“Why is there so much separation between the professional audio and audiophile worlds? Is that separation by design, or even necessity?” asks Julie Mullins in US hi-fi magazine Stereophile. Mullins is putting the question to David Denyer and Cameron Jenkins, who are challenging that separation. Jenkins is an award-winning recording engineer and record label owner who has worked with Lana Del Rey, the Verve, John Cale and many others; he recently launched Stranger High Fidelity, a bespoke high-end audio retail service that operates from his UK pro recording studios.
Furutech’s new LAN-8 NCF high-end audio Ethernet cable
PRESS RELEASE: Furutech’s LAN-8 NCF is a beautifully engineered and built Category 8 cable for Ethernet and other high speed signal transfer applications.
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Hi-Fi of the Year: Clearaudio’s Concept Active deck and Dan Clark’s Aeon 2 headphone among Hi-Fi Choice magazine’s pick of 2020
“Call it what you will – the very best of the best, the cream of the crop, top of the list, head of the heap, king of the hill,” says Hi-Fi Choice editor Steve Sutherland. Either way, the magazine’s Yearbook is packed with ideas for either tweaking your system or seeking a whole new change of direction – or simply fantasising about ideal setups.
“This may be the best cartridge I’ve ever heard”: Ken Kessler reviews DS Audio’s new flagship Grand Master optical pickup for Hi-Fi News
The Grand Master optical cartridge is not only DS Audio’s new flagship, but its completely new design also sees in the company’s ‘third generation’ of what is proving to be a peerless approach to phono cartridge engineering. Ken Kessler finds his music delivered “with such conviction that I was getting too emotional to be critical.”
MBL N51 integrated amplifier & N31 CD/DAC among Canadian high-end journal Audiophilia’s Products of the Year
Published and edited since 1997, Audiophilia is one of Canada’s most popular web magazines for audio and music journalism. The magazine’s annual Product of the Year awards showcase the review team’s top picks from the equipment reviewed in full that year. Of the 17 products awarded, two are from German MBL.
Electromod takes over UK distribution of high-end audio accessories brand MS HD power
PRESS RELEASE: Previously imported by Air Audio for the UK market, MS HD Power has now signed an agreement to transfer distribution to Electromod.
“Are you mad?” Record label owner Cameron Jenkins explains his move into high-end audio and the case for the pro and audiophile worlds coming together
“Audiophiles maintain a not-so hushed reverence for recording engineers, producers and independent record label owners. Deep down they harbor a desire to lay claim to being one, if not all, of the above.” writes David Blumenstein for US audiophile webzine DaGoGo.com. Which begs the question of why Cameron Jenkins, who already is all of the above as well as a classically trained musician and songwriter, has taken to opening his very own retail hi-fi shop/service. Blumenstein interviews Jenkins to find out more.
Hi-Fi Plus Preamplifier of the Year: Townshend Allegri Reference
“It’s hard to appreciate how critical the preamplifier is until one like this comes along and reveals what you thought was a limitation of the source was actually a distortion by the preamp,” says Hi-Fi Plus of the Townshend Allegri Reference, which is now a worthy winner of one of the magazine’s top annual awards.
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Hi-Fi Plus Loudspeaker of the Year (over £20k): Raidho TD1.2
The Hi-Fi Plus annual awards issue is the magazine’s last issue of the year for UK readers – and another reason to celebrate the end of 2020! Among the worthy winners is Raidho’s top standmount model, first reviewed in issue 188 in October.
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Hi-Fi Plus Power Product of the Year: Computer Audio Design’s Ground Control Reference
“Passive earth or grounding systems are fast gaining traction in audio, but few can muster quite the same gavitas – or, for that matter, gravitational pull – as the top ground Control Refrence (GC-R) model from Computer Audio Design,” says Hi-Fi Plus in its special annual awards issue.