Index | Blog | Forum | Contributors | Contact Us
hificritic.com
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Forum
  • Subscriptions
  • Issues
    • Current Issue
    • Current Issue Excerpts
    • Back Issues >
      • 2021 - 2022
      • 2019 - 2020
      • 2017 - 2018
      • 2015 - 2016
      • 2014 - 2013
      • 2012 - 2011
      • 2010 - 2009
      • 2008 - 2007
    • Back Issue Excerpts >
      • 2022 Excerpts >
        • Vol 16 No 3 Excerpts
        • Vol 16 No 2 Excerpts
        • Vol 16 No 1 Excerpts
      • 2021 Excerpts >
        • Vol 15 No 4 Excerpts
        • Vol 15 No 3 Excerpts
        • Vol 15 No 2 Excerpts
        • Vol 15 No 1 Excerpts
      • 2020 Excerpts >
        • Vol 14 No 4 Excerpts
        • Vol 14 No 3 Excerpts
        • Vol 14 No 2 Excerpts
        • Vol 14 No 1 Excerpts
      • 2019 Excerpts >
        • Vol 13 No 4 Excerpts
        • Vol 13 No 3 Excerpts
        • Vol 13 No 2 Excerpts
        • Vol 13 No 1 Excerpts
      • 2018 Excerpts >
        • Vol 12 No 4 Excerpts
        • Vol 12 No 3 Excerpts
        • Vol 12 No 2 Excerpts
        • Vol 12 No 1 Excerpts
      • 2017 Excerpts >
        • Vol 11 No 4 Excerpts
        • Vol 11 No 3 Excerpts
        • Vol 11 No 2 Excerpts
        • Vol 11 No 1 Excerpts
      • 2016 Excerpts >
        • Vol 10 No 4 Excerpts
        • Vol 10 No 3 Excerpts
        • Vol 10 No 2 Excerpts
        • Vol 10 No 1 Excerpts
      • Excerpts 2007 - 2015
    • Sample Issue (Download)
    • Annual HIFICRITIC Indexes
  • Reviews
    • Hardware Reviews
    • Sound Classics
    • Review Classics
  • Recommendations
    • HIFICRITIC Awards
    • Colloms Sound Quality Ratings >
      • Ratings Explained
      • Digital Audio
      • Integrated Amplifiers
      • Power Amplifiers
      • Preamplifiers and Phono Stages
      • Loudspeaker Cables
      • Interconnect Cables
  • Feedback
    • Leave Feedback
    • Feedback 2009 to present >
      • Feedback 2015-2016
      • Feedback 2013-2014
      • Feedback 2011-2012
      • Feedback 2009-2010
    • Contact us

Martin Colloms

Picture

Profile

I remember from my earliest memories that my near obsession with sound reproduction could be traced to an abiding fascination with the mystery of  wireless. How on earth could sound emanate from an earphone via a coil a crystal and a long wire, from a radio station far away in Russia but with no power source; pure magic!

I  suffered  from a compelling need to find out how things worked. Advancing from play and imagination, the constructor hobby took hold, building valve sets from Practical Wireless articles running on B136 dry batteries with 90V for the anode supply and 1.5V for the directly heated filaments. I also built many radios in the late 1950's with the earliest junction transistors, primitive, low bandwidth germaniums, they were the equivalent of £15 each: now a wide band silicon equivalent is 5 pence! However at the time these tiny amplifying devices worked on a miraculously low 3V  with no heaters and were a miniaturised technological wonder compared with valves.

As a 7 year old, spinning a jumble sale 78 rpm shellac disc with a pencil shoved through it and a curled paper horn fitted with a darning needle, I heard the Grand March from Aida for the very first time, in sound bites of about 2 seconds and I was now hooked on the gramophone as well.

After an abortive year's dalliance with Special Physics at LU, sooner or later I qualified in Electrical Engineering and Electronics at the Polytechnic Regent Street, while enjoying an extended part time apprenticeship as a product tester and sales assistant lasting several student years at pioneering audio retailer Audio T (thanks be to founder John Bartlett). I then spent a few years on research and development in high frequency communication receivers, advanced cell pagers, the forerunners of mobile phones  and then1GHz oscilloscopes for a subsidiary of Tektronix while continuing to deny my hobby obsession with high fidelity.

Then in 1972 an opportunity arose with two partners to found a loudspeaker company, Monitor Audio Ltd, which proved to be a formative business experience. After nearly three years of technical management and speaker design I parted company with co founders Mike Beeny and Mo Iqbal to work as an independent Hi Fi magazineist, concentrating on audio journalism and product reviews. The loudspeaker research I did at Monitor Audio also gave rise to my enduring 'High Performance Loudspeakers' first published in 1977 and still around in its most recent 6th edition.

I have written extensively for nearly all the major titles but have put most effort into Hi Fi News, (33 years!), also Hi Fi for Pleasure, and the A5 Hi Fi Choice series, not forgetting Stereophile. More recently Roy Gregory at Hi Fi Plus had encouraged me to produce some more challenging and extended investigative product reviews.

I remain delighted, surprised and intrigued by the effect of various sound technologies on music reproduction, and how plastics and metals, paper and wood, valves and transistors, wielded by sensitive skilled audio designers can make worthwhile contributions to the experience  of  reproduced audio. Music replay in the home is a privilege, hearing more of the music, more of the production and not least more of the musicianship is why I devote massive time and effort in the attempt to optimise audio systems.

I have known Paul Messenger for decades, and worked with him at HiFi News and also when he was editor at Hi FI Choice. I had long wished to collaborate again with him. He finally accepted my invitation to edit a new independent advertisement free audio magazine. HIFICRITIC Magazine became airborne in January 2007, much to our surprise and delight. We are still surprised reaching our 8th year.    

Two easy pieces from Martin...

  • The Black Pearl, Ray Kimber's Model 88, August 1995 (for Hi Fi News)
  • Perfectly Faceted Sound Reproduction, The Avalon Eidolon Diamond and ultrasonic tweeters, first published in HI FI News (first written August 2003)

Look for features and reviews by Martin Colloms in the Annual Indexes of the magazine and here for articles available online 

Articles

Features*
Reviews
Hardware 
Music *
Books *

Hardware Reviews**

Digital
Servers
Streamers
Music stores
DACs
CD players
Speakers
Stand mount
Floorstanding
Amplifiers
Power
Preamps
Integrated 
Phono preamps
Cables
Loudspeaker
Interconnect
Digital
Power


Analogue 
Turntables
Tonearms
Cartridges

Music Reviews*

Classical
Pop
Rock
Jazz
Collections

Classics

Sound Classics
Review Classics

Awards

HIFICRITIC Awards

Ratings

Colloms Sound Quality Ratings 
Digital audio
Integrated amplifiers
Power amplifiers
Preamplifiers
Loudspeaker cables
Interconnect cables

Reviews by Year

2020
2014
 
2013 
2012 
2011 
2010 
2009 
2008 
2007

Issues by Year

Current issue
2021 - 2022
2019 - 2020
2017 - 2018
2016 - 2015
2014 – 2013
2012 – 2011
2010 – 2009
2008 – 2007
Annual Indexes

Online Store

Subscriptions
Issues
Hardware Reviews

Contributors

Colin Anderson
Arthur Barton
Chris Binns
Chris Bryant
Harriet Bryant
Jay Clawson​

Martin Colloms
Peter Comeau
Stan Curtis

Greg Drygla​​
Ben Duncan
Andrew Everard
Tony Faulkner
Nigel Finn
Kevin Fiske
Chris Frankland​
Stephen N Harris
Steve Harris​
Andrew Harrison
Jose Victor Henrique​
Jon Honeyball
Keith Howard​
Jason Kennedy
Paul Messenger
Julian Musgrave​
Mark Prendergast
Malcolm Steward
Rafael Todes
Dr Charles Zeilig​

Feedback

What HIFICRITIC readers say
Leave your own feedback
Contact us
* Coming to hificritic.com in the future. **Over 150 more hardware reviews coming to hificritic.com soon. Tell us what you'd like to see. 
hificritic.com
© Copyright 2014-2020 HIFICRITIC Ltd All Rights Reserved | Terms of Use | Privacy and Cookies | Website by Paul Herzlich | Contact Us
Index | Blog | Forum | Contributors | Contact Us
hificritic.com