The Ascot show has, essentially, established itself as the nearest thing to a London Hi-Fi show. There's certainly nothing else on this scale anywhere else in or close to the capital. Self dubbed as "the ultimate high-end hifi experience" could well be disputed by the UK Audio Show Deluxe and its unlikely that the (former) Munich Hi-End show would be seen as somehow a lesser experience.
There is one thing for sure though, the show location is far more high-end than either of those shows. The main stand facility at Ascot is absolutely stunning. It takes a while to work out what's where (for instance, some escalators skip a floor) and everything is very spread out - which makes for more walking but has the benefit of less bleed-through between most of the demo rooms.
Once through the mundane ticket booth you're greeted by the spectacular architecture and immaculately presented grounds. The Royal Ascot meeting is the most prestigious horse racing meeting of the year - the facilities match that status. The balconies and spectator terracing overlooking the racecourse are open to allow show visitors to take a look. The main atrium is full height and makes for some great view across the multi-floor curved building. The demo rooms use a mix of meeting rooms and, mainly, hospitality suites overlooking the racecourse. These are of different sizes and differing levels of decoration and "plushness". Most, however, suffer from large areas of plate glass - some exhibitors made and effort to deal with this, others, not so much.
One more observation on the venue: you'd think they'd be able to provide food for more than about 5 people over lunchtime. Not great service and a missed opportunity for them to make a bit more income from the event.
For me there was a bit of a theme to the sounds at this show - see if you can spot it and I'll see you at the end of the report to compare notes.
The foyer was decorated with movie car replicas - Batman, Ghostbusters and Disney Cars. No explanation for this at all, but nice to see, all the same.
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| The confusing dual floor escalators |
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| Spectacular views along the building's main atrium |
There were a few programmed events through the day, including some live music:
Was there a "theme" that emerged during this show? Well, have a read through the listening notes and see if you can spot it...
REVOX
At the furthest reaches of Level 4, Revox - of course well known for their reel to reel tape machines - were playing an all Revox system. Unfortunately it all sounded thin and mechanical - think of the strangely "stiff" and unnatural bass you hear from ceiling speakers.
ELAC
ELAC were launching their new Concentro M807 loudspeakers at 44k Euros. Paired with suitably priced Clearaudio turntable and AVM electronics. It must be said that this was one very powerful and dynamic system. Bass is hard hitting but controlled and tuneful. The rest though just sounded crisp but from an imaging perspective somewhat smeared, perhaps a result of the untreated wall of glass. Worth another listen at some point.
EJ JORDAN LOUDSPEAKERS
No clues about the electronics feeding these speakers as they weren't visible. We listened to the standmounts during our visit. Whilst they image very well, the piano track playing sounded somewhat like one of those tiny children's pianos. Really not sure what the objective is with these speakers, but it didn't seem to be realism.
HEGEL ROOM 1
Here
Hegel demonstrated their new "all in one" streamer, DAC, pre-amp and power amp, the 150 - with a new streaming board (from the 400 model), the addition of a phono stage, power supply changes and a DAC loop allowing the option to upgrade the internal DAC - no doubt to enable customers to add their newish D50 "Raven" DAC when funds allow. As is often the case, the Hegel was paired with
Amphion speakers - this time the Argon 1.
Yet again
Auden Distribution did a great job on their most modest system at the show - perfectly suited to the room and producing really musical flowing results - plus so much "weight" to the sound from such diminutive speakers. We listened for some time in this room and went back for more.
HEGEL ROOM 2
In a similar sized room to the one above, the more expensive Hegel system consisted of the 600 unit paired with the new D50 DAC (via the DAC loop) driving Amphion Argon 3x speakers - the UK debut for this upgraded pair of boxes. Whilst this system brought greater clarity and detail, the bass was somewhat plodding and imaging wasn't up to the standards we'd expect from these brands. Much of this could be down to the choice of a large chipboard box between the speakers - an unusual lack of attention to room set up that we don't expect to see from Auden.
KARMA AV - BAT AND MOFI
Has Andrew Jones done it again? Famous for many designs, including those for KEF, TAD and ELAC, this time Jones has produced this relatively recent design for
Mofi - the Sourcepoint v10 which is a 3-way solution in a large enclosure at a relatively (by high end hifi standards) modest 6.5k GBP. Here they partnered with BAT electronics and a Mofi turntable / phono stage pairing.
The sound in the room was effortless - almost laid back. Sweet enough but somehow lacking in dynamics and that concentric driver just didn't give the imaging you'd expect from this type of driver and designer combination - perhaps there's a diameter sweetspot for concentrics and its less than 10"?
OUT AND ABOUT IN THE ATRIUM
Vinyl stalls, the "headphone zone", static exhibits and a cafe that ran out of sandwiches around 1pm...
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| Could Argon Audio be WiiM inspired, perhaps? |
KARMA AV - UNISON RESEARCH AND SVS
Respected for their subwoofers, particularly in AV and in VFM terms,
SVS come across as "technical" rather than natural when it comes to music. Even here, with a
Unison Research valve amp which some may expect to soften the sound, the impression was the same.
KARMA AV - Perlisten and Primare
I often find
Primare's electronics to look far more modest than the performance they produce. Equally the
Perlisten speakers often look much more like a lifestyle product rather than something chasing a musical goal. Bring them together and the mix is worth a listen - certainly out performing many a blingy system at this show.
KARMA AV - PRIMARE
Looking like someone had left a smartphone propped up on the top of a Naim Muso 2, this
Allt-i-Ett (all-in-one) sound system is designed to sit below a TV, so the screen folds down when not needed. Made a decent sound for this kind of system, it costs £3k.
NODE AUDIO ATOM, SPL AUDIO
A first chance to hear the Atom from
Node Audio - a genuinely new approach to the design of loudspeaker enclosures. Essentially they've turned a transmission line into an internal (3D printed?) helix which is part of the forming of the cabinet, not a "fitted" set of parts.
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| In every show, there's always at least one...perhaps this was why the system didn't impress... |
Above you can see the complexity of the enclosure - including the helical transmission line and the built-in "honeycomb" structure of the cabinet walls. In theory the sound from the top horizontally mounted bass driver blends with the output of the sound from the rear of the driver as it exits the helix. The more conventionally mounted front drivers cover mid and treble. The cabinet is also noteworthy for its curved form which should improve dispersion and the opportunity for decent imaging off-axis.
We heard the 525 standmount on its dedicated and visually matching bespoke stand.
The speakers, fed by
spl electronics was crisp and dynamic. But the claims of deep bass didn't prove to be the case - other systems with smallish standmounts equalled or bettered this system.
NODE AUDIO, VALVET
I keep trying systems that feature the
Node Audio Hylixa, but I can't get my head around their price / performance ratio. Node say that the enclosure mimics the human head. Whilst that might have some relevance for vocals, not sure that it has any bearing on the sound of a flute, or Mark King's bass amp. They must work for someone, but its not me.
KARMA AV - SYSTEM AUDIO
Karma AV's extensive investment in this show continued with System Audio. Here the fully active legend 40.2 silverback DS speakers were being fed by a Primare source, presumably using the System Audio WISA wireless connection the speakers - that's the smaller black box on the right of the second shelf. The sound was largely enjoyable, if prone to a bit of top end harshness.
JBL
Here, partnered with
Mark Levinson electronics,
JBL were demonstrating their "Summit Series", which suggests performance at the top of the tree, or mountain, or as JBL puts it "best-in-its-class" (their hyphens, not mine). The Makalus (the big floorstanders) are £36k, the Ama standmounts we heard are £15k including the stands. That puts them up against stuff like PMC FACT12 Signature and Kudos Titan 707. Best-in-its-class? Nope. Much better than some other JBL efforts, but still putting dynamics and speed at the front of the queue at the detriment of other qualities. Better, but still not great. Nice finish on the cabinets though.
KRAKEN AND AUDIO RESURGENCE
Shouty, thin, too loud. Not sure what this room was attempting to achieve, but I hope they weren't pleased with it.
RADIANT ACOUSTICS
Another new name - this time
Radiant Acoustics, a speaker manufacturer from Denmark that sells direct to the customer, which they claim enables them to offer exceptional value for money. In line with that philosophy the Clarity 4.2 (£2.3K) and 6.2 (£2.5K) models were partnered with the relatively modest
Cambridge Audio EXN electronics. The streamer at £1.6k and the integrated amplifier at £2k.
Both speakers use the same stand, and the same philosophy - a ribbon tweeter and Purifi mid-bass drivers with side mounted passive radiators. As far as I can recall I've enjoyed every pair of speakers I've heard that use the Purifi drivers, such as those from Kromer Atelier, Lindemann and Arke Audio. In audio component terms, they're a very expensive driver. And this new comer is not going to change that trend. This system sounded terrific. Music is presented as music (not as technology) with dynamics, flow, subtlety, believability and entertainment. Both speakers do all of these things, the 6.2 adding a little more weight to what is already an outstandingly deep and powerful bass performance from the 4.2. I'd happily live with this system using either pair of the Radiants. In a show full of extremely expensive systems, this was the stand out performance. For less than £6k. Easily a Best in Show performance. Peter Lyngdorf does it again.
HARMONY HIFI - GRYPHON, MARTEN, FEZZ
An extraordinary level of detail from this system put together by
Harmony Hifi and its digital frontend, but far too tiring to listen to a whole track.
LINDEMANN & REVIVAL AUDIO
I've enjoyed a good number of Lindemann "all in one" products at various shows. Here the
Woodnote:Combo through the
Revival Audio Sprint 3 was doing nothing particularly wrong, but nothing particularly spectacular. The Woodnote is possibly the first product I'm aware of that converts everything into DSD before then converting digital to analogue. In the context of this show its a VFM pairing.
ELITE AUDIO - AQUA, AUDIOSOLUTIONS, ELECTOCOMPANIET, REVIVAL AUDIO, XACT AUDIO
In Elite Audio's other room, Revival Audio speakers also featured - this time the somewhat larger
Atalante Grande Reserve - the outer pair of speakers looking like a cross between an Heybrook HB3 and something from ATC. Fronted by an
Aqua La Scala digital source (now in MkIII guise) and
Electrocompaniet amplification this system delivered on detail, bass weight without bloat and well resolved vocals. On the flip side imaging was vague (possibly due to the additional pair of speakers which were never going to give the Atalante's a chance to shine) and pace was a little relaxed.
MARANTZ WITH B&W
If you want your music to sound like a hifi, here's the place to go.
T+A
Another system putting in a solid peformance from the
T+A Symphonia and the Talis R330 loudspeakers. It seems to me that T+A have greater success, in relative terms, with the combination electronics and smaller, simpler loudspeakers than they do with their high end products.
TECHNICS
My last few encounters with Technics' current range haven't been great. Here, things were somewhat better as some of the hardness heard elsewhere was absent. I really like the brand (my first proper hifi component was a Technics cassette deck), but this expensive stuff they're making right now doesn't do anything to deliver any musical emotion for me.
KENSINGTON / EDWARDS AUDIO / TALK ELECTRONICS
Edwards Audio, a brand well know for producing sensibly built products at even more sensible products. Kensington cartridges, Kestrel Turntables and Talk Electronics are part of the same family. It was enjoyable to spend time in the company of this system, that enjoyment enhanced by an understanding of the price list
KLH
KLH speakers are too much on the laid back side of things for my taste. Really good to see the lovely Studer reel to reel tape deck though.
ROGERS
I'm not known for an appreciation of the LS3/5a speakers in any of their various iterations or inspirations from many different manufacturers across the last 40 years of experiencing them. I get the vocals bit, and the speed, but their lack of any meaningful bass is too much of a compromise for these ears. But here was a first encounter with the
Rogers version paired with their AB3A active bass-enhancing stands. Seen above these essentially turn the LS3/5a into a very slim floorstanding loudspeaker. Its not very often I get to use this word, but this is transformational - this combination makes for an interesting listen. Its probably very easy to guess what this unit adds and your guess is what gets delivered. Interesting and I'd like to spend a bit more time with them.
SOUND DESIGN
A room in the "they'll be really impressed if we play it so loud it hurts" camp. A short visit to this room.
DEVIALET
Devialet demonstrated their latest Astra integrated streamer amplifier along with
YG Acoustics. This was a decent listen and not as clinical as previous Devialet high end products. Interesting to see a Linn LP12 alongside a brand so heavily associated with digital and processing.
VINTAGE B&OAn interesting little addition to the show was a "vintage" room. A B&O system curated by Hi-fi News' Tim Jarman.
TIME OUT!
Below are some quickly captured photos from other exhibitors at the show - unfortunately time ran out to be able to listen to these systems. Although it should be noted that many of them were in large rooms where they were time sharing with each other. Not ideal. It seems that more than the one day is required to do this show justice.
THEME
Did you spot what I feel was the theme? Compared to other shows very few awards have been handed out here, and the 3 that were awarded went to some of the lowest cost, least complicated and most compact systems. At audiophilemusings we listen to the music - those systems that engage the most get the gongs. It would be good for manufacturers to remember the bit about enjoying the music.
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