HIFICRITIC at the Sound and Vision Bristol Show: February 2013 Early morning queues at the Bristol Marriott for a fast entry to the show HIFICRITIC attended in force with the editorial team, and had a successful three days meeting readers and subscribers. We enjoyed a busy trade in back numbers, many subscribers eager to fill in gaps in their treasured collection of HIFICRITIC. We also were busy answering readers queries as best we could on computer audio systems, servers versus computers and various DACS of varying connectivities. PMC were exhibiting in some force with the huge BB5 ATL three-way which impressed greatly using comparisons using studio masters. Coincidentally that edition of the Sunday Times featured PMC founder Pete Thomas in the Business Pages, interviewed on his success story with PMC. We had a copy so he stopped by to have a look.
Pete Thomas (left) reading his Sunday Times feature at the HIFICRITIC stand, seen here with Editor Paul Messenger and co-publisher Marianne Colloms We had looked forward to hearing the new IB2i SE, the previous non SE model has been highly rated by the editorial team, but there was insufficient space to exhibit the model. Conversely the Bristol Audio T branch had a spot available and it could be found there during the show, and an impressive looking beast it was, no longer hiding its charms under a dour cladding but freely expressed in luxury veneer with a matching furniture grade timber stand, This design has been comprehensively reworked borrowing low noise and transparency technologies developed for the FACT 8.
PMC, The new IB2i se with revised mid and treble phase plates amongst many improvements. About 13,000 with the audiophile stand inclusive.
PMC also showed the 12inch bass powered monitor the latest BB5 featuring an impressive sound level headroom. CAD Computer Audio Design enjoyed their Bristol Show win, achieving the top Clarity Alliance award for best of show sound quality. Clarity News Release "Best Sounding Hi-fi Room - Computer Audio Design CAD: computer audio driven USB only DAC
Wilson Benesch had a magnificent display featuring their new Cardinal tower speakers finished in an imposing black texture and carbon fibre, complete with massive machined alloy floor fixtures. They could easily fill the large exhibition space with powerful sounds and were partnered by DCS with a full line of their digital audio components spanning their massive price range. The speakers are scheduled to sell for some 60,000, so the UK can take on the international heavyweights. Amphion : Amphion founder Anssi Hyvonen has been working hard in studios with professional recordists to try and add greater precision to the often imperfect loop between the original acoustic event and the reproduction of the resulting sound field from the monitoring loudspeaker. The soundstage from his new monitor was notably vivid with very good discrimination between the central soloist and the backing orchestration, this clearly a fine design. The low crossover frequency offers very good phase integration and thus it may be used vertically or horizontally
Anssi Hyvonen explaining the Two-15 (black) Two-15 monitor rear view
He took no chances with the set up and used Transparent XL speaker cable. Sources included the fine sounding Antelope Zodiac 384Khz /64 bit sampling DAC. Antelope s Zodiac DAC at Amphion Devialet: This super capable, primarily digitally interfaced and powerful integrated amplifier was used ambitiously in bi-amplified form with hi res programme to show off the latest Spendor design, the 4,000 D7 floor stander with the new tweeter configuration. Initially there was a fault with the Firewire interface cable which annoyingly half worked and unfortunately I could not make it back to the room after the cable had been replaced, thus restoring the intended sound quality.
Spendor D7 with a brace of bi amped Devialets Leema ran three rooms on the tenth floor, two with KEF speakers, the LS 50 with the new Leema Elements streamer, the latter many months in gestation. Leema also fielded the KEF Blade no less, with the latest Elements amplification. Having heard the Blade in more cluttered locations, and despite the small room, it gave a good account of itself with deep, even bass, nicely powered by the Leema pre-power units
A late winter morning at Bristol, not a bad view from our 8 th floor bedroom. Libratone: with involvement from Jes Mosgaard, the former CEO of Lyngdorf Audio and former CTO of Steinway-Lyngdorf, Libratone bounced into the show with a range of wirelessly connected full range portable and moveable one piece reproducers. Their intendedly controversial slogans read: YOUR HIFI JUST DIED YOU DON T NEED A MUSIC STORE YOU DON T NEED A CD PLAYER YOU DON T NEED A WIRE YOU DON T NEED AN AMPLIFIER YOU DON T NEED A RADIO YOU DON T NEED YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is this where home audio is going for many newcomers to the audio scene? The Libratone Zipp is 369 looking like a cloth covered Thermos flask and has dipole ribbon tweeters. Live (pictured), is 459, while Lounge is a massive high power semi-portable sound bar with significantly good stereo at 1099. It has two sets of 8inch bass, 4 inch ceramic mid, and 1inch ribbon tweeters and is a metre wide. A variety of décor matching covers are available.
A Libratone Live showing the substantial engineering involved for this open-back dipole, WiFi connected design. HIFI WORLD/ Rohde&Schwarz Editor Noel Keywood seemed omnipresent the show, but in particular teamed up with premium test equipment maker Rohde&Schwarz to show off the resolution and
precision of the digital/analogue UPV audio and jitter analyser. Costing a pretty penny Noel uses it for advanced testing of review gear while his enthusiasm for this design knows no bounds. Rohde&Schwarz fielded a large team and also demonstrated related units. The UPV is normally used with a larger monitor on which the many control and data windows may be displayed. Alternative Audio ran their usual highly civilised demonstrations, the Analysis ribbon panel speakers and NAT valve electronics
The NAT Triode Monoblock VPI made an appearance in the Leema room with Denon cartridge and Rega RB series arm VPI Scoutmaster
NAIM electronics featured in many rooms, a dominant force it may be said, while in the NAIM room Ovator 400 speakers illustrated the differences in a line of streamer and digital sources at various prices and upgrade levels, culminating in the top of the line NDS. Naim Ovator 400
Audio Suspension s neat wall bracket Audionote missed the beauty prize but won almost universal praise from listeners for a highly engaging and musically natural sound. The layout maybe unorthodox but they do know how to do it on the day! Most components used were from their budget range.
AVID: The new Ingenium turntable was on demonstration, here in plan view with an SME 12inch arm More of the Ingenium construction. Avid used KEF LS50 speakers in its effective demo.
Dali demonstrated their latest in the Epicon series, the Epicon-2 stand mount at about 5,000, with a big hearted musical sound
DynamiKKs, an unusual high quality concentric driver TL system from Germany
Focal s Stella played audiophile PA for a series of sets by The Luck, a classy live music system powered by McIntosh!
Focal s new 7000 Chorus Series were introduced, with revised tweeters
A memorial to designer Richard Hay shown with his heed audio components
heed s new DAC upper left
Martin Colloms: HIFICRITIC TECH ED, just before the show opened
Revel launched their new lower priced Performa3 series to the UK, a stand mount M106 and a floor stander M206 both with excellent detailing and finish, and at first try, a pleasing, balanced sound. All diaphragms are aluminium despite the appearance.
KEF have followed the LS50 passive compact monitor with a derivative design, fully active, electronic crossovers, and with digital audio interfacing, sounding like a winning combination, the X300A Antelope Rubicon high end DAC Preamp with integrated atomic oscillator referenced clock
Pretty lighting for the expanding yet compact NuForce range including the new IA-18 integrated amplifier. These were driving those DynamiKKs concentric driver speakers
PerfectSound flew in from Taiwan to introduce their range of attractive in-ear and related headphone products
A crisp involving sound for the new Kudos Cardea Super 20 proved the case for making an effort under difficult show conditions
Exposure: we really liked these electronics separates when we reviewed them and here was a tidy sound with Audiovector floor standers Guru fielded a pretty little stand mount called the Junior, available in veneer and colours which sounded very tidy in the TomTom room, 700 about
This picture does not do justice to a promising new speaker from Kawero, a prismatic form right out of the Conran Shop. Steve Elford of Vertex AQ was using it to demonstrate some interesting broad band acoustic absorber panels LeadingEdge, music sourced from the noted VertexAQ Aletheia DAC.
Tannoy Precison 6.4, ably driven by an Antelope Zodiac DAC, computer audio, and Lavardin amplification. A promising sound here.
T&A made an impression with their tidy system of upmarket components and a seriously large banner! Ming Da MC300-A one of a surprising variety of valve amplifiers, this one an SE 300B design
Ming Da, this time the MC34-A SE, with distinctive blue glass EL34L. There were many more desings piled high in the dem room including a valve 5 channel home theatre unit!
Oriton, new gen stand makers, put up a good fight with a well tuned show system using their rack and speaker stands. TERRA MK3 from Everything But The Box
Proac s new 1880 a pair Response D2 gave a good account of itself with Naim electronics and once again the Proac team were seen to defy the adverse acoustics found in these rooms REGA celebrates the phonograph and REGA s 40 th anniversary, hard to believe.
REGA s advanced, skeletal new P8 turntable with precision coupling between main bearing and arm mount. Copyright HIFICRITIC MC February 2013