Costing £1000 the Blackwoods are the latest loudspeaker from Electricbeach and use an interesting driver layout. Ian Ringstead takes a listen.
Coming from a land down-under (depending on where in the world you reside), Burson makes a wide range of relatively affordable products. Here Janine Elliot takes a listen to their tiny Bang amplifier. Does it offer good bang for its $499 (£599) bucks?
I can still remember the first time I saw Paul Carrack. It was on Top Of The Pops way back in 1974 singing How Long with his band Ace. It was their only hit but it has become something of a radio classic, the type of song that makes you stop whatever you’re doing and just listen. Once How Long faded from the charts, Paul Carrack pretty much disappeared from view as well until he popped up fronting Squeeze’s 1981 hit Tempted, another song that has the power to stop me in my tracks when it turns up on the radio. Carrack would carry on making the occasional appearance in the charts, most regularly with Mike and The Mechanics. Between times, he’s been quietly plowing a blue-eyed soul furrow, releasing solo albums and co-writing a song that would appear on the Eagles multi-million selling album Hell Freezes Over.
Ahead of the release of their debut record ‘Jehovah’s Whispers’ on March 1st via Australian imprint Research Records, Swazi Gold have revealed a new single ‘Shapeshifting’, taken from it.
People queuing up to get into the Bristol Hifi Show well before the doors open can only be a good sign for the industry. Overall this year’s show seemed very busy, with a good mix of singles and couples in attendance. On the downside, there were only two of the three lifts working which was a bit of a pain and made the stairs busy, but that’s a minor gripe.
We’ll walk you through the show in the next few days with loads of photos and a few thoughts of what we heard.
Fyne Will be launching their F702 (£6000) & Flagship F1-12 (£26,000) at this year’s Bristol Hifi Show. More »
Tonight I shook the hand of Amy Helm; the hand that was held in the hands that held the sticks that played the drums on The Weight and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and helped to invent the musical genre we now now as Americana. As a lifetime fan of The Band and their drummer Levon Helm, Amy’s father, it was a special moment but not as special as the gig that preceded it.
Ken Stokes and David Robson take their Nord NC500 power amps for the latestupgrade using the newly available Nord REV D Buffer Boards as used in their MKII Amp with 2590/990 package Sparkos and Sonic Imagery op-amps to compare and contrast the merits of each. The complete upgrade board with Op Amps are £712.80 with Sonic Imagery 990’s and £658.80 with Sparkos 2590’s including VAT. Extra OP Amps are: Sparkos£60 each and SI990 £73.80.
Front Line Assembly have released their first new album in almost six years. Having rejoined the group in 2016 in a touring capacity, ‘Wake Up The Coma’ also marks the studio return to FLA of Rhys Fulber, thus reuniting him with founder member Bill Leeb in the duo line-up that has already made so many classic electronic records together.
Crows announced details of a UK headlining tour and reveal the dark, subversive video for “Chain Of Being”
A valve amp at 1300 Euros sounds like a bit of a bargain. Add to the package an onboard phonostage and DAC and this Italian package starts to look even more attractive. Adam Billingham takes this latin beauty for a spin.
The A.R.T Stilleto 6 V3-S speakers cost £3500 which seems very reasonable for their size, fit and finish. Janine Elliot hooks them up to her system to put them through their paces. More »
Cyrus Audio has announced the launch of an upgrade card available for its classic amplifier range. The QXR card upgrade provides, say Cyrus, “a major uplift in sonic performance” to existing integrated and pre-amplifiers through the addition of a 32bit/768k DAC and all-new asynchronous USB bridge.
Hot on the heels of the new SL 1200 turntable, Technics has announced the 1500C with built in phonostage. More »
Nasotec Swing Headshell 202A1 is a novel approach to achieving better results from your vinyl replay system. It costs £305 and here Janine Elliot gives it a try for Hifi Pig. More »
Jern 14 EH Loudspeakers from Denmark are an unusual design both in the way they look and the materials they are made from, Stuart Smith takes a listen to them partnered with REL t5i subs which are vital as the speakers only go down to 90Hz. The Jern 14 EH are €/£3.998 for a pair, the Jern plate for REL T/5i subwoofers are €/£399 each and the REL subs are available at £549 each. Stands for the 14 EH are available, though not tested here, for €/£1198.
Not everyone needs a 5 input 2x250W, DAC integrated Class A amp weighing in at 40kg. Some are seeking an amp that keeps its simple, allows 1 or maybe 2 connections, as few knobs as possible, power efficient and in a compact size, with a price point to match… enter the SMSL A2 Class Amplifier costing less than £40. More »
Pro-Ject Audio Systems has announced the introduction of the Pick-IT S2 and Pick-IT DS2 cartridges. More »
Burson has announced the Playmate USB DAC with 2 W headphone amp and preamp, plus the Swing which is a USB DAC and preamplifier. Both will be available from January 1st, with pre-orders being taken now. More »
Here is the revised version of Gold Note’s first stereo amplifier, which replaced the Demidoff Anniversary amplifier in 2015. Gold Note’s latest creation, again, features all the innovations that have always distinguished their designs, says their recent press release. More »
Leema Acoustics’ network music player is now available, with Tidal integration, a high-quality ESS Sabre DAC and support for USB drive playback for £1,295 More »
Now it’s over to the National Stadium in Warsaw for the final leg of the Audio Video Show 2018 and Hifi Pig’s last coverage of what was an absolutely fantastic show that we will certainly be back for next year. Congratulations to Adam and his team who have done a sterling job of organising the show, which is widely being touted as the best in Europe…and who are we to argue. More »
Moving on from the Sobieski to the Golden Tulip, this is part six of Hifi Pig’s coverage of the fantastic Audio Video Show in Warsaw 2018. This is where the show gets decidedly high-end with lots of wonderfully esoteric equipment on show. More »
