Review: Andrew Everard

Review: Andrew Everard, | Aug 01, 2018 | 0 comments

It can sometimes seem tricky to keep pace with the changes in the Chord Electronics range, but its Hugo 2 claims technical and spec advances over the original DAC/amp

For a relatively small specialist audio brand – well, by the standards of some of the huge companies the industry seems determined to keep constructing these days – Chord Electronics has its bases covered in fairly spectacular fashion, from tiny pocket devices to hugely powerful amplification. What’s more, there’s little evidence of resting on laurels going on here. The company just keeps on adding new models to its range, from the Mojo/Poly portable DAC/amp/player/streamer combo to the newly announced Etude amplifier, said to use its ‘first fundamentally new topology’ since the company was founded some 30 years ago.

Disc Players Network Audio Players/Servers

T+A MP 2500 R digital media player

Review: Andrew Everard, | Aug 01, 2018 | 0 comments

'Bridge' digital sources, the link between conventional physical media and computer-based audio, are very much on-trend at the moment – what can T+A bring to the party?

So, are the twin threats of downloaded music and streaming services putting the final nail in CD's coffin? In the future will our music collections exist only as files on a home server, or indeed not as collections at all – figures seem to suggest downloads are flagging – but rather as infinite libraries accessed on demand from online services?

Pre/Power Amplifiers

NAD M32 digital amplifier

Review: Andrew Everard, | Jul 01, 2018 | 0 comments

A reversal of digital direction marks out this hi-tech integrated amp from the Masters Series, so can NAD's innovative thinking make the M32 stand out from the crowd?

Just in case you can't work out what the £3499 NAD M32 actually is – straight from the box only a volume control sets it apart from the company's similarly styled M22 v2 power amp – the front panel tells you, at least when powered up, that this is a 'Direct Digital DAC/Amplifier'. Of course, even powering it up may be a challenge for those for whom 'RTFM' is a sign of weakness. After a bit of stabbing of the NAD logo, which glows amber in standby, suggesting it might do something, they'll probably eventually alight on the little touch pad top and centre above the display. Brush this and the amp gets ready to do its stuff, at which point the amber surround on the logo turns white and you're in business.

Outboard DACs Pre/Power Amplifiers

Micromega M-150 DAC/amplifier

Review: Andrew Everard, | Jun 01, 2018 | 0 comments

This slimline amplifier from an established French brand may suggest another product from the same country, but it's a very different prospect with some unique features

So, it's a slimline amplifier, and it's French – already thinking of the 'D' word? But while it might seem that the M-One amplifiers from Micromega could be 'inspired' by the success of Devialet's range, in fact they have little in common beyond their country of origin and a passing resemblance in dimensions: under the skin they're very different animals.

Pre/Power Amplifiers

Mark Levinson N^o523/N^o534 pre/power amplifier

Review: Andrew Everard, | Jun 01, 2018 | 0 comments

They may typify Stateside heavy-metal hi-fi, but this pre/power amplifier from one of the high-end's best-known names is really all about simplicity and directness

Depending on your point of view, what you see before you are either objects of absolute hi-fi aspiration or a symbol of everything that's wrong with high-end audio in the 21st century. Along with compatriot Krell, Mark Levinson is one of those names that's likely to be known even by those with only a passing interest in hi-fi and – though the marque has undergone several twists and turns in its near-50-year history – it remains one of the best-known in the audio business.

Pre/Power Amplifiers

YBA Passion PRE550/AMP650 pre/power amplifier

Review: Andrew Everard, | May 01, 2018 | 0 comments

Combining simplicity with flexibility, this pre/power combination from one of the best-known names in French hi-fi has much to offer – including the odd quirky feature...

Like some other French audio companies, Yves-Bernard André's eponymous brand has hovered on the periphery of UK hi-fi enthusiasts' perception. But the company has been on a mission to change all that, taking a more global view with a lineup extending to no fewer than five product ranges. The Passion models, represented here by the £6750 PRE550A preamp and £5750 AMP650 power amp, sit near the top of the pile.

Disc Players Outboard DACs

PS Audio DS Memory Player/PW DirectStream DAC CD player/DAC

Review: Andrew Everard, | May 01, 2018 | 0 comments

Claiming to be 'the last digital front-end you will ever need', can this combination of wide-ranging compatibility and ongoing upgrades match up to that ambition?

The ever-evolving digital audio landscape has made buyers wary and manufacturers jumpy. It seems that each time a company launches a 'definitive', future-proofed product, some new format or twist pops up for its moment in the sun as the 'must-have' way to store and play music. However, some manufacturers handle this problem better than others, thanks to designs able to deal with every known format of the moment, and having either modular construction or firmware upgradability to keep up with changes.

Network Audio Players/Servers

Roon Nucleus+ network audio library

Review: Andrew Everard, | May 01, 2018 | 0 comments

Making the step from software supplier to hardware brand, Roon has developed a pair of boxes designed to sit at the heart of a system. But what do they actually do?

Having been something of a ‘sleeper’ for a while, favoured by an admittedly growing group of computer-based audio enthusiasts, there’s every sign that Roon – the music server/database software – is finally going rather more mainstream. A number of manufacturers have launched products with, or updated existing models to, Roon-ready status, and now the company behind the software has entered the hardware market with a pair of hub components co-developed with Intel: the £1500 Nucleus, and the £2500 Nucleus+ we have for review here.

Disc Players Outboard DACs Pre/Power Amplifiers

ATC CDA2 Mk2 CD player/DAC/preamp

Review: Andrew Everard, | Apr 01, 2018 | 0 comments

With an upgraded specification including an asynchronous USB input with DSD capability, ATC’s CD player/DAC/preamp aims to be a complete system front-end

Is this a new twist on the CD player? Or yet another new variation on the DAC? Well, neither actually, for as that ‘Mk2’ suffix suggests, this is a revised version of ATC’s innovative CDA CD player/DAC/preamp combination, selling for £2950 and designed as the perfect partner for the company’s £3375 P2 power amplifier [HFN Mar ’17], or its range of active speakers.

Pre/Power Amplifiers

AVM Ovation PA 8.2/SA 8.2 pre/power amplifier

Review: Andrew Everard, | Mar 01, 2018 | 0 comments

Sitting at the top of the German company’s range, this flexible pre and hefty stereo power amp are designed to take on the high-end’s big names, and take no prisoners

The PA 8.2 preamplifier and SA 8.2 stereo power amp sit at the top of the German company’s Ovation range, although there’s also the option of buying its MA 8.2 monoblock amps in place of the SA 8.2. These are essentially the SA 8.2 bridged internally to give even greater power – rated at 600W/8ohm in place of the stereo amp’s 250W a side. However, despite the commonality, there’s no bridging option on the stereo model reviewed here.

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Review: Andrew Everard

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