New Sony KDL46W905

 

Sony KDL46W905. Sony’s latest smart TV is a real eye opener. The new “Triluminos Display” delivers an amazing picture straight out of the box. With wireless internet, tablet and phone connectivity it makes sharing your photo's and other media a breeze and it is quickly become our favourite screen.

Free Phone Offer. Sony are celebrating the launch of the new W series televisions by offering a free Sony Xperia Z smart phone with every purchase. This offer runs until 14th July.

 

Sunny Day Out At The Chord Company!

Yesterday we spent a very enjoyable day as guests of The Chord Company at their factory near Amesbury.

I must admit that the rare event of early morning sunshine yesterday was suggesting a visit to the seaside more than the thought of spending a day in a factory.  The usual traffic chaos on the M3 didn't help either but we soon arrived at The Millsway Centre and were warmly greeted by Chord's cable guru Nigel Finn.  It was immediately obvious that Chord Company House was a great place to work, light and spacious and everyone there was welcoming, relaxed and enthusiastic and any desire to escape to the beach instantly dissipated.  

Matt, our friendly Chord representative, guided us around the factory and we saw the care and skill which goes into assembling Chord interconnects and cables.  This was soon to become even more apparent as we were next given the opportunity to make some interconnects ourselves, ably assisted by Mike. The time consuming attention to detail in the construction of Chord products was highlighted by our attempts to assemble leads.  It's safe to say that customer orders would take somewhat longer if we were the in production instead of the highly skilled Chord team!  Thanks to Mike and the rest of the team for correcting any errors in our work and for turning our attempts into useable products!

After an excellent lunch provided by Chord we spent the afternoon in their excellent demonstration room with Matt taking us through most of the Chord interconnects and speaker cables with differences being clearly demonstrated between products all the way through the range.  Highlights were the new Chord Signature Digital Tuned Aray (£400 for a 1m RCA-RCA) which was a revelation and the newly released Epic Reference speaker cable (£125 per mono metre) also sounded fantastic, open, coherent and transparent.  Everything sounded great at it's price point but we were reminded how much really good cables can transform a system, turning hi-fi sound into real music.  The better the cables got the more the speakers and hi-fi disappeared allowing the music to fill the room unhindered.  Once we'd reached the dizzy heights of Sarum Tuned Aray mains cables, Sarum Tuned Aray digital interconnects, analogue interconnects and speaker cables the music was a solid three dimensional presence in the room.  It would be churlish to talk about price at this stage but for those who can afford it and want to experience the full emotional impact of music in their home Chord Sarum Tuned Aray is the way to achieve it.

We had a fantastic day at The Chord Company and would like to thank everyone there for making us so welcome and making it such an enjoyable experience, and, to top it all, the sun was still shining when we headed home!

Full Metal Jacket.....

Musical Fidelity EB-50 headphones

Beautifully machined from military-spec aluminium. The light weight design also make the EB-50's a joy to use and very comfortable when in use. 

Now just in case you may be wandering how good the EB-50's actually sound, we think they sound great. Detailed with clean bass lines comes to mind. They are also very easy to drive, suiting almost every portable device out there. 

Don't believe us? Why not pop in to Audio-T Manchester and have a listen for yourself.

For more information on the Musical Fidelity EB-50 visit the official website or you can read a glowing review from Av Forums right here.

Thanks for reading

Munir

Audio-T Manchester

Neat Momentum 4i

We do love our speakers here at Oxford, so you can imagine how delighted we were when we rediscoverd Neat Acoustics last month after a gap of nearly 20 years. I can hardly overstate how great these speakers sound.

We will be keeping a representation of three ranges but at the moment the top model that we hold is the Momentum 4i: Click here to read the Hi-Fi World and Audioreview reviews.

This is a 2.5 way floorstander that is unusual in having integral iso-baric bass units. An 'Ultimatum' bass/midrange drive and Titanium tweeter complete the driver line up.

If you are looking for a fast, detalied, dynamic speaker with wonderful bass then please contact us for a demonstration.

Vinyl Roadshow Coming To Reading Audio T June 29th 10-4pm

I'm delighted to announce that the next "stop" of the Audio T Vinyl Roadshow is here in Reading.

Our good friends from Diverse Vinyl will be here with a huge selection of the best and latest LP re-issues for you to browse through and buy, don't tell my wife!!

The day will also be in conjunction with Rega Research who are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year and we'll have all their latest goodies including RP1,RP3,RP6 & RP8 turntables, the new Elicit-R integrated amplifier and Aria phonostage as well as the full Reference CD, Phonostage, Amplifier and Speakers!

Why not bring a well known record with you or one that you have bought on the day and hear what we can do for you?

The event takes place on Saturday June 29th between 10am and 4pm.

 

 

Test Sonos At Home

Get your SONOS test pack from us today.

Just buy a Sonos Play 3 and we will give you a FREE bridge for a wireless set up. You will also get 60 days FREE subscription to Napster and a 60 day money back guarantee, so you've nothing to lose. If you are not completely satisfied, just return the items back to us for a full refund.

Call in to the Cardiff store today and pick up your kit. Don't miss out on this wonderful opportunity to experience the wonders of Sonos in you own home with access to all the music you could ever hope for.

Promotion ends 30th June.

Arcam rBlink Bluetooth DAC Sounds Blinkin Good!

We have been mightily impressed with how good Arcam's baby rBlink Bluetooth wireless DAC sounds!

We have our diminutive box set wired into our Heed Obelisk Si Integrated & X2Power Supply connected to a pair of Spendor SA1 Loudspeakers. We use our iPad mini and iPod Touch to stream the music to the rBlink.

The DAC has excellent detail retrieval and doesn't sound too digital or harsh. It has a warmth to the presentation offering a sound akin to a good analogue turntable. It's impressive and offers a true Hi-Fi audiophile sound with the added convenience of allowing you to be able to control your music from the comfort of your armchair using any device that has Bluetooth.

It's simple to set up too! Just turn on Bluetooth on your phone / tablet and with one press of a button on the R-Blink you are connected.

It's even converted our very own Farid Beheshti who like Jon Finch is a died in the wool analogue Hi-Fi purist. It's that good it has converted Farid to the digital world and he has just bought the rBlink and a shiny new iPad mini!

Drop by have a cuppa with us and be converted!

Introducing Libratone, Funky Sizzling Danish Portable Wireless Loudspeakers.......

We like the sound of these very quirky but extremely fine sounding wireless loudspeakers.

Sizes, shapes to fit in with your home furnishings. Works with airplay... and allows you to stream your tunes to the Zipp or any other Libratone speaker from your computer, mobile phone or tablet.

To quote a famous Danish beer commercial, probably the finest wireless loudspeakers in the world........

Libratone Product Family from Libratone on Vimeo.

 

£50 Chord C-Power Surprise

Chord C-power Shielded power cable 1.5m

Upgraded mains cables have always seemed like a bit of Hi-Fi voodoo, and when they look like a standard mains cable given free with all products, one can not help but be sceptical. When we were first shown the thin, black, Chord C Power with it's molded plugs we thought it was a joke. However, after a fair amount of encouragement and explanation about the product we gave it a try, and had to admit that Chord have produced yet another excellent product.

The C-Power is manufactuered in the UK by a company that specialises in military grade cables which is why it is no frills. We tried it with a Rega Apollo CD Player, Arcam A19 amp, and KEF LS50 speakers and the difference with the C-Power just plugged into the CD Player was immediate, and very positive, giving the system a more open, detailed and cleaner sounding presentation.

There are not many worth while system upgrades you can do for £50, but if you have a little spare cash and want to make an improvement to your system give the C-Power a listen.

 

 

Say Hello To My Little Friend..........

The New B&W P3 in Blue.

The Bowers & Wilkins P3 headphones are now available in Blue,Black and White

We have had the White P3's in stock for a while now and have been mightily impressed by the sound quality from these small over ear headphones.

Just like the B&W 685 speakers these little headphones are ready to party. Kudos to B&W for getting so much bass and masses of midrange from a small drive unit.

B&W P3 Blue


Come along and have an audition at Audio T Manchester.

Thanks

T: 01618398869 E:manchester@audio-t.co.uk

We've Cracked Open The New KEF Eggs! The E305's Now On Demonstration

   Take a closer look at the KEF E305's at Audio-T Enfield. 

The 301 satellites contain KEF's Uni-Q driver array which houses the tweeter in the middle of the mid/bass driver (which helps give a wider voice to the speaker). (we recommend QED silver micro speaker cable to use with these)

The E301c centre speaker is simply the same E301 satellite just on it's side which helps create a seamless soundstage from front to back & side to side. (All speakers wall mountable)

  The E-2 Subwoofer uses a 8" bass driver, although small to some equiped with a 250W amplifier gives it the ability to energise our demo room with smooth controlled bass. We found to get the best out of this sub it pays to use a good quality subwoofer cable like The Chord Crimson VEE3 for a tighter response & more controlled bass notes. (less boom / more bass)

Listen in comfort & isolation from noisy shop floor environments in one of our purpose built demonstration rooms. Find out just how good the new KEF E305's really are.

 

We would describe the satellites as"Open, wide and detailed sounding"

And the E2 subwoofer to give a "coupled-to-room" bass response, creating "seamless & smooth" sounding bass.

 

Book a demo today!

Audio-T Enfield

Tel: 0208 367 3132

Email: enfield@audio-t.co.uk

JVC, Sony, Epson Projector Event Not Long To Go!

Only 4 weeks to go until our projector event!

I'm already getting some positive response's from customer's and passer's by who will be attending the event and are like me extremely excited about it!

Whether you have a projector or not and are just curious at what the differences are between a £750 projector or a £13,000 projector then this is where you will find out all the information you need.

Even better if you are looking to update your old 720p unit to a full HD 1080p or even Sony's 4K model then this is the place to do it! There will be deals and offers over the course of the 3 day event both on projectors and everything else you need for the rest of your system such as amplifiers, speakers, cabling, screens and much more!

If you have any questions on the event or need any help with directions and parking then contact us on 01277-264730 or brentwood@audio-t.co.uk

Also don't forget we have cake!

Stop press! TXP65VT50 now sold but still time to grab a TV bargain!

The ex-demonstration TXP65VT50 has now found a new home but we still have two amazing opportunities left to grab yourself a superb Panasonic TV at an unbelievable saving!  We only have one of each of these stunning screens left and they are both priced to make room for new models at the insane price £999.00!  

 

Above is Panasonic's flagship 42" LED TV TXL42WT50B with active 3D and wi-fi.  

This screen was a top of the range model and priced at £1649.00.  One chance only to save a stonking £650!  

 

And below...

Panasonic TXP50GT50B 50" Full HD 3D plasma TV.  We've always been fans of the natural picture quality, unbeatable contrast and black levels of plasma screens.  This is one of the best and a snip at £999.00  - a huge £400 saving on the original price of £1399.00!

The icing on the cake for both of these TVs is the free 5 year warranty included even at these crazy prices!

P.S. The blue line appearing to split the screen in two is merely reflection from the camera flash, so nothing to worry about!

 

 

What's DAC All About?

At Audio T we are amazed at how much a decent digital to analogue converter (DAC) can make to the resulting sound quality of music and film.

The DAC is a clever micro chip that converts analogue signals such as speech or in this case a music recording or a film soundtrack into a digital signal that can be amplified and then sent to your loudspeakers.

Your CD player, in car players, iPod, and some extent newer digital amplifiers often have DAC's built in however these vary greatly and are often of low quality. 

An audiophile grade dedicated and purpose built DAC can make a huge difference to the resulting sonic output and overall sound quality! 

At Audio T we have a wide range of DAC's that suit different applications and are designed to enhance your listening pleasure. 

Why not come in and hear the difference it can make to your Hi-Fi or Home Cinema system.
 
Here are some of the Hi-Fi brands we have available in store for for you to listen to: Rega DAC, Audioquest Dragonfly DAC, Naim DAC's Arcam DAC's, Audiolab DAC's, Chord DAC's

We would always suggest you contact your local store and check availability before travelling. 

If you're interested in the technicalities then you can read more on Wikipedia 
*Image reproduced courtesy of Texas Instruments.

Long Live The Independent Hi-Fi Retailer!

Mr Alan Gillies has won Letter of the Month in the June edition of Hi-Fi choice for bringing into sharp focus the value of the independent Hi-Fi retailer.

We thank him wholeheartedly for recounting his experience when he visited Ian, Gavin and Andy at our Preston store and taking the time to write to Hi-Fi Choice and bring this issue to the fore!

We would also like to give mention to Lee Dunkley the Editor for giving this topic some much deserved coverage.

You can read Mr Gillies letter and what he has to say here

Pretty in... Blue

This week we have received the Bowers And Wilkins P3's in Blue. We were already massivley surprised by their dynamics and detail for a small headphone and to be honest thought the black and white finishes were fine, now they have the blue finish its a real eye turner!

Packaged nicely in a coccoon type case with 2 cables. One with iPod/iPhone buttons and one without (sounds better) they are very handy to have and are brilliant for the commuter or someone who travels regurlarly.

 

Fresh Out Of The Box KEF's 305 5.1 Home Cinema Speaker Package

Just in and unboxed is the new KEF305 Sat/Sub 5.1 speaker system.

A fresh upgrade on the old 3005SE, this new system is beautifully designed and finished.

There is a much improved sound on the old, these derive from the award winning "R" series audiophile grade loudspeakers. With KEF employing their high end trickle down technology to more affordable loudspeakers in their range.

A simple well designed stand on the satellite speakers swivels round to become a wall bracket. A matching sub-woofer seamlessly blends in to complete the package.

If you're looking for a new speakers sytem or looking to upgrade, why not come on in and have a listen. You'll be amazed how this dimunutive system will bring your Blu-rays and DVD's to life! Also available in black.

Sneak Preview of New Rega Elicit-R & Aria

Two days ago we had a quick to listen to the new Rega Elicit-R 100w integrated amplifier and the Aria MM/MC phonostage. Initial impressions are extremely good.

The Elicit sounded really muscular yet refined and will probably drive just about any speaker it's ever likely to be partnered with.

The Aria clearly showed it had a lot in common with their Reference Ios so massive step up from the Phono MM. Most significantly though this is a MC phonostage configurable to suit any MC cartridge but with a dedicated setting to match Rega'a awesome Apheta MC cartridge. We listened to it with the RP8/Apheta turntable and was fabulous. Both the Aria and the Reference Ios really show what the Apheta is capable of.

I'll post a lot more when they arrive.

Simon

 

New Naim UnitiQute 2

 Now upgraded and no price change

UnitiQute 2 All-in-one Player

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unitiqute_front_10pc_0.jpg

 

 

Connect with your music like never before
It's a cliche we know, but good things come in small packages. The UnitiQute 2 all-in-one audio player however isn't just good: it's a brilliant-sounding, uniquely versatile, seductively compact and, of course, irresistibly cute example of what contemporary music in the home is all about. Music downloads, high-resolution music files, internet radio, network music, UPnP servers, iPod/MP3 players - everything that the new era of music delivery can throw at it, UnitiQute 2 can play. Revitalised for 2013, UnitiQute 2 improves upon the performance of its predecessor with enhanced sound quality and Multiroom functionality. High-resolution 32bit/192kHz streaming capability and a DAB/DAB+ tuner now also come as standard.

Music for everyone
Just like NaimUniti 2, its multi-award-winning sibling, UnitiQute 2 is right at the forefront of modern music delivery technology, and its significance for music enthusiasts of all aspirations is far greater than the simple sum of its component parts. For the committed enthusiast with an existing Naim setup, UnitiQute 2 can not only deliver exceptional Naim music-making as a second system, but also play the role of gateway to all the new digital music delivery formats - from USB memory sticks, UPnP streaming to internet radio. For the more casual listener, UnitiQute 2 can take the place of both the old hi-fi system and the iPod dock, sound far better than either, and at the same time introduce new worlds of audio ripe for exploration.

Small box... Big on features
For starters, UnitiQute 2 includes a preamplifier with two analogue inputs, five 32bit/192kHz-capable digital inputs and all the traditional Naim musical clarity and transparency. Next, UnitiQute 2 includes a muscular power amplifier that provides all the rhythmic punch and definition you would expect from Naim. You want conventional radio? Well, UnitiQute 2 includes FM and DAB/DAB+ tuners that get the best possible performance from either format. UnitiQute 2 is happy also to play music from an iPod or MP3 player via its front panel-mounted USB socket. The USB audio connection is digital so iPod sound quality is optimised, and Apple authenticated too so compatibility is seamless. And the same USB socket can be used to play music files in almost any format at up to 32bit/192kHz resolution straight from a memory stick. And it doesn't end there. A network Ethernet socket and integrated Wi-Fi means that, along with everything else, UnitiQute 2 can easily tap into Internet radio or UPnP servers, a Naim HDX for example, to drop almost unlimited music choices right into your lap. Talk about cute.

Easy access to your music
Bringing everything audio, digital and analogue together is one thing, but making it all work seamlessly together is something else entirely. UnitiQute 2 is controlled by a dedicated remote handset in combination with a large, clear display. The UnitiQute 2 user interface borrows the principles of intuition and accessibility, and much of the substance, from the already proven NaimUniti 2 interface. The interface is clear, intuitive, uncluttered and makes light work of access to the remarkable versatility and performance of UnitiQute 2. And the n-Stream app for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch will enhance the experience still further and raise its brilliance yet another notch.

Multiroom & Party Mode
As well as being a high-end standalone streaming system, UnitiQute 2 opens up the possibility of multiroom hi-fi. Connected to other Naim streaming products over the home network, it can act as the ‘Master’ or ‘Client’ streaming product in a multiroom system which will get the party started and play music in Naim quality in every corner of your home. Click here for more information on Multiroom & Party Mode.