The New Acoustic Energy Cor(inium) Blimeys!

/ Audio T Bristol/

Acoustic Energy have been busy. First seen at the Munich Hi-Fi Show in October 2023, the Corinium floorstanding speakers, which have been a three year project spearheaded by Acoustic Energy Managing Director Matt Spandl, have arrived in store with much anticipation on our part…

The Balancing Act of Price, Performance & Aesthetics

The brief for the project was simple and ambitious - to create the most dynamic, live sounding and musically involving loudspeaker Acoustic Energy have ever created.” This represents Acoustic Energy’s first speaker that lands them in the mid to high-end Hi-Fi experience. Many brands take aesthetics way beyond price/performance and into the realms of luxury interior design and fine furniture - with designer brand appeal a central part of their products. There is a convergence point that Acoustic Energy are very aware of - price/performance with a conservative competent nod to aesthetics, and the achievement here is very much on brand.

Corinium Design

Standing at 1100mm high, they sit between the AE509 and the taller AE520 and are slightly wider and deeper. The Corinium use the same 500 series Resonance Suppression Composite (RSC) cabinets, but these have a lovely curve to them, reminiscent of the 2009 Acoustic Energy Radiance series, and further acoustic suppression by having a minimum cabinet wall thickness of 22mm rising to 50mm on the top and bottom plates, The front baffle is in two parts - a 25mm MDF and mounted to a 6mm single piece aluminium to create a flat inert surface. Where floorstanders gain in lower octaves sound reproduction over stand mount speakers, they can lose in transparency, speed, mid-range and high frequency detail. To overcome this the tweeter and mid range drivers are housed internally in a separate cabinet to the two bass woofers.

Tweeter

Acoustic Energy searched for a new lighter stiffer material than the carbon fibre used in the 500 series and researched the possibilities of TORAY TETORON™ - a Japanese manufactured polyester with similar properties to silk, but with greater stiffness. The 28mm tweeter, mounted to the aluminium front baffle, has lower colouration, greater speed and detail in transients than the 500 series. Interestingly, the crossover point is very low at 3400Hz. Most tweeters cross from mid range driver to tweeter around 1800Hz to 2600Hz. 3400Hz is similar to the SH25-76S in the ATCs and Esotar in the Dynaudios .

Mid range

Carbon fibre is the choice for the midrange, as in the 500 series, but these are the next generation. This driver handles five of the eight octaves in musical reproduction and is crucial to the overall mid-range tonal character of a speaker. Visually comparing the AE500 series to the Corinium, this driver has a steeper cone angle and is sunk in the cabinet more with a steeper wave guide.

Bass

With a crossover of 260Hz, these all new 140mm drivers, two in each speaker, are used to deal with “…Most of the important bass weight and speed“. Housed in a separate area to the mid and tweeter arrangement, their sole purpose is to support that mid-range and come alive when needed.

Cabinet and Finishes

This new Acoustic Energy Corinium comes with a premium flagship colour of Aston Martin Racing Green as well as standard Black, White and a gentle Tectona Teak finish.

Acoustic Energy are rightly proud of their new addition, and they have a dedicated sister website about the Corinium development here, which is well worth a read, and they are featured in this quarter’s Audio T Music at Home+ Magazine.

Setup and Listening

Cirencester, being just up the road from Bristol, allowed for a visit from Paul Burnip and Wayne Davis from Acoustic Energy to hand deliver our new Coriniums. We had already setup the new Naim 300 series (Naim NAP 350, NAC 332 pre with NPX 300 power supply, NSS 333 streamer) system ready to go.

Firing up Qobuz on the Naim app I went straight to the 141 track Audio-T Bristol playlist - https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/2438053

The Coriniums excel at timing across all frequencies. The 4 degree speaker rake really helps lift the sound stage with an ethereal quality and are not as rakish in the flesh. The detail and transparency are exquisite.

Compared with the AE520s, these are a more forward presentation with a little more top end. Although, that top end never becomes harsh and brittle. The mid range is quite sweet and very much like a Harbeth or Sonus Faber Olympica Nova. Limit to your Love, James Blake bass notes extend and are very textural with the finger clicks sharp and easily placed to the left of the airy vocals.

Female vocals and sibilance are well handled, Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell really very insightful. Acoustic guitar of Canadee-I-O - Penguin Eggs, Nic Jones -Poor Boy, Bryter Layter -Nick Drake and Over The Hill - John Martyn have attack, snap and sparkle without being too tinny. Classical and Jazz pieces are where these speakers really show what they are capable of, with the reproduction far exceeding other Acoustic Energy speakers and putting it in the realms of higher end speakers.

Qobuz Audio T Bristol, Selected from Playlist:

  • Veto, Tremours - SOHN

  • Sailing to Philadelphia - Mark Knopfler

  • Limit to your Love - James Blake

  • Hey Now, If You Wait - London Grammar

  • Both Sides - Joni Mitchell

  • Witchita Lineman - Glen Campbell

  • Poor Boy, Bryter Layter - Nick Drake

  • 5:15, Quadrophenia - The Who

  • Canadee-I-O, Penguin Eggs - Nic Jones

  • Kora - GoGo Penguin

  • Natten - Bremer/McCoy

  • Passing Ships - Andrew Hill

  • Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No.14 in C-Sharp Minor Op.27 - Murray Perahia

  • Over The Hill - John Martyn

Conclusion

In High End Audio there is the law of diminishing returns - the point at which to secure truly better Hi-Fi performance a lot more needs to be spent for the final percentages of absolute performance gain. And this is completely understandable as the research time, manufacturing materials, component selection and engineering become more expensive, more time consuming with longer development and build times.

What Acoustic Energy have created here is a speaker that balances on the knife edge of price/performance and aesthetics. Acoustic Energy could have followed the pattern of many other manufacturers of tweaking or releasing a 500 MkII or a 700 series signature range and such like.

Instead, they tore up the rule book, hunkered down, got to work and crafted a luxury High End sound performance with great design and a sound that punches well above the £6,000 asking price - a considerable step up from the 500 series and a very serious proposition up against any speaker in High End Hi-Fi.

Justin, Max & James - 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…

Sub Be Good to Me - The Ruark Audio RS1 Subwoofer

/ Audio T Swansea/

Friends tell me I am crazy,

That I’m wasting time with subs,

They’ll never be hi-fi,

 That’s not the way I see it,

‘cause I feel glad when one is mine,

Whenever one’s near me,

People always talk about subs’ reputatio...

(that’s quite enough of that, thank you! – Ed.) Spoilsport.

The….select club, that is Audio T Swansea’s blog readership (hello!), will be familiar with my subwoofer evangelism. Normally they’re REL, near to/or north of a grand and glossy habitues of our room corners. This little fellow does not fall into any of those categories, yet makes a spirited bid for our attention.

radiused wooden corners, grey marl open-weave cloth, cute little feet, what’s not to like?

Welcome to the family

Ruark have planned to make a companion subwoofer for their cute MR1 stereo system for quite a while now, but other projects such as the R3S and the new streaming R410, (both of which are compatible with the RS1) have hitherto taken priority with Team Secret Squirrel over at Ruark R&D. Finally, the wait is over and poor, young Eduardo at Ruark Sales will no longer have to bat away subwoofer-related questions from me.

the ruark mr1 mk2 active stereo speaker system. (well, one of them,) next to a walnut finish rega planar 1, chosen to match the ruark subwoofer. These blogs aren’t just thrown together you know.

It’s a handsome little fellow, achingly fashionable grey cloth wrapped around its middle, with a crisp walnut topping (and bottoming.) It will fit right in, in just about any modern front room you could mention and quite a few old-fashioned ones too. The rear panel is populated with the appropriate controls – gain, crossover and phase adjustment, plus a single RCA input and wee LEDs & graphics to reassure you that when the RS1 isn’t receiving a signal, it goes to sleep. Ahhhh, bless.

that modest rear panel

Set-up

Set-up is straightforward enough: play a track with a constant bassline (such as Ray LaMontagne’s “You Can Bring Me Flowers”) and adjust the phase position so the bass sounds at its loudest. Begin with the crossover and gain far too high so one is overwhelmed with bass, reduce the crossover so the RS1 isn’t reproducing the same notes as your MR1s, then drop the gain until you can’t tell where the sub is when your eyes are shut. You will probably need to recalibrate after a couple of weeks – the driver becomes more efficient and reaches higher into the register, so you might feel the need to pull the crossover down a smidge, adjust the gain a fraction.

fender guitar model’s own

Here, we’ve installed the Ruark RS1 as part of a basic vinyl replay system, such as you might enjoy in a small room: Rega Planar 1 Plus turntable (with onboard phono stage), Ruark MR1 Mk2 active speaker system and the RS1 subwoofer. At the time of writing, yours for a bargain £1097. One can connect a digital source such as a TV, which is ideal for movies and gaming, although most folks use the Bluetooth connection for streamed music, YouTube etc.

ooooo swoopy. gots to love a creative artist.

Without the subwoofer – it sounds really good. More scale and projection than one would expect from titchy speakers, Chaka Khan bounces along with gusto; rich, clear vocals and clean synth bass encouraging everyone to cut that rug. Switch the RS1 on and…..well, that’s better! We’re not hinting at bass any more, it’s tangible and we can feel that it fills the room. It adds the weight we didn't know we were missing, the kind that puts the music right into your guts. Marvellous.

yes, i know it’s christy moore, i was playing chaka khan before nic (photograper) got involved. in fairness, the system does do a credible job with the live acoustic.

The RS1 is £349, available from all Audio-T stores and you’ve been listening to the boy from the big, bad city.

Thanks for reading, and with sincere apologies to Beats International

Ade, Nic & Andy - Audio T Swansea

REGA ISIS compact disc player - Queen of the throne CD playback

/ Audio T Brighton/

Hi folks, and welcome to this month’s article from us here at Audio T Brighton. We’re in for a rare treat this month because the compact disc player in question is the “top dog” from Rega, the ISIS. Let’s dive in and have a look and listen!

Rega ISIS - the goddess of healing and magic

The Rega ISIS CD player is a real gem of a compact disc player and sits at the top of the tree when it comes to digital playback. According to historical Egyptian texts, Isis is the Goddess of healing and magic. As we will find out later in this article, the Rega ISIS has musical properties that make this a fitting description of how it sounds.

According to the latest market music sales figures, despite plateauing CD sales, they are still outselling vinyl LPs 2 to 1, clearly demonstrating a need for quality CD players in the hi-fi market. A relative veteran of the Rega range, it still more than holds its own against modern competition in the form of hi-fi streamers. If you’re into the idea of owning your music in a physical format, the Rega ISIS is a good reason to do so.

In the words of a former England manager, Terry Venables, “Form is temporary, class is permanent!” and this certainly comes through in our listening tests.

Rega ISIS features...

The Rega ISIS weighs in at just under 20kg, exhibiting a sound that mirrors this with similar gravitas. We’d recommend the top shelf of a sturdy hi-fi rack, such as one of the designs from Quadraspire’s range, because as one can see from the pictures in this blog, it is a top-loader and not something to be moved around on a regular basis, unless you’re into lifting weights at the gym!

The remote control is something to behold, made from a block of solid metal, with an incredibly weighty feel, that fills you full of confidence when in hand.

Careful choice has been made for every component in the digital and the analogue signal path of the Rega ISIS to ensure the integrity of the signal. Using discrete class A operational amplifiers and filters, the circuit can then be optimised for sonic performance.

Advanced grounding techniques are integral to the design of the Rega ISIS, part of the Holy Grail of hi-fi and an often underused and under appreciated technology in high fidelity design.

Hypervigilant design of the PCBs ensures isolation of not just the digital and analogue sections, but also the motor, display and user interface processor. All sonically critical electrolytic capacitors have been by-passed with polypropylene or polyester film capacitors.

The Rega ISIS uses power supplies that utilise custom Rega K-Power smoothing capacitors, along with fast diodes which have been used throughout in power supply rectification. Rega have also ensured that power supply impedances in the digital to analogue converter are kept very low by the use of solid polymer capacitors. Optimised control code for the control of the CD processor and user display speeds up the initialisation process, by means of a tighter control interface between the user micro and CD processor.

As a final nice touch, along with the weighty remote control, the Rega ISIS ships with a Rega Couple interconnect and the same high quality mains lead as comes with the Rega Aura phono stage.

Rega Isis rear view showing digital input choices

Another string to the Rega ISIS bow is that it can be usefully employed as a DAC input for another source. Although one may frown on the use of a computer to play back music, the Rega ISIS was ahead of its time when they designed it with a USB input, allowing stellar playback form another digital player. It can also be used as a top drawer transport with its digital coaxial output into another DAC, although one can hardly imagine playback at a much higher level than the Rega ISIS can achieve on its own.

Rega for life...

rega isis laser assembly mechanism

Rega are one of the few companies that offer a Lifetime Warranty on their products, subject to normal wear and tear or user mishap, and this certainly installs some confidence in purchasing their products. In the case of the Rega ISIS they go one better than this (or should I say two better than this) by archiving two matched laser mechanisms at the factory for the original purchaser of a Rega ISIS. Given that one can expect the life of a CD mechanism to be an average of approximately 10 years and this being one of the main reasons for consigning a CD player to the recycling bin at the end of its life. It is nice to know that the additional mechanisms more or less guarantee three decades of quality CD playback for the potential purchaser, and may be the deciding factor when making such a substantial outlay for this CD player. However, when one factors in the potential lifespan of the Rega ISIS and its superb construction & sound, the outlay seems to be very reasonable once the maths has been calculated!

So let’s get to the sound...

Rega Naia, Rega aura and REga aethos system

Our test system at Audio T Brighton consisted of a Rega ISIS CD player, Rega Naia turntable, Rega Aura phono stage into a Rega Aethos integrated amplifier and Rega Aya floor standing speakers.

To be honest, there is a family sound to Rega components and having recently waxed lyrical about the Rega Naia with Aphelion 2 cartridge paired with a Rega Aura phono stage, the Rega ISIS simply carries this on. Both sources have a dynamism, tone and sheer musicality to their sound that engages the listener in such a profound way, trying to do any jobs other than enjoying the music are nigh-on impossible.

To read more about our experiences with the Rega Naia with Aphelion 2 cartridge in partnership with a Rega Aura phono stage, please feel free to read my earlier blog HERE.

I am your father...

rega isis rear view

Advising someone to listen to the the Rega ISIS is a bit like telling Darth Vader to use the force - it really is a Master of the Universe when it comes to CD playback and we’ve heard nothing like it here at our Brighton Audio T store. It really is an other-worldly experience, so come in and book a demonstration before Luke Skywalker shows up (or our Rega rep takes it back!)

As always, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so get in touch to book a demonstration.

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…

Chromey basks in Rega's Aura.

/ Audio T Manchetser/

Rega's reference phonostage, the AURA could be seen as perfect for any high end turntable, but especially the new Rega NAIA…

It's funny, a couple of generations back, phono stages hardly existed. But when CD started to have its moment, a lot of amplifiers began to lose their internal phono capabilities. A record deck requires a sophisticated circuit to both amplify and equalise the delicate signal from the record deck’s cartridge and stylus. In the dark digital days, it was considered an unnecessary addition to an amplifier and was removed by certain manufacturers, some offering a basic add on phonostage, some not. But from this there developed a market for add-on phono stages, some of which from small manufacturers could be better sounding than the propriety one from a major maker! The market for phono stages opened up, and now, you can buy anything from £100 to £100,000, with huge arguments about just 'what' makes the best design.

The cartridge fitted to the end of your turntable's arm produces a tiny tiny voltage, especially moving coil type cartridges. A cartridge is effectively a mini generator. As the record groove turns, the undulating record groove wall moves the stylus side to side and up and down, and the tiny generating system produces a stereo signal from this. (In mono records, information is 'cut' as just sideways movement in the groove.) In voltage terms, the average moving coil, MC, cartridge produces only around 0.0005 of a volt! A terrifyingly low signal level. The phono stage has the hard job of amplifying this very low signal up to around a 1 or 2 volts (5 volts for a balanced signal, on your typical XLR type connections).

That sadly is not the end of the complexity. All records are 'cut' with an equalisation curve, called the RIAA curve, very simply the treble is severely boosted and the bass severely lowered when a record is 'cut' at the studio. On playback, this boost and cut needs to be reversed for perfect reproduction on playback: The bass severely boosted, and the treble hugely reduced.

As you can see from above, the phono stage has an incredibly complex job to do. The Rega Aura is a state of the art piece of electronics designed to do just that, and gain the maximum fidelity from your records. It has been 100% optimised to resolve the 'best' from all low output moving coil cartridges, and been designed to fit universally in to any High End audio system.

The first thing to hit you about the Aura, is its substantial build. 10mm thick aluminium panels form the top and the bottom of the unit, minimising any possible vibrations interfering with the delicate and highly sensitive audio electronics within the case. At the rear are six professional audio connectors. Four professional grade phono sockets provide input from your turntable, and output to your amplifier, with the addition of a pair of balanced fully professional XLR output connectors. A ground terminal and an IEC mains connector. The front panel contains a power switch, mono/stereo switch; this helps reduce noise while playing mono records, a mute switch; handy for changing records, gain high/low selector; depending on just how low output your cartridge is, and fine adjustment of both the cartridge load and capacitance; each cartridge has its own unique settings.

For the technically minded, the AURA can be broken down into four parts; arguably the most important part of any amplifier is the power supply. On the AURA it is simply huge; an oversized high current toroidal mains transformer literally supplies the juice, along with dual balanced power supply with active regulation, with a much higher voltage than is common in any phono stage. The input from the cartridge is directly coupled to the input electronics, in this case a direct connection to an array of FET transistors, delicate enough to accurately boost up the delicate audio signal to a useable level. The signal is then passed on to the middle part of the circuit via a passive high filter, this corrects the treble part of the RIAA curve.

The middle circuit builds on the gain of the first part, and accuratly corrects the bass part of the RIAA equalisation curve actively. Lesser designs combine the RIAA correction in to one active filter, although cheaper, this kind of circuit can both increase distortion and be less accurate. Of course this is a state of the art design, and a no compromise design at that. The final part of the design is a 'flat' amplifier to give a suitable output for your amplifier. Fully balanced to suit direct connection to other balanced designs via the XLR connections, as well as the more conventional phono sockets. Internally, the two channels are built in monoblock configurations on the main high quality circuit board.

In use, we have tried and tested the AURA in all manner of systems. In every case it has excelled in performance. The sensitive FET front ensures high gain and low noise, providing you with a deeper incite in to the recordings. The split passive (treble) and active (bass) RIAA ensures soaring heights, with pin sharp stereo imaging, combined with controlled, clean, deep articulated bass. Kick drums delight in their power, but light and open touch. Cymbals have clarity and depth, with no spit, sizzle or splash. Both male and female vocals have a true authority and power, helped by the AURA's powerful output stage and huge power supply. The overall sonic landscape is smooth, weighty, extended and beautifully detailed. The amount of information retrieval is truly impressive, as is the expansive sound stage. Stereo imaging is holographic, the internal monoblock design of the circuit really helping to maximise the stereo separation. There is a lot of competition in High End phono stages. What marks the REGA Aura out is its utterly organic sound. The way the music starts and stops, its openness and smooth dynamics. It's universality aids its popularity as our 'best selling' High End phono stage, it's ability to extract the best from all low output moving coil cartridges, as well as being optimal for REGA's own excellent cartridges.

If you are in this market, and looking for the very best fidelity for your money. Contact your local Audio T dealer for an audition today.

Thanks for reading

Haden, James, Munir & Dave - 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…

A look at the AURALiC Vega G2.2 Streaming DAC

/ Audio T Southampton/

Established in 2009, AURALiC has become a well established company known for driving innovation in high-performance music reproduction technology for over a decade. Inspired by a Berliner Philharmoniker concert in Waldbühne Berlin in 2008, AURALiC's founders, passionate classical music enthusiasts, embarked on a journey to create a company dedicated to providing a genuinely high-resolution music streaming solution. This vision materialized over the following years.

Having used AURALiC products as part of my main Hi-Fi system I was eager to get my hands on the updated Vega G2.2 to assess what improvements have been made and to see what the latest incarnation of Vega could do

The VEGA G2.2 retains key features such as:

  • AURALiC’s proprietary Fusion DAC structure

  • Direct Data Recording (DDR)

  • Galvanic Isolation

  • Passive analog volume control

  • Analog preamplifier

VEGA G2.2 now incorporates:

  • Tesla G3 platform, providing a significant boost to processing power and capabilities.

  • HDMI (eARC) input (needs release of firmware V10)

  • A new dual 60fs Femto Clocks powers the DAC operation and time the Tesla G3's data output to the DAC.

I didn’t put the Vega G2.2 into a stack of other AURALiC products such as the Aries or Leo; instead I used it as the main engine of a minimalist system set-up that would discreetly grace any room.

This type of set up can be further minimised by having a pair of Active speakers such as ATC SCM40A.

I added a Chord Electronics Etude power amplifier and a Pair of Harbeth P3ESR XD loudspeakers to the Vega G2.2 and I connected an optical cable from the TV - although when the new software is released, an HDMI (eARC) connection would be used.

An Apple Remote control was set up with the AURALiC to allow control of the volume and input selection. The Vega can be mapped to any remote with a wide range of functions.

The AURALiC system is very easy to use with the lightening app (Apple only), however it can also be set up using any web browser set to the IP address of the Vega.

AURALiC recommends Bubble UPnP or DS, Linn's Kazoo or Lumin if you do not use the proprietary lightening App.

Vega has a comprehensive streaming capability although I opted for using it as a ROON endpoint.

There are numerous reviews of the Vega G2.2 which confirm the high regard that this product has with the critics.

Part-Time Audiophile

‘At the beginning of this review, I said that I had been searching for something as I bought other DACs. The honest answer is that I was searching for the sound the AURALiC Vega G2 gave me. What I found with the AURALiC Vega G2.2 was everything I loved about the original, but simply more of it, more detail, more space, more realism’

Hi -FI news

‘This is another worthwhile upgrade for AURALiC's Vega model, the G2.2 gaining even greater clarity and clout with everything from driving rock to complex classical music. As a network player you can just slot it into your system as you would, say, a CD player.’

The Ear

‘The bass is a clear strongpoint, it extends all the way down and has a degree of articulation and shape that indicates that the AURALiC is a first class converter, most DACs can do powerful bass but fewer are able to show you the full attack and decay of each note with this degree of clarity.’

‘That it also works well as a digital and analogue preamp is a real bonus, partnered with a sympathetic power amp or active speakers you don’t need anything else to set up a top notch streaming system if you have an account with Qobuz or similar.’

Final thoughts…

Having initially listened to the Vega G2.1 and then inserting the Vega 2.2 into the system, it immediately became apparent that regardless of the music it just gave more clarity, soundstage and depth to the music. It is not a revolution but it is a marked upgrade.

My current playlist including Lankum, Lisa O’Neil, Fergus McCeadie, Corto.Alto, has never sounded better through a one box streamer.

This demonstrated to me the flexibility of incorporating AURALiC into any system and I would whole heartily recommend a demonstration to see what it can add to your system.

Thanks for reading

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…

AURALiC can be found at the following Audio T stores

"Is it all that glowing?" McIntosh MHA200 Vacuum Valve Headphone Amplifier

/ Audio T Swindon/
"Is it all that glowing?" McIntosh MHA200 Vacuum Valve Headphone Amplifier

The MHA200 is not very discrete, this isn’t a product that is meant to be tucked away in a rack, hidden away amongst other gear (not just by preference but also by design). The rather aggressive and raw feeling of a tube based product, along with the stainless steel chassis and a statement look of a McIntosh product is definitely an eye catcher but more so an ear catcher.

Read More

The long-awaited party: Chord Electronics' Ultima Integrated Amplifier

/ Audio T Swansea/

Long-standing customers of Audio T Swansea will be very familiar with our penchant for healthy amplifiers, especially ones made at Chord Electronics’ The Pumphouse, down in bucolic Kent. You may be similarly familiar with our mantra “One big one is better than a couple of little ones” in reference to the phenomenon of a single, high end integrated amplifier very often performing better than a two-box pre/power system of the same cost. I am unrepentant for deploying it here.

The 125-watt amplifier, launched at the High End Show in Munich, is designed by Chord Electronics’ founder, owner and chief engineer, John Franks. It is the first new Chord integrated amplifier in seven years and the only full-width model in the company’s range at present.

The Ultima Integrated is styled somewhat differently from its CPM-appellation predecessors. The design matches Chord’s critically acclaimed Ultima power amplifier range and bears a strikingly close resemblance to our Ultima Pre3 preamplifier, to the occasional confusion of staff.

Those familiar with Chord Electronics will recognise the house style, even if they somehow miss the gold Chord badge mounted centre-top, in its elegant, CNC-machined recess.

that gold chord badge. “ostentatious? MOI?”

Ultima styling has drawn a varied response (mostly positive), with comments akin to ‘It looks like it should be in Flash Gordon’s rocket-ship’, ‘Have they used Lang’s “Metropolis” for inspiration?’ and ‘Why am I reminded of “Bioshock?”’

The first thing I remarked when it was lifted from its carton was how menacing it appeared. Putting the demon into demonstrator, our black anodised unit is finished with the signature Chord “Integra” legs and it looks very… purposeful. When powered up, the (also) signature Chord internal LED illumination spreads a pleasing aquamarine glow over its surroundings through its perforated top plate and its power button, which is actually a frosted sphere about the size of a ping-pong ball.

Très chic.

the beautifully machined aluminium top cover and perforated plate reveals components bathed in an aquamarine glow. (it’s my favourite colour)

my goodness it’s pretty. red ring on the input selector denotes xlr input engaged. the power button glows red during standby, green upon power-up and aquamarine when it’s ready for action.

Flanking the power ball/button/indicator is the volume/input selector knob and the balance/AV bypass control. Pushing the volume knob in yields a satisfying click and cycles through the inputs, the ring of light around the knob changes colour to indicate which input is currently engaged. Holding the balance control in yields a similar click, a purple illumination is displayed and the volume/input selector is bypassed for AV, more of which later...

mmmm.…aquamarine. i’ve got a lovely jumper that colour.

The rear panel has a row of five robustly manufactured analogue inputs; a standard XLR, three RCAs and an XLR marked AV Bypass. (This is for use with a home theatre processor/pre-amplifier and bypasses the Ultima’s volume control, enabling a direct signal from the processor’s output sockets and allowing the system volume to be controlled from the processor.) Should you wish to add a power amplifier in future, an XLR pre-amplifier output is also present.

i’m sure we can all appreciate a robustly built rear

note the handy earthing nut (no phono stage) and those safely radiused heatsink fins.

All inputs feature individual buffering and are selectively filtered against potential ingress from radio frequency interference. Selection switching is via microprocessor-controlled sealed relays. Below is a 10A IEC power socket and below that are a pair of loudspeaker terminals. The rest of the rear panel is taken up with neatly machined heatsink fins.

Powered up and glowing softly, initially Ultima appears to take a fair turn of the volume pot to elicit a usable level, until you realise that this amp is so deathly quiet and free from noise, that you are able to keep turning the volume down and still hear everything on the track. This is particularly useful trait for late-night listening sessions. Conversely, turning the wick up yields very satisfying weight and scale, with no apparent trace of noise or distortion until pushed way beyond the bounds of decency and the safety of your hearing. It will go very loud indeed and yet it’s just so very… clean.

paired with the excellent linn selekt dsm media player.

a rega Planar 10 turntable & aria phono stage, black rhodium cables and dynaudio contour 30 speakers complete the picture. the components are sitting on a solidsteel hy4l rack.

Connected to our Rega Planar 10 turntable, Aria phono stage, Linn Selekt DSM media player and Dynaudio Contour 30 speakers with Black Rhodium cables, needless to say electronic music absolutely shone with huge ambient soundscapes filling the room with tight, extended bass. Acoustic instruments shine too. The textures of plucked strings, struck skins and resonant bodies are simply presented for you to enjoy. Nothing added, nothing taken away, performers’ techniques are revealed, but not exposed so ruthlessly that you are distracted from the music. Singers in particular are given an honest treatment that demonstrates their skill, passion and artistry without getting distracted with forensic detail. The Ultima is clean, not clinical, the music presented with a creaminess I haven’t heard in Chord Electronics’ umm… electronics before. It really is very, very good indeed.

But don’t take my word for it, the Ultima Integrated is on demonstration in our ground floor dem room. Skip over to the shop and I’ll play you a tune or two…

Thanks for reading

Ade, Andy & Nic – 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

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Chord Electronics can be found at the following Audio T stores

Audio T Cheltenham and the Rega Planar 6 Turntable

/ Audio T Cheltenham/

Vinyl is the most popular way to enjoy listening to music and with sales of albums and turntables still on the increase what better excuse can there be to spin some lovely new(ish) vinyl on a the Rega Planar 6 which is a rather wonderful record spinner!

Because the Rega Planar 6 has been in the current turntable line up since August 2017 I think that it is due a bit of a re-appraisal. Evolved from the RP8 and the RP10 the P6 offers a rather enormous improvement over the ever popular P3 and not enough people know about it! So here goes…

Rega p6 in our demo room ready to play

Features, Benefits and Advantages…

Like the Planar 8 and the Planar 10, the Planar 6 is constructed around a unique and extremely rigid, ultra light foam core plinth and HPL laminates. This helps it to deliver a level of performance far beyond anything else at this price. The Planar 6 comes supplied with the RB330 tonearm and a dual-layer float glass platter for extra stable speed control. The supplied Neo Mk2 turntable power supply provides convenient selection between 33 and 45 rpm speeds, advanced anti-vibration control, and electronic fine speed adjustment.

close up with the Exact cartridge

The Planar 6 benefits from a single piece, machined aluminium sub-platter, a new 24 V motor hand tuned and matched to its own Neo power supply and custom drive pulley, fitted with the Reference EBLT upgraded drive belt as standard.

Rega’s double brace technology between the platter bearing and the tonearm base, with integral custom matched aluminium tonearm and hub pillars, ensures maximum rigidity and accuracy between the record surface and the stylus tip. This again is something rarely seen on any other make of turntable.

close up of the cross brace between the arm and main bearing housing

Factory fitted cartridge options are…Exact (MM), Ania (MC) or Ania Pro (MC). You can also buy it without a cartridge, if you would like to fit one of your own choice. The Dynavector DV20X2 moving coil works rather well IMHO.

Now time to play some music.

Another wonderful album from 2023. The Delines and The Night Always Comes.

Record store day limited edition

The Delines are an American band from Portland, Oregon. Formed in 2012 they describe themselves as a "retro country soul band". I describe them as just brain meltingly gorgeous. Guitar player and chief lyric writer is the novelist Willy Vlautin and hence each song is like a little story. In fact this album is described as the soundtrack to his novel of the same title. The real star of the show here though is the band and the production. There is a palpable sense of being present with the band in the studio as they are playing. The soundstage as rendered on the Rega P6 is so big and so spacious that you feel as though you could just reach out and touch the band. The bass is deep and bouncy and tuneful. The trumpet and keyboards are off the scale dreamy and Amy Boone’s vocals offer a true widow into the tortured soul of Lynette ( the book’s protagonist ).

Then I moved on to this little gem…

Furling by Meg baird

Suffice to say anyone with even a passing interest in Joni Mitchell needs to listen to Meg Baird. Known for her previous work with Espers and more recently, Heron Oblivion, she continues in that tradition with her atmospheric and ethereal vocals. The music is dreamlike and lysergic, with breathy vocals and hushed piano accompanying her understated guitar prowess. She is joined by Mary Lattimore on harp, and she utilises vibes as well, adding to the overall shimmering dreaminess of the tracks. The whole album is just a Joni fan’s meet God wet dream, but my own personal highlight is the song “Cross Bay”. The guitar picking is sublime and the lyrics really are poetry. Once more the Combination of the Rega P6 with the Exact cartridge really brings the music to life. Sound hanging in the air in between and around the loudspeakers.

One more test for the P6…

Primrose green by ryley walker

The audible antecedents of Primrose Green are the extravagantly inventive music that Tim Buckley, Davey Graham and John Martyn made in the 60’s and 70’s. Walker doesn’t just sound like them; he is possessed by a similar spirit. I came upon this album during a visit to local second hand record specialists The Vinyl Vault in Cambray Place in Cheltenham. If you’ve not been there then you are seriously missing out. It is quite probably the best source of used vinyl for miles around! Anyway…played on the P6 the mix of folk-rock and hazy Grateful Dead jazz is delightfully disorientating. There is more than a hint of Danny Thompson in that bass playing too. Special mention goes to the title track for extra genius. “Head full of Primrose Green”….I think I know what he means!

also available in white

To Conclude…

If the Planar 10 and Planar 8 are out of reach price wise and you hanker after a chunky hike in performance over a Planar 3 then this groovy spinner of groovy grooves (?!?) will be the place to get off. It offers substantial improvements in both sound quality and build quality over the P3 and gives you much more of an insight into the music that you would normally expect with much more expensive turntables.

The Rega Planar 6 turntable is currently available for demonstration at our Cheltenham store so if you fancy a listen call them on 01242 583960 for a chat.

Thanks for reading.

Andy, Jon and Farid - Audio T Cheltenham Store.


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.

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Rega can be found at the following Audio T stores -

DALI Katch G2 - a minimalist marvel.

/ Audio T Oxford/

Dali Katch G2

We don’t keep many portable Bluetooth speakers in stock here at Audio T Oxford; in-fact, there is only one we often recommend... the DALI Katch.

Don’t mistake this as us giving our customers little or no choice, we are just convinced that it is the very best product available, and here is why…

Design

It is a stunning piece of industrial design, modern and stylish and easy to carry (thanks to the inclusion of a soft leather strap) or pack. The build is of the highest quality, with a sturdy metal case housing, where competitors would opt for cheap plastic, not to mention the smart and easy-to-use controls.

Available in three tasteful finishes; Caramel White (my favourite), Chilly Blue and Iron Black. Just looking at it instils a pride of ownership, reinforced by its tactile looks and feel.

Technical Stuff

The Katch measures a compact 138mm x 268 x 47 (H x W x D) and inside this box are no less than six drivers (two tweeters, two mid / bass units and two passive bass units). These are powered by a 2 x 25W digital amplifier. It utilises Bluetooth 5 which allows for APTX and APTX HD/ AAC. A Mini-Jack input is incorporated, as is a USB port, which can also be used as a charger.

Top view with power button

The battery will last for a class leading 30 hours (though this depends on musical content and volume). A full battery charge will take approximately two hours.

The specification claims (considering the compact dimensions) a bass response to 49Hz and a 95dB SPL. I couldn’t actually believe it would go that low, but lo and behold, when I played a 50Hz test tone through it the bass was indeed there. The volume had dropped a little bit but I couldn’t deny that it was indeed making itself felt. I didn’t check the SPL claim, but it certainly goes more than loud enough for the majority of ears.

5O Hz test tone

Sound 

Of course, whilst looking good is an advantage, it needs to back this appearance up sonically.

So how does it perform in the real world? The answer is astonishingly well. The DALI allows for either a ‘clean’ or ‘warm’ presentation. I much prefer the ‘clean’. Listening to Shelby Lynne’s gorgeous cover of Dusty Springfields ‘Just a Little Lovin’, the sound is truly engaging and refined.

 

Moving on to Lou Reeds ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ shows just how good the Katch is rhythmically, it times really well.

Just for a laugh I put on ‘Hey Now’ by London Grammar. If you have ever listened to this track, it has the most stupendous bass; bass that can make some seriously capable systems struggle. This turned out to be most interesting, because rather than hearing the distortion that I expected, the Katch neatly filtered off the very lowest registers and gave an assured, if not quite full range, performance.

Want Stereo?

The DALI also has another trick up its sleeve: if you purchase two of them, you can create a stereo pair: So, for the travelling audiophile or for space-conscious home use, this could be portable Nirvana.

Conclusion

The Katch is at the more expensive end of the compact portable Bluetooth speaker spectrum, but it is most definitely worth the outlay. Prepare to be surprised!

If you are fishing for a high-quality compact Bluetooth speaker, the Katch can be caught (groan) at any Audio T branch.

Thank you for reading.

Jon and Rob.

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.

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Maximum Minimalism - ATC SCM 50 Active Towers with the Linn Selekt DSM Organik

/ Audio T Bristol/

This Hi-Fi setup takes the minimal approach for maximum performance. Highly accomplished ATC SCM50 ASLT paired with the Swiss army knife Linn Selekt DSM installed with the upgraded ultimate Organik DAC.

Sunday afternoon, disappearing into an indulgent binge watch of Grand Design episodes certainly is a feast for the senses. There is a general theme. The home-builders state a budget of £X that Kevin McCloud adds 100% £X based on £2,500 per square metre all-in building cost. After marriage collapse, bad health, ancient ruins/sewage pipes/spring well unexpectedly uncovered, the final cost is £X squared, but rising from earth - an ECO concrete, larch clad, glass, steel contemporary monolith of geometric perfection of a naturally beautiful space that somehow compliments it’s surroundings.

The ATC SCM50 ASLT

Arriving from ATC in two large flight cases, I imagined myself as a roadie setting up for a Pink Floyd Wembley concert. Along with a handful of other manufacturers, ATC are pro studio monitors company first - with their home Hi-Fi selection evolving from this deep history. Unlike some speaker manufacturers, ATC make the drivers themselves. The SCM50 comprise of the High frequency tweeter 25mm ATC SH25-76S, The SH25-76S tweeter is the product of over 40 years' experience building one of the world's finest acoustic transducers - a dual suspension tweeter that minimises distortion. Mid 75mm ATC Soft Dome and the low frequency 243mm Driver.

This Super Linear bass driver overcomes one of the longest standing obstacles in speaker design - that is the detrimental effects of magnetic hysteresis. The magnetic characteristic of the steel used in the magnet assembly of a loudspeaker is inherently non-linear due to magnetic hysteresis. This results in a distortion of the input signal in the loudspeaker causing audible colouration.

ATC’s solution to this lies in their super linear magnet development to add rings of the SLMM to the magnet assembly pole and front plate, adjacent to and concentric with the loudspeaker voice coil. The effect of the rings is to reduce 3rd harmonic distortion by between 10-15dB between 100Hz and 3KHz. The addition of the SLMM produces a significant improvement in sound quality, reducing the level of distortion so dramatically as to reveal another layer of information to the listener.

The resultant improvement in the quality of the reproduction of human voice and piano testifies to its success. And certainly, anyone familiar with the ATC sound know that this is exactly where they excel - mid range revealing, characterful clarity. You can read more about this technology here.

Positioning was really easy to set up. The ATC are handed and depending on your listening requirements and room, positioning with bass port on the inside or outside gives really good flexibility.

Amplification

This loudspeaker design includes the equivalent three MOSFET power amplifiers totalling 350W per channel. The 200W direct coupled amplification in the bass promises excellent low-end power; the mid headroom matches it with a 150W feed, while the high frequencies get 50W, In the Audio T Bristol dem room, measuring 7m long x 5.6m wide with 3.25m high ceilings, the ATC SCM50 ASLT never felt under powered and indeed had a lot of presence.

Source

The Linn Selekt DSM has three levels of DAC performance level; Standard, Kataylst or Organik. The entry level DAC is still capable of 24/192, The Katalyst uses it own stabilised power supplies and voltage reference point. This mean that any "crosstalk" from other audio channels and circuitry are isolated and give a cleaner/purer music.

We fitted our Selekt DSM with the Organik - Linn’s own in house DAC. Most manufacturers take off-the-shelf chips, compliance check, programme and tweak to get the best out of them. Linn’s route is via FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) - deep programmable logic far more efficient in terms of processing time as well as offering very tight timing when compared with optimised code running on 3rd party chips. Organik uses an 8-layer circuit board, facilitating optimal delivery of power and clocks to the DAC. Power for the conversion stage is generated by a discrete regulator, and delivered using multiple internal power planes.

The Organik occupies the stratospheric rarefied air of top performing streamers. The strength is clarity and engaging with an emotional depth of performance, that is so difficult in the digital realm. With Organik DAC in line out mode and direct XLR outputs straight to the ATCs it was unquestionable, this is one of the most synergistic systems we have encountered.

We experimented with adding ATC’s own pre amp, the CA-2 Mkii, and that improved things again. We suspect that ATCs SCA2 or Chord Electronics Ultima Pre 3 would be an even better match.

Also, we upgraded the standard power and XLR cables to Chord Shawline, which significantly improved stereo image, noise floor and detail.

In summary

For me the most successful Grand Design is when the contemporary minimalism is contrasted with a the personal touch and sometimes bold statement interior. Think chintz - translating themes from nature and exotic locations onto wallcoverings, fabrics and bed linen in bold colours. No shying away from rich textures and opulent accessories.

This is what we have here with this system - minimal boxes with maximum punch. Breathtaking clarity, dynamic range and a truely High End Hi-Fi system that could out perform a passive equivalently priced system and would require a lot more power amp budget. Indeed we tried this, as we had the SCM50 passive crossover units - think Naim 350 mono blocks (at £12,000) to exceed the performance of the SCM50ASLT.

Justin, Max & James - 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.

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ATC Loudspeakers can be found at the following Audio T stores

Brighton Audio T says Happy New Year to 2024 with our Naim New Classic 300 series/Proac speaker week

/ Audio T Brighton/

Hi folks, and welcome to this month’s article from us here at Audio T Brighton. We are happy to announce a joint Naim Audio New Classic 300 series and Proac loudspeakers week from Tues 23rd January through to Saturday 27th January 2024.

Link to the event is here - or click on the image below.

Rather than review each product individually, like we have done before in our previous blogs, we would like to invite you to visit us and hear both ranges in our Brighton Audio T store during this week. We will be demonstrating different pairings of our extensive catalogue of Naim Audio and Proac speaker products and you can let your ears decide. Our resident Naim Audio and Proac loudspeaker gurus and company representatives will be here in person on Thursday 25th & Saturday 27th of January respectively and they will be more than happy to answer questions you may have about any of the products in their ranges.

If you would like to join us during our week long event and reserve your space, please call us on 01273 609431 or email: brighton@audio-t.co.uk

To inform you of what’s on show ahead of the event, earlier Audio T blogs and links to these will be strategically placed throughout this article to enable you to gain some insight into what will be demonstration during our Naim New Classic 300 Series and Proac Loudspeaker event.

Put it in the diary...

We have waxed lyrical about Naim Audio and Proac products before and especially when they are paired together, so let’s have a look at the possibilities.

Naim 300 series system with Proac speakers

The main engine room behind this event is the Naim New Classic 300 series components, consisting of: Naim NSS 333 streamer/dac, Naim NAC 332 preamp, Naim NPX 300 power supply and last but not least, Naim NAP 350 monoblock amplifiers.

Our turntable of choice for the event will be a Linn LP12 Klimax with a Radikal 2 and Linn Ekstatik cartridge.

Naim’s class leading designs have all the powerful sonic magic needed to light-up the wonderfully natural range of Proac speakers on demonstration.

If you would like to find out more before your visit, Naim’s latest range can be seen and read about in its full glory in our recent blog Here.

Other Naim offerings here at Audio T Brighton

In our other listening area we have some more Naim products, including the current Naim 200 series: Naim NSC 222 streaming pre-amp and Naim NAP 250 power amp. For turntable joy we have our Rega Naia turntable with Rega Aphelion 2 cartridge into a Rega Aura phono stage on demonstration.

What’s on offer Tuesday 23rd January - Proac Tablette 10 Signature

Firing things off, let’s start with Proac’s baby, the Tablette 10 Signature speakers. These really do fit a quart into a pint pot sonically, and you can read more in my ramblings about the Proac Tablette 10 Signatures in our earlier blog here.

Wed 24th January - Proac Response DB1 and Proac Response D2R

Our focus on Wednesday 24th January will be two more stalwarts from the Proac range, the Response DB1 with Proac’s high quality dome tweeter and Proac Response D2R with a ribbon tweeter. The Proac Response DB1 has proven to be a popular choice at our Brighton store because of its sweet, transparent and spacious sound, whilst the Proac Response D2R offers an extremely focused and detailed sound with a different flavour owing to the ribbon tweeter and new to our shores, so to speak. It is also worth noting that the Response D2 is available with Proac’s high quality dome tweeter as an alternative if desired.

Thursday 25th January - Proac DT8

On Thursday 25th January we’ll turn our attention to the DT8, which are Proac’s entry-level floor standing loudspeakers and equipped with their quality dome tweeter and part of a 2.5 driver speaker design. The Proac DT8 deliver a substantial sound at an attractive price, so anyone looking for their first foray into floor standing speakers should have these on their audition list.

To find out more, read our Proac blog here.

We are pleased to announce that on Thursday 25th, our Naim representative, Darren Woodyatt, will be available to answer questions about any of Naim’s extensive current range of products.

Friday 26th January - Proac D30R

On the Friday 26th January we’ll turn our attention to the Proac D30R. These are our penultimate speaker for our Naim/Proac week and offer a substantial sound for a large room and respond well to our Naim New Classic 300 series monoblock power amps, the Naim NAP 350. Where bass extension and power are desirable, these need to be heard to be believed.

Saturday 27th January - Proac K3

So we finally get to the big fella! Our coup-de-gras speaker of the ProAc/Naim week is the ProAc K3 floor standing speaker. At over 40kg each, these monsters throw out a full-range sound that really needs to be heard, with detail, clarity and extension in spades!

We are privileged to have the company of our Proac representative, David Johnson, for this final day in our week long demonstration of the Naim New Classic/Proac loudspeaker exhibition. He will be more than happy to answer questions about any of the extensive Proac loudspeaker range, so make the most of being able to quiz him fully.

As always, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so get in touch to book a demonstration.

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.

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There is nothing like a dem, nothing in the world…

/ Audio T Portsmouth/

As hi-fi and audio visual retailers we are always delighted to share our knowledge and to engage with customers’ questions on a variety of topics. The most common questions tend to centre on how one brand or product compares to another.

We can certainly talk about product specifications and give our unbiased personal views based on our own listening experiences. But beyond this things get more complicated…

Audio T Bristol Demonstration Room

A typical, and entirely reasonable, customer question might be something like: “How do these speakers compare to those ones?” Most customers are not asking about differences in driver or cabinet construction. They want to know how they sound compared to each other.

Or, to take another question we often hear: “What sounds better, a good CD player or a similarly priced streamer?” Entirely reasonable questions. The trouble is that there are often no objective answers to how things sound.

THE Naim 300 Series in the AUDIO T BRIGHTON Listening room

What sounds great to one person might sound too bright/too bassy/too relaxed and so on to another. And what sounds fantastic paired with one system may sound less good in another.

In short, sound (what we actually hear) is very often highly subjective being dependent on a huge number of factors right down to the way our brains are wired.

Audio T Oxford Showing off their new audio note system

Sure, most hi-fi enthusiasts can tell decent sound reproduction from that served up by poor equipment. But the only way to find a sound that really suits you is to listen to the equipment yourself.

And that is where Audio T’s bespoke demo rooms come into their own. It is part of the service that distinguishes Audio T as an independent hi-fi retailer.

Not only do our demonstration rooms allow customers to road test equipment and make comparisons but a demo also helps build relationships during which customers feel comfortable talking about their hi-fi and music. It’s an interactive process.

Often matching and mixing components in the demo room ends up in happy coincidences when, for example, you are demoing a record deck for a customer who turns out to be just as impressed with the sound of the speakers and/or the amp you paired it with.

Of course, our listening spaces may differ sonically from customers’ home listening rooms and our pairing equipment may differ from their own systems. That’s why we also offer home loans.

Music is one of life’s great pleasures. We put great amount of time and effort into finding music we enjoy and then listening to that music.

Why would we then risk playing that music on equipment bought on spec, or solely on the strength of a shopfloor sales pitch or magazine review, when we don’t know how it sounds?

There are surely few things more disappointing for a hi-fi enthusiast than eagerly plugging in a new component at home only to be seriously underwhelmed.

Our main demonstration room at Audio T Portsmouth

So, if you’re considering some new hi-fi in 2024 or just want some advice on your system, then drop in for a chat at the Portsmouth store. Or, if you prefer, you can call us on 0239 266 3604 or drop us a line at portsmouth@audio-t.co.uk

Thanks for reading.

Alan, Luke and Stephen - Audio T Portsmouth

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Matty’s Gear Of The Year Round-Up of 2023

/ Audio T Cardiff/

Matt from Audio T Cardiff reflects on all 2023’s Hi-Fi events with the best and brightest products of the year and looking forward to what’s to come in 2024.

Christmas has once again been and gone, and my how fast 2023 flew by! It feels like a blink of the eye and almost the whole year has passed. Now that we’re in 2024 I have been reflecting back on last year’s events, such as my first time at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show, new dealerships and the latest greatest equipment that arrived at our store throughout the year.

Some of this new equipment that arrived has lead to me expanding my own Hi-Fi system (believe you me there will be more changes on the horizon, as we say, there’s always room for improvement). One of the most wonderful things about working in the Hi-Fi industry is discovery, finding that next piece of equipment that makes a change to how you listen to your Hi-Fi systems and, more importantly, sharing all of my discoveries and listening experiences with you all. So, let’s take this fantastic ride to discovery with me through 2023 and see where we end up.

The beginning is a wonderful place to start.

The Audio T sales team at the bristol hi-fi show 2023

This year started for me at one of the most momentous events in the Hi-Fi calendar, you guessed it the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2023. As you may know this was the first show I have worked at, and it has left a great impression on me in a good way.

For those of you that have attended The Bristol Hi-Fi Show before, you’ll know it gives us the chance to check out and listen to the latest and greatest manufactures have to offer. You may have even read the blog I wrote about my first time at the show, talking about my experience. For those of you that haven’t read it yet, you can do so here.

I recall seeing and listening to a great many products such as the rather exciting Rega Naia turntable, Naim’s New Classic series, the Cyrus New Classic as well as a great many other brands, which I will talk about shortly, but for now let’s talk about the new arrivals…

Decisions decisions!

The first new arrival is the one that made a major change on the amplification side of things to my own Hi-Fi system. This led me to a major shootout between three major team players in the £2000 integrated amplifier bracket: the Rega Elicit Mk5, Audiolab 9000A and the Cyrus Classic Amp. You can read that blog here.

Each amplifier brought something very different to the table sonically, but the winner for me being the Cyrus Classic amp. Nonetheless, each amplifier brand as you know sounds very different, for very good reasons, as each manufacturer has their own idea of what sounds right. As I always say, there’s no wrong answers in our own individual Hi-Fi journeys, it’s all in the ears of the listener and what we feel sounds right to us. For me, the end result was Cyrus as I felt it was the true star of the show, but you may choose something different to me!

Speaking in volumes

dynaudio evoke range at audio t cardiff

dynaudio special forty in the stunning BLACK VINE HIGH GLOSS

Another big arrival for us at Cardiff this year was Dynaudio. This loudspeaker brand has been a favourite of mine for some time, in fact around this time last year I bought my stunning walnut Evoke 10. To me these speakers just keep sounding better and better.

But I digress. Although Audio T has been an official retailer of Dynaudio for some time, we hadn’t previously stocked them in this particular store before. As well as taking on the full Evoke range, we also took on the rather stunning Special Forty.

Dynaudio as a brand has never ceased to impress me. I remember them from my professional audio days. As many of you know, they are used in some of best recording studios around the world. To this day, the fact that you are getting a lot of the same materials and technology in their domestic loudspeakers is something that makes Dynaudio stand out from the crowd.

It’s all in the Naim

Naim classic event Bristol november

Naim 200 Series setup in our Cardiff shop

Going back to early in 2023, I caught wind of the new Naim Classic Series being released and was lucky enough to see the new designs and specifications of the full 200 series. Knowing the reputation Naim has for building great amplification had certainly peaked my interest and as a result I made a beeline for the Naim stand at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show.

I sadly didn't have much time to listen to it but I knew this system would sound phenomenal in our store and we soon got our hands on the NSC 222 streaming preamplifier, the all new NAP 250 power amplifier and the NPX 300 power supply. We set the system up in our demonstration room with one of our favourite pairs of floor standing speakers, the unmistakable Spendor D9.2. We all listened for a good few hours and were amazed how fantastic this system sounds. The Naim streaming platform sounds superb. The whole system sings quality, living up to Naim’s long standing reputation.

Moving forward to September of 2023 (as you may have seen in yet another blog of mine) I had a wonderful trip over to visit the amazing people at Naim to see the New Classic Series and I got to listen to the whole range, including the 300 Series which was otherworldly in its sound. If you get the chance to have a listen to both the 200 and 300 series, I highly recommend it! Put it this way, I'm still thinking of saving up for a new system myself.

A great welsh giant is in the building

Leema Acoustics tucana ii aniversary front panel

You may have already guessed it, but the Welsh giant in question is Leema Acoustics. With their new preamp and power amp combination, the all new Quantum Range which I talked about in my previous blog. It’s been a year since I first heard this combination and now they are finally here, trust me it was worth the wait! To think they are hand built at this price point is phenomenal.

Each time I plug them in they never disappoint. The control and specification of the Neutron preamp performs way above its price point, feeding the class AB monster of the Graviton power amplifier, which never seems to run out of steam, making me want to turn it up and listen more. This combination is unparalleled in my humble opinion, not just in build and performance but price as well. For me, the other big highlight from Leema Acoustics this year was meeting Mr Lee Taylor, the man who’s behind all of those great designs from Constellation through to the new Quantum.

The only way is Essex - Or should I say the only way is “Naia”?

Rega naia Zirconium toughened alumina (ceramic) central bearing

One of the biggest announcements of 2023 has to be Rega’s new high-end turntable, the Naia, one notch down from Rega’s legendary flagship model the Naiad.

Although visitors weren’t given the opportunity to listen to the prototype at the show, we were able to see the turntable on a bespoke mirrored plinth that allowed us to view all of its technical wonders. And boy, is it something rather special! Borrowing a lot of its technology from its big brother, this is a true masterpiece of engineering excellence.

Whilst at the show, our rep showed me the sub platter and bearing assembly, which has a Zirconia toughened alumina (ceramic) central bearing enabling the sub platter to spin effortlessly, a marvel of engineering.

rega naia lifestyle press shot

Fast forward to November and the UK sales manager of Rega, Rob Noble, brought us the Naia fitted with the Aphelion 2 moving coil cartridge to have a listen for ourselves. The demo system we put together for the Naia was a bit of a Rega family affair, with the Aura phono stage running into the Aethos integrated amplifier. On this occasion we used an old favourite on the loudspeaker front, the Spendor D7.2.

After the amp had a good amount of time to warm up, each of us took a turn to listen to this truly amazing turntable. Whilst enjoying the Naia I could soon hear what all the hype is about, it truly has that lively sound which Rega is known for but there are a lot of other things going on. For instance the noise floor on this turntable is next level. Don’t let this turntable’s looks fool you, whilst it does look like Planar 10 from a distance, they are very different from one another. The turntable sounds like the needle is glued to the grooves, giving the perfect stereo image. The more I listened to it, the more detail came through. All I can say is this turntable is highly addictive.

Summary

Reflecting on 2023 and the equipment I have seen and heard, it’s safe to say it was a great one! I feel the equipment I've talked about today is just the tip of the iceberg. As you know, there are many other great brands and products we’ve taken on including Lyngdorf with their groundbreaking room correction software.

Looking forward to 2024, the big question on our lips is what’s to come next at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show, and what great changes are afoot in the world of Hi-Fi.

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.

Thanks for reading

Matt, Nick and Kerrin - Audio T Cardiff

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…

Dynaudio can be found at the following Audio T stores

Rega, Naim and Chord Company can be found at the following Audio T stores

Cyrus can be found at the following Audio T stores

Audiolab can be found at the following Audio T stores

Spendor can be found at the following Audio T stores

Leema Acoustics can be found at the following Audio T stores

Lyngdorf can be found at the following Audio T stores

Rega Naia & Aphelion 2 Cartridge - Chromey and Haden investigate

/ Audio T Manchester/

Many years ago, Rega was famed for their upper end budget record spinners, the classic Planar 2 and Planar 3, utilising the classic RB300 and RB250 tonearms, sold by the tens of thousands. Not to mention the production of improved and refined models continue to this very day.

As the company has grown, so has the choice of turntables offered. The budget Planar 1 offers audiophiles on a budget a real taste of high fidelity sound far in advance of any single competitor for the money. Moving up, the Planar 6, 8 and 10 really offer serious and significant upgrade paths, technology developed for the higher-end decks has filtered down and found it's way in to the more budget models.

Roy Gandy - Co Founder and OWNER rega

In 2009 Rega started work on making the absolute best turntable they could produce. The result was the Naiad. An extremely limited edition run of turntables, available only to those that Rega felt worthy. However, to make Naiad remotely affordable, Rega had to order parts in quantities of 50, this set the figure for the maximum number of Naiad Rega would ever be able to manufacture, each one painstakingly assembled by hand by a team of their most highly skilled team, including Rega’s CEO, Phil Freeman. To this date, Rega has now made and sold more than 30 Naiad at a cost of £29,999 each.

Rega have chosen to close the gap between the performance offered by the exclusive Naiad model, and the excellent Planar 10. Enter the Naia…

At first glance, you might mistake the new reference Naia model for the older Planar 10 model. The black chassis, white ceramic platter, and polished aluminium arm tube give similar styling clues... But in truth, the only 'common' part is Rega's highly developed 24V motor, every other part is a substantial upgrade from the already sublime Planar 10.

CHROMEY AND THE REGA NAIA

Rega was the first company to sell a modern injection die cast tonearm, in the form of the original 1980s RB300 (and lesser sibling, RB250). This arm not only won awards for its sonic abilities, but industry design awards for its innovation. The arm fitted to the Naia is a true reference. Similar to the arm fitted to the Planar 10, it features a low-mass polished one-piece aluminium arm tube, dubbed the RB-Titanium, above a mere number, the Titanium references the core of the arm, which, as you may have worked out, is machined from titanium. Rega can proudly boast this is the most rigid and most accurate sound reproducing tone arm they have produced.

The black chassis is based on the well used Rega theory of two rigid 'skins' filled with a light weight material, and then utilising a matching pair of braces to link the energy flowing through the deck. In order to achieve the ultimate balance between low mass and extreme rigidity, Rega has pioneered the use of graphene impregnated carbon and a Tancast 8 polyurethane foam core specifically for the Naia. Both super light and super rigid. In addition, the braces themselves are now made out of super rigid ceramic. Even the chassis feet have had much of their mass removed in a unique and bespoke manner, all upgrades from the Planar 10. Rega argue a high mass plinth system cannot help but to store some energy, and therefore 'smear' the detailed sounds recovered by the superb RB Titanium arm.

not sure you are going to go fast enough to leave orbit chromey!! Worth a shot i guess (pardon the pun)

You can see the concave in the platter above.

One of the standout visuals on the Planar 10 is the ceramic platter. The Naia ceramic platter is slightly deeper than the 10, but also has had more thought to it's design, the underside is concave, with rather than a 'lip' of mass at the periphery, as within the 10, the Naia gently smooths from thin at the centre to thick at the edge. The platter is much more inert, introducing less of its own sonic character.

Over the years, much has been made about the main bearing quality, and all Rega decks made feature a super quality main bearing. The Naia really pushes established manufacturing technology. In Rega's own words: “The Naia uses a custom aluminium sub-platter with a spindle and central bearing manufactured from ZTA (zirconium toughened alumina). ZTA was formerly developed for use in much larger machines used in the paper industry. The resistance against abrasion was much higher than alumina oxide, which makes it the perfect material to construct a central bearing assembly from. Exceptionally complex to make, production is similar to other oxide ceramics. Starting life as a powder preparation with spray drying, the piece is formed in an isostatic press (which applies pressure in all directions to create even density). The piece is then turned in a green state (before firing) then fired at 1600 °C for 3 days before grinding the bottom flange and bore and then final honing to match the spindle diameter. The spindle and bearing are then kept together as a set to guarantee the perfect fit.” All this assures unhindered platter revolution and absolute stability, and near perfect sound..

As mentioned earlier, the 24V motor is about the only significant assembly carried over from the Planar 10. A revised pulley sees no less than three drive belts, (as per the Naiad) to counter any belt slippage, linking to the precision sub platter. As per the Planar 10, a powerful power-supply and speed control drives the motor, but with the Naia, the motors drive waveform is derived through digital signal processing techniques, which further reduce any possibility of motor noise being imparted upon the refined sound.

chromey is at aphelion (for you astronomers)

Rega can supply the new Naia factory set-up with the Aphelion 2 cartridge, and as a set to listen to, as you would expect, it is a serious performer. The first thing that stands out is the openness and directness of sound. The deck liberates tunes from your vinyl collection. Each record played with such detail and fluidity. Pitch stable and solid, but open and lifelike reproduction. The deck is also incredibly quiet. Between tracks there is an almost deathly silence, the deck adds no mechanical noise. No rumble or noises from the motor or drive system. The turntable does its absolute best to disappear from the sound, and leaves you with just the music, with a lack of 'colour' to the sound. A sound that is defined by the records themselves, and not the deck.

As a range topping deck, featuring cutting edge technology, the Naia sets new heights in sonic fidelity from Rega. Ready for your own choice of cartridge from £9,999*, or complete with the Aphelion 2 for £12,499. On audition now at your local Audio T store.

Come along and speak to Munir, Dave, James and Haden for further information on the Rega Naia and Aphelion combo.

Thanks for reading

Haden, James, Munir & Dave - Audio T Manchester

Come along and speak to Munir, Dave and James at the store to arrange a demonstration.

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

Introducing Corinium from Acoustic Energy

/ Audio T Oxford/

Our customer, Martin, is a long-time user of Acoustic Energy. He has a dedicated home cinema setup with the aforementioned brand. When he came to visit us, he was looking to replace his Hi-Fi speakers at the time, which were the Acoustic Energy AE520. We knew exactly what he was after…

Martin’s trust acoustic energy ae520

Serendipity can be a good thing

Martin was fortunate enough to hear the Coronium at the same time that we did, and we were lucky enough to be joined by Mat Spandl, Managing Director and Chief Designer of Acoustic Energy and Paul Burnip (Acoustic Energy Sales Manager). The two had come down specially to demonstrate a pre-production pair of the long anticipated speakers and as Martin had already indicated to us that he was keen to listen to a pair, the timing worked out well for everyone. Plus, Acoustic Energy were more than happy to have the opinion from an existing fan and user of the brand.

Long story short

We loved the Coronium, as did Martin. So much so that he placed an order straight away and thus ordered the very first pair in the UK.

Three months later, the fantastic Tectona finish loudspeakers were ready for delivery; Paul and James (AE’s Industrial Designer) personally delivered the speakers and helped with the setup. Despite the fact that the speakers were brand new and still cold to the touch from a chilly December day spent in the back of the delivery vehicle, they instantly sounded fabulous in Martin’s room. During our short time there they really began to loosen up. With a hundred hours more under their belt, they will sound truly amazing!

After a couple of cups of coffee, during which time the tunes were played, James explained to Martin and myself the philosophy behind and the benefits of the Coroniums.

The words of Mat Spandl and the design philosophy

“With Corinium we believe we've built something which goes to the next level. This is a speaker which not only reproduces music, it produces a musical performance, it tells you about the musical intention of the artist, you hear the subtle inflections, the spaces between notes that separate the 'me too' from the really great. It can bring new meaning to familiar material, reinterpreting your favourite passages and bringing new life to your favourite old tracks.”

The Coronium’s are a philosophical design departure from previous Acoustic Energy speakers. Their profile is curved, to reduce standing waves. The cabinet is tilted for time alignment and is made from a composite of materials and is up to 50mm thick.

A synthetic polyester soft dome tweeter replaces the 500 series carbon fibre designs, because it is lighter. Brand new carbon fibre midrange and bass units complete the array, with the 120mm midrange covering five of the eight available octaves.

What this means in reality, is that in comparison to the AE520, everything has improved: The treble is more open, the midrange more lucid and detailed, bass quality is better (especially at lower listening levels), the speakers are substantially faster and dynamic.

 Finish options are:

  • Tectona wood (particularly gorgeous).

  • Matt white.

  • Matt black.

  • Metallic British racing green.

Our colleagues at Portsmouth have already done an in-depth review of the Coronium, which you can read here.

Job done

The Coronium are truly high-end speakers available at a very reasonable price - and they deserve to be heard.

We left Martin a happy man and I hope he has a fantastic Christmas listening to his favourite songs.

Thanks for reading.

Rob & Jon - 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…

Audio T Cheltenham, The Rega Naia And Their Records Of The Year 2023

/ Audio T Cheltenham/

Hi Pop kids and music lovers! It’s that time of the year when we look back and take stock of all the fun music we’ve played in-store during the year and shout about our favourite albums of 2023. Not necessarily music of audiophile quality, and perhaps not to everyone’s taste, but for many it is music that is joyous and uplifting. Music that makes you want to dance around. Music to transport your mind to other dimensions or just music that makes you think “What the F**k was that all about!”

secret stratosphere by william tyler and the impossible truth

Secret Stratosphere - William Tyler & The Impossible Truth

Released on the 31st March and without a shadow of a doubt my most favourite album of the whole year is Secret Stratosphere by William Tyler & The Impossible Truth.

A bit of background just in case you’ve never come across him before… William Tyler is a Nashville guitarist and composer. He spent years woodshedding and touring with Nashville groups like Lambchop and Silver Jews before breaking away to focus on his own version of instrumental guitar music. Secret Stratosphere is a live recording of William Tyler & his new band, The Impossible Truth, which shows him at a point of culmination where his place as one of the premier purveyors of prog/psych-country guitar amblings is cemented.

The band are totally hot and the music intense and other-wordly like a cross between Hawkwind and the Charlie Daniels Band. Drums are rock solid and thunderous with Tyler’s looping on lead guitar maintaining a post-rock ethereality, with chugging basslines beamed in straight from The Grateful Dead. There is even a Kraftwerk cover which is off the scale with trippy goodness! I can’t wait to hear more from this bunch.

no fixed point in space by modern nature

No Fixed Point in Space - Modern Nature

Next on my “Best of 2023” list is the third full-length album by Jack Cooper’s band, Modern Nature, which takes the palette of sound and themes that were honed on the 2021 release, Island Of Noise, and launches them into an expansive world of openness and vivid technicolour. It’s a music that hasn’t been heard before; as melodic as anything Cooper has produced in the past but framed by rhythms and instrumentation that reflect the chaos, unpredictability and colour of the natural world. It contains elements of folk, jazz and modern classical without being any of them. Definitely one for fans of late period Talk Talk. A beautifully recorded album and a totally quiet vinyl pressing too.

history by Bokanté

History - Bokanté

In third place comes History by Bokanté. Snarky Puppy guitarist, Michael League, formed the band in 2016 after hearing singer, Malika Tirolien. On this, their third studio album, Bokanté have mixed rock, jazz and blues with roots firmly in West Africa and the Arab world, bringing it all into the retro-modern present.

These nine tracks tell - with lyrics sung mainly in Guadeloupean Creole - of outsiders and seers, memories and joy; of black history, global unity and the futility of war. Of taking time to rest, feel, love. Of the redemptive power of music as a conduit, a change maker and a muse. The sound quality on this album is totally off the scale gorgeous… Definitely one of those albums to play to your friends when they come round to listen to your hi-fi!

careful of your keepers by this is the kit

Careful of Your Keepers - This is the Kit

Going back to the summer, we had the brand-new release from This Is The Kit, who are the musical project of Kate Stables and whoever joins her. I have been a fan of theirs since the first album came out and they have been improving with each release. This new one has had an injection of summary woozy trippy psychedelia, courtesy of production duties and musical guidance from Gruff Rhys... Him from the Welsh pop wizards, Super Furry Animals (just in case you didn't know).

A great collection of songs that also happen to be absolutely beautifully recorded too. This is one of those albums that will make your system sing. The recording puts so much of a sense of air around all the instrimentation that the sound just pops out of the loudspeakers and hangs in the air, the soundstage extending way out of the boxes left to right and up and down. The real treat though is that wonderful deep bass that seeps through at just the right moments! I suggest you treat your ears to one of these sharpish! Nice green vinyl and a locked groove at the end for extra weirdness!!

Unending Ascending by gong

Unending Ascending - Gong

November saw the release of Unending Ascending by Gong. A truly brain melting mash up of proggy, funky, drony, psychedelia and jazziness. Not much in the way of Radio Gnomes and Pot Head Pixies but who cares! The spirit of Gong is well and truly alive and safe in the hands of Kavus and his bunch of spiritual anarchists. I was looking forward to this one for ages and was not disappointed. If it wasn’t for the staggering brilliance of William Tyler this would have been top of the list!

The Rega Naia

The sound quality of this tiny selection of some of the year’s best vinyl has been raised to new heights by the introduction of the new top of the range, state-of-the-art turntable from Rega Research, called the Naia. It has not only moved the goalposts, it has changed the game! I knew that it was going to be good but this is just one of those wow products that comes along very rarely.

All that beautiful titanium

I am not going to go in to any more detail about it here because I notice a recent blog from the Brighton branch which does just that very eloquently. What I will say about the Naia is that never before have I heard a turntable that can extract this much information from a record groove and still make it fun to listen to. It is that simple. There are quite probably a lot of very worried turntable manufacturers around at the moment, all scratching their chins and trying to work out just how they have all suddenly been left behind.

The Rega Naia turntable is currently available for demonstration at our Cheltenham store so if you fancy a listen call them on 01242 583960 for a chat.

Thanks for reading.

Andy, Jon and Farid - Audio T Cheltenham Store.

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 can be found at the following Audio T stores -

Say “Hiya” to the Rega Naia - Now at Audio T Brighton

/ Audio T Brighton/

Hi all, and welcome to this month’s article from us here at Audio T Brighton. I can honestly say that this month’s blog is going to be a bit special, in the announcement that we have taken delivery of the brand new Rega Naia.

To say I’m stoked at the arrival of this highly anticipated turntable would be an understatement. Spoiler alert, Rega have hit it out of the park with the Rega Naia! Let’s have a closer look and more importantly, a listen...

rega naia turntable

Rega Naia esquire...

Rega’s latest turntable, the Naia, is a fitting development to demonstrate how Roy Gandy’s engineering is at the apex of record player design after 50 years of his company’s existence. He should be very proud of his achievements!

Following on from the Rega Naiad, a limited production turntable at a stratospheric price and hand-built as a special order for well-heeled customers, the Rega Naia has evolved using “trickle-down” materials, engineering knowledge and manufacturing techniques to the point where it has become a more affordable production model, yet has sacrificed little of its illustrious predecessor’s audiophile qualities.

Rega Naia is sonically on fire...

To say that Rega have a game changer turntable would in our opinion be an understatement. Combined with a Rega Aphelion 2 cartridge, a Rega Aura phono stage and a Rega Aethos integrated amplifier driving either the Rega Aya floor standing speakers, the Neat Acoustics Motive SX2 floor standing speakers or the Neat Petite Classics on Solid Steel SS6 stands, the Naia turntable has had us all bewitched here in our Brighton store.

rega naia system in action

It has all the detail and dynamics you’d expect of a turntable at this level, it bestowed every record we played with a musical virtuosity and humanity we’ve seldom heard in a comparative system. We’ve literally been boogieing around the store like maniacs since its arrival, such is the musical involvement it deploys.

Another standout virtue with the sound from a Naia is it’s incredibly quiet background noise level. The Zirconium Alumina ceramic bearing, resonance controlled ceramic platter, RB titanium tonearm and low mass graphene impregnated carbon fibre skeletal plinth with Tancast 8 foam core graphene infused plinth, bestows this deck with a CD like quality in terms of noise levels, yet without that medium’s sometimes recognisable glare and digital quality.

Have you ever witnessed what I can only describe as cone-flap on vinyl record playback? Often this appears as unusually large bass-driver excursion during record playback and isn’t necessarily the result of bass-heavy music because it can occur during the lead-in and lead-out groove at the beginning and end of a record. The low-level rumble associated with record players can be emphasised by amplifiers, causing the cone-flap phenomenon, such that older amplifiers often had a rumble-filter to help reduce this. The Rega Naia has none of this, or at least none whilst I was listening, and may be part of the reason why this turntable is such a fantastic sounding deck. It allows the amplifier to play music rather than using amplifier power to try and reproduce low frequency noise, robbing the amp of dynamics because its power supply is drained by this low frequency noise.

One often hears the term ‘black background’ where digital playback systems are concerned, but not often with vinyl playback because of the often inherent noise of the medium. The Rega Naia is, to our ears, as close as one can get to mimicking the term ‘black background’ in analogue playback and a significant step forward in this regard.

In our experience, the only other turntable that comes close to the ‘black background’ quality of the Naia would be the Linn LP12 Klimax turntable with its Radikal 2 power supply and matching Linn Ekstatik cartridge, however that places it in a completely different price bracket.

rega naia with rega aura phono stage playing through a naim 300 series system

Personally, we all felt the Naia invigorated every system we played it through and sounded especially fine through a Naim 300 New Classic series system; composing of a Naim NSC332 preamp with Naim NPX300 power supply into Naim NAP350 monoblock amplifiers and ATC SCM50 speakers.

A Naia on perfect partner... the Rega Aura

rega aura phonostage

The Naia needs a sparring partner and in this article we’re looking at the perfect one. Rega’s top phono stage, the Aura.

The Rega Aura is a moving coil only phono stage and a mighty beast at that. You’ll certainly know when you try to lift it! To compare it with other phono stages, read our blog here. To summarise, the Rega Aura was my favourite amongst them with a lovely, mellifluous sound and it should come as no surprise that it works so well with the Rega Naia.

This Rega turntable A-Naia-lates the competition!

rega naia

All I can say is, I want one! The Naia is so stupendously good it annihilates the competition (pun intended).

It’s a beautiful design that is both complex and simple at the same time. Combine this with the humanity it brings to the records that are fortunate enough to be played through it, make this a game-changing deck for the money. Yes, it is a substantial investment, but if you value musical reproduction, you owe it to yourself to come in and give the Rega Naia an audition.

As always, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so get in touch to book a demonstration.

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…

Chromey pre-empts his preamble about the precious new Preamplifier from prestigious purveyors of Hi-Fi, Naim, and predicts a premium powerhouse.

/ Audio T Manchester/

The Preamble

1974 seems like a long time ago for some, for Hi-Fi maker Naim Audio 1974 was their first year of business after founding the year prior in 1973 and - relevant to today’s blog - it's when they first introduced the NAC 12 preamplifier, which subsequently resulted in the release of multiple award-winning preamps over the years, that are still sought after by Hi-Fi aficionados the world over.

Naim are never a company to rush a new product to market. Their range has steadily developed from the original NAC 12 / NAP 200 combination over the last 50 years. The route of their design and philosophy has slowly progressed, and today we are celebrating the new NAC 332 preamplifier. A powerful design that bases itself on state of the art electronic design developed for the cool quarter of a million pound Naim Statement amplifier. The traditional black die cast enclosure sleeve has had a major upgrade to its design, as has the facia and electronics. Only the footprint remains similar to Naim's traditional separates range.

The Presentation

The fascia is balanced on the right-hand side by the rather pretty function buttons. The box design is broken up with a strip of high-quality perspex that extends across the top and down the fascia, with a bright and clear (and dimmable) Naim logo right in the middle. Rather than the rather solid, and rather staid-looking black cast sleeve, that has been a hallmark of the vast majority of Naim designs over the past 45 years, the construction of the '332 is much more esoteric in both design and quality of materials. Various high-quality anodised panels make up the lid and base, with a pair of complementary 'heat sinks' on either side. Nobody would or could ever accuse Naim of skimping on the build of their products, but these latest designs (including the NBC-TT phono stage, NSC 222 streamer/preamp, NSS 333 streamer, NPX 300 power supply and finally the NAP 350 mono-block power amplifiers) raise the design game by an utterly enormous magnitude. They look amazing, are built amazingly, which of course helps and aids the sublime sound quality.

The Preliminaries

The new volume control dominates the fascia. Not only is it pleasing on the eye, but Naim's volume control is pleasing on the ear too. For generations conventional volume controls have been based on a potentiometer, literally the volume control is a resistive element wiped by a pointer. This simple arrangement was used back in the 1920s, and despite being heavily refined over the years, there are always mild errors which translate to poorer sound. Electronic alternatives rely on either electronic switches, resistor ladders, relays, or even specially-made integrated circuits for the job. Each design has its own quirks, and Naim have cleverly combined two types into one control; the resistor ladder and the integrated circuit. The ladder network offers the highest fidelity, and is the most costly. On the negative side, the network can make clicks when adjusting the level. The integrated circuit has much poorer sound, but is devoid of clicks. Naim have cleverly combined both, so you have the best sound of the resistor ladder, but the noise free option of the integrated circuit. Of, course, this tech was taken from the Naim Statement.

The Preconnections

Connections on the rear include fully assignable phono sockets and XLR connections, with outputs and inputs in both those formats. There are also 'Burndy' connections for power supply upgrades, and more traditional Naim DIN connectors to connect to the matching NBC-TT phono stage, which can be powered from the '332, and of course both designs can be upgraded with the appropriate matching power supplies.

Prepare yourself

Of course these physical design upgrades would be pointless if there wasn't such a huge upgrade within the handsome solid case. As previously mentioned, the new '332 borrows heavily from the top of the line Naim Statement, and being blunt about it, is a huge upgrade on previous classic Naim preamplifiers. The sound is more open, wider and more detailed, without losing the classic Naim pace rhythm and timing... the unit's sonic qualities are simply sublime. Matched with the complementary and equally impressive NAP 350 power amplifiers and NSS 333 streamer, the NAC 332 comes closer to that Naim statement than ever before… And for around a tenth of the price!

We have ours set up in Manchester, so come along and talk to us about a personal demonstration.

Thanks for reading

James, Munir, Haden & Dave - Audio T Manchester

Come along and speak to Munir, Dave and James at the store to arrange a demonstration.

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…

Shutting Off The World With Noise Cancelling Headphones!

/ Audio T Southampton/

Good tidings audiophiles! I am sure most (if not all) of you have used headphones before, and I imagine many of you use them in your daily lives as well. As an avid headphones user myself, I have used a myriad of different brands and types, including some of the more exotic styles!

In this article, I will be briefly talking about Bluetooth headphones in particular, and what my experiences have been with the ones I have used. I will also go over the pros of the headphones I used for the purpose of this blog, and will be including two honourable mentions as well!

But first, I wanted to tell you why having a pair of good ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) Bluetooth headphones is so crucial in this day and age, and it all comes down to your day-to-day life. If, like me, you are someone who enjoys a daily walk or prefers to take public transport, you will know that the world can be rather noisy, with so many other people and vehicles going here, there and everywhere! So listening to your favourite tracks whilst out on your business for the day can be difficult, and sometimes unenjoyable. With a pair of high quality noise cancelling headphones, all of those issues I mentioned above would all but disappear, allowing your music to shine a lot brighter and clearer.

Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2e

Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2e

The first pair of headphones that I trialed whilst writing this blog were the brand new Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2e Bluetooth ANC headphones. I was simply blown away by them. They also come with a USB-C to USB-C cable if you want to make use of the internal DAC, by-passing the Bluetooth element entirely! Below you can find a list of pros for the headphones!

Pros

⦁ The B&Ws were quite comfortable to wear, providing a nice tight fit around my head. Meaning, of course, that they wouldn't slip/shake off!

⦁ The ANC works extremely well to mute the outside world, making the music I was listening to whilst out and about really able to sing.

⦁ The headphones have a very tight and punchy bass, which worked fantastically for the music I was listening to at the time, whilst still providing clear vocals and beautiful highs.

⦁ Headphones can be customised for your listening pleasure via use of the Bowers & Wilkins app!

Focal Bathys

Focal Bathys

Next up I tried the Focal Bathys, and I was thoroughly impressed by them! Same as the PX7 S2e headphones, these also come equipped with a USB-C to USB-C cable to make use of the fantastic inbuilt DAC.

Pros

⦁ The Focals were very comfortable to wear, providing a good balance of a tight fit and comfort.

⦁ The ANC was simply phenomenal, shutting almost everything away other than the occasional loud car. Combined with the tight and comfortable fit, it helped me to beter focus on my music.

⦁ The overall sound was quite fantastic in all, not too much bass whilst providing a fantastic amount of detail to everything I was listening to.

⦁ Using the Focal & Naim app, I was able to almost fully customise my listening experience. From changing the EQ to whatever suited my needs and desires, all the way to creating a sound profile perfect for my hearing capabilities, boosting any frequencies that my ears may have struggled with previously.

Honourable Mentions

Now, through the course of me trying out these different headphones, there are a couple that I wish I had the opportunity to trial, however I was limited to what we had in store at the time. However, it is still worth mentioning these brilliant headphones.

Sennheiser Accentum

Sennheiser Accentum

First on the list are the newly-released Sennheiser Accentum headphones. These have been receiving very good reviews online, and being Sennheiser they are bound to be good value for your money!

Once again sporting Bluetooth and ANC, you can almost guarantee that your day to day activities would run smoothly without any distractions!

Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 4

Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 4

The other pair of headphones I wanted to mention are the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 4. These aren't as new as the others, however they are still reviewed and regarded as some of the best Bluetooth and ANC headphones currently available.

And that's all from me today! If you are on the hunt for a decent pair of Bluetooth ANC headphones for your day-to-day activities, then I consider the four mentioned to be some of the very best!

If you are on the market for something else though, or you have more questions about the headphones themselves, don't hesitate to give us a call!

Thanks for reading

Tiago - 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…

Bowers & Wilkins can be found at the following Audio T stores

Focal can be found at the following Audio T stores

Sennheiser can be found at the following Audio T stores

It's a Streamin' Bargain - The Wiim Pro Network Audio Player

/ Audio T Swansea/

We were first introduced to the Wiim Pro by the lovely Ralph of the distributor, Henley Design. He told us all about it on the phone and persuaded us to take a couple into stock, promising that other, better informed Audio T staff had given it their seals of approval.

“It’s like Blackpool Zoo on mackerel day Ade, all these approving seals.”

“Alright Ralph, I’ll bite, send us a couple.”

the Wiim PRO NETWORK AUDIO PLAYER

The Wiim arrived a little while later and we immediately unboxed one. It looked attractive enough with its (now standard, thanks to Apple) radiused corners, is nicely made & feels pretty solid, considering its lightweight. Having demonstrations and customers to serve, I put it on a shelf where it lay, quietly forgotten, until Ralph put in an appearance at Chez Swansea about a fortnight later.

“How are you getting on with those Wiim Pros?”

“Ah..it’s on this shelf here look, but we haven’t plugged it in yet. Sorry Ralph.”

“For shame, Ade! Have you got five minutes? Enough time to make a brew..?”

Taking his cue from Ralph’s raised eyebrow, Andy beetled off to put the kettle on, whilst I connected the Wiim Pro up to its power supply, an ethernet cable and a pair of RCAs into our resident Rega Aethos integrated amplifier and Dynaudio Special 40 loudspeakers.

THE BUSINESS END OF THE WIIM PRO

Downloading the app took literally two minutes, as did logging onto the app and “finding” the player on our network. Another minute to synchronise my Qobuz account and we had tunes.

THE WIIM APP DISPLAYING THE QOBUZ MUSIC ‘NEW ALBUMS’ LIST

Five minutes, fair play.

I did faff about for another minute wondering why the level was a bit low before I found the Line Level function in the analogue output menu. (We’ll call it operator error.)

We let it run for a bit, had a sip or two of tea and started listening in earnest. First impressions are good – the Wiim Pro sounds open and clear, but a bit lightweight and two-dimensional when it’s compared to a Bluesound Node, but then it is less than a third of the price. It does however clip along a good rate, supplying enough musicality to get heads nodding and toes tapping. It isn’t harsh or shouty, nor is it muted and dull, it’s a credible music player and perfectly enjoyable. For a hundred and fifty quid, one cannot complain.

ooo look, Evanescence have reissued an album.

ooo look evanescence have re-issued another album

A long-standing customer (we shall call him Chris) came in as we were playing and asked if we had an affordable way of getting radio into his conservatory system. He’d moved his old hi-fi gear in there as they use it as a family room during Christmas and thought it would save him from playing CD DJ.

“Well now, Chris. What do you think of what’s playing now?”

“Sounds nice Ade, as always - what are we listening to?”

“That little Wiim unit there. Network streamer, hundred and forty-nine quid.”

“Oh aye? Cute looking thing. Does it do Radio 6?”

“Give me a minute…”

that non-exhaustive list of music sources

I opened the Wiim app again, found TuneIn in the list of music sources and after a short amount of faff trying to remember exactly how Auntie Beeb spells ‘BBC Radio 6 Music’ (not the Wiim’s fault but TuneIn’s algorithm, or possibly mine,) we had the enthusiastic Scouse brogue of Craig Charles introducing Chaka Khan’s “I Feel for You.”

“Yes Chris, it does do Radio 6.”

“That’s exactly what I’m after Ade, have you one I can buy now?”

“Yes I do.”

“Then take my money.”

one needs to select one’s desired output format

After Chris (Thank you Chris!) had left, I plugged the Wiim into the coaxial digital socket of our Rega Elex Mk4 amplifier. Changing the output on the Wiim from RCA to Digital Coax (not all the output sockets are live, all of the time,) the sound noticeably improved. With the Rega’s onboard DAC replacing the Wiim’s one and even though we’d dropped two grades of amplifier, the sound was appreciably better; fuller, warmer, greater weight and scale, an extra half-octave of bass and a sweeter top end. Well worth remembering. Again, compared to our Bluesound Node, it was lighter in weight and closer to two-dimensions rather than three, but still very enjoyable with no hint of the coarseness that one might expect at this price. Bravo Wiim, this is a bargain!

digital formats all the way up to 24bit 192khz. (although stapleton here tops out at 96)

You can link multiple Pros together to make a multiroom system, they’ll play with Siri, Alexa & Google Voice Assistant, you can set them to wake you in the morning and with the full-size optical digital input, you can run your TV/PVR/Playstation audio through it. Although you will probably need to play around with the lip-sync function of your telly.

the ability to function as a multiroom system too…

So why not give us a call and you can pop over to check it out. We might even make you a cup of tea…

Thanks for reading

Ade, Andy & Nic – 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…