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Waterboys: This Is The Sea
Mike Barnes  |  Oct 03, 2023
Led by singer-songwriter Mike Scott, The Waterboys honed their 'big music' sound on this 1985 album where rock guitars were joined by saxophone, piano and celeste to create an expansive work that was epic yet spiritual, and at times even political...

On the song 'The Big Music', from The Waterboys 1984 album A Pagan Place, Mike Scott sang 'I have heard the big music/And I'll never be the same' – and he wasn't kidding. Nowadays, the 1980s might be more readily associated with glossy, primary coloured pop but it also opened the doors to something quite different – an earnest, yearning, expansive rock music drawn with broad brush strokes, but with enough space for some fine detail. The Waterboys exemplified the desire to make this 'big music', as did contemporaries such as Echo & The Bunnymen, U2, Big Country and Simple Minds.

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Disc Players
Hegel Viking CD Player
Review: Mark Craven,  |  Oct 02, 2023
hfnoutstandingAs Hegel's previous 'last ever' CD player – the Mohican – gets the chop, the audio world faces a new invasion from the Norwegian longships, courtesy of the Viking...

When Hegel announced its Viking CD player, the phrase 'never say never again' sprung to mind. You don't need to have a particularly long memory to recall the company's previous silver-disc spinner was named Mohican [HFN Oct '16] because – geddit? – it was going to be the last such machine the Norwegian company would make. The format's popularity was seemingly dwindling in the face of music streaming and the vinyl resurgence. Hegel even made commemorative t-shirts for its final fling with CD.

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Audiophile Vinyl
Audiophile: Vinyl, September 2023
Ken Kessler  |  Sep 29, 2023
This month we review: Paul Simon, Gaillard, Jazzbeaux, Mantilla & Allen, Pleasure and Johnny Winter.
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Audiophile Digital
Audiophile: Digital, September 2023
Ken Kessler  |  Sep 29, 2023
This month, we review: Leonard Bernstein, Eagles, Elton John and Peggy Lee.
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Rock
Rock, September 2023
Mike Barnes  |  Sep 29, 2023
This month we review: Do Nothing, The Church, Rival Sons and Dexys.
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Jazz
Jazz, September 2023
Steve Harris  |  Sep 29, 2023
This month we review: Joshua Jaswon Octet, Eric Alexander, Dave Mcmurray and Gretchen Parlato & Lionel Loueke.
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Classical
Classical, September 2023
Peter Quantrill  |  Sep 29, 2023
This month we review: Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen/Paavo Jarvi, Kristoffer Hyldig, Choir Of Gonville & Caius, Cambridge/Matthew Martin and Lintl, Nyári, Magdeburg Opera/Anna Skryleva.
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Hi-Res Downloads
Hi-Res Downloads, September 2023
Andrew Everard  |  Sep 29, 2023
This month we review and test releases from: Ralph Alessi Quartet, Mahan Esfahani/Prague RSO, Bill Kopper, Pink and Ladytron.
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From the VaultPre/Power Amplifiers
Conrad-Johnson ART Preamp
Martin Colloms  |  Sep 28, 2023  |  First Published: Jun 01, 1997
hfnvintageMartin Colloms shows some ART appreciation as the US company celebrates 30 years with a statement single-ended line-only preamp

Conrad-Johnson's 'Anniversary Reference Triode' has been some time in the making. In fact, an early version was developed seven years ago which has since been used as a lab reference. The ART is simply a remote-controlled line preamplifier, which at £15,000 is priced far beyond any previous Conrad-Johnson offering in this sector. It will be made in a limited edition of just 250 – probably just right for a modest production run at this elevated price level.

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Cables
QED Golden Anniversary XT Loudspeaker Cable
Review and Lab: Paul Miller  |  Sep 26, 2023
hfnedchoiceThe UK's longest-serving cable company celebrates 50 years with a special edition version from its X-Tube range, and it's a 'Golden' upgrade.

Was it really 25 years ago that QED celebrated its Silver Anniversary with a special edition XT speaker cable? Or a full half century since the brand burst into our audiophile consciousness with, three years later, what must surely be the most famous cable of all time – QED 79-strand? Monster Cable would surely argue the toss, but for hi-fi fans building their first system on a budget, the classic figure-of-eight 79-strand (still only £1.99/m) has long been the go-to choice.

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