Lab: Paul Miller

Audia Flight Strumento No1 mk2/No4 mk2 Pre & power amplifier

Review: Andrew Everard, | Jul 23, 2019 | 0 comments

Very much hi-fi on the grand scale, this Italian-made pre/power amplifier combination is a sweet-sounding heavyweight with more than sufficient output to match its size

For a while, the amplifier combo you see here was almost literally the elephant in the editor's listening room. Delivered for review just at the end of 2018, its sheer mass – 28kg for the £12,500 Strumento No1 mk2 preamp alone, plus a further 95kg for the No4 mk2 power amp, which sells for £16,250 – defied almost all efforts to move it into PM's lab for test work before I could listen. It finally inspired our esteemed editor to relent and buy himself a trolley – and so, at last, the review literally began to roll...

Network Audio Players/Servers

Novafidelity X45Pro Digital Media Player

Review: Andrew Everard, | Jul 19, 2019 | 0 comments

This do-it-all unit, designed as the hub of a digital music system, combines ripper/server, streamer, player, DAC and more. Is this a total solution, or is it trying too hard?

Here's a simple suggestion for anyone thinking of moving from 'physical media' to computer-stored music, or at least adding a collection of files to their system: buy the most complex piece of equipment you can find. Yes, that may seem like some kind of lunacy for the beginner in ripping, serving and streaming, but then the £5099 Novafidelity X45Pro, the flagship of its manufacturer's range, will do everything you could ever think of in the world of digital audio – and then some.

Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Dual CS 600 Turntable

Review: Ken Kessler, | Jul 16, 2019 | 0 comments

Affordable German turntables are looking set to repeat their dominance of the market they owned 50 years ago. Can Dual's top-of-the-range CS 600 raise the stakes?

A tough review for me to write, at least objectively: I'm rooting for the CS 600 to be something special because my first turntable was a Dual and I recall it with fondness. I want the CS 600 to be a champ like the all-conquering '505 was back in the days of the NAD 3020-based systems. But this new deck costs £1199 in black, or another £200 in gloss black or white (as reviewed), and the competition for turntables with tonearms is fierce around this price point.

Integrated Amplifiers

Icon Audio Stereo 40 MkIV Integrated Amplifier

Review: David Price, | Jul 11, 2019 | 0 comments

Promising more power, better sound and greater flexibility, will this latest incarnation of a longstanding 'audiophile favourite' tube integrated meet the challenge?

The first Stereo 40 tube integrated amp arrived in the year 2000, and according to Icon Audio's founder and chief designer David Shaw, 'is the heart of what we do'. It's the metaphorical ham sandwich of the valve amplifier world – the staple diet of audiophiles wanting a simple, affordable, user-friendly integrated that offers classic tube sound and some interesting features too. This new £2200 Stereo 40 MkIV sits bang-smack in the middle of the range and, as claimed, is uncommonly versatile.

Hi-Res Downloads

Hi-Res Downloads, May 2019

Reviews: Hi-Fi News Team, | Jul 05, 2019 | 0 comments

This month we review and test releases from: Los Angeles Philharmonic/Gustavo Dudamel, Archi Di Santa Cecilia/Luigi Piovano, Merje Kägu Ensemble, Cuarteto Casals and Christian Balvig 6-Tet

Outboard DACs

dCS Bartók Network DAC/Headphone Amp

Review: David Price, | Jul 02, 2019 | 0 comments

With the option of a high-quality headphone stage, the new entry-level dCS network DAC marks a walk on the wild side for the Huntingdon company. Can it succeed?

By way of celebrating its 30th anniversary, dCS launched the limited edition Vivaldi One streaming DAC/SACD player [HFN Feb '18]. It was a present to itself, and some of the company's most well-heeled customers. Now, however, dCS's gaze has turned from past to future as it debuts its new £11,999 Bartók streaming DAC/headphone amplifier. The non-headphone version represents a saving of £2000.

Turntables, Arms & Cartridges Vintage

Technics SL-10 turntable

Review: Tim Jarman, | Jun 28, 2019 | 0 comments

Parallel tracking, optical position sensing and all in a slick package no larger than an LP sleeve. It dazzled in its day, but how does this '70s direct-drive deck sound now?

There is an argument which says that to recover maximum information from any recording the playback system should be as similar as possible to the arrangement with which it was made. For example, a tape deck identical to the one used in the studio should replay the original master tapes with the highest achievable accuracy.

Hi-Res Downloads

Hi-Res Downloads, April 2019

Reviews: Hi-Fi News Team, | Jun 24, 2019 | 0 comments

This month we review and test releases from: Thomas Søndergård/BBC Now, Johan Versk, Lars Danielsson & Paolo Fresu, Sir Roland Hanna and Emma Johnson & Friends

Integrated Amplifiers

Emotiva BasX TA-100 Amplifier/DAC

Review: Andrew Everard, | Jun 21, 2019 | 0 comments

Budget hi-fi, from the USA: Emotiva's BasX TA-100 isn't quite what at first it seems – however, given what it does, it's hard not to conclude that it's something of a bargain

Well, this is rather confusing: look up the Emotiva BasX TA-100, which sells in the UK through Karma Audio Visual for £519, on its US-based manufacturer's website, and you'll find it appears under 'Preamps'. In fact Emotiva has a stack of preamps, and even more power amps, in its unusually extensive catalogue.

Network Audio Players/Servers Outboard DACs

Bel Canto e.One Stream Network Bridge/DAC

Review: Andrew Everard, | Jun 14, 2019 | 0 comments

Part of the Minnesota brand's compact Evolution One series, this 'Asynchronous Network Bridge' can feed a DAC with streamed music, or be used straight into an amp

Why can't products just be what they claim? Elsewhere in this issue you'll find a high-end network player that's also a very fine DAC, and a very affordable preamp that comes with a built-in tuner and power amplification. It's all very confusing – and then along comes Bel Canto's £1500 e.One Stream, launched at last year's Hi-Fi Show Live in Windsor, and demonstrated in an all-Bel Canto system with YG Acoustics speakers. An unassuming compact component, its 'half-width' casework impeccably finished in a choice of black or silver, the e.One Stream purports to be an 'Asynchronous Network Bridge'.

Search form

Lab: Paul Miller

Pages