Review: Andrew Everard

Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Nov 21, 2024  |  Published: Nov 20, 2024  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingSurely the most compelling of two same-priced preamplifiers in the McIntosh range, both equipped with its custom DA2 digital module. Why? Only the C2800 has tubes...

Think valve amplifiers, and the chances are the image brought to mind is that of a minimalist device, with little apart from a source selector, volume control and output stage. And when we're talking about valve preamplifiers, things might be even simpler. Well, clearly that particular memo went straight into the junk folder at McIntosh Labs' HQ in upstate New York, as the new £11,995 C2800 valve preamp is anything but minimalist.

Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Nov 08, 2024  |  Published: Nov 07, 2024  |  0 comments
hfncommendedThe long-anticipated final piece in Exposure’s 3510 series has arrived – a CD player that leverages the 3010 S2 series electronics and XM CD’s top-loading transport mechanism

With a memory long enough to remember buying my first CD player, a Philips model, back in the mid-1980s, complete with a free copy of Dire Straits' Brothers In Arms, it feels a little strange to be considering the format, launched promising 'Perfect Sound Forever', as something of a niche proposition. Yes, CD has been a huge commercial success, with a 2007 press release marking 25 years of the format declaring that some 200 billion discs had been sold in that first quarter century, and many people having huge collections.

Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Oct 29, 2024  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingThis unassuming little black box packs as much streaming technology and features as the biggest players in the audio biz - plus support for Google/Alexa voice control...

Every once in a while, the hi-fi industry encounters a disrupter - a brand or a product able to create waves and challenge established ways of doing things. Think the original NAD 3020 integrated amplifier , which entered an arena full of feature-heavy products, and became a best-seller thanks to its combination of price, simplicity and sheer performance.

Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Oct 02, 2024  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingBlow away the fog of acronyms and iFi Audio's 'mk2' NEO iDSD DAC/headphone amp boasts the latest 'hi-res' BT 5.4, aptX Lossless, an analogue input and a lot more power

Did Ifi Audio actually need to upgrade its Neo Idsd Dac/Headphone Amp? Well, change is seemingly inevitable in the fast-moving range of this Merseyside-based company, given the pace with which products - new and revised - seem to flow from its own factory in China. Indeed, there's an element of 'blink and you'll miss it' about iFi Audio's releases, which now encompass a wide range of hi-fi devices from pocket headphone amplifiers to products aimed at the pro audio market.

Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Oct 01, 2024  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingAs the Norwegian brand's heavyweight AW 800 M flagship is split in two to reveal the AW 300 M, we ask... are these 'manageable monoblocks' truly a chip off the block?

While sawing Electrocompaniet's AW 800 M power amplifier is probably not advisable, doing so would admittedly bring some advantages. Not only would you get even better channel separation from dividing the amp right back to the mains socket - not that the stereo amp is exactly lacking in this respect - the resulting monoblock amps would hopefully be more manageable than the stereo model. It may not be huge, but the 800's 55kg mass puts unpacking and placing it firmly in 'phone a friend' territory.

Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Aug 30, 2024  |  0 comments
hfncommendedWith visuals inspired by JBL’s hi-fi products from the 1960s, the brand’s ‘Classic’ range of separates are populated by technology familiar to audiophiles some 60 years later...

Think JBL and, not unreasonably, you’ll probably think ‘speakers’. The company has been in the loudspeaker business for getting on 80 years, having been founded in California in 1946 by James B Lansing, from whom it takes its name. Lansing himself took his own life just three years later but left an insurance policy to keep the company going, in which form JBL has become an internationally famous audio company and, since 1969, part of what is now Harman International. In 2017 Harman became an independent subsidiary of South Korea’s technology giant, Samsung.

Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Jul 21, 2024  |  Published: Jul 20, 2024  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingHailing from the shores of Lake Constance in Germany, Violectric offers a wide range of headphone and combined DAC/headphone preamps. We dip our toes into its waters...

The Violectric name may be new to you, as it was to me, but behind the brand is a company getting on for four decades in business, principally in the pro audio field, where it operates under the rather unusual moniker of Lake People – inspired by the company’s location in the Lake Constance region of Germany. Like many an audio brand from that country, the company designs and manufactures its products in-house, and is proud of the ‘Made in Germany’ label.

Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Jun 21, 2024  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingA decade since the S3 was launched, and then surpassed by the MkII, this three-way has been reborn with trickledown tech from Magico’s flagship M9 loudspeaker
The latest version of Magico’s S3 speaker, which was first reviewed in these pages a decade ago [HFN Nov ’14], isn’t what you’d call a mild refresh. Just as the company’s MkII version was a major reworking of the original, so this new arrival has been comprehensively redesigned, drawing both on the technology of the flagship M9 model and the measurement abilities of Magico’s enhanced development tools. It’s yours for a couple of pounds short of £57,000 a pair in the five powder-coat M-Cast finishes Magico offers, or £66,000 in a choice of six high-gloss M-Coat shades, including the striking blue colourway pictured here.
Review: Andrew Everard,  |  May 24, 2024  |  0 comments
hfncommendedInspired by Leema Acoustics' flagship Constellation series, this pre/power combination is the first fruit of the Welsh brand's new Quantum range. Does the Graviton have gravitas?

The tone of the announcement of the new Leema Acoustics Quantum range has the air of a Hollywood blockbuster: '25 years in the making…' it begins. But perhaps this hyperbole can be forgiven as this is the Welsh company's first new range in more than ten years and sees the technology of its flagship lineup simplified to reach more affordable prices. Here we have the first two Quantum arrivals, both available in silver or black – the Neutron preamp, with 13 inputs including a built-in DAC, is £1500, as is the Graviton stereo power amp, rated at 150W/8ohm. Buy the two together and you save £200, bringing the package price down to £2800.

Review: Andrew Everard,  |  Apr 22, 2024  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingThere's more to this slender, stylish Italian floorstander than striking wood veneers as trickledown hits the target

Think Sonus faber, and the chances are you'll imagine speakers with luxurious finishes and price tags to match. After all, the company used the 2024 CES event to roll out its Suprema speaker system, comprising two main 'towers' and two subwoofers, with a £695,000 price tag. But such lofty ambition also brings the option of 'trickling down' new technologies to less expensive models, including the £2999 Lumina V Amator floorstander we have here.

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