Bristol Show 2014 - Moon, Nordost, ProAc, Atacama

 

Not a bad sound, but a rather glassy sheen to the top end. Would've liked a demo of with without their sort kones (of which, you can see in the picture, there were many), but they weren't doing this.  Not an outstanding room but not a disaster either.

Bristol Show 2014 - Primare, Canor and Isotek

Very boxy kind of sound, but not sure if that's just Bat for Lashes as I don't know the music.

 

In here they were demonstrating the system with and without the Isotek mains cleanerupper.  Once the door was shut it was possible to concentrate better on what was going on.  They played this system at a moderate volume, which was a relief after being bombarded in some of the rooms.

Was less boxy and much better at imaging once the Isotek added.

 

Bristol Show 2014 - Anthem Sim2 and Paradigm

 

 

Great image quality here, substantial sounds which didn't suffer from that over emphasised treble and hardness that so many AV systems deliver. Enjoyed the brief encounter with a system that probably would benefit from something a bit more spacious than a hotel bedroom. 

 

Bristol Show 2014 - Spendor and Audiovector

 

Really difficult to judge the little Spendor standmounts.  I'd just come from the Naim Statement demo and this was the next system I heard.  Rather inevitably it sounded rather thin and weedy.  Can't really judge them on that basis.

AudioVectors sounding very "technical" but not interesting to listen to for me. 

Bristol Show - Naim Statement, Graham Audio, Spendor and Devialet

 

Devialet 170 hanging around in the Spendor Room 

 

Spendor floorstanders.  Having just heard the Naim Statement system these sounded polite, weak and tiny.  So I'll not really comment on them here as I don't think it was a fair time to listen to them.

 

 

Graham Audio BBC based boxes were sounding very, erm, boxy.

Here's the big one for the Bristol Show in 2014 - the first public airing of the Naim Statement amplifier (that's be just the $120k then).

I queued outside for about 30 minutes before the doors opened because I knew that Naim were running ticket only demo sessions and its something I didn't want to miss.  Queued again at the Naim stand on the ground floor for another 5 minutes but was offered a choice of times for the demo and elected for the first one at 10:15, so pretty much straight up to the session.

There was a presentation to begin with where we learned that the Statement had been in development (from idea) for about 10 years and much of that was waiting for the right technology to be available.  Ground-up design, yet it still uses many of the usual Naim approaches such as suspending the circuit boards and separating the noisy bits (e.g. transformers).  Naim worked with unusual suppliers such as those who make components for satellites, and they've had a lot of new component level designs built which means high development costs for such low production numbers.

Power is 750W per channel (which apparently only makes it capable of being 1.6 times louder than the NAP 500's 140W).  The design has no feedback which increases speed.  The volume control is a step resistor attenuator - but it doesn't clunk between steps because as soon as the volume control starts to move the signal is switched over to a continuously variable volume control which moves in tandem with the stepped one.  When the desired volume level is reached the signal switches back to the stepped attenuator.  They didn't dem this but they say its seamless.

Design objectives were no compromise, ultra fast, drive any speaker, work as well at low volume as high volume (also not demonstrated!).   The amp in use was a pre-production unit with production starting this Summer.

The system today was predominantly using the NDS streamer with 2 x 555PS DR power supplies, prototype interconnects into the Statement then through some prototype speaker cables into the Focal Utopias.

Note the prototype cables - these are expected on the market sometime this year.  That's a big change for Naim - NACA5 speaker cable has been around over 25 years now.

What about sources?  Are they good enough?  Well, Naim said "when we put the NDS / CDS and their PSUs into the Statement, we realised just how much better they are than we really understood them to be".  So they are happy to use these sources - and this was a subtle phrase to pick up on - "for now".  I also overhead someone asking about the change of logo from green to white and the answer was that the white was for the "statement range".  So it looks like there's more mega-bucks kit on the way.

After playing 6 tracks of music, there was a chance to ask questions and to have a browse around to look at the components.

Listening thoughts after the pictures.

 

Source Components - NDS and 2 x 555PS DR on the left, CDS top right

The power amp / pre amp / power amp combo

Top side of the power amp module - note the thick flat plate chassis construction

Ticket holders only!

 

So how does it all sound?  Well, I'm not a Focal fan, so let's get that out of the way first, but using the Grand Utopias is still going to be a much better experience than Naim's own Ovators.  Of course, Naim and Focal are now one and the same company.  And today, in the Naim Statement room, didn't make me change my mind (although see the post on Focal / Naim with the Aria 900 speakers at Bristol).  This system is blindingly fast - transients like you've probably never heard before.  There's clarity and detail in spades.  Bass guitars have a really gutsy bit to them.  Vocals are extremely expressive.  But there's that Focal brightness, and a system that costs this much shouldn't have splashy and blurred cymbals, should it?  The sheer size of the Focals also leads to a weird soundstage - acoustic guitars that are about 5 feet tall doesn't sound right to me.

So its very impressive, but I didn't feel the music much.  It felt like a technical achievement.  It felt like listening to hifi.  So I heard more musically enjoyable systems elsewhere today (including Naim / Focal in the Focal room).  As a technical exercise this is very impressive, but I don't want just technical, I want emotional too.  Glad I'm not a billionaire or I might've pre-ordered one by mistake!

Thanks though to Naim for pushing the boundaries, striving for excellence and making it possible to have a listen, and for the small lapel pin badge provided to each visitor to the room.

Queuing Round The Block

Very long queue this morning as opening time approaches

Sunny in Bristol

Pre Show Gig - Bruno Major and Mary Spender

Just sat in The Birdcage in Bristol looking forward to the Bruno Major gig.  Nice to be able to catch some live music, decent grub and real ale on the night before the Sound and Vision Show.
Lovely, quirky venue. 

Bruno's set was very enjoyable - thought provoking lyrics, great voice and tunes:

Excellent support acts too.  Particularly liked Mary Spender's Melancholy Parade.  Here's the version from the gig via Samsung Galaxy 3 phone, so not brilliant quality, but gives a good flavour of Mary's guitar skills and heartfelt song writing :

And here's Mary's much higher quality video version:

Venue pics:

Lofty

Having kept the original Mission 700 speakers from my first real hifi system (bought new in 1982) and used them in the garage for a good number of years, I decided to see if it was possible to re-create that first system.

The NAD 3020 in good condition for a reasonable price was relatively easy to find, but the Technics RS-M8 cassette deck has taken much longer.

Anyway, its all together now.  Here they are up in the loft:

Stuck

Looks like the repair has been a success.  So far.  The trip to Scalford for The Hifi Show will decide if its truly sorted or not.

Sticky Situation for Scalford

With just over 2 weeks to go to The Hifi Show at Scalford, noticed earlier this week that there was a problem with one of the Mission 773e speakers I'm planning to use at the show.  Spotted a small gap between the top of the front baffle and the main cabinet on the LH speaker then checked the RH speaker to confirm that there shouldn't be a gap - and there shouldn't.

On closer examination it was possible to get hold of the edges of the baffle at the top and gently pull it further away from the cabinet - to about 3mm.  When doing this the baffle flexed slightly as it was still fixed properly from about halfway down the cabinet to the base.  Not sure if that's due to some over zealous use of the volume control, or just that the glue has dried on these 15+ year old speakers.  This is what the speakers look like:

So the baffle was OK from just above the lower mid-bass drivers down to the base of the cabinet, but not good from there upwards.
 

At first I imagined having to use clamps whilst gluing the baffle back on, but with the speaker lying down on its back, a quick test with a decent pile of books proved that the baffle would flex back into position without needing any clamping.  Also, as the baffle is rebated into the main cabinet there was no problem with alignment and there are lots of surfaces on which to plaster a good bit of glue.

So, with a little help from a pair of medicine spoons acting as wedges, got to work with a modelling brush and a pot of EvoStik wood glue.  Pushed as much glue into the groove as possible, a bit messy:

Once I'd got as much of the glue into the groove as possible on one side, cleaned off the majority of the excess glue then started on the other side, cleaned that then across the top.

Then, on went the pile of books, as close as possible to the top of the baffle and absolutely nowhere near the tweeter.  Reassuringly, lots more glue oozed out of the joint when the pressure was applied - meaning there should be plenty of surfaces gluing together in there.

Another good clean all around with a very lightly damped cloth, twice and then dried it all off with kitchen towels.  Its really important to get as much PVA glue off as possible - preferably all of it - as the slightest bit remaining will be very visible as what appears to be a slightly different finish to the wood or the plastic-like coating on the front baffle.

So fingers crossed now, as the speaker has a 24 hour lie down whilst the glue sets:

You Know What HD TV Is. Right? Well What's FLAC24, DSD or HRA?

Happened across an interesting article on AudioStream today.

They've written about all the confusing terminology around audio formats and the quality of those versus MP3, CD etc. and how this is probably confusing the general public.

I agree, simplicity is key and high resolution formats should be bundled up together to promote that they are better than CDs.  Of course, once you've chosen to buy something that's better than CD, you've still got to decide if your player can cope with DSD, for example.  But at least consistency would help cement the possibilities in the minds of the public.  Some of the industry are pushing HRA (High Resolution Audio). AudioStream have gone with (in descending order of quality):

Studio Master
CD
MP3/iTunes/Amazon.

Seems reasonable to me.

Here's the article:  http://www.audiostream.com/content/whats-name-hd-hra-dxd-dsd

Old (Vintage!?!) HiFi Mags For Sale

Check ebay for some older Hifi Magazines for sale.  If you have any kit from around that era, worth checking out to see if it appears in one of these:

What HiFi "Britain's Favourite HiFi" from 1997

• Arcam Alpha 7 amp
• Arcam Alpha 8 amp
• Arcam Alpha9 amp
• Audiolab Q Pre
• Audiolab 8000M
• Aura CA200
• Aura PA100
• Cyrus Pre
• Cyrus Power
• Denon AVC-38000
• Denon PMA-250SE
• Denon PMA-350SE
• Exposure XXI
• Exposure XVIII
• Kenwood KA-5090R
• Linn Wakonda
• Linn LK240
• Marantz PM-66SE
• Meridian 502
• Meridian 505
• Pioneer A300R
• Sony TA-FE310R
• Talk Electronics Hurricane 4L
• Talk Electronics Tornado 4
• Technics SU-A700Mk3
• Technics SU-A900MkII
• Yamaha AX-390
• Audiomeca Talisman
• Arcam Alpha 7 CDP
• Arcam Alpha 8 CDP
• Denon DCD-425
• Linn Mimik II
• Marantz CD017 KI-Signature
• Roksan Caspian
• Technics SL-PG480A
• Technics SL-PG580A
• Technics SL-PS770D
• Yamaha CD-X390
• Acoustic Energy AD109
• B&W DM302
• B&W DM601
• B&W DM602
• Jamo D110
• KEF Coda 7
• Mission 731i
• Mission 731 Pro
• Monitor Audio Studio 20SE
• Mordaunt-Short MS10i Pearl
• Mordaunt-Short MS25i
• Musical Technology Falcon / Osprey / Kestrel
• Tannoy Mercury M3
• TDL Nucleus 1
• Wharfedale Diamond 7.3
• Henley HMC50
• Musical Fidelity X-LP
• QED Discsaver
• Tandy stereo preamplifier
• Alphason GR17/17
• Apollo Aria
• Atacama Elegance 3
• Optimum International 2000 OPT 6606
• Projekt Modulus B3i
• Soundstyle Finewoods W100
• Stands Unique Sound Tower 10
• Target B4
• Townshend Audio Seismic Sink Stand
• Aiwa XR-M10
• Sony MHC-RX70 mini
• Hitachi C2546TN
• Panasonic TX-25AD2
• Sony KV-25F1
• Toshiba 2563DB
• Dual CS 435-1
• NAD 533
• Pink Triangle Tarantella
• Pro-ject 1.2
• Rega Planar 2
• Thorens TD 280 MkIV
• Grundig GV6401
• Sony DHR-100DUX
• Sennheiser Lucas Pro-Logic

What HiFi "Ultimate Guide to HiFi" 1998

Summarises all the tests for the year

• CD Players - approx 70 tests
• Amps - approx 60 tests
• Interconnects
• Receivers - 5 tests
• Speaker cables
• Speakers - approx 70 tests
• Headphones - 8 tests
• Minidisc and CD-R tests
• Cassette Decks - 16 tests
• Tuners - approx 16 tests
• Turntables - approx 16 tests
• One make systems - approx 17 tests
• VCRs, DVDs, AV Receivers, Subwoofers etc.

HiFi Choice October 2004

• Townshend Audio Rock Anniversary turntable
• Ruark Talisman III loudspeaker
• Linn Unidisk SC
• Stello DP200 DAC / pre-amp
• Stello S200 power amp
• B&W PV1 subwoofer
• Townshend Audio TA565 universal disk player
• Sony ST-SDB900 tuner
• Naim Ariva loudspeaker
• Flying Mole DAD-M100pro HT mono power amplifier
• Tivoli Radioworks system
• Inca Design Katan CDP
• Meridian G07 CDP
• Naim CD5i CDP
• Orelle DC100evo2 CDP
• Quad 99 CDP
• Roksan Kandy MkIIID CDP

Ageing

I'm not sure what this tells me (or you), but excluding the components that are still in the system, here are the heros to zeros of how long stuff has stayed in the system.  Bear in mind that some are only in there for a short time as I upgraded them quickly as I was experimenting (typically this is the streaming / DAC stuff) others because they just were a disappointment (Cyrus power amps).

So here goes the ageist list, based on how long stuff stayed around in the system:

19 years:  Linn Keilidh speakers; Thorens TD160BC MkII turntable with Mayware Formula IV arm

16 years:  Linn Centre Channel Tunebox; Meridian 541 pre-amp/processor

14 years:  Rotel RB850 Power Amps for left and right channels; Linn Centrik Mk1 Centre Speaker; Meridian 508.20 CD Player

12 years:  Aiwa AD-F800 Cassette Deck; basic Sony FM Tuner (can't remember the model number)

8 years: Linn Tukan rear speakers; Linn Left and Right Tunebox with toroidal power supply

7 years: Nagaoka MP20 MM cartridge; Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Linn Ittok arm and Dynavector DV20HX MC cartridge

6 years: Pure DRX-701ES DAB tuner

5 years: Linn Rear Tunebox; Denon TU-660MkII FM tuner; Nagaoka MP11 MM Cartridge

4 years: Aiwa AD-F3500 cassette deck; Mission 771e rear speakers

3 years: Technics RS-M8 cassetted deck; Origin Live DC power supply for the LP12

2.5 years: Rotel RB970 centre channel power amp; Linn Left and Right Tunebox with Slimline power supply; Linn Valhalla power supply for LP12

2 years: Mission 760 rear speakers

1 year: NAD 9200 MM cartridge

10 months:  Cambridge Audio DACMagic; Cyrus DAC-X with PSX-R power supply

6 months:  Linn Kudos FM tuner

4 months: Linn AV5125 rear channel power amp; Linn AV5103 pre-amp/processors

4 weeks: Cyrus SmartPower rear channel power amps

1 week: Cyrus 8 power amps and PSX-R power supplies

Preparing for The Hifi Show at Scalford on 2nd March

I've been successful in the allocations of rooms at the Scalford Hifi Show again this year, so planning is underway.  This show is for enthusiasts' systems - its not commercial, its just for the sake of listening to lots of different systems (about 50 again this year) and lots of different music all in one place on the same day.  Some of it will be very esoteric, some prosaic, some weird and some DIY.  Variety is the spice of this particular show.

Having played the main system last year I'm doing something different this year, going for a 2.1 AV setup.  My intention is to play the "Touch Yello" DVD on repeat all day - each run takes about 45 minutes.  Yello tends to be popular at this type of event, but I don't think Scalford has seen an AV solution before, so it will be interesting to see how popular the room is.  Originally I was thinking of being very amitious and going with a 5.1 system.  But the Yello soundtrack is only in 2.0, so there's no point really.  Maybe another year.

The proposed kit is much more prosaic than the main Linn system and consists of:

Sony S480 blu-ray player
Linn Akurate Kontrol/0/D (mainly being used for its excellent internal DAC)
NAD 2155 or Rotel RB970BX power amp
Optional Q Acoustics 2070Si subwoofer
DELL M410HD projector and screen

As part of the planning I set up the various components in the kid's playroom (lots of space, but unfortunately 3 walls of windows) to decide on NAD vs Rotel power amps and to check the subwoofer's integration with the Missions.

Testing Time

 So with lots of power, HDMI and audio cables strewn across the room, Yello was spooled up on the Sony (its the extremely slim box bottom right of the picture).  The NAD amp was OK, but a bit sluggish and lightweight.  The Rotel beefed things up nicely and moved along at a better pace with somewhat smoother and more detailed treble.  So that decision was quick and easy.  The system still sounds pretty bright (but not harsh) and I'm hoping that's down to the nature of the room - all that glass is very reflective of high frequencies.
Next the subwoofer was unpacked and plugged in (not shown in the picture above).  It took a while to get it all working smoothly together, but, in this room, it worked well.  Using the "music" setting rather than "movies" and with the crossover point at around 70Hz a good amount of non-flappy weight was added to the sound, and the brightness was balanced somewhat too (but still not enough for my taste).
So we'll see how well the sub integrates in the room at Scalford, but its definitely coming along as I'd prefer to use it if I can.   Hopefully the lack of glass at Scalford will help somewhat too.

The Hi-Fi Show - Sunday 2nd March 2014, Scalford Hall Hotel, Melton Mowbray, UK

The Hi-Fi Show - Sunday 2nd March 2014 - 10am to 5pm
The Scalford Hall Hotel, Melton Mowbray     
It's here again - the hi-fi show people look forward to all year! Known to many as the 'Pie-Fi Show' due to its excellent location just outside the town of Melton Mowbray, this long-established and unique event in the annual hi-fi calendar offers visitors the opportunity to listen to an amazingly wide variety of top quality, 'real life' audio systems playing an equally amazingly wide variety of music.

From classic to modern, from computer source to vinyl, from Arcam to XTZ, from home made to high end, and from budget to no expense spared - just about every possible way to reproduce music can be heard here - up to 50 different systems will be playing music. These may technically be 'amateur' systems, but they are some of the best you will ever hear. Assembled with no commercial restraints and often with no compromises.  These are enthusiasts playing their own systems for other enthusiasts.  None of these systems are for sale - this is not a commercial show.

What's more, you are very welcome to bring your own music to listen to.

http://www.thehifishow.com

Headphone Review - Sennheiser Momentum vs B&W P3

Spent sometime comparing the Sennheiser Momentum over-ear headphones with the similarly priced B&W P3 on-ears. Both of these sets get great reviews. Currently I have a pair of AKG 451s which I don't use much because they don't sound as good as the review would suggest.  My main on the move listening is with a pair of Beyer Dynamic DTX-101 in-ears, chosen for their sound quality, external noise isolation and the sheer convenience of their tiny size.

I used jazz, blues, rock and electronica tracks in uncompressed ALAC on my iPod Classic 160GB because that is what I would most likely use them with.

Both the Momentum and P3 headphones are a massive step up from the AKG 451. Like going from a table top transistor radio to a decent budget hifi. They do, however, have very different presentations, surprisingly so. The B&W has a forward, harder sound that initially is impressive, but give it some time and you notice a kind of squashed effect on the vocals, like the singer is not projecting well, and a distinctly grainy edge to the treble and cymbals. Imaging is 2 dimensional and narrow. Bass is very pacey though and drives the track along well, but doesn't get quite as deep as my Beyer Dynamic DTX 101 in-ears.

The Momentums are a much warmer listen. Vocals are richer, the imaging fills the head left to right and front to back and bass goes deeper. However, they don't drive along quite so well as the B&W, sounding slower and more relaxed. Comparing them on detail shows the B&W to initially give the impression of greater detail but its all therewith the Momentums too, they don't shove it at you with quite the same vigour.

Comfort wise I found the spring strength of the B&W to push them too hard onto my ears and the Momentums sat comfortably over my ears, giving better isolation. This is, of course, a very individual thing. Also, they may be more adjustable than I discovered at the time. They both seem to be well built with the B&W going for retro cool and the Momentum going more for a luxury feel.

After 25 mins of testing, I would buy the Sennheisers for their comfort, less aggressive sound, bass depth and much more expansive imaging.  I could see why someone who preferred fast aggressive amps and speakers might prefer the B&Ws but they're not for me. Shop around, prices vary enormously.

A View From The Top?

Where is the top?  Well, if I climb Moel Famau a few miles from home I'm pretty sure I know when I've got to the top of that particular hill.  It has a small pseudo castle on top and the views from there across the Clwydian hills are either spectacular, or invisible, depending up on the weather.

Moel Famau (photo courtesy of www.visitclwydianrange.co.uk)

 
But, in audio terms, where exactly is the top?

You'll know that my system is heavily Linn, and until Q4 last year (2013), the top in Linn terms would've been Klimax DS/1, Klimax Kontrol/2, Klimax Tunebox crossovers, 8 Klimax Solo mono power amps and Klimax 350p speakers.  That lot adds up to about £93k, give or take.  Add cables and that gets you to about £95k.  You'd think that'd be pretty near the top wouldn't you.  But rather like those hill walks you go on that have a number of false summits, there's still a whole bunch more money you could spend on audio gear, should you have the means and the inclination.  By way of example, on 7 January 2014 at CES in the US, Naim Audio launched a new pre-amp and 2 x mono-block powers amps.  This "Statement" amp is listed at $120k.  So it would be fairly easy (on a price list browsing basis, not on an affordability basis) to build a system in excess of £300k.  Yet another (probably false) summit. Probably.

Now Linn introduces the Klimax Exakt DS and 350 speaker combination for £50k.  But Exakt can be had as a Tunebox too, feeding Solo power amps into 350 speakers, or the older Komri speaker, or the even older Keltik speaker.  With more options to come soon. Exakt, Solos and 350p are probably in the region of £90k too.

Which brings me to the subject of this review.  Sort of.  Because regardless of Exakt, or not, I don't consider the Klimax 350 speaker (in passive or active form), Linn's current top of the price list speaker as either their most musical current speaker (that's the Akubarik) nor their finest achievement to date.  For me, their finest achievement to date goes to the long discontinued Komri.  Last seen at £32k list price, they were superseded by the 350 around 5 or 6 years ago.  I've heard them a couple of times before.  The most recent was on one of my earliest visits to the House of Linn when they were being driven by a top of the line LP12 and the original Klimax DS with 4 Klimax Twin stereo power amps.

Linn Komri.  On the rear there are 4 pairs of speaker cable connections for super tweeter / tweeter / mid and upper bass. Alongside is the XLR low level connection to feed the onboard power amps for the bass drivers.  Top half of the back panel are the heatsinks for the bass power amps.  Photo from blog.daum.net

I've never heard a pair of Linn Klimax 350 speakers come close to the enjoyment provided by that system including the Komris.  Even Exakt 350s.

But then an invitation arrived, a bit out of the blue, on the Linn forum.  I'd been in touch with Pablo before, as I knew he lived only 15 miles or so from home and that he had a pretty good Linn system.  We'd agreed to meet up sometime, but never really got around to it.  But then this latest communication said that Pablo was expecting his Klimax Exakt DSM and Komri Exakt Tuneboxes to arrive just before Christmas, and would I like to go for a listen?  That's not really a tough one to answer and we soon sorted out a time, slotting into the holiday period between Christmas and New Year.  The time also worked for another forum member "To Be A Rock And Not A Roll" (referred to as Rock from here onwards) so we were set for a small forum get together o give these Exakt Komris a listen.

After a bit of a challenge finding Pablo's lair (its hidden down a side road in what used to be the neighbour's back garden), we settled in with a cuppa to some tracks.  Rock already had some Pink Floyd playing, but it wasn't one of my favourite albums and tends to the harsh.  Pablo went to load up some tracks I'd brought with me and we got going.  The first thing I noticed, and we discussed, is just how tidy Pablo's system is - all you can see is the Komris - there are no electronics in the room.  There are wide pipes buried into the walls through which the 2 x K400 speaker cables and 1 x Linn Silver balanced interconnects per speaker disappear.  These are connected to the 8 x Klimax Solo/Dynamik mono power amps and Exakt Komri Tuneboxes up in the loft space and in turn the Tuneboxes are connected by Exakt Links down to the Klimax Exakt DS in the dining room, just behind the wall where the speakers are located.  This is all super neat, but I can't help thinking that personally, I'd really like to see all that beautifully crafted Klimax hardware out in the open, something a bit like this:

Klimax Electronics.  Photo from www.linn-prestige.ru

As it is, this is what you see in Pablo's listening room, just the cherry veneered Komris:

So how does all this lot sound?  Well, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that this is the top of the hill for an all-Linn system.  The 350 Exakt is just not in the same league as the Komris.  Apparently production was stopped due to some difficult to source parts.  That's a shame because they really are a big step up from the 350 - there is no doubt about what they're doing with the music - no hint of that strangely disconnected bass in the 350.  The first thing that struck me was the masses of detail in the upper ranges - but this has no hint whatsoever of being "in your face" or at all aggressive - its sweet, smooth and sparkly, all at the same time.  What's more, it doesn't seem to originate from the speakers at all - instruments hanging in space, rock steady in location, regardless of what else comes along in the music.  Vocals are outstanding too - there's so much expression, nuance and feeling in what we're hearing and this system doesn't favour male over female or vice-versa, its all there in spades.

What about the weight and dynamics?  Well, whatever you want is there without being overwhelming.  I find it very difficult to describe very weightly, deep deep deep and super solid in nature but not hung over, no boom etc.  Its an amazing mix of capabilities.  So often I read about oodles of boominess and swamping bass or hear it in some systems, but this is completely different to that.  Its hard to comprehend that so much complexity and so many rhythms are hidden in those bass lines from the likes of Yello and Trentemoller.  But here they all are - and fully part of the complete make-up and flow of the music.  How to describe instruments that stand so clearly apart and distinct yet they're so much part of the emotional presentation of a tune?  I don't know, but here it all happens.

We chat for a while then play some more tunes.  Rock and I are constantly smiling, shaking heads and tapping our feet.  We're both wrapped up in the music and we're both late to leave as its so difficult to drag ourselves away from what this system is doing.  We try and describe what we're hearing but (as you'll see above) its really difficult to describe.  We eventually settle on a feeling (note that its a feeling, not a technical description) of completely effortless presentation of music, flow and emotion.  Stunningly effortless.

There, that's the verdict.  I'm not sure here if we're at the top of the hifi hill - perhaps Pablo's system is another of those false summits, but there's no doubt that this is my new reference.  When I think back to some of the frankly music-free and un-enjoyable high-end systems I've heard at hifi shows that cost as much and more than this system (including a pair of speakers alone that cost 50% more than this complete system and were incapable of carrying any musical emotion), its great to know that there is something truly high end that can really play music.  Komri's aren't for me - they need a bigger room in which to work, but if I had that kind of cash and a room to put them in, they'd be worth seeking out.  And great that Linn continues to support its customers who have made such an investment in their products - offering their latest Exakt system approach to work with these out of production speakers.

So there we have it.  Great to meet Rock and many thanks to Pablo for his hospitality.  We've been invited back - there's no doubt that's an invitation I'll be keen to follow up.

Marvellous.

System Evolution - New Page Created

How do you get from here:

to here?

Perhaps there was a bit too much time off work this festive season....Have a look at the latest new page added to the blog to find out one possible tortuous route:


http://audiophilemusings.blogspot.co.uk/p/system-evolution.html

Linn 40th Anniversary Video

Linn have released a video montage of their 40th Anniversary celebrations here.

Read about the weekend here.  With photos here.

Cassette Retro-Geekery

Not exactly audiophile, but capable of decent results in a decent deck, here's a thorough collection of images of the humble audio cassette.
Very thorough.
Very very thorough.

I've pointed to the TDK page as an example.  Lots of SA-X in my collection.

http://www.c-90.org/catalogue/tapes/TDK

AM Audience

Here's the latest Google map of the Audiophile Musings Audience.  The darker the colour the higher the number of readers in that area:

Renewed Listening Experience

Long suffering Audiophile Musings readers might remember this post when I went for a listen to another forum member's system in the South East of England:

Akurately Kontrolled Klimax

Have a quick read through to refresh yourself of the system and my thoughts from that first visit.  One of the best non-Exakt 350 systems I've heard (when the subwoofer was off), but still having that 350 bass that I don't get on with 100%.  Since then, Andrew (system owner) has been to my home to listen to my somewhat more modest system and we keep in touch regularly through the forum.

Disclaimer:  all my opinion, no double-blind testing, just some A-B-A comparisons which the reader may find informative
KRDS = Linn Klimax Renew DS - a Klimax DS/0 in a lower cost box
KDSM = Linn Klimax DS/1 with a built-in pre-amp

Contants in the system tonight:
Linn Klimax Chakra Twin (non-Dynamik) power amp
Linn K400 speaker cables
Linn Klimax 350 passive speakers

Stuff we messed about with:
Klimax Renew DS vs KDSM
With and without an Akurate Kontrol/0/D pre-amp
Without the pre-amp: unbalanced versus balanced interconnects

So I was down South again recently and got in touch with Andrew to see if he was around to listen to some choones.  Despite the short notice, everything was sorted and planned very quickly, but with knobs on!  Andrew arranged for Peter (forum member peter@57m) to meet up with us to make an evening of it.  And Peter was planning to bring his KDSM along to the party which made it that bit more interesting.  I headed out of Town late afternoon and Andrew kindly picked me up at the station.  We didn't go straight to the 350s, but diverted around to the home of another of Andrew's friends for a quick (very loud) blast on his home cinema system.  This is based around some B&O dalek speakers which can pump out some volume.  They're hidden away behind a massive screen which also doubles as a golf game screen - a real man cave!  I think this system is good for the whizz bang of movies and concerts, but it didn't feel musically engaging to me.  Great fun, but not threatening Andrew's system for and engaging listen.

We then had a tour around the rest of the house.  Underground garage and workshop with cars and motorbikes, a swimming pool, snooker room and the piece de resistance - the wine cellar.  The content of this room was beyond my limited knowledge, but its impressively laid out, including a little bar and all the wine is labelled by year of production and the range of years in which they should be drunk.  Of course, we had to sample some too...

Unfortunately, Andrew's friend was too busy to join us for the rest of the evening so we moved on all too soon, but onward to the main course.  Thanks to Andrew's friend - a very friendly guy who is much more down to earth than his house!

Soon we're facing the 340 centre speaker again and comfortably settled in to the listening room.  We start with a few tracks on the Klimax Renew and switch the sub woofer on and off a couple of times to decide which way to have the system configured.  Andrew loves his bass, Peter and I preferred the system without the sub - from where I was sitting there was less bass without the sub, yet strangely it went deeper.  And I'd worn jeans this time to try and avoid trouser flapping!  The sub stayed off for the rest of the evening.  A couple of minor changes to the system since I was last there - K20 has been replaced by K400 speaker cable and some kind of Russ Andrews filter mains cable now feeds the Renew DS.

We listened to some Blues Company, Seal, and some other stuff that slips my mind (maybe Andrew or Peter will be along soon to help me out here).  Then we picked a track and listened to the first 90 seconds or so 3 times.  Then Peter got to work behind the Hutter rack with the KDSM and cables.  Konfig was spun up and the volume control disabled on the KDSM as we kept the Akurate Kontrol/0/D in the system and used unbalanced silver interconnects from both streamers.  Then we went back to the track we'd listened to three times.  It took about 3 or 4 bars for us to be convinced.  We all looked at each other with a look of surprise.  This wasn't slightly better, it was significantly better.  Using the usual hifi terms then the separation between instruments was massively better and the noise floor had fallen again, enough to hear instruments you didn't notice with the Renew.  The acoustic of the recording venue (or maybe the effect of the acoustic of the recording venue added in production) opened out - for example on the Seal track it sounded like he'd moved from a living room into a concert hall. Going back revealed the closing in of the sound stage and now we could hear those instruments we hadn't heard before, but they're in the distance and they're muffled in comparison with the KDSM.  Vocals loose some richness and texture, the bass is that bit less tuneful and more difficult to follow.

We swap back, using a different track for before and after.  We're all agreed - the difference is quite distinct and much bigger than I think all of us were expecting.  Also interesting is that the Akurate Kontrol/0/D pre-amp was clearly capable of revealing these differences which is good for those of us who like to have a Linn processor for our movies.  But how much is it hiding?

Peter leaps into action again, Konfig is booted up and the volume control is enabled again on the KDSM.  The KDSM is then connected directly to the Klimax Twin power amp using balanced silver interconnects and no pre-amp.  Yet another layer of detail is revealed, along with yet further differentiation between the instruments.  However, a touch of harshness has come into the system - perhaps a hint of graininess.  I almost feel like it there is a little more "hifi" to the sound rather than just the music.  We go back to the unbalanced cables into the Akurate Kontrol with the KDSM volume control disabled.  Sure enough, the sound is a little less distinct and there's a much warmer feel to the sound - the graininess disappears.  Its one of those changes that really is more about personal taste rather than one being distinctly better or worse.  Hmmm, interesting.

Poor old Peter was again pressed into cable swapping duty (to be honest, I'm usually the one doing all this stuff so it was good to kick back and let someone else take the strain).  What now?  Well, how about taking the pre-amp out of the system again, re-enabling the KDSM volume control and using unbalanced silvers into the power amp?  So that's what we did.  Interestingly this was, for me, the best sounding the system had been all evening - this configuration sat neatly between the system with the pre-amp (warmer, friendlier, no harshness, no grain) and the system with the KDSM connected directly to the power amp using balanced cables (more detail, more separation, some grain /  harshness).  So we get more detail and separation (but not quite as much as with the balanced connection) but some of the warmer, less challenging sound of the system with the pre-amp.

So what did we learn (and, it must be said, very much agreed upon):
KDSM is significantly ahead of the KRDS - a much bigger difference than I think any of us were expecting
The Akurate Kontrol/0/D is a decent pre-amp, it clearly shows the difference between the DS products
The Akurate Kontrol/0/D is not transparent - it adds a warmth and a little haziness to the sound
The KDSM without a pre-amp is a mixed blessing - choose your method of connection to the power amp with care

We briefly listened to the KDSM with the HDMI switched on and with it switched off.  At this point, I was sitting to one side of the room so I found it difficult to hear a major difference.  Peter was finding it easy to hear and preferred the sound with HDMI switched off, as it had been through the earlier listening comparisons.

So a very revealing and entertaining evening (I know, some will find this a bit sad!) with excellent hospitality from Andrew (and his friend earlier in the evening), and generous support from Peter - great of him to bring over his KDSM, doing all the cable work and dropping me back at the station.

p.s. received a note from Peter the following day - his Klimax Twin Dynamik and Wilson Benesch standmounts and a sub is a very different system to Andrew's set up.  He doesn't use a pre-amp and had spent a little while the following day re-checking balanced vs unbalanced cables in his own system.  This allowed him to confirm that he still prefers the balanced cables in his own system.  The previous evening must've created some doubt in his mind, so good to hear that he's confirmed his original choice as working well in that system.

The Extraordinary Rachelle Ferrell

Just discovered this incredible singer thanks to a recent Exakt demo evening at House of Linn.

See here live performance below on YouTube.  If you only have a few minutes to dip into this, try minutes 56 through to 70 to get an idea of what she's capable of.  Enjoy.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Of6l1JTLjok" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Britney Spears!

Browsing Qobuz.com today (other high res music sites are available) I noticed a Britney Spears album available in 24 bit. Its not my kind of music so I won't be buying it, but is this some kind of pop music tipping point that might be significant in terms of availability and security of the format for the future perhaps?