We all know how upgrading your mains cable, buying better quality interconnects and placing your system on a well designed rack can allow you get the most out of your Hi-Fi investment by improving the resolution, dynamics and musicality.
Read MoreMarantz have led the way for many years with their 6000 series products and the NEW PM6006 and CD6006 are no exception.
Read MoreI have to admit that when I was first approached by the lovely Mandy, the rep for a number of our brands, I tried pretty hard to politely resist this new TEAC TN-300 turntable.
Read MoreWhile our wonderful high end Naim and Shahinian system was being used in our demo room for a customer evaluation we put together a rather simple yet highly enjoyable Network Player Amplifier and Speaker system.
Read MoreFirstly, let me start by wishing all our customers a Happy New Year.
Read MoreThe brief for this article was simply ’14 Gifts For Christmas’, one item of desire for each of the 14 stores.
Read MoreFollowing on from the successful release of the Arcam CDS27 CD player / Streamer comes the A39 and A49 Class G integrated amplifiers.
Read MoreThe 'Reading Boys' are proud to announce a new addition to our already impressive line-up of mid-priced high performance audiophile equipment.
The Unison Research Unico Nuovo Phono 95 wpc amplifier and the CD Primo CD Player.
Beautifully finished all aluminium casework and sand-blast finished front panel (available in black + £100); with more than a dash of Italian style, these two rather unassuming units pack a mighty punch. Don't for one minute assume the presence of the valves in the pre-amp and in the CD player's output stages results in a warm cuddly sound as that couldn't be further from the truth.
This combination produces an incredibly musical and engaging performance with a sense of dynamism we've not heard at anything like their price points: the inclusion of the valves ensure the sound remains fatigue free and sweet.
The amp also features a high quality MM/MC phonostage.
A healthy 95 watt Mosfet output assures the amp's ability to drive any likely partnered speakers.
Speaker cable £300 per meter inc factory termination, Interconnect 5Din-5Din £1750
We've waited the best part of 20 years for a new speaker cable and the wait is finally over! What's more they've added new top-of-the-range interconnects too. The reaction of Naim's forum is nothing short of spectacular so why not either arrange for a demo or better still try them at home. Ours are now fully run in and raring to go.
Naim NAC-N272 Pre-amp/Streamer
NAC-N272 £3300 (£3595 inc FM/DAB Radio)
Naim's latest addition to their extraordinary line up of streaming products in the new NAC-N272 Pre-amp streamer which, with the addition of one of their power amplifiers gives you a highly sophisticated high-end solution in just two boxes. Needless to say there are upgrade options with the addition of external power supplies too so you're still future prove. Available with or without FM/DAB radio.
Yamaha AS2100 & CDS2100 A Integrated Amp and CD Player
Yamaha CDS2100 £1799.95, AS2100 £1999.95
Recently we were asked to demonstrate these two Yamaha products and so taken were we with their performance we just had to stock them. Beautifully built as you'd expect for a top-line Yamaha, they have a gorgeous rich yet detailed sound quite reminiscent of a valve amp but with oodles of power. The SACD/CD player features digital in so can also be used as a DAC for other digital devices. Full tone controls and a pair or retro VU meters complete the classic look.
Introducing the superb new Arcam CDS27. We've been waiting some considerable time for someone to offer a product like this. Really, it makes so much sense.
Not everyone what to change from physical discs to a network streaming system. Equally many are reluctant to buy a new CD player when technology and the market seems to be moving away from physical media.
Uniquely Arcam have taken this opportunity to offer a network player (streamer) and SACD/CD player in one box, the CDS27.
Two things in particular make this offering outstanding to us. Firstly it sounds absolutely superb. Making music sound fun and highly entertaining whilst retaining Arcam's well established smooth sound.
But even better than this is the asking price of £800. Yes that's £800 and not a typo.
A full UPnP network player capable of playing up to 24/192 high-definition files and a SACD/CD player including full balanced output (single ended as well of course) for just £800. Remarkable.
Full technical details can be found here:
The first new product from Rega for 2015 is their Apheta 2 moving coil cartridge.
Outwardly at first glance it looks identical to the original but close inspection reveals that every component including the beautifully machined aluminium body is new. This is now a one-piece design removing the separate part to which the magnet assembly is affixed. The purpose of this is to eliminate unwanted resonance between the 2 parts.
From their site:
Conventional MC cartridges utilize a steel suspension system (tie wire) which creates a high amplitude H.F. resonance (normally around 8-12kHz). Such resonance is unacceptable and is usually damped by a rudimentary piece of foam rubber.
However, the foam rubber deteriorates with age and cannot prevent the complete structure from vibrating and "ringing".
The specifics and adjustment of the tie wire and damping determine whether the cartridge is under damped (bright) or over damped (warm and bass heavy).
A happy medium is rarely achieved.
This encouraged Rega to pursue a new direction inspired by modern materials and the basic laws of magnetism. The Apheta 2 contains neither a tie wire nor a foam damper.
Moving coil aficionados will all recognise the long search for super clear, high frequency combined with firm, tight bass.
Apheta 2 retains the same non tie-wire design that made the original such a unique design. The removal of the tie-wire (which is highly resonant and requires the use of a rubber damper)
The magnet is now a super powerful neodymium type. The coils are meticulously hand wound on an iron cross 50% smaller than before. This results in a lower moving mass for even better tracking. The output is thus lowered from a rather beefy 500mv to a more useable 350mv, which will be easer to match with some phonostages.
The one part carried over is the stylus, which remains a Vital line-contact type, nude mounted.
Outward appearance may appear much the same but the sound is not. Brand new out of the box our rep’s new demo unit, upon first needle drop became our demo one.
This has to be one of the most refined cartridges I’ve ever heard. Gone is any trace of brightness or ‘sizzle’ that the original could be provoked into on some discs whilst not loosing any detail or high frequency information. In fact there is now so much more to listen to without any loss of musicality. Nowhere was this more apparent than voices. Sibilants are rendered totally natural, eerily so.
What also struck me was the almost total lack of surface noise. Indeed on the new reissue of Jethro Tull's Warchild I turned up my amp close to max during a very quiet passage and was amazed by the almost CD-like quietness. Also seemingly absent was any end of side distortion. All this should mean it's great for classical music lovers not just old rockers like me.
Bass is full, taught and powerful the like I’ve never heard from a Rega cartridge before. In fact, so taken was I with its performance I took it home to play on my set-up. By 2 am I had to force myself to go to bed!! Enough said.
It gets better. Rega now bundle the Apheta 2 with both the RP8 and RP10 and has lifted the respective performances to another level for just a mere £100 increase.
The Apheta 2 retails at £998, up from £920 and to me represents a real bargain in high-end moving coil cartridges, my home demo is testimony to that and I foresee many on non-Rega turntables. I suspect supply will be very short as I’m informed, due to finer manufacturing tolerances after major investment in high definition magnification equipment, maximum output will be 3 per day for the entire world supply.
On permanent demo on the ‘house system’ for any impromptu listen. Bring a record in and prepare to be amazed.
Simon
Apheta 1 left, Apheta 2 on the right.
Firstly we would like to wish all our customers, past and present, a Happy New Year.
2014 was a great year for us and our suppliers with a host of fabulous new
products, many achieving awards.
Highlights include:
Two new products from Rega, the Elex-R amplifier and of course their new flagship turntable, the RP10.
Naim Audio introduced their first ever all-in-one music player, the mu-so, by far the best sounding product of its type and already a big success.
They have also now added Spotify Connect on all their network players and Uniti products which also now feature Bluetooth connectivity.
Chord Electronics Hugo has been a true ‘game changer’, a remarkable product which has been applauded the world over. Now available in black.
Chord Hugo, now also available in silver.
Neat Accoustics loudspeakers, especially the Motive range, has proven to be one of our best sellers last year, a perfect complement to our amplifier range.
The Well Tempered Versalex turntable. A truly awesome product thanks to its fresh design and engineering.
Well Tempered Versalex
So, what can one expect from us in 2015?
Well, firstly we are delighted to announce the introduction to our loudspeaker portfolio of Shahinian Loudspeakers from the USA. These highly exclusive speakers offer a somewhat different perspective from the norm that we know many will enjoy.
We intend a more detailed blog post soon.
Shahinian Compass 2
Compass 2
Shahinian Arc 2
Arc 2
There are a few other significant announcement coming soon, we’ll keep you posted.
Simon
We are pleased to announce a fun filled Chord Company cable demonstration day on Saturday 22nd November. Matt from Chord Company will be present to help answer any questions you may have as well as lending a helping hand with both of our demonstration areas.
The main rolling demonstration will be held in the storefront and here we will be highlighting the importance of improving the quality of your Ethernet cables - Crucial in these days of streaming content!
Our main demo room will be given over entirely to the pleasures of Analogue and Digital interconnects plus of course the all important speaker cables.
If you would like a demonstration of a specific interconnect or speaker cable then please get in touch at least one week prior to the event and we will do our utmost to make it happen for you!
If you have any questions or would like to request a specific cable for demonstration then please get in touch via Email Here or call us on 0118 958 5463 - We look forward to seeing you on the day!
Just arrived, the long awaited Naim Audio mu-so wireless music system.
A detailed blog post to come but really busy right now, so here's a sneak view.
For the record, it's sounds absolutely amazing and clearly defines the state-of-the-art for such a system or my maybe any system at the asking price of just £895, incredible.
Beautiful interface. Similar to their Statement amplifier, a shear delight to use.
Out-of-this-world build quality and feel. No photo does justice.
We were expecting the usual Naim greatness but really, not this!
Come along and have a listen and feel. On permanent display in store, no need to book.
We are thrilled to announce the arrival of the Well Tempered Versalex turntable to our range.
Looks can be deceptive: read on
The Versalex is the new range-topping brainchild of William Firebaugh. He’s been designing unique turntables for decades and the Versalex is the pinnacle of his radical thinking. Read his philosophy here. Where most alternatives follow a well trodden path of design and are essentially therefore variations of popular themes, William started afresh.
First off, the plinth is wood but not just any wood to look pretty, no, its 30mm solid Baltic birch ply and veneered on top with a most pleasing walnut. This not only gives this un-suspended deck weight but is naturally damped too, something close to the designer’s heart, more later.
Turntable designers the world over, have striven to design better decks spending considerable amounts on more exotic materials to allow the machining of ever finer bearing tolerances. William’s solution was to remove ALL arm bearings. Yes you did read that correctly, his arms have no bearings whatsoever. The problem as he sees it is no matter how fine the tolerances there must always be some free-play as a perfect fit would mean they could not move at all. This free-play manifests itself as ‘chatter’ that the cartridge easily picks up.
Atop this deck is mounted what appears to be a quite conventional looking tonearm but closer inspection shows that’s far from the truth. The all-new LTD tonearm is now an all-in-one unit rather than three separate components mounted on the plinth of previous designs which makes it easier to set up and use. It even has a built-in cue lever!
Note the twist in the suspending filament. It's also the variable bias, clever.
From the ‘sharp end’ the arm features a fixed unique geometry headshell mounted on a soft sand filled aluminium tube (more damping). This is attached to an aluminium mount on top of what may look like to you a half of a golf ball. That’s because that’s exactly what it is. William realised he didn’t need to re-invent what has already been perfected at the cost of millions, a sphere, although for his purposes, half of one. The first units used a whole ball as seen here but the arm has recently been redesigned with the machined metal top.
If you look closely you should spot half of a golf ball
This sphere is a qualitative step up from the previous ‘paddle’ of the original design. Underneath that, lies the next innovative aspect of the design, thick silicone damping fluid. The whole tonearm assembly is suspended from a gallows above by a filament with one half twist. Another stroke of genius, this half twist provides the necessary bias or antiskate but what’s more, it’s variable as in theory it should be, such is the force to untwist which increases towards end of side. Brilliantly simple. The sphere is part submerged in the damping fluid cup which can be raised or lowered to alter the amount of damping to suit the partnering system. It is then left with no further set-up required.
The stainless steel ring atop the gallows from which the suspension filament is hung rotates to allow for on-the-fly azimuth or HTA (horizontal tracking angle) adjustment, this just gets more logical as it continues. What’s more by dint of the damping fluid the VTF (vertical tracking force) is also automatic ie as the groove forces the arm to raise the VTF increases slightly to maintain full and perfect contact with the groove wall. It works too; you’ll hear NO mistracking on even the most tortuous records.
The next unique aspect of Well Tempered turntables is the main bearing design. Well Tempered call it a Zero Tolerance design. Unlike the arm, the platter needs a main bearing upon which to rotate but again unlike ANY other it is NOT a sleeve design. As with arm bearings, William argues a sleeve with any tolerance is still imperfect, it will inevitably still ‘chatter’ to some extent and the pick-up will resolve this as unwanted noise. The solution is his next stroke of lateral thinking. A round spindle in a triangular hole. Yes, again you read that correctly. The bearing spindle tip rests in a Teflon cup and against just two sides of the triangular Teflon opening in a tube filled with a very light oil. What you have here is a three-point mount in constant contact so no ‘chatter’, zero tolerance.
Like a round peg in a triangular hole, no, it is a round peg in a triangular hole!
The last of the unique design features is the belt. When I say belt, that’s not strictly correct. Surely at this point you didn’t expect the designer to settle for a rubber band did you? That would simply transfer motor vibration, however small to the platter. No, no rubber band here. Instead we have a 0.004" non-elastic mono-filament. This ensures perfect isolation and prevents the bearing spindle from ‘falling over’ and making contact with the third side of the triangular opening. The platter is solid acrylic and over-sized for better rotational stability. The matt is of a fine foam which is easier to keep clean than the usual felt mats.
'Belt' If you drop it you'll stuggle to find it. Don't worry, there's more in the box and they're free for life.
Phew! I think I’ve covered everything. No? Oh yes, how does all this design translate into its sound?
Well none of us here have experienced quite what a Well Tempered is capable of until now. Each of us here use markedly different decks and there is some friendly banter and ribbing but on this we are as one. The very first thought is of total stability. Everything is absolutely rock solid in its soundscape and where it should be. Pitch and timing appear perfect. No harshness whatsoever, even on some pretty old vinyl. Dynamics are out of this world. Backgrounds optimise what we refer to as inky blackness and vinyl roar seems remarkably absent. The music simply flows.
The detail and resolution are a revelation but not in a overtly 'HiFi' or analytical way, just totally natural and unforced. There's not a trace of bloom or excess of any part of the audio spectrum but the bass plumbs the depths like few others whilst managing to articulate each and every note with ease.There's real pace and drive without it sounding artificial or contrived.
Voices such as Joni Mitchell's sound hauntingly present whilst piano has real scale and resonance. Listening to Richard and Linda Thompson's 'Poor Little Beggar Girl' from their 'I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight' album, both guitar and mandolin sounded better than I've ever heard them before, missing was the added warmth other decks render but at the same time the bass guitar and drums remained with driving force.
It’s like listening to the source tape with all of the emotion of the performance flooding through.
Lastly, this is not a deck to fret over. It requires no servicing. There are no upgrades, tweaks or third party mods to spend your hard-earned cash on, you’ll just be buying a LOT of records. The output is via a pair of phono sockets allowing options for arm-lead and naturally you can upgrade your cartridge. We are reliably informed it can take anything at any quality, right up to the truly exotic. Your cartridge is in for 'the ride of its life!' John at Pear Audio uses a Dynavector XV-1t at £5,500. Replacement belts are free for life too.
If that’s not enough to whet your appetite, then bring in a record or two, as it’s on front of house alongside other favourites, and judge for yourselves.
I’ve been using another very well known deck at home at various spec levels for exactly twenty-nine years but will I get to thirty?
£3495 excl. cartridge.
(Cartridge shown is a Dynavector XX2 @ £1049)
Simon
Unboxing
Packaging quality. Bottom left is the tin for the free electronic stylus force gauge
Plinth with beautiful walnut veneer
Tonearm componets
Precision made tonearm component detailing 'gallows pole' and damping fluid trough
Cartridge option: Dynavector XX2 on our demo deck
We had a good turn out for the 'Spiders from Mars' album event, filling out our dem room nicely. Especially satisfying as I had managed to book it on the same evening as England's ''crunch' game (the less said about that the better)!
The wine was flowing and snacks duly supplied, before warming up with a bit of London Grammar (a great, great recording) before diving into Ziggy. Feet were tapping and to quote the cliche "a great time was had by all".
A bit of 'Hunky Dory' and a chat to wind down with before our customers went on their merry way.
If anyone has any albums that they would like to hear, please let me know as we are always looking for ideas.
This is in essence a two-part review.
1. The new Chord Electronics Hugo portable DAC/Headphone amplifier (£1400)
2. Qobuz music streaming service.
Qobuz is a fairly new to the UK music streaming service from France offering uncompressed CD quality and also up to 24/192 for £19.99 pm (they also offer 320kbps for £9.99 but that’s the same as Spotify so I’ve not included it)
The burning questions are:
How good is the Qobuz service? and is it better than the competition and worth the premium asked?
Can it really replace the need for physical media and downloads? Can the inclusion of the Hugo really offer a true high-end music & HiFi experience?
So I took the Hugo home for an extended listen in a known system/room and put up to some extremely strong competition, ie my regular Rega Reference set-up in the form of the Isis CD player (£6175) into the Osiris amplifier (£6175), both known for their incredible resolution and musicality.
I used the Qobuz app via an iPhone 4S and an Arcam drDock (£199) linked via a Chord company Prodac digital interconnect (£85). All hooked up to the amp with Chord Company Sarum Tuned Aray interconnects. Isis via balanced and Hugo by RCA. A tough test if ever there was one!
After switching the Hugo to line level and making small adjustments to the output level to equal that of the Isis, I listened to a variety of music including LA Woman by the Doors to Amorica by The Black Crowes.
From the off, it was quite clear there was very little between them both in terms of sonics and timing, so much so that at times I had forgotten which I was listening too! I wasn’t expecting that, especially from a stream via my iPhone. As the phone is outputting SPDIF the same results should be gained from most other devises with a digital output I assume.
Of course the Rega Isis had the distinct advantage of the balanced output so I then compared the Hugo with the Rega both this time using RCAs.
This time the Hugo won hands down and as this is more relevant a comparison for most end users, all the more revelatory.
So to answer the above questions:
Qobuz really does offer CD and better quality. One no longer has to be penalised qualitatively for wishing to stream their music rather than play CDs or their rips.
Value? Well at £19.99 per month you have unlimited access to 18 million songs all in 16/44.1 over 12,000 albums of which are in 24/96-192. Including offline ie downloaded to the devise itself.
Can it match a true high-end set-up?
You bet! But you’ll need a DAC as extraordinary as the Hugo to achieve it. This diminutive box packs a massive punch regardless and has to considered a bargain, oh and it’s a top-notch portable headphone amplifier and by dint of battery power so totally portable.
Can this set-up really replace the need for physical media or downloads? Absolutely, yes.
However, if like me, you has hundreds or even thousands of CDs then you might question the value of a £20 per month premium, unless of course you or your partner would like to be clear of piles of discs. If however, your music collection is still rather modest but quality aspirations are high, then Qobuz + Hugo is a great combination for sure.
For the month of June 2014, Qobuz, the world’s first true CD quality streaming service, in conjunction with Audio-T, is offering a free, no obligation 2 week trial (no credit card details required unlike their regular trial) Just pop in for the unique access code.
Qobuz is compatible with PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Kindle, and Windows and fully integrated with Sonos, Bluesound, Popcorn Hour, XBMC and Sueezebox and new partner to come later this year.
Simon
Spring is here, although you'd hardly know it.
To help cheer you up, we are rotating a lot of our demo Naim Audio components and therefore there are a host of beautiful un-marked Naim products on our clearance page at great prices. All offering are of one unit. All models are the most recent Naim produce. We do intend continuing with each and every model to offer the same range for future demonstrations.
Here's a list with links to our online store pages:
Naim CD5si SOLD
Naim Uniti 2 SOLD
Naim NDS (inc Burndy) SOLD
Naim DAC-V1 SOLD
Naim DAC SOLD
Naim CD5XS SOLD
Naim UnitiLite SOLD
Naim XPS-2 SOLD
Naim Supercap DR SOLD
Headline 2 SOLD
The popular award winning B&W 600 series loudspeakers have been replaced by the all-new 600 S2 range.
Sleeker in design and with a better finish, all model incorporate the new Decoupled Double Dome tweeter that graces the CM9.
This makes them the most technically advanced 'affordable' loudspeaker range currently available and probably the best sound too.
All models available in either black or white finishes.
At Audio T we're always excited to share with you our thoughts and musings on the latest and greatest Hi-Fi and home audio! Our blog features news and reviews from individual stores and occasional blogs from HQ; select your nearest store from the list below to find out what they've been up to.
