HIFICRITIC Vol 12 No 1

An amazing array of Reviewed  Products from AKG N90Q, Russell K RED 150, Silver Solids Interconnect, Inakustik LS-4994, iFi Audio micro iPhono2, Brainwavz Delta, Timestep T-01MC, Graham Slee Accession MC, Rothwell Signature One, Naim Audio SuperLine, Audio Research PH9, AqVox CAT 2109, PreSonus Eris5, Yamaha MusicCast NX-N500, Bowers & Wilkins 707 S2, Pioneer N-70AE, AqVox Switch 8 SE, LessLoss 5x Firewall Module, Inakustik NF-2404.

In addition to Stan Curtis’ regular wise commentary on matters audio, here musing on line source loudspeakers, Martin Colloms scrutinises the top of the line AKG N90Q headphones, the one where the powerful DSP even includes micro correction for the tiniest errors emanating from the relationship between the headphones and your ears.

​Kevin Fiske temporarily eschews his large high sensitivity Audio Note UK loudspeakers for a pair of long established stand mount compacts the D2-II from those painstaking industry stalwarts, PROAC.

INAKUSTIK + LESSLOSS:  Kevin Fiske tries out some accessories,  cables from Germany, and RF countermeasures from Lithuania.

Frequently controversial, Julian Musgrave provides further diary musings on audio matters of a personal nature.

Colloms was sent a pretty costly, souped up network switch from AqVox with a matching pricey super CAT cable  and fortunately had enough time to run it in before formal testing.

Andrew Everard turns his attention to the highly versatile network player /streamer the PIONEER N-70AE. Andrew Harrison gets to work on no less than six moving coil phono equalisers including iFi, Timestep, Graham Slee, Rothwell, Naim Audio and Audio Research. Low cost BRAINZ earphones are reviewed by Martin Colloms. Bob Pyle explores his experiences of  stereo image perception.

Bowers & Wilkins’ new 700-series has inherited technology from its flagship 800-serie: Chris Frankland tries out the entry-level 707 S2.

SOMEWHERE ALONG THE TIMELINE: Julian Ashbourn delivers a personal  perspective on the development of record  sound.

To avoid any editorial bias, we asked Kevin Fiske to review Russell K’s first floorstander, the RUSSELL K RED 150

ACTIVE SPEAKERS:  Affordable active stand-mounts: the PreSonus Eris5 and the Yamaha MusicCast  NX-N500, assessed by Martin Colloms.

THE REGENERATION GAME:  Will hi-fi ever win back today’s music  listeners? Andrew Everard reckons ‘loud’ matters more than ‘quality’ in an extended feature.

HIGH LEVEL Loudspeakers: Keith Howard explores the measurement of distortion at realistically high peak sound levels.

An expert reporter provides the low down on the most popular of those heated glass bottles, namely the high power  triode.

Our  music coverage continues with  guest contributor Vincent Messenger  , introducing his shortlist of favourite recordings.

We also  present the  HIFICRITIC ANNUAL AWARDS 2017. Our retrospective awards come in three
forms: Audio Excellence, Recommended and Best Buys, and not least the full INDEX TO VOL11 (2017) equipment authors and all reviews.

Also for music content we have many Rock, Jazz and Classical reviews, while the issue finally closes with our perennial column, Subjective Sounds, this time from Harry Harrison.