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Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jul 12, 2016  |  0 comments
Over the years, the BBC has done arguably more that any other broadcaster to push the boundaries of audio performance. Perhaps the best known fruit of its labour comes in the small but perfectly formed cabinet of the LS3/5A studio monitor loudspeaker. Originally produced for outside broadcast vans, it went on to become commercially available and is rightly recognised as something of a classic. Perhaps not so well known, but equally important in the grand scheme of things were BBC sound engineers Lee Taylor and Mallory Nicholls.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jul 11, 2016  |  0 comments
David Bowie fans will delighteed to learn that The Man Who Fell To Earth will be returning to UK cineams in September. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Nicolas Roeg’s iconic movie will be screened in cinemas nationwide in 4K from 9 September. STUDIOCANAL has announced that it is near to completing a new 4k restoration of the cult classic. Meanwhile, The Man Who Fell To Earth will also be released on DVD and Blu-ray on 10 October by STUDIOCANAL as part of the ‘Vintage Classics collection’ – showcasing iconic British films, all fully restored and featuring brand new extra content.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jun 30, 2016  |  0 comments
SDS first introduced the IsoPlatMat and IsoFeet in 2005, but now the business has reached a size where it no longer needs to be supported by Sound Damped Steel Ltd and so it has been re-branded and will now be known as Soundeck. The Soundeck turntable mat (pictured above) is now coated with vinyl so that it doesn¹t need a soft mat to protect the record. Meanwhile, its IsoFeet are now 25 percent thicker and available as rectangles or rounds in stainless or powder coated black finish. A machined damping puck made from SDS stainless steel laminate is also being produced.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jun 29, 2016  |  0 comments
Taking its BE6 earphones as a starting point, Optoma has uneviled its new NuForceBE6iwireless in-ear earphones. Apparently the only Bluetooth in-ear to be fully crafted from aluminium – which is claimed to deliver crystal-clear sound in an elegant lightweight design – the BE6i offers a claimedbattery life of up to 8 hours. Bluetooth comes in the superior aptX form, with a range of 30m claimed by Optoma whileAAC compatibility is also on hand for superior quality audio streaming. Each earphone has a 10mm driver, claimed to eliminate unwanted reverberations for distortion-free sound even at high volume levelsby using a high-grade titanium, magnesium and inert metal to form a thin nano-layer over its surface.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jun 28, 2016  |  0 comments
EVO3 Initium is IsoTek’s new entry-level power cable, designed to take the place off the standard black mains leads that are typically supplied with hi-fi components. Cheaply produced mains cables are widely recognised as suffering from the ill-effects of mains-borne ‘noise’, which takes a number of forms. ‘Differential mode noise’ is exacerbated by the switch-mode power supplies that are common in many devices, from computers to kitchen appliances. ‘Common mode noise’ is ever-increasing due to wireless networking creating airborne interference.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jun 27, 2016  |  0 comments
Introducing Clearaudio's latest addition to its entry-level family of moving-coil cartridges, the Essence MC. Clearaudio has been researching into moving-coil technology since 1978 and the design team found itself facing quite a challenge when tasked with developing a brand new cartridge that would improve on the existing entry-level Concept MC, without breaking a key price point. By taking the essence of the Concept MC design and applying even more stringent parameters to key elements of its construction, the German manufacturer believes it might just have come up trumps. Like the Concept MC, the Essence MC’s body is constructed from a high-density aluminium-magnesium alloy, which is then coated with a ceramic layer to minimise resonance.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jun 24, 2016  |  0 comments
Crosley has introduced its Bermuda Dansette Turntable to the UK, providing an eye-catching solution for vinyl fans wanting a retro-styled record player that looks like a piece of fities furniture. The Bermuda Dansette Turntable can be taken off of the stand for on the go use or can sit in the corner of the room looking pretty. The belt-driven truntable offers 33 and 45rpm playback and has a USB output for digitising vinyl. There's an auxiliary input and built-in dynamic full-range stereo speakers.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jun 23, 2016  |  0 comments
Danish loudspeaker designer Vifa has unveiled its latest product, a portable Bluetooth speaker with a distinctly Scandinavian flavour. Constructed from a single-piece of diecast aluminium (dimensions 181 x 268 x 90mm – wxhxd), the Oslo generates its sound from a pair of 50mm full-range drivers with aluminium cones and neodymium magnets alongside a pair of 65mm woofer drivers with flat sandwich core and neodymium magnets. The woofers are mechanically mounted back to back in a force balanced configuration supported by a brace of passive radiators. There's a 3.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jun 22, 2016  |  0 comments
German hi-fi brand Clearaudio brings linear tracking to more vinyl fanswith its new TT5 Tangential tonearm technology, priced at £1,750. Many vinyl fans will be familiar with the benefits of this kind of tonearm, but for anyone that needs a refresher the arm is designed specifically to mimic the vinyl cutting lathe as closely as possible, maintaining a constant 90° angle to keep the cartridge parallel to the groove from the beginning to the end of a record. Tracking force and azimuth are finely adjustable, but if you want the ability to swing the arm out when loading an LP you’ll need to add the optional swing base at an extra £250. Click here for more info.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jun 21, 2016  |  0 comments
Getting its first official showing at the High End Show in Munich, Cyrus has unveiled its new ONE integrated amplifier. It’s not the first time that the Huntingdon firm has given the ‘1’ model name to an integrated amplifier, and the original Cyrus 1 some 30 years ago provided the footprint for its compact range of components that continue today. The reimagined ONE has a distinctly contemporary aesthetic with two large front panel controls for source selection and volume level control. Internally it offers a claimed 2x 100W maximumpower output and utilises the third generation of the company’s hybrid Class D technology with automatic Speaker Impedance Detection (SID) circuit to instantly measure the speaker impedance connected to its bi-wire-compatible speaker binding posts and to adjust the amplifier to suit.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jun 20, 2016  |  0 comments
Joining the world of multi-room music systems, Ixion is a new company from Norway. The Maestro is the first model to come from the luxury audio brand, and is touted as an all-encompassing music centre with Tidal, Spotify and Apple Music streaming services supported. It’s hand built in Oslo and is 220 x 220 x 220mm (WxHxD), with two 2. 75in front speakers and a 5.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jun 17, 2016  |  0 comments
Formula One motor racing and loudspeaker design might seem worlds apart, but a clear understanding of aerodynamics and the effects of air turbulence and drag is one of the key considerations in the design of PMC's Advanced Transmission Line bass loading, found in its new twenty5 series of loudspeakers. PMC's headof design, Oliver Thomas, has some experience in the motor sport, and has used his knowledge to develop an aerodynamic Advanced Transmission Line (ATL) bass loading Laminair vent that's employed in the five-strong loudspeaker series to reduce resistance and increase efficiency. Additional innovations incorporated throughout the new series include a new long-throw mid/bass driver with woven glass fibre cones, as well as refinements to its established Sonolex fabric dome tweeter to improve dispersion for a wider soundstage, says PMC. As with previous speakers from the company, the new series has slopping front and rear baffles.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jun 15, 2016  |  0 comments
Bluesoundhas announcedBluOS 2. 0, the latest upgrade for its BluOS-enabled wireless hi-res music systems. The release includes a major update to its mobile controller apps for iOS and Android. BluOS Controller, version 2.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jun 15, 2016  |  1 comments
When it comes to choosing how to listen to your favourite music there area number of different options available. You can go with a traditional loudspeaker hooked up to your system via cables, you can go down the wi-fi route with a digital music system, you can stream your sounds to a Bluetooth speaker or you can lose yourself in a world of your own and put on a pair of headphones. This month, the kind folk at KEF offer up a prize for each of these eventualities, meaning that no matter what way you choose to listen, you can be sure of great sound quality. The first prize in our bumper giveaway is the rather gorgeous LS50 standmount loudspeaker.
Hi-Fi Choice  |  Jun 14, 2016  |  0 comments
Prism Sound has launched Callia, a PCM and DSD capable DAC, preamplifier and headphone amp, which the company claims "brings the top sound quality from the professional recording studio into the home environment for the very best in digital music reproduction". A compact unit for use in home audio systems, Callia's high-resolution inputs include USB (UAC2 over USB 2 or later), coaxial RCA phonos (supporting S/PDIF and AES3-id or AES3 with suitable adaptor) and S/PDIF optical-equipped digital devices. For analogue audio outputs, Callia offers both balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA phono connectors. Output volume can be set via the volume control in order to use the Callia as a preamp straight into a power amp, or optionally fixed for use with integrated and pre/power combos.

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