QUAD Artera Solus and ATC Loudspeakers New H-Fi At Audio T Portsmouth

We have recently taken on the New Quad Solus from the Artrera range and ATC loudspeakers. We were hugely impressed by the Solus when first we heard it, and likewise with the ATCs.

When both products arrived on the same the same day we thought why not run them in together. One of the first speakers we received from ATC where the SCM11 and we thought they would be a good match for the Quad Solus. We think we were right.

The Solus features a CD player, Bluetooth, accessible DAC including 3 digital coax, 2 optical inputs and an Asynchronous USB. There are 2 analogue RCA inputs as well. You are also spoiled for choice when it comes down to outputs. There are 2 analogue pre-outputs, RCA's and Balanced allowing you to add the Artera Stereo power amp should you wish. Finlay there is also an optical out should you need. A very well spaced product for a one box solution offering some serious upgrade options.

ATC SCM 11

Moving to the other end of the system, the ATC SCM11. A beautifully designed infinite baffle (closed box) two way speaker, offering 4 finish options. Black ash, Cherry (featured) Satin black and white.  Made in Britain I might add.  We mounted them on the Custom Design FS104 signature stands, as everything seems to work well on them, connected them with Chord Rumour speaker cable, popped in ''Long Road Out of Eden'' by the Eagles and pressed play. Straight out of the box the SCM11s sounded pretty good if not a little restrained as one might expect. We left them to it for a couple of hours and unboxed the rest of the ATC speakers that had arrived. Such as the SCM7 SCM19 and the SCM40.

We sat down for a listen and even after a relatively short running in period they had already opened up and where starting to sound more engaging. As good as they sounded, we knew there was more to come, and to form an opinion then and there would be unfair so we left them running for the rest of the day and over night. Towards the end of the following day we sat down again and put them through their paces. By this time the Solus had plenty of time to sound at its best, and overall performance was vastly improved from the previous day, by that I mean almost a totally different sound. The bass extension was great, dynamic, tight and fun. To let the bottom end show off a little, we played Newton Faulkners version of Massive Attacks “Tear Drop”. Newton’s slightly gravelly vocal characteristic really came through, but the really fun bit happens right at the end. There is a huge bass tone that can sound either flat or overblown on a lot of systems. Not this one. A good test for clarity and separation for vocals is Blood Money by Tom Waits ''Misery is the river of the world'' specifically. With Waits distinctive vocal style, it is not always easy to understand what he is growling on about. Having said that even when every word is crystal clear one can still be left none the wiser. The lyrics were well defined and easy to make out. The overall sound from the system is well detailed without being analytical, well defined in the bottom but most importantly really good fun to listen to. As cliche' as it sounds the Solus SCM11 combo really brought the music to life, it gives spaciousness and real presence allowing you to fully immerse in whatever you are listening to.

We had a quick play with the DAC side of things using the Sonos Connect. We used a Chord Company Clearway Digital coax interconnect  and Clearway Analogue so we could switch between them. We simply repeated what we had previously listened to through Spotify. The difference was quite clear. The Solus dac made a really good account of itself improving the Spotify source no end.

To conclude, the Quad Artera Solus is versatile, solid great build quality and is fun and engaging to listen to. A grate value product that punches above its price point. We can't wait to spend more time with the SCM11 and rest of the ATC range.  The SCM11 aloud the Solus to really stretch its wings, they are responsive, engaging, fun with great tonal balance. We can't find a bad word to say about them and are really looking forward with more electronics in the future.

Come and hear for yourself.

We look forward to seeing you at Audio T Portsmouth.

Nick Joe and James

ATC Loudspeakers are available at the following branches of Audio T:
Brighton, Bristol, Cheltenham, Portsmouth

Classic Album Sunday Hi-Fi System

On the 14th October we supplied and set up a hi-fi system in Pie and Vinyl for an event called Classic Album Sunday.

Classic Album Sunday describe themselves as: “the world's most popular and respected album listening event with satellites in four continents.”

The event was hosted by a great local record shop called Pie and Vinyl, and this is just one of many such events that are put on around the UK that “tells the stories behind the albums that have shaped our culture and in some cases, our lives.”

The album chosen by Classic Album Sunday for the event was Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth. For anyone not familiar, it’s a very raw sounding, indie-rock album from the late eighties, not exactly an album we would choose to show off a high quality hi-fi system so we were a little apprehensive. We wanted to use some of our favourite kit, but some hi-fi can be very unforgiving of “low-fi” recordings like Daydream Nation so we had to choose our system carefully. We wanted the sound to be raw and live sounding, without being so warts-and-all that it was unpleasant to listen to.

After some experimentation in the shop, this is the system we decided on, and it surpassed our expectations on the night.

Rega RP10 with Aphelion Cartridge

Rega RP10 with the Rega Aphelion Cartridge British company Rega make our favourite turntables and they play everything well. They are especially engaging for rock music, and are hand made in their factor Colchester in Essex.

Rega Aria

Rega Aria Phono Stage is a high quality phono stage for Moving Magnet or Moving Coil cartridges.

Naim SuperNait 2

Naim SuperNait 2 Naim Audio make world class hi-fi from their factory in Salisbury, UK. Many people get hooked on their outstanding musical presentation and never look back.

PMC Twenty5 24 Speakers

PMC Twenty5 24 Speakers With their heritage in making professional monitors for recording studios, these speakers will get you as close as any to how the artist intended the music to sound. PMC are another British Hi-Fi companyand are based in Bedfordshire in the UK.

REL S3 SHO

REL S3 SHO Subwoofer REL, based in Bridgend in Wales, are a specialist subwoofer manufacturer and we think they are the best, especially good with stereo music systems, which they were originally designed for. Home cinema was a bonus!

Other components in the system include Naim FraimLite rack, Naim NACA5 speaker cable, Chord Epic Interconnect, various power cables including Naim Powerline, Chord Signature and Shawline. Silent Mount SM7. All contribute to the performance of the system.

The people that attended, we hope you enjoyed the event as much as we did and if you’re reading this, please feel free to come and listen to any of the above hi-fi equipment in one of our comfortable demonstration rooms.

Till next time - Nick, Joe and James - Audio T Portsmouth

Rega Hi-Fi products are available from all branches of Audio T

Naim Hi-Fi products are available from all branches of Audio T

Chord Co cables are available from all branches of Audio T

REL sub bass systems are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

Acoustic Energy AE300 Series. Great Sound. Great Look. Great Price!

Over the past week we have been playing with some new speakers from Acoustic Energy. The AE300 stand mount and the AE309 floor standing loudspeakers. They are available in three high standard finishes a Black or White Gloss finish and a Satin real wood Walnut veneer. There is also a centre speaker available, the AE307 for home cinema use.

The new 300 series offers some big upgrades from the entry level 100 series in both performance and aesthetics. The new mid bass drive units have been designed together to achieve a seamless tonal balance and the aluminium dome tweeter features wide dispersion technology which provides a greater sweet spot in your room making placement within a room easier.

Internal bracing inside the cabinet improves rigidity and reduces colouration of sound, and in the case of the AE309 (Gloss Finish and £1099 for walnut) they come mass filled which greatly improves stability and gives solidity allowing for a cleaner and more open performance. There is also a slot shaped port at the rear as found in the 100 series which allows for greater bass control and the ability to position them closer to a wall than most rear ported loudspeaker designs.

We thought we would use the same electronics for both speakers to keep a level playing field and we opted for the Rega Planar 3 with the Rega Elex-R integrated amp. Of course the AE300 at £599 for the Gloss finishes and £649 for the walnut are not strictly the right speakers within that system but we wanted to see just what they could do so we put them on the Custom Design FS104 stands mass filled and dug out a record. We kicked of with the second album from London Grammar, ‘‘Truth Is A Beautiful Thing’’ and played it all the way through side one. Impressed… they handled Hannahs powerful vocals and the some time ridiculous bass London Grammar like to employ. They sounded very present in the room without being forced and still allowing plenty of space around the vocal, giving loads of depth to the soundstage an offering a really enjoyable listen. I have a feeling that the AE300’s will work really well with anything within reason.

Next of course we moved up to the AE309. The extra drive unit and cabinet provided far greater bass extension and presence. In some cases when a stand mounted speaker sounds so good the first floor stander in a range can sound a little bloated, uncontrolled and can lose clarity. Not a bit of it. The AE309 just sounded bigger, as you might expect, all the improvements you would hope for when moving up in a range were apparent. We have since had them running in the foyer of the shop, a far bigger area, and they do not shy away.

In short they are hugely versatile and fun to listen to, We really cannot fault them at their price point and we look forward to playing with them in the future.

Remember, if you would like to borrow them for a home demonstration we can arrange that or simply get in touch with us and we will set them up in store for you.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Nick Joe and James - Audio T Portsmouth

Acoustic Energy loudspeakers are available from the following branches of Audio T:

Brentwood, Bristol, Cheltenham, Online, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Swindon

We Compare The Naim NDX 2 To The NDX - Is It Worth The Extra?

We were very excited when the eagerly awaited Naim NDX 2 arrived a couple of weeks ago in Portsmouth. Despite our enthusiasm we took our time after unboxing and let the it run in the background before sitting down for a serious listen. We set it up with a NAC202 NAP250 DR and FlatCap with a pair of PMC Twenty5 24 speakers.

From top - NAC202, NDX2, Flatcap, NAP250DR, and NDX

On the third day we turned it up. As Naim fans we were expecting to like it, but we were unprepared for just how good it sounds. It is AWESOME, even considering the near £5000 price, tag approximately £1200 more than the NDX! But how much better is than the already fabulous NDX it replaces?

Naim System with PMC Twenty5 24 speakers

The short answer is the NDX 2 is easily worth the extra money over the NDX. It is not a subtle improvement. In a back to back comparison using Tidal as our source, the difference is immediate. It’s startling that so much more detail and realism can be extracted from the music streamed straight from the internet. Using one of our favourite demo tracks - Uncle Lucius - Keep The Wolves Away - the clarity of the guitar and the way the sound projects into the room makes it feel far more like watching a live act, not listening to a hi-fi system, which is exactly what any music fan is trying to achieve.

Naim NDX 2 Rear

After listening to the NDX 2 it’s easy to see why customers and manufacturers are moving away from CD and towards a streaming option - it sounds fantastic, setting up the NDX 2 to work with Tidal or Spotify is easy, and at £10-20 a month it’s not super expensive for a constantly updated record collection. Of course the NDX 2 can also be used with a UPNP source like the Naim UnitiCore, and has internet radio built in, but I suspect many will find the simplicity of a streamed service the most attractive option.

Naim Hi-Fi products are available from all branches of Audio T

Take The Snap Crackle and Pop Out Of Your Vinyl For Good - Sweet Vinyl SC-1 Part 2

As promised part 2 of the  Sweet Vinyl SC-1 (Sugar Cube) is here. For those of you who haven't read Part 1 the story is as follows. I needed to find a pretty trashed album to really show off the amazing capabilities of the SC-1. I could not find anything awful enough in the shop so I went hunting. I popped into a local charity shop and found what seemed to be a well used record of Bill Haley and the Comets. After a quick listen the album seemed in fairly reasonable condition. So I did this.....

For what I am about to do, I am truly sorry!

I just want to say for the record (no pun intended) I have nothing against Bill or his Comets

I set up a simple system consisting of a Rega Planar 3, Rega MM Fono stage and of course the SC-1. With the help of one of my colleagues we rigged the out put of the SC-1 to a computer and recorded the following. There are three parts to this recording of the aforementioned group playing Cryin' Time. The first section is as you would hear it before the Sugar Cube has worked its magic. There will be a 4 second gap and then you will hear the same segment after it has been repaired. Point of note the filtration level is only on level 5 out 10. The repaired section is followed by the Snap Crackle and POP that has been removed by the SC-1.

This is awesome. You might want to listen a couple times, you might not believe it first time around.

SC-1 Demonstration

Well what did you think of that? 

I can, hand on heart state. ''There has been no extra filtration program used." I would also like to say that it is far more impressive live!

Well after that I don't think there is much more to add. I promise in the next blog I will focus more on the app and how to set it up.

We look forward to seeing you at Audio T Portsmouth and watching your jaws drop. Please bring in an old favourite album and we will give it a clean on our Project VC-S vinyl cleaner and show you first hand  what the Sweet Vinyl SC-1 noise remover can do.

Thanks for reading. James, Nick, Joe and thanks to Mark who helped with recording the sound clip.

Take The Snap Crackle And Pop Out Of Your Vinyl For Good (Part 1)

Have you got beloved vinyl albums that are past their best, impossible to replace and hard to listen to because of snap crackle and pop? If so, then the Sugar Cube (SC-1) from Sweet Vinyl is something you really have to listen to. Seriously, you really really do. IT WORKS!

At Portsmouth we have recently taken delivery of the Sugar Cube SC-1 by Sweet Vinyl. In short it makes the unlistenable, listenable. It sounds too good to be true doesn't it. As an unremitting lover of all things vinyl and analogue I completely dismissed the idea of putting a digital box anywhere near my turntable. To be honest I dismissed it somewhat contemptuously and was adamant it was an utterly terrible idea. I am now eating very large helpings of humble pie. I do not mind admitting, I was quite wrong.

I know what you are thinking, what if my vinyl is in mint condition, does it kill what was a perfectly good sound? I thought that too. If we accept the fact that it does what it says on the tin and takes pops and clicks out of vinyl, what else is it doing? Well you would be surprised. The SC-1 has 10 levels of filtration and a bypass mode. What I have found in my two or so weeks of playing with it, using vinyl of many varying qualities and ages, is that the bypass mode really does work. However I did discover that using a very low level of filtration on what I classed as a pretty minty album, Eddie Reader, Songs of Robert Burns, it took out some noise I didn't even realise was there and it sounded better than bypass mode. Now, with some classical albums from the late 50s early 60s that were quite unpleasant to play, I found that the more filtration I added the more the sound became rounded but that was at the top end of the filtration level. To be expected I think, mainly due to the age of the recording which even when new, I doubt it sounded perfect. So you might find there is a bit of a pay off in some cases. However, it never sounded dull or lifeless, just a little smoother.

One of my favourite albums of all time Extravaganza by Stackridge has been on my deck loads over the past two weeks. It's hard to find and even harder to find one that hasn't been trashed. For me that one album alone is worth it. This brings me to one of the other functions the SC-1 has. The click button. It allows you to hear exclusively what it is removing, so you only hear pops and crackles. That is a real eye opener, or should I say ear?

System used Rega Planar 6, Rega Aria, Rega Elicit. Sc-1 second shelf. We played with various speakers.

For the sake of science I also committed a heinous crime. I bought a battered looking album by Bill Haley and the Comets from a charity shop. I hurled it on the floor and proceeded to dance on it. I then put it on our work bench and savagely scraped in circles, that seemed to do the job. To look at it you would throw it in the bin. IT PLAYS. Not all tracks to be fair but, but those that do... WOW!

It's looks worse in the flesh

The SC-1 does not come with a standard remote but as you may have spotted it does have an ethernet port. Yes. there is a wireless setup and control app. I know it does not sound very analoguey but if you want to use it, it is really easy to set up and and simple to use. I will talk more about that in the next blog as well as using the set 7'' set up disc.

I purposely left the price bit until the end to make sure you kept reading. It's £1550. If you think about it, it's not unreasonable as it means there is, (within reason), nothing you can't now play. Old, new or worn albums become enhanced. Let's say you had £1550 to put towards your system nothing will do what the SC-1 can. You could get a great cartridge, for your vinyl and it will still snap crackle and pop like a bowl of rice krispies. You could make some massive improvements to your cables and again your vinyl will still be crackle..... you get the idea. The SC-1 will be on our website shortly and another blog will be here next month.

We look forward you seeing you at Audio T Portsmouth soon. Until then happy listening.

James, Joe and Nick.

New Spendor A7 Floorstanding Speakers Paired With Naim's NAC -N272 and NAP250 DR Amplifiers

Over the past week we have been putting the new Spendor A7 speakers through their paces, and we are impressed.

Visually they are still in keeping with the traditional design Spendor are known for and come in a range of pleasing finishes such as Black Ash, Dark Walnut, Natural Oak and now for a little extra Satin white.

Classically beautiful A7

The new A7 is a major revision for the award winning A6R, a tough act to follow. With more dynamic range and resolution with elements of D7 technology and changes to the cross over making the A7s a real step up. For full specifications click here

The A2 looking up to its big brother the A7

One element of the new A range that is worth mentioning, is that none of the speakers come with grilles. They are now an optional extra at differing prices depending on the model. The A7 is the biggest in the A-line range but is by no means a particularly big speaker. There are two other floorstanders in the range, in decreasing order of size they are the A4 and A2, which is a very compact and competent floor stander indeed. Last but not least is the A1 stand mounted speaker (A-line range).

Spendor A7 rear

After 5 days of playing the A7s day and night we sat down for good listen. We paired them with a very popular Naim combination, The NAC-N272 streaming pre-amplifier and the NAP 250 DR power amplifier.

 A briliant combination

We started of with Nils Lofgren ''Keith Don't Go'' from the brilliant Acoustic Live album. The A7s really brought the performance to life. We were all tapping out feet and would have been singing along but we didn't want to ruin the experience. The bottom end was big, warm and controlled allowing the vocals to soar creating loads of space around Lofgren which brought all of the emotion out of the track. After a few more tracks we changed to ''The Sound of Silence'' by Disturbed from the Immortalised album. An amazing version of the well known Simon and Garfunkel song. The powerful, rich vocals were clean and well nuanced and again with beautifully controlled bass. After a few more snippets of various tracks we were all in agreement that these are a serious competitor at the price and are very much in our top selection of favourite speakers. In short, the A7s like the rest of the A-line range have managed to retain the familiar sound of Spendor, but added so much more giving them greater dynamics and intricacies, a much more spacious and involving performance able to to cope with all kinds of music comfortably.

We love them and we think you will too. Call Nick Joe and James at Audio T Portsmouth to arrange a demonstration or home loan

We look forward to seeing you soon,

Spendor Loudspeakers are available from the following branches of Audio T: 
Cardiff, Cheltenham, Portsmouth, Swindon

Naim Uniti Atom and Bowers & Wilkins 707 Combine For Sublime Sound

We have partnered two of the most respected brands in Hi-Fi together to create a fantastic sounding Hi-Fi system for under £3,000. We have paired the extremely well reviewed Naim Uniti Atom £1,999 all in one music streamer with the new released compact B&W 707 speakers £799.

B&W 707 in Rosenut

The Naim Uniti Atom is a compact, stylish, music streaming system in a single box. Amongst its features are UPNP streaming, Internet Radio, Spotify, Tidal and Chromecast, combined with a high quality amplifier, make it a remarkable sounding and versatile piece of hi-fi. 

Naim Uniti Atom

The B&W 707 standmount speakers are the smallest speakers in Bowers & Wilkins new 700 series range that recently replaced the popular CM range. The new 700 series employs trickle down technology from their flagship 800 series. They come in 3 attractive finishes, real wood rosenut veneer, gloss black and satin white. The range counts down to the biggest 702 model (£3299) which along with the 705 (£1799) have the distinctive tweeter on top, separated from the main cabinet.

B&W 702 in gloss black

When paired together the two make a very compact and capable music system, with a big presence. The combination offers plenty of insight into the music and a surprising amount of bass weight, and should work very well in a small or medium sized room.

Naim Atom and B&W 707 system

We have this set up on demonstration at Audio T Portsmouth, so why not pop in for a warm beverage and have a listen in our comfortable demonstration room.

Thanks for reading, Nick, Joe and James and we hope to see you in store soon.

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

Naim Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, 
Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

Bluesound Hi-Res Music Listening Event At Audio T Portsmouth

On Thursday the 5th of October we are holding a Bluesound Hi-Res listening event. Bluesound is a multi-room high resolution streaming system which allows you to add great sound to any room.

Bluesound also gives you the ability to add music streaming to an existing Hi-Fi system. And with the Vault 2 ripper and streamer you can rip and store your entire CD collection on to the 2TB (terabyte) hard drive, which equates to approximately 2600 CD's - freeing up space in your home if you have your CD stored in racks or towers.

Click on the poster to book your place.

Using the Bluesound app you can stream from a number of music services, such as Spotify, Qobuz, TIDAL and of course any music you have stored on computers or servers, from the comfort of your sofa. Now you have the convenience of millions of tracks at your fingertips.

On the day we'll be recreating the ear opening demonstration that was conducted the Bristol Hi-Fi show earlier this yearA representative from Bluesound will allow you to listen and hear the difference in sound quality between MP3, CD and MQA from the TIDAL Masters collection.

This will be a great opportunity to introduce yourself to the Bluesound range of streaming products, or if you are already acquainted, it will be an excellent chance to ask any questions you may have.

Meet the Bluesound family

Bluesound family

The Awesome Vault 2

In the meantime if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us or pop in.

Click here to reserve your place or drop in on the day between 12-7 pm.

We look forward to seeing on Thursday 5th October.

Nick, Joe and James

Bluesound Hi-Fi is available from the following branches of Audio T:
Manchester, Online, Portsmouth, Swindon

Dreaming About Music Streaming? What Does It All Mean?

There are a raft of new products available that allow you to stream your music and the idea behind this blog, is to highlight one or two products and explain the basics of how to incorporate a "streamer" into your existing Hi-Fi system.

Streamers - Clockwise from top left: Bluesound Node 2 £499, Yamaha WXAD-10 £149, Sonos Connect £349, Naim ND5XS £2430, and Yamaha WXC-50 £329

Firstly perhaps I should explain what we mean by "streaming". There are two forms of streaming:

1. Directly from the Internet via a service like Spotify, Qobuz or Tidal. These services are a little like SKY, you pay a subscription every month and get access to their massive, and constantly updated, music library. Prices are usually £10-20 a month. The streamer needs to support the service you are interested in and not all streamers support all streaming services.

2. Music stored locally on a computer or network hard drive (NAS drive). Usually these are CD's that have been copied onto a computer / NAS drive, or music downloaded from the internet.

Bluetooth or Airplay could also be considered "streaming" but neither are a particularly high quality method so I'm not going to cover those. However a number of streaming products do include them.

Our Apple iPad Mini with the Tidal App. 9 out of 10 Streamers use an App as a remote control so you will need an iPad / iPhone or Andriod phone or tablet (like a Samsung)

So why bother with streaming?

The two main reasons are:

1. Easy access to your entire record collection without having to go looking for the CD.

2. By adding more streamers you can get music all around your house, easily controlled by a tablet or smart phone

You can make playlists, or you can just play a random selection from your whole collection, it's great to hear some of the older stuff that got buried at the back of your CD rack and forgotten about. If you subscribe to a streaming service you have access to millions of tracks and never need to buy a CD again!

What about quality?

Typically streamed music is around the same quality as CD. You can make it better if you get the more expensive kit but most of the time it's roughly comparable to CD quality. Tidal and Qobuz are better quality than Spotify if you are using a streaming service but are more expensive, but do allow you to stream (Qobuz / Tidal) and download (Qobuz) 24bit Hi-Res music. 

However copying (ripping) your CD's is where it can seem complicated because there are so many different file types used to store music. Pretty much everyone has heard of MP3, but that's the lowest quality 'lossy' format which in the process of conversion removes some of the information to allow it be compressed down to the smallest possible file size.

You could start with Apple Lossless, it's better than MP3, Itunes is easy to use and it's widely supported - it's a proprietary format and will only work with Itunes and the Apple ecosystem. However, we would recommend FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), it's the next step up in quality it's an open (not hardware dependent) lossless (No data is removed from the converted file) format and is widely supported. WAV is the original CD source file but it's uncompressed, so it takes up a lot more hard drive space and there can be problems with track information (meta data) being transferred correctly, so unless you are going for high end quality we would suggest using FLAC or ALAC if you're an Itunes user - FLAC will not play on ITunes. If this seems really daunting then there are several products that will rip and store your CD's, making the process as simple as possible. e.g. Innuos Zen Mini or Naim Uniticore

Time to look at kit.

If you want to dip your toe into the "streaming" water, Yamaha have just realised a new product, and at £149 it's very affordable.

Yamaha WXAD-10

The Yamaha WXDA-10 uses Yamaha's MusicCast technology which is also incorporated in a good number of other Yamaha products including most of their recent Home Cinema Amps. The MusicCast app is pretty good with all the normal streaming services like Spotify etc.

Yamaha MusicCast app

The WXDA-10 only has analogue connections so plug it into an aux input on your amplifier and follow the instructions on the app to set it up in 5 mins.

Another recent addition to our collection of streamers is the Bluesound Node 2 £499

Bluesound node 2

The Node 2 can be connected with normal analogue interconnects, but also has digital outputs.

bluesound node 2 back panel

It's an obvious sonic improvement over the cheaper Yamaha. The Bluesound boasts MQA (Master Quality Authenticated)  compatibility (yet another new high resolution music file format!) along with all the other usual features, and a decent app better used on a larger ipad.

Bluesound App

All the streamers mentioned or pictured are available for demonstration in store, where you can try the apps for yourself. We will always try to answer any questions you have.

Yamaha Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, 
Southampton, Swansea, 

Bluesound Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Manchester, Online, Portsmouth, Swindon

New Speakers From Dynaudio Are Sure To Excite!

We have recently taken on the new Dynaudio Excite X14  and Excite X18 stand mounted speakers. They may look like stand mount speakers, but in a blind test you would never guess it by the big room filling sound.

The X14 are centre with their big brothers the X18 either side

There are four pairs of speakers in the Excite range comprising of two floor standing and two stand mount speakers. There are also two centre speakers to choose between. The floor standers are the X34 and the X38, the stand mounted speakers (shown above) are the X14 and X18, and the two centre speakers being the X24 and the X28.

We have had a lot fun trying the X14 and X18 on various systems. They are fairly easy to drive so the entry level Rega Apollo-R and Brio could be used, but they really benefit from higher quality electronics like the Naim CD5XS and Nait XS2 or even higher. On each system they had a really fun and musical presentation with clean, refined high frequency and a surprising amount of bass wallop.

Rear View. X14 (Walnut) and X18 (Rosewood) Satin Black and White also available.

We use a number of demo tracks, The King Singers - Good vibrations sounded brilliant giving a phenomenal impression that the sextet was playing in the room with you. Steve Vai - Warm Regards really shows the bass capability, it can sound a little confused on some speakers but the Excites held it together perfectly. With more commercial recordings like Snow Patrol they let you know it's a rougher recording but not so much that it spoiled the music, it sounded fun and kept toes tapping.

Come down to the Portsmouth Audio T and join in the EXCITEment!

Home trials are also available.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Nick, Joe and James

Dynaudio Loudspeakers are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brighton, Bristol, Manchester, Online, Oxford, Portsmouth, 
Reading, Southampton, Swindon

A Compact Entry Level Desktop Vinyl Based Hi-Fi System

If you don't have space for a full size separates Hi-Fi system but you want to dust off your record collection or to experience the wonderful world of music on vinyl the answer is here...

Lets start with the TEAC TN-300 record player.

It has a removeable headshell allowing experimentation with various cartridges so there is an immediate upgrade path available to those who like experimenting; a speed control switch making swapping from 33 to 45 simple and it comes in a wide range of finishes. The most important element in relation to this set up is the integrated phono stage, which means you can plug it straight into an amplifier and away you go. The USB port also gives you the option to digitise your vinyl collection if you wanted to.

TEAC TN-300 rear view

From the red and white audio output we used an Audioquest Evergreen 2RCA to3.5m Jack interconect to connect to the amazing, and i do mean amazing, Ruak MR1 MK2. We will take a quick look at the main features of the MR1s then we'll get to the sound.

MR1 Rear view

A hugely versatile pair of active (amplified) desktop size Bluetooth speakers with an optical input, so you could plug your television into them or any other device that has an optical output. In this system it is the Aux input we used, which is next to the Subwoofer output, a nice touch if you want to upgrade the sound with the addition of a subwoofer. The far right connection is the output to the left hand speaker, a quality 1.5m lead is supplied. There is also a battery pack available making them portable, for use in the garden on a fine summer's day or at least if mains power is not available you can still listen to music. Operation is straightforward, using either the multifunction button on the right speaker or the simple remote.  Linking your phone via Bluetooth is fast and easy.

Performance! For a system that comes in at £660 including the interconnect it is really quite remarkable. We used Georgia Ruth "Fossil Scale" as our dem disc, a great album, well produced and will give your system a good workout, with plenty of bass. How did we hear this you may ask, as the speakers are so small. Don't let that fool you, what these little speakers can do is quite astonishing. So much detail and control, every nuance and internation was revealed a really well balanced sound and thorough delight to listen to. One might expect them to get a little fatiguing after one side but this was not the case. In fact the only reason we didn't keep going after the first listen was it was home time.

The TEAC TN-300 and Ruark Audio MR1 MKII are a perfect combination to create a compact and great sounding vinyl system. They are on demonstration in our main showroom, so just pop in, bring an album with you or we can put Ruth back on.

We look forward to seeing you at Audio T Portsmouth.

Nick, Joe and James

ARCAM's New rPhono Switchable Phono Stage Is The Latest Contribution To The Vinyl Revolution

In this months blog we take a closer look at Arcam's new rPhono switchable phono stage. We'll cover what it does, how to set it up and tell you which Hi-Fi system we tested it with.

Arcam have recently launched the rPhono. A potent switchable small case phono stage generously priced at £399. The rPhono is a compact and solidly built little unit satisfyingly heavy and well damped with a rubber base for extra isolation. A simple and subtle design that should blend well with most systems.

Being switchable means you can  either use a moving magnet or moving coil cartridge. Both inputs are adjustable allowing you maximize the performance of your favourite cartridge. As the rPhono supports both MM and MC you could (if you so desired) run two turntables, one of each, remembering of course to select the correct input when swapping from one to the other. The adjustment key in the bottom right of the picture resides in a little slot in the back of the unit making any setting adjustment a doddle.

On the back of the Phono stage are the switches to adjust the capacitance, load and gain to match the suggested specifications of the cartridge. Of course there is the input switch to choose between MM and MC on the far right and to its left is a rumble switch. What we found was when it was on it the sound was a little cleaner but not necessarily as musical. This may differ in different systems and racks. The settings are clearly mapped out on the back panel so no need to endlessly search through manuals to make sure you have got it right. On the whole we found it easy to set up, but of course we are happy to do this for you. 

SYSTEM
We ran the rPhono with a Rega RP8 and Exact cartridge and then a Rega Apheta 2 MC . Connecting the rPhono to the Rega Elicit stereo amplifier where a pair of Chord Company Epic phono leads and Chord Company Rumour speaker cable running to a pair of Spendor A5R's. The track used was Brose and Butter from Songs of Robert burns by Eddie Reader. It's a well recorded album with a lively quality and on a good system sounds open and fun. Although the system was quite highly specified compared to the price of the rPhono, we wanted to put it through its paces and on that level it did not disappoint.

If you would like to arrange your personal demonstration or home loan, including leads, please get in touch Nick, Joe or James at Audio T Portsmouth Tel: 02392 66360

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

Dynaudio Re-Contour The World

The new Dynaudio Contour range has arrived. Consisting of four models Contour 25c Contour 20 Contour 30 and the mighty Contour 60

Contour 60

We have had tremendous fun with this range since they have arrived especially with a track called Suck my Bass by Bass Mekanik. The frequency range of these speakers really must be witnessed.

WARNING!! THIS TRACK IS NOT SUITABLE FOR MOST SPEAKERS.

The Contours cover everything you could want from a loudspeaker stunning appearance that is finished to the highest standard and of course a truly remarkable sound offering vast amounts of detail wonderfully deep and controlled bass and amazing imagery.

In short you have got to hear them.

Contour 20

At Portsmouth we have the 20s 30s and 60s on constant demonstration. Either book a time for a demonstration or just pop in and be wowed.

We look forward to seeing you at Audio T Portsmouth

Nick Joe and James

Dynaudio Loudspeakers are available at the following branches of Audio T:
Brighton, Bristol, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Reading, Southampton, Swindon

Are You A Night Owl? Audioquest NightOwl Carbon Headphones

Then the new NightOwl Carbon headphones are for you. A hugely talon-ted (he he..) headphone with a choice of ear pads to offer a comfortable and different listening experience.

The protein Leather pads seal tighter for better isolation and improved treble clarity and the Ultra suede earpads breath freer for greater comfort and enhanced bass impact.

The cable has multiple functions including play, pause, call answering, track skipping and returning to previous track. Thus making them suitable for on the go listening as well as reference listening at home. They also include a Direct silver 6.3 plug adapter.

For a closed back design they offer similar openness and clarity to most open back headphones. Impressive sound quality aside they are tremendously comfortable making long listening sessions even more satisfying. A good companion for the NightOwl is the Chord Hugo DAC in conjunction with your Hi-Fi or mobile device. 

Priced at £599 the Audioquest NightOwl Carbons are a must listen, Swoop in to Audio-T Portsmouth and try them on our dedicated headphone listening system, or at home over a weekend on your own system.

Contact Nick, Joe and James for further information or to book a demonstration. Make the Wise choice! We look forward to seeing you soon

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

We're United! Meet The New Naim Uniti Range At Portsmouth Audio T

The new Naim Uniti family consists of three all-in-one players from the compact yet powerful Uniti Atom to the multi-functional CD operating Uniti Star to the reference audiophile Uniti Nova.

Naim Uniti Family

The Uniti Core completes the system, this is the industry reference music server which allows you to store and stream thousands of albums and back up all of your music in one place. Each player can work independently or together, just add speakers and fall in love with your album collection all over again in any room of the house.

Uniti Atom

Come and experience the Uniti Core and Uniti Atom on the 25th of November from 2 pm until 7 pm, and 26th of November from 10 am until 5 pm at Audio T Portsmouth. We are also hoping to show pre-production examples of the Uniti Star and Uniti Nova.

Uniti Star

A representative from Naim will be here over the weekend to offer insight, answer questions, but more importantly demonstrate their new range.

Uniti Nova

Come and be one of the first to see this exciting new range of products and one of the first to hear a revelation in sound.

Uniti core

We look forward to seeing you all in November. If in the meantime you have any queries regarding the weekend please do get in touch.

Nick Joe & James

Naim Audio Hi-Fi products are available from all branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, 
Manchester, Oxford,Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, 
Swindon                                                                       

A Chord Co Cable Listening Event At Audio T Portsmouth

On the 7th and 8th October the Chord Cable Company will be showcasing part their fantastic new range from speaker cables and power leads to streaming leads  to analogue and digital interconnects.

Chord have brought out new models in familiar ranges such as Signature and Epic and several entirely new ranges including Shawline, Clearway and C-series. Every cable that makes up each of these ranges will feature in the event.

Chord Shawline Speaker Cable

Chord Epic 2RCA-2RCA Interconnect

Come on the Chord journey and witness the transformative qualities of these world leading cables can have on your Hi-Fi and the music that you play.

Chord Signature Aray Power Cable

There will be exclusive offers for all those who attend during this intriguing and informative event.

Chord Shawline 2RCA-2RCA Interconnect

Come and hear for yourself what the remarkable cables can do

Chord C-View HDMI

Chord Clearway Speaker Cable

The Chord journey starts in Audio T Portsmouth on Friday the 7th of October from 2.00pm until 7.00pm and the on Saturday the 8th from 10.00am until 5.00.

Chord Clearway Digital Coax Interconnect

Join, Nick, Joe and James at Audio T Portsmouth and a representative from the Chord Co to hear how cables can make a very cost effective upgrade to your Hi-Fi system, which will have you rediscovering your music collection.

Yamaha RXA-1060 Home Cinema Receiver

Yamaha have maintained a high level of performance at the £1,099 price point with the new RXA1060. This stunning home theater amplifier has all the features you would expect to find at this level including, Dolby Atmos, Spotify, DTS-X 4K Ultra HD and Bluetooth aptX.

It also supports Musiccast, Yamaha's own multi-room streaming system. With the addition of Yamaha's wireless speakers such as the ISX-80  and the WX030 in separate rooms the RXA1060 can become the heart of a multi room system allowing you to fill your house with your favorite music.

Yamaha RXA-1060 AV Home Cinema Amplifier

Musiccast Products - ISX80 & WX030

All of these great features are easily controlled with Yamaha's slick Smart App. The Smart App is clearly laid out and responsive and unlike some smart apps it gives the user full and complete control through all the amplifiers features.

The RXA1060 is not only engaging and exciting when in home cinema mode but is extremely capable when being used in two channel stereo situations offering great imaging and depth of sound not to mention clarity.

RXA1060 Rear

At £1099 this amplifier comes highly recommended, give us a call to book your demonstration. 

Yamaha Hi-Fi products are available at the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

Clearaudio Turntable Event 2nd & 3rd September Audio T Portsmouth

We are delighted that Clearaudio are joining us on Friday 2nd (2pm - 7pm) & Saturday 3rd (10am - 5pm) September for an exciting event to showcase Clearaudio turntables.

Clearaudio will be bringing their amazing Master Innovation turntable (from £16,100) with special Parallel tracking Tonearm. Other than hearing one of the coolest turntables available, here are 3 additional reasons to attend:

1. FREE goodie bag for all customers coming to the event

2. Get your favorite record cleaned for free on the awesome Clearaudio record cleaning machine (1 record per customer).

3. FREE prize draw for one of two Professional Record Care Kits worth £120 each.

Clearaudio Concept

On demonstration throughout this two day event will be the following turntables from this premier German manufacturer:

Concept (from £995) - pictured above

Performance DC (from £2495)

Clearaudio Performance DC

Master Innovation (from £16,100) with Parallel tracking Tonearm

Clearaudio Master Innovation

Everyone is welcome to this fun event, so give in to curiosity and pop down for a listen.