Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2023 i Hi-Fi Choice

PRICE: £725-£1,650 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: PROJECT-AUDIO.COM HENLEYAUDIO.CO.UK PRO-JECT HAS LAUNCHED its new 24-strong EVO tonearm range featuring models of different shapes, sizes and aesthetics, all following the same design principles. The four-strong range is available in 9in, 10in or 12in effective lengths and focuses on the idea of super-high-mass gimbals with ultra-low-friction, four-point bearing assemblies. Pro-Ject uses four pin-point Cardan bearings due to their stability and very low friction along with sturdy tonearm supports, damped counterweights (in multiple sizes), liquid-smooth lift/lower mechanisms and fine adjustments for VTA and azimuth. The EVO CC tonearm comes with a stiff and light carbon fibre tube, available in 9in (£725), 10in (£775) or 12in (£825) lengths and uses ultra-low friction bearings with four stainless steel tips. It boasts a light one-piece conical carbon fibre…

PRICE: £390 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: LENCO.COM Swiss company Lenco, has released its LS-600WA belt-drive turntable from its Expertise range. It comes with two stereo 30W RMS speakers and Bluetooth connectivity for wireless streaming, and offers 33 and 45rpm speeds. The company describes it as combining: “classic style with modern functionality”. It comes equipped with a built-in amplifier, a high-quality AT-VM95E moving-magnet cartridge, carbon fibre tonearm, anti-skating weight and removable dust cover. It’s available from HMV in a walnut finish.…

PRICE: £3,500-£6,990 AVAILABLE: 2024 WEB: KIIAUDIO.COM KII AUDIO’S KII Seven Wireless Music System, shown recently at the UK Hi-Fi Show Live, will be available to customers early next year. The company reveals that: “unlike many traditional smart speakers, the Kii Seven has been designed as a cardioid speaker, thereby significantly reducing the impact of room acoustics. Thanks to its Active Wave Focusing, it delivers detailed separation and excellent musicality.” Instead of splitting the spectrum into bands, as per traditional crossover filters, Kii Audio explains that its Active Wave Focusing filters: “force the specially positioned drive units to create a completely coherent wave front, that is only emitted towards the listener.” Seventh heaven Kii equips the Seven with a Cardioid Sound Dispersion pattern down to the low-mid and bass frequencies: “providing…

Hi-Fi Choice employs the most methodical test and measurement regime in the business. Here’s how we do it… STANDMOUNT LOUDSPEAKERS GROUP TEST ALL SIX STANDMOUNTS are treated to a couple of days running-in with varied source material before any serious testing takes place. Additionally, each speaker and the system electronics are thoroughly warmed-up before critical listening starts. Standmount auditioning is done in my smaller listening room, which is L-shaped and furnished and carpeted to give a quite dry and well damped acoustic character with minimal ‘second venue’ contribution. Over the course of a week, positioning and support types are experimented with, though in the majority of cases, heavyweight 24in Slate Audio stands placed on Townshend Audio Seismic Podiums are used. The listening position is set so the tweeter is roughly…

In direct contrast to Falcon’s almost molecular-level reconstruction of the original LS3/5a, this is a somewhat less reverential and more revisionist riff on the whole BBC correct mid-centric mini monitor, using different drivers and a box that’s deeper than it is wide, though – like its illustrious forbears – it is sealed rather than ported. Then again, Graham Audio produces an entire family of faithfully adhered-to classic BBC designs, including the LS3/5 as well as the LS3/5a, so the LS3, conceptualised by Derek Hughes (son of BBC speaker engineer Spencer), has the laudable aims of shooting for comparably lofty sonic goals in a rather smarter, more contemporary-looking cabinet wearing a substantially lower price tag. Materially, it’s a simpler, lighter speaker. An upshot of what is described as the newly developed,…

One of hi-fi’s disrupters, Rega, has outdone itself with the Kyte. Given its £400 price (£449 with the optional stand adaptor plate), its inclusion in this group will raise some eyebrows but, as we discover time and again in these roundups, price is an unreliable guide to performance. There are numerous reasons the Kyte is the smart outlier it is. Perhaps most obviously, its moulded thermoplastic phenolic resin enclosure eschews farmed-out MDF expense and is made by Rega in Essex. Partly because of the nature of the moulding process, the enclosure gains from sonically advantageous curves and non-parallel sides. To control vibration in the thin walls of the enclosure there are ceramic plates and wooden bracing to link the sides together. Additional rigidity is provided by the wooden front baffle.…

Sota Turntables started out in 1979 manufacturing audiophile turntables in Oakland, California before moving to Chicago. At the time, the company was the only manufacturer of high-end vinyl spinners in the US, and it went on to became one of the most respected manufacturers in the world. Then in January 2018, Sota Sound Inventions LLC was established in partnership with Christan Griego of Griego Sound Inventions LLC. This partnership enabled Sota to develop its next generation of state-of-the-art turntables, with Griego as Director of Development and Marketing. A few years ago, a Senior Fellow of Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) in the US, Wyn Palmer, designed a phono stage in his spare time with the goal of producing a unit with exceptionally low noise and distortion, coupled with extremely accurate RIAA…

I recently met with Mike Valentine of the Chasing The Dragon audiophile record label to discuss a forthcoming recording session of the National Symphony Orchestra performing Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade in The Henry Wood Hall. One of the subjects discussed was the choice of cables for connecting up the microphones and recording equipment. Mike appreciates the importance of using high-quality cabling and has invested a considerable sum to ensure the least possible degradation in sound from the microphone to the recording equipment. With high-quality mics, the delicate signal is amplified to provide a signal to the XLR connector at the other end. From here, the signal starts its long journey through the cables running across the floor to reach the preamps and recording equipment. One of the microphones being used for the…

In last month’s Welcome column I made passing reference to Spotify’s new feature, the DJ which (who?) is being aggressively marketed as: “a personalised AI guide that knows you and your music taste so well that it can choose what to play for you. This feature will deliver a curated lineup of music alongside commentary around the tracks and artists we think you’ll like in a stunningly realistic voice.” Okay, I thought, I’ll give it a go. Well, actually, my 17-year-old daughter gave it a go in the car. The “stunningly realistic voice” is mid-Atlantic vaguely excitable, largely bland and grates even faster than Alexa. As for the personalisation, we were half an hour in when it tried to play her Radiohead and Dire Straits! She made a gagging motion.…

TO MARK ITS 50th anniversary, QED has introduced its Golden Anniversary XT speaker cable. This employs X-Tube technology, which places a cable’s conductive material around a central hollow insulating rod. The cable is manufactured from a blend of 99.99 percent oxygen-free copper and Ultra-Pure Ohno Continuous Cast Copper to provide an improved signal path and better signal retention. Terminator too The conductors are insulated with a low-density polyethylene dielectric, which in unison with X-Tube Plus, results in high-efficiency and an extremely low dissipation factor. The cable is terminated with QED’s Forté banana plugs, which are attached with a specially developed cold-weld system called ‘Airloc’ for maximum resistance to oxidation by effectively turning both cable and plug into a single, unified conductor. Although very well made, the Golden Anniversary XT cable is…

The things you’re allowed to write! You went and wrote something about God in one of our reviews. You said we were the voice of God or something. I hated that. It gives people the wrong impression. It gives people your impression. If I read that, I’d think ‘No fu**ing way am I buying that!’” You could say that Robin Guthrie isn’t exactly happy with me right now. He’s referring to a review I wrote of the Cocteau Twins’ recent LP, Treasure, in which I did, I must confess, compare them to the deity. Here’s what I wrote: “The Cocteaus barely seem to exist off record. They work like receivers; something plays itself through them and reaches us untainted and pure. There are dimensions to Treasure which strike me as…

SAVE 30% ON THE SHOP PRICE SUBSCRIBE SECURELY ONLINE TODAY! https://checkout.avtechmedia.co.uk/EGENC Or call 01858 438446 LINES OPEN MONDAY TO FRIDAY – 9AM - 6PM Calls are charged at the same rate as standard UK landlines and are included as part of any inclusive or free minutes allowances. There are no additional charges with this number. Overseas calls will cost more. TERMS & CONDITIONS: *UK print subscriptions offer only. AV Tech Media Ltd collects your data so that we can fulfil your subscription. We may also, from time to time, send you details of AV Tech Media Ltd offers, events and competitions but you always have a choice and can opt out by clicking on the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email. Please be aware, by opting into our…

PRICE: £40,000 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: DALI-SPEAKERS.COM OKAY, SO THE price is well out of range for most of us but we thought you might like to fantasise about owning the DALI Epikore 11 4.5-way floorstander that was recently on show at the UK Hi-Fi Show Live and which, according to the company: “sets new standards for low-distortion loudspeaker design”. The curved, real-wood veneer cabinet houses four 203mm bass drivers, a 165mm midrange – each utilising DALI’s second-generation Soft Magnetic Compound (SMC Gen-2) magnet material – as well as the EVO-K variant of its Hybrid Tweeter Module. SMC Gen-2 is the next generation of the company’s patented SMC magnet material technology. Introduced in the flagship Kore speaker, SMC Gen-2 is incorporated into the bass and midrange drivers, as well as in…

PRICE: £2,200 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: BANG-OLUFSEN.COM BANG & OLUFSEN has launched its Beolab 8 speaker, which the company describes as: “the embodiment of versatility that shines on its own, sings in any setup and performs wherever you place it”. Featuring a one-piece aluminium body – “a fusion of a sphere and cylinder merged into a solid shape” – and designed with either Danish-manufactured wooden lamellas or a fabric front, the Beolab 8 is a three-driver setup consisting of a 16mm tweeter, 76mm midrange and 133mm bass driver. With the company’s Mozart platform at the heart of the cabinet, the Beolab can connect via wi-fi 6 or Bluetooth 5.3. Beam width control allows users to switch between two listening experiences – the ability to optimise the sweet spot for the listener…

PRICE: £55-£180 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: SONY.CO.UK THEY’VE BEEN MIGHTY busy over at Sony, supplying two new products to the UK: the SRS-XB100 wireless speaker and LinkBuds S x Olivia Rodrigo earbuds. The SRS-XB100 includes a passive radiator and claims to offer clear sound even at high volumes, thanks to its off-centre diaphragm. Boasting up to 16 hours of battery life, the speaker is waterproof and dustproof with an IP67 rating. It comes with a tough exterior and multi-way strap, and has a built-in microphone so users can enjoy hands-free calling straight through the speaker with Echo Cancelling, which allows two people to talk at the same time without cutting off one another. The SRS-XB100 is priced at £55. The LinkBuds S x Olivia Rodrigo are, as the name suggests, designed…

PRICE: £900 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: IFI-AUDIO.COM IFI AUDIO HAS launched a second-gen NEO iDSD DAC, which it says sports a host of upgrades to improve upon its predecessor (HFC 482) with the addition of aptX Lossless for CD-quality streaming. Physical connections include USB, optical and coaxial, plus a 3.5mm analogue input. Balanced analogue outputs incorporate a standard 6.35mm single-ended headphone socket and a 4.4mm out, while around the back single-ended RCA outputs are accompanied by balanced XLRs, to connect the NEO iDSD 2 to an amp and speakers or a pair of active speakers. Measuring 214 x 41 x 158mm, it can lie vertically or horizontally on a shelf and boasts a new 2in retina-grade TFT colour display, which rotates automatically to suit its orientation while a multi-function rotary control…

GIVE OR TAKE a few years, the LS3/5a has hit its half century not out. It is, I think most of us would agree, the most famous small speaker in the world. From its workaday beginnings as a BBC outside broadcast monitor for use in cramped spaces to global audiophile icon held as the gold standard for midband purity and vocal realism, it has existed and persisted as a hallowed BBC specification materialised to the letter by the few and with ‘close enough’ good intentions by the many. But there is a third category whose presence in the standmount loudspeaker market is perhaps inevitable. I’m thinking about the self-proclaimed midrange heroes enjoying the luxury of being able to ignore the strictures of the exacting BBC specifications and thereby address the…

Why bother with meticulously conceived homages and lovingly crafted tribute acts when you can cut to the chase with what KEF reckons is the LS3/5a’s one true successor? Maybe because coming to the LS50 Meta cold, it looks nothing like its famous forbear, or any other small standmount come to that. But then KEF isn’t trying to rekindle the classic form and cult-forming sound but bury them respectfully in the past, overshadowed and overpowered by a bold new paradigm. Actually, ‘new’ is a bit misleading, too. KEF introduced the original LS50 as an anniversary back slap in 2012. So popular did it become, the chunky, contoured, Uni-Q equipped standmount stayed in production unchanged until 2021. But nine years is a long time to fend off evolving rivals, so KEF’s strategists…

As one of the original BBC licence holders, Spendor (co-founded by Spencer Hughes, father of Derek – see Graham Audio) clearly knows its LS3/5a onions. And Spendor’s current boss, Phil Swift, as both a fan and critic of the LS3/5a, knows how to calibrate the original formula for a softer landing with modern audiophile sensibilities. This, in any event, is the idea behind the Spendor Classic 4/5, the smaller of the two standmounts in the company’s retro-flavoured Classic series and the one that assumes the mantle of ‘reimagined 3/5a’, rather than the similarly sized A1 (HFC 460), Spendor’s entry-level model. In both size and cabinet construction, the Classic 4/5 sticks more or less with the BBC recipe of a sealed box with damped thin side panels (MDF rather than birch…

As a product category, powered speakers have been around for years but the decline in physical media usage has really kick started it into becoming a significant part of the affordable end of the market as – assuming they have the right inputs – they’re impressively self-contained. For all the romance of affordable separates and their upgradeability, powered speakers give enormous value for money that is hard to beat. ELAC is no stranger to affordable speakers and the DCB41 is at least partly related to its Debut range of passive models. The configuration is largely in keeping with others in this category. A main speaker contains the inputs and amplification for both cabinets and outputs to a wholly passive partner via a run of speaker cable. Each speaker is built…

It’s what our engineers would like to buy for themselves”. So said Sony, in its corporate advertising blurb, at the time of the TC-177SD’s launch back in 1974. The ad copy also alerted the reader to the deck’s surprisingly low price, which at £330 was only four times the cost of a Linn Sondek LP12 turntable! High-end cassette decks weren’t cheap, you see. Indeed, there were precious few of them, and even the more affordable examples were still pretty pricey. In its advertisement, Sony didn’t compare the TC-177SD with other cassette decks, but with “15ips open-spool” – or semi-pro open-reel. That was an audacious act, because back in 1974 the Compact Cassette format wasn’t generally treated seriously. Proper ‘home recordists' would only consider cassette for portable duties such as listening…

Forty-five years ago or so the cables that you used to connect the various components that make up your system were considered as inconsequential and hi-fi enthusiasts merely made do with whatever came bundled with their amp etc. Many maintained that the effect that they had was negligible, while others argued they make a huge difference to the quality of the sound. Bizarrely, analysing the evidence from a purely engineering point of view suggests that cables actually have no affect on sound quality and there’s little electrical difference between one set of wires and another. While there are plenty of articles that explain the importance of the electrical characteristics that we can measure like capacitance, inductance, characteristic impedance etc. they don’t explain the whole picture. To carry direct current (DC),…

You’re going to have to help me out here. I know this is an opinion column and so there is an expectation that it should express one. But this month I’ve got not one but two on the same subject. What’s more, they’re contradictory and I’m arguing with myself about which is right, so I’m going to try both out and see if that helps me reach a conclusion. I have been put into this state of confusion by the Rolling Stones. By the time you read this, the one-time greatest rock ’n’ roll band in the world will have new album Hackney Diamonds out, their first set of new songs in 18 years and – according to The Times’ chief rock critic – their best since 1978’s Some Girls.…

CHOOSE EITHER RED OR WHITE WINE AT CHECKOUT HURRY! LIMITED TIME ONLY! 10 ISSUES SAVE 33% 13 ISSUES SAVE 47% 13 ISSUES SAVE 49% SUBSCRIBE SECURELY ONLINE WWW.DHPUB.CO.UK/DXMAS23P2 CALL 01858 438436 AND QUOTE DXM23P2 LINES OPEN MONDAY TO FRIDAY – 9AM - 6PM Calls are charged at the same rate as standard UK landlines and are included as part of any inclusive or free minutes allowances. There are no additional charges with this number. Overseas calls will cost more. TERMS & CONDITIONS: Offer ends 31st December 2023. UK print subscriptions offer only. Subscriptions will begin with the first available issue in 2024. AV Tech Media Ltd collects your data so that we can fulfil your subscription. We may also, from time to time, send you details of AV Tech Media…

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS ON from the original handmade SignatureX, the new SignatureX Tuned ARAY has been upgraded with XLPE (Cross-linked Polythene) insulation, which was previously used in the SignatureXL speaker and power cables. This upgraded insulation is intended to complement Chord’s high-performance shielding architecture and Tuned ARAY conductor geometry technology. The SignatureX Tuned ARAY is terminated with ultra-low-mass RCA connectors that have PTFE surrounds. Versions of the interconnect fitted with high-performance XLR and DIN connectors are available as well as a variety of different tonearm cables. The pins and contact areas of the plugs are covered with the company’s patented ChorAlloy plating technology. The cable itself is made from multi-stranded, silver-plated oxygen-free copper and insulated with an XLPE dielectric. It has a high-density silver-plated braid and foil combination to provide high-frequency…

PRICE: £2,500 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: AUDIOLAB.CO.UK AUDIOLAB HAS ADDED a network streamer to its flagship 9000 Series. The 9000N joins the 9000A integrated amplifier and 9000CDT CD transport, and delivers streaming from online services and local storage devices via wi-fi, Ethernet and USB. The company says the network streaming platform utilises a powerful ARM processor and Linux-based operating system alongside an ES9038PRO DAC while the main control app provides quick, easy access to fully integrated services such as Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify (via Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect) and TuneIn Radio. AirPlay 2 is on hand for Apple devices and the 9000N is also Roon Ready. The hi-res audio support handles PCM up to 32-bit/768kHz and native DSD up to DSD512. Other hi-res and lossless audio formats include FLAC, Apple Lossless…

PRICE: £160 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: EN-UK.SENNHEISER.COM SENNHEISER HAS INTRODUCED its Accentum Wireless headphones featuring 37mm dynamic transducers, which it says: “are tuned to provide exciting sound experiences with outstanding bass performance and striking clarity. Furthermore, the acoustics have been optimised for broad ANC (active noise cancelling) performance, dramatically reducing cacophony from the outside world through a combination of passive isolation and covert microphones targeting both low and higher frequencies.” Accentum makes use of Bluetooth 5.2 and multipoint connectivity, supporting aptX while AAC and SBC codecs are also onboard. With a claimed 50 hours’ use per charge, Accentum has quick charge for an additional five hours in just 10 minutes. The included USB-C charging cable can also transform the wireless headphones into a wired set for instances when Bluetooth is not…

PRICE: £250 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: TANGENT-AUDIO.COM DANISH COMPANY TANGENT has unveiled the latest addition to its Ampster range, the DAC II, which has a: “premium Sabre ES9023 24-bit Stereo Audio DAC at its heart”. Designed as a solution for anyone who has an amplifier but requires a cost-effective, compact preamplifier, it features a coaxial, two optical and USB inputs alongside aptX Bluetooth for wireless streaming. Additionally, the DAC II can be used as a dedicated headphone amplifier. It also features both RCA and XLR balanced outputs and an “intuitive, easy-to-use interface”.…

PRICE: £10,000-£12,500 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: REGA.CO.UK REGA HAS RELEASED its new Naia turntable, which it says takes its pioneering low-mass high-rigidity plinth technology to the next level using: “a Graphene-impregnated carbon fibre skeletal plinth with Tancast 8 foam core. This ultra-rigid structure is then strengthened further using two ceramic aluminium oxide braces, the same material used to create the redesigned, resonance controlled ceramic platter with improved flywheel effect and complex profile.” Naia features an RB Titanium tonearm designed to have the minimum of mechanical joints while using the stiffest materials in all critical areas. Rega claims this: “achieves near frictionless movement horizontally and vertically while having no measurable free play in the bearing assemblies”. It uses a new one-piece titanium vertical bearing and titanium vertical spindle assembly. The recommended Rega…

RECORD STORE DAY is back for its final blow-out of 2023 on 24 November. Known as the Black Friday Drop, it features the usual eclectic mix of rarities, represses and limited editions, most of which come in a fine array of coloured vinyl. Just to whet your appetite, we’ve taken the liberty of scanning the list of titles on offer and selected a few highlights to recommend adding to your collection. And so, in no particular order, here we go. 13th Floor Elevators, The Bull Of The Woods (L.M.L.R.) Weird beards will doubtless already know that Bull Of The Woods is the third and final studio album by Roky Erickson’s Texan psychedelic outfit 13th Floor Elevators who, among many other things, are infamous for their use of the electric jug.…

As far as I know, there isn’t a safer pair of LS3/5a hands than the Gold Badge. That confidence goes for the pooled objectives of its creators as well. Current Falcon Acoustics boss Jerry Bloomfield bought the company, then a drive unit specialist, from his friend, and company founder, Malcolm Jones. This was fortuitous. When Jones worked for KEF as a young man, he designed and engineered the 110mm B110 mid/bass driver and 19mm soft dome T27 tweeter offered to the BBC to launch the LS3/5a. Now taking the role of technical consultant, Jones used his original blueprints and fastidiously logged notes to remanufacture the long-discontinued KEF units, giving the Falcon a provenance no other ‘new’ LS3/5a could hope to match. To put the matter beyond doubt, Bloomfield insisted on…

ProAc’s Tablette has been made for almost as long as the LS3/5a, the first version going on sale with the start of the company, founded by the late Stewart Tyler in 1979. Rather than try to tweak the classic formula, the Tablette’s evolution has been a testbed for different drive units, cabinet proportions and port loadings. But Stewart made no bones about targeting precisely the same audiophile truth-seekers by setting out its stall as a viable, perhaps more musically vibrant, alternative, for a little less cash. It’s been a work in progress ever since, this 10th generation edition in Signature guise representing the final fruit and legacy of Stewart’s enduring fascination with the LS3/5a and quest to make a small bookshelf speaker that’s even better. Stewart’s daughter, Zoe, recounts how…

AS WELL AS defying obsolescence for nearly half a century, the LS3/5a’s reach and influence have spread far and wide, not just sustaining protectors of the faith but igniting the trend for modern alternatives aiming to match or even eclipse the original. We have a handful here and all bring varied and relevant talents to the party, not least the amazing Rega Kyte, which doesn’t just keep the rest of the group honest but rewrites our understanding of value for money. It may kick off this countdown but it does so with its head held high, offering Rega’s musical communication-first mantra as a bulwark against hi-fi’s more nebulous metrics. Fifth place goes to the Chartwell LS3 from Graham Audio, a fascinating exercise in giving the already civilised generic BBC sound…

When you are extremely proficient in one particular area, the decision to branch out into different categories can come with some risk. AVID is synonymous with turntables and has been bolstering these with a range of phono stages, arms and cartridges. This would be quite enough activity for many, but it has also been hard at work building a range of amplifiers and speakers. It’s important when you look at the Accent integrated amp – which represents its most affordable model in the range – to realise that it marks the final point in a trickle-down development policy that began a decade ago with the Reference Pre and Reference Mono, which will set you back £170,000. These are designed and built without compromise and represent the best of their kind.…

A cable of any length and configuration can be viewed as a network of series inductors and parallel capacitors. Each of these elements is a little inductance-capacitance (LC) filter, which has an impedance that varies with frequency. This is insignificant at low frequencies, but starts to become important as frequency increases. The values of inductance and capacitance are what give a cable its character. As inductance causes the current to lag the voltage (and capacitance has the inverse effect), cables will cause minute phase errors between current and voltage, which are frequency dependent. At higher frequencies, a cable can also be considered to be a transmission line with a defined characteristic impedance, and, therefore, we must also consider its wave propagation properties. Many would argue that even with frequencies of…

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SAVE 33 % ON THE SHOP PRICE SUBSCRIBE SECURELY ONLINE TODAY! https://checkout.avtechmedia.co.uk/EGENN Or call 01858 438446 LINES OPEN MONDAY TO FRIDAY – 9AM - 6PM Calls are charged at the same rate as standard UK landlines and are included as part of any inclusive or free minutes allowances. There are no additional charges with this number. Overseas calls will cost more. TERMS & CONDITIONS: *UK print subscriptions offer only. AV Tech Media Ltd collects your data so that we can fulfil your subscription. We may also, from time to time, send you details of AV Tech Media Ltd offers, events and competitions but you always have a choice and can opt out by clicking on the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email. Please be aware, by opting into…

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. 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. Cyrus CDi-XR Phantom Black PRICE:…