Helios and Eros Titans of power
Titan Audio Helios, Helios Signature and Eros power cables To assist with my assessment of the Titan Ares 6-way mains distribution block, Titan Audio kindly sent me samples of the cables I am reviewing here. As you may have read, I feel the Ares represents outstanding value for money at its price point, which, as […]
Rega Naia: a vinyl revelation
Rega Naia turntable and arm Rumours about this turntable were circulating a couple of years or more before it was finally revealed at the Bristol show in February, it even had a phantom name, Planar 12, but it took Rega quite a while to nail the Naia (pronounced niya/nigher) down and put it into production […]
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 […]
Back to the future with NAD C3050
NAD C3050 LE streaming amplifier Over the past four years I have been lucky enough to have several pieces of NAD equipment to review, and without exception I have enjoyed using them and admired their sound quality. I have also found that they represent excellent value for money, when taking into account sound quality, features, […]
Neat nails Mystique Classic
Neat Acoustics Mystique Classic speakers A new loudspeaker from British stalwart Neat Acoustics is always an exhilarating moment and I was excited when the new Mystique Classic arrived to try in my own system. I had seen a prototype of the compact floorstander at the Munich High End show in May and knew that it […]
AE1 Active blows us away
Acoustic Energy AE1 Active Since I got involved with this reviewing malarkey some years ago now, I have been privileged to host some very fine components in my system. Included in that list are at least two pairs of Acoustic Energy floorstanding loudspeakers. I thoroughly enjoyed them and wrote about them with enthusiasm. Thus when […]
Merason DAC1 MkII: digital inspiration
Merason DAC1 MkII digital to analogue converter When I reviewed the original Merason DAC1 a nearly three years ago what struck me about it was its speed and agility, it sounded like a Rega turntable or more obscurely a DNM preamplifier. Which in my book is a good thing, it means that music sounds less […]
Quiescent T100MPA: a unique approach
Quiescent T100MPA monoblock amplifiers Jason Kennedy reviewed Quiescent’s T100SPA stereo power amplifier in February this year. A second review sample was doing the rounds at the same time and I was able to add a short note on my own thoughts at the end of that review. Both Jason and I felt the T100SPA to […]
Sonus faber Duetto: style without wires
Sonus faber Duetto wireless speakers With a four-decade pedigree of Italian-designed loudspeakers, Sonus faber has produced its first streaming active speaker system, following the success of its Omnia wireless speaker. The Duetto is clearly an effort to make inroads into a new market segment for an audience demanding high quality with as few boxes as […]
B&W 801 Signature goes the extra mile
Bowers & Wilkins 801 Signature The engineers at Bowers & Wilkins research and development department have been taking their jobs home with them again. It only seems like yesterday that the 800 series was launched in D4 form (apparently it was 2021) yet this summer they unveiled two Signature versions of the smallest and biggest […]
Humminguru: a genuine vinyl reviver
Humminguru HG01 Ultrasonic vinyl record cleaner Here is the first of an occasional series looking at some of the peripherals which can make having a home audio system even more of a joy. In this instance I’m taking a peek at the (now quite long-in-the-tooth) Humminguru HG01 record cleaner. Humminguru is a Hong Kong-based company […]
SCA Power Amplifier keeps the flame alive
Zinamp SCA Power Amplifier My first forays into the world of current dumping were rather underwhelming. Having ‘upgraded’ from a Quad 303 to a 405 the clarity and openness of the 303 seemed to have deserted my much-loved ESL57s. Things weren’t much better with the KEF Calindas which were my second speakers at the time. […]