LATEST ADDITIONS

Mike Barnes | Sep 11, 2020

Released in 1973, the singer's 16th album marked his transition from child star to a musically mature performer able to grapple with the social issues of the day and make sense of them for an audience wedded to pop. And he was just 22 years old...

Stevie Wonder's 1973 album Innervisions is widely regarded as one of his best and has featured prominently in magazine polls of the greatest albums of all time. But apart from all the plaudits, it's astonishing that it was his 16th studio album and was released shortly after he had turned 23. At that point the man born Stevland Judkins had already been in the music business for a decade – his single 'Fingertips' had topped both the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles and the R&B singles charts when he was just 13 years old.

Integrated Amplifiers

Copland CSA100 USB DAC/Integrated Amp

Review: Ken Kessler, | Sep 10, 2020

In what is looking like it might be a trend – tube hybrid integrated amplifiers – Copland joins in with a Danish beauty at a sensible price, the all-singing, all-dancing CSA100

Three thoughts hit me as soon as I switched on the Copland CSA100 integrated amplifier. The first was that it was an all-embracing, do-everything tube/transistor hybrid like the Vinnie Rossi L2i-SE [HFN Jul '20], rated at a similar 100W/8ohm if at a fraction of the price, at £3498. The second was that I want it to kick off a fashion for cool, fully-loaded integrated hybrids because they are the smartest option for offering the best of the tube/solid-state worlds. The third is the realisation that I need to look deeper into hi-fi system building.

Classical Companion

Mozart: The Last Three Symphonies

Christopher Breunig | Sep 08, 2020

Were these meant to be heard as a single entity? Does the theory survive scrutiny? Christopher Breunig suggests library versions both 'historically aware' and traditional

When Nikolaus Harnoncourt's Teldec recording of Schubert's 'Unfinished' Symphony appeared in 1985, his sleeve essay suggested the score was in fact a musical translation of a cathartic event from his youth, (i) concerning his mother's death, and (ii) the subsequent reconciliation with his father, and as such complete.

Integrated Amplifiers Network Audio Players/Servers

NAD M33 Streaming DAC/Amp

Review: Andrew Everard, | Sep 07, 2020

Ever at the cutting edge of both analogue and digital Class D amplification, NAD's new M33 is the first to utilise Purifi's groundbreaking modules. All this and streaming too...

Launched last year, NAD's M10 all-in-one streaming system [HFN Jun '19] was remarkable in two ways. One was that this compact 'just add speakers' package was actually part of the brand's elite Masters Series, more usually populated by high-end DACs and amplifiers, while the other was that this little system, selling for around £2000, was exceptionally good, receiving a glowing review in HFN before going on to win a 2019-20 EISA award as Best Smart Amplifier.

Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Holbo Airbearing Turntable

Review: Ken Kessler, | Sep 04, 2020

An air-bearing turntable and a parallel-tracking, air-bearing tonearm in a single, easy-to-use package for under £7000? Devotees of both will love the Holbo Airbearing

Every product type has its following, however focused. I am sure, for example, that there are devotees of hybrid amps with tube front-ends and solid-state output stages just as, among the niches in LP playback, audiophiles are tempted by air-bearing turntables and parallel-tracking tonearms. Made in Slovenia by Bostjan Holc, the Holbo Airbearing combines those two, and does so for an almost-inexplicable £6500.

Meet the Producers

Phil Ramone

Steve Sutherland | Sep 03, 2020

From Monroe to McCartney, and the soundtracks to more than a few iconic movies, this US-born producer was never afraid to use the latest cutting-edge studio technology while also never forgetting his people skills. Steve Sutherland on the 'Pope Of Pop'...

Afew months ago I claimed in these very pages that Jeff Lynne of ELO assembling his new best buddies Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr to tart up the deceased John Lennon's 'Free As A Bird' home demo and release it as a Beatles single was the worst musical idea ever. Well today, dear reader, I humbly recant that claim for what follows is surely far more dreadful.

Loudspeakers

Goldmund Mimesis 15/Prana Active Loudspeaker

Review and Lab: Paul Miller, | Sep 02, 2020

There certainly aren't many speakers that look like them, but these baby models – yes, really – in the Swiss brand's wireless active range combine style with all-alloy substance

When the entry-level model in a speaker range costs £70,000 a pair, and weighs no less than 80kg – that's each speaker – you'd rightly assume you're in very serious high-end territory. And yes, imposing though the Prana speaker looks, its two aluminium enclosures mounted on a hefty 'Z-frame' and the whole enterprise standing some 99cm tall, this is the baby of this particular range. Above it sit the Satya speakers, 1.23m tall, 140kg apiece and £110,000 a pair, while the flagship is the 1.47m tall, 180kg-a-pop Samadhi, yours for a nice neat £200k a pair...

Hi-Res Downloads

Hi-Res Downloads, August 2020

Hi-Fi News Staff | Aug 31, 2020

This month we review and test releases from: Akademie Für Alte Musik Berlin/ Bernhard Forck, Yael NaÏm, Giovanni Antonini/Il Giardino Armonico, Priya Darshini and Martin Helmchen, Deutsches SO/Andrew Manze.

Audiophile Vinyl

Audiophile: Vinyl, August 2020

Ken Kessler | Aug 28, 2020

This month we review: Dire Straits, The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five and Clear Light.

Audiophile Digital

Audiophile: Digital, August 2020

Ken Kessler | Aug 28, 2020

This month, we review: James Taylor, Kristin Bolstad With Stemmeklang, Cream and Jimi Hendrix.

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LATEST ADDITIONS

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