Articles Archive - Page 165 of 268

Black Rhodium Overture/Polka/Stream cables

In pro audio the answer to the question what’s the best cable? Is “the one that is the right length to make the connection.” In domestic audio, as we know, it’s not quite that straightforward! We appreciate that getting the whole signal from A to B without losing crucial information along the way is far harder than it should be. This is why many call cabling the weakest link in the system, the place where more losses occur than anywhere else. Graham Nalty – one of the UK’s cable pioneers with Sonic Link from the 1980s – has long understood this. He has been refining his Black Rhodium cable range since 2002, when he started telling the world about the benefits of rhodium plating for audio connections. Since then, Nalty has developed a range of audio and video cables including power cords and musical instrument leads.

This review looks at several new cables in the Black Rhodium range, Overture interconnect, Polka speaker cable, and Stream power cable. Overture is a hand-built interconnect that comes in RCA and XLR balanced forms and uses pure silver conductors (99.99%) in a dielectric of air and PTFE, which is described as “a layer of air separating the wire from the inner wall of the insulation along its length”, which sounds like a loose fitting tube to me. These have a braided screen to minimise RF interference and the conductors are “wired in opposing direction for lower noise floor,” which means they are oriented differently for send and return, although how this lowers noise is not clear. As with all Black Rhodium interconnects, they are twisted to reduce RFI; a technique that is generally – if not universally – accepted. The RCA plugs are Graham Nalty’s own GN-4 types with rhodium-plated connectors and a single earth connection in a plastic collar, an arrangement not dissimilar to the Eichmann Bullet plug.

Polka speaker cable also has anti-RFI screening using a braided screen that protects 4mm square copper conductors in a “thicker than usual” version of Black Rhodium’s preferred silicone rubber insulation, the extra girth chosen to keep conductors apart. It’s a conveniently flexible cable with a woven external sleeve around the twisted conductors; each length is terminated in rhodium plated 4mm banana plugs with an easy to use locking system, although spade connectors are also an option.

Stream power cable looks much like Polka as it has the same fabric outer braid, but it comes in the somewhat more specific length of 1.7m, which was chosen on the basis of listening tests and which apparently “aligns very closely with the quarter wavelength of 50Hz mains frequency” (in the UK). So it’s a good thing that they are quite flexible because having so much cable could get in the way where circumstances are tight. Stream has silver-plated copper conductors in a low-loss silicone rubber insulation, chosen for both its low dielectric absorption and mechanical damping capabilities. This too has a tightly braided screen and comes with rhodium plated 13A (or Schuko) and IEC plugs. There is also Powerstream which has a higher quality IEC plug that’s not unlike a Furutech in appearance for an extra £100.

Using the signal cables first with Overture between the Chord DAVE DAC and ATC P2 power amp and Polka from there to Bowers & Wilkins 802 D3 floorstanders I was greeted by a relaxed and natural tonal balance that seemed dynamically a bit weaker than I’m used to, but with good depth and well-defined vocals. The treble is appealingly clean, which means you can play at higher levels without discomfort, yet the soundstage is not restrained; quite the opposite is the case as the soundstage expands out into the room. With Radiohead’s ‘Decks Dark’ [Moon Shaped Pool, XL] the vocals are right there in the room. It’s not the most detailed of presentations, but musically there is a lot to enjoy and there’s no shortage of bass power where required.

Taking the Polka alone its smooth, natural balance isn’t quite as coherent as it could be, it lacks the realism and definition of nuance that can be achieved at the price, but in its favour is an effortlessness that encourages you to focus on the music rather than the sound. Overture interconnects are closer to what I’m used to with good detail definition, especially when it comes to cymbals and other upper midrange sounds. And it times well but without any undue emphasis on leading edges. Putting both Overture and Polka in the system and replacing a more affordable (Russ Andrews Power M) mains cable with a Stream on the Innuos Zenith server (the power to the source being the most critical in the system) resulted in a quieter, calmer presentation with better focus, depth, and overall transparency that gave way to improved timing, a worthy upgrade. Switching over to Powerstream produced a more realistic drum sound on James Blood Ulmer’s ‘Crying’ [Live at the Bayerischer Hof, In+Out Records] and a bigger soundstage for this excellent live performance where vocal definition and the sense of hall acoustic was much clearer.

Black Rhodium also supplied a six outlet power strip with Stream cable and adding this proved beneficial as well; using it between the wall and the Powerstream on the Zenith added more power to the kick drum and greater overall dynamics. I also gave the standard Stream a spin on the ATC P2 power amp and there the sound got more open and bright (after another Power M cable) and had cleaner highs. Switching over to the power strip helped as well, bringing out greater dynamic resolution and depth in the soundstage.

Graham Nalty has clearly learnt a thing or two about what makes a decent cable in his time at the coalface. He has been particularly successful at getting rid of the high frequency noise that can muddy the sound of a good system and this can be heard with any of these cables, but especially when used throughout the system. There’s no shortage of competition in this arena of course, but if you are after a natural and musical sound in a revealing system then the Black Rhodium route could well be the answer.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Overture

Type: Analogue interconnect with RCA jack terminations
Length: 1m pair
Conductor: High purity silver
Dielectric: PTFE, air
Shielding: High optical cover braid
Price: £1,200

Polka

Type: Loudspeaker cable with RCA jack terminations
Length: 5m pair
Conductor: Copper
Dielectric: Silicone rubber
Shielding: tightly braided metal screen
Price: £1,700

Stream

Type: Mains cable with 13A and IEC connections
Length: 1.7m
Conductor: Copper
Dielectric: Silicone rubber
Shielding: Tightly braided metal screen
Price: £450 (Powerstream with upgraded IEC £550)

Manufacturer: Black Rhodium

Tel: +44(0)1332 342233

URL: blackrhodium.co.uk

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ELAC Adante AS-61 standmount loudspeaker

When it comes to designing loudspeakers, Andrew Jones is one of the sharpest tools in the box. He has the magic touch and seldom puts a foot wrong in the products that fall under his purview. There is a string of loudspeaker ‘hits’ attributed to him, at every level from the distinctly affordable to the disturbingly expensive. But arguably, it is the ELAC Adante AS-61 that truly makes his bones.

The Adante range was the third series out of the ELAC gates for Jones, with the more down-to-earth Debut and UniFi ranges before it. But good as these models (Debut now in Mk 2 guise) clearly are, Adante is ELAC and Andrew Jones showing what they are capable of when the brakes are taken off. And arguably the AS‑61 standmount is the purest expression of those design goals.

Ostensibly, the Adante looks like a two-way standmount. Closer inspection shows that top driver is a concentric 25mm soft-dome tweeter at the acoustic centre of a 133mm aluminium midrange cone. What you can’t see, however, is that the 200mm aluminium bass cone is actually a passive radiator, driven by an internally mounted and separately chambered 165mm aluminium bass cone. ELAC’s description of this arrangement sums it up perfectly: it’s a three-way, interport-coupled cavity design. Ports connect the separate chambers of the internal structure of the Adante’s cabinet, although there is no external port to contend with. This gives the Adanta AS-61 an ability to deliver an impressive 41Hz in room, with a reasonably benign six-ohm impedance load. The trade-off – such as it is – means the AS-61 has a relatively low 85dB sensitivity.

The speaker is designed to work with its own stands. Cleverly, ELAC designed this to use just the one cross-head screw throughout. However, there are 20 of them needed for each speaker to connect the two uprights to the top and bottom plates, and to bolt the speaker to the stand itself. Mid way through the third screw of 40, I began to discover the need for good battery management when it comes to power screwdrivers.

The lone drawback of the Adante AS-61 is it takes some work to get really, really right. And in the process, it often achieves a ‘good enough for government work’ level of performance that I fear many will settle upon. Actually ‘fear’ is the wrong word – the speaker sounds good even when its installation is relatively imprecise. But the difference between ‘good’ and ‘OMG!’ is a somewhat iterative process of listening, repositioning, and listening again. Toe-in, precise levelling of the loudspeakers, side and rear wall distance, and listener position are all best performed with the kind of accuracy and precision normally attributed to £30,000 loudspeaker installations. When you give the AS-61 that kind of precision, though, you are rewarded with the kind of loudspeaker midrange and high-frequency performance you simply don’t find at this price level. The short answer here is what you hear in most auditions is probably about half of what you can extract from these loudspeakers. Upstream electronics are perhaps less vitally important, but there’s a need to get things right here, too. A good, meaty 100W amplifier – and a very good source – should be the minimum requirement.

Sonically, the mid and top are extremely attractive to sit in front of. The soft dome is effortless, and there is no sense of hardness or brashness, just musical honesty and refinement. A good tweeter doesn’t shine, it seduces over time, and a really good one allows you to play any kind of music without exaggerating brightness or blandness. That’s one of the things the ELAC Adante does so well: mix it up with Mahler, Mozart, and Metallica in one session, and the loudspeaker will bring out the best in each. It will not hide why a bad recording is bad, but neither will it expose such recordings to bright light, rendering one-third of most collections unlistenable. The great one-album arbiter here is Strippedby The Rolling Stones [Virgin]. Some of the live from the studio takes (in particular ‘Love in Vain’) are some of the best recordings made of the band, whereas some of the live tour cuts (for example, ‘Street Fighting Man’) are some of the worst. ELAC portrays them with egalitarian equanimity. This is helped by a clean, detailed, and fast midrange that blends almost seamlessly with top and bottom.

But it’s the bass that really shows why this is so important a loudspeaker design. Until the Adante, bass was always going to be a trade-off between cabinet size, cabinet material, and whether or not the loudspeaker is a bass reflex model. The net results of these trade-offs was a loudspeaker that either went for accuracy at the expense of bass depth, or bass at the expense of accuracy. The more you went for accuracy (a sealed cabinet made of the stuff of tanks or kitchen worktops) generally the leaner the bottom end, but the more you went for bass depth, the greater the influence of the cabinet and the port. What happens with the Adante is the best of both worlds; the smaller, ported 165mm driver effectively ‘informs’ the performance of the outer 200mm bass driver, which acts like a much larger drive unit in a sealed-box. That means you get to hear those difficult, fast-paced yet deep bass notes on ‘Chameleon’ [Trentemøller, The Last Resort, Poker Flat] as distinct, non-blurred, almost percussive bass tones with the sort of depth you might attribute to bigger designs and none of the port-chuffing and choking up that normally occurs when a smaller box tries to overstretch itself. The cabinet is nearly dialled out here, and it’s only when comparing it to a few speakers that are significantly larger, heavier, and pricier that you begin to hear where the cabinet coloration kicks in.

OK, so ELAC is not breaking the laws of physics here, and the amount of volume headroom low-end you can extract from a big cabinet or bass drivers with the surface area of Wales is not on the table here. It goes plenty loud for most and the bass is extremely deep for a cabinet of this size, aided by that functionally inaudible cabinet, but if you seek bottom octave organ pedal notes, gut-churning synth sounds and want to play The Who – Live At Leeds[MCA] at something approaching gig-like volume levels, sooner or later the AS-61 is going to run out of steam. But these are not limitations of the AS-61, just fundamental limits placed on performance by building a cabinet that doesn’t need to be built in a shipyard.

It’s here where ELAC and Andrew Jones show their mettle. This speaker design is so good, it could be easy for the company to fall into something of a showboating trap – making a loudspeaker that is engineered to sound impressive, but ultimately unrewarding. Add a bit more bloom to the bass here, trade that accuracy for a bit of sparkle in the upper mids, and you’d get a loudspeaker that grabs headlines, but ultimately leaves people cold. This, on the other hand, is a crowd pleaser that also delivers the sonic goods for the long game.

Five years from now, there will be dozens of brands making a hash of emulating what ELAC and Andrew Jones did here. Many of them will be in the buttock-clenchingly expensive part of the loudspeaker market, and hardly any of them will be able to achieve the same clarity of thought, vision, and – most importantly – sound as the Adante AS-61 delivers. When you listen to the ELAC Adante AS-61, you know almost immediately that you are hearing something different. We are in the presence of greatness, here, and there will be a lot of companies trying and failing to play catch-up.

There is no such thing as a perfect loudspeaker. Even the very best of them trade compromises across a range of parameters. The ELAC Adante AS-61 is no different, but the step-change in technology means it’s trading compromises at a more advanced reading age than its peers. I listen to a lot of good loudspeakers, some of which have feet that cost more than these Adante standmounts, but this is the one that gives me pause. The ELAC Adante AS-61 is the loudspeaker that takes on the high-end behemoths… and wins!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Speaker type: three-way, interport-coupled cavity standmount loudspeaker
Tweeter: 1×25mm soft-dome, concentrically mounted
Midrange: 1×133mm aluminium cone
Woofer: 1×165mm aluminium cone, internally mounted
Passive radiator:
1×200mm aluminium cone
Crossover frequencies: 200Hz, 2kHz
Frequency range: 41Hz–35kHz
Sensitivity: 85dB @ 2.83v/1m
Recommended amplifier power: 50–160W
Peak power handling: 160W
Nominal Impedance: 6 ohms
Binding posts: Dual pair five-way metal
Magnetic shielding: No
Cabinet finishes: Gloss black, gloss white, rosewood veneer
Accessories included: Binding post straps, manual, gloves
Dimensions (W×H×D):
24.4 ×48.4 ×40.2cm
Weight: 16kg
Price: £2,600 (stands, £520)

Manufactured by:
ELAC Electroacoustic GmbH

URL: elac.com

Distributed in the UK by:
Hi-Fi Network Ltd

URL: hifi-network.com

Tel: +44(0)1285 643088

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Pioneer SE-Monitor 5 headphones

Pioneer launched an ultimate flagship headphone called the SE-Master 1 a couple of years ago. Open-backed, hand-crafted, built to order, made of unobtanium-wrapped fantasticium, with ear-cups made of unicorn eyelids… that sort of thing. There’s a waiting list, and we’re not exactly at the front of the line. Fortunately, Pioneer made a £1,000 closed back SE-Monitor 5 version for the rest of us, and very good it is too.

The SE-Monitor 5 actually pulls a lot of the technology developed by Pioneer in the SE-Master 1, and production engineers it so that it’s more regularly available and attainable. They were also designed from the outset to be comfortable enough to be worn at home for extremely long periods, despite their 480g weight. They are, however, quite large. This is actually the secret to their comfort, as they are very much ‘over ear’ designs: if you are small of head, ‘over ear’ means ‘covering everything from temple to jawline’. But this, coupled with very soft, very padded, yet very breathable ear pads and a very lightweight, but well-built frame and headband, means they really can be worn all evening with no real stress on the listener. Oddly, there isn’t a lot of padding around the headband, but this works in the Pioneer’s favour, as it lightens the load considerably. I wore these headphones for an entire evening’s Radio Three listening and never felt the need to even reposition them. OK, so they aren’t so comfortable that you could sleep in them, but they are comfortable enough that you can easily doze off with them on. However, the Pioneer comfort zone was enhanced by Winter-time listening; I suspect during Summer the density of the foam in the pads might prove a little sweaty, especially in a closed can design.

These are very much home headphones. Although the closed back design might lend them to portable listening on the move, the size of the headphone and its more sumptuous looks push it gently toward home use. In fairness, they do look good on the head (so long as your head is large enough) and great on the stand. I’m an occasional sucker for a piece of well-turned luxury and this has that very obviously luxuriant look and feel, but without too much overstatement. In other words, ideal for refined use in the home.

I’m also a bit of a sucker for good packaging and this is above average. A nice big box, with a presentation case and a spot of plush doesn’t go amiss. OK, so it’s not the kind of locking case found in the very top models, but it’s a lot better than a bubble-pack. The pack is also packed… with goodies. There are three sets of cables (3m long with jack, and two 1.6m long cables; one with a standard 6.3mm jack, one with a 2.5mm balanced connection). These are all very well made but loosely braided cables with a nice woven outer jacket. The connectors meet the headphones with two standard 3.5mm jacks, so replacements are not a problem. The cables again point to home use; they are not the kind of cable you can wind around your headphones (don’t, just don’t do that!) and throw in a bag, as that loose braid will catch and snag, and the strain relief on the wires doesn’t feel substantial enough. There are also two sets of ear-cups (3D memory foam and pleather) and these do have different loading and so slightly different tonal balance.

The core to this and the SE-Master 1 is the dynamic driver, a single 50mm diameter nano cellular fibre design. That’s wood pulp to the uninitiated, albeit wood pulp that’s been carefully treated. The other big aspect taken from the SE-Master 1 is the patented ‘Double Headphone Chamber’, which is basically a main chamber with ported sub-chambers for better bass response.

In generally, I really like the look of these headphones. The contrasting light metal around the yoke and headband, with a contrasting copper ring, black cups, and rose-gold strain reliefs on the cables, shouldn’t work together, but actually looks refined and elegant in reality.

In use, these are decidedly easy headphones to drive, and don’t require a hefty headphone amp to drive them. It is about quality not quantity here, as the 99dB efficiency and benign 40-ohm impedance means there is no need to be exceptionally fussy in partnering these headphones. I used them with a faithful old Audiolab 8000A (with an adaptor) to great effect, and into a new Pioneer/Onkyo DAP for both single-ended and balanced operation. Balanced does make a difference here, and you should go for it if possible.

There seem to be two schools of thought in headphone design. The first is the audiophile concept, which means a flat frequency response, even if that means the headphones end up sounding bass light. The other is the tailored approach, which over-rides the flat frequency response for a more sonically acceptable presentation. That way, madness lies. Or, more accurately, Beats lies. In all honesty, most headphone makers go somewhere between the two poles, making a ‘mostly accurate’ design with extra bass. Not Pioneer!

Instead, Pioneer chose to make the SE-Monitor 5 as flat as they could. This means there is a lot of bass, in terms of specific low frequencies, but not much in the way of bass slam and boost. For some, that would be an instant deal breaker, but for others, they will happily trade bass weight for bass accuracy and bass speed. I’m very much in this latter camp. I would rather hear the sound as it was recorded, even if on headphones that ultimately sounds rather thin and bass light because you can fix that in EQ if you so desire.

I have to say this is one headphone where first impressions don’t count. My first audition of the Pioneer SE-Monitor-5 was unfavourable at best. As described, it was too thin and too bass light. But, it was tonally accurate, and it was fast. Really, really fast. Changing to the foam pads helped enormously, as they seem to have a natural LF boost. As did removing my glasses (they were breaking the pad’s seal around my ears). But it was still bass light.

As I listened further, it became clear that it wasn’t bass light, but instead I had slowly grown accustomed to that bass rich tonal balance of even supposedly accurate headphones. Gradually, I was deprogramming myself of the taint of older headphones, and at that point I began to see what the SE-Monitor-5 was trying to do, and it dawned on me that it’s exactly what I try to do with loudspeakers. I was a convert.

Now I listen and hear an extremely open and extended midrange, free from those mild lifts at 1kHz and 8kHz that seem to be there to make voices nicer. Yes, there’s still a lack of deep, thrumming bass from these headphones, as they trade bass speed over bass depth. I found I can live with that, not only because that bass speed is exhilarating, but because I want that midrange accuracy and treble extension.

I found listening to the Pioneer SE-Monitor-5 with the foam ear cups worked best. This gave a very ‘in the studio’ feel. So I gave them something difficult to play: ‘Hat and Beard’ from Eric Dolphy’s Out To Lunch[Blue Note]. The interplay between musicians here is vital to getting the music right, or listening to a complete mess. And this was when the penny finally dropped – that bass speed is the key to getting this music right, and even slight deviations from neutrality just get in the way of the performance. Big bass was out!

After that, many of the other great parts of the performance of the Pioneer SE-Monitor-5 just began to slot into place. It’s not a lateralised sound, and there is some width to the sound, placing musicians outside of your head. Treble extension is excellent, and the overall presentation is one of soft-spoken calm and accuracy.

I suspect there will always be people who will never like the sound of this headphone because it doesn’t have a full and deep bass. This might also be down to the choice of music – I didn’t feel the need to listen to a lot of rap, reggae, or rock through the SE-Monitor-5.

Pioneer’s SE-Monitor-5 is a bit of a grower. Listen to them the first time, and you might come away underwhelmed. Try again because it’s worth putting in the effort. You might find that you discovered a real joy of a headphone, one of the best closed back designs on the market at this time. That’s not overstating the case – if you aren’t just listening out for big, deep bass and love to hear what a good, truly accurate transducer can do for your music, the SE-Monitor-5 might just get under your skin.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Headphone Type: Fully-enclosed Dynamic Headphones
Driver Units: f50 mm (1.96˝) Cellulose Nano-fibre Dynamic Driver
Impedance: 40 Ohms
Frequency Response: 5 Hz–85 kHz
Sensitivity: 99 dB
Maximum Input Power: 1,000 mW
Supplied cords:
Cord 1: Unbalanced Cord (OFC Litz Wire) 1.6 m (5 ft.), f3.5 mm (1/8˝) Stereo Mini-plug (Gold‑plated)
Cord 2: Unbalanced Cord OFC Litz Wire) 3.0 m (9 ft.), f3.5 mm (1/8˝) Stereo Mini-plug (Gold‑plated)
Cord 3: Balanced Cord (OFC Litz Wire) 1.6 m (5 ft.), f2.5 mm (3/32˝) 4-pole Stereo Super-mini Plug (Gold-plated/ Balanced Connection-compatible)
Supplied with Ear Pad ×2 (Polyurethane / Leather Finish), Carrying Pouch, Gold-plated 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm (1/8˝ to 1/4˝) Plug Adapter, User Manual, and Warranty Card
Weight: 480 g (16.93 oz.) Not Including Cord
Price: £1,000

Manufactured by: Pioneer

URL: pioneer-audiovisual.eu

Tel: +44(0)208 836 3500

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Mobile Fidelity Studiophono phono stage

Mobile Fidelity’s Impressive Studiodeck turntable and Studiotracker cartridge were reviewed in Issue 156, and rightly applauded for their build quality, excellent sonics, and set-up ease. During the process of putting my final touches on the Studiodeck review I must have inadvertently stepped on shamrock because right before I was ready to (regrettably) box up the Studiodeck, I found a compact little package waiting for me out on the doorstep. Imagine my good fortune, the Mofi Studiophono had arrived in the nick of time as not only was it potentially a great phono stage, it was a perfect excuse to keep the audition going a bit longer and have the Studiodeck sitting in my system for another few weeks. If you are still catching up on Mobile Fidelity’s latest equipment offerings, let me give you a quick recap. Mobile Fidelity, that brand you used to associate with high-end LPs, has now – via its Studiodeck and Ultradeck product lines–positioned itself as purveyor of the whole analogue front-end experience. The higher echelon ‘ultra’ line and the budget friendlier ‘studio’ series both include the full turntablist monty: cartridge, turntable, and now phonostage. The Studiophono reviewed here – like the rest of the Mofi equipment family – is a long time coming and the product of several years of meticulous research, development, and design. This prolonged design effort was led by the legendary audio electronics whisperer Tim De Paravicini and that alone demands a closer look, if only to appreciate his valued mark on the Studiophono.

Tim De Paravicini is a global analogue renaissance man of sorts who has travelled many roads over the past decades, working with EAR, Musical Fidelity, and Luxman, to name a few of his more recognisable stops. Tim was commissioned some years ago by Mobile Fidelity to completely rebuild a critical component of Mofi’s vaunted GAIN 2 mastering chain: a Studer A-80 ¼’’ reel-to-reel. Based on the success of this venture De Paravicini was uniquely suited to captain the design of the Studiophono as he understood the technical aspects and standards Mobile Fidelity sought to deliver better than anyone: to create an ultra-wide bandwidth, high transparency phono stage truly faithful to original master recordings. Tim de Paravicini oversaw all circuit design and part selection to accomplish Mofi’s mission for the Studiophono. Quite an unexpected and welcomed pedigree for a £249 component, I think you might agree.

The Studiophono is a perfect aesthetic compliment to the Studiodeck turntable and makes a handsome second step in your analogue chain. While sharing a visual connection to the Mofi turntables, the Studiodeck was not engineered with any specific sonic synergy in mind and was intended to be a piece of equipment that can stand on its own and be added into any system. The vibration resistant metal chassis is well propertied at 3-3/4’’W x1-1/4’’ H x6-5/8’’ D and with its low profile can squeeze into most tight spaces and does not necessitate its own shelf on your rack. On the operations side the Studiophono allows a wide array of gain (between 40dB and 66 dB) and loading adjustments (75 ohms-47Kohms) that will accommodate virtually any moving magnet or moving coil cartridge. Without making any adjustments Studiophono is set to operate out of the box with most high-output moving magnet or moving iron phono cartridges. If use of a low-output moving coil cartridge is desired, quick and easy adjustments are made on the underside of the unit with a bank of DIP toggle switches that you thankfully don’t have to be a PhD to figure out how to use. For the power supply, the Studiophono is equipped with a balanced external power supply that was chosen to keep noise away from the low-level circuitry in the relatively small chassis.

The only two (and therefore deemed most prominent) features on Studiophono are option buttons found on the bottom of the unit next to the power indicator light: a ‘Mono’ button and a separate ‘Subsonic’ button, both of which are meant to enable Studiophono users to dive a layer deeper into their recordings. When operating in Mono mode the two channel inputs of the Studiophono’s second stage amplifier are connected together and are said by Mofi to be the next best thing outside a dedicated Mono cartridge. I found the Mono feature to have a substantial effect that did seem to solidify and enhance the depth of some of my most treasured mono records like Analog Productions’ beautifully done 2015 reissue of Pet Sounds [Capitol], and a near-mint copy 1967 original of the Byrds’ Younger Than Yesterday[Columbia]. The added stability and enhanced soundstage layering added to the recordings when using the mono button was quite remarkable. If recent high profile Mono reissues of the Beatles catalogue, Bob Dylan, or any number of others are floating your boat currently, this feature on the Studiophono is highly recommended for an audition and worth the price of entry. The Studiophono’s “Subsonic” feature was a bit less impressive. The idea behind the subsonic filter is to prevent amplifier robbing output or ‘woofer pumping’ caused by pesky warped records. The subsonic filter is said to kick in around 20Hz the filter will go down 2.5 dB, and it rolls to 27 dB down once 5Hz is reached. This sounds like a fine Idea, but maybe all my records were in too good of shape to need the help? I did not notice much evidence of any sonic impact toggling this switch on and off with any number or records, some very clearly warped. Nice to have as an option and maybe your playback will benefit, but I can not vouch for the effectiveness of this feature after my audition.

Given the unit’s ultra-affordable price the natural assumption would be to listen to the Studiophono expecting that a budget component of this calibre would quickly reveal itself to pick one aspect or hug one side of the sonic spectrum for dear life. Will they be clawing for warmth or scrapping for detail? Will they have to sacrifice response in the low end or high end? You get this picture and unfortunately all too many components listed under £300 continually find ways to remind us how true this assumption can be. Well some surprises are good ones after all; Mobile Fidelity has figured out how to give the Studiophono a healthy dose of sonic balance. Aided by an exceptionally quiet noise floor, I found over a wide variety of records that the Mofi Studiophono was an alert guardian of my precious analogue signal. Dynamics and detail were always present and accounted for and the sound never lost that “easy-does-it” signature analogue charm. Curtis Mayfield’s ‘Pusherman’ is quite a Superfly[Curtom] guilty pleasure and exemplifies what the Studiophono does best. An original 1972 copy of Superflyalways seems to find its way onto my platter because of its incredible atmospherics coupled with an intimate presentation that never seemed to be properly flushed out in a multitude of subsequent reissues. The Studiophono illuminated the early seventies web of tension very well that Curtis was trying to hip us all to ahead of his time. The stone groove bass line, the frantic wah wah guitar, and Curtis’ gravy smooth vocals all sparkled and seemed to have a liveliness about them. There is much to take in on the Superfly, but a harsh note is not one of them. Often I find this recording particularly revealing because with so many competing sound styles an overly lush phono section will quickly allow the instrumental interplay to turn into mush. The studiophono was able to whip the track into shape and keep everything crisp while never losing a rounded and open feel that makes the music so compelling. I was floored by the sonic sophistication the Studiophono was able to bring to my audition. The Studiophono on its own merits and even more so paired as a combo with the Studiodeck & Studiotracker outpaces anything else on the market I have heard at its price point. Higher end phono stages I had on hand like the Fosgate Signature (10x the Studiophono’s price) were certainly more musical, more nuanced, and more delicate with the sound presentation, but the margin was not as great as you might think – not by a long shot! The Studiodeck is an all star performer and does not give you the impression in any way you are missing out or making sacrifices at its £249 list price. The Studiophono will be a valued and integral part of your front-end chain, not just a budget component that is checking a necessary box for you to be able to play your records.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Type: solid-state, MM/MC phono stage
Phono inputs: One pair single-ended RCA
Analogue outputs: One pair single-ended RCA
Input impedance MM: 47kOhm
Input impedance MC: 75, 100, 500, 1k, 10k, 47k Ohms
Input capacitance: 100pF
Distortion: < .01% (MM) / < .012% (MC)
Dimensions (H×W×D): 3.2×9.5 x16.8cm
Price: £249

Manufacturer: Mobile Fidelity

URL: mofielectronics.com

Distributed by: Select Audio

URL: selectaudio.co.uk

Tel: +44(0)1900 601954

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Grand Opening of HiFiPilot UK:

To celebrate the Grand Opening of HifiPilot UK, the new representative of the audio brands IOTAVX from Middlesbrough and XTZ from Torup (Sweden) in the UK. With their direct sales strategy, both brands are famous for their price / performance ratios as well as for customer service and complete customer support. Thus, the website www.hifipilot.uk is now your best source of high quality HiFi equipment. Besides the product ranges of IOTAVX and XTZ, you can also find attractive offers on sets there.

We celebrate this Opening with some unique deals for selected products. Be quick and secure your share of these special discounts which can be found here: https://hifipilot.uk/store/category/offers/sub/deals

Aavik Acoustics U-150 Unity integrated amplifier

When a company makes a hit of an amplifier in the high-end – even if actual sales are not huge, it’s sometimes hard to listen to criticism. Especially when that criticism is muted next to the plaudits. The Aavik U-300 Unity is one such product. We loved it in issue 139 and loved it enough to give it an award, but if there was a complaint (sky high price aside), it was that the amplifier wasn’t too good in display terms. Two little white LEDs, three buttons and a volume control, echoed in the Apple handset supplied. OK, so this degree of minimalism was quite easy to understand, but you still had the occasional ‘senior moment’ when staring at two white lights trying to work out whether that means ‘volume’ or ‘source’. If I’m being honest, middle-aged eyes don’t help here because the legends on the U-300 box were not written for aging eyes.

The U-150 Unity is the response. And it comes with the kind of display you can see from across the room… even if that room is an aircraft hangar. Aavik has gone from having one of the smallest, most minimal displays, to one of the largest in the business. But it’s welcomed.

In fact, the basic layout of the Aavik design is more or less unchanged. It still has the three buttons along the top panel that control source selection, turn the amplifier on or off and mute the U-150. And it still has the huge, easy-turn central knob which behaves in a modal manner. It defaults to a volume control, but at the tap of a button turns into a source selector. I’d still like for there to be a way to access some kind of balance control, or maybe even greater set-up modes and display options from the three button, one dial combination, but… baby steps!

Functionally, too, the Aavik U-150 Unity shares much with its bigger brother. The connection count is lowered slightly and the circuit board has been re-laid to fit into the smaller footprint, but the two are more similar than they are unalike. There are three line inputs, and one set of preamp outputs. The DAC supports USB, two BNC-type S/PDIF coaxial connections and two Toslink optical connectors. Above this are the RCA inputs and earth tag for a turntable, and above the vinyl input is an RS232 port and two 12v triggers. The power connector is in the centre of the rear panel and the sides sport those finger-stripping knurled Delrin speaker terminals.

The big departure from the U-300 is that the digital and moving coil input are now optional extras, configured at purchase. In its standard guise, the U-150 is a very simple three-input integrated amplifier. This poses an interesting philosophical discussion on two sides. First, I’m wondering just how many people will take up the denuded U-150, or go with some or all of the options? I would imagine there will be very few takers for the line-only model, but more for the digital audio version and yet more for the complete system. At that point, it would be interesting to see how many people take this on as a traditional line+phono integrated amplfiier without the digital stages. Then, and this one’s the more sketchy issue, if the full-thickness U-150 offers a very similar performance to the U-300, will the cheaper model cannibalise sales of the big hitter? Interestingly, here I think the answer is a resounding ‘no’, even if the products sounded completely identical. There’s a different cachet to the none-more-black U-300 that I feel will appeal to audiophiles in a way that the more prosaic looking U-150 may struggle with. Also, and this is a cold indictment on the nature of the modern audiophile, there will be many who choose the U-300 over the U-150 simply because it’s more expensive. We in high-end audio sometimes dance around the subject of Veblen goods (expensive things that are valued for their expense), but the notion does exist in high-end audio.

Its optional circuits are not wholly identical to those fitted to the U-300. The phono stage remains a discreet, floating, balanced, ultra-low noise, bipolar input circuit with paralleled transistor pairs. This is a good match to the floating, balanced signal generator that is known as a moving coil phono cartridge. The Aavik U-150 phono stage has a base 60dB gain (which is adjustable to 70dB in 2dB steps), and the cartridge loading is adjustable from 50ohm to 10kOhm. This is slightly more flexible than the original U-300.

The DAC on the other hand shows what a difference a few years make. The original model sported a 24bit, 192kHz DAC, but this new board supports DSD 64 and DSD 128 (albeit downmixed to PCM), improves to 32bit PCM precision, and – at present unconfirmed – brings MQA to the Aavik platform. Whether or not these improvements loop back to newer versions of the U-300 remains unclear.

The core of the U-150, however, is functionally identical to the core of the U-300. It’s a 300W Class D design that, like the U-300 before it, doubles its power to 600W into a four ohm load. The arguments about Class D – both positive and negative – have been made time and again. The nay-sayers just see a cheap, cool-running chip amplifier, where the converts see that cheap, cool-running chip amplifier as the starting place to deliver a potentially high-performance sound. It’s all about the implementation, which in some cases means elegant ways to mask Class D operation behind valves or Class A current dumping circuits, and in others means equally elegant ways to extract the best from the chip itself. Aavik chose the latter option.

Back to that ‘volume’ control, which again echoes the U-300 design. Aside from a power-off switch on the rear of the amplifier, the controls are limited to three push buttons on the top plate, and that volume dial. The change here is to the new large LED displays flanking the dial itself. The logic of the trio of buttons has not changed and the button in the middle of the top plate still dims or turns off the display (with such a huge display, this becomes more imporant). As before, but with added readability, the display on the right denotes which input is in use, the one of the left shows volume in 80 steps from –80dB to 0dB. The left button on the top operates mute, but press and hold this button to choose one of three gain settings for an individual source, using the main control knob. The right hand button typically controls navigation (source selection), but press and hold this button and you go into remote control pairing mode. Aavik recommends the standard slim Apple remote to control the U-150. Press and hold both left and right buttons in a three second ‘power chord’ and the amp switches to set-up mode, adjusting the cartridge loading for the optional phono stage, some display management, and the option for a hard reboot.

Where the U-300 looks like a piece of military hardware in its ‘none-more-black’ livery, the U-150 looks and feels more like a modern piece of audio hardware, with styling reminscent of AURALiC and BMC Audio designs. This is no bad thing, as too much deviation from the mean in the looks department might spell reduced sales, but the U-300 had an ace or two up its sleeve. For example, with the U-300’s central barrel, the top buttons were clearly defined. Now they sit on a flatter, more uniform plate. The design changes do help to significantly lower the price of the U-150 however; those D’Agostino like ventilation holes in the side panels of the U-300 were very expensive to make, and the horizontal aluminium heatsink slats are a more expedient option.

What’s great here is the changes between U-300 and U-150 are all based around building a more affordable design without sacrificing the basic circuit. Stripping out subsystems that might be unnecessary for all users, and moving from a more elegant to a more functional and affordable exterior is more than justifiable if the sonics still stand up. And here we get back to the really good stuff.

The amplifier behaves ‘much’ like its bigger brother; if anything, it got to its right operating temperature faster than the U-300 thanks to those horizontal heatsinks. And yes, like its bigger brother, the Aavik runs warm for a Class D design, but not worryingly so. And it also retains that ‘is this thing on?’ noise floor.

That’s the thing about the U-150 Unity from Aavik. It sounds like the U-300. I mean really like the U-300. As in, if you read the review of the U-300, what applies there applies here. The amplifier is quiet, the phono stage excellent, the DAC is lively and entertaining, and the amplifier itself is precise and even-handed. It’s the perfect amplifier to resolve differences in component and cable (not surprising that, given it’s owned by the same people who make Ansuz cables). This poses a problem for a reviewer, in terms of potentially repeating oneself, but at least I find myself agreeing with me.

That all being said, in very close comparison, there are slight differences in performance. Where the U-300 is ‘lively’, the U-150 can tip over into ‘excitable exuberance’. That’s probably the big difference in sonic terms. It’s also paradoxically at once a little more and a little less warm than the big guy; by this, I mean it can sometimes sound slightly too warm with some recordings, but is overall less warm and rich sounding than the U-300. Otherwise, it’s that same unforced, rhythmic, boppy, detailed sound of the Aavik U-300, but for a lot less money. And, when it comes to these differences, we are seriously gilding the lily, here. For the most part, and for practically everyone, the U-150 is sonically almost identical to the U-300.

This, of course, presumes that the reader will have already read a review of the Aavik U-300, and there is no guarantee of that at all. So what do ‘they’ sound like. In a way, it tows the line between two pre/power amplfier combos also tested in this issue – the D’Agostino Progressions (p24) and the Sugden Sapphires (p43). Forget about the pricing for a moment and just think on the tone. One is sumptuous, the other dynamic. One accents the midrange, the other commands the bottom end. One is all about dynamic energy, the other a sense of flow. The Aavik U-150 sits squarely in the middle!

If anything, the Aavik U-150 falls into the inviting sounding presentation, although that makes it sound like its a bad thing. Actually, it just makes music sound like it’s the kind of thing you’d want to listen to, rather than analyse. It’s dynamic and exciting, accurate, and yet not bland or sparce. It’s just a damn good amplifier, and a perfect ambassador for Class D.

What the Aavik U-150 does so well (as the U-300 does so well) is deliver a consistent and integrated performance. Some amplifiers are a great DAC with a mediocre amp attached, or a fine line-stage with an afterthought of a phono section. The Aavik platform is none of those things. It is an exciting performer regardless of whether you are using the line stages, the DAC or the phono. And, also like the U-300, the Aavik platform really ties the music together well. Music flows well with Aavik, and the sound easily moves from theme to theme and from beat to beat.

What was a limitation on the U-300 remains a limitation here too. Only, in the context of an amplifier that costs €10,000 these problems are even less well founded than on an amplifier that costs €25,000. The need for a balance control remains, and the dynamic range of the amplifier is good, but not outstanding. This becomes less of an issue with a €10,000 amp because it’s less likely to be partnered with the kind of loudspeakers than highight such dynamic foreshortening. Toe-to-toe, the dynamic range of the U-150 is probably a little more constrained compared to the U-300. The U-150 doesn’t have the same giant killing properties, but possibly it’s not meant to have such properties. This will not be used with loudspeakers of such full-range and dynamic performance that they can fell trees at 20 paces. The U-300, on the other hand, might just end up in such a system. It doesn’t have any more muscle or definition, but maybe it just can bench-press slightly more pounds when it’s needed to.

I return to the big question again. Will the U-150 cannibalise sales of the U-300. The more time I spend with the notion, the more I think it might. Yes, if you are looking at the two from the position of a gazillionaire with a pair of giant loudspeakers, then the U-300 does have a little something extra in tow. But the thing is, I struggle to find that little something extra in day-to-day listening. The U-300 remains a great amplifier, but the U-150 is almost the same amplifier for a lot less money. That makes the U-150 an excellent addition to the audiophile roster of great products.

When it comes down to it, the Aavik U-150 stands independent its bigger brother. It reaches a different market and maybe those looking for a €25,000 amp will not even countenance the idea of a €10,000 amp, even if they perform almost identically. But at that €10,000 price point, the world just got a new champion. There can’t be many amplifier brands that would do something quite as bold as Aavik has done here!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Type: integrated amplifier
Inputs: Three line-level single-ended stereo pair RCA analogue inputs,
Optional inputs: stereo pair RCA inputs for phono, two S/PDIF Coaxial digital inputs with RCA connectors. One Toslink S/PDIF connection. USB B.
Outputs: Five way loudspeaker terminals, RCA pair
Digital formats supported: (USB and S/PDIF RCA) PCM up to 32-bit, 192kHz, , DSD 64, DSD 126, MQA to be confirmed. (S/PDIF Toslink) PCM up to 24‑bit, 96kHz
Power output: 30W into 8Ω, 600W into 4Ω
Attenuation: -80dB to 0dB in 80 steps
Frequency response: not specified
THD+N: <0.006% (1–100W, 8Ω)
IMD: 0.0008%
Dimensions (W×D×H): 44 ×37 ×8.8cm
Price: €10,000 (basic version)

Manufactured by: Aavik Acoustics

URL: www.aavik-acoustics.com

Tel: +45 40 51 14 31

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Chord Electronics DAVE DAC/SPM 1050 MkII stereo power amplifier

I think it was Krell that got the ball rolling on heavy duty chassis construction for audio. Many have picked up this ball since the 1980s but no company (in the UK at least) has run with that ball quite as enthusiastically as Chord Electronics, which manages to get more machined aluminium and stainless steel fixings into a portable DAC than many manufacturers do on a 100 Watt amplifier. It’s clearly an aesthetic that works for Chord and its customers. The DAVE DAC (I would have preferred Barry or Steve), is the only full-sized, non-portable converter in Chord’s current armoury, but it looks like it would work at depths up to 100 metres such is the solidity of the casework and the construction of porthole over the display.

DAVE is not the primary reason for this review (we reviewed it in Issue 141); it just happened to be in the right place, my listening room, at the time when Chord’s new SPM 1050 MkII power amp turned up. But it seemed an obvious partner. This is the middle model in the Kent based company’s stereo power amp roster with a specified output of 200 Watts per channel. Like all Chord amps, it’s based around a high frequency switch-mode power supply, an approach found in Linn amplifiers among a few others, which in the SPM 1050 Mk II’s case makes up to 2kW available to the four lateral structure dual-die MOSFET output transistors used in each channel. The Mk II suffix indicates that this SPM 1050 has lower output distortion, improved capacitance, and better isolation of the mains transformer than its first generation predecessor. All are factors that Chord claims reduces output distortion and thus increases transparency, and fidelity; in listening, there’s no reason to doubt its veracity.

To recap, DAVE isn’t just a made up name, it stands for Digital to Analogue Veritas in Extremis, although I doubt that will be a question that comes up on University Challengein the foreseeable future. DAVE has rather more features up its bolted down sleeves than you might imagine, but it is the most advanced DAC that Chord has ever made. As with all such creations from the company, it’s not based on a mass-produced chipset but on an FPGA or ‘field programmable gate array’, a device that is claimed to have 1,000 times the processing power of a normal digital to analogue chipset. Chord’s digital wizard is Rob Watts, one of the only men in audio who talks about taps in D/A converters, which is partly because this term relates to an era when you tapped into a delay line to store data samples when interpolating the steps between sample points in the digital to analogue conversion process. Stay with me, here. Watts is of the opinion that for maximum timing accuracy you need an infinite number of taps and as DAVE is thus far his most advanced converter it has a fair few of them, 164,000 to be precise. Like all of Chord’s converters it upsamples quite heavily, too: 2,048 times in fact, both numbers being possible thanks to the power of the FPGA, which Watts describes as “a sea of gates that you can connect together to make any digital device you like. You could make a PC processor out of an FPGA, or a device that controls a rover on Mars.”

In terms of features, DAVE is also well equipped; it has eight digital inputs all but RJ45 and RCA coaxial types. The former is still uncommon on DACs, but the latter, while a compromise, is also very popular and it seems slightly odd that not one of the four coaxial inputs has this connector. They are all BNCs which are true 75 Ohm connections and thus well suited to the task, but only high-end sources have this as an output. Watts himself prefers optical connections and DAVE has two Toslink examples alongside computer audio favourite USB, which can cope with the highest 768kHz sample rate and is good for DSD. The converter itself supports DSD up to DSD512, both native and DoP. Switching between inputs proved more challenging than expected, there are four switches around the volume knob on DAVE but if you press the north or south ones it changes the function of the west and east buttons that usually switch between inputs, so I gave up and used the remote. Chord’s operational logic often meets operator incompetence, chezKennedy. I was able to switch between volume controlled and fixed output however, the latter being an option that isn’t often included on DAC/preamplifiers today; on most DAC/preamps you usually have to wind the level to max. This comes down to the custom nature of the DSP on DAVE, and is one of many variables you can tweak. These include high frequency filter switching, display colour options that can be quite lurid but indicate sample frequencies: e.g., red for 44.1kHz, dark blue for 192kHz, with shades in between and beyond. How you are supposed to remember which colour means which sample rate is another question but not one you really need to answer. More useful are phase switching, dual data mode for split channel digital connections, DSD and PCM specific modes that will work with the other format but are optimised for one, and headphone mode which offers four crossfeed settings and the potential to drive impedances from 8 to 800 Ohms.

Its perfect partner – the SPM-1050 MkII – is a simpler beast on the outside, but it still has a dash of colour; the on/off switch looks likea large acrylic ball and indicates its status with three colours that let you know if it’s off, warming up, or on. As the middle process takes not long at all this button is usually red (off) or light blue (on). The back panel is surprisingly cramped for a full width device, all the in- and outputs being situated in the middle around a 10A mains inlet. This takes a bigger IEC plug than usual and meant that I had no choice but use the cable in the box, but Chord’s very design is supposed to minimise the need for esoteric power cords. As it has RCA connectors, most of the listening was spent with Townshend Audio Fractal single-ended interconnects and the F1 Fractal speaker cable from the same company, but I also tried the XLR balanced connection with more prosaic cabling just to see if that would make a difference.

I initially hooked DAVE up to my regular ATC P2 power amp and to the server with a USB connection and while the result had good depth and vitality with plenty of low level detail, not to mention drive in the bass, it seemed a little lacking in overall resolution and quality of timing. So I switched to the indirect approach and put an AURALiC ARIES LE streamer between server and DAC with Ethernet to the AURALiC and then Chord Co Signature coax to DAVE and this was a lot more enjoyable. Alfa Mist’s ‘Keep On’ [Antiphon, Pink Bird] had really good high frequencies, dimensionality, and immediacy. That was via my reference PMC Fact.8 speakers – a combination that after a while proved a little bit too immediate and forward. Hence, I switched to the more relaxed Q-Acoustics Concept 500 floorstanders, which made the not quite CD standard of Qobuz sound pretty darn good with the right tunes. I tried the USB direct/coax and streamer comparison again and while USB gave decent timing it couldn’t compete with the three dimensionality of the alternative approach even though that involves more potential loss between source and converter.

Switching to the Chord SPM 1050 MkII and playing Ahmad Jamal’s The Awakening[Impulse], I was struck by both the brilliance of the playing and the distinctive late 1960s character of the recording, but that did nothing to undermine the groove, which is aided by the SPM 1050 MkII’s solid bottom end. The body of the double bass when it joins the piano’s bass notes is clearly defined and the whole band are clearly in the pocket, cooking with gas, and therefore contravening several fire safety codes. Continuing the classic jazz tip with Lee Morgan’s The Sidewinder[Blue Note], this system gave fabulous horn stabs, clear-cut cymbal action, and snare snap with bass in the background. It also digs out great subtlety in Morgan’s solo. The SPM 1050 MkII has excellent control of low frequencies, that much is obvious when playing ‘Royals’ [Lorde, Pure Heroine, Universal], which was extremely articulate in the bass and had extra helpings of reverb on the click sound.

Switching to the more revealing and demanding Bowers & Wilkins 802 D3 speakers results were similar, but more clear cut. Here the Chord pairing cuts through some of the ‘thickener’ on the Mobile Fidelity recording of ‘Company’ [Patricia Barber, Modern Cool, Premonition] and delivered tighter bass if not the full vinyl style midrange transparency that the recording is capable of. Radiohead’s ‘Decks Dark’ [A Moon Shaped Pool, XL], on the other hand, was full of detail; the various sounds on it were placed precisely between and beyond the actual speakers, so there’s plenty of differentiation between recordings, that’s for sure. Ryan Adams and the Cardinals’ live version of ‘Hallelujah’ had plenty of tension alongside the atmosphere of the live event and there was real focus on the feeling in the voice. Alison Krauss + Union Stations’ Live[Decca], on the other hand sounded very easy with natural timing, although I have heard this more ‘vibrant’.

High frequencies are slightly accented, but this doesn’t undermine transparency through the midband , which means you get plenty of expression out of everything from voices to saxophones. Denser recordings could sound a little thin sometimes: Beethoven’s 7th [Barenboim, Beethoven For All, Symphony No.7 in A, Op.92, 24/96, Decca] while having no shortage of power, did lack some nuanced musical flow. Chamber music worked a lot better, especially with recordings that benefit from the exposure provided by these components.

Usually with DAC/preamps the volume control is a limiting factor and adding my Townshend Allegri between them and the power amp is obviously beneficial, but not here. This is the first time I have found a component like this that performs better on its own, delivering greater delicacy and dynamic subtlety thanks to higher overall resolution. I also tried the AES/EBU connection to DAVE and despite not having a dedicated balanced digital cable, this connection proved nearly as good as the dedicated digital coax with a slightly less extended top end which gave it a more relaxed balance overall. I also tried a balanced connection from DAVE to SPM 1050 MkII but the relatively real-world nature of the cabling was no match for the Townshend RCA connection, especially when it came to depth of image and layering therein.

I also tried the DSD+ and PCM+ settings which clearly benefit the relevant formats to the extent that you have to wonder why these don’t automatically switch when a DSD or PCM signal comes along. The marvellous 2L label from Norway makes great recordings in all manner of formats and gives away sample tracks. It’s possible to contrast the same performance in 24/192 and DSD128, for instance. This was done with the Mozart Violin concerto in D major (Marianne Thorsen, violin TrondheimSolistene) and delivered a distinct difference between both formats via their appropriate settings and when playing DSD through the PCM+ setting. In the latter case there is more focus and a clearer sense of the recording venue with DSD via DSD+, but this increased with the PCM version on the PCM+ filter, which sounded that much more realistic.

Chord’s DAVE is clearly an impressive piece of digital audio hardware, but it’s not alone; going direct from DAC to amp makes a lot of sense when it’s this DAC and the Chord SPM 1050 Mk II. The SPM 1050 MkII is a powerful and precise amplifier that with the right speakers can deliver the goods in convincing fashion. Not having heard its predecessor I can’t say if it’s a major upgrade, but that’s not really the point. Chord Electronics may be making waves in the portable audio market, but it’s never taken its eye off the ‘real’ hi-fi market. With all the attention placed on the DACs, it’s easy to skip over Chord’s amps. Don’t… there’s a lot of ‘excellence’ here.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Chord DAVE

Type: Solid-state high-resolution PCM and DSD-capable digital-to-analogue converter/preamplifier
Digital Inputs: One AES/EBU, four Coaxial BNC, two Toslink, and one USB Type B
Analogue Outputs: One stereo single-ended (via RCA jacks), one balanced (via XLR connectors). Both outputs are configurable for fixed or variable level operation
DAC Resolution/Supported Digital Formats: All PCM from 44.1KS/s to 768KS/s with word lengths up to 32-bit, DSD64, DSD128, DSD512. The following format restrictions apply:
769KS/s and 384KS/s are supported through USB only
32-bit word lengths supported through USB only
Frequency Response: 20Hz–20kHz, ± 0.1dB
Distortion (THD + Noise): Not specified
Output Voltage: Not specified
User Interface: LCD display and remote handset
Dimensions (H×W×D): 71 ×333.5 ×154mm
Weight: 7kg
Price: £8,499

Chord SPM 1050 Mk II

Type: solid state stereo power amplifier
Analogue inputs: One pair balanced (via XLR), one pair single ended (via RCA jacks)
Analogue outputs: One pair of speaker taps (via 5-way binding posts)
Power output: 200Wpc @ 8 Ohms
Bandwidth: 0.2Hz–46kHz -1dB
Sensitivity: Not specified
Distortion: 0.05% distortion into 8Ω
Signal to Noise Ratio: Better than 103dB
Dimensions (H×W×D): 128 ×480 ×355mm (including Integra legs)
Weight: 10kg
Price: £5,450

Manufacturer: Chord Electronics

Tel: 01622 721444

URL: chordelectronics.co.uk

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Shunyata Research Denali D6000/T power distributor

The Denali by Shunyata Research is one of those products that came late to the UK. Everywhere else in the world (starting from the US on out) got the power distributor before us, but it was worth the wait; in making the Denali compatible with UK domestic mains power regulations, we ended up getting a slightly beefier version of the Denali that will now (no pun intended) filter through to other Denali customers. Not so much a Mark 2 Denali, more a Denali Version 1.1, and in fairness those changes shouldn’t amount to a sonic difference (so no need for owners of existing Denalis to start thinking of a trade-up) but we still get to reap the benefits.

There is also a significant back-story to the Denali, underpinning all of Shunyata’s recent products. A few years ago, one of Shunyata Research’s clients was so impressed by what his Hydra Triton/Typhon power distribution box did to his audio system, he wondered if it could help in his day job. So, he brought the Shunyata product to work… and plugged it into the medical imaging device he used in his cardiology surgery. The resultant drop in noise floor he experienced at home also happened at the operating table; he could use the imaging products with greater definition, and – as a direct result – more operations had a successful outcome (given this is a cardiologist searching for vital electrical impulses in the heart itself, the opposite to ‘a successful outcome’ is pretty bleak). When this story filtered back (pun intended) to Shunyata’s boss Caelin Gabriel, he created a division of the company – Clear Image Scientific^®– to help improve the resolution of medical imaging devices through cleaner power. That Shunyata’s products have a direct effect on medical imaging products is no surprise given Caelin Gabriel’s previous career in ultra-sensitive data acquisition systems. He’s used to pulling a signal out of a sea of noise, but that’s as near as it gets to discussing what Gabriel did in that past life because it’s all redacted Area 51 stuff. However, the innovations from CIS pass to subsequent generations of Shunyata Research products, and vice versa. The Denali line is a direct recipient of this bilateral research and development pathway.

Central to Shunyata’s concepts, the Denali features CCI (Component to Component Interference), introduced many years ago with the introduction of the Hydra Model-8. The Denali was the first Shunyata Research product to use the CCI ‘Medical Grade’ filters that were developed specifically for the CIS power conditioner. These filters are designed to reduce noise by more than 40dB at 1MHz, which is also a marked improvement over the 24dB reduction provided by the aforementioned Hydra, Shunyata’s previous flagship design. The Denali uses two patented technologies in its design, the first being the NIC (Noise Isolation Chamber), which was introduced in the original Triton. The second technology is the QR/BB, which was developed under the medical research program. The Denali actually eclipsed the performance of the reference Triton for a time, but Shunyata created a third version of the flagship that included a similar hybrid technology from the Denali series, but in a larger and more effective form.

As the acronym suggests, the CCI filters not only reduce mains noise, but also isolate the audio components from one another. As we inexorably move from an analogue world (with digital sources) to a more mixed audio palette with a greater number of digital sources, often involving some kind of Wi-Fi system, this need to separate the influences of one product on its fellow rack-mates is becoming a primary concern. The Denali helps to not only keep mains-borne noise from outside the system stay outside the system, it helps prevent inter-component contamination. As the other work-around option is multiple boxes to work on each component, the integrated, but separated, approach works for me.

Alongside the CCI filters, the Denali also sports a patented ‘QR/BB’ dynamic enhancement. Typically, a power conditioner stores some power in capacitors, chokes, or coils. This is available to the devices that use the conditioner, but big ‘pulls’ on power delivery from the wall are not completely instantaneous as a result. This is why many power conditioners got short shrift with users of big power amplifiers, or – paradoxically – smaller power amps with stiff power supplies that give a taut, fast rhythm. In the first case, a power conditioner can seem to dynamically compress the sound, in the latter it acts to slow it down. Not here, though.

QR/BB removes all those chokes and caps from the path, and in the process (according to Shunyata, at least) makes the current delivery more dynamic than the raw AC mains itself!

Acronym lovers will also appreciate Shunyata’s KPIP (Kinetic Phase Inversion Process; a proprietary treatment used to speed up running in), and CGS (Chassis Ground System) terminal, or the earth/grounding tag that sits at the bottom of the Denali and can be connected as a floating ground to other devices. It also has 40,000 amps’ worth of transient protection (under the Trident banner), eight-gauge internal wire, and a special ‘hydraulic electromagnetic breaker to prevent it being undermined by a noisy fuse. Fuses are a function of UK power, and the plugs in the Alpha EF and NR cables used in the chain are all of the best quality.

The six outlets on the rear of the Denali now feature 13A three-pin UK sockets (part of the hold-up to getting a UK version was the manufacture of Shunyata’s own CopperCONN™ nickel-plated pure copper conductors in UK form), and the Denali itself has a 16A IEC C20 input. The six sockets are sub-divided into a high-current pair (for power amplifiers) and four standard current sockets for sources. The original US version further sub-divided the sockets into three zones, with maximum isolation between these zones; the topmost two rated at 15A continuous, while the third (‘Z3’) is the high-current circuit, rated at 16A continuous. Unlike most power distribution products, the Denali is no shelf-hogger; it stands vertically next to the system, a tower design that, from the front at least, looks like an obelisk. A platinum obelisk rising out of an aluminium base, and four stainless-steel feet. There is a rack-mounted D6000/S version and a smaller two-outlet D2000/T that are both available in the US and the EU, but haven’t made it to Blighty yet.

Often with power conditioners, the effect is somewhat nuanced. It’s either a ‘back-and-forth’ thing, or a ‘put it in the system for two weeks and see if you can live without it when you remove it’ kind of subtle effect. That isn’t to say the effect is too subtle to be of actual benefit, but it’s not the kind of immediate, transformational change for the better you might find from upgrading an amplifier or a player, for example. The Denali is one of the rare exceptions: you put it in the system, and the system immediately sounds better… job done, open wallet and extract money.

But exactly what is ‘better’ in this context? It’s an important upgrade to that sense of not sitting in front of electronics, but instead enjoying the musical experience as it should be experienced. Those little niggles that exist even in a top-flight system – the slight harshness in the upper mid, the pervasive scratchiness in the mid-bass that isn’t quite undermining enough to require extensive system surgery, but never fully go away – are drastically reduced. I knew I was on to something when the normal listening test music quickly came and went and was replaced by things you might want to try and experience; such as ‘Fantastic Planet’ from Soil and ‘Pimp’ Sessions’ Planet Pimp[Victor]. In fact, what the Denali does is rid the world of over-rich tonal colours and excesses. This opens up a wider gamut of music to the listener (hence the aforementioned Japanese Death Jazz). And, while I can see some wanting their music more brightly lit, most will quickly realise that the significant increase in tonal palette is better than overt, over-processed sound.

This is sound less distorted, pure and simple. It sounds like your electronics are tampering with the sound less than before, almost irrespective of the type of electronics used. It’s the system you bought in the first place, as it should be. I tried the Denali on a range of products from source to subwoofer, and solid-state to tube, and it worked more or less universally. The ‘more or less’ part applies to turntables – not that it undermined the vinyl performance, it just made little difference. Everything else gratefully received the Denali’s juice. OK, so I doubt anyone with £5,000 worth of system is going to use a £5,950 power conditioner, but otherwise go for it, and you quickly realise why the Denali is one of those products that is universally well received in the high-end fraternity. Because it’s damn good!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Mains inlet: 16A IEC C20 input
Mains outlets: 4x7A and 2x16A
Noise suppression: Zone 1 to Zone 2: >60dB (500kHz–10MHz), >24dB (100kHz–30MHz); Inlet to Z1 or Z2: >25dB (500kHz–30MHz); Inlet to Z3: >15dB (100kHz–30MHz)
Max continuous current (UK):16A
Peak instantaneous current: >1000A @10MS
Dimensions (W×H×D): 20×45 ×44cm
Weight: 11 kg
Price: £5,950 (Alpha EF power cable, £1,320. Alpha NR cables, £1,650)

Manufacturer: Shunyata Research Inc.

URL: shunyata.com

Distributed in the UK by: the Shunyata Distribution company

Tel: +44(0) 330 223 3769

URL: shunyata-uk.com

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Loud & Clear/Naim music streamer event – Thursday August 23rd

Based out of extensive showrooms in the Finnieston part of Glasgow, Loud & Clear have been designing supplying, installing and supporting Naim hi-fi systems for over 20 years.

To help celebrate the introduction of Naim ‘s brand new range of music streamers – Loud & Clear are hosting the exclusive Scottish launch of the flagship ND555

Hosted at the prestigious Hotel du Vin at One Devonshire Gardens in Glasgow’s West End – the event will showcase the £19599 ND555/555PS in the context of a NAC552/NAP500 reference system. The event will run on Thursday August 23rd from 7pm with presentations at 7.30 pm and 9pm.Representatives from both Naim Audio and Loud & Clear will be on hand to answer any questions.

https://www.hotelduvin.com/locations/glasgow/meetings/

Visitor can be assured of great tunes on an amazing hi-fi system !

Spaces are limited and demand is high – so please either contact Barbra on 0141 221 0221, email [email protected] or register on

Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/naim-audio-nd555-scottish-launch-tickets-47219881938

Sugden Sapphire DAP‑800 preamp and FBA-800 power amplifier

For just over half a century, for almost as long as there have been transistor amplifiers in fact, there has been Sugden. The company moves to its own beat; it makes amps that don’t follow the trend, and makes products that sound truly lovely in the right systems. The Sapphire range is the latest from a brand that cycles its products about once in a generation.

‘Range’ is probably an ambitious way of putting things. There is a preamp and a stereo power amp. The DAP-800 preamplifier is designed as a bit of a one-stop-shop, with balanced and single-ended inputs, a built-in DAC… but no phono stage or network streaming capacity.

The key sections of the preamp (analogue and digital) are self-contained, each having their own power supply voltage regulation and circuit board assemblies, to the point where the analogue stage uses a toroidal transformer while the digital section has its own E-core transformer. This means the digital power supplies are totally isolated from the analogue stage.

The DAP-800’s analogue stage features what Sugden calls a ‘VCV’ (Voltage Controlled Volume) circuit, which first featured in its Masterclass amps, and is seen here in its latest and most developed form. This circuit has a high impedance input section and a current gain stage, which drives a folded cascode stage into a Class A output stage. The folded cascode circuit facilitates a wide bandwidth with maximum dynamics and low capacitive connectivity. The volume control does not attenuate the signal; instead it ‘informs’ the current gain stage of the correct volume level. This means the tonal balance is constant irrespective of the output level, as opposed to most potentiometers and even ladder resistor array active volume controls.

The DAC connects to the digital outside world through inputs for USB, and optical and coaxial S/PDIF signals. The actual DAC is a non-oversampling, digital filtering-free, DAC capable of 24 bit/96kHz precision and where the digital interface transceiver is a Wolfson Micro electronics device. The DAC also includes Post Conversion Filtering in the analogue output stage. The USB signal received is converted via a circuit including a Texas Instruments Universal IC whose
S/PDIF output signal is reclocked and dejittered by the Wolfson interface transceiver.

This DAC configuration has been adopted for Sugden’s digital processing after many many hours of auditioning of a wide sample of DSPs. It was first used in the company’s Masterclass DAC-4 processor, and – with Sugden no longer building the CD player to match the A21 – the DAC-4 and DAC built into the DAP-800 represent the company’s main digital ‘push’.

The choice of on-board DAC is intriguing. As discussed, it’s a 96kHz, 24-bit non-oversampling design, built for performance, not for the numbers. That’s an aproach more commonly seen on Audio Note and 47 Laboratory DACs and the occcasional tweaky models that periodically spring up and vanish soon after – not from a brand better known for making products that stay in production for decades. Actually, that sort of fits. Those seeking the Best Of The Moment in the numbers and acronyms arms race need not apply, as this one is for the listeners. On the other hand, those who buy in an unfaddy manner will appreciate something that doesn’t follow this arms race, and are likely to limit their music to ripped 16/44 CDs and similar-level offerings online. My concern here is that those with 24/192 files from high-res providers will not find their files supported as there is no downconversion option. So long as that’s known up-front by potential DAP-800 owners, that possibly is no big deal. Regardless, a DAC that only works to 24/96 precision will invariably result in a host of ‘No DSD… count me out’ comments, often from people who have no DSD files and no intention of owning any DSD files. Those who go searching for reasons why they don’t need to buy have found a reason without ever having to take the trouble to dig further. Consider this a service rendered to the measurebators and spec-freaks – this is not for you, and you can go about your business untrammelled by Sugden’s really rather good sounding DAP-800 preamp.

Similarly, a 40W power amplifier – even though it’s pumping out those 40W in pure Class A – will turn people away. There are some who might have legitimate call to be turned away here. You might have a loudspeaker that has the efficiency of a marble pillar and want to play those speakers at PA levels in an aircraft hanger. However, a surprising number of listeners will never get much past the first one or two watts on an amplifier, and it’s here where the FBA-800 shines.

The FBA-800 gets its prefix because it is a ‘Floating Bridge Amplifier’. And yes, I too am trying not to whistle the theme tune to Monkeyas I wrote that. Floating Bridge Amplifier is actually extremely descriptive as the amplifier operates in bridged mode with the output earth floating. Each channel consists of two amplifiers working as voltage amplifiers driving an output stage of bridged power transistors. This means the amp works in pure balanced operation from input to output if you select XLR connections. The advantages are a low noise floor, better power output relative to the voltage rails, and – with the fixed current of the Class A mode – low output impedance and better load tolerance.

The Power amplifier is DC coupled, with a servo lock, and features a full DC protection circuit. This circuit is statically switched using extremely low impedance MOSFET switching devices. This circuit also acts as a soft-start switch. The FBA-800’s power supply is a low impedance design with a single custom made bi-filar wound transformer with four separate windings. Its main smoothing capacitors for the output stage are specially developed for professional audio applications with excellent ripple characteristics and long life. These ultimately feed to the four power transistors per channel in the output stages. These are multi emitter devices with an output capability of 26 amps per device.

There’s a sense of overbuild here, but not to excess. For example, although the amplifier is rated at 40W per channel, the transformers are specced for 350W use. Like all Sugden amps, the circuit boards all use plated-through-hole PCBs and the company eschews surface-mount devices. As there are reports of tiny components and greater potential for tin whiskers (solder forming its own dendrites in an EM field) over the decades, this might not be a bad idea.

Power amplifiers are not known for their functionality, but the FBA-800 is remarkably comprehensively specified. It has two buttons on the front panel alongside the big on/off switch. One switches between balanced and single-ended operation, and the other lowers the input sensitivty by -6dB. This allows the user to adjust the gain structure to better match the preamp and loudspeakers. This is a surprisingly useful addition, especially for those who want to look beyond the Sapphire preamp.

Let’s not beat around the bush here. The FBA-800 runs hot. 40W in Class A pumps out a lot of heat, a surprising amount given the eco-friendly nature of the world today. Of course when powered down power consumption isn’t an issue, but this amp could pass as a space heater. But, that’s the price you pay for good sound, and the FBA-800 sounds really, really good. But we are running away with the story here. Let’s start with the system and the preamp.

I used the Sugden combination with a variety of sources, but predominantly from my MacBook Pro through the USB input and via S/PDIF from a Naim Uniti Core server. Both balanced and single-ended connections between pre and power were tried, using Nordost Blue Heaven, Cardas Clear, and generic microphone cable, and the matching Nordost and Cardas cables were used in building the whole system. Speakers were either Chartwell LS6/f towers or Wilson Audio Duette 2s, although the Dynaudio Contour 30 did see some Sugden action, too.

The good news is that the amplfiers do not require extravagent cable wrangling. Differences between cables could be heard and provided advantages in system building, but the system was just as comfy with a set of microphone cables between the preamp and power amplifier. In listening, I moderately preferred the balanced operation, but unless you are using long cables, it’s a bit of a tie.

Now we can talk about the sound. Sugden is trying a tag line that says ‘Rescuing Music From Technology’ and it fits perfectly here. These are products that ooze musical enjoyment from every extremely hot pore. This is a sound quality that delivers the detail goods, but you never, ever notice because the overarching feeling is one of sheer listening enjoyment. There is nothing forward about the sound of the Sugden system, but there is nothing laid back about the sound either. Instead, it just draws you in. I am reminded of the A21SE by the same company, which I have used – off and on – almost since it was launched. OK, so the O-rings on the feet eventually fell off after about 15 years, and I had to superglue one of the grilles after about a decade of use, but that amp just keeps coming out of storage and being used, not because it’s a reference point but just because it’s like a musical homecoming. Music sounds right on that amplifier, but it sounds even more right here.

At first flush, you’ll tend toward playing relatively gentle music. It’s like you need to get through your Vaughan Williams phase on the Sugdens. You do this because it’s so rewarding, the sense of layering to the music, the sheer charm, and effortlessness to the sound is perfectly expressed in slightly flowing, gentle music designed for a pastoral mood. It’s like night-birds listening to ‘Sailing By’ at the end of the Radio 4 broadcasting day to reset their calm levels.

That feeling is temporary, however. Pretty soon, you are trawling through the meatier end of the collection, often through jazz and into rock. These Sugdens can handle every type of music you throw at them, but there’s an in-head process you go through. It’s a voyage of musical redescovery. I found myself listening to some very well-trodden musical paths, even to the point of listening to all of Kind of Blueby Miles Davis [Columbia]. Like practically anyone who has listened to an audio system, or has eaten in a restaurant, I know that album backwards. There’s no tread left anymore… except I found myself listening to that album in full through the Sugden combo, and loving every minute of it.

There’s a temptation to equate warm electronics with warm sound, and there is a kernel of truth to the connection. But that warmth doesn’t come at the expense of leading edge delivery and it doesn’t just make a huge soundstage as some kind of crowd pleaser. In fact, the combination – but especially the power amp – are extremely good at presenting the leading edges of music in a way that preserves timing information but doesn’t swamp the tonality or musical enjoyment at the same time. It’s the way the sound is just pulled together in one effortless gestalt that matters, and that’s what the Sugden amps do so well. You don’t tend to focus on elements of the sound because the music is so overarching, but if you force yourself to break up the sonic performance into bite-sized pieces, all those pieces are at or close to the top of their respective games. So when listening to Laura Marling singing ‘Take the Night Off’ [Once I Was An Eagle, Virgin], you not only have the stereo separation of voice and guitar, the detail and vocal articulation, the microdynamics of string noises, and the dynamic range of her singing rising out of the aether, but you get the added bonus of all of those things working together.

This shines through with the non-oversampling DAC, although I can’t help feeling this is a good and musical DAC in an otherwise fantastic system.

Actually, I’m about 8/10 with the DAP-800. I like its overall performance, and what could be thought of as a limitation in the DAC actually turns out to be the star of the preamp show. It’s a flexible and good sounding model and a keenly priced one at that. But it’s not the FBA-800. That’s something really special. It’s good with its Sugden brother, but it would really shine on the end of a superstar preamp, the kind that people talk of in hushed tones and are willing to spend tens of thousands owning. If I’m 8/10 on the DAP-800, I’m at about 11.5 out of 10 for the FBA-800. It’s best in balanced mode and that might keep away those who went from ‘purist’ to ‘puritanical’ but forget the connections, and even forget the 40W power output – these are some of the nicest watts you’ll ever hear. This isn’t just a world-class power amp, it sounds like home. If you can relate to what I mean by that, you are on the way to owning a Sugden Sapphire.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

DAP-800

Inputs: Four line level inputs, one balanced input, bypass
Digital Inputs: Three S/PDIF coax, two S/PDIF optical, one USB type B, Word length up to 24bit 96k
Outputs: Two line level outputs, one balanced output, tape output
Volume Control: Motorised remote control (analogue) RC5 compatible
Mains Power Switching: Separate for analogue and digital circuits
Input Sensitivity:120mV for 1 Volt out
Maximum Output: 9 Volts
Frequency Response: 0dB 15Hz–98kHz
Bandwidth: 8Hz–125kHz
Signal to Noise: >85dB
Distortion: <0.05% @ 1kHz, 1 Volt out
Dimensions: 120 ×430 ×340mm (hwd)
Gross Weight (packed): 10kgs
Price: £4,635

FBA-800

Type: power amplifier
Inputs: Stereo line level, stereo balanced
Outputs: Stereo pair multi-way locking binding posts
Front Panel Gain Selector: 6dB input attenuation
Front Panel Input Selector: RCA or XLR
Input Sensitivity: 735mV for full output
Power Output: 40 Watts into 8 Ohms both channels working
Frequency Response: 0dB 20Hz–80kHz
Bandwidth: 6Hz–113kHz
Signal to Noise: >96dB
Distortion at 1 Watt 1kHz: >0.05%
Dimensions (H×W×D): 21 ×43 ×46cm
Weight (packed): 25kgs
Price: £6,635

Manufactured by: Sugden Audio

URL: sugdenaudio.com

Tel: +44 (0) 1924 404088

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Bel Canto Design Black EX integrated amplifier

Bel Canto Design has been producing terrific sounding gear for over twenty years. Based in the heart of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, the firm began as a tube specialist yet has evolved into a premier solid-state shop. Founder John Stronczer is a dedicated engineer and passionate audiophile who examines the benefit of every part to ensure it is a necessary component of sufficient quality to add meaningfully to the whole of the piece. I have had a couple of opportunities to spend time at Bel Canto HQ and I can attest to the measured approach and high standards used to infuse a bit of audio magic into their gear. John’s attention to both the engineering and sonic benefits of each part create wonder and once again I am privileged to enjoy their latest work.

The Bel Canto Black series was a mighty leap into ultra-high-end audio a few years ago. The Black is a three-box system that was not exactly a dual mono amp and preamp combo. The third box was so much more than a preamp and more of a convergence control unit. Imposing, with black anodized aluminium glowing with HAL 9000 inspired red LED’s, the Black system was a high-end coming-out party for the company. At around £55,000 it was by far the brand’s most expensive and sophisticated offering. Indeed, it has been hailed by the press for the impressive sound quality and the digital and analogue convergent tech. Fortunately for the rest of us, the last few years have seen some ‘trickle-down’ from this system; first to the impressive Black ACI 600 integrated at around £25,000 and now the Black EX Integrated, the subject of this review, at £15,000.

Upon opening the box, you find the manual, a hefty remote control, and a BNC to RCA adapter for S/PDIF use. The Black EX is encased in thick foam underneath. First impressions of the unit are, for me, strongly favourable. It is a beautiful industrial design of black (naturally) aluminium with a display, one control wheel and a headphone jack on the front. This spartan layout belies the incredible level of customization over the sound and input options found within the Black EX’s control software. The headphone jack has its own independent circuitry that utilises a dedicated 112dB dynamic range DAC to supply its own separate output buffer stage. I found it is a more than credible device, albeit one that does require its own break in time to achieve best quality.

The Black system; The Original Black, the ACI 600, and the Black EX all are centered around two proprietary technologies. One is the AMiP platform. What is it exactly? AMiP stands for ‘Asynchronous Multi-Input Processor’. It is a multi-processor based system that manages the Ethernet interface, audio, DAC’s, and inputs to coordinate with Roon and DLNA based servers, streaming services like Tidal and MQA encoded files to access digital music in virtually any form from anywhere they can connect to. It can accept files up to 24/192 via its many digital inputs such as S/PDIF, Toslink, and AES and up to 24/384 and DSD128 via USB 2.0. As usual for these devices Mac computers require no driver. Windows machines can download the Black EX specific driver from the Bel Canto website.

The second cornerstone is Bel Canto’s HDR-II (High Dynamic Resolution) core. HDR is a result of twenty years of refinement to a DAC technology Bel Canto has chosen to refine due to the “rightness” of its D to A conversion. The DAC wars created several camps of adherents to certain DAC approaches, R2R, Delta-Sigma, Multi-Bit… so many approaches. What many audiophiles fail to grasp is the chip is a start. What the engineer does with it is likely more meaningful to good sound than the base approach. Bel Canto describes what they have achieved as the, “highest levels of analogue purity and uncompromised performance,” which basically translates to a more musical result. No digital edge or rounded off highs from the digitizing of an analog signal then converting it back. Or making the file more musical as analog if it was digitally recorded. To me the Black EX via it’s HDR-II tech has a rightness to the sound. It is not artificial. Audiophiles can debate the engineering greatness of a particular approach strictly from an engineering perspective; I frankly only care which approach yields better sound from my speakers.

Another aspect of achieving this sonic quality is the pure Class A differential analogue output from the DAC working in tandem with the balanced analogue section. The goal is to preserve all of the original dynamics from the recording regardless of the quality of signal being fed via the digital or analogue inputs. The key to this part of the processing is using constant current and voltage to bias all parts in the analog output chain. Essentially Class A is being imposed on the signal from all contributing factors. This facilitates the maintenance of all original signals and dynamics.

This now fully realised signal is passed on to the 250W into 8 Ohms or (500W into 4 Ohms) Bel Canto custom NCore Stereo amplifier that delivers of clean and ultra-quiet Class D power.

As stated earlier the available controls are minimal on both the front panel and via the remote. Yet all user adjustments of the system can be done with either. To save new settings you hold the program button or press the wheel for a few seconds to complete the save. You will initially use the save function quite a bit because the Black EX has the capability to incrementally tailor the sound to your room and personal preferences in fine detail. The first interesting feature used to customize the sound is the Tilt function. Similar to Quad’s Tilt system in the old 34 preamp, this boosts bass and cuts treble – or cuts bass and boosts treble – around 775Hz. You can adjust the tonal balance in 0.6dB increments up to a maximum 3dB variance. This is more than an EQ effort to assist with both room and loudspeaker management to personal taste. I found it to be a fun exercise that does allow for specific compensation for room anomalies.

Another very useful feature is the Bass management customization. The Black EX has one pair of RCA outputs. Each can be used to feed a powered subwoofer a mono signal. The Black EX offers a BASS EQ (Shipped in the Off position) that features a 2nd order Butterworth Low and High pass filter set. These filters allow a + or – 3dB range in 0.6dB increments up to 250Hz. Many of the newer high-end subs have their own adjustment DSP but for a simple powered sub it allows for fine integration within the system and room. The bass-management 2nd order low pass filter allows adjustment from 40Hz to 120Hz in 10 Hz increments. The High Pass filter you can deploy for your loudspeakers to tailor them as well from 40Hz to 120Hz in 10Hz increments to add even more assist to subwoofer integration. If that is not enough there is also a bass gain setting from -6dB to +6dB in one step stages. It may take some time to work through your sub setting, but your room, sub, and speakers will be in harmony. I spent a fun afternoon with the Black EX and my SVS PB12+ subwoofer finding and experimenting with the best settings. In the end I could make the sub disappear in seamless coordination with my Vandersteen Treo CT’s or I could pump up the volume with some EDM tracks and annoy my wife. Who knew she did not appreciate Basshunter?

The Black EX provides a MC/MM Phono preamp with a strong selection of settings even for low output moving coil cartridges. The curve choice is RIAA only but that should cover the majority of listener preferences. An afternoon’s listening with my VPI Prime Signature and Ortofon Cadenza Bronze MC cartridge proved to be very enjoyable. There was some depth missing compared to my reference Moon 610LP phono pre, however, considering the Moon costs half what the Black EX does the presentation was certainly a worthy one. Changing cartridge settings was a simple task via the remote control. It was overall an impressive effort for something usually underwhelming on a multi-function device.

Bel Canto has provided an IOS certified app called SEEK which allow for iDevice control over your playlists and source access. I found SEEK to work well and it was very good at searching out audio files from anywhere between my far flung networked computer system and on line streaming services. Entering my login for Tidal was simple and opened up a huge library of CD quality tunes. The Black EX as noted previously, is also in the process of becoming Roon certified. I am a Roon fan and I used Roon for most of my library control as it is much more comprehensive to music curation than SEEK. If you are not a Roon subscriber, then SEEK will serve you well.

When I reviewed the Bel Canto Ref600 Monos and the 2.7 DAC I was struck by the naturalness of the presentation. The Black EX takes that naturalness to another level. This was not what I would normally expect from a digital device and Class D amplifiers. I was enjoying an analog experience. I started with Tidal via the SEEK app on my iPhone 8 plus queueing up the FM radio 70’s staple ‘FM’ by Steely Dan from the FMmovie soundtrack [MCA]. This 16/44.1 was as clear and clean as I can ever remember hearing it. The opening guitar work had a spangle (a technical term) that cut through the bassline. The tenor sax was tone filled with just the right amount of rasp. Having listened to this song for over forty years it is one of those soundtracks of your life songs. To hear it in such a quality “analogue” presentation was incredibly satisfying. This was a great start demonstrating immediately what Bel Canto said they were striving for with their twenty-year quest to incrementally improve on their chosen DAC technology.

Next up was Murray Perahia performing Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 29 in B Flat Major, Op. 106 “Hammerklavier” 1. Allegro also via Tidal. Piano can be tough for digital, subject to brightness and sometimes brittle tonality I approach it with trepidation. The Black EX delivered with full tonality and a complete lack of brightness or edge. Listening to the performance I am struck by the feeling of joy and playfulness. There is an uplifting energy to the piece that was magnified by the correctness to the piano’s tone. The precision and nuance of Mr. Perahia’s playing carried through with wonderful fullness. The Black EX made this an almost live experience with its tone and dimensionality. Very well done.

Wrapping up with the SACD of Alison Krauss + Union Station Live[2002 Rounder Records] ‘The Lucky One’features Alison’s incredibly pure voice accompanied by the impeccable musicianship of Union Station. Female vocals can make or break any system. The Bel Canto Black EX Integrated’s rendering of Alison’s voice was exquisitely pure. The guitar, Dobro, and violin tone were full and full of tone. It was a superb and natural presentation.

Finally, it’s hard not to consider the Bel Canto Black EX without going to the ‘D’-word – Devialet. The slim, shiny box from Paris was the ‘shot heard round the audio world’ when it first appeared at the start of this decade, and the shockwaves continue to resonate through much of high-end audio. In truth, Devialet was and remains more prevalent in Europe and the UK than the US to my mind, but it opened the door for smaller, integrated products that retain high-end performance worldwide. I haven’t logged enough hours with a Devialet to compare directly, but the Bel Canto’s sound stands on its own. It’s not a ‘Devialet killer’ because it doesn’t need to be a ‘Devialet killer’. Audio is sufficiently broad in scope for both to coexist peacefully. But what it has in common with that French fashionista is that people with separate preamps, DACs, phono stages, power amps, power supplies and the rest listen to these one-box wonders… and often trade the lot in for this one superstar. That’s what the original D-Premier did so well, and that’s what the Bel Canto Black EX does so well, too. This is a disruptive product, challenging head on the status quo of high-end audio, and that is refreshing and a much needed catalyst for change in what can too often be an industry hide-bound in convention. Other brands should be worried, but more importantly, other brands should be learning from the Black EX and doing the same thing!

I’m trying a spot of British-style understatement: the Black EX is ‘a bit of’ a game changer. Its older siblings came first to be sure, but to bring the natural and analogue qualities to digital in most any form at this price point is exciting. This is a reference piece that would be at home anchoring any high performing system. It might save some big coin too as one box for amp, pre-amp, DAC, and streamer means a lot of high cost cables that are not needed. It has plenty of power to drive virtually any speaker, too. In the end, I am impressed. People need to hear this device and I know after doing so many will find a way to make it the centrepiece of their system.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Type: Integrated Amplifier
Input: Phono – 1 RCA with MM & MC capabilities, Analogue – 2 pr RCA, AES/EBU, S/PDIF, Toslink, USB A & B, RS232
Output: 2x RCA also can be Mono Subwoofer Out
Class Operation: Class-D with Class-A internal
Load Impedance: 8 Ohm and 4 Ohm
Low Level Outputs: Line Level Analogue 4.5Vrms with Bass Management
Headphone: 4.5 Vrms maximum, 32 Ohm minimum load
Maximum Data rates: 24bit/192kHz PCM AES/EBU,
S/PDIF, TOSlink. 24bit/192kHz PCM, MQA, and DSD64 via 10/100 Ethernet, 24bits/384kHz, MQA, and DSD64/128 (DoP) USB2 Audio
MM/MC Input: Input Sensitivity: MM: 2.5mV to 5mV; MC: 0.25mV to 0.5mV. Input Load MM: 47K Ohms; MC: 50, 100, 500, 1000
RIAA Accuracy: +/- 0.25dB, 50Hz – 15kHz
THD+N: <0.01% 1kHz A-weighted
SNR: >70dB A-weighted
Dynamic Range: 110dB, A-weighted 20Hz – 20kHz
Loudspeaker Output:
Maximum Power Output: 500W – 4 Ohm, 250W – 8 Ohm
Minimum Load: 2 Ohms
Peak Output Current: 25 Amperes
Frequency Response: -3dB 0Hz–50kHz, all loads
Output Connections: 2 pair WBT Nextgen binding posts
Dynamic Range: 125dB A-weighted
THD+N: <0.001%, 1kHz, 4 Ohms
IMD (CCIF): <0.001% 1W, 18.5:19.5kHz 1:1, 4 Ohms
Power usage On: 40W
Power usage Off: 0W
Power Requirements: 100-120VAC or 230-240VAC 50/60Hz Internally set
Dimensions (WxDxH): 451 ×394 ×89mm
Weight: 12 kg.
Price: £15,000

Manufactured by: Bel Canto Design Inc

URL: belcantodesign.com

Distributed in the UK by: Padood

URL: padood.com

Tel: +44 (0)1223 653199

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Exposure XM5 integrated amplifier

Way back in the day when Exposure were the only real competitor that Naim had in the UK, both companies made a lot of half width black boxes. They were all ugly and, in the case of Naim, strangely connected little things that sounded very entertaining while not appearing to be too bothered about neutrality and bandwidth. Since that time both brands have changed ownership but Exposure has retained its manufacturing, test, and assembly facilities in West Sussex… not far from its original base near Brighton.

Last year Exposure returned to the half-width scale for its XM range, headed up by the XM5 integrated amp but also containing the XM7 preamp and XM9 monoblock power amps, XM3 phono stage, and XM HP headphone amp. Clearly there’s an appetite for the more petite in the market for separates even at this relatively high price per cubic centimetre. Rega, for example, makes the Brio for £698 with a phono stage but no DAC while Cyrus has its One with phono stage and Bluetooth but again no digital inputs at £699, and NAD, Marantz, and Rotel offer amps with both facilities at both higher and lower price points but in slightly bigger boxes.

The £1,236 XM5 claims to be an amplifier for all seasons thanks to the inclusion of an onboard digital to analogue converter and a phono stage, which in the age of the vinyl revival is probably a good idea. It’s for moving magnet cartridges only and is marked as aux/phono suggesting that with a bit of under lid fiddling this input can be a regular line type, but apparently that is not the case; perhaps the word ‘aux’ is provided for markets that don’t want a phono stage! Otherwise there is a single line input and an AV input. The DAC has optical and coaxial inputs for S/PDIF connections to the TV or a CD player, albeit the coax ones are both on BNC sockets, which is a proper 75 Ohm connection, but not one you’ll find on many affordable sources. I presume that the USB input connects to an XMOS receiver chip as the amp comes with Windows drivers for that protocol; Mac users can just plug and play.

The XM5 has a linear power supply based on a 200VA toroidal transformer and the spec claims that, “Only high quality resistors and capacitors are used in the signal path”. The output devices are Toshiba bipolar transistors, which doesn’t mean that they have a split personality. The casework is not as fancy as some, but pretty tidy with a brushed aluminium front panel that sports buttons for scrolling through the inputs and a motorised volume pot. The remote handset is very much off the shelf and fully buttoned up, but volume is picked out in green which helps; it also has individual input selectors. Be careful with the AV input; it bypasses the volume control and goes straight to the power amp, so can only be used with sources that have their own volume adjustment, such as AV processors.

It’s clear that Exposure has tried to make as mass-market an amplifier as it can with the XM5, but in leaving out the most popular connection system used by the great unwashed they may have missed a trick. Bluetooth, for all its limitations, is the de factoconnection method for the smartphone generation, which is why you see it in amps from bigger brands. But Exposure has been in the amp business for some time and by omitting an RF receiver in the vicinity of the audio signal, many would argue better sound quality can be achieved.

The back panel of the XM5 incorporates BFA style loudspeaker connections that require a 4mm banana plug on your speaker cables – a bit like Naim amps, but without the preference for high impedance cables. I connected Townshend F1 Fractal cables to the amp and left the PMC Fact.8 speakers on the other end. This, however, didn’t prove a particularly happy match: I suspect that the power amp section of the Exposure was not really up to the task of driving this speaker with its lower than average sensitivity and highly revealing nature. The sound the two produced, while relaxed, was lazy as a result of limited dynamics and sluggish bass, but there was plenty of detail especially through the treble. This was with the Melco N1A server connected directly to the USB input so I switched to external D/A conversion courtesy of the CAD 1543 MkII in the hope that this would help matters. It did, in terms of increased vitality, but the timing remained so-so and the treble became more prominent, even though the CAD is the most relaxed of converters.

I switched to a more affordable PMC in the compact form of the twenty5.21 standmount in the hope that its smooth but revealing character would be a better match. These opened up the midrange quite nicely, with voice benefiting in particular, but they still seemed a little underpowered and prone to forwardness in the treble. That said when I put on Talking Heads’ ‘Crosseyed and Painless’ [Remain in Light, Sire] it was difficult to sit still so strong was the power of the funk. I tried a Rega Brio with these speakers and got a less refined and clean result, but one that had more vivacity, the Exposure having a calmer and larger scale presentation. At this point it seemed that another speaker was going to be necessary so I brought in the substantial Q-Acoustics Concept 500 floorstanders that have been giving excellent results with a number of amps. This proved a much more auspicious pairing with the XM5, which provided good scale, plenty of energy, and decent levels of detail resolution. Radiohead’s ‘Decks Dark’ [A Moon Shaped Pool,XL] was delivered with power and scale aplenty, the bass having good weight, and the spatial effects of the production coming through well, if not to the full extent available. The more challenging nature of Beethoven’s 7th was not as well handled, however; timing cues needed to be more obvious and the dynamics that make this piece so engaging were not fully realised.

I decided to try the phono stage and went through the faff of installing a Goldring 1042 moving magnet in a Rega RP8 for the purpose; happily it was worth the effort when the stylus hit the groove on Leo Kottke’s Great Big Boy[Private Music]. I don’t usually use MMs, but when they are as good as this Goldring there’s a lot to enjoy; dense fine detail produces a strong sense of presence that almost puts the musician in the room. Timing is better thanks to the source and the bass drum kick has harmonics that fill up the soundstage so well that it takes a while to notice how good the voice is. MCs might do highs better but not many have midrange clarity of this calibre – clarity that makes lyrics that much easier to understand. The acid wit of Patricia Barber’s vocls in ‘Company’ [Modern Cool, Premonition] is placed front and centre until the drum and bass take over and deliver muscular backing for the trumpet break. Vinyl was proving to be rather addictive through the XM5 however, so I switched back to the USB input with the same track albeit in a slightly different Mobile Fidelity Original Masters form where the balance is heavier and smoother: this was just as powerful but lacked the energy of the vinyl.

There are of course other digital inputs available and by running Ethernet from the server to an AURALiC ARIES I was able to take advantage of the coax option. This provided a distinctly more musical and dynamically superior result to USB; it’s an interesting comparison though and with some material the difference is greater than others. Herbie Hancock’s ‘Chameleon’ [Head Hunters, Columbia] for instance sounded a bit more funky and fluid via coax, the USB option seeming a bit dry and stilted. Switching to the medieval grooves of La Folia[Atrium Musicae De Madrid, Gregorio Paniagua, Harmonia Mundi], the coax connection delivered considerably more layering of depth and graduation of micro dynamics, making it a clear winner.

The Exposure XM5 is a neat and well-equipped integrated amplifier that does nearly everything the contemporary music lover might desire. Sound quality is as ever highly dependent on finding a good match on the loudspeaker front, and while the XM5 doesn’t have vast reserves of power, meaning you have to be a little more careful than usual, get the speaker selection bit right and this Exposure should provide many moons of listening pleasure.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Type: Solid-state, two-channel integrated amplifier with built-in DAC and phono stage

Analogue inputs: One MM phono input (via RCA jacks) , one single-ended line-level inputss (via RCA jacks), one AV input (via RCA jacks)

Digital inputs: Four S/PDIF (two coaxial BNC, two optical), one USB port

Analogue outputs: One pre-output (via RCA jacks)

Supported sample rates:
· SPDIF inputs BNC Coax & Optical : 32 – 192KHz @ 16-24 bits
· USB input : Linear PCM 44K1 – 192kHz @ 16-24 bits DSD x64 (DoP)

Input impedance:

High-level: 14kOhms

Phono: 47kOhms

Output impedance (preamp): not specified

Headphone Loads: N/A

Power Output: 60Wpc @ 8 Ohms

Bandwidth: Not specified

Distortion: THD <0.01% at 1kHz rated power

Signal to Noise Ratio: Not specified

Dimensions (H×W×D): 89 ×218 ×363mm

Weight: 5kg

Price: £1,236

Manufacturer: Exposure Electronics

Tel: +44 (0)1273 423877

URL: exposurehifi.com

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Black Rhodium

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Manufactured by: ELAC Electroacoustic GmbH

Distributed in the UK by: Hi-Fi Network Ltd

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Manufactured by: Pioneer

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Mobile Fidelity

Distributed by: Select Audio

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Manufactured by: Aavik Acoustics

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Chord Electronics

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Shunyata Research Inc.

Distributed in the UK by: the Shunyata Distribution company

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Manufactured by: Sugden Audio

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Manufactured by: Bel Canto Design Inc

Distributed in the UK by: Padood

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Manufactured by:
ELAC Electroacoustic GmbH

Distributed in the UK by:
Hi-Fi Network Ltd