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Details: Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer; Category: Features Features; Published: 24 October 2019 24 October 2019

StereoNET Hi-Fi Show Melbourne 2019 – Part 1

Contrasting last year’s marathon which had me landing from a Linn event in Bangkok, directly uber-ing from Tullamarine airport to the show and hard-clutching high-gear for reporting, my preparations for attending the newly-named StereoNET Hi-Fi Show were rather less feverishly frenzied. Arriving in Melbourne a few days early allowed some R&R, highlights of which were the excellent Melbourne Museum and the guided tour of Parliament House. Ditto for savouring the excellence of this wonderful city’s culinary delights climaxing with the discovery of the institution that is Pellegrini’s for the absolutely best coffee you’ll have outside of Rome’s finest. That morsel of recreational respite aside, Friday October 18 saw me arriving at the Pullman Mercure Hotel Albert Park ready to rock.

Details: Written by News Editor News Editor; Category: News News; Published: 17 October 2019 17 October 2019

M8audio Announces Tower Maxwell Floorstanding Loudspeaker

Following the well-received Sweet Maxwell standmount speakers, M8audio has announced a floorstanding version which evolves and extends the principles used in its older sibling.

Details: Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer; Category: Reviews Reviews; Published: 15 October 2019 15 October 2019

Hulgich Audio Duke Loudspeakers – Editor’s Follow-Up

Back in July 2019, our writer Tom Waters reviewed very favourably the impressively-built Duke loudspeakers from Australian manufacturer Hulgich Audio (read the review here). Prior to Tom getting the review samples delivered to his home, the Duke speakers had a three-week spell at SoundStage! Australia HQ. Over that period I evaluated the design’s engineering while inspecting, with deserved admiration, the substantial construction merits of Nicolas Hulgich’s and Swedish consulting designer Göran Niréus’ flagship creation. During that stint I also evaluated at length the considerable resolution powers of this tremendous design. Subsequently, Hulgich asked if I could provide him with a second opinion, with my findings meriting a ‘Follow-Up’ article… so here goes.

Details: Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer; Category: Features Features; Published: 09 October 2019 09 October 2019

Rotel Resurrects Revered Michi High-End Brand

In the early 1990s Rotel, already a 20-plus year old company with a rich audio history, announced the release of an all-out attack on the high-end audio space. It launched the now-iconic Michi brand with a limited range of super high quality products featuring advanced circuit designs born from astute engineering and bearing a distinctive Japanese styling (the gorgeous redwood side panels enhanced the elegant lines) married to superb build quality. Now, 30-odd years on, we again see the emergence of the Michi brand with an aim to revive the glory of the nascent products of yesteryear.

Details: Written by News Editor News Editor; Category: News News; Published: 04 October 2019 04 October 2019

Bowers & Wilkins Releases PX Series Wireless Headphones

Bowers & Wilkins has announced the release of a new group of ‘PX’ high-tech wireless headphones and ‘PI’ in-ear transducers with advanced features and in varying price brackets.

Details: Written by News Editor News Editor; Category: News News; Published: 01 October 2019 01 October 2019

PS Audio’s Stellar Phono Preamplifier Has Landed

American high-end audio electronics stalwart PS Audio expands its ‘Stellar’ range of products with a new high-feature phono stage the company claims is the best it has ever produced.

Details: Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer; Category: Reviews Reviews; Published: 01 October 2019 01 October 2019

Chord Electronics Ultima 2 Monoblock Amplifiers

For the last few years, Chord Electronics has had a relentless limelight-follow-spot firmly set on its every move in the digital-to-analogue converter space. ‘Tapped’ to ever-escalating numbers, Chord’s FPGA formula has advanced the company to one of the leading positions in digital technology, with its latest DAC products – and the tricked-out M Scaler – receiving a veritable pouring of appreciation from gratified users. The audio press has heaped nothing but the highest praise too, while from stage-left we imagine the competition glaring with covetous squints. Now, with the new ‘Ultima’ line of high-end amplifiers, and with the Ultima 2 monoblocks as the subjects of this review, Chord Electronics has its sights firmly set on the ne plus ultra.

Details: Written by News Editor News Editor; Category: News News; Published: 23 September 2019 23 September 2019

Bluesound POWERNODE 2i Available in Australia

Bluesound’s new POWERNODE 2i promises to expand the capabilities of the all-in-one platform with the addition of powerful amplification and HDMI connectivity.

Details: Written by Barry Jones Barry Jones; Category: Features Features; Published: 22 September 2019 22 September 2019

Interview – DEQX’s Kim Ryrie & Alan Langford

Reviewer Barry Jones recently spent some time at DEQX’s Sydney headquarters where he met with Founder Kim Ryrie and General Manager Alan Langford to discuss the company’s rich history, its proprietary digital technologies and highly advanced processors. DEQX’s unique and refined products has seen the digital specialist grow into a powerful force in the digital signal manipulation field.

Details: Written by News Editor News Editor; Category: News News; Published: 19 September 2019 19 September 2019

New Serie S Subwoofers from REL Acoustics

Subwoofer specialist REL Acoustics has announced the release of the new Serie S high-end bass monsters and the company claims they are total transformations benefitting from the highest level of engineering it has ever offered.

Details: Written by News Editor News Editor; Category: News News; Published: 18 September 2019 18 September 2019

StereoNet Hi-Fi Show 2019

In what is now a well-oiled show-staging machine, the Pullman Melbourne Albert Park Hotel will once again host the StereoNet Hi-Fi Show for three audio-packed days launching Friday, 18 October and closing on Sunday, 20 October 2019.

Details: Written by Peter Katsoolis Peter Katsoolis; Category: Features Features; Published: 17 September 2019 17 September 2019

“The Best Seat in the House” – Music Night at Sturmans Audio Visual

Bricks and mortar Hi-Fi stores, and the personalised customer service and experience they bring, are increasingly under threat from direct from manufacturer sales, ‘net only marketers and lounge room ‘distributors’ who often have neither the resources nor the know-how to support either the customer or the product. The latter might be big on Facebook but when it comes to crucial issues like component selection, system matching, installation, and tuning, the value of an ongoing face to face relationship for the consumer (and for the manufacturer too) cannot be overestimated. This was ably demonstrated at an event held by Sturmans AV in Wollongong recently.