Hi-Fi Choice Yearbook 2021

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 – the sheer quality of the choice collection of kit contained within this very special issue of HFC is testament to the creativity, resilience and ambition of the hi-fi industry in a year that, we surely don’t need reminding, has been the toughest we’ve ever seen. While there have been many consequences to much of the UK being locked down, one of the few upsides has been that many of us have found more time to enjoy our home hi-fi and have discovered – or rediscovered – music that is dear to us, helping us cope with the gloom. Some have…

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 – the sheer quality of the choice collection of kit contained within this very special issue of HFC is testament to the creativity, resilience and ambition of the hi-fi industry in a year that, we surely don’t need reminding, has been the toughest we’ve ever seen. While there have been many consequences to much of the UK being locked down, one of the few upsides has been that many of us have found more time to enjoy our home hi-fi and have discovered – or rediscovered – music that is dear to us, helping us cope with the gloom. Some have developed a…

Essentially an AE509 (HFC 456) on steroids, this new floorstander is a true three-way design with a claimed frequency response of 30Hz-28kHz, a valve amplifierfriendly sensitivity figure of 90dB and a peak power handling of 300W. The tweeter is a new 25mm carbon fibre dome design with a cast aluminium WDT waveguide. It’s set between the AE520’s twin 125mm midrange drivers, which sport carbon fibre cones with rubber surrounds, oversized 35mm voice coils and optimised motor and suspension systems. Treble-to-mid crossover takes place at 2.8kHz, above the critical presence region where the ear is most sensitive. Then comes the cavalry – three new specially designed carbon fibre coned woofers take care of the bass from 373Hz downwards. The cabinet also sports Resonance Suppression Composite material – Acoustic Energy’s own version of…

Danish brand Audiovector isn’t the kind of speaker maker you can pigeonhole. Not as large as DALI or Dynaudio, it has a core product range that stretches all the way from the £1,025 QR1 entry-level standmount (HFC 418) to the uber-high-end £200k R11 Arreté. The QR range was designed by Audiovector CEO Mads Kilfoth. He explains his thinking: “I wanted a speaker family with build quality and value for money rarely seen at the price point.” And it’s a tweeter practically unseen at the price that gives the clue to the QR5’s ambition. Effectively the same Gold Leaf Air Motion Tweeter (AMT) used in the R11 flagship, it really is a thing of beauty, replete with compressionreducing double rear chamber and exposed gold mesh ‘S-Stop Filter’ to smooth sibilance, rather like…

Essentially an AE509 (HFC 456) on steroids, this new floorstander is a true three-way design with a claimed frequency response of 30Hz-28kHz, a valve amplifierfriendly sensitivity figure of 90dB and a peak power handling of 300W. The tweeter is a new 25mm carbon fibre dome design with a cast aluminium WDT waveguide. It’s set between the AE520’s twin 125mm midrange drivers, which sport carbon fibre cones with rubber surrounds, oversized 35mm voice coils and optimised motor and suspension systems. Treble-to-mid crossover takes place at 2.8kHz, above the critical presence region where the ear is most sensitive. Then comes the cavalry – three new specially designed carbon fibre coned woofers take care of the bass from 373Hz downwards. The cabinet also sports Resonance Suppression Composite material – Acoustic Energy’s own version…

One of the most common issues mentioned when it comes to considering floorstanders is the room that’s needed to accommodate them. For those who are limited for space, the Evoke 30 has the distinction of being among the more compact options currently on the market. In this respect, there’s a lot to like. Dynaudio’s designers apparently put in the extra hours, taking prototypes and models home to live with them as well as visiting interior design stores and a cross section of real homes in an effort to gain inspiration. The result, with its straight tapered cabinet walls, splayed bolt-on outriggers and, in the review sample’s case, very tactile natural open-grain walnut wood veneer cladding, is a retro vibe that I guess won’t be to everyone’s taste, but I’d certainly make…