Pro-ject packs years of know-how into Debut Reference 10
Pro-ject Debut Reference 10 turntable When a company with the history and reputation of Austria’s Pro-ject launches the ‘best ever’ turntable in its established and well-respected Debut series, it cannot be ignored and I got myself in the queue to get one for the Ear as soon as the news broke. Pro-ject claims to be […]
Rega Planar 6 RS Edition locks down the groove
Rega Planar 6 RS Edition turntable, arm & cartridge Rega RS Edition turntables are beginning to become a thing, two years ago we had the Planar 3 RS, a version of their most successful design that took elements from the Planar 6 and also had a brushed aluminium satin finish, albeit in black rather than […]
Clearaudio Compass: can a high end brand make an affordable turntable?
Clearaudio Compass turntable, arm & cartridge I have been around audio as a consumer, retailer and reviewer for a very long time but this is my first encounter with any product from Clearaudio, a company founded in Germany in 1978. From that time the company has built a very impressive product portfolio, centred around turntables, […]
Best hi-fi of 2025
The Ear’s reviewers pick the best hi-fi of 2025 If you want to discover the best hi-fi of 2025, the audio products that really wowed our reviewers over the last 12 months, look no further. These components made a lasting impression, they are the ones reviewers would have held onto if they could and in […]
Vertere DG X record player prompts reviewer purchase
Vertere DG X turntable & arm I cannot speak for you of course, but I have the sense that we are living through some dark days. As a natural optimist it pains me to even say so, but there we are. Then suddenly, a product comes along for review which absolutely lifts me and brightens […]
Clipaudio Dolomite reveals what it takes to get more from your vinyl
Clipaudio Dolomite turntable and Ninewave tonearm One of the most amazing things about hi-fi is the ongoing quest to wring the most out of what many would term outdated media. Within living memory we have been informed that the LP is dead, long live the CD, and then that streaming will never catch on; it’s […]
Connected-Fidelity TT Hub turntable: rhythmically fast and agile
Connected-Fidelity TT Hub turntable There was a painstaking wait before I could get my hands on a TT Hub turntable to play with, having had my appetite well and truly whetted by the various prototypes shown to me by Connected-Fidelity’s Michael Osborn. I was very impressed by the excellent build quality and finish of those early […]
Michell Orbe SE turntable needs no upgrades
Michell Orbe SE turntable Here’s a question, in which year did England win the World Cup? That’s right, it was 1966. I suspect that the majority of you reading this will have known the answer even though you were as yet not even a gleam in your parents’ eyes when it happened. Similarly, in what […]
The Wand 14-4 Master turntable for real vinyl magic
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 […]
Luphonic R2 turntable hits the ground rockin’
Luphonic R2 turntable & arm The vinyl revival is in full swing and turntables sales are on the up. If you needed evidence, just look at how vinyl and indeed turntables have suddenly been given front-of-house status in HMV stores with CDs relegated to the back of the showroom, if you can find them at […]
Project Stereo Set E1 for instant vinyl action
Project Audio Stereo Set E1 system I have been listening to music via digital mediums exclusively since the mid-nineties. Prior to this, I was an avid record collector, albeit on a schoolboy budget. My migration to CD was forced by circumstances, namely that until recently I had neither the space nor suitable room in which […]
Rega Planar 3 RS Edition for the joy of vinyl
Rega Planar 3 RS Edition turntable, arm & cartridge The turntable market is pretty well supplied with offerings at almost all price points, so why did Rega feel the need to create the Planar 3 RS Edition? I presume it’s because there is a pretty wide gap between the price of the standard Planar 3 […]