Google Chromecast Audio Review

Google turns its hand to music streaming, with predictably impressive results Our Verdict Google breathes new (online) life into your old hi-fi For Brings online streaming to offline devices Easy to use Lovely design Against No multi-room audio yet Google knows a thing or two about streaming. You only have to look at the success of the Chromecast, which is now in its second generation. Now the company is turning its expertise to music streaming. Meet the Google Chromecast Audio, designed to bring wireless streaming to your offline speakers and amplifiers. Design What you get is a small disc the...

How to digitise your vinyl collection

They might not be cutting-edge tech, but for their look and feel – not to mention an exquisitely fluid analogue sound – you can’t beat vinyl. The only thing your record collection lacks is portability, but there is one way to take those LPs with you wherever you go… We love records. We adore almost everything about them – their look, their feel, the large-scale cover art and easily readable sleeve notes. Most of all, we can’t get enough of their wonderfully fluid analogue sound. There’s just something about an immaculate record played back on a good record player that...

Term-LAB Magnum 2 Sensor System

We purchased the new Magnum Term-LAB plus the Magnum Clamp Testing Kit late last year, we have now just had time to install the software on our new laptop. Now before we check out the photo’s here is what Wayne Harris President and CEO of WHE, Inc. has to say… I am really excited about the Term-LAB Magnum. With more than 16 times the resolution of the original Term-LAB, the addition of Bluetooth, an integrated Broadband RTA, and modular digital architecture, the new Magnum is going to revolutionize sound measurement …. AGAIN! General Info and new features; WHE, Inc. is...

Bowers & Wilkins P5 Headphones review

They’re made by Bowers & Wilkins, of Zeppelin and Zeppelin Mini fame, so even before seeing them you expect the B&W P5 headphones to be something special. They’re also the company’s first foray into headphone manufacture, and though they’re a ‘Made for iPod’ and ‘Works with iPhone’ product, it doesn’t put a damper on our expectations ever since going ears-on with a pair at CES in January. The clues are all there even before looking at the headphones themselves. For a start, Bowers & Wilkins are asking £250 for a pair of P5s, which is hardly pocket change. It’s a...

Sony MDR-7506 Headphones Review

4 Stars CNET EDITORS’ RATING 5 Stars 2 USER REVIEWS THE GOOD Sony’s MDR-7506 closed-back, full-size headphones click with all music genres and are comfortable to wear for hours at a time. They sound excellent for their relatively modest price point. THE BAD With a coiled, pro-style cable and lack of an inline remote/microphone, some will find the 7506s less mobile-friendly than more modern headphones. THE BOTTOM LINE They’ve been around since 1991, but the Sony MDR-7506s are still great sounding — and fitting — headphones for less than $249.00NZD. 8.5 OVERALL Design:             8 Features:          6 Sound:             9 Value:               10...

How to play hi-res music on your iPhone

Want to get the most from your iPhone? Then read our handy guide to playing hi-res music on your Apple device. It’s our long-held opinion that Apple iPhones have generally been among the best-sounding smartphones around. Newer phones may boast about natively playing hi-res music, but the likes of LG, Samsung and HTC haven’t been able to better the iPhone in terms of pure audio quality. But never mind the iPhone 7, we want to play hi-res music on our Apple portable right now. After all, who wouldn’t want that level of sound quality? Considering how many people now listen...

Denon DL-110 Cartridge Product Review

While delving through my stash of phono cartridges came across this Denon DL 110 high output phono cartridge. Can’t remember where this came from, but was new in box and never open. Oh well, remember fellow audiogon member Ed Kobesky had done a review on its big brother the Denon DL 160 and found that I agreed with him completely on the DL 160. Have owned many Denons in the past 47 years in the hobby such as the 103,103D,103S,103R as well as the DL160 and now the DL 110. It is very hard to fault the overall Denon line...

HD Cassette promises better sound and unchewable tape

It’s not just vinyl that’s enjoying a resurgence – now the cassette tape format is set to get a serious upgrade. Vinyl may have been grabbing the headlines, but the cassette tape has also been riding the retro wave and seeing an increase in sales, releases and new products. Now an upgraded version of the format, HD Cassette, looks set to give a further boost to the classic audio format. Using updated machinery and manufacturing methods, the new cassettes will offer HD sound, unchewable tape and up to 360 minutes of storage space. The HD tapes feature Shush technology, which...