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.

DEC/21

HI-FI NEWS’ EXPERT LINE UP: THE FINEST MINDS IN AUDIO JOURNALISM BRING THEIR EXPERIENCE TO BEAR ON ALL AREAS OF HI-FI & MUSIC

Full Stack • THREE-BOX RELENTLESS PREAMP FROM D’AGOSTINO

Verismo MC • ORTOFON’S POST-ROMANTIC PICK-UP

HI-FI NEWS' NUGGETS

Pocket power • ASTELL&KERN’S A&NORMA SR25 NOW MKII

Floyd/PrimaLuna ‘EVO’ • NEW COLLABORATION SPAWNS A TUBE/MOSFET HYBRID AMP

Solid-state service • MELCO EQUIPS NEW MID-MARKET MUSIC LIBRARY WITH 4TB SSD

MoFi goes for gold • VINYL SPECIALIST LAUNCHES HIGH-END ULTRAGOLD MC

HI-FI NEWS? JUST ASK…

Christmas collection box • It’s that time of year when the box sets flow, so if your loved ones are stuck for ideas on ‘What to buy an audiophile?’, Ken Kessler is on hand to recommend some of the best!

Under the covers… • Johnny Sharp on the creation of the artwork for The Who’s late ’60s album The Who Sell Out

WHO FRAMED WHO?

THE WHO’S COVERS

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 (auditioned, photographed and lab tested) at our facility

darTZeel NHB-18NS/NHB-468 • Look beyond the ostentatious livery and tongue-in-cheek labelling, and darTZeel’s flagships are revealed as sensational amplifiers, with a sound as imperious as it is refined

DARTZEEL DOES PHONO

HERVÉ DELÉTRAZ

LAB REPORT

Paradigm Founder 120H • The flagship of Paradigm’s Founder range has power and precision to delight – and it’s a whole lot of fun, too!

GENESIS OF GOOD SOUND

LAB REPORT

AVM Inspiration CS 2.3 • The latest all-in-one compact Class D streaming system from the German company features an enhanced network audio platform – but that’s only the start of its appeal

SPEAKER SYNERGY

LAB REPORT

BAT VK-80i • Guided by theory and practice from the costly REX-series, traditional output pentodes are usurped by a pair of power triodes in BAT’s fully-balanced tube integrated amplifier

TAP DANCING

LAB REPORT

Electrocompaniet EMC 1 MK V • Remember when a CD player was just, well, a CD player? No DAC input, streaming or other digital goodies. Electrocompaniet does – say ‘hello’ to an old-school disc spinner

CD FROM THE TOP

LAB REPORT

Manley Chinook • Few brands can wrestle the combination of performance and adaptability from tube circuits with the flair of Manley Labs, and those skills are at the fore in the Chinook

TUBES ’N VINYL

LAB REPORT

Ferrum OOR • The Polish brand scored a prestigious EISA award with its first product, the Hypsos power supply – can it build on that success with its all-analogue headphone amplifier?

THE HYPSOS EFFECT

LAB REPORT

AVID Sigsum • Sometimes, only an integrated amplifier will do, even if you’ve £15k burning a hole in your pocket. AVID’s gargantuan Sigsum is here to challenge any bias toward separates

TAKING THE PULSUS

LAB REPORT

Monitor Audio Silver 50 7G • MA’s smallest fistful of...