Dolby Atmos demonstrations now available.

Our demo room has now been configured for Dolby Atmos and I have to say that it sounds amazing!

We are running the new Yamaha RXA 2040 and RXA 3040's, using the latest B&W CM series, along with the addition of four discrete in-ceiling speakers and wow! It sounds so much better than I would have thought possible.

If you would like to hear what all the fuss is about, then please get in contact and we will give you a demonstration that may, quite literally, raise the roof!

Nytech Audio is Back and it's Made In Wales

Nytech Audio, world renowned in the 70s and 80s for producing quality British HiFi at affordable prices with a ‘musical’ sound, is back in business thanks to Phil Balaam, a former Nytech Test Engineer.

The original Bristol-based Nytech Audio went out of business in the late 80s, and it's now their aim to follow the core beliefs of the original company by manufacturing quality HiFi products at affordable prices, achieving good sound quality by careful design, attention to detail and years of experience.  

They are proud of their no assembly line approach, with all equipment being hand built from start to finish by the same engineer.

Nytech Audio believes in good customer service and offer continuing support not only to any new equipment purchased, but also to that built by the original Nytech Audio and Ion Systems.

Nytech Audio is based in Ystrad Mynach in South Wales.

An original CA252 integrated amplifier many of which are still in use today around the world.

Audio-t Cardiff are excited to be associated with Nytech Audio and we are happy to report that these little new amplifiers have a great deal to offer. It only takes a few minutes to forget that you are listening to a Hi-Fi system and just immerse yourself in the music. 

The CP132 pre-amp is the heart of the system. It simply switches between line level 4 analogue sources, adjusts the volume, and switches the power amps on and off.

The four inputs can be renamed to source names of your choice (16 characters max). 

 

The CP132 pictured above with its matching power supply

It can also be used to power ancillary equipment like the CDP112 phono stage or CHA101 headphone amplifier (both coming soon)


The CPA401 Power amplifier is a mono power amplifier (so you will require two for stereo).  Power is controlled by the CP132 pre amp or other Nytech control systems.

A special input lead is also available for users who wish to use the CPA401 with other equipment, it turns the power amp on whilst connected overriding the power control.

Rated at 40W RMS into 8 ohms - 75W RMS into 4 ohms these little amps are happy to drive most loudspeakers. We paired them up with some Spendor A6R floorstanders for some magical results giving a strong, spacious open and musical sound. This charming little package certainly gives you a taste of high end at mid-fi prices.

We have these on demonstration at our Cardiff store, so why not pop in and have a listen.


STOP PRESS : Meet the Manufacturer Day at Audio-T Cardiff.  Nytech Audio will be at our store on Saturday 13th December, so pop along and have a listen to these fine products and have a chance to meet and chat with Phil Balaam

 

 

REL Acoustics / Project Turntable Open Day

On Thursday December 11th we will be holding a REL Acoustics and Project open day. Representative of both companies will be on hand to answer any of your questions.

We will be demonstrating the benefits of a REL sub woofer in a conventional Hi-Fi system in our upstairs demonstration room. The REL Subwoofer will be using the Long Bow Wireless transmitter. This offers wireless connectivity with no compromise in sound quality.

In our downstairs demonstration room we will be demonstrating the stunning new Dolby Atmos Home Theatre system (See Previous Blog) utilising two REL Sub woofers and nine surround speakers in Dolby Atmos 7.2.2 configuration.

The systems being used will be as follows:

Upstairs Hi Fi Demonstration Room

  • Project Signature Turntable (£7K)
  • Ortofon Anna Moving Coil Cartridge (£5K)
  • Project Phono Box RS
  • Primare I32 Amplifier
  • Spendor S3/5R3 Stand Mount Loudspeakers
  • REL S3 Sub Woofer

Downstairs AV Demonstration Room

Read more about Dolby Atmos


This promises to be a highly enjoyable and informative day.

Tea and Coffee will be in abundance (Maybe even biscuits)

We look forward to seeing you on the 11th December

Jon & Farid

New at Portsmouth - Naim, Ruark and B&W

We have had several new exciting products arrive in store recently. I'm not going to go into much detail in this blog, but we may have a more in depth look in another blog soon.

Firstly the fantastic Naim Mu-so streaming system. Highly anticipated but still managed to surpassed our expectations with it's stunning sound quality. Well worth the £895 price tag. You could even use it as a soundbar for your TV!

Secondly, another top quality one box system. The Ruark R2 Mk2 £399 is a real step forward from it's predecessor. It loses the ipod dock on the top but gains Bluetooth, also gains a better display, is more intuitive to use, and sounds better.

Lastly, but certainly not least the new B&W CM series 2 speakers. We currently have the CM1 S2 £649, CM6 S2 £1499 (stands not included) and CM8 S2 £1499 models. The CM6 S2 shown below with it's distinctive tweeter on top. The CM1 S2 and CM8 S2 are a more traditional design with the tweeter in the speaker cabinet. All the models are a good improvement over the previous version but we particularly like the CM6 S2.

Classic Vinyl Night No 14, 2nd December Pink Floyd's, The Endless River

Following the success of our thirteenth Classic Vinyl Evening, we are pleased to announce Classic Vinyl Night number fourteen, featuring Pink Floyd's New Album, The Endless River. The speakers we'll be using are KEF's brand new baby Blade II's. 

This will be on Tuesday 2nd December and once again will be held at the Fusion Room restaurant, 80 Friargate, Preston, PR1 2ED, at 7pm 7.30 start.

Click the link to find where we will be http://www.fusionroom.co.uk/

The album we have chosen is The Endless River by Pink Floyd

The idea is simple... just turn up and listen to an album in it's entirety on vinyl with a short break to grab a drink half way in. If you are interested in joining us please email the store preston@audio-t.co.uk or call us on 01772 883958 to confirm your place

If you require any additional information, please feel free to contact us.

We look forward to seeing you

Ian, Gavin and Andy  

                              

Naim mu-so sets new benchmark in wireless audio.

Naim Audio have once again raised the stakes with a truly innovative product. As ever they bring us the pleasure of high end audio but this time in a stand-alone wireless audio system. I refer of course to the mu-so wireless all in one music player.

 

 

The mu-so is a high quality active streaming receiver. It can play music from your PC , Mac or home network. It can connect to Spotify , internet radio, Apple AirPlay or Bluetooth and even has a USB and digital optical input. It is compatible with MP3, Flac (regular and high res 24 bit), WAV, and Apple. In short, as wireless streamers go there's not a lot that it doesn’t do.

 

Beneath the surface, the mu-so houses six custom designed speakers, each driven by its own 75 watt amplifier bringing us a total of 450 watts of power using technology inspired by the audio systems that Naim build for Bentley Motors.

 


When we first opened the box and took the mu-so out, you could tell straight away that this was a quality product built to amazingly high standards. The look and design of the mu-so is superb elegant and simple. Its brushed silver anodised aluminium chassis combined with the illuminated touch panel control and rotary volume seem almost futuristic and yet, are intuitive and easy to use. The mu-so can also be controlled by the Naim app available on both apple and Android devices.

 

 

With its varied functionality there are a few different ways to connect and set up the mu-so all of which are logical and straight forward. We soon had ours sat happily on our wi-fi network and playing from our music library. The music reproduction is amazing. For a relatively small product the sound that it delivers is super smooth with crystal clear clarity and jaw dropping bass, and its not shy when it comes to volume either.

 

 

So come in and have a look, have listen and you'll soon be adding a Naim mu-so to your Christmas list.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The New Ruark R1 DAB Radio Has Arrived

The 3rd generation R1 has arrived and it is gorgeous! Now with Bluetooth connectivity and a simplified 'rotodial', the best table top radio in the world has just got better.


Also equipped with FM, DAB and DAB+ The feature set includes:

Twin alarms.

Snooze and sleep functions

OLED display with adjustable brightness.


All this for £199.

Please feel free to come and see for yourself.

The gorgeous Naim mu-so wireless music system

Mu-so exudes quality in every way possible.

Superb design and build quality, mu-so looks, feels, operates and above all sounds special.

Some tonal adjustment along with a clever and intelligent loudness control, allow you to customise the sound to suit the room position and your taste.

Its advanced yet simple to use connectivity includes AirPlay, UPnP™ streaming, Spotify Connect, Bluetooth (aptX), iRadio, iOS and Android app control and multiroom capability, along with a digital input, analogue input and USB connection.

Give yourself a treat and come along to experience the fabulous Naim mu-so.

(For anyone who thought Bose offered something special...!)

Find out more about mu-so

 

 

REL & PMC Day!

Listen with us on the 27th of November as we partner REL sub bass systems with PMC speakers for the ultimate in cinema & HiFi systems.

We will be getting up close & personal with PMC's Twenty 21's. Although the smallest speaker in the range, there's simply no question over their ability to convey transparent, controlled & detailed performances, which makes it even easier to forget about the speakers and listen to the music. We will also be seamlessly integrating REL's compact S2 subwoofer to offer even greater dept without masking or shadowing the 21's natural character and effortless detail.

PMC's Twenty 22's will be playing on our shop floor, showing that great sound can still be achieved in a real world, untreated & highly reflective environment, which is made to sound even better with the help of REL's T9 subwoofer.

PMC's Twenty 26's, Centre & 24's will be used in our main demo room whilst we use REL's S range subwoofers to lift & underpin the entire system. We have opted to use a REL S5 on each of the front left & right 26's, a S2 under the Centre, and a S3 on the rear 24's, to achieve a "REL 3D" setup! Dolby Atmos may also be shown in this system. We simply can't wait!

Listen & be amazed this 27th of November, the fun begins 3:00 until 8:00.

 

Myself, John, Jason, Tom & Kevin all look forward to welcoming you to the brilliance of PMC speakers & REL subwoofers.

 

Best Wishes

Simon

Audio-T
159A Chase Side
Enfield
EN2 0PW
Tel: 0208 367 3132
Email: enfield@audio-t.co.uk

Dolby Atmos is here, and it's amazing!!

 

 

I have just been to Dolby's European headquarters in London to hear the new Atmos system at work, and it is very impressive indeed!

Pioneer had arranged an introduction to Atmos in the wonderful 60 seater cinema at Dolby HQ which I have to say is the best sounding cinema I have ever heard (plus the HQ is a lovely buiding as well)

 

As I'm sure many of you are aware, Atmos is the next step forward in surround sound, although it is probably better described as fully immersive sound. The new processing allows the soundtrack mixers to place sound "objects" accurately in a three dimensional space, and to move them wherever they need to within that space.

The result is a remarkable immersive experience, one clip being in the middle of a thunderstorm with the thunder literally overhead while the rain falls around you, and although it has been used in cinemas for a while it is now available for the home cinema as well. With an Atmos equipped receiver and as little as a couple of extra speakers the home cinema experiece quite literally takes on a new dimension.

Pioneer are as always at the forefront of this new technology with their receivers, including the award winning SC-LX58. They also unveiled two new BluRay players with superb construction and performance.

 

We have the SC-LX58 on dem in Brentwood and ready to play some Atmos soundtracks for you, so come along and see (and hear) what all the fuss is about.

Upcoming November Events in Brentwood

 

We're having a few fun musical events/ open days in Brentwood during November.

On the 20th REL will be visiting with some BIG subwoofers to show how much can be gained by adding those lower registers to both HiFi and home cinema systems. We'll also have the projector room set up with a Dolby Atmos system for your delight and delectation. This will run in store from 12 noon until 8PM, be sure to come along and prepare to be impressed.

 

Then on the 27th we will have systems from KEF, The Chord Company, Chord Electronics and Project running again from 12 noon until 8PM. Chord Electronics are promising some meaty amps (alongside current favourites like the Hugo and Qute DACs) to drive the Blade 2 from KEF. There will also be some new KEF Reference speakers, Chord Company Tuned Aray cables and one of the top flight Project turntables for some vinyl delights.

And speaking of vinyl delights don't forget our Vinyl Saturday on the 15th with the guys from Diverse Vinyl

 

We're looking forward to seeing you and tempting you with some wonderful sounds and equipment....and maybe a bargain or two!

See you then

 

Paul, Francis, and Boswell

Chord Company Demonstration Event on Saturday 22nd November

We are pleased to announce a fun filled Chord Company cable demonstration day on Saturday 22nd November. Matt from Chord Company will be present to help answer any questions you may have as well as lending a helping hand with both of our demonstration areas.

The main rolling demonstration will be held in the storefront and here we will be highlighting the importance of improving the quality of your Ethernet cables - Crucial in these days of streaming content!

 

 

Our main demo room will be given over entirely to the pleasures of Analogue and Digital interconnects plus of course the all important speaker cables.

If you would like a demonstration of a specific interconnect or speaker cable then please get in touch at least one week prior to the event and we will do our utmost to make it happen for you!

 

 

If you have any questions or would like to request a specific cable for demonstration then please get in touch via Email Here or call us on 0118 958 5463 - We look forward to seeing you on the day!

 

 

 

Dolby Atmos is Here!

 

Conventional Dolby 5.1 and 7.1 surround has always had the restriction that the sound is mixed into channels to create the sound track. An example being that if the starship Enterprise flies from the front bottom of the screen and goes over you head the sound can only be mixed into channels to give you the impression of front to back movement.

Dolby Atmos is the first audio format to be based on objects rather that channels. In Dolby Atmos any sound (e.g. The Enterprise) can exist as an independent object free from channel restrictions. It can be placed anywhere in the room including overhead.

This is achieved with the use of a Dolbt Atmos enabled receiver and multiple surround speakers. Dolby Atmos is compatible with 5.1 and 7.1 systems but it really does come into its own when used with multiple speakers.


In our demonstartion room we are using the system in 7.1.2 configeration. This equates to:

7 - Font Left/Right Speakers, Centre Speaker, Rear Left/Right Surround Speakers and Rear Left Right Back Surround Speakers.

1 - Sub Woofer

2 - Left Right Centre Middle Height Speakers. (A pair of in Ceiling Focal Custom IC108)

We are using the Pioneer SC-LX88 AV Receiver and a Focal speaker package with a REL S2 Sub Woofer.

The sound experience we are creating in our demonstration room is beyond anything that we have experienced before.

At present we are using a Dolby Atmos demonstration Disc, But Atmos encoded discs are immanent and should be with us soon.

We really would recommend that you come into the shop and experience this amazing ground breaking movie experience.

Chord Company tuning workshop with very special guest Kudos Loudspeakers.

The Chord Company will be coming to the Bristol shop on the 13th of November to conduct a workshop which will demonstrate how their wonderful cables can enhance the investment you have made in your Hi-Fi. What better speakers to reveal those differences than Kudos. Mat from Chord will be bringing those special runs of cable with an array of terminations including RCA, XLR, DIN. He will also demonstrate how digital cables can enhance your system including cables for streaming. Toby from Kudos will bring the brand new Kudos X3 speakers which are a welcome edition to Kudos's outstanding range of speakers. It's a floor stander featuring drivers specially made for Kudos by SEAS, high quality crossovers and coincidently Chord Sarsen internal cabling. As with all Kudos speakers the clean sound marries perfectly with the super clean lines of this elegant speaker. We will be using Naim and Sugden in the demonstrations together with the X3's and Super 20's. The event will run from midday to 8pm.

Look forward to seeing you there.

Naim mu-so. One look and you're hooked!

Just arrived, the long awaited Naim Audio mu-so wireless music system.

A detailed blog post to come but really busy right now, so here's a sneak view. 

For the record, it's sounds absolutely amazing and clearly defines the state-of-the-art for such a system or my maybe any system at the asking price of just £895, incredible.

 

Beautiful interface. Similar to their Statement amplifier, a shear delight to use.

 

Out-of-this-world build quality and feel. No photo does justice.

We were expecting the usual Naim greatness but really, not this!

Come along and have a listen and feel. On permanent display in store, no need to book.

Dolby Atmos Demonstrations

Dolby Atmos has arrived in Cardiff Audio T just in time to take shelter from the pelting rain. 

Up and running in our home cinema demonstration room we have the award winning Pioneer SC-LX58 with Dolby Atmos update. 

The LX-58 receiver is fed by the new Arcam FMJ UDP411 universal disc player.

This fantastic combination of electronics is teamed with Monitor Audio Silver 6 front left and right, centre and Monitor Audio Radius speakers as back surround channels.  

Overhead is where the magic really happens, with Dolby entering the next level of cinema experience with the addition of four in-ceiling speakers - two front high and two back high. These are highlighted in the picture below. All these speakers have then been underpinned by two REL subwoofers, the REL T7 and REL Habitat.

This configuration is  pumping out 5.2.4. So that’s five surround speakers as in a normal 5.1 setup with the extra sub woofer and four ceiling speakers. Dolby Atmos is capable of 7.2.4 configuration as well.

Sound comes from all directions including overhead. Specific sounds move around you in multidimensional space, so you feel  you are right at the heart of  the action. This is something that has never been heard before in such detail and depth.

Dolby Atmos is based on audio objects rather than channels. This allows the creators of the content to tell the story more accurately so you can experience the film or music as the artist intended.

This is achieved by being able to place sound above as well as across the channels making action in the scene realistic and precise.

Any sound can now exist as an independent audio object, free from channel restrictions. It can be placed or moved anywhere, including overhead.

We believe that sound plays such a huge part in the cinema experience and Dolby Atmos is the closest to the real deal. This is a game changer so call today to book a demonstration.

Audiolab & Monitor Audio Day!

Join us on Thursday 20th of November as we demonstrate the performance & versatility of Audiolab electronics & Monitor Audio speakers.

 

If you're looking for a high quality DAC, Headphone amplifier or Pre amplifier we'll have the Audiolab Q-DAC & M-DAC both on demonstration providing sweet sounds through a variety of headphones.

 For a smart but sophisticated streaming system, we urge you to listen to Monitor Audio's Airstream A100 partnered with Monitor Audio's Mass 10's & Mass W200 subwoofer.

Serious Hi-Fi doesn't have to mean big electronics, consider the M-DAC with the M-PWR powerful enough to drive Monitor Audio's Bronze BX5 floorstanding speakers!

Keep things simple with Audiolab's 8200CD & 8200A for classic Hi-Fi sound quality with Monitor Audio Silver 8's.

Step up to a Pre/Power combination the 8200CDQ & 8200MB's for a huge leap in performance, partner this with Monitor Audio's GX300 floorstanding speakers for awesome scale and musicality.

 

The fun begins on Thursday 20th November from 3pm and goes on till 8pm.

 

Everyone who attends will get the chance to enter the prize draw to win a Audiolab & Monitor Audio product.

 

Myself, John & Jason look forward to showing you all of these wonderful systems on the day.

 

Best Wishes

Simon

Audio-T
159A Chase Side
Enfield
EN2 0PW
Tel: 0208 367 3132
Email: enfield@audio-t.co.uk

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!

Diverse Vinyl day in Brentwood

The guys from Diverse Vinyl will be spending the day in our store on the 15th of November.

There will be a great range of music to choose from, some choice turntable based systems to hear, and a lot of fun to be had.

 

Paul will be doing health checks on turntables for free (although depending on demand you may have to leave the turntable for a few days)

 

We will also be offering 10% off turntable servicing and accessories

 

Remember the date, and we look forward to seeing you

 

Paul, Francis, and Boswell the bear

Chord and Arcam Day - minus One!

Yes, just one day to go until our Chord and Arcam open day and, as you can see below, the mighty Arcam C49 and two P49 power amplifiers have arrived!

Our new demo UDP411 universal disc player is also here and already hooked up to our Arcam D33 DAC.

The whole system is warming up nicely, awaiting the arrival of Matt from Chord and James from Arcam later today to complete the set up with Sarum cables and to fine tune the system and position of the PMC Twenty 26 speakers.

This hi-fi will sound amazing!  We can't wait to start playing some tunes later today.

We are sure you will want to join in the fun and look forward to seeing you tomorrow.  Don't forget to bring some of your favourite music.