Boenicke, Tune Audio, PMC, Martin Logan & Moon, Constellation Audio & Wilson, Existence & Apoll & Graditech, Existence Speakers & Apoll Acoustics and Graditech, Azzolina Audio plus hORNS & Zontec & Albedo More »
A round up of some of the press events we were invited to at Munich High End 2014. More »
Last year was my first ever High End Munich Show and I did indeed get myself quite worked up at the prospect of hearing Avantgarde Acoustic Trios for the first time. More »
Naim & Focal will be at High End Munich this year which shouldn’t come as any surprise. This year 
they will be showing the Naim Statement amp paired with Focal Grande Utopia loudspeakers.
As well as this high-end, high price system Naim will also have their Muso wireless hifi system on demonstration.
You can see Naim & Focal in E119 Atrium 4, 1.OG.
Check out Hifi Pig’s visit to Focal’s headquarters in last month’s Hifi Pig Magazine where you can see just how their speakers are put together.
As soon as I see that rainbow coloured logo and the name Salsoul I know I’m gonna just love the record it’s attached to – somewhere I’e got a press cutting of me Djing with the caption “Salsoul at Nine o’clock” underneath.
And the six original (and four remixed bonus tracks) on Street Sense really don’t disappoint at all despite this being the first Salsoul Orchestra record that Vince Montana Jr (whose brainchild TSO was) does not take part in. However, where Montana Jr left off legendary Dj and remixer Tom Moulton steps in on production duties with Thor Baldurson taking care of arrangements and conducting the orchestra. More »
Hifi Pig recently introduced a new level of award over and above the Recommended award along 
with a new points system for reviews. We’ve kept it as simple as possible but we strongly believe that a second independent review of a product that achieves an overall score of 8.5 or above in its first review gives a good deal of credibility to the award. For more information on Outstanding Product Award please read our FAQ section.
When Hifi Pig published Jerry Jacobs review of the RFC Pluto II Interconnects he awarded them an astonishing clean-sweep of 10 out of 10 in all areas – build quality, sound quality and value for money and stated “At £105 for a 1m pair the value for money is completely out of sight.They are the best cables I have heard at any price and I have bought the review pair”. Now that is high praise indeed but they now needed a second opinion.
Off the cables went to Danny Worth for a second independent assessment and he too enjoyed the Pluto IIs very much saying “In their price range, popular mainstream branded cables simply sit in awe of the Pluto’s capabilities and comparing them to the rest in this review should be a joke” whilst offering them an over all score of 8.5 which means that the Pluto IIs from Reference fidelity components become the first product to receive Hifi Pig’s Outstanding Product Award.
Our congratulations go out to Paul at Reference Fidelity Components. You can read the full review here.
UK audio and video cable manufacturer and creator, The Chord Company has launched a ne
w version of its Signature speaker cable. Called Signature Reference, the new cable has been completely redesigned and builds on its predecessor’s performance say Chord Company.
“The all-new Signature Reference has been created using the lessons learned developing The Chord Company’s flagship speaker cable, Sarum. This development has enabled the Chord Company’s engineers to transform the original Signature cable, by implementing new shielding, a new conductor-spacing configuration and new materials in the shield”.
The new Signature Reference is hand-crafted in the same way as the original Signature, with each set made to order in The Chord Company’s purpose-built Wiltshire factory. The cable’s two conductors are held in place with a precision-machined aluminium clamp and are twisted along their length (twisted-pair configuration) to improve flexibility; Signature Reference is markedly more flexible than the original Signature.
The aluminium clamp has been designed to hold the cable securely whilst avoiding any compression — The Chord Company say their research and experimentation has shown that compression of the shield and insulation on either speaker or interconnect cable, can alter its performance characteristics.
“It is extremely neutral, musically transparent and capable of producing profound improvements in a wide variety of differently priced systems. It also introduces many of the outstanding and widely documented capabilities of the flagship Sarum speaker cable”. Say Chord Company.
Signature Reference has 10 AWG multi-stranded conductors, like Signature. However, where the Signature conductors were oxygen-free copper, the Signature Reference has silver-plated oxygen-free copper conductors, which bring it into line with Epic Reference and Sarum models.
The insulation has been changed, too: Signature Reference has PTFE insulation where the original Signature had polyethylene.
A higher density braided shield has been applied to the Signature Reference, and the spacing between the conductor and shield has been optimised to improve performance.
Both Signature and Signature Reference have PVC outer jackets. However, the new Signature Reference has a different density of PVC which is used on several of The Chord Company’s cables to “help minimise mechanical noise”.
As standard, Signature Reference is fitted with The Chord Company’s own custom-machined gold-plated banana plugs. These are produced in the UK to Chord’s specification and are plated with 24-carat gold. Chord can also fit gold-plated spade connectors and BFA Camcon connectors. Like Signature, Signature Reference is available in either red and black, or all- black.
Signature Reference (1.5 metre pair) £600
The January 2014 edition of the Hifi Pig Magazine is now available for FREE download. 
Reviews: Pluto Ultimate Loudspeakers, Monster iSport Freedom Headphones, Van de Leur 002/402 pre and power amps, Isotek EVO3 Mains cables, Resonessence Herus headphone amp/DAC, Wireworld Starlight 7 USB cable, Tellurium Q Claymore integrated amplifier.
Plus: Editorial comment, Reader System, Dealer System, Interview with Holger Fromme MD at Avantgarde Acoustics, a factory visit to Cabasse, music reviews and the pick of 2013’s albums.
Win: Chord Company’s Epic Reference Loudspeaker cable worth £750
Young consumer electronics brand i-box unveils Max – big brother to its recently launched portable wireless 
speaker, Trax. Like its sibling, Max is a Bluetooth, NFC-ready design, clad in i-box’s distinctive orange and black livery and designed to be used with all manner of smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers.
However, while Trax is small enough to pop into a bag whilst traveling, Max is a larger and more powerful sound system. Its tough exterior measures 292x127x139mm (WxHxD) and packs in a pair of 5cm full-range drivers, supplemented by a rear-ported 7.5cm low-frequency radiator. These are driven by a fully integrated, Class D amplifier delivering 30W RMS.
Bluetooth 4.0, with support for the superior aptX codec, A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) and EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) is included and frequency response can be individually tailored to suit the music and sound quality of the file being played, thanks to bass and treble controls located at the back of the unit.
Max can be powered from the mains or via its built-in rechargeable Lithium battery for portable convenience, with up to 10 hours playback from each charge. A pair of USB outputs is also included, turning Max into a portable power source from which smartphones and tablets may be charged.
Speaking about Max’s design, i-box’s founder and director Karl Thomas said: “If you’re paying over £100 for a Bluetooth speaker, you want it to be loud and you want to have control over your sound – I know I do. That’s why we made Max powerful, incorporated aptX ‘CD-quality’ sound, and added features like independent bass and treble controls, for maximum enjoyment whatever you’re listening to. Truly, this is a wireless speaker that takes your music to the Max!”
Price £149
Photographs taken at The Hifi SHow 2013 in Windsor. Photography by Mike Blackmore More »
Oppo, those of the famous DVD and BluRay players, have announced they will be launching a new Planar Magnetic 
Headphone (PM-1) and a headphone amplifier (HA-1).
The PM-1 headphones use an FEM optimised magnet system with very high energy Neodymium magnets. The headphones magnetic system and conductor patterns are said to be optimized for maximum sensitivity and consistency over the whole of the radiating area.
The Oppo PM-1 headphones are said to give a very open, transparent and very dynamic sound with balanced tone and very low distortion.
The HA-1 headphone amplifier from Oppo offers a Class A balances power amplifier section with the ESS 9018 Sabre 32 Reference DAC. In effect the headphone amp doubles as an asynchronous USB DAC, a stereo pre-amp, a digital audio dock for smart phones etc and a Bluetooth audio transport.
The control knob is motor driven so users can use the remote or turn by hand and they will have a choice of balanced XLR or quarter inch headphone jack. Line level inputs are given both RCA and XLR sockets.
A new Dutch hifi brand arrived on the market, called Simply Audio whose core business of is producing high quality Audio Cables.
Simply Audio’s Cadenza series of cables is made of silver and includes loudspeaker cables, two RCA interconnects and a digital cable. Termination is with Audio Note RCA’s or bananas but if clients prefer WBT or Furutech it is also possible this can be accommodated.
As well as manufacturing cables, Simply Audio were keen to tell us about ther other services which include:
A kit building services where Simply Audio builds kits for clients who can’t build these kits by themselves and are especially enthusiastic about the value of the Audio Note kits available.
A vinyl service where the company will help you get the very best from your analogue front end. “There is nothing better then Vinyl”, Dimitri van Hoven, founder and owner of Simply Audio says “but some older turntables benefit greatly by replacing the standard interlink with RCA’s and a decent interconnects” he added. Cartridge alignment is something Simply Audio also offer and they also sell cartridges from a carefully selected group of manufacturers.
Last but not least Simply Audio offers modifications such as capacitor and resistor upgrades to some brands of valve equipment including Audio Innovations.
QED is marking its 40th Anniversary with the introduction of two entirely new cables. Designated ‘Reference Audio 40’ 
and ‘Signature Audio 40’ the new cables are designed specifically for the transmission of stereo, line level analogue audio signals and are a radical move away from previous QED designs.
Jack Fox, QED’s Brand Manager, stated: “Everyone at QED is very excited about the new Reference Audio 40 and Signature Audio 40 cables. As the result of the extensive empiric scientific research undertaken for this project, both products boast features never before incorporated into QED cables. We’re confident they deliver a level of sonic performance previously only available from far more expensive designs.” He continued “In addition to the clear leap in performance resulting from the newly designed ‘AnalocTM’ phono plugs, these new features include ‘asymmetric’ cable geometry for the Silver Plated, 99.999% Pure, Oxygen Free Copper multi-stranded conductors as well as a ‘floating’ ferrite jacket. The former assists the three dimensional sonic imagery (soundstage) by minimising micro timing errors; whilst the latter is one of the three layers of electrical isolation which totally protect the cable from HF interference.”
This cordage, similar for both cables, is designed primarily for low capacitance, because this has been identified by QED as an important factor which contributes to a ‘high fidelity’ experience.
In addition to the new technology incorporated into the ‘Reference’ version; ‘Signature’ Audio 40 also benefits from its cores being cryogenically treated prior to assembly and the addition of Teflon insulator. These factors combine to reduce its capacitance and dissipation factor even further.
These new cables are the first to be enhanced by the new QED ‘Analoc™’close tolerance, locking, RCA phono plugs with insulated, zinc-plated brass barrels. ‘Reference’ has a gold-plated model, whilst ‘Signature’ has a
Rhodium-plated variant. High purity 99.999% oxygen free copper contacts are used throughout and the design features ‘low eddy current’ body and ground connections as well as a hollow central pin. All these features are designed to minimise any possible interference to the analogue signal.
The UK suggested retail prices per pair (including vat) are:
Reference Audio 40: £84.95 (0.6m) £99.95 (1m) and £124.95 (1.5m)
Signature Audio 40: £169.95 (0.6m) £199.95 (1m) and £269.95 (1.5m)
When we heard that Chord had introduced a new range of affordable interconnects we just had to get a set and see if 
they passed muster.
The new range consists of the Crimson Vee 3 (£55 per stereo metre), the Cobra Vee 3 (£95 per stereo metre) and the Chameleon Vee 3 (£135 per stereo metre) and all use Chord’s new Vee 3 RCA plugs.
Dan had a few weeks with the cables and you can read the full report of the new entry level interconnects here
“There are clear differences between the progression of the cables throughout this budget range. From a wonderfully musically Crimson to the wider bandwidth and quieter background in the Cobra which can retrieve more final details to the fantastically coherent, well balanced, detailed attributes that the Chameleon just grabs the listener with.”
Continuing Dan’s foray into the world of headfi he’s been taking a look at the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro Headphones
which fall at the more budget end of the company’s portfolio.
“They are a closed back and are an all plastic cased headphone, nicely sculpted and attractive none the less. They are tough and extremely durable for DJ-ing, have a tight-ish fit and the headband extension stays firmly on the selected notch.”
You can read the full review of the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro Headphones or why not take a look at all the reviews we’ve published so far on Hifi Pig in our new look and streamlined review section.
“Designed by and for music lovers and audiophiles, Aria from DigiBit is a music server system that has been designed
to please both the most demanding audiophiles and music lovers with large collections of CDs and digital files for whom a powerful and easy-to-use music library management tool is key. ”
DigiBit’s Aria is the only music server in the market to support an unlimited number of extended metadata fields for any music genre. This facility allows users to sort and view their music collection in multiple ways such as: albums from the romantic (Period) for piano (Instrument), played by Maurizio Pollini (Soloist). Aria has 18 predefined fields automatically matching the tagging structure of our proprietary classical music database, SonataDB. You can also delete or add fields at will. For any other music genre, all fields can be manually tagged.That should make life easier for many.
Aria’s other software features include:
1) Fully automatic (insert & rip) error-free CD Ripper
2) Metadata retrieval results from five databases
3) Bit Perfect playback up to 32bit/352.8 KHz and DSD files,
4) Multizone support
5) Remote access to your music over the internet
6) Play files from memory
7) Gapless playback
8) Seamless integration with future Songly lossless downloads music store will allow to buy music with three clicks.
Aria’s slim, fan-less aluminum case has been designed by Ochoa & Diaz-Llanos, a leading European industrial design studio. The standard Aria configuration comes with all-solid-state circuitry and has no internal storage so it’s 100% silent but optional internal storage can be provided by near-silent and superfast hybrid SSHDsor full SSD 2.5” disks with capacities from 1TB up to 4TB.
A USB to SPDIF converter board with asynchronous operation up to 24-192 provides the following outputs: SPDIF Coax RCA, BNC, AES/EBU and I²S interface. An additional USB output is also provided for playing higher sampling frequencies and DSD files.
Aria Music Server is controlled by a proprietary multilingual iPad™ app (Android app soon to follow) that provides remote control for all the functions of the music server.
Aria Music Server will ship in July and its MSRP starts at 3.999€ included VAT in EEC and3.299€ elsewhere.
You can read the second installment of Linette’s views on the Munich High 
End show, “A Bird’s Eye View”, where she’ll be talking about what stood out at the show for her.
Brands she discusses include Thoress who make some interesting looking valve amplifiers, German Physiks and their omnidirectional loudspeakers, Vexo amplifiers, Lehmann Audio and Estalon.
High End Munich 2013 – A Bird’s Eye View Part 2 – hope you enjoy it.
High End Munich 2013 – A Bird’s Eye View Part 1
Burson have announced a June launch for their Timekeeper amplifier. It is an 80W per channel Class-AB stereo 
power amp which can be bridged into a 240W mono block and is the same size as the company’s Conductor preamplifier.
There is a growing community of desktop audiophiles and the Timekeeper is very much aimed at this group of users. Burson say that these audiophiles want “high-end equipment that are desktop friendly and given the compact size of the Timekeeper amplifier they will not be disappointed”.
The Timekeeper looks to be a versatile bit of kit and you can have it running in stereo, then upgrade to 2 Timekeepers as you move from a desktop system to large room listening and from RCA systems to XLR systems.
Every bit of the Timekeeper is custom designed and built to achieve Burson’s “definition of perfection”.
Price $2600
Right! What have you got for us after ten years then Dave…?
Critiquing a new album from someone of Bowie’s legendary status (the first in ten years no less) might well fill many a reviewer with a sense of trepidation, however this little reviewer has made critical hamburgers out of some musical sacred cows recently and he’s in no mood for mediocrity….now or ever…
All Bowie’s albums since the mid ’70s have sold very well…at times belying their less than spectacular content, and The Next Day is no different in the sales stakes; shooting to number 1 on album charts in at least 20 countries. Well then it’s selling, but is the content deserving of such success, or is the man merely surviving on the neon glow of his name alone? More »
McIntosh Laboratory has launched the new C2500 – a valve preamp with 15 inputs. Designed to offer flexibility with 
both digital and analogue source components, the new C2500’s input complement includes two dedicated phono inputs (MM and MC) and five digital inputs, with D/A decoding at up to 32-bit/192kHz resolution.
The five-strong digital input suite in the McIntosh Digital Engine includes two coaxial and two assignable optical inputs at 24-bit/192kHz resolution, plus a dedicated asynchronous USB 2.0 input operating at up to 32-bit. The preamp’s analogue inputs include six line-level, two balanced, plus the aforementioned Moving Magnet and (adjustable) Moving Coil inputs. The C2500 also includes McIntosh’s new internal High Drive headphone amplifier, which offers increased gain and output power.
Internally, the C2500’s power supply, digital and control circuitry has been isolated from the analogue section and the C2500 boasts the best measured performance of any single-chassis McIntosh tube preamplifier.
The C2500 contains six dual-triode tubes (12AX7A) and further features include assignable tone controls (as needed), and the ability to connect up to three power amplifiers, two of which can be switched on and off for simple multiroom configurations. A Home Theatre Pass Through feature also allows for integration into existing multichannel home theatre systems.
The C2500 sells for £7,495 and is available now.
