Articles Archive

Prince: One Nite Alone

While Prince was still a major figure in 2002 his star was not quite as high as it had been a decade earlier. At this point, The Purple One was releasing material at a good rate with at least one album a year and had his own label NPG (New Power Generation) within the Sony fold.

I must admit that while I was a fan in the eighties and like many was blown away by his live performances even on TV, my interest peaked with Sign o’ the Times but nothing thereafter inspired a purchase. In the intervening 30 plus years nothing much changed, then I sat down with turntable maestro Touraj Moghaddam of Vertere fame at the recent London show and spent some time listening to music on an MG1 turntable, FM Acoustics amplifiers and Mad Grand Maestro speakers in one of the better rooms at the Park Inn event. He played a side of Prince’s One Nite Alone which was re-released in 2020 on vinyl, purple vinyl natch, and which sounds remarkably good considering the colour and the poptastic nature of many Prince recordings.

Not to be confused with One Nite Alone Live, on which Prince is joined by a full band and which contains only two songs from this album, One Nite Alone was recorded in spring 2001 at Paisley Park. And the artist is indeed almost totally alone on its ten tracks, the album states “Produced, arranged, composed and per4med by Prince”, however it seems that John Blackwell provides drums on two tracks, and the wee one’s doves, Divinity and Majesty apparently contributed “ambient singing”. What separates One Nite Alone from the majority of Prince’s output is that it is largely a voice and piano production. There are synth additions to fill out the sound but these are fairly restrained so you get a purity of Princely essence that is rare. The only similar album in the cannon is The Truth where he concentrates on vocal and acoustic guitar.

One Nite Alone opens with the title track and a good choice it is, this is one of the strongest songs on the album and introduces the piano to excellent effect. His playing is reminiscent of Keith Jarret; there is the same solidity of tone and sense of controlled improvisation. The obvious difference is that where Jarrett warbles, groans, even moans along to the tune Prince has a voice to match the keyboard; on this occasion a high slightly ethereal voice that has clearly been recorded in a different acoustic and with plenty of effects.

Happily this becomes less noticeable as the album progresses, what tends to always draw attention however is the occasional use of deep bass synth notes that seem somewhat excessive for the arrangement. They are blunt enough to be bass pedals as found back in the days of prog yore but are presumably part of the synth embellishments added to the mix.

The sound isn’t overly compressed and the piano itself has a natural reverb that gives it a sense of body and space. ‘Ur Gonna C Me’ is another example of the high voice and pared back arrangement typical of this album, with no clear rhythm and a strange ghostly denouement. ‘Here On Earth’ uses a spoken intro along with bass and drums, it’s a jazz tinged ballad of sorts that brings a change of vibe of the A side.

The fourth track is ‘A Case of U’, a surprise cover of the Joni Mitchell classic that limits itself to just two verses and chorus from the original, here the voice approaches the high register of Mitchell’s on Blue but sound richer thanks to layered effects. It’s a pity that this song isn’t longer but perhaps not surprising given that Prince rarely covered other artist’s songs, what is slightly odd is the way it peters out after a bit of jazz vamping. The highlight of the B side is the controversial ‘Avalanche’ which caused a stir with the line “Abraham Lincoln was a racist who said ‘U cannot escape from history’”. You hear more extreme stuff on ‘Womens Hour’ these days.

One Nite Alone shows that Prince could make intimate and beautiful music when he put his mind to it, that he could play piano better than many realise and that his late works warrant further investigation.

Back to Jazz

Oephi Immanence 2.5

I’m not sure how Oephi maker Joakim Juhl does it. Especially when you hear loudspeakers like the Oephi Immanence 2.5. Not only does he make a wide range of cables but there are half a dozen speakers in the range and even some electronics, yet there only appears to be one guy. He must get some help when things get busy but the Munich High End show is a place where things are almost permanently busy and he is usually on his own. This year he shared with Supatrac, Lucas Audio Labs and Moonriver and the former at least spent a fair amount of time in the room.

It was one of the booths on the ground floor, so it was not an optimal space. However, with the Transcendance 2 stand mounts, the sound was very engaging and detailed. I reviewed that speaker last year and got a stunning result. It has a typically explicit Oephi balance, but when correctly set up, it delivers a thrilling sound that kept me up way too late.

Bigger is better

The Oephi Immanence 2.5 is a bigger and more powerful loudspeaker that also uses the Purifi drivers that Juhl likes so much, but here, he combines them with a ‘true ribbon’ tweeter in a cabinet that stands a metre tall on its spiked plinth. It looks like plenty of other speakers, but the details differ. These include that the 2.5 indicates that the woofers share bass duties, but the upper one also covers the midband. Purifi makes these drivers in Denmark, but Juhl gets them to omit the doping process typically applied, leaving the plain, uncoated paper. This will reduce weight and damping, but listening to his speakers, it becomes clear that Juhl prioritises speed over other considerations.

The tweeter is a large 100mm plus example of the breed, which means it has good power handling but would typically have limited vertical dispersion. Loudspeaker design is about choosing your compromises. The perfect loudspeaker has yet to be agreed upon. The choice here is immediacy and transparency, which Juhl found in this ribbon. The plinth mentioned above is black and bolted to the base of the cabinet to allow a degree of horizontal movement. Oephi call this ‘hard decoupling’ as it reduces the rigidity of the fixing provided by spikes and reduces vibration at specific frequencies but doesn’t offer broadband isolation.

Extreme inclinations

The crossover is the most extreme element in the Oephi Immanence 2.5. It consists of massive copper foil inductors, DC biased capacitors and toroidal inductors. This network has a lot of metal, and it’s not on a conventional PCB but hard-wired. This element must significantly impact the sound of these speakers because it is so extreme. There is one pair of cable terminals but they are nice, pure copper examples from ETI. As Oephi makes a range of speaker cables, one might expect them to encourage bi-wiring, but for maximum coherence, a single pair is often beneficial.

The unlacquered, oiled oak veneer cabinets give the Immanence 2.5 an attractive silk finish that is not common in loudspeakers—just don’t leave a cup of tea on top of them.

It took a while

It took a while to get the sort of results I was hoping for out of the Oephi Immanence 2.5s. Joakim had warned me that they are more explicit than the Transcendence 2s, but I failed to appreciate that this meant getting everything around them working its very best. For instance, I don’t usually fit spikes under loudspeakers, as the sound without is generally more to my liking. With the Oephis, this was not an option. The sound, while good, didn’t gel and could even be too aggressive.

I compromised by putting spike receptors on the carpet, which did the trick. It also took a while to find an optimal position for them. The Immanence 2.5s have twin rear ports so cannot be too close to a wall. However, they have a warts-and-all presentation that doesn’t take any prisoners in the mids and high. The bass needs to balance that presentation. This meant quite a lot of experimentation with distance to the wall and angle of toe-in; it was very worthwhile, however.

The timing/balance equation

These Oephi Immanence 2.5s exemplify that perceived tonal balance is directly related to timing, when the timing is right everything falls into place, tonal balance is no longer an issue. Rega’s products have this quality: when something isn’t quite right, they can sound forward and thin, but once the system is singing, it’s the most engaging sound in the world. Oephi’s speakers are like this with knobs on, if something isn’t right they can be ferociously forward but get the system and the cabling working and it’s a whole other experience and one you don’t want to put down. One that won’t let you sit down in fact, at least if there’s any rhythm in the music.

Ribbon tweeters generally have a fairly mellow, relaxed character but this one is much faster and more revealing than usual, it does leading edges like you wouldn’t believe and in my room at least could not be toed in to face the listening seat and remain comfortable. Get the angle right however and you get horn style dynamics and power handling, there is clearly something different going on in the crossover.

Vinyl love

These Oephi Immanence 2.5s love vinyl. They are very good at revealing the qualities of the black analogue disc that are rarely found with digital alternatives. I got a phenomenal result with John Martyn’s Solid Air on the Rega Naia. It was even-handed, presented with strong three-dimensional imaging, and fast but not bright. The voice, guitars, keyboards, and double bass all sounded vivid and real, not least the steel strings of the acoustic guitar.

The Oephis are very sensitive to dynamic nuances. They track fluctuations in the level of notes precisely yet deliver them in a natural fashion that enhances the sense of realism. An album of piano jazz that had been on heavy rotation for a while (Liv Andrea Hauge Trio, Ville Blomster, Hubro) started to reveal greater dynamic range than was previously apparent, and this increased its power to transfix the listener quite markedly. Essentially, it sounded more alive and accurate, and that’s a quality that is very attractive in any system.

Magical realism

On Laura Marling’s ‘Soothing’ (Semper Femina), the bass line was less obvious than usual, which allowed the voice and percussion to be more prominent in the mix. The fretless bass, which usually dominates, was strong but seemed more proportional to the vocals. Joni Mitchell’s ‘Court and Spark’, on the other hand, delivered actual magical realism. It was genuinely mesmerising in a way that rarely happens and indicated that the Oephi Immanence 2.5 is quite a bit more sophisticated than many loudspeakers at this price. This was one of those cases where the timing was so obviously good that the musical message transcended the tonal balance of its presentation.

I made an interesting discovery whilst reviewing Naim’s NSS 333, NAC 332 and NAP 350 electronics through the Oephis, and it’s one that Naim themselves have known all along: DIN plugs make for significantly better timing than RCAs. A basic Naim DIN interconnect outperformed the best RCA alternatives I could lay my hands on when placed between this streamer and preamplifier. Joakim agrees on this point and offers DIN interconnects to Naim users, alongside his other cables; he makes RCA interconnects and conventionally shod but unconventionally built speaker and power cables, where conductors are spaced more widely than usual.

Thrill power

I tried his Reference power cable with my Moor Amps Angel 6 and got a stunning result that didn’t change the balance but enhanced detail resolution and timing quite notably. Playing modern material like Nils Petter Molvaer’s Quiet Corners produced a polished, three-dimensional sound that excelled in bass extension and power. Taj Mahal’s Recycling the Blues & Other Related Stuff (1972) shows its age in the limited bass but delivers the energy and musical genius of the man in a live situation. I was glued to the sound again, powerless to do anything but listen and ascend.

Oephi loudspeakers are not for those in search of easy background listening. They are made to bring the thrill power of music into the home so that you can be fully immersed in its glory. You don’t need expensive ancillaries, but they do need to be well chosen, especially with digital sources. The Oephi Immanence 2.5 is an uncompromising loudspeaker worth its weight in musical magic. Listen if you dare.

Technical specifications

Type: Two-and-a-half-way, three-driver, floorstanding speaker with reflex-loaded enclosure.
Driver complement: One 110mm ribbon tweeter; one 176mm Purifi mid/bass driver; one 176mm Purifi bass driver.
Crossover frequencies: not specified
Frequency response: 30Hz – 40kHz (in room)
Impedance: 6 Ohms
Sensitivity: 90db/2.83V/m (in room)
Dimensions (HxWxD): 1000 x 185 x 300mm
Weight: 22kg/each
Finishes: Oil treated oak real wood veneer standard. Walnut and custom finishes.
Price: £12,495, $13,495, €12,495 per pair

Manufacturer

Oephi Cables

www.oephi.com

UK distributor

Airt Audio

www.airtaudio.com

+44(0)1354 652566

Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025: Part Two

Last week, Alan Sircom and Paul Soor gave their top five products from the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025. It’s the turn of Steve Dickinson, Chris Frankland, Jason Kennedy and Ed Selley this week.

The brief remained the same… find the five most interesting (and, ideally, new) products at the event. Add a few spares. No conferring. And bring me the details after the event. This ‘open-ended’ brief was deliberate, to see how many overlaps there were. I’d then edit them into a cogent set of top five products from each reviewer. This would all work well, unless…

We all highlighted the same product launches. The reviewers all mentioned Chord Company, Cyrus, Exposure, Fyne Audio, Harbeth, Neat, Michell, and WiiM. Fortunately, everyone also had a few additional companies they wanted to cover. However, there are still a couple of companies with multiple launches. So, Fyne and Neat get more than one mention because they were featured so strongly among the team visiting the show.

Ed Selley

Cyrus Audio 40 PPA

I have used a Cyrus Audio Phono Signature as a test piece for nearly a decade. Its combination of four inputs and extremely low noise levels has made it difficult to surpass. The 40 PPA has potential, though. The new menu-driven interface looks brilliant and allows 5dB gain adjustments in increments. The output stage and power supply have been enhanced. It all comes in the attractive 40 Series casework first seen at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025. At a projected price of £2,195, it appears to offer a lot of value for the money.

Exposure 5000 Series integrated amplifier

Exposure’s 5000 Series integrated is so understated that I initially didn’t spot it. It replaces the 5010 preamp and monoblock models and—rather impressively—combines most of their engineering in a single chassis. This means 100 watts of power, a selection of analogue inputs, and the option to run the existing range of phono and DAC boards. Pricing is to be confirmed, but it should be under £5,000 when it appears later this year.

Harbeth NLE-1

Last year, Harbeth impressed me with the supremely clever, albeit somewhat pricey, NLE-3. This year at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025, Harbeth introduced its little brother, the NLE-1. This compact two-way speaker is fully active. It features 50 watts per driver and a DSP-controlled crossover. This allows users to choose between bass extension and SP levels. NLE-1 is priced at £2,995 and is available in a selection of vibrant colours. It sounded genuinely lovely and represents a fascinating piece of equipment that looks perfect for various roles.

Neat Acoustics Iota 2

People looking for an equally stylish speaker to complement their Rega Brio Mk7 could do worse than listen to the newly updated Neat Acoustics Iota 2. Tweaks to the mid-bass unit and the port have yielded more bass and improved quality, all while reducing port noise. The demo pair was showcased alongside the company’s fabulous Momentum JET stand-mount. Many visitors initially thought the sound emanating from the tiny speaker was coming from the larger one. The Iota 2 will be available in the spring, and I’m very much looking forward to it.

Rega Brio Mk7

Rega’s gentle embrace of the 21^st century continues with the new Mk 7 version of the evergreen Brio integrated amp. It remains distinctly Rega: a half-width chassis, class AB amplifier, and an onboard phono stage. However, it now features digital inputs and a standby function for the first time. Priced at £799, it may very well be all the amplifier sensible people ever need. It sounded exceptionally good when paired with a Planar 3 RS and Aya speakers.

Steve Dickinson

Advance Paris CD9

Distributor Decent Audio showcased a wide range of beautifully finished and reasonably priced Advance Paris separates at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025. On demonstration, they presented the £900 CD9 valve-output CD player through the £2,000 A10 hybrid integrated amplifier, paired with £ 5,250 Scansonic 3.5B loudspeakers. A Dual 618 direct-drive turntable handled vinyl playback. The combination of valve and solid-state hybrid in these designs works effectively, and the results are worth exploring further.

Fyne Audio F501S

Fyne Audio has launched its new £1,700 model, F501S, a compact floorstanding loudspeaker featuring a 6” version of its Isoflare driver paired with an additional 6” bass-only driver. The enhanced driver technology provides exceptional sound quality, which was noticeable at the show. The F500S comprises a three-model range (including a stand-mount and two floorstanders, starting at £800), available in various finishes. This range is positioned above the black-only F500E series, which replaces the now-discontinued F300 as Fyne’s entry-level option. This ensures that every loudspeaker in the Fyne portfolio employs its Isoflare dual-concentric driver technology. Prices for the F500S remain consistent with their predecessor models.

Kanto Audio UKI

One of the joys of the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025 is that concepts of what makes good audio are set aside. Products like the new Kanto Audio UKI bookshelf active loudspeaker rub shoulder-to-shoulder with many of audio’s big guns. Despite costing £199, the UKI bristles with innovative thinking from the Canadian brand. The diminutive clamshell enclosure UKI sports Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C and RCA inputs. It also features a headphone socket, making it an ideal desktop partner. It will be available in black, white, cobalt, and sage when launched later this year.

Russell K RED 120se

I had to include this Russell K room at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025 even though there was nothing intrinsically ‘new’, mainly because it was one of my best-sounding rooms at the show. Additionally, the Accuphase DP570 CD/SACD player, E700 integrated amp, Nordost cabling, and MusicWorks stands closely resemble what I use at home, making the sound very familiar. The RED 120se remains unchanged from my review in issue 209. It is a 2½-way floorstander featuring 5” main drivers, a very high-quality dome tweeter, and a braced but largely undamped cabinet. What struck me was that many of the typical issues seen in showrooms were absent. Setup, including stands and cabling, is critical, but so is ensuring that the design basics are correct.

Voxativ Hagen

Not shy when it comes to eye-catching design, Voxativ showcased its Hagen entry-level monitor loudspeaker at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025. This featured its proprietary full-range driver; no crossover, with a 95dB efficiency and a frequency response of 50Hz-33kHz (-3dB), available for £6,000. This was powered by their £18,000 T-211 integrated amplifier, a 10W valve design with a motorised, stepped attenuator volume control using all Vishay resistors. If you need more bass, Voxativ paired it with their Alderich active subwoofer (£15,000), boasting 500W of class D amplification.

Chris Frankland

Audio Note Meishu Konzertmeister and AN-E Ltd

In addition to hearing presentations from radio legend and former Old Grey Whistle Test presenter Bob Harris, visitors to the Audio Note room at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025 could enjoy two new products: the Meishu Konzertmeister integrated amplifier and the AN-E Ltd field coil loudspeaker.

In summary, the field coil speakers use drive units (tweeter and bass/midrange) that use an externally powered electromagnet generator system rather than the permanent magnet systems used in conventional speakers. Audio Note says that among the advantages of the field coil drivers is that the magnet does not suffer from residual magnetism after the initial input and far less from certain types of stepping, quantisation, and hysteresis distortions during the magnetic cycle, resulting in a dramatic improvement in sound quality.

The new Meishu Konzertmeister builds on the original single-ended 300B triode design and features larger custom-made transformers, niobium and silver niobium resistors, and higher-quality capacitors. All internal point-to-point wiring is silver. Both the speakers and the amp are priced at £46,000. And boy, do they sound fantastic!

Hegel D50

A new addition to the Hegel range debuted at Bristol: its first standalone DAC, the D50 (nicknamed The Raven), priced at £4,250. With 20 years of expertise in DAC design, Hegel has pushed the limits with the D50, meticulously fine-tuning every component of the circuit design to maximise performance from the ESS 9039Q2M chipset while minimising noise and impedance drops. It features two heavily shielded, low-noise toroidal transformers, and the chip itself is mounted on a separate board above the main board to reduce noise further. It sounded impressive while decoding the output from an H600 amp, driving Eggleston Works Nico speakers.

Michell Audio Apollo and Muse

Debuting at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025 show is the first phono stage from one of the UK’s longest-established brands. Designed in-house by the Michell team, the two-box phono stage (with the power supply in a separate box), the Apollo aims to minimise unwanted RF noise by using a case machined from solid aluminium to create a tight-fitting ‘clam shell’. It offers customisable load and gain settings for MM and MC cartridges, and the Class A preamp section borrows technology from professional microphone amplifiers. With its Muse power supply and connecting cable, the Apollo will retail for £3,500.

Origin Live Anti Resonance arms and Multi-Layer Counterweight

The tonearm range from this UK manufacturer continually evolves, and Origin Live unveiled its MkV versions at the show. A significant feature of the range is a new anti-resonance device in the arm tube designed to reduce vibrations. The top models, from the Conqueror to the Agile and Renown, also include a new multi-layer counterweight. This helps control the energy transmitted along the arm tube and prevents it from being reflected to the cartridge. Additionally, it shifts some of its weight below the pivot point to enhance stability while allowing for a finer adjustment range. They sounded impressive through the demo system.

Soulines TT9 and KiVi M3

A new turntable brand from Serbia has made its first UK appearance in the Sound Fowndations room with the Soulines TT9 turntable featuring the KiVi M3 arm, priced at £3,990, and the Kubrick DCX (also equipped with the M3 arm) at £6,490. The platters, bearings, and spindles are individually machined for each deck. The TT9 has a lightweight chassis, an inverted main bearing, and a Delrin thrust plate. The platter is crafted from 30mm acrylic, and a DC motor powers the drive. Everything rests on a three-point suspension. The Kubrick is a higher-end model that utilizes more machined aluminium. The KiVi tonearm is a unipivot design with a captive bearing to enhance stability. Soulines also offers a separate isolation base priced at £1,290 and isolating feet at £1,150 for a set of four.

Jason Kennedy

Acoustic Energy AE309²

Acoustic Energy occupied one of the larger rooms in the basement, acoustically enhancing it with their new AE309² speakers (£1,200), which are the entry-level floorstanders in the range and stand 90 cm tall, not exactly huge. MD Matt Spandl explained that the midrange is based on a classic Scanspeak design used by Sonus faber and Wilson in the past, though this version has a cone made of coconut fibre and paper. Connected to a Rega Aethos amp and a vintage Rega DAC, the AE309²produced a very entertaining and pleasantly relaxed sound.

Chord Phono Aray

The Chord Company showcased several ARAY noise reduction devices at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025 show, including the EE1 Plus ethernet filter (£600), which proved highly beneficial when used with an Innuos and Chord Electronics streaming system. More notably, the Phono ARAY (£1,000) is designed to decrease noise on the ground connection to a turntable. It provides a very low impedance ground for the tonearm earth wire and utilises ARAY technology to minimise noise on the connection to the phono stage. The concept is that reducing noise on the ground leads to a more precise sound from the turntable, something they demonstrated effectively using Bob Dylan’s ‘Tangled Up In Blue,’ which sounded significantly less brash with it in place.

Neat Acoustics Momentum J-6

Alongside the Iota 2 listed above, Neat Acoustics displayed some striking examples of its new Momentum J-6 floorstanding speakers (£9,995). These speakers feature a luxurious high-gloss ebony finish and pair a sealed two-way top section with an AMT tweeter, a Neat R3 mid/bass driver, and a bass section below that hides a pair of 170mm drive units in an isobaric configuration. They sounded exceptionally musical with an Atoll ST300 streamer and a IN400 integrated amp.

Quad ESL-2912X

Quad’s Electrostatic loudspeakers have remained an audio mainstay since their launch in the 1950s. Modern electrostatics trace back to the ESL-63, which was launched in 1984, and the latest £12,000 ESL-2912X. Shown in prototype form at Munich High-End 2024, this full-range flagship features an improved mylar suspension system, a new power supply, and deluxe components compared to the existing ESL-2912. When played through a Quad 33 preamp with bridged 303s, the 2912X delivered considerable bass for an electrostatic design. However, I was positioned too far to one side at the press event to fully appreciate its famous transparency.

Ultrafide Dias-U8

Ultrafide is the consumer audio division of the pro brand MC2, which launched its U4PRE/U500DC pre-power amps in 2023. At the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025, they unveiled an amplifier with more obvious pro roots. The Dias-U8 (£27,500) is a 50-kilogram behemoth with a kilowatt power rating, based on MC2’s MC250, but featuring passive rather than fan cooling. The gaps at the base are designed to allow air in, as it could be quite a hot-running Class A/B design. Coupled with Kudos Titan 808 speakers, this setup produced the cleanest sounding high-power system at the show, and likely the heaviest.

Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025: Part One

Back to Home

Porsche Taycan Turbo S Sport Tourismo with Burmester sound system

Porsche has been designing luxury cars for nearly 80 years; the carmaker is well-known throughout the world for its sports cars with sleek lines and cutting-edge designs. In the quest to ensure customers are experiencing the best quality product, Porsche sought out an established audio company to advise and help with a top-quality system to add for their consumers. In 2009, the legendary Dieter Burmester partnered with them to supply high-end sound systems for some of their models. The first system was introduced with the Panamera at launch, and since then, Burmester has expanded its reach into seven models.

I recall a lovely moment with the late Dieter Burmester at the High-End Munich Show when the company was introducing the Panamera system; he said with glee that there were some 16 speakers in the car, all of which were labelled with the Burmester name, however, Porsche was only written in the logo on the steering wheel!

The first fully electric Porsche was the Taycan, launched in 2019. At a shade under five metres long and two metres wide, it’s more executive class than race class. That being said, the Taycan Turbo S Sport Turismo seen here accelerates 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds despite the 2300 kg weight, which is pretty phenomenal! And with a maximum range of 275 miles (combined) you can travel quite a distance and get through a few albums on a single charge.

Facelift

In 2024, Porsche released a minor update to the Taycan, a facelift, but more like a Botox top-up rather than extensive plastic surgery. The fully electric Taycan features a newly enhanced battery, increasing the range and usable capacity. Rumour has it that a proper surgical enhancement is on its way for 2025.

What hasn’t changed is the remarkable and very robust Burmester in-car entertainment system. As they say, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. The system is optional at a touch over £3,500, including their 3D surround system. I would argue that this is a very reasonable price for a fully-loaded Burmester system and a fraction of the overall car cost. This includes a total system comprising 21 speakers strategically placed around the cabin, and the set-up includes three AMT tweeters buried in the dashboard. This impressive system offers a total output of 150 watts per channel.

In-car systems offer one of the best audio environments for listening. The reason for this is that the audio engineers have a fixed area that doesn’t change except the number of people within that space. Therefore, if you have the privilege to experience a system of this calibre, you are experiencing what the engineering team was imagining in their extensive research and design process.

The vehicle’s fixed space allows them to design for an area which is more accessible and better than a home environment, whereby the designer has no idea where the products will end up or how they will be placed. Will they be in a cavernous, dedicated listening room or in a small, tiny, shared space without the room for the components to completely flourish or do justice to the time spent creating their products?

Signal processing

In addition to the speaker placement, the Burmester system in the Taycan also utilises advanced signal processing technology to enhance the passengers’ listening experience further. As you would expect from a Burmester system, it is incredibly accurate and produces exceptional clarity and precision.

This is all great if you decide not to move your listening room on wheels! The caveat here is, of course, the noise of the road when you are in a car and moving. However, if the car is static, it’s almost an unparalleled listening environment! Once you begin to add engine noise and road noise, slowly, these impressive factors are reduced.

The beauty of the Porsche Taycan is that it is fully electric, so there is no engine noise. (Although there is an engine noise feature for inside or out if you want it!) This is a great start—one of the two main factors is removed!

As with all Burmester in-car audio systems, this system in the Taycan has customisable audio settings, which allow you to tailor the sound according to your personal preferences. It offers Pure, Smooth, Live, Auro 3D, and Auro 3D Intensity. According to Burmester, the Auro 3D ‘creates a soundstage in front of the occupants above the dashboard’. The addition of speakers in the A-pillar helps create this effect.

There is a range of equaliser settings and audio options, from the standard bass, treble, balance, and fade to listening position symmetry and sound conditioning and enhancement. This level of customisation ensures that you can enjoy your music exactly how you like it.

Exciting settings

Playing with the settings revealed some exciting results. Each option offered a different experience as you would expect; however, no setting suited every piece of music. I found myself adjusting the settings as I changed genre and style. For example, ‘Auro 3D’ was excellent for solo live recordings as it placed the voice/instrument directly in front and around you, creating an intimate effect of a small concert venue. These settings for a live orchestral recording did not work so well, as the crucial positioning of the instruments became somewhat muddled. Listening to Gran Partita, Mozart K361 (London Winds and Michael Collins), and upon changing that to a ‘Live’ setting, the blur disappeared, and the musicians moved back into their rightful positions on stage. The oboe of Collins soared through the car in an ethereal manner; the purity of the system even enabled me to hear the tonguing on the reed and the fingering as he followed the beautiful lines of this stunning work.

Wanting to push the system, I chose to listen to Arnesen: TUVAYHUN – Beatitudes. Wounded World. This is a stunning album recently released on 2L, a label arguably more concerned about recording quality and reproduction than any other label worldwide. The first track (‘Poor In Spirit’) starts with cymbals crashing, which reverberated around the whole car, followed by the strategically placed bell, which gave the impression that someone was ringing it by my ear! The opening has ‘cellos and double bass long drone-like notes. This is where the Sub came into its own; whilst the car lacks the seat shakers, which can be found in a Bentley, the Sub is powerful enough to feel deep tremors through the car. Due to the impressive build quality of these cars, that doesn’t mean that door panels and centre consoles start to rattle or that you suddenly experience a whole host of distortion. You experience a very tight bass which the system handles with great ease.

Track 12 (‘Those who Mourn’) includes some beautiful panpipes, and again, the clarity of the system brought through the breathy pipes, which contributed to the eeriness that Arnesen is seeking to create in this must-have album. Some quality was lost as it was streamed, but I suspect that was down more to the user than the platform!

Copes at all levels

At all volume levels, the Burmester system copes exceptionally well; at no point did it feel strained or lacking in power; it takes what you throw at it and delivers with a mature and developed sound. As you would expect, it makes the listening experience very pleasant, and that is no coincidence as Burmester has been developing high-end audio for years and has 15 years of experience offering upgrade solutions in the luxury car market. The most recent addition to its portfolio was the Ferrari with the Purosangue, launched last year. The Burmester system in this comes as standard, which says a lot about the belief that these well-respected car companies have in this very well-respected audio manufacturer.

Overall, the Burmester surround sound system, which, although it is an upgrade, is a standout feature that is highly recommended, and it helps to set the car apart from its competitors. The car, with this system, delivers an exceptional listening experience that is second to none. If you took the system out of the car, it’s the cheapest way to get a whole Burmester system; sadly this isn’t an option, but to get the car without it would be sacrilege!

Price and Contact details

Porsche Turbo S Sport Turismo: From £162,100
Burmester 3D high-end surround sound system: £3,569

Manufacturer

Porsche

www.porsche.com

Manufacturer

Burmester

www.burmester.de

More about Porsche

Johnny Cash: Songwriter

Down a tiny and narrow street in Copenhagen hangs a handwritten poster in a window with the headline “15 reasons why Johnny Cash is the coolest man in the world.” I agree. He is pretty damn cool; his voice, the musical style, his life, his love, and that whole ‘The Man in Black’ thing he did so well. So, anytime more of his previously unheard recorded music is released, it’s good for Cash fans everywhere, which brings us to Songwriter.

Of course, most of us know his hits. The Walk The Line movie made him famous to a new generation of listeners. And the Rick Rubin recordings are all great as well. And now John Carter Cash, Cash’s son, has dug out some recordings Cash did in 1993 that were never released because Cash started working with Rick Rubin.

But unlike the Rubin recordings, these are all original songs entirely written by Cash himself and much akin to the kind of style we know from his previous recordings before Rubin. The lyrics are straightforward and the salt of the earth—Americana at its roots. My streaming services keeps playing Country music after the Cash album ends. But I don’t consider Johnny’s music ‘Country’. Not his previous stuff and not the new album either. Granted, my perspective might be skewed by ‘Bro-Country’, but I’ve always felt Johnny Cash was Americana before there was Americana!

No interpretation is necessary to understand his lyrics. Johnny Cash shoots the story straight, without any frills or decorations. There are a couple of songs about the Vietnam War, which he might have written those lyrics earlier. There are several songs describing his other great love—besides music—his wife June Carter. They are very sweet and ring true.

Like all his previous music, this album features Johnny’s typical infectious locomotive rhythm, his deep resonant voice, and sparse and simple backing instrumentation. However, we don’t know the original style of these recordings; his son John, who co-produced with David ‘Fergie’ Ferguson (a producer who previously worked with Johnny Cash) peeled the recordings back to just Johnny’s voice and deep vocals. They then invited a select group of musicians, all of whom had played with Johnny Cash previously, to keep the music rooted in his spirit.

The opening track, ‘Hello Out There,’ is a sort of appeal/hymn/warning about where our world is headed if we don’t wise up, with spiritual connotations, so it is pretty much even more relevant now than ever. Meanwhile, the first single from the album ‘Well Alright’ is probably my favourite. It is a song about finding love in the most unusual places and how that is “Well, alright” for Johnny Cash. The final time he sings the words “Well Alright” in the song, his voice rises through the registers and brings back his old classics to mind. So, too, does the great rhythm of the track.

The many tracks about June Carter and their love are lovely and reveal Cash’s feelings about his wife. They are almost like stumbling over love letters he might have written her back in the day.

The Vietnam track ‘Drive On’ is encouraging despite its grim theme. Finally, ‘Like A Soldier’ is a confession. It is a very personal and honest song about his long struggles with addiction and his eventual triumph over it.

Songwriter paints a beautiful landscape of the American heartland. Johnny Cash followed his heart in his musical choices as much as in his personal life. This album reflects his legend, visions, and love for the places and people he loved. This might not be my favourite album by Cash, but it is Johnny Cash nonetheless, so, of course, it’s good. It is also an absolute must for Johnny Cash fans. And if you have never really listened to Cash, you should get this album. Cash was a great songwriter, and the tracks on this album seem very personal and close to the great man’s heart, and his fantastic voice echoes that throughout.

Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025: Part One

The annual Bristol Hi-Fi Show took place on the last weekend of February 2025. Last year, the hotel changed its name from the Marriott Bristol City Centre to The Delta Hotels by Marriott Bristol City Centre. The carpets are newer, and the fixtures and fittings are more modern. However, the brutalist concrete architecture stays the same!

Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025 focused more on quality than on quantity. Although exhibitor and visitor numbers appeared slightly lower than last year, the new product launches were as strong as ever. The Bristol Hi-Fi Show, organised by the UK audio retail chain Audio T, reflects the company’s friendly, down-to-earth approach. While a few brands ventured into high-end territory, this show emphasises affordable and accessible audio. The exhibitors, their products, and most of the launches at the show were all within those price points.

A show report can become repetitive quickly. So, instead of the usual solo exploration through the halls, I tasked a few of our reviewers with creating a top five list of products seen in Bristol. I deliberately asked them not to discuss the task with one another to determine if there were any overlaps. This week, it’s the turn of Paul Soor and Alan Sircom.

Alan Sircom

Lindemann Audio Woodnote:Combo and Revival Audio Sprint 3

We appreciate a system that outperforms expectations. The combination of Lindemann Audio’s new £2,250 Woodnote:Combo 2x50W streaming DAC amplifier (pictured on the left rack, 4th from top) and £990 Revival Audio’s Sprint 3 bookshelf loudspeaker achieves just that. The new Woodnote range offers high-performance 24bit, 384kHz PCM/DSD 256 digital audio and an innovative Power DAC design. Meanwhile, the rear-ported Sprint 3, with its 28mm soft dome tweeter and 180mm basalt sandwich woofer, is perfect for filling small rooms with sound.

Morgan Acoustics 1012

Designed by a Scottish designer living in Bristol, Morgan Acoustics’ 1012 floorstander is the culmination of five years of listening and fine-tuning. It features an AMT ribbon tweeter paired with a 6.5” midrange in a top box, along with an enclosed 10” mid-bass and a ported 12” side-firing woofer for the bass. With a sensitivity of 93dB, this loudspeaker design is just a few finishing touches away from becoming a potential world-class contender.

REL No 31s

Not all systems at Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025 are affordably priced. REL decided to demonstrate what it can achieve when the gloves are off. The system included an Innuos Statement Next Gen paired with an Audio Research DAC 9 converter, a Reference 6SE, and – shown for the first time in the UK – a pair of Reference 330M mono power amps driving Stenheim Alumine Five floorstanders. Every cable was top-of-the-line Chord Company. IsoTek brought its state-of-the-art power products.

Why this high-end system? Two stacks of three REL No 31 subwoofers were arranged in a line array. That’s a cool £42,000 of low-end power and control at the end of about £240,000 of audio electronics. John Hunter of REL explained – and demonstrated – why these subwoofer stacks make a difference. This was one of the best sounds ever heard in the 35 years of Bristol Hi-Fi Shows!

Ruark R610 and Sabre-R

First presented in prototype form at Munich High-End 2024, the £699 Sabre-R represents Ruark’s return to its roots. From 1985 to 2006, the brand focused on high-performance small loudspeakers, including the original Sabre. Since 2006, the company has shifted its focus to portable DAB radios and, more recently, integrated music systems. The new Sabre-R is a compact two-way bookshelf speaker designed to work with the company’s £1,200 R610 music console. This system can include Ruark’s matching £250 RCD100 USB CD player and has MM phono inputs for a turntable. This makes it an ideal option for a second system, student setup, or bedroom use (although it currently lacks a clock-radio feature).

Wilson Benesch Horizon

Launched at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025, Wilson Benesch’s new £25,995 Horizon floorstander is part of the company’s popular Fibonacci series. Positioned between the A.C.T. 3Zero stand-mount and Discovery 3Zero floorstander, the Horizon utilizes the company’s Tactic 3.0 drivers, Fibonacci tweeter, and a highly advanced carbon composite monocoque enclosure for ‘unparalleled’ rigidity and damping. It is said to reduce noise significantly compared to similarly sized wooden cabinets. When played through an excellent CAD front end – showcasing the first appearance of the new CAD 1543 Mk III digital converter – the Trilogy Audio 915R preamplifier, and a pair of the new 994 mono power amplifiers, the entire system delivered exceptional control and detail while maintaining a strong sense of musical energy and enjoyment.

Paul Soor

Sennhieser 620S

I’m in the market for headphones. I recently realised I’ve had a world-class headphones system in front of me for the last ten years, and I have not inserted a single headphone. That was mainly because the system was miles away, but now it is next to me.

I went straight for the Sennheiser 820S (close back) and loved them from the first note—a delicate, considered sophisticated sound from the off. Nothing was exaggerated. I like that. I then tried the new, much cheaper 620S, also close back. It is engineered to be close to the characteristics of the 660s, which major on neutrality. Wow! It succeeds. Even straight after the 820S, I did not feel short-changed. At under £300, it is top VFM.

Lyngdorf Audio FR-2 with TDAI-1120 streaming amplifier

Thin speakers pressed hard against the wall? Like old Linn and Naim models? But the Lyngdorf sounded ‘correct’. I’d be intrigued to review this system. This £ 6,000 two-box system (comprising £2,000 TDAI-1120 streaming amplifier and £4,000 FR-2 loudspeakers, shown for the first time at Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025) offers a taste of high-end audio without the disadvantages of space, cables, racks, etc. I’d be interested in reviewing it. I’d use it as intended, with the little amplifier on an adjacent sideboard.

Fyne Audio Vintage Classic Gold VIII SP

Straight away, there was an engaging, sophisticated, top-end sound from Fyne Audio‘s Vintage Classic Gold VIII SP. First dips, please! The music was spacious and effortless. The voices weren’t exaggerated but very real. There was no sense of overbearing bass despite the size. I was captivated. That might work in a small or medium room… like mine! Fyne was also showing off the new F500S series, but more on that later!

Wiim audio – WiiM Vibelink Amp

I wasn’t expecting the new WiiM Vibelink (shown for the first time at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025) to be detailed yet quite sophisticated (at that price) and engaging at low volume—a whole system for around £1200, including nice speakers. I want to review this ‘simple’ system as a reality check in the high-end world I take for granted. It could be a great system for the next generation of Audiophiles.

Leema with Serhan Swift mµ2 Mk II speakers

The Leema room was impressive, with small Australian Speakers—Serhan Swift mµ2 Mk II. I love small speakers. These had an excellent leading edge yet a refined top end—not tizzy at all, which is what I’ve been hearing at the show. The speakers were reassuringly expensive! I want to review these, too!

Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2025: Part Two

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Stenheim Alumine Two.Five

One of the highlights of reviewing is an unexpected opportunity to spend time with a kit from companies you have admired but not had a chance to get in-house. That opportunity arose with a call from our editor to see if I was interested in reviewing the new Stenheim Alumine Two.Five floorstanding speakers. Stenheim speakers had always caught my ear at shows. They were always precise, coherent and seemingly able to pair well with any quality gear they were shown with. If I was unable to go to the canton of Valais in the Swiss Alps to visit Stenheim, then a small piece of Switzerland could visit me in Wisconsin.

I first encountered the Alumine Two stand-mount speakers ten years ago at Axpona. The room was not large, but the soundstage was well-defined, and the overall presentation had me sit down for an extended listen. I had not encountered them previously, and I came to find out the company had been started only four years before, in 2010, with the Twos arriving on the scene in 2011. An auspicious debut, to be sure.

Pay attention

Someone else was paying attention to this nascent company. Jean-Pascal Panchard was an engineer at Nagra. He also owned an audio store and was a long-time member of an active Audiophile club. As a lifelong audiophile, he took notice of the Alumine Twos when they were showcased early on at one of the audio club’s events. Jean-Pascal was so impressed that he acquired the company and is now the CEO and chief designer for Stenheim.

Getting to the heart of Jean-Pascal’s attraction, the Alumine Twos were a simple design that delivered a supremely coherent sound with smooth delivery. Their use of aluminium for the enclosures in panels brought a few advantages. First, they had very little enclosure vibration compared to other speaker cabinet materials. Next, the aluminium did not add any coloration to the sound. Coloration hides the information in the music. Finally, the aluminium panels were thick enough to be inert yet not so heavy as to be impractical.

Fives and Threes

The Stenheim line grew to include the Reference Line and the Alumine Fives and Threes. There was, however, room for one more speaker in the Alumine line. Enter the new model Stenheim Alumine Two.Five! Jean-Pascal and the team asked what if they took the primary Alumine Two stand mount design and crossover and added more cabinet space to enhance the bass response. During the design process, they added a second bass driver while retaining the two-way crossover to reduce complexity.

The ported design choice echoed Stenheim’s other speakers, allowing for greater bass extension without the additional engineering challenges of sealed speaker designs. The careful decision allowed for an additional 10dB in bass response versus the Alumine Twos and created a very room-friendly sized tower design that can blend into nearly any room. Colour choices include Dark Grey, Light Grey, Black, Ivory and Mocca, allowing easy integration with various décor.

Design magic

Part of design magic is knowing where to make critical choices. The decision to stay with a Two-Way crossover in the Stenheim Alumine Two.Five is one thing. Not compromising on parts is another. Each part choice involved decisions on quality (always high!) and sonics. Listening tests were required for each choice throughout the design process. The Two-Way option may have led to a simpler design but never to a compromise on sound quality or coherency. The drivers are manufactured to company specifications, and they are paper for the bass drivers and silk for the tweeters. Paper is used for its comparatively light weight and rigidity.

Each driver is specially coated with a company-specified chemical treatment to achieve the desired performance goals. The placement of the drivers is also not in the centre of the speaker front. They are each slightly offset toward the inside of each speaker. There is a specific Left and Right speaker in each pair. The bass ports are also off-centre towards the outside as the enclosure design uses their placement to optimise the bass response and functionally reduces any port noise to zero.

The speakers are shipped with floor spikes and floor saver discs to allow room coupling and adjust the listening angle as needed. The spikes and discs came with installation tools and were installed easily. At 45kg each, the Alumine Two.Fives are easily manageable for two people to set up. Given their high build quality and solid aluminium enclosure, the Alumine Two.Fives are built to last. The warranty is five years; however, the expected lifespan is much longer.

Revealing

Getting down to some listening, I queued up, via Qobuz, Sophie Zelmani’s ‘All About You’ from her 2011 album, Soul (Epic). This well-recorded song features gentle acoustic guitar work, laid-back drums, and bass guitar backing Sophie’s soft vocals. The Stenheim Alumine Two.Five disappeared as the intimate club space revealed itself. Fingerwork on the guitar strings was complimented by subtle Hammond B3 keyboard playing. The depth was remarkable, and the band members’ physical location was clear. You could sense the spotlight on Sophie and the smoke from the ashtrays from nearby small tables. When a recorded song becomes a performance, a ‘you are there’ experience is rare and beautiful.

Next up was George Benson’s ‘Turn Your Love Around’ from his George Benson Collection vinyl record (2009 Rhino/Warner Records). This song brings the dynamics. Brass and backing vocals surround George’s beautiful tenor voice on this US top-five hit. The stage was filled with a who’s who of top session musicians and an all-star group of solo performers. George’s voice was delicate and soulful during the verse, and the full stage of singers and musicians launched the chorus’s crescendo. Brass came through with the brash tone expected of top trumpet and flugelhorn. There I was, sitting in the tenth-row centre, enjoying the show. It was a satisfying presentation.

SACD switch

I switched to SACD and selected the title track from Donald Fagen’s Morph The Cat (2006 Reprise). The bass line in this classic track drives the tune, and I enjoyed how solid and impactful the bass was presented from these slender, smaller tower speakers. At a specified 35Hz low end, the bass was solid and well defined. The sax solo had the necessary rasp and timbre. As I moved through various musical genres, I continued to appreciate the versatility of the Stenheim Alumine Two.Fives. Each was represented well by soft, dynamic, solid grooves and vocals, and the recording space was always as well-defined spatially as the recording could offer. The Alumine Two.Fives were not so much an interpreter of the music as a window to the recording, allowing me to appreciate what each artist wanted to convey fully.

Moving on to rock with a dose of metal, I put on the Redbook CD of Beauty and Rage from the band Red (2015 Essential Records). Track three, ‘Shadow and Soul’, is a great example of orchestral metal featuring the band backed by a full string section of violins, violas and cellos. While you get the crunch of rock guitars, they are framed by sweeping strings and piano. It is a vast and wonderful sonic envelope offering great scale and volume. Mike Barnes goes from crooning to screams as the song progresses.

Never flinching

The Stenheim Alumine Two.Five never flinched presenting the instruments with clarity. Strings came through as textured, and the vocals were clear and strident as intended. This is a dense track, and I kept thinking about the primary precept of Stenheim, which is a commitment to coherency. Tracks like this would suffer if there were anything ‘off’ about crossover design, driver specification, or cabinet stability. Instead, the song came through as a tapestry of sound. A complete work where you could appreciate the whole or the parts with equal pleasure. Bravo Stenheim!

Wrapping up the listening, I turned to the DVD-Audio title track of Linda Ronstadt and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra disc, What’s New (2002 Elektra). Ronstadt, a transcendent vocal talent whose career was cut short by illness, is at her peak in this recording. Backed by a superb touring orchestra, she presents the song with nuance and power. Centred in front of the stage with the orchestra surrounding her, the song is beautiful, and the sonic presentation is a masterclass in how to ‘mic up’ a singer and orchestra.

The instruments frame her vocals, and she becomes the peak of the musical mountain, her clear and powerful voice delivering as beautiful a presentation of this song as I have heard. Clear, coherent and inviting, I was drawn into the music. I stopped enjoying the moment the disc had run its course, with all nine songs having been thoroughly appreciated. Originally recorded in 1983, it is as stirring today as it was when it was released. Enjoying it on the Alumine Two.Fives was a special treat.

Power agnostic

Deciding on a new speaker involves so many choices to be considered. Not the least is how much power they require to offer their full capability. Fortunately, the Alumine Two.Fives are an easy 8 Ohm load with a sensitivity of 93dB and can be powered by as few as 10 Watts per channel. They can also thrive with big amps like the Sanders Sound Systems Magtech, offering up 500 Watts per channel into 8 Ohms of fully regulated class AB power. This almost power-agnostic aspect of the Alumine Two.Fives makes them an available option for nearly any amp choice. Listening to them with my Cary Audio CAD-300 SEI’s 15 Watts per channel of class A triode 300B tube power proved very satisfying. The Atma-Sphere Class D mono’s offering up 100 Watts per channel also paired beautifully with the Alumine Two.Fives.

Rarely have I encountered a loudspeaker that was so wonderfully adaptable when paired with various quality power amps. Both the Sanders and the Atma-Sphere amps ran through my Pass Labs preamp. Shiny discs were all played on my Oppo-205 via the Geerfab Audio D.BOB into a Cary Audio DMS-700 DAC/Streamer.

Stellarly

It mattered not to the Alumine Two.Fives, whose electronics I paired them with, presented stellarly in all cases. Many speakers require more careful gear matching. Stenheim Alumine Two.Fives are less concerned with who they work with and will deliver the best of what you give them. This is a speaker to build your forever system around.

Slightly more than a decade after its founding, Stenheim has won many awards for Best of Show and Design Innovation. Their most recent successes were Best of Show awards at Axpona and Munich in 2024. What is most impressive for me is that they gather accolades for their flagship Ultime Reference line and across all of their offerings. Each model is important as its own unique entity. Each model receives special attention to achieve the Stenheim level of quality. Whatever model you select carries the full weight and pride of the Stenheim brand. That is the key, as the Alumine Two.Fives are the single best pair of speakers I have ever auditioned in my listening room, regardless of price or system pairing. Yes, they are not inexpensive, but you very much receive the commiserate quality you are paying for. Highly recommended.

Technical specifications

Type: Passive two-way floor-standing speaker
2x 16.5cm (6.5”) woofers, 1x 2.6cm (1”) soft dome tweeter
Front bass reflex design
Full aluminium construction
Crossover employing high grade, audiophile components
Sensitivity: 93dB SPL, half-space
Power handling: 125W RMS, 250W Peak
Minimum recommended power: 10W
Frequency response: 35Hz to 30kHz
Nominal impedance: 8 Ohms
Dimensions (HxWxD): Height 94.5 x 23 x 27.5cm
Weight: 45kg each
Available in metallic Light Grey or Dark Grey with black front and rear
Warranty: 5 years
Price: £24,950-£26,750, $23,500-$25,200, €25,800-€28,100 depending on finish

Manufacturer

Stenheim

www.stenheim.com

Supplied in the US by

Nexus Audio Technologies

www.nexusaudtech.com

+1-781-775-5650

UK distributor

Audio Art

www.audio-art.co.uk

+44(0)203 745 8450

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Network Acoustics eno2

Hi-fi products often emerge from a ‘Eureka!’ moment for their designer. For Richard Trussell of Network Acoustics, this happened with the original eno ethernet filter. A trained electronics engineer, he retired from the IT industry and started selling hi-fi from home. His ‘Eureka!’ moment came when he discovered that a better-quality ethernet cable could improve the sound. This piqued his curiosity to find out why. The Network Acoustics eno2 is the latest development from that ‘Eureka!’ moment.

In 2019, Rich partnered with advertising creative and part-time cable maker Rob Osbourn. The two friends set about honing Rich’s prototype ethernet filter to produce the original eno. They formed a lockdown startup and christened it Network Acoustics. The eno2 I am reviewing here is a reworking of that original model. It’s redesigned to be compatible with 1Gb/s or 100Mb/s networks. It has an aluminium case instead of a plastic one. Network Acoustics also ditches the captive output lead, allowing users to choose their cable. It comes with one of Network Acoustics’ high-quality 0.75m streaming cables. It’s also available as a Streaming System, including an additional 1.5m cable.

Doubters gotta doubt

Trussell says some doubters will tell you the ethernet signal is digital and thus incorruptible. Still, he points out that it is, in fact, an analogue waveform, a bit like a sine wave. That noise can get into the cable, mix with the signal and adversely affect the sound. This noise is mainly RF, coming everywhere from sources such as wi-fi, mobile phones, TVs, satnav, Sky and many more. This noise, he says, can get onto the earth plane and interfere with the timing of the conversion process in your DAC.

The eno2 is a purely passive device. It uses a new version of its proprietary eight-core electronic filtering technology. The Network Acoustics eno2’s filter targets the electrical noise without interfering with the ethernet signal. Trussell found that the thickness of the aluminium case could also hamper the filter’s effectiveness. He tried many variations until he found the thickness most effectively shielded the circuitry from external RF interference. The box sports two high-quality Neutrik RJ45 ethernet sockets, and the 0.75m cable supplied uses high-purity silver/copper alloy.

As recommended, I connected the eno2 in the preferred configuration between my English Electric network switch and the Innuos Zenith MkIII streamer. Even though a network switch re-clocks the signal and has a degree of galvanic isolation, Trussell says they can add electronic noise, hence the need for a filter further down the signal path. I played the Innuos through a Pro-Ject PreBox RS2 Digital DAC, Avid Accent amplifier and Russell K Red 120Se speakers.

Dramatic Tutu

I started with a little Miles Davis and searched Qobuz for the title track from his Tutu album. The difference the Network Acoustics eno2 made was dramatic. Instantly, the soundstage opened out; the bass line with its typical Marcus Miller growl was tighter, more tuneful and easier to follow. Davis’s trumpet had more presence, with a better insight into how he shaped and crafted each note in his devastatingly understated style. Percussion and drums were better focused and sharper, and they provided more insights into how the drummer hit the skins and cymbals. In other words, it all hung together better and made more sense musically.

You can’t beat a beautifully recorded vocal, so I turned to ‘Build Me Up From Bones’ from the Sarah Jarosz album of that name. Straight away, I could hear so much more detail in her mandolin play, its attack, body, note shape, and volume, while her voice took on a presence, openness and solidity that made her sound more like she was in the room. There was better separation, definition and voicing of the plucked and pizzicato violin backing, while the cello had more weight and bowing detail.

Presence and dynamics

I then searched Qobuz for one of my favourite guitarists, Peter White, and played the title track from Groovin’. The difference the eno2 made to the sound of his guitar was huge. It had so much more presence and dynamics, and there was a greater insight into his masterful technique and how he played each note. The trumpet in the background was also much better separated and easier to follow, while the reggae-style bass line was tighter and moved better. On the Network Acoustics eno2, you could explore each musician’s contribution to the piece.

I am a massive fan of the late, great Al Jarreau, and I next chose one of his favourite songs, which Chris Walker covered on his tribute album We’re in This Love Together, which is the track I decided to play. He is backed on this by keyboard legend Bob James and the amazing Gerald Albright on sax, and it was his sax opening that sold me on how good the eno2 is. It was better focused, more articulate and had more bite and graunch, while Walker’s vocals were much more open and had more space around them. The emotion in his vocals was palpable, and when Regina Belle joined him, the eno2 easily conveyed their distinctive characters. I also liked how I could hear better what Bob James was doing on the piano, while the bouncy bass line that helped drive the track along was tighter and more tuneful.

Comparisons

I also compared the eno2 with several lower-cost filters. I was undoubtedly convinced that the eno2 was worth the extra money. It greatly improves openness, soundstage, musical integrity and timing.

Network Acoustics suggests that using an eno2 between the router and the network switch is also beneficial. I only had one sample to try. However, using it between the switch and the streamer significantly improved the experience. It makes the music make more sense, which, in turn, enhances enjoyment.

Never underestimate this tiny, rather unassuming silver box. OK, it has no flashing lights, knobs or switches. But small as it may be, the improvement it brings in sound quality was tremendous. If you want to boost your streaming system’s performance without spending a fortune, the eno2 could be the answer. I strongly recommend it.

Technical specifications

Type Passive 1Gb/s ethernet filter
Compatibility 100Mb/s, 1Gb/s, 2.5Gb/s
Filter Cleans all eight conductors in standard ethernet cable
Case Tuned shielded aluminium enclosure
Connections Two RJ45 sockets
Streaming cable High purity OCC with Telegartner Cat8.1 connectors with gold-plated contacts (0.75m length supplied)
Dimensions (HxWxD) 30mm x 105mm x 83mm
Weight 550g
Standard Package includes eno2 Ethernet Filter and 0.75m Streaming Cable
Price £995, $1,100, €995

Manufacturer

Network Acoustics

www.networkacoustics.com

+44(0)23 8061 5627

Paul Weller: 66

Paul Weller’s latest record – his seventeenth studio album and twenty eighth in total – takes its title from him turning 66 this year (2024). But, seemingly as a nod to his love of ‘60s music, the record’s cover art has been designed by English pop artist, Sir Peter Blake, who famously created the artwork for The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, as well as Weller’s 1995 album, Stanley Road.

It’s been three years since his last album, 2021’s Fat Pop (Volume 1) – his longest gap between albums. “That sort of thing used to keep me up at night,” he says. “But it’s not like I haven’t been writing. For this album, I had at least 20 songs to choose from. It was a luxury to be able to spend time with them and let them tell me which ones needed to be on the record.”

The 12 songs on 66 were worked up in Weller’s Black Barn studio over the course of three years and several of the tracks are the result of collaborations.

Its first single, ‘Soul Wandering’ pulls no punches, with its dirty, fuzzy and funky rock guitar, horns and ‘60s organ. It features lyrics penned by Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, while the ‘70s Bowie-meets-Stones, glam-soul strut of ‘Jumble Queen’, with a horn arrangement from The Stone Foundation’s Steve Trigg, has words courtesy of Noel Gallagher.

The low-key opener, ‘Ship of Fools’ was inspired by a poem sent to Weller by Suggs from Madness. It contrasts a barbed lyric with a summery stroll of a tune – acoustic guitar, a jazzy vibraphone, and a touch of barroom piano.

‘Flying Fish’ – one of the highlights – is lush, shimmering and funky disco-soul, with an anthemic chorus that sparkles like a mirror ball. And while we’re talking disco, ‘In Full Flight,’ has some delicious ‘70s-style liquid guitar and backing vocals by acclaimed female, ‘disco-delic’ Brooklyn trio Say She She, who popped into Weller’s studio while on tour and nailed their part in an afternoon.

‘A Glimpse of You,’ which is a collaboration with French producer and recording artist Christophe Vaillant (Le Superhomard), has a soaring string arrangement by Hannah Peel and evokes The Style Council’s cosmopolitan pop-soul. Peel, who’s now a regular collaborator of Weller’s, also arranged the strings for the joyous ‘Rise Up Singing,’ – a co-write with Blow Monkeys frontman and former Weller bassist, Dr Robert, which is a hymn to the healing power of music.

The strings for ‘Rise Up Singing’ were recorded at Abbey Road, where The Beatles made most of their music for EMI in the ‘60s, including Revolver, one of Weller’s favourite albums, which, as it happened, came out in 1966…

There are some lovely, reflective and laidback moments on 66, namely the pastoral and lullaby-like ‘Sleepy Hollow’ with flute by Jacko Peake; ‘I Woke Up,’ which has a folky, acoustic guitar intro and sweeping ‘60s pop strings, plus Richard Hawley on lap steel, and ‘Nothin,’ a romantic ballad with jazz trumpet, burbling retro synth sounds and warm, electric piano.

On the latter, Weller sings: “Walking back through the silver trees, the light summer’s evening breeze across my face, to a time and place, and it was gone…” It’s truly one of the album’s most beautiful moments, as is the waltz ‘My Best Friend’s Coat’ – another co-write with Vaillant – which has exotic strings and comes across like an autumnal chanson that Scott Walker could’ve sung.

The record ends with the brooding, spacey and psychedelic ‘Burn Out’, Weller drifting like Bowie’s Major Tom, with a soundtrack of cosmic jazz saxophone and ominous strings.

When hi-fi+ reviewed his last album, Fat Pop (Volume 1), in 2021, we called it one of the strongest records Weller had ever made, saying: ‘It’s the latest in a purple patch that started with 2018’s True Meanings – his stripped-back and orchestrally-aided, introspective folk-rock album, which coincided with him turning 60.’

Now he’s turned 66 and he’s made his best album since True Meanings – that’s really something to celebrate.

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Van den Hul Crimson Elite XGW

The last few years have been transitional ones for Van den Hul. Owner and founder AJ Van den Hul has taken a small step back from running the company to allow his sons to become more involved in both production and administration. Part of this process is that cartridge production is now undertaken by William Van den Hul, and the Crimson Elite XGW is the first new release since this changeover occurred.

The Crimson Elite XGW is a development of the existing Crimson model and uses the ‘Stradivarius’ lacquer that appeared in 2018 as a covering for its CNC machined Koa wood body. Designed to mimic the lacquer of the legendary violins and control resonances, the multi-stage application process takes six months before any actual assembly can take place.

As is traditional with higher-end models from Van den Hul, the generator that attaches to this body is completely nude. It comprises the company’s crystal gold wire in the coils, which are matched to each cartridge, combined with a solid boron cantilever mounting the company’s proprietary stylus profile. To elevate the Crimson to Elite status, the wire thickness is reduced, and the suspension is uprated to reduce the effective mass.

Stradiwhovius?

The output from these revisions is a little lower than the Crimson Stradivarius but still unusually high for a moving coil design at 0.85mV. This means that gain isn’t an issue, but some care will need to be taken to avoid overloading the input of some phono stage designs. It isn’t the only quirky aspect of the Crimson Elite’s measurements either. The review sample tracked at a relatively low 1.35-1.50 gram window with minimal suggested anti-skate applied. It’s also only fair to point out that, as no stylus guard is supplied, fitting the Crimson Elite is somewhat terrifying, although the two pairs of mounting holes to handle different arms and well-spaced cartridge pins do help a little.

Something that does warrant mention as a positive for the Van den Hul, though, is that the cost of ownership is more front-loaded than many premium rivals. Inclusive in the price is a check-up service at 250 hours to check the suspension after the burn-in period. Stylus life is quoted at around 2,000 hours, and tip and damper replacement would be £440 at December 2023 prices, which gives the Crimson Elite rather less horrendous running costs than many high-end carts.

Clocking the hours

I suspect that many owners will clock up 2,000 hours pretty quickly though. Connected to a Vertere MG-1 MkII turntable and running into a Rega Aura phono stage, the Van den Hul demonstrates virtues that I have come to appreciate from the brand but mixed in with some new attributes at the same time. I’ve been using Every Day by The Cinematic Orchestra [Ninja Tune] as a test piece ever since I began reviewing turntables. The moment Fontella Bass began singing in All that you give it becomes abundantly clear that this is a startlingly vivid device. She is present in a way that bypasses any perception of mechanical process. And to achieve this startling ability to bring a sense of ‘live’ to any voice and instrument required a beautifully evolved version of a Van den Hul trademark.

Where the Van den Hul Crimson Elite XGW kicks on, quite literally, is when you move away from the audiophile and ask it to power its way though Blues Funeral by the Mark Lanegan Band [4AD]. The ballistic opening The Gravedigger’s Song would not traditionally have been a happy hunting ground for some of the Crimson Elite’s ancestors but here it simply grips and goes. It has a remarkable ability to decompress material like this, prying it open and finding space where previously there wasn’t any. It does this without impinging on the sheer musical fury that this track is supposed to possess. This newfound energy and rhythmic competence has meant that bits of my collection I might not have made a beeline for with older models are now completely fair game.

Admirably

This is helped by all the basics being handled admirably. Bass response is deep and detailed, feeding into that effortless midrange and never letting up on the astonishingly tangible tonal realism throughout. In this setup, the presentation is very fractionally forward and the Crimson Elite will point out when a pressing isn’t the last word in fidelity without rendering the results unlistenable. Compared to the Platanus 3.0S that won our 2023 award and that was tested in the same basic setup, the Van den Hul is more perceivable in what it does and you can detect its presence in the performance that it creates in a way that the Platanus goes out of its way to avoid. It is wrong to say it’s coloured but there is a character to it that is a little more overt.

I make no bones about loving this overall performance, though. The Crimson Elite is a deceptively simple-looking device that delivers an out-and-out musical joy that marks it out as something special, even judged at its lofty price point. The Van den Hul makes all your vinyl listening an event, and this all-important ability has survived the handover of production from father to son. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what might come next.

Technical specifications

Type: Moving Coil Cartridge
Stylus Profile Diamond/Proprietary line contact
Output: Voltage 0.85mV (5.6cm/sec)
Frequency Response: 5Hz-55kHz
Channel Separation: > 36 / > 30 dB
Tracking force: 1.35-1.5g
Recommended impedance: >20 Ohms
Price: £6,750, €6,450, $8,750

Manufacturer

Van den Hul

www.vandenhul.com

UK distributor

Decent Audio

www.decentaudio.co.uk

Back to Reviews

Enleum HPA-23RM

Small, but perfectly formed” are the words that come to mind on unboxing Enleum’s HPA-23RM. The new headphone amplifier is just 22mm thick, and in plan view no bigger than the palm of a large hand.

Like all of Soo In Chae’s audio products of recent years, first from his previous brand Bakoon International, and now from his current company Enleum, the HPA-23RM has elements of the Korea-born, California-resident audio wizard’s distinctive design language all over it; classic gunmetal finish, sculpted sides and deep chassis score lines. Pick it up, though, and expectations of a featherweight are instantly dispelled. At 762gms, the HPA-23RM is surprisingly dense for its size. Take to the streets after rubber-banding it back-to-back with a contemporary DAP of commensurate quality, and you’ll be lugging around over a kilo of tech.

In fairness, though, that’s undoubtedly not the kind of portability Enleum primarily has in mind. More likely, one of the brand’s target users is the music-lover who travels and who, upon arriving at their overnight hotel, might place the HPA-23RM and DAP on the bedside table and spend an evening in their room blissing out to hi-rez recordings.

The other target group for the HPA-23RM is what we might term the conventional user whose audio consumption is home-based. In this role, I evaluated the HPA-23RM, using it on the kit table for four weeks as my go-to headphone amplifier. By way of an up-front takeaway, I can report that the Enleum HPA-23RM delivers a sound quality with many – but not all – dynamic and planar headphones that give little to nothing away to top-of-the-line full-sized, mains-powered headphone amps. Moreover, it does it for up to five hours before needing a re-charge via its rear-mounted USB-C port.

Shine a light

Lid off, the HPA-23RM is a marvel of miniaturisation and build quality. There’s no chunky power supply; a pair of 18650 lithium-ion batteries juice Enleum’s mighty mite, the same type used by many domestic torches or flashlights. This is charged by a wall wart. Two amplifier circuits, with zero negative feedback and featuring surface-mounted discrete components, are sandwiched between the batteries. One is optimised for devices such as IEMs that want voltage drive. The other is for designs like planar-magnetic headphones that need current to perform.

We find the USB-C charging socket, a stereo mini-jack input, and a single pair of RCA inputs on the rear panel. Around the front, to prevent the volume knob being turned up to maximum by accident when the user is on the move, the control is sunk into the front panel. This can only be rotated by stroking a finger or thumb over a wide slot in the top surface of the chassis. Three LEDs indicate battery state, and 3.5mm and 6.3mm TRS sockets allow IEMs and headphones to be connected to the Voltage and current outputs, respectively. A miniature toggle switch allows gain to be set at 2dB or 17dB.

Bakoon re-emergence

Audiophiles who lamented the passing of Soo In Chae’s Bakoon brand had reason to cheer when he re-emerged with Enleum. The new brand’s first product was the AMP-23R, a compact integrated amplifier-cum-headphone amp in which combined MOSFETs by British fab-house Exicon with an innovative biasing circuit that enables the amplifier to deliver the kind of approachable warmth, some might say naturalism, we might associate with a Class A design. However, it also has exceptional precision and grip. Mains powered, and with a stiff internal linear power supply that allows it to output 25 Watts into eight Ohms, the AMP-23R was never intended to drive big speakers in big rooms. However, paired sensibly, it achieves such a sonic performance that some reviewers regard it as a benchmark against which other designs can be evaluated.

When I reviewed the AMP-23R in 2021, I, too, was captivated by its performance. While many other integrated amplifiers treat headphones as an afterthought, using an add-on integrated circuit op-amp to drive them, the AMP-23R brings its complete speaker-driving circuit to bear but with the gain rolled back. The result, even and especially on tricky-to-drive loads, is properly top-drawer. Only my Puritan streak stopped me from buying the review sample exclusively as a headphone amplifier to fill a vacancy on the kit table.

Wait, Watt?

Soo In Chae says that the AMP-23R has heavily influenced the circuit design of his new dedicated headphone amplifier. However, his new creation is not immune to the laws of physics, so we should not be surprised that rather than its larger stablemate’s output of 4 Watts into a 60-ohm load, the HPA-23RM delivers just 0.5 Watts into the same impedance.

I’ve picked on 60 Ohms to get the Susvara question out of the way. As fans will know, that’s the load HiFiMAN’s flagship headphone presents to amplifiers, along with an efficiency that is distinctly on the low side at around 83dB. The mains powered AMP-23R breezes Susvara, but while the HPA-23RM generates perfectly acceptable sound with the headphone – very loud sound too on its high gain setting – it doesn’t have quite the weight, dynamic expression and tonal detail that the Susvara can deliver when more appropriately driven. But, really, what should we realistically expect, given the half-watt output?

A particular aspect of design contributes significantly to this surprisingly strong level of performance. Enleum’s baby is single-ended, not dual differential, but that’s not unusual. What is unusual is that it operates as a current gain, not a voltage gain device. Rare in headphone amplifiers, this is never seen in commercial speaker amplifiers. Loudspeaker impedance curves vary as the multiple drivers track up through the octaves, pulling the gain of a current source amplifier all over the place. The tail wags the dog, making current gain the wrong tool for that particular job.

Current drive

However, planar-magnetic headphones have a generally flat impedance curve. Enleum’s HPA-23RM takes advantage of this, squaring up to the resultant stable load and using current to drive the headphone voice coils directly with greater precision for lower distortion and a faster, more natural response. If you wonder why the HPA-23RM can cope well with demanding loads using just half a Watt while some other amplifiers with more on-paper grunt can struggle… current drive is part of the answer.

With alternative, more amplifier-friendly headphones, the results were even more satisfying. Into a load of 16 Ohms the HPA-23RM’s current output punches out 1.8 Watts, and at 300 Ohms it delivers 100 mW (current output) 50 mW (voltage output). As I indicated in my earlier teaser, these metrics enabled the review sample to trade blows with much larger and more powerful mains-powered alternatives, including its bigger brand sibling.

That’s not to say that the HPA-23RM can only be used with headphones with a flat impedance. Depending on where an impedance dip or peak sits, the result might be offensive or not. Soo In Chae points to the Sennheiser HD800, which has a peak of 650 Ohms at 100 Hz, standing proud of a nominal impedance of 300 Ohms. The effect, in this instance, is a bass boost that some users might like. That’s not an admission of sloppy design on his part but a caution that we need to understand the design parameters of the HPA-23RM clearly and pair it accordingly.

Most of my listening was done via an Audeze LCD5 headphone, which exhibited its characteristic mid-band forwardness and slightly rolled off top end, just as it does with other headphone amplifiers. To that extent, what I heard was unexceptional.

Liquidity

What sets the Enleum HPA-23RM slightly apart from the alternatives is a sonic aesthetic that I found both winningly engaging and strongly reminiscent of the sound produced by the mains-powered AMP-23R. This might best be described as a relaxed warmth and liquidity that initially deceives us into thinking we’re not given the complete detailed sonic picture. Only upon more extended listening followed by back-to-back comparison with some alternative headphone amplifiers do we realise the detail is present after all. The HPA-23RM doesn’t mask it but offers a slightly different perspective. Listening to music becomes not an exercise in forensic examination of the source material but rather a cosseting bath in sonic balm.

Some readers will link that observation to the fact that the HPA-23RM uses no negative feedback. I think they are right to do so; the little Enleum calls to mind the kind of relaxed yet particularly transparent presentation that we might associate with top-of-the-line zero-feedback single-ended triode amplification.

What’s remarkable about Enleum’s achievement is that the HPA-23RM doesn’t combine this with the soft and loose bass and truncated top-end that experience tells us we might also expect. The HPA-23RM digs basement deep and reaches top floor high, adding texture and control to a rich palette of tonal colour and a generosity of energy transfer that is truly competitive and, indeed quite shocking given its diminutive size. It slams hard and fast when required by plucked, bowed and keyed bass, with just as much weight and transient snap as any number of mains-powered alternatives can muster. Human voices are rendered with believable diaphragmic air compression and timbre, while high-frequency material plays out with sweetness and satisfying texture.

Intimacy

Driving the LCD5, the HPA-23RM produced a more intimate sound stage than some other amplifiers. Musical events tend to be more in-head than external. Specificity and layering proved to be to a high standard.

Whether a slight perceived recess in the HPA-23RM’s midband shows on the testbench or not, its partnership with the LCD5 proved highly satisfactory. The amplifier tamed to a degree the headphone’s forwardness in that region, compensating for its rolled-off top end and beefing up the low end, all without the application of Roon’s excellent EQ. I loved the result.

Brief experiments were made with IEMs. I don’t own this type of transducer because I find it either uncomfortable or impossible to wear. However, I can report that the loaned IEMs exhibited zero intrusive hiss when connected to the HPA-23RM in low gain mode via its voltage output. A household member with more obliging morphology and therefore able to listen to multiple recordings on my behalf reported that the HPA-23RM’s IEM performance is of an extremely high standard.

While Enleum’s claim of up to five hours of operation on the internal batteries – three in current mode – is achievable, it depends on load and how loud we want to listen. I suspect many users with no interest in portability might just plug the HPA-23RM into the wall wart and leave it at that. Pursuing thorough enquiry, I ran the review sample that way for a day. Either the Raspberry Pi wall-wart supplied with the HPA-23RM is ultra-quiet, or the HPA-23RM incorporates effective EMI filtering, or, highly likely, both are true. The upshot was that I struggled to hear any zero sonic difference when the wall wart was connected.

Parity

Some may look at the battery-powered HPA-23RM and wonder if it is Enleum’s last word on the matter or whether a dedicated mains-powered version is in the works. He says that’s it for now, and he encourages potential purchasers to think of the HPA-23RM as his statement personal listening device.

Readers are free to distrust my audio memory since it is two years since I heard the mains-powered AMP-23R. However, after some four weeks of living with the Enleum HPA-23RM I was convinced that it may perform at the same level as its larger integrated amplifier sibling.

That it does this yet costs £3,000 less than the AMP-23R makes Soo In Chae’s dinky creation a shoo-in for any headphone amplifier shortlist. To potential buyers: suspend disbelief until you’ve tried one.

Technical specifications

Power: 1 Watts (Current Output) / 500 mWatts (Voltage Output) @ 30ohms
Inputs: RCA and 1/8” Mini Jack (Analogue)
Outputs: 1/4” (Current) and 1/8” (Voltage) Headphone Jacks
Operation time: Continuous or depending on the external battery capacity up to 5 hours (Voltage Output) / up to 3 hours (Current Output)
Dimensions: 116mm x 164.5mm x 22mm (w x d x h)
Weight: 730g
Price: £3,300, $3,000, €3,000

Manufacturer

Enleum

www.enleum.com

Accustic Arts Power III

The Power III is the biggest integrated in Accustic Arts‘ range. A father-and-son team founded Accustic Arts in 1996. Twenty years later, Jochen Voss bought it. He employs a part-time roadie as head of engineering. The brand builds a wide range of electronics in southwest Germany near Stuttgart. Most are pure solid-state, but some combine transistors with tubes in hybrid designs. The company aims to make equipment as close to the original as possible. If this integration is anything to go by, they are having some success.

The Accustic Arts Power III is also physically quite big. However, the 23-kilo mass is manageable, as is the larger-than-average 48.2cm width. Just don’t expect to slide it into a shelf on a regular equipment rack. Build quality is superb, and the casework is as good as it gets if you like the machined-from-solid billet aesthetic. It would be a pity to place this amp on a shelf where you couldn’t appreciate the machining on the top and enjoy the red glow of the LEDs within.

The simple array of twin chromium knobs on the front alongside a relatively straightforward display disguise the fact that the Power III offers processor-based features to those prepared to read the manual. There is the option to adjust input gain by plus or minus 12dB and thus match the level of a turntable and a streamer, which might otherwise be distinctly different. You can make an input operate in unity gain, which bypasses the volume control and effectively turns the Power III into a power amplifier, which is useful when used in a multichannel set-up. Balance can be adjusted as can start-up volume, and the pre/rec output can be defined as variable or fixed according to requirements.

Stream on

Accustic Arts equips the Power III exceptionally well. It has balanced and single-ended line connections and the option to add a phono stage to one of the three RCA inputs. The presence of a ground terminal above input three indicates which this is. Alongside the analogue connections are digital inputs in coaxial, optical and USB forms; the only thing missing is an ethernet connection. There is no streaming engine inside this amplifier, but the USB means you can connect virtually any separate streamer with minimal compromise. Accustic Arts uses high-quality WBT speaker terminals made with a minimum of metal for the best sound quality.

The Power III’s phono stage is billed as ready for both moving coil and moving magnet cartridges. However, changing this via the front or rear panels is impossible. Instead, you must remove the lid to reveal the phono module within.

Selection

This allows MM or MC to be selected and offers three levels of capacitance for the former and four impedance settings for MC, ranging from 10 Ohms to 1 kOhm. Usefully, this amplifier is shipped with the phono stage set for MC cartridges that prefer a 100 Ohm input impedance, which suits most models, including my Rega Aphelion 2.

The onboard DAC chip is not specified but clearly up to date with a respectable 32-bit/384kHz rate for PCM and 512 for DSD. These are the sort of figures you will find with the majority of well-regarded DACs; they aren’t trying to push the envelope but are more than up to the job of easily converting bits into sinewaves. On the amplification front, the Power III lives up to its name, with a rating of 230 Watts into eight Ohms and rising to over 500W into two Ohms. Not many amplifiers are rated into such a low impedance, and this inspires confidence that this one will drive most loudspeakers without difficulty.

Go down easy

In my system, driving Oephi Immanence 2.5 loudspeakers, the Accustic Arts Power III is a big, cuddly amplifier by solid-state standards. It makes many alternatives sound hard and thin, and has a relaxed delivery that welcomes you into its presence and lets you go down easy. And this is a good thing; its why people love Quad amps of yore, not just the valve ones. It makes listening less of a challenge and more of a joy; it focuses on the music and gets out of the way. On the one hand, this means that you don’t get edge-of-the-seat excitement unless there’s plenty of it in the recording, but on the other, it’s a welcome change from more eager and excitable alternatives.

At least that’s how it sounded with Atlas Ultra Arran RCA interconnects. Switching to something slightly leaner produced a similarly tauter, more pacey sound. The Power III is a pretty revealing amplifier.

Lovely

The phono stage is very lovely too and encourages high-level playback because no edginess or glare is being added by the amplifier. Julian Lage’s jazz guitar playing grooved beautifully, the track ‘Omission’ (Speak to Me) has plenty going on, but the Accustic Arts delivered it in a relaxed, coherent fashion while making clear that vinyl still does things that digital cannot. Including very strong image depth and plenty of space where that is on the recording. The bass is controlled but not gripped. It flows naturally and extends as far as the loudspeakers can take it.

I really enjoyed some of the quieter, less obvious tracks on one album (Ville Blomster by the Andrea Hauge Trio), pieces where your attention is not necessarily as strong as it might be on the meatier tunes. The Power III reveals dynamics at low levels, which brings out the magic in the performance; the music draws you in and lets the artist communicate to a rare degree. The track ‘Asta’ was particularly beautiful with the Accustic Arts/Oephi combo. It’s also rare to get this quality of sound from vinyl in an integrated amplifier; separate phono stages don’t have to cope with a nearby power supply of this scale, so they usually have an advantage, but in this instance, you would have to spend a decent amount to better the onboard module.

More upbeat

The USB input is a little more upbeat than the analogue inputs. With a Lumin A2 mini streamer connected via Network Acoustics muon2 USB cable, this input was as revealing as the RCAs. Put on something splashy from a streaming service, and that’s how it sounds; put on something well-cut from your local library, and it’s a far more polished situation. I compared the Lumin with AURALiC’s VEGA S1 (also covered this month) and found some prototype Network Acoustics RCA cables. This revealed that both USB and analogue inputs have a very similar sound. There was a slight difference, but not one that would warrant purchasing one streaming source rather than the other. Both sounded harmonically rich with good ‘kick’ to bass lines and easy but controlled dynamics. The vocal on Ike White’s ‘Changin’ Times’ was particularly well rendered.

I tried a tester in the form of ‘The Battle’ from the Gladiator soundtrack. This is a very dense, large-scale orchestral piece with plenty of processing. It can sound hard and flat through many DAC/amplifier combinations. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the Power III deliver the power and drama of the piece without the sense of compression that so often accompanies it. By this point, I had moved onto PMC twenty5.26i loudspeakers. These proved to be a very good match to the Accustic Arts. Their bass can be on the lean side with a lot of amps. However, the power on tap here made for low-end that was fully extended whilst remaining highly articulate.

Relaxed

I also enjoyed how they delivered the easy tension of Michael Franks’ The Art of Tea (Speakers Corner) on vinyl. In the wrong hands, this album can become soporifically smooth. I was concerned that the Power III’s relaxed demeanour might have that effect. I was wrong. It tracked the transients and brought out the brilliance of composition and playing on this fabulous recording. I’ve heard it sounding pacier, but this system efficiently delivered plushness and definition. This made it easy to hear what each musician contributed to the mix.

You get a beefy aluminium remote handset with the Power III, albeit its functionality is not immediately apparent. This is high-end audio, after all. The high-quality finish on this Accustic Arts Power III amplifier might give the impression that it’s all about looks. But the proof is in the listening, which is even more attractive. It would seem that in Accustic Arts, we have another German electronics brand to keep an eye on.

Technical specifications

Type: Solid-state, two-channel integrated amplifier with built-in DAC, phonostage, and headphone amplifier.
Analogue inputs: One MM/MC phono input (via RCA jacks), three single-ended line-level inputs (via RCA jacks), two balanced inputs (via XLR connectors).
Digital inputs: Four S/PDIF (two coaxial, two optical), one USB port.
Analogue outputs: One pre-/rec (via RCA jacks).
Supported sample rates: Coaxial and optical S/PDIF: up to 24-bit — 192kHz, USB: up to 32-bit — 384kHz, DSD512
Input impedance: High-level: 50kOhms, Phono: variable
Output impedance (preamp): 47 Ohms
Headphone Loads: > 25 Ohms
Power Output: 230Wpc @ 8 Ohms, 370W pc @ 4 Ohms, 510W pc @ 2 Ohms
Bandwidth: Not specified
Distortion: THD+N < 0.01%
Signal to Noise Ratio: -97 dBA (ref. 6.325 V) – A weighted
Dimensions (HxWxD): 145 x 482 x 430mm
Weight: 23kg
Price: £16,200 as tested (£14,400 without phono module), $18,500, €16,500
Manufacturer

Accustic Arts Audio GmbH

www.accusticarts.de

UK distributor

Audio Emotion

www.audioemotion.co.uk

+44(0)1592 407700

Bigger is better

Extreme inclinations

It took a while

The timing/balance equation

Vinyl love

Magical realism

Thrill power

Technical specifications

Manufacturer

UK distributor

Ed Selley

Cyrus Audio 40 PPA

Exposure 5000 Series integrated amplifier

Harbeth NLE-1

Neat Acoustics Iota 2

Rega Brio Mk7

Steve Dickinson

Advance Paris CD9

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Kanto Audio UKI

Russell K RED 120se

Voxativ Hagen

Chris Frankland

Audio Note Meishu Konzertmeister and AN-E Ltd

Hegel D50

Michell Audio Apollo and Muse

Origin Live Anti Resonance arms and Multi-Layer Counterweight

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Chord Phono Aray

Neat Acoustics Momentum J-6

Quad ESL-2912X

Ultrafide Dias-U8

Facelift

Signal processing

Exciting settings

Copes at all levels

Price and Contact details

Manufacturer

Alan Sircom

Lindemann Audio Woodnote:Combo and Revival Audio Sprint 3

Morgan Acoustics 1012

REL No 31s

Ruark R610 and Sabre-R

Wilson Benesch Horizon

Paul Soor

Sennhieser 620S

Lyngdorf Audio FR-2 with TDAI-1120 streaming amplifier

Fyne Audio Vintage Classic Gold VIII SP

Wiim audio – WiiM Vibelink Amp

Leema with Serhan Swift mµ2 Mk II speakers

Pay attention

Fives and Threes

Design magic

Revealing

SACD switch

Never flinching

Power agnostic

Stellarly

Technical specifications

Manufacturer

Supplied in the US by

UK distributor

Doubters gotta doubt

Dramatic Tutu

Presence and dynamics

Comparisons

Technical specifications

Manufacturer

Stradiwhovius?

Clocking the hours

Admirably

Technical specifications

Manufacturer

UK distributor

Shine a light

Bakoon re-emergence

Wait, Watt?

Current drive

Acoustic Energy AE309²