HIFICRITIC     October / November / December 2018

Reviews & Articles Within This Issue
4 Stan's Safari No 44 
Why is it always possible to tell reproduced from live piano playing? Stan Curtis investigates.

6 Kii Three 
Martin Colloms gets to try this active DSP loudspeaker with Kii control at last!

12 Passing Notes No 5 
In which Julian Musgrave gets an earful from Steve, wires up a moggy and pushes the boundaries.

14 Audion Sterling EL34 Anniversary 
Chris Frankland examines an affordable integrated valve amplifier.

16 Ripping Yarns 
Keith Howard provides step-by-step details on how to rip various items of digital media.

20 Developing A New Cable 
Ten years on from his original feature, Chris Bell has become a proper manufacturer of audio cables.

23 High Performance Loudspeakers 
Stan Curtis reviews the 7th edition of Martin Colloms' book on loudspeakers.

24 MQA Revisited 
Andrew Harrison explores how MQA technology works, and considers whether it's a worthwhile hi-res audio format.

28 PMC Result6 
Despite its utilitarian pro appearance, Martin Colloms is impressed by PMC's active nearfield studio monitor.

31 Building A Sound Room 
Philip Gold describes how he put together a listening room in an apartment block.

34 iFi Audio Pro iDSD 
Andrew Everard asks if this is the ultimate headphone amplifier, as the Pro iDSD also has a built in DAC / streamer and pre-amp.

36 Origin Live Calypso / Illustrious 
Kevin Fiske shows considerable enthusiasm for an enthusiast-oriented turntable/tonearm combo from Origin Live.

38 3 Square Audio Translator 
Paul Messenger checks out a loudspeaker from new-kids-on-the-block 3 Square Audio.

40 Marantz NA6006 
Andrew Everard finds that Marantz' new entry-level streamer offers much.

42 Studio 19 Solo E599X-EQ 
Not exactly hi-fi in the traditional sense, we gave Andrew Harrison 'something completely different' to try .

44 PMC COR 
Martin Colloms assesses the pure analogue solid-state cor integrated amplifier, from speaker specialist PMC.

46 KR Audio VA340I 
Paul Messenger tries out a costly integrated hybrid amplifier with alternative output valves, from Czech company KR Audio.

48 True Signal Audio Cables 
Paul Messenger encounters a competitive new cable brand.

48 Wire-On-Wire Experience 680/880 
Paul Messenger examines the cables made by Chris Bell.

49 Siegfried Linkwitz (1936-2018) 
Keith Howard recalls Siegfried Linkwitz' key crossover innovation, plus his DIY-oriented website.

50 John Bamford (1956-2018) 
Hi-fi journalist and erstwhile product manager at Pioneer GB and Meridian Audio has died after a long illness.

51 The Great Post-Punk Explosion 
Mark Prenderghast takes a close look at the post-punk era of rock music.

54 Jazz Picks 
Greg Drygala's jazz reviews.

56 The Best Of Classical 
Nine classical releases chosen by Colin Anderson.

58 Rock, Pop And Other Nice Music 
Nigel Finn picks half-a-dozen rock & pop releases.

60 Subjective Sounds 
A newly 'pimped' Leak Stereo 20

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