HIFICRITIC Vol 09 No 1

As we boldly enter our ninth year of publication, the latest edition of HIFICRITIC – Vol 9 No 1 – focuses on two major new technology issues:

• Will Meridian’s MQA initiative revolutionise digital audio sound quality?
• How good is the exciting Devialet amplifier, and how effective is its free SAM (Speaker Active Matching) programme?

A very varied collection of product reviews include PMC’s twenty.26 three-way floorstander, the Pono portable player, Linn’s top-of-the-line Kandid phono cartridge, Naim’s mid-price ND5 XS and its XP5 XS power supply upgrade, Melco’s NZ1 solid state server, an initial report on Naim’s Statement NAC-S1 pre-amp, the Siegfried Linkwitz designed Pluto active speaker/amplifier combo, and Musical Fidelity’s complete budget Merlin system.

Additional features include Chris Frankland interviewing Naim MD Paul Stephenson, David King describing the dramatic improvements he effected by moving his equipment away from the speakers, and Peter Maguire on the angst involved in moving house. Our regular record review pages also feature Wendy Clark’s ten favourite discs, and our Annual Index to 2014’s contents rounds things off nicely.