Valves or Transistors?
Valves or solid-state? Solid-state or valves? The question that is always getting brought up in audio circles. Ian Ringstead looks at a bit of the history and some of his preferences.
Author: HifiPig
AVID To Launch £35K to £120K Reference Loudspeakers
Following last year’s launch of their Reference Amplifiers, AVID have announced their complimenting range of Reference loudspeakers, which will officially launch at this year’s Munich High End Show 2016. Made up of one stand-mounted design and two floor-standing models, they have massive black aluminium enclosures and trademark AVID design touches. The three models start with […]
The Future of the AV Business…A return to Customer Service!
Mike Twomey continues his monthly look at the hifi and audio business from the perspective of the dealer. This month he focuses on that all important, but oft’ forgotten aspect of the business that is customer service and why it is so important to the industry.
headroom Starts this Friday
All things headfi and portable audio will be on show this Friday and Saturday at headroom in London. New product launches include: Sennheiser HD 800 S reference-level headphone (£1,200) Audiolab M-DAC+ (£799.95) SHURE KSE 1500 isolating electrostatic earphone (£2,199) Questyle QP1R high-res portable music player DAP (£699) Quad VA-One headphone amp (£1,399.95) Arcam MusicBOOST headphone […]
Whiplash –Original Soundtrack. Jason Hurwitz and Tim Simonec
I first became aware of the film Whiplash when Mr and Mrs Pig both raved about it on Facebook so I was delighted when my son’s girlfriend arrived home one evening with the DVD. Whiplash is indeed a terrific film. I won’t give away too much about the story but basically a talented young jazz […]
Pure Hell – Noise Addiction: 1978 London and New York Sessions (Welfare Records)
Pure Hell, very much a punk band in the original form, hail from Philadelphia and were active in New York from 74 to 78 along with the likes of New York Dolls. Their sound is inspired, as many bands of this time were, by The Stooges and The MC5.
Introducing Darlene Love – Darlene Love (Wicked Cool Records)
The title of Darlene Love’s latest album is of course ironic. Darlene had her first hit in 1962 with He’s A Rebel as the lead singer of The Blossoms, although the single was credited to the better-known Crystals who were out on tour and were unavailable to record the song at the time. He’s A […]
Machines For Joy
High-End audio and why people buy into the whole concept is a complex subject…Stuart Smith talks about very expensive cars instead.
Trends In Hifi For 2016
Linette Smith takes a look into her crystal ball and see’s if she can pluck out some trends for 2016 out of the swirling mists.
James Loudspeaker Announce W Series
James Loudspeaker, designers and manufacturers of décor-friendly entertainment products for both residential and commercial applications, has announced the introduction of the W-Series loudspeakers designed for specialised boundary applications, such as integration into a 90-degree corner where walls and ceilings converge. James Loudspeaker say “The visually unobtrusive wedge-shaped form factor is ideal for the latest immersive […]
£3299 Astell&Kern AK380 Copper Music Player
Astell&Kern has launched a limited Copper edition of its AK380 flagship high-resolution music player. Each AK380 casing is milled from a solid, 1.7Kg block of copperwhich is then hand finished and coated in a four-stage process that prevents oxidization and produces a brushed-metal finish. The player is completed by a carbon-fibre backing, and comes with […]
Aaron “The Chrome One” Integrated Amplifier
Dominic Marsh takes this €4790, chrome plated integrated amplifier from German manufacturer High End GmbH for a whirl to see if its sonic attributes live up to the amps good looks.
Arcam FMJ CDS 27 and FMJ A19 Integrated Amplifier
A full size integrated amplifier with phonostage, plus a CD player that is also a streamer for just shy of £1200 seems like a good deal. Stuart Smith investigates.
Russell K Red 100 Loudspeakers
Russell Kauffman’s Russell K company make just two models of loudspeaker. Here Dominic Marsh takes a listen to the bigger Red 100 standmounters costing £1784 in the piano gloss finish and with grilles, though less pricey options are available.
Pro-Ject Vinyl Cleaner VC-S
Pro-Ject Audio Systems announces the release of a new, extremely powerful, wet record cleaning machine that removes dirt and dust from your valuable vinyl. Pro-Ject say that the new record cleaning machine is super powerful and cleans a record in 1 to 2 rotations with the best results come from 1 turn forward, 1 turn […]
Spirits Burning – Starhawk
Space Rock, I LOVE Space Rock and Spirit’s Burning are a bit of a who’s who of the genre. The albums are put together from a disparate group of over 45 musicians all overseen at a distance by American producer Don Falcone.