Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2022 i Hi-Fi Choice

PRICE: £350-£2,100 AVAILABLE: VARIED WEB: PROJECT-AUDIO.COM/EN/HENLEYAUDIO.CO.UK PRO-JECT HAS LAUNCHED three new products: the X8 turntable, matching Phono Box S3 B and Phono Box DS3 B phono stages. These benefit from what the company is describing as True Balanced Connection, stating: “An interconnect cable between a record player and a phono stage is prone to pick up noise on the way. That noise and interference can stem from a lot of unavoidable sources, such as household appliances, wi-fi and Bluetooth devices, other power cables and audio amplifiers. Unshielded (ie RCA) interconnects can amplify the picked-up noise and make it audible through your speakers, interfering with the pure musical signal. “Balanced (typically XLR) cable connections double the wires carrying the musical signal – with one side inverted. In this case noise still…

PRICE: £500-£700 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: QACOUSTICS.CO.UK Q ACOUSTICS IS introducing the E120, an installed, wall-mounted wireless audio system designed to function in any room in a home or garden office, pairing the company’s range of discreet in-ceiling or in-wall speakers for what QA is calling: “a zero clutter, wireless home audio system”. The key features of the E120 are a built-in Class D stereo amplifier serving up 2x 25W of power, an IP54-rating which makes it suitable for kitchens and bathrooms, Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless streaming of music from compatible devices and built-in DAB+ and FM radio with one-touch presets. Its touch-sensitive splash-proof 3.2in colour display shows track, artist and album name and has an internal light sensor, which can be configured to automatically set the display brightness. To blend…

PRICE: £1,600-£8,100 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: PERLISTENAUDIO.COM/KARMA-AV.CO.UK PERLISTEN AUDIO’S R Series has just been added to its loudspeaker lineup. Complementing the company’s flagship Signature S Series, the Rs come at more accessible prices and feature the Perlisten DPC configuration of three 26mm silk domes. Top of the range is the £8,100 R7t four-way tower, with the three previously mentioned silk domes partnered by four 165mm bass drivers. Sensitivity is quoted at 90dB into 4ohm loads. Also in the ‘R’ series are the three-way R5t tower (with two 165mm bass drivers and 89dB sensitivity), a matching R5c centre for home cinemas, the standmount R5m (again two 165mm bass drivers and quoted 89dB sensitivity), a three-way R4s (with a single 165mm bass driver and 86.5dB sensitivity claimed) and the £1,600 bookshelf R4b with…

PRICE: £2,350-£2,850 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: ROTEL.COM ROTEL HAS LAUNCHED a pair of custom installation amplifiers – the C8 and C8+. The new Class AB integrateds deliver eight channels of multi-zone audio and are powered by an oversized, in-house manufactured toroidal transformer feeding an array of high-current dedicated output devices, which the company claims will: “comfortably drive even the most demanding loudspeakers”. The C8 Custom Installation Amplifier delivers 70W of power per channel into 4ohm loads and the C8+ claims 150W (also into 4ohm). Zone outputs are bridged delivering 140W and 300W respectively into 4ohm and an auto-sensing, auto-switching PA Override feature is designed to ensure installation flexibility. Both units feature four analogue source inputs available to all zone outputs through internal matrix switching, further customisable with independent volume, balance, bass…

PRICE: £80 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: JAYSHEADPHONES.COM SWEDISH COMPANY JAYS, part of Northbaze Distribution AB, is launching its t-Six True Wireless – the brand’s first tip-less earbuds. The company explains: “We understand that wearing earbuds must be comfortable to use for longer periods. The t-Six is designed with a tip-less design meaning no ear rubber tips are needed to offer you a comfortable experience throughout the day.” Adding to the ergonomic design, the t-Six comes with a pocket-sized charging case with intuitive touch controls embedded on both earpieces to enable managing calls and playback. The buds’ environmental noise cancelling is designed to eliminate unwanted background interference while speaking on the phone, and they’re also equipped with dual microphones and offer up to six hours of battery in a single charge. The…

Hi-Fi Choice employs the most methodical test and measurement regime in the business. Here’s how we do it… STANDMOUNT LOUDSPEAKER GROUP TEST ALL SIX OF this month’s loudspeaker candidates are given a few hours of general running-in before testing begins in earnest to discern toe-in and proximity to the rear wall. Those speakers that come equipped with bungs are tested both with and without them in place. All cabinets are placed on a pair of dedicated Soundstyle Z60 speaker stands before levels are set with a pink noise test tone and by checking the voltage at their terminals with a meter. The real-world sensitivity differences between the six models here is sufficiently small that only relatively fine adjustment is required. With this done, the music test programme is played from…

After a few years absent from the UK, Jamo made a welcome retuned with its affordable but capable S Series of speakers. The Concert range is the next rung up and comprises four stereo models of which the C 93 II is the larger of two standmount options. Larger or not, this is still one of the smallest in the group. The 152mm mid/bass driver is partnered with a 25mm silk dome tweeter. The mid/bass driver is the more interesting of the two. Jamo calls it a Hybrid Composition Conical Cone, which comprises a tightly woven substance that the company claims combines the stiffness of aluminium and titanium with the smoothness of a wood fibre design. This is mounted in a long-throw surround, which gives the C 93 II a…

As the largest standmount in Q Acoustics’ 3000i range, the 3030i is unusual because it was added to the series some time after the rest were launched, and a corresponding model with this configuration didn’t appear in the preceding model range. The 3030i combines a 22mm soft dome tweeter with its prominent outer roll, which helps to give it the required dispersion while the inner dome focuses on high frequency. This tweeter uses a simplified version of the decoupling principle employed in the company’s more expensive models. This is partnered with a 165mm mid/bass driver augmented by a rear port. Like other members of the Q Acoustics family, both the tweeter and mid/bass are relatively conventional (although at this price point, they are less markedly different from the competition), but…

Having emerged from French manufacturer Métronome Technologie with its inaugural model in 2003 – think Citroën spawning DS, or Seat’s Cupra line – Kalista now has a growing range of DreamPlay products. This includes the £21,000 Kalista STREAM – described as: “The only streamer on the market that combines perfect functionality with exceptional looks” – and a turntable, the £44,000 Twenty-Twenty All have in common striking looks and all-French construction, being assembled by the company in-house in southern France. All the control, digital and analogue electronics are embedded into a tripod layout of aluminium and thick slabs of clear methacrylate to form the ‘legs’, finished with stainless steel spiked feet. This suspends the central mechanism and contributes to the substantial 17kg all-up mass of the machine, on the front of…

At first glance, the printed description on the carton appears to be wrong. It states the AirPulse A80s inside are active speakers. There’s a moment of disbelief on lifting them out, as they look more like the poor relation ‘powered’ variety. Traditional active speakers, on the other hand – say, KEF’s LSX (HFC 456) – have separate amplifiers for each driver teamed with electronic dividing networks, often with expanded DSP options thrown in and both enclosures need to be plugged into the mains. But hold on… The purpose of the XMOS tech AirPulse employs is to land the sonically desirable active ingredient on a simpler platform, optimising performance while making it a more convenient plug ‘n’ play proposition. It’s an initiative that squares with AirPulse being part of the Edifier…

When I reviewed the original A&norma SR25 (HFC 465), I couldn’t name a single thing that needed improving, let alone fixing. I ended the review with the thought that, at a reasonable £650, A&K’s entry-level model was probably as much quality portable digital audio player anyone would ever need. My mind hasn’t changed, but the SR25 has. Now available in MKII guise, Astell&Kern talks of “improvements all round, making the best even better”. The most obvious change is the inclusion of a 4.4mm, 5-pole balanced output to sit alongside the existing 2.5mm, 4-pole balanced output, making the MKII compatible with just about everything in the high-end head-fiarena. Naturally, a regular 3.5mm jack is here, too. Aesthetically, the distinctive and comfortable-to-hold form factor hasn’t changed, but the aluminium chassis is now…

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When I was first discovering music as a teenager in the late Sixties, rock and pop was a purely Anglo-American phenomenon. Or at least, so we thought. Britain had The Beatles and Stones. America had Dylan and The Beach Boys. Nowhere else was on the map. By the early Seventies, there were a few German bands like Can and Kraftwerk. There was a Dutch group called Focus whose singer did a funny yodelling thing and John Peel raved about a Danish band called Burning Red Ivanhoe, who were never heard from again. But they were the exceptions that proved the rule and they mostly sang in English, anyway. Popular culture was something Britain and America exported to the rest of the world, which we condescendingly pitied for not having any…

AUDIOLAB OMNIA The new all-in-one just-add-speakers stereo system that’s got you covered whether you’re after hi-res digital audio streaming, vinyl or CD. In short, our reviews says it’s: “An outstanding new arrival in the all-in-one category that offers excellent performance across a wide spread of connections.” Get the full low-down next month! ALSO: REVIEWS JBL 4305P Studio Monitor bookshelf speaker, Rotel RA-1592 MKII amplifier, Rosso Fiorentino Elba 2 floorstanding loudspeaker, Grado SR325x headphone, Lypertek PurePlay Z5 true-wireless noise-cancelling earphones, plus a Group Test of affordable in-ears. FEATURES Music Legends, Music Reviews, Reasons To Be Cheerful, our comprehensive Buyer’s Guide and sharp-as-nails Opinions pieces, all the latest kit release news in Audiofile and all your hi-fi questions answered by our experts JULY ISSUE ON SALE 16 JUNE…

PRICE: £7,500-£30,000 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: KEF.COM KEF HAS ANNOUNCED the latest updates to its infamous Blade and Reference speaker ranges. According to the company: “Blade is an attitude. The Reference is iconic. It’s about exploring the art of the possible, which is why the latest version of Blade and The Reference benefits from KEF’s latest acoustic innovations: Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MATTM), a bespoke 12th-generation Uni-Q driver array and a host of other improvements. MAT is a truly revolutionary tool in the KEF acoustic armoury because each of the intricate channels efficiently absorbs 99 percent of unwanted sound. This eliminates the resulting distortion and provides a purer, more natural acoustic performance.” Furthermore, KEF says its Uni-Q bespoke driver can deliver: “consistently sweet, lucid and lyrical treble, irrespective of the volume. A…

PRICE: £3,500 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: MISSION.CO.UK MISSION HAS CREATED a new version of its famous 770 two-way standmount loudspeaker. Resurrected 44 years on from its debut, the company says it’s been: “re-engineered to reap the benefits of modern techniques and technologies while invoking the spirt of the original in terms of technical ethos, look and sound”. The intention behind the original was to deliver the BBC-influenced midrange accuracy and transparency of a speaker like the Spendor BC1, while also achieving tighter bass and a more propulsive and engaging sound. The popularity of Wharfedale’s recent Linton and Denton revivals of iconic British speakers from the Sixties and Seventies encouraged Mission that there is a demand for the reappearance of classic, much-loved British designs in re-engineered forms. The company admits that: “Nostalgia…

PRICE: £900 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: TECHNICS.COM TECHNICS IS LAUNCHING a limited-edition 50th anniversary version of its iconic SL-1200 DJ turntable, the SL-1200M7L. The Technics 1200 Series was launched as a popular direct-drive turntable back in 1972, becoming a best seller and this new model is based on the SL-1200MK7, released in 2019. It comes in seven limited-edition colours (black, red, blue, white, green, yellow or beige), which the company somewhat mysteriously claims have been selected: “to reflect the street culture that gave birth to DJing”. The SL-1200M7L features a tonearm anodised in “a golden hue”, engraved serial numbers on each individual piece and a gold-coloured slipmat with Technics logo. Further features include a high-rigidity cabinet and high-damping insulation intended to shut out all vibrations, a starting torque/brake speed adjustment function,…

The first generation of LX speakers represented a revitalising of the Mission name as a force in affordable speakers. As there was very little wrong with the design, Mission has elected to revise it to MKII status rather than go for a clean-sheet design. The LX-3 MKII is the largest standmount in the range and one of the larger speakers in the test. For what is a relatively affordable standmount, the Mission incorporates some interesting technology. The most notable is the ‘DiaDrive’ mid/bass driver. This is a continuous profile cone that has a secondary, inner cone behind it to which the motor and voice coil are attached. In the LX-3 MKII, this is 165mm across, which adds up to a quoted low frequency roll-off of 45Hz at +/-3dB and 40Hz…

Borea is the most affordable range in Triangle’s lineup. It has five stereo models in it, of which the BR03 is the larger of two standmounts. By the standards of a company that has created some very idiosyncratic products in the past, the technology at work here is relatively conventional although largely in keeping with the rest of the models in the test. The BR03 combines a 160mm natural cellulose mid/bass driver which also sees service in the range of speakers above, with a 25mm silk dome tweeter. This employs a technology called Efficient Flow System, which is a combination phase plug and waveguide intended to ensure that dispersion is even and consistent. Something unique to the Triangle in this group is that it’s the only front-ported speaker here. In…

When Cyrus announced the XR Series, you could be forgiven for wondering what the fuss was all about. Beyond a new display and a blacker finish, the components felt very similar to existing models. The listening experience was rather different, though. Back in HFC 473, the i7-XR put in a fine showing and now it’s the turn of the larger i9-XR. Four RCA line inputs and a moving-magnet phono stage are fitted, along with a pre and line out. It’s joined by a digital board that offers two optical, two coaxial and one USB input. The sample rate handling is excellent, with 768kHz PCM and DSD512 supported via USB while the coaxial connections stretch to 384kHz. With 10 inputs in total, there’s not much that you can’t connect to the…

Launched in October 1989 in Japan, shipments of Sony’s CDP-X77ES to foreign countries didn’t really get in gear until early the year after. Despite being basically a big black (or gold, in some markets) brick, it was bleeding-edge modern in one very important respect. It used a one-bit Pulse DAC (Bitstream, as Philips called the technology) rather than a noisier multi-bit design. Suffice to say it seemed achingly modern. Being Japanese, it was terminally unfashionable in the UK. Very few British magazines touched it and when I went into my hi-fidealer, clutching £1,200 about to buy my first serious CD player, I wasn’t even aware of its existence. Yet after hearing The Beloved’s The Sun Rising on it, there was no turning back. The Sony broke every rule that British…

The thing with cancel culture is that, although its intentions are good, it does tend to propagate a negative attitude. This can result in our default position on any wrong that needs righting being to just trying to stop it happening. Sometimes, though, this may not be the most helpful or progressive route to take. Neil Young requested that his music be removed from Spotify to protest COVID misinformation being spread on podcasts hosted by the company and a few like-minded artists followed suit. This immediately raised a convoluted counter-protest about limiting freedom of speech and Spotify stuck to its guns. At the time of writing, the Grammys have just rescinded an invitation for Kanye West to perform at the ceremony due to distress over some of his recent online…

It’s 26 March, 2022 at London’s O2. As Genesis leave the stage for what they insist will be the last time, a frail-looking, 71 year-old Phil Collins tells the ecstatic crowd that he’s finally going to have to get: “a real job” at last. Alongside him, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks, who founded the band 55 years ago, could be forgiven a tear in the eye as they wave their final farewell. Behind them is Nic Collins, son of Phil, who took over the drum stool once his father’s failing health meant he could no longer play. At just 20 years old, he hadn’t even been born when Genesis recorded their last studio album. As they walk off, Peter Gabriel is waiting in the wings to congratulate his former band…

THE PROVISION OF XLR balanced audio connections on domestic audio equipment seems to be on the rise, and to meet this demand the Chord Company offers an XLR version of its Shawline analogue interconnect range. Assembled by hand, the Shawline XLRs use silver-plated copper conductors insulated with an FEP dielectric. These are screened with a composite material designed to work over a wide bandwidth. Three identical conductors are used for all three connections (hot, cold and earth), as well as the company’s Tuned ARAY conductor geometry. Connecting the Shawline XLR between my Studer A810 pro tape machine and my preamp, I play a 15IPS copy-master tape of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra performing Prokofiev’s Cinderella. The opening of Cinderella Dreams About The Ball has a slightly reflective mood, which progresses to…

Hi-FiChoice Recommends ESSENTIAL HI-FI YOU’LL WANT TO OWN CD players p110 ▪ Amplifiers p111 ▪ Pre/power amps p111 ▪ Cables p112-113 ▪ Network audio players p114 ▪ Music servers p114 ▪ DACs p115 ▪ Loudspeakers p116-118 ▪ One-box systems p118 ▪ Turntables p119 ▪ Cartridges p119 ▪ Phono stages p120 ▪ Headphones p120-121 ▪ Portable DACs p121 CD PLAYERS 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…

PRICE: £5,000 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: MELCO-AUDIO.COM DIGITAL MUSIC LIBRARY specialist Melco has launched a high-end network switch, which for the first time, benefits from a separate high-performance linear power supply. The S10 comes in silver or black and comprises separate head and power units, keeping the sensitive data-carrying areas of the design from the power supply. The two-box approach echoes that of the flagship digital music library, the N10/2 (tested last issue) and, the company claims: “offers the least compromise when it comes to ultimate sound quality”. The S10’s head unit is based on a heavily upgraded S100 network switch and benefits from an improved power management section. The head unit’s casework has also been improved with better aluminium employed for the casework to enhance rigidity and to increase isolation…

PRICE: £275-£1,500 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: KLIPSCH.COM KLIPSCH HAS REVEALED details of its new 10-model Reference series of Dolby Atmos speakers featuring what the company claims are: “the most dramatic upgrades since the series’ inception, including many technologies derived from the award-winning Klipsch Reference Premiere series”. Now in its seventh generation, the updated Klipsch Reference series features a new, larger, edge-to-edge proprietary Tractrix horn intended to provide improved coverage, bandwidth and directivity control. Improved drivers made of spun-copper thermoformed crystal polymer (TCP) use steeper angling of cones in a bid to achieve a smoother response and better crossover integration for superior accuracy and transparency. The cabinets feature enhanced bracing with a black scratch-resistant wood grain vinyl finish, metallic-coated binding posts and Dolby Atmos connections allowing for elevation speaker integration. The 10…

What’s in a name? For some manufacturers the chosen monicker for their latest product is little more than a bewildering and largely forgettable series of numbers and letters. Others take their inspiration from music, composers and any other seemingly random word that they think will look cool on their marketing material. And then there’s Polish company HEM, selling under its Ferrum brand. The snazzy USB DAC/headphone amplifier before you is spelt ERCO, but pronounced ‘ertso’. Apparently it’s Esperanto for ‘ore’, and so follows on from the mineral-based brand identity – Ferrum, OOR – you get the idea. What’s also not immediately apparent, given that all Ferrum products are pretty much indistinguishable when it comes to looks, is that this is perhaps the most comprehensively equipped model it has produced to…

As one of the older designs in the group, the F300 is the smallest member of Fyne’s F300 Series that represents the most affordable it produces. This price point precludes the use of the concentric driver arrangement that characterises the rest of the range, so the F300 makes do with a separate tweeter and mid/bass driver like the others here. These are relatively conventional drivers. The 25mm tweeter is made from polyester and mounted behind a mesh grille that includes a phase loss compensation system that delays the output from specific areas of the tweeter to ensure a more even performance. This hands over to a 125mm multi-fibre mid/bass driver at 3.4kHz via a crossover fitted for single wire connection. As the smallest speaker in the group, the F300 cannot…

Various iterations of the Monitor Audio Bronze series have been contesting these Group Tests for decades and, although the details have changed considerably, the basic recipe has stayed the same. The larger of two standmounts in the Bronze range, this is the only offering in the test where both drivers are made from metal. The 25mm tweeter is produced from the latest version of Monitor Audio’s C-CAM (Ceramic Coated Aluminium and Magnesium) design and is set back in a waveguide to help with dispersion. Where the Bronze 100 takes a swerve from previous generations of Bronze iterations and every other speaker here, is the mid/bass driver. This is a full 203mm (8in in old money) across and is made from a C-CAM based material which uses a newly developed concentric…

I’m reminded of the film Crocodile Dundee as Paul Hogan is confronted by a mugger brandishing a modestly sized blade: ‘That’s not a knife,’ smiles Mick, telegraphing the punchline as he reaches for his own form of outback security. ‘That’s a knife’. For JBL’s new all-in-one, the size matters sentiment appears to be much the same. Lined up against comparatively compact stalwarts such as Naim’s Mu-So 2nd Generation (HFC 488), Sonus faber’s Omnia (next month) and the latest iteration of B&W’s Zeppelin (HFC 486), JBL’s retro-themed all-in-one is a behemoth. It’s the latest member of JBL’s Seventies-inspired Classic family sporting its iconic Quadrex foam grille hugging the gently curved baffle alongside a walnut real-wood veneer. The driver array boasts a brace of widely spaced 25mm aluminium dome tweeters, twin 133mm…

Whatever happened to the bargain basement standmount? Back in the mid-Eighties you could buy a pair of Wharfedale Diamonds for £80, while a decade or so later Mission 760s would set you back £130. When you take the relative change in value of money over the years into account, that price now translates to roughly £260 – the cost of the AE1002 you see before you. Designer Mat Spandl alludes to this, noting: “We can’t do anything decent below this price point”. Put simply, the compromises needed to sell a budget speaker any cheaper than this in 2022 are such that Acoustic Energy wouldn’t want to put the company’s name to it. And this is, of course, a Chinese-manufactured product, where costs to produce are still lower than in the…

Vieux Farka Toure Les Racines CD World Circuit FOLLOWING IN THE footsteps of a musical icon is a tough gig. Just ask Jakob Dylan, Julian Lennon or Ziggy Marley, all of whom at some time could be forgiven for wondering if it might have been safer to have become an estate agent – anything that meant they weren’t constantly compared with their famous fathers and judged to have come up short. Vieux Farka Toure knows the feeling. His father Ali Farka Toure was Africa’s most celebrated guitarist, known as “the Hendrix of the Sahara” and cited by western musicians from Jimmy Page to Ry Cooder as their favourite axeman. “It’s difficult to be the child of someone who has gone to the top of the mountain. The name follows you and…

WE LIVE IN an electrically noisy soup, permeated by all manner of interference that can adversely affect our audio systems. Low-cost mains distribution blocks and extensions can contribute to this degradation as they typically incorporate noisy neon power indicators, fuse holders and low-grade wiring/bus-bars, and offer little in the way of shielding. The Eos 2.5 from Atlas Cables of Kilmarnock is a robust, no-nonsense screened power extension block designed to deliver unimpeded power. Its six high-quality sockets are housed in an aluminium chassis with an earth binding post. Each is optimised for low contact resistance and minimal resistive losses. The power block is intended for use with one of the company’s screened mains cables to preserve the RFI screening. Nema and Shuko mains socket variants are also available on request.…

1 LITERATEEN Pete Doherty of The Libertines, Babyshambles etc. will publish his first memoir this month via Little, Brown Book Group. Written with Simon Spence, A Likely Lad promises to take readers inside the chap’s: “creative process, decadent parties, substance-fuelled nights, his time in prison and tendency for self-destruction”. Yowsa! 2 NEW COLOURS French manufacturer Triangle is issuing a limited edition of its AI0 3 speaker in four new finishes: Powder Pink, Frost White, Green Forest and Red Ocher. There’s also a new EQ feature available on the TRIANGLE AIO app, which will allow you to adjust the bass and treble of all the AIO speakers connected to the networks directly from your phone. Amazon Music is additionally integrated into the AIO app, expanding the range of supported streaming platforms,…