Hi-Fi News Magazine - June 2021

In this issue

Happy birthday to us, as this month or, more correctly, this issue we are 65 years young. Was it really that long ago we were just 21 [see p128] Hi-Fi News has published uninterrupted from its arrival at the newsstands in June 1956, before growing to support, inform and entertain tens of thousands of eager audiophile subscribers from all over the world. This month, in 'News', Wilson Audio’s ‘all-new’ speaker with Chronosonic DNA, Cambridge Audio reveals Evo range, JBL takes wraps off retro-styled 4309 speaker, new look for Naim Mu-so 2nd Generation. In our Definitive Product Reviews, amongst others, we have the MBL Radialstrahler 101 E MkII. Does a pulsating sphere make for the perfect loudspeaker? Prepare for sound in the round as we hear omnidirectional speakers to die for. The latest Classé Delta series preamp and monoblock power amps have also been keenly anticipated since they were unveiled at our own Hi-Fi Show Live in 2017. At the time Classé was still part of the B&W product family (another story altogether, elaborated upon by Brand Director, Dave Nauber on p47) and these amplifiers had been developed and ‘voiced’ using the B&W 800 series speakers that also form the backbone of our own system here at Hi-Fi News. These amplifiers are more than capable of squeezing great sound out of a piece of damp string – they will drive any loudspeaker – but if such a thing as system synergy exists [see TEN review, HFN Apr ’21] then it was very much alive and well with this combination. Spectacular sound, as always within these pages, from two very different hi-fi universes. It’s a cosmos we’ll continue to explore, together, for many years to come!