LATEST ADDITIONS

Loudspeakers
KEF LSX Active Loudspeaker
Review: James Parker,  |  Dec 24, 2019
hfnoutstandingClearly inspired by its LS50W, KEF's tiny 'wireless' system in a box is a big triumph

There are active speakers and active speakers. Some models claim to be 'active' but are really just powered, with a single amplifier within the speaker cabinet driving the tweeter and mid/bass unit via a conventional passive crossover, sometimes even with a stereo power amp in one speaker driving both it and a slave partner.

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Outboard DACs
AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt USB DAC/Headphone Amp
Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Dec 24, 2019
hfnoutstandingThe latest 'DAC in a USB stick' may look like AudioQuest's previous efforts, but it's a very different beast – and a conspicuous bargain for use in the home or on the hoof

If the sincerest form of flattery is imitation, then AudioQuest must be feeling very flattered indeed. Since it launched its original DragonFly DAC/headphone amp in 2012, housed in a USB stick and aimed at laptop users, it has seen a raft of similar designs hitting the market from rival manufacturers.

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Audiophile Vinyl
Audiophile: Vinyl, October 2019
Ken Kessler  |  Dec 23, 2019
This month we review: The Wonderful Sounds Of Female Vocals, The Rolling Stones, Trio Palabras and Ingram Washington.
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Audiophile Digital
Audiophile: Digital, October 2019
Ken Kessler  |  Dec 23, 2019
This month, we review: Pure Prairie League, Carmen Gomes, The Searchers and The Yardbird.
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Rock
Rock, October 2019
Johnny Black  |  Dec 23, 2019
This month we review: Caravan Palace, A Girl Called Eddy, My Life Story and The Black Watch.
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Jazz
Jazz, October 2019
Steve Harris  |  Dec 23, 2019
This month we review: Chick Corea & The Spanish Heart Band, Scott Hamilton Quartet, Edmar Castaneda/Grégoire Maret and Zhenya Strigalev/Federico Dannemann.
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Classical
Classical, October 2019
Christopher Breunig  |  Dec 23, 2019
This month we review: Beethoven, Bruckner/Wagner, Mozart and Rachmaninov.
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Pre/Power Amplifiers
Constellation Audio Inspiration Mono 1.0 Power Amplifier
Review: Ken Kessler,  |  Dec 19, 2019
hfnoutstandingAlways fancied a pair of mighty monoblocks? From Constellation's 'entry-level' Inspiration series, these self-effacing cubes offer power a-plenty and awesome sound

Surprises, at my age, could prove fatal, so I neither invite nor encourage them. Even pleasant ones. Neither do I relish my preconceptions being challenged: 'Old dogs, new tricks...' That said, and despite spending countless hours listening to assorted Constellation systems over the years, I must admit to being unexpectedly bowled over by these Inspiration Mono 1.0 power amplifiers.

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Vinyl Icons
Richard & Linda Thompson: Shoot Out The Lights
Johnny Black  |  Dec 18, 2019
The outlook for the couple appeared grim, yet despite having no record contract, their marriage being on the rocks and Linda finding it difficult to sing, their sixth and what would be their final album together is now hailed as a British folk rock classic...

After a decade of recording and touring as a couple, Richard and Linda Thompson found themselves dropped by Chrysalis Records when their 1979 LP Sunnyvista flopped. They had made five albums in total, and brought two children into the world, with another one on the way. Clearly, it was time for a radical re-think.

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Turntables, Arms & Cartridges
Luxman PD-151 Turntable
Review: Ken Kessler,  |  Dec 17, 2019
hfncommendedTaking its cues from the PD-171 turntable, but with a more elegant aesthetic, the PD-151 is Luxman's first new deck in eight years. Does it sound as clean as it looks?

How deliciously ironic: two turntables this month from companies with vast experience in vacuum hold-down of the LP, yet neither of them possesses it. Continuum's Obsidian is a complete departure from its LP-sucking forebears, while Luxman's PD-151 is fundamentally a simplified PD-171 [HFN Dec '13] – the model which revived the brand's turntable line in 2011, but minus the vacuum function of yore.

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