New British valve audio designer Valve Audio Devices (VAD) has launched its debut offering: the DAC-10 digital to analogue converter. Designed and hand-built in the UK, the converter comes int two variants; PCM only (DAC-10 at £6499.95) or PCM and DSD (DAC-10 DSD at £6999.95). Both models being available in either piano lacquer gloss black […]
Monitor Audio’s new Silver range includes two stand mount models: Silver 1 and 2; three floorstanders: Silver 6, 8, 10, a dedicated centre, ‘FX’ surround and active subwoofer models. Silver 1, 2, 6, centre and FX retain the form of their predecessors, the Silver 8 is a full three way design, and new to the […]
It’s 40 years since the birth of Linn and the Sondek LP12 turntable and to mark the anniversary, Linn has joined forces with whisky distiller Highland Park, “makers of the best spirit in the world” to stimulate the senses of music and whisky lovers alike. The two companies have combined their expertise, craftsmanship and passion […]
Burson Audio from Australia makes a range of compact, integrated headphone amp/preamp/DAC systems and power amplifiers exemplified by a ‘less is more’ design philosophy. Burson’s approach, which “insists on meticulous ground-up design using specialised discrete circuits throughout”, is represented by the Conductor SL 9018 headphone amp/DAC; Conductor SL1793 headphone amp/DAC and Timekeeper stereo/mono power amplifier. […]
Cambridge Audio’s Minx Xi is a new wi-fi receiver with the ability to stream from wired, wireless and Bluetooth sources. It can wirelessly play music stored on any UPnP server, NAS drive or computer. It also provides access to net radio as well as “many” streaming services including BBC iPlayer Radio, Pandora and Rhapsody. Minx […]
Bowers & Wilkins has launched the P7 Mobile Hi-Fi headphones, its first over-ear headphones apparently“provide a truly immersive listening experience, combined with the luxurious comfort and impeccable build quality you expect from Bowers & Wilkins.”The ear cushions are designed to provide noise isolation and high levels of comfort thanks to dual-cavity construction which helps the […]
The Chord Company’s latest loudspeaker cable, the £8/metre Sarsen, is said to “redefine performance and value in the entry-level sector”. Chord Company’s most discreet cable design to date is a miniaturised cable that uses established design principles to produce a small cable with a big performance. It’s narrow diameter and flexible nature enables Sarsen to […]
Sony has re-joined the race for digital audio supremacy with a range of hi-res components in its much vaunted ES range. HAP-Z1ES (above, £1,999) is an HDD audio player with a 1TB internal drive and a USB socket to add extra capacity. It will play all the desired formats including DSD the codec Sony created […]
Spherically inclined French loudspeaker specialist Elipson has signed a partnership agreement with British home furnishing store Habitat to produce a new product line dubbed Habitat & Elipson. The first fruits will be the Lenny (above) a foghorn shaped portable speaker with an eight hour battery life, it’s splash proof as one might hope and offers […]
Focal’s new Aria 900 range combines flax membranes, new TNF tweeters, minimalist style cabinets and “perfectly phase optimized” crossovers. The range is similar in breadth to that of the Chorus 800 V for stereo and home cinema, with one exception: the model 948, which marks a return to the original “generous” loudspeaker with two 21cm […]
Gavin Fish works at Light Harmonic in California where they build the $20,000 DaVinci DAC but he wants to spread the hi-res word rather further than products at that price allow. Gavin's Kickstarter campaign is launching Geek, a 32 bit / 384 kHz plus DSD128 DAC and headphone amplifier. Retail price is planned to be […]
The Aero range combines BMR (Balanced Mode Radiator) drivers with conventional cone drivers for an entirely new approach to affordable speaker design. Cambridge Audio’s experience with BMR drivers in the Minx speakers lead them to realize their potential in more traditional designs. According to Cambridge (and Naim for the matter) using a BMR driver instead […]