It has been a great month or two for loudspeakers around my place recently.
To begin, I replaced my desktop system with the Cambridge Minx X200 subwoofer and the min 10 satellites. The sats are rather special, having only a single driver per enclosure. What is unusual is that that driver is a BMR (Blanced Mode Radiator) design and has unique dispersion characteristics and a very natural sonic character. You can read my full review on TheHiFiJournal website. Suffice it to say here that the combination of the Min 10s and X200 seems like an excellent way to spend £350 on a desktop set-up especially if yours, like mine, runs off a Naim UnitiQute.
NEAT XL6
Meanwhile, my listening room played host to the magnificent, floor-standing NEAT Acoustics XL6 and the stand-mount XLS. Both are very special loudspeakers and responded impeccably to being bi-amplified with two of my Naim NAP250s. The XLS has a fine and impressive sense of scale for what is, in truth, only a small stand-mount loudspeaker but my heart really went out to the XL6 for its totally captivating and delightfully full-blooded performance. Reviews of the NEATs will be published shortly in Hi-Fi Choice – The Collection 2011, and Hi-Fi Plus.
The XL6, despite its outward simplicity, is actually a six-driver design having an isobarically loaded bass arrangement in the bottom of its Birch-plywood enclosure, and two super-HF units atop the cabinet.
People frequently ask me about the music I use to evaluate hi-fi equipment. Since the Hi-fi Journal recently asked me to prepare a list of my 100 favourite review discs/rips I now have them all written down and assemled so anyone can check them out.
The list is now on this site in electronic format, which means that if you click on the image of a CD cover you will be whisked to that disk on Amazon so you can read about it and, I hope, purchase and enjoy it.
There is all manner of rock and jazz music there, though there is only one record by each band/artist.
Tellurium Q is an odd name for a range of cables. It is an odd name for any product if I am being honest. Dig around a little and you will find that Tellurium is a brittle, mildly toxic, silver-white metalloid that looks similar to tin, and is chemically related to selenium and sulphur. It was discovered in Transylvania, of all places. One should be careful when handling it: ingestion in even small amounts causes “dreadful smelling breath” and “appalling body odour”. Thankfully the same is not true of the cables that bear the name.
Tellurium Q Green speaker cable
You will soon be able to read my full review of the cables at TheHifiJournal.com when it goes on-line in a few days time. So I will not spoil the fun other than by saying that the performance of these cables is truly outstanding. Even the least expensive – the £16/metre Blue – elicits a distinct improvement in a decent system over the vast majority of specialist leads: even many costing a great deal more. I am now using the Blue in my office system and the Ultra Black in my music room: they are that good!
USP has just delivered an M2Tech Young DAC to me for review.
M2Tech Young DAC
I am, to say the least, very excited by this prospect because the Young has, in the 7 hours it has been plugged in, sounded rather magnificent… much better than any ‘cold’ DAC has any right to. According to its makers it needs 100 hours to come fully on song, so that is only a week of being permanently played.
It is a smart little box, handling 32-bit 384kHz signals through its asynchronous USB2 input. It’s a shame there is only a miniscule amount of music around at that sampling rate. Regardless, though, the Young seems to cope admirably with the more common 24/192 and 24/96 recordings. The only feature upon which I am not very keen is the front panel display, which is a little, shall we say, obvious for my tastes. It is bright enough and large enough to make one want to wear sunglasses during evening listening sessions. In the DAC’s favour though it has a BNC (as well as RCA) S/PDIF input, which makes life simpler for me – my regular Naim DAC being BNC-equipped … and BNC is also a better-sounding option than the ubiquitous RCA connector.
Look out for my full review, which will appear soon in Hi-Fi+ magazine.
Along with my fascination for high-end hi-fi, my love of music – both live and recorded –, and my passion for fast cars, I have two more interests that I seem to share with others who enjoy great hi-fi, music and motors: I am a fan of mechanical watches and fountain pens; both items that are viewed as redundant by the majority these days.
I do not want or need a watch with the accuracy of an atomic clock. It would do me no good: I would still arrive late at meetings. Where is the benefit in knowing precisely how many milliseconds ago I should have been wherever I was supposed to be? Regardless, I do not spend vast sums on watches. In fact I spend the minimum I can get away with. I think that every tenner you spend over about £500 is not buying you a better watch in any functional respect: it is just adding bling, and I am not in the slightest bit interested in jewellery.
No, I am perfectly happy with my Seiko ‘Black Monster’ 200M Diver’s watch. It cost me around £200 a few years back and the only additional expense came when I replaced the fitted synthetic bracelet with a £10 nylon NATO Strap. The whole edifice is safe to wear in the shower – its 200 Metre appelation seems entirely honest – and has, thus far, withstood all my watch-destroying clumsiness. Even the glass is scratch-free, which is remarkable for something that never leaves my wrist.
I have just fueled my second obsession with the purchase of a TWSBI Diamond 530 fountain pen. It is an excellent concept, well executed, and appeals to both the aethete in me and the geek. It writes beautifully and easily (using ink from The Writing Desk) and its geek appeal comes from a) its transparency and b) its ability to be dismantled and maintained by the owner. Finally it costs under £40, which is considerably less than I paid for my 1930s’ vintage Mentmore and my 1950s’ Parker 51. When either of the latter need servicing it will be time to get the plastic out for some exercise but the TWSBI is a DIY job.
TWSBI Diamond 530
It even comes with instructions and a spanner to dismantle it. All that is left for me to do is find an ink that really pushes my plunger, and wait for the Taiwanese manufacturer to deliver a broader nib: the medium is the widest option available at the moment but I hear there is a broad nib expected reasonably soon.
At less than £40 there really is no excuse to keep using that scratchy old ballpoint. Get yourself a proper pen and show those with whom you communicate that you have a bit of class. I suggest you consider buying from The Writing Desk who I found to be an excellent, prompt and knowledgeable supplier.
The hi-fi and a/v industries are definitely on the slippery slope to nowhere if they honestly believe that writing vainglorious bollocks about their products will attract people to them. This is my fourth decade in this business, yet the drivel from a show brochure that follows had me wondering what on earth the message was that the copywriters were trying to convey on behalf of the companies, all of whom were “the leading specialists” in their field. One day copywriters will realise that “leading” is a completely meaningless term without any qualification.
Example 1:
This year Company X is unveiling its eagerly awaited streaming music players. Utilising over 25 years of knowledge and expertise, this new platform meets the needs of the most demanding audiophile. With its sleek body, full colour screen and two-way control, the unique user interface makes the new Company X streaming platform very special. This interface is the perfect answer for music enthusiasts and for those seeking a lifestyle solution.
Copywriters who use the word “utilising” when they mean “using” should be lined up alongside those who think that a “lifestyle solution” means anything to any sentient being and decapitated. They won’t feel a thing because their brains are no longer functioning.
Example 2:
Experience the debut of Company Y’s product . Based on the multi-award winning Product Y, this represents extreme HD realism including razor sharp transients and uncanny imaging, topped by crossover-free HF volume/dispersion adjustment. Be amazed at the incisive virtuosity of this compact standmount with tight bass down to 39Hz.
Also hear the multi-award winning Y floorstander with exemplary bass extension/weight from a full-range array. A state-of-the-art reflex loaded transmission line maximises the multi-advantageous HD resolving, true imaging philosophy.
Turned on? Excited? Reading this inane diatribe was so boring that it nearly removed my will to live. It certainly does not make me want to witness the product being demonstrated. I wonder if that was the aim the copywriter hoped to achieve?
Example 3:
The Company Z speakers are available in an almost infinite number of finishes and colour options and the custom speakers are designed and tailored to your individual taste and interior decor, so you know that when your speakers arrive they are uniquely tailored to your requirements and meet their standards of perfection.
Someone has not figured out what that key to the right of the comma is for. And again, I do not feel compelled to rush to this company’s exhibit to see whether I should be dusting off my credit cards. I feel more inclined to go to the bar and drown my sorrows…once I have caught my breath. I do not expect these people to have the fluency or turn of phrase of James Joyce but is it asking too much that they are able to write consequential, bollocks-free English? It is, after all, their first language.
These examples of functionally illiterate drivel say nothing worthwhile or enticing about the products but they say rather too much about the companies that are using them to present their wares to the public. That is not good news… Especially when you can pay someone to write or edit your copy, and present your company in a far more professional light. If you are expecting people to pay thousands for your products, the few hundred quid it costs to have your publicity material properly written/edited is neither here nor there. Is it?
A while ago I was determined to start digitising a few thousand LPs and thought I had borrowed all the gear required to do it. I had the loan of a Chord Electronics ADC/phonostage and a rather slow miniature PC but the set up (these were only pre-production prototypes) was plagued with USB noise and the whole project became impractical because my reviewing schedule ensured that I never had sufficient support space to accommodate the equipment such that its cabling could be properly dressed to avoid the ingress of more noise. After a few none-too-successful attempts at transcription I admitted defeat, sat down and prayed that the wonderful Keith Monks Ruby Record Cleaning Machine would remain forgotten about by its manufacturer for a month or two longer.
Furutech GT40
Now, however, I am all set up to take a second stab at the task, thanks to my mate, PR, Dave Denyer who has secured the loan of a Furutech GT40 ADC along with some long, high-end USB connections. The GT40 takes its phono input through RCA sockets, the same connection used on the output of my Well Tempered Amadeus GTA turntable. Eventually I located a set of RCA-RCA cables, which are quite rare in my mostly DIN and XLR home and the signal was routed successfully to the ADC. The output on that device leaves through a USB B socket, so I hooked it up to the first laptop with a 3.5m Furutech GT2 A/B cable. That proved too slow to run Audacity recording software at a 96kHz sampling rate – and why would one bother with less? So out came laptop number 2 from my eldest son’s bedroom, where it had been on unnofficial loan for a few weeks. I knew that was fast enough to cope with 24-bit/96 kHz recording because I had used it in the previous set-up.
So, all connected and ready to go, I discover that laptop #2 has acquired a few new habits while it has been on sojourn: annoying habits like freezing after the POST and eventually booting into Win 7 then powering down unexpectedly and then only re-starting in Safe Mode and refusing to detect the specialised USB Audio drivers. Fun stuff like that. Just what you need when you are minutes away from archiving a lorry-load of LPs. I think tomorrow will see it in the local repair shop for a thorough hardware MOT, a new HDD and a re-install of Win 7. I really cannot be arsed messing around inside laptops.
Then the real fun can recommence. If I manage to do 3 discs a day on average it will only take about 2 years 11 months to work through the shelves! But then, all the metadata will have to be entered by hand and many of the sleeves will need to be scanned. Perhaps, I’ll be a bit more selective and just do a few and see how it goes…
Thankfully, before I rushed off and spent loadsamoney getting laptop #2 re-fettled I found some software that recorded at 24/96 happily on laptop #1 so I purchased it for the equivalent of a very reasonable $35. It is called Spin It Again and comes from an outfit called Acoustica. Spin It Again seems to do what is says on the tin without any fuss, drama or tricky configuration… including getting metadata for some of my albums that date back to 1957. Colour me happy!
My full review of the Furutech DAC will appear in Hi-Fi Plus magazine soon.
I just spent about half an hour setting up a new, rather clever, totally wireless, internet radio, the kooky looking Q2.
I am totally impressed with this early Christmas present simply because a) it is so damned simple to set up, b) it is even simpler to operate, and c) it sounds rather good for a unit that is small enough to fit in your hand, weighs next-to-nothing, and retails for £90 online from Armour Home.
Setting up the unit involves plugging it into a USB port on your wireless enabled computer, and downloading some free software. The software allows you to connect the radio to your wireless network and then select four favourite radio stations by dragging and dropping them from a list onto one of the radio faces. You operate the radio through its three-axis, motion detecting accelerometer by tilting it forwards or backwards to adjust its volume, and placing it with one of its four numbered faces uppermost: the numbers represent the station to which you are listening.
Sound quality is not the best you are ever going to hear but it certainly is not bad, considering it is being fed wirelessly by low-bit-rate internet streams. It is playing in my office as I write and occasionally when I hear a track that appeals it successfully grabs my attention – for all the right reasons, I must add. The rest of the time it provides eminently respectable background music. Place it on a shelf close to a wall for a little low frequenct reinforcement and hence the best sound. Sitting on top of a pile of boxes atop my computer tower makes its presentation less substantial and impressive.
In a few words, it ain’t hi-fi but it certainly is fun. And at just £90 you’ll still be able to afford sunglasses if its colour scheme is a bit too loud for you, assuming you didn’t buy the most tasteful black model in the first place.
Olive Media Inc. has released its flagship offering, the handcrafted Olive O6HD music server. Retailing for £4500 in the UK, the device starts shipping in December.
Olive 06HD
Every design choice on the O6HD was made with purity of sound as a priority, says the San Franciso-based company, making the O6HD its most advanced offering to date.
Dr. Oliver Bergmann, co-founder and CEO of Olive, said: “…we sought the highest possible quality for each component, without compromise. Primary for us was creating the most faithful playback of high quality audio in digital format. Nothing has been spared. Supporting 24-bit playback enables a rich and emotional experience not found with other digital music solutions. MP3 files are infamous for compressing tracks to the point of destroying the depth and nuances of a performance, even CDs are incapable of reproducing the way music sounds as it is recorded live in the studio.”
The 06HD features radically different styling to it predecessors with a 10-inch touch screen fitted into its gently sloped top panel. This allows browsing of your music artwork and easy operation of the unit. There is a fully balanced differential DAC connected to an ultra-low-jitter master clock that the maker says “give sound of unequalled transparencyand tonal accuracy.”
The PR continues, “The obsession for sound performance behind the O6HD’s design is further evidenced with the unique presence of dedicated power supplies for the analog and digital components. The highly sensitive analog section is powered by a dedicated linear power supply with a custom-built ultra-low noise toroidal transformer. A separate AC line filter, with noise attenuation at close to 80dB, reduces noise floor from the star.”
“Even the 06HD’s Anti-Vibration Feet play a role in producing sound that is pure, with each foot designed in a 2-part, special polymer mold. This allows the chassis to float above its supporting surface and protect it from outside vibrations and resonances, which can negatively affect sound performance“.
Everyone here just hopes it sounds as good as it looks.
Paul McCartney has released the 1973 Wings album, Band on The Run in remastered high definition. It is available in a number of formats including two-disc, 180 gramme, audiophile vinyl in a gatefold package featuring the original accompanying poster for $29.99. There is also a High Resolution download: 24bit 96kHz limited and unlimited audio, FLAC versions of all 18 songs on the remastered album and bonus audio disc for $35.99. The limited and unlimited versions are available separately for $19.99 each, and the site, http://www.paulmccartney.com/bandontherun/ recommends the unlimited version, which, although quieter, has greater dynamic range.
It is nice to see Macca showing an interest in audio quality, and having a site with good, and not misleading, information about the various download options available. Now all we need are a few more musicians following his lead and providing their material in hi-res. The only problem with Band on the Run is that it is most likely an irrelevance to anyone under the age of fifty, surely? In an ideal world, though, Macca might possibly take on some sort of ambassadorial role for hi-res recordings… anything so long as he doesn’t start plundering his back catalogue.
(In case you were wondering, I was never a Beatles fan. In those far-off days I was a Stones fan. You were not allowed to like both bands; you had to pick one or the other. The Stones did a better job of outraging my parents so they were a natural choice. They also made much better music as far as I was concerned.)
The hi-fi and a/v industries are definitely on the slippery slope to nowhere if they honestly believe that writing vainglorious bollocks about their products will attract people to them. This is my fourth decade in this business, yet the drivel from a show brochure that follows had me wondering what on earth the message was that the copywriters were trying to convey on behalf of the companies, all of whom were “the leading specialists” in their field. One day copywriters will realise that “leading” is a completely meaningless term without any qualification.
