NAGRA PREAMP II-S REVIEW Janine takes a listen to the iconic Swiss brand’s Preamp II-S, costing £21,998 with the Compact PSU and £18,348 without a PSU. About the same size as my legendary Nagra IV reel-to-reel (at least sideways) and with its iconic “Modulometer” meter on the left, now comes the Nagra Series II Preamp […]
Onix is a name some music lovers of a certain age will be well aware of. In this review, Michael Fairbairn takes a listen to their £2399 XDA20 Digital-to-Analogue Converter. The XDA20 DAC (Digital-to-Analogue Converter) belongs to the modern era of the British ONIX brand, which is a partnership with Shanling. The Taiwanese/Chinese manufacturer of […]
PARADIGM PREMIER SERIES V2 820F LOUDSPEAKERS REVIEW Janine Elliot takes a listen to Canadian brand Paradigm’s Premier Series V2 820F Loudspeakers for HiFi PiG. If loudspeaker value were defined by the number and size of the drivers, the Paradigm Premier Series V2 820F would win hands down (by quite a lot). This 110cm-tall floor-standing speaker […]
LUXSIN X8 DAC/HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER REVIEW Luxsin is the sister company of Eversolo, and they make headphone-oriented products more for the desktop market. Their first model was the X9, an AKM-equipped powerhouse with an R2R volume control, coming in at £989. Earlier this year they announced the X8, a slightly more affordable device, at £699, incorporating Cirrus […]
NAGRA COMPACT PLAYER REVIEW Janine Elliot takes a listen to the compact Player from iconic Swiss brand Nagra. Having got used to seeing Nagra tape recorders with as many buttons, switches and sockets as can fit on each side, it was quite a contrast to be sent their tiny new streamer/DAC that is totally bare […]
TOPPING DX9 DISCRETE DAC and HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER REVIEW Oscar Stewart takes a listen to the Topping DX9 Discrete DAC/Headamp/Pre costing £1299. Topping have been making a range of headphone and HiFi products for many years now, and they seem to be refining their products at each new release. I’ve definitely covered a fair few of […]
ROSSO FIORENTINO ARNO20: STANDMOUNT LOUDSPEAKER REVIEW Rosso Fiorentino is a brand known for producing some truly striking and original designs for their loudspeakers. With the new Arno series, they’ve produced something that still retains a lot of the spirit of their other designs, but with a rather more conventional form factor. The Arno20 is their […]
ARCAM SA45 INTEGRATED STREAMING AMPLIFIER REVIEW Michael Fairbairn takes the very well-specified Arcam SA45 integrated streaming amplifier for a spin. I have a soft spot for Arcam. My first proper HiFi system was from the brand in the late nineties: specifically, an integrated amplifier and CD player from the Alpha 7 series. Most of my […]
TITANIC AUDIO ANCHOR PLATE ISOLATION PLATFORM AND CATALYST CARTRIDGE STABILISER REVIEW Eric van Spelde tried out two products from Titanic Audio: The Audio Anchor isolation platform and the Catalyst cartridge stabiliser. Read on to find out what he made of these two audio tweaks. Titanic Audio is a sister company to Northern Irish mains-treatment boffins […]
ROGERS LS3/5A and AB3a BASS UNIT REVIEW Janine Elliot takes a look at Rogers’ classic LS3/5A along with the AB3a bass unit to enhance the lower-end performance of this iconic loudspeaker. INTRODUCTION When Andy Whittle, Rogers’ Head of Design, delivered the BBC-designed LS3/5a speakers plus his new AB3a bass unit, he knew I would be […]
ACOUSTIC SIGNATURE MERLIN NEO TURNTABLE AND TA-500 NEO TONEARM REVIEW Stuart takes a listen to this neat-looking and beautifully engineered turntable from German brand Acoustic Signature, which represents the company’s entry point into their extensive vinyl ecosystem. Founded in 1996 in Süssen, Germany, Acoustic Signature has spent three decades concentrating on one thing: the design […]
KERR ACOUSTIC K400 LOUDSPEAKERS REVIEW Kerr Acoustic have been making a name for itself for a few years now, with speakers based around a transmission line design and ribbon tweeters. Jes Kerr is responsible for the tuning and kindly dropped off these K400s in person for review – they share a similar design to my […]
iFi AUDIO NEO STREAM 3 REVIEW A few years ago, I reviewed the original NEO Stream from iFi Audio and loved its natural, effortless sound, along with its plethora of digital outputs and flexibility to fit into most systems. Now, in 2026, iFi have released its follow-up to this brilliant streamer in the form of […]
There’s this expectation, isn’t there, that if you’re a HiFi reviewer or one of those blogging types, you spend every waking hour listening to music. The image you probably have is of someone permanently sat in the sweet spot with a laptop or a notepad, and a mug of coffee, endlessly swapping amplifiers, speakers and […]
QUAD ESL2912X: FLOORSTANDING LOUDSPEAKERS REVIEW Quad’s latest update to a lineup that stretches back some 68 years is definitely pitched as being a refinement and iteration on the previous ESL2912, rather than a profound reinvention of the electrostatic. It’s also an increasingly rare beast – a full-range electrostatic panel, with no reinforcement from traditional drivers, […]
WHARFEDALE DIAMOND 12.1i LOUDSPEAKERS REVIEW Debbioe Griffin takes a listen to the latest offering from Wharfedale and their legendary Diamond range of loudspeakers. I was very excited to receive the new Wharfedale Diamond 12.1i for review after having spent many years as a fan of their Evo range and having owned several iterations of Evos […]