Hi-Fi Choice

Hi-Fi Choice is the essential guide to audio excellence in the home. It is a no-nonsense guide to the finest products available, from vinyl and valves, to multi-channel digital audio and high-fidelity video. Hi-Fi Choice sorts the best from the rest with rigorous test processes and a highly experienced team of reviewers.

Welcome • hifichoice.com Issue No. 507 November 2023

Three and easy • New speaker range upgrade from B&W

Ton up! • UK company unveils 100 Series

Pearly kings • Two new customisable earbuds from Denon

Two’s company • New turntable from Austria

Heart of glass • New British loudspeaker

The big reveal • Quad’s new loudspeaker duo

Art Deco • New audio products from Aylesbury

Lumin-ous glow • New imported music network player

Range rovers • A brace of new streamers from Cyrus

Wolf pack • Phono stage import from the Netherlands

Nice ice, baby • Cool ’phones colourway from AT

Speed kings • KEF and Lotus team up… again

Moby slick • Whale-inspired headphones from China

Cloud 9 • Wireless over-ear cans from Canada

Unique group tests • Our Group Tests are supported by rigorous and exhaustive listening tests carried out by experts

▶ TEST MUSIC

REFERENCE SYSTEM

Design for life • The competition between streaming services for your hard-earned cash is keener than ever. Ed Selley works out which one has got the right stuff

ON TEST

Amazon Music from £7.99/month • Some aspects of Amazon are genuinely excellent, which makes its weaknesses all the more maddening

SPEAKING OUT

Apple Music £10.99/month • Some detailed tweaks since we last tested it mean that Apple Music has become a more impressive offering

GO IT ALONE

Qobuz Studio £12.99/month • The champion of out-and-out sound quality also turns out to be rather good at the convenience angle as well

UNIVERSAL PLAYER

Spotify Premium £10.99/month • In the ongoing absence of a lossless tier, Spotify has to major on convenience and it really delivers in spades

IT JUST WORKS

Tidal HiFi Plus £19.99/month • Tidal’s ongoing work on compatibility and user friendliness is yielding very positive results… at a price

GET CONNECTED

YouTube Music £10.99/month • You’ve watched the cat videos, now it’s time to see how YouTube holds up as a music streaming service

SOUND AND VISION

Group test verdict • Six services, countless millions of tracks and apps galore, but there can only be one winner. Ed Selley breaks down the results

TRY WITH THESE

Extreme pleasure • An upgrade to the ‘ultimate’ optical pick-up, the Grand Master Extreme enjoys a single-piece diamond cantilever and stylus

GETTING TO THE POINT

A sense of déjà vu… • Spot the difference between this floorstander and another iconic big hitter. David Vivian sees if the sound lives up to the look

Big hitter • You’ll need a fairly big bookshelf, but Klipsch’s powered monitor packs one hell of a punch says Cliff Joseph

Box of delights • It’s very much a case of back to the futura for A&K’s updated DAP. Cliff Joseph is duly transported to a better time

BBC too • You know retro is back on trend when Musical Fidelity takes on the hallowed BBC LS3/5A. David Vivian judges the result

Edging it • Designed to offer Bluesound’s most compact ‘just add speakers’ option, the Powernode Edge has Ed Selley impressed

Back in the game again • After a significant time away, Mission has come back to amplifiers and Ed Selley reckons the 778X will prove very popular

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