Stuff - UK (2020-11)

AUDIO GUIDE

Hour farther

Battery life is

excellent at 21hrs’

continuous playback

from the 3150mAh cell,

more than double

the old SR15.

ALL THE CASH

Fiio M11 Pro

While Sony and Apple rule

the roost for personal music

players in the West, China’s

Fiio is the real success in the

Far East. Adding a ‘Pro’ to

its best-selling model, the

upgraded M11 gets a 5.2in

edge-to-edge touchscreen

protected by Gorilla Glass.

You also get no fewer than

three headphone ports – a

3.5mm analogue that can

be switched to digital coaxial,

plus balanced 2.5mm and

4.4mm options – and it

doubles as USB DAC too.

Naturally it caters for every

audio file format under the

sun and carries Bluetooth

aptX HD connectivity, but

also DLNA and AirPlay.

£599 / fiio.com

SOME CASH

Sony Walkman

NW-A100TPS

40th Anniversary

You can buy a standard 16GB

NW-A100 Sony Walkman for

£320, or for £80 extra own a

piece of history. Designed to

mark the 40th anniversary

of the brand’s iconic personal

music player and nodding

to its cassette heritage, this

special edition displays the

song title and other info as

a virtual handwritten tape

on its 3.6in HD display. Able

to play hi-res audio, it also

includes a Vinyl Processor

feature for adding some

faux-analogue warmth

to digital tracks – and has

a microSD card slot for

expandable storage.

£400 / sony.co.uk

LESS CASH

Apple iPod Touch

It seems utterly bizarre that,

as the iPod approaches its

20th anniversary, Apple’s

game-changing personal

musical player is virtually

obsolete. Forget jog-wheeled

Classics, screen-less

Shuffles or compact Minis

and Nanos, because the

Touch is the last remaining

model of a dying breed.

Essentially an old iPhone

minus the cellular bits, if

you want a dedicated media

player with a big display and

32GB of storage for under

200 sheets, with the ability

to play mobile games and

stream TV shows too, the

Touch is a great buy. It’s not

short on audio chops either.

from £199 / apple.com

NOW ADD THIS

Philips Fidelio X3

Most personal music

players still have a 3.5mm

headphone port, so why

not treat them to a pair of

hi-res-ready open-back

headphones? The X3s

carry massive 50mm

drivers and are designed

for luxurious listening

sessions at a non-luxury

price, with memory foam

earpads and a Muirhead

leather headband.

£349 / philips.co.uk

NEIL YOUNG

ROXY:

TONIGHT’S THE

NIGHT LIVE

Recorded back in

1973, this live LP

perfectly captures

the raucous energy

of Young and band at

the time of Tonight’s

The Night, arguably

his finest album.

It’s available in

24-bit/192kHz.

MY MORNING

JACKET IT

STILL MOVES

Tinkering with an

album loved for its

raw, live sound can

be dangerous, but

MMJ get the balance

right on this remixed

version of their fan

favourite – which

still feels like you’re

listening in a sweat-

drenched bar.

NIRVANA

UNPLUGGED

IN NEW YORK

Nirvana’s last album

recorded before

Kurt Cobain’s suicide

brings extra weight

to songs like

Pennyroyal Tea,

Something In

The Way and the

soul-wrenching

closer Where Did

You Sleep Last Night.

MY BLOODY

VALENTINE

LOVELESS

You’re going to want

a weighty setup to

feel the full force of

the layered guitars in

this one – and you’re

going to want to turn

it up. Playing live,

MBV used to crank

it up so much that

earplugs were pretty

much essential.

ALTERNATIVELY

NOW HEAR THIS SCRUFFY ALT-ROCK