Hi-Fi Choice

It’s almost 20 years since the introduction of the Pro-Ject Debut turntable – a low-cost design that was arguably highly instrumental in the success of the rebirth of the vinyl format back into the mainstream. Over the years the company has established a firm grip on the turntable market place to the point where the 48 models it now offers make up one of the most extensive lineups of any hi-fi company.

Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. Often when a new product comes my way for review, I’ve read up so much on it that I know precisely what it is and what to expect from it sonically. With the Vincent SV-500 integrated amplifier however, I did no such thing – although it has been on sale for a while now, this particular model is something of an unknown quantity to me. So, I simply remove it from its box, plug it in and start listening.

Expanding its portable X-Series range of components, iFi Audio’s £299 xCAN is a pocket-sized analogue headphone amp with the added convenience of Bluetooth to enable quality streaming from compatible digital devices. Housed in a similar lightweight case to the company’s xDSD (HFC 439), it measures 67 x 19 x 95mm (WxHxD) and weighs 127g. It eschews the USB audio connectivity and standalone DAC capability offered by its similar-looking sibling, and is strictly a headphone amp that offer 2x 1,000mW of power output to drive headphones connected to its 3. 5mm and 2.

Making its UK debut at The Hi-Fi Show Live, Harman’s Luxury Audio Group showed the first two models from the Mark Levinson 5000 Series with the N° 5805 and N° 5802 fully discrete, direct-coupled, Class AB integrated amplifiers. Both designs claim a power output of 2x 125W into 8ohm and the 5805 has three stereo line-level inputs – one balanced XLR and two single-ended – and a newly designed MM/MC phono stage with front panel selectable gain levels and infrasonic filters, and rear panel capacitive and resistive loading settings. Four digital audio inputs are also provided: one coaxial and two optical S/PDIF, and one asynchronous USB for up to 32-bit/192kHz PCM, DSD128 and MQA support. The 5802 is a digital-only design with six digital audio inputs and offers the same USB file support plusBluetooth connectivity with aptX HD.