iFi goes in for compact audio in a big way, I've lost count of the number of models there are that look a bit like this but they seem to do nearly everything including digital to analogue conversion, USB power line clean up, headphone amps and a tube preamp to name but a few. I […]
The original HD800 sent shockwaves through the burgeoning ranks of headphone enthusiasts when it was launched in 2009 as Sennheiser’s flagship dynamic model. Offering unprecedented sonic clarity and dimensionality at a genuinely accessible price, the HD800 soon achieved cult status and re-affirmed the German specialist as the king of dynamic headphones. This year saw the […]
These little Sony speakers came up in a conversation I was having with a Hollywood film editor who’s heavily into hi-fi. He had heard them at a reviewer’s house in the States and said I should give them a go as he thought I would like them, knowing my love for BBC monitor speaker designs. […]
Despite being 35 years old the Halo Integrated or Hint is the first integrated amplifier that Parasound has made. It’s not clear why it took them this long but it may be something to do with the companies enthusiasm for offering more features than you can shake a stick at in products that have audiophile […]
It would have been easy for Cyrus to have made a straightforward phono stage, they could undoubtedly have made one that sounded great and it would have sold to fans of the marque. But instead they chose to do it a little differently, to make a product that had features not found on any other […]
In 1987 Arcam paved the way for the consumer DAC industry with the release of their Black Box, the very first outboard D/A converter to target this market. Somewhat ahead of their time, another 23 years would pass before Arcam returned to what is now a fiercely competitive sector, and a concerted effort has clearly […]
I am always curious about what new brands and/or technologies have to offer, so when I got the chance to hear a SPEC amplifier at home I didn’t say no. I picked the Real Sound Amplifier RSA-M3EX, the middle model in the range. I had not heard of the brand or the designer so took […]
Rega turntables are like buses it seems, you wait an age then two come along at once! It’s been a while since Rega made a Planar or P2 but back in the day there were only two turntables in the range and this was the more affordable option. The last P2 was introduced in 2000 […]
It all started when someone said it was hard to find compact amplifiers that you could plug into the USB output of a computer and use with a pair of small speakers on the desktop. It turns out that this is a relatively rare breed and the selection we have gathered represents a fair proportion […]
Let’s get one thing straight from the start, the Mu-so does not shoot out colours like the picture on the Naim website, pity really as it looks rather good but I guess the novelty would wear off! It does look pretty gnarly without its wraparound grille though, drivers pointing everywhere in complete contrast to the […]
When it comes to audio components I prefer the designs of a knowledgeable person who follows their own path. A man, in this business it’s usually a man, who builds a design from scratch, using a love for music, technical knowledge and a commitment to excellence as the main tools. A man like Cees Ruijtenberg; […]
It has been a while since Rega used this name on a turntable but in the seventies, eighties and nineties the Planar 3 was considered the next best thing to a Linn LP12. The company built its reputation on the Planar 3 and cemented it with the RB300 tonearm, a turntable and arm that remained […]