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 NP30 network music player was released in 2011 and was an inexpensive yet competent network music player. It supports 24-bit WAV and FLAC files (as well as normal 16-bit), but not Apple Lossless. MP3, AAC, WMA, and OGG Vorbis are also supported. It has direct access to music streaming services such as Rhapsody
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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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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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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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Despite costing only a few hundred pounds more than its predecessor, the 2019 8300CDQ was sleeker and more complex in terms of build, finish, and functionality – plus it had MQA, which Audiolab thought was a useful new feature. This should help the player remain future-proof, but DSD playback, which is finally gaining traction among
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While inexpensive DACs are a dime a dozen, excellent Compact Disc transporters are hard to come by. Given that there are billions of CDs in circulation, you’d assume there would be a demand for new silver disc spinners, even though new music sales are down in this format. The Audiolab 6000CDT is a £379 integrated
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This Japanese cartridge expert isn’t exactly prolific, to put it that way. Since 1962, Audio-Technica has manufactured its own phono cartridges, but it has launched much fewer types than European competitors like as Ortofon. Despite its age, the popularity of its evergreen – forgive the pun – entry-level AT-95E moving magnet, which is now in
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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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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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