Australian HiFi January - February 2022

I wish I had the same clout with streaming services as Adele! Almost immediately after she complained that Spotify was playing her latest album (30) in ‘Shuffle’ mode, the company made the exeutive decision to make ‘Play’ the default mode so the tracks would play in the order she wanted. I know Adele was responsible for the change, because Spotify’s announcement name-checked her. “As Adele mentioned, we are excited to share that we have begun rolling out a new Premium feature that has been long requested by both users and artists to make play the default button on all albums,” said a spokesperson for Spotify, but at the same time added that: “those users still wishing to shuffle an album are able to go to the ‘Now Playing’ view and select…

KUDOS IN OZ! Kudos Audio is a British company that has been flying under the radar since 2006, when it released its original Cardea models. It was founded by Derek Gilligan, one of the founders of Neat Acoustics. Kudos Audio speakers, which are entirely designed and built in Great Britain, are now available in Australia. They are being imported and distributed by well-known high-end audio specialist Audio Magic. Until fairly recently, the Cardea models have been continuing in the range with very few modifications, but the latest 2021-22 versions, although they look similar to the originals, are according to Gilligan “totally different” with all of the changes exemplified in the Cardea Super 10A and Super20A models. “The new Super Cardea Super 10A and 20A models deliver significant improvements over their more classic siblings…

When Polk decided to upgrade one of its best-selling models, it went all-out: It’s not really an upgrade, but more like a whole new design! The new Signature Elite S60, which replaces the outgoing S60, has new bass/midrange drivers, a new crossover, re-vamped internal bracing and a whole new exterior. In fact the only components it has kept in common with the older model are that unusual 25mm terylene dome tweeter, a cascading tapered crossover design and the fact that the cabinet is — despite its newly remodelled exterior — still a bass-reflex floor-standing one. EQUIPMENT The Polk Signature Elite ES60 has the deepest and most extended bass of any of the models in the Polk Signature Elite range. It’s also the tallest and loudest model in the range. The other models…

Readers interested in a full technical appraisal of the performance of the Polk Signature Elite S60 should continue on and read the LABORATORY REPORT published on the following pages. Readers should note that the results mentioned in the report, tabulated in performance charts and/or displayed using graphs and/or photographs should be construed as applying only to the specific sample tested. Newport Test Labs first measured the in-room frequency response of the Polk Signature Elite S60 speakers using a pink noise signal as the test source. The result, shown in Graph 1, shows the Elite S60 has a very smooth, extended frequency response, with the in-room frequency response measured by the lab being 38Hz to 20kHz ±3dB. (You should note that 20kHz in this case is the graphing limit. The response of…

The SVS 3000 Micro subwoofer is, actually, SVS’s first-ever micro subwoofer. And when I say ‘micro’ it’s because it is the smallest subwoofer this famous US company has ever made. Which very likely goes against the grain for SVS, because the company makes some of the largest home hi-fi subwoofers available, including the PB16-Ultra, which has a 406mm bass driver that’s fitted with a 203mm edge-wound voice coil, which SVS claims is “the largest voice-coil ever deployed in a home subwoofer”. To put the diameter of this voice-coil into perspective, it’s actually larger than the cones of the drivers used by some other brands in their subwoofers. However it transpires that SVS has been itching to build a small subwoofer for quite a few years. SVS President Gary Yacoubian says “Micro…

Readers interested in a full technical appraisal of the performance of the SVS 3000 Micro Subwoofer should continue on and read the LABORATORY REPORT published on the following pages. Readers should note that the results mentioned in the report, tabulated in performance charts and/or displayed using graphs and/or photographs should be construed as applying only to the specific Graph 1 is an unusual view of the SVS 3000 Micro subwoofer’s frequency response, because rather than show the maximum high frequency extension that is possible (this is shown in other graphs, particularly Graph 7) Newport Test Labs has instead shown the response of the SVS with the high-pass filter set at 100Hz, firstly with no equalisation at all (light blue trace) and with equalisation (black trace). The lab used the 100Hz crossover setting…