Award Winning KEF LS50 Wireless Speakers Have Arrived At Audio T Swindon

The KEF LS50 wireless speakers are based on the legendary KEF LS50 passive studio monitor speakers. The difference between them is that that the LS50 wireless are active speakers, which means that you don't need a separate amplifier as they have amplification built in.

Many people think of lots of separate boxes and cables when they think of Hi-Fi systems and many years ago this is exactly what is was - and many people still want that. However, what if we could combine speakers with built-in amplifiers, a music streamer and a pre-amplifier to plug in a turntable or a digital source like a TV or a set-top box? This is what the LS50 Wireless can offer, a complete, neat and most importantly an amazing sounding music system.

Lets have a look at them and see what is supplied in the box.

KEF LS50 Wireless

KEF LS50 Wireless

In the box you'll find a quick start guide, a remote control, 2 power leads, 2 Ethernet leads and a USV cable (USB A to USB B).

The LS50 Wireless loudspeakers are available in three finishes, gloss black with blue drive units, titanium grey with red drive units and gloss white with copper drive units .

The idea to call them wireless doesn't mean that you don't need wires to connect them mind you! The difference is that you don't need as many cables in a system with separate components. I will explain that now.

The speakers are arranged in a master and slave configuration. Your sources connect to the master speaker, which is then connected to the other speaker with a supplied ethernet cable. Connect a power cable to each of the speakers and for greater stability, we hardwired the master speaker to our network via another ethernet cable. There is also a wireless set-up option available.

There are controls on the back of the master speaker for different speaker placements, like close-to a wall or free space positioning, desk or stand support.

Master Speaker

On the back there is one set of analogue inputs, a digital optical input, a USB B input and a subwoofer output. The Network socket allows you to connect the master speaker to your router/switch and the output socket to connect the master speaker to the second speaker.

Slave Speaker

Music can be selected from services like Spotify, Tidal or Qobuz and any music stored on a NAS using the IOS/Android control app . Bluetooth support makes life easy if you want to play music directly from your phone or tablet.

Let's have a listen!

KEF LS50 Wireless on Kef Stands

We started streaming with electronic music from Tipper's Album "Forward Escape" and the LS50 Wireless offer impressive bass performance. This is not a big speaker but you will be surprised what they are sonically capable of. All clicks and pops are so clean and crisp, these speakers really draw you in.

We then listened to London Grammar's Album "If You Wait" and we were impressed by the big sound stage and clarity of the vocals.

Another great Album is Felix Laband's "Dark Days Exit". The track "Red Handed" is a good system tester and we were blown away again. Huge sound from such a small speaker.

As a bonus the LS50 wireless are Roon ready and can be selected from the Roon app as an endpoint (player).

KEF's LS50 wireless are not only for enthusiasts of digital music. The set of analogue inputs allows you to connect a turntable via a separate phono stage (phono amplifier) - a very nice feature if you play your music on vinyl

Come in and have a listen and bring some of your favourite music on a USB stick, hard drive or vinyl. We will provide tea and coffee. Thanks for reading. Stefan and Andy - Audio T Swindon

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

We're At The Front Of The Q To Hear Quad II Forty Mono Block Valve Amplifiers

Over the last couple of weeks we've had the Quad QII-Forty mono block power amps up here in Manchester for our listening pleasure. Designed by Tim de Paravicini from EAR/Yoshino, they have a look which lets you know instantly that they have more than 50 years of heritage behind them, combined with a sound which is as modern as you like.
 

Ok, so a quick potted history of Quad taken from their website. 

The history of Quad is one of technical achievement in the field of sound reproduction. It is a story that began with the Quad 1 amplifier, which brought the benefits of 15 years knowledge and experience in professional audio and industrial products to the task of making the most accurate domestic audio amplifier of its age.

A few years later, in 1953, the product which set the standard for amplifiers was the Quad II Power Amplifier, the time of Queen Elizabeth's Coronation and the year in which Mount Everest was finally conquered. This amplifier pioneered the principle of cathode coupling through the output transformer to reduce harmonic distortion to almost negligible levels. Such was its clear superiority that this model remained in production for 18 years. Three years later, in 1956, Quad demonstrated the first true full-range electrostatic loudspeaker. This remarkable product (known later as the ESL 57) used a virtually mass-less plastic film as a moving diaphragm between two charged plates. Compared with moving coil loudspeakers, the ESL 57 was free of unwanted colourations and distortions. This landmark product remained in production, virtually unchanged, for 28 years.

The Quad II Series circuit design is the work of Tim de Paravicini, a man widely acknowledged to be the UK's foremost valve amp designer. His design is faithful to Peter Walker's philosophy of cathode loading onto the same output stage and fundamental simplicity of design, ensuring the amps deliver the same wealth of detail and exquisite tone as its famous predecessor.

Ok so now the history lesson is out of the way, the first thing we noticed when we switched them on was the obvious bandwidth that the amplifiers have. We have them paired with the Dynaudio Contour 30s and the Quad's managed to unleash a bass extension I wasn't aware they were capable of and at the same time, there was an openness to the mid range and higher frequencies which made me appreciate how directly the speakers are connected to the source.

The second thing you notice is just how much power and drive these things have. "Not usually something that I associate with valve amps, having used transistors nearly all my life, I fall into the trap of believing all valve amps are under powered and warm sounding." The whole Q range from Quad disproves that particular trope with a resounding musicality. 

The speaker binding posts offer  4 and 8 Ohm taps for impedance matching. 

With the whole QII series being developed as an homage to Peter Walker's original QII design, the valve choices have been no different. The QII Classic, which is a faithful reproduction, uses a pair of KT66 valves, this has been kept the same for the QII Classic integrated. With the need for more power as they go up the range, the QII-fortys that we have had the pleasure of listening to, uses a pair of KT88 for the power and the top of the range "Eighty" doubles that to use 4 KT88s in a dual push pull configuration. 

The Quad II Forty mono amplifiers will be at the Manchester store for the next few weeks. Ours are running at the front of the store with a pair of Dynaudio Contour 30's,  and when we feel like it the Contour 60's get a work out too. (see pics below)

Lets hope Quad will forget about them and we can keep them for a few weeks more.

See you at the the store.

Ciao for now.

Mike, Munir, Haden, Dave and Simon - Audio T Manchester

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

Cor! The PMC Integrated Amplifier Is Here and It's Awesome!

We are delighted to announce that our long awaited and much anticipated PMC Cor integrated amplifier has finally arrived!

It is currently warming up (just what we need in this weather!) and running in nicely in our demonstration room.  The unlikely looking system we have set up for this purpose may not be the most harmonious visual match, but sounds absolutely stunning.

Punching way above it's diminutive size, and very modest price, is the Auralic Aries Mini Wireless Streamer, supplying high resolution music from Qobuz Sublime and Tidal Masters.  The USB digital output is linked via a Chord Shawline USB cable to the magnificent Chord Electronics DAVE DAC.

We have heard nothing that comes anywhere close to the sheer musicality of the Chord Electronics DAVE DAC.  Any digital signal input emerges sounding totally engaging and the high resolution music such as those from Qobuz Sublime sound, well, sublime.  Digital doubters really need to hear DAVE...

DAVE is connected to our PMC Cor with a ChordMusic RCA analogue interconnect.  Well, we weren't going to take any chances, and you can't get anything better than ChordMusic to let the music flow, totally unimpeded, hence it's name.

PMC Cor has sounded every bit as good as we remembered, even from new and cold, so can only get better and better as it runs in and components warm up.  It just sounds effortless and capable of dealing with the most demanding music into any speaker at any volume.  Fortunately it doesn't run hot, a definite bonus in the current climate!  

To complete our Cor running in system we have a pair of our most popular speakers, the PMC Twenty5 23.  Compact and slim enough to guarantee domestic harmony they deliver enormous clarity and PMC's Advanced Transmission Line guarantees agile deep bass which belies the unimposing cabinet dimensions.

We are having a ball listening to this system.  Playing Diana Krall's album 'Turn up the Quiet' 192Khz/24bit from Qobuz Sublime, it's as if she is in the room and piano and double bass sound so solid and real. It really is magical!

Just give us a call if you would like to listen to any, or all, of the above.  

See you soon,

Alan, John and Wayne - Audio T Southampton

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

Take The Snap Crackle and Pop Out Of Your Vinyl For Good - Sweet Vinyl SC-1 Part 2

As promised part 2 of the  Sweet Vinyl SC-1 (Sugar Cube) is here. For those of you who haven't read Part 1 the story is as follows. I needed to find a pretty trashed album to really show off the amazing capabilities of the SC-1. I could not find anything awful enough in the shop so I went hunting. I popped into a local charity shop and found what seemed to be a well used record of Bill Haley and the Comets. After a quick listen the album seemed in fairly reasonable condition. So I did this.....

For what I am about to do, I am truly sorry!

I just want to say for the record (no pun intended) I have nothing against Bill or his Comets

I set up a simple system consisting of a Rega Planar 3, Rega MM Fono stage and of course the SC-1. With the help of one of my colleagues we rigged the out put of the SC-1 to a computer and recorded the following. There are three parts to this recording of the aforementioned group playing Cryin' Time. The first section is as you would hear it before the Sugar Cube has worked its magic. There will be a 4 second gap and then you will hear the same segment after it has been repaired. Point of note the filtration level is only on level 5 out 10. The repaired section is followed by the Snap Crackle and POP that has been removed by the SC-1.

This is awesome. You might want to listen a couple times, you might not believe it first time around.

Well what did you think of that? 

I can, hand on heart state. ''There has been no extra filtration program used." I would also like to say that it is far more impressive live!

Well after that I don't think there is much more to add. I promise in the next blog I will focus more on the app and how to set it up.

We look forward to seeing you at Audio T Portsmouth and watching your jaws drop. Please bring in an old favourite album and we will give it a clean on our Project VC-S vinyl cleaner and show you first hand  what the Sweet Vinyl SC-1 noise remover can do.

Thanks for reading. James, Nick, Joe and thanks to Mark who helped with recording the sound clip.

New Acoustic Energy 309 Floor Standing Speakers Punch Well Above Their Weight

Acoustic Energy have been purveyors of top quality loudspeakers for over thirty years now and have got pretty good at the dark art of making pretty boxes that will make your music sound wonderful and lovely! The latest 300 series builds on the fabness that is the 100 series and the floor standing AE309 raises the performance bar for a £1000 speaker by a significant margin.

The Acoustic Energy AE309 build quality is up there with the best. With mass loading in the cabinet making a very heavy and inert cabinet which is just perfect for housing a 28mm aluminium dome tweeter featuring what AE have trademarked Wide Dispersion Technology or WDT for short. The bass/mid driver is a new design too and uses a ceramic aluminium sandwich cone and long throw motor system. The cabinet itself is seamless (so you cannot see the joins) and boasts a very chunky 18mm thick high density MDF material designed to control cabinet vibrations and reduce colouration in the music.

Before listening properly to the AE309's we ran them in for about a hundred hours and yes this really does make a big difference. For the purposes of this blog we listened to them on the very lovely new Arcam CDS50 SACD/CD streamer and SA20 integrated amplifier (see last blog from the Swindon store for more info). The results are quite simply astonishing. Rarely have I heard a system costing this little sound this good! It is a real giant killer!

They sounded sooooooo good that I decided to put them through their paces good and proper! I brought in my CD copy of Natural Selection by Land's End. Now to say this is nicely recorded is a bit of an understatement. It is quite possibly the best recording of a rock band (of the progressive variety) that there has ever been! Plenty of so called top quality recording studios and their engineers and producers should be made to sit down and listen to this .... they would be thoroughly ashamed of their miserable efforts! Why does the word Oasis spring to mind here I wonder(wall)! None of that compression rubbish on this one and it's all the more lovely for it! 

Anyway ...... rant over ...... back to the task in hand. I started track five which is called My Home and was immediately struck by how accurate Acoustic Energy's marketing blurb was! Wide dispersion is bang on the button here. The soundstage created on the AE309's was huge. There was a real and tangible sense of width depth and height with the guitar on left coming from so far out of the box I had to open my eyes to see if he was actually there!! Then a drum rolls across the back all the way to the opposite side and a synthesiser explodes in the background - it is just WOW!! 

In fact whatever this system was given to play always sounded clean open and superbly detailed. You get a proper insight into the mix and it becomes totally absorbing and engaging. They produce a sound that I don't believe I have ever heard from a floorstanding loudspeaker at this price before. I think that they could become a bit of a Hi-Fi classic. Leave them off your shortlist of speakers to demo at your peril 

To sum up .... I have heard systems costing way more than this sound a fraction this good. The Acoustic Energy AE309's are game changers and if you would like to arrange a no obligation demonstration to hear for yourself we would be more than happy for you to bring in some of your own favourite music we can supply the tea coffee and biscuits! 

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

Automated Home Cinema Demonstration Room At Audio T Brighton

It was rather fortuitous recently to be approached by Mark Packham of Avant Home Technology, with a view to collaborating on Home Cinema, Custom Install and Home Automation, as we were looking for such a partner here in Brighton, to cover the City and wider area where we operate.

Indeed the first project Mark tackled was our Home Cinema Room in store, and what a fine job he has made of it!

The aim was to showcase a fully automated room offering outstanding sound quality with a projector and screen as well as 4K TV, and at a reasonable cost. This system can be scaled up or down in cost according to the customer requirements, with automation incorporating many aspects of the home if required, to the extent of lighting, CCTV cameras, electric gates, and much more besides.

To experience this system for yourself and explore the possibilities of Home Cinema, Custom Install and Home Automation please contact us on 01273 609431 or email us at: brighton@audio-t.co.uk where Julian, Paul and John will be pleased to help you.

We are able to visit you at home to discuss projects and in particular Mark Packham is available for these visits.

The Case Study below put together by Mark gives a general overview of the system.

HOME CINEMA & CONTROL SOLUTION

At the beginning of 2018 it was a privilege to work with the very capable team at Audio T in Brighton when we installed a designated home cinema room in an under-utilised area of the show room. Specialists in hi-resolution audio systems Audio T is accessible for anyone that would like to receive a demonstration on the latest quality home audio products on the market.

The 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos home cinema room at the back of the showroom represents a space that most people could find in their own home and is priced at a point which is affordable for those people looking to splash out on a good quality media room or home cinema system.

To push the boundaries a little further we were delighted to be able to offer a single room Control4 solution that helps to make the experience that little bit more magical. By integrating the lighting, the projector screen and the audio-visual devices together, movie night becomes that little more special as a single button press triggers a series of actions.

This room received a complete renovation. New cabling was chased into the walls and routed back to a central location before being plastered.

After over 50 years trading Audio T remain as relevant today as they always have been and for those clients that want to experience the very best in audio systems on the market there are very few alternatives. I believe they are unrivalled in the area for their knowledge, expertise and experience in the hi-resolution Hi-Fi audio domain.

Mark Packham - Avant Home Technology

Take Your Favourite Tunes Wherever You Go This Summer

It’s barbeque season and the sun has decided to grace us with its presence.  We thought you all might be like to see what may be available to enjoy your music in the garden, down at the beach or if you are braving the British countryside whilst camping.

We have chosen two of the best portable solutions on the market for your summer activities. We love the performance of the Dali Katch Bluetooth speaker and the Ruark R1 Mk3 DAB with battery pack.

First we will take you through the Dali Katch and what it offers. We touched on this wireless speaker last summer but thought we would give you more in depth look, seeing as the sun has decided to come out for an extended play this year.  Available in three different colours dark shadow, green moss and cloud grey the Katch is extremely stylish and robust. Sporting Bluetooth 4.0 with Apt-x and NFC technology the Katch is ideal as a “go-anywhere” speaker without compromise. As well as the Bluetooth connectivity this speaker includes a 3.5mm jack input for any devices that may not output Bluetooth.

This portable speaker has dual drivers powered by a 2 x 25watt class-D amplifier. The 2 x 3.5inch aluminium woofers and 2 x 21mm soft dome tweeters deliver a large and powerful performance from the robust aluminium body. You can tailor the sound of the Katch using the 2 audio profiles, clear or warm so if you like your bass the warm function gives great extension and size to this frequency area. Overall the sound from the Dali Katch portable loudspeaker is powerful and full bodied just how we like our wine. Timing and dynamics are definitely superior to other Bluetooth speakers on the market.

In the box are the charging adaptor and a carry case to protect your speaker. The battery at full charge will give you up to 24 hours of play time and there is a USB charge output, making it ideal for a weekend camping trip where you may be “off grid”.

The Ruark R1 Mk3 is a tabletop DAB radio with Bluetooth connectivity. Bought on its own this deluxe Bluetooth radio is a mains powered unit that sounds superb and is available in three colour finishes, satin black, satin white and rich walnut. With 2 alarm clock settings the R1 is ideal as a bed side radio with great snooze functions as well.

Enough of the indoors, let’s get out in the sun, here comes the clever bit. Ruark offer a battery pack for this little beauty making it ideal for carrying into the garden when the sun is belting down. The battery pack is small and light and bolts on to the rear of the R1. Once fitted this can be left in place and switched on and off when needed.  At a full charge this battery pack will deliver 12 hours of listening via Bluetooth from your mobile device or DAB, DAB+ and FM radio on the go. The Ruark battery pack can also be fitted to their more recently released MR1 Bluetooth speakers. This is definitely one of the best sounding radios you can buy. With clear and very precise sound for a single box radio the R1 Mk3 delivers great sound offering great functionality.

So whether it’s enjoying your favourite DAB stations in the garden or keeping up to date with the football scores when you take a trip to the sea side the R1 Mk3 should not be underestimated. The sound is incredible for a single speaker radio in such a tiny box.

Both the Dali Katch and Ruark R1 are available for demonstration in store so why not pop in for a demonstration while the sun is still here!

Thanks to Svago Italian kitchen and bar for letting us use their resturant as a backdrop for our photos!

Dali Hi-Fi products are available in the following stores: Cardiff, Brentwood

Ruark Hi-Fi products are available from all branches of Audio T.

New Arcam HDA Range SA10, SA20 And CDS50 Arrives At Audio T Swindon

The new Arcam HDA range has arrived! HDA stands for High Definition Audio and the range comprises the new SA10 and SA20 integrated amplifiers as well as the new CDS50 CD/ SACD player which also boasts network streaming.

The new Arcam SA10 (replaces the Arcam A19) integrated amplifier and delivers 50 watts per channel. The new Arcam SA20 (replaces the Arcam A29) and delivers 80 watts per channel.

Both integrated amplifiers offer analog and digital inputs. There are 3 sets of analogue inputs, a MM phono input for a turntable and 3 digital inputs (2x coaxial and 1x optical). Pre-out sockets on both amplifiers which will allow and upgrade path should you want to add a power amplifier in the future.

The new Arcam CDS50 player supports playback of both formats, CD and SACD and offers network streaming via the Arcam Music Life app, which we will show you more about later.

On the back of the CDS50 you will find 2 sets of analogue outputs (phono & XLR), 2x digital outputs and even 2 digital inputs (1x coaxial & 1x optical) . The digital inputs allow you to connect a TV or a set-top box to the CD player. You can select the inputs via the supplied remote control.

Analog and digital in and outputs

The Arcam CDS50 offers network streaming. You can se it up wirelessly via the supplied aerial or hard-wired via the ethernet socket on the back. Once connected to your network you use the Arcam Music Life App to control, select and play music. There is a lot of choice of what you can play. Let's have look.

Arcam CDS50 connected to the network

You can access your own CD collection that you ripped (saved) to a network hard drive (NAS), Internet radio (thousands of stations for free) and podcasts. Available music steaming services (provided you are a subscriber) are Tidal, Napster, Deezer, Qobuz and Highresaudio. There's lots of choice and fantastic if you like the highest available audio quality!

Let's set it all up and have a listen!

Arcam HDA set up with HiFi Racks Podium Slimline

The new Arcam HDA range with Spendor A2 speakers

We connected a pair of Spendor A2 speakers and the results were very nice indeed. We listened to Amy MacDonald's Album "This Is The Life" through the Arcam SA10 and CDS50 combination and the sound is very clean and open, her voice and the instruments sound very rich. We changed the amplifier to the SA20 and we can hear the extra control the SA20 offers at low and higher volume levels. There is more separation between the instruments, Amy MacDonald's voice stands out more in the room and the bass sounds tighter.

Please come in for a listen and bring your own CD's, usb stick or hard drive. We will provide tea and coffee. Thanks for reading.

Stefan and Andy - Audio T Swindon

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

Special Speaker Alert! Neat Iota Xplorer Are Here!

The Neat Iota Xplorer - hand crafted by the boffins at County Durham's finest loudspeaker manufacturer - is the new big brother to the smaller Iota Alpha's, which has been one of our most popular little speakers of recent times. 

Anyone who has heard or indeed owned a pair of the smaller Iota Alpha and hankered after that next step up will adore these. Bigger than the Alpha's and with the same overall shape as them but still not a big loudspeaker by any stretch of the imagination. The Neat Xplorer very cleverly conjures up oodles of extra bass extension (not boom) by using the iso-baric double bass driver trick which fools the drive unit on the outside into thinking that it is in a cabinet that is way bigger than it actually is! Genius or what!! This system is not easy to get right but Neat have well and truly nailed it with this design. It sounds for all the world like they have their own built in subwoofer!

Another big stroke of speaker boffin design genius puts Neat's very own P1-R3 170mm bass/mid range drive unit and the rather grandly named Air Motion Transformer (AMT) together. and are mounted side by side in their own rear ported enclosure separate from the bass units. Designed and built this way to give a cleaner sound with a wider dispersion of the stereo image.

The enclosures have a tuned rear port, we have found they work equally as well placed close to the  the rear wall or in free space . They are isolated from the floor by some rather smart and very shiny coned spikes. This also keeps the isobaric bass units on the bottom the ideal distance off the floor!

We gave the speakers an initial listen fresh out of the box with results that were OK but not great, so we left them on for two weeks running eight hours a day, giving them the best part of 80 hours of quality running time playing a combination of Kraftwerk's Tour De France  and Deadmau5's Random Album Title! Going back to them again after all this time they sound like a totally different pair of loudspeakers!

My initial thought was "Wow" .... bass was now deep and tight just when it needed to be. Top end now sweet and nicely extended. Mid range now nicely open lending voices that type of expressive detail that makes you hang on every word.

The one thing that makes the most difference to the overall presentation of the sound though is how these speakers manage to throw an image way outside of the boxes. It sounds like the walls of the room disappear and you are left with the image of the music just hovering in the air   in front of you . a lovely experience and a rare one too! Not many speakers of any size or price can quite manage this!

Amongst lots of things I played one of my favourite demo tracks which is Get Miles by Gomez from the Bring It On album. This piece has cavernous deep bass which was very deftly handled by the isobaric bass system but the thing that struck me the most was how easy it was to hear right into the mix. The three vocal parts spread across the soundstage. Drums far left, guitar far right. I was totally sucked in to the music! But then I suppose that is exactly what a good loudspeaker should be doing!

Oh and the electronics being used to make all these lovely noises......... the new Arcam CDS50 CD player and SA20 amplifier from the new Arcam HDA range, with my favourite Rega Couple interconnect and Chord Company Odyssey speaker cable ...... but then that's a blog for next time!

Why not come in and have a listen and we'll even make you a cup of Audio T.

Jon, Farid & Andy, - Audio T Cheltenham

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

Arcam FMJ AV 860 and FMJ P429 Reference Home Cinema Comes To Enfield

Audio T Enfield we love music and film. Sometimes the challenge is finding a system that is good with both. Let's face it, if you are a movies and music fan you probably wouldn't say no to a system that handles both passions with equally superb sound quality. 

Enthusiasts and audiophiles will know that separate components almost always sound better than their all in one counterparts. Well, we think we have a system that does the job admirably.

Introducing the Arcam FMJ AV 860 Processor and Arcam P429 Power amplifier combo. 

Arcam AV860 and 2 x Arcam P429 Power Amps

The Arcam 860 is a reference class home cinema pre-amplifier that handles both music and films with aplomb. As it has no power amps on board, the signal path is cleaner with no interference and this adds greater dynamics and separation. The Arcam P429 4 Channel Power amplifiers take the signal from the AV 860 processor and then on to the speakers. 

Pre Amp outputs supply audio to the Power Amps.

The 860 Processor features balanced outputs which provide a clean signal path. A custom power supply was designed for the AV 860 for even better sound quality. It has 7 4K compliant HDMI inputs and 3 HDMI outputs for zone 1 and zone 2. 

Send 4K Goodness to different rooms.

Each P429 Power amp has 4 Class G amplifiers on board and we have two of these to power our Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 Home Cinema. So a total of 8 channels of power are available.

Back connections and Front of the Arcam P429

As our REL S5 subwoofer is already powered, so we have a spare amplifier channel unused. However this does not mean that we cannot use it!

You see, the beauty of the Arcam P429 amplifiers is that it is highly configurable and whilst it comes out of the box as a 4 Channel amp, we can bridge either of the two amplifier modules together and use it as a 4, 3 or 2 channel amplfiier as well. 

You can see in the image above that Channel 3/4 in the Power can be configured individually.

ST = Stereo / DM = Dual Mono / BR = Bridge

Home Cinema fans will know that the single most important speaker in a cinema system is the centre channel so as we have a spare we bridged 2 amplifier channels on one of the P429 amps to supply our PMC Twenty 25C centre channel with the required power it deserves. 

Our resident PMC Twenty5 Speaker package has never had it so good!

The 860 features world class room correction is also provided by DIRAC to add the icing to an already fantastic cake....

When it comes to the 860 Processor, Arcam takes things very seriously.....

So if you fancy taking your music and movie enjoyment to the next level, please call us to arrange a time to come and experience a truly wonderful home cinema and stereo system.

John, Keith, Mahmood - Audio T Enfield

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

New Marantz TT15S1 Turntable Has The Wow Factor!

We have a new turntable to play with here in Cardiff and it is a stunner! So with the continuing popularity of vinyl and record players at the moment we thought we would take a more in depth look at the Marantz TT15S1.

The first point of discussion on the TT15S1 has got to be how it looks. This is one seriously good looking turntable. The fact that it looks so modern is testament to the continuing popularity of the format; it’s not just about nostalgia. The plinth is made from one piece of frosted acrylic for a very original finish. This sits on top of three well constructed chunky aluminium feet to dampen those pesky vibrations and the plinth has cut outs for the arm and motor.

The turntable does require a little setting up out of the box but nothing too complicated. The beautifully made tonearm is lowered into place and then fastened with a single screw. Speaking of the tonearm, this turntable is packaged with the Clearaudio Virtuoso wood moving magnet cartridge, which tracks excellently and is perfectly matched to the turntable. Before the setup is completed with a hefty platter which sits on a suspended spindle.

Now we move to the final steps. The motor pulley needs to be fitted to the spindle and secured using the three screws and tiny screw driver provided. At this point it is essential the pulley is fixed at the correct height so that the drive belt can sit correctly around the platter. Now the separated motor needs to be placed where the turntable will sit and the plinth with the now fitted tonearm and platter can be slowly lowered over the motor housing.

The cartridge will need to be fitted to the tonearm and aligned. Again making your life easier, the instructions are easy to follow and tools for this also supplied. Lastly the felt mat and simple record clamp are added. The setup is completed with balancing the tonearm and adjusting to add the correct tracking force for the Clearaudio Virtuoso wood cartridge. Do not be put off by the assembling of this record player as it is easier than it sounds and all tools required are supplied.

We can now get playing our favourite records! The first that came to mind was Michael Jacksons Thriller album and the first track on side 1, 'Wannabe Startin’ Somethin’. After a quick read of a review of this turntable I thought this song would really bring out the best bits of why this is an excellent piece of kit. It is undoubtedly accurate, fast with buckets of detail and clarity and presented the Quincy Jones production superbly. Continuing our initial listen, we now moved to the album SBTRKT by SBTRKT and the Marantz TT15S1 again delivers a fast paced and dynamic presentation particularly with the song SBTRKT – Hold On (featuring Sampha). Of particular note was how clean everything sounds, this is testament to the isolation that has been attained here and makes for a very quiet turntable.

This turntable is everything you could expect at the price and more. It is now on demonstration in at Audio T Cardiff so do feel free to pop in or call to arrange demo.

Marantz Hi-Fi Products are available in the following stores: Brentwood, Brighton, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Enfield, Manchester, Oxford, Portsmouth,  Preston, Southampton, Swansea, Swindon.

An Amazing Brighton Customer Hi-Fi Journey With Linn And Naim

For this months blog we have chosen to highlight a long standing customer who epitomises the old adage of buying well and upgrading over time.

With an original purchase in the 1980’s of a Linn Sondek LP12 turntable and Naim amplifier combination, this customer improved and expanded his system over many years with us, and has taken advantage of rejuvenating original equipment with servicing, as Naim recommend for their electronics at 8 to 10 year intervals.

Waiting for the ND555 & PS555 DR that are due in July.

Building to a classic system with Linn LP12, Naim CDSII, NAC52 pre amp and Naim SBL loudspeakers driven actively with a four pack of NAP135 power amps this was a formidable combination, providing many years of superb performance and great enjoyment.

In 2007 we returned his Naim equipment for servicing, and his Linn LP12 was left with us to service and add an internal Naim Prefix phono stage. He added a Naim Hi-Line interconnect for the CDS2 and upgraded his equipment racks to Quadraspire Q4.

Once again with the LP12’s modular design, meant in 2009 he was able to upgrade to the Linn Keel, introduced in 2006. A machined one piece aluminium sub chassis and arm board for his Naim Aro tonearm. A rigid support for the bearing and arm that reduces unwanted vibrations and improves mechanical integrity, meaning less distortion and more music.

Moving on to April 2018 and he embarked on bringing the system up to date. We returned the amplification to Naim for servicing once more. This time he is trading in the Naim CDSII and XPS combo for the new top of the range Naim ND555 network player with Naim 555DR power supply, and a Naim Core CD ripping music server. The Quadraspire racks have been changed for a combination of Naim Fraim and Fraimlite stands, and all of the interconnects to Naim Super Lumina and mains leads to Naim Powerlines. This is another big commitment towards continued and improved musical enjoyment.

It was also time to look at what Linn had been up to since his last visit with the turntable. First produced in 1973, Linn have strived to keep the LP12 at the forefront of many a Hi-Fi system. Always looking to advance performance, in 2009 they introduced the Linn Radikal and Urika. This has replaced the customers Naim Armageddon turntable power supply with the Radikal, a power supply and DC motor, significantly improving performance, along with the Urika inbuilt phono stage replacing the Naim Prefix. This is connected to his pre amp using a Naim Super Lumina 5 pin Din interconnect along with a new cartridge to replace his dearly loved Linn Troika. 

The Linn Kandid cartridge introduced in 2013 is the best cartridge Linn have ever made and is designed to extract as much musical information from your records as possible. All those still holding on to old or well loved cartridges such as the Troika should really hear how things have come on in the world of cartridge development.

And to add a little spice to the occasion, the Tiger-Paw Tranquillity has been included as a final touch to the proceedings. This clever addition is a two piece magnetic combination fitted to the bearing housing and opposing section to the underside of the inner platter, reducing the force between bearing and thrust plate. Pop in and borrow one for the weekend to see how you like it.

What could be next you may ask? Well, having addressed obtaining the best input to the system, the hierarchy moves to the pre-amplifier. The next upgrade may very well be from the NAC52 pre- amp and Supercap to the legendary Naim NAC552 and 552PS and adding a Supercap DR  to power the active crossover and get another leap in performance. There is generally more to be had!

Of course this is a system of real magnitude, but if you have a Linn LP12 turntable or a Naim Amplifier of any vintage, yours can be given a new lease of life by being serviced and upgraded as appropriate.

So, purchase high quality components and they can remain at the heart of a marvellous  Hi-Fi system for many years, giving exceptional value for your original investment. When you next want to upgrade your Hi-Fi system, buy the best you can!

Our sincere thanks and very best wishes go to this special customer for his tremendous loyalty over many years. We wish you many more years of musical joy!

A comment from the customer himself...

I’d just like to add that none of this would have have happened without the incredible support of Julian, John and Paul at Audio-T in Brighton. The depth of knowledge that they have accumulated between them over the years is amazing and they have been able to advise wisely every step of the way.

Buying a music system is a very personal thing and in many ways it grows and adapts with you over your life. We all know where we were when certain tunes are played, but imagine hearing that tune again many years later but this time Kate Bush is in your room singing it! It’s like a time machine.

 As they say a 1000 mile journey begins with a single step!

Contact Julian, Paul and John at Audio T Brighton T: 01273 609431 E: brighton@audio-t.co.uk

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

Linn Hi-Fi products are available at the following branches of Audio T:
Brighton, Bristol, Manchester

An Aura of Sophistication - We Take A Closer Look At The Rega Aura MC Phono Stage

The new Rega Aura is the culmination of many years of research by Rega. As a reference MC phono stage, Rega have created a no compromise phono pre-amplifier that will deliver all the subtle nuances extracted by your prized moving coil cartridge.

This truly is a heavy weight in every sense, weighing in at 14kg, it's a solid unit that exudes quality with its completely re-designed custom case. The slick front panel allows you to easily switch capacitance and load settings with minimal effort to ensure your MC Cartridge and the Rega Aura match perfectly. On the rear you get balanced outputs as well as RCA.

In order put it through its paces. we put together a great sounding system consisting of Rega's fantastic RP10 turntable, fitted with their top of the line cartridge the Aphelion, hooked up to a Rega Osiris amplifier and Bowers and Wilkins 702 speakers. To make things more interesting and to give a comparison we first listened through Rega's Aria Phono stage.

Pumping up the volume on Massive Attack's Mezzanine album everything sounded great through the Aria but then switching to the Aura definitely took things to the next level. The bass we previously thought moved along very nicely suddenly became much more focused and fluid. The separation and detail improved exponentially, more than justifying the extra cost of the Aura! We carried on listening with some Pink Floyd and we instantly became Comfortably Numb whilst thinking the Aura was right on the Money.

At £4000 it isn't cheap, but if you are lucky enough to own a cartridge from say £1000 upwards then the Rega Aura should definitely be on your short list.

Come and have a listen at Audio T Bristol

Rega Hi-Fi products are available from all branches of Audio T.

New Monitor Audio Studio Speakers Have Arrived

We've just taken delivery of the new Monitor Audio Studio speakers. These standmount speakers will make a stunning addition to any room. Featuring technologies derived from their range-topping Platinum II series, they offer a truly high-end listening experience.

Hand-crafted and available in a sleek satin black, white or grey finish, these are an elegant pair of speakers. An optional black or white dedicated floor stand is also available.

The new Monitor Audio Studio is billed as a high-end loudspeaker with a grilleless design with two metallic silver RDT II speaker cones that the company say, deliver an audiophile grade performance. The dual 4” drivers are those used in the flagship Platinum PL500 II speaker and they have been modified to produce bass, as well as mid-range detail. An MPD (Micro Pleated Diaphragm) tweeter has been designed to provide outstanding articulation due to the low mass diaphragm. MPD tweeters work like a super fast accordion by rapidly squeezing the pleats to produce a smooth, wide, naturally fast response.

Having heard the latest speaker from Monitor Audio at the Bristol Show (which we organise) we were keen to hear them in store. And we are pleased to report that these elegant and beautifully made loudspeakers, sound as good here as they did at the Show.

With a sensitivity of 86db and 4 Ohm nominal impedance, the Monitor Audio Studio are perhaps not the easiest of speakers to drive. Having said that, we got them to really boogie using the Naim Atom.

The sound is clean and open, with a lifelike treble and a fast, articulate, powerful bass and sound at their best at mid to higher volumes.

If you are looking for a high quality, revealing stand mounted loudspeaker, these really should be on your shortlist.

Come and have a listen! Jon, Chris and Dom - Audio T Oxford

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

Dynaudio Music: Is Music To Our Ears.

Introducing the new Music wireless speaker and multi-room music system from our Danish cousins Dynaudio. This new range of wireless Hi-Fi speakers offers a fresh design and style which can be used in any room of the house including the garden.

The new range consists of 4 speakers. Intuitively named  the 1, 3, 5 and 7. 

Dynaudio has tried a new approach to the streaming market, introducing their new algorithm which adapts to the music you listen to, with intelligent suggestions and playlists so you only have to press play and listen to hear your favourite music. 

From installation of the app on Apple and Android, Dynaudio have a brilliant genre building process which is rather charming. First you select your favourite artist, which then proceeds to offer you similar artists. Quite therapeutic for discovering how many artists you actually like!

Just press play and let SkyNet take over. We have watched enough Sci-Fi to recognise when AI is just too intelligent. After 30 minutes of listening, the Dynaudio Music had become self aware and by then it was too late, John Connor had already been identified....

Pop culture aside, getting down to what the Dyanudio Music actually does is pretty impressive.
Learning your musical tastes and playing automatically generated playlists is very clever.

The Dynaudio Music 7 is the largest of the quartet and this is reflected in the sound quality, the extra room for the bass units and the positioning of the tweeters at far outer edges of the chassis helps the sound stage massively. Our shop floor isn't small yet the 7 fills that space easily. 
Worth £875? Absolutely, yes. 

The Music 5 is the second largest of the bunch and is equally adept at filling our shop floor with sound, albeit with a smaller sound stage but exciting nonetheless.

We then have the Dynaudio Music 3 in a red finish which also has a built in battery, making it portable enough to stick in a corner of a snug.

And the diminutive Music 1 which also has a battery, is great around the house and the caravan or when you're out and about.  

The Music 5 seen above, has a bass reflex port to help improve and control bass.

Chromey!! I wouldn't lie there, those ports can shift some air!

The Dynaudio Music speakers come in 4 distinct colours. Light Grey, Dark Grey, Red and Blue.

The,  Music 7 has a larger bass port which moves much more air in accordance with the size of the unit. No Chromey, I haven't seen the rest of your body, and I did warn you!

There you have it, the new Music from Dynaudio. They are all on demonstration at Audio T Manchester. 

Come along a take a look and listen at Audio T Manchester.

Thanks for stopping by.

Munir, Dave, Mike ,Simon and Haden. 

Dynaudio Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Brighton, Bristol, Cheltenham, Manchester, Online, Oxford, Portsmouth, Reading, Southampton, 
Swindon

Audio T Swansea Staff Systems - Bluesound Powernode 2 & Bowers & Wilkins 686

Something of a personal blog today. I'm going talk about the Bluesound Powernode 2 and B&W 686 system I use in my kitchen diner. Most of the cooking in our home is done by me and I have to share a lounge with my significant other and the home cinema system. Therefore, most of my home music listening is done whilst I'm slaving away in the galley, so it makes sense to have something enjoyable to use which lets me whistle while I work. I also work in the toy shop, so, ya know...

Bluesound Powernode 2 and B&W 686 System

I originally used a Sonos Connect (£349) and an old Rega Brio amplifier to drive my Bowers & Wilkins 686S2s (£349) - which sounded great – and lived happily on top of the fridge freezer. Then the packed up; boo!

We bought a shiny new fridge freezer which turned out to be somewhat taller than the old one. Sadly for my diminutive darling honeybun, we discovered she could no longer reach the amplifier controls – cue Grumpyface Emoji.

Something had to be done...

We've had the Bluesound brand for a little while now in a number of Audio T's, but we hadn't evaluated it here in Swansea, that's until young Kris from Anatech Distribution came down with a few toys for us to play with just before Christmas.

Appraised in our reference system, we immediately thought that the Bluesound Node 2 streamer (£499) was a winner and sonically superior to the Sonos Connect, even when by-passing the on-board DAC and using our favourite* one by Chord Electronics. With 16-bit (CD quality) files the Node 2 was quite a lot better, much less grain, a far more open and solid sound. Switching to 24-bit and MQA (Meridian Quality Assured) files via Tidal Masters and it ate the Connect for breakfast.

Historically a strong product for us has been the Sonos Connect Amp (£499). Essentially a Connect with on-board amplification, we've used it in a number of multi-room installations to good effect, the only caveat being it's inability to drive large rooms, or zones with outdoor speakers, (it just hasn't got the horsepower) so I was interested to see how the Bluesound Powernode 2 (£799) would perform.

We connected it up to a pair of B&W 684S2s (compact floorstanding speakers at £799) and let her rip. Wow! You can tell NAD designed the amplifier section – solid, clean, musical, exciting, tons of power and a lovely sense of scale, way more grip than the Sonos Connect Amp and loads more meat on the bone. We like it, we like it very much indeed.

The control interface is similar to Sonos is logical and is easy to use. Volume, Pause Play and Track Forward Back are placed on the top of the unit for convenience, plus analogue and digital inputs appear on the rear, which is very handy for those wishing to squirt the audio from a telly into it. Also you can if you want add a subwoofer. Fortunately m'darlinghoneybun doesn't read Hi-Fi blogs, so I can confirm that I'm planning to sneak a wireless-equipped REL T5i into the system soon. (There's space behind the cat basket, she'll never know...)

Six months later, Adrian's fridge breaks down...

"...so I don't have to stretch up to turn the amp on any more?"

"No dear."

Cue Smileyface Emoji.

Bluesound Hi-Fi products are available from the following branches of Audio T:
Manchester, Online, Portsmouth, Swansea, Swindon

The New Rega Planar 1 Plus Offers A Better And Tidier Entry Level Record Player

One could be forgiven in asking the question; does the market really need another budget turntable, indeed, another Rega? Well, as it happens absolutely!

With the amazing resurgence in all things vinyl, we are being continually asked for an affordable entry level record player. In particular for those who have a ‘now defunct’ turntable residing in the loft, or an antiquated that doesn't have a phono stage, we often get asked for a record deck that can be used with an all-in-one system or an amplified speaker.

The obvious answer would normally be the Rega Planar 1 with a Rega Mini Fono A2D phono stage - £249 + £90 plus an additional interconnect; a formidable combination indeed. However, in typical Rega style, they have both managed to surpass its performance and dispense with the separate phono stage which costs less.

Enter the new Rega Planar 1 Plus £329

The Planar 1 Plus is the exact same turntable as the venerable Planar 1 but with a higher quality phono stage built directly into the deck, which allows you to connect the deck to any line input (aux on many products) with the supplied phono to phono or phono to 3.5mm lead (upgrades are available).

Removing both the USB interface and the 1.5m armlead (replaced with a short connection to the phono amp) and using the funds to further refine the circuit, Rega has managed to extract even more performance from the Planar 1 design and make for an altogether cosmetically tidier solution and for less money to boot, nice one Rega!

The Rega Planar 1 Plus is available for demonstration at Audio T Reading and all other Audio T stores.

The All New Arcam HDA SA10 Integrated Amplifier Is Now Available At Audio T Preston

Just arrived here in Preston is the new Arcam SA10 integrated amplifier. This is the latest offering of an entry level amplifier from Arcam and replaces the very capable and successful A19.

As we unboxed the Arcam SA10 the first thing we noticed was a new look to the front facia giving it a fresh modern appearance. Also the addition of a new display panel that is larger and brighter than the earlier A19.

The SA10 has 5 analogue inputs in total, one of which is a moving magnet phono input and on the front you can find a 3.5mm stereo jack input. If that wasn't enough Arcam have also added three digital inputs, two coaxial and one optical, making it more versatile than it's predecessor.

At the rear of the amplifier new gold plated speaker terminals have been added along with a network input and an RS232 connection. 

The network input can be used for controling the amp via the Arcam Music Life app, which can be downloaded free of charge on any Apple or Andriod smart device, and the RS232 allows for remote connection to a third party home automation system or computer.

For the late night listener a 3.5m headphone socket can be found on the front facia.

The IR remote control supplied by Arcam is ready to use on many Arcam products but it is also a learning remote and can be programmed to control other products for your convenience

We set the SA10 up and partnered it up with the Rega Planar 3 inc Elys 2 cartridge along with the KEF R100 speakers and it didn't disappoint. The 50w of power was driving the speakers with ease, giving a presentation that was both engaging and revealing.

Priced at £699 we feel that this amplifier has a lot to offer and while there may be cheaper models available, however the SA10 is a great starting point for any music lover.

Why not come along and have a listen at Audio T Preston 

We look forward to seeing you. Ian, Gavin & Andy.

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

Take The Snap Crackle And Pop Out Of Your Vinyl For Good (Part 1)

Have you got beloved vinyl albums that are past their best, impossible to replace and hard to listen to because of snap crackle and pop? If so, then the Sugar Cube (SC-1) from Sweet Vinyl is something you really have to listen to. Seriously, you really really do. IT WORKS!

At Portsmouth we have recently taken delivery of the Sugar Cube SC-1 by Sweet Vinyl. In short it makes the unlistenable, listenable. It sounds too good to be true doesn't it. As an unremitting lover of all things vinyl and analogue I completely dismissed the idea of putting a digital box anywhere near my turntable. To be honest I dismissed it somewhat contemptuously and was adamant it was an utterly terrible idea. I am now eating very large helpings of humble pie. I do not mind admitting, I was quite wrong.

I know what you are thinking, what if my vinyl is in mint condition, does it kill what was a perfectly good sound? I thought that too. If we accept the fact that it does what it says on the tin and takes pops and clicks out of vinyl, what else is it doing? Well you would be surprised. The SC-1 has 10 levels of filtration and a bypass mode. What I have found in my two or so weeks of playing with it, using vinyl of many varying qualities and ages, is that the bypass mode really does work. However I did discover that using a very low level of filtration on what I classed as a pretty minty album, Eddie Reader, Songs of Robert Burns, it took out some noise I didn't even realise was there and it sounded better than bypass mode. Now, with some classical albums from the late 50s early 60s that were quite unpleasant to play, I found that the more filtration I added the more the sound became rounded but that was at the top end of the filtration level. To be expected I think, mainly due to the age of the recording which even when new, I doubt it sounded perfect. So you might find there is a bit of a pay off in some cases. However, it never sounded dull or lifeless, just a little smoother.

One of my favourite albums of all time Extravaganza by Stackridge has been on my deck loads over the past two weeks. It's hard to find and even harder to find one that hasn't been trashed. For me that one album alone is worth it. This brings me to one of the other functions the SC-1 has. The click button. It allows you to hear exclusively what it is removing, so you only hear pops and crackles. That is a real eye opener, or should I say ear?

System used Rega Planar 6, Rega Aria, Rega Elicit. Sc-1 second shelf. We played with various speakers.

For the sake of science I also committed a heinous crime. I bought a battered looking album by Bill Haley and the Comets from a charity shop. I hurled it on the floor and proceeded to dance on it. I then put it on our work bench and savagely scraped in circles, that seemed to do the job. To look at it you would throw it in the bin. IT PLAYS. Not all tracks to be fair but, but those that do... WOW!

It's looks worse in the flesh

The SC-1 does not come with a standard remote but as you may have spotted it does have an ethernet port. Yes. there is a wireless setup and control app. I know it does not sound very analoguey but if you want to use it, it is really easy to set up and and simple to use. I will talk more about that in the next blog as well as using the set 7'' set up disc.

I purposely left the price bit until the end to make sure you kept reading. It's £1550. If you think about it, it's not unreasonable as it means there is, (within reason), nothing you can't now play. Old, new or worn albums become enhanced. Let's say you had £1550 to put towards your system nothing will do what the SC-1 can. You could get a great cartridge, for your vinyl and it will still snap crackle and pop like a bowl of rice krispies. You could make some massive improvements to your cables and again your vinyl will still be crackle..... you get the idea. The SC-1 will be on our website shortly and another blog will be here next month.

We look forward you seeing you at Audio T Portsmouth soon. Until then happy listening.

James, Joe and Nick.

ROON Nucleus Plus Music Controller And Server

In our latest blog, we'd like to tell you more about the new Roon Nucleus Plus music server - it's like the brain of your digital music library, it knows where your digital music is stored on your home network and manages it for you.

Roon is software solution that organises and provides a control system to allow you to stream and play your music on any compatible Hi-Fi connected to you home network. It also provides a very intuitive and feature rich interface, so that you explore your music collection and discover even more music! In essence, Roon provides a single universal controller and user experience for all your music replay devices! 

There are two Roon Nucleus products, Roon Nucleus and Roon Nucleus Plus. Nucleus Plus extends the DSP capabilities in terms of up sampling, room correction and more. This is the one that we want to show you.

So what is Roon Nucleus?
Roon is the music management software and Nucleus is the optimised hardware that it runs on. I will explain what it means. I use Roon on my home computer (it also works with Mac's) and it's fantastic. The Roon software has to be downloaded and installed and the computer must be switched on in order to use Roon. It requires the end user to have basic understanding of computers and networks. With Roon Nucleus you get a music server and the software in a single package that doesn't require computer knowledge or networking skills and all you need is a Roon account and a Roon subscription.

What's in the box ?
Nucleus or Nucleus Plus, 4 screws for mounting an optional internal HDD or SSD, a quick start guide and the power supply.

Let's have a look at the compact Nucleus Plus device:

Nucleus Plus Front View

Nucleus Plus Rear View

It features 2x USB 3 sockets for either a DAC and/or an external USB-powered hard drive an HDMI socket for stereo or multi-channel output and an ethernet socket to connect to your network via ethernet cable to your router.

The Roon Nucleus Plus can be used as a standalone server to serve and control music network players (more brands are being added all of the time) or it can be connected to a USB DAC and an external hard drive (for music storage) with that used as music streamer. See below.

From the right: Roon Nucleus Plus Server - 500GB WD USB Drive - Chord Qutest USB DAC

Switch on Nucleus once all cables are connected and start your Roon control app on a Mac, Windows PC, or the Roon control app for iPad, iPhone or Android devices.

At the heart of every Roon Nucleus system is a Roon Core. This is the brain, it manages your music collection, streams to your audio devices and stores the Roon database of your music. My PC at home is my Roon Core, here in the shop it is the Roon Nucleus Plus server.

The first step is to tell Nucleus where the music library is, this is either music on a NAS drive, USB drive or/and your Tidal music subscription.

We then enabled all Roon-ready audio devices in our shop for music playback, including Apple AirPlay compatible devices, Sonos, KEF, Naim Audio, Bluesound, and there are many more (have a look on the Roon website).

Now we are ready to listen to some music!

It is incredibly fast, the way it handles our large music library. Skip to the next song or change to another song from another album while listening. There are no delays, not even when we fast forward or rewind!

Now we transfer the music playing in our main room to one of the Roon-ready devices in the shop front and again - It transfers the music seamlessly to another player. (You rename all of the your zones within the app).

The same when we group music players to the main listening room (multi-room). These are call end points, so you can even listen to music from your collection through headphone on an Ipad if you want to.

Roon provides you with a lot of information about the music you listen to such as view the artwork, album name, sampling rate, bit depth, the lyrics (if available) and so much more. You can tag categories, bookmark pages, browse by genre, sub genre etc etc. 

Another great feature about Roon is the data and information it provides about the artists. In some way it's a bit like Wikipedia. Click on the name of an artist you are interested in and you can read all about it with links to gigs, related artists, external websites and more. Roon will take you deep into the music and artists you love.

The Roon Nucleus Plus offers a simple and intuitive way to control and discover your digital music collection and the convenience of where you play it in your home. It is very fast and and works with a lot of manufacturers Hi-Fi systems.

We are extremely impressed with its capability and would be please to show you how it works and answer any questions you may have.

Stefan & Andy - Audio T Swindon