LATEST ADDITIONS

Following in the footsteps of high-end tonearms like the Nima, Tabriz and Artemiz, Roksan's latest tonearm the Pug is based around a large, yet light and rigid 22mm diameter carbon fibre arm tube, combined with black chromed anodised aluminium. Users can choose between two adjustable counterweights (depending on the weight and tracking force of the cartridge) to get the perfect balance, while the anti-skate mechanism is the familiar ‘weight and thread’ option. The internal wiring is from Cardas, and Roksan tells us that it was chosen specifically for its speed maintenance and ability to retrieve micro-details. The manufacturer describes the Pug’s sonic performance as being fast and airy with a highly refined level of detail.

Quad has unveiled details of its latest speaker range, the S Series. Consisting of five new models (two floorstanders, two standmounts and a centre for home cinema use), the S Series features advanced Kevlar-coned mid/bass drivers and a specially designed ribbon tweeter to supply what Quad describes as “effortless sonic expression to capture all the nuances and passion of the original performance”. The £600 S-1 is a two-way standmount with the new12 x 45mm True Ribbon tweeter, 100mm woven Kevlar midrange and a reflex port. It claims sensitivity of 84dB.

Dynaudio has announced details of its new Contour LE series, consisting of the S 1. 4 LE bookshelf loudspeaker (pictured above) and the S 3. 4LE floorstander. The rigid cabinet design features what Dynaudio describes as a “unique baffle” made up of three layers – including a layer of damping material and a thick metal plate.

Big news has reached us from Roksan concerning the latest addition to its K3 Series – the CD Di, which is acombination of CompactDisc player and digital-to-analogue converter that expands the range to a greater choice of input sources, the manufacturer tells us. We loved Roksan's first set of K3 components, launched earlier this year, when we partnered the CD player with matching integrated amplifier and the combo received a well-earned Editor's Choice back in the April issue (HFC 396). Roksan continues: "The idea behind the CD Di is to provide audio enthusiasts with a high-quality digital source that will not only play an existing CD library to the expected audiophile standard, but willalso host an array of other digital sources as one audiophile 'hub'. By incorporating both CD player and DAC into one box, users can save space by avoiding the need for extra boxes and achieve consistent audio performance across digital platforms.