LATEST ADDITIONS

Hi-Fi News Staff | Dec 22, 2014

The TA-1120 stereo amplifier was a step-ahead design which combined power, quality, reliability and compactness in a way that had not been seen before, but which in a few years would become ubiquitous across the ranges of Japan’s major hi-fi brands. In 1968 the original TA-1120 was replaced by the TA-1120A, as tested here, the addition of a headphone socket and the removal of a ‘safety’ indicator light being the only obvious external clues as to which model is which. Revisions were also made to the preamplifier circuit. The main selector lever gives a choice of phono 1 (MM) or tuner, along with a central position that selects a rotary control giving four further options, eg, mic, tape head, second MM turntable and line-level auxiliary input, which can be used to connect a CD player.

Pre/Power Amplifiers Vintage

Musical Fidelity The Preamp/Dr Thomas (Vintage)

Richard Holliss | Dec 22, 2014

In Tony Michaelson’s company started with one diminutive but memorable product, called simply ‘The Preamp’. He started by making them on his kitchen table… What made the product so eyecatching was the acrylic front, with the product name illuminated in red. In its original form, The Preamp had an appeal all of its own. It was so tiny, so simple, yet so businesslike.

Loudspeakers Vintage

Spendor BC III (Vintage)

Hi-Fi News Staff | Dec 22, 2014

When the BC III was launched in 1973, Spendor’s ads described it as ‘An extension and refinement of theBC I and BC II’, while Thomas Heinitz, doyen of hi-fi consultants in those days, could not resist using the headline‘Hey, big Spendor’. The BC III was rooted in Spencer Hughes’ work at the BBC: he was part of the legendary BBC research team, working under both D E L Shorter and H D Harwood. It had an 8in driver with 40mm voice-coil, working in its own sealed chamber as a midrange unit while the 12in bass unit was reflex-loaded by a carefully designed port. The crossover point was 700Hz.

Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Brinkmann Balance 2 (£17,495 (deck), £2895 (tube Psu), £4195 (12.1 Tonearm))

Hi-Fi News Staff | Dec 22, 2014

A masterpiece of stylish understatement, the flagship Balance 2 uses Brinkmann’s Sinus motor and belt-drive system as a way to update the earlier Balance model. The plinth is CNC-machined from aluminium and supports both arm bases plus the bearing; it sits on three spiked feet adjustable for levelling. The bearing is made of hardened stainless steel and rotates in sintered brass bushings, but it’s unusual in that the assembly is heated by a MOSFET device in order to ensure the bearing operates at a steady temperature. The 90mm platter is machined from a block of aluminium while a polished crystal glass mat is recessed into its top surface.

Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Clearaudio Master Innovation (£14,500 (black, £15,400); Tonearm £3350; Stand £8000 (black, £8500))

Hi-Fi News Staff | Dec 22, 2014

While the massive Statement continues as Clearaudio’s very top model, below it in the hierarchy comes this spectacular and impressive new flagship for the main Innovation Series. It is built up on Clearaudio’s familiar, elegant, three-lobed chassis members, each constructed as a sandwich, with a core of Panzerholz (an ‘armour wood’) between two sheets of aluminium. The Master Innovation is in fact built as two separate units with the proprietary multi-platter arrangement facilitating Clearaudio’s magnetic contactless drive system. The upper section is the turntable proper, with a 70mm-thick acrylic platter atop a 15mm stainless steel base platter.

Pre/Power Amplifiers

Furutech Adl X1 (£400)

Hi-Fi News Staff | Dec 22, 2014

Furutech’s Alpha Design Lab range includes cables, headphones and earphones, a portable headphone amplifier and stylish system equivalents of the ADL X1 here. This appears to be a portable miniature music centre, offering USB and iDevice functionality, plus a built-in rechargeable battery giving around five hours of operation. Six top-mounted LEDs display sampling frequency, and there’s a front fascia volume control – which sadly proved just a little too easy to accidentally move when out and about. Those on the Number 41 bus will doubtless prefer the ergonomic simplicity of, say, an Arcam rPAC or Cambridge Audio DacMagic XS, which are truly portable devices.

Integrated Amplifiers

Canor Tp134 (£2495)

Hi-Fi News Staff | Dec 22, 2014

Longstanding Slovakian tube specialist Canor is based in Prešov, in a purpose-built factory where it builds everything in-house and has developed a proprietary valve-testing and burn-in methodology. Valves that don’t measure up, we’re told, are returned to their makers for use in guitar amps and the like. The company traded for many years as Edgar until changing its brand name to Canor at the end of 2007. Its inaugural integrated tube amp, the TP101 was first shown in 1995 at an exhibition in Brno.

Integrated Amplifiers

Exposure 3010s2 (£1495)

Hi-Fi News Staff | Dec 22, 2014

Exposure Electronics was founded by John Farlowe in 1974 and has remained committed to two-channel music reproduction. The company is largely famous for its big blackpre/power amplifier combinations of the 1980s, when it sold to people who wanted punchy solid-state amps that sounded smoother and creamier than rival Naim products. Nowadays, the sound hasn’t changed much but the size has, and most of its wares are more affordable products such as this one – Exposure’s top integrated. The 3010S2 series comprises a CD player, mono and stereo power amps, a preamplifier and a phono amp.

Hi-Res Downloads

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo : Elgar Symphony No. 1 Cockaigne (in London Town)

C. Breunig (Music); P. Miller (Lab) | Dec 01, 2014

96kHz/24-bit FLAC, BIS-1939 (supplied by www. eclassical. com) Oramo’s Swedish orchestra plays Elgar with real warmth and commitment, especially the brass – glorious in the finale and at the end of the overture Cockaigne (where accurately dry bass-drum sounds are underpinned by organ – an option not always heard in recordings). There’s some characterful phrasing here by the principal clarinettist, presumably Hermann Stefánsson [see Hi-Res DownloadsHFN Aug ’14].

Hi-Res Downloads

Jack Johnson : On And On

J. Bamford (Music); P. Miller (Lab) | Dec 01, 2014

On And On (2013) was the second album from Hawaiian-born surfer Jack Johnson recorded in his own Mango Tree studios, since when he has released four further studio albums and three live recordings, as well as writing the songs for the 2006 animated movie Curious George, in between his extensive charitable activities which include education in schools about nature conservation, etc. It features his song ‘Gone’ which was covered by Black Eyed Peas (as ‘Gone Going’) on the band’s album Monkey Business where Johnson sang the chorus. The recording is up-front and intimate, Johnson’s voice and intricate acoustic guitar closely mic’d, while fellow players Merlo Podlewski (bass) and Adam Topol (drums) appear well balanced throughout these soulful and often spirit-lifting ballads. But is it worth having in a 96kHz/24-bit container? Probably not.

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