Category Archives: DDPR news & musings

DDPR news & musings, Gamut, Sound Fowndations

CES 2016 exclusive: world debut of new ‘masterpiece’ Gamut Zodiac loudspeaker

Gamut, internationally renowned Danish manufacturer of state-of-the-art audio components, is delighted to announce the launch of its new cost-no-object masterpiece: the Zodiac loudspeaker.

If you’re already a fan of Gamut’s superlative RS Series (and let’s face it, if you’ve heard them, you will be), then you’re in for one heck of a treat. The new hot-off-the-press Zodiac is a further development of the pride of the RS Series, the huge RS9.
Continue reading CES 2016 exclusive: world debut of new ‘masterpiece’ Gamut Zodiac loudspeaker →

Aesthetix, Clearaudio, DDPR news & musings, Gamut, IsoTek, Sound Fowndations

Aesthetix, Clearaudio, Gamut & IsoTek among new What Hi-Fi? ‘Best Buys’

“This is the definitive guide to the best home entertainment kit you can buy,” writes Kobina Monney, editor of the What Hi-Fi? Buyer’s Guide in the magazine’s February issue.

And the stakes just got  higher: the Guide has recently undergone a major overhaul and now features a considerably streamlined list of ‘Best Buys’.  So who made the cut?
Continue reading Aesthetix, Clearaudio, Gamut & IsoTek among new What Hi-Fi? ‘Best Buys’ →

DDPR news & musings, Exposure Electronics

Three ‘hits’ for Exposure in Hi-Fi Choice Yearbook 2015

The Hi-Fi Choice Yearbook is out and on the news-stands. “Inside this 164-page special edition you’ll find our pick from the ultimate collection of the greatest-sounding audio products to undergo our respected reviewing process in 2015,” writes editor Lee Dunkley.

Among them are three gems from British brand Exposure Electronics.

Continue reading Three ‘hits’ for Exposure in Hi-Fi Choice Yearbook 2015 →

DDPR news & musings, Icon Audio

Icon Audio MB81 wins ‘Best Valve Amp’ in Hi-Fi World Awards 2015

Every year, the Hi-Fi World Awards single out the audio products that have particularly impressed the magazine’s expert review team during the previous 12 months. Among their pick of the most outstanding products of 2015 is Icon Audio’s MB81, which takes the award for ‘Best Valve Amplifer’. Continue reading Icon Audio MB81 wins ‘Best Valve Amp’ in Hi-Fi World Awards 2015 →

DDPR news & musings, Decent Audio, Transfiguration

Transfiguration Proteus phono cartridge scoops Positive Feedback Writers’ Choice Award

Online audio forum Positive Feedback has just announced the winners of its 12th Annual Writers’ Choice Awards, in which the forum’s writers and editors recognize “superior merit in the audio arts”.

Among the ‘best of the best’ in 2015 is the Proteus phono cartridge from Japanese high-end brand Transfiguration.

Continue reading Transfiguration Proteus phono cartridge scoops Positive Feedback Writers’ Choice Award →

DDPR news & musings, Decent Audio, Magnepan, Miyajima, Timestep

Magneplanar 0.7 loudspeaker and Miyajima Madake cartridge in Stereophile Products of the Year 2015

Leading US monthly hi-fi magazine Stereophile has just announced its Products of the Year for 2015.

Among the “seven products that kicked righteous wads of ass and made it worthwhile to be an audiophile” is Magnepan’s Magneplanar 0.7 loudspeaker, which is both a finalist for Loudspeaker of the Year and outright winner of the Budget Component of the Year category, while Miyajima’s top-of-range Madake phono cartridge is a finalist for Analog Component of the Year. Continue reading Magneplanar 0.7 loudspeaker and Miyajima Madake cartridge in Stereophile Products of the Year 2015 →

DDPR news & musings, Miyajima, Timestep

Hi-Fi World gives Miyajima’s Takumi stereo MC cartridge the full five stars

Hi-Fi World reviewer Paul Rigby discovered the joys of Miyajima’s mono cartridges back in 2014, penning rave reviews of the Japanese artisan brand’s Kotetu and Zero models.

But things become rather more competitive when it comes to stereo, as Rigby points out in his recent review of Miyajima’s Takumi stereo cartridge. “Would Miyajima reveal itself to be only a one-trick mono pony,” he wondered.

Hardly! “Outstanding – among the best,” concluded Rigby, awarding the Takumi Hi-Fi World’s full five stars. Continue reading Hi-Fi World gives Miyajima’s Takumi stereo MC cartridge the full five stars →

DDPR news & musings, Exposure Electronics

Exposure Electronics’ top integrated amp scoops AV Tech Media Award

Each year, three of the UK’s leading premium AV magazines – Hi-Fi Choice, Home Cinema Choice and Hi-Fi News & Record Review – put their expert heads together to single out the best available AV products currently on the market.

Collectively, the three publications test and review more hi-fi, TV and home theatre equipment than any other UK organization and the Awards are informed by this pool of experience.

The 2015/16 Awards have just been announced and we’re delighted that Exposure Electronics have won the ‘Best Stereo Integrated Amplifier’ category, with their top-of-range 3010S2-D. Continue reading Exposure Electronics’ top integrated amp scoops AV Tech Media Award →

Clearaudio, DDPR news & musings, Sound Fowndations

Clearaudio Concept scoops a fifth What Hi-Fi? Award

Always a highlight in the consumer tech calendar, the annual What Hi-Fi? Awards showcase the best home entertainment products in the world, spanning a range of prices to suit every budget.

‘Turntable of the year’ is always a hotly contested category and in 2015 the Clearaudio Concept once again scooped the ‘Best turntable’ award in the £800+ price range – making this the Concept’s fifth year as a What Hi-Fi? winner.

Clearaudio Concept MC turntable package
Clearaudio Concept MC turntable package

The Concept’s concept is brilliantly simple: to deliver an elegantly styled turntable package featuring a level of groundbreaking technology usually only found in high-end turntables, combining plug-and-play simplicity with outstanding sound quality and affordability.

“If you feel the need for an outstanding turntable, don’t think twice,” said the What Hi-Fi? review team, describing the Concept as, “a thoroughly sorted, easy-to-own package with tremendous sound.”

Read the full What Hi-Fi? review

Find out more about the Clearaudio Concept