The Parasound Halo 2.1 Integrated Amplifier with DAC is a fully featured integrated amplifier with an on-board DAC and much more. David Robson takes a listen to this £2999 well specified amp. More »
Leema Acoustics, based in Wales have launched an Anniversary edition of their well received Tucana II integrated amplifier. Hifi Pig takes a listen. 
More »
Show report part 3 from the Bristol Sound and Vision Show 2018 featuring: Acoustic Energy, Creek and Epos, Michell, Elac, Mitchell and Johnson, Canton, Mission, Elipson, Tangent, Audioengine, REL, Bluesound, Nordost, Proac, XTZ, Totem, Q Acoustics, Monitor Audio, Roksan, Audio Note, focal, Naim, Dynaudio, Isotek, KEF, AKG, JBL, Schiit, Audio Quest, NuNu Distribution, Quadral, TAD, Ammonite Audio, Bowers and Wilkins and IAG and Quad. More »
Hifi Pig’s first report from the Bristol Sound and Vision Show 2018 including Chord Company, Origin Live, Von Gaylord, Leema, Ophidian, Timestep, Technics, PMC/AVM, Pro-Ject, Jamo, Klipsch, Unison research, Harbeth, Rega and Malvern Audio research. More »
Based around Auralic’s Lightning DS Streaming Platform, which is one of the most intuitive and responsive software systems around for devices of this type, Polaris incorporates a wired/wireless streamer, a music server – via additional HDD/SSD, a DAC, a moving magnet phonostage, a preamplifier and a stereo power amplifier. Dan Worth tries out this £2875 box of tricks. More »
Integrating a subwoofer into a 2-Channel Hifi system is often far more difficult than adding one in a Home Cinema setup. Both require fine tuning in order to convey a cohesive response and unilateral load of the room, but in order to achieve the speed, poise and polish needed for convincing musical playback, the task of joining the lower frequencies of a subwoofer to the main speakers can be extremely frustrating, yet ultimately rewarding. Dan Worth integrates the £1000 REL T9i Subwoofer into his system. More »
Musical Fideity’s M6 Encore Connect is a ripper, streamer and preamplifier all in one handy, if substantial box. It costs £3629 and Lionel Payne hooked it up to his system to see if it came up to scratch. More »
The AVID Hifi Reference Four is a £15 000, British designed and manufactured standmount that weighs in at an impressive 40 Kg including dedicated stand. Janine Elliot takes a listen to this innovative design. More »
Rebolledo’s YOU AND YOUR HIPPIE FRIENDS imprint grows its groove footprint on international dance floors with the full-length debut of GÜERO, the latest vinyl outing from the Hippie Dance sister label and also its first fully fledged album project. To attentive hippie friends, the artist name should ring a big, funky bell – one that sounds exactly like the cut “Convertible Ride” from the notorious “A Very Nice Combinado Volume Uno” 12” release. More »
Tony Pothitos checks out the recent Athens Hifi Show for Hifi Pig. More »
Dominic Marsh experiments with the Solidair Audio Magnetic Isolators in this review for Hifi Pig. More »
Part 4 of Stuart’s photo report from the Audio Video Show in Warsaw, Poland.
This is only the second time Hifi Pig have attended the Audio Video Show in Warsaw, Poland but I for one think it on a par with the best of the best. Warsaw itself is a wonderful city that is easy for us to get to, easy to get around and full of open and friendly people…it’s also very inexpensive to eat and full of vegan and vegetarian restaurants which goes a long way to making our particular visiting all that more enjoyable.
Historically Warsaw was pretty much razed to the ground and rebuilt from the ground up and only came out of communist rule in 1989. There is a real passion for music amongst the Polish people and that passion runs through the Audio Video Show. There is still a thriving DIY culture in audio and this DIY culture is moving to the main market and presenting commercial products to consumers. Some of these products represent some of the very best in the World (think Lampizator) whilst others are still very much a work in progress and personally I feel would have been better off taking the time to refine their offerings rather than presenting a product that sounded we below par. However, perhaps I am being a little unkind in dampening enthusiasm because, after all, how does a brand learn and grow if they do not present their product and open it up to criticism.
What I love about the Warsaw show is that aforementioned enthusiasm. Perhaps some of the rooms are not as slick as at some shows and there is certainly some room for improvement in the way a tiny minority of the rooms present their wares: a pair of boots lying at the side of a room presenting very high-end Japanese gear springs to mind, as does a pair of mattresses being used down each side of the room by way of room treatment. These are small irritations that can and will be improved as people become slicker and by far the vast majority of exhibitors really understand how to present their products.
The Warsaw show is split over three venues: The Radisson Blu, The Golden Tulip and the National Stadium.
Adam and his team do a fantastic job putting the show on and really must be congratulated. If you have the opportunity to visit The Audio Video Show in Warsaw then you really should make the effort. Personally, I can’t wait until next year.
We do try and visit every single room and publish pics from every room but a small mishap, me deleting every picture we took and having to do a file recover has meant that one or two may have been missed out and for that I apologise.
Exit Kings Cross Station at the St Pancras Road end and bear left. A pleasant five-minute stroll down a pedestrian boulevard leads you across Regent’s Canal and onto Granary Square, a tranquil oasis seemingly far removed from the City hustle and bustle just around the corner. There is a distinct cosmopolitan vibe and sense of cultural well-being here. The area is teeming with people sampling world cuisine from mobile stalls, relaxing on benches in front of the impressive synchronised water jet-fountains and hanging around the many trendy upmarket bars and art shops. Situated just around the corner at the heart of this classy modern development in Stable Street, is Spiritland. Surely one of London’s coolest venues for music fans, it was here that premium British Hifi-company Data Conversion Systems, known and venerated throughout the audiophile world simply as DCS, held their 30th Anniversary celebration last week. Not knowing quite what to expect from the event, intriguingly dubbed “The Future of Music Playback in the Home”, I went along to check it out for Hifi Pig readers! More »
Kralk Audio are a small company headed up by Alan Clark and based in the North of England. The Elite 2s are a standmount speaker with an off board crossover and cost £2500. Ian Ringstead fires them up. More »
Part 3 of Stuart’s photo report from the Audio Video Show in Warsaw, Poland. More »
Costing £3995 the AVM Inspiration CS2.2 packs a lot under the hood. It’s a streamer, a CD player, DAC, FM radio, Internet radio player, it has an on-board MM/MC phonostage and outputs a healthy amount of power. For those looking for a one box plus speakers solution it looks the business, but does it cut the mustard? Dominic Marsh finds out. More »
Janine Elliot takes a listen to the brand new Music First Audio SENLAC SJE Monoblocks costing £4900 plus VAT. More »
Stuart’s first report from last weekend’s Audio Video Show in Warsaw, Poland. More »
Ian Ringstead’s thoughts on the Audio Video Show 2017 in Warsaw. More »
The headfi and portable audio market continues to flourish and the Audio Video Show Warsaw had a whole area dedicated to this niche in the audio industry. Judging by the number of people flocking to the headfi area at the National Stadium, Polish people both young and old are embracing headphones, portable DACs and headphone amplifiers. Here’s a selection of the photographs we took.
Linette and Stuart take planes, trains, trams, buses and automobiles to get to the Swiss High-End Show that took place last weekend in Zurich. More »
£95 for a mains cable with Furutech hardware and silver plated oxygen free copper (OFC) cable seems to be a bargain in the grand scheme of things. Dominic Marsh finds out. More »
Hailing from The USA the PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC/Preamp & S300 Stereo Power Amplifier cost $1699 and $1499 respectively. Here the all American duo are reviewed by David Blumenstein. More »
Dominic Marsh takes a listen to the Tannoy Revolution XT8F floorstanding loudspeakers costing £1499. More »
Winyl Record Cleaning Fluid offers a novel way for you to clean your black disks. The stuff cost £19.99 for 500ml and here Dave Robson gets down with the sticky stuff. More »
