Category Archives: Sound Fowndations

Gamut amplifier and DS Audio phono cartridge scoop The Absolute Sound’s Golden Ear Awards 2017

The September issue of US-based audio magazine The Absolute Sound is out now, revealing winners of the Golden Ear Awards for 2017. Published annually, the Awards give The Absolute Sound’s staff and freelance writers the opportunity to choose those components that are “truly great” and “that stand out from the competition”.

Among the worthy winners in 2017 are Gamut Audio’s M250i mono power amp and DS Audio’s DS 002 optical phono cartridge.
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Beyond the ordinary: Clearaudio Ovation turntable in Red Bull’s The Red Bulletin

Red Bull’s monthly magazine The Red Bulletin features out-of-the-ordinary stories from “the world of Red Bull and its playgrounds” spanning sports, culture and lifestyle.

In home entertainment, the September 2017 issue includes an Inner Space photo shoot featuring “the best tech for kicking back in your pad.” For the audiophile, The Red Bulletin’s exclusive selection includes Clearaudio’s Ovation turntable with its timeless minimalist design.
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The Concept and the Essence: two sub-£1,000 Clearaudio MC cartridges are put to the test in Hi-Fi Choice and Hi-Fi News

Clearaudio’s Concept MC and Essence MC are the most affordable entry points to the brand’s range of moving coil cartridges, priced at £650 and £960 respectively. The former was recently pitted against five higher-priced rivals in a Hi-Fi Choice group text, while the latter was reviewed by Adam Smith for Hi-Fi News. How did the pair fare?

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Furutech’s new destat III effectively eliminates dust and static from analogue & digital media & components

PRESS RELEASE

Japanese cable and accessories experts Furutech continue their assault on the various unwanted ‘intruders’ that can get in the way of peak hi-fi performance. The new destat III effortlessly eliminates dust and static from analogue and digital media, from audio and video components and, well, from pretty much anything….

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“A fantastic solution”: Furutech’s SK-Filter among Hi-Fi Choice’s pick of six accessories for fine-tuning your sound

“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”.

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“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.

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“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?

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“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?

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“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?”

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Hi-Fi Choice Recommended: Clearaudio’s new TT5 entry-level tangential tracking tonearm

When buying consumer goods from clothes to cars, “rarely do you find the right tool for the job and when you do, you pay for it dearly,” says David Price in the May issue of Hi-Fi Choice. The world of hi-fi is no exception, with one “glaringly obvious issue” being the disparity between the way a vinyl record is pressed and the manner in which it’s played back. “Conventional arms let the stylus be dragged radially across the record as it follows the groove, but why not do it the same way as the original disc was cut?”

Enter the tangential (or parallel) tracking tonearm. Clearaudio have been making them for several decades, but they don’t tend to come cheap. So what will Price make of their latest model, the new entry-level TT5?
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