From the Vault

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Ken Kessler  |  May 25, 2021  |  First Published: Feb 01, 1990
hfnvintageKen Kessler on Bill Beard's new line-level-only integrated valve amplifier

Manufacturers should not be criticised for responding to changing tastes. CD has forever changed the face of hi-fi, so all you're doing when you mourn the passage of the phono stage is increase the value of shares in sackcloth and ashes. Instead, be thankful that the companies in the high-end are intent on making the best line-stage amplifiers they can design. What you use for a phono section can be either your existing, pre-CD preamp or an outboard phono section. With this in mind. Bill Beard has launched an all-valve, line-level-only integrated amplifier, the first product to bear his new company's name.

John Atkinson  |  Feb 23, 2021
hfnvintageJohn Atkinson lives with the KEF R107, its new range-topping contender

An understated revolution in loudspeaker design has been taking place in Kent. KEF's Technical Director Laurie Fincham has put together a team of engineers who have been quietly but thoroughly examining the fundamentals of moving-coil, box loudspeaker behaviour, spinning off a regular series of products, starting with the original R105 nearly a decade ago.

Ken Kessler  |  Apr 19, 2021  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1999
hfnvintageKen Kessler hears SME's new and more affordable turntable and arm

Everyone loves surprises. And, hey, who wouldn't be tickled pink at the thought of a new treat from SME? While the antithesis of fertile, SME never fails to issue a new wonder every time Alastair Robertson-Aikman feels the need to stretch his abilities. We are, after all, talking about a company with a design team, a philosophy and machining capabilities second to none in the world of precision engineering for audio purposes; maybe there's a watchmaker or two in Switzerland who could 'worry' SME.

Martin Colloms  |  Oct 26, 2021  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1982
hfnvintageMartin Colloms hears the A&R Cambridge C200/SA200 pre/power duo

These new products from A&R Cambridge have been long in the pipeline. In an unusually brave step for such a small company, it has invested in moulding tooling for the front panels and also the casework of the preamplifier. Its aim was to achieve close tolerances, and considerable effort has been expended in achieving a good fit of parts, particularly for the array of controls on the preamplifier.

Martin Colloms  |  Jun 28, 2022  |  First Published: Jan 01, 1984
hfnvintageCan Audiolab's 8000A redefine the market? Martin Colloms finds out...

The new Audiolab range is introduced by the 8000A integrated amp, which sells for around £250. Trade rumours are that the first batch was sold out even before any press mention of the product, and that the few dealers appointed so far are finding it impossible to hold any stock. In these commercially depressed times it is certainly refreshing to cover a success story such as this, though I suspect that this model may be in short supply for some time to come.

Ken Kessler  |  Dec 01, 2018  |  First Published: Aug 01, 1985
Ken Kessler investigates control units from Musical Fidelity and Deltec

By 1985 standards, preamps selling for between £500 and £1000 are thought of as 'upper mid-fi' and not really expected to match the standards of the Krell PAM-3/Audio Research SP-10 variety. But they should bring you close enough to the state-of-the-art that you have to think long and hard about justifying an expenditure of double their prices – or even more. Aah, diminishing returns...

Martin Colloms  |  Oct 16, 2020  |  First Published: Jan 01, 1982
hfnvintageTiny amp, lashings of power... Martin Colloms lifts the lid on a box of tricks

The long awaited Carver Cube power amplifier is at last available in the UK. Bob Carver, its designer, is not a particularly well known figure in the UK but most people have heard of Phase Linear, which was founded by him, and he also designed its range of products. His special interest has been in high-power amplifiers, with the 400 B and 700 B Phase Linear models now audio legends.

Martin Colloms  |  Aug 30, 2019  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1984
A year after the launch of CD, Martin Colloms looks at the progress made by player manufacturers before reviewing the new generation of machines

This issue marks the first anniversary of CD's UK launch, the Philips CD100 appearing on these shores in March 1983. There has been some comment in the press concerning a 'second generation' of CD players and this appears to be the case for some manufacturers.

Ken Kessler  |  Jan 31, 2020  |  First Published: Jan 01, 1990
An acoustic ribbon hybrid loudspeaker at a realistic price without the need for a huge amplifier. Too good to be true? Ken Kessler finds out...

Hybrids are supposed to be the best of two or more technologies, and we've seen the approach used for all manner of products. The most feverish of hi-fi's Dr Frankensteins though, have always been devoted to loudspeakers.

Trevor Attewell  |  Sep 27, 2019  |  First Published: Feb 01, 1982
Trevor Attewell examines a trend-setting loudspeaker from Ipswich

It is no exaggeration to state that the SL6 is one of the most interesting moving-coil speakers to come my way for a long time, and that it embodies significant advances in driver design. Many readers may find this surprising. After all, Celestion has traditionally been associated with the mass end of the market, its reputation justifiably built on product consistency and value-for-money rather than on innovation.

John Atkinson  |  Jun 21, 2019  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1980
John Atkinson reports on the 1980 summer Consumer Electronics Show

Thought highly of by many, the Canadian 'Oracle' turntable is winning a reputation as perhaps the first design to supersede the performance of Linn's respected Sondek. Beautifully engineered, the rigid laminated subchassis arm mount is hung from three springs, which can be adjusted from above.

Ken Kessler  |  Sep 18, 2020  |  First Published: May 01, 1985
hfnvintageKen Kessler goes Class A in a small way with the Marantz PM-4

Phone calls from company spokespersons such as Marantz's Steve Harris, are generally one of two types. Either 'Would you like to review our new Model XYZ whatever?' or 'Where the hell is our Model XYZ whatever, which you've had for nine months?' Such phone calls are never about reviewing components that are out of production.

Ken Kessler  |  Jul 17, 2020  |  First Published: Jan 01, 1984
hfnvintageOrtofon's SPU cartridge has reappeared. Ken Kessler gives it a whirl

Paranoia is not a condition to which I subscribed prior to entering the brotherhood of audio writers. Ignorant of my near-leper status, it came as something of a shock to find myself the only valve-loving, moving-magnet cartridge supporter in the immediate vicinity. Thankfully, editor John Atkinson tends to offer advice and make suggestions, rather than threaten my physical well-being for failing to embrace the solid-state, and so decided that a review of a moving-coil cartridge would be a subtle way of sowing the seeds for my conversion. And he knows my weaknesses well: anachrophilia.

Ken Kessler  |  Jan 06, 2023  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2002
hfnvintageHere's an amplifier that doesn't just look different, it's different through and through. Ken Kessler hears a potent powerhouse from Down Under

There are two piles of magazines, some 150cm tall, sitting in my lounge. They consist mainly of hi-fi titles that I can't read until they're 'out of date'. Why? Because I don't want to be influenced by the reviews, and I don't always know whether or not I'll be reviewing a component I've just seen slammed or praised. Thus it was that I tried to avoid whispers about the Halcro amplifiers from Australia. Even so, I kept hearing about these 'amazing amps' from all and sundry.

John Crabbe  |  Jul 23, 2021  |  First Published: Jun 01, 1977
hfnvintageJohn Crabbe, editor of HFN/RR, reflects on two decades of audio advance

The galaxy of experts that were gathered together by Miles Henslow, founder and first editor of HFN, to help fill the pages of his pioneering magazine in 1956 still has a ring of authentic hi-fi quality as it shines across two decades of progress and expansion: Cecil Watts, Ralph West, Gilbert Briggs, Stanley Kelly, James Moir, R S Roberts and H Lewis York.

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