In this HiFi News update for June 2026, we look at the latest high-end audio releases including the new Questyle Sigma Pro digital audio player, Chord Electronics’ £25,000 Quartet upscaler… …ICEpower’s SC400A2 Class D amplifier module, limited-edition anniversary loudspeakers from Tannoy, and the flagship Vito Classic speakers from Neat Acoustics. To see the video, click... […]
I recently chatted about Questyle’s M18i Max DAP. Here is another unit to consider from the company. The fully-featured Sigma Pro is positioned more towards the higher end of the price ladder Built with dual ESS ES9069 DACs and Questyle’s own Current-Mode Amplifier… …it features USB-C, optical, coaxial plus 3.5mm, 4.4mm and 6.35mm outputs. Support... […]
Connected-Fidelity continues its cable explorations with the new Unity power plus wirewound technology. Paul Rigby plugs in… You’ve heard the old cliche, I’m sure. “The best cable is no cable. The next best cable is a single piece of wire.” or “The best connection is a straight piece of wire with gain.” What does that... […]
Hand built in the north of England, the Vito Classic is positioned at the top of the Classic range This 2.5 way floor standing loudspeaker features a Planar magnetic/AMT tweeter with a dual bass driver configuration. Apparently a 6 Ohm design, the company says you’ll need a 25W amplifier or higher to get the best... […]
Chord Electronics has launched the Quartet upscaler, a device that takes digital audio data and reconstructs it Upscalers use interpolation to mathematically reconstruct the gaps between digital samples. The quality of the reconstruction depends entirely on the sophistication of the filter used. In the Quartet, uses something called the Blackbird WTA (Watts Transient Aligned) that... […]
In this review, I take an in-depth look at the RMB Loudspeakers Model 35/4 floorstanding speakers from UK designer Richard Best With their distinctive styling and unconventional appearance, the 35/4 speakers certainly divide opinion—but how do they perform where it matters most: sound quality? To see the video, click below: The post RMB MODEL 35/4 […]
Welcome to the latest Music Alerts featuring the most interesting new vinyl releases, reissues and archive recordings arriving this week To see the video, click below: The post MUSIC ALERTS 6 JUNE 2026 appeared first on The Audiophile Man.
Welcome to Music Alerts for 5 June 2026. This first of two new Music Alerts videos focuses entirely on new and noteworthy CD releases from across the musical spectrum To see the video, click below: The post MUSIC ALERTS 5 JUNE 2026 appeared first on The Audiophile Man.
Compact powered speakers, Paul Rigby wonders if these £300 speakers are worth the money? The Edifier M90 powered speakers are compact designs spanning 133 × 212 x 225mm which means that they are larger than some compact speakers out there and more compact than other…compacts. But we’ll get to that in the Sound Quality tests.... […]
All the way from Australia, this stocky headphone amplifier is packed with a host of features. Paul Rigby presses as many buttons as possible Price for the Conductor Voyager one is £3,900 which, of course, is pretty high for a headphone amplifier or any piece of HiFi equipment but there’s a lot going on here... […]
Mini Music Powerhouse $995.00 fiio.com/k17 Nestled in between my mighty Klipschorns, with ROON playing “Paranormial” by The Art of Noise, it amazes a few of my audiophile buddies that the source is the tiny FiiO K17 DAC. And it’s not just a DAC, it’s a full-blown streamer, preamplifier (though I am only using it as […]
A great beginning to a system from Decibel+www.decibel-plus.com Neoson Genese Tube Integrated – $7,885Atlantis AT 16 Pro speakers ($1,609/ea. as tested, in black leather – $1,729 ea. in white) With such a wide range of hifi gear at your disposal, even someone who doesn’t suffer from severe FOMO can get overwhelmed in a hurry. We’ve […]
These are our picks in the last 14 months or so for our favorite products to go in smaller environments where space is at a premium, and an extra splash of style is a bonus. A few of these products’ full reviews will be posted in the next couple of weeks, but we wanted to […]
Think about cables for a few minutes. Then think about having only a pair of power cords in your system.If you’re in a small space, less is usually more, so this is not a bad thing for you. The Dynaudio Focus 10 speakers only need a pair of power cords. You can link the two […]
You Can’t Unhear em! Wireworld founder David Salz makes some of the world’s finest cables, used by audiophiles and endorsed by recording engineers the world over. He’s a big thinker, and this time he’s solved a problem that a lot of us didn’t know we had – mini power cords. Applying their Fluxfield™ technology, he’s […]
Say, who says we have to hand out awards at the end of the year? We’ve always tried to be a little bit different so here goes. The Audiophile Apartment section of our magazine and site has always tried to concentrate on audio gear with a smaller form factor that doesn’t give anything up in […]
After spending an afternoon with staffer Earle’s Focal Sopra 3s, just before firing up their new Vestia no.1 at my place, the level of sonic excellence they bring to a $1,198 pair of speakers seems amazing. Listening to the same handful of tracks that I shuffled through at Earle’s house, not too much sonic memory […]
Portable music for those on-the-go By Rob Johnson I still remember my first stereo, a 1981 Sony Boom box, which served as a loyal companion from middle school through college. It finally failed after a decade of use. However, my nostalgia for the old-school portable form factor persists. So, I’m thrilled to see Teenage Engineering, […]
Class-D Perfection $8,995 -$9,495 (finish dependent) Javahifi.com Spoiler alert. The Java Integrated is a Class D amplifier. Just in case you’re predisposed to a certain idea of how Class D is supposed to sound, you need to abandon it, or stop reading. To be fair to Java’s Martin Bell, I’ve always been Class D adverse, […]
We’ve decided to do something different this year… How about giving out an award at the beginning of the year and start out on a happy note? Bam. If you’re looking for a great all in one, turnkey system that will serve up music in every format, we suggest this setup. Also, just so we’re […]
We are getting ever closer to the goal of ultimate fidelity; where a recording and the live sound are so close to one another that they are functionally identical. However, I experienced a couple of live events recently, and that demonstrated how far we still have to go. I know of at least five members […]
I've met Zoltán Bay a couple of times at AXPONA and have always been highly impressed with Bayz Audio speakers. They are an extraordinary omni-directional, C-shaped point-source design with a commanding presence, both visually and acoustically. His Bayz Audio Courante 2.0 loudspeaker was highly praised by Dr. Mathew Clott back in the October 2020 issue, […]
The Austria Center Vienna proved itself a world-class venue as HIGH END Vienna 2026 made its highly anticipated debut, marking a successful new chapter for the international audio industry. Expectations surrounding the move from Munich were high, yet from the opening moments exhibitors, trade visitors and music lovers responded with enthusiasm. The venue's spacious architecture, […]
A new city and a new venue meant a challenging two days of orientation for show reporters, but with a lot of schlepping, I found my way around the vast Austria Centre and a couple of satellite events and heard some often expensive, sometimes truly great sounds at this year's HIGH END. Here are the […]
Cirrus Logic has announced a major expansion of its flagship audio converter lineup, introducing nine new high-performance ADCs, DACs, and CODECs aimed squarely at the fast-growing professional and prosumer audio markets. The new devices—optimized for musical instruments, podcasting gear, active speakers, mixing consoles, and installed AV—arrive as global demand for premium sound in mid-tier products […]
The fascinating thing about reviewing Triangle Art's L-200 MK2 vacuum tube preamplifier is that it's a tube pre-amp… and that I know, when I agree to review it, that this review will not get half the readership to click on it because it has the word "tube" in it. And I will lose even more […]
Val Cora must have spotted my press pass when I first encountered their SRB two-way stand-mounted monitor at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest show back in 2019. He encouraged me to take a closer look and listen as I didn't seem particularly interested. It was my subconscious fear of tipping over heavy stone or aluminum […]
For a normal, healthy young person, the generally accepted frequency range of human hearing is said to be from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Before the term "Hertz" (Hz) came into use to honor Heinrich Hertz ( the man who proved Maxwell's wave theory correct), sound frequencies were expressed in "cycles" per second, with one […]
Editorial: Do We Audiophiles Have Too Many Choices? Linn 360 Active Loudspeaker System With Pistonik Drive Technology Rega Planar 6 RS Vinyl LP Turntable Innuos Nazaré Digital Audio Music Server Analog Relax EX300 Moving Coil (MC) Cartridge Triangle Capella 2Active Stand-Mount Speaker Streaming System Allnic Audio ASRA RHPA-7500 Headphone Amplifier And Integrated Amplifier Eversolo DAC-Z10 […]
It's interesting, isn't it, that retro hi-fi is resurging as listeners crave tactile, (perhaps) warm sound and exceptional craftsmanship, which is driving younger buyers and renewed industry attention. The comeback of luxury home audio is not a nostalgic footnote; it is a cultural and market movement reshaping how people listen, collect, and value sound. Portable […]