Volume 9 No. 3
July / August / September 2015

Reviewed In This Issue

2 The Hi-Fi World Has Become Fragmented
Editorial By Paul Messenger

4 Stan's Safari No31
Stan puts together a 'bucket list' for his ultimate loudspeaker.

6 Part Metal Jacket
Newcomers MBA adopts a modular approach to its metal-cabinet loudspeakers.

8 McIntosh MHA100
Can a headphone amplifier really be worth £5,000? Jose Victor Henriques bought his!

10 Cabinet Responsibility
Keith Howard investigates loudspeaker enclosures, and tries some new Dutch software for analysing problems.

15 Triaxiom Revisited
Paul Messenger wall-mounts a fifty year old 12-incher.

16 Spendor A5R
Martin Colloms tries out a compact sealed box floorstander.

20 Existence Euphoric
This Finnish speaker combines dreamy woodwork with a single full-range driver.

22 Naim Statement Encore
Ten weeks after switch-on, Naim's Statement amplifier continues to improve.

28 The Engineering Boys
Arcam's John Dawson talks to Chris Frankland.

31 Vertex AQ Aletheia DAC-1.5 Revisited
Changing a capacitor has substantially improved this DAC.

32 Linn Klimax DSM & SOLO
Jason Kennedy tries out Linn's top-of-the-line Klimax DSM and Solo components.

36 Meet The Sonductor
Steve Harris meets listening room specialist Ole Lund Christiansen.

41 Miyajima Madake
Paul Messenger is seduced by a Japanese cartridge with a bamboo cantilever.

42 HiFiMAN HE1000
These planar headphones from China set a very high standard indeed.

44 Arcam FJM A49 Stereo Integrated Amplifier
Chris Bryant is very impressed by Arcam's new Class G integrated amplifier.

46 Words & Music
Andrew Everard muses on copyright issues, Astell & Kern's AK Jr, and a Gramofon.

48 A Mono Obsession
Paul Rigby – a.k.a. The Audiophile Man – gets serious over mono LP playback and tip sizes.

50 Jason's Web-Blog
JK discusses the Czech Remton phono stage, and Ken Ishiwata's Eindhoven listening room.

51 HiFiMAN HE400S
A planar headphone that really delivers the goods, and at a budget price to boot.

52 Bits & Pieces
Arcam's irDAC can handle numerous digital sources, and Sonority Design's unique isolation platforms.

53 Naim's Software Update
Naim has updated its streamer software, but has this also upgraded the sound?

54 Jazz Picks
Greg Drygala's Jazz reviews tend to focus mainly on the ACT Music label this time.

56 The Best Of Classical
Colin Anderson picks a new selection of recent classical recordings.

58 Rock, Pop & Other Nice Music
Nigel Finn from the Chord Company reviews six recent rock and folk releases.

60 Subjective Sounds
The significant role played by loudspeaker enclosures looms large in this HIFICRITIC.

Subscribe!

Click here to subscribe to HIFICRITIC

Previous Issues
2015
January / March    April / June     July / September

2014
January / March     April / June    July / September   October / December

2013
January / March     April / June     July / September    October / December

2012
January / March     April / June     July / September     October / December

2011
January / March     April / June     July / September     October / December

2010
January / March     April / June     July / September     October / December

2009
January / March     April / June     July / September     October / December