Hi Fi News

Since its launch in June 1956 - two years before the commercial realisation of stereo - Hi-Fi News & Record Review has been delivering insightful reviews of the key products and technologies that lie behind our shared hobby... the passion of listening to music on the very best equipment available to the enthusiast. Every issue, Hi-Fi News delivers uniquely in-depth reviews of high-end audio equipment, including the best in vinyl replay and iconic vintage gear from the early days of audio. It is essential reading for all music enthusiasts.

Welcome

On deck • TRANSROTOR WEIGHS IN ON UK VINYL SCENE

Compact Chord • ALTO AMP GOES FROM STUDIO TO HOME

HI-FI NEWS’ NUGGETS

Linton upgraded • WHARFEDALE’S RETRO-VOLUTION CONTINUES

Signature cans unveiled • NEW OPEN-BACKED HEADPHONE TAKES GRADO’S TOP SPOT

A&K scales down DAP • SP3000M ADDED TO BRAND’S FLAGSHIP A&ULTIMA SERIES

McIntosh’s double bass • PREMIUM PS1K SUB PACKS PARAMETRIC EQ AND POWER METER

HI-FI NEWS? JUST ASK…

Upcoming Events • INTERNATIONAL DATES FOR YOUR HI-FI DIARY

UK Hi-Fi Show Live #2

The hi-fi news & Record Review Reader Pledge • Hi-Fi News’ readers can take full confidence in the fact that every product featured on our front cover, across the magazine and on our website has been comprehensively examined (inc. photography), lab tested and auditioned at our purpose-built facility

Constellation Revelation 2 • Long anticipated, Constellation’s series two amplifiers witness the transition from huge linear supplies to custom switchmode PSUs. Weight is slashed, and performance boosted

Dynaudio Confidence 60 • The Danish brand’s flagship floorstander mixes upgraded in-house drivers with a sculpted ‘Directivity Control’ baffle

Pro-Ject XA B • The latest addition to Pro-Ject’s X line of turntables features a crystal-clear acrylic plinth and comes equipped with a new 10in alloy tonearm and ‘balanced’ MM cartridge

Soulnote A-2 • Headquartered in Kanagawa, Japan, Soulnote has created a trio of product ranges in just ten years. Its mid-range Series 2 comprises a phono stage, DAC and the A-2 integrated

MoFi SourcePoint 888 • Three 8in drivers bring added foundation and scale to the SourcePoint 8 – say ‘hello’ to the 888 with bass a-plenty

HiFi Rose RD160 • Designed to partner the RS130 network-attached streamer and RD180 integrated amp, the flagship RD160 DAC combines state-of-the-art silicon with a raft of custom DSP

Canton Reference 9 • The only standmount in Canton’s eight-strong Reference series includes the same driver and crossover tech found in its flagship Reference 1 floorstander. A chip off the block?

Quad 33/303 (2024) • Hi-fi’s style icons of the ’60s are reimagined here over a half century later combining a sympathetic industrial design with a performance beyond the reach of its ancestors

Géza Anda Troubadour of the Piano • There’s more to the Hungarian pianist than his famous Bartók and Mozart recordings, says Peter Quantrill, as he explores Anda’s rigorous formation and poetic imagination

Julian Cope Saint Julian • The marriage of Island Records and the prolific songsmith got off to a flying start with this fresh-faced pop/rock classic. Steve Sutherland kicks back with the 180g LP

Black Sabbath Paranoid • Snapping at the heels of the band’s 1970 debut album, the follow-up – released in the same year – continued to lay down the foundations of heavy metal with its molten-iron riffs and dark lyrical content. Just don’t ask about the cover art…

PRODUCTION NOTES

Alternate Format Discography

Highbury Studio • Exclusive Duran Duran demos, UB40’s iconic sessions, the birth of 2-Tone records… Steve Sutherland on a studio...