TOPPING DX9 DISCRETE DAC and HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER REVIEW Oscar Stewart takes a listen to the Topping DX9 Discrete DAC/Headamp/Pre costing £1299. Topping have been making a range of headphone and HiFi products for many years now, and they seem to be refining their products at each new release. I’ve definitely covered a fair few of […]
REGA MERCURY AND SOLIS PREAMP AND POWER AMP REVIEW 40kg. 168W into 8Ω. 10 different inputs. By the numbers, it’s clear that Rega’s flagship amplification option is not here to mess about. But the world is not short of A/B based pre-power combos, so do the numbers translate into a pair of products you should […]
ROSSO FIORENTINO ARNO20: STANDMOUNT LOUDSPEAKER REVIEW Rosso Fiorentino is a brand known for producing some truly striking and original designs for their loudspeakers. With the new Arno series, they’ve produced something that still retains a lot of the spirit of their other designs, but with a rather more conventional form factor. The Arno20 is their […]
Lin and I were at my cousin Roger’s (pictured) 60th birthday bash in Sheffield last night, and a couple of things happened that I thought were worth mentioning. Neither was earth-shattering, and I don’t think either will bring about world peace or persuade people to stop posting angry comments on Facebook (though you never know […]
ARCAM SA45 INTEGRATED STREAMING AMPLIFIER REVIEW Michael Fairbairn takes the very well-specified Arcam SA45 integrated streaming amplifier for a spin. I have a soft spot for Arcam. My first proper HiFi system was from the brand in the late nineties: specifically, an integrated amplifier and CD player from the Alpha 7 series. Most of my […]
Where were you in 1977? Personally, I was enjoying my toddler years, no doubt oblivious to what was happening in Germany in that same year. The event was nothing short of genre-defining – Techno, or at least foundational electronic music, was being birthed (among some other pioneers, of course) by a band known as Kraftwerk. […]
As De La Soul said – “3 is the magic number”. 3 is everywhere in human culture – think religion (pagan and Christian), acts in plays, beginning, middle and end in books, film trilogies, ghosts in Dickens… 3 is the key. This album (and this review) is also a story of 3 parts – or […]
TITANIC AUDIO ANCHOR PLATE ISOLATION PLATFORM AND CATALYST CARTRIDGE STABILISER REVIEW Eric van Spelde tried out two products from Titanic Audio: The Audio Anchor isolation platform and the Catalyst cartridge stabiliser. Read on to find out what he made of these two audio tweaks. Titanic Audio is a sister company to Northern Irish mains-treatment boffins […]
Regular readers will be aware that I like a bit of a mix on the old Technics. I’ve been DJing with vinyl for nigh on 40 years now, although these days it is done entirely at home and purely for my own amusement, though I have a cunning plan on that front. Back in the […]
MW STANDS CYNTAF HiFi RACK REVIEW I don’t normally get that excited by HiFi stands, but the new stands from MW really got me interested when I visited Audio Show Deluxe earlier this year, and particularly with creator Michael Wall turning up with a four-tier stand to place into my music room. Forget for a […]
ROGERS LS3/5A and AB3a BASS UNIT REVIEW Janine Elliot takes a look at Rogers’ classic LS3/5A along with the AB3a bass unit to enhance the lower-end performance of this iconic loudspeaker. INTRODUCTION When Andy Whittle, Rogers’ Head of Design, delivered the BBC-designed LS3/5a speakers plus his new AB3a bass unit, he knew I would be […]
ACOUSTIC SIGNATURE MERLIN NEO TURNTABLE AND TA-500 NEO TONEARM REVIEW Stuart takes a listen to this neat-looking and beautifully engineered turntable from German brand Acoustic Signature, which represents the company’s entry point into their extensive vinyl ecosystem. Founded in 1996 in Süssen, Germany, Acoustic Signature has spent three decades concentrating on one thing: the design […]
Yesterday we did something we’d told ourselves we probably wouldn’t do again. Every year there’s an event around these parts called Art in the Chapels. It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like. A collection of artists each takes over a chapel and exhibits their work, with visitors following one of several suggested routes from […]
KERR ACOUSTIC K400 LOUDSPEAKERS REVIEW Kerr Acoustic have been making a name for itself for a few years now, with speakers based around a transmission line design and ribbon tweeters. Jes Kerr is responsible for the tuning and kindly dropped off these K400s in person for review – they share a similar design to my […]
iFi AUDIO NEO STREAM 3 REVIEW A few years ago, I reviewed the original NEO Stream from iFi Audio and loved its natural, effortless sound, along with its plethora of digital outputs and flexibility to fit into most systems. Now, in 2026, iFi have released its follow-up to this brilliant streamer in the form of […]
There’s this expectation, isn’t there, that if you’re a HiFi reviewer or one of those blogging types, you spend every waking hour listening to music. The image you probably have is of someone permanently sat in the sweet spot with a laptop or a notepad, and a mug of coffee, endlessly swapping amplifiers, speakers and […]