The most interesting hi-fi (and head-fi) news stories for Week 34, 2022.

REL – makers of some of the world’s finest subwoofers – has announced two new (stackable!) high-end models. The new Reference Series begins with the No. 31 (£7000) where a 900 Watt Class D amplifier drivers a 12″ driver and the No. 32 (£10,000) where the Class D amplifier power is nudged up to 1000 Watts and the driver size up to 15″. On both models, a new long-throw carbon fibre driver fires to the front of a sealed box. No port! The variable crossover runs from 20Hz to 90Hz but there’s no need to get out of the chair to adjust it;  both new models ship with a hockey-puck remote control that additionally offers listening chair adjustment of phase and parametric EQ. REL claims the No. 31 and No. 32 can reach as low as 17Hz and 15Hz (at -6dB) respectively. Rear-panel connectivity comprises Neutrik SpeakOn connectors for high-level connections and stereo RCA for low-level.

Also introducing a new subwoofer this week is ATC. The SCS70 Pro (€4329) features a 12″ driver that’s – bucking industry norms – powered by a convection-cooled Class A/B MOSFET amplifier. On the back-panel sit 2 x balanced XLR inputs and 2 x balanced (and unfiltered!) XLR outputs as well as switches for adjusting gain, low-pass frequency, polarity and phase. The SCS70 Pro weighs a whopping 44kg.

It’s been a long road for Hegel but Roon Ready functionality and certification has finally been added to the Norwegian company’s largest two streaming integrated amplifiers: the H390 and the H590. Existing owners can add Roon Readiness to their amplifier with a firmware update by following the ‘how-to’ here.

John currently lives in Berlin where he creates videos and podcasts and pens written pieces for Darko.Audio. He has previously contributed to 6moons, TONEAudio, AudioStream and Stereophile.

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