LATEST ADDITIONS

Johnny Black | Mar 27, 2020

Come 1979, punk was pretty much over. Would one of its leading lights fade with it, or could the band capitalise on their UK success and clamber to even greater heights without losing the force and the fire that made their first two albums so compelling?

The Clash were formed in 1976 after guitarist Mick Jones attended a Sex Pistols gig in the February of that year and realised that the whole UK music scene was about to change. Keith Levene, Jones's former bandmate in London SS, was drafted in on guitar, Terry Chimes played drums and the three were joined by Paul Simonon, who'd had aspirations to be a lead singer but decided to buy a bass guitar instead. Essentially he was learning on the job. Joe Strummer who had been in the pub rock band The 101ers was the new vocalist and after Levene left he also played rhythm guitar. Simonon thought up the group's name.

Pre/Power Amplifiers

Simaudio MOON 740P/860A v2 Pre/Power Amplifier

Review: Andrew Everard, | Mar 26, 2020

In one swipe, the long-awaited 860A v2 replaces Simaudio's 860A, 870A and 880A power amplifiers and promises 870A performance. We pair it with the 740P preamp

There's something very 'old school' about Simaudio's latest MOON pre/power combination: both units certainly look the part in their combination of black fascias and exposed metalwork, though you can also have them in all-silver or all-black, where they have an air about them of being stripped for action. The £7800 740P preamp, for example, eschews the current trend for digital inputs and network streaming capability, and is a simple, direct, all-analogue line-only affair.

Rock

Rock, January 2020

Johnny Black | Mar 25, 2020

This month we review: Bedouin Soundclash, Jack Broadbent, Richard Fearless and Jens Carelius.

Jazz

Jazz, January 2020

Steve Harris | Mar 25, 2020

This month we review: Michel Petrucciani, Nils Landgren, Abdullah Ibrahim and Quentin Collins Sextet.

Classical

Classical, January 2020

Christopher Breunig | Mar 25, 2020

This month we review: Korngold, Beethoven/Sibelius, Debussy/Duruflé and Tchaikovsky.

Audiophile Digital

Audiophile: Digital, January 2020

Ken Kessler | Mar 24, 2020

This month, we review: The Replacements, Bad Company, The Guess Who and Jethro Tull.

Audiophile Vinyl

Audiophile: Vinyl, January 2020

Ken Kessler | Mar 24, 2020

This month we review: The Thelonious Monk Quartet, Jackson Browne, The Runaways, and Whitesnake.

Headphones Outboard DACs

Novafidelity HA500H USB DAC/Headphone Amp

Review: Andrew Everard, | Mar 23, 2020

Best known for its music rippers and servers, the Korean company has now entered the personal audio market with a comprehensively-equipped DAC/headphone amp

When it comes to affordable music players with hard disk storage, few companies have the pedigree of Korea-based Novatron. Its range of products, sold under the Cocktail Audio brand worldwide – including here, before a UK-only rebranding to Novafidelity – starts from as little as £650 for the X14 model. In this instance the user is able to decide how much storage capacity to have installed, or even buy the unit 'bare bones' and add their own choice of drive.

Classical Companion

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No 4

Christopher Breunig | Mar 19, 2020

Composed when he was influenced by the Knaben Wunderhorn collected folk poems it stands unique in form and aspiration. Christopher Breunig offers an introduction

As this issue of HFN is likely to reach you during the festive period, why not a piece that starts with sleigh-bells? No, not Leroy Anderson, but Mahler's fourth symphony, written in 1899-1900, and first performed in Munich in November 1901. The UK premiere came just a few years later in a 1905 Prom concert with Sir Henry Wood.

Loudspeakers

Magico A1 Loudspeaker

Review: Paul Miller, | Mar 18, 2020

More than a chip off the Magico block, the A1 sets the standard for pint-sized standmounts

Chalk and cheese. Night and day. Or perhaps David and Goliath... Call it what you will, but the transition between Avantgarde's huge, horn-loaded Duo Primo XDs departing my listening room, and the diminutive A1s arriving, demanded a recalibration of reality. Just 20kg versus 185kg per enclosure and a drop of 20dB in sensitivity – so the volume control on our resident dCS Vivaldi One DAC/preamp also needed a reset from 500mV output to 6V.

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LATEST ADDITIONS

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