three here, rather than four, which means the Model 35’s footprint is a good deal smaller than the Model…

With loudspeakers for companies including Castle, Tannoy and Heco under his belt, plus turntable products for Magnat, and Thorens, German designer Helmut Thiele has a career spanning over 40 years. It’s only now that he’s launched his own brand, kicking off with the high-end TT01/TA01 turntable/arm combination. A belt-driven design, the Thiele TT01 features a chunky constrained-layer damped plinth, its bottom section (made from a sandwich of bamboo and multiplex wood) carrying the motor, drive electronics and output XLR terminals. The centre layer of the plinth carries the armboard and is entirely multiplex wood, separated from the lower and upper layers by a special adhesive. Finally, the upper layer is bamboo and sports the main platter bearing and control panel. ‘Astonishing depth and scale… like 3D glasses for your ears’…

Why is a brand known for its digital audio products [see p67] suddenly addressing the Vinyl Revival? To quote Grimm Audio co-founder Peter van Willenswaard: ‘Even in these days of high-performance digital audio playback systems it is hard to imagine a future without LPs. There’s just something magical to it’. Hence the PW1, aka the Phono Wizard, a solid-state phono stage said to match Peter’s personal, low-feedback tube-based designs. Before deciding whether or not Grimm Audio has found the ideal device to settle the valvesvs-transistors debate, it deserves kudos for producing a phono stage that’s simply so sensible. The PW1 measures a compact 100x100x250mm (whd), so is designed to sit next to one’s record deck, and is supplied with a little black plastic ‘toothpick’ to flip the row of DIP…

Costing a heady £68,500, the all-valve Nagra HD Phono is about as expensive and exclusive as a phono preamplifier gets, and for that amount of money you expect to get everything. And you do. A beautifully engineered two-box affair consisting of the phono section and a separate power supply, the HD Phono oozes Swiss artisanship. Each CNC-machined aluminium chassis occupies 438x130x439mm (whd) and is suspended via a damped, ‘constrained-layer’ platform with a height-adjustable pillar (also isolation-damped) in each corner. ‘Possibly the quietest phono stage we’ve used, valves or otherwise’ A 1m pair of umbilical cords connect the PSU to the main unit, one feeding the tube circuitry, the other the logic control section for the complex operational features. This power supply looks exactly the same as those of Nagra’s HD…

Named after composer Edgard Varèse, who described his music as ‘organised sound’, the latest digital music front-end from dCS features five units and sells for £217,500. Clearly, we’re a long way from a ‘conventional DAC’ here, and even from dCS’s other models such as the Vivaldi APEX [HFN Jun ’22]. The Varèse system comprises a User Interface at £20,000; the £75,000 Core, which does the heavy (DSP) lifting; a pair of Mono DACs at £90,000; and a separate £32,500 Master Clock. A bespoke ‘bus’ system, called ACTUS, links everything together (asynchronous and error-corrected audio, control data and master clock signal) in a single, unit-to-unit, run of cables. The Core is the largest of these solid alloy enclosures and handles most of the signal processing before the data is output to…

China’s FiiO has grown from producing neat digital music players to offering a staggeringly huge ‘you want it, we probably make it’ audio range, from desktop DACs and amps to cassette players. And then there’s its K17, an impressively flexible DAC/player/preamp/headphone amp. Selling for £829 and compact at 245x67mm (wh), the K17 is equally at home beside a computer, feeding headphones and active speakers, as in your hi-fi rack. Digital connectivity includes Wi-Fi/Ethernet, optical and coaxial in/out, USB-C and, for local playback, USB-A. Analogue options are balanced 4.4mm line in, RCA line in/out and a balanced preamplifier output on XLRs. For headphones, there are balanced and unbalanced feeds, the former on 4.4mm and four-pin XLR sockets, the latter on a 6.35mm connection. ‘The K17 consistently delivered the music’s scale and…

There’s quite a steep learning curve involved in driving Grimm Audio’s MU2, reflected in the fact it is supplied with two manuals – one for the hardware, the other for the software. But then this digital audio player is more ‘involved’ than most, being able to function as a highend ‘all-in-one’ (just add a power amp and speakers), as well as a network server or streaming DAC. It even takes on the role of a Roon server/endpoint, the Core operating system of the music management platform [see p71] being built in. Dedicated onboard memory handles Roon’s software, but for local music you can order the MU2 with internal SSD storage – a 2TB drive adds a relatively sensible £300 to the price, while 8TB will cost you £774. Alternatively, it…

Like the earlier Nucleus and Nucleus+ [HFN May ’18], Roon’s Nucleus Titan is a device dedicated to running Roon’s Core server software. Before the company embarked down this hardware path, some Roon users would simply install the software on a standard PC, while others favoured building a custom server. The Nucleus range is Roon’s own ‘turnkey’ version of that DIY approach, and pledges to deliver the best quality user experience and audio performance. What haven’t changed are the basics. Roon is a paid-for music playback/curation platform, with software – artfully presented on smartphones, tablets and desktop – handling digital file playback from network shares or local storage, streams from the Tidal, Qobuz and KKBox services, and Internet radio. ‘If audio quality is your main concern, the Titan is Roon’s apex…

Launched initially as the 2024 Edition, but now officially called the ATM-1e, this is the third incarnation of artisanal Japanese brand AirTight’s cornerstone stereo ‘power amp’, the first model debuting in the late 1980s [HFN Aug ’89]. Of course, as it’s equipped with separate left-and-right gain controls, it’s best described as a very minimalist integrated model, allowing the purist to use a fixed output source without an intermediate preamp. How minimalist? The ATM-1e has lost the option of running two line sources, offering just a single set of unbalanced RCAs. ‘It’s a reminder that the EL34 was once the industry’s go-to valve’ Another feature separates this unit from many basic stereo amplifiers, and that’s the fine-tune tube bias facility. A rotary on the front panel selects each EL34, the ‘off’…

Otherwise known as BAT, Balanced Audio Technology’s stated core principles are ‘balanced is best’, ‘dual-mono construction maximises performance’, and ‘zero global feedback achieves natural sound’. All three of these are at play in its £14,995 VK-90. This is BAT’s top-flight single-chassis preamplifier, below the £30,000 two-box REX 3. Like that model, the VK-90 is valve-based, employing the 6H30 ‘SuperTubes’ long-favoured by chief designer/co-founder Victor Khomenko. This is not obvious from the outside, though, as its eight 6H30 bottles, four per channel, are mounted within its 483mm-wide chassis. ‘The VK-90 is notable for not just its tonal richness, but its weight and attack’ These valves’ ‘high current, low impedance’ characteristics are key to the ‘Unistage’ circuit design of the VK-90, which features a single gain stage to minimise component count and…

If you have always coveted one of Dan D’Agostino’s designs, possibly going back to the early days of Krell, but could not afford them, or if they were only slightly out of your reach, the Pendulum amplifier changes everything. In line-level-only form at £18,000, or £22,000 ‘fully loaded’ as seen here, you will acquire an integrated amp of serious, usable power, that integrates trickledown technologies and matches modern expectations in terms of operational slickness. You’ll also get pride of ownership by the bucketload. ‘Gomes abuses his Gibson Flying V to within an inch of its life’ The design here is minimalist, with the front panel having just two rotaries (for source/menu and volume/mute) and a central LCD display – this replicates the familiar Breguet-inspired meter found on other D’Agostino products…

Integrated amplifiers are ten a penny, but not when you get into five figures, where consumers and manufacturers often pivot toward pre/power systems. Yet high-end integrateds do exist, as illustrated by the Diablo 333, starting at £24,500, from Denmark-based Gryphon Audio. The Diablo 333 succeeds Gryphon’s 2016-era Diablo 300, the new model name reflecting both its elevated status and the improved power rating per channel – 333W/8ohm, up from 300W. This 10% increase comes from a redesigned output stage incorporating elements of the manufacturer’s ‘true Class A’ Apex power amps, including the high-current bipolar output transistors – ten per side here in a dual mono topology running to an estimated ~10W in Class A. Gryphon has also implemented new pre-driver transistors, 68,000μF of PSU reservoir capacitance per channel (with polypropylene…

In this era of all-in-one amplifiers and ‘crossover’ products, there’s something refreshing about Californian brand Pass Labs. Now approaching 35 years in business and named after founder/chief designer Nelson Pass, the company has long been known for its focus on frill-free, performance-first designs. Yes, its catalogue offers 18 amplifiers, but all are analogue-only. If you’re interested in digital inputs, network audio and touchscreen controls, you can move along. But stay, in the words of Pass Labs, for ‘simplicity and power’. ‘Pass Labs’ ratings fail to reflect the true grunt of its amps’ The XA30.8 is a stereo power amplifier from the company’s ‘Class A’ range, and rated at 30W per channel. However, Pass Labs’ ratings regularly fail to reflect the true speaker-wrestling grunt of its amps, and that’s the case…

Unison Research’s tube passion extends to CD players [p73], but the company is best known for its tube amps. The Triode 25 Black Edition integrated, at £3900, is an upgrade of the £3400 Triode 25 [HFN Jul ’15] and positioned above the entry-level Simply Italy (£2300) and Preludio (£3000) models, but a good way below its flagship Reference Pre/Power duo (£51,500). ‘Slow, deep “sludge metal” riffs slammed from the speakers’ This BE version looks very similar to the original, bar the adoption of a black finish for the wooden fascia and (motorised) volume and manual source controls. But there’s an obvious change around the back, as the standard Triode 25’s optional USB/optical/coax DAC module is now fitted as standard. There are refinements under the bonnet, too, with revisions to layout…

Standing 1.6m tall and weighing 75.6kg, DALI’s Epikore 11 is, by any standards, an imposing loudspeaker. Similar to the flagship KORE floorstander [HFN Dec ’22], from which the company’s Epikore range leverages much of its design, it will do a fair job of filling the space from floor to near the ceiling in many listening rooms. The driver complement is also imposing: four 200mm bass drivers, a 165mm midrange unit, and DALI’s EVO-K hybrid module comprising both planar magnetic ‘ribbon’ and 35mm soft-dome tweeters. This module is mounted above the midrange unit in a diecast baffle designed for its rigidity, while also isolating the drivers from the internally braced, curved wall cabinet, and the effects of that quartet of reflex-loaded woofers. ‘These can energise a room while keeping the bass…

Sitting at the centre of Estelon’s ‘Classics’ range, the premium-priced XB Diamond Mk II has plenty of engineering innovation within its swoopy, marble-loaded resin composite enclosure. Its drive units, from Accuton in Germany, are unusually deployed, the treble and mid/bass mounted high, and the woofer as low as possible to take advantage of floor reinforcement in addition to the tuning of its rearfacing reflex port. The configuration of the drivers is also atypical – there’s no high-pass filtering of the mid/bass, meaning it operates over 90Hz-1.5kHz and leaves the woofer in charge of the really deep stuff. Each driver is mounted within its own enclosure inside the XB Diamond Mk II’s 1.26m-tall cabinet, and the crossover is acoustically isolated to avoid vibrational interference. Incidentally, that revised crossover, in addition to…

Having introduced the ‘revolutionary’ Meta Absorption Material Technology (MAT) on its LS50 Meta [HFN Jun ’21], KEF followed it with Meta updates of its Blade [HFN May ’22], Reference [HFN Jun ’23] and R series [HFN Jan ’24]. So it’s perhaps no surprise that its ‘entry-level’ Q range was next in line for an overhaul. The £1999 Q11 Meta floorstander is the series’ top-of-the-line model. Like its costlier Meta siblings, it features KEF’s latest, 12th-gen-with-MAT Uni-Q driver array, albeit with a 19mm (rather than 25mm) vented aluminium dome tweeter, and a surrounding aluminium cone midrange that measures 100mm, not 125mm. Consequently, the MAT disc behind the tweeter has also been revised. Surrounding the Q11 Meta’s Uni-Q array is KEF’s ‘Shadow Flare’, a waveguide that extends the profile of the midrange…

American manufacturer Perlisten sells a varied range of loudspeakers [HFN Apr/Jun/Aug ’22 and HFN May ’25], but also an equally expansive line of active subwoofers. They don’t quite come in all shapes and sizes – the shapes never vary beyond flavours of cuboid – but there’s a broad sweep of price and specification to match different room sizes. Near the top of the line is the £5500 D15s, seen here. Currently the most expensive of Perlisten’s single-driver models (above it are two dual-driver units, the D212s and D215s), the D15s partners its 15in/380mm woofer with a Class D amp stage rated at 2kW. These are built into a sealed cabinet measuring 528x500x500mm (hwd), which is fronted by an 80mm-thick HDF baffle. The rest of the enclosure (internally braced horizontally and…

To call the Clarity 4.2 ‘petite’ is no understatement, as this second loudspeaker to be introduced by Denmark’s Radiant Acoustics – a new brand established by DALI founder, and Purifi partner, Peter Lyngdorf – boldly puts the ‘book’ back into ‘bookshelf’. Moreover, the 260x164mm (hw) cabinet still manages to host four drive units. One of these is a waveguided AMT tweeter, custom built for Radiant Acoustics by DALI. The other three are 100mm Ushindi bass/mid cones from Purifi, the two side-facing units being ABRs – a costlier, but superior, alternative to conventional reflex port loading. The proprietary ‘NeutralSurround’ of each Purifi driver looks chaotic, but it’s all part of an innovative design from Lars Risbo, also the designer of the legendary TacT Millennium amplifier of the late 1990s. ‘It was…

Were it not for the enclosure design, it might be tempting to think of Vivid Audio’s Kaya S12 as just another standmount. But as its looks suggest, there’s something special going on here, and the £6000 price certainly sets expectations high. Standing 40cm tall and weighing just 6kg, the S12 comes in a choice of three smart colourways, plus a choice of RAL colours available at a £500 premium. It can also be supplied with the company’s matching stands, which are elegant but a rather wince-inducing £1800 a pair, or wall-brackets, which will set you back £1300 a pair. The speakers’ ‘hi-fi as a work of art’ vibe is the result of a co-operation between Vivid Audio’s Technical Director Laurence Dickie and an out-of-house design team. Dickie mandated the positioning…

In the vinyl heyday of the 1970s and 1980s, UK turntables and those from Japan contrasted sharply. British audiophiles favoured suspended sub-chassis belt-drive decks while Japanese makers were using their vast R&D facilities to deliver decks that could correct for off-centre records, direct-drive motors with almost unmeasurable wow and flutter, and control systems with huge torque. Sony and JVC, having mastered direct-drive motors, then turned to tonearm innovation. Both developed servo-controlled arms, Sony debuting its Biotracer in 1979 and JVC unveiling its Electro-Dynamic Servo tonearm in 1980. ‘The synth bass was taut, precise and even ominous at times’ The latter used two coreless linear motors in the arm bearing. One motor acted in the horizontal direction and one in the vertical, the system detecting stylus motion and generating instant corrective…

Whatever can be said about Albarry Music’s amps, they looked fantastic – their red-and-black Perspex casings a striking alternative to the mass-produced offerings from Europe and Japan. Albarry’s amplifier system came as four units: the DMP 1 stereo preamplifier, APS 1 outboard PSU and two M408 monoblocks. Output power was rated at 40W/8ohm, increasing to 50W/8ohm for the M408 Series II model pictured here. ‘For rock lovers with rooms resembling an Austin Powers set’ The preamp’s inputs were confined to an MM/MC phono stage, and line inputs for a tuner and tape loop. While broadly conventional in design, the M408 had an optically coupled protection circuit with electronic latching, keeping the amp silent until power was cycled or the rear reset switch pressed. Despite being DC-coupled throughout, it had no…

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Here we are in 2025, a quarter century on from when the ‘Millennium Bug’ was set to fling us all back into the age of the abacus. That disaster never happened, of course, but perhaps the real punchline is that people are still buying physical discs like it’s 1999 – even if sales have wobbled so far this year. According to the BPI, vinyl sales actually dropped by 2.8% in the second quarter of 2025, and only managed an increase of 6% in the first quarter, compared to 12.4% in 2024. Of course, one reason vinyl had such a golden year in 2024 was the release of Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poets Department album, which sold over 180,000 physical copies in its first week alone. Still, there’s a platinum lining: the…

It is rare to be able to celebrate a 100th birthday in the hi-fi industry and so it will be good to see Bang & Olufsen reach its centenary on the 17th of November this year. The B&O story started in the northern Danish town of Struer and the company is still there. One hundred years of successfully doing the same thing in the same place is quite an achievement in any field, and hi-fi is more turbulent than most. Many factors can bring down a once-promising company. Failing to invest in new technology – or pouring resources into technical dead ends – has undone many, as have being swamped by warranty claims for poorly designed products, or simply running out of ideas. Yet for a century, B&O has avoided…

It’s been a year that marked a century of electrical recording, yet collectors still treasure acoustic 78s. A year when a show organiser could entice visitors with a system costing three million euros [p25], but you could once more buy a British-made hi-fi amplifier (from Fell Audio) for under £600. And it’s also been a year when BBC Radio 3 sailed out of the doldrums. Its first-quarter listening figure was up 10% to 2.148 million. In May, it won Station of the Year at the Audio and Radio Industry Awards. And in July, the regulator Ofcom decreed at last that Radio 3’s online Unwind spinoff could be broadcast on DAB+ as well. PROTEST TO PRAISE Vindication, then, for Sam Jackson, who became Controller of Radio 3 and The Proms in…

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