hi-fi+ Magazine      November 2026

  hi-fi+ is a magazine that is serious about hi-fi. Our articles are intended to help you get the best from your system, rather than simply telling you to buy another one. Our reviews only cover product that we think is worthwhile. You can read more about that by looking at our reviews policy, but lets just say that our attitude to equipment is rather different, and we hope, much more informative. We haven't forgotten that hi-fi is supposed to be fun!

The Real Meaning Of High-End Audio: Passion, Music, And Personal Choice
From affordable hi-fi to flagship reference systems, enjoying music matters far more than what your audio equipment costs.
Editorial By Alan Sircom
Sometimes, it's all too easy to lose track of what high-end audio is all about. There's a natural tendency to see expensive audio equipment and to assume it's all about bragging rights. We tend to make the same assumptions about those who have expensive things in general, be they high-end cars, cameras, clothes, or even kitchen knives. 'They' (the ones who can afford such things) aren't 'serious' about the hobby and just throw money around. At its most extreme, this too is all about the swagger. The boast goes something like this: "Those who spend less than me are skinflints, and those who spend more are spendthrifts!" Mister – and it's almost always a guy – Wonderful might have spent Ł17 on a Casio watch in 1987, but anyone who buys something that isn't a 1987 Casio digital watch is clearly wrong and delusional. The extreme is easy to spot, and even easier to ridicule, but this kind of thought process is so pervasive, it borders on a form of cognitive distortion. It's not fallacious reasoning, because ultimately it's a rejection of logic and truth-seeking; you don't need a reason to assume those who spend more on audio than you are simply showing off, or those that spend less don't take their passion seriously enough.
---> The Real Meaning Of High-End Audio: Passion, Music, And Personal Choice.

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Your Views On All Things Audio.

Equipment Reviews
10 Göbel High End Divin Monarque
Floorstanding Loudspeaker

26 TechDAS Air Force IV 
Vinyl LP Turntable

32 MOON By Simaudio 491 And 461
Network Player / Preamplifier And Power Amplifier

41 Gold Note HP-5.2 And PSX-5
Headphone Amplifier And Power Supply

49 Wattson Audio Madison Phono
MM / MC Phono Stage

57 ATC SCM20ASL
Active Stand-Mount Loudspeakers

63 Scansonic HD M30.2 
Floorstanding Loudspeakers

69 Rotel Michi Prestige X430
Integrated Amplifier

75 Meze Audio Strada
Closed-Back Dynamic Headphones

81 Vertere Acoustics Phono-1 LX 
MM / MC Phono Stage

87 Synergistic Research 'Network Ecosystem' 
Network Router, Switch, Cables... And Server

93 REL Planar PL-1 
Subwoofer

99 Chord Company ChordOhmic Transmission Fluid
Contact Treatment

105 Solidsteel UL-6 
Loudspeaker Stands

113 Connected-Fidelity WireWound
Power Cord

Tech Talk Features
21 Göbel High End Oliver Göbel
CEO Of Göbel High End OnTthe Divin Monarque Loudspeaker

109 Solidsteel Martino Bucci
Head Of Solidsteel's Research & Development Department, On The UL range

Music
119 Music Reviews
Contemporary, Classical, And Jazz Music

Plus
116 Subscriptions
Subscribe And Save!

127 Advertiser Index

128 Next Month
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