Lab: Paul Miller

Review: Tim Jarman, | Jun 28, 2019 | 0 comments

Parallel tracking, optical position sensing and all in a slick package no larger than an LP sleeve. It dazzled in its day, but how does this '70s direct-drive deck sound now?

There is an argument which says that to recover maximum information from any recording the playback system should be as similar as possible to the arrangement with which it was made. For example, a tape deck identical to the one used in the studio should replay the original master tapes with the highest achievable accuracy.

Hi-Res Downloads

Hi-Res Downloads, April 2019

Reviews: Hi-Fi News Team, | Jun 24, 2019 | 0 comments

This month we review and test releases from: Thomas Søndergård/BBC Now, Johan Versk, Lars Danielsson & Paolo Fresu, Sir Roland Hanna and Emma Johnson & Friends

Integrated Amplifiers

Emotiva BasX TA-100 Amplifier/DAC

Review: Andrew Everard, | Jun 21, 2019 | 0 comments

Budget hi-fi, from the USA: Emotiva's BasX TA-100 isn't quite what at first it seems – however, given what it does, it's hard not to conclude that it's something of a bargain

Well, this is rather confusing: look up the Emotiva BasX TA-100, which sells in the UK through Karma Audio Visual for £519, on its US-based manufacturer's website, and you'll find it appears under 'Preamps'. In fact Emotiva has a stack of preamps, and even more power amps, in its unusually extensive catalogue.

Network Audio Players/Servers Outboard DACs

Bel Canto e.One Stream Network Bridge/DAC

Review: Andrew Everard, | Jun 14, 2019 | 0 comments

Part of the Minnesota brand's compact Evolution One series, this 'Asynchronous Network Bridge' can feed a DAC with streamed music, or be used straight into an amp

Why can't products just be what they claim? Elsewhere in this issue you'll find a high-end network player that's also a very fine DAC, and a very affordable preamp that comes with a built-in tuner and power amplification. It's all very confusing – and then along comes Bel Canto's £1500 e.One Stream, launched at last year's Hi-Fi Show Live in Windsor, and demonstrated in an all-Bel Canto system with YG Acoustics speakers. An unassuming compact component, its 'half-width' casework impeccably finished in a choice of black or silver, the e.One Stream purports to be an 'Asynchronous Network Bridge'.

Integrated Amplifiers

Copland CTA408 Integrated Amplifier

Review: Ken Kessler, | Jun 12, 2019 | 0 comments

A modern integrated amp with the valve du jour, Copland's CTA408 leaves nothing out and delivers the lot – could this be the biggest bargain in high-end audio?

Of late, I have been banging on, to the dismay of many, about how high-end audio has priced itself beyond any regard for reality. That said, context is everything. So, if I tell you a burger can cost £18 in a London restaurant and that Copland's CTA408 integrated tube amp is actually a bit of a bargain at £6398, please accept that I'm painfully aware the latter sum is a fortune to many, but the former is highway robbery. Eighteen quid for a burger!

Network Audio Players/Servers Outboard DACs

Naim Audio ND 555/555PS DR Network-Attached DAC

Review: Andrew Everard, | Jun 11, 2019 | 0 comments

The new flagship player network player from Naim ups the ante – not to mention the price – from the company's previous range. Is the performance elevated, too?

The ND 555, sitting at the top of Naim's latest three-strong network player/streamer/call-it-what-you-will range at £12,999, isn't a direct replacement for the 'old' NDS. Yes, that player is now discontinued, but note I said the ND 555 isn't a 'direct' replacement – after all, the new model is more than twice the price of its forebear...

Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

VPI HW-40 Anniversary Turntable

Review: Ken Kessler, | Jun 03, 2019 | 0 comments

Marking the company's 40th birthday, the turntable mavens of VPI are right on song with an updated, deluxe version of their Classic direct-drive, the HW-40 Anniversary

Way back when, especially during the 1980s, direct-drive turntables were unloved by purists. How things change – just witness the high prices that vintage decks from Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer and especially Technics now change hands for. And with the latter's revived line of direct-drives turning out to be as hot as anything the high-end can offer circa 2019, the arrival of VPI's HW-40 Anniversary Edition direct-drive deck is doubly timely.

Pre/Power Amplifiers

Audiolab 6000A Amplifier/DAC

Review: Nick Tate, | May 31, 2019 | 0 comments

This latest variation on Audiolab's integrated amplifier theme lacks the sheer grunt of its 8300 big brother but seems none the worse for it, and looks better value too

Audiolab's 8000A first appeared on dealers' shelves in October 1983, and was arguably the least fashionable new integrated amplifier for a long time. It was everything that the cool audiophile cognoscenti of the time didn't like. How could anyone possibly produce a supposedly modern product fitted with tone controls, a headphone socket, independent source and tape switching and – perish the thought – a balance control? It was the very antithesis of what the sparse, minimalist, less-is-more 1980s was about. Despite this however, it sold like hot cakes at Christmas…

Hi-Res Downloads

Hi-Res Downloads, March 2019

Reviews: Hi-Fi News Team, | May 29, 2019 | 0 comments

This month we review and test releases from: Paul Simon, Joscho Stephan Trio, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin/Vladimir Jurowski, Paul McCartney, and Seong-Jin Cho

Phono Preamplifiers

Aurorasound VIDA Prima Phono Preamplifier

Review: Nick Tate, | May 28, 2019 | 0 comments

The most affordable product from one of Japan's renowned phono stage specialists, its quirky retro looks won't be to every Western taste – but its musical potential will

In Japan, long-playing vinyl records have never really gone away – they just went underground, becoming cool artefacts that sat defiantly away from the mainstream music market. As the country churned out millions of shiny new Compact Disc players in the 1980s and '90s, the humble LP stood its ground, cherished by record collectors who thought CD to be the replacement for pre-recorded Compact Cassette, rather than vinyl.

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