LATEST ADDITIONS

Review: Adam Smith, | Mar 16, 2023

Do your speakers make the earth move? If not then Alta Audio may have the answer with its XTL bass loading...

Alta Audio, likely a new name to most UK hi-fi enthusiasts, was created with the idea of finding new solutions to old problems. Founded over 30 years ago in New York, USA, its £10,000 Alec floorstanders are the central models in its Statement series, above the standmount Alyssa and below the magnificently monikered Adam.

Pre/Power Amplifiers Vintage

Bryan Mark III Model 500/700 Pre/Power Amp

Review: Tim Jarman | Mar 14, 2023

From a UK manufacturer quick to take advantage of the arrival of high-power transistors comes a '60s pre/power amp combo as curious as it is rare. How does it sound today?

Hands up those who have seen a Bryan amplifier before, let alone heard one. Me neither – until I unpacked the Mark III Model 500/700 pairing seen here. The first 500 arrived when higher-power transistors were beginning to be used in quality audio, yet while the technology became universal, British brand Bryan sank without trace.

Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

ELAC Miracord 80 Turntable

Review: Jamie Biesemans | Mar 13, 2023

ELAC revived the Miracord name for its 90th anniversary with a brand-new turntable – a celebratory model now trickled-down into the new Miracord 80, complete with MM

When ELAC relaunched its turntable lineup in 2017, earning an EISA Award along the way for the Miracord 90 Anniversary, it wasn't at first clear the German audio brand actually intended a concerted push into this back-from-the-dead product category. After all, there was a lot going on at the company and this turntable was presented as a celebration of ELAC's distinguished history.

Inside the Studio

Studio One Jamaica

Steve Sutherland | Mar 10, 2023

Founded in 1954, this facility would become one of the music world's most renowned studios, giving birth to ska, rocksteady and reggae. Steve Sutherland has the story

One of the many pleasures in collecting used vinyl 45s is coming across a Jamaican cut where the label has been deliberately defiled. What this usually means is that the artist and the title on both sides have been scratched out or ink-penned over so that the disc attains supreme anonymity.

Pre/Power Amplifiers

Constellation Centaur II Stereo Power Amplifier

Review: Andrew Everard, | Mar 09, 2023

Available in both monoblock and stereo chassis, the Centaur II has been a mainstay of the Constellation range for over six years. It's clearly not broken, so why change it?

While some brands maintain a steady rotation – evolution – of their products, others, including Constellation Audio, hit on the jackpot early and feel little inclination to change a winning formula. So while we've already tested the £73,500 Centaur II 500 power amp [HFN Dec '19] we missed out on the £53,998 Constellation Centaur II Stereo. Until now...

Vinyl Release

Guns N' Roses: Use Your Illusion I & II

Steve Sutherland | Mar 07, 2023

Four years after their electrifying debut, Axl, Slash and co returned with not one, but two double albums – and it was all downhill from there, says Steve Sutherland

Back in the late 1960s there was a band hailing from San Francisco called Moby Grape. They had five talented members who could all sing, play and compose to an incredibly high standard incorporating pop, rock, country and blues styles. They looked pretty cool too, with a perfectly contemporary anti-authoritarian attitude that saw one of their number flipping a middle finger against the American flag on the cover of their self-titled debut LP in 1967 – naughtiness that was airbrushed out by their spooked record company.

Loudspeakers

Audiovector R 8 Arreté Loudspeaker

Review: Andrew Everard, | Mar 06, 2023

For over 40 years and two generations, this family-run speaker specialist has epitomised the best of Danish design

Everything about the Audiovector R 8 Arreté is impressive, from the size and scale of the speaker – it stands 144cm tall and weighs over 72kg – to the seemingly fiendish complexity of the design, which appears to have drivers firing and venting in all directions. The piano-lacquered Italian Burl Walnut veneer, seen here, is gorgeous too, and offered alongside Italian Grey, black and white finish options.

Vinyl Icons

Tears For Fears: Songs From The Big Chair

Johnny Sharp | Mar 03, 2023

For the follow-up to their debut record The Hurting, the philosophically inclined pop duo built a 24-track studio and battled their label's desire for a commercial synth sound. The eight-track album that resulted put them in a prime position to rule the world...

No pain, no gain may be a familiar mantra across the arts, but it's hard to imagine an act today weaving pop gold from the teachings of psychotherapy. Yet Tears For Fears managed to top the charts with not one but two collections of songs based around such themes.

Integrated Amplifiers

Western Electric Type 91E Integrated Amplifier

Review and Lab: Paul Miller, | Mar 02, 2023

If you're a fan of the legendary 300B triode, who better to produce an application for that valve? Western Electric's 91E integrated amplifier may be your dream come true

Pedigree? You want pedigree? How about the inventor of the 300B triode? Western Electric's provenance beats all comers, the company dating back to 1869, which kinda trumps any other manufacturer's claims for longevity. Here it is 154 years on with the Type 91E integrated amplifier to dazzle those wedded to single-ended triodes (SETs), yet with enough modern details, both sonic and functional, to ensure it is regarded as a 21st century tube amplifier.

Hi-Res Downloads

Hi-Res Downloads, February 2023

Andrew Everard | Feb 28, 2023

This month we review and test releases from: Mette Henriette, Alina Ibragimova, Manfred Honeck/Pittsburgh SO, Vince Mendoza/Metropole Orkest and Art Ensemble Of Chicago.

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