September 2018
In This Issue...
Mains Power Supply Purity And Reviews In This Issue
Article By Noel Keywood

  What is it about mains supply purity that catches everyone's concerns and imagination? You plug into the wall socket and everything works! Seems perfect. But I guess mains power is the background life blood of modern living that, if it fails, brings a lot to lose. The power into our homes – hospitals especially – and big business servers (think British Airways and their recent failure) is a source of subliminal angst. This puts the worries of audiophiles into perspective – but we have the worries all the same! Or so it seems from all our mail on the subject and the coverage mains conditioning gets on the 'net.

And what a worry. As if streaming and how to play DSD wasn't enough, now we are faced with how to sort out the local power station! Technically, this is a subject in a world of its own – and not for the faint hearted. But Britain has companies willing to dive in and get busy with fascinating solutions. Hi-Fi World readers know this and are in a vanguard of users, happy with the improvement a clean, stable mains supply makes. We're happy to bring you a close look at Power Inspired's AG1500S mains regenerator purposed of hi-fi use, on p46. Trying to get a handle on such a product is a tad challenging because it demands test techniques outside the normal idiom – but not impossible. I hope you find our look at this regenerator interesting and informative.

Portable digital players are in their own technology race, getting ever smaller and more sophisticated. Our review of Cowon's Plenue V on p57 shows how today you can buy a player far ahead of what was available yesterday.

But Quad's Artera Solus all-in-one is perhaps the most impressive product here. Hooked up to the amazing Martin Logan Impression ESL 11A hybrid electrostatic loudspeakers (see p11) it wowed us all. High fidelity at an affordable price has never sounded so good, so don't miss our review of the new Artera Solus on p17.

The race ahead for ever better sound quality isn't slowing. Our coverage clearly shows why. I hope you enjoy it all in this great issue.

--- Noel Keywood, editor.

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