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Classical is more than a hold button!

Back in the day (whenever that was), lots of people were regularly exposed to some form of orchestral music. The first recording artist ‘stars’ were often operatic singers like Caruso, and the first few decades of music recording were dominated by reproductions of classical music. In part, this was down to the expense involved in owning a gramophone meant the equipment self-selected a wealthy, intellectual elite, but even when the Jazz Age hit in the 1920s, there was still a lot of orchestral music played to all listeners.

The then-new Talking Pictures and burgeoning demands of increasing numbers of radio stations placed high demands on music replay. Producers in both worlds realised that classical music meant gravitas, and the theme songs to many movies in the 1930s and beyond either used existing classical works, or were powerful and meaningful scores from legitimate composers like Korngold. His score for ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’ (1938) was the first time the Academy awarded an Oscar to the composer rather than the studio’s head of music, was considered the one of the API’s best-rated movie soundtracks 67 years later, and is both a fine orchestral piece in its own right, and an almost textbook way of developing excitement through a soundtrack.

The rise of TV in the 1950s saw an even greater uptake of orchestral music, especially in the UK as a result of Lord Reith’s “Inform, Educate, Entertain” moral codex written into the BBC’s charter. Ground-breaking TV shows from those early days often featured suitably ‘highbrow’ music (witness John Hotchkiss’ bold modern score for the 1954 adaptation of Orwell’s ‘1984’ with Peter Cushing in the starring role, or the use of Holst’s ‘Mars, Bringer of War’ for ‘The Quatermass Experiment’ the year before). Meanwhile, on US screens, from 1949-57 (and beyond) Rossini’s William Tell Overture became forever and intrinsically linked with ABC’s ‘The Lone Ranger’ (interestingly, UK television watchers in the late 1950s are more likely to associate it with ITV’s ‘The Adventures of William Tell’, although younger audiences link the music with ‘The Lone Ranger’).

Then, of course, in 1968, came ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, the album of which became one of the most successful classical compilations of the time. By the late 1960s however, increasingly popular music had become prevalent in movie and TV scores, to such an extent that when people saw the 1973 movie ‘Badlands’, they assumed Cark Orff’s ‘Gassenhauer’ was a pop piece written for the soundtrack, rather than a 1920s musical exercise based on the works of the 16^th Century lutenist, Hans Neusiedler. A few notable classical exceptions still made their mark on TV and cinema (most notably Coppola’s use of Wagner in Apocalypse Now and Oliver Stone’s use of Barber in Platoon), but classical music was largely erased from the canon. The orchestral score still remains to this day, thanks to score composers like John Williams and Hans Zimmer, and both the BBC and – curiously enough – The Simpsons team still use orchestral music for TV work, but the snappy theme, borrowing heavily from current music, and replacing foghorn like dubstep noises for a score (Inception) have largely relegated orchestral leitmotif.

Classical music can be emotive, uplifting, powerful, and dynamic. It can be expressive and hugely evocative: the UK is currently considering exiting the EU, and the best argument I can think of for staying is the use of Beethoven’s Ode To Joy as the European Anthem – it’s hard to compete with Beethoven writing the soundtrack! And, unfortunately, it can be completely dismissed as ‘pompous Dead White European Male’ music. Even Tárrega’s Gran Vals (once one of the most immediately identifiable themes in classical music) is fading; while 20,000 people per second heard that tune (as the Nokia ringtone) in 2010, Nokia’s gentle fade into telephonic obscurity has taken the Spanish composer’s fame with it.

Which is why, today, a lot of people only hear classical music when on hold for a utilities company. Really… almost a thousand years of musical canon, reduced to the bit between the ‘Your call is important to us’ repeats. Has it really come to that? I think it’s time to fight back.

There has never been more access to all kinds of music today, and it’s time for classical to regain its place once more. Listen to a new (to you) piece of music from a new (to you) composer every week. Load up your phone with Beethoven’s Fifth, and play it when someone ‘sodcasts’ rap through their phone (you might want to throw a few ‘air violin’ shapes, too, just to add some humour to the proceedings). Learn to waltz to Strauss. Work out to opera! And the deeper you go, the more you should learn to spread the news about the olds!

True Classics by the Colorado Symphony recorded by Neumann and Sennheiser – The Digital Synergy

This pair of discs covering some of the best known works from the classical (or more strictly the Romantic) repertoire represents a new threshold in digital recording. Other digital multi-microphone recordings have been made successfully, of works like Tallis’s Spem in alium, but this state of the art stereo recording of a symphony orchestra sets a new bench mark. Doubtless it will excite those interested in the technology, but more important is the quality of the musical experience this recording demonstrates.

The set begins with Brahms’ Hungarian Dances which show off the pyrotehnical brilliance of the recording – superb clarity in the bass and energetic excitement in the percussion. It feels as though you are wandering among the players so immediate is the impact. The conductor Scott O’Neil milks the romantic soundscape of these pieces for all their worth, enjoying the technological resources available quite as much as the scores he so clearly understands and interprets. From Brahms to Grieg (Morning Mood from Peer Gynt) which shows off the obbligato playing from the principal wood winds as well as the sumptuous velvety playing of the whole orchestra.

These are jollies from the standard concert hall repertoire, and one is left with a desire to hear more of a particular symphony, suite or opera – such is the frustration of any cherry-picked selection. But having tantalisingly opened one particular window Scott O’Neil adroitly and almost seamlessly whisks one away to yet more musical gems. To move from the famous waltz from Eugene Onegin to a Bach orchestral suite feels like a breath-taking adventure rather than a jarring juxtaposition – though the silences which help break one atmospheric mood before embarking on the next are nicely judged.

Maybe JS Bach in the twenty first century is now more usually performed with Baroque fastidiousness (even by modern orchestras) but the Colorado Symphony Orchestra enjoys the languorous beauty of Bach’s Suite No 3 that one is totally persuaded by their romantic interpretation. Their rendering of the overture from Smetana’s Bartered Bride takes us into different territory, and the precise articulation of strings and woodwind in a constant fever of excitement which builds up to powerful climaxes, exactly captures the drama of Smetana’s village opera. A splendid typo on the cover has this piece down as the Bartered Bridge Overture. And maybe it does make a convenient bridge to another favourite of the twentieth century repertoire – Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Green Sleeves. It’s not often you hear on a recording the intake of breath of the solo flautist, but that gives real-life authenticity to the performance – like hearing fingers on fret-work in a Bach cello suite.

Berlioz, Mozart and Beethoven end this first disc which concentrate on the joy, heroism and compassion and delight in nature rather than the darker dimensions of the human condition. However the movement from Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony on the second disc reminds us that this work was first performed under the composer’s baton in 1813 at a charity concert in aid of those wounded at the battle of Hannau. Debussy, Sibelius, Mahler and Stravinsky stand alone as representatives of the early part of the twentieth century of true classics. Perhaps future recordings, using the same state of the art technology, could include works – not least from Britain and America – that have been written in the later twentieth and twenty first centuries. True classics have a future as well as a past!

The Debussy Prelude (Afternoon of a Faun) gives scope for the principal players to demonstrate their formidable technique. While the sinister excitement of Sibelius’s Finlandia leads us from the snowy waste land to the bright fields of Finnish uplands. The swelling pride of Finlandia’s great theme moves into a movement from Dvorak’s New World Symphony, – a work so well known and yet rendered here with fresh energy and excitement – brass and percussion bringing the work to its triumphant conclusion, while the gentle solo interjections convey a pastoral idyll and rural values.

By contrast the dream world of the Berceuse from Stravinsky’s Fire Bird produces some shimmering playing from the strings and harp, delightful solo passages from horn and violin, with the whole diaphanous texture brought crashing down by the exuberance of timpani and trumpets. Mahler 5 is performed with all the gentle understanding that allows the mystery and the humanity of this slow movement to shine forth. And a movement from Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony rounds off an impressive technological and musical enterprise with flair and panache making the most of Tchaikovsky’s symphonic palette.

To purchase this CD, please click here

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German Physiks Unlimited Mk II (slight return)

Towards the middle of 2013, German Physiks delivered a pair of Unlimited Mk II loudspeakers to the Hi-Fi+ offices. Towards the end of 2015, German Physiks did precisely the same thing, in order to show precisely what had changed in the intervening years. Even though the Unlimited Mk II is a child of the 2010s, German Physiks was prepared to revise one of its most successful designs, but while many brands would be content to call these changes an entirely new version, German Physiks is satisfied with quietly making a better product.

Let’s loop back 31 issues and discuss the Unlimited Mk II itself. Born out of the 2010 ‘Limited II’ (a 100-pair limited run designed to show what the company can do with a lower than usual price tag). The Limited II proved extremely popular, with all 100 selling out fast, so the Unlimited Mk II followed in its wake. A tall, slender, omnidirectional floorstander, like many others in the German Physiks line, the key cost saving exercise in the Unlimited Mk II was making a four-sided enclosure instead of the octagonal cabinet of the next in line HRS-130.

The Unlimited II features the company’s own Dicks Dipole Driver, or ‘DDD’; a carbon fibre driver with a true 360° horizontal dispersion. Based around a late 1970s concept by German engineer Peter Dicks (hence the name), the DDD concept works with the inherent properties of drive units, rather than treating these functions as limitations. A cone will work pistonically at low frequencies, but will shift to bending wave mode and finally fully modal radiation properties as the frequency rises. Rather than try to find ‘work arounds’ to overcome these intrinsic aspects of a loudspeaker, Dicks proposed designing a loudspeaker that utilised these inherent functions of a drive unit, effectively producing a near full-range four-way loudspeaker in one cone.

Those with extremely long memories might also recall the Ohm loudspeaker system, which featured a similar driver designed by the late Lincoln Walsh. This ‘bending wave transducer’ design had the same basic conical section (beautifully described by Dick Olsher in our sister title The Absolute Sound as looking, “like a giant inverted ice cream cone”). The pulsating drive unit was ahead of its time, and way ahead of the materials science of the early 1960s. Fast forward almost 20 years and cone materials like lightweight titanium allowed the bending wave transducer to come of age, and subsequent developments in carbon-fibre meant the DDD unit improved still further.

The resultant design looks unlike most loudspeakers, with a top pod containing the driver’s magnet, voice coil and spider, with the cone itself facing down into the top of the main enclosure (the ‘giant inverted ice cream cone’ coined by Olsher). There isn’t a loudspeaker basket as such, just a series of chrome plated rods to support the top of the drive unit. A more conventional carbon-fibre 200mm down-firing unit sits at the bottom of the cabinet, providing bottom-end reinforcement.

So far, the Unlimited Mk II remains exactly the same as before. There are several new high gloss finishes (called the Ultimate Unlimited, which includes the gloss black model we tested), and an all carbon-fibre finish called the Unlimited Carbon, which is mostly aimed at Asian markets. The sound is identical to standard Unlimited Mk IIs, but the difference between the acoustic vinyl and black high gloss polyester finish is £2,000; although this is fairly steep given the base price is £8,900, I think the high gloss look is a significant and justifiable improvement over the basic grey, black, white, or brown vinyl.

The big change between the Ultimate Mk II reviewed in issue 102 and the one reviewed in this issue is not simply the high gloss look. The crossover has gone in for a radical redesign, or rather several redesigns over time. This has addressed some of the compatibility issues that made the loudspeaker a bit sensitive in amp choice at its last visit. When last I tested the Ultimate Mk II, I suggested the loudspeaker required current to drive it. That still holds, but it’s less demanding, allowing more valve amplification to come into the mix without a concomitant dip in the high treble as a result. This also has an advantage in sonic terms, even when ideally partnered.

It’s slightly difficult in writing this review because we are inevitably going over old ground. I urge prospective German Physiks customers to check out both my previous review of the Ultimate Mk II and Dick Olsher’s review of the same at The Absolute Sound for the full introduction to the unique properties of the omnidirectional speaker, but the Cliff Notes version of the same is the loudspeaker creates an extremely musical experience, more like you are in the concert hall than the control room of a studio. They work best in a large room because of their omnidirectional nature, but they are far less troubled by the demands of room treatment and don’t require micron-tolerance positioning of speaker or listener to deliver the goods. This perhaps works at its best with orchestral music and at its worst with a close mic’d, right-between-the-speakers, girl-with-guitar style recording (where the omnidirectional nature of the speaker makes such recordings appear a little diffuse), but those who ‘get’ what this kind of speaker can do will either be self-editorial in their music buying or accommodate such limitations.

Comparing the listening notes between old and new, however, this last point now seems a lot better resolved. The sound of Kat Edmonson singing ‘Lucky’ [Way Down Low, Spinnerette] wasn’t as rounded and diffused, and there was still that sense of a singer in the listening room; more like a real person’s voice as it bounces round the room rather than a disembodied vocal ‘thing’ floating between the loudspeakers. Even replaying the a cappella version of Tom’s Diner by Suzanne Vega once more [Solitude Standing, A&M] showed this to be less diffuse and more focussed. You could always understand the vocals and the meaning behind them, but the German Physiks presentation perhaps lost a little in the hi-fi sense of a musical ‘hologram’ – the revisions help both the naturalistic reproduction and the audiophile-friendly sense of dimensionality.

Moving to the loudspeaker’s true calling – orchestral music – this improved imagery came over as a more cogent orchestra in a larger environment. Once again rolling out the Saint Saens Symphony No 3 [Munch/Boston SO, Living Stereo] the sense of the musical performance the previous Ultimate Mk II delivered was enhanced by an increased sense of spaciousness in the imaging, a deeper bass, and more detail especially in the upper registers. This was not necessarily a night-and-day change in performance, but those who auditioned a pair of German Physiks a few years ago and wished for a bit more heft at the bottom end and more definition at the top, just got their wishes granted.

The big question perhaps is should existing Unlimited Mk II listeners with the older crossover feel short-changed? No. The Unlimited Mk II is a good loudspeaker, whether it has the old or new crossover. Moreover, if you chose an Unlimited Mk II and picked out a good amplifier partner, a lot of what the change to the crossover actually does is academic; the revised crossover brings more amplifiers to the party, but if you already made that choice and made it well, the new crossover’s benefits in greater compatibility are not really needed. The new crossover brings a little more clarity and quite a lot more bass, but the change is more a subtle development than a radical shift in performance. I have a feeling that those who like the German Physiks sound are fans for life, and if you already have a Limited II or an Unlimited Mk II, the better option would be to consider a full-on upgrade further up the German Physiks ladder, maybe to the HRS-130 or even to the Borderland Mk IV.

Back in issue 102, I concluded that everyone should take a listen to the Unlimited Mk II because if you like what it does, most conventional loudspeakers sound contrived. I still hold to that, but in the intervening period, the loudspeaker has become more physically attractive and more universally acceptable. More than ever, you owe it to yourself to try the German Physiks sound. It could be all you ever need.

Technical Specifications

Operating Principle: two-way loudspeaker with 360° surround radiation
Frequency Response: 32Hz–24kHz
Sensitivity: 88dB/W/m
Impedance: Four Ohms
Power Handling (Nominal/Maximum): 110W/170W
Amplification required: Minimum 90W/4ohms
Crossover frequency: 200Hz
Crossover slopes: DDD Section: 6dB/octave (electronic), 18dB/octave (acoustic)
Woofer Section: 18dB/octave (electronic & acoustic)
Input connectors: 1x binding posts
Drivers: 1× carbon-fibre DDD driver, 1× 200mm woofer
Finish: satin white, black, light grey or dark brown vinyl as standard, black, white, red, or yellow high gloss polyester finish in Ultimate form, as tested
Dimensions (W×H×D): 24×105×24cm
Weight: 28.9kg
Price: As tested £10,900 per pair

Manufactured by: German Physiks

URL: www.german-physiks.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +49 6109 5029823

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Naim Audio Mu-so Qb

The Mu-so Qb was the audio buzz of CES, and not in the wrong way. Although many ‘specialty audio’ rooms at the show were frighteningly empty at times, Naim Audio’s room was not one of them – there was a steady through-flow of visitors looking specifically at the new Mu-so Qb. Following in the footsteps of the Mu-so, this new, small, cube of sound is designed to reach a new set of music lovers.

In a way, this new device has the toughest job to do of all the products in the Naim line. On the one hand, it has to stand alone, inviting new listeners to join the club. On the other hand, it has to be exciting enough to entice existing Naim users to add more rooms to the mix. On the, er, third hand, it needs to be the perfect introduction for people who want something a bit better than a Sonos Play (which is harder than it seems, it’s a very good package at the price), and on the fourth hand it needs to do all that while being simple enough for almost anyone to use, with or without aid from specialist retailers. All in a package better thought out than this Shiva-esque paragraph.

The original Mu-so works in part because it combines the elements that make good traditional audio in a more modern aspect: it’s basically amps and speakers in a wooden cabinet. The size and complexity of the Mu-so Qb shape (it looks like an Olmec stone head under the grille) meant wood was out of the question at the price, so the cabinet is made from a tough glass-filled polymer. From the front there are two angled tweeters, two slightly less angled midrange units, one ‘racetrack’ bass unit, and two well-made passive radiators firing out to the sides. Independent 50W amplifiers drive both the tweeters and midrange drivers, while a single 100W device powers the bass. Naim could have gone for exotic DSP to create more of a stereophonic sound, but instead the company went for a less processed sound with a ‘slightly-stereo’ presentation. It uses the same 32-bit digital processing as the Mu‑so, however.

Mu-so Qb’s rear panel is a heatsink for the amplifier and digital audio circuitry, and it gives the device some weight, solidity, and surprising tactile advantages – you can’t help putting your hand reassuringly on the heatsink when first installing it. Like its bigger brother, the Qb sits on an acrylic sheet that has three levels of illumination and a white Naim logo, and the top plate is given over to that super cool touch multiway controller/volume control dial.

The device is ludicrously easy to install, with one notable caveat. Take it out the box, power it up, and play. That’s it! OK, so you need a device to control the Mu-so Qb, and that means an iOS or Android phone or tablet, and Naim’s own app. Nevertheless, once you installed the Naim app, the process needed to add a new Mu-so is unfeasibly ‘light-switch’ easy. The caveat is there is no display as such on the Mu-so Qb, just different coloured lights in set-up: if you live in a place of massively contended wireless internet, there’s no obvious way to make sure your Mu-so Qb has glommed onto the right wireless router. In most cases, it will take you longer to take the Qb out of its box than it will to get it up and running.

There are a range of options, including display brightness, loudness, two alarm functions (it makes one hell of a clock radio), and the optimum installation configurator (as in, ‘is it less than or more than 25cm from the wall!’). You can even get different colour moulded grilles for the Qb, and ‘skin’ your app to match.

Mu-so Qb – and for that matter, the original Mu-so – can play digital sources (wired through USB or optical digital, or wireless through AirPlay and Bluetooth), or stream digital audio through wired or Wi-Fi ethernet, whether local UPnP network streaming or from online streaming sources. The box comes with a voucher for a month’s free Spotify Premium, and there’s also a 90-day Tidal trial (both are fully integrated into Mu-so Qb’s system). There is also a vTuner Internet radio service, and even a 3.5mm analogue input jack. Multiroom use is entirely possible (although currently there is no planned provision for turning the Qb into a master-slave stereo pair in one room) and just as easy to operate and install as that first Mu-so.

Technologically, then, Naim Audio’s Mu-so Qb ticks all the boxes. But does it sound any good? In a nutshell, it sounds a lot better than you might expect. It does very well with voices: a day into using the Qb it became a part of the morning ritual, playing The Today Programme from BBC Radio 4’s HD internet radio channel around the room at a ‘shake out the sleep dust’ level. And when it comes to music it’s similarly fun, projecting a good sound around the listening room.

OK, let’s be totally honest here, this is no high-end performer and in absolute terms there are a few undernourished strings when hearing the sound of open guitar chords, the sound is slightly boxy and where the Mu-so was bass-heavy, if anything this errs on the side of upper bass warmth and not much else. But this is coming straight after a system where one single power cord cost almost 23x as much as the Mu-so, and the loudspeakers have about eight times the cabinet volume.

This is the fairly typical ass-backwards way we audiophiles have of looking at stuff. Compare it to the best possible and forget about context. Coming back down to earth then, and looking at the Qb for what it does, where it does it, and the price it does it for, the ‘Qb’ in Mu-so Qb clearly stands for ‘Quite brilliant’. It’s music stripped down of all that pretentious nonsense that good audio can sometimes add, and it’s got that intrinsic fun factor that a good clock radio has, only a lot, lot bigger sounding. Whether it’s the effortlessness of the set-up, that it looks pretty damn good, the fact it doesn’t overdrive the room, the sheer clean-ness of the overall sound, or just the fact everything works together in a package that’s about the size of a teapot doesn’t ultimately matter.

It’s all about context here, and there are some very big hitters aggressively priced below the Mu-so Qb that the Naim box has to address head-on if it is to succeed. And it does succeed. Masterfully so, in fact: it projects sound into the room well, perfectly filling the sort of small to medium sized rooms in which you’ll most likely find a box like the Qb. We don’t want to mention some of these brands by name as they have really big legal teams that could tie us in knots for months on end, but if you’re considering one of those extremely well-advertised, very popular boxes, the Las Vegas connection fits, because it deals with them ol’ school: It pulverises them, drives them out into the desert, and buries them in a shallow grave. The Naim Mu-so Qb sounds just so much better than a lot of what passes for sound from some of these units, it’s laughable. There will be some people who, in all innocence, spanked down a few hundred pounds on some well-respected equipment in this class that sounds actually pretty good… until they hear what the Qb can do. Then those few hundred pounds were wasted money.

What you get here is musical diversity. At one point, you’ll argue the toss over the difference in performance between Spotify and Tidal (but you can hear a difference, and between MP3, CD, and – if you wire it into a network – 24/192 high-res) but it really doesn’t matter, because you’ll just soak up music in all its guises and love doing so. You’ll surf through your own networked music, you’ll plough through online, you’ll spend hours just listening to Radio Paradise, and more.

I’ve not logged as many hours with the Mu-so as I have with the Mu-so Qb, but in a way, the Qb is perhaps the more audio-enthusiast ready product; the Mu-so is a great gateway for people who aren’t audiophiles to gain new insight into the sound music can make, but it does have a bit of a boomy bass by hi-fi buff standards. That boom and bloom are significantly decreased in the Mu‑so Qb, and yet, it doesn’t sound particularly bass light. I can see Mu-so Qb’s springing up around the house of someone with a dedicated Naim networked music system in the listening room, and I can see that happening more with the Qb than with the original Mu-so – not because of the higher price of the Mu‑so, but because the Qb is more like a teeny-tiny Naim system than the larger Mu‑so. Some are already doing this, combining the big Naim system in the main room with devices like Sonos Play:3 and Play:5 speakers in secondary rooms. The Mu-so Qb is the perfect upgrade in such homes, and I’d wager that most of those homes will be almost entirely Sonos-free in fairly short order.

Here’s why. My classical-loving father-in-law has just discovered jazz and has started asking me questions about the subject. Rather than drag him into the listening room and play him a handful of tracks in which he expressed interest, I played him a quick burst of Art Tatum, followed by some Oscar Peterson, and then on to Herbie Hancock (he’s very into piano, too), played quick, dirty, and fairly loud in seconds, all from the kitchen. Were I to have done that on something less than competent, he’s the kind of listener who would be more focused on the minutiae than the way the three players ‘flow’. Were it not capable of being played loud, those 70+ years of concert going would mean Tatum especially would disappear beneath the background noise of tinnitus. Instead, he revelled in his burgeoning jazznological knowledge in spotting how Art Tatum was extending out ragtime, how Peterson chilled it out, and then how Hancock re-inserted the groove.

Here’s why, part II. I spent some time listening to BBC Six Music and Spotify discovering new sounds that I would not normally do through ‘the stereo’ but instead would normally find from the desktop of my computer. This made those discovery moments so much richer, in part because I was trying to distract myself while chopping vegetables, but also in part because it made me want to find those albums and play them through the main system.

I even get the reasons why Naim went with ‘slightly-stereo’ instead of heroic amounts of DSP. It sounds better. You listen longer. You play louder (remember this when you install one in your kid’s bedroom; the days of them quietly nodding away in the corner to their headphones might quickly end with a Qb in their room, and you’ll reconnect with parents from the 1950s-1990s who had to shout ‘turn it down or else!’ threateningly at a closed door). It doesn’t crap out at high volumes or sound phasey at low levels. And most importantly, it doesn’t need to apologise for itself sonically thanks to the design. I don’t think that’s unique to not using DSP.

Ultimately, I’m not surprised Mu-so Qb was one of the big hits of CES – it puts a smile on your face! In truth, I’ve possibly spent more time just listening to sounds through the Mu-so Qb than I have any high-end audio device I’ve had in the last two years, because it’s just so damn fun and easy to operate. Basically, the only downtime was when my iPad needed a charge. This gets to the absolute core of what music is all about, without costing a fortune! Very highly recommended!

Technical Specifications

Type: integrated streaming system

Inputs: UPnP,TM AirPlay, Spotify and Internet Radio via wired Ethernet or Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (with aptX) USB/iOS (USB Type-A socket), Optical S/PDIF (TosLink) up to 96kHz. Analogue: 3.5mm jack
Audio formats: WAV, FLAC and AIFF up to 24bit/192kHz, ALAC (Apple Lossless) up to 24bit/96kHz, MP3 up to 48kHz, 320kbit (16 bit), AAC up to 48kHz, 320kbit (16bit), OGG and WMA up to 48kHz (16bit), Bluetooth SBC, AAC and aptX (Note: All formats to 48kHz maximum over wireless network)
Internet radio: vTuner premium
Connectivity: Ethernet (10/100Mbps) Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) Bluetooth, RC5 remote-control
Speaker system: Dual, three-way
Amplication: 6 × 75 Watts into 8 Ohms
Finish: Brushed aluminium casework, silver anodised heatsink, black fabric grille. Grille options in Deep Blue, Vibrant Red, Burnt Orange
Dimensions (W×H×D): 12.2×62.8×25.6cm
Weight: 13kg
Price: £595

Manufactured by: Naim Audio

URL: www.naimaudio.com/mu-so-qb

Tel: +44 (0)333 321 9923

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CanJam SoCal 2016 Report, Part 4

Below, please find Part 4 of our four-part SoCal CanJam 2016 report highlighting—in alphabetical order—a set of manufacturers ranging from Questyle to WyWires.

Enjoy.

Questyle

Questyle Audio Engineering’s CanJam SoCal 2016 demonstrations were, to a degree, a reprise of the firm’s presentation at this year’s CES event, meaning that—for headphonistas—there were two main points of emphasis.

For those who prize components that offer a well judged balance of high performance and high value there is the firm’s new balanced output CMA600i headphone amp/DAC ($1,299). While the CMA600i does not quite reach the performance levels of, say, an ensemble comprising the firm’s CAS192 DAC and one or two CMA800R amps, it is arguably the next best thing and at a price that fairly shouts “value for money!”

For those who are looking to push performance limits (and have the wallets to back such a venture), Questyle offers what has come to be called its ‘Golden Stack’, which is offered as a state-of-the-art headphone electronics suite. The Golden Stack consists of four Golden Edition components: the CMA 800P Golden preamplifier ($3,495), the CAS 192 Golden DAC ($2,999), and a pair of CMA 800R Golden amps ($2,999/each). The Golden treatment, by the way, is far more than just a styling exercise (although the units do sport golden-hued faceplates and control knobs); significantly, Golden models receive special uprated ceramic circuit boards and a host of significantly upgraded, premium performance parts.

RBH Sound

The Utah-based firm RBH Sound is perhaps best known for its high-performance loudspeakers, which are sold both for two-channel and home theatre applications, but in recent years a growing portion of the firm’s business has centred on earphones, and now full-size headphones.

The model that caught my eye and that I think will likely win audiophile approval is the firm’s astonishingly sophisticated HP-2 headphone priced at $249. The reason I chose the word ‘sophisticated’ is that, unlike any other headphone I know of in or near its price class, the HP-2 features dynamic drivers whose diaphragms are made of—get this—beryllium. As many two-channel loudspeaker enthusiasts already know, beryllium is an extremely light and stiff material that is just about perfect for use in diaphragms for drive units that need to be quick, agile, and responsive. The only catch, though, is that beryllium diaphragms typically require difficult and highly specialised (read, expensive) manufacturing techniques.

Apparently RBH has leveraged expertise gleaned from its wealth of loudspeaker manufacturing experience in order to overcome that problem, in the process creating a $249 headphone whose technology and sound quality invite comparisons with considerably more expensive models from the competition.

RHA Audio

The Scottish firm RHA Audio had planned to use CanJam SoCal 2016 as a platform to give enthusiasts one last pre-launch chance to audition the firm’s upcoming, almost-ready-for-production, and eagerly awaited portable DACAmp M1.

Unfortunately, a minor tragedy scuttled those plans very early on the first day of the show, in that a show attendee who had been enjoying listening to RHA’s DACAmp M1 prototype inadvertently dropped the unit (on the floor, I believe), causing irreparable internal damage. (Actually, I’m told the sturdy little unit will be easy to fix, but will then require firmware reloading that can only be done at the factory.)

Suffice it to say that RHA Audio started the show with a ‘bang’, but not of the good kind, so that a once fully functioning pre-production prototype suddenly became a ‘static display model’, albeit a very handsome display model. Despite this setback, the RHA team soldiered on with demonstrations of the firm’s wide range of excellent yet affordable earphones, but with the DACAmp M1 tucked away on the sidelines, suitable only for photography. We’ll all have to wait for the Munich High End show to see the DACAmp M1 back in action.

Riva Audio

At last year’s CanJam SoCal event, Riva made waves with its then new Riva Turbo X Bluetooth surround sound speaker ($299, as reviewed in Hi-Fi+ Issue 133). We (and many others) regard the Turbo X as a fine solution for those seeking a fun, easy-to-use, and accessibly priced entry point to the world of high(er) performance sound components. For this year’s CanJam gathering, however, Riva brought us something new in the form of its cost and size-reduced Riva S Bluetooth speaker ($249), which in many respects can be considered a ‘junior’ version of the larger Turbo X.

Why isn’t the new model called the Turbo S? The short answer is that on the S model Riva decided to omit the ‘Turbo EQ’ power-boost switch from which the Turbo X derived its name. Fear not, though, the Riva S provides a so-called Power Mode that provides equivalent power boost functions to those provides by the Turbo X’s more elaborate ‘Turbo EQ’ mode. In any event, just bear in mind that the new model is called the Riva S, pure and simple.

Like its bigger brother, the Riva S incorporates: a seven-driver array (three active ADX drivers and four passive drivers, but drivers somewhat smaller than those in the larger Turbo X), a three-channel amplifier with 30 watts of total output, and the all-important DSP-driven Trillium and Trillium Surround processing modes that make the Turbo X such a joy to hear. But, in an interesting new twist, the Riva S actually adds one highly desirable playback mode that the original Turbo X didn’t have: namely, Riva S offers a Truewireless mode that enables “syncing two Riva S speakers wirelessly to create left and right channel stereo.” The Riva S also provides a Party Mode through which it is possible two “pair two (Bluetooth) devices to one Riva S for multi-user control.” One further nice touch is that the Riva S automatically comes with a heavy-duty canvas carry case, whereas the carry case for the Turbo X was an extra cost option. Nicely done, Riva.

Watch for an upcoming Hi-Fi+ review of the Riva S. (In fact, I’m listening to our two Riva S review samples operating in stereo Truewireless mode as I write these words.)

Sennheiser

This venerable German offered a display highlighting its two newest headphones, not including the mega-mega-dollar second-generation Orpheus system, which costs more than a very, very nicely equipped BMW 4-series. Thus, the display focused primarily on the HD630VB ($499.95, where VB stands for Variable Bass) and the new HD800S ($1699.95, and a meaningful update on the HD800, which is an acknowledged classic).

It was good to get a chance for a few minutes of careful, concentrated listening with the HD630VB—a model that, in my view, is very often misunderstood and thus under-appreciated by some enthusiasts. Because the headphone provides a user-controllable bass contour control on one of the HD630VB’s ear cups, there has been some tendency to regard the feature as more of a gimmick than a useful tool and so to avoid taking the HD630VB seriously. But I believe that if we listen to the HD630VB with an open mind and open ears, it will quickly become apparent that it is a worthy and full-fledged member of Sennheiser’s upper-tier HD-series family of headphones. The VB control, far from being a gimmick, turns out to be very useful in helping the headphone adapt to environments where there may be greater or lesser amounts of low-frequency noise present. Watch for an upcoming Hi-Fi+ review of the HD630VB.

Sennheiser’s lone HD800S sample at the show was shared back-and-forth, depending on the time of day, between the Sennheiser demonstration table on the main floor of the show and a local Sennheiser dealer’s demonstration room on the next floor up. Thus began a comedy of errors of sorts through which I pursued the elusive HD800S upstairs and downstairs a couple of times, only to hear, repeatedly, “we just moved the HD800S to our other demo location.” Rinse, and repeat. You get the idea. The fact is that I never did catch up to the HD800S at CanJam SoCal, though not for lack of trying. (Happily, I did have the opportunity to hear the headphone at CES this past January). My thought: Next time, Sennheiser, please send two sets of the HD800S headphones, if you can spare them.

64 Audio (1964 Ears)

64 Audio (previously better know as ‘1964 Ears’) is a Vancouver, WA-based maker of CIEMs and universal-fit earphones, most of which feature the firm’s ADEL (Ambrose Diaphonic Ear Lens) technologies, which we’ll explore in a bit more depth in a moment. For now, though, it helps to know that the firm offers and eight-model range of A-series CIEMs with ADEL technology, a corresponding eight-model range of U-series universal-fit earphones with ADEL technology, and a two-model range of stage/live-music-orientated V-series CIEMS that do not incorporate ADEL features. CIEM pricing ranges from $599 for the two-drive A2 model to $1,999 for the 12-driver A12 model.

What the concept behind ADEL technology? ADEL is the brainchild of Stephen Ambrose, who claims to have created the world’s first in-ear monitor in—you guessed it—1964. Ambrose has actively followed research on hearing and on noise-induced hearing loss and has come to the conclusion that—in many cases—hearing problems related to earphone use are not necessarily volume level-related (as is commonly supposed), but rather are caused by the pneumatic overpressure conditions to which most earphones and CIEMs are prone. To address this problem, Ambrose developed ADEL, which in simple terms is a mechanical, secondary ‘eardrum’ created to absorb excess pneumatic pressure while still allowing sound waves (and earphone voicing characteristics) to be preserved and to sound natural and normal. Most 64 Audio models incorporate automatically adjusted ADEL modules, while some also provide ADEL MAMs (manual adjust modules), which allow even finer tuning of sonic characteristics.

In the not too distant future, Hi-Fi+ hopes to review 64 Audio’s ten-driver A10 CIEMs ($1,799), which are said to offer the most neutral and thus audiophile friendly voicing of any of the 64 Audio models.

SoundMAGIC

The Chinese headphone and earphone specialist SoundMAGIC continues to expand its value-priced range of full-size headphones and universal-fit earphones. Accordingly, SoundMAGIC’s CanJam SoCal demonstration table highlighted the firm’s full-size Ventos P55 closed-back headphones ($200), which are said to offer “highly detailed and accurate sound.”

In turn, the firm showed its very inexpensive ES19S noise-isolating earphones (starting at just $15), its mid-priced ES50S earphones with bass ports (starting at $50), and its upper mid-price ES80S earphones (starting at 60.00). Most of these models have—or can have—signal cables with in-line mic/remote control modules for use with smartphones.

Stax

Many headphonistas associate the name Stax with the firm’s über expensive but also über high-performance SR-009 electrostatic headphone—an acknowledged headphone performance icon if ever there was one. But honestly, great though the SR-009 is, enthusiasts must eventually decide for themselves whether it makes sense (or is even financially feasible) to spend upwards of $5000 for a pair of headphones. At CanJam SoCal, however, Stax surprised and delighted me (and probably many other show attendees) by taking concrete steps to reduce the high cost of entry into the oh-so-exclusive electrostatic headphone club.

To this end, Stax released three new electrostatic Lambda-series models (these are the models with oblong, rectangular ear cup housings) with matching electrostatic amplifiers: the SR-L300 headphone with SRM 252S amp (just $900 for the combination), the SR-L500 headphone with the SRM 353X amp ($1600 for the combination), the SR-L700 headphone ($1,400) with matching SRM-006tS hybrid valve/solid-state electrostatic amp ($1,300). The first two of these headphone/amp combinations go a long way toward making complete electrostatic headphone systems relatively affordable, with prices on a par with those of higher-quality dynamic-type headphone systems.

The latter combination, featuring the SR-L700 headphone, is in my view really something very special, in that the drive units in the SR-L700 are patterned directly after those of the top-class SR-009—a familial resemblance you can both see and hear. For those who have yearned to possess Stax SR-009s but could not manage their steep asking price, my thought is that the SR-L700 may well be the next best thing in the Stax line up (potentially on a par with if not actually better than the SR-007mkII, which presently is the number two model) and for only about 27% of the price of the flagship. Time will tell, but I suspect the SR-L700 will prove to be a great headphone at an attractive price for the level of quality on offer.

Taction Technology

Taction is a Los Gatos, CA-based firm whose first product will be the Taction Kannon haptic headphone ($499). For those not familiar with the term or the concept, the idea behind haptic headphones is that they reproduce not only the sound but also the tactile ‘feel’ of low bass, adding a heightened degree or musical realism and impact in the process. With this end in mind, Taction has been hard at work developing a headphone that artfully combines a traditional dynamic driver with a well crafted, proprietary Taction haptic driver. With gaming applications in mind, the Kannon incorporates a slender boom-type microphone with a built-in foam noise shield (although Taction may well offer variants without the mic, too).

The Kannon provides a well thought-through inline control module that provides an on/off switch for the haptic driver and haptic driver level controls, plus a mute switch for the mic.

Ultimate Ears

As at other recent headphone/earphone shows, Ultimate Ears focused on demonstrating its optical ear scanning system, with which the firm has had a great deal of success thus far. Many would-be CIEM buyers feel more than a little bit queasy about the idea of having ear mould impressions taking (and, in fairness, it does feel somewhat strange to have thick, viscous ear mould compound squirted into one’s ear canals and outer ears). Happily, UE’s optical scanning methodology solves this problem in the scanner probe is no more scary or intrusive than a typical otoscope as most if not all of us have encountered when having check ups with our physicians. It’s a quick, painless, and more-or-less anxiety-free substitute for having traditional ear mould impressions made and one that leads to the creation of comfortable and precisely fitted CIEM earpieces.

UE’s main product highlight for the show involved its newest model of CIEM; namely, the Pro Reference Remastered ($999, and covered in a preliminary way in a recent Hi-Fi+ blog), which is a significant update on the firm’s well respected, earlier-generation In-Ear Reference Monitor or Pro Reference CIEM. As with the earlier model, the new Pro Reference Remastered has been developed by UE in conjunction with the engineering team at Capitol Studios, which has approved the Pro Reference Remastered for studio monitoring and mastering applications.

As a side note, let me point out that our photo, here, shows what is plainly a universal-fit version of the Pro Reference Remastered CIEM. So far as I am aware, this universal-fit version is not an actual product, but rather is a convenient demonstration vehicle that lets prospective Pro Reference Remastered buyers get a chance to hear the product’s voicing and other sonic characteristics in action before finalising their purchase decisions.

Verisonix/Mitchell & Johnson

Verisonix is, along with ENIGMAcoustics, co-owner of the technology rights for a self-biasing electrostatic driver that can be used in conjunction with a dynamic driver to create comparatively easy-to-drive hybrid electrostatic/dynamic driver-equipped headphones. Thus far, we have seen this technology applied in a pointedly high-end orientated way in the ENIGMAcoustics Dharma D1000 headphone, but there is also interest in applying a presumably cost-reduced variant of the technology in considerably lower priced headphones that will be brought to market by the value-minded audio company Mitchell & Johnson.

To show what is possible, Verisonix/Mitchell & Johnson joined forces to demonstrate two of the models they have in development: the I502C (~$199) and the N501 (~$499). If all goes according to plan, Mitchell & Johnson will ultimately bring both of these headphones (and several other hybrid electrostatic/dynamic models as well) to market, though the units on hand at CanJam carried Verisonix badging and logos. I had heard even earlier variants of these headphones in January at CES and I’m pleased to say that they appear to have taken some sonic strides forward since then. In fact, in my CanJam notes I wrote that the I502C seemed to offer “good value for money,” while the N501 struck me as having made “great forward progress” since CES. This is a technology and these are brands to watch closely in the future.

Warwick Audio Technologies

As a spin-off from development work conducted at the Coventry, UK-based University of Warwick, Warwick Audio Technologies may just have found a way to reduce the high costs of electrostatic headphone drivers while also greatly improving their unit-to-unit consistency. Using processes pioneered at the University of Warwick, Warwick Audio Technologies has found a way to produce laminated, three-layer sheets or rolls of electrostatic driver material that can be trimmed to virtually any driver/diaphragm size or shape a designer might desire. Warwick calls this the HPEL (High-Precision Electrostatic Laminate) driver, with the three layers of the material consisting of a polycarbonate layer that serves as the driver’s electrostatic charge-bearing diaphragm, a thin film insulating layer, and a conductive mesh layer that serves as the driver stator (the HPEL is a so-called ‘single-ended’ electrostatic driver).

To power its HPEL drivers, Warwick has also created proprietary Class A and Class AB amplifiers that provide an appropriate 1300V bias signal for the HPEL drivers. Warwick has created a promising proof-of-concept/demonstration electrostatic headphone and amplifier(s), but in the long run the firm is less interested in manufacturing headphones or amps on its own, but rather hopes to license its technologies to an already established headphone manufacturer.

Wells Audio

Bespoke amplifier builder Wells Audio introduced two new models that will, in essence, represent the ‘alpha and the omega’ of the Wells headphone amplifier line up. At the top of the top table is the new Wells Audio Headtrip Reference head amplifier ($14,000 including an outboard power supply), while at the opposite end of the pricing spectrum is the new Wells Audio Milo (~$1,499), which was shown in prototype form only.

The Headtrip Reference, as you might expect, is basically a hot-rodded version of the already superb Headtrip, while the Milo attempts to capture much of the sound of Wells’ excellent upper-middle-tier Enigma amp, but at a much lower price point. We predict the relatively affordable Milo will be an instant winner when it arrives in full production form. Note, though, that the unconventional chassis shown in our photos will be changed to something more traditional as the design moves toward full production.

Westone

The Colorado Springs, CO-based in-ear specialist Westone showed three significant new products at CanJam SoCal 2016. First up was a pre-production prototype of a clever new self-powered, Bluetooth cable that will be compatible with most of the firm’s newer generation CIEMs and universal–fit earphones and that is expected to sell for about $150. Westone’s Bluetooth cable should arrive on the market around June of this year.

Next, we have Westone’s new Skeleton-series CIEM’s, which are billed as CIEMs “perfect for any active lifestyle.” The Skeleton name derives from the fact that Skeleton-series earpieces do not entirely fill the wearer’s ears as would typical CIEMS; instead, Skeleton earpieces feature and inner section that fills the wearer’s ear canals, per se, but then has a skeletal outer perimeter frame to help reduce weight while accurately positioning the earpiece within the outer ear. The Skeleton models also look too cool for words. There are two Skeleton models: the single-driver S10 ($249.99) and the dual-driver S20 ($349.99).

Finally, Westone is on the cusp of release a new Ambient AM Pro series of universal-fit earphones that—check this out—deliberately allow ambient environmental sounds (e.g., the sounds of fellow musicians onstage or of a live audience) to be combined with high-accuracy music playback without, says Westone, compromising the frequency response of the earphone in any way. Westone uses so-called SLED technology to make this combination of reproduced + ambient sound possible; then, to allow users to control just how much ambient sound is allowed to pass through, Westone fits its Ambient AM Pro-series earphone with externally adjustable TRU audio filters. There will be three Ambient AM Pro models: the single-driver AM PRO 10 ($189.99), the dual-driver AM PRO 20 ($339.99), and the triple-driver AM PRO 30 ($439.99). Expect the Ambient models to arrive about the time you see this blog appear online.

Woo Audio

For the past several shows, Woo Audio has been showing various iterations of its compact, battery-powered, entirely valve-driven, transformer coupled WA8 Eclipse headphone amp/DAC. Now, the WA8 Eclipse is finally in production and it looks and sounds better than ever. The WA8 sells for $1,799 in black or space grey, or $1,899 in gold.

The WA8 is a Class A, single-ended triode design and can, at the user’s option, be set for two-valve or three-valve operation. The DAC section of the WA8 is based on an ESS ES9018K2M SABRE Reference DAC and supports decoding of files at up to 24/384 resolutions. The unit sports a 3400mAh lithium ion battery, which affords up to four hours of playback time.

What words cannot easily convey is that the WA8, which is quiet enough to use with CIEMS and powerful enough to drive virtually any full-size headphone, manages in every way to sound like a larger and more cost amp/DAC than it actually is.

WyWires

In recent headphone shows, WyWires has been winning friends with its Red-series headphone cables, which are priced at $299/5-foot pair. For CanJam SoCal, however, WyWires founder Alex Sventitsky rolled out an even higher performance headphone upgrade cable in the form of his new Platinum-series headphone cables, priced at $899/5-foot pair (or slightly higher when terminated with connectors for Sennheiser HD800/HD800S headphones). For self-evident reasons of cost, Platinum cables are intended specifically for use with true, top-tier headphones.

RHA Audio S500i universal-fit earphones

As high-end audio enthusiasts, the components we enjoy tend to be, by normal mortals’ standards, crazily expensive. There are many people who love music (passionately so), but are not made of cubic money, and therefore need listening devices that are genuinely good yet also inexpensive to acquire. In an ideal world, it would be nice to think that competent manufacturers of high performance earphones would work to address this market niche. The trouble, at least in my experience, is that you can easily find cheap earphones or you can search out good earphones, but rarely do you encounter earphones that are at once good and eminently affordable.

Happily, though, the relentlessly inventive Scots at RHA Audio heard the pleas of music lovers on tight budgets and answered them with a lovely little £39.95 earphone called the S500i. Before we begin, though, one point we should clarify is that while the price of the RHA S500i is quite modest, everything else about the earphones—including materials, quality of build, sound quality, and included accessories—is up to RHA’s typically high standards.

The S500i is a very compact, iPhone-compatible, dynamic driver-equipped earphone whose earpiece housings are made of an aluminium alloy. Indeed, the housings look like tiny metal cylinders or barrels (roughly 7.5mm in diameter) with their outer ends cut on a stylish diagonal angle. Like all other RHA models we have reviewed to date, the S500i features its own miniature, purpose-built ‘micro dynamic driver’—in this case, RHA’s model 140.1 drivers, which according to RHA provide ‘vibrant, immersive and detailed full-range sound’.

The earphone is fitted with an iDevice-compatible three-button remote/microphone and a distinctive signal cable that is fabric-sheathed over most of its length, but that features a smooth, snag-free covering for those portions of the cable that run from the ‘Y-yoke’ to the earpieces themselves. The connector plug, in keeping with RHA practice, is a machined metal part with a knurled gripping surface and a gold-plated, four-conductor 3.5mm plug. Completing the picture are sets of dual density silicone ear tips (two pairs each, sizes S, M, and L) and one pair of dual-flange silicone ear tips, a plastic ear tip storage carrier, a garment clip, and a mesh carry bag. Those who are not part of the Apple ecosystem may wish to note that in addition to the S500i RHA also offers an even less expensive version called the S500, priced at £29.95. The S500 foregoes the in-line, three-button remote/microphone module, but is otherwise identical to its sibling.

Before talking about the S500i’s sound, one item we should discuss is the matter of ergonomics. RHA models we have tested in the past have shown admirable flexibility of fit and have come very close to the ideal of being true ‘one size fits all’ designs, but the S500i struck me as being somewhat more ‘fit-sensitive’ than its siblings. I think this perceived ‘fit sensitivity’ perhaps results from the fact that the S500i earpieces are almost too compact for their own good; the cylindrical earpiece ‘barrels’ are very short, meaning that for those with deeply set ear canals, the earphones need to be inserted to a depth where they nearly ‘disappear’ both from view and from reach. Another factor is that the S500i signal cables exit from the sides—not the ends—of the earpiece housings, which can in some instances create interference between the cables and the wearer’s outer ears. But with these observations noted, let me emphasize that, after a bit of trial and error experimentation, I was able to find a wearing position where the S500i’s fit comfortably and provided the airtight ear-tip seal so vital to optimal sound quality.

For my listening tests I decided to evaluate the RHA S500i with the following source components: a Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone, an Apple iPad Air tablet, a Lotoo PAW Gold digital audio player, and a Questyle QP1R digital audio player. The train of thought, here, is that these components nicely represent the range of sources with which the S500i might be used, from very modest ones (the Galaxy smartphone) to very high quality portable ones (the Lotoo and the Questyle).

Once properly fitted, the S500i was ready to strut its stuff, and very good sonic stuff it turned out to be. Let’s start with voicing. Some RHA models such as the MA750 and T10i earphones exhibit voicing that is generally neutral, but tinged with gentle touches of natural organic warmth and desirable hints of bass emphasis. In contrast, the S500i offers a somewhat brighter, more midrange-forward, and thus more clarity and detail-centric presentation. In turn, the S500i’s lower midrange and bass are wonderfully neutral, with only the slightest touch of bass lift—a quality that might come as a disappointment for those seeking a goodly dollop of bass boost, but which will seem nearly ideal for accuracy-minded audiophiles. Granted, those who favour the warmth, bass punch, and balanced refinement of the more costly RHA earphones might initially find the S500i a little too ‘cold’ or forward sounding for their tastes. Nevertheless, I think many listeners would be favourably impressed by the S500i‘s openness, transparency, and clarity, coupled with its taut and well-defined bass—all of which are exemplary for its modest price.

Part of the method behind the S500i’s voicing has to do with the fact that it is meant to be driven directly from iPhones, iPads, and the like, which tend to have relatively dark sounding and softly focused analogue output sections. Happily, the S500i’s voicing marries up in a symbiotic way with most smartphones and tablets, drawing out musical details and nuances that, with less accomplished earphones, would simply be lost or buried. In essence, then, the S500i lets users of iDevices and the like enjoy a significantly ‘higher end’ listening experience than might ordinarily be available to them.

To hear the benefits of the S500i’s voicing in action, let me suggest listening to the track ‘Broken Arrow’ from Robbie Robertson’s eponymous album [Robbie Robertson, Geffen]. The song is introduced by a softly syncopated, reverberant high percussion figure that quickly is echoed by a much lower-pitched tom-tom pattern; a few bars later, a gently plucked electric guitar and the brooding, mysterious sound of a synthesizer join in, creating a deeply ethereal mood. Finally, a second keyboard instrument joins the mix, adding a plaintive and subtly melancholic sound that perfectly underscores the song’s melody line.

As the song unfolds, the S500i’s upper midrange and treble clarity do much to gently expose (and allow listeners to savour) the sounds of the high percussion instruments, the plucked guitar, the keyboards, and Robertson’s vocals, yet without giving them too much emphasis or causing them to become brittle or strident. At the same time, the RHA’s taut and articulate lower mids and bass do a fine job of revealing the purring, growling modulations of the synthesizer’s bass passages, making them sound all the more compelling in the process. Overall, the S500i’s sound directs the listener’s attention toward the sumptuous textures that help drive the song forward, providing an ideal backdrop for the overarching sound of Robbie Robertson’s voice.

When playing the same track through RHA’s upmarket T10i earphone, it is apparent that the more costly model serves up a somewhat more sophisticated sound, but also sound that is noticeably warmer and more bass-centred. In back-to-back comparisons with the T10i, then, the S500i actually fares quite well, because it gently pushes Robertson’s evocative vocals and the soulful guitar work featured on the track forward in the mix. While we can and should admire the well-rounded performance of RHA’s more costly earphones, the key point is that the modestly priced S500i is fully able to hold its own—even with its own big brothers—owing to its unexpectedly clear and well-defined sound.

As with many audio overachievers, the hard part about assessing the S500i is avoiding the temptation to compare it to far more costly sonic fare (something the earphone’s overall fit, finish, and mix of accessories invites you to do). So, to get a proper appraisal of the S500i, you almost have to force yourself to chant repeatedly, “It only costs £39.95…” If you sample other models in its immediate price class, it soon becomes clear that RHA’s entry-level earphone is, in a sense, a man among boys. As such, it serves as a delightful way to introduce music lovers on a budget to genuinely high quality sound at a price that won’t break the bank. Well done, RHA.

Technical Specifications

Type: Dynamic driver-equipped, iPhone-compatible, universal-fit earphone

Driver complement: RHA model 140.1 ‘micro dynamic’ drivers (one per earpiece)

Accessories: six pairs of dual density ear tips (S, M, L), one pair of dual‑flange ear tips (S), plastic ear tip holder, mesh carry pouch, garment clip

Frequency response: 16Hz–22kHz

Impedance: 16 Ohm

Sensitivity: 100dB

Weight: 14g

Price: £39.95, $49.95

Manufactured by: RHA Audio

URL: www.rha.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 141 221 8506

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Luxman C-700u preamp and M-700u stereo power amplifier

Luxman long had more cachet than many rival Japanese audio brands. It sits in a relatively underpopulated strata it shares with Accuphase, positioned above the mainstream of Yamaha, Pioneer, etc., but more widely known than esoterica made by the likes of Kondo or Robert Koda. Luxman has achieved this by dint of perseverance and consistently high build and sound quality. The company was founded in 1925, but didn’t start building finished audio components until 1959 when it introduced the MA-7 valve amplifier. Before that, Luxman made components and kits for the radio age.

Luxman’s evolution has been marked by changes in ownership that have not always been favourable: the brand was sold in 1984 to car-audio giant Alpine, which attempted to broaden Luxman’s mass-market appeal with what might best be described as ‘mixed’ results. But six years ago, Luxman was acquired by International Audio Group, the Chinese owner of QUAD, Audiolab, Mission, et al. However, unlike other brands in the IAG group, Luxman products are designed and made in Japan, which is one reason why fit and finish is among the very best in the business; you will be hard pressed to find a European or American brand that can build to the same quality at the same price. Luxman has a wide range of products presently comprising 47 models, including SACD players, valve amplifiers, DACs, turntables, and more. It is a bigger range, in fact, than most high-end brands in our industry.

The C-700u is the penultimate preamp in a range of five, while the M-700u sits a bit further down the pecking order in a line-up of six power amps. Both are luxuriously executed components with the sort of controls that makes audiophiles go slightly weak at the knees. The C-700u naturally has the advantage in this regard, thanks to the two knobs and various switches it sports, not to mention a dimmable display that indicates status with what at first appear to be random orange dots. Look more closely (or turn up the backlighting), and you can see these dots actually relate to legends inscribed on the glass.

The C-700u is a line stage: a preamplifier without appendages such as a phono stage, headphone amp, or onboard DAC. This is a purist analogue component, albeit not one that’s stripped to the bone; there are, for instance, that anathema of flat earth thinking… tone controls. You have the option to adjust bass and treble, which – if we are truly honest – is something that can be very useful with many recordings. It’s easy to bypass these with the ‘line straight’ setting if you want to maintain your hairshirt image. Settings also exist for phase selection on the balanced inputs and ‘loudness’: another unfashionable feature that obviously still has its fans in some parts of the globe.

Inputs are plentiful and come capped with plastic covers. There are five RCA pairs and two XLRs, plus two of each flavour on the output side. AV processors can be accommodated with the ‘external preamp’ input and there are monitor and record terminals for the tape fraternity. Control is aided by a handset with a comprehensive array of small buttons; thankfully there aren’t too many buttons, and the volume is easily located.

The M-700u power amp is a substantial if not quite back-breaking piece, but you do need to respect its 27.5 kilos on installation. It’s rated at 120 Watts per channel into eight Ohms and nearly doubles this into four. Alternatively, the M-700u can be bridged to deliver 420 Watts in mono. Switches are provided on the rear for changing the phase of the XLR inputs and choosing stereo/mono operation. The speaker cable terminals are particularly chunky and only accept spade connectors. The side you see more often has an input selection switch and a display dimming option, although why you wouldn’t want to see those glorious VU meters glowing escapes me. Under the lid, this is a Class AB amplifier with a three-stage Darlington bipolar transistor output stage and a 550VA, EI type power transformer. The M-700u bears a strong resemblance to its bigger brother, the M-900u, but the fully-balanced nature of the latter along with its ability to double output into a halving of load would suggest that it’s family resemblence is only skin deep.

I set the Luxman pairing up with my resident PMC fact.8 speakers and got such good results, there didn’t seem to be a need to change to anything else, after I took a closer look at the orange indicators on the C-700u! After spending half an hour thinking that there seemed rather more bass and treble than usual, I noticed that the preamplifier was running in ‘loudness’ mode, confirming that it always pays to watch the details when installing a new piece of equipment! After the bumpy start, things quickly got more revealing, even if the sound initially seemed rather hard edged. I was using the Naim NAC N-272 as a streamer because it’s rather good. The Naim source doesn’t sound harsh, but the Luxman pair is very, very quiet and unusually transparent, and this was highlighting something in the source or cabling that was grating. It turned out to be an Ethernet cable, the one that carries data from the server to the streamer, so quite a critical one it seems. Once that was sorted, the streamer let the amplifiers strut their stuff with gusto.

I say gusto, but Luxman is not that type of product: it’s a calm and clean sounding pairing that gets out of the way in true high-end style. They give the impression of having all the time in the world, with a serene and confident presentation that serves the music with ease.

The timing of this duo could be stronger; my reference control amp brought out the swing in Hot Club of San Francisco’s ‘Hot Lips’ [Yerba Buena Bounce, Reference Recordings, 24/176.4], while the C-700u made it sound more open and dropped the noise floor, but was less coherent overall. That said, the Luxman is a compelling preamplifier that pulls out nuances that many miss; the bass line on James Blood Ulmer’s ‘Crying’ [Live at the Bayerischer Hof, In+Out Records] is clearly defined in the context of a substantial kick drum and the massive scale of the venue, as reflected in the vocal. It’s a remarkable recording, and this combo lets you know as much without trying.

As a pair the Luxmans are positively sumptuous without being overblown, sweetened, or smoothed, and anything with tonal depth sounds more convincing than usual. That goes for voices, kick drums, trumpets… anything, and this, combined with the effortless delivery, makes for very articulate, full-flavoured vibes. The bass line on Herbie Hancock’s ‘Chameleon’ [Head Hunters, Columbia] has a darkness and fullness that is reminiscent of liquorice; rounded and shiny doesn’t really begin to cover it.

The Luxman pairing’s ability to reveal detail is largely because the noise floor is so low: put on a multi-layered recording and you hear all the layers, all the effects, and the precise nature of the image. This occurred with many tracks, but was blatant with James Blake’s ‘Retrograde’ [Overgrown, A&M]. What can often seem like a simple vocal performance turns out to be two clearly differentiated lines albeit by the same voice. The bass line is also rather more complex than many amps reveal; the presence of ambient maestro Brian Eno on production is abundantly clear.

The M-700u taken alone is a powerful and subtle beast. It’s not quite as emotionally engaging as the best examples of the breed, but considerably more revealing than the majority. I particularly loved the combination of control and fine detail. There is no sense of the amp gripping the speaker, but the layers it uncovers in the mix show that distortion is being kept well at bay. It’s not an iron fist, but its grip is smooth and firm.

Luxman remains a brand to be contended with; its sound is ultra refined, which mean that it can deliver a fully rendered, high-resolution sound that is tonally stronger than a great many solid state designs. This combined with world-class build and finish quality make the C-700u control amp and M-700u a very attractive proposition for anyone looking to discover what we mean by high-end. The price to performance and build ratio is impressive and should ensure that this venerable brand goes on to make its name with a new generation of music lovers.

Technical Specifications

Luxman C-700U

Type: Solid state line-stage preamplifier.

Analogue inputs: Five RCA single-ended inputs, two XLR balanced, AV processor input (via RCA jacks)

Analogue outputs: Two pairs of XLR balanced outputs, two pairs of RCA single‑ended outputs, one pair of single-ended RCA tape outputs

Input impedance: single ended 46kOhms, balanced 67 kOhms

Output impedance: single ended 50kOhms, balanced 100 kOhms

Bandwidth: single ended +0, –0.1 dB / 1V, balanced +0, –0.2 dB / 1V

Gain: not specified

Distortion: Not specified

Signal to Noise Ratio: single ended 125 dB/ balanced 122 dB

Dimensions (H×W×D): 130 × 440 × 430mm

Weight: 14.5kg

Price: £6,995

Luxman M-700U

Type: Solid state stereo power amplifier

Analogue inputs: One pair XLR balanced, one pair RCA single ended

Analogue outputs: One pair of speaker taps (via binding posts)

Power output: 120Wpc @ 8 Ohms, 210Wpc @ 4 Ohms

Bandwidth: 20Hz – 20kHz +/–0.1dB, 1Hz – 130kHz +/– 3dB

Distortion: 0.009 % or less

Signal to Noise Ratio: 115 dB

Dimensions (H×W×D): 190 × 440 × 427mm

Weight: 27.5kg

Price: £6,995

Manufacturer: Luxman

URL: www.luxman.com

UK Distributor: IAG UK

Tel: Tel: +44 (0)1480 447700

URL:www.iaggroup.com

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Robert Wyatt interview

The Canterbury Scene was not just the place where Paul Messenger (mis)spent his youth, it was a musical movement of the 1960s that resulted in some of the most original British bands of the era. We would not have had Gong, Caravan, Hatfield and the North, or Soft Machine without the Canterbury scene, and The Wilde Flowers were its most fertile breeding ground. The people involved came together in the early sixties but the ‘official’ formation occurred in 1964. It consisted of Robert Wyatt, Brian and Hugh Hopper, Richard Sinclair, and Kevin Ayers, all of whom practised at the Hopper family home near Canterbury. At this point Wyatt played drums, Brian was on sax, Hugh played bass, while Ayers and Sinclair played guitar and sang. Of the group, Kevin Ayres was the star turn: he was already considered a “pop musician” and “lived the lifestyle”, according to Brian Hopper.

Unlike more mainstream acts at the time, their influences were largely jazz: Wyatt was already well-versed in what was then called ‘modern jazz’, but rather than emulating their idols, The Wilde Flowers fused that jazz influence with the rhythm and blues sound that was popular at the time. Brian Hopper had spent a lot of time with Mike Ratledge (later with Soft Machine) prior to joining The Wilde Flowers and developed a free-form improvised style that he brought to the band, so the music they made was quite distinctive. They didn’t release anything at the time, but made several recordings that have been gathered on a new eponymous double CD by Floating World. This features the 22 tracks released in 1994 as The Tales of Canterbury and adds 12 more, including ‘The Pieman Cometh’ and ‘Hope For Happiness’, both recorded by Robert Wyatt and Brian Hopper in 2003, while the rest are from the early 1960s. These older cuts include a version of ‘That’s Alright Mama’ from 1962, which is barely recognisable as anything Elvis would have ever produced, and all the more refreshing for it.

As Brian puts it in the extensive history of the band included with the release, they were “trying consciously to break new ground”, and although the influences are detectable and mainly of blues and R’n’B varieties they were successful in their efforts. The Wilde Flowers gained the ‘e’ in their name thanks to Oscar Wilde (as beatniks, the band were heavily into poetry). They played their first gig at the Bear and Key in Whitstable and with further live work developed the knack of playing continuously for “anything up to an hour” – anyone looking for the grass roots of progressive rock, take note! They recorded their first session with Wout Steenhuis in Broadstairs, which included original compositions and tunes by Booker White and Chuck Berry, including the latter’s ‘Almost Grown’: again a very different sounding version thanks to Wyatt’s distinctive vocal style.

Kevin Ayers left after the session and was replaced by Graham Flight, a singer and blues harp player bearing some resemblance to Steve Winwood. His version of ‘Slow Walkin’ Talk’ is on the first disc and, like most of the material on this compilation, comes from tapes that Brian Hopper made of the acetates they produced. This combined with the relatively crude nature of the originals means that sound quality is not in the front league by any means, all of which contributes to the ‘art rock’ feel of the work.

The next chapter in The Wilde Flowers story involved Robert Wyatt vacating the drum stool to concentrate on vocals, a move that meant another drummer had to be found. In his place came Richard Coughlan, who was playing in a Canterbury dance band at the time. Coughlan also worked six days a week as a dental technician, something that conflicted with a gig the band had playing at the local cinema between children’s films: apparently he sneaked out of work for the 20 minute sets. This band recorded with Steenhuis in the Spring of 1966, and many of these songs were later adapted for Soft Machine by Wyatt, who left The Wilde Flowers to start Soft Machine with Kevin Ayers later the same year. Wyatt was replaced by Julian ‘Pye’ Hastings on vocals and guitar, and the band was augmented by organ player Dave Sinclair. This formation continued into 1967 but when Hugh Hopper left to join Soft Machine it gradually petered out albeit regrouping for various sessions including a demo recording for Hugh in ’69.

I managed to get in touch with Robert Wyatt and eeked a few comments out of him about the Wilde Flowers days and his apparent disinterest in making music today. It seems that he’s been distracted by politics; let’s hope he recovers soon!

JK: What memories do you have of the Wilde Flowers recordings?

RW: Most were demos, rehearsing material we could play at dances, and a few songs written by ourselves. Brian Hopper, who had a clarinet, a saxophone, and a guitar, liked to document our tentative ideas – I didn’t know that they would survive. But Brian became, professionally, a scientist, and perhaps already had the inclination to preserve specimens, however flawed, for what became his Canterbury archive.

I remember the mutual friendships among us, such as Brian and his friend Michael Ratledge, who I first knew as a nominal prefect at school. I doubt he ever disciplined us younger pupils at the Simon Langton grammar school for boys. That’s my kind of prefect!

Kevin Ayers lived in Herne Bay, on East Kent’s north coast. He was born in Malaya (now Malaysia), and had happy memories of times spent leaping about in the warm sea with the local children. This longing for a laid-back, sunny environment is clear from his later writings, a lovely body of work. Meanwhile, we’d been introduced on the grounds that he was the only other boy in East Kent with long hair. And indeed we got on very well. Simples.

Brian’s younger brother, Hugh (Hopper, latterly of Soft Machine), started writing early. I sang on what I believe was his first song – ‘Memories’ – only because he was too shy to sing them himself: a nice gift for me, then!

Guitarist Richard Sinclair had the advantage that his father was a professional musician, and so acquired all kinds of obscure information, such as How to Play In Tune. Always handy to have such a chap in a band, I think. Also guitarist ‘Pye’ Hastings, whose older brother Jimmy was a virtuoso reed-player, turned up. A real musician.

I just remember that though our preferences varied, they sometimes complemented each other.

JK: The record making process has changed quite dramatically since then, is there anything about the way it used to be done that you think we should go back to?

RW: We liked tape recorders. Hugh and Brian had fun playing tapes backwards, and making tape-loops, like the great Terry Riley. Even made Mobius loops. You can’t do those things so easily with digital stuff. 

JK: Why did this band not last longer?

RW: It was a teenage hobby, really, more about trying things out than achieving perfect results. Brian, at least, who took the original initiative, became a grown-up, so that was that.  

JK: I read that a producer on Top of the Pops didn’t want you to appear on a wheelchair for your performance of ‘I’m A Believer’, is that true?

RW: Yes. I asked him politely to go f**k himself. 

JK: How have your musical tastes changed since the Wilde Flowers days?

RW: Not fundamentally, but see answer to next question… My basic listening diet is the music BEFORE the sixties. From old 78 rpm records, to what used to be called modern jazz: Gil Evans, Charles Mingus, Archie Shepp…. Currently, though, music from the front lines of todays upheavals. For example the Syrian singer George Wassou, and the Russian-Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa.

JK: I see that Domino put out some of your solo work on vinyl again, what do you think of the vinyl revival?

RW: I love it. So nostalgic.

JK: Is there a chance of more music one day?

RW: My music room has become a dusty museum. I doubt that the ghosts who inhabit it would let me back in.

JK: So the only music that inspires you now is political. Have you written anything of that nature yourself?

RW: Me and Alf (Wyatt’s wife, Alfreda Benge) have written loads – our words and music have always been saturated with trying to digest the human world beyond ourselves. Musical inspiration comes from music itself. I was always interested in exploring beyond the idiom I inherited. My developing preoccupations are consistent, really, with how I’ve always approached living and working. I hope that makes sense.

Incidentally, both George Wassouf and Valentina Lisitsa are massively popular internationally – for their music. These are not esoteric references!

The Wilde Flowers eponymous album is out on the Floating World label now.

Benchmark AHB2 power amplifier

Benchmark made its mark on the audio fraternity in the late 2000s with the unusually compact, yet full featured, converter and preamplifier… the DAC1, the latest DAC2 incarnation of which I reviewed in these pages a couple of issues back. But, the brand’s origins start in founder Allen H. Burdick’s garage back in 1983, when he started making electronics for the broadcast industry. The company was incorporated two years later and moved to its current home in Syracuse, New York. It still has a pro-heavy product range, but until last year that range didn’t include a power amplifier, even if there has been a reference amp that Benchmark engineers have used for product development for some time. This former in-house only model was designed by Burdick himself (hence his initials gracing the facia of the AHB2), but it went through some major changes when Benchmark started working with THX and its achromatic audio amplifier technology, or AAA for short.

You get some indication of this technological back-story when unboxing this power amplifier, but what hits you first is its unusually compact size for the power output rating. The AHB2 is less than half the size of most power amps; you can tell by the back panel if you look at the relative size of the speaker outputs just how small. This challenges the usual assumption that size equals power quite seriously and this must make marketing a bit of a challenge in some regions. But Benchmark must be encouraged by the success of the even more compact DAC1 and 2, and perhaps it sees the end of the era of room-filling electronics more clearly than most.

As ever with Benchmark, it seems size does not limit feature count; not only does the AHB2 have conventional four-way binding posts, but there’s a pair of Neutrik’s Speakon connectors as well. This is an indication of its studio inclinations in one respect, but also a reflection of the fact that Benchmark makes a monitor (the SMS1) with matching inputs and a bi-amp or bi-wire option when using them. The AHB2 only has balanced inputs however, it being a fully balanced design. This is fine for pro applications and Benchmark DAC/pre owners, but less convenient for many domestic users who remain firmly single-ended.

Getting back to the THX connection, apparently the core design of this amplifier and its Class H power supply were designed by that organisation. At its heart the AHB2 has a switching power supply, which explains its diminutive size: it’s a Class H design rather than Class D because it features a Class AB output stage, and it uses multiple supply rails to improve efficiency. The Class AB output stage is a bit different from most: the AAA element consists of a feed-forward error correction amp that seeks to minimise distortion by “measuring, inverting, and buffering errors in the main amplifier”. It is claimed to be superior to conventional feedback designs when it comes to measured distortion.

This amp threw me a bit when I first tried to use it; my routine way of working with power amps is to leave them to warm up for an hour before listening, but I returned to find the amp was no longer powered up. A spot of manual diving later, I discovered that the ABH2 goes into standby if there’s no signal for 45 minutes. It claims to reach its operational peak within minutes, so there’s no need for permanent power up – something polar bears and studio bosses alike will undoubtedly appreciate (many in the recording industry might fail to spot the difference between polar bears and studio bosses, polar bears being moderately less ferocious when cornered). However, this feature along with the tiny display on the matching DAC2, and a volume control that turns itself down at power up, means there are a host of potential no-sound-although-the-source-is-playing scenarios. But this is a learning curve rather than an idiosyncratic issue, and I approve of Benchmark’s eco credentials.

As well as in- and output connections, the rear panel features bridging and gain switches, where the latter has three positions: low, mid, and high. These vary gain from 23dB to 9.2dB, making the amp more flexible in application presumably for pro-audio situations.

The majority of the auditioning with the AHB2 was done with the partnering DAC2 preamp/converter, its XLR outputs being better suited to the task than the RCAs on my resident Townshend Allegri. Listening started with PMC fact.8 speakers and the Melco N1-A as a digital source straight into the USB input on the DAC2. This combination was very revealing and rhythmically secure: Herbie Hancock’s ‘Maiden Voyage’ [Maiden Voyage, Blue Note] revealed the broad dynamic range available by building up slowly with a very quiet background. Orchestral dynamics were also well served, as the amp has considerable speed and an ability to deliver serious power with alacrity, and there’s no sense of overhang in the bass. This, conversely, also means that the quieter moments have considerable delicacy.

However, all was not entirely happy balance-wise, as the system sounded too lean when the level was cranked. However, this is not solely attributed to the amplifier: not all amp/speaker pairings work perfectly. So I moved onto a rather different option in the form of Bowers & Wilkins CM10 S2 floorstanders. This ported design has a warmer balance than the PMC and as I’ve discovered tends to prefer different amplifiers. This speaker allowed the Benchmark to reveal just how much power it can muster; the first movement of Symphony No.7 in A, Op.92 [Barenboim, Beethoven For All 24/96, Decca] sounds vigorous and full scaled as a result. Another Hancock album [Gershwin’s World, Verve] features Stevie Wonder singing ‘St Louis Blues’, in a performance that reminds you of just how great an artist he is. Here the voice is calm and effortless, the keyboard is played with a perfect groove, and the sound becomes a physical presence in the room. The bass, however, could not be tamed. I pulled the speakers out from the wall more than usual, but the bass remained overblown so that ultimately I came to the conclusion that the CM10 S2 was not the right speaker either, albeit not before Dr Feelgood’s ‘Roxette’ [Down By The Jetty, United Artists] raised the hairs on the back of my neck. The Benchmark has an immediacy that makes for uncanny realism, so a track like this is more intense and vital, more powerful in fact.

However, the bass was beginning to grate a little, but there was still one option on the speaker front to try: the Benchmark SMS1 that had been supplied with the amps with a view to doing a whole system review, a state of affairs that came to pass with gusto when I discovered just how well the combination gelled. The £2,699 SMS1 is a two-way bookshelf design with a fancy aluminium grille, hardwood cheeks, and an infinite baffle suspension, so no ports or transmission lines. It couples a 170mm copolymer mid/bass with a 25mm soft dome tweeter in a 343mm high box containing what by the sound of it are high quality components. As it would have been churlish not to, I used the matching Speakon terminated cables that the distributor supplied, and I have to admit the system was a blast.

The immediacy noted earlier came into another league and was joined by serious dynamics and a degree of resolution that made sense of the pricing if not the size of the components. The new Food album [This Is Not a Miracle, ECM] was palpable even at low levels, muscular and visceral in such a way that the blend of horns and electronica made a deeper impression than it had done initially. The Benchmark pairing proved analytical (in typical studio style) but not dry – just very revealing of recording style and balance. This meant that source quality was rather too obvious for the relatively crude nature of the standard WD NAS drive used in my second system. Put a nice slab of vinyl under the needle of a Rega RPM10, however, and you are in for a treat. The dynamic range, subtlety, shadings, and dynamics of Anouar Brahem’s Barzakh [ECM] were all in evidence in the context of an extremely quiet background and considerable tonal depth. It showed off the finesse of both the turntable and the low noise of the Benchmark duo in analogue mode. The Rega Saturn-R CD player’s lack of tonal finesse in the treble was however rather clearly revealed; it’s the price you pay for transparency of course.

The AHB2 is a very impressive amplifier for its size and the it’s about the best compact power amp I have encountered. It seems fussier about speaker partnering than usual, however, and I would recommend trying it with your speakers before purchase. But the fact that it’s smaller and more efficient than most of the competition, and that it can bring the ‘electricity’ of the original recording into your living room makes it seem rather good value. With the right system, this comes highly recommended!

Technical Specifications

Type: solid state stereo power amplifier

Analogue inputs: One pair balanced (via XLR jacks)

Analogue outputs: One pair of speaker taps (via 5-way binding posts), one pair of Neutrik Speakon connectors

Power output: 100Wpc @ 8 Ohms, 190Wpc @ 4 Ohms at 1kHz at < 0.0003 % THD+N

Bandwidth: Not specified

Sensitivity: 2, 4 or 9.8 Vrms

Distortion: < –119 dB (< 0.00011%) at 1 kHz, 20 kHz LPF, at full rated output into any rated load

Signal to Noise Ratio: 130 dB Unweighted, 20 Hz to 20 kHz

Dimensions (H×W×D): 98.5 × 280 × 237mm

Weight: 5.7kg

Price: £3,299

Manufacturer: Benchmark

Tel: +1 315-437-6300

URL: benchmarkmedia.com

UK Distributor: SCV Distribution

Tel: +44(0)3301 222500

URL: www.scvdistribution.co.uk

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Henry Audio USB 128 mk II DAC

The high-end audio world is too bound up by convention. OK, so denouncing the reactionary bourgeoisie is a bit too 1965 for my tastes (and let’s face it, that didn’t work out too well in the end), but there’s a still radical shake-up in all things audio related that’s not only needed, but also taking place right now. And it’s very much at the affordable end. The Henry Audio USB 128 mk II is one of those leading the charge.

You see, the Henry Audio USB 128 mk II began life as an open source project, built in the Philippines but with Børge Strand-Bergesen heading up the project from his home in Norway. The early iterations had Alpha Geek names like ‘The Audio Widget’ and ‘Quantization Noise Killed The Cat’ before settling on the more prosaic – but altogether more marketable – Henry Audio. Irrespective of name, the device has a solid following on the digital DIY forums and discussion groups, becauseits firmware is programmable and experimentation is encouraged (hence the ‘prog’ and ‘reset’ buttons on the rear panel).

The base specifications of the USB 128 mk II is simple: it’s based around the AKM4430 ‘all-in-one’ chip, with a Atmel AVR32 programmable microcontroller chip and ADP151 low drop out voltage regulators running at 3.3V, meaning the 5V USB limit is well preserved. The user manual informs you that the power supply is ripe for tangling with, and there are “lots of internal headers for experimenting”. Even the circuit design and pin-outs are provided in the manual for the hardcore user. Anyone with a good working knowledge of C and an understanding of digital audio works can play! Normally, we’d criticise a DAC that had exposed allen bolts front and rear for being a little bit roughedged, but as Henry Audio is going to go to a significant number of people who will open the casework in minutes, this is to be applauded. A single LED on the front panel represents the sole operational functionality. That all being said, the little brushed case is not bad; it sits on three little clear blobs so it doesn’t scratch your worksurface, and the logo on the plastic front panel sets the Henry apart from something knocked together in a shed.

If that last paragraph reads a bit too ‘DIY’ for you, the Henry’s basic DAC configuration is pretty good, too. It will run as an Asynchronous USB DAC in Class 1 or Class 2 USB Audio modes. As ever, it will support both Class 1 and 2 native in Mac OSX (and, given this is the programmer’s dream DAC, Linux), but you need to download an ASIO driver for Windows PCs. Fortunately, as an open source project, good, robust drivers are available from the site. Given its open source background, I thought the Henry might go into forced self-destruct mode if used with anything apart from Foobar 2000, but in fact it’s the perfect partner and I happily connected it to the evil empire of iTunes and not a single shot was fired in revolt.

It’s a really good DAC, too. If the ‘hax0r’ mood doesn’t take you, and you simply use the Henry as a USB converter, you are faced with a device that teases out the spirit and emotion of the music, rather than the detail. It’s an extremely refined sounding DAC; not just for the money, it’s extremely refined sounding regardless of price. It’s the kind of DAC you can happily slot into some extremely nice sounding valve amp system costing grillions, and it has that easy, unforced and slightlyback from the loudspeakers presentation, rather than the etched, up-front, in-your-face kind of detail-driven sound so many pass off as ‘high-end’. And that’s the big defining moment here. If you think of high-end as a sonic goal, one to try and reproduce the musical intent with the highest possible fidelity and produce a sound that you want to sit in front of for the longest time, the Henry is every millimetre a high-end DAC. It made a lot of sense of ‘Back Country Suite: Blues’ by Mose Allison [Back Country Suite, Prestige], which was famously covered by the Who at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970. This is a track that is effectively ‘owned’ by that cover, but the Henry lets Allison win it back, thanks to the richness and sheer effortlessness of the presentation.

Putting this into context, the DAC’s unforced presentation is not that dissimilar from the performance from considerably more expensive designs, but where those more expensive designs justify their continued existence is in a greater sense of authority, image size, and detail. The Henry Audio DAC has the dynamic range and the tonal balance of the likes of the Nagra HD, but what it lacks is the dynamic shading and sheer detail that sets the top end players apart from the pack. At less vertiginous prices, what you tend to get is that detail (again), but at the expense of some or all of that expressive richness of tone.

The obvious direct comparisons with the Henry are between it and the AudioQuest DragonFly DAC – the form factor might be different, but there are more similarities than you might first think. The Henry is tonally very different; where DragonFly is ‘exciting’, the Henry is ‘mellow’. Ultimately, I marginally preferred the overall balance of the AudioQuest DAC, because it was more capable with the frantic pace of the backbeat on ‘Love Cry’ from Four Tet’s There Is Love In You album [Domino], but I also found much to like in the Henry’s sublime flow through the title track from Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven, by Godspeed You! Black Emperor [Constellation], and any devices that can play that awesome slice of dark ambient wonderfulness well wins bigin my book.

The downsides? Well, it’s pretty basic – just a mini USB input (rather than the USB-B connector preferred by audio cable makers) and one single lock light. People wanting to connect Ethernet devices or CD players running AES/EBU are left out in the cold. It’s also not going to deliver the highest of high‑resolution audio; if your computer’s hard drive is brimming over with DSD files, the Henry Audio is not your go-to DAC. Although, thanks to the open source nature of the DAC and the relatively open-ended design of that AK chip, the 192kHz limit could evolve in time; it may already have evolved, as someone’s written firmware for 32bit, 384kHz processing on one of the forums!

Perhaps the biggest downside though has nothing whatsoever to do with its basic design, and instead comes down to credibility with the credulous. It’s not in a box eight times larger and fifteen times heavier. It’s not got the word ‘Reference’ in its title, and the company name doesn’t sound like pig Latin.

It’s not powered from the wall, necessitating a cable that cost more than your first, second, and third cars combined. It doesn’t have balanced connections that you decided you would never use but like the concept of. It doesn’t come with the design intervention of someone who looks a little like Methuselah’s older brother. It doesn’t have a tube in the output stage, and it doesn’t have a big fluro display. Most importantly for a certain kind of DAC buyer, the Henry costs about one-twentieth as much as it should for a converter to be taken seriously. But as I said, audio is a world bound by its conventions, and for companies like Henry Audio to break those conventions mean that some people won’t be happy with the results. More fool them!

It’s hard to separate price from performance with the Henry Audio USB 128 mk II, but in a good way. Henry Audio joins a small – but growing – list of companies that make products that overturn the status quo in audio, making products that surprise you in making a sound that good for that little money. It proves there has never been a better time to be a music lover, because the tools that make that music sound great are both better, and often cheaper, than ever.

It’s a crying shame that so much of the audiophile’s gaze is directed upward at ever more aspirational products; while they are great, we need to periodically get back in touch with our roots, and the Henry Audio USB 128 mk II does just that. I never thought I’d use the B-word in audio, but this really is a bargain!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Type: open-source programmable

USB DAC

Input: mini USB, Asynchronous

Output: RCA stereo

Sampling rates supported: 44.1–192kHz

DAC: AKM4430

USB Types: Class 1 and Class 2

(Class 2 requires ASIO driver on

Windows only)

Fully user programmable

Dimensions (W×H×D): 11.4×3.3×12.8cm

Price: £159

Manufactured by Henry Audio

Tel: +47 9063 9918

URL: www.henryaudio.com

UK specific URL: www.henryaudio.co.uk

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WIN! Henry Audio USB 128 mk II DAC worth £159!!!

We are running a fantastic competition with the opportunity for a lucky reader to win a HenryAudio USB 128 mk II DAC worth £159.

Alan Sircom reviewed this innovative DAC in issue 133 of Hi-Fi+. He wrote: “…its firmware is programmable and experimentation is encouraged (hence the ‘prog’ and ‘reset’ buttons on the back panel).” Alan also concluded that, “I never thought I’d use the B-word in audio, but this really is a bargain!”

Competition Question

The Henry Audio USB 128 mk II has two buttons on its rear panel. What are they called?

A. ‘Prog’ and ‘Reset’

B. ‘Restore’ and ‘Dubstep’

C. ‘Upgrade’ and ‘Delete’

To answer, please visit Henry Audio’s dedicated competition page at www.henryaudio.com/hifiplus_draw.php

Alternatively, send your answer on a postcard (including your name, address, and contact details) to “Henry Audio, Hvalstadlia 4, 1395 Hvalstad, Norway. The competition closes on June, 2nd 2016.

Competition Rules

The competition will run from March, 31 2016 until June, 2nd 2016. The competition is open to everyone, but multiple, automated or bulk entries will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen at random from all valid entries, will be contacted via email (where possible) and their name will be published in the magazine. The Editor’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into Absolute Multimedia (UK) Ltd. is compliant with the Data Protection Act and UK laws apply. Our policy is such that we will not pass on your details to any third party without your prior consent.

CanJam SoCal 2016 Report, Part 3

Below, please find Part 3 of our four-part SoCal CanJam 2016 report highlighting—in alphabetical order—a set of manufacturers ranging from JDS Labs to Puro Sound Lab.

Enjoy.

JDS Labs

JDS Labs showed its Element headphone amp/DAC, which is surprisingly powerful, yet sells for a modest $349. Specifically, the Element puts out a substantial 1.5Wpc @ 32 Ohms, while offering very low noise, two master gain settings, low output impedance, and microprocessor-controlled relays to prevent turn-on clicks or pops. The on-board DAC can decode PCM files to resolutions of 24/96, while also offering wide dynamic range and low noise.

Linear Tube Audio

Linear Tube Audio isn’t a household name just yet—not even in audiophile households—but once you learn a bit more about the provenance of the company’s product designs that could change. I say this because many of Linear Tube Audio’s product designs have been licensed from the legendary David Berning, creator of the critically acclaimed Berning OTL amplifiers.

For headphone enthusiasts, Linear Tube Audio offers the Berning-designed Micro ZOTL 2.0 valve-powered headphone amp/preamplifier priced at $1,100 with its standard switching power supply (little know factoid: low-noise switching power supplies are one of Mr Berning’s specialties), or $1,595 with a beefy outboard linear power supply. The Micro ZOTL 2.0 features two analogue inputs and single-ended headphone outputs via 0.25-inch headphone jacks. There is also, as you might expect, a dedicated stereo preamplifier output.

In addition to the Micro ZOTL 2.0, Linear Tube Audio also offers two power amplifiers: the ZOTL 10 ($2,400) and ZOTL 40 ($5,800).

Lotoo

Lotoo is perhaps best known for it excellent but also expensive (roughly $2,199) PAW Gold portable digital audio player (as reviewed in Hi-Fi+ issue 129), yet for CanJam SoCal 2016 the firm was highlighting its dramatically cost reduced PAW 5000 digital audio player ($400 MSRP, but with online prices ranging much lower).

Where the reference-level PAW Gold essentially promises to decode ‘all formats, all the time’, the PAW 5000 limits itself to PCM files at resolutions up to 24/96 and to DSD64 files. However, the important part is that, in terms of overall sound, feel, user interface graphics, and even parametric EQ (MPEQ) options, the PAW 5000 is more like its bigger brother than not, which is pretty amazing when you consider that it sells for less than 1/5^th the price of the PAW Gold. Speaking as one who uses a Lotoo PAW Gold on a regular basis, I found the PAW 5000 very impressive and a bargain to boot.

Meze Headphones

The Romanian firm Meze headphones has arrived on the scene with a set of beautifully made, exquisitely finished, and thoughtfully voiced headphones and universal-fit earphone that not only perform well, but also offer fine value for money. At the top of the range is the Meze 99 Classics headphone ($309), which will be reviewed in Hi-Fi+ issue 134 (slated to appear on UK and European newsstands toward the beginning of April).

The 99 Classics feature 40 mm dynamic drivers and ear cups CNC-machined from either solid walnut or solid maple wood cores, with carefully chosen premium construction materials used throughout. Above all, though, the 99 Classics make good on Meze’s promise of “a balanced natural sound”—one that offer enduring appeal and that listeners will not soon outgrow. In the future, however, Meze does plan to offer a somewhat cost-reduced matte black version of the 99 Classics (see photos).

In addition to the 99 Classics, Meze also showed two keenly priced universal-fit in-ear models: the 12 Classics ($79) and the 11 Neo ($49).

ModWright Instruments

Well-regarded electronics manufacturer ModWright Instruments rolled out its first-ever headphone amplifier, an all valve-powered unit called the Tryst, priced at $3,000. The Tryst’s tube complement includes two 6922 valves and four 12B4 valves. The Tryst features pure Class A operation with zero feedback, an extremely low noise floor, and three outputs: one 3.5mm mini-jack for IEMs, one 0.25-inch SE headphone jack, and one 4-pin XLR balanced jack. The unit ships with a solid-state rectified outboard policy and is capable of delivering 3Wpc into an 18-Ohm load. Claimed bandwidth is 20Hz – 50kHz, -0.5dB.

MrSpeakers

California-based MrSpeakers, which is best know for its successful range of high performance planar magnetic headphones, created a very substantial amount of buzz at CanJam SoCal by previewing its upcoming new Ether Electrostatic headphones, which represent the company’s first foray into that particular technology.

Company President Dan Clark actually had two subtly different versions of the Ether Electrostatic headphones on demonstration—one with relatively shallow flat ear pads and the other with MrSpeakers’ more traditional contoured or bevelled ear pads (as used on the firm’s to planar magnetic models).

In some brief listening sessions, I felt the Ether Electrostatic headphones offered a very impressive combination of natural warmth, good bass weight, and smooth and neutral mids and highs, with plenty of inner detail. This will, without a doubt, be a top-tier model to watch carefully in the months to come, and it was quite rightly the talk of the show.

Noble Audio

Noble Audio, a famed hybrid Asian/American maker of top-tier universal-fit earphones and CIEMs (custom-fit in-ear monitors) has been hard at work revising and renaming the elements of its extensive product line. Why the changes? In simple terms, Noble is concerned that prospective buyers are becoming so obsessed with tracking the ‘driver counts’ of the earphones and CIEMs they are considering that they sometimes forget to pay attention to the way the products actually sound. Consequently, all Noble models—save for the flagship Kaiser 10 model (reviewed in Hi-Fi+ issue 119)—now have names and descriptions that for the most part discourage ‘driver count mania’. But two other important changes are afoot at Noble.

First, Noble now offers all of its universal-fit earphones with machined aluminium earpiece enclosures created through an ultra-precise CNC milling process. Moreover, the exterior anodising of each model is colour-coded so that you can tell at a glance exactly which model is which. Noble’s colour-coding ‘decoder ring’ works as follows:

Red = the flagship Kaiser 10,
Navy = the Savant (Noble’s newest design and one said to be detail orientated and subjectively the most balanced-sounding of all Noble models),
Purple = the Django,
Teal = the Dulce Bass (or ‘sweet bass’),
Copper = the Savanna (an extremely neutral model with nearly flat frequency response, said to be ideal for acoustic music), and
Paris (a pale shade of gold) = the Trident (which provides somewhat elevated bass and treble response for what the firm terms ‘a refined take on what would normally be considered a “pop” sound’).

Second, Noble continues to promote its top-tier range of Prestige-series of CIEMs. Unlike typical CIEMs with earpieces moulded from acrylic or silicone materials, Prestige-series CIEM provide earpieces machined from solid materials. This difference in construction methodology not only affects the look of Prestige CIEMs, but (I think) also enhances their sound, owing to the exceptional rigidity of the solid earpieces materials used.

At CanJam SoCal, I took delivery of a review set of Prestige-series Savant CIEMs whose earpieces were fashioned from an exotic material called ‘snakewood’. At the risk of getting ahead of myself, let me say that those Savant CIEMs not only look great but sound very impressive indeed (the Prestige-series Savants may well be the best all-around Noble in-ear design I’ve tried to date, which is saying a lot).

1More

La Jolla, CA-based 1More (pronounced “one more”) is a company dedicated to reducing the typically high prices charged for multi-driver universal-fit earphones. In fact, pricing for the entire range of 1More earphones and headphones is skewed toward the affordable end of the spectrum. Thus, the firm’s IM301 single-driver earphone, which features a triple-layer dynamic driver, is priced at just $29.99. In turn, the firm’s EM323 dual-driver earphone combines a dynamic mid-bass driver plus a balanced armature-type driver cover upper mids and highs and is priced at $79.99.

Finally, at the top of the range, the firm’s flagship E1001 tripe-driver earphone couples a dynamic mid-bass driver with two balanced armature-type drivers and is priced at $99.99. Voicing for the E1101 Luca Bignardi, a veteran producer, mixer, and sound engineer, influenced the voicing and tuning of the E1001. Hi-Fi+ has received an evaluation sample of the E1001, which may become a review subject in the future.

The firm’s E801 over-the-ear headphones are likewise affordably priced at $79.99, with a self-powered, E801-based Bluetooth version on the product roadmap for the future.

Onkyo

Onkyo’s primary product release for CanJam SoCal 2016 involved its powerful and flexible new DP-X1 Android-based portable digital audio player/streamer ($799). The DP-X1 features 32GB of on-board memory with capacity for up to 432GB via two Micro SD card slots (each slot capable of handling a card of up to 200GB capacity), plus an impressive array of audiophile-friendly features. For example, the DP-X1 is a dual DAC/dual amp design that is MQA-ready and that provides both single-ended and balanced headphone outputs, plus micro USB/OTG digital outputs.

The DAC section of the player can decode PCM files up to resolutions of 24/384, as well as DSD 64 and 128 files. Finally, the player offers Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connectivity and a colourful 4.7-inch capacitive touch screen. Power output is a respectable (though not overwhelming) 75mW per channel @ 32-Ohms in single-ended mode or 150mW per channel @ 32 Ohms in balanced output mode.

The closer you look, the more it seems this Onkyo is well-positioned to do battle with far more costly models from competitors such as Astell & Kern.

Oppo Digital

Oppo previewed an interesting new personal audio product in the form of its upcoming Sonica self-powered Bluetooth/Wi-Fi enabled speaker system, which should appear in Q4 of this year and is expected to sell for about $299. Apart from this rudimentary information, few other concrete details on the Sonica were available at show time.

Pendulumic

Pendulumic is perhaps best know for its Stance S1+ audiophile-grade Bluetooth over-the-ear headphones, as reviewed in Hi-Fi+ 126. However, from very early on the Pendulumic team felt that it would eventually be important to offer an even more compact, but still great sounding, on-ear, audiophile-worthy Bluetooth headphone.

Well, the time is now and the headphone is Pendulumic’s new Tach T-1, priced at $249. The functions of the Tach T-1 are for the most part similar to those of the Stance S1+, but the Tach T-1 now features battery life of about 25 hours and also incorporates a new feature through which two pairs of Tach T-1s can simultaneously listen to the same Bluetooth source.

Phat Lab Audio

Phat Lab is all about making the great sound of valve-based amplification available in portable products geared for listeners on the go. To this end, the firm showed two models at CanJam: the Phat Sassy hybrid single-ended triode and solid-state portable headphone amplifier ($600) and the PHAntasy pure Class A single-ended triode portable headphone amplifier ($1,300).

The Phat Sassy is intended as a ‘best of two worlds’ design that combines “the charm of directly heated triode (valves) and the power solid-state without compromise. Playback and charging times for the Phat Sassy are 10 hours and 3 hours, respectively.

By contrast, the PHAntasy is more of a design for valve purists in that it is a valve-only, zero feedback, single-ended triode design with—get this—transformer coupled outputs. Whether one considers the PHAntasy a portable or merely a transportable design may be a matter for individual owners to decide, but it must surely qualify as one of the most compact, transformer-coupled valve amps yet devised.

Pioneer

For CanJam SoCal, Pioneer showed its appealing and simple SE-MHR5 dynamic driver-equipped over-the-ear headphones ($299), along with its new XDP-100R portable audio player/streamer ($700).

A Pioneer spokesperson explain that the SE-MHR5 is intended more as a well-rounded ‘Everyman’ design than as headphone that aims to extract every last ounce of available sonic detail, but at the potential expense of an occasionally painful, edgy, or strident sound. In other words, the SE-MHR5 opts for general-purpose musicality rather than pushing performance envelopes in ways that might inadvertently lead to unpleasant and unmusical outcomes. Interestingly, though, the SE-MHR5 can be driven either via single-ended or balanced output amplifier and thus comes with signal cable suited for either application.

On the surface, Pioneer’s XDP-100 portable at first seems quite similar to the DP-X1 player from Pioneer’s sibling brand Onkyo, but in fact there is at least two significant differences between the two models. Specifically, the Onkyo DP-X1, which is priced about $100 higher than the Pioneer, provides dual DAC and amplifier devices and offers both single-end and balanced outputs, whereas the Pioneer appears to use single DAC and amplifier devices and provides single-ended headphone outputs only. In all other respects, however, the players appear to offer equivalent functionality—albeit in slightly differently styled packages.

Puro Sound Labs

Puro Sound Labs, which is led by the same US team that guides 1More, above, is a company on a mission, and that mission is to provide musically satisfying headphones for children and adults that directly address the problem of noise induced hearing loss. For the Puro team, this isn’t just a hypothetical ‘good idea’; it’s a personal matter in that the CEO’s daughter suffers form noise induced hearing loss as a result of listening to music at overly high levels for overly long periods of time.

Consequently, Puro’s BT2200 wireless Bluetooth headphones for kids ($79.99) are designed to limit sound output to 85dB (the maximum safe level for long-term listening) with most portable devices. But, in the interest of also providing musical satisfaction, the BT2200s feature the Puro Balanced Response voicing curve, which is said to “closely mimic a flat, in-room speaker response (that) equally balances bass, vocals, and highs to deliver clear vocal reproduction without excessive volume).

Then, for the grownups in the family, Puro offers its BT5200 wireless Bluetooth headphones ($129.99). Conceptually, the BT5200 is much like a scaled up BT2200 but with AptX Bluetooth connectivity, plus the ability to play at higher than 85dB volume levels, if desired. However, as a safety feature, the headphone features an external, colour-coded average volume level indicator light, where green means 85dB or less, yellow means 85-95dB, and red means greater than 95dB. In this way, parents can allow teenagers to use the BT5200 headphones while being able to tell at a glance if volume settings are being pushed to potentially unsafe levels—a clever idea whose time has come.

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Technical Specifications

Manufactured by: German Physiks

Technical Specifications

Manufactured by: Naim Audio

64 Audio (1964 Ears)

Verisonix/Mitchell & Johnson

Lotoo

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