Australian Hi-Fi Magazine September / October 2022

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Australian Hi-Fi Magazine September / October 2022

Since 1969, Australian Hi-Fi has kept audiophiles up to date on all the latest advances in audio technology and the hi-fi components available to enjoy music. All equipment reviews and music reviews are written by professionals who are experts in their respective fields, and are checked for accuracy by experienced sub-editors. Every audio component reviewed in Australian Hi-Fi is also independently tested by a NATA-certified test laboratory, whose test results and graphs are published with each review, together with a detailed technical analysis of those results.

Australian Hi-Fi also maintains a complete database of all Australian and New Zealand distributors of hi-fi equipment, along with updated listings of the brands they distribute. Australian Hi-Fi is published six times a year and on sale at thousands of news agencies throughout Australia and New Zealand, as well as being available in selected audio stores across the country plus International mail and online.

Our Front Cover: If anything can claim to be front cover material, it's this high-end amplification system — not least as two members are revised versions of the (dozens of) mono amps used to power Woodstock ‘69!

Editorial
3 Editor's Lead-In
Editor Becky Roberts backs a thrifty means of buying hi-fi and music in these expensive times, and applauds the consumer electronics and music industries' increasing steps toward environmental sustainability.

Equipment Reviews
16 SoulNote A-2 Integrated Amplifier
Whereas high-end audio brands typically seek to eliminate vibrations and resonances from their products, SoulNote's Japanese designer Hideki Kato actively encourages them. And it's hard to argue with his philosophy when the A-2 sounds like it does.

34 GoldenEar BRX Bookshelf Loudspeakers
If you prefer smaller speakers over floorstanders, there's some serious competition for the BRX from within GoldenEar's own camp, let alone everyone else's. So should these good-looking bookshelf speakers be the ones you take home?

34 Ferrum Audio Hypsos Hybrid Power Supply
"I feel a bit betrayed whenever I unpack a hi-fi component and find that it is powered by one of those cheap 'plug-pack' power supplies," this reviewer admits in his opening lines. Which is where Ferrum Audio comes in.

30 Mark Levinson No.5909 Wireless Headphones
Wireless headphones are getting better and better every year, but can any pair warrant a $1,599 price tag? Mark Levinson certainly believes at least one pair can....

Features
6 Audio News
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless; Musical Fidelity MX-Stream; VPI Avenger Direct; Elipson Heritage XLS 11; Aurender A15; Vertere Audio DG-1 S; Clearaudio Reference Jubillee; Grado Statement GS1000x and GS3000x; Luxman MX-10, L-507Z and PD-151 MKII; Cyrus Classic PRE and AMP; PSB Synchrony Series, and Pro-Ject X2 B.

39 Len Wallis Audio Hi-Fi Headlines
Len Walls Audio — specialist audio retailer and one of the most highly awarded hi-fi and audio visual design and installation companies in Australia — shares news of the latest and greatest audio and AV kit it has in stock and coming soon, from headphones to high-end home theatre solutions. And the rest....

72 Hi-Fi Primer
The world is getting expensive, and hi-fi and physical media along with it. You might, therefore, be tempted to buy second-hand components and vinyl. But if you haven't pottered down the pre-owned path before (or even if you have), here are some tips to help you on your way.

86 EISA Awards
It's that time again (already): Expert Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) members, of which Australian Hi-Fi magazine is one, have come together to judge the best product of the year in each class and decorate it with a coveted EISA Award. Every 2022-2023 winner is contained within this annually published section.

Music
106 Top Picks
For their ninth album, Muse master the wide range of future rock and pop sonics they've been toying with for the past decade and really capture the head-spinning chaos of the age. Whiskey Myers' latest is nothing short of superb too.

Esoterica Section
77 Interview
Some suggest that Melbourne-based audio repair specialist Dallas Clarke breathes life into dormant metallic objects, much as Geppetto gave life to Pinocchio from a piece of wood. With Australian Hi-Fi, he talks about his passion in restoring amplifiers, particularly valve designs.

80 High-End Review
A formidable four-box amplification system that arrives seven decades after the company's first amplifier back in 1949.

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