Styled to match its amplifier siblings, the latest member of Rotel’s flagship Michi family combines a custom-made top-loading CD transport with USB input and DAC stage
Rotel has crowned its new Michi Q5 a 'Transport DAC', which strikes us as a somewhat vague description of what is, first and foremost, a CD player. Yes, it has digital inputs to make wider use of its onboard DAC, plus digital outputs, but just one glance at the Q5's distinctive top-loading drive mechanism – plus the fact it resides under the 'CD player' tab on Rotel's website – tells you this is a unit primarily aimed at silver disc lovers.
With uprated tweeter, internal wiring, crossover and terminals, the Diamond edition Parker Trio is a jewel in Marten’s crown
Marten Parker Trio is not, of course, the name of a new jazz act. Marten is the Swedish loudspeaker manufacturer, established as a family business by Leif Mårten Olofsson in 1998, and Parker Trio one of its floorstanding options. Yet the jazz angle still applies, as the company's other speaker ranges are Coltrane, Mingus, and Oscar. Perhaps Olofsson, who heads up the company as its chief designer, has Monk or Davis in mind for the future...
Offered in sealed (SB) and ported (PB) variants, SVS’s new Ultra subs claim refinements to driver, amplifier, power supply and DSP, and include a new auto EQ room correction
Although SVS sells a variety of loudspeakers, from its desktop-friendly Prime Wireless Pro powered monitors to the recently launched Ultra Evolution series [HFN Jul '24], it's best known as a subwoofer manufacturer. This is, after all, how the Youngstown, Ohio-based company first got started in 1998, and in the intervening years it's evolved a catalogue of subwoofers that's now crowned by the new 17-Ultra R|Evolution models.
Germany’s T+A has long been a champion of ‘line source’ floorstanders and its S 530 is the entry model to the concept
‘Theory and Application’ (T+A) is well-known for hi-fi separates ranging from its CALA and Caruso ‘lifestyle’ models to the DACs, amps and ‘multisource’ receivers of its premium R and HV series, all featured regularly in Hi-Fi News. Less well-known are its loudspeakers, despite T+A starting out in 1978 as a speaker manufacturer. Hoping to refresh our memory and provide scope for a full high-end T+A system, is a new three-strong Solitaire S range, of which the S 530 is the middle model.
Based on the same ICEpower Class D amplifier module as the Stellar Strata, the ‘MK2’ trades streaming functions for an MM/MC phono stage. But power is increased...
PS Audio’s new Stellar Strata MK2 amplifier looks – at first glance – identical to the original Stellar Strata [HFN Mar ’21], save the ‘MK2’ lettering now added to its fascia. The slender chassis, offered in silver or black and a feature of all Stellar series hardware, is retained, as is the slim text display, right-side volume rotary and headphone output of its predecessor. So from the off, it’s clear that any changes made for this second-generation design are under the hood.
‘Big sounds’ are promised from this Nordic brand’s slender Signature speaker range that includes floorstanding, standmount and AV-ready on-wall models. Is the Sig 5 a star?
If you have a preconceived notion of System Audio, chances are it’s been formed by its Silverback range of active, wireless loudspeakers. Occupying the top tier in the Danish manufacturer’s catalogue, models including the Silverback 60.2 and Silverback 40.2 [HFN May ’21 and Aug ’21] combine DSP-based crossovers, DACs and integrated amplification, with cable-free transmission via the WiSA standard. Add in the app control and room EQ and there is, to put it bluntly, a lot going on in the Silverbacks – something which can’t be said of System Audio’s new Signature series.
Boasting a new ‘design language’, upgraded DAC stage and preamp and onboard storage options, this flagship streamer finds Matrix Audio aiming higher than ever
When a manufacturer announces a new model, it’s tempting to compare it to what’s come before, looking for where upgrades have been made. And, yes, the MS-1 from China’s Matrix Audio does carry on technology and design features from the company’s earlier network players, including the Element X2 and X2 Pure [HFN Oct ’22 and Dec ’23] and entry-level X-Sabre 3[HFN Apr ’22]. That said, you only need lay eyes on the MS-1, with its full-width chassis, large, colourful front-panel display and £9600 price tag, to realise it’s also something different.
Now in its ninth iteration over nearly 35 years in production, the Q series gets a ‘MAT makeover’ headed by the Q11 tower
KEF launched its Q series Meta loudspeakers toward the end of 2024 with plenty of fanfare, but to any hi-fi enthusiast with half an eye on this brand, the announcement came as no surprise. We’d already seen how the introduction of the ‘revolutionary’ Meta Absorption Material Technology (MAT) on KEF’s LS50 Meta [HFN Jun ’21] was followed by Meta updates of its Blade [HFN May ’22], Reference [HFN Jun ’23] and then R series [HFN Jan ’24]. At the same time, KEF’s bottom-of-the-rung Q range was last updated in 2017. So, with hindsight, the Q series Meta, topped by the £1999 Q11 Meta floorstander seen here, is about as expected as anything gets in hi-fi.
Headquartered in Kanagawa, Japan, Soulnote has created a trio of product ranges in just ten years. Its mid-range Series 2 comprises a phono stage, DAC and the A-2 integrated
Soulnote’s A-2, available for £6300 in silver or black, is an integrated amplifier with an air of the ‘old skool’ about it. No network or digital connectivity, just analogue all the way, and only line-level too, as the Japanese manufacturer prefers to keep its phono stages separate. There’s no form of system control (ie, 12V triggers), and the user experience is very much plug-in-and-play, aided by an elegant remote and even simpler front-panel display.
Long anticipated, Constellation’s series two amplifiers witness the transition from huge
linear supplies to custom switchmode PSUs. Weight is slashed, and performance boosted
Californian amplifier specialist Constellation Audio isn’t one to regularly refresh its product catalogue, so when – after years of maintaining the same models – it begins a complete overhaul of its entire range, audiophile ears prick up. First to hit the market are the new Inspiration 2 and Revelation 2 series, with the latter’s stereo pre/power system being debuted at the UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2024. These will be followed by the Performance 2 and Reference 2, with the lineup then topped off by the flagship Statement amps first ‘teased’ in 2023 at the Munich High End show.