Hi-Fi Choice

Hi-Fi Choice | Mar 05, 2018 | 0 comments

Built specifically to partner the Class D topology of its half-width ONE amplifier (HFC 417), Cyrus has unveiled the £350 ONElinear; a compact bookshelf loudspeaker that managing director Simon Freethy says: “. . . is designed to showcase the amplifier’s true ability.

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Monitor Audio releases Monitor Series of loudspeakers

Hi-Fi Choice | Mar 02, 2018 | 0 comments

Monitor Audio has unveiled its new Monitor Series with orange driver cones and the C-CAM dome tweeter that’s derived from its Bronze Series. The range consists of two standmounts, two floorstanders and a sub and centre for home cinema. The compact Monitor 50 bookshelf hasa 25mm C-CAM tweeter, 140mm MMP II driver and costs £160. The larger £200 Monitor 100 (pictured) increases the size of the MMP II driver to 165mm and has two sets of binding posts.

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Exposure unveils XM HP headphone amplifier

Hi-Fi Choice | Mar 01, 2018 | 0 comments

For Exposure, 2017 was the year for downsizing, or at least it was as far as its XM series was concerned. A quick recap: back in HFC 424 the XM5 integrated amplifier wowed reviewersby providing an audiophile performance from the sort of sleek half-width dimensions more commonly associated with a lifestyle product. And then it repeated the trick in HFC 429 with the XM7 preamp/DAC and XM9 power amplifier. Now comes the turn of the XM HP headphone amplifier.

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Piega unveils new Premium Series loudspeakers

Hi-Fi Choice | Feb 28, 2018 | 0 comments

Swiss manufacturer Piega chose The Bristol Show (look out for a full report next month) to unveil its latest range of loudspeakers – the Premium Series. The three new speakers consist of a brace of floorstanders and a new standmount, and all come with a C-shaped chassis conceived by the renowned Swiss architect and designer Stephan Hürlemann. Manufactured from aluminium, the cabinet is claimed to be 30 percent more rigid while those distinctive curves have been adopted so that no standing waves can occur within the chassis, resulting – so Piega tells us – in a clear and precisedelivery of all medium and low-range frequencies. Meanwhile,bass plates and spikes have been introduced to the floorstanding designs to ensure interference-free sound reproduction.

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Latest issue on sale now

Hi-Fi Choice | Feb 28, 2018 | 0 comments

According to recent figures from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), music streaming services like Spotify, Tidal and Qobuz account for more than 50 percent of music consumption in the UK. On the face of it, music file streaming in one form or another appears to be the way many of today’s music fans choose to listen, but despite a statistical decline in physical sales, I wouldn’t mind betting that CD remains the music format of choice for the majority of hi-fi owners. Our own online survey clearly shows that there are plenty of us still listening to music via the 12cm silver disc that prematurely promised “perfect sound forever”. Even if the rate we purchase new albums on the format has declined over recent years, our Twitter poll reveals that almost 50 percent of us own at least 500 albums on CD – that’s a quite considerable number of discs and a lifetime of music collecting for many.

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Competition winner

Hi-Fi Choice | Feb 28, 2018 | 0 comments

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. .

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Webwatch March

Hi-Fi Choice | Feb 23, 2018 | 0 comments

Tape that and party In an effort to explore the growing popularity of the humble compact cassette, Radio Four’s The World At One got a selection of DJs, journalists and record label ownersto explain what it is that they still find so enduring about tape. Hear for yourself what they love about the format here. Reel gone kid Our very own Neville Roberts is oneof many music enthusiasts enjoying the re-emergence of reel-to-reel tapes. Is it the new vinyl? Short answer, no.

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The Chord Company showcases new Shawline Streaming Ethernet Cable

Hi-Fi Choice | Feb 06, 2018 | 0 comments

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.

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Cambridge Audio new Solo and Duo phono stages

Hi-Fi Choice | Feb 05, 2018 | 0 comments

Cambridge audio has started off its 50th anniversary year by introducing a new pair of dedicated phono stages. The moving-magnet Solo (pictured top) claims 36dB gain (@1kHz) and 10W maximum power consumption. With nominal output of 300mV, it is expected to cost £150. Priced at £100 more, the Duo incorporates both moving-magnet and moving-coil input stages, with 60dB gain claimed for the latter.

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Chord Electronics unveils Qutest DAC

Hi-Fi Choice | Feb 02, 2018 | 0 comments

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.

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