Lab: Paul Miller

Turntables, Arms & Cartridges
EAT Fortissimo/F-Note turntable/arm
Review: Ken Kessler,  |  Apr 26, 2025  |  Published: Nov 01, 2024  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingHigh style meets high mass in EAT’s flagship turntable, coupled here with one of the most flexible tonearm solutions ever seen – the F-Note even includes an alignment laser!

If anyone doubts we are treated to as much, if not more novelty than back in the day when LPs ruled, EAT’s Fortissimo turntable and F-Note tonearm will put paid to that. Like TechDAS’s vacuum hold-down and air bearing [HFN Jun ’19], or the Reed deck [HFN Apr ’24] available in idler- and belt-drive versions, this EAT combination bursts with clever features.

Continue Reading >
Hi-Res Downloads
Hi-Res Downloads, October 2024
Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Apr 25, 2025  |  Published: Oct 01, 2024  |  0 comments
This month we review and test releases from: Serol Yapici & Héctor Sanz Castillo, Norma Winstone & Kit Downes, Andrew Wilcox, Ola Kvernberg, and Sasha Witteveene
Continue Reading >
Hi-Res Downloads
Hi-Res Downloads, March 2025
Review: Ken Kessler,  |  Apr 17, 2025  |  Published: Mar 01, 2025  |  0 comments

This month we review and test releases from: Pat Metheny, Avishai Cohen, MaskXSoul, Daniel Pardo and Vince Guaraldi

Continue Reading >
Hi-Res Downloads
Hi-Res Downloads, February 2025
Review: Ken Kessler,  |  Mar 31, 2025  |  Published: Feb 01, 2025  |  0 comments
This month we review and test releases from Anne Drummond & Café, Roger Eno, Nadia Tarnawsky/Cappella Romana, Bill Cunliffe and The Devin Daniels Quintet
Continue Reading >
Hi-Res Downloads
Hi-Res Downloads, January 2025
Review: Ken Kessler,  |  Mar 13, 2025  |  Published: Jan 01, 2025  |  0 comments
This month we review and test releases from: Sun Ra Arkestra; Janine Jansen and Klaus Mäkelä; Arild Andersen; Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & Espen Berg; and Michael Dease
Continue Reading >
Outboard DACs
HiFi Rose RD160 USB DAC
Review: Jamie Biesemans,  |  Mar 12, 2025  |  Published: Jan 01, 2025  |  0 comments
hfncommendedDesigned to partner the RS130 network-attached streamer and RD180 integrated amp, the flagship RD160 DAC combines state-of-the-art silicon with a raft of custom DSP

Sean Kim, the Marketing/Sales Executive Director at HiFi Rose, has stated that the brand wants to ‘liven up the hi-fi market and have it embrace new technology faster’. That’s quite an ambition, and, to be fair, the South Korean company has already proven itself to be a successful disruptor – a case in point being the buzz generated by its ‘steampunk’ RA180 amplifier [HFN Jul ’22], and its network streamers sporting massive, customisable touchscreens [HFN Jun ’21 and Mar ’22].

Continue Reading >
Hi-Res Downloads
Hi-Res Downloads, December 2024
Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Mar 03, 2025  |  Published: Dec 01, 2024  |  0 comments
This month we review and test releases from: Jordina MillÀ & Barry Guy; OTOOTO; Tomasz Stanko, Tomasz Szukalski, Dave Holland, Edward Vesala; Maven Grace and Beans On Toast
Continue Reading >
Network Audio Players/Servers
EMM Labs DA2i Network-attached streamer/DAC
Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Feb 10, 2025  |  Published: Mar 01, 2025  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingEMM Labs’ head honcho, Ed Meitner, played a pivotal role in the early days of SACD and that single-bit technology still informs the current, network-attached flagship DAC

For anyone of the opinion that a standalone digital-to-analogue converter is not much more than a DAC chip, output circuitry and a power supply, the EMM Labs DA2i is going to come as something of a shock. It’s big and hefty – more amplifier-size at a full 440x160mm (wh) and weighing in at 16kg – and will set you back £34,995 in either silver or black finishes.

Continue Reading >
Turntables, Arms & Cartridges
Thiele TT01/TA01 turntable/arm/cartridge
Review: Adam Smith,  |  Feb 07, 2025  |  Published: Mar 01, 2025  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingThe man behind more than a few iconic and longstanding turntable designs – including Thorens – has distilled that lifetime’s experience into his own brand. Welcome, Thiele...

It’s always exciting when a designer of great renown finally brings to market an own-name product. So while many of us may not instantly recognise the name Thiele – not to be confused with the Thiel Audio brand of the US that declared bankruptcy in 2018 – there is every chance that we’ve already come across one of Helmut Thiele’s many creations.

Continue Reading >
Disc PlayersVintage
Fisher AD-812 CD player
Review: Tim Jarman,  |  Feb 05, 2025  |  Published: Mar 01, 2025  |  0 comments
hfnvintageFollowing its inaugural AD 800 CD player, based on a first-generation Sanyo chassis, the AD-812 slips into the mainstream with a stripped-out 16-bit/x2 player. How does it fare?

The AD-812 is the perfect CD player for those who dislike banks of buttons and legions of flashing lights. It has only nine controls and the simplest possible display, with no remote control or hidden menus with extra functions concealed within. While it might be marketed today as a stripped-out audiophile product, in 1986 it was simply a no-frills, straightforward player.

Continue Reading >

Pages

X