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The BDP-105 is OPPO's new flagship Blu-ray player that promises to marry superb disc playback with unmatched versatility in one unit.



At first glance the 105 looks like the old 95. Look again and you’ll notice the 105 is a quite bit taller than the 95. The front panel has lost the natty rubber cover for the USB port but has gained a new Mobile High-Definition Link (for ...

Given the popularity of iPods - and now other i-devices - it seemed weird that there was a distinct lack of audiophile attempts to make them sound better. Except when you realise that the digital output from i-devices was disabled, until Wadia somehow unlocked the key with their i170 dock.

Since then, several other iPod docks have been released, allowing an iPod to be connected to a DAC ...

The AR100E is aimed at the user who may not have a dedicated environment and is subject to projection hostile conditions, namely ambient light or large screens. Finally we have a replacement for the popular AX series.

It took a few years before Panasonic finally updated the AE4000E with the AE7000E 3D model aimed at the connoisseur, but this did leave a hole for a model to fit the everyday ...

Leave preconceptions at the door when you meet The Wand tonearm. The Wand is designed by Simon Brown (DesignBuildListen Ltd) in Dunedin, New Zealand. This is a unipivot tonearm incorporating Simon's own take on this concept. This introductory model, The Wand Classic, is 'no-frills' and offered direct at attractive pricing. Geometry is Rega-style, effective length around 240mm (9.5") and medium ...

I’ve always been a fan of good timber finishes. The first time I laid eyes on my grandmother’s beautifully polished piano I was hooked, and that’s a trait that’s stayed with me ever since.

Now, when unboxing these loudspeakers, I was expecting yet another nondescript black box but was pleasantly surprised when greeted by a piano finish rosewood veneer. The only flat surfaces of note ...

Panasonic is targeting the AE7000E squarely at the home theatre connoisseur with dedicated environments who wants 3D and fine imagery.

Gone is the squared industrial look, replaced by a black chamfered and rounded theme more fitting with modern design. Slightly larger and heavier than its predecessor at 470x151x364mm and 8.7kg, the AE7000 includes a return to the offset lens, allowing ...

PureAudio is the new venture from veterans of the New Zealand audio scene, Gary Morrison and Ross Stevens.

As well as designer of the excellent Craft amplifiers, Gary was head designer at Plinius (1987-2005) and responsible for nearly two decades of some of the finest NZ amplifiers, from the high value 8150/8200 integrateds, the Class A SA-series, the superb Class A beating SB-300, to ...

Leonard Cohen, The Decemberists, Lambchop, Mendelssohn and Bruch, Anthony Ritchie

Leonard Cohen - Old Ideas
Sony Music

Dear Leonard indeed. A living lyrical genius and gifted songsmith blessed with an unmistakable voice. What has made his recordings of recent years, including the unmissable live sets on both CD and DVD, apart from his reverential aura are the remarkably ...

For many years now Oppo has been the champion of the affordable universal disc player. Despite a good reputation and (perhaps because of its) fawning audience, it has remained a niche player, primarily represented by online resellers.

That is all about to change as earlier this year International Dynamics were appointed official Australasian distributors for the brand and announced ...

Every serious hi-fi product carries the sonic signature of its designer. The question is, does the designer have good ears?



The design
The Apparition 12 tonearm from Analog Instruments Ltd, is made in Pukekohe, New Zealand by James Grant, formerly a manufacturing engineer.

Technically this is a 12-inch unipivot tonearm (approximately 310mm from ...

There are many things you can do with small white cubes. You can paint dots on all sides and use them for games, sometimes involving drinking, or no clothing, you can put cushions on them and use them as footstools or you can drop them into cups of tea to make them drinkable. REL chose to do none of these, rather taking the route of putting a small diameter long throw driver and some tricky electronics, ...

Avril Lavigne, Ministry Of Sound, Robbie Robertson and Soundgarden

Avril Lavigne: Goodbye Lullaby
26 and a failed marriage behind her, hasn’t made Avril all that different really, except that she cares a little more. I love pop music, and to these sugary-inclined pop ears, I’d rate Avril up there with Gaga and Perry. She gets bonus points for writing her own songs.

...

I remember, maybe fifteen years ago, trying to resist the charms of a big silver Myryad amplifier while standing in a long-gone hi-fi shop in downtown Auckland. I liked its name, all those ‘Y’s, and I liked its British poise, its power, and its styling, which was distinctly different from the Japanese machines stacked on the shelves around it. However, as I was shopping for a pair of speakers, it ...

For Krell fans the good news is the first real New Zealand distributor for Krell (the Audio Reference Company) and the launch of the latest entry level components; the S-300i integrated amplifier and the S-350a CD player. These products carry added significance as the first Krell made in China. Unlike many manufacturers who have product made in the PRC, Krell gets double bonus points for clearly naming ...

I was asked to review the recently released Mitsubishi HC9000D 2D/3D home theatre projector where they have adopted Sony’s new SXRD panels into the design, capable of 3D and promising to be very capable projector, I of course said yes please.


First contact:
When the projector arrived my first impression of the box was that it was so big and heavy I thought for a ...

It’s been a long time between AudioEnz columns. But I couldn’t let the 25th anniversary pass without one more contribution.

Michael Jones and I first came together around 1987. I’d finished building student radio (Contact 89FM) in Hamilton and was writing a music column for The Waikato Times.

Hi-Fi was a big part of my personal interest and this new audio magazine Zounds ...

Ah, memories! It's the people I've dealt with, as much as the products I've reviewed, that stay in the mind.

When approaching the 25th anniversary of AudioEnz I realised that there were only a few still in the industry today that were there when AudioEnz started way back in 1986.

I asked these people if they could write a few paragraphs on the changes they've seen in ...

Once upon a time there was a young man who thought he would publish a hi-fi magazine for New Zealand. Some 25 years on he's still around – but older now – and the magazine is still published – but on the internet now, not on paper.

It's been quite the journey since 1986 and one that is far from over.

When I first started with the idea of publishing a hi-fi magazine it seemed ...