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

THE UK hi-fi SHOW The ultimate high-end hi-fi experience Live • Last hosted at the prestigious Ascot Grandstand in 2019, the UK’s dedicated high-end audio show returns in 2023 with the ‘who’s who’ of world-class hi-fi

From stage to stereo • Gabriel Mervine to Motörhead, Paco de Lucía to The Who… Ken Kessler brings you a score of sonic spectaculars as he sorts through the live albums coming your way soon

Krell Illusion II/KSA-i400 • Developed to celebrate Krell’s 40th anniversary, the KSA-i400 combines all the brand’s proprietary circuit ideas in one very powerful amplifier. We partner it with the Illusion II

CLASS A ALL THE WAY?

DAVE GOODMAN

LAB REPORT

DS Audio Grand Master EX • How to upgrade the ‘ultimate’ optical pick-up? By fitting the Grand Master with a single-piece diamond cantilever and stylus. We take the GM Extreme for a drive…

FULL DIAMOND

TETSUAKI AOYAGI

LAB REPORT

MartinLogan Motion B10 • The baby of MartinLogan’s Motion range features a compact version of the brand’s second-generation ‘Folded Motion Tweeter’ – this little box is full of big surprises!

THE ACCORDIAN TWEETER

LAB REPORT

Hegel H600 • Built into an enhanced H590 chassis but featuring ‘sound tuning’ from the P30A/H30A pre/power, Hegel’s fully-networked flagship integrated gets off to a flying start

VIKING POWER

LAB REPORT

HiFi Rose RS130 • Korea’s HiFi Rose has moved upmarket with its first DAC-less, transport-only network player – the result is an impressive combination of purity and innovative technology

COMING UP ROSES

LAB REPORT

Castle Windsor Duke • No citadel in the sky, these latest Castle speakers are firmly grounded in great sound courtesy of the FinkTeam

BUILT IN BRITAIN

LAB REPORT

Emotiva BasX TA2 • Based on the slimmer, lookalike TA1, the TA2 features twice as many output transistors, a far beefier PSU and three times the output… All this, a DAC/preamp and FM radio too

SUBWOOFER SOLUTION

LAB REPORT

EISA 2023-24 HI-FI PRODUCTS OF THE YEAR • The best sound, most advanced technology and desirable features, the ultimate expression of design and, of course, the greatest value for money. Every year the EISA Awards applaud those products that stand above the rest. Read on…

Handel Theodora • Oratorio, opera, or both? Peter Quantrill looks at Handel’s Christian tragedy, and the stagings and recordings that have given it long overdue recognition as his masterpiece

Fairport Convention Liege & Lief • This landmark album rewrote the folk rulebook, but that didn’t stop the band splintering before it was released. Steve Sutherland hears the recent reissue on 180g vinyl

John Martyn One World • A spot of R&R in Jamaica, followed by a lakeside recording set-up back in Blighty, was all it took for a disillusioned John Martyn to recapture his music mojo. The resulting album, released in 1977, mixed folk, electronica and the sound of geese…

PRODUCTION NOTES

Alternate Format Discography

Maida Vale Studios • From skating palace to orchestra HQ and home to The Beatles and Dr Who theme too. Steve Sutherland on the facility that played a unique...