A few months after unveiling a new Unity pivot tonearm priced at €15,000, Clearaudio has added the Diamond Jubilee MC to its line-up.
Not to be confused with the Jubilee MM (800 €) or the Jubilee MC (4 850 €), the latter positioned between the Stradivari V2 (3 890 €) and the Da Vinci v2 (5 850 €), this new Diamond Jubilee MC, created to celebrate the German brand’s 45th anniversary, is thinking even higher than the Goldfinger Statement (14 900 €), as it is being launched at 25 000 €.
In keeping with the current trend for unstoppable moves upmarket – a source of disappointment for many enthusiasts, but often a source of genuine technological and sonic improvements through the use of ideal materials – this new cell uses zirconium oxide for its main body, for absolute rigidity. Manufactured to a tolerance of a thousandth of a millimetre, it uses nothing less than 24-carat fine wire for the coil, in addition to technologies derived from and improved on the Goldfinger.
The reworked neodymium magnets fit into a coil whose geometry has been optimised, resulting in even greater dynamics and finer resolution. With a new Bor cantilever adapted to a Micro-HD diamond, the Diamond Jubilee MC boasts a channel separation of 35 dB and a balance of less than 0.15 dB. Its operating impedance of 50 ohms, one of the lowest on the market, means that it needs to be paired with the best phono preamps – an obvious choice for its category…
Even if its lucky owners will be few and far between, we are really curious to hear it!
In addition to anniversary models – including the P-100 headphone amp already presented – Luxman is releasing a Black Edition series for the first time.
Used several times by Esoteric for its anniversaries in 5 or 10-year increments, before the brand decided to keep black models in its 05 range, the Black Edition is a first for Luxman. At 100 years of age, the Japanese company has been back to its best for a decade, dressing four of its models in black, in an ultra-limited Centennial Edition.
Initially reduced to the 07 series, according to the secrets we received from the company’s executives in Munich last year, this CentennialEdition is finally given over to just two devices in this range, the NT-07 streamer (VU#53; Remarkable) and the D-07X CD/SACD player (VU#45). We had tried to convince the same executives to add the E-07 phono preamp and DA-07X DAC, presented at the 2024 show, but obviously without success…
Users wishing to invest in the complete black range will have to invest in the CD/SACD player to use their Dac with the streamer, and use the phono part of the 509Z integrated to play the DP-151 Mark II Black Edition turntable. In the end, the largest amplifier currently in the catalog seems to have been preferred to the 507Z for inclusion in this anniversary series. But fortunately, all these products are available individually, at a small extra cost (from €300 to €500 depending on the model) to justify the exception. In Black Edition, the Luxman NT-07 streamer costs €8,290, the PD-151 Mark II turntable €6,250, the 509Z amp €13,490 and the CD/SACD player €12,490. Don’t wait any longer to order them!
Better known for its hi-fi furniture than its cables, Norstone nonetheless has several ranges to suit all uses, with digital, mains, analog and speaker models, such as the new Jura MC.
In addition to launching two new ranges of cables on 100 m reels (PR250 at 699 € & ST250 at 1 399 €) for use in the walls of integration systems, Norstone is presenting a new speaker cable to top its range, currently made up of two other models. Specified “Premium Signature”, this new Jura MC cable joins the Arran MC and Skye MC and uses a PVC coating integrated into a textile braid. An aluminum strip in the center surrounds cotton fiber, into which the positive and negative cables -each with a polyethylene sheath- are integrated, with 19 OCC 6N and OFC 4N pure copper stranded conductors (2.5 mm2) inside.
With this triple shielding and 24k gold-plated banana plugs with optimized clamping, this Jura MC boasts very low resistance (0.006704 Ω/m) and inductance (0.9944 μH/m), for a capacitance of 93.088 pF/m. Its price remains very attractive for a premium high-fidelity cable, starting at 339 € for a length of 1.5 m, 399 € for 3 m and 479 € for 5 m. You can find it at any of the brand’s retailers.
Part of the EMM Labs group, which retains the brand name for its top-of-the-range products, Meitner has made a name for itself over the past few years with a flagship product: the MA3 network player and converter.
At the start of 2025, the MA3 becomes the MA3i and, like its predecessor, it is primarily a DAC, but with a high-quality network module and a volume control ready to transform it into a real preamplifier if need be. To start with this point, the volume module is still controlled by the big knob on the front, by remote control or by a UPnP app, and is none other than the one derived from the EMM Labs DV2i. The MDAC2™ DAC is designed in-house from 16 discrete double-differential DSDs, with a similarly proprietary MDAT2™ audio signal transition technology.
As is often the case with these in-house technologies, the devices do not yet attempt to decode the largest files, which are still virtually non-existent on the market (remember that an SACD or Qobuz Hi-Res streaming works at 96 kHz), but instead use the already very adequate sampling rates of 192 kHz/24-bit and DSD128, with the possibility of going up (via DoP) to DXD352 and 384 kHz PCM via USB link and network. The connectivity menu includes all the classic audio features (USB Audio, AES/EBU, RCA coaxial, Toslink optical and a USB data port), but no HDMI eArc. The MA3i is also platform-compatible, with Roon Ready, Spotify Connect, Qobuz and more. It can be connected to a preamplifier or directly to a power amplifier via a balanced XLR connection and a pair of RCA terminals.
This Meitner preamplifier-streamer-DAC is musically very promising, as we were able to see in February at a preview at Studio Hifi in Versailles during a Gryphon event (report to follow), but it is 1 500 € more expensive than the previous generation, with the MA3i now priced at 12 500 € ($11 500 in US).
With the D50 DAC, Hegel has taken a major step forward in digital audio. It’s not just another DAC; it’s an exploration of what’s possible when technology is stripped down to its essentials.
The Norwegian manufacturer wanted to create a dedicated machine that does one thing exceptionally well, converting ones and zeros into music. To achieve this, Hegel avoided anything that might introduce noise. This means there is no network input, streamer or preamplifier. By concentrating solely on converting digital signals into music, Hegel has created a machine that sets itself apart from the competition.
At first glance, the D50 appears discreet, with its minimalist black design. No flashy details or superfluous features detract from its purpose. Beneath its elegant appearance lies a remarkable ability to decode and deliver digital audio with total precision.
Hegel has been perfecting the art of DAC design for over two decades, and the D50 represents the pinnacle of this expertise, a sophisticated tool with immense potential. But like the raven, one of the few animals capable of using tools with precision, the genius of the D50 lies in the way it wields that technology. Every detail of the circuit design and layout has been meticulously crafted to extract the full potential of the DAC chip. The result is a design that uses this tool to its full potential, unlocking extraordinary sound reproduction.
We’ll soon have the opportunity to present this promising device to you in detail.
