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 […]
Viva Solista MkIII integrated tube amplifier Italians have a real passion for tube amplifiers and a flair for design so it’s not surprising that the Viva amplifiers come from that part of the world, specifically Camisano near Padua. The company was started by brothers Amadeo and Giampietro Schembri in the mid nineties and builds a […]
Connected-Fidelity AC-2K Reference balanced power supply, Six Star distribution block & Unity Power Two cables We all know how important it is to choose the individual components of our systems carefully, usually with protracted listening tests at a retailer and in our homes. But a system is more than just a turntable, CD player, streamer, […]
Dali IO-8 wireless headphones Danish audio brand Dali might not be unique among its audio industry peers, but it is somewhat unusual, because as well as a large range of speakers, it also makes headphones. There are three over-ear models, all intended for portable use and therefore adaptive noise cancelling (ANC) designs. There’s the IO-6 […]
Fell Audio Amp integrated amplifier New audio companies appear all the time. Every time Munich rolls around, we’re usually treated to one or two newcomers aiming to take on the established order with a product that is usually enormous, wildly ambitious and extremely expensive. The product you see here is rather different though. Fell Audio […]
Revival Audio Atalante 4 speakers It was at the Oslo Hi-Fi Show last year that I first managed to hear Revival’s Atalante 4, and pretty impressive it was as well even in the starkness of a Scandinavian hotel bedroom. When the pallet arrived I was thankful to have extra hands available to cope with unboxing […]
Bluesound Node Icon streamer A dealer friend recently told me that a streamer’s success is highly dependent on the quality of the control app assigned to it. Looking at the impact made by brands such as Auralic at the higher end and Wiim at the budget end suggests that this theory is a valid one. […]
Roksan Caspian 4G integrated amplifier This reviewing malarkey never ceases to amaze me. Our esteemed editor will ask if I am interested in reviewing a product and I will agree, usually without getting into a lather awaiting the ring of the doorbell by the courier. Other times I cannot wait to get my hands on […]
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 […]
Kudos Sigao Drive passive/active crossover Every now and again, a product turns up for perusal that defies easy description and the Kudos Sigao Drive might be the gold standard of the breed. Kudos is a County Durham based speaker manufacturer and a significant proportion of their products are supplied with both conventional speaker terminals and […]
Vertere Calon phono preamplifier It’s about time that Vertere produced a phono preamp or stage to match their stunning turntables, arms and cartridges and in the spring of 2024 that finally happened with Calon. The word is apparently Welsh for heart, Vertere’s financial guy is from those parts and company founder/designer Touraj Moghaddam wanted something […]
Dynavector DV-20X2A moving coil cartridge It never ceases to amaze me how technology and processes used to good effect in other industries can be adapted to hi-fi applications to achieve improvements in the sound quality of a product. A great example is the annealing process applied by Japanese manufacturer Dynavector to the key iron parts […]