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English Acoustics Stereo 41c power amplifier

The Leak Stereo 20 was an engineering masterpiece from the Golden Age of Audio. Recently, English Acoustics lovingly recreated—and subtly updated—the Stereo 20 design in its first product, the Stereo 21c. 14W per channel of delightful low-distortion valve-based audio might have been a joy in 1958. Things have moved on. More power is needed today, and the new English Acoustics Stereo 41c power amplifier is the answer.

The Stereo 41c boosts output to a more 21st-century chummy 30W per channel. This is thanks to its use of EL506 output tubes and bespoke transformers to match. It is the perfect blend of old and new. It still uses the same classic circuit design and layout that proved popular 65 years ago. However, it is built to today’s high-end standards. It also includes features unavailable to Harold Leak and the team in the 1950s.

To begin at the beginning

It’s worth a quick revisit to the Stereo 21c as a perfect introduction to the Stereo 41c. This is because the Stereo 21c sets out what English Acoustics is about. It’s the brainchild of ex-BBC engineer Peter Farrow (now English Acoustics’ Chief Technical Officer). The earliest projects at English Acoustics were to undertake restorations of classic valve amplifiers. A love for the Leak Point One design is almost a certainty because it’s a joy to work on.

Most companies at this point would operate as restorers, and a small army of proud ‘bodgers’ does just that. But English Acoustics is not ‘most companies’. Peter recognised the Point One circuit as one of the most outstanding designs of its time. But that time began in the late 1940s. The primary amplifier circuit didn’t need improving, but the application and implementation could benefit from generations of technological development. It also features modern safety features. These were the stuff of B-Movie sci-fi in a time before transistors.

The company’s first restorations prevent the absolute purists from considering these developments heresy. Among those who enjoy Leak’s Point One designs, English Acoustics was the brand that went the extra mile. Your restored Stereo 20 left the company in a better state than when they left Leak’s old West London factory 60+ years ago. But Farrow realised there is only so much you can do with the original Stereo 20.

Wiggle room

Leak built the Stereo 20 to the highest standards of its day. But ‘highest standards’ still had some wiggle room. We live in an era when a 12″ wide chassis can’t be “give or take an eighth of an inch or so.” The Stereo 20 pressed and folded chassis no longer ‘cuts the mustard’. Also, a riot of colour options replaces the limited palette of 1960s enamels. This led to one of those ‘why don’t we…’ discussions that included what a manufacturer in the 21st Century would need to do to bring an amplifier launched in 1958 (and based on a circuit from the mid-1940s) up to code.

This is no simple task, as you risk undermining the original’s performance and aesthetics. So, English Acoustics’ first product was an updated Stereo 20. It uses a chassis that is more than pressed steel and stove enamel. More importantly, it adds sophisticated modern features like a digital thermal cut-out and an orientation sensor. It also uses modern components throughout, including recreations of classic components when the newer ones either do not make the grade sonically or are unavailable (such as 0.25µF paper-in-oil capacitors).

English Acoustics Stereo 41c: More power!

The Stereo 21c is a popular amp, but 14W is not that powerful by today’s standards. Paradoxically, modern loudspeakers are more efficient than similarly sized acoustic suspension counterparts of the late 1950s. Leak designed the original Stereo 20 with efficient corner horns in mind. While that original can make nice sounds with a well-matched pair of loudspeakers, it’s not a roof-raiser. Even boosting that output to 30W helps, as it raises the amplifier’s headroom and widens its circle of loudspeaker friends.

There are a lot of options English Acoustics could have called on. Harold Leak’s original Point One circuit (so named because it offered a then-ground-breaking 0.1% harmonic distortion) was implemented in various mono and stereo chassis. English Acoustics could have made a direct ‘lift’ of the more powerful Stereo 50 or Stereo 60, but in some respects, these also reflect the market at the time.

More than 20

While they were both more powerful than the Stereo 20, they were more expensive and sold in tiny numbers for the era. Consequently, the Stereo 50 and 60 amps used a single 5AR4 rectifier. This was possibly a cost-cutting exercise but arguably sapped dynamic headroom. So, when it was English Acoustics’ turn to raise the power output, it didn’t go the obvious route of just calling on one of those bigger Leak Point One designs; they were simply the inspiration.

In the Stereo 41c, the story begins with one 12AX7/ECC83 double triode used in the input. This is met by an ECC82 per channel as a gain stage, feeding a pair of EL506/7868 pentode. Each channel has its own GZ34S/5AR4 rectifier valve. In-house-designed transformers are a big part of the ‘English’ part of English Acoustics. Almost everything in the English Acoustics Stereo 41c (and all other English Acoustics products) is ‘local produce’; not simply in the UK. Many of the components are made as close to English Acoustics’ Wiltshire base.

Not only flag waving

This isn’t just a flag-waving exercise; one of the things the English do exceptionally well in the 21st Century is small-scale precision engineering. The UK might not be the centre of the manufacturing world (and arguably hasn’t held that title in more than 150 years). Still, when it comes to making high-precision, limited-run, cost-no-object components, there’s a reason why so much Formula One engineering is UK-based. English Acoustics leveraged the same ‘sans pareil’ approach used by anything from Purdey shotguns to Red Bull Racing.

Of course, the exception to this is the valves themselves, and one of the big problems with modern valve designs is sourcing products that, in recent years, have been made in Russia. The sample I received used Electro Harmomix 7868s and used a nine-pin base; fortunately, Tung Sol also makes a 7868 and New Old Stock Brimar EL506s are available. JJ Tesla makes a 7591 with the same internals but sports an octal base. Base converters are available, and if the source runs dry, English Acoustics will swap over to the octal base for 7591s.

The most prominent part of the amp, however, is the finish, and the colour options are surprisingly fitting. You can see a clear difference when you see the English Acoustics models with the same gold finish Leak made its own. The enamel finish was good for its time, but we’ve moved on a lot. Compare that enamel to the rich, unblemished satin gold sheen of the English Acoustics.

Synthwave Daleks

This is slightly more important than on many power amps because the top plate is a larger canvas than usual. The Leak and English amps have their tubes running down either side of the chassis, leaving the central part of the top plate a blank canvas. That doesn’t mean it should have an Old Master between the bottles, but the finish must be perfect. And yes, having a wealth of colour options opens a whole world of decision-making, especially as English Acoustics’ Downton preamp is similarly made to order. You could conceivably have the two in contrasting vivid Synthwave colours or decked out in dark greys and black like 1960s Daleks.

I’m not stressing the paint finish to pad the review… honest. But we have grown used to having loudspeakers in any colour you might want. The same options in audio electronics are rare, with Perreaux and English Acoustics being the exceptions. Maybe it’s time more companies took the hint provided by English Acoustics.

Sound quality, job done!

In many respects, the amplifier reflects a time when sound quality was a given and merely a function of more or less power and distortion. No one who bought a Leak Stereo 20 back in 1958 was concerned about how it sounded. We’ve moved on, but in a way, the English Acoustics Stereo 41c shows that we might have been over-obsessed with nuances in audio performance. This amplifier works exceptionally well. It’s insightful, detailed, and has outstanding image properties.

For its 30W, it is deceptively powerful and – as with the original requirements for a Stereo 50 – is a fine partner with modern stand-mounts and floorstanders. Moreover, because those transformers are designed specifically for the task, the amplifier is excellent at the frequency extremes. Iit gives excellent bass and, unless you are using a pair of loudspeakers designed deliberately to torture amplifiers (something with a one-ohm load impedance dip, for example) or using it to fill a room the size of Norway with death metal played at ‘gig’ volumes, the Stereo 41c is a surprisingly powerful amplifier partner.

Not ugly, creamy

Perhaps best of all, if you push it into ‘naughty’ levels, it just goes ‘creamy’ rather than ‘ugly’. I had a few friends around, and the game of musical ping-pong got a little heated when playing the title track of The 1975’s I Like It When You Sleep for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It album. It’s a lovely 2016 slice of ‘ambient chill electronica meets muted chorus’ and fills a room. I realised I was playing it at the sort of ‘refreshed’ levels you get to after the second bottle of port goes around.

Other lower power amps go hard and angular sounding as they hit their distortion limits, but this smoothed things off, and the creamy warmth made the music sound like it was flowing well. Only the next day, when the port’s ‘head-gout’ kicked in, did I notice just how well the Stereo 41c coped.

Refinement going forward: English Acoustics Stereo 41c

What I like about the Stereo 41c from English Acoustics is what I like about the Stereo 21c and the Leak Stereo 20. It’s never a pushy, forward sound. It’s not over-relaxed sounding, but music is never shoved at you, neither in soundstage nor tonal balance. The music has a sense of lightness, richness and relaxation. That works just as well when playing room-clearing Schoenberg as it does with room-filling Charlie Parker. You are just more engaged with the music.

English Acoustics has a small but intelligently designed lineup. It has two power amps and a valve-based preamplifier called Downton, available to order. The company has transitioned from ‘restorer’ to ‘manufacturer’ well. In the Stereo 41c, English Acoustics has made more than an amp Harold Leak might have been proud of. This is a beautifully made, sensational-sounding 30W power amplifier that is designed to last a lifetime… or two!

English Acoustics Stereo 41c: Technical specifications

Type dual mono valve power amplifier
Power output 30W/channel ultra linear
Valve complement 1× ECC83, 2× ECC82, 2x 7868, 2× GZ34
THD+N Less than 0.1%
SNR Better than 90dB reference 1W
Frequency response 8Hz–68KHz (full power bandwidth)
Finish CAD designed steel chassis with laser cut details. Transformer endcaps CNC machined from billet aluminium. Automotive-grade metallic paint finish available in large range of colours
Valve sockets Ceramic, gold-plated
Fixings Custom English manufactured
Wiring Point to point hand-wired valve sockets with lead free silver solder
Transformers hand wound transformers locally in Wiltshire, England
Protection Thermal, vibration and tilt safety cut out
Power Inlet filter Medical grade
Remote power on available as an option
Display Digital LCD hour meter
Finish various
Price from £7,500, $10,196

Manufacturer

English Acoustics

www.englishacoustics.co.uk

+44(0)1249 736180

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Join Chord Electronics and Rob Watts at CanJam

15 July 2024, Kent, England: Chord Electronics is set to welcome audiophiles to this year’s CanJam London at the weekend (20-21 July), where it will be presenting some of its latest proprietary-technology DACs and amplifiers along with the company’s Digital Design Consultant, Rob Watts, who will be talking digital throughout the two-day event.

Showgoers can experience a wide range of products including the multi-award-winning Mojo 2 portable DAC and headphone amplifier, the Hugo 2 transportable DAC and headphone amplifier, plus the M Scaler standalone upscaler, which takes DAC performance to unseen levels, thanks to its advanced filter technology and ability to upscale audio to 768 KHz, an incredible 16x the resolution of standard CD.

Further products at the show include the acclaimed Qutest DAC, Anni desktop integrated/headphone amp, flagship DAVE DAC/preamp and, from the Chord Electronics Professional range*, the Alto nearfield monitor/headphone amp.

Chord Electronics’ friendly staff will be joining Rob Watts to demonstrate the products, offer advice and answer questions throughout the weekend. Although headphones are provided, attendees are invited and encouraged to use their own headphones to enjoy the electronics on offer through more familiar devices.

Chord Electronics at CanJam London

20-21 July, Park Plaza, Westminster Bridge, London. canjamglobal.com

*Chord Electronics Professional range is not available via Chord Electronics dealer network.

Metronome AQWO2 CD/SACD player/DAC/streamer

The Metronome AQWO2 impresses quietly. When you take it out the box, it is as heavy (at 17kg) as many amplifiers I have reviewed. But you’d never know it to look at it – unless you open it up, then there are clues such as the six power supply transformers.

It is solidly made and the aluminium slab that serves as its front panel was finished in a gorgeous gold colour that really looked classy. Impressive touches too were visible in small things, such as the logo and brand name machined into the metal on the top right-hand edge.

This was my first acquaintance with a Metronome product and so I was keen to learn more about the company. It was originally founded in France by a woodworker by the name of Dominique Giner in 1987. The name was inspired by his first product, the 16in high MT1 loudspeaker, which was shaped like a metronome. The company then moved on to manufacture CD players, developed in conjunction with another French company, Jadis. It gained a higher profile after the launch of its Kalista by Metronome CD transport in 2002.

New Owner, new love

Current owner and designer Jean Marie Clauzel came onto the scene in 2013, when Giner was looking to retire. Clauzel bought the company as he says he fell in love with its products. He was an agronomist by trade before buying Metronome and he has admitted in interviews I have read that he is not a digital designer, but has a great team behind him. But, he says, his ears are the final judges.

The whole philosophy of Clauzel’s company is based around the concept of ‘Le vrai son’ (the true sound). He once said: “We try to make people forget about the sound and that the music is coming from a digital device. Our slogan, ‘le vrai son’ means we try to reach, as much as possible, the original recording. We try to make it as ‘analogue’ as possible.”

And so for Metronome and Clauzel, it is all about teamwork and when asked what makes his product special, he will tell you it is all about the quality of build, and Metronome prides itself on the fact that all of its products are made by hand by its craftsmen in France. “For me,” he once said, “high end is all about handcrafting.”

When he took the reins at Metronome, he also wanted to move the company away from being just a pure CD player manufacturer and move it towards becoming a digital sources specialist, and he says it took him around five years after joining the company to renew its ranges.

Now the Metronome product line-up consists of the Le Streamer at £4,799, the Le DAC 2 at £6,700, the Le Player 4 CD transport at £7,300, the c/AQWO DAC at £21,000 and t/AQWO transport at £22,000.

Affordable high-end?

AQWO is the high-end range for Metronome, but there is also a Classica range of products that is billed as ‘more affordable’. But given the company also makes ultra-fi brand Kalista, ‘more affordable’ is a fairly plastic term.

The original AQWO integrated CD/SACD player, DAC and streamer was introduced in 2018 and was a replacement for its successful CD8. The AQWO2 I am reviewing here was unveiled to the world at the Munich High End show this year.

It was a brave move perhaps to change a winning formula, especially as the original AQWO was Metronome’s all‑time best-seller, but the AQWO2 came in and was housed on a bigger chassis, gained extra functionality such as a universal CD player with SACD capability and a network player/streamer, 100% new improved electronics and the well-respected ESS 9038 Pro chipset at the heart of its DAC, which is said to decode all music formats in their native form, with PCM up to 384kHz and DSD up to 512.

The player is a top loader and uses a modified transport mechanism developed by the D&M Group (now Sound United). Metronome says it chose it because it is a high-quality product that comes from experienced developers that were also behind the Denon and Marantz brands. CDs are loaded by sliding back the solid aluminium door, which also is finished in gold and has the Metronome logo engraved on it. A puck is provided to clamp the CD firmly in place when playing. The playing mech is supported on a substantial three-point suspended subchassis.

Metronome says it has paid special attention to the power supply design in the AQWO2, as it believes it is an important factor in achieving the best sound quality. It uses four toroidal transformers with Schaffner filters and 10 independent voltage regulators.

It seems that for the streamer Metronome has sourced a high-quality, industry-standard model and it recommends that this is controlled using the mConnect app. It is also said to be Roon-ready, but I used mConnect for my listening. It is simple, works well with Tidal and had no trouble locating the AQWO2 on my network.
Send in the Cones

The machine is also unusual in that it does not sit on rubber feet, as most do, and is fitted instead with three metal cone-shaped feet, each narrowing to a single point of contact, which doubtless is intended to help isolate it from its surroundings.

The rear panel provides USB, RCA S/PDIF, XLR AES/EBU, Toslink optical and HDMI digital inputs with S/PDIF, AES/EBU and I2S output, while there are phono unbalanced and XLR balanced analogue outputs. There is also an RJ45 socket to connect to your network if you choose wired operation rather than wi-fi. The front panel of this handsome machine sports just a large, 7in colour touch screen to control the device and nothing else to add unnecessary clutter, and indeed everything you need can be accessed from that screen.

The large display has five basic modes – Digital, DAC, Stream, Display and Other. The digital screen lets you select signal resampling for the digital output and MQA decoding, the DAC screen lets you choose from a selection of eight internal digital filters, change the analogue output level and select tube output (an optional extra). Stream displays metadata and allows you to select wi-fi or gapless mode, the Display mode lets you select various screen parameters and ‘Others’ shows you things like the firmware edition and lets you restore factory default settings.

My review sample was fitted with the optional tube output stage, which uses twin Electro-Harmonix 6922 dual triode valves. I have used many DACs where a tube output has been included and, rather perplexingly, especially as I am a tube amplifier convert, I have always preferred the solid state option. Would that be the case with the Metronome?

Well, it was something I had to decide on before starting my main listening, so I might as well reveal my findings on that now, before getting on to setting those internal digital filters. What I found was odd really, and definitely at odds with what I find from good valve amps. Using tube output on a favourite Larry Carlton track, I felt that his guitar did not sound so well focused. I could not hear as precisely how each note was played and shaped and drums and percussion also seemed to lack bite. Bass guitar was definitely fuller, but not as articulate or tuneful. On vocal content, I felt that voices were cleaner, clearer and had more space around them with tube output disabled. So I left it switched off for the rest of my listening.

Slowly going mad

Next I had to decide on which digital filter to use. I have driven myself slowly mad listening to the differences between such filters and usually the differences are slight. The choices were Linear Phase Fast or Slow, Minimum Phase Fast or Slow, Apodising Fast, Minimum Phase and Brickwall. In the past that I have always preferred filters that are slow-acting rather than fast, and ended up liking Linear Phase Slow for its better note edge definition and inner detail and weight on bass lines. But my final choice was Minimum Phase Slow, as it was maybe marginally more revealing on guitar. So that’s where I left it set.

I also compared oversampling on (DSD128) or off. Here, as I have previously found on other DACs, I preferred it without oversampling as it tended to make hi-hats and cymbals sound more muffled, robbed sax of some of its body and made vocals sound a bit less human. The DX7 synth on one of my favourite tracks, for example, did not have the signature sparkle that it should have had. So, it stayed off.

To evaluate the AQWO2, I hooked it up to my Audio Note Meishu Tonmeister amp driving both Audio Note AN-J LX Hemp and Russell K Red 120Se speakers. I also had another well respected, comparably-priced CD player/DAC/streamer to hand as a yardstick.

First I listened to the CD player and played the track ‘Never Too Far to Fall’ from George Benson’s In Your Eyes album. Straight away I liked the openness and articulation/emotion in Benson’s vocals and the weight, tightness and rhythmic drive of the synth bass line. The AQWO2 separated out the different strands of the music well, allowed you to listen to what each musician was doing, while driving the music along apace. My benchmark player made things sound slow and stodgy by comparison.

‘On Sunny Side of the Street’ from Ben Sidran’s Enivré d’Amour, the Metronome conveyed the bass guitar line with more weight and movement, allowed Sidran’s vocals to soar and captured the movement of the track well. The DX7 synth had a nice top end sparkle to it and on balance the track flowed and moved along nicely.

Peter White’s guitar on the track ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ from his Groovin’ album sounded really good and his guitar was cleanly etched with incisive leading edges and a good insight into how each note was played. And again rhythmically, the AQWO2 proved to be no slouch, conveying that reggae-style lilting rhythm that drives the track along.

So what was its streamer like? Well, I called up Tidal on mConnect and played ‘Spanish Harlem’ from Rebecca Pigeon’s excellent The Raven album. I have to say it conveyed her atmospheric vocals very well indeed and her voice was open and the emotional content well conveyed.

Switching to the much funkier ‘Honey Dipped’ on Dave Koz’s Saxophonic, I was impressed by the presence, bite and expressiveness of his alto sax. His sax was full bodied and I was pleased to be able to follow Jerry Hey’s trumpet part, which did not get subsumed in the mix.

Morning blast

Next I had a quick blast of ‘Morning’ from the George Benson/Al Jarreau Giving’ It Up collaboration. The Metronome caught the style and feel of Benson’s guitar play well and the scat vocal lines were coherently presented. All in all, the track moved really well.

So it is time to reach a decision. And I am pleased to say that although I did not know much about Metronome when I embarked on this review, I have learnt that it is a serious company, committed to quality and an ‘analogue sound’ and the AQWO2 delivered an excellent, musical, dynamic and tuneful performance that made listening to music a pleasure. Its ultra-fi Kalista sister brand threw down a challenge that the AQWO2 rises to meet.

The AQWO2 took everything I threw at it in its stride and never gave me cause for concern. It is beautifully made and finished, easy to use and makes music. What more could you ask for? It more than holds its own at this price point and should not be overlooked if you are in the market for a versatile and great-sounding digital source solution.

Technical specifications

Type CD/SACD player, DAC and streamer
Transport mechanism Customised SACD Sound United
Digital inputs and outputs USB, S/PDIF, XLR AES/EBU, Toslink optical, HDMI (I2S)
Analogue outputs Balanced and unbalanced
DAC resolution 32bit/768kHz dual mono, PCM 384kHz and DSD512
DAC chipset ESS 9038 Pro
Dimensions 435mm (W) × 130mm (H) × 425mm (D)
Weight 17kg
Price £17,800, £20,000 with tube output

Manufacturer

Metronome Technologie

www.metronome.audio

UK distributor

Airt Audio

www.airtaudio.com

+44(0)1354 652566

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9th Annual Audiophile Day on 2 Oct 2024

2 October, 2024 is the 9th annual Audiophile Day. If you’ve not already noted it on your calendar, please consider joining the celebration.

Businesses in the audio industry are aware of the tremendous value of audiophiles. The ways to participate in celebrating Audiophile Day can easily be tailored to best suit your organization. There is no registration required or fee to pay.

Posting about Audiophile Day online in social media is one excellent way to note the day. A growing number of companies choose to have a special promotion or sale to celebrate the day. Some organizations host an event for their customers and/or their staff. Including music in the celebration plans can certainly be enjoyable.

We extend our best wishes to all those that plan to celebrate Audiophile Day, 2024.

DS Audio launches new ‘third generation’ entry-level optical phono cartridge: the DS-E3

10 July 2024 – Japanese optical phono cartridge pioneer DS Audio continues to narrow the gap between game-changing performance and affordability with the new entry level DS-E3 model, featuring the company’s ‘third generation’ of optical cartridge technology.

Japanese innovators DS Audio launched their first optical phono cartridge in 2013. Since then, designer Tetsuaki Aoyagi has continued to advance and refine the state of the art, achieving level after level of groundbreaking sonic performance. At the same time, the company has equally strived to use trickle-down technology to make the benefits of optical cartridges available to a wider range of audiophiles and music lovers at multiple price points.

Still unique in the world, DS Audio’s optical cartridges dispense with the usual moving magnet and moving coil designs and instead use an optical system that converts stylus/cantilever movement into audio signals. This completely eliminates the electromagnetic forces that are rife in traditional MM and MC designs, resulting in an astonishingly lower noise floor.

The new ‘third generation’ entry-level DS-E3 replaces the earlier DS-E1, which was a true game-changer in its price/performance ratio. Now, the DS-E3 draws on technology developed for the company’s flagship models to take the design and performance to even greater levels, all while maintaining the same price as when the DS-E1 was first launched 5 years ago in 2019.

Independent LEDs and photo-detectors for the left and right channels deliver a significantly increased output voltage while eliminating crosstalk and greatly improving left and right channel separation. The cartridge’s mass is further reduced thanks to a new smaller and lighter shading plate, now made of beryllium rather than the previous model’s aluminium light-shielding plate. A fine elliptical diamond stylus is mounted on a rigid lightweight aluminium cantilever.

Like all DS Audio optical cartridges, the DS-E3 requires its own equalizer / phono stage, which this new design also brings up to ‘third generation’ level. In the new DS-E3 equalizer, the amplification circuit has been made symmetrical, while the voltage supplied to the cartridge has been stabilized to achieve a clearer and faster sound. The equalizer uses an operational amplifier as the amplifying element to minimize the signal path, thereby greatly reducing the number of components and achieving a smaller size, making the DS-E3 equalizer approximately one third the size of that of DS Audio’s next model up, the DS-003.

Like every DS Audio product, the DS-E3 phono cartridge and equalizer are hand-made and quality assured, with every component part-tested and evaluated by the company’s own in-house team of technicians in Japan.

Technical specifications

DS-E3 optical cartridge

Body material	Aluminium
Cantilever	Aluminium
Stylus	Elliptical
Signal output	Photo-electric conversion
Output signal level	> 70mV
Channel separation	> 26dB (@ 1kHz)
Weight	7.7g

DS-E3 phono stage/equalizer

Inputs	RCA
Outputs	RCA
Rated output voltage	500mV (@ 1kHz)
Output impedance	120Ω
Pre-amp input impedance	> 10Ω
Dimensions	26 (w) x 6.9 (h) x 19.5 (d) cm
Weight	1.86kg

Pricing & availability

The DS Audio DS-E3 optical phono cartridge and phono stage/equalizer are available now, priced as follows (inc. VAT):

Cartridge and equalizer package price                £2,295
Cartridge only                                                   £1,270
Equalizer only                                                   £1,270

DS Audio cartridges are fully compatible with any of the company’s accompanying phono stages/equalizers, allowing you to mix and match.

EDIFIER STAX SPIRIT S5 Wireless Planar Magnetic Headphones

July 10^th 2024 – Edifier International, the award-winning audio electronics designer, announces the STAX SPIRIT S5 Wireless Planar magnetic headphones.

In the 2012, Edifier acquired STAX Ltd., a company with over 80 years history, and a specialist in electrostatic headphones. The brand name “STAX” is almost considered the benchmark of electrostatic headphones. Inspired by STAX’s pursuance of high-fidelity music and craftsmanship in the field, the STAX SPIRIT brand was created as a high-end sub brand for Edifier headphone products with the aim of developing more high-quality products for audiophile users.

The STAX SPIRIT S5 are Planar magnetic headphones. Planar magnetic drivers are commonly found in Hi-Fi headphones and other high-end audio equipment. With their unique way of operation, planar magnetic drivers can represent a superior audio experience with rich details and impressive transient response. With solid innovation and advanced features, the STAX SPIRIT S5 packs upgraded planar magnetic drivers and the latest Bluetooth® V5.4 technology into a compact and portable form-factor. The 2μm thin film and 2nd gen EqualMass™ wiring technology generate a performance comparable to legendary electrostatic headphones.

The Advantages of Planar Magnetic Driver

Dynamic driver reproduces sound with a cone-size diaphragm driven by a voice coil submerged in a circular magnetic field. The diaphragm has to be stiff enough to avoid partitioning during vibration, especially in high frequency band. The whole motor system is also heavy to move. The planar magnetic driver, on the other hand, features a flat, thin diaphragm with embedded wires, suspended in the magnetic gap. This design allows the diaphragm to move in a piston-like manner across the whole frequency spectrum. The diaphragm is light and has good transient response, which makes the planar driver a much better choice for sound reproduction by nature compared to dynamic drivers.

The 2nd Gen EqualMass™ Wiring Technology

In other headphones with planar magnetic drivers, it is common practice to address the uneven distribution of the magnetic field by using wires of varying widths on the diaphragm, aiming to achieve uniform driving force across the entire diaphragm, ensuring consistent performance.

Edifier take this approach a step further with EqualMass™. By connecting a different number of wires with the same width in parallel, EqualMass™ achieves a uniform driving force for all parts of diaphragm while keeping its weight evenly distributed. This allows the diaphragm to move back and forth with the same motion and momentum, reducing harmonic distortion to almost zero. In the 2nd generation of EqualMass wiring, Edifier introduce a symmetric wiring structure, further enhancing the diaphragm’s stability across the entire frequency spectrum.

Production Phase Auto Calibrate

To ensure uniformity in the magnetic field strength distribution across each planar magnetic driver, Edifier have developed a proprietary automatic toolset for calibrating and compensating the magnet circuitry during production. This meticulous process guarantees that every set of S5 headphones delivers sound fidelity identical to the original unit crafted by the designer.

In addition to LDAC and LHDC, the S5 supports all audio codecs under the Snapdragon Sound Technology Suite, including aptX™ HD, aptX™ Adaptive, and aptX™ Lossless. It achieves a bit rate of up to 1.2 Mbps in Bluetooth® mode, delivering high resolution (24-bit/96kHz) and end to end low latency audio. It also supports the AAC codec, enhancing compatibility with a wider range of devices.

Thanks to aptX™ Adaptive codecs, the STAX SPIRIT S5 achieves end-to-end latency as low as 89ms in Bluetooth® mode, synchronizing your audio experience with the action you see on the screen. This can provide a totally immersive gaming experience.

The S5 supports simultaneous connection to two Bluetooth audio devices. Whether it’s a mobile phone or a laptop, switching between devices is more convenient and seamless, allowing you to work and listen to music simultaneously.

Wrapped in genuine lambskin earpads and adorned with top-grain cowhide earcups, the S5 epitomizes elegance and refinement in both form and function. Crafted with the utmost attention to detail, its ergonomic design ensures a snug and secure fit, giving hours of uninterrupted enjoyment with no discomfort.

Download the EDIFIER ConneX App and you can select from three kinds of preset EQs and customize your personal EQ to suit your music style.

Price & Availability:

£499.99 available from: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D2VJFCFX

Kham Meslien: Fantômes... Futurs

There have been many masters of the double bass or bull fiddle, yet few have made great solo albums. That activity seems to get left to the electric bassists like Stanley Clarke, and even he rarely made music that was entirely one instrument.

Kham Meslien’s Fantômes… Futurs is a rare exception, and by virtue of his talent and emotional honesty it a lot better than you might expect. I came across the album in the Supar Pie record shop in Antwerp, where the staff had labelled it as one of their top five albums of 2022 and described as a “Great haunted French jazz LP from start to finish. With a sensibility between Arthur Russell and Henri Texier”. Sensibility is the word, Fantômes… Futurs does not sound exactly like either of those artists although the latter is close. Texier is another French bass player who made his name in the 1970s with albums that have some of the feel found on Meslien’s solo debut. Meslien’s past includes a French world music band called Lo’Jo and backing some big names including Robert Plant, Archie Shepp and Robert Wyatt.

The key to the appeal of this album is that it is not solo bass in the basic sense. Meslien is a master of looping, that is recording a passage using foot pedals and repeating that whilst playing over the top. This is what allows him to add rhythmic and percussive lines, achieved by knocking the body of the bass, and thus build up what is effectively a band behind his improvisations. If that sounds like it could get a bit dense or cluttered this is not the case, the ten tracks on Fantômes… Futurs are sparse but enriched by the warmth of both the instrument and its player. It’s an excellent if slightly ‘hot’ recording but there are few compression or limiting artefacts and you get a strong impression of the scale and nature of the instrument and, more importantly, the way it’s played. This is helped by a silent background which gives the harmonics of the bass space to spread out and embrace the listener.

Opener ‘Ta confiance’ starts out with no clear time signature, just apparently improvised playing that intoxicates and charms the listener, drawing him or her in and urging closer listening. Just before the two minute mark Meslien adds a simple rhythmic bass loop and proceeds to play a melody over the top. It sounds simple but is so beautifully executed and flows so naturally that it would be hard to better. The denouement is a gradual reduction in tempo until the tune comes to a clear stop.

On ‘La Couleur’ we get the distinctive voice of poet Anthony Joseph, a voice that has enhanced tracks by Italian band Mop Mop as well as albums of his own on the Heavenly Sweetness label behind Fantômes… Futurs. The phrases are clear but their meaning is not, they require the listener to absorb them in the same way as the music, without recourse to the intellect, to bypass that process and feel the meaning. This is easier with the bass playing alone, in fact it happens naturally, you experience what Meslien is ‘saying’ but it cannot be translated into conventional language. All the listener is aware of is a positive energy, a sense that there is more to existence than that which we are constantly confronted with.

Stand out tracks include ‘F Comme’ where a high plucking that could be mandolin is reinforced by deep bass bowing and enlivened by a kick drum like beat created by a looped thump on the body of the instrument. The following ‘A travers les orages’ is also a particularly good, here bowing and plucking are combined, the former creating a melody over the latter’s beat. The two lines keep shifting to very attractive effect, it’s a rhythm that evolves and keeps you interested all the way through. I also enjoyed the use of echo and synth like ambiance on ‘The alarm’, but in truth the whole of Fantômes… Futurs is eminently listenable either in the background or foreground. Meslien’s name deserves to be much better known; this album should make that happen.

Back to Music

dCS Lina Streaming DAC, headphone amp and Clock

The role of ‘most affordable device from a premium manufacturer’ is curious and challenging. The product in question must deliver a compelling taste of what you will receive in more prodigious amounts further up the pricing structure but do so on a budget capped well below what those premium products have available. At the same time, it has to hold its own against products that might be another company’s flagship, one that they’re thrown everything into, which can affect customer perception of the result.

The dCS Lina partially sidesteps this issue by offering something different from other dCS devices. It consists of a three-strong Lina range of products designed to provide the ultimate headphone listening experience when used together. To do this, it features the first utterly analogue dCS product, the Lina headphone amplifier. Designed to take a digital feed from the Lina DAC, it is a fully balanced Class AB device with a DC Servo and analogue volume control, offering balanced and unbalanced headphone outputs on the front panel.

Simple for a dCS

The Lina DAC is ‘simple for a dCS,’ which is a relative term because it is pretty astonishingly sophisticated if judged by any reasonable standard. Built around the company’s Ring DAC platform (which, for now at least, is in non-APEX configuration), which takes elements of a ladder DAC but combines them with a wholly unique custom mapper system that is intended to average out any value errors that might otherwise appear over time. The Ring DAC prioritises low distortion and limiting jitter over and above spectacular signal-to-noise measurements (although it is important to stress that the Lina is no slouch in that regard either) because that is what dCS’s data tells them matters more.

The sample rate handling of this DAC varies from input to input, but the headline figures are PCM to 24/384kHz and DSD128. In mid-2024 terms, where sub £1,000 devices routinely support 768kHz and DSD512, this is nothing to get excited about but still covers off one hundred per cent of my music library, and I suspect they will for most people reading this, too. The options available for adjustment are more straightforward than more elaborate dCS devices but still stretch to two PCM filters, four DSD filters and the choice of DXD or DSD upsampling. Although it was launched as a line-level device, the DAC now sports a digital volume control that functions like the Bartók, with fewer physical controls on the front panel. This is entirely transparent in use and allows the Lina DAC to front an all-digital system if you wish.

As befits its role as part of the headphone stack, crossfeed and the ‘Expanse’ system that dCS developed for headphone listening can also be selected which is how the Lina Headphone amp gets away with being exclusively analogue. This functionality is made available to one USB-B connection, a USB-A socket for reading thumb drives, two S/PDIF inputs, one on BNC, one on RCA, two AES connections and a network connection. Balanced and unbalanced analogue outputs are fitted.

UPnP Access

The network input of the Lina is wired only and makes use of the company’s Mosaic control app, giving UPnP access to local libraries and onboard support for Qobuz, Tidal (for which the Lina is MQA capable), Deezer and Spotify, along with internet radio and AirPlay. I like Mosaic a great deal; it’s utterly logical to use, and, on an iPad Pro, at least, it has been unconditionally stable under test. As you might expect, if you are a Roon user, the Lina DAC is configured to work as an endpoint, too. Control options available in the app are repeated on a menu system accessed via the front panel display, and only a few features are accessed there. Accessing the video mode setting on the optical input (necessary because without it, the Lina has latency you’d associate with Apollo mission telemetry when connected to a TV) is a pain. Still, it only needs to be done once.

For an additional £7,250, the duo can be partnered with the matching Master Clock. This connects via twin BNC cables and features dual oven-controlled crystal oscillators – one for multiples of 44.1kHz and one for multiples of 48kHz. The Master Clock is designed to minimise jitter and uses proprietary dCS thinking, which is now in its third generation. The Master Clock will also work happily with the Bartók (and anything else with a clock input) and offer the same benefits. As it comes in the identical half-width casework as the Lina DAC, the three units are compact, whether arranged horizontally or stacked vertically.

In styling terms, even the most luxurious photography leaves them looking slightly austere compared to their pricier relatives, and the lack of silver finish might be an annoyance for a few people. However, the experience of using them for real goes a long way to overcoming these reservations. Their simplicity gives them an elegance that makes more complex rivals seem fussy, and every aspect of their construction, from the packaging, through the casework and even the quality of the cabling supplied with them as standard, speaks to a level of care and attention to detail that is impressive, even judged at the asking price. Something that dCS is very accomplished at is avoiding the sort of buyer’s remorse that can accompany looking at a box that costs as much as a lightly used Vauxhall Corsa and thinking, “I spent how much on this?”

All the dCS things

And, so we can get this out of the way nice and early, it does enough of the things we associate with dCS to ensure that its role of the first rung on the ladder is met. For me, the dCS listening experience is not about shock and awe. This means there’s no attention-grabbing embellishment to the sound; it is simply an absolute clarity that takes a little time to appreciate. The glorious opening ‘Fists of Fury’ on Kamasi Washington’s Heaven & Earth [Young Turks] is the same rich and inviting presentation on my regular (and accomplished) digital front end. Still, you become aware that Lina is prying open that massed orchestra and making the whole experience easier to follow. The clever bit about that is that it is done without any loss of cohesion to the performance as a whole.

You don’t need a few dozen musicians going at it simultaneously, either. Mazzy Star’s sparse and lovely So Tonight That I Might See [Capitol] has far less need to be opened up, but the clarity and definition it lends to Hope Sandoval’s haunting turn in ‘Into Dust’ is still utterly arresting. It’s a time-honoured cliché to blurt out that listening to things you know well on the Lina is like hearing it for the first time again but stone me if it isn’t perilously close to the truth. What I have also found no less diverting is that for something as revealing as Reuters, the dCS is impressively forgiving with it. Language. Sex. Violence. Other? by Stereophonics [V2] is the mastering nadir of my digital music collection, but it’s still entirely listenable through the Lina trio.

The Expanse functionality remains a vital part of how dCS has gone from a standing start to becoming one of the most formidable performers in the headphone arena. The Focal Clear MG I used for the bulk of testing is a spacious and capable device, but the effect of deploying Expanse is still utterly arresting. The result isn’t ‘bigger’ or even necessarily more open, but the gains to the structure of the created space and placement of performers within it are still utterly revelatory. I am aware that there is a degree of resistance in some circles to the idea of digital manipulation of the signal, and dCS makes the process of turning it off entirely straightforward. Still, its effect is so utterly and unequivocally beneficial that I cannot imagine many people will do so.

What is also notable about the headphone amp is that despite being dCS’s first attempt at a completely analogue product, the same almost self-effacing transparency that the DAC demonstrates is present here, too. Running a short series of tests with a Chord Electronics Hugo TT2 and Mscaler combination as the source for the amp sees the more expansive and slightly more overtly dynamic presentation of the Chord Duo be faithfully recreated by the Lina. If you are a headphone listener for whom vinyl is your preferred source, I have every confidence that – so long as the source equipment is equal to it – the Lina Headphone Amp would be no less proficient used in this way.

If your perception of what the DAC and headphone amp does is gradual rather than immediate, then the clock is the very definition of a slow burner. Adding it is simple; if you can count to two, have opposable thumbs, and can see where you connect the BNC cables and then attach them, it should present no problems. Once in situ, it very pointedly does nothing to alter the overall balance of the Lina. Instead, it enhances and refines that incredible ability to deliver recordings with absolute clarity and lack of embellishment. Quite whether this careful enhancement of an already biblically talented device is going to be worth £7,250 to you is a decision that only you can make; the Lina is outstanding on its own, but it does have more to give even if it is subject to the laws of diminishing returns.

Emotional Response

So long as what you are listening to elicits an emotional response (and if it doesn’t, why are you listening to it?), the dCS captures it effortlessly. One extended listening session exited the more conventional ‘review friendly’ content category and wound up in a spirited rendition of Underworld’s Change the Weather [Sire]. Released before Underworld was objectively good, the dCS does nothing to hide the glossy late eighties production and lightweight to the point of banal lyrics but the utter joy I find in this little curio shone through. Midway through the track, ‘Original Song’ gives the first hint of the sound that would define the group and the Lina reproduces the heavy synth line and stacked vocals in a way that grabs you on an emotional level. I’m pretty confident that this has never featured as a test material for the dCS team but the Linas still behave like it was built for that song and that song alone.

It’s this effortless and undemanding brilliance that marks the Lina units out as something special both as a trio for headphones but also with the Lina DAC acting as a line-level source for my system. A vinyl fixation means I will always want to adjust my volume in the analogue domain, so the preamp functionality is less vital. However, for many, the scope to omit a preamp makes for a valuable potential saving. In either case, you have access to that peerless decoding in a form that does the things that I (and many of you reading this) will need with nothing more than the promise of extracting even more from it with the Clock later. Then, when the demands of family members, neighbours or a simple desire to shut the world out manifests itself, I can settle down to what is comfortably the best headphone performance I have had the pleasure to experience. This is the most affordable dCS device, and there’s no shortage of rivals, but the essence of what the company stands for is present and correct in every way, and the results are outstanding.

Technical specifications

Lina Network DAC

Digital inputs 2 × AES/EBU on 3 pin XLR, 1 × S/PDIF BNC Coax, 1 × S/PDIF on RCA, 1 × Toslink, 1 × USB Type B in Async Mode, 1 × USB Type A connector
Analogue outputs 1 x stereo pair 3 pin balanced XLR,
1× stereo pair unbalanced RCA
Sample frequency and formats PCM 44.1–384kHz, up to 24bit, DSD 64, 128, Native DSD + DoP
Dimensions (W×H×D) 22 × 12.2 × 34cm
Weight 7.4kg
Price £12,500, $13,650

Lina Master Clock

Clock Accuracy Better than +/-1 ppm when shipped over an ambient temperature range of +5°C to +45°C
Word Clock Outputs 2 x independently buffered TTL‑compatible output on 75Ω BNC connectors
Output 1 fixed at 44.1kHz. Output 2 fixed at 48kHz
Dimensions (W×H×D) 22 × 12.2 × 34cm
Weight 7kg
Price £7,250, $7,750

Lina Headphone amplifier

Analogue Inputs 1 × stereo pair unbalanced RCA, input impedance 48kΩ. 1 × stereo pair unbuffered balanced XLR, input impedance 16kΩ. 1 × stereo pair buffered balanced XLR, input impedance 96kΩ
Headphone Outputs 1 × dual 3-pin balanced XLR, right and left channel. 1 × single 4-pin balanced XLR. 1 × single ¼” (6.35mm) headphone jack
Dimensions (W×H×D) 22 × 12.2 × 36cm
Weight 7.5kg
Price £9,000, $9,750

Manufacturer

dCS Ltd

http://www.dcsaudio.com

UK distributor

Absolute Sounds

www.absolutesounds.com

+44(0)208 971 3909

Back to Reviews

Shunyata Research Omega SP

We have been taking a run-up to this review for some time. Starting with the Everest 8000 power conditioner, followed by the Omega XC power cords. Now, it’s the turn of the newly released Shunyata Research Omega SP interconnect and loudspeaker cables in Shunyata Research’s top line.

The company makes more than power products. Most of the discussion about Shunyata Research is about its power products (particularly how reducing background AC-derived noise aids medical imaging). In fairness, our coverage of Shunyata’s range reflects that. We have concentrated almost exclusively on the power cords and conditioners in the brand’s line-up. However, the combination of innovative, science-led research coupled with a level of detail that ‘borders’ on the obsessive applies equally to Shunyata’s signal cables.

Johnny Mnemonic

Shunyata Research has categorised these research-led developments by helpful mnemonics and acronyms. KPIP (Kinetic Phase Inversion Process) is common to all Shunyata cables. This addresses the issues part-resolved by burning in and cryogenic treatment in other brands. KPIP remains a closely guarded secret. It’s in the same underground bunker as the Ark of the Covenant, and the recipe to – and correct pronunciation of – Worcestershire Sauce. Both also share Shunyata’s patented ‘Zi-tron’ design, developed to limit dielectric absorption and re-radiation in signal transmission.

Shunyata claims that Zi-tron “requires a special type of conductor with two signal paths and an electric field compensation circuit that creates a cancellation signal that prevents the insulation from developing a charge.” The loudspeaker cable has an even more advanced version of the Zi-tron design, allowing the technology to dovetail with other developments specific to the Omega cable.

XLR on VTX

Both loudspeaker cables and Omega XLR interconnects use Shunyata’s VTX layout, albeit using the VTX-Ag layout for the loudspeaker cables. VTX deploys conductors in a concentric ring around a hollow core, while VTX-Ag also includes a central conductor at the centre of that core. On the other hand, the RCA interconnects use Shunyata’s ArNi layout, which follows a highly improved coaxial layout.

In both interconnects those conductors are made from high-purity Ohno-cast monocrystal silver, with a 95% coverage silver-plated copper shield. The loudspeaker cable has a pure silver centre conductor, with an outer ring of copper conductors.

All Omega cables have a Transverse Axial Polariser (or TAP) device fitted in line, while the signal cables add a common-mode filter (‘CMode’). Meanwhile, the loudspeaker cable extends the research into ‘current drift’ and audio frequency-related current resonance started by Caelin Gabriel, Shunyata’s resident big brain. HARP is a way of diffracting current resonances that act like standing waves in a room. Unlike the single circuit in other Shunyata speaker cables, Omega HARP uses a four-element circuit.

Enter the Möbius

Designed specifically for the Omega speaker cable, the Möbius cable suspension system features five polymer bands that sandwich the speaker cable. The cable connects to a wheel-like arrangement that encircles it to raise the loudspeaker cable up. In so doing, Shunyata suggests they “dissipate vibrational energy that travels along the surface of the cable and through the floor.” Eight Möbius wheels are supplied as standard, with an additional one every half metre.

I’m going to hit one caveat at the outset. This is not a ‘Pick ‘n’ Mix’ cable design. Use this with other cable brands and what it does so well fades into the background. This contrasts with the power-side cables and conditioners, which play nicely with most brands. Put it this way; if you are coming at this from Shunyata’s power products and backfilling your way through your system, don’t even think about a piecemeal change. If you like what Shunyata did for your power, Omega does the same for your signals, so step up and make the change throughout.

Full fettle

With your system fully-fettled with Shunyata Research Omega SP interconnect and loudspeaker cables, there’s a profound change to the sound of your system. There are no spotlights or highlights, lumps, bumps, or impediments. There’s just a lot of music being played. It’s like the electronic hash that sits behind your recordings just got pushed aside. Not attenuated or kicked into a different frequency band. It’s like that hash got given its marching orders.

That’s not the clichéd ‘inky black silences’, although background system self-noise does seem reduced. Instead, it’s like your audio system was told to tidy up its room, get its life together, and start a fitness regime. Music is more cogent here; while that doesn’t mean I spent a few hours tapping my foot to Ligeti, it makes more sense of challenging music. Difficult passages of modern classical music often appear more like disparate musical sounds.

I often use John Pickard’s ‘The Flight of Icarus’ [BIS] for that ‘musical cogency’ reason. It’s a piece written about the Apollo Space Program. It should sound magnificent. However, it often sounds like bombastic incidental music from Planet of The Apes. It can sound like a flange of baboons started hitting instruments. The better the system, the more organised it sounds. And with Omega in place, the Apollo theme is so clear, I went hunting for my space helmet.

The real world

Of course, just saying ‘it sounds musical’ or even ‘it sounds cogent’ probably isn’t enough to justify the price of admission. And no matter how important that overarching musicality and absence of electronicky ‘hash’ sound, we live in an audio world that judges sound by specific quanta, so here goes. Each aspect of the frequency response sounded ‘right’ in absolute terms and relative to the overall performance. The bass is stentorian and well-controlled. Notes are deep and thunderous when called upon by Trentemøller and Mahler alike.

The midrange was articulate, transparent, detailed, and equally well-controlled. Singers had their physical space in the soundstage, and their diction – even those to the extremes of the stereo mix – was first-rate. The treble was precise, inviting, detailed and well-controlled. This isn’t a cable for those who mistake zingy, shrill treble for detail, but the clarity of those higher frequencies was never in doubt. Overall detail, coherence across the frequency range and the soundstage’s size, shape and solidity were all in the very top league.

Extreme wrangling

Often, when wrangling extreme audio equipment, there is a requirement to have similarly extreme audio equipment. Using expensive cables with more attainably priced audio is usually an exercise in over-analysis. Worse, the limitations of the rest of the equipment are highlighted. Not here, Shunyata Research Omega SP is the tide that raises all boats. As Omega doesn’t either stress the system or accent the performance, it lets you see just how good the equipment can be. And that can be a delightful surprise. Granted, nobody is putting Omega between a 30-year-old NAD 3020 amp and a pair of AR18s that have seen better days, but that ability to bring out the good in all things audio does make Shunyata’s Omega sound really, really nice through the widest range of systems.

It also makes the best of less-than-optimum recordings. OK, it won’t pump up lost dynamic range for casualties of the loudness war or invent detail or depth. However, it will prevent those recording limitations from overpowering the performance. Once again, it sounds really… nice.

‘Nice’ is entirely positive and not a stealth pejorative. That absence of electronic hash and self-noise gives music its ‘shape’ and does so through an extensive range of systems. It’s a grown-up sound for those more attuned to the satisfaction of beguiling musical integrity than shrill, leading-edge detail.

The Alpha and Omega

Aside from curiosity about what acronyms like ‘HARP’ mean, how it works, and the physicality of the loudspeaker cables with their Möbius wheels (you aren’t hiding those away), I have nothing but respect for Shunyata Research Omega SP interconnect and loudspeaker cables. It’s a perfect match for Shunyata’s top-end power products. Omega SP works extremely well and makes music sound more like music. It does so more than many of the etched, hyper-detailed-sounding cables at the top end. Finally, it also sits comfortably with a wide range of high-end systems, which adds to that.

Many will follow the path I mentioned. Those who have recently discovered the joys of Shunyata Research’s power products – especially the Everest 8000 and Omega XC power cord – will be just as surprised and impressed by the performance of the signal cables that carry the same name. Just don’t be surprised if – sooner or later – every part of your system features Shunyata Research’s Omega cables!

Price and Contact Details

Omega RCA/XLR interconnect cables: £9,500, $9,500 per metre pair.
Omega SP loudspeaker cables: £24,995, $24,995 per 2.5m pair.

Manufacturer

Shunyata Research

www.shunyata.com

UK distributor

Boyer Audio

www.boyeraudio.com

+44(0)330 223 3769

Back to Reviews

Ophidian Incanto

We might assume that the size and quality of the cabinet and the number and type of drivers are the two primary factors that determine the retail price of a speaker. But there is a third and highly significant element in pricing: standing costs. For most audio companies these include product development, materials, manufacturing space and equipment, staff salaries and pension contributions, marketing, distribution and after-sales support.

It’s one reason why the audio industry occasionally throws up boutique, small-volume manufacturers. By avoiding most of the standing costs that drag on the major brands they are able to carve out a niche with products that punch way above their price point.

So it is with Ophidian Audio based on the Wirral. Company founder Gareth James is Ophidian. He’s the sole full-time employee and all speakers are designed by him, assembled by him, shipped by him, and supported by him. Ophidian launched the first commercial Ophidian speaker in 2011 and today offers a range of five models from the appropriately named Minimo 2 micro-monitor at a retail price of £1,100 to the hefty Voodoos, 1.3m tall 60kg carpet-crushers that cost £16,000 a pair. Ophidian speakers are available through 12 dealers in the UK and 12 more internationally.

Currently one model down from the Voodoo, the £6,000 Incanto is a narrow-fronted three-way design, just over a metre high, with three woofers, a mid-range fabric dome that hides behind a dispersion grille, and a soft-dome tweeter. The internal crossover is a second order design using Mundorf components, with hand-over points at around 500Hz from woofers to midrange and 3kHz from mid to tweeter. The tweeter is from Norwegian manufacturer SEAS, but the 50mm mid-range dome and the 175mm woofers are designed in America-made in China units by Dayton Audio. The Incanto has a claimed -3dB frequency response of 36Hz to 25kHz, sensitivity of 89dB and a nominal impedance of 4Ohms.

Aeroflex

The cabinet is made for Ophidian in Sheffield, has an MDF integral spiked plinth and stands 1032mm high, 210mm wide, 300mm deep with a weight of 24kg. It is a square-edged rectangular box, with no sexy curves. The review pair in light oak (walnut is also available) exhibited crisp corners, matched grain in the veneer, and a flawless fit of the drivers in the baffle. If it wasn’t for the Ophidian badge they could easily pass as the product of a major brand.

Ophidian uses the term ‘Aeroflex’ a lot. This is the name Gareth James has given to his own method of loading the speaker drivers. He describes it as a hybrid of ported and transmission line whose aim is to achieve a low port velocity, a free-breathing dynamic response and well-timed bass. He stresses that Aeroflex is more of a design philosophy than a rigid blueprint since every Ophidian model looks different inside. He claims that Aeroflex allows better bass timing and more consistent dynamics than a port, and is easier and less costly to implement than transmission line.

It certainly gives Ophidian a different story to tell buyers, but there are plenty of ported designs that do bass, timing and dynamics very well, and while vendors using transmission line will agree that it is not an easy technology to work with, they too can show plenty of examples of highly-performing commercial designs.

The Incanto Aeroflex loading is tuned to around 36Hz to give reinforcement between 30Hz and 50Hz. The speaker’s specifications show that despite its three-woofer driver array and the sizeable cabinet dimensions the Incanto doesn’t quite have the bass extension that might be expected of a true transmission line. However, there are compensations, and we will come to them shortly.

The Incanto dips close to two ohms through parts of the mid-bass, so James does not recommend that it is teamed with low-output tube amps, but most solid-state power from 50 Watts per channel upwards should do just fine. During the evaluation the review pair were driven by Quiescent T100MPA 130 Watts per channel monoblocks, fed by a Jay’s Audio CDT3 MK3 and a Grimm MU1 streamer/network player via a Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC and an icOn 4PRO Balanced passive line stage.

Addictive energy

Gareth James very clearly understands that of the four musical pillars of dynamic agility, tonal detail, timing and dynamic expression, it is primarily the latter that tells our brain that we are in the presence of live music. He has designed the Incanto to move a lot of air, even at low to medium volumes, and deliver dynamic expression right across the audioband to a degree that is arresting and highly addictive. Only a few tracks into the first listening session I was left pondering how the Incanto had suddenly made some alternatives at up to twice the price sound in comparison rather restrained, more buttoned-up, smaller and, well, just less engaging, less believable.

Of course, the Incanto gets its energy levels in major part from those three woofers which have an effective pistonic surface area nearly as great as that of a single 300mm (12-inch) unit. In a comparatively sized conventionally ported speaker that might be a recipe for intrusive port chuffing and non-linearity, but Aeroflex results in a low air velocity through the port and no offensive noises-off, while providing sufficient loading to control the woofer cones. Subjective (rather than measured) distortion levels at sub-300Hz are low, and this results in a midrange performance that is substantially unobscured by unwanted harmonics from below, and that sounds open and vital. The 500Hz crossover point is notably higher up the audio band than many alternatives, and it enables the Incanto to maintain a high level of energy transfer right up through the region inhabited by the human voice and beyond.

Once they had been positioned well away from the side walls of the listening room and a little over one and half metres from the front wall, the Incantos threw a deep and well-defined sound stage that had pleasing solidity from different listening positions, testament to subjectively good dispersion characteristics. It has to be said though that with a baffle just over 200mm wide James would have to have done something particularly daft for them not to image well.

Acoustic response

I began the first listening session with Le Nozze Di Figaro, the Decca/LPO version under Sir Georg Solti, recorded in Kingsway Hall in 1981. The Incantos delivered the overture with a suitable sense of suspense-full energy, and then introduced the bass voice of Samuel Ramey as Figaro with a satisfying weight in his lower registers and a tantalising glimpse of the bel canto skills he goes on to deploy as the opera unfolds. The Incantos showed that Decca’s recording engineers did a fine job in capturing the acoustic response of the hall.

Particularly striking here was the level of energy the Incantos transferred to the air in the room. The speaker has an ability, not exceptional, but certainly uncommon enough to be notable, to deliver voices with a from-the-diaphragm power that enables them to sound more fully-fleshed, more organically believable. No surprises then that they handle cello in a similarly arresting way. Saxophone too. Like him or loathe him, Swiss tenor player Philippe Chrétien has an easy-listening style so laid-back it’s almost horizontal at times. The Incantos transcribed the louche track Bingi on the 2006 album Say What (Qobuz), bringing the delicious, sleezy, late-night vibe of the recording to the fore with the warmth and weight of Chrétien’s breathy tone.

James has clearly put a lot of effort into integrating the Incanto drivers, using the domed mid-range unit well within its comfort zone and achieving a subjectively seamless result through and either side of the presence region. As noted, the surface area of those three woofers has real benefits for the playback of other genres, but it’s inevitable that even on their visual impact alone at the price point they make the Incantos an obvious go-to speaker for bass-heads and rock fans. Most such buyers I think, will be well-satisfied with the result.

Four by six

In the four by six metre listening room, I played Hans Zimmer Live In Prague and felt the square-wave bass on many of the tracks palpating my chest in a way not many visiting speakers – some larger than the Incantos – have been able to do. With material that called for a more subtle, textured approach, for example Brian Bromberg’s 2002 album Wood (Qobuz) and the track ‘Dolphin Dance’ The Incantos did a very fair job of transcribing the strings, fingers and wood texture of Bromberg’s upright bass along with its power. No, they’re not the absolute last word in subtlety and sophistication, but come on. Let’s not be unreasonable.

Some people might struggle to get past the fact that the Incanto don’t have the stamp of a major brand. However, if we set aside whatever comfort might or might not attend the presence of a different badge, at £6,000 the Incanto represents extremely strong value. So much so, that from a sonic perspective I cannot think of another floorstander at or near the price that I’d rather own.

Technical specifications

Frequency response 36hz to 25khz (-3dB)
Sensitivity 89dB (2.83v)
Recommended power 50 to 250 watts
Impedance 4 ohms
Cabinet dimensions 1032mm H × 210mm W × 300mm D (inc. grilles)
Plinth footprint 270mm W × 342mm D
Weight 24kg
Price £6,000, $7,500 per pair

Manufacturer

Ophidian Audio Limited

www.ophidian.co.uk

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Show Report: North West Audio Show, 2024

The North West Audio Show at the De Vere Estate in Cranage, Cheshire, has become a regular and popular fixture on the UK hi-fi show calendar. This year was particularly significant for the event as it marked its 10th anniversary.

Thousands of visitors flocked to the two-day show on June 22-23, where they could find 82 exhibitors over three floors representing more than 150 brands. Entry was free and every visitor was welcomed on arrival with a complimentary glass of prosecco.

I talked to organiser Kris Sawicki at the show to ask him about reaching that 10th anniversary. He told me: “It all started with a one-day show in 2014 and now we have grown to two days with around 2,500 visitors. We have seen a steady growth and numbers this year are up by around 20% on 2023. The reaction from everyone is very positive. Visitors are happy. Exhibitors are happy. And if they are both happy, I am happy.”

What’s the secret of its success? “Firstly, we try to make it as easy as possible for exhibitors,” he said. “Secondly, the show is free and finally I get great support from magazines such as Hi-Fi+ and the great staff I have working for me here. We aim to create a great, family-friendly atmosphere, not just for audiophiles, but for everyone.”

And that atmosphere was enhanced by live music performances this year from singer and pianist Sara Leanne on the Saturday and Cuban musician Iroel Pérez Abreu on the Sunday. And there was a large gathering of vinyl vendors in the courtyard area to tempt visitors, while outside as they arrived they could enjoy a demonstration of the Pink Floyd 1971 Pompeii Sound system and various other PA systems.

What follows are some highlights from the show (in alphabetical order)…

ATC / AURALIC

US streaming specialist Auralic and UK loudspeaker brand ATC shared a room this year. Auralic showed its new Vega S1 streaming DAC/preamp and separate power supply. Also new from them was the Aries S1 streaming processor with multiple digital inputs and coax and USB outputs. Joining these was the new Altair G2.2 digital audio streamer. These were playing through ATC 50SE active floorstanding speaker, which have six amplifiers built in.

AUDEN DISTRIBUTION

Auden used the show for the UK launch of its range of Luphonic turntables from Germany. These decks are belt-driven and use innovative chassis and platter materials, such as Corian. The H2 model was in one room playing through a Hegel H190V amplifier and Amphion Argon 3S speakers, while in Auden’s second room the Luphonic top-of-the-range R3 turntable was playing through a Hegel H600 amp and Amphion Krypton 3X speakers.

AUDIO NOTE

UK valve specialist Audio Note was playing a TT2 turntable with Arm 1 and IQ2 moving magnet and CD2.1x CD player with an M2 RIAA phono stage, M2 Line valve preamp, single-ended Paladin Silver stereo valve power amp and AN-K LX standmount speakers. Audio Note always make an excellent sound and this year was no exception. Their products could also be heard in retailer Audiocounsel’s room, where they were running a TT2/Arm3/IQ3 front end with CD4.1x CD player, Meishu Tonmeister 300B integrated valve amplifier and AN-E SP HE high-efficiency floorstanding speakers.

THE AUDIOWORKS

This Cheadle-based retailer, which also imports Accuphase, had some interesting new products from that company. These were the DP770 SACD/CD player and A80 Class A power amp. The brand new pure Class A E700 was meant to debut at the show, but stocks did not make it into the country in time. Instead, an E800 integrated amp was used for their dem, along with a C3900 pre and C47 phono stage. Lumin provided the streaming source and for vinyl it was a modified Linn Sondek LP12 with a Supertrac arm, all playing through Fyne Vintage 10 speakers.

CAD / KERR ACOUSTIC / MUSIC FIRST AUDIO

In this shared room, visitors could see and hear the recently launched Kerr Acoustic K200 speakers, Music First Audio Baby Reference V2 preamp, CAD 1543 DAC and Ground Control units, with amplification from Chord Electronics and Trilogy, plus an Innuos Zen Mini streamer/server. It was all sounding very good too. MFA also had its new Reference V2 preamp in the Sound Fowndations room along with Kerr’s K100 speakers, while Kerr K300s could be heard in the Chord Electronics room.

CHORD COMPANY

This UK-based cable specialist has a history of staging excellent demonstrations to show visitors of the difference that good cables, plugs and mains filters/distribution blocks can make to a system. This year they were showcasing the brand new Epic Tuned ARAY Digital interconnect, which uses technology borrowed from its Signature Series and optimises performance for the length of the cable. They were also demoing the PowerHAUS P6 mains distribution block and EE1 network noise isolator, in a system comprising a Hi-Fi Rose RS150 streamer, Chord Electronics Dave DAC and PMC Twenty5 23i active speakers.

CHORD ELECTRONICS

The recently released Ultima integrated amplifier from Chord was at the heart of their demonstration, along with a TT2 DAC and M Scaler, all playing through a pair of Kerr Acoustic K300 speakers. The company also had on show one of their professional amps and highlighted the top recording studios they have worked with, including Abbey Road, Air, Metropolis, Atlantic, and many others.

CONNECTED FIDELITY / COPPICE AUDIO / MALVERN AUDIO RESEARCH

In their shared room, Connected Fidelity was showing the new TT Hub turntable in final production format, fitted with Sorane tonearm and Hana Umami Red cartridge. They also had the new SIX Star star-earthed, six-way mains distribution block on show. Malvern showed the brand new Audio Detail GM70 14W single-ended monoblock valve power amps on demo, with the new 101D valve phono stage and Chela Premium preamp. All of this was being played through Coppice Audio’s speakers. Coppice, which specialises in solid wood cabinets as opposed to chipboard or MDF, was showing the revised flagship BG1 floorstander, with new Scanspeak tweeter and new custom-made Lowther PM65CP driver alongside the smaller, recently launched BG3 entry-level model to the BG Series, which uses a bespoke Lowther CM45CP midrange unit and single Beyma bass driver. They were beautifully finished and the whole system was sounding very good.

G-POINT

Polish-based Destination Audio was making its UK debut here with a new two-box GM70 20W single-ended valve integrated amp, WE417A phono stage and striking-looking three-way horn-loaded Nika loudspeakers. G-Point also unveiled the new Lampizator Poseidon valve DAC. The system playing used the Destination Audio amp and speakers with a J. Sikora Standard MAX Ultimate 15th anniversary edition turntable with KV9MAX arm and Aidas Mammoth cartridge.

KARMA AV

Karma’s room housed a large 7.3.4 home cinema system showcasing the brand new SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle three-way speakers, with curved, time-aligned baffle, which were playing very loud and very cleanly. What was surprising was their modest price tag. Karma see them being as much at home in a two-channel stereo system as in a multichannel AV setup. There are three models in the SVS range. Driving the speakers was a Primare nine-channel SPA25 amplifier/processor, backed up with a 35.2 two-channel amp.

KEF

KEF chose to focus on a simple system using the Blade II Meta speakers to show off their new KC92 subwoofers, which were presented in a stacked stereo configuration, using four in all. The room was very tastefully presented and the speakers were driven by a Hegel H600 amp and Innuos Zenith MkIII streamer and Phoenix network switch.

LATERAL

Equipment stand specialist Lateral was showing the new Aria range of stands, which come in two-, three-, four- and five-tier configurations with shelf spacings of 160mm, 220mm, 320mm and 440mm. Shelves are available in oak, black oak, walnut and flat black finishes. Load capacity per shelf is 60kg. Some design details, Lateral said, have trickled down from the more expensive Counterpoint range.

NEAT

Two brand new speakers were playing in the Neat room – the Momentum Jet-6 floorstander and Momentum Jet-S standmount. The Jet-6 is a 2.5-way design with 170mm bass/midrange units, one on the front baffle with an Elac JET AMT tweeter, and two in isobaric configuration in the sectioned-off, reflex-loaded lower enclosure. The standmount Jet-S has the same Elac JET tweeter and 170mm bass/mid driver, which has a second identical driver mounted behind it inside the cabinet in isobaric configuration. They were driven by an Atoll ST300/IN400 amplifier combo and Well Tempered Labs Versalex turntable. Neat also unveiled a MkII version of the diminutive Iota.

NODE

Node used the show to debut the SS1 modular equipment support system. The support is designed to make metal-to-metal contact with the equipment it is supporting and uses an internal gimbal that feeds vibration down through a stack of ceramic balls. Adaptors are also available for to support speaker cables and lift them off the floor. In its room, it was using a Melco Reference Solidstate Transport, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil DAC and a Valvet pre/power amp combo to demonstrate the Node Hylixa speakers, which have always impressed me whenever I have heard them.

ORANGE

New in the room of guitar and bass amp specialist Orange was the Valve Tester MkII. This can now be used with a series of separate plug-in modules for such audio valves as the 300B, EF86 and GZ34. It has a one-button operation and automatically runs through a series of 19 separate tests, including a new microphony test. Orange was also showing its new Pyramid Bluetooth speaker system that features auxiliary and line inputs.

ORIGIN LIVE

UK turntable specialist Origin Live had one new product on show. It was small but it came with an interesting story. The Strata platter mat has a triple-layer construction using three different materials, as Origin Live believe no single material can adequately dissipate energy over the whole spectrum of frequencies. Interestingly, it is claimed to work with all turntables, irrespective of the material the platter is made from, and the low asking price shouldn’t break the bank. This was on dem on its Sovereign S turntable with Agile tonearm and Lyra Atlas Lambda cartridge.

REEL RESILIENCE

Vinyl, it seems, is not alone in enjoying a revival. Open-reel tape is also seeing a resurgence in popularity. So says ex-BBC engineer Iain Betson, who has been running Reel Resilience since 2015, repairing, refurbishing and supplying reel-to-reel machines to enthusiasts. In his room, he was showing a Revox PR99 II and A77 II, plus a Studer A807 II, playing pressing masters (the tapes used to produce the stampers that press LPs) and direct-to-tape recordings through PMC Result6 active speakers.

RUSS ANDREWS

The Scottish retailer and cables/mains conditioning specialist had a static display and was showing their new DC Blocker, designed to remove any DC that gets onto the mains from other equipment in the house, which they say can cause transformer buzz and adversely affect sound quality. And as a long-standing Meridian retailer, they were also showing the new Meridian Ellipse wireless DSP network speaker for the first time in the UK.

SALTWOOD SOUNDS

This Spanish-based company was showing their brand new hand-finished Finisterre floorstanding speakers that were looking gorgeous with their solid French walnut fronts. The cabinets are made from layers of on-edge birch ply and they incorporate a floating, damped stand. They have an 8in Purify woofer from Denmark and an SB Acoustics Satori beryllium tweeter. Driving them was a Java Double Shot integrated amp from New Zealand (they are not importing this apparently), an Auralic Vega G2 streamer and Auralic Aries DAC.

SOUND FOWNDATIONS

In this room, we were treated to a dem of the new DS Audio E3 entry-level optical cartridge on a Clearaudio Concept Signature turntable. These were playing through the new Music First Audio Reference V2 transformer-based preamp (MFA were also sharing a room with CAD and Kerr Acoustic) and Gamut power amps driving Kerr Acoustic’s top-of-the-range K100 speakers. They were also showing Clearaudio’s new Unity 10in radial unipivot tonearm with magnetic stabilisation fitted on a Reference Jubilee turntable. As always, the sound in the room was excellent.

SYMPHONY DISTRIBUTION

Making some nice sounds in their room, the recently introduced Tannoy Stirling III LZ floorstanders were being driven by a Linn Klimax DS streamer with Organik DAC through a Sugden Sapphire pre/power amp combo. Tannoy’s high-efficiency, dual-concentric speakers were also on show in a room run by local retailer DNA Audio, where they were playing the standmount Super Gold Monitor SGM10s driven by a Naim Solstice turntable and Naim NAIT 50 amplifier.

VERTERE

Two new products were to be seen here. The new Calon dual-mono phono stage provides up to 30dB of input gain and selectable output gain of +2dB, +4dB, +6dB or +8dB. Capacitance and resistance can be adjusted to match a wide variety of MM and MC cartridges. It also has a built-in subsonic filter and uses separate power supplies for the audio and control sections. Also new was the SG-II HB PTA tonearm. This has a tri-point bearing with a tungsten carbide shaft running on three silicone nitride balls. Good sounds were to be heard in the room a system comprising SG-1 record deck with SG-II arm and XtraX cartridge through a Vertere Phono 1 phono stage, Naim 332 preamp through active ATC SCM40 speakers.

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Music Interview: Howard Jones

To celebrate 40 years of his career, ‘80s pop star and pioneering electronic music artist, Howard Jones, is releasing a deluxe four-CD box set on Cherry Red Records.

Called Celebrate It Together – The Very Best Of Howard Jones 1983–2023, it’s available this month and across its 64 tracks, it showcases just how diverse Jones’s output and influences have been, from European-sounding synth-pop, to Cuban music, disco, soul, funk and dance, to more chilled and reflective moments.

Rather than in chronological order, the songs have been compiled across four different-themed CDs: Popular Hits, Electro, Chill and Curiosities.

There are some tracks that have never been released on CD before, plus some unheard rarities for the diehard fans, including brand new remixes and alternative versions.

“As it was going to be a comprehensive look at 40 years, I wanted to divide it up into four different themes,” he tells hi-fi+, speaking to us on the phone shortly after arriving back in the UK from a North American tour with Boy George/ Culture Club and Berlin.

“It was a lot of fun fitting the songs into the different categories.”

He adds: “One of the things about the four-CD set is that it’s a combination of my own Dtox label and the Warner era. It’s the first time we’ve been able to do that.”

SH: How is it celebrating your 40th anniversary as a musician? Does it feel like 40 years?

HJ: It feels like longer because I’ve packed so much in over that time. I know everyone says, ‘It’s just flown by’, but, no, it hasn’t at all! (laughs).

It’s amazing – it’s great. I never thought I’d get to 40 years, and I’m looking forward to 50 now.

What’s kept you going for 40 years – what’s your secret?

I really love what I do – I always wanted to make records and write songs. That was always my passion and fortunately it’s still burning strong after all this time, and I’m looking forward to new things that I’m going to do – new songs and albums I’m going to write. I think that’s the secret – once the passion goes, you really should stop.

You’re always making new music, whereas some acts from the ‘80s just rely on their heritage. You’ve constantly changed and moved on…

That’s what I do – I write, I make records and I do shows. That’s the natural way to be for me. You’re right, and that’s why I’m still here doing it now.

Your music has been used on TV soundtracks, including Breaking Bad and Stranger Things, which helps to attract new fans, doesn’t it?

Yes – that’s really exciting for me because it means the music is reaching people who’ve never heard it before.

When Stranger Things comes out, I see a big spike in my streaming… All these younger people are starting to listen to my music, which is incredible.

Let’s talk about the new box set – Celebrate It Together. It’s not compiled chronologically – instead, the four CDs are themed: Popular Hits, Electro, Chill and Curiosities. What was the thinking behind that?

As it was going to be a comprehensive look at 40 years, I wanted to divide it up into four different themes, and, because my outlook has been so varied, you’d be thrown around by all these different emotions [if it was done chronologically], so I thought it would be good to have them in four different groups.

Howard Jones - by Simon Fowler — Howard Jones – by Simon Fowler

There are the popular songs, the electro-dance things, the more chilled work, which is ballad-based, and then curiosities – some really unusual things. It was a lot of fun fitting the songs into the different categories.

I have a fantastic adviser called Glenn Kelly – he’s been a fan from day one and he knows more about my music than I do. It was great working with him, as he would have suggestions that I wouldn’t have thought of. I got great support from him.

The title track of the box set, which kicks off the Electro disc, is a new song that was written at the time of the pandemic.

It has funky guitar and reminds me of Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’, featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers.

It’s musically upbeat and, like a lot of your music, it’s a positive song…

It was written during lockdown. I was thinking that once the pandemic was over, we could finally look into each other’s eyes and meet each other again – we could celebrate the fact that we’d got through it and survived.

I wanted to make it the most upbeat and positive song I’d ever written – I actually set out to do that.

A lot of my musical DNA is about great funk – I love it!

There’s an amazing French remixer who goes under the name Lifelike. He did a version of it and I absolutely love it – he stripped it all back to its basic elements. We’ve been playing it live on tour and it’s gone down really well – people think it’s one of the old songs, but it’s brand spanking new.

I was listening to some of the early songs in the box set.

‘Things Can Only Get Better’, which was a single from 1985, has a real US soul and R & B vibe, with slap bass and horns.

I tend to think of your music as being European and electronic, but there are lots of other influences too, like disco and funk…

Artists who emerged in the ‘80s had to be influenced by the ‘70s. I loved Earth Wind & Fire and Stevie Wonder – groove-based tracks using lots of keyboards. Nile Rodgers played on one of my songs, on the One to One album.

I’ve always had a big connection with that genre.

There’s a brand-new remix of your debut single, ‘New Song’, in the box set. I think it almost has a Kraftwerk feel to it…

I don’t generally like remixes people have sent me of my stuff – I normally say no to them, but this one I really liked. It had a fresh feel to it, so I decided to include it – it’s by Elephant Talk.

There are some interesting rarities on the Curiosities CD, like the Simlish version of Things Can Only Get Better that has you singing in a fictional language from the Sim video game…

(Laughs). That came about because one of my long-time American friends, Steve Schnur, who used to go round with me to radio stations in the ‘80s, when we were working the records, is now head of music for EA [Electronic Arts]. He asked me if I would do it and, of course, when one of your best mates asks you to do something, you always say yes. It was good fun to do it.

There’s a song called ‘I Don’t Hate You’ on the Curiosities CD, which hasn’t been available before.

It was from 1998, around the time of the People album, and it’s a big tune, with a huge riff…

(Laughs). I went off it at the time – it didn’t fit, so I didn’t put it out.

Then I went back to it again and thought, ‘this is actually quite good…’, so I included it.

The Havana version of ‘Collective Heartbeat’ you’ve included is fun – you’ve been to Cuba a few times and been inspired by the local music scene, haven’t you?

Yeah. I love Cuban music – I listen to it a lot. When I’ve visited Cuba, I’ve been able to jam with Cuban bands – people play music everywhere there, in restaurants and hotel foyers.

It was amazing that they knew quite a lot of my songs. Florida’s only 90 miles away from Cuba – people were picking my music up on the radio. I was able to do songs like ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ with them. Cuban music is part of my DNA now.

A lot of your songs are themed around hope, positivity, and the human condition. Do you think a song like ‘Hide and Seek’, which you played at Live Aid in 1985, is even more relevant now because of the current state of the world, than it was when it was written?

I think ‘Hide and Seek’ is even more relevant now because of where we are as a world.

It’s very easy to give up on things and resign yourself to doom, but it’s very important to feel hopeful and positive about the future. That song is definitely about hope.

Revolution of the Heart, the title track of your 2005 album, has a similar theme, and saw you return to your roots

Yeah – I’ve been fortunate that my fans have been happy to follow me doing all kinds of different things through the 40 years.

Sometimes I feel like making a very electronic record and other times a more organic, acoustic-sounding set of tunes. It’s just part of me and I guess if I was with a major label, I wouldn’t have had quite so much freedom.

Cherry Red are such a great company and so supportive of my ideas. I love working with them – I don’t know if many artists can say that about their record label.

I have to say my time with Warner Bros was brilliant as well, because I had such good friends there and the team was behind me from day one. I’ve never really experienced a bad time with labels.

You’ve always embraced new technology. I know that many artists are concerned by their rights being lost, but how do you feel about AI in music?

I’m very excited about it – I think it will be a huge, new creative source for artists. My friend BT, who I’ve collaborated with quite a lot, is building me a Howard Jones AI voice based on all my previous recordings, right back to the early days.

So, if I ever lose my voice, when I have a bad throat and can’t sing, I’ll be able to use the AI version.

I can also use it to create a choir from my own voice, or make it sound like a female. There will be people who use AI badly to rip people off – you’re always going to get that…

Just imagine when sampling first happened – everyone was freaking out and then it became an integral part of how people make music and it created new sounds that people had never heard before. When there’s something new, someone will always freak out and say, ‘This is the end of music…’

No – it’s only the end if people don’t see the creative possibilities in it.

You’re currently touring . What can we expect?

My thinking with this tour is to show people where I’ve got to with my live work – I’ve got the best band I’ve ever had. Nick Beggs is on bass and the Chapman Stick, and Robin Boult is on guitar.

We do an acoustic part of the set and I play stuff from pretty much my whole career. I’m saying to people, ‘It started with ‘New Song’ and this is where I’ve got to now.’ I try to tread a fine line between playing some new things but also all the things that people love, because they’d be disappointed otherwise. I think I’ve got it right.

So, you won’t be singing in Simlish?

Not on this tour.

Celebrate It Together – The Very Best Of Howard Jones 1983–2023 is out now on Cherry Red Records.

It’s available as a deluxe four-CD set (64 remastered songs), as well as a double LP and a two-CD version.

Howard Jones is touring the US in August.

www.howardjones.com

Back to Music

To begin at the beginning

Wiggle room

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More than 20

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Sound quality, job done!

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Refinement going forward: English Acoustics Stereo 41c

English Acoustics Stereo 41c: Technical specifications

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Chord Electronics at CanJam London

New Owner, new love

Affordable high-end?

Slowly going mad

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The Advantages of Planar Magnetic Driver

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Simple for a dCS

UPnP Access

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Johnny Mnemonic

XLR on VTX

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Extreme wrangling

The Alpha and Omega

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Aeroflex

Addictive energy

Acoustic response

Four by six

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The sound of excellence delivered your way