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Hi-Res Downloads
Hi-Res Downloads, November 2024
Review: Andrew Everard,  |  May 27, 2025  |  First Published: Nov 01, 2024
This month we review and test releases from: Eline Hensels & Daniël Kramer; Guy Yehuda; Arve Henriksen/Harmen Fraanje; Arve Henriksen/Harmen Fraanje; and Vince Guaraldi
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Pre/Power Amplifiers
Mola Mola Perca power amp
Review: Andrew Everard,  |  May 27, 2025  |  First Published: Nov 01, 2024
hfnoutstandingOnce again there’s nothing fishy about this innovative Dutch brand’s latest catch – a reference-quality stereo Class D amplifier netted into the Kaluga’s mono chassis

Time, it seems, to forget all the stereotypes of high-output power amplifiers as massive devices that dim the lights when fired up and convert even the chilliest of spaces into a listening-room sauna. Instead, the £7299 Perca stereo power amp from Dutch manufacturer Mola Mola is just 215mm wide and 110mm tall, and weighs a mere 5.25kg, yet claims a stereo output of 150W/8ohm, doubling to 300W/4ohm.

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Integrated AmplifiersOutboard DACs
Yamaha HA-L7A headphone amp/DAC
Review: Jamie Biesemans,  |  May 27, 2025  |  First Published: Nov 01, 2024
hfnoutstandingA fusion of Yamaha’s hi-fi audio technologies with the proprietary Sound Field modes debuted on its AV hardware decades ago, the HA-L7A is a headphone amp with a twist

For a brand name that appears on very diverse products, from grand pianos to outboard motors, it’s amazing that Yamaha has little in the way of high-end head-fi – the company was a very early adopter of planar-magnetic headphone technology, after all. The HA-L7A DAC/headphone amp is the second product launched to address that deficiency, following on from the YH-5000SE headphone, which garnered an EISA Award last year and is a spiritual successor to the legendary HP-1 from ’76.

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Audiophile Digital
Top 20 surround sound albums
Ken Kessler  |  May 24, 2025  |  First Published: Nov 01, 2024
From Mingus to Mancini, The O’Jays to The Doors, Ken Kessler brings you an audiophile’s A-list of 20 brand-new surround sound albums ready to wrap you in all their 360° glory
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Vinyl Release
Grateful Dead: Terrapin Station
Steve Sutherland  |  May 22, 2025  |  First Published: Nov 01, 2024
The Dead’s first album for Arista saw them teamed with a producer and backed – without their knowledge – by an orchestra. Steve Sutherland preludes the 180g reissue

The Eno documentary recently shown in cinemas caused a bit of a fanfare because, characteristically of our eggheaded pal Brian, it wasn’t just any common-or-garden doc covering his illustrious career. Instead, it employed groundbreaking technology to accomplish something that had never been done before. Using generative software designed to sequence scenes and create transitions out of interviews with Eno and an archive of never-before-seen footage, each showing featured different scenes and music in a different order. Every time it played, it was a new experience.

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Opinion
Ted Jordan
Steve Harris  |  May 22, 2025
Across six articles for HFN beginning in 1959, speaker designer Ted Jordan taught DIY enthusiasts the tricks of the trade – and his full-range Eikona driver is still going strong, says Steve Harris
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Opinion
Blurred outlines
Peter Quantrill  |  May 22, 2025  |  First Published: Nov 01, 2024
Music and art can often make an attractive mix for cutting-edge cultural collectives, but the combination is also fraught with plenty of potential pitfalls, reckons Peter Quantrill
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Opinion
New CD players
Andrew Everard  |  May 22, 2025  |  First Published: Nov 01, 2024
A recent encounter with a couple of new CD players had Andrew Everard engaging in a trip down memory lane. But first-world problems aside, he wasn’t too sure he liked what he saw
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Opinion
Vinyl and nonlinear velocity
Barry Willis  |  May 22, 2025  |  First Published: Nov 01, 2024
Why does Barry Willis count himself as a ‘reformed record collector’? Because he can’t see past what he sees as the vinyl format’s inherent flaws, from groove distortion to velocity concerns
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Opinion
Internet radio
Barry Fox  |  May 22, 2025  |  First Published: Nov 01, 2024

When it comes to Internet radio, Barry Fox knows from hard-earned experience that what works today might well not work tomorrow – particularly if your listening takes you around the world

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