Australian Hi-Fi Magazine September / October 2015

    Since 1969, Australian Hi-Fi Magazine 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 Magazine 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 Magazine 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 Magazine 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 via digital download.

03 Editor's Lead-In
This month, Editor Greg Borrowman muses on the hypocrisy of the hi-fi fraternity. Read it at your peril!

6 Sound Bites
Naim NAC-N 272 streamer, Bose SoundLink Mini III, AVM Inspiration SD2.2, Focal XS wireless powered speakers, Perreaux Audient VP3 preamp, Sony MHC-V7D mini-system, MSB Select DAC III, Harbeth HL-Compact 7ES-3, Sonus Faber Venere S, Wilson Audio Sabrina, Astell&Kern AK380, Soltanus ESL, Thorens TD-903, Sennheiser Momentum IED, Jelco prices drop, Soulines Satie DCX turntable, Gold Note CD-1000, Audioquest Nighthawk 'phones.

16 The Art of Revival
With a glass or three of Chivas Regal and just a dash of Beethoven's 4th, a sprightly Sy Croydon solves the dilemma of getting 'young persons' to pursue the art of high-fidelity

48 Subscriptions
Tired of traipsing down to the newsagent to secure your copy of Australia's best and greatest hi-fi publication? If you subscribe, we can deliver the real thing to your door, or an electronic facsimile to your device.

Equipment Reviews
18 Triangle Esprit Titus EZ Speakers
'They look great… and they also outperform any other similarly-priced small speakers I've ever heard,' says reviewer Jutta Dziwnik.

26 Benchmark DAC2 HGC Preamp/DAC
When a reviewer says they will be buying the component they're reviewing, the conclusion to that review is pretty well foregone!

36 Marantz PM6005 Integrated Amplifier
Unusually, the PM6005's circuitry employs current feedback — rather than voltage feedback — architecture. How has this affected the performance?

46 B&W P5 Wireless Headphones
Bowers & Wilkins hasn't put a foot (or an ear) wrong with this wireless version of its award-winning headphones…but they're not cheap!

54 KEF Reference 3 Speakers
These new KEF Reference 3 loudspeakers are a succinct example of the modern speaker designers' art—but they're not exactly small...

60 Rhyme Acoustics P2206 Speakers
The P2206 is an all-Fountek affair, using this Chinese company's bass/midrange drivers and the fabulous Fountek Neo X 2.0 aluminium ribbon tweeters.

Music
66 Rock On
This month it's a Yes-Fest, with Jez Ford mourning the recent passing of Chris Squires by immersing himself in a newly-released 14-CD box set, plus a re-mastered 'Progeny: Highlights From Seventy-Two.'

68 Super Fidelity
John Sunier uncovers one of the weirdest hi-res recordings ever made, with pianist Christopher Tarnow and thereminist Carolina Eyckeaser, and spooky-sounding tracks such as A Whale in Love.

70 Jazz Track
The Microscopic Septet once cannibalised the likes of Duke Ellington, Sun Ra and Louis Jordan. Now, 34 years on, they have their own past to cannibalise and the result is one of the most distinctive sounds in contemporary jazz.

72 Blu-ray Reviews
64 years on and we're still comparing the Rolling Stones with The Beatles… but this time Stephen Dawson has the sound — and the images — in Blu-ray to prove the point once and for all.

Esoteric Section
50 Sound Travels
Tom Waters visits an audiophile who loves the holographic images his system gives him... and just as well, because he doesn't want a TV panel in his room!

54 On Test
"Amongst the most satisfying speakers I've had the pleasure of reviewing for quite some time," says Edgar Kramer. "Within the context of my reference system, they shone as truly outstanding transducers."

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