http://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2019 HI-FI WORLD 35
WORLD STANDARDS
LYRA TITAN I MC £3,500
Breathtaking speed and dynamics from LP, helped
by diamond coated, boron rod cantilever.
ORTOFON 2M MONO SE MM £80
A mono cartridge purposed for The Beatles in
Mono microgroove LPs. Fitted with a top quality
Shibata tip. Fab for the four.
ORTOFON 2M BLACK MM £400
As good as it gets from MM. Fabulous detail and
insight from a Shibata stylus, good bass and
excellent tracking.
ORTOFON CADENZA BRONZE MC £1,400
A mid-price MC with a slightly livelier presenta-
tion than the super smooth Cadenza Black. High-
end sound at midband price – great value.
ORTOFON CADENZA BLACK MC £1,800
Ultra smooth and dimensional moving coil with
bass and punch aplenty. Lovely stylus.
ORTOFON A95 MC £3,750
Fast and extremely detailed, this is an MC car-
tridge that sets standards.
REGA CARBON MM £35
Budget price for a competent cartridge with a
fairly unflappable nature. Ideal for beginners.
GOLDRING 1012GX MM £250
A glorious sounding cartridge with solid bass and
strong dynamic punch, plus excellent treble from
its Fritz Geiger stylus. Fun and affordable.
SHURE M97XE £80
Big warm sound, but great tracking and bullet
proof stylus protection from damped guard. A
survivor.
VAN DEN HUL DDT-II SPECIAL MC £995
Long-established cartridge from Holland with an
open and dynamic sound.
PHONO PREAMPS
CAMBRIDGE AUDIO 651P £200
Clean, concise sound from MM and MC cartridges
at a very low price. A real bargain.ICON AUDIO PS3 MKII £2,500
All valve MM phono stage with MC transformer
option, graced by big, spacious and relaxed
sound.LUXMAN EQ-500 PHONOSTAGE £4,495
A fully-equipped phonostage from Japanese
manufacturer Luxman that offers comprehensive
cartridge matching allied to superb sound.LEEMA ACOUSTICS ELEMENTS ULTRA £1,199
Smooth and detailed sound with the abil-
ity to accommodate most modern cartridges.
Exceptional value for money.PRO-JECT TUBE BOX DS £425
Compact MM and MC phonostage with valve out-
put circuit and a big sound.QUAD QC24P £995
MM and MC, oodles of gain, a volume control- and valves! Looks superb and sounds even bet-
ter: smooth, atmospheric and big bass.
TIMESTEP T-01MC £995
New, minimalist phonostage that sonically punch-
es well above its weight.PREAMPLIFIERS
ICON AUDIO LA-4 MKIII £1,400
Uses early 6SN7 triodes for liquid sound. Has
plenty of gain and a remote control into the
bargain.MF AUDIO CLASSIC SILVER £4,500
One of the best preamplifiers we’ve heard at
any price, this transformer-coupled marvel does
very little wrong. It’s powerful, clean and open,
yet delicate. Its sound is unmatched at or near
the price.MING DA MD7-SE £1,520
A valve preamplifier with an open, effortless
sound and a big soundstage. It has plenty of gain
so will accept any source and drive any power
amp. A real beauty.INTEGRATED AMPLIFIERS
ARIAND PRO845SE £1,499
Pure single-ended valve magic. Low-powered but
immediately gorgeous, easy-going yet forcefully
dynamic at the same time.AUDIO RESEARCH VSI60 £3,500
Power house sound with enormous pace and
punch from traditional U.S. muscle master Audio
Research. Breathtaking, but expensive.CAMBRIDGE AUDIO AZUR 651A £350
Dual-mono construction and meaty toroidal power
supply combine to produce a solid and sharp
sound with sonics far beyond its price point.
CREEK EVOLUTION 100A £1,500
Superb build and smooth confident sound make
this powerful amplifier a benchmark.CYRUS 8DAC £1,400
Trademark shoebox-sized Cyrus integrated now
offering 88Watts per channel, plus DAC. Svelte
delivery from a dainty case that fits in anywhere- and isn’t Class D!
EXPOSURE 1010 £495
Entry-level integrated from Exposure has excel-
lent upper mid-performance with an almost
valve-like sound.