Consonance Cyber 10 Signature Integrated Amplifier

27. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Amplifiers

It’s been a while since I listened to a good low-watter valve amp, the last one being the amazing Horning Sati; 12 watts of Pure Class A SET amplification.  It was bliss and the output figures totally belied what it was capable of.  Since then, I’ve listened to or owned a few interesting valve amplifiers and having recently being given the opportunity to listen to the Consonance Cyber 10 Signature, I jumped at the chance.
Consonance are a relatively small specialist Chinese company, but don’t let that put you off, as their standards are high and their kit has won widespread acclaim world-wide.  Their quality control seems peerless in China, as do their technical standards and attention to detail.  Having auditioned their Droplet and Mini-Droplet CD spinners, and falling head over heels with the build and the sound, I ended up buying the CDP3.1 and have never looked back. It was with a little nervousness that I took the opportunity to review the Cyber 10 Signature as I knew that both the bank manager and wife would be none too pleased if I repeated my last performance with Consonance kit… More »

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Electrocompaniet Showcase ECI 6 DS Music System

26. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Uncategorized · Tags:

This year at the Munich High End show Electrocompaniet will introduce a new product called ECI 6 DS.

The ECI 6 DS is an all-in-one music-system built around the125 wpc ECI 5 MK II integrated amplifier, it has a built in DAC and offers wireless streaming from your computer or other sources.

Digital sources like iPod/iPhone can be connected as well as blu-ray players, CD players and televisions and everything is controlled by the graphical remote control. Analogue sources can be connected by balanced XLR or unbalanced RCA inputs

The release is planned this summer and Electrocompaniet will present the ECI 6 DS in Atrium 3 C114 at the HighEnd show.

The estimated RRP of € 5.500 / £4.490.

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Ming Da MC-Phono 2006 Phonostage

26. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Phono Stages · Tags: , ,

The Ming Da MC-Phono 2006 Phonostage was reviewed along with other Ming Da equipment and can be found here

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Ming Da MC-7SE Pre-amp, MC-805 Power-amps & MC-phono2006 Phonostage

26. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Amplifiers · Tags: , , ,

New UK dealership BD-Audio, based in the lovely UK Midlands town of Malvern and headed up by Jack Durant, has taken on the Chinese designed & manufactured Ming Da brand of valve-based electronics.

Looking at the pricing of the equipment, many folk might quite understandably do a double-take – perceived value is extremely competitive, especially at the lower end of the price range.  When the kit is seen ‘in the flesh’ the feeling of great value for money is further enhanced – these are lovely items to behold. Production quality seems very high and the aesthetic design is distinctive and attractive.  Warranty is 2 years on the equipment and an unusually generous 1 year on the valves.

Jack paid a visit to my humble abode a few days ago and brought with him a selection of Ming Da kit for me to audition and review.

I listened to all of the equipment with the stock Chinese valves, and although I have no reason to think they are poor, you will certainly be able to obtain different sonic flavours with a bit of ‘valve rolling’.

Remarkably ugly valve cages are provided to meet CE regulations; these are easily removed for when they are not required to keep inquiring small hands or paws at bay!

Ming Da MC-7SE pre-amp

With a current UK retail price of £1520 this remote controlled (volume level and mute) stereo valve pre-amp is a lovely thing for an audiophile to behold.

4 pairs of stereo RCA inputs and 2 pairs of RCA outputs but no fixed level output (“tape”) is available.  The circuit includes five valves (tubes), four of these valves are the 6SN7 type, the other, a rectifier, is a 5U4G. More »

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Bel Canto C7r DAC Integrated Reciever

25. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Uncategorized · Tags:

Built in the US, Bel Canto’s latest offering is billed as a “Fine sounding, cool running, high-output, low power usage analogue and digital media centre.”

It is loaded with inputs including two 24/192 SPDIF, two 24/192 TOSLINK, one 24/96 USB, one MM phono and an analogue line level input. RCA out, Headphone out and speaker posts deal with getting signals out of the C7r.

Its power amplifier delivers 30amps and make it suitable for driving a wide variety of loudspeakers and you can connect pretty much anything to it –computer, CD player, turntable, TV receiver or games console…It even has an onboard FM tuner. More »

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Purity Basis mk2 Linestage Announced

25. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Uncategorized · Tags: ,

Purity Audio Design have announced the release of the Basis mk2 vacuum tube linestage. The Basis mk2 utilizes a Class ‘A’, zero feedback circuit based around a single 6SN7 dual triode per channel with a lower output impedance to allow better integration with a larger variety of amplifiers.

The Basis mk2 is said to “bring to the table a better sense of refinement over the original design with better resolution, transparency and detail retrieval. The larger power supply means dynamic impact remains intact during even the most demanding passages.”

Purity Audio Design also offers additional upgrade options for the Basis mk2 including a choke filtered, polypropylene power supply, signal capacitor upgrade and remote volume.

The Basis mk2 has a starting price of $2,500 US. A limited time introductory price is also being offered.

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Autotech at Munich High End

25. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Uncategorized · Tags: ,

Autotech, the Polish manufacturer of front loaded horns, Diy horns and waveguide loudspeakers have contacted us to tell us that they will be in attendance at this years High End show in Munich (May 3-6).

They will have on demonstration the Universum 3-way horn (Pictured) which uses the JMLC-200T mid and JMLC-1400 high frequency horns. This interesting looking loudspeaker uses premium drivers and an aperiodic vented bass enclosure with a 15” driver. The construction methods and horn contour used are said to give a “smooth and relaxed sound” with very low distortion figures and a “wonderfully natural sound”. More »

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Black Rhodium Twist Loudspeaker Cable Revisited

25. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Cables

A couple of weeks ago Jerry reviewed the budget loudspeaker cable “Twist” from Black Rhodium. We gave the cable to Jake to see how it did in a completely different system.

The latest cable release from UK cable stalwart Black Rhodium has them competing in a far more pocket friendly category than previous products but designer Graham Nalty obviously believes that trickle down technology from more costly designs such as the highly commended Salsa and expensive Ninja speaker cables can help the Twist become the go to cable at the densely populated sub £5 per metre price point. Let’s put it to the test. More »

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Linn Wins Queens Award for Enterprise

24. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Uncategorized · Tags:

Linn, the manufacturer of the iconic LP12 turntable, have been awarded the prestigious accolade -  the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.  

Linn’s award in the Innovation category celebrates the success of the Scotland based company’s digital streaming technology- the Linn DS.

Approved by The Queen and following the recommendation of the Prime Minister, the Queen’s Award for Innovation recognises the “engineering prowess and passion for music embodied within Linn’s industry-leading range of DS systems.”

Linn were awarded the Royal Warrant in 2002 as providers of entertainment systems to the Royal Household.

Linn’s Managing Director, Gilad Tiefenbrun had the following to say about the award “Innovation is at the heart of Linn. We designed our DS platform from scratch, starting in 2004, and launching our first product, the Klimax DS, in 2007. Klimax DS immediately set a new performance benchmark in home music systems. Since then, we’ve released a full range of DS systems across the price spectrum, with all of them playing everything from mp3 to 24-bit Studio Master and making the music sound better. Our most recent updates let you play music wirelessly from computers and mobile devices, stream online music and movies, and connect everything in the modern living room through your Linn system.”

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Hawkwind “Space Ritual”

24. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Classic Albums · Tags: , ,
Hawkwind-Space_Ritual

Space Ritual by Hawkwind is a double live album released in 1973 and recorded in Liverpool and London in 1972. In the UK it managed to reach 9 in the album charts and in the US it managed only 179 in the Billboard Top 200.

Space Ritual forgoes much of the bands material from the first two albums – the Space Ritual tour was essentially to promote the bands Doremi Fasol Latido album. The gigs were a multimedia event with dancer Stacia and others, poetry recitals by Bob Calvert, stage set by Barney Bubbles, lightshow by Liquid Len and the Lensmen and tells the story of a group of space travellers and their return to earth.

The original vinyl copy of the album is presented in an elaborate fold out cover designed by Barney Bubbles.

Side one kicks off with the “Earth Calling”, a short piece of electronic feedback and effects before ripping into familiar Hawkwind territory of heavy repeated riffs, weighty bass lines, soaring lead guitar and other worldly electronics of “Born to Go”. This sets the tone for the rest of the album – Hawkwind are a heavy band and they are definitely acid soaked. The drumming is relentless and underpins the whole and “Born to Go” weighs in at four seconds shy of ten minutes before “Down Through the Night” gives us more of the same. More »

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Bert Weedon Dies

20. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Uncategorized

The guitarist who inspired millions, including Brian May and Eric Clapton, to “Play in a Day” has died at the age of 91.

Herbert Maurice William ‘Bert’ Weedon OBE had been ill for some time and died at his home in Buckinghamshire (United Kingdom) earlier today.

 

 

 

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Antelope Audio Rubicon Atomic AD/DA Preamp

19. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

The Antelope Audio Rubicon Atomic is the world’s first 384 kHz converter, phonostage preamp and headphone amplifier with an integrated atomic clock, which is said to be 100,000 times more stable than traditional crystal oscillators.

“I find the idea of an audio enthusiast being able to hear his/her favorite recordings clocked by the world’s most stable clock very exciting. I believe this will bring the music appreciation in the home environment to a completely new level compared only to the precision and sonic detail representation available at the finest professional listening rooms,” shared Igor Levin, CEO and founder of Antelope Audio.

The Dac also boasts Antelope’s “64-bit Acoustically Focused Clocking” technology and the Rubidium is  said to achieve never before seen performance with regards jitter. The  technology used in the Rubicon is the same as used in the company’s master clocks used in film scores and mastering studios.

The Preamp has an on-board transformer based discrete JFET phonostage and ultra-high sample rate A/D conversion. – these features, along with USB recording will allow users to digitize their analogue music.
DLNA streaming gives users the opportunity to wirelessly push audio files from their smart phone, PC or NAS (Network-attached storage) server and play the content through the DAC.

Rubicon will be presented for the first time to the public during the Munich High End Show, in hall 3, booth A 04, at 2 pm, on May 3rd.

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Lampizator DAC Level 4 Review

18. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: D to A Converters · Tags: ,

You might not have heard of Lukasz Fikus but you’ll have probably of heard of Lampizator. They are one and the same – Lukasz, a Polish electrical engineer with a masters degree in high voltage physics is Lampizator and as such is responsible for one of the more interesting hi-fi pages on the web today. The site started as a blog, where his design musings and irreverent dissection of high end brands revealing what was actually going on behind the silver tongued marketing spiel and brushed aluminium fascias garnered him a cult following. These days Lampizator is more boutique manufacturer than modder, with several employees and rave forum reviews under his belt. His own valve output stage design, subsequent mods and kit DACs have been well received, selling well through the online store.

A clickable button on this online store links to a newer page and Fikus’ primary commercial venture, a digital to analogue converter. The Lampizator DAC is the fruit of years spent refining his home brew analogue circuit and comprehensive testing of pretty much every DAC chip commercially available. The resulting product is a purist’s dream – handpicked components, bespoke PCBs, opamp free design and massively over specified power supplies and capacitor banks ensure the best design possible for the five product levels available. These models are marketed as DACs one to five, with components becoming more exotic as the price increases. Shrewd marketing, and surely a nod to the Audionote up selling strategy that Fikus admits to admiring. More »

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CA-Electronics AP10 Loudspeakers

18. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Loudspeakers. · Tags: ,

I was always told that nice things came in small packages but never really believed this about loudspeakers until I first heard some Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors, and was always captivated by the superb little Proac Tablette Reference 8 Signatures.  There was always a “however” however.  No-matter how good these little stand-mounters sound, after a while I always miss some real bass perspective underpinning the proceedings, and still, it can be argued, a good big box will always beat a good little box in this respect.  Not everyone has the room for large floorstanders though, so how did these little CA Electronics AP10 ‘speakers fare?  Would my preconceptions of disappointingly bass light little boxes be borne out or shattered?
When the boxes arrived, first impressions upon unpacking were rather good.  The AP10’s measure 220mm by 245 deep by 355 high and weigh in at around 6.2 Kilos each.  Build quality seems good with each ‘speaker receiving up to 6 coats of piano black gloss lacquer.  Although a lovely finish, as with all similar finishes, it promises to show up every finger print after a short while, so it you’re a compulsive ‘speaker mover, cotton gloves may be order of the day.  I would have rather seen a quality veneer finish though as these mid priced stand-mounters (£2K per pair) blend in all too easily with the ubiquitous gloss black flatcreen TV’s and other mainstream consumer AV goods these days.  Perhaps a real wood veneer might have set them apart a little. More »

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Audio Note UK Jinro Shochu Power Amplifier

17. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Uncategorized

Audio Note UK  is a marque that we know lot’s of our readers have a great deal of interest in and so we thought this would be worthy of reporting despite not having photographs as yet. More »

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Lampizator “Transport”

15. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: CD Players · Tags: , , , ,

A quick search on any established hifi forum will confirm that enthusiasts have been long been arguing about the role, importance and perceived effect of different digital transports on sound quality. This subject has provoked involved debate pretty much since Arcam first unleashed the ‘Black Box’ standalone digital to analogue converter on consumers in 1989 and now has new legs as more audiophiles make the switch from silver to hard disk to store the bits to fire at their DAC chip of choice.

It’s arguably a discussion with more relevance today than before. Even the most basic compact disc spinners are designed with that specific job in mind. These ears hear far smaller differences between two CD transports built for the task in hand than between differing implementations of PC audio where a quiet, vibration free dedicated digital transfer just wasn’t part of the original design brief. I know this at my cost – I’m sure we’ve all found that it’s pretty easy to get crap sound from a laptop. Advances in technology and the demand for a purpose built solution has given rise to the file streamer, but while Sonos play Pepsi to Squeezeboxes Coca Cola in a lifestyle tussle for your front room, cynics grumble about switching power supplies and low rent components. I can relate to this. I’m a huge fan of the convenience of my Sonos box, but it’s not uncommon for me to lower the ‘CD is dead’ flag and reach for a jewel case when I really want to hear what my system is doing. More »

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Electrocompaniet ECP 1

12. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Phono Stages · Tags: ,

Electrocompaniet was created forty years ago and they are the largest manufacturer of high quality audio equipment in Norway, they export to over fifty countries and their range of amplifiers, compact disc players, preamplifiers, digital to analogue converters and loudspeakers can be found in every corner of the world.

The Electrocompaniet ECP 1 is an aesthetically pleasing bit of kit which measures nine and a half inches wide, three inches high and seven inches deep. The front panel has the distinctive Electrocompaniet Perspex panel and gold details, along with the company’s logo and a blue LED to indicate it’s receiving power from the mains via its dedicated wall-wart transformer and to tell you if it’s in MM or MC mode. The mention of gold detail and blue LEDs gives the impression that this is an over the top design, but I find it quite understated and, as I say, pleasing on the eye. My only one concern over the appearance of this phonostage is that the LED is a little bright. It was popular with my wife whose usual comment when asked about the look of an item of hifi is “It’s another black box!” She loves the LED and the starlight effect it gives through the Perspex. More »

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Alpha Design Labs Esprit DAC / ADC Digital Pre & Headphone Amplifier

12. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

An increasing number of music lovers use their computers to store and play music, yet still want better sound and more flexibility. The new Alpha Design Labs Esprit, aimed at audiophiles who wants “higher performance and increased flexibility”  offering as it does 24 bit/192 kHz, a digital preamplifier and a headphone amplifier.

The Esprit is designed around the 24 bit/192 kHz Wolfson WM8716 DAC and the CIRRUS LOGIC CS5361 24/192 analogue to digital converter.  It features optical, coaxial, USB and 2 analogue inputs.  The USB output can be used for recording to hard disk and the S/PDIF output will support digital surround sound formats from allowing surround material stored on a hard drive to be played through a suitable digital surround decoder. More »

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Unison Research Simply Italy

11. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

Unison Research has launched its latest integrated amplifier – Simply Italy – to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification as a nation.

This compact, 5 input, line level integrated clearly draws its inspiration from the Simply Two amplifier.

Unison have created a newly redesigned version of the Simply Two that shares many of its characteristics and sonic attributes with the famous original, but with a more modern appearance. Simply Italy offers the same 12 watts per channel, but now features a 6-Ohm output impedance, increasing the amp’s flexibility for use with 4 and 8-Ohm loudspeakers.

Amplifying stages are all strictly valve-based and operate in pure Class-A mode.

The output stage for Simply Italy consists of just one EL34 in single-ended ultra-linear configuration and this mode of operation is made possible by a particular development of the output transformers, which in practice, allow the pentode EL34s to operate almost as if they were triodes. The preamp and driver stage of the power output is entrusted to ECC82 twin triodes.

Unison Research’s design department has created an interestingly designed amplifier that harks back to the original Simply Two, yet incorporates “significant aesthetic improvements”.

The wood parts of the Simply Italy are said to be important for the aesthetic design but also play an important role in damping chassis resonance and “assist the delicate electronic parts, valves etc, to perform at their best.”

The Simply Italy boasts an ALPS motorized pot, infra-red remote handset and gold-plated speaker terminals. It is available in black and stainless steel with cherry detail inserts, or cherry with black inserts.

Cost is a pound short of £1500.

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Black Rhodium “Twist” Speaker Cables

11. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Cables · Tags: ,

Black Rhodium is a long-established UK cable company, headed up by industry veteran, Graham Nalty. A wide range of prices allow an equally diverse choice of cable construction technology as well as component materials and quality.  The upper echelons of the Black Rhodium cable range feature “deep cryogenically treated” (DCT) conductors and unusual conductor materials including silver (OK, that’s not so unusual) and palladium (which is not often encountered).  Rhodium plating on the connectors is also used in the higher price bracket.

The subject of this review, though, is rather more humble in its aspirations.  The “Twist” speaker cable is a new introduction and trickles down some of the benefits claimed for its more exalted (and costly) siblings, specifically the top of the range Ninja.  So DCT and heavy gauge wire are sacrificed for economy, and the conductor wire is tinned copper. More »

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Hifi at the V and A

11. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Uncategorized · Tags:

To coincide with the 2012 London Olympics, the V&A Museum’s major Spring exhibition will showcase the best of British design and creative talent. ‘British Design 1948-2012:

Innovation in the Modern Age’, will highlight significant moments in the history of British Design. Included in this prestigious event is the Lecson Audio system created by the co-founders of Meridian Audio.

The Lecson Audio system was created in 1974, three years before Allen Boothroyd and Bob Stuart founded Meridian Audio.

One of the most innovative products of the 1970s in any field, the Lecson reinvented the

relationship between design and function. Before its release, hi-fi equipment was housed functionally. Regular grey boxes with knobs represented the height of artistic endeavour

and the aesthetic of hi-fi products remained unchanged for many years, that is, until the

Lecson.  More »

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Radford STA15 Series 3 Re-Issue Amplifier

10. April 2012 · 1 comment · Categories: Amplifiers · Tags: , , ,

As the Radford Revival STA15 is a reissue of an early 1960s design, we thought that the best way to give readers a full and clear picture of what this amplifier is capable of was to conduct two separate reviews.

In his first review of the Radford Revival reissue, Paul reviews the amplifier as he would any other modern amplifier, with the caveat that some, but not all of the music chosen was contemporary with the design of the amplifier.

The second forthcoming review will compare and contrast an original STA15 against the Radford Revival STA15 Series 3 Re-Issue. – Stuart

Background

Radford Electronics was originally set up in Bristol by Arthur Radford in 1959 and it was the later Series 3 amplifiers such as the STA15 and STA25 that established Radford’s designs.  These were unique amplifiers for the day, and in some ways remain so even today due to Radford’s interest in the amplifier’s ‘rise time’ and square wave response, carefully designed and engineered to ensure possibly the highest fidelity for home audio reproduction to date when first released back in the early 1960s.  Without going into too much detail (the technical specifications are available to view on Radford Revival’s website) it’s the square wave response and very low distortion (and here I mean very low for a valve amplifier; almost into SS territory in fact) which really set these amplifiers apart from the rest of the 1960s contemporary crowd.

The difference between the 15 and the 25 models is mainly in the power supply and output valve bias arrangements. The STA 15, high tension power supply rectification is provided by a GZ34 rectifier, providing around 380V high tension. Output valves on the STA15 use automatic biasing courtesy of cathode resistors whilst the STA25 output stage is fixed bias with a negative grid voltage applied to the output valve, adjusted for the output valve. More »

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Total DAC

10. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Uncategorized · Tags: ,

The Total DAC is a French made digital to analogue converter which is said to use only components that have been selected by rigorous listening tests as well as “specific digital technologies” and “components rarely used in other high end DACs due to their high cost”.

The standout feature of the Total DAC is the inclusion of an integrated digital crossover allowing for separation of bass, midrange and treble frequencies.

There are several options in the Total DAC range and these include the Reference A1 DAC, the Reference D1 DAC and then the Reference D2 and D3 which include the two and three way crossovers. The Total DACs is said to be very analogue in its reproduction of sources.

The various DACs and crossovers are available boxed and ready to go or as completed “electronic boards”

We hope to be able to review the Total DAC very soon.

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New York Audio and AV Show

10. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Uncategorized · Tags: ,

Chester Group, the company that brings audio shows to Australia, UK and Sweden will be the host of this coming weekend’s Audio and AV Show in New York.

The New York Audio and Av Show will take place in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel at 301 Park Avenue on Friday 13, Saturday 14 and April 15.

This is set to be a great event for audiophiles and as well as plethora of exhibitors there will also be host of performers including Amber Rubarth, Louise Rogers, Valerie Joyce, Attention Screen and Jessy Tomsko who will perform in the 18th Floor, Starlight Roof room of the hotel. The Starlight will also serve as the registration area and on Friday and Saturday nights Bill Pfeiffer will DJ through a half a million dollar Burmester sound system.

There will be the usual raft of seminars and one that particularly caught the eye of Hifi Pig is Alan Sircom’s “The State We’re In – Rebooting High End Audio”.

At last count there were 105 exhibiting companies including: Abingdon Music Research, Audio Note UK, Blue Light Audio, Brinkmann audio, Burmester, Cayin, Cessaro Horn Acoustics, darTZeel, Emm Labs, Hansen Audio, Harbeth Audio, Kaiser Akustik, Kef, Lavry Engineering, Manley Labs, MBL, Pass Labs, TAD, TRON Electric, VAC, VPI and Woo Audio.

 

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Jim Marshall Dies Age 88

05. April 2012 · Write a comment · Categories: Hifi News, Uncategorized

Jim Marshall the founder of Marshall amplifiers has died at the age of 88.

The Marshall Website published a tribute which included the following

“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved founder and leader for the past 50 years, Jim Marshall. While mourning the Guv’nor though, we also salute a legendary man who led a full and truly remarkable life.”

In addition to the creation of the amps chosen by countless guitar heroes and game-changing bands, Jim was also an incredibly humble and generous man who, over the past several decades, has quietly donated many millions of pounds to worthy causes.

“While the entire Marshall Amplification family mourns Jim’s passing and will miss him tremendously, we all feel richer for having known him and are happy in the knowledge that he is now in a much better place which has just got a whole lot louder!

“Rest in Peace and thank you Jim.”

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