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51 Articles

The health benefits of listening to music are well documented and, naturally, already fully appreciated by our audiophile readers. However, the full picture that ties together the biomechanical processes in our ears, our brain’s response to this complex stimulus, and how this informs our perception of a ‘three dimensional’ musical event is far from fully understood. There is a big difference between hearing and listening. The former relates to the effectiveness of our ears in converting received sound waves into (electrical) signals. The latter is an interpretative neurological process that evolves with learned experience. Received wisdom would have it that the more we enjoy music through our hi-fi systems the better we get at unravelling the details of the performance. In other words, the more we hear, the better we…

Sub with ELF esteem

Bigger brother to Wilson Audio’s Lōkē [HFN Sep ’22], and pledging to dig out the low-frequency information ‘deep in the grooves of your favourite LPs’, is the American company’s new Submerge subwoofer. Priced from £31,998, the bassmaker is available in five standard ‘Wilson Gloss’ finishes – Galaxy Gray, GT Silver, Quartz, Carbon and Medio Grigio – plus optional Upgrade and Premium Pearl colourways. The Submerge’s forward-firing 300mm long-throw bass driver, with dual spider motor system, is mounted into a baffle made from Wilson Audio’s proprietary S Material. A slot port below helps tune the sub’s output down to a claimed 20Hz. Power is from a 1.6kW amplifier with advanced DSP to manage the ‘acoustical interaction’ between driver and enclosure. At the top of the Submerge cabinet are controls to set…

Sub with ELF esteem

All-change Auralic

Auralic once suggested a G3 product line, based around its Tesla G3 streaming platform, was incoming [HFN Feb ’24], but has now confirmed a shift to a new flagship X series instead. The first model, the Aquila X3, is priced from £13,799 and debuts both a new ‘design language’ (with 14in touch display) and a modular construction. At its base level, the Aquila X3 marries its G3 streaming functionality to a built-in CD transport and Toslink, coaxial, USB and HDMI eARC inputs. Buyers can then choose between digital and analogue output modules (or both), an analogue input option, and up to 8TB of NVMe storage. Styling is flexible too, with a choice of colour and surface panel materials available. Auralic (Beijing) Co., Ltd, China, 075901 06105; www.auralic.com…

All-change Auralic

HI-FI NEWS’ NUGGETS

COPPER LOAD OF THIS Astell & Kern is releasing a £2699 ‘Copper Nickel’ edition of its SP3000M DAP, citing the anti-corrosion and shielding properties of its cupronickel alloy chassis. A slimmed-down version of the brand’s SP3000T flagship, the ’3000M features a 4.1in display, ten-hour rated battery and supports hi-res PCM and DSD music playback over 3.5mm and 4.4mm headphone outputs. www.astellnkern.com XTRA UPGRADE Cable maker Black Rhodium has launched an ‘Xtra’ collection for those seeking their ‘first upgrade’. Featuring speaker cable at 3m (£245) or 5m (£345), plus 1m interconnects (£140 for RCA, £170 for XLR), the series claims to minimise distortion caused by vibrations, HF noise and EMI through its braided, shielded construction. Mains and tonearm cables from Black Rhodium’s ‘Intro’ line are also being incorporated into the Xtra…

Small but mighty?

Japanese speaker marque TAD has unveiled the ME1TX for its Evolution series. Priced £17,500 in Black or Silver White finishes, the ME1TX has been developed by chief engineer Toru Nagatani and features ‘hundreds of improvements’ over the 2016-era ME1. A compact three-way speaker measuring 411x254x402mm (hwd), it combines a 25mm beryllium tweeter and 90mm magnesium alloy midrange in its proprietary Coherent Source Transducer. Bass (to 420Hz) is handled by a 160mm multi-layered aramid composite cone. The ME1TX’s braced MDF cabinet is strengthened by 5mm-thick steel panels on each side – these also integrate TAD’s ‘Aero-Dynamic Slot’ port technology. Colour-matched stands are £2995. Technical Audio Device Laboratories, Japan, 01707 629345; https://tadeurope.com…

Small but mighty?

Digital diva reimagined

New from HiFi Rose is the RS151, a sequel to the RS150 [HFN Jun ’21] which launched the brand in the UK in 2021. Priced £4299, the unit takes elements from the company’s RD160 DAC [HFN Jan ’25] and RS130 transport [HFN Oct ’23] to become its reference-level ‘network streamer’. However, as a system hub it also offers inputs on HDMI eARC, USB, AES/EBU, S/PDIF and analogue stereo; digital outputs on I2 S, USB-A, AES/EBU and S/PDIF; and supports installation of a 2.5in solid-state drive. Under-the-hood upgrades over the RS150 include an eight-core CPU providing improved processing speeds and graphics ability, and a new ESS ES9039PRO-based DAC stage, the latter allied to custom signal processing and a ‘Digital Processing Core Module’ to synchronise digital inputs to the RS151’s Femto clock.…

Digital diva reimagined

Pro-Ject evolves T1 deck

Pro-Ject has revisited its ‘entrylevel audiophile’ T1 turntable, first released in 2019, for a new series again with three models to suit different user needs. The T1 EVO, at £359, is the base model, while the T1 EVO Phono (£399) adds a switchable MM phono stage and the T1 EVO BT (£479) features both the built-in phono stage and a Bluetooth output to stream to compatible wireless speakers. New features include an Ortofon OM 10 MM for the T1 EVO’s 8.6in aluminium tonearm; a larger sub-platter; and electronic switching of 33/45rpm speeds now on all three models. Finishes for the CNC-machined plinth are Black, White or Walnut, and the plug-and-play ethos of the original T1 range is maintained via pre-calibration of the tonearm for downforce and antiskating. Pro-Ject Audio Systems,…

Pro-Ject evolves T1 deck

The balance of power

Offering the familiar styling and black or silver finish options of Musical Fidelity’s Nu-Vista series, the Nu-Vista 600.2 tube/hybrid integrated amplifier leverages the design of the ’800.2 [HFN Aug ’23] but at a more affordable £7999 price. A quartet of 6S51N nuvistor valves drives a TITAN-inspired transistor power amp [HFN May ’10] rated at 2x160W/8ohm while the amp’s dual-mono architecture includes separate PSUs for each channel. A new internal layout, with the main PCB mounted high in the chassis, has enabled MF to add a second set of balanced XLR inputs, and an XLR output, to the amp’s roster of all-analogue connections. Musical Fidelity, Vienna Austria, 01235 511166; www.musicalfidelity.com…

The balance of power

Upcoming Events

11-14 APR AXPONA Audio Expo North America 2025, Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Centre Hotel; www.axpona.com 15-18 MAY High End, Event Center Messe München (Munich), Germany; www.highendsociety.de/high-end 21-22 JUN North West Audio Show, Cheshire; http://audioshow.co.uk 27-28 SEP The UK Hi-Fi Show Live, Ascot Racecourse Grandstand, Ascot Berkshire SL5 7JX; www.hifishowlive.com 24-26 OCT Audio Video Show Warsaw 2025, Radisson Blu/Sobieski Hotel, Warsaw, Poland; www.audioshow.pl…

HXOS Eikona 2024

Held at the Wyndham Grand Athens hotel in Greece, over the weekend of November 9th and 10th, 2024, the HXOS Eikona Show entered its second decade by welcoming over 5000 visitors through its doors. Industry professionals and brand ambassadors were on hand to answer questions and offer insights, while the event provided a rare opportunity for passionate local audio enthusiasts to explore new innovations firsthand and experience the latest products from around the globe. Perhaps best of all, the atmosphere was warm and inviting, making the experience even more enjoyable. The event’s new hotel venue further enhanced the seamless experience, reinforcing the show’s role as a champion of high-end sound in Greece. In a beautifully decorated and acoustically treated space, distributor Chameleon Audio delivered an unforgettable listening experience. A Levante…

HXOS Eikona 2024

While we’ve already touched on the scarcity of new bands in the modern age [HFN Oct ’24], solo artists find themselves in a market that is becoming ever more crowded. That may be why many of the lone operators who’ve managed to break through in the past five years have found new ways to blend genres, put a fresh twist on classic styles, or just grab their audience by the lapels and demand attention. Most of these solo successes, as it turns out, are also women – perhaps a sign of how the modern musical landscape is evolving [see PM’s Welcome, HFN Mar ’25]. And while many lean towards the poppier side of the spectrum, we’d argue that much of the most innovative and arresting music being made is not…

The hi-fi news & Record Review Reader Pledge

You hold in your hands the world’s oldest and most respected hi-fi magazine – Hi-Fi News – where heavyweight audio engineering is our stock in trade. All our review products are typically subject to a one-month test process from shipping, unpacking, installation, photography, lab work, extended listening, disassembly/packing and collection. This practice was maintained right through the pandemic period, with full Covid biosecurity adding to the logistical complexity of our four-week issue schedule. But we did it… never missing one issue of the magazine or compromising the ‘Hi-Fi News Pledge’: 1. Our hardware reviews are never brief ‘hands on’ experiences of a product from a press conference, brand-led demonstration or distributor’s back room spun up into a four or five page article. 2. Products reviewed in Hi-Fi News already have…

The hi-fi news & Record Review Reader Pledge

Audio Research REF 330M

Review: Andrew Everard Lab: Paul Miller The latest arrival from US high-end brand Audio Research Corp., the Reference 330M monoblock amplifier (£92,000 per pair) may not quite be the most powerful amp the company has ever built, but by any standards a rated output of 330W – into 4ohm or 8ohm speaker loads – is going some for an amplifier using tube technology. Indeed, it will come as something of an eye-opener for those still subscribing to the belief that for the purity of the valve sound – or whatever else you consider to be the sonic traits of the genre – you must settle for low output power, and start looking for speakers of appropriately high sensitivity. No such allowances need be made here, for the REF 330Ms will…

Audio Research REF 330M

Review: Mark Craven Lab: Paul Miller Rotel has crowned its new Michi Q5 a ‘Transport DAC’, which strikes us as a somewhat vague description of what is, first and foremost, a CD player. Yes, it has digital inputs to make wider use of its onboard DAC, plus digital outputs, but just one glance at the Q5’s distinctive top-loading drive mechanism – plus the fact it resides under the ‘CD player’ tab on Rotel’s website – tells you this is a unit primarily aimed at silver disc lovers. Priced £5499, and therefore right in line with other Michi models including the P5 S2 preamp [HFN May ’24] and X3 S2 [HFN Jan ’24] and X5 S2 integrated amplifiers, the Q5 is, we’re told, the 47th CD player to come out of…

Marten Parker Trio Diamond

Review: Mark Craven Lab: Paul Miller Marten Parker Trio is not, of course, the name of a new jazz act. Marten is the Swedish loudspeaker manufacturer, established as a family business by Leif Mårten Olofsson in 1998, and Parker Trio one of its floorstanding options. Yet the jazz angle still applies, as the company’s other speaker ranges are Coltrane, Mingus, and Oscar. Perhaps Olofsson, who heads up the company as its chief designer, has Monk or Davis in mind for the future… Launched in May 2020 with as much fanfare as the Covid restrictions of the time allowed, the Parker series, with the Trio flanked by a bigger Quintet tower and the smaller Duo standmount, replaced the outgoing Heritage range. It represents the sweet spot in the Marten pecking order,…

Marten Parker Trio Diamond

Analog Relax EX300

Review: Adam Smith Lab: Paul Miller If the closure of Japanese cartridge manufacturer, Koetsu, in 2024 left a gap in the lives of analogue fans the world over, it also left a gap in the portfolio of its UK distributor, Absolute Sounds. In this case, the door led to cartridge brand Analog Relax, and the EX300 under consideration here is its entry level model, retailing in the UK for £2698. Analog Relax is a Japanese company, based in Tokyo, and focused on ‘creating handcrafted state-of-the-art moving-coil cartridges with a modern attitude, while still respecting and being faithful to the Japanese artisanal traditions’. Now, I don’t know about you, but that recipe sounds somewhat familiar. Could the Koetsu-sized hole in the vinyl world have found a plug? AND… RELAX The brand…

Analog Relax EX300

DS Audio TB-100

Review: Ken Kessler Lab: Paul Miller This just may be the most self-fulfilling review I’ve ever written. DS Audio has unleashed a valve energiser and equaliser, the TB-100, for its optical cartridges. Up to this point, every one of its cartridges has been launched with a matching solid-state energiser of relative or comparable price, but the TB-100 has been released on its own. Because every DS Audio cartridge will work with any of the energisers regardless of price, this time it’s all about the tubes. At £17,500, the TB-100 joins the existing range of five energiser/equalisers, at a price point just below the middle rank. It’s costlier than the DS-W3 (£9105) but less expensive than the DS Master 3 (£18,885), while above that reside the two-chassis DS Grand Master (£42,200)…

DS Audio TB-100

Denon PMA-3000NE

Review: Jamie Biesemans Lab: Paul Miller Denon updates its AV receivers at the drop of a hat, but its stereo amplifiers typically enjoy a far longer shelf-life. Side-stepping its 110th anniversary PMA-A110 model [HFN Dec ’20] for a moment, the brand’s previous flagship, the PMA-2500NE [HFN Aug ’16], illustrates this longevity. Nonetheless, there’s a direct line between the PMA-A110 and the £2999 PMA-3000NE tested here, as numerous hardware tweaks devised for that limited edition model underpin Denon’s new stereo integrated. There’s also an iterative feel to the PMA-3000NE. Perhaps that’s not a surprise, as it’s the tenth generation of Denon’s top-tier integrated amplifier, so, arguably, ‘I’ve seen this before’ is a reasonable reaction. It follows the tried-and-tested industrial design for a Denon PMA flagship, with a huge volume rotary in…

Denon PMA-3000NE

SVS SB17-Ultra R|Evolution

Review: Mark Craven Lab: Paul Miller Although SVS sells a variety of loudspeakers, from its desktop-friendly Prime Wireless Pro powered monitors to the recently launched Ultra Evolution series [HFN Jul ’24], it’s best known as a subwoofer manufacturer. This is, after all, how the Youngstown, Ohio-based company first got started in 1998, and in the intervening years it’s evolved a catalogue of subwoofers that’s now crowned by the new 17-Ultra R|Evolution models. SVS claims to be the ‘top subwoofer brand in the world’, but how has it achieved such a lofty status? Firstly, by offering plenty of choice. All its subwoofers, except the in-wall and ‘Micro’ models of its mid-level 3000 series, are available in either sealed or ported cabinets. Ease of use is a factor, too. Since 2016, each…

SVS SB17-Ultra R|Evolution

Canton Reference 3

Review: Jamie Biesemans Lab: Paul Miller First seen at High End Munich in 2023, Canton’s Reference range brought a major renewal to the flagship offering of Germany’s largest loudspeaker brand. Introducing a new design aesthetic, with a rounded lute-shape cabinet profile made popular by Sonus faber many years ago, and integrating new drivers, it heralded a major course change from the previous Reference K generation [HFN May & Aug ’22]. Yet Canton’s penchant for sprawling ranges has not changed, so the Reference series contains no fewer than eight models – and that’s not counting the exclusive GS edition, nor the two Alpha models revealed at Munich in 2024 [see boxout, p77]. It’s also ‘on brand’ that there are many floorstanding options, the Reference 9 [HFN Jan ’25] being the only…

Canton Reference 3

Monteverdi Vespro della Beata Vergine

Claudio Monteverdi has been labelled a Baroque composer and a Venetian composer, despite the facts that he published six collections before the 17th century even began and that he worked in Mantua until he was 45 years old. At that point, disgruntled with his terms of service, he travelled to Rome in search of new (preferably papal) employment. He took with him a newly published volume, hot off the press, of sacred works which he had written over the past decade. Comprising a Mass setting, and the elements for an impracticably lengthy service of Vespers, the volume was dedicated to Pope Paul V and evidently designed as a lavish showcase of Monteverdi’s talents. Whether or not the Italian composer expected the full set of Vespers ever to be performed in…

Monteverdi Vespro della Beata Vergine

Velvet Underground Loaded

The other day I was sorting through boxes and files in the attic when I came upon a faded, almost illegible old fax. Squinting at it under a bright lamp, I discovered it was from, of all people, Moe Tucker, legendary drummer with The Velvet Underground. It must have been sent to me in the late summer of 1993 as it referenced a story that NME, the publication I was editing at the time, had printed suggesting that the band, who had reunited for a bunch of dosh-grabbing gigs, were on the brink of splitting up again due to the long-festering animosity between Lou Reed and John Cale, which had seen the latter chucked out the first time round, back in 1968. On further investigation, it transpired that Moe’s fax…

Velvet Underground Loaded

Marillion Misplaced…

Marillion vocalist and wordsmith Derek Dick, aka Fish, knew that concept albums weren’t for everyone. Discussing his band’s chart-topping June 1985 masterpiece Misplaced Childhood, during the 72-minute Childhood Memories documentary found on the album’s Blu-ray/4CD box set reissue, he says they ‘didn’t mention the “C” word. We just told [record label EMI] that we were making an album. We kept it quiet’. Yet Misplaced Childhood is a haughty Concept Album with a capital ‘C’ if ever there was one. And plenty of people, including presumably the EMI management, loved it. Four decades on from its release, it remains Marillion’s best-selling album. It went platinum in the UK and Germany, hit No 1 in the UK charts, and was their first (and only) album to crack the Top 50 in the…

Marillion Misplaced…

PRODUCTION NOTES

Produced by Chris Kimsey [The Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton], Misplaced Childhood was recorded between March and May 1985 at Hansa Tonstudio in Berlin, Germany, just 150 metres from the then-still-standing Berlin Wall. Kimsey had been recruited by David Munns, head of A&R at EMI at the time, and he met the band during the album’s early writing sessions. ‘We were quite excited, because here was the guy who had done The Stones’, Fish recalls. ‘Before that, we had worked with Nick [Tauber], and now we felt we had gone up a division’. The band were also less than satisfied with how their previous album on EMI, 1984’s Fugazi, was mixed and mastered. The recording process was efficient. ‘There were no extraneous overdubs – everything we recorded was used’, Kimsey recalls.…

PRODUCTION NOTES

Alternate Format Discography

ORIGINAL VINYL & CASSETTE EMI’s purple-label 1985 Misplaced Childhood LP [EJ 2403401] lives and breathes as it should – hello to the majestically foreboding, ‘Tubular Bells’-like ‘Waterhole (Expresso Bongo)’ outro – but if you’re a completist, you’ll also want the 12in picture disc [EMI MRLP 2]. Both releases spread Mark Wilkinson’s art [see p87] across the gatefold sleeve. Misplaced Childhood was issued on cassette in the same year [EMI 1C 264 24 0340 4 in the UK; Capitol 4XT-12431 in the US]. The US release [pictured below] cropped and reframed the cover image rectangularly and unfurled the band’s logo across the top of young Robert Mead’s tousled head. The following year, a US-only Brief Encounter ‘minialbum’ on cassette [Capitol 4LP 15023], and vinyl [Capitol MLP-15023], married ‘Kayleigh’ and the ‘Lady…

Alternate Format Discography

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio

We begin, just like many good stories do, with a fight. Atlantic Records has just signed Aretha Franklin, who’d recently left Columbia after a stretch of LPs covering mostly jazz standards. Atlantic’s in-house producer Jerry Wexler decides to explore a new direction and, impressed with the soulful sounds coming out of some small independent studios in America’s Deep South, determines to record Aretha at FAME, a facility with over a decade of hits behind it. FAME was set up and run by a smart dude called Rick Hall in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Much like the way Stax employs Booker T. & The M.G.’s in Memphis and Motown has the Funk Brothers in Detroit, much of FAME’s magic is created by a house backing band featuring keyboardist Barry Beckett, drummer Roger…

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio

AUDIOPHILE: VINYL

PATRICK LEONARD It All Comes Down To Mood Ruudy 6 Recordings (n/a cat. no.; two discs, 180g vinyl) This stunner features immaculate pressings with lacquers cut at Bernie Grundman’s by Chris Bellman, while the mastering was one of the last tasks to be undertaken by the legendary Bob Ludwig before retiring in 2023. The sound quality? Casino Royale level. But the music… Songwriter Leonard’s stylistic smorgasbord will remind you he’s composed for Madonna, collaborated with Leonard Cohen and worked with so many A-listers that the group of musicians on this labour-of-love include Wendy Melvoin (of Prince and Wendy & Lisa fame), Martin Barre (late of Jethro Tull) and more. I was reminded of Billy Joel, Joni, Elton… yes, captivating, melodic songs of that calibre. Just buy this – now. KK…

AUDIOPHILE: VINYL

AUDIOPHILE: DIGITAL

GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS I Like It! Anthology 1963-1966 Strawberry Records CR3JAM027 (three discs; part mono) There’s no shortage of Gerry And The Pacemakers anthologies, but this 98-track package is the best yet. It covers their most important period, before Gerry went solo, and is bursting with riches. Along with the hits which made the group one of The Beatles’ main rivals in the USA, there were whole albums which could serve as synecdoche for ‘Merseybeat’, with the usual cover versions and originals, all presented in glorious mono. Then you get to CD3, with an entire live album (first time in stereo) from 1964, and six stereo tracks including ‘Ferry Cross The Mersey’ and ‘Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying’, plus a load of previously unreleased cuts. Perfection. KK…

AUDIOPHILE: DIGITAL

HI-RES DOWNLOADS

TORD GUSTAVSEN TRIO Seeing (88.2kHz/24-bit, WAV) www.ecmrecords.com; ECM 2820 Read down the tracklist of this set by pianist Gustavsen, long-term partner in jazz Jarle Vespestad and bassist Steinar Raknes (who last worked with the duo on 2022’s Opening), and you’ll expect a reflective, hymn-like feel. After all, there’s ‘Jesus, Make Me Still’, ‘The Old Church’, ‘Beneath Your Wisdom’ or ‘Nearer My God, To Thee’. And quiet reflection’s almost what you’ll get, the Scandinavian trio delivering a gentle, well-considered 44 minutes of music with a serene calm to it, and a marked absence of ‘because we can’ jazz noodling or indulgent solos. Instead, we get influences from Bach to folk-hymns, all played with real heart and soul – and of course the three musicians recorded with the sympathetic gorgeousness that’s the hallmark…

HI-RES DOWNLOADS

HIFI SEAN AND DAVID McALMONT Twilight Plastique Recordings FAKE137CD; LP: FAKE137 In 2024 the duo released the upbeat, primary coloured Daylight, but its sister album Twilight is characterised by crepuscular moods. The title track features a panorama of Sean’s synths and percussion – and also has great depth – and McAlmont’s evocative falsetto soars above the rain and city lights described on ‘Uptown/Downtown’. On ‘Sorry I Made You Cry’ he is contrite, wondering, over thick synth chords, ‘Can we blame it on the moon eclipsing?’. There’s a seductive dream-like atmosphere throughout as hypnagogic visions are fashioned into cosmic soul tunes. These range in mood from the electronic ebb and flow of the single ‘Star’ to the buoyant grooves, wah-wah guitar and vocal chorales of ‘High With You’. MB Sound Quality:…

DANIELSSON, POHJOLA, PARRICELLI Trio Asked to put together a trio for this second release sponsored by Bordeaux vineyard Château Palmer, bassist Lars Danielsson first chose a long-term colleague, guitarist John Parricelli, then added Finnish trumpeter Verneri Pohjola, with whom he’d worked only briefly. And with Pohjola’s trumpet sweet and soft-edged, the emphasis is on melody and atmosphere rather than solos, from the opening ‘Calme de la Château’ to a soothing ‘La Chanson d’Hélène’ and a stately ‘Mood Indigo’. Recorded in a salon of the Château itself, live in the room with no separation between the musicians, the album benefits from a warm and spacious acoustic that helps its relaxing mood. SH Sound Quality: 85% SNORRE KIRK What A Day! Stunt Records STUCD24032; LP: STULP23031 Danish drummer and composer Kirk knows…

PATRICIA KOPATCHINSKAJA, THOMAS KAUFMANN, CAMERATA BERN ‘Exile’ – Panufnik, Schnittke, Wyschnegradsky, Ysaÿe, etc. Alpha ALPHA1110 (downloads to 96kHz/24-bit resolution) Concept albums from PK and her Swiss partners never make for a comfortable listen. Schnittke’s First Cello Sonata, in neo-Baroque dress, trades in Mahlerian violence but keeps heavy irony at bay – unlike the Schubert dances used for one of the interludes. PK bends and twists the ferocious solo part in Panufnik’s Concerto as though she had written it yesterday, but the most modern-sounding music here comes from 1931, a quarter-tone string quartet by Wyschnegradsky, slipping and sliding on musical black ice. The title track is a chromatic ‘symphonic poem’ for strings in the style of Verklärte Nacht – a revelation for those who knows Ysaÿe only through the solo sonatas.…

Big Hi-Fi’ is a neat way to describe a clean and powerful sound system used to assist live sound in a music club or small hall. BHF does not come cheap or easy, which is why so many music venues wreck music. The Ronnie Scott’s jazz and rockishpop club in London’s Soho has recently been refurbished and I kept thinking the words ‘Big Hi-Fi’ when I went to one of the re-opening events – the premiere of Inferno 67, an extraordinary jazz theatrical show by trumpeter/bandleader/arranger/composer Guy Barker. TAKING CONTROL A few days later I went back to talk with Technical Director Miles Ashton about the refurbed sound system that had done Barker’s big band music so proud. Ashton thinks of the Scott club as now having ‘a studio control…

The Record Plant returns

Perhaps only a few local residents recognise the historical importance of an old, tired-looking building on the edge of the industrial area of Sausalito, California. Resembling a windowless barn clad in decaying bias-cut redwood, the funky structure at 2200 Bridgeway was once the legendary Record Plant [HFN May ’23], one of three ‘sister studios’ that ruled the roost of rock and pop recording 40 and 50 years ago. The other two – also long gone – were in New York and Los Angeles. This outpost, on the north shore of the San Francisco Bay, generated many iconic recordings of the 1970s and ’80s, including Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key Of Life and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours. It was also home to dozens of rock and pop music stars, including Sly…

The Record Plant returns

One thing leads to another

Hi-fi enthusiasts are familiar with the impact that the interaction between their listening room’s acoustic and the behaviour of their loudspeakers can have on the sound they hear. Even quite slight movements of the listening position, or the locations of the speakers, can make a distinct difference. Hence spending time altering these positions or making changes to the room’s furnishings, etc, can often produce improved results. However, there are other forms of interaction that tend to be overlooked. The listener assumes these are inherent to the speakers or amplifiers being used. In one sense, that is true, but potentially misleading if you assume it can’t be tweaked to give better results. The snag is that these effects arise before the sound leaves the speakers, and often for reasons most listeners…

One thing leads to another

Athought occurred to me as I toured the UK Hi-Fi Show Live last September: ‘Where did all these subwoofers come from?’. Dedicated ‘bass-makers’ aren’t a common sight at hi-fi exhibitions, but there were plenty put to work at the Ascot Grandstand, in demonstrations hosted by KEF, Arcam, ELAC and others. It was nice to witness what could be a shift in the industry way of thinking. Subwoofers, it seems to me, have long been considered personae non gratas in hi-fi set-ups, deemed only fit for the rough and tumble of home cinema sound. Good for explosions and gun-fights, yes, but not for making music. RACE TO THE BOTTOM This notion solidified in the 1990s, on the coat tails of the launch of the Dolby Digital 5.1 format, followed by DTS…

By the time you read this, you might have been assailed by another year’s horrifying statistics about the loss of polar ice. But you can still watch the six-minute video that music superstar Jacob Collier made in the Arctic last year. When Greenpeace invited Collier to take a trip to the far north, he boarded the Arctic Sunrise along with Norwegian alt-pop singer Aurora and sailed to Sveabreen, Svalbard, beyond the Norwegian coast and far into the Arctic Circle. There, on a floating platform like a small ice floe, just big enough for an upright piano for Collier and a bit of dancing from Aurora, they performed, as Greenpeace puts it, ‘A haunting mash-up of their two songs, “A Rock Somewhere” and “The Seed”, in a rallying cry for ocean…

POWER FOR TOWERS? SEEKING SPEAKERS FOR QUAD’S REBORN 303 About 50 years ago I purchased a Quad 33 and 303, plus an FM3 tuner. They gave me many years of trouble-free listening. Guess what? Fifty years later I am again looking at the latest iteration of the Quad 33/303. (I did not keep the originals for 50 years – there have been a lot of amps under the bridge since then!) I was thinking of pairing the new system with Quad’s Revela 2 loudspeakers but was a little concerned to read in PM’s Lab Report for the 303 [HFN Jan ’25] that it would ‘just cope’ with the Revela 2 speakers. If I did go down this route then I would probably buy two Quad 303s and use them in…

All down the line

In Barry Fox’s ‘Life Lessons’ column [HFN Feb ’25] he discussed making use of Wi-Fi signal extenders to improve network coverage around the home. I was surprised he didn’t also mention Powerline adapters which pass Ethernet signals through a home’s mains system. These are a great way of connecting hardware to a router that might be several rooms or floors away and a useful alternative to Wi-Fi. I use a cheap two-plug system from TPLink to connect a Sky Q satellite set-top box, through my mains wiring, to our router. This works fine, despite Sky insisting its box should only be directly connected to the router. Some Powerline plugs also double up as Wi-Fi extenders, too. Barry Fox replies: I have used Powerline adapters myself and also used them with…

Help me achieve valve ‘bliss’

Inspired by Ken Kessler’s Off The Leash article in HFN Feb ’25 where he speaks of his love of valve amplification, I thought I would put pen to paper and present my thoughts that have developed recently. I find I am enjoying music, mostly Radio 3, on my Magnum Dynalab MD107T triode tuner better than my dCS Puccini CD/SACD player and sometimes vinyl. My VTL TL-5.5 Series II preamplifier feeds a pair of Bryston 7B Cubed mono power amplifiers. Loudspeakers are PMC EB1 floorstanders. My recently purchased SME 20/3 turntable, fitted with an Ortofon Windfeld Ti cartridge, feeds a Trilogy 907 phono stage, which is now ten years old. I wondered, is the way to bliss the purchase of a valve phono stage? Ken’s review of the Manley Oasis [HFN…

Help me achieve valve ‘bliss’

Sonic delivery from a UPS

In the Sound Off pages in HFN Jan ’25, reader Paul Radford wrote in asking about using a UPS [uninterruptible power supply]. I use them in both my hi-fi systems for surge protection, but the first time I added one (a CyberPower 1325VA) I also noticed an improvement in treble clarity from my B&W DM 640s. I was not expecting this, as the system was otherwise unchanged. Apparently, the CyberPower UPS provides a ‘simulated sine wave output’ – whatever it does, it works, and they are not very expensive. Paul Miller replies: Thanks for the tip, John. Your CyberPower UPS [pictured] includes an EMI filter and surge protector on the incoming AC mains feed together with AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation) that holds the output to – in your case –…

Sonic delivery from a UPS

Tales from the FM airwaves

I thought to let you know that, after the answer to my letter by Mr Lesurf [HFN Nov ’24], I purchased two new aerials – from Blake UK – for a fair price. I have a ‘two element’ FM aerial for my Yamaha CT-710 that works best in a vertical orientation, and a ‘three element’ FM aerial for my Audiolab 8000T in a horizontal orientation. These have replaced the circular folded dipole and have had a profoundly positive effect in terms of signal levels and stations captured. Karl Kozurek, via email I totally agree with Jim Lesurf’s comments about radio broadcasting in general and its decline into DAB [HFN Feb ’25]. He is right to say that a good FM tuner can give far superior sound quality than any DAB…

Tales from the FM airwaves

Radford’s missing monoblock amplifier

I think it’s fair to say that the Radford STA15 is one of the most highly regarded vintage British valve amplifiers. I have never owned an original, but a few years ago I built one from scratch using transformers and other essentials purchased from Radford Revival. This certainly impressed me with its excellent sound, but the main drawback I found was the limited power available to drive the sort of low-sensitivity loudspeakers that I typically prefer. As Radford groupies will know, the STA25 is the same amp as the STA15 but with more watts squeezed from the output EL34 valves by running them with fixed rather than auto bias, and through increasing the HT rail voltage by changing to solid-state rectification and avoiding the voltage drop across the valve rectifier…

Radford’s missing monoblock amplifier

Counting the cost of vinyl

Having begun my recorded music journey in 1977 as a teenager I’m sure I can’t be the only music lover who has been dismayed by the renaissance of vinyl. Not because I have anything against those high-quality LPs I see displayed in what few record shops remain, but because the quality of what I was spending my hard-earned teenage money on was, quite frankly, dross! As a classical music fan, I can’t help compare the shoddy vinyl offerings of yesteryear with the vastly improved production standards of what is being offered today. Yes, I know there were issues with oil production in those days but that didn’t stop purveyors such as EMI and Deutsche Grammophon from charging £4.25 for a full-price issue which, according to the Bank of England’s inflation…

Counting the cost of vinyl

Braun PS 450 turntable

Review: Tim Jarman Lab: Paul Miller Braun’s hi-fi activities are little known in the UK, although the company’s Regie 510 and Regie 350 receivers have been featured in previous Vintage Reviews [HFN Jun ’16 & Apr ’17]. At its peak, the Braun hi-fi range was as broad and as sophisticated as that of any rival manufacturer, in addition to the kitchen, personal care and photographic equipment that the company also produced. Unlike some, Braun designed and manufactured its own turntables and these were engineered to the very highest of standards. By the mid 1960s the range comprised five models, including one that came factory fitted with an SME 3009 arm and a Shure V15 cartridge. AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE As hi-fi became more of a mass-market interest in the 1970s,…

Braun PS 450 turntable

Opening up the GATE

Hi-Fi News July 1999 Each month HFN will bring you an article from our vast archive of features and reviews from yesteryear Every so often, you stumble across something a bit special. Well, ‘stumble’ is perhaps not quite the right word, but I did hear a rather captivating sound coming from the GATE room at one of the UK’s smaller audio shows a year or two ago, and then again at the Heathrow-based Hi-Fi News Show last year. GATE, which stands for Glass Audio Tube Engineering, is headed up by electronics engineer James Turner. James is associated with Chelmsford-based valve specialist Chelmer Valve, which supplies many of the UK’s valve amp manufacturers with their hot glowing things. So with the pick of all available output valve types, it’s interesting that…

Opening up the GATE

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OFF THE LEASH! KEN KESSLER TELLS IT LIKE IT IS…

Shortly before Christmas 2024, I attended a live concert in the Sandwich (Kent) Guildhall, performed by a brass and woodwind orchestra. As my wife is one of the flautists, I hear her practicing every day, so I know what a real flute sounds like, up close and personal. It’s louder than you’d expect, if unlikely to blow away, say, a trumpet (unless it’s Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson playing it through a stack of Marshall amps). PEERLESS REFERENCE Hearing live music daily has proven to be a peerless reference for reviewing. I long ago gave up attending rock concerts because I did not want to suffer blown eardrums from levels of 120dB-plus even sitting at, say, 60m from the stage. This concert provided two hours of real sound, the levels of…

OFF THE LEASH! KEN KESSLER TELLS IT LIKE IT IS…

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