When Chord Electronics’ first Hugo portable DAC/headphone amplifier debuted at CES in January 2014, the world knew it was something unique – so excellent, in fact, that many people bought it to use as their primary digital converter rather than as a travel companion. That’s not to imply it was flawless; eager early users quickly […]
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After what seems like decades of waiting, Audio-Technica released a new cartridge line in 2017, with bodies in the 500, 600, and 700 Series and seven different styli kinds, including special line contact, Shibata, MicroLine, elliptical, and conical varieties. The playback of stereo, mono, and even 78 rpm shellac recordings is optimized in all versions.
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This would have been great if NAD had built a tube amplifier. It shared a lot of DNA with the ubiquitous 3020, having been designed by Peter Bath (who worked for Dolby, AR, and even NAD), and built by IEEE in Taipei (who used to build Cambridge Audio, Luxman, Proton, and NAD devices). While the
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The metal-cased Brennan hard disk music server, which was released in 2008, included a hard drive, slot-loading CD player, and 60W per channel amplifier that was designed to work with the optional BSB50 loudspeakers (£59), although it could also be used as a hi-fi source component. The 320GB hard disk was large at the time,
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This is for you if you’re an audiophile who’s tired of all those bothersome cables, or a regular person who’s put off by the notion of them in the first place. It’s essentially a high-quality digital-to-analogue converter that also functions as a UPnP music server and an AirPlay receiver. As a result, it’s a surprisingly
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Bowers & Wilkins has established itself as one of the most innovative loudspeaker manufacturers in the United Kingdom since its founding in 1966. It quickly became known for technologically fascinating products that pushed the boundaries of design. With the introduction of the DM70 in 1970, this became clear. It contained two cabinets per speaker, one
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Creek has long been the king of low-cost British integrated amplifiers. The CAS4040, for example, is a delightful listen and one of the nicest things any wannabe audiophile could afford back in the day. It featured a rich, gripping sound that was detailed and melodic, and it delivered a lot of bang for your buck.
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Hugo is a new portable DAC by Chord Electronics, which was unveiled four years ago. Because there were – and still are – so many of these products on the market, from Cambridge Audio to Oppo, it didn’t immediately catch the attention of many audiophiles. However, Chord has previously built some excellent household hi-fi systems,
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The £400 Q-DAC was released in 2013 to capitalize on the success of the award-winning M-DAC from a year or two before. It’s essentially a ‘low calorie’ M-DAC, with a lot of the same wonderful things under the hood but at a lower price point to appeal to a more budget-conscious clientele. Let us not
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The new Audio Technica AT-OC9X is the fourth iteration of this venerable moving coil in 32 years. Bonded Elliptical (AT-OC9XEB, £210), Nude Elliptical (AT-OC9XEN, £300), Microlinear (AT-OC9XML, £480), Shibata (AT-OC9XSH, £570), and Special Line Contact (AT-OC9XSL, £660) are among the stylus options. “When the first AT-OC9 series was introduced in 1987, it was an innovative
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