Computer Audio Design (CAD)’s system grounding unit – the Ground Control – clearly shows how fundamental your grounding arrangements can be to hearing what your system is truly capable of. Stereophile’s Michael Fremer and Jim Austin discover this for themselves, as the magazine releases its 2020 Product of the Year Awards. Continue reading “Couldn’t live without them”: US magazine Stereophile recognises Computer Audio Design’s Ground Control with a 2020 Product of the Year Award
Category Archives: DDPR news & musings
“Special qualities”: Hi-Fi Plus gets up close and personal with Raidho’s compact TD1.2 loudspeaker
“Listen and you might discover hidden musical gems in the most unlikely places; listen and you might just discover the heights a great guitarist can reach in terms of musical expression,” says Roy Gregory in the October issue of Hi-Fi Plus. “Raidho’s latest two-way is the most evenly balanced small speaker they’ve yet produced.”
“Amazing value”: Hi-Fi Choice recommends Topping Audio’s D10S USB DAC
At just £85, can Topping Audio’s “very compact” DAC deliver the sonic goods? Absolutely, says Hi-Fi Choice – and with added flexibility to boot.
Continue reading “Amazing value”: Hi-Fi Choice recommends Topping Audio’s D10S USB DAC
Can sonic bliss really be this effortless? US-based web magazine PartTimeAudiophile.com spends quality time with Furutech’s NCF Clear Line Power Supply Optimizer
Editor-in-Chief Marc Phillips has a plastic storage bin that’s filled with all the audio tweaks he’s tried and rejected over the years. “You know what’s not in that box? Anything from Furutech. Especially the Furutech NCF products, which I’ve been using happily for the last few years.” But is the new The NCF Clear Line “just too easy, too simple? Can sonic bliss really be this effortless?”
“Streets ahead”: Hi-Fi World is riveted by Magnepan’s small and perfectly priced LRS loudspeaker
“What a proposition!” says Hi-Fi World editor Noel Keywood. “A small panel, magnetic planar loudspeaker for under £1,000. Totally different to all else at this price and quite radical in its sound… in many areas [it’s] streets ahead of conventional box loudspeakers.” Continue reading “Streets ahead”: Hi-Fi World is riveted by Magnepan’s small and perfectly priced LRS loudspeaker
“You know you want them”: What Hi-Fi reviews Ayre Acoustics KX-R Twenty & VX-R Twenty pre/power amps
Question: “What is the best amplifier in the world?” Answer: “This Ayre pre/power pairing is in with a strong shout,” said What Hi-Fi in its ‘best of the best’ feature in issue 436 of the magazine. Find out more in issue 437, where the team expands with a comprehensive – and rather exceptional – review.
“Maggie May”: Hi-Fi Choice urges you to check out Magnepan’s new entry level LRS loudspeaker
“Maybe you’ve heard them at a hi-fi show and were blown away by the speed, purity and coherence,” writes Chris Ward of Magnepan’s towering flat-panel loudspeakers. “Then there’ s that awful dawning realization that you would have to buy a new house first…”. Fortunately Magnepan now has something that’s perfect for the more compact and bijou listening room – and the more modest budget. Continue reading “Maggie May”: Hi-Fi Choice urges you to check out Magnepan’s new entry level LRS loudspeaker
We need to talk about room acoustics II
Back in May I wrote a blog post about room acoustics (cannily called ‘We need to talk about room acoustics‘). Long story short, the folks at GIK Acoustics had (some months prior) very kindly loaned me a bunch of acoustic panels to use in my Reel-to-Reel Rambler demo room at Hi-Fi Show Live. I was so impressed by them that, before returning them, I took them to my home listening / living room and had a bit of a play. The effect was so dramatic that I immediately realised I could never now live without them. However, the panels I had borrowed were very far from liveable with in my much more compact space, having been designed for a considerably larger one, and so I set out on a quest to find the perfect balance between sonic nirvana and home-friendliness.
Read all about phase II of the challenge, involving lots of shuffling and fine-tuning of a range of bass traps, on my Reel-to-Reel Rambler blog at: In pursuit of sonic nirvana: the GIK Acoustics experiment continues
“Another class act”: Hi-Fi News reviews Ayre’s AX-5 Twenty integrated amp
US hi-fi brand Ayre Acoustics celebrated its 20th anniversary with a reworked version of a fully balanced integrated amplifier “that sent the preamp stage packing,” says David Price in the latest issue of Hi-Fi News. Continue reading “Another class act”: Hi-Fi News reviews Ayre’s AX-5 Twenty integrated amp
“Blown away”: StereoNet reviews Magnepan’s ‘budget’ LRS loudspeaker
“Real budget esoterica is few and far between,” says audiophile, gifted violinist and hi-fi reviewer Rafael Todes. And US brand Magnepan’s quasi-ribbon LRS (‘Little Ribbon Speaker’) loudspeaker “properly fits the bill”. Continue reading “Blown away”: StereoNet reviews Magnepan’s ‘budget’ LRS loudspeaker
