Hifi Through The Generations

14. September 2015 · Write a comment · Categories: Comment, Readers Lives

Hifi Pig readers, Father and Son duo David (Dad) and Rob (Son) Stevenson share a love of music and a passion for vinyl reproduction. Here they tell their story of what they believe to be the key factor in music reproduction and replay.father son back to back (1) More »

Retro Bites – Philips DCC900

14. September 2015 · Write a comment · Categories: Comment, Retro Bites

Philips DCC900

The Hillman Imp was an amazing invention for 1963. This was the answer to the Mini, doing everything that Alec Issigonis’s baby could do, but adding some extra features that were revolutionary for the time; preceding hatchbacks this car had an opening back window to put in your shopping on the rear seat (or your kids heads) just in case you hadn’t any more room under the front bonnet, and it had more space inside. The light aluminium engine was novel, too, and helped make the car quite nippy (when it worked). What let it down was being a quickly thought out idea and badly made in Scotland. Shame, as I loved it. It could have been an amazing car. More »

The Voice Of Dom – Fear Of Tape

14. September 2015 · Write a comment · Categories: Comment · Tags:

When you see a box full of cassette tapes and a tape player at a boot sale going cheap, then if you are wise you will shake your head and walk on by, safe in the knowledge that you have managed to avoid having a scar on your left buttock like I have from handbrake lever while fighting one of these infernal beasts… More »

Turning Of The Tidal

18. June 2015 · Write a comment · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu · Tags:

I first became aware of Tidal in October last year. At that time it was being quietly marketed as a high quality streaming service with the emphasis on its lossless, CD-quality sound. Sound quality has virtually become an irrelevance in the mass market; the received wisdom that it it impossible to hear the difference between a 320 Mbps MP3 file and a 24 bit 192 high resolution file has been happily accepted as truth, mostly by people who have never heard a high resolution file. The result of this was that Tidal found itself targeting a niche market of audiophiles for whom sound quality was still a vital consideration and who had either already discovered the benefits of streaming music from their own computer-based audio set ups or were increasingly curious about doing so.

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Naim Statement and My Rection to the Bellyachers

16. July 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu

When Naim announced at the recent CES exhibition that they would be launching a preamp and power amp combo that would leave purchasers with a $200 000 hole in their bank account it was inevitable that there a certain degree of backlash from some quarters would come…and come it did. More »

Linette Smith’s Dos and Don’ts From the Perspective of an Audio Show Visitor

16. July 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Birds Eye View, Comment

2014 has kicked of with what has been a very successful CES by all accounts. HiFi Pig was not there but we are hoping to make it over the pond very soon.

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Ripping Yarns – Stuart Perseveres With Digital

04. April 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu

Well, Linette in her Bird’s Eye View seems to be rallying against the onslaught of digital files and streaming whereas I’m once again embracing the new format. I had a great time with the little QED uPlay streamer I reviewed and this has prompted me to get hold of a Squeezebox Touch again (this will be my fifth) to see if I can finally get to grips with digital streaming.

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Linette Has Another (bit of a) Rant!

04. April 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Birds Eye View, Comment · Tags:

The last little rant I had on HiFi Pig concerned vinyl and my….ahem, ‘feelings’ towards it.
It did provoke a lot of comments and I was surprised by just how many people agreed with me, on the grounds of it needing so much tinkering and fettling to get everything sounding perfect. More »

Vinyl Lover or Hater – Mrs Hifi Pig Has a Bit of a Rant

08. August 2013 · 2 comments · Categories: Birds Eye View, Comment · Tags:

After spending nearly the last 20 years with Mr Hifi Pig we get along pretty well and only have minor altercations and disagreements every now and again.

There is one subject that really divides us though, vinyl.

To Mr Pig it is the ultimate listening experience.  More »

Polishing the Turd

31. July 2013 · Write a comment · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu

I’ve just finished reading Neil Young’s “Waging Heavy Peace” book which, despite being a rambling stream of consciousness affair, is an enthralling read and a must for anyone interested in the artist or rock music in general. As well as the expected anecdotes and stories of the “rock and roll lifestyle” it comes across very clearly that Mr Young is a man on a mission to bring hi resolution music to the masses. More »

The Devious Audiophile

25. October 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu

If you are paying large sums of money for a piece of high-end hifi then it is perfectly reasonable to assume that some thought has gone into the way that the kit performs on an aesthetic level as well as, of course, into its audio performance. More »

Audiophile Audio Anonymous

18. September 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu · Tags:

In the world of audiophile audio, to my mind it doesn’t matter whether you are an advocate of tube amplifier technology, vintage audio or even an all in one home audio system. What matters is the fact that you can appreciate high end audio as the means to enjoy the music you love. Or is it? More »

Hifi and Live Music.

21. June 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu · Tags: , ,

Well today is Fete de la Musique in France and this is the one day of the year where towns and villages across the country put on a great deal of free music in their streets and bars. The whole country comes out in a big celebration of all things musical and a great time is had by all…needless to say it’s banging it down with rain here at the moment. More »

Confessions of a Hifi Addict

19. June 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu · Tags: ,

There are those in hifi that like to collect boxes and I’m not ashamed to say that I count myself in this category. I like the fact that my hifi takes up a whole wall in one room of the house and I don’t think I would get the same satisfaction from a one box hi-fi system.  I can see the benefits of having all the component parts of a hifi in one convenient unit, but I’m afraid it just doesn’t appeal to me. That said I do quite like my hifi to be functional…ok I quite like ugly hifi…or hi-fi that most would consider to be ugly…I prefer the word “different”. More »

What is Hifi?

14. June 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu · Tags: , , ,

Hi-fi can mean so many things to different folk, so a quick search on the internet seemed in order and Wikipedia had the following to say: “High fidelity –  or hi-fi or hifi  – reproduction is a term used by home stereo listeners and home audio enthusiasts (audiophiles) to refer to high-quality reproduction of sound to distinguish it from the poorer quality sound produced by inexpensive audio equipment.” More »

Poor Quality Downloads are Killing Music

10. May 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu

In the first three months of 2011 just over 20 million CDs were sold in the UK, but this figure dropped to 15.3 million in 2012 – a drop of 25%. Sales of vinyl in the UK experienced growth in 2011 of almost 40% over 2010 figures but still only account for 19.5% of non-download sales. In 2011, according to IFPI, worldwide sales of downloaded singles and albums rose by 17% with some countries (US and S.Korea) deriving over half of their sales of music from downloaded sources. IFPI estimates that 32% of record companies’ revenues are derived from digital channels. More »

Computer Hifi Killed the Radio Star…or did it?

03. April 2012 · 2 comments · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu · Tags: ,

Regular readers will be aware of my thoughts on using computers in home hifi installations and that my experiences have been less than satisfying for me. To be fair the problems have centred on interface issues and me simply not “gelling” with listening to music using computers. More »

Hifi Reality Check

27. March 2012 · 4 comments · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu · Tags: ,

Hifi in the last twenty or so years seems to be being dragged in two completely disparate directions. On the one hand we have the hifi enthusiast (audiophile) who will go to almost any lengths to achieve the very best audio reproduction in the home and on the other we have a largely disinterested public who are more than happy to plug in their ipod and earbuds and listen to Mp3s they have downloaded. More »

Dream Hifi

20. March 2012 · 5 comments · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu · Tags: , , ,

Is is it a bit sad to have a dream hifi? It probably is you know, but I bet a pound to a penny that the vast majority of folk reading this have dreamed of owning a particular set up. Well perhaps they haven’t physically dreamed it as that would be a bit wrong, but you get my point I’m sure. More »

Old Records or Old Friends?

15. March 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu · Tags: , ,

I was discussing with a fellow hifi nerd (sorry audiophile) the merits of CD over vinyl and during the discourse he happened to mention that he was firmly in the digital hi-fi camp and had sold all his vinyl, 400 albums or so, about 10 years ago. This reminded me and caused a certain melancholy to descend as I thought back to the day I sold my beloved record collection.

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Computer Based Hifi and Me

29. February 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: Comment, Views Of Stu · Tags: , , , ,

Now don’t get me wrong I do like computers. I use a computer daily. I’m even using one now to write this article. Computers have enabled me to work from home, do that away from the UK and even allows me communicate in real time with folks all over the world at the push of a mouse button. I get computers and I use one daily despite my sausage fingers and one fingered typing style!

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