Symbiosis In Systems: Taking a look at the Monitor Audio Silver 100 7G with Rega Saturn MK3 & Rega Elicit MK5

/ Audio T Swanseaa/

Just like those Croft Original Sherry adverts from the 70s and 80s said, “One instinctively knows when something is right”… And this is no more true in Hi-Fi as it is your choice of tipple.

It is a perennial pleasure to play around with equipment here at Audio T. Evaluating products remains one of our most important duties and we do like to keep busy. Occasionally, a shiver of excitement will be experienced during this experimentation, a moment of grace when the stars align to elevate a system from being merely(!) very enjoyable into something Other.

Long-distance runners will describe the sensation of being in 'the Zone', simply gliding over the tarmac, eating up mile after mile, apparently far too easily. Cyclists like myself have their own “Zone”. We describe a 'floating day', when the gear being turned suddenly becomes light, the legs spin of their own accord and the speed carried is far too high for the perceived effort. Time becomes irrelevant because all you want to do is stay in the joy that is the “Zone” and I think I've found the audio analogue…

Time to Play

Whilst trying out a few other pieces of equipment after a customer demo, I put our handsome, black lacquered Monitor Audio Silver 100 7G speakers on our favourite SolidSteel SS-6B stands. They're a fairly large cabinet for a standmount speaker according to modern tastes, but this does give them an advantage – they reproduce lower notes well, almost as low as a compact floor stand design would. They have a more rigid construction than a floorstander however, the smaller cabinet panels making for a better controlled, less resonant structure, leading to a crisper, more accurate sound. They could be considered a little dry by some, I'd rather go with 'clear' and 'neutral'.

Regulars here in Swansea will have heard me utter the phrase "Big wooden box on a metal stick" more than once.

I'm asked quite regularly why such designs exist, usually by the partner of the person shopping (Eeeek!) My answer is simple; “It's because they sound really good!”

What’s behind the Speakers?

The new Rega Saturn Mk3 CD player/DAC was already in-situ, hooked up to its mate, the Rega Elicit Mk 5 amplifier with, one of my personal favourites, Black Rhodium's phono cable, the Calypso RCA. The same manufacturer's Twirl speaker cable ran from amp to speakers. My adjectives here 'effervescent' and 'fine textured'.

The Rega Saturn Mk 3 needs no introduction. Reviewed in glowing terms elsewhere in our Audio T blogs and a particular favourite here in Swansea, it's a delight to play music with. 'Velvetty' and 'mellifluous' is how I would describe it.

The Rega Elicit Mk5

It was a long time coming, what with one thing and another and we're really pleased how it turned out. 'Warm-hearted', 'generous', 'weighty', 'full-bodied' is how it's usually described and I'm not going to argue with that here. I'd add effortless and honest, with maybe a touch of sweetness, but who doesn't need a little sugar in their lives nowadays?

A Valpolicella "Ripasso" of the aural world...

I spun up Keb Mo's - "She Just Wants To Dance" from his eponymous album. His guitar fairly leapt out from between the speakers, joyous and bouncy, his lacquered voice rising over the instruments, way above the tweeters to Keb's height of about six feet in convincing fashion. Lovely stuff. This combination does the Hi-Fi thing very well indeed.

Similarly joyous-sounding was AC/DC's "Long Way to the Top" from the album ‘High Voltage’. When reproduced well (as it is here), it's a thrilling track that gets hold of you, makes you check over your shoulder in case of witnesses, wrinkle up your face, play air guitar and remember what it's like to feel twelve again à la Jack Black in his movie "School of Rock".

Finally, the swirling loops of Donna Summer - "I Feel Love", absolutely makes you want to fill the (living room) dance floor and shake your booty down, the only worry to cross your mind being "Did I choose the 12" version? I really hope I did."

What am I trying to say?

The music is the message here; this system will show you into the heart of the recording very well, revealing layers and textures just as one would expect, but it sounds just so much damn fun that you don't really care about all that, because it sounds as if your chosen musicians are having the time of their lives playing just for you.

It's special.

The new Rega Saturn Mk3 CD Player/DAC and Elicit Mk5 are currently on demonstration at Audio T Swansea.

Come along and take some of your CD’s for a spin.

Nic Adrian & Andy will be on hand to help.

Thanks for reading.

Adrian – Audio T Swansea

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

 

Isolation… It’s not all bad! A look at IsoAcoustics Orea Isolation Pucks

/ Audio T Cheltenham/

Are you feeling isolated? Well if you are not, we think that you jolly well should be! Isolation is not just a wonderful track on the second and final Joy Division album “Closer”, nor is it just what you should be doing for five days after catching Covid. It is a subject that every audiophile should be well acquainted with. Isolation issues can make or break the performance of pretty much any item of hi-fi and when properly addressed will improve the sound of your system to the extent that you can forget about the equipment and get closer to the music (see what I did there?).

IsoAcoustic OREA’s

OUR STORE mascot, THE BLUE MEANIE WITH THE IsoAcoustics Orea in three of the four available sizes.

A Sneaky Peek

The subject of this months blog is the OREA isolation pucks from the Canadian company IsoAcoustics. I first came across the IsoAcoustics products at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show in 2018 while I was working in the sales room on the third floor. By midday on the first day I was beginning to get rather inquisitive as to why so many of the show visitors were coming in to our room eager to throw money at us for many and varied products from the IsoAcoustics range. I decided to take a sneaky peek to see what was going on and sat in on one of their product demonstrations. To say I was gobsmacked was a bit of an understatement. The A-B demonstrations that they were doing always made a big difference and throughout the whole show they continued to sell in bonkers amounts. IsoAcoustics have a large and varied range of vibration control and isolation products, but for the purposes of this article I am going to concentrate on the OREA range.

Ooh….Shiny!

OREA pucks in all their shiny glory. From left to right Graphite, Bronze and Indigo.

The Science Bit

The OREA’s are designed to eliminate parasitic vibrations and provide greater sound clarity and focus. They are ideal for electronic components including Amplifiers, DACs, CD Players, Speakers, and Turntables. Made of machined stainless steel, they have a low-profile design to minimize any increase in height. Each OREA model is designed with a different weight capacity. They each have a coloured ring on the bottom isolator that denotes the model and weight capacity, and are packaged individually to allow greater flexibility when determining the number of units to use. IsoAcoustics recommend a minimum of 3 units under each component depending on the weight of your equipment. The existing feet on an audio component may connect well and fit nicely around the perimeter of the OREA isolator. Alternatively, you may get better performance by either removing the feet entirely or placing the OREA’s beside the existing feet to have them connect directly to the chassis or base of the component.

The magic happens inside!

The whole field of vibration control and isolation was met with a certain degree of scorn when first introduced but is now fully embraced as a nailed-on method of improving transparency, resolution, dynamics, coherence, bass performance and soundstage dimensionality.

Isolation for our demo Rega P3 with Exact Cartridge

The Music Bit

As an experiment I tried a before and after test using our Rega Planar 3 with Exact cartridge using a set of the Bronze OREAs and the differences were just amazing. I chose a couple of very different tracks from two very different albums. First on the felt mat was the track “The Bell That Never Rang” from the album of the same name by the experimental Scottish folk trio Lau. This seventeen minute long musical exploration veers from classical to folk to electro and is riveting throughout. The climax at the end has some of the most humongously deep and sinewy bass that you will ever hear your system reproduce. Now the OREAs did not magically produce more bass but what they did was to make it all sound tighter and faster as if it were coming from a huge inky black background. The soundstage became enormous with vocals just hanging in mid air and the violins viola and cello became wonderfully real and solid. This is a beautiful sounding album and was produced by Joan Wasser at the very reputable Castlesound Studios in Scotland which has played home to many of the greatest Linn Records recordings over the years and is run by Calum Malcolm (just look up his client list!).

“The Bell That Never Rang” By LAU

Next on the playlist was “A Round Of Applause” by Los Angeles psych rockers Hooveriii (pronounced Hoover Three apparently).This is one of those albums that I bought because I really love the artwork on the sleeve. I am a huge fan of the artist Jean Giraud Moebius and although this is not by him it is very much in his style… So I bought it! I was not to be disappointed with the music either which is a melange of soaring psychedelically twisted guitars, glam rock synthesiser power pop and super hooky melodies. Listening to the track “My Directive” before and after the OREAs were planted under the Rega Planar 3 I was immediately aware that the song now had more propulsive power and increased swagger. Everything now being more open and all the individual strands of the song easier to follow. Just stunning.

The magnifent “A Round of Applause” by Hooveriii. Just WOW!

So…

By now you have probably realised that I quite like what the OREAs can do to improve an item of hi-fi equipment. Indeed my very own CD player at home has been improved with the addition of a set of the Graphite OREAs to such an extent that without them I think it sounds a bit meh! So if you too are even just a tiny bit curious about what they could do for you then pop in to see us here in the Cheltenham showroom and we can talk you through the options and we can even let you take some home to try before you buy. This is something that we do rather a lot with OREAs and not many of them come back! I also cannot believe I am talking about this in September but they would make great things to put on your Christmas prezzie list! They are on mine!!

If you’d like to find out the best IsoAcoustic product for your speakers or hi-fi component, you can use the Selection Wizard Here

Thanks for reading,

Andy, Jon and Farid - Audio T Cheltenham.

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

British Made Old-Timers, Still Going Strong Through Thick & Thin - Naim and Rega

/ Audio T Brighton/

I thought for this month’s blog we’d take a look at two old British stalwarts - Naim and Rega. Both companies were founded in the 1970s and over almost a 50 year period, have built a reputation for quality, reliability and serviceability that is almost unmatched in the hi-fi industry. Let’s just say that Julian Vereker and Roy Gandy both have a lot to answer for…

To be fair, we must not forget the contributions of another British hi-fi old guard - speaker manufacturer, ProAc. First founded by Stewart Tyler in the late 1970’s, without whom, Simon and Garfunkel’s the “Sound of Silence” would be the only playback choice!

Land of the giants - with not too giant a budget of £6K.

So this month’s challenge was to put together a system from these three behemoths, with a cameo appearance from Bluesound, in a head to head for a budget of circa £6000.

The focus will be on digital streaming playback, although one of the two systems has the option of vinyl connectivity with no CD playback and vice versa for its challenger. Of course, both systems can play either format with the addition of a CD player or phono pre-amplification stage, utilising one of the spare line level inputs both of which have in their arsenal, should their owners decide to expand their musical playback options.

This sort of makes sense because most people considering a current system will probably be looking at introducing streaming to their playback options. However, depending on your most recent prior playback format, you may have either a collection of CDs, or records somewhere in the attic to utilise as well, so this may ultimately affect your final choice, especially if you can’t favour one or the other sonically.

Ready Player One - Naim and ProAc

naim nd5xs2 streamer, naim supernait 3 integrated amp and proac d30rs speakers

Our first system consists of a Naim ND5XS2 streamer, Naim Supernait 3 integrated amplifier and ProAc D30RS floor standing loudspeakers. Speaker cable consisted of Naim NACA5 and interconnects were the Naim standard 5 pin DIN to 5 pin DIN, sometimes known as a “Lavender” interconnect.

naim nd5XS2 streamer/dac and a naim supernait3 integrated amplifier

The Naim ND5XS2 streamer/DAC is a lovely sounding piece of kit with options to be used as a DAC with external devices, for example, a CD player, via coaxial SPDIF or optical TOSLINK connections. Analogue outputs are through Naim’s DIN connections or via standard stereo RCA cables.

The USB-A connection at the rear of Naim’s ND5XS2 operates in a different way from that provided on the back of the Rega Saturn Mk 3 CD player/DAC, using a type A connection rather than a type B. Naim’s ND5XS2 type A connector allows for a hard drive (up to 1 Tb storage) or memory stick (up to 128Gb storage). This feature allows the Naim ND5XS2 to serve as a music media hub, using the Naim app as a control interface, with other Naim Uniti products such as the Uniti Nova, Uniti Star, Uniti Atom, Uniti Atom HE, Mu-so 2 and Mu-so Qb2, whence they can be operated as a fully featured multi-room system.

Naim’s Supernait 3 integrated amp has a plethora of DIN/RCA inputs and outputs, with a separate moving magnet (MM) phono stage for turntable users and the ability to add additional power supply upgrades, like the Naim HiCap DR or Naim Supercap DR, to boost the preamplifier stage. Naim’s Supernait 3 can also separate into a standalone pre-amplifier or power amplifier if required. Naim’s Supernait 3 really can be the heart of a substantial pre-amp and power amp system if required, with options to upgrade along the way.

Second Suitor - Rega, Bluesound and ProAc

rega saturn mk3 cd player/dac, rega aethos integrated amplifier, bluesound node 2i streamer and proac d30rs floor standing loudspeakers.

Our second contending system consists of a Rega Saturn Mk3 CD player/DAC, Rega Aethos integrated amplifier, Bluesound Node 3 streamer and ProAc D30RS floor standing loudspeakers. Speaker cable was again Naim NACA5, although this time we used the Rega Couple 3 interconnects for analogue and digital connections.

rega saturn mk 3 cd player/dac and rega aethos integrated amplifier

Rega’s Saturn Mk3 CD player/DAC has plenty of inputs and outputs for both digital devices and analogue playback.

First and foremost, the Rega Saturn Mk 3, is an exceptional CD player when connected via its analogue outputs. One advantage the Rega has over the Naim setup, in that CDs can be played without attaching a separate disc drive, connected to one of the digital inputs (optical, coax and USB). The asynchronous USB-type B input on the back of the Rega Saturn Mk3 is unusual, in that they are not usually provided by DAC manufacturers. This will allow a PC or Mac to be connected directly and play back music at a higher quality than would be possible via the rather inferior DACs included on most computers.

Another important thing to consider is that the Rega Saturn Mk 3 is a top-loading cd player, which personally I like, but you will have to allow for placement on the top shelf of your rack or without impediment above.

As Rega don’t make any streaming devices, let us introduce our guest component…

The Bluesound Node 3 streamer/DAC is a well specified product with a built in DAC of its own as well as optical in/out, coaxial out and HDMI eARC for your TV. It also has a 3.5mm headphone socket.

Both the Naim Supernait 3 and Rega Aethos have 1/4 inch headphone jacks (that’s the bigger type to you and me!) which are driven in Class A operation for most headphones, depending on their impedance and output level. Having had a quick listen on all 3 headphone jacks I would conclude Rega Aethos > Naim Supernait 3 > Bluesound Node 3. Not surprising given the output types, cost and the DAC upgrade on the two integrated amps.

Now for the purposes of this blog we shall be using the coaxial SPDIF output into the DAC input of the Rega Saturn Mk 3 CD/DAC player as this is a much higher performing DAC than the one included inside the Bluesound Node 3.

In our Naim rig, the Naim ND5XS2 streamer was connected via the “lavender” analogue cable into an input on the Naim Supernait 3.

To keep signal quality consistent, both rigs were fed a mixture of bit perfect CD rips from our Naim Uniti Core and/or directly from the streaming service Qobuz.

The proof is in the pudding...

Onto the listening.

We selected Massive Attack’s “Angel” from the album Mezzanine to test a systems bass depth, speaker control and ability to track and play a tune in the bass.

Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington’s “Duke’s Place” to test dynamics and the raspy tone of a well recorded trumpet in a believable 3D space.

Joe Henderson’s track “Blue Bossa” from the album Page One to test the micro-dynamic tracking of the Kenny Dorham’s trumpet tongue flutter in his first solo from this track. Very specific, I know, but quite revealing when you hear it.

Last but not least, “Back Down the River” by John Martyn from the album Bless The Weather for a system’s ability to convey the natural tone of vocals and acoustic guitar.

How did they fare?

“Angel” by Massive Attack, as the band name alludes to, is a great track to test bass performance. Here the Naim ND5XS2 and Naim Supernait 3 win the day! There is just that “something” about the way the Supernait 3 grips and plays tunes in the bass. The Proac D30RS speaker extend down to 30Hz and although the Rega Aethos keeps good control down below, it just doesn’t have quite the foot-tapping quality of the Naim duo.

“Dukes Place” by Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington is one of our regular test tracks when listening to new kit. In spite of being a 1950’s recording with tape hiss, the sense of acoustic space, dynamic swings and tone are sterling test for any equipment. Result here, is a “score draw”, with the Bluesound Node 3, Rega Saturn Mk 3 and Rega Aethos amp being more dynamic, detailed and forward than the Naim duo. On the flip side, the Naim ND5XS2 and Naim Supernait 3 seemed sweeter, more of a musical whole and recreates an acoustic space around the instruments a little better.

“Blue Bossa” from the album Page One by Joe Henderson and featuring the trumpeter, Kenny Dorham, has a passage during KD’s first solo featuring a rapid trill/fluttering trumpet sound that can easily sound as a single note if your system isn’t revealing and/or dynamic enough. Here I would give a win to the Bluesound Node 3, Rega Saturn Mk 3 and Rega Aethos. The sheer detail and dynamics of this particular section of the track came through more clearly on this setup, highlighting the quality and clarity of the Proac D30RS’s ribbon tweeter.

“Back Down the River” by John Martyn from the album Bless The Weather proved to be another “score draw”, although preferences for detail and dynamics v musical tone and cohesion may sway the listener one way or another. I’ll leave you to decide which flavour you think matches the Rega v Naim system and whether you’ve been paying attention to my observations on the previous tracks.

There are no winners or losers here...

I think it’s important to stress, at this level of playback fidelity, there are no winners or losers, but I have to say both of these systems are brilliant!

Hi-fi listening is a multi-factorial hobby and as I have mentioned in my earlier blogs, the importance of room acoustics, equipment matching, musical tastes and one’s own hearing will influence your final decisions.

So my subjective comments and opinions may differ from yours and ultimately you should listen for yourself, preferably in your usual listening space and for a sufficient period of time, before making any commitments.

On that basis, book a dem and come have a “audition” at our Audio T Brighton store, where these lovely products are currently on show and you can listen in comfort.

Thanks for reading.

Ade, John and Paul - Audio T Brighton

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

Rega turntable buying guide - One for every budget

/ Audio T Swindon/

So, you’ve decided to buy a turntable and you’re wondering why they come in all different prices, which brand offers great value for money or maybe even where to go for advice and a demonstration? We at Audio T Swindon are here to help you find the turntable that suits you. In this article we will talk you through the Rega range of turntables, and we’ll look to answer all your questions - No problem.

Turntables are quite exciting to look at. They make you feel attached to your music system. Buy a record and look at the cover, take the record out of the sleeve and put it on the turntable platter, use your anti static brush to take the dust and debris off your record before playing it. Check the speed then lower the tonearm and enjoy the music - I’ll warn you, It’s very addictive once you have started the journey.

The Rega Turntable Range

Rega Research is a British audio equipment manufacturer. Since their humble beginnings back in 1973, Rega’s initial success was built upon award-winning tonearms and turntables but Rega has been making complete hi-fi systems since the eighties.

In it’s 47 year history, the Planar Turntable has been a staple of the Rega’s arsenal. You can see a selection of our demonstration models below…

Rega Turntables

Planar 1 and Planar 2 - Great sound and easy to set-up!

At first sight both look almost identical. But what makes them different?

Finishes and Features

The Planar 1 is a Plug-and-Play design that is available in three finishes: Matt White, Matt Black and an all new Walnut effect finish.

Simply unbox it, push the round counter weight onto the back of the tonearm and you’re ready to play your vinyl. The supplied Rega Carbon cartridge (sometimes referred to as the needle) is fitted as standard and a dust cover is included, too. This Planar 1 is also available as a Planar 1 Plus which has a phono amplifier built-in which allows you to connect either directly to a pair of active speakers or an amplifier that doesn’t have it’s own phono stage. Both sound great straight out of the box.

The Planar 2 is available in three high gloss finishes: Red, White and Black. The Planar 2’s counter weight and adjustable bias, (counteracts the centripetal force pulling the arm towards the centre of the record), allows the use of a wider range of cartridges should you want to experiment or upgrade in future. The most notable difference, the high gloss plinth, is an MDF core covered with a highly rigid, acrylic laminate and the float glass platter improves accuracy. Just like the Planar 1, a dust cover is supplied as standard. The Planar 2 tonearm set-up is very easy, however, we are happy to set it up for you if you like - at no extra cost. In our opinion, more detail and a larger soundstage are definitely worth the extra money.

How to change the speed between 33 and 45 RPM?

Lift the platter and move the belt that goes around the shiny pulley to the top groove for 33 or the bottom groove for 45 RPM.

From the Planar 2 to the Planar 3 - Quite a step up…

Where to start here? First up is a strengthened plinth to prevent unwanted resonance and a double brace system to add more overall stiffness. A high precision tonearm bearing that is almost friction free - This is just to name a few improvements compared to the Planar 2, all of which makes such a big difference to the sound. The combination of the RB330 tonearm and its supplied counterweight allows the use of a much wider range of cartridges so you can finely tune the system to your requirements.

The Planar 3 is available with factory fitted Elys2 or Exact moving magnet cartridges. You even have the option to purchase the Planar 3 without a cartridge if you already have one you’re looking to fit.

You may also notice that there is an upgrade socket on the back of the Planar 3. This allows you to connect the Rega Neo MK2 turntable power supply that further reduces motor noise, improves speed stability and the convenience of electronic speed change.

With a much bigger upgrade path the Planar 3 offers incredible value for the money.

It keeps getting better - Planar 6 with a super lightweight foam core and more

Planar3 and Planar6

What do you get when you move from the Planar 3 to the Planar 6?

The most obvious difference in the picture above is the little box lying in front of the Planar 6. This is the previously mentioned Neo MK2 turntable power supply. Rather than being an additional purchase, the Planar 6 comes with a custom matched PSU as standard. It further reduces motor noise, improves speed stability and the convenience of electronic speed change.

The Planar 6 features a super lightweight foam core, made from material developed for the aerospace industry. It is sandwiched between two layers of high pressure laminate that adds the right amount of stiffness and this combination reduces external energy from entering the plinth. Rega have decided to offer a single stunning finish, Polaris Matt Grey, with a high gloss polymer black edge trim.

The Planar 6 is available as Planar 6/Exact (MM), Planar 6/Ania (MC), Planar 6/Ania Pro (MC) cartridges or Planar 6/no cartridge.

Sub platter and platter - Precision and Accuracy

The sub platter is made from a single-piece of machined aluminium that offers better speed stability. The dual layer glass platter improves the flywheel effect and with that the rotational speed.

The Planar 6 offers a tighter and deeper bass, more separation between the instruments and more silence in quieter parts of the music.

You spin me right round - The Planar 8

A small footprint with an impressive sound - Rega decided to take a very elegant approach with the Planar 8. It is quite a unique design compared to most of the more conventional looking turntables available on the market.

Take off the triple layer glass platter, then lift the skeletal lightweight foam plinth - This plinth is incredibly light, constructed from Tancast 8 core and covered in a high-pressure laminate (HPL) skin (a material developed for the aerospace industry).

What makes the Planar 8 such a great sounding turntable ?

It is this very clever combination of a incredibly lightweight plinth, sandwiched between two layers of high pressure laminate, the new bearing assembly and the single piece machined aluminium sub-platter that holds the three-piece laminated glass platter (constructed from two different high-quality Pilkington glasses, a British glass engineering company). The platter is driven by two EBLT reference drive belts, made from a bespoke new rubber compound. Those are just a few reasons why the Planar 8 takes it to a new level.

The Planar 8 is available as Planar 8/Ania (MC), Planar 8/Ania Pro (MC), Planar 8/Apheta3 (MC) and Planar 8 /no cartridge.

“Every aspect of the Planar 8 is engineered to extract as much detail from the vinyl surface as possible”
— Rega Research

The Rega Planar 10 - An engineering statement

The Planar 10 was inspired by the ultimate Rega turntable, the Naiad. Built around the same ultra-light skeletal plinth featured on the Planar 8. There are however some significant improvements compared to the Planar 8 -

  • The Planar 10 uses a more advanced double brace system (a mix of phenolic resin and ceramic) to reduce unwanted resonance.

  • The hub bearing assembly eradicates unwanted potential energy being transferred or stored in the plinth.

  • The ceramic flywheel platter with improved coupling to the sub platter.

  • The 24v low noise motor is hand tuned to match its own custom matched P10 PSU power supply before fitting to the turntable to optimise the anti-vibration circuit.

  • The RB3000 tonearm designed to have the minimum of mechanical joints while using the stiffest materials in all critical areas.

  • Available with factory fitted Apheta 3 MC or Aphelion 2 MC cartridges

The Planar 10 looks amazing and it sounds fantastic with more clarity, soul and groove.

As we’ve said previously, we set up all purchased turntables free of charge, so they are ready to use as soon as you get home!

For more information please feel free to call us on 01793 538222 or send an email to swindon@audio-t.co.uk.

Thanks for reading - Stefan & Andy - Audio T Swindon.

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

Wants Versus Needs & the Audio Demo Room

/
image: Audio T Bristol, front of shop, 65 Park Street BS1 5PB

For all of its virtues and benefits, the internet certainly has its pitfalls and perils, especially when you’re looking for advice or guidance on a product that you think you might need…

“I'm Looking for a Streaming CD player that has a Dolby 5.1 Headphone Amp with built in Bluetooth Turntable, do you stock it?”

These broad and sometimes strange enquiries have inevitably made their way into our stores. Saturdays have become somewhat random I can tell you. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I think it began around second lockdown and still continues today…

“Do you have speakers that are good at ‘70s prog rock? I want to be able to stream music from my computer in the attic to my living room from my bathroom. I've converted my shed into a Hi-Fi room and vinyl library and I want to hear my records playing in the kitchen.”

These sort of enquiries don’t really faze us. With over fifty years of industry experience, we’ve heard most things. However, I'm sure there are swathes of people searching the internet to arrive at some forum or online group where impossible Hi-Fi questions are answered with “Yes” instead of a “Why?”

Hi-Fi questions like the ones above are like Himalayan Balsam - they are an invasive species, choking out the real important questions and providing answers like “you can see the Eiffel tower from the London Eye”.

When is an Audition Room not a Showroom?

It goes without saying that no two showrooms are the same. Different retailers in the Hi-Fi industry adopt differing approaches when it comes to their listening spaces. Some audition rooms are more like acoustically treated anechoic chambers, (an-echoic meaning "non-reflective") which is a room designed to stop reflections of either sound or electromagnetic waves. A true anechoic chamber is a fairly unsettling experience. Just by talking in them can makes you drop your voice to a whisper and change your dialect to the received pronunciation of a late night radio talk show host with buttery plosives. In these environments, even fingernails down a blackboard would sound like a perfectly produced scene in a Nordic Noir crime drama. These rooms are great for analysing a system without any external acoustic or sonic interruption or bias… But that’s not how we use this equipment in the real world.

Image: Audio T Bristol, Main Audition Room

Listen With Curiosity - Audio T Bristol, Main Audition Room: 7m x 4.5m x 3m

Unlike most Hi-Fi retailers, every branch of Audio T has dedicated demonstration rooms that resemble and sound like a normal living space. The reasoning is obvious. How can you make a decision about a potential system when the listening environment is nothing like a real home? Our demo rooms are not only for hearing the system, you can do that on any shop floor, but actually listening to music in your own way in comfort and taking the time to learn the functions and features with no pressures. Then switching out components and listening to other options. Based on your feedback, we can then recommend equipment to tailor the sound to what you prefer and that heightens your enjoyment.

But, let's delve a little deeper. How can you get the most out of your time here with us and how you can prepare?

In the interest of putting the Streaming/CD/Record straight, here are 5 points that need to be addressed when choosing a system.

“High-end audio is about passion — passion for music, and how well it is reproduced. High-end audio is the quest to re-create in the listener’s home the musical message of the composer or performer with the maximum realism, emotion and intensity”
— Robert Hartley, High-Performance Audio Systems

1. Bit of Research

It is very rare indeed, that people just walk in and buy a full Hi-Fi system and walk out. Invariably, the Hi-Fi decision will be a process of reading reviews, talking with friends. This can be quite a daunting process for the uninitiated. The general rule is that source is king; amplification the heart; speakers the limbs. With all systems, at whatever price point, there will be a sweet spot of all three creating a synergy between the components. Check out our Audio T Music at Home Brochure for an overview of who we are and some of the Hi-Fi and Home Cinema Manufacturers we represent. There is also a new Music at Home quarterly magazine that can help with your research.

This being said, if you want to come to us as a blank canvas, feel free to do so.

2. Room Size and Measurements?

Image: Audio T Bristol, Audition Room 2 with home cinema setup

Audio T Bristol, Dem Room 2 with Home Cinema Setup: 4.2m x 4m x 3m

Think of where your listening point will be and measuring the room dimensions, features such as windows and distances from the listening position (sofa or chair) to the speakers. This is because most music is produced for the two channel experience. The sound waves from a left and a right channel and room reflections interact creating a "holographic" stereo image between the speakers.

Rule of thumb - Large speakers in a small room may be too overpowering, resulting in unsavoury bass bloom and resonances that muddies the sound. By contrast small speakers in a large room will result in a loss of detail, a boxy, thin sound and weak bass response.

3. Critical listening, great sound and/or convenience?

How you enjoy music is a very personal experience, unique to you. Tastes vary, collections; digital streaming, vinyl and CD differ. Where? For example, a dedicated music room, lounge or open plan living space determine what is best. The critical listener will invariably have a large collection and have very discerning Hi-Fi sound requirements. It is not unusual for us to ask the customer to bring in their system and then we audition many different Hi-Fi components to zero in on what changes give the best price/performance results. Then, try a home demonstration.

Naim Audio graphic showing the five key elements of a HiFi system

From space saving convenience to Marque separates, this diagram courtesy of Naim Audio illustrates clearly from source to loudspeakers how greater fidelity is achieved.

Creating a critical listening sound with great convenience is the job of the Just-add-speakers HiFi systems. The range topping Naim Uniti Nova or for a modular approach the Linn Selekt DSM. These single boxes are the vanguards of single box greatness.

Convenience need not mean bad sound.

The Ruark range of all-in-one offer great sound and are ideal where space is at a premium.

image: Ruark R3 all-in-one system

Ruark R3 music system; built in speakers, Class A-B amplifier, CD Player, Bluetooth, FM and DAB Radio

Great two channel sound need not break the bank. Check out our Hi-Fi Bundles to get an idea of what is possible for any budget. The Rotel Tribute edition CD player and amp is a great starter system , with the added bonus that the A11 has a Bluetooth input - for that convenience of streaming from a phone or tablet. Don’t see the right thing for you? Let us know and we’ll tailor a bundle to your requirements.

4. Functions, form & how Loud?

Aesthetics are an all important sensitive part, not least because it may not be just you who has to live with your Hi-Fi. The most visually imposing are the speakers, thankfully there are a lot of choices and a myriad of finishes to match most living spaces.

Some listen at low volumes, some like the windows to rattle, and especially with creating a system for enjoying movies to their fullest, the ground to move too. System matching is vital. Contrary to belief, low level listening that still achieves a great stereo image and engaging listen is trickier to achieve in large spaces than louder volumes.

Then, you could always go for the most non-intrusive Hi-Fi experience with a great headphone setup. Pictured above are the Quad ERA-1 Planar headphones with Chord Mojo 2 Mobile DAC/Headphone Amplifier plugged into an Apple iPad.

5. Book a demonstration with Audio T

Begin the journey to explore the possibilities to enjoy your music and film with an audition or just a chat about the options. We look forward to welcoming you!

Thanks for reading - Max, James, Justin - Audio T Bristol

"(PS. Streaming CD player, Dolby 5.1 Headphone Amp with built Bluetooth Turntable? Yes, Check out the Bluesound Home Theatre setup add a Rega Planar 1 plus.)

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

Big Speaker Fetish! Getting intimate with the Acoustic Energy AE509…

/ Audio T Cheltenham /

The Bit at the Beginning

It’s not really much of a secret that, alongside Prog Rock in all shapes and forms, I have a pretty serious and full on fetish for big loudspeakers. The latest recipient of my lascivious lusting is the rather sexy AE509 from Cotswolds loudspeaker experts Acoustic Energy. As a company Acoustic Energy was founded in 1987 and quickly built a reputation for great quality at reasonable prices, that was the envy of many manufacturers at the time. After a period in the wilderness ( those pesky Americans! ) and after a management buyout ( yay for the Brits! ), they are well and truly back and have a wonderful range of loudspeakers that will suit most rooms /systems/budgets. Over the past year or so I have grown to really love what this particular pair of loudspeakers is capable of, and I feel that the world needs to know what they can do too!

Acoustic Energy AE509 in gloss black

The Techie Bit

The AE509 has a Mid Tweeter Mid/bass (MTM) driver layout with a 2 way crossover using high voltage polypropylene film wound capacitors and air core inductors for optimum sound dispersion .

The Carbon Fibre Drive Units In All Their Glory.

The 125mm mid/bass drivers include new oversized 35mm voice coils, for low thermal compression and very high motor force factor, to provide a highly dynamic yet controlled bass response. The woofer has an optimised motor and suspension system for maximum linearity and lowest distortion, ensuring pin point mid-range definition, whilst the lightweight nature of the carbon fibre cone material increases transient speed and clarity.

The new 25mm carbon fibre dome tweeter is much lighter and better damped than other typical hard dome materials, and provides a lightning fast, natural sound without harshness. A new cast aluminium waveguide on this high frequency driver is positioned close to the mid/bass drivers for optimum dispersion, and is extremely stiff to minimise vibration within the tweeter, ensuring sweet, clear and natural highs.

This complement of hightech drivers are housed in Resonance Suppression Composite (RSC) cabinets, evolved from the prestigious Reference Series and featuring the same constrained layer composite, to greatly reduce cabinet acoustic radiation, which would otherwise colour the sound. This is basically a cabinet within a cabinet with damping in between - Clever eh? These cabinets are finished in a choice of high gloss Piano Black, Piano White or American Walnut wood veneer finishes.

LOVELY SPIKES TOO…

Another thing I really like about these speakers is the gorgeous metal bases with proper chunky spikes. Most speakers these days treat the spikes as just a cheap add on and they don’t give you a great method of making sure your speaker does not wobble around whereas the Acoustic Energy base and spikes looks amazing, really works, and makes set up easy as well. The stiffness of these metal structures reduces any unwanted room to speaker interactions that might colour the sound too….genius! There are some rather chunky banana sockets too, proof that no detail has been overlooked.

The Bit In the Middle

Over the course of the last year or so I have grown to really love what these loudspeakers can do. They are at once precise, open and detailed and able to produce a huge soundstage that projects way out of the boxes in all directions. The bass goes down really deep when it needs to, but is always clean and tight never getting out of control. Also, and mega importantly, they never sound overly bright or clinical like so many modern designs can do. They are also easy to drive but respond magnificently to having high quality sources and amplification in front of them. Could they be the perfect loudspeaker? Lets put them to the test with some music shall we?

The Music Bit

Loops In The Secret Society by Jane Weaver

‘Loops in The Secret Society’ contains lots of gloriously wonky, cyclical, ambient re-workings of some of Jane Weaver’s most requested songs from her most recent albums and live shows. Here she uses analogue tape-loop devices, vocal manipulation and dubbed-out multi-layered custom vinyl plates to produce genuinely thrilling and challenging experimental pop, with a Motorik Krautrock vein right through the centre. Played via the AE509’s I am totally sucked in and get lost in the hugeness of it all. A great recording and a beautiful pressing to boot, not a click or a pop on any of the four sides. And what about that gorgeous pink vinyl! Whenever I listen to Jane Weaver I always imagine that this is the kind of music that the late great and criminally underrated Delia Derbyshire would be making if she were still with us……Ah….If only!?

Sun’s Signature ….Prog Rock lives!

This is ‘Sun’s Signature’, the current project from vocalist Elizabeth Fraser (of Cocteau Twins fame) and her musical and life partner, percussionist Damon Reece. This is a wonderfully lush recording with some truly cavernous bass and an open atmospheric ambience that on the AE509 you can fall into and get lost in. Also on this EP is a healthy and rather unexpected dose of prog rock with, former Genesis member, Steve Hackett providing crackling sustained guitar to the track “Underwater” and his work also sets psychedelic fire to the very trippy “Golden Air”. He contributes Spanish guitar to the beautiful closing track “Make Lovely the Day,” Hell, the album even has mellotron on it. Just amazing! And Liz Frazer can still do it! So if you love The Cocteau Twins and you love Genesis you need this in your life.

The Bit At The End

All this attention to detail produces what must be one of the finest floor-standing loudspeakers that we have ever had the pleasure of listening to at Audio T Cheltenham. They are never harsh or bright sounding, these are speakers that you can listen to all day long and never get tired of. The bass is deep and juicy but always perfectly controlled. The whole soundstage they produce is big and open, extending massively outside the boxes. They are easy to accommodate room-wise, and they do not need lots of space behind them to be able to produce that wonderful lush goose-bumpy soundstage. They are easy to drive so will work with fairly modest amps but they respond beautifully to being driven by big powerful current monsters too.

If I have whetted your appetite even a little please feel free to give us a call and bring in a pile of your favourite music and have some fun… We do! We also make a great cup of tea or coffee and have some nice biscuits too.

Thanks for reading,

Andy, Jon and Farid - Audio T Cheltenham.

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

Making streaming easy with AURALiC

/

First founded in 2008, AURALiC has established a worldwide reputation for designing beautifully made, innovative music streaming and audio components of the highest quality – a combination of classic analogue technology and cutting edge digital evolution with a design aesthetic. Here at Audio T Southampton, we have been big fans of AURALiC and their range of high quality streamers and digital source components since we first saw and heard them in store a few years ago. With their product range rapidly developing and widening in that time, here's a timely reminder of their offerings, most of which we now have on demonstration in our store…

Straight out of the box, the first thing you’ll notice is that all the products in the range are all impeccably engineered and encased in high quality alloy casework. Whilst there is a strong visual similarity between the models there are distinct differences. So here's a brief rundown to help you decide which product best suits your needs…

AURALiC Altair Digital Audio Streamer

The Altair Digital Audio Streamer, with its robust Wi-Fi connectivity and analog output, is a clean and powerful one-box solution for all your digital music. It offers a vast number of features and functions, allowing you to stream music from virtually any source.

You can play from locally stored files on your network, a USB drive, an optional integrated hard drive, as well as AirPlay 2 or Bluetooth sources. AURALiC’s Lightning Streaming Platform integrates natively with services like Amazon Music, Qobuz, Tidal, KKBOX, Internet Radio, and Spotify Connect.


As you can see, the Altair has a comprehensive range of digital inputs and both RCA and XLR analogue outputs, meaning it is ideal to serve as a digital front end component connected to a stereo power amp or even directly into a pair of active speakers.

AURALiC Aries Streaming Transport

The Aries Streaming Transport is the ideal solution for connection to an external DAC or amplifier with digital inputs. It's a high quality streaming transport with state of the art wireless technology.

On a personal note, I actually use an Aries G1 myself and I'm delighted with the performance when streaming Qobuz high resolution music into my Cyrus Pre-XR via USB.


On the rear of the Aries, you’ll find that almost all digital output options are catered for, plus provision for external USB storage connectivity.

Designed for ease of use, crystal-clear sound, and highly flexible system configuration, the Altair brings high-performance, cutting-edge technology and incredible value to any high-fidelity music system.

AURALiC Vega Streaming DAC

The Vega is first and foremost a performance-focused DAC that utilises AURALiC’s best digital to analogue technology for optimum sound quality. Ethernet connection is used for online streaming services. Vega is also a Roon ready endpoint.

Every aspect of the Vega’s engineering has been designed to push the boundaries of sonic performance, reshaping data into a vibrant, emotionally rewarding musical performance.


Taking a peek around the back, the extensive socketry includes an analogue input enabling you to connect the output from your phono stage for vinyl playback.

For those seeking ultimate performance and extra streaming features, AURALiC recommend combining the Vega alongside an Aries .

Making sense of G1 and G2…

For the uninitiated, the varying options of the same model might seem confusing. G1 products tend to have more cost-effective specifications whilst still offering all the same software features as the G2 range.

G2 indicates AURALiC’s top specification, state of the art products, incorporating unique technology such as Lightning Link - A HDMI-type plug which offers 18Gbps high-speed data transfer and provides ultra-fast two-way communication between AURALiC products such as Sirius Upsampling Processor and Leo Reference Master Clock. AURALiC actually claim that Lightning Link is the only real jitter-free link in the world of high-performance audio. As an added bonus, G2 and G2.1 products can be linked without worry, allowing them to work seamlessly, as one contiguous digital source for an astonishing musical experience.

One of the more impressive physical attributes featured within G2 products is the Galvanic Isolation found as part of the Unity chassis - a double enclosure, where an outer case made from high-grade aluminum is supplemented with an inner layer of copper. You’ll also find other improvements such as analogue ladder volume control and Orfeo Class A output modules.

Products designated .1 and .2 are hardware upgrades to existing models whilst retaining the same core functions. For example AURALiC have just released Aries G1.1 and Altair G1.1. The key differences are that both products now have the high mass base from G2.1 models to improve vibration damping and enhance sonic performance. Support for AirPlay 2 has also been added.

It’s also worth noting that the Aries G1.1 now has the option of internal storage as well as an improved Femto clock and a more powerful headphone amplifier. The retail price on either model is currently £2499.00*.

All AURALiC products incorporate open home based streaming with Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect and Apple AirPlay 2 and are Roon ready. The AURALiC Lightning DS IOS app seamlessly integrates with Amazon Music Unlimited, Qobuz, Tidal and with NAS music playback, optional internal storage as well as USB drives. Resolution up to 32 bit 384 khz and DSD 512 are supported via ethernet or Wi-Fi.

For anyone who is prepared to forego the upgrades, we currently have a few low usage ex-demonstration models of both the Aries G1 and Altair G1. These products are in excellent condition, complete with boxes and all accessories and full warranty for £1839.00! That's a very substantial saving of £460.00*. But hurry, once they’re gone, they’re gone!

Thanks for reading

Alan, Wayne and Nick - Audio T Southampton

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

*All prices, credit terms and interest rates quoted are correct at the time of going to press but may be subject to change. E&OE

WHY IT’S GREAT TO VISIT YOUR LOCAL AUDIO T HI-FI SHOWROOM

/ Audio T Reading/

On a quick wander along any local high street or shopping mall, it won’t take long before it’s impossible to avert one’s gaze from boarded-up shop fronts, whitewashed windows, ‘for sale’ signs and other high street horrors. It can all leave you feeling that you’ve just visited a ghost town (cue the classic movie tumbleweed from any western of your choosing). Without being an expert in these matters, it’s hard to pin down whether or not the exodus of the good old “bricks and mortar” shop has been caused by cut-throat internet selling, that extraordinary pandemic, Brexit, and/or other factors. When it comes to best-in-class audio-visual equipment, in addition to supplying customers via the interweb thingamajig, we here at Audio T absolutely love providing you with a variety of hi-fi goodies and services from one of our stores… yes from a good old shop! Why don’t we grab a coffee, or perhaps something cooler in this heatwave, and take this discussion a little deeper…

Ready for Action! Our Main Demo Room at Audio T Reading

Hello. We really look forward to meeting you…

Welcome to another bright, but gosh oh-so-dry, sunshining day. Here at Audio T Reading there is that morning buzz of raising the shutters to a new day and the excitement of opening our doors to meet and greet more of the hi-fi loving community. What will the day in-store bring this time? Perhaps the continued turntable renaissance will usher in vinyl enthusiasts to take a look and a feel of the crisp and clean lines of the arresting Rega Planar 6? Isn’t it amazing how the Planar range continues to appear fresh yet timeless? Or maybe the slick looking Audiolab 6000CDT CD transport will get a spin in the demo room to show a customer first-hand that CD certainly isn’t dead? It never fails to impress us just how much detail can be extracted by the latest silver spinners. Gone are the days of CD players sounding ‘digital’ – it always makes for a great in-person conversation. And let’s not forget the next-generation ways of getting a healthy dose of music – perhaps today we’ll be taking our customers through the various streaming, networking and multi room listening options offered by the likes of say Bluesound? Or maybe we’ll be demonstrating the very best of old-meets-new technology, courtesy of say high-quality CD ripping via the impressive Innuos ZENmini Mini Mk3 audio server? Here at Audio T we have many great memories of the face-to-face interactions we have with our customers. There’s a satisfaction to seeing someone’s face light up at that first moment they hear new intricacies and hidden layers of information in their favourite recording. It’s the kind of neat trick the Chord Electronics Hugo TT2 combined DAC and headphone amplifier regularly performs!

Where Great Memories are Made! Happy Customers Visiting Audio T

A “Special” in-store experience… One of many

Not long ago, we had a customer come into the shop showing a keen interest in a pair of Dynaudio Special Forty, one of the finest looking and sounding stand-mount stereo speakers around. The customer had the opportunity to explain it was a significant investment and therefore wanted to be sure they were worth the outlay, as well as wanting to see the fit and finish of the Special Forty in the flesh. We agreed with them that the best way forward was to have a listen to them in our demo room, on the end of the newly arrived and wholly engaging Rega Elicit Mk5 integrated amplifier. See, one of the benefits of operating from our shop with dedicated demo rooms is that we regularly get to connect up a number of different hi-fi systems. From this most enjoyable of exploits, we have gathered a great deal of knowhow as to which equipment combinations dovetail incredibly well together, sounding much greater than the sum of their parts. We know that a Rega-Dynaudio system is one of many synergistic combos.

During the demo, the customer got to see the sublime SolidSteel SS-6 speaker stands, upon which the princely Special Forty were showcased. The customer had been interested in upgrading his speaker stands too, so in having the perfect opportunity to ask questions in-situ about the various performance benefits of SolidSteel stands (benefits that often get overlooked given their exquisite aesthetics) the customer had all the necessary advice, the sonic fulfilment from a most enjoyable demo, as well as the assurance of speaking to an expert in-person to confidently purchase an awesome pair of Dynaudio Special Fortys in ebony wave finish, along with a mighty fine set of accompanying SolidSteel SS-6 stands suited in black.

Turntable Service, Repair and Upgrade at Audio T

Best of both - Our stores in perfect harmony with online

With the above, in-store, customer experience being one of many great examples, it’s always clear for us here at Audio T to see the benefits and importance of operating from a shop and supporting an in-shop experience for customers, something which just cannot be replicated by services online. Don’t get us wrong, we love and actively support the online model of providing great hi-fi audio-visual products too and it has its many benefits, such as being able to read up on the many great products and services that we offer, or to check out our fantastic free Music at Home+ magazine, or to catch up with the latest happenings here at Audio T via our enthusiastic staff members’ blogs. That being said, there are bespoke services that we provide in-store that make visiting one of our shops a truly unbeatable experience. Maybe you want to talk to us about a problem with your turntable? Well, here at Audio T we have the in-house expertise to assess, repair, service and even upgrade a number of turntable brands and models, including Rega and Linn, and you can visit one of our shops, with or without your turntable, to discuss with our friendly team of enthusiasts. And, in-store, we can even make up a range of cables, such as the Chord Shawline X speaker cable, for you to take away. Or we can show you, in-person, how a range of our great vinyl cleaning options actually work, such as the Pro-Ject VC-E record cleaning machine.

We also offer a part-exchange service in-store, which we are happy to talk to you about and is a great solution for taking the next steps on your hi-fi adventure. Last but not least, there’s nothing quite like coming into your local Audio T shop, talking to our bright and helpful team, and actually getting hands-on (or of course “ears-on” via a demo) to experience for yourselves how sturdy those buttons actually are, or say how slick that volume knob feels. Coming to our shop is a unique experience that can be continued to be enjoyed for years to come.

So as you walk past yet another not open for business shop that has sadly vanished into the ether, do remember that we are open for business and are happy to welcome you and get listening to some seriously good music of your choosing! Thanks for reading.

Rishi, Gareth and Rob – Audio T Reading

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

The incredible equipment and services mentioned can be found at the following Audio T stores:

Front-end Rules! - Where does the importance of the Hi-Fi components lie?

/ Audio T Brighton/

To coin a phrase by Ivor Tiefenbrun, the founder of Linn and designer of the iconic Linn LP12 record deck. “Don’t throw away your records, you haven’t heard what’s on them yet.” Regardless of manufacturer, this design philosophy has often been the subject of many a debate in determining the hierarchy of the source/amp/speaker setup and deciding the budget allocation awarded to each.

The subject of this month’s article is to demonstrate and discuss the value to the “front-end” of your Hi-Fi system and the importance of where the rubber meets the road, so to speak.

Turntable Vs Turntable

Rega Planar 6 w/ Ania cartridge and Neo power supply v Rega Planar 10 w/ Apheta 3 cartridge

Let’s get down to brass tacks… Both the Rega Planar 6 and Rega Planar 10 (and Planar 8) come with an external power supply that not only provides a better sound sonically, but also allows for you a push-button speed change. This is a step-up from the manual belt change required on the Planar 1, Planar 1 Plus and Planar 2. The Rega Planar 3 doesn’t come with an external power supply as standard, although the Rega Neo power supply can be purchased as an upgrade if desired. And we’d strongly recommend it!

As I mentioned, there is a lot more to an external power supply such as the Rega Neo than the ability to change speeds more easily, with sound reasons (pun intended) for getting the power supply “off deck”. Isolation of individual component power supplies is one of the paths to Hi-Fi nirvana. The price differential and corresponding sonic improvements of the Rega Planar 10 power supply over the Rega Neo power supply provided with the Planar 6 can be both seen and heard.

Battle of the cartridges

Rega Ania v Rega Apheta 3 moving coil cartridges . . .

Rega ania moving coil cartridge

The Rega Ania cartridge is a moving coil type (MC), so you will need to factor this in when plugging into an amplifier. Most standard integrated amps come with an MM (moving magnet) phono stage, which boosts the signal to a different level than a MC (moving coil) phono stage, so an additional phono stage may be required for vinyl playback. Of the phono stages talked about in this article, only the Cyrus Signature and Rega Aria have the option of MM playback, so gets an extra tick in the versatility box. All of them are MC playback capable, with all of the sound quality improvements that tends to bring. Whilst discussing the Rega MC range, here at Audio T we also stock an upgraded version of this cartridge called the Ania Pro (although I didn’t actually compare it this time around).

rega apheta 3 moving coil cartridge

The Rega Apheta 3 MC cartridge is the penultimate in the Rega cartridge range, the Rega Aphelion 2 being top of the range and outside the scope of this blog.

The rest of the system not to be sniffed at…

To ensure differences could be heard between the various turntable/cartridge/phono stage combinations, it is only appropriate to use Hi-Fi components commensurate with the quality of their peers.

A Naim Supernait 3 with an added Naim HiCap DR power supply provided the grunt and some lovely, sweet sounding ProAc Response DB1’s were used to move air.

Musical tonality to test the phonality...

The three albums used to try separate the men from the boys were; Miles Davis’ “Tutu”, Nirvana’s “Nevermind” and Ry Cooder’s “Jazz”.

Tracks from the corresponding albums were; “Tutu”, “Lithium” and “Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now”, all capable of showing the dynamics, subtleties and handling of turntable/cartridge/phono stage combos abilities to deal with both well recorded and compressed tracks.

Phono stage pre amplifiers - boosting the all important signal from the cartridge to the amplifier . . . .

Tom Evans Audio Design - The Groove 20th Anniversary Edition

The Tom Evans Audio Design - The Groove 20th Anniversary Edition is a MC only design with dip switch adjustments for cartridge loading and fine tuning of the sound playback. As can be seen in the photos, the dip switches can be fine tuned to a person’s individual cartridge and these have been altered optimally, or as optimally as one can, for the Rega cartridges being reviewed in this blog.

Sound quality was epitomised by a “groove” factor and the Tom Evans - The Groove 20th Anniversary Edition certainly benefited from using the Rega P10/ Apheta 3 combination over the Rega P6/Ania with dynamics and spatiality improving vastly, albeit less so than with the other phono stages here. I could certainly appreciate why the phono stage was named in the way it was and if your sound preference is for P.R.A.T. (Pace, rhythm and timing) over a spacious, warm and cuddly sound, then this phono stage could well be the one for you.

Dynavector P-75 Mark 4

The Dynavector P75 Mk4 phono stage is a MC only playback device, adjustable with internal dip switches. This made it the most fiddly to setup and some confidence and manual dexterity is required to adjust parameters for optimum performance. That being said, once set, it proved to be a good performer. This could be considered the “budget” phono stage here, if that term can be applied at this price/performance level, but the Dynavector P75 Mk4 produced a lovely, warm and spacious sound with both turntables, one that you can really relax to, without over analysing the sound and instead, just listen to the music. If your budget is in the sub £1000 category then you have to listen to this.

Cyrus Signature Phono Stage plus optional PSX-R2 power supply

cyrus signature phonostage plus psxr2 power supply

The Cyrus Signature phono stage plus optional PSX-R2 power supply is one of only two phono stages in this test to include both MM and MC options for vinyl playback. It has four separate inputs to cater for different MM or MC cartridges plus gain, resistance and capacitance adjustment capability.

I listened to the Cyrus Signature phono stage both without (first) and then with the PSX-R2.

If your vinyl playback desire is to hear everything on your records, à la the Ivor Tiefenbrun philosophy, then the Cyrus Signature phono stage is probably the way to go. The detail it trawls from the grooves is quite extraordinary, especially with the Cyrus PSX-R2 power supply. The Cyrus Signature on its own is no slouch, but the extra detail and micro-dynamics are very obvious, no doubt due lowering the noise floor that comes with improvements in the power supply. This is a delightfully honest and insightful phono stage, perhaps the most neutral and accurate of them all. Whatever turntable or cartridge combination you own, the Cyrus Signature will let you hear the differences, especially with the recommended Cyrus PSX-R2 power supply.

Rega Aria phono stage

Middle in the range of Rega phono stages comes the Rega Aria.

The half-width, single box Aria also comes with a dual MM and MC input option.

In terms of sound, it is interesting to note where the Aria lies in the pricing ladder, putting it between the Dynavector P-75 and Cyrus Signature(minus the PSXR) in sound quality, with a good mix of the two flavours in terms of warmth and detail but a slightly scaled down version of each. This describes the sonic flavour of the Rega phono stages quite nicely because a nice, balanced and musical sound is achievable without breaking the bank.

Rega Aura phono stage

The Rega Aura reference phono stage is a MC only design with flexible cartridge loading options via rotary dials on the front.

Of all the phono stages here, the Aura is the one I’d most like to own. Noise levels are very low and the micro-dynamic subtleties are on a different level, especially when the Rega P10/Apheta 3 combo was used. Dynamics and timing were spot on and the Aura was both soft/gentle or hard/dynamic at the same time, if that is possible, showing music in its full glory. I was often in awe of the Aura. You could say I was smitten!

Where the rubber meets the road...

What surprised me the most in this lengthy test, was the variety of sound between these phono stages. All of them had their own flavour and consequently, your mileage may vary somewhat when it comes down to choice. Personal budget and taste will play a big part in your final decision, along with matching components, whether this be turntable, cartridge, amplifier or speakers. Whatever your choice, auditioning will be crucial to your final decision, so come and talk to us and book a dem.

Thanks for reading

Ade, John and Paul - Audio T Brighton

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

 

Welcome to the Extraordinary: The Chord Electronics Ultima Pre3 Preamplifier (and Ultima 5 Amplifier)

/ Audio T Swansea/

Although not one of Aristotle's Seven Virtues (Trust, Compassion, Courage, Justice, Wisdom, Temperance and Hope. Not a bad list, as lists go), Patience has often been touted as a contender for inclusion in a list of desirable traits a young person would do well to cultivate. As French playwright, actor, and poet, Molière (also known as Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) reminds us… “Trees that are slow to grow, bear the best fruit”.

That's all very well for Jean-Baptiste, but our Chord Electronics Ultima 5 Power Amplifier has been weeping gently for six months now, all alone, pining for a mate; those tears are now hot tears of joy. We are pleased to announce that the Ultima Pre3 has arrived - hurrah!

Not merely a pretty face…

It's a 'from-the-ground-up' new design packing the very latest East Farleigh technology, of which Chord Electronics are (somewhat self-effacingly) proud.

An all analogue design, the Ultima Pre3 features two balanced XLR & three unbalanced RCA phono inputs, an XLR A/V input plus XLR & RCA variable outputs for a power amplifier.

There is no tape loop, no phono stage, no Bluetooth connectivity nor any digital inputs, nothing to get in the way of reproducing the very best analogue audio possible. It does have a very useful 5V USB-A socket on the rear panel, so you can power portable devices such as the Chord's own Mojo 2 & Hugo 2 DAC/headphone amplifiers. It is worth noting that it is not recommended you use it to charge your mobile phone though!

As you can probably tell from the images (diolch Nic!) the Pre3 is beautifully engineered, with rock-solid build quality, and it is a joy to look at and use…

"Yes, yes, but what does it sound like?" Well....

Chord Electronics' electronics have always done certain things very well; timbre, timing, textures and space. The Pre3 and 5 Power are no exception, now adding weight and scale to their list of virtues (See what I did there).

Thrilling without being tiring, detailed without appearing hard, solid whilst not overwhelming the listener, this is very, very good indeed. Turn up the volume and it doesn’t appear to become louder, just bigger as it moves you closer to the artist, until you realise it’s very loud indeed and maybe it would be prudent to back it off - just a touch.

Playing Hans Theessink's "Blues Stay Away From Me", it's obvious this track is a duet, the accompanying vox appearing behind and above Hans' melody. On a lesser system, you don't hear anything but Hans, solo (I'm not even sorry).

Mario Biondi's cut of "This Is What You Are" has a very subtle tempo change on the cymbal after the first verse. Most systems miss it – the Pre3 and 5 Power do not. Also it sounds as if the percussionist is playing actual tom-toms, rather than yoghurt pots.

"Maybe In Another Life" by Caitlin Smith is beautifully rendered, a fabulous production, full, lush and solid – one can even pick out she uses a hard plectrum on this track, rather than her fingernails.

Finally, the 'Live in Japan' Eddi Reader performance of "Hallelujah" is heartbreaking and emotional, we defy you to not have a thickening to your throat and a tear in your eye while listening to it…

But why take our word for it? Come and join us for a listen.

Thank you for reading.

Ade, Andy & Nic - Audio T Swansea

If you would like to book a demonstration, call on 01792 474608 or Email us at swansea@audio-t.co.uk we look forward to seeing you.

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

Straight Outta Welshpool! Taking a look at Leema Acoustics…

/ Audio T Cardiff/

In this months blog from sunny Cardiff, Matt takes a look at the story of a Welsh Hi-Fi company and goes on to review the Tucana ll Anniversary integrated amplifier as well as discuss our planned store event on September 15th and 16th with Leema Acoustics at Audio T Cardiff. So without further ado…

Leema Tucana II anniversary in its natural habitat

The Hi-Fi industry has many groundbreaking product releases from manufacturers that tends to turn heads, and Leema Acoustics has certainly done just that over the years since the birth of the company in 1998. They are definitely not showing any sign of slowing, continuing to come up with innovating ideas that are sleek looking and well designed boxes in your Hi-Fi rack. In my humble opinion, they’re in the business of creating tone monsters capable of giving massive sound stages and superb timing. This presentation is delivered perfectly with the Leema Tucana and in particular the Tucana II Anniversary model springs to mind. I myself have come to rely on this amplifier, it never disappoints and no matter what I plug into this amp everything sounds right to my ears.

So, I thought it was high time to take this wonderful opportunity to take the Tucana II Anniversary home and really get to know it. In my own space with plenty of time over a weekend I could really put this amplifier through its paces and hear what makes this beast tick. I have put this amplifier in the forever category along with Spendor D7.2s (by the way to me this is the perfect combination that one day I will end up with… I hope). Before I start down the road of talking your ears off about my favourite amplifier and why I call it the “God of Thunder” let’s take a little dive into Leema’s history and what they are all about by exploring some of their current range.

A little Leema history

Founding member lee taylor - the “lee” in leema

Leema was originally founded in 1998 by two ex-BBC engineers, Lee Taylor and Mallory Nicholls. Both had and still have a fanatical interest in audio reproduction. Their first project focussed on pushing the boundaries of loudspeaker design and their idea was to create a miniature loudspeaker capable of outperforming speakers many times its size. After many years of intense research and testing they came up with the Xen micro monitor which they claim, became unsurpassed in technical and musical excellence. Xen was originally only available to the professional market and was found in many studios. It wasn’t long before audiophiles began to take notice of these speakers due to their build quality and sound presentation. By this time Leema was starting to take hold in the Hi-Fi industry, so Mallory and Lee decided to turn their expertise to audio electronics. Their first project was the original incarnation of the award winning Tucana integrated amplifier, which was released in early 2006. Shortly afterwards they came up with the Antila CD player which won the Sound and Vision Award in 2007.

Since then, the Leema portfolio has grown exponentially joining forces with Davtec who have had a long history in manufacturing electronics, established in 1983. I know this might sound a little strange but, just to show how diverse they are, Davtec also design and manufacture a whole host of other things from traffic lights to milking machines. Now in partnership with Davtec, Leema has well and truly spread its wings.

Moving forward, they came up with other great amplification such as the Pyxis preamp, which I had the pleasure of installing in a customer’s system recently. Teamed with a pair of Cyrus Mono X 300 Signature amplifiers and Spendor D9.2s. I have never heard a sound stage like it and a lot of that character is injected by the Leema Pyxis preamplifier.

The Pyxis would normally be partnered with the Hydra power amplifier to make a pretty unstoppable combination. Leema have also introduced phono stages to their range,such as the Agena, as well as standalone digital to analogue converters like the Libra.

lips link back panel tucana II anniversary

Leema have now added a more focused approach to affordable options for Hi-Fi in the form of the Elements range. To my ears I think the Elements amplifier has borrowed some of the Tucana’s soul. Also in that range you’ll find a great CD player, streamer and phono stage that works in perfect harmony with Leema’s LIPS technology (Leema Intelligent Protocol System) which enables each part of the system to talk to one another. LIPS is also featured on other products such as the Pyxis and Tucana ll. You’ll be as glad as we are to hear that there are more toys on the horizon from Leema, the all new Quantum pre-amplifier and power amplifier.

leema elements amplifier and cd player

As promised let’s talk Tucana ll Anniversary

The award winning Tucana burst into life in 2006 and is still winning awards today. Moving on 10 years, Leema celebrated the anniversary of this truly masterful piece of kit and its unparalleled audio quality by introducing the Tucana II Anniversary. Within the existing premium chassis of this class AB amplifier lies quite a few worthwhile upgrades. Leema revisited those key areas within the circuitry that matters the most when defining the character and delivery of the amps already immersive soundstage. The upgrades go beyond the badge on the front, the printed circuit boards are upgraded with double weight copper, further reducing the resistance of PCB traces and improving the power delivery. All relevant capacitors have been upgraded to Nicholson high quality grade MUSE series. PCB to speaker terminal wiring is now Leema’s Reference 2 speaker cable, that’s 16 woven cores, multi high strand high purity copper with individual silver plating. These are just some of the upgrades this amplifier has gone through, not to mention the cool remote control…

Leema acoustics tucana ii anniversary remote control

Let the listening begin…

Ortofon 2m black on the rega planar 6

Working for Audio T, I feel blessed to be able to take such an amplifier home with me to put through its paces in my natural habitat. The source being vinyl played from a Rega Planar 6 fitted with Ortofon 2M Black cartridge and stylus via Nytech Audio CDP122 phono stage and the Acoustic Energy AE300 speakers.

Over a weekend I swapped out my Rega Elex-R amplifier for the Tucana ll Anniversary and trust me, I was full of excitement. I know how this amplifier sounds in our shop demo room but listening in the home environment is a different experience. Starting with this amplifiers character, some say it’s forward and some have commented that it can be too neutral whereas I say it’s more than that. The sound stage envelops you and draws you in. The listening experience never became tiring even with its high detailed delivery. This amplifier has the ability to control most speakers big and small that I’ve thrown at it, including my Acoustic Energy AE300s, they sound like a speaker 4 times the price when coupled with the Tucana II Anniversary. Spending time alone with this amplifier has given me the chance to explore the amplifier’s functions. Starting with the core of this amp it is class AB and you may already know that I’m a big fan of class AB amplifiers. Leema have managed to deliver a sound that takes class AB amplification to another level, it’s big open sound and perfect timing kept me engaged throughout the listening experience. Moving onto the controls this amp’s simple design allows me to adjust everything at ease, the volume control is well lit on front panel and shows where you are with full and half steps. The amp also has a very easy to use gain control allowing the user to set every input to an equal level so there’s no sudden jumps in volume, for instance when switching from a CD player to a turntable.

Test Tracks and albums used

  • Steve Vai - Inviolate (2022) - Track used:

    “Teeth of the Hydra”

  • Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam (2002) - Track used:

    “Army Reserve”

  • Pink Floyd - Momentary laps in reason (1987) - Track used:

    “Learning to fly”

Starting with Mr Vai and “Teeth of the Hydra”. On this track Steve Vai commissioned Ibanez to make a multi strung/multi neck guitar. This was a 7 string and 12 string guitar, fretless bass and even a harp configuration of all things. This track has a lot going on and the Tucana held everything together perfectly. The finer details of this instrumental track creates a massive sound stage, Vai’s guitar and the percussion fills the room. Tracks like this one is why I call this amplifier the “God of Thunder”, power with perfect control. Moving onto Pearl Jam’s “Army Reserve”. Again the Tucana brings out detail on vinyl I haven’t heard before, such as Eddie Vedder’s voice you can hear him breathe on the microphone and Jeff Ament’s solid bass groove on this track had more clarity and superb timing. Now last but not least Pink Floyd “Learning to Fly”. Right from the start of the song the Tucana makes me feel like I’m at a concert. Dave Gilmour’s guitar and the rest of the band playing on this track again fill the room with tone, detail and great timing.

In summary

As you can tell, I hold this amplifier in very high regard and as I said before this amplifier is in the forever class as it holds everything I would ever want in an integrated amplifier. From its class AB nature to its ability to work with many source components whether it is vinyl, streaming or CD.

This September you will have the chance to listen for yourself and tell us what you think of the Tucana and other amplifiers in Leema’s line-up including a first look at the new Quantum pre-amplifier and power amplifier. We have setup a two day event at Audio T Cardiff so put the dates in your diary, Thursday 15th September and Friday 16th September. A representative from Leema Acoustics will be on hand conducting timed demonstrations from early afternoon to early evening with a brief look at the history of Leema Acoustics and where they are heading in the future.

If you would like to attend this event contact us on 02920 228565 or Email us at cardiff@audio-t.co.uk we look forward to seeing you there.

Thank you for reading

Matt, Nick and Kerrin - Audio T Cardiff

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

Leema Acoustics can be found at the following Audio T stores

Direct Drive vs Belt Driven Turntables - Which is Better?

/ Audio T Portsmouth/

As we’ve discussed in numerous articles in the past; a turntable is complex instrument of precision, designed to best reproduce the sound of vinyl records through a whole host of pivotal components. We’ve covered the topics of the different types of cartridges, and even the importance of maintenance and the possible upgrade paths of manufacturers and products such as Linn Sondek LP12. But one question that is often asked by those looking for a new turntable is “Should I be looking at direct drive or belt driven?” Well, let’s see if we can answer that one for you…

So how do they work?

Anyone with a modicum of technical or engineering prowess could probably work this out for themselves. Afterall, the names are pretty self explanatory…

Direct Drive

The direct drive turntable is a creature of moderately uncomplicated design. It consists of a platter which is directly attached to the player’s motor via the spindle… That’s it!

dansette advert from the 1950s

It’s a common misconception that Direct Drive is the same as design the Idler Wheel Drive found in the likes of Dansettes, Thorens and Garrard turntables of the 1950s, 60s and 70s… This just simply isn’t the case.

This design incorporates an offset motor that uses an intermediate wheel or cog to drive the platter. Although this manufacturing style was popular around sixty years ago, it is very rarely found in turntables today.

Belt Drive

Belt driven turntables are designed with an offset motor which is connected to the spindle via a thin belt, which is more often than not made from rubber. The movement of the motor creates a pulley system which in turn creates the revolutions of the platter.

So, what are the Pros and Cons?

As I’m sure you can already guess, neither designs is without their pros or cons. If one design was perfect, then the other one would most likely cease to exist. Let’s start with…

The pros

A direct drive system features arguably a quicker startup time and stronger torque, offering slightly more consistent speed. Some argue that this design has better overall reliability and durability.

When looking at a belt driven turntable, we turn our attentions to the belt itself. These are almost always made from shock absorbing materials such as rubber, which can reduce any harsh vibrations which are generated from the motor, and in turn produce a better overall sound quality (We’ll go into more detail a little later on). Now let’s set something straight here… Predominantly, these belts aren’t any old elastic bands! Most manufacturers take this very seriously. One such brand is Rega and their Reference EBLT Belt. The manufacturing process itself sounds like something from a sci-fi movie, “Once moulded, the belts are cryogenically frozen and barrelled to remove any excess flash in order to create perfect cross sectional roundness which is critical for accurate speed and stability.” Not to mention the composition of the material that goes in to the Reference EBLT Belt is top secret!

So what are the cons?

Whilst a direct drive turntables has some mechanical advantages over its belt driven counterpart, it is the direct connection between the motor and the platter that is its biggest weakness… Let me explain. Because the platter and motor are physically attached to one another, vibrations are fed directly from the motor to the platter, which in turn travels through the record to the cartridge. This creates a degree of distortion which inevitably lowers the playback quality.

The rega PLanar 1, 2 and 3 feature a manual belt movement to change playback speed

Oddly, when looking at belt driven turntables, it’s once again the component that gives it it’s advantage that can also be attributed to any potential downfall… Firstly, some might argue that belt driven record players have a slightly less accurate playback speed than direct drive turntables due to stretch and potential slipping of the belt. This can happen over time as belts elasticity can wear down, especially on those that require the belt to be moved between differing sizes of drive spindle to change the playback speed. Luckily, in most cases the changing of a replacement belt is easy and the parts themselves are fairly inexpensive.

It is worth noting that the belt isn’t the only potential problem area of this design. If the spindle or platter is not machined to be perfectly cylindrical, you can experience issues in timing and playback. Fortunately this is an issue which relates more to budget or economy turntables… Not the sort that you will find in our reputable establishments, I can assure you!

OK, which one is for me?

Taking into account all the pros and cons of each design, When it comes down to it, it is a case of function over form…

Given their durability, high torque and faster startup speed, direct drive turntables are largely heralded as the dominion of DJs. The contemporary design most popularised by the likes of Pioneer, Technics and Audio-Technica allows them to stop and manually rewind vinyl as they try to line-up the beats of multiple tracks, as well as scratch records without fear of a slipping belt stopping the music coming back in to play, right where it is needed.

So, unless you’re planning on unleashing your DJ skills unto to the world, and you favour audio quality over portability, then belt drive is the way for you! There are countless high-fidelity manufacturers opting for this design, all of which taking different approaches to optimising the performance of their respective models. From floating chassis to external motors, each range and model of turntable incorporates different designs, manufacturing techniques and materials…

This opens a wider debate that moves away from the objectivity of “Direct Drive Vs Belt Driven”, and requires that you, the listener be put in the proverbial driving seat to determine which one performs best to your ears within your chosen budget.

We have a whole host of turntables available through our twelve bricks and mortar stores. You can view most of which online Here.

Thanks for reading

Brad Tyler (Audio T Digital Marketing Manager)

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

Aesthetic & Powerful - The New McIntosh integrated amplifier MA9500

/ Audio T Swindon/

McIntosh Laboratory, Inc. have added two new integrated amplifiers to their already distinguished range - The MA8950 and the MA9500. Being the flagship Audio T store for McIntosh, we have had the pleasure of listening to quite a few of their integrated amplifiers (including the top of the range MA12000), so we couldn’t wait to hear one of the latest editions. Here at Audio T Swindon, we’ve taken delivery of the McIntosh MA9500. Let’s take a look…

What’s New?

When comparing it to the award-winning MA9000, McIntosh states that the MA9500 has a 50% increase in dynamic headroom, less distortion and better bass performance. The power supply components have been upgraded, too.

Whilst the MA9000 included the option for the DA1 Digital Audio Module, the MA9500 comes with the DA2 Digital Audio Module as standard (We'll discuss this a bit more a little later on).

MA9500 with eight-band tone control and a high quality headphone amplifier

A little insight of what is going on inside the MA9500

Guaranteed 300W per channel?

An amplifiers job is to drive and to control a pair of loudspeakers. As we know, loudspeakers come with different sensitivity and impedance so it’s difficult to say how much power is required to do the best job. The MA9500 offers 300 watts per channel. Thanks to McIntosh’s Autoformer™ technology this is guaranteed into a load of 2, 4 or 8 Ohms. (The McIntosh Output Autoformer™ is a special transformer that is designed and manufactured in-house by McIntosh.)

The DA-2 Digital Audio Module

As mentioned previously, the MA9500 comes with a factory fitted DA-2 Digital Audio Module which offers 7 digital inputs: 2 coaxial, 2 optical, 1 USB, 1 MCT, and 1 audio-only HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC)1 connection. The DA2 is powered by an audiophile-grade, Quad Balanced, 8-channel, 32-bit Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) that has improvements in both dynamic range and total harmonic distortion compared to the DAC in the DA1. The coax and optical inputs in the DA2 can decode digital music up to 24-bit/192kHz for playback of high-resolution audio. The DA2 has a McIntosh exclusive MCT input that offers a secure DSD connection to any of their MCT series of SACD/CD Transports, to deliver the best possible sound quality of the high-definition audio found on your SACDs.

The flexibility of the DA2 means you can connect a TV via the ARC HDMI socket, a CD transport to an optical or coaxial input and if you have a PC, Mac or Music server such as the Innuos range, connect it to the USB audio socket. This allows you to make the MA9500 the centre of your home entertainment system. And whilst the DA2 is factory fitted, its modular design means it's possible to someday replace it with any newer Digital Audio Modules that McIntosh may release.

MA9500 rear panel

There are 6 unbalanced phono and 2 balanced XLR inputs, one fixed-level phono input for integration into a home cinema set-up and individual inputs for Moving Magnet and Moving Coil, both with adjustable loading.

Would you look at those high quality loudspeaker binding posts!

The Solid Cinch speaker binding posts are gold-plated to prevent corrosion

Let’s listen to some music…

We put together a system comprising of the McIntosh MA9500 integrated amplifier, Rega Saturn MK3 cd player, Rega Planar 8 turntable w/ Ania MC Cartridge and the Innuos Zen MK3 music server. We decided to use the Spendor D7.2. and PMC Twenty5 24i as both are favourites here in the Swindon store.

Rega Saturn MK3, McIntosh MA9500, Rega Planar8/Ania MC and on the middle shelf the Innuos Zen Mini MK3 music server

Like a luxury car engine - You just feel it…

In our humble opinion, the MA9500 is a must have for any audiophile. It creates such a big, open and airy soundstage that it simply takes your breath away… It’s like being in the midst of an open air concert!

The bass is tight and controlled without suppressing any of the deep-toned resonance you’d expect from the low-end. It really does allow for incredible sonorance without compromising the rest of the frequency range. Vocals are focused and stand out nicely in a mix.

The MA9500’s volume control is very precise and you can really feel those 300w per channel at work - It’s like the big engine of a luxurious car, not only designed for going fast but also making sure you have the most comfortable ride at the same time.

The built-in phono stage sounds incredible! Whilst we used the Rega Planar 8 for this demonstration, the flexibility of having inputs for both MM and MC, not to mention their adjustable loads, means you can accompany this amplifier with virtually any turntable/cartridge combination.

The USB audio connectivity is a great touch that you don’t find on all amplifiers. We connected our Innuos music server to the DA2 and truly noticed the improved clocking with the increased DSD playback support (up to DSD512).

This powerhouse of a unit also features built-in High Drive headphone amplifier with Headphone Crossfeed Director (HXD®). This crossfeed implementations aims to achieve a more speaker-like presentation. It does this by blending the signal before it hits your ears, as speakers do naturally whilst headphones, by their very nature, do not. It brings a whole new dimension to headphones, which is perfect for a relaxing late night listening session.

It’s safe to say that we are huge fans of the MA9500 Integrated Amplifier, not to mention the rest of the products in the McIntosh range. If you haven’t already, we’d strongly suggest that you have a listen for yourself.

Thanks for reading - Stefan & Andy - Audio T Swindon.

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

McIntosh can be found at the following Audio T stores -

A First look at the New Russell K Red 50 2022 spec

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Russell K Red 50 2022 spec.

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New Product

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Russell K Red 50 2022 spec. 〰️ New Product 〰️

Here at Audio T Enfield, we are proud to stock Russell K speakers, and last week we were lucky enough to be the first retailer in the country to get a first listen and look at the new RED 50 22 speakers.

A brief history on Russell K

Russell Kauffman

Russell Kauffman, a personal friend of Audio T, is the Managing Director and Designer of Russell K Ltd. He began his career in the industry as a manager for Hi-Fi retailer Lasky’s during the 80s, later going on to work for Wharfedale, Monitor Audio, Bowers & Wilkins and Morel Acoustics.

Russell K Ltd was established in 2013 when Russell pursued his dream of creating his own Hi-Fi brand, with the first product, the RED 100 speakers, on the market by 2014. Since then the company has gone from strength to strength, distributing throughout Europe and part of South-East Asia. The British based company’s mission is to “build precision audio loudspeakers” where they are “totally focussed on producing the most authentic and believable sound possible”.

Three series of speakers have been developed; The BLACK series (BLACK 50s, 100s, 120s & 150s), the RED series (RED 50s, 100s, 120s & 150s), and the SE series (120SEs & 150 SEs); cloth grilles for all models and JK100 stands for the 100 series are sold separately. They are massively popular amongst Hi-Fi enthusiasts due to their excellent sound quality, and many have received top reviews both in the UK and internationally.

You can read some of Russell K’s great reviews here.

The RED 50 22s - what’s new?

The finishes have changed from gloss to matt with a wood-type veneer, and the once silver screws around the drive unit and tweeter have been replaced with black ones, creating a sleeker look.

The components inside the cabinet haven’t been changed, meaning you will still get the signature Russell K sound from them.

What can you choose from?

As pictured above, there are three new finishes:

  • Oak & White baffle

  • Black Wood & Black baffle

  • Walnut & Black baffle

And so we listened…

For the listening session we played the debut CD album by 90s RnB girl band Eternal, ‘Always and Forever’ on the Audiolab Omnia , using the standard power cables at first. Russell himself joined us on this particular day to provide training, which is always great fun!

The beauty of this album (and one of the main reasons why I love early 90s music) is that it was recorded before auto-tune was invented, so little tweaking has been done to their vocals; the recordings sound much more natural and less computerised/edited. These are great albums to use when testing out Hi-Fi gear; it will really show the system’s capability in playing the true sound of the music.

The RED 50 22s had no trouble giving us the album’s authentic sound; we particularly noticed this on the track ‘Let’s Stay Together’. Easther’s (lead singer) voice in particular has a very soulful tone that was hugely complimented by the speakers; they allowed us to connect more emotionally with the her tone and the music overall. We even did a comparison test with another pair of speakers, and you could really hear the difference clarity-wise; the Russell K’s had much more life and character to them. Russell’s aim when building any speaker is for the listener to be so connected to what they hear, that the Hi-Fi gear disappears and they’re immersed in the music. That’s exactly what happened next…

The REd 50 22s

We listened for most of the morning and then switched genres in the afternoon. I wanted to explore a track that is polar-opposite in its production to really test the speakers’ capabilities. I chose ‘Frozen’ by Sickick and Madonna, which is a remix of Madonna’s iconic 90s synth-heavy track, made famous by TikTok trends. It falls under the genre of ‘trap’, which is a bass and beat heavy style of music with lots of digital production and auto-tune (I really meant it when I said polar-opposite!). The speakers delivered as expected; the bassline was clear, the beat was tight and we were completely immersed by the huge sound-stage.

The verdict

From what I discovered during my training/listening session, the RED 50 22s are capable of anything. No matter the genre, the recording, the production, these speakers will bring any song to life and allow you to connect in a way you may not have done previously. Plus they’d look really good in your home, which means they are a win all-round! As always, we recommend coming in and listening so you get your own feel of the speakers.

Thanks for reading

Elena & John – Audio T Enfield

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

Russell K can be found at the following Audio-T stores:

Rega Elicit Mk5 - How does it fair to its predecessor?

/ Audio T Oxford/

Housed in the latest custom case to match the rest of the Rega range, the new Elicit MK5 builds on previous Rega designs. Having thoroughly run in the slim, but reassuringly heavy latest amplifier from Rega, I thought it was probably about time to say some words, about its build, its features, but most importantly how well it performs:

The design of the new Elicit Mk5 is beautifully put together and displays the minimalist styling that is typical of Rega. With just the headphone socket, power, input select button and an (Alps pot equipped) volume control on the front panel. If you think of a slimmer Aethos, then you will be on the right lines.

Using a similar FET based amplifier design to that of its bigger brother the Aethos, and equipped with a plethora of high quality components, in the areas that matter most. The rated power is 105W into 8 Ohms. The inbuilt Wolfson DAC is capable of up to 24bit/ 192 kHz resolution and has both optical and coaxial inputs, but no USB. Likewise, no DSD conversion is available.

Like all phono stage equipped Rega amplifiers, the moving magnet stage is excellent and would be entirely capable of partnering a Planar 3, or even a Planar 6. The headphone amplifier is equally excellent. It is certainly much better specified than the previous Elicit R.

So how does it compare to its predecessor?

The previous Elicit R was a lovely sounding amplifier, and a very popular one at that. But, unlike the other amplifiers in Rega’s range it always appeared to be ploughing its own furrow. Where the Elex R had the more muscular “house” sound, now fully realised in the exceptional Aethos, the Elicit R always seemed a to deliver music with a touch more delicacy, and while lithe in the way that the Brio so brilliantly is, it was tad light-footed and less able to cross genres and communicate the drive and attack that the rest of the Rega’s range are so clearly capable of. This certainly didn’t make it an also-ran, just a different sound and, well, less Rega.

The Listening…

Using the wonderful value Bluesound Node as the source (both on its own and later with the RME ADI-2 DAC), driving a pair of JBL HDI 1600’s; I played some of my favourite test tracks: From Rob Wasserman’s album ‘Duets’, ‘Ballad of the runaway horse’ is a standout track: With the new Elicit MK5, Rega have refined the sound, taking the Elicit R ability to resolve the finer details and to capture the soundstage, communicating the depth and width of the recording, along with a more powerful sound. This new Elicit MK5 fits into the range as a definitive step-up over the Elex R and as the precursor to the glorious Aethos. It offers the best elements of the outgoing model with a more dynamic and impactful delivery.

Moving onto Lou Reed’s ‘Walk on the wild side’: the vocal’s appear to sit further forward in the mix and they are somehow more immediate. And while the soundstage projected is just as wide, there is now a real focus on the drive and rhythm in a track and the new Elicit MK5 can really hit hard when it’s called too. It’s the absolute step up we were anticipating and very welcome, making what was a very good amp’, great.  

If you would like to have a listen to this very fine amplifier, please get in touch.

Thank you for reading.

Jon, Andrew and Rob - Audio T Oxford. 

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

Not every Rose has its thorn - Introducing HiFi Rose and the RS150B Streamer

/ Audio T Manchester/

HiFi Rose is a relatively new audio technology brand from Korea, that focuses on delivering high-quality streaming audio in an accessible way, utilising a host of innovative features. HiFi Rose claim to focus on the lifestyle of the music lover. So let’s put it to the test and take a first look at the HiFi Rose RS150B High-End Audio & Video Streamer…

Chromey begins his inspection of Hifi Rose RS150

Your first impressions of the Rose RS150B streamer are dominated by the unique and super slick 378mm touchscreen display, to the point you initially miss the utterly superb case, which has been machined out of a single solid billet of ultra high purity aluminium. As well as looking good, this provides a super solid base for the units state of the art electronics, acting as a thermal heat sink for the cool running of the unit, and doubles-up as a mechanical vibration sink; all helping to aid the superb sound quality.

As well as the solid aluminium billet case aiding the superior sound quality, the Rose streamer has on board and under the cover some pretty impressive technology. For a start, it boasts the use of the highly regarded ESS Technology SABRE ES9038PRO DAC. For the technically minded, this allows the HiFi Rose streamer to play both PCM digital files up to 768Khz 32 BIT and DSD digital files up to native DSD512 (22.5792Mhz) – some of the highest studio grades. HiFi Rose choose a super regulated linear power supply as a power source for the unit, which is tuned to both reduce mains noise and provide a super clean DC supply for the audiophile electronics inside. A further reduction of digital jitter and digital noise is taken care of by use of a Femto master clock. (A Femto clock is a super accurate, down to a single femtosecond; one quadrillionth of a second!)

As mentioned, the huge touch screen dominates the fascia. This not only provides an excellent and changeable look to the front of the unit, but provides a direct and highly useable interface to control every aspect of the HiFi Rose streamer. This makes setting up the machine for your exacting requirements, controlling the myriad of both analogue and digital connections, and the streaming options super easy. As well as displaying your album art and other user options, a selection of interactive screensavers can also be displayed, customised to your requirements.

The screen is matched in its flexibility, actually surpassed in its flexibility, by the units connectivity. As a stand alone streamer, it can be super straightforward; simply connect your amplifier or active loudspeakers to either of the XLR balanced or RCA phono output connections and play. The Rose RS150B offers optional volume control. Just connect to your internet and stream direct from music sources such as Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and Qobuz. Not forgetting it can stream via ROON and Apple Airplay, with DLNA compatibility, the streaming of your own music from a NAS drive, off your computer’s hard drive, or an (optional internally fitted solid state drive or external USB) hard drive.

Impressively, the unit offers high quality streaming of 4K HD video (including YouTube), plus a huge selection of internet radio sources and optional Bluetooth! Adding to this, the unit provides analogue and digital inputs with switching, two HDMI, (including ARC, enabling your TV sound and TV remote to control the unit.) four USB connections allow you to link a combination of portable hard drives/flash drives, CD drives as well as directly to your computer or laptop. You’ll also find coaxial and optical inputs and outputs, plus a pair of high end I2S digital outputs for ultra high end DAC upgrades.

In use, the HiFi Rose OS app is downloadable to any current Android or Apple device. This compliments the impressive touch screen, allowing full control wirelessly from your favourite armchair. The app is slick, and intuitive to use. Offering easy input selection, easy streaming and easy control.

And what a sound! Playing the latest Hi-res audio formats is approaching the very best sound digital can offer. Even with standard CD, the sound is sublime, smooth, fatigue free and a highly musical, accurate performance; on audition now, at Audio T Manchester.

Thanks for reading.

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

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

HiFi Rose can be found at the following Audio T stores

The Harbeth Speaker Range - The Legends of Hi-Fi Folklore

/ Audio T Bristol/

Looking at the Harbeth range, some may well roll their eyes - scoffing at the folksy wooden box design as the product of pipe & slippers, tweed laden, nostalgic types. Presumably as they waft around in their full-placket polo shirts, low rise trousers and desert boots, sipping on oat milk lattes. But in that judgement, a real gem of Hi-Fi is discarded as the detritus of progress. The Harbeth’s artisanal crafted speaker hides the continued refinement over decades to tune what are truly refined classics.

The world moves at a pace - forever forward. The latest, newest CAD designed, user first experience, hyper-connected machined perfection. Alongside this is the ever growing counter-culture of vinyl sales, vintage revival, craft and the yearning for the past, its personalities, possibilities, and events, essentially the "good ol' days" - in a word… Nostalgia.

From the 17th to the 19th Centuries, this fondness of the past, longing for familiarity was considered a psychological disorder. Swiss physician Johannes Hofer coined the term in his 1688 medical dissertation, from the Greek nostos, or homecoming, and algos, or pain. So convinced of this, great medical research effort went into finding the pathological nostalgia bone and treatment.

A recent article in The Hi-Fi press titled "The ugly truth behind Hi-Fi's growing infatuation with nostalgia" took aim at the entire Hi-Fi industry "It’s as though the industry at large has decided that the best way to move forward is to look back". and that manufacturers should be creating new exciting sounding connected, Future-Fi products that wouldn't look out of place in Wallpaper magazine - creating products that become the new classics.

Myopic visions of nostalgia, miss the positive aspects of reflection. not merely looking back fondly or the past revival. To me, Nostalgia is an emotional experience always fleeting, always fragile and of having what you lost or never had, of hearing what you missed hearing. It’s the feeling that overcomes you when some minor vanished beauty of the world is momentarily restored by our senses; re-igniting cornerstone memories that make us who we are. Summoned by the music which moves us, it's powerful and restorative.

Harbeth was founded by H.D Harewood, who cut his teeth at the sharp end of the BBC's loudspeaker Research department in the 60s and 70s that resulted in the iconic LS3/54, LS3/6 and three-way LS5/5 designs. That research, amongst other studies, identified that speaker cone materials were paramount in defining the sonic properties. Today, the mid range drivers are injection-moulded and use the second generation of a special formulation of polypropylene ‘RADIAL’, which stands for ‘Research And Development In Advanced Loudspeakers’. The whole process of design, manufacturing, assembly & testing is carried out at Harbeth’s Lindfield production facility helmed , for the last 34 years, by Alan Shaw . Indeed Shaw is personally and solely responsible for product design and “voicing” all Harbeth loudspeakers with the true craftsman approach of art and science.

The Line Up

Only five models make up the entire Harbeth range - P3ESR XD, C7ES-3 XD, M30.2 XD, SHL5plus XD and the M40.3 XD. They are masterminded by a single designer and the model selection is based on the optimum Harbeth for your system, room size and power handling. The cabinets are handmade and feature the finest veneers. All are rated at 6 Ohm and are easy to drive with two 4mm binding posts. As I write this, we currently have the P3ESR XD, C7ES-3 XD & SHL5plus XD in store and available for audition.

Setup & How they sound

For this experience we partnered the speakers as follows; The baby Harbeth P3ESR XD were driven by the Rega Elex-R and Bluesound Node running Qobuz for a source and then with the Naim Uniti Nova.

Standing at 30cm high, this iteration of the BBC mini-monitor perform really well in our 3m x 4m audition room. Great agility, dynamics and whilst the lower frequency registers are not going to rattle the windows, the roll off, mid range performance and bass accuracy means they never feel lacking, there is a certain feel that they reach lower than the 75Hz specification. The closed cabinet design makes the P3ESR XD extremely flexible in terms of placement, excelling at mid range and upper mids. Great vocal presentation and a treble delicacy.

For the Harbeth C7ES-3 XD, again the Naim Uniti Nova and then with the new Rega Elicit Mk5 and Bluesound Node. This was the optimum speaker for our audition room and any medium sized room. The Naim/Harbeth is an extraordinary combination. Great timing, clarity and openness in spades. The Harbeth secret for accuracy and lifelike sound is the meticulous attention to detail during the design stage. Critically important, but hidden, is the crossover, which carefully integrates the drive units across a wider horizontal and vertical arc. Incremental changes to this fundamental component have allowed this legendary loudspeaker to present the most challenging instruments with increased presence and transparency.

Finally, the Harbeth SHL5plus XD using the ATC CA2 preamp and ATC P2 power amp with the Linn Selekt DSM streamer. The 200mm Harbeth RADIAL2™ bass/mid and 25mm ferrofluid-cooled tweeter of the CE7 are now accompanied by a 20mm dome SuperTweeter to make this a 3-way vented design. This SuperTweeter never seems to make an obvious appearance, but gives more treble detail and texture. This worked best in our larger demo room - 7.5 x 5m x 3m high ceilings - commanding the space with an astounding wide and deep sound stage.

Conclusion

Classics are classics for good reason. Harbeth have withstood the march of time and if a design works, it is better to innovate and iterate to achieve greater perfection.

Overall, across the range the Harbeth speakers are an exhilarating listen. Their natural tone, clarity transparency, depth and imaging are captivating across all music genres. Book an audition to experience this for yourselves.

But why take out word for it? Come and have a listen for yourselves.

Thanks for reading - Max, James, Justin - Audio T Bristol

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

Harbeth can be found at the following Audio T stores

An Upgrade Of Epic Proportions! - The Chord Company Epic Cables

/ Audio T Cheltenham/

An audio system can consist of many components and obviously it is really important to choose these ingredients wisely and carefully so that they are well matched and work well together both musically and aesthetically. In fact, you can read my previous article on ‘System Synergy’ Here. An important part of this aforementioned synergy also applies to your choice of loudspeaker cables and interconnects, something that often gets overlooked or skimped upon but can in fact make or break the quality of sound that your system is able to produce.

Tried and Tested

Here at Audio T Cheltenham, we have tried so many different brands of interconnects and loudspeaker cables (and indeed still do) but we just keep finding ourselves coming back to those made by The Chord Company and in particular we really really like the Epic range…

A Brief History…

The Chord Company was formed in 1984. It all started over dinner one night in Salisbury, when a group of Naim retailers, visiting from America asked the manufacturer for a good-quality DIN-to-RCA interconnect.  At the table, was one Sally Gibb, then married to a Naim executive, who made the (historic) suggestion that she make the cables and start a business. With the blessing of Naim, the journey to make cables for the American market began.

Sally gibb - founder of the chord company

With the USA referring to cables as ‘cords’, the name The Chord Company, with its obvious musical connotations, seemed perfect and it quickly stuck. Sally drew a logo, designed the packaging and started testing prototypes. Completely British design and construction, although difficult to source at the time, was paramount and days of searching eventually led to suppliers of sufficient quality. Friends of Sally’s at Naim provided expertise and advice, with many of them helping to build the cables.

Sally gibb also featured in naim advertising including this calendar appearance

The first prototype was named “Chrysalis Cable” and the Americans swiftly returned with an initial order of 250! Cables were built, tested, packed and taken along to the Post Office.  Invoices were typed on a typewriter! After two steady years, The Chord Company got its first press review (by Malcolm Steward) and then the phone started to ring…and the rest is history!

Epic Powers

Now The Chord Company range is absolutely huge. Starting from from the inexpensive C-Series all the way up to the Chord Music cables, which very much sit at the “How Much!” end of the pricing spectrum. Somewhere in the mid to upper echelons of the pricing scale comes the Chord Epic Range, which just seems to work really well with everything we try it with.

Just for a bit of fun, I have even used Epic X Loudspeaker cable to connect a Denon DM41 micro system and a pair of Quad S1 loudspeakers and it sounded gorgeous! Like I said earlier, most people would buy the Denon and Quad and probably use some cheapo bell wire type cable and then never realise the full potential of the system… Not that I’m saying you should use a cable of this magnitude. I’m simply highlighting the significant difference the cables make.

Epic x Speaker Cable with Ohmic Banana Plugs

 

Space and Timing

The secret power of the Chord Epic range is to add space around all the instruments and voices within the soundstage produced by the system. Cables like these will allow your system’s components to work at their highest level, making everything sound more open and more detailed. Small details will become more apparent in the mix. A guitar string’s transient attack will be quick with a dynamic edge. On a larger scale, orchestral climaxes will be powerful and have a real sense of physical impact. The loudspeakers will disappear and the musical performance will be hanging in the three dimensional space in front of you.

Epic RCA phono to phono….Nice Box Too!

Starlight Scene

Toy by Yello from 2016

To be able to hear the differences that a cable can make to your system, you first need to be listening to a piece of music that you know really well. You should also ensure it is recorded nicely with plenty of air around everything that is going on in the recording and not overly compressed within an inch of its life. For these moments, my go to piece of music is the track Starlight Scene by Yello, from the album Toy.

I have been a fan of this band since discovering the album Stella in 1985. Their sound is often characterised by unusual music samples and a heavy reliance on rhythm. Yello albums are always superbly recorded and often use guest vocalists including Rush Winters, Billy Mackenzie (from The Associates), Stina Nordenstam, Jade Davies, and the one and only Shirley Bassey. The track Starlight Scene has a guest vocal from Malia, a gifted vocalist whose voice is both strong and sensual and suits this track beautifully. It is easy to tell when a system is on song and performing well with this track because you will be able to just fall into the soundstage, the bottom end of the bass will go down so low and you will be enchanted by that wonderful voice.

The Wonderful Album Convergence from 2014

If Starlight Scene does it for you then you must try Malia’s rather fab album, Convergence, which she recorded as a collaboration with Yello main man Boris Blank. As an album, Convergence is totally addictive. It simply oozes class. I can’t recommend this album highly enough. Boris Blank’s quirky musical style and heritage seems perfect for Malia’s sultry inflections. Lovers of the less erratic Yello songs and followers of blues/soul diva’s have been given a gift. You can’t afford not to buy this diamond.

Summing Up

To conclude, I have a little warning for you. BEWARE, because many expensive cables are ridiculously overpriced and under perform! Price alone is no indicator of quality performance. The Chord Epic range though is a real giant slayer. Try some and I bet you will not be disappointed. If it helps, a home loan/demonstration can be arranged for to you try it in your own system at your own leisure.

And if you still believe that cables do not make a difference then, come on in and hopefully we will show you otherwise. What have you got to lose?

Many thanks for reading!

Andy, Jon and Farid - Audio T Cheltenham.

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

Spendor Speaking From The Heart - A story of a traditional loudspeaker company and overview of the Spendor D7.2

/ Audio T Cardiff/

Working for Audio T gives me the chance to listen to a fantastic range of new and classic gear which I feel extremely lucky to be able to do (not to mention that I get to call it my job!). In this instance I thought I’d write this article on a brand that is right up there for performance, Spendor. As we often find in Hi-Fi retail, each of us have our favourite models and personally one of my favourite loudspeakers are the Spendor D7.2.

I feel these loudspeakers need no introduction they speak for themselves but this isn’t just a blog about the D7.2. I thought I would delve deeper into this British loudspeaker manufacturer, as well as giving you a run down of the wonderful D7.2 and an insight in to why I like them so much personally, and how they’ve become our go-to loudspeaker when auditioning new gear for our demonstrations.

A brief history of Spendor

Casting our minds back to 1969 an important year for many things, the Isle of Wight Festival, Led Zeppelin’s first album, Hendrix at Woodstock, the first test flight of Concorde and of course the Moon Landing. Amongst all of these groundbreaking goings-on, another thing happened the birth of the first Spendor loudspeaker, the legendary BC1 and the unmistakable LS1B.

Spendor BC1

Spendor was started in the late 60s by Spencer and Dorothy Hughes, hence the wonderfully clever anagram we know as Spendor. Spencer and co designer Dudley Harwood were working in the BBC’s sound engineering department and decided to put their knowledge and expertise gained over the years into the development of the game changing BC1 loudspeaker. This became the studio monitor of choice for broadcasters and sound studios worldwide. In the early days of design and production they used bextrene which, believe it or not, was used to make egg cartons. When covered in adhesive it became a suitable material for making loudspeaker diaphragms. The three way design used an 8” bextrene bass/mid driver, a Celestion tweeter and a Coles super tweeter. The drivers were mounted in a thin walled reflex enclosure and with a few tweaks to the crossover the legendary BC1 was born. The BC1 quickly rivalled other brands at the time such as Rogers with their LS3/5 A. With Spendor’s impressive stereo imaging and detail as well as sounding smooth with low distortion it wasn’t long before the Hi-Fi industry started to take notice when dealers started to sell them in the early 70s. These speakers were in production right up until 1994 and still influence Spendor’s design and sound today.

Moving forward to the current lines

Terry Miles with the spendor classic

Terry Miles was the designer behind the most recent speaker designs for Spendor, keeping the classic look and sound Spencer and Dudley designed all those years ago. Terry put his expertise to ranges such as the A and D series floor standing speakers introducing the A5 & A6R, then moving on to the introduction of the D series from the D1 stand mount all the way up to the D9 floor standing monsters. He also made a number of changes to the Classic Range from 4/5 right up to the 200Ti.


Another big change in Spendor’s rich history was ownership. Philip Swift made the big decision to buy this amazing speaker company back in the year 2000. He always had great passion for Spendor and saw his chance to own this true British heritage speaker brand. Those who know of Philip Swift, know he co-founded Audiolab back in 1983 and is responsible for co designing the first Audiolab 8000A integrated amplifier which is still around today in the form of the 8300. Philip has very much a hands on approach to the current Spendor speaker design. Interesting fact, Philip worked part time for Audio T whilst in university, the shop was located on the top floor of Dryden Chambers, off London's Oxford Street all of those years ago.

Spendor D7.2

Spendor LPZ Tweeter

So we start with Spendor’s LPZ or Linear pressure zone tweeter. Starting from its stainless steel front plate forming a damped acoustic chamber directly in from a light weight polyamide diaphragm. The front plate incorporates a shade correcting micro foil to equalise sound wave path lengths across the diaphragm. Next we have Spendor’s specially designed 18cm drive units. The bass/mid drive unit has an advanced EP77 polymer cone giving this speaker unsurpassed clarity. The low frequency drive unit has an ultra rigid, two part bonded kevlar cone giving powerful low accurate bass response. Both drivers feature magnesium alloy chassis. These drive units are aided by their high efficiency motor systems.

Using the fifth generation linear flow port technology these speakers benefit from their aerodynamically profiled central baffle to create a tapered twin Venturi port. This tapered twin port helps air velocity in the cabinet, meaning the bass is more controlled and these speakers can even be used in smaller rooms. don’t let the size fool you. Lastly Spendor’s dynamic cabinet damping delivers excellent timing. The damping is a big part of speaker design and the rigid high density cabinet panels in the D series are mass damped to reduce cross talk. This allows the energy in the cabinets is slowly be released the way Spendor intends preventing a blurred image. This damping design is achieved by using asymmetric aperture bracing, think of how an acoustic guitar is braced and how each guitar sounds different depending on its bracing, the same thought process goes for speaker cabinet design.

The set up

Electronics used in audition on HiFiRACKS LTD Podium Trio equipment rack

Turntable: Rega Planar 10 fitted with a Rega Apheta 3 moving coil cartridge.

Phono preamp: Trichord Dino with never connected power supply


Amplification: Cyrus pre XR preamp and Cyrus stereo 200 power amp


Speakers: Spendor D7.2s

HiFi rack used: HI-FI RACKS LTD Podium Trio OAK

Cables used: Chord Epic RCA cables going from the phono stage to the pre amp. Chord Shawline XLR cables connecting pre to power and Chord Epic speaker cables with ohmic banana plugs

Test tracks and albums used.

Led Zeppelin III LP

  • Led Zeppelin - lll (1970). - Track used: “Friends”

  • Pearl Jam - Riot Act (2002) - Track used: “You Are”

  • Metallica - Black Album (1991) - Track used: “Sad but true”

When listening to Led Zeppelin “Friends”, the D7.2 allowed me to hear so much detail in the track. The congas at the start of the track give a more dynamic feel to the ear and I could hear John Paul Jones’s Moog synthesizer kick in giving me a truly immersive stereo image.

Pearl Jam “You are”, is a bit of a tricky one to present using some of the rival speakers to the D7.2. This tends to be down to Jeff Ament’s bass becoming a wash and overpowering on some systems, but the D7.2 held up perfectly. It had good definition all the way through, I could even hear the octave strings on Jeff’s bass towards the end of the track.

Last up is the mighty Metallica, with “Sad but true”. I remember queuing up outside Our Price records in Cardiff for this album on release day in 1991! When listening to this track James Hetfield’s opening guitar riff sounded big and tone full but without sounding harsh, again on some speakers this track can do just that but not on the D7.2!

In summary

When I first started working for Audio T last year, I had listened to a few different brands and types of speakers, until one day my colleagues introduced me to the Spendor D7.2. They changed everything to my ears and as the saying goes if it sounds right, it usually is. To me the dynamic range is near perfect, good control with vocals, lead guitars and smooths the instruments that can normally sound harsh, such as the mandolin, but keeping the realism. The mid range frequencies are well controlled with excellent definition. Bass is tight and not overpowering, especially with that Pearl Jam track previously mentioned. The Spendor D7.2 are not difficult to drive and not too fussy on placement either, which is why they will work well in most rooms with little adjustment.

“Beautifully-made, relatively compact yet having a sound that boasts extended treble and a smooth mid-band allied to some real punch in the bass department. There’s a room ­filling sound on offer and they are not too fussy about positioning. As floorstanders go in this price range there’s little to touch them. Listen in and enjoy.”
— Hi-Fi World

It’s not very often you come across a pair of speaker that sounds right from the get go. I would put the Spendor D7.2 in the “forever speaker class” and one day hopefully I will own a pair. With all that being said, we know that everyone’s tastes can be very different and there’s no right or wrong answer. So, why not pop in and have a listen for yourself and tell us what you think.

Thanks for reading

Matt, Nick & Kerrin - Audio T Cardiff

If you would like to know more about Spendor you can check out the latest article in our summer edition of Music at Home+.

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

 

Spendor can be found at the following Audio T stores

ELYS RETURNS FROM THE WILDERNESS - THE REGA ELYS 2 CARTRIDGE

/ Audio T Brighton/

The story of Elys is an interesting and mysterious one. Years of self-isolation in the mountains of Switzerland during COVID without a cantilever to stand on. Her twin has finally returned from lockdown and shown herself to be fit and ready for battle in the cartridge wars, namely the Rega Elys 2.

Out of the ashes...

rega planar 3 fitted with an elys 2 mm cartridge

After almost 2 years in the wilderness, Rega have managed to rejuvenate an old favourite of theirs, the Rega Elys 2 MM cartridge.

For most of that time, the Elys 2 had become the stuff of urban legend, being spotted as often as Bigfoot in the Swiss Alps. It could just have been that the strange wailing noises heard in the hills was not the legendary Abominable Snowman, but a cry for help from our long lost Rega Elys 2 cartridge.

Reacquainting ourselves with an old friend

rega planar 3 with a rega elys 2 cartridge side view

So finally having one in stock was an ideal time to compare it with a cartridge that had become an old stalwart replacement for the Rega Elys 2 during its wilderness years, that of the tried and trusted Audio-Technica VM95ML(Micro-linear) MM cartridge.

We have found the Audio-Technica VM95ML to be an excellent match for the Rega Planar 3 turntable we have it on demonstration here at Audio T Brighton. It had become the standard recommendation for our customers in the absence of the Rega Elys 2 and we have fitted so many of them that the Audio-Technica VM95ML has often been in short supply itself.

rega planar 3 fitted with an audio technica vm95ml cartridge

Rega v Audio Technica

rega moving magnet range: carbon, elys2 and exact

So before we make any comparisons between these two wonderful cartridges, it may be helpful to reacquaint our readers with the various models in each range.

Rega has three cartridges in its moving magnet range. The hierarchy from budget to more serious is: Rega Carbon, Rega Elys 2 and finally the Rega Exact.

Audio Technica has four cartridges in its moving magnet range: Audio Technica VM95E, Audio Technica VM95EN, Audio Technica VM95ML and the Audio Technica VM95SH

audio technica vm95 moving magnet range: vm95e, vm95en, vm95ml and vm95sh

In terms of price hierarchy, the base models of Rega and Audio Technica are pretty equivalent in terms of cost/performance. Above that the Audio-Technica range are clearly delineated by the difference in stylus profile, the cartridge bodies being identical. These are clearly visible on the boxes and makes for interesting viewing. All I can say is that it definitely affects the sound, something you would expect given the physical differences in tracking as a result of each profile.

You can read another Audio T blog that demystifies the differences between the Audio-Technica VM95 family members Here.

Rega don’t giveaway their “secret sauce” other than the name and colour of the cartridge in question and there are no stylus profiles available to view on the packaging.

So how did the Elys 2 get on?

In order to test our cartridges, we used the MM phono stages of a Naim Supernait 3 and Rega Elex-R amplifiers into a pair of walnut Proac Response DB1’s wired with Naim NAC A5 speaker cable.

The Rega Elys 2 continues to give the Rega “house” sound, where tone and emotive expression come to the fore over technical prowess. Listening to Miles Davis “Kind of Blue” and the track So What, his trumpet comes through beautifully, with a natural tone and warmth. Comparing the Audio-Technica VM95ML brings far more detail and raspiness to the sound of the trumpet, with a wider gamut. Arguably, the VM95ML is the more technically virtuous of the two, but one cannot help but relax into his sound with the Elys 2.

proac db1’s playing some miles davis and tom waits

On Tom Waits album “Heartattack And Vine”, the track Til the money runs out highlights the extra detail within his voice using the VM95ML, with a deeper but less controlled bass than the Elys 2 and a more extended treble and strangely, less noticeable surface noise. There must be something in this “micro linear” stylus profile after all.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other...

As with all things hi-fi, what we hear on an individual level is very different for each of us. We all like different sonic characteristics and these may change depending what mood you’re in, the time of day, genre of music etc.

There is no doubt the the Rega Planar 3 with Rega Elys 2 is a wonderful pairing that puts expression and tone ahead of hi-fi details. It is easy to hear why one might be won over by this award winning combo.

To further wet your whistle, so to speak, Rega offer a discount on factory fitted packages of a Rega Planar 3 with Elys 2 and for even better performance, a Rega Planar 3 with Exact cartridge.

Ania has the last word...

Albeit not part of this articles original remit, I thought it may be useful to gain perspective in terms of upgrades within the Rega range.

We have been testing a Rega Planar 6 with Rega Ania MC cartridge on behalf of a customer. This combo “smokes” our aforementioned Rega Planar 3 plus either cartridge, with a massive increase in detail, refinement and tonal density. This is a very subjective opinion of course and your mileage may vary. And not to mention that the Planar 6 is an altogether different beast to the Planar 3.

Of course, the only way to really tell is to listen, so feel free to book a dem with us to hear this for yourself with some of your own records.

Thanks for reading - Ade, John and Paul - Audio T Brighton

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…

ProAc can be found at the following Audio-T stores