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This month we review: Buddy Rich & Alla Rakha, Duane Eddy, Hampton Hawes and The Savoy Blues Band

The man behind more than a few iconic and longstanding turntable designs – including Thorens – has distilled that lifetime’s experience into his own brand. Welcome, Thiele...

It’s always exciting when a designer of great renown finally brings to market an own-name product. So while many of us may not instantly recognise the name Thiele – not to be confused with the Thiel Audio brand of the US that declared bankruptcy in 2018 – there is every chance that we’ve already come across one of Helmut Thiele’s many creations.

Germany’s T+A has long been a champion of ‘line source’ floorstanders and its S 530 is the entry model to the concept

‘Theory and Application’ (T+A) is well-known for hi-fi separates ranging from its CALA and Caruso ‘lifestyle’ models to the DACs, amps and ‘multisource’ receivers of its premium R and HV series, all featured regularly in Hi-Fi News. Less well-known are its loudspeakers, despite T+A starting out in 1978 as a speaker manufacturer. Hoping to refresh our memory and provide scope for a full high-end T+A system, is a new three-strong Solitaire S range, of which the S 530 is the middle model.

Skyanalog’s mid-range G series is refreshed with MKII models boasting lower downforces and impedance, with little impact to output or tracking. We test the entry model...

It was tempting to kick off this review comparing cartridge manufacturer Skyanalog with its fellow Chinese brand BYD, which uses the tagline ‘the biggest car brand you’ve never heard of’. Sadly, Skyanalog’s UK distributor, Sound Design Distribution (SDD), beat us to the punchline by splashing ‘Possibly the most successful cartridge manufacturer you’ve never heard of’ across its webpage.