Hi-Fi Choice

Hi-Fi Choice is the essential guide to audio excellence in the home. It is a no-nonsense guide to the finest products available, from vinyl and valves, to multi-channel digital audio and high-fidelity video. Hi-Fi Choice sorts the best from the rest with rigorous test processes and a highly experienced team of reviewers.

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Welcome • hifichoice.com Issue No. 529 July 2025

Let’s get this party started! • Celeb-endorsed additions to fun speaker range

Play for today • New affordable Brit Bluetooth turntable duo

Three’s a charm • Upgraded Bluetooth speaker from Denmark

Rich pickings • To-die-for soon-come high-end loudspeaker

Top ten • Import amp from China

Five alive • Pricey fifth-generation power amp from Denmark

Retro revolution • Cool cassette player release

Ton up! • A trio of anniversary releases from Japan

Poles apart • Streaming import from Poland

Let’s network • The new way of banishing interference from your setup

X-Factor • UK’s latest network player launches

Juicy fruit • Comfy new affordable cans

Dual jewel • Italian dual mono DAC import

Go nuts! • New comic strip-inspired turntable

Ear candy • Affordable cans with ecology in mind

D-lightful! • A couple of brand new DACs from the UK

Northern soul • New speaker range from Estonia

Handy Scandi • New subwoofer and product colourways

High End Show Munich 2025 • The hi-fi community decamps to Munich for one last time… Ed Selley reports on its final High End Show

Comfort and joy • Another open-back headphone from Audio-Technica’s wallet-friendly R Series leaves Neville Roberts mighty impressed

A kind of… • Sorcerer’s apprentice Nick Tate auditions this seriously special small system, from a famous Scottish name

Here’s the beef • Mark Craven puts JBL’s new starter amplifier through its paces

Tweak of the week • New from Serbia is Soulines’ tt9 turntable and Kivi M3 ‘captured unipivot’ tonearm. Adam Smith takes a listen

Radia gaga • Arcam’s Radia range rounds out with its best streamer, which – if past form is anything to go by – will leave David Vivian tickled pink

Good omens • The Prophecy range is the latest evolution in PMC’s ongoing design philosophy. Ed Selley thinks it’s quite the leap

Triple threat • Bowers & Wilkins have slimmed-down their popular midrange cans to stunning effect. Cliff Joseph finds himself spellbound…

Viva Las Vega! • Auralic’s new entry-level streaming DAC seeks to bring its distinct identity down to a lower price. Ed Selley sees if it works

Precision engineering • Joining Nagra’s mono block power amps, preamp and DAC X separates in its High Definition line, the two-box HD Phono channels the brand’s 70+ year audio heritage

“The goal of hi-fi should be to reproduce music exactly as it was played in the first place” • The incredible story of how making warships led to a holistic view of turntable production. Meet Origin Live…

“Outstanding sound without exception” • David Baker, Marketing and Operations Manager, Origin Live

Brighten up your life • Neville Roberts explains a recent study which has set out to explore in more detail how our brains create links between musical pitch and light

Letters • YOUR LETTERS & QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Music Reviews

COOL COLLECTION

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Furutech DeStat III static charge eliminator

Buying Guide • Selecting the components you want to audition is never easy, but help is at hand with our pick of the best to pass through...