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Only way is Essex Rega’s first ever DAC, a £500 five-filter mini marvel, is here and Technical Consultant Richard Black has (five) stars in his eyes . . . It’s always hard to resist a sense of humour.

The art of sound Jason Kennedy puts a £1,700 German-made newcomer from Acoustic Signature against rivals from Pro-Ject and Well Tempered Just when you thought that you could relax with your record collection along comes another contender with a substantial range of serious-looking turntables. What’s surprising, however, is that despite having UK representation for some time, it’s only in the last few months that we have discovered Acoustic Signature, of which the Manfred Mk II is one of the German company’s more affordable offerings. It comes with an outboard power supply and a free-standing motor and the diamond polished platter sets it apart from an increasingly large crowd of competitors at this level, as does switchable speed control. It can be supplied with any Rega tonearm, or a base to the arm of your choice.

Join the Revolution This brand new member of the Revolution series looks like much better value than its Signature equivalent says Paul Messenger The Revolution DC6T is an impressive newcomer dual-concentric full- range driver, with a 150mm bass-only unit (similar in specs to its sister product, the Signature DC6T, that we reviewed in HFC 314). All this is contained within a compact 30-litre, rear-ported enclosure and the detailing throughout is excellent. The enclosure is tapered so that the back is significantly narrower than the front, helping to spread and distribute internal reflections and standing waves. All this is elegantly wrapped in an attractive dark ‘espresso’ real wood veneer and the overall stability of this model is substantially enhanced by the provision of a black plinth, which significantly increases the footprint.

Pro-Ject Xperience 2 Pack Brand new acrylic turntable combines Pro-Ject’s impressive credentials with a top-quality hi-fi performance Acrylic is not actually the perfect material for turntables, but it’s a good one. It is reasonably stable dimensionally, not very resonant, quite tough and, of course, capable of being polished to a very high standard of finish. In this case, it is supported on three very slightly compliant feet, adjustable to set the deck level, which are the only suspension in the design. Across to the left is the motor, a low-voltage AC type which is fed from a simple wall wart supply and which drives the outside of the platter via a square- section belt.