Harman/Kardon arrives at Audio-T Enfield

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The Harman/Kardon HK3770 is the future of Hi-Fi but doesn't forget it's roots.  

The HK3770 is packed full of features, analogue inputs (inc. a MM phono stage!), Digital inputs (ideal for plugging in your TV to the system), Bluetooth streaming (streaming the easy way from Android or Apple devices), network streaming (stream music from computers or NAS drives), Internet radio (access any radio station anywhere in the world), FM/AM tuner (for good old fashioned & uncomplicated radio) & lastly a USB input (to play music from a USB stick or smart phone).

All of these features yet still as easy to use as a traditional Hi-Fi amplifier. Partner with speakers from £169 upto £500 to hear the best results, come in store to find your best match of speaker.

 

Audio-T

159A Chase Side

Enfield

EN2 0PW

Tel: 0208 367 3132

Focal Aria 948 Speakers - May The Flax Be With You

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Well it is that time of year again when you have a little more time to play with some of those new toys you had in when things were busier.

Enter the Focal Aria 948, a Naim Superuniti and an iPad accessing our Naim HDX cd collection. Our first impressions, even before hitting the play button, were these speakers mean business. We felt the Aria 926 looked impressive but these, a little bigger all round , really do look like they are built for purpose and that being to transport you into a world of 24 hour party people! and if, hopefully, the neighbours are away to rattle their windows into submision.

Saying all of this with whatever music we played they sounded fantastic, bags of detail without any harshness and bass that goes deep but remains firmly under control, in fact the only things out of control were our feet tapping away from track to track, what fun! this is a system we all felt we could happily live with.

Not content with this though we swapped the Superuniti for a Naim NDX, 202 pre amp and 200 power amp, one word, WOW! and we had to stop ourselves just to keep from continually turning it up.

These are fantastic speakers, ones that really respond to system improvements and even though they are on the larger side they will work very well in the average size living room but if you are able to use them in a bigger room with more space around them, I'd suggest you hang on tightly to your hat and any small pets that are in the room with you.

Come in and have a listen.

 

Focal-JMlab Maestro Utopia.

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An invitation to meet the Maestro.

Focal speakers have for a long time been one of our favourites here at Bristol and Focal have not been quiet in developing innovative technologies for us to get our teeth/ears into. For instance we love the new 900 series with their Flax speakers or the popular Electra 1028be with it's sweet sounding beryllium tweeter and dynamic W cones. The technologies built into these speakers like most manufacturers trickles down from the speakers at the top of the range. Enter the Maestro.

 

 

 

One of four speakers in Focals Utopia range and is one of the most sophisticated they produce. Standing almost 1.5m tall and almost half a metre wide they are quite imposing but look fantastic. As their name suggests they don't just play the music but direct the performance in a way that invites the listener in. These speakers really are special and demonstrate admirably why Focal are known as one of the worlds top speaker manufacturers. We have them here at Bristol for evaluation on our main system in the shop. They are sounding great on our Naim NAP300 with an NDS/555 combination as the source and would love to have you guys come and hear them for yourselves.

 

 

Something for the weekend sir!?...

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The last couple of months have seen a couple of cool & interesting new arrivals here at Audio T Swindon from manufactures such as Isotek, Harman Kardon & B&W.

Since our last blog we are now the proud stockist of Isotek products such as the Isotek Evo III Sigmas mains conditioning unit and the Isotek Polaris mains block. Both of these products will dramatically improve the sound that you're currently getting from you system by ensuring that you're getting the cleanest mains supply into your system.

As you may of seen else where on our website, We are now the exclusive stockists of the amazing Harman Kardon HK3770 amplifier which at the bargain price of £430 includes great features such as Bluetooth and Networking which enable the listener to play music that maybe stored on a computers hard drive or a network attached storage device ( NAS ). This is an awful lot of amplifier for the money and strongly urge anyone who is looking to take the plunge into streaming to have a listen to this stereo amplifier. It truly is a bargain!

In other news, we are pleased to announce that we now stock the truly awsome B&W CM10 loudspeakers. These have already proved to be very popular with our customers and are a good addition to our already sizeable range of speakers.

So if you would like to know more about any of the products that have been mention above or maybe even fancy booking a demo or arranging a home loan of a product, why not give us a call or just pop in to the store for a chat.

Give us a call on: 01793 538222

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @AudioTSwindon for more weekly updates.

 

 

 

The Blades Perform at the Bay Supported by Project and Audio-T

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A classic vinyl evening on a fine summer's evening at the Norwegian Church, Cardiff Bay proved to be a great success. When applying for tickets for the event, guests were asked to name their favourite classic album and the popular choice was Peter Gabriel's "So". On arrival a registration form was completed and was subsequently entered into a free prize draw for a pair of KEF Q100s.

 

Here we see Alex and colleague from KEF unwrapping the Blades, while Duncan from Henley Designs carefully sets up the Project Signature turntable.

 

The cartridge fitted to the turntable was the Ortofon MC Anna. Continuing a tradition, Ortofon dedicates this new flagship cartridge to the opera singer Anna Netrebko, a virtuoso whose performance displays a formidable technical arsenal of endless versatility. With the dedication of the MC Anna, Ortofon once again emphasizes the company’s unchanging commitment and devotion to the music and to the purest delivery of recorded sound. Much like Anna Netrebko, Ortofon aspires to provide the ultimate musical experience through a mixture of innovation and technical expertise, combined with inspiration that goes beyond mere thought to reveal true inner emotion.

 

Ready to perform. The Project Signature turntable placed on an Atacama bamboo rack, along with the Project Phono Box RS and Electrocampaniet pre-amp and Nemo mono blocks. The Blades were connected to the power amps using the new Chord Signature Reference speaker cable. The balanced interconnect used between the phono stage and pre-amp was the Chord Indigo Tuned Array.

 

The evening started with a presentation by Alex and a short film about the history of the Blades.

 

Peter Gabriel was played in its entirety in the first half and after a short break we settled down to Side 2 of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" The evening came to a close with the prize draw.

 

Lucky prize winner Cai Strachan receiving his pair of KEF Q100 from store manager Hefin Jones.

Special thanks must go to Alex Foxon of KEF, Duncan Quemby of Henley Designs and the staff at the Norwegian Church for their kind hospitality.

 

Cyrus Lyric 09 Ticks All The Boxes!

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When we first saw pictures of the Cyrus Lyric we weren't convinced that the radically different look was a great move for Cyrus.  

The instantly recognisable half width cast alloy casework has for so long been the familiar face of Cyrus products that the Lyric's unique full width styling came as a bit of a suprise.

Now that we have had our demo Lyric 09 for a few weeks the looks have grown on us and the quality of the metalwork and elegant front panel impresses far more than mere pictures would suggest.

What has really won us over though is the stunning performance of the Lyric 09.  Naim have dominated this sector for some time with the wonderful Uniti 2 and we have been mightily impressed that Cyrus have produced a truly worthy contender to give our customers a real choice of great one box solutions at around £3000.

Cyrus have incorporated quality components from its range of separate components to great effect.  The slot loading CD mechanism is the same as the CD T transport and the streaming section comes from the Stream XP2 QX.  In addition DAB, FM and internet radio are provided, along with Bluetooth, using the higher quality aptX codec.  

Inputs are comprehensive, including one front and one rear USB A sockets for external hard drives, MP3 players and Apple devices.  A USB B input enables connection of a computer and there are sufficient analogue and digital sockets to cover pretty much any scenario.

Control is via touch sensitive front panel controls, with a front panel display capable of portaying a detailed image of album artwork, a good quality and well laid out remote control or the Cyrus Cadence app for iOS and Android devices.  The Cadence app is intuitive to use and offers comprehensive control with the virtual volume knob being a particularly nice touch.

The features tick most of the boxes but none of this matters if the sound quality doesn't deliver.  I'm glad to say that we have been blown away by the audio performance of Lyric 09.  Cyrus have really excelled here with 170 watt (into 8 ohms) per channel and music of all types is delivered with effortless openness and clarity.  Dynamics are produced with real scale and subtle detail is handled with delicacy. This is a stunning one box solution which does not compromise performance for convenience.

Give us a call to book a demo or just call in as the Lyric 09 is normally running in the front of our shop as we can't get enough of it!

See you soon,

Alan and John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New REL S

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Exciting news, REL have released the new "S" series of subwoofers to replace the "R" series and we have the S3 and S5 on demo now.

The S2 replaces the R218, the S3 replaces the R328 and the S5 replaces the R528. However, REL have increased the price to £999, £1299 and £1599 respectively, so are they worth the serious hike in price?

The new "S" series can be made wireless, like the Habitat model, with REL's fancy Longbow tech which has zero compresion and almost instant transfer of data. However, if you are like us you don't mind hiding the wire are you paying the extra money for that? In a word no.

The new models are definately sexier looking than the "R" range (if a subwoofer can be sexy!) The old "R" range were always our favourite subs, after a quick listen to the new S5 it sounds tighter and faster than the old R528, definately better with music. With home cinema it sounds a little restrained at the moment, but the sub still needs running in. We will report back when the unit has had 20 hours or so of running.

GoldenEar Aon 3 and Triton Seven

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New to the Cheltenham Branch.

We have just added two new speakers to our extensive range. The award winning GoldenEar Aon 3 Stand mount loudspeaker and the GoldenEar Triton Seven floorstanders.

Both speakers feature a high velocity folded ribbon tweeter offering exceptionally smooth and detailed presentation of the high frequenies and an almost holographic sound stage.

GoldenEar Aon 3 are an extremely compact high performance standmount loudspeaker. They utilise a cast basket 7" Bass/Mid driver. This is complimented by a single side firing 8" planar low frequency passive radiator in a dynamically balanced configuration. This properly loads the Bass/Mid driver giving an extremely open mid range and remakably extended bass for such a small enclosure.

GoldenEar Triton Seven uses a highly advanced bass loading technology. Mid/Bass is handled by two 5.25" cast basket drivers coupled to two 8" side firing sub bass radiators. Coupled with the folded ribbon tweeter the sound produced by these speakeers really does belie their size. They have all the upper mid qualities of the Aon 3 but also offer fantastic bass extension that really enhances the listening experience, particulalry large scale classical and Rock Music.

Both loudspeakers are now available for demonstration.

Specifications:

Aon 3

Frequency - 38Hz to 35kHz.

Efficiency - 90dB

Impedance 8 ohms

Recommended Amplifier 10 to 250 Watts

Dimensions 229mm W, 299mm D, 356mm H

Triton Seven

Frequency - 29Hz to 35kHz

Efficiency - 89dB

Impedance - 8 ohms

Recommended Amplifier 10 to 300 Watts

Dimensions 267mm W, 386mm D, 1010mm H

 

Valhalla awaits those who ride with the Valkyries...

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...well musical valhalla at least.

Introducing the new Aedle VK-1 Valkyrie.

 

Now, the headphone market is absolutely bursting at the seems at the moment and it always seems like another copycat headphone brand pops up everyday, and that's no over statement.

But then a company comes along that bucks that trend and comes up with something truly original.

Aedle have done just that with new VK-1 Valkyries, with genuine lambskin leather ,manganese steel and liquid silicone to name but a few exotic materials.

As you can see the fit and finish is second to none and the design and styling is beautifuly realised.

But all this would seem a little pointless were it not for the great sound quality and comfort produced by the VK-1.     

 

Well then, what do they sound like??

Actually, very good.

Rich and full sounding with lots of detail would be fair a description. Heres what CNET think.

The midrange with the VK-1 is fantastic and the bass although not very deep is lean and precise. Check out Hedfonia's review.

So overall, the opinion from ourselves is positive, we like them. Even AV forums like them.

Each of the VK-1 aluminum parts are sculpted one by one in a virgin aluminium ingot. 

Handsewn genuine lambskin leather for headband and cushions.

 

All presented in a handsome quilted case. 

 

The Valkyries are on demonstration at our Manchester store.

So pop over for a test drive if you fancy something fresh for your ears.



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

 

 

Chord Company Training Day, A Riot Of Colour And Sound

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Francis and I were invited down to the Chord Company factory in Salisbury to see all the efforts that go in to making some of the best cables around.

The day started with a good old fashioned chat with the cable guru himself: Nigel, then a trip round the factory to see all the processes involved in hand terminating and testing the interconnects and speaker cables. This culminated in them letting us loose with the soldering irons and cutters to experience actually terminating cables ourselves. With a deep respect for the skills of Mike and the Chord workshop elves and an amazement at the attention to detail and accuracy of the work we headed off, without burned fingers!, to a great in house lunch cooked by the lovely Gillian.

The afternoon was spent with Matt who took us through a structured dem of the whole Chord range, I'm sure many of you will have seen him do this at The Bristol Show, but it is always a revelation how much more could be heard every time the next cable up was inserted into the reference system. It's not just the physical cables that are brightly coloured, they reveal layer upon layer of tonal colour as you go up the range.

 

After a good afternoon's listening we left with a much deeper appreciation, both of the effort that goes into the creation of these cables, and the effect they can have on a system. The other thing that really struck home about the Chord company is that it is full of genuinely nice people who care about what they do, and just as importantly are passionate about music!

So nice were they, that they even had a surprise for Boswell Bear which he is thrilled about!

Vinyl Evening June 19

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We will be holding our second vinyl evening on Thursday June 16.

We will be playing David Bowie's superb 'Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' album on a fabulous system from start to finish.

Timings are: 6.15pm for a 6.45 start. Nibbles and refreshments will be provided :-)

If you would like to attend, please let us know. oxford@audio-t.uk Tel: 01865 765961

Records broken at Record Store Day...

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When I say Records broken I don't mean like plates at a Greek Wedding! there were massive increases in sales reported all over the world for Record Store Day, and what a great day it was!..

Anticipating a busy morning we took our Rega Turntables and Hi-fi down to Derricks the day before to get all set up, there was already a buzz in the shop.. people asking "what's arrived?" and "has my xyz arrived".. and of course Chris in Derricks was enjoying keeping things closely under wraps! There was talks of a queue being outside from early in the morning but as I drove into the shop at about 8.30 in the morning I could see a lot of people around but didn't realise it was the queue for Derricks!.. The shop was opening at 9.00 so the people at the front of the queue must have been there for ages!

So the doors opened and the eager shoppers got some instructions of how it was going to work..

It was a case of a couple in at a time - have a look to find the special release you wanted and then let the next few in....

We had set up a system from Rega upstairs in Derricks and were showing the full range of their turntables.

Rega had also kindly loaned us some of their special show pieces incuding several tonearms showing the construction process from the initial cast to the finsihed product, the piece that really interested people was the cut away version of the tonearm showing all the inner workings..

the shop had already been open for an hour or so and there was still a queue!..

We were offering a prize on the day of a Rega RP1 turntable so everyone shopping at Derricks was quickly sent upstairs to fill in the entry forms, but the best thing that happened was when someone came upstairs and asked "where is the band?"....  I took great pleasure in showing him the hi-fi. Apparently it sounded like it was a live band from downstairs.... brilliant!

By 11am it was clear that I had not taken enough entry forms for the competition so I had to get one of the boys from the shop to print more and run down with them.... I was blown away with the turnout and interest in the system...

I would like to thank everyone that came to see us at Derricks and made it such a great day, the time just flew by!... There were lots of happy people that got the records they wanted, and I was glad to get my copy of The Civil Wars - Live at Eddie's Attic.... if you can find a copy I can highly recommend it...

One thing I didn't quite manage was to play my whole collection of Joe Bonamassa albums...

At close of business we drew the winning prize entry and informed the lucky winner, it happened to be his Birthday so he was over the moon. He should be receiving his shiny new white Rega RP1 in the next few days..

Have a look at Derricks Music Facebook page for lots more pictures from the day..

Already looking forward to Record Store Day 2015!!!!

 

Classic Album Evening June 10th

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Following the success of our eleventh Classic Vinyl Evening, we are pleased to announce Classic Vinyl Night number twelve.         

This will be on Tuesday 10th June and once again will be held at the Fusion Room restaurant, 80 Friargate, Preston, PR1 2ED, at 7pm 7.30 start.

Click the link to find where we will be http://www.fusionroom.co.uk/

The album we have chosen is L.A. WOMAN by THE DOORS

The idea is simple... just turn up and listen to an album in it's entirety on vinyl with a short break to grab a drink half way in. 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  

Chord Electronics Hugo Review

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If you have heard a DAC 64 then you will know why Chord Electronics want to celebrate the 20th anniversary of what was a ground-breaking product. So to celebrate what they have done is release what is another ground-breaking product the Hugo. This diminutive box that fits into the palm of your hand packs more than a little punch. Don’t be fooled by its size as this it has a number of tricks up its sleeve. It can be used as a standalone DAC, a DAC/headphone amplifier, for use at home or on the move (as it has a built in rechargeable battery) and a DAC pre-amp, for use with a power amp and speakers or active monitors.

Chord are famous for their DAC technology and have managed to cram a lot of DAC into what is a small box. Chord say it is their most technically advanced 32bit DAC to date. It can decode sampling frequencies from 44.1kHz to 384kHz and that includes decoding of DXD files. So when it arrived in the shop we set out to test its capabilities. We first of all put it into our main shop system, which consists of Naim amplification and PMC IB2SE speakers. To put it simply we were blown away with the what it delivered. A big open sound with bags of separation and a massive amount of musical enjoyment. Everything we played sounded right and it was noted we found ourselves listening not to the Hugo but to the music.

So we agreed that the Hugo was a great DAC but that’s not all the Hugo is. It incorporates a high quality headphone amplifier that’s good enough to drive even the most awkward to drive headphone. It also has an in-built rechargeable battery that will last over 12 hours and is fully charged (by the supplied power supply) in 2 hours. Having a battery makes the Hugo portable and so Hi-Fi on the move is now a reality. Think on the train with a laptop or (get this) your phone. That was what we tried next and I was quite taken aback when the colour of the lights within the Hugo changed to indicate I was playing a high resolution file via usb from my android. I was also taken aback by the sound. I can't remember hearing my Sennheisser HD600 sound so good. Setting it up with my laptop was as simple as downloading the Hugo ASIO drivers. Using the computer with the Hugo was also a pleasure at all file resolutions not just high res. I must also mention another little trick as the Hugo will play wireless via Bluetooth using AptX technology for high quality results.

I also tried the Hugo in its third capacity DAC/pre amp. Again the little box didn’t falter. I think you would have to spend a lot more money on a separate pre-amp DAC to reach the same sort of performance levels. I'm going to say it, I want one. Whether you are after a standalone DAC, a DAC/headphone amp or a DAC/pre the Hugo is a must listen so if you want to have a go yourself come to see us in the shop.

On a side note, I tried using the Hugo as headphone amp/Dac for the purpose of producing music on a laptop. If you have ever tried mixing with headphones then you will know how difficult it is to get your levels right. A quick mix with the Hugo surprised on playback through a system as all the levels were just as intended. If you make music on the move and don't need to record then the Hugo is definitely worth a go.

Naim Audio springtime stock-rotation

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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 CDX2

Naim CD5si SOLD

Naim ND5XS

Naim Superuniti

Naim Uniti 2 SOLD

Naim NAC282

Naim NDS (inc Burndy) SOLD

Naim NAP100

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 Chord Electronics HUGO has some new fans

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There has been a lot of buzz about this amazing little box from Chord.

It is primarily designed as a very high quality portable DAC and headphone amplifier, but it is immensely versatile and could be used in a wide array of configurations. With a rechargeable battery on board and a multitude of inputs, it can take a digital signal from any source imaginable, and can handle high resolution signals up to 32-348 (through its HD USB input). As you will see from the pic below, Boswell has completely fallen in love with it, and we have to agree with him.

We have been getting some great results from this little beauty with all sorts of headphones, and have tried it as a standalone DAC with a variety of sources as well, nothing phases it and the music just flows.

It is important to read the instructions just to see how completely flexible this little DAC is! Once you get used to the system of indicator lights it really is quite intitive to use.

 

 

We've also had a lot of fun using it as a DAC on the end of our cocktail X10 media system. Put these two together and you get a source which completely belies its price!!

 

 

Come in and have a listen, or give us a call on 01277 264730

Paul, Francis (and Boswell!)

QED Reference and Signature Interconnects

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If you are looking to make improvements to your HiFi then pop in to Cardiff Audio T to hear the new QED Reference and QED Signature interconnct cables. Also available for home loan so that you can spend a couple of days enjoying the cables in your system.

The QED Reference cable gives excellent performance at its price point. Consisting of silver plated oxygen free copper conductors and asymmetrical twisted pair geometry teamed with the gold plated QED Analoc RCA plugs and QED lifetime guarantee.

At Audio T Cardiff our sales team believe this cable is a winner, whether you have a £200 source component or an £800 source component the Reference cable will bring out the best in your electronics!

At its price point this cable has everything you expect and more. Timing is excellent and rhythm is accurate. We hope you will be blown away by its forward, large scale presentation for only *£99.95*

*price correct for 1m cable 17/04/2014*

 The Signature, similar in make up to the Reference, takes things a step further. Inside its jacket this cable features independent dual layer screening. This protects the signal against interference from high voltages and currents.

Instead of the Reference gold plated RCA plugs the Signature boasts rhodium plated RCA plugs and is cryogenically treated. Cryogenically treated, I hear you ask? This process modifies the electrical characteristics of the dielectric material in the cable. This can be heard as better bass with a wider dynamic range and a more 3 dimensional sound stage. 

Priced at *£199.95* this cable gives a more refined sound as you would expect over the Reference cable.

*price correct for 1m cable 17/04/2014*

 

 

 

Harman Kardon HK3770 Stereo Network Receiver - Exclusive to Audio T

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We are pleased to announce that Harmon Kardon are joining the Audio T fold in the form of a terrific stereo receiver complete with USB/Optical Digital/Co-axial Digital and analogue inputs; including a MM Turntable stage and priced keenly at £429. Here it is emerging from its box.

If the large number of audio connections were not enough it also has an ethernet connection to access Intenet radio using the Vtuner interface as well as streaming from your Computers or NAS drives on your home network. To complete the remarkable level of connectivity it also has Bluetooth capability allowing almost any sound to be streamed from your mobile devices as well.

Here are front and rear views - It definitely looks better from the front!

Whilst the HK-3770 is supplied with a standard remote control it is also possible to download the Harman Remote app to your Android or Apple device for complete control over your network - see below

The receiver is equipped with Bluetooth connectivity meaning it can stream wirelessly from your similarly equipped mobile device. As you can see below on the left once the two devices are paired ( a simple task) you can stream fom your spotify app for example.

Using a third party DLNA/UPNP control app I was easily able to select my music stored on a Network drive and play it back - As shown in the picture below right.

The receiver has plenty of power sounding effortless at fairly high playback volumes and has a full low frequency extension with a warmth to vocals often missing on components at this price level. Overall it is a great listen and you quickly become engrossed in the music and forget the equipment altogether which in my view is what it is all about!

Harman have a great product in the HK 3770 marrying a simple 2 channel receiver with the latest in connectivity - A rare combination currently.

You can read the AV Forums Review here