CATEGORIES

NAD C 700

As the most affordable of NAD's streaming amp family, at its core the C 700 is a combination of the A company's UCD Class D amp technology - which creates a switching amplifier from discrete analogue sections rather than a single chip amp - and the BluOS streaming front end that underpins many NAD and Bluesound components.

Melody Action Ultra

Well-established in Australia and Asia, Melody sells an extensive range to suit all pockets and now has its sights on Europe. The Action Ultra presents a high-value proposition for audiophiles who want to sample thermionic valves without breaking the bank.

HiFi Rose RA180

Whatever industrial design eccentricities HiFi Rose might embrace, the brand is all about offering a multitude of features and functions. However, with its £5,500 price tag, the RA180 also marks a significant move upmarket for the company.

Exposure 3510

Specs-wise the 3510 could have been plucked from the pages of the 1980 Hi-Fi Choice Yearbook although obviously key areas have evolved and improved over the decades. The conservative factory power rating is quoted as 110W into 8ohm loads and it provides line inputs labelled Aux/ Phono, CD, Aux 2, AV with fixed gain for switchable home theatre bypass, a tape in/out loop and two preamp outs - the latter useful for subwoofers or connecting other power amplifiers.

Cyrus ¡9-XR

Back in HFC 473, Cyrus' i7-XR put in a fine showing and now it's the turn of the larger 19-XR. Four RCA line inputs and a moving-magnet phono stage are fitted, along with a pre and line out.

Chord Electronics Anni

Desktop hi-fi? Can't say I've dabbled. But, of course, 'desktop' is just another marketing category and not a stipulation. Basically, it means small, which is a much more liberating concept and a description that aptly fits Chord Electronics' new integrated amplifier, Anni.

Copland CSA70

Copland's range comprises both hybrid and all-valve designs, but for its latest amplifier it has gone exclusively solid state. The CSA70 is its entry-level offering and follows a similar design to the CSA100 (HFC 465) and 150 (HFC 479), but dispenses with the valve preamp stage. As the name suggests, the amp section is good for 70W into 8ohm.

Cambridge Audio AXA35

Affordable integrated amplifiers have been Cambridge Audio's forte for the best part of 30 years and, while they have also moved upmarket recently, the AXA35 is the latest in an unbroken line of more terrestrial models stretching all the way back to the original A1.

Vertere Sabre

PERHAPS THE MOST unusual aspect of the Sabre is that it is a moving-magnet offering, which at the price is fairly rare. Vertere argues that having a cartridge that doesn't require your phono stage to be changed makes the proportional upgrade cost lower.

Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC Star

SOUNDSMITH'S ZEPHYR MIMC Star uses an ultra-low mass moving-iron stylus and cantilever assembly, claimed to offer the best of both MM and MC designs.

Shelter 901 III

TOP OF SHELTER'S Legendary Line, the 901 III has an old fashioned-looking but beautifully finished anodised aluminium body housing, a hard aluminium-clad boron cantilever and an elliptical diamond stylus.

Ortofon Cadenza Black

AS THE FLAGSHIP model in Ortofon's middle-ranking Cadenza range, the Black sets out to give a taste of the company's latest high-end models without the expense. It's a conventional design with a painted aluminium and stainless steel body, and uses a boron cantilever tipped by a nude Shibata stylus.

MoFi UltraGold

MoFi's first moving-coil offering, the UltraGold's recipe of nude Shibata stylus, boron cantilever, neodymium magnet and PC-OCC wiring could just as easily be used to describe a cartridge costing somewhere in the £5,000 range. And no seasoned audiophile would blink.

Lyra Delos

WITH ITS CHASSIS hewn from a solid 6063 aluminium billet, the Delos is deliberately non-parallel in its shape to minimise sensitivity to external vibrations.

Hana Umami Red

the Umami Red is a half-covered cartridge; a sort of Lyra with a loose fit coat on. The generator is under a 'shroud' but open to the outside air rather than contained within a body

Goldring Eroica HX

Usefully comprehensive, Goldring's cartridge range has been fairly long lived, and new arrivals are always worthy of note. The HX replaces the H as the only high-output moving coil in Goldring's range and is part of the more affordable Eroica (Italian for hero) family below the Elite and Ethos lines.

Simaudio MOON 110LP v2

MOON BY SIMAUDIO'S least costly phono preamp (it produces four) looks and feels anything but low rent. With a meticulously machined bowed facia fronting a compact aluminium chassis, it offers four gain settings up to 66dB and the bank of DIP switches on the underside also provides ample scope for experimenting with resistance and capacitance values.

Rega Fono MC MK4

THIS IS A component dedicated purely to the MC cause. If you have a moving-magnet cartridge, Rega will happily sell you a Fono MM MK5.

Pro-Ject Phono Box S3 B

PROVIDING ARGUABLY THE biggest 'wow' moment at this price, the Pro-Ject combines dual mono configuration, discrete circuitry in the gain stage (no op amps here) and both balanced in and outputs.

MoFi StudioPhono

A LARGELY FEATURELESS, low-profile black box that's rather understated, attractive and very nicely put together with a chassis made from metal. That's a rather perfunctory description.

iFi Audio ZEN Phono

THE JUNIOR IFI'S spec seems to belong to something with a far plumper price tag. Take the ability to generate up to 72dB of gain for lowoutput MC carts. Helpfully, this sits beside a 48dB setting to accommodate high-output MCs as well as a setting for MMs.

Cambridge Audio Alva Duo

IT DOESN'T GET much more straight-ahead than Cambridge Audio's Duo. As well as impressive build quality and an uptown aesthetic, its metal facia is a model of functional simplicity: two small flush buttons to flip between MM and MC, a volume knob and 6.3mm socket for the headphone amp.

Vertere SG-1

In its Clear finish, seen here, the SG-1 retails for £16,000, while £18,250 pays for Black, Pearlescent, or Champagne. All are elegant, the two levels of 30mm-thick cast acrylic for top and bottom strata of the plinth, with a 15mm intermediate level of acrylic, creating a futuristic see-through look.

SME Model 60/Series VA

As the successor to SME’s Model 30 flagship, the latest Model 60 contains a heady mix of old and new technologies. The two-tier chassis, now with elegant curves, is made from aluminium alloy and sits on four height-adjustable feet that are decoupled from the main, lower chassis by an internal multi-point isolation system.

Roksan Attessa

This British brand came to the fore in the midEighties, gaining critical acclaim for its high-end Xerxes turntable. Things have changed since then for Roksan, and it now makes affordable designs too.

Rega Planar 3

There will be some reading this for whom the Rega Planar 3 was the first ‘proper’ turntable they owned. Launched in 1978, it hit the sweet spot between high-end decks and budget ones perfectly.

Pro-Ject Debut PRO

Dubbed the most audiophile’ Debut turntable yet, this deck/ arm/cartridge solution takes over from last year’s popular Debut Carbon with a host of new useful refinements

Edwards Audio TT4 Carbon

Edwards Audio is the brainchild of Kevin Edwards of Talk Electronics. His range of vinyl spinners is proudly designed and made in the UK.

Cambridge Audio Alva TT V2

Cambridge Audio’s TT V2 is best seen as a considered revision of the original Alva TT (HFC 453) rather than a wholesale change. It is a direct-drive design with electronic speed control allowing 33 and 45rpm to be selected via buttons on the plinth.

DALI Katch G2

DALI’s original Katch was a hit from the moment it went on sale. The company combined its driver know-how with a piece of industrial design that was a cut above the rest