Equipment+
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KEF X300A desktop speaker system
|Hi-fi magazines are not known for their interest in desktop systems that work with a computer, but this is changing. For many people, their computer is now their main source of music (and, vinyl revival ...read more -
Hegel H80 amplifier
|The role of amplifier has changed recently. The nexus role of ‘curating’ sources and feeding them to a pair of loudspeakers remains, but increasingly ‘sources’ have become a single computer source. That means increasing onus ...read more -
Kronos turntable
|The word ‘Kronos’ comes from Ancient Greek mythology, but although more correctly directed at ‘Cronus’ (the youngest and the leader of the first generation of Titans and the father of Zeus), the term is often ...read more -
Naim Audio ND5 XS, Nait XS 2, Neat Acoustics Motive SX2 system
|When we assemble complete systems for review, occasionally we end up making a system that is almost impossible to audition outside of the reviewer’s listening room. This is not that sort of system. Naim Audio ...read more -
Trinnov Amethyst preamp
|Calling the Trinnov Amethyst a ‘preamp’ is a bit like calling Rafael Nadal ‘a tennis player’; it’s true, but dramatically fails to get across the bigger picture. You see, the Amethyst does all the conventional ...read more -
McIntosh MA5200 integrated amplifier
|You know where you are with a McIntosh Labs product. And it’s probably middle America. The brand is hugely popular in the United States, but also has a strong following across most of the world. ...read more -
AURALiC VEGA Digital Audio Processor
|AURALiC’s VEGA Digital Audio Processor (£2,890) is a powerful and versatile digital-to-analogue converter that can also serve as a digital input-only, balanced output-capable preamplifier. Specifically, the VEGA supports all PCM files from 44.1 kHz/16-bit resolution ...read more -
Electrocompaniet Nordic Tone Model 1
|It was only when the pallet came off the truck that I realised what I had let myself in for. The Nordic Tone Model I speaker itself weighs a respectable 75kg, but add in the ...read more -
TEAC UD-501 digital converter
|The TEAC UD-501 is currently the cheapest DAC to support DSD replay across USB. It has fixed single-ended phono and balanced XLR outputs, and a volume control for the built-in headphone amplifier. There is no ...read more -
Burson Audio Conductor/Timekeeper amps
|Coming out of Melbourne, Australia, Burson Audio set out its store from the get-go as a force to be reckoned with. Its first products were the little Soloist and Soloist SL; a pair of tidy, ...read more -
Krell Connect Digital Media Player
|Britain and Europe certainly lead the way in terms of Network Music players: Linn, Naim and recently Cyrus, Revox and Electrocompaniet have been extolling the virtues of UPnP (Universal Plug n Play) players for some ...read more -
Audience ClairAudient The ONE loudspeaker
|Audience’s The ONE is a desktop loudspeaker, with ideas way above its station. It’s a crossoverless, single full-range loudspeaker design (albeit with a rear-firing driver in passive radiator mode). There’s also a little wedge-shaped riser ...read more -
VPI and Furutech products that uncover the sound of your discs!
|As a group we spend a huge amount of time and effort (and not a little money) on optimizing the performance of our systems. First comes selecting the equipment: then placing, adjusting and leveling it: ...read more -
HiFiMAN HE-400 planar magnetic headphones
|It’s hard not to be a great admirer of the most recent crop of planar magnetic headphones. They offer many of the benefits of electrostatic headphones (sonic transparency, openness, excellent transient speed and definition, etc.), ...read more -
AURALiC Taurus MkII headphone amplifier/preamplifier
|My first exposure to AURALiC came at the 2013 Munich High-End show where the Hong Kong-based high-end audio firm used its components to power both a pair of exotic YG Acoustics Sonja 1.2 loudspeakers and ...read more