When the right ideas are conceived by the right people in the right environment at the right time, there is a good chance that something special will happen. In Freiburg, independent ensembles under the leadership of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra set out 15 years ago to finally create working conditions for this highly qualified scene, which often performs at least on a par with state orchestras with a fraction of the budget. A donation made the start, and instead of letting it seep away in the current financial year, this sum became a symbol of the dawn of a new era. Further sponsors were ..read more

No, this integrated amplifier is not intended for music lovers who want to own a tube amplifier primarily for visual reasons. You won’t get that softly glowing light-organ effect here that will amaze the unwary neighbor. The Slovakian company Canor relies on an enclosed housing principle for its devices – the tubes are hidden inside the device, and only the imposing casework with 10/10-haptics can impress the neighbors. Inside is a quartet of KT88 for a stable 2 x 40 watts in ultralinear mode or 2 x 20 watts in triode mode. Canor’s tube devices are anything but tame little boxes that you ju ..read more

International Audio Holding’s recent acquisition of HMS Electronics has stirred up quite a bit of a tempest in the hi-fi teapot, as the Elst-based company now has three distinct high-end cable brands in their portfolio. Gabi Rynveld gives us a rundown of how the company became what it is today and explains how the three brands form a big picture. Gabi Rynveld FIDELITY: Ms Rynveld, the hi-fi industry is in large part driven by people who are passionate about music and its reproduction – so how did you get into hi-fi? Gabi Rynveld: That’s a long story. I’m from Hungary, and I’ve been brought u ..read more

Technical Audio Devices Laboratories, Inc. (TAD) presents the TAD-C700 preamplifier, the evolution of the critically acclaimed C600. Technical Audio Devices Laboratories, Inc. (TAD) proudly announces the upcoming release of its flagship product: the TAD-C700 preamplifier. As the successor to the critically acclaimed C600, the TAD-C700 will exceed audiophile expectations and set new standards from summer 2024. Jürgen Timm, Business Consultant at Technical Audio Devices Laboratories, Inc., commented on this milestone: “The TAD-C700 defines an even higher level of performance than its renowned ..read more

At times, I envy my English-speaking colleagues. They can break a phenomenon down to a single word and everyone understands what they mean. In German, we often need what feels like a book chapter to make comparable statements. One term that kept buzzing through my head when I visited Wilson Benesch in Sheffield was “mindblowing”. The German translation “overwhelming” doesn’t hit quite like that. And let’s not even try translating it literally to “gehirnblasend”. Although … now that I read it in black and white – it actually fits the bill quite well! Our three-day press trip to England can s ..read more

How do you make an active speaker passive and then active again …? You know teasers, don’t you? Originally, these were short (and often sensational) snippets of series or films that were intended to ensure that people would tune in again next Wednesday. The phrase is currently extremely popular on the Internet. It announces products and/or software long before they are available in stores. This trend is getting so out of hand that I’m already rolling my eyes at the “T” in teaser. It’s all the more surprising, then, that this mini-report is a kind of teaser. However, there are two crucial ca ..read more

Transrotor stands for fascinating turntables with perfect workmanship – and for engineering in the best sense of the word, as the Max Nero proves. As a complete package with tonearm (Rega) plus an in-house Merlo MC pickup, the turntable comes ready to play right out of the box. Even so, it still offers the usual flexibility with an anchor point for a second tonearm, which makes for a package so compelling, our author found it’s cheekily sawing away at the chair of its bigger siblings. An ingenious design down to the last detail: adjustment and fine tuning on the Max Nero don’t simply work, th ..read more

The Steinway Lyngdorf sound systems merge the tradition and build quality of Steinway & Sons pianos with the intricate hi-fi technology from Lyngdorf: The electronics of the Model A are housed separately and feature an integrated network player as well as digital room correction which ensures that this exquisite system always plays at its best, no matter the environment. The Danish manufacturer’s unique digital amplifiers provide exceptional dynamics and musicality. Is this just a loudspeaker or actually art? The Steinway Lyngdorf Model A in all its glory. Read the report on our Steinway ..read more

Immaculate grounding and DC rejection via two massive capacitors, all wrapped up in copious amounts of temperature-resistant synthetic resin and a beefy acetal enclosure. On paper, the Signal Projects Poseidon DCB 8 mains filter and distributor looks simple – in practice, however, it’s exceptionally effective: any irritating sibilance evaporates immediately while hitherto floating sonic elements are now absolutely pinned in place. The construction is deceptively simple, yet the enclosure is absolutely crowded: top notch parts and, above all, the chunky encapsulated capacitors take up a lot of ..read more

Who said loudspeakers can’t be furniture as well? The Lyngdorf Cue 100 straddles this exact line: the standmount speakers are so tastefully designed and beautifully finished that you’d gladly place them in your living room even without a frontend. As a cherry on top, these colorful speakers (they are available with front covers in 15 different colors) happen to sound fantastic, too – and not just in conjunction with Lyngdorf’s own amplifiers either. The Cue 100 has stripped down for this photo. Normally, the drivers are concealed by an acoustically transparent fabric cover. www.3-h.de lyngdor ..read more