2GO

GO ANYWHERE STREAMER/SERVER

HUGO RANGE + hen we launched HiFi PiG eleven years ago, we had no inkling that it would blossom into the extraordinary phenomenon it is today and we hope that we have been somewhat disruptive in the industry. In a landscape where imitation proliferates, it becomes increasingly crucial for us to stand apart and place the unmistakable stamp of our collective personality onto everything we do.

Hugo 2 has taken one giant leap: with a new addition of the 2go streamer/server device, which brings wireless and wired streaming, up to 4TB of storage, plus auto source-switching for seamless music playback between playback applications. Hugo 2 with 2go is now a DAC, preamp, headphone amp, streamer and digital music library, all in one class-leading British-built device.

Bienvenue to Not Boring by HiFi PiG.

While HiFi and audio will always remain the core of what we do, we recognize that life encompasses more than just reviews and news about audio equipment. With this publication, we aim to introduce fresh content—topics we personally yearn to explore and that we hope will invigorate and captivate you. We also hope that it will pique the interest of some whose primary interests lie not in the world of HiFi and audiophilia.

In this quarter’s edition, we explore and chat to Stratton Acoustics about their awe-inspiring new loudspeakers and the people behind this new UK brand of loudspeakers. There’s an introduction to the history of UK Hip Hop and also Drill which may be genres you are less familiar with and there’s also an extensive exploration of Music Festivals in the 21st century that looks at what they have become in comparison to the spirit that gave birth to them back in the sixties.

We engage in an interesting and finally somewhat disturbing conversation with Chat GPT about music and art, a discussion that veers into the realm of bias on the part of Chat GPT and has us wondering whether the technology has a degree of predetermination with regards its answers.

“So you’re Dead. Now what?” offers a thought-provoking exploration of life’s existential questions, or rather it looks at the options your loved ones face when disposing of your lifeless corpse. It’s more cheery than it sounds, honest!

And we have an exclusive interview with the legendary DJ mixer designer, Andy Rigby-Jones, tracing his remarkable journey and contributions to the industry.

Paris Street Art unveils the vibrant tapestry of urban creativity in the 13th arrondissement, while an interview with Charles White offers insights into the mind of this well-known graphic artist.

Alan McIntosh AKA Leader Tape, explores the wonders of open reel tape, and Terry Medalen asks if you will join him for a delightful rendezvous where cocktails and music intertwine.

John Scott gives a unique article on the North West Audio Show, or more accurately about his journey there and a bit about the stuff he saw at the show. Other show news will include Axpona and Munich High End.

We chat with Treble Clef Audio in an exclusive interview with the Danish brand. And, last but not least, of course, expect a multitude of HiFi reviews that will satiate your audiophile cravings.

Oh, and there’s even a horoscope! ENJOY!

LIFE’S TO SHORT FOR BORING - WELCOME TO NOT BORING

BY HiFi PiG.

Stuart and Linette Smith

Hifi Pig is part of Big Pig Media LLP Partnership No OC397825

Editorial Enquiries: Stuart@HiFiPiG.Com

Markeitng Requests: Linette@HiFiPiG.Com

LINETTE SMITH is a self-confessed Old Skool raver who still shakes a glo stick to banging house and techno, though these days she goes to bed a lot earlier.

She has a penchant for bright colours and large loudspeakers, and if the loudspeakers are brightly coloured then so much the better.

She is a firm believer that life is way too short for boring HiFi.

Can often be found dancing in the kitchen while Stu is DJing, or chilling with the cats at HiFi PiG Towers. Lin loves travel, the beach in the winter and going to HiFi Shows around the world. She dislikes mansplainers and coconut.

SARA VALLE-MARTINEZ is a London-based writer and journalist. She was born in Spain, where she started writing fiction when she was a kid. That somehow evolved into writing about real life and people. Sara’s love for music started when she was a teen and she couldn’t get enough of emo and pop punk.

You can probably find her at a live show, writing the next chapter of one of her novels while jamming to her favourite songs, or travelling (most of the time to catch a gig). She also loves dogs, supermarkets, the sea, tattoos, and how people’s eyes light up when they talk about their passions.

JANINE ELLIOT is HiFi journalist but has also written on subjects as diverse as cars to tropical fish.

She has worked in the HiFi industry for a number of companies in research, design and writing of product manuals.

She spent 25 years at the BBC as a sound engineer and now teaches music in schools. As a musician she has played keyboards and guitar with a number of famous musicians and produced her own albums and music for film.

She is a keen collector of reel to reel machines and has an excellent knowledge of classic audio and HiFi.

BAI IBRAHIM CHAM aka Rahim is a hip-hop head from The Gambia, smiling coast of west Africa.. Born and raised in the tropics , Rahim started his journey with music in the early 1990s. Inspired by the likes of Coolio, Snoop Dogg, Salt & Pepper and Method Man, Rahim formed his 1st rap group in 2001 called Cali Deep Roots before quitting rap and co-founding the Cypher in 2012, a hip hop platform that showcases young talents through its 5 elements.

Rahim served as the president of the cypher for 5 years while hosting the popular entertainment talk show TopNotch Convo on national television of The Gambia for six years. Rahim now lives in Edinburgh UK aiming to broaden his networks in the entertainment industry.

ALAN McINTOSH has been a fan of music for over 40 years and with a couple of decades behind the decks and more fiddling in a home studio, Alan is a self-confessed jazz addict, lover of electronica , prog rock and all in between as long as it’s good !

Based in Glasgow , working in the global technology sector, Alan is passionate about travel, HiFi, vinyl, mountaineering and great single malt.

Over the last 5 years he’s fallen hard in love with open reel tape and is increasingly immersed in splicing and rewinding tails out tape! When not writing about music he also blogs about mountaineering and the great outdoors.

JOHN SCOTT has had an interest in music and the things that play music for literally as long as he can remember.

Even at an early age he showed a precocious knack for HiFi tweakery, warming one of his mother’s records (Walk Tall by Val Doonican, if you must know) in front of the fire before playing it. He remembers this well as it was on the same day that he learned that vinyl warps quite badly when subjected to heat.

John combines his love of music and HiFi with another life-long passion, photography and has thousands of blurry photos of people playing music in the dark to prove it. His less-blurry, better-lit photos often accompany his live music reviews for HiFi PiG and can also be seen on his Upstage Photography Facebook page.

OSCAR STEWART was born to a former punk and music has been in Oscar’s life since he left the womb.

A 2000’s emo kid at heart with a love for post-hardcore and pop-punk, Oscar can be found at gigs when not working or writing reviews.

Working in customer service within the audio industry, he has over 12 years experience reviewing headphones and portable audio.

At home his system consists of streaming, vinyl and CD through headphones and HiFi.

Based in Worthing and born in Brighton, he can also be found tinkering with vintage HiFii, mountain biking or behind the lens of a camera

MICHAEL FAIRBAIRN developed a love for music and playing guitar in his early teens but started to take it seriously when he went to music college. Having slogged through a nightshift job the previous summer to invest in a ‘proper’ guitar and amp, he spent a whole student loan on his very first HiFi system.

Over the next two decades he pursued a career as a musician; even securing an ‘Alien with Extraordinary and Exceptional Ability’ visa to work in the United States.

These days, Michael tends not to go out as often as he would like, mostly due to being a dad of two wonderful children, but when he is allowed out to play, he loves to go to gigs and get more involved with HiFi-related shenanigans.

STUART SMITH is the founder of HiFi PiG and has a long and chequered history in music.

Once a radio DJ on the Sony Radio Station of the Year (1992) Wear FM hositng the world-infamous Midnight Train To Doomsville show, he’s put on loads of parties, played loads of clubs, owned a record shop, and played in dub reggae band Roughneck Sounds.

He’s fairly consumed by music and the things he plays it on.

When not reviewing kit for HiFi PiG, he can be seen and heard behind the decks of his home DJ setup playing a wide range of house and techno.