LATEST ADDITIONS

Hi-Fi Choice  |  Apr 29, 2016  |  0 comments
Described by Musical Fidelity as a complete solution allowing you to keep all of your music in one place, the M6 Encore 225 is essentiallya streaming audio player withan impressive selection of connectivity options. At its heart is a dual-core 64-bit Intel CPU with 2GB of RAM to ensure that operation is fast and to allow for upgrades as time goes by in an effort to ensure that it remains futureproof. The internal 1TB storage is claimed to be able to hold as many as 2,500 CDs (using the built-in CD drive’s bit-perfect ripping), but is also upgradeable should you need to add more as time goes by. Power output, meanwhile is quoted at 225W per channel into 8ohm and the M6 Encore 225 has the same power amplifiers under the hood as the Recommended badge-winning M6si (HFC 400), while a 32-bit/384kHz chipset is onhand for digital-to-analogue conversion.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Apr 28, 2016  |  0 comments
What better way to mark the 70th birthday of your company’s founder than to launch a luxury edition of a timeless favourite loudspeaker? That’s precisely what ATC has done in honour of founder and managing director Billy Woodman. Taking the classic design ofthe SCM10 mini monitor from the nineties, the new SCM10SE comes with a lustrous blue piano finish, with silver detailing and a fine-grain blue leather baffle. The original SCM10’s soft dome tweeter has been updated with the recently developed SH25-76S ‘S-spec’ 25mm dual-suspension design alongside the SB45-1255C 125mm mid/bass unit with integral soft dome. In turn the crossover has been reworked for the new unitsusing ATC’s hand-wound air-cored inductors and polypropylene capacitors throughout.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Apr 28, 2016  |  0 comments
And so it comes to pass that after nearly five years, the Audiolab M-DAC finally gets itself a bigger brother! Rather like that famous difficult second album that recording artists battle with, it was never going to be easy for Audiolab to improve on one of the strongest products it has ever released. When it came out, the original M-DAC (HFC 359) had no real rivals at its £600 price point. Indeed, it got off to a good start because it was essentially the digital converter section of the 8200A CD player – itself one of the best silver disc spinners under £1,500, thanks to designer John Westlake’s prodigious talent. Also, interestingly, it was one of the first DACs to use the (then) new and highly regarded ESS Sabre 9018 DAC chips.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Apr 27, 2016  |  0 comments
The Elements Pre-Amp is Leema Acoustics’ latest addition to its space-saving range of components. Retaining the same half-width chassis for which the range is famed, the Elements Pre-Amp also boasts an onboard digital-to-analogue converter. The result is a S/PDIF coaxial input, three S/PDIF optical inputs and an asynchronous USB port all capable of handling files up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution. Analogue inputs include three unbalanced RCA inputs, a pair of balanced XLRs and a 3.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Apr 26, 2016  |  0 comments
There can be few things more frustrating than sitting down to listen to a favourite record only to find that it’s filthy. Giving your vinyl a proper wet clean can be a time consuming and at times messy job. Enter Clearaudio with what it’s describing as its best solution for cleaning records yet – the Double Matrix Professional Sonic. Integrating both sonic and vacuum cleaning elements, the Double Matrix Professional Sonic record cleaner is claimed to deliver a deep, but importantly, gentle cleaning of pressing residues and persistent dirt that’s deep within the grooves of your vinyl – enabling you to listen your music as it really should be heard.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Apr 26, 2016  |  0 comments
Welcome to the May 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. . . 

 If this month’s cover star is anything to go by, hi-res audio is gaining traction among serious audio fans.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Apr 26, 2016  |  0 comments
Ming Da has been producing valve amplifiers for over 22 years and is gaining fans worldwide. Furthermore as with this example here, after the amp’s arrival in the UK, Malvern Audio Research upgrades key internal components, swaps in higher quality valves and adds a three year warranty. Taken altogether, this China/UK partnership feels highly compelling and without compromise. This Dynasty Duet 300 Plus is an incarnation of an existing Duet 300B triode amp design, but now employs zero feedback and claims many other audio improvements.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Apr 25, 2016  |  0 comments
Budget two-way speakers the LX-2 and LX-3 (shown) are the debut models from Mission’s latest entry-level loudspeaker range, the LX Series. Despite their affordable price tags, Mission informs us that the new models have been designed to deliver compelling musicality. For the LX Series the company has produced a tweeter with a neodymium magnet (selected for maximum magnetic force in such a small space) and a 25mm microfibre dome. This is partnered with the 130mm mid/bass driver unit (one in the case of the LX-2 and two for the LX-3), sporting cones fashioned from an advanced fibre formulation apparently selected for its superior self damping and excellent stiffness.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Apr 22, 2016  |  0 comments
Quad's reputation as one of the world's greatest audio brandsis largely based on its iconic electrostatic loudspeakers, whichfirst set the hi-fi scene alight in 1957. Any Hi-Fi Choice reader will know all about Quad's impressive legacy, and successive loudspeaker models from the Cambridgeshire-based company have been able to justifiably boast that its approach gets closer to the original sound than its challengers. Like the company's S Series released last year, the new Z Series combines advanced Kevlar-coned bass and midrange drivers with a specially designed ribbon tweeter. The new lineup comprises two standmount models and two floorstanders.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Apr 22, 2016  |  0 comments
In the 1986 hit, Huey Lewis and the News famously sang: “It’s hip to be square”, but is it really? Could it be that the man behind the eighties powerhouse The Power Of Love hadn’t quite managed to get his facts straight? There’s no doubt that when it comes to the most popular shape for loudspeakers, square – or perhaps more precisely rectangular – is the way to go. But what if someone were to break from the norm and come up with something a little bit more exciting looking? Could it really be possible to get a high-end performance from a shape other than those boring four straight lines that make up an oblong? And while they’re carrying out the process ofreinventing the audio equivalent of the wheel, how about making just one of the things, rather than the pair that we’ve hadto make room for up to now? Enter the clever folk at Geneva, who with the AeroSphère Large (HFC 407) have created something that looks more like a piece of high-concept furniture than a way to impress your friends and terrify audio traditionalists. Beneath that slightly flattened 40cm orb, is a rather more angular forward-facing structure that houses two 25mm tweeters, a brace of 102mm mid/bass drivers and an upward-firing 152mm subwoofer. These are configured within three separate acoustic chambers and powered by individual, DSP-optimised Class D amplifiers capable of some cunning fine tuning to suit your room via a free app that can be downloaded from the Geneva website.

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