September 2022

Gear Reviews And Letters From You
Hi-Fi World tells you why we love music.
Editorial By Noel Keywood

  Long ago Arcam produced their Black Box DAC. It was very good – we used one in-house for some time – but styling? Forget it. The HiFi Rose RA180 amplifier is opposite: it has had some serious design effort to inject visual intrigue: gears turn around before your eyes and a mechanical pointer moves horizontally – it is no bland black box. Visually ornate – but does it work in hi-fi terms as the Arcam did so well? You can find out on P18.

There are many ways to make a high quality phono stage. Exposure use their own long-successful approach of top quality discrete electronics (no silicon chips) combined with rigid power supplies, quiet and able to sustain short term musical peaks. The result is a large and expensive two box combination. But how does it sound? Find out on p64 where vinyl expert John Pickford gives it expert attention.

In our Letters section and News there's talk about the enjoyment that can be had from VHF/FM. The wonders of listening to high quality live studio chat through a Leak Troughline tuner I know well: with no storage medium in the way this is an intense audio experience. I've done many studio talks from small, sound damped studios with a decent mic in front of me and know that you get a strong connection right to the person at the mic. See Letters on p24 to read more.

Easy to think VHF/FM is now old tech of no merit – but is it? In News on p7 we learn that America has not been told VHF/FM is outdated and unworthy (as we have in the UK and Europe). There they still value quality VHF/FM radio to bring music into people's everyday lives without vagaries of internet, Wi-Fi and all else. I hope we can take a close look soon at the McIntosh MR89 tuner that serves VHF/FM in the USA, especially if it has a digital Software Defined Radio front-end since they provide astonishing performance.

The old technologies of VHF/FM radio and LP are still with us and thriving. Hi-Fi World can tell you why. I hope you enjoy.

— Noel Keywood
Editor, HiFi World

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