The New Rega P6 Turntable, It's Planar To See That It's Not Just A New Platter

Audio T Manchester recently held a Rega event showcasing the new Rega Planar 6 and the brand and ever popular Rega Apollo R CD player. 

Chromey took up directorial duties for the event, shooting a video in the process.  

The Rega Planar 6 upon first glance, is noticeably different from the rest of the very successful Planar series. A two tone smoked platter, giving an almost 'floating platter' effect is the first thing you notice. We all think it looks great here at Manchester. Secondly, aesthetics, Rega have opted to go with distinctive matte finishes to identify and differentiate the Planar 6 series.

Under the hood is where the Planar 6 really has come on in development Rega's signature foam filled plinth makes it the lightest deck in it's class and price point, similar to the Rega RP8 & Rega RP10, the foam plinth at this price point really is a feat of engineering.

Using a brand new bearing housing design unique to the Planar 6 has had us excited, a combination of a lightweight aluminium sub platter to a matched hardness with an ultra low friction central brass hub.

Using new upgraded feet with anti resonance rubber soles, it helps to keep vibration at bay.

Rega have used higher tolerance bearings within the RB330 tone arm, so improving an already fantastic arm.

The TTPSU has been completely re-engineered and running version 2.0, it shares similar traits to the RP10, using a hand tuned NEO power supply which matches the 24v engine that drives the platter.

Check out the video below of the days events. The new Rega Apollo CD R is shown along with the new Planar 6.

The new Planar 6 and the new Apollo CD R will be with us imminently, in the mean time we stock a range of Rega products here at Audio T Manchester. Why don't you pop along to the store and take a peep.

Thanks for reading.

Simon, Munir, Mike, Haden and Dave.

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

Experience The New Naim Uniti Range At The White Horse Hotel, Romsey On October 10th

Summer is still with us, just about, but now is a good time to make a note in your diary for an Autumn evening audio extravaganza on October 10th.

We are delighted to announce that Audio T Southampton will be joining up with Naim Audio to host a roadshow launch event to showcase the new Uniti range of music streaming systems.

The venue is The White Horse Hotel,  Market Place, Romsey, SO51 8ZJ

The event is in The Stables at The White Horse and starts at 6.30 pm ending at 9.00 pm.

It's too early for full details of products to be showcased but rest assured you will get the opportunity to see and hear at least Atom and Core and have the opportunity to speak to Naim representatives.  Naim technical staff will be also be on hand to answer any network questions, etc.

A limited number of FREE tickets are available now here so why not book now to secure your chance to see and hear the stunning new Naim Uniti all-in-one music players.  Refreshments will be available and there might even be the chance to enter a prize raffle!

We look forward to seeing you on the 10th October.

Alan and John

The New Naim Uniti Atom Is Here And The Mighty Atom Packs A Punch

The first of the new Naim Uniti All-In-One Wireless Music Player range is in store and on demonstration, and very fine it is too.

We have had to be patient for this complete rework of the Uniti range, with a new streaming platform and much improved performance and functionality, and it has been worth the wait. The Uniti Atom is a seriously solid 7 kg lump that punches way above its weight. Very impressive in so many ways. Beautiful and clever and very technologically advanced. 

With control via the improved Naim iOS or Android app. or the 2 way remote using it is a joy. This modern high quality compact hi-fi system does so much more then ever before.

All you need to do is add speakers. With the quality of sound from Uniti Atom the choice of speakers opens up to a surprisingly wide degree. Come and have a listen and experience Naim Uniti Atom for yourself.

Julian, Paul and John at Audio T Brighton 01273 609431

Naim Products are available in the following branches of Audio T: 
Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, 
Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, 
Southampton, Swansea, Swindon   

New - Neat Acoustics SX7i

In addition to our current line up of Neat Acoustics loudspeakers we have now added the top of the Momentum range called the SX7i.

The SX7i delivers the performance of a high end loudspeaker from a room friendly enclosure taking up no more space that a conventional stand mount loudspeaker. The SX7i utilises no less than five drive units. The upper section is effectively a two way infinite baffle loudspeaker housed in its own enclosure. High frequencies are handled via a SXT black anodised aluminium tweeter with a massive ferrite dual magnet assembly offering extremely detailed presentation with no hint of hardness allowing fatigue free listening. The tweeter is flanked by two of Neat's recently upgraded P1/R3 bas mid drivers.

These are then crossed over to the lower half of the cabinet utilising two further P1/R3 drive units utilising Iso-Baric configuration. The first bass driver is located at the bottom of the cabinet firing downwards. This is coupled with an identical drive unit above with a sealed chamber between the two drive units. Both drive units receive an identical signal and operate in phase. These are then housed in their own enclosure that is tuned via a rear firing reflex port.

The first benefit this configuration is that the bass extension achieved is equivalent to an enclosure twice its size, thus offering extremely deep bass from a relatively small enclosure. The second benefit is that as both drivers are driven by their drive assemblies (Magnets) via the effective area of a single cone, which offers extremely controlled extended bass performance.

The drive units are housed in an extensively braced and damped cabinet constructed of high grade 18mm MDF. The cabinet sits on a pair of tri-laminate feet with adjustable spikes offering extreme stability and an overall cleaner presentation of the music.

Listening:
Straight out of the box and with no run in time, we were truly impressed by the musical performance offered - and this will only improve significantly with a few hundred hours run in time! We played 'And the Druids turn to Stone' from the album Universal Migrator by Ayreon via a Naim streamer and amplifier. The level of bass performance was truly outstanding for the cabinet dimensions and at no time became uncontrolled. the level of detail was a good as we've heard and  we heard information that we have never heard before! The sound stage and separation were truly outstanding. We have yet to play any music that has not impressed so far and this can only get better once they are run in.

These are truly outstanding loudspeakers and an audition is highly recommended. We look forward to seeing you.

Farid Andy and Jon - Audio T Cheltenham

Neat Acoustic loudspeakers are also available from following branches of Audio T:
Brighton, Cheltenham, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading

Acoustic Energy Brings Back Some Old Friends

Many years ago there were two best selling speakers from Acoustic Energy the AE109 and the AE100.

Now the company has resurrected those model numbers and having heard them, for very good reason, these two new models promise to be every bit the giant killers that their ancestors were.

The AE100 is a very compact stand mount speaker with a big heart. Like its bigger brother the AE109 they employ trickle down technology from some of the manufacturers more upmarket speakers, most notably the wide dispersion tweeter and rear facing slot mounted port.

The cabinets come in two finishes a rich walnut, or for a small premium in satin black. Coupled with their curved edges, sleek lines and compact dimensions this makes the AE109 and AE100 very room friendly.

Now to the good bit, the sound quality! As the eagle eyed among you may have spotted we've just received our Uniti Atom the wonderful small single box streaming system from Naim. Well what better device to try out some small but perfectly formed speakers with, than a small but perfectly formed system?

The sound from both speakers is surprisingly large and spacious with a richness and scale which completely belies their size. This has been very apparent on our new fave recording Kraftwerk's 3D the catalogue. This recording has subterranean bass notes and crystal clear highs, a perfect test of any speaker/system combo and the little Acoustic Energy speakers acquit themselves masterfully.

Needless to say we're quite excited by both of these products, why not come in and see why?

Paul, Francis, Jason, and Boswell - Audio T Brentwood.

Acoustic Energy loudspeakers are also available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Bristol, Cheltenham, Online, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Swindon

The Naim Uniti Atom Music Player - A Huge Hit In a Small Box!

Naim always had their work cut out following up the highly successful Uniti range. In this months blog we take a look at the all new Uniti Atom which is the replacement to the highly successful Unitiqute. So how have they done? In short…they’ve knocked it out of the park! Welcome to the reign of the new Naim Uniti Atom....

‘All in one’ box music systems are popular these days in the world of Hi-Fi with multiple manufacturers offering up their creations in a myriad of forms, generally throwing some form of streaming and possibly radio in with an amplifier so you only have to add speakers.  There are a lot of very good ones too, so it takes something quite special to stand out amongst them and the Uniti Atom does just that…and then some. With two even bigger and more powerful Uniti units the Star and Nova on the way soon as well, it’s a very exciting time! But before we get carried away let’s have a look at what the Atom is and what it does.

Let’s start off with the aesthetics, the word ‘beautiful’ is not a term that you would generally ascribe to amplifiers but Naim have certainly bucked the trend here, especially compared to their more conservative ‘classic’ range. The first thing that hits you is the large 5” LCD glass display which brightly shows off the album artwork of the music you are currently playing as well as the very cleanly laid out and very easily navigable menu system. The screen even wakes up to show you the metadata of the track you are listening to as you approach it due to proximity sensors. This sits in a stunning brushed aluminium case with finned aluminium heat sinks on either side. The Naim logo is proudly lit up on the base and four lit up buttons on the front allow for some basic control when you don’t have the remote or your mobile device on you. The design of the Atom is perfectly finished off with Naim’s signature volume control, which will be very familiar to anyone who has played with a Naim Mu-so or Mu-so QB and adds yet another touch of class to proceedings.

So, what does it do? The answer to that is…a lot!  There are many ways to play your music through the Atom. Firstly you can wirelessly play your own music collection from a NAS drive, Naim Uniti core, or other UPnP device, it has both Spotify and Tidal streaming services integrated as well as ways of playing other services such as Qobuz via the in-built Chromecast Audio. Internet radio and Bluetooth are included of course, as well as Airplay for Apple users. As far as physical inputs go you will find one analogue phono input, ready for an external CD player or turntable via a phono stage. Digital inputs consisting of two optical, one coax and a USB also feature. There is then of course an Ethernet input and owners have the option of having a HDMI input included to connect a TV too. Finally a pre-amplifier analogue output is also if you wish to upgrade the Atom with an external power amplifier.

The Atoms amplifier is a brand new 40 watt A/B class affair, with technology taken from the Naim’s Nait series of amplifiers. They have included the biggest power supply they possibly could to give the amplifier its best chance as well as top of the range circuitry and premium Burr Brown DAC's. The streaming and Wi-Fi hardware is also brand new to ensure the best possible connectivity and sound quality. You have three options on how to control the Atom; a few buttons on the front give you basic control while the included bi-directional smart remote is a lovely touch. Finally the most convenient way to control the system is by Naim’s newly updated app, which is one of the most user friendly and stable control apps around.

We’ve tried the Atom through all sorts of loudspeakers that we have here in the store, from entry level stand mounts like the Dali Zensor 1’s right up to big floorstanders. The results were surprising, especially when we as an experiment linked the Atom up to a pair of Bowers and Wilkins 804 D3 which by all rights should be out of its league, yet the Atom drove them beautifully even in a big room, defying its size and power!

One combination that we all love is with the Spendor A4 small floorstanders which we set up in our demonstration room. Over a few days we threw all sorts of music at it from electronic to rock to classical and we all struggled to leave the room! The Atom may look small but it certainly doesn’t sound it. It surprises with its incredible depth of sound, it has this ability to seemingly fill the room with music and gets you feeling involved with your favourite tracks in brand new ways. This combined with the warmth and musicality of the Spendor A4 makes for a gorgeous listening experience. This is we think the Atoms greatest asset, as well as being amazing in its looks and functionality its sound quality will give a lot of normal stereo amps a run for their money never mind other all in one boxes.

This really is one of the most cutting edge products around and it really needs to be experienced in person to see why we are so excited to have it in our store. Please get in touch to organise a demonstration, just be warned when you see and hear the Atom we guarantee you will love it!

Naim Products are available in the following stores: Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

New Monitor Audio 6th Generation Silver Series Arrive At Audio T Swindon

Monitor Audio have just launched the new Silver 6th Generation Series. This new range features two stand mounts, three floor standing, two centre channels, a pair of dipole/bipole surround sound speakers and an active subwoofer.

This is the new 6G Silver range:

Silver 50 (two-way standmounters)

Silver 100 (two-way standmounters)

Silver 200 (two and a half-way floorstanders)

Silver 300 (three-way floorstanders)

Silver 500 (three-way floorstanders)

Silver C150 (two and a half-way centre channel)

Silver C350 (three-way centre channel)

Silver FX (two-way surround speakers with switchable dipole and bipole configurations)

Silver W-12 (12in subwoofer with Class D amplification and 500W output)

The highlight of the new Silver series is a completely new version of the company's iconic gold dome tweeter, which has been fine-tuned in the quest for clearer, smoother and distortion-free highs. 
 

Silver 200 Floorstanding Speaker

Silver 200 Floorstanding Speaker

We think that the new Silver range sounds very good, fresh out of the box and after a few days of continuous running in they really shine and sound even better. We played Geiger Counter / Radioactivity (3-D) by Kraftwerk from the 3-D The Catalogue Album and oh boy, these Silver 200's impressed with a big sound and tight bass. Gregory Porter's "Hey Laura" of his album Liquid Spirit proves how emotional music can sound. Nice!

We then swapped them for the smallest of the range, the Silver 50's. Don't underestimate these little speakers by their size. We played the same music and wow, we didn't expect them to sound so big.

Silver 50 standmount/book shelf Speaker

Silver 50 standmount/bokshelf Speaker

As I mentioned before there are two centre speakers in the range, the C150 and the C350.

This is the new Silver C150:

Silver C150 Centre Speaker

Silver C150 Centre Speaker

Please came in and have a listen. Our opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday 9.30 - 5.30 and you can contact us on 01793 538222.

Many thanks.

Stefan and Andy - Audio T Swindon

Monitor Audio loudspeakers are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Southampton, Swansea

Rega Launches New Planar 6 With Neo PSU With Ania Moving Coil Cartridge

Over the last year Rega have relaunched their P1, P2 and P3 turntables, the next new product is the stunning Rega Planar 6. The all new Planar 6 benefits from a single piece machined aluminium sub-platter, a new 24v motor, NEO power supply and a custom drive pulley fitted with white drive belt fitted as standard.

The new Planar 6 is available without cartridge or with the superb Ania MC cartridge. It is now more an RP8 RP10 lite than an RP6!

The Planar 6 is then further enhanced by the following features:

• Custom dual layer smoked / clear float glass platter.
• New single piece aluminium sub platter.
• New custom machined high precision drive pulley.
• Patent pending central brass hub.
• Rega’s double brace technology, with integral custom matched aluminium tonearm and hub pillars to ensure maximum rigidity and accuracy.
• RB330 handmade precision tone arm with custom stainless weight.
• New smoked dust cover.
• New aluminium foot trims and Planar style feet.

One of the best features of this turntable is its external ‘Neo’ PSU. The new Neo PSU replaces the old TT-PSU and features the DSP-based motor control from the Rega RP10's PSU. The end result is that the Planar 6 will spin at exactly the correct speed regardless of fluctuations in the mains’ current that are inevitable from any socket. The Neo PSU also gives you push-button 33 and 45 RPM speed control without having to lift the platter.

We recently had the opportunity to hear the Planar 6 / Ania / Neo combination. We used the new Fono MC and an Elicit-R Amplifier. The results were truly amazing; the Planar 6 presented a very crisp, dynamic soundstage. It had great depth and incredibly low noise floor which ensured that every musician, every note had space to breathe. We found ourselves playing all sorts of music and whatever we threw at it be-it Etta James, Bob Dylan, Daft Punk or Metallica the Planar 6 was just brilliant. 

As you can tell we think the Planar 6 and MC Ania combination represents stunning value for money and we highly recommend you have a listen to it. To complete the package we would also recommend the new Fono MC 2017 pre-amplfiier, a brilliant compact phono stage that shares the same design of housing and case work of the Neo. 

The Planar 6 will be available in stores very soon, if you would like to arrange a personal demonstration please call us on 01865 765961. 

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

Musical Fidelity Encore 225 All In One Music System

When you open the box for the Encore you are presented with an 18.3 Kg beast of a unit! This 225 watt box of musical delights is really solidly built and as such fills you with confidence even before you plug it in.

The Musical Fidelity Encore 225's purpose is to provide a one box solution designed to take away the fuss that usually entails when you take your first steps into streaming. There is no need to have a separate storage unit such as a network attached storage (NAS) drive as the Encore has its own 1TB (upgradeable) hard drive built in. You can connect the Encore to your network and you can drag and drop music onto it. Not only that, but it comes equipped with a CD drive which can work as a CD player but is also a ripper. Copying your CD collection could not be simpler, just put it in the drive and the Encore takes care of the rest. Using the Apple or Android App you then simply find your music and press play. The large high resolution display on the front panel will then show the artwork and track you are currently playing. It's not limited to playing music from the hard drive or CD though, as the Encore integrates the music subscription service Tidal through its App allowing CD quality playback from their large jukebox in the cloud. Also around the back of the unit you will find 3 pairs of RCA inputs, 4 digital inputs and a couple of USB inputs for expanding the units storage. Also on the front panel it has a high quality headphone output.

As previously mentioned the Encore has 225 watts per channel plenty enough for the vast majority of speakers out there and enough to always keep things under control. We have tried it on a number of different speaker makes and models including Dynaudio, Neat, Bowers and Wilkins, PMC and it worked well with all of them so it's certainly not a fussy amplifier. We also tried a variety of music genres. Playing Antonin Dvorak Op. 77 Scherzo performed by the Berlin Philharmonic String Quartet showed just how much grip on the speakers the amplifier has as the dynamics of the performance shone from the first bar onwards. Tippers Gulch from his Backwards Forwards album memorised with the scale of the sound stage and again this showed the amplifiers control as the speakers didn't trip up once as the sounds in the track twisted and turned. It not all about power though, as the Encore is really good at resolving the detail. On Agnes Obel's Aventine you could hear every last nuance in her voice and the strings giving the impression the artists were in the room with you. All in all we think the Encore is a great sounding product and perfect for the modern ways of music consumption. The Encore 225 offers a lot of product for the money. Of course you can come and hear it for yourself, Just give us a call for a demonstration on 0117 926 4975.

Thanks for looking.

Martin, Max and James. Audio T Bristol 

Musical Fidelity Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

New Rega Ania Moving Coil Cartridge →

Rega have been pushing the boundaries of cartridge design for a good number of years, and none more so than the moving coil type.

The Rega Apheta was the first of these in 2005, and that was re-worked and improved when the Apheta 2 was introduced in 2014. The top of the range Aphelion followed in 2015 and demonstrated just how far Rega had progressed the design and manufacture in this highly specialised discipline.

All these turntable cartridges are manufactured by Rega at their UK facility in Southend-on-Sea which is quite an accomplishment.

The Ania is the new addition to the moving coil range which opens up ownership due to the wider compatibility with tonearms and turntables, and of course its price, which offers great value and exceptional sound for the money.

Indeed the Rega Planar 3 combines very well with the Ania, and as you go up through the Rega turntable range greater musical delights become apparent.

Rega moving coil cartridges are the low output type and require a moving coil phono stage. It just so happens that Rega are also introducing the Fono MC that is an obvious partner, although other MC stages will work.

The newly announced Rega Planar 6 completes the perfect package of Planar 6 (inc Neo PSU), the Ania MC cartridge and the recently released Fono MC stage.

The Ania and Fono MC are already the beneficiaries of a fine review by Jason Kennedy in the-ear.net where he extols the virtue of their performance partnered with the Rega RP8 turntable.

We have the Ania, Apheta 2 and Aphelion on demonstration and expect the Fono MC in mid July and the new Planar 6 around the end of July.

So, give us a call to hear the combination of your choice, and we will arrange that for you.

Julian, Paul and John at Audio T Brighton  Tel: 01273 609431

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

Acoustic Energy AE1 Active Loudspeakers Just Add Music!

Taking advantage of their pedigree of designing loudspeakers for the domestic and professional markets Acoustic Energy have now released the AE1 active monitor loudspeaker.

The AE1 active is a two way reflex enclosure utilising an aluminium dome tweeter with a unique WDT wave guide for seamless integration into the room. This is coupled with a pure piston ceramic aluminium cone bass driver developed from the original and legendary AE1 studio monitor. Both drivers are driven by two internal 50W class A/B amplifiers via a fully active filter networks per loudspeaker.

Taking advantage of many products now available on the market the AE1 active can be coupled with any equipment that has a variable pre amplifier output. One of the major benefits is you no longer need multiple Hi-Fi components to achieve high end sound quality. In the age of network streaming, Bluetooth and music streaming services, a fine sounding music system can be achieved of diminutive size. As an active (speaker with an amplifier built in) monitor the AE1 Active can also be used as a loudspeaker connected directly to you computer offering sound quality rarely heard from computer loudspeakers. They are also ideal for improving the sound of from your TV (In fact I don't think there is a soundbar on the market that will come close to achieving the sound quality you can get when using the AE1s).

Below we set up a few different music streaming systems with the AE1 actives.

Arcam rBlink - AE1 Active:

The Arcam rBlink is a Bluetooth receiver that can be connected directly to the the AE1 Actives via the audio out of the rBlink. Any product that is Bluetooth enabled such as a mobile phone, IPad or tablet can then be used to play directly to the AE1 Active.

Sonos Connect - AE1 Active:

Connect the Sonos Connect via its variable pre-amplifier output to the RCA input of the AE1 and you have a system capable of network streaming (music files from a computer / external hard drive), Internet radio and music streaming services such as Spotify Premium, Tidal and Qobuz.

Auralic Altair Pre-amplifier - AE1 Active:

The Auralic Altair is an exceptionally high quality network streamer. This can be connected via the balanced XLR outputs on the Altair to the Balanced XLR inputs on the AE1 Active. This will provide with a system of diminutive size that produces exceptionally high sound quality.

Each AE1 Active is equipped with an independent volume control and +/- 2dB adjustment for both bass and treble. They are available in Piano Black, Piano White and high Gloss Real wood cherry finishes.

Sound Quality:
We connected the AE1 Active to the Auralic Altair music streamer. Playing files recorded in FLAC (44.1 kHz) via an Innuos Zen Mini hard drive and the sound quality achieved was outstanding. Playing Mike Oldfield 'Not of this Earth' the sound stage was expansive with great sense of depth. The high frequencies were detailed with no sense of hardness, mid range detail was excellent and the bass went down to depths you really wouldn't expect from a speaker of this size. We then played 'Fast Cars' by Tracy Chapman. Vocals were extremely clear with a great sense of emotion. All the instruments were clearly defined with great power and attack.

All in all the AE1 offer superb value for the sound quality achieved at the price and is available now for demonstration.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Farid, Andy and Jon - Audio T Cheltenham

Acoustic Energy loudspeakers are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Bristol, Cheltenham, Online, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Swindon

Chord Cable Upgrade Workshop at Audio T Preston Thursday 7th September 12noon-8pm

Join Ian Gavin and Andy at the Preston store as we demonstrate the Chord Company cable range. Come and hear how this cost effective upgrade can bring you even more enjoyment from your music and film collection.

Snacks and refreshments will be provided and there will be exclusive special offers for attendees. If you are uncertain about the difference that cables can make then this is the opportunity to listen and make your own mind up.

Click HERE to reserve your place.

Pioneer Special Edition Monitor 5 Headphones

The Pioneer SE-Monitor 5 headphones are the new closed-back premium headphone from the Japanese electronics company. They compliment the excellent open back SE-Master1.

Great build quality adds to the appeal here, not only do they sound great but look good too. The magnesium alloy frame and the leather headband secure the headphones firmly to your head. Maybe a tad weighty, but very comfortable all the same. The copper ring on the capsules and copper coloured plugs on the braided headphone cable add that extra bit of class to the Monitor 5's.

The elegant new Pioneer SE-Monitor 5 headphone.

This beautifully constructed headphone exudes quality. The headband adjustment is reassuringly solid. Magnesium alloy and leather!! Lovely.

Enter Chromey!!. Those velour headphone cups look really comfy Chromey, and did you know they also come with an extra set of leatherette cups to go with your tight leather pants. splendid.

The leather headband looks and feels great.

The 3.5mm jack allows to you disconnect the headphone cable and use a highend aftermarket cable.

Sound Quality
The SE-Monitor 5's sound like a £1000 headphone should, well defined bass that doesn't bloat and stays in check is welcome for a closed-back headphone. The midrange is very well controlled and isn't shouty at all, meanwhile the treble is also lush and well detailed with a hint of warmth. Overall, the stereo image produced by the SE-Monitor 5's can't be faulted and is very accurate.

Fancy a try ? well, why don't you do like Chromey, and zip into Audio T Manchester and give the Pioneer SE-Monitor 5 headphones an audition. We have a dedicated area for our headphones where we use a headphone amp, you can also plug the Pioneer's directly into a portable device such as a phone or a portable audio player if it's how you roll.

Munir, Mike, Dave, Simon and Haden will be on hand to help.    

The Legendary Bowers and Wilkins 800 Series Return To Cardiff.

With a 35 year history and an iconic place for a long time in such institutions as Abbey Road Studios, it’s safe to say the B&W 800 series is one of the most renowned speaker ranges in the world. We are ecstatic to have the newest version of the entire range here at Audio T Cardiff.

The Bowers and Wilkins 800 series has a long and illustrious history, the original 801 was released in 1980. The idea was to give engineers absolute free reign to come up with the very best loudspeaker they could without the usual restrictions placed on them. In fact in the original 801 manual there is a quote that says:

‘‘the first commercial effort to develop and produce a loudspeaker that would reflect the highest standards attainable without regard to any of the so called “practical considerations” that inevitably compromise conventional designs.’’

This is exactly what they did, the use of ultra-rigid Matrix cabinet construction and the idea of separate enclosures for high-frequency drivers or Flowport bass-reflex tuning was brand new innovative technology at the time and was filtered down through the generations of 800s over the years. The new series, 800 D3 to be precise has followed that same philosophy of their forebears but with the very most up to date cutting edge technology that ensures they are on the top of their game.

Words can’t explain how excited we are to now have the vast majority of the new 800 range in store including the HTM1 centre speaker, the stand mounting 805 D3, the more traditional looking floor standing 804 D3, the most compact of the classic 800 look the 803 D3, the immense 802 D3 and the astonishing head of the family the 800 D3.

There is far too much incredible technology that goes into these speakers to cover everything in this blog but let’s go through at least some features. B&W claim that their diamond tweeter technology that they have been using since the beginning and has continued to be improved, provides the most realistic treble possible. The use of diamond means that the tweeter is both as light and rigid as possible which is a very difficult balance to achieve. On these newest versions the tweeter sits in an all new solid body housing which brings even further advances to performance.

A big development in the new range is the abandonment of the iconic Aramid Fibre cone for the new Continuum cone. These are essentially the next stage of evolution in B&W’s cone technology being able to ‘deliver pristine mid-range performance by effectively negating the break-up behaviour that can adversely affect this all-important part of the spectrum.’ The fact B&W have done this when the Aramid Fibre cone was already so innovative and unique show just how much they are striving for perfection.

We are still getting to grips with the whole range but what we have found out so far is that everything B&W are claiming about the sonic properties of this series is absolutely true. The ability to bring out the performance of the music you are listening to is exceptional the clarity and realism of these speakers make you feel like the musicians are right there in front of you. This is true for both stereo and home cinema settings, we have the 800’s, HTM1 centre and the 805 stand mounts setup in our cinema room with Dolby atmos and the result is nothing short of mind blowing.

We have several pairs of the range setup and ready to go for demonstration, so please get in touch if you would like a listen to what are frankly some game changing speakers.

Bowers and Wilkins 800 Series are currently only available at Cardiff store.

All other Bowers and Wilkins Speakers are available in the following Audio T stores: Brentwood, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon

Musical Fidelity Encore 225 Music Streamer Offers Stunning One-Box Simplicity

After last month's introduction to Musical Fidelity at Brentwood, here is a more in depth look at one of the stars of their range the Encore 225 Music Streaming System

This beautifully built machine is a complete system in one box. The Encore 225 comprises an amplifier with the same power amplifiers as the Musical Fidelity M6si integrated, and CD drive which can rip your discs to internal storage (1TB and 2TB versions are available). It can also play CDs, has a host of inputs for external devices, can access Internet radio and Tidal and can even be seen as a network storage device by other products such as Sonos!

The build quality is exceptional with  very solid casework edged with heatsinks which are necessary as this baby runs weighted very much into class A.

The Encore 225 has a beautiful high resolution display which will show your album artwork as it plays.

In its simplest form just pop in a CD which it will rip automatically to internal storage in a high quality file, go to "my music" and playback from the usual sorted list, but it can do so much more, acting as a digital and analogue hub with enough inputs to satisfy most people.

So what does the Encore 225 sound like? Put simply it is just superb!

Seen here with the Dali Opticon 5 floorstanders it is currently filling our dem room with a big, warm, detailed and expansive sound, full of rhythm and music whether you're listening to the Bruckner Motets or the latest album from Deadmau5. We've been loading ours up with music and playing with the control features, both from the front buttons and the dedicated app and it has been a delight to use.

This one definitely has the Boswell seal of approval!

So in conclusion the Musical Fidelity Encore 225 is a gem of a system, all in one box and a breeze to use!

And there's more......

At the moment Musical Fidelity are offering a trade in for a limited time, where you will get the cost of your old Musical Fidelity amplifier (up to £1550) off the Encore 225 which is a great deal!

Come and have a listen!

Paul Francis Jason and Boswell

Musical Fidelity Hi-Fi products are also available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Online, Southampton, Swansea, 
Swindon

The Arcam rPlay Music Streamer

With the current surge in popularity for streaming music (Sonos et al) we were pleased and intrigued when Arcam announced that they were bringing to market a dedicated music streamer.
After the success and positive feedback of the streamers in their AV amps and Arcam CDS27 CD player it appears to be a natural step for such a music first company.

The Arcam rPlay allows you to add network audio streaming services and internet radio to any system using DTS PlayFi, Apple Airplay or UPnP enabled music sources such as a Network Attached Storage (NAS).

As well as a co-axial (SP/DIF) digital audio output and a fixed line level analogue output, the rPlay also features a variable analogue output which uses the same volume control as their A49 flagship amplifier. This is really handy for connecting to a power amplifier or a pair of active loudspeakers; multi-room audio aficionados also should take note. The rPlay is very nicely built out of satin black aluminium and is a visual match for the other Arcam “small r” components.

At £399 it's fifty quid more than the unit it's going to be compared to - the Sonos Connect Zoneplayer.

So how does it sound? Very good indeed! It was an obvious improvement over the Sonos Connect. 'Solid' is the term du jour; the rPlay has way more body, depth and richness. Meaty and musical. Operationally it isn't quite as slick as the Sonos, but this is just a matter of getting used to the operating system (OS). The dramatic improvement in sound quality more than makes up for it, even using just 16bit (CD quality) files. The rPlay will play back 24bit (studio quality) files, lifting its performance again. By comparison the Sonos units top out at 16bit.

If you needed any more of a testimonial, both Nic and I have bought one. It's on demonstration in our music salon as we speak. Why not come in and have a listen?

Arcam Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brentwood, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Oxford, Portsmouth, Preston, Reading, Southampton, 
Swansea, Swindon

Panasonic TX-55EZ952B OLED - Plasma Is Dead Long Live OLED!

John and I have both been eagerly awaiting a new TV which would persuade us to upgrade our now ageing Pioneer plasma screens.  

The new Panasonic TX-55EZ952B OLED precisely fits the bill.

This high end 4K Pro HDR TV is Hollywood tuned and equipped with Studio Colour HCX2 and THX certified processing to produce a full, rich and natural spectrum of colours.  The multiple HDR formats supported include Hybrid Log Gamma, the broadcast HDR format jointly developed by the BBC and Japan's NHK.

Panasonic have fully utilised their plasma experience to great effect with this TV, ensuring it is capable of incredible shadow detail and displaying the deepest blacks.  

These positive plasma attributes are enhanced by the many advantages of OLEDs such as higher brightness, natural colour rendering, much lower power consumption and elegant slimline design.

The high specification includes all iPlayers, Freeview Play, inbuilt Netflix and Amazon 4K. 

The supplied compact central stand avoids the cabinet overhang issues of many TVs and we both appreciated the ease with which we wall mounted our demo screen. It was far less stressful than the back breaking task we recall with our Pioneer plasmas many years ago!

Just phone or email to book or just call in to see the Panasonic TX-55EZ952B OLED with an awesome home cinema system in our Dolby Atmos equipped demonstration room.  We are sure you will be as impressed as we are with this brilliant TV!  

See you soon,

Alan and John

Panasonic TVs are available from all branches of Audio T.

Chord Electronics Hugo 2 DAC Headphone Amplifier 'Knocks It Out Of The Park' Again!

It has been a long wait, but oh boy was it worth it. We now have the all new Chord Electronics Hugo 2 portable DAC and headphone amplifier available for demonstration.

Chord Electronics Hugo2

A complete re-design of the multi-award winning benchmark DAC, the MK2 Hugo raises the bar once again. In truth, they hardly needed to, as the old one still has the gong but that isn't Chord's way; if it can be bettered then they're 'gonna' do it!

Hugo 2 inputs

We are hearing significant improvements in detail, dynamics and timing over the old model thanks in part to the dramatic increase in the number of taps within the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) silicon.

All inputs and filter options are displayed via coloured LEDs much like that of the Chord Electronics Mojo for ease of use. Although initially designed to be the world's best portable DAC and headphone amp in reality the original mostly found it living amongst the best home Hi-Fi systems as the primary DAC, such was its giant killing credentials. This fact was not lost on Chord, so one of its new features is that it automatically stops charging the internal battery when it's plugged into the charger for 24hrs which extends battery life. 

Additionally Hugo 2 is now fully remote controlled, another nod to non-portable application.

Full feature list and technical specification can be found here.

You can read the latest What Hi-Fi? review of the Hugo 2 here.

Hugo 2 is available in black or silver.

Now with remote control

Come in and have a listen at Audio T Reading.

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

Dali Loudspeakers Arrive At Audio T Cardiff!

It's surreal! We are very excited here as we have just started stocking Dali products! To get us started we have a quartet of new products, namely: the Katch portable Bluetooth speaker; the Zensor Pico, Zensor 1 and Zensor 3 Loudspeakers.

A Dali family shot. 

Dali Katch Portable Bluetooth Speaker

The Dali Katch is a portable Bluetooth speaker with a few very clever tricks up its sleeve. Capable of a very impressive 24 hour battery life and a full charge after just 2 hours, this is a perfect companion for travelling or just sitting out in the garden. The Katch has two listening modes ‘clear’ is the best for most situations while ‘warm’ pushes out a bit extra bass, more suited for playing in a large room. The Katch connects via Bluetooth AptX and has the option of NFC, it can also be set up as a stereo pair if you have a second Katch. Our favourite feature though is that it has a USB charge out. This opens up a whole new world of streaming as the Katch can power a device like a Google Chromecast or even a player like the Astel and Kern AK70 (pictured below). Send the signal from that device in through the Katchs mini jack auxiliary input and you have yourself a streamer! Most importantly as well as looking incredible the Katch has a fantastic clear presentation through its two 21mm soft dome tweeter and pair of 9cm aluminium drivers. It seemed to handle everything we threw at it with aplomb and left us very impressed.

Dali Katch Portable Bluetooth Speaker

Dali Zensor Pico

The Pico is the first entry in the Zensor range of loudspeakers and the first thing to say about it as they are tiny! Each speaker stands at just 23cm high, however where it lacks in size it most certainly doesn’t lack in sound!  The Pico features the same soft dome tweeter that appears in the rest of the range and the same, albeit smaller, wood fibre woofer all contained in a very classy looking cabinet for the price. When tested we couldn’t believe the sound quality coming from such a small pair of speakers,  the Pico’s have a considerable impact at the low end considering the size and give a great presentation in a small to medium size rooms. We found that the Pico’s had a great energy and presence in the room that made them very addictive to listen to. These will be great in a small to medium room but also fantastic in a compact surround sound system as fronts, back or both!

Dali Zensor 1

The middle brother of the Zensor bookshelf speakers is the Zensor 1.  At 30% bigger than the Pico the Zensor 1 still has a fairly small footprint but defiantly has more of a presence in the room. Using the same tweeter but a slightly larger 5.25” woofer the Zensor 1 shares all the same characteristics of the Pico but you get more of it, a stronger sound stage more focussed, stronger bass and overall a more detailed sound. Like the other speakers in the range it is available in black, white and walnut finishes.

Dali Zensor 3

The newest member of the family is the slightly bigger again Zensor 3. The 3 follows all the same design aspects of the two smaller models and again uses the same tweeter but ups the size of the bass driver to a 7”. The 3’s have an infectious energy about them while still staying balanced with a tight top end and a surprisingly punchy bass for the size of cabinet, we found ourselves sitting back and listening to whole albums when we were meant to be reviewing them!

The Zensor range really has a speaker for many different situations and locations, so please do come and have a listen to them!

Dali loudspeakers are available in the following Audio T Stores: Cardiff,  Brentwood

The Rega Ania MC Cartridge, Hand Made By Rega In Southend-on-Sea

The new Rega Ania has just arrived here at Manchester, seen as the baby brother of the wonderful Apheta 2, the £498 moving coil cartridge could well a be winner in the making.

Officially the third in the range of moving coil cartridges from Rega, this is a much needed price point (in our opinion) and bridges the gap nicely between the Rega Exact and Apheta 2.

Can you spot the Rega Ania?

Hand made completely at Rega headquarters in Southend-On-Sea the Rega Ania is hand wound by the bods at Rega. Amazingly, but not surprisingly the build quality of the Ania is on par with our Japanese cousins, who as you know, can make a mean cartridge.

The neodymium magnet is housed in the high quality and unique rigid plastic body, using the same technique Rega use for the Apheta 2 and the Aphelion but at half the cost of the Apheta 2 because of the materials used. With meticulously wound finer than fine copper wire (as seen below), it requires an infinite amount of patience during the process. This task is not for the coffee drinkers.

The Ania uses Rega's 3 point “tried and tested” mounting to remove any tracking errors. Rega have said it will be factory fitted as an option on some of the turntables. The RP6 and RP8 come to mind straight away, but what a great upgrade it would be to the ever popular Planar 3

The Rega Ania will make a great upgrade for the Planar 3. Watch this space for an update on how it sounds. 

You may have noticed the words “Hand Made In” in our blog. This is something we try and get across every once in a while just to remind  people that we still make great products "by hand" in good old Blighty. The beautiful pocket squares used in the photographs with the Rega Ania are sold by Doherty Evans & Stott, a high end bespoke tailors just up the road from us.

These colourful squares were a collaboration between the Manchester School of Art, silk weavers based in Macclesfield and DE&S. The winning designs were chosen by Andy, Matt and Tom at DE&S. So well done to Jazmine Darson, Kauser Farhan and Maya Elbourki. I'm going to be buying one.

So, in a nutshell if you want to add a bit of pizzaz and and splash of musical colour to your vinyl, why not take a look the Rega Ania. And if your suit needs a splash of summer to brighten your day try one of the colourful pocket squares from DE&S. Simple.

The Rega Ania will be on demonstration at our Manchester store and at our up and coming secret Rega product launch event on the 15th July.

Mike, Dave, Simon, Haden and Munir are usually loitering somewhere in the store. So feel free to ask any questions you may have. 

Hope to see you soon.