LATEST ADDITIONS

When modern art is big business and critically lauded, why does modern music upset and even enrage many listeners? Peter Quantrill discovers a book that promises an answer

Suffering from Critical Listening Syndrome? To be fully engaged in your music, says Barry Willis, you need to stop worrying about every aspect of the system sound – or you’ll never be happy

The announcement in the summer of 2024 of new products from Audio Research Corp. (ARC) was not only the company’s largest-ever simultaneous release, but also, it said, ‘a fresh start [signalling] a promising future’, and ‘a renewed commitment to inclusivity and accessibility in the world of high-fidelity sound’. With the pre/power pair here priced north of £21,000, one might take that latter claim with a pinch of salt, although with the brand’s Reference Series pitched comfortably higher [HFN Apr ’25], these things are relative.

With its three new Summit series loudspeakers, JBL is continuing its journey through the Himalayas. The Makalu and Pumori floorstanders, plus the standmount Ama auditioned here, join its existing ‘Project’ Everest DD67000 [HFN Aug ’14] and K2 S9900 [HFN Aug ’10] flagships in taking their name from the world’s highest peaks. Like those two models, they also come with prices that demand a head for heights, even if the Summit Ama – at £14,998 – can be said to be relatively affordable when compared to the Everest at £79,998.