Recently I have had the pleasure of listening to two cartridges that despite having ‘Blue’ in their title, could not be more different: a Decca Mk. V, a ‘cantelever less’ design fitted with a spherical tip (also known as the Decca Blue) and a Sumiko ‘Blue Point Special’, possessing a long cantilever and fitted with […]
Back in September 2010 at the Whittlebury Hall Show I came upon a new company called Track Audio who had a range of new speaker supports on display. The items were very interesting but sadly there was no information about them, in their exhibition space and being pressed for time I had to move on. Mentioning […]
I am delighted to be able to publish this review by Clive Meakins on the exciting Trans-Fi Salvation turntable. Thank you Clive. After a prolonged period of time getting to know the ins and outs of this turntable, he is finally ready to share his impressions. Neil Finally it’s time for me to write up […]
One of the stand out experiences for me at the recent Northern Ireland Audio Show was the personal demonstration that Keith Martin of Isotek conducted for me of the new Isotek Super Titan. As this is not a formal review as such (1) and not one conducted in my own listening room I think it only […]
A fascinating insight into the remarkably rapid development of a genre. Stone-cold classic or sacred cow? With synth-pop a prevalent pop force again, La Roux and Little Boots carrying torches first lit in the late 1970s, first-wave acts like Heaven 17 are arguably more fashionable now than ever before. The Sheffield band’s 1981 debut album is regularly […]
Bonobo has blossomed into something beautiful at his own pace. There was little in Bonobo’s first two albums – 2000’s Animal Magic and 2003’s Dial ‘M’ For Monkey – to suggest that Simon Green could ever craft anything as grand, expansive and accomplished as Black Sands. Back then his moniker could almost have referred to […]
Recently I have been pursuing a Technics 1200/1210 related review project (1) and that has included trying a few arms, cartridges, mats and PSUs on the turntables and during the course of doing that the subject of this particular review came about. After 23 years of success using a selection of alignment protractors and one […]
This review kind of got stalled due to the clump of HiFi Shows AIHFA has been covering over the last few months, so apologies go to Concerto Audio for the lateness of the review I installed these cones several months ago and there they have been until today (going about their business) when I sat […]
Hello, and welcome to the next of my series of reviews of vintage equipment. First, I only write about equipment that I have had extended, direct and personal experience of either as an end-user or retailer – or both. I don’t get involved in measurements. During 34 years of involvement I have heard far too […]
Ismaël Lo – ‘Dabah’ and ‘Sénégal’ When it comes to Africa, the western part of the continent seems to enjoy an almost disproportional status amongst lovers of African music. In particular, the countries of Senegal and Mali are most notable in this respect. Now whilst most have heard of Youssou N’Dour and Baba Maal (both […]