Rega Planar 10 turntable and arm Five years before the Rega Planar 10 Rega launched the RP10, a turntable based on the innovations developed for Rega’s cost no object Naiad. The RP10 moved the goal posts, it redefined what a turntable that cost less than a car could do and I have been enjoying my vinyl […]
I was afforded the opportunity this summer to get up close and personal with not one but two of Chord Electronics’ latest creations, the Hugo TT 2 DAC/headphone amp and Hugo M Scaler. With extensive input from experienced digital design consultant Rob Watts, both British-built products promise to set new standards in home audio, and I was […]
The CAD GC or Ground Control devices were created specifically to combat the noise floating around on the AC power supply in your home that is created by switched mode power supplies, computers, wi-fi, routers etc. This noise is at high frequencies beyond the audible but it creates the noise floor of an audio system, […]
Back in the first decade of this century before the advent of the Supernait 3, I was a well-paid employee of a well known high tech firm, that’s when I bought my first piece of Naim equipment, a CD5X disc player. Within five years that had somehow grown into two racks of Fraim, with a […]
Once a loudspeaker company gets to a certain size it can start to use the tech developed for its most advanced designs in the more affordable ranges at the opposite end of the scale. It’s not exactly an economy of scale more an economy of research, it takes time and money to come up with […]
Hugo TT 2 is Chord Electronics’ next-generation table-top (TT) DAC/headphone amplifier, the 2 indicating it that has undergone extensive upgrades to bring it within touching distance of the company’s flagship DAVE DAC at a fraction of the price. The £3,995 TT 2 advances the original Hugo TT in several areas. Available in silver or black, the exquisitely contoured 235mm […]
Back in the spring when the editor asked me if I fancied reviewing the new JBL L100s I didn’t have to think about it long. People of my vintage (not a word I use lightly in this context!) may have fond memories of those days in the early 1970s, when the original JBL L100 first […]
If you want to become an audio equipment manufacturer the easiest part of a system to make would appear to be a loudspeaker. All you need is a nice cabinet, a set of drive units and a crossover, half of which can be bought off the shelf. Making a speaker that you and your mates […]
Having visited the Diapason headquarters a couple of years ago I discovered first-hand the commitment involved in each and every pair of hand-made speakers from this renowned Italian brand. So, when the opportunity arose to look closely at the new Adamantes V two-way bookshelf model, I jumped at the chance. After a brief listen at this year’s […]
One of my very first reviews for the Ear, almost a year ago, was of the YBA Passion IA350 integrated amplifier and the matching CD430 disc player. I was very impressed with them and so when the UK distributor asked if I would like to hear the most recent Heritage amplifier, the A200, it was a pleasure […]
With the rise of online music services, the demand for high-quality digital to analogue converters is increasing. The use of Tidal, Qobuz and Spotify streaming services as an addition to home music collections has become indispensable. It’s only logical that a company like PrimaLuna should releases a DAC. An earlier version in the form of […]
To describe the Norwegian-conceived Hegel H190 as merely an integrated amplifier does it a disservice. Successor to the award-winning H160 it benefits from company founder Bent Holter’s refined SoundEngine2, first seen in the more powerful H360 model and boasting ten-times lower distortion than the first-generation. Added to this the unit’s onboard streaming ability (Tidal, Spotify, […]