The Latest
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Ed Comment Ed Comment
- Published: 01 August 2019 01 August 2019
File Under: Category
As part of the global audio industry at large, my ‘inbox’ is a diverse email stew mottled with all sorts of news items, product information and company newsletters. Spam notwithstanding, some communiques feature ingredients that may be informative, even educational, while other items, after a little interpretation, may even be somewhat entertaining. Many emails are little more than background noise with morsels of data which, if retrieved from my ever-murkier memory banks, may provide some trivial value.
Boulder Amplifiers Drops 866 ‘Integrated’
Boulder Amplifiers announces the new, and very distinctive, 866 integrated (as the company prefers to call it, eschewing the word ‘amplifier’ in its nomenclature) which will be available in analogue and digital versions.
Pear Audio Analogue Turntables in Australia
Australian high-end distributor Magenta Audio continues to expand its excellent product portfolio with the addition of the handcrafted turntables from Slovenia’s Pear Audio.
Ayre Acoustics Makes the ‘Twenty’ Upgrade
Audio Magic, who has been recently appointed as the new Australian distributor for Ayre Acoustics products, has announced the local availability of the company’s ‘Twenty’ upgrade for existing QB-9 DAC owners.
- Details
- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 22 July 2019 22 July 2019
Store Feature – Sydney Hi-Fi Castle Hill
From L to R: Michael Bigley, Owner Goran Sasic & Radiance AV’s Chris Strom
Recently, one of Sydney’s most prestigious audio retailers, Sydney Hi-Fi Castle Hill, underwent an extensive renovation which saw complete refits to the store’s numerous 2-channel and home cinema studios. There was a calling… an enticement too powerful to resist so, camera and audio recorder in hand, SoundStage! Australia marched off to Sydney’s Hills district to delight in the treasure trove of in-house audio joys and catch up with the store’s approachable owner Goran Sasic.
Naim Audio NAIT XS3 & SUPERNAIT 3 Integrated Amplifiers
Naim Audio’s NAIT and SUPERNAIT integrated amplifiers have received wide consumer acclaim – even fervent admiration – while the world’s press has bestowed them with numerous awards. Now, Naim announces these important models have received 3rd-gen updates.
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- Written by Bryan Moon Bryan Moon
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 July 2019 15 July 2019
Lumin U1 Mini Network Player
Lumin Audio burst onto the scene in 2012 with the first DSD compatible network audio streamer. Such a sophisticated and well sorted first product hinted at a longer engineering heritage. It turns out the parent company, Pixel Magic Systems Ltd, which was founded in 2003 with offices in Hong Kong and the United States, quickly became a market leader in video processing (they developed the first Linux based video processor). Rave reviews followed and Lumin went from strength to strength expanding their range of Network Players to include the U1 Mini reviewed here.
Ayre Acoustics With Audio Magic
Australian distributor Audio Magic has announced it has acquired representation for the highly respected American brand Ayre Acoustics, more colloquially referred to as just ‘Ayre’.
New C53 Preamplifier from McIntosh Laboratory
McIntosh Laboratory Inc. has announced the new C53 high-end preamplifier which now includes an all-new Digital-to-Analogue Converter compatible with the latest digital playback formats.
Off The Richter Scale
Richter Audio has announced an ‘S6’ update to its long-running Wizard and Merlin speakers, from the Legend range of high-value offerings, taking the series to its sixth generation.
MrSpeakers Headphones in Australia
American high-end headphone specialist MrSpeakers’ wide range of cans are now available in the country via Advance Audio Australia.
The company was founded by electrical engineer Dan Clark who has led MrSpeakers with the goal to provide audiophile quality headphones while “having fun doing so”. While MrSpeakers upmarket headphones are predominantly Planar Magnetic designs, the flagship Voce headphones – available with matching ‘Blue Hawaii’ high-end valve headphone amplifier – is an advanced electrostatic design.
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- Written by Tom Waters Tom Waters
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 July 2019 01 July 2019
Hulgich Audio Duke Loudspeakers
“It’s all about balance”, said Nick Hulgich of Hulgich Audio. He’d just picked up my new Scotty Cameron golf putter and was giving it a few practice strokes. It seems he’s a keen golfer too but has difficulty finding the time to play. He expressed he could feel the engineering and beauty in the blade on each stroke. When he said that, my mind was still revelling in what I’d heard earlier from his new flagship speakers, the Dukes, which we’d setup in my room. I was thinking that the Dukes too, are all about balance and beauty.
