Hi Fi News April 2016

‘Whether ‘digital’ or ‘analogue’ – the music will still move you’ Vinyl is most certainly enjoying a revival, which is just one reason why we try to bring you at least one exclusive review of a new turntable in every issue of Hi-Fi News. And LP spinners don’t come much more exclusive than Clearaudio’s flagship Statement, a turntable that, quite literally, towers over all others. Its contactless ‘magnetic drive’, the curved alloy and dense wooden tiers and massive, stabilising pendulum are already the stuff of audiophile legend. The deck is instantly recognisable, but look again and you’ll begin to pick out the detail of Clearaudio’s refinements with its Statement v2. Partnered with the Statement TT1 (tangential tracking) arm system and glorious Statement Goldfinger MC, it is arguably the ultimate vinyl-playing package. Another big hitter,…

Encore performance MUSICAL FIDELITY ANNOUNCES ITS HIGH-END ALL-IN-ONE AUDIO SOLUTION We reveal the latest products and upcoming events Heroic amplifiers and massive CD players are part-and-parcel of Musical Fidelity’s DNA. The company was also one of the first to offer an audiophile network player, the CLiC [HFN Jun ’11], and so its combination of all these technologies into an all-in-one audio solution is arguably overdue. Now realised as the Encore 225, this 440x125x400mm (whd), 17kg alloy chassis combines the amplification of the M6si integrated – rated at 225W/8ohm – with three analogue ins, two coaxial and two optical S/PDIF digital ins, four USB-A ports (one to support device charging), one USB-B and wired network connectivity. The Encore 225 also offers a separate headphone amplifier, both fixed and variable preamp outputs and boasts a…

Sights and sounds from around the globe CES in transition: streaming was so much a part of CES 2016 that it’s difficult to reconcile it with the other dominant force – the resurgent vinyl LP. As an analogy, imagine a photography show split between holographic cameras and daguerreotype. Hovering above all of it was the headphone revolution. With Meridian’s MQA bubbling under, most brands showing some form of streaming-friendly device and with a flood of new turntables and cartridges, schizophrenia was the order of the day. New amps from Nagra, a mega phonostage from Audio Research, new cans from Audeze and Hifiman, a baby tube amp from Quad, rumours of an open-reel comeback: transition... but business as usual! Driven by electronics from Audio Alchemy, ELAC showed the latest in its line of worldconquering, Andrew…

Don’t judge a book by its cover, the saying goes. But when this phrase was coined back in the 1800s it was referring to the quality of a book’s binding and cover versus the quality of the text within. When it comes to LP records, from the earliest days they have cried out from the record racks to be judged by their covers. Their sleeves either reflected the musical content or served to entice the listener by the use of striking artwork. As record company marketing departments became more sophisticated, other extras might be included, though usually these were only available to the first batch of buyers. EVER MORE LAVISH So while an LP of a singing star would inevitably carry their portrait, a classical LP might have a cover photograph displaying the…

AUDIO FILE Magnetically isolated, belt-drive turntable Made by: Clearaudio Electronic GmbH, Germany Supplied by: Sound Fowndations, UK Telephone: 0118 981 4238 Web: www.clearaudio.de; www.soundfowndations.co.uk Prices (turntable/arm): £92,500/£18,500 ‘The familiar McEvoy textures, the Irish lilt, were delivered intact’ Making one’s best better is a tall order when you’re talking about a highly-respected flagship model. In the case of Clearaudio’s Statement and the matching Statement TT1 linear tracking arm, with a combined price of £111,000, you can imagine that an upgrade to ‘v2’ status was going to tax its designers. After all, the Statement v1 has survived a decade with few real-world – as opposed to mythical, reviewer-hyped – challengers. This is one eye-filling pile of kit, standing at 1325mm even without the extra height of the tangential arm added to it. Factor in a footprint of 690x570mm and a total…

Turntables with six-figure price tags and integral plinths that make them the size of an oil barrel are surprisingly plentiful. Clearaudio’s Statement v2 may be the biggest, but it has rivals that need serious floor space. I believe the Goldmund Reference of ’83 was the first ‘superdeck’ to include its own integral floorstand. So shocking was its arrival that it caught the turntable makers of the day with their guard down, their manageable record decks suddenly seeming weedy. Although Kenwood’s L-07D, Thorens’ Reference and Prestige and other massive turntables preceded it, the Goldmund was the first that didn’t leave the choice of stand up to the consumer. More recently, the much-lauded Continuum Caliburn, Basis’ extreme ART, the Transrotor Gravita and Purevox’s PV-Flagship have followed Goldmund’s philosophy of taking the matter…