3beez, is a new company based in Lafayette, Colorado specializing in the application of computer technology to home audio and have announced recently the Wax Music Management System. The Wax system provides a flexible metadata scheme which makes it effective at cataloguing large music collections, especially those that include music from classical, jazz, and other challenging […]
Hifi Pig received a message from Funjoe the founder of Clones Audio in Hong Kong. Clones Audio is a one-man workshop producing amplifiers which are inspired by the 47labs gain card, so essentially gain clone products. The story goes that one day Funjoe’s father came along to listen to his 47labs system, liked it and […]
Schiit Audio have announced its newest products, the $99 Magni headphone amplifier and the $99 Modi USB DAC. Magni offers a fully discrete design and Modi has an AKM4396 D/A converter and active filter output stage for driving long cable runs. Both products are made in the USA. “We’re excited to debut Magni and Modi,” […]
Sixteen years. That’s how long it’s been since Seattle heavyweights Soundgarden have released a studio album! Down on the Upside was the band’s swansong, or so it seemed at the time. No one could have guessed we’d see another album from them, much less with the classic lineup. Can a band who’ve been apart for […]
Byron Bay’s finest are back with a brand new album. Following on from 2010’s Deep Blue, Atlas has seen a flurry of press releases waxing lyrical about the band being world beaters and the cream of the metalcore crop. That’s all well and good, but does the album live up to expectations? Here’s the verdict… […]
Let’s get something straight from the outset. Don’t bother with this review if you think Metallica are good, but Slayer are a bit scary. This album is brutal. This is as hard and heavy as it gets. If you’re an adventurous listener or you like your metal extreme and violently frenetic, then read on. If […]
Tannoy’s Turnberry SE and Stirling SE Prestige range of loudspeakers can now benefit from much needed stands, courtesy of Reference Fidelity Components (RFC). RFC have launched what it believes are the world’s first and only truly dedicated stands for the Prestige line loudspeakers. Paul from RFC commented “Even big floorstanders such as the Tannoys can benefit […]
Every so often an album comes along that fills a reviewer with equal parts excitement and dread. A work by someone of Young’s musical credentials would seem to be best approached with caution. Critiquing an album by someone so revered in the music industry is a treacherous task. Get it wrong and you’re in for […]
Highly anticipated? A long time coming? Worth the wait? Certainly the first two are true. This is the first album from the Aussie hardcore/hard-rock mainstays since ‘This is This’ over a decade ago! It’s their fifth overall in an incredible career spanning three decades. So…what’s the answer to the third question? Read on to find […]
Neatly coinciding with the band’s 50th anniversary, this album is the TWENTY NINTH the band have released in their incredible career! Musical content aside, this album is noteworthy for a number of reasons; it’s the first album of new material they have released in twenty years, it’s the first to feature guitarist and vocalist David […]
So who’s this dude with the funny name then? Many of you may be wondering just that, but if you’re familiar with ’80s hardcore punks Husker Du or ’90s pseudo grunge act Sugar, then you’ve heard Mr Mould in action. Both groups produced critically acclaimed and hugely influential albums and Bob is certainly one talented […]
Avid Hifi, the UK based high-end hifi manufacturer have announced plans to launch an entry level turntable which will be known as the Ingenium. Full details are scant at the moment but the Ingenium turntable is expected to be available for around half the cost of their Diva II -so around £800. A solid alluminium […]
Black Rhodium the UK based cable manufacturer has announced the launch of the LIBRA and CRATOS mains power cables. Both cables have been designed for low ‘Transient Phase Distortion’ by increasing the thickness of the inner insulation to 1.2mm. “The benefit of thicker insulation is that when two electrical conductors carry an electrical current, the […]
Hot on the heals of the announcement of the BDP-2 Digital music player Bryston announced the introduction of the BP17, analog/digital stereo preamplifier derived from the preamp portion of the B-135 integrated amplifier. The BP17 will be available in December, 2012 with an MSRP of $3550. The BP17 utilizes a software controlled motorized analog volume […]
Bryston LTD, celebrating 50 years in 2012, has announced the introduction of the BDP-2 digital music player, an enhanced version of the BDP-1 that accommodates larger music libraries with faster load times. Both the BDP-1 and BDP-2 were designed to give listeners the ability to enjoy their library of high-resolution digital music files (resolutions of […]
This is the tenth studio album from Joe, who most of you will know from his work as lead guitarist in ’70s superstars The Eagles and James Gang. He has also contributed his guitar playing to countless other works by famous artists including The Beach Boys, Steve Winwood and Bob Seger. Of course Joe is […]
This is album number ten from the Californian industrial metallers (if you count the remix album Remanufacture). Famed for their impossibly fast percussive sound and innovative technological approach, the band has been around for a long time now, so….are they still at the forefront of tech-metal? They have forgone an actual drummer altogether on The […]
After a twenty year hiatus, PiL (Public Image Limited) are back with a brand new studio album. It is the tenth from the band and the first since 1992’s That What Is Not. Most of you will be familiar with front man John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) from his very short stint in seminal British […]
The metal community has been eagerly awaiting the debut album from Primate, a metallic supergroup featuring Kevin Sharp (Brutal Truth) on vocals, Bill Kelliher (Mastodon) and Mike Brennan on guitars, Dave Whitworth on bass and Shayne Huff on drums. This album is most definitely metal, but it’s not what you might expect. Rather than try […]
Hifi Pig is over the moon to announce the latest member of the review team Tom Knight. Tom is an ex journalist now working in the IT world. He’s an advocate of mono and enjoys Lieder as well as baroque and classical chamber, vocal and keyboard music. He studied music at Glasgow University in Scotland. […]
THIEL Audio has announced that the company has been acquired by a private equity firm based in Nashville, TN. New THIEL CEO Bill Thomas has indicated that the brand focus will continue to be on premium quality phase and time coherent loudspeakers, with long time THIEL employees Brad Paulsen, Gary Dayton, Lana Ruth and Rob […]
As part of their Atratus range of cables, Epiphany Acoustics have announced the launch of a shielded mains cable. The Atratus mains cable has “been designed on a ‘no holds barred’ basis, using only the most suitable, highest quality components”. The cable itself is comprised of heavy gauge copper conductors with a 100% coverage shield. […]
The new DSX1000 is a digital network streamer that at its heart, boasts Chord Electronics’ proprietary DAC technology. The latest-generation Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) architecture found inside the DSX1000, is the same technology used in the company’s QBD76 HDSD DAC and the Red Reference MkIII CD player. The FPGA handles all the digital data […]
This is the 8th studio album from the Dandys, following on from 2008’s Earth to the Dandy Warhols. So it’s been a while between drinks for the band and I was eagerly anticipating this release having been an enthusiastic fan of most of their previous works. Prior to the album’s release, front man Courtney Taylor-Taylor […]
Turbonegro. The worlds greatest cult band? Probably… For anyone unfamiliar with this enigmatic Norwegian 5 piece, imagine the bastard offspring of AC/DC and Motorhead jamming to the Ramones underpinned with a distinctly Scandinavian sense of humour and your getting somewhere around the mark! Sexual Harassment is the band’s ninth studio release and the first with […]
