ADOT Fibre in situ with an Iron weight on top

Welcome to the January review, already, can you believe it?  No resolutions here other than to continue to listen to music every day and with the start to the new year we have had here, with Cyrus and Naim Audio, it is a pretty easy job to do.

New Reviews

The reviews this year have started strong with an interesting look at the ADOT Multi-Mode Fibre optic upgrade. This idea inserts a fibre optic break between your very noisy router and your networked source, delivering a cleaner signal path ultimately.  With my review setup, it was a tangible gain, noting the music was;

Open, more transparent, just better…

Indeed in conclusion;

It has a tangible gain in my system and it is one that I am reluctant to part with.

In conversation with Alan Ainslee, who is the Managing Director of ADMM (Audiophile Digital Music Masters Ltd, Distributor of ADOT, Melco and PlixiR ), he suggested that the ADOT performance can be enhanced with a Single Mode upgrade using a thinner fibre optic cable and we will look at this next month.

with Tidal MQA

We have started the year off strongly with a review of the Cyrus Stream-XR. This review should have come out for Christmas but there we are.  The Stream-XR is controlled with the class-leading BluOS architecture, and Cyrus has delivered a superb streamer.  In the review, it was commented;

….prefer the weight and presence… musicality, of the Stream-XR

And we said there was;

…no hesitation in recommending it to anyone looking for a Streaming DAC at this price point.

This review has been followed by a look at the Naim Audio NSC 222 with the NPX 300 power supply upgrade.  This reviewer is an unabashed Naim Fanboy with a lounge full of green lights, so this review has been an honour and a joy. These electronics retain their audio presence but now have a luxurious look and feel to them, boy does this stuff look good?  These are some of the best-looking electronics to come through HF&MS. As an owner of a NAC-N 272, XPS and an older NAP 250.2, I asked myself;

Would I upgrade? If I had the money, unreservedly yes.

Naim NSC 222 with NPX 300 and Angel 6 power amplifier

The review was concluded;

The technology and innovation, not to mention styling and build quality, demand this new Classic series is considered in any purchasing decision at these higher-end budgets.

PMA Magazine

PMA Magazine

Here at HF&MS, we have started to share some reviews with the Canadian online magazine PMA. It is a very interesting magazine with music at its centre.  The new Flipbook on the front page is very cool indeed.  There will be several HF&MS reviews appearing in the coming months.

Reference System

HF&MS Reference System Badge

Hopefully, you will have seen the Twelve Days of Christmas feature of the Holiday period, although it became ten days, due to extended power cuts and other mitigating factors.  The feature was to outline some of the Reference equipment used at HF&MS as we’ve been frequently what is used here.  The reference system is summarised below.

Reference System – Day 1 – Chord Electronics 2go with the 2yu network bridge.

Reference System – Day 2 – iFi Audio Pro iDSD DAC.

Reference System – Day 3 – Atlas Cables Mavros USB A-B cable with their Grun earthing system

Reference System – Day 4 – Moor Amps Angel Preamplifier

Ryan Adams – Gold

Reference System – Day 5 – Moor Amps Angel 6 Power amplifier

Reference System – Day 6 – Michell GyroDec SE

Reference System – Day 7 – Titan 505 loudspeakers

Reference System – Day 8 – Atlas Mavros loudspeaker cable

Reference System – Day 9 – Gold, Ryan Adams

Reference System – Day 10 – Vulture Prince, Arooj Aftab

Coming Up

Some reviews coming in the next month will include a long-overdue look at the WiiM Pro Plus.  This is a remarkable unit at its price point.  We will also be looking at the Cyrus Audio PSU-XR power supply upgrade to the Stream-XR.

There will also be a look at the new updated Elipson W35, the original was reviewed very favourably in December 2020.  The W35+ was announced last summer and it looks and will be fun.

As mentioned above,  we will also have a look at the ADOT Single Mode upgrade to the fibre optic data break.

One piece this reviewer is looking forward to is playing and listening to some Atlas Mavros cables that have been upgraded by Atlas as part of their new sustainable service to enable older cables to incorporate Atlas’ new technologies like the Latik L 3-D printed upgrade recently announced.  For this project, the following Qobuz playlist will be used, offering reference insights into dynamics, soundstage, tone, resolution and rhythm.

Also coming up, maybe, just maybe, HF&MS will receive the new Classic NAP 250!  Here’s hoping.

New Music

The year has started very well in music terms too, with the release today of The Smile’s new album, Wall of Eyes.  This is a high-quality recording with wide and grand orchestration from the London Contemporary Orchestra, who also featured on Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool.  Other new music so far has included the Anni Kiviniemi Trio with their album Eir, also a nice 24-bit recording.  Although late to the party on this one, if you have not heard RAYE’s Albert Hall Concert, go there now. RAYE’s bundle of BRIT nominations should alert you to how good this artist is.

Eir – Anni Kiviniemi Trio

RAYE, My 21st Century Symphony. (Live at the Royal Albert Hall)

Wall of Eyes