Hi-Fi Choice May 2021
Hi-Fi Choice is the essential guide to audio excellence in the home. It is a no-nonsense guide to the finest products available, from vinyl and valves, to multi-channel digital audio and high-fidelity video. Hi-Fi Choice sorts the best from the rest with rigorous test processes and a highly experienced team of reviewers.
in this issue
welcome
Searching for an appropriate quotation to kick off this issue, I came across this: “Inhale the future. Exhale the past.” Could anything be a more apposite encouragement to put the dark days of lockdown behind us and concentrate our efforts on the freedoms and opportunities that the future holds? Created in this spirit, we hope you enjoy Reasons To Be Cheerful, the new regular feature which you’ll find on p128, near the back of this issue. Determined to make up for lost time, it will be our pleasure to make sure that every month Cheerful is packed with events, releases and other fun stuff coming your way. There’s so much going on that since Cheerful was put to bed we’ve learned of the Glastonbury Festival virtual replacement, Live At Worthy Farm, featuring…
basshead!
PRICE: £900 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: KARMA-AV.CO.UK ALL THE WAY from Youngstown, Ohio, SVS is bringing its new 3000 Micro subwoofer to the UK. Measuring a nifty little (WxHxD) 297 x 278 x 271mm, the 3000 Micro features innovations from the SVS 16-Ultra subwoofers married to active and opposing 205mm drivers and an 800W RMS/2,500W Peak Sledge STA-800D2 amplifier with discrete MOSFET output, and also features the SVS smartphone app for advanced system tuning. According to the company: “Fully active dual-opposing 205mm SVS drivers are connected in parallel to a single power amp. In this configuration they receive identical amounts of current to ensure precisely controlled and mirrored operation. By firing in unison in opposing directions, the mechanical energy transferred to the cabinet is effectively cancelled, creating a sonically inert enclosure that resolves…
tim for action!
PRICE: £40 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: FLAREAUDIO.COM TIM BURGESS, LEAD singer of The Charlatans, has teamed up with Flare Audio to launch a new custom earphone, The Listening Party1, named after his popular Twitter experience in which Burgess invites fans to listen to an artist’s album while band members and close associates tweet about its personal and cultural significance. The TLP1 will additionally help raise money for UK grassroots music venues struggling through the pandemic with £5 from each set sold via Flare’s website going to the Music Venue Trust of which Burgess has just been announced as patron. Flare co-founder and COO, Naomi Roberts, says: “We love what Tim has been doing with the Listening Party and after some interesting talks we knew we could do something really great together. We wanted the…
moving on up
PRICE: £120 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: CAMBRIDGEAUDIO.COM CAMBRIDGE AUDIO HAS unveiled a new true wireless headphone, the Melomania 1+, which the company says: “takes the award-winning performance of Cambridge Audio’s first ever in-ear headphones, Melomania 1 (HFC 463), up a level – by adding app control, customisable EQ settings and an innovative High Performance Audio Mode.” The earbud now features USB-C fast charging on the case. Offering nine hours of battery life from a single charge, the case offers four times that – 45 hours – of total playtime. The Melomania 1+ also comes with more memory foam ear tips – medium and large to ensure a secure fit. Each earbud weighs 4.6g and comes with IPX5 certification protecting them against rain and sweat. Compatible with the new app, the 1+ can customise EQ settings…
play your cardeas right!
● County Durham’s Kudos Audio has confirmed the release of its improved Cardea C10 and C20 loudspeakers. The new models are precision manufactured from balanced veneered High-Density Fibreboard (HDF) and both use a custom 180mm mid/bass driver with a die-cast chassis with large open areas and a coated paper cone. There’s a 39mm voice coil in the C10 standmount and a 26mm voice coil for the C20 floorstander, both having a phase plug to aid directivity. The HF unit is a custom version of the SEAS Crescendo K2 29mm fabric dome and the C10 and C20 crossovers are first-order electrical for the LF utilising a zero-distortion low-resistance Mundorf air-core inductor. The HF is filtered by a second-order electrical circuit using an ICW capacitor and another Mundorf air-core inductor plus a Mundorf…
hey, hey, my mojo
CHORD ELECTRONICS’ MOJO DAC/headphone amp (HFC 423) has been given the double thumbs up by Neil Young. A post on his Neil Young Archives website entitled LET’S GET COOKIN with SOUND! describes how Young and the archivists of his vast back catalogue use the Mojo with their phones and desktops to listen to the tracks, and they’ve even created a webpage to detail the correct Mojo set-up so listeners can also enjoy them at their full resolution. You can read the full article at: neilyoungarchives.com. The Mojo is available now for £400. Clear head PRICE: £1,400 AVAILABLE: NOW WEB: FOCAL.COM Following last month’s Audiofile story about the launch of its Celestee (on review on page 52) and Clear MG Professional headphones, French company Focal is now releasing a new model, the Clear Mg. This open-back,…
