Hi-Fi Choice

Hi-Fi Choice is the essential guide to audio excellence in the home. It is a no-nonsense guide to the finest products available, from vinyl and valves, to multi-channel digital audio and high-fidelity video. Hi-Fi Choice sorts the best from the rest with rigorous test processes and a highly experienced team of reviewers.

Welcome • Issue No. 508 December 2023

Danish tones • Spectacular floorstander from Denmark

Team player • New UK network streamer

Armed and generous • Tons of new tonearms from Pro-Ject

After eights • Stylish new speaker from Denmark

Accent all areas • New wireless over-ear cans

Savvy spinner • New flagship turntable

Make the link • New wireless speaker and buds from Sony

DAC’ll do nicely! • New addition to Danish Ampster range

Play for today • New affordable Swiss turntable

Fit for purpose • Comprehensive DAC upgrade from iFi

Premier player • Introducing Rega’s new top-tier vinyl spinner

Next year’s model • New music system for 2024

Neat and tidy • New floorstanding addition to the Classic range

TUNE INTO THE DROP • Our favouite picks of the last Record Store Day drop of 2023

Unique group tests • Our Group Tests are supported by rigorous and exhaustive listening tests carried out by experts

A very British affair • The LS3/5a has a huge fan base, but is it based in reality or nostalgia? This month’s roundup stress tests the BBC legend with five alternatives. David Vivian referees

Falcon Acoustics LS3/5a Gold Badge £2,475 • This isn’t just another modern LS3/5a-alike, it’s exactly as Auntie Beeb intended all those years ago

Graham Audio Chartwell LS3 £1,000 • A big noise in classic BBC speaker circles, but the LS3 works the seminal ideas into a cost-effective solution

KEF LS50 Meta £1,200 • A relation of the LS3/5a and the standmount to beat at its price, the LS50 Meta is the cutting edge option

ProAc Tablette 10 Signature £1,905 • The latest take on ProAc’s long-running mini monitor closely mirrors the LS3/5a and is nearly as old

Rega Kyte £400 • Rega’s bargain interloper isn’t an obvious LS3/5a virtue clone, but it is refreshingly innovative and a potent foil

Spendor Classic 4/5 £1,900 • Another name synonymous with the LS3/5a, this take is a respectful merging of old ideas and fresh hardware

Group test verdict • After a week of intensive scrutiny and cross-referencing, David Vivian is ready to summarise, reveal the rankings and name the winner

Vocal prowess • Famed for its Vox Olympian model, Living Voice’s new R80 is built to give you a taste of the pleasures provided by the flagship

IN SIGHT

Beat(s) it • Never mind the AirPods, the best Apple headphone now comes from Beats reckons Cliff Joseph

Pyxi thrust • Neville Roberts exclusively gets his hands on a phono stage that’s been causing quite a stir across the pond in the USA

X appeal • ELAC’s take on the powered speaker segment may be small, but Ed Selley reckons it’s packed with the right stuff

Accentuate the positive • AVID’s ambitious electronics have trickled down to more terrestrial levels and Ed Selley thinks the Accent is worth your consideration

Tour de force • As it performed so well in a recent Group Test, Ed Selley reckons the JBL deserves a solo run out and concludes it’s a bit of alright

Three’s company • Nick Tate remembers what was once arguably the finest cassette deck ever made, Sony’s TC-177SD

Compact Cassette through the ages

Hi-fi choices • YOUR LETTERS & QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Well-connected • Once considered an unimportant part...