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How to add a turntable to your existing music system

Home Advice Has the resurgence of vinyl got you excited? Perhaps you’re a lapsed lover of the big, groovy discs, with a collection in the loft just begging to have the cobwebs blown away – or maybe a newcomer looking to inject a little analogue into your current, exclusively digital musical diet. But what if… Read more

High-resolution audio: everything you need to know

Home Advice (Image credit: Astell & Kern) After years of niche positioning in the music world, “high-resolution audio” (or “hi-res audio”) finally hit the mainstream, thanks to a huge raft of support in streaming services (such as Tidal and Amazon Music HD) and products (from smartphones to most digital hi-fi components). So why should you… Read more

11 of the best Spotify playlists to listen to right now

Home Features (Image credit: Spotify) Live concerts, gigs and festivals are still out as we march further into 2021, so the need to feel transported to somewhere more beautiful via melodies, lyrics and rhythms has rarely been felt more keenly. In short, music has never been in greater demand. Whether you’re after a selection of… Read more

iFi reworks Zen DAC and Zen Can headphone amps for enhanced Signature versions

Home News (Image credit: iFi) The iFi Zen series of affordable hi-fi components has proven a huge success, with the trio we’ve tested all garnering positive reviews. Now, two of the models in the range – the five-star Zen DAC/headphone amp and the Zen Can analogue-only headphone amp – have been treated to enhanced circuitry… Read more

MSI Immerse GH61 Review: Lucious and Immersive

Our Verdict Thumpy, warm sound combined with very good microphone performance and lusciously soft ear cups make the MSI Immerse GH61 a winning choice. For Effective DAC and AMP Immersive virtual surround sound Quality, microphone Super soft ear cups Against Ear cups get warm after a while Bass lacking at max volume We all like… Read more

Democrats take first stab at reforming Section 230 after Capitol riots

Senate Democrats unveiled a new bill Friday that could force tech giants like Facebook and Google to be held more accountable for harmful content that leads to real-world violence. The SAFE TECH Act, introduced by Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI), would overhaul Section 230 to the Communications Decency Act,… Read more

33 Spotify tips, tricks and features

Home Advice (Image credit: Spotify) As of February 2021, Spotify boasts 155 million Premium subscribers and 345 million monthly active users. The platform has long been the world’s most popular music streaming service, and with good cause – it got in on the ground floor and its simple interface and vast library make it a… Read more

Primephonic enriches its classical music streaming with Maestro listening guides

Home News (Image credit: Primephonic) Classical music streaming service Primephonic has just announced the launch of Maestro, an in-app listening guide offering detailed, step-by-step “walkthroughs” of classic works. With Maestro, you can listen to classical music alongside a written description of the musical passage and the instruments, as and when they are heard. The Dutch… Read more

Ruark R3

Our Verdict While we thought its radio sources need a little tonal attention, the highlights here are playback from CD, from streaming music services and Bluetooth. For Compact music system Endless paths to music CD and streaming Against Edgy sound on radio sources Variable results for ‘3D audio’ Sound+Image mag review (Image credit: Future) This… Read more

Epson EpiqVision EH-LS300B

Our Verdict Epson’s EH-LS300 UST projector is practical for everyday use, with some limitations, as well as for truly immersive bigscreen movie nights. For Powerful bright image Free-to-air TV catch-up services Convenient way to get a really large picture Against No Netflix or Prime support No Ethernet 1080i/50 and 576i/50 issues Sound+Image mag review (Image… Read more

Devialet Phantom I takes the powerful wireless speaker to “the next level”

Home News (Image credit: Devialet) Devialet has announced a successor to one of the most distinctive and innovative wireless speakers around. The all-new Phantom I is an evolution of the original model, with improved amplification, next-generation audio processing, wider functionality, and better thermal dissipation for a claimed four times greater energy efficiency. Like the first… Read more

DTS Play-Fi: what is it? What speakers and devices support it?

Home Advice (Image credit: DTS) What’s the first thing you think of when someone says the word ‘multi-room’? For most, we imagine it’s a dedicated set-up from a single manufacturer such as Sonos or Bluesound, with its connected ecosystem of speakers, soundbars, soundbases and hi-fi components. Or perhaps you’d think of AirPlay 2, a gateway… Read more

Prove you’re top of the pops with this 1990s music quiz

Home Features (Image credit: Creation) We’ve just published our list of the 40 best 1990s albums to test your speakers, taking in everything from shoegaze to jungle, but which records topped the charts at the time? We had a look and found plenty we remembered, and many we couldn’t for the life of us recall…. Read more

This modified 2004 iPod Classic has wi-fi, Bluetooth and Spotify streaming

Home News (Image credit: Guy Dupont (via YouTube)) The iPod Touch is not only the last official surviving member of Apple’s iPod music player dynasty, it’s also the only model Apple ever released with wi-fi connection. But what if the old iPod you’ve got in a drawer somewhere could be modified to add Bluetooth and wi-fi… Read more

Rotel Michi S5 / P5

Our Verdict With the superb construction, elegant design and perfectly natural sound of the Michi P5 and S5 combo from Rotel, the only question left to ask is ‘how much?’ The pair offer awesomely low noise with huge output and do so in a gorgeous package. For Superb sound Prestige appearance Great built-in DAC Against… Read more