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Back in our 2017 Yearbook (HFC 432) we gave one very lucky winner the opportunity to own Rega’s stunning Planar 6 turntable fitted with an Exact moving-magnet cartridge and equipped with the Neo PSU. We received loads of entries and can reveal that Jimmy Bishop from Astley, Manchester, is the lucky winner. Congratulations,Jimmy! Here he is with his prize already installed and a copy of his favourite hi-fi magazine. .

Introducing the new Shawline Streaming cable from The Chord Company. Claimed to offer a significant performance upgrade over the company’s C-stream series, the cable is constructed from four pairs of high-speed silver-plated copper conductors in conjunction with low-loss FEP insulation. It is available in pre-assembled standard lengths (0. 75m, 1.

The Venetian Tower in Las Vegas seemed an appropriately glamorous location for Chord Electronics to unveil the latest addition to its family of DACs to an expectant public at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (see this month's issue for more). Dubbed “The World’s most advanced compact DAC”, Qutest is based on the latest version of Rob Watts famed proprietary FPGA technology – developed for the Hugo 2 (HFC 428) no less. Designed for static use within the home, the new digital-to-analogue converter benefits from being powered via a 5V micro USB port, offering up to 32-bit/768kHz PCM and DSD512 via its USB Type-B input, 24-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD128 from its coaxial (BNC) and 24-bit/192kHz via optical Toslink. Created by Chief Designer John Franks, the new square-edged, solid aluminium chassis retains the often divisive circular magnifying porthole window seen on Hugo and similarly utilises the coloured spheres to provide the user with information relating to sample frequency and input selection.

Back in HFC 431 we gave you the opportunity to win a selection of accessories from IsoTek. We can reveal that Chris Corrigan is the lucky winner, while the seven runner’s up prizes go to: Pamela Ratchford, Dan Odling, Peter Weston, Glen Buddery, David Dukes, Kevin Rowley and Robert Whewell. Congratulations to you all! Here's Chris all set to install his IsoTek Evo 3 Corvus nine-way mains distribution block and conditioner clutching a copy of the latestHFC. .

After the introduction of the analogue-only PM8006 integrated amplifier with phono stage (£1,099)at the end of last year, Marantz kicked off 2018 by unveiling its matching ND8006 – a digital music player that combines network streaming and CD playback, available now for £1,099. Designed by the audio specialist as a high-quality universal music player, it can be used to partnera conventional integrated amplifier (such as the intended PM8006)or connected directly to a power amplifier or active speaker of your choosing, thanks to its built-in digital preamp. HEOS integration also enables it to form part of a multi-room setup – just add HEOS speakers. Disc playback extends to CD and CD-R/RW (MP3/WMA), but unlike other disc players in the Marantz range, SACD isn't supported.

From the moment Rega revived its Planar name with the introduction of the Planar 1, Planar 2 (HFC 415) and Planar 3 (HFC 411) turntables in 2016, it was just a matter of time before an RP6 successor would become a reality. Rumours had been circulating for some time after the Planar 3 debuted well over a year ago, and anticipation was finally broken with the official announcement of the release of the new Planar 6 in mid-July. The good news is that it was well worth the wait. So much more than just a beefed-up version of its Planar 3 sibling, the Planar 6 boasts a new lightweight, single-piece plinth, improved two-piece platter and superior power supply design that borrows from Rega’s flagship RP10 turntable.

Voice control was among one of the biggest advances in 2017, and it hasn’t taken multi-room giant Sonos long to bring this functionality into its ecosystem. The new One is the first Sonos multi-room speaker to include Amazon Alexa voice control (and from 2018, Google Assistant) built in. The speaker uses six far-field microphones and voice capture technology with echo cancellation tech to ensure it receives voice commands clearly. A volume ‘duck’ feature drops the music level as soon as you start talking.