HiFi Highlights 2021 – HiFi we reviewed in 2021 that got our highest award.
I’m personally not a huge fan of picking out products of the year and I never have been. For a start, the playing field isn’t level and a product costing tens of thousands of your hard-earned beer tokens is bound to get more attention than a product costing a few hundred quid – that’s just a simple matter of fact. There’s also the fact that one man’s favourite product may well not be another’s. Add to this that when we review a bit of kit at HiFi Pig we tend to look at it in the round and take into account not just how a product is presented and sounds, but also the value it represents to the end-user. This all means that things we believe to be outstanding can come in at all kinds of prices and satisfy different end-users’ needs.
Anyway, this year we’ve reviewed a whole load of kit (around 75 products) and I’d like to showcase those that we thought were outstanding for one reason or another – which is, of course, represented in the award the reviewer gives them. We did change our review gongs back in March of 2021 with our highest award moving from Outstanding to Editor’s Choice, with any product a reviewer thought good enough to receive the new medal of honour having to be reviewed by yours truly.
Now all this has a bit of a caveat as we just don’t review equipment that is sent to us that doesn’t perform to a high standard – and we never have – so anything you see reviewed by us will perform well. From the very beginning of HiFi Pig ten years ago we have been about “Snoofling Out What’s HOT in HiFi” (and that policy isn’t going to change) so everything we review is of a quality that we and our review team believe to be of a standard fit to publish a review for our lovely readers to read. If it’s not then it gets sent back with a short report as to why we thought it didn’t meet our standard. Some of the names on this list will be commonplace and some not so – read into that what you will with regards to how we decide on the best of the best when compared to others. However, all we can do is put forward our thoughts based on having listened to loads of products over the years and we would always encourage readers to seek out a great dealer (or dealers) and compare and contrast from your shortlist – see our reviews as helping you along in shortening your shortlist a bit.
With all that in mind, all the products we review are winners in their own rights and you can read all our reviews by following this link.
And so without further ado, here are the products that we and our reviewers thought were outstanding in their class when we reviewed them.
Rupert Neve Fidelice Precision DAC and Precision Headphone Amp
Both the DAC and headphone amp continue the long line of excellence from this craftsman of fine studio equipment. The DAC was exceptional in all areas and is definitely worth an audition (All frequencies had precision and musicality and it was hard to find fault in such a masterpiece). The headphone amplifier continued to meet my expectations, and as in the original RNHP this product was very hard to put down and well worth the increase in price. As for the headphone amp in the RNDAC, that was so good that you wouldn’t ever need to buy both products if you wanted to listen exclusively on cans.
Hegel V10 Phono-Stage
So, what I think we have here is a very, very good phono preamplifier at a price that I believe belies its performance – it betters our, admittedly cheaper, reference by quite a margin – certainly more than the £150 price difference would suggest. It is transparent, detailed, and honest with what it is given to play with by your cartridge, but it doesn’t mask any imperfections with a pressing or well-used disc. I found myself, rather than just picking out test tracks to put it through its paces, playing the track and then the rest of the record – as I type I’m listening to some Channel 1 dub and finding it hard not to put the computer down and listen more closely.
It has a good range of features including catering for Moving Magnet and Moving Coil cartridges, a subsonic filter that blocks frequencies below 20Hz, gain settings for very low output MC cartridges, and balanced XLR outputs.
On the negative side, I find the dip switches and their layout a bit confusing and it took me a while to get them set up. There was also a pop after it went through its start up cycle and so I’d suggest you turn your preamplifier down on startup. It’s also unforgiving of battered records or poor recordings.
All in all a bit of a triumph of which Hegel should be rightly proud!
Vertere Redline Balanced XLR Interconnect
The Redline cable certainly delivers in spades for the asking price. Obviously, I haven’t heard all of the available cables out there, no one has, but for me, it’s a frontrunner for anyone after a superb cable for a fairly reasonable price. Most dealers will now allow you to try before you buy and cables certainly need to be auditioned to see if they gel with your components and tastes. The Redline range was designed to fit into the category of excellent performance without the high price tags and it does this brilliantly.
Another excellent product to add to your list if you are wanting to upgrade!
iFi Power Station Mains Purifier
iFi produce some lovely kit, and the PowerStation is no exception. Normally ‘conditioners’ add to the sound; after all, they are basically a tone control. The PowerStation was different. It left me engaging in more of the music, with noticeably tighter bass, greater definition and dynamic control.
For £499 this is such good value, but if that is too much for you then you can buy the AC iPurifier at £99 and add to your existing mains block. Better still, buy both for even better mains.
LAB12 dac1 REFERENCE DAC
If you are going to get hung up on the limited 24bit/192KHz specs of the dac1 then move along, there is nothing for you to see here and you will need to find yourself a machine with better on-paper specifications. If you care about connecting with the music you love then you need to get the dac1 auditioned, it’s a truly fabulous bit of kit that allows the music to just play, and for the listener to listen to the music and not the equipment – that’s what I took from it anyway.
Analogue sounding? I don’t care if it sounds analogue or not, what is analogue sounding, anyway? What I do know is that it has transformed this little, and relatively modest, system into something that I would genuinely pit against anything under 15K for sheer musical enjoyment and the dac1 plays no small part in this.
Yes, as I’ve mentioned in the waffle above, the dac1 is accurate and expansive in its presentation, but then there is a certain “je ne sais quoi” that lifts this DAC above and beyond what I could possibly expect for a sub €3K box. It really is that good and the previous DAC was sold to fund it. It’s going nowhere and I genuinely think I would have to spend a good deal more to get more musical enjoyment from a DAC in this system.
Many years ago a wrote an article titled “Machines For Joy” and here we have just such a machine!
I genuinely cannot recommend this DAC highly enough and sincerely considered creating a new “Editors Choice” award for it – it is that good a sounding bit of kit!
LEEMA LIBRA DAC – A Different Perspective
I don’t necessarily disagree with the findings of the review carried out back in 2016, where I differ with my thoughts is what I conclude from those results. Yes, the LIBRA is hugely analytical – I think this is a good thing, whereas the original reviewer (not me, I must add) thought that level of detail a bit much. I also don’t find the LIBRA in any way fatiguing.
In short, if you are looking for a DAC/Pre that is true to the source material you feed it and don’t want your chosen DAC to present anything but the truth of the recording you are listening to, then you need to look no further than the LEEMA LIBRA. As an analytical tool, it is, in my experience, second to none. However, if you are looking for a DAC/Pre to give you a big hug, wrap you in a blanket and hide you away from the big bag world of High-Fidelity sound then you ought to look elsewhere. With that said, if you are looking for a less analytical sound you can temper the naked truth with your amps and speaker choices, whilst safe in the knowledge that what your amp is getting fed to it is the full fat, nowt taken out reality of the matter.
Put it this way, the LIBRA fulfils everything I want a DAC to do in our review system and it’s going nowhere, and hasn’t now for the best part of 12 months!
Townshend Isolda Loudspeaker Cable
I had no idea quite how good this cable was going to be when it was sent to me. It opened up the sound and tamed the music in such a way that it was more honest than I have heard for a long while, and although not the cheapest is a very cost-effective upgrade to your HiFi. A much more honest performance than I thought a cable could give and therefore is highly recommended.
Diptyque dp77 Anniversary Loudspeakers
These are a very good loudspeaker indeed. They can do delicate and restrained when they need to but they really can rock out too. They certainly have an upper limit with regards to volume where they become a little uncomfortable. However, one of the big selling points of the dp77s is that they play really beautifully at lower and more realistic listening levels.
On the bass front (Nirvana’s Breed’s bass line is a brilliant case in point) the Diptyques are fast, articulate, and wonderfully impactful. Nothing on the bass front phases them, and I expected this to be their Achilles Heel. Dub, rock, electro, techno – nothing gives them grief. Adding a pair of subs does add a little more weight and does something to the imaging, though I can’t explain why. I certainly didn’t think I would be, but I played a LOT of dub through these speakers and loved the way the bass was portrayed.
On the soundstage front, I think that the dp77s present a good forward to back image, but left to right the image is certainly mostly between the speakers. There is also good height to the image presented.
Detail from these speakers is phenomenally good, but they also feel very natural sounding – almost as if they aren’t having to try too hard – they never (unless pushed too hard), lose control. Keep them within their limits and they are wonderful! I would have loved to have been able to partner them with our Krell amplifier, but sadly that is in hospital in America having major surgery.
Do they prefer a particular style of music? I don’t think so, and I threw a whole lot of stuff at them to get them flustered and hot under the collar. Only when pushed too hard so they get a bit much, but that’s par for the course for any speaker, in my experience.
I loved these speakers and don’t hesitate for one moment recommending you get yourself a listen. I posted a video up on Facebook and someone messaged that the Diptyques were one of the speakers they were really looking forward to hearing at the rearranged Munich High End show later in the year…fingers crossed!
Truly deserving of our highest award!
FinkTeam KIM Loudspeakers
I like these speakers a lot! They are perhaps one of the best loudspeakers we have had in the house in the sub ten grand price-point and had I not just bought another turntable I’d have been having a pair of these in a heartbeat. Yes, they are that good!
Key takeaways are speed, clarity, and an open airiness.
At low volumes, they are a delight but put some power up them and they just come alive in a wonderfully dynamic and engaging way.
The soundstage is vast with KIM – and I mean in every dimension.
There is a certain quality to these speakers that just drags you in, tells you to shut up, and to take notice of the music that is playing. I listened and listened to album after album. They feel unforced and they are natural-sounding uncoloured and true to the recording.
I need to sleep on the gong these get as I’ve not given the award I’m considering previously. I’ll make the decision tomorrow….
So, I have slept on it and I don’t think I can do anything but give these speakers the new Editor’s Award, but that will only be confirmed after Linette has given her verdict – which will be done without having read my comments. We plan on giving these awards out very infrequently, but to give these anything less just wouldn’t be fair to them or to FinkTeam. Yes, they are the best part of nine grand in the UK but I wholly believe that they are worth every penny, particularly when you compare them to the BORGs at £23K, give or take.
It’s impossible to put a percentage of what KIM gives with regards (and compared) to the BORGS, but I’d suggest it’s in the 90s…
Falcon BBC LS3/5a Gold Label Loudspeakers
Look, these speakers don’t do everything well – they can’t, that’s just a physical impossibility, but what they do right they do oh so right. I haven’t listened to other /5as in our systems and so this review should be seen as being done without reference to other LS3/5a models and iterations. What I can say is that if this is how the originals sounded then I can sort of see why they command such high prices on that auction site we all know the name of. However, without a doubt, I’d rather spend my dosh on a pair of new speakers with a guarantee, from a reputable company, with the correct licensing deal, and without having to deal with all the hassles that buying secondhand inevitably brings – hello, Falcon.
If you listen to small or large-scale classical music and you don’t live in the Royal Albert Hall (other massive spaces are available) then these speakers offer a fantastic listening experience in many ways. If you listen to singer-songwriters then these are brilliant. Imaging is superlative and they just seem to effortlessly dig out details and noises that you knew were there but didn’t take much notice of before, but all this is done organically and naturally.
The surprise of the show (and I’m quite glad of this seeing as they are a permanent fixture here) is that they can do well-produced dance music very well, though with obvious limitations in the very low bass.
The Falcon LS3/5a Golds are not a speaker for all occasions, of that there is no doubt, but they do some things so beautifully well that since they have been set up they haven’t been out of the room – yes other speakers have been dragged in and out, but these have remained on their stands and in their carefully set up position – and that’s where they will be staying.
This pair of speakers caused me many headaches (perhaps more so than any other product we have had for review) when it came to giving them an appropriate award. My heart wants to give them the highest accolade I can (The Editor’s Choice) as I really do love the way they perform, but my head is insisting that whilst they really do excel in some areas they cannot be seen as being seen being perfect in all circumstances (which has me erring on the side of a 5-Heart award). But then again I am the editor of this here publication and I have chosen to have them remain in this system as a future reference, and so they are a defacto “Editor’s Choice”. But then the Editor’s Choice award was designed for truly outstanding products and we give them out rarely and then always following a lot of discussion – there’s been a LOT around these.
So, the award I’m giving these comes with caveats, as outlined in the review itself. However, keep these loudspeakers within what they were designed to do (and a bit more) and they are something really special!
Get yourself in front of a pair and have a listen!
Empire Odin In Ear Monitors
These are good in-ears. They are VERY good in-ears, but that comes at a considerable price.
The Odins are the best sounding in-ears I have ever heard – and that is by quite some margin. They have a sound that is so well-rounded and so lifelike it is almost uncanny. The amount of detail present is truly incredible but that is not an artificial detail that can be had by boosting the audible upper frequencies a bit. The bass is also lifelike and with heft, but again it’s not in any way artificial sounding.
They are an even and very balanced in-ear (read audiophile) headphone that will appeal very much to that market, though they have a certain party feel about them too – a party for one, though.
They sound at their best with good sources and DACs but I got very good results out of the line out of headphone out of my computer too. That said, I would expect anyone who is going to spend this kind of money to have the best of DAPs too!
They are outrageously expensive in my opinion, but by the same token they are the best in-ears I have ever heard and come close to being the best headphone I’ve heard, period! With that in mind, and with a watering side-eye to the cost, the Odins have to get our top award.
Raidho TD 2.2 Loudspeakers
One of the best loudspeakers I have ever had the pleasure of listening to at any price. The Raidhos excel in delivering a connection to the music that is rare. Detail without overload is their forte. I would say that they represent pretty much everything I am looking for in a speaker – they allow me to simply get on and enjoy my music without having to try. In this room I don’t think I would want to go with the bigger models, but nor do I think the standmounts from the range would fill the space adequately – these are as near to perfect as I have heard in this room, though perhaps the extra driver in the TD 3.2 or the pair of bigger drivers in the TD3.8 would satisfy that urge for more movement of air.
They wield considerable power and do bass very well, although it is not as much a visceral experience as with our Avantgardes. But whilst they may not have that bass oomph, they do caress you with beautifully presented music across the scale and they do go low. Really, I am struggling really hard to find a fault with them other than their price, which is considerable given the speakers’ proportions.
Do I think these represent excellent value for money? Nope, I don’t! However, at this price value is hardly going to be a consideration for prospective buyers and so I’m pretty much discounting it. I would love to say that they offer incredibly bad value for money, but, despite their asking price for such a relatively small speaker, I can’t help thinking that if I had the means they’d be taking up permanent residence – or the 3.2…or the 3.8s.
Fit and finish are great as you would expect and I have looked hard to fault them in this respect.
I don’t know if the accuracy they portray is real or somehow artificially enhanced. To my mind I don’t find them artificial sounding, in fact, I’d go as far as to say they sound utterly natural, unforced, and effortless. That last word (effortless) sort of sums the Raidhos up beautifully, and I can sit for literally hours in front of them without feeling the need to get up. I find myself getting lost in the music and feeling part of it. Result!
The award these speakers are getting sort of puts value for money to one side and I need to do that to be able to try and convey what a thrilling experience it has been to have them in the house for a couple of months. The fact that they cost as much as a very nice car is neither here nor there in the realms of this level of fidelity!
I waffle on a good deal about really good HiFi being “Machines For Joy” and these really do fit that description very well!
Electrocompaniet Tana SL-2 Tana L-2 And Sira L1 Wireless Speaker/Streamer And Subwoofer
Yes, this is quite a lot of money for a wireless system, however, I think it is well worth it. Rather than just being a ‘second system’, the Electrocompaniet Tana 2 and Sira L1 combination sounds like a ‘proper’ system. It is room-filling, defined, and detailed with oodles of wonderfully controlled bass. Electrocompaniet have got into the realms of ‘get rid of all your boxes and cables’ territory here, I was very, very impressed. Whilst discussing it, Stuart and I agreed that you could put a ‘dummy’ big system in a room and hide this behind a screen and no one would suspect that it wasn’t the big system playing.
It is safe to say that the Electrocompaniet Tana SL-2, L-2 and Sira L1 system has changed my perception of wireless systems. This isn’t a compromise, it’s a totally enjoyable and versatile streaming system and I have no hesitation putting it forward for our highest award.
Audiovector R6 Arreté Loudspeakers
I put a post on the Audiovector Owners Group on Facebook that I was writing up my notes for this review and someone came back with “I gather your notes are pretty short…I liked them so much I bought them. End of review” (thanks Andrew Cairney for that) And it’s true, I could well have just done that as I did chat with Mads from Audiovector and bought the review pair. However, it’s a bit more complicated than that and here’s my thoughts.
I’ve reviewed the Audiovector R1, R3 and now the R6 and all are very good speakers. The R6 are a lot better than the R3 in their bass response and feel, and also through the mids with that extra rear-firing mid really adding a certain something to their presence. However, the R6 are considerably more expensive than the R3 and it is the R3 that for me represents the sweet-spot with regards to value for money vs performance. However, once heard the R6 are hard to walk away from and are highly addictive in how they get on with the job of playing whatever style of tunes you want to play through them.
Worth the extra money? That’s a hard one and down to your own priorities but I would say that if you love the R3s then don’t go listening to the R6s as your bank manager is likely to be wanting a chat – or you’ll be wanting to chat with your bank manager.
They represent, to my mind, all that I’m looking for in a loudspeaker. They are hugely dynamic with massive scale and presence that commands you to sit up and take notice. By turn, they are sweet and yet full-sounding at lower volumes.
Auralic ALTAIR G2.1 Streamer/DAC
The ALTAIR G2.1 is a joy to use, being simple enough to set up and yet feature-rich. Being able to set up and change parameters and inputs directly from the Lightning app is a breeze and total without drama. Having to have a suitable iOS device here is my only moan and, as I have said before, the sooner an Android app is up and running with the same simple to use and intuitive interface as the iOS version the better. I can’t help but think that Auralic is missing out on a degree of market share because of this! However, my iOS gripe apart, where a lot of products of this type fall down is the interface/app and the Lightning Server app is a pleasure to use. Sonically it is a step up from the ALTAIR G1.
The phonostage is very good being quiet, revealing, and dynamic and will satisfy the vast majority of people who are not dyed-in-the-wool vinylistas. I would have like it to have a MC stage but at this price point I think I’m being a little over-optimistic with my “want list”. Does the phonostage outperform our LAB12 reference? No, but it is very good nonetheless.
The ability to use the ALTAIR as an external DAC for your other digital sources will be useful to some, but, frankly, I think most will want to use the Altair to stream content from their NAS, external hard drive or online services. Perhaps some will add a CD player or output their DVD/Bluray player/games console to the ALTAIR to achieve a consistent and enhanced sound across their sources.
When you consider you are getting a quality streamer, DAC, preamplifier, phonostage, and headphone amplifier in one compact, good looking unit, I’d say the ALTAIR offers pretty good value for money and if you break it down into its component parts it starts to make good sense from a financial perspective. I’d have one in a heartbeat were I looking to slim down the system.
TotalDAC D100 Loudspeakers
Some speakers are great to listen to, but on close analysis seem flawed. Some speakers are highly analytical but feel a bit much when listening for pleasure. The D100s manage to be a fantastically engaging listen whilst at the same time being highly detailed. I don’t get it is the truth of it – they look, as I’ve said earlier, like big boxes with some drivers whacked in them. However, despite their looks (and, personally, I don’t mind their utilitarian aesthetic) they pull off something sonically that is quite extraordinary.
I was having a discussion with my mate Dave Clark from American magazine Positive Feedback the other evening around the subject of accuracy in audio and we seemed to agree that what we experience as being accurate is largely down to our own perception. Let’s face it, 99.9999% of us listening to any record weren’t there at the final mixdown and have only an idea of what the engineer/producer/band were trying to get across on the master tape. However, some components just sound right and have more detail, insight, and rightness to the way they put across the music you listen to. Speakers that get this right consistently are the big PMCs and the ATCs, both widely used in studios. You can now, to my way of thinking, add these speakers from TotalDAC to that list for getting into (and visualising) the heart of a recording. As such they are a great tool and I could genuinely see them being used in studios.
English Acoustics 21C Power Amplifier
So, was it worth doing a new review on a product that had already received a great review? Absolutely. This amplifier is even better than the one I originally listened to. It tackled classical and jazz with magic and even heavy rock and punk didn’t phase it. The 21c pulled out every syllable of the music with much detail and passion. To think a new Stereo 41c is in the pipeline along with an 18 valve pre-amplifier. I think English Acoustics are a name you should start to take seriously.
Care Orchestra Celestial Deep Breath Evo Loudspeakers
These are a very good loudspeaker, and whilst they represent a significant outlay at €2250, I think that their performance is in line with this price – they are certainly on a par with our Xavian Perla Exclusiva speakers that cost a little more, and in some key areas such as imaging they are a better loudspeaker. That imaging is a key attribute of the CBDs but it is not their be-all-and-end-all and I fully enjoyed every aspect of their delivery, even in a room in which should have been too big for them to be at their best.
The Celestial Deep Breath speakers by Care Orchestra may have a daft name, but they are without a doubt one of the very best standmount speakers that I have had the pleasure of reviewing at home and are a more accomplished loudspeaker than our similarly priced reference speakers.
On paper, their bass response really should preclude them from being anything like my cup of tea, but I genuinely never missed it and found the bass to be fast, tight, articulate and balanced with regards the rest of the speaker’s performance.
The finish on the CBD Evo is very good indeed, although they’re a bit of an odd size with regards to getting stands to fit.
Given these are a better sounding loudspeaker in this system than our reference standmounters (and actually cost a bit less) I have no option other than to award them our highest award.
Tellurium Q Blue II Cables
The Blue II from Tellurium Q represents to my mind an excellent performance point for the asking price. Yes, you can better them by spending more, that’s for sure, but for the vast majority of listeners, they will be a perfect balance of musical enjoyment tempered with a sensible financial outlay.
Where these cables really satisfy is in their ability to present the music in a natural and unforced way that allows you to forget analysing the tiny details and get on with enjoying your music. Nothing over-dominates the presentation and they sound, for want of a better word, harmonious.
Importantly the stuff that comes along with the cables should ensure that should you want to upgrade at a later stage then the cables should command a good second-hand value. However, they are that kind of fit and forget product that will appeal to folk looking to get the best from their system without breaking the bank or becoming over-obsessed (guilty) with their system.
In a good entry-level system or even a mid-priced system, these could well be all the cable you need or want. I’m so pleased I asked to review these cables based on the, quite right, enthusiastic chatter on the various social media groups. I have no hesitation to echo Janine’s thoughts and to offer up my Editors Choice Award.
As I mentioned in the opening blurb to this, everything we review at HiFi Pig reaches a great standard and so we congratulate everyone who had a review published with us in 2021.
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