Welcome to Newsletter #24, the first Newsletter of the new year. A look forward and back at what is on HF&MS. As a few of you may have seen, the brief dalliance with GoogleAds has gone,
thankfully. There was just too much bling on the front page and the GoogleAds went against everything that the website was originally set up for so it is a return to normalcy. It was worth a try though. However, to keep ourselves going at HF&MS, we need a coffee to keep the wheels turning. With this in mind, you can now buy us a coffee, here at HF&MS. This QR code and link will take you there, thank you.
We are planning to expand the offering from the site this year and this will include some new videos to augment the usual reviews and news content. We have a new video Editor on board; Nick will be putting out some HiFi-related videos to support the reviews; same team, same words, but a new format. They will be a bit like the Kudos Active Crossover video, which has been received well and certainly is well-viewed.
Also new this year will be a new section in the reviews that will be a Musical Interlude where the musical rabbit hole that usually happens during a review listening session will be shared. There have been a few playlists already this year including the Qobuz T+A Solitaire T playlist, the one from the iFi Zen CAN review and also the Bluesound Edge review.
Here’s a sneak preview of the Cyrus Classic Amp playlist on Qobuz, the review is due out in the coming days. The same playlist is on Tidal too. Many of the HF&MS playlists have been made public now on both Tidal and Qobuz, you will see they share many of the same tracks that represent continuity in listening.
What’s New
This year has started out with four absolutely brilliant HiFi products coming across the review bench. These include the T+A Solitaire T ‘Bluetooth’ headphones. These headphones can be run as passive headphones as well as Bluetooth and they’re at least as good with all of the electronics bypassed as they are in Bluetooth mode. We said in the Solitaire T review:
… the ANC is as good as any out there
This month has also seen a review of Auralic’s new ALTAIR G1.1. The ALTAIR G1.1 was reviewed with the Moor Amps Angel 6 and a pair of Kudos Titan 505s. It has been one of the most revealing and perfect systems we’ve ever had here at HF&MS. It is simply a lovely piece of equipment that makes Auralic accessible in price terms. We said in conclusion:
the ALTAIR G1.1… is outstanding in all aspects and it is not out of place in this exceptional two-channel system
The final reviews this month have been of the excellent iFi Zen CAN headphone amplifier (look out for a review of the CAN Air soon) and also there was this review of the All-In-One Bluesound Edge, priced at just £599. We said of the Edge:
The Edge just sits there, it is always available and reliability has been 100%, with no dropouts, connectivity issues or bother…
Coming Up next (this) month
New reviews coming this month will include a review of the new Cyrus Classic Amp. The Classic Amp retains the half-width ‘Cyrus form factor’ but it includes learning and developments from the XR range, that have lifted Cyrus back to where they belong in the HiFi pecking order. The Classic Amp is well-priced and it is a punchy little thing, it has been a fun few weeks with it. We’re hoping to get a look at the new Cyrus PSU-XR too in the coming months, probably after Bristol.
There will also be reviews coming of the new PSB Alpha iQ loudspeakers, and the iFi CAN Air and there will hopefully be a look, though possibly not a review yet, of the super new Rega ELEX (Mk4). There are some special loudspeakers here at HF&MS at the moment with the exquisite-looking Triangle Duetto currently going through its paces with the Moor Amps Angel pre and power. The sparkling Kudos Titan 505 review is coming too, they’ve just moved from Moor Amps to some ‘old Classic’ Naim amplification!
Bristol Show
We’re off to Bristol, it is a highlight of the year and there will be a Show Report on the site, of course. Qobuz is the title sponsor this year and they support this site which is very very welcome.
New Music
Remember it is all about the music, and new music this month has been fun with Gaz Coombes’ new album, well worth a listen. Admittedly in the background, Gabriel Aplin’s Phosphorescent is really nicely produced and presented on Qobuz, it was a gorgeous listen with the ALTAIR G1.1 and the Titans.
Finally, New Order’s re-issue of Low Life, again in 24-bit glory on Qobuz, is a reminder that music is a journey, and what a ride we’ve all had with them over these forty years, from the imperious Power Corruption and Lies to Low Life with the glorious 12″ track, The Perfect Kiss. Original copies of these vinyl records have been recently cleaned and reside in the HF&MS listening room!