CATEGORIES

American Pi

If ever there was a case of not judging a hi-fi component by its cover, David Vivian reckons the PecanPi Streamer is it

Data analyst

Tape head David Price pays homage to one of the best cassette decks that wasn’t produced by Nakamichi

In Pod we trust

CliffJoseph has a close encounter of the third kind with the latest addition to Apple’s popular range of Airpods

Stream on

The latest member of the ZEN family is more specialised than the ones we’ve seen before and Ed Selley thinks it’s a winner

X appeal

X man CliffJoseph gets to grips with Audio-Technica’s second-generation Bluetooth headphone

801 carat sounds

A new 800 series, and a return to the original 801 name, but the 801 D4’s enhancements are more than skin deep

Sound of silence

This all-valve phono stage is a fastidiously engineered piece of kit. Ed Selley sees if it lives up to the gold standard

Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital £350

This diminutive box of tricks holds its own in terms of spec and, no less importantly, performance too

Triple threat

This new flagship breaks some new ground for Etymotic and Ed Selley reckons it does so in some considerable style

Join the Q

This bookshelf speaker provides attractive sound and connectivity at a competitive price. Cliff Joseph just wishes it had wi-fi

Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro 3 £900

Arguments as to whether this is best described as a DAC or streamer are secondary to its performance

iFi Audio Neo iDSD £800

This well-specified DAC charms with its capable sonic performance across a selection of in and outputs

Musical Fidelity MX-DAC £549

The specification might be less than lavish, but this DAC still offers an impressive audio performance

Node to joy

The latest version of Bluesound’s affordable streamer tweaks a winning formula very effectively says Ed Selley

Novafidelity N15D £600

Another extremely flexible product, but the ability to do everything can result in some compromises

The famous Five

The largest member of the Lumina range is an imposing-looking speaker. Having met the rest of the family, Ed Selley takes it on

Rather special

Pro-Ject’s new flagship phono stage is very sophisticated, but Ed Selley thinks that its charms are rather easier to understand

RAD for it!

The RAD-0 is a planar magnetic headphone with a unique aesthetic detail. Ed Selley considers its inner and outer beauty

Go for gold

Leben’s smallest integrated amplifier is different to almost any other valve amp on the market and Ed Selley is rather smitten

Design Build Listen The Wand EQ £1,400

There’s always room for a magic box in a roundup and, hailing from Down Under, this one fits the bill rather well

Bolt-on brilliance

The Debut Carbon Evo is a tremendously talented turntable, but as Ed Selley discovers, it has so much more to give

Chop and change

A&K’s ongoing mission to provide buyers with a range of choices reaches new heights. Ed Selley gets his modules out

Beat this...

New affordable in-ears from Apple for high-quality sound on the go. CliffJoseph puts them through their paces

Action-packed super hero

Boasting extraordinary power with exquisite tube finesse, BAT’s new VK-3500 integrated matches the brand’s REX 3 triode preamp with a beefy solid-state output

A master stroke

Trickle-down technology at its finest, DS Audio’s DS 003 photo-electric pick-up from the Grand Master

Deluxe and delightful

Arriving from California via London comes the Zesto Audio Andros phono preamp – all tubes and transformers and, courtesy of an uprated PSU, now in Deluxe II guise

Two's company

David Price turns back the HFC time machine to the late-Eighties as he remembers the classic integrated that is the Naim Nait 2

Diamond club

Bowers & Wilkins has updated its best-selling high-end loudspeakers with a new 800 Series Diamond range. HFC visits the company worthing factory for a glimpse into the future

DESTINATION: BROCKLEY

New spot, same attitude: Simon Berkovitch heads to Brockley to sample the international delights in store at a South-East London institution in the making

BACK TO BLACK

They tried to make her go to rehab, but she said: “No, no, no...” Nigel Williamson remembers the incredible voice of Amy Jade Winehouse