September 2019
Great Reviews And Articles Within This Issue
What's within this issue of Hi-Fi World.
Editorial By Noel Keywood

  Audio products can be eye-wateringly expensive, but we try to avoid the ultra high-end since it is more quirky than distinguished. This month, there is little esoterica in Hi-Fi World, but plenty of affordable products striving to offer great value.

Audiolab's 6000N streamer isn't definitive by any means – Naim will lose no sleep – but as reviewer Jason Kennedy notes, at modest price it brings you free music from Spotify. Seen like this the 6000N and a few price rivals that Jason lists don't just cost less than CD players, you end up not paying for CDs. The cost of listening to and enjoying music from around the world has never been pushed so low. Read more about Audiolab's 6000N on p10.

Loudspeakers are listened to by many people at Hi-Fi World – and if everyone says "yes", then yes it is! Jamo's modest C 95 II floorstanding loudspeakers got a big thumbs up this month because they had a fluid sound free from artifice that just seemed natural to us all. Measurement showed perfection was not quite – well – 'perfect', but there are subtle properties in loudspeakers not easily pinned down by measurement, meaning humans are always the best arbiter of quality. Best of all though the Jamos managed to deliver great sound at a great price. You can see and read about them on p16.

Much awaited and talked about – Technics SL-1500 latest budget Direct Drive turntable. Unlike the popular SL-1200GR, this new design comes as a package without removable arm, to swing in at under £1000. With Direct Drives like Lenco's L-3808 at half the price, Technics are facing serious competition. Can Japanese Technics hold their own in a market swamped by Chinese rivals? Can they retain loyal customers around the world, who came to love the now discontinued SL-1200 Mk2? For definitive measurement of their new Direct Drive motor and arm in the SL-1500, don't miss our in-depth review on p83.

Good audio products do not have to be "eye-wateringly expensive". I hope you find the affordable products in this issue interesting – they gave great results at a great price.

--- Noel Keywood, editor.

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