LATEST ADDITIONS

Audiophile Vinyl
Audiophile: Vinyl, December 2022
Ken Kessler  |  Dec 29, 2022
This month we review: Joni Mitchell, Al Di Meola, John Mclaughlin, Paco De Lucia, Donald Fagen and The Young Rascals.
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Audiophile Digital
Audiophile: Digital, December 2022
Ken Kessler  |  Dec 29, 2022
This month, we review: The Beatles, Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones and Audiophile Masters Vols III/IV/V/VI.
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Rock
Rock, December 2022
Mike Barnes  |  Dec 29, 2022
This month we review: Clutch, Robyn Hitchcock, Pixies and PVA.
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Jazz
Jazz, December 2022
Steve Harris  |  Dec 29, 2022
This month we review: Raph Clarkson's Dissolute Society, Eddie Harris, Julia Hülsmann Quartet and Charles Lloyd.
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Classical
Classical, December 2022
Peter Quantrill  |  Dec 29, 2022
This month we review: Chorwerk Ruhr, Bochum So/Huber, Helgath, Hofman, Alber, Talich Quartet, Quatuor Hermès, Kadouch, Luzzati, et al and Anna Fedorova, Orch St Gallen/Modestas Pitrenas.
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Classical Companion
Dvorák: 'New World' Symphony (No 9)
Peter Quantrill  |  Dec 27, 2022
From walking sticks to sliced bread... the Ninth has been used to sell everything, not to mention cultural identities. Peter Quantrill returns to a landmark of the repertoire

We associate 'cultural cringe' with the reluctant debt felt by Australians towards 'the old country' (the UK), but the term easily fits the rapture shown by the New York public in December 1893 after the hotly awaited premiere of what was greeted as 'the first American symphony'. Department stores began selling 'Antonín Dvořák' shirts, ties and walking sticks. Becoming a brand does not seem entirely to have bemused this butcher's son from Bohemia.

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Turntables, Arms & Cartridges
DS Audio ES-001 Eccentricity Stabilizer
Review: Ken Kessler, Review: Paul Miller  |  Dec 26, 2022
hfnedchoiceEver worried about off-centre LP pressings? Neither did we – until we tried DS Audio's mind-boggling ES-001 Eccentricity Detection (and correction) Stabiliser

As I stated in a recent column: I'll no longer be making apologies for high-end pricing. So £5500 is needed to acquire the DS Audio ES-001 Eccentricity Detection Stabiliser, a highly specialised device that allows for the correction of off-centre pressings. It is, I believe, the first attempt at resolving this issue since the demise of Nakamichi's TX-1000 and Dragon CT turntables (1982-1993), which tackled the issue mechanically using a sliding two-part platter [see Vintage Review, HFN Aug '16].

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Vinyl Release
The Staple Singers: Be Altitude: Respect Yourself
Steve Sutherland  |  Dec 23, 2022
This uplifting R&B and gospel album from the family band was the highlight of a long career, evangelises Steve Sutherland as he hears the 180g reissue

One of last year's musical highlights was the release of Summer Of Soul, the documentary lovingly assembled by Questlove about the Cultural Festival that took place on six Sundays between June the 29th and August the 24th 1969 at Mount Morris Park in Harlem, New York.

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Loudspeakers
AVID Reference Three Loudspeaker
Review: Andrew Everard, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Dec 22, 2022
hfnoutstandingThe largest standmount in AVID's all-alloy Reference range is bigger and heavier than most floorstanders...

Standmount speakers – it's easy to see why they're popular. They're relatively compact and light enough to position with ease, whether on bookshelves or stands. They aim to offer a compelling sound in smaller spaces, are affordable, often due to mass-production overseas, and can be driven with ease by relatively modest amplification. Trouble is, the AVID Reference Three, while undeniably a standmount speaker, flies in the face of all the above.

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Integrated Amplifiers
Emotiva BasX TA1 Integrated Amplifier
Review: Mark Craven, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Dec 20, 2022
hfncommendedBetter known for high-end behemoths, the US is also home to high-value hi-fi from Emotiva. We pick up the story as the feature-rich TA1 integrated replaces the TA-100

The general consensus is that film sequels are rarely as good as the original, the likes of The Godfather Part II being an honourable exception. In consumer electronics, on the other hand, any follow-up simply has to better its predecessor to justify its existence. This is the aim of Emotiva with its BasX TA1 integrated amplifier, a refresh of the earlier BasX TA-100 [HFN Apr '19]. Yet unlike many Hollywood studios, it's been careful not to erase fond memories of the original in favour of a full franchise reboot. There's an awful lot about the TA1 that is identical to its predecessor.

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