Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2021 i Hi-Fi Choice

www.hifichoice.com Issue No. 478 August 2021 Here's what I don't understand. If, like many of you, I'm still working from home, avoiding the dreaded commute etc., how come I don't have any more time on my hands? I can't honestly remember when I last did just one thing. We used to call it multitasking and held it up as something clever to aspire to. Now it's just normaility. With that in mind, it's nicely appropriate that our Group Test this month features six high-end in-ear headphones which allow you to listen to your favourite podcast while simultaneously watching the football, keeping an eye on the puppy and doing the washing up. In fact, time, and how precious it is, is a theme that runs throughout this issue. In the Letters…

PRICE: £12,995 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB:KARMA-AV.CO.UK THIS MONTH’S BANK-BUSTER comes in the shape of Karma-AV’s introduction to the UK from Wilmington, Delaware of Balanced Audio Technology’s hybrid VK-3500 integrated amplifier which, the company says, “marries a ‘SuperTube Unistage’ preamplifier with a solid-state power section generating 150 watts per channel into 8-ohm loads, doubling into 4-ohm loads.” With the 6H30 SuperTube Unistage the signal is apparently transmitted through only one gain stage with zero feedback. The VK-3500’s revised preamp topology uses 2nd generation oil capacitors which, the company adds, “provide damping so that the signal passing through it delivers more organic, natural sounding music reproduction.” The VK-3500’s output stage employs a zero-feedback symmetrical bipolar design to complement the 6H30 tube-based preamplifier by providing high current capability as well as wide bandwidth. It…

SETTING ASIDE EXOTIC moving-coil phono cartridges, the latest breed of high-end wired earphones or IEMs (In Ear Monitors) can rightly claim to be the most expensive real estate in hi-Fi today. Tiny by necessity, none of the six in this roundup is larger than a pair of small pebbles or weighs more than a handful of grams. Nor, casually stored, would any compromise the cut of a well-tailored pocket. But it had better be a deep pocket because the least expensive of the models on test, the Oriveti O800, will set you back £800 and the three priciest, from Astell&Kern, Campfire Audio and Sennheiser, are £1,100 apiece. You get the idea. Or maybe not. Some will simply find it impossible to accept the size/price proposition a high-end IEM represents. After…

STREAMING SERVICE: Qobuz £15/month HFC 472 The best all-round streaming service is an ideal driver for these IEMs with an exceptional catalogue of hi-res content available without any need for further decoding hardware, and if you like it you can buy most of it from the online store, too. HEADPHONE AMP/DAC: Chord Electronics Mojo £400 HFC 423 Cut from the same cloth as the Hugo 2, little brother Mojo is a way of extracting the best from your smartphone or tablet without breaking the bank. Adding the Poly streamer (HFC 431) further increases its flexibility. PLAYBACK SOFTWARE: Roon £120/year HFC 448 Still the best means of combining a library of owned files with your favourite streaming service content, Roon has a superb interface, high-quality curation and the ability to tie…

I would never accuse the readers of HiFiChoice of making their minds up about something before they’ve read the article but… I know that you think you know how this one is going to go. I mean look at it; a duo of valvebased components and a pair of speakers that would have Da Vinci giving a nod of approval. This is one where I talk about art, tradition and soul, cite some female vocalists and everyone goes on their way rejoicing, yes? To do that would be to sell this trio rather short. Both PrimaLuna and Franco Serblin observe some traditions in the manner in which their products are designed but they’re not defined by them. Indeed, in the case of Franco Serblin, the Accordo exists because he felt…

Ten years ago, you could pick up a nearmint MDS-JA555ES for under £500, maybe less. Now, you need to double that unless you get lucky. £1,000 buys you a really good, ‘low mileage’ machine that’s less likely to go down in value than the pound sterling or even the dollar. Think of this machine as a hi-fi’s ‘reserve currency’ if you will… This is all the more odd because MiniDisc as a format is virtually dead; yet still it has enough of a fanbase to keep prices high. Even the middle market has doubled its resale values of late; a tidy MDS-JB940 would have gone for £250 a few years ago, whereas now they’re closing in on twice that. The MDS-JA555ES – and to a lesser extent its predecessor the…

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…

CD BMG LET’S HEAR IT one last time for the baby boomers. Crosby turns 80 this year. The cover of For Free was painted by fellow octogenarian Joan Baez and the title track was written by Joni Mitchell (77). Steely Dan’s Donald Fagin (73) contributes a new song and former Doobie Brother Michael McDonald (69) sings on the opening track River Rise. Crosby is enjoying a remarkable Indian summer. Away from The Byrds and CSNY he released just three solo albums in the first five decades of his career, but For Free is his fifth in the last seven years. The voice is a little thinner, but still warm and the inventive guitar tunings and folk-jazz phrasing that have always characterised his songwriting are as appealing as ever. After doing time…

CD Harmonia Mundi HERE’S A CRISP and highly feisty Eroica played on period instruments that’s bristling with energy and attitude from Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth. The slight slurring of the opening chords is just one of many interesting individual touches and there are some great raspy horns in the scherzo! Méhul’s rarely heard Les Amazones Overture is the coupling – a seriously weighty Beethovenian piece that makes a powerful impression on the listener. Harmonia Mundi’s recording sounds beautifully natural; it’s clear, open and very detailed, with a nice sense of depth but plenty of impact when needed. JH…

CD Memphis Industries SOMEHOW SINCE THEIR 2004 debut, Brighton's finest have managed to maintain a fresh sound that is nonetheless immediately recognisable as The Go! Team. An infectious wash that mixes glockenspiels with guitars, flutes and steel drums, this captures bubblegum pop, Seventies TV theme tunes, old-school hip-hop, school band enthusiasm, shout along choruses and everything else between. This is made all the more impressive by the realisation that main man Ian Parton lost his hearing in one ear during recording. Huge fun. JDW…

A mid the sad roll call of musicians we’ve lost over the last year, the name of Andrew Weatherall was perhaps overlooked by many. On his passing in February 2020, MixMag called him: “a legitimate contender as both best DJ and best remixer of all time.” Irvine Welsh, the author of Trainspotting, was no less effusive. “Genius is an overworked term,” he said. “But I’m struggling to think of anything else that defines him.” Noted for his modesty, Weatherall would no doubt have been embarrassed by such praise, but he was a masterful producer and a sonic revolutionary who helped to change the face of modern music. His eclectic command of acid house, techno, electronic dance, trip-hop and countless other styles earned him the nickname, the Guv’nor and his cutting-edge…

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 SACD 30n £2,700 HFC 468 While its styling might be a touch divisive, the SACD 30n’s involving, detailed and highly refined sound is beyond dispute whether it be with SACD or…

Atlas Cables Element Achromatic PRICE: £86 for 1m REVIEWED: HFC 472 Achromatic means without colour and that’s very much what you get with this affordable offering. Compared with previous Atlas Element cables this has increased OCC copper content on the conductors and a new process for reduced distortion. The result is great spaciousness to the soundstage and imaging plus powerful bass. 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 performance. The result is remarkably sophisticated for the money with detail, positioning of instruments, imaging and separation absolutely nailed on. Ecosse Cables Master Reference SE PRICE: £425 for 0.8m REVIEWED: HFC 455 Designed to convey an even greater degree of transparency,…

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 EX £2,000 HFC 462 Following a software update back in December 2019, the N100 became the EX so it’s now…

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…

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…

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…

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. 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 a believable sense of delay, it’s the depth and fine detail of bass that really impresses here. Nagaoka MP-500 £760 HFC 467 A brilliant MM that even shames some respected MC designs, the MP-500 is tonally warm without going over the top, has a…

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…

AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt £270 HFC 463 With a relatively low 24-bit/96kHz sample rate, expectations for the Cobalt aren′t high until realising it means there′s no need for USB driver software. Native MQA decoding is also supported and the open and richly detailed sound make this the best DragonFly offering yet. 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 contained in…

PRICE: £319 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: SOUNDTECH.CO.UK/MUSIC-RETAIL/AUSTRIAN-AUDIO. Austrian Audio and UK distributor Sound Technology Ltd have announced the launch of the open over-ear studio quality Hi-X65 headphones boasting a 44mm driver and ring magnet system which the companies say, “allows for improved airflow and includes the strongest magnetic field in its class.” How they work is the ring magnet, combined with a copper-clad aluminium voice coil, reduces the weight of the membrane and the voice coil connected to it, allowing the membrane to move or change direction faster, providing a more responsive impulse reaction. The result, they claim, “is great bass imaging and superior low THD at low frequencies, a linear frequency response, and open, precise, highresolution sound.” The Hi-X65’s ear pads are made of soft memory foam and have been…

Back in the late Seventies, Rotel signalled its intenition to steer itself toward the high-end with its RC-5000 preamp and RB-5000 stereo power amplifier, dubbed the CONTROL amp and the POWER amp, respectively. The pair reflected the highly technical style of the time with the preamp featuring an amazing array of knobs, flip switches, dials and sliders – including a 10-band/fader octave equaliser – while the power amplifier boasted VU meters and peak level LEDS. Taking its name from the Japanese word for direction, the Michi range followed in 1993 and opted for a more subtle, industrial approach to styling. The plethora of controls were jetissoned and new lacquered side panels were introduced in an effort to emphasise the use of more traditional Japanese craftmanship while each of the products…

Astell&Kern AK T9iE £1,100 p31 Latest fruit of A&K’s longterm collaboration with Germany’s Beyerdynamic, the AK T9iE replaces the well-liked AK T8iE. It looks good and makes a natural partner for the Korean company’s range of DAPs. Audeze LCD3i £900 p32 Having a planar driver in an earphone sounds nuts, but Audeze has managed to pull it off and a lot more besides, including DSP, Bluetooth and a direct Apple Lightning connection. Campfire Audio Dorado 2020 £1,100 p35 Campfire Audio set up shop in 2009 and the Dorado 2020 is tasked with upholding the US company’s reputation for style, comfort and sound quality that’s as much fun as it is revealing. Meze Rai Penta £1,000 p36 Romania’s head-fiheroes have enjoyed great acclaim and success with their 99 Classic and Empyrean overear…

The last 18 months have seen the plans of many an ambitious company and entrepeneur at worst thwarted or at best thrown into utter disarray by the arrival and refusal to budge of the dreaded COVID. California’s high-end Magico speaker brand is one such enterprise. Back in 2019, they had planned a worldwide tour to showcase numerous new performance technologies in the very large and very expensive M9 flagship. That, of course, never happened thanks to the modern plague. Not to be defeated, Magico took a long, hard look at their schedule and innovated, introducing instead the ‘trickle-down’ of tech to its A series so it ended up happening well in advance of the main event itself. This A5, deemed ‘more affordable’ at a mere £28k, is the 180lb/82kg gorilla…

The Borea range of speakers represents the first truly new lineup of product from the Soissons-based concern in a few years and it’s one that’s already impressed us in the form of the BR03 standmount that we looked at in HFC 466. The range itself is fairly considerable – particularly judged by the standards of other rivals at the price point (see boxout) and contains no less than three floorstanding options of which the BR08 here is the middle model. The upper and midrange frequencies of the BR08 closely mirror the arrangements of the smaller speaker. A 25mm soft dome tweeter makes use of the distinctive EFS (Efficient Flow System) phase plug, which comprises a metal section that surrounds the tweeter and places two intersecting bars as a phase plug.…

Despite the limited appeal for cat-swingers, in the case of VOD Music, less is definitely more. At 67 square feet, this store in Mold, North Wales, is the gold medallist in the niche category of the UK’s most diminutive independent record shops. Small but perfectly formed rivals such as Peterborough’s Marrs Plectrum (a garden shed) and York’s Earworm Records (a compact historic building), both of whom have been featured in the pages of HFC: step aside. Owner Colin Trueman didn’t set out to be the David amongst the Goliaths in recordland – although, with new shops opening all the time, he’s happy to keep wearing the crown. HFC asks whether he keeps a beady eye on emerging competition. “Having the smallest shop in the UK was never the intention –…

I was speaking with a friend recently about an LP that he purchased nearly 40 years ago called The Nightfly. It was the debut solo album of the American singer-songwriter Donald Fagen of Steely Dan and it was an early example of a digitally mastered recording. My friend’s memories of the recording were that the sound was very clean, clear and detailed. He has recently discovered Tidal as a way of previewing albums before he buys them on vinyl, and although the digital files are nothing like as good as the LP versions, he does find them to be quite acceptable to listen to. Anyway, he decided to dig out his old LP and play it on his current system and was extremely disappointed to discover that, in comparison with…

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5x CD & Blu-ray Audio Deutsche Grammophon RELEASED WITH PERFECT synchronicity just in time to celebrate Martha Argerich’s 80th birthday, this five-CD original jackets set has all of the concert pianist’s solo DG Chopin piano recordings collected together on a single Blu-ray Pure Audio disc. Those with suitable players can now hear these recordings in either improved hi-res (24-bit/192kHz) sound or Dolby Atmos surround. Argerich’s playing is exciting, mercurial and full of unique original insights. Both concertos are included, plus the Preludes, Sonatas 2 and 3 and works for cello and piano. Her disc of mono radio recordings and the digital material with cellist Misha Maisky are not on the Blu-ray. JH…

In a better, kinder world Pearl Jam would have been headlining a mega gig in Hyde Park this summer, but unfortunately our old friend COVID put paid to that. So here, as some sort of solace, is a trio of the Seattle band’s lead singer Eddie Vedder’s favourite LPs Pixies Surfer Rosa 4AD (1988) Produced by Steve Albini, Pixies’ full long-playing debut followed their mini-LP Come On Pilgrim. Vedder says: “The Pixies were huge for me. Frank Black, or Black Francis as he was called at the time, had this voice – he just let it loose. He’d let it rip, and weird sh*t would happen. It seemed not so much rebellious, but just free in the way he could just make sounds like: ‘aie! aie! aie!’ and still get…

The 5 Piano Concertos Krystian Zimerman London Symphony Orchestra Sir Simon Rattle 3x CDs Deutsche Grammophon ZIMERMAN’S FIRST RECORDINGS of these works for Deutsche Grammophon, made some 30 or so years ago with Leonard Bernstein conducting concertos 3-5, still stand among the best of their time. This new set is perhaps less monumental, but feels wonderfully fresh and alive, with a crisp youthful vim that sparkles with zestful enthusiasm. The orchestral playing, with a socially distanced LSO in St Luke’s church under Sir Simon Rattle, is keen and accurate – no mean feat with everyone so widely spread out – and soloist and conductor strike sparks off one another. The sound has clarity depth and separation, without that slight dry ‘deadness’ you often experience from recordings on the LSO Live label…

1991 SCREAMADELICA – PRIMAL SCREAM (1991) With Weatherall producing all but three of the album’s 11 tracks, the result was a masterpiece that defined the crossover between rock and roll and electronic dance music and which won the inaugural Mercury Music Prize. 1993 SABRESONIC – SABRES OF PARADISE (1993) Weatherall formed SOP with Gary Burns and Jagz Kooner in 1992. After remixing Papua New Guinea by Future Sound Of London and Flowered Up’s baggy epic Weekender the trio released these techno explorations. 1994 HAUNTED DANCEHALL – SABRES OF PARADISE (1994) Techno, ambient and dub reggae flavours electronically cooked to cordon bleu perfection by Weatherall and his fellow sonic chefs, with Portishead also offering a potent remix on the track Planet D. 1995 SABRESONIC II – SABRES OF PARADISE (1995 The…

Copland CSA 100 PRICE: £3,500 REVIEWED: HFC 465 Combining a preamp that utilises a valve circuit with a solid-state power amp, this supreme hybrid integrated rarely fails to delight across its many inputs and a very broad spectrum of music. With a sublime performance, excellent spec and rock-solid build, it’s a must-audition at the price. Cyrus Audio i7-XR PRICE: £2,300 REVIEWED: HFC 473 Cyrus’ engineers have been let off the leash budget-wise and the result is very impressive because while this is still unquestionably a Cyrus integrated amp – it looks like one, feels like one and has all the features we’d expect from the company – everything is ramped up and sounds better than ever before. Hegel H120 PRICE: £2,200 REVIEWED: HFC 460 The versatile talent that was the…

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. 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. And who are we to argue, considering the impressive clarity and focus of instruments combined with a noise floor displaying an impressive lack of interference. Chord Company Shawline PRICE: £200 for 1m REVIEWED: HFC 438 Available at a variety of lengths, the Shawline mains cable is…

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. 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 command of the bigger musical picture. With its stunning grasp of flow and tempo, there’s a welcome warmth to its presentation and its solid three dimensional imaging is second to none. Chord Electronics TT2 PRICE: £3,400 REVIEWED: HFC 468 We could talk about dynamic range and noise floor modulation, but…

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. Bowers & Wilkins 607 S2 Anniversary PRICE: £450 REVIEWED: HFC 470 More than just a range refresh, this baby box has had new life breathed into it in a rather skilful and expert way. So much more than the sum of its parts, the 607 S2 Anniversary Edition is highly engaging across all types of music, has a super classy treble and is the best B&W entry-level standmount yet. Falcon Acoustics RAM Studio 20…

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. Devialet Phantom Reactor 900 PRICE: £2,580 REVIEWED: HFC 456 Unlike any other wireless designs, the distinctive Phantom boasts 900W of peak power via its hybrid Class A/D amp and bass that dives down to a barely believable 18Hz. The result is power and extension that defies physics, but more impressive still is how it performs at low volume levels. KEF LS50 Wireless PRICE: £2,000 REVIEWED: HFC 433 Fine clarity and focus,…

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. AVID Volvere SP PRICE: From £5,500 REVIEWED: HFC 472 With its dynamic, detailed and confident presentation, the Volvere SP delivers all of the thrills hidden in your vinyl's grooves and adds a few more just for good measure. Rock solid, unerringly precise and gloriously natural, it’s a triumph that combines the joys of a belt drive with the accuracy of a direct drive. Pro-Ject Debut Carbon EVO PRICE:…

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. Hegel V10 PRICE: £1,300 REVIEWED: HFC 474 It might be fiddly to setup and ensuring you pick the best combination of DIP switches for your cartridge isn’t the most of intuitive of processes, but the V10 is effortlessly smooth, gloriously insightful and impeccably voiced for a crystal-clear performance with a wide range of different MM or MC pick-ups. iFiAudio Zen Phono PRICE: £150 REVIEWED: HFC 476 An astonishing performance and superb flexibility. Until you find yourself at the price where features like adjustable loading 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. 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 – offering an elevated listening experience amidst the hustle and bustle of the city. An essential audition if you’re serious about enjoying your music out and about. Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Closed PRICE: £900 REVIEWED: HFC 462 Available as both open (warmer, fuller tone) and closed…

Van der Graaf Generator Pawn Hearts “My absolute all-time favourite album. As beautiful as it is terrifying. For the uninitiated, listen for the first time in a darkened room.” PJ Harvey Dry “This debut studio set was originally released in 1992. Critically lauded both on release and retrospectively, the album contains the singles Dress and Sheela Na Gig.” Mugstar Collapsar “A collection of rarities, pulsating Krautrock, postrock and bludgeoning psych. Mugstar have been on a space journey since the start of the millennium.” Alison Cotton Only Darkness Now “An expansive drone piece made from strings, Omnichord and vocals, with a flip-side of shorter songs. The string sound is amplified by Nico-esque vocals.” King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard Infest the Rats’ Nest “A heavy metal release by the Aussie psych…

Abbey Lincoln Abbey Is Blue 180g vinyl Craft Recordings ABBEY LINCOLN WAS a singer and actress who was also married to drummer Max Roach in the Sixties and wrote some of the anthems taken up by the civil rights movement, the BLM of its time. Abbey Is Blue was originally released in 1959 by Riverside, which was primarily a jazz label but this album, as the title suggests, is largely a collection of blues numbers sung in a distinctly unbluesy fashion with low-key accompaniment from the likes of Kenny Dorham on trumpet and Stanley Turrentine on tenor, while husband Roach also appears on four numbers. One of these is the stand-out Long As You’re Living that rounds off the album with an upbeat, guide-to-life song where Lincoln sings in unison with…

1 Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Back The Way We Came: Vol. 1 (2011 - 2021) 2 Wolf Alice Blue Weekend 3 Muse Origin Of Symmetry (XX Anniversary RemiXX) 4 Marina Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land 5 Lise Davidsen Sibelius: Lunnotar, Op. 70 & Other Orchestral Works 6 Helloween Helloween 7 Iván Fischer Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 3 & 4 and Other Works 8 Pendulum Elemental 9 Kings Of Convenience Peace Or Love 10 Mötley Crüe Girls, Girls, Girls (40th Anniversary Remastered)…

CD Bella Union "IF BRICKBAT (PIRSOHKA’S 2018 debut) was our Britpop album, then Love Drips And Gathers is shoegaze!” jokes ex-Lush frontwoman and Piroshka’s vocalist Miki Berenyi. Once again teaming up with former members of Moose, Elastica and Modern English, this follow-up feels a more accomplished aff air, taking in a broader range of instrumentation (including mellotron) to create a more shimmering wash of sound that the word ethereal was invented for. The fact the lyrics are more introspective helps enormously too. JDW…

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. 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 put a foot wrong. Bass is firm, detailed and blessed with excellent timing; the tonal palette is pleasingly broad and clean; and though the soundstage doesn’t extend much beyond the speakers, there’s great depth perspective. Exposure XM CD PRICE: £1,200 REVIEWED: HFC…

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. Longdog Audio P6100M £3,500 HFC 469 They may look and feel old-fashioned, but the P6100Ms are one of those rare but happy hi-Fi surprises: seriously highend sound for mid-price money. More transparent than they have any right to be, they have a fluid and mellifluous midband and pack one hell of a punch. 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…

Auralic Vega G2.1 PRICE: £6,000 REVIEWED: HFC 476 Less of a lowly DAC preamp and more of a musical Swiss army knife, this is a seriously classy product that offers a decent upgrade path and a performance that is among the most detailed and finessed in the sector. With supreme functionality, top-notch build and glorious sonics, it demands to be auditioned. 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. Matrix Audio Element X PRICE: £2,800 REVIEWED: HFC 473 Supporting everything…

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. Bowers & Wilkins 603 PRICE: £1,250 REVIEWED: HFC 448 Regardless of what you play, here’s a speaker with the power, bandwidth and bass heft to do full-scale justice to Muse, Mozart and Motorhead. Its lowdistortion transparency and 3D imaging conjure up the ambience and atmosphere of the most intimate gig with a tonal palette that’s believable rather than manipulative. And…

WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 12.2 “Superb build quality, good looks and competitive price point … a very fine speaker indeed…” We review Wharfedale’s latest standmount loudspeaker ALSO: REVIEWS A six-way Group Test of higher-end phono cartridges, the KEF LS50 Wireless II speaker system, HiFi Rose RS201E all-in-one player/streamer, Sennheiser IE300 wired earbuds, Kudos Cardea C10 standmount speakers and much more. FEATURES Music Reviews, Audiofile News, our comprehensive Buyer’s Guide and sharp-as-nails Opinions section, and all your hi-Fi questions answered by our team of experts. SEPTEMBER ISSUE ON SALE 12 AUGUST…