Cambridge Audio EXN100 streamer/DAC Sometimes a product arrives out of the blue with impeccable timing; so it was with the new network player from Cambridge Audio. The EXN100 is a complex beast, featuring a DAC to handle various digital inputs, comprehensive streaming abilities, internet radio and a preamplifier. Until Qobuz get their act together and […]
The Wand 14-4 Master turntable If rivalry and ambition are key forces driving the hi-fi industry, I’d argue nothing motors harder than the quest to build a better turntable. It’s cat nip for visionary engineers. Rega’s founder Roy Gandy saw the record player ultimately as a machine for measuring vibration and produced a book to […]
Noise-Trap passive mains filter In most countries, high frequency noise on the AC power supply – often worse at certain times of the day – causes audio systems to dip in sonic performance. The high frequency noise seems to have a curious effect on some humans too, causing them to assure us that the variability […]
Quad 33/303 pre/power amplifier Rarely do I receive a press release about a new piece of hi-fi gear that prompts me to contact the sender by return asking for a chance to review said item. However, just such an email arrived heralding the new Quad 33 preamplifier and 303 power amplifier and off went my […]
Rega Brio Mk7 integrated amplifier I have to admit to being surprised when Rega announced a seventh generation Brio, this amplifier has been in their range for quite some time but I didn’t realise that there had been so many versions. The last Brio I reviewed was in 2017 when it was called just Brio, […]
Stack Audio Smooth-LAN Regenerator network filter Stack Audio first hit the scene with a streamer, a product that never really came to fruition but which lead to the rather more affordable Link streamer and its successor the Link II. Today Theo Stack and his crew are making streaming accessories that inhabit the brand’s trademark machined […]
System Audio Silverback 1 & Stereo HT Hub wireless speaker system If there’s one thing this industry needs it is sensibly priced high performing audio systems that minimise complexity and appeal to a younger demographic. The System Audio Silverback 1s are a compact active, wireless speaker system with WiSA, which, combined with the firm’s recently […]
Electrocompaniet EC1M MkII streamer & DAC The ECM 1 MkII is not a new product but my attention was drawn to it by someone whose ears I have come to trust, namely Rich Trussel of Network Acoustics. Rich has a pretty fancy system with Vivid G2 speakers and a Soulution power amplifier, he must be […]
Jico Clipper headshell and cartridge Who has most fun with hi-fi? Not, I suspect, those for whom building the perfect system through the application of ever escalating funds is the destination. While potentially hugely satisfying, the process probably has more in common with an episode of television’s Grand Designs than the joy of casually messing […]
Powergrip YG-2 power conditioner Audiophiles tend to have one of the following three opinions about mains conditioners: A. Properly designed hi-fi equipment is designed to cope with the output from the national grid, so filtering is unnecessary. B. Active mains filters kill musicality and dynamics, so a decent mains distribution block is the best option. […]
Fyne Audio F701SP speakers With the news that Scottish brand Fyne Audio outgrew its factory and had to expand to larger premises, I was keen to try the latest stand-mount model from this burgeoning manufacturer. Boasting a dual-concentric driver with new HF waveguide, the F701SP also incorporates an overhauled crossover network and downward firing reflex […]
Martin Logan Electromotion ESL X speakers The concept of the ‘marmite product’; a device that appeals hugely to a subset of people while repelling roughly the same number, is one with which the audio industry is both familiar and fairly comfortable with. While I am pretty confident that the good people of Martin Logan won’t […]