Category Archives: DDPR news & musings

DDPR news & musings, Decent Audio, Riva Audio

Hi-Fi Plus & Hi-Fi World review Riva Turbo X Bluetooth speaker

“What musically satisfying yet highly cost effective choices are available to today’s newcomers to the world of high-performance audio?” asks Chris Martens in the March issue of Hi-Fi Plus.

Pondering the question further, Martens reaches the conclusion that “perhaps the best starter system might not be a traditional system at all, but rather a compact, affordable, yet surprisingly capable single-chassis device such as the Riva Turbo X Bluetooth speaker.”

Continue reading Hi-Fi Plus & Hi-Fi World review Riva Turbo X Bluetooth speaker →

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 →