The Queen Is (Not) Dead' And Neither Are The Smiths!

We are delighted to have on display in the shop, some outstanding music related photographs from one of our regular customers, none other than the photographer Stephen Wright!

'The shot' The Smiths 

Stephen's most famous shot is arguably that of the Smiths, taken outside the Salford Lads Club for the 1986 classic album, 'The Queen Is Dead', gracing the inside gatefold. (see above).

Prince

Other artists that Stephen has photographed include: Prince, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, U2, John Lydon, James Brown, Madonna, Stevie Wonder and many more.

Miles Davis

James Brown

John Lydon of PIL

Madonna

Nina Simone

U2

Stevie Wonder

Many now grace our upper showroom display area and demo room for all to come and see. These are also available as limited edition photographs and you can see more of Stephen's work at http://www.smithsphotos.com

Below is a collection of Smiths shots from that cold winter day session plus some live performance photos of the band.

QUAD's 80th Anniversary Brings A Modern Twist To An Old Classic

In this month we are going to take a good look at a brilliant system made up of QUAD’s Artera play, QUAD Artera stereo and QUAD Z1 loudspeakers. We’ll look at each component separately and then give our overall thoughts on the system as a whole.

Artera Play

The Artera play is a pre-amplifier with an in built CD-player and DAC, making it a great compact system.  The Play has a strikingly unique design, certainly helping it stand out from other pre-amps in its price range. It features a touch sensitive display on the front that allows for some limited controls, although it does come with a remote which is much more convenient to use, it’s still a nice touch.

Both the play and the stereo features a recessed top which means you can easily stack one upon the other and has been designed so there is no effect on the sound, both also have a lovely glass plate included in the box which can sit in this recess if nothing is sat on top of the unit. All in all this makes for eye-catching aesthetics.

The Play boasts an impressive array of inputs including two RCA phono inputs, two coaxial inputs, two optical inputs and a USB-b to connect a laptop or similar device to. All the digital inputs are then fed through the ESS Sabre32 9018 chip, this is a very good choice by QUAD as it supports files up to 32-bit/384kHz as well as DSD 64/128/256 meaning the unit is well feature-proofed for high resolution digital files. To finish it off the Play features both XLR and Phono outputs which brings us on to the next part of our system.

Artera Stereo

While the Play could be partnered with a large range of power amps the Artera Stereo is the natural choice. It produces an impressive 140 watts per channel RMS, more than enough to drive even fussy speakers. Indeed in the shop we have tried the Artera with a huge range of speakers from small stand mounts to large floorstanders and didn’t have any problems with any of them.

The Stereo uses QUAD's famous ‘current dumping’ technology, which in basic terms comprises of two separate amplifiers, one very high quality class A low-power amp which provides the details of the signal, while a high-power current dumping section provides the grip to keep the speakers under control. This helps the amplifier produce an astonishing signal to noise ratio of 115dB, furthering the accuracy that QUAD is renowned for.

Z1’s

The first thing that strikes you about Quads new Z series is the absolutely gorgeous design and finish. The speakers come in gloss black, gloss white or Rosewood and have a unique ‘cone’ shape that really makes them stand out from other speakers in their categories.

The Z1 is a two way bookshelf speaker with a 150mm woven Kevlar bass driver and a 90x12mm ribbon tweeter. QUAD has been using ribbon tweeters for a very long time and they are very good at it. On the Z1 the ribbon really helps give a large dispersion in the sound stage, it is made from a composite of materials which really helps it be very durable and is suspended in a strong magnetic field to increase sensitivity. The Z1 has a typical frequency range for a compact bookshelf speaker of 56hz to 20Khz, a recommended amp power of 40 to 150 watts and a sensitivity of 86db.

The Verdict

We settled into our demo room after setting the system up and sat back and enjoyed Jo Harman’s newest album People We Become on CD, playing directly from the Artera Play. ‘Enjoy’ is really the definitive word here as this system is detailed without being clinical and still offers a warmth and musicality that make the listening experience very enjoyable. The single ‘When we were young’ is a particular highlight, helped by the expansive soundstage of the QUAD system, helped by the ribbon tweeters. The guitar and background organ are easy to point out while still staying cohesive and Jo Harman’s soulful voice really sounds like she’s in the room with you.

The Piano led ‘Lend me your love’ is another that stands out, the combination of the DAC in the Play and then the power in The Artera Stereo bring out all the details in the piano, pushing that sense of realism that is oh so important when it comes to piano. Yet at the same time this track feels so relaxing, as the instruments wrap around and envelop you, it helps that it has such a wide soundstage as it allows you some room in the listening position to sit back and relax.

We have been very impressed with Quad’s latest outings, in both the electronics and speakers but as always don’t just listen to us, get in touch and we can set up a demonstration.

QUAD Hi-Fi products are also available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Preston, Southampton, 
Swindon

Rich And Tasty Rega Brio che!

Our newest member of staff, Simon, was lucky enough to be invited to visit Rega Research recently. This now makes him officially part of a select fortunate few, who have seen Rega in all of its non self proclaimed, rather humble, glory. After expecting to see this vast, industrial scale, high end, research laboratory producing around the clock goods, instead we were greeted with a rather modest sized, high tech factory in South End on Sea in the fair county of Essexshire.

To see first hand the level of detail going into their products, whilst meeting the high standards demanded for their goods was extraordinary. The very fact that they test every single product before it leaves the warehouse is astonishing and sets the bar very high for quality assurance. All of this makes it even more impressive when you witness pallet stacks upon pallet stacks of Fono MM's, A2D's, Elicit amplifiers, Planar 1's to RP 10's. All heading out to the USA, Europe, South America and of course the good old Blighty.

And most excitingly of all, was a pallet, with the words Brio 2017 printed on it. So read on people, as we make first contact with rich and tasty Brio...

...with the Rega Brio 2017

First thing to catch the eye on the all new Brio 2017 is the new case work. It has an ergonomic feel to it as you pick it up, your initial impression is the quality of the metal work.  A lovely new sweeping front fascia with a sleek gloss black finish. Every case is examined and inspected, any anomalies detected are rejected. Using sophisticated machinery in quality control throughout, even the measurements of the screw holes are examined to a nanometre, this should hopefully give you an idea of the extent Rega go to, ensuring they produce perfect products. Rega work very closely with other British manufacturers to build the perfect Brio case every time. So when you buy a Brio, you can take pleasure in knowing that someone has examined your case and said;

'Yes this meets our standards, we can use this.'

The Brio also has plenty of inputs  “plus all the usual refinements 007”.
Rega have included  their great sounding phono stage, 4 line-in inputs and a record out, leaving you with plenty of options for analogue connectivity.

Headphone socket: You may notice a new port on the front which looks like something not too dissimilar from a headphone socket. You would be in fact right. Using a new noise free, isolated headphone circuit output for your cans; not only does it introduce no noise to the amplifier, you also don't have to alter any settings to get a perfect sound. The moment you plug in, the binding posts on the rear are disabled, along with unnecessary electronics, resulting in minimal crosstalk of components, which means you can listen for much longer at louder levels with no sacrifice to sound, long after you almost definitely should have gone to bed!

Hail to the six point three five millimetre jack.

If you want to take a look under the hood Chromey, you need to take the lid off, you won't find what you're looking for there.

Hmmm well done, now please be careful, those caps are fully charged. 

What's this? What have you spotted Chromey? 

I've been fettled with a drop of mojo. If you pop on your X-ray specs, you will notice that someone at Rega has left a little message on the printed circuit board.

As we investigate further we notice the initials 'TB' further along the board and realise that this is in fact the work of electronics Guru at Rega, Terry Bateman. Another great product from Rega worthy of Terry's quirky quote and of course his design skills. 

But what does it mean Terry? "fettled with a drop of mojo" Hmmmmmm.....answers on a postcard please.

Now, unfortunately we don't have any X-ray specs here at Manchester and had to use Chromey, with a good old screwdriver to take the lid off ours, so please, don't try and open your Brio at home without the help of an engineer, otherwise you run the risk of invalidating the warrantee.

Our Chromey just had to pose with the new beautifully machined volume knob for the Brio 2017.

Beautiful binding posts: Chromey just loves those binding posts, maybe it's because he has insider knowledge that an actual engineer, not an automated machine or production line has produced them. Rega have an on site workshop where two metal work engineers work tirelessly producing hand made speaker binding posts, brilliant. They actually make the tools needed for machining specific components to produce the Planar turntables which are built by the same engineers. So you know exactly where to go for a service Chromey! Now please climb down. Thanks.  

Reviews and what our customers think: The Rega Brio is an outstanding product with a solid reputation worldwide, from many a 5 star review online,  to magazine double page spreads. 
We have yet to come across a customer or reviewer who has not found the Rega Brio (old and new) impressive. Check out another review here.

Brio's past and present have been sold by us to people from China, Japan, and (mainland) Europe. One gentleman on a business trip from Greece loved the Brio so much that he brought his suitcase in, just to see if he could fit it in with all his clothes. It left such an impression with him, making all the right noises in the our demo room. People from many different backgrounds have stepped through our doors here at Manchester solely to listen to the Brio and never left disappointed. The saying 'You should never meet your heroes' is completely irrelevant in the Brio's case.
We love it.

Ok, so there you have it, the new Rega Brio for 2017.

We have ours on demo at the Manchester store. So come along and audition the Brio at your earliest convenience.

Simon, Munir, Mike, Haden and Dave will be there to answer any questions you may have. 

Rega Hi-Fi products are available from all branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, 
Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

QUAD Bolster Their Glowing Reputation With The VA-One Integrated Valve Amplifier

It's small, has glowing tubes, is packed full of features and can drive a floorstanding speaker with ease. The QUAD VA-One is a superb amplifier and it's really cute too!

This is no gimmicky amplifier, but a fully specced great sounding little amplifier from QUAD Electroacoustics.

It has one line input, 3 digital inputs (coax, optical and USB) and on-board aptX Bluetooth. The build quality is superb with good speaker binding posts and a very nice sounding headphone amplifier as well.

The valve complement is 4 x EL34, 2 x ECC82, and 1 X ECC83 delivering 15W into 6 ohms, or 12W into 8 ohms.

It has a beautiful liquid open sound which we found especially good with female vocals. The old HiFi favourite Sarah McLachlan filling the room effortlessly, but it can rock too. We gave it a try with the other latest QUAD creation: the Z3 speaker and it was a revelation. With only 15W it won't go to "party" levels but what it does deliver is expansive and open, giving a real insight into the music. The QUAD VA-ONE  is even small enough to be used as part of a desktop audio system, for which the USB input is an added bonus.

We have this little beauty on demonstration in the shop, so give us a call and we'll arrange a demonstration for you.

The QUAD VA-One Integrated Valve Amplifier At Audio T Oxford

The QUAD VA-One integrated valve amplifier is the latest Hi-Fi product to join the QUAD family.

The Quad VA-One is a small but perfectly formed Integrated amplifier, its footprint measures just 18x33cm. The VA-One includes a DAC, a headphone amplifier, a valve-based pre-amplifier and power amplifier for £1299.

Three digital audio inputs – optical, coaxial and asynchronous USB – support data up to 24-bit/192kHz, and an RCA-phono input gives the option to connect an analogue source like a CD player or a turntable (though it does not have a built in phono-stage).

The preamp section incorporates an ECC83 high-impedance triode. The output stage uses two EL84 pentodes per channel, delivering 2x15W.  Despite its relatively low output it can still pack a punch when paired with easy to drive speakers. It delivers a warm and open sound and would be the perfect amp for fans of female vocals, Jazz, Blues and Soft Rock.

QUAD VA-ONE PICTURED WITH QUAD S1 STAND MOUNT SPEAKERS

In a recent Review Ken Kessler summed it up perfectly:

"It's everything a modern integrated amp/DAC should be, yet with the retro warmth of valves" Ken Kessler, Hi-Fi News.

If you would like to come and have a listen call the Audio T Oxford shop on 01865 765961 and book a demo.

QUAD Hi-Fi products are also available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Preston, Southampton, 
Swindon

QUAD Artera And Z Series Loudspeakers Make For A Modern Hi-Fi System Classic

Almost every Hi-Fi aficionado will know the manufacturer QUAD Electroacoustics and the old amplifier and speaker combination of 33/303 or 44/405 with the famous ESL electrostatic loudspeakers.

Quad have now got what could well be a modern classic in the range, a classic brand name with a modern twist. The "Artera" range of electronics and the "Z" series loudspeakers offer a stunning performance at a reasonable price.

We first heard the Artera system around a month or so ago and thought it was something we really should have available in the store, so shortly afterwards we placed our order for the demonstration pieces. It is a rare thing nowadays to have a manufacturer offer a complete system that performs to the standard that this system can offer. Often, the electronics from a manufacturer will work together but get used with a different brand of loudspeakers. It is great to be able to once again offer a complete QUAD system.

The first thing we have in the line up is the ARTERA PLAY CD/PRE-AMP

The Pre-amplifier also features a DAC that can be used from external sources as you would expect from a modern digital player, featuring USB, optical and co-axial inputs. The styling and quality of finish is stunning.

Quad Artera CD Player & Pre-amplifier

The ARTERA STEREO Power amplifier harks back to the looks of the old 606 and 909 power amps, sticking to the classic QUAD look with a modern design. The ARTERA STEREO is a brand new ground up design featuring QUAD's current dumping technology which in sonic terms gives the system an effortless sound even with very demanding dynamics.

Quad Artera Stereo Power Amplifier

With the design of the case work and glass top plate it looks great when placed alongside each other or on top.

Quad Artera CD / Pre & Power Combination

We chose the QUAD Z1 series standmount loudspeakers in the stunning Piano Rosewood finish. The "Z" series feature Quad's unique sandwich formation ribbon tweeter design giving them such a smooth and tonally detailed sound it has to be heard!

We have given the system a few days to run in so far, the system sounded great from brand new but after about 40hrs use it really came on song. We have thrown all sorts of music at it and have been amazed. Perhaps the most surprising thing is the quality of vocals, it is simply fabulous! I listen to a lot of folk and blues so have tried a lot of acoustic guitar based music and have been amazed at the tonality of the system - you can hear so much more tonal information of the instrument and strings it is quite different to any other system. But, going back to what I have previously said, it is an amazing performance from a one make system.

Other products in the ARTERA range to follow are the "ARTERA LINK" which will be the CD player/Pre-amplifier with added Network Streamer, and the "ARTERA ONE" integrated amplifier.

QUAD Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Preston, Southampton, 
Swindon

Naim Audio Uniti Core CD Ripper & Music Server Has Arrived At Audio T Swindon

This month we would like to talk about the Naim Uniti Core, Naim's reference CD ripper, streamer and music server. It is one of the new Naim Uniti range that comprises 4 network music products: Uniti Atom, Uniti Star, Unit Nova and Core.

The Uniti Core enables you to save (rip) your CD collection to a hard drive. It stores your existing digital music collection, serves your music to Uniti systems, Mu-So, Mu-So QB and Naim Audio's standalone network streamers and backs it up for you. The Uniti Core can also be used as a player connected to a standalone DAC or DAC pre-amplifier and control/play your music via the Naim Audio control app.

Let's have a look and see what's included in the box: 

The Uniti Core comes supplied with a Powerline Lite mains cable, a BNC/SPDIF adapter (so you can use your existing digital phono-to-phono coax cable , 4 HDD screws and 4SSD screws. The Uniti Core does not come shipped with a built-in hard drive disc (HDD) or solid state disc (SSD) drive for storing the music as they don't know what capacity drive the customer might needs to store their music.

Naim Audio recommends either the Seagate Pipeline HD 3.5" internal drive or Samsung 850 2.5" SSD and both are available in different storage sizes. Once you have purchased your hard drive of choice, we can fit it it your Uniti free of charge - this service is available at all Audio T stores.

The Core is very well built and it sounds fantastic. Before you start recording/ripping your cd's you need to select the streaming format, either FLAC or WAV. We prefer WAV as the files are uncompressed and you can hear it.  The sound has more weight to it, a bigger presentation - very nice to listen to.

Here are a few screenshots

With your music ready for playback/stream, simply open the Naim Audio app and start browsing through your music library. There is only an IOS version at the moment but there will be an Android version soon.

When you click the little window on the bottom left it will enlarge the playback screen and you see all the controls. This is the same on all Naim Audio streaming products - extremely easy to use, reliable and sounds very musical.

So what about your existing music files on a NAS or USB drive? Select Manage Music > Import Music > select the drive with your music on and press Import and you're done. The Core can also see and access music on other shared network storage devices without importing them.

Have a look here :

And a rear view of the Uniti Core

We think setting up a music library for streaming should be easy and fun to do and this is exactly what is is. Me (Stefan) and Andy look forward to showing you how the Naim Uniti Core works, how to use it and of course most importantly how it sounds.

For all enquiries please give us call on 01793 538222 or visit us here in the Swindon shop.

Thanks for reading.

Stefan & Andy

Naim Hi-Fi products are available from all branches of Audio T: 
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, 
Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

Are You A Night Owl? Audioquest NightOwl Carbon Headphones

Then the new NightOwl Carbon headphones are for you. A hugely talon-ted (he he..) headphone with a choice of ear pads to offer a comfortable and different listening experience.

The protein Leather pads seal tighter for better isolation and improved treble clarity and the Ultra suede earpads breath freer for greater comfort and enhanced bass impact.

The cable has multiple functions including play, pause, call answering, track skipping and returning to previous track. Thus making them suitable for on the go listening as well as reference listening at home. They also include a Direct silver 6.3 plug adapter.

For a closed back design they offer similar openness and clarity to most open back headphones. Impressive sound quality aside they are tremendously comfortable making long listening sessions even more satisfying. A good companion for the NightOwl is the Chord Hugo DAC in conjunction with your Hi-Fi or mobile device. 

Priced at £599 the Audioquest NightOwl Carbons are a must listen, Swoop in to Audio-T Portsmouth and try them on our dedicated headphone listening system, or at home over a weekend on your own system.

Contact Nick, Joe and James for further information or to book a demonstration. Make the Wise choice! We look forward to seeing you soon

Yamaha MusicCast - Music Everywhere Quite Literally!

We have had Yamaha MusicCast compatible products in the shop for a while and have found that the capability and options offered from the range of the products is about as comprehensive as you could imagine.

We started off with the Yamaha AV receivers that were MusicCast enabled but were controlling them on their own via the Yamaha AV Controller App (which is a lot easier to use than the handset especially when the room is dimly lit) but were not utilising the MusicCast function.

We have been selling a lot of Sonos products as you would expect but have found a lot of limitations with them as regards flexibility of playback methods and line up of products on offer.

While the Sonos is very simple to use and set up, we were getting asked about bluetooth and wireless speakers a lot more so really looked more into MusicCast and decided to get a few products in for demonstration.

Firstly we set up the Yamaha CXA5100 processor in the AV room, if your TV or projector is powered up (which is not necessary) you get great on screen menus

The next product we added to the system was the Yamaha WX030, a small speaker that would be prefect for kitchens, bedrooms etc. Once again it was dead easy to add to the room to the MusicCast app where you give the room whatever name you like and attach a picture so it's easy to identify when the app is on the home page.

Once playing, the app will show a very simple screen to show what room you are in, music playing and volume with easy access to other functions e.g. drop down menu for access to music server list or radio stations. For such a small speaker it packs a serious punch! 

The next product in the range we added is the Yamaha ISX-80. This is quite a different type of speaker system that will certainly be able to placed in a lot more locations due to the fact that it can be wall or shelf mounted and is very slim and stylish.

I would suggest this would be perfect for a bedroom considering its flexible placement and styling, but more so because of its clock display and alarm functions. Again quite a punch from a small speaker so if you do use it as an alarm then make sure it's not too loud!

The fourth product we added is the Yamaha WXA-50, and perhaps a product that could have the most permutations of usage. A very compact unit with a hefty 70W amplifier on board that is capable of running some very good loudspeakers (we have had great results from the likes of Q Acoustics all the way up to higher end Dynaudio speakers!). 

With digital, USB and auxiliary inputs you could quite easily see it in a bedroom with a TV, Blu-ray player or laptop connected to it making it a hub for one room. Another option for it is as part of a much larger multi-room set up. Many new builds that we install systems in will have one plant room with the electronics located in there with cabling routed to the relevant rooms, the WXA-50 can be rack mounted and be used on web-setup as it expands into a larger multi-room with more rooms.

You would think that this would be enough of a line-up to fill a house, but Yamaha have make almost every product they make MusicCast compatible. The line up is enormous...

4 x desktop speakers, 2 x compact wireless streaming amplifiers, 4 x soundbars and one sound base, 14 x home cinema amplifiers, 2 stereo amplifiers and 2 x cd players and 6 compact hifi systems.

And if that is not enough, the one big thing that sets MusicCast apart is the option of portable bluetooth device so you can use a portable bluetooth speaker out in the garden or bluetooth headphones anywhere!

As you can see, for a multi-room system that will suit the whole families needs, MusicCast is a product that should be seriously considered. All of the products shown above are permanently ready for demonstration in store so please call in and see what it can do.

New Oppo UDP-203 4K UHD Blu-Ray Player

We  love home cinema because the sound and picture quality is getting better and better from year to year.  So what makes for a great home cinema experience?

Well, in addition to good sound quality, you definitely need a brilliant picture! Oh yes, no doubt about that. This is why we ordered the new Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player.

So what's in the box ?

The UDP-203 is supplied with a remote control , a power cable , a hdmi cable and a user manual.

In terms of connectivity , the Oppo has a lot to offer:

It has two HDMI outputs (one for audio only, just in case your av receiver doesn't pass through 4K) , an HDMI input (for passing another 4K source through, 2x USB-3 inputs on the back, 1x USB-2 input at the front , RS-232 , digital optical and coaxial outputs, trigger in and out ports and 7.1 channel analogue outputs.

We connected it up to our Panasonic TX-58DX902B 4K TV and we loved it straight away. In comparison to our shop Panasonic 4K Blu-ray player DMP-UB900, which is good, the Oppo's loading time is faster and once the movie is loaded and played, the picture quality is staggeringly good with better black levels and finer around the edges of objects.

Put in the 4K Blu-Ray with "The Revenant" and you see what I mean. This player draws you in when you look at the water in the beginning of the movie, it looks soooo realistic and cinematic like we haven't seen before.  This is also due to HDR. It means High Dynamic Range and through that, you see more levels of white and black (the contrast). Stunning!

We want to watch all our movies again in 4K! I know that some people might wonder, why you would want to do this, but do it and you'll see why. We are hooked by the quality of this player and even playback of your standard Blu-ray's won't disappoint. We have been waiting for a player like this one for some time and now it is here.

The supported disc formats are UHD (4K) Blu-ray, Blu-ray (2D & 3D), DVD, DVD-Audio, SACD, CD and AVCHD.

Anything not to like? We can't think of anything...

So what about the support of online services such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer and so on, that you get with so many Blu-ray players and 4K Blu-ray player these days? The answer is - No. This player has been designed to play movies to the highest standard, with the best possible picture and sound quality. Most of these online services are available through modern smart TVs and set top boxes these days.

The Oppo UDP-203 can also be used as a media streamer and set up either via ethernet or wirelessly. I connected a 500GB usb-drive with tons of music on it to one of its usb3 sockets on the back of the player and used the remote control to select music via the TV screen menu. There is also a free app for IOS and Android that turns your phone or tablet into a remote control.

The app allows you to browse and play from  NAS (Network Attached Storage) drives or usb drives with all your music or photos on. Tidal is shown on top of this screen shot but according to Oppo, it is not available on this player. 

We think this is a very good 4K Blu-ray player and should be on your short list.

Please come and see us here at the Swindon shop and we're sure you'll be blown away by its sound and picture quality.

Cheers and see you soon

Stefan and Andy

Leema Essentials Phono Stage Review

In this months blog we are taking a look at Leema's High-Resolution 'Essential' phono stage. We have been mightily impressed with the clarity and definition it brings to a huge variety of vinyl setups. Let's take a closer look..

The Essential's technology has been trickled down from Welsh company Leema's top of the range and award winning Agena phono stage and it shows. The Phono stage is switchable between moving magnet and moving coil making it suitable for any cartridge which is a lovely feature at it's price point. The Essentials also provides a switchable low frequency filter which can help cut out noise under 20Hz that can come from warped records or noisy bearings.

Innards

Some really impressive figures are thrown up by the Essentials.  The moving magnet gain of 36db and moving coil gain of 62db gives you plenty of headroom and a distortion of less than 0.02% (at 1Kh) really helps with the clarity you want from your vinyl.

We've been able to try a huge range of turntables in the shop and have not found a single one that does not shine when paired with the Leema, from Regas entry level Planar 1 with it's moving magnet Carbon cartridge right up to Project's Signature 10 with it's Ortofon Cadenza Red, which is a moving coil.

The setup we used for this review was a Project Classic with an Ortofon 2m black MM cartridge through the Leema into the Nytech CP202 and CPA402 pre and power combo and we used Spendor A6r loudspeakers. Our review vinyl of choice these days is the superb 'If You Wait' by London Grammar, a record we are all very familiar with, yet the Leema managed to reveal things we hadn't noticed before. Small things maybe, the reverb tail after vocalist Hannah Reid's line or the slight modulation in a bass line in album opener 'Hey Now' that before seemed to be one note. It's these small things that add up and only to serve to envelop you in the music and improve your experience.

'Revealing', can be seen as a negative word sometimes and yes if a poor recording is put through the system it can show up its faults, but in this case the Essentials brings the music to life,  showing all the intricacies and details that the artist and recording engineers included but maybe aren't always that easy to hear. It's not all about detail, the Leema has plenty of warmth as revealed by the opening verse of 'Strong' which instantly and totally involves you in the music experience. The phono stage brings plenty of excitement too, the big hooks of the choruses standing even larger than life than they usually do.

Leema's Essentials Phono stage has certainly caught the attention of us all here at Cardiff and is certainly worth a listen, so as always please give us a call to arrange a demonstration.

Leema products are available at the following branches of Audio T: Cardiff, Oxford

Bowers & Wilkins P9 Signature Headphones

When it comes to headphones, Bowers & Wilkins have garnered quite a reputation. The original P5 was a barnstormer, earning plaudits throughout the Hi-Fi industry and tech publications alike.

The world wide web is still awash with reviews of how elegant they look and how great they sound.

Since then, Bowers & Wilkins have released a plethora of stunning headphones including the the travel sized P3 and the larger P7's, but none have had the Signature moniker attached to them.

Enter the B&W P9's.

Designed using high quality materials such as the as cross-hatched Italian Steffiano leather, composites and beautiful aluminium, the Bowers & Wilkins P9 signatures simply ooze class. 

And to prove they mean business when it comes to high end headphones, Bowers and Wilkins have angled the drive units to improve the stereo image, you will find this method employed in many a high quality headphone. They've even managed to de-couple the cans from the headband to isolate the sound. This reduces outside vibrations that may come back through the headband. The memory foam ear pads (wrapped in leather of course) isolate even further and are very comfortable.

Another nice little touch is the fact that you can replace the cable with the new fangled lightning connection for your shiny new Iphone 7. (B&W will supply the new cable to those of you that register your product on the Bowers & Wilkins website)

Ok, so, how do they sound ?. Well, if you're a fan of B&W speakers then you'll absolutely love the P9's. There is a distinctive Bowers & Wilkins sound here. The P9's have plenty of detail and a solid mid range, very B&W, all rounded off nicely with oodles of bass.. 

Take a peak a some online reviews here. 

What Hifi in particular gave them 5 stars.

Trusted Reviews rated them highly.

The Independent thought they were worth every penny.

Now, to make absolutely sure before you make a purchase, you can pop into our store on Bridge Street, Manchester and try a set on and have a listen.

If you spot Munir, Mike, Dave or Simon loitering around the shop just ask them to plug you in.

Cheers and see you soon.

Bowers & Wilkins Hi-Fi products are available at the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon   

Chord Company Sarum Super ARAY Arrives At Audio T Preston

We are very proud to be one of only 38 dealers nationwide who stock the very impressive Chord Sarum Super ARAY. This cable is an upgrade for your Hi-Fi like no other!

Chord Sarum Super ARAY Digital

There are a great many technical reasons as to why this range of cables are a must for your Hi-Fi system from the new PTFE RCA plug covers, teamed together with the micro polished silver plated conductors, to the tuning process that this cable has gone through which arguably has been one of the biggest steps forward in cable manufacturing in recent years, and it is all brought together in this amazing cable. However, the real magic happens when you add one of these cables into your Hi-Fi system, sit down and listen to the music that you thought you knew. This stunning cable by lowering the noise floor and reveals new levels in the sound stage that simply has to be heard to be believed.

Chord Sarum Super ARAY Speaker Cable

The Chord Sarum Super ARAY is available in a wide variety of cable formats with a range of different connectivity from the humble RCA analogue cable to mains and even USB to suit any requirement for any system.

Chord Sarum Super ARAY Analogue RCA

These cables are available in store for demonstration and we can arrange for you to try these cables at home in your own system, where you will be able to truly appreciate how this cable can make you rediscover your entire music collection.

Chord Sarum Super ARAY Power Cable

Chord Co Cables are also available from: 
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Oxford, 
Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

Auralic Aries Mini Wireless Streamer / DAC Audio T Bristol

The Auralic Aries Mini streamer and DAC has a very small footprint (13.5cm x 13.5cm x 2.8cm). It is a wireless streaming node that is full of features fit for music lovers and audiophiles at a real world price.

It is designed to fit seamlessly into an existing Hi-Fi system by either plugging straight into your amp via its RCA outs or connecting to a DAC. The Mini supports all your usual file formats, with PCM resolutions of up to 32bit 384Khz and DSD 256 (FULL FAT NO COMPRESSION, yes come on). The unit can be set up, via an ethernet cable or via WiFi, to stream from either a local network, attached storage, Tidal, Qobuz and Internet Radio.

Despite its small dimensions Auralic have left room inside for a hard drive so you can store your music on the device itself. You can also connect to it via Airplay and Bluetooth there isn’t much this thing can’t do!

Control is everything where network devices are concerned and Auralic have produced, and continue to improve, a fantastic app (Lightning DS) that can be used with any IOS device. This user friendly app is a dream to operate, look at and is easily one of the better apps out there. It comes with a simple in-app set up guide to activate the product and sync up everything you want to use it with.

We have used the mini in the shop for a couple of months now and it has not let us down once. Connected via its RCA outputs it performs really well considering it's price. Even on a system costing thousands it does not draw unwanted attention to itself. Connected to a DAC in the same system it will perform even better making it a good choice if you plan to upgrade your system in stages. We also used it in a headphone setup feeding a Naim DACv1 using the £800 Focal Elear and it proved to be an excellent combination with an expansive detailed sound that just made you want to sit and listen.

Auralic Aries, Focal Elear Headphones and Naim DAC V1

We tried it with a wide range of music from Pink Floyd to Dvorak and pop to full on EDM. It delivered a balanced presentation that didn't lean toward any particular genre it just played everything really well.

We absolutely love the Auralic Aries Mini, so if you're looking for a simple plug and play streamer then please come and have a listen.

DEVICE CAPABILITIES

• Local UPnP/DLNA Network Player
• Tidal, Qobuz and WiMP online streaming
• Internet Radio
• Airplay, Songcast and Bluetooth
• USB Playback with optional internal HDD/SSD

Auralic Hi-Fi products are also available from the following branches of Audio T:
Bristol, Cheltenham, Reading, Southampton

RNLI Music & Hi-Fi Evening

We are very proud to announce that Audio T Southampton will be assisting the RNLI to host a charity music & Hi-Fi evening with support from key manufacturers, Naim Audio, Dynaudio and The Chord Company plus local independent record store Hundred Records.

The Hi-Fi system for the event will be of the highest quality with Naim's now legendary Statement amplification providing more than adequate power!

Dynaudio's stunning Evidence Platinum will be the suitably elegant speakers to match Statement and to ensure that the venue is filled with perfect sound.

Linking it all together The Chord Company's high end ChordMusic cables and interconnects will ensure that this £250,000+ system will really sing!

A wide range of streamed music and vinyl will be played with demo albums generously provided by Mark Wills from Hundred Records in Romsey.

What better way could there be to spend an evening? This will be a unique opportunity to hear a truly awesome esoteric Hi-Fi system in a comfortable and spacious venue whilst supporting one of the most vital and highly valued of all charities, the RNLI.

Tickets are now available for £10 in store at Audio T, Chandlers Ford and at Hundred Records, Romsey and from RNLI Romsey, tel: 01794 323602

Details of money raising prize draws and raffles are still being finalised so please check our store blog regularly for updates.

We look forward to working with the participating Hi-Fi manufacturers, Hundred Records and The White Horse Hotel, Romsey, who are generously providing a superb venue free of charge, to ensure that a great evening is enjoyed by all and, most importantly, that it is a very successful fundraising event for the RNLI. 

Alan and John

Kudos X2 Speakers Small And Perfectly Formed At Audio T Brentwood

We've just taken delivery of our Kudos X2 speakers for demonstration and wow! This tiny pair of floorstanders is having no problem filling either of our dem rooms with music.

They're only 780mm x 166mm x 206mm (hwd) but boy do they produce the goods. Put them on the end of a Naim system, or a Rega Saturn/Elex and they really sing. We've also had great results on the end of the Unison valve amplifiers.

The Kudos X2 drive units are specially designed by SEAS and the cabinet is cleverly tuned to produce a big expansive and, most importantly musical performance.

Boswell for scale!

They're at home with all types of music from the expansive electronica of Malia and Boris Blank's album "Convergence" to the acoustic blues/country sound of Chris Jones' "Roadhouses and Automobiles" two of our favourite dem albums of the moment.

So, tiny speakers, room friendly, huge sound, and available in a variety of finishes: what's not to like?

Their bigger brothers the Kudos X3 will be arriving shortly as well.

Visit us at Audio T Brentwood and have a listen, we think you'll be very impressed.

Kudos Loudspeakers are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brighton, Bristol, Manchester, Portsmouth, Reading, Swindon

Martin Logan Electromotion Electrostatic Loudspeakers At Audio T Cheltenham

We are very pleased to announce that we are now stocking the new Martin Logan Electromotion Electrostatic loudspeakers. These use electrostatic panels rather than conventional dynamic drive units to produce the mid-range and high frequencies.

How an Electrostatic Works:
Electrostatic loudspeakers comprise of three basic components - Stators, diaphragm and Spars all assembled as a sandwich structure. The diaphragm is an electrically conductive plastic film that is stretched taught between the stators. The stators are are perforated steel sheets coated with an insulator. When in operation the diaphragm is charged to a fixed positive voltage by a high voltage power supply. (This is why all electrostatics are mains powered). The stators are connected to the speaker outputs of the amplifier via a step-up transformer. This converts the amplifiers output to a pair of high voltage signals of equal strength but opposite polarities. As the positive charge in one stator grows the negative charge in the other grows an equal amount. As like charges attract and negative charges repel the positive charge on the diaphragm will force it to move forwards and backwards depending on the charge. Therefore the stronger the charge the greater the movement and produces the movement of the diaphragm normally seen in a conventional drive unit. To help stiffen the panel and prevent the diaphragm from coming too close to the stators non conductive strips called spars are placed along the length of each panel.

The Benefits of an Electrostatic Loudspeaker:
Conventional loudspeaker drivers use a cone attached to a voice coil; the centre of the cone is only being driven and the rest of the cone is just following along. This means the cones have to be made as rigid as possible creating additional weight. The tweeter however needs to be as light as possible to enable it to achieve higher frequencies. Electrostatics overcome this as the diaphragm is driven across its entirety so it does not need to be rigid and can be made of an exceptionally light material. This enables the panel to produce sonic details with exceptional precision. The panel can operate over an exceptionally wide frequency response which eliminates the need for a crossover network between the mid range and the tweeter. Conventional loudspeakers can have the the problem of cabinet colouration and there will always be an effect on the drive units from the cabinet. This is eliminated in the mid to high frequencies of an electrostatic as there is no cabinet. Another key benefit of an electrostatic is that it operates as a true dipole. This enables them to offer exceptional clarity and an astonishing deep open sound stage.

The only drawback to the electrostatic is that they cannot reproduce the deepest of bass sounds. Martin Logan have overcome this by utilising a hybrid design. The very lowest frequencies are reproduced via a very high quality dynamic woofer. These are crossed over to the electrostatic panel via a carefully tailored cross over network. The critically damped woofers used ensure a seamless transition between the two types of drivers.

Electromotion ESL:
The ESL incorporates an Xstat Electrostatic panel with a total radiating area of 129 square inches. The panel is coupled with an 8 inch high excursion doped fibre coned woofer designed exclusively for the ESL. The lightweight cone achieves remarkably low distortion levels allowing seamless integration with the electrostatic panel. Connection to the amplifier is via high quality binding posts and the speaker is supplied with heavy duty spikes allowing tighter coupling between the speaker and the floor.

Electromotion ESL-X:
The ESL-X features a larger electrostatic transducer and utilises dual 8 inch woofers. The Xstat panel has a radiation area over 50 inches larger that the ESL and is coupled with two 8 inch doped paper high excursion woofers housed in a non resonant bass reflex enclosure. This achieves a frequency response of 41Hz to 22kHz. Offering an easy load of 6 Ohms and power handling of 20 to 400 Watts.

Listening:
We have had the Martin Logans set up with numerous systems. These have included Naim ND5XS Streamer coupled with an Arcam A39 class G amplifier, Clearaudio Performance DC turntable coupled with a Unison Research S6 valve amplifier. In all the systems we have tried the speakers have provided exceptional mid range clarity and high frequency performance. The sound stage provided is almost holographic. There have been instances when you could not tell where the speakers were as the sound stage was so expansive that the speakers appeared to disappear. As a hybrid  the integration of the bass is of paramount importance. To test this we played 'Drones' by Muse and they produced exceptionally deep and tight bass akin to a conventional high end loudspeaker. However at no time did you feel that this was at the expense of the open midrange and top end performance. 'Pacific Coast Highway' by Christopher Franke (Tangerine Dream) again has thundering bass with a very open midrange that at times just sounded truly astonishing. Vocals are also truly lifelike. We played Tracey Chapman 'Fast Cars' and the emotion portrayed in her voice was up there with the best I have ever heard. Classical music is somewhere these speakers really do excel, playing a string quartet the players are so well positioned you can place them to within inches to such an extent that you really do feel that they are in front of you. Full scale orchestra such as Shostakovich Symphony No 8 also has exceptional power and depth.

We really do feel that these speakers are capable of producing certain aspects of music that conventional loudspeakers find very difficult to attain. A demonstration is highly recommended.

Contact Jon and Farid, Audio T Cheltenham 01242 583960 to book your personal demonstration.

Reflecting on 25 Years Of Service at Audio T

It only seems like yesterday when as a teenager I first set foot in Audio Excellence in Swansea to purchase my first Hi-Fi, and who knows that it would have led to this....

At 16 years of age I had saved all of my part time job money so that I could become the very proud owner of a new Dual Turntable, NAD amplifier and Celestion speakers. That is where (what was to be) my life long love of music and hi-fi began.

I had only bought a few LP's up until that point which I played on the family music centre which was very average at best! I had heard a friends system and I wanted one of my own. A few months later I had my system and had started buying a lot more music to listen to. This then lead to going to see the artists I liked in concert and more visits to Audio Excellence, although these trips were mainly to buy more anti-static record sleeves for my ever growing collection.

A few years later and I found myself being made redundant and making daily visits to the job centres around the area, until one day I saw an advert for an electrical retailer with the hours Tuesday to Saturday. I instantly knew who it was, so I grabbed an application form and headed off to a friends workplace to fill it in as it was on the way to the shop. Once filled in I carried straight on straight to Audio Excellence to hand the application form in and was lucky enough to have a preliminary interview straight away. A few days later and it was off to the Cardiff Head Office for an interview with Tony Revelle. This is one day that I can remember very well indeed as I drove up in my Vauxhall Viva that was not in the best of running order, but not having money to fix it I arrived at Cardiff a little oily due to several maintenance stops. Laying on the floor under the car greasing the ball-joints in your best clothes somewhere near Bridgend was not the best of things to doing but the car got me there. I remember not being able to shake hands with Tony as I had dirty hands, but once we had started talking about the car while I freshened up it put me at great ease and that's where the story began...

A few silver whiskers and beard hairs these days!

25 years later I still have the same feelings about music and hi-fi, to the point that I could write exactly the same things on that application form as I did over 25 years ago; "I love listening to vinyl, I love listening to live music and love getting the best from my hi-fi".

So what has changed in all these years? Well I guess I'd have to say that why we do what we do hasn't changed at all, we still want to make sure that people get the same enjoyment from music as we do. People often ask me if I am still into "the gear" and I have to reply that "it's the music I love", and if you want to enjoy music to its fullest then there is simply no substitute for a well set up hi-fi and helping other people to get the same enjoyment has always given me great pleasure.

Thinking about how the methods of listening of music for so many people has changed over the years it did make laugh to think that as a teenager I was very excited about coming in to listen to my first turntable based system and I am now demonstrating the very same things to teenagers myself! Who would have predicted that one eh?

The cable guy...

Also, to think that I have worked at the Annual Sound & Vision - The Bristol Show for over 20 years is amazing. Again, I remember most of these as if they were yesterday although there are some days that are a little fuzzy but nothing to do with too much to drink.... obviously!

We recently celebrated Audio T's 50th Anniversary with a great evening at the shop, and 2017 also sees the 10th Anniversary of Record Store Day which is one day of the year I really look forward to. We hope to do something very special this year to celebrate as we were one of the first shops to team up with our local Record shop and make it a big day for us.

As you can imagine; I have made some wonderful friendships over the years with colleagues and customers alike, which makes me feel very lucky. Here's looking forward to the next part of the story......

Rotel 14 Series Has Arrived At Audio T Swindon

We have taken the new Rotel 14 series of integrated amplifiers, tuners and CD player on board.

The range comprises 3 integrated amplifiers: Rotel A10 £389, Rotel A12 £799 and Rotel A14 £999 2 tuners: Rotel T11 £329 and Rotel T14 £699 and a new CD player: Rotel CD14 £549. All of them are available in black or silver.

All 3 amplifiers come with a build-in MM (moving magnet) phono amplifier for a turntable, 2 sets of loudspeaker terminals (if you want to run 1 pair in the main room and 1 pair in the kitchen) and sound control settings (bass, treble and balance). The A12 and A14 offer Bluetooth and various usb inputs. The USB-A front input can be connected to an iPhone, iPad or iPod, the rear USB-A can be used for charging or powering USB devices and the PC-USB (A12 and A14) allows you to connect a PC (drivers supplied for playback higher than 96khz). The front displays and the led's on the A12 and A14 are dimmable .There are 4 digital inputs (2 coax, 2 optical) on the back of the A12 and A14. That means you can connect up a TV or a set-top box.

From the top : A10, A12, A14

From the top : A10, A12, A14

The Rotel CD14 CD player offers digital and analogue outputs and can also be controlled via IOS/Android control app when connected to the A14 or T14.

CD14

CD14

The two tuners in the range are the T11 and the T14. Both offer FM/DAB+ . The T14 also offers internet radio and provides access to music sources like Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal, Deezer and more.

Rotel T11

T11

All in all we think the new Rotel 14 Series sounds very good so why not come in and have a listen and enjoy some sweet sounds and a nice cup of tea or coffee.

We look forward to seeing you.

Stefan and Andy - Audio T Swindon Tel: 01793 538222

Rotel Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Portsmouth, Preston, Swindon