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Cyrus introduces Phono Signature phono stage
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Feb 08, 2016  |  0 comments
Designed to appeal to vinyl enthusiasts owning multiple cartridges, turntables or tonearms, Cyrus’new Phono Signature preamplifier boasts four inputs engineered to accurately match the exact specification of the cartridge. Adjustment is, therefore, provided for MC cartridges in gain, resistance and capacitance, facilitating up to 160 possible combinations. The Phono Signature also includes a high-capacity and very low-noise DC power supply that enables the preamp to provide, what Cyrus refers to as “an extremely wide dynamic range”. It’s claimed that performance is much improved thanks to the inclusion of a RIAA passive de-emphasis filter – which uses metallised polyester capacitors – and an optional external PSX-R2 power supply that provides regulated DC power for the signal amplification.
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Music News: The Music Exchange announces store closure
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Feb 05, 2016  |  0 comments
Sad news reaches us this morning with the announcement that the excellent The Music Exchange in Nottingham is being forced to cease trading. The city's finest independent record store opened in 2009 and initially sold second-hand CDs, DVDs and vinyl that was donated by members of the public. Then in 2012, the store moved premises to its Stoney Street home where it not only carried new vinyl, but also supported the local music scene – stocking and supporting the music of local artists. Significantly, the store isalso run as a social enterprise operating like a business, but reinvesting any profits to support vulnerable and unemployed people by providing training, volunteering, work placement and employment opportunities within the local community.
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Sonus faber introduces new luxury headphones
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Feb 04, 2016  |  0 comments
Introducing PRYMA, the new luxury headphone engineered by Sonus faber. The PRYMA 01 is a circumaural, closed-back design with 40mm drivers featuring Mylar diaphragms, neodymium magnets and oversized voice coils. The removable cable is 1. 3m with gold-plated connectors.
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Monitor Audio releases Platinum II speaker series
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Feb 03, 2016  |  0 comments
Drawing on the strengths of its Platinum I range, Monitor Audio premiered its new Platinum II loudspeakers at CES in Las Vegas. Highlights include new MPD (Micro Pleated Diaphragm) high-frequency transducers and RDTII woven carbon fibre drivers. Top-of-the-range among the three new floorstander models is the luxury PL500 II, a three-way/seven-driver system using four 8in bass and twin 4in midrange drivers in a M-T-M array. The PL200 II is a compact three-way/four-driver floorstander with twin 6.
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Tannoy unveils new Mercury loudspeaker series
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Feb 02, 2016  |  0 comments
Many readers will be familiar with Tannoy's Mercury series of loudspeakers, and it's very likely that early incarnations of the Scottish-based brand's entry-level series will have been part of a setup that kickstarted one or two hi-fi habits in the first place. The Tannoy brand is so synonymous with loudspeakers thatits name is even featured in the dictionary, and here it unveils the latest incarnation in a long line of Mercury series models. As the name suggests, the Mercury 7 is the seventh generation of the company’s entry-level range, and Tannoy claims the latest series brings a fresh new style that stands out from the crowd. There's a new wood-grain effect finish, in a choice of walnut, light oak or black oak, and behind the removable speaker grilles the drivers have visible mounting bolts and the Tannoy logo is neatly integrated within the tweeter surround.
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February issue 407
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jan 28, 2016  |  0 comments
Welcome to the February 2016 issue of Hi-Fi Choice – the essential guide to getting the best possible sound from your hi-fi, whether you're buying, tuning or tweaking. . . 

 As a fellow audio enthusiast, you will already know that listening to music is an art, one that gives a tremendous amount of pleasure – especially when the tunes in question are played back at the highest quality available.
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Opinion: Where are we now?
Lee Dunkley  |  Jan 28, 2016  |  0 comments
There are global events that happen in our lifetime, unusual days where you receive news about something so earth shattering that it seems to make even time itself stand still as you slowly come to terms with the reality that the world you knew up until that moment has changed forever. For me, the announcement of David Bowie’s death on Monday 11 January is one of those moments where everything seemed to slow and an already grey winter morning felt just that little bit darker. Things around me appeared to take on a different look and feel as the news unfolded in a hushed and reverent tone from BBC Radio 6 Music and the story began to sink in. I was in the kitchen at the time making breakfast after an early start, and I imagine that I will always be able to recall the sinking feeling that washed over me and stopped me dead in my tracks as the news broke and I began to comprehend the magnitude of what was being revealed.
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AKG N90Q noise-cancelling headphone competition
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jan 23, 2016  |  0 comments
Mention noise-cancelling headphones to anyone on the street and there’s a good chance many will think of brands other than AKG. But the big-name headphone brand owned by parent company Harman is making a big noise (so to speak) in the specialist noise-cancelling headphone sector thanks to its remarkably sophisticated sound optimisation technology built into its flagship N90Q headphones. The growth in hi-res portable music players and the fact that more of us are choosing to listen to music on the move has meant that the once humble headphone has seen a massive growth in recent years. As manyof us struggle to find time to listen to our favourite music through our hi-fi systemsat home, more of us are opting for a set of good-quality cans as our first choice for music listening.
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UK Music market grows 3.5 percent
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jan 06, 2016  |  0 comments
2015 will quite rightly be remembered as the year that vinyl made a comeback, but it was also a pretty impressive 12 months for music sales all round with UK consumers spending more on singles, albums and subscription music services than any year since 2011. In fact the only bad news was for music downloads, which suffered a considerable decline. In all, recorded music enjoyed £1. 06bn profit, which is a 3.
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Iron Maiden unveils ED-PH0N3S headphones
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jan 05, 2016  |  0 comments
Heavy metal legends Iron Maiden have teamed up with Onkyo to launch a pair of headphones specfically designed for listening to the band's music. The ED-PH0N3S have been designed to provide fans of Iron Maiden, rock and heavy metal the ultimate way to hear their music, with the clarity and full acoustic range required byMaiden bassist, founder member and co-producer Steve Harris. The official Japanese launch event took place on Tuesday at the Astro Hall in Harajuku, Tokyo and saw the launch of a special companion Maiden Audio smartphone app for both iOS and Android users. The app, which is now available for download in the Apple Store and Google Play Store, includes exclusiveIron Maiden custom EQ settings.
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Chord Electronics Mojo
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Dec 21, 2015  |  0 comments
As two-channel audio might be seen to be a fairly mature category, moments of genuine innovation are pretty few and far between. That said, Chord Electronics’ Hugo (HFC 386) has a reasonable claim to being of some significance. The combined preamp/DAC in a portable form factor impressed us and has been a significant sales success too. At the same time, Chord hasn’t been blind to some of the limitations ofthe Hugo as a portable device.
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Audiolab 8300 Series
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Dec 21, 2015  |  0 comments
Launched in October 1983, Audiolab’s original 8000A integrated amplifier was a veritable powerhouse by the standards of the day, with a quoted 50W RMS per channel into 8ohm that virtually doubled into 4ohm. Remarkably, unlike nearly all its rivals, the 8000A could even work into 2ohm loads without going bang. The model was extensively tweaked over the years and by the nineties had become a sort of hi-fi version of the Volkswagen Golf – affordable yet designed and engineered like no others at the price. It lived on for 14 years in its original incarnation, and the 8300A you see here is its latest descendant and arguably most radical departure.
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Yearbook 2015 - sensational special edition
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Dec 21, 2015  |  0 comments
Welcome to the Hi-Fi Choice Yearbook 2015 – the essential guide to getting the best possible sound from your hi-fi, whether you're buying, tuning or tweaking. . . 

 Wow! What a 12 months it has been for discerning audio fans, as well as a milestone year for your favourite hi-fi magazine as we hit 40 years old and 400 issues back in August.
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Sonos Play:5
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Dec 21, 2015  |  0 comments
Despite huge success inthe wireless multi-room market, Sonos has not always been that warmly embraced by audiophiles. That’s partly because for hi-fi kit to work with its networked wireless speakers you need its Connect box, which has optical and coaxial digital inputs, plus RCA stereo phonos. And you’ll need a phono preamp for your turntable. Then there’s the matter of hi-res files, as it won’t play anything over 16/48.
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MusicLife app updated
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Dec 14, 2015  |  0 comments
Developed in-house at Arcam, the recently updated MusicLife app has been designed to be easier to use, faster and more stable than similar streaming apps. In addition to standard UPnP functions, MusicLife plays media from servers to anyBluetooth device, enabling streaming to almost anything that's paired with an Arcam miniBlink or rBlink Bluetooth DAC. Features include the ability to stream from your server or computerto connected Arcam hi-fi or home cinema component, from an iPhone / iPad to connected Arcam hi-fi or home cinema component, from your server or computer to an iPhone / iPad, from your server or computerto any Bluetooth device or from an iPhone / iPadto any Bluetooth device. Complete control of the Media Player in an Arcam network-based music systems, includes advanced features such as playback of content stored on iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, library searching, sorting and shuffle & repeat playback.
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