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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Small-scale specialty producers have a lot to offer. Their products are frequently more innovative, concentrated, and tailored to the demands of a fast changing market. However, big businesses can perform just as well, if not better, in other areas. Consider the enormous engineering resources available to the large international Yamaha brand, which is responsible for
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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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This was one of the swankiest British turntables at the time, having been released in 1978. The STD 305D was an attempt to bring comfort and ease of use to the high end – without sacrificing the beautiful sonics of the finest British decks – in a sea of Japanese direct drives that worked with
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This monstrous integrated amplifier, which cost £3,499 when it was first released a decade ago, was a Sugden A21a on steroids. The IA-4 set out to provide that crystalline Class A sound to a larger audience, with significantly increased power and additional features. The biggest difference between it and its smaller A21a S2 sibling was
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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
Look no further than this if you’re ever unsure about Naim Audio’s philosophy. The purest elements of the company’s DNA are contained within the NAT 01’s tiny (86x206x300mm) casing. It is devoid of fripperies, stripped down to the bone in terms of practicality, and brazen in its minimalism, and is designed for the maximum fidelity
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Quad was a one-man band in the mid-1960s who could do no wrong. Its recently released ESL-57 electrostatic loudspeaker was revolutionary and widely regarded as one of the best designs in the world. Its Quad II valve power amplifiers were also of high quality, and they had garnered a lot of fans. This made it
In 1986, just as it appeared that vinyl was nearing its end, the SME Series V arrived. The tagline “the best pickup arm in the world” had been used by the Steyning company for a long time, but it had become a bit of a joke. The SME Series III was far from this, and
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According to the original 1985 Nait, a newborn Naim delivered roughly 7W per channel. Small boxes from Salisbury, like the (then) new UnitiQute, pushed out 45W per side by 2010, and included DAB, FM, uPnP streaming, and USB sources, as well as a built-in DAC and analogue inputs. How quickly things have changed! It was
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