New B&W P5 Wireless Headphones

The new P5 Wireless headphones arrived with us yesterday and we couldn't wait to give them a whirl!

With exactly the same style and comfort as the standard P5 you would think that they may be a lot heavier but they feel no heavier at all when wearing them.

They come the usual very plush carry case and charging cable etc.

So.... to get them up and running...

Sometimes setting up bluetooth systems can be quite a challenge, these proved to be one of the quickest I've ever done. Following the instructions the headphones were straight into pairing mode, the i-pod touch scanned and picked them up immediately and away to go with playing music.... hit the share button and select P5 ... and Bob's your Uncle!

As you would expect from the P5 they sound fantastic! Bluetooth technology really does seem to have come a long way in the past couple of years, so much so that you would be hard pushed to tell they were not an ordinary cabled set of P5s.

If you are thinking of a bluetooth pair of headphones but are putting it off because you thought that they just are not as good as cabled headphones then please feel free to bring in your smart phone or tablet and have a listen for yourself... you will be pleasantly surprised!

PMC Golden Ticket Compettion Runs Again!

Could your new PMC Speakers cost you nothing?

PMC are once again running their "Golden Ticket" competition where the lucky winner could win back the purchase price of their speakers!

During June, July and August a Golden Ticket will be given to everyone that purchases a new pair of PMC Twenty series speakers. Simply fill in the form and you will be entered into the prize draw for that month. Yes - there is a prize draw for each month the competition runs making your chances that much better.

If you are thinking of a new pair of Twenty series speakers, now could be the best time to buy!

RSD Turntables have arrived!

With only 3 days to go until Record Store Day we were very glad to see the limited edition RSD RP1s arrive this morning!

One thing we won't know until Saturday is if one of the decks has been "signed by a star"! 12 of the turntables have been signed by famous artists and secretly shipped so nobody knows it they will have one until they open the box!.

Don't forget that we are giving one of these turntables away as a prize on the day. All you need to do is visit Derricks Music on Oxford Street Swansea, fill in the entry form and keep your fingers crossed.

Hopefully we'll see you there!

Record Store Day approaches!

After the success of the 2014 Record Store Day we are once again teaming up with Derricks Music to make 2015 even bigger and better! Put APRIL 18TH in your diary now!

This year Rega are the main sponsors of the day and have released a limited edition RSD version of the RP1 turntable. Visit Derricks Music on the day for your chance to win one of these limited edition turntables! All you have to do is be there on the day and fill in the entry form.

Once again there is a huge list of exclusive vinyl that will be released for the day. Either have a look at the Record Store Day webiste here or visit Derricks to have a look at the releases.

We will be at Derricks on the day showing a large range of rega products and playing records all day, you'll even be able to have a listen to your record on the RSD deck and you never know... you could be the lucky winner! I will also be on hand to answer any questions you may have about your turntable or hi-fi system, from set up queries to upgrade options.

You can read more about the Rega RSD deck and their link to Recors Store Day here.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Your next upgrade?

Coud this be one of the next upgrades you make to your system?

A recent chat with a customer got me to thinking about this. Whilst discussing possible upgrade paths to his system which was about ten years old it became apparent that he had not bought any new music in that time which amazed me.  It's no wonder that during that time the system would be getting used less and less. But was it really a case of the hi-fi needing upgrading as the customer thought, or just that he was bored of the music he had been playing all that time?

Realising that a worthwhile upgrade was out of his reach financially I suggested that he just goes and buys a few new albums. After about half an hour of playing some of the albums I had bought over the last few months I sent him off down to Derricks Music!

Since then I have been asking a lot of customers what their last music purchase was and it really surprises me that so many people have not bought any new music in such a long time.

The easiest way to breathe new life into your system is to buy some new music! Here's a few of my recent favourites i've bought

People often ask me "where do you hear new music". I have been listening to Paul Jones on Radio 2 on a Monday night for many years and it's cost me a fortune! Also, Bob Harris Country on a Thursday night is another great programme that I listen to and with the on demand service on line you can listen to it whenever and wherever you want.

The other big thing in the past few years of course is the resurgence in Vinyl. Sales of turntables has gone through the roof and we are seeing literally dozens of old turntables being brought out of the lofts which is fantastic as I am a big vinyl fan. The amount of new LPs being released is crazy! There are so many old albums being re-issued and artists going back through their old releases that were never released on vinyl the choice is staggering. 

I took this picture on my last visit to Derricks. A great example of whats available, from Frist Aid Kit (a relatively new band from Sweden) to old classics like Bob Marley Legend, Pink Floyd and Kraftwerk. Four albums that would be a great evenings listening!

So... if you think your system needs something new, often it can be something as simple as discovering some new music.

If you want to hear some new music then feel free to call in and ask us what we have heard that's new and i'd be glad to hear what new music you have found of course.

After all, it's all about the music!

New Audio-Technica Heaphones arrive!

We recently heard the new Audio-Technica range of headphones and could not wait to get them in. They have finally arrived!

The first thing that struck us about them was the comfort and fit. As with all headphones it simply doesn't matter how good they sound if they are uncomfortable and you want to take them off!.

All of the range feature what Audio-Technica call a "total ear fit" design to help with comfort. The capsules almost completely surround the ear so there are no pressure points at all. I have trouble with smaller capsules that put pressure on the arms of my spectacles but these models are perfect! They also very light considering the large construction.

The first in the range are the AD-500X @ £150

The performance on this model is stunning for the cost. Lots of customers who have tried them are very surprised to learn that they are only £150. The thing that everyone has picked up on straight away is the bass response. Because of the large construction and relatively large drive unit (in comparison to alot of other manufacturers) the resulting sound is a very spacious and open sound with a very controlled and deep bass response unlike some other headphones that just can't seem to cope with deep bass or dare I say it ... the Beats that just sound thunderous and horrible! Read more on this model

Next in the range are the AD-700X @ £195

As with the 500 series you can see the same construction so comfort and fit is the same. The improvement with these is the drive unit itself. An upgraded driver gives you exactly what you would expect. Vocal detail and spaciousness is the main improvement I hear but it's also true to say they sound a lot bigger. Read more on this model.

Top of the tree are the AD-900X @ £ 315

Again you can see the improved drive unit in the headphones. These boast a much wider frequency response and greater dynamic range and it's very noticable indeed! A huge improvement over the 700 as you would expect for the increase in cost, but most imprtantly far more impressive than the price tag suggests. They really do sound fabulous. Read more on this model.

They also make some closed back versions which we hope to have in very soon.

Or even better call in and have a listen!

New Arcam UDP411 Universal Disc Player arrives...

The eagerly awaited Arcam UDP411 Universal Disc Player arrived with us last week, and we have now had a chance to unbox it and give it a spin!

The first thing that hit us when we opened up the box was how big it was!

From Arcam's promotional material it is clear that they have made every effort to give this player the best reproduction in all areas. The power supplies in particular seem to be where Arcam have made some significant improvements even using discreet sub-regulated power supplies on the drive, audio and DAC boards not to mention using industry leading DACs on board.

So, what does all this mean? I have to say that I was already expecting a lot from this player as I was already a huge fan of the outgoing model BDP300.  As many of you are already aware I am a stickler for sound quality and not so fussy about picture quality. Well... the first thing that surprised me was the obvious improvement in picture quality over the BDP300, I wasn't really paying that much attention to the screen at the time but it stood out straight away that it was a big step up..... and then it came to cranking up the volume... WOW!!!!!

Let me stress... it was not a slight improvement in sound quality - it was a massive improvement! One of my least favourite tracks on the disc (Joe with Beth Hart singing Nutbush City Limits) now sounds incredible!. The punch and timing of the track is fabulous, it really has to be heard to be believed. The punch of the drum kit was rediculous and then when the brass section come in ... well...... amazing! Can you tell I liked it????

As you would expect from a universal player it has plenty of connectivity.

I also quicky set up the wireless network connection which was very fast indeed, and within a minute or so was playing FLAC files via our network which again amazed me. I have never heard music reproduction this good in our AV demo room before!

To be fair it is not the cheapest player around at £1200 but in my opinion worth every penny!

Here's a link to the product page on Arcam website: http://www.arcam.co.uk/products,FMJ,BD-Players,udp411.htm

You have to hear this player to believe it, so please feel free to call in the shop and bring along a favourite disc of yours and prepare to want one!

Got To Be In It To Win It!

It gave me great pleasure to present one of the winners of our recent Naim Powerline Competition this weekend.

Mr Andrews was over the moon when I called him to let him know he was one of the lucky winners, quite funny when I had to explain that I wasn't joking! And as he said "Got to be in it to win it!". So keep an eye on the eClub newsletters (sign up if you haven't done so) and in store for future competitions and make sure you get your entries in, the next winner could be you!!

The very happy Mr Andrews:

REL S3 Sub Bass System

We have recently taken delivery of our demonstrator REL S3, here are our thoughts on it's looks and performance.

 

REL are a British company with their roots in Bridgend, South Wales. Started in 1990 by retired Naval officer Richard Edmund Lord who was 'dissatisfied by the commercially available subwoofers of the day.'

More of the REL story can be found on their website www.rel.net

Unpacking our S3, we immediately thought it a particularly smart looking unit in its piano black finish with both satin and polished aluminium fittings. Almost as impressive is the weight of the thing, (nudging 28kilos) when you try and lift it out of its carton. Much better to heed REL's advice; carefully roll the box upside down and remove the carton from the contents.

We decided to install the S3 in our main stereo system using the supplied High Level Neutrik Speakon cable. This is a clever feature of all RELs – the unit samples the output of your amplifier via it's loudspeaker terminals, yet draws minimal current. The benefit of this is that the signal going to the speakers does not have to pass through a crossover in the subwoofer.* The speakers can go about their business and the REL can underpin their performance without masking anything the amplifier produces. It also means that in a home-theatre setting, one can run the front Left&Right speakers full-range, dispensing with a chunk of processor power and run the Low Frequency Effects channel to the REL at the same time. This results in a great increase in bass detail during surround playback. Happily for stereo listening, one can switch the home theatre amp to 'audio direct' mode, simplifying the audio path (which improves quality) whilst reaping the benefit of the REL that you've just shelled out your hard-earned on. You'll be using it all the time.

*REL refer to their products as Sub-bass systems.

Once installed in our system (Bryston DAC and pre-power, Focal Electra 1028, Naim CDX2, Rega RP8, Sonos Connect) calibration took a few minutes following the enclosed instructions. We found it beneficial to set the REL playing too loud and too high up the frequency range whilst we had a coffee – just killing time whilst it warmed up you understand!

Once calibrated, the S3 integrated seamlessly. So seamlessly, I thought it wasn't switched on, so I checked, checked again and then switched it off. Then we could tell what the S3 was doing. Playing Leftfield's “Original” demonstrated the tectonic bass one would expect from a REL, never overblown, simply very tight and very, very solid; the Leftfield/John Lydon collaboration “Open Up” pounded along very satisfactorily indeed, displaying great crispness and rapidity.

With ZZ Top's re-working of their track “Gotsta Get Paid” on the La Futura album, the S3 brings massive scale to the filthiest, most overdriven guitar you've ever heard. Cue big grins all round and grown men itching to play Air Fender. The S3 can most certainly do the power thing, but what can it do with a choir?

With the S3 playing, the soundstage was presented wide, tall and deep, with a wealth of fine ambient detail – the sound of the space of the Brangwen Hall here in Swansea, hosting Morriston Orpheus Male Voice Choir. With the S3 disengaged, the choir sounded pretty good, enjoyable enough stuff, but you might have to be Welsh to really 'get it'; with the REL in play however, the haunting “Myfanwy” took on a ghostly depth and resonance as the choir used the great space of the hall to bring an enormous emotional depth to the work.

I'm allright lads, it's just some grit in my eye.

To find out more click here

Records broken at Record Store Day...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Calling All Vinyl Fans! - Join us at Derricks Music in Swansea for Record Store Day for Your Chance Win a Rega RP1 Turntable

Audio T join forces with Derricks Music Swasea for Record Store Day  - APRIL 19TH 2014

A full listing for the special releases can be seen on the Record Store Day website

If you want to order any f these special releases you will need to call in to Derricks Music in Oxford Street or give them a call: http://www.derricksmusic.co.uk/ I've already ordered mine!!!

To help celebrate the day, we will be at Derricks Music showing Turntables from one of the UKs most well known manufacturers -  Rega Research. We will of course have a full system running should you want to give your special purchase a spin on the day.

We will also have some of the component parts of the turntables so you can see what exactly goes into these machines. I wonder how many times I am going to say "phenolic" on the day????

...and the best bit:  FREE PRIZE DRAW!!!!

WE ARE GOING TO BE GIVING AWAY A REGA RP1 TURNTABLE TO ONE LUCKY CUSTOMER COLLECTING THEIR RECORDS ON RECORD STORE DAY!

To qualify all you will need to do is let us have your name and email address. 

We look forward to seeing lots of you there on the day.....

 

The new Rega RP10 makes an appearance....

We were very lucky yesterday to have a sneak preview of the new Rega RP10 turntable thanks to Rob from Rega..

Firstly - one of the things that we don't see very often is this serial number:

We decided to set it up in it's single skeletal chassis form without the outer frame and dustcover which looks really smart!

It's clearly apparent even from first glances that there has bees serious attention to detail paid to the RP10, probably the most impressive part is the build quality of the RB2000 tonearm.

All made from stainless steel it looks the business as well!.

The plinth incorporates Rega's unique skin sandwiching techniques giving an incredibly stiff and light material, also the ceramic platter has mad more attention over it's predecessor...

The platter is daimond cut to ensure it is perfectly flat, just another thing that makes you realise "where the money goes" in respect of man hours and cost of machinery etc that goes into producing the RP10. When you consider the tonearm alone, it's all machined stainless steel instead of a plastic mould and then has to be polished - even the bearings are matched by hand to each spindle. Also, a new power supply dedicated to the RP10, and to go one step further each motor is matched and tuned to it's own power supply.... you can get the idea now of how much attention has gone into every aspect of this turntable.

So... how did it sound?

We had the baby brother RP8 on as our reference turntable playing before we set up the RP10 and were we in for a shock! Immediately you could hear the improvement over the RP8. Initially the scale, weight and authority was amazing but after a few minutes the finer details were all becoming more apparent and the old "not heard that before" started coming out...

I love to hear the tonality of instruments and detial of voices. Hearing the emotional input a musician puts into their playing is something I love to hear, and things like a singers accents and emotion are all things I want to hear. I often joke that a bad system will sound like it's the same band playing the same instruments on every album in your collection and that there is so little emotion you can't tell if the singer is singing about their dog dying or winning the lottery! The RP10 was right up my street, one of the best tracks that showed how well the deck performed was Eric Clpaton - "Running on faith" from the re-release of the Unplugged album (a fantatic pressing - if you have an old one and love it - get a new one!).

We were sad to have to hand it back to Rob to take on to other dealers around the country, but glad for the listen.

To find out more about the design and process invovled in the RP10 have a look at the page on the Rega Website: http://www.rega.co.uk/

It won't be too long before the RP10 is available, so if it's something you may be inrested in please get in touch...

Cost - £3600.00 including cartridge.

more new toys soon.....

Dear Santa.....

With the big day drawing ever closer, it's the time to ask yourself "What do I buy that special person in my life???" and that special person is of course YOU!!!!

By far, the most popular gift at this time of year is headphones. Here's a selection of some of the favourites at the moment...

B&W P3  - £169.95 pair available in black, blue, red and white.

Sennheiser Momentum On Ear - £ 169.99 pair, available in black, blue, brown, green, ivory, pink and red.

Ivory finish Momentum "on ear".

also, there are the full size Sennheiser Momentum @ £259.95 pair

Kef have the M500s which are very similar in size to the Momentums, both models are extremely comfortable which is essential if you tend to listen for long periods of time....

We have recently taken delivery of the new Musical Fidelity E33 in-ears @ £79.00 and the MF100 on ear @ £119.00. The MF100 are the bargain of the bunch! Build quality for the money is amazing, which is also backed up by the performance. Ok so they don't sound as good as the Sennheiser or Kef but for the money they are simply wonderful!

For the portables we have a large selection to chose from, some that have smart phone compatibility and some that are straight headphones for the purist. Here's just a few.....

Sennheiser ie60- £ 139.95, CX300II - £ 44.95, CX275 - £49.95

also, the fold away models including the noise cancelling PXC250

PXC250 - £ 139.95

PX100II - black or white - £ 49.99

Last but by no means are the wireless headphones. Sennheiser are renowned for their sound quality when it comes to wireless models. They have certainly come a long way since the battery sucking versions with harldy any range from years ago. Range of signal is considerably further than most people realise  -feel free to come into the shop and try them out, we can send you out to the kitchen to get the kettle on for us if you want to test the range!!!!

Pictured: RS170 - £ 199.95 pair. Other models from £99 - £379.00

The most important thing to consider with headphones is comfort I believe. You can have sensational sounding headphones that you simply can never use because they may feel too tight or heavy, so make sure you call in and at least try them on and listen to them for a good few minutes before you decide...

other slefie gift ideas to follow.........

Owners Manual for Men! - Monitor Audio Airstream S300

Another new toy has arrived with us - the Monitor Audio Airstream S300.

Opening the box you will see the "quick start quide"... at this point I thought: here we go another simple guide to nowhere! but I was soon to be proved wrong....

As you can see, it looks too good to be true.... again being the cynic I still didn't believe it was going to be this easy..... but following the isntructions (as most blokes will only use as a last resort)... it was up and running in minutes...

Hard wiring the device of choice to the rear panel as instructed... a few more button presses and we were away...

So.. how does it perform?

I had just perched the Airstream on an easy to access shelf in the shop to set it up which was obviously not the best place for it, but the Airstream has a brilliant setup feature called APC - Automatic Position Correction. Test tones are output by the Airstream which are measured by it's built in microphone and then setting the equalisation of the Airstram - genius!. Again, so simple to operate so that if you do move the Airstream to different locations around the house you know it will perform to the best of it's ability.

I used our iPad via Airplay which worked perfectly, but if you don't have wifi or it will be placed in a location that has no wi-fi available then it can also be set-up to play directly "point to point" as they call it so no need for wi-fi which would be ideal for the kids in their bedroom for example...

Sound quality is fantastic for it's size! probably the best thing about it was it's off axis performance, a lot of airplay devices or docks can often sound great only when you are head on to them whereas the Airstream sounds great when you are way off centre, and for the headbangers it goes plenty loud enough!!

It is available in black and white too! Click here for more details and specs on the Monitor Audio Airstream S300 You can also read more at the Monitor Audio site

It's permanently wired up in the shop so just ask for a demo next time you call in.....

more new toys coming soon...

Anthem AV, PMC & Paradigm Store Event

16th October - make a date for your diary!

We will be hosting a store event featuring the eagerly awaited Anthem MRX 710 home cinema amplifier.

Anthem's Technical Sales Manager Tom Garrett will be on hand to demonstrate the new products and answer any questions.  If there is one thing alone that is worth speaking to Tom about is the Anthem ARC technology, it is by far the best room analysis/correction that we have come across in the world of AV! and trust me Tom can explain it far better than us.

To have a sneak preview of the Anthem MRX710 here where you can download the brochure.

So.. the next thing for us to chose is the lousdpeaker and subwoofer package to use. We decided that the best sounding speakers to compliment the Anthem amplifier is the PMC TWENTY series, so we will be using the Twenty-24 as the main stereo pair with Twenty-23 as the rear channel and a Twenty-centre channel.

If you have not already heard or seen the Twenty speakers in store you can read more about them here.

and now for the subwoofer... Anthem AV are also distributors for Paradigm speakers and subwoofers. Tom will be bringing the absolutely earth shattering Paradigm Sub-1 Subwoofer.... trust me - it is something else!

Have a look at the link and scroll down to the specs - just wait 'til you see the power this beast has - then you will really want to see it!

The cinema room will be available from 1pm - 7pm so please feel free to call in on the day and bring in a blu-ray, DVD or CD of your choice so you can hear it on this system.

We look forward to blowing you away!

Ann Widdecombe And The Musical Fidelity V-90 DAC...

Hopefully the title grabbed your attention and you think: "what on earth is he on about".... well let me explain...

We recently took delivery of the new Musical Fidelity V-90DAC,

As with any new toys that arrive we can't wait to get them out and give them a test. I thought that as the V-90 would be mainly used with moderate systems that I would test it using the Sonos Connect with an Arcam A19 amp and KEF LS50 speakers. 

I decided to use the Sonos as a source as this is the kind of thing that can really benefit from a helping hand in the digital to analogue conversion department, as well as the benefits of being able to plug other things into it like your TV, SKY box, Blu-ray player, PC or any other streamer like a Squeezebox. 

It's surprising how many people already have a DAC with a component nearby with a digital or USB output that is not plugged into the DAC! The TV I would say is the most common, it can make massive improvements to the sound of the TV by putting it through the hi-fi (as long as the layout lends itself to it of course - mine does!).

Hang on - I'm getting to Ann.........

So - got it all fired up...

Playing the Sonos through the system on it's own at first gave surprisingly good results from spotify and from our higher rate ripped music, I then swapped over to using the DAC (connected with QED standard optical cable)....and what a difference!!!!

Here is where Ms Widdecombe comes in.....

It's often very difficult to express in words how something sounds or how you felt when listening to music, what can I compare it to??...  then I suddenly thought ..... what starts this weekend??????

the Nation's favourite sequined celebrity humilation festival that is STRICTLY!!

ahhhhh - the penny drops ....

It is quite simply the same as listening to the judges comments after watching Louis Smith (and for those of you that say you have not seen the programme and don't know who he is - nobody believes you!) compared to good old Ann. They will say that Louis has wonderful timing with a flow that is smooth and elegant and they would love to see it again, whereas Ann managed to get through the performance but you wouldn't really want to watch it again - feet not in time with music and so on - you get the idea........ the Sonos on it's own sounds ponderous and a bit flat compared to the DAC which suddenly brings a whole different feel to the music.

The interesting thing is that you realise the information is actually there but the internals of the Sonos are just not up to the level of a decent external DAC, then of course you realise that the other components you have with digital outputs will also get the same improvement...... a bargain really!..

And that is how you connect a Privy Councillor to hi-fi!!

If you would like to read more about the bits and jitters etc. here's a link to the MF webpage: http://www.musicalfidelity.com/v90-dac/

Or why not call in for a listen yourself....

more bizzare connections coming soon.......

Rega Aria - as good as O Sole Mio?

If you do a Google search for Famous Arias then you will probably see O Sole Mio or Un Bel Di and the good old Nessun Dorma....but it won't be long before the search will show the Rega Aria!

We have had time to give it a good workout today, and (not to our surprise) it is a cracker!

Using a Rega Brio-R amplifier and a pair of B&W CM1 speakers (as we used for the customer demo) we first used a RP3 straight into the Brio-R which itself has a great internal phono stage. The next comparison was then the RP6 which was clearly a big step above the 3....... then came the Aria......  "where did all that come from?" was the reaction!..

You could expect the Aria to be used in systems of far greater value than this but the question was "what would a good phono stage do to this system?" so that's what we tried.... and it worked a treat. So much so that if this is similar to your existing system then such and upgrade should certainly be considered before maybe upgrading the speakers for example. I can't wait to try it with our RP8 when that arrives!

Using a few Blues tracks and then a bit of Elvis Costello to cheer ourselves up we found it just had a brilliant groove (sorry about that one)... all the normal improvements you would have expected are there but the biggest thing is the foot tapping factor - just great (not on the Costello of course - that was far more dangerous - remove all sharp objects from the room!)...

I have left the system plugged in upstairs so that you can hear it for yourself....

Please feel free to call in and have a listen..... I won't play Elvis Costello if you bring doughnuts!