Rega launch Saturn-R and lands in Reading!!
/Rega's long awaited Saturn-R CD-DAC Player arrived 5 minutes ago and is straight out of it's box and running in the store-front coupled to the Elicit-R.
Rega Saturn-R Arrives! CD But Not As We Know It Jim.
/The eagerly awaited and much anticipated Rega Saturn-R CD player has just arrived at Audio T in Chandlers Ford!
This full width Rega product is housed in high quality and satisfyingly heavy metal casework. It is far more than just a CD player. In fact it is effectively two products packaged as one: a high quality CD transport with improved power supply, and other tweaks, plus a fully independent and upgraded DAC.
The DAC section is well endowed with socketry including a fully asynchronous USB input and is capable of 192Khz - 24 bit resolution.
The CD player and DAC are both fully, and independently, controllable by the logical and clear controls of the included Solaris remote handset.
The Rega Apollo Saturn-R is a fantastic product in its own right and the ideal partner for the superb Elicit-R integrated amplifier. This pairing offer outstanding sound quality and punch way above their price point of £1598.00 each, giving more expensive products some serious competition.
Anyone looking for a thoroughly musical CD player and DAC need look no further than the Saturn-R. Add an Elicit-R and a pair of Rega or PMC speakers and you'll have a system which will have you playing more and more music at home and leaving the TV switched off.
Just give us a few days to warm up and run in our demo Saturn-R and give us a ring (get it it?) to arrange a demonstration. We're sure you will love what you hear!
Ruark MR1 Active Speakers
/If you are looking for affordable active speakers then you really should look at these little beauties.
Ruark MR1's are truly versatile speakers, equipped with both line and high quality Bluetooth aptX inputs, plus a subwoofer output for potential upgrades. Using Ruark's own bespoke high quality drive units and class a/b amplifiers, they sound amazing and retail for only £299.
Suitable applications include: HiFi, computer audio, Bluetooth streaming and as an upgrade to your TV audio (either via the line in or your television's Bluetooth output if equipped).
Available in white, black or walnut veneer. A remote control comes as standard and an optional battery pack can be added for truly portable use.
If you want to find more about these speakers please visit the Ruark Audio website.
Or if you would like to see them on our website and read reviews from our customers.
Jony Ive & Marc Newson love the design of the Rega RP8
/
18 of the Best Designs of All Time, Picked by Jony Ive and Marc Newson.
And the spectacular Rega RP8 is one of them. Well done Rega.
Wired have posted an article asking Jony Ive (the Apple design guru) and Marc Newson to pick some of their favorite designs.
See the link here.
And just a quick reminder, we actually have the amazing Rega RP8 on display and demonstration at the Manchester store.
Please feel free to call in anytime and have a listen.
Tel: 0161 839 8869
email: manchester@audio-t.co.uk
web: www.audio-t.co.uk
We are open Monday to Saturday 9:30 - 17:30
and Sunday 11:30 - 16:30
Wot No Phase Cap????......
/
Monitor Audio have just updated the ever popular Silver series, now replacing the "RX" moniker with "Silver" as the new model name.
As you can see, one of the key changes are the removal of the phase cap.
Monitor Audio's new drive units use a new rigid surface technology (RST),Ceramic-Coated Aluminum/Magnesium (C-CAM®) drivers, which seem to elimate the need for a phase alignment cap.
Our initial reaction to Silver series is very positive. The new drive units sound much more detailed than the RX series.
They also have very quick response times, resulting in sound that is much faster than its predecessors.
They look great too.
The Silver 1 in gloss black.
The Silver 2 in black.
The Silver series sub in walnut.
We have a range of Monitor Audio Silver Series on demo at our Manchester store including:
Silver 1
Silver 2
Silver 6
Silver 10
Silver Center
Silver Subwoofer
Please feel free to contact the store and arrange a demonstration.
Audio-T Manchester
Tel: 0161 839 8869 email: manchester@audio-t.co.uk web: www.audio-t.co.uk We are open Monday to Saturday 9:30 - 17:30 and Sunday 11:30 - 16:30
Owners Manual for Men! - Monitor Audio Airstream S300
/Another new toy has arrived with us - the Monitor Audio Airstream S300.
Opening the box you will see the "quick start quide"... at this point I thought: here we go another simple guide to nowhere! but I was soon to be proved wrong....
As you can see, it looks too good to be true.... again being the cynic I still didn't believe it was going to be this easy..... but following the isntructions (as most blokes will only use as a last resort)... it was up and running in minutes...
Hard wiring the device of choice to the rear panel as instructed... a few more button presses and we were away...
So.. how does it perform?
I had just perched the Airstream on an easy to access shelf in the shop to set it up which was obviously not the best place for it, but the Airstream has a brilliant setup feature called APC - Automatic Position Correction. Test tones are output by the Airstream which are measured by it's built in microphone and then setting the equalisation of the Airstram - genius!. Again, so simple to operate so that if you do move the Airstream to different locations around the house you know it will perform to the best of it's ability.
I used our iPad via Airplay which worked perfectly, but if you don't have wifi or it will be placed in a location that has no wi-fi available then it can also be set-up to play directly "point to point" as they call it so no need for wi-fi which would be ideal for the kids in their bedroom for example...
Sound quality is fantastic for it's size! probably the best thing about it was it's off axis performance, a lot of airplay devices or docks can often sound great only when you are head on to them whereas the Airstream sounds great when you are way off centre, and for the headbangers it goes plenty loud enough!!
It is available in black and white too! Click here for more details and specs on the Monitor Audio Airstream S300 You can also read more at the Monitor Audio site
It's permanently wired up in the shop so just ask for a demo next time you call in.....
more new toys coming soon...
A First For Audio T Cardiff, A First For The U.K.
/This week, Audio T Cardiff became the first UK dealer to sell the stunning Project Signature Turntable. This superbly engineered and crafted turntable weighing in at a massive 75Kg when packed in it's wooden crate was expertly set up at the customers home by ourselves and Duncan Quemby the Project representative.
The lid off, showing the ample packaging with the arm and suspended feet.
The top packaging removed allowing plenty of space to lift the turntable carefully out of the crate.
Out of the box! The twin drive motors, the heavy inverted bearing assembly and arm pivot can clearly be seen along with the LCD display.
Next the turntable placed on the stand and the platter carefully placed on its bearing. The flywheel pulley and the three drive belts were then fitted.
Next the arm was placed on the uni-pivot bearing and the signal leads connected. The arm height was then checked and adjusted accordingly.
The Ortofon Cadenza Black MC cartridge was then fitted to the headshell using the supplied alignment jig.
Them came the setting of the tracking weight using the supplied electronic guage. A recomended tracking force of 2 - 2.5 grams for this cartridge.
Phew! it's done. Record on, glass of wine and feet up! Perfect!
Classic Album Evenings 2nd & 3rd of December Featuring KEF Blade
/Following the success of our eighth Classic Vinyl Evening, we are pleased to announce Classic Vinyl Nights number nine.
They will be on Monday 2nd & 3rd of December and once again will be held at the Fusion Room restaurant, 80 Friargate, Preston, PR1 2ED, at 6.30pm 7pm start.
Click the link to find where we will be http://www.fusionroom.co.uk/
We are doing this over two evenings as we know demand will be very high,and we have limited seating available,so confirming via email is essential.
When confirming please let us know how many places and what night you will be attending, Monday 2nd or Tuesday 3rd.
The equipment we are using
Speakers KEF Blades
Amp Yamaha a-s3000
Turntable Rega rp8 inc apheta moving coil cart
Speaker cables Chord Sarum
Chord Sarum links
Chord Sarum phono to phono
We have decided not play a complete album,but to play a selection of tracks from previous evenings along with others,to show off the speakers.
We are going to start a little earlier, arrive at 6.30pm and start at 7pm
If you are interested in joining us please email the store preston@audio-t.co.uk or call us on 01772 883958 to confirm your place
If you require any additional information, please feel free to contact us.
We look forward to seeing you
Ian, Gavin and Andy
4K Comes To Pompey!
/The stunning Sony 4K TV is now running in our demo room with 4K clips, so you can get a taste of what your next TV will look like! At four times the resolution of normal High Definition it really is "like looking through a window". It's remarkably afordable at £3299 for a 55", considering it wasn't that long ago we were selling 42" plasmas for £7000!
KEF Reference!!
/The KEF Blades may have gone back home to the factory (boo!) but those lovely people at KEF have left us a beautiful pair of Reference 203/2 for the dem room.
They are finished in an exquisite deep metallic midnight blue and sound every bit as good as they look
We've been running them with Chord and Heed electronics and a variety of sources including our trusty Michell Gyrodec. Feel free to drop in and have a listen
Give us a call, Paul or Danny on 01277 264730 or email us at brentwood@audio-t.co.uk
Neat Acoustics loudspeakers arrive at Reading Audio-T
/We are very proud to announce the addition on Neat Acoustics loudspeakers to our range.
These beautifully discrete speakers pack a mighty punch whilst remaining true to the music. Uniquely they imbue the warmth and smoothness often associated with much larger designs and make natural partners with Naim and Rega amplifier among others.
Currently we have the tiny IOTA bookshelf monitor, all three of the new Motive SX models, 1,2 &3 as well as the Isobarik bass loaded Momentum 4i, (they’ve taken pride of place in front-of-house, running in over the last 2 weeks and we’re enjoying every minute of them. It’s a hard life I know but someone has to do it!), which are all now fully run-in and on demonstration.
We are very excited to have Neat here in Reading and hope you will enjoy them too.
You can find full details of specifications and finishes available and the rest of Neat’s range here: http://www.neat.co.uk/
Seeing is Believing.
/We now have the Sony KD55X9005 TV on display at the Preston store and it is a truly amazing television. It is packed to brim with all the latest and best technology that you could ask for in a set. It boasts the next generation 4K resolution of 3840x2160 , add to that Sony's Triluminos display for an even greater range of colours and their X-Reality PRO chip and you are left with the best image quality on a television that we have ever seen.
Come into the Preston store and see for yourself.
http://www.sony.co.uk/hub/4k-promo?campaignId=12003040&s_kwcid=bravia|33006741311
The Blades have arrived!
/In anticipation of our KEF/Heed/Audioquest event on Thursday the 7th of November the magnificent KEF Blade speakers are now ensconced in our dem room
Resplendant in an amazing orange finish they are making some quite magnificent sounds at the moment.
Come along on Thursday or before if you have the time to hear what these amazing speakers can do!!
Give us a call, Paul or Danny 01277 264730
Spaces still available for Naim Factory Tour 15th November
/Are you a Naim fan or interested in how your Naim equipment is assembled, well we have six spaces for a tour of the factory on the 15th November.
We have held several tours over the last couple of years which have had great feedback. Customers came away with a sense of pride and understanding of how world class British HiFi is manufactured.
The itinerary for the day is as follows:
- Arrive at 10.30am for a meet and greet with tea or coffee.
- Factory tour starts at 11.00am which will be led by Jason Gould a longstanding Naim rep.
- Lunch is at 1.30pm in the Naim canteen.
- We will retire to the demonstration room at 2.30pm were Jason will demonstrate various Naim products from the range.
- Departure is at 4.00pm were you will receive a Naim goodie bag (No they is not a free CD player or Unitilite in the bag).
Spaces are on a first come bases so don't hesitate to contact Phil or Andy to book your space on the following number or email address.
Tel: 01793 538222
Email: swindon@audio-t.co.uk
Focal & Naim Come Together for an Exclusive Offer.
/Naim have teamed up with their partners, Focal, to offer customers in the UK a special introductory price on the new Focal Aria 906 and Aria 926 loudspeakers with their award-winning NaimUniti 2 all-in-one player.
Both the floorstanding Aria 926 and the more compact Aria 906 are perfect partners for the NaimUniti 2. Together they can create a simple, stylish music system which will deliver high-end sound quality from your network, digital music sources and CDs.
Focal Aria 926 on the left and the Focal Aria 906 above.
Naim Uniti below was revitalised and relaunched as Naim Uniti 2 in 2012.
With a new 70W integrated amplifier (NaimUniti 50W) the NaimUniti 2 can accommodate a wider range of loudspeakers and fill even larger rooms with the extra power. It also a boasts an entirely new CD player section, with improved tray, clamping mechanism and the new Burr Brown PCM1793 DAC.
The new inverted dome TNF tweeter on the Aria 926 and Aria 906. Check out Focal's spec sheet here.
Flax cones are designed and manufactured in France, from french flax fiber.
France is the main cultivator in Europe of fiber flax, principally in Flanders, Picardy, Normandy and the Pas-de-Calais region. French flax is considered the best in the world.
Take a look at Focal's website here for more information on this new cutting edge material know as Flax.
Fit and finish from Focal on the Aria range is really quite special considering the price.
That's leather on the front and back!
The mirrored glass top plate completes the high quality finish of the Aria.
The following system offers are available for a limited period from Audio T Manchester.
System Offer 1
NaimUniti 2 £2,795
Aria 906 £898 (gloss black)
Normal system price £3,693
OFFER PRICE £2,995
System Offer 2
NaimUniti 2 £2,795
Aria 926 £1,998 (gloss black)
Normal system price £4,793
OFFER PRICE £3,995
System Offer 3
NaimUniti 2 £2,795
Aria 926 £1,798 (walnut)
Normal system price £4,593
OFFER PRICE £3,795
System Offer 4
NaimUniti 2 £2,795
Aria 906 £758 (walnut)
Normal system price £3,553
OFFER PRICE £2,855
Audio-T Manchester
Tel: 0161 839 8869
email: manchester@audio-t.co.uk
web: www.audio-t.co.uk
We are open Monday to Saturday 9:30 - 17:30
and Sunday 11:30 - 16:30
Arcam, REL & The Chord Company Enfield Store Event
/Join us on the 16th & 17th of November as we showcase Arcam's superb 450 & 750 AVRs! If that isn't enough, we will be demonstrating how these two highly respectable systems can be improved further by using Chord Co. Tuned ARAY cables for music & REL Subwoofers for music & movies.
We will be kicking off with Arcam's AVR450, BDP300 & irDAC partnered with KEF speakers. The Chord Co. Chorus Reference will be replaced with the Signature Tuned ARAY...
Then followed by REL's Awesome T-7 & the discrete on wall Habitat1.
We will then move on to Arcam's Flagship AVR the AVR750, BDP300 & D33 partnered with B&W speakers.(where the all New CM10's will be making an appearance!)
This time The Chord Co. Anthem Reference will be replaced by the Indigo Tuned ARAY...
REL's R328 will also join the party, followed by the monster that is REL's G-2!
So whether you're interested in Arcam's new AVRs, what Chord Tuned ARAY is all about, to find out what performance gains come from using REL subwoofers, to listen to the new B&W CM10's, or to nibble on some lovely cheeses & drink fine wine : p book a place and come on down.
There will be a prize draw for one lucky winner who books and attends the event, for the chance to win the fantastic Arcam rBlink!
Me,John & Jason look forward to seeing you
Please contact us either by phone or email to book a place
The bookable slots on both days are as follows:
11:00 - 12:00
12:30 - 1:30
2:00 - 3:00
3:30 - 4:30
5:00 - 6:00
Audio-T Enfield
Tel: 0208 367 3132
enfield@audio-t.co.uk
Thanks
Simon
New Focal Aria 906 and 926 Loudspeakers
/Focal have introduced the new Aria loudspeakers. Now available for demonstration are the 906 two way stand mount and the 926 three way floor standing loudspeakers.
Both speakers utilise the new Bass / Mid Cone material using a revolutionary Flax Fibre Sandwich cone material. This achieves a very light and stiff cone enabling extremely fast response and excellent bass extension. The new TNF tweeter is directly derived from the famous Utopia Berylium tweeter. It utilises an Aluminium / magnesiun inverted dome with Poron suspension allowing for greatly reduced distortion at the critical frquencies.
On listening both speakers produce an exremely fast dynamic sound with excellent control. They have a beautifully smooth top end and very neutral voicing. Bass extension for a stand mount speaker is class leading on the 906. The bass extension on the 926 just keeps on going down.
The Arias are available in Walnut and High gloss black finishes. The cabinets feature a High gloss glass top panel and leather finished front panels.
A demonstration on these new speakers is highly recommended. And if you're in the market for a pair there is an incredible package offer that could save you up to £800 when you buy them with the Naim Uniti 2.
Focal Aria & Naim Uniti 2: News is the French love the English and the English love the French.
/The Naim Uniti 2 probably needs no introduction here but in case you didn't know it is a one box Hi-Fi.
It includes a CD Player, a DAB and FM tuner, internet connectivity to stream music and access Internet radio and music files stored on your computer or home network. It can play music from an iPhone /iPad/ iPod or from a USB stick (all this can be done with files up to 32bit 192khz ).
It has digital inputs for TV playstation etc, and has analogue inputs so you can plug in a turntable and it includes a fantastic sounding 70w amplifier. Oh and did I say it's made in England. In Salisbury, Wiltshire to be precise.
So there's your amp and sources sorted, what about speakers....
Enter the Focal Aria 926/906. Made in France by one of the worlds biggest and most reknowned speaker manufacturers and these speakers are a perfect match with the Naim Uniti 2.
The bass/ mid drivers are made with the inovotive use of Flax (linseed) fibres sandwiched between two very thin layers of glass fibre. This special technique developed for over 5 years has produced a very light very fast driver with ideal properties for a bass/mid drive unit.
The tweeter has its roots in the famous beryllium inverted domes of the very high end focal speakers. Again it's very fast with low distortion, and being focal, very accurate but at the same time enjoyable to listen to.
Perfect so far but can we make things even better...
We have a special deal on at the moment which could save you up to £800.
Package 1 - Naim Uniti 2 & Focal 906 two way standmount loudspeaker
Package 2 - Naim Uniti 2 & Focal 926 3 way floorstanding loudspeaker
Just combine the Naim Uniti with a pair of Focals.
There are two speaker models to choose from. The 926 is a floorstanding model and looks very elegant in either black or walnut. It is a three way design and suitable for large rooms.
The 906 is a standmount and would be suited to small to mid sized rooms.
Both sets of speakers sound excellent coupled with the Naim Uniti 2 but don't take my word for it, book a demonstration and bring along some music, whether it be on CD, your phone, USB stick or even a piece of vinyl, we are sure you will love what you hear.
Click here for more details.
Classic Album Night Number Eight
/Many thanks to everyone who attended our eighth Classic Album Night on Tuesday 22nd October. It was great to see such a good crowd , with many of our regular fieinds and a few new faces to ,you know who you are :)
This one had a bit of a twist. A different genre of album being "Moon Safari" by "Air" and we used an Arcam AVR 750 surround sound receiver, which in stereo direct drove the Proac D30R speakers exceptionally well. We lost count of the number of nodding heads and tapping feet so we think you must have enjoyed it to.
We must offer speacial thanks to Mick Neil of Arcam and David Johnston of Proac, Two great representatives who were both present to answer any questions of which there were a few.
On the whole, another successful evening. We are looking forward to Classic album night number nine.
We still have both the amplifier and the speakers for the next couple of weeks so if you require a more personal demonstration of either of these components, please feel free to contact us to arrange a demonstration.
Simply a Bargain!
/We have a number of ex-dem Simple Audio Roomplayer 1's for sale at the bargain price of £449.
A saving of £150! Nearly the same price as a SONOS Control Amp.
Able to stream at up to 24 bit resolution aroung the home. Connect it to your itune library and able to support MP3, AAC, WAV, AIFF, FLAC, and Apple Lossless files. Control it from either your desktop or Apple Device.
Capable of multiroom use. Listen to your stored music, Deezer, and Tune In radio anywhere in the home.
This is a great chance to get high quality streaming at a bargain price.
