Best Hi-Fi of 2022
The best of the best that we have reviewed on the Ear over the last 12 months
Cables
Oephi Lounge
I would like to start this review with an apology to Joakim Juhl, the owner and chief designer of Oephi cables. He very kindly sent me a pair of the Lounge loudspeaker cables back in early August, followed shortly thereafter by a pair of the Lounge RCA interconnects. Now here we are in mid-November and […]
Atlas Arran
Despite knowing about cable manufacturer Atlas for many years, I only recently discovered that they are based just 25 miles away from me in Kilmarnock. It’s always inspiring to read about British success stories but local ones are even better. Founder and MD Kevin Kelly’s engineering background means the Ayrshire enterprise is very much science-led; […]
Tiglon TPL cables
Tiglon’s 47-year-old founder, Kentaro Okino, became fascinated with the sonic properties of magnesium during his mechanical engineering studies and, after using it to suppress vibrations in loudspeaker stands and component isolation platforms, obtained an international patent in 2009 for its use as an electromagnetic wave shield in hi-fi cables. The Japanese company has been making […]
Network Acoustics Muon Streaming System
If you want proof that noise is the enemy of good streaming sound put the Network Acoustics Muon filter and cable between a network switch and a streamer and press play. The sonic benefits are not in the slightest bit subtle, it’s up there with a significant DAC upgrade. Stopping noise getting into a streaming […]
Chord Company Shawline, Signature X & Sarum T
As a companion piece to my review of the Chord Company’s Powerhaus S6 mains block, I was asked to write about my experiences comparing the various cables that Chord sent to me to help get the best from it. Those who have read my piece on the Powerhaus will know I was initially concerned I […]
Atlas Eos Modular 2.5 and Eos dd
Atlas is first and foremost an engineering company, but one which directs its efforts towards making audio components which perform well and are built to last. Main man Kevin Kelly describes the thinking behind the Eos2.5 mains block thus: “We live in an electrically noisy soup, permeated by all manner of potential interference. The ‘household’ mains distribution blocks […]
Network Acoustics ENO USB Cable III
If there’s something that almost everyone thinks they can make in hi-fi it’s cables. Before I worked in reviewing I made cables of my own and they sounded better than the cheap ones I had at the time, but I didn’t feel the urge to go out and sell them to the world, maybe I […]
Black Rhodium Polka S
Investing in high-end audio equipment should take account of the cables used to connect the various pieces of equipment. It is so easy to upgrade one’s loudspeakers or a source component and neglect to appraise the quality of the interconnects or speaker cable. I have to confess that, using a Hegel H190 which combines the […]
Rega System One the complete vinyl package
Rega System One record player, amp & speakers At the last Bristol show, in the carefree days of February 2020, Rega launched its first all in one system and called it the Rega System One. Thanks to the pandemic the first examples of this system didn’t reach the shops until December last year, with a […]
Shunyata Research Hydra Delta D6, Delta XC & Delta v2-NR
If you have been reading The Ear for a while you may recall that back in October 2019 I submitted a review of the the Shunyata Research Venom UK6 power distribution block and the Venom NR-V10 mains cables. I said at the time that I would be very sad to see them go, and in fact Boyer […]
Best Hi-Fi Components of 2021
2021 may not have been the year that many of us had hoped for, there was only one hi-fi show in the UK and not many more elsewhere, but that hasn’t stopped manufacturers both large and small who have produced some absolutely outstanding audio components in that time. Our best of the year round up […]