Recorded in 1963 and released in July of the same year on the Verve label (and then later in 97 where there were extra tracks) this is Ella Fitzgerald and the Count Basie Orchestra with Quincey Jones being responsible for the arrangements (Fitzgerald later worked with Jones on the 1989 “Back on the Block”) and […]
Empyrean Isles was recorded in 1964, released on the Blue Note label, established Hancock as a serious artist and is now available on hi rez format (this copy came from HighRes Audio in Germany) The album contains two of Hancock’s most famous compositions – “One Finger Snap” and the brilliant “Cantaloupe Island” which is one […]
Out 27th January on the Kompakt label Pop ambient 2014 is the 14th instalment of this series of albums presided over by label head honcho Wolfgang Voigt. Pop Ambient kicks off with “The God of Pads” Ulf Lohmann who’s had a six year hiatus and it would appear he’s back in fine form with the […]
As the title may suggest the Concord USB is a powered USB cable from Astintrew and Danny Worth has been listening to one for the last few weeks. “Tones were nice and relaxed and unforced, there was an ease to the sound, a silky flow to the music and, most importantly, the nasty upper bass […]
UK Distribution company Henley designs contacted Hifi Pig to tell us about the new Quintet Series of Moving Coil (MC) phono pick-up cartridges from Ortofon. The all-new range of cartridges includes 5 models to offer a range that ties in nicely with Ortofon’s existing Cadenza Series of premium MC cartridges, and their 2M range of […]
Thomas at TSAE, whose Evince loudspeakers we reviewed, got in touch with Hifi Pig to tell us that NuNu Distribution has been appointed the official UK and US distributor for their products. Anthony Sallis at Nu Nu Distribution said “At NuNu we are admirers of the different and the bold innovators in musical reproduction. Thomas […]
Denon has announced its first standalone USB Digital to Analogue Converter, the new £329 DA-300USB DAC which boasts the same Advanced AL32 Processing and 32-bit, 192kHz digital to analogue conversion technologies of Denon’s flagship CD/SACD players. It is scheduled to hit stores in February 2014. The DAC can be connected via USB-B or the additional […]
When this diminutive Bluetooth loudspeaker arrived just before Christmas we thought that the best person to review it would be our sixteen year old son Harry as he’s potentially the target market and he’s the one with Bluetooth enabled kit. “The sound quality is very good, the bass is surprisingly rich and the high notes […]
Like me, the name Leon Haywood may well be a new one to you but don’t let that stop you from reading further because this one is a bit of a hidden gem. Haywood is best known for his crossover hit “I Want’a Do Something Freaky To You” from 1975 which has been sampled by […]
Charo, or Maria del Rosario Mercedes Pilar Martinez Molina Baeza as her parents would have known her, is a Spanish-American singer, actress, comedienne and flamenco guitarist well known back in the day for her somewhat flamboyant style and her catchphrase “Cuchi-Cuchi” (‘Cuchi’ is a Spanish slang term for a woman’s genitals. However, Spanish speaking countries […]
Even if you’ve been living under a rock for the last 35 years or so you must have heard either some of Loleatta Holloway’s disco charged tunes or at the very least one of the many tunes that sample her …”Love Sensation” anyone? “Queen of the Night” was first released in ’78 on Gold Mind/Salsoul […]
British manufacturer Arcam of Cambridge, used CES to unveil the new FMJ A49, a 200 Watts per channel stereo integrated amplifier, hand-crafted at the company facility in Rochester New York. Arcam say this is the best and most powerful amplifier they have ever made with its 200 watts per channel Class G constant power into […]
The Airplay™ enabled A100 is a network-ready, 50w Class A/B amplifier that combines wireless streaming technologies with audio system design to bridge the divide between a world of digital music and your hi-fi speakers so that it will play your music wherever you store it – on computer, smartphone, NAS drive or the cloud, or […]
Italian high-end manufacturer Eam Lab built contacted Hifi Pig to tell us a little about their HA 360.2 amplifier. The Eam Lab 360.2, say the company, is an amplifier that “we have enclosed all the know-how gained in recent years and we were able to produce an extremely reliable amplifier with an exceptional price”. […]