Hi-Fi Choice

Hi-Fi Choice is the essential guide to audio excellence in the home. It is a no-nonsense guide to the finest products available, from vinyl and valves, to multi-channel digital audio and high-fidelity video. Hi-Fi Choice sorts the best from the rest with rigorous test processes and a highly experienced team of reviewers.

Welcome • hifichoice.com Issue No. 524 February 2025

BADGES EXPLAINED

Stereo starter • Compact, affordable new integrated amp from Pro-Ject

Quite a view • A brace of new wireless streaming speakers from America

The Ultimate • Brand new music player import

Ace of bass • Brand new UK active subwoofer

Go with the flow • Expensive open-back headphones from Japan

Disco-a-go-go! • “Whisper-quiet” loading Brit CD player

Link lively • Introducing a boosted British DAC

Sure signal • New UK created USB-C cables

Power and the glory • Power management solution from Scotland

Pick-up artist • A couple of new carts from Denmark

Stimpy the best • Affordable active speaker system

Famous five • Italian CD player with digital and analogue connections

Mix ‘n’ match • Headphone import for those who like to record their music at home

Wall power! • Danish floorstander designed to be placed by walls

Super stars • Ancient classic loudspeaker revisited

Retroactive • Old-school CD player from UK company

Hit for six! • Affordable new multi-acrylic-plinth turntable

Power and the glory • New earbuds with enhanced noise cancellation

Sooth sayers • Brand new Brit speaker range

Small wonder • Pocket-size headphone amp

Stairway to heaven? • Almost 20 years on, B&W’s AirPlay speaker is still going as strong as ever. Cliff Joseph is in a whole lotta love

Chrome entertainment • Nick Tate takes this shiny, premium-priced turntable package for a spin

British C power • As Q Acoustics’ entry level 3000 Series gets a makeover, Ed Selley weighs up the merits of the new 3020c standmount

Clockwork orange • Hi-fi’s style icons of the Sixties are reimagined bringing performance well beyond the capabilities of their ancestors

The sound of music • Nick Tate tunes into the sound of the Cumbrian hills with this brand new British CD player and amp combination

Boom time! • The American loudspeaker brand’s entry-level subwoofer range scratches Mark Craven’s bass itch

Practical classic • This affordable amplifier from Rotel almost feels like a throwback to an earlier age. Ed Selley is suitably impressed

Lumin lovely • If you take streaming seriously, a transport is the purist option. After hearing LUMIN’s U2 Mini, David Vivian counts himself tempted

Utopian ideals • Turning its attention back to affordable headphones, Focal’s Hadenys looks like a lot of product for the money. Ed Selley sees if there’s a catch

Towers of strength • The Danish brand’s flagship floorstander mixes upgraded in-house drivers with a sculpted ‘Directivity Control’ baffle

Green machines • How well is the audio industry embracing sustainability issues and is it becoming more environmentally friendly? Green cross code man Neville Roberts finds out

Hi-fichoices • YOUR LETTERS & QUESTIONS ANSWERED

MUSICREVIEWS

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COOL COLLECTION

FIX YOU • They’ve sold more than 100-million albums and headlined Glastonbury more than anyone else so Nigel Williamson wonders why it is that so many music fans say that they hate Coldplay

ALBUM BY ALBUM

Furutech • NCF Clear Line LAN and USB line optimisers

HiDiamond •...