In this issue

"Inside the August issue: Rotel Michi X5 Integrated amplifier with USB DAC, Magico A5 three-way floorstanding loudspeaker, Wattson Audio Emerson Digital network bridge, Merason frerot digital-to-analogue converter, Triangle Borea BRO8 three-way floorstanding loudspeaker, Sonus faber Lumina II two-way standmount loudspeaker, Bowers & Wilkins P17 true wireless, noise cancelling in-ear headphones, Furutech NCF Clear Line Mains Optimiser, Russ Andrews UltraFuse, Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 cartridge, a retro appreciation of Sony’s MDS-JA555ES MiniDisc player and a Group Test of six high-end in-ear headphones featuring the Astell&Kern; AKT9IE, the Audeze LCD13, Campfire Audio’s Dorado 2020, the Meze Rai Penta, Oriveti’s 0800 and Sennheiser’s IE 900.
Regulars include contributor Opinion columns, Readers’ Letters and the 100+ product Buyers’ Guide."

The bigger brother

Top integrated in Rotel’s flagship Michi series leverages much of the P5 preamp and S5 power amp technology to realise a taller, heavier amp that aims to upstage the smaller X3

8 mins

Astell&Kern AK T9iE £1,100

That A&K makes the best DAPs doesn’t guarantee mastery of IEMs, but it has Beyerdynamic on board!

3 mins

Audeze LCDi3 £900

It was unlikely that big hitter Audeze would produce a me-too IEM, but the LCDi3 is something else

3 mins

Campfire Audio Dorado 2020 £1,100

Could be the sweet spot in Campfire’s extensive range of high-end IEMs

3 mins

Oriveti O800 £800

Oriveti made waves when its OH500 won our last earphone Group Test, so is the O800 better still?

3 mins

Sennheiser IE 900 £1,100

Sennheiser’s new flagship IEM, fresh from a five-star review in last month’s HFC, is a class act

3 mins

California screaming

This Californian premier speaker brand’s flagship A series model is its most advanced ‘entry-level’ floor stander yet

7 mins

Brotherly love

David Price samples the smaller sibling in Merason’s range of DACs, the frérot

4 mins

Old and in the way?

Nigel Williamson celebrates the musicians still trying to rock into their eighties and mourns those who have recently and heroically passed away.

3 mins

Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 cartridge

MOST SENSIBLE FOLK will have given up on the notion of owning the world’s finest moving-coil. Such a thing would be horrendously expensive and, of course, would require an equally esoteric head amplifier to go with it.

3 mins

Read all stories from Hi-Fi Choice

Hi-Fi Choice Magazine Description:

Hi-Fi Choice is the essential guide to getting the best possible sound from your hi-fi, whether you're buying, tuning or tweaking... It has a no-nonsense approach to reviewing the finest audio products available, from hi-res streaming and downloads to CD, vinyl and valves. Hi-Fi Choice magazine has been at the forefront of audio equipment reviews and buying advice for 40 years and no other magazine has the same passion for sound that we do!