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From the VaultIntegrated Amplifiers
Rogers Returns
Ken Kessler  |  Mar 31, 2020  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1996
The loudspeaker firm, famed for its late-1950s amps, makes a late-1990s return to tube electronics with two new integrateds. Ken Kessler listens

When the grapevine alerted the world's tube crazies to the return of Rogers amplification, visions of two-tone faceplates danced before our eyes. A nice Cadet III [HFN May '13], or maybe an HG88 visually unchanged but suitably modernised. The collector in me rejoiced. But the Rogers beancounters felt that an all-new product was a more sensible proposition, which is why the E-20a and E-40a all-valve integrated amps have nothing whatsoever to do with the preceding models. Indeed, they have little to do with Rogers.

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Vinyl Icons
The Clash: London Calling
Johnny Black  |  Mar 27, 2020
Come 1979, punk was pretty much over. Would one of its leading lights fade with it, or could the band capitalise on their UK success and clamber to even greater heights without losing the force and the fire that made their first two albums so compelling?

The Clash were formed in 1976 after guitarist Mick Jones attended a Sex Pistols gig in the February of that year and realised that the whole UK music scene was about to change. Keith Levene, Jones's former bandmate in London SS, was drafted in on guitar, Terry Chimes played drums and the three were joined by Paul Simonon, who'd had aspirations to be a lead singer but decided to buy a bass guitar instead. Essentially he was learning on the job. Joe Strummer who had been in the pub rock band The 101ers was the new vocalist and after Levene left he also played rhythm guitar. Simonon thought up the group's name.

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Pre/Power Amplifiers
Simaudio MOON 740P/860A v2 Pre/Power Amplifier
Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Mar 26, 2020
hfnoutstandingIn one swipe, the long-awaited 860A v2 replaces Simaudio's 860A, 870A and 880A power amplifiers and promises 870A performance. We pair it with the 740P preamp

There's something very 'old school' about Simaudio's latest MOON pre/power combination: both units certainly look the part in their combination of black fascias and exposed metalwork, though you can also have them in all-silver or all-black, where they have an air about them of being stripped for action. The £7800 740P preamp, for example, eschews the current trend for digital inputs and network streaming capability, and is a simple, direct, all-analogue line-only affair.

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Rock
Rock, January 2020
Johnny Black  |  Mar 25, 2020
This month we review: Bedouin Soundclash, Jack Broadbent, Richard Fearless and Jens Carelius.
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Jazz
Jazz, January 2020
Steve Harris  |  Mar 25, 2020
This month we review: Michel Petrucciani, Nils Landgren, Abdullah Ibrahim and Quentin Collins Sextet.
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Classical
Classical, January 2020
Christopher Breunig  |  Mar 25, 2020
This month we review: Korngold, Beethoven/Sibelius, Debussy/Duruflé and Tchaikovsky.
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Audiophile Digital
Audiophile: Digital, January 2020
Ken Kessler  |  Mar 24, 2020
This month, we review: The Replacements, Bad Company, The Guess Who and Jethro Tull.
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Audiophile Vinyl
Audiophile: Vinyl, January 2020
Ken Kessler  |  Mar 24, 2020
This month we review: The Thelonious Monk Quartet, Jackson Browne, The Runaways, and Whitesnake.
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HeadphonesOutboard DACs
Novafidelity HA500H USB DAC/Headphone Amp
Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Mar 23, 2020
hfnoutstandingBest known for its music rippers and servers, the Korean company has now entered the personal audio market with a comprehensively-equipped DAC/headphone amp

When it comes to affordable music players with hard disk storage, few companies have the pedigree of Korea-based Novatron. Its range of products, sold under the Cocktail Audio brand worldwide – including here, before a UK-only rebranding to Novafidelity – starts from as little as £650 for the X14 model. In this instance the user is able to decide how much storage capacity to have installed, or even buy the unit 'bare bones' and add their own choice of drive.

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Classical Companion
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No 4
Christopher Breunig  |  Mar 19, 2020
Composed when he was influenced by the Knaben Wunderhorn collected folk poems it stands unique in form and aspiration. Christopher Breunig offers an introduction

As this issue of HFN is likely to reach you during the festive period, why not a piece that starts with sleigh-bells? No, not Leroy Anderson, but Mahler's fourth symphony, written in 1899-1900, and first performed in Munich in November 1901. The UK premiere came just a few years later in a 1905 Prom concert with Sir Henry Wood.

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