Hi-Fi Choice Yearbook 2019

Welcome to HFC’s 13th issue of 2019 – a 164-page Yearbook special that celebrates the year’s hi-fi high-points. Inside we’ve packed more reviews than ever before, highlighting the real strength of today’s stereo audio sector with a diverse range of components that cater for all kinds of music listener. Each of the products selected for this ultimate product guide is a coveted Hi-Fi Choice badge winner, applauded by our team of expert reviewers for a winning combination of outstanding sound quality and value for money – prices shown are from the time of original publication. 2019 has been a year of change in the audio industry with some unexpected losses, but through mergers and diversification many familiar brands are stronger and in better shape for 2020 – see p151 for…

Welcome to HFC’s 13th issue of 2019 – a 164-page Yearbook special that celebrates the year’s hi-fi high-points. Inside we’ve packed more reviews than ever before, highlighting the real strength of today’s stereo audio sector with a diverse range of components that cater for all kinds of music listener. Each of the products selected for this ultimate product guide is a coveted Hi-Fi Choice badge winner, applauded by our team of expert reviewers for a winning combination of outstanding sound quality and value for money – prices shown are from the time of original publication. 2019 has been a year of change in the audio industry with some unexpected losses, but through mergers and diversification many familiar brands are stronger and in better shape for 2020 – see p151 for a…

AVID’s Ingenium Plug&Play turntable is part of an increasingly familiar breed of packaged decks that allow vinyl fans to get on with the business of playing records without the fuss of a complex setup procedure. This means that the tonearm and cartridge come fitted, aligned and ready to play and all you have to do is simply slide the counterweight into position to be up and running in next to no time. Unlike the Cambridgeshire-based company’s original Ingenium deck reviewed in 2013 (HFC 379), this packaged version includes a threaded spindle and platter clamp, which AVID says play an essential role in the deck’s energy dissipation process. The motor is separate from the main chassis and is positioned beneath the cork-topped MDF main platter to drive the sub-platter via a rubber…

REPRESENTING A DECENT turntable starter package, the TT Zero’s spec incorporates a Jelco TS-550S 9in tonearm, Audio-Technica VM740ML moving-magnet cartridge and Easy VTA adjuster. Built around a solid birch ply plinth, the Zero has a high-mass aluminium platter supported in a leaded bronze bearing that you have to spin up to speed by hand as it has insufficient torque to overcome the platter’s inertia from rest. If you want to get ‘hands on’, this is your deck. According to AnalogueWorks designer Tim Chorlton, all the materials and shapes have been chosen to balance or prevent resonance, but the aesthetic upshot is very pleasing, too. He also mentions that replacing the standard Black Eye power supply with the Wave Mechanic One PSU £500 is an easy and effective upgrade. Sound quality From the start…

THE PRELUDE’S TONEARM incorporates a headshell optimised for moving-magnet cartridges. The bearing housing is designed to act as a sink, pulling vibrations away from the playing surface. Conical spikes are also employed to combat vibration, while the direct current motor is placed in its own dedicated housing. There is no speed control, instead the belt is moved between upper and lower pulleys. An Ortofon 2M Red cartridge is fitted and correctly aligned so that setup is limited to fitting the antiskating weight and setting tracking force. Sound quality Connected to a Cyrus Phono Signature phono stage (HFC 408), the Prelude is completely silent and a quick strobe test suggests it is admirably pitch stable too. With the basics handled, it doesn’t take very long to establish that it delivers EAT’s philosophy of…

AVID’s Ingenium Plug&Play turntable is part of an increasingly familiar breed of packaged decks that allow vinyl fans to get on with the business of playing records without the fuss of a complex setup procedure. This means that the tonearm and cartridge come fitted, aligned and ready to play and all you have to do is simply slide the counterweight into position to be up and running in next to no time. Unlike the Cambridgeshire-based company’s original Ingenium deck reviewed in 2013 (HFC 379), this packaged version includes a threaded spindle and platter clamp, which AVID says play an essential role in the deck’s energy dissipation process. The motor is separate from the main chassis and is positioned beneath the cork-topped MDF main platter to drive the sub-platter via a…