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Network Audio Players/ServersPre/Power Amplifiers
Lindemann Musicbook Source & Power 1000 Network DAC/Pre and Power Amp
Review: David Price,  |  Jul 13, 2020
hfncommendedWith multiple inputs, streaming functionality and plenty of power, this elegant and compact system promises consummate convenience and super sound. Does it deliver?

Since 1993, Lindemann has been making distinctive products, all with an accent on design and technology. Although the company has also sold loudspeakers in its 27-year history, electronics have formed the staple of the product portfolio – and it has shown a particular interest in digital technology. The D680 of 2001, for example, was the first German SACD player, while the original Musicbook was an early example of a highly advanced streaming front-end [HFN Jun '14]. Lindemann's thinking has been eerily prescient, as other brands have since scrambled to get similarly elegant so-called 'style systems' into their ranges…

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Turntables, Arms & CartridgesVintage
Technics SL-J33 turntable
Review: Tim Jarman,  |  Jul 10, 2020
hfnvintageA mid '80s deck designed to boost vinyl replay at a time when the convenience of CD was making all the news. Did it succeed, and how does it compare today?

The products we usually seek to feature in our Vintage Review pages are those that were among the first to introduce a new format, function, level of performance or design theme. However, this month our subject is the Technics SL-J33 turntable of 1986, one of the last in a series that had a footprint the size of an LP sleeve, which began with the SL-10 [HFN Apr '19].

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Loudspeakers
Scansonic MB5 B Loudspeaker
Review: Andrew Everard, ,  |  Jul 09, 2020
hfnoutstandingFrom a new and extended Raidho family these Scansonic floorstanders now benefit from the 'GamuT touch'

We've been here before, reviewing the Scansonic MB5 speakers three years ago [HFN Aug '17]. However, collective amnesia has not set in, for despite the £6249 MB5 B looking near enough identical in its choice of black or white silk finishes, it is in fact a new version of the design, reworked by chief designer Benno Baun Meldgård. Hence the 'B' suffix on the new model.

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Meet the Producers
Mike Vernon
Steve Sutherland  |  Jul 08, 2020
From Fleetwood Mac to Focus, Bowie to the British blues greats, this UK-born producer helped create many of the greatest performances committed to tape, while founding his own label along the way. Steve Sutherland celebrates the work of Mike Vernon...

It may not have been the dumbest thing he ever did, but it was certainly up there. David Bowie announced that the set-list for every performance of his 1990 Sound+Vision world tour would be partially decided by the most popular songs from his back catalogue, as voted for by his fans.

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Vinyl Icons
Jesus & Mary Chain: Psychocandy
Mike Barnes  |  Jul 03, 2020
Fuzz, feedback and live shows ending in fisticuffs... this debut LP from two brothers from East Kilbride saw the pair meld their love of '60s girl groups with the sounds of the industrial movement to create uncompromising music with a melodic pop heart

The 1980s is often referred to as a classic era for pop music, but the musical landscape was changing, with suggestions that rock was becoming outdated – the derogatory term 'rockist' had recently entered the vernacular – and the happening thing now was the shiny new pop purveyed by bands such as ABC, The Associates and Depeche Mode.

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Pre/Power Amplifiers
Chord Ultima Pre 2/Ultima 2 Pre/Power Amplifier
Review and Lab: Paul Miller,  |  Jul 02, 2020
hfnoutstandingThe Chord Ultima range has grown from a single pre and power amp, as the tech becomes more affordable. The Ultima 2 models might just give the flagships a scare

Never let it be said that the Chord Electronics range isn't distinctive in its styling: all the way up from the tiny Mojo DAC [HFN Jan '16] to the flagship Ultima reference preamplifier [HFN Feb '19], the company's products look like nothing else on the market, as if to emphasise that what's going on inside them involves no shortage of proprietary technology, too.

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Hi-Res Downloads
Hi-Res Downloads, June 2020
Hi-Fi News Staff  |  Jun 30, 2020
This month we review and test releases from: London Concertante, Scottish CO/François Leleux, Budapest Fest Orch/Ivan Fischer, Conan Gray and Game Theory.
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Audiophile Vinyl
Audiophile: Vinyl, June 2020
Ken Kessler  |  Jun 29, 2020
This month we review: 7Ray With Triple Ace, Can, Iron Butterfly and Rolling Stones.
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Audiophile Digital
Audiophile: Digital, June 2020
Ken Kessler  |  Jun 29, 2020
This month, we review: Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, Herbie Hancock, The Honeycombs and Mike Mcgear.
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Rock
Rock, June 2020
Mike Barnes  |  Jun 29, 2020
This month we review: Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets, Ms Amy Birks, The Lovely Eggs and Thundercat.
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