SPEC-RSA-M3EX_main

I am always curious about what new brands and/or technologies have to offer, so when I got the chance to hear a SPEC amplifier at home I didn’t say no. I picked the Real Sound Amplifier RSA-M3EX, the middle model in the range. I had not heard of the brand or the designer so took […]

mini-amps-group

It all started when someone said it was hard to find compact amplifiers that you could plug into the USB output of a computer and use with a pair of small speakers on the desktop. It turns out that this is a relatively rare breed and the selection we have gathered represents a fair proportion […]

Naim Mu-so Qb The Ear

Let’s get one thing straight from the start, the Mu-so does not shoot out colours like the picture on the Naim website, pity really as it looks rather good but I guess the novelty would wear off! It does look pretty gnarly without its wraparound grille though, drivers pointing everywhere in complete contrast to the […]


Marantz_14-series_main

Last year I visited Ken Ishiwata at Marantz Europe’s HQ in Eindhoven, Holland. This is where he has built a substantial listening room in the basement of an office block, it’s one of the best I’ve encountered and not a bad place to show off the latest Marantz components that Ken had given the Special […]

T+A_R_G2000R-PA2500R

T+A stands for Theory + Application, this German company has done just that with its transmission line loudspeakers, electronics and mechanics since its foundation in 1978. The amplifier and record player in front of me, the first I’ve tried from the company, prove as much. The dual mono PA 2500 R amplifier is part of […]

Orpheus-heritage-pre-psu

It’s not every day that I am invited to listen to a truly high-end system so when the Dutch Distributor of MBL, Orpheus Lab and TARA Labs asked me over to hear a very nice system I took a day off work to make the most of it. He had the Orpheus Lab Heritage amplifiers […]


MFA-phono-main

It’s interesting to see how hi-fi fits into the world. It’s not an empirical science with a defined set of ‘correct’ answers. At the same time, nor is it entirely an art form (though it has the potential to deliver a representation of artistic events). It sits outside any regulatory authority (save for the generally […]

NAP-250_5

The NAP 250 power amplifier has been a mainstay of the Naim range since time immemorial, or at least that’s the way it seems. The first NAP 250 was first made in 1975 and had the ‘chrome bumper’ livery of that era (it wasn’t chrome nor did it have bumpers but that’s by the by) […]

TE-Groove-Anni-BB

Tom Evans has been making his Groove phono stages for some time now, the anniversary in this particular model’s name refers to 20 years of them and that occurred in 2010. Having been there at the start with the Michell Iso, which was effectively the first Groove and shared the black acrylic case that continues […]


Deckard-Angle

In 2009 two headphone enthusiasts founded Audeze with the lofty ambition to make the best cans on the planet. Manufacturing planar magnetic headphones of the highest quality the firm has, in just six years, established itself as a beacon amongst both monitoring professionals and consumer audiophiles. Their range includes the standard-setting LCD-2 (£799) and more […]

remton-lcr-mk2-internal-full

When my memory serves me well, and on audio related topics it usually does, the two best phono stages I have had at home were equipped with LCR RIAA EQ networks. So when I noticed that Remton Audio of the Czech Republic was making one I immediately contacted UK distributor BD-Audio. A little explanation of […]

arcam-a49-amp-main

Arcam has gone through a few changes since its heyday in the eighties and nineties. Once an independent run by its founder and chief engineer John Dawson it is now owned by Canadian conglomerate Jam Industries and run by a dedicated managing director who leaves John to get on with the interesting stuff. He appears […]