September 2021

Reviews, Articles And More Within This Issue
Class D, headphone amplification, vinyl LP / CD sales and more!
Editorial By Noel Keywood

  If you want a powerful amplifier in a small case, a Class D amplifier from Hypex (Netherlands) has become a popular choice. The company was started by ex-Philips employees in 1996 they say, and I experimented with early modules that even back then delivered clean low-distortion treble – something Class Ds were not known for at the time. Their modules have since become a go-to for manufacturers, so no surprise to see them used by Cambridge Audio in their remarkable Evolution 150 all-in-one player that you can read about on p17. Yes – it does produce that much power, for all those seduced by a 150 Watt power spec. It also has a remarkable range of ability: I hope you enjoy reading about all its many talents.

How could there ever be a link between this and Icon Audio's thermionic HP205D headphone amplifier that uses valves from 1924? Yet there is a link: both have high quality Bluetooth transceivers (as I'll call them). This way of playing music, from a library on the 'phone, is developing impressive technical ability and sound quality, as the HP205D reviewed on p10 made obvious. More on Bluetooth in future issues I hope, it really is a lot better in latest form than most people think.

Sales of LP are now edging past CD we are told, in a bizarre historical twist. Apparently, young people commonly buy LPs and have no ability to play them (like my son!). This is where slick modern turntables like the new Teac TN-5BB you can read about on p69 fit in. Gloriously easy to use and with all the ability most people will ever need. Now with the potential to be hum free too, courtesy of a balanced connection option. Good to see LP reproduction slowly get ever better.

The archaic and arcane sit side by side in this issue. I hope you enjoy reading about both and what high fidelity brings today in Hi-Fi World.

— Noel Keywood
Editor, HiFi World

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