Hi-Fi Choice

Originally introducedin 1991, KEF has announced theeighth generation of its Q Series loudspeakers, which now forms the entry-level range from the Kent-based company. With this considerable pedigree in mind, the companyhasn’t set out to reinvent the wheel with the latest revamp but instead to integrate some of the technologies and design experience developed for some of the maker's more sophisticated models and see them utilised at a new price point. The new technology is most apparent in the drivers. Like the rest of the KEF range, the Q Series uses a Uni-Q driver for upper and midrange frequency duties and mounts the tweeter in the throat of the mid/bass unit.

Loudspeakers are easily the most popular sector of the hi-fi market right now, with more models vying for our attention than we can shake a stick at. A quick flick through the pages of this month’s issue is testament to this flourishing sector, with models of all different shapes and sizes designed to help you find the one that best fits your environment and meets your particular music needs. From the new Q Acoustics Concept 500 flagship floorstander using the latest cabinet construction and resonance control techniques, to seventies retro cool with the first model from Tannoy’s new Legacy line and the rebirth of the Eaton standmount, there’s plenty of different designs to tantalise the audio taste buds. But it’s the speaker that first got us started along the hi-fi path that so often holds a special place in our hearts.

It is now 50 years since The Doors released their startling debut LP, which unleashed the audacious and unsettling poetic visions of Jim Morrison on an unsuspecting world – and a flurry of Doors-related activity is underway to mark this rather auspicious anniversary. The group’s self-titled debut album is being reissued this month in a new three-disc deluxe edition, featuring remastered mono and stereo mixes and previously unheard live versions of eight of the original album’s 11 songs, recorded just as the band was on the verge of superstardom (see p100). It follows closely on the heels of the release of London Fog 1966, an historic album of recently unearthed live recordings from a gig in a club on Sunset Strip shortly before the group signed its first recording contract. That the music of the Doors continues to exert such a profound and far-reaching influence on our collective psyche so long after the event is in stark contrast to the group’s active lifespan, which – even by the ephemeral standards of rock and roll – was extraordinarily brief and fleeting.

Hard to believe, but on 1 June, the most iconic album from the world’s most iconic pop group celebrates its golden anniversary: The Beatles’ incalculably influential Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band turns 50. And a splendid time is guaranteed for all Fab Four fans, as to celebrate the occasion The Beatles release a suite of lavishly presented Anniversary Edition packages on 26 May. Newly mixed by Giles Martin – son of legendary producer George – and audio engineer Sam Okell in stereo and 5.