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The hybrid Unico range from Italian valve specialist Unison Research combines valves with other solid state devices to provide more power and features than traditional valve technology alone can offer. The Unico CD Due joins the range as the new flagship source, and shares the same 'three-panel' design of the range-topping Unico 150 amplifier. The CD player supports apt X Bluetooth streaming and also incoporates a DAC equipped with USB, S/PDIF, AES/EBU and Toslink inputs, which all route through the built-in ESS Sabre ES9018K2M chip. The USB input uses XMOS to handle PCM signals up to 384kHz and DSD256.

Prepare to start feeling old. It was 20 years ago that Audio Analogue released the original Puccini integrated amplifier and it quickly formed a reputation for high-end performance at an affordable price point. The amp was AA's first product and a fine way to introduce itself to the world. To celebrate the anniversary, Audio Analogue has updated the Puccini into the Puccini Anniversary, which is claimed to be a genuine zero feedback design that's been developed by the company's AirTech R&D department.

Columbia Records has confirmed that a new studio album from Bob Dylan, his 37th studio LP,will be released on 20 May. Featuring 12 classic American tunes written by some of music’s most acclaimed and influential songwriters, Fallen Angels showcases Dylan’s unique and much-lauded talents as a vocalist, arranger and bandleader. The Jack Frost-produced album marks the first new music from the artist since 2015'sShadows In The Night. One of the album’s recordings, “Melancholy Mood” is available now on iTunes as an Instant Gratification track, and will also be released as part of a four-track 7in EP on 16 April for Record Store Day.

Sitting comfortably? Good, then we’ll begin… How do you like to listen to your music? Laid flat out on a sofa, perched attentively on an office chair or dancing around the room lost in the music? Have you ever considered investing in a proper dedicated listening chair? Danish manufacturer Gamut Audio has become the first to produce a chair that’s designed specifically for listening to your hi-fi. The chair has been designed to control the sound reflections that reach the ears, allowing the listener to hear a more precise and natural soundstage – at least, that’s the claim. Specifically, it shields the ear from reflections emanating from behind the listening position, while at the same time preventing the sound from reflecting on the forward-facing areas of the headrest that flank the listener’s head. The Lobster Chair – so called because of its distinctive shape – is the creation of iconic Danish designers Lund and Paarmann and is manufactured by high-end furniture makers Kvist Industries.

Forget vinyl, the biggest-growing format currently in the UK is eight-track tape, according to the latest figures. Data announced this morning has revealed that the long-forgotten analogue format has overtaken streaming, hi-res music downloads and vinyl to become the format of choice among hipsters and the young. Manager of Harry's Hi-Fi, Avril Foal, exclusively told HFC: "The kids just adore its analogue sound. They love the simplicity that the format offers and they can't get enough of those cartidges and the ability to switch between tracks.

ATC describes its new SCM19 Active Tower speaker system as delivering "the company’s reference-quality audio from an elegantly curved floor-standing design". Measuring 370mm wide and 980mm in height, it will no doubt be familiar to seasoned fans of the company's speakers as it is acoustically identical to the two-way SCM19 (tested in HFC 390). The 25mm tweeter employs a unique dual-suspension system, which has been designed to suppress rocking modes even at high power output levels. The configuration of a short edge-wound voice coil in a long, narrow magnetic gap is claimed to deleiver exceptionally low distortion throughout the operating band and removes the need for ferrofluids.

PMC introduced the Bryston Cubed power amplifier series to visitors of this year’s Bristol Show, debuting the 300W 4B3 – which is also bridgeable to create a 900W mono amplifier – and the 600W mono 7B3. Described by PMC as a statement design platform idealfor music enthusiasts, the stylish amplifiers are also being aimedat home cinema installation and professional audio applications. The series is claimed to feature robust RF and audio frequency noise filtering circuitry positioned before the power supplies to prevent unwanted interference from affecting the audio signal. The amps cost £5,299 and £5,449 respectively and are available to buy now.