News

Inside the September 2017 issue we take an In-depth look at B&W’s dazzling 800 Series Diamond 805 D3 standmount, plus Exotica takes an exclusive look at a Class D power amp and preamp combo by Mola-Mola, while our regular reviews section looks at the stunning new Rega Planar 6 turntable, Simaudio’s Moon Nēo MiND network music player, ATC’s HTS7 wall mounting speakers, and IsoAcoustic’s GAIA II isolation feet. Plus, Beautiful System looks at a stunning vinyl and streaming setup from Gold Note, while Music Legends spotlights Bob Marley – the man who brought reggae to the masses – and our six-way Group Test looks at six muscular amps from Arcam, Denon, Hegel, Technics, and Yamaha.

Insider Feature
The world of content streaming is a difficult one to master and many music streaming services face uncertain times. Qobuz knows all about such difficulties and after facing near collapse in 2015, the French streaming and download platform is back on track following an overhaul of its services under new stewardship. It now looks set to be the streaming option of choice for hi-res music fans, following the launch of its Sublime+ top tier subscription services earlier this year. With access to CD-quality albums, discounted hi-res downloads and a rapidly expanding catalogue of up to 24/192 FLAC streams, it requires nothing more than a regular broadband service and DAC without the need for any special file support. In my rural location, and without wanting to draw comparisons, I can say that it’s remarkably reliable via my bog-standard broadband and the 24/96 and 24/192 music streams sound as sublime as the name would suggest. The only doubt is whether or not the one-off fee of £350 a year is too far even for hi-res fans.