April 2019
What's Within This Issue Of Hi-Fi World
Editorial By Noel Keywood

  Loudspeakers have a hole in the middle – and it’s not a port. It is the gap between low frequencies and high frequencies where the two cone drive units have difficulty meeting up in decent fashion. This always was the justification for a three-way loudspeaker – one with a midrange unit that best covers the region where the ear and brain together are most alert. And KEF’s new R5 has an aluminum cone midrange unit of impeccable pedigree. That’s why it threw so much information at me – see our review on p10. Such a well-developed loudspeaker is almost challenging; you need to feed it decent digital or lovely LP. Get this bit right however and the R5s sing.

Whilst the KEFs were aurally challenging, Chord Electronic’s M Scaler was mentally challenging. A lot of e-mails went back and forth on this one as I needed to make sure my review was not only informative but also technically accurate. Chord Electronics are not only masters of digital they also are, as a company, very helpful – to their customers as well as reviewers. This thankfully allowed me to get a good understanding of M Scaler, to explain and resolve what I was hearing. And with M Scaler it is all about hearing. Transfixational hearing I would say! See our review on p25.

One million being bigger than 93,000, M Scaler sort-of out shone Chord Electronics new Hugo TT2 DAC – see our review on p18. In practice it is a supplemental filter for it (and other DACs), Even though Hugo TT2’s 93,000 tap filter might not match M Scaler it still easily outruns all other DACs, giving a massively impressive sound – as well as unbeatable measured performance.

Meanwhile, the glorious LP sails on unfazed by such matters. Pro-Ject have interestingly decided to offer an all-discrete phono stage that Martin Pipe reviews on p89. Silicon chips were never purposed for LP; better is possible.

The art and science of audio makes itself known in our April 2019 issue. I hope you find it a great read.

--- Noel Keywood, editor.

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