Australian Hi-Fi Magazine September / October 2014

 

   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.

 

3 Editor's Lead-In
Enhancing MP3 files? That's like putting lipstick on a pig, according to editor Greg Borrowman.

6 Audio News
Trigon Chronolog, Halcro, Denon, Request, Jandl, Ortofon, SME, Clearaudio, HFX, Bel Canto, QED, Arcam, Cayin, Magico, Sony, Wadia, Audio Research, Redgum, Canor, Focal, KEF, Omuni Audio, harman/kardon, M2tech and PS Audio.

28 Three-Way Stereo
Yes, it's as weird as you're already imagining, but the story behind its invention is even stranger and, for good measure, Rod Easdown's found something even more outlandish!

30 Hi-Res Hi-Jinks
In the rush to get on the hi-res bandwagon, some tracks with insurmountable technical failings are finding their way onto the market.

52 Interview
Len Wallis says the hi-fi industry has been turned on its head by recent developments, but that streaming audio has re-invigorated the entire hi-fi market, driving consumers back to true audio.

64 Win a Bose System
Your chance to win a Bose home entertainment system valued at $6,547, simply by subscribing or re-subscribing. You'll also save money on the usual cover price.

 

Equipment Reviews
22 Whatmough Progeny Signature Loudspeakers
The Progeny was Colin Whatmough's last design, and is certainly one of his greatest, yet there's one that is even better...

32 NAD D3020 Integrated Amplifier
Many people are comparing the D3020 with the original NAD 3020 Björn Erik Edvardsen designed three decades ago. Why?

42 Q Acoustics Concept 20
‘I have not heard a pair of speakers at the same price that sound anywhere near as good as Q Acoustics' Concept 20s,' says reviewer Greg Borrowman

58 REL Series S/5 Subwoofer
This new model uses the same technology that's used in Lockheed Martin's Hellfire missiles, so REL is really getting serious!

 

Esoterica Section
56 Sound Travels
Edgar Kramer visits an audiophile whose close circle of audio acquaintances has had a profound influence on his hi-fi journey. And while saying his system as arrived, he's already eyeing off a new component...

 

Music
63 Rock On
Neil Young, that champion of high-resolution audio, has recorded his latest album in a 1947 Voice-o-Graph booth complete with wow, flutter and telephone-line fidelity. Yet he says it's hi-res...

66 Super Fidelity
This month, John Sunier has to puzzle between re-mastered releases that sound better than any other versions, but have performances that are inferior to versions on ‘ordinary-rez' formats.

68 Jazz Track
John Shand finds some absolutely gorgeous-sounding CDs that also contain definitive performances, from the likes of Ralph Towner, Trevor Watts, Daniel Rosenboom... but not Keith Jarrett.

70 Blu-ray Reviews
It still seems incredible that Stevie Wonder released Songs in the Key of Life when he was just 26 years old. It went platinum immediately, and now, almost 40 years later, here's the 24-bit/96kHz version of the original analog tape.

 

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