Earlier this year, Devon-based Timestep launched a new high-mass tonearm specifically designed to excel with high quality, low compliance moving coil phono cartridges. While its design draws on key elements of various legendary vintage Japanese models, the Timestep is in fact a very modern tonearm sporting a raft of smart technology. Roy Gregory gets the measure of its multiple abilities and reports at TheAudioBeat.com.
Category Archives: DDPR news & musings
The new Alexa-enabled Riva Voice Series: Hi-Fi Plus gets an exclusive preview of the next generation of smart speakers
Riva Audio’s new Voice Series was just launched at IFS in Berlin and will come to market soon. Pairing Alexa’s brains and voice control with RIVA’s premium award-winning audio, its aim is “to bring you the next generation of smart speakers”. Following an exclusive preview of the ‘Concert’ model in late beta form, Hi-Fi Plus is excited by the series’ potential.
“Frankly, immense”: Hi-Fi World checks out Timestep’s T-01HS Ebony headshell
“You’re not talking wimpy thin wood here,” says Hi-Fi World of Devon-based Timestep’s T-01HS ebony headshell. Which “gives you confidence,” since “a typical cartridge reacts to the tiniest movements and any micro-flexing in a headshell will react negatively with it.”
Continue reading “Frankly, immense”: Hi-Fi World checks out Timestep’s T-01HS Ebony headshell
Getting reel: the latest reviews and musings from The Reel-to-Reel Rambler
Last month the team here at David Denyer PR launched a new web blog, The Reel-to-Reel Rambler, which we’re delighted to report has been very enthusiastically received by readers and the hi-fi media.
The site has welcomed almost 1,000 visitors from all over the world in its first month. Of course numbers aren’t everything, but it’s an encouraging start. Good to know we’re not alone in our love of all things open reel!
Here’s a quick round-up of The Rambler’s most recent posts…
Continue reading Getting reel: the latest reviews and musings from The Reel-to-Reel Rambler
“10/10”: The Audiophile Man reviews Furutech’s NCF Boosters & NCF Booster-Signals
If you’re still pondering the question of whether, how much, or why hi-fi cables affect the quality of your system’s sound, you’d do well to check out reviewer Paul Rigby’s comprehensive article on the matter over at The Audiophile Man.
Rigby sets out to review Furutech’s new NCF Booster and NCF Booster-Signal, two highly innovative accessories designed to tackle cable noise. Following a chat with Furutech’s engineers, however, Rigby’s review becomes a series of detailed tests and experiments, as he discovers just how great a difference cable noise can make and, more important, how best to address it.
Continue reading “10/10”: The Audiophile Man reviews Furutech’s NCF Boosters & NCF Booster-Signals
What Hi-Fi? vinyl special: Clearaudio Concept & Innovation are two of “15 of the best decks you can buy”
“Budget, staggeringly expensive, ripping or old-school…” – there’s a deck for everyone in the July issue of What Hi-Fi? And two of the fifteen five-star masterpieces listed are from German analogue experts Clearaudio: the £995 ‘Concept MM’ and £17,330 ‘Innovation Wood’.
Continue reading What Hi-Fi? vinyl special: Clearaudio Concept & Innovation are two of “15 of the best decks you can buy”
“Computer Audio Design re-invents the USB cable” – and Hi-Fi Critic is seriously impressed with the sonic results
“Beyond optimising for characteristic impedance, there would seem to be little point in making fancy USB cables… so how can a 1.1m USB cable costing £600 possibly offer any improvement?” wonders Andrew Harrison in the latest issue of Hi-Fi Critic as he makes a start on reviewing Computer Audio Design’s (CAD) USB Cables I & II. Some serious listening and a few hundred words later, Harrison is firmly convinced. “The improvements were clear as day.” Continue reading “Computer Audio Design re-invents the USB cable” – and Hi-Fi Critic is seriously impressed with the sonic results
“Compelling”: Hi-Fi News reviews the Soulines Kubrick DCX turntable with Timestep T-609 tonearm
Take one sculptural-looking turntable from Serbian company Soulines and pair it with a tonearm crafted by Dave Cawley of Soulines’ UK distributor, Timestep – and you get “a very stylish combination,” says Adam Smith in the July issue of Hi-Fi News. But as always the key question is: how does it sound?
David Denyer launches new R2R blog: ‘the reel-to-reel rambler’
I’m delighted to ‘go live’ with a new blog-type website today.
www.thereeltoreelrambler.com is the place where I’ll be sharing my love of all things tape/open reel/R2R.
There’s two parts to the site: first, a beginner’s guide to tape, and second, a series of regular blog posts where I’ll add reviews of music on tape, news, interviews with relevant experts and interesting parties, opinion pieces, practical advice and tips, etc.
I’m not pitching myself as some kind of expert here, more an enthusiastic fan of the form keen to create a ‘hub’ for other folks in a similar boat. The intended audience is those who are relatively new to the world of tape – typically music lovers and audiophiles who are eager to listen to superb quality recordings, rather than those in the pro field (that said, professionals are of course very welcome indeed!).
If tape’s your thing, please do dive in…
I’d very much welcome thoughts and suggestions along the way. There’s a contact form on the blog and also links to my Facebook and Twitter pages where you can pop over for a chat or post a comment or two.
And if you’re in the tape business, or are a serious enthusiast, or even a keen beginner and would like to contribute some thoughts, drop me a line and we can talk about a guest blog/article/opinion piece/interview/snippet – I’m open to ideas!
Here’s that URL again: www.thereeltoreelrambler.com
Look forward to seeing you there!
PS. I’ll be moving over the archive of R2R-related news and musings from here on the DDPR website over to the reel-to-reel rambler, so if you’re looking for something open reel-related that was previously here, you’ll now find it over there!
“A seriously special speaker”: Hi-Fi News spends some quality time with Raidho’s D-2.1 floorstander
While most loudspeaker designers favour the classic dome tweeter, the world-renowned Danish brand Raidho was pretty much founded on its famous pseudo-ribbon tweeter. The performance of this new invention was spectacular but initially posed a challenge: it was too far ahead of the game and so responsive and dynamic that integration with conventional dynamic midrange and mass drivers proved tricky. So Raidho re-invented those too. In the brand’s D series, the re-invention takes a further leap forward with the addition of pure diamond. Continue reading “A seriously special speaker”: Hi-Fi News spends some quality time with Raidho’s D-2.1 floorstander
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