Articles
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Where should your loyalty lie?
|One of the more interesting conversations I had at the Acoustica show last week involved talking about loyalty to members of the general public. Here were people who had been shopping at the same store ...read more -
Magnum Dynalab MD807T
|The biggest problem with some products these days is placing them into the right category. The Magnum Dynalab MD807T is a perfect example of this. It’s a DAB/FM tuner that’s also a valve 24/192 upsampling ...read more -
Acoustica Hi-Fi Show 2014
|The world of audio seems to be turning full circle. In the 1980s, a lot of new audio was presented at small, dealer-based shows dotted around the country. Then came the rise, and subsequent fall, ...read more -
Meridian Director DAC
|Meridian Audio is a complex brand. The firm is at once a high-end audio company, a luxury label, and a champion of new audio technology, so it has feet in many camps. Recently, though, Meridian ...read more -
Timestep T-01MC phono stage
|Although it’s easy to follow the alternate line of reasoning, high-end audio is supposed to be all about the sound quality. Inch-thick front panels and glitzy finishes are fine, but the end result is supposed ...read more -
Wilson Audio Duette Series 2 loudspeaker
|Launched almost nine years ago, the original Duette was a combination of entry-point and Swiss Army Knife for Wilson Audio. The standmount two-way was designed to work in as many ways as possible (vertical, horizontal, ...read more -
Sonus faber Ex3ma
|Sonus faber celebrated its 30th anniversary with style. The Italian company gathered together its biggest, brightest and best distributors and dealers (plus a handful of the world’s press) for a lavish event in and around ...read more -
AVM Ovation PA8 preamp and SA8.2 power amplifier
|From the outside, the AVM Ovation Series PA8 preamp and SA8.2 power amplifier look like any other big and beefy high-end duo, in the manner of true Americana, but with a softly spoken German accent. ...read more -
GIK Acoustics Room Kit Package 3 room acoustic treatment
|It sounds so utilitarian – ‘Room Kit Package 3’ could be something Winston Smith might receive from the Ministry of Plenty in exchange for a smaller Victory Gin ration in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. But GIK ...read more -
AMI Musik DDH-1 DAC/headphone amplifier
|AMI (Audio Music Interface)Musik is a young Japanese design, Korean build company. The compact DDH-1 is the first of two products out of the starting gates (the other being the DS5, a DSD supporting DAC ...read more -
Neil Young’s Singing Toblerone
|You’ve got to love Neil Young. He has matured nicely into the music business’ finest curmudgeon, and he has become one of the most visible and outspoken champions of good sound quality at a time ...read more -
Wilson Benesch Square Five loudspeaker
|Wilson Benesch’s recent brush with the top-end of loudspeaker design – the Cardinal – was a distinct success, but it remains a top-end loudspeaker, and those who cannot afford top-end loudspeakers, such lofty goals and ...read more -
The Chameleon test
|The absolute sound – the ethos, rather than our stable-mate – can be paired down to attempting to recreate the sound of live, unamplified music in a natural acoustic environment. This remains a valued goal ...read more -
Audio Research Reference 250 monoblock amplifiers
|Coming after the outstanding Reference 75 stereo amp, I have to admit some reticence in taking on the Audio Research Reference 250 monos. The quality of the Ref 75 sound runs deep, and although these ...read more -
Bristol Sound & Vision 2014
|Following a few weeks after CES, the annual Bristol Sound & Vision show might not be the largest audiophile ‘launchpad’ for new products, but it gets more than its share. The ‘Bristol Show’ (only the ...read more