The New Rega Brio Integrated Amplifier At Audio T Brighton
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Auralic Aries Mini Wireless Streamer / DAC Audio T Bristol
/The Auralic Aries Mini streamer and DAC has a very small footprint (13.5cm x 13.5cm x 2.8cm). It is a wireless streaming node that is full of features fit for music lovers and audiophiles at a real world price.
It is designed to fit seamlessly into an existing Hi-Fi system by either plugging straight into your amp via its RCA outs or connecting to a DAC. The Mini supports all your usual file formats, with PCM resolutions of up to 32bit 384Khz and DSD 256 (FULL FAT NO COMPRESSION, yes come on). The unit can be set up, via an ethernet cable or via WiFi, to stream from either a local network, attached storage, Tidal, Qobuz and Internet Radio.
Despite its small dimensions Auralic have left room inside for a hard drive so you can store your music on the device itself. You can also connect to it via Airplay and Bluetooth there isn’t much this thing can’t do!
Control is everything where network devices are concerned and Auralic have produced, and continue to improve, a fantastic app (Lightning DS) that can be used with any IOS device. This user friendly app is a dream to operate, look at and is easily one of the better apps out there. It comes with a simple in-app set up guide to activate the product and sync up everything you want to use it with.
We have used the mini in the shop for a couple of months now and it has not let us down once. Connected via its RCA outputs it performs really well considering it's price. Even on a system costing thousands it does not draw unwanted attention to itself. Connected to a DAC in the same system it will perform even better making it a good choice if you plan to upgrade your system in stages. We also used it in a headphone setup feeding a Naim DACv1 using the £800 Focal Elear and it proved to be an excellent combination with an expansive detailed sound that just made you want to sit and listen.
Auralic Aries, Focal Elear Headphones and Naim DAC V1
We tried it with a wide range of music from Pink Floyd to Dvorak and pop to full on EDM. It delivered a balanced presentation that didn't lean toward any particular genre it just played everything really well.
We absolutely love the Auralic Aries Mini, so if you're looking for a simple plug and play streamer then please come and have a listen.
DEVICE CAPABILITIES
- Local UPnP/DLNA Network Player
- Tidal, Qobuz and WiMP online streaming
- Internet Radio
- Airplay, Songcast and Bluetooth
- USB Playback with optional internal HDD/SSD
Auralic Hi-Fi products are also available from the following branches of Audio T:
Bristol, Cheltenham, Reading, Southampton
RNLI Music & Hi-Fi Evening
/We are very proud to announce that Audio T Southampton will be assisting the RNLI to host a charity music & Hi-Fi evening with support from key manufacturers, Naim Audio, Dynaudio and The Chord Company plus local independent record store Hundred Records.
The Hi-Fi system for the event will be of the highest quality with Naim's now legendary Statement amplification providing more than adequate power!
Dynaudio's stunning Evidence Platinum will be the suitably elegant speakers to match Statement and to ensure that the venue is filled with perfect sound.
Linking it all together The Chord Company's high end ChordMusic cables and interconnects will ensure that this £250,000+ system will really sing!
A wide range of streamed music and vinyl will be played with demo albums generously provided by Mark Wills from Hundred Records in Romsey.
What better way could there be to spend an evening? This will be a unique opportunity to hear a truly awesome esoteric Hi-Fi system in a comfortable and spacious venue whilst supporting one of the most vital and highly valued of all charities, the RNLI.
Tickets are now available for £10 in store at Audio T, Chandlers Ford and at Hundred Records, Romsey and from RNLI Romsey, tel: 01794 323602
Details of money raising prize draws and raffles are still being finalised so please check our store blog regularly for updates.
We look forward to working with the participating Hi-Fi manufacturers, Hundred Records and The White Horse Hotel, Romsey, who are generously providing a superb venue free of charge, to ensure that a great evening is enjoyed by all and, most importantly, that it is a very successful fundraising event for the RNLI.
Alan and John
Kudos X2 Speakers Small And Perfectly Formed At Audio T Brentwood
/We've just taken delivery of our Kudos X2 speakers for demonstration and wow! This tiny pair of floorstanders is having no problem filling either of our dem rooms with music.
They're only 780mm x 166mm x 206mm (hwd) but boy do they produce the goods. Put them on the end of a Naim system, or a Rega Saturn/Elex and they really sing. We've also had great results on the end of the Unison valve amplifiers.
The Kudos X2 drive units are specially designed by SEAS and the cabinet is cleverly tuned to produce a big expansive and, most importantly musical performance.
Boswell for scale!
They're at home with all types of music from the expansive electronica of Malia and Boris Blank's album "Convergence" to the acoustic blues/country sound of Chris Jones' "Roadhouses and Automobiles" two of our favourite dem albums of the moment.
So, tiny speakers, room friendly, huge sound, and available in a variety of finishes: what's not to like?
Their bigger brothers the Kudos X3 will be arriving shortly as well.
Visit us at Audio T Brentwood and have a listen, we think you'll be very impressed.
Kudos Loudspeakers are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brighton, Bristol, Manchester, Portsmouth, Reading, Swindon
Martin Logan Electromotion Electrostatic Loudspeakers At Audio T Cheltenham
/We are very pleased to announce that we are now stocking the new Martin Logan Electromotion Electrostatic loudspeakers. These use electrostatic panels rather than conventional dynamic drive units to produce the mid-range and high frequencies.
How an Electrostatic Works:
Electrostatic loudspeakers comprise of three basic components - Stators, diaphragm and Spars all assembled as a sandwich structure. The diaphragm is an electrically conductive plastic film that is stretched taught between the stators. The stators are are perforated steel sheets coated with an insulator. When in operation the diaphragm is charged to a fixed positive voltage by a high voltage power supply. (This is why all electrostatics are mains powered). The stators are connected to the speaker outputs of the amplifier via a step-up transformer. This converts the amplifiers output to a pair of high voltage signals of equal strength but opposite polarities. As the positive charge in one stator grows the negative charge in the other grows an equal amount. As like charges attract and negative charges repel the positive charge on the diaphragm will force it to move forwards and backwards depending on the charge. Therefore the stronger the charge the greater the movement and produces the movement of the diaphragm normally seen in a conventional drive unit. To help stiffen the panel and prevent the diaphragm from coming too close to the stators non conductive strips called spars are placed along the length of each panel.
The Benefits of an Electrostatic Loudspeaker:
Conventional loudspeaker drivers use a cone attached to a voice coil; the centre of the cone is only being driven and the rest of the cone is just following along. This means the cones have to be made as rigid as possible creating additional weight. The tweeter however needs to be as light as possible to enable it to achieve higher frequencies. Electrostatics overcome this as the diaphragm is driven across its entirety so it does not need to be rigid and can be made of an exceptionally light material. This enables the panel to produce sonic details with exceptional precision. The panel can operate over an exceptionally wide frequency response which eliminates the need for a crossover network between the mid range and the tweeter. Conventional loudspeakers can have the the problem of cabinet colouration and there will always be an effect on the drive units from the cabinet. This is eliminated in the mid to high frequencies of an electrostatic as there is no cabinet. Another key benefit of an electrostatic is that it operates as a true dipole. This enables them to offer exceptional clarity and an astonishing deep open sound stage.
The only drawback to the electrostatic is that they cannot reproduce the deepest of bass sounds. Martin Logan have overcome this by utilising a hybrid design. The very lowest frequencies are reproduced via a very high quality dynamic woofer. These are crossed over to the electrostatic panel via a carefully tailored cross over network. The critically damped woofers used ensure a seamless transition between the two types of drivers.
Electromotion ESL:
The ESL incorporates an Xstat Electrostatic panel with a total radiating area of 129 square inches. The panel is coupled with an 8 inch high excursion doped fibre coned woofer designed exclusively for the ESL. The lightweight cone achieves remarkably low distortion levels allowing seamless integration with the electrostatic panel. Connection to the amplifier is via high quality binding posts and the speaker is supplied with heavy duty spikes allowing tighter coupling between the speaker and the floor.
Electromotion ESL-X:
The ESL-X features a larger electrostatic transducer and utilises dual 8 inch woofers. The Xstat panel has a radiation area over 50 inches larger that the ESL and is coupled with two 8 inch doped paper high excursion woofers housed in a non resonant bass reflex enclosure. This achieves a frequency response of 41Hz to 22kHz. Offering an easy load of 6 Ohms and power handling of 20 to 400 Watts.
Listening:
We have had the Martin Logans set up with numerous systems. These have included Naim ND5XS Streamer coupled with an Arcam A39 class G amplifier, Clearaudio Performance DC turntable coupled with a Unison Research S6 valve amplifier. In all the systems we have tried the speakers have provided exceptional mid range clarity and high frequency performance. The sound stage provided is almost holographic. There have been instances when you could not tell where the speakers were as the sound stage was so expansive that the speakers appeared to disappear. As a hybrid the integration of the bass is of paramount importance. To test this we played 'Drones' by Muse and they produced exceptionally deep and tight bass akin to a conventional high end loudspeaker. However at no time did you feel that this was at the expense of the open midrange and top end performance. 'Pacific Coast Highway' by Christopher Franke (Tangerine Dream) again has thundering bass with a very open midrange that at times just sounded truly astonishing. Vocals are also truly lifelike. We played Tracey Chapman 'Fast Cars' and the emotion portrayed in her voice was up there with the best I have ever heard. Classical music is somewhere these speakers really do excel, playing a string quartet the players are so well positioned you can place them to within inches to such an extent that you really do feel that they are in front of you. Full scale orchestra such as Shostakovich Symphony No 8 also has exceptional power and depth.
We really do feel that these speakers are capable of producing certain aspects of music that conventional loudspeakers find very difficult to attain. A demonstration is highly recommended.
Contact Jon and Farid, Audio T Cheltenham 01242 583960 to book your personal demonstration.
Reflecting on 25 Years Of Service at Audio T
/It only seems like yesterday when as a teenager I first set foot in Audio Excellence in Swansea to purchase my first Hi-Fi, and who knows that it would have led to this....
At 16 years of age I had saved all of my part time job money so that I could become the very proud owner of a new Dual Turntable, NAD amplifier and Celestion speakers. That is where (what was to be) my life long love of music and hi-fi began.
I had only bought a few LP's up until that point which I played on the family music centre which was very average at best! I had heard a friends system and I wanted one of my own. A few months later I had my system and had started buying a lot more music to listen to. This then lead to going to see the artists I liked in concert and more visits to Audio Excellence, although these trips were mainly to buy more anti-static record sleeves for my ever growing collection.
A few years later and I found myself being made redundant and making daily visits to the job centres around the area, until one day I saw an advert for an electrical retailer with the hours Tuesday to Saturday. I instantly knew who it was, so I grabbed an application form and headed off to a friends workplace to fill it in as it was on the way to the shop. Once filled in I carried straight on straight to Audio Excellence to hand the application form in and was lucky enough to have a preliminary interview straight away. A few days later and it was off to the Cardiff Head Office for an interview with Tony Revelle. This is one day that I can remember very well indeed as I drove up in my Vauxhall Viva that was not in the best of running order, but not having money to fix it I arrived at Cardiff a little oily due to several maintenance stops. Laying on the floor under the car greasing the ball-joints in your best clothes somewhere near Bridgend was not the best of things to doing but the car got me there. I remember not being able to shake hands with Tony as I had dirty hands, but once we had started talking about the car while I freshened up it put me at great ease and that's where the story began...
A few silver whiskers and beard hairs these days!
25 years later I still have the same feelings about music and hi-fi, to the point that I could write exactly the same things on that application form as I did over 25 years ago; "I love listening to vinyl, I love listening to live music and love getting the best from my hi-fi".
So what has changed in all these years? Well I guess I'd have to say that why we do what we do hasn't changed at all, we still want to make sure that people get the same enjoyment from music as we do. People often ask me if I am still into "the gear" and I have to reply that "it's the music I love", and if you want to enjoy music to its fullest then there is simply no substitute for a well set up hi-fi and helping other people to get the same enjoyment has always given me great pleasure.
Thinking about how the methods of listening of music for so many people has changed over the years it did make laugh to think that as a teenager I was very excited about coming in to listen to my first turntable based system and I am now demonstrating the very same things to teenagers myself! Who would have predicted that one eh?
The cable guy...
Also, to think that I have worked at the Annual Sound & Vision - The Bristol Show for over 20 years is amazing. Again, I remember most of these as if they were yesterday although there are some days that are a little fuzzy but nothing to do with too much to drink.... obviously!
We recently celebrated Audio T's 50th Anniversary with a great evening at the shop, and 2017 also sees the 10th Anniversary of Record Store Day which is one day of the year I really look forward to. We hope to do something very special this year to celebrate as we were one of the first shops to team up with our local Record shop and make it a big day for us.
As you can imagine; I have made some wonderful friendships over the years with colleagues and customers alike, which makes me feel very lucky. Here's looking forward to the next part of the story......
Rotel 14 Series Has Arrived At Audio T Swindon
/We have taken the new Rotel 14 series of integrated amplifiers, tuners and CD player on board.
The range comprises 3 integrated amplifiers: Rotel A10 £389, Rotel A12 £799 and Rotel A14 £999 2 tuners: Rotel T11 £329 and Rotel T14 £699 and a new CD player: Rotel CD14 £549. All of them are available in black or silver.
All 3 amplifiers come with a build-in MM (moving magnet) phono amplifier for a turntable, 2 sets of loudspeaker terminals (if you want to run 1 pair in the main room and 1 pair in the kitchen) and sound control settings (bass, treble and balance). The A12 and A14 offer Bluetooth and various usb inputs. The USB-A front input can be connected to an iPhone, iPad or iPod, the rear USB-A can be used for charging or powering USB devices and the PC-USB (A12 and A14) allows you to connect a PC (drivers supplied for playback higher than 96khz). The front displays and the led's on the A12 and A14 are dimmable .There are 4 digital inputs (2 coax, 2 optical) on the back of the A12 and A14. That means you can connect up a TV or a set-top box.
From the top : A10, A12, A14
From the top : A10, A12, A14
The Rotel CD14 CD player offers digital and analogue outputs and can also be controlled via IOS/Android control app when connected to the A14 or T14.
CD14
CD14
The two tuners in the range are the T11 and the T14. Both offer FM/DAB+ . The T14 also offers internet radio and provides access to music sources like Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal, Deezer and more.
Rotel T11
T11
All in all we think the new Rotel 14 Series sounds very good so why not come in and have a listen and enjoy some sweet sounds and a nice cup of tea or coffee.
We look forward to seeing you.
Stefan and Andy - Audio T Swindon Tel: 01793 538222
Rotel Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Portsmouth, Preston, Swindon
The 12 Days of Christmas, with Apologies from Audio T Southampton
/On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Twelve DAVE's a DACing (ahem!)
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Eleven Pioneers playing (groan!)
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Ten Chords a linking (yes, I know!)
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Nine Aries playing (Oh dear!)
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Eight Naims a streamin' (did you see what I did there?)
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Seven stands supporting (yes, really!)
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent me:
Six sleeves for vinyl (this isn't easy you know!)
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Five Goldrings (Yes! Success at last!)
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Four Cyrus Ones (OK, it's not even close)
On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Three Flexsons (kind of works...)
On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
Two turntables (Close? No. OK, one more try...)
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me:
A cartridge in a fir tree! Oh, yes!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of our customers
from
Alan and John
Bowers & Wilkins P7 Full Size Bluetooth Wireless Headphones
/We have recently received the new P7 Bluetooth Headphones from B&W and straight out of the box we think they are fantastic. A quick look through the press and you will quickly find that we are not the only ones.
“B&W's P7 over-ear headphones go wireless, with spectacular results."
“B&W has produced one of the best-sounding wireless headphones you can buy at any price.”
Winner of What Hi-Fi? Awards 2016 - Best wireless headphones £300+
The P7 Wireless combines advanced acoustic technology with aptX™ Bluetooth® connectivity to deliver a seamless audio experience. They sound great with a deep articulate bass and open wide soundstage. The P7's are a very comfy fit and have a great wireless range.
The P7's aptX Bluetooth is controlled by the power button simply slide it across to turn on and off, and push it inwards to make the headphones discoverable to new devices. They charge up via a micro USB cable and have a @15hr battery life. Therefore within seconds of opening the box you can experience the gorgeous sound quality and brilliant comfort of these headphones.
Pop in to try them out, we think you will be amazed. We also carry a wide range of other Headphones, Headphone Amplifiers and Accessories. Our Big Red Winter sale is now on, with some great offers and package savings.
From Jon, Dom and Paddy, at Audio T Oxford we wish all of you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Bowers & Wilkins H-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon
Portable Musical Mini Hi-Fi To Fill Your Christmas Stocking
/Looking for some battery operated musical goodness? Do you need a little pep in your pocket? Some pizzazz in your purse? Maybe a little spice in your satchel!
Keep reading if you're looking for some great portable Hi-Fi gifts to liven up Christmas for your friends and family..
Wireless music on the go from B&W and KEF. A perfect gift for Christmas.
Both units offer bluetooth connectivity.
Ahhh!!! A Christmas HugoChromoMojo sandwich, ooooooohh, tasty.
Now for those of you that already know the Hugo & Mojo from Chord Electronics, well we don't to say much more.
But for those of you new to these two little beauties, here is what we and the hi-fi world at large say about Hugo and Mojo.
Chord Hugo blog.
Chord Mojo blog.
Both are available to order on our website. The Hugo retails at £1400. The Mojo retails at £399.
All the products are available to demonstrate at our Manchester store.
Feel free to pop in and ask Dave, Munir, Simon, Mike or Haden to show you the products mentioned here.
Chord Electronics Hi-Fi products are available from:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston,
Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon
KEF products are available from:
Brentwood, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Portsmouth, Preston, Southampton,
Swansea, Swindon
Bowers & Wilkins products are available from:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon
It's Christmas Time And We Have Hi-Fi Gifts To Suit All Budgets!
/We've got all sorts of Hi-Fi goodies in store for the music lover in your life to give as a major present, stocking filler, or just to treat yourself for Christmas!
Here's Boswell with a small selection for your perusal.
There's the new fabulous B&W P9 Signature headphones, a new level of sophistication from this renowned company
We have of course all of the other B&W headphones for you to try.
Or how about the fabulous Chord Mojo portable headphone amplifier and DAC currently available with a FREE leather carry case. (Offer ends 05-01-2017).
How about helping your system to fulfill its potential with a cable upgrade? We have a wide range from Audioquest and The Chord Company
Non Christmassy colours are available!
If you listen to your music on vinyl, there is also a wide variety of accessories for your turntable. From a little carbon fibre brush to keep your most prized needle sparklingly clean, through record cleaning brushes, new cartridges from Ortofon and Rega, and the wonderful Project VC-S record cleaning machine. We even have record players for under £200.
Of course we also have our full range of excellent electronics and speakers to choose from and don't forget our Big Red Sale Winter sale has started, so there are some fantastic savings to be made!
We'll take this opportunity to wish you all a peaceful and merry Christmas and look forward to seeing you over the holiday period.
Paul, Francis, Jason and, of course, Boswell the bear.
Audio T Brentwood
Tel: 01277 264730
It Will All Become Clear When You Hear The Focal Elear!
/We recently had a Naim open day showing the new Naim Uniti range and they also bought along for the day the new Focal Headphones, the Utopia and the Elear.
We had a demonstration pair of the Elear Headphone to have a proper listen to and get a feel for what this £800 headphone can do.
First things first, these headphones are extremely comfortable and considering their size they just feel right. The cable fitted is long enough to let you kick back in your favourite chair and drift relaxingly away to your favourite tunes.
The proof of the pudding as they say is in the eating! These are a semi open design and as such have a very open and detailed presentation, with a good balance across the frequency range not over emphasising any particular part of the performance, they just boogie.
Having tried lots of different music I found them very much to my taste, two things I thought. Could I live with these.....yes I could and is there anything better I've heard....yes there is the Focal Utopia, but at £3,000 I'd have to keep my children sweeping chimneys for another 10 years.
Why not come along and have a listen at Audio T Brighton.
Focal Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cheltenham, Online, Portsmouth, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon
Wishing all our customers a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year,
Julian, Paul and John
The Twelve Hi-Fi Gifts of Christmas!
/We here at Audio T know how hard it can be to choose a gift for your music mad loved ones so this year we have you covered. Here are our top twelve suggestions to help you give the gift and joy of music this Christmas.
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me…a Sonos Play:1!
This diminutive wireless speaker has a huge sound! Using the Sonos excellent free app, opens up a world of audio streaming from your own collection, Internet radio and streaming services such as Qobuz, Spotify and Tidal. Perfect for the person who loves streaming music from their phone or computer.
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me…a Chord Electronics Mojo!
This little headphone amp/DAC has made huge waves this year, winning numerous awards and accolades and for good reason! The Mojo is simply stunning, transforming your phone into a mini hi-fi! Also pictured is the very useful Mojo cable pack and durable carry case (both sold separately) Perfect for those who are listen to a lot of music on the go. At the moment you can buy a Mojo and get a FREE carry case (Offer ends 05-01-2017)
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me…a Denon D-M40 and Q Acoustics 3010 speakers!
This little system is fantastic as a entry into HI-Fi or as an additional system in another room in your house. Capable of playing CD, DAB radio and music via USB, this is a gorgeous combination of amplifier and speaker. Perfect for a first audio system.
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…Sennheiser HD4.30i headphones!
This headphones are amazingly good value for money, strong defined bass and punchy mids combine for a lovely sound and the fact they are comfortable and foldable makes them great for wearing on the go. Perfect for anyone who listens to music when they are out and about.
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…Sennheiser HD 599 headphones!
The HD 599’s are brilliant headphones for home use. They have a gorgeous open sound which never gets fatiguing and are easy to listen to for hours. Perfect for those who like to listen through headphones at home.
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…Dynaudio Emit M10 Loudspeakers!
We have been very impressed with the Emit line by Dynaudio, they have a balanced sound yet are still exciting to listen to and the little M10’s are no exception. Perfect for someone who needs new speakers for a entry to mid level system.
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me…a Rega Planar 1 turntable!
Vinyl is all the rage at the moment but to take advantage of this you need a good turntable, which is where the Planar 1 comes in, offering superb looks, build and importantly sound quality….what more do you want? Perfect for someone who wants to get into vinyl.
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…a Project Debut Carbon DC!
The Debut Carbon is a large step above entry level. It comes with a fantastic cartridge in the Ortofon 2m Red and combined with the carbon fibre arm makes for a highly enjoyable combination. Perfect for those who want to take their basic setup up a gear.
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…a Project VC-S vinyl record cleaner!
One of the best upgrades you can do in a turntable setup is clean your vinyl, the result is staggering. The VSC makes short work of this otherwise mundane task, using its powerful vacuum to suck up any dirt and excess liquid from the surface of your favourite record or LP. Also pictured is Project’s Brush it and Clean it (both sold separately), essential tools for any turntable owner. Perfect for those who are serious about their vinyl.
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…an Arcam rHead headphone amp!
A lot of the time we just suffer with poor quality through headphones for convenience sake, however a good headphone amplifier can change that completely. The R-head is one of the best on the market at the price and can transform your headphone listening experience. Perfect for the person who wants better quality sound from their headphones.
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me…a phono stage!
We couldn’t decide on just one phono stage so we thought we’d recommend a few, pictured are the Project Phonobox MM, Project tube box DS, Nytech Audio CDP122 and the Rega Fono MM. These boxes all have the capability to transform your setup, just let us know your system and we can recommend the best match! Perfect for someone who wants to either start or improve their vinyl setup.
On the twelth day of Christmas my true love gave to me…a Naim Mu-so QB!
This mini system has taken the market by storm and with very good reason! The Mu-so QB allows you to play your music via, Wi-Fi, Tidal, Spotify, internet radio, Bluetooth, usb and many more with stunning audio quality. It makes a great additional to an existing Naim setup in the form of multi-room or serves as an introduction to high quality audio. Perfect for just about anyone who wants to add high quality music streaming to a room in their house.
We hope this list has been useful for you, and as always we are always here to help you in store to make further recommendations and provide demonstrations of anything in the store. Many of the items listed are included in our winter Big Red Sale so please get in contact for more information.
From Hefin, Nick and Gareth, at Audio T Cardiff we wish all of you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Bowers & Wilkins P9 Signature Headphones The Ultimate Stocking And Head Filler
/The newest addition to the Bowers & Wilkins award winning P series headphone range, the P9 Signature, has just arrived in store.
The P9 Signature is the flagship model of the range costing £699 and is made using some very luxurious materials, including: saffiano leather, giving a distinctive cross hatch finish and forged foldable aluminium arms for greater durability.
The performance of the P9 has to be heard and is a big step up from the previous flagship model, the P7. The P9 is one of the most comfortable headsets we have tried and more than delivers on performance offering great sound quality.
One of the main changes made to the B&W P9's are the drivers, this all new design have been angled and when listening, gives a more natural presentation, focused in front of you, rather than to the side.
A de-coupled headband helps stop vibration, giving the P9 a very open soundstage, but not taking away any of the bass.
The P9 also come with a luxury protective case.
Pop in to try them out, we think you will be amazed.
Our Big Red Winter sale is now on, with some great offers and package savings to help make it a very Merry Christmas.
Ian, Gavin & Andy
Audio T Preston
Tel: 01772 883958
Bowers & Wilkins Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon
Auralic, Russell K & Cyrus: New Product Additions At Audio T Reading
/We are delighted to announce the inclusion of a number of new products, two of which are wholly new suppliers to the Reading store.
Auralic
For us the timing could not be better than now to introduce Auralic to our range. In an age of ever decreasing CD player sales, we have been looking, as have many of our customers, for a streaming solution that is universal, i.e. matches any existing brand and at the same time is affordable. Auralic are just such a brand. Indeed maybe the only one at present?
From as little as just £449, the Aries Mini is a serious quality, tiny (about the size of an Apple TV) full HD streamer (up to DSD even over WiFi) and client in one. With analogue outputs included and the ability to fit an SSD drive internally, it can be a complete solution and simultaneously serve other rooms.
For the audiophile the Auralic Aries (£1495) is their high-end solution for streaming, just add your own DAC to the required level.
For those looking for an entire digital streaming compact separates system we have the Altair streamer/pre-amp and Merak 200w Monoblock amps. Just add speakers. £5747.
Key to the Auralic experience is their fantastic IOS app, Lightning DS. By far the most powerful and intuitive music app we've used to date. Giving you full access to your local music library as well as direct to your Tidal or Qobuz accounts.
Innuos
To complement the Auralic and any other streamers we have chosen Innuos. Innuos make a range of Server/CD rippers starting from as little as £699.
Simply slide in a CD and the unit rips, downloads metadata and artwork and builds your library. Full editing access is by an excellent cross-platform browser support page.
Russell K
In a crowded market place full of great speakers (well here anyway) there seems little room for more. That would be true if they didn't offer something new and fresh, a different perspective perhaps or a different set of priorities.
In Russell K's designs we have just that; a fresh outlook. Russell's top priority was to convey the artist's message more than anything else but not at the expense of tonal colourations and other distortions; a tall order. His solution was not to follow, but to lead by thinking afresh the design parameters. His designs have to internal wadding whatsoever, thin cabinets walls and a thick baffle. The result; speakers that cut straight to the performance with no perceivable time smearing and are capable of serious musical engagement. They have an incredible bass response belying their size and can be driven by affordable amplifiers. We rather like them!
Three models are available; The original RK Red 100 and the smaller Red 50, both standmounts and available in gloss black (premium) or a variety of wood veneers. The Red 150 floorstanders, small but full range.
Cyrus
Welcome back, Cyrus One!
After what must be over 25 years, Cyrus again have a model One. Naturally, apart from its dimensions and overall design it's all new and technologically up-to-date.
A little powerhouse of an amp capable of driving any speaker likely to be used at the price point, it's immediate and fun with a great sense of drive, a truly worthy successor.
Cyrus One rear panel
Features include; Bluetooth connectivity and a decent phono stage, so should appeal to all the family's needs. £699
Auralic streaming Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Bristol, Cheltenham, Southampton
Innuos rippers and music streamers are also available from:
Brentwood, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Oxford, Portsmouth,
Southampton, Swansea, Swindon
Russell K Loudspeakers are also available at: Enfield, Portsmouth
Cyrus Hi-Fi products are also available from:
Brentwood, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Portsmouth, Reading, Southampton, Swindon
Audio-Technica ATH-A990Z Headphones Now On Demonstration At Audio T Enfield
/We have just taken delivery of the Audio-Technica ATH-A990Z ART Monitor on ear Headphones.
Visually the ATH-A990Z are excellent, the lightweight green aluminium housing looks and feels like quality craftsmanship.
The ATH-A990Z's feature a "3D wing support" which Audio-Technica claim that provides a great fit and long-wearing comfort. I couldn't of put it better myself, they are certainly one of the most comfortable sets of headphones I have tried.
Here you can see the premium, soft ear pads for a comfortable fit.
The ATH-A990Z feature a 3.0m cloth-wrapped tangle-free cable. Also the 6.3" jack screws onto the 3.5mm jack, which I thought was a nice touch.
Every 53mm driver is hand-assembled in Japan for highly reliable performance. The yoke magnetic component contributes to the high-resolution audio reproduction with its superior transient response. OFC bobbin-wound voice coils enable efficient signal transfer. The top-mounted PCB contributes to smoother airflow for precise diaphragm movement.
The one thing that surprised me the most about the ATH-A990Z is how open and airy they sound considering they are a closed-back design. Audio-Technica have created what they call a Double Air Damping System (D.A.D.S.) structure which they claim provides deep bass reproduction. In my opinion it does more than this, by giving a more "open-backed" performance, rather than a "bloated" or "closed" sound.
For me the Audio-Technica ATH-A990Z does nothing wrong. The comfort is amazing and the sound defines its closed-back design. For £199 I've not found any better.
Many thanks for reading. Why not come along and have a listen!
Simon Harknett @ Audio T Enfield Tel: 0208 367 3132
Audio-Technica Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford,Portsmouth, Southampton, Swansea
Compact Neat Iota Alpha Floor Standing Speakers Need To Be Heard To Be Believed
/We take a closer look at the Neat Iota Alpha compact floor standing speakers. Aesthetically, we think these are a great looking pair of speakers, which are available in four finishes: American walnut, black oak, natural oak and satin white.
They sport three drive units consisting of a ribbon tweeter a mid-range and a downward firing bass driver. The tweeter and mid-range driver are angled upwards, which give them the ability to produce a wonderfully wide soundstage and a surprising room filling capacity for a speaker that stands only 48cm high. Yes that's right 48cm, 480mm just under 19''. No matter how you measure it, that's small! Whatever you do, don't dismiss them based on their diminutive size, because the Neat Iota Alpha is a discrete speaker that still produces a big sound!
They are an ideal match with the new Naim Uniti Atom Cyrus ONE the Rega Apollo, Brio-R,Elex-R combination and many others.
If space is limited and discretion is paramount but you don't want to compromise on sound quality, then the Neat Iota Alpha's priced at £1,385 offer a very neat (pardon the pun) solution. They must be heard to be believed!
Give Nick, Joe and James a call at Audio T Portsmouth on 02392 663604 to book your personal demonstration and prepare to be amazed.
Neat Acoustic Loudspeakers are available at the following branches of Audio T: Brighton, Cheltenham, Oxford, Portsmouth, Reading
Chord Electronics Mojo Portable Headphone Amplifier And DAC
/I have only been at the company a short time and I was very excited to be given the opportunity to write a blog, so I decided to pick one of my current favourites, the Chord Electronics Mojo, an award winning portable headphone amplifier and DAC (digital to analogue converter). While it may look small it’s certainly not light weight, it feels very solid in your hand and gives you the impression that it is built to last.
Fits comfortably in the palm of your hand - hand not included ;-)
The device has a very simple layout and is operated with the use of only 3 buttons these are power on and 2 volume controls (+ and -). By using a series of button press combinations you are able to easily adjust the input / output settings of the DAC. For example holding down the volume control buttons when the device is being powered up will set it to the LINE out function.
How do I use it?
The Mojo can be used with a variety of different digital sources. It can be used with a PC or Mac an iPad or Android tablet or phone. It can also turn its hand to being used in a system as a standalone DAC.
What does it sound like?
To listen to the Chord Electronics Mojo I used two different sets of headphones: the impressive Audioquest Nighthawks as well as my trusty Sennheiser HD 25-1 so I would be able to see how it would sound using two different brands of headphones.
USB, optical and coaxial inputs
The sound ‘quality’ was immediately noticeable, clarity and dynamics stood out, with the DAC doing wonders and the amplifier giving grip and drive to the headphones. I used a variety of music genres so I could get an honest opinion across the musical spectrum. On the Audioquest Nighthawks I got the impression that there was smooth clear balance to the sound and they quite obviously benefited being plugged into such an accomplished DAC come headphone amp. My trusty HD25’s have never sounded so good and I honestly didn’t think they could sound that good!
This product is in my opinion the leader in its class and will not disappoint when it comes to a great audio experience, really bringing out the sound stage enhancing the listening experience, in the grand scale of things the Chord Electronics Mojo really packs its punch for the buck.
For the techno minded and audiophile readers the technical specs are as follows:
Mojo has 3 digital inputs 1 x TOS-Link optical capable of playing 44.1KHz to 192KHz PCM and DSD64 in DoP format. 1 x 3.5mm COAX SPDIF capable of playing 44.1KHz to 384Khz PCM (768KHz special operation) and DSD64, DSD128 in DoP format. 1 x micro USB capable of 44KHz to 768KHz PCM and DSD64, DSD128 and DSD256 in DoP format
Blogger and Audio T Bristol Store staff member - James Cannon
Chord Electronics Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston,
Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon
Audio T Oxford 50th Anniversary & Naim Statement Event
/To celebrate our 50th Birthday, we would like to invite you to an open day on Saturday 26th November for some food, fizz and fun.
We will be showcasing Naim’s flagship Statement system. The pinnacle of Naim’s engineering knowledge and artistry. The series comprises the NAC S1 preamplifier and NAP S1 mono power amplifiers.
To partner such an amazing system we will be demonstrating the outstanding Dynaudio Evidence Platinum speakers. This stunning combination is quite possibly one of the greatest Hi-Fi systems available today, with a price ticket to match at a cool quarter of a million pounds!
If Carlsberg did Hi-Fi systems this would be it.
The event starts at noon on Saturday 26th and finishes at 5pm. We will be playing a wide selection of Hi-Res and Streamed Music and will be more than happy to take requests.
Come and celebrate with us.
We look forward seeing you.
Jon, Dom and Paddy
For more information please email us at oxford@audio-t.co.uk or call us on 01865 765961.
Unison Research Simply Italy. An Italian Job That Won't Blow Your Bloody Doors Off!
/Audio T Manchester now have the wonderful Unison Research Simply Italy to add to our stock profile. This little beauty picks up the mantle from the equally wonderful Simply Two amplifier.
Sharing many of the characteristics and sonic attributes of the Simply Two, the Simply Italy is a more compact design with a shoe box size footprint, a single ended ultralinear class A design with 12 watts of power and utilizing LE34 valves in the output stage and ECC82 in its pre-amplifier and driver stages. Perfectly suited for small to medium size living rooms.
Unison Research have been around for more than 20 years. The Simply Italy is made at the Unison Research factory in Italy.
The beautiful wooden panel not only looks good but helps to dampen any chassis resonances.
Nice and simple! An Input selector with a tape loop and the volume dial.
A small toggle switch takes care of the negative feedback and allows adjustments of 1.8db or 5db. You can switch between settings while listening, we prefered the 5db setting but the choice is yours. So you can tailor the sound to your musical tastes.
Chromey thinks he's back in his old pod racing days, that's not a gear lever matey. Bless him...
How many valves do you see?
The Russian made pentode EL34 valves and the ECC82 twin triodes with Chromey the clone trooper, all round super nice guy.
Behind bars for living a life of chrome.....ba dum tish.
Our Simply Italy valve amplifier is on demonstration at our Manchester store. You may spot it sitting there proudly as part of our window display. So come along to the store and take a peek or even a listen if you so choose.
Keep an eye out for Dave, Munir, Mike, Simon and Haden who will be more than willing to help.
Unison Research Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Cheltenham, Oxford, Portsmouth, Reading, Manchester
