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Pre/Power AmplifiersVintage
Inca Tech Claymore amplifier
Review: David Price,  |  Aug 02, 2019
hfnvintageStep back to the 1980s and this specialist British 'cottage industry' integrated amplifier was a force to be reckoned with. But how will it shape up today? Time to find out...

Everyone old enough to remember, talks about the 1970s as the golden age of British hi-fi. That's certainly true in one respect, because what was a niche – often do-it-yourself hobby – went completely mainstream, to the point where the third most expensive consumer item, after a house and a car, was a stereo.

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Meet the Producers
Norman Smith
Steve Sutherland  |  Jul 31, 2019
Not only was this British-born producer an RAF pilot in WWII but he would go on to become The Beatles' first sound engineer before discovering and producing Pink Floyd. So why did John Lennon christen him 'Normal'? Steve Sutherland has the answer...

The group, it's fair to say, were getting a right rollicking. Their hair was too long, their clothes too shabby, their manners a mite lairy, and as for their equipment... it was a shambles, falling apart.

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From the VaultPre/Power Amplifiers
Mark Levinson flagships
Martin Colloms  |  Jul 30, 2019  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1990
Martin Colloms hears the ultimate amplifier system from one of audio's elite names: the No26/No20.5 pre/power duo and No25 phono stage

Since acquiring the Mark Levinson Audio Systems company five years ago, Madrigal Labs has pursued an evolving research programme, generating improved circuits and product designs. The result is that current MLAS products now have an importance comparable with the original brand's landmark designs.

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Audiophile Vinyl
Audiophile: Vinyl, May 2019
Ken Kessler  |  Jul 25, 2019
This month we review: Bo Diddley, Big Brother & The Holding Co, Holly Cole Trio and The Shadows Of Knight
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Audiophile Digital
Audiophile: Digital, May 2019
Ken Kessler  |  Jul 25, 2019
This month, we review: The Leiber-Stoller Big Band, Bob Dyla, Henry Mancini and Pink Floyd
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Rock
Rock, May 2019
Johnny Black  |  Jul 25, 2019
This month we review: James Morrison, Hajk, Josefin Öhrn And The Liberation and Ishmael Ensemble
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Jazz
Jazz, May 2019
Steve Harris  |  Jul 25, 2019
This month we review: Patchwork Jazz Orchestra, Joe Lovano, Duncan Eagles and Joey Defrancesco
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Classical
Classical, May 2019
Christopher Breunig  |  Jul 25, 2019
This month we review: Schubert, Berlioz, Mozart and Sibelius
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Turntables, Arms & Cartridges
DS Audio DS-E1 Cartridge
Review: Ken Kessler,  |  Jul 24, 2019
hfnoutstandingFollowing a flow of revolutionary, hugely desirable but astronomically-priced 'optical' cartridges, DS Audio introduces the DS-E1 – could 'E' stand for 'Everyman'?

This is the second review this month that's been tough for me to write if, in this instance, for entirely positive reasons. You see, the DS Audio DS-E1 is actually too good, and the asking price of £2295 is the reason. I do not want to inflict any hardship upon DS Audio, which offers three models above this, but, like an entry-level Rolex, Leica CL camera or Porsche Cayman, it begs the question: why pay more?

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Pre/Power Amplifiers
Audia Flight Strumento No1 mk2/No4 mk2 Pre & power amplifier
Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Jul 23, 2019
hfnoutstandingVery much hi-fi on the grand scale, this Italian-made pre/power amplifier combination is a sweet-sounding heavyweight with more than sufficient output to match its size

For a while, the amplifier combo you see here was almost literally the elephant in the editor's listening room. Delivered for review just at the end of 2018, its sheer mass – 28kg for the £12,500 Strumento No1 mk2 preamp alone, plus a further 95kg for the No4 mk2 power amp, which sells for £16,250 – defied almost all efforts to move it into PM's lab for test work before I could listen. It finally inspired our esteemed editor to relent and buy himself a trolley – and so, at last, the review literally began to roll...

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