Latest articles by Jez Ford
Leica Cine Play 1
The German camera-maker’s second upgrade of a Hisense-derived projector proves technically brilliant at delivering big-screen images wherever you choose to put it.
I watched a Brian Eno documentary edited in real-time, so every version is unique – is this the future of movies?
I went to the Sydney Opera House to see a Brian Eno documentary edited in real-time by a computer, so every version is unique. Could other movies be made this way?
BenQ GV50
The latest of BenQ’s circular rolling projectors brings battery power, built-in sound, more lumens and new Netflix for its Google TV interface.
This year’s best Christmas album is a thrilling Dolby Atmos treat
I said recently that Christmas albums should be hidden away from Boxing Day until at least the following December, but on this occasion I will make an exception...
Why Christmas music should stay on Compact Disc forever
I strongly suggest physically isolating your festive tunes so they can’t infect the rest of your year.
Aussie home cinemas: Wavetrain's 'Dune' theatre puts a ring on it
Size restrictions and strict divisions within a new extension made this home cinema a challenge for the team at Wavetrain Cinemas, but careful choices and a strong sci-fi theme delivered a stunning result.
Electrocompaniet Rena SA2
A small silvery box that streams and makes lovely sounds: Norway’s Electrocompaniet delivers a luxurious take on the streaming zoneplayer.
Zildjian Alchem-E headphones
A 17th-century cymbal maker turns its hand to wireless noise-cancelling headphones, and the Alchem-Es prove genuinely different
Meridian Ellipse
Meridian’s Ellipse may be the best small wireless speaker we’ve ever heard.
I experienced the world's first "interactive 3D symphony" in a new audio format that expands on the ideas of Dolby Atmos – here's how
An orchestra of music mixed as a 3D choreography of sound – a new visual audio format makes good sense for VR goggles, but is that how we want to listen to music?
What I did on my holidays, or 6 lessons in checking hi-fi and TV systems for schoolboy errors
I recently transformed two hi-fi and TV sound systems – one of them for almost nothing because of a hilarious installation error.
After reviewing hi-fi through five decades, here's why The Wombles remain my biggest musical influence
The furry litter-pickers were a supergroup of GOATs and heavily influential on my formative musical taste.
I just saw the fulldome presentation of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon – and was blown away
The bad news: your home cinema ain’t gonna cut it. The good news: there’s more to fulldome than Floyd.
Zildjian makes a splash – with wireless noise-cancellers
A 17th-century cymbal maker turns its hand to wireless noise-cancelling headphones
How music streaming is righting a wrong of the Compact Disc
As we wave goodbye to the CD format, it turns out silver discs were largely imaginary all along...
Tidal is definitely lossless, and my mate can prove it
I decided to see what the real measurable differences were between the (hopefully) lossless service and the admitted lossy Spotify...
Yamaha R-N1000A
This streaming amplifier trickles down tech from Yamaha's higher analogue amplifiers, while adding MusicCast streaming and digital inputs for a well-priced all-round performance.
Why I gave up my search for silence to embrace ambient headphone listening
Once upon a time I travelled the world in search of silence. I never found it...
Audio-Technica AT-LP70X
Moving up from the company's most basic design, the LP70X is still fairly basic and plastic, but it delivers good performance for the price, and is incredibly easy to set up.
Hisense C1 Sound+Image
Hisense has gone from TVs to short-throw ‘Laser TV’ projectors, and now brings a more conventional ‘mini’ projector in a kinda cube. How do Hisense’s skills translate to the new environment?
JBL TT350 Classic
JBL’s higher-level turntable leaves behind the pop-culture design of the cheaper Spinner BT and goes for modern vintage and direct driven the TT350 Classic. But how does it sound?
Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro X Limited Edition
Marking the centenary of Beyerdynamic, these ‘X’ edition headphones upgrade the standard version with the latest driver technology
BenQ W5800 Sound+Image
A full-sized ‘true 4K’ home cinema projector – no dongles, no built-in speakers, just solid DLP projection delivering up to 200 inches of bigscreen real estate
