LATEST ADDITIONS

Review: Jamie Biesemans, Lab: Paul Miller | Mar 24, 2023

The final, or should that be first, component in T+A's 200 series quartet is a CD-playing, network-attached media transport that boasts a proprietary 'SYS-Link' connection

After delighting headphone lovers with the HA 200 DAC/amp [HFN Aug '20], which nicely matched the Solitaire P headphones introduced at the same time, T&A has been on a roll. The HA 200 transpired to be just the first in a range of units forming the new 200 series – all compact separates, but all designed to dovetail seamlessly together.

Loudspeakers

Kroma Atelier Stella Xtreme Loudspeaker

Review: Mark Craven, Lab: Paul Miller | Mar 23, 2023

These 'artisanal' speakers hail from Spain and combine Purifi and Mundorf driver tech with Krion cabinets

These days we could probably name no more than 11 or 12 manufacturers of TVs, but ask us about loudspeakers and you'd fall asleep before we'd got as far as companies beginning with the letter 'D'. The industry appears to be in rude health, with models to suit all tastes and budgets, and there are plenty of options that you might not have come across before. Kroma Atelier's Stella Xtreme perhaps being one of them.

Classical Companion

Shostakovich: String Quartet No 3

Peter Quantrill | Mar 21, 2023

An overlooked masterpiece of the mid-20th-century – but how Soviet, or even Russian, should the Third Quartet sound? Peter Quantrill listens back to its history on record

Alongside his Tenth Symphony, Shostakovich took special pride in the Third Quartet, in a way that most artists do, who have to think their latest piece is their best. More telling is the testimony of Fyodor Druzhinin, violist of the Beethoven Quartet at a much later period in the composer's life: 'Only once did I see Shostakovich visibly moved by his own music. We were rehearsing the Third Quartet… When we finished playing he sat quite still in silence like a wounded bird, tears streaming down his face. This was the only time I saw Shostakovich so open and defenceless.'

Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Lyra Kleos SL Cartridge

Review: Ken Kessler, Lab: Paul Miller | Mar 20, 2023

Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the company's founding, Lyra introduces a refinement to the popular Kleos moving-coil cartridge – the SL with, yes, lower output

Has it really been 40 years since Jonathan Carr and Stig Bjørge founded what would become Lyra? Did I really play with a (Scan Tech) Tsurugi, launched in 1986 and which I still have, when Maggie was PM? As I have enjoyed Lyra cartridges for over half my life, including many happy hours with the mono Kleos, the £3095 Kleos SL arrived with positive anticipation.

From the Vault Pre/Power Amplifiers

Samuel Johnson Audio

Ivor Humphreys | Mar 17, 2023 | First Published: Apr 01, 2000

The arrival of a new British hi-fi brand is a major event. Ivor Humphreys hears Samuel Johnson's 50W-rated pca100/ppa100 pre/power amplifiers

Abrand new company, Samuel Johnson was founded by a group of enthusiasts, most of whom had met through their work with a Scottish-based manufacturer of control systems for industrial applications and who discovered further common ground in a consuming interest in hi-fi.

Loudspeakers

Alta Audio Alec Loudspeaker

Review: Adam Smith, Lab: Paul Miller | Mar 16, 2023

Do your speakers make the earth move? If not then Alta Audio may have the answer with its XTL bass loading...

Alta Audio, likely a new name to most UK hi-fi enthusiasts, was created with the idea of finding new solutions to old problems. Founded over 30 years ago in New York, USA, its £10,000 Alec floorstanders are the central models in its Statement series, above the standmount Alyssa and below the magnificently monikered Adam.

Pre/Power Amplifiers Vintage

Bryan Mark III Model 500/700 Pre/Power Amp

Review: Tim Jarman | Mar 14, 2023

From a UK manufacturer quick to take advantage of the arrival of high-power transistors comes a '60s pre/power amp combo as curious as it is rare. How does it sound today?

Hands up those who have seen a Bryan amplifier before, let alone heard one. Me neither – until I unpacked the Mark III Model 500/700 pairing seen here. The first 500 arrived when higher-power transistors were beginning to be used in quality audio, yet while the technology became universal, British brand Bryan sank without trace.

Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

ELAC Miracord 80 Turntable

Review: Jamie Biesemans | Mar 13, 2023

ELAC revived the Miracord name for its 90th anniversary with a brand-new turntable – a celebratory model now trickled-down into the new Miracord 80, complete with MM

When ELAC relaunched its turntable lineup in 2017, earning an EISA Award along the way for the Miracord 90 Anniversary, it wasn't at first clear the German audio brand actually intended a concerted push into this back-from-the-dead product category. After all, there was a lot going on at the company and this turntable was presented as a celebration of ELAC's distinguished history.

Inside the Studio

Studio One Jamaica

Steve Sutherland | Mar 10, 2023

Founded in 1954, this facility would become one of the music world's most renowned studios, giving birth to ska, rocksteady and reggae. Steve Sutherland has the story

One of the many pleasures in collecting used vinyl 45s is coming across a Jamaican cut where the label has been deliberately defiled. What this usually means is that the artist and the title on both sides have been scratched out or ink-penned over so that the disc attains supreme anonymity.

Pre/Power Amplifiers

Constellation Centaur II Stereo Power Amplifier

Review: Andrew Everard, Lab: Paul Miller | Mar 09, 2023

Available in both monoblock and stereo chassis, the Centaur II has been a mainstay of the Constellation range for over six years. It's clearly not broken, so why change it?

While some brands maintain a steady rotation – evolution – of their products, others, including Constellation Audio, hit on the jackpot early and feel little inclination to change a winning formula. So while we've already tested the £73,500 Centaur II 500 power amp [HFN Dec '19] we missed out on the £53,998 Constellation Centaur II Stereo. Until now...

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LATEST ADDITIONS

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