LATEST ADDITIONS

Jazz

Jazz, May 2022

Steve Harris | May 31, 2022

This month we review: Marquis Hill, Kinetika Bloco, Ivo Neame and Paul Wertico/John Helliwell Project.

Classical

Classical, May 2022

Peter Quantrill | May 31, 2022

This month we review: Les Siècles/François-Xavier Roth, Le Concert des Nations/Savall, Elisabeth Leonskaja and Todos los Tonos y Ayres.

Hi-Res Downloads

Hi-Res Downloads, May 2022

Andrew Everard | May 31, 2022

This month we review and test releases from: Danny Holt, Mendelssohn Violin Sonatas, Leonore Piano Trio, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orch and The Lovecraft Sextet.

Network Audio Players/Servers Outboard DACs

Matrix Audio X-Sabre 3 Network-Attached DAC

Review: Andrew Everard, | May 30, 2022

The compact but comprehensively-equipped Matrix Audio digital front-ends are distinguished by chipset and features. We look at the flagship 'headphone-free' DAC

For anyone still labouring under the misapprehension that Chinese-made hi-fi means cheap and cheerful alternatives to the big-name brands, it's time for an eye-opener. In practice, not only are quite a few of those big names having their products made in China, but its home-grown brands are upping their game and making inroads into markets once dominated by Western and Japanese names. A case in point is the Matrix Audio X-Sabre 3 we have here, following on from the X-Sabre Pro DAC [HFN Nov '17], Element X [HFN Jan '21] and more recently the Mini-i Pro 3 [HFN Feb 22].

Inside the Studio

The Hit Factory

Steve Sutherland | May 27, 2022

From Beyoncé to The Boss, Meat Loaf to Madonna... few studios rival this international brand when it comes to churning out the chart-toppers, as Steve Sutherland explains

You could say that Jerry Ragovoy was quite the songwriter. It was he who penned 'Time Is On My Side', the Irma Thomas classic immortalised by The Rolling Stones. 'Stay With Me' was his too, the top-notch Lorraine Ellison belter. So were 'Cry Baby' and 'Piece Of My Heart', both of which Janis Joplin subsequently made unforgettable.

Cables

n-akustik NF-204 Micro Air Factory-terminated interconnect cables

Review and Lab: Paul Miller | May 26, 2022

Once in the vanguard of the late '70s hi-fi cable revolution, In-akustik now has a vast catalogue. We test the top Reference/Micro Air interconnect.

Only one issue ago we reviewed an interconnect cable whose core thesis focused on achieving a low capacitance and dielectric loss by utilising an 'air' insulation. That was Kimber's new flagship 'Naked' interconnect – a cool £12,700 per terminated metre [HFN Mar '22]. Somewhat more affordable, but also leveraging the 'air dielectric' theme, is the NF-204 Micro Air interconnect from Germany's most prolific cable manufacturer, In-akustik, based in Ballrechten-Dottingen.

Integrated Amplifiers Vintage

Marantz Model 2226B receiver

Review: Tim Jarman, | May 24, 2022

Buy one of these late-'70s beauties secondhand today and you'll own an amp from a pedigree name with radio thrown in for 'free'. So, is this a receiver worth considering?

The receiver (tuner/amplifier) has always divided opinion, in the UK at least. While popular in Europe and the US, the British market never embraced these units to the degree it did separate tuners and amplifiers. And this wasn't because they could not rival a two-box counterpart on performance due to any technical reason. The real issue was that two top-quality units built into one housing could result in an indivisibly expensive product, one many consumers may not have been able to afford.

Network Audio Players/Servers

Melco N10/2-S38 Network Audio Library

Review: Andrew Everard, | May 23, 2022

Computer giant Buffalo's high-end audio brand, Melco, has an updated two-box flagship with enhancements debuted in the limited-edition N10 anniversary edition

There are two distinct Melco families: the conventionally-sized N1 models, 430mm wide, and the half-width, 215mm, N10 series, of which the new N10/2 models, starting from £6999 for the N10/2-H50 and rising to £8999 for the N10/2-S38 flagship we have here, are the latest iteration. Why the two prices? In a word, storage: the N10/2-H50 packs 5TB of conventional HDD, while the -S38 includes 3.84TB of (solid-state) SSD.

Headphones Outboard DACs

Chord Mojo 2 USB DAC/Headphone Amp

Review: Ken Kessler, | May 20, 2022

Tiny, solidly made, UK-built and now even more capable, is this compact USB DAC/headphone amp from Chord Electronics still the one to beat below £500?

Inundated as we are with pocket-money portable headphone amp/DACs, Chord's Mojo 2 asks the question: why drop £449 on a portable headphone DAC? Once you hear it, you'll understand, especially if top-quality sound on the move matters to you. The Mojo 2 is an upgrade on the top-drawer Mojo [HFN Jan '16], the battery-powered, smaller-than-a-deck-of-cards DAC/headphone amp. It arrives with only a £50 price increase that doesn't even correspond to real-world inflation. Even without the Mojo 2 improvements, the original Mojo should retail for £470 in 2022 just for the inflation, so Chord has somehow managed to squeeze in a host of upgrades with but a nominal price hike.

Phono Preamplifiers

Audio Research REF Phono 3SE Phono Preamplifier

Review: Ken Kessler, | May 19, 2022

Fans of the brand know that when Audio Research adds an 'SE' suffix, the changes go beyond the cosmetic. The latest to earn this upgrade is the Reference Phono 3

Let's talk about names. Audio Research's abiding Reference range has long been subject to shorthand – even the factory calls the models 'REF' for brevity – while updated (mk2) components are now defined by 'SE'. And that now applies to the £17,500 Reference Phono 3SE. In this case the revisions are retrofittable and, at £3500 and given my delight with every SE model I've tried, especially with the REF 6 and REF 75, I suspect most existing owners will want the upgrade. My optimism was fuelled by Audio Research's CEO Dave Gordon who told us, 'The SE changes incorporated in both the REF 6 and the REF Phono 3 are almost identical, involving many of the same passive component upgrades'.

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