Michell turntables, Stevenage, England

Michell turntables, Stevenage, England When John Michell passed away at the age of 67 after a short illness it was left to his daughter Julie and her husband Steve Rowland to pick up the business that he had started in 1967. J.A. Michell Engineering Ltd was officially incorporated 1973 and started out making parts for […]

Apple Music vs Qobuz: the search for high-definition streaming

Apple Music vs Qobuz: the search for high-definition streaming Convinced that I needed to find a better music source than Apple Music played via Airplay 2, I decided it was time to give the well-publicised Qobuz a try. I have been using Apple’s ubiquitous music service for several years but experience with various streamers gave […]

Humminguru S-Duo and Vinylshield accessories

S-Duo stylus pressure gauge and cleaner There is a certain amount of controversy about stylus cleaning – what are the best methods to keep the tip clean, or clean it if it gets crud on it – and how to look after our precious vinyl resource. Enter the Humminguru S-Duo. The Ear’s readers will hopefully […]


SFC SK-III Rhodium anti-static brush review www.the-ear.net

SFC SK-III Rhodium anti-static brush Back in my Hi-Fi Choice days we enjoyed putting April Fools news stories in the magazine once a year (hard to imagine today) and one was along rather similar lines to those embodied by the SK-III Rhodium anti-static brush, there was definitely a mention of goat’s hair but it may […]

egglestonworks viginti

Egglestonworks, Hegel & Merason at Audio Deluxe The Egglestonworks Viginti is a substantial loudspeaker, it weighs 255lbs (116kg) and is nearly two foot deep, which makes it difficult to get through 30 inch British doorways such as the ones on my studio. But I wanted to hear them and Auden Distribution were thinking of some […]

UberLight_Flex_Gear

The Uberlight Flex is for those of us that prefer to listen with the lights down, after all it’s more relaxing and music sounds better when you’re relaxed. As a vinyl lover there is a problem with low lighting however and that’s the need to find a specific track on a record if it’s not […]


Decca_Stereogram_Amp

I was reading the letter sent in by Andy Greensmith regards Hi-Fi quest in the May issue of Hi-Fi Choice (wherein Andy explains that he prefers the sound of an 80s Rega Planar 2 with a Clearaudio Aurum Alpha MM cartridge to his more expensive Nottingham Analogue Spacedeck with Rega RB303 arm and Hana EH […]

lockdown-music-index

Those who have switched office for home might like to indulge in the luxury of having music to accompany their toils. Below are some sounds that Reuben has selected for these testing times: For Majestic background work-at-home music from former est drummer Magnus Ostrom listen to The Moon (And the air it moves) from Searching […]


aperture-interior

Just as there’s an analogue revival going on in our world with vinyl and even cassette making comebacks, the photographic universe is seeing a cult for film in the smartphone era. For proof of this look no further than Aperture a camera shop in London’s West End that has a huge array of pre-loved film cameras from […]

hifi-bauernhof-index

The transition from a successful dairy farm to one of the most unusual hi-fi outlets is an interesting family story, as Trevor Butler discovered on a visit to southern Germany. Boasting some of the best audio brands money can buy, HiFi-Bauernhof [translated as ‘hi-fi farm’] serves customers not just in its native Bavaria but from […]

Gaggia-NAVIGLIO_front

No, Gaggia has not started making single ended triode espresso machines, nor is the Naviglio a network streamer. It is a bean to cup coffee machine and our excuse for reviewing it on this site is that even hi-fi reviewers need more than pace rhythm and timing to keep us awake sometimes. Neither am I […]