LATEST ADDITIONS

Ed Selley | Dec 16, 2011

Innovative technology helps the Quadral stand out from the field A mere glance at the Platinum M4 is sufficient to identify it as a Quadral, the bass drivers recessed behind aluminium slats being a clear visual cue, whether the speaker carries the Quadral name or that of its prestige Aurum brand. It isn’t just a cosmetic feature but a part of Quadral’s enhanced form of reflex loading – there’s a large port at the rear of the cabinet – which really does perform differently if the relatively flat impedance curve is anything to judge by. A four-driver three-way, the Platinum M4 matches its twin metal-coned bass drivers to a similar metal-coned midrange unit, above which is not the ‘ribbon’ (actually leaf) tweeter we’re used to seeing in Aurum models but Quadral’s RiCom-M ring tweeter, which is unusual for its annular diaphragm being of titanium. Quadral claims that it produces character-free treble output with broad dispersion.

Loudspeakers

Teufel Ultima 40 (£349)

Keith Howard | Dec 16, 2011

These floorstanders from direct retail giants Teufel are strong value for money It’s not so long ago that I asked, rhetorically, in these pages how JBL could sell a four-driver, three-way floorstander (the Studio 190) for a mere £480 a pair [HFN May ’11]. Well, JBL eat your heart out: the Teufel Ultima 40 is also a four-driver, three-way floorstander and it sells for just £349 a pair, plus a delivery charge of £20. During the review period, in fact, it was on special offer for even less: a barely credible £299 at one point. How does Teufel do it? A significant part of the answer is that it sells direct to the customer, cutting out the middleman.

Network Audio Players/Servers

Aurender S10 (£4995)

John Bamford and Paul Miller | Dec 16, 2011

The first in a new breed of ‘computer transports’, WideaLab’s Aurender S10 employs a Linux-based OS and solid-state storage to render your music collection via digital outs. Aurender music servers are new to the UK. Made by WideaLab, a specialist subdivision of Korea’s Wonik Corporation, they are designed for pure audio replay of a lossless digital music library – aimed squarely at audiophiles who care passionately about sound quality. That’ll be us, then!

Phono Preamplifiers

Esoteric E 03 (£4795)

Ken Kessler and Paul Miller | Dec 16, 2011

Though celebrated for digital products, Esoteric cares more about analogue than you’d expect – the company’s E-03 phono stage joins the ranks of the greats. We’ve come so far down the digital path that we’re at a stage where there’s been a near-complete volte face in expectations: where once we awaited digital products from companies with their roots in analogue, we now entertain analogue products from companies with their roots in digital.

Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Roksan Xerxes 20plus (£6890 Inc)

Andrew Simpson and Paul Miller | Dec 16, 2011

Roksan's iconic vinyl spinner remains one of the most forward-thinking decks on the market and the latest version now comes with a raft of considered upgrades Back in the early 1980s if you were serious about vinyl replay and had the money, the obvious contenders to splash your cash on were Linn’s LP12, followed by rivals such as Michell’s space-age GyroDec or the left-field Pink Triangle. Despite drastically different looks, all three decks were essentially attempts to take the late Edgar Villchur’s ground-breaking three-point sprung suspension design to the next level. Then, in 1985, Roksan came onto the scene with the Xerxes, which promptly turned this perceived wisdom on its head. As Tufan Hashemi, Roksan Audio’s Managing Director, explained: ‘We argued that using a suspended or floating surface to support a record could not allow it to be accurately read, as the record itself would be floating.

Integrated Amplifiers

Nagra 300i (£15,950)

John Bamford and Paul Miller | Dec 16, 2011

In celebrating the company’s 60th anniversary Nagra’s specialist hi-fi division pays homage to the ‘king of tubes’, the timeless 300B triode, in a new stereo amplifier 'A key difference between consumer electronic components manufactured for hi-fi systems and professional products made for sound engineers is the fact that you can drag pro gear across a room by its mains lead without it breaking,’ quipped an industry veteran to me, way back when. Witticisms like that, noted during formative years, tend to remain embedded in one’s memory banks for life. As does the iconic Nagra marque. Think Nagra and you think Swiss precision engineering at its finest: electronics made for professionals.

Network Audio Players/Servers

Sonneteer Morpheus Music Centre & Server (£2500/£2500)

Steve Harris and Paul Miller | Dec 16, 2011

Known for its poetically-inspired amplifiers, Sonneteer chose instead to name its stylish network player after the god of dreams. Now there’s a CD-ripping server to match. For those of a certain age, the term ‘music centre’ still conjures up a cheapo record player/radio/cassette unit in a plastic wood-effect finish, sitting uncomfortably on a suburban sideboard. But Sonneteer’s thoroughly modern Morpheus has very little in common with those old audio dinosaurs.

Pre/Power Amplifiers Vintage

Electrocompaniet 'Electro' (Vintage)

Steve Harris and Paul Miller | Dec 01, 2011

The original ‘Electro’ was a milestone design, even if it was not quite what it seemed. Does this legendary 25W pre/power combination really live up to its cult status? Back in 1966, a Norwegian pop band called Mojo Blues topped the local charts with their first single, a cover of The Stones’ ‘Lady Jane’. They followed up with more hits, but eventually disbanded. By 1972, Mojo Blues’ frontman Per ‘Abe’ Abrahamsen had started Electrocompaniet as a small business, importing cheap Bulgarian speakers and building basic PA electronics.

Outboard DACs

Ear 192 Dacute (£4003/£4440)

Ken Kessler and Paul Miller | Nov 30, 2011

Valve DACs are intrinsically anachronistic - Tim de Paravicini's new EAR-Yoshino DACute takes the retro attitude a stage further by sounding deliberately analogue

Hard to believe, I know, but the EAR-Yoshino 192 DACute Digital Audio Interface is the company’s first stand-alone D/A converter. The company has also produced CD players but, as main man Tim de Paravicini tells me, his previous experiences with digital mainly involved ‘bits of work for studios. ’ But it was this studio connection that led Tim to develop the 192 DACute.

Loudspeakers

Jbl Studio 580 (£1300)

Keith Howard | Nov 30, 2011

Following the success of its keenly-priced Studio 1 models, JBL ups the ante with a no less distinctive Studio 5 range The company’s marketing philosophy is pretty simple: if you’ve got it, flaunt it, ‘it’ being JBL’s long and distinguished history in professional audio. Think PA speakers and you’ll probably envisage direct radiating bass drivers coupled with hornloaded midrange and treble units – exactly the image JBL wishes you to have and echoes in many of its domestic speakers which, fl ying in the face of fashion, continue to feature horns. Cue the new Studio 580, middle of the company’s new Studio 5 range which looks to build on the reception accorded JBL’s lesser Studio 1 series, which included bagging the recent EISA European Loudspeaker 2011-2012 Award for the high-value Studio 190 [see HFN Oct ’11, page 11]. Compared to the 190 [HFN May ’11] the costlier 580 might appear to be a retrograde step.

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