Almost a year ago The Ear published my review of the VPI Prime Signature turntable, which you can find here. In summary, I found it to be an excellent machine, with fine build quality and excellent sonics. Here we are, an eventful 12 months later, and I have had another VPI machine in my system, this time […]
Newcomers to the Auralic brand can be forgiven for finding their range of near identical components a little confusing, the external differences come down to details of construction and the colour of controls. In essence it seems that the more ambitious products are entirely black and weigh more than the more affordable options. All of […]
Rega Kyte loudspeakers Rega do not follow the herd, that much is clear if you look at the evolution of their turntables which are based on different principles to nearly all others, with low mass and high rigidity being key criteria. They often go to experts in particular technological fields to help them create the […]
Chord Co’s electronics division English Electric launched with the 8Switch network/data switch two years ago, the company has now followed that with two 8Switches in one box aptly named the 16Switch. It costs a bit more than a pair of 8Switches and contains pretty much exactly that but inhabits a full width steel case and […]
When it comes to streaming there is more to life than UPnP. That protocol might be the most popular game in town but as MPD, Roon and latterly Squeezebox have shown alternatives do exist and Italian digital audio specialist Aqua Acoustics is the first to build a modular streamer than can accommodate more than one. […]
About ten years ago when I was working in the retail side of the audio industry, the original PMC Twenty series was launched and we sold a good few of them. They seemed especially well suited to Naim amplification and we sold that combination regularly. Indeed, I liked them so much that when the shop […]
On paper this DAC looks too good to be true, nobody else makes a discrete ladder DAC with this sort of build quality for this price. Happily not only is it true but the DAC delivers sound quality above expectations as well. But before we look at performance it’s worth asking who Holo are, which […]
I recently posted on an audio themed social media group that I was about to embark on a review to compare a second generation cable to its predecessor. Another member, who is not somebody known to me, jumped in and told me in no uncertain terms that without a double blind listening this would be […]
As those who read my output will know, vinyl replay is one of my favourite subjects, both from exploring new releases, and from the ‘new bits of kit’ perspective. Those who delve back through the archives will also note that to date most of my hardware reviews has been of the mid- to hi-end variety. […]
Never having had any of the well-respected ELAC loudspeakers in my own system, but having heard many at various shows and not least in their home territory across Germany, I was more than a little excited when a heavyweight box arrived containing their latest standmounts, all 16kg of it. Inside was a pair of well-packed […]
Given that it is the hottest day of the year as I write this, and that I am inclined to laziness, the easiest thing for me to do would be to refer you to my review of the Copland CSA150’s less powerful sibling the CSA100 , and simply add the words ‘and more so, with bells on’. […]
Australia is not the first place that comes to mind when hi-fi comes up but there is plenty of interest in the subject down under and a handful of manufacturers plus the occasional superstar designer, Mark Döhmann creator of the Continuum Caliburn turntable is from that part of the globe. There are also more accessible […]