Vinyl

Technics Ottava F SC-C70 MK2

Our Verdict It might work for those who need a CD player and streaming in one box, but there are far better alternatives if you can compromise on features For Plenty of weight to sound Good timing CD player can be useful Against Dynamically uninteresting Bass detail is poor With vinyl sales having overtaken those… Read more

Vinyl revenue overtakes CDs for the first time since 1986

Home News (Image credit: Rega) The RIAA’s year-end report on the state of the US music industry shows that revenue from vinyl sales has overtaken that of CDs for the first time in 35 years. Sales of the classic record format in the US have increased consistently since 2006, but last year it saw its… Read more

How to change the cartridge on your turntable

Home Advice Installing a new cartridge is something of a rite of passage for turntable owners. It’s a skill that once was common, but now seems to be considered some kind of black art by many. In reality it’s not such a hard thing to do provided you have the appropriate tools, a reasonably steady… Read more

Best Bluetooth record players: budget to premium plate spinners

Home Best-buys Best Bluetooth Record Players Buying Guide: Welcome to What Hi-Fi?’s round-up of the best Bluetooth turntables you can buy in 2021. While the mechanics of vinyl playback haven’t changed all that much since the medium’s inception, turntable technology hasn’t stood entirely still. One major evolution that has brought a growing number of record… Read more

DS Audio is sharing its optical phono cartridge secrets for free

Home News (Image credit: DS Audio) DS Audio has decided to share its niche expertise in optical phono cartridge technology with the world for free. Why? The Japanese company has pioneered what has largely been an eight-year solo effort in implementing optical tech in its development of phono cartridges. Now, it wants others to join… Read more

Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite on turntables, soundtracks and live church recordings

Home Features (Image credit: Brian Sweeney) This interview was originally published by What Hi-Fi? in March 2016. It is easy, often and now especially, to become consumed by technology. It is easy to allow the romanticism of music, the entire grounds for that technology, to be camouflaged. That is why, speaking with Stuart Braithwaite, guitarist,… Read more

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

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

You too can own a stonks figurine

He’s real, he’s here, and I am so happy. The stonks guy is now a five-inch-tall, $30 thing you can buy, complete with a line graph that’s forever up 69 percent. It first debuted last July, but don’t let that stop you. Officially his name is Meme Man, and he’s the wonky former mascot of… 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

Just look at this amazing Pac-Man history book

Pac-Man celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, and to commemorate the occasion, Cook and Becker is releasing a history book later this year — and it looks incredible. While there’s a standard hardcover version of the book for $39, which is called Pac-Man: Birth of an Icon, you can also buy a $99 special edition… Read more

TechStage | Ikea Symfonisk table lamp in the test: Sonos with lamp

Testing Tests overview Smartphone Motorola Moto G 5G Plus test: A lot of battery for little money Huawei P Smart 2021: Budget model with room for improvement Asus Zenfone 7 Pro: Turbo smartphone with flip camera Samsung Galaxy Xcover Pro in the test: hard but slow Oneplus Nord N 09 5G in the test: Galloped… Read more

Review: Yamaha RX V4A Real surround for next to nothing

Not everyone can (or will) a surround installation with eleven speakers and a handful of subwoofers. Are you doomed to go for a soundbar? Not necessary. There are also receivers such as the new Yamaha RX-V4A that offer film lovers and gamers an interesting alternative: true multi-speaker surround, but at a modest 5.1 scale and… Read more