“Try before you buy” is the wise advice from Hi-Fi Choice when it comes to choosing from the “astonishing array” of hi-fi upgrades and accessories now available to the ardent audiophile. In the July issue, the magazine recommends six of the best add-ons “to take the performance of your system to the next level”.
Category Archives: DDPR news & musings
“Outstanding” van den Hul DDT II Special MC cartridge wins Hi-Fi Choice group test
In the latest group test by Hi-Fi Choice, six sub-£1,000 moving coil cartridges battle it out to discover which is “the king of spin.” Just nudging in at £999, van den Hul’s most affordable model, the DDT II Special, takes the prize.
Continue reading “Outstanding” van den Hul DDT II Special MC cartridge wins Hi-Fi Choice group test
“Surely one of the finest pick-up cartridges around”: Hi-Fi News is struck by van den Hul’s new Crimson XGW Stradivarius
“Sometimes its difficult to enthuse about pick-up cartridges thanks to their workmanlike, matter-of-fact sound,” writes Nick Tate in the July issue of Hi-Fi News. But Tate has no trouble enthusing here. “Within seconds of its stylus hitting the groove, the Crimson XGW Stradivarius sings like a canary…. Suddenly you’re marvelling at the almost supernatural tightness of the syncopation between bass guitar and drum kit, and the soaring lyricism of the lead guitar.”
“Little wonder”: Hi-Fi Choice recommends Exposure’s compact and very bijou XM5 integrated amp
“Don’t be fooled by its petite exterior,” writes David Price in the magazine’s June issue, “this new integrated may be small in stature but it’s certainly not in sound.”
Continue reading “Little wonder”: Hi-Fi Choice recommends Exposure’s compact and very bijou XM5 integrated amp
“In the groove”: Clearaudio Concept among Sunday Times ‘three of the best turntables’
“Whether driven by craft-beard sporting Millennials or nostalgic baby boomers, the vinyl resurgence shows no sign of slowing,” notes the ‘Tech’ section of yesterday’s Sunday Times.
In view of which, Matt Bingham selects three of the best turntables upon which to spin your discs. Among the three is Clearaudio’s multi award-winning ‘plug and play’ Concept turntable package.
“Beyond ‘seamless’… I was captivated”: Positive Feedback reviews a complete Gamut system
“Sometimes you write reviews. Sometimes you write raves. And sometimes you write love songs,” says David W Robinson, Editor-in-Chief of online audio magazine Positive Feedback. Robinson’s recent review of a full system from Gamut Audio, while certainly not overly sentimental, could almost be a ballad. What inspired him to such devotion?
“The highest possible recommendation”: Roy Gregory is thoroughly convinced by Computer Audio Design’s Ground Controls in a recent Hi-Fi Plus blog
“For years, one of the best-kept secrets in hi-fi has been that the single most cost-effective upgrade you can make to any system (regardless of price or ambition) is to provide it with a dedicated AC supply equipped with a parallel, clean ground,” writes Gregory. “That might seem like a bold statement,” he acknowledges, “but consider the issues for a moment and the logic is unassailable.” Indeed it is, when we consider that the AC supply is basically the raw material from which our systems are striving to recreate the musical performance, while at the same time providing the sink down which all unwanted electrical noise is supposed to drain. “Which leads us directly to the crucial question of noise floor….”
Continue reading “The highest possible recommendation”: Roy Gregory is thoroughly convinced by Computer Audio Design’s Ground Controls in a recent Hi-Fi Plus blog
“Another triumph”: Ken Kessler is enchanted by DS Audio’s new ‘baby’ DS 002 optical cartridge in his June Hi-Fi News review
“DS Audio enjoyed instant impact since its birth five years ago for having the sheer guts to release a new (or forgotten) cartridge technology in the post-vinyl era,” writes Ken Kessler in the June issue of Hi-Fi News. Having been charmed by the company’s original DS-W1 model, what will Kessler make of the new entry-level ‘baby’ DS 002?
“Punches way above its price point”: Hi-Fi News reviews Clearaudio’s Performance DC deck with TT5 tangential tonearm
Clearaudio’s Performance turntable “has evolved almost beyond recognition over the last decade,” notes Nick Tate in the June issue of Hi-Fi News. “Will the new linear tracking TT5 arm propel it further?”
“The last word in vinyl care”: Ken Kessler reviews Clearaudio’s Double Matrix Professional Sonic record cleaning machine for The Telegraph
Vinyl might be enjoying an apparently unstoppable resurgence right now, but do we know what we’re doing with it?
“As I looked around a local shop on Record Store Day last month, it occurred to me that an entire generation (or three) has no idea how to handle vinyl LPs,” writes Ken Kessler in The Telegraph. “Lulled into a false sense of security by CDs, and later by downloads, they have no idea that a music storage format can be perishable.”
So how does one keep on top of all the dirt, dust, chemical residues and oil from fingerprints that threaten to dull the quality of, and shorten the life of, our beloved vinyl records? Continue reading “The last word in vinyl care”: Ken Kessler reviews Clearaudio’s Double Matrix Professional Sonic record cleaning machine for The Telegraph