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

Wilson Alexx V • NOT AN UPDATE BUT AN ‘ALL-NEW LOUDSPEAKER’ SAYS WILSON

Evo all-in-one • CAMBRIDGE AUDIO SAYS ‘JUST ADD SPEAKERS’

HI-FI NEWS' NUGGETS

THX gets physical • POCKETABLE USB DAC/HEADPHONE AMP

Wireless in wood • PREMIUM EDITION OF NAIM’S MU-SO 2ND GEN. ALL-IN-ONE

Audio Research… in print • HFN CONTRIBUTOR KEN KESSLER’S DEFINITIVE BRAND HISTORY

Blast from the past • COMPACT STUDIO MONITOR MODELLED ON CLASSIC JBL 4349

HI-FI NEWS? JUST ASK…

The show stoppers • Ken Kessler revisits the extraordinary kit that caught his eyes and ears over the years

Under the covers… • Johnny Sharp on the creation of the artwork for Hot Rats, Frank Zappa’s second solo LP

MBL Radialstrahler 101 E MkII • The speaker with no sweet spot arrives on our shores, offering a sound that’s as distinctive as its aesthetics

Classé Audio Delta PRE/MONO • Classé is back with a bang – its third-generation Delta amplification carrying ‘does what it says on the tin’ model designations, and sounding as thrillingly no-nonsense as ever

Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 • The most popular range of MMs on the planet – Ortofon’s 2M series – has just got a new chief. All hail the Black LVB 250, anointed by none other than Beethoven himself

HiFi Rose RS150 • Powered by in-house hardware and software engineering from Korea’s Citech group, the HiFi Rose brand combines slick visuals with the promise of state-of-the-art sound

KEF LS50 Meta • After nearly a decade in production, KEF’s iconic LS50 compact monitor has been comprehensively updated. We compare the original with the latest ‘Meta’ variant

Copland CSA150 • Danish brand Copland beefs-up the power supply to its all-singing, all-dancing CSA100, crowning its range of tube hybrid integrated amplifiers with this heavyweight model

Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M • The latest in a lineage of DACs stretching back some 27 years has a name – ‘DacMagic’ – that’s as memorable as the parent brand itself. Hey presto, here’s the 200M…

Monitor Audio Bronze 200 • This slim floorstander has million-dollar looks but a wallet-friendly price, and aims to sound bigger than it seems

Zubin Mehta Conductor • ‘The fourth man’ on the stage of the biggest classical music concert in history. A 60-year career from Bombay to Rome via Vienna, surveyed by Peter Quantrill

Warren Zevon Stand In The Fire • Steve Sutherland listens to the 1980 live album by the American rock singer/songwriter, now in a deluxe vinyl set with extras, and recalls some of its cadaverous lyrics

The Smiths Meat Is Murder • The ’80s is generally looked back upon as a time of glossy escapist pop, yet by writing songs about topics such as vegetarianism, street violence and despair, Mancunian quartet The Smiths became one of the biggest and best-loved indie bands of the decade

PRODUCTION NOTES

Alternate Format Discography

Third Man • Part record label, studio and direct-to-disc recording facility, the home of Third Man in Nashville also houses a Voice-O-Graph recording booth. Steve Sutherland explains…

AUDIOPHILE: VINYL

AUDIOPHILE: DIGITAL

HI-RES...