Reviews
Musical Fidelity M6xTT Turntable
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- Written by Mark Busby Mark Busby
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 August 2025 15 August 2025
The nineteenth century architect Louis Sullivan proposed that in design "Form Follows Function". What if that was reversed and function followed form? We could end up with beautiful creations like the Musical Fidelity M6xTT turntable, a transparent acrylic creation that not only looks gorgeous but produces sublime music too! Read on for the full low-down on this high performance looker…
PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid Power Amplifier
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 August 2025 01 August 2025
The best of both worlds… such an attractive concept. Merge the positives and strengths of divergent philosophies, varying points-of-view, in order to form what could potentially be a superior outcome. That was the core basis for the development of the EVO 300 Hybrid power amplifier from renowned electronics specialist PrimaLuna. The company’s engineers must have considered, “Is it possible to fuse ideals and technologies in the one product?” Could marrying the rich tonality and naturalness of vacuum tubes with the power, authority and dynamic expression of solid state circuitry unify into a single, truly exceptional amplifier?
Skyanalog G-1 MKII Moving Coil Cartridge
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- Written by Mark Busby Mark Busby
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 August 2025 01 August 2025
The moving coil cartridge has been around now for nearly 80 years and, with continuing interest in new vinyl, the MC cartridge shows no decline in popularity. Ongoing research into the interaction between materials has allowed cartridge designers and engineers to identify additional musical playback attributes from these devices. And yes, thoughtful engineering is exemplified by the Skyanalog G-1 MKII MC cartridge.
Lyra Analog PhonoPipe Phono Cable
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- Written by Mark Busby Mark Busby
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 July 2025 15 July 2025
Founded by a trio of vinyl replay artisans including American cartridge designer Jonathan Carr, Japanese master craftsman Yoshinori Mishima and Norwegian business strategist Stig Bjorge, Japan-based Lyra Analog has been manufacturing cartridges and components since 1986. Originally established under the name Scan-Tech, then rebranding to Lyra Analog in 1991, the company’s products are renowned for their exceptional transparency and dynamic capabilities. Lyra Analog’s mission is to create enduring products that combine original design, advanced engineering and optimal materials application. So, are those values reflected in the ‘PhonoPipe’ phono cable?
Audia Flight FLS20 SACD/CD Player
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 July 2025 01 July 2025
Going out on a limb here… in a couple of years’ time, maybe less, the shiny digital disc might just be hip again. Like vinyl became lit a few years ago and still thrives. Mind you, while music streaming has evolved to ‘audiophile’ levels of performance, to many music lovers the CD still has the sonic edge. Of course, countless discs fill collections worldwide satisfying enthusiasts’ music experiences while reflecting the audio zeitgeist. Heck, you can even pick-up a mint previously-loved CD at a suburban market for a couple of bucks and it’ll play like new. For these reasons, and many others, a growing number of audio makers are offering CD players and disc transports with a view to meeting an underground demand. Audia Flight’s elegant FLS20 is a new disc spinner designed to handle both Red Book CD and the niche, yet persistently desirable, SACD format. Plus, the forthcoming streamer board will complete the FLS20’s digital playback suite, offering music lovers a unified digital music playback solution. So, care to go for a spin?
Focal Diva Utopia Active Wireless Loudspeakers
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 June 2025 15 June 2025
The wireless speaker space has been an instrumental disruptor in terms of the way the mass market now consumes music. Overwhelmingly, wireless speaker technology has been concentrated in the extremely affordable section of the market. There are literally hundreds of inexpensive products from the portable to the sizable. For the average consumer, the value on offer is indisputable. Mostly, these products feature streaming technologies of all casts (pun intended), heavy DSP, long-life battery power, weather sealing and more. They provide easy access to music to an audience which may, we positively propose, eventually discover the wonders of high-end audio. It’s at that point, at that now realised singularity, that Focal’s Diva Utopia enters stage left. It aims to provide convenient functionality in a package which, in one step, transcends the category from mass market ubiquity to, in comparison, a level way beyond the stars. Yeah, a high-end, wireless loudspeaker system designed to perform at ‘audiophile’ levels.
Linn Klimax Solo 800 Monoblock Amplifier
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 May 2025 01 May 2025
Perhaps through sheer innovation, skilled engineering and a tendency to divert from mainstream market conventions, Scotland’s Linn has become one of high-end audio’s most successful brands. Linn stands out from the black box bunch with sophisticated products featuring advanced engineering, elegant industrial design, and proprietary technologies that all trumpet a “We’re doing things our way” ethos. Partly due to that distinctive spirit and through its lengthy history, the company has been fervently embraced by a loyal customer base. Yet, with Linn’s new Klimax Solo 800 monoblock amplifier, it would seem that, on the surface, the company signals its flagship amplification as a more… traditional product. Hmm… that’s not Linn. Yeah, within its elegant chassis lies a stream of innovative technologies which, once again, deviates the Klimax Solo 800 from amplifiers that, in comparison, may seem simply… conventional.
Antipodes Audio Oladra Music Server/Streamer
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 April 2025 01 April 2025
Until relatively recently, configuring computer audio playback was fraught with a whole lotta issues which could, even to the higher than average aptitude individual, bring on knife-point migraines. First, you almost needed an IT doctorate to configure the various handshakes between software, drivers, hardware and both LAN and global networks. Then, there was the scarcity of music service providers and playback software options, with available solutions being laughable in terms of features, metadata provision, and functionality when compared to modern alternatives. And sound quality? Let’s not even go there. However, in the last few years, things have powered along like a snowball tearing down a K2 black piste. Now, the space is populated with numerous brands and innovative, high performance products. Not to mention the plethora of streaming and file providers. Since 2004, Antipodes Audio has been continually refining its digital player concepts. Recently, it expanded its portfolio with Oladra, a flagship component bearing the company’s full suite of design and engineering skillsets.
LUMIN T3X Network Player
- Details
- Written by Barry Jones Barry Jones
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 March 2025 15 March 2025
It’s the Labour Day long weekend here in Western Australia. I’ve just sat down for a proper listen to the new LUMIN T3X network music player. I’ve owned and enjoyed LUMIN’s T1 streamer now for around eight years. The T1 has provided thousands of hours of musical delight and has stood its ground against numerous digital source components that have passed through my system over the years. Including some costing more than six times its price! It’s been a faithful companion that I’ve come to rely on to provide consistent high performance, neither adding or subtracting from whatever material I’ve presented to it, but rather remaining neutral and natural sounding. It was also the first digital component in my system that didn’t sound ‘digital’. With the T3X in my rig warming up with some casual listening for the past couple of weeks, I was looking forward to hearing what improvements had been made possible by the LUMIN design team.
SpectraFlora Celata 88 Loudspeakers
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 March 2025 01 March 2025
In a market which could be seen as overloaded with participants, be it hi-fi, the automotive industry, fashion, whatever… how does a nascent enterprise signal a powerful intention, a running start entrance? One way is to eye-catch with a distinctive approach in juxtaposition to the established competition. Embracing that ideology, relatively new Australian loudspeaker manufacturer SpectraFlora has drawn market attention by entering the high-end space with the Celata 88 loudspeaker. The Celata 88 is a differentiation, an unconventional loudspeaker featuring a suite of technologies and design aspects seldom combined in the one product. Then, SpectraFlora ramps up the wow factor by posing an off-beat aesthetic, separating it from the mundane while opening opportunities for customisation. In this most challenging of product categories, is SpectraFlora a genuine disruptive innovator or has it not seen the forest for the trees?
Marantz MODEL 10 Integrated Amplifier
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 February 2025 15 February 2025
Back in the early days of my hi-fi walkabout, I lusted after the ingot-tinted pinnacle Marantz products. Anything ‘Marantz Gold’ represented, to me, some of the finest products offered by a multinational corporation. I wanted the widely celebrated, searing-furnace PM-80 integrated. I longed for the two-box CD-94/CDA-94, an iconic duo of early digital. The MA-24 Class-A monoblocks driving impossibly large JBL speakers also made an indelible impression. I would have killed for the stunning CD-15 CD player but avoided the slammer by settling instead for the over-performing CD-63SE which, alas, only came in black. In the early 2000s, the glorious MA-9S1 monos made a helluva splash. Yes, throughout its illustrious history, Marantz has sporadically offered extraordinary electronics tailored to discerning audio enthusiasts. Fast-forward to 2025, and the venerable brand has re-entered the premium market with the MODEL 10, a high-end integrated amplifier poised to join the ranks of revered Marantz immortals.
Audio Research Reference 330M Monoblock Amplifier
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 February 2025 01 February 2025
Has it only been a few months since I met audio icon Bill Johnson? Nope, it just feels like it. More like three decades ago! Don’t even… It was the late 1990s and the Audio Research Corporation founder was in Sydney to present the company’s new-then Reference 600 flagship amplifiers to a captivated ensemble of audio enthusiasts. And yes, it could be argued that those near-30-years-young amps are, to this day, in the upper tier of performance and engineering dedication. Yet, the industry has moved on. We’ve seen advances in circuit sophistication, parts quality and manufacturing methodologies. Generations down the track, Audio Research is under new ownership – after several baton passes in a multi-member relay – with the company’s top-dog title now bestowed on the brand new Reference 330M monoblock amplifiers.
