Australian Hi – Fi – Issue 544 2026 – Australian Hi – Fi

The results are shown both in the tables of results and in the graphs accompanying this report. The output level from the balanced outputs with 0dBFS 1kHz test signals was measured as 4.4135 volts for the left channel and 4.4029 volts for the right channel, putting channel balance at 0.02dB, which is an excellent result. Output voltage from the unbalanced outputs was, of course, exactly half these voltages.

The frequency response using Red Book test signals is shown in Graph 9 and is as ruler flat as you’d expect, though there’s a rolloff that puts the response 1dB down at 16kHz and 2.84dB down at 20kHz. With high resolution signals, the frequency response was 3dB down at 39kHz (96kHz) and using 196kHz data, 3dB down at 69kHz. Channel separation using 44.1kHz/16- bit test signals was 136dB at all frequencies from 5Hz out to 1kHz, with separation rolling off very slightly to 115dB at 20kHz.

Separation and crosstalk for 48kHz 24-bit digital data is shown in Graph 10 and you can see that it’s around 135dB at low frequencies, diminishing to around 115dB at 1kHz, then again to around While they may share a similar design aesthetic, the Madison LE Streamer (top) is tiny in comparison to the also-small Wattson Audio Madison amplifier (bottom).

super-quiet DAC. You can also hear this on Buckley’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, which is, IMO, the best version of this famous song. Interestingly, Buckley based his version on John Cale’s cover rather than reinterpreting Cohen’s original. Also interesting is that although Cale’s version is the one used in the movie Shrek r , the version on the movie’s soundtrack album was sung by Rufus Wainwright.

(And for completeness, k.d. lang delivers a superb version on her classic album Hymns of the 49th Parallel.) When playing hi-res music, I played only tracks for which I had the provenance, so I knew for a fact that they were actually recorded using a high-resolution recorder, and not just up-sampled to a high- resolution format (which, unfortunately, is the case for many so-called ‘high-res’ albums, meaning that you’re getting absolutely no more musical information for your money). Listening to ‘Ballad for Chris Green’, recorded live at 96kHz/24-bit, Cindy Boste’s voice was a sonic mirror of what it sounds like in real life — and likewise the sound of her guitar — plus an absolutely silent background (if you don’t count that I could hear the distant sound of birds chirping in the trees).

on’t you just love it when you read a new product announcement and, without knowing anything about it other than its specs list and what it looks like, you get excited about it launching? It’s a feeling I’ve experienced on multiple occasions throughout my life. The earliest I can recall was during my high-school days around 2003/2004 (make of my age what you will) when Sony announced the Xperia X10 smartphone.

I couldn’t tell you what it was that specifically drew me to that particular device — probably the software it used and the way it presented information on the screen in scrollable cards and widgets. This was pre-iPhone, remember, so options for ‘cool’ features were limited. Whatever the reason, I just knew I had to have it. I managed to save up the money for it whilst working a minimum-wage job, and once I had it in my hands, I wasn’t disappointed. It was something I wanted, and I earned it.

Fast forward to my AV journalism career and that same feeling of “I don’t know why I love this, I just do” returned on several occasions. Many of these would have come when visiting hi-fi shows including Bristol and High-End Munich — I do remember coming across a set of horn speakers at the Munich show (the brand name evades me now) playing Rammstein’s ‘Los’.

You couldn’t have dragged me away from that demo — I was in awe — and I still return to that same song regularly when testing and reviewing equipement. Specific examples of products that immediately grabbed my attention include the Q Acoustics M7 2.1-channel desktop system and the Naim Mu-so wireless speaker. I was on a junior journalist’s salary at the time, so was never able to own them — although I was fortunate enough to be able to take home the Mu-so we had on loan at What Hi-Fi?

for a couple of weeks. If you’ve ever had a similar feeling of anticipation for a particular product, I’d love to hear from you. Whether you managed to get your hands on it or not, it’s always nice to hear the particular categories or brands that we find ourselves gravitating towards. Why am I going on this trip down memory lane? That feeling came back when KEF announced the Coda W wireless speakers in October last year.

I featured the announcement in the Soundbites section of my first issue (#543) and was immediately smitten. Being an owner of the LS50 Metas, I’ve already formed a sort-of loyalty to the British brand.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 417f28850a9ac786
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 40,003,896 bytes (38.151 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 0412653966
• Pages: 85
• Language: English (en)

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• Estimated Reading Time: 178.14 minutes
• Total Words: 35,628
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