Although hailing from the UK, HiFi Starters is aimed at an international audience. It’s therefore good to welcome Attila Kovacs to the site with the first of our reader playlists (Spotify link here). Originally from Hungary, Attila now resides in the UK. His outlook is still very much multinational though, as I found out when we spoke at the UK Audio Show. Witness the first track – Nuit Pourpre – which is French (Purple Night).
A second-runger in audio terms, he’s definitely got the upgrade bug, having changed both his DAC and speakers since we spoke (Topping E50 and KEF R3 now in residence). Next up is the amplifier, complicated slightly by the need to satisfy both AV and audio needs. Does he upgrade his Sony STR-DN1040 AV receiver (much lauded by What Hi-Fi in its day)? Would a dedicated audio amplifier with pass thro capability allow him to seamlessly integrate the two setups. Or is a pragmatic switch-the-cables-over-each-time approach simplest? Only time (and budget) will tell.
Meanwhile, sit back and enjoy 6 songs with a mix of familiar and (to these ears at least) new.
1. “Nuit Pourpre” by Louane from Louane
“I love the tone of Louane’s voice. It’s s**y as hell with the French language too”
2. “Woman” by Mumford & Sons from Delta
“Another beautiful song with loads of power coming on tap from 1:32. Great to hear the energy flowing from the speakers/headset. Good for sound system testing – without the right setup this song could sound a mess.
3. “Fading Sun” by Terje Isungset from Winter Songs (Icemusic)
“Great northern music, bells, whistles and extremely deep bass. The “airiness” is incredible between the voices and in the song in general. Get your winter jacket, switch off the light, open your windows for a minute, sit down and put this music on. You’ll feel that you are there up in the far North” – Check out the other songs from this guy. All are amazing…e.g. Essence of Stone-6
4. “Togetherness” by The Ezra Collective from Where I’m Meant To Be
“Nice, relaxing lounge music. As soon as it plays your body starts to move. Easy listening…”
5. “I’m Not The Only One” by Sam Smith from In the Lonely Hour
“This guy’s voice is just amazing, great song”
6. “Unstoppable” by Sia from This Is Acting
“If you have any problems with motivation – in your life, work, etc – just play this song. Extremely energetic. Play it loud or don’t play it at all! Great song”
