LATEST ADDITIONS

Audiophile Digital
Audiophile: Digital, May 2023
Ken Kessler  |  May 30, 2023
This month, we review: Quincy Jones, The International Submarine Band, Ted Nugent and Tierro Band With Bridget Law.
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Rock
Rock, May 2023
Mike Barnes  |  May 30, 2023
This month we review: Yo La Tengo, Ne Obliviscaris, The Necks and he Slow Readers Club.
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Jazz
Jazz, May 2023
Steve Harris  |  May 30, 2023
This month we review: Joe Chambers, Chris Potter, Tim Garland & Jason Rebello and Dave Brubeck Quartet.
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Classical
Classical, May 2023
Peter Quantrill  |  May 30, 2023
This month we review: Sir András Schiff, Stile Antico, Chiaroscuro Quartet and Munich Phil./Zubin Mehta.
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Hi-Res Downloads
Hi-Res Downloads, May 2023
Andrew Everard,  |  May 26, 2023
This month we review and test releases from: Takács Quartet, Ralph Towner, Cupertinos/LuÍs Toscano, Eva Bjerga Haugen and Dave Douglas Quintet.
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Loudspeakers
MoFi SourcePoint 10 Loudspeaker
Review: Mark Craven,  |  May 25, 2023
hfnoutstandingHi-fi's 'go-to' speaker innovator, Andrew Jones, is behind MoFi's first loudspeaker – a robust standmount featuring a dual-concentric driver with nothing less than a 10in cone

Launched in the 1970s as an audiophile-grade record label, Chicago's Mobile Fidelity has acquired a celebrated reputation among vinylistas, particularly for its One-Step pressings [HFN May '17]. Its move into the world of vinyl replay in 2016, under a new MoFi Electronics division, was arguably a long time coming. The range now extends to cartridges [HFN Jan '22], phono preamps [HFN Mar '20], and three turntables – the StudioDeck [HFN Jan '20], UltraDeck [HFN Jul '19] and the luxurious, Fender-branded PrecisionDeck. And the next obvious step? Loudspeakers.

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From the VaultPre/Power Amplifiers
DNM PA3 S Power Amp
Martin Colloms  |  May 23, 2023  |  First Published: Jun 01, 1998
hfnvintageDoes enormous power always make musical sense? Martin Colloms hears a new stereo power amp from a designer who begs to differ

DNM's long-awaited update to the PA3 power amplifier has finally arrived. Fully regulated, the PA3 S reflects the uncompromising approach of its designer Denis Morecroft. Offering just 23W per channel but costing £3750, this stereo power amp has undergone a long gestation, the reasons for which Morecroft outlines in our interview boxout.

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Pre/Power Amplifiers
Manley Jumbo Shrimp/Mahi Preamp & Monoblocks
Review: Ken Kessler,  |  May 22, 2023
hfnoutstanding'Tubes Rule' is the Manley Labs mantra as we catch up with an aquatically-inspired pre/ monoblock combo that have been at the core of its range for the best part of 20 years

Timely or what? When editor PM pointed out that the Manley Jumbo Shrimp Line Preamplifier (£5849) and Mahi Monoblock Amplifier (a stereo pair at £7599 making up Mahi-Mahi – geddit?) had been in the catalogue for ages, I learned from company president EveAnna Manley that it was exactly 20 years to the day of their debut that I was auditioning the latter.

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Turntables, Arms & CartridgesVintage
B&O Beogram 4002 Turntable
Review: Tim Jarman,  |  May 19, 2023
hfnvintageThis turntable from 1975 saw the company cut its costs by replacing digital logic with a system that included a lamp, a photocell and paint. Did sound quality suffer?

It certainly says something about the enduring appeal of a turntable when the company that made it buys up examples that are over 40 years old and sells them on to a new generation of buyers. It sounds remarkable, but this is precisely what Bang & Olufsen did recently with its 'Recreated Limited Edition' Beogram 4000c. Although offered as a revival of the Beogram 4000 [HFN Jul '14], it was actually the later Beogram 4002 that formed the basis of the project.

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Network Audio Players/ServersOutboard DACs
dCS Bartók APEX Network-Attached DAC
Review: Andrew Everard,  |  May 18, 2023
hfnoutstandingDebuted in the flagship Vivaldi, and now trickled down to the Bartók, dCS's APEX upgrade brings enhancements to the PSU, Ring DAC clocking and analogue output

Maybe it's a sign of the times, or the state of the specialist high-end audio market, but this latest version of dCS's Bartók streaming DAC, often referred to as the company's 'entry-level' model, is now almost twice the price of the original [HFN May '19]. Then, the Bartók was £9999, or £11,999 when fitted with the optional headphone amplifier; now the Bartók APEX, taking on board the company's latest package of enhancements, first seen in the Vivaldi APEX [HFN Jun '22], is £19,000, rising to £21,500 if you choose to take the headphone option.

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