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Audio Research DAC 9 digital converter

A few years ago, Audio Research began to introduce a series of design changes to both the interior and exterior of its products, starting with the G-Series. The initial development was very much a high-end prospect, as the changes stretched to the Reference range, but now in the new Foundation models, the sea-change in performance and style reaches down to the attainable.

The Foundation Series – the original three models of DAC, phono preamp, and line stage, now joined by a power amplifier – was launched last year as effectively a replacement to Audio Research’s traditional core lines (although models like the CD6, the LS27, and the SP20 remain in the catalogue at this time). This not only ultimately results in a simplification of the line – Foundation for the entry-level, G-Series for the more lifestyle-oriented clientele, Reference for the top-end – it represents a more obvious trickle-down (and in some cases, trickle-up) engineering development concept: design and technology aspects are passed from product line to product line. To a certain extent, ‘twas ever thus at Audio Research, but the current product lines have a closer relationship to one another at the design level.

However, this puts the Foundation DAC 9 in an odd position at Audio Research. As we go to press, it’s the cheapest standalone digital source in the line at the moment, but it’s also the newest, and the best of the bunch. The ‘as we go to press’ point is crucial, as there is a strong possibility of a replacement to the Reference series DAC any day now, and much of the product development that went into the DAC 9 will filter up into that top-end digital product.

From the outside at least, the DAC 9 is very much a conventional digital to analogue converter, eschewing both streaming and headphone amplification to concentrate on that one job of converting digital music sources to line-level analogue audio signals for an amplifier or preamplifier. Instead, the DAC 9 supports USB 2.0 (type B input), alongside RCA, BNC, and Toslink S/PDIF connections, and even an AES/EBU XLR input, all of which are galvanically isolated from the main circuit. It also largely skips the DSD ‘arms race’, with support for 2.8224MHz and 5.6448MHz DSD files natively, but ignoring ‘quad DSD’ on pragmatic lines, because of the paucity of quad DSD files available or likely to be available.

In fact, the DAC 9 could be considered two DACs in one, as it has two entirely different digital pathways depending on the input signal. Unpacked DoP files are passed through a dedicated serial DSD music file path, while PCM decoding to 24-bit, 384kHz precision is given its own PCM-only digital pathway. The two digital datastreams only converge after conversion and filtering in the analogue domain at the valve-based output stage. Both pathways use a pair of dedicated mono DACs, and the PCM pathway uses a pair of TCXO crystal oscillators; one for multiples of 44.1kHz, the other for multiples of 48kHz. The former is used to improve dynamic range, while the latter means no interpolation distortion errors (as an example for Mac users, try listening to the difference in quality of your ripped 16-bit, 44.1kHz CD files when transcoded to 48kHz by Audio MIDI Setup).

 

Audio Research is perhaps one of the last of the ‘majors’ to use valves in a digital product (there are still many brands that make DACs with valve outputs, but few – apart from Nagra – have Audio Research’s following or market significance), and the DAC 9 features one 6H30 per side. This ‘super tube’ from Russia is not much larger than the popular 6922, but has low plate resistance and no cathode follower, and its high transconductance means a single 6H30 can do the job of a bank of 6922s. The result is a more reliable, lower noise, and ultimately more linear output stage, feeding both the RCA single-ended and XLR balanced outputs of the DAC 9. An RS232 connector and IR socket for home automation complete the inputs and outputs.

The DAC has three user options. You can opt for PCM files to be upsampled to either 354.8kHz or 384kHz (depending on input sampling frequency), invert absolute phase, and switch between ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ digital roll-off filters. I think the first and last are ‘once per system’ adjustments, made to taste and the demands of your system (I preferred the sound with upsampling engaged, but with a fast roll-off, though your tastes may be very different). The phase inversion is more ad hoc, and that is interesting in and of itself. Absolute phase is rarely given much consideration in the recording studio and the mastering suite, so whether a recording is in or out of absolute phase is down to sheer luck. In most cases, the digital converter is not resolving enough to make much of a difference, and adjusting absolute phase on a per-recording basis falls into the ‘life’s too short’ dump bin. However, on the DAC 9, absolute phase is extremely easy to hear, putting it on a par with a handful of the very best DACs from the likes of dCS and Nagra. On good recordings that haven’t been made with the audiophile-grade anal-retentiveness, try adjusting absolute phase; one way will sound more spacious and yet also more focused than the other. This doesn’t mean you need to obsessively log absolute phase on every recording, but that the DAC 9 is resolving enough to make absolute phase more immediately noticeable, and that’s a good thing!

The DAC 9 has a large central display, with an easy-read green fluro alphanumerical display showing selected input, file type and sampling rate, whether the signal is upsampled or not, filter selection and phase inversion, going deeper through the menus can show the number of hours put on the valve (Audio Research suggests around 4,000 hours between valve changes, and the onus is on the user to reset the tube life indicator, rather than any kind of detector on the valve seats). Phase inversion, upsampling, and display brightness are all selected through the on-screen menu tree.

Installation and use is straight-forward, although the use of valves does add in a 45 second muted power-up cycle, to bring the 6H30s to the correct thermal operating levels. Audio Research recommends putting the DAC into mute before powering down a system, but this is a logical consequence of people who have a nasty habit of powering down from source to amplifier (instead of the other way round) and hearing some uncomfortable pops and thumps through the loudspeakers. It’s an exercise in good practice rather than trying to mask some aspect of the DAC 9’s performance. As ever with Audio Research, the supplied manual is an exercise in clarity, without too much extraneous information to confound the new DAC owner.

Downsides are beholden on the outside world, rather than the performance of the DAC 9 itself as it currently stands. Audio Research dipped its toe into the streaming waters a few years ago with the Reference model, and there seems to be no drive to repeat that exercise. Whether that’s a limitation or praiseworthy largely depends on your take on streaming. Similarly, whether the absences of MQA and Roon support are a concern or a triviality also depends on your take on MQA and Roon. However, I can’t help feeling these two features are becoming important inclusions on any digital device, and Audio Research may need to address these features at a later date.

The knee-jerk view of valves in a digital product is somewhat negative, as if the use of valves in the output stage is a kind of rose-tinted filter, designed to make everything sound nice. On the other hand, auditioning the DAC 9 suggests other reasons to go down the valve route; linearity and the kind of authoritative output that is more than just a measure of output impedance. If there is any valve ‘signature’ to the sound of the DAC 9, it’s in the fluidity of the midrange and treble, which have none of the hardness erroneously associated with ‘digital’ reproduction. This is not a warm sounding DAC, neither is it a bright sounding DAC. It’s a fundamentally ‘right’ sounding DAC, with a profound sense of dynamic authority and image stability that hits home first. Listening to the third movement of Sibelius Symphony No 6 [Søndergård, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Linn Records], the DAC managed to deftly balance the pace of the movement with the placement or the musicians in three dimensions. This could so easily be a trade-off, either going after the energy of the movement or the spatial properties of the recording. The DAC 9 performs no such trade-off, and gives the listener both the sizzle and the steak!

‘Foundation’ is the right name for this DAC. It’s right because the DAC gets the musical foundations absolutely right; this is a DAC that is both detailed and dynamic, both exciting and authoritative, and both precise and expansive. It’s controlled without sounding restrained. If all of this points to the word ‘balanced’, I’m doing my job, because this is a design of sophisticated balance without excess or omission.

As you spend more time with the DAC 9, you find yourself drawn to different parts of the music. After that initial sense of authority, you become enthralled by the sense of lyricism and vocal articulation. Listening to ‘All I Want’ by Joni Mitchell on Blue [Reprise] with just her voice supported by that dulcimer is beautifully clear, almost pained, but with those highs that only she could muster. Like many, I know this recording backwards, but that detailed articulation made the recording come alive like it was the first time I’d heard it.

Following swift on the heels of that fluid and accurate midrange comes the deep bass underpinning. Not on Joni Mitchell of course, but stepping up a gear to play ‘California Roll’ by Snoop Dogg, featuring Stevie Wonder and Pharrell Williams from Snoop Dogg’s album Bush [Doggy Style]. Far from Snoop Dogg’s rap roots, the soulful, relaxed, almost louche beat is underpinned by some good, deep bass and kick drum lines, and a lovely Fender Rhodes sound. As a piece of music, it doesn’t really go anywhere, but the journey sounds lovely. And through the DAC 9, the kick drum has some real kick. Not overemphasised (remember, the pivotal word is ‘balanced’), just a low thrumming sound that sounds remarkably like a bass drum in tone and depth. Then you also realise the sound has a fine sense of rhythm, too. Once more, ‘California Roll’ makes a fine case for that rhythmic superiority, because that track’s repeated, relaxed rhythm can so easily fall into sounding a little chaotic and bland, but here it just sounds like you should be driving down Rodeo Drive.

 

If you want to hear a convincing argument for the use of two separate DAC pathways for PCM and DSD, the DAC 9 makes it. The two pathways don’t sound materially different – both the digital design and the quality of the analogue output stage prevent that – but each brings its own advantages to the mix. A DSD cut of Led Zeppelin’s eponymous debut album of extremely dubious provenance gives a studio-like energy and dynamism that even a copy of the first pressing of the LP cannot replicate. Meanwhile, on the PCM side, transfers of well-recorded CDs and high-res downloads of similar quality deliver the goods in a similar effortlessly dynamic and detailed way.

Audio Research’s Foundation Series DAC 9 is the latest in a long line of digital products, in many cases each one better than the last. That tradition is continued in the DAC 9, as this is the best Audio Research digital product that the company has ever made. The combination of a detailed, dynamic, articulate, and accurate musical reproduction coupled with the sense of timbral, tonal, and temporal balance of the product itself makes it a firm Foundation for your music. Highly recommended!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Type: digital to analogue converter with valve output stage

Tube complement: 2× 6H30 dual triodes

Push buttons: Power, Menu, Option, Enter, Input, Mute

Inputs: USB 2.0. RCA, BNC, TOSlink S/PDIF. XLR AES/EBU, RS232, 12V trigger jack

Outputs: Stereo RCA and XLR

Rated outputs: 3.8V RMS Max Balanced; 1.9V max SE (@ 0dB input)

Output impedance: 500 Ohms balanced, 250 Ohms SE

Digital filter: Selectable Fast or Slow algorithms

Upsampling: All Inputs upsample to 384kHz (PCM only)

Digital precision (PCM): to 24bit, 384kHz (USB); to 24 bit, 192kHz (RCA, BNC, XLR), to 24 bit, 96kHz (TOSlink)

Digital precision (DSD): DSD, 2× DSD (USB only)

Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz ±0.15dB;
6Hz–192kHz ±3dB

THD+N: Less than .002% at  2V RMS 1kHz (balanced output)

Signal to noise ratio: >114dB

IMD + noise: 0.001% (SMPTE ratio)

Channel separation: 107dB

Intrinsic jitter: <10pS

Noise: –103dB

Dimensions (W×H×D): 48 × 13.7 × 34.8cm

Weight: 6.3kg

Price: £7,498

Manufactured by: Audio Research Corporation

URL: www.audioresearch.com

Distributed in the UK by: Absolute Sounds

URL: www.absolutesounds.com

Tel: +44(0)20 8971 39 

conrad-johnson Classic 62SE and Classic 120SE power amplifiers

Everything changes – everything stays the same. In a world where audio technology is shifting faster than most of the traditional high-end producers can keep up, or those producers are shifting faster than perhaps they should in an (often vain) effort to keep up, there’s something reassuring about these conrad-johnson amplifiers. In a market where well-established brand identities and product formats are daily being sacrificed to the twin gods of CNC machining and ‘visuals’, there’s something almost quaint about products that are more than just instantly recognisable – outwardly they’ve barely changed in the last 10 or 15 years. Oh sure, they’ve changed in detail, but even allowing for the full-height front-panel and rack handles on the MV45 (c-j’s original ‘everyman’ amplifier) the latest additions to the Virginian company’s extended family seem little different to their spiritual forebears from three decades ago: The same gold front panel; the same crackle black chassis; the same slotted tube cage and the same simple but effective hardware; all are deep in the DNA of c-j amplifiers.

Of course, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it and c-j amps have enjoyed a stellar reputation for their unfussy musicality down the years. Seasoned c-j watchers will be quick to point out the differences here, but they should also point out what is both the brand’s hallmark and its greatest strength: the painstakingly incremental, evolutionary approach it brings to product development. So the surface detail might change (component or tube types) but the underlying structure (topology, hardware, and construction) stay pretty much the same. If you’ve used a c-j amp before then nothing here will surprise you, from the simple fixed bias arrangement with its accessible trim-pots and LED tell-tales, to the basic appearance of the socketry and the absence of all but the necessary connections: no balanced inputs, no multiple output taps, and (thankfully) no ultra-linear/triode switching.

What you have here is essentially one amplifier writ two (in fact, four) different ways. The Classic 62 (£4,895) is about as simple as an ultra-linear tube amp gets, bringing all the traditional virtues – including its ‘traditional’ EL34 output tubes – to the musical party. Small enough to accommodate, powerful enough to run real speakers, it’s no surprise that the combination of dynamic and rhythmic integrity with the sense of colour and presence the topology delivers have made the push-pull, stereo chassis a staple in the UK market. Even so, there are situations where 60 Watts just won’t actually cut it – for which c-j, in time honoured fashion, have added a second pair of output tubes per side to create the Classic 120 (£8,995). So far so good and also, so very familiar: Where c-j deviates from the norm is in their development of refined versions of each basic design. Witness the TEA 2 phono-stage, available in no-fewer than three outwardly identical versions, each sporting identical circuit topologies, but separated by the choice and quality of the components used, the performance delivered, and the price asked. This ability to apply the experience gained with esoteric componentry and the knowledge of how it works in concert, to wring the subtle, incremental, but musically all-important benefits from an existing circuit has become the c-j party piece. The clearly defined musical and sonic performance benefits that attend each level of componentry when applied to the TEA 2 is both impressive and brooks no argument, the SE and MAX variations more than justifying their elevated costs.

Which brings us back to these current, Classic amps – and the decision to jump straight to the SE versions. Experience shows that, as practical and effective as the standard models are, the SEs bring that special something to proceedings. They also bring a scattering of c-j’s proprietary Teflon capacitors, deployed at strategic points throughout the circuit and a change of output tube, from EL34 to KT120. In theory, the bigger bottles should (could) provide more power, although c-j rate both the standard and SE models the same. It should also be noted that this is no straight swap, as the KT120 demands significantly higher supply voltages and draws a lot more current. However, what the switch to the KT120 does deliver is more headroom and greater control at frequency extremes. The EL34, long-loved for its glorious mid-band is beginning to show its age when confronted with modern, wide bandwidth loudspeakers – of which more later.

 

Hook up the Classic 62SE and the sound is as familiar as the amp’s appearance. Connection couldn’t be simpler, with the sole complication being the need for an unusually long and slender flat-bladed screwdriver to release the tube-cage in order to install the valves. That aside, with the amp biased and warmed through, you’ll be ready to enjoy some classic c-j sound. As I’ve already suggested, ultra-linear tube amps deliver a winning musical combination of musical presence and well-directed power that belies their rated output, leading to the old ‘tube-Watts-versus-solid-state-Watts’ argument. In truth, a Watt is, de facto, a Watt – but the vacuum-tube’s ability to deliver voltage means that it seems to achieve more with its Watts than its silicon-infested brethren. The Classic 62 is no exception to this rule, with an immediately pleasing sense of musical body, pace, and life. But c-j also bring their own special sauce to the standard ultra-linear recipe, adding a healthy dollop of tonal sophistication, harmonic development, instrumental texture, and a well-developed sense of acoustic space.

Like I said, everything’s different – everything stays the same, with the Classic 62SE instantly recognisable as a c-j amp, yet adding its own extension to the established set of musical attributes. With more focus, transparency, texture, and attack, the 62SE sounds like a grown up Classic 60, with more confidence and a firmer tread. It’s an impressive performer at the price – but it is also an amp that majors on subtlety and finesse, qualities that demand careful matching if you are to reveal and enjoy their full extent. What that comes down to is the matching speakers and as I suggested earlier, the difference between apparent and actual power. For all its presence and solidity, you’ll hear this amp at its best when partnered with the less complex loads generally delivered by two-way speakers. It’s not a question of efficiency so much as load characteristics – which is where three-way designs can start to cause concern. Paired with speakers as diverse as the diminutive Spendor D1 and the floor-standing Living Voice OBX RW3, the Classic 62 shone, leavening the infectious musical enthusiasm that marks out its parent topology with a subtlety and grace that made musical phrasing and rhythmic complexities effortlessly explicit, vocal communication intimate and expressive. The combination with the lucid precision and articulation of the D1 was especially impressive, with smaller scale acoustic music, be it Janis Ian or the Janacek String Quartet No. 2, Miles or Mozart, having a beguiling and involving quality that made for long and leisurely listening sessions (perhaps in this context it should be noted that the 62SE is factory set for 4 or 8 Ohm loads, but can be special ordered for 16 Ohm loads – ideal for all you LS3/5a users out there). But, where you can trip up the 62SE is if you step outside its power delivery comfort zone. Asked to drive the larger, three-way Spendor D9, it lost that breezy, confident quality, starting instead to sound small, clumsy, and muddled. Which is where the 120SE comes in – and where things start to get really interesting.

The Classic 120SE has a deeper footprint than the 62SE, to accommodate the extra output tubes. It also looks quite a bit prettier, with more pleasing overall proportions, the line of transformers along the rear of the chassis being boxed in to match the height of the tube-cage. You even get a set of c-j’s tube-dampers to fit to the 6922 voltage gain and phase splitter valves: a small but worthwhile touch. Where you’ll really notice the difference, however, is when you pick it up. The 62SE weighs in at a comfortably manageable 20kgs: its bigger brother nearly doubles that, at a grunt-inducing 35kgs, most of which is to be found in the larger output transformers and crucially, the larger mains transformer demanded by the additional wallop on offer. Hook this bigger beast up to the D9s and suddenly the speakers sit up and take notice. The 120SE gets hold of the bottom end, pushing it way down, keeping it under control, and investing it with the sort of pace, timing, and texture that doesn’t just bring a sense of musical purpose, it opens out the midrange and the system’s expressive range too. Playing the Janacek Quartet [from Quatuor Voce’s recent recording, Lettres Intimes, Alpha Classics 268], the 120SE/D9 combination reveals the dynamic tension in the playing, the almost erotic emotional intensity that characterises the piece. Along with the added sense of space, scale, and separation, the solid body and harmonic complexity of the cello, the easy separation of the smaller instruments, comes a greater sense of the poise as well as the verve, energy, and sheer vigour in the playing of this youthful quartet.

Change up to the other end of the orchestral scale and there’s a satisfying sense of detonation to the bombastic crescendos in the Johanos/Dallas Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances, but here mixed with considerable subtlety and definition in the structural layering of the dense orchestration. The characteristic tonality of the Sibelius symphonies is beautifully captured, dark, sparse, brooding, yet alluring all at once, while the sheer presence and attitude this amp brings to rock and pop playing and vocals encourages you to advance the volume control, safe in the knowledge that with headroom to spare the sound won’t harden or glare. But what’s really impressive is that change back down, not to smaller scale music, but smaller speakers and the 120SE loses none of its subtle articulation, intimacy, or agility, while it still speaks with a voice of considerable musical authority, an object lesson in the musical application of available power, rather than the application of available musical power. Big amps that can still sound small, that can combine the control and grip that comes with ample power while still retaining the intimacy and deft agility of smaller amps are few and far between, and the c-j Classic 120SE is one of that rare breed. It’s a quality to be cherished.

Of course, the step up to the 120SE comes at a price (£10,995 as opposed to £6,495 for the 62SE), a price that places the c-j amp pretty much face to face with the critic’s favourite Audio Research Ref 75SE. It’s not a comparison that, in my opinion, the conrad-johnson amp needs to fear, as its sense of musical purpose and authority, its dynamic agility, and control and musically expressive character have far more in common with the large but also topologically similar Ref 150SE, an amp that I’ve spent considerable time with. The ARC scores in terms of scale and sheer weight, load tolerance, and its expansive stage, but transparency, texture, tonal differentiation, and musical insight are all firmly in the c-j’s favour, with its more compact but also more clearly defined soundstage and the temporal sophistication it brings to the music.

 

This pair of c-j SE amplifiers is a welcome addition to the range of options on offer. Sensibly matched, the 62SE offers superbly musical results for the price, while the pairing of this amp with stable-mate Vienna Acoustics’ exquisite Haydn is an enticing proposition. But if you can afford the step up to the Classic 120SE then the results and benefits are quietly spectacular. Not an amp to shout about itself, but one that stands firmly behind the music: it has the grip and control to handle speakers as demanding as Vienna’s impressive Liszt, while having the subtle intimacy, poise, and communicative grace to bring recorded performances to life. Things may have changed, but at least one thing is still very much the same – conrad-johnson still builds seriously impressive and musical power amps.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Classic 62SE

Type: Ultra-linear tube power amp

Valve Complement: 3× 6922, 4× KT120

Input Impedance: 100 kOhms

Rated Output: 60 Watts/ch into 4 Ohms
Can be special ordered for 16 Ohm loads

Dimensions (W×H×D): 440 × 168 × 340mm

Weight: 20kg

Price: £6,495

Classic 120SE

Type: Ultra-linear tube power amp

Valve Complement: 3× 6922, 8× KT120

Input Impedance: 100 kOhms

Rated Output: 120 Watts/ch into 4 Ohms
Can be special ordered for 8 or 16 Ohm loads

Dimensions (W×H×D): 482 × 194 × 480mm

Weight: 35kg

Price: £10,995

Manufactured by: conrad johnson design inc.

URL: www.conradjohnson.com

UK Distributor: Audiofreaks

Tel: +44 (0) 20 8948 4153

Net: www.audiofreaks.co.uk 

KEF LS50 Wireless standmount loudspeakers

I’ve struggled with working out precisely how to classify the KEF LS50 Wireless. It’s a loudspeaker. It’s an active loudspeaker. It’s a complete system. It’s audio’s tomorrow, today. It’s damn clever, and extendable and flexible enough to keep up with damn clever for the next few years at least. That doesn’t exactly make for a pithy headline, however, so we went with ‘system’.

We went with ‘system’ because that’s precisely how KEF envisaged the LS50 Wireless. It’s the 2017 interpretation of a system, or at least, it’s one interpretation, and one of the more exciting interpretations going forward. The LS50 Wireless effectively replaces bi-amped monoblocks, wireless streaming DAC preamplifier (with wired options), and includes a DSP preamplifier inside the loudspeaker itself. It even adds provision for a powered external subwoofer, should the LS50 itself not provide quite enough bottom end for your room. All of the electronics adds about an inch to the depth of an original passive LS50, itself one of the most popular and successfully received loudspeakers of the decade, and one of the spiritual heirs to the LS3/5a throne.

As you might expect, the LS50 Wireless draws heavily from KEF’s own LS50, from 2013. The Uni-Q drive unit – with a 25mm vented aluminium dome tweeter in the acoustic centre of a 130mm magnesium/aluminium alloy midbass cone. The dome has a dispersion-increasing ‘Tangerine waveguide’ while the midbass unit has radial ribs running along the cone. The unique (as opposed to Uni-Q) curved polyester resin front baffle, flexible elliptical port, and the constrained layer damping bracing of the original passive LS50 is retained in the active wireless version.

On the active side of the LS50 Wireless, both the master and slave loudspeakers use a 30W Class A/B amplifier for the high frequencies, and a 200W Class D amplifier for the mid-bass unit, the logic to this being the HF is all about refinement, the LF is all about heft, and the active crossover takes care of the balancing act (and in the process ensures the loudspeaker doesn’t self-destruct if played at party levels for too long). This also means the amplifier modules can sit inside an only slightly deeper version of the original LS50 cabinet with minimal need for heatsinking; the same would not apply were it a 200W Class A/B design, or a 30W pure Class A on the tweeter.

Where the active loudspeaker ends and the future takes off is in two related places. First, the LS50 Wireless includes built in DSP, both in terms of hard-button aspects (adjustments for desk or standmount use, wall or free space installation), and bass alignment control. Second is how that bass alignment is controlled, through a sophisticated app. This – along with a top panel and a remote control for backup – can allow the LS50 Wireless to connect to music sources through wired (UPnP and DNLA compliant) or wireless (dual band, 5GHz) networks, direct from a computer through a USB-B connector, from a traditional digital audio source through Toslink, and even a single stereo set of analogue RCA inputs (which are digitized at source). The app drives all this perfectly, and more on that later. The slaved left loudspeaker simply has a RJ45 connector to the right channel master speaker and a rear balance control. Both loudspeakers are powered from the wall directly and have a three-pin IEC socket (for giggles, we hooked this at first to a pair of Nordost Odin 2 cables, to hear what a pair of power cords that cost 12× the cost of the system do, but this was an exercise in lily gilding and unnecessary).

 

Set up is easy, although if you don’t have a smartphone or a tablet and a wireless router, the LS50 Wireless is more of an ‘active loudspeaker with digital inputs’ than ‘audio system from tomorrow’. With these two products in harness, download the app, let the app drive the installation process, and away you go. Any networked audio attached to the same router can be found and added to the mix, and these populate and depopulate when connected to the router. The app itself takes over many of the functions associated with navigating and controlling UPnP servers, and even has a fast-forward and reverse function in track. Gapless playback is due soon.

The LS50 Wireless was created with an ambitious goal in mind – to effectively deliver 90% of the performance of a £20,000 system in two boxes for £2,000 – and it achieves that goal. I have experienced £20,000 systems that are not as easy to navigate, and cannot realise the performance potential of the KEF LS50 Wireless. Yes, I’ve also experienced systems that cost half as much as that £20,000 target that fill the room with delicious sound, which this KEF system would struggle to recreate, but on balance that lofty goal is reached, and reached well.

In a way, the sound of the LS50 Wireless is the easiest thing to write about, because it’s the sound of the LS50, just with a little more control than most. This means – in its default phase error and distortion reducing DSP setting – it might seem a little more bass light, but in fact it’s more ‘bass accurate’; it can be set with more bass ‘oomph’, but the standard music lover setting goes for control and accurate depth rather than boom, and you can even turn the DSP off to salve the purist’s soul. Bear in mind however, that the original LS50 had more bass than you would ever expect from a loudspeaker of the size, so more accuracy at the expense of bass still means a hell of a lot of bass from a small speaker. The LS50 set a high standard for transparency, stereo imagery, and especially vocal articulation. The originals could be a little foreshortened in dynamic range (in part because the kind of amplifier that normally partners a sub-£1,000 loudspeaker isn’t a dynamic powerhouse, and the LS50 had a relatively low sensitivity and a hard-to-drive minimum impedance) but that is ironed out in the LS50 Wireless, thanks to the combination of amplifiers and DSP.

In the passive version, it was a speaker you could throw virtually any kind of music at and it would deliver a fine sound in return. Vast, lush soundstages were on offer when you played suitably expansive recordings, while small, smoky jazz clubs were scaled down perfectly. The same applies to the Wireless version, but possibly more so; flipping between the intimate, close mic’d performance of ‘Because He Was A Bonny Lad’ by The Unthanks [Here’s the Tender Coming, Rabble Rouser] and the stereo separation of the LSO and D’Oyly Carte performing the Overture to The Pirates of Penzance [Decca Eloquence], the changes in the sense of scale are immediate and ever-present.

As you might expect from a relatively small monitor speaker, the LS50 Wireless is perhaps best suited to a smaller room. However, the active design makes this less of a mandatory recommendation and more of a guideline compared to its passive partner. It’s not as tuned toward a small room as its 2013 sibling, and the addition of a subwoofer could place this speaker in some surprisingly voluminous environments without a care.

KEF has been making a big thing of Bluetooth thanks to a neat demonstration played internationally. Amazon’s Echo Dot (not the full sized Echo) can support Bluetooth, and play through the LS50 Wireless. Setting up such a device is a piece of cake, and if you have your music routed through one of the many online music and radio serving services that has its own Echo ‘Skill’ (including Amazon’s own), you get to talk to your loudspeaker. This is probably not the first port of call for accessing music (although saying “Echo, play ‘My Saturday Morning Playlist’, volume five!” and hearing that playlist though your LS50 Wireless quickly becomes habitual), but is truly great for listening to the radio, checking the weather, and all the other little voice-activated routines you come to love through Echo, or Google Home, and the first time you sit in front of a stereo system you talk to, it’s indistinguishable from magic. It’s like the first time you used a tablet computer or used GPS satellite navigation to successfully get you somewhere: no matter how much you know about the technology on an intellectual level, there is still a frisson of almost atavistic ‘oh yeah, this is happening’ enjoyment about doing something you never thought possible a few short years ago.

Bluetooth is a lot more than an afterthought, although the gap between the best this format can do and what ‘full fat’ wired or Wi-Fi networks can do is readily noticeable. Nevertheless, this is the way some online streaming services are accessed, and – unless you are swapping back and forth rapidly – you are unlikely to be significantly musically compromised by Bluetooth. We’d really love to see services like TIDAL make the connection through the loudspeaker itself, but I suspect this is a question of ‘when’. And this is where the LS50 Wireless really begins to shift into higher gear; it has the firepower in reserve to upgrade. Notionally at least it could be a TIDAL-supporting, Roon-ready system at a subsequent firmware upgrade, without having to call on any form of hardware improvements.

That’s the great thing about the LS50 Wireless, although not so great from a reviewer’s perspective. The downsides to the system are more like a to-do list of additional aspects to the app, and these are more down to “yeah… that should be available soon” than “er, that’s beyond us”. I hit the KEF people with a shortlist of things I’d want from the LS50 Wireless (gapless playback, TIDAL or Qobuz support, even Roon) only to find precisely none of them were out of reach. And when the move from the ‘to do’ to the ‘done’ pile happens, that already excellent LS50 Wireless gets a lot more excellent. Frankly, short of including a set of inflatable audio components in order to make the transition from traditional hi-fi that bit smoother, I’m struggling to find anything else about the LS50 Wireless that even gets on the same land-mass as a grumble. As to complaints, well for me, they are on an entirely different continent.

OK, so there are people who already have more than enough system not to need the LS50 Wireless. There are also people who think such a concept isn’t for them; whether it’s the active or the wireless part they don’t take to. And there are people who don’t like what the KEF LS50 do, and won’t like an active wireless version of the same on principle. No product will ever please all people, but a difficulty with the audio world is some can make such a value judgement based on precisely no personal experience and on bias (or the biases of others) alone. At that point, it becomes hard to listen to reasons why the LS50 Wireless is ‘wrong’ without giggling.

 

The reason why the KEF LS50 Wireless is so important is that it’s an ambitious project that is correctly realised. A lot of companies have notebooks filled with similarly ambitious projects that never got past the late-night brainstorming session. A handful got as far as making a testbed sample in the lab, but the project was stopped because no-one could ever quite join all the dots. KEF is one of the very few companies that went the distance, and delivered a fine end result in the process. Dozens and dozens of hours into my own listening and the LS50 Wireless is still getting better, too!

If the 21st Century has deconstructed hi-fi, then the KEF LS50 Wireless ably demonstrates that deconstruction process need not come at the expense of great sound. This is very much a complete system in the loudspeakers that sounds as good as many top-class separates systems, and offers an unparalleled degree of flexibility in the process. Absent a time machine, predicting tomorrow is an onerous task, but I think the LS50 Wireless is one of those important products we’ll still be talking about long into the future. This is one of the best and most important products we’ll see all year, and comes very highly recommended.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Type: Active DSP, wireless, streaming ported loudspeakers

Drivers: Uni-Q driver array, with 25mm vented aluminium dome tweeter in the acoustic centre of a 130mm magnesium/aluminium alloy cone mid-bass unit

Inputs: 2.4GHz/5GHz Dual-band Wi-Fi network,
Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX® codec, USB Type B, TOSLINK Optical, RCA analogue line-level input, 10/100 Mbps RJ45 Ethernet (For network and service)

Wi-Fi standard: IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n (Dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz)

Outputs: subwoofer

Amplifier power: 30W (HF), 200W (LF)

Frequency response (±3dB, measured at 85dB/1m): 45Hz–28kHz (more bass extension), 50Hz–28kHz (standard bass extension), 61Hz–28kHz (less bass extension)

Maximum SPL: 106dB

Bluetooth range: 10m

Bluetooth memory: eight devices

Resolution: up to 24 bit/96kHz (TOSLINK); up to 24 bit/192kHz USB-B, Ethernet

App: Windows Seven, iOS 8, Android 4.1 (or later)

Finishes: Gloss Black/Blue drivers, Gloss White/Copper drivers, Titanium Grey/Red drivers

Dimensions (H×W×D): 30 × 20 × 30.8cm

Weight: 20.2kg

Price: £1,999

Manufactured by: GP Acoustics (UK) Ltd

URL: www.kef.com

Tel: +44 (0)1622 672261 

Peachtree Audio Nova 300 integrated amplifier

To some, hi-fi is about ‘WAF’ vs ‘The Stack’ and the fun of seeing your mates faces when they come over to see and hear your new amazing system. Should you go with the lifestyle piece and forego that visceral thrill of jaws dropping upon sight? What about performance? Naturally the big iron (or billeted Aluminium) will have a sonic and power advantage over the smaller and almost certainly Class-D unit, right? Well, the lifestyle piece certainly won’t blow your friends away by dominating one end of the living room like a shrine to your audio deity, but we have reached a point where sonically you can bring high performance and significant flexibility in a single box.

Case in point, the Peachtree Audio Nova 300. Peachtree Audio is an American company whose amps are built in Canada. Peachtree Audio is celebrating its 10th anniversary and is rebranding itself Peachtree 2.0 to reflect a complete overhaul of their lineup as well as moving all production back to North America. The Nova 300 is currently the top of their lineup with the yet-to-be-released Nova 500 coming soon. The Nova 300 is not simply an integrated amplifier. Reading the box, it is an integrated amp, reference DAC, phono preamp (MM only), has a home cinema bypass option, and includes a headphone amp. It is also iOS certified and supports direct WiFi play. It offers a wide variety of connectivity to accommodate most any system configuration. It can operate as an amp only or a high-performance preamp. The two analogue inputs can each manage two different functions. It is easily field upgraded for any firmware updates (I performed one and it took less than 15 seconds.)

Previous models of Peachtree integrated had a valve input which has been removed in this new series of products. When I asked about that to Peachtree’s VP of Sales and Marketing David Solomon, he stated that the reduction of signal-to-noise ratio to –111dB at the pre-amp meant the valve was simply too noisy for the qualities of this next generation pre-amplifier. It’s one thing to use a valve buffer on a preamp that’s doing -100dB, but totally different when it’s –111dB. No audiophile would want that kind of dynamic damper. One step back perhaps for some audiophiles but a clear two steps forward for sonics. Another upgrade is the switch to new-generation ICEpower ASC Class D amplifier modules that in Peachtree’s view have surpassed many of the Class A/B amps in sonic character. This forward leap is due in large part to the new switching power supplies operating at 440kHz vs the previous 100kHz. All hint of power supply noise is gone creating a real head to head battle in amplifier designs. The amp has a signal to noise ratio of 105 dB A-weighted at the speaker level and can function safely down to 2.5 Ohms. Power ratings come in at 300 Wpc at 8 Ohms and 450 at 4 Ohms – sufficient power to drive virtually any speaker with ease and musicality.

 

One currently missing item is the wireless module. It is in development. What to do when using your iPhone as a source then? Enter DyNEC, the Dynamic Noise Elimination Circuit. DyNEC is specifically designed to eliminate the electronic noise generated from interference coming from the high-resolution screen refresh from the phone itself as well as power supply interference. Using the same USB-A to Lightning cable that comes with the iPhone it creates a direct link to the Nova 300’s ES9018K2M SABRE32 Reference DAC. The DAC can handle 32Bit/384kHz PCM and 5.2MHz DSD. Peachtree has optimised the DAC to its own programming and power supply specifications to maximise its full potential. The cheap iPhone DAC gets a huge boost from this proprietary setup. Hooking up my iPhone 6s+ to the Nova produced excellent results from basic iTunes Store downloaded AAC files. It was a good introduction to the sound I would enjoy with Nova 300.

Utilising the Nova 300 as a true lifestyle system, I connected my KEF LS50 standmount speakers using AudioQuest cables. Digital files were sourced from my MacBook Pro via AudioQuest to the USB-B connection on the Nova. A quick reset of the Mac to the Nova 300 as DAC and Annie Lennox was playing through the KEF’s. ‘Into the West’ [2003, Reprise] was the final credits track for the Return of the King movie soundtrack. It is a great female vocal track and the Nova 300 produced excellent tonality via the LS50’s. The horns had just the right amount of brass. The guitar strings were gentle and complimentary to Annie’s soft vocals. Imaging was spot on and the soundstage was broad and well defined. David mentioned when I spoke to him that the KEF’s were a popular pairing with both Nova integrated’s. I can certainly see why.

Switching to one of the analogue inputs, I hooked up the new Oppo UDP-205 with AudioQuest cables. The new Oppo utilises a pair of the new ES9038Pro chips and now is the flagship for Oppo Digital’s audiophile focused player. Starting with female vocals, I selected Dido Armstrong’s No Angel [1999 CD Arista] and the last track, ‘Take’. The beginning snare drum was crisp with a terrific sense of decay and space. This track is very intimate, building from the sounds of a drum set, then adding piano, Hammond B3 organ, and Wurltizer electric piano. The effect is haunting as the song takes on more dimensionality. Dido begins to emerge from within the center of the massed keyboards and takes shape in front of the listener. You can hear her lips parting prior to the words. I have heard this song on systems priced at ten times this price and not been any more moved. Coming in around £4,000 including cables, this was fun! The fact that you could place this system easily into most living rooms without it demanding to be noticed was wonderful.

Moving back to digital audio, I queued up Los Lonely Boys’ Sacred [2006 Epic Records]. ‘Diamonds’ is a fluid, guitar-led track featuring Henry Garza’s smooth Stratocaster. I have seen them perform it live a few times from 30 feet away at their annual summer show in Minneapolis-Saint Paul. I love how their enthusiasm comes through via the ripped CD file. The Nova 300 allowed the crisp attack of finger on strings to come through clearly. The key to the track is tone and the strings had clear and accurate tone with an almost weeping quality with the bends Henry performs so expertly. This is a joyful song which the Nova 300/LS50 combination brought to life in a wonderful presentation.

One aspect of the Nova 300 I have not yet addressed is the headphone amp. It was not a quick add-on. It was engineered to be a high performance stand-alone component of the system suitable for virtually any impedance headphone. Most headphone amps can drive a high impedance headphone without much trouble. I went to other way using a pair of HiFiMAN Edition X v2 Planar Magnetics coming in at an amp straining 25 Ohms. I wanted a test for the Nova 300 so I went with Mozart’s Piano Sonata no. 16 in B Flat Major 3. Allegretto [1990 Friedrich Gulda Piano, Deutsche Grammophon] Reproducing piano tones for any speaker or headphone is a challenge. The Edition X is a natural tone champion so it was up to the Nova 300 to deliver the goods. And deliver it did! The headphone amp is clearly a well-designed unit offering subtlety and clarity with no power challenges driving this lower impedance planar-magnetic headphone. Attack and texture came through clearly. The playful aspects of the piece created musical highlights throughout the performance. Was this the equivalent of a high-end headphone amp? No. There was an aspect of a more closed in soundstage than there is through my Simaudio Moon 430HA, but as an aspect of an integrated vs the headphone amp as a stand-alone unit the effect was very satisfying.

 

Peachtree Audio 2.0 has taken its original goal of affordable lifestyle audio and moved it into affordable high performance audio. That it comes in a handsome, lightweight case is a wonderful added benefit. The new Class-D amps are fantastic and drove my floorstanding 86dB Vandersteen Treo CT’s to stupendous levels. The grip on the low end was wonderful. There was more than enough power to go around. Coming in at a price of £2,195 or $2,500, the Nova 300 is a flat out steal for all the audio capabilities it delivers. If you are upgrading, check it out. If you need to remove the shrine, it can do that too! Highly recommended!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

  • Type: Integrated amplifier with digital converter
  • Analogue Inputs: 2× RCA stereo pairs (phono stage and line level), 1× RCA stereo pair home cinema loop input, 12V trigger input
  • Digital inputs: 2× Toslink, 1× RCA S/PDIF inputs,
    1× USB A input, 1x USB B input (switchable to
    USB B output), 1× USB A input (updates only)
  • Analogue outputs: 1× RCA stereo pair preamplifier output, 1× RCA stereo pair home cinema loop output, L/R multi-way speaker terminals, 12V trigger output, ¼” headphone jack
  • Formats: PCM to 32bit, 384kHz, DSD to 5.2MHz (USB), PCM to 24bit, 192kHz (S/PDIF)
  • Amplifier power output (@ <1% THD-N): 300W per channel into 8Ω, 450W per channel into 4Ω
  • Headphone power output (RMS): 1200mW (32Ω), 330mW (300Ω), 170mW (600Ω)
  • Frequency Response (20Hz–20kHz): < ± 0.4dB
  • Dynamic range: 105dB (A-weighted, loudspeaker amplifier), 100dB (unweighted, digital source, headphone amplifier), 107dB (unweighted, analogue source, headphone amp)
  • Dimensions (W×D×H): 35.6 × 33.7 × 11.1cm
  • Weight: 7.7kg
  • Price: £2,195, $2,499

Manufactured by: Peachtree Audio

URL: www.peachtreeaudio.com

Tel: +1 704-391-9337

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Roksan Radius 7 Pink

Although Roksan is one of the fixtures in the Brit‑fi firmament, there has been some realignment of late. Last year, practically without warning, the last of the two original founders of the company sold Roksan Audio to loudspeaker company Monitor Audio. The reason behind the sale was understandable on both counts; Monitor Audio wanted an established electronics brand to partner its speakers and, after more than 30 years, the founder wanted a break. This ultimately caused a cross-country factory move and some changes in distribution, but the Roksan product line remains unchanged.

This poses a slight problem for Hi-Fi+, because most of the Roksan product line is already well-covered. However, the latest Radius 7 and its matching Nima unipivot tonearm have yet to receive a review, and the Corus Silver moving magnet cartridge has never had an airing (we did look at the Roksan Corus, but back in issue 24). As they make a perfect partnership, we felt it was time to check them out, especially as there is a limited edition version with a built-in charitable donation that is worth describing.

The most obvious change in the Radius is its extensive use of glass-coloured acrylic in the chassis and subchassis. This gives the Radius 7 a greenish hue, but Roksan happened upon a pink-tinged variant that delivered the same goods as the standard acrylic. To extend the pink motif further, the normally neutral-coloured Nima arm also sports a pink armtube. The colour scheme is not just style led, as a percentage of the proceeds of the Radius 7 Pink goes to Breast Cancer Care. Having lost my own mother to metastatic breast cancer in 2005, this is a charitable venture I can relate to.

Charitable donation to Breast Cancer Care notwithstanding, the demographic profile of the audio enthusiast world is so heavily weighted toward middle-aged men, that I can’t help wondering just how successful a pink turntable might be, especially in a world still so dominated by black, silver, and wood veneers – it’s like the last 30 years of interior design just passed us by. In fact, the deck looks remarkably good, both in standard finish and in pink. In fact, I’d argue that it looks slightly better in pink, because the green tones can look a bit ‘zombie apocalypse’ in the wrong light. If your deck sits under the wrong light, snap up a pink Radius fast.

OK, no more colour scheme talk. The Radius itself is an improvement over the Radius 5, largely thanks to a better motor power supply (which also now includes a speed control switch, instead of having to swap belt positions on the motor spindle), and better deck-to-motor decoupling. Like most Roksan designs, the turntable is built up of separate layers (we’ll use the terms ‘chassis’ and ‘subchassis’ for convention sakes, but ‘motor layer’ and ‘bearing layer’ are probably more accurate). Viewed from the top, the two layers look like eccentric cams, centred around the bearing itself. The two layers are joined together with decoupling standoffs, and there is no construction required by the user at this stage. Instead, all you need to do is mount the lock-nut feet, dress both the captive power and arm cable, put the opaque acrylic platter on the bearing housing, and attach the white circular belt to the outside of the platter. Once installed, aside from an annual re-lubing of the bearing itself, the turntable is effectively maintenance-free. You need a good light, rigid, and level surface, and you might want to consider a record clamp (consider it, but don’t actually go for it, as in most cases it undermines the sound).

 

The Radius 7 comes supplied with the Nima arm, and you would be ill-advised to break up the band. the Roksan’s Nima unipivot looks ostensibly similar to Naim’s popular yet discontinued Aro arm; so similar in fact that Naim users still maintain that Nima is an anagram of ‘Naim’ and not ‘famous, fair, little king’ in Persian (which might seem more logical, given the Persian roots of Roksan’s founders and that so many of their other turntable products are similarly named). In fairness, the resemblance is striking, both in looks and performance, and it’s little wonder that the arm does end up on the end of a number of LP12s in place of the hard-to-come-by Aro. In fairness, the Nima’s design commonalities with the Aro are more to do with working from similar directions rather than a direct ‘lift’ of the design (Roksan had been working with an underslung counterweight before the launch of the Nima, and there are only so many variations on the ‘cup on a point’ pivot housing that can be made). But if you want a tonearm that has truly striking midband detail retrieval and an infections sense of rhythmic ‘bounce’, the Nima arguably the only arm this side of £1,000 that can make the grade. Set up is more ‘demanding’ than the deck itself, but with the cartridge pre-mounted, most of that involves setting tracking force, anti-skate, and azimuth. The deck and arm both come with comprehensive, diagram-led instructions should you decide to go further than the Corus cartridge.

A variation of Goldring’s 1000 Series moving magnets, the Corus Silver is the Last Man Standing of Roksan’s MM series. Like the 1000 series, the body of the Corus remains constant, but the Silver sports a Gyger II stylus profile and improved assembly and suspension system over its predecessors. This means that any existing owners of Roksan Corus cartridges can upgrade them to Corus Silver status simply by buying a replacement moulded stylus body piece. The cartridge tracks at about 1.9g.

Roksan’s Radius package has always sat somewhere between the entry point and the super-decks, taking many of the positive elements of both, with few trade-offs in the process. So, the Radius 7 has none of the fussy demands of set-up, installation, and partnership of the super-decks, but delivers the kind of remarkable detail and mid-band clarity that most entry point designs will never be able to achieve.

The sound of the Radius is just the right side of ‘energetic’ and ‘vibrant’ to make a system come to life without it sizzling and sounding too exuberant. It has a great sense of dynamic scale, range, and energy, allowing it to really shine when playing my resident test recording of the LSO and D’Oyly Carte company performing The Pirates of Penzance [Decca]. You get the sense of physical singers occupying spaces on stage, rather than a cardboard cut-out stereo image. It brings out the sheer sense of enjoyment they had in playing the parts, too, such is the level of detail across the board. Moving over to ‘Prime Mover’ by Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction [Tattooed Beat Messiah, Vertigo] showed that this is not simply a forward sounding turntable, as it managed to convey the bright, toppy, late-1980s recording with all its energy intact, but added nothing and took nothing away.

 

Compared to a more expensive VPI Prime, the Radius does surprisingly well. This is a better comparison than it might first seem as both use unipivot tonearms. The two go largely toe-to-toe at the upper and midrange points, but where the Prime pulls ahead is in the bass. While the Roksan delivers a clean, taut bass, the VPI delivers a clean, taut, and deep bass. The Roksan is not bass light though, indeed, partnered as might be appropriate given the Radius’ price, the lack of overhang may be better suited to systems than more stentorian designs, which can sound stodgy in context. It’s just that the decay of the left hand of a piano seems to be less noticeable on the Radius.

The Roksan Radius 7 is well positioned, both in price and performance terms. This makes any bass limitations the Roksan platform might have less of a concern, because it is more likely to be partnered with systems that don’t plumb the depths. And the rest of the performance makes for an attractive, detail retriever, with excellent dynamic range, great vocal articulation, and a lot of energy. And, if you buy it in pink, you are not only getting something distinctive, but with a built‑in charitable donation. Strongly recommended, especially for systems in the £3,000–£7,000 mark.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

  • Type: Turntable, arm, and cartridge combination
  • Radius 7 turntable
  • Main turntable bearing: solid brass housing, stainless steel spindle, case-hardened steel ball
  • Pulley: aluminium alloy
  • Platter, chassis material: acrylic
  • Motor: 24-pole synchronous
  • Speeds: 33, 45rpm
  • Rumble: < –75dB
  • Wow and Flutter: < 0.04%
  • Nima Arm
  • Bearing: Stainless steel unipivot
  • Yoke, headshell material: acrylic
  • Armtube material: aluminium
  • Effective length: 240mm
  • Overhang: 17.5mm
  • Effective mass: 11g
  • Recommended cartridge weights: 5–12g
  • Recommended tracking weight: 1.5–3.5g
  • Corus Silver cartridge
  • Type: Moving Magnet
  • Stylus: Super fineline Gyger II
  • Cantilever: aluminium
  • Tracking weight: 1.8-2.2g (1.9g recommended)
  • Recommended load: 47Ω
  • Recommended capacitance: 150‑330pF
  • Static compliance: 20mm/N lateral, 15mm/N vertical
  • Dimensions (W×H×D): 40 × 35 × 15cm
  • Weight: 7kg
  • Price: £2,050 (deck and arm), £585 (cartridge)

Manufactured by: Roksan

URL: www.roksan.co.uk

Tel: +44(0)20 8900 6801

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MrSpeakers ÆON planar magnetic headphones

The San Diego-based firm MrSpeakers has earned a reputation as a manufacturer of world-class headphones and not – as the name might suggest – loudspeakers. Over the past two years MrSpeakers product design efforts have centred on creating an expanding range of upper-tier (and often award-winning) ETHER-series planar magnetic headphones, which range in price from £1,475 to £1,700. Given this history, we have come to think of MrSpeakers as an upscale brand.

Therefore, the new ÆON from the company came as a bit of a surprise; this closed-back, planar magnetic headphone will sell for just £799.99 UK or $799 US—or around half the price of the firm’s famous ETHER models. Despite its accessible price, the ÆON is said to use most of the technologies and to offer much of the performance of the bigger ETHER headphones, which explains MrSpeakers’ marketing tag-line for the model: “No Compromise Sound & Comfort; Affordable Price”.

In spirit and in practice, the ÆON could be considered the descendant of MrSpeakers closed-back ETHER C and ETHER C Flow models, although the ÆON looks quite different to the ETHER headphones. In particular, the ÆON features attractive ear-shaped ear cups (much like many recent HiFiMAN models do), where the ETHER headphones sport large, circularly shaped cups. And, where the ETHER C ear cups are fashioned from carbon fibre, the ÆON ear cups are moulded using ABS material and finished in a delicious shade of dark metallic grey-blue lacquer, with inset genuine carbon fibre trim panels.

Like the ETHER models, the ÆON provides a NiTinol ‘memory metal’ headband frame, but one fitted with graceful new arc-shaped ‘hinge-free’ yokes that are considerably simpler in construction than those found on the ETHERs. Also like its more costly siblings, the ÆON features a comfortable dyed-through leather headband strap that is suspended beneath the NiTinol frame and attached to a pair of friction-fit, sliding strap keepers that allow adjustments to accommodate different head sizes. Thick, bevelled synthetic leather ear pads are included. Finally, the ÆON ear cups are fitted with MrSpeakers’ traditional four-pin HIROSE push-pull signal cable connectors. The ÆON ships with a set of fabric-covered ‘DUMMER’ signal cables (where the ‘DUM’ part of the name stands for ‘Distinctly Un-Magical) terminated with HIROSE connectors on the headphone end and with a combo 3.5mm mini-plug/6.35 phone plug adapter on the amplifier end.

 

On the inside, the ÆON features planar magnetic drivers that offer roughly two-thirds the working surface area of the larger ETHER drivers, but that otherwise use the two signature technologies that set all MrSpeakers planar magnet drive units apart. These technologies include proprietary V-Planar driver diaphragms and Trueflow magnet array waveguides. In a nutshell, V-Planar diaphragms feature lightly pleated or ‘knurled’ surfaces said to allow almost the entire driver surface to move in a linear fashion, rather than bowing inwards and outwards in the centre like the membrane of a drumhead. V-Planar technology is the brainchild of Dan Clark and Bruce Thigpen (of Eminent Technology fame). In turn, Trueflow technology is a clever system whereby the magnet array grid of the driver is fitted with miniature airflow-smoothing waveguides that help prevent distortion by reducing disruptions in airflow as the diaphragm moves back and forth. The key point is that the ÆON driver is, for all intents and purposes, a slightly scaled down ETHER Flow driver, which is a fine design pedigree to have.

Last but not least, the ÆON comes with a clamshell-type carry case moulded of black thermoplastic with a zipper closure and a soft, plush-feel liner. The ÆON case is essentially a second-generation version of the widely admired ETHER case, with improvements that include a thinner design overall, plus an internal pouch for carrying a digital audio player, plus a space for the ÆON’s signal cables.

If the foregoing description sounds promising (and it should), let me tell you in advance that it doesn’t begin to do justice to the real-world sophistication and nuance of the ÆON’s sound. Stated simply, the ÆON sounds far more accomplished than its relatively modest price might suggest, as we will discuss in a moment.

For my listening tests I used a Windows/jRiver Media Center-based music server loaded with standard and high-res PCM, DSD, and DXD audio files feeding a Questyle CMA600i DAC/amp, an RHA DACamp L1 portable DAC/amp, and the Moon Audio Dragon Inspire IHA-1 valve powered headphone amplifier. For comparison purposes I had on hand both the original MrSpeakers ETHER C headphones (with v1.1 driver upgrades) and newer generation ETHER Flow headphones, both of which have been favourably reviewed by Hi-Fi+ in issues 135 and 141 respectively.

Perhaps the first thing that captures the listeners’ ears about the ÆON is its articulate, transparent, and emotionally communicative midrange and upper midrange response. In those regions, the ÆON frankly does not sound like any sub-£800 headphone I have yet heard; instead, it sounds as if it really should be carrying a four-figure price tag. While some might rightly argue that the ETHER models do offer a smidgeon more refinement and resolution than the ÆON, I think most listeners would agree that the ÆON comes surprisingly close, which is greatly to its credit. The midrange is, realistically speaking, where most music lives and it is in this area that the ÆON’s greatest sonic strengths are revealed.

For an example, consider the track ‘I Could Eat Your Words’ from Patricia Barber’s Verse [Premonition, 16/44.1]. The track opens with an extended passage that highlights all of the deep and breathy delicacy, textural intricacy, and all-around nuance of which Barber’s voice is capable, and the ÆON does a fine job with the voice, making it a fascinating and captivating treat for the listener. There is a finesse about the ÆON’s sound, coupled with a self-assured quality that leaves the impression that one’s ears are ‘in good hands.’

But as the track unfolds, the rest of Barber’s ensemble—consisting of Michael Arnopol on bass, Neal Alger on guitar, Dave Douglas on trumpet, and Joey Baron on drums—joins in at about 1:40 into the song, adding terrific musical richness and depth. Two initial stand-out elements are Arnopol’s confident-sounding and deep-plunging acoustic bass lines, and the beautiful contrasts provided by Baron’s deft brushwork on his snare drum and cymbals. The ÆON gave a taut and beautifully controlled rendition of Arnopol’s bass, while showing admirable definition and detail on Baron’s percussion work—especially on the cymbals. But perhaps the real pièce de résistance in the track arrived in the form of Douglas’ brilliantly sultry and evocative trumpet solo—a solo that, as reproduced through the ÆON, sounded so vibrant, so rich in emotion, and so immediate that it took on a deeply moving quality of ‘reach-out-and-touch-it’ realism.

 

The word picture I am hoping to sketch for you is one that suggests just how refined, sophisticated, and emotionally engaging the ÆON really is. I don’t mean to say it’s a ‘perfect’ headphone or anything of the sort, but rather to assert that it offers exceedingly fine performance for its comparatively sensible price. But some will surely want to ask how the ÆON compares to MrSpeakers’ ETHER C and ETHER Flow.

I found that on ‘If I Could Eat Your Words’, the ETHER C offered a slightly but noticeably higher degree of resolution on upper midrange and treble transient and textural details, leading to a more tightly focused sound overall (although I found this performance gap could be narrowed by fitting the ÆON with high performance after-market signal cables such as Kimber’s Axios headphone cables). On the same track, the ETHER Flow offered more solidly grounded mid-bass, which was noticeable on Arnopol’s acoustic bass lines, and it also offered slightly richer and more vivid tonal colours, plus somewhat more resolution and three-dimensionality from top to bottom. Even so, I think most listeners would consider the performance gaps between the ÆON and the ETHER C or ETHER Flow to be fairly narrow ones, meaning that the ÆON offers impressive value for money, to say the least.

The MrSpeakers ÆON takes listeners very far up the ladder of high-end headphone performance and does so for a tick under £800. More importantly, it’s an affordable transducer that honours the music in all the ways that matter most. For this reason and many more, I encourage you to place the ÆON on your ‘must audition’ list. You’ll be glad you did.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

  • Type: Vented, closed-back planar magnetic headphone
  • Drivers: Full-range, low mass, planar magnetic drivers equipped with proprietary V-Planar diaphragms and Trueflow magnet array waveguides.
  • Frequency response: Not specified.
  • Impedance: 13 Ohms
  • Sensitivity:  97dB
  • Distortion: Not specified.
  • Accessories: Thermoplastic zipper-closure carry-case with plush-feel liners, proprietary fabric covered ‘DUMMER’ signal cables with 3.5mm signal plug, plus a 3.5mm-to-6.35mm adapter plug.
  • Weight: 340g (without signal cables).
  • Price: £799.99 UK, $799 US

Manufacturer: MrSpeakers, Inc

Tel: (619) 501-6313

URL: www.mrspeakers.com

UK Distributor: Electromod

Tel: +44 (0)1494 956558

URL: www.electromod.co.uk 

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Meet Your Expert: Stirling Trayle of Audio Systems Optimzed

To date, in our ‘Meet Your…’ series, we’ve concentrated on dealers and makers. This time, we’re making a bit of a change. Audio Systems Optimized is a small company specialising in the set-up and installation of top-flight audio equipment. Essentially, Audio Systems Optimized is Stirling Trayle. He’ll be your resident expert for the day!

Stirling Trayle is not your ordinary audio installer. He has 30 years of experience under his belt, setting up systems for dealers like Bradford’s High Fidelity and dB Audio. He has also worked for companies like Immedia, Sumiko, and Spiral Groove, and now spends his time working for manufacturers – setting up their systems for events – or a select list of audiophile clients who use his services both for initial installation and regular resets of the system, especially for those who use turntables, which frequently require periodic maintenance.

His client list has learned that a thorough installation and set-up and occasional tune-ups works out considerably less outlay than regularly changing components in an often fruitless search for improved performance. Trayle believes most audio systems have the potential to sound good, but poor installation and bad set-ups squander that potential. So, he has devised a four-step programme in installation to make a system sound better. First, he evaluates the mechanical stability of a system, ensuring both external vibration and resonance, and self-generated noise in a system is kept to an absolute minimum. Next, he turns his attention to the electrical input to the equipment, checking everything from the circuit breakers in the fuse box to other devices on the same electrical circuit, to help reduce the ingress of noise from electromagnetic interference.

Then, Stirling Trayle addresses the room acoustics, although generally not in as heavy-handed approach as some feel important. He is more concerned with subtly placing the loudspeakers in the room and gentle treatment of room acoustics concerns, than turning every listening room into an acoustically dead studio control room through over-treatment. The loudspeaker placement issue is not a trivial one, blending the physics of placing the loudspeakers in the right place in the room, and the art of fine-tuning that placement until just right. This leads naturally to optimisation of the system. Everything up until this time could be considered ‘first fit’, as from here Trayle checks and rechecks everything, slowly balancing the system until it works perfectly.

It would be easy to dismiss this process as relatively prosaic. Get the equipment level, ‘dress’ the cables so that there are no power cords running alongside signal cables, clean the contacts, tighten the bolts, and so on. And yes, this kind of basic installation will help bring out some of the potential of a system. But Trayle has that unique combination of knowledge, experience, and something close to obsessive-compulsive disorder, which makes him uniquely qualified to not give up until he has extracted the last scintilla of performance from a system.

Many of Trayle’s clients are vinyl lovers, and it’s with turntable set-up that Trayle really makes his mark. To demonstrate this, we handed over the Editor’s VPI Prime with a Lyra Delos cartridge in order to watch him work.

 

His process is analytical and iterative, running through those four steps in the chain methodically and with extremely focused precision. Naturally, he gets the turntable level, but there’s level, and ‘Trayle level’. Most might make a couple of cursory nods to a spirit level on the chassis and platter; Trayle will take his time, using ball bearings to make sure the turntable is absolutely level. He will dress the power and signal cables with the kind of obsession that is normally considered ‘unhealthy’, and then he will turn his attention to the arm and cartridge.

This begins by a rough alignment using a protractor, using a SMARTractor, of course. A VPI arm is not ‘big’ on anti-skate, so one of his main pillars of turntable set-up is not an adjustment here, but the others – overhang, downforce, azimuth, and VTA, are each adjusted in sequence, slowly working down to a super-precise set of custom adjustments made for that cartridge in that arm for that turntable. This takes time. A lot of time. Set aside maybe as much as a day to get this absolutely correct. It’s an almost endless cycle of adjust – listen – tune – repeat.

And it’s here where you begin to realise why Stirling Trayle charges a healthy amount of money for his services (you might spend a couple of thousand pounds plus travel expenses for a visit) and why his repeat business is so solid. Few of us have the time to do this level of precision in our installations and set-ups, and of the lucky few that do, most of them will not have the inclination to take the process to this level of precision. About two hours into the process, on the 35th iteration of getting these elements in a perfect dynamic balance, most would have screamed something Anglo-Saxon and when the red mist lifted, there would be bits of turntable stuck in the wall opposite. Others would last longer, many would give up after about 10 minutes. Stirling doesn’t give up. It’s a relentless, obsession with getting the installation perfect.

The problem is, it is perfect, and when it is perfect it sounds damn good. It makes the VPI Prime sound a lot better than I can make a VPI Prime sound, and I can make it sound pretty good. He takes it to new levels, and the Prime is relatively low on the list of products he can transform, in part because anti-skate is off the radar. Give him a deck with a lot of adjustment and even more potential, and that’s an opportunity for Trayle to shine. He might be there for a day and a night and another day, but that turntable will sound like it was always supposed to, but never did. And he does this without suddenly trying to sell the listener some magic beans, or baffling them with science and test equipment.

Stirling Trayle is not a wizard, because what he does is not magic. It’s pure empiricism. Just pure empiricism applied to a level that only a handful of people will ever achieve. That’s what people pay for! 

Contact Details

Audio Systems Optimised

URL: www.audiosystemsoptimized.com

Tel: +1 707 494 5482

ZenSati Authentica cables

Danish cable expert ZenSati is one of those cable brands that pitches itself firmly in the highest of high-end positions. This brand is very much at the Rolls-Royce level in audio, both in price and performance, but Authentica is the brand’s latest and most attainably-priced range to date. It uses many of the technologies and lessons learned in the company’s more up-scale lines like sILENzIO and Seraphim, but does so in a package that is more in line with high-end convention.

Although there are tonearm and digital cables also in the line, we concentrated on the trinity of power cord, RCA analogue interconnect and loudspeaker cables. The Authentica cables all share a common design, using twisted, smooth silver-plated copper conductors. These are extremely well insulated with an air-filled dielectric. The connectors for speaker cable, interconnect, and (in the UK at least) IEC socket are all custom designed by Furutech with a highly reflective outer finish, and all share a silver shielding braid and outer sleeve with the signal cables running an additional red strip along one of the paired conductors to denote positive connection). ZenSati pays great attention to the assembly process (check the videos on the ZenSati site to see just how attentive), ensuring the conductor and insulator are built under controlled conditions to extremely tight tolerances. This includes high-pressure crimped connection points, reinforced with tin-silver solder, as opposed to seemingly more modern concepts like laser welding.

The company has spent a long time investigating different combinations of materials used for conductors and insulators. In its conductors at this level, ZenSati’s head honcho Mark Johansen has determined that pure silver is sub-optimal, while pure copper conductors with a solid layer of pure silver (in the correct proportions) is ideal for signal transfer. ZenSati also uses a lot of techniques (like cryo-treating) to get the cable in perfect fettle for the listener.

The overall look and feel of the cables is outstanding. They arrive packaged in elegant black leather presentation cases with plush interiors and the brand name etched in silver along the top. They include a certificate of ownership and a warning not to bend the cable too much as it can damage both cable and conductor. Damage caused by bending the cables too tight is not covered in ZenSati’s warranty. In reality, this is probably only an issue with the power cord, which is pretty thick.

Johansen gives almost nothing away about the cables; construction type, gauge of conductors, and any other special aspects of design and development are kept firmly under wraps. This is becoming a more common function of cable making, and as few people are going to slice chunks out of a cable costing thousands just to prove a point about the design, we have to bow to the designer’s wishes to keep shtum on the subject.

Cables at this level are often considered as part of a ‘family’ or ‘loom’, in that that they work best as a complete system from front to back. Authentica is different; you can put just one cable into a system and hear the benefits. Yes, it’s best if you do go for a complete ZenSati rig from wall to speaker, but unlike many of its rivals, it’s not mandatory, and one ZenSati cable is not a beachhead for more to follow. This is a good thing because it allows the listener to upgrade in stages should they wish without undermining the performance of the system in the intermediary steps.

 

Nevertheless, the ZenSati cables have a sound common to them all, and it’s a fundamentally uncoloured, not peaked or pitched up, and extremely even-handed design. This is where the concept of the ‘mug’s eyeful’ falls apart: a big silvery sounding cable should sound big and bright if we listened with our eyes, where these cables are intrinsically well-balanced tonally, and if anything tend slightly toward the dark.

This even, accurate nature has an obvious advantage in that the cable makes your system sound like it doesn’t need to try so hard to make a good sound. It just does good sound effortlessly. Like the amplifier is not having to strain as much at any given level. Nothing draws attention to itself in Authentica’s sound, and that absence of alterations or colorations is what marks the ZenSati cables out as so good.

It’s strongest suit (if you can call it that, the cable’s absence of intrusion into the signal makes ‘strongest suit’ sound like emphasis. Instead it’s just recognition) is the depth of the soundstage on any good recording, but if that sounds a bit audiophile in approach, crank the system up through Authentica, and wig out a while. In playing loud and hard, the cable exhibits great dynamic range, but less dynamic and more ‘beauteous’ works display the optimum sense of musical flow.

Of course, if synergy is not a problem and Authentica can be dropped into any system, which one should be the first choice? I think the interconnect cables. They encapsulate all that Authentica does well, and make a big difference. The speaker cables and power cords come close, and in many systems I think you may find the speaker cables edge ahead of the interconnects. That all being said, the interconnect cables were the first link in the chain that went to ZenSati, so perhaps that is a factor in my listening and my ultimate hierarchy. If I’d started with the speaker cables, maybe I’d be saying the speaker cables are key. It’s that close.

Whichever cable you choose, though, here’s a little tip. Use it for about half a day or so, then play a specific track, then remove and replace with your previous cable. Play the track again, and it sounds just a little ‘off’. Where before it was cruising in sixth gear, now the timing has gone off the boil, or the engine management needs tuning. In other words, ZenSati Authentica really ties your system together. Highly Recommended!

Price and contact details:

  • ZenSati Authentica interconnect: £2,400/1m pair
  • ZenSati Authentica loudspeaker cable: £2,730/1m pair
  • ZenSati Authentica power cord: £2,430/1m
  • Manufactured by: ZenSati, Aps

URL: www.zensati.com

Distributed in the UK by: Audio Reference

URL: www.audioreference.co.uk

Tel: +44(0)1252 702705

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Burmester at the Mercedes Benz apartments

In the world of high end, there are often many synergies, many luxuries that are juxtaposed seamlessly; a 30 year old Glenfarclas single malt whisky pairs beautifully with a King of Denmark cigar, for example. When it comes to high-end audio, there are common connections too because many audiophiles sport high-end watches, top-notch cameras, and well-engineered German automobiles. Audiophiles, it seems, recognise the beauty of superb craftsmanship and engineering, as well as fine music quality.

This enthusiasm is not bi-directional, however. There are many people who might wear a Patek watch, take photos on a Leica, and drive around in a top-end Mercedes-Benz, but listen to music on something cheap and nasty by comparison. That said, few audio brands have the financial clout to sponsor golf tournaments, take out expensive advertising campaigns in airports, or have their name in lights across a city skyline.

To help counter that primary lack of visibility that high-end audio suffers, some companies have attached their products to other high-grade engineering projects. If you buy a top-end automobile today, the in-car entertainment system may well sport a ‘name’ from the audio industry. A handful of audio manufacturers have delved into the world of automotive audio, realising that there is a huge potential for an augmented audience in this sector.

The beauty of hi-fi grade automotive audio is two-fold; from an engineering standpoint, the interior of a car is the ultimate in controlled listening spaces, and to the end user, the cost involved is a very low percentage of the overall purchase price of the car: if someone is prepared to spend £40,000 on a car, spending an additional 10% to upgrade the entertainment system seems a trivial sum, although the same person might never consider spending £4,000 on a home audio system.

 

Audio brands haven’t collectively spent millions developing in-car audio to satisfy the requirements a small number of audiophiles. Their hope is that by associating improved performance with that name, they might attract more rank-and-file car buyers to associate good sound with that brand when it comes to buying audio in the home.

One of the most successful companies working in this new direction for audio is Burmester, as it provides the premium in-car systems for a number of top German car marques, including Mercedes-Benz. So, if you opt for the top-specification package on a new Mercedes-Benz S-Class or E-Class saloon (or Mercedes-Maybach S-600 Pullman), you will see the name ‘Burmester’ inside the car more often than you will see the Mercedes emblem.

In most cases, this would be considered the end of the story. A few more ‘switched on’ audio companies work at local level, and try to get audio stores and car showrooms to cross-promote the brands. However, for the most part, this relies on similarly ‘switched on’ audio dealers not only able and willing to work with the car showrooms, but to raise their respective games in terms of store layout and customer service.

Perhaps the reason Burmester makes such a success of its automotive connections is that it doesn’t consider simply including the in-car system as the end of the story. The company works in step with the car company, to fully embrace that focus on lifestyle luxury. Burmester paired up with Mercedes-Benz to bring the Burmester brand into Mercedes-Benz’ own luxury serviced apartments. The Fraser Hospitality Group, a global brand that provides suites and apartments all over the world, manages these apartments.

The three businesses – Burmester, Fraser, and Mercedes-Benz – worked together to create themed apartments in some of the more salubrious parts of the planet. These bring the top designers from the car brand into their properties to model the apartments around the Mercedes-Benz stylistic goals of ‘Cutting edge design, and innovative technologies’. The furniture follows the curves of the S-Class, the Swarovski chandelier hangs gracefully above a polished black glass table; upon looking at the reflection in the table the chandelier is a replica of the S from the S-Class.

Every item in the apartment, from the curtains to the candleholders, has been chosen and agreed upon by the Mercedes-Benz design team. They have brought their decades of luxury car experience, applied it to an apartment and created a luxury living space, aiming to ‘give a sense of Mercedes-Benz exclusivity’ in a home environment. The result is tremendous!

 

I visited the Fraser Apartments in one of the more leafy parts of South Kensington, London, UK. The Fraser Hospitality Group has lovingly restored a row of Georgian townhouses, to create 69 luxury apartments surrounding a beautiful municipal green space, to which all residents have access. Six of these designer apartments carry the prestigious Mercedes-Benz name. Even before you get to the apartment, you are met with high-quality decorative cornicing, paneled skylights, and multi floor staircases, while inside each two-bedroom Mercedes-Benz apartment is a well-appointed kitchen, a combined living room/dining area, a guest bathroom, and an additional en suite bathroom in the master bedroom.

Even luxury has its own grading, and there are Premier and Executive apartments in the Mercedes-Benz ‘fleet’. Regardless, the living area is airy and spacious; huge sash windows fill the room with light, and the floor is festooned with deep rugs into which your feet melt. Nestling at the rear of the main living area, you will find a Burmester 150 network player, a 101 Integrated Amplifier, and a pair of B10 speakers. They are encased within a side table designed by Burmester and Mercedes-Benz together. Alongside this you will find an iPad mini and a set of brief operating instructions. Alongside any music you might wish to play from your own personal stock, the system is connected to TIDAL’s high-quality online music service.

We’ve discussed the performance of these individual components in the pages of Hi-Fi+ many times, but working together, in so elegant a setting, really ties the system together and perhaps perfectly explains where the three companies are coming from. This is a system of refinement, elegance, and sophistication. It’s not for party animals – although it can readily be played in that manner – it’s a system designed to soothe away the stresses of the modern executive, and does that perfectly. This is not to say the sound is too relaxing or laid back. It’s not – it simply makes for an effortless way to spend an evening winding down simply listening to some music.

Burmester is a leading marque in so many ways, but perhaps it is here in a luxury Mercedes-Benz themed suite in a chic part of London that you can best appreciate the fact that the company has not sat back and let its success carry the brand. It’s constantly on its toes, always thinking of new and innovative ideas, and different ways to ensure the brand and name is in the right places.

We are preaching to the converted here, but Burmester is working hard to augment the congregation. Granted, that potential new customer base is well-heeled enough to spend more than £40,000 on a car or £400 a night for a month in an apartment in London, but that fits perfectly with the prospective customers for Burmester’s own products.

 

These apartments make you feel as though you are living in a super-sized Mercedes-Benz, and within that is an entertainment system that is more than a match for the Burmester system in the cabins of those Mercedes-Benz cars. The concept is ideal for the discerning traveller, whether they are travelling for business or for leisure. The styling and concept worked in London, and that has now been rolled out to Singapore, with other properties in the pipeline for the Mercedes-Benz upgrade. All business amenities are provided as are those you would expect from a high-class hotel, but with the flexibility of a short-term apartment rental. The teams behind this idea have got it right! Hats off to Burmester, Fraser Hospitality Group, and Mercedes-Benz.

Contact details

Burmester Audiosysteme: www.burmester.de

Mercedes-Benz: www.mercedes-benz.com/en/mercedes-benz/design/mercedes-benz-style/apartments/

The Fraser Group: www.londonservicedapartments.co.uk/apartments/mercedes-benz-living

Magico S1 Mk II floorstanding loudspeaker

Magico is perhaps best known for its huge, multi-driver floorstanding loudspeakers that cost as much as a really good car. The S1 Mk II is the first rung on the Magico ladder, as it’s a two-way floorstanding loudspeaker that costs as much as a really good watch. Given that it seems highly unlikely that Magico will make a speaker that costs as much as a really good pizza, the S1 Mk II represents the starting point into Magico’s ethos, and that makes it important.

As the name suggests, this isn’t the first Magico S1 loudspeaker. In fact, it isn’t even the first Magico S1 loudspeaker we’ve reviewed, having looked at the original version back in Issue 103. And at first glance, there might not seem to be that many changes between the original and latest model. Appearances can be deceptive, however, as the only things that are retained from the previous model are the main enclosure and the speaker terminals. Everything else – from the top plate to the outriggers for the speaker spikes – is redesigned.

One of the big changes in the intervening years is the commercial availability of graphene. This technologically innovative carbon-based material, in atom-thick layers, has 200x the tensile strength of steel with the kind of absence of density that makes a sheet of paper seem like it’s made out of black holes. Graphene simply didn’t exist prior to the first years of the 21st Century and it’s taken almost a decade to find its way out of the lab.

Magico is one of the first brands out of the starting gate to use graphene commercially, originally in its limited run, top-end M-Pro model. The wider availability of graphene recently has made it possible for the material to trickle down to the S1 Mk II, which features a graphene-coated 178mm M390G Nano-Tec mid-woofer. The results of using graphene are materially obvious, as at a stroke the cone is three times stiffer and at the same time 20% lighter than before. It also has what Magico describes as a new “underhung neodymium base motor system” and a long-throw voice coil, both of which contribute to better power handling. The tweeter, too, is a trickle-down design from the M-Pro, and the 25mm MBD7 dome tweeter is unique to the brand in that it combines a thin layer of beryllium with an even thinner layer of diamond.

The inclusion of new drive units would necessitate a reworked crossover, but in this case it’s the company’s ‘elliptical’ design, bristling with expensive Mundorf components.

That new top plate is significant, too. It’s machined from solid, using Magico’s five-way CNC milling machine. That much work on a solid billet of aluminium takes an hour and a half to make, and longer still to finish to a suitably high degree in Magico’s M-Coat colour system, and not much less to finish it in the standard M-Cast. This top plate not only further mass loads the S1 Mk II, but has useful diffraction benefits above a flat top-plate. Adding a plinth instead of four spider-leg outriggers not only helps keep the centre of gravity low, but makes the loudspeaker look more elegant in installation.

 

Partnering the S1 Mk II is relatively easy, knowing that few people are going to use a loudspeaker costing just shy of £21,000 with an old receiver from the 1970s, or a part-broken valve amp from the 1950s. With a sensitivity of 86dB and a four ohm impedance, the loudspeaker needs some relatively meaty amplification behind it, but this is as much about quality as it is quantity. It was perfectly happy being driven by the Hegel H80, which is a 75W amp that costs less than 1/10th the price of the loudspeakers, so the concept of the S1 Mk II requiring vast amounts of expensive power is not mandatory. The S1 Mk II is one of those loudspeakers that manages to show just what better power can do without making it the presentation so demanding that it only works with esoterica.

My pair arrived relatively well run in, so precisely how much shakedown time is needed to get them to the best performance is unclear, but they also performed better after a couple of days of bedding in, so expect them to improve from their fresh out of the box status. The loudspeakers are ‘pragmatic’ in installation, as their sealed box means they can work surprisingly close to rear and side walls, but that they also respond well to careful installation.

We listen to music from the midrange out, and any loudspeaker that gets the 200Hz-2kHz part as ‘right’ as the S1 Mk II deserves immediate and high praise. Put on a female voice – ‘Take The Night Off’ by Laura Malling from her Once I Was an Eagle album [Virgin] – and her vocal articulation and tonality is clear, and instantly differentiated from her guitar playing. What’s more, through the S1 Mk II you stop hearing that guitar as just ‘a guitar’ – it’s a dreadnought, specifically a Martin D28. OK, so the D28 is one of the most recognisable acoustic guitar sounds you can hear on record, but it becomes all the more instantly recognisable here. If a transducer is supposed to add or subtract as little as possible, then the Magico is doing an extremely fine job, with only the slightest hint of character in the upper mid, which gives the speaker a sense of forwardness and directness that’s very attractive. It gives the speaker an ‘attentiveness’ to music that cuts both ways; you cannot simply play music as background sounds, and the loudspeaker has incredible attention to detail.

Audiophiles want their loudspeakers to be precision tools, but perhaps not so precise as to be a scalpel upon the skin of the music. And perhaps it’s in that balance that the S1 Mk II shows its greatness. The dynamic range and detail available from these loudspeakers is humbling – it’s often closer to listening to the real instruments, just with that slight studio-derived sheen in place. However, in the process they do not leave the music laid bare and soulless. Play something truly sorrowful – Biber’s ‘Mystery Sonatas’ [Holloway, Virgin] – and you start getting suicidal ideation, but play something up-beat – James Brown’s ‘The Funky Drummer’ [King Records] for example – and you start moving to the groove. You don’t get that kind of scope through most loudspeakers. Something has usually got to give, but not this time.

The S1 Mk II is fundamentally honest and accurate sounding from its highest frequencies to its lowest, and a sealed box of this size has a ‘lowest’ around the 40Hz mark. There’s still content going on right down to the depths, but if you need full-range bass underpinning and very low-end bass lines, you’ll need a bigger speaker than this. And a bigger room. But the thing about the S1 Mk II is when you listen to it, you will be unlikely to want ‘bigger’ bass. The S1 Mk II has a fat-free bass and practically everything else you’ll hear that fits in the same setting will sound lumpy or leaden by comparison.

 

Magico is at the bleeding edge of technological development, but it might need to slow that pace down a little in future. The S1 became the S1 Mk II in around three years, and there is nothing in the way of an upgrade path. The improvements made in this version change are major, and in most loudspeaker brands those major changes would occur every five to eight years. It seems counter-intuitive to suggest slowing technological progress, but those who buy products with one eye on their resale value will find such a rapid churn of design difficult to reconcile. I’d really want the jump from Mk II to Mk III to be as substantial as the one from Mk I to Mk II, but I think I’d prefer to see that product in 2022 rather than 2020. But that’s Magico, for you: uncompromising in every respect.

The Magico S1 Mk II is a product of superlatives. You can’t express that without appearing to be a rabid fan of the product, because if you like loudspeakers that are neutral, you are a fan of the product, and if you’ve heard the original S1, you’re an even bigger fan of the S1 Mk II. So, yes, the superlatives come with the territory. The Magico S1 Mk II is, quite simply, outstanding. Very highly recommended!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

  • Type: two way sealed floorstanding loudspeaker
  • Driver Complement: 1 x 2.54cm Diamond Coated Beryllium Dome, 1 x 17.78cm Graphene Nano-Tec Cone
  • Sensitivity: 86dB
  • Impedance: 4 Ohms
  • Frequency Response: 32 Hz – 50 kHz
  • Recommended Power: 50 watts
  • Dimensions (HxDxW): 109x23x25cm
  • Weight: 54.5 kg
  • Price: £20,998 per pair (M-Cast), M-Coat price on application

Manufactured by: Magico LLC

URL: www.magico.net

Distributed in the UK by: Absolute Sounds

Tel: +44(0)208 971 3909

URL: www.absolutesounds.com

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REL Acoustics 212/SE subwoofer

There is one obvious and one not so obvious impression to draw from the REL 212/SE subwoofer. The obvious one is the sheer size of it means it is a real earth-mover, one of those subwoofers that loosen fillings in cinemas. And yes, it can do that if that’s what you want from a subwoofer. But it’s also capable of so much more, and brings a level of clarity and openness to any good speaker system. Unfortunately, that side of it is all too easy to miss.

The 212/SE is on the big side for a subwoofer. In fact, it’s about the size of a small washing machine. This gives the sealed box 212/SE the potential for stacking two powered long-throw 300mm ‘Continuous Cast Alloy Bass Engine’ cone drive units along the front panel, with passive radiating 300mm ‘Continuous Cast Alloy Bass Engine’ cone drive units firing rearward and downward. And yet, the cabinet still has room for a 1kW of on-board amplification. It has the usual REL low- and high-level connections and controls (designed for both speaker level connection for traditional audio use, and fed by a RCA phono lead for ‘point one’ use in a multichannel context).

Those are big boy specifications for a big boy subwoofer, and that is how many might perceive the REL 212/SE. And, indeed, if that’s what you want from a subwoofer, this delivers the goods. Whether it’s playing organ pedal notes so low you feel the breath being pushed out of your lungs, tooth-rattling super deep wub-wub-wubby dubstep (remember dubstep? It was all the rage a few years ago, and even advertising agencies have dropped it like a sonic stone now), or the sounds of spaceships and gun-play so loud and bass-heavy that bits of furniture run and hide, the 212/SE can do this and more without breaking sweat. But this is not just a bass bazooka, as the REL is equally well geared toward a more tamed approach.

Used in a pure audio context, where the REL is connected to the red terminals of left and right loudspeaker outputs at the amplifier, and one of the black terminals, the 212/SE can be a deft, persuasive performer. This requires a careful hand, moving away from the ‘slam/bang’ kind of bass performance and instead toward a ‘barely audible’ gentle blend with the loudspeaker output. This is done through the medium of the level and bass roll-off control, and occasionally the phase setting should you set the speaker and subwoofer in very different parts of the room.

In fact, two important conditions should be met to show what the REL 212/SE is capable of, careful setting of the controls to match the loudspeaker notwithstanding. The first is a very precise installation of the whole system, but especially the loudspeakers and their position relative to the subwoofer. REL makes a strong case for using the ‘master set’ method of installation, which effectively ‘locks down’ one loudspeaker using tiny increments until bass integrates with treble, and this acts as an anchor when applying the same rules to the other speaker. A relatively simple track with a good bass-line is often called for (often ‘Ballad of a Runaway Horse’ by Jennifer Warnes’ from the Famous Blue Raincoat, 20th Anniversary Edition CD, Attic). This set-up procedure can sometimes require hours of careful positioning, and sometimes may even have a different toe-in on one side relative to the other if the room demands it. However, with this set-up completed, it gives the speakers the perfect balance, ideal for a subtle underpinning of REL to broaden out the performance. The other important condition is to set the sub just at the limit of audibility… and then revisit a week or two later and turn it down a notch!

 

There are a couple of good reasons for turning the subwoofer down after a week or so. First, it gives the subwoofer itself time to bed in and shake down, and with four 300mm drivers, there’s a lot of shaking down required. Second, and possibly more importantly, you need a week or so to get used to the sound, and invariably that means you turn things up ever so slightly too high at first. Revisit the settings and you’ll likely find the level a smidgeon (equivalent to 1.2 metric tads) too high. This is far from ‘too loud’, but it does represent a slight exaggeration in the bass regions that isn’t the total truth. We stress this in almost every subwoofer review and certainly almost every REL review, but the amount of low-end energy the 212/SE can deliver means you have to set the level control with the sensitivity of a safecracker.

When suitably set up, the first thing that registers with the listener is exactly not what you might expect. For a very large subwoofer, capable of delivering some serious bass firepower, what comes to the fore fastest is its agility and precision. Far from flooding the listening room with bass, what you notice first is how much faster your loudspeakers sound. The soundstage width and focus improves, too, but we’ve come to expect that from REL’s speaker support group. But it’s the speed of the speakers aided by the REL that gets to you. They seem to be physically faster, regardless of whether ported, sealed, or point source. I didn’t have a chance to test this with a pair of electrostatics (normally considered the toughest nut to crack in terms of integration with dynamic bass units, although MartinLogan cracked this particular nut several years ago), but I am fairly confident that even these speaker designs could be improved with the judicious use of the 212/SE, something I would be less happy about predicting with other RELs in the range.

That bass foundation liberates the loudspeakers, and that sentence needs no qualification. You likely chose your loudspeakers on the basis of a balance of detail retrieval, soundstage properties, rhythmic precision, midrange accuracy, treble extension, overall coherence, and bass depth relative to speaker and room size. The 212/SE acts on all these properties, teasing out that bit more of what made you buy those loudspeakers in the first place. And it works both musically and ‘kit-wise’ across the board.

Curiously perhaps the music that best sums up what the REL 212/SE does is from extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. Their live DVD (on Roadrunner records) has a three track EP on TIDAL of the same name: Peace Through Superior Firepower. That perfectly expresses what the 212/SE brings to the party, and its effect on the last track ‘Mother of Abominations (Live in Paris)’ shows why that’s important. The crowd ceases to be an amorphous mass of noise, and instead becomes a roiling sea of Goths, the opening back-of-the-throat incantation moves from being schlocky nonsense to being really rather frightening, the insistent speed metal beat takes on even more menace and becomes more of an assault on the senses. This still ends up sounding like uncomfortable, ridiculous noise to anyone not into Cradle of Filth (which, let’s face it, is most of us), but you can begin to get it a little more through the REL. OK, in fairness I went looking for something to match the ‘Peace Through Superior Firepower’ line and landed on Cradle of Filth, but it fits all the same: it wasn’t unintelligible, but it was incomprehensible before, and the addition of the REL 212/SE gave Cradle of Filth the opportunity for a little more understanding on my part.

 

The REL 212/SE is more than just another subwoofer. While it has foundation-threating levels of bass energy on tap, it’s also one of the best upgrades you can do for your system, because it takes everything you like about your existing system and makes more of it: more midrange clarity, more high frequency extension, more soundstaging, and a lot more speed. The downsides are three-fold: it’s a big box, it cuts a relatively big hole in your bank balance, and it’s unlikely to stay on its own for long, as you will start eyeing up the options for a matching pair of 212/SE. These things apply more or less universally, too: if speakers that don’t benefit from the 212/SE exist, they would have to be a pair of extraordinarily meaty loudspeakers that would dwarf the 212/SE both physically and financially. Bass is not just for bass-heads, as the REL 212/SE demonstrates, and as a result comes very highly recommended.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

  • Type: sealed box active subwoofer
  • Drive units: 2× 300mm long-throw Continuous Cast Alloy cone (active), 2× 300mm Continuous Cast Alloy cone (passive)
  • Connections: High Level Neutrik Speakon, Low Level stereo RCA, LFE RCA, SMA for wireless antenna
  • Amplification: 1kW, ‘next gen’ Class D
  • Finish: Piano black
  • Dimensions (W×H×D): 44.5×81.6×51cm
  • Weight: 55.3kg
  • Price: £3,250

Manufactured by: REL Acoustics Ltd

URL: www.rel.net

Tel: +44 (0) 1656 76877

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1More Quad Driver universal-fit earphones

Not long ago Hi-Fi+ favourably reviewed two significant earphones from the Chinese firm 1MORE: the Triple-Driver and Capsule-Type Dual-Driver earphones. The common denominator between these two different designs involves the fact both are keenly priced and offer technologies and performance far exceeding the norms for their price class. Frankly, 1MORE would have it no other way, since the company’s acknowledged mission is to build technically advanced and sonically accomplished personal audio products that sell at what one company spokesman has described as “disruptive prices”. This is welcome news for those of us seeking audio components that can give us the most value possible per hard-earned dollar or pound.

Gary Hsieh, the founder of 1MORE, is largely responsible for his company’s value-minded approach to the marketplace. In a recent interview with Hi-Fi+ (found in the Hi-Fi+ Guide to Personal Audio, available as a free download through this link: https://hifiplus.com/buyers_guides/5/), Hsieh famously said, “1MORE doesn’t want to simply climb that [price/performance] mountain; we want to turn it upside down so that everyone can reach the peak.”

Accordingly, Hsieh advocates an intensive consumer research/data gathering programme called “IQ100”, where the objective is to learn what consumers regard both as the must-have benefits to include and the ‘pain points’ to avoid in any given class of product. What emerges is a specific product development road map, which Hsieh describes in this way:

“By collecting and sorting out big data, we can determine the 20 ‘most significant pain points’. Then this allows us to decide which three need to be solved urgently. I believe that by solving the three most significant pain points, the user will enjoy our product and it will become their preference.”

Thus far, Hsieh’s IQ100 approach has served 1MORE well, leading to products that have won the company large numbers of new devotees.  Still, the aspirational performance seekers amongst us are perhaps bound to ask, “Well, what would happen if 1MORE decided to set its price/performance sights a bit higher?” The answer to that question comes to us in the form of 1MORE’s new Quad-Driver in-ear headphones (£199.99, or $199 in the US), which are by far the firm’s most ambitious in-ear models to date.

At first glance, casual observers might take the Quad-Drivers to be pretty similar in

 

design to the original Triple-Driver models, but closer inspection reveals significant differences. Those differences start with the driver array, where the Quad-Driver sports a new dynamic mid-bass driver equipped with a PET diaphragm overlaid with a Diamond-like Carbon Film layer—a driver said to increase accuracy while reducing distortion. Completing the array is a set of three patented balanced armature-type drivers, where two of the drivers handle high frequencies while the third acts as ‘super-tweeter’ handling ultra-high frequencies.

Another change is that the aluminium earpiece enclosures (or ‘sound chambers’ in 1MORE parlance) of the Quad-Drivers are larger in volume and differently shaped than those of Triple-Drivers. In fact, the new enclosures, which are anodised in a medium grey colour with red accents, look very much like miniaturised nacelles from modern-day Rolls-Royce jet aircraft engines.  As in earlier 1MORE earphone designs, the sound outlet tubes of the Quad-Driver earpieces are placed at a 45-degree offset angle relative to the centreline of the enclosures—an arrangement that makes the earphones easier to insert, more comfortable for long-term wear, and less prone to being dislodged. Other welcome touches include the sturdy, tubular aluminium signal-cable strain reliefs exiting the aft ends of the earpieces. Not only do these strain reliefs save wear and tear on the cables, but they also give listeners safe surfaces to grasp when adjusting the earphones’ positions.

One significant improvement involves the Quad-Driver signal cables, which feature 99.99% oxygen free copper conductors protected by a smooth outer wrap formed from coated Kevlar fibres, where the idea is to increase cable strength while minimising cable-induced noise. Importantly, the cables also incorporate a new inline mic/remote module fitted with a MEMS microphone and that is compatible both with Apple iOS and Android devices. 1MORE says the module provides, “a built-in chip [that] automatically identifies your smartphone, tablet, or computer’s operating system, allowing you to make calls, control volume, and adjust tracks”.

Finally, like 1MORE’s Triple-Driver model, the Quad-Driver is supplied in attractive, upscale packaging and comes with a remarkably extensive set of accessories.  Accessories include a leather carry box with a flip-open magnetic-closure lid, a garment clip, an airplane adapter, a 3.5mm-to-6.35mm adapter plug, five sets of silicone ear tips (in sizes of 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14.5mm), plus three sets of memory foam ear tips (in sizes of 11, 13, and 14.5mm), a User Guide, and a 1MORE decal (showing 1MORE’s mascot teddy bear wearing 1MORE headphones). In short, everything about the Quad-Driver in-ear headphones and the package they come in suggests they might cost more than they actually do.

To get the measure of the Quad-Driver I conducted listening tests using my reference Questyle QP1r and Lotoo PAW Gold digital audio players, plus my iPad Air and Samsung Galaxy smartphone as sources. I focused primarily on comparing the Quad-Drivers to 1MORE’s excellent Triple-Drivers, though I also had on hand an extensive set of CIEMs from manufacturers such as JH Audio, Noble Audio, and Westone. Here is what my listening tests revealed.

In broad strokes, the voicing of the Quad-Driver is similar to that of the Triple-Driver, albeit with a heightened degree of treble extension, openness, and high-frequency ‘air’—qualities perhaps attributable to the Quad-Driver’s new ‘super tweeter’. But frankly, the biggest differences between the Quad-Driver and the Triple-Driver are not found in large-scale tonal variations, but rather take the form of across-the-board qualitative improvements. As the old saying goes, the ‘genius is in the details’.

From top to bottom, then, the Quad-Drivers deliver superior resolution, better speed and definition on transient sounds, and more full-throated and expressive dynamics. They also provide very noticeable improvements in reproduction of low-frequency textures and transient sounds. In short, the Quad-Driver preserves all the benefits of the Triple-Driver, while turning the imaginary resolution, focus, and expressiveness ‘control knobs’ up to 11 (or possibly 12, or even more).

 

For examples of these qualities in action listen to ‘The Mermaid’ from Norma Winstone, Glauco Venier, and Klaus Gesing’s Distances [ECM 16/44.1], and note carefully the percussive sounds of Venier’s prepared piano as heard in the opening of the track. The sense of ‘air’ surrounding the ringing piano strings is palpable, while the sharp attack and gradual decay of the notes is spot on, complete with reverberations that nicely reveal the acoustics of the recording venue. Then, focus on Winstone’s beautiful vocals and observe how pure and clear the timbre of her voice is and how natural and extended the vocal harmonics sound. Finally, listen to Gesing’s low-pitched reed statement that begins when the song reaches the 1:30 mark; the sound is low, richly resonant, and lets you clearly hear the reed vibrating in the instrument’s mouthpiece. To be honest, this track can sound quite good on many different transducers, but it takes a special in-ear headphone like the Quad-Driver to draw out the full, rich tonal colours and the sharply focused textural and transient sounds of which the song—at its best—is capable. Stated another way, the Quad-Driver is an in-ear headphone for listeners who are ready to step beyond merely ‘good’ sound to enjoy something noticeably better than that.

For a further illustration of the Quad-Driver’s capabilities, try the track ‘Seven’ from Lenny White, Jamey Haddad, and Mark Sherman’s Explorations in Space and Time [Chesky, 24/96 binaural]. This remarkable track features three world-class percussionists performing on a veritable panoply of percussion instruments—some high-pitched, some with midrange voices, and some with subterranean bass voices—all in a style Chesky describes as, “Funk meets world, meets classical!” The result, through the Quad-Drivers, is sonically superb, with each instrument’s voice clearly delineated from the others and with each instrument occupying a specific location within a broad and deep soundstage. Perhaps the most impressive single element, however, is the sound of very low-pitched bass drums, where the 1MOREs not only let you hear but also ‘feel’ the giant waves of bass energy racing across the floor toward the listener. This is, quite simply, breathtaking stuff to behold.

My take on 1MORE’s Quad-Driver is that it does everything the award-winning Triple-Driver could do, only much, much better. 1MORE’s Triple-Driver remains a fine transducer in its own right and one the offers superb value for money, but the Quad-Driver raises the performance bar in substantial ways that place it in an altogether higher performance category. For those who want a big taste of what expensive upper-tier universal-fit earphones can do, yet without having to pay those eye-popping premium prices, 1MORE’s Quad-Driver stands as a delightful solution.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

  • Type: Quad-driver universal-fit earphone
  • Driver complement: Each earpiece incorporates one dynamic driver (used as a woofer) with diamond-like carbon diaphragm, plus three balanced armature-type drivers “dedicated to independent frequencies”.
  • Frequency response: 20 Hz – 40 kHz
  • Impedance: 32 Ohms @ 1 kHz
  • Sensitivity: 99 dB SPL @ 1mW
  • Weight: 18.5g.
  • Accessories: Five pairs of silicone ear tips (10, 11, 12, 13, and 14.5mm), three pairs of compressible foam ear tips (11, 13, and 14.5mm), signal cables with oxygen-free copper conductors, inline iOS and Android-compatible mic/remote module with MEMS microphone, carry case, garment clip, airline adapter plug, warranty card, and user guide.
  • Prices: £199.99 UK, $199.99 US
  • Warranty: one year

Manufacturer: 1MORE Shen Zhen Acoustic Technology Company, Tianliao Building 1403-1411, Zone A Tianliao Industrial Park,Taoyuan Street, Nanshan District,Shenzhen, P.R. China

URL: www.1more.com

UK distributor: 1MORE UK

URL: uk.1more.com

US distributor: 1MORE USA

URL: usa.1more.com

Tel: (805) 551-6673

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