Hi-Fi Choice

Pop quiz time. What’s the biggest growing sector within the hi-fi industry of the last four or five years? Bluetooth adaptors? Hi-res music streamers? Portable music players? No, give up? Would it come as a surprise if we were to reveal that headphones is the answer? Probably not given the fact thatthe rest of the page is filled with picturesof them. . .

In the not too distant past ‘proper hi-fi’ inevitably had to equate to stacks of similar sized and similar looking separates for it to be taken seriously by audiophiles. But with improvements in more efficient amplifier technologies – such as Class D – combined with the move to higher quality streaming from portable devices, compact hi-fino longer necessarily means compromised quality, as we’ve recently seen with Quad’s Vena (HFC 390) and NAD’s D 7050 (HFC 382) both of which come from companies with long-standing reputations for producing class-leading products. Like these two brands, PS Audio’s usual stomping ground also lies inthe high-end separates arena where its DACs and digital products sit alongside a selection of audio power plants. The Sprout is a different beast, representing the culmination of two and a half year’s work by sales director Scott McGowan, son of CEO and founder Paul McGowan.

Welcome to the May 2015 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. . . 

 With the continuous evolution of drive unit technology, the development of cabinet manufacturing processes and increasingly sophisticated measurement devices you’d think that we would have reached the pinnacle of loudspeaker design, manufacturing and performance and that loudspeakers would pretty much all sound the same.

DETAILS PRODUCTPro-Ject 2 Xperience SB DC Price£1,050 OriginAustria TypeBelt-drive turntable Weight7. 7kg Dimensions(WxHxD) 460 x 160 x 360mm FEATURES 9CC Evolution carbon-fibre tonearm New DC-powered synchronous turntable motor with electronic speed control Ortofon 2M Silver moving magnet cartridge DISTRIBUTOR Henley Designs TELEPHONE 01235 511166 WEBSITE henleydesigns. co. uk Read full review in May issue 397 .