6 The Audio Appraisal Reference Hi-Fi System
The Audio Appraisal reference system. This post will be updated to reflect future changes and kept as a historic reference to log the equipment used to create these reviews.
6 
Fosi Audio TB10D Mini Class D Amplifier Reviewed
Have you ever typed “amplifier” in to Amazon or eBay? Do so, and you’ll find a plethora of […]
Edifier STAX Spirit S3 High-Res Bluetooth Headphones Reviewed
Cutting-edge Bluetooth headphones for the wifi generation, packing some of the best tech currently available, supporting the latest wireless codecs, offering outstanding comfort, portability and battery life, and with some of the best planar-magnetic headphone drivers on the market. They may not be pure STAX, but they’re worthy of the STAX name through and through.
1 Edifier MS-50A Bluetooth / Wifi Speaker Review
If you’re buying these primarily to listen to music, I would certainly suggest you buy two to pair them up for proper stereo. But if you’re after a great-looking, well-built streaming speaker, and you don’t want invasive smart tech in your home, The MS-50 may just be for you.
Majority Oakington All-in-One CD / DAB Music System Reviewed
The Majority Oakington is an all-in-one audio system with a CD player, DAB+ radio and Bluetooth. It sounds surprisingly excellent given its compact dimensions, and provides the ideal companion for a compact turntable.
Majority Eddington & Belford Portable Radios Reviewed
The Belford is a highly affordable no-frills radio with the advantage of an AM tuner, something which many radios now lack. The Eddington is the ideal travel companion - an excellent DAB+ radio with added FM, a pocket Bluetooth speaker and a Bluetooth bridge for your old-fashioned headphones.
Majority Fitzwilliam 2 Internet Radio Tuner & Music System Review
the Fitzwilliam packs plenty of useful features and a sound I can’t fault into an aesthetically pleasing chassis of slimline proportions that will fit comfortably with any hi-fi system.
2 Technics RS-B665 Direct Drive Cassette Deck Service
The Technics RS-B665 is a direct-drive cassette deck and roughly the middle of its model range from 1989 to 1991. It's a good performer and a fuss-free, maintenance-free cassette player.
Toshiba PC-G10 Cassette Deck Repair
The Toshiba PC-G10 cassette deck was sold in 1983 as part of a Toshiba ‘Rack system’. These are fine decks and well worth the little they cost to pick up on the second-hand market.
Sony CFD-G50L Boombox Repair
the culmination of the so-called ‘ghettoblaster’ in its best form after decades of refinement. This particular example had a few faults. The CD player didn’t read discs, the tape deck warbled hopelessly off key and FM radio reception wasn’t as good as I thought it should be.
Sony CFS-W318 Cassette Radio Repair Fail
A Sony CFS-W318 radio cassette boombox from the turn of the millennium. Scrapped due to brittle plastic in the tape mechanisms, but an interesting electronic design and a useful source of parts including a nice tuner module.
Philips MC-151/12 Micro System Repair Fail
You can't save 'em all. This is a Philips MC-151 micro 'hi-fi' system, a far cry from the once-great audio division of Philips who produced the first cassette recorders, a myriad of portable and hi-fi turntables, one of the first consumer CD players and even owned Marantz for a time.
Repairing Cassette Capstan & Turntable DC Motors
A basic primer on cassette capstan and turntable DC motors and how to repair them if they become noisy. With due care and a steady hand many can be repaired with success.
Yamaha CRX-M170 DAB CD Receiver Repair
a Yamaha CRX-M170 CD receiver offered on Freecycle recently sparked my interest. It was listed as having a couple of faults - a temperamental CD player and an erratic volume knob. These are plentiful on the second-hand market for little or no cost and are well worth a punt.
How To Fix A Digital Volume Control
If the volume on your stereo randomly turns up by itself, or doesn't work at all, this article is for you.
Sendy Audio / Sivga Aiva Headphones Reviewed
Engaging, fun and emotive, with bags of detail and a pleasant sonic palette that is easy to listen to for hour upon hour.
2 Denon DRM-740 Cassette Deck Repair
full of cheap plastic and not the most fun to service, but serviced with care they do sound very good, and cost less on the second-hand market than other 3-head, dual capstan models from Sony, Technics, Aiwa, Pioneer and Nakamichi et al.
2 Cambridge Audio AXC35 CD player Reviewed
well made and smart to look at, clean uncoloured and pleasant to listen to, the AXC35 is a fine performer. Its simplistic electronics and quality disc drive should be reliable for many years.
2 Cambridge Audio AXA35 Integrated Amplifier Reviewed
a smart-looking, well-featured amplifier. It’s nicely made and finished with plenty of versatility for most users, but it could be better engineered in places and has a lot of competition at this price.
Cambridge Audio History & AX Series Overview
a system that performs in perfect harmony and looks more expensive than it is.
Cambridge Audio SX-60 Standmount Speakers Reviewed
These are speakers for rock and pop fans, but classical listeners should probably look elsewhere. They’ll delight hiphop and electronic fans too providing you have an amp with some ‘oomf’ behind it that can give those slightly stiff woofers a kick up the backside.
2 Yamaha KX-580SE Cassette Deck Service & Repair
Later KX-series decks are very simple mechanically and electronically, easy to service and maintain and generally well constructed as far as later cassette decks go. And for now at least, second-hand pricing is still relatively sane