HIFICRITIC Vol 13 No 1

Following Paul Messenger’s valedictory editorial the latest issue kicks off with Stan Curtis and his continuing Audio Safari, this time encompassing single driver sounds, even going back 90 years to the Shearer cinema horns.

Naim’s Statement level streamer DAC gets serious attention from enthusiasts Everard, Colloms and Honeyball, exhaustively explored over 5 pages, as was the NDS in its time. A serious challenge to the international High End, this universal ND555 DAC, with PS555DR power supply, is close on £20,000.  The matching UnitiCoreserver has now settled down and was chosen as the source.

Andrew Harrison visits the burgeoning Warsaw Hi Fi Show and is impressed by a vitality and commitment to sound quality and advanced engineering and could easily have filled more than the three pages allocated.

In Passing Notes, Julian Musgrave looks back at some classic CD players and shares audio home improvements where an opened out top floor is becoming an unusually challenging music room.

Putting on his thinking hat Keith Howard wrestles with the problem of explaining Linear Phase, and I think does it really well. While not the biggest issue it remains a neglected factor in sound quality.

Colloms tries a neat floor standing KEFR series, the R5 and was more than pleasantly surprised, finding reference series quality on a smaller scale and at a budget price. The full lab tests confirm accurate and capable design.

The mystery of the little Yamaha NS10, the white coned bookshelf loudspeaker, is revealed by studio man Phil Ward, explaining how it became that iconic and ubiquitous monitor seen on so many studio meter shelves.

Andrew Harrison scrutinises Life Changer Audio’s awkwardly named icOn2, an unusually versatile transformer volume control, with balanced and unbalanced working.

Tube enthusiast Kevin Fiske finally gets his hands on the fabled Thoress PhonoEnhancer equaliser/head amp from Germany, with a delightful outcome.

Vinyl disc enthusiasts can become obsessed with record cleaning, with ultrasonic technology in the ascendant. Kirmuss KA-RC-1 is in Andrew Harrison’s spotlight for this issue, and with promising result.

Chris Frankland gets serious with phono step up transformers, exploring the Puresound T10, Ortofon ST7 and AudionoteS4, S5 , S8 and S9 as examples of the technology while interviewing industry designers on design limits and practice.

Martin Colloms reviews the most capable Italian made Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII covering build, sound quality and both acoustic and electrical measurements.

The Pro-Ject Stream Box S2 Ultra gets the once over from Andrew Everard, considering it to be quite a bargain.

Audio Note gets another look in with Kevin Fiske, exploring their high power 211 triode, in particular their anodes, which comprise sintered carbon and the molybdenum alternative. Here Kevin finds that anodes have a sound!

The redoubtable Chris Bryantcovers four fascinating high end cartridges, from LINN  ( KRYSTAL) , Rega(Aphelion), Audio Technica  (AT-ART1000),DS Audio(DS 002), referenced to the highly neutral Lyra Delos.

Julian Musgrave continues his personal quest for loudspeaker excellence returning to his old favourites, the redoubtable ATC SCM50 Active.

We also publish the cumulative 2018 AWARDS LISTING, not including the Jan -Mar 2019 issue reviews.

This issue also has the full index to Volume 12, 2018, comprising Music Reviews, Hardware/ Equipment, Features and the list of contributors. Six pages of rock/pop, classic and jazz reviews wrap up this great issue.