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

Five star • 2024 EDITION OF MAGICO’S S5 FLOORSTANDER GOES BIGGER… AND BETTER?

Building bridges • LUXMAN’S NETWORK-TO-USB GO-BETWEEN

HIFI-NEWS’ NUGGETS

QED Supremus Zr • PREMIUM SIGNATURE SERIES CABLE UNVEILED

Compact speaker reborn • AUDIOVECTOR ‘REIMAGINES’ 1970s-ERA TRAPEZ FLOORSTANDER

AVID forges Dark Iron • ACUTUS TURNTABLE BRINGS MOTOR SYSTEM BACK ONBOARD

NAD’s covering all bases • C 379 INTEGRATED AMP OFFERS BLUOS/DIRAC UPGRADE PATH

HI-FI NEWS? JUST ASK…

Upcoming Events • INTERNATIONAL DATES FOR YOUR HI-FI DIARY

THE UKhi-fi SHOW The Ultimate high-end hi-fi exprience Live • First hosted at the prestigious Ascot Grandstand in 2019, the UK’s dedicated high-end audio show returns in 2024 with the ‘who’s who’ of world-class hi-fi

High End, Munich 2024

Solo sensations • Not all artists strike gold after leaving the limelight of a successful group, but those that do can enjoy glittering new careers. Johnny Sharp unveils his Top 20 solo album smashes

The hi-finews & Record Review Reader Pledge • Hi-Fi News’ readers can take full confidence in the fact that every product featured on our front cover, throughout the magazine and on our website has been comprehensively reviewed (including photography and lab testing) at our facility

EMM Labs PRE/MTRS • Powerful, but trading subtlety and musical sensitivity over brute force, Ed Meitner’s flagship MTRS stereo power amplifier finds its perfect partner in the all-analogue PRE

ED MEITNER

LAB REPORT

SME Model 15 MK2 • SME’s rollout of MK2 models – all benefitting from lessons learnt in the development of its flagship Model 60 turntable – has reached the Model 15, tested here with 309 arm

SYNCHRONICITY

LAB REPORT

SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle • Ohio-based SVS throws all its speaker know-how into a high-value concave cabinet bristling with custom drivers

KEEPING TIME

LAB REPORT

NAD Masters M66 • Styled and with features to match the Masters M23 power amp, NAD’s M66 streaming DAC/preamp takes on all-comers as both a digital and vinyl hub with Dirac onboard

DIRAC LIVE BASS CONTROL

LAB REPORT

Electrocompaniet AW 300 M • As the Norwegian brand’s heavyweight AW 800 M flagship is split in two to reveal the AW 300 M, we ask… are these ‘manageable monoblocks’ truly a chip off the block?

GO LONG, OR GO SHORT?

LAB REPORT

Q Acoustics 5050 • The largest of Q Acoustics’ 5000 series speakers combines inspiration from the Concept 50 with ideas of its own

C-CUBED DRIVERS

LAB REPORT

Pro-Ject Pick it MC9 • Designed to take advantage of Pro-Ject’s ‘balanced’ phono preamps, this flag-waving moving-coil marks a departure from the brand’s Ortofon-derived moving-magnets

BALANCING ACT

LAB REPORT

iFi Audio NEO iDSD 2 • Blow away the fog of acronyms and iFi Audio’s ‘mk2’ NEO iDSD DAC/headphone amp boasts the latest ‘hi-res’ BT 5.4, aptX Lossless, an analogue input and a lot more power

POWER PLAY

LAB REPORT

Puccini Il trittico • A jealous husband, a young nun, a cunning father… late-style lightness of touch is the key...