Rega Elex-R Excels!

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We were recently given the chance to listen to the brand new Rega Elex R Amp. This is a new amp in the range to sit in between the Brio R and the Elicit R. Having given it a good warming up I must say that it fits the bill beautifully. It has the fun factor of the Brio whilst driving the speakers with gusto much more like its bigger sibling the Elicit.

 

Having listened to a couple of tracks on it including The Lighthouse Family “Lifted” it bounded along on the bass line whilst showing off all the details of the track.

For under £900 we think this amp will truly stun you with its performance and value for money. Including the same built in phono pre amp stage as the Elicit R this is a great amp for both your vinyl collection and your digital music alike. 

Our demo Elex R has now arrived and sounding great as we run it in. Give us a call to book a demo or grab your favourite LP or CD and pop in for a listen.

A Streamer In Disguise!! Arcam airDAC Sounds Great with Qobuz

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One of the latest additions to the Arcam range is the airDAC. Not only is this an extremely good DAC in its own right, the inclusion of airPlay makes it a very versatile streamer.

The streamer contains a 24/96 DAC that supports the formats that you are most likely to use, that is WAV, FLAC and ALAC.

LED indicator lights on the front show clearly which input is selected and these can be conveniently selected with a remote handset.

Here is a view of the back of the unit showing the analogue and digital outputs along with the coax and optical inputs. Next to these we have the antenna and ethernet sockets the the power switch and 12V input.

Everything is supplied in the box to get you going. However we would recommend using higher quality interconnect and digital cables for the best sound quality. Now here's the simple bit to get you listening to CD quality streaming. Connect the airDAC to your Hi-Fi system, download the Qobuz App. from i-Tunes store, select Airplay on your tablet, iPod or iPhone, select your favourite album and just press PLAY. This is a great and inexpensive way to enjoy the superb quality sound that Qobuz provide with their lossless streaming.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REL S3 Sub Bass System

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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.

 

 

Post Ziggy

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We had a good turn out for the 'Spiders from Mars' album event, filling out our dem room nicely. Especially satisfying as I had managed to book it on the same evening as England's ''crunch' game (the less said about that the better)!

The wine was flowing and snacks duly supplied, before warming up with a bit of London Grammar (a great, great recording) before diving into Ziggy. Feet were tapping and to quote the cliche "a great time was had by all".

A bit of 'Hunky Dory' and a chat to wind down with before our customers went on their merry way.

If anyone has any albums that they would like to hear, please let me know as we are always looking for ideas.

Make Huge Savings.

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Check out some of these amazing deals. These and many more can be found on the clearance page of our website.

Monitor Audio GX200 speakers in Ebony were £2759.95 , now only £1999.



Pioneer SCLX87 Home Cinema Receiver was £2000 , now only £1399


Kef T305 Surround Sound Speakers was £1700 , now only £1300

 

Dont forget, if you are an e-Club you will get an extra 5% discount.

For more information give us a call on 01772 883958 or pop in and see us any time.

Turn Up for A Tune Up For Your Turntable Here.

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Reinvigorate your music listening by giving your turntable some TLC from Audio-T Manchester, whether you need a full service and set up, a new cartridge and drive belt or just a stylus cleaning brush, you can hear your record collection as never before.

With expert knowledge on cartridge and phono stage selection we can give genuine advice to help you optimise your set up.

Pop in and talk to Dave,Mike,Munir or Kevin

 

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

 

 

Delicious Things and Reduced Prices

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We've had a few new additions to the dem room in the form of Chord Electronics

Their CPA2500 pre amp and SPM1050 power amp are making beautiful sounds with our Focal 1028be floorstanders. Amazing clarity and impact seem to be the hallmark of this combination without ever losing sight of the music itself. 
The Electra 1028 from Focal is one of our favourite speakers:

and the good news is we have this pair to sell ex-demonstration reduced from £5330 to £4530!

We also have the electra Subwoofer reduced from £2714 to £2171, and the SR surround speakers reduced from £3450 to £2760. If you're interested in all three we could produce a great package price for you as well.

Come on in and have a look and a listen.

PSB M4U-2 Closed Back Active And Noise Cancelling Headphones

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PSB have been producing loudspeakers for the last forty years. This is their first foray into the headphone market and they are worth shouting about. (Not that you will hear it as they are a fully enclosed design with active noise cancelling built in).

They also have the added advantage of a built in headphone amplifier. Not only does this in many cases significantly improve the sound quality of the headphones as in overides the amplifier in the source (be it a phone, I-Pad, etc) it also extends the battery life of the listening source e.g. your phone or music player.

As an example, you may be on a long haul flight when you get half way across the Pacific and your phones die....No more music! With the PSB's amplifier activated the power is not being taken from the phone itself but the internal amplifier - Music all the way! (Remember to take some spare AAA batteries). And with noise cancelling activated the only sound you will hear is the music. Not the music with with a couple of jet engines in the background.

Sound Quality - Yes the headphones have the facility of an on board amplifier and noise cancelling but the main reason we strongly recommend these headphones is their stunning sound quality. They produce exceptionally deep powerful bass, a stunningly open and transparent midrange and a beautifully smooth and detailed top end. They play rock music as though you were 40 feet from the front of the stage or a string quartet as though you were sitting in a beautiful Georgian sitting room.

Whether you are travelling or listening on a high end hi-fi system with a dedicated headphone amplifier these headphones are a must listen.

Highly Recommended (And they got 5 stars in What Hi-Fi) and you can read their review here

Read what more about the product and what other customers have to say here 

Does Qobuz + Chord Electronics' Hugo = Audio Nirvana?

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This is in essence a two-part review.

1. The new Chord Electronics Hugo portable DAC/Headphone amplifier (£1400)

2. Qobuz music streaming service.

 

Qobuz is a fairly new to the UK music streaming service from France offering uncompressed CD quality and also up to 24/192 for £19.99 pm (they also offer 320kbps for £9.99 but that’s the same as Spotify so I’ve not included it)

 

The burning questions are:

 

How good is the Qobuz service? and is it better than the competition and worth the premium asked?

 

Can it really replace the need for physical media and downloads? Can the inclusion of the Hugo really offer a true high-end music & HiFi experience?

 

So I took the Hugo home for an extended listen in a known system/room and put up to some extremely strong competition, ie my regular Rega Reference set-up in the form of the Isis CD player (£6175) into the Osiris amplifier (£6175), both known for their incredible resolution and musicality.

I used the  Qobuz app via an iPhone 4S and an Arcam drDock (£199) linked via a Chord company Prodac digital interconnect (£85). All hooked up to the amp with Chord Company Sarum Tuned Aray interconnects. Isis via balanced and Hugo by RCA. A tough test if ever there was one!

 

After switching the Hugo to line level and making small adjustments to the output level to equal that of the Isis, I listened to a variety of music including LA Woman by the Doors to Amorica by The Black Crowes.

 

From the off, it was quite clear there was very little between them both in terms of sonics and timing, so much so that at times I had forgotten which I was listening too! I wasn’t expecting that, especially from a stream via my iPhone. As the phone is outputting SPDIF the same results should be gained from most other devises with a digital output I assume.

 

Of course the Rega Isis had the distinct advantage of the balanced output so I then compared the Hugo with the Rega both this time using RCAs.

This time the Hugo won hands down and as this is more relevant a comparison for most end users, all the more revelatory.

 

So to answer the above questions:

 

Qobuz really does offer CD and better quality. One no longer has to be penalised qualitatively for wishing to stream their music rather than play CDs or their rips.

Value? Well at £19.99 per month you have unlimited access to 18 million songs all in 16/44.1 over 12,000 albums of which are in 24/96-192. Including offline ie downloaded to the devise itself.

 

Can it match a true high-end set-up?

 

You bet! But you’ll need a DAC as extraordinary as the Hugo to achieve it. This diminutive box packs a massive punch regardless and has to considered a bargain, oh and it’s a top-notch portable headphone amplifier and by dint of battery power so totally portable.

 

Can this set-up really replace the need for physical media or downloads?  Absolutely, yes.

However, if like me, you has hundreds or even thousands of CDs then you might question the value of a £20 per month premium, unless of course you or your partner would like to be clear of piles of discs. If however, your music collection is still rather modest but quality aspirations are high, then Qobuz + Hugo is a great combination for sure.

 

 

AUDIO-T EXCLUSIVE:

 


 

For the month of June 2014, Qobuz, the world’s first true CD quality streaming service, in conjunction with Audio-T, is offering a free, no obligation 2 week trial (no credit card details required unlike their regular trial) Just pop in for the unique access code.

Qobuz is compatible with PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Kindle, and Windows and fully integrated with Sonos, Bluesound, Popcorn Hour, XBMC and Sueezebox and new partner to come later this year.

 

Simon

 

 

 

Another great night

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A big thank you to everyone who came to last nights Classic Album Evening. We enjoyed it very much and it sounded brilliant. The KEF LS50's did us proud and filled the room realy well which was no mean feat for a pair of small bookshelf speakers.

If you would like to hear the any of the equipment again, feel free to call in an see us any time.

If you couldn't make it, don't worry, we will be planning the next one very soon. With that in mind , if you have any suggestions as to which album we choose next please feel free to let us know.

Thanks again, and we'll see you soon

Harman/Kardon arrives at Audio-T Enfield

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The Harman/Kardon HK3770 is the future of Hi-Fi but doesn't forget it's roots.  

The HK3770 is packed full of features, analogue inputs (inc. a MM phono stage!), Digital inputs (ideal for plugging in your TV to the system), Bluetooth streaming (streaming the easy way from Android or Apple devices), network streaming (stream music from computers or NAS drives), Internet radio (access any radio station anywhere in the world), FM/AM tuner (for good old fashioned & uncomplicated radio) & lastly a USB input (to play music from a USB stick or smart phone).

All of these features yet still as easy to use as a traditional Hi-Fi amplifier. Partner with speakers from £169 upto £500 to hear the best results, come in store to find your best match of speaker.

 

Audio-T

159A Chase Side

Enfield

EN2 0PW

Tel: 0208 367 3132

Focal Aria 948 Speakers - May The Flax Be With You

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Well it is that time of year again when you have a little more time to play with some of those new toys you had in when things were busier.

Enter the Focal Aria 948, a Naim Superuniti and an iPad accessing our Naim HDX cd collection. Our first impressions, even before hitting the play button, were these speakers mean business. We felt the Aria 926 looked impressive but these, a little bigger all round , really do look like they are built for purpose and that being to transport you into a world of 24 hour party people! and if, hopefully, the neighbours are away to rattle their windows into submision.

Saying all of this with whatever music we played they sounded fantastic, bags of detail without any harshness and bass that goes deep but remains firmly under control, in fact the only things out of control were our feet tapping away from track to track, what fun! this is a system we all felt we could happily live with.

Not content with this though we swapped the Superuniti for a Naim NDX, 202 pre amp and 200 power amp, one word, WOW! and we had to stop ourselves just to keep from continually turning it up.

These are fantastic speakers, ones that really respond to system improvements and even though they are on the larger side they will work very well in the average size living room but if you are able to use them in a bigger room with more space around them, I'd suggest you hang on tightly to your hat and any small pets that are in the room with you.

Come in and have a listen.

 

Focal-JMlab Maestro Utopia.

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An invitation to meet the Maestro.

Focal speakers have for a long time been one of our favourites here at Bristol and Focal have not been quiet in developing innovative technologies for us to get our teeth/ears into. For instance we love the new 900 series with their Flax speakers or the popular Electra 1028be with it's sweet sounding beryllium tweeter and dynamic W cones. The technologies built into these speakers like most manufacturers trickles down from the speakers at the top of the range. Enter the Maestro.

 

 

 

One of four speakers in Focals Utopia range and is one of the most sophisticated they produce. Standing almost 1.5m tall and almost half a metre wide they are quite imposing but look fantastic. As their name suggests they don't just play the music but direct the performance in a way that invites the listener in. These speakers really are special and demonstrate admirably why Focal are known as one of the worlds top speaker manufacturers. We have them here at Bristol for evaluation on our main system in the shop. They are sounding great on our Naim NAP300 with an NDS/555 combination as the source and would love to have you guys come and hear them for yourselves.

 

 

Something for the weekend sir!?...

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The last couple of months have seen a couple of cool & interesting new arrivals here at Audio T Swindon from manufactures such as Isotek, Harman Kardon & B&W.

Since our last blog we are now the proud stockist of Isotek products such as the Isotek Evo III Sigmas mains conditioning unit and the Isotek Polaris mains block. Both of these products will dramatically improve the sound that you're currently getting from you system by ensuring that you're getting the cleanest mains supply into your system.

As you may of seen else where on our website, We are now the exclusive stockists of the amazing Harman Kardon HK3770 amplifier which at the bargain price of £430 includes great features such as Bluetooth and Networking which enable the listener to play music that maybe stored on a computers hard drive or a network attached storage device ( NAS ). This is an awful lot of amplifier for the money and strongly urge anyone who is looking to take the plunge into streaming to have a listen to this stereo amplifier. It truly is a bargain!

In other news, we are pleased to announce that we now stock the truly awsome B&W CM10 loudspeakers. These have already proved to be very popular with our customers and are a good addition to our already sizeable range of speakers.

So if you would like to know more about any of the products that have been mention above or maybe even fancy booking a demo or arranging a home loan of a product, why not give us a call or just pop in to the store for a chat.

Give us a call on: 01793 538222

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @AudioTSwindon for more weekly updates.

 

 

 

The Blades Perform at the Bay Supported by Project and Audio-T

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A classic vinyl evening on a fine summer's evening at the Norwegian Church, Cardiff Bay proved to be a great success. When applying for tickets for the event, guests were asked to name their favourite classic album and the popular choice was Peter Gabriel's "So". On arrival a registration form was completed and was subsequently entered into a free prize draw for a pair of KEF Q100s.

 

Here we see Alex and colleague from KEF unwrapping the Blades, while Duncan from Henley Designs carefully sets up the Project Signature turntable.

 

The cartridge fitted to the turntable was the Ortofon MC Anna. Continuing a tradition, Ortofon dedicates this new flagship cartridge to the opera singer Anna Netrebko, a virtuoso whose performance displays a formidable technical arsenal of endless versatility. With the dedication of the MC Anna, Ortofon once again emphasizes the company’s unchanging commitment and devotion to the music and to the purest delivery of recorded sound. Much like Anna Netrebko, Ortofon aspires to provide the ultimate musical experience through a mixture of innovation and technical expertise, combined with inspiration that goes beyond mere thought to reveal true inner emotion.

 

Ready to perform. The Project Signature turntable placed on an Atacama bamboo rack, along with the Project Phono Box RS and Electrocampaniet pre-amp and Nemo mono blocks. The Blades were connected to the power amps using the new Chord Signature Reference speaker cable. The balanced interconnect used between the phono stage and pre-amp was the Chord Indigo Tuned Array.

 

The evening started with a presentation by Alex and a short film about the history of the Blades.

 

Peter Gabriel was played in its entirety in the first half and after a short break we settled down to Side 2 of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" The evening came to a close with the prize draw.

 

Lucky prize winner Cai Strachan receiving his pair of KEF Q100 from store manager Hefin Jones.

Special thanks must go to Alex Foxon of KEF, Duncan Quemby of Henley Designs and the staff at the Norwegian Church for their kind hospitality.

 

Cyrus Lyric 09 Ticks All The Boxes!

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When we first saw pictures of the Cyrus Lyric we weren't convinced that the radically different look was a great move for Cyrus.  

The instantly recognisable half width cast alloy casework has for so long been the familiar face of Cyrus products that the Lyric's unique full width styling came as a bit of a suprise.

Now that we have had our demo Lyric 09 for a few weeks the looks have grown on us and the quality of the metalwork and elegant front panel impresses far more than mere pictures would suggest.

What has really won us over though is the stunning performance of the Lyric 09.  Naim have dominated this sector for some time with the wonderful Uniti 2 and we have been mightily impressed that Cyrus have produced a truly worthy contender to give our customers a real choice of great one box solutions at around £3000.

Cyrus have incorporated quality components from its range of separate components to great effect.  The slot loading CD mechanism is the same as the CD T transport and the streaming section comes from the Stream XP2 QX.  In addition DAB, FM and internet radio are provided, along with Bluetooth, using the higher quality aptX codec.  

Inputs are comprehensive, including one front and one rear USB A sockets for external hard drives, MP3 players and Apple devices.  A USB B input enables connection of a computer and there are sufficient analogue and digital sockets to cover pretty much any scenario.

Control is via touch sensitive front panel controls, with a front panel display capable of portaying a detailed image of album artwork, a good quality and well laid out remote control or the Cyrus Cadence app for iOS and Android devices.  The Cadence app is intuitive to use and offers comprehensive control with the virtual volume knob being a particularly nice touch.

The features tick most of the boxes but none of this matters if the sound quality doesn't deliver.  I'm glad to say that we have been blown away by the audio performance of Lyric 09.  Cyrus have really excelled here with 170 watt (into 8 ohms) per channel and music of all types is delivered with effortless openness and clarity.  Dynamics are produced with real scale and subtle detail is handled with delicacy. This is a stunning one box solution which does not compromise performance for convenience.

Give us a call to book a demo or just call in as the Lyric 09 is normally running in the front of our shop as we can't get enough of it!

See you soon,

Alan and John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New REL S

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Exciting news, REL have released the new "S" series of subwoofers to replace the "R" series and we have the S3 and S5 on demo now.

The S2 replaces the R218, the S3 replaces the R328 and the S5 replaces the R528. However, REL have increased the price to £999, £1299 and £1599 respectively, so are they worth the serious hike in price?

The new "S" series can be made wireless, like the Habitat model, with REL's fancy Longbow tech which has zero compresion and almost instant transfer of data. However, if you are like us you don't mind hiding the wire are you paying the extra money for that? In a word no.

The new models are definately sexier looking than the "R" range (if a subwoofer can be sexy!) The old "R" range were always our favourite subs, after a quick listen to the new S5 it sounds tighter and faster than the old R528, definately better with music. With home cinema it sounds a little restrained at the moment, but the sub still needs running in. We will report back when the unit has had 20 hours or so of running.