LATEST ADDITIONS

Hi-Res Downloads
Van Morrison : Roll With The Punches
A. Everard (Music); P. Miller (Lab)  |  Oct 05, 2018
Is it just me, or is Van the Man having a bit of an Indian summer, seemingly banging out albums at a remarkable pace? Certainly even at 72 the old boy is showing no signs of slowing down, and this rootsy set of Chicago blues tracks, mixing covers and originals, is one of his strongest offerings of late.
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LoudspeakersVintage
Yamaha NS-1000M loudspeaker
Review: David Price,  |  Oct 01, 2018
hfnvintage.pngIt was an audacious design from a company with no prior reputation for making serious loudspeakers, yet it soon became a landmark product. How does it shape up today?

There's no such thing as the perfect loudspeaker, nor is there ever likely to be one. Most manufacturers don't even try – theirs is a volume business where the trick is to produce a good-sounding product at an affordable price. There's nothing wrong with this, as perfection can often be the enemy of the good. Yet sometimes hi-fi companies do reach for the stars, and attempt to come up with an innovative, no-holds-barred design.

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Classical
Classical (October 2018)
Christopher Breunig  |  Oct 01, 2018
This month we review: Haydn, Dream Album, Mendelssohn/Fanny Mendelssohn, and R Strauss.
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Jazz
Jazz (October 2018)
Steve Harris  |  Oct 01, 2018
This month we review: John Coltrane, Tony Kofi and The Organisation, Bansangu Orchestra, and Mark Kavuma.
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Rock
Rock (October 2018)
Johnny Black  |  Oct 01, 2018
This month we review: Protoje, Tom Bailey, Jack Carty And Gus Gardiner, and C Diab.
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Audiophile Digital
Audiophile: Digital (October 2018)
Ken Kessler  |  Oct 01, 2018
This month, we review: Supertramp, Gene Clark, Jethro Tull, and The Who.
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Audiophile Vinyl
Audiophile: Vinyl (October 2018)
Ken Kessler  |  Oct 01, 2018
This month we review: Michael Nesmith, John Butler, Carmen McRae, and Nina Simone.
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Hi-Res Downloads
Hi-Res Downloads, October 2018
Reviews: Hi-Fi News Team,  |  Oct 01, 2018
This month we review and test: Basel CO/Giovanni Antonini, R+R=NOW, Tia Fuller, Angela Hewitt, and Ray Lamontagne.
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Network Audio Players/ServersOutboard DACsPre/Power Amplifiers
Hegel Reference H590 amplifier/network DAC
Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Oct 01, 2018
hfnoutstanding.pngThe Norwegian brand’s latest amp is not just its most powerful integrated, but comes complete with network audio capability. Is this the ultimate one-box amp solution?

Obviously not afraid of a spot of (Russell?) crowing, Oslo-based Hegel describes its new Reference H590 integrated amp, just going on sale at £9000, as ‘Master and Commander’. Apparently it’s ‘A master at musicality’ and ‘The commander of any set of speakers’. Mind you, you might be tempted to forgive the company for its exuberance – after all, the new arrival is something of a monster, standing an AV-receiver-challenging 17.1cm tall, tipping the scales at 22kg and delivering over 300W per channel. Well, 301W a side actually, according to Hegel, making it at least 50% more powerful than its previous top integrated, the H360.

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Vinyl Release
Dick Dale: Surfers' Choice
Steve Sutherland  |  Oct 01, 2018
It was the 1962 live album that launched the Surfin' genre. Listening to the 180g reissue, Steve Sutherland still wishes the guy on the sleeve was him

Every now and then, it's OK to be wrong. Not often, I grant you, but on occasion a long-held misbelief can be way better than the actual fact. That lyric you misheard years ago maybe, a phrase which has informed your enjoyment of a particular song – until you discover that the words and meaning were something different all along. Sometimes the reality can ruin the thereafter. And it's better to continue with your fantasy.

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