Hi Fi News March 2022

We didn’t set out to create an £800k system this month – it just ‘grew’ as our cover star project took shape. Let’s rewind a few months to when Dan D’Agostino, the man who pioneered high-end amplification with Krell back in the early ’80s (and continues in much the same vein with D’Agostino Master Audio Systems today), called me out of the blue. ‘Would Hi-Fi News like the first sample of our long-anticipated three-box Relentless preamp?’, he asked, already knowing the answer before I had taken a breath. After all, Hi-Fi News had celebrated the launch of his first own-brand power amp – the Momentum – with a cover splash some ten years ago [HFN Jul ’11] and is still the only hi-fi resource to have independently tested the flagship…

YG ACOUSTICS’ NEW ‘ENTRY LEVEL’ The period following the departure of founder and chief engineer, Yoav Geva, has seen the new ownership of YG Acoustics – the Colorado-based high-end loudspeaker brand – focus on developing its most accessible range to date. The five-strong Peaks series comprises two standmounts and three floorstanders, ranging in price from £9900 for the two-way Cairn to £30,000 for the flagship three-way Summit. All models use the company’s custom ‘ForgeCore’ tweeter with computer-optimised, CNC-cut magnet system, joined by all-alloy ‘BilletCore’ drivers in sizes from 150mm to 260mm depending on the speaker. The proprietary crossovers are hand-built using ‘the highest quality components’ while YG Acoustics’ sealed cabinets are constructed from pressed, 30mm-thick ‘resin fibre’ and feature machined aluminium baffles, plus bracing and acoustic absorbers to tackle internal…

NAD’S NEW EIGENTAKT CLASS D POWER AMP Having previously debuted Purifi’s Eigentakt technology in its premium M33 streaming amplifier [HFN Aug ’20] and C 298 power amp [HFN Oct ’21], NAD has brought Bruno Putzey’s ‘self-clocking’ Class D modules to another power-only model. The £2999 M23 replaces the NCore-based M22 [HFN Apr ’15], claiming a 2x200W/8ohm output, with peaks of 260W, and a 700W bridged mono output. Offering balanced XLR and single-ended connections, the amp features the brand’s usual Masters styling and utilises an all-alloy chassis with ‘iso-point’ feet. A three-step gain adjustment, and 12V trigger input, are provided on the rear panel. Lenbrook Inc, Ontario, Canada, 01732 459555; http://nadelectronics.com…

IN MEMORIAM New Year’s Eve 2021 saw the passing of Max Townshend, the entrepreneurial powerhouse behind Townshend Audio, launched in 1975. Max, born and educated in Australia, moved to the UK in 1978 where he made his initial, and lasting, impact with the Rock turntable. This massive deck featured an oil-filled front-end trough that successfully damped arm/cartridge resonances. The trough was developed in collaboration with Professor Jack Dinsdale (Cranfield University), while the Rock deck itself steadily evolved over the decades into a more compact solution [HFN Apr ’10]. Latterly, Max had focused his attention on developing vibration isolation platforms, and the novel ‘Seismic Load Cell’, alongside cryogenically-treated cables [HFN Oct ’14]. These copper conductors were also employed in his passive, autotransformer volume control/preamplifiers. The Townshend brand remains in family hands.…

SEVEN YEARS ON – CHORD’S MOJO NOW MK2 Chord Electronics has announced a successor to its Mojo DAC [HFN Jan ’16]. Named, as you might expect, the Mojo 2, this new £449 portable features a 40,960-tap iteration of designer Robert Watt’s WTA filter combined with a 4e Pulse Array DAC. The 104-bit ‘UHD DSP’ also offers an 18-step tone control adjustment across low-bass, mid-bass, low treble and high treble, plus a four-setting crossfeed function. Other updates include a new USB-C data input alongside the microUSB, coax and optical connections; faster FPGA-governed battery charging; and a menu system accessed by a fourth control ‘sphere’. The bead-blasted aluminium casework is also improved. Chord Electronics Ltd, 01622 721444; www.chordelectronics.co.uk…

Q ACOUSTICS’ ENTRY-LEVEL CONCEPT 50 FLOORSTANDER The latest addition to Q Acoustics’ flagship Concept series of loudspeakers, the £1999 Concept 50 floorstander joins the long-running lineup as a more affordable alternative to the pre-existing Concept 500 tower [HFN Jul ’17]. A two-way model, it features new tweeter and bass/mid units – the former a hermetically sealed 25mm dome design, the latter 125mm coated paper cone drivers – plus a revised crossover network that now resides in the speaker’s triple-layer ‘sprung’ baseplate. The Concept 50 employs internal Helmholtz Pressure Equaliser (HPE) tubes to help mitigate cabinet resonances, alongside the brand’s Point-2-Point (P2P) internal bracing architecture. Finish options to the speaker’s ‘GelCore’ cabinet are black, silver or white lacquer, all with the same 3mm-thick aluminium faceplate. Also launched is the £899 Concept…