|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| The Jaguar F-Type R Coupe – Bad Kitty (Part 2) |
| In these conditions, the S shone. The supercharged power delivery and eight-ratios of the automatic transmission combined perfectly, allowing me the opportunity to exploit all the available power at any point. |
|
| The Jaguar F-Type R Coupe – Bad Kitty (Part 1) |
| Lleida is one of the lesser-known towns in Spain. Sited a few hundred kilometres west of Barcelona, its surrounds boast some of the finest driving roads I've experienced; the motorways are in near-perfect condition, as are the arterial roads which are wide and well sighted with flowing comers. |
|
| The McLaren 650S – Once More… With Feeling (Part 2) |
| There's no better place to test this than the private playground of Dutch gazillionaire Klaas Zwaart. His 5.43 km, FIA-compliant Ascari circuit is a very technical track packed with a mix of 25 low- and high-speed corners that find meagre driving skills and poorly set-up cars wanting. |
|
| The McLaren 650S – Once More… With Feeling (Part 1) |
| Another orange supercar... and another measure of sympathy. This time, feel sorry for McLaren's 12C. While the motoring world revered its engineering achievements and marvelled at its unique mix of urbane civility and neck-snapping acceleration, no-one really loved it. |
|
|
|
| The Jaguar F-Type Coupe – Staggeringly Pretty (Part 2) |
| Forward of the rear bulkhead, the F-type is as it was, which means satisfying in some ways but underwhelming in others. The dash and centre console are subtly turned towards the driver, and there’s enough seat adjustment to feel like you’re piloting it from appropriately close to the deck. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Vintage Hi-fi : B&O Beogram 4000 Turntable (Part 2) |
| If a 7in record was detected the speed would be automatically switched from the default 33.3rpm to 45rpm, although this could be over-ridden manually if necessary. If no record was present the arm would return to its rest and the machine would shut down. |
|
| Vintage Hi-fi : B&O Beogram 4000 Turntable (Part 1) |
| The Beogram 4000 is as much respected for its industrial design as it is for its audio performance. Launched in 1972 at a price of around $270.34, the 4000 was generally the preserve of wealthy music lovers rather than the traditional hi-fi hobbyist. |
|
|
|
| Pre/Power Amplifier : Cambridge Audio 851E/W (Part 2) |
| When driving my reference Audiovector Mi 3 Signature floorstanders with a 44.1kHz/16-bit FLAC rip of Jon Strong’s Follow Me, via my Audiolab M-DAC plumbed into the 851E’s balanced input, I was immediately struck by the Cambridge amps’ expansive soundstage. |
|
|
|
| Headphone Amp : Schiit Audio Magni (Part 3) |
| Second only to the Teac HA-501 in raw power output, Schiit’s Magni is surely the most the most capable single-input headphone amp at this very affordable ~$168.96 price point. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Turntable Consonance Isolde/T8 (Part 3) |
| The Consonance Isolde turntable and T8 arm are an endearing combination. Although they require a little fettling to perform at their best, the end result is a highly enjoyable one, especially if your taste in music extends to more atmospheric performances. |
|
| Turntable Consonance Isolde/T8 (Part 2) |
| Opera-Consonance was founded by an engineer, Shihui Liu, in 1994 and its inception resulted from him designing a single, home-grown valve amplifier. He was subsequently asked to make another that could be sold – and the rest, as they say, is history. |
|
|
|
| Toshiba Pro Theatre 50L4300VM Review |
| The L4300 comes with two remote controls, a traditional remote with a number pad, a button for almost every function, and directional buttons; and an “easy” remote for navigating the TV's smart features, namely Android. |
|
| Network Audio Player : Lindermann Musicbook 25 (Part 3) |
| This meant that the sharp attack of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan’s evergreen ‘Tin Pan Alley (aka Roughest Place In Town)’ from Couldn’t Stand The Weather had plenty of energy and dynamism, the leading-edge bite of the guitar sharply etched and suitably angry. |
|
| Network Audio Player : Lindermann Musicbook 25 (Part 2) |
| All four Musicbook front ends are identically equipped with four (two RCA, two Toslink) digital inputs for other sources and, being fully-fledged analogue preamplifiers, two single-ended (RCA) analogue inputs – enough for a phono amplifier and an FM tuner or old tape deck, say. |
|
| Network Audio Player : Lindermann Musicbook 25 (Part 1) |
| The high-end audio landscape has changed beyond all recognition in recent years. Visit any of the world’s major hi-fi exhibitions today and you’ll find high-end manufacturers demonstrating their wares using computer audio as a source. |
|
| Integrated Amplifier : Ayre AX-5 (Part 3) |
| The AX-5 didn’t fully pull its punches to conceal the recording’s shortcomings, leaving me craving a little more upper bass ‘bloom’ to flesh out the track’s stridency. But I was left convinced of the Ayre’s transparency as a consequence. |
|
| Integrated Amplifier : Ayre AX-5 (Part 2) |
| Gain offset for each input can be adjusted via the setup menu; one of the inputs can be assigned as a processor pass-through; and the amplifier ships with one of Ayre’s lovely RC30 multi-component IR remote control handsets whose large keys are backlit with a fibre optic array that distributes light from a blue LED inside. |
|
|
|
| Mini-ature Companion Jabra Solemate Mini Review |
| As we mentioned earlier, the SOLEMATE Mini is loud. During our tests, we brought it around to see just how well it would stand out, both in a quiet area as well as a noisy area. In an isolated area, the SOLEMATE Mini performed as we expected it to. |
|
| Audiotechnica: ATH-M50x Headphones |
| Audio-Technica’s M50 headphones are a standard feature in many studios, but you asked for more, and AT answered that call by adding an x to M. Andy Jones does the can-can… |
|
| Tecdesk Smart 5500 (Part 2) |
| It’s a tremendous shame and feels like a missed opportunity. Given the freshness of the medium, Tecdesk had almost carte blanche from a design perspective. It could have let loose and created something truly original to look at. Instead, we have a modern device firmly rooted in a 20th century school of aesthetics. |
|
| Tecdesk Smart 5500 (Part 1) |
| The Tecdesk Smart 5500 is not a smartphone. At least, not as we know it. Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that this device looks an awful lot like an office phone, and no, it certainly won’t fit in your pocket. What it actually is, though, is a lot more interesting. |
|
| Toshiba BDX5400KB Smart 3D Bluray Player With Built-in Wifi |
| Toshiba’s Blu-ray biscuit tin may be small, but it leaves nothing out. Aside from 4K upscaling, which as noted seems irrelevant at this price anyway, all the boxes are ticked. There’s 3D, USB media-sucking and Wi-Fi with DLNA, so you can access further video, photos and tunes from your network’s devices. |
|
| Samsung BD-F7500 Smart Bluray Player |
| Samsung has, frankly, thrown everything at this handsome flagship Blu-ray player, loading it with every feature you could possibly need (and a few that you probably won’t). It certainly looks great on paper, thanks to a nippy dualcore processor and is pretty damn fine in the flesh, courtesy of a brushed steel exterior and slick, snappy user interface. |
|
| Sony BDP-S5100 3D Bluray Disc Player With Wifi |
| The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey beguiles in 3D, with a depth and accuracy that makes objects in the foreground appear solid, and the background stable and unaffected by grain or flicker. Blu-rays in 2D also look grand, and DVDs are smartly upscaled, despite some distortion around the edges of moving images. |
|
| Panasonic DMP-BDT330 Bluray Player |
| There are some slightly luxe touches as well. With two HDMI ports you’re free to send a 3D picture direct to your TV, while a decoded 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack feeds your AV receiver. |
|
| Philips AS860 Wireless Speaker Dock Review |
| Along with a lot of new products being introduced recently, Philips has brought to us a simple wireless speaker which has more benefits in the long run. After all, having multiple functions and convenience in a product would make customers consider it among the other products in the lineup. So this month, we will be looking at the Philips AS860 wireless speaker dock, and see if it's bang for your buck, or an oversized paperweight. |
|
| Pioneer BDP-450 Universal 3D Bluray Player |
| Pioneer’s all-metal player looks like it could crush its puny plastic rivals, but the truth is there’s very little inside that steel casing: this is a stripped-down machine. |
|
