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
Famous five • Ruark upgrades its R5 system
Direct action • Technics introduces new direct-drive turntables
One hundred and eighty!
Ear ye! Ear ye!
Blast off!
California love • JBL’s new ‘compact’ bookshelf speaker
Tempo-tation
Bang on!
RECORD STORE DAY 2021 - 2ND DROP! • As promised in last month’s issue, here’s HFC’s pick of the second Record Store Day drop, which will go on sale in independent record stores worldwide on 17 July. For participating stores, drop times and the full list of releases, check out recordstoreday.co.uk
Cat that got the stream • With a design that rivals would be smart to emulate, this South Korean network-attached music player is about to land on UK shores. Will it have a trick or two to teach its rivals?
APPY AND YOU KNOW IT
HOW IT COMPARES
Unique group tests • Our Group Tests are supported by rigorous and exhaustive listening tests carried out by experts
Premium spinners • The vinyl revival has spawned a new wave of expensive turntable packages, but how do they stack up? David Price investigates
Acoustic Solid Wood MPX £3,500 • German engineering meets stunning design to provide a lot of turntable for the money, but how will it fare?
Linn Majik LP12/Krane £3,500 • With its origins set firmly in the Seventies, can this elder statesman still mix it with the young upstarts?
Luxman PD-151 £4,500 • Another blast from the past, can this Japanese master replicate the success it enjoyed in its Seventies heyday?
Origin Live Calypso Multilayer/Silver £3,660 • This might be one of the high-end specialist’s more affordable off erings, but it still has plenty going for it
Rega Planar 10 £3,600 • Another old-hand that’s been in the biz since the Seventies, this flagship spinner has much to off er
Technics SL-1200G £3,500 • Updated tonearm, plinth motor and electronics barely scratch the surface of what’s on off er here
Group test verdict • Having spent days in turntable heaven, David Price ranks these six top vinyl spinners. The high quality is enough to put him in a spin…
Testing times • Finally released from the strict confines of the HFC test room, David Price discusses matters arising from this month’s roundup
I am the resurrection • With a foot in both the professional and consumer world, a legend of old emerges to reveal a timely refresh
HOW IT COMPARES
Think inside the box • All-in-one systems might be an old idea, but today’s cutting edge is breathing new life into the concept, as David Vivian discovers
HOW IT COMPARES
DAC to black • As THX enters the hardware market with its debut DAC, Cliff Joseph checks it out
Tiny dancer • The Lumina I is both the smallest and most affordable Sonus faber speaker available. Ed Selley sees how it measures up
HOW IT COMPARES
Variety pack • Even by the standards of the genre, the N25 is a very well-featured network audio player indeed. Ed Selley gets to grips with it
HOW IT COMPARES
All change? • The IE 900 could represent the end of an era. Ed Selley finds out if it’s a fitting finale
Game changed • Edwards Audio has replaced its entry-level turntable, but it’s no mild makeover. This one’s special says David Vivian
HOW IT COMPARES
Taste buds • Cliff Joseph applauds the budget...