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Blending legendary engineering with modern design and convenience for today’s vinyl loversBerlin, September 4, 2025 – At this year’s IFA in Berlin, Technics proudly introduced the SL-40CBT Direct Drive Turntable, a model that continues the brand’s legendary tradition while embracing a sleek, contemporary design and user-friendly features. The SL-40CBT is designed for both newcomers to vinyl and those looking to upgrade, offering premium performance with modern convenience. Staying true to Technics’ heritage, the SL-40CBT features the brand’s iconic iron-coreless direct drive motor and a precis..

What Is the Wharfedale EVO 5.4?The Wharfedale EVO 5.4 is a 3.5 way floorstanding speaker and the flagship of the EVO 5 range of speakers. Right from the off, this is a little different to our other recent Wharfedale reviews because the word ‘retro’ will appear here and only here to say that the EVO 5.4 isn’t. This isn’t a reborn device from decades ago but is instead a bang up to date modern speaker.It's also quite a lot of speaker. We’ll cover this in rather greater detail in the section to come but the EVO 5.4 has a surprising number of drivers and two of them would be unusual to encounter s..

Replacing the much-loved H120, the new H150 Streaming Amplifier is built as a true all-in-one hub that combines outstanding sound, versatility, and ease of use—without the premium price tag. It shares Hegel’s advanced streaming platform and control app with our flagship H400 and H600, while also adding a refined MM phono stage and, for the first time in a Hegel amplifier, a USB Drive input for direct playback from solid-state or hard drives. Most importantly, it delivers performance that exceeds expectations—power, scale, and musicality that continues to impress even us. H150 Streaming Amplifi..

In revisiting one of the most iconic and revered systems in hi-fi history, Quad has paid homage to Peter Walker’s original designs while engineering a performance to meet the expectations of today’s audiophiles – this is a ‘vintage’ reissue as it should be. The 303 amplifier brings an uptick in Class AB power better suited to contemporary speakers, plus the option of adding a second unit for enhanced control and output. The 33 preamp, meanwhile, features upgrades to connectivity and ease of use. In tandem, Quad’s amps conjure wide, crisply detailed soundstages that captivate the listener. This..

Nicknamed the ‘Raven’, Hegel’s D50 is a welcome addition to the standalone DAC segment and well equipped with inputs, including AES/EBU, USB-B, and a BNC connection supporting the DAC-Loop function of its integrated amplifiers. Hegel has, in the past, provided superb DAC stages across its hi-fi hardware, adding its own ‘twist’ to familiar designs, but here it’s leveraged in-house expertise to further refine the technology, with a focus on signal purity. The result is a D/A converter that prioritises a naturalistic, musical sound above obvious embellishment. It’s a performance reflected in the ..

A premium high-fidelity headphone with objet d’art looks, the finely crafted Meze Audio POET brandishes an open-back design to deliver airy detail and an engaging bass performance. Within its sculpted enclosures are planar-magnetic drive units from Ukraine’s RINARO ISODYNAMICS, combined with licensed AMTS (Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System) technology to finesse their high frequency response and deliver long listening sessions without fatigue. Going hand in hand with the POET’s refined, immersive performance is an all-round design packed with attention to detail, from the magnetically attach..

Hailing from a maestro cartridge builder, the MP-700 is the first new product from Nagaoka in over 15 years, coinciding with the 85th anniversary of the Japanese manufacturer. It’s been worth the wait, as this accomplished cartridge takes moving permalloy technology to a new level. Easy to set up and not requiring specialised phono pre-amplification, the MP-700 offers an alternate path when considering an upgrade from moving-magnet to moving-coil. Through its carefully engineered ultra-duralumin body and nude microridge diamond stylus, it delivers grand dynamics, excellent detail reproduction ..

In abandoning the DJ-friendly functions that Technics decks are known for, the SL-1300G resolutely aims for a top-tier performance focused on the essence of vinyl reproduction, while still cutting a stylish figure in silver or black. The Japanese brand’s new ΔΣ-Drive technology is the result of decades of experience with direct-drive motor systems, and delivers smooth, stable and quiet rotation – ensuring playback is as dynamic and exact as can be. The three-layer, dynamically balanced platter, and vibration-damped dual-layer chassis, also contribute to the SL-1300G’s audiophile performance, a..