News

Welcome to the September 2015 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...



Back in the April issue our Group Test looked at six of the most popular music streaming services, complete with blind listening to see which sounded the best to our hi-fi ears. Tidal was voted the unanimous winner by our panel of listeners for its impressive sound quality via its hi-fi subscription service costing £20 per month, and is still considered to be the closest-sounding service to CD. It remains
our favourite music streaming service and has an impressive library, but our attention this month has been distracted by the arrival of Apple Music.

Okay it might be putting out streams at 256kbps, which is lower quality than Spotify’s Premium subscription service and unlikely to impress our listening panel with its audio quality, but it has a huge catalogue of more than 30-million tracks and has attracted support from artists making their content available on the long-awaited service for the very first time. It has one of the most attractive subscription packages out there for families, and is currently running a free, three-month trial. The downside is that it’s only available on iOS devices, although we’re told Android support should be coming soon.

Lee Dunkley (Editor, Hi-Fi Choice)      

Also in the September issue...

Reviews and features: 

We take an exclusive first look at Monitor Audio's Gold 200 floorstander, plus find out everything you need to know about buying second-hand vinyl.   

Group Test:

This month’s Group Test looks at six same-brand CD player and integrated amplifier combos. With prices starting at £550 for a tailor-made hi-fi setup, there’s sure to be a combo just right for you.