Product Reviews

Read why What Hi-Fi picked the Arcam AVR31 as their high end receiver of the year:

"When Arcam announced that it would cascade several features throughout its most recent, carefully curated AVR range, it immediately appealed to that part of us that can’t resist a bargain. No, it's not bargain-priced – but still, knowing that you can buy a more affordable product in a manufacturer’s line-up and still obtain some of the same specs found on the flagship model can be very compelling and persuasive when weighing up which brand to buy from.

What of the inverse, though? It’s wonderful to have high standards and sonic consistency across a range, and such an approach often yields some of the best value AV products we’ve come across. But if you have a bit more cash to spend than most and are looking for a premium home cinema receiver such as the Arcam AVR31, does knowing that it has so much in common with its cheaper siblings lessen its lustre and dampen its draw?"

If you want to buy an AVR31 click here.

AudioQuest Dragon Interconnect - reviewed Issue 331 October 2022

                    XLR                                              RCA

"Although AudioQuest has been developing proprietary cable materials and techniques for 42 years. The company embarked on the new “Mythical Creatures” Series of interconnects with a fresh mind. Dragon does everything you’d expect from a top-level interconnect at this price, but it also does above and beyond the cliches of greater transparency, smoother textures, and bigger soundstage. This interconnect did things Robert Harley had never heard from a cable-or more precisely, Dragon allowed the system to reveal previously hidden qualities. The midrange was simply luscious, liquid, and stunningly present and vivid. Vocals were completely untethered to the speakers and projected against an absolutely silent background. This had the effect of increasing the sense of presence and fostering the startling impression of the vocalist being in the room. Another aspect of Dragon that is unique is that it conveys more richly saturated tone colour. The sound, from the lowest bass to the top treble, simply has greater body and weight."
“AudioQuest’s new Dragon is not only the most transparent and revealing interconnect I’ve heard, it’s also the most musically rewarding. The things that it does so well are all aligned toward fostering a powerful feeling of connection to the music and the expression of the musicians rather than just filling in boxes on an audiophile checklist.
It’s important to note that the qualities I’ve described here are not intrinsic to Dragon. Rather, they are qualities of my system that Dragon is simply revealing better than any other interconnect I’ve heard. There must be some distortion mechanism in other cables that Dragon somehow avoids, allowing the true quality of the rest of my system to be revealed.

Dragon is expensive, but in the context of a reference-quality system, it is indispensable”.

Product of the year awards: Category Cables and Interconnects January 2023
AudioQuest Dragon Interconnect: "Robert Harley called Dragon the most significant advance in interconnects he’s encountered in 33 years."
Absolute Sound call it their Product of the year award winner.

AudioQuest Dragon Zero/Bass Speaker Cable –
High End Audio Buyers Guide 2023. Issue November 2022

             Dragon Zero                                Dragon Bass

"This new top-level speaker cable from AudioQuest is easily the best cable the company has ever made. Dragon Zero features AudioQuest’s finest materials and technologies, including its Solid Perfect Surface silver conductors. Carbon Based Noise Dissipation system, and the long-standing Dielectric Bias System. Its sound is extremely open and dynamic, as though a lid were removed from the music. The sense of transparency in the midrange and treble, and of unlimited top-end extension, is stunning. Although the soundstage is highly illuminated, Dragon Zero does not sound bright or fatiguing. Dragon Bass is designed to drive woofers or subwoofers in bi-tri-amped systems. Although it does a fine job in the bass, most surprising was its ability to render smoother midrange and textures, as well as increase low level resolution across the entire band-a phenomenon attributable to the Dragon Bass noise reduction technology." (Note, Robert Harley's reference speaker cables.)
 
As well as accolades for our flagship models, Absolute Sound also found favour with our more affordable models:
 
AudioQuest Diamond USB
High End Audio Buyers Guide 2023. Issue November 2022


“This pricey USB cable is simply revelatory in its combination of ease and refinement on one hand, and resolution and transparency on the other. Although capable of resolving the finest detail, Diamond USB has a relaxed quality that fosters deep musical involvement. Expensive, but worth it in high end systems.
Last but far from least, our venerable range of digital accessories continues to help maximise the performance from headphones and other audio devices”.
 
AudioQuest Carbon USB
High End Audio Buyers Guide 2023. Issue November 2022


“One of the go-to USB cables for computer-audio fans and highly recommended by USB pioneer and guru Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio. The Carbon is neutral without sounding bleached, dynamic without sounding piercing, detailed without sounding analytical”.

AudioQuest Forest USB
High End Audio Buyers Guide 2023. Issue November 2022


"For those on a tight budget. Forest is a large upgrade over a generic USB cable that was never designed for audio. Compared to standard USB cables, Forest offers a larger and more dimensional soundstage, more liquid and lifelike timbres, and greater transparency."

DragonFly Black, DragonFly Red, DragonFly Cobalt
High End Audio Buyers Guide 2023. Issue November 2022
 

“AudioQuest practically invented the low-cost, high-performance USB DAC in stick form with the original Dragonfly. It was a massive success. These three newer models greatly improve on the sound of the original, and the Black version comes at a lower price, to boot. Although the Black sounds superb, the Red and Cobalt are worth the difference in cost. The Red delivers striking sonic quality, with exceptional transparency, resolution, timbral realism, and wide dynamics. The Cobalt, with its upgraded DAC and processor chips, deliver greater smoothness and resolution than the Red, with more refined character. Dynamics are also improved, along with a more robust bottom end. No matter which model you choose, you can’t go wrong”.

AudioQuest JitterBug
High End Audio Buyers Guide 2023. Issue November 2022


“This little device looks like a miniature plug in DAC, but actually fits between a DAC or USB cable and USB Jack on a computer, DAC, or music server. Its mission is to reduce jitter and isolate the computer from the DAC.  Judging from its sonic effects, the JitterBug does just that, producing a smoother treble, deeper soundstage, and more relaxed and natural presentation. Add AudioQuest JitterBug USB isolation device to any of the three and take the performance up another notch. A no-brainer recommendation for the asking price”.
 
AudioQuest Super Conductive Anti-Static Record Brush
High End Audio Buyers Guide 2023. Issue November 2022


“This new and improved version of AudioQuest’s ubiquitous carbon-fiber wonder answers the burning question. Does the AudioQuest Record Brush provide a good electrical path between the fibers and the handle? Apparently No, according to AudioQuest’s Bill Low. Enter AudioQuest’s Conductive Fiber Record Brush, which has ideal conductivity from the Carbon Fibers. On first acquaintance, the only change Jonathan Valin noted was that the brush feels different (lighter) than the original. But who cares. You are going to buy one. JV will buy one. Anyone who listens to vinyl is going to buy one. The thing is indispensable”.

AudioQuest Diamond Ethernet 
High End Audio Buyers Guide 2023. Issue November 2022


“If you are using a generic Ethernet cable anywhere in your audio setup, you have not heard your system's potential. Even in a link such as a NAS drive to computer, AudioQuest Diamond Ethernet renders a noticeable improvement in resolution and ease”.

AudioQuest Forest Ethernet
High End Audio Buyers Guide 2023. Issue November 2022


“The inexpensive Forest is a worthy upgrade over generic Ethernet cables, delivering greater space and dimensionality, smoother timbres, and wider dynamics”.

With the biggest refresh in over a decade Marantz continue to impress, read Sound & Vision's Daniel Kumin review the new Cinema 50 AV Receiver:

"With the advent of features such as room correction, object-oriented surround, and networked/wireless streaming (to name but three), AV receivers have become more elaborate than ever. So much so that just to enumerate all the features and functions of the Cinema 50, the next-to-top model in Marantz's newest AVR lineup, would easily exceed the column inches allotted to this entire report; pity the poor AV reviewer! (I know you all do.)"

With a little over a year with 800 D4 reviewers can offer a more intimate and considered account of a speaker. Read Michael Evans' review over at Stereonet.

"The penultimate model in the 800 Series Diamond range – the 802 D4 – is simply an 801 D4 that's been on a diet – with B&W claiming that it's “slightly smaller, but still exceptional”. I totally get that there's also a market for such a speaker, especially if it means you no longer have to reinforce your floor to accommodate a pair. But what of the middle range 803 D4? Far from being the orphan child of this fascinating line-up, I believe it's quite a compelling choice, as we shall see later…"

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