Wednesday 14th May 2014, Classic Vinyl Evening.
The Venue
The Norwegian Church, Cardiff Bay.
The Speakers
The KEF Blades.
The Source
The Project Signature
Further details of this event will be posted on this blog and our website very soon. There will be a competition on the night to win a pair of KEF Q100 loudspeakers.
To obtain your FREE ticket for this event please email KEF at marketing@kef.com
The NEW Bowers & Wilkins are more than just a new fancy cabinet redesign,.. They are a completely new speaker in their own right and worthy of your attention!
As some of you may already know, B&W lauched their NEW 600 S2 series at the recent Hi-Fi show in Bristol with great success.
shortly after the show, we in Swindon received our demo stock and set to work un boxing the small mountain of boxes and started to run them all in in our back demo room. First impressions were good and instantly showed off all B&Ws hard work but that's nothing as to how they sound now once they've had a few hours under their belt.
The NEW 600 S2 series still has that sound we all know and love ( and if I'm honest expect ) from such a world class speaker manufacture such as B&W, but with a bit of B&W magic, they have managed to squeeze an extra load of refinement out of the range.
This new speaker range that starts at £349 for the 686 S2 should be making all other speakers at the equivalent price points tremble in their cabinets!
If you're in the market for a new pair of speakers or even if you have a pair of the old 600 series and would just like to hear how they sound, give us call to arrange a demo.
To arrange your demo, give us a call on: 01793 538222 or email us on: swindon@audio-t.co.uk
See you soon.
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.....
Over time we have all largely accepted that the most important part of the HiFi system is the source. If we fail to retrieve the musical information from the medium being played then it cannot be regained later in the Hi-Fi chain - The old Rubbish In - Rubbish Out saying applies here. This remains true across all sources including Vinyl, Cd, Radio and of course the current crop of Streamers and dictates that we plough a significant proportion of our budget into the relevant player.
We are in the case of streamers however, overlooking the fact that if you are ripping your CD collection for the purposes of streaming then your lovely new shiny streamer is not really the source! In many cases you will be using a few hundred pounds worth of computer rammed with noisy power supplies etc etc to feed your streamer that may have cost thousands of pounds!
This is where the Naim Unitiserve below comes into play, fitted with a large 2Tb hard drive and engineered to simply get the most from your Compact Discs and more.
There are many people who say digital music is just ones and zeros and it will always sound the same! However after a weekend with the Unitiserve it is very apparent even on my £500 Marantz streamer that this is simply untrue. Having compared it to WAV format rips obtained using Exact Audio Copy and dbpoweramp programs for example the Naim was always better without exception, with the musical image better focussed with greater energy and for want of a better description more evenly "lit" with no one instrument or performer being highlighted or left in the shadows. My wife, a natural cynic by the way! prefered the Naim rip EVERY time without being able to see what was being played.
If you are a computer-phobe then it is good news as well! For the majority of the time it is simply a case of pop a CD in and wait for it to pop back out 5 or so minutes later. You can of course use the Desktop Client to rename discs, create regular backups and add other content to stream if you desire. There are some screen shots below showing just some of the myriad of options available. An iPad app is available to directly play from the Unitiserve's digital output or better still control one of the Naim streamers over your computer network.
To sum up you have the benefits of storing your CDs in the uncompressed (mathematically or otherwise) WAV format yet retaining Artist, Album and Track information not usually available with this format when streaming, ease of use especially if you dislike computers and quite possibly the best sounding rips I have heard. Nobody wants to have to re-rip their music when they upgrade their Hi-Fi systems so if your streamer is or is likely to be in the £500 or above category I would suggest a Naim Unitiserve is mandatory to get the best from your investment. You are better spending £2220 on the Unitiserve and £750 on a streamer than £3000 on a streamer to play from your computer in my view, plus upgrading the streamer eventually will not require your entire CD collection to be copied again.
I was contemplating upgrading my streamer shortly but now realise I must in fact upgrade my music collection first and purchase a Unitiserve!
Don't take my word for it though, why not contact one of our Branches Here and listen for yourself!
You can see more about the Unitiserve on our site Here and over at Naim Here
The Rega RP10 in Audio T Manchester.
RB2000 tonearm.
The RB2000 uses the latest award winning Rega arm tube. Each one which is meticulously hand polished (keeping mass to an absolute minimum) and has been completely redesigned to redistribute mass and further reduce stresses and resonances. This advanced design tube increases the stiffness and rigidity of the overall assembly whilst reducing stress on the bearings even further.
The Apheta cartridge. Mounted on the RB2000.
Super flywheel effect ceramic platter
Yep..thats right, the words "super and fly" a la Curtis Mayfield are used to describe the RP10. Say no more!!!
The RP10 uses a custom ceramic flywheel effect platter. The platter is produced from ceramic oxide powder which is compressed, fired and diamond cut to ensure perfect accuracy and flatness across the surface. The new platter features a modified construction over the previous P9 version with improved coupling to the sub platter.
Skeletal plinth design with polyolefin foam core, which is created using nitrogen bubbles, all of which are the same size, just like a pint of Guiness.
Controversially Rega has always researched methods of producing light but stiff and rigid plinths. The technology is simple: unwanted noise at microscopic levels is developed by the turntable motor and main bearing. The plinth can also pick up airborne vibration from the music. From the beginning in the 1970’s Rega pioneered the use of a stressed skin structure for the plinth. This uses two layers of phenolic resin with a lightweight particle or fibre board sandwiched between the skins. This technique has been used in many applications where stiff, light structures are needed such as an aircraft wing or a Formula 1 chassis.
"Now thats whats you call polished to perfection" so sayeth the wise Chromey.
The motor drives the CNC machined pulley, sub platter and hub-bearing assembly via the twin belt drive. Each motor is individually hand tuned to its own custom power supply in the factory to minimise vibration, motor noise and ensure optimum performance.
How does it sound ?
"At the moment I have only tried the RP10 with the Rega Apheta, which gives a huge soundstage and very fast sounding with no bass overhang . After a few records I felt I could listen to this combination all night! and thats what happened. Detail just poured out of the speakers. Would I sell my current turntable for this ? possibly"
The Rega RP10 on display and demonstration at our Manchester store.
Please feel free to call in and ask Dave,Munir,Mike or Kevin for a demonstration.
Thanks.
Tel: 0161 839 8869
email: manchester@audio-t.co.uk
web: www.audio-t.co.uk
We are open Monday to Saturday 9:30 - 17:30
and Sunday 11:30 - 16:30
Twenty six Audio T customers were lucky enough to visit Naim's premises last week.
The feedback has been exceptional and I think it safe to say that a good time was had by everyone.
The visit consisted of a tour of the factory, where the sheer care and attention to detail that Naim lavish on their product became apparent to all. This was followed by a trip into R&D (most rare) and a chat with the head of the team behind the Statement amplifier, Steve Sells.
After lunch, everybody had the opportunity to listen to the £12K NDS streamer and power supply through the 125K Statement amplifier ito a pair of £70K Focal Stella Utopias! What can I say but wow! Without doubt the best system I have ever heard. If I could afford it, I would buy it, in a heartbeat.
Our eagerly awaited new Rega RP10 has now arrived!
We are currently running it in but initial impressions are very encouraging. It's every bit as good, if not even better, than our memory of the demo model played to us by Rob from Rega.
The resolution from this superbly engineered turntable is simply stunning. Phone or email us to book a demonstration and bring along some of your favourite albums. We're sure you will be impressed!
Roll up, roll up, get your bargain pre-loved (second hand) Naim 'ere!
The first unmissable bargain is a Naim CD5XS serial number 301855 (2010) for £1299. Not only is this an excellent CD player in it's own right, but is upgradable with a Naim Flatcap or Hicap. Also it features a digital output so it can be further upgraded using a top quality DAC.
Second bargain is a Naim Nait XS serial number 284520 (2009) for £999. The Nait XS is very fine integrated amplifier upgradable with a Naim Flatcap or Hicap.
For the eagle eyed customer please do not be confused by the "Nait XS2" badge on the box. This is one of the later Nait XS's which had the box labelled as Nait XS2 but it is not the current spec.
Finally we have two Naim Flatcap XS serial numbers 324768 (2012) and 276809 (2009) both going for £499. For all non Naim 'o' files, these are external power supplies to upgrade various other Naim products, including the two products listed above. Unlike any of the other Naim Power Supplies, these flexible beauties can provide an upgrade for two products at once! For example, a CD player and a Pre-amp, making them excellent value for money.
If you're considering passing on the bargains listed above and buying new Naim kit, please remember, Naim put their prices up on the 1st April!
We all love a new speaker so imagine our excitement when not one, but four new pairs turned up on our doorstep. The brand new Bowers & Wilkins 600 series. Coming in four sizes there's a pair of speakers to suit any size of room. As they fill your listening area with great sound the subtle cabinet design will guarantee that they don't dominate the space.
Be the first to hear them, give us a call to arrange a demonstration
Our plans are in place and we look forward to welcoming you in Room 227 at AudioWorld Brighton
10% Show reduction on Naim and Focal
(Some exclusions apply)
Win a set of Focal Spirit One Headphones £199.95
Visitors to our room during the show are welcome to register in a free draw to win a set of Focal Spirit One Headphones
Win a Naim Powerline Mains Cable £495
From the Show dates until the end of April anyone who has a demonstration at Audio T Brighton of any Naim or Focal product is welcome to enter a free draw to win a Naim Powerline Mains cable
The main demonstration system will comprise
Server
NDX Network Player adding XPS2 Power Supply to demonstrate benefit
Supernait Integrated Amplifier adding Hi-Cap Power Supply to demonstrate benefit
FraimLite Equipment Support system
Focal Aria 926 Loudspeakers
Additionally we will have available for demonstration
Server
ND5 XS Network Player adding XP5 XS Power Supply to demonstrate benefit
Nait XS Integrated Amplifier adding Flatcap XS Power Supply to demonstrate benefit
FraimLite Equipment Support system
Focal Loudspeakers
We now have available for demonstration the Yamaha CXA 5000/ MXA 5000 AV Processor and 11 channel Power Amp.
This £5000 behemoth combination packs 150W per channel and will drive any speaker that you care to throw at it.
The processing is of the absolute highest quality. With the resultant sound quality that you would expect.
Specifications include:
4 zones
192/32 bit processing
4K Ultra HD pass through
8 HDMI in and 2 out
Ultra high rigidity chassis
XLR inputs and outputs
Book up a dem and try them for yourself.
It's 19th century Paris and Violetta knows she is going to die.She must make the hardest decision of all. Does she live out the final days with the man she loves? Or to save his reputation does she walk away from him and her only chance of happiness? Well if she had to make that decision today she could forget the man and live out her life blissfully listening to her favourite music on a pair of Sennheiser headphones!
The Wales Millennium Center where music lovers were treated to La Traviata performed by the Welsh National Opera. Members of the audience were given the chance to audition some Sennheiser headphones during the intervals and at a pre-concert reception.
Top of the range HD800's with the HDVD800 headphone amp was connected to a Naim CD5XS and an i-Pod shuffle for comparison of CD quality versus mp3
Close up of the superb sounding HD800. These are individually hand built using the finest materials.
The HD700's and the HDVD600 headphone amp connected to a lap top playing some high resolution files of the WNO's recent recordings. A comparison of a live performance and recorded sound!
A close up of the HD700 showing the fine build quality.
The Momentum and Momentum ON were also on display connected to i-pods loaded with a selection of the same music for easy comparison.
A competition was run by Sennheiser and here we see a lucky winner clutching her Momentum ON headphones and a pair of tickets for the performance presented by members of the WNO and Sennheiser.
Don't forget, these headphones are now available at our Cardiff store, so pop in any time for a demo.
Matt from the Chord Company will be joining us for a day of cable madness at Audio T Brighton
From the faily humble Crimson leads to the frankly exotic Sarum Tuned Aray interconnects and speaker cables, this is a marvellous opportunity to gauge just how important cables can be in a Hi-Fi system.
Some of you will already be aware, but many of you will be surpirised, even shocked !
So join us for a day of fun and nonsense...
Come with some favourite music - and an open mind
Here in Swindon, we are pleased to announce that we have received our first delivery of LPs from the vinyl giant that is Diverse Vinyl.
There are albums from the great Cowboy Junkies, Eleanor McEvoy, Eddie Reader and many more amazing artists.
Prices start from as little as £20 for a single LP and £25 for double gatefold LP.
So if you're on the look out for your next shiny black disc to buy, why not pop in to Audio T Swindon and have a thumb through our selection of vinyl.
We now have the outstanding new Rega RP10 turntable.
A Quote from Rega - 'The RP10 represents probably the biggest step forward in the evolution of Roy Gandy's turntable design philosophies'
Here are some of the design highlights:
Skeletal Plinth design
The plinth design uses a unique stressed skin structure. Two layers of phenolic skins sandwich a feather weight nitrogen expanded foam. Utilising this feather weight plinth structure almost entirely eliminates unwanted noise developed by the turntable motor, main bearing and unwanted airborne vibrations.
The plinth is constructed in a similar way to materials used in the avaition and formula one industries. The plinth has a double brace mounted between the tone-arm mounting and the main bearing where increased rigidity is required. The top brace is magnesium and the bottom brace is phen-lic. These are two of the lightest and stiffest materials available. Because the two materials have different natural resonances they are in effect self damping.
Ceramic Platter
The Ceramic Oxide platter is diamond cut to produce a perfectly flat Round platter insuring a perfect fly wheel effect.
24V Low Noise Motor
The 24V two phase synchronous motor is controlled by the dedicated RP10 PSU supplied. Each motor is hand tuned to the PSU to ensure minimum vibration and motor noise.
RB2000 Tone-arm
The completely redesigned ultra light armtube is meticulously polished to keep the weight to a minimum (Paint weighs a lot). The bearings are hand selected to achieve a perfect match. This proven method increases the amount of detail retrieved from the record surface and allows maximum performance to be achieved from the cartridge.
On listening, the amount a detail retrieved from the record groove is outstanding. The bass is tight fast and extremely tuneful. Stereo imaging is as good as any turntable we have heard. The treble is amazingly detailed and smooth.
We have partnered our RP10 with the Dynavector DV20X2L low output moving coil cartdridge and it is a superb match.
Available in store for demonstration. Upon listening I am sure you will be as outstanded as we are.
Pro-Ject's Tube Box S phono preamplifier is a dual mono design that uses two audiophile-grade ECC83 tubes, which gives an analogue warmth & bass texture that we love!
The connections on the back of the Tube Box S are straight forward & easy to use.
The fun for me begins on the underside of the Tube Box S, not only can you adjust the input gain, impedance & capacitance to match your cartridge perfectly, but you have the ability to experiment with input capacitance. When using MM or high output MC carts (within the recommended input capacitance suggestions for your cartridge) I feel in doing this you obtain more control over the sound stage of your system, pushing it further forward & wider into the room.
The Tube Box S offers unrivalled performance and unique flexibility, which has been previously unavailable at this price point.
Book a demo today!
Audio-T Enfield
Tel:0208 367 3132
Email: enfield@audio-t.co.uk
We have recently brought the great products from Cocktail Audio into the store.
The star of the show is the Cocktail X30
This is a truly comprehensive system which will rip your cds onto its internal storage (various sizes of hard drive are available starting at 1TB) It can rip in WAV, FLAC, OGG, or mp3 and has access to a database of album covers which it will display on its coloured screen.
But that's just the beginning, this system is bristling with extras, there is a built in amplifier which we have used to drive a variety of speakers well, it has access to internet radio as well as FM and will allow you to record from those sources. You can also record from its line level inputs, it is a streaming device allowing access to your networked storage, has digital inputs and outputs and an internal DAC that wil handle up to 24/192!! Oh and there's an HDMI output for the display which also allows picture slideshows to be viewed.
The best bit is, it sounds great at a very reasonable price.
There is a smaller brother called the X10 which is a streaming mini system with many of the features of its sibling and is cheap as chips!
Our other new arrival is our new store resident and mascot Boswell Bear, He is a rescue teddy from a local charity shop who needed a good home and no doubt will be adding to the atmosphere in the shop, and probably getting involved in our blogs etc. once he has settled in
He certainly seems to like the Cocktail Audio
We love the Rega RP8 turntable so were excited to hear the new top of the range RP10 when Rob from Rega brought it here and demonstrated it to us.
We certainly weren't disappointed! Rega have taken the brilliant skeletal construction of the RP8 and refined and enhanced an already impressive turntable massively with the RP10.
The stunning new RB2000 tonearm is beautifully hand polished to minimise weight and has ultra high tolerance paired bearings to maximise detail retrieval. Fitted with the Rega Apheta MC cartridge it was clear that much more information was being extracted from the record groove.
The RP10's custom ceramic flywheel effect platter looks striking and is diamond cut to ensure absolute accuracy and flatness.
In addition the RP10 has a high performance power supply. Absolute speed accuracy is maintained by a new DSP signal generator utilising a high stability crystal. Each power supply is factory tuned to minimise vibration and optimise motor performance. The custom casework matches the Rega Aria MM/MC phono pre-amp which is the ideal partner for this superb record spinner.
It may be a cliche but, listening to some of my well played albums, owned for several decades, and, at times, played on far lesser record players, I was amazed at how involving and unscathed they sounded.
Anyone imagining that vinyl belongs in the past should come and listen to the RP10 when our demo model arrives very soon. If £3598.00 (with Apheta) or £2998.00 (without cartridge) is too rich Rega turntables start at £230.00 with the RP1 (with Carbon cartridge) so there is one to suit every budget.
Go on, dig out your favourite album and blow the dust off it. Give us a call and come in for a proper listen, the way we all used to play music. Sit down, put your feet up and hear an album all the way through, both sides, a proper record sleeve in your hands with artwork to admire and artist info you can actually read!
Primare I32 Integrated Amplifier
We have just put on demonstration the exceptional Primare I32 integrated amplifier.
The I32 is an upgradeable 120W Amplifier. Ther UFPD power technology provides very high power capability, exceptional head room and extremely low distortion. On listening we have found that the I32 offers sound quality you would expect from much more costly pre-power combinations. The sound prersentation is exceptionally clean in its presentation and offers great imaging and very deep tuneful bass.
Primare MM30 Media Board
The Primare I32 integrated amplifier can also be fitted with the MM30 media board.
This offers audiophile streaming, internet radio via wireless integration with UPNP devices such as PC, MAC, NAS, I-Pad and USB. It utilises a 24/192 DAC board that offers connectios for Coax digital, toslink, USB-A and USB-B. The media player is controlled by the dedicated 'Free' Primare APP available for I-Phone and Android devises.
The Classic.
Dynavector 20X2L.
The latest and greatest.
The Rega RP8 / RB 808.
Our Dynavector 20X2L mounted on RP8 RB 808 combination.
In a meeting of old and new, this particular combination forms a formidable partnership.
Coming across as completely natural and detailed the 20X2L delivers big soundstages with aplomb.
As it stands this combination would cost £2167, and quite frankly, it's worth every penny.
It's set up and playing on our showroom floor, you won't miss it when you come in.
Just give Dave, Munir, Kevin or our Mike a shout when you pop in.
Thanks
Munir
Tel: 0161 839 8869
email: manchester@audio-t.co.uk
web: www.audio-t.co.uk
We are open Monday to Saturday 9:30 - 17:30
and Sunday 11:30 - 16:30
At Audio T we're always excited to share with you our thoughts and musings on the latest and greatest Hi-Fi and home audio! Our blog features news and reviews from individual stores and occasional blogs from HQ; select your nearest store from the list below to find out what they've been up to.
