New Ruark R5 Coming Very Soon!

Ruark have been hard at work and a super new model is being added to the range. We are expecting a full complement of features and the sound quality that Ruark have become renowned for.

To be launched at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show (organised by AUDIO T) 22nd to 24th February.

We would love to tell you more but we are sworn to secrecy until the launch date!

Ruark Audio

Available at
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Southampton, Swansea

The Innuos Zen Mini Mk3 - Ripping Your Music CDs With Ease

My skepticism of high end ripping units has always been true but the Innuos Zen Mini Mk3 has swayed me to say the least. The simplicity of feeding it a CD and seeing magically appearing on your streaming platform can’t be underestimated.

Capable of storing up to a thousand CDs on even it’s smallest 1TB hard drive the Innuos Zen Mini Mk3 gives you ample room to grow your music collection.

Simplifying your music collection has never been easier

This is not to say that it doesn’t have the nerd out stats and control that many of us (including myself) desire. Simply type my.innuos.com into your browser and there it is, supporting DSD, FLAC and WAV at CD native bit rates.

USB External DAC Support

The Innuos Zen Mini Mk3 isn’t simply a music server, it competently takes on the role of streaming as well. Having both digital and analogue output makes the price tag very appealing and working with Squeezebox gives you access to Tidal, Spotify and Qobuz at hi-res with no limitations. It also has a Roon core built in as standard.

Built in 192kHz 24biti

DAC

The Zen Mini is built with fantastic precision having hardware that quite literally outperforms the very computer I’m writing this blog on! An Intel Quad Core with 4GB Ram is more than you could ever need.

The slot loading TEAC disc drive rips through a CD in about 5 minutes, getting you through your collection quickly. The auto metadata collection is accurate and foolproof. Any unrecognised albums are conveniently put under ‘quarantine’ for later review and manual tagging.

Considering it costs less than many streamers that exist today it’s a hard product to dismiss, killing two birds with one stone. I simply can’t find anything to improve being one of the easiest Hi-Fi products I’ve ever used and with excellent sound quality to boot!

if you’re in the market to digitise your music collection and de-clutter without compromising on sound quality, then we would certainly recommend giving the Innuos Zen Mini serious consideration. As always, we’re happy to give you a demonstration.

Innuos products are available from the following branches of Audio T: Brentwood, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

Don't Be Afraid to Catch Feels (Again): The Arcam SA20 Amplifier

Those of you who read our previous blog post about the Arcam SA20, mostly with regard to its performance with a Rega Planar 3 turntable, I’d hinted at the SA20's DAC but postponed elucidation to a later blog; this one!

To recap, the Arcam SA20 has two co-axial and one optical digital input, with a sophisticated 7-step filter selection which is fun to experiment with. I left it in position 3, Arcam’s default.

A long-standing customer of ours (he knows who he is), brought his Bryston BDP-3 network audio player in for me to update and set-up. It has no DAC of it's own, so to check its function (and get a sneaky audition), I connected it to the SA20 that was warmed up in the dem suite with a Black Rhodium Rondo coaxial digital interconnect. (One of our favourites.) The speakers were the Monitor Audio Silver 200s I had connected for the Rega Planar 3 turntable demo earlier.

Our Mr K remembered how fond I am of Norah Jones, so he brought in a 24-bit download from HDTracks of 'Come Away with Me', plus Diana Krall's 'Turn Up The Quiet' for good measure. (What a nice man.) All in all, about £6k for the system, with an unusually high 2/3rds of the budget given up to the front end.

Wow!

What initially grabbed our attention was the soundstage. Just before Lee Alexander starts playing bass on "Cold, Cold Heart", it pops out, almost holographic. Norah's delicate piano playing and delicious, breathy vocals (steady now - ed) firmly held in their own space, the swing of the bass washed over, melted us into the sofa and had me longing for a glass of something restorative.

This Arcam SA20 amplifier continues to impress...

Thanks for reading. - Audio T Swansea.

Arcam Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T: Brentwood, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Oxford, Preston, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

A New R Series From KEF At Audio T Brentwood

We’ve just recently received our new R Series speakers from KEF and we’re loving what they do. KEF have revamped the R series with new components and a radical grille aesthetic and it really works.

The previous range was a hit but KEF have once again filtered down technology from their acclaimed Reference series to produce a winning combination of finish and performance.

Pictured below is the new R7 in walnut finish and is absolutely beautiful.

With its colour matched drivers and beautiful wood veneer the R7 really is a handsome beast.

There are actually 7 speakers in the R series but for the moment we are going to concentrate on the R7 seen above, the R5 and the R3.

They all use the familiar KEF UniQ drivers to give point source accuracy, an approach which has been continually refined over the years this, coupled with new cabinet technologies like Shadow Flare to reduce edge diffraction and flexible port technology, makes for a winning combination in the sound quality stakes.

The R5 is a slightly smaller floorstander seen here in the piano black finish.

Here you can see the ingenious terminal arrangement for the R5 with KEF’s integral link knobs for bi-amping or bi-wiring.

The R3 is another true three way design but this time in a stand mount configuration

Probably the best colour to show off the rather radical grilles which are perforated microfibre and feel like suede!

So how do they sound?

Well the good news is that across these three models there is definitely a family continuity.

Run with our new Primare I35 and CD35 this is a range which exhibits a beautifully even performance across the frequency range with lovely spaciousness o the sound and great imaging.

Steven Wilson’s album, To the Bone came across with great authority but also delicacy where needed and the highly intelligent (if somewhat racy) pop of Janelle Monae’s new album Dirty Computer really had a lot of drive and flow.

With a size available to match most rooms and systems we think this R series is going to be a huge success for KEF.

Why not come and have a listen! Thanks for reading. Paul, Jason and Francis - Audio T Brentwood

KEF Loudspeakers are available from the following branches of Audio T: Brentwood, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Portsmouth, Preston, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

Focal Headphone Triple Treat: Clear, Elear And Elegia Get You Wired For Sound.

The iconic Sony Walkman was introduced to the world in 1979, thus starting a revolution in portable music. Of course headphones were a key part of that movement. Suddenly people everywhere were seen wandering the streets and on subways wearing little discs on their ears.

Trapped in their own world (or even free to roam their own little audio heaven) people just loved music on the go. From then on headphones give us absolute control over our audio-environment, allowing us to privatise our own space. But it also represented a shift in our basic relationship to music.

And then of course came the Mp3/Ipod movement and then the high end music player market. As a result we (the industry) have had a year on year growth in headphone sales for the last decade.

But that's not the only reason for great headphone sales over the last decade or so. In 2014 GQ magazine had a headphone spread on its website and made this quote “The newest fashion accessory isn't a fashion accessory at all. It's head-swaddling high-style headphones ,that make as much of a statement as anything you're wearing”. So looking and sounding good is a must.

Enter the Focal headphones.

The headphone cable is covered with a braided-cotton sleeving to prevent any electrostatic charge. It looks good and will prevent our Chromey getting a shock!!!

The stamp “fabrique en Francais” make the team at Focal quite proud and create beautiful products.

Pictured above are The Clear headphones.

Clear are the brand new open-back high-fidelity headphone made by Focal. Continuing in the spirit of Utopia and Elear and using the best of Focal technologies, Clear offer the sensation of listening to your favourite music in a space that no longer has limits. Discover the emotion of music, thanks to Clear's ability to recreate the tiniest details of the recording.

20mm memory foam ear cushion covered with a perforated microfibre fabric.

Key points:

• Open-back design for use at home

• Exclusive full-range speaker driver with an 'M'-shape Aluminum/Magnesium dome (patent pending)

• Excellent performance when connected to an audiophile portable stereo

• A listening experience very close to that provided by high-fidelity loudspeakers

• Comfortable and ergonomic.

Pictured above are the Elear headphones.

Elear is an open back pair of headphones featuring numerous innovations from Focal, which are key to their outstanding acoustics performance. Elear offers the world’s first, full range and fully open back loudspeaker, built-in to a pair of headphones. Additionally, they are made from an Aluminum-Magnesium blend, in a formed shape, unique to Focal with the company’s brand new “M” shape dome. This new dome shape has originated from the research performed during the Utopia headphone project that will offer the highest quality sound, while avoiding potential avenues of distortion.

The acoustic quality of this exclusive solution allowed Focal to avoid the use of any crossover or passive filtering process in order to achieve a frequency response from 5Hz to 23kHz.

The result is thus impressively realistic, making the headphones virtually disappear and providing listeners with a truly unique high-fidelity audio experience. Elear also benefits from the R&D done on Utopia. With regards to mechanical design, the rotation traditionally included on the yoke has been moved into the headband to ensure the total purity of the design. The microfiber fabric, used on the cushions, offers a true comfort for all head shapes and sizes – a quality that is mandatory for long listening sessions.

Pictured above is the Elegia headphone.

Elegia is an audiophile circum-aural closed-back pair of headphones from Focal. The ergonomic design makes them incredibly comfortable and offers excellent sound isolation, making these headphones the ideal solution for long listening sessions. Continuing its headphone development programme, the Focal R&D team has introduced several new innovations, all with incredible audio performance in mind. The full-range 'M'-shape aluminium/magnesium dome speaker driver provides a very high frequency response, which is the basis for Elegia’s supremely dynamic sound. In addition, the frameless voice coil, which is lightweight yet incredibly stiff, reproduces the minutest details that adds to the convincing all-round performance. With its incredible tonal balance combined with long-term comfort, the Elegia is a key reference in the high-end closed-back headphones sector.

The leather and microfibre headband is a feature on all 3 headphones. (not perforated on the Elear’s)

Ok so that's the technical details out of the way. How many different specs could you possibly need before we all start to glaze over? What we really want is the music to start flowing, so without further ado, here are our deliberations.

How do they sound?
Well The Clear are certainly the best of the bunch, sounding much more detailed with an openness and airiness that lends it self to the lightweight diaphragm in the Clear's which is much more responsive than the Elear and Elegia.

But to be fair, and this isn't a cop out, all three of the Focal headphones sound impressive for their respective price points, but don’t take our word for it, come and have a listen and decide for yourself!

£1399 for The Clear, £895 for The Elear and £799 for The Elegia. But in all honesty the proof of the pudding is in the listening. So get yourselves over to our store on Bridge Street Manchester, all of the featured headphones are on demo.

Mike, Munir, Dave and Simon (Haden on Sunday's) will be there to help you to turn on, tune in and drop out.

And remember, our Cliff can’t be wrong. As seen in The Guardian’s top ten worst video’s ever made.

Focal Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T: Bristol, Cheltenham, Online, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

Chord Electronics Prove That High End Digital Audio Is Simply A Matter Of Scale!

Firstly, a big thank you to all of our wonderful customers for keeping us so busy throughout the festive season. Our successful campaign against ongoing Brexit gloom didn’t leave us time to post blogs for a while, but far be it from us to complain about buoyant business!

Now the decorations are packed away we have finally had the chance to pay more attention to some recently arrived new products. One which has really grabbed our attention is the Chord Hugo M-Scaler an utterly amazing digital audio upscaler capable of taking standard CD 44.1kHz resolution all the way up to 705.6kHz and an even more impressive 768kHz from 96kHz input when used with Chord’s dual BNC DACs, Qutest, Hugo TT 2 and DAVE.

We are fortunate enough to have a demo DAVE DAC in store so linked it up to our new M-Scaler.

The music streaming source was an Auralic Aries Mini, connected to M-Scaler with a Chord Shawline USB cable, giving us access to high resolution music files from both Tidal Masters and Qobuz Sublime.

Using Chord Shawline XLR cables, we hooked DAVE up to our mighty Chord SPM1050 Mk 2 power amp.

We currently have a pair of Reference 1 speakers on loan from KEF for evaluation and thought this system would be ideal to put them through their paces.

We were right! Even from cold, with both M-Scaler and KEF speakers requiring running in, this system sounded stunning. Actually, the system itself disappeared, leaving just the music, alive and tangible in the room. There was no hint of edginess or harshness. Digital has never sounded this good, or so analogue! Digital designer Rob Watts has been chasing 1 million tap length filters for many years, believing that this was what was required to reproduce 44.1kHz audio properly with accurate transients. M-Scaler with DAVE achieves this. Having heard the results we have no reason to doubt Rob’s thinking.

This system plays music effortlessly. It has all the attributes of a high end vinyl based system with none of the downsides. The initial purchase costs aren’t trivial but long term ownership would be less fussy than an esoteric turntable and cartridge with minimal maintenance by comparison. It’s food for thought…

We love great music, whatever the source, and really want to share the musical nirvana this fantastic system provides.

Just call or email us to book a demo. You won’t be disappointed!

See you soon,

Alan, John and Wayne - Audio T Southampton

Chord Electronics Hi-Fi is available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

The Majik Of Linn Hi-Fi Products Are Now Available At Audio T Oxford

After an hiatus of 25 years, we are proud to announce that we are now an official Linn dealer at Audio T Oxford.

Linn, based in Glasgow is one of the oldest and most respected British Hi-Fi manufacturers. An engineering firm; building turntables, loudspeakers, amplifiers and digital network music players. Never one to follow the herd, Linn led the development of digital music streaming and network systems.

The iconic Sondek LP12 - (pictured above) has been in production continuously since 1973. Every single Sondek LP12 is made by hand and signed by the person who builds it. Every single Sondek made, has the capability to be upgraded to the latest specification. Our resident turntable Guru, Chris Henry, has been servicing, upgrading and generally fettling them for over 40 years!.

The three ranges are Majik LP12, Akurate LP12 and Klimax LP12.

We are stockists of the Linn Majik DSM, a true one-box two-channel music system (available in black or silver) with a powerful 90W per channel amplifier, 15 digital (HDMI, coaxial, optical ) & analogue inputs, a built-in phono stage (MM) for connecting a turntable, Tidal & Qobuz lossless streams are supported, streaming from a NAS and Internet radio.

The system can be controlled via both iOS and Android apps, a computer desktop option is available too. A remote control for convenience is supplied.

The Linn Majik DSM is a truly versatile system that allows you to connect a turntable, TV, set-top box or a games console - No problem. There are 3 optical, 3 coaxial, 4 HDMI and 4 analogue inputs (one of them for a turntable).

Linn have had years to perfect the control system and the Linn Kazoo control app is well designed and is a delight to use. Choose your source, select your music and play - That’s it.

This is a great music system, at a very reasonable price. Packed full of detail and rhythm. It will make you want to listen to more music. Whether that be your favourite records or to stream your music digitally it’s fantastic!

So come on in and have a listen to one of the best British Hi-Fi brands around!

Linn Hi-Fi Products are available at the following branches of Audio T:
Brighton, Bristol, Manchester, Oxford, Swindon

Cute KEF LSX Wireless Speakers

After the success of the wireless LS50, KEF have released a smaller, less expensive model called the LSX, and at £1000 they are a very attainable price.

KEF LSX Red

Available in a range of funky colours including Red (pictured above) Green, Blue, White and Black.

KEF LSX Rear

They have most of the functionality of the LS50 wireless but have the advantage over the LS50 of not needing the ethernet cable joining the two speakers, making them wireless other than the mains cables.

You have the option of directly connecting other devices via an optical or analogue cable, and you can also add an active subwoofer for extra bass if you wish. The wireless options include Bluetooth, Tidal and Spotify streaming and playing from a UPNP hard drive.

KEF LSX input sockets

You use the same combo of apps as the LS50 wireless. The KEF Control app is for setting the speakers up and changing inputs, and the Stream app for playing UPNP, Tidal or Spotify.

KEF Control App

KEF Stream App

The LSX sound surprisingly full, especially considering their compact size. Why not come in and have a listen and judge for yourself.

KEF LSX next to a 12” record

Thanks for reading. These and KEF loudspeakers are available for demonstration at Audio T Portsmouth and the following branches of Audio T: Brentwood, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Portsmouth, Preston, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

2018 Record Recommendations And Ortofon Cartridges to Play Them On!

In 2018 the Danish Cartridge manufacturer Ortofon celebrated its centenary. Yes you read that right. One hundred years and still going strong! Still making some of the best reproducers of music that your vinyl will ever give up its information for! And guess what? We love them!

Whether you decide to go for a moving magnet type from the 2M range or a more expensive option from the moving coil ranges such as Quintet or Cadenza your vinyl will be reproduced in such a way that you will hear way more of those tiny details, more space around all the instruments and a more open soundstage with music coming at you from further outside of the speaker cabinets than ever before!

2M Red

Of course the Cadenza range will be the logical port of call for those with a higher quality turntable and arm combinations and will eke out so much detail that you will be playing all your vinyl all over again because it will sound so amazing!

Cadenza Bronze

Of course the range we sell the most of are the 2M, which is a great range to pick from if you have something like an entry level Rega or Project deck and are hankering after a nice upgrade from the supplied cartridge (we will even fit it for you free of charge too!). The Ortofon 2M red is the place to start!

The Ortofon Bronze with its nude (ooh err!) fine line stylus is a great tracker and will help to reduce record wear and groove distortion. The body being made from a newly developed Noryl plastic/glass combination giving precise and accurate retrieval of the information. Designed by Ortofon former chief engineer and cartridge genius Per Winfield the 2M range really do punch above their weight!

Over the past year we have been using various of the Ortofon cartridges to play a selection of our favourite albums from the past year. Here are a few recommendations all of which sound amazing and all of which will help to show off just how good that new turntable can sound. So in no particular order, here goes………

Equinox Infinity

This was Jon’s pick…..Equinox Infinity by Jean Michel Jarre. This one really is a welcome return to form from the French Synth wizard and quite possibly his best piece of music since the original Equinox. This one uses themes from the first Equinox but weaves them into lush undulating soundscapes of analogue synthiness that will make your hifi really come to life!

Riverside

Next we have Farid’s choice cut of the year in the form of an album titled Wasteland by Polish prog rockers Riverside. This is their first album since the untimely death of their guitar player Piotr Grudzinski and it has a distinctly melancholy feel to it. Again it is superbly recorded with a lush expansive open soundstage and features a great set of songs beautiful in its bleakness and exquisitely played. wasteland features some of the most gorgeously painful moments any band has ever committed to vinyl.

All Traps On Earth

Andy’s album of the year by miles and miles and miles is the very lovely thing that is A Drop of Light by All Traps on Earth. I have mentioned this one in a previous blog so will keep it short! A double album in a gate-fold sleeve beautifully packaged and even more beautifully sounding. This is proggressive rock of the highest quality and is one of those that just keeps on getting better every time you listen to it. This is basically what the band Anglagard have become and features twisted rhythms of astonishing virtuosity and has some of the deepest bass you will ever hear on a rock music album. And they have not one but two Mellotrons! Nuff said!!

GoGo Penguin

A (very) honourable mention goes to this one ….. A Humdrum Star by GoGo Penguin. The bands fourth album and second one for the BlueNote record label finds them mixing electronic sounds with jazz rock elements and wickedly good interplay between acoustic bass grooves and wonderful rolling piano melodies (the drummer isn’t too bad either!). Another one of those albums that genuinely is of demo quality. Many thanks to Red House Records in Swindon for the recommendation.

You genuinely will not be disappointed with any of these and if you have any Christmas prezzie money burning a hole in your pocket……….well you know what to do!

See you again in the 2019 for more bloggy loveliness.

Andy, Jon and Farid - Audio T Cheltenham

Ortofon cartridges are available at all branches of Audio T.

Rega record players are available at all branches of Audio T

Pro-ject record players are available at the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Swansea, Swindon

Primare And The Wonderful Prisma Technology Arrives At Audio T Brentwood

We’ve just received our new stock of Primare equipment and we’re mightily impressed! This Swedish company has been making exceptional Hi-Fi products for over thirty years and always with a beauty of style and sound. They have now launched a new “connectivity and control technology” called Prisma which can be incorporated in their new modular range of separates.

Firstly they’re beautiful!

And the fit and finish is exceptional.

The first two models to show are the 35 range comprising I35 integrated amp and CD35 integrated CD player or DD35 CD transport. They sound gorgeous. Appropriately we put a CD of Eivor into the player, the album Slor, and the sense of scale and imagery through the Bowers and Wilkins 805 speakers was breathtaking. The addition of the Prisma technology takes them to another level adding app control, Bluetooth, Airplay, and Spotify Connect. Prisma also has Chromecast built in allowing you to cast from your phone or tablet direct to the Prisma module.

The I35 has analogue (balanced and single ended) and digital inputs as well making it a truly versatile and comprehensive performer.

Down from that is the 15 range comprising the I15 integrated amp and DD15 CD transport

These are equally beautifully built and can also be equipped with the same Prisma technology as their bigger siblings.

Sticking with the Scandinavian theme, we put some of Bjork’s most recent Utopia album on playing through the equally Scandi Dali Oberon 5 speakers. This album has an incredibly wide dynamic range which just sang through the speakers being driven by the little I15 (they’re only about 2/3 width).

We are really looking forward to getting to know these lovely components better, why not come in and try them for yourself.

We would like to thank all of our customers this year and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Paul, Francis, Jason and Boswell

Primare Hi-Fi products are available at the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Bristol, Cheltenham, Manchester

Michell My Belle! Customer Upgrades His Gyro Turntable With Michell Techno Tonearm

Christmas arrives a little early for one of our customers as he has treated himself to a new tone arm on his Michell Gyro turntable. He had an ageing Rega RB300 previously installed on the turntable that was starting to become troublesome. With our advice the customer chose the obvious choice, the Michell Techno A tonearm in black to match the existing finish of the turntable.

Michell Gyro with new Techno A arm fitted

At the same time we have also removed the old acrylic plinth and lid giving the deck a much slicker look and feel. This was achieved by adding the Michell Gyro Spyder kit as shown below. The old deck is dismantled and the feet are removed from the plinth and threaded on to the new Spyder.

Michell Gyro Spyder kit

Techno A arm unboxing

New arm mounting plate

The old arm mounting plate needs to be replaced as it is the single mounting point plate. The new mounting plate is seen fitted in place above. The new three point mount all ready for the new tone arm.

Tonearm mount from top

Techno A arm fitted

Next we need to fit the cartridge to the tonearm. Our customer decided to go for the Rega Ania MC cartridge as shown below.

Rega ANIA MC cartridge during fitting

Rega ANIA MC cartridge

Now we need to adjust the height of the tonearm to make sure the vertical tracking angle is correct for the cartridge installed. This is achieved by the clever Michell thread at the mounting of the arm. In this case no adjustment was needed so the three mounting screws can tightened to fix the tonearm in place.

Tonearm height adjustment

Michell Techno A arm Scallop counter weights

Two different weight scallops are supplied depending on the weight of your cartridge. In this case the larger of the two has been used.

Scallop counter weight in place

Checking tracking force

Above we are checking the tracking weight using Project Measure IT stylus balance gage.

Ready for the first play

Cue up ready……”drop the needle on the record”

Michell HR power supply + Nytech CDP122

Above is the is older Michell HR power supply (this has now been replaced with a more modern looking box and case work) alongside the Nytech CDP122, our weapon of choice at the moment when it comes to supplying moving magnet or moving coil setups.

Final pic of the completed setup

Thanks to Steve for his permission to blog about his latest audio upgrade. In the pic above we have the front of his home cinema setup. The classic Pioneer plasma, Arcam AVR550, REL S3, Oppo UDP-203 & the now discontinued Bowers & Wilkins 683S2 teamed with the HTM61S2 center speaker. He finishes off his surround system with two B&W M1 speakers on the rear and B&W CCM665 in the ceiling for Dolby Atmos, creating a very impressive 5.1.2 system. Michell Techno A arm and Rega ANIA MC cartridge is available from all branches of Audio T.

Michell Engineering turntables are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Cardiff, Manchester, Southampton, Swansea

Thanks for reading: Hefin, Nick (blogger) and Kerrin Audio T Cardiff.

New Linn Majik LP12 + Majik DSM Seasonal Offer until 29th January

Linn have surprised us here at Audio T Brighton by introducing a new Linn Majik Tonearm that will initially be included as part of the Majik LP12 combination, making this an even more attractive proposition as the price remains the same. The tonearm will become available separately in Spring 2019.

New Linn Majik Tonearm

The Linn Seasonal Promotion 2018 is an outstanding offer of Majik LP12 + Majik DSM for £5000, a saving of £425. Simply add speakers and you have a fine system for playing records and streaming. This offer runs until 29th January 2019.

A beautiful new Linn Sondek LP12 in Rosenut with Majik Tonearm and Adikt Cartridge pictured above. This customer chose to upgrade from Majik LP12 specification with the addition of Lingo 4 Motor & Power Supply, and Kore Sub Chassis taking the turntable to another level of music making.

Linn Majik DSM Network Music Player and amplifier in one box with analogue and digital inputs.

Linn Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brighton, Bristol, Manchester, Oxford, Swindon

Winter Sale Now On! Christmas Hi-Fi Stocking Fillers from Arcam, KEF, Rega, Bowers & Wilkins

If you are finding it hard to find to that perfect gift or stocking filler, DON'T PANIC, here at Audio T Preston, we can help with a few ideas for any Hi-Fi or music lover in your life.

WINTER SALE NOW ON!

First up we have the Arcam mini-Blink at just £99 this is a great stocking filler that will fit into any amplifier and let’s you Bluetooth sound from your phone/laptop or tablet.

Very easy to set up and use, this Bluetooth DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter) sounds so much better than connecting through the headphone output even when using a good quality cable, more output and much more dynamic.

The Arcam mini-Blink comes with all the cables and power supply included, so you can be up and streaming in no time. We recommend downloading the Tunein radio app via the Apple app store or Android Playstore, to give you access to internet radio.

Keeping it Bluetooth we have the KEF Muo portable speaker.

At just 21cm wide and 0.94kg this little rechargeable speaker, packs a punch and is perfect for the listener who is on the move.

The Muo has a battery life of up to 12 hours when fully charged (3hours charging time) and 10m Bluetooth range.

Available in gold/silver/blue and grey at £150 it's a great option.

It's been another great year for turntables with sales overtaking CD players again, a great place to start is the Rega Planar 1 at just £249.

NOT SUPPLIED WITH PINK VINYL.

This is a great plug and play record player is easy to set up and it can be up and running in no time, the only thing to check is to make sure your amplifier has a designated phono stage.

NOT SUPPLIED WITH PINK VINYL.

If you don’t have a phone stage, fear not! The Rega P1 Plus has one built in and all you need to do is connect it to any line level input on your amplifier.

Both available in black or white.

If your looking to make that daily commute a little more enjoyable we have the award winning Bowers & Wilkins PX headphones.

These noise cancelling Bluetooth headphones even have their own app to perform updates and settings to match your environment, they are a closed back design so do not leak out sound and annoy your fellow commuters.

With a 22 hour battery life they are perfect for that long haul flight and can be wired, just don't forget the adaptor.

The PX's can be folded up for easy transporting and are supplied with a carry bag/usb charging cable & 3.5mm wired cable.

Available in black or soft gold.

These are just a few suggestions, please call in and we will be happy to chat about other options that would make a perfect gift, especially as our Winter Sale has just started!

On a different note (no pun intended ed) a big thank you to all who attended our Classic album evening on 20th November. Having not done one in a long time it was great to see a few familiar faces...and a few new ones too. Thanks for coming along and supporting the event.

We look forward to seeing you all over the festive period.

Have a great Christmas and New Year!

Ian and Gavin.

Rip, Serve and Play - The New Innuos Zen Mini MK3 Music Server Has Arrived At Audio T Swindon

Innuos, a company that was founded in 2009, offer an easy solution to store your CD collection to its internal hard drive. This can be done by either ripping your CD’s or importing an existing music library via USB. Internal disk storage is available from 1TB up to 8TB.

We were really impressed by the previous model and this new Innuos Zen Mini MK3 is even better.

Innuos Zen Mini MK3 Music Server

Innuos Zen Mini MK3

The new Zen Mini MK3 now features analogue and two digital outputs (coaxial & optical) so it can be directly connected to an amplifier. Another option is to connect the server to a USB DAC via one of the four USB sockets - Nice. A second low-noise Ethernet socket to which one can directly connect a third party Roon Ready / UPNP music streamer.

Set-Up and Connecting it:

We connected our Zen Mini MK3 via an Ethernet cable to our network, applied power to it and switched it on. It was found on the network within seconds.

Once switched on you will see a menu bar and we go straight to settings.

In there, we set the ripping file format to either WAV or FLAC and left the ripping speed set to Quick Mode (and it is quick!) - That’s it We are ready to rip our first CD.

Not long and the correct artwork and information has been found and the Zen Mini MK3 starts ripping the first CD.

Very useful: Missing artwork and CD information can be added or edited if necessary.

As mentioned before existing music libraries can be imported .

For those who have a have a Tidal, Qobuz or a Spotify account, just add your log-in details and the services will be available via the control app.

All in all, the new Innuos Zen Mini MK3 sounds great and is easy to use.

Please get in touch with us here in the shop and we will be happy to give you a demonstration.

Thanks for reading. Stefan & Andy Audio T Swindon

Innuos products are available from the following branches of Audio T

Brentwood, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon and our Online Store

Lagom & Hygge From Sweden Introducing Primare Prisma

Lagom (“lah-goam”) = Everything in perfect balance. Hygge (“heu-gah”) = The highest expression of living. The deep satisfaction of time well spent.

Two words that permeate through everything that Swedish company Primare make and do. Something that we can well appreciate and understand now that we are the proud sellers of all things Lagom and Hygge!

There is a sense of perfect balance and satisfaction that comes together very neatly in Primare’s new I35 integrated amplifier. As part of the Prisma range the I35 is the latest version of their iconic 30 series integrated amplifiers and is the first one to feature their brand new all analogue Class D amplifier technology, what they call UFPD2. Primare boast that this new power platform fully exploits the potential of Class D amplification.

A big boast. Can they back it up with action!?

According to the official blurb (I love that word) The I35 amplifier can deliver 150 watts at 8 ohms across the entire audible bandwidth and to see (or hear) how this equates into sound quality in the real world we decided to pair it up with the rather brilliant Martin Logan Electromotion X electrostatic loudspeakers and see what occurs!

Now, because the I35 is available in three versions…….

1. Basic amp with no extras

2. Amp with rather nice DAC built in

3. Amp with DAC and Streamer module…….. and we have the third option we can stream as much as we like!!

So first up from Tidal was the totally amazing thing that is the album Khmer by Nils Petter Molvaer on the ECM record label. This is an album that is amazingly well recorded with an especially juicy bass sound. A great one for demo use and for putting speakers through their paces.

As a pairing this combination of amp and speakers possessed that holy grail of hi-fi systems in the way it totally brought the music to life. The sound is fast, clean and agile. Soundstaging was wide and deep. The Primare i35 allowing the Electrostatics to deliver an un-coloured window into the music.

Next through the streamy bit on the Primare was the new helping of Prog Rock genius that is Roine Stolt’s new album called Manifesto of an Alchemist.

Again the Primare showed an ability to be both viscerally exciting and revealing in detail way beyond its price! This is one of those really magical amplifiers that should prove once and for all that Class D really can offer quality and affordability and make you think, do I really need to spend more? It is a fantastic amplifier, a very good DAC and a more than decent streamer! I can honestly say that I have not had this much fun with an amplifier since the days of chrome bumper Naim gear……remember them!!

Prisma provides multi room/multi zone connectivity and control for playback of stored and streamed media. Wired or wireless all managed from any mobile device through a dedicated control app. In addition to Bluetooth, Airplay and Spotify Connect Prisma features Chromecast built in a unique streaming portal allowing effortless direct connection to literally hundreds of streaming applications.

There is also a well nifty matching CD35 CD player should you want to add one to the system …..perhaps more on this at a later blog!!

All of these Primare products be auditioned at the Cheltenham branch! We hope to see you soon - Jon, Farid & Andy

Primare Hi-Fi is available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Bristol, Cheltenham, Manchester

Deck Your Halls With The Sound Of Vinyl

Here at Audio T Cardiff we have come up with six excellent value turntables for you to consider for Christmas. A great gift to give for a music loving loved one or to give yourself a treat. We have picked these as we believe at their respective price points, they offer tremendous value and more importantly superb sound!

Project Primary Turntable

First on the list is the Pro-ject “Primary” A simple plug and play unit that is simple to use. Very little set up is needed, you simply place the platter on the spindle, fit the belt, connect it to your amplfier or phono stage, power it up and away you go.

Rega Planar 1

Second on our list is the “Rega Planar 1”. Again like the Pro-ject above it has the same kind of set-up and will having you listening to your vinyl in no time

Project Debut carbon

In third place we have the Project “Debut Carbon”. This is one of our best selling turntables. Fitted with the superb Ortofon 2M Red cartridge a carbon fibre tone arm and a heavy steel platter, it gives the best possible performance for the money. This is also the first turntable on our list that is upgradeable. You can swap the felt mat for a cork one, upgrade the stylus to a 2M Blue or even swap the steel platter for an acrylic one.

Rega Planar 3

The fourth on our list is the iconic Rega Planar 3. The Planar 3 has been around for many years over which it has been steadily improved. With its distinctive glass platter and a superb tonearm that is compatible with many different cartridges both MM (moving magnet) and MC (moving coil), this is indeed a very versatile record deck. It can be supplied without cartridge or as a package with the Elys 2 with considerable saving on the price.

Project Classic Super Pack

In fifth place we have the Project “Classic Super Pack”. Similar in looks to the Linn LP12 or the old Thorens TD160 this record player uses a high quality tonearm a damped heavy steel platter and a very clever sorbothane suspension to eliminate vibrations. Now adding electronic speed selector and fitted with an Ortofon Quintet Red cartridge this deck will give you many years of happy listening. This turntable is also supplied with a leather mat and record clamp.

rega planar 8

In sixth place we have a new kid in town, the stunning Rega Planar 8. Stunning in looks and performance this deck truly deserves all the accolades bestowed on it so far. It has an electronic speed box that is fine tuned and matched to every individual unit. Fitted with the Apheta 2 cartridge this turntable sounds sublime. Certainly the best we have heard for the price for a long while. However just don’t take our word for it, pop in and have a listen. Bring along your favourite vinyl records and pick the turntable that suits you best!

Pro-ject turntables are also available at the following branches of Audio T:

Brentwood, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Swansea, Swindon

Rega is available at all branches of Audio T.

The All New KEF R7 Speakers Available At Audio T Preston

The original KEF R Series was a very highly regarded speaker range and was popular with both Hi-Fi and Home Cinema enthusiasts alike. For over 5 years each model in the range earned itself many awards and 5 star reviews.

Back in September KEF relaunched and proudly presented the new R Series speaker range promising that they would be even better.

We've been taking a closer look at the KEF R7 floorstanding speakers to see what has changed.

Behind the scenes at KEF... At the heart of KEF's culture lies innovation & creativity. Forever challenging the norm in every element of our work, the all-new R Series advert was no exception...

Well as it turns out they've changed quite a lot. The new KEF R Series has been completely re-engineered from the ground up, with 1,043 changes undertaken during the design process, all done to further improve upon the performance, build and finish of original R Series speaker range.

The R7 is the mid-sized floor standing member of the new R Series. Featuring two 165mm (6.5 in.) hybrid aluminium bass drivers and a Uni-Q combining a 125mm (5 in.) mid-range driver and 25mm (1 in.) aluminium dome tweeter, R7 outperforms all expectations. Equally at home with music and film, R7 proves to be just as flexible as the rest of the R Series range. Placing the tweeter in the acoustic centre of the midrange cone brings the acoustic ideal of a single point source closer to realisation. The new R Series benefits from a new 12th generation of the legendary Uni-Q driver array.

The new R Series also utilises a new internal bracing system called Constrained Layer Damping originally developed for the LS50.

http://www.kef.com/rseries The new KEF R Series has been completely re-engineered from the ground up. Decades of experience and our unbridled passion for music come together in the new R Series.

We unboxed the R7's and immediately put them to work on a Naim Uniti Nova, we then left them playing all day and overnight to help them run in a little. By the time we could sit down for a listen they had been playing for over 48 hours and boy was it worth the wait. The audio separation and imaging they produce is superb and has plenty depth and space. We found the R7's to be both gentle and subtle when required but also commanding and authoritative when the music demands it. So if you are listening to the sweet voice of Agnes Obel or getting a bit heavier with the likes of Muse or The Prodigy, the R7's will hold your attention for many hours.

Also in the new R Series range and available for a demonstration we have R3 and the R5. Or if you are thinking of putting together a stonking home cinema system we have the R2C Centre channel and the R8A Dolby Atmos speakers.

Book your demonstration with us today on 01772 883958, you wont be disappointed.

KEF Loudspeakers are available at the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Portsmouth, Preston, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

Chromey Takes A Trip Along The i35 With Primare.

For those of you that may already know of the Swedish Hi-Fi manufacturer Primare, you will know that they have been around for over thirty years and have produced some of the best looking Hi-Fi to come out of the Scandinavia.

So when we got introduced to the new i35 integrated streamer amplifier from Primare, it wasn't a surprise to see a stunning looking piece of Hi-Fi. The only question was, will it sound as good as it looks.

So without further ado, here it is and it doesn’t disappoint…

Interestingly our favourite bespoke men’s clothing retailer also stock one of the best Swedish tie and shirt designers in Sweden, Eton. So, for our blog we needed some pictures and we thought why not take the photographs over at Doherty Evans & Stott and keep the Swedish theme going.

Right then, to the sound quality, 150 watts into 8 Ohms of class D amplification, delivered through ultra-short signal paths. Primare have built their theories into metal and circuity, utilising ultra-short signal paths thus reducing the signal to noise ratio, lowering the noise floor and giving way to cleaner sounding musica. So the result is an impressive open sound that doesn’t disappoint.

To give you an example, we have the i35 running on the our ground floor at Manchester store. A gentleman popped in and asked to listen to the Naim CD5si CD player. Our demonstration room was busy upstairs, so we connected it to the Primare i35 on the shop floor, which was driving a pair of Dynaudio Contour 60’s. The results were stunning, we played Solid Air from John Martyn via the standard RCA output from the CD5si into one of the analogue inputs on the i35. All we can say is that as a regular Hi-Fi amplifier with analogue inputs the i35 is more than capable of holding its own against other £3k+ amplifiers. (and the customer purchased the CD player!).

But that’s not all, remember the Primare i35 is also a very capable network streamer and DAC, and as good as it is with the RCA inputs it’s even better with its digital streaming duties. Using the slick looking Prisma app we directed the i35 to our ever-burgeoning collection of hi-res music files and pow!!. The i35 takes another leap forward in sound quality. With insane amounts of detail the Primare just plays music with aplomb.

Around the back we have an array of inputs. Multiple optical and electrical co-axial inputs with USB. 2 balanced XLR analogue inputs for those high end sources. Throw in a few RCA inputs and outputs and even network LAN in and out and you have a full compliment of connections.

For those of with a keen eye you may have noticed the gold plated threads for attaching a Bluetooth and wireless aerials. (we didn’t have those connected in as we had our unit wired via an ethernet connection). So you can cast your music straight from an Apple or Android device, be it a tablet or PC or phone.

Now, as we mentioned earlier, we took the photographs at Doherty Evans & Stott in order to snap a few shots with other products from Sweden. In this case beautifully crafted ties and shirts from Eton. And it looks like Chromey is keen on those lovely ties too, but at 43mm tall his only option is to tuck himself in…

…ah well. (bless him)

Primare have the finest selector switches, the impeccably polished chrome selector switch offers such a satisfying clunk as you change inputs, just oozing quality. “yes my selecta”

Everything in this picture is designed in Sweden, the shirt, the ties, the Primare i35. However, Chromey was hewn out of solid steel somewhere in the Empire.

The Prisma app running on our Ipad.

The front display on the Primare i35.

Right then, that just about covers it. The rest is up to you, does the Primare i35 streaming amplifier tickle your fancy? If it does, why don’t you arrange for Audio T Manchester to demonstrate it to you.

Our demo model is up and running on the shop floor at the moment.

Munir, Dave, Simon, Mike and Haden are waiting on standby and ready to help!.

Primare Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Bristol, Cheltenham, Manchester

Brentwood Comes Of Age 21st Birthday Week & B&W 800 Event

It’s hard to believe but the store is 21 years old in a couple of weeks. In that time we’ve seen brands and formats come and go but in all that time our core beliefs have remained the same; by offering home audio and visual equipment, that will give people the maximum enjoyment and pleasure from listening to their music or watching films.

So to celebrate turning 21, and to show off our newly decorated store, we’re going to have a birthday week celebration!

The main event will be on Thursday the 29th with Bowers and Wilkins and Chord Electronics.

We will be showing off the 800 series speakers, which have recently arrived in the store plus some goodies from Chord Electronics for source and amplification. There will be food and drink supplied and music to suit all tastes.

For the rest of the week we’ll be happy to see you, give you a cuppa and maybe even a slice of birthday cake! Ask us about our special Birthday Offers and fill in an entry form in our FREE prize draw.

1st prize - A personal guided tour of the B&W 800 production facility - Priceless!

2nd prize - B&W P5 wireless headphones worth £229.

3rd prize - B&W umbrella

Four 4th prizes - of Audio T record bags worth £49

Book your tickets for the Thursday event here

There’s no charge, but it helps us predict the space and catering requirements!

No Boswell is NOT a prize!

So there you have it, 21 years is a long time but we hope to be going for many more.

Come in and say hi and help celebrate with us.

Paul, Francis, Jason and Boswell - Audio T Brentwood

New Rega Planar 8 Record Player At Audio T Brighton

We enjoyed hosting our Rega Planar 8 launch and Diverse Vinyl ‘pop up shop’ on Saturday 3rd November, as it gave us and a good number of customers the first opportunity to experience just how good the new Planar 8 is.

Planar 8 with Neo power supply.

The rather beautifully formed new Planar 8 was inspired by the ultimate Rega turntable, the Naiad. The 8 is full of innovation and clever solutions to engineering issues, with improvements over its predecessor in many areas.

The skeletal Planar 8 excluding felt mat and acrylic cover.

It can be chosen without a cartridge or configured with Ania MC or Apheta 2 MC with a price advantage. The Planar 8 inc Apheta provides a very fine performance for the price and is likely to prove very popular, with the Planar 8 inc Ania also punching well above its weight.

At our launch event, we had two Planar 8’s with the cartridge options on demonstration and it was interesting that everyone could clearly hear a substantial difference. We have of course chosen to keep the Apheta 2 version as our demonstrator, so come along with a few records and give it a good listen. So, if you haven’t yet had the chance to hear it, we think you will like it!

The exciting box opening…

Join us at Audio T Brighton

Rega products are available are available from all branches of Audio T.