Innehållsförteckning för Issue 538 - 2024 från Australian HiFi

Audeze is probably best known for its use of planar magnetic driver technology, but it is also one of the few manufacturers to still use electrostatic transducers as well. Enter its all-new CRBN2 over-ears, which the American brand says represent a “step forward” for its electrostatic headphone lineup. Audeze has designed the CRBN2 around its new, catchily named and patent-pending SLAM (Symmetric Linear Acoustic Modulator) technology, which is behind most of that forward step. SLAM promises a “powerful, life-like bass response,” and that is the key part here, as for all the natural-sounding transparency and distortion-free detail that electrostatics are famous for delivering, they traditionally don't do so well with really punchy bass. SLAM supposedly remedies this by optimising air-pressure distribution across Audeze's second-generation carbon-nano-tube electrostatic driver. As well as…

Soundbites “It combines traditional Marantz amplification technology with a full raft of digital inputs and the streaming and multiroom facilities of HEOS to create a versatile ‘just-add-speakers’ solution for those who are now streamers rather than (or in addition to) disc spinners. And more to the point it does so with a panache and a rich powerful sound that feels true to traditional Marantz values.” That's how our sister magazine Sound+Image concluded its review of Marantz's 40n streaming amplifier upon its debut two years ago. High praise, indeed — but perhaps you would expect the iconic audio brand to have delivered something so appealing from a machine costing $4,500. So what can it do with one costing roughly half that? The all-new Model 60n is a much more affordable follow-up…

On Test Richter Merlin S6plus Loudspeakers Loudspeakers + • Smooth mids • Sweet highs • Impressive bass − • Below-average sensitivity RRP $1,299 Someone once said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness (and no, it wasn't Oscar Wilde, despite Google's top search results indicating that to be the case). But I don't know what they (whoever it really was) would have said about blatant copying. This little preamble came about because when Richter's Merlin S6plus loudspeakers arrived at my door for review, I remembered that the company's flagship model, the Wizard, is the only Australian loudspeaker design that has ever been copied. The ‘knock-off’ imitation speakers were marketed under the name ‘Lizard’, and the only things they had in common with the…

On Test VAF Signature i93 MKV Loudspeakers Loudspeakers + • Wonderfully revealing and articulate • Bentley-prestige aura! − • Bass-reflex port could be further optimised RRP $21,999 You're greeted with a visual testament to the designer's meticulous effort and investment before even removing the grilles from these high-end loudspeakers. The array of physical features isn't just for show; they represent sophisticated engineering aimed at achieving unparalleled fidelity. For those less acquainted with the intricacies of multi-way speaker design, it is essential to understand the challenges and objectives involved. The goal is to create a multi-source audio reproduction system that harmonizes tonal quality, timing, accuracy, imagery, resolution and the listening environment. Whether or not you're familiar with technical terms like ‘linear phase’, ‘phase distortion’, ‘power response’, ‘transient reproduction’ or ‘Hilbert transform’, it's crucial…

Soundbites Chinese audio brand Shanling has welcomed its first pair of over-ear headphones to its extensive catalogue of earbuds and portable electronics. The HW600 are nothing if not ambitious efforts, with Shanling claiming that they set a “new benchmark in the audio industry” — a bold statement considering the established competition at their level. Indeed, with a price well into four-figure territory, they will certainly have to pull out all the stops to stand out. Central to their open-back design is a high-performance dynamic driver made from ultra-thin polymer materials and with a rather large 86 x 110 mm diaphragm. By optimising airflow through dual acoustic, open-back chambers, Shanling has pursued a sound that blends spaciousness with intimacy across a wide range of musical genres. Further design aspects aim to…

It's always exciting news when Rotel launches something under its high-end Michi brand. The newly announced $9,499 Michi Q5 is what the company calls a “Transport DAC”, but it's essentially a CD spinner that sports digital inputs and outputs and can play high-resolution audio, including DSD and MQA formats. It joins the X3 and X5 Series 2 integrated amplifiers launched last year, plus a preamp (P5 Series 2), stereo power amp (S5) and monobloc power amp (M8). At the Q5's heart is the eight-channel ESS ES9028PRO DAC (also present in its amplifiers), which is configured so that its channels are split equally between the left and right audio signal paths, promising “extraordinary detail retrieval” from your music as well as a wide soundstage. Inside, the Q5 has fully balanced circuitry…

Soundbites Bowers & Wilkins has put a fresh spin on what is arguably its biggest modern icon. Unsurprisingly considering its distinct blimp shape and sophisticated sonic presentation that stretches beyond its stereo-suitable parameters, the Zeppelin soon became one of the most recognisable wireless speakers around when it debuted eight years ago (with an iPod dock!) Air and Mini variants followed shortly after, and then in 2021 the Zeppelin was reborn. Before it could reach school age, however, that mini-airship has been revamped yet again. For the Zeppelin Pro Edition, that iconic ovular shape naturally returns, although Bowers has blessed it with a few aesthetic tweaks as well as two brand-new finishes — Solar Gold (pictured) and Space Grey. There are changes abound internally too as the mature wireless speaker borrows…

On Test Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 Integrated Amplifier Integrated Amplifier + • Supremely powerful • Valve-enhanced sound • Solid-state reliability − • Remote labels could be clearer RRP $22,000 In some ways, the name of Musical Fidelity's latest amplifier is a misnomer. The Nu-Vista vacuum tube was indeed a ‘New Vista’ electronic device when it was introduced by RCA in 1959, when it was physically smaller, more robust and exhibited higher performance than anything else available at the time… and indeed, in some applications, for the next 20 years. But it is now 2024. The Nu-Vista is not a new device, and why would Musical Fidelity use an old-fashioned vacuum tube anyway? Well, it's for the same reason that valve audio amplifiers have never gone out of production and valves…

Hi-fi Primer Look, no one said physical music ownership was going to be easy, and if you want the very best sound quality from your turntable and records, you're going to need to keep them clean. No, blowing the dust off the player's dust cover every once in a while doesn't count… and that's if you even use a dust cover, of course! Indeed, for all the love and wonder of physical music, it takes a bit of extra legwork to ensure you get (and keep) it at its very best. And of all hi-fi kit, record players probably require the most. Any sort of grime can cause audible issues in playback such as pops and crackles or a muffled, undefined sound. This might be literal dirt, or dust ingrained…

Graph 1 shows the in-room frequency response of the 805 D4 Signature, as measured in the far-field by Newport Test Labs, using pink noise as the test stimulus. You can see that the section of the response from 1kHz down to 300Hz is very flat — within a dB or so — after which there is a rise of around 2.5dB to a shelf that starts at around 200Hz and is maintained down to around 150Hz. The response then rolls off slowly and steadily with decreasing frequency, this roll-off due to the speaker being measured on a stand in the centre of a room. If the speaker had been closer to a wall, the level of bass would be higher than is graphed here. Above 1kHz, you can see the…

Soundbites Beyerdynamic went big with launches at the IFA trade show in September, which was rather fitting considering both the German brand and German show celebrated their 100th anniversaries this year. The headphone specialist announced not only premium wireless earbuds with a hefty 38-hour battery life but also flagship noise-cancelling over-ears that offer Dolby Atmos-powered spatial audio. Starting with the latter, the Aventho 300 tick all the boxes necessary in order to pose a threat to the premium-priced class leaders such as the AirPods Max and Bose QuietComfort Ultra. Their headline feature is Atmos support with head-tracking technology, which, like their aforementioned rivals, offers a more immersive, three-dimensional listening experience than traditional stereo that can adapt as the listener's head moves. More ‘standard’ albeit arguably more desirable is the Aventho…

Soundbites While these days you may know Ruark Audio best for its excellent range of smart, compact radios and music systems, the Essex-based brand originally started on a more traditional path with passive loudspeakers, launching its very first speaker — Sabre – in 1985, a year after the company was founded. But after subsequent and highly regarded Talisman, Equinox and Solstice models, it wound down the speaker-making side of its business in 2004 to concentrate on its new niche in DAB radios — or ‘small audio’, as co-founder and managing director Alan O'Rourke referred to them in an interview we had last year. Two decades later, when nostalgia-driven retro releases are rampant, Ruark has now returned to its roots with the launch of the Sabre-R bookshelf speakers. Reviving the name…

Here's something you don't see every day: a premium direct-drive turntable with semi-automatic operation — but I, for one, am here for it. The AT-LP8X sits at the very top of Audio-Technica's turntable line and does indeed marry its direct-drive system, which is based on a “sensor-monitored motor” that ensures the platter is turning at an accurate rotational speed at all times, with semi-automatic practicality. This means that the motor will stop and the tonearm will lift at the end of a record, ensuring there's no undue damage to the stylus or your records over time if you forget to manually lift the arm each time. The tonearm won't return back to its armrest like a fully automatic deck does, but still, this user-friendly functionality is certainly one way to…

As you can see both from the bar graphs and the tabulated results over the next few pages, the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 amplifier is enormously powerful. During Newport Test Labs’ testing, it met or exceeded its manufacturer's 1kHz power output specifications, with power output at 330 watts (25.2dBW) per channel, both channels driven into eight ohms; and 552 watts (27.4dBW) per channel, both channels driven into four ohms. You can also see that its power output dropped off a little at the frequency extremes, with Newport Test Labs reporting measured outputs of 276 watts at 20Hz and 270 watts at 20kHz into eight ohms, both of which are very slightly below specification. However, you can see from the dBW figures that we're talking about a difference of just 0.9dB…

esoterica Feature Tidal investigation We all know that of the two music streaming services most widely supported by hi-fi hardware, Tidal is technically “better” because its streams are mostly losslessly compressed. The other, more popular one, which is of course Spotify, has promised lossless compression via a Spotify HiFi tier for years but so far failed to deliver; the best you can currently get from the green streaming giant is lossy compression at 320kbps. To give you an idea of how that compares to ‘CD-quality’ audio, uncompressed ‘CD quality’ is 1,411kbps while losslessly compressed ‘CD quality’ tends to be in the region of 700 to 900kbps on average. Now, here's the thing: we all know Tidal is lossless because it tells us so. And while I have no particular reason to…

Music Reviews The Wombles Can you easily name your favourite recording artists? When asked this question, I generally rattle off a rapid list of Led Zeppelin, ELO, Yes, Kate Bush, Pink Floyd — these were the formative artists who shaped my early listening, and their albums feature large (monumentally for Led Zeppelin, given I bought all nine of the 2014/5 deluxe boxsets) in my vinyl collection. If I check my streaming history, however, only ELO and Yes feature there strongly, and even they are both outranked by Philip Glass and 10CC, and are quite dominated by Alex the Astronaut, who thankfully saves me from a list entirely devoid of contemporary artists. But there is an omission. I have long suppressed from my list the band which may have been most influential…