Review: Jamie Biesemans

Review: Jamie Biesemans,  |  Jul 02, 2025  |  Published: Jun 01, 2025  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingFlagship floorstander of Q Acoustics’ 3000c series leverages premier-range tech into a sub-£1000 enclosure

Employing a deal of trickle-down technology from its costlier models, the 3050c is the only floorstander in Q Acoustics’ new 3000c range. Following on from its popular 3000i series, the basics remain the same – slim speakers that look and sound good, with price tags that won’t break the bank. The 3050c tower tested here differs from the 3010c, 3020c and 3030c standmount models not only in size, but also with its dual 142mm woofer/mid units, promising bigger bass and more thrills at what seems an extremely generous £849 price tag.

Review: Jamie Biesemans,  |  Jul 02, 2025  |  Published: Jun 01, 2025  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingWith a CD transport, network streamer and integrated amp already launched, Audiolab’s top-tier 9000 series is now made complete with this partnering pre/power amp combo

Since its debut in 2022, and with models introduced on a piecemeal basis, Audiolab’s 9000 series has sought to offer improved performance and specification above the company’s already popular 6000 and 8000 ranges. And now, with the launch of the 9000Q preamplifier/DAC and 9000P power amplifier, the family is truly complete.

Review: Jamie Biesemans,  |  Jun 06, 2025  |  Published: May 01, 2025  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingWith its macho industrial design, large touchscreen interface, fibre network connection and cutting-edge digital technology, Eversolo’s flagship streamer/preamp raises the bar

Eversolo’s DMP-A8 was an indication of the Chinese brand’s ambition to progress beyond affordable but very capable DACs and streamers into ‘real’ hi-fi territory. The DMP-A10, which ratchets up both features and finish, is the next step. It’s also Eversolo’s first full-sized component, alongside a new AMP-F10 power amplifier that’s clearly been designed to be a perfect visual match.

Review: Jamie Biesemans,  |  Jun 04, 2025  |  Published: May 01, 2025  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingPerlisten’s flagship gets the ‘LE’ treatment with lashings of carbon-fibre, plus updated crossover and bass drivers

Talk about bursting onto the scene. Five years ago, few had heard of Perlisten even though the Wisconsin company had existed from 2016, ostensibly operating in stealth mode. Today it is an established name in hi-fi circles, abetted by two complete loudspeaker series featuring some ambitious technology. The four-way £19,000 S7t floorstander [HFN Apr ’22] had served as Perlisten’s flagship speaker until this £30,000 Limited Edition arrived two years later, boasting numerous detail enhancements. It’s at least 25kg heavier too, at 84kg per tower.

Review: Jamie Biesemans,  |  Jun 03, 2025  |  Published: May 01, 2025  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingForty years young, Dynaudio’s Contour series is raised to a new level in this ‘Black Edition’ standmount, featuring improvements to every component. Welcome to the dark side!

True to form, Dynaudio showed a slew of products at last year’s High End Show in Munich [HFN Jul ’24] – including a new loudspeaker styled by Tokyo’s Keiji Ashizawa Design studio, plus a turntable built by Thorens. Also shown was this Contour 20 Black Edition standmount, now finally in production. This is a range of one – an elegant two-way with no floorstanding partner – but it serves a useful purpose, offering Dynaudio fans an option to bridge the £4500 Contour 20i and the premium £9600 Confidence 20. Okay, at nearly £6000 a pair, it’s not exactly midway in price, but does represent a tempting step up.

Review: Jamie Biesemans,  |  Jun 01, 2025  |  Published: Apr 01, 2025  |  0 comments
hfnoutstanding Denon’s first big integrated since its Anniversary PMA-A110 model, launched five years ago, is designed to tug the heartstrings of traditionalist audiophiles. Are you one?

Denon updates its AV receivers at the drop of a hat, but its stereo amplifiers typically enjoy a far longer shelf-life. Side-stepping its 110th anniversary PMA-A110 model [HFN Dec ’20] for a moment, the brand’s previous flagship, the PMA-2500NE [HFN Aug ’16], illustrates this longevity. Nonetheless, there’s a direct line between the PMA-A110 and the £2999 PMA-3000NE tested here, as numerous hardware tweaks devised for that limited edition model underpin Denon’s new stereo integrated.

Review: Jamie Biesemans  |  May 28, 2025  |  Published: Nov 01, 2024  |  0 comments
hfnedchoice Produced under the watchful eye of Monitor Audio, Blok’s modular ‘hi-fi furniture’ combines acoustic engineering with contemporary design.

As the EISA Awards jury noted this year [HFN Oct ’24], AV furniture is ‘often overlooked… but has a crucial part to play’. Monitor Audio would agree, and having acquired Blok in 2019, it has launched a redesigned Stax 2G system this summer. Retaining its predecessor’s wooden box-like supports and full-width shelves, the improved modular form-factor promises to be easier to configure and assemble.

Review: Jamie Biesemans,  |  May 27, 2025  |  Published: Nov 01, 2024  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingA fusion of Yamaha’s hi-fi audio technologies with the proprietary Sound Field modes debuted on its AV hardware decades ago, the HA-L7A is a headphone amp with a twist

For a brand name that appears on very diverse products, from grand pianos to outboard motors, it’s amazing that Yamaha has little in the way of high-end head-fi – the company was a very early adopter of planar-magnetic headphone technology, after all. The HA-L7A DAC/headphone amp is the second product launched to address that deficiency, following on from the YH-5000SE headphone, which garnered an EISA Award last year and is a spiritual successor to the legendary HP-1 from ’76.

Review: Jamie Biesemans,  |  May 05, 2025  |  Published: Apr 01, 2025  |  0 comments
hfnoutstanding

Situated squarely in the middle of Canton’s five-strong set of floorstanders, is the Reference 3 the sweet spot?

First seen at High End Munich in 2023, Canton’s Reference range brought a major renewal to the flagship offering of Germany’s largest loudspeaker brand. Introducing a new design aesthetic, with a rounded lute-shape cabinet profile made popular by Sonus faber many years ago, and integrating new drivers, it heralded a major course change from the previous Reference K generation [HFN May & Aug ’22]. Yet Canton’s penchant for sprawling ranges has not changed, so the Reference series contains no fewer than eight models – and that’s not counting the exclusive GS edition, nor the two Alpha models revealed at Munich in 2024.

Review: Jamie Biesemans,  |  May 02, 2025  |  Published: Nov 01, 2024  |  0 comments
hfnoutstandingInnovative as ever, the go-to-speaker designer Karl-Heinz Fink solves the solution of where to best site a small speaker. For the diminutive ES-7N the answer is... anywhere!

The rebirth of classic UK brand Epos got off to a flying start when eminent loudspeaker designer Karl-Heinz Fink bought the brand from Creek Audio in 2020. As his first move he created a new iteration of the ES-14, one of Epos’s most beloved products, but this wasn’t a nostalgia project despite some Back To The Future-themed marketing. Instead, Fink took the basic principles of the original model and designed a new speaker utilising modern technologies. That was a clever move, for while the resulting ES-14N [HFN Jul ’23] might not be as true to the original as some would like – it’s undoubtedly better.

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