Articles Archive - Page 134 of 266

Under new management: Melco’s new General Manager Dan Raggett takes the top job in the UK

7th April 2020, Surrey, UK: Leading digital music library specialist, Japan’s Melco Audio, has announced a new General Manager for the UK as Melco stalwart, Alan Ainslie, shifts his expertise to Melco distribution in the UK and beyond.

Dan Raggett, the company’s UK Sales Manager, has been promoted to General Manager effective immediately and will be taking overall responsibility for Melco’s operations in a number of territories, with a focus on the UK.

Former General Manager and Melco Audio brand ambassador, Alan Ainslie, who has been at the helm of the company in the UK for seven years, will be spearheading the brand’s distribution in the UK, with North America and parts of Europe following imminently, bringing valuable Melco expertise to surrey-based distributor Audiophile Digital Music Masters (ADMM) in his role as Managing Director.

Before joining Melco in 2018, Dan Raggett was the Southern Area Account Manager at Naim Audio for three years, where he was responsible for Naim Audio and Focal in southern England.

Commenting on his promotion, Dan Raggett said, “I am very proud and excited to be taking on this role for Melco; I certainly have some very big shoes to fill. I want to give great thanks to Alan Ainslie for all the advice, training and mentoring he has given me over the past 18 months.”

Although Alan is taking a well-deserved step back, we will be working very closely together for the foreseeable future. I would also like to thank Melco distributors and Melco retailers around Europe for helping me settle into the role. I look forward to helping Melco grow further in the years ahead.”

Outgoing General Manager Alan Ainslie added, “A project such as Melco is very much a team effort, involving lots of different engineering and commercial disciplines. Having spent a pleasant period of almost two years working with and coaching Dan, I am pleased that I can confidently hand over the reins, knowing that the Melco position can only continue to improve.”

Dan has a special challenge – there are no direct competitors to Melco. If there were, then his job would be a lot easier – but, as it is, he has a great team to manage and the key task for everyone is to educate and inform in all aspects of digital music storage and playback, which we all know is so much better and easier with Melco’s advanced technology.”

Although I am standing down from the role of General Manager, I will still be closely involved with the commercial side as I continue to run Audiophile Digital Music Masters (ADMM), the UK distributor for Melco. ADMM will soon be adding North America and some European territories to its Melco distribution, to ensure consistent branding and coordinated marketing activities, which will greatly help everyone.”

I have enjoyed the support of our technical and commercial teams, whether in Japan, or Europe, or in the case of some of our specialised software, in the UK. Thank you everyone. Great things have been achieved and we have only just started – over to Dan to make the next stage of Melco very special indeed.”

A raft of recent Melco news, including the new EX Series of digital music libraries, the new S100 data switch plus free five-year warranty upgrades, indicate an exciting 2020 for Melco’s music-loving customer base and newcomers alike. In March, the company announced details of a home demonstration initiative to enable audiophiles in lockdown to experience Melco in ideal circumstances: at home with their own systems, music and listening rooms/spaces.

Melco press contact/review samples

Dan George: +44 (0)7899 808918 [email protected]

Melco/AUDIOPHILE DIGITAL MUSIC MASTERS LTD (ADMM) contact details

+44 (0)1252 784525

http://w ww.audiophiledigital.co.uk/

https://www.melco-audio-masters.com/

About Melco

Melco (Maki Engineering Laboratory Company) was established by Makoto Maki in 1975 in Japan. Maki, an enthusiastic audiophile, established the company to design and manufacture the finest audio components of the time; the undoubted masterpiece of the Melco line was the turntable (introduced into the UK in 1980) which set new standards in music reproduction.

From those early beginnings, Melco developed into the largest computer peripherals manufacturer in Japan (Buffalo Inc.), offering advanced products based on rigorous R&D. These included wireless routers, ethernet data switches and storage devices such as NAS drives. Now, the company is proud to revive the highly respected Melco brand, offering discerning audiophiles high-technology network audio components in the spirit of those much-revered early Melco products, while incorporating the very latest research into reliable, high-performance networked devices and storage.

VPI MANUFACTURES FACE MASKS AND VENTILATOR PARTS

Following its switch from manufacturing turntables to hand sanitiser, VPI has now also started producing face masks and supplying 3D printed parts for ventilators.

To create the face masks, the team took the clear plastic covers from VPI brochures to use as visors and then applied packaging foam as forehead strips. Ingeniously, VPI’s designers have used turntable drive belts as headbands. Over 100 face masks have been delivered to local hospitals.

VPI turntables are renowned for their 3D printed tonearms and the company has now turned to its local 3D printing partner to create specialist parts for hospital ventilators. However, to create additional products to help medical teams, VPI needed clear plastic. Sadly, plastic is currently in very short supply and cynically over-priced, so, the company president, Mat Weisfeld, appealed to his suppliers for help in providing plastic. His appeal was hugely successful and the clear plastic he received has allowed VPI to create intubation hoods for its local hospitals.

Mat Weisfeld, commented, ‘I am proud of the efforts of both the VPI team and its partners in manufacturing vital medical equipment. When I delivered the hand sanitiser and face masks to one of our local hospitals, I was truly humbled by the senior medic I met who was totally delighted with what we were able to supply. At VPI, we’ll continue to do our best to help who we can during this difficult time.’

VPI can be reached at: [email protected]

For more information and donations: www.vpidirect.com/store/p376/Donate

Company and product information can be viewed here:

www.vpiindustries.com

www.renaissanceaudio.co.uk

VPI Industries Inc. is a high-end audio manufacturer founded in 1978. All VPI products are designed and built in the United States in Cliffwood, New Jersey. VPI’s sonic philosophy is to reproduce the dynamics of live music in the home and that the illusion of reality cannot be duplicated without a convincing resolution of low-level detail, along with a natural sense of acoustic space. VPI products are sold in over 65 countries across the globe.

Chord Electronics victim of April 1st ‘prank’

2nd April 2020, Kent, UK: In the UK, and some other countries around the world, 1 April is known as ‘April Fools’ Day’ and is, traditionally, a day for harmless and light-hearted pranks.

This year, one particular ‘prankster’ went too far and posted a false article and forged a press release on his hi-fi review website stating that Chord Electronics had closed because of the Coronavirus.

Chord Electronics cannot speak to the motivations behind the post but is deeply saddened that anyone would attempt to make light of what is a global tragedy at a time when so many are experiencing personal loss.

The Company would like to assure press and public alike that the article that was posted was false and that, subject of course to keeping our staff healthy, it is very much business as usual.

The company has posted a response to yesterday’s events on its social media channels (Facebook:faceboook.com/chordelectronics and Twitter: twitter.com/ChordAudio) and would invite anyone wishing to keep up to date with official news and updates, to follow them.

Chord Electronics

Tel: +44 (0)1622 721444
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.chordelectronics.co.uk

About Chord Electronics Ltd

Chord Electronics Ltd is a world-leading manufacturer of high-performance hi-fi and audio products. Since 1989, from its spectacular riverside base in Kent, England, Chord Electronics has been creating some of the planet’s finest hi-fi, home cinema and professional audio equipment. A technology-driven innovator, Chord Electronics continues to deliver excellence through exemplary audio engineering, cutting-edge design and a true aesthetic understanding.

Chord Electronics is trusted and admired internationally and its global customer base includes: Metropolis Studios, Abbey Road Studios (London); Sony Music Studios (New York), Skywalker Sound (California) and more.www.chordelectronics.co.uk

Breaking the isolation: Concerts in your home

As we are all coming to terms with locking down to beat this medical tornado called COVID-19, many of us are also having to come to terms with missing a season of great concerts and events that have all been cancelled. This is entirely understandable, especially as the disease is already taking its toll within the musical community, and we – of course – wish that butcher’s bill be light, that those laid low with this awful disease (from all walks of life) recover swiftly and fully, and that the whole thing be consigned to history soon. However, until that day comes, concerts, gigs, festivals and other musical events are put on hiatus.

Although…

The one glimmer of positivity in all this is that we have better communications systems than ever before, and we no longer have to ‘be’ in the concert hall to experience the concert. Alongside the army of musicians presenting gigs from their living rooms, and isolated musicians finding innovative ways of creating a Zoom-based orchestra, there is a healthy back-catalogue of recorded concerts and events, many of which are now being made available online, often for free for limited periods.

One such option is 50 classic festival concerts from the Montreux Jazz Festival, all available free to stream for 30 days. These include a diverse range of artists, including Ray Charles, Carlos Santana, Nina Simone, Deep Purple, and Marvin Gaye… and even the Wu-Tang Clan! To learn more about this service, go here: https://www.montreuxjazzfestival.com/en/50-concerts-to-stream/

Montreux is not alone in doing this. The Berliner Philharmonic has made access to its digital concert hall free during the lockdowns, with access to its hundreds of concerts and movies about classical artists connected with the orchestra. To learn more about this service, go here: https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/concerts

Similarly, the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam has unlocked its past concerts for enthusiasts to watch and enjoy: https://www.concertgebouworkest.nl/en/video-overview, while the Opera Philadelphia is streaming an Audio-On-Demand premier of ‘Breaking The Waves’ (composed by Missy Mazzoli with a libretto by Royve Vavrek) on SoundCloud here: https://www.operaphila.org/whats-on/on-stage-2016-2017/breaking-the-waves/audio-stream/.

Moving across to YouTube, The Royal Opera House is streaming recorded weekly ballets or operas, then making them available on demand after the first stream. The next is Handel’s Acis and Galetea, at 7pm (British Summer Time) on Friday April 3. For more details, go here: https://www.youtube.com/user/RoyalOperaHouse

There is a lot more to be had online, and we want this to be an open-source service to music lovers. If you know of an orchestra, band, or concert hall that is doing the same service, please link to it in the comments section below. Thank you!

We hope to update this regularly to add more musical spaces to visit to stop us all going slowly crazy in our respective homes. I’m on my second pint of contact cleaner now, and if it carries on like this, I will be forced to play those records that I pretend I never owned and only got into my collection by accident…

Grand Prix Audio Monza equipment support system

When it comes to product names, some are more fanciful than others, but in the case of Grand Prix Audio’s Monza equipment support system, it’s easy to make the connection. With each level employing 16 bolts (each using one of three different Allen bolt sizes, while eight also sport a self-locking 3/8th inch hex nut), a carbon-fibre base, a bamboo platform, a quartet of one of several different sets of weight-matched viscoelastic interfaces between the two, with Apex feet beneath the whole stand (and ideally beneath the products that rest on each level), the precision engineered parts, high-tech materials, and tuning options, building it makes you feel like a member of a pit crew.

Fortunately, putting the Monza together does not challenge your Ikea-fu, and all that high-tech precision means that everything goes together with ease. One point to note, however, is that the outriggers for the bottom shelf (or the dedicated amplifier platform) are materially different to those of the upper shelves, and this can cause some confusion and potentially inverted platforms for the hard of thinking. It’s also worth noting that you should build up the platforms ‘finger tight’ until you have all the support levels in place, then start locking the Monza down. Once you get the knack, though, you whizz through the build-up like a boss, and there is a sense of achievement to building the Monza from scratch that you don’t get from building a bookshelf made from cheap MDF, even if it has a name like Böjåflürkøne.

This construction reflects the fact that each ‘sub-system’ is designed to cascade spurious energy, ensuring the components on Monza are effectively multiply decoupled from their environment (and each other). It’s an approach successfully used in the company’s flagship Silverstone support system, but here in a less elaborate form. Where the Silverstone’s polymer damped, stainless-steel uprights have an extruded groove allowing infinite height adjustment of the individual suspension units from which each level hangs, the Monza uses a ladder of spaced bushes that runs the length of each upright and to which the outriggers are bolted. This simpler system might reduce the overall degree of isolation and decoupling relative to the Silverstone, but the Monza is still one of the most decoupled environments in the home. You can also add extra bays to the rack, with extension kits of two legs plus the necessary support levels.

Let’s look at this systematically, from the ground up. Monza sits on four Apex or Apex XL couplers, each with a silicon-nitride ceramic ball sitting in a detent at its tip. That effectively decouples the Monza from the world beneath it. The carbon-fibre sub-frames are attached to the four, damped aluminium uprights by metal outriggers. The bamboo shelves (nature’s own, natural ‘carbon fibre’) are supported on load-matched viscoelastic dampers that create a critically damped, constrained-layer interface between the shelf and its supporting frame.

Add in a set of Apex footers under each product and you create an extremely efficient exit path and multi-layer dissipation system to deal with both internal and external energy. Put Apex footers and levellers under your loudspeakers, and you have pretty much isolated the system from structural interference, unless you live on an active fault line in a war zone.

The strange thing is we don’t realise just how significant the impact of the world outside the system is on good audio until we take a lot of that world away. This is what Monza does and does so well, just like the company’s excellent Apex footers, only more so. What they all do is let the components be themselves, unalloyed and unvarnished by their surroundings. This has an interesting effect because it delineates ‘good audio’ from simply ‘audio’. Many components are – consciously or otherwise – designed with an expectation of being influenced by their surroundings, and effectively removing that source of influence leaves a product that falls by the wayside in one of two ways; being too ‘peaky’ or – paradoxically – too bland. In fairness, most of the better grade of products of the sort that would be used with a rack of the Monza’s gravitas make the cut, and for many more that ‘absence of influence’ is more benign than ‘throw out my system and start again’, but the absolute honesty of the Monza demands to be well met by audio electronics.

The most surprising thing about a truly honest equipment support system is just how much bass gets lost somewhere in other racks. The bass takes on a greater sense of ‘torsional strength’ irrespective of the size of the loudspeakers; there is greater definition, yes, but also greater energy, drive, and precision. However, Monza is not artificially tuned to make a more up-beat sound – that’s not the job of a rack, after all.

This also gives another great advantage to the sound quality: headroom. Your system goes louder with less distortion. However, your system also hangs together better if you play it at post-whisper quiet levels. The Monza not only brings a wider range of listening levels to the mix, however; your system just hangs together better, and that holds regardless of playback volume.

The rest of the sound grows out of that powerful foundation but does so honestly and with excellent integrity and coherence. You notice this when turning back to a ‘mere’ support system, as the sound becomes more of a disjointed ‘bass-midrange-treble’. You also notice it with vocals; you become awed by Joyce DiDonato’s vocal range and diction as a cohesive whole, for example.

If you have reached that point in audio maturity where you don’t want a ‘tuneful’ rack or a ‘dead’ sounding platform, but just want to hear what all those fine pieces of audio equipment you already own actually do for a living, then the Grand Prix Audio Monza tells it like it is.

Prices and contact details

Monza Equipment Support System

Monza Amp Stand including APEX XL: £5675

Monza four Shelf 42” tall rack including APEX XL, levellers and couplers: £20,500

Manufactured by: Grand Prix Audio

URL: grandprixaudio.com

Distributed in the UK by: Definitive Audio

URL: definitiveaudio.co.uk

Tel: +44(0)115 973 3222

PrimaLuna Evo 300 preamplifier and power amplifier

Let’s be brutally honest about high-end audio; sometimes it’s a bit full of itself. The combination of ever-soaring prices and elaborate and often exaggerated claims can sometimes make even the most enthusiastic supporter of high-end audio shout ‘Stop The Insanity!’. Fortunately, there are a few brands that seem to share the desire to create products that perform well without recourse to making outlandish claims or creating eye-watering price tags. PrimaLuna is one such brand.

However, as a consequence to this BS-free approach to product design and manufacture, the products didn’t change that often. The ProLogue and DiaLogue models from the brand were mainstays of affordable valve-based high-end audio for some time, and the company didn’t run through endless cycles of hyped-up micro-changes in product design. This isn’t just ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, but a more honest approach that admitted at first principles that there are only a finite number of ways of making an amplifier circuit, and few people are legitimately reinventing the wheel every few years; more like, tinkering with a circuit design that’s old enough to draw a pension.

So, when PrimaLuna announced a whole new range replacing the ProLogue and DiaLogue, interest was piqued. Was the company bowing to pressure and simply changing a couple of component values and proclaiming it the Second Coming of the Tube Amp, or will the Evolution range really live up to the name? The range launched recently with four series, each comprising integrated amp, line preamp, and stereo power amp that turns mono literally at the flick of a switch. These are, respectively, the Evo 100, 200, 300, and 400 series. There is also a single DAC in the range; the Evo 100. This sports a clever tube clock circuit, but that’s another story!

Even though we picked the Evo 300 preamp and stereo power amp, it’s worth running through the range, to set them in context. Evo 100 is the entry point, but already it features point-to-point wiring, relay-switched ‘super-quiet’ inputs, is a dual mono, valve regulated design with the company’s adaptive auto bias circuit and ‘Bad Tube Indicator’, has ALPS Blue Velvet potentiometers as volume controls in the preamp and integrated, and the integrated and power amp allow a degree of tube-rolling if the stock quartet of EL34s aren’t your bag. The Evo 200 adds a home cinema bypass, larger transformers, and the option to include KT150s in your tube-rolling quest. Evo 300 tested here adds a special ‘AC Offset Killer’ circuit that reduces transformer self-noise, upgrades the internal wiring to custom Swiss made cabling (in point-to-point designs, upgrading the internal wiring loom makes a huge difference), upgrading to Takman resistors and DuRoch tinfoil capacitors. The preamp and integrated get a bigger, better remote, and the power amp includes remotely-controlled triode/ultralinear switching, XLR inputs, and the beefiest transformers the company provides. Finally, the Evo 400 models bring XLR inputs to the preamplifier, and double the number of output valves, raising the power from a healthy 44W per channel in the Evo 300 amp tested here to 70W, or a potential 140W if used in bridged mono mode.

I have torn through these specifications because they speak of a range that works in a wholly sensible manner. Again, unlike many components in audio, where the notion of good-better-best seem separated by the thinnest sliver of difference, these are tangible improvements in specification that are likely to have tangible benefits in performance. This is why there are no built-in phono stages or on-board DACs; they rarely provide an improvement over even very affordable aftermarket models, and frequently do little more than increase cost and (in the case of poorly shielded DACs) lower overall performance. That being said, PrimaLuna did make the PhonoLogue and PhonoLogue Premium phono stages upgrades a few years back, so they can’t be that bad! Hopefully, however, this dismissal of the internal phono stage means a standalone Evo phono preamp or two is on the cards.

On to the specifics of the Evo 300 duo. The first observation is how the Evo 300 preamp is surprisingly weighty and bristles with valves (six 12AU7 and a pair of 5AR4 for the regulator). This weight comes down to a lot of transformers (because of that dual-mono, choke-filtered valve regulation). This is one of the sweetest sounding, yet insightful and upbeat, preamplifiers you can get for anything like the money. This is a harmonically rich sounding preamplifier that stays just the right side of ‘warm’ to be enticing, but that avoids the risk of falling into sounding too warm and ultimately cuddly-sounding. Stereo imaging is first-rate, with a great deal of image depth, and dynamics are more on the effortless rather than exuberant side. Fine detail resolution and vocal articulation are handled well, too.

In a way, the sound quality of the power amp is harder to track because it so readily invites tube rolling. The sound of the amp with two brace of KT150s is going to be markedly different to the Evo 300 sporting a quartet of 7581As, as it will with the stock EL34s. But with the stock EL34s in place it sounds damn fine. I felt the sound is perhaps best with smaller loudspeakers and in pentode mode than with more full-range designs or in triode operation. There’s something intrinsically ‘earthy’ and ‘gutsy’ about the sound when partnered with good, small loudspeakers that doesn’t extend to the bottom octave or so (but, in fairness, this isn’t the kind of amplifier that will be used in combination with full-range skyscraper speakers, and in context, it works fine). Moreover, while that sound gets a little smoother, warmer, and has better stereo in triode mode, I prefer the more dynamic pentode operation. Your mileage may vary here, however.

However, it is in combination that the PrimaLuna Evo 300 duo shine. This isn’t magic synergy or tweaking the response of one to suit the other; more that the two are well-matched in performance terms and that comes across well. One of the more ‘stand out’ tracks from the listening session that highlighted this was ‘Shipbuilding’ by Elvis Costello [Punch The Clock, F-Beat]. Always deeply evocative, the track was focused in the room with Costello’s voice and Chet Baker’s trumpet is almost too painful to hear. Anything that stirs up that emotion works!

The usual criticisms of PrimaLuna will be rolled out with the Evo range: the fact they are built in Asia, and their ‘bling-free’ styling. But, here’s the thing; you can buy valve amps designed and built in America or Europe but they either cost more or feature a lesser specification for the money. Or, you can buy something with a higher specification and better performance for less money knowing it logged a long boat ride in its infancy. Or, you can buy something that looks like a million bucks that doesn’t sound as good. Pick any one of these. There is no underlying value judgment in that statement; you can do all three and the choice is yours. What’s harder to do is buy a product of this specification and performance at the price that looks expensive, no matter how many times you stamp your feet and wish the world was different. Also, although some find the look a bit basic, with the protector like the styling; think of it as a ‘singing bread bin’.

I haven’t heard the full new Evo range yet, but I can’t help feeling that this Evo 300 pre/power occupies the sweet spot in the range. Granted if you need more power the Evo 400 power amps (especially in mono form) are the logical choice, and if you need to put some distance between pre and power, then the Evo 400 preamp with either the Evo 300 or Evo 400 power amp, all running in balanced mode would be a more sensible option. But for many who are going to put less than five metres of wire between the two PrimaLuna products, and those who aren’t in the market for bigger, beefier power amps, I can’t help but think this is the perfect combination. That is based on a sample of precisely one product combination in the range, though… so maybe every PrimaLuna product is in that sweet spot!

This might make me sound like a character in a Jane Austen novel, but I’m excessively diverted by the PrimaLuna Evo 300 preamp and power amp. I like the sound they make, and I like the reasons why they make that sound. I like that they are attainably priced, and I like that there is an easy mono upgrade path. I like that they aren’t built out of Bullshitted Credulum, and I like the ‘WYSIWYG’ approach to amplifier design. In short, I like ‘em!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

PrimaLuna Evo 300 Pre

Dual mono valve line preamplifier
Line inputs: five single‑ended inputs, one home theatre bypass
Outputs: One stereo pair single‑ended preamp outputs, one tape monitor output
Valves: 6x 12AU7, 2x 5AR4
Bandwidth: 10 Hz–95kHz ± 1 dB
Output impedance: 256Ω
Gain: 10dB
Finish: Black or brushed aluminium
Dimensions (W×H×D): 396 × 207 × 403mm
Net weight: 24.4 kg
Price: £3,598

PrimaLuna Evo 300 power amp

Dual mono valve power amplifier
Inputs: RCA and XLR stereo inputs
Output power: 44watts per channel (with supplied EL34 valves. pentode): 22watts (with supplied EL34 valves. triode operation)
Outputs: 4, 8, 16Ω
Standard valve complement: 6x 12AU7, 4x EL34
Valve options: 6L6G, 6L6GC, 7581A, EL34, EL37, 6550, KT66, KT77, KT88, KT90, KT120, KT150
Finish: Black or brushed aluminium
Dimensions (W×H×D): 386 × 203 × 404mm
Net weight: 30kg
Price: £3,798

Manufactured by: PrimaLuna

URL: primaluna.nl

Distributed by: Absolute Sounds

Tel: +44(0)208 971 3909

URL: absolutesounds.com

https://hifiplus.com/reviews/

iFi Audio PowerStation and AC iPurifiers

iFi Audio is best known for its several successful families of high-tech and high-value personal audio electronics products, but what is perhaps not so widely recognised is that the firm also make a host of innovative cables, accessories, and power products. This review will focus on two of iFi’s most significant power products: the recently released PowerStation power conditioning and power distribution module (£499, $499 US) and the firm’s clever, modular AC iPurifier devices (£99, $99 US, each). Let’s start with the AC iPurifier.

iFi’s AC iPurifier is a small, cylindrical, plug-in mini-power conditioner that plugs directly into AC outlets. Versions are available for use with UK (via adaptor), EU, and US AC sockets. Each AC iPurifier uses iFi’s distinctive Active Noise Cancellation circuitry, says iFi, to reduce noise on the AC mains and “to rid your system of electromagnetic interference (EMI) or radio-frequency interference (RFI).” Further, the AC iPurifier can detect polarity and/or earthing problems, which are shown via two multicolour ‘go/no go’ indicator lights mounted on the face of the unit (green means go, while red means trouble). There is also a 4mm banana-sock for purposed of adding supplemental earthing wires if desired. Finally, the AC iPurifier provides surge suppression to a maximum of 30,000A @ 1,000V/10ųS.

Basically the PowerStation leverages more expansive versions of the noise reduction technologies found in the AC iPurifier. The PowerStation looks like a cross between an oversized conventional AC power strip and a stealth fighter as it sports an angular, matt grey-anodised aluminium enclosure with multiple AC outlets on top and a wedge-shaped ‘nose’ on one end. Japanese and US-specification units provide eight AC outlets, while UK, EU, and AU versions offer six outlets. A device that looks much like an AC iPurifier protrudes from a recess in the wedge-shaped nose of the unit, complete with its own set of ‘go/no go’ polarity and earthing indicator lights, plus a banana socket for supplemental earthing. The opposite, squared-off end of the PowerStation provides a power switch and an IEC inlet for the unit’s primary mains cord.

All PowerStation outlets are isolated from the others, while internal wiring features heavy 13AWG PurCopper (99.9999% pure OFHC/OCC) conductors. The PowerStation’s signature feature, however, is iFi’s Active Noise Cancellation2^® system designed to cancel “all incoming noise… …by generating a signal identical to the noise signal but in the exact opposite phase.” iFi says this active system removes noise in the “high kHz and low MHz ranges,” while a passive filter section tackles noise in the “high MHz range.” iFi claims its active-plus-passive noise reduction systems are far more effective than competing systems offering passive filtration only, enabling the PowerStation to address a wider range of noise frequencies (including noise from the AC mains, switch-mode power supplies, and digital circuitry), with noise floor reductions of > 40dB. Like the AC iPurifier, the PowerStation provides surge protection.

iFi suggests that the PowerStation works well in its own right, but works even better when used with one or more AC iPurifiers. I tried both configurations in my high-resolution reference headphone system and found that adding the AC iPurifiers yielded substantial sonic benefits. I obtained my best results by plugging two AC iPurifiers into the middle (number 4 and 5) power outlets of my 8-outlet US-spec PowerStation.

I approached listening tests with a healthy dose of scepticism and was surprised by the nature and magnitude of the sonic improvements the PowerStation/AC iPurifiers wrought. Backgrounds were as quiet or quieter than those achieved with other (more costly) conditioners I have tried, but the really significant gains came in the form of deeper levels of textural and transient details in the music that the iFi components unlocked suddenly —the sonic equivalent of ‘zooming in’ to get a better/sharper view of onscreen images on a computer.

What drove home this point for me was listening to the title track from John Adler’s Confronting Inertia [Origin Classical, 16/44.1], which is a composition for solo trumpet and piano. I have played this track dozens of times, but with the PowerStation engaged I was floored by how much deeper, clearer, and harmonically rich the voices of the trumpet and piano sounded, and by how much more focused the reverberant acoustics of the recording space became. Better still, I heard similar benefits on one recording after another.

I recommend the iFi PowerStation and AC iPurifiers for the simple reason that they help unlock more music for less money than other competing power conditioners I have tried. You cannot say fairer than that.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

iFi PowerStation

Type: Multi-outlet AC power conditioner with both active noise cancellation and passive noise filtration

AC Outlets:

US and Japan models: Eight outlets

UK, EU, and AU models: Six outlets

Operating voltage range: 90V–265V

Noise reduction: Active Noise Cancellation2® system (addresses noise frequencies from the high kHz to low MHz range)
Passive Noise Filtration system (addresses noise frequencies from the low MHz to high MHz range) > 40dB

Surge suppression: Maximum 30,000A @ 1,000V/10ųS

Other: Auto-detects and displays problems with AC polarity or earthing

Dimensions (H × W × D): 76mm × 96mm × 478mm

Weight: 1.98kg

Price: £499 UK, $499 US

iFi AC iPurifier

Type: Mini AC power conditioner with active noise cancellation that plugs directly into an AC outlet

Operating voltage range: 90V–265V

Noise reduction: Active Noise Cancellation system > 40dB

Surge Suppression: Maximum 30,000A @ 1,000V/10ųS

Other: Auto-detects and displays problems with AC polarity or earthing

Dimensions (Diameter × D):

US-spec: 40mm × 105mm

EU-spec: 40mm × 115mm

Weight: 126g

Price: £99 UK, $99 US

MANUFACTURER INFORMATION

iFi Audio

Balmoral Lodge, 139–141 Cambridge Road,

Southport, PR9 7LN United Kingdom

URL: ifi-audio.com

US Distributor

iFi Audio (USA)

105 Professional Parkway, Suite 1502, Yorktown, VA 23693 USA

WIN! Meze RAI Penta universal-fit in-ear monitors worth £949

We have teamed up with the clever folks from Meze Audio to bring you an exciting competition and a chance to win RAI Penta universal-fit in-ear monitors worth £949.

Alan Sircom reviewed the excellent (and now Editor’s Choice-winning) Meze RAI Penta in Hi‑Fi+ issue #181 (pages 75-78) where he wrote, “The Penta features five drivers in its equally elegant anodised aluminium body. The Penta is a hybrid design, too, featuring four balanced armature drivers with one dynamic driver. In effect, that means the dynamic driver does the heavy lifting, with the balanced armatures filling in key points in the upper registers.”

He went on to say, “In fitting, the RAI Penta does sit a little proud of the concha, but is nonetheless extremely comfortable and needs to do so because of the MMCX connector and the two ports, one of which is called the Pressure Equalization System (PES). PES is drilled in a distinct, tiny Y-shaped pattern to control the airflow and hence the internal pressure around the drivers. This is flanked by three even smaller holes that act as ports for the driver sound tube/dampening system.”

He concluded the review by saying, “The more I listened to the Meze RAI Penta, the more I wanted to listen to music, which is perhaps the best praise you can make of an audio component….(it has an) easy, unforced accuracy, coupled with excellent bass and imaging that is more out of the head than it is inside, all add up to an in-ear monitor that’s hard to beat for the long game of listening.”

Competition Question

How many drivers does the Meze RAI Penta have?

A. 3

B. 5

C. 7

To answer, please visit the Meze Audio dedicated competition page at https://mezeaudio.com/pages/hifi-plus-competition

Alternatively, send your answer on a postcard (including your name, address, and contact details) to MEZE AUDIO, Attn.: Marketing (Competition), Iuliu Maniu str., nr. 38, 1st floor, ap. 2, Baia Mare, 430131, Romania

Competition Rules

The competition will run from March 31st 2020 until June 4th 2020. The competition is open to everyone, but multiple, automated or bulk entries will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen at random from all valid entries, will be contacted via email (where possible) and their name will be published in the magazine. The Editor’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Absolute Multimedia (UK) Ltd. is compliant with the Data Protection Act and UK laws apply. Our policy is such that we will not pass on your details to any third party without your prior consent.

VPI LAUNCHES HAND SANITISER

New Jersey high-end audio manufacturer, VPI, has switched its production focus from turntables to hand sanitiser. The VPI hand sanitiser will initially be distributed locally and then further afield as the situation allows. It is available free of charge.

Mat Weisfeld, VPI President, commented, ‘VPI has taken a break on turntables and we have started producing hand sanitiser to help in the fight against COVID-19. We will be nationally providing it free of charge. Any New Jersey residents can contact us if they are in need of sanitiser. Everyone be safe and careful!’

VPI can be reached at: [email protected]

Further information on VPI’s view of the COVID-19 situation and 2020 can be found here: www.vpiindustries.com/single-post/2020/03/25/VPI-and-COVID-19

Company and product information can be viewed here:

www.vpiindustries.com

www.renaissanceaudio.co.uk

Clarus Launches Crimson Mark II Cables

March 26, 2020 — Clarus®, the high-end audio cable brand that is a “sister” company to Tributaries A/V cables, is introducing new versions of their exceptional Crimson Cables. Crimson Mark II Balanced Audio, Single-Ended RCA Audio and Speaker cables feature a multi-gauge design using three different shaped insulated ultra-low distortion PCOCC conductors – resulting in an expanded soundstage as well as improved accuracy of bass, midrange and high frequencies. The new Crimson Mark II cables are now terminated using connectors made with high purity and high conductivity Tellurium (TE) copper and military-grade Beryllium (BE) copper both providing very low resistance and superior sound characteristics

The new male pins of the RCA and XLR are made with Tellurium Copper (TE) and have been changed from a solid design to one that is hollow. This new design helps to reduce eddy currents that can slow signal transfer. The female XLR is designed with pin 1 (the earth pin) forward in the connector. With the ground connection established before the signal lines are connected, the insertion (and removal) of the XLR connectors in live equipment is possible without hum or buzz induced from picking up external noise.

The RCA’s grounding sleeves as well as the BFA Banana Plugs and the female XLRs are made from military-grade Beryllium (BE) copper. BE copper has a physical “springiness” characteristic that makes it ideal for use in the RCA ground sleeve, female XLR pins & BFAs.

Even more exciting is the new patented “Spring-Tension” (ST) Spade Lugs. Most high-end speaker binding posts that are designed for use with spade lugs are difficult to tighten by hand. Not only can this lead to insufficient contact that will degrade sound quality but there is also danger that the connection will vibrate loose over time. The Clarus Solution is a one-piece construction that reduces transmission resistance and improves signal flow while the spring tension ensures a long-lasting, high-integrity connection.

The result of the Crimson Mark II cable’s superior terminations is an improved high-quality sound and long-term reliability.

As with all Clarus products, these entirely new designs are evaluated with test instruments, but final decisions are made only after they are subjected to extensive listening tests and comparisons with reference designs, keeping firmly in mind the sound of live music. It’s no coincidence that the designer is a renowned engineer and life-long Audiophile as well as a musician who frequently attends a wide variety of live performances.

Jay Victor, the renowned engineering expert behind the development of Clarus’ new power product line is also the engineer that developed all Clarus and Tributaries audio, speaker and power cables. Holder of 50 patents, Jay has managed the design and implementation of numerous products for high-profile manufacturers serving the high-end audio market. He is also a musician, playing piano, guitar and bass guitar, and enjoys live concerts whenever possible.

His prior background included 12 years of intensive engineering work as a Mechanical Design Engineer of X-Ray cables and wire harnesses, proprietary connectors and scientific test instrument designs. His Electrical Engineering counterparts, as it turned out, were often audiophiles, and coincidently led to many audio-related “side projects”.

US Suggested Retail Pricing;

· Crimson 1m Single-Ended RCA $1,140/pr

· Crimson 1m Balanced Audio XLR $1,925/pr

· Crimson 6ft Speaker Cable with Spade Lugs $4,000/pr

· Crimson 6ft Speaker Cable with BFA $4,000/pr

· Crimson 6ft Bi-Wire Cable with Spade Lugs $5,000/pr

· Crimson 6ft Bi-Wire Cable with BFA $5,000/pr

Clarus Crimson Mark II cables with BFA and Spade Lug terminations are available now. The complete line will be available Q4 2020.

www.claruscable.com

VPI PARTNERS WITH NORDOST

Legendary New Jersey turntable manufacturer, VPI, has partnered with Nordost to create the new Weisline Tonearm Cable. When VPI’s designers wanted a fresh, high-performance tonearm cable that would deliver a truly class-leading performance, they turned to their friends at Nordost. With over three decades’ experience of manufacturing cables, interconnects and accessories for the audiophile market, Nordost is the ideal partner for VPI.

The VPI Weisline Tonearm Cable is designed to maximise vinyl performance and has a complete set of features to delight the listener:

4 x 28 AWG, solid core OFC Conductors
Nordost’s revolutionary FEP (Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene) extrusion
Twisted Pair cable construction to eliminate inter-channel crosstalk
Individual shielding of the Left and Right channel for maximum defence against EMI/RFI
Separately shielded, silver-plated bond wire running parallel to the signal channels for optimum grounding capabilities
Terminated with high quality, low mass, gold-plated connectors
Made in the USA

The Weisline is available in a choice of three lengths:

• 1 x metre at £600
• 1.5 x metre at £700
• 2 x metre at £800

For more information visit: www.renaissanceaudio.co.uk

Melco brightens up lockdown with new home demonstration offer via its UK retail network

25th March 2020, Surrey, UK: Melco has unveiled a new offer designed to help locked-down music lovers get the most from their collections. Acknowledging that Melco dealers are currently not able to adequately support customers new and old due to government restrictions, Melco’s UK distributor, Audiophile Digital Music Masters (ADMM), will be working closely with retailers to offer its own demo stock to anyone who wishes to evaluate products in the comfort of their own homes, with their own systems.

Melco is advising anyone interested in auditioning a Melco digital music library to contact their nearest Melco retailer (using the online tool), who will work with distributor ADMM and arrange the delivery and collection of demonstration samples, including the newly launched Melco EX Series of advanced music libraries and S100 data switch.With shows, exhibitions and events currently on hold due to nationwide restrictions, Melco distributor ADMM has a pool of demonstration units available for audition and with retailers’ physical stores closed for a period, its retail network has both the time and capacity to help arrange logistics, offering a service level Melco customers have come to expect, as best they can.

With shows, exhibitions and events currently on hold due to nationwide restrictions, Melco distributor ADMM has a pool of demonstration units available for audition and with retailers’ physical stores closed for a period, its retail network has both the time and capacity to help arrange logistics, offering a service level Melco customers have come to expect, as best they can.

Melco has most models available on a first come, first served basis, but will endeavour to cater to all requests for home demonstration samples. Working with distributor ADMM and Melco, the company’s dealer network will also be able to advise on part-exchange opportunities and for existing Melco users, updating libraries to the new EX specification.

Should for any reason Melco retailers be unavailable, consumers are invited to contact Melco directly: [email protected] or [email protected]

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Manufactured by: PrimaLuna

Distributed by: Absolute Sounds

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