[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
JULY 2013
WWW.HIFINEWS.CO.UK
THE HOME OF REAL HI-FI
& Record Review
STEREO STARS
Exc
lu
siv
e:
Constellation Audio’s Virgo & Centaur
LA
YL
A
D
EREK
AND
THE
DOM
INO
S
Krell S-550i
Premier integrated
USB cable sound
Fac t or fantasy? p43
Aurorasound
VIDA phono preamp
Vintage amps
Musical Fidelity’s
The Preamp & Dr Thomas
The Vinyl Factory
Marantz NA-11S1
– EMI’s legacy
Investigation, p16
Vulkan VIII-R
Quadral’s big red
music machines
Flagship media server
• PLUS
19 pages of music reviews and features
• CLASSIC ROCK VENUES
The Troubadour Club, LA
• OPINION
11 pages of letters & cutting-edge comment
• AUDIO MILESTONE
Philips’ MFB speakers
• VINYL RE-RELEASE
OJ’s
You Can’t Hide Your Love
• READERS’ CLASSIFIEDS
Hi-fi bargains galore
f
UK £4.00 US $9.99 Aus $9.95
UK£400US$999Aus $9 95
JUL/13
I
’ve described hi-
fi
as a
broad church on more
than one occasion, but
the rich tapestry of our
shared passion has never
been so diverse as it is today.
As the world of ‘virtual media’
continues to expand, offering
computer-equipped audiophiles
a vehicle to enjoy high resolution
music
fi
les, the traditional vinyl
connoisseurs among us continue
to be blessed with exquisite
moving-coil pick-ups and
innovative phono preamps.
That diversity is re
fl
ected in
every issue of
Hi-Fi News
, as it
is this month with our exclusive
reviews of Marantz’s NA-11S1
media player and Benchmark’s
DAC2 HGC outboard converter
alongside the glorious
Urushi Sky Blue MC
from Koetsu and VIDA
phono preamp from
Aurorasound.
The growing
acceptance of
computer-based audio among
our ranks is also re
fl
ected in
the parallel growth of outboard
DACs (Digital-to-Analogue
Converters). Time was when you
couldn’t move for tripping over
a two-box CD player, its disc-
playing and conversion duties
separated into two chassis. Yet
the
fi
rst era of the outboard DAC
was over as quickly as it began as
the early ’90s saw superior single
box ‘integrated’ CD players sprint
to the fore. The key difference
with the outboard DACs of today
is the interface that binds them.
ABOVE:
Can you handle
this
much power? The Krell S-550i is on p36
RIGHT:
Our
de
fi
nitive guide
to the best USB
interconnects
starts on p43
Sure enough, most still facilitate
the legacy S/PDIF connection
(the Sony/Philips Digital Interface
Format) developed in the 1980s,
but all now play host to the new
socket on the block – USB.
Of course, the Universal
Serial Bus has been part of the
computer universe for at least 15
years but it’s only with the arrival
of ‘audiophile’ media player
‘A USB cable is yet
another instrument to
fi ne-tune your system’
software and the availability of
uncompressed, DRM-free music
fi
les, that USB has powered its
way into
our
world.
True to form, hi-
fi
artisans
have embraced USB with
one eye on the standard,
the other on how it may be
‘tweaked’. Right down to the
cables themselves. So, perhaps
we shouldn’t be surprised to
discover that USB cables are yet
another instrument to
fi
ne-tune
the sound of our systems [p43].
VINYL:
Derek & The Dominos’
Layla
is
this month’s Vinyl Icon (p72) while Steve
Sutherland gets terribly ‘over-excited’ as
OJ’s
You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever
is
reissued on 180g vinyl (p70)
RIGHT:
Hi-Fi News & RR
is the exclusive
UK representative of EISA’s Audio and
Home Theatre panels. Paul Miller is
EISA’s Audio and HT Panel Manager
PAUL MILLER
EDITOR
HI-FI NEWS’ EXPERT LINE UP: THE FINEST MINDS IN AUDIO JOURNALISM BRING THEIR EXPERIENCE TO BEAR ON ALL AREAS OF HI-FI & MUSIC
JOHN BAMFORD
JB brings huge
industry experience, a
penchant for massive
speakers and a love of
hi-res audio in all its
diverse guises
BARRY FOX
Investigative journalist
supreme, Barry is the
fi
rst with news of the
latest developments
in hi-
fi
and music
technologies
KEN KESSLER
is currently our Senior
Contributing Editor
and almost singularly
responsible for the
renaissance in valves
and ‘vintage hi-
fi
’
KEITH HOWARD
has written about
hi-
fi
for 30 years, and
edited
Hi-Fi Answers
for nine. KH performs
our speaker and
headphone lab tests
STEVE HARRIS
Former Editor of this
very title from 1986
through to 2005. A
lifetime in audio and
a love of jazz makes
Steve a goldmine
JOHN HOWES
Foremost collector and
archivist of vintage
hi-
fi
, famous for the
UK’s bi-annual Audio
Jumble, John shares his
experience with
HFN
STEVE SUTHERLAND
Worked on
Melody
Maker
and then edited
NME
from 1992-2000,
the Britpop years. Steve
brings a unique slant to
our Vinyl Release pages
JULY 2013
|
www.hi
fi
news.co.uk
|
3
Music is a higher revelation than
all wisdom and philosophy.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN - Composer - 1770 - 1827
BEAUTY REVEALED.
Moving the delicate membrane of a headphone driver is very different to energising the reactive
complex impedance of a multi driver loudspeaker.
The small signal integrity of the amplifier becomes even more critical with a fraction of the mass
to control and the subtle masking of the listening environment removed.
The Trilogy 933 is a clean sheet design with the same natural presentation and vibrant musicality
found in our award winning pre and power amplifiers. Its a subtle, but crucial distinction: we like
to think of the Trilogy 933 as an amplifier for headphones, not a headphone amplifier.
UK Distribution
t: 01727 865488
e: info@symmetry-systems.co.uk
w: www.symmetry-systems.co.uk
t: 020 8856 8856
e: info@trilogyaudio.com
w: www.trilogyaudio.com
DESIGNED & EXCLUSIVELY HAND BUILT IN ENGLAND
CONTENTS
VINYL & RECORD REVIEWS
NEWS AND OPINION
68
Vinyl Frontier
Chris Heard of Classic LPs brings
you the best of the new reissues
and re-releases on premium vinyl
70
Vinyl Release
Ex-
NME
editor Steve Sutherland
talks to singer Edwyn Collins as the
Scottish post-punk band’s debut
album is released on 180g vinyl
72
Vinyl Icon
Perhaps best known for the title
track ‘Layla’, Derek & The Dominos
one and only studio album saw the
singer/songwriter of pop’s previous
decade make way for the guitar
hero, as Johnny Black explains
78
Classic Rock Venues
This month sees Steve Sutherland
continue his tour of the world’s
iconic rock venues with the story of
the Troubadour in West Hollywood
85
Music Reviews
06
News
Linn launches new Aktiv
fl
agship
loudspeaker; Danish high-end Gato
separates arrive in UK; single-ended
tube monoblocks from Icon Audio
and a new phono stage from Canor
08
Show Blog
Oddball speakers, world-class cans,
serious turntables and unrivalled
electronics... Jonas Bryngelsson
reports from the ever-expanding
High End show in Stockholm
16
Investigation
John Bamford takes you on a tour
of the Old Vinyl Factory in Hayes,
once home to the EMI pressing
plant and now being redeveloped
with a distinct vinyl theme
98
Opinion
Insider comment on the hot
audio topics of the day from
Paul Miller, John Bamford, Barry
Willis, Jim Lesurf and Steve Harris
106
Sound Off
Bitrates and frequency response
explained, another take on binaural
sound, high-res downloads revisited,
a plea on behalf of SACD, plus do
pre-recorded cassettes trump LPs?
138
Off The Leash
43
Group Test: USB cables
£18-£139 (and £6.5k)
Ten key brands, all auditioned blind.
Don’t buy another USB cable until
you’ve read this month’s group test
52
Koetsu Urushi Sky Blue
Looking for a cartridge with
soul
?
Few, it seems, compare with this
hand-made-to-order MC from Japan
54
Aurorasound VIDA
Retro-styled phono stage from niche
Japanese manufacturer brings the
latest tech to your vinyl replay system
58
Benchmark DAC2 HGC
No longer limited to 96kHz, latest
DAC now also supports native DSD
replay via USB using the DoP protocol
62
Grado PS1000
Our selection of audiophile LP
and hi-res downloads reviewed by
our specialists alongside the latest
rock, jazz and classical albums
DEFINITIVE PRODUCT REVIEWS
22
Constellation Audio
Virgo/Centaur
A new range of electronics from
industry veterans... we test the
Virgo pre and Centaur monoblocks
28
Quadral Aurum
Vulkan VIII-R
Ninth iteration of Quadral’s Aurum
Vulkan sees the speaker completely
reworked, but how does it sound?
32
Marantz NA-11S1
At last! Marantz unveils a streamer
to match its
fl
agship SACD player.
Is it the best value model around?
36
Krell S-550i
This month Ken Kessler remembers
another of hi-
fi
’s recently departed
– Sonus faber’s Franco Serblin, the
Can the US company’s
fl
agship cans
man who made speakers with style
claim to be the best money can buy?
VINTAGE
114
Vintage Review
How do the classic components of
yesteryear measure up today? We test
The Preamp/Dr Thomas pre/power –
Musical Fidelity’s very
fi
rst amps
120
Audio Milestones
Following the S-300i amp comes
A highpoint in loudspeaker design,
this compact integrated – one of
yet now forgotten... We remember
the most powerful we’ve tested...
Philips’ Motional Feedback speakers
ABOVE:
For our ten-way
Group Test of USB cables,
turn to p43
SUBSCRIBE!
SUBSCRIBE!
SUBSCRIBE!
Special Christmas offer:
Three issues for just £3!
See page 60
Special Christmas offer:
Three issues for just £3!
See page 60
Free £95 interconnect cable
See page 82
ABOVE:
Benchmark Media Systems ups the bar with its DAC2 HGC, see p58
See page 60
See page 57
See page 82
See page 60
See page 57
JULY 2013
|
www.hi
fi
news.co.uk
|
5
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl audipoznan.keep.pl
JULY 2013
WWW.HIFINEWS.CO.UK
THE HOME OF REAL HI-FI
& Record Review
STEREO STARS
Exc
lu
siv
e:
Constellation Audio’s Virgo & Centaur
LA
YL
A
D
EREK
AND
THE
DOM
INO
S
Krell S-550i
Premier integrated
USB cable sound
Fac t or fantasy? p43
Aurorasound
VIDA phono preamp
Vintage amps
Musical Fidelity’s
The Preamp & Dr Thomas
The Vinyl Factory
Marantz NA-11S1
– EMI’s legacy
Investigation, p16
Vulkan VIII-R
Quadral’s big red
music machines
Flagship media server
• PLUS
19 pages of music reviews and features
• CLASSIC ROCK VENUES
The Troubadour Club, LA
• OPINION
11 pages of letters & cutting-edge comment
• AUDIO MILESTONE
Philips’ MFB speakers
• VINYL RE-RELEASE
OJ’s
You Can’t Hide Your Love
• READERS’ CLASSIFIEDS
Hi-fi bargains galore
f
UK £4.00 US $9.99 Aus $9.95
UK£400US$999Aus $9 95
JUL/13
I
’ve described hi-
fi
as a
broad church on more
than one occasion, but
the rich tapestry of our
shared passion has never
been so diverse as it is today.
As the world of ‘virtual media’
continues to expand, offering
computer-equipped audiophiles
a vehicle to enjoy high resolution
music
fi
les, the traditional vinyl
connoisseurs among us continue
to be blessed with exquisite
moving-coil pick-ups and
innovative phono preamps.
That diversity is re
fl
ected in
every issue of
Hi-Fi News
, as it
is this month with our exclusive
reviews of Marantz’s NA-11S1
media player and Benchmark’s
DAC2 HGC outboard converter
alongside the glorious
Urushi Sky Blue MC
from Koetsu and VIDA
phono preamp from
Aurorasound.
The growing
acceptance of
computer-based audio among
our ranks is also re
fl
ected in
the parallel growth of outboard
DACs (Digital-to-Analogue
Converters). Time was when you
couldn’t move for tripping over
a two-box CD player, its disc-
playing and conversion duties
separated into two chassis. Yet
the
fi
rst era of the outboard DAC
was over as quickly as it began as
the early ’90s saw superior single
box ‘integrated’ CD players sprint
to the fore. The key difference
with the outboard DACs of today
is the interface that binds them.
ABOVE:
Can you handle
this
much power? The Krell S-550i is on p36
RIGHT:
Our
de
fi
nitive guide
to the best USB
interconnects
starts on p43
Sure enough, most still facilitate
the legacy S/PDIF connection
(the Sony/Philips Digital Interface
Format) developed in the 1980s,
but all now play host to the new
socket on the block – USB.
Of course, the Universal
Serial Bus has been part of the
computer universe for at least 15
years but it’s only with the arrival
of ‘audiophile’ media player
‘A USB cable is yet
another instrument to
fi ne-tune your system’
software and the availability of
uncompressed, DRM-free music
fi
les, that USB has powered its
way into
our
world.
True to form, hi-
fi
artisans
have embraced USB with
one eye on the standard,
the other on how it may be
‘tweaked’. Right down to the
cables themselves. So, perhaps
we shouldn’t be surprised to
discover that USB cables are yet
another instrument to
fi
ne-tune
the sound of our systems [p43].
VINYL:
Derek & The Dominos’
Layla
is
this month’s Vinyl Icon (p72) while Steve
Sutherland gets terribly ‘over-excited’ as
OJ’s
You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever
is
reissued on 180g vinyl (p70)
RIGHT:
Hi-Fi News & RR
is the exclusive
UK representative of EISA’s Audio and
Home Theatre panels. Paul Miller is
EISA’s Audio and HT Panel Manager
PAUL MILLER
EDITOR
HI-FI NEWS’ EXPERT LINE UP: THE FINEST MINDS IN AUDIO JOURNALISM BRING THEIR EXPERIENCE TO BEAR ON ALL AREAS OF HI-FI & MUSIC
JOHN BAMFORD
JB brings huge
industry experience, a
penchant for massive
speakers and a love of
hi-res audio in all its
diverse guises
BARRY FOX
Investigative journalist
supreme, Barry is the
fi
rst with news of the
latest developments
in hi-
fi
and music
technologies
KEN KESSLER
is currently our Senior
Contributing Editor
and almost singularly
responsible for the
renaissance in valves
and ‘vintage hi-
fi
’
KEITH HOWARD
has written about
hi-
fi
for 30 years, and
edited
Hi-Fi Answers
for nine. KH performs
our speaker and
headphone lab tests
STEVE HARRIS
Former Editor of this
very title from 1986
through to 2005. A
lifetime in audio and
a love of jazz makes
Steve a goldmine
JOHN HOWES
Foremost collector and
archivist of vintage
hi-
fi
, famous for the
UK’s bi-annual Audio
Jumble, John shares his
experience with
HFN
STEVE SUTHERLAND
Worked on
Melody
Maker
and then edited
NME
from 1992-2000,
the Britpop years. Steve
brings a unique slant to
our Vinyl Release pages
JULY 2013
|
www.hi
fi
news.co.uk
|
3
Music is a higher revelation than
all wisdom and philosophy.
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN - Composer - 1770 - 1827
BEAUTY REVEALED.
Moving the delicate membrane of a headphone driver is very different to energising the reactive
complex impedance of a multi driver loudspeaker.
The small signal integrity of the amplifier becomes even more critical with a fraction of the mass
to control and the subtle masking of the listening environment removed.
The Trilogy 933 is a clean sheet design with the same natural presentation and vibrant musicality
found in our award winning pre and power amplifiers. Its a subtle, but crucial distinction: we like
to think of the Trilogy 933 as an amplifier for headphones, not a headphone amplifier.
UK Distribution
t: 01727 865488
e: info@symmetry-systems.co.uk
w: www.symmetry-systems.co.uk
t: 020 8856 8856
e: info@trilogyaudio.com
w: www.trilogyaudio.com
DESIGNED & EXCLUSIVELY HAND BUILT IN ENGLAND
CONTENTS
VINYL & RECORD REVIEWS
NEWS AND OPINION
68
Vinyl Frontier
Chris Heard of Classic LPs brings
you the best of the new reissues
and re-releases on premium vinyl
70
Vinyl Release
Ex-
NME
editor Steve Sutherland
talks to singer Edwyn Collins as the
Scottish post-punk band’s debut
album is released on 180g vinyl
72
Vinyl Icon
Perhaps best known for the title
track ‘Layla’, Derek & The Dominos
one and only studio album saw the
singer/songwriter of pop’s previous
decade make way for the guitar
hero, as Johnny Black explains
78
Classic Rock Venues
This month sees Steve Sutherland
continue his tour of the world’s
iconic rock venues with the story of
the Troubadour in West Hollywood
85
Music Reviews
06
News
Linn launches new Aktiv
fl
agship
loudspeaker; Danish high-end Gato
separates arrive in UK; single-ended
tube monoblocks from Icon Audio
and a new phono stage from Canor
08
Show Blog
Oddball speakers, world-class cans,
serious turntables and unrivalled
electronics... Jonas Bryngelsson
reports from the ever-expanding
High End show in Stockholm
16
Investigation
John Bamford takes you on a tour
of the Old Vinyl Factory in Hayes,
once home to the EMI pressing
plant and now being redeveloped
with a distinct vinyl theme
98
Opinion
Insider comment on the hot
audio topics of the day from
Paul Miller, John Bamford, Barry
Willis, Jim Lesurf and Steve Harris
106
Sound Off
Bitrates and frequency response
explained, another take on binaural
sound, high-res downloads revisited,
a plea on behalf of SACD, plus do
pre-recorded cassettes trump LPs?
138
Off The Leash
43
Group Test: USB cables
£18-£139 (and £6.5k)
Ten key brands, all auditioned blind.
Don’t buy another USB cable until
you’ve read this month’s group test
52
Koetsu Urushi Sky Blue
Looking for a cartridge with
soul
?
Few, it seems, compare with this
hand-made-to-order MC from Japan
54
Aurorasound VIDA
Retro-styled phono stage from niche
Japanese manufacturer brings the
latest tech to your vinyl replay system
58
Benchmark DAC2 HGC
No longer limited to 96kHz, latest
DAC now also supports native DSD
replay via USB using the DoP protocol
62
Grado PS1000
Our selection of audiophile LP
and hi-res downloads reviewed by
our specialists alongside the latest
rock, jazz and classical albums
DEFINITIVE PRODUCT REVIEWS
22
Constellation Audio
Virgo/Centaur
A new range of electronics from
industry veterans... we test the
Virgo pre and Centaur monoblocks
28
Quadral Aurum
Vulkan VIII-R
Ninth iteration of Quadral’s Aurum
Vulkan sees the speaker completely
reworked, but how does it sound?
32
Marantz NA-11S1
At last! Marantz unveils a streamer
to match its
fl
agship SACD player.
Is it the best value model around?
36
Krell S-550i
This month Ken Kessler remembers
another of hi-
fi
’s recently departed
– Sonus faber’s Franco Serblin, the
Can the US company’s
fl
agship cans
man who made speakers with style
claim to be the best money can buy?
VINTAGE
114
Vintage Review
How do the classic components of
yesteryear measure up today? We test
The Preamp/Dr Thomas pre/power –
Musical Fidelity’s very
fi
rst amps
120
Audio Milestones
Following the S-300i amp comes
A highpoint in loudspeaker design,
this compact integrated – one of
yet now forgotten... We remember
the most powerful we’ve tested...
Philips’ Motional Feedback speakers
ABOVE:
For our ten-way
Group Test of USB cables,
turn to p43
SUBSCRIBE!
SUBSCRIBE!
SUBSCRIBE!
Special Christmas offer:
Three issues for just £3!
See page 60
Special Christmas offer:
Three issues for just £3!
See page 60
Free £95 interconnect cable
See page 82
ABOVE:
Benchmark Media Systems ups the bar with its DAC2 HGC, see p58
See page 60
See page 57
See page 82
See page 60
See page 57
JULY 2013
|
www.hi
fi
news.co.uk
|
5
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]