WiiM Pro Plus Streamer Review

the best combination of hardware and software I’ve seen in the hi-fi streaming sector to date, and represents the kind of value for money that is never given the recognition it deserves by the industry, especially the press. If you want to stream audio to a hi-fi, this is the little box you should buy.

Sony TC-WR645S Cassette Deck Repairs

A well-featured machine even if it wasn’t Sony’s finest in terms of its construction quality. These make decent recordings, and are fine playback decks especially if you want the convenience of autoreverse. I’d probably still go for the more modern TC-WE475 or TC-WE675 for its simpler mechanics and better build quality

Aiwa AD-F500 Cassette Deck Repair & Review

My experience working on the AD-WX727 and AD-wX929 twin decks, the latter returning for a second round left a bitter taste in my mouth. But they did produce some decent hardware in the same era and this, the AD-F500, is one of the more economical examples. It has proven itself to be competitive in its performance and good value on the used market for the right price.

Sony CDP-361 Belt Replacement & Review

Ordinary in its appearance and almost empty inside, Sony’s CDP-361 is more than a flimsy metal box filled mostly with air. Easy to service and very little in them to go wrong, If you’re after a high-quality, fully functional CD player, or transport to feed discs to your DAC, the CDP-361 and its ilk should make your shortlist.

Pro-Ject VC-S3 Record Cleaning Machine Reviewed

The VC-S remains ahead of the competition. Most record cleaning machines are, in reality, primitive, dysfunctional, uncomfortable loud, poorly constructed and ugly enough to upset a blind man’s aesthetic senses. It’s a wonder some of them work at all. The VC-s has some way to go in terms of refinement, but it’s still one of the best looking and most efficient record cleaning machines you can buy.

Origin Live DC100 Turntable Motor Upgrade Kit Review

kindly contributed by Nipper Varney covering his Origin Live DC100 motor kit. “When half the price of this Origin Live DC100 Motor Kit will buy you an Audio Technica record player complete with motor, PSU, arm, cartridge and phono stage that is able to provide quartz accuracy for speed control first time and every time (as well as three speed settings and the ability to adjust speed) there is no getting away from £530 being expensive for something which is just tasked to turn a platter at one of two constant speeds, especially when the Speed-Box casework is so cheap that it requires masking tape on the back to label the adjusters. That it is also far noisier and much more temperamental (in needing to settle down over days to work optimally) than my Technics SL1200GR turntable, which is silent even with my ear right beside it, is also undeniable.”

Spartan 10 By Michael Fidler Retrospective Review

The review below was kindly contributed by Nipper Varney. This review was written some time ago and is reference in Nipper’s recent phono stage comparison contribution. The Spartan 10 has now been discontinued, replaced by the Spartan 15, so I am publishing this as a kind of retrospective as there are certainly plenty of Spartan 10s out there ‘in the wild’.

Phono Stage Comparison – Classic Audio Spartan & Pro, Pro-Ject, Ifi

The review below was kindly contributed by Nipper Varney. Michael Fidler of Classic Audio asked me if I would consider publishing a review of his latest Spartan 15 phonostage contributed by Nipper. I agreed and what follows is a fantastic in-depth comparison of a number of phono stages, including the Spartan 15. Also featured are the Spartan 5, Spartan 10, MM PRO, MC PRO, and units from Pro-Ject and Ifi too.