Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2020 i Hi-Fi Choice

With the clocks springing forward and the urge upon us to get out and about, what better time to take a look at the best affordable, portable headphone amplifiers presently on offer? The Group Test in this month’s issue – the first I have the great pleasure to edit – compares half a dozen excellent DACs. Ranged in price from £70-£400 to account for varying depths of pocket, all were found to pleasurably enhance your experience of music on-the-go so… knock yourselves out! Elsewhere we report back from February’s bustling Bristol Hi-Fi Show. The 33rd such gathering, it was packed with demos and product launches. See p10 for all the info on what you missed. Other issue highlights include an update on the new PMC twenty5i series of loudspeakers plus…

Scotland’s Atlas Cables has launched two new analogue XLR interconnects. The Element Mezzo uses an oxygen-free copper (OFC) conductor working with gas-loaded, high-density foamed polyethylene dielectric. It features a high-efficiency braided screen and new copper alloy XLR plug and pins. Starting at £146.25 for 0.5m, it is available at various lengths up to 3m (£188.75). The Equator has Ohno Continuous Cast (OCC) copper with a balanced core for a step up from the Element in terms of performance. The dielectric is gas-loaded, high-density foamed polyethylene with minimal screen distortion for maximum RFI protection. The plug employs OCC pins and Atlas cold weld technology. The Equator XLR starts at £475 for 0.5m with lengths up to 3m costing £600. ATLASCABLES.COM…

DV: You have an unusual method of auditioning drive units by holding them in your hand and playing them in open space. How does this work? RK: This method helps me as it eliminates the effects of the cabinet and crossover, enabling me to focus purely on the impact made by the drive units. I want to identify how well or badly a woofer or tweeter resolves detail, and what colouration is in the diaphragm. Loss of detail cannot be retrieved by the crossover or cabinet, so is lost for good. Some designs try to compensate for loss of detail by boosting the treble frequencies in the tweeter. This gives a sense of clarity, but is not natural and over time can cause listener fatigue. Is the Red 120 just…

Ever since Mission released its LX range of speakers a few years ago, the brand has been undergoing a resurgence. Now part of the International Audio Group, it took a little while for its products to establish a recognisable identity to separate it from sister brand Wharfedale, but with the ZX Series – which sits above the QX series as the new flagship of the Mission family – it’s certainly starting to get there. The ZX-3 is the smallest of three floorstanders, although this is as much a reflection of its ZX-4 and 5 siblings being pretty hefty than any suggestion it is compact. A two-way design, it partners a single tweeter with a pair of 130mm mid/bass drivers. There is an order and coherence to how it handles even…

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Anders Ertzeid, sales and marketing at Hegel, reveals the music that he uses to help demo and develop new products Franz Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 A fantastic piece of music where I owe the credit of this particular recording to Johan Coorg. This is a disc we use a lot for listening during R&D. Lars Winnerbäck Hosianna This is Swedish music, sung in Swedish. My favourite is Ett Slags Liv. Even if you don’t understand the lyrics, the deep and dark energy still remains. Kanye West Life Of Pablo His music is great, and the recordings – helped forward by Rick Rubin – are really difficult to reproduce. But when you get them right, this is magical. Thanks to Linn for this one. Drewsif Stalin Anhedonia It got a lot…

NOW UNDER THE ownership of the McIntosh Group, Sumiko has been making high-quality phono cartridges for over 30 years. The Blue Point Special EVO III is the latest incarnation of the longstanding Blue Point Special moving-coil cartridge range and is the Japanese manufacturer’s lowest-cost, high-output MC offering. It is available as either low or high-output – the latter enabling it to be used without a step-up transformer, the former requiring the transformer or a phono stage with a moving-coil input. Our review sample is a high-output version, although the specifications of both are the same. Weighing in at 8.3g, the EVO III is the most affordable Sumiko offering to utilise an ultra-low resonance open generator design. This features a resonance-controlled mounting plate in order to offer the lowest possible mechanical…

Audiolab 6000CDT PRICE: ?380 REVIEWED: HFC 447 The 6000CDT is exceptional at revealing what’s on your discs to deliver a great big soundstage with plenty of detail inside. It can dig down deep into the mix to eke out the different musical strands while dynamically and rhythmically it’s hard to beat at the price. In short, it’s a super, highly affordable audiophile CD transport. Métronome Technologie Le Player 2S PRICE: ?5,100 REVIEWED: HFC 449 As good as the sweet treble and rich bass are, what really impresses here is how when fed weaker CDs and impoverished MP3s the delivery remains unflappable and composed as layers of detail are locked into sharp focus. Cambridge Audio AXC35 PRICE: ?300 REVIEWED: HFC 454 Something of a budget marvel, you’ll have to work extra hard to get the AXC35 to…

Cambridge Audio Edge W £2,500 HFC 447 The Edge W power amplifier quotes 2x 100W RMS output and has oodles of power to drive pretty much any speaker. It has a neutral sound with a hint of sweetness and an upbeat nature underwritten by plenty of insight that’s seriously good for the money. Emotiva BasX PT-100/BasX A-300 £400/£530 HFC 429 A most enticing evocation of ‘affordable high-end’, the sound from this Emotiva pairing delivers a soundstage that extends well beyond the walls with a combination of satisfyingly nailed-on pace, rhythm, timing and dimensionality that seriously impresses. A great buy. Exposure XM7/XM9 £1,240/£1,390 HFC 429 Fast, open and three dimensional, the XM9 pairing is capable of driving more awkward speaker loads to high levels without any complaint. Partnered with the XM7…

Audiolab 6000N Play PRICE: £450 REVIEWED: HFC 453 Employing the DTS Play-Fiplatform (which is not without its foibles), the Audiolab beautifully balances refinement and engagement with an impressive bass response and tonality. Given an operating system update, this has the potential to be class leading. Even so, it still remains the best-sounding streamer available under £500. Cambridge Audio Edge NQ PRICE: £3,500 REVIEWED: HFC 447 Something of a departure from CA’s usual fare, this network music player also combines the additional versatility of a DAC and preamp to serve up a sumptuously wide recorded acoustic, with a hugely expansive sound that partners massive punch with great precision for a clean, direct and enjoyable sound. Auralic Altair G1 PRICE: £1,900 REVIEWED: HFC 455 Designed as more of a standalone front end than some of Auralic’s network products,…

Acoustic Energy AE509 PRICE: £2,300 REVIEWED: HFC 456 Employing a carbon tweeter to shun shrill brightness, the AE509 allows you to listen into instruments on your favourite recordings, sounding dazzlingly fast and frenetic without the slightest hint of grain or sibilance. Meanwhile its curious conjunction of tonal grace and transient pace; handling of lower frequencies; and taut bass from the matching carbon mid/bass drivers make this floorstander a worthy flagship. Monitor Audio Gold 300 PRICE: £4,000 REVIEWED: HFC 453 The benefits the Gold 300 brings to openness, clarity, fine detail and harmonic structure is very special. Although with vividly produced material it can verge on the ‘hyper real’, this is a consummate crowd pleaser that more than any rival at the price sells an idea of high-end luxury and sonic excellence that’s hard to…

Atacama Audio Apollo Cyclone 6 £100 HFC 455 Available in a choice of three sizes so you can get the height of your cabinets correctly positioned to suit your listening position, this stand removes unwanted vibrations from the performance sharpening imaging and instrument focus for a full, refined sound. Hi-Fi Racks X50 From £180.48 HFC 453 Solidly built, these elegant yet classy speaker stands are available in a choice of flexible customisation options, removing all colouration from the performance and giving the impression the cabinet is floating in mid-air. Great value for money and a simple upgrade. IsoAcoustics GAIA II £300 HFC 427 Attaching the GAIA II feet to the underside of your speaker provides a high degree of isolation that gives it the opportunity to breath and display a…

AnalogueWorks TT Zero PRICE: £1,500 REVIEWED: HFC 453 Pristine without being bright, the TT Zero has fine tonal discrimination and starts and stops precisely where it should. It is able to unpick all the audio strands with ease, sounding, open and airy with plenty of sparkle and bite, a low noise floor, lucid rhythmic gait and impressively clean, controlled and tuneful bass. Rega Planar 6 PRICE: £1,400 REVIEWED: HFC 427 Partnered with Rega’s Ania moving-coil cartridge, the Planar 6 delivers a level of performance that is pretty much untouchable for £1,500. The sense of togetherness is classic Rega, the overall presentation is aided in no small part by the tonal realism while the power and alacrity complete a perfect sonic picture. MoFi UltraDeck+M PRICE: £2,500 REVIEWED: HFC 459 Equipped with a MasterTracker MM cartridge, the UltraDeck+M…

Audeze iSINE 10 £400 HFC 423 A must-have for Apple users, the world’s first planar magnetic in-ear is decent with a regular 3.5mm cable but comes into its own when used with iOS devices connected via Lightning, sounding faster and more cohesive than the best dynamic or multiple armature designs. Oriveti OH500 £500 HFC 451 Combining an airiness with low-end extension that most rivals can only dream of, the OH500’s stylish resin enclosures house four Knowles balanced armatures (two for bass and two for the midrange) with an 8mm dynamic bass driver for an enjoyably vivid performance. Sennheiser IE 80 S BT £440 HFC 456 An impressive combination of excellent performance, comprehensive Bluetooth aptX HD implementation and Sennheiser’s attention to comfort and build make this an exceptionally talented design that…

These pages are a must-read if you’re thinking about buying used kit, or if you have hi-fi you want to sell. It’s free – simply submit your ad with no more than 50 words (we reserve the right to edit it if not), remembering to include your email, phone number and county. Simply email your ad to: letters@hifichoice.co.uk. This service is open to private advertisers only. Just one ad per household and please note that images are for illustration only and do not represent what is for sale. FOR SALE PROAC Response 1 standmount speakers, ash, black, excellent condition, boxed £670. Atacama stands, unmarked, black £40. Audio Innovations L2 preamp, recently serviced, excellent condition £380. BK Electronics Gemini subwoofer, excellent condition £80. Van den Hul CS-122 hybrid speaker cable, banana…

IN-EAR HEADPHONE: Beyerdynamic Soul Byrd £50 Weighing in at 6g, this wired in-ear sports an in-line mic/remote control and a clever earbud design that blocks out most ambient noise. The rubber inserts fit well. Typical of the sort of thing that many mobile music fans use, it has a well-lit upper midband. AUDIOPHILE HEADPHONE: Sennheiser HD 650 £400 An extremely popular openbacked design, this has been the staple diet of many head-fienthusiasts for years. Its lightweight aluminium voice coils give it an enjoyably modern, clean and accurate sound. There’s a good deal of bass too; if anything it’s slightly on the warm side. HIGH-END HEADPHONE: Oppo PM-1 £1,100 A technological tour de force, the PM-1 showcases the benefits of planar magnetic drivers. Despite its lofty price, it’s relatively easy to drive…

MAC MUSIC PLAYER: Audirvana Plus $75 HFC 448 The best-sounding Mac music player is now available for Windows 10 too. Offering top-quality playback, it minimises the internal signal path and ensures bit-perfect processing, bypassing the computer’s internal audio mixer. WINDOWS MUSIC PLAYER: MusicBee Free A great general purpose Windows music manager that can rip from CDs or assist with archiving. It’s particularly strong on smart tagging of metadata, making your music files more manageable. It’s easy to import from iTunes or Windows Media Player, and also supports streaming. HI-RES STREAMING SERVICE: Qobuz Studio Premier £15/month HFC 455 This top-tier package gives you a claimed 50-million tracks, many of which are now in hi-res. Available across all devices – Android or iOS smartphones and tablets, and Macs or PCs.…

THIS MONTH ED SELLEY EXPERTISE: REVIEWER Active in the industry since 1999, Ed’s first record was Boss Drum by The Shamen. He splits his time between reviewing and protecting hi-fi kit from his son Will. NEVILLE ROBERTS EXPERTISE: ENGINEER Neville has an eclectic taste for classical baroque and jazz. His wife was forced to marry his transmission line speakers in the eighties and he collects BBC test card music. JASON KENNEDY EXPERTISE: REVIEWER Editor of HFC from 1998 to 2001, Jason’s first turntable was Rega’s Planar 3 and Elvis’ 40 Greatest Hits was his first vinyl, so don’t go stepping on his blue suede shoes. DAVID PRICE EXPERTISE: REVIEWER DP two-finger typed his first hi-fi review 25 years ago. Since then he’s edited Hi-Fi World and HFC. He describes himself…

highresaudio.com debuts Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books I & II by Michel Kiener, Moses Boyd’s Dark Matter and a whole host of Van Morrison albums from The Healing Game to Pay The Devil. hdtracks.co.uk has Miles Davis’ Music From And Inspired By The Film Birth Of The Cool, Daptone Record’s Rhythm Showcase, Erroll Garner’s Up In Erroll's Room (Octave Remastered Series) and Alicia Waller & The Excursion’s Some Hidden Treasure.…

PRODUCED FROM A pair of twisted, AWG24 solid-core OFHC conductors, the Black Knight is the latest unshielded RCA stereo interconnect from Gekko Cables. It’s insulated by thick cotton braid with a dielectric constant of 1.3, which is close to that of air (1.0). Teflon or PTFE has a dielectric constant of 2.0 and air is considered to offer superior sonic qualities. Cotton also reduces any mechanical vibrations being transmitted to the conductors, to limit overall colouration. The two conductors are twisted together and the cable is sheathed with two more layers of braid for resilience and additional mechanical isolation. The interconnect is terminated with Gekko’s patent-pending GAC1 RCA connector without any intermediate soldering and is designed so that the solid-core OFHC conductors make direct contact with your equipment’s RCA sockets.…

Audiolab 8300CDQ £1,100 HFC 448 Taking the winning recipe of the 8200CDQ and adding an upgraded DAC with DSD playback, the accurate and uncoloured sound of the Audiolab is unmistakable. Vast amounts of detail are extracted from the mix, soundstaging is incredible and music flows naturally. Leema Acoustics Stream IV £2,300 HFC 456 The latest update to this long-established player feels a considerable step forward. CD playback is highly refined, assured and transparent, bass is rock solid with visceral depth that positively grips your solar plexus and streaming shares all these qualities for the best of both worlds. Marantz ND8006 £1,100 HFC 450 A CD player with DAC and streaming capabilities, the ND8006 effortlessly conveys the true spatial contrast between all the different strands of the mix while sounding precise…

Atlas Cables Equator Integra PRICE: £115 for 1m REVIEWED: HFC 438 Employing the same OCC copper conductors used in Atlas’ higher end interconnects, the Equator Integra transmits consistently sophisticated music and represents excellent value for money. Subtle nuances become elevated, while elegance, refinement and fine details adroitly come to the fore. Gekko Cables Red Dusk PRICE: £250 for 1m REVIEWED: HFC 456 A directional unshielded RCA interconnect, the Red Dusk is made of two twisted solidcore OFHC copper conductors clad in silver. Once run-in, the soundstage takes on a more three-dimensional presentation, subtle details come to the fore and the orchestra fills the entire width of the room. Black Rhodium Minuet PRICE: £160 for 1m REVIEWED: HFC 453 Replacing the Prelude, this RCA interconnect is screened and employs silver-plated copper wire to improve clarity and high-frequency…

Bluesound Vault 2i £1,100 HFC 452 If you see yourself buying into the BluOS ecosystem favoured by the Canadian brand and its cohorts, this 2TB, server, ripper and player compatible with up to 24-bit/192kHz PCM and MQA files, is a great way of starting off in one room and expanding as your system grows. Innuos Zenith Mk3 From £3,000 HFC 451 With one of the best interfaces going and a potently flexible spec, the 4TB, CD ripping Zenith can be used as a Roon Core and delivers an outstanding performance that inspires confidence even for those starting out. It should be right near the top of any shortlist. Melco N100 £1,800 HFC 444 Supporting up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD512, this 2TB music server and CD ripper delivers Melco’s well-honed…

Chord Company Epic XL £600 1.5m, terminated HFC 450 Combining elements of Chord’s Signature Reference/XL with its Epic speaker cable, the XL bristles with energy and brings fantastic detail to the fore. Subtle elements are captivatingly clear, soundstage depth is enormous and clarity is supremely enhanced. Chord Company Odyssey X £150 1m, terminated HFC 451 Made from the same materials as the Rumour X (HFC 447), the Odyssey X is designed to bring more control to dynamics and definition, and boy does it deliver. Front-to-back imaging is superb, instruments are well focused and clearly positioned while piano is full and rich. QED XT25 £85 3m HFC 434 Claimed to achieve a lowering of impedance compared with a traditional large cross-sectional area twin-core cable, the XT25 offers up great refinement and engaging musicality.…

Bluesound Pulse Flex 2i PRICE: £300 REVIEWED: HFC 453 With no shortage of lower frequencies, the Pulse Flex 2i’s bass extension is controlled, pleasantly quick and has an impressive level of clout to it. Used as a pair, the soundstage is large and effortless underpinned by the aforementioned bass while the connections and range of features provide impressive flexibility. KEF LS50 Wireless PRICE: £2,000 REVIEWED: HFC 433 Fine clarity and focus, a spacious soundstage with stunning image solidity and unfettered musicality make for immersive and hugely enjoyable listening. Best of all, though, is the sense that every fibre and sinew of this system is pulling in the same direction. Wonderful regardless of music or source. Bowers & Wilkins Formation Duo PRICE: £3,500 REVIEWED: HFC 453 The Formation Duo performs the magic trick of revealing new detail…

Audio-Technica AT-OC9XEN £300 HFC 452 This Group Test-winning moving-coil cart utilises an elliptical nude stylus mated to an assembly using two coils rather than one – which is something of an A-T trademark – and balances excellent performance with a useful boost to user friendliness, thanks to its threaded body. Goldring Ethos £900 HFC 449 Replacing the Legacy as Goldring’s flagship offering, this moving-coil design employs a Vital profile stylus on an aluminium alloy cantilever to stunning effect. Light enough on its feet to engage with high-tempo material, its unforced and believable soundstage is incredible. Hana ML £1,000 HFC 447 With a threaded insert to make fitting easy, the ML is a low-output moving-coil design sat right at the top of Hana’s range. Boasting a performance full of energy, presence and…

Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT PRICE: £180 REVIEWED: HFC 450 Taking its M50x and turning it into a very capable wireless design (thanks to Bluetooth v5.0) without altering its sonic character, Audio-Technica has come up trumps here. Balance and refinement join crunching bass, impressive three dimensionality and decent noisecancelling to seal the deal. Focal Stellia PRICE: £2,800 REVIEWED: HFC 452 A welcome addition to the hall of high-end headphone fame, the closed-back Stellia rivals the best open-back competition, bringing new meaning to the word forensic. Imparting a benign character on everything it plays, this vice-free design has rhythmic engagement, endless vitality and depth charge-like bass. Bowers & Wilkins PX7 PRICE: £350 REVIEWED: HFC 459 Although it’s no match for a high-end wired design, the noise-cancelling abilities of this wireless closed-back model are ideal for music on the move –…

HFC: The Mediterraneo doesn’t come with a cartridge as standard, are there any recommendations that you feel partner it best? MA: The Mediterraneo is capable of superb performance with a very wide range of top-flight cartridges. For obvious reasons, The Gold Note Tuscany Gold would be my personal recommendation. I have run my Koetsu Coralstone with great success as well as a van den Hul Colibri. What advantages are there to the different tonearm options? The B-7 Ceramic features highprecision ceramic ball-bearings custom manufactured in Germany by GRW. These are treated singularly and sealed to preserve their integrity and extreme precision, a crucial factor to enable noiseless functionality to let you enjoy every single nuance in your records. It also employs AWG36 Hyper Litz shielded 99.99 percent OFC wiring and…

High-performance speaker design has more than its fair share of boffins, visionaries and finite element analysis programmes. Smaller operations can’t compete on level terms and so must run a bit faster and make niche thinking work. USPs aren’t just desirable but vital. But even in this quirky, alternative, leftfield arena, Russell Kauffman’s story is remarkable. Since its start in 2014, his brand’s modest catalogue has been confined to the Red 100 and 50 standmounts and flagship 150 floorstander. These are now joined by the shorter, slimmer Red 120 before you. Kauffman never set out to become a loudspeaker maker but, over many years working for the likes of Bowers & Wilkins and Morel, he wasn’t just paying close attention but made invaluable contacts, listened to and assessed thousands of speakers…

JJJ Vinyl’s Joel picks out some of his favourite records to have passed through the shop’s racks in their first few months – from platinum rock behemoths to limited-run experimental noise… Guns N’ Roses Appetite For Destruction “My heart skips a beat every time I see an original press come into the shop. Such a special record. Possibly one of the most important rock records of all time.” Neil Merryweather Space Rangers “This recently came in and I immediately fell in love. What a glorious slice of psychedelic space rock. Brilliant and well worth finding a copy.” Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin “Turquoise lettering! This started the JJJ Vinyl journey. Finding this in a box of James’ father’s records gave us a reason to create a platform to sell records.” Metgumbnerbone…

AS AN UPDATE of Russ Andrews’ previous PowerKord, the Evolution-100 employs Kimber Kable’s new high purity copper, claiming 20 times less noise induced into the earth compared with its predecessor. Instead of a central conductor with the live and neutral woven around the earth, the Evolution-100 has the earth wound helically around the outside of the weave to offer lower induced noise. Flexible friend It’s sheathed in a noise-reduction sleeving that employs two-strand thicknesses to provide a soft and flexible structure. At one end it is fitted with a Russ Andrews UK mains plug (Euro, US and other international options are available) and a Wattgate W320e EVO standard 10A IEC (kettle type) at the other. Again, this can be replaced with a W320i high-current 20A IEC connector upon request. Connecting…

Audiolab 6000A PRICE: ?600 REVIEWED: HFC 444 A cracking budget integrated amplifier with just the right mix of features and high-quality performance. The 6000A boasts a snappy and engaging sound with sufficient power and fine build quality. It’s a great buy for the more discerning music enthusiast that demands plenty of flexibility at the heart of their system. Naim Nait XS 3 PRICE: ?2,200 REVIEWED: HFC 454/459 A clear improvement over its already impressive predecessor, the Nait XS 3 is an emotionally articulate and highly engaging performer that’s hard not to love. It turns in a well-defined, detailed and carefully ordered sound that ticks all the right ‘hi-fi ’ boxes, but more than that, it really sings when required. Copland CTA408 PRICE: ?6,400 REVIEWED: HFC 450 Though this valve-based integrated isn’t a lush or cuddly performer…

Atlas Cables Eos dd PRICE: £145 for 1m REVIEWED: HFC 452 Referring to ‘dual drain’ technology, the Eos dd is designed to act as a filter against incoming contamination. The result is an inky blackness between musical phrases and a supremely low noise floor, while detail and imaging improve as interference is banished. Furutech Roxy PRICE: £233 for 1.5m REVIEWED: HFC 447 Connecting the Roxy to a source component immediately removes a layer of glare and ‘glint’ from the sound; tonally it’s darkly translucent instead of shiny white gloss, allowing the listener to hear more into the music and appreciate the space between the notes. Black Rhodium Stream PRICE: £450 for 1.7m REVIEWED: HFC 430 Black Rhodium has discovered that optimum sound quality is obtained from cables of 1.7m, hence this offering featuring silver-plated copper conductors.…

Alpha Design Labs Stratos PRICE: £1,315 REVIEWED: HFC 455 Remarkably flexible at the price, the Stratos offers an impressively wide-reaching range of features without compromising sound quality. The soundstage is wide and open with a refined presentation, delicate details are reproduced with breath-taking accuracy and instrument separation and location are absolutely spot on. Copland DAC215 PRICE: £2,000 REVIEWED: HFC 418 Equally at home operating as a headphone amplifier or preamp as it is a DAC, the tube-driven DAC215 highlights an almost tremulous quality in vocals in a relaxed way that allows the music to flow easily and freely for a rich and evocative performance with a seemingly bottomless bass. Audiolab M-DAC+ PRICE: £800 REVIEWED: HFC 449 While some DACs can dive deeper into a recording, what’s so likeable about the M-DAC+ is its poise, control and…

Amphion Helium510 PRICE: £720 REVIEWED: HFC 454 Amphion’s stated aim of avoiding a clear sweetspot is achieved with ridiculous ease while its delivery is spacious with wholly convincing tonality and rich and smooth vocals. Piano shows excellent decay and though bass extension isn’t the deepest, it is detailed, fast and superbly integrated with the other frequencies. Falcon Acoustics RAM Studio 20 PRICE: From £2,000 REVIEWED: HFC 446 The RAM Studio 20 clearly favours amps with plenty of grip, especially in the bass. It might not offer forensic levels of detail with which to dissect a recording, but as a wide-bandwidth, high-performance standmount that sounds easy, natural and is dripping with musical finesse, it takes some beating. Bowers & Wilkins 606 PRICE: £550 REVIEWED: HFC 454 Feeling far more sensitive than its claimed 88dB at 8ohm, the…

NAD M10 £2,200 HFC 451 With its super flexibility, powerful amplifier design, big front panel touchscreen and impressive BluOS platform, this is a supremely stylish offering. Sonically it’s a very powerful and refined system while its definition and precision is in ample supply. Naim Uniti Star £3,500 HFC 433 Fast, powerful and grippy with oodles of emotion and a pleasingly expressive tonality, the Uniti Star might not have the forensic detail resolution of some similarly priced rivals, but it isn’t far off. Otherwise it’s practically impossible to find fault at the price. Novafidelity X14 £690 HFC 446 Deserving of praise for the functionality it manages to squeeze into such a compact and elegant chassis, the X14’s well thought out and practical approach will attract those looking to take their first…

Chord Electronics Huei PRICE: £900 REVIEWED: HFC 459 The Huei’s appeal extends from its rocksolid build and playful, sphere-based control system to its impressive knack of extracting the best from a turntable/cartridge combo without being too painfully honest about the ropier aspects of less-than-pristine recordings. Musical Fidelity M6 Vinyl PRICE: £1,400 REVIEWED: HFC 451 An impressively quiet phono stage, the M6 Vinyl treads an interesting line between accuracy and imparting a little character all of its own. Tonally accurate it has a heady combination of richness and weight that draws you into a performance, while bass response is startlingly good. Cyrus Phono Signature PRICE: £1,200 REVIEWED: HFC 408 A welcome addition to the ranks of high-end phono stages, the Phono Signature is something of a bargain. It delivers on the promise of vinyl as a high-resolution…

AudioQuest DragonFly Red £170 HFC 423 Compact it may be, but the Red can hold its own in this company. There’s plenty of detail and no sense of bass sluggishness or overhang while the midrange lends an appealing warmth to proceedings and the refined top end combines with a pleasantly spacious soundstage. Chord Electronics Hugo 2 £1,800 HFC 428 An essential audition, the Hugo 2 is not just a portable DAC/headphone amp, but the best hi-fi digital converter available at or near the price. Music ebbs and flows along in an organic and unforced way and it images with stunning pinpoint precision. Chord Electronics Mojo £400 HFC 423 It might be small and have no gain setting adjustment, but the Mojo takes some beating. Its scrupulous accuracy presents what is…