As a matter of good publishing principle, we try to keep mention of current affairs out of Hi-Fi News. After all, something
that seems of great public or political interest one day can seem incongruous if read in the context of a column or review a year or two later.
Nevertheless I feel safe in assuming that the Coronavirus pandemic, and the upheaval – both trivial and tragic – will live forever in our collective memory. So this will be a far more personal and heartfelt 'Welcome' than our regular readers might have become accustomed.
ATC has returned to its long-running SCM20 standmount speaker design for a new limited edition model marking the company’s 50th anniversary. Just 150 pairs of the SCM20ASL Limited Edition will go on sale, priced £10,500 and sporting an exclusive blue lacquer finish with...
New preamp and power amp add to tube-free catalogue
Following on from its all-solid-state REX 500 power amplified, Balanced Audio Technology (aka BAT) has launched a solid-state preamplifier in the shape of the VK-85. Joining the company’s trio of SuperTube preamps, and priced £12,500, the unit is said to result from a new design strategy and employs N-channel MOSFET drivers in the amplifier circuit and a fourth-generation implementation of BAT’s ‘Super Pak’ power supply topology.
High-end amplifier marque D’Agostino Master Audio Systems has launched a successor to its Relentless monoblock [HFN Mar ’20] – two offspring, in fact. Both the Relentless Epic 1600 Mono (£XXX,xxx) and the Relentless 800 Mono (£XXX,xxx) feature a recognisable industrial design, albeit with comprehensively upgraded PSU, driver and power stages.
Priced £3000, the new ATH-AWKG headphone from Audio-Technica features over-ear housings made from Japanese Kurogaki wood, giving each model a unique finish. The material, here lacquer-coated, is also said to help define the performance of A-T’s latest flagship, which features ‘exclusive’ 53mm drivers back by permendur-based magnets and OFC voice-coils.
Exposure says it has added the ‘final piece’ to its mid-level 3510 series, with the launch of the £2500 3510 CD Player. Able to function as both player or transport, with digital outputs on Toslink optical and coaxial, the unit leverages the bespoke top-loading drive mech with sliding lid [pictured below] previously featured on Exposure’s XM CD [HFN Nov ’19]. Inside, a double-sided PCB hosts a bespoke clock, dual mono Burr-Brown PCM1704 DACs and a discrete analogue output stage feeding single-ended RCA connections.
As one more issue of Hi-Fi News goes to press under lockdown we give thanks not only to the frontline workers but also to the gift of music recreated by the equipment at the heart of our shared passion. This is a time to count our blessings and appreciate that ours is a 'home hobby' – to tweak, to play and to listen... and to keep us all sane.
The Hi-Fi Show Live 2018 is a specialty high-end audio event organised by the passionate audiophiles that bring you Hi-Fi News & Record Review magazine every month. The world's oldest and most respected hi-fi magazine knows a thing or two about sound quality, so expect to experience some of the very best demonstrations ever attempted in the UK!
In a refreshing departure from the conventional hotel show format, visitors will be treated to a series of memorable high-end audio events.
Chinese portable/desktop audio brand Fiio, winner of an EISA Award for its M11 Pro digital audio player, has launched a new top-of-the-range model incorporating AKM’s AK4191EQ dual-chip DAC for playback of 384kHz PCM, DSD256, and MQA files...
With its white baffle and walnut or black wood veneer finishes, Mission’s 750 is instantly recognisable as the speaker manufacturer’s latest ‘retro’ model, although unlike the 770, it is not a resurrection of an earlier design...
Ultra-sensitive two-way speaker ready for any amp?
Smaller than the company’s debut Elypsis 1512, but still standing 1.2m tall courtesy of its integrated stand, Stratton Acoustics’ two-way Element 12 (£32,000) marries a 300mm paper cone bass/mid driver to a ...
After six years in Windsor, the UK’s longest-running premier high-end audio show moves to a new venue for 2019, offering an even greater range of beautifully-appointed spaces and event opportunities to showcase the world’s finest hi-fi.
Welcome to the latest, 140-page February issue of Hi-Fi News & Record Review – the heartiest read in hi-fi by far – on sale 18th January. Our cover stars this month are the huge Ultima amplifiers from Chord – a preamp and two monoblocks that represent the flagship of the brand's analogue technology. This issue also features the first full technical review of Avantgarde's UNO XD horn loudspeakers, first seen in the UK at our Hi-Fi Show Live in 2018. This, plus the first review of EAT's E-Petit phono preamp, the Due hybrid integrated from Unison Research and AVM's first turntable, the Rotation R 5.3.
Welcome to the latest, 148-page January issue of Hi-Fi News & Record Review – the heartiest read in hi-fi by far – on sale 21st December. Our cover star this month is the Air Force V turntable, the most affordable and compact model from the TechDAS range, still featuring an air-bearing and vacuum pull-down feature plus the capacity to accommodate no fewer than four separate tonearms. This issue also features the first full review of Marantz's SA-KI and PM-KI Ruby SACD player/DAC and integrated amplifier, launched in celebration of Ken Ishiwata's 40 years with the brand. This, plus the first technical exploration of DS Audio's new DS-W2 'optical' pick-up and, in our Investigation strand, a frank discussion about inspiration, innovation and hi-res audio with the master of the melodious synth – Jean-Michel Jarre – as the man himself spins-up his latest album, Equinoxe Infinity.
Welcome to the latest, 148-page March issue of Hi-Fi News & Record Review – the heartiest read in hi-fi by far – on sale 15th Febuary. Our cover star this month is the long-awaited all-in-one vinyl-playing solution from SME – the stunning Synergy. This deck benefits from engineering trickled down from its costlier models and comes complete with an Ortofon MC Windfeld Ti pick-up, a variant on the Series IV tonearm and Nagra BPS phono stage, all wired with Crystal Cable. We also have the world 's first in-depth review of Wilson Audio's Sasha DAW floorstanders – a fitting tribute to the late David Wilson and proof that this iconic brand has a very bright future indeed. And with hybrid amplification from Aesthetix, the inaugural SACD player from Metronome and closed-back cans from Focal, our March issue has something to tempt every hi-fi aficionado.