LATEST ADDITIONS

Review: Jamie Biesemans, | Jul 21, 2023

Based in Chicago but with manufacturing in Serbia, the EarMen brand is developing its range at pace. The new ST-Amp DAC/headphone unit is a 'back to basics' audiophile hit

After collecting an EISA Award last year for a complete headphone system featuring a stack of four mini-sized separates – the Staccato, Tradutto, CH-Amp and PSU-3 [HFN Oct '22] – EarMen has doubled back with this minimalist ST-Amp. This is a book-sized, do-it-all unit combining a DAC and dedicated headphone amp, aimed at head-fi enthusiasts looking for a quick and effective path to high-quality desktop listening. So while the ST-Amp moniker might suggest it's simply a more affordable alternative to the aforementioned CH-Amp, it's really a different beast altogether.

Integrated Amplifiers

Synthesis Action A100 Titan Integrated Amplifier

Mark Craven | Jul 20, 2023

From the bottle-focused Italian marque comes an amplifier combining a quartet of power tubes, per side, plus onboard USB DAC, making it more integrated than many...

There's a perception that tube amplifiers are aimed at a specific segment of the hi-fi community, one that favours analogue sources over all others, whether reel-to-reel tape or vinyl. While tube-equipped outboard DACs are not uncommon, DAC-equipped tube amplifiers like the £7999 Synthesis A100 Titan, from the Italian manufacturer's Action series, most certainly are. The Bluetooth-equipped Western Electric Type 91E [HFN Feb '23] is another rare example, although whether either of these 'digitally inclusive' integrateds represents the beginning of a trend is hard to say.

Classical Companion

Mahler: Symphony No 5

Peter Quantrill | Jul 18, 2023

Abstract statement, or central chapter in a musical autobiography? Peter Quantrill sifts the recorded legacy for answers to one of Mahler's popular but most enigmatic pieces

There are some wilfully odd things said about the Fifth even by its interpreters. Mehta called it Mahler's Eroica (why? Because it has a funeral march and a happy ending?). Much emphasis is placed on its 'purity' of discourse as though this would make it a better or nobler symphonic statement. According to Bruno Walter, 'nothing in my talks [with Mahler], not a single note of the work, suggests that any intrinsic [extrinsic?] thought or emotion entered into its composition'.

Pre/Power Amplifiers

D'Agostino Progression S350 Power Amplifier

Review: Ken Kessler, | Jul 17, 2023

Taking inspiration from the industrial design and key circuit features of D'Agostino's Momentum series, this second-gen Progression amplifier may upset its own applecart

It struck me, around halfway through the first track, that designer/CEO Dan D'Agostino was emulating the way supercar companies delineate their model ranges. Hey, I needed something to explain why the new Progression S350 Stereo power amplifier at £34,998 costs just over half that of the Momentum S250 MxV's £54,998, and yet it is over two times the size and rated at 100W more per channel: 350W vs 250W. Also, at 454x230x584mm (whd) against a Momentum's 318x133x546mm, the Progression S350 dwarfs the dearer unit. It was like the comedy Twins, with Schwarzenegger standing next to DeVito.

Vinyl Release

The Ruts: The Crack

Steve Sutherland | Jul 14, 2023

The anger-filled debut from the English punk/reggae group sparked fans far and wide, and a near 30-year search for the original cover art, says Steve Sutherland

Occasionally I get asked who was the most unpleasant rock star I encountered during my decades writing for the music press. That's a toughie, although Robert Palmer and Phil Lynott hover near the top of the pile. Far easier to say who was the scariest. Answer, without doubt: Henry Rollins.

Loudspeakers

Monitor Audio Hyphn Loudspeaker

Review: Andrew Everard, | Jul 13, 2023

They started out as a Concept, and have become a reality combining a skeletal form and novel engineering solutions – but do they sound as other-worldly as they look?

As safe bets go, that you've never seen anything quite like the £70k Monitor Audio Hyphn speaker is pretty much a dead cert. Yet look closer and there's actually a lot of 'form following function' going on here in those two columns with a gap between them, linked by a central belt. And while to unsympathetic eyes they may look like two huge clothes pegs, it won't take long for audiophiles to understand the thinking behind the configuration, however unusual the speakers look by comparison with traditional 'box, domes and cones' designs.

Inside the Studio

Windmill Lane Dublin

Steve Sutherland | Jul 12, 2023

Opened in 1978, this studio is where Kate Bush, The Cranberries and U2 created songs that sold worldwide. Steve Sutherland goes to the heart of the Irish recording industry

It may seem counter-intuitive, perverse even, to begin this account of Windmill Lane Studios by dwelling on one of its early shortcomings, but hey, what the heck? When U2 rocked up in the late summer of 1980 to record their debut LP, Boy, producer Steve Lillywhite was far from impressed with the facilities on offer. The band's recent single, 'A Day Without Me', which Lillywhite had produced, had failed to chart and he'd been beating himself up over the way it sounded, particularly the drums.

Network Audio Players/Servers

Auralic Aries G1.1 Music Library/Server

Review: Andrew Everard, | Jul 10, 2023

Based on the Tesla G2 platform used in Auralic's premier G2.1 range, but lacking the box-in-box build and some circuit detailing, the Aries G1.1 remains a top-flight streamer

Yes, the £2699 Aries G1.1 is another one of those similar-looking Auralic components that will blend seamlessly with its brand partners, even if we're never immediately sure what box does what... In this case, we have a network player without onboard digital-to-analogue conversion, designed to be used straight into an external DAC. In this guise, it brings the niceties of Auralic's Lightning Streaming Platform, and its Lightning DS control app, to owners of third-party DACs. This also includes amps or preamps with digital inputs, which can be fed via USB or optical, coax or AES.

From the Vault Pre/Power Amplifiers Vintage

Naim NAC 82/NAP 180 Pre/Power Amps

Martin Colloms | Jul 07, 2023 | First Published: Apr 01, 1993

Its components may work in all-Naim systems, but in this review of the company's latest pre/power Martin Colloms looks at the alternatives too

Neither I nor the Editor could remember when HFN last reviewed a Naim amplifier so, to redress the balance, we are covering the company's latest pre and power duo here. Priced at £1880, the NAC 82 carries the full remote control first seen on the top-of-the range NAC 52 preamp. An optional extra board (around £120) provides analogue disc input (MC or MM).

Outboard DACs

PS Audio DirectStream DAC 2 USB DAC

Review: Mark Craven, | Jul 06, 2023

It's arguable that the best high-end DACs all feature custom upsampling and conversion architectures – nothing 'off the shelf'! PS Audio has been part of the club for a decade...

All good things come to an end, although in the world of digital hi-fi sometimes that end comes around pretty quickly. Obsolescence isn't as 'built-in' here as it is in the smartphone market, for example, but technological evolutions, be they around chipsets, connection standards or format types, mean 'MK2' iterations of DACs and streaming hardware are a common sight. PS Audio's DirectStream DAC MK2, however, is rather more than a mere second-generation product.

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