There was good news for Scotland’s audiophile community as Edinburgh-based Audio-philia opened for business on 14 May.

Audio-philia’s story started in a little Italian town when 8 year old Carlo Marengo was given a small radio by his mother.  That radio, a free gift with a packet of washing powder, sparked Carlo’s interest in music and audio reproduction.

After training as a chef, and despite the long hours that this profession demands, Carlo’s passion for audio remained undiminished and when he moved to Edinburgh, he studied for an HND in audio-visual technology while carrying on his culinary career.  Shortly after completing his qualification, Carlo founded Audio-philia as an on-line business specialising in the sale of second-hand audio equipment.

Acquiring premises in the heart of one of Edinburgh’s most attractive areas, owner and director Carlo has transformed Audio-philia into a premium hifi dealership, offering a wide range of audio products from around the world, extending the choice available to music lovers in and around Scotland’s capital city.  Visitors will also find a carefully-selected collection of CDs and vinyl from some of the best jazz and classical music labels.

Italy is renowned for style, hospitality and excellent coffee and Carlo has brought all of these to his beautiful new shop.  As a chef, Carlo knows the importance of combining the right ingredients to achieve the highest levels of quality and flavour and he brings these skills into play in providing a bespoke service for his customers.  Taking time to get to know his clients’ requirements, he works with them to blend components that will maximise quality at a given price point.  Whether you are looking for a whole new system or to upgrade your existing kit, Carlo will work with you to achieve the sound you desire.

As well as being Scotland’s only dealer in Elac and Lyngdorf products, Audio-philia’s brands include Brodmann, ART, Pro-Ject, Exposure, Benchmark and Fostex.

Audio-philia will soon be launching their website – watch this space – but for now you can find them at 95 Gilmore Place, Edinburgh.

Pro-Ject Audio Systems has announced The Classic turntable which utilises a simple and elegant “frame” design, which bears a notable resemblance to some of the most famous turntables of the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s. Hifi Pig managed to have a dem of this at the recent High End show in Munich and it looks great in a retro kind of way (see first picture). Speaking of the design, Heinz Lichtenegger has said:

“In my first year as a hi-fi dealer, working out of my mother’s petrol station using her trade license, I sold 50 Thorens 166 MK 2. In a town of 2000 people, I made everybody into a hi-fi believer…
Later I expanded to some Linns, Aristons, Heybrooks etc. Today Pro-Ject is the leading company for hi-fi stereo turntables and sooner or later I simply had to produce what I once loved…”

The Classic’s design is more than just aesthetically pleasing, it also combines proven hi-fi technologies with the simple set-up so often associated with Pro-Ject turntables, so you can get down to enjoying your music as soon as possible.

The two-plinth design utilises Thermo Plastic Elastomers (TPE) to isolate the sub-chassis, rather than the traditional method of a spring-loaded sub-chassis. The layout effectively decouples the motor from the main bearing and the tonearm, reducing unwanted interference between the components.

The idea of reduced resonance transference carries through to the platter configuration. The instantly recognisable dual-platter layout has been chosen instead of the old cast platters. The main platter on The Classic is machined from an aluminium alloy which is lined underneath with TPE damping. The sub-platter/bearing assembly combines a hardened steel rod with a bronze bushing that is lined with Teflon, resulting in a very smooth, low-noise solution. The configuration is similar to that of a Debut turntable, but the tolerances for these components have been improved by a factor of 10 over the Debut Carbon.

The Classic also boasts an entirely new tonearm, exclusively designed for this special anniversary turntable. The conical tube is made from aluminium, wrapped in a layer of carbon fibre. The carbon fibre keeps the tonearm light and stiff, while the aluminium adds improved damping and grounding.

The Classic Tonearm also uses a new bearing assembly with precision-machined, ultra-low friction Zircon bearings. Underneath, a new Japanese-designed ball-bearing allows for easier placement of the tonearm wires and a much freer movement of the tonearm. The new nickel-finished counterweight is also TPE-damped, reducing the amplitude of the tonearm’s resonant-frequency by 50%. Finally, the tonearm also benefits from the usual azimuth and VTA-adjustments associated with all high-end Pro-Ject tonearms.

A variety of counterweights will be available for The Classic, supporting cartridges up to 25g. The Classic Tonearm will also be available for sale separately in the future.

To increase accessibility for The Classic, the turntable has been designed with a new set of feet, which effectively allows the turntable to perform as well as possible in a wide variety of installations, even when it’s not placed on an ideal platform. The feet are both dampened and height-adjustable, ensuring the turntable can be adjusted to sit level on unbalanced or imperfect surfaces.

The Classic is supplied as standard with the Ortofon 2M Silver cartridge, which has been designed exclusively for Pro-Ject Audio Systems. However, the ability of the turntable is such that it’s also capable of working with a wide variety of high-end Moving Coil options. The inclusion of a junction box on the back-panel, also allows for cable improvements as and when you improve your cartridge option.

The Classic turntable is available in Eucalyptus, Rosenut or Walnut (shown) finishes. It is supplied as standard with all necessary set-up tools, a fitted dust cover and Pro-Ject’s specially-developed Connect-IT E turntable cables.

SRP £799.00
The Pro-Ject Classic will be available in the UK from June 2016.

Technical Information
Speed: 33 / 45 RPM (manual speed change)
Drive Principle: Belt drive
Platter: 300mm aluminium (TPE-damped)
Main Bearing: Stainless steel (Bronze bush with Teflon lining)
Wow & Flutter: ± 0.03% (33rpm) / ± 0.05% (45rpm)
Speed Drift: ± 0.10% (33rpm) / ± 0.11% (45rpm)
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: -71dB
Tonearm: The Classic Tonearm (9”)
Effective Arm Length: 230mm
Effective Arm Mass: 13.5g
Overhang: 18mm
Included Accessories: Dust Cover, Connect-IT E (RCA) cable Power Supply: 15V / 1,600mA DC
Power Consumption: 5W Max. / <0.5W in standby Dimensions (W x H x D): 460 x 131 x 351mm (lid closed) Weight: 10.2kg (net)

Once again, the HIGH END show at Munich will feature, not only great hifi and audio equipment,but also a wide variety of interesting talks, presentations, demonstrations and workshops with high-profile speakers all about consumer electronics.

Here is a small selection of the exciting topics to come:

TECHNOLOGY STAGE – HALL 3, STAND K08 HQ-RADIO IN EUROPE
Initiatives and trends for radio as quality audio medium

Mr. Werner Bleisteiner, editorial manager for digitalisation projects at BR-KLASSIK

Thursday, 05 May 2016, 3.00 pm
Friday, 06 May 2016, 4.30 pm

Radio has come a long way to arrive in the future: Digital distribution channels – on air and online – program associated data services and interactive features have blown the old box. Yet, audio quality is still the key issue to define the special quality of experience of the medium.

Major European broadcasters, especially from Germany, France and Great Britain, collaborate closely under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union EBU to set future milestones and standards in media technology development.

Werner Bleisteiner (BR) takes a look at the European broadcasting landscape for surround sound, binaural and high quality streaming services with HTML5, as well providing first hand insights into the present stage in the development of the upcoming technology “object-based broadcasting”.

TECHNOLOGY STAGE – HALL 3, STAND K08
THE FASCINATION OF TUBES
Dipl.-Ing. Ulrich Apel (Association of German Sound Technicians)

Friday, 06 May 2016, 3.00 pm

Starting with an explanation of the basic function of a tube, different types and details on the tasks they perform in preamplifiers and final amplifiers will be explored. An important aspect is the comparability of the tubes made by different manufacturers, different type designations and an outlook of their lifespan. To finish, a few tips for integrating a tube amplifier into an existing system.

THE TAPE MACHINE IN THE HIGH-END CHAIN
Dipl.-Ing. Ulrich Apel (Association of German Sound Technicians)

Saturday, 07 May 2016, 3.00 pm

What does it need to be able to do, and what should its settings be, to ensure it sounds right when playing master tapes?

By explaining how magnetism works, the way sound goes through magnetic heads and onto the tape is explored. Mechanical and electrical settings ensure perfect transmission. Finally, there are valuable tips for connection and level ratios.

TECHNOLOGY STAGE – HALL 3, STAND K08 SENNHEISER HE1, SOUND REPRODUCTION SYSTEM
Axel Grell, Sennheiser

Friday, 06 May 2016, 11.00 am
Saturday, 07 May 2016, 10.30 am

In his presentation, Axel Grell, Portfolio Manager at Sennheiser, explains an innovative am- plifier concept and sound converter system designed to unite the HE1 headphones, which cost €50,000, with exclusive materials.

SENNHEISER’S AMBEO 3D AUDIO TECHNOLOGY
Gregor Zielinsky, Sennheiser

Friday, 06 May 2016, 11.00 am
Saturday, 07 May 2016, 10.30 am

The trailblazing 3D Immersive Audio technology makes recording and reproducing audio at the very highest level possible, thereby creating a hitherto unheard sound experience for the user. Within the framework of a presentation at the HIGH END 2016, graduate sound technicians Gregor Zielinsky provides some insight into the development of Sennheiser’s AMBEO 3D audio products, and speaks about the special features and application areas of the 3D audio technology.

CONFERENCE ROOM K1B (OPPOSITE HALL 1)

Daily from 10 am to 6 pm

HIGH END 2016 – THE FASCINATION OF MULTICHANNEL
Following the extremely positive feedback received last year, a top-class multichannel audio demonstration will be held again this year, in conference room K1B, opposite Hall 1.

Loudspeaker icon Joachim Kiesler from Musikelectronic Geithain and cable specialist Hans M. Strassner from HMS have joined forces with the studio professionals from Merging Technologies from Switzerland and a German HiFi Internet platform to form an ambitious cooperative venture. Once again, demonstrations and workshops will treat the attende- es to acoustic performances of what is currently viable in terms of multichannel music playback.

The internationally renowned master sound technicians Jean-Marie Geijsen (Polyhymnia International), Jared Sacks (Channel Classics), Morten Lindberg (2L), Daan van Aalst (Navis Classics) and Stephan Cahen (Myrios Classics) will share reports from everyday life in the recording studio, and share their passion for multichannel music with their listeners. Accompanying presentations will round off the program.

Music in all formats will be played for visitors to listen to in closed, thirty-minute demons- trations. Stereo recordings, historical audio documents as three and four channel recor- dings, and the original master files from the most recent recording sessions by the sound technicians participating will encourage acoustic comparisons.

All those involved will be doing their very best to be able to demonstrate the music on an extraordinary system. Musikelectronic Geithain will be lending an exclusively loudspeaker set-up for this demonstration, using their reference products ME 800 K and ME 801K. This will be accompanied by the NADAC (Network Attached Digital to Analogue Converter) made by Merging Technologies as a source, and which the Swiss studio experts intend to use to redefine the quality standard in digital playback in the home entertainment sector as well. The first euphoric reactions from all over the world justify the high expectations. Hans M. Strassner from HMS will be continuing the state-of-the-art Suprema series he began with network cables, and will be contributing his brand-new, highest quality con- nection cables of the same name for use with this exceptional system. And last but not least, Reinhard Weidinger from Hörzone will be working with his sales partner, artnovion from Portugal, to provide the appropriate acoustics in the room, without which top-quality sound is not even possible.

WORKSHOP DATES WITH MATTHIAS BÖDE FROM THE STEREO EDITORIAL TEAM
Duration approx. 30 minutes
Advance reservations are not needed.

Saturday, 07 May 2016
11.00 am
Topic: What role does the pick-up play for the sound of vinyl? Three pick-up heads – from MM to MC – in comparison.
Exhibitor: Transrotor/AVM – Atrium 4, Room F104

12.00 am
Topic: How much potential does bi-amping offer? Loudspeakers played using two or four monoblocs.
Exhibitor: AVM/Gauder Akustik, Atrium 4, room E105

2.00 pm
Topic: Does the phono cable define the record player’s performance? Conductors from the low-price segment in a cross check.
Exhibitor: Pro-Ject/Cabasse, Atrium 3, Room C118

3.00 pm
Topic: Is high-bit HiFi more than just a buzz word? Format checks from MP3 right up to 24 bit/192 kilohertz. Exhibitor: Burmester, Atrium 3, room D106

4.00 pm
Topic: Unique: Listen to record players from all price segments “virtually”. The new “STEREO Phono Festival” through a super system.
Exhibitor: MBL, Atrium 4, room D106

Read more news about Munich High End 2016 Here and Hifi Pig’s coverage of last years High End Munich here

Once again, the HIGH END show at Munich will feature, not only great hifi and audio equipment,but also a wide variety of interesting talks, presentations, demonstrations and workshops with high-profile speakers all about consumer electronics.

Here is a small selection of the exciting topics to come:

TECHNOLOGY STAGE – HALL 3, STAND K08 HQ-RADIO IN EUROPE
Initiatives and trends for radio as quality audio medium

Mr. Werner Bleisteiner, editorial manager for digitalisation projects at BR-KLASSIK

Thursday, 05 May 2016, 3.00 pm
Friday, 06 May 2016, 4.30 pm

Radio has come a long way to arrive in the future: Digital distribution channels – on air and online – program associated data services and interactive features have blown the old box. Yet, audio quality is still the key issue to define the special quality of experience of the medium.

Major European broadcasters, especially from Germany, France and Great Britain, collaborate closely under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union EBU to set future milestones and standards in media technology development.

Werner Bleisteiner (BR) takes a look at the European broadcasting landscape for surround sound, binaural and high quality streaming services with HTML5, as well providing first hand insights into the present stage in the development of the upcoming technology “object-based broadcasting”.

TECHNOLOGY STAGE – HALL 3, STAND K08
THE FASCINATION OF TUBES
Dipl.-Ing. Ulrich Apel (Association of German Sound Technicians)

Friday, 06 May 2016, 3.00 pm

Starting with an explanation of the basic function of a tube, different types and details on the tasks they perform in preamplifiers and final amplifiers will be explored. An important aspect is the comparability of the tubes made by different manufacturers, different type designations and an outlook of their lifespan. To finish, a few tips for integrating a tube amplifier into an existing system.

THE TAPE MACHINE IN THE HIGH-END CHAIN
Dipl.-Ing. Ulrich Apel (Association of German Sound Technicians)

Saturday, 07 May 2016, 3.00 pm

What does it need to be able to do, and what should its settings be, to ensure it sounds right when playing master tapes?

By explaining how magnetism works, the way sound goes through magnetic heads and onto the tape is explored. Mechanical and electrical settings ensure perfect transmission. Finally, there are valuable tips for connection and level ratios.

TECHNOLOGY STAGE – HALL 3, STAND K08 SENNHEISER HE1, SOUND REPRODUCTION SYSTEM
Axel Grell, Sennheiser

Friday, 06 May 2016, 11.00 am
Saturday, 07 May 2016, 10.30 am

In his presentation, Axel Grell, Portfolio Manager at Sennheiser, explains an innovative am- plifier concept and sound converter system designed to unite the HE1 headphones, which cost €50,000, with exclusive materials.

SENNHEISER’S AMBEO 3D AUDIO TECHNOLOGY
Gregor Zielinsky, Sennheiser

Friday, 06 May 2016, 11.00 am
Saturday, 07 May 2016, 10.30 am

The trailblazing 3D Immersive Audio technology makes recording and reproducing audio at the very highest level possible, thereby creating a hitherto unheard sound experience for the user. Within the framework of a presentation at the HIGH END 2016, graduate sound technicians Gregor Zielinsky provides some insight into the development of Sennheiser’s AMBEO 3D audio products, and speaks about the special features and application areas of the 3D audio technology.

CONFERENCE ROOM K1B (OPPOSITE HALL 1)

Daily from 10 am to 6 pm

HIGH END 2016 – THE FASCINATION OF MULTICHANNEL
Following the extremely positive feedback received last year, a top-class multichannel audio demonstration will be held again this year, in conference room K1B, opposite Hall 1.

Loudspeaker icon Joachim Kiesler from Musikelectronic Geithain and cable specialist Hans M. Strassner from HMS have joined forces with the studio professionals from Merging Technologies from Switzerland and a German HiFi Internet platform to form an ambitious cooperative venture. Once again, demonstrations and workshops will treat the attende- es to acoustic performances of what is currently viable in terms of multichannel music playback.

The internationally renowned master sound technicians Jean-Marie Geijsen (Polyhymnia International), Jared Sacks (Channel Classics), Morten Lindberg (2L), Daan van Aalst (Navis Classics) and Stephan Cahen (Myrios Classics) will share reports from everyday life in the recording studio, and share their passion for multichannel music with their listeners. Accompanying presentations will round off the program.

Music in all formats will be played for visitors to listen to in closed, thirty-minute demons- trations. Stereo recordings, historical audio documents as three and four channel recor- dings, and the original master files from the most recent recording sessions by the sound technicians participating will encourage acoustic comparisons.

All those involved will be doing their very best to be able to demonstrate the music on an extraordinary system. Musikelectronic Geithain will be lending an exclusively loudspeaker set-up for this demonstration, using their reference products ME 800 K and ME 801K. This will be accompanied by the NADAC (Network Attached Digital to Analogue Converter) made by Merging Technologies as a source, and which the Swiss studio experts intend to use to redefine the quality standard in digital playback in the home entertainment sector as well. The first euphoric reactions from all over the world justify the high expectations. Hans M. Strassner from HMS will be continuing the state-of-the-art Suprema series he began with network cables, and will be contributing his brand-new, highest quality con- nection cables of the same name for use with this exceptional system. And last but not least, Reinhard Weidinger from Hörzone will be working with his sales partner, artnovion from Portugal, to provide the appropriate acoustics in the room, without which top-quality sound is not even possible.

WORKSHOP DATES WITH MATTHIAS BÖDE FROM THE STEREO EDITORIAL TEAM
Duration approx. 30 minutes
Advance reservations are not needed.

Saturday, 07 May 2016
11.00 am
Topic: What role does the pick-up play for the sound of vinyl? Three pick-up heads – from MM to MC – in comparison.
Exhibitor: Transrotor/AVM – Atrium 4, Room F104

12.00 am
Topic: How much potential does bi-amping offer? Loudspeakers played using two or four monoblocs.
Exhibitor: AVM/Gauder Akustik, Atrium 4, room E105

2.00 pm
Topic: Does the phono cable define the record player’s performance? Conductors from the low-price segment in a cross check.
Exhibitor: Pro-Ject/Cabasse, Atrium 3, Room C118

3.00 pm
Topic: Is high-bit HiFi more than just a buzz word? Format checks from MP3 right up to 24 bit/192 kilohertz. Exhibitor: Burmester, Atrium 3, room D106

4.00 pm
Topic: Unique: Listen to record players from all price segments “virtually”. The new “STEREO Phono Festival” through a super system.
Exhibitor: MBL, Atrium 4, room D106

Read more news about Munich High End 2016 Here and Hifi Pig’s coverage of last years High End Munich here

The January edition of HIfi Pig Extra is now published and ready for FREE download. It’s another great issue with loads of content…

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

REVIEWS

Merrill Audio Thor Monobloc Amplifiers.

MunroSonic EGG150 – Active Monitoring Loudspeakers.

Cabasse Stream 100 Amplifier and Surf Loudspeakers.

Martin Logan Motion 15 Standmount Loudspeakers.

Zeta Zero Venus Picolla Loudspeakers.

DiDiT DAC 212 Digital To Analogue Converter.

Lab 12 gordian Power Distributor/Conditioner.

Clearaudio Smart Matrix Professional Record Cleaning Machine.

Black Cat Redlevel Tube speaker Cable and RCA Interconnects.

COLUMNS

Retro Bites – Janine Elliot takes another look at retro audio kit, this time focusing on the rare Tefifon

Voice Of Dom – Dominic Marsh gets puzzled over the differences people hear with identical products and explains how he goes about evaluating and listening to new kit.

Fidelity Matters – In the last of his Fidelity Matters articles for 2015, Ian Ringstead celebrates innovation wherever it comes from and applauds all the people in the hifi industry who make this wonderful kit possible.

The Views Of Stu – Stuart Smith looks at the year that was 2015 and hints at a few things you can expect to see in the coming year from Hifi Pig.

Bird’s Eye View – Linette Smith asks “What’s your drug of choice?”.

Dealers’ View – Mike Twomey continues his series of articles looking at the wonderful world of audio from the dealers perspective and this month offers up a few useful tips on how to get the best trade in deal when it comes round to the inevitable upgrade time…

Music and Live Gig Reviews with John Scott and Stuart Smith including live reviews of The Rezillos, Spizzenergi and The Proclaimers. 

The Classics – John Scott throws a log on the fire, pours himself a wee dram and puts on his copy of Mike Oldfield’s Ommadawn as part of his Classic Albums series. 

A great Behind The Brands interview with Heinz Lichtenegger, the CEO of Pro-Ject.

Download your Free copy here 

Roksan Audio have been considered a leading force in the analogue audio world since their  first product, the Xerxes record player, was released in 1985.

The Oxygene 30 Turntable boasts an elegant, minimalist aesthetic inspired by the popular Oxygene range of hifi electronics. But beneath its striking gloss-white exterior is an innovative design that draws heavily from the Xerxes 20Plus.

The Oxygene 30 utilises a complex, multi-layered, four-piece plinth design with a new high-mass mounting block for housing the motor. The new motor mount ensures that unwanted resonances from the motor are transferred into the block and significantly attenuated before reaching the top plinth. It also improves motor alignment for optimal belt tension and reliable speed stability.

The central objective behind the multi-section plinth is to isolate the core components of the turntable, allowing not only the motor, but also the tonearm, cartridge and record platter to perform at the highest possible standard. Between the plinth layers, high-quality isolating materials are used for tuned decoupling.

The Oxygene 30’s two-piece platter utilises a solid aluminium alloy, which forms a completely dampened, resonant free surface when the inner and outer platter are combined. Like the Xerxes 20Plus, the Oxygene 30 also uses a removable spindle cap, which reduces bearing noise transmission through the record surface.

The Oxygene 30 is supplied as a package in the UK; just install your preferred cartridge and you’re ready to integrate it into any vinyl-ready hi-fi system. The turntable is supplied as standard with Roksan’s XPS-7 power supply/speed controller, and inside the box is a Pro-Ject 9CC Evolution tonearm. The engineers at Roksan have worked extensively to accommodate this popular 9” carbon fibre tonearm on the Oxygene 30, including the development of a brand new mounting plate.

The Oxygene 30 turntable perfectly represents the ethos behind the Oxygene range, as well as Roksan Audio’s wider brand philosophy. The overall design is compact yet highly resolved, and the sound performance is striking in its clarity, detail and musicality. The Oxygene 30 is a new must-consider product in the world of high-end vinyl playback.

SRP £2,500.00

The November Edition of Hifi Pig Extra is available for FREE DOWNLOAD
COVER STORY

Linette Smith talks about the recent visit to the Paris Haute Fidélité show the week after the attacks. ““We are setting off to visit the Haute Fidelité Show at the Marriott Rive Gauche in Paris. I’m not entirely sure how I am feeling, a mixture of anger and defiance, but also sadness and admittedly fear”

REVIEWS

VPI Prime Turntable

Pro-Ject RPM3 Carbon Turntable

Bespoke Audio Co Passive Preamplifier

Kralk Audio BC30 Loudspeakers and PAW Stand

Ophidian Mojo Loudspeakers

Leema Xen Loudspeakers

Melodika “Purple Rain” Series Speaker Cables

COLUMNS

Janine Elliot takes a step down memory lane with the much loved Leak Stereo 20 power amplifier.

Dominic Marsh concludes his popular three part series on mains cables.

Ian Ringstead takes a look at the state of the hifi industry and asks what we can all do to boost the popularity of two channel audio in the home.

There seems to be a lot of in-fighting within the audiophile world about people’s personal choices and the equipment they finally place in their system. Stuart Smith takes a tongue-in-cheek look at what he thinks are the reasons for this phenomenon…

Mike Twomey tells us how best to strike a great deal with your retailer this holiday season.

Plus album and gig reviews with John Scott, Janine Elliot and Stuart Smith and the ever popular Classics series where John Scott takes a look at the Kinks album “The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society”

Download your FREE copy now!

A comprehensive list of the companies at High End Munich 2015 and the rooms they will be in.  More »

Did you miss one of Hifi Pig’s reviews in March? Never fear, here’s links to all nine of them:

Pro-Ject MaiA Integrated Amplifier

ADL (Furutech) H-118 Headphones

ATC SCM 11 Loudspeakers

Roth OLi RA1 Bookshelf Loudspeakers

Skogrand SC Beethoven Loudspeaker Cables

Arte Forma Mezzo Power Amplifier

Tangent Spectrum X5 BT – Powered Digital Bookshelf Speakers

NuForce NE750M and NE800M Inner-Earphones

Roksan Kandy K3 Integrated Amplifier

TIDAL, the first high fidelity lossless music streaming service with HD music videos and curated editorial, has announced the launch and availability of its service in the UK and US. The service has an extensive library of 25 million-plus tracks, 75,000 music videos and curated editorial articles, features and interviews.  It’s ad’ free and available now for a monthly subscription of £19.99 / $19.99.

With distribution agreements signed with all of the major labels, including Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, TIDAL has also been working with many independent labels to offer a comprehensive catalogue that includes a wide range of genres to suit all musical tastes. TIDAL has also signed agreements with licensing organisations PRS for Music for UK and ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and Harry Fox Agency for U.S.

Possibly the most eagerly anticipated music streaming service by the audio industry, partnership and integration agreements have already been made with 34 of the world’s audio brands, including: Anthem, Airable by Tune In Media, Astell & Kern, Audeze, Audiovector, AudioQuest, Auralic, Aurender, Bel Canto, Bluesound & NAD, Dan D’Agostino, Definitive Technology, Denon HEOS, DTS Play-Fi, Dynaudio, Electrocompaniet, Harman Omni, HiFiAkademie, ickStream, JH Audio, Linn, McIntosh, Meridian, MartinLogan, Paradigm, Polk, Pro-ject, PS Audio, Raumfeld, Simple Audio, Sonos, Steinway Lyngdorf, Wren Sound Systems with more to come.

“We are delighted that TIDAL has launched and that music lovers can now appreciate music the way it is meant to sound,” said TIDAL CEO Andy Chen.  “But the music is just one part of the service. The expert editorial educates, entertains and enriches the music experience whilst the music videos complement the music perfectly.  We are sure that TIDAL will quickly become the music streaming service of choice for all who appreciate high quality at every level.”

TIDAL, the first high fidelity music streaming service with HD music videos and curated editorial, today announced the partnership and integration of TIDAL into products from16 of the best known home audio brands. In preparation for the upcoming UK and U.S. launch, TIDAL is working closely with its integration partners to ensure that music lovers will be able to register and experience the catalogue of 25 million-plus tracks, streaming at HiFi, lossless sound quality, on some of the world’s best known home audio products.

Sonos, Denon HEOS, Harman Omni, Bluesound & NAD, Meridian, Auralic, Electrocompaniet, Simple Audio, Raumfeld, Dynaudio, Audiovector, Pro-ject, Airable by Tune In Media, HiFiAkademie and ickStream will all have products that seamlessly work with TIDAL, with users just needing to sign up to the service for access.

Commenting on the partnerships, Andy Chen, CEO at TIDAL, said: “The reaction from the home audio industry to TIDAL has been exceptional and we are really excited that our first 16 confirmed partners are such highly-considered brands in the industry. Experiencing TIDAL on high-quality home audio systems and headphones proves just how good high-quality music streaming can sound. We will therefore offer TIDAL across the broadest selection of home audio systems with these premium partners and more to come.”

As an advertisement-free, lossless, CD-quality music and HD music video streaming service with extensive curated editorial expertise, TIDAL will be available in the UK and the U.S. for a monthly subscription of £19.99 / $19.99 starting later this autumn.

There is something I really love about the annual National Audio Show in Whittlebury, Northamptonshire, UK. It could be the lovely scenic route there, or the free parking, or maybe the sound of racing cars screeching around nearby Silverstone. The smiles of Roy Bird, the Chester Group chairman of the annual event, now in its sixth year, walking around the plethora of corridors, and the facial expressions from would-be hi-fi millionaires ogling at and listening to a Fingle’s Cave of equipment make this a really popular event, even if some (and I stress just some) of the old fashioned paper magazine mafia boycott this event for their own personal issues. Grow up. Rant over now, so let’s start talking about the equipment, which us why you are reading this. More »

It was not without a little trepidation that I was attending this Hifi show…I had heard stories about UK shows, and not all good.
‘You’ll be the only woman there’ some said…. ‘They’ll look at you like you’re from another planet!!’ said others!
Hmmmm, I thought, do I want to go to a UK show? Despite being involved in Hifi Pig for the last couple of years I have only attended shows and audiophile events in France and Germany. Having looked at the UK hifi forums and found them to be places dominated by blokes, I was kind of wary about the shows there.

However, I needn’t have worried; Cranage Hall Audio Show was actually a lot different to what I was expecting.

So where to start? The venue itself was stunning. This was no grotty, identikit chain hotel with dingy rooms and chipped furniture. It was high class, beautifully laid out in gorgeous grounds and easily accessible from all over the UK. Unsurprisingly, it’s a popular wedding venue, tastefully furnished and finished with a sumptuous and elegant feel….things were looking up!

Food and facilities such as the bar were also excellent, with plenty of places to take a break during the day.

The hotel is also a conference venue with most of the show in the more modern part of the hotel. The rooms, even the small ones, were a good size and not stifling hot and it was a pleasure to wander room to room during the show.

What also should be noted about the hotel’s suitability for a hifi show was the excellent sound isolation in the rooms, none of the noise wars between rooms that I have sometimes experienced at other shows, all in all a perfect show venue.

As for the people attending, it was great to see a mixture of people there. Groups from young couples to whole families had come out, perhaps prompted by Fathers’ Day, but great to see a younger generation enjoying the show, hopefully a few were hooked and will attend more shows.
We met up with my brother’s young family and in particular it was great to put my youngest niece in the sweet spot of a few rooms in her push chair and just watch her reaction to the music, she was jigging around and loving it and we could actually see her looking around for the instruments as she picked them out in the soundstage…a priceless reaction to music played on great hifi. More »

Uk distributor Henley Designs Ltd., have recently taken steps to commit their time and resources to reputable brands that have a clear and fair global distribution and marketing strategy.

With the retail environment in an ever-developing state of change, thanks to the rapid growth and relevance of online sales, it is now more important than ever for UK retailers to be able to offer equipment from brands and manufacturers that allow for healthy competition against non-UK resellers through global brand integrity, says the company’s press release.

Speaking of this step to consolidate the brands in their portfolio, Henley Designs Ltd. Managing Director, Laurence Armstrong, has said:

“We are committed to working with manufacturers and brands that have a central focus on their global distribution strategy and a marketing effort that, through integrity and structure, supports its distributors and retailers so end users can get the support they require – no matter what they’re purchasing.”

As of June 2014, the brands Henley Designs Ltd. handle exclusive UK distribution for are:

• Acoustic Energy
• Audiovector
• Box Design by Pro-Ject Audio
• Glorious
• Lehmann Audio
• Ortofon A/S
• Pro-Ject Audio Systems
• Reloop
• Roksan

The DAC Box DS from Box Design by Pro-Ject Audio is a feature-filled Digital/Analogue converter with multiple filters, an informative screen and three high-quality connection options. Now, thanks to a free upgrade from Pro-Ject, the DAC Box DS is also capable of handling the increasingly popular DSD (Direct Stream Digital) file formats.

DSD

DSD is gaining quick recognition as a viable alternative to high-resolution FLAC and WAV files that use the more common Pulse-Code Modulation method of digitising analogue audio. DSD uses Pulse-Density Modulation and sample rates up to 128 times that of CD to achieve an often more analogue sound performance than that realised with ‘traditional’ digital sources or file formats. On the DAC Box DS, DSD is handled over the USB input only; DSD playback software is available for PC, Mac and Linux systems.

Upgrading

DSD compatibility is available as a free upgrade to all existing DAC Box DS customers. Simply visit the support section of Henley Designs in the UK for a step-by-step and video guide to updating your DAC with a Windows PC (the upgrade cannot be made with non-Windows operating systems). After updating the DAC Box DS, it will be capable of handling both 64x DSD and 128x DSD sample rates.

From April 1st 2014, all new DAC Box DS in the UK will be sold with the DSD upgrade already installed.

DAC Box DS

The DAC Box DS is a Digital/Analogue Converter with optical, coaxial and USB inputs. The USB input utilises an asynchronous streaming technology to dramatically reduce jitter and computer-based distortion.

Conversion in the DAC Box DS is handled by the Burr-Brown PCM1792 DAC chip from Texas Instruments. The two filter settings (‘Steep’ and ‘Optimum Phase’) allow audiophiles to tailor the sound to their own preference.

The FREE DAC Box DS DSD upgrade is available to download now and the DAC Box DS is available for £299 (UK SRP) and will come with DSD compatibility pre-installed from April 2014.

The May 2018 edition of Hifi Pig Magazine is out and ready for free download. 

YOUR HIFI NEWS

INTERVIEW: Andrzej Sosna of Fyne Audio

INTERVIEW: Lothar Kerestedjian of HIGHRESAUDIO

REVIEWS:

ORIGIN LIVE RESOLUTION TURNTABLE & ZEPHYR TONEARM

CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE DAC

CYRUS ONE AMPLIFIER & ONELINEAR LOUDSPEAKERS

KRALK AUDIO TBD4 SPEAKERS AND STANDS

AMPHION ARGON 7LS LOUDSPEAKERS

TELLURIUM Q ULTRA BLACK XLR INTERCONNECTS

ATLAS CABLES “THE ELEMENT SUPERIOR” RCA INTERCONNECT

TIMESTEP HE V LINEAR PSU FOR TECHNICS 1200 FAMILY TURNTABLES

BIRD’S EYE VIEW: The Survivor’s Guide To Munich High-End

VIEWS OF STU: A Journey Through The Past

JAMES FLEMING: Truth, justice, rock n’ roll, and how they are wrong

MUSICAL JOURNEYS: Dave Shevyn of GIK takes us on his own musical journey

LIVE MUSIC:

RUMOURS OF FLEETWOOD MAC

CHRYSTA BELL

NEARLY DAN

BRYAN FERRY

LONDON ASTROBEAT ORCHESTRA

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING

JOSH ROUSE

GARY NUMAN

LIVING THE Hifi LIFE WITH ANGELA CARDAS

Download your copy now. 

The latest Women in HIfi Special Edition of Hifi Pig Free e-magazine is live and ready to download. 

As well as all the usual great reviews and news the magazine is guest edited by Linette Smith and we have interviews and comment specifically about women audiophiles and women who work in the Hifi industry. This really is an edition that you do not want to miss.
News: All the latest news in Hifi land

Interview and Cover: Sally Gibb of The Chord Company

Women in Hifi: Women working in the HIfi industry ditch the dirt and share their experiences good and bad

Female Audiophiles: HIfi Pig talks to real live female audiophiles

Reviews: Leema Tucan Anniversary Integrated Amp, iFi Nan Black Label Headphone amp/DAC, Wire On Wire 660 speaker cables, Audiovector SR3 Avantgarde Loudspeakers, Speakase, LOngdog Audio PH1 MM Phonostage, Burson Conductor Virtuoso V2+ Headphoneamp/DAC, Parasound Halo 2.1 Integrated Amp with DAC

PLUS MUCH MORE OVER THE 141 PAGES…There is even a quiz!

Download your copy now 

The Latest Hifi Pig Free e-magazine is live and ready for FREE download.

NEWS: All the months Hifi News in a new easy to read format.

INTERVIEW: Holger Fromme is the man behind the German horn loudspeaker manufacturer Avantgarde Acoustic. Here he talks to Hifi Pig about what drove him to build these speakers and where he sees the role of innovation in loudspeaker design going forward.

A TIDAL STORM IS UPON US 

There really is a tidal storm of music out there! A never-ending, algorithmically-curated musical selection that is spat out ad-nauseam especially for you, your gender, your socio-economic grouping. Perhaps I should just let it wash over me, or perhaps I should just have nice cup of tea, turn on the wireless and calm down a bit. Perhaps not.

REAL MEN LIKE WHITE SPEAKERS

Never afraid to bring, as she has been accused, of fetching the itchy blanket of gender politics to the audio table, Linette this month looks at why we should all embrace better looking Hifi.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY THE WORD HIFI?

Hifi means many things to many people. Some prefer valves ad some prefer solid state. Some prefer horns and some prefer conventional speakers. But what does Hifi really mean? Or is that a question that is impossible to answer?

FROM WORDS, INTO WORDS

Regular Hifi Pig contributor, James Fleming looks at the work of The Fall and especially the recently deceased Mark E. Smith.

INTERVIEW:

Ian Munro was one quarter of the UK electronic band Opus 3 that had a major hit with the tune Fine Day which was an absolute monster of a tune and seemed to be everywhere in the year it was released. Other members of the band were Kirsty Hawkshaw, Kevin Dodds and Nigel Walton and in addition to Fine Day, that charted in the UK at number 5 (U.S. Hot Dance Club Play number 1) they released two albums, Mind Fruit (1992) and Guru Mother (1994).

BOOK REVIEW:

Cosey Fanni Tutti – Art Sex Music

My life is my art, my life is my art is a statement that few can say they have lived by so wholeheartedly as Cosey Fanni Tutti and Art Sex Music documents her life as art using her diary entries as the starting point.

HIFI REVIEWS:

AURALIC POLARIS ALL IN ONE STREAMER AMPLIFIER

REL T9i SUBWOOFER

FLUX HIFI SONIC STYLUS CLEANER

LIVING THE HiFi LIFE:

Colin Pratt is the sales director for Chord Electronics. This trip to New York was the third trip out after CES and Germany, back home for day then straight in to his home market show of Bristol. Then off again, Prague, Montreal, LA and Chicago in quick succession! He still loves Living the Hifi Life though !

GADGETY REVIEWS

…there’s even a quiz.

Download your copy now!

The NEW LOOK Hifi Pig and GadgetyReviews is out and ready for FREE download.

NEWS – A new look, easy to read format that will display better on more devices.

INTERVIEW – Kostas Metaxas: The creative powerhouse behind high-end brand Metaxas & Sins. As well as his wonderfully inventive “High-end audio sculptures”, he has an extensive collection of concert recordings from some of the top names in the music world.

Not limiting his imagination to the audio world, Kostas also designs for some of the most well-known luxury brands in the world.

HIFI REVIEWS

MUSICAL FIDELITY M6 ENCORE CONNECT

LINN KLIMAX DS STREAMER

AVID HIFI REFERENCE FOUR LOUDSPEAKERS

ALBEDO MONOLITH REFERENCE SPEAKER AND INTERCONNECT CABLES

FLARE AUDIO PRO IN EAR MONITORS

ATC HDA-DP20

FREE download.

LIFE THROUGH A SCREEN. A MODERN DAY ADDICTION? -Our obsession with screens shows no signs of slowing down but what does this mean for the future of high quality music in the home and on the go?

STU’S VIEWS

It’s all well and good having a thousand and one records in your collection, but how do you go about organising them and making sure you can put your hands on specific recording you want to play?

In recent weeks this very subject has been to the fore of Stuart’s thoughts given his burgeoning record collection and here he shares some possible solutions to deal with this perennial problem.

BIRD’S EYE VIEW

I was browsing through Facebook earlier, flicking through some of the Hifi and audio related groups that I am a member of, and something caught my eye. The cover photo for this one group was a close-up of a loudspeaker driver, instantly recognisable, without any branding or names visible, it was the KEF Uni-Q driver.

SERIAL BOWL RECORDS

So, you want to launch your own record label but don’t have the funds, don’t have the know-how and frankly haven’t a clue where to start?

Hifi Pig has a chat with Serial Bowl Records, a label collective based in Sunderland in the North East of England to get the low down.

David Blumenstein takes a look at how 2018 is starting out musically.

MUSIC INTERVIEW

Dale Jonathan Perkins “Voice Without Words Parts 1-3 (Ishikawa) plus Interview with this innovative and somewhat avant-garde musician 

LIVE MUSIC

Slalom D and The Damned by Fiona Duncan 

BOOK REVIEW

Lou Reed: A Life by Anthony DeCurtis 

LIVING THE HiFi LIFE

A Behind the scenes glimpse of life on the road with Rune Skov of Raidho whilst he visits the US.

FREE download.

GADGETY REVIEWS

iFi NANO iDSD BLACK LABEL PORTABLE DAC/AMP

KZ ZS6 LOW COST HYBRID QUAD DRIVER EARPHONES

NINETY7 VAUX SPEAKER FOR ECHO DOT

HONOR 7X – FLAGSHIP LOOKS, MID-RANGE PRICE

BRAINWAVZ B200 DUAL BALANCED ARMATURE EARPHONES

WiZ SMART LIGHTS – VOICE CONTROLLED ILLUMINATION

FOOBOT SMART AIR QUALITY MONITOR

TiBAG COMPACT LAPTOP BAG

ROCCAT KHAN PRO GAMING HEADSET

FREE download.

The December Edition of Hifi Pig and Gadgety News is ready to download 

AVM Inspiration CS2.2 Leema Acoustics Tuscana II Integrated Amplifier
Triple M Icon Smart TVC Preamplifier
MUTEC MC-3+ Smart Clock USB (Master Clock/Reclocker/SPDIF Converter)
Kralk Audio Elite Mk 2. Loudspeakers
Arcaydis EB1S Standmount Loudspeakers
Tannoy Revolution XT8F Loudspeaker
Göbel Lacorde Statement USB and Ethernet Cables
MCRU No. 75 Mains Cable
Black Rhodium Stream Power Cable
Sbooster Best of Two Worlds Power & Precision ECO (BOTW) Power Supplies
Hifiman HE-400S Headphones
Kralk Audio KALSU Loudspeaker Set Up Device
Solidair Audio Ukishima Magnetic Isolators
Winyl Record Cleaning Fluid

Gadgety Reviews

Download your copy now. 

The October Edition of Hifi Pig and Gadgety News is Ready To Download

Hifi News

Hifi Reviews

Sound Kaos Liberation Loudspeakers
RMB 12/3 qnd 22/3 Loudspeakers
KJF Audio Frugel Horn Lite Speaker Kit
TAGA Harmony Diamond B60 Speakers
Ophidian Audio Prophet P2 Speakers
Melco N1A/2 Music Library
Lector 707 CD Player

Gadgety Reviews

The September Edition Of Hifi Pig is ready to download.

Hifi News

Hifi Reviews

Pylon Diamond Loudspeakers

Melodika BL40 MK2 Loudspeakers

Townshend Allegri + Passive Preamp

Gold Note PH10 Phono-Stage

Tellurium Q Black II Speaker Cable

Ecosse The Director SE Digital Coax

Music Reviews

GadgetyReviews

Acer Predator 17 Laptop

Casio Edifice Smartwatch

Mynt Tracker

Sony Xperia X2 Phone

Noble Trident IEMS

Adam Vimteg Fencer IP Camera

Acer Swift 3 Laptop

I Frogz Impulse Duo Earbuds

Speedlink Fortus Wireless Mouse

Aukey PBB5 Solar Charger

Bertek 8 AC/6 USB Tower Extension

Download your FREE copy now.

July’s edition of Hifi Pig Extra is ready for you to download for FREE. Click the link or the image for your download to begin.

Hifi News

Hifi Reviews

Pro-Ject 6 Perspex SB Turntable Package

The Audio Files AT-LP5 1PT Turntable and Cartridge Package

Innuos Zenith MK2

Prism Sound Callia Dac/Preamplifier

Auralic Aries

Russ Andrews Power Purifier

Music News and Reviews

Gadgety Reviews

Vodafone Smart V8

STM Kings Backpack

Ben Q BL2706HT

Pioneer XDP-30R DAP

Hohem HG5 Pro Action Cam Gimbal

AOC Agon AG272FCX Monitor

F-Secure Sense Secure Router

Download your copy now! 

Download your FREE 135 page copy of the June edition of the Hifi Pig Extra Magazine. In this edition of Hifi Pig Extra you’ll find a whole host of reviews carried our over the last couple of months. The magazine took a small break in the late spring and early summer to allow us to get some new systems in place, both online and with the e-magazine, but going forward readers can expect a much more responsive and speedy website due to us moving the whole site to new and better servers and some other cosmetic changes that will improve the viewing experience. You’ll still be able to enjoy all the great content you have always had with Hifi Pig but expect more of everything including more news, more reviews, a better and more comprehensive music section plus we’ve launched Hifi Pig Television on our You Tube channel, so expect to see more video coverage of shows and video reviews too.

Normal service and Gadgety News will also return in the July/August edition.

Download your copy now! 

REVIEWS

Atmo Sfera Platterless Turntable
Elipson Omega 100 RIAA BT Turntable
Stemfoort SF-200 Passive Line Amplifier
Onix DNA-50 Amplifier
Lab 12 Pe 1 Valve Preamplifier
Rupert Neve RNHP Headphone Amp
Trafomatic Audio Head 2 Headphone Amp
ExaSound e32 DAC
Wyred 4 Sound DAC 2V2
Ruark R7 Radiogram
Fiio X1ii DAP
Periodic Audio IEMs
Aequo Audio Ensis Loudspeakers
Rdacoustic Evolution Loudspeakers
Rdacoustic Euphoria Loudspeakers
Russel K Red 50 Loudspeakers
Townshend Audio Engineering Maximus Supertweeters
TAGA TAV-616F SE Loudspeakers
Audio Vector QR1 Loudspeakers
Tannoy Revolution XT6 Loudspeakers
Ziro Audio Disclosure Power Cord
Ghostwire “Silver Heart” Loudspeaker Cable
Townshend Audio Engineering Seismic Speaker Bars
Iso Acoustics GAIA III Isolation Footers
Goldnote Vasari Gold and Red Cartridges

The March edition of Hifi Pig Extra and GadgetyNews is now available for FREE download.

It has absolutely LOADS of music news and reviews of music that will be new to many and not the usual classical and jazz reviews seen in many other publications. We hope you enjoy and discover something new for yourselves to add to your collection.

Of course there is also page after page of the latest Hifi News and tons of reviews too.

HIFI PIG REVIEWS

VOLYA BOUQUET LOUDSPEAKERS

MONITOR AUDIO PLATINUM PL300ii LOUDSPEAKERS

ARCAYDIS EB2S LOUDSPEAKERS

UNISON RESEARCH TRIODE 25 AMPLIFIER

CYRUS ONE INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER

DENSEN B-130XS AMPLIFIER

ECHO DIASTASIS PH-79 PHONOSTAGE

BENCHMARK DAC3 HGC

AURALIC ARIES MINI STREAMER

TELLURIUM Q SILVER DIAMOND SPEAKER CABLES & INTERCONNECTS

ERZETECH PERFIDUS HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER

NUFORCE SPORT3 IEMs

OPTOMA HEM4 IN EAR MONITORS

PENSIL CABINET KIT

GADGETYREVIEWS

Vodafone Smart Platinum 7

Skullcandy Method Wireless earphones

Blink wireless security cameras

Elipson Alpha 100 RIAAT BT turntable

Q Acoustics M3 soundbar

Emicro One electric scooter

Roth VA4 active speakers with phono

SteelSeries QcK+ Limited gaming mat

Tile Mate Bluetooth tracker

TrackR Bravo Bluetooth tracker

TASCAM MiNiSTUDIO US-32

Buffalo MiniStation Velocity USB SSD

Toshiba Canvio Premium 3TB HDD

BenQ GL2706PQ 27-inch monitor

TP-Link Archer VR2800 DSL modem

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY NOW !

Scroll down the page for previous editions 

January’s edition of Hifi Pig Extra and GadgetyNews is now available for FREE download.

HIFI PIG REVIEWS

GOLD NOTE VALORE PLUS 425 TURNTABLE

PRO-JECT PRIMARY TURNTABLE

COS D1 DAC & PREAMPLIFIER

SOTM SMS 200 STREAMER

CEC TL5 BELT DRIVE TRANSPORT

TANNOY ECLIPSE THREE LOUDSPEAKERS

STELJES NS3 POWERED LOUDSPEAKERS

LEHMANN LINEAR D HEADPHONE AMP/DAC

WIRE ON WIRE EXPERIENCE 680 INTERCONNECT

CHORD COMPANY SIGNATURE TUNED ARAY USB

1More C1002 & E1001 IN-EAR HEADPHONES

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTS 2016

PRIMALUNA DIALOGUE PREMIUM HP INTEGRATED AMP

MUSIC FIRST BABY REFERENCE V2 TVC PREAMPLIFIER

PRO-JECT MaiA DS INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER

CHORD SARUM SUPER ARAY USB CABLE

STUDIO CONNECTIONS CARBON POWER CABLE

GIK ROOM TREATMENT PRODUCTS

MUSIC

MUSIC NEWS AND REVIEWS

CLASSIC ALBUM – Never one to avoid an obvious cliché, John Scott takes a walk on the wild side and reacquaints himself with Lou Reed’s 1972 hit album, Transformer.

GREAT COLUMNS 

RETRO BITES – Janine Elliot charts the rise and fall and rise again of the Thermionic Tube/valve in this fascinating and informative article

BIRDS EYE VIEWS – 2016 As Seen From The Perspective Of Linette Smith

VIEWS OF STU – 2016, The Year The Music Died? Cheerful as ever Stuart Smith makes a list of musicians that have died in 2016 and asks, was this the year that the music really did die?

RANTS, RAVES & ROCK ‘N ROLL – James Fleming asks that crucial question: Is it the singer or the song?

GAGDETYNEWS REVIEWS

AOC Agon AG241QG G-Sync monitor

UKI Mr Bubble and Hystrix Red 5 X Series 2.4 camera drone

AOC Agon AG241QX Free-Sync gaming monitor

Vape Shoreditch e-liquids

TP-Link Archer C9 router

Onkyo TX-8150 networked amp / DAB radio

Mi Band 2 fitness tracker

Skullcandy Crusher Wireless: haptic bass headphones

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY NOW

December’s edition of Hifi Pig Extra and GadgetyNews is now available for FREE download.

HIFI NEWS & REVIEWS

Loads of Hifi News

THE HIFI PIG CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE PROMOTION

AVID HIFI PELLERE PHONOSTAGE

NORD ONE UP NC500 DMST POWER AMPLIFIER

SIMAUDIO MOON NEO ACE

ROKSAN K3 DAC

CODE ACOUSTICS SYSTEM 1 ACTIVE SPEAKER SYSTEM

RUSS ANDREWS BMU3000 BALANCED MAINS UNIT

FROM THE VAULT  – ZETA ZERO VENUS PICOLLA LOUDSPEAKERS

GADGETY REVEIWS

Noble Audio Savanna IEMs

Amazon Echo Dot and Alexa

Stihl Compact Cordless garden tools

BenQ EW2775 27-inch monitor

Astro A50 wireless gaming headset

D-Link DCS-936L HD security camera

Anki Overdrive Supertrucks

Revell Control Spot 2.0 camera drone

INTERVIEW  

Hifi Pig goes Behind The Brands Alan Clark of Kralk Audio 

GREAT COLUMSNISTS

RETRO BITES – Janine Elliot takes a look at the Meridian M2 active loudspeakers

BIRDS EYE VIEW – Linette tells us that music is a universal language

THE VIEWS OF STU – Potrzeba Jest Matką Wynalazków 

RANTS, RAVES AND ROCK ‘N ROLL – James Fleming does a bit of Soul Searching

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY NOW

November’s edition of Hifi Pig Extra and GadgetyNews is now available for FREE download.  More pages of great content than many of the mags you’d pay good money for!

HIFI PIG REVIEWS 

WESTMINSTER LAB UNUM POWER AMPLIFIERS

AVID HIFI VOLVERE TURNTABLE

TAGA HARMONY PLATINUM F 100 SE LOUDSPEAKERS

AXIS VOICEBOX S LOUDSPEAKERS

REVEL CONCERTA 2 M16 LOUDSPEAKERS

FOSTEX TE05 and TE07 IEMS

BLACK RHODIUM QUICKSTEP SPEAKER CABLE

MID PRICED LOOM FROM CHORD COMPANY

Download now

GADGETYNEWS REVIEWS

Acoustic Energy Aego Sound3ar

Vivitek Qumi Q3 pocket projector

Udoq universal phone and tablet dock

Prism Sound Callia DAC/pre/HPA

Garmin DriveSmart 60 Satnav

Skullcandy XTfree sports earphones

MVR Ascend Virtual Reality kit

Parrot Minidrones first look

Dali KATCH Bluetooth speaker

Dell XPS 15 laptop

Skullcandy Barricade speaker

MORE PAGES OF HIFI NEWS

BEHIND THE BRANDS with Mark Fenlon of Markaudio and Markaudio-Sota

CLASSIC ALBUM – Bob Dylan’s “Blood On The Tracksl”

GREAT COLUMNISTS including a rant from Stu, Handbags and lipstick from Linette and a great guide to vinyl EQ from Janine

ALBUM AND GIG REVIEWS

The Indulgence Show photographs and photos from the Windsor show too. 

Download your FREE copy now. 

The October edition of Hifi Pig is ready for FREE download. Download your copy now.

October’s edition of Hifi Pig Extra and GadgetyNews is now available for FREE download.  This bumper edition of 170 pages includes loads of reviews, great news, interviews, in-depth classic band profile and more. Download your copy now.

HIFI PIG REVIEWS 

MUSIC FIRST AUDIO BABY REFERENCE V2 PREAMP

CREEK EVOLUTION 100CD CD PLAYER & 100P POWER AMP

AUDIOLAB 8300A AMP & 8300CD CD PLAYER

ETALON SUPRA INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER

CONVERT TECHNOLOGIES PLATO CLASS A

CYRUS STREAM XA STREAMER/DAC & PSX R2 PSU

VIVID B1 DECADE LOUDSPEAKERS

PEAK PT1 TURNTABLE

STUDIO CONNECTIONS CARBON POWER CABLE

QUADRASPIRE X REFERENCE RACK

MEZE CLASSIC 99 HEADPHONES

FROM THE VAULT (McIntosh MA 5200)

GADGETYNEWS REVIEWS

VaultCard RFID blocker

Buffalo MiniStation Slim 1TB

NanoQuad Cam Drone

SteelSeries Rival 700 mouse

BenQ BL2205PT monitor

Motorola VerveRider+ earphones

D-Link DIR-879 EXO AC1900 router

Neato Botvac Connected

Allocacoc audioCube

FIIL Diva headphones

12 PAGES OF HIFI NEWS

BEHIND THE BRANDS with Conrad Mas of AVID Hifi

CLASSIC ALBUM – Elvis Costello and The Attractions “Last Year’s Model”

CLASSIC BAND – An in-depth look at the band Taste

GREAT COLUMNISTS

ALBUM AND GIG REVIEWS

NATIONAL AUDIO SHOW 2016 – All Hifi Pig’s coverage of this year’s Whittlebury show with loads of photographs

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY NOW

September’s edition of Hifi Pig Extra and GadgetyNews is now available for FREE download. It’s packed with hifi news, hifi and gadget reviews, great columns and a visit to the fabulous Crescendo Progressive Rock festival in France. Download your copy now.

HIFI REVIEWS

GIK ROOM TREATMENT PRODUCTS

AUDIO MUSIC AM-RT TVC/VALVE PREAMPLIFIER

COPLAND DAC215 DAC, PRE & HEADAMP

LEEMA LIBRA DAC/PREAMPLIFIER

AUDIOBYTE HYDRA Z & HYDRA ZPM

HANA LAB SAKURA MUSIC SERVER/DAC

OPTOMA BE16 BLUETOOTH EARPHONES

GADGETY REVIEWS

TILE KEY TRACKER

BUFFALO LS510D NAS

SPEEDLINK PARTHICA KEYBOARD

D LINK EXO AC1750 ROUTER

MUSAIC MUSIC PLAYERS

MOTOROLA VERVEONES+ EARPHONES

STM PRIME LAPTOP BAG

POWEREGG DRONE

TEN PAGES OF HIFI NEWS

BEHIND THE BRANDS

with Jonathan Billington Of Music First AUDIO

CLASSIC ALBUM

Richard And Linda Thompson – I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

ALBUM AND LIVE MUSIC REVIEWS PLUS PICTURES AND COMMENT FROM CRESCENDO PROGRESSIVE ROCK FESTIVAL 

RETROBITE – The Leak Trough_Line series of tuners

BIRDS EYE VIEW – Fame, I want to live forever
VIEWS OF STU – Camping and Caravanning

Download your copy now.

The AUGUST edition of Hifi Pig Magazine and Gadgety News is out and ready for FREE download. 

We’ve given the inside of Hifi Pig Magazine a bit of a revamp to make it cleaner and more attractive to read. We’ve also added a news section with our pick of the months best news items.

HIFI REVIEWS

ROKSAN BLAK AMPLIFIER AND CD PLAYER

NAIM SUPERUNITI

MINUTE EL34 SE AMPLIFIER

ATC SCM19A LOUDSPEAKERS

CHARTWELL LS3/5 LOUDSPEAKERS

PROJECT VC-S RECORD CLEANING MACHINE

VERMOUTH AUDIO RHAPSODY CABLES

SOUNDCARE SUPERSPIKES

FLARE AUDIO ISOLATE & ISOLATE PRO  

GADGET REVIEWS 

TP-LINK AV1200 POWERLINE STARTER KIT

GEEK OUT V2 INFINITY PORTABLE DAC/AMP

VIEWSONIC VX2776-SMHD MONITOR

MIVUE 658 WI-FI DASHCAM

WD RED 8TB NAS HARD DRIVE

PIONEER SE-MHR5 HEADPHONES 

BEHIND THE BRANDS with Steve Halsall of KEF UK 

IN THE STUDIO

Hifi Pig’s Janine Elliot is invited along to world famous AIR Studios where BBC Radio 2s Clare Teal joins the Syd Lawrence Orchestra for a direct to disc recording session. Read on, it’s fascinating! 

CLASSIC ALBUM

This month, John Scott revisits the 1968 classic from Pink Floyd, Saucerful Of Secrets 

LIVE MUSIC 

PiL and  Rickie Lee Jones 

COLUMNISTS 

RETRO BITES

Things are afoot in the world of reel 2 reels. Not only are there now at least 4 major companies producing reel to reel copies of famous master tapes, but very importantly after a long gap the Swiss tape recorder manufacturer Revox are bringing back the medium with a player based on the A700. By Janine Elliot. 

READERS LIVES

How I Judge A Hifi System – Hifi Pig reader Michael Howell was born in England but now resides the good old USA. In this Readers’ Lives article he tells us how he personally goes about evaluating a system. 

FIDELITY MATTERS

There’s More Than One Way To Skin A Cat. Different loudspeaker designs with Ian Ringstead. 

VIEWS OF STU

Why Hifi Pig ? Why ? The truth behind the name and origins of Hifi Pig by Stuart Smith. 

BIRDS EYE VIEW

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder. Linette Smith examines what the visual appeal of a system can do.

Download your copy of the August edition of Hifi Pig Magazine now

Download your free copy of Hifi Pig’s FREE 66 page special supplement for the last months North West Audio Show. There’s loads of reports from the show, photos and more

Download your FREE copy now

The JULY edition of Hifi Pig Magazine and Gadgety News is out and ready for FREE download. 

HIFI REVIEWS

Grandinote Proemio Preamplifier and Silva Power Amplifier

Mitchell & Johnson SAP201V Amplifier, CDD 201V CD player and WLD+211T Streamer

Triangle Elara LN01 Loudspeakers

Chord Electronics Hugo TT DAC/Headphone Amp

Intimate Audio DS-108 Back Loaded Horn Loudspeaker

MS HD Audio MS-E02SS Mains Block 

GADGET REVIEWS

Dali Menuet Speakers

Buffalo DriveStation

Astro A40 TR Gaming Headset and Amp

Vodafone Smart ultra 7

Netgear Nighthawk X8

ONEmicro DECT Speakers

PLUS

Retro Bites

Fidelity Matters

The Views Of Stu

Dealers View

Album Reviews

CLASSIC ALBUM

T Rex “Electric Warrior”

INTERVIEWS

Mike Twomey speaks with Vince Bruzzese of Totem

Miles Showell, mastering engineer at Abbey Road, speaks to Hifi Pig about half speed mastering

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The JUNE edition of Hifi Pig Magazine and Gadgety News is out and ready for FREE download. 

Hifi Reviews 

Wadia DI122 Digital Audio Decoder

Pro-Ject MaiA DS Integrated Amplifier

Dayens Menuetto Integrated Amplifier

Soundsmith Carmen Moving Iron Cartridge

Ferguson Hill FH007 and FH008 Loudspeaker System

Scansonic M-5 Loudspeakers

Audio GE – Sincerus 80 Loudspeakers

Paradox Audio Cables

Gadgety Review

Ben QGW2270H Monitor

Devil Volt Power Pack

Eyejusters Reading Glasses

Guild 1.5AH Hammer Drill

Huawei MediaPad M2 10.0 Tablet

Huawei P9

Tascam TrackPack US-2×2 Home Studio

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PLUS: Retro Bytes, Fidelity Matters, Birds Eye View, Classic Album, Music Reviews and more.

Behind the Brands with Eunice Kron of KR Audio

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The MAY edition of Hifi Pig Magazine and Gadgety News is out and ready for FREE download.  

It’s packed with Hifi and Gadget reviews of course but this month we have a great interview with the man who discovered Prince and help write his first hit single, plus a special report on the possible effects of a Brexit on the British Hifi industry. Download your free copy now.  There’s also great music reviews, fab columnists and more…

Hifi Reviews

Pre Audio GL-1102N Turntable

EAT C Sharp Turntable and Koetsu Black MC Cartridge

Remton 383 Mk 2 Phonostage

Roksan TR-5 S2 Loudspeakers

Fostex PM0.5d Active Loudspeakers

Questyle QP1r DAP

O2A Quintessence SUBLIM Speaker Cables

Studio Connections Platinum Digital Cables

Atlas Cables Budget Loom

Gadgety Reviews

Cubot X17 Smartphone Review

Devil Horns Earbuds Review

Fugoo Tough and Style Bluetooth Speaker Review

iFit Classic Analogue Fitness Smartwatch

Manfrotto Lumiemuse 3 LED Camera Light

Onkyo H500M Headphones

Skullcandy Grind Wireless Headphones

Skullcandy Hesh 2 Bluetooth Headphones

ViewSonic Pro7827HD Projector

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The March and April edition of Hifi Pig Magazine and Gadgety Reviews is out and ready for FREE download. 

HIFI REVIEWS

Roksan Xerxes 20Plus, Caspian RPM Speed Control and PUG Tonearm

Krell Digital Vanguard Integrated Amplifier

Fezz Audio Silver Luna EL34 Valve Amplifier

TAGA Harmony HTA – 700B V2 amplifier, Platinum B-40 Speakers and Platinum 18 Speaker Cables Package

Audiobyte Black Dragon DAC

Etalon strEamer

Audiofilia AF-S6 Loudspeakers

ATC SCM7 Loudspeakers

Kralk Audio DTLPS-1 Elite Loudspeakers

3 Square Audio Translator Loudspeakers

KBL Sound Red Eye Ultimate Interconnects.

MCRU Limited Edition Silver Plated 6 Way Mains Block

GADGET REVIEWS

Adam Elements CASA USB-C Cable and Adaptors

AOC G2460PG Gaming Monitor

Atlas Cables Zeno

Dali Rubicon 5 Loudspeakers

Intempo Retro Blaster

Lindy BNX Bluetooth Headphones

Linksys EA7500 Mu-Mimo Router

Netgear Arlo Q Camera

Olive ONE Home Digital Audio Player

STM Drifter Laptop Backpack

View-Master VR Starter Kit

Wraps Bracelet Earphones

PLUS

Retro-Bites

Fidelity Matters

The Views Of Stu

Bird’s Eye View

The Voice Of Dom

Interview – Marshall Currier of Lenbrook America

Behind The Brands with Brian and Trevor

Album and Gig Reviews

Classic Album – Hawkwind’s “Space Ritual”

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The February Edition of Hifi Pig Extra and GadgetyReviews is now available for FREE download. Yes, that’s right, as well as all the usual great hifi reviews, music reviews and great columnists we’ve got loads of gadget reviews from our sister website GadgetyNews.

HIFI REVIEWS

Lampizator Big 7 DAC

Aaron “The Chrome One” Integrated Amplifier

PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium HP Integrated Amplifier

Arcam FMJ CDS 27 and FMJ A19 Integrated Amplifier

Naim Mu-So

Russell K Red 100 Loudspeakers

Hana S Range Moving Coil Cartridges

A Chord Company Budget Loom

GADGET REVIEWS

BenQ BL2420Z Monitor

Gibson Trainer Wireless Headphones

Huawei Mate S Phone

Sengled Pulse JBL Speaker & Bluetooth Lightbulb

Intempo Bluetooth Jukebox

Oppo F1 First Impressions

Vodafone Findxone Tracker

GREAT COLUMNISTS

LOADS OF MUSIC REVIEWS INCLUDING THE CLASSIC ALBUM BOWIE’S “THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS”

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The January 2016 edition of Hifi Pig Extra is now available for FREE download.

REVIEWS 

Merrill Audio Thor Monobloc Amplifiers.

MunroSonic EGG150 – Active Monitoring Loudspeakers.

Cabasse Stream 100 Amplifier and Surf Loudspeakers.

Martin Logan Motion 15 Standmount Loudspeakers.

Zeta Zero Venus Picolla Loudspeakers.

DiDiT DAC 212 Digital To Analogue Converter.

Lab 12 gordian Power Distributor/Conditioner.

Clearaudio Smart Matrix Professional Record Cleaning Machine.

Black Cat Redlevel Tube speaker Cable and RCA Interconnects.

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COLUMNS 

Retro Bites – Janine Elliot takes another look at retro audio kit, this time focusing on the rare Tefifon

Voice Of Dom – Dominic Marsh gets puzzled over the differences people hear with identical products and explains how he goes about evaluating and listening to new kit.

Fidelity Matters – In the last of his Fidelity Matters articles for 2015, Ian Ringstead celebrates innovation wherever it comes from and applauds all the people in the hifi industry who make this wonderful kit possible.

The Views Of Stu – Stuart Smith looks at the year that was 2015 and hints at a few things you can expect to see in the coming year from Hifi Pig.

Bird’s Eye View – Linette Smith asks “What’s your drug of choice?”.

Dealers’ View – Mike Twomey continues his series of articles looking at the wonderful world of audio from the dealers perspective and this month offers up a few useful tips on how to get the best trade in deal when it comes round to the inevitable upgrade time…

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Music and Live Gig Reviews with John Scott and Stuart Smith including live reviews of The Rezillos, Spizzenergi and The Proclaimers. 

The Classics – John Scott throws a log on the fire, pours himself a wee dram and puts on his copy of Mike Oldfield’s Ommadawn as part of his Classic Albums series. 

A great Behind The Brands interview with Heinz Lichtenegger, the CEO of Pro-Ject.

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OLDER ISSUES

Hifi Pigs coverage of the recent Haute Fidélité Show in Paris.

This special promotional publication is sponsored by Leedh.

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The November Edition of Hifi Pig Extra is available for FREE DOWNLOAD

COVER STORY

Linette Smith talks about the recent visit to the Paris Haute Fidélité show the week after the attacks. ““We are setting off to visit the Haute Fidelité Show at the Marriott Rive Gauche in Paris. I’m not entirely sure how I am feeling, a mixture of anger and defiance, but also sadness and admittedly fear”

REVIEWS

VPI Prime Turntable

Pro-Ject RPM3 Carbon Turntable

Bespoke Audio Co Passive Preamplifier

Kralk Audio BC30 Loudspeakers and PAW Stand

Ophidian Mojo Loudspeakers

Leema Xen Loudspeakers

Melodika “Purple Rain” Series Speaker Cables

COLUMNS

Janine Elliot takes a step down memory lane with the much loved Leak Stereo 20 power amplifier.

Dominic Marsh concludes his popular three part series on mains cables.

Ian Ringstead takes a look at the state of the hifi industry and asks what we can all do to boost the popularity of two channel audio in the home.

There seems to be a lot of in-fighting within the audiophile world about people’s personal choices and the equipment they finally place in their system. Stuart Smith takes a tongue-in-cheek look at what he thinks are the reasons for this phenomenon…

Mike Twomey tells us how best to strike a great deal with your retailer this holiday season.

Plus album and gig reviews with John Scott, Janine Elliot and Stuart Smith and the ever popular Classics series where John Scott takes a look at the Kinks album “The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society”

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The October Edition of Hifi Pig Extra is Out and available for FREE download

COVER STORY

“”Cable wars must surely be the biggest single cause of conflict and injury between audiophiles …better just to keep quiet, watch from a distant hilltop and let the troops on the virtual front line battle it out ad-infinitum”… Stuart Smith goes over the top!

REVIEWS

Entotem Plato

Zontec Art-Deco Phonostage

Rothwell Signature One Phonostage

Icon Audio MB 30 SE Power Amplifiers

NuForce DAC80 DAC

NuForce HA200 Headphone Amplifier

Magnific Acoustics M521 Loudspeakers

Oak Audio Hurricane Loudspeakers

Wyred4Sound Remedy Digital Reclocker

MCRU Excelsior DC Blocker

10 Great Free Android Apps

COLUMNS

The Story of Stax with Janine Elliot

Hifi Shows with Ian Ringstead

Giving WAF the red card with Linette Smith

Mains cables explained with Dominic Marsh

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PLUS  22 pages of Album and Gig Reviews by John Scott and Stuart Smith, The Classics – Yes – The Yes Album, Behind The Brands interview with Russell Kauffman of Russell K…

The FREE September edition of Hifi Pig Extra is available for download.

Reviews

Zontek Turntable

Timestep T-01MC Phonostage

Transfiguration Axia S Cartridge

Devialet Ensemble

Primare I32 Integrated Amplifier With DAC and Media Board

Tisbury Audio Passive Pre Mk 2

Etalon Solo DAC/PRE

Ophidian Minimo Loudspeakers

WAY Cables Silver 1 and 4 Interconnects

Triangle Titus Loudspeakers

Flare Audio R2Pro and R2A Earphones

RETRO BITES JANINE ELLIOT DUSTS OFF HER PHILIPS DCC900 Digital Compact Cassette Player

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Columnists

THE VOICE OF DOM  – DOMINIC MARSH TALKS MAINS CABLES (PART 1)

FIDELITY MATTERS –  IAN RINGSTEAD IS BOXING CLEVER

THE VIEWS OF STU – STUART SMITH AVOIDS A STICKY SITUATION

BIRDS EYE VIEW – LINETTE SMITH TELLS THE BLOKES TO PUT IT AWAY

DEALERS VIEW – WITH MIKE TWOMEY

Music

21 Pages of album and gig reviews PLUS THE CLASSICS WHERE JOHN SCOTT DIGS LOVE’S FOREVER CHANGES OFF THE SHELF

Behind The Brands

WITH FREDERIK DAVIES, CREATOR OF THE AXJET LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM

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Hifi Pig Extra July edition

NORTH WEST AUDIO SHOW SPECIAL

May’s Hifi Pig Magazine is out for FREE download.

Reviews 

Chord Electronics Hugo Dac/headphone amp,

Triangle Titus EZ loudspeakers,

FiiO X5 portable audio player,

Flare Audio R1 Headphones,

Final Audio Heaven VI – CC, Hifiman RE-600 and Sennheiser IE 800 in ear monitors,

LessLoss DFPC Original power cable,

Audioplan Powerstar SII and Finefilter power filter plus X-Air

Plus Music Reviews, The Who’s Live At Leeds in the Classic Album section and Behind The Brands with Lee Taylor of Leema Acoustics

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April’s Hifi Pig Magazine is out for FREE download.

Loads of reviews:

Pro-Ject MaiA Integrated Amplifier

ADL (Furutech) H-118 Headphones

ATC SCM 11 Loudspeakers

Roth OLi RA1 Bookshelf Loudspeakers

Skogrand SC Beethoven Loudspeaker Cables

Arte Forma Mezzo Power Amplifier

Tangent Spectrum X5 BT – Powered Digital Bookshelf Speakers

NuForce NE750M and NE800M Inner-Earphones

Roksan Kandy K3 Integrated Amplifier

Album and Gig Reviews

Behind the Brands with Peter Comeau of IAG

 Download your FREE copy now !

The March Edition of the FREE Hifi Pig Magazine is published and ready for download.

Its a bumper issue of 111 pages with great reviews of German Physiks and Acoustic Energy loudspeakers, Music First Audio’s MM phono Stage, Tellurium Qs Black Diamond Speaker Cable, IsoTek’s Evo 3 Mains Conditioner and Arcam’s Mini Blink Bluetooth DAC.
There’s music reviews, Gig reviews, a look at the classic album In Land Of The Grey And Pink by Caravan and there’s boozers corner where we sample the delights of Campari and Fizzy water plus a rather Punky IPA from Scotland.
We also have a free supplement of the recent Sound and Vision – The Bristol Show.
What are you waiting for?

Download it now. 

It’s a fab issue with Dealer Profile with Manchester’s Audio Counsel, Music and Gig Reviews, Boozers Corner, Behind the Brands with Robert Kelly of German Physiks. Then there’s some great reviews including Diesis Aura loudspeakers, Vincent PHO-700 Phono Stage, Merrill Audio Veritas Power Amplifiers, Paul Hynes SR5 Power Supply, Russ Andrews Balanced Mains Unit 1000, Simply Audio Cadenza Interconnect, Speaker Cable and Jumper Links, Vinyl Passion Dustbuster.
In the Classics John Scott looks at Neil Young’s Ditch Trilogy of albums;DONT MISS IT

Hifi Pig’s Yearbook is out now and it’s FREE to download.
It has over 350 pages and over 100 hifi reviews from the last year on Hifi Pig and is an invaluable resource for all audiophiles anyone interested in audio.

What’s more is there’s a great chance for one lucky reader to walk away with kit worth over £2500 from the following companies in our fantastic competition – Amptastic, Chord Company, Fiio, Henry Audio, HiSound, Lehmann Audio, Linn Records, Pro-Ject, Sansui, Snip Records, Triangle, Velodyne, Vinyl Passion.

Download your copy now…

er edition of the Hifi Pig Magazine is now available for FREE download. This issue has lots and lots of reviews including Townshend Audio F1 Stereo RCA Interconnect, The Varios Jr Loudspeakers, Vermouth Audio Black Pearl Loudspeaker Cables, Epiphany Acoustics Atratus 3 Interconnect, Tellurium Q – Blue, Ultra Blue and Blue Diamond Speaker Cables, Van Damme “Blue” and Hi-Fi Grade 6.0mm Speaker Cables, Grado PS500e Headphones, Henry Audio 128 MkII Asyncronous USB portable DAC, Lindy HF-110 Headphones, Tidal Music Streaming Service Graham Slee Majestic DAC, Baby Reference Preamplifier by Music First Audio, JIB ‘Digital Glass’ Toslink Cable and Audiomica ERYS Excellence Interconnect and CELES Excellence Loudspeaker Cables. PLUS Album Reviews, The Classics review and interview with My Brother The Wind’s celebrating their recording from this year “Once There Was A Time When Time And Space Were One” and A Festive Christmas Countdown from John Scott and a teaser about our HUGE January prize giveaway. Don’t miss it. Download for FREE now. 

The November edition of the Hifi Pig Magazine is now available for FREE DOWNLOAD. The latest edition of the magazine has reviews of Graham Audio’s LS5/9 loudspeakers made famous initially by the BBC, SLIC Innovations latest Eclispse C interconnects, the excellent Signature Alpha loudspeakers from French company Triangle, Beyerdynamic’s T61 portable headphones, Blue Horizon’s Proburn cable burn in and conditioning machine and the very chic LH Labs Geek Out 1000 portable headphone amplifier.

Not only that but there’s album reviews, a great Classics piece from John Scott about the album “Eli and the Thirteenth Confession” by Laura Nyro, an in-depth Behind the Brands interview with Mark Sears of The Missing Link and Vinyl Passion and our latest regular feature Tipplers corner where Louis Bricka pairs booze with music.

The cover story and a great article full of pictures and editorial, is our visit to iconic British hifi manufacturer Roksan.

You can download the full Hifi Pig magazine for FREE here.

The October edition of the Hifi Pig Magazine is now available for FREE DOWNLOAD. The new issue has REVIEWS of: Schiit Lyr2 Pre/Headphone Amplifier and Bifrost DAC Robson Acoustics’ Opulus Prima Loudspeakers CAD (Computer Audio Design) USB Cable JIB – Krypton Balanced XLR Interconnects Beyerdynamic T1 Headphones Audiophile Inventory AUI ConverteR 48×44 Professional Ripping and Converting Software PLUS Editorial comment and regular columns, Dealer System Report from The Future Of Audio in Poole, Album reviews, The Classics where John Scott gives us a potted history of the legendary country-rock musician Gram Parsons, the new Tipplers Corner in which Louis Bricka, who has worked in the wine industry for over two decades introduces Banyuls and suggests what music it may go with plus Behind the Brands with Daniella Manger of Manger. Download Hifi Pig’s Free Magazine  NOW!

The 97 page September edition of Hifi Pig Magazine is available for FREE DOWNLOAD. The review section is dedicated to everything headfi with reviews of kit from Audeze, OPPO, Sennheiser, HifiMan, Final, Stax, Focal; Lehmann, GOFI, Epiphany Acoustics, Graham Slee, AudioValve and Tisbury. There’s an interesting Dealer System report from Mark Sears at the Missing Link/Vinyl Passion and a fabulous looking Hifi Pig Reader’s System. Add to this some great album reviews and a look at the classic album Made In Japan by Deep Purple and you’ve got yourself loads to keep yourself occupied. Download Hifi Pig’s Free Magazine  NOW!

The August edition of Hifi Pig Magazine is available for FREE DOWNLOAD. There’s loads of interesting content this month including reviews of the McIntosh MA 5200 Amp/DAC, SoulNote’s SC 710 CD Player and SA730 Integrated Amplifier, The Digital Music Box’ Linus and Kalliope USB Cables, Roksan’s Caspian M2 Integrated Amplifier and Neat Acoustics’ Motive SX1 Floorstanding Loudspeakers. If that wasn’t enough we’ve got a great computer based Reader System report and a high-end Dealer System report from North East UK’s Hifi Sounds. We also visited Triangle way back in May at their offices in Bordeaux for what turned out to be a wonderful trip where we got the opportunity to sample some great wines and the Triangle Magellan Grand Concert loudspeakers. On the music front there’s a whole host of album reviews plus we highlight the story behind John Martyn’s album Solid Air. This month’s Behind the Brands interview is with Mrijn Kooy of Dutch record label Snip records. All in all a great read we think. Download it now.

The July edition of Hifi Pig Magazine is now available for free download. This month we not only have loads of reviews including the terrific Soulines Kubrick turntable, the much awaited Lampizator level 7 Dac, the Astin Trew Concord Dac 1, the surprising Focal Aria 906 standmounters, new cables from Tellurium Q in the form of their Ultra Silver speaker cables, Van den Hul’s First Ultimate Mk2 interconnects, LessLoss’ DFPC Ultimate mains cables and some interesting lower priced products from Carot One. There’s a great Behind the Brands interview with Rune Jacobsen from Triangle, the French loudspeaker manufacturer as well as a new item featuring a classic album….this time it’s King Crimson’s ” The Court of the Crimson King”. There’s album reviews too, not to mention our great photos and coverage of the Cranage Hall Audio Show. Don’t miss it!!!

The June edition of Hifi Pig Magazine is now available for free download. Lots of reviews including the the £52 000 JoSound Ra Loudspeakers, Roksan’s Darius S1 Loudspeakers, Ophidian unusual looking Solo Loudspeakers, Speaker Cables from Audio 4 Soul, DirectWave’s Directors interconnect cables and the Analogue Works One Turntable. There’s a great Behind the Brands interview with the MD of KEF UK, a wonderfully amusing Readers System report and MCRU put together a £15000 Dealer System for Hifi Pig. As well as all that there is a 24 page supplement with some of our coverage of High-End Munich.Download your copy now!

The Brand NEW edition of Hifi Pig Magazine is now available for download on Hifi Pig. In this month’s edition there is a look forward to High End Munich PLUS a new feature looking at Vintage Classics…this month it’s 57 years of the ESL 57!!!! We’ve got reviews of KEF’s X300A speakers with built in amps and a DAC…plug and play, PrimaLuna’s Prologue Premier Valve Integrated Amplifier, Tellurium Q Ultra Black Interconnects, MS Power’s Distribution Mains Filter and High Current Mains Cable, Pro-Ject Xpression Carbon UKX Turntable andCLONES Audio Pre and Power Amplifiers. O’Brien Hifi put together an £80 000 system for a classical musician and a Hifi Pig reader in France shows us his dedicated hifi building. You can also WIN an amptastic Mini 1 amp……LOOK NOW!

The April edition of Hifi Pig Magazine is now available for Free download. Reviews: Brunoco Diva Digital Amp/DAC, Reference Fidelity Components Pluto II Interconnects, Onix A25 Integrated Amp, AudioValve Eclipse Valve Preamplifier, Skogrand Centaurus A Speaker Cables and Interconnects, SoulNote SA 710 Integrated Amplifier, Temple Audio Bantam Gold Integrated Amplifier Plus:Behind the Brands with Funjoe of Clones Audio, a great reader system from the owner of AudioChews forum, an analogue front-ended dealer system from Divine Audio, loads of great album reviews PLUS our cover story where Hifi Pig spend the day as guests of Focal. Not only that but you can also win an ampstastic mini-1 amplifier.

The March edition of the Hifi Pig Magazine is now available for FREE download.Reviews of Leedhs E3 loudspeakers, MS HD Powerplugs, Paul Hynes RS3 Power Supply, Chord Electronics QUTE EX DAC and Amptastics latest diminutive amplifier the Mini 1. Plus editorial comment, album reviews, a great reader system that includes Lampizator, Ming Da and hORNS kit and a very stylish dealers system from Audio Emotion. There’s also a very interesting Behind the Brands interview with Nigel Finn from The Chord Company and you can win one of ten sets of six Oyaide NWA-RCA Wave Absorbers courtesy of Mains Cables R Us.

The February 2014 edition of the Hifi Pig Magazine is now available for FREE download.  Reviews: Coffman Labs G-1A Valve amplifier, The Cartridge Man Isolator,  Simple Audio GO bluetooth speaker, Oriton Audio R33 Support System, Astintrew Concord powered USB, Atoll Electronique IN200 SE Integrated Amplifier & CD200 SE-2 CD Player, LessLoss DFPC Signature Power Cables.  Plus: Editorial comment, Reader System, Dealer System, Interview with Scott Berry from Computer Audio Design and music reviews too.   Win: Astintrew’s Concord Powered USB worth £695. If you’d rather not download the PDF magazine you can read it here using the interactive magazine-like display widget..

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 plus Akiko Tuning Sticks. If you’d rather not download the PDF magazine you can read it here.

Download the free December edition of Hifi Pig Magazine. Reviews: Roksan Kandy K2 Integrated amplifier. Musical Fidelity MF100 Headphones, Mike New’s bearing for the Technics 1210, Dynaudio Excite x14 Loudspeakers, QNKTS AB-1.2 DAC, QED uPLay Stream digital streamer, Akiko Audio tuning sticks, Teufel Audio Aureol Real headphones, Waterfall Victoria EVO loudspeakers. Plus: Bird’s Eye View, Ripping Yarns, Reader System, Dealer System, Albumreviews and Behind The Brands with Randy Kunin of Randall K Designer Hifi.  WIN a Tellurium Q power amplifier worth £1194 and Akiko Audio tuning sticks worth €496. CLOSING DATE FOR THE COMPETITION IS 28th DECEMBER 2013 NOT 28th DECEMBER 2014 AS STATED IN THE MAGAZINE. DOWNLOAD the December edition of the FREE Hifi Pig Magazine.