At £14500 for the pair, the Grandinote Proemio preamp and Silva power amplifier are far from bargain basement fodder, but do they warrant such a price-tag? Stuart Smith finds out. More »
Mitchell and Johnson’s trio of CD Player, Amplifier and Streamer cost a total of £947 which puts them very much in the budget category but can they satisfy sonically? Dominic Marsh finds out for Hifi Pig. More »
Audio Hungary are a relatively new name to Hifi Pig and we first met them at this year’s High End show in Munich where they had their wares on display. This, the Qualiton A20i, is their entry level integrated amplifier. It is very compact, runs 2 x 20 Watts of Class A power and is based on classic push-pull topology.
It arrived, with little help from DPD, in a sturdy double (and surprisingly heavy) boxing, with the amp inside being very well packed indeed. The first thing out the box was the remote…wow, that’s heavy and really rather beautiful! Off with the valve cover to expose the tubes and the gleaming chrome body-work and that’s it all unboxed. More »
A quality loudspeaker for just € 390? Lionel Payne, in his first review for Hifi Pig, takes a listen to the Triangle Elara LN01 Loudspeakers More »
Paradox Audio hail from Oslo in Norway and headed by Tore Magnus Wilhelmsen, founded early in the year 2010. They produce a range of cables aimed squarely at the high end of the market and the company’s tagline is “Probably the world’s most honest cables”. Dominic Marsh plumbs them into his system. More »
Scansonic are Danish and share the same parent company as Raidho, indeed they share the same designer. The M-5 loudspeakers are a small standmount costing £399 without stand and unusually at this price point sport a ribbon tweeter. Ian Ringstead puts them through their paces. More »
Janine Elliot takes a listen to the Soundsmith Carmen Moving Iron Cartridge that is made in the US and costs £759.00. More »
Dominic Marsh and Ian Ringstead take the very well specced £699 Pro-Ject MaiA DS integrated amplifier for a ride and rather enjoy it. 
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The Wadia Dl122 Digital Audio Decoder will decode files at 24-bit/192kHz has a USB input that accepts up to 32-bit signals and support for DSD64, DSD128, DXD 352.8kHz and DXD 384kHz. It has an onboard headphone amp, a host of outputs and costs a pound under £1500. Dan Worth takes a listen for Hifi Pig. More »
Dan Worth gets to grip with a little 50watts a side integrated amp from Serbia that costs just £600 in the UK. More »
John Scott takes a listen to the Audio GE Sincerus 80 loudspeakers from Lithuania which cost 1300 euros with eco leather finish and with natural wood veneer 1990 euros More »
Ian Ringstead takes a listen to the interesting looking Ferguson Hill FH007 loudspeaker and their matching FH008 sub priced at £695.00 and £325.00. More »
The design innovations focus around a new crossover and an improved internal layout to produce a more controlled, faster sound. The crossover uses improved and modified electrical components and large low-impedance air core voice-coils on a meticulously-designed double- sided PCB. Meanwhile, the cabinet internals have been re-designed and feature a high-absorption internal damping material to eliminate unwanted resonances or standing waves. The end-result is a sound-stage that’s wide, deep and articulate while maintaining its musical core.
The TR-5 S2 retains the same drivers from its predecessor. The custom-designed bass driver ensures an extended and accurate bass response from such a compact speaker, while the sound remains tight thanks to its rigid cast chassis. Similarly, the high-tolerance ribbon tweeter provides an open, responsive and clear high-frequency spectrum. In combination with the new crossover, these drive units create a relatively small but attractive speaker that provides room-filling musical enjoyment.
The back-panel is neatly finished with bi-wirable gold-plated speaker sockets, allowing for integration into a number of systems. The TR-5 S2 will be launched to the market in a premium gloss black finish, with alternative options to appear in the future.
The TR-5 S2 loudspeakers do make a perfect partner for Roksan electronics; their price and sound performance make them an ideal choice for the K3 integrated amplifier. However, more so than ever, the TR-5 S2 is a “worthy consideration for anyone who takes their musical enjoyment seriously”.
Atlas Cables Budget Priced Distribution Block, Power Cables, RCAs, Speaker Cables and Optical Cables
David Robson takes these relatively budget-minded cables from Scottish manufacturer Atlas out for a drive both individually and as a full loom set up. More »
Studio Connections are a cable company building their cables in the UK and headed up by Michael Whiteside. Here Dan Worth takes a listen to their Platinum digital cables costing £1350 for 1m, terminated lengths. More »
O2A are a speaker manufacturer from Liechtenstein headed up by Anna Robathin. Here Dominic Marsh tries out the company’s €1760 (2.5m pair) O2A Quintessence SUBLIM Speaker Cables.
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The Fostex PM0.5d Active Loudspeakers costing around £250 a pair are intended for small studio, nearfield monitoring, but Stuart Smith has had them on his desk as his daily desktop listen for a few months now…what does he think of these for home use? More »
As audiophiles now demand high quality audio wherever they may be the portable audio market is a growing sector. Janine Elliot takes the Questyle QP1r digital audio player out and about for Hifi Pig. More »
The EAT C Sharp turntable certainly looks the part for £2500 including tonearm, how does it sound? Janine Elliot spins some vinyl. More »
With its parallel tracking arm and LED lit platter, the £4700 Pre Audio GL-1102N Turntable hailing from Poland certainly looks a little out of the ordinary. Will it prove to be just that or something extraordinary? Janine Elliot finds out for Hifi Pig. More »
The £995 TR-5 S2 loudspeaker has already been extensively reviewed by other hifi magazines over the years since its introduction, so why is Hifi Pig reviewing them now I hear you ask? Dominic Marsh will explain.
“The real star of this show is without doubt the ribbon tweeter that Roksan have incorporated into the design and sets it well above the herd. Ribbon tweeters are not cheap and I would imagine specifying these for a sub-£1,000 speaker was not a decision taken lightly by Roksan, nor was having a piano gloss finish as standard either, but that is not within the remit of my review to ponder over and I set to task myself how it sounded as a package.”
Read the full review of the Roksan TR-5 S2 Loudspeaker
The £995 TR-5 S2 loudspeaker has already been extensively reviewed by other hifi magazines over the years since its introduction, so why is Hifi Pig reviewing them now I hear you ask? Dominic Marsh will explain. More »
The Remton 383 Mk 2 Phonostage is made in Prague, uses a trio of ECC83s valves and costs a smidgen over £1000, Janine Elliot tries it in her system for Hifi Pig. More »
3 Square is a small new company based in the UK, their first product is a floorstanding loudspeaker constructed out of Baltic pine ply wood and costing £2500. Ian Ringstead takes a listen.
“In my many years of listening to hifi I have learnt to be wary of initial impressions and make quick assumptions. Sometimes a product or system can instantly grab you and retain that magical quality, but on the flipside an initial impressive sound can soon become wearing on the ears and make me want to switch the system off. The Translator’s never made me want to switch them off; it just took a bit of time to acclimatise.”
Read the full review of the 3 Square Audio Translator Loudspeakers
3 Square is a small new company based in the UK, their first product is a floorstanding loudspeaker constructed out of Baltic pine ply wood and costing £2500. Ian Ringstead takes a listen. More »
