Melco N1-ZH60

Japanese IT giant Melco has the desire and scale to deliver truly bespoke audiophile storage and server solutions. Will its latest, middle-of-range model hit the sweet spot?

So you’ve bought one of the many world-class USB DACs/network streaming players and have it connected via USB to your desktop or laptop computer, or even networked via your home hub. Really? Our own experience suggests that while ‘data is data’ there are sufficient causes of interference and jitter from circulating noise, including RF earth currents, and invasive traffic from ISP-supplied network routers, to prompt very measurable differences in performance once this data is finally crunched through an outboard DAC.

REL T/9i subwoofer

On the one hand, this is a review of the REL T/9i subwoofer. On the other hand, this is a review of the REL T/9i subwoofer. Because this is a review of two REL T/9i subwoofers. More specifically, this is a survey of how most people get deep bass very wrong, and how a pair of well-integrated RELs are the exception.

Let’s start with the T/9i itself. The top dog in REL’s new core T/i series, the T/9i is a solid square piano gloss cube with a new front firing 254mm long-throw drive unit with a steel chassis and a large inverted dust cap. This is joined by a matching 254mm downward firing passive radiator. Adding depth to the cabinet makes the cabinets act like a concert hall, designed to properly dissipate rather than propagate the back wave.

KEF EGG

The latest member of KEF’s EGG family updates the iconic speaker design. Ed Selley enjoys some over-easy beats

As the revival in the fortunes of two-channel audio looks set to continue, we’re seeing companies adapt products that were originally intended for multi-channel use to more traditional stereo-orientated designs. In the case of KEF, the company has taken its long standing ‘egg’ satellite speaker – a benchmark in the compact home cinema multi-channel loudspeaker market – and given it a thorough overhaul to turn the design into the active stereo setup you see before you here.

Onkyo TX-8150

David Price looks back to a simpler time as he auditions Onkyo’s ultra-modern take on the classic stereo receiver, the TX-8150

Ah yes, the stereo receiver, how quaint! The last time the breed was really fashionable, many of us were wearing flared trousers and dreaming of buying our first Ford Capri. Once upon a time, receivers sold like hot cakes from dealers’ showrooms. Audiophiles generally regarded them with derision because some were pretty poor, but others were simply the same circuitry used in a company’s high-quality separates, put into a single, neater-looking package. Beyond the rarefied world of seventies hi-fi magazine reviewers, they had really wide appeal.

Tannoy Mercury 7.2

David Price auditions the latest in a long line of extra terrestrial Tannoys, the Mercury 7.2 stand-mounting speaker

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Britain’s most long-established speaker company launched a range of affordable, high-performance boxes called the Planet Series. This proved a big hit in the early eighties, especially the entry-level Tannoy Mercury, which offered an unexpectedly big sound from a medium-sized box. Despite its low cost and modest construction, it had an uncanny ability to get to the heart of the music – I should know, I owned a pair.

Ming Da Dynasty Duet 300 Plus

Chris Ward samples the latest integrated valve amplifier offering from Ming Da and discovers a sweet and dynamic sound

Ming Da has been producing valve amplifiers for over 22 years and is gaining fans worldwide. Furthermore as with this example here, after the amp’s arrival in the UK, Malvern Audio Research upgrades key internal components, swaps in higher quality valves and adds a three year warranty. Taken altogether, this China/UK partnership feels highly compelling and without compromise.

One For All SV1760

Distributing HDMI-sourced HD around the house is made easy with One For All's neat-looking SV1760

Getting AV to another room in the house without the hassle of running cables? Quite an enticing prospect, and one that a wireless video sender delivers. A chunk of hardware (the transmitter) connects to your source gear, while another box (the receiver) sends on AV signals to a TV located in another room.

The concept has been around for a while, but a problem is that yesteryear's offerings can't handle anything above stereo audio and composite video. Furthermore, they usually operate in the crowded 2.4GHz airspace – and the lack of encryption means any neighbour with a receiver tuned into one of the few (switchable) frequencies available can also enjoy what's was being transmitted.

Denon AVR-X1200W

With its smart design, Denon's £300 AV receiver looks ready for business – and Danny Phillips discovers it has the features and performance skills to woo him too

The £300 price tag suggests Denon’s latest entry-level AV receiver should be a no-frills affair, but that's not the case. This is a budget feature-seeker’s dream, with more badges on the front than a Cub Scout’s jumper.

The biggest bonus at this price is the inclusion of Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support, the latter courtesy of – you guessed it – a forthcoming firmware update. Still, if you’re kitted out with in-ceiling or upfiring speakers and fancy cocooning yourself in sound, then the AVR-X1200W spoils you for choice.

Finlux 49UT3E310B-T

Finlux’s latest Ultra HD TV may be insanely cheap, but John Archer finds there’s a price to pay with its picture quality

The arrival of UHD is proving a great new opportunity for affordable TV brands such as Finlux; those that had started to find it difficult to achieve significant price advantages in the HD world compared to the leading TV brands. This 49in Finlux Ultra HD TV, the 49UT3E310B-T, sells for around £450, a tempting price when compared to the more expensive offerings from Japanese and Korean rivals. But is it really a bargain?

Panasonic DMP-UB900

Panasonic’s first UHD Blu-ray player is brilliant, and that’s without even factoring in fabulous 4K

After what seems like an age of speculation, 4K Ultra HD BD is finally here, and the Panasonic DMP-UB900 stands as its early champion. Positioned above Samsung’s rival UBD-K8500 in both price and spec, this a player designed to serve the AV enthusiast – it’s the first source component we’ve seen to get THX 4K Source certification, which implies some rigorous performance testing – without entirely pricing itself beyond the 4K curious.

Yamaha RX-V679

Dedicated home cinema owners can't live without their AVR. These metal slabs perform much of the grunt work when it comes to putting movies on screen and through your speakers, and – in our convergent era – tackle music streaming and home networking, too. But as our source gear and desired formats change, AVRs need to keep up.

Subsequently, Yamaha's RX-V679 has been born to run with next-gen 4K video sources. HDMI 2.0a connectivity, replete with HDCP 2.2 support, allows it to pass UHD HDR and copy-protected 4K sources. It's not full support across the board, though. Of the six HDMIs here (five rear, one at the front), three are HDCP 2.2-ready. That's no doubt enough for now, but maybe not in the future.

Panasonic TX-65DX902B

If you thought 4K was cool, wait till you get a load of HDR (High Dynamic Range). So goes this year’s TV sales patter. HDR promises hitherto unseen levels of dynamism to television, taking home viewing closer than ever (and even beyond) the modern cinematic experience. But, of course, not all HDR is created equal.

Panasonic’s TX-65DX902B is the first set to land that’s certified Ultra HD Premium by the UHD Alliance. This means (amongst other things) that it’s able to deliver peak whites of over 1,000 nits, along with an extended colour range, when fed HDR material from physical media, streaming services and broadcasters. In addition to this badge of honour, the DX902 (also available in a 58in version for around £2,800) earns THX 4K certification. If you’re looking for the bleeding edge (particularly from Panasonic, as none of its other sets get the UHD tick), you’ve found it.

BenQ HT3050

BenQ is a familiar name for many of us. For the mainstream gaming community, BenQ is a brand that makes some of the best gaming monitors that not everyone can afford. But of course, the company is also famous for its projectors. Recently, BenQ sent us the BenQ HT3050 and here’s what we thought of it.

The BenQ HT3050 is a DLP (Digital Light Processing) projector capable of 3D projection. Decked out mostly in white, this projector has a simple yet functional look. Comparatively, this projector is one of the larger ones we’ve seen and also quite heavy. While you could carry it around in a large backpack, which we did just to test it at our homes and the office, it’s not really meant to be portable.

Acer C205 LED Projector

Pretty bright for a little guy…

LED lights are something that we are almost taking for granted these days, but it wasn’t all that long ago that they were the next best thing. These diminutive light sources could burn brighter, and consume less power than incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. And they have a fantastic life-span.

And then there’s the matter of size… LED lights have allowed all kinds of miniaturisation to take place, in numerous devices. That includes the massive old projector that used to sit on the conference table and only get used if someone was brave enough to struggle to get it to work.

Unison Research Unico CDDue

Technically sophisticated, ambitiously specified and with comprehensive connectivity, does Unison Research’s latest digital front-end deliver on its substantial promise?

It’s no longer contentious to suggest that the best days of CD are behind it. With sales in decline and the alternative means of content delivery gathering momentum, the number of affordable players on the market has already declined sharply, which is starting to affect price points further up the chain too. This said, there are vast numbers of CDs in circulation and the format still has many keen fans. And the CD player/DAC hybrid has become a popular addition to company ranges in recent years.

Devialet Silver Phantom Duo

The best speakers you’ve never heard of

Bulging eyes, gaping mouths, peers turning for double-takes, and sometimes even looks of confusion: That was our observation of facial reactions when testing Devialet’s Silver Phantoms. Describing audio performance is difficult. Should we wax poetic about how something sounds? Words such as air, stage, warm, smooth, rich—they don’t really mean anything. So perhaps a good descriptor would instead be how people react when they hear it.

Elac Debut B6

With Andrew Jones at the helm, Elac’s new Debut B6 brings a boldly different sound

As a certain 1980s car ad used to say, ‘it’s tough on the streets’. One of the most obvious, literal reasons for this is that there are lots of people to bump into. Mass-market loudspeaker manufacturers know all about this, figuratively speaking. There are umpteen little boxes – most of which are now surprisingly well styled and finished – competing for the attention of a finite number of buyers.

German speaker brand Elac, however, has not traditionally walked these avenues and alleyways but has typically confined itself to a more select and ostensibly discerning upmarket audience.

Audio-Technica AT-HA5050H

What could be more logical than for a famous headphone manufacturer to offer an audiophile headphone amp? Still, the AT-HA5050H offers surprises on various fronts

Hybrid electronics are nothing new in high-end audio, but products which mix valves (tubes) and transistors remain rare enough that this new flagship headphone amp from Audio-Technica is the first hybrid design to have come my way.

And that isn’t all that makes the £4500 AT-HA5050H unusual. For a start, it’s large and it’s heavy – not quite large or heavy enough to be the equivalent of a full-size integrated amplifier, but not far short. Certainly it will fill a shelf in an equipment rack. Also, it has no fewer than eight ¼in jack output sockets on its fascia, grouped into two rows of four, and a pair of VU meters, one for each channel.

Audioengine HD6 Wireless Speaker

In the decade since they launched their first powered speaker, Audioengine has become embedded in my mind as the no-brainer recommendation whenever friends ask about getting better sound on their desktop. Dozens of both audiophile and non-audiophile friends have bought A5 and A2 amplified speakers at my suggestion —and so far, nobody has been disappointed. They’re affordable, easy to buy, and easy to set up, and they look great.

Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 2045 3D LCD Projector

I’ll be the first to admit it: I have become very jaded in my view of home theater projectors. I have always had the privilege of reviewing the upper crop of projectors; rarely do I get to evaluate more value-tier options. This wasn’t always the case, though. There was a time in my life when most of the projectors I used personally or reviewed for other publications were priced for a consumer on a much tighter budget. And so today, I’m intrigued to take a look at a more budget-conscious model.  Enter the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 2045, a three-LCD 1080p 3D projector that, while low in cost ($850), boasts a feature-rich spec sheet.