Table of contents for May 2026 in Hi-Fi Choice

PRICE: £7,290 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: ANALOGRELAX.COM ABSOLUTESOUNDS.COM ABSOLUTE SOUNDS HAS announced the arrival of Japanese company Analog Relax’s EX700 moving-coil phono cartridge. Positioned between the EX500 and flagship models, its body is formed from high-quality spruce tonewood sourced from South Tyrol, Northern Italy – a region renowned for violin tonewoods – and is finished with thin layers of classic oil varnish, formulated with traditional materials including colophonium (pine resin) and linseed oil. Features include a custom-made line-contact stylus in a bid to achieve exceptional groove contact and low distortion; a boron cantilever for speed, control and microdynamic clarity; high-purity copper coil wire for tonal richness and dynamic integrity; and a multi-neodymium magnet system for stable energy and generator control. The EX500 weighs approximately 9g.…

PRICE: £995 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: GRADOLABS.COM GRADO LABS HAS announced the release of its Signature S550, the fourth headphone to join its expanding Signature line. At its core is the US company’s 50mm S2 dynamic driver, tuned specifically for its all-wood enclosure. Rather than pursuing an entirely new driver architecture, Grado says it has instead focused on optimising the interaction between the S2 driver and the acoustic properties of the housing. This approach, the company explains: “yields a presentation that is warmer and more forgiving, yet remains fast, detailed and spatially open. The S550 offers a wide soundstage with precise imaging and natural dynamics, inviting longer listening sessions while maintaining immediacy and engagement.” The Signature S550 features wooden housings crafted entirely from Brazilian Walnut. Each is individually made, with natural…

PRICE: $1,90-$900 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: XLOCABLES.COM US CABLE SPECIALIST XLO Cables has announced the UK availability of its analogue and digital options. The lineup consists of the Pro, Ultra, Reference and Signature Series designed to: “reflect a unified engineering philosophy focused on signal purity, noise reduction and musical realism”. The entry-level Pro Series is for everyday systems, supporting analogue interconnects, speaker, power and network connectivity for complete system integration within a unified performance framework. The series consists of the P35 RCA and P35 XLR interconnects (available at 1, 1.5, 2 and, 2.5m lengths); XLR connector (1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5m); P35 speaker cable (available with banana or spade termination at 2.4, 3, 3.6 and 4.6m lengths); P35 power cable (US/IEC C15 or EU/IEC C15 at 1.2, 1.8 and 3m lengths) and…

PRICE: £250 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: APPLE.COM BEATS HAS ANNOUNCED the first hardware collaboration in its history: the Powerbeats Pro 2 – Nike Special Edition, which feature the Nike Swoosh on the right earbud and the signature Beats ‘b’ on the left. The limited-edition release marries Nike’s high-energy ‘Volt’ colour palette with the audio tech of the Powerbeats Pro 2 arriving in a Matte Black, Volt-speckled charging case. Features include Adaptive Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) with Transparency mode, built-in Heart Rate Monitoring that syncs with the Fitness app and Nike Run Club, up to a claimed 45 hours of battery life with the charging case and IPX4-rated sweat and water resistance along with Beats’ signature wrap-around earhooks. The Powerbeats Pro 2 – Nike Special Edition earbuds are available to buy now…

Drawing inspiration from the past is no new thing. Hi-fi manufacturers love to bring out special edition products with retro styling on the outside and bang-up-to-date mechanics on the inside. NAD got to this party quite early and now the new C 3030 takes this formula and runs with it. At first sight it’s a close visual copy of its mid-Seventies namesake, but the closer you look the more you see the differences. NAD’s Global Product Manager, Morten Nielsen, talks in terms of his company creating: “a parallel range that draws more directly on our visual and emotional heritage”. He adds that NAD’s new lineup is targeted at: “more intentional listening,” and stresses the company will continue to develop modern-looking products across the Classic and Masters Series. Stylistically, the original…

Once Technics had returned to the business of making turntables after some time away, it proceeded to take its highly regarded direct-drive motor assembly and diversify the models it was available in. The SL-1500C (HFC 453) took the same basic platform as the SL-1200GR (HFC 466), removed some of the pro/DJ niceties and added some features to make it more domestically appealing. The result was very likeable and sold strongly. As the 1200GR has since become the GR2, it follows that the 1500C has received the same treatment to become the 1500CS. The major change between the old model and the new is the addition of the Delta Sigma Drive system that first appeared on the SL-1200GR2. This is a combination of high-current PSU and pulse width modulation (PWM) that…

Just as the definition of the word ‘luxury’ means anything more than you need, so it goes that ‘expensive’ means anything more than you’re prepared or able to spend, and it’s quite difficult to argue that splashing out £18,000 for a stereo amplifier isn’t chicken feed to most of us, even in a world where some amplifiers can cost as much as 30 times that amount. However, in today’s Exotica test we’re in the domain of the Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems range and the in the context of today’s high-end hi-fi market, its Pendulum integrated amplifier is something of a bargain. Relatively speaking, of course… If you have always coveted one of Dan D’Agostino’s designs, possibly going back to the early days of Krell, but don’t have the disposable…

In today’s streaming economy, our money only pays for the rent of the music we listen to and we never fully own our favourite tunes. But many people are starting to realise that they want something more tangible, with a one-off cost that means the music is theirs to play forever. The resurgence of interest in vinyl has conversely seen the humble CD fall out of favour. This shift was fuelled by the realisation that CDs didn’t sound as good as vinyl and have issues including the possibility of scratches, delamination and disc rot. CDs can degrade over time due to environmental factors like heat and humidity. However, steps can be taken to help prevent degradation from occurring prematurely, such as storage within recommended temperatures and relative humidity ranges. All…

It’s fair to say that Jamie Wilson, owner of A Love Supreme in the picturesque Scottish village of East Linton, is spinning a fair few plates as well as tunes when we catch up for a chat. In addition to running his small-but-perfectly-formed record shop, 35km East of Edinburgh, he’s mid-house move and proud dad to a six-month-old. Understandably, he’s tired – but he’s also fizzing with enthusiasm about his business, no doubt partially fuelled by the fine coffee courtesy of Hometown, his next-door neighbour in The Mart, a community hub on the former site of this agricultural village’s auction market. “Record and coffee shops are very much mutual bedfellows,” he says, popping an OG UK mono copy of the very LP the store takes its name from onto the…

PRO-JECT DEBUT REFERENCE 10 Our reviewer reckons: “True to the original mission statement of the Debut line, the Debut Reference 10 is an excellent ‘next-step’ for vinyl lovers in search of a turntable offering audiophile qualities. It’s more than a simple upgrade, though. As the flagship Debut model, it’s a complete package with features you’d expect on more expensive models, making it quite a steal.” You can find out more in the June issue. ALSO: REVIEWS ATC SCM20ASL active speaker, iFi audio GO Link 2 DAC/headphone amp, Audio-Technica AT33xMLB moving-coil cartridge, OePhi Ascendence 2 standmount loudspeaker, DALI SONIK 3 bookshelf loudspeaker and much more… FEATURES Music Reviews, Reasons To Be Cheerful, Company Confidential, our comprehensive Buyer’s Guide and thought-provoking Opinion pieces, our Qobuz playlist, Audio File news and your hi-fi questions answered by our experts in the Letters section..…

PRICE: £1,800-£5,900 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: ARENDALSOUND.COM NORWEGIAN SPEAKER SPECIALIST Arendal Sound has launched its 1610 Series, a new speaker lineup created to offer: “high-end performance in a design that suits a broader range of rooms, listening distances and real-world use”. The company explains that the 1610s have been specifically designed: “around how systems are actually used, accounting for imperfect rooms, compromised placement and everyday listening… This is high-end sound built for customers who expect real value for their money – not inflated pricing justified by marketing narratives or tradition.” Positioned below the flagship 1528 range, the 1610 Series features four models – each available in the company’s signature Basalt and Polar finishes. The products are: the 1610 Tower 8 – a floorstanding three-way loudspeaker with 89.5dB sensitivity quoted, priced at…

PRICE: £1,000 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: PROJECT-AUDIO.COM HENLEYAUDIO.CO.UK PRO-JECT HAS UNVEILED its Debut Reference 10 turntable, which sits at the top of the company’s Debut range. First shown at the recent Bristol Hi-Fi Show, features include a heavy, resonance-resistant acrylic platter, upgraded diamond-cut aluminium sub-platter for improved speed stability and height-adjustable damped feet for better isolation and levelling. The motor is fully decoupled and housed in its own base in a bid to minimise vibration transfer to the chassis and an external DC power supply serves a built-in AC generator, while built-in electronic speed control enables switching between 33 and 45rpm (78rpm is supported with a manual belt change). There’s a newly developed 10in tonearm, created exclusively for this model. Longer than previous Debut arms, Pro-Ject claims it reduces tracking error…

PRICE: £1,000 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: LEAK-HIFI.CO.UK UK COMPANY LEAK has launched its TruStream network audio player, which it says: “offers versatile connectivity including dual-band Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet for network streaming, plus a USB-C input for PC/Mac connection”. The TruStream features two USB-A ports for storage devices, which double up as digital outs to hook up an external DAC, alongside optical and coaxial, balanced XLR and single-ended RCA outputs. The TruStream integrates a custom version of a Silent Angel streaming engine with LEAK’s own circuit designs. ARM Cortex-A72 and Cortex-A53 multi-core CPUs supply processing power while a specialised app based on Silent Angel’s VitOS software provides a user interface on iOS and Android devices. Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, Spotify Connect and TuneIn are all fully integrated (the latter alongside Silent…

PRICE: €35-€250 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: TRIANGLEHIFI.COM TRIANGLE HAS UNVEILED its new RED and BLACK cable ranges alongside its latest RCA Y cable for connecting subwoofers to active speakers or amps. The BLACK cables are described as: “combining rigour and simplicity, delivering remarkable performance and precision. They will satisfy audiophiles looking for a technically sophisticated solution designed with rationality in mind”. The cables are priced €140 for a 2.5m pair. Meanwhile, the RED cables are said to: “express controlled power. Designed for audiophiles with ambitious systems, they incorporate the technical expertise of the BLACK range with a larger conductor cross section. High-quality components for exceptional accuracy and reproduction, without restraint.” They are priced at €200 for a 3m pair or €250 for 5m. Triangle reveals that it uses high-purity oxygen-free copper (OFC)…

PRICE: £1,200-£3,300 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: FERRUM.AUDIO POLISH COMPANY FERRUM Audio has just launched a portfolio of high-end yet affordable DACS and headphone amps. First up is the WANDLA, described by the company as: “The Converter”, it’s built around an ESS Sabre ES9038PRO chip and proprietary current-to-voltage converter stage. Ferrum’s optimised ARM-based digital audio system module, known as SERCE, shortens the signal path and incorporates MQA decoding and rendering alongside digital filter selection. Dynamic Digital Filtering allows users to select between one ESS filter and four HQ Player filters created specifically for Ferrum. Fully balanced from in to output, WANDLA employs a proprietary IC line amplifier, newly developed high-resolution touch screen interface and analogue volume control with bypass option. It offers listening across formats ranging from CD and streaming to super…

PRICE: £58,000 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: GOLDMUND.COM GOLDMUND HAS BROUGHT its Ouranos Excellence to market, the latest addition to its lineup of high-performance multichannel audio processors. It’s been designed to manage multiple speakers along with digital and analogue audio sources, compensating for room acoustics in an effort to ensure optimal performance even in challenging acoustic environments. The company says that connecting a computer to the processor is straightforward. When online, users can easily download the latest configuration files, ensuring it is always up-to-date with the latest enhancements. The processor boasts a completely overhauled interface, integrating the new custom Goldmund configurator. This redesigned interface has been developed to ensure optimal device control, offering users an intuitive and efficient way to manage their audio settings. Available both on and offline, the new Goldmund…

Should the image that accompanies this review momentarily unsettle your understanding of space and time; rest assured it is still 2026. In a world where even an affordable smartphone can access a huge swathe of all the music ever recorded, FiiO has seen fit to release a portable CD player. What’s more, after a bit of time with it, it makes more sense than you might expect. First up, the portable bit of the DM15 is well implemented. At the front are both 3.5mm and 4.4mm headphone sockets, and it can also transmit over Bluetooth. Battery life is quoted at about seven hours, which feels achievable in use. The mechanism can run with the unit in motion and, while I promise you everyone in your train carriage will look at…

One of the greatest strengths – and most serious weaknesses – of belt-drive turntables, is of course the belt. On one hand, it decouples the motor drive pulley from the deck’s platter, damping down extraneous noise coming from the motor. On the other, it’s an imperfect link between the motor and platter, prone to stretching, ageing and collecting dirt and shredding rubber – all of which impedes smooth torque transfer to the platter. This in turn results in wow and flutter. All Rega turntables have well-designed belt-drive systems – the motor pulley drives the inner platter via a short rubber belt that’s thick enough to not stretch on start up. Sometimes an aluminium sub-platter and/or motor pulley are used, at other times it’s plastic – depending on price. Until fairly…

An ever increasing number of turntables are sold with matching arms these days, but there is still a certain satisfaction to matching deck, arm and cartridge to create something just so. Audio Origami has been fulfilling this need with its highly regarded PU7 tonearm. Enter the PU8 update. High-grade stainless steel is used in the gimbal, pillars and mount, increasing mass in an area that doesn’t alter effective arm mass but serves to considerably improve resonance damping. The bearing housing has always been made of Delrin for improved resonance control but is now bigger and thicker and the azimuth screw holes have been helicoiled to make cartridge changes easier. The armtube is aluminium surrounded by a carbon fibre outer layer. The resulting combination avoids the resonance issues of each individual…

Who doesn’t love an underdog? From Leicester City football club’s 2015/16 Premiership triumph to John Travolta dancing from the wilderness back onto the A-list in Pulp Fiction, we all love a twist in the tale. But moments like these rarely occur in hard-nosed business. So, when Pro-Ject Audio Systems launched in the Nineties to build turntables, the almanacs paid little attention. This was the age of digital; CD was the future, vinyl was history. Ignoring the noise of zeroes and ones, the Austrian maker carried on. Then, in 1998, Pro-Ject founder Heinz Lichtenegger and Laurence Armstrong, managing director of Pro-Ject’s UK distributor Henley Audio, hatched the idea of a low-cost, easy-to-use turntable, offered in a variety of colours, yet with genuine audiophile credentials. Had this been a Dragon’s Den pitch,…

BALANCED MAINS UNITS are often used to power equipment in recording studios and high-end audio installations. The view is that they improve sound quality, lower the noise floor and minimise mains interference as well as reducing the radiated fields from the system’s mains leads. BMUs also eliminate earth loops in house wiring as they’re also effective isolation transformers. Factor One’s BMU-2500SE can deliver 2,500W of power and is one of four units in the range that pairs a standard and Special Edition BMU fitted to an IEC socket for the power input and either six or 10 output sockets. All the devices are designed using audiophile-grade components and include surge, overload, short circuit and thermal protection as well as DC blocking and isolation of the incoming AC power. The version…

In last month’s issue we published an interesting letter about Record Store Day, which read: “I see that the latest batch of crap re-releases and cash-ins has been announced for this year’s Record Store Day. Given that most of these releases will be vastly overpriced and often poor pressings of sub-standard digital files, isn’t it time that this daft promotion be called out for the sham that it really is?”. I’m still trying to process what could possibly be wrong with releasing the John Coltrane Tiberi recordings for the very first time, re-presenting Little Feat’s debut LP with an extra disc of demos or offering the new version of Taylor Swift’s Elizabeth Taylor on a 7in single. Critics of RSD miss the point: it isn’t about the ‘quality’ of the…

PRICE: £280-£480 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: QACOUSTICS.CO.UK Q ACOUSTICS HAS launched the E60, its new entry-level, in-wall, easy-install audio system. It joins the company’s E120 Bluetooth and DAB radio in-wall system and E300A smart-voice-controlled in-ceiling amp. Out of the box, the E60 is IP54 splash-proof, requiring no additional silicone sealant, making it ideal for bathrooms, kitchens, garden summer houses and other humid environments. A screwless clip-in fixing system is used for fast installation and a clean, seamless finish while LED indicators provide immediate visual feedback. QA says the integrated 2x 25W power amplifier: “comfortably drives up to two pairs of quality in-ceiling speakers or cabinet models, delivering controlled, balanced but dynamic performance across a wide range of listening environments”. The system is tuned and optimised for use with Q Acoustics’ range…

PRICE: £60-£1,000 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: IFI-AUDIO.COM ANOTHER MONTH, ANOTHER selection of new products from iFi audio – this time there are four… Kicking things off, the next generation of its ultra-resolution home-audio DAC/amp series. Key features of the NEO iDSD 3 (left) include JVC Kenwood’s K2HD Technology, a headphone stage with up to a claimed 2,532mW RMS (5,551mW Max), Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX Lossless, LDAC, LHDC and more, revised internal circuitry, PCM up to 768kHz/DSD512 via a custom Burr-Brown DAC stage and XBassII and XSpace analogue sound enhancement modes. Connectivity includes USB, coaxial, optical and RCA line inputs alongside Bluetooth. The iFi Nexis app (iOS/Android) is on hand for OTA updates and there is a remote control and 2in rotating colour display for operation. iFi adds that the NEO iDSD…

PRICE: £1,800 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: NAGRAAUDIO.COM ABSOLUTESOUNDS.COM SWISS COMPANY NAGRA is importing its Compact Player, which takes the network audio architecture of its Streamer streaming transport/network bridge and adds a technically enhanced DAC stage with volume control to connect directly to analogue integrated or power amplifiers or active speakers. With an enclosure machined from a solid aluminium billet, the Compact Player boasts the company’s unique clock generator and supports Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, Spotify Connect, vTuner and AirPlay 2, alongside local storage playback via UPnP/DLNA and USB. The Compact Player is compatible with multiple music player/management apps and platforms including mConnect, Roon and Audirvana, and it measures 166 x 41 x 185mm (WxHxD). Upgrade options include Nagra’s Compact PSU and a Compact VFS isolation platform.…

PRICE: £1,700-£2,000 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: BURSONAUDIO.COM PETERTYSON.CO.UK AUSTRALIAN HI-FI SPECIALIST Burson Audio has unveiled its new Stellar Series of compact Class-A desktop components. Composed of the Conductor Stellar – a high resolution, DAC, Class-A headphone and desktop preamp in one – and Soloist Stellar – which focuses purely on headphone amplification and preamp duties – Burson says the duo is designed to: “maximise the sonic potential of high-end in-ear monitors”. Placed between the company’s entry-level Party Playmate 3 and Grand Tourer range, the Stellar duo embodies the essence of the flagship Voyager Series – Class-A power and discrete circuitry in more compact and accessible designs. Although designed to power any type of headphone – from in-ears to demanding planar magnetic models – the Stellar pair features a dedicated ultra-low-noise IEM…

PRICE: £280-£1,455 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: ATLASCABLES.COM ATLAS CABLES HAS announced the launch its new connecting products – the Hyper RCA R1, Hyper RCA Sub R1 and Hyper RCA Duo R1 The company says of the R1: “We wanted to take the learnings from our latest Duo topology and implement a simpler form that could be used as a first upgrade step for our Element and Equator customers. The cable is a balanced design featuring two identical internal OCC conductors enclosed in a double-layer metallised/woven OFC screen. The cable is connected in a symmetrical pseudo-balanced configuration to improve screening effectiveness and, as such, this cable is directional by design. The arrow printed on the plug should be connected pointing away from the preamp.” The R1 and Sub R1 both come in…

For owners of purist, two-channel systems, a subwoofer needs to be set up with care and precision. Properly integrated with the speakers it’s accompanying, a sub of the correct size, power and configurability for the room can become invisible but for the sense of realism it weaves by smoothly and seamlessly extending bass frequencies and, in lowering the load on the mid and bass drivers, increasing midband transparency. For a talented standmount of inevitably curtailed bandwidth, the transformation when the right sub is correctly dialled in can be magical. I’ve got a few of those, perhaps none more deserving of an extra octave than the BBC-spec LS3/5a, here represented by my resident new-build Falcon Acoustics Gold Badge edition (HFC 508). For decades it’s been the dream of some 3/5a owners…

Confronted with the phrase ‘entry-level’ and the EX300’s not inconsequential price tag, you might reasonably ask what actually constitutes ‘high end’ for Analog Relax. The reality is that the upper models from the Tokyo-based concern extend well into five figures. The spec on offer here is relatively conventional. It’s a moving-coil design tipped by a bonded elliptical stylus on an aluminium cantilever. At a point where some very advanced stylus profiles are on sale, this might feel decidedly low tech but Analog Relax argues that yielding the benefits of nude styli requires much higher production tolerances than some companies would have you believe. The generator section is made of 6N pure copper windings and is unusual in that impedance is quoted as a rather low 15ohm and: “more than 0.5mV”…

LONDON-BASED T1N4 IS the latest new accessories kid on the block, launching its first product: a mains power conditioner called Water. A good-quality mains feed is, of course, essential to power an audio system if it is to perform at its best. The name aligns with the branding of T1N4’s sister company, Gekko Cables, which names its products after the four elements. Around the back of the T1N4 is an IEC socket for the incoming mains supply and an earth binding post. There are six UK mains sockets to power your hi-fi equipment, which are conveniently inverted as the conditioner will no doubt be located near the floor and therefore the mains leads will be hanging down to connect to the conditioner. All of the inductors and internal wiring are…

Hi-Fi Choice Recommends  ESSENTIAL HI-FI YOU’LL WANT TO OWN CD players p106 Amplifiers p107 Pre/power amps p107 Cables p108-109 Streaming solutions p110 Music servers p110 DACs p111 Loudspeakers p112-114 One-box systems p114 Turntables p115 Cartridges p115 Phono stages p116 Headphones p116-117 Portable DACs p117 CD PLAYERS Cambridge Audio AXC35 PRICE: £300 REVIEWED: HFC 454 Something of a budget marvel, you’ll have to work extra hard to get the AXC35 to put a foot wrong. Bass is firm, detailed and blessed with excellent timing; the tonal palette is pleasingly broad and clean; and though the soundstage doesn’t extend much beyond the speakers, there’s great depth perspective. Marantz CD 50n PRICE: £1,600 REVIEWED: HFC 518 Equipped to not only get the most from your CD collection, but also for online streaming and…

1 IMPORTANT IMPORTS HEA Distribution is the new UK distributor for Canor Audio, the company based in Prešov, Slovakia. Canor’s product range includes an extensive lineup of valve-based amplifiers, DACs preamplifiers and integrated components (right), including the Foundation series – which features the Virtus I4S integrated amplifier and Verto D4S DAC. Canor joins Astell&Kern, Activo, Campfire Audio, IsoTek, Kii Audio, Meze Audio and Triangle Hi-Fi in the group of brands represented by HEA in the UK. Meanwhile Harmony HiFi Distribution has announced an exclusive agreement across the UK with Polish brand Pylon Audio whose choice of speaker ranges include Opal, Diamond, Jade and Jasper. 2 GOLDEN WONDERS In a glorious coming together of two of our favourite things comes a new book from Simon Williams. Up The Packet – One…