The Pure Evoke-3, a bit of light relief.

[radio times]

I've got one of the six top hi fi shops in the UK half a mile from my house, yet I persist with me 'umble, yet top of the range, ultra portable, yet stereo, DAB radio. It works like a Sky box for radio, records onto an SD card, pumps out a massive 8 watts and on it's own will wake you up in the morning, and is ideal if your in the attic sifting through childhood memories, yer Mackies somnolent far below.

On it's own it gives new meaning to the word 'muffled graininess' to all but rock music and spoken word, and it is uniquely terrible with my Mp3 player attached, yet schlop a pair of Sony zx 700 monitor 'phones round the back and the soundstage gives the most remarkable transformation. Brilliant with rock, dooable with opera if you can stand a slight tinge of woodiness and hazyness in the ether; as i have said in an earlier link, I did 4 hours of Mozart opera one session and was not tired or unsatisfied. Easily pleased farmer's ears? I think not. You would have to go to genuine, albeit a trillion miles from the Mackies hi fi to get better. Perhaps all of $5-$600 worth.

So enjoy this rare view inside a tribal mud hut; your osmotic- cisms have worked, and I'm finally going the hi fi route. We can't get Mackies in London, but we can get Naim, Marantz et al instead, and i'm auditioning as we speak.

[bzr]

I hope your journey is a memorable one for the relevant reasons.

[radio times]

Which is to try and get the same Rock and Jazz performance as I'm getting from my 'phones, and significantly better Opera and classical. I'm starting with top and tail next week; The Naim uniti series from the hi fi shop, and the starter Marantz 6004 cd and sep amp, and perhaps the Cambridge units a little up the pay scale, in another generic hi fi shop.