News

Sitting comfortably? Good, then we’ll begin… How do you like to listen to your music? Laid flat out on a sofa, perched attentively on an office chair or dancing around the room lost in the music? Have you ever considered investing in a proper dedicated listening chair? Danish manufacturer Gamut Audio has become the first to produce a chair that’s designed specifically for listening to your hi-fi. The chair has been designed to control the sound reflections that reach the ears, allowing the listener to hear a more precise and natural soundstage – at least, that’s the claim. Specifically, it shields the ear from reflections emanating from behind the listening position, while at the same time preventing the sound from reflecting on the forward-facing areas of the headrest that flank the listener’s head. The Lobster Chair – so called because of its distinctive shape – is the creation of iconic Danish designers Lund and Paarmann and is manufactured by high-end furniture makers Kvist Industries.

Forget vinyl, the biggest-growing format currently in the UK is eight-track tape, according to the latest figures. Data announced this morning has revealed that the long-forgotten analogue format has overtaken streaming, hi-res music downloads and vinyl to become the format of choice among hipsters and the young. Manager of Harry's Hi-Fi, Avril Foal, exclusively told HFC: "The kids just adore its analogue sound. They love the simplicity that the format offers and they can't get enough of those cartidges and the ability to switch between tracks.

ATC describes its new SCM19 Active Tower speaker system as delivering "the company’s reference-quality audio from an elegantly curved floor-standing design". Measuring 370mm wide and 980mm in height, it will no doubt be familiar to seasoned fans of the company's speakers as it is acoustically identical to the two-way SCM19 (tested in HFC 390). The 25mm tweeter employs a unique dual-suspension system, which has been designed to suppress rocking modes even at high power output levels. The configuration of a short edge-wound voice coil in a long, narrow magnetic gap is claimed to deleiver exceptionally low distortion throughout the operating band and removes the need for ferrofluids.

PMC introduced the Bryston Cubed power amplifier series to visitors of this year’s Bristol Show, debuting the 300W 4B3 – which is also bridgeable to create a 900W mono amplifier – and the 600W mono 7B3. Described by PMC as a statement design platform idealfor music enthusiasts, the stylish amplifiers are also being aimedat home cinema installation and professional audio applications. The series is claimed to feature robust RF and audio frequency noise filtering circuitry positioned before the power supplies to prevent unwanted interference from affecting the audio signal. The amps cost £5,299 and £5,449 respectively and are available to buy now.

We're seeing a growing number of brands introducing new or revised entry-level speaker lines, proving that there's growing interest in the sector attracting new audiences looking to take the first steps along the hi-fi path. It's a healthy state of affairs, and the plentiful choice of models on offer ensures there's lots of competition, meaning better-quality products and lower prices for everyone. Dynaudio is the latest loudspeaker maker to join this increasingly popular sector with the introduction of its Emit entry-level series. The new range officially launched at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show back in Februarywith the four-strong range promising high-level performance at affordable prices, according to the Danish manufacturer.

If you weren’t aware of the vinyl revolution that’s been going on over the last 18 months or so, you probably shouldn’t be reading these pages. But HFC is anything but exclusive, so for those that haven’t been paying attention or weren’t aware, we’ll go over the details just one more time. Vinyl is back and it’s more popular than its been for a very long time. The result is that everyone from youngsters wanting to experience music on something other than their phones to those that put their record collections in the loft 20 years ago are realising the real power of the black stuff.