Review: Mark Craven

Review: Mark Craven, | Oct 25, 2024 | 0 comments

Leveraging tech developed for Sonus faber’s flagship Suprema, its second-gen Sonetto V is all the more fragrant

Sonus faber has shown signs of branching out since its acquisition by North American company Fine Sounds - also the owner of McIntosh Group - in 2016. First, in 2019, came its Palladio architectural speakers destined to partner McIntosh custom install hardware, followed in 2022 by the Omnia all-in-one desktop speaker and the Duetto active stereo wireless models in 2023. It then kicked off 2024 with the £695,000 Suprema 2.2-channel system.

Loudspeakers

B&W 705 S3 Signature

Review: Mark Craven, | Oct 23, 2024 | 0 comments

First debuted in 2017, B&W's 705 standmount has been through three major iterations with both 2020's Series 2 and the current Series 3 being offered in 'Signature' guise

Loudspeaker brand B&W launched its first Signature model in 1991, in the shape of the (founder) John Bowers Silver Signature, and has intermittently released further Signature editions in the 30-plus years since. Well, I say intermittently - while only four more Signature speakers came in the next two decades, the 700 S3 Signature range, which also includes the 702 S3 Signature floorstander , comes hot on

Pre/Power Amplifiers

EMM Labs PRE/MTRS

Review: Mark Craven, | Sep 27, 2024 | 0 comments

Powerful, but trading subtlety and musical sensitivity over brute force, Ed Meitner’s flagship MTRS stereo power amplifier finds its perfect partner in the all-analogue PRE

The promotional literature for EMM Labs’ MTRS stereo power amplifier is so sure of its designer’s cachet within the audiophile community that it simply refers to him as Ed. For those not in the know, Ed is Ed Meitner, founder of Canada’s EMM Labs, and – back in the day – the engineer tasked by Sony and Philips to help with the development of SACD. The company that bears his initials operates in the high-end (there’s a more ‘accessible’ Meitner Audio brand) and maintains a boutique separates catalogue.

Loudspeakers

SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle

Review: Mark Craven, | Sep 27, 2024 | 0 comments

Ohio-based SVS throws all its speaker know-how into a high-value concave cabinet bristling with custom drivers

Between 2017 and 2022, SVS comprehensively overhauled its range of subwoofers, introducing models from the 80kg PB16-Ultra to the compact 3000 Micro. A quiet spell followed as SVS tackled a new project – an all-new flagship loudspeaker series, topped by the model on test here.

Loudspeakers

Burmester B38

Review: Mark Craven, | Aug 07, 2024 | 0 comments

German marque’s flagship B series floorstander offers smart bass-tuning potential. Is this the speaker for every room?

Although the largest and most expensive member of Burmester’s B series loudspeakers (which are ranged below its BA and BC models), the £22,700 B38 doesn’t – when viewed front on at least – look quite like the all-singing, all-dancing range-topper you might expect. Yes, it’s marginally taller than the step-down B28 (£17,600), at 1165mm versus 1144mm, but it’s also slimmer, its 210mm width shaving off 13mm. And then there are the drivers, with the B28 having four cascading down its front baffle, while the B38 features just two…

Pre/Power Amplifiers

Rotel Michi P5 S2

Review: Mark Craven, | Jul 18, 2024 | 0 comments

After a period of uncertainty, Rotel’s destiny is firmly back in its own hands with new distribution partners in the EU, US and now the UK, courtesy of SME-owner Cadence

The resurrection of Rotel’s Michi series, previously delighting audiophiles in the 1990s, was a hi-fi highlight of 2019. The Japanese manufacturer again created a strand of components (stereo and mono power amps, a preamp and two integrated models) with a focus on both high-end performance and aesthetics, even going so far as to drop the Rotel name from the branding. Then, in 2023, it announced it was revisiting three models in the lineup, making changes inside rather than out.

Network Audio Players/Servers Outboard DACs Pre/Power Amplifiers

T+A PSD 3100 HV Streaming DAC/Preamp

Review: Mark Craven, | May 20, 2024 | 0 comments

Complete with a new streaming module, T+A's latest network-attached DAC/preamp is the perfect partner for its PA 3100 HV integrated and A 3000 HV power amplifiers

Tipping the scales at a hefty 26kg, measuring a portly 46cm deep and 17cm tall, and selling for £14,900, T+A's PSD 3100 HV appears every inch the flagship DAC/streamer/preamp. Except that it isn't – that accolade is reserved for the German brand's SDV 3100 HV [HFN Oct '19], which has been deemed its 'reference' model since its arrival in 2019 and remains available for £26,040.

Network Audio Players/Servers Outboard DACs

Lumin D3 Network-Attached DAC

Review: Mark Craven, | May 13, 2024 | 0 comments

Building on the earlier D2 platform, Lumin's equally compact D3 model features a new processor, new DAC, LeedH volume control and support for increased file sample rates

It's not only loudspeaker brands playing the trickle-down technology game. Lumin's D3, its new entry-level streaming DAC, borrows liberally from the Hong Kong manufacturer's costlier network hardware, utilising elements both inside and out to effect a comprehensive upgrade on the previous D2 [HFN Jul '20]. Its maker says the D3 'brings the audiophile potential of music streaming within everyone's reach', and while the £2195 price tag makes that somewhat debatable, it certainly has plenty of appeal.

Network Audio Players/Servers Outboard DACs

Audiolab 9000N Network Streamer/DAC

Review: Mark Craven, | Apr 15, 2024 | 0 comments

The third and final component in Audiolab's three-strong 9000 series has landed – an app-driven network DAC with balanced outs. But what, if any, is the Lumin connection?

Arriving to crown Audiolab's top-flight 9000 series, which launched with the 9000A integrated amplifier and 9000CDT CD transport [HFN Aug '23], the 9000N is arguably the most intriguing model in the range. This streaming DAC, priced at £2499, and styled to match, marks a point of departure for the brand as its association with DTS Play-Fi is cut in favour of a new streaming platform and app.

Network Audio Players/Servers Outboard DACs

dCS Lina Network DAC 2.0 Network-Attached DAC

Review: Mark Craven, | Mar 11, 2024 | 0 comments

Nestled at the heart of dCS's three-box Lina headphone amp solution is the Lina DAC, now refreshed with APEX-level firmware as a springboard into its mainstream range

When dCS was founded in 1987, the idea that hi-fi hardware could be comprehensively upgraded without the need to lug it back to the shop might have seemed the stuff of science-fiction. Skip forward some 40 years, however, and firmware updates – delivered over-the-air for networked products – have become the norm. They're often used to squash 'bugs' and tweak minor settings, but what the Cambridge-based company has done with its Lina Network DAC is more noteworthy.

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