John Browning

As a home hi-fi specialist, John has worked on countless setups over the years, and has accrued a wealth of experience, insights and knowledge on the subject. His experience means that he can not only assist in the assessment of your current system, but will also come up with suggestions to boost your sound quality.

Syrinx PU2 Review

The story begins with the advent of Linn’s Ittok LVII tonearm toward the end of the 1970s. In an analog scene dominated by the SME 3009S2, which existed on practically every turntable motor unit at the time, it put the cat among the pigeons. There was also the Grace G707, which had been Linn’s preferred […]

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Spendor SA1 Review

The original Spendor SA1 loudspeaker was released soon before the BBC LS3/5a in the early 1970s, and many people thought it sounded better than its more popular competitor. The SA1 you see here, on the other hand, is a distant cousin that has evolved much since then. Only the dimensions (305x165x190mm) and the usage of

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Sony TT-S8000 Review

Many abroad audiophiles must have been praying for us in our darkness when it came to the late 1970s British hi-fi scene. Linn’s Sondek LP12 captivated the UK hi-fi press. This deck was (is) unquestionably excellent, however contrary to popular belief, it was not the only ace black vinyl spinner available at the time. In

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Sony TC-177SD Review

For 1974, Sony’s exorbitantly priced TC-177SD was a striking offering. It was dubbed “the most complex cassette deck ever built,” and it had three heads, which Yamaha’s beautiful ‘ski-slope’ TC-800GL lacked. This was originally the exclusive domain of open reel, and allowed for ‘off-tape monitoring,’ which allowed you to hear your recording while it was

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Sony TC-152 Review

The TC-152 is one of the most widely available classic Sony portable tape decks, with TC-152s appearing out of nowhere! That’s because they’re tough tiny things, capable of working over the decades. It didn’t bring anything new to the party when it was released in 1974, other from attractive aesthetics and good ergonomics, which may

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Sony RCD-W3 Review

Sony’s first CD recorder was released in late 1998 in the company’s native market of Japan. It was a surprise at the time, because Sony had previously stated that MiniDisc was a competitor to Philips’ (then) new CD recordable format, and that as a result, no CD-R machines could be expected! It was odd because

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Sony PS-8750 Review

Vinyl was in its harvest years in 1975, a decade after stereo LP became widely used in the United States. Mike Oldfield, Pink Floyd, and Electric Light Orchestra broke sales records with their mega-selling albums and extravagant packaging, while Queen and Wings sold previously unheard-of volumes of 7 singles. Vinyl seemed to have no competition;

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