Author Archives: realspin
Denon DCD-SA1
Costing a cool £5,000 in 2002, this was one of Denon’s most expensive universal disc players ever – to call it a ‘Japanese battleship’ rather understates its staggering build quality. Measuring 434x150x410mm and weighing in at 21.8kg, it is massively constructed with huge
Denon DCD-SA1
Costing a cool £5,000 in 2002, this was one of Denon’s most expensive universal disc players ever – to call it a ‘Japanese battleship’ rather understates its staggering build quality. Measuring 434x150x410mm and weighing in at 21.8kg, it is massively constructed with huge
Kate Bush – The Kick Inside
Many viewed Kate Bush’s first single – Wuthering Heights – as a novelty record. Her striking and distinctive vocal style was nothing like anything else around at the time, making it easy pickings for satirists and cynics alike. Sadly, this rather detracted
Kate Bush – The Kick Inside
Many viewed Kate Bush’s first single – Wuthering Heights – as a novelty record. Her striking and distinctive vocal style was nothing like anything else around at the time, making it easy pickings for satirists and cynics alike. Sadly, this rather detracted
The Kinks – The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
With superb songwriting and consummate musicianship, The Kinks were one of the finest bands of the rock era. The stock-in-trade of frontman Ray Davies was penning affectionate odes to people and places close to him. His gentle, lilting vocals make his songs
The Kinks – The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
With superb songwriting and consummate musicianship, The Kinks were one of the finest bands of the rock era. The stock-in-trade of frontman Ray Davies was penning affectionate odes to people and places close to him. His gentle, lilting vocals make his songs
German Physiks HRS120 Carbon
This is assuredly not your average assemblage of conventional moving coil drive units in an MDF box, but then again at £16,000 you wouldn’t expect it to be. The German Physiks HRS 120 is a unique omnidirectional designed powered by the exclusive
German Physiks HRS120 Carbon
This is assuredly not your average assemblage of conventional moving coil drive units in an MDF box, but then again at £16,000 you wouldn’t expect it to be. The German Physiks HRS 120 is a unique omnidirectional designed powered by the exclusive
Keith Monks Omni Mk.VII
“Other products are available”, as they say, but traditionally the Keith Monks Omni was always the one that serious record collectors recommended – as well as being the choice of the record libraries of august broadcast organisations like the BBC. It’s
Keith Monks Omni Mk.VII
“Other products are available”, as they say, but traditionally the Keith Monks Omni was always the one that serious record collectors recommended – as well as being the choice of the record libraries of august broadcast organisations like the BBC. It’s
Marantz KI Pearl
The British launch of the Marantz KI Pearls in Autumn 2009 was a suitably auspicious affair at The Ivy in London’s Soho, with Ken Ishiwata making a speech to a room of assembled journalists in which he traced his career trajectory,
Marantz KI Pearl
The British launch of the Marantz KI Pearls in Autumn 2009 was a suitably auspicious affair at The Ivy in London’s Soho, with Ken Ishiwata making a speech to a room of assembled journalists in which he traced his career trajectory,
Lyra Titan i
Jonathan Carr is surely one of the world’s finest living cartridge designers. Along with his Japanese cartridge builder Yoshinori Mishima, and Norwegian business partner Stig Borge, together they form Lyra. The company has been going for nearly three decades now – launched
Lyra Titan i
Jonathan Carr is surely one of the world’s finest living cartridge designers. Along with his Japanese cartridge builder Yoshinori Mishima, and Norwegian business partner Stig Borge, together they form Lyra. The company has been going for nearly three decades now – launched
Cambridge Audio DACMagic
One of the last ever digital-to-analogue convertors of the first era of DACs, the DACMagic spent a good part of the nineteen nineties being one of the few such products on sale. Had it been launched five years earlier than its 1995 debut,
Cambridge Audio DACMagic
One of the last ever digital-to-analogue convertors of the first era of DACs, the DACMagic spent a good part of the nineteen nineties being one of the few such products on sale. Had it been launched five years earlier than its 1995 debut,
Creek CAS3140
“I have had a genetic interest in radio, since my father got into consumer electronics when he was a boy, and then joined the RAF as a wireless operator during World War 2,” Mike Creek tells me. “I made my
Creek CAS3140
“I have had a genetic interest in radio, since my father got into consumer electronics when he was a boy, and then joined the RAF as a wireless operator during World War 2,” Mike Creek tells me. “I made my
Arcam P49
Arcam has always been a purveyor of fine integrated amps as far back as the late seventies, this much we know. Yet the company does have a tradition of doing capable power amplifiers too, stretching right back to the
Arcam P49
Arcam has always been a purveyor of fine integrated amps as far back as the late seventies, this much we know. Yet the company does have a tradition of doing capable power amplifiers too, stretching right back to the
Audio Research SP-8
Such were the politics of British hi-fi publishing back in the early eighties, that you had to struggle to read about anything that wasn’t UK-made and transistor-aspirated. It may be hard to believe in today’s relatively catholic hi-fi world, but
Audio Research SP-8
Such were the politics of British hi-fi publishing back in the early eighties, that you had to struggle to read about anything that wasn’t UK-made and transistor-aspirated. It may be hard to believe in today’s relatively catholic hi-fi world, but
America – Homecoming
Horse with no Name is the song that everyone remembers from this early seventies soft-rock band, but that’s only the start of the story. Released on November 15th, 1972, Homecoming was the band’s ‘difficult second album’, attempting to repeat the runaway success
America – Homecoming
Horse with no Name is the song that everyone remembers from this early seventies soft-rock band, but that’s only the start of the story. Released on November 15th, 1972, Homecoming was the band’s ‘difficult second album’, attempting to repeat the runaway success
Touraj Moghaddam
Touraj Moghaddam is one of hi-fi’s great characters – not just for his affable, charming manner, but for his passion and expertise. As soon as you meet him in person, it’s hard not to be bowled over by his wide-eyed sense
Touraj Moghaddam
Touraj Moghaddam is one of hi-fi’s great characters – not just for his affable, charming manner, but for his passion and expertise. As soon as you meet him in person, it’s hard not to be bowled over by his wide-eyed sense
NAD 5120
It was something of a surprise, to be frank. When NAD introduced its 5120 turntable in 1981, the brand’s stock was very high – the 3020 amplifier was unassailable and they couldn’t make enough of them. Typically, it would find itself
NAD 5120
It was something of a surprise, to be frank. When NAD introduced its 5120 turntable in 1981, the brand’s stock was very high – the 3020 amplifier was unassailable and they couldn’t make enough of them. Typically, it would find itself
Linn Basik
Back in the early nineties, Linn Products was still regarded primarily as a high end specialist turntable manufacturer. After all, its Karik/Numerik CD spinner had only been around for a couple of years, and the LK1/LK280 pre-power amplifier combo was
Linn Basik
Back in the early nineties, Linn Products was still regarded primarily as a high end specialist turntable manufacturer. After all, its Karik/Numerik CD spinner had only been around for a couple of years, and the LK1/LK280 pre-power amplifier combo was
Marantz DD-82
I remember the scene well. Tokyo 1991, Tower Records, Shibuya. At one end of the huge shop floor lurked two strange new hi-fi oddities. One was a Sony MZ-1, which was a small black MiniDisc portable. The other was a massive
Marantz DD-82
I remember the scene well. Tokyo 1991, Tower Records, Shibuya. At one end of the huge shop floor lurked two strange new hi-fi oddities. One was a Sony MZ-1, which was a small black MiniDisc portable. The other was a massive
Shanling SCD-T200C
How we marvelled at this striking, post-modern design back when the new century was still young! Yet over a decade later, the 2003 SCD-T200C now looks positively vintage with its acres of silver brushed aluminium, blue LEDs, valves, perspex and silver painted steel.
Shanling SCD-T200C
How we marvelled at this striking, post-modern design back when the new century was still young! Yet over a decade later, the 2003 SCD-T200C now looks positively vintage with its acres of silver brushed aluminium, blue LEDs, valves, perspex and silver painted steel.
AudioSmile Kensai
One quiet afternoon some eight or so years ago, I got a call from Simon Ashton. Young, enthusiastic and oblivious to the perils of the audio industry, he told me he’d designed a new pair of loudspeakers. As editor
AudioSmile Kensai
One quiet afternoon some eight or so years ago, I got a call from Simon Ashton. Young, enthusiastic and oblivious to the perils of the audio industry, he told me he’d designed a new pair of loudspeakers. As editor
Exposure 3010S2
Exposure made its name for powerful and punchy sounding high end transistor amplifiers back in the nineteen eighties, under the stewardship of gifted designer John Farlowe. He subsequently sold his company and emigrated to Thailand, whereupon the brand was reborn.
Exposure 3010S2
Exposure made its name for powerful and punchy sounding high end transistor amplifiers back in the nineteen eighties, under the stewardship of gifted designer John Farlowe. He subsequently sold his company and emigrated to Thailand, whereupon the brand was reborn.
Technics SL-1200GAE
Just when we least expected it, Technics went and killed off the SL-1200. Let us rewind back to 2010, when the recession was biting and only certain types of hi-fi were really doing anything at all, sales-wise. CD player sales were falling
Technics SL-1200GAE
Just when we least expected it, Technics went and killed off the SL-1200. Let us rewind back to 2010, when the recession was biting and only certain types of hi-fi were really doing anything at all, sales-wise. CD player sales were falling
zStereo 