HiFi News May 2019

MAY 2019 WWW.HIFINEWS.CO.
UK
THE HOME OF REAL HI-FI
Exclusive
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JOAN
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KEF’s R11 – high-value,
high-rise high-end! 67
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Italian
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dCS Bartók premiere

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INVESTIGATION
5G – made for hi-fi?
Next-gen music delivery, p26
DS Audio DS-E1
We test the most affordable
‘optical’ pick-up yet!
Icon Audio Stereo 40 MkIV
Classy tube amp gets a big upgrade
Novafidelity X45Pro
All-in-one streaming/storage solution
• PLUS 18 pages of music reviews & features • VINYL RE-RELEASE Hawkwind’s debut LP on 180g UK £5.25 US $13.00 Aus $13.50
• OPINION 12 pages of letters & comment • VINTAGE REVIEW Giant-killing Inca Tech Claymore amp
• SHOW BLOG We report from Stockholm High End • READERS’ CLASSIFIEDS Hi-Fi bargains galore
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CONTENTS
MAY 19
VINYL & RECORD REVIEWS NEWS AND OPINION
76 Classical Companion 15 Welcome

Christopher Breunig considers the A message from the editor
career of conductor and pianist 16 News
Daniel Barenboim – an orchestra TechDAS Air Force III turntable goes
founder and political figure too premium, ATC debuts CD player and
78 Vinyl release integrated amp/DAC, update to AL5
Riff-rock meets spacey-sounding status for Klipsch La Scala speakers,
synths as Steve Sutherland hears T+A’s HV series gains digital sources
the 180g reissue of Hawkwind’s 18 Show Blog
self-titled debut album from 1970 Revivals, new launches and even
80 Vinyl Icon product world premieres as Jonas
Another ’70s eponymous LP, this Bryngelsson and Mats Meyer-Lie
time from a female artist who’s report from Stockholm High End
still enjoying sell-out shows today. 26 Investigation
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Johnny Black on Joan Armatrading Smartphones are secondary when
86 Meet The Producers 45 dCS Bartók it comes to 5G because it will bring
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War pilot, Beatles engineer and A first for the Huntingdon company as blazingly fast internet to your home.
original producer of Pink Floyd... it offers a source component packing Barry Fox on what it means for hi-fi...
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Steve Sutherland has the story of its latest Ring DAC with an optional
5- 103 Opinion
Brit studio supremo Norman Smith headphone amplifier to boot... Comment and analysis as Barry Fox,
90 Music Reviews 50 JBL L100 Classic Barry Willis, Jim Lesurf, Steve Harris
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Our selection of audiophile LP Don’t be fooled by the retro looks, for and Christopher Breunig consider
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and hi-res downloads reviewed by this reimagined classic speaker hides the hot audio topics of the day
our specialists alongside the latest all-new drivers behind its Quadrex 112 Sound Off
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rock, jazz and classical albums foam grille. But how does it sound? A sensible-money player for DVD-A,
54 DS Audio DS-E1 rebuilding a system with a modern
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DEFINITIVE PRODUCT REVIEWS Japanese company lowers the price of budget amp, plus more subwoofer
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entry to its range of optical pick-ups inspiration as readers share their tips
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34 KEF R11 with a cartridge that could be a 138 Off The Leash
Four woofers, 12th-gen Uni-Q game-changer for vinyl replay Might a maker of fine hand luggage
58 Icon Audio Stereo 40 MkIV
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driver array... we hear the flagship lead consumers away from lo-fi
speakers from the company’s latest Revamp for this tube amplifier audio to the pleasures of high-end
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R series. High-end hi-fi made easy? favourite that combines a choice of sound? Ken Kessler explains all...
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40 Audia Flight Strumento Triode and Ultralinear modes with a

No1 mk2/No4 mk2 useful dollop of extra power
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From hearty orchestral climaxes to 62 Novafidelity X45Pro

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deep electro bass, the harmonious Flagship all-in-one music server

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sounds from this slick-looking Italian promises superior sound thanks to its
pre/power duo are sure to thrill pair of ES9038 DACs. Will it deliver?
66 Focal Stellia
These luxurious-looking cans don’t
come cheap, but when it comes to
the drama of music, few compete
70 Dual CS 600
It’s a tough market out there, so how
will the top dog in German company’s
new ten-model turntable range fare?
ABOVE: Why the next generation
VINTAGE mobile network coming this year
should be music to the ears
120 Vintage Review of hi-fi enthusiasts.
How do yesterday’s classics shape up See p26
today? We test Inca Tech’s Claymore,
the little ’80s amp from Canvey Island BSCRIBE!
SUBSCRIBE!
126 From The Vault
We rewind to HFN Mar ’90 where
ABOVE: The L100 Classic – JBL’s modern Martin Colloms is about to play the
take on its 1970 original, which became the numbers game by lifting the lid on Special
Save 75%Christmas offer:
on digital with a
company’s best-selling loudspeaker. See p50 Mark Levinson’s ultimate amp system print subscription
Three issues for Seejust
page£3!
See p100
60
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MAY 2019 | www.hifinews.co.uk | 3

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67 Highend Audio Equipment
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made in Switzerland
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Distributed by Select Audio

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Tel 01900 601954

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www.selectaudio.co.uk
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“Simply the best closed-back
headphones we’ve heard”
What Hi-Fi? Five Stars

S T E L L I A UTOPIA
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H I G H E N D H E A D P H O N E S BY FO C A L
Wherever you want to listen, Focal has a headphone that delivers your music
with precision and purity. Our 40 years of innovation, development and
manufacturing of high-end drivers and loudspeakers are distilled into the
reference-grade Utopia open-back and Stellia closed-back headphones.
Both award-winning designs are handmade in France, combining acoustically
optimal components with premium styling. Expert reviews agree they are
exceptional: now it’s time for your ears to enjoy them.
FO CAL.COM MADE IN FRANCE

TAP Polarizer
Method to reduce polarization
distortion in a signal cable.
Patent Pending
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PATENTED SCIENCE.
OBSERVABLE MEASUREMENTS.
DEFINITIVE RESULTS.
Shunyata Research’s many published patents and objective measurements stand out in an industry
where price inflation and hyperbole have become the norm. From the world’s finest recording studios
to life-saving medical imaging systems, Shunyata Research delivers on the promise of scientific
innovation and dramatic results. Following, are the hallmarks of a company committed to patented
science, measurements and definable achievement.
SHUNYATA RESEARCH: US PATENTS
Method to reduce distortion

in an audio cable using
ferroelectric substances.
Patent Number:
US 6,545,213
DFSS™ Patent Number: US US 7,694,917
Method to eliminate RFI, EMI
and other interference in a
power supply.
Patent Number:
US 7,196,892
Power conditioner that

actively corrects A.C. line
NIC™ Patent Number: US 8,658,892
7
harmonic distortion.
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Patent Number:
38
US 7,256,638
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Cable elevator that neutralizes 5-
static electric interference.
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Patent Number:
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US 7,694,917
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QR/BB™ Patent Number: 10,031,536

Device that reduces AC
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power line noise using

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ferroelectric substances.
Patent Number:
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US 8,658,892
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Method to reduce dielectric

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distortion in signal
DTCD™ Measurement Comparisons
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transmission cables.
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Patent Number:
US 8,912,436
Method to improve
instantaneous current delivery
in an AC to DC power supply.
Patent Number:
10,031,536 ȅTRON™ Measurement Comparisons (Before & After)
Shunyata Research Inc.

shunyata.com Inter-Cardiac Tracing Comparisons (Before & After)
Distributed in The UK and Ireland by The Shunyata Distribution Company

Guillaume Boyer // t. 0330 223 3769 // shunyata-uk.com
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FUTURE DREAM
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Celebrating 15 years with a NEW and limited edition cable series,
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Crystal Cable introduces a unique hybrid technology.
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FUTURE DREAM
POWER, SPEAKER AND INTERCONNECT CABLES
7RȴQGRXWPRUHDERXW&Uystal Cable’s products and special activities during this anniversary year visit:
and
and visit us in room E229, Atrium 4.2 at
Distributed in the UK and Ireland by Padood

www.padood.com | info@padood.com
+44 (0)1223 653199 | 20 Station Road, Cambridge CB1 2JD
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kudosaudio.com
A new Titan
has arrived
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First we created a class
leading powered speaker.
Then we made it wireless.
Navis
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5- ELAC’s new Navis Series answers every
minimalist audiophile’s dream of a no-
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compromise powered speaker driven
by best-in-class amplifiers which are
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truly deserving of the name “high end.”

Whist most powered speakers rely on
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Class D digital designs, ELAC engi-

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exceptional sound.
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Add the Discovery Connect wireless

transmitter to your system, and Navis
becomes a wireless speaker that lets
you enjoy streaming content without a
cable in sight.
Bluetooth Airplay dlna
Spotify Roon Discovery
For further information visit ELAC.com
Distributed by Hi-Fi Network

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MAY/19
RIGHT: Focal’s eye-catching, closed-back
Stellia joins the open-back Utopia as joint
G
flagships of its range. Our in-depth review, p66 oing shopping,
then what’s in your
basket this week?
According to the
Office for National
LEFT: Now in MkIV Statistics (the ONS), one thing
guise, Icon Audio’s we seem to be buying less of,
Stereo 40 tube alongside dried dog food and
amp offers more complete crockery sets, are what
power and even it describes as ‘Audio Systems’.
better sound But should we audiophiles be replaced by the ‘Smart speaker’
– see p58 worried at a further erosion in in the ‘Leisure Goods’ section.
our status? Not a bit of it! Now, it seems quite likely that
Looking through the snappily- the erstwhile ‘Audio Systems’
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titled ‘Consumer price inflation category never actually referred
basket of goods and services to what you and I might think
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for 2019’ and comparing this of as ‘proper hi-fi’, just as the
with the same tome for 2018, promotion of Smart (voice-
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2017, etc, it’s clear how the rise activated/connected) speakers
5-
and rise of online consumerism, has rather more to do with the
and the invasion of connected explosion in sales of the Amazon
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technologies into every quarter Echo and Google Home than

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of our lives, is having a

real impact on our choice
‘Audio systems
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of, well, everything.

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been dropped in favour

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of quiche and popcorn

in the ‘Bread and Cereals’ Harman Kardon’s finer-sounding,
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section – possibly not unrelated but costlier, Citation range.

to the rise of ‘Video on demand In practice, the ONS’s basket
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subscription services’ in another is used in the calculation of UK

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corner of the basket. Evidently, inflation, but look beyond the

MUSIC: Joan Armatrading’s third, staying in is the new going out... numbers and it’s also a useful
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eponymous, album is this month’s The category for ‘Music metric of social change. And
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Vinyl Icon feature (p80), while Steve streaming subscriptions’ has also what we discover is that more
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Sutherland looks back at Hawkwind’s made it into the basket over people have ready access to,
‘space rock’ debut now on 180g LP (p78) the last few years just as ‘CDs, and are actively listening to, a
DVDs and Music downloads’ are wider variety of music. It’s only
RIGHT: Hi-Fi News & RR is the UK’s clinging on and show no signs a matter of time before they
representative of EISA’s Hi-Fi Expert of being usurped by vinyl. Which discover ‘real hi-fi’...
Group. Editor Paul Miller took over as brings us back to the demise
EISA’s President in June 2016 of ‘Audio Systems’, ostensibly PAUL MILLER GROUP EDITOR
HI-FI NEWS’ EXPERT LINE UP: THE FINEST MINDS IN AUDIO JOURNALISM BRING THEIR EXPERIENCE TO BEAR ON ALL AREAS OF HI-FI & MUSIC
BARRY FOX DAVID PRICE KEN KESSLER KEITH HOWARD STEVE HARRIS ANDREW EVERARD STEVE SUTHERLAND
Investigative journalist An avid collector of is a long-serving has written about Former Editor of this has reviewed hi-fi for worked on Melody
supreme, Barry is the audio treasures, and contributor, luxury hi-fi for 40 years, and very title from 1986 over 30 years and Maker and then edited
first with news of the life-long hi-fi addict, goods writer and edited Hi-Fi Answers through to 2005. A is still effortlessly NME from 1992-2000,
latest developments DP lends his ears champion for the for nine. KH performs lifetime in audio and enthusiastic about new the Britpop years. Steve
in hi-fi and music and experience from renaissance in valves our speaker and a love of jazz makes technology, kit and brings a unique slant to
technologies analogue to digital and ‘vintage hi-fi’ headphone lab tests Steve a goldmine discovering new music our Vinyl Release pages

NEWS We reveal the latest products and upcoming events
High Voltage Trio

THREE NEW FLAGSHIP ‘HV’ DIGITAL SOURCES JOIN T+A’S 3100 SERIES AMPLIFIERS
German high-end manufacturer T+A calls its HV components ‘the located by an anti-
finest and most sophisticated range of equipment’ it has ever resonance puck. Ass well
developed and produced. (HV stands for high voltage, a principal as standard S/PDIF
feature of the range being its use of preamplifier stages that and balanced AES/
operate from uncommonly high PSU rail voltages.) EBU digital outputs,
s,
Three more items have now been added to the HV lineup: it features T+A’s
the PDT 3100 HV CD/SACD transport (£13,996), the SD 3100 proprietary IPA Link.
k.
HV DAC and streamer (£21,990), and the SDV 3100 HV DAC and This interface is
streamer with analogue volume control (£23,400). The top- capable of passing
loading PTD 3100 HV plays both CD and SACD, with the discs PCM and DSD data a plus
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separate clock data a (at up to
o
768kHz PCM/DSD1024) either
024) to eithe er of tthe
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he w n
wo new
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To optimise the conversion
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putts, tthese
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incorporate separate
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multi bit and 1-bit
1 bit DACs ffor
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the two data
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types. T+A’s streaming client offers direct access to selected
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music services, and an aptX Bluetooth interface is also included.
The SDV 3100 HV adds a volume control, while both converters
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include a high-performance headphone amp.
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T+A elektroakustik GmbH & Co., KG, Germany, 01353 721089;

www.taelektroakustik.de; www.kogaudio.co.uk
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ATC’s classic pair Premium vinyl

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CD2 AND SIA2-100 CD PLAYER & INTEGRATED TECHDAS AFIII GETS THE MIDAS TOUCH
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professional loudspeakers [see HFN Apr ’19],

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has added two items to its lineup of electronics

separates: the CD2 CD player and SIA2-100 OPTICAL PLATFORM
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Remember when it was a popular

integrated amp/DAC. The CD2 includes both system tweak to replace flimsy
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single-ended (RCA) and balanced outputs (XLR), removable headshells with the solid
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plus S/PDIF digital outputs via Toslink and coaxial cast magnesium item from ADC?
connectors, and a front-panel headphone Well, Japanese optical cartridge
outlet. Slot-loading has been rejected in favour manufacturer DS Audio [see p54]
of a conventional tray transport sourced from has revived the idea with its HS-001
retro-fit headshell. Machined from
Teac. The larger but entirely harmoniously styled a solid billet of aluminium alloy, the
SIA2-100 amplifier is rated at 100W/8ohm while HS-001 includes Litz wire leads and
its DAC section is said to be compatible with stainless steel cartridge bolts. The TechDAS has introduced an enhanced version
384kHz PCM and DSD128. Prices are £1500 price is a heady £400. of its Air Force III turntable [HFN Sep ’16], the
and £2500, respectively. www.ds-audio-w.biz £29,998 III Premium. Refinements include a
Loudspeaker Technology Ltd, heavier, gold-plated gunmetal platter plus a
Gloucestershire, UK, 01285 760561; SYSTEM TUNING revised air bearing and enhanced suspension
Need a helping hand setting up your
www.atcloudspeakers.co.uk system? Nordost has introduced system adapted to accommodate the 29kg
its ‘System Solution Set-Up’ and mass. There’s now provision for separate air
‘Tuning’ discs, a two-CD package pumps for the air bearing and vacuum systems,
of ‘diagnostic tracks, calibration and a new PSU feeding improved electronics
tools, and system conditioning aids’ which increase motor torque. As before,
which replaces the previous one-disc drive is conveyed by a polished, ‘non-flexible’
item. Alongside the likes of channel
identity, phase check and frequency polyurethane fibre belt and the III Premium
sweep test tracks are selected offers two operating speeds – 33.33 and 45rpm.
musical items recorded using Nordost Because of the range of changes, no upgrade is
cables. Price in the US is $40. possible for owners of the standard Air Force III.
www.nordost.com Stella Inc., Tokyo, Japan, 0208 971 3909;
www.techdas.jp; www.absolutesounds.com
16 | www.hifinews.co.uk | MAY 2019

We reveal the latest products and upcoming events NEWS
Horns of hi-fi legend Do the Okki Nokki

ICONIC ‘MINI KLIPSCHORN’ LA SCALA LOUDSPEAKERS AFFORDABLE LP CLEANER FROM HOLLAND
Few loudspeakers have proved separate mid/treble section that Vinyl enthusiasts who’ve dreamt of
as perennial as the Klipsch La hosts a new 1in ‘K-771’ tweeter owning a record cleaning
Scala – the ‘mini Klipschorn’ – with polyimide diaphragm and machine may find that
first introduced in 1963 and tractrix horn. This is mated to dream becoming reality
now, in its latest AL5 variant, an exponential midrange horn with the UK arrival of the
on sale in the UK again for with a 2in ‘K-55-X’ phenolic charmingly named Okki
£12,000 a pair. Melding classic diaphragm compression driver. Nokki RCM, priced at just
Klipsch horn design with Claimed sensitivity is 105dB £435. Hailing from the
modern drive unit technology, and the birch ply/MDF cabinet Netherlands, the RCM is the
the AL5 retains familiar La is available in a choice of latest incarnation of a designn
Scala features, particularly the natural cherry, satin black ash or that has been progressively
two-part construction with American walnut finishes. refined and improved over 15
lower two-fold bass horn, now Klipsch Group, Inc., 01235 511 years and promises quiet, effective
ffective
hiding a 15in fibre-composite 166; www.klipsch.com; cleaning together with ease e of
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cone driver. Above, there’s a www.henleyaudio.co.uk use. Operation is controlled by just
two switches, one of which selects
38
the direction of disk motion and the
other the suction of the fluid cleaning system (fluid is supplied). As
67
standard the RCM has a long arm for cleaning 12in LPs but 10in
5-
and 7in arms are also available for other record sizes. Also optional
is a combined acrylic lid and dust cover.
34
Okki Nokki, Netherlands, 056 0205 4669; www.okkinokki.com
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HI-FI NEWS? JUST ASK...

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Please reserve/deliver my copy of Hi-fi News

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of this magazine, help is at
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hand! Complete this form, Title................First name........................................

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hand it in at your local store Surname..................................................................

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COMPACT POWER PLANT MAINS REGENERATOR FROM PS AUDIO

IF YOU DON’T
So
If you lust after PS Audio’s lower source impedance,

WANT TO MISS
DirectStream Power Plant 20 and protection from voltage
mains regenerator [HFN Apr surges and spikes – but with
AN ISSUE...
’19] but can’t stretch that far, fewer outlets and lower power
the new Stellar Power Plant delivery. Four outlets offer
3, at £2350, offers a much 300VA continuous (1000VA
less costly introduction to the peak) total output capability,
delights of a clean AC mains with two of the outlets
supply. It claims to deliver all switchable to a higher current,
the core benefits of its larger non-regenerated filtered mode.
stablemates – freedom from
the noise and distortion of
the mains waveform, much
PS Audio, Boulder, Colorado,
USA, 07738 007776;
www.psaudio.com
Upcoming Events
IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR HI-FI DIARY
09-12 MAY High End 2019, MOC, Munich; www.highendsociety.de
29-30 JUN North West Audio Show, Cranage Hall (De Vere Cranage
Estate), Cheshire; www.audioshow.co.uk
06-08 SEP Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2019, 6700 North Gaylord
Rockies Blvd, Colorado, USA; www.audiofest.net
06-11 SEP IFA Berlin, The International Funkausstellung, Germany;
http://b2c.ifa-berlin.de
26-27 OCT The UK Hi-Fi Show Live, Ascot Racecourse Grandstand,
Ascot Berkshire SL5 7JX; www.hifinews.co.uk/show

SHOWBLOG Sights and sounds from around the globe
Stockholm High End 2019

Words & pictures: Jonas Bryngelsson & Mats Meyer-Lie
Connaisseur-AV showed a system comprising Vitus Audio’s
RI-101 integrated, said to deliver 300W per channel, hooked up
to a pair of the three-way Figaro M loudspeakers from Lithuanian
company Audio Solutions. Source was a caramel-red-coloured
Media One player from Danish Alluxity. www.vitusaudio.com
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Since many hi-fi manufacturers chose to skip this year’s CES

consumer electronics event in Las Vegas, it was good to meet
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up with audiophile friends old and new on home territory at Danish company Buchardt
the High End show in Stockholm. From room-filling speakers Audio sells direct to the
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to compact retro-styled amps, re-born turntable designs to consumer. Its 365mm-tall

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the latest in amplifier tech, visitors to the Sheraton hotel and S400, pictured here on its
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Kapitel 8 Conference Center, which both hosted the event dedicated stand, features
over the second weekend in February, found no shortage of a 19mm tweeter with an
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surprises, with even an audio world premiere, or two... aluminium waveguide and
165mm woofer working in
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tandem with a 127x200mm

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passive radiator mounted

on the rear of the cabinet.
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www.buchardtaudio.com
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Debuted at the UK’s Hi-Fi

Show Live Kii Audio’s active
Three loudspeaker [HFN Aug
’18] was shown for the first
Two thoroughbred stereo power amps: the Burmester 956 time in Sweden combined
mk2 (left) and AVM’s Ovation SA 8.2 [HFN Mar ’18]. Hand- with the company’s BXT
built in the former’s Berlin factory, the 956 mk2 measures bass system. This turns the
482x191x482mm (whd), is rated at 240W into 4ohm and is Kii Three into a floorstander
part of the company’s nine-strong Classic Line. The Ovation and adds no fewer than 16
SA 8.2, on the other hand, is the company’s flagship model. It drivers to the Kii Three’s
measures 430x250x430mm (whd) and is said to deliver 500W six. The BXT module is also
into 4ohm. www.burmester.de; www.avm-audio.com active. www.kiiaudio.com
18 | www.hifinews.co.uk | MAY 2019

White lab coat ’n’ all...
At the show’s vinyl
marketplace not only
could analogue-heads
feast themselves on
piles of premium vinyl
but also witness a
demonstration of the
KA-RC-1 ultrasonic
record cleaner from
Kirmuss Audio. Able to
accommodate up to
four discs of different
sizes simultaneously,
the system works by
agitating a bath of
distilled water and
isopropyl alcohol with MBL’s 101E mkII speakers were the stars of the Audio
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sound waves. www. Concepts room. Driven by Apogée monoblocks from
kirmussaudio.com Apurna, digital source was an EVO 432 streamer while
38
vinyl came via a Technics SL-1000R [HFN Jun ’18] with
DS Audio Master 1 pick-up [HFN Dec ’17]. www.mbl.de
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New Klips! Here’s
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the latest generation
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of the Klipschorn
speaker – the AK6.
an
Being a fully-enclosed
design means it does
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not need to be used

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in a corner, says the

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US company, which
highlights other plus
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points including the

Also to be found in the Connaisseur-AV room was this replica of the new titanium tweeter
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legendary Micro Seiki RX-5000 turntable. Built in China, the LP-82s and ‘premium wire
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comes from the Amari Acoustics Company and features a magnetic management system’.
bearing supporting a 16kg platter driven by a high-precision AC The sound of the AK6
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synchronous motor offering both 33.3rpm and 45rpm speeds. was really impressive.
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The deck’s total weight is a hefty 50kg. www.amari.cc www.klipsch.com

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There was no shortage of sweet and delicate sounds to be heard in

the room of local distributor Transient Design. Here a pair of Diamond
Monitor speakers from Polish company Pylon Audio [see p21] were
being driven by a Bryston 3B3 power amp and BP173 pre. The turntable
and partnering cartridge were from Gold Note. www.bryston.com
Flanking the rack at floor level can be seen the REF 160M
monoblocks [HFN Aug ’18] from Audio Research with
their beautiful VU meters. Atop the rack is the company’s
REF CD9 CD player while beneath this sits the REF 6
preamp [HFN May ’16]. Speakers are Sonus faber’s third
generation Electa Amator. www.audioresearch.com
MAY 2019 | www.hifinews.co.uk | 19

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The legend returns

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al
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Herman van den Dungen in 1981 introduced a new cartridge brand called ‘Kiseki’, and
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it was an instant hit. Kiseki Blue, PurpleHeart, BlackHeart, Agate, Lapis Lazuli were the
products of legend. Sadly the advent of CD meant cartridge manufacturing had to be
wound down, as the world embraced digital.
The interest and growth in vinyl in recent years meant there was a new demand for
high quality moving coil cartridges. In 2013 Kiseki was reintroduced. Kiseki Blue N.S., and
Kiseki PurpleHeart N.S., are newly designed Kiseki’s. Bringing only the finest components
together; each Kiseki is hand assembled ensuring the highest quality.
Made in limited numbers, each Kiseki is a true musical masterpiece.
t: 01727 865488 e: info@symmetry-systems.co.uk w: www.symmetry-systems.co.uk

A closer look at the
Diamond Monitor
speakers from Pylon
Audio on their made-
to-measure stands. Part
of a six-strong lineup,
the Monitors feature
drivers from SEAS and
ScanSpeak, measure
420x196x315mm (hwd)
and have cabinets made
of solid MDF. These are
strengthened with an
inner rim while bitumen
and sheep’s wool are
applied internally in This lineup of electronic treats comprises (l-r top shelf)
order to suppress a Lumin X1 streamer with dual ES9038Pro Sabre DACs,
unwanted vibrations. Thrax Dionysos single triode ‘control amp’, and a TL 2N
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www.pylonaudio.com CD transport from CEC. On the bottom shelf (l-r) is a
Thrax Ares integrated amplifier, Thrax Teres hybrid power
38
amp and a PS Audio P20 mains generator [HFN Apr ’19].
www.luminmusic.com; www.thrax.bg
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The subject of much
34
conversation among
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audiophiles of a
certain age was the
an
JBL L100 Classic [see

p50] – a reworking
st
of the company’s
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L100 loudspeaker
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from the ’70s. With

its 25mm titanium
ia
tweeter, 125mm
midrange driver and
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Paul Bensch of custom install company Septon Electronics talks visitors 300mm woofer, it
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through the highlights of Elac’s 120cm-tall Vela FS409 loudspeakers, certainly served up
finished in wood. Also on show was a pair of Sonus faber’s Sonetto the best rock sound
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VIII speakers [HFN Nov ’18], in white. Source and amplifier were the at the show. www.
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Marantz SA-KI/PM-KI Ruby duo [HFN Jan ’19]. www.elac.com jblsynthesis.com

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In one of the event’s more aesthetically pleasing

rooms, Paradigm’s Persona 7F speakers were
hooked up to Cyrus and Anthem electronics.
The turntable was a Thorens TD 2015 with
a TP92 tonearm and Sumiko Songbird MC
cartridge [see inset]. www.sumikoaudio.net
Named after a NASA spacecraft, the ‘Deep Space 1’

floorstanders from Swedish loudspeaker manufacturer
Oido Audio are an open baffle design with enclosures
made of steel. Each cabinet houses an 8in midrange
driver with a coaxially mounted horn-loaded compression
tweeter, plus four 10in woofers. Electronics used were
from Totaldac and Valvet. www.oidoaudio.com

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One of the more exotic The retro-looking component stacked atop a dCS Rossini
components to be player and DAC is Moonriver Audio’s Model 404 stereo
heard was the MA-1 integrated amp. Designed to be easy to use – four knobs
Mk3 monoblock from and three switches give direct access to any function – it
Atma-Sphere, which offers five line-ins, with phono stage and USB DAC offered
was founded in 1978. as options. Output is rated at 40W/ch. www.hifiskane.se
Said by the company
to kick out 140W into
8ohm, this elegant beast
sports no fewer than
14 6AS7 output tubes
and five 6SN7 driver
tubes. It does not use an
output transformer and
operates in Class A. Old
school hi-fi at its finest.
www.atma-sphere.com
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Distributor MYC Audio received praise for allowing
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visitors to choose the music being played via a stand-

mounted iPad controlling a Lumin D2 network player.
an
Nuprime’s Evolution DAC and Evolution ONE monoblock

also made up the replay chain, with Quadral’s Aurum 9
st
Vulcan speakers its crowning glory. www.quadral.com

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A world first – well almost, for Magico’s mighty M6 loudspeaker has had
very few outings to shows. With enclosures sculpted from carbon fibre
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and aluminium, this magnificent-looking range-topper is a four-way/

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five-driver design weighing just under 180kg. Like the loudspeakers

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themselves, the sound had real presence, driven by a Constellation

Virgo III/Centaur pre/power with a dCS Vivaldi source. www.magico.net
Japanese company
Sparkler Audio offers
two CD players: the
S503 ‘Spiral’ and S507
‘Notebook II’, both
available as a straight
transport with the letter
‘t’ added after the model
number to denote
the absence of a DAC.
Here’s the Notebook II,
a top-loader measuring
100x45x200mm (whd)
The speaker stands may be somewhat unconventional but which uses a non-
then so are these Tresor speakers from German company Heco, oversampled (NOS) Philips
featuring MDF cabinets reinforced with aluminium. Source TDA1543 16-bit DAC. To
was the M2 digital audio player from Acoustic Research while the rear of the player are
electronics were from Plinius. www.heco-audio.de S/PDIF and I2S outputs.
www.sparkler-audio.com

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These premium cans
are the Shangri-La
Jr Electrostatic from
planar specialists
HiFiMan. While
available with their
own dedicated amp
as the company’s
flagship Shangri-La
system, they were
used with Bryston’s
balanced BHA-1
headphone amp [HFN Electronics from Gato Audio were chosen to showcase
Dec ’12], seen here Totem Acoustics’ compact Tribe Tower floorstanding
stacked upon Line speakers. Finished in black, each 93.5cm-tall cabinet
Magnetics’ LM-32 DAC sports a 3.3cm tweeter mounted above twin 10cm
with selectable tube woofers. On display were larger models from the
or solid-state output. company’s Element series. www.totemacoustic.com
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www.hifiman.com
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Even a giant room with high
ceilings could not outwit
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the magnificent Model B
5- loudspeakers from Steinway
Lyngdorf. A dipole design, its
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31cm-tall enclosure houses
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Draped temptingly atop an HPA-1 headphone an Air Motion Transformer

amp from Pass Labs was a pair of Focal’s plus on-board amplification
an
Stellia headphones [see p66]. A closed-back rated at 4x400W.

circumaural design boasting full-range pure www.steinwaylyngdorf.com
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beryllium drivers, its load is said to be a

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moderate 35ohm to ensure compatibility with

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the limited output/higher source impedance of

portable audio players. www.focal.com
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A show favourite: the TechDAS Air Force III

turntable [HFN Sep ’16], equipped here with
an SME V-12 tonearm and Lyra Etna cartridge
from the company’s penultimate pick-up
range. The deck employs an air bearing that
floats the 9kg aluminium platter with a
clearance of just 30μm. www.techdas.jp
Top of the rack here can be

seen the CS-100DAC with
built-in preamp from Cayin.
Designed in Germany and
Next
month
built in China, it utilises
two ES9038Pro DACs, four
6922EH tubes and offers
seven PCM and four DSD
user-selectable digital
filters. Beneath is Vincent’s
We report from Portugal’s
CD-S7DAC hybrid CD player
that uses two 6922 tubes.
2019 Audioshow in Lisbon
www.cayin.com

INVESTIGATION
Why 5G matters for hi-fi

The latest wireless tech could be a boon for audio, as Barry Fox explains
RIGHT: Forget
phones, because
5G is coming
to your home,
UK Ofcom
stipulating that
winning bidders
for 5G bandwidth
prioritise
residences when
serving up the
new superfast
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service. The BBC
is also trialling
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5G to broadcast
live radio to parts
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of the country
that are hard
5-
to reach with
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conventional FM
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or DAB signals
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he hype cycle is well under without the need for physical wires. add a 5G broadcast module into
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way. 5G is coming, starting As part of the UK’s ‘5G RuralFirst’ a hi-fi product, both are monitoring
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slowly this year and rolling initiative the BBC is now trialling 5G developments in this area’.
out through 2020 and to broadcast live radio to parts of
MODEM MARRIAGE
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beyond. But who cares? It’s nothing Scotland that are hard to reach with
to do with hi-fi and music, is it? Just conventional FM or DAB signals. All this becomes apparent when you
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the Fifth and latest generation of It also makes it possible for some dig into the 5G standard, but it’s
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phone technology, which – yawn, users to pay more for better service, easy to see why 5G is written off as
yawn – works faster and better than unaffected by what just another ‘phone
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the Third and Fourth Generations those in the same thing’. All the talk
‘“Music via
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that have previously been heralded street or building about 5G has been
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as the be all and end all of mobile

phoning and lo-fi MP3 streaming.
paying less are doing
with their equipment.
5G will be coming from the
phone industry
REVVED-UP RADIO
5G also makes it
easier to design hybrid
fundamentally and most of the
development push
RIGHT: Hi-fi Wrong. 5G, Fifth Generation, radios that are able different”’ too, because phone
manufacturers wireless technology is about much to switch seamlessly geeks have been
are playing their more than faster phones. This is between off-air broadcasts and conditioned to change their phones
cards tight to because 5G opens the door to online streaming. And 5G makes it at least once a year. Serious music
their chests, but better broadband in the home, with possible to design hi-fi equipment lovers keep their hi-fi systems for
it’s clear that easier networking around the home, with far less computer circuitry on years. So you would expect it to take
within a few and the first real opportunity to kiss board. A spokesman for Denon and years for audio to be touched by 5G.
years consumer goodbye to wires or cables in from Marantz told us that while neither But the adoption of 5G in the
hi-fi components the street and round the house. company ‘has immediate plans to home may be more rapid because,
like the Marantz Nokia has now coined the
NA6006 music term FastMile 5G (wordplay
streamer will on today’s ‘Last Mile’ method
come with 5G of limping fibre broadband
built-in. This will into homes by old-fashioned
let them connect copper telephone wires) to
wirelessly and describe the company’s new
also use 5G to DIY system for beaming fibre
stream audio broadband speeds direct into
round the house homes, and around homes,

to the chagrin of impatient phone
freeks, the first applications for 5G Today
are in fixed wireless broadband
modems and routers which rely on
wireless feeds rather than copper NAS
wire or fibre. These new 5G modem/
routers will plug straight into an Copper wire from Broadband Home network Hi-fi system
existing home network, NAS and street to home router Wired or Wireless
server system without the need to
change other hi-fi hardware. Tomorrow
The mobile phone networks
are now moving into fixed wire
broadband. I pay ‘cellphone’ NAS
company EE (formerly Orange)
for my home and office Internet 5G wireless to home 5G router Home network Hi-fi system
connections, which come down Wired or Wireless
optical fibres and copper phone
wires. Other users pay cellphone
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network pioneers Vodafone and ABOVE: Most painted 5G as ‘a quantum m search
searches out the best
O2 for similar fixed wire and fibre people now get leap’, ‘radically different’ opt
options available.
38
broadband. A company called Relish, home broadband and ‘going to change In the UK Ofcom is
owned by mobile network Three, via copper wires everything’. Stock aalready planning to
67
already offers a home broadband (top). With 5G praise phrases like auction off chunks
service that relies on a fixed wireless wireless, homes these may have lost
5- of the 700MHz and
link based on 4G mobile. will enjoy far meaning from years 3.6-3.8GHz bands
34
faster speeds of over-use to describe ffor 5G. The licenses
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MUSIC TO THE EARS often trivial advances, w

will stipulate that
Says Pete Downton, formerly with RIGHT: Pete but in the case of 5G theyy the winning bidders
an
Warner Music, Imagination and Pure, Downton, who may well be justified. delive
deliver fast broadband to
and now heading up the 7digital is head of the After all, digging up roadsd h
homes and offices that are
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online music service provider: ‘Music online music and pavements and fields to lay currently data-starved, rather than
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is pervasive in people’s lives. What provider 7Digital or pull through new cables, and to fancy smartphones.
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else do consumers do for two and a nailing wires to home Although pundits keep reminding
half hours a day, on average? What paintwork, is positively that high speeds are not the only
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else sits in all aspects of consumers’ Dickensian compared to reason for 5G’s existence, those
lives, from being the background pulling in and pushing speeds will be music to the ears
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to getting ready to go out in the back radio waves. of anyone driven to distraction by
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morning, when commuting and at 5G is the first radio broadband buffering.

the weekend, when music means system designed from
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something else again. the ground up to support DOING THE DISHES

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‘The telecoms companies any available spectrum, Nokia, the Finnish company which
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see music as the bedrock for between 400MHz and moved from making paper to AV to
what they are going to do 90GHz, on a horses for phones and is now a 5G network
next. Delivering music by courses basis. The main design leader, predicts that 5G
5G will be fundamentally 5G spectrum is global will deliver speeds of 100Mbps
different. Just bolting on (so equipment works whenever needed, with these
Spotify to a phone tariff is not worldwide) and ranges routine rates rising to 1Gbps, with
difficult, but this next era will from 3.3-4.9GHz. Low peak rates of 10Gbps. This compares
need much more than that.’ bands, below 6GHz, to around 10Mbps for many existing
The UK’s Digital Television offer wide cover, with wired broadband connections. Nokia
Group (DTG) is not concerned better outdoor-to-indoor also believes routine 5G speeds will
just with TV. The Group’s lab penetration, but at speeds eventually reach 20Gbps.
is currently the only UK facility that are relatively slow. Huawei has announced a 5G
permitted to test digital radios The millimetre wave chipset, code-named Balong, which
and approve their use of the spectrum bands from 24-28GHz delivers speeds up to 4.6Gbps for
digital radio certification ‘tick mark’. ABOVE: One and 39GHz gives shorter range the sub-6GHz bands, with 6.5Gbps
At the DTG’s last Annual Summit in of the first 5G cover, with higher speeds, so will in the millimetre high-frequency
London, talk was already turning to routers to come be used for local ‘hot spots’ both bands. This is already ten times
5G as an alternative to conventional on stream is the indoors for home networking and faster than anything 4G can achieve.
broadcasting for delivering high DWR-2010 5G outdoors with transceivers on street The techniques 5G relies on to
quality entertainment. NR from D-Link. lamp posts. 5G can also be used on modulate the radio carrier wave,
In a keynote speech at CES in Las It promises the unlicensed bands around 5GHz. and push ever closer to the brick-
Vegas, Hans Vestberg, who heads download speeds What’s more, all the frequencies can wall capacity limits defined by
up the US network giant Verizon, of up to 3Gbps be used together so that equipment Claude Shannon of Bell Labs in 1948,

What will pop
music sound like
in 30 years?
Awesome.
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Visit dynaudio.com
Dynaudio Evoke: Listen up.

Five models. Zero compromise. Evoke takes all the acoustic
breakthroughs, all the materials science and that timeless
Danish design from our top-tier speakers. We didn’t create it
for people who agonise over price-tags… we created it for
people who agonise over what to listen to next. Evoke
INVESTIGATION
LEFT: Huawei’s to a remote music streaming service
Balong 5000 5G can be quicker. Dumber hi-fi means
modem chipset more space for audio circuitry and
was unveiled less interference from computer
in January this circuit hash, not to mention less
year. It claims software and firmware updating
to deliver a 5G with ‘Please Wait’ messages.
bandwidth that’s
2.5x faster than SLICE IS NICE
competitors and When Matt Stagg, a Director of
7 to 10x faster Strategy with BT, talked to the DTG
than the top 4G seminar, he told how low latency
LTE speeds on the had become a key requirement
market today for 5G: ‘The automotive industry
are fiendishly complicated. Suffice it atmosphere at higher frequencies. needs it for braking autonomous
to say they include the use of OFDM The challenge is to make the MIMO BELOW: The [self-driving] vehicles, so that cars
(Orthogonal Frequency-Division antennae smaller, by using chip increase in data stop at a red light; if it hadn’t been
Multiplexing) to spread data across fabrication techniques. They are speeds following for the auto industry, latency would
7
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separate narrowband channels at already down to 10mm square, and the introduction have been 10ms.’
different frequencies, as is already are sure to get smaller. of 3G, which Others in the
38
the basis of digital radio; 256 QAM went live in industry say the
(Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), COMMAND PROMPT the UK in 2003, push to reduce
67
which offers 256 code combinations 5G has also been designed from through 4G that latency came
from eight-bit symbols; and LDPC the ground up to offer low latency,
5-
followed in 2011 from remote
(Low-Density Parity- which means a and 5G, which
34
Check), for robust reduction in the is scheduled to
‘Dumber hi-fi
#0
error correction. time it takes for a become available

Frequencies that
will mean local device to send by the end of
an
are higher need data to a remote this year

focused beaming in more space for system, and receive
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chosen directions, back a reliable

audio circuitry’
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which is why response. Audio

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microwave and buffs encounter

satellite systems use big dishes. But latency when trying to listen to
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5G has to work without dishes. The a TV via wireless headphones

enabling technology is called MIMO, and lip sync is lost.
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Multiple-Input Multiple-Output, Current network lags are

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and it builds on the principles used around 20 milliseconds or

for flat satellite aerials, such as the more whereas 5G promises
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British Satellite Broadcasting’s around 1 millisecond. This

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ill-fated Squarial design. means that home equipment surgery, where a doctor in one
So
The phases of signals sent to a can be cheap and dumb, with less continent controls operating table
chess board of transceiver cells are computer processing inside the BELOW: Ofcom’s scalpels in another.
juggled to concentrate a wireless box, and the intelligence needed roadmap for 5G Whatever the prime mover,
beam and steer it horizontally to do clever things mainly in a planning in the ‘low latency is expensive to deliver
and vertically. This increases the remote control centre. Response to UK with respect because of component cost
antenna gain and helps compensate music play, pause and track-change to different and network design,’ cautions
for signal loss caused by the commands sent from a home server frequency bands Stagg. ‘But not everyone needs it.
Different equipment has different
requirements. The big difference
between 4G and 5G is that whereas
with 4G everyone gets the same, 5G
lets the operator slice the network
into Virtual Networks which offer
different configurations, some with
low latency, some not.’
Think of it as the way some
popular 4G networks, like Virgin,
Giff Gaff and Tesco, are provided
by the major networks like O2,
but completely independently.
5G slicing is far finer. At consumer
level it will let a few subscriber pay
a premium for glitch-free hi-res,

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#0
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© WyrdLight+McCallum
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M
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moves to the Grandstand at

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INVESTIGATION
LEFT: Using 5G AT WHAT PRICE?
and its Virtual
Networks will There is a strong case for
help Outside delivering broadband to
Broadcast the home wirelessly, rather
crews send than down wires. Getting
multichannel broadband the ‘ordinary way’,
hi-res audio down traditional phone lines
from crowded requires subscribers to pay for
events such the phone line rental, on top of the
Glastonbury broadband fee, even though
while others pay less for more iffy In the US Tom Wheeler, who Festival many people just use mobiles
MP3, or downloading over as long until recently headed the Federal for their phone calls. BT keeps
as it takes. At professional level, Communications Commission, increasing line rental and at
Virtual Networks will help outside is now warning that 5G the time of writing it is now
broadcast crews send pictures and networks may not be as approaching £20 a month.
multichannel hi-res audio from hacker-proof as they could Getting broadband down
heavily crowded events such as the and should be – because ordinary copper phone lines
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Glastonbury Festival. the race for speed has relies on ‘digital subscriber
taken precedence over line’ (DSL) and speeds vary
38
SETTING STANDARDS concern for cybersecurity. with distance from the
Recalls Simon Fell, former Director And how will MIMO exchange. Old lines made
67
of Technology and Innovation at cope with delivering 5G of aluminium rather than
the European Broadcasting Union to cars in cities and on rustic
5- copper are virtually no use
(EBU): ‘I was in Munich when there roads that bedevil normal radio,
34
was a series of attacks and as more TV and mobile phone reception? ABOVE: Simon
#0
and more people used their phones, In and around Hereford, different Fell, former
the network collapsed. News crews wireless networks work in different Director of T&I
an
with 4G equipment could not places, as if separated by brick at the EBU

communicate and border walls. In
st
they had to bring in

‘Remember London new and RIGHT: For
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a satellite truck. taller buildings more on Relish’s

to be wary of
Pa
‘With “sliced” 5G, continually rise to services see

the broadcasters block, or spuriously www1.relish.net
marketing talk
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would not have reflect, wireless

been affected by the signals. In theory 5G BELOW: In the
of “5G Wi-Fi”’
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consumer overload with MIMO antennae US, IT giants for broadband. Fibre into the
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because they would should steer wireless are already in home is needed for higher
not be competing for bandwidth.’ signals past tall buildings, but only court fighting speed, but it is only available in
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The bedrock industry standard time will tell whether it really can. over alleged selected areas. And it has to be
ci
for 5G is called 5G NR, for New misleading laid underground. Virgin offers
So
Radio. Release 15 was agreed GOOD NEWS ‘advertising and a coaxial cable alternative but
in late 2017 by 3GPP, the 3rd How 5G develops will depend on deceptive acts’ only in selected urban areas,
Generation Partnership Project, how much money the networks for early 5G and it is more expensive.
which is supported by all the major spend on new 5G Delivering broadband into
telecommunications standard- transmitter sites. the home by 5G completely
setting organisations. Release 16 is And that will bypasses the need for phone
due this year and Release 17 due in depend in part lines or cable or fibre. Relish,
2020. But these standards deal only on how much we which is owned by Three UK,
with ‘enhancements’ – the basic are willing to pay already delivers fixed wireless
essentials are now solid. for 5G services. broadband to the home
As with many new technologies, But to cut to wirelessly using 4G at £20
5G is falling foul of opportunists who the chase, 5G a month (with a free wireless
sell hardware before final standards technology router) and this is for all-you-
are set and the silicon is available. could and can-eat data. In my experience
The first ‘5G’ products turned out should be very it generally works well and
to be 4G, modified to a proprietary good news for with 5G it will work far better.
standard, so be wary of marketing the hi-fi industry. All the phone companies are
talk of ‘5G Wi-Fi’, which means bog- Assuming, of already promising 5G into the
standard Wi-Fi in the 5GHz band, not course, the home so I expect there to be
Wi-Fi using 5G technology. telecoms a price war. Personally, I can’t
And question marks hang over industry does wait for the chance to ditch
how the promises for 5G will not manage to my phone line and go 5G.
translate to practical experience. screw it up...

IN A SETTING AS COMFORTABLE
AS YOUR OWN HOME
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Experience a great selection of the world’s best Hi-Fi set in
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a converted Granary and Stables in the heart of the stunning
67
Bedfordshire countryside. 5-
34
Just off the A1(M) with plenty of free parking. We have 5

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beautiful demo rooms in a relaxed setting so you can sit back,

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relax and make an informed no pressure sales decision that’s

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right for you.

Pa
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t. 01767 448121
Stay informed with our regular news paul@hifilounge.co.uk
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Open Day
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Hear the new

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Bartok + Rossini
and a Full Vivaldi
System
27th April 2019
in partnership with
hifilounge.co.uk absolute sounds ltd.
Three-way, dual-concentric floorstanding loudspeaker
Made by: GP Acoustics (UK) Ltd, Maidstone, Kent
Supplied by: GP Acoustics (UK) Ltd
Telephone: 01622 672 261
Web: www.kef.com
LOUDSPEAKER Price: £3999
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The flagship of KEF’s new R-series combines the 12th
generation of Uni-Q with ‘aluminium skinned’ woofers
Review: James Parker Lab: Keith Howard
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nspired by KEF’s flagship Reference the balance changes with height, and it
range, its recently updated and more seems the design of the Uni-Q driver lends
affordable R series was heralded by it suitable dispersion for this low-slung
the standmount R3 [HFN Dec ’18] – position. Certainly there’s never any sense
a speaker that caused sufficient stir here of trying to ‘listen through the bass’ to hear
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at HFN that we were keen to explore what the detail, despite the substantial radiating
its tallest floorstander, the R11, had to area in action below 400Hz.
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offer. And here it is, selling for a surprisingly Yes, like the R3 – and in fact in common
modest £3999 a pair, and looking with all the R Series speakers – the R11 sets
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impressive in a choice of three finishes – its crossover points at 2.9kHz (between the
black gloss, white gloss or walnut.
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two drivers within the Uni-Q) and 400Hz,
As with the R3 speakers, the R11 takes demonstrating just how much of the audio
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the whole idea of a choice of finishes band the company’s coaxial driver covers,
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further than most, for rather than adopting and indeed how dedicated to a single task
a ‘one size fits all’ approach, in which only is that quartet of drivers. And, as we’ll
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the colour of the main woodwork changes, discover when it comes to listening, that
KEF colour-keys both the grilles and the simplicity of purpose pays dividends in the
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drivers to suit each cabinet. sheer musical involvement

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This aesthetic works very these speakers deliver.

‘The drama
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well to shrink the apparent The 12th-generation

size of the speakers because
they generate Uni-Q driver here is, as
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they’re certainly not small, KEF’s Head of Acoustics

at a smidge under 1.3m tall will grab you Jack Oclee-Brown explains
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and just over 31cm wide [see Interview sidebar,

in an instant’
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in fighting trim, while the p35], a long way from the

unashamedly rectangular original version launched
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boxes forgo any clever shaping to make more than 30 years ago. This driver
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them more ‘interesting’. However the ensemble is now the mainstay of the
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clever use of colour, and the acoustic company’s speaker range all the way from
design of the speakers, makes them the LS50 [HFN Jul ’12] – which just uses a
remarkably room-friendly. Even these, single Uni-Q driver and has since spawned
the largest speakers in the range, won’t the LS50 Wireless [HFN Oct ’17] and LSX
dominate quite modest spaces. active ‘system in a speaker’ designs – to the
Reference line, Blade Two [HFN Jul ’15] and
THE BIG FOUR the huge Muon [HFN May ’08].
The configuration here echoes that of the The original R series was first introduced
R3, which has a dedicated 16.5cm bass in 2011 to fit in between the company’s
driver backing up the latest generation Q series and the Reference range, and
of the company’s celebrated Uni-Q coaxial despite superficial similarities this new
driver array. This places a 25mm vented collection is nothing short of a complete
aluminium dome tweeter at the centre of ground-up rethink, with no fewer than
a 12.5cm midrange cone. But where the 1043 components being changed, says
R3 uses a single bass unit, the R11 deploys KEF. Indeed, thanks to the trickle-down of
no fewer than four – two above the Uni-Q technology, the new R design puts more
and two below – which does have the distance between it and the Q-series, while
effect of mounting the treble/mid driver
somewhat low for such a lofty speaker. RIGHT: Echoing the design of KEF’s Reference
Agreed, this is better than having 5 model [HFN Oct ’14], the R11 combines four
the treble source way above the seated 165mm bass drivers, positioned above and
listener’s ears, which might encourage below the latest Uni-Q driver array (125mm
you to crane your head to discover how midrange/25mm aluminium domed tweeter)

HOMAGE TO THE B139
Hi-fi enthusiasts of a certain age (we weren’t ‘audiophiles’ then) always recall
KEF’s B139 bass unit. For two reasons, principally: first, it wasn’t round – often
carelessly called elliptical, the diaphragm was actually shaped like an athletics
track, with two straight and two semi-circular edges. Second, because it had a
flat diaphragm behind which was a tapered foamed plastic structure, to which
thin skins were applied, which joined it to the voice coil. It was an early example
of a sandwich diaphragm which, because of its flat front surface, avoided the
diffraction effects caused by the cavity of a large conventional cone. The bass
drivers in today’s KEF R Series may be circular, have a dished diaphragm and
not use plastic foam but they are nonetheless spiritual successors to the B139.
Connection of the front face of the diaphragm to the voice coil is by a paper
cone structure behind, but the dishing of the surface is shallow enough to avoid
cavity effects while increasing stiffness. Attaching the rear cone at a modal circle
further enhances diaphragm resonance performance. KH
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moving its performance closer to that of So, a lot of innovation even in what
38
the Reference models. This includes the use looks like a very conventional speaker.
of the company’s Shadow Flare surround The enclosure has also been substantially
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on the Uni-Q driver, designed to extend enhanced with a combination of internal
5-
the unit’s waveguide effect, improving bracing, which also divides up the space
dispersion and ‘microdynamics’ such as the into separate compartments for each driver
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strike of finger on string. section, plus constrained layer damping
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in the form of a lossy material within the

PIN-UP GRILLES joints. And the rear-venting ports – one
an
The new bass unit [see KH’s boxout, above] each for the upper and lower bass sections
uses an unusual construction comprising – are KEF’s usual flexible type, shaped to
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an aluminium skin over a paper cone and, reduce turbulence and resonances within
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like the Uni-Q, this is anodised in a range the tube. Two-part foam bungs, which can
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of colours to match the cabinet choices. be used as an outer ring or with the centre
Asked whether this also represents an also filled, are supplied to tailor the bass
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acoustic enhancement, Oclee-Brown is according to the R11’s in-room response.

entirely candid – ‘The anodised coating Finally the speakers are stabilised with
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is extremely thin and we don’t see any a set of four outrigger feet, with spikes and
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measured or audible change to the drivers,’ floor-cups provided, and can be switched
he says, ‘so we’ve allowed our design team between single- and bi-wired connection
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to have free rein over the colours’. using screw-switches on the terminal
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The effect is striking – the black speakers panel. These are much more convenient
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come with black drivers [pictured here], than those jumper plates you always seem
white ones with silver-grey, and walnut to have lost when you need them, or
with a light copper colour [see front cover], having to make up wire links.
giving the speakers a fully ‘of a piece’ look.
Such colour flexibility should come as no SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE
surprise to those familiar with other KEF Set up in PM’s spacious listening room on
products, which has seen anodised drivers the end of a system comprising a Melco
in everything from the little LS50 speakers N1ZS20/2 server [HFN Jun ’17], dCS Vivaldi
to the Blade, and in the Reference series One player [HFN Feb ’18] and Constellation
Kent Engineering and Foundry Editions. Taurus Stereo power amp [HFN Dec
However, in these R models the impression ’17], the R11s distinguished themselves
is subtler, though still eye-catching. by needing a lot less toe-in than many
The same is true of the grilles, with loudspeakers. This is something noted
their microperforations over each driver. before with Uni-Q designs, although the
Oclee-Brown explained that the frame of speakers did benefit from a bit of breathing
the grille has the most effect on the sound space to the rear and sides. This allowed
of a speaker, scattering and reflecting the the best bass definition without recourse
output of the drivers. As a result, the new to the foam bungs, which proved fairly
design not only has a lower profile, extreme in their effect on the low-end and
but is also more open in front of the are best avoided if possible.
drivers. As he puts it, ‘It looks much Set-up done, this proved one of the
more interesting, and has around half the simplest, and most pleasurable, reviewing
acoustic effect of a normal grille’. exercises I have done of late. I really liked

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LOUDSPEAKER
RIGHT: The R11’s cabinet bracing is not rigid JACK OCLEE-BROWN
but connected with a highly lossy material that
converts panel resonances into heat. Note the While the coincident mid/treble
separate chambers for upper/lower bass drivers drivers at the heart of the R11
and novel ports with their flexible walls may look familiar, KEF’s Head
of Acoustics, Jack Oclee-Brown
the KEF R3s, despite their slightly odd ‘big says that ‘The Uni-Q drivers we
bookshelf’ dimensions, and the R11s have manufacture today are quite
the same sound, but on a much grander different from the original,
scale, and are really rather spectacular. Add developed by KEF’s founder, Laurie
in the fact that both PM and I thought they Fincham, in 1988. That initial idea
were somewhat more expensive, with the was a stroke of genius as it solves
result that the true price came as a very two of the fundamental issues of
pleasant surprise, and you can say that we multi-way loudspeakers (matching
were both decidedly impressed. driver directivity and lobing/
The location of that Uni-Q driver seems interference at crossover), but it’s
to play a major part in creating both the a tricky configuration because in the
very euphonious balance of the speakers space normally occupied by just one
7
21
and their attention-grabbing imaging, so driver we have two.
there’s never any feeling of drivers ‘handing ‘The early versions of Uni-Q were
38
over’ to each other. Instead, there’s an wonderful in some aspects but had
effortless sense of the sound coming from some deficiencies because of the
67
a single point, or rather a broad, deep close location of the two drivers. In
soundstage between the cabinets. Only
5- the 30 years since that initial version
with the speakers playing at a very low was introduced we’ve spent plenty
34
level is there any feeling of ‘left and right’ of time understanding exactly how
#0
– wind them up to normal comfortable we have to design a Uni-Q to work

listening settings (peaking at about 100dB optimally. In a sense we’ve built
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according to my iPhone meter) and the up a set of recipes for dealing with
sound fuses into a solid, substantial picture. each of the problems. Nowadays our
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Uni-Qs deliver performance that’s

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THRILL OF IT ALL a match for the best conventional

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With the Barenboim/Staatskapelle Berlin drivers out there.’

recording of Elgar’s First Symphony [Decca Ask him if this is as far as Uni-Q
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478 9353; 96kHz/24-bit], the R11s deliver can go, and he says not: ‘We are still
a sound that’s both mature and rich, while looking for performance gains, and
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at the same time airy and free-breathing, I’m confident that our R&D team
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with a real impression of the orchestra will come up with some further
before the listener. But above all that, improvements in the coming years.
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what these speakers do is create an almost Materials continue to evolve – I’m

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ridiculously easy listening experience. sure that all other manufacturers

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Whether I concentrated hard or just sat are looking for possibilities in this
back and relaxed, the sound was equally area too – but the subtle geometry
impressive, and it’s amazing how quickly of the parts can have a surprisingly
I could accept what the R11s were doing big effect, particularly with a highly
as the norm, dial them out, and just get on optimised assembly’.
with enjoying the music. speed and definition allows Keith Moon’s
Switch pace to a track like Joe Stilgoe’s usual hell-for-leather drumming to crash
‘Mr Spiggott’ [I Like This One; Candid CCD out, along with those signature power
79851, 96kHz/24-bit], and the delight is chords. It’s an exciting listen, and shows
in the way the R11s extract so much from a pair of speakers can have fine control
this simple piano jazz. It’s also impossible without robbing the music of any of its life.
not to appreciate how slickly they control The same characteristics, perhaps
and track every change of rhythm and time surprisingly, were much in evidence with
signature, and the vivacity with which they the Rachel Podger/Academy of Ancient
deliver the timbres of the instruments. Music recording of Bach’s Double Violin
This same easy detail is much in Concerto [from Harmonia Mundi France
evidence with the opening of The Who’s HMU 807155; DSD64]. Here the R11s
‘Behind Blue Eyes’ [from Polydor UIGY- delivered a sound packed with vitality,
9596; DSD64]. Roger Daltrey’s slightly and with an appropriately ‘boxy’ sound to
ethereal vocals are well imaged, along with the solo instruments, and that attention-
the acoustic guitar, while John Entwistle’s grabbing sense of rosin biting on string.
bass grumbles down in the mix with fine Change to a big orchestral work, such
clarity. Then, as the track builds, the R11s’ as Bernstein conducting the overture

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an
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LAB
REPORT
KEF R11
KEF’s claim of 90dB sensitivity for the R11 is just confirmed by
our measured pink noise figure of 89.5dB, although our ‘music’
LEFT: Location of both reflex ports has
result is a little lower at 89.2dB. This is achieved, gratifyingly,
been precisely calculated to minimise without making the R11 difficult to drive. Although KEF specifies
midrange coloration. The dual 4mm a nominal 8ohm impedance, which doesn’t square with its
cable connections will accommodate quoted 3.2ohm minimum, the R11 nevertheless exercises
single or bi-wiring via an inbuilt ‘switch’ unusually tight control over its impedance phase angles. In
concert with our measured minimum impedance of 3.5ohm –
a little higher than KEF specifies – this results in a minimum EPDR
with their solid low-end power, it (equivalent peak dissipation resistance) of 2.2ohm at a high
just sounds big and exciting. 7.2kHz, about half an ohm higher than we typically measure
That’s also true in the way the from competitors. Other dips to 2.3ohm at 1kHz and 2.4ohm at
82Hz complicate the picture but this clearly isn’t a design where
R11s handle piano which, with its impedance is considered to be the amplifier designer’s problem.
combination of potential delicacy Forward frequency responses for the review pair, measured
in the right hand and room-shaking at 1m on the tweeter axis, indicate a trend that’s admirably flat
ability in the left, is always a stern but for a suckout between 900Hz and 3kHz. This is common to
both speakers but more prominent in one of them [see Graph
test of any speaker. Play Stephen
1, below]. Even so, the response errors of ±2.3dB and ±2.7dB,
Hough’s recording of Rachmaninov’s respectively, are good results although the pair matching error
First Piano Concerto, with the Dallas over the same 200Hz-20kHz frequency range is high at ±1.9dB.
Symphony Orchestra under Andrew This is sufficiently out of line with other KEF speakers we’ve
measured in recent years that we suspect one speaker of this
Litton [Hyperion SACDA67501/2]
7
well-run-in demo pair [red trace, Graph 1] may be out of spec.
21
and the power of the musical Otherwise, bass extension – determined by diffraction-corrected
forces, and drama they generate, nearfield measurement – is par for the course at 51Hz (–6dB re.
38
grabs you in an instant. Yet it’s just 200Hz) while only some very low-level treble resonances mar
as easy to appreciate the balance what otherwise is a clean CSD waterfall [see Graph 2, below]. KH
67
and definition, and the superb
soundstage image the speakers are
5-
casting, with the piano full-bodied
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before the orchestra.
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REAL SWING
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Their ability with piano is also much

in evidence with ‘Rockin’ In Riddim’
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from Monty Alexander’s 2002 Telarc

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set [My America; SACD-63552]. Here

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the band slams in after the tiniest

of piano figures, then settles into
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the familiar Ellington with piano and ABOVE: Flat forward response albeit with a dip from
organ set against a growly bass-line 900Hz-3kHz. One sample [red] has a deeper suckout
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and hard-pushing percussion. The

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R11s place every musician in a ‘look,

you can point at him’ fashion, yet
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offset this technical ability with a

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real swing and sense of impetus,

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such that one is again taking their dB 0.0

abilities as read, and just getting -6 1.0
into the music. And that, folks, is - 12
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just how it should be. - 18
8
3.0
- 24
4.0
HI-FI NEWS VERDICT - 30
5.0 msec
200 1000 10000
I’d only a faint memory of the Frequency in Hz >>
from his opera ‘Candide’ [Bernstein ‘new KEF R-series’ press release
Conducts Bernstein; Sony Classical from last autumn, so had ABOVE: Cabinet and, in particular, driver resonances are
SS 89043, DSD64], and the R11s forgotten the R11s were just very well controlled, leaving only minor treble modes
show all their abilities in one 4m under £4k. They certainly sound HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
16s track. The opening is explosive a whole lot more, delivering a HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
and hard-charging, with a great sound combining maturity and Sensitivity (SPL/1m/2.83V – Mean/IEC/Music) 89.2dB / 89.5dB / 89.2dB
impression of ordered chaos in both ease of listening with massive low-
the writing and the sound. These Impedance modulus: minimum 3.5ohm @ 17.3kHz
end punch when required, great & maximum (20Hz–20kHz) 12.9ohm @ 2.4kHz
speakers swiftly relax into the fluid, imaging and fine detail. Choose Impedance phase: minimum –35o @ 4.5kHz
romantic middle section, then one of the striking finishes to & maximum (20Hz–20kHz) 35o @ 1.5kHz
gather up the power for the closing, match your room, and just enjoy: Pair matching/Resp. error (200Hz–20kHz) ±1.9dB / ±2.3dB/±2.7dB
charging to the finish with especially this is high-end audio made easy.
notable punch in the percussion. LF/HF extension (–6dB ref 200Hz/10kHz) 51Hz / >40kHz/>40kHz
It’s a compact, total thrill-ride – on Sound Quality: 87% THD 100Hz/1kHz/10kHz (for 90dB SPL/1m) 0.3% / 0.1% / 0.1%
some speakers it can sound rather 0 - - - - - - - - 100 Dimensions (HWD) / Weight (each) 1249x200x360mm / 38kg
thin and brash, but via the R11s,

Pre & power amplifier. Rated at 250W/8ohm
Made by: Audia Flight, Italy
Supplied by: Elite Audio Ltd, Fife
Telephone: 01334 570 666
Web: www.audia.it; www.eliteaudiouk.com
PRE/POWER AMPLIFIER Prices (pre/power amp): £12,500/£16,250
Audia Flight Strumento

o o
N 1 mk2/N 4 mk2
Very much hi-fi on the grand scale, this Italian-made pre/power amplifier combination
is a sweet-sounding heavyweight with more than sufficient output to match its size
Review: Andrew Everard Lab: Paul Miller
F
or a while, the amplifier combo you completing a high-grade finish to match and S/PDIF and USB digital inputs handling
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see here was almost literally the the meticulous layout within. datastreams at up to 192kHz/24-bit. This
elephant in the editor’s listening The No1 mk2 preamp offers sufficient modular approach gives the potential
38
room. Delivered for review just at inputs and outputs to suit most needs, with buyer the confidence that the preamp will
the end of 2018, its sheer mass – 28kg for five line-ins on balanced XLRs (two of which be able to grow with future system needs.
67
the £12,500 Strumento No1 mk2 preamp are duplicated on unbalanced RCAs), and
alone, plus a further 95kg for the No4
5-
two sets of balanced XLR outputs plus a HEART OF IRON
mk2 power amp, which sells for £16,250 single set on RCAs. But that’s not quite the And that weight? Well, apart from the
34
– defied almost all efforts to move it into whole story here. As suggested by the pair exceptionally solid casework, the power
#0
PM’s lab for test work before I could listen. of blanking plates on the rear panel [see supply provision takes its toll – there are
It finally inspired our esteemed editor to p45], and the large bay inside the preamp no fewer than four small toroidals in there,
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relent and buy himself a trolley – and so, [top right of our picture, below], there’s the with two 75VA devices for the main stages,
at last, the review literally began to roll... option of extra modules and extra inputs. one 25VA for the control boards and a
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Though the Strumento pair may be as These bring to the No1 mk2 facilities separate 15VA for the logic board. These
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eye-catching as it is back-breaking, within including further balanced and RCA are all enclosed within substantial shielding
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we have a relatively conventional pre connections, MM/MC phono provision, and encapsulated in resin. Scale the same
and power amp – well, almost. The looks,
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meanwhile, will be a matter of taste, being

either flamboyantly stylish or a little over-
ed
cooked. For example, the preamp’s display

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is recessed into a cutout within the thick

metal fascia, making it a little hard to see,
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and all the functionality isn’t immediately

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apparent. Nevertheless, what we have here

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is a preamp with generous input provision,

partnered with a stereo power amp that’s
able to drive almost any chosen speaker
with total confidence.
FUTURE PROOF
Oh, and if you want more, you could
replace the No4 with a brace of Audia
Flight’s No8 monoblocks, delivering twice
the stereo amp’s nominal 250W/8ohm, and
selling for £18,750 each. Not that you’ll
find the No4 exactly lacking power, as we’ll
discover [see PM’s Lab Report, p45]. All
of this comes in cast aluminium casework
machined and hand-polished as part of
the assembly process undertaken in Italy,
with additional shot-blasting and anodising
RIGHT: The Strumento No1 mk2’s gain stage

is a Class A current-feedback design, potted in
resin and screened in L/R boxes [black, centre].
It is fed by four independent, low ESR PSUs
[capacitor bank, lower right; transformers, left]

thinking up to the 3000VA iron-cored the preamp’s standby mode by choosing ABOVE: Sumptuous alloy case and sweeping
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transformer potted inside the No4 power whether or not the circuitry remains fascia are Audia Flight hallmarks. Build quality is
amp, plus two 150VA toroidals for the powered for instant use, or goes to sleep. excellent but the display, with its menu options,
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voltage gain stage, and you have the major The partnering remote control handset, can be tricky to read behind that thick faceplate
part of 60kg of its 95kg accounted for. which is a compact metal-cased device
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Both the pre and power amp come with [see p45], duplicates the major functions, of the panel. On the front, things are hardly
a manual in the form of a leather-effect
5-
including having a ‘Set’ button to access less complex, at least once you get the
mini ringbinder. While most the menus, and adds hang of the amplifier. The deep V-shaped
34
preamps are entirely self- a display dimmer. cut-out to the top of the massive front
‘Some 60kg is
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explanatory, the few minutes However, just for once panel fascia contains the on/standby switch
spent reading the manual
accounted for the remote wouldn’t be my and the status indicator, which not only
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are worthwhile, as they will chosen means of operating indicates operation but also shows if the
enable the user to get ‘under by its power the Strumento amps, simply internal protection has been triggered.
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the skin’ of the device and because the subtle clicking The manual explains that ‘For his own
supply alone!’
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make the most of it. For of the resistor-ladder volume safety and that of pregnant Strumento,’ the
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example you’ll discover the control on the preamp itself No4 mk2 will trigger its protection in case
AU-Link with other Audia Flight products, is so tactile it’s rather addictive! of excessive temperature... or ‘failure in
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this using an RJ45-terminated cable. Input By contrast with the preamp, the power food’. But hey, Audia Flight’s English is a lot
switching, adjustable input gain, setting amp is pretty simple in its operation, as better than my Italian…
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one input to ‘Direct’ (otherwise known as is the case with such things. The dual
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unity gain, for use with an AV processor) mono construction is made clear by the REAL BUZZ
are all covered off too. rear layout, which stacks the RCA and XLR Connected up between PM’s Melco
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It’s also possible to rename inputs in inputs for each channel above the relevant N1ZS20/2 [HFN Jun ’17] and dCS
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order to suit your needs, and to customise speaker outputs in two blocks either side Vivaldi One [HFN Feb ’18] front-end
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and our reference Bowers & Wilkins

ELEGANT COMPLEXITY 800D3 speakers [HFN Oct ’16], this
amplifier pairing proved entirely fuss-
The Strumento No1 mk2 preamp includes a very precise stepped attenuator free in operation, the absence of fire-up
offering, for this most costly method of volume adjustment, an almost drama entirely in keeping with the cool
unprecedented 100dB working range. The switched resistor network provides sophistication of its styling.
adjustment in fine ±0.5dB steps over the top 40dB of its range (+10dB to –30dB), The Count Basie Orchestra’s Live At The
with an accuracy of ±0.03dB, and ±1.0dB steps from –30dB to –50dB with a Sands (Before Frank) [MFSL UDSACD 2113]
precision of ±0.1dB. Below this the steps in attenuation increase in coarseness gives an instant impression of the sound
to ±2.0dB, the accuracy (or error) slipping to ±0.5dB from –50dB to –60dB, of these amps. In an instant, the big, rich
±1.5dB from –60dB to –70dB, +3dB from –70dB to –80dB and +6dB from –80dB and free-flowing sound is revealed, even
to –90dB. To derive the full benefit from this stepped volume control, when used if it lacks a little of the dynamic slam and
with the partnering No4 power amplifier, I would recommend using the lowest of extension of some other, and probably
the No1’s selectable gain options [see Lab Report, p45]. costlier, high-end power designs.
As our inside shot illustrates, the No4 is no less complex in design. It is a fully It’s warm and lovely in an ever-so-
balanced amplifier with six pairs of bipolar transistors handling the positive- slightly retro manner, bringing out the buzz
going signals and six pairs for the negative in a bridged configuration (per of conversation in the audience and the
channel). Each power amp module has no fewer than seven 10,000μF reservoir smooth sheen of the brass instruments, if
capacitors per side, amounting to 140,000μF per channel, supplied by an iron- a little congested with the high brass.
cored 3000VA PSU transformer. Audia Flight uses no fuses in its designs and so all Mind you, switching to a different
protection – for both power supply and power amplifier stages – is achieved by perspective on brass with Britten’s
active current monitoring via the top-facing ‘control board’ [see p43]. PM Serenade For Tenor, Horn And Strings [Linn
Records CKD 478; 192kHz/24-bit], the

Vertere Acoustics MG-1 B&W 800 D3 JBL L100 Classics
£6950.00 £22500.00 £4000.00
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Proac K3 Luxman L–509X Sonus Faber Amati

£9750.00 £8500.00 £23500.00
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Mark Levinson No.585 Wilson Audio Sabrina Auralic Aries G2

£11999.00 £18998.00 £3899.00
Part exchange and 27 Bond Street 36 Queen Street

Ealing Maidenhead
interest free credit available London W5 5AS Berkshire SL6 1HZ
T 020 8567 8703 T 01628 633 995
E w5@audiovenue.com E info@audiovenue.com
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BRANDS INCLUDE Anthem, Arcam, Audeze, Audio Research, Audiophile Base, Audioquest, Auralic, Astell & Kern Dagastino Inc, Bowers & Wilkins, Chord, Classe Audio, Control 4, Devialet,
Esoteric, Focal, Hana, JL Audio, Kaleidescape, KEF, Koetsu, Krell, Luxman, Mark Levinson, Martin Logan, Michell Engineering, Musical Fidelity, Naim Audio, OPPO, PMC, Primaluna,
Proac, Project, PS audio, Quadraspire, Questyle, Rotel, Ruark Audio, Sennheiser, SONOS, Sonus Faber, Spectral Furniture, Vertere Acoustics, Wilson Audio, Yamaha, and many more…
MASSIMILIANO MARZI
Co-founder (with Andrea Nardini)
of Audia Flight back in 1996,
Massimiliano Marzi explains that
the pair of them had spent a couple
of years researching signal purity,
concluding that traditional voltage
feedback circuit design introduced
inaccuracies. So they built their
circuits around current feedback,
discovering that ‘our new approach
would allow for both higher speed
responses [risetime and bandwidth]
and better load control, and thus
produce a more accurate signal’.
The company is based in the
ABOVE: Press the blue ‘shield’ to power on and off. Inside the Strumento No4’s CNC-machined port of Civitavecchia, some 70km
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chassis [below] is a cylinder [centre left] containing the PSU transformers for the voltage gain stages northwest of Rome, so we were
and control board [centre right]. The massive 3000VA transformer is in a screened box, beneath bound to ask how the ‘Flight’ in its
38
name was inspired. Marzi explains
Strumento amps give an impressive view of in the generously weighted sound. Every that, ‘The original name was Audia,
67
the Snape Maltings acoustic, and the way element is clearly apparent, and yet the but we wanted to add a second
the performances interact with it. This is a whole is exceptionally easy to enjoy.
5- word – a friend of ours suggested
remarkable recording, and the sweet sound And the same goes for another period “Flight” simply because the
34
of this Italian pre/power duo is especially piece, ‘Do We See The Light Of Day?’ from company, just born, needed to fly!’
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well suited to it, delivering fine focus right Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin’s 1986 At first the company targeted the
across the soundstage while developing album Up From The Dark [Rykodisc RCD Asian market, before moving into
an
a suitably otherworldly feel. 10011]. Here the broad, deep, warm sound Europe and America.
picture created by these amps and the Manzi says that, yes, while the
st
AMAZING GRACE 800 D3 speakers gives this a much more amplifiers are very heavy, not least
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Change to more mainstream content, in contemporary feel, keeping the synth due to all those big transformers,
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the form of The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds percussion and multiple layers in order they also contain a ‘secret’. ‘In the
album [MFSL UDSACD 2065], and ‘God Only and showing a decent turn of rhythmic power amp we have an exclusive
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Knows’ shows how well the amps handle speed, even with the deep, deep synth bass system to reduce any vibrations
the bass, and the obvious left/right mix toward the end of the track. caused by the transformers – they’re
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with the percussion in the right channel, I’ve heard this album sounding faster on an independent chassis that’s
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while the voices sound smooth and lush and more dynamic in other systems, but decoupled from the audio circuit
PCB, and thus any physical noise has
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a separate route to ground.’

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So what’s next for Audia Flight?

So
‘Currently we’re working on sources,

including SACD/CD playback. After
that we’ll be looking at streaming,
but as a separate unit ready to
accept optional cards.’

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THE SOUL OF THE PERFORMANCE

Assured and powerful, Classic Line loudspeakers take you to the very heart of the performance.
They’ll send shivers down your spine, bring back fond memories, and encourage you to
rediscover the music you love. Above all, they capture the soul of the recording,
bringing a new intimacy and intensity to your listening experience.
M A D E F O R M U S I C . D E S I G N E D F O R YO U .
spendoraudio.com
LAB
REPORT
AUDIA FLIGHT STRUMENTO NO1/NO4
With its volume control set to 0dB, the Strumento No1 mk2
preamp offers a default +6dB gain but this can be adjusted in
±1dB steps from 0dB to +10dB (or a gain range of +12dB to
+22dB at the maximum +10dB volume setting). Input overload
margins notwithstanding (8.1V), the Strumento No1 mk2’s
maximum output level is an astonishing 68V (balanced outputs)
from a usefully low 5ohm source impedance. So the latest No1
will drive, and prove relatively agnostic towards, long lengths
of almost any interconnect cable. Furthermore, from 0.5V-30V
output, distortion is a low as 0.00013% through the midrange
and 0.0013% at 20kHz [black trace, Graph 2] while the A-wtd S/N
is a fine 93.7dB (re. 0dBV). Channel separation is >100dB from
20Hz-20kHz while the response is flat to within –0.00/+0.07dB
from 1Hz all the way up to 100kHz!
So the No1 mk2 will drive the No4 mk2 with absolute ease,
the latter’s 30.6dB gain suggesting the former’s lowest line gain
be selected to derive the very best from its stepped volume
control. Power output is rated at 250W/500W into 8/4ohm but
this was readily exceeded on test to the tune of 2x296W/546W
into 8/4ohm loads with a further boost to 309W, 588W, 1070W
and 1815W under dynamic conditions (10msec at <1% THD)
into 8, 4, 2 and 1ohm loads [see Graph 1, below]. The maximum
43A current delivery is electronically governed and, despite the
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huge scale of the PSU, its screening is sufficient to reduce hum
21
to –95dBV (unweighted). In fact, there is more ‘white noise’ from
ABOVE: The preamp [top] offers five line inputs (two on XLR and RCA), two balanced the amplifier, yielding an A-wtd S/N ratio of 87.4dB (re. 0dBW).
38
outs, one single-ended and one tape out. The power amp [bottom] has balanced (XLR) Distortion is very low at 0.0009–0.005% from 20Hz-20kHz [red
and single-ended (RCA) inputs with fully floating (ungrounded) 4mm speaker outputs trace, Graph 2] and the response flat to –0.2dB/100kHz. PM
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then there was always the risk about it. Add to that an SACD
5-
of it tipping over into brittle and mastered very ‘hot’ – in other words
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synthetic. Not so here as the No1/No4 damn loud – and you have a test
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amps tread this precarious path with disc that majors on attack rather
some nimbleness and grace. than subtlety. The Strumento No1/
an
No4 amplifiers deliver this set in all

BOMBAST AND POMP its full-blooded pomp, and while the
st
What’s more, the clarity and sound is necessarily vintage, there’s

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directness of this pairing, plus the no denying it’s loud, proud and
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evident clout of the power section, intriguingly odd.

means the sound doesn’t change By contrast a much more recent
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even when one pushes things hard. recording, of Mozart’s Serenade in ABOVE: Dynamic power output versus distortion into
The B&W 800 D3 loudspeakers are B flat, K361, seems to hit the Italian 8ohm (black trace), 4ohm (red), 2ohm (blue) and
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pretty demanding when it comes to amplifiers’ sweet spot. This Gran 1ohm (green) speaker loads. Max. current is 42.6A
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amplifier quality, but the Strumento Partita set, by the Royal Academy of
No1/No4 is more than capable of Music Soloists Ensemble conducted
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driving them hard to ‘exciting levels’ by Trevor Pinnock [Linn CKD 516;
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while still managing to retain a rich 192kHz/24-bit], sounds gorgeously

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but clean sonic character. rich and fluid, while instrumental

That’s much in evidence with tones are glorious. Or as someone
the Living Stereo SACD of Dvořák’s once described this recording to me,
‘New World’ Symphony [BMG ‘It’s a lovely noise’.
Classics 82876-66376-2], with the
Chicago Symphony HI-FI NEWS VERDICT
Orchestra under
The sound may be characterful,
Fritz Reiner. This ABOVE: THD vs. extended freq for Strumento No1 pre
but the Strumentos make a wide
recording dates (1V out, black trace) vs. No4 power (10W/8ohm, red)
range of music exceptionally easy
back to 1957,
to enjoy. There’s nothing wrong
and is hardly
with going for a euphonious HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
the most subtle,
balance, albeit at some expense Continuous power (<1% THD, 8/4ohm) 296W / 546W (68V, preamp)
with seemingly
to detail and openness, if the
enormous musical Dynamic power (<1% THD, 8/4/2/1ohm) 309W / 588W / 1070W / 1815W
result is as smooth, lush and
forces and a real Output imp. (20Hz–20kHz, pre/power) 5.1ohm / 0.004–0.009ohm
harmonious as this Audia Flight
sense of bombast
pairing delivers. But ensure your Freq. resp. (20Hz–100kHz, pre/power) –0.0 to +0.07dB / +0.0 to –0.2dB
dealer has three Shredded Wheat Input sensitivity (for 0dBV/0dBW) 158mV (pre) / 84mV (power)
LEFT: Audia Flight’s
for breakfast: these amps must be A-wtd S/N ratio (re. 0dBV/0dBW) 93.7dB (pre) / 87.4dB (power)
handset offers
installed, not click and collected!
control over input, Distortion (20Hz-20kHz, 1V/10W) 0.00015–0.0015%/0.0009–0.005%
volume, mute Sound Quality: 84% Power consump. (pre/idle/rated o/p) 66W / 260W/780W
and the preamp’s 0 - - - - - - - - 100 Dimensions (WHD, Pre/Power) 450x120x450/450x280x500mm
configuration menu

Network-attached DAC/headphone amplifier
Made by: Data Conversion Systems Ltd, Cambs
Supplied by: dCS Ltd
Telephone: 01954 233950
Web: www.dcsltd.co.uk
NETWORK DAC/HEADPHONE AMP Price: £11,999
dCS Bartók
With the option of a high-quality headphone stage, the new entry-level dCS network
DAC marks a walk on the wild side for the Huntingdon company. Can it succeed?
Review: David Price Lab: Paul Miller
B
y way of celebrating its 30th more expensive models, the design team It also streams over Ethernet from
anniversary, dCS launched the focused their efforts on developing the a NAS drive, and offers an array of
limited edition Vivaldi One headphone module. ‘That’s why we first industry-standard digital inputs including
streaming DAC/SACD player made a standalone headphone amplifier asynchronous USB, AES/EBU and S/PDIF.
[HFN Feb ’18]. It was a present to itself, and so we could voice it,’ says Steven, ‘and The network streaming section currently
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some of the company’s most well-heeled then worked with a number of leading runs at up to 384kHz/24-bit and DSD128,
customers. Now, however, dCS’s gaze has headphone manufacturers and engineers supporting all major lossless codecs, and
38
turned from past to future as it debuts who we know use headphones daily.’ DSD in both native and DoP guises.
its new £11,999 Bartók streaming DAC/ ‘We learned a lot from them,’ he
67
headphone amplifier. The non-headphone continues, ‘so we could do it right.
5- USER EXPERIENCE
version represents a saving of £2000. We didn’t want this to be seen as an Visually, the Bartók is more straightforward
Offering a headphone output in a afterthought. Indeed, we’re thinking it than the dramatic Rossini and Vivaldi with
34
source product is a clear step off the could be the start of a new journey for us.’ their sculpted fascias. These expensive
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beaten track for this Huntingdon company. More than just a hi-fi source component, castings are replaced here by slabs of
Indeed, this is the first dCS product to the Bartók is a way of delivering music that aluminium, so while the flat fascia is
an
include an amplifier of any kind… would have been unrecognisable to those certainly no less substantial, you won’t
music lovers who bought the Debussy feel so much like a film star or captain of
st
SMALL WONDER predecessor just a decade ago. Used industry with it sitting in your equipment
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Even though the Bartók is dCS’s latest via the dCS app it offers instant access rack. In other ways, it’s very much the same
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entry-level network DAC, and even omitting to streaming services such as Tidal and as its bigger brothers with that crisp OLED
the headphone stage, it remains hugely Spotify, and plays back a wide range of file display and rotary volume control helping
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sophisticated compared to its Debussy formats, including MQA. to define the dCS ‘user experience’.
predecessor [HFN Dec ’10]. It is app-
ed
controlled and also operable via a high-

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quality display, as are its pricier Rossini and

Vivaldi big brothers. What’s more, the new
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rotary volume control is far more useful

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than its forebear’s fiddly ‘up’ and ‘down’

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level buttons. In effect, it has become a

fully functional DAC front-end – a Rossini
that has shrunk in the wash, so to speak.
The company’s Managing Director,
David Steven, says the Bartók took two
years to develop, despite the fact that
much of DCS’s existing technology was
repurposed. It sports the latest Rossini-
generation network card, power supply
(one less regulated supply here), and
processing board with the Ring DAC
derived from the Vivaldi One [see PM’s
boxout, p47]. ‘We threw everything we
had at it, plus the option of a best-in-class
headphone stage too’, Steven says.
Because the digital conversion ‘engine’
is pretty much the same as that used in its
RIGHT: A Rossini PSU [brown PCB, lower left]

is fed from a screened transformer [blue box]
with the Vivaldi-inspired Ring DAC adjacent [red
PCB]. The extra transformer [top left] feeds the
optional headphone amp [lower right, on fascia]

A wide range of configuration options display icons need some thinking about ABOVE: Thick alloy plates form the chassis but
is accessible by pressing the menu if you’re a newcomer to the brand. Still, are a substantial cost saving over the castings
button. Here it’s possible to change the these soon become familiar, and there are used in the Vivaldi. Rotary and array of buttons
maximum analogue output level (0.2V other aspects to the way the unit works will navigate the various settings but the dCS
to 6V), absolute phase, select the filter that are hugely satisfying. For example, the iOS app will be more convenient for most users
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profiles for PCM and DSD, and switch on fine-pitch display is clear and informative –
crossfeed when in headphone mode. This with sample rate, digital word length, PCM/ famous and, like both the Rossini and
38
menu also governs any firmware updates, DSD, etc, it tells you everything you need Vivaldi, offers excellent rhythmic flow and
which is a classic dCS feature. We shouldn’t to know. Meanwhile, the metal control dynamic shading. By way of context, I had
67
forget that, despite being buttons feel reassuringly its Debussy predecessor alongside during
a decade-old, the Debussy
5-
robust, and the volume the listening, and it’s remarkable how far
was still receiving new ‘Headphones control is silky in action. things have come in the past decade, the
34
functionality fairly recently
will never play There’s also a separate latter sounding slightly vague, flat and
#0
– making it far less likely to fascia button to switch the leaden by comparison.
become obsolete. second fiddle to headphone section on or Seasoned dCS followers might expect
an
The easiest way to set up off, with sockets for both the Bartók’s standout characteristic to
this unit is via the bespoke loudspeakers’ balanced and unbalanced be clarity and insight, but I’d highlight
st
dCS Bartók app for iOS ’phones to the left of the its fluidity when it comes to rhythms.
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devices, which is downloadable for free volume control. The optional headphone Caravan’s ‘Nine Feet Underground’ [In The
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from Apple’s App Store. When launched, preamp is mounted onto the rear of the Land Of Grey And Pink; Deram 8829832]
the app senses if the DAC is present on Bartók’s fascia [see inside shot, p46]. is by no means an audiophile recording,
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your home network and, if so, configures yet the track is packed with brilliantly tight
everything automatically. You then get BEFORE AND AFTER playing from this English prog rock band.
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full control of the unit, and the ability to Given that the Bartók shares much of Even via its legacy S/PDIF input, the
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change its numerous settings with a swipe its hardware with its illustrious bigger Bartók delivered the sensation of real
of your finger on your iDevice screen. brothers, its performance is very close. musicians playing in perfect time with one
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Without the app the Bartók is not It has the same clean, ultra-detailed and another. This feeling of suppleness – the
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especially easy to configure because its expansive sound for which the brand is sense they were all relaxing into the groove
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– was uncanny. While perfectly syncopated,

BESPOKE BITS the drummer and bassist could be heard
playing off one another, rather than
With the ‘rest of the world’ building their digital platforms around one of a few holding to a click track. Such a fluid feel is
very high quality DAC solutions from the likes of ESS Technology, Burr-Brown the mark of a top-flight digital converter.
(Texas Instruments), Asahi Kasei and Crystal (Cirrus Logic), brands looking for Then there’s the Bartók’s sheer
more control, and individualism, in their digital engineering must turn to custom resolution – shining a clean white light on
DAC algorithms running on powerful, multi-core processors such as those from all the individual strands of a mix without
the Analog Devices’ SHARC family. Chord Electronics’ WTA filter/Pulse Array DAC glare, coldness or excessive brightness.
[HFN Apr ’16] is a well-known example of this bespoke approach, but dCS’s own Believing a DAC’s mettle is really tested
Ring DAC technology dates back still further to 1991. by lo-fi tracks, rather than audiophile
In practice the Bartók’s Ring DAC aims to combine the monotonic conversion favourites, I played Manix’s ‘Oblivion’
of a genuine ‘single-bit’ DAC with the operation of a PWM bitstream-style [Reinforced Records RIVET 1212 CD] –
converter. Instead of truncating incoming data to a stream of single bits, dCS a crudely recorded early ’90s techno track
reduces LPCM (and converts DSD) to an average of 4.6 bits whose 24 possible worked up using an old Akai sampler. In the
values are mapped to the 48 ‘identical’ current sources that comprise the Ring event, it proved a pleasure to listen to (via
DAC [the matrix on the red PCB, p46]. In a traditional PWM DAC the ‘bitstream’ is USB) as this dCS converter dug deep into
used to control the length of time a single current source is held open or closed. the minutiae of the mix.
However, dCS uses 48 current sources and these can never be truly identical I was struck by the contrast between
in size, so the mapping of bits to current sources is randomised. Fixed errors, the grimy-sounding female vocal sample
that would otherwise appear as harmonic distortions, are also randomised and used on the track and the thick, rich,
manifest as a benign increase in noise [see Lab Report, p49]. PM sumptuous house-style lead keyboard
riff, as well as the sparkling harmonics

AUDIO SYSTEMS
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Signature 10
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Signature 12
Pro-Ject Audio Systems’ Signature turntables concentrate the best possible
analogue technologies into a true audiophile package. The overall European
build exudes a luxury aesthetic, as well as unrivalled quality. With a high-mass
body employing magnetic decoupling technology and a motor drive system
that relays perfect pitch, the sound delivered is tonally neutral. Each turntable
boasts a sophisticated tonearm with extensive setting options which navigate the
record groove with near-forensic accuracy.
The Signature series is like nothing else out there, and showcases Pro-Ject Audio
Systems’ ability to deliver a true, high-end sound without comparison.
Distributed by Henley Audio

T: +44 (0) 1235 511 166 | E: sales@henleyaudio.co.uk | W: www.henleyaudio.co.uk
LAB
REPORT
NETWORK DAC/HEADPHONE AMP DCS BARTÓK
While the Bartók’s Ring DAC/analogue output is based on the
Vivaldi One [HFN Feb ’18], the latter still has the slightest edge
in terms of distortion (0.00009% vs. 0.00015% at –10dBFs)
and A-wtd S/N ratio (117dB vs. 116dB). However, the former
bests the flagship in terms of jitter: both units show a minuscule
correlated jitter of <10psec at all sample rates but the Bartók
has eliminated the very slight uncorrelated phase noise we saw
with the Vivaldi One. In market context, both units represent the
state-of-the-art in technical performance.
The Vivaldi’s six custom digital filters are also shared by the
Bartók, all offering a flat 20Hz-20kHz response (±0.05dB) with
CD inputs. Filter 5 is the only minimum phase type, and similar
to Filter 6 for 192kHz data [purple impulse and response, Graph
2]. The ‘NOS’ Gaussian Filter 5 is reserved for >96kHz sample
ABOVE: Digital inputs span S/PDIF (two coax, one opt), two AES/EBU (on XLRs), one rates [green traces] while Filters 1-4 are linear phase for all rates
USB-A for external HDDs, one USB-B for computer connection and a network loop (on [black, red, cyan and orange]. DSD Filters 1 and 2 reach out to
RJ45s) – joined by clock I/Os (on BNCs) and variable analogue outs (RCA and XLR) –8.5dB and –21dB/100kHz, respectively, while Filter 3 rolls off to
–3dB/60kHz and –23dB/80kHz. The DSD Filter 4 is –0.7dB/20kHz
and –6dB/30kHz before dropping steeply at 40kHz.
emanating from the synthesised themselves, turning in a vibrant and The partnering Class A headphone amp matches the XLR
flute voice. This patchwork quilt of tactile sound. The midband sound output’s 600mohm source impedance with sufficient current
samples of widely differing quality mimicked the line outputs, with to support 1.7W/25ohm. Unlike most DAC/headphone amps,
the Bartók does not clip at 0dB volume with a peak level digital
was revealed in no uncertain terms, a bright light pushing through the
7
input, suggesting its potential maximum power output is higher
yet it was all strung together in mix, illuminating everything without
21
than 1.7W/25ohm. Distortion increases very slightly under load
a pleasingly coherent way. dazzling you back. The signature over the top 10-15dB of its dynamic range, from 0.00005% to
38
This superb resolution is Rickenbacker guitar was instantly 0.0016% at 1kHz/0dBFs [red vs. black traces, Graph 1] and from
complemented by almost cathedral- recognisable, and Mark Knopfler’s 0.00025% to 0.032% at 20kHz/0dBFs [cyan vs. purple traces]. PM
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like soundstaging. It’s one of those vocals had their correct ‘sawdusty’
source components that makes texture, adding so much to the feel
5-
your loudspeakers wake up and of the track.
34
pay attention, as stereo images are The Bartók’s preamp also
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forced far left and right. has serious reserves of grunt to

This has always been a dCS convey musical crescendos. With
an
forte, but streaming Kate Bush’s a tenacious grip and no hint

‘Snowflake’ [50 Words For Snow; of breathlessness as the levels
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Fish People TOCP-71202] over the increased, Kraftwerk’s ‘Tour De

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wired network, felt as if I was in the France Étape 3’ [Tour De France

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studio with her! It was almost as Soundtracks; EMI 72435 91710 2 9]

if I was intruding into someone’s developed with shocking force as its
personal space. Meanwhile, the closing dynamic peak was reached.
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ABOVE: THD vs. digital signal level at 1kHz (red, line

deliciously rich and resonant piano This new DAC is especially out; black, headphone out into 25ohm) and 20kHz
ed
playing stretched out wide to my adept at tracking subtle dynamic (cyan, line out; purple, headphone out into 25ohm)
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left and right, its harmonics ringing changes – heard here in the way the
all around me – and slap-bang backing keyboard patterns gently
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in-between was Kate’s icy vocal counterpointed the drum machine

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sounding as pure as I’ve heard it. without falling away as larger

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waves of sound washed over them.

CAN OPENER Via the new Bartók at least, your
The partnering headphone preamp headphones will never play second
was no less impressive, my Oppo fiddle to your loudspeakers.
PM-1 headphones [HFN Jul ’14]
relishing some classic late ’70s HI-FI NEWS VERDICT
rock from Dire Straits in the shape
Given its price relative to its
of ‘Sultans Of Swing’ [Dire Straits; ABOVE: Time/frequency responses with 192Hz data
more expensive dCS brothers,
Vertigo 800 051-2], ably driven (filters 1-6 = black, red, cyan, orange, green, purple)
the new Bartók delivers superb
by the Bartók. Although not quite
sound quality for the money.
serving up the sort of rich, rum- HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
The latest generation of dCS’s
soaked sound that some valve
Ring DAC continues to deliver Maximum output (re. 0dBFs into 47kohm) 5.9V (balanced line out)
headphone stages deliver, the
an enormously detailed yet
presentation was still surprisingly Max. power output (re. 0dBFs into 25ohm) 1715mW (headphone out)
immersive sound that’s high on
smooth and, perhaps, ever-so- Output Imp. (20Hz-20kHz, line/headph.) 0.50-0.71ohm/0.61-0.82ohm
both emotion and entertainment.
slightly on the sweet side. A-wtd S/N ratio (0dBFs; re. 6V/10mW) 116.0dB / 115.0dB
Factor in this new DAC’s great
The track’s low-end enjoyed
functionality, versatility, build Distortion (20Hz-20kHz, re. 0dBFs) 0.00005–0.00025%
excellent control, with a bouncy
quality and finish – and it’s hard Freq. resp. (20Hz-20kHz/45kHz/90kHz) +0.0 to –0.0dB/–0.7dB/–7.3dB
and propulsive bass guitar sound
not to be mightily impressed.
that pushed the song along with Digital jitter (48kHz/96kHz) <10psec / <10psec
heady abandon. Indeed, the Sound Quality: 89% Power consumption 33W (21W standby)
normally quite matter-of-fact PM-1s 0 - - - - - - - - 100 Dimensions (WHD) / Weight 444x115x430mm / 16.7kg
actually appeared to be enjoying

Standmount three-way loudspeaker
Made by: Harman International Industries, CA, USA
Supplied by: Harman Luxury Audio Group, Cambs
Telephone: 01223 203200
Web: www.jblsynthesis.com
LOUDSPEAKER Price: £3999
JBL L100 Classic

First launched in 1970, the L100 has been reimagined by JBL as the ‘Classic’ – a modern
take on a speaker that’s visually faithful to the original. Strap on your seat belts...
Review: Nick Tate Lab: Keith Howard
B
ehold this ‘modern take on the 300mm ‘1200FE’ cast-frame woofer with at £4000. As was common practice in the
all-time best-selling JBL L100 its white pulp cone. This marries up to a ’70s, the grille is attached to the speaker’s
loudspeaker’ with its classic retro 125mm ‘JM125PC’ midrange driver, again front baffle by mounting pegs, which are
styling. It’s certainly something with a pulp cone and sporting a cast-frame both flimsy and unsightly.
you’ll not forget too soon. Yet why would chassis. Finally, the L100 Classic uses JBL offers an optional stand for the
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JBL want to recreate such a whimsical JBL’s newly developed 25mm ‘JT025Ti1’ L100 Classic, which raises the speaker from
thing, considering how far loudspeaker titanium dome tweeter, mated to a the ground just enough to be effective,
38
design has come in the past 50 years? waveguide with an acoustic lens. Oh, and and angles it upwards ever so slightly. The
The answer is surely more cultural than it don’t let appearances fool you
67
is technological as, to a greater or lesser – these drivers may look as if
extent, our collective dissatisfaction with they’re from another age, but
5-
the modern world has encouraged us to they are all new designs.
34
revisit a generation or two back with rose-
#0
tinted spectacles firmly in place. ON THE LEVEL

The fashion for ‘retro’ surfaced in the Midrange and treble level
an
’90s as motorcycle brands from Honda adjusters were almost

to Harley-Davidson reimagined their ’70s universally fitted to high-end
st
classics – with mixed results. Hi-fi quickly speakers from the ’70s, but
ki
caught the bug, with a fashion went the

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raft of valve amplifiers

presaging the much-
‘The fat, other way and
now they’re rare.
crunchy synths
ia
vaunted vinyl revival. Of course, they

Now it’s the turn of are back on the
ed
loudspeakers and JBL is jostled with L100 Classic, and

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riding the zeitgeist with may actually prove

several such designs, one another’ very handy for
al
including the 4429 [HFN fine-tuning the

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Feb ’17], the 4312SE 70th Anniversary loudspeaker to the listening

So
Studio Monitor and now this new £3999 room and/or system. There’s
L100 Classic. It’s notable for offering the also a large front baffle-
hi-fi equivalent of a racing stripe on a Ford mounted bass reflex port with
Capri – the option of an orange coloured, a smoothly flared exit.
sculpted foam Quadrex grille. Around the back [see
p53], there’s a single pair of
FLARE PLAY gold-plated binding posts. The
Prospective purchasers unwilling to quality of the real satin walnut
channel their inner ’70s self also have wood veneer finish is good,
the choice of a more discreet electric but not as fancy as you’ll
blue or even garden-variety black. Yet encounter on more than a few
even with the grille off, this loudspeaker ‘modern’ speakers at this price
still looks as period as a pair of crushed point. Indeed the overall build
velvet flares – note its unusually wide front quality, while higher than I
baffle, short and stubby angled stand and remember from the original, is
those midrange and treble level adjusters! nothing to write home about
Nevertheless, in its day [see boxout, p51]
the L100 was reckoned to be America’s RIGHT: L/R speakers are identical
top-selling speaker. So that’s quite some (not handed pairs) and combine a
shadow this new product is standing in... 300mm ‘pure pulp’ cone woofer
The wide front baffle dominates the with a 130mm polymer-coated pulp
look of this speaker, but stars of the show mid and 1in titanium dome tweeter
are the three drive units, especially the (mid/treble have level adjustment)

company says the L100 Classics can be BIRTH OF A CLASSIC
used vertically or horizontally and I went
for the former. With the stand attached, When the JBL L100 was launched at
the speaker proved relatively easy to CES 1970 in Chicago, few realised how
position, working well about 60cm from popular it would be. A consumer version
a boundary wall, firing down the room. of the 4310/4311 professional monitors,
Indeed, it seemed to excite the room less it shared the same driver lineup, with
than many other speakers I have tried. potent ‘Alnico V’ magnets. A simple
crossover was used for the midrange and
LOUD ’N’ PROUD treble drivers (with L-pad attenuators for user-adjustment), with the bass unit
JBL’s L100 Classic is as inconspicuous bypassing it altogether. Its quintessentially ‘West Coast sound’ was dry, detailed
sonically as it is visually – which is to say, and punchy – as American as the BBC LS3/5a was British. Reputedly styled by
not at all. This loudspeaker gets things JBL president Arnold Wolf, it looked strikingly modern at the time. There were
done it is own sweet way: it is loud and various offshoots, including the L100A and L100 Century evolutions, the latter
proud, a design that doesn’t so much running until the speaker was discontinued in 1978. This was big in Japan,
have character as ooze charisma. Tonally remaining on sale in 4312E guise for many years with cult appeal. Different
it’s bright and vivid, really ‘waking up’ mid and treble drivers were tried over the years, with varying front baffle
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whatever recording you care to play. It placements. The L-series soldiered on through the ’80s, but shared little with the
also has a wonderfully animated rhythmic original, so this new ‘Classic’ version is the closest we’ve seen for decades.
38
quality, so you can’t stop tapping your feet.
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It’s dynamic in its own way call ‘the classic JBL sound’, although to be
5-
too but, perhaps contrary fair many of the company’s more modern
to what you might expect, designs are a good way removed from this.
34
far better at tracking It’s a distinctive presentation that is as ear-
#0
subtle accents than the catching as its orange grille is eye-catching.

epic, earth-shattering Because of the speaker’s mid-forward
an
crescendos of an voicing, its beefy bass unit is less of a player

orchestra at full tilt. on the field than you might expect given
st
In practice, the L100 its size. For example, the deft double-bass
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Classic turns out to offer work on the Herbie Hancock track didn’t
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an intriguing trip back to have the weight that I’d hoped for.
the 1970s, for here we While it certainly wasn’t as ‘one note’
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have more than simply as I remember when playing the track

a ‘sound’ that many on the earlier L100s, this new iteration
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rock music fans aspired of the design is still not the world’s best
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to, back in the day. This loudspeaker when it comes to portraying

loudspeaker is intrinsically how bass lines go up and down the
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more than a little forward scale. This was especially noticeable

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– its midband is hardly with electronic pop, such as New Order’s

So
bashful and the treble ‘Vanishing Point’ [Technique; Factory FACD

is always well lit. So, this 275.2], which lost some of its impact due
makes the trumpets on to the light bottom end.
Herbie Hancock’s ‘Riot’
[Speak Like A Child; Blue PLAYING IT WIDE
Note BST 84279] sound Dropping the mid and treble level adjusters
rather shiny, jumping out from their defaults at 0dB to the 12 o’clock
at the listener with an position [see KH’s Lab Report, p53] didn’t
especially visceral feel that pull up the bass, but it did remove some of
makes many a modern the bite and edge from the up-front mid/
design sound subdued. treble. Nevertheless, I’m bound to say that
There’s also a fair deal the JT025Ti1 tweeter isn’t the sweetest
of superficial detail, with thing JBL has ever designed.
a vibrant piano sound The fact that the left/right baffles are
that rings out of the mix not ‘handed’ could also put this Classic at
with verve and purpose. a disadvantage with stereo soundstaging.
Even the flute work – an With the speakers firing straight down
instrument that typically the room, I found the design poor in this
brings a smooth, luxuriant respect, although introducing a toe-in
feel to mainstream jazz, came towards the listener certainly helped.
over as rather raw and raspy. No amount of experimentation with
This is what owners of the placement was able to make up for
original L100 would doubtless the fact that the L100 Classic is at a

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LAB
REPORT
JBL L100 CLASSIC
It isn’t often these days that we encounter a speaker which
is distinctly conservative in its sensitivity specification but the
LEFT: Rear and
L100 Classic harks back to earlier times in more ways than one.
front (baffle) faces JBL claims 90dB at 1m for 2.83V input, but we measured an
of the L100 Classic even stronger 91.6dB on pink noise, which would be more than
are finished in matt enough for others to claim 92dB. On the face of it JBL has not
black. A single set of resorted to punishingly low impedance to achieve this – the
L100 Classic is honestly specified as 4ohm nominal (no ‘8 ohms
terminals is provided – compatible’ nonsense) and we measured a minimum impedance
no bi-wiring here – just of 3.5ohm. Unfortunately its low frequency impedance phase
like the 1970 original angles are very high as a result of which the EPDR (equivalent
peak dissipation resistance) dips to a low of 1.3ohm at 82Hz.
In other words, this speaker does present a pretty tough (low
I also mentioned frequency) amplifier load even for a modern design.
‘micro’ dynamics The forward frequency responses, measured on the tweeter
at the top of my axis with the HF and MF level controls set to 0dB, show peaks
story and, by way and dips of ±3.1dB and ±3.5dB respectively [see Graph 1,
below]. The peak at 2kHz and plateau between 4kHz and
of illustration, the
6kHz probably explain why, during the listening sessions, both
indie rock strains controls were dialled back to 12 o’clock, which shelves down
of Microdisney’s the output by a few dB above 700Hz. Pair matching was fair
‘Loftholdingswood’ at ±1.1dB. Diffraction-corrected summed nearfield driver and
port outputs show a bass response that’s flat to 70Hz, rolling
[Daunt Square To
7
off with a roughly second-order slope immediately below before
21
Elsewhere; Castle the full fourth-order roll-off kicks in at about 40Hz. The ‘official’
Music CMEDD1568] bass roll-off point is at 42Hz (–6dB re. 200Hz). Finally, the CSD
38
revealed how much waterfall [Graph 2, below] shows a tightly packed group of treble
the L100 Classic resonances from 4kHz to 8kHz. KH
67
loves this genre of
music. It relishes an
5-
slight disadvantage in the expansive rock production
34
stereo stakes compared with a that it can sink its teeth into, so to
#0
symmetrical design of today. Public speak, and there’s a genuinely lucid

Service Broadcasting’s ‘London quality to the way it goes about
an
Can Take It’ [The War Room; Test making music that’s compelling.
Card Recordings TCR CD002] is The track’s crashing piano power
st
contemporary progressive pop chords and O’Hagan’s cranked up,

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that sounds positively panoramic jangling lead guitar were a delight,

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through the right system. Not here as were the gutsy strains of Cathal
though, for even if the L100 Classic Coughan’s vocals. Listen more
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did open up a bit, it couldn’t muster closely, though, and there is a sense ABOVE: Response with controls at ‘0dB’ shows broad
the resolution to dig deep into the that some of the song’s low-level peak at 2kHz – 12 o’clock setting yields a flatter result
ed
recording and communicate spatial detail is being sidelined.

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information in an accurate way. While jaunty and bright on one

Stereo imaging was perfunctory, level, the L100 Classic may leave
al
with little stage depth, despite some listeners wanting greater

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a fairly wide left-to-right spread. insight and transparency deep

So
down. But while it may be flawed dB 0.0

SPEED KING it’s never less than fun, and what it -6 1.0
That said, many concerns about lacks in accuracy it makes up for in - 12
2.0
the speaker’s lack of neutrality are character. Bags of character! - 18
8
3.0
largely forgotten when it is asked - 24
4.0
to play fast, repetitive beat-driven HI-FI NEWS VERDICT - 30
5.0 msec
music, such as YMO’s ‘Music Plans’ 200 1000 10000
JBL’s new L100 Classic is surely Frequency in Hz >>
[BGM; Alfa ALCA-291]. This early
one of the most ‘Marmite’ hi-fi
’80s electro track has a metronomic ABOVE: Cabinet is well enough controlled but there
products currently on sale. It
beat, over which fat, crunchy are a cluster of driver modes between 4-8kHz
won’t be for everyone but if
analogue synthesisers jostle with
you like to listen loud, or have a HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
one another. The track is quite
barn of a venue to fill, it’ll readily HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
tonally dark and dour sounding, yet
exceed the sum of its parts! Sensitivity (SPL/1m/2.83Vrms – Mean/IEC/Music) 91.0dB/91.6dB/91.7dB
the L100 Classic’s sheer transient
Ensuring many contemporary Impedance modulus min/max (20Hz–20kHz) 3.5ohm @ 125Hz
speed pepped it up no end.
speakers will sound bland and 40.7ohm @ 20Hz
In fact, this loudpeaker’s lithe,
formulaic by comparison, this Impedance phase min/max (20Hz–20kHz) –81o @ 62Hz
fleet-of-foot character enabled me 21o @ 20kHz
cleverly reimagined blast from the
to revel in the interplay between
past will win friends but still shock Pair matching/Response Error (350Hz–20kHz) ±1.1dB/ ±3.1dB/±3.5dB
the track’s powerful bass drum and
others in equal measure. LF/HF extension (–6dB ref 200Hz/10kHz) 42Hz / >40kHz/29.5kHz
snare/rim shot sounds. To its great
credit, the L100 Classic carries Sound Quality: 75% THD 100Hz/1kHz/10kHz (for 90dB SPL/1m) 0.1% / 0.1% / 0.1%
percussion brilliantly, with a swagger 0 - - - - - - - - 100 Dimensions (HWD) / Weight 637x390x372mm / 27kg
that’s downright infectious.

Photo-electric pick-up cartridge
Made by: Digital Stream Corporation, Kanagawa, Japan
Supplied by: Soundfowndations Ltd, Berks
Telephone: 0118 9814238
Web: www.ds-audio-w.biz; www.soundfowndations.co.uk
CARTRIDGE Price (inc. equaliser): £2295
DS Audio DS-E1
Following a flow of revolutionary, hugely desirable but astronomically-priced ‘optical’
cartridges, DS Audio introduces the DS-E1 – could ‘E’ stand for ‘Everyman’?
Review: Ken Kessler Lab: Paul Miller
T
his is the second review this month ’17] with ‘ultra-duralumin’ body, sapphire soon hear how different cantilevers, styli
that’s been tough for me to write cantilever and Micro Ridge stylus; the and even body materials affect the overall
if, in this instance, for entirely DS-W2 [HFN Jan ’19] with aluminium body, performance. As do the energisers.
positive reasons. You see, the boron cantilever, Micro Ridge stylus; and So let’s get the latter out of the way:
DS Audio DS-E1 is actually too good, and DS-002 [HFN Jun ’17] with aluminium body after listening to the energiser that comes
7
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the asking price of £2295 is the reason. and cantilever, plus Shibata stylus. The DS- with the DS-E1 and playing with its two
I do not want to inflict any hardship upon E1 shares the body and cantilever materials bass settings – I preferred Output 2 with
38
DS Audio, which offers three models above with the DS-002, but the its flatter low frequency
this, but, like an entry-level Rolex, Leica CL stylus has an elliptical profile. response [see PM’s Lab
‘I still detest
67
camera or Porsche Cayman, it begs the As for the energisers, Report, p57] – I did all
question: why pay more? they vary in their power
5-
the song, but of the critical listening
While still a fair chunk of change to supplies, features and through the DS Master 1
34
most people, by today’s measure £2295 other details, and they do I can now sit equaliser with balanced
#0
is not an extreme amount to pay for sound different. This also output. I simply heard
a true high-end cartridge of sublime provides enthusiasts with through it!’ ‘more’ through it, but that
an
performance together with, in this case, a major test and upgrade is not to say that the
what is effectively a phono stage. Yes, you opportunity – imagine a deck with four DS-E1’s energiser is unsatisfactory. Indeed,
st
read that correctly: this includes all that’s identical tonearms, like a TechDAS Air at the price, there’s nothing unsatisfactory
ki
needed to feed your vinyl into a line-level- Force III [HFN Sep ’16], or V [HFN Jan ’19], about this cartridge.
Pa
only preamp, integrated or receiver. feeding the various DS models into their Well, there is one consideration,
respective energisers, then swapping common to the entire DS range. The
BODY SHOP
ia
them around, ultimately trying them all cartridges have uncommonly shallow
That’s because the DS Audio DS-E1, into the DS Master 1 energiser. You would bodies and certain arms – those that taper
ed
like its far dearer siblings, requires a at the front and are wide at the back, or
M
dedicated energiser that also provides have massive cross-section/diameter tubes

RIAA equalisation [see PM’s boxout, p55]. – might cause clearance issues with the
al
All models have corresponding energiser edges of warped or extra-thick LPs.

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boxes, but these are interchangeable. As I do not like the idea of inserting
So
Where DS Audio’s models differ is in spacers between cartridge and headshell

cantilever and stylus type, as well as to enable easier arm levelling and VTA
body and illumination colours for easy setting, I would ask DS to produce the
identification. The DS-E1’s prow- next generation of cartridges with 1mm
mounted lamp glows green and its or 2mm-taller bodies. The slight weight
body is a semi-matt silver. increase would not cause a problem.
This commonality is a boon when Once installed, the DS-E1 behaves
swapping from one model to the next like any other cartridge, with the same
(for retailers or reviewers!) because requirements for gentle handling,
the 8.1g weight, overhang, VTA and occasional stylus cleaning, careful
tracking force of 1.7g are identical cueing and so on. What you will not be
for every model. Thus, what you prepared for, upon hearing this or any
are paying for are differing body DS cartridge for the first time, is the
materials, better cantilevers/styli and utter absence of background shmutz.
superior energisers. Working from
the top of the range downward, they SILENCE IS GOLDEN
comprise: DS Master 1 [HFN Dec As I soon realised, upon learning about
and hearing a DS cartridge for the
RIGHT: Close-up view of the DS-E1’s first time, the technology completely
underside reviews the miniature PCB eliminates the low-level hum present in
holding the LED light source, immediately all cartridges using some combination
underneath the alloy cantilever. The of magnets and coils. No matter how
green ‘Cylon’ strip is separately illuminated low the hum, it’s still there. These

LEFT: Threaded holes in the DS-E1’s
alloy body ensure it can be bolted tight,
though its shallow profile requires care in
adjusting rear arm height. The sapphire
and boron cantilevers used in the top DS
models are replaced by an alloy tube here
of lushness and scale, augmented

by precision and detail of lab-grade
analytical prowess actually altered the
experience for me. I still detest the song,
but I can now sit through it.
For something far more pleasurable,
I reached for the new MoFi pressing of
Simon And Garfunkel’s Parsley, Sage,
Rosemary And Thyme [Mobile Fidelity
MFSL1-484]. The sweetness of the
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21
harmonies, the airiness of the acoustic
guitar – this is a cartridge capable of
38
great finesse. Its miracle-working abilities
faltered at the risible ‘A Simple Desultory
67
Philippic’, which remains Paul Simon’s most
5- embarrassing moment, but the lushness
‘optical’ pick-ups bring vinyl closer to one DS-E1 kept confounding me because it is so and delicacy of ‘Scarborough Fair/Canticle’
34
of digital’s inarguable benefits: much close to the sound of the Master 1. By way wrapped the song in an embrace that
#0
reduced background noise. of comparison I even forced myself to listen suited it to its core.
As payoffs go, this one is huge, the to songs I find so dire that I knew I could
an
DS-E1 being just as discreetly quiet as its not be distracted by the music. So, sticking BEGGARED BELIEF
dearer siblings. Immediately apparent with Wings, I queued up the schmaltzy, You’d almost believe that Simon and
st
when used through high-resolution soporific dirge that is ‘Mull Of Kintyre’ just Garfunkel were British rather than a brace
ki
systems, are gains in transparency and to hear the bagpipes, an instrument that of New Yorkers, for this portrayal of the
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the audibility of low-level information. On holds little pleasure for these ears. song captured the atmosphere of the lyrics
‘Live And Let Die’, from the new edition with a skill that beggared belief at this
ALTERED STATE
ia
of Wings Greatest [MPL/Capitol 02567 price. It’s as if DS Audio leap-frogged over

37240], the DS-E1 nearly matched the Miracles don’t happen that often, so the arbitrary expectations we have which
ed
Master 1 for conveying the bombastic I’m not keen to attribute metaphysical are based on cost. Returning, too, to the
M
slam of the explosions, while never properties to the DS-E1, but damn, it DS-E1’s equaliser/energiser showed less of
obscuring the barely audible information sounded nearly listenable, and this is a tune a sacrifice than I anticipated. There was a
al
underneath the detonation. that makes ‘Silly Love Songs’ sound like little loss of slam or power when the music
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Again, my comments are about the ‘Ace Of Spades’.

des . grew punchy – back to
So
cartridge via the superior energiser, so The DS-E1’s the explosions on ‘Live
I could assess its mettle more readily than wonderful And
An Let Die’ – but
via the base-level box. Nevertheless, the marriage overall,
o the two
work
w together so
LIGHT THERAPY well
w that there’s
certainly
c no urgent
In common with all DS Audio’s proprietary case
c for upgrading.
pick-ups, the DS-E1 employs a derivative of the Proving further
technology it developed along with Microsoft that
t the DS-E1 is
some 20 years ago – the optical computer mouse. a bargain was the
Inside the DS-E1’s alloy body a miniature LED is positioned between the stylus stupendous 50th anniversary edition of
tip and cantilever fulcrum, its light output modulated by an extremely fine The Band’s Music From Big Pink [Capitol
optical plate, just 100μm thick, fixed to the rear of the cantilever. This shines on 0602567480525], the album remastered
a photocell which generates an electrical current, directly mirroring the passage and offered on two thick slabs of vinyl
of the stylus through the analogue groove. Traditional MM/MCs are velocity- playing at 45rpm. Here I turned to the
sensitive devices whose voltage output increases with groove excursion and organ that dominates ‘Chest Fever’, to hear
increasing signal frequency. By contrast, DS Audio’s photo-electric conversion the overwhelming sound of Garth Hudson’s
is sensitive only to the amplitude of the movement of the stylus. Nevertheless, Lowrey, the DS-E1 digging deep – almost
while this system has the potential to offer a lower moving mass – stylus/ as deep as the Master 1... at ten times the
cantilever/optical plate – than the stylus/cantilever/magnet or coils of a MM/MC price. (Yes, you read that correctly.)
design, it still requires a proprietary phono stage [inset picture] to power-up the By this point, I was growing
LED and correctly compensate for the LP’s RIAA replay characteristic. PM disconcerted. I love the Master 1 and
it has been my reference cartridge for

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LAB
REPORT
DS AUDIO DS-E1
There are clear parallels between the performance of this ‘entry-
level’ DS-E1, the flagship Master 1 [HFN Dec ’17], the DS-002
[HFN Jun ’17] and the DS-W2 [HFN Jan ’19] – see boxout, p55. All
three ‘optical pick-ups’ employ a similar, if not identical, ‘tie-wire’
suspension so although the choice of cantilever material and
stylus profile becomes more exotic further up the range, their
8.1g bodyweight(s) are all offset by a low-ish 15/20cu dynamic
compliance, conferring a moderate ~10Hz subsonic resonance
in medium effective mass tonearms. The DS-E1 may employ a
more basic crimped alloy cantilever and elliptical stylus but,
ABOVE: Rear view of the DS-E1 PSU/equaliser. The pick-up’s internal LED is powered tested at a 1.7g downforce, it proved a slightly more secure
via the R– and L– pins while the output is returned via R+ and L+, all via the ‘Input’ tracker, clearing the maximum 80μm groove pitch (65μm on the
right channel) and the most severe +18dB modulation (315Hz
RCAs. The equalised outs are also on RCAs (Output 2 with a deeper subsonic filter) lateral cut, re. 11.2μm) at just 0.75% THD. As with DS Audio’s
other designs, distortion at –8dB re. 5cm/sec is typically ~0.7%
over a year. I recognise the Law of music turns quiet and introspective, (lateral) and a higher ~1.3% (vertical) with a big peak up to ~10%
Diminishing Returns. I understand Hawkins was the maestro. The sheer THD between 6-8kHz [see Graph 2, below].
The latter feature is a direct reflection of the boost to its
a reviewer’s responsibility is to presence of this powerful vocalist,
2nd harmonic distortion by the stinging +8dB treble peak at 12-
the reader, not the manufacturer one of roots/blues greatest losses, 14kHz [see Graph 1, below]. As a matter of design, bass output
or advertiser, but the DS-E1 was was palpable to a degree that was is also boosted, reaching +4.5dB/20Hz via Output 1 (1st order
upsetting my apple-cart. almost the textbook definition of 30Hz roll-off) and +1.1dB/20Hz via Output 2 (combined 50Hz
and 30Hz roll-offs). The latter option is strongly recommended
what high-end systems should be
7
for use in systems with large, reflex-loaded loudspeakers. Finally,
21
GUTS AND ENERGY able to accomplish. the partnering PSU/equaliser unit’s output is a moderate 750mV
Conversely, there are things that What the DS-E1 achieves is a (re. 1kHz/5cm/sec): this is more than the quoted 500mV and
38
the best moving-coils do which multitude of triumphs, not least perfectly sufficient to drive a typical preamp line input. PM
elude DS’s optical designs – a in closing the gap between the
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certain warmth seems unique to affordable and the unobtainable.
MCs, and you will never wrest my DS Audio, just like Porsche and
5-
Koetsu Urushi from my tonearm the 911-vs-Cayman situation, has
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while I still breathe. And while the ensured that the pecking order
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DS-E1 is a fine tracker, there were remains intact. What’s different

moments where it was slightly is the intensifying of the Law of
an
agitated, where, say, the top MCs Diminishing Returns.

and certainly the better MM designs
st
would prove unflustered. But GAME CHANGER

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nobody listens to test discs, and Even more relevant than the car
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digging out an old Telarc just to be analogy is that of wine. I have had
nasty would prove nothing. simply staggering £20 offerings from ABOVE: Frequency response curves (–8dB re. 5cm/
ia
What clinched it for me was the same wineries that produce sec) lateral (L+R, black, Output 1; dashed, Output 2)
the new pressing of Ted Hawkins’ superior growths at £250 a bottle. versus vertical (L–R, red Output 1)
ed
swan song, The Next Hundred Years Only an educated oenophile will
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[Analogue Productions APB124]. taste the difference.

For intense, textured vocals, a For the rest of us, we should
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surfeit of emotion and a plethora simply revel in our ignorance and

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of guts and energy even when the bless the arrival of a bargain so
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overwhelming that I think it could

be the sixth biggest game-changer
in cartridges in three decades. The
other five? Its older siblings.
HI-FI NEWS VERDICT

ABOVE: Lateral (L+R, black infill) and vertical (L–R, red)
What can I say? Being offered this
tracing and generator distortion (2nd-4th harmonics)
level of performance at a fraction
vs. frequency from 20Hz-20kHz (–8dB re. 5cm/sec)
of the cost of what came before
is a godsend at a time when most
high-end brands seem blissfully HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
unaware that value-for-money Generator type/weight Photo-optical / 8.1g
matters more now than it has Recommended tracking force 1.6-1.8mN (1.7mN)
for decades. If the thought of
Sensitivity/balance (re. 5cm/sec) 750mV / 0.30dB (from Eq unit)
a radical change in technology
doesn’t scare you, the DS-E1 Compliance (vertical/lateral) 15cu / 20cu
provides the chance to hear your Vertical tracking angle 25 degrees

LPs as you’ve never imagined. I’m L/R Tracking ability 80μm / 65μm
still shaking my head in disbelief.
ABOVE: The DS-E1’s pins are clearly L/R Distortion (–8dB, 20Hz-20kHz) 0.70–16% / 0.35–11%
marked and separated. Just visible is the Sound Quality: 89% L/R Frequency resp. (20Hz-20kHz) +8.0 to –5.3dB / +5.9 to –7.5dB
alloy cantilever, tie-wire suspension and 0 - - - - - - - - 100 Stereo separation (1kHz / 20kHz) 28dB / 20dB
elliptical stylus [see also p54]

Integrated tube amplifier. Rated at 50W/8ohm
Made by: Icon Audio, Leicestershire
Supplied by: Icon Audio
Telephone: 0116 2440593
Web: www.iconaudio.com
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER Price: £2200
Icon Audio Stereo 40 MkIV

Promising more power, better sound and greater flexibility, will this latest incarnation
of a longstanding ‘audiophile favourite’ tube integrated meet the challenge?
T
he first Stereo 40 tube integrated selected passive components. The new binding posts with taps for 4 and 8ohm
amp arrived in the year 2000, MkIV version also features a redesigned loudspeakers, plus four pairs of unbalanced
and according to Icon Audio’s cascode driver circuit utilising four 6SN7 RCA line inputs, and a tape monitor circuit.
founder and chief designer David triodes, alongside the same number of There’s also a toggle switch for sensitivity,
Shaw, ‘is the heart of what we do’. It’s KT88 output valves. A motorised volume offering a choice of high or low gain [see
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the metaphorical ham sandwich of the control is also fitted, working with the PM’s boxout, p59]. Personally, I would
valve amplifier world – the staple diet of supplied remote handset [see p61]. have liked this to have been fitted to the
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audiophiles wanting a simple, affordable, As valve amplifiers go, the Stereo amplifier’s front fascia for easier access,
user-friendly integrated that offers classic 40 MkIV is pretty compact, measuring considering it’s just as useful as the Triode/
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tube sound and some interesting features 390x210x410mm (whd). It weighs Ultralinear mode switch.
too. This new £2200 Stereo 40 MkIV sits a chunky 22kg, making a trip to the
5- Getting up and running with this amp
bang-smack in the middle of the range and, osteopath likely if you don’t lift it correctly. is simple enough. However, the first time
34
as claimed, is uncommonly versatile. Much of that weight is down to the PSU you use it, it’s essential you remember to
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It is ready to work with a wide range and output transformers, but this is an ‘old adjust the valve biasing correctly using the
of output valves from EL34s to KT88s, school’ amplifier with a thick pressed-steel aforementioned meter and set-up knob.
an
so there’s plenty of room for future chassis, and feels commensurately rugged.
experimentation. Furthermore, this The copper trim plate on the top is an CHARM SCHOOL
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integrated offers a choice of Triode or attractive and distinctive styling touch, and In short, this new Stereo 40 MkIV has much
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Ultralinear output stage configuration. The the retro front panel bias meter is redolent of the appeal of a good valve design and
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former gives a claimed 30W and the latter of something you’d see in Bletchley Park. relatively few of its flaws. It’s a clean, sweet
50W [see PM’s Lab Report, p61], both best Round the back can be found gold-plated and engaging-sounding amp that develops
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suited to loudspeakers of medium-to-high

sensitivity. These numbers are usefully up
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on its MkIIIm predecessor [HFN Mar ’13],

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which I felt to be a tad underpowered.

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GIANT STEPS
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Designer David Shaw is modest about

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the Stereo 40, calling it ‘a mishmash of

concepts with several nods to ideas of
the giants of the past like GEC, Blumlein,
Williams, Philips, etc.’ The amplifier
isn’t fancy, or unnecessarily complex,
which makes it great for newcomers
to the genre, but has evidently been
refined over time. This latest version
gets tweaks to its custom-wound tertiary
output transformers, with an additional
third winding key to the amplifier’s
compensation (feedback) network.
Designed in the UK, the amplifier is
hand-assembled in China with point-to-
point wiring and silver PTFE audio cable
[see inside shot, opposite]. A choke-
regulated power supply is used, with
RIGHT: Point-to-point wiring features strongly

in the Stereo 40 MkIV, and note the standby
PSU [top left]. The bases for the Shaw-branded
CV181 line/phase-splitter triodes and KT88
‘Gold Lion’ output tubes are securely mounted

LEFT: Crowded fascia
sports valve bias knob
and meter, Triode/
Ultralinear mode
switch, volume knob,
speaker/headphone
selector and socket,
on/standby, tape
monitor and input
selector knob
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a pleasingly panoramic soundstage thanks, the music typically sounded coarser and AeroMax 60 floorstanders. In the High
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in part, to its reassuring grip over the less composed from bottom to top. For sensitivity setting, things seemed more
loudspeakers at hand. I judge the true example, playing Steely Dan’s ‘Aja’ [Aja; balanced and natural sounding, and there
67
mettle of any valve amp by its ability to MCA Records VDP-27] in Ultralinear mode was less of a need to wind the volume
drive real-world loudspeakers, because
5-
with sensitivity set to High, bass was fuller towards its maximum position.
poor quality output transformers often and more exuberant but had less grip. Also, In its optimal configuration for my
34
saturate, and/or wheeze as the midband wasn’t quite as system – Triode mode and High sensitivity
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they try to wrest control of organic-sounding while the – the Stereo 40 MkIV’s bass proved tuneful
tough loudspeaker loads. ‘I loved the treble was a little gritty. and supple while the general exuberance
scratchy, raw
an
In this respect, the Stereo Still in this mode but with of its music-making pulled my attention
40 MkIV sounds surprisingly sensitivity set to Low, there away from any small failings. For example,
Rickenbacker
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powerful for its price. was a good deal less gain, there’s a slight amber glow to its smooth,
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However, my impressions and although I did detect sweet midband so even a dry-sounding
guitar sound’
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were mildly complicated a slight improvement in bass ’70s rock production such as ‘Aja’ comes
by the choice of operating grip, this varied between over ever so slightly softer and fluffier-
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modes the amp offers. With both loudspeakers. For example, it was more sounding than perhaps it should.
Ultralinear and Triode operation and obvious when the amplifier was driving my In this respect, this amplifier gives you
ed
two sensitivity settings, this integrated classic Yamaha NS-1000M monitors [HFN the famed ‘magic of valves’, sacrificing
M
is effectively several amplifiers in one. Oct ’18] than when hooked-up to a pair of transparency at the altar of euphony. The
To my ears and in my system, it sounded modern, easier-to-drive Cambridge Audio sound of hi-hat cymbals, for example, was
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best in Triode mode with sensitivity set part

particularly silky although it lacked real
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to High. In Ultralinear mode, there was bite, so while some will love this amp’s
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a perceived improvement in power, but romantic nature, others will perhaps be

lless enamoured of its slightly opaque
A QUESTION OF GAIN aand coloured character.
Many tube amplifiers offer the choice HEAVY

H LIFTING
between Ultralinear and Triode George
G Benson’s funky ‘Give Me The
operation [see Lab Report, p61] but Icon Night’
N [Give Me The Night; Warner Bros
Audio goes one step further here in 32XD-348]
3 sounds tangibly brighter
providing a choice of overall feedback and
a tighter than does ‘Aja’, and the
level. Although the amplifier’s power Stereo
St 40 MkIV caught this difference
output is unchanged, the 40 MkIV’s ‘Low in production well, giving an especially
l
Sensitivity’ (higher feedback) mode offers a lower t t impedance
output i d (0 3 h
(0.3ohm beguiling
b feel to the up-tempo rhythm
versus 1.14ohm) compared with its ‘High Sensitivity’ (low feedback) mode, guitar work. It’s still not the ‘quickest’
ensuring the amp/speaker system response is more predictable. Overall gain is amplifier on the block, but it knits the
necessarily lower (+26.6dB vs. +35.8dB) but this makes ‘Low’ ideal for use with beats together very deftly, allowing your
today’s 2V+ digital line sources. Distortion is also much lower at 0.007%/1W, mind’s eye to enjoy the spectacle of the
0.05%/10W and 0.5%/50W (black trace) vs. 0.02%/0.18%/1.1% (red trace) – see performers in full flight.
inset Graph. Distortion is lower at the bass/treble extremes too (0.2%/20Hz and Although this tube integrated puts out
0.36%/20kHz at 10W/8ohm vs. 0.9%/0.95%). Moreover ‘Low’ also offers the wider a healthy amount of power it’s still no
A-wtd S/N ratio (92dB vs. 85dB re. 0dBW). So the ‘Low’ gain/moderate feedback bottomless pit of watts. For example, the
option would seem to hold all the performance cards. But I wonder how many latter part of Supertramp’s ‘School’ [Crime
listeners will actually prefer the ‘High’ gain/low feedback mode for sound? PM Of The Century; A&M Records CD-3647]
becomes really loud, calling for some

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7
LAB
REPORT
ICON AUDIO STEREO 40 MKIV
Although equipped with the same complement of KT88s, the
performance of Icon Audio’s Stereo 40 MkIV is superior in every
key area of performance to its predecessor, the Stereo 40
MkIIIm [HFN Mar ’13]. Power output has improved from 40W
into 8/4ohm loads (via 8/4ohm taps, respectively) to 2x55W
into 8/4ohm loads at <1% THD while its dynamic output has
lifted from 40W, 40W, 51W and 54W to 52W, 52W, 69W and
73W into 8, 4, 2 and 1ohm loads [see Graph 1, below]. Power
output in Triode mode is typically ~60% of that in Ultralinear,
the Stereo 40 MkIV achieving 2x35W into 8/4ohm loads. In
Ultralinear guise, and with ‘Low gain/moderate feedback’
selected [see boxout p59], the output impedance has reduced
from 0.75-1.05ohm to 0.32-0.27ohm (20Hz-20kHz), improving
ABOVE: Two output transformers [far left/right] have dual secondaries feeding the low frequency damping, while the response is both flatter and
4 and 8ohm speaker outlets. Three line ins and a tape loop are included (no phono) more extended, reaching out to –0.22dB/20kHz and with –3dB
while the ‘H’/‘L’ toggle offers a choice of High or Low sensitivity [see boxout, p59] points of 2Hz-90kHz/8ohm. There is no appreciable difference
in frequency reponse between Ultralinear and Triode modes
but there is a boost in subsonic bass (+0.5dB/5Hz vs. –3dB/5Hz)
heavy lifting on the amplifier’s part. handled – it’s hardly one of rock’s
between ‘Low’ and ‘High’ sensitivity settings.
The Ultralinear mode is the best finest but has an earthiness that Again, compared with the MkIII, distortion is reduced across
option here, ensuring the Stereo really matches the music. Although the audio bandwidth [see Graph 2] to 0.042-0.36% (10W/8ohm)
40 MkIV runs out of puff only when it quite rightly sounded hard and and versus power output from 0.007%/1W, 0.05%/10W to
0.5%/50W in Ultralinear mode, and 0.005%/1W, 0.021%/10W
the volume knob is abused. And acerbic, it never grated or made
7
to 0.31%/30W in Triode mode. Noise has also been reduced
21
here the output stage ‘clipping’ listening a chore. This song was in the MkIV, the amplifier achieving an A-wtd S/N of 91.6dB in
is not abrupt, as it might be with mixed in a forward and compressed Ultralinear and 92.2dB in Triode mode (re. 0dBW) and with any
38
a similarly-powered solid-state way, yet the amplifier certainly residual hum/flicker noise less than –75dBV. By any measure, the
amp, but realised as a progressive didn’t dwell on this. MkIV represents a significant upgrade on the MkIIIm. PM
67
compression of the sound as Many tube amps excel at
dynamics are increasingly ‘sat on’. recreating a believably spacious
5-
soundstage, and the Stereo 40
34
TEEMING WITH DETAIL MkIV was no exception. Here the
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At more moderate levels, or with difference between Ultralinear and

more sensitive loudspeakers, the Triode modes was obvious, the
an
Stereo 40 MkIV proved a great all- former sounding wider and more
rounder. It also sounded impressively expansive. As well as the extra air
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detailed, despite the inherent levels and space, additional bass and
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of harmonic distortion [see PM’s Lab treble energy further augmented the
Pa
Report, p61], excavating lots of low- big, out-of-the-box sound.

level information from almost any Yet, overall, I still preferred its
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recording. Even the relatively lo-fi Triode mode, which was capacious ABOVE: Dynamic power output versus distortion into
sound of The La’s ‘Timeless Melody’ but also tidier and better ordered 8ohm (black trace), 4ohm (red), 2ohm (blue) and
ed
[The La’s; Go! Discs 828 202-2] came with superior image location 1ohm (green) speaker loads. Max. current is 8.5A
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over in a most satisfying way. between the loudspeakers. Some

True, you don’t get the same sort classic techno in the shape of
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of forensic retrieval here that you Goldie’s ‘Inner City Life’ [Timeless;
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might from the best solid-state rivals FFRR – 828 646-2] had elements of
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at this price, yet still the sound was the mix more tightly located while
vibrant and teeming with detail. Lee depth perspective was better too.
Mavers’ fingerwork on the frets of The result was a joyously wide and
his electric guitar enveloping electronic soundscape.
was very well
carried; I loved HI-FI NEWS VERDICT
the scratchy, rich,
Now in MkIV guise and better
raw Rickenbacker ABOVE: Distortion vs. frequency (5Hz-40kHz at
value than ever, Icon Audio’s
sound, and the 1W/8ohm, black; 20Hz-20kHz at 10W/8ohm, red)
latest Stereo 40 can take on both
sheer energy that
tube and solid-state amps at this
his hands were
price. It offers more power and HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
channelling into
control that you might expect Power output (<1% THD, 8/4ohm) 55W / 56W
the instrument.
from the former, plus a natural
His voice was Dynamic power (<2% THD, 8/4/2/1ohm) 52W / 52W / 69W / 73W
charm that one doesn’t always
also beautifully Output imp. (20Hz–20kHz/100kHz) 0.32–0.27ohm / 1.41ohm
associate with the latter. A real
improvement on its predecessor, Freq. resp. (20Hz–20kHz/100kHz) –0.0dB to –0.22dB/–3.9dB
LEFT: Icon Audio’s
the Stereo 40 MkIV combines Input sensitivity (for 0dBW/50W) 133mV / 970mV (Low Gain)
little IR handset
great sound with the bonus of A-wtd S/N ratio (re. 0dBW/50W) 91.6dB / 108.5dB (Low Gain)
offers control over
Triode and Ultralinear modes.
volume (including Distortion (20Hz-20kHz, 10W/8ohm) 0.042–0.36% (Low Gain)
mute) but input Sound Quality: 84% Power consumption (Idle/Rated o/p) 198W / 289W (70W standby)
selection is via the 0 - - - - - - - - 100 Dimensions (WHD) / Weight 390x210x410mm / 25kg
fascia control only

Network-enabled CD ripper/DAC/music library
Made by: Novotron, Gyeonggido, South Korea
Supplied by: SCV Distribution, UK
Telephone: 03301 222 500
Web: www.cocktailaudio.com; www.scvdistribution.co.uk
DIGITAL MEDIA PLAYER Price: £5099
Novafidelity X45Pro
This do-it-all unit, designed as the hub of a digital music system, combines ripper/server,
streamer, player, DAC and more. Is this a total solution, or is it trying too hard?
Review: Andrew Everard Lab: Paul Miller
H
ere’s a simple suggestion for no onboard DACs. The range also offers That done, ripping discs is just a matter
anyone thinking of moving from some ancillary models, such as the £649 of going into the menus and setting up the
‘physical media’ to computer- N15D network adapter/USB DAC, and a copying, including choosing the file format,
stored music, or at least adding DAC/headphone amp, the £2095 HA500H. then slipping the disc into the slot-loading
a collection of files to their system: buy CD transport. It’ll be ripped and then
7
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the most complex piece of equipment you STORAGE SOLUTIONS ejected, and you can move on to the next.
can find. Yes, that may seem like some All the company’s ripper/streamer units You can also copy files from USB memory
38
kind of lunacy for the beginner in ripping, have one thing in common: the basic price sticks or hard drives to the internal storage,
serving and streaming, but then the £5099 you see excludes any internal storage, for which three USB host ports are
67
Novafidelity X45Pro, the flagship of its enabling the consumer to provided – two on the
manufacturer’s range, will do everything either buy the unit ‘as is’
5- rear and one on the back.
you could ever think of in the world of and add their own hard ‘It’s hard It’s sensible to use
34
digital audio – and then some. drive, or purchase it with a to imagine one of these USB ports to
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What’s more, it manages to be suitably choice of drives installed. connect a back-up drive,
futureproof, with access to a wide range Given that the add-on anything digital to which the X45Pro
an
of music services and also extended file- prices for drives range from will automatically copy
handling, but then its manufacturer has £140 for a 2TB HDD to it cannot do’ everything currently
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been doing this ripping and serving thing £300 for an 8TB HDD, and on its internal storage.
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for a good while now, and shows every sign £190 for a 500GB SSD through to £515 But if you already have a NAS (Network
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of knowing what it’s doing. for a 2TB SSD, I’d suggest you buy the Attached Storage) containing music, or
machine sans drive and install your own. just a collection of music on your home
AUDIO COMPUTER
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It’s very easy, thanks to a slide-out caddy computer, the X45Pro can act as UPnP
Novafidelity is a brand of Korean company on the rear panel, and will take a matter of client to play that content, or indeed as
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Novatron, which first appeared on these minutes to do, after which the X45Pro will a server to allow its own content to be
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shores with ripper/servers under the name format the drive and it’s ready for use. streamed to external players.
of Cocktail Audio. Indeed, the X45Pro still
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fires up with a cocktail glass graphic on its

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large, crisp colour display, before preparing

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itself for use. This, after all, is basically

an audio computer – it runs on a 1GHz
Quad-Core ARM Cortex-A9 processor – and
so takes a little while to boot up. It’s fast
enough not to be tiresome, but I’d suggest
keeping it up and running for instant use.
At the entry-level of the Novafidelity
range, you can spend as little as £689
for the little X14, and get almost all
the X45Pro’s basic functionality, but as
you move up through the range you
get enhanced capability and audiophile
engineering, albeit with some forks in the
road on the way. For example, the ‘basic’
version of the X45 will set you back £2149,
while the next model up is the £3999
X50D, which is a ‘pure digital’ model with
RIGHT: The network solution [top left], music

library HDD [underneath] and CD ripper [DVD
writer, middle] are all powered by a screened
switchmode PSU [far right] while the ES9038
DAC/analogue board [top right] has a linear PSU

But that’s just the start of what this unit Not done yet: the X45Pro can also ABOVE: Colour 7in TFT display hosts everything
can do. It can also act as a DAC, either via output digital audio via a dedicated USB from album artwork, file format and sample
7
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conventional digital inputs or with a USB port, for example into a USB-capable rate, volume level and access to the setup menu.
connection to a computer, enabling it to DAC, and over an HDMI connection into a Main controls are on the right, volume to the left
38
handle content in PCM-based audio at up suitable DAC or even an AV receiver. Take
to 768kHz/32-bit and DSD up to DSD512. that last option and it can also display components including the widely-used ESS
67
It can link to a Tidal account to access its menu system on a connected TV, or a Sabre Pro ES9038Pro DAC. As our internal
streamed content, including MQA-encoded standalone computer monitor.
5- shot shows [p62], completely separate
Masters files, and to a Highresaudio Control is possible via the supplied shielded power supplies are used for the
34
account for direct downloads, as well remote handset [p65], the Novafidelity app audio section and all the computer stuff,
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as having a built-in Internet radio tuner or a computer browser [see boxout, below] and the whole machine has a solidity and
and even FM/DAB capability for terrestrial while networking is via a Gigabit Ethernet substance that’s a very long way from
an
wireless. Oh and it works with Spotify, port on the rear, or Wi-Fi, if you must, using those entry-level Cocktail Audio products.
Napster, Qobuz, Amazon Music and more, an optional USB dongle, which plugs into And its performance lives up to the
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and is also Roon-ready. one of the ports on the rear of the unit and design and build, whether playing discs
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And then – yes, there’s more! – it will cost you another £35. – yes, it does that too – or delivering the
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can also record from analogue sources, same tracks from its internal storage. The
having one set of line-ins and even a MM BRING OUT THE BIG GUNS X45Pro sounds rich and powerful, and
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phono stage, while to say that outputs That’s quite an arsenal of facilities, and reveals plenty of detail from everything
are provided on a range of connections is might have you wondering whether such a from rock warhorses to the most delicate
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something of an understatement. As well product, even one claimed as a ‘Reference- of solo instrumental recordings.
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as both balanced XLRs and unbalanced level Music Player & DAC for Audiophiles’, The bass is perhaps a shade shy of
RCAs, which can be set at fixed level or can possibly do so much and still sound offering total extension and control,
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controlled via the volume knob on the good. Well, the X45Pro is more than just an but there’s no denying the ability of this
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front, there’s a choice of digital outputs on up-spec’d version of the company’s lesser machine to keep up with a hard-hitting
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coaxial, optical and AES/EBU (to match the models, being built on an (even) more rhythm section. So The Blockheads’ engine-
same array on the input side). substantial platform, and with high-quality room on ‘Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick’,
MUSICX APP
Using the X45Pro is as simple, or as complex, as you
choose to make it, but just for once the obvious way –
using the supplied IR remote control – isn’t the simplest
option. Even after using several Novafidelity models, I still
found myself button-hunting if I wanted to do anything
much beyond basic playback. Better by far are the
on-screen options the company provides, either in the
form of the Novafidelity MusicX app, which is available
for both Android and iOS devices, or via a customised web
browser interface [see pictures, inset here].
To access the latter, simply type the X45Pro’s IP address
into whichever browser you use, and the screen will load. Ass well as normal
operations, these methods will also allow you convenient access to the unit’s
comprehensive, and complex, menu system, allowing everything from the ripping format to
browser view preferences to be adjusted. They also provide access to the firmware update facility,
which will download the appropriate file(s) from Novatron’s server. Alternatively the X45Pro can be
controlled remotely as a Roon endpoint, although this requires a Roon core running on the network.

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7
LAB
REPORT
NOVAFIDELITY X45PRO
Parent brand Novatron makes great play of the fact its X45 ‘Pro’
version is equipped with a pair of ES9038 DACs, and while this
latest iteration of the ESS ‘Sabre Reference’ family has not always
proved as straightforward to implement as the ES9028 and
ES9018, its performance here is exemplary. Maximum output
is 6.2V (balanced XLRs) from a low 48ohm source impedance
(increasing to 150ohm at 20Hz), assisting a wide 118dB A-wtd
S/N ratio and low distortion that’s typically ~0.0002–0.0006%
over the top 30dB of its dynamic range through bass and
ABOVE: Optional Wi-Fi and HDD storage options are hosted alongside digital coax, midrange [black infill, Graph 1 below]. There is some variation in
optical and AES/EBU inputs, USB-B and three USB-A (two for external drives plus one performance with sample rate, however, for with 44.1kHz/48kHz
on the fascia) and wired Ethernet. Outputs include balanced XLR and single-ended digital inputs the output is clipped at 20kHz [blue infill, Graph 1]
but not so with the same 20kHz/0dBFs input at 96kHz, 192kHz,
RCAs alongside digital on coaxial, optical and AES/EBU etc, where distortion is just 0.003%.
The digital filter also looks to change with sample rate – the
from the Reasons To Be Cheerful little lightweight, with some loss minimum phase type invoked with CD/48kHz data yielding a
compilation [Music Club Deluxe of soundstage depth with big response that’s flat to 18kHz within ±0.02dB (–0.34dB/20kHz)
but with a stopband rejection of just 21dB. By contrast the
MCDLX016] sounds suitably slinky orchestra works such as Barenboim’s
response rolls away more rapidly with 96kHz data to reach
and infectious, but with real punch, complete Beethoven symphonies –8.75dB/45kHz. Then, with 192kHz music files, the response
while Chas Jankel’s piano shines with the West-East Divan Orchestra flattens out again, actually ‘peaking’ by +0.25dB/80kHz and
through in appealing fashion. [Decca 478 3511]. It also lacks a falling to just –0.15dB/90kHz. As promised, jitter is fabulously
low whether the X45Pro is fed via its digital inputs or from media
With the old school prog-rock little ambience and presence with
7
ripped and/or stored on the captive HDD. The figures for 24-bit
21
of Genesis – in this case ‘Dance intimate jazz recordings like Carmen data are just 12psec, 6psec and 10psec with 48kHz, 96kHz and
On A Volcano’ from A Trick Of The Gomes Inc.’s Don’t You Cry [Sound 192kHz data, respectively, while ripped CD is also state-of-the-art
38
Tail [Charisma CDSCD 4001] – the Liaison SL1030A; DSD256]. at 118psec – the figure limited by the 16-bit data pattern of the
X45Pro can sound a bit thick when This set, with each track having jitter test [see Graph 2, below]. PM
67
the music gets really busy, but been recorded in a single take
otherwise drives the rhythms along with just one stereo microphone (a
5-
with real snap. However, switching Josephson C700S), can sound spine-
34
to the DSD64 version [Virgin 0946 tingling. Via the X45Pro it sounded
#0
385964 2 4], fed in via the USB-B impressively immediate but it didn’t
input, sees the X45Pro clean up its quite sparkle as I know it can.
an
act and turn on the punch again So it’s mainly as a digital

rather well, while also allowing a workhorse that Novafidelity’s X45Pro
st
deeper listen into the mix. will be considered, and it fills this
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role rather well, whether you want

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AND PHONO TOO it as a standalone ripper/player or

I have to admit that I favoured the choose to explore its extended
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USB input for most of my listening network capabilities. ABOVE: Distortion vs. 48kHz/24-bit digital signal level
to external digital sources, simply Using it as a UPnP server for other over a 120dB dynamic range (1kHz, black; 20kHz, blue)
ed
because I found the coax and network players proved very simple,
M
optical S/PDIF route a shade dry as was playing music seamlessly

and lacklustre. And anyway, with from my NAS storage, either using
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an onboard disc drive and storage, UPnP and its control app, or via
ci
there’s a limited range of sources Roon. If you’re looking for total all-
So
one would want to connect to them. round ability, this comprehensively-

Meanwhile, equipped unit is likely to appeal, and
the onboard it’s hard to imagine anything digital
phono stage that it cannot do.
was especially
impressive, HI-FI NEWS VERDICT
and with a deft ABOVE: High resolution jitter spectra (48kHz/24-bit
While the X45Pro’s sound can’t
touch over the data over network/USB, black; ripped CD, red, with
quite stand up to that of a
controls, this made residual 16-bit data pattern marked)
dedicated high-end network
fine-sounding
player, that’s not unreasonable
recordings from my
given the sheer range of facilities HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
Rega turntable.
it offers. You could put together Maximum output level / Impedance 6.21Vrms / 48-150ohm (XLR)
Otherwise,
a stack of equipment to do
and in absolute A-wtd S/N ratio (USB / CD) 118.6dB / 118.5dB
everything it accomplishes, but
terms, the X45Pro’s Distortion (1kHz, 0dBFs/–30dBFs) 0.00023% / 0.00063%
it would be quite a mess: what
sound is just a Distortion & Noise (20kHz, 0dBFs/–30dBFs) 0.0028% / 0.0025%
we have here, in one substantial
unit, is digital audio made room- Freq. resp. (20Hz-20kHz/45kHz/90kHz) +0.0 to –0.3dB/–8.8dB/–0.2dB
LEFT: Full system
friendly, if not quite simple – this Digital jitter (USB / CD) 10psec / 118psec
remote offers control
is a complex machine.
over all inputs, setup Resolution @ –110dB (USB / CD) ±0.2dB / ±0.5dB
and configuration Sound Quality: 80% Power consumption 21W (1W standby)
menus, storage and 0 - - - - - - - - 100 Dimensions (WHD) / Weight 440x130x329mm / 11kg
playback options

Closed-back circumaural headphone
Manufactured by: Focal-JMlab, France
Supplied by: Focal-JMlab UK Ltd, Salisbury
Telephone: 0845 660 2680
Web: www.focal.com
HEADPHONES Price: £2799
Focal Stellia
The French speaker company has upped its game with this de-luxe closed-back design
– perhaps aimed to make a ‘mocha-ry’ of the competition? Let’s see how well it sounds
Review: Keith Howard & Christopher Breunig Lab: Keith Howard
H
ot on the heels of the Elegia a step up from mere champagne gold, crimp or crush, and the headband is
[HFN Mar ’19] – the first closed- and more than just descriptively. The generously enough padded not to
back model in Focal’s revamped, Stellia’s brown hues and quality materials discomfort bald or thinly upholstered
post-Spirit headphone range [HFN make for something altogether rare: a pates. But the headset mass is moderately
Dec ’15] that launched in 2016 with the headphone that is genuinely chic. As well high and so too is the force with which
7
21
open-back Utopia [HFN Feb ’17] – comes as being immediately distinguishable the earpads are pressed against the head
the second closed-back design, the £2799 from any other upmarket – a common feature of
38
Stellia. These two flagship models, both competitor – where black, closed-back headphones,
featuring beryllium diaphragms, effectively grey and silver finishes ‘I was swept which rely on a good seal
67
bookend the range, their less costly siblings
being based around the same M-cone
predominate – it has the
unintended consequence
completely into
5- to achieve an extended
bass response. As a
drive unit concept but with a less exotic of making Focal’s other the drama of the result the Stellia is only
34
aluminium-magnesium diaphragm. flagship headphone, the averagely comfortable,
Sibelius piece’
#0
The point of using beryllium, just as Utopia, look rather dowdy and the braided covering
Focal does in its tweeters, of course, is to in comparison. of the cable (which
an
exploit its high ratio of tensile modulus to But as journalist L J K Setright once continues the cognac/mocha theme)
density – about 2.4x that of aluminium, said about cars, it only matters what they creates quite a lot of capsule noise if it rubs
st
magnesium or titanium. This enables look like when you’re outside them. When against clothing.
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a diaphragm that is both light, to aid you’re inside a headphone what matters is
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sensitivity, and stiff to counter resonance. comfort and sound quality. In the former CABLE CAPERS
In Focal’s M-cone drivers – which are department the Stellia is good without Talking of cables, two are supplied with
ia
constructed something like miniature cone being exceptional. the Stellia. There is the same short (1.2m)
units from a loudspeaker but with only Its two-part earpads unbalanced cable as provided, alone, with
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a thin annular cone section around the – the half nearer the Elegia, terminated in a TRS mini-jack
M
circumference of a central dome – this is the driver is fabric- plug. A gold-plated, screw-on sleeve
further assisted by the use of a formerless covered to provide adaptor is provided to convert this for
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voice coil, saving perhaps 50% on moving sound absorption, signal sources with quarter-inch sockets.
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mass. (Although Focal was keen to specify the outer half The second cable is much longer at 3m,
So
moving mass for the Utopia, oddly it leather-covered – making it better suited to use within a
doesn’t for the Stellia.) As is the case in are just, but only conventional hi-fi system, but is terminated
the Elegia, coil impedance is lowered to a just, large enough in a four-pin XLR plug to facilitate balanced
nominal 35ohm to increase sensitivity for to accommodate connection. If your signal source doesn’t
use with mobile music sources. most ears without provide the necessary balanced output
then you’ll have to buy an adapter to use
COFFEE AND LIQUEURS this cable as one isn’t provided.
Given that all of the new Focal headphone Also included in the Stellia’s unusually
range, now five models, share much large but colour-coordinated packaging
the same exterior design, the Stellia’s [see p69] are a zip-up hardshell carrying
creators were faced with the problem of case with handle, just like the Elegia’s only
how to make this latest addition stand with a woven brown/black fabric finish.
out from the ‘crowd’, especially given its Inside the box within a box that contains
status and price – a challenge that the the cables is also a thin brown leather
Utopia escaped because it was fresh and wallet whose function is merely to contain
new. Their answer was to give the Stellia the user manual – plug in, place on head! –
a distinctive colour palette that Focal and other paperwork.
calls cognac and mocha – descriptively An upside of the Stellia’s closed-back
design is that it provides good isolation
RIGHT: Focal’s styling choice of mocha and from external sounds. In fact, provided you
cognac sets these chic high-end headphones are able to ensure good earpad sealing,
apart from anything else on the market. you are unlikely to achieve superior
Everything is finished to the highest degree isolation from an over-ear headphone

LEFT: Padding to the ear cups and adjustable
headband underside is soft but the Stellias are
quite a tight fit to the head. Two cables are
provided, 1.2m and 4m (with XLR plug)
a Mytek Brooklyn DAC/amp [HFN Aug

’17]. The Stellias are a considerable step
up, both outwardly and in terms of tech,
from the Elegias, and while it seemed
appropriate to listen to some of the same
test tracks, I couldn’t resist mixing up my
repertoire with the jolly (and jolly rowdy)
Shostakovich Festival Overture in Andris
Nelsons’ new Boston Symphony Orchestra
live recording [DG 483 6728; 96kHz/24-bit]
– part of his Under Stalin’s Shadow series.
Even connected to an iMac running
7
21
Audirvana Plus music player software
and the volume setting at 10 o’clock, the
38
pacey sound suggested that even medium-
powered amps should still deliver plenty
67
of oomph. Of course, the sound quality
5- was considerably improved with the Mytek
Brooklyn pressed into service.
34
Turning to LP, Mia Farrow’s expressive
#0
narration for Prokofiev’s Peter And The

Wolf, with the LSO under (the now late)
an
André Previn [EMI ASD 2935] took on a new

lease of life. The ‘cuppiness’ observed with
st
the Elegias, and sense of boosted reverb

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around the voice, had vanished. Indeed,

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I thought this was one the most natural

speech sounds I had heard.
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Mind you, in orchestral terms, the 1959

Decca Kingsway Hall version with Sargent
ed
conducting the LSO (an old favourite

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with KH for headphone reviews) is not far

unless it features active noise cancellation. of any coloration of the test signal, there behind. With the Stellias you could hear
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While Focal’s new headphones are better was some low-level carry-over of sound the tympanist’s stick heads going up and
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in this respect than the Spirit models were, towards the inactive capsule. down on the skins while flute and bassoon
So
there remains a slight issue of headband were richly reproduced. There’s some voice
resonance. As usual, I tested for this PACE APLENTY print-through on the tapes, but the musical
subjectively by wearing the headphone For the listening (writes CB), analogue characterisation is stronger under Sir
during the impedance measurement, and digital sources were played via a DNM Malcolm [Decca 433 6122; CD].
which plays pink-spectrum noise through Series Six preamplifier, Beyerdynamic A2
one capsule only. Although I wasn’t aware headphone amp [HFN Sep ’17] and DRY AND MIGHTY
Returning to Clannad’s ‘Newgrange’ from
CLOSING THE CAPSULE Magical Ring [RCA PL70003] the deep bass
was really impressive, while my former
Designing a closed-back headphone is much more complex than taking an complaints about vocal sibilants with
open-back design and slapping a capsule closure on it. Whereas in the case the Elegias were banished by the Stellia’s
of an open-back headphone the rear of the driver diaphragm radiates into beryllium drivers. I also heard a lot of fine
a large volume of air, allowing the rear radiation to be ignored, in a closed- detail – set-back castanet sounds, for
back headphone the rear radiation is contained and, as a result, is subject to example – which was previously obscured.
resonances and reflections. The situation is analogous to that with loudspeaker Listening to some double-bass, which
enclosures except that the reflections have much shorter delays and the came courtesy of Universal’s 44.1kHz/
enclosed air resonances occur at higher frequencies. The capsule of a closed-back 16-bit download of Seiji Ozawa’s
headphone acts as a simple pressure chamber up to around 1kHz, at which point Beethoven Symphony No 9, live with
the wavelength of sound in air – 17cm at 2kHz – begins to become comparable the Mito Chamber Orchestra comprising
to the internal dimensions of the enclosure and resonances become possible. To mostly leading Japanese players [Decca
suppress these in the Elegia and Stellia, Focal’s designers have incorporated a 483 4431], the lower-strings recitatives at
mix of diffusion and absorption of the rear radiation within the capsule space. KH the start of the choral finale were cleanly
focused. What’s more, they were properly

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LAB
REPORT
FOCAL STELLIA
Focal’s lowering of the Stellia’s nominal impedance to 35ohm
pays off here, as it does with the Elegia [HFN Mar ’19]. The high
voltage sensitivity of 119.6dB (re. 1V at 1kHz), averaged for the
two capsules, accords well with the specified 106dB for 1mW
input, which is equivalent to 120.6dB for 1V. Actually the Stellia’s
impedance varies quite widely, from a measured minimum
of 29.8ohm to a maximum of 56.7ohm, which is sufficient to
cause a 1.1dB change in frequency response with a headphone
preamp that offers a source impedance of 10ohm (or 2.4dB
driven from a 30ohm source impedance). So to hear the
intended tonal balance, ensure that you partner the Stellia with
a source having a low output impedance.
Uncorrected frequency responses, measured at the artificial
ear’s drum reference point, illustrate the Stellia’s extended bass,
but also an unusual unevenness around 100Hz and a lower peak
around 3kHz than conventionally deemed necessary for a neutral
tonal balance [see Graph 1, below]. In the corrected responses
[Graph 2, below], these features translate into a shelved-up
bass response in the diffuse-field correction [green trace] but
a more neutral LF balance in the Harman correction [red trace].
ABOVE: Appropriately lavish Nevertheless both traces agree that there is a deep hole in
presentation with zip-up carrying case perceived presence band output between 2kHz and 8kHz –
a feature we see a lot in modern headphones.
to match livery, accessory folder with Rouvali’s reading, urged to raise the
7
The Stellia’s extended bass response, which doesn’t roll off
21
manuals in separate leather cases levels, which is always a positive sign significantly until below 20Hz, is critically dependent on
with new equipment. a good seal of the earpads to the head. Repeating the response
38
dry in tone while the general Taking a leaf from KK’s book I also measurements with a large spectacles temple bar fitted to the
sound over the Stellias encouraged listened to some historic mono – but artificial head and then simulated hair show that this seal is easily
67
disrupted in normal use, with the result that 10dB in output can
extended listening. Incidentally, and not for the ‘lack of any concerns easily be lost below 150Hz. Measurement of acoustical crosstalk
notwithstanding KH’s reservations about spatiality’. On the contrary:
5-
between the capsules confirms the subjective finding of some
about comfort, the longer I wore played over my Quad ESL57s the headband resonance, peaking at 120Hz. KH
34
these headphones the more wonderful Ivie Anderson’s ‘I Got
#0
comfortable they seemed. It Bad…’ from 1941, on the Duke

The Beethoven is to my ears an Ellington album In A Mellotone [RCA
an
affectionately detailed performance LSA 3069], I was able to visualise

(Gramophone magazine thought where everyone was sitting. Did the
st
otherwise), although Bartók’s music Stellias replicate this? Pretty well I’d
ki
is perhaps more Ozawa’s field – his say. And what a seductive track this
Pa
Decca 2004 live recording of Music is! Every tiny vocal inflection in the
for Strings, Percussion and Celesta singing registered beautifully.
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with the Saito Kinen Orchestra [478 I didn’t think I had any Jimi
2358] making a better test piece. Hendrix in my record collection, yet
ed
Here the Stellias captured the in a way I had. The Kronos Quartet
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cascades of celesta in the third recorded an arrangement of ‘Purple ABOVE: The Stellia’s unequalised responses (L/R,
movement well (Bartók’s rather Haze’, Hendrix’s 1967 hit, in a 1985 grey/red; averaged 3rd-octave, black) show a strong
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nightmarish Adagio) along with the Nonesuch New York production [979 bass but some ‘lumpiness’
p at 100Hz and loss at 3kHz
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antiphonal effects specified in the 111-1]. It’s delivered with affection

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score. Yet there was the slightest and aplomb and the Stellias had me
thickening, the xylophone playing standing up and ‘conducting’ those
lacking the proper metallic timbre, slides and the steady rock beat. Hard
and while this probably reflected the to keep still really…
anomalies noted in KH’s Lab Report
[adjacent], it didn’t stop me from HI-FI NEWS VERDICT
listening on through to the Concerto For the man about town, with his
for Orchestra on the same CD. handmade tan boots and a deep
trouser pocket, the matching
HIGH ON HENDRIX Focal Stellias might be just the
The pungent start of En Saga, from a ABOVE: Third-octave freq. resp. (red = Harman
ticket. Everything the Elegias can HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
new Sibelius orchestral music cycle, do, the Stellias will do better – corrected; cyan = FF corrected; green = DF corrected)
with the Gothenburg Orchestra at a price. The sound balance is
under the youthful Santtu-Matias full and forward and swathes of HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
Rouvali [44.1kHz/16-bit] gives way detail can be heard that you may Sensitivity (SPL at 1kHz for 1Vrms input) 119.6dB
to soft upper string figures below not have noticed before in your
the treading opening theme, and Impedance modulus min/max (20Hz-20kHz) 29.8ohm @ 2.27kHz
collection. If you prefer closed- 56.7ohm @ 73Hz
proved compellingly alive with the back personal listening, these Capsule matching (40Hz-10kHz) ±7.4dB
Stellias. This is a recording with wide headphones set the benchmark.
dynamic range, but the outbursts LF extension (–6dB ref. 200Hz) <20Hz
of brass were accommodated Sound Quality: 88% Distortion 100Hz/1kHz (for 90dB SPL) 0.1% / <0.1%
without stress and soon I was 0 - - - - - - - - 100 Weight (headset only) 428g
swept completely into the drama of

Belt-driven turntable system with electronic speed control
Made by: Alfred Fehrenbacher GmbH, St. Georgen, Germany
Supplied by: Decent Audio Ltd, UK
Telephone: 05602 054669
Web: www.alfredfehrenbacher.de; www.decentaudio.co.uk
TURNTABLE Price: £1399
Dual CS 600
Affordable German turntables are looking set to repeat their dominance of the market
they owned 50 years ago. Can Dual’s top-of-the-range CS 600 raise the stakes?
Review: Ken Kessler Lab: Paul Miller
A
tough review for me to write, Note the numerical suffix to ‘tweak’. This British tonearm of the late ‘70s, which
at least objectively: I’m rooting deck begs the ownership of an enthusiast consisted of a crossbar on a tubular arm,
for the CS 600 to be something because, as seems to be an increasing and which could not easily be levelled.
special because my first turntable trend, the CS 600 does not force captive
was a Dual and I recall it with fondness. leads on the user. Enter Tweak No2: at HELD CAPTIVE
7
21
I want the CS 600 to be a champ like the the rear of the plinth can be found robust When I opened the box and saw the
all-conquering ’505 was back in the days RCA sockets and an earthing post for clear plastic jig for setting up cartridge
38
of the NAD 3020-based systems. But this the supplied phono-to-phono-plus-earth- alignment, I was immediately reminded
new deck costs £1199 in black, or another wire cable. This means of the Dual 1019 that
67
£200 in gloss black or white (as reviewed), that cable junkies are I bought back in 1968.
and the competition for turntables with encouraged to experiment, ‘Improvisational
5- The 1019’s set-up
tonearms is fierce around this price point. as I did. The other socket
jazz finds some was so clever that this
34
The CS 600 sits at the top of a family of at the back is the input for then-novice was able
listeners wishing
#0
ten models, five outsourced and five made power from a wall wart to install a Pickering
in Germany. Unlike the automatics and [see picture p73]. cartridge without any
for a power cut’
an
semi-automatics Dual was best-known for, Then we come to the assistance, having never
and which comprise most of the catalogue, deck’s Achilles’ heel or, fitted one before. The
st
this and the CS 550 are manual designs more strictly, arm. Dual has developed a cartridge platform and wires were held
ki
that have to compete with market leaders new tonearm, just for this deck, with easy in place under a headshell of sorts, in a
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from Rega, Pro-Ject, Thorens and a host height adjustment, conventional balancing, removable, self-contained module that
of others, including the recently-launched etc, but with what I consider to be one of made the connecting of the wires and
ia
affordable models from EAT. the most frustrating cartridge mounting the screwing in of the cartridge itself a
Dual is thus re-entering a market set-ups I have encountered since a certain breeze. You slipped the clear plastic jig
ed
sector that, circa-2019, not only serves

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well-heeled newcomers, but first-time

upgraders and a host of others likely to be
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savvy about what constitutes a good deck.

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So
TOPICAL TWEAKS
Within the nicely-finished wooden plinth
(curiously not offered in its natural state),
a DC motor belt-drives an aluminium
sandwich platter, damped with copper
rings and polymer. Unusually, the CS 600
offers the three speeds of 33.33, 45 and
78rpm, those of an archivist bent surely
welcoming the last of the trio.
A nice touch is a pair of wires on either
side of the hole that goes over the spindle,
as they clip the platter to the spindle once
it’s dropped into place, after the flat belt
has been fitted. A thick, felt mat is supplied,
and the LP support it provides is nicely
damped [see PM’s Lab Report, p73]. Tweak
No1 thus presents itself: a lightweight
clamp or puck seems a natural addition.
RIGHT: The laminated alloy platter, with thick

felt mat, sits on a plastic sub-platter that’s
belt-driven via a DC motor. All three speeds are
offered. Low mass arm has detachable headshell

7
21
over the cartridge/platform assembly, lined Only now there is hardly any space to ABOVE: Substantial wooden chassis is available
38
up the stylus and tightened the screws. work (depending on the cartridge’s body in gloss black and white finishes. The partnering
You then returned the cartridge carrier to size and shape), so you must choose to arm offers adjustable height, downforce and
67
the headshell, and locked it into place by attach the wires to the cartridge pins bias, and includes a detachable headshell
turning the finger lift toward the front, nice
5-
with either the shell refitted to the arm,
and secure and with ideal overhang and and then try to manoeuvre the wires, or 1019 of my youth, it did make me recall
34
VTA. And if a klutz of a 16-year-old could connect the wires before you screw the my late-1970s Rega Planar 2. Headshell
#0
do it, with nothing more than tweezers, headshell back into place. Furthermore the aside, the no-nonsense simplicity here,
a small screwdriver and a superb owner’s combination of carbon fibre headshell and the lack of a fiddly suspension to adjust,
an
manual, a half-century later the procedure thread with a metal collar did not fill me the minimalist styling: for looks and
should have repeated itself. with confidence about its rigidity. ergonomics, it adhered to the genius of the
st
Sadly, this is not the case. With the CS Once through the time-consuming, Rega template of over 40 years ago.
ki
600, the headshell is removed for cartridge nerve-wracking installation procedure, Sonically, too, it was Rega-esque,
Pa
installation by unscrewing a collar as with I have to say that the arm worked perfectly and in a good way. The sound was light,
SMEs, Ortofons and other detachable- with my choice of (15g) EAT Jo No5 moving- especially when compared to turntables
ia
headshell designs – so far, so conventional. coil [HFN Dec ’18]. The phono stage was with platters that weigh as much as a small
Unfortunately, the cartridge wires are an EAT E-Glo Petit [HFN Feb ’19], priced fridge, but still lively and involving. I know
ed
captive in the arm, not in the headshell around the same as the deck and as likely the cartridge intimately, and I have heard
M
part, and when you remove the headshell, a matching candidate as any. it sound better all-round, but as I cannot
they stay in situ. So... you have to fit the separate the tonearm from the deck,
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cartridge to the headshell, line it up with BLASTS FROM THE PAST I don’t know exactly which element of the
ci
the jig, then feed the wires back through While it’s true my initial experience with CS 600 package to blame for the slight loss
So
the hole at the rear of the headshell before the CS 600 did not cause me to reminisce of cohesion. But I have my suspicions…
re-attaching it to the arm. any further about the idler-drive Dual Listening to Lightnin’ Hopkins’ open, airy
and natural 1963 recording, Goin’ Away
CROWN DUALS [Bluesville/Analogue Productions 1073],
enough of the sense of both space and
Recalling that Dual was one of the names in hi-fi in the USA back in the 1960s, soundstage dimensionality were present
and in the UK in the 1970s and 1980s, it is apt that Dual and its rivals – then to identify the portrayal as above entry-
called Perpetuum Ebner and Benjamin Miracord, now PE [HFN Sep ’17] and level. It wasn’t quite as visceral as I know
ELAC [HFN Jul ’17] – have returned during the LP revival. Dual has the honour of it to be, but the details were recovered
longevity, starting with the production of spring drives in 1900. Electricity was with minimal smearing or concealment,
added in 1927, with an electric motor backed up by spring drive, thus providing while the scale was suitably correct in its
the company with a cool brand name, ‘Dual’ referring to the combination of intimacy and there was impact a’plenty.
what it called the ‘DUAL-Motor’.
A decade later, at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris, Dual’s turntable won its FREE FOR ALL
first award. After the war, in 1949, the company introduced a record changer, Veteran rural blues singers like Hopkins are
the Model 1000, by which point Dual was producing 200,000 units per annum. identified by their vocal textures, which
Over the years, tape recorders, tuners, speakers and compact systems joined contrast beautifully with the trebly twang
the catalogue. With the arrival of CD and the subsequent decline in vinyl sales, of a guitar. This magic also describes the
after a decade-plus of owning the UK budget sector, Dual suffered like most appeal of John Lee Hooker and too many
brands, but in 1993, Alfred Fehrenbacher GmbH took over the production of others to list. Underneath it all, Hopkins’
the complete turntable programme. Now they’re back, along with their revived lean trio was completed with drums and
rivals, so it’s nostalgia time all over again. bass, the latter enjoying sufficient, if not
overwhelming mass. Fortuitously, the

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LAB
REPORT
DUAL CS 600
The licence holders of the Dual brand, Alfred Fehrenbacher
GmbH, have specified a brass bearing with a Teflon thrust pad for
this CS 600 model. While this is not the quietest bearing we’ve
ever tested – the DIN-B wtd rumble is –64.5dB (re. 1kHz/5cm/
sec) – the thick felt mat provides sufficient insulation that the
through-groove rumble is a very impressive –71.4dB. So far,
so good. The 1.05kg alloy platter is damped by a peripheral
rubber insert, and seems fairly inert, while the DC motor drives
a lightweight plastic sub-platter and brings the deck up to speed
within 4secs. There is some slight drift (sub-1Hz wow), seen on
the W&F spectrum as a broadening of the main peak, although
the peak-wtd figures are acceptable at 0.05% and 0.04%,
respectively [see Graph 1, below]. The clusters of peaks within
ABOVE: Stereo outputs (on RCAs) and a substantial ground post are all easily ±20Hz on the W&F spectrum are also visible on the rumble plots.
accessible at the rear of the plinth. The 12V DC PSU connects via a small jack plug The partnering 8.5in alloy tonearm offers a low 7-8g
effective mass that will suit moderate-to-high compliance MM
drums had that wonderful, cheesy, 57201]. I must admit that I am still pick-ups. The ‘quadruple’ cardan-type bearing looks substantial
enough but while any residual play was minimal, lateral friction
papery sound that was favoured by growing accustomed to its sound,
was a little higher than expected at 50mg in our sample (vertical
blues bands of the era, adding urban to the discovery of previously was closer to 20mg). The straight but lightweight alloy tube has
snap to what sounds fundamentally hidden details and other boons a predictably low frequency main bending mode at 90Hz with
rural rather than uptown. Here to the masterpiece courtesy of a cluster of harmonic and torsional modes at 280Hz, 370Hz,
430Hz, 580Hz and 660Hz [see Graph 2, below]. There are a
the CS 600 rose to the occasion, Giles Martin. But the two most
7
smattering of short-lived modes at higher frequency but it’s the
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reproducing this with almost enough overwhelming characteristics are substantial 100g mass of the counterweight that’s of arguably
authority to defuse my angst. the lower registers and the sheer greater concern. Coupled with this lightweight arm/carbon fibre
38
Goin’ Away, however, is so scale of the soundstage. headshell, your choice of pick-up will need to weigh >8g to both
superbly recorded (and in this This doesn’t apply only to the balance the arm and achieve a useable 2g tracking force. PM
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case, mastered and pressed) that it epic, hard-rocking or grandiose
qualifies as an audiophile recording tracks, but equally to the more
5-
of the calibre that makes any system delicate numbers including ‘I Will’,
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sound better than it might be. And ‘Blackbird’ and ‘Julia’. This is an
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so I turned to the opposite: Sun album I have heard so many times,

Ra’s Pathways To Unknown Worlds and possess in at least 15 versions,
an
[Modern Harmonic MH-8084]. that I was unprepared for the shocks

Generously described by one source and surprises of the remastering
st
as a ‘sonic free-for-all’, this is the the first time I heard it. The CS 600
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kind of improvisational jazz that attempts to reproduce this with

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would have some listeners begging reasonable success, even if much of

for a reprieve, or a power cut at the the majesty slips its grasp.
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very least, but dull it is not. While soundstage width was ABOVE: Wow and flutter re. 3150Hz tone at 5cm/sec
spot-on, front-to-back stage depth (plotted ±150Hz, 5Hz per minor division)
ed
PUNCHY BRASS seemed flattened. The bass only

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With this release, the CS 600 had went so far, and I know the Jo No5
to deal with speedy transients, cartridge had no trouble with it
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cacophony, a variety of textures, in my reference turntable. But the

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bizarre image placement and other flagship CS 600 has no aspirations

So
elements that I had heard only to ‘reference’ status. Instead, it is

the day before on a state-of-the- a stepping stone for any audiophile
art system. Blessedly, this latest that aspires to the ownership of
Dual turntable held it all together, a truly high-end system.
especially the punchy brass, honking
saxes and multiple congas. HI-FI NEWS VERDICT
As if to disprove any ingrained
First things first: the CS 600’s
audiophile beliefs that tonearm ABOVE: Cumulative tonearm resonant decay
headshell set-up demands both
rigidity, arm structure integrity and spectrum, illustrating various bearing, pillar and ‘tube’
concentration and patience – in
other mechanical issues matter, vibration modes spanning 100Hz-10kHz over 40msec
spades. That aside, once this deck
the requisite attack was precise
was up and running it proved HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
throughout, from instrument to
a solid performer, delivering HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
instrument. What’s more, the
sufficient slam when required, Turntable speed error at 33.33rpm 33.37rpm (+0.096%)
bizarre tonal colourings present on
conveying the individual Time to audible stabilisation 4sec
this 1973 recording retained their
characteristics of instruments
individual characteristics. Peak Wow/Flutter 0.05% / 0.04%
in even the busiest of mixes
Returning to earth – and that
and shining when it came to Rumble (silent groove, DIN B wtd) –71.4dB
is more apt a statement than
soundstage width. Nevertheless, Rumble (through bearing, DIN B wtd) –64.5dB
you might think, given Sun Ra’s
it’s a tough market out there... Hum & Noise (unwtd, rel. to 5cm/sec) –59.6dB
interstellar karma – I turned to
the superlative remastering of Sound Quality: 75% Power Consumption 3W (1W standby)
The Beatles’ eponymous White 0 - - - - - - - - 100 Dimensions (WHD) / Weight 440x135x370mm / 8.3kg
Album [Universal/Apple 02567

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Classical Companion
BEHIND THE MUSIC WITH HI-FI NEWS & RECORD REVIEW
Daniel Barenboim
Conductor and pianist
He was an idealistic figure, founding the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and even
working to improve the Steinway grand. Christopher Breunig looks at his career
è
S
ix years ago no-one would An EMI Prokofiev No 1’ – a piece Barenboim
have dreamt that the most cycle of had to learn but never played again.
recommendable recordings the Beethoven The young Barenboim also attended
of the two Elgar Symphonies piano sonatas conducting classes at Siena with
would come from Stockholm began in 1967 – the Italian pianist and conductor
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and Berlin. The second pair, with although when Carlo Zecchi in 1956, where he met
the Staatskapelle under Daniel much younger fellow-students Claudio Abbado
38
Barenboim, reflected a renewed he’d recorded and the Indian Zubin Mehta,
interest in music introduced to the late works for subsequently a life-long friend.
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aspiring young musician by Sir John Westminster Mehta was supportive when,
Barbirolli back in the early 1970s.
5- as an encore with his Israel
Daniel Barenboim was born in Philharmonic in 2001, Barenboim
34
Buenos Aires in November 1942 opted for the Tristan Prelude &
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and at five years old began learning Liebestod – a political gesture given
to play the piano, taught by his
í Richard the Wagner boycott that had existed
an
mother and later by his father. In Schluster’s With the family moving to Israel since the events of ‘Kristallnacht’.
his book A Life In Music [Weidenfeld photograph via Europe in 1952 he was also Some in the Knesset immediately
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And Nicolson] he recalls playing for of Daniel enrolled into conducting classes wanted to declare Barenboim
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violinist Adolf Busch when seven, Barenboim held by Igor Markevitch at Salzburg. persona non grata in Israel.
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and that year he gave his debut conducting He had first met him in Buenos Aires
recital. The house was filled with the at the 2009 when Markevitch had suggested to COMING TO LONDON
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sound of pianos, and he says ‘it took Sommernachts- his father ‘from the way he plays When he came to London he met
a very long time to realise that some konzert I can tell he’s really a conductor’. the young cellist Jacqueline du
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people did not play the piano’. Schoenbrunn At Salzburg in 1954, he met Pré and they married in Jerusalem
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the German conductor Wilhelm in June 1967 during the ‘Six Day
Furtwängler, who would be a War’. Barbirolli, who had made the
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profound and lasting influence, celebrated Elgar Cello Concerto

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and also the Swiss pianist Edwin recording with du Pré in 1965,
So
Fischer, who steered Barenboim in attended and their friendship led,

an ambition to both as noted above,
play and conduct the to a range of
orchestra in Mozart ‘He wanted to Elgar orchestral
Piano Concertos.
When Barenboim
play Beethoven, recordings
Barenboim made
came to work in
London he recorded
Stokowski said with the London
Philharmonic [CBS/
all of them for EMI in“No! Prokofiev”’ Sony]. In fact,
a fruitful relationship sitting-in at sessions
with the English Chamber Orchestra. for Falstaff was my introduction to
It began in 1967 with the two most the work! And Barenboim made
popular: K488 in A major and K466 his first (and best) versions of the
in D-minor [now in EMI 6787122 two Brahms Piano Concertos with
– for a live K488 see ‘Essential Sir John and the New Philharmonia
Recordings’ opposite]. [Warner Classics 4769392]. But
PHOTO: DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON
In 1955 he went to study theory there’s a video of tremendous live

with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and alternatives from 1991 with the
a chance encounter with Leopold Munich PO under Sergiu Celibidache,
Stokowski led to an unusual NY whom Barenboim had first met in
debut engagement as soloist. Argentina [EuroArts DVD 2066688].
He wanted to play a Beethoven In 1967 Barenboim had very
Concerto but Stokowski said ‘No. generously lent me some of the

wartime Furtwängler recordings,
tapes taken back to Soviet Russia
from German radio stations and
è
Symphony
The two
Elgar
transferred to Melodiya LPs – I think recordings

Vladimir Ashkenazy introduced them with the Berlin
to Barenboim. Later transfers came Staatskapelle
out on Unicorn LPs and DG CDs. [DG] supersede
Barenboim’s
WORKING WITH FRIENDS earlier LPO/CBS
You can see online Christopher versions from
Nupen’s March 1966 documentary 1972 and ’74
about Daniel Barenboim and
Vladimir Ashkenazy preparing, and
performing with the ECO at Fairfield
Halls, Croydon, Mozart’s Concerto
for two pianists, K365. This was their
first public appearance together
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and a Decca recording was made
later. In August 1968 they gave an
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unforgettable account of Stravinsky’s
Rite of Spring transcription at the
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Queen Elizabeth Hall. Nupen also Eastern Divan Orchestra. Founded in HFN May ’16] is reflected in DG’s live
filmed a Schubert ‘Trout’ Quintet
5-
1999 it has frequently appeared to ‘Hommage à Boulez’ CD [479 7160]
with Barenboim and du Pré, violinists acclaim at the Albert Hall Proms. – Boulez himself directs Le Marteau
34
Pinchas Zukerman and Itzhak This came about through his sans maître, singer Hilary Summers.
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Perlman, with Zubin Mehta double- friendship with the Palestinian Barenboim first met the composer
bass, given the following year also at academic Edward Said, originally as in Berlin in 1964, when he was
an
the QEH [A13CND; own label DVD]. a workshop for Israeli, Palestinian asked to play Bartók’s difficult Piano
and other Arab young musicians, Concerto No 1 [Google barenboim-
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‘individuals who had only interacted on-boulez for the full story].
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with each other through the prism As if he didn’t have enough to do,
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of war found themselves living and seeing Liszt’s piano in Siena in 2011
working together as equals’. Their he noted the straight parallel, rather
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discography includes the Beethoven than diagonally crossed strings and

Symphonies [Decca 478 3511] he liked the sound. So he worked
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ë In 1956, which prompted the ‘F-word’ – with designer Chris Maene and
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Barenboim Furtwänglerisms perpetuated in ‘a Steinway to create the Barenboim

made his Royal prevailingly old-fashioned musical concert grand – its public debut was
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Festival Hall approach,’ said some. televised as a news item and a CD

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debut with Josef Barenboim’s friendship with with Scarlatti, Beethoven, etc, was
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Notable recordings from the Krips conducting Pierre Boulez [Classical Companion made [DG 479 6724].
mid-1970s included a Tchaikovsky
Symphony No 4 with the NYPO
[Sony G010003770524T], Artur ESSENTIAL RECORDINGS
Rubinstein’s final set of Beethoven’s
Piano Concertos [RCA/Sony G0100 Argerich and Barenboim, piano duos Elgar Symphonies Nos 1 and 2
03775432T], and, playing and DG 479 3922 DG 478 9353 and 478 6677
conducting, the Violin Concerto Mozart, Schubert and The Rite Of Spring with Live recordings 2013/2015 with Staatskapelle
arranged for piano [DG E4291792]. one then two pianos; live from the Berlin Berlin, Andrew Keener producing.
There’s also a Philadelphia LP of the Philharmonie in April 2014.
Elgar Concerto with du Pré, which I Sibelius & Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos
like more than her feted EMI version Mozart Piano Concertos K482 and 488 DG 479 6038
[CBS/Sony 82876787372]. His Berlin/ BR Klassik 900709 Two outstanding recordings with Lisa
Bayreuth set of ten Wagner operas is Live performances, 1970, Barenboim playing Batiashvili and the Staatskapelle Berlin –
on Warner 2564666834. with Rafael Kubelík and the Bavarian RSO. ‘such musicality’ I wrote [HFN Yearbook ’17].
Orchestral appointments have
included the Orchestre de Paris Saint-Saens and Schumann Cello Concertos Verdi Requiem
(1975-89), the Chicago Symphony, Warner Classics 9029577508 Warner Classics 2564694517
where he succeeded Solti (1991- ‘Original Jacket’ CD reissue of the 1969 Highlight of Barenboim’s Chicago SO
2006), and La Scala (2011). But coupling with Jacqueline du Pré and the New discography, with Alessandra Marc a thrilling
principally he now works with his Philharmonia Orchestra. It’s also available on soprano (Domingo is the tenor). Far better
Berlin Staatskapelle, where he’s vinyl: 9029576533. than the La Scala/Decca remake.
conductor for life, and the West-

STEVE SUTHERLAND
Vinyl Release
Steve edited NME from 1992-2000, the Britpop
years, launching NME.com and reviving the
NME Awards. Previously he was Assistant
Editor on Melody Maker. Among his many
adventures he has been physically threatened
by Axl Rose, hung out awhile with Jerry Garcia
and had a drink or two with Keith Richards...
Hawkwind
Hawkwind
The 1970 album by the lads from Ladbroke Grove was
edited from ‘live in the studio’ takes. Steve Sutherland
listens to a 180g vinyl reissue of their space rock debut
L
et us not concern ourselves with launches into a domestic spat with Cher, his own name if you’d held a blowtorch
debating the greatest album ever narrowly avoiding arrest in Texas with Ozzy to his trousers’. In a vain attempt to clear
made. Or the greatest single, for Osbourne at the Alamo, hanging out with a their heads and get on with the interview,
that matter. Because, let’s face it, fledgling Joe Strummer, getting chemically the bumbling pair decide to take a stroll
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chances are we won’t reach any kind of messed up with Lemmy, witnessing Lou outside in the air, Mr Brock eventually
consensus and most likely we’ll be here all Reed make David Bowie cry, witnessing propping himself up against a wooden
38
day arguing about it. John Martyn make Paul Kossoff cry, and fence behind which stands a pasture
Let’s turn our attention, instead, to the getting a long, long way on the wrong side which appears to house a creature Allan is
67
greatest book about rock ever written, of a very truculent Van Morrison. struggling to identify.
which is a far easier proposition because
5- He finally twigs a couple of things: 1)
there can surely be very little argument EQUINE ENCOUNTER the monster with tombstone teeth and
34
that Allan Jones’ Can’t Stand Up For Falling But among these hilarious and revealing hooves is, in fact, a horse; and 2), Mr Brock
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Down, subtitled Rock ’n’ Roll War Stories, confrontations with our many musical is not only unaware of its presence but is
is in a higher league than any of the other heroes, the one that tickled me so hard also blissfully ignorant of the fact that, as
an
tomes out there purporting to tell it like it that the sole time I tried to read it out the wind lifts his long, flaxen locks, the
is – or was, back in the halcyon days when loud to the family I couldn’t proceed much horse is taking hungry bites at it.
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rock and pop, and all that, really mattered. beyond the first page, for choking back Allan attempts to recover his facility
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Can’t Stand Up... is a compilation of tears of laughter, was Allan’s encounter for language as the horse begins to chew
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columns called ‘Stop Me If You’ve Heard with Hawkwind founder, architect, guitarist on Mr Brock’s barnet, finally managing to
This One Before’ that Allan wrote, about his and singer Dave Brock, which took place communicate the fact that his befuddled
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time as a gunslinging reporter for the now- way back in February 1975. host is getting an unasked-for crop
defunct weekly newspaper Melody Maker. Allan is visiting Mr Brock’s bucolic courtesy of the equine barber. Mr Brock
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They appeared in Uncut, the magazine ten-acre farm in Devon where the pair turns slowly and shakes his locks free.
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he founded and edited after he left the make merry with some smoking concoction ‘Wow!’ he says, dreamily. ‘Amazing…’ ‘And
Maker. The events he recalls include called Milawi Tripweed and get themselves from where I’m barely standing,’ Allan
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being punched out by Black Sabbath’s into the sort of state where, as Allan puts recounts, ‘it is.’ Brilliant book and brilliant
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Tony Iommi, wincing as Gregg Allman it, Dave looks like ‘he couldn’t remember blokes: Messrs Jones and Brock both.
So
FREE MUSIC
By the time he was engaged in creating
the album we’re here to talk about –
Hawkwind’s debut – David Anthony
Brock had pretty much dropped out of
conventional society and, having bummed
around Europe and played in a few blues
bands, was squatting in communes in
North London and laying bread on the
table by busking outside tube stations.
An emerging light in the alternative
hippy culture putting down roots around
the UK, Brock was the first to admit
that he wasn’t exactly the world’s most
proficient guitarist. But he had a feel and
a vision inspired by free jazz, electronic
experimentation and the trance-inducing
drone rock being made in Germany by the
likes of Neu! and Can.
Gathering around him (in his words)
ì Dave Brock points at the sky in this picture of Hawkwind taken in the early 1970s.
The band will celebrate their 50th year with a Royal Albert Hall gig in November
‘like-minded people who were into free
music,’ he formed Hawkwind with the

ì Priced £19.99, the 180g vinyl reissue of
Hawkwind is available to order online
from Juno Records at www.juno.co.uk
following extremely motley crew…
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Nik Turner, whom Brock described, with
uncanny accuracy, as ‘a saxophone player
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who couldn’t play the saxophone’. What he
does, instead, is buy a wah-wah pedal and
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makes a wailing sound that kind of flows.
Huw Lloyd Langton, a young lead
5-
guitarist who can’t handle the band’s heavy
34
drug intake and kind of freaks out, leaving

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the group as soon as the album is finished.

A solid rhythm section comprising John
an
Harrison on bass guitar and Terry Ollis on

drums. Michael Davies aka Dik Mik, some
st
kind of mad genius who likes nothing ultimately a completely audio-visual thing. Ritual, etc, are, they lack the sheer charm
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better than to make weird electronic noises Using a complex of electronics, lights and of the 1970 debut.
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on a number of Heath Robinson-esque environmental experiences.’ For some it sounds ‘unremarkable…

instruments. Dick Taylor, an extremely repetitive… self-indulgent… lengthy…’
WALKING ON SUNSHINE
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proficient lead guitarist who has been in an Such criticisms were brushed aside by
early incarnation of The Rolling Stones and What actually happened was that, try as he Nik Turner who later complained that (on
ed
has just quit The Pretty Things, and done might, Dick Taylor couldn’t get anything the contrary) ‘A lot of the cuts were much
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a brief tour with the ’Wind with a view to decent out of the band under any sort longer when we did them originally… the
producing the aforementioned album. of studio-disciplined circumstances so he cuts were about 15 or 20 minutes each,
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And what this rather unlikely mob end eventually gave up and just had them play then they got edited down to seven’.
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up doing is inventing space through their set three ‘This was the band,’ added Brock with
So
rock. Oh, and punk. Sort or four times as they typical honesty. ‘It wasn’t pretentious or
of simultaneously. Unlike ‘What this mob would have done if live over-produced. It was just… us.’
anything recorded before
or since, Hawkwind’s
end up doing is on tour. The 40-minute
improvisation, known
Oh, and Johnny Rotten was a fan.
self-titled debut album,

pieced together in Trident
inventing space loosely as ‘The Sunshine
Special’ was then diced RE-RELEASE VERDICT
Studios in April, 1970, is rock. And punk’ up into individual tracks Produced by guitarist Dick Taylor at
Trident Studios in London, the band’s
a strange beast, to put it from the best takes –
mildly. The band, such as they were, are an ‘The Reason Is?, ‘Be Yourself’, ‘Paranoia eponymous debut album Hawkwind was
undisciplined bunch, never happier than Part 1’, ‘Paranoia Part 2’, and ‘Seeing It As released in the UK and Europe in 1970 as a
when engaged in a live jam session, which You Really Are’, book-ended by a couple Liberty label gatefold album [LBS 83348],
would last as long as their energies allowed of great Brock acoustic buskers, ‘Hurry On and in the States one year later by United
and the drugs didn’t wear off. Sundown’ and ‘Mirror Of Illusion’. Artists. Our 180g vinyl reissue comes from
Fuelled on acid and pot, they made Imagination reigns over technique, the Netherlands-based label Music On
no secret of their ambitions, as stated on there’s a DIY attitude uncowed by the lack Vinyl and is also presented in a gatefold
the back of the album’s gatefold: a trippy of technical ability, a can-do-will-do, what- sleeve, with the original fantasy artwork
painting full of dragons and faux-marijuana the-hell-willingness to take stuff further and [MOVLP1702]. The side-break, incidentally,
leaves created by a bloke called Arthur further out in a truly collective pulse. The divides the two halves of ‘Paranoia’. Our
Rhodes. ‘This is the beginning,’ it read. band, with its revolving door membership copy was a high quality, flat pressing. HFN
‘By now we will be past this album. We save for Brock, who was their rock of Sound Quality: 80%
started out trying to freak people (trippers), foundation, would muscle-up in the future
0 - - - - - - - - 100
now we are trying to levitate their minds, and bring more focus but, great as the
in a nice way, without acid, and with later albums, In Search Of Space and Space

VINYL ICONS
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Joan Armatrading Joan Armatrading

The singer/songwriter’s third album not only included two of her most celebrated songs
but was the springboard for a career that would eventually see her achieve a number of
firsts for UK female artists. Yet teasing out her talent was not straightforward...
Words: Johnny Black

J
oan Armatrading was
the first black British
singer-songwriter to
achieve major success.
She would deserve to
be hoisted shoulder-high
for that alone but, above and
beyond her commercial success,
she should be recognised for having
produced over the years a catalogue
featuring a clutch of the finest songs
ever written by any songwriter, male
é Label
for the
first side of
ANDREW CATLIN
or female, black or white. the original
Choosing an Armatrading album 1976 UK LP
on which to confer our coveted Vinyl release on
Icon status was not easy because A&M
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she has several valid contenders, but
we’ve settled on her third album, The Alpert – and this person,
n,
ì
38
1976’s Joan Armatrading because, singer Jerry, who had a love
quite apart from its generally poses for of music. Between the
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exquisite musicality, it contains two a publicity two of them, they made e
transcendently magnificent songs photo in
5-
a record company that
GEORGE HOLZ
that have become her hallmarks. 2014, used worked for artists.’
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to promote For a producer,

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ON THE MONEY her last ever getting the best out of

Unlike most artists, Armatrading world tour – Armatrading, especiallyy
an
never had to struggle to get signed, ‘Me Myself I’ in her early days, was
EDDIE MALLIN
because when she started taking not easy. Her first two
st
her songs round record companies: On albums had paired

ì
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‘They all offered me a contract. I’ve stage her with talented

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no idea why. I just went with the in the early producers, and were critically
tically West London’s revered Olympic
one I liked best.’ ’80s at the acclaimed but did not sell well. A&M Studios, famed for its combination
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Her first LP, Whatever’s For Us National Records’ decision to bring in Glyn of laid-back ambience and top-
had been released in 1972 by Cube Stadium in Johns [HFN Nov ’18] for her third notch technical know-how. But
ed
Records, but their relationship Dublin outing was bang on the money. Glyn Johns understood that a
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quickly turned sour. By the time of flexible and friendly team of session
her second LP (Back To The Night, Dutch SELF DEFENSE players would also be essential, so
í
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1975) Armatrading had switched sleeve It was not only that Johns had he corralled several members of
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to A&M, which was jointly owned and label for worked wonders for The Rolling Fairport Convention, steel guitar
So
by superstar trumpeter Herb Alpert the single Stones, The Eagles wizard BJ Cole,
and experienced music biz executive ‘Love And and Led Zeppelin but Graham Lyle of
Jerry Moss. Moving to A&M proved Affection’. It that he treated every ‘“She spent Gallagher And Lyle,
to be a good decision.
‘I was signed by Jerry Moss, so
was to give
Armatrading
artist as an individual,
and would tailor his
the first week and Faces drummer
Kenney Jones.
that was really nice. He took a really her first chart productions to suit cold and very Even so, Johns
keen interest in what I was doing. hit, peaking their strengths. For recounted, ‘She spent
Jerry wasn’t really a musician, so at No 10 in all her prodigious withdrawn”’ the first week calling
A&M consisted of a musician – Herb the UK talent, Armatrading everyone by their
needed someone like him to help instruments, and never talking to
her achieve her best. As Johns found: them, always talking through me
‘She was renowned for not being – like, “Can you ask the bass player
particularly friendly – she was to…?”. Maybe because she couldn’t
a nervous person and would remember their names, but she was
actually be quite abusive to very cold, very withdrawn’.
keep people away. That was Once she had started to relax,
her defence mechanism’. however, the music began to flow
Johns knew that and Johns found himself working
he had to create a with ‘the most extraordinary talent,
studio environment in the most brilliant musician’.
which she would be The first track recorded for the
comfortable. Accordingly, album was the opener, ‘Down To
the sessions took place in Zero’, which would go on to

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VINYL ICONS
PRODUCTION NOTES
Based in a former cinema/TV studio,
Olympic Studios on Church Road in
Barnes, London, was one of the UK’s
foremost recording facilities from
1966 until 2009. House engineer
Eddie Kramer has recalled, ‘Olympic
Studios in 1967 was at the cutting
edge. We were very innovative and
we had, I think, the best console in
England and possibly the world’.
This console was the first-ever
ì A&M ad
for the
album, used
‘wraparound’ mixing desk, designed to promote
and built by Olympic’s technical the release in
director Dick Swettenham, giving the US
engineers the ability to control every
ROBIN DUA
aspect of the sound from their chair.

ë Posing
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More famously, the desk included a with
control at one end known as the ‘DFA a 12-string
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fader’. This was under the exclusive become the song she used to open remember exactly what started it all Ovation
control of any producer/manager/ her concerts for some years. Asked off because I don’t have a definite guitar
67
executive who felt he should be about this perceptively insightful way of writing. I don’t write words
involved in the recording process – track, she told PopMatters: ‘When
5-
first, or music first. Sometimes a Glyn
DFA stood for ‘Does F*** All’. I was at school, I was always verse will trigger me off, sometimes í Johns,
34
In the case of Joan Armatrading, interested in watching people play. it’s music and words together. the album’s
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however, most of her material was I’d see how they interacted with ‘Sometimes everything comes producer
thought out before she entered each other, who’s best friends with from a guitar I’ve picked up, and
an
the studios. ‘I’ve always had a who, who’s falling sometimes I go to One of
tape recorder at home,’ she has out with who and
‘“Sometimes the piano. “Love And ê a series
st
pointed out. ‘I started out with just who’s trying to make Affection” came from of shots used
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a cassette, then I got a two-track, somebody else not

no more than my 12-string guitar. to publicise
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followed by a four-track, eight-track, like somebody. Those It started and ended 1980’s Me
16-track. Right from the beginning kinds of things. Of a verse will with that guitar, Myself I
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I’ve always demo-ed everything course, when you it didn’t migrate

myself and played everything myself. grow up, you’re trigger me off”’ onto anything else.’
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So with Love And Affection it was a looking at grownups Interesting then, that
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case of layering stuff up at home.’ acting the way that grownups do, the 12-string guitar on the recorded
which is slightly different.’ version is played by Graham Lyle!
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Pedal steel virtuoso BJ Cole

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remembers the perfectionism CHANCE ENCOUNTER

So
of Glyn Johns, which drove that One distinctive feature of the

session. ‘Glyn specifically wanted track is the deep, resonant male
the pedal steel to play the solo voice intoning ‘Give me love’
on the track,’ says Cole. during the chorus. Intriguingly,
‘It took quite a few takes that voice belongs to session
to get it right. He was always singer Pete Clarke, who later
quite a stickler when he had a changed profession and became
strong idea of what he wanted. Clarke Peters, known to millions
Listening to the track today, I’m in his role as Lester Freamon in the
glad he pushed me hard, because cult TV cop series The Wire.
Producer Glyn Johns was best- the solo is perfect for the song.’ Although ‘Down To Zero’
known for working with hairy rock Armatrading has revealed that and ‘Love And Affection’ were
bands, so taking on a sensitive female the inspiration for perhaps her best- undeniably the standout tracks on
singer-songwriter was something of a known song, ‘Love And Affection’, the album, every one of its ten cuts
challenge. He was aided in his efforts came to her while she was driving is well worth hearing.
to create a laid-back atmosphere for along King’s Road in London. ‘It was ‘Water With The Wine’,
Armatrading by the studio’s in-built somebody trying to persuade me to for example, beautifully
ambience. ‘The camaraderie there be with them, and that’s as much as illustrates Armatrading’s gift for
was of the highest order. If you I’m saying about that song.’ transforming a chance encounter
weren’t needed, you didn’t have to Fortunately, she has said more into a compellingly fascinating
work, and if you were needed, you about ‘Love And Affection’ in song. ‘I was going home to Hayes
did have to work. We were all equal other interviews. ‘It’s actually two one night, and there was this
and nobody was actually in charge.’ songs that I put together. I can’t boy,’ she told Melody Maker.

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FIRST CD (1987)
While far from shoddy, the
first UK CD version of this
album [A&M CDA 3228] is
widely agreed to have been
outstripped in terms of audio
quality by later versions.
VINYL REISSUE (1990)

Like the 1982 cassette this was
an attachment to an Italian
Unlike most of our Vinyl Icon part work magazine [IL ROCK
choices, there are relatively few IGDA 1195/196]. It’s quite hard
significantly different versions to find and, frankly, none but
ì Publicity photo of Armatrading for the 2007 album Into The Blues.
In 2018 she completed a tour of the UK with all 34 dates sold out of Joan Armatrading out there,
probably because though a
Armatrading obsessives would
be advised to go to the trouble.
‘He was only young, 18 or whatever. mood through the judicious use of critical and commercial success
I was waiting for the train and he unexpected and quite sophisticated it was never a huge seller. The SPEAKERS CORNER LP (1997)
was doing circles around me. When chord changes’. majority of releases appeared in This well thought-of 180g
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I get into the train, I was the only The album was released 1976, so differences between reissue [SP-3228] is definitely
one in the compartment. And up on August the 27th, 1976, to them consisted largely of which worth considering if the 1976
38
comes this little lad, takes off his hat, considerable critical acclaim, as language the text on the sleeve original is eluding your grasp.
saying, “Can I sit by you, please”. I did its two predecessors, but unlike was printed in.
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said, “All right, then,” and we chat. them it would also go on to achieve
‘Then I get off at my stop. And commercial success.
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ORIGINAL VINYL (1976)
he says, “I get off here, too. I work As well as the involvement of
34
around the corner. Can I walk you to GOOD AS GOLD Glyn Johns as both producer
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your door?”. Well, he does, and he Robin Denselow wrote in The and engineer – in itself virtually
obviously doesn’t want to go, so I Guardian that the album showed a guarantee of superior fidelity
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ask him in for a cup of coffee. I play ‘We now have a black artist in – the original release [A&M
a record and give him an apple or Britain with the same sort of vocal AMLH 64588] was mastered by
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something, and I ask range, originality – in the estimable Doug Sax at The
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him to go off to work. fact even greater Mastering Lab in Los Angeles,
‘With “Tall In
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And that was it. That’s originality in terms of and is to this day considered a
all that happened. But
The Saddle” musical influences – highly desirable artefact, with NIMBUS LP (EARLY ’80S)
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the song is about what and lyrical sensitivity the accent on replicating the While Nimbus is generally and
I knew was in his mind. she’s in full as Joni Mitchell’. ‘true’ sound of each instrument deservedly well-regarded,
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His name was Donald.’ Joan Armatrading rather than electronically some of the company’s mail
attack mode’
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And in a similar peaked at No 12 manipulating them. There order only Supercut editions,
way, ‘People’ finds in the UK album was also a cassette version including Joan Armatrading,
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her turning the problems of trying charts and went on to be certified [CS-3228] but, unless you’re a [AMLH64588] attracted
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to work into something eminently Gold, while ‘Love And Affection’ registered tape-head, the vinyl criticism for presenting ‘a
So
singable. ‘One day the phone lodged itself at No 10 in the singles is a better bet. boosted high end and dry,
kept ringing and none of the calls chart. Armatrading had arrived. She rather than full, warm bass’.
were for me,’ she revealed in Black remained with A&M for a further 11 CASSETTE REISSUE (1982) Others, though, remarked
Echoes. ‘I was trying to practice and albums, only ending the relationship This intriguing curiosity came that extra detail in quiet
there was the man next door saying in 1992 before moving to RCA. out in Italy as an attachment passages was a welcome
I had to stop because his wife was Reflecting back on those years to the part work Rock Storia E improvement. In the past few
home with a broken leg. I was just with A&M, Armatrading has said, Musica, published by Gruppo years these have been selling at
trying to write a song and couldn’t ‘They cared for the artist. They Editoriale Fabbri [ROCK 08]. premium prices (eg, eBay £70).
get on with it.’ nurtured artists. They would give the The cassette tape came along
Although she’s generally artist a chance to mature. When with a magazine featuring liner REMASTERED CD (1997)
a sensitive, considerate I was on A&M, it was my notes by Daniele Caroli. Of British remastering pioneer
lyricist, ‘Tall In The third album that had the interest only to collectors. Roger Wake did this one [A&M
Saddle’ finds success. They obviously 393 228-2, pictured below left]
Armatrading in saw the potential. They and it’s considered to represent
fearsome attack could see that I would a marked improvement on the
mode, rightly eventually get there. I original 1987 version.
pegged by think if it hadn’t been
Melody Maker that third album JAPANESE CD (2014)
as ‘a vituperative then it would have Finally we have this Freesoul
condemnation of been the fourth. 20th Anniversary Collection
JOEL ANDERSON
empty machismo And they would have [Universal UICY-15310].

which creates its waited – I’m pretty Available on import, the sleeve
unusual sure of that.’ bears a yellow obi strip.

Meet the Producers
MEET THE PRODUCERS
Norman Smith
Not only was this British-born producer an RAF pilot in WWII but he would go on to
become The Beatles’ first sound engineer before discovering and producing Pink Floyd.
So why did John Lennon christen him ‘Normal’? Steve Sutherland has the answer...
he group, it’s fair to say,
T were getting a right

rollicking. Their hair was
too long, their clothes too
shabby, their manners a mite lairy,
and as for their equipment... it was
è Smith
caught
on camera in
the early ’70s
and (far right)
a shambles, falling apart. pictured on
The producer was having a stern the sleeve
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word and when he piped down, his of his hit
assistant picked up where he’d left single ‘Oh,
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off, banging on about etiquette and Babe, What
volume and punctuality. On and on Would You
67
and on they went... until, at last, Say?’, which
a merciful pause. At which point the he released
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producer, the very acme of good in 1972
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manners, asked the lads if they had under the

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anything at all to say in response. stage name

There was a moment’s silence Hurricane
an
and then, assuming the audition an Smith

utter disaster, the youngest of their
st
number piped up: ‘Yeah... I don’t like Label

è
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your tie!’. The producer sat stock for

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still, then grinned. The assistant the Frank as a glider pilot and tried his hand with
nearly fell off his chair. Ifield single as a jazz drummer in The Bobby chances
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‘I Remember Arnold Quintet when, in 1959, he for promotion

UNSUNG HERO You’, which happened upon an advert placed by extremely rare, he really needed
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And so it was that a relationship gave Smith EMI in The Times newspaper for an a hit firmly nailed to his name –
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was born that changed the world his first break apprentice sound engineer. an event that arrived in the most
forever. The group was The Beatles, With a young family to support, unlikely of circumstances. Norman
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the young ’un George Harrison, Cliff he tapped into a hitherto underused was asked to be the balance
ê
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the producer George Martin [HFN Richard rebellious streak, lied about his age engineer on the commercial test
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Jun ’16] and the assistant a fellow pictured in (they wanted candidates up to 28 (ie, the exit interview) for a fading
called Norman Smith, an unsung 1960. Though years old; he was six years too old Australian star about to be dumped
and under-appreciated hero of the no fan, Smith to apply) and gained an interview called Frank Ifield. The producer
British Beat Boom and beyond, an worked with whereupon he thought he’d blown it was Norrie Paramore and the song,
aberration we’re about to put right. him in 1961 when he revealed he considered Cliff an old 1942 Jimmy Dorsey number
Norman, who John Richard ‘nauseating’, only to find his called ‘I Remember You’, quickly
Lennon would later interviewing superiors secretly in became a No 1 smash.
affectionately refer to agreement. Two hundred applied, Suddenly Norman found himself
as ‘Normal’ because of three were taken on. He was one. running the auditions that acts
his insistence that the had to endure to gain a recording
group’s performance CHANCE HIT contract. And so it was that, having
in the studio remain Making the tea, running errands, been rejected by virtually every
with the dials the at 36 years old he found himself other UK label, The Beatles turned
polite side of the red, fulfilling all the junior stuff, up for a Parlophone audition in
was indeed one of those graduating to tape op and then EMI’s Studio 2 on Wednesday, June
wonderful suit and tie engineer, eventually working on the 6th, 1962. Norman then took it
company types who kept stuff by Manfred Mann, Shane upon himself to gussy them up into
the late ’50s/early ’60s Fenton (later Alvin Stardust), Helen something resembling ship-shape
music industry ticking over Shapiro, Gerry & The Pacemakers, and Bristol fashion, got a soldering
efficiently within taste and The Swinging Blue Jeans, and The iron to their battered equipment
budget. Born in 1923 in Dakotas, The Shadows et al. In and set the tapes a’rolling.
Edmonton he’d already 1961 he engineered Cliff and The The upshot of the audition for
done a stint in the RAF Shadows’ ‘Young Ones’ session but, Norman was that he engineered

all The Beatles’ major
releases up until the end
of 1965. That’s about
100 songs from ‘Love
Me Do’ to ‘Michelle’,
six chart-topping LPs –
With The Beatles, Please
Please Me, Beatles For
Sale, Help!, A Hard Day’s
Night and Rubber Soul
– and nine No 1 singles.
His job, as he saw it, was to keep it
street while George Martin and the é Pink
Floyd’s
boys finessed, manicured, expanded debut album
and progressed their sound. The Piper at
Calling upon his own experience The Gates
as a jobbing musician, he recognised Of Dawn,
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that the sterility of the traditional released 1967
studio set-ups would most likely
38
dampen the excitement the band Pink
sought to capture on disc. ì Floyd
67
pictured in Play’, and went on to produce
MERSEY SOUND 1967 (l-r):
5- the Floyd’s first four albums –
‘Up until the time when I became a Rick Wright, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn,
34
sound engineer the other engineers Roger Waters, receive phone calls and letters from Saucerful Of Secrets, Umma Gumma
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would always use screens,’ he Nick Mason America asking how I managed to and Atom Heart Mother.
recalled, ‘so that the separation was and Syd get all of that sound on tape.’ ‘With The Beatles we’re talking
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good on each mic. But I didn’t like Barrett Yet once the album Rubber Soul about something really melodic,
that idea for The Beatles. It seemed was completed, Norman was alert to whereas with Pink Floyd, bless
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they would be far happier if they Floyd’s a couple of crucial changes. them, I can’t really say the same
ì
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were set up in the studio as though Umma thing for the majority of their
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they were playing a live gig. Gumma UFO SPOTTING material. “A mood creation
‘I threw all of the screens away, from 1969 The first was that the group were through sound” is the best way
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and the Abbey Road management and label for now more than capable of capturing that I could describe them,’ he
warned me that I was taking a little 1970’s Atom the sound they wanted in the studio continued. ‘In fact, I could barely
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bit of a chance. But The Beatles Heart Mother, without a ton of exterior guidance. call it music, given my background
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performed as they did on stage, the last Floyd The second was that George Martin, as a jazz musician and the musical
and although the separation on LP Smith frustrated by the experience that
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each mic wasn’t terribly good, it did produced trade constraints EMI I’d had with The
‘“I could barely
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contribute to the overall sound. was forcing upon Beatles. Still, there
So
‘We also got a bit of splashback

from the walls and the ambience of ê EMI
press
him, went freelance,
meaning there was a
call most of was something
about Syd Barrett’s
the actual studio, and in my view shot of The vacancy for Producer Pink Floyd’s songs that was
that helped create what the press Beatles from and Head of A&R. indescribable
dubbed the “Mersey Sound”. I’d the early ’60s Norman stepped material music”’ – they were
into the breach and nondescript, but
in his new exalted role, took a giant obviously had that Barrett magic for
leap into the unknown in 1967 by an awful lot of people.’
convincing his bosses that they Syd, of course, was slowly
should sign a band he’d spotted spinning out into his own orbit, and
playing at the UFO Club in London. Norman spent a lot of time trying to
‘What I saw absolutely amazed keep him in the zone.
me,’ he recalled. ‘I was still into ‘I got along as well as anybody
creating and developing new could with Syd... He really was
electronic sounds in the control in control. He was the only one
room, and Pink Floyd, I could see, doing any writing, he was the only
were exactly into the same thing…’ one who I, as a producer, had to
Smith persuaded EMI to offer a convince if I had any ideas.
very high advance payment, £5000 ‘But the trouble with Syd was
against royalties, and, after Joe Boyd that he would agree with almost
[HFN Oct ’16] had done their first everything I said and then go back
one, ‘Arnold Layne’, he produced the in and do exactly the same bloody
group’s second hit single, ‘See Emily thing again! I was getting nowhere.

ZZero-compromise
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A necessity — not an accessory.
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Distributed by
KOG AUDIO www.kogaudio.com info@kogaudio.com 024 7722 0650
MEET THE PRODUCERS
1962 1964 1967 1968 1968 1970 1971

Smith runs the In his usual role Smith joins Pink Recorded at Smith uses a Smith helms the Finally personal
mixing board for as The Beatles’ Floyd on May Abbey Road Mellotron and sessions for what fame arrives as
the recording studio engineer, the 21st 1967 studios with early electronic will be Barclay Smith steps into
of Cliff and The Smith lays ‘A at the Sound Smith at the desk tone generators James Harvest’s the limelight with
Shadows’ ‘The Hard Day’s Night’ Techniques before and after to create The Once Again his self-penned
Young Ones’. to tape and even studio in Chelsea Syd Barrett’s Pretty Things’ album. ‘Mocking chart hit ‘Don’t
On its release in plays bongos on to produce their departure, S. F. Sorrow – Bird’ becomes Let It Die’, which
January 1962 it the song. Eat second single Pink Floyd’s A now regarded as one of the band’s he releases
goes straight to your heart out ‘See Emily Play’. Saucerful Of a rock milestone most loved songs under the name
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No 1 in the UK Pete Best... It peaks at No 6 Secrets hits No 9 Hurricane Smith
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‘I never actually saw him taking one – and there had to be He also produced Barclay James
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drugs in the studio, but he had the a drum roll, and of course he Harvest, taking control of their
kind of character that, even if he didn’t have a clue what to
5- early breakthrough LPs: Once
hadn’t taken any, you’d think he was do. I had been a drummer, Again (1971) and, later that
34
on drugs. He was a peculiar person. and so I had to do that. Nick year, And Other Short Stories.
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You couldn’t really hold a sensible was no threat to Buddy Rich!

conversation with him for longer ‘Roger Waters, on the LIKE A HURRICANE
an
than 30 seconds. Roger Waters had other hand, was an adequate And then something very odd
the best rapport with Syd, but even bass player for what they did, happened. Norman had written
st
he found it difficult.’ but to be honest he used to a song he thought would

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make more interesting noises suit John Lennon. He played it to a
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OUT THE DOOR with his mouth. He had a ridiculous The mate, who just happened to be the
‘I remember them being on Top Of repertoire of mouth noises, and we Pretty famous producer Mickie Most [HFN
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The Pops with “See Emily Play”, and used that on one or two things. Things pose Sep ’17]. On hearing it Most insisted
beforehand I took them into Number ‘So, they were capable, but I had for the that Norman should record and
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One Studio purely to rehearse what a great struggle with them after Syd camera in release the track himself rather than
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they would do on Barrett went funny the mid ’60s. pass it on. So our Norman, under
television for the first and left,’ Norman They formed the moniker Hurricane Smith, found
‘Norman was
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time. I was almost continued. ‘They in London in himself at No 2 in the UK charts with
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choreographing them,
now a bona tried very hard to 1963 his single ‘Don’t Let It Die’.
So
silly little old me, write material. He then followed this swiftly with
thinking they would fide pop star at I remember them Polydor a cracker called ‘Oh, Babe, What
actually stick with
my choreography! Of the age of 48!’
writing a song about
apples and oranges,
ê press
shot of prog
Would You Say?’, which reached
No 4. Norman was now a bona fide
course, that all went which I dressed up rock band pop star at the ripe old age of 48!
out of the window, thanks to Syd. and released as a single, and that Barclay James He passed away in 2008,
‘He wasn’t happy about doing sold about six copies. Harvest, a remarkable man under whose
Top Of The Pops. He didn’t like ‘It was around the time of the taken in the guidance British music blossomed
singles – he only liked doing albums Saucerful Of Secrets album, and I mid ’70s into the envy of the world.
– and it was while waiting around really did think that it was all over.
for an appearance on Saturday Club We still had to keep the singles
[a BBC radio show] that he walked coming for the audience that they’d
out of the door and went missing. established, but... their recording
That really was the first sign of his career was going down the drain
complete mental breakdown, and he fast. And then along came Dave
never did come back into the studio Gilmour and things picked up again.’
any more after that. When he didn’t have his hands
‘As musicians, the Floyd were full with the Floyd, Norman also
capable enough, but Nick Mason mentored The Pretty Things, helping
would be the first to agree that he the sessions for S.F. Sorrow, the
was no kind of technical drummer. 1968 album generally regarded by
In fact, I remember recording a rock historians as the first concept
number – I can’t now recall which album recorded in the UK.

ALBUM
REVIEWS
AUDIOPHILE: VINYL
BO DIDDLEY
16 All-Time Greatest Hits
Sundazed/Checker LP5564 (white vinyl; mono)
Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Louis
Jordan, Jackie Brenston – there are numerous
claimants to the title of ‘Father Of Rock ’n’ Roll’,
but Bo Diddley’s unique beat was easily the
freshest departure from speeded-up R&B or
‘un-rednecked’ country. From Buddy Holly to
The Rolling Stones and everyone in between,
his chucka-chucka guitar personified the
genre, and this best-of justifies his enormous
ego – yes, he even rivalled Little Richard in
this area. Fifteen magnificent originals and
a peerless take of Willie Dixon’s ‘You Can’t
Judge A Book By Its Cover’ fill this slab of
white vinyl, and it’s so in-your-face that you
7
21
will have to reassess your sense of rock history
– and your attitude toward mono! KK
38
Sound Quality: 90%
67
0 5-- - - - - - - - 100
34
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BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING CO HOLLY COLE TRIO THE SHADOWS OF KNIGHT
So
Sex, Dope & Cheap Thrills Don’t Smoke In Bed Alive In ’65!
Columbia/Legacy 19075863531 (two discs) Analogue Productions APP049 (200g vinyl) Beatrocket/Sundazed BR145 (orange vinyl; mono)
An important 50th anniversary reissue- Superlative, small-group jazz, as definitive What a find! The Shadows Of Knight
of-sorts, this recalls The Beatles’ Let It a recipe for audiophile acceptance as a were the definitive Nuggets/garage/
Be… Naked, which gave us that LP as the concept gets, this absolute stunner from punk (in the US sense) band of the mid-
band intended. This provides a wealth of 1993 has long demonstrated the worth 1960s, their hit version of Them’s ‘Gloria’
alternative versions and outtakes which of a sound system at shows. Remastered creating the template for every bunch of
represent Cheap Thrills (with its original by Bernie Grundman from the original teenage wannabees across the USA. This
risqué title) with greater authenticity. This master tapes and pressed on 200g vinyl, was recorded before they released their
is the album that established Janis Joplin as it delivers immediate satisfaction on every first LP and it shows them to have honed
the voice of late-1960s rock, a belter par level, a rare case of the music matching their chops with the catalogue that every
excellence, and even the band comes off the sonics. Silky sound, seductive vocals, collective of musicians who wanted to be
better than history would have us believe. refreshing reworkings of ‘I Can See Clearly The Rolling Stones would play: ‘Not Fade
A feast for Janis fans, the double LP contains Now’, ‘The Tennessee Waltz’ (covered so Away’, ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Memphis’,
16 tracks of which 13 are previously many times that it’s a miracle one can find ‘Louie, Louie’, ‘Heart Of Stone’ and eight
unreleased, while the expanded, double CD a new delivery), a cheeky but sincere ‘Que others which populated every set played in
[19075863522] contains 30 tracks, 25 of Sera Sera’ – this is a no-brainer purchase on bars and frat houses across the land. The
which are heard for the first time. KK every level: it’s why we love LPs. KK difference is: these guys were brilliant. KK
Sound Quality: 85% Sound Quality: 90% Sound Quality: 85%

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AUDIOPHILE: DIGITAL COMPACT DISC SUPERAUDIO DVD BLU-RAY VINYL DOWNLOAD
BOB DYLAN HENRY MANCINI PINK FLOYD

Oh Mercy The Return Of The Pink Panther & Symphonic Soul Wish You Were Here
Mobile Fidelity UDSACD2203 Vocalion CDSML 8535 (multichannel SACD) Analogue Productions PFR25/19075810342
Marking this album’s 30th anniversary, A great month for big, orchestral releases, Back in the quad era, if any band actually
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MoFi’s reissue of another neglected Dylan this dating from the early 1970s and delivered worthwhile use of the enveloping
opus is much appreciated. As with so many giving us two albums originally recorded experience surround sound offered, it was
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of his post-accident/conversion/whatever in quadraphonic. Here, the surround adds Pink Floyd. With SACD, we can now have it
releases, it’s still a feast of lyricism, emotion scale, magnificent lower registers and in true, discrete form, instead of messing
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and – thanks to Daniel Lanois’ production luscious bombast, rather than mere spatial about with barely workable quadraphonic
– exquisite sound. Somehow, it balances a effects, while two-channel playback is just
5- vinyl, and while this isn’t the first time it’s
glossy, slick, airy presence with a rawness as rewarding. What’s so fresh about this is been reissued in a multichannel digital
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that recalls the passion of Dylan’s formative that the two albums combine to offer both format, this is the best-sounding version I
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years. This is dark, moody, atmospheric the expected and the surprising. The first have ever heard. ‘Welcome To The Machine’
and redolent of the era, shaped by Dylan’s is, as stated, Pink Panther Redux and thus is so massive that I had to switch off the
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inescapable political position of the time. it is soundtrack-oriented, but the second subwoofer and listen in 5.0 for fear of
It yielded no stand-out tracks, it isn’t finds Mancini covering material from Herbie destabilising the recent underpinning to
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particularly memorable, but even middling Hancock, the Average White Band and our home. Along with Dark Side Of The
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Dylan is worthy of respect and attention. other funksters, as the title promises. Damn, Moon, this is one of the band’s most potent
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And it just sounds so good. KK I love what this label is doing. KK releases, presented here with respect. KK

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THE LEIBER-STOLLER BIG BAND

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Yakety Yak
Man In The Moon MITMCD35
Big band or straight jazz versions of rock songs
are nothing new, their worth depending on
who is interpreting. This 1960 set, dealing
with gems from the seminal writing duo from
the dawn of rock ’n’ roll, was undertaken
by Atlantic Records, with Frank Foster in
charge of elements of Count Basie’s band, and
engineered by Phil Ramone. The result is one of
those lost audiophile gems. With an arguably
slightly-wider-than-normal spread, the sound
quality, space and – above all – musicianship
elevate this to a must-own purchase if you’re
OK with brassy, orchestral covers of ‘Poison
Ivy’, ‘Hound Dog’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, the title
track and other 1950s masterpieces. At only
£6.30 online, how can you resist? KK
Sound Quality: 95%

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ALBUM
REVIEWS
HI-RES DOWNLOADS
ARCHI DI SANTA CECILIA/

LUIGI PIOVANO
Dvorak and Tchaikovsky String Serenades
(88.2kHz/24-bit, FLAC)
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www.highresaudio.com; Arcana A457
All but two of the 23 named string players
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here are – unsurprisingly – listed as
members of Antonio Pappano’s Orchestra
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dell’Accademia Nazionale (Rome), and they
5- are conducted in these two most popular
Serenades by Pappano’s principal cellist.
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LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC/ Piovano is increasingly working also in

GUSTAVO DUDAMEL
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the role of conductor. Amazon lists more

Celebrating John Williams (96kHz/24-bit, FLAC) the Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and than 20 alternatives for this coupling, but
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www.highresaudio.com; DG 0289 483 6647 7 Indiana Jones movies and of course the this new Arcana recording is more than
Whether you love the music of John Star Wars franchise. The set concludes competitive, the interpretations nicely
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Williams or consider it a mere exercise with the dramatic theme from the contrasting the sophistication of the
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in ‘spot the composer that bit was 1978 Superman movie – Williams at his Tchaikovsky with Dvořák’s more homely
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nicked from’, there’s no denying best. Simone Porter’s solo violin from personality. Piovano secures sensitive
that this double album of his back Schindler’s List is beautifully captured, quiet playing and a dramatic sweep as
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catalogue, recorded live by the LA as is the delicacy of Robert deMaine’s appropriate. The resonant Rome studio
Phil under Dudamel in the city’s Walt cello in ‘Sayuri’s Theme’ from Memoirs creates a sense of far more than 23 strings,
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Disney Concert Hall, sounds pretty Of A Geisha, and the whole set has although the part-writing is never obscured
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damn spectacular. It opens with the wonderful detail and impact. AE – but I’d have preferred a drier acoustic. CB
cinematic (what else?) fanfare for the
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1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and takes Sound Quality: 90% Sound Quality: 85%
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in all the biggies, from an atmospheric

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suite from Close Encounters to Jaws,
OUR PROMISE LAB REPORT LAB REPORT

Following our Investigation feature
[HFN, Jun ’11] in which we examined
the claimed quality of high-resolution
downloads, Hi-Fi News & Record
Review is now measuring the true
sample rate and bit-depth of the HD
music downloads reviewed on these
pages. These unique reviews will be
a regular source of information for
those seeking new and re-mastered
recordings offered at high sample rates This 96kHz rendering demonstrates full Recorded in Jan ’15 at Auditorium Parco
use of a wide dynamic range, peaking at della Musica, Rome, this is a true 88.2kHz
and with the promise of delivering
–1dBFs during ‘The Imperial March’ (trk file (all the better for downsampling
the very best sound quality. (Note:
15) and dropping to –60dBFs in ‘Close to CD). Free of spurious noise, or a
asterisk in headings denotes technical Encounters’ (trk 2). Pity about the HF heavy hand at the controls, this is a fine
reservation explained below.) PM spuriae [black], inaudible but untidy. PM example of the technical art. PM

COMPACT DISC SUPERAUDIO DVD BLU-RAY VINYL DOWNLOAD
MERJE KÄGU ENSEMBLE CUARTETO CASALS CHRISTIAN BALVIG 6-TET

When Silence Falls (96kHz/24-bit, FLAC) Revelations 1: Beethoven String Quartets Op.18:2; Music For Humans (88.2kHz/24-bit, FLAC)
www.highresaudio.com; Losen Records LOS 207-2 Op.74 ‘Harp’ (96kHz/24-bit, FLAC) www.highresaudio.com; Amp Music & Records AT022
Is it jazz? Is it classical? Is it written? Is it Rather like the Marje Kägu Ensemble [HFN
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www.highresaudio.com; Harmona Mundi HMM90240305-1
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improvised? With this reflective set from Open up the booklet PDF and you might Apr ’19], this short – 37 minute – album by
the Swedish-based group led by guitarist wonder ‘where’s all my music?’. The Danish pianist Balvig is an example of the
38
Kägu, the answer is yes, all of the above, principle behind this new Beethoven CD crossover between jazz and classical music.
and then some. Formed a couple of years series by the Barcelona-based quartet The ‘6-tet’ here includes a conventional
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ago, the ensemble brings together the was to have programmes each with an jazz trio, Balvig being joined by Jens Mikkel
traditional jazz set-up of soloist/leader, early, middle-period and late work. But
5- Madsen on bass and drummer Siv Øyunn
bass and drums, then adds in a cellist, a in download format the ‘Revelations’ set Kjenstad, but to that is added a string trio
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violinist/vocalist, a flautist and an oboist/ is split into three albums – Op.59:2 and of violin, viola and cello, adding depth and
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English horn. The result is a very unusual Op.132 come as separate FLACs. These resonance to the pieces on the album.
collaboration able to explore a wide musicians have been playing together since And the effect is palpably obvious from
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range of instrumental textures, beautifully 1997 and (like the Emerson Quartet) the the opening ‘Body Blankets’, which starts
captured in a very clean recording. It’s just two violinists alternate as lead roles. Their conventionally then takes on an altogether
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the thing with which to relax, with a deep, style is classical and they create a lovely statelier tone as the strings kick in, while
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sonorous bass and beautiful sound from the sense of the music floating across the stage the refined ‘Froid’ puts the trio against
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strings, and each piece is long enough for from one instrument to another as if in pizzicato strings to striking effect. And
the group to explore its options, from the conversation. You can glimpse session film ‘Like A Caveman’ is almost Glass-like in
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sudden lighthearted breaks in the opening from the Teldex Studio Berlin on line, where its repetitive phrases, benefiting like the
‘To Find Yourself Is To Lose Yourself’ through two large screens are free-standing behind rest of the album from a generally clean
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to the mesmeric pulse of the closing title the players and about half a dozen stand and precise sound, allowing each of the
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track. Delightful. AE mics can be seen around them. CB instrumental elements to shine through. AE
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LAB REPORT LAB REPORT LAB REPORT
Expertly recorded, this ensemble of The String Quartet No2 (trks 1-4) shows This 88.2kHz rendering shows an unusual
strings, oboe, flute and horn rarely breaks some 8-10dB higher noise on the right sampling or post-processing artefact
cover beyond –4dBFs, ensuring no DAC channel than the left, suggesting it was at 40kHz. This is missing from trks 3, 7
will get into trouble! Dynamic range is recorded at a different time/equipment and 8 which have a ~20dB higher noise
well used thanks to the low –100dB noise than the Quartet No10. Otherwise these floor and were evidently recorded at a
floor. A great example of ‘high-res’. PM are clean 96kHz files, free of clipping. PM different time and/or conditions. PM

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The Vitus Audio RI-101 Reference Integrated Amplifier

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State of the Art design. State of the Art performance.

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Vitus Audio has long been the master of integrated amplifier design; the RI-100 that precedes
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this new model had been in production, essentially unchanged, for around 8 years. The new
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RI-101 incorporates many design changes behind the familiar aesthetics to lift the audio
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*RI-100 owners can have their amplifier factory upgraded to an RI-101 - please contact us for details.
New streaming board option

To give even greater flexibility and
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KOG AUDIO 024 7722 0650 www.vitusaudio.com
ALBUM
REVIEWS
ROCK COMPACT DISC SUPERAUDIO DVD BLU-RAY VINYL DOWNLOAD
JAMES MORRISON
You’re Stronger Than You Know
Stanley Park Records SPM0010CD
With two No1 albums, five Top 10 singles and
7m sales, James Morrison has done OK so far.
He’s been a tad more low profile in recent years
because his fourth album, 2015’s Higher Than
Here, didn’t match the success of his first three.
The album kicks off with ‘My Love Goes On’, a
mid-tempo soulful workout which intelligently
pairs him with Joss Stone, whose vocal style
nicely complements his. You’d never know
that – following the breakup with his long-
term partner Gill – he experienced a period of
self-doubt that made it impossible for him to
write songs, because the songs here can stand
with his best work, and his singing resonates
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with the inspiration he has always drawn from
legends like Stevie Wonder and Al Green. JBk
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HAJK JOSEFIN ÖHRN AND THE LIBERATION ISHMAEL ENSEMBLE

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Drama Sacred Dreams A State Of Flow

Jansen JANSEN103CD Rocket Recordings Launch162 Severn Songs Records SEVS04
This Oslo band attracted so much acclaim Ms Öhrn is an acclaimed Swedish chanteuse We’re in ambient-electronic-jazz territory
with last year’s debut album that it seemed who lives in London and writes songs with here, with the debut album by Bristol-based
unlikely they could match it second producer and composer Frederik Joelson. Pete Cunningham (aka Ishmael). The aim
time out. Wrong! Drama is near-perfect, The music they make is described in their with this album, as with his previous work,
matching immaculate musicianship with PR blurb as ‘reverb drenched space-rock is to create movies in sound, representing
catchy pop tunes whose lyrics explore the and retro centric electronics’ which, says the landscape and spirit of his home city.
intimate human drama of interpersonal the band, is influenced by English ’90s Much of the album is supremely chilled,
relationships. Vocals are shared between electro-poppers Stereolab and Broadcast. and there are occasional beautiful vocals
Sigrid Tase and Preben Saelid Andersen, But to me they have more in common with from Holysseus Fly and Yama Warashi, but
suggesting different gender perspectives, the Velvet Underground. Their song ‘Hey trip-hop beats permeate several tracks,
not to mention enabling gorgeous close Little Boy’, for example, would fit perfectly making them eminently danceable in a laid-
harmonies when they sing together. The into the third Velvets album, and Josefin’s back way. Cunningham’s main instrument
whole album simply aches with emotional languid semi-spoken vocal delivery is is the saxophone, yes, but his admirable
intensity. The standout ‘Dancing Like This’ very reminiscent of VU’s original vocalist self-restraint gives his collaborators space
deserves to be a huge hit but may be too Nico. It’s all pleasantly soporific, but not to shine, making this more of an electronic
subtle for the charts. JBk particularly inspiring. JBk drift than a jazzy improv. JBk

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ALBUM
REVIEWS
JAZZ COMPACT DISC SUPERAUDIO DVD BLU-RAY VINYL DOWNLOAD
JOE LOVANO DUNCAN EAGLES JOEY DeFRANCESCO

Trio Tapestry Citizen In The Key Of The Universe
ECM 679 6426; LP: 773 6190 Ropeadope RAD-443 Mack Avenue MAC1147; LP: MAC1147LP
Lovano’s approach on this album, his first Best known for his work with Partikel, the On seven out of ten tracks, the Hammond
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as a leader on ECM, is very different from London-based saxophonist now makes master’s key sideman, as on 2016’s
his familiar straight-ahead-to-free-jazz his leadership debut, for an American Project Freedom, is Australian/American
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blends, but it has deep roots. His writing label. As well as Partikel colleague Max saxophonist Troy Roberts. But at the
for it involved 12-tone processes related Luthert on bass, he’s recruited pianist Matt heart of this ‘spiritual jazz’ album is his
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to his work with the late Gunther Schuller, Robinson and drummer Dave Hamblett collaboration with veteran tenor sax giant
and in this he’s ably partnered by pianist who both, along with Eagles himself,
5- Pharoah Sanders, who played with Coltrane
Marilyn Crispell, who notably worked with played on Luthert’s Orbital album in 2014. before unleashing his own Karma in 1969.
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Anthony Braxton in the 1980s. And he’s Guitarist David Preston completes this well- And Billy Hart, the drummer of Karma, is
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played with drummer Carmen Castaldi integrated lineup. Full of complex rhythms heard throughout. Both saxophonists play
since their student days in the ’70s. But you and strong contrasts, Eagles’ compositions on the title song, but Roberts switches to
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don’t need to know any of this to respond reflect his touring experiences in many bass as Sanders makes a magisterial revisit
to the moods and atmospheres created by countries, and the title track implies global to ‘The Creator Has A Master Plan’. Then,
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Lovano’s spare, intense pieces here, which concerns as it turns from near-tranquility with DeFrancesco adding his Milesian
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he calls ‘Some of the most intimate and to a flight for life. But in the end this is a trumpet and mellifluous keyboards, comes
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personal music I’ve recorded so far’. SH sunny, optimistic and welcoming album. SH ‘And So It Is’, sumptuous and satisfying. SH

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PATCHWORK JAZZ ORCHESTRA

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The Adventures Of Mr Pottercakes

Spark! SPARK 007
Patchwork is a co-operative big band of 17 fine
young London-based talents, while its writers
are pianist Liam Dunachie, bassist Misha
Mullov-Abbado, drummer Scott Chapman,
trumpeter James Davison, saxophonist
Matthew Herd and trombonists Kieran McLeod
and Tom Green. The title number portrays ‘A
bumbling Englishman’ who stumbles across a
Caribbean festival, in episodes that move from
urbane to wistful to frantic fiesta. Other pieces
tell stories too, whether zany or touching, like
the drugs-and-death tale of ‘The Boy Roy’, as
it hints at Ellington’s 1920s jungle sounds.
Musical influences are diverse but brilliantly
synthesised, the arrangements are beautiful
and the solos strong. SH
Sound Quality: 90%

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NEW Wilson Audio Sasha DAW speakers
on demonstration at Oxford Audio Consultants
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Sasha DAW
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Sasha Series 1
Sasha Series 2
" Set them up well, and they'll

become 'the dream the dreamers
dreamed'. Dave's heritage is in
good hands. "
Wilson Audio Sasha DAW Review
Sound Quality: 90%
Hi-Fi News March 2019
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REVIEWS
CLASSICAL COMPACT DISC SUPERAUDIO DVD BLU-RAY VINYL DOWNLOAD
SCHUBERT
Symphonies Nos 3, 5 and 8, ‘Unfinished’
CBSO/Edward Gardner
Chandos CHSA5234 (downloads up to 96kHz/24-bit resolution)
A bold start to a new Schubert cycle when we
already have the benchmark VPO/Carlos Kleiber
CD of Symphonies Nos 3 and 8 – although
some may not like his unconventionally fast
Allegretto, 3(ii) – and recent VPO/Abbado 5 and
8 [both DG]. However, the CBSO players more
than hold their own in these Birmingham Town
Hall recordings, while Gardner’s interpretation
of the ‘Unfinished’ is one of the most engaging
I have heard. The pause and heavy brass
interpolations in (i) are quite menacing to the
vulnerable line. At 0m 14s into No 5(i) Gardner
makes a subito piano that seems to interrupt
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the flow (for me) in otherwise wholly enjoyable
accounts of the two earlier symphonies. CB
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Sound Quality: 90%
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BERLIOZ MOZART SIBELIUS

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Symphonie Fantastique (arr Heisser) Violin Concertos Nos 1, 2 & 3 Symphony No 1; En Saga
Jean-François Heisser & Marie-Josèphe Jude LSO/Nikolaj Znaider Gothenburg SO/Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Harmonia Mundi HMM902503 (downloads up to 44.1kHz/24-bit res) LSO Live LSO0804 (downloads to 96kHz/24-bit resolution) Alpha ALPHA440 (downloads to 96kHz/24-bit resolution)
This isn’t Liszt’s 1833 piano reduction of Late last year the Russian violinist (now To see Rouvali conduct is to watch an
the Berlioz, but one prepared (30 years increasingly conducting large-scale works) extreme solo ballet performance – index
ago) by Heisser for two pianists. They play said he wanted to be known in future by finger stabbing ever upwards. (He says his
a 1928 Pleyel ‘double piano’ belonging his family name Szeps-Znaider. Here he whole body must convey the music.) Here
to the Musée National de la Musique, completes his Mozart concerto series, he begins his Swedish orchestra’s third
Paris, having two facing keyboards, two playing with a full complement of the recorded Sibelius cycle – two were with
sets of strings but a shared soundboard. LSO’s strings but with quite quick tempi Neeme Järvi. It’s an exciting start, with
Heisser tends to dominate but the two and strong accents. It’s a midway version excellent sound, Rouvali and/or his producer
pianists are impressive in the accuracy between, say, the old Grumiaux/Philips ensuring that we hear every orchestral
of their coordination. Does it reveal any series and more austere accounts like the detail. More importantly it has the feel of a
new insights into the work itself? No – but Faust/Harmonia Mundi or Carmignola/ live performance. Some tempo changes are
the interpretation of ‘Scène aux Champs’ DG. Cadenzas are not overlong and are perhaps exaggerated (this is a young man’s
is quite poetic and there are fascinating presumably Znaider’s own. The balance is Sibelius), as in the quiet near-ending part of
timbral effects in both the March and good although violins are all on the left and En Saga. But the final gallop and opening
‘Witches’ Sabbath’ finale. CB at times they do sound rather bright. CB atmosphere are impressive. CB

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OPINION
Barry Fox
Paul Miller
Technology
Editor journalist
Barry Fox trained
Technician in electronics
and writer withaudio
on all things the RAF
for and
someworked as aPaul
30 years, patent agent,
Miller tookbut
overhe
gave that upchair
the editor’s to enter journalism.
in 2006. He is one
He invented the of
QCthe world’s
Suite, usedtop technology
across the audiowriters
industry
Music machine
A Chinese telecoms company has used Artificial Intelligence to help create a completed version of
Schubert’s Unfinished symphony. Barry Fox hears the result and reflects on what AI means for hi-fi
A
rtificial Intelligence, or AI, is RIGHT: The English
the new buzzword. How will it Session Orchestra on
affect hi-fi? It is already, through stage at the Cadogan
voice-controlled music speaker Hall after performing
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assistants, such as Amazon Alexa. These Schubert’s Symphony
systems are continually learning about No 8. The work
38
our likes and dislikes, and what we want was finished using
them to do. They can do this because AI technology
67
their real computing power isn’t in the from Huawei and
device itself, but ‘the cloud’ – buzz- the concert was
5-
speak for an Internet-connected bank of recorded. It can be
34
computer processors and memory stores. heard for free in MP3
#0
One obvious hi-fi use for AI is for or WAV at https://

lower-cost room acoustic compensation consumer.huawei.
an
using speaker test tones, mic pick-up and com/uk/campaign/

automated EQ adjustment. There will no unfinishedsymphony
st
longer be any need for a consumer amp

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to incorporate the intelligence needed,

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or work with a laptop computer. All the Orchestra, a studio orchestra that works the climactic end of the finished work.
number crunching will be done remotely, at London’s AIR and Abbey Road mostly In my ignorance, and after some rather
ia
with massive computer power that is on film, TV and games music. muddled introductory talk from the
continually being updated and improved, Purists can take heart from the Cadogan stage to the audience,
ed
and accessible by the amp over the net. volunteered admission that the AI I had wrongly formed the impression that
M
computer did not actually write the the AI computer and Cantor had only
NEW MELODIES music. In fact it was fed melodies composed one movement.
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For decades we have had electronic that Schubert wrote for the finished This mistake proved useful because
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keyboards and drum and bass machines movements, ‘told’ to analyse them and I was puzzled by a marked difference
So
that are able to generate music generate new melodies that had a similar in style for the third movement, which
and chord sequences from rhythm feel. A human musician and composer, sounded more like modern movie music.
patterns, and vice versa, Lucas Cantor, was This carried over into the fourth, with
sometimes printing the then brought in to similar-sounding themes. If the third
result on stave paper.
Twenty years ago
‘Purists can choose the melodies
he thought best and
movement was by Schubert he was
thinking way ahead of his time.
members of the National take heart from orchestrate them.
Youth Jazz Orchestra Among other ELECTRONIC ERA
whiled away time on the one volunteered projects, Cantor has When I spoke with some of the orchestra
band bus tapping random
phrases and rhythms
admission’ written music for
DreamWorks and Disney
afterwards they politely set me straight.
Schubert wrote two movements, and
into an early printing animated movies and the computer and Cantor team wrote
keyboard, and then challenging each for Olympics projects and fashion shows. the third and fourth. The orchestra had
other to sight read the printout. He describes himself as a ‘collaborator’ rehearsed the work a few times and
Chinese electronics giant Huawei with Schubert on the finishing project players initially thought the additions
recently spent six months and a load of and reckons that the composer ‘would ‘sounded a bit electronic but then we
money persuading its phone-based AI be ecstatic to hear that people were still found it grew on us’.
system to finish off Schubert’s Symphony working on his music’. ‘We thought it was like film music,
No 8, which he left unfinished 197 years The orchestra lineup remains the same with a touch of John Barry. But there’s
ago. In February I went along to London’s as for the original movements written by nothing wrong with John Barry,’ they
Cadogan Hall to hear the completed 8th Schubert, but for the addition of a cymbal agreed. ‘And it was nothing if not an
played by the 67-piece English Session player who is kept very busy towards interesting project.’

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OPINION
Paul Miller
Barry Willis
Editor
Journalist for top American audio-video publications
Technician
While andinterest
his main writer on all things audio,
is high-end audio for some
Barry 30also
Willis years, Paulabout
writes Millerthe
tookculinary
over
the editor’s
industry, chair
visual artinand
2006. He invented
theatre thevariety
for a huge QC Suite,
of USused across the
newspapers andaudio industry
magazines
A foot in each world

Few of us consider browsing the catalogues of pro audio companies when considering our next
upgrade, but might there be niche products of interest? Barry Willis does some digging
H
as it ever struck you as odd
that there is so little crossover
between the two worlds of
professional sound and high-
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fidelity playback? One might rightly
assume that equipment designed for
38
the production of music would also be
appropriate for its reproduction, but
67
historically few companies have had a
foot in each arena. I can think of Tannoy,
5-
Yamaha, JBL, Manley Laboratories,
34
Bryston, and a handful of others.
#0
McIntosh famously had a sweetheart ABOVE: Tascam’s CD-A580 CD/cassette/USB ‘media player’ has a rack-mountable chassis and is
deal with rock icons The Grateful Dead. aimed at DJs and those with small recording studios. It costs £305 from www.inta-audio.com
an
For years, stacks of the company’s gear

adorned the stage at every Dead concert. to hobbyists at home – multitracking, romantic revival of cassette tape got me
st
Only industry insiders know whether looping, equalisation for each input. wondering if anyone was still making new
ki
it proved to be a good marketing Concert gear has to be rugged enough cassette decks. I know a number of tape
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manoeuvre, but it probably permanently to endure long-term rough handling and fanciers constantly chasing after ’80s-era
implanted the McIntosh name in the exposure to the elements, usually not Nakamichi and Tandberg machines that
ia
minds of thousands of Deadheads. concerns for domestic users. might be restored, but this is expensive
and very time-consuming.
ed
PICK ’N’ MIX LOST IN SPACE In the US, equipment brand Tascam
M
The disparity between hi-fi and The biggest difference is in the design has several cassette decks on the market:
production gear is apparent in every of loudspeakers intended for big events the $499 202mkVII, which is a dual-well
al
studio, whether it be a full-force versus those intended for use in intimate machine having a USB output, and the
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commercial enterprise or a semi-pro spaces. Concert speakers must move more affordable CD-A580 CD/cassette/
So
home affair. Musicians are apt to have a huge volumes of air as efficiently as USB combo unit. Meanwhile, TEAC,
mélange of equipment that might not possible: 100dB sensitivity ratings or sister brand of Tascam, offers consumer
make sense to hi-fi fans, better are common versions of these machines – the dual-well
such as a multichannel in the pro world, but W-1200B with 48kHz/16-bit USB output,
mixing board with
a pair of (from our
‘Driven hard, hi-fi unusual in hi-fi.
The reason hi-fi
and the AD-850 CD/cassette combo at
$499. Also, Marantz has its PMD-300, a
perspective) not-so- speakers would speakers tend to be professional dual-well deck at only $149.
good console monitors. inefficient is that
Mastering studios are go up in smoke designers select drivers JOIN THE CLUB?
as likely to have big
Genelecs or Westlake
in 15 seconds’ for low coloration
so that the finished
As for pro turntables, there’s the Stanton
ST-150. Built like the proverbial brick
powered speakers as product sounds as outhouse, it’s robustly constructed for
they are to have sweet-sounding PMCs. good as possible with a wide variety acoustic isolation in the noisiest dance
At home, musicians at the upper end of of music. Speakers for pro use simply club, and its arm is a thing of beauty,
the food chain often don’t have refined have to be powerful and reliable, with with a height-setting dial at its base that
hi-fi as it’s known to readers of HFN, but egregious colorations that no audiophile makes VTA adjustment a breeze.
more likely a mix of pro gear selected by would tolerate. On the other hand, a The ST-150 has features no audiophile
their favourite engineers. We all tend to typical audiophile-approved loudspeaker, would ever touch: reverse and ±50% pitch
trust our colleagues, and conversely, to if planted onstage and driven hard, would control, for example. Yet I cannot help
recommend what we know. go up in smoke in 15 seconds. wonder how it might compare against
Production equipment has many Yet there are products that may the Technics SL-1200. If only because the
features that wouldn’t be of much use serve both markets equally and the ST-150 costs a fraction of the price.

COMING
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Celebrating the year’s best products
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Every year the EISA jury of experts rewards the best products in each class with a coveted EISA Award.
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OPINION
Jim Lesurf
Science Journalist
Jim Lesurf has spent a lifetime in audio, both as an engineer at UK hi-fi company
Armstrong and reader in Physics and Electronics at St Andrew’s University
Put a cap on it...

Why do so few phono preamps offer the user the ability to adjust capacitance to suit the needs
of different cartridges? It can’t be the price of the components required, argues Jim Lesurf
T
he ongoing interest in vinyl has
meant that new RIAA preamps
continue to be designed, built,
and eagerly bought. As a result,
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the need to cater for both moving-coil
and moving-magnet cartridges endures.
38
It has become fairly common for
RIAA preamps to provide an input load
67
resistance of about 47kohm for use
with MM cartridges, and a much lower
5-
resistance for MC ones. Moving-coil
34
designs usually produce a tiny output
#0
voltage, so an MC input provides more

gain. This is all based on experiments
an
undertaken in past decades, and not just

by engineers but by hi-fi enthusiasts.
st
For example, the late John Crabbe,

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who edited HFN between 1965-1982, ABOVE: As well as 16 load settings, the E-Glo Petit from EAT (Euro Audio Team) offers six gain and
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made some key discoveries in this area. capacitance options, easily accessible via four toggle switches located on the top of the unit
At the time, one of the best MM designs
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was an early version of the Shure V15 capacitance options – the EAT E-Glo Petit step-up transformer (SUT) this also acts
series. John found that this produced the [HFN Feb ’19] being one example – they to ‘transform’ the loading. A voltage
ed
best results when loaded with a 47kohm are rare. In practice it is left to the user step-up of x10 implies that the loading is
M
resistance plus a capacitance of a few to choose a connecting cable whose changed by a factor of x100. Thus if that
hundred pF. Getting both these values capacitance brings the total up to the transformer is used with an amp (plus any
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‘just right’ gave the flattest response. value required by the choice of cartridge. cable from the SUT to the preamp) of, say
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One snag here is that the choice 47kohm and 200pF, then to the MC it will
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VALUE ADDED of cable can only add to the loading look like 470ohm and 20,000pF.
This seems to have largely set in stone capacitance, not reduce it. So what do If you need a bigger step-up this
the idea that a MM input should present you do if your cartridge’s performance loading is transformed by a suitably larger
a load of 47kohm. So many RIAA preamps would be optimised by using a lower amount. For instance, making a 47kohm
adopt this value. But capacitance than input appear around 100ohm would
what happened to the that offered by your require a x20 SUT, and present over
capacitance? I’ve seen
many preamps in recent
‘Cables can only preamp and the cables
wired into your deck?
90,000pF to the MC cartridge. In some
cases this could have an audible effect.
years that simply offer add to loading Given that the user
an MM/MC switch/input may not know the TRIAL AND ERROR
with the capacitance capacitance, parallel capacitance of Given all this, it probably shouldn’t
not specified and simply
fixed. And, depending
not reduce it’ their interconnect, this
can become a lottery.
surprise us that choosing a cartridge,
cables, and RIAA preamp (perhaps with
on which cartridge It’s widely assumed a SUT thrown in for luck) can be a matter
is being used, this is usually set at too that MC cartridges don’t suffer from of experimentation until you hit the
low or high a value. Typically, too high a this issue and often this will indeed be combination you think best.
capacitance may slug the treble of a MM the case. However, a similar problem Yet as an engineer, I’d prefer to be
cartridge and vice versa. So why don’t lurks here as well. Moving-coils often able to adjust the capacitance as well
manufacturers of preamps allow the user have a very low impedance and are as the resistance in a more precise way.
to adjust this value, and easily? assumed to be less affected by loading. Given how inexpensive small capacitors
While some phono preamps do offer But things aren’t always that simple. For can be, why is a switched choice usually
the user the ability to select different example, if your phono stage includes a absent from RIAA preamps?

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OPINION
Steve Harris
Contributing Editor
Steve Harris edited Hi-Fi News between 1986 and 2005. He loves jazz, blues music,
vinyl and vintage hi-fi and anything that makes good music come to life
Modern milestone
What would be your ultimate digital classic? The anniversary of the release of a player that aimed
to re-write the rule book when it came to digital replay finds Steve Harris in no doubt about his
J
ust 20 years ago, in May 1999, Sony Like DVD-Audio, SACD claimed
announced the very first SACD player, a very wide frequency response and
the SCD-1. It was intended to herald a much greater dynamic range than
a new era in digital audio, because CD. Initially SACD claimed a frequency
7
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Philips and Sony had developed SACD response extending to around 100kHz
to replace the compact disc. They hoped and a dynamic range of 120dB.
38
that the royalties on the SACD patents This was in a way misleading,
would replace the royalties they’d been because you couldn’t really have both
67
receiving from other companies on their at once. While the 120dB figure was
CD patents, which were about to expire.
5-
certainly true for the conventional
But instead of the hoped-for smooth audio range of 20Hz-20kHz and
34
transition, there was a format war. While some way beyond, it didn’t hold
#0
Sony had been working with Philips to good to 50kHz and beyond. The
develop SACD, the other Japanese majors noise-shaping technique that
an
had thrown their weight behind DVD- was integral to the SACD system
Audio, which promised high-resolution achieved low noise in the audio
st
multi-channel audio from a DVD-type disc. range but produced a lot of noise
ki
In response to this, it seems, the SACD at ultrasonic frequencies. It was

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developers added optional multi-channel this that had upset that US preamplifier ABOVE: The top-loading Sony SCD-1 with its
capability to what had originally been on set-up day at The Hi-Fi Show. brass puck and motorised lid [HFN Oct ’99]
ia
a two-channel concept.
HIDDEN SWITCH Of course, the Sony SCD-1 was eagerly
ed
AMERICAN REBEL To avoid problems in the field, the Sony awaited by all the hi-fi magazines. It
M
Then, in 1998, the intended launch of SCD-1 was supplied fitted with a filter, turned out to be beautifully made, more
DVD-Audio was put on hold because of which was switchable. But the switch like piece of lab test gear or a pro audio
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copyright protection issues. This gave was fitted with a screw-down cover plate unit than a consumer hi-fi product, but
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Sony a breathing space to launch SACD. to prevent users from either casually a little quirky in use, taking more than half
So
And those in the SACD camp were able or accidentally selecting the ‘Custom’ a minute to read the table of contents on
to point out, smugly, setting, in which the a disc and start playing.
that their system already output (and hence And I still remember the quite blissful
came with an effective
watermark copyright
‘Visitors weren’t the noise) would be
unfiltered. In the switch
sound that the SCD-1 review sample
made with the filter out, and the slightly
system built in. aware of the position marked as less blissful sound it gave with it in.
So it was that the ‘Standard’ the response Subsequent models omitted the filter
Sony SCD-1 successfully last-minute hitch would be rolled off switch, so that the ultra-wideband output
made its UK debut at The
Hi-Fi Show in September
on set-up day’ above about 50kHz.
According to the
was no longer available.
1999. But visitors who instruction manual, OPPORTUNITY MISSED

saw and heard the player at the event ‘This switch is set to “Standard” at the I think that about ten SCD-1s were sold
weren’t aware that there’d been a factory. When you connect this player to in the UK, one of them to the late George
last-minute hitch on the set-up day. a normal amplifier, leave the switch as it Wise, stalwart enthusiast and builder of
Naturally, Sony had wanted to play is. Never set it to “Custom”, otherwise ribbon speakers [HFN Jun ’18], who was
the SCD-1 through an impressive high- noise may be produced or the speakers always so keen to investigate the latest
end system, and originally chose a and the amplifier may be damaged...’. technology. At the time, it seemed very
big-name American pre/power amplifier So the manual only recommends expensive, at £2700. Now, I regret not
combination for the task. But the choosing ‘Custom’ when using a Sony buying one when I had the chance.
American preamp rebelled when it was TA-E1 pre and TA-N1 power amp. In this Indeed, sometimes I wonder if there
connected to the SCD-1’s unrestricted case, ‘The “Custom” mode enables you to could be a more desirable and collectable
wideband output, and couldn’t be used. enjoy a wider range of frequencies’. piece of vintage digital audio?

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OPINION
Christopher Breunig
Music Journalist
Christopher Breunig trained as an architect but became won over by music and
collecting classical recordings. He was Hi-Fi News’ Music Editor from 1986-2000
My Blu heaven
Well not quite, as Christopher Breunig wonders whether Blu-ray audio discs for classical music
might soon become a thing of the past, as happened with DVD-As appearing in 2000
I
n December 1961, Herbert von on the hardly less obscure
Karajan began working on a Dorian Sono Luminus label,
major recording project with the but little else. And what’s the
Berlin Philharmonic for Deutsche point? Well, it’s a question
7
21
Grammophon: the first integral stereo of cost to the consumer:
set of the nine Beethoven Symphonies. browse the Blu-ray section at
38
The venue was the Jesus-Christus- www.prestomusic.com
Kirche (now used by Linn for its Ticciati/ and you will see that it
67
Deutsches SO Berlin projects). mostly comprises CD box-
PHOTO: WERNER NEUMEISTER/DG
DG’s executives were horrified at sets of lengthy operas or

5-
the cost of it all – 1.5 million DM – and collected works (the Dvořák
34
thought it could never break even. It or Mahler symphonies; the
#0
became a best-seller (one million LP sets Beethoven string quartets,

in the first decade alone) and has been etc) where a single disc
an
reissued numerous times. Today you can included, generally at

pay as much as £179, for the eight-disc 96kHz/24-bit, duplicates the
st
180g vinyl set, or as little as £19 for CD- multiple low-res discs. ABOVE: Karajan with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich take a
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quality downloads (sans booklet). At the For you to buy all these break from recording in the Jesus-Christus-Kirche in 1968
Pa
end of last year it came out as a two-disc same tracks as high-res

Blu-ray audio package [DG 0735557], downloads would cost a small fortune. The to SACD, for which medium Ken Kessler
ia
offering Dolby Atmos replay and 192kHz/ dilemma for the audiophile is: will he or has been banging the drum for ages!
24-bit remastered two-channel and 5.1 she get sound as good as that obtainable
ed
options. It is, incidentally, the best of his on a high-end DAC set-up from a Blu-ray SKIRTING ROUND IT
M
three BPO/DG cycles. player – given that the latter are intended For someone who began to amass a
essentially to watch movies and concerts at music collection with vinyl LPs, where if
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LISTENING DILEMMA better-than DVD quality? you were lucky you’d

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Apart from Universal, not that many Or to put it another get one work on a
‘To buy all these
So
companies are issuing Blu-ray audio way, will the emotional side, but mostly have
discs – there’s LSO Live, the Berliner response when listening to get up every 20-
Philharmoniker, Naxos, 2L, Tacet and be exactly the same? tracks as high-res odd minutes and turn
a lot of obscure contemporary music LSO Live, which is the disc and re-cue,
persisting with SACDs downloads would the idea of selecting
as standard, sometimes
adds a Blu-ray option too.
cost a fortune’ from, say, 50 to 80
tracks, all listed in
With, for example, its the tiny print of the
Mendelssohn Midsummer Night’s Dream 120mm square booklet, certainly takes
incidental music release, with actors and some getting used to.
the orchestra conducted by Sir John Eliot And unlike colleague Andrew Everard
Gardiner [LSO0795], on the recent Pioneer who nailed his colours to the mast, vinyl
HD UDP LX-800 [HFN Feb ’19] I could versus tablet, in his Feb ’19 Opinion, my
hear the sonic differences clearly enough, greatest pleasure comes with the all-
yet didn’t feel they really added to the analogue of turntable and arm. I still get
listening pleasure – in fact my bias was a slight thrill when I come across
towards the SACD layer of the hybrid disc. a desirable secondhand but mint copy
Perhaps it is significant that the far of an LP that I don’t already have, in
costlier Marantz SA-10 and SA-KI Ruby a charity shop. I remember visiting the
players [HFN Mar ’17/Jan ’19] eschew Guardian critic pre-CD era and seeing LPs
ABOVE: Beethoven by the Takács String Blu-ray altogether! I have to admit that stacked all round the skirtings. It’s the
Quartet, 71 tracks on one Blu-ray audio disc! that Pioneer machine rather converted me same with me now.

Send in your views to:
Sound Off, Hi-Fi News, AVTech Media Ltd,
Suite 25, Eden House, Enterprise Way, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 6HF
or email your views to: letters@hifinews.com –
YOUR VIEWS please use ‘Sound Off’ in your subject field
Violins on vinyl
WHEN THE MUSIC COMES FIRST, IT’S LP TO CD
Correspondents express their own opinions, not those of Hi-Fi News. We reserve the right to edit letters for publication.
Correspondents using e-mail are asked to give their full postal address (which won’t be published). Letters seeking advice Having been a fan of Soviet violinist Igor Oistrakh
will be answered in print on our Sound Off pages, but due to time constraints we regret we’re unable to answer questions on
buying items of hi-fi or any other hi-fi queries by telephone, post or via e-mail.
since I first heard an LP of the Tchaikovsky Violin
Concerto my father purchased in Canada back
in the 1970s, I have waited for the bulk of his
CIDER-MONEY STEREO recordings to be reissued on CD. Since I have

now been waiting nearly 30 years with no hope
in sight, I decided to buy vinyl pressings of the
BUDGET SEPARATES, OLD AND NEW... repertoire I wanted and transcribe the LPs to CD.
I really enjoyed Andrew Everard’s SP-T100 monoblocks. I used the (Purely for my personal use, I hasten to add!)
Investigation feature on buying Musical Fidelity X-A2 amps to The results have been inspiring, if not
‘superior sound on a shoestring’. power centre and rear speakers always perfect, but have allowed me to hear
It certainly stirred up memories of when I needed surround sound. performances I thought lost. Since I travel a lot for
my own! One was of my first real In fact I had Genexxa Pro LX5 work, having a turntable is impractical whereas
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system: a Dual record deck, NAD speakers placed around the room a silver disc can be played in my car and on the
3020 amplifier and a pair of KEF for this purpose. Sadly, life’s rich various systems I encounter in my peripatetic life.
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Coda 2 loudspeakers... and the 99p tapestry meant I only had a few I wonder if other readers have taken similar steps
cider that I could afford to drink in years with this system. Yet if I ever to release performances from vinyl?
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front of it. What nights! have the space and funds again, Robert Roy, via email
My own search for audio I’d love to recreate it once more!
5-
nirvana began in 2007. I eventually In the meantime, Andrew’s Christopher Breunig replies: Igor Oistrakh, now 88,
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put together what I describe as article has given me an idea for is now largely represented in the UK catalogue in
#0
a ‘hybrid’ system in that it was using the current NAD D 3020 V2 chamber works or playing with his father David – Bach
designed to give me maximum amplifier [HFN May ’18]. As it can on DG for example. He recorded the Tchaikovsky in
an
quality stereo with a pair of add-on be placed upright, it would make London in 1961 [Columbia 33CX1594] and in 1967
Musical Fidelity X-A2 integrated a fine add-on to my desktop iMac with the Moscow Philharmonic (father conducting)
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amps for surround sound. as I continue to experiment with for Melodiya. The complete version on YouTube with
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At the system’s core was an listening to hi-res downloads. Rozhdestvensky may be the latter, wrongly attributed.
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Ariston RD80 turntable along with I applaud the magazine’s

a Denon SACD and DVD player, ongoing ‘Budget Esoterica’ series,
WhitWorld
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both feeding a Ming-Da MC-7R but please do not take this as

valve preamp. Signal then went to a plea to stop reporting on the
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a brace of Sheng-Ya (Vincent) highest end of hi-fi. I continue to OUR HI-FI WORLD THROUGH THE EYES OF WHITWORTH
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spend the week after reading HFN

dreaming of winning the lottery!
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One day that Audio Research valve

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system will be mine...

So
Stephen Bell, via email
Andrew Everard writes: Glad you

enjoyed your first system, Stephen –
and yes, I’m sure the 99p cider helped!
A decent sound system was a priority
back then, but for many, music is now
increasingly consumed as ‘songs’, not
albums, downloaded, or more likely
streamed from an online service.
And this music is usually played
back on a mobile phone through
wireless earphones or – at best – an
inexpensive Bluetooth speaker. We
now have a generation fully aware that
music is free. After all, you just have to
say ‘Alexa, play me…’.
I’m determined to carry on
discovering top-performing budget
audio equipment. But don’t worry –
ABOVE: Stephen’s ‘hybrid’ system with the big-ticket esoterica remains at the
Ming-Da, MF and Sheng-Ya electronics heart of this magazine’s agenda.

JITTE RBUG USB Filter
YOUR VIEWS
My DVD-A dilemma
READER WANTING TO PLAY DVD-A DISCS SEEKS A COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTION
I’d like some advice about playing

DVD-A discs. I am a huge fan of early
King Crimson and have been buying
the 40th Anniversary releases, which
the young record producer Steven Can a £39 insect make all
Wilson has worked his magic on. your CD iles sound better than
Each pack contains two discs: one Hi-Res?
CD and one disc of the album in 5.1 Yes and no: Using the same
surround sound and stereo. However, equipment and a quality DAC, a 24/96
in his wisdom, for the second disc the ile (for example) will always sound
better than a CD 16/44.1 ile … but,
band’s founder and guitarist Robert even a single JitterBug will often
Fripp has opted for DVD-A rather than allow a CD ile to be more musical and
the more common SACD format. more emotionally stimulating than
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a Hi-Res ile without the beneit of a
21
Obviously, I can play the CD
JitterBug.
easily enough, but what would be ABOVE: From 2009 – the second release in
Noise is the problem. Real noise—
38
the most cost-effective player to buy the King Crimson 40th Anniversary series
the kind you can’t hear directly. Most
in order to play the DVD-As? This was In The Court Of The Crimson King often, the word “noise” is used to
67
may seem profligate, but I do have describe tape hiss or a scratch on a
other DVD-As in my collection that I’d that could play both kinds of disc.
5- record, but these sounds aren’t noise;
like to hear. I know there are various Pioneer’s upmarket audio/video players they are properly reproduced sounds
34
that we wish weren’t there.
universal BD players available that still fulfil that ‘universal’ role. Both the
Problem noise is essentially random,
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can play both SACD and DVD-A, but £1000 UDP-LX500, and the top model resonant or parasitic energy, which
am I really going to get the same UDP-LX800 [HFN Feb ’19] at more than has no meaning. It can’t be turned
into discrete sounds, but it does
an
quality I enjoy when listening to my twice that, will play DVD-A discs as well
SACDs on my dCS P8i disc player? I as SACDs, and both have two-channel compromise signal integrity and the
performance of everything it touches.
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have lots of SACDs in my collection analogue outputs, with a balanced option

JitterBug’s dual-function line-
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and absolutely love them. In fact I just on the ULP-LX800. On the other hand, conditioning circuitry greatly reduces
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wish there were more of them. Pioneer’s £300 BDP-300 Blu-ray player will the noise and ringing that plague both
By the way, I have a very minimalist only play DVD-Video, not DVD-Audio. the data and power lines of USB ports,
whether on a computer, streamer,
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set-up as my P8i simply goes straight So, unfortunately, it’s hard to find a
into a pair of ATC SCM20A speakers. budget hardware option if you just want home stereo or car audio front-panel
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USB input.
The P8i was repaired and upgraded to add DVD-A capability to an existing
A single JitterBug is used in between
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recently and the system sounds system. If you were comfortable with devices (i.e., in series) as shown
amazing, especially with SACDs. computer audio, you could find a software below. For an additional “wow”
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AI Gordon, via email player to install on your PC or Mac, but experience, try a second JitterBug
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we suspect that’s not what you’re after. into another USB port on the same
device (such as a computer). Whether
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Steve Harris replies: It seems the first You might have to consider looking the second port is vacant, or is
King Crimson Anniversary DVD-Audio for a secondhand Pioneer universal feeding a printer or charging a phone,
discs were released in 2009, although player such as the DV-668, or perhaps a JitterBug’s noise-reduction ability is
even by then DVD-A was almost a spent Meridian 568. And don’t overlook the now likely to surprise you. No, the printer
force. Earlier, when DVD-Audio and discontinued players from Oppo, such as
won’t be afected—only the audio!
SACD were locked in a format war, it the UDP-203. This way you’d get multi- While a JitterBug helps MP3s sound a
lot more like music, high-sample-rate
had been left to Pioneer, a company that channel analogue audio outputs, but of iles have the most noise vulnerability.
was affiliated to neither of the combatant course to play multi-channel you’d need Try a JitterBug or two on all your
groups, to come up with a single machine to add more amplification and speakers. equipment, but never more than two
per USB bus. There is such a thing as
too much of a good thing.
ABOVE: The Pioneer UDP-LX800 is a premium DVD-A player, but comes at a price

g you HIGH-PERFORMANCE SOUND & VISION
Helpine the
mak your
of
most cinema
home O W!
OUT N
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IN EVERY ISSUE
Kit reviews, movies & TV, accessories, systems, insight,
opinion, competitions & more
■ www.homecinemachoice.com ■ facebook.com/homecinemachoice ■ @hccmag

New DragonFlys!
YOUR VIEWS £89 Black & £169 Red
Powerful, Immersive
Sound from Computers
Dipping into streaming
HOW ONE READER TRIED ONLINE MUSIC WITHOUT SPLASHING THE CASH
and Mobile Devices!
As a vinyl fan I was a bit shy of

embracing computer audio, but the
idea of being able to listen to any
music I wanted to via a streaming
service reminded me of the old
days in a record store where you
could listen to any new LP for free.
Spending money on a hi-fi streamer
plus a device such as a tablet with
which to control everything seemed
costly when all I wanted was to give
this way of listening to music a try.
Then last year I discovered the
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Nubert nuFunk Sender plus EU-1 ABOVE: For more on the Nubert nuFunk
receiver, which enable you to connect EU-1 receiver see www.nubert.de
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a PC wirelessly to a hi-fi amp. They
cost me €150. The nuFunk Sender a few Euros and now want to share
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comes in the form of a USB stick this affordable idea with other
that you insert into your computer. interested HFN readers. Perhaps they,
5-
This then sends digital audio to the like me, will become hooked.
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EU-1 receiver that has both digital Rainer Meise, Germany
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and analogue outputs for direct

connection to your hi-fi amp. I then Andrew Everard replies: Digital sender/
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signed up for a trial at the Qobuz receiver systems such as the Nubert Four years ago, AudioQuest shook the
streaming site and selected some devices provide a cost-effective way of hi-i world with our irst DragonFly
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songs. It sounds great! linking a computer to a hi-fi system. The DAC–Preamp–Headphone Amp—the
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The Nubert devices only support Bluesound Node could well be a good rare audio product that brought more
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CD resolution, so hi-res playback way forward, as would systems such compelling sound to all music lovers,
is not possible. I was thinking of as HEOS multiroom, from the people playing high-res iles to MP3s on per-
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buying a Bluesound Node 2i, but am behind the Denon and Marantz brands, fectionist systems and modest laptops.
now digesting Andrew Everard’s or Yamaha’s MusicCast. Their units to
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Investigation feature into adding link into a hi-fi system are the HEOSLink Now, the new DragonFly Black and
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streaming to your hi-fi [HFN Apr ’19], HS2 and WXA-50, respectively. Either DragonFly Red exceed their prede-
which has given me more ideas. will handle hi-res music, and can be cessor in every way, delivering more
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My main point is that I stepped into controlled from an app on a smartphone beautiful music, boasting software
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the new streaming world for only or tablet, thus freeing up your computer. upgradability, and providing compat-
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ibility with Android and Apple iOS

mobile devices.
Don’t dismiss VHS...

IT’S A FORMAT THAT’S CAPABLE OF HIGH QUALITY ANALOGUE RECORDING
While Black ofers more clarity, depth
and category-deining value than ever
before, the take-no-prisoners Red pro-
I am shocked, traumatised even, that FM recording of up to eight hours on vides even more inesse, resolution,
Ken Kessler’s contempt for cassettes, a single cassette, with an essentially torque and more than enough pow-
double-edged razor blades and flat frequency response and no noise er to drive even the most demanding
typewriters extends to the VHS tape! that I can detect. I have mix/party headphones.
If you have a precious music tapes on VHS from the mid to late The word is out: DigitalAudioReview.
recording and you would like to ’80s which, to this day, play perfectly.
net’s John Darko calls DragonFly Red
make a perfect copy, yet do not I cannot say the same for almost any
and Black “the inest examples of ev-
want to do so digitally and do not DAT I have from around the same
eryman hii to ever grace these pages.
want to deal with an open-reel deck period or Philips DCCs.
with its indecipherable speeds, Ali Elam, New York Their value quotients explode the dial.”
equalisations, Dolby, DBX, half-track, Let the joyful experience begin!
quarter-track and drop-outs, where Ken Kessler replies: VHS was beaten
can you go? There is only one place: only by 8-track for the title of Least-
the hi-fi track of the VHS recorder. Dependable Format Ever. The tragedy
This much underappreciated is that Elcaset was the best of all worlds:
system could make a purely analogue reel-to-reel sound, cassette convenience.

YOUR VIEWS
Tight and deep: more talk about subs

POSITIONING, TUNING AND BUSTING HUM AS MORE READERS PITCH IN WITH THEIR EXPERIENCES AND TIPS
I can’t thank Keith Howard enough I began with the subwoofers’ settings
for his excellent Investigation feature at zero and adjusted the level and
looking at the design, use and placing crossover frequency while listening
of subwoofers [HFN Feb ’19]. I use a to a good recording of a church organ
sub/satellite system from Anthony Gallo for its extended range and balance of
but had made only minor adjustments frequencies. It was Marie-Claire Alain
to where I’d placed the sub, which is playing Bach’s Toccata and Fugue,
active. I actually had it located at the BWV565 [Erato]. I have to do the tuning
centre of the wall, the initial position by ear as I have no equipment available
recommended in the article. for exact measurements, but my memory
It had always sounded pretty good of the sound of the organ in real life and
in that position, but inspired by Keith’s my familiarity with the piece enables me
suggestions I moved it to a corner. The to achieve quite a realistic result.
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improvement was astonishing. Not only One factor I would like to see
was the bass tighter and deeper (after measured is the effect that one speaker
38
a little roll-off on the level control), but has on another. A large woofer can
the mid and high frequencies from move a lot of air, which will in turn affect ABOVE: Marie Claire Alain’s Bach Toccata and
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the petite, but very musical, satellite the cones of other speaker units in the Fugue is now reissued as Erato 2564699028
speakers were singing gloriously, and same room. Is this measurable? (The
5-
there was more air around instruments. ‘receiving’ cone would not be connected gratifying results. And I’m pleased that he
34
For fellow readers who might be to a signal from an amplifier, of course.) was inspired to try.
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interested, I listen to contemporary This reminds me of an experiment To move on to Mr de Jeu’s letter, twin
jazz and classical music and use Naim I remember reading about many years subwoofers can indeed suppress certain
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amplification. My sources are a Roksan ago which involved two tonearms room modes but they don’t have to be placed
Xerxes 20 Plus turntable, Roksan mounted on one turntable. One arm asymmetrically to do so. For instance, if
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Caspian phono stage, plus an SACD/CD rested in the lead-out groove of a record twin mono subs are placed in the left front
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player by the French maker Atoll. while the other traced the groove from and right front corners of a (rectangular)
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John Watson, via email the beginning of the side. The arm in the room, it is impossible for the room’s width
lead-out groove ‘heard’ the other arm. mode to be excited if it falls within their
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In reaction to Keith Howard’s ‘Get your This also suggests all kinds of damping bandwidth. Whether this is good or not
sub singing’ Investigation feature in the measurements that might be undertaken. is likely to depend on circumstances.
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February issue I would like to add that One further tip from me: when using With sparse modal fill at low frequencies,
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in my experience two smaller subs may subwoofer(s), some hum might occur. I don’t think it should be assumed that
give a better result than one larger sub. This may be solved by using galvanic complete suppression of a principal mode is
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When the two subs are placed non- isolation. In my experience the effect necessarily desirable.
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symmetrically they may cancel out each of using this has no correlation to the One loudspeaker certainly can affect
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other’s standing waves to a degree. price of the subwoofer in question. Only another in the same room – and of
In my listening room I have my two trial and error will give the optimum course this inspired the ‘single speaker’
subwoofers placed at a 900 angle to each result but, luckily, the costs may be very demonstration imperative of the 1980s. But
other and not symmetrically. modest indeed. Let’s not forget that first what measurements have been made –
and foremost we listen to our systems I recall an investigation by James Moir being
to enjoy music. However, our efforts to published in these pages many moons ago –
achieve as good a sound as possible suggest that the effect is small.
also plays a huge part in our enjoyment. If memory serves, I believe it was the
Which is why I like reading HFN. turntable brand, Pink Triangle, that first
W de Jeu, The Netherlands performed the experiment with a second
pick-up arm in the run-out groove ‘listening’
Keith Howard replies: It seems the subwoofer to vibrations in the vinyl caused by another
is alive and well in audiophile affections after cartridge replaying the record. As a lapsed
all. If there’s one lesson I would wish readers LP user, I’m not about to revisit this – but it’s
to take from my article it’s that there’s no certainly an interesting technique.
substitute for experimentation when it comes Be aware with hum busters that they use
to positioning one or more subs. It’s good to transformers – small transformers – that
know ‘the rules’ – ie, where a subwoofer can may have curtailed bass response and/or
be expected to perform well and where not – introduce LF distortion. Look carefully at the
but beyond that each room, each system and specifications – if any are provided. Buying
ABOVE: Anthony Gallo’s top sub is the TR-3D each listener is different. So, as Mr Watson from a reputable supplier, such as Jensen,
with a 10in driver and Class D amplification found, a little experimentation can elicit may well elicit superior results.

Two small-box classics
IN PRAISE OF THE AR-2A AND FIRST ENCOUNTER STATESIDE WITH THE LS3/5A
Ken Kessler’s review of the Falcon

Acoustics LS3/5a in the January issue
certainly evoked a few memories.
I recall the first time I heard the
LS3/5a, way back in the ’70s. It
was in Reading, Pennsylvania at a
store called DS Audio. I could hear
classical music playing in a room
off the main store space and when
I entered I saw a pair of a LS3/5as,
each sat atop a large IMF TLS80
transmission-line speaker.
Being unfamiliar with the LS3/5a
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and being impressed with what
I was hearing, I assumed that I was
38
listening to the TLS80s. But no, it was
the LS3/5as. What an introduction
67
to a small speaker whose big
performance continued to enthuse
5-
ABOVE: Edgar Villchur pictured in 1988.
me over the years to come. He founded Acoustic Research in 1952
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And thanks to Ken Kessler, too, for
#0
reminding me of Acoustic Research suspension is a special form of

and the great Edgar Villchur in his closed box and not all closed boxes
an
reply to a letter in the March issue. are acoustic suspension. Though at

My first speakers were AR-2as. one time in the mid ’60s one might
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Villchur’s invention of acoustic have thought otherwise.

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suspension was significant in the Villchur tried to sell his idea and,
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advance of hi fi stereo. Finally there when no one thought it worthwhile,

were small speakers with real bass, began making his own speakers.
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small enough that two of them In a little over a decade, Acoustic

wouldn’t visually overwhelm a room. Research owned a third of its market.
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As an aside, my pet peeve is that It took the Thiel/Small analysis of

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today acoustic suspension is often ported speaker design to end the

mistakenly used interchangeably reign of acoustic suspension.
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with closed-box design. Acoustic I have a 70-minute interview

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with Edgar on DVD that was done

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in 2001 by ex-Capitol Records

engineer Irv Joel. It’s from the
Audio Engineering Society website
(www.aes.org/historical/store/
oralhistory/?code=OHP-059-DVD).
EXTREME?
Allen Edelstein, via email
Ken Kessler replies: If audio had its own

IT IS NOW!
Leonardo da Vinci, it was Edgar Villchur.
It’s impossible to determine which was
his greatest contribution: the suspended
sub-chassis belt-drive deck, acoustic
suspension speakers, marketing genius
and the ‘single make’ hi-fi store, equal-
opportunity employment practices, etc.
As the late Dave Wilson said of
Villchur’s speaker design, how it
conquered the need for huge cabinets
and its industry-wide impact, ‘By the mid-
’60s, everyone, it seemed, sold low bass-
ABOVE: Falcon Acoustics’ LS3/5a uses producing bookshelves’. A decade later,
Falcon-made B110 and T27 drivers they were all producing belt-drive decks.

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VINTAGE HI-FI
Inca Tech Claymore amplifier

Step back to the 1980s and this specialist British ‘cottage industry’ integrated amplifier
was a force to be reckoned with. But how will it shape up today? Time to find out...
E
veryone old enough to remember,
talks about the 1970s as the
golden age of British hi-fi. That’s
certainly true in one respect,
because what was a niche – often do-
it-yourself hobby – went completely
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mainstream, to the point where the third
most expensive consumer item, after
38
a house and a car, was a stereo.
Yet the 1980s were important too,
67
as this decade saw hi-fi transition from
mainstream to specialist. In other words,
5-
it got serious and moved upmarket. At
34
the same time, a number of small British
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hi-fi companies sprang up to provide

music lovers with equipment that not only
an
offered excellent sound quality but was

relatively more affordable.
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ABOVE: Striking gold finish aside, with its parts-bin switchgear the Claymore looks very much an
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CHIME WITH THE TIMES amplifier of its time. Inca Tech also sold high-quality, gold-plated audiophile mains plugs
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Inca Tech was one such company,

launching the Claymore integrated amplifier had reached maturity, with more company Music In The Home, building
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amplifier at the tail end of 1979. Along features and better sound than the early hi-fi amplifiers for the late Tom Fletcher
with fellow Brits Nytech, Naim, Myst, NVA versions, it was arguably superior to the – founder of Nottingham Analogue – and
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and Exposure, it was a small outfit making now iconic Naim NAIT amp. Dias turntables. He subsequently became
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compact amplifiers that chimed with Even by this time though, Inca Tech involved with amp-maker Magnum, and
the times. Unlike the ’70s, when big was was a minnow of a company. It was very after various shenanigans sold up and
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beautiful, people now wanted seriously much the passion of its founder Colin launched Inca Tech in 1979.
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good sound for their ‘Yuppie flats’, and Wonfor – an outspoken and talented
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smaller products such as the Claymore electronics engineer – who by his own DESIGN MATTERS
delivered it. By the mid ’80s, when this admission had little interest in business or The original Claymore was built around
the corporate world. Born an Hitachi MOSFET circuit, says Colin.
in Hornchurch, Essex to ‘Problem was, that sounded ghastly in its
an electronics engineer crudest form, but I used driver transistors
father, the subject was in normally purposed for CB radios that did
his blood. Colin became 140MHz/15W quite happily, so were never
a radio fan, and built his stressed and kept the FETs under control
own transmitter. This without distorting at high frequencies.’
eventually came to the As with many low-volume specialist
attention of staff at the British hi-fi products of that time, a
Home Office, who visited number of iterations of the amplifier were
him and confiscated it. produced over the years – six in total. The
After leaving school first two were MM phono and line level
he was soon working only, then an MC phono stage was added.
in the defence industry The first three versions had CMOS switches,
before moving on to a after which mechanical switching was
radio test department used. Colin moved to Toshiba MOSFETs
at Plessey. ‘I earned so
much in the first year LEFT: A rigid aluminium chassis was used to
that I bought a house,’ dissipate heat, mated to a steel ‘bonnet’. Note
he says. Then, around the MM/MC phono selection switches and the
1976, Colin started the balance control tucked away in the corner!
120 | www.hifi
www hifinews co uk | MAY 2019
news.co.uk
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around 1984, not only because the toroidal transformer found its way into all ABOVE: One of only six very special samples
Hitachi devices had been discontinued but versions. But it wasn’t simply a case of fit known to have been produced by designer
38
because he felt they were better designed and forget, because Colin would orient Colin Wonfor, the knobs, fascia and bonnet of
and overall more reliable. them in the chassis to get the lowest this Claymore amplifier are all gold-plated...
67
Although lacking the minimalist good hum and noise pick-up. The transformers
looks of rivals such as the Myst TMA3 [HFN
5-
themselves were sourced from Airlink, and polystyrene capacitors that were
Nov ’18] the amp still ticked many boxes, but made to Inca Tech specifications. arranged on the circuit board for the
34
so to speak. For example, Importantly, the toroidal lowest possible noise. Careful shielding and
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it was straightforward to transformer was located earthing is evident, while a transformer

use, physically compact, ‘There’s life directly onto the circuit supplied extra gain for the MC stage.
an
relatively affordable and

quite powerful [see PM’s and snap to the board which was then
suspended from the GOLD RESERVE
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Lab Report, p125]. It was way this amp chassis. This didn’t look The closer you look the more you see this
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a conventional Class AB particularly elegant [see sort of concern for the design minutiae.
makes music’
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design but with lots of inside shot, p123], but For example, a special ALPS potentiometer
tweaks to lift the sound it certainly reduced the was used for the volume control. ‘It cost
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quality, while its ability to drive the levels of mechanical noise and magnetic around £4, which was very expensive at
relatively inefficient loudspeakers of the radiation going through the case. the time,’ remembers Colin. The chassis
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1980s to decent levels made it stand out. The Claymore was widely praised for was made from aluminium to dissipate
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One example of this was the attention having a good phono stage. The focus
paid to the mains power transformer. As of this ‘simple but effective RIAA stage’, BELOW: Brochure also shows the full-width
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per best practice then – and still now, to in Colin’s words, was on the use of good Claymore II version of the amp and matching
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an extent – a high quality British-made components, such as precision resistors FMT tuner (left) alongside the circuit diagram
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MAY 2019 | www.hifi

www hifinews co uk | 121
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heat, while the casing lid was made of
thick steel. The fascia, meanwhile, was
anodised aluminium, and everything was
then sprayed with high-quality gloss black
paint. The solid aluminium knobs were
both anodised and painted for durability.
Our review amplifier, which is finished
in gold plate and one of only six samples
rumoured to have been produced, is
illustrative of the very earliest Hitachi
MOSFET Claymores.
LIVING TOGETHER
If you’re used to modern hi-fi then the
Claymore feels impossibly antiquated, in
both a good and a bad way. The nice thing
is that – as some mature audiophiles will
know – all you have to do is switch it on
7
21
and listen. There’s no tedious ‘soft start’
sequence, and it doesn’t need to find a
38
network. This amplifier is gloriously old-
school, and all the better for it.
67
Well, maybe not. The switchgear feels
clunky – especially the on/off switch,
5-
quality and finish. ‘The classic era is ABOVE: This MOSFET-based Class AB design
which has the notchiness of something generally reckoned to be from the got its edge by using high-quality components
34
you’d expect to find on an industrial mid ’80s, where the power supply was and has careful detailing, such as the manually
#0
unit. There’s a slight switch-on thump improved and audio-grade capacitors aligned toroidal transformer [bottom right]
through the speakers too. Early versions used,’ says Colin. Earlier versions had
an
had no headphone socket, a rougher finish, a companion power amplifier. The Dirk – as
though this was remedied
‘Echo And The fewer facilities and an in a little, short knife – came out in 1984 to
st
from the mid ’80s, yet inferior sound – but the almost complete indifference from the hi-fi
Bunnymen
ki
bizarrely it didn’t mute the differences aren’t huge. press. The idea was to use it for bi-amping.
Pa
speakers. This meant you By 1989, when This is super-rare secondhand.

had to reach around the ripped along at the amplifier was
DAVID LISTENS
ia
back of the amplifier and discontinued, the

disconnect the speakers by a fair old pace’ Claymore was a great It’s fascinating to warp back in time 35
ed
pulling the banana plugs integrated but still had years to hear this wee little integrated
M
from their terminals. Can you imagine that a very ‘cottage industry’ feel. Many purists amplifier, yet it sounds surprisingly fresh
being the case with any new product now? of the time loved this, as it was a kind of and modern. In essence, it’s a clean, open
al
Later versions of the Claymore were ‘anti-cool’ statement in a world of button- and decently powerful solid-state design,
ci
more refined, both in terms of sound infested Sony and Technics amplifiers with a good amount of life and snap to the
So
with fancy brushed aluminium fascias way it makes music. At the same time it’s
and flashing lights. Looking at it through tonally warmer and sweeter than many
today’s eyes, it has aged less gracefully designs of today, and while you might say
than some of its more fully rounded rivals. this results in a slightly diffuse and opaque
In a bid to give the Claymore wider sound when you drill right down to things,
appeal, Inca Tech actually launched it’s still a very pleasant listen indeed.
What’s most apparent is the Claymore’s
attitude. It is big hearted and full of
emotion. As Scritti Politti’s ‘The Word Girl’
[Cupid And Psyche; Virgin 32VD-1006]
showed, it grips the overall musical flow
of a song with ease, and never lets go.
It’s bouncy, fun and satisfyingly energetic,
sounding as if it’s enjoying the music as
much as the listener.
One important element is the bass,
which while tuneful and propulsive is a
little rotund by today’s standards. Also,
LEFT: The ’80s marked a move to ‘subjectivism’

with some saying specifications didn’t matter.
Colin Wonfor disagreed, and was rightly proud
of the Claymore’s measured performance

Something vulnerable for the weekend, sir?
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21
TYVIHIEHFVMPPMERX
38
67
5-
34
tel (01394) 672464

#0
www.signals.uk.com
an
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DIGITAL
ia
SUBSCRIPTION
ed
M
al
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So
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LAB
REPORT
INCA TECH CLAYMORE (Vintage)
Quite remarkably, having not had a sniff of 240V AC mains
for nearly 35 years, this rare gold-on-nickel-plated Inca Tech
Claymore powered up and delivered a ‘sterling’ performance
right out of the gate. Demonstrating the longevity of its (now
classic) Hitachi J119/K414 power MOSFETs, the amp may have
lagged slightly behind its rated 50W specification at 45W/8ohm
and 61W/4ohm, but under dynamic conditions it pumped out
71W, 119W, 187W and a full 226W into 8, 4, 2 and 1ohm loads
ABOVE: The ‘agricultural’ look of the amplifier’s rear panel dates it, yet it was at <1% THD. It’s this 15A current delivery from its very loosely-
well specified with its tape monitor loop, phono input, aux and one labelled ‘CD’! regulated PSU that lies behind the Claymore’s ‘louder than you
The gold-plating was made atop a nickel-plated chassis [note serial number] might expect from a 50-watter’ reputation [see Graph 1, below].
Overall gain is about average for the era at +40.5dB while
the 82dB A-wtd S/N ratio and 0.4dB channel balance error (re.
deep down it’s a little light. But in expansive. Compared, for example, 0dBW) are the only real suggestions of ‘age’ in this sample.
the upper bass region, where most to a Naim NAIT of the same vintage, The Claymore is a remarkably wide bandwidth design with a
bass guitar work is to be found, the Claymore is far superior. Indeed, low 0.02-0.04ohm output impedance that maintains a ±0.2dB
there’s no shortage of gusto and vim overall it’s highly impressive for its response from 6Hz-34kHz over a full 8-2ohm load range. The
ultrasonic response is flat to ±0.3dB/100kHz! Distortion is not
to enjoy. Echo And The Bunnymen’s price back in the day – and for what
vanishingly low and increases at both bass and treble frequencies
‘The Back Of Love’ [from Porcupine; it does now, despite its age. [see Graph 2, below] but it does remain very consistent at 0.017-
Korova KODE 6] ripped along at 0.018% over the first 35W of its output through the midrange.
a fair old pace, the amp really BUYING SECONDHAND At 10W/8ohm this increases to 0.052%/20Hz and 0.17%/20kHz.
Stereo separation is merely adequate at ~50dB through bass
capturing the energy and emotion. The Claymore is part of a generation
7
and midrange, falling to ~30dB/20kHz, but the high DC offsets
21
Focus on the midband and you’ll of British amplifiers [writes Tim measured when the Claymore was ‘cold’ – up to 120mV on one
hear a clean and well ordered Jarman] that was based around channel – soon reduced to <20mV after some 30mins operation.
38
presentation with a good deal of Hitachi’s MOSFET application notes. Otherwise the Claymore’s technical armoury is sufficiently robust
immediate detail. It captured the A rugged output stage combined to suggest it should, perhaps, have been a giant-killer. PM
67
scratchy lead guitar work well, with simple op-amp-based preamp
and carried vocals with clarity and sections means that reliability is
5-
passion. Yet listen harder and on good for this class of product.
34
really well recorded songs, such as Although it is possible to adjust
#0
Suzanne Vega’s ‘Cracking’ [from the power amp’s bias current during
Suzanne Vega; A&M Records CDA an overhaul, there is no provision
an
5072] and you’ll hear a slight made to null any DC error term at
fluffiness to the sound, especially the unit’s loudspeaker output. As
st
towards the back of the soundstage. there is no protection relay either,

ki
It’s by no means unpleasant, but it’s wise to ensure that the correct
Pa
a similarly priced – in real terms fuses are fitted before using the unit
– integrated of today would have with a pair of valuable speakers.
ia
more precision. Soundstaging is Low voltage supplies for the ABOVE: Dynamic power output vs. distortion up to 1%
a bit vague too. Lead instruments preamplifier sections of the THD into 8ohm (black trace), 4ohm (red), 2ohm (cyan)
ed
are drawn boldly, but those at the Claymore are dropped from the and 1ohm (green) speaker loads. Max current is 15A
M
back of the mix seem more vague. main supply rails by a pair of hot-
However, it’s impressively wide on running resistors near the mains
al
a left-to-right basis – the Suzanne transformer. In time, this heat

ci
Vega track was engulfing and can dry out the small electrolytic
So
capacitors associated with the

circuit nearby. So in the case of
excessive hum and noise this is the
first place to look.
HI-FI NEWS VERDICT

The Claymore does a grand job of
ABOVE: Distortion vs. extended frequency from 5Hz-
sounding big, bold and confident.
40kHz at 10W/8ohm (left channel, black; right, red)
Its shortcomings might well be
revealed if asked to manhandle
an insensitive floorstander but HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
by the standards of its day, it was Power output (<1% THD, 8/4ohm) 45W / 61W
a real little powerhouse. Indeed, Dynamic power (<1% THD, 8/4/2/1ohm) 71W / 119W / 187W / 226W
what is so impressive is how
Output imp. (20Hz–20kHz/100kHz) 0.02–0.039ohm / 0.275ohm
designer Colin Wonfor squeezed
a quart out of a pint pot, and sold Freq. resp. (20Hz–20kHz/100kHz, 0dBW) –0.03dB to –0.09dB/–0.25dB
his creation for such little money. Input sensitivity (for 0dBW/50W) 27mV / 193mV
That was its appeal, both then A-wtd S/N ratio (re. 0dBW/50W) 82.2dB / 99.2dB
and now.
Distortion (20Hz-20kHz, 10W/8ohm) 0.039–0.16%
Sound Quality: 83% Power consumption (Idle/rated output) 6W / 175W
ABOVE: Period ad shows the Inca Tech 0 - - - - - - - - 100 Dimensions (WHD) / Weight 340x94x300mm / 5kg
Claymore in its gloss black paintwork

FROM
FR
ROM
MTTHE
HE V
VAULT
AULT
Mark Levinson flagships

Martin Colloms hears the ultimate amplifier system from one of audio’s
elite names: the No26/No20.5 pre/power duo and No25 phono stage
S
ince acquiring the Mark
Levinson Audio Systems
company five years ago,
Madrigal Labs has pursued
an evolving research programme,
generating improved circuits and
product designs. The result is that
current MLAS products now have an
importance comparable with the
original brand’s landmark designs.
7
21
There is one master preamplifier
called the No26, which can be
38
bought as a line device only (with
Hi-Fi its £1000 separate PLS-226 power
67
supply) for £4470. Designed on
News a partly modular basis, one line
5-
Mar 1990 input may be swapped for one
34
of two other options, namely a
#0
Each month high-performance balanced input

HFN will bring (£5035) or an analogue disc input
an
you an article costing £5300 inclusive.

from our vast A higher performance analogue
st
archive of disc option may be obtained by with its own PLS power supply ABOVE: The system (clockwise l-r) – the
ki
features and ordering the No26 with the phono (£2990). Thus our top-of-the-line No26 preamp, No25 phono stage, the
Pa
reviews from input section as a separately cased review preamplifier, which includes PLS-226 PSU and No20.5 power amp
yesteryear item, called the No25, complete both options, totals £8500, give or
ia
take the necessary Madrigal HPC sources, to generate A/B power

cables and Camac connectors and (with a very high Class A content) of
ed
adapters. The grand total, including 400W into 8ohm, 800W into 4ohm,
M
output cabling, is therefore and around 1500W into 2ohm rated

a breathtaking £20,000! under programme conditions.
al
Classed as a ‘control amplifier’,

ci
CLASS A CLASSIC the No26 offers comprehensive

So
Billed as the top-of-the-line input facilities with balanced

‘reference’ 100W and unbalanced
mono power amp,
the No20 is the classic
‘In total this outputs. The eight
rotary controls
Mark Levinson Class A system costs are arranged
design, now in No20.5
form at a UK price
a breathtaking unconventionally
and are worth
of £12,000 the pair.
They are substantial
£20,000!’ perusing. From the
left we have the
units which, incidentally, take less record selector control which has
floor space than the Krell KSA-80 defeat, input and monitor positions,
but run rather hotter. The input is working in conjunction with the
balanced or unbalanced via a choice monitor selector for tape-one and
of XLR or a pair of Camac sockets. tape-two sources. Nearby, a small
The output terminals, meanwhile, switch allows for phase-inversion of
are heavy-duty Camac sockets, a the preamp path. The two dominant
nominal 5mm connection with a controls on the centre section are
60A rating. The new No20.5 is rated the input selector offering five
at 100W/8ohm Class A and 200W named inputs (CD, tuner, aux 1,
into 4ohm A/B (also 400W/2ohm). phono/aux 2, tape 1 and 2) and
Its balanced output allows for volume. The latter, labelled ‘output
easy bridging of a brace of No20.5s lever’, is continuously adjustable,
from either balanced or unbalanced and is calibrated 0 to 10.

On the righthand side, channel of such regulated monoblock design ABOVE LEFT: output transistors are used per
balance is less conveniently adjusted is Naim, with the NAP 135. Each The No26 preamp channel, wired in complementary
via separate subsidiary switched No20.5 has two 600VA Holden & with its eight push-pull, each set may be
gain controls for each channel, Fisher toroidal transformers, and rotary controls. detached for service or repair, the
calibrated in ±1dB steps to ±5dB. power-up is via soft-start circuitry to The two output stage being subdivided into
An adjacent small switch facilitates limit damage from switch-on surges. dominating the small plug-in modules.
mono working. The preamp’s Considerable research has centre of the The audio input is a balanced
7
21
balanced output is only available gone into the supply side, with RF fascia are the cascode using bipolar LM394
on XLR sockets, the Camac pair filtering present before and after input selector and super-matched-pair low-noise
38
being unbalanced. When fitted, the the input fuse and the use of fully the volume knob transistors with improved
balanced line input also offers an shielded transformer windings. constant-current loads. Voltage
67
XLR connection. All other inputs and A circuit monitors the AC power line TOP RIGHT: The amplification takes place in the
outputs are Camac, while the power for waveform symmetry, and active
5-
preamplifier’s second stage, which is run in
supply connection is made via a compensation is applied to improve matching power Class A and again follows a
34
special multipin connector. it as and when required. Radiated supply, the differential cascode configuration.
#0
line noise is reduced by the use of PLS-226. It was A current mirror then follows,
POWER AMP TECH screened mains cable. available at an generating a true push-pull drive to
an
The No20.5 will happily double Meanwhile, banks of 36,000μF extra cost of the output stage. Anti-saturation
its rated 100W/8ohm power into low-impedance capacitors provide £1000 and was circuits are included to improve
st
successively halved impedances, the main reservoir, extensively included in the recovery from overload and to
ki
down to 2ohm, with a progressively bypassed by polypropylene-film review system reduce the high-order spectral
Pa
reduced Class A operating area. capacitors. The protection circuit content in such conditions, thus
However, on a 4ohm load all but monitors unregulated and regulated making momentary clipping aurally
ia
the last 3dB of dynamic range is voltages, temperature, DC offset, more acceptable. While a Zobel
still Class A. This is an expensive and complex VA factors at the network is present at the output,
ed
but proven design route to stable output. The the stability margin is such that no
M
output characteristics, with a more on/off series output inductor is required.

al
PREAMP DESIGN
ci
A new-generation product, the

So
No26 is an all-discrete dual-mono

unit, with separated circuits and
power supplies for each channel.
It features selected, DC-controlled
relays for switching the audio
circuit, which allows the switches
to be positioned according to the
principle of the shortest signal
switch is an path. The double power supplies
electromagnetic ABOVE: A pair of are located outside the preamp
trip and requires a ‘reference’ 100W case, and are double-filtered before
full power-up if the No20 mono power arriving at the No26 (or No25).
protection circuit operates. amps – the classic Specially designed discrete
Although this is a DC-coupled Mark Levinson Class A regulators are used for each
constant supply drain and reduced amplifier, an input capacitor is Class A design. The stage and each channel, while
fluctuations of internal gain and nonetheless used, namely a 2.2μF first MLAS product thermal tracking compensation
temperature tending to produce polypropylene-film, double bypassed to emerge from has been included in the active
higher performance stability. by smaller values of 0.1 and 0.01μF. Madrigal Labs circuits to aid warm-up. The
The power-supply constancy The amplifier is built on modular after it acquired line-output amplifier is not truly
factor is additionally exploited in the principles, for example, the audio the brand, this differential – rather, the negative
20 series by the rare provision of core of the No20.5 (the AP4 module) was the amp on signal phase is produced via an
fully regulated supplies, even for the may be easily retrofitted to a late- which the No20.5 additional inverter stage. Madrigal
output stage. The key UK exponent generation No20. Also, while 16 TO3 was based Labs carefully balances the signals

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Virtually complete set from 1976 to
BUY & SELL AUDIO MARANTZ ST50L stereo FM
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date including Annual Reviews when
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SICOMIN carbon fibre £5000, £2300 ono. Email: michael@ condition, unmarked, including LINN chassis and cover from late
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AVID Pulsare II two-box phono MARANTZ 40th anniversary CASTLE Acoustics standmount
67
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34
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#0
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st
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Pa
Tel: 07415 652983 £1750 plus P&P. Tel: 01531 631337 electronics. Would prefer an ivory
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ed
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M
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al
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ci
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WILSON Audio Sasha II, finished Tel: 01952 503240 Tel: 01269 595271
So
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FROM
FR
RO M T
THE
HE V
VAULT
AU
ULT
and closed-in; ‘darker’ is perhaps a
fairer description, since the inherent
transparency was more than
sufficient for high levels of musical
detail to be reproduced.
Meanwhile, bass lines were
powerful and extended. ‘Walking’
bass tunes were presented with
great evenness and authority, while
the amp was capable of powerful
bass slam, with no suspicion of
that light-dimming momentary
to achieve a good common mode Levinson system for analysis, I did LEFT: Rear of the exhaustion felt with some smaller
rejection. While some boards are seek evidence for further discussion No26 preamp amplifiers on heavy bass sections.
modular, care has been taken to by separating out the 20.5 power shows the Conversely, the bass was a
use high performance professional amplifiers. Without doubt, these balanced output touch slow as well as boxy – not
connectors. The level control is were of reference quality, clearly on XLR sockets, quite as crisp and open as other
specially made by Penny & Giles in placed in the territory occupied the Camac pair references show to be possible. As
7
21
the UK, reputed to build the best by the current top performers. being unbalanced. regards tonal balance, the upper
conductive plastic potentiometers. Although in my opinion not the best All other audio midrange – the high end of the
38
of these, the 20.5 had a certain inputs and violin spectrum – was perceptibly
SOUND QUALITY kind of stability and solidity, not outputs are leaner, ‘whitened’ as some US critics
67
The analogue source used for the specifically in the bass I might add, Camac. One line might put it. Certainly this range
listening was my trusty Goldmund but a solidity comprising a clear
5-
input could be seemed projected forward to some
Studio-ST4 turntable combination, virtue in its own right and not swapped for a degree. Finally, in the treble there
34
with Koetsu RS cartridge. Digital exhibited so well by the others. balanced input was a touch of old-fashioned ‘grain’,
#0
replay came from both a Meridian This virtue, I believe, may [seen here] or though this was very well controlled.
208 and a Wadia 1000 decoder. be accredited to the massive analogue disc
an
As for the main loudspeakers, regulated power supplies. This input, both at THRILLS WITH NO SPILLS
these were Apogee was clearly a high- extra cost These mildest of flaws do not
st
Duetta Signatures, o performance design, detract significantly from the

‘The N 26
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supplemented by notwithstanding a remaining strengths, which have

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MartinLogan Sequel IIs,

the Celestion SL700
pre sounded mildly ‘old fashioned’
flavour to the sound.
to do with the vivid, articulate
midrange, and the effective way in
sweet and
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and Spendor SP2-2. Compared with which the power and excitement
My listening the most neutral of of a musical performance are
ed
extended over several creamy’ today’s performers, presented. There was nothing
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days and encompassed indeed to an slow about the overall sound,

most of my review recordings as unobtainable synthesis of the best which showed excellent precision,
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well as many others. Overall, I was aspects of several modern particularly with piano and vocal.
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left with the impression that this designs, the Trials were made with balanced
So
Levinson amplifier system was 20.5 had and unbalanced drive. From
capable of providing a high degree distinct if a Levinson source,
of listener satisfaction. mild tonal- unbalanced drive
Finely developed and refined, balance and resulted in a very
it had no significant bugs, and no coloration slight loss in low-
obvious weaknesses to disturb a errors in the level detail, plus
listener’s equilibrium. Rather than bass, mid a proportionately
invite a premature assessment of and treble greater loss of
sound quality with a critical, even ranges. Rather both bass dynamics
jaundiced eye (ear!), the Levinson than single out and definition. The
system allows the listener to relax these particular 20.5 had very good
and enjoy the music, forgetting the observations here, they dynamics, with the ability
mechanics of audio reproduction. will emerge in the overall to play with complete confidence
The Levinsons are not ‘enthusiast’ analysis that follows. over a wide range of sound levels
products of the sort designed to From the outset the 20.5’s ABOVE: Side view despite use with some of the
satisfy owners seeking a quick thrill stereo staging was impressive, and of the No20.5 most difficult loadings. And in this
or a startling burst of excitement. the amplifier was very successful in power amplifier. latter context I am including the
Rather, they give the impression of describing width, height, scale and It was said to MartinLogan Sequel II loudspeakers.
a refined calmness, a trustworthy perspective in the stereo image. The deliver 100W into Conversely, the 20.5 did not shine
character, a sonic consistency which sound was strong and authoritative, 8ohm in Class A particularly brightly in the drive and
is maintained over long periods. with stereo focus close to excellent. and 200W into rhythm department, this deficiency
While there are difficulties Stage width was more impressive 4ohm A/B. It could being more obvious on complex
and dangers in ‘breaking up’ the than depth, the latter a mite veiled also be bridged percussion programme.

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FROM
FR
RO M T
THE
HE V
VAULT
AU
ULT
Moving on to the No26 preamp
used with the No25 phono stage,
this was employed in balanced
output mode but with unbalanced
inputs, as no really good balanced
sources were available. Noteworthy
was the excellent consistency heard
between the line and disc input
sections. Good preamps ought
to have neutral, self-effacing disc
inputs, but many do not. From the
outset it was clear that the No25/26
was eminently compatible with
the No20.5, complementing it very
well and helping to create a well-
balanced musical whole.
STATE OF THE ART?
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Neutrality was a keynote with the
No26. The tonal balance was even, Also in HFN this
38
the overall result sweet, and almost
creamy in texture. As with the month in 1990
67
No20.5 power amp, stage width,
depth, focus and perspective were
5- A STATE-OF-THE ART PREAMP
merely a notch behind the very best. Ben Duncan describes UCM,
34
A touch more broad-band precision the UniversaI Control Module.
#0
of focus would have been welcome, judged on grounds of absolute ABOVE: Original Remote control for audiophiles!
and while the transparency set a sound quality, in my opinion it pages from the
an
good standard I missed some of the comes close, but does not quite March 1990 issue MORE THAN A MIRAGE
far-space detail known to be present attain these dizzy heights. of HFN which saw Ken Kessler reports from the
st
on some recordings. The No25/26 Martin Colloms Sahara and Mirage hotels,
ki
was highly listenable, yet stopped ROCK AND ROLLS lift the lid on venues for CES in Las Vegas.
Pa
just short of delivering the full But this is not the whole story. When what was then
measure of depth and excitement. making an investment such as this the reference- ESSENTIAL BITS
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– and at this price level it standard amplifier Martin Colloms compares the
must surely be regarded system from Mark Philips CD840 PDM bitstream
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as an investment – Levinson Audio CD player with the Marantz

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one has to weigh Systems. The CD50SE, Denon DCD-820 and

up other aspects, cover features an Sony CDP970 machine.
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such as its virtual inside shot of the

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indestructability, its No25 power amp TECHNICS RS-B755

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sonic consistency while also pictured A moderately priced three-head

and imperturbability, is Christopher cassette deck with full facilities,
its versatile input Hogwood, who tested by Chris Bryant.
and output matching discusses Haydn
arrangements, its inside the issue TRIPLE EXPOSURE
proven longevity and Richard Black tests the Exposure
maintained worth. VIII Super stereo power amp, XI
In addition, preamp and XII power supply.
consider that the
components come with FOUR ON GOOD FORM
Its approach is best described as a five-year warranty and that the ABOVE LEFT: The Arcam Two Plus, JBL TLX 16,
more considered than enthusiastic. modular construction allows for a Rear of the No20.5 Rogers LS6a and Tannoy
It is important to find a degree of future updating, and easy power amplifier DC2000 loudspeakers, group
perspective for the assessment of serviceability. The components used shows the output tested by Martin Colloms.
this system. The parts work very are conservatively rated for a very terminals, which
well together, including the worthy long operating life, while the build are heavy-duty BABY BOOMERS
Madrigal HPC cable set provided for philosophy is closer to a Mercedes Camac sockets. Yamaha’s AST amplifier/speaker
the review. Costing some £20,000 or a Rolls than to a Ferrari or a Inputs were investigated by Chris Bryant.
for the complete system, this Maserati, with a character to match. balanced or
was close to the maximum ever I can certainly recommend this unbalanced via a CHRISTOPHER HOGWOOD
considered on these pages for a top-line Levinson amplifier system, choice of XLR or Haydn in the spotlight, with
stereo amplifier. Is the No25/26/20.5 but at this level only you can make a pair of Camac Anthony Hodgson.
combination state of the art? If the final choice. sockets

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Telephone: 01491 629 629 or for dealer list, visit: www.airaudio.co.uk/dealers/

LAST WORD
OFF THE
Dynamic’s Jonathan Levine appeared, asking
what I thought of the Louis Vuitton
announcement. Lesson learned: never
pre-judge. M&D’s MW07 earbuds are the
basis for the ‘Louis Vuitton Horizon
LEASH!
KEN KESSLER
ER TE
TELLS
ELLS IT LIKE IT IS...
As an upmarket luggage
.
Earphones’. I stood corrected.
This is not a review, and in the context of
this column, the product is actually
secondary. What matters are the
implications, and how a pair of wireless
earbuds can be transformed into something
to nestle nicely onto the shelf in a boutique
on Bond Street, with nary a raised eyebrow
brand unveils high-end asking, ‘What are they doing here?’.
headphones Ken Kessler
EARTHLY DELIGHTS
looks for rich pickings... Of course, Louis Vuitton’s versions are not
O
ne learns, as one ages, not to get Kicking people/companies when they’re merely badge-engineered MW07s. The latter
7
21
too excited about good news or down is ugly, so I won’t list the litany of are made with acetate earpieces that look
the promise of dreams-about-to- catastrophes these groups experienced like tortoiseshell and come in a handsome,
38
come-true. Cautious optimism when they dipped their toes in our world of polished stainless steel case/charger the size
thus greets the latest episode in the possible £100,000 speakers. Suffice it to say, not one of a matchbox. I’ve used them, they work
67
ascent of high-end audio into the luxury of them is now active in high-end audio, wonderfully, mission accomplished.
sector. Long overdue, it’s arguably too late,
5-
though they may still have financial interests. Even in standard form, the MW07s ooze
but a blessing from on high might capture class, but that’s not the Louis Vuitton way.
34
one or two millionaires’ ears, leading them THIS IS HUGE The company changed the carry case for a
#0
away from low-fi audio garbage, once Imagine my surprise, then, when the flagship substantial, round metal container in a
they’ve tasted high-end sound. brand of the biggest luxury group of them all variety of finishes. The earbuds themselves
an
(2017 revenues: €42.636 billion according are offered in a choice of colours and
FALSE STARTS to the company’s press release) announced a patterns. There’s also a supple leather outer
st
For decades – and I am as tired of it as you collaboration with one of us. At last, the case, utterly redolent of the wares that
ki
are – I have been whining about the failure grown-ups might have a hand in our future! made Louis Vuitton in the first place:
Pa
of the high-end audio industry to behave in a This is huge. This is like VW saving Bentley. world-class luggage.
manner commensurate with (Note: If there is a product Yes, the price is elevated, but this is a
ia
the prices of the gear being category analogous to world where people expect to pay comical
sold. I have always argued ‘Is this another high-end audio’s inability to sums prohibitive to the hoi polloi. The
ed
that someone spending £50k

great name market its merits and difference, however, between such items
M
on an amplifier deserves the virtues, it’s upscale British and our most grievously-priced hardware is
same treatment as someone slapped onto automobiles. We now see this: when you set foot into a boutique on
al
buying a £50k car. how Rolls-Royce, Bentley Bond Street or 5th Avenue or Via
$5 earuds?’
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What’s happened is not and Aston Martin proved Montenapoleone, you feel (whether you’re
So
the first time one of the that deservedly-near-dead in the right earning bracket or not) like
luxury groups has become involved with hi-fi; brands can be rescued by savvy vendors.) you’ve entered a world of earthly delights,
there have been many false starts. For those Anyway, in my other life as a watch and that what you’ve bought is worth it.
of you with absolutely no interest in upscale journalist, I receive press releases from luxury Yes, I could have said ‘world of privilege’
fashion, jewellery, cars, etc, such purchases brands involved in making timepieces. but in my universe, if you earned it, you
attract the same kind of dosh which the Imagine my reaction when a news item should be able to spend it as you wish. Only
high-end needs to survive, and that world is arrived from Louis Vuitton, of costly luggage it’s way past time that the world’s wealthy
ruled by huge conglomerates including fame, about their new headphones. discovered high-end audio. So, thank you,
Richemont, Kering, LVMH and others. You Like all of you, I figured: here goes Louis Vuitton, for engaging a quality
know their brands even if you don’t care another great name slapped onto $5 worth headphone maker. But please, please do me
about (or even despise) such things: Gucci, of earbuds wrapped in a grand’s worth of a favour: train your staff to talk about the
Dior, Cartier and hundreds more. bling. But then an email from Master & sound quality and not just the looks.
Jun Issue EXCLUSIVE TESTS:

î NAD M10 Streaming amplifier
î Klipsch La Scala AL5 horn loudspeakers
PLUS:
î Vintage Review: Dual 606 turntable
î Show Blog: The Lisbon Audio Show, Portugal
on sale 10MAY th î Auris Audio Nirvana tube headphone amp î Classical Companion: Beethoven’s Late Works
î TechDAS Air Force III Premium turntable î From The Vault: We crack open HFN’s archive
î GoldenEar Triton Reference floorstanders î Vinyl Icon: Suzanne Vega’s Solitude Standing

NE DU H!
PR U
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Pioneering world class audio products
It’s a new dawn.
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Hand made in Boulder, Colorado 2000va output 13 outlets (4 high current)

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THE PROGRESSION AMPLIFIER SERIES

“Progression” – it’s a word that suggests forward poses a threat. Progression monoblock and stereo
movement. The latest in Dan D’Agostino’s growing amplifiers and the matching preamplifier deliver
family of power amplifiers is the culmination of a sound that’s visceral, tactile and authentic. And if
lifetime spent in the research and development of you know and love your music, “Progression” also
components that always rise to the occasion, that describes a sequence of chords, also describes a
always respect the demands of the music and that sequence of chords, and in the case of rock and
convey realism from the most subtle of nuances to blues in particular, “power chords”. Progression thus
the most thunderous of crescendos. Constraints are defines, in so many ways, the very foundations of
not allowed to affect the dynamics. No loudspeaker music in all its forms.
absolute sounds ltd.

International Distributors & Consultants of Specialised Hi-End Audio & Video Systems
58 Durham Road, London, SW20 0T W T: +44 (0)20 89 71 39 09
W: www.absolut esounds.com E : info@absolut esounds.com
For Your Nearest Dealer Please Visit The Absolute Sounds Website MASTER AUDIO SYSTEMS

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