September 2025

Making Great Strides In Audio Equipment
New technology requires a deeper explanation.
Editorial By Alan Sircom

  Audio may be the most mature consumer electronics field, but that doesn't mean if's stagnant. Development in audio has been continual, with improvements in all aspects of performance. Even the most cursory overview of the audio world shows why this should be the case. If you compare a modern low-power solid-state integrated amplifier with one sold even at the turn of the century, the level of precision in circuit design, component integrity and reliability is considerably better. 

That's just the start, however. While there are many companies that tread a successful path free from innovation, others consider each new project a chance to start afresh, creating a synthesis of existing technologies and new concepts to add to the canon of audio engineering. We've made – and continue to make great strides in all branches of audio, and not simply by pushing the price-point envelope.

The difficulty, however, often comes down to imparting that new technology. Reviewers have a range of skills, but one thing most of us are extremely capable of is reducing a concept down too far. Again, this is understandable for the sake of brevity and delivering information to the widest number of people. However, trying to reduce years of groundbreaking work into a couple of sentences throws away too much.

Understandable or not, this is doing a disservice to the technology and the reader. While brevity is commendable, some technologies cannot be reduced to a few words. But, where a new technology requires a deeper explanation, those words can cut into the observational part of a review. Pages spent explaining the tech are pages not used to explain the features and describe the experience.

So, we decided to give the people who designed and made those innovative products the chance to show why their products are different from the norm. The review is still a review, but each one is met by a short interview with the manufacturer or designer. We have interviewed manufacturers before in our 'Meet Your Maker' section, but this is different; it's targeted specifically at an exciting new product, allowing the manufacturer to explain why it's exciting.

This is a new format for hi-fi+ and for this issue, we went for it! Every review in this issue is of a product built on new and interesting technology, and is accompanied by the manufacturer's explanations. While the logistics of such an undertaking makes it unlikely to have whole issues regularly dedicated to the format, we think this is a worthwhile adjunct to our regular reviews. But what do you think? Is this something you'd like to see more of, or is it too much science and not enough review? Let us know what you think.

Alan Sircom, Editor hi-fi+

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