Previewed at the Axpona show in the USA, the Aspire is the new entry-level turntable from Polish turntable specialist J. Sikora.
For the first part of 2025, J. Sikora is launching a turntable below its Initial Line. The Delrin chassis remains unchanged from the higher series, but the speed controller is now integrated in the lower left-hand corner, and the rotary axis is re-centered in the middle, rather than shifted to the right.
Despite this, the Aspire seems to maintain a high level of stability, notably thanks to its substantial weight of 21 kg, but its design is more classic and less massive than the larger models. In keeping with this idea, the chainring is lowered, still on inverted ceramic ball bearings and powered by a belt on 33 or 45 rpm speeds. The arm seems also to have been simplified while retaining the brand’s cherished principles, for this new turntable to which a cartridge will have to be added, and for which the sales price is not yet official. We can’t wait to listen!
For the 4th time in almost twenty years, Linn is renewing its all-in-one Majik DSM, now in its 5th generation.
By incorporating a thumbwheel and losing the button bar at the top of the 2 mm aluminium chassis, the Majik DSM is closer to the more luxurious design of the superior Selekt range. A complete hi-fi device, it incorporates a completely revised phono card that can now read MC cells as well as MM. Its class D power of 100 watts per channel means it is compatible with a large number of loudspeakers, while its analogue inputs (2 RCA pairs) and sub and line outputs mean it can be connected to several sources as well as a subwoofer or an external power amplifier.
On the digital front, the Linn Majik DSM offers not only the most conventional (Toslink optical, S/PDIF coaxial) and modern (HDMI eArc, USB-C) inputs to the DAC, but also Linn Exakt connections and, for streaming, an RJ45 Ethernet input, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Compatible with standard formats and recent platforms, it is capable of decoding high-resolution files up to PCM 384kHz/24bits, to be listened to either through headphones via the front panel socket, or through loudspeakers via the two pairs of terminals on the rear panel.
The Majik DSM/5, which originated in Scotland and is presented there, is currently only priced in the UK, where it will sell for £4,300, a small increase on the price of the Majik DSM/4, sold in Europe for 4 050 €.
At Focal, launches are sometimes so close that we seem to have confused the information… Invited at the end of March simply to discover a new black color for the best-selling Bathys, and a week later to listen to the impressive Main Utopia professional speakers, we have yet to find the time in between to tell you about a very superior version of the French brand’s Bluetooth headphones!
Presented less than a week after the Bathys Deep Black, the Bathys MG lacks clarity in both its communication and its use of the “Bathys” name, because it’s actually a rather different version in terms of sound reproduction, closer in terms of technology to the Clear MG open-air headphones (1 500 €), than to its namesake Bathys without the “MG” ending (799 €).
On the menu, the expected codecs (SSBC, AAC, aptX™ Adaptive, aptX™) of a very high-end Bluetooth headphone (5.2 chip; Multipoint) are found on this closed nomadic model, which of course incorporates the current external noise cancellation (ANC) technologies and long battery life (30h) of the Bathys. But while the design remains similar to that of the Bathys, the newcomer in its brown-gold finish incorporates 40mm M-profile transducers made of pure magnesium, rather than those made of aluminium and magnesium alloy. Bass response is 5 Hz better and much more refined throughout the frequency range (10 Hz to 22 kHz).
Obviously, by using the same drivers as the Clear MG, the Bathys MG also comes close in price, as it is launched 500 € more expensive than the Bathys, at 1 199 € including VAT, a protective cover, a 1.2 m jack cable and a USB-C cable of the same length for recharging. So if you are looking for great sound, you have come to the right place!
A real new model rather than a simple « evolution » as its name would suggest, the Atalante 7 Évo is the new high-end loudspeaker from French manufacturer Revival Audio.
Weighing in at 54.6 kg excluding stands (12.5 kg each), the Atalante 7 is called Évo from the launch because it incorporates evolutions to its patented RASC drivers. In an even larger cabinet than that of the Atalante 5, still designed with the collaboration of the A+A Cooren studio, the 28 mm (1.15’’) Évo tweeter is combined with a new 75 mm (3’’) midrange driver; two soft-dome membranes energized by neodymium magnets, associated with ARID and ARID+ spider technologies.
The woofer is 3’’ larger than that of the Atalante 5, from 12” to 15” (380 mm), and is still based on patented BSC basalt sandwich technology, combined with a Bass Reflex system with event reinforced by aluminum flanges. The all-pass crossover uses air coils in a version specially revised for this new three-way, with internal wiring still connected point-to-point using Skyline cables from manufacturer Van den Hul.
With a sensitivity of 90 dB, the Atalante 7 Évo covers a wide frequency range from 23 Hz in the bass (5 Hz lower than the 5), and is launched in walnut and ebony finishes from 9 390 € per pair, including stands.
Less known than Hifiman, Sendy Audio is the high-fidelity brand of Chinese headphone manufacturer Sivga. It currently comprises three open-air headphones with magnetic planar technology and an earphone model (Aiya). Positioned at the entry-level of the range, the Aiva 2 is the new version of the Aiva, itself an improved version of the Sivga P2 Pro.
Advertised as very light, the Aiva 2 still weighs in at 420g, but its redesigned headband, based on over a hundred heads, has enabled to revise the position and design of the earcups, so as to greatly limit pressure during listening. In terms of materials, this luxury version of the P2 incorporates noble hand-modelled wood for the shells, lambskin leather for the earcups and soft headband, and, above all, revised components and materials to enhance sound quality.
In braided 6N copper with dual-mono 3.5 mm connectors, the 4.4 mm jack cable (with supplied 3.5 mm adapter) is 40 cm longer, and on this new version increases from 1.6 m to 2 m. Around the new planar transducers, announced as covering a frequency range from 20 Hz to 40 kHz, the earcups have been revised with memory foam designed not only for comfort, but also to facilitate diffraction, as have the perforated leather around them and the soft velvet, which softens listening to the diaphragm made of high-strength composite material, despite a thinness of 1 micron.
Delivered in a classy light-brown leather pouch, the Sendy Aiva 2 is available now at €659 incl. VAT.
