Oephi Transcendence 2 with extra thrill power
Oephi Acoustics Transcendence 2 speakers Reviewing hi-fi can be a bit of a juggling act at times, one moment you have a £700 product to assess, the next a £7,000 example of the same variety turns up and of course it sounds better. Actually it’s more difficult when the opposite happens and you have to […]
Best hi-fi of 2023
The Ear picks the best hi-fi of 2023 2023 has been a tough year for the hi-fi industry but that has done nothing to stem the flow of first class products coming to market. In fact there are even more extraordinary audio components to choose from than there were last year, with advances made in […]
Proac Response D2R for the joy of ribbons
Proac Response D2R standmount speakers Since enjoying the Proac Response DB3 speakers around a year ago I have been eager to try some of the brand’s more up-market products having enjoyed them at various hi-fi shows. When the opportunity arose to listen to the D2 in my own system I jumped at the chance, even […]
Fyne Vintage Five: a very good year
Fyne Audio Vintage Five speakers I first saw the Mini-Me Vintage Five from Scottish company Fyne Audio at their launch during the Bristol hi-fi show at the start of the year. The looks and build quality appealed at once, even though the units were not playing when I visited their room. It was at the […]
PMC prodigy1 brings studio sound home
PMC prodigy1 loudspeaker It’s incredible to think that the last design from PMC that I tried was the company’s first domestic product, which was back in 1991 when co-founder Adrian Loader brought his LB1 transmission line to Hi-Fi News. So much has changed and now PMC has grown to become something of a legend in […]
Buchardt S400 MkII: high end for less
Buchardt S400 MkII loudspeakers I faced an awkward dichotomy in deciding when to pen this review because, while eager to share news of a very exciting product I am aware that, once published, the review samples will have to be shipped back to the manufacturer and I would like to enjoy them for as long […]
Goldenear BRX packs punch
Goldenear BRX loudspeakers It’s a bit of a novelty to have the Goldenear BRXs in my system, I can’t recall having had any of their loudspeakers through my hands before, although I’ve heard plenty and talked about Sandy Gross’ designs at various audio shows. Before establishing this label in 2010, he’s founded Polk back in […]
Falcon M10 traditional modern
Falcon Acoustics M10 loudspeakers Having heard the phenomenal sound created by the Falcon Acoustics M10 mini monitor at both the Warsaw and Bristol hi-fi shows I was eager to try them in my own system. On both occasions they were being received with some rapture, and rightly so in my view. Harking back, in many […]
Stratton Elypsis 1512 defines dynamics
Stratton Acoustics Elypsis 1512 loudspeakers The Elypsis 1512 is the result of an industrial designer’s dreams and a loudspeaker designer’s expertise. David Fowler is a designer who’s worked on a wide range of products, from scuba gear to solar charging systems but he has long been a hi-fi enthusiast. A few years ago Dave heard […]
Revival Atalante 3: a high end bargain
Revival Audio Atalante 3 loudspeaker Life as an audio reviewer is always more satisfying when a product like the Atalante 3 sounds at least as good if not better in one’s own system as it did at a hi-fi show. Such it was with this two-way standmount from a relative newcomer to market. Revival Audio […]
Node Hylixa Signature for maximum musical reward
Node Audio Hylixa Signature loudspeakers Before the Node Hylixa Signature was a glimmer in its designer’s eye we made a factory visit to Node Audio in Cambridge. A review of the original Hylixa was published the following month and they were awarded our coveted Innovation Award. So why, you may ask, are we revisiting the […]
3 Square Audio Ayal: small box, big bass
3 Square Audio Ayal loudspeakers These 3 Square Audio Ayal loudspeakers should not do what they do. There. I’ve said it. I first heard and saw these diminutive Darth Vader-esque speakers at a recent audio show. I kept looking for… a larger speaker, a subwoofer, anything, but all I could find was this small, beautifully-finished, slightly unconventional-looking […]