INSIDER TOP FIVE
Earbuds, amps and wireless speakers – five of the best new hi-fi product launches
1
Samsung Q950A
£tbc Samsung has upped the ante and the channel count for its 2021 soundbar range, with the flagship Q950A marking its first 11.1.4-channel offering. The whole package comprises a main soundbar, a wireless subwoofer and two 9500s wireless surround speakers with upward-firing drivers, which will come in handy as the Q950A supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround technology. Samsung TV owners will also benefit from ‘Q-symphony’ technology, which allows the soundbar to work in conjunction with the TV’S own speakers for an even bigger sound. whf.cm/q950a
2
Sonos Roam
£159 Following the release of the Sonos Move in 2019, the all-new Roam arrives in late April as the company’s cheapest and smallest portable Bluetooth speaker. Like its larger, pricier sibling, it’s a Bluetooth/wi-fi hybrid, allowing you to pair it with a smartphone or tablet over the former, or tap into the world of music streaming within a Sonos system over the latter. It features Sonos’s Auto Tuneplay calibration technology, as well as a new
Sonos Swap feature that lets owners hand off whatever the Roam is playing to the nearest Sonos speaker. whf.cm/sonosroam
3
Cambridge Audio Melomania 1+
£120 Still riding the success of its popular, multi-award-winning Melomania 1 true wireless earbuds, British audio firm Cambridge Audio has launched another pair of Airpods rivals. The Melomania 1+ – successors to the original Melomania – promise to take the performance of their siblings up another level, while adding app control, customisable EQ settings and the company’s innovative High Performance Audio Mode. A 45-hour battery life, Ipx5-rated waterproofing and USB-C fast charging stand out from the spec sheet too. whf.cm/melomaniaplus
4
Goldmund EIDOS Reference
£175,000 If you’re a discerning music lover with a suitable hi-fi system (and a strong back), this all-disc-supporting SACD player could be your next source. The EIDOS Reference is a highly ambitious piece of kit, and the consequence of a long-term project researching disc mechanisms at Goldmund’s Geneva labs. As such, it embodies all of the company’s top-end technologies that relate to vibration control, power-supply regulation, digital conversion and analogue circuitry, in order to extract the best performance possible. whf.cm/eidos
5
Copland CSA150
£4988 Copland’s top of the range integrated amplifier is a hybrid design, using a double triode gain stage (6922) with MOS-FET buffering. The solid-state bipolar output stage is rated with an output power of 150W per channel into 8 ohms, while connections span coaxial, optical, USB, RCA and MM Phono. The CSA150 comes into the range to sit above the CSA 100, which in our five-star review we heralded as a “well-equipped and impressively capable amplifier... one of the class leaders at this level”. whf.cm/csa150