Hifi Pig Magazine January 2014


http://www.telluriumq.com/


Well what an interesting year it’s beenfor us here at Hifi Pig. We celebratedour first birthday in February,

attended our first Munich High-End in May,have seen some really great products come andgo through our listening room’s door and haveencountered lots of great new music too.Last month saw the launch of the first of ourFree PDF magazines and it has been incrediblywell received by readers and industry figuresalike.This month we visit the well known Frenchloudspeaker manufacturer Cabasse, interviewthe head honcho at Avantgarde Acoustics andreview some great new products.We hope you continue to enjoy reading Hifi Pigand I’d like to wish you all the very best for thecoming year.If you have any comments you’d like to make orhave any questions then let us know.

Stuart Smith

Hifi Pig

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This Issue

MagazineJanuary 2014 Issue 2www.hifipig.comTelephone: +33 (0)2 97 23 70 78E mail: [email protected] - 488 244 898 00018

CONTENTSEDITORIAL

4 Editorial

9 Readers System

12 Dealers System

15 Cabasse Visit

REVIEWS

22 Pluto Ultimate Loudspeakers

27 Van de Leur 002 Pre and 402 Power Amps

34 Monster iSport Freedom Headphones

38 Isotek EVO Mains Cable

40 Resonessence Labs Herus DAC/Heaphoneamp

46 Wireworld Starlight 7 USB Cable

48 Tellurium Q Claymore Integrated amp

45 COMPETITION Win Chord CompanyLoudspeaker Cables worth £750 and AkikoTuning Sticks

52 REVIEW LINKS

55 ALBUM REVIEWS

57 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

59 BEHIND THE BRANDS with HolgerFromme of Avantgarde Acoustics

WIN Chord Company’s

Epic Reference Loudspeaker Cablesworth £750 plus Akiko TuningSticks. CLICK!

http://hifipig.com/

mailto:[email protected]

http://hifipig.com/



Editorial

There is a lot of talk at themoment about WAF, infact it has become a bit of a

buzzword in the audiophilecommunity, we use quite oftenourselves in HiFi Pig…..but is itreally an accurate term to use….oris it just a teensy bit patronising towomen?So for starters, what is WAF?The acronym stands for WifeAcceptance Factor or WifeApproval Factor. A bit of internetdigging reveals that LarryGreenhill first used the term "WifeAcceptance Factor" in September1983, writing forStereophile magazine, butGreenhill credited fellow reviewerand music professor LewisLipnick with the coining of theterm and Lipnick himself tracesthe origin to the 1950s.Lipnick's wife, actress Lynn-JaneForeman, suggested the termMarriage InterferenceFactor (MIF) and thought thataudiophile husbands shower theirwives with expensive gifts ofholidays and jewellery to offsettheir purchases.

What do we actually mean byWAF?HiFi never used to be veryattractive. Most things were blackor metalic boxes and tended tohave wires and valves sproutingfrom them…loudspeakers werebig and cumbersome and none ofit was particularly attractive.

Back in the day, telling someonethat you were an Audiophilewould cause either raisedeyebrows (them) and a hastyexplanation of what an Audiophilewas (you) or they would justregard you with the kind of pityusually reserved for trainspottersor twitchers.If you, the Audiophile, wanted toget a set of loudspeakers thatsounded incredible but that werelarge and imposing enough foryou to be buried in them, you weregoing to have a hard timeconvincing your wife to let themin the house unless you wereprepared to do a LOT ofgrovelling and present buying.There was no Wife Acceptance sotheir WAF was very low.Jump forward to the present daywhere HiFi has evolved, not onlyin sound quality but in its looks.You could take your pick from awhole range of loudspeakers thatlook stunning and will add to thebeauty of your home, or that aresmall and discreet enough not tocause offense…so their WAF ishigh.

But surely the HiFi market haschanged and the people that arebuying high-end HiFi are not justthe traditional Audiophile whowants to drag his purchase back tohis ‘man cave’. People are a lotmore interested in technology andin hearing their music played backin the best way possible…and

those people are both male ANDfemale.So, why do I think that using theterm WAF is patronising towomen?For starters, there are a lot ofwomen involved in the HiFiindustry at every level. Fromwomen organising the companyfinances, to women who are at thecutting edge of technology,designing and engineering the

HiFi of the future.Yes, it is a maledominated business, butwomen are there and weare coming to the foreand making our voicesheard.

Using the term WAF is a bit likegoing into a bar and telling thebarman ‘I’ll have a pint, and awhite wine for the lady please’.Maybe we don’t want a whitewine….maybe we actually want apint too!It’s the same with HiFi, we arequite capable of making our owndecisions about what we like the

The World of WAF?By Linette Smith

HiFi isn’t the ‘boys club’ that it usedto be, so perhaps using terms likeWAF isn’t right any more.


This article was firstpublished in October 2012but I thought it a suitably

tongue in cheek response to theabove article.

If you are paying large sums ofmoney for a piece of high-end hifithen it is perfectly reasonable toassume that some thought hasgone into the way that the kitperforms on an aesthetic level aswell as, of course, into its audioperformance.

We live in a world where there isincreasing emphasis on the home

and the way it reflects the home-owners personal lifestyle choicesand as a result product design inevery sphere, not just hifi, isbecoming ever more important.Gone are the days when aloudspeaker manufacturer couldsimply do the maths, ponder thephysics and then put together abox of suitable proportions, pop inthe drivers and then sell it to theaudiophile masses. Whilst to theseriously committed audioenthusiast the bottom line will be“how does this product sound”, toa growing number of people great

sound needs to be complementedwith great looks.

Of course, there is no accountingfor taste and what may appeal toone person and their sense of style,may be abhorrent to anotherindividual and their idea of whatlooks desirable.

look and sound of…and what wefancy trying.HiFi isn’t the ‘boys club’ that itused to be, so perhaps using termslike WAF isn’t right any more.I am sure I am not alone in this;there must be loads of femaleaudiophiles out there, whether(like me) they have got into HiFibecause their partner hasintroduced them to it or just gotinto it under their own steam.Yes, we might well really like aproduct that is traditionally ‘highWAF’….but then we may well fallin love with some massive valvemonoblock amps and a huge set ofimpractical horns!I recently really fell for the RoksanOxygene kit that we had in forreview…. very high WAFproducts. Sleek, stylish easy to useand with a great sound, but Ididn’t like it just because of its

WAF; I liked it because it workedperfectly and looked great.Our teenaged son loved it forexactly the same reasons and I amsure that people are buying theOxygene range because it giveshigh quality sound in a lifestylefriendly package.So perhaps using WAF is justmissing the point?Perhaps we need to come up witha different term for 2014, one thatexplains that a product is welldesigned, easy to live with, greatto look at and amazing to listen to;that it will enhance your home andlife but without being tooobtrusive.These kind of products appeal tothe style conscious youth as muchas the style conscious olderaudiophile. And to men as muchas women.So what will be the new WAF?Answers on a postcard

please……I’m sure that someonewill coin a new and catchy phrasesoon…

Having noticed that there seems tobe a lot of women either in theHiFi Industry or just into HiFi, butnot a lot of women using HiFiforums, I thought it would be agood idea to set up a Facebookgroup… there are a lot ofAudiophile groups so this one isjust for females, it’s very new buthopefully it will take off andbecome a place where we canexchange ideas and havediscussions in a female friendlyenvironment.I also hope that we can use it toorganise meet ups at various HiFishows in the future.So, if you are female, into HiFi orin the HiFi industry come and joinin at our new dedicated Facebookpage.

Editorial

The Devious Audiophileby Stuart Smith

…most of us have to share our environmentwith other people, not least ‘She Who MustBe Obeyed’

https://www.facebook.com/groups/185875411609659/


High-end audio and audiophilia is,for the large part, a maledominated diversion, but most ofus have to share our environmentwith other people, not least ‘SheWho Must Be Obeyed’ (SWMBO)and so the ‘Wife AcceptanceFactor’ (WAF) can play a majorfunction in what bits of audio andhifi equipment are sanctioned asbeing suitable to cross thethreshold and make their way intothe family home. For the solitaryaudiophile all this is of littleconsequence and, if they sochoose, they are free to importwhatever piece of equipment intotheir man-cave they so wish.

Now I’m very fortunate and hadthe good sense to carefully select amate who allows pretty muchanything hifi, however hideousinto the house, though the line hasbeen drawn on some items evenwith her. A simple “No” and Iknow that I’ve pushed heraesthetic sensibilities just that onepace too far and quickly retract myapplication for permission tointroduce said item. The first ruleis to know how far you can push itand to push it no further if youwant to maintain a harmoniousliving arrangement. Push it too farand the home can become adiscordant environment and yourlistening pleasure will (I assureyou) be compromised.

Some Audiophiles develop certainstrategies to gain acceptance for aparticular item of kit that has beenbeaten with the ugly stick and the

main tactic goes something likethis:

1. Audiophile sets his heart onitem X that he knows has lowWAF and knows that his life willnot be worth living unless heacquires said item and manages toinstall it in the front room of thehouse.

2.Audiophile does not mentionto SWMBO that his heart is nowset on item X and goes out andbuys or loans an even uglier itemY.

3.Item Y is stored out of site, agarage is good for this purpose,

and only installed in the homewhen SWMBO is out for the day.The truly astute audiophile willsend his beloved out for a specialdays pampering at Rancho Relaxo,or some other spa by way ofensuring that he has the bestchance of securing success withhis Machiavellian undertaking.

4.SWMBO returns fromRancho Relaxo and is greeted by apair of loudspeakers the size of asmall shed, constructed by a teamof trained orangutans and soloathsome and repugnant that noteven their mothers would lovethem.

5.All the pampering seems tohave been for nought and the ladyof the house seems to have beenpossessed by a demon whose onlyutterance seems to be a guttural(and somewhat menacing) “getthat piece of crap out of my house

now!”, but no…this is all part ofthe wily audiophiles plan.

6.Audiophile looks somewhatdejected and compliant and says toSWBO “You are, of course,absolutely right and what was Ithinking? I’ll remove thesecarbuncles from your sight withimmediate effect!”

7.Carbuncles Y are removed toprevious hiding place.

8.The next day the deviousaudio enthusiast loads theoffending items into the car/vanand returns them from whencethey came, loads up original itemX from the shop, drives themhome, waits until SWMBO is outfor a short while and installs themin the living room, safe in theknowledge that his plan is about tocome to fruition in a whollyacceptable manner for everyoneinvolved.

9.SWMBO returns to findhusband stood next to new item Xfreshly installed and playingcalming music and then utters thewords that he has been longing tohear “Now don’t they look somuch nice than those monstrositiesyou had in here yesterday. Makeme a cup of tea and I’ll have alisten to them.

10.Our intrepid hero retires tothe kitchen to prepare a refreshingbrew with a big grin on his faceand a new bit of kit in his set up.

Of course all the above nonsensecan be successfully avoided if youaccept that certain concessionswill have to be made from theoutset, but the truth is that thesedays there is so much reallybeautiful looking kit out there tosuit every palate that you can haveyour cake and get to eat it too.

I know that I’ve pushed her aestheticsensibilities just that one pace too far andquickly retract my application for permission tointroduce said item.

Editorial


http://www.gryphon-audio.dk/


http://www.originlive.com/


Steve ‘s current system is a melange of valveand solid state amplification to suppress anyhankering he may have for one or the other

when the urge arises. Steve spends a lot of his timereviewing Progressive Rock music as well as

enjoying other genres such as jazz fusion, folk, pop,electronic and world music where much of hislistening is done via his Exposure XVII pre andXVIII monoblocks. CD is handled via a Naim CD5iCDP which seems to tick all the boxes for him.Having owned high end CDP’s in the past Steve saysthat he lost faith in the format and all itsparaphernalia but he kept his faith in all things vinylfavouring instead his Nottingham AnalogueHyperspace/Ace Space Arm which has an OrtofonKontrapunkt b bolted to it at the moment.“The only downside to Nottingham Analogueturntable in my humble opinion is the need to swapthe belt over on the spindle when changing speeds”Steve commented. This has prompted him to acquirea second turntable to listen to his collection of 12”and 7” records. “Originally I planned on getting aTechnics 1210 until I heard a friend’s Lenco. Once Iheard the Lenco magic I was smitten and it wasn’tlong before I acquired one from my friend NeilBlackwood who refurbishes and rebuilds them. Ifound myself listening more to the Lenco than theNott’s so I recently asked Neil to rebuild it for meand double up the platter. The results are Stunning. Iwill very likely upgrade the arm from its presentLinn Basik+ to a Jelco 9” or 12” in the near future.”

Reader’s System

Once I heard the Lencomagic I was smitten andit wasn’t long before Iacquired one…

Steve Petch is a health professional livingin the North East of England. He hasplayed keyboards all too briefly for a Prog

band in the mid to late seventies and has alwaysloved music since childhood. “I’d rise very earlyin the morning during the sixties listening to mysister’s records on an old radiogram”. He wasbought a Philips cassette player/recorder oneChristmas and a year later a Bush stereo system.In 1975 he started serving his Engineeringapprenticeship and bought his first real hi-fisystem from Comet in Stockton on Tees - RotelRP1500 turntable, Sansui AU717 amplifier anda pair of Wharfdale Linton 3XP speakers. Sincethen he’s owned some very high end componentsbut it his his passion for music that hasprecedence. Steve runs his own website aimedat promoting and reviewing new Prog musicwww.progmeister.com

READERSYSTEM


When the mood takes Steve and he fancies “a littlevalve magic” he has a Ming Da MC368-BSEbehemoth on hand which can be used in triode orultra linear modes. “When I am in the mood forSusanne Vega, Christine Collister, Capercaillie orClannad I hit the triode switch, whilst the ultra linearfeature sounds great with eighties pop tunes etc”.The phonostage in Steve’s system is also a valvebased number in the form of an Eastern ElectricMinimax. “I find the Minimax just a little on the leanside, though it suits the dense sound qualities of theMing Da’s KT90’s and keeps in check the

Reader System

World Audio Designs KEL84 Integrated

Naim, Ming-Da and Exposure in Steve’s rack.

The whole rig.

Nottingham Analogue and Lenco? Steve’s spoilt forchoice it would seem.


sometimes over enthusiastic presentation of theExposures” commented Steve.At the end of the chain Steve users the Usher DancerMini 2 loudspeakers which he says have taken a lotof effort to start sounding somewhere near what hewould like to hear from them. “They are a couple ofheavy lumps too so moving them around on mylonesome has proven to be rather challenging butnow I believe I have them somewhere near perfectfor my tastes”.Speaker cables used are Van Damme Blue speakercables and interconnects are by Mark Grant. Hismains solution is a little off the wall as he uses twodistribution blocks, one is an un-switched Olson thatSteve rescued from a condemned anaestheticmachine many years ago and had rewired and starearthed Mark Grant. The other is from B&Q’s thatagain he’s had rewired with Mark Grant mains cable.“As my system stands at the moment I like to thinkof it as a meld of old and new giving me two ways oflistening to music. It allows me to listen to oldfavourites as well as assisting with my reviewtechnique. I see a few tweaks around the corner butfor now it’s playing tunes”.

Reader System


Oxford Audio Consultants are 25 years oldthis year so we assume they’re either doingsomething right or they haven’t been found

out yet!Hifi Pig invited them to put together this month’sDealer System for a customer who listens mainly toclassical, jazz, and music with ‘real’ instruments.Their current main source is CD but they’reinterested in moving to streaming plus headphonesfor late night listening. System is to go in a largeliving room so must look good.So what is the overall philosophy of the guys atOxford Audio?“We believe choosing hi-fi should be fun - albeitwith a purpose. Our aim at Oxford Audio is to enableour customers to enhance their enjoyment of musicby providing something special as the means ofreproducing it. So the key for us is that the customerknows what he/she likes and it’s our job to find asystem that gives them more musical enjoyment. Wedon’t expound a particular philosophy but rather use

our expertise behind the scenes to deliver a greatsolution”.Speaking to the guys at Oxford Audio Consultantsthey say they have a number of key prioritiesincluding not being wedded to just a few brands andalways exploring new products and if they bringsomething special introducing them to their range.They’re also keen to point out that they recognise thebenefits of new technologies whilst not abandoningproven ones and have a holistic approach to buildingperformance into a system rather than concentratingon one individual great product. They also say theylook to offer value rather than price.The system Oxford Audio have put together makesan elegant solution that should work well in bothmodern and traditional décor. The Naim UnitiServewill rip CDs automatically in WAV complete withextensive data and happily for the computer-phobicno computer knowledge is required. There’s a freeiPad/iPhone app that controls the music and it willplay CDs as well. It will serve music files via adigital coaxial cable directly to the Devialet and backup will be done automatically using either a localdisk or a NAS drive so there’s no fear of having acatastrophic crash and losing all your precious files.

Oxford Audio ConsultantsCantay House, Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 JDTel: 01865 [email protected]

Music Ripper Server Player – Naim UnitiServe2TB - £2,220

Integrated Amplifier/DAC/Streamer - Devialet 170Black Chrome - £6,390

Speakers - Sonus faber Olympica II Walnut -£6,998

Headphones – Sennheiser HD700 - £599

Interconnect – Chord Sarum Digital Tuned ARAY- £1600

Speaker cable – Chord Signature - £960 (3 metrepair)

Mains supply – PS Audio P3 Power Regenerator -£1949, Perfectwave AC-5 Mains cable - £189 x 2= £378

TOTAL £21,094

Dealer System



We asked the guys at Oxford Audio to describe thesound of the system for us. “This combination has anexceptionally assured sound with great tonalaccuracy and a really gorgeous, tactile solidity. It’s aclean, detailed yet thoroughly engaging sound thanksto great timing and all-round coherence. Everynuance is present in a detailed presentationyet one that’s not artificially etched anddissected to the point of musicaldestruction. A piano sounds like a piano”.“Soundstage is simply superb,immaculately spread out in all directionsand utterly stable. Listening to an orchestrais particularly rewarding with detail and airwhilst still retaining the flow and integrityof the music. Play some opera and themany players and singers are there beforeyou, listen to the simplest voice and guitarballad and the intimacy is immediate”.“Bass ticks all the boxes, with extension,weight, and tuning together with anabsence of overhang or bloom. Midrange isnatural and lifelike, treble is open and pure.

Add that all-important sense of emotional attachmentand live jazz sound like you’re there in the club. Andwith the speakers offering increased flexibility ofplacement in the room, because of the large sidefiring reflex ports and slanted baffles, achieving agreat sound is less problematic than usual”.

Dealer System


Richard’s system neatly in place

https://www.mains-cables-r-us.co.uk/


Dealer’s System

Analysis Plus interconnects

Hifi PigVisitsCabasse

Cabasse have theirheadquarters onthe beautiful SouthWestern coast ofBrittany, France.They’re a companywith over sixtyyears in theloudspeakerindustry so wethought it abouttime we paid thema visit. Stuart and Linette Smith


Cabasse have a long and interesting historygoing right back to 1950 when Georges andElisabeth Cabasse first started repairing and

producing drive units in the suburbs of Paris. Thecompany got off to a great start as their launchcoincided with the launch of Cinemascope leading totheir drivers being used in movie-theatres includingthe Paris REX.Their first two-way coaxial driver, the Diphone, waslaunched five years later and two years after that theyopened a sales office in Paris.

By 1958 the company were building activeloudspeakers with active crossovers and valveamplifiers but later in the sixties launched a range oftwo and three way, solid state, active loudspeakers.A factory at Brest followed in 1960 and this includeda 2000m3 anechoic room for development purposesbut by ’74 a new factory in N France was opened andthe Brest site became involved solely in R&D andproduction of high-end speakers, active speakers forbroadcast and home use plus sound reinforcementsystems.In ’75 Cabasse launched a range of servo-controlledloudspeakers which offered control of speed andacceleration and by 1980 they were producinghoneycomb dome drivers and launched four-wayloudspeakers fitted with low-midrange and woofersbased on the technology.A new range of sound reinforcement driversincluding tweeters and midrange units fitted with acarbon fibre diaphragm came about in ’84 andloudspeakers fitted with these drive units and theirhoneycomb dome woofers were used in theOmnimax theatre, La Geode in Paris for its 12channel sound system.The company’s Duocell based drivers were launchedin ’86 and in ’92 Cabasse opened their factory in

Troncais where they combinedproduction of cabinets and drivers withthe assembly and control of thespeaker systems themselves. This year

also saw the company premiere its SCS technologybased on the co-axial three-way TC21 low-mid/midrange/tweeter and by August they gave thefirst presentation of the Atlantis – a four way activecoaxial system that was the flagship of their SCSrange.The DOM40 and DOM30 midrange/tweeters werelaunched in ’96 and in ’99 an entry level (MT200series) with new woofers and DOM20midrange/tweeters was introduced with the home-cinema market in mind.

This brings us to the newmillennium and the launch of theiO system and Jean-FrançoisGautier taking leadership of thecompany. In 2002 the new Artisrange with the TC22 and BC13drivers was on the market andthe company had doubled itsturnover in just two years.The Cabasse Acoustic Centre inPlouzané (where Hifi Pig

visited) opened a year later with a new anechoicchamber, a power test bunker and listening andmeasuring rooms. Sales, marketing, purchasing andaccounting all shared the centre with the R&Ddepartment.Cabasse started a cooperative relationship withinternational giant Canon in 2004 with Canonbecoming a supplier for Cabasse and also assemblingspeakers such as the iO2 and the Ki.The first four-way fully concentric and active systemwith digital processing was introduced in January2006 in Las Vegas when La Sphere was premiered toa world audience. In October of that same yearCabasse was acquired by the Canon group anddetermined to help the brand become a major worldplayer in high-end audio.Rapid expansion has followed and in 2011 at theMunich Hi-End Show Cabasse unveiled L’Ocean, aloudspeaker that combines both coaxial technologyand digitised signals from the source to theamplifiers in the speakers and which was the resultof three years of close collaboration between Canonand Cabasse.The Stream 3 active streaming system came in 2012and the stream family grew in 2013 with the Stream1 a standalone loudspeaker and streaming source.

A Potted History

The first four-way fully concentric andactive system with digital processingwas introduced in January 2006 inLas Vegas when La Sphere waspremiered to a world audience.

Cabasse


When we got the invitation to visit Cabassewe were really very pleased indeed andwe saw it as a bit of a milestone in the

development of Hifi Pig becoming even morerecognised in the industry.Our afternoon started when we met ChristopheCabasse, Laurence Kerduff and Sylvain Quainon atthe company’s acoustic centre in Plouzané whereafter we headed out to lunch at a nice little créperieoverlooking the Atlantic. Returning to the centre wewere shown the facilities by Christophe.First up we were led to the largest of the company’sthree anechoic chambers which is treated on all sixsurfaces and is the place where all the testing of theirdrivers and loudspeakers takes place. It’s clearly afacility that has taken up a good deal of investmentand it’s very cleverly thought out being isolated fromthe main building and “floating” separate to it. It’sthe first time either of us had been in an anechoicchamber and it was an eerie experience for us both.What was nice to see immediately outside the room

was that amongst the computers and high techgadgetry was a nod to the past in the form of anancient 1m measuring stick and an old resistor boardthat both looked like they could have come from thevery first years of the company.The main R&D department was next on the agendaand the company are clearly in the midst ofdesigning something top secret as when we enteredeveryone was asked to cover their work. Without adoubt these are a talented group of designers andengineers with Bernard Debail having only veryrecently been awarded the Prix de l’Ingénieur duNumérique de l’année by L’Usine Nouvelle &Industries et Technologies. I made a comment aboutthe size of one of the subwoofers on the floor of oneof the offices and was then led to a listening roomwhere we were shown a HUGE sub and told “Nowthat’s a big subwoofer”…and it was (Seephotograph). These humongous subs were createdspecifically for home cinema and boast 1000W amps- there is a passive professional version availablealso..Next up was “The Bunker” a reinforced,subterranean room where new products are soaktested at the maximum of their power ratings forweeks at a time. Old and it has to be said massiveamps are used to drive kit under test and Christophe

Our VisitCabasse

The largest of Cabasse’s anechoic chambers.

With the design team.


mentioned that they were initially designed byCabasse (1000 W RMS – load down to 0.2 Ohms) foruse in the French navy.The engineering workshops were visited next wherewe were shown where their high end drivers aredeveloped and put together. It’s an impressive andalmost cottage like industry in here …albeit a veryhigh tech cottage industry. What was reallyimpressive was the range of drive units dating backas far as the 1960s which are used as replacements

for drivers that have failed – most Cabasse driverscome with a lifetime first user guarantee!The final room we were shown was the dedicatedlistening area which is a purpose built and verycomfortable space. Dominating the room were thecompany’s Sphere loudspeakers and both of us wereitching to have a listen. The Spheres are a fullyconcentric, active, four-way loudspeaker that comewith eight dedicated amplifiers and a control

Cabasse

One of the listening rooms and the huge sub for homecinema use.

Christophe Cabasse shows us ‘TheBunker’.

In the workshop.


amplifier. Sound-wise… Suffice to say Linette nowhas another pair of loudspeakers on her “If we winthe lottery” shortlist (They are €135 000 afterall…but that does include Christophe personallyflying wherever in the world you are and setting theup to your taste) – Avantgarde Trios with Basshornsand Gryphon Audio Trident II make up the rest ofthe list. They really do sound great in a verycoherent, dynamic and well gelled sense. Movearound the room and it’s as if you are movingaround an auditorium with the stage being fixeddirectly in one space – difficult to describe butmightily impressive. One particular snare hit onCabasse’s test CD is so powerfully rendered it’s asif you’re in the room with the drummer –REALLYin the room!!But it wasn’t all high-end and Christophe was keento demonstrate their new Streamer. It’s anunassuming unit that connects to your amp or DACand allows you to stream Bluetooth or wifi to yourhifi. At €350 it’s a reasonably priced bit of kit thatperforms well and sounds very good indeed.

We also had a listen to their streamer with inbuiltspeakers which also sounded great – not anaudiophile product at all but a great addition to thehome if you want music in your kitchen, bedroom orwherever but don’t want to go the whole hog.All in all a very enjoyable afternoon and our thanksgo out to Christophe, Laurence and the rest of theteam at Cabbasse for their kindness and hospitality.

Cabasse

The main listening room - great sounds and stunningviews.

The main listening room highlighting the Sphereloudspeakers.


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Roksan introduced the new Kandy K2 BT to retain elements of their wellreceived K2 amplifier and improve upon it. In a World Exclusive Danny Worthputs the new integrated from Roksan through its paces.

PlutoUltimateLoudspeakersby Richard Joyce


For my first review on HifiPig I really thought'Excellent - they'll send me something entirelystraightforward like a phonostage, or a small

& cheap integrated amplifier' but no. What I actuallyended up with was a pair of £2950 omni-directionalloudspeakers in gloss red that look as though they'rebuilt from drainpipes. In at the deep end? Possibly,but nothing wrong with a challenge.

I'm not new to omnis, having had the chance to trysome NVA Cubes a few years ago, and really fallingfor them, so was rather excited to hear the Pluto

Ultimates.The PU's are an active speaker, but as opposed tohaving the power amp(s) built-in, the whole systemarrives as a package with its own multi-inputintegrated amplifier with crossovers containedwithin. It's also fully controllable via a solid,aluminium remote. About as plug & play as it'spossible to get in other words - even down to being

supplied with speaker cables (which are also veryneatly made).The finish on the speakers is impeccable, and thegloss lacquer flawless. Their bases are made from asingle piece of aluminium, machined from billet intowhich the adjustable floor spikes are screwed. Settingup, and having them working, is but a matter of a fewshort minutes' work - no more than any otherconventional amp/speaker combination in fact.However, setting up the speakers' position within theroom takes a lot more time and care although, as with

the Cubes, thiscan be part of thefun. They'reextremelysensitive toposition but willreward the

listener's time and effort by telling him/her when it'sexactly right - everything clicks into focus quitebeautifully. Worth mentioning though that theowner's manual is very specific, and extremelyhelpful with its guidance on set-up. Follow it closelyand you really won't go too far wrong.

Anyway, enough of all that - how do they sound?

Reviews

I'll start off by saying that I've had alot of fun with these

The Pluto Ultimates with their amplifier andcrossover box in the background


I'll start off by saying that I've had a lot of fun withthese - it's not all been plain-sailing but that's purelydown to me having to think outside the boxsomewhat (if you'll excuse the pun). They sound bestwhen used in a near-field setting, with the distancebetween them a good deal greater than that to thelistener. They will sound excellent wherever onesits/stands in the room but the true sweet-spot will beobvious.

In terms of balance, they're fairly neutral with strongbass output which goes remarkably deep consideringthe size of the driver. The strength of it is probablyjust about the only criticism I can level, and of coursedifferent rooms will react differently - our room isquite reactive. The up side of this though is thatbecause the PU's are effectively a sealed box the bassis fast, with extremely well-defined pitch, and eventhroughout the range. The final few bars of VaughanWilliams Symphony No.5 (1st mov't) have two lownotes played against eachother - a D & E - which I'verarely heard as separate entities so naturally - theysound clouded on lesser speakers. Another goodexample is 'Song for Claire' from Dave Weckl's'Rhythm of the Soul' album - the closing bars have a

bass line, mostly on one note, made up ofsynchopated patterns which keeps the track alivewith musical colour until fade-out. This really needsa speaker with both great timing, and the dynamicclarity to pull it off. On so many other speakers thetrack just dies away and as a result the listener missesout. Such a shame when there's more to come!I've spent quite a few hours listening to symphonicwind music, one example being particularly tricky tosound convincing, namely Holst Prelude & Scherzo:'Hammersmith'. Not only does the piece contain hugedynamic contrasts, but at the start the Tubas/lowbrass are playing in D minor, but are soon joined byFrench Horns playing against them in E Major (you'dthink it was a recipe for chaos - but Holst is tooclever for that). Each of these keys has a verydifferent colour - the Minor is dark, brooding,sinister, yet the Major is much lighter and 'floats'across the top. The Plutos pull this off, keeping thecolours separate yet not stripping the sound bare, orartificially detaching them - there's a naturalinteraction between the tonalities.

I'll lay my cards on the table here by stating I'm notreally a soundstage or stereo imagery freak - it's notone of the major aspects I look for when listening to

Reviews

This box contains the amplifiers and crossovers


music through a hifi system. However, it should stillsound natural. Now, I'm not sure if it's down to thePluto's up-firing main driver (or just a consequenceof the design of an onmi in general - the Cubes werethe same) but I've really enjoyed - refreshingly so -how instruments which do 'project' (ie some brassinstruments) do just that, as of course they should.However, those which don't (eg strings/woodwind)are allowed to breathe in their own space rather thanbeing hurled at the listener - a Violin isn't a Trumpetafter all (and vice versa).

In summary, I'll be honest the Plutos had me worriedto start with. They look different, some would evensay 'challenging', and will definitely need some user-input to get them singing at their best. However, I'vehad so much fun with them and as a result providedmany hours of listening pleasure. They've also (asdid the Cubes) opened my eyes to something thatwhilst different in so many ways, is a speaker whichgoes about its business in a very natural way andtherefore gets a definite thumbs-up from me.

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Equipment used:

Pioneer PL-71 turntable/Benz Micro ACE SLNVA Phono 2 + 2xPSUMacBook Pro using Decibel Music PlayerSony X303ES CD Player (as transport)TEAC UD-H01 DAC

Music List (*denotes vinyl):

Vaughan Williams Symphony No.5(Hickox/LSO)Shostakovich Symphony No.11(Haitink/Concertgebouw)*Holst: Hammersmith (Kosei Wind Orchestra)Richard Rodney Bennett: Reflections on a16th Century Tune (Central Band of theRAF)Bernstein: Prelude, Fugue & Riffs (CentralBand of the RAF)Dave Weckl: Rhythm of the SoulFleetwood Mac: Tusk*AC/DC: Back in Black*The Kings' Singers: Landscape & TimeGRP All-Stars Big Band: 'Live'

Speaker cable inputs.


http://www.thejadeaudio.com/


Van de Leur Audio is a relatively youngcompany with just two products in theirportfolio – the 402 power amplifier and the

002 preamplifier. Both products are designed andhand-built in Holland and the power amplifier is of aclass D design using Hypex modules, whilst thepreamplifier uses valves. Both units come with a fiveyear guarantee and arrived double boxed and verywell packed.

We first bumped into Pim Van de Leur on the lastday of the Munich High end show, but we never gotmore than a cursory listen in less than idealconditions to what looked like very interesting firstproducts from a young, vital and funky Dutch

company. You only need to take a look at thecompany’s website to see they’re setting themselvesapart from the often straight-laced high-end brandingthat is prevalent.002 PreamplifierThe 002 preamplifier certainly looks the part with itsbrushed aluminium fascia, hefty carrying handles and“Van de Leur” engraved top plate. On the front youget a large volume control knob, source selector, a

funkyly lit on/offbutton, a balancecontrol knob and aheadphone output.Move around to theback and you have

four line inputs, a home theatre pass through andinputs for both moving coil and moving magnetcartridges – when ordering the 002 you will be askedthe MC cartridge brand and model you intend to useand the unit will be set specifically for this cartridge.

Cranking up the volume you get more of thesame and you get the impression that theamplifier is barely even breaking a sweat

Van de Leur 002 Preamplifierand 402 Power Amplifier by Stuart Smith


The moving coil input uses Vanderveen MC10 stepup transformers. You get outputs for power amp,record and direct out for connecting to anotherpre/processor.All in all the 002 is a very well equippedpreamplifier and the included infra-red remote isweighty and well made with just volume up anddown buttons.Tubes used are two E88CCs for the line stage, four12AT7s for the phono stage and wiring throughout issilver.Plug the pre in to themains and the on/offbutton glows red. Press itand it glows light bluewhilst the preamp setsitself up and then brighter blue when ready to use –set up takes a few seconds. Nice!402 AmplifierThe 402 power amplifier matches the looks andstyling of the 002 preamplifier perfectly and the

pairing certainly looks handsome and purposeful onthe rack. On the front you get an on/off switch,whilst round the back you have switchable inputs forRCA and balanced XLR. Now this struck me as a bitof an odd one – clearly the 002 and the 402 werecreated to work together but the preamp doesn’t havethe option for balanced XLR output. You also get apair of Audio Note silver plated speaker connectorswhich will accept banana or spade connectors.The amp is dual mono, delivers 2 x 400 watts via itsHypex modules and inside looks very clean and tidy.

Let’s Have a ListenNaturally the sensible thing to do here is to listen tothe preamp and the amp together as they were madeto compliment each other. Straight into the mainsystem they go with the VAD DAC, the usual vinyl

Reviews

…the pairing certainly looks handsomeand purposeful on the rack.

Van de Leur Pre and Power -formidable looking Guy Fi.


front ends and the hORN Mummys. First up is analbum that’s hardly been off the CD player since itarrived and Sano “Sano”. Bass is deep, bouncy andwell controlled with the stereo mix being fairly wideand with good depth - sound effects do jump outfrom the mix as they should. The overall character is

quite “analytical” and very accurate and dynamicwhich may not be to everyone’s taste and I think thisis down to the nature of the Class D amp, but the pre-amp does seem to be tempering this Class D-ishnessa tad. Cranking up the volume you get more of thesame and you get the impression that the amplifier isbarely even breaking a sweat – given its quotedoutput it certainly shouldn’t be.Popping on “Apostrophe” by Zappa you get thevocal very much centre stage and slightly forward in

the mix. Lead guitar has good attack and decay and isfast in that not lingering in the air kind way that Ihate. Instrument separation is very good withinstruments being positioned left to right and back tofront correctly. Where the Black Pearl integrated wereviewed recently was quite “warm”, with the Van

De Leur you seem to getwhat is on the recordingwithout a great deal ofembellishment – somewill enjoy this whilstothers may find it not to

their individual tastes. I suppose like a lot of thingswe all have our own personal way of preferring howthings are done – and the World’s a better place forit! The Van de Leur amplifier certainly could neverbe accused of being warm in its character; it’s verymatter of fact “here’s what you gave me and that’swhat you’ll get”.If you enjoy an accurate portrayal of the studio mixthen you’ll love this pairing as there seems to be verylittle added or taken away. There is certainly plenty

Reviews

If you enjoy an accurate portrayal of the studiomix then you’ll love this pairing as there seemsto be very little added or taken away.

Inside the 002 preamplifier.


of detail in the sound and with “Cosmic Debris” youreally can hear everything that’s in the recording – itjust hasn’t got that X factor for my taste – some willsay that the X factor I’m referring to is an artifice andshouldn’t play a part in true high-fidelity audioreproduction anyway.On Vibert/Simmonds’ “Rodulate” there is a realpower to the music with the machine drum hatssounding just like they do on the actual drummachine. Here I found myself thinking that thiswould be the perfect amplifier to have in the studio.Bass is deep and powerful and does that stop startthing that I like – no overhang. On complex passagesin the mix the pairing is nonplussed and just gets onwith banging out what it is presented with withoutgetting befuddled or confused in any way. Sub basssounds (Room 28 Rap) go LOW and are very wellcontrolled.I think that what shines through with the Van DeLeur pre and amp pairing is that there is anoverriding sense of the amp being very much wellimplemented Class D in that it sounds accurate, fast

and detailed …but bit lacking in creating anemotional involvement with the music for my owntaste. This is all very subjective I’m well aware and Iknow lots of people will really love the no nonsenseapproach to the presentation!Pop the pre in front of the Tellurium Q Iridiumpower amplifier (SECA) (at around double the priceit has to be said) and here things seem to take a leaptowards what I’d consider to be a great pairing. Goneis the sound I’d like to hear in front of a pair ofmonitors in the studio and out comes a fabulous bitof home audio.Jean Michel Jarre’s “Sessions 2000” simply comes tolife and is the best I’ve heard with any pre in front ofthe Iridium. The detail is still apparent but thepreamplifier doesn’t seem to be there only to give theamp a bit of character as it seemed with the Van deLeur amp in the chain.The Van de Leur pre adds something to the Iridiumthat has my own preamplifier cowering in the corner,afraid to show its face – musical is the word I’d use Isuppose – gloriously musical!

Reviews

Inside the power amp.


ReviewsFat Freddy’s Drop again comes to life with“Shiverman” bouncing along in the bass departmentand being nicely controlled too. The reverbed soundeffects come out of the mix in a totally 3D fashionand the soundstage is deep with excellent height.Vocals are very clearly defined as being separate toother instruments and the whole thing is wonderfullycoherent in a believable home-audio-experiencesense. There is delicacy when it’s needed and there iswhoomf when it’s needed.Vinyl O’ClockSwitching from CD to vinyl and the MM input usingthe Wilson Benesch Circle turntable, Origin LiveSilver arm, the Cartridge Man Music Maker III andthe SECA amp in place you are rewarded with agreat sense of the music. Hats are snappy, bass isdeep and controlled and vocals just sound right. Thisis certainly a step up from my Electrocompanietphonostage I hate to say. Gus Gus “Arabian Horse”is deep in the bass, shimmery in the tops and the midfrequencies bring everything together nicely. Vocalsleap out from the mix and are correct in tone. There’s

masses of detail and a wide and deep soundstage…much more so than with my reference pre andphonostage in place.Time to switch turntables and over to the Technics1210, Origin Live Silver arm and Audio TechnicaEV33 Moving Coil cartridge we go. There’s a littletoggle switch on the back of the preamp to switchbetween moving coil and moving magnet – it wouldhave been nice to have it on the front, but to be fairI’m sure not everyone who buys this pre is going tobe switching between MM and MC every fiveminutes.Fleetwood Macs old faithful “Rumours” comes outof hiding and there just seems to be a whole lot moreof the record there than I’m used to with mypre/phono combo – lots more detail and on “SecondHand News” and there’s an extra layer to the top-endwhich sounds sublime. “Dreams” is bouncy with thevocal silky and hats sparkling and crisp. I love thisalbum and this is as good as I’ve heard it soundinganywhere with any pre/phono/amp combo. Guitarstrumming is fast and controlled and there’s a

The rear of the amp and pre showing awhole host of connectivity.


nagging hi-hat noise that I’ve honestly never beenaware of before. The sound is hugely detailed,delicate and yet powerful. “Songbird’s” vocal iswonderfully rendered and the sense of space withinthe recording is very apparent. Again, as with theMM section of the pre there are certainly nocomplaints here.

As a bit of an experiment before the Van de Leuramp and preamp are returned to Holland I thoughtI’d plug them into the little Concept 20 loudspeakersfrom Q Acoustics – they’re still in the main listeningarea and firing across the room. Now I wasn’t goingto bother with this as price-wise this is a completemismatch…but how wrong I was. There certainlyseems to be a bit of a synergy thing going on here.Yes you’ve still got that overall sense that the amp isClass D but the combination is very pleasing. Theamp just seems to grab hold of the little Concept 20sand it drives them really well. Well whoda thunk it –a few hundred quids worth of loudspeakers on theend of €8498 of amp and preamp? Actually I’m a bitgobsmacked by the combo. Bass is rendered tightand controlled on “One Night in Comene” whereasPhantom Limb sounds nice and fast with a lovelyvelvety rich tone to the vocal. There just seems to bea little more musicality brought out with the 002, 402and Concept 20 mix than with my Mummy speakers- vocals in particular stand out as being well done,appearing warmer and more rounded, whilst stillaccurate, but without that analytical feel I mentioned- bass is deep and powerful. There’s definitely moreof an emotional connection to the music than withmy own speakers. Perhaps a bit of clever loudspeakerpartnering with the amp is what is needed to bringout the very best from it!Headphone Time

It’s good to see a headphone amp on a pre and thislooks like a feature more and more manufacturers areembracing…and that’s a good thing for occasionalheadphone users. There are certainly no complaintsfrom me with regards to the headphone output. Itdrove all the headphones I plugged into it very welland the sound was good, clean and well balanced.

For most butthe diehardheadfi fanaticthe includedoutput will bemore thansatisfactory.ConclusionBuild of boththe 402 ampand the 002preamplifier isof very high

quality and the overall design aesthetics will pleasemany – they manage to pull off that “guy-fi” imagewhilst maintaining an elegant stance on the rackwhich will satisfy those in need of keeping domesticbliss. I can see it appealing to those who want tohave a fantastic looking bit of kit on display and whowant a no nonsense, accurate and powerfulreproduction of their music collection.One of the things I enjoyed about the 002 preamp inparticular was the inclusion of a full functionphonostage and a headphone amplifier. Thephonostage is easily better than my currentElectrocompaniet stage and would stand its ground incompany of stages up to the £1500 mark, perhapsbeyond, I would have said.In isolation the stand out product here is thepreamplifier – it’s musical and has a host of featuresthat add to the usefulness and value. When pairedtogether you have a very competent duo thatcompliments each other very nicely.The preamp comes in at €4999 and the amp is €3499which isn’t a drop in the ocean by most people’sstandards, but for your money you get well made,great looking kit that delivers on sound quality. TheClass D amp will not be to everyone’s taste I am wellaware (some folk just don’t get the Class D soundwhilst others do), but even if you aren’t a fan of thisimplementation you really should give the Van DeLeur pairing a serious audition as this is Class Ddone well.

Reviews

One of the things I enjoyedabout the 002 preamp inparticular was the inclusion of afull function phonostage and aheadphone amplifier.


http://www.roksan.co.uk/


Ooooh lovely, stuff in the post for me!Monster wanted a bit of a Bird’s Eye Viewof their new Pussycat Doll-fronted

headphones….so they rushed a pair over to me, even

if I am a bit more Madcat Lady than Pussycat Doll!Now, any of you that have read my reviews beforewill know that I do put a lot of emphasis on thewhole package, not just performance.I like things to look and feel right and that starts theminute you get presented with the box.Headphone manufacturers seem to have cottoned onto the fact that it’s not just performance focusedaudiophiles that will be buying their products, thewhole Head-Fi market is opening up the world ofhigh-fidelity sound to a broader spectrum of people,people that want the feeling of luxury and quality in

every aspect of their purchase.The packaging is lovely, well designed and witheverything that you need for your headphonesincluding cable, USB charging cable, neat carrying

bag and even anantibacterial cleaningcloth.So it should bebecause at £240 theseare not cheap.

Living up to the packaging the phones themselveslook pleasing and, even though they are madepredominantly from a rubbery/silicone material, theyhave a satisfying weight to them, not too heavy butnot throwaway plastic tat either.They feel rugged enough to cope with being foldedup and slung in your bag without worry that they willdisintegrate!To my eyes they look a lot nicer than the muchmaligned Beats headphones with which I am sure theFREEDOMS will be compared – of course Monsterused to manufacture the Beats by Dre until the end of2012.

Reviews

To my eyes they look a lot nicer than the muchmaligned Beats headphones with which I amsure the FREEDOMS will be compared …

Monster iSportFREEDOM Headphones by

Linette Smith


They fold up rather niftily and also the headbandextends if you need it to.They were never going to be an understatedheadphone coming from the company that brought usa £20k gold and black diamond encrusted pair ofheadphones , but I like bright colours and think thatthey still manage to look tasteful.I was concerned that as an on ear rather than over earheadphone thesemight be a bituncomfortable.We have all triedheadphones thatclamp your skull ina vice like grip andleave your ears feeling like you’ve been in a rugbyscrum but I needn’t have worried, the wearabilty ofthese headphones is excellent, my ears felt cushionedand cradled rather than clamped.However, they also fitted snugly and didn’t dislodgeeven with some rather furious head shaking!

They also…and this may seem a trivial thing to nonspec wearers, do not interfere with your glasses orpush them into your head.The cocooning feeling is enhanced by the fact thatthese really do close you off from the outside world,even with no music playing outside sounds aresignificantly muted…I may just take to wearingthese all the time so I can’t hear what Stuart israttling on about!!

The headphones are actually Bluetooth enabled sothat you have the choice to use them with thesupplied mini jack cable or wirelessly. This meansthey have to be powered and the battery chargespretty rapidly (under 30 minutes from flat to full)from a USB port using the supplied USB to microUSB cable. Both the micro USB and cable socketare hidden when not in use by little flick up covers.

Reviews

The headphones are actually Bluetooth enabledso that you have the choice to use them with thesupplied mini jack cable or wirelessly.

Monsters iSport FREEDOM headphones showing the‘on ear’ controls.


The blurb that came with the phones said a 30hrplaying time could be expected from 1 charge withup to 100hrs on standby.

So, let’s play some choons!First of all I paired them with the ipod touch to testout the Bluetooth, this was a painless affair.With the control buttons on the right hand headphoneyou feel for, rather than look for the buttons….thiscould be tricky but the layout actually makes it prettyintuitive so that you get the hang of skipping tracksand changing the volume really easily.You can also turn off the music instantly by hittingthe centre button.I did use the headphones for a while before actuallydoing some critical listening and really liked the factthat you could leave the ipod where you liked andwander about while listening…also worth noting thatthere was little or no sound ‘leakage’ so would beperfect for on public transport too.With the styling of the phones and the fact that theyare designed for ‘working out’ I expected them to begood with dance music so I kicked things off with abit of Deadmau5 and >albumtitlegoeshere<.

On ‘Closer’, a track featuring the iconiccommunicating-with-the-aliens 5 note sequence fromthe film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, thesound was anthemic, good deep bass…possibly alittle bass heavy for some people’s taste but I ratherenjoyed it. Top and mid did not suffer…there wasn’tbass and nothing else as I have seen complaintsabout for other headphones of this kind of genre.Of course, the ipod meant I was using MP3 but thesound was overall pretty good and bearing in mindthat these are designed to be worn when exercisingand give you the freedom of Bluetooth wirelessness…it was not a bad compromise.I ran through quite a bit of dance music from CalvinHarris to Daft Punk and was impressed with what Iheard.I then swapped over to some more acoustic and vocalmusic, the 2012 Radio 1 Live Lounge CD alwayssounds well recorded to me, and even on MP3sounded great on these, Emily Sandé’s voice wasparticularly beautiful and clear and acoustic guitarwas a pleasure to listen too. The sound was verynatural, which did surprise me.It is worth noting that I did compare these to theNAD Viso headphones that we reviewed recently,although the NADs are over ear rather than on, theyare priced similarly to the Monsters. I found thesound detail slightly better on the NADs but not bymuch and the FREEDOMS are headphones clearlyaimed at a very different market and with extrafeatures.

Wired for sound?I did try the ipod using the supplied cable but did notnotice a difference in the sound quality, though usingthe cable disables the on ear controlsI then switched to the Hi sound music player to listento FLAC, going through many of the same tunes Ihad just heard on the ipod.Of course the sound was much better, this littlemusic player blew the ipod out of the water when Ireviewed it. The sound stage opened up becomingmuch more 3D and the bass was more detailed,overall very impressive.I purposefully did not use a headphone amp withthem as…well, it kind of defeats the portabilitypurpose that they are designed for; I can’t see manypeople using them with a headphone amp, more

Reviews

Linette with the Monsters in place.


A TEEN’S PERSPECTIVE Harry Smith

As I knew that Monsterused to make the Beats byDre headphones, which I

feel don’t have a particularly goodbuild or sound quality, I was a lit-tle sceptical about how these newMonster headphones would per-form.Monster have extended their iS-port range of headphones to theover-ear category with the newiSport FREEDOM, a headphonethat offers high performance audioand that is easy to use when doingsport.As the other reviewer Mrs HiFiPig (AKA my mum) doesn’t do alot of running, I was asked to testthese out as I do frequently run inthe local countryside.The FREEDOM's felt heavy tohold at first but they had plenty ofcushioning in the headband so feltvery light once over my ears.The build quality is quite impres-sive, the main construction feelsstrong and sturdy and the rubber

used for the ear pads feel's verycomforting. They also feel ‘airy’and don’t make your earssweat…which is a common prob-lem with many headphones whenusing them for sport.The Blue-tooth works very well Iwas able to connect to my Ipod inunder 10 seconds and the batterylasted a long time.The sound is very good when theheadphones are charged, the bassis heavy but unlike the beats byDre the top end doesn't suffer asmuch.However when the battery is flatthe sound loses it's oomph andfalls short of what I expect from aheadphone of this price (around£240). I would make sure to usethem charged and switched on,even if using the cable.All in all the Monster iSportFREEDOM's are a very well built,easy to use, comfortable head-phone. I think the styling and thebright colours are great and stand

out from the crowd. They lookvery ‘sporty’ and trendy, but moreindividual than some other brands.I recommend them to anyone wholikes doing sport to great soundingmusic, just remember to keep themcharged, which is really simpleand remember to plug them in be-tween uses.

likely straight from the music player on bluetooth.

Would I recommend these headphones? Yes, butwith a couple of caveats.Despite their styling they are not just for the ‘yoof’,if you are looking for headphones that you can usefor exercising and perhaps you travel on publictransport a lot they would be reallyhandy…especially if you want great quality sound.I would not recommend them if you are just going tosit and listen to your home hifi with them, that isn’twhat they are designed for.I also did not test them with classical music so can’tcomment on the suitability there.

Now perhaps I am not the target market for theiSport FREEDOM headphones, I am neither aPussycat Doll or a Gym Bunny, but I feel that thewearabilty and comfort of the headphones would suitanybody looking for the convenience of headphonesthat you can put on and forget about…go for a run ora walk without worrying about getting rained on (orsweaty…no perspiring ears with these!)To get the maximum performance with them thenpair them with a device that can play high qualitymusic files AND has Bluetooth, that way you willget to experience the true freedom that they offer theuser.One tiny little gripe….perhaps a few differentcolours please, Hifi Pig Pink would be ratherfetching……..

Reviews


I hadn't planned to review this cable at all, but onewas supplied by David Brook at Mains Cables RUs (MCRU) as part of the package with the

excellent LongDog Audio VDt1 DAC that I recentlyreviewed here. Swapping out this mains cable forone of my own favourites produced an unexpecteddiminishment in sound quality. "Hmm", I thought,"interesting".Solidity and control, dynamics and resolution, clarityand precision. All seemed to benefit from this cableon the LDA DAC.At £95 or so for a 1.5m length, reasonably flexible

and looking very well made and presented, this cableis by no means expensive as such things go.It's available in any configuration of plugs you careto think of, including high current, Schuko, Figure-8,UK 3-pin, US 2-pin etc .…

Technicalities

Three 2 sq mm conductors made from silver-coated99.9999% OFC (oxygen free copper) are used tocarry the current. The dielectric covering is extrudedTeflon and the conductors are given a rotational twistto improve RFI rejection.A cotton filler reduces microphony and bolsters theinternal strength of the cable and a paper wrap isused to secure the construction prior to theapplication of the flexible PVC jacket

The moulded IEC and three pin mains plugs aredesigned and made by Isotek, and the solid copper

conducting components arecoated in 24ct gold.ComparisonsAh, the 'sound' of mainscables. One of the morecontentious issues in hifi!How can mains cablesaffect the sound of a

component? - I have no idea, but experiencedemands me to accept that they do. I could list adiscouragingly large number of mains cables thatspoil a component's sound for me.I tend to keep several brands, each with their ownsonic characteristics that suit some components butthat do not necessarily synergise with others.

How can mains cables affect the soundof a component? - I have no idea, butexperience demands me to accept thatthey do.

Isotek EVO 3Mains Cable by Jerry Jacobs


ReviewsHere's a comparisonbetween the Isotekcable and a couple ofmy establishedfavourites .…

Nordost Magus (re-branded as BlueHeaven at around£150 for 1m) has been one of my 'keeper' mainscables for quite a while. As well as looking greatwith its lovely deep blue outer sheath, it alsoperforms admirably sonically! It has a slightlyrelaxed but fluid take on the music; there's a naturalflow and tonal richness that is very appealing. Incomparison to the Isotek, though, it seems a bit toolaid back, less tonally neutral and missing out onsome of the excitement, boldness and solidity ofmore rhythmically propelled music.The Isotek EVO3 Premier sounded closest to my oldMusicWorks mains cable, the latest version of whichretails at around £350 for a 1.8m length. Similarlycontrolled and dynamic, it was actually quite difficultto tell them apart on small to medium scalemusic. When the music really gets going,though, and with higher powered ampslike my 250wpc Krell, the benefits of themore expensive cable can be heard as afurther expansion of dynamic freedom andheft. With a lower powered amp like aTopping TP-60 27wpc t-amp, or with lowpowered source components, differencesof this kind were marginal at best.

SummaryAll 3 of the power cables mentioned hereare fine examples of the cable maker's art,and I would happily commend any and allof them to you. The Nordost has a bitmore 'flavour', and that may suit yoursystem or preferences. The MusicWorksis similarly neutral, defined and explicit asthe Isotek, and is capable of taking a highpowered amplifier's dynamic freedomeven further - but it also costs severaltimes as much!So, the Isotek EVO3 Premier power cableis a bit of a no-brainer as far as I amconcerned - the benefits of high end powercable design, but without the high price.

Equipment used:

Speakers: MBL 116F, Dynaudio Excite X14,Waterfall Audio Victoria Evo Power Amps:Atoll AM-80, Topping TP-60 and Krell KAV-250aPre-amp: Restek ConsensSource: Vincent CD S7 CD Player.Signal cables: RFC Pluto & Oscar's Audio DarkKnight i/c and Tellurium Q Black speakercables.Mains cables: Nordost Magus, MusicWorks

A bit of a no brainer says Jerry Jacobs

So, the Isotek EVO3 Premierpower cable is a bit of a no-brainer as far as I am concerned


Mark Mallinson is President ofResonessence Labs and along with hisbrother Martin, launched the company in

2009. Prior to this Mark was the Operations Directorfor ESS Technology where his team was responsiblefor the design of the company’s Sabre Audio DACchips. Mark left ESS in 2009 to start ResonessenceLabs…a coincidence?... Mark laughed and said 'notreally!' The brothers saw a business opportunity.Sabre Audio products from ESS are now employedin many high end systems, but back in 2009 Mark

and Martin noticed that some audio companies werenot doing a particularly good job of designing thechip into their products and felt that they could dobetter. Resonessence launched their first Audio DACproduct, Invicta in 2011 and now have 6 DACproducts ranging in price from $350 CAD to $4,995CAD.Mark states, 'Our goal is to produce audio productsthat we can all be proud of. To this end we design,

manufacture, assemble and test our all of ourproducts locally.'Resonessence Labs' products are 'Field Upgradeable'giving the end user the ability for hardware andsoftware tweaks and changes, which presentsinteresting options for those in the know and with therequired skills.

Review OverviewI have a few options in the way I could use the £299Herus in my system:

- As intended from aUSB source such as theMac or Squeezebox Touch(SBT) then with an iOS andAndroid tablet(Resonessence claimcompatibility with IOS andAndroid devices) with a

range of different headphones to throw into the mix. - Secondly I planned to use the Herus as astandalone DAC feeding the Icon Audio HP8 valveheadphone amp. - Lastly as standalone DAC into my main rig. - I also have a few different USB cables rangingfrom the modest in price Chord Silver Plus andWireworld Starlight 7 to the more expensiveTellurium Q Black Diamond and another option the

The presentation of the soundwas crisp and clean, with a greatopenness to the vocal…

ResonessenceLabs HerusDAC andHeadphoneAmp by Danny Worth

http://hifipig.com/resonessence-labs-invicta-dacpreamp/


Astintrew Concord which has a split data and powercable.

Using the Herus as intended (as a combined DACand headphone amplifier)Firstly was to use the Herus fed by the USB of mySBT using the free ‘Enhanced Digital Output’software. Plug in the Herus (red backlit logo) andenter the Audio settings on the SBT, navigate to theDigital Output menu (where the Herus now shows upas a selectable device), a quick click and the SBTreboots with the Herus showing as the device readyfor use (now a blue backlit logo on the Herus toinform the user of lock on). I plugged in a pair ofAKG K702's into the device and the Chord SilverPlus USB and unchecked the fixed volume controlon the SBT in order not to damage the headphones -the Herus as it has no volume control itself and isfixed at full output. Without going into all the techydetails, basically the source’s volume controlbecomes obsolete and the on screen volume slideractually is the Herus' internal volume which istransposed onto the screen so to speak.I began to play some Stevie Nicks. The presentationof the sound was crisp and clean, with a greatopenness to the vocal, a typical sound for theseheadphones I felt. I continued to play on throughsome more vocal and acoustic based albums from thelikes of Chris Jones, Norah Jones and Jack Savoretticoncluding that the Herus was extremely transparentto the character of the source and headphones, but Iwas concerned that the top end was a little too sharpand the headphones, although extremely revealing

even with the Icon valve amp, has a tamer top endwhich can be exploited and refined to expose somebeauty in the detail and so I tried swapping out theChord USB for the Wireworld Starlight 7.Playing Annie Lennox's 'Little Bird' proved that asimple change of the cable calmed down a slightlyspittier response, yet still retained the source’scharacter along with the revealing presentation ofthese headphones. I have a tendency to listen toheadphones very loud, not great for the lug-holes butit's a fetish of mine. Even if it's late at night and I'mjust intending to play some gentle background typemusic within 6 or 7 tracks the volume is crankedright up, so for me at louder volumes I need to beable to hear the clarity of a track especially withthese cans, otherwise it's headache time after a while.The Herus in this respect came across to mefantastically, the amplifier inside is very powerfuland belies the units size, driving these headphones tovolume levels I really never expected, distortingminimally as the full volume was nearly reached andremaining clean and neutral.Using the Herus with the Tellurium Q BlackDiamond USB cable was a step up in performanceagain, cleaning and expressing a midrange thatbreathed with presence in the soundstage and givinga noticeably greater width to the sound. Smallerdetails were more defined and cymbal workespecially shimmered very realistically. Bass whichhad been taut and tuneful gained more detail andrhythm which was gratefully received especially withElectronica.The last USB option I had with this rig was to try

Astintrews 'Concord' USB with hassplit power and data cables and theirpatented power supply design. Thisgave a punchier and little leanerupper-bass/lower-mid response,most noticeably a lower noise floorwhich added a really nicespaciousness to the sound - to beexpected I guess from what I haveheard with this device partneredwith my Mac already.The modded SBT is already veryquiet, but the Concord did take thebackground hash down a littlefurther and due to the AKG's havingthat extremely revealingpresentation they were ideal for thispart of the review and the Herus

Reviews

The Herus is very versatile.

http://hifipig.com/tellurium-q-black-diamond-usb-cable-2/


was left as the true heart of the system, decoding andamplifying a sound that was complete in resolutionand powerful enough to really drive the AGK's verywell indeed.When listening to the Civil Wars 'I've Got ThisFriend' the Herus presented remarkable detail in thestring work and each vocal was beautifully renderedin harmony stating there own position on the track,clearly defined and wonderfully recorded.The transparency, accuracy and robust presentationof the Herus is absolutely astonishing, each piece ofmusic sounds the way it should. Listening to specificmusic for certain attributes when testing equipmentis something we all do and I can quite confidentlysay that the Herus ticks virtually every box for me.Critically against much more expensive headphoneand DAC combos there will be flaws of course, but Ihave ticked way more boxes than I ever expectedand more than with my previous PS Audio DACcombined with other standalone headphoneamplifiers around the £300-£500 mark. Theresolution, detail, excellent dynamics and balancethat the Herus has is pretty awesome.

Further testing with other headphonesAn obvious next test to confirm some of my initialthoughts would be for me to try other headphones,fortunately enough I have a pair of SennheiserHD598s and some Beyerdynamic DT-990s, bothvery different from each other and from the AKG's.Leaving theConcorde USB into exploit the bestof the Herus andreveal as much ofthe otherheadphonescharacter partnered with the amp/dac as possible Iplugged the Beyers full size jack into the tiny Herus.I'm not a great fan of these partnered with the Iconamp, I feel they thrive with good solid state amps,They can be a tad laid back, have a gorgeousmidrange but can lack that bit of air in the top end.The Herus really exploited the midrange assuspected, darker than the AKG's but wonderfullyrich and fleshed out, I like the Beyers on theEpiphany Acoustics head amp very much but foundthe Herus to transmit better low end grip into them,the top end never got that air like with the AKG's,yet still had a nice sharpness and sparkle with greatclarity and control, it was all just a little darker and

not as transparent sounding, still very true to thesource I feel and the character of the headphones,

fantastic forsome genres andpoorerrecordings, butafter listening tothe 702's justlacked that bite

and punch, I'm sure if I listened to them first I wouldhave raved about how well the Herus drove the 300Ohm load and how fantastic I thought they sounded,but then that has to simply be down to me and mypersonal preference of cans and in no way makeslight of the Herus’ charms.Onto the Sennheiser HD598's which are a great andnot too expensive, fun headphone and on the littleResonessence amp these for me are a great matchboth sound-wise and price point-wise. Clarity andvocals are at the forefront of their presentation with afantastic volume level that would be more thanadequate for anyone - even me!

Reviews

…the Herus presented remarkabledetail in the string work and eachvocal was beautifully rendered…

http://hifipig.com/beyerdynamic-dt990-premium-headphones/

http://hifipig.com/epiphany-acoustics-ehp-o2-portable-headphone-amplifier/


Back in went the Wireworld cable and the smootherand less clean sound that it gave against theAstintrew was actually preferable - overall a morefun, musical and bouncy sound rather than a morerevealing type of sound that has you listening out fordetails and attributes. I spent a fair bit of time withthis combination in place, writing part of this reviewand surfing around the net on my iPad, feet up androcking backwards andforwards in my computerchair, probably with a daftgrin on my face!I even put a stock USBinto the Herus from theSBT as I realised I hadn'tdone that (I always use abetter than stock USBcable for piece of mind forbuild quality oneverything) and even withthat in place I was happywith the presentation ofthe Herus, although Iwould recommendsomething mid priced as itdoes help performance.

Android and IOS devicetestsResonessence Labs claimon their website that thedevice is compatible withiOS and Android devices– fantastic, so I can takethe Herus anywhere I goand enjoy my Spotifyplaylists in their full glory!I’d ordered the cameraconnection kit for the iPadAir assuming that thismust be the way to connect the USB type Bconnector on the Herus to the iPad. Plugging theadapter into the iPad with a normal A to B USBcable illuminated the Herus' logo in red and thenquickly into blue to confirm that a lock andcompatibility was made. Next I simply chose thedevice from the Airplay menu and I was away.Sound wise the Air sounded fantastic through thelittle DAC/amp, the Herus' balanced and powerfulsound drove the three sets of headphones great,though I found the iPads physical buttons when

streaming Spotify gave larger than preferred volumeincreases/decreases but moving the volume slider inthe software gave a more precise control to thelistening levels.I had a little bit of a setup issue initially using theAndroid based LG G Pad 8.3" V500. I had bought afew variations of adapters and connecting cables toachieve what was a micro USB to required male B

into the Herus. Usinga micro USB 'Host'adapter cable whichhad a female A socketto micro USB malecable proved theanswer, although itssimple adapterduplicate did not workso make sure it is the'Host' cable typeadapter you use.Again no complaintswith the sound, theHerus sounds great inall tests and only hasmoderate levels ofincreased performancewith the moreexpensive USB cablesand I would besatisfied with a wellmade and inexpensivecable. Characterisationof the sound does varydependant on source,but the control andbalance of the Herus'DAC and amp’s soundprevails to keepeverything neutral andvery musical.

Using the Herus as a Standalone DAC (IconAudio HP8 Headamp)To achieve the connection to the Icon I used a6.3mm headphone jack to stereo RCA adapter fromthe Herus and my Oriton Symphony Orange RCAinterconnects and as the Astintrew cable was still onthe desk I re-plugged it in to the Herus from the SBTfeeding the AKG headphones.A very similar character as previously mentionedwas heard through the Icon as I revisited tracks and

Reviews

http://hifipig.com/oriton-diamond-red-and-symphony-orange-interconnects/


albums from this review, the Icon added some greatliquidity to the vocals with the Civil Wars playingand gave more control to louder listening levels inthe upper regions. Lower mids and upper bass werefuller with transients a little more energetic. Not bigdifferences in the performance really just theflavours.Comparing the presentation to the Totaldac throughthe Icon was interesting, there were differences inperformance and a slightly different character, anobviously perceivable tonal difference betweenvalves and transistors but to the credit of the Herus Ithought 'well I could definitely live with this'.Popping in Chords Crimson Vee3 with theWireworld cable again for sensibility against pricepoint retained my previous thoughts. I also tried therecently reviewed QNKTC DAC in placement of theHerus and found its upper end to be quite sharpconsidering my favourable comments about it in themain rig. I found the overall enjoyability andmusicality of the Herus to be closer to the Totaldacthan the QDAC which isn't as transparent and doesn'tallow the SBT to show its character.

Using the Herus as a Standalone DAC (mainsystem)Using the SBT to Herus via the Asintrew cables andinto the Emille KI40-L integrated via the Oritoninterconnects connected to the Herus via the adapterI immediately took note of the superbly balanced anddetailed sound. Consequently whilst using the samesetup through the Mac using Amarra there was anoticeable bass hump around the lower mids/upperbass, a trait of the Mac which in the QDAC reviewwas most favourable to its character but here, hearingthe difference between the SBT and Mac, the humpdoes get a little irritating in comparison to themodded SBT's extremely detail driven bass which isneither too tight or loose.The Herus with its ability to pass through what's infront of it accurately really gelled well in this contextand supplied the amp and speakers with atremendous amount of information and imaging witha great tonal balance across the frequency range. Iwould conclude that the DAC, although not ascritical in exploring the finest of details, the extendedhandling of notes, or the dynamic shifts of the muchmore expensive Totaldac, was a very respectableachiever in conveying a solid and most enjoyablemusic performance from 16bit and 24bit musicstreamed from the NAS.

ConclusionUsing the Herus as a portable device outside of thehouse is of course possible but it would require somecareful laying out of the cables in a pocket as therewould be a couple of connections from an iOS orAndroid based smartphone and of course theheadphone connection itself. My concern would bewith the connection to the phone itself as mostsmartphones these days have the smallest ofconnectors which could easily break or damage thesockets, so not ideal. I myself would still prefer asmall Fiio for outdoor purposes, however if therewas an option for Resonessence to add a smallBluetooth module with the correct USB socket andan integrated rechargeable battery then for outdooruse it would be a winner.Indoors and listening from a PC or Mac or as anupgrade to a gaming rig the Herus is simple to useand sounds very 'audiophile' and extremely musical.The Herus can perform how you would like it to witha good chunk of its character being source andheadphone dependant, it has enough power to pleaseeven the daftest of loud listeners. If there was anysort of characterisation I could pin on the Herus apartfrom its obvious transparency it is that with all theheadphones and USB cables I used I never got a bassheavy approach to any of the combinations or genres- bass is very evenly balanced and never overblownin any way but it's all there. I have heard more bassfrom these headphones through other amps but not asdetailed and taut a bass in some cases. Withheadphones I have to have a shining midrange and anopen and airy top end and the Herus caters to thisperfectly. Coupled with fantastic detail and tone thetests on this products primary intended use areextremely positive and the fact it requires no externalpower supply means it can be taken anywhere withthe above caveats about cabling?As a standalone DAC with the Astintrew Concordsupplying a clean power source the Herus waselevated in performance, although in standard formwithout upgraded cables made for a fantasticcompanion and upgrade to any computer streamingrig with a solid, detailed, robust sound whichcompletely took me aback for its size and price pointand with the ability to simply whip out theconnecting analogue cables and pop in theheadphones it covers both areas of listening with acomputer based audio system wonderfully.Highly recommended for its ease of use, flexibilityand high fidelity sound quality.

Reviews

http://hifipig.com/q-n-k-t-c-ab-1-2-dac/


http://hifipig.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=5dc87d0c48b2fa1cfc7f3b168&id=8326f3b4d5


The Wireworld Starlight 7 is a wellconstructed, flexible and pretty snazzycoloured cable. Sitting in the lower mid-

price band of USB cables (£99.95 for a 1mlength) it is the next up the Wireworld line tothe multi-award winning Ultraviolet which isa cable which I had previously owned for aprolonged period of time with my MacMini due to its warm and pleasant easylistening character that is veryfavourable to digital playback.I received two Starlight cables fromThe UK Distributor; one had anordinary type B connector on the end andthe other with a mini B connector.The cable is very easy to route around the back of arack and due to it being flat, bends around otherpieces of equipment and shelf edges very easily. Thecable is lightweight, very well built and has nice goldconnectors.The SoundConnecting the Starlight to my Mac and streamingmusic with Amarra 2.5 the cable has similar qualities

of presentation as the UltraViolet but with a fair gainin detail and sparkle in the top end, a warm roundedmidrange leading into a firm bass, solid and full. Ifound the Ultraviolet to be much warmer throughoutthe range and not as revealing of smaller inner detailsas the Starlight.

Male vocals werestrong and fleshed out

and women's vocals hada good smoothness to their

upper registers. Instrumentshad good timbre but not as

naturally true as the likes of thehigher priced TQ Black Dia-

mond. Due to the warmer nature ofthe cable it can lack that extra little

ring or rasp at the end of a note to givethe most convincing of performances

but what it does put forward is an utterlymusical and enjoyable presentation.

Dynamics from the cable are fairly averagereally, not huge and fatiguing nor too soft and

gentle, so I may sound like a politician when I saythey're just "nice".I go into detail in my Q N K T C review about theDAC being fed by the Starlight with the mini B typeconnector and how the overall 'Class A' flavouredsound of the combination was extremely enjoyableand very musical so I won't touch on it too much

here, although I will mentionthat I found the Starlight tobe great with upper frequen-cy detail and air which cou-pled with mid and lower endwarmth sounded great.Comparing the Chord Silver

Plus with the Starlight7 into the TotalDAC was inter-esting. The Chord has more of an emphasis on a de-tail ridden sound - a bit more crash, wallop bangwhilst the Starlight just cruises along in an easierfashion reproducing all the details I had heard fromthe more revealing Chord but in a less forceful andsmoother manner. Hearing the Chord allows the lis-

WireworldStarlight 7USB Cableby Danny Worth

The sound could be referred to as'safe' but is also one of detail,balance and warmth.


tener to really pick out details and dynamics and onfirst inspection I though 'there's more going on here'but hooking the Wireworldback up proved that it was acharacterisation differencenot a lack of ability. Deeperrolling extended bass wasan advantage of the Star-light, a more natural rendition of an instruments trail-ing edge. The Chord is exciting and great for lowerlistening levels but for vocals and instruments the aWireworld really explores the music better.Once again in detail on the Resonessence Labs Herusreview I explore the Wireworld further, I concludedthat out of all the USB cables I used I found the Star-light 7 to be a very musical match for the littleDAC/amp adding a nice bit of smoothness to somequite revealing headphones I had partnered with thedevice.ConclusionThe Wireworld Starlight performed admirably in mysystem using the two configurations sent to me and

with the products tested. The sound could be referredto as 'safe' but is also one of detail, balance and

warmth. Forgiving may be a good phrase to use withthis cable - it has a very forgiving nature which takesaway any edginess which digital equipment can in-ject into the system and also lends its hand to a simi-lar take with poorer recordings.The Ultraviolet was a great award winning cable butthe Starlight is a bit of a leap ahead in detail retrievaland resolution, yet still having that gentler, easy tolisten to character than that of the Chord Silverplus.Overall the Wireworld Starlight is a solid performerat a great price point.Recommended for build quality and sound perpound.

Reviews

Overall the Wireworld Starlight is asolid performer at a great price point.

http://www.josound.net/


Tellurium QClaymore IntegratedAmplifier by Stuart Smith

Many of you will be forgiven for thinkingthat you’ve heard the Claymore namesomewhere before and you’d be absolutely

right - Colin Wonfor, the Technical Director atTellurium Q, was the person behind the somewhatlegendary IncaTech Claymore amplifier from the80s. So it was with a good deal of excitement that weawaited the arrival of the all new £3760 Claymore.It’s a stylish looking unit being quite slim on the rackand with just a motorised volume knob, a headphonejack and a series of LEDs to let you know whatsource is playing on the front – source selection iscontrolled from the elegant and weighty wand-styleremote control.

So what functions do you actually get with theClaymore? Well it’s pretty well specified to say theleast and this seems to be a route many companiesare taking, realising that not everyone wants to haveboxes and boxes littering up their front rooms. In justthe one box you have a phonostage catering forMoving Magnet and Moving Coil cartridges(switchable on the rear), three line inputs, a mini-jackinput for MP3 players plus a USB DAC input.

There’s a pre-out, a tape loop and a pair of heftybinding posts for loudspeaker cables.Speaking to Colin Wonfor it is clear he is passionateabout the need for high quality power supplies in allhis amplifiers and the Claymore is no exception withColin saying that the amplifier has a “total offourteen power supplies… Complex it may be but itgives superb noise and interference rejection.” Eventhe infra red detection circuit for the remote gets itsown power supply that is only active when a buttonon the remote is pressed.Into 8 Ohms you get a continuous 72 Watts achannel and into 4 Ohms 81 Watts. p the Claymore isnot just a case of pressing on and letting it do its

thing. First you turnon the unit whichdefaults to mute, youwait a few momentsuntil the unit is readyand then you canpress mute and you’reready to go. It takes afew goes to get yourhead around it but itbecomes secondnature after a few

goes.The first thing you notice once you do fire up theamp is that it seems to really energise the bass in theroom. On Ben Frost’s “By the Throat” the bass isguttural with the Claymore and being a bit of a bassjunkie this is right up my street – though the bassfrequencies are not over domineering, just tight andpowerful. The prepared pianos on the same album

The first thing you noticeonce you do fire up the amp isthat it seems to reallyenergise the bass in the room.


sound very “real” and there’s an overall sense of thesoundscape enveloping you.I’m used to listening with just 20 Watts of Class Afrom Tellurium Q’s Iridium amp but I have to say Ireally enjoyed having the extra power on tap, thoughI struggled to turn the volume knob much past 10o’clock (and I do listen pretty loud) with the 95dbMummys. With the littleQ Acoustics Concept 20s(possibly a more realisticpartnering) there’s a realfeeling that the Claymorehas grabbed the speakersfirmly and is takingcontrol of them to get the best from them.The Claymore isn’t as refined as the Iridium (I reallywouldn’t expect it to be) but it has a realsledgehammer weight to the way it portrays music.This is not to say that the Claymore can’t be subtle,but I’d liken it to how I’d imagine stepping out of achauffeur driven Bentley and into a V8 muscle carmust feel.Techno seemed the order of the day, so on with TheField and the brilliant “Cupid’s Head” album andagain this amp really plumbs the depths with the basskick underpinning and giving a real solid foundationto the overall sound. On “20 Seconds of Affection”the evolving soundscapes just build and build andwhilst that bedrock of bass is still evident, othersounds and ‘instruments’ throughout the frequencyrange are easy to pick out of the mix and offer acoherent and balanced presentation.I’ve said it before and I don’t mind saying it again,some bits of kit just have you reaching for certaingenres and with the Claymore I found myself beingdrawn to bass heavy music as this seemed to play tothe amp’s strengths.

However, on Rumours from Fleetwood Mac and thetune “Songbird” the amp shows that it is capable ifsubtlety too – not as ultimately refined as the Iridiumas I mentioned, but it manages to give a prettyrealistic portrayal of the recorded space with thevocal and piano sounding unforced and natural.There’s one track I was dying to try with the

Claymore and that was Hardfloor’s “Once Againand Back”. There’s a bass break at the start that is amust for anyone of the bass addicted persuasion.Here the bass doesn’t take over (I thought it would)and what you get is a nicely balanced rendition of thetrack.Gil Scott-Heron’s “Pieces of a Man” was popped onnext and you do get a really nice insight into theemotion in his voice. The vocal is slightly forward inthe mix with the other instruments sitting behind andaround the stereo image. Piano sounds as it shouldand the bass sounds realistic too. Perhaps on thistune is where I most noticed the difference betweenthe Iridium and the Claymore – the Claymoredoesn’t have that last smidgen of finesse, particularlyat the top end, but it’s really not that far off at all. On“Sign of the Ages” from the same album there’s afeeling that you are listening to a live recording andthere is a good degree of delicacy and deftness oftouch from the amp. It’s hugely dynamic with itdealing with quieter passages very nicely, but havingimmediate power on hand to deal with louderpassages or instruments in the mix as demonstrated

Reviews

I’d liken it to how I’d imagine steppingout of a chauffeur driven Bentley andinto a V8 muscle car must feel.

The Claymore is a sleek and elegant looking integrated.


on Ry Cooder’s “Paris Texas” soundtrack wherethere’s bags of detail and texture and also on “NightTrain to You” by the Marcin Wasilewski Trio.PhonostageThe inbuilt phonostage gives a good solidperformance with pinpoint imaging and a wide andespecially deep soundstage. Instruments seem tohave good space around them and I’d say that theClaymore’s phonostage at least equals my ownElectrocompaniet stage.Vocals on Chie Ayado’s “Don’t Let Me Down” fromthe album “Good Life” are natural sounding with agood insight into the recording and the piano too isnatural sounding missing only the Iridium’s very topend effortlessness.USB/DACThis works very well indeed and I’m sure for folkwho don’t want to go to the expense of shelling outloads on an external USB DAC it will be verypopular. Did it match the VAD DAC? Well no itdidn’t to be honest as it lacked that last nth of adegree of sophistication and polish, but then theVAD DAC costs more than this whole amp puttogether. Would I be happy to use it day to day– I’mpretty sure I would.Headphone AmpThis is a useful addition to the Claymore and one I’mglad to see more and more manufacturers adding totheir amps and pre’s as more and more music loversdemand a no-nonsense all in one solution.I was able to use a couple of pairs of headphones andit performed perfectly well. Volume is adjusted bythe main volume knob or the remote and when theheadphone jack is fully inserted into the amp thespeakers mute.

Similarly to the recently reviewed Van De Leurpreamplifier the Claymore’s headphone amplifiershould satisfy all but the most hardened headfienthusiast. For those looking to listen occasionally tocans, or those forced to use headphones late at night,the inbuilt amp will be absolutely fine. Actually it’spretty good with an even, balanced sound and withgood drive.ConclusionAt £3760 the Claymore isn’t a cheap integrated amp,however I do think it offers good value for moneynone the less. Add up the constituent parts and thequality of those parts and you can start to appreciatethat to have all the extra boxes and wires would notonly be more hassle, but would also be moreexpensive for the average music lover that just wantsgreat sound with minimum bother.I don’t really have anything negative to say about theClaymore overall, but if I was to be nitpicky the startup procedure is a bit of a pain at first until you getyour head around it.The phonostage is a bit of a boon I think given thegrowing resurgence of vinyl and I reckon that addingsomething like a Project Debut Carbon Turntable(£300), a pair of speakers like the Q Acoustics’Concept 20s (£550 with stands) and using yourcomputer running Foobar 2000 or similar you’d havea great sounding system for around £5K with cablesand what not included. Add a reasonable pair ofheadphones and you have something that you canlisten to when the family goes to bed leaving you toget your music fix in peace.The amp will easily outgrow the relatively budget kitI’ve mentioned however and should allow you toupgrade ancillary kit a good deal further up the treewithout feeling the need to change your amp foranything more expensive.

Reviews

Round the back there’s a plethora of connections.


http://www.highend-design-loudspeaker.com/


Turntables, Cartridges and Tonearms

A Cacophony of Cartridges (Dynavector Mcs)Shelter 5000 Moving Coil CartridgeSME309 versus Michell TechnoArm (A)A Cacophony of Cartridges Part 2 (Denon MCs)Rega P25, Michell Gyro SE, Garrard 401Pro-Ject Debut CarbonOracle Paris Mk V TurntableLondon Jubilee CartridgeThe Funk Firm Technics SL1200Roksan Radius 5 Mk2 turntable, Nima tonearm &Corus Silver cartridgeOrigin Live Modified Technics 1210 TurntableThe Cartridge Man Music Maker III CartridgeMike New Bearing for Technics 1210 Turntable

CD Players and Transports

Consonance Mini Droplet Linear CDP3.1Cyrus CD8xMHZS CD88Musical Fidelity X-Ray V8 CD plus Triple-X PowerSupplyLampizator “Transport”Unison Research Unico CD PrimoRoksan Oxygene Amplifier and CD Player

Loudspeakers

Infinity RS2.5 Standard Ribbon HybridMBL 116F RadialstrahlerHorning Agathon UltimateAudio Note AN-e/LXAudio Physic Virgo Mk2ProAc Future Point FiveTotem Acoustic ForestCA-Electronics AP10Akkus V1Harbeth Super SHL5Eminent Technology LFT-16aEminent Technology LFT-8bAncient Audio Studio OslohORNS MummyMarshall Choong FS-1Quadral Chromium Style 30Tannoy Turnberry SEAlacrity Audio CaterthunTSAE Evinceelectricbeach Frugel3

German Physiks Unlimited Mk2JoSound CartoucheQ Acoustics' Concept 20Dynaudio Excite X14Waterfall Audio Victoria EVOPluto Ultimate

Amplifiers

Cary Audio Design 572SE MonoblocsParasound Halo A21 Stereo Power AmpChord CPM 2600 Integrated AmplifierCR Developments Romulus Valve IntegratedAmplifierAmptastic Mini-TRadford STA15 Series 3 Re-Issue AmplifierMing Da MC-7SE Pre-amp, MC-805 Power-ampsConsonance Cyber 10 Signature Integrated AmplifierRadford Revival STA15 Meets the Original RadfordSTA15Absolutor Pre-amplifierCustom Hifi Cables HA10 & HA10SE HeadphoneAmps, DC1 & DC2 PSUsEpiphany Acoustics EHP-O2 Portable HeadphoneAmplifierLinear Audio Research IA30 Mk 2 AmplifierTortuga Audio LDR6 Passive Pre-ampRoksan Caspian M2 Integrated AmplifierPuresound 2A3 Integrated AmplifierClones Audio 25i Integrated AmplifierKing Rex 'Headquarters' HQ-1 Headphone AmplifierPeachtree Decco 65Audio4Soul Xtreme 16Cyrus X200 Signature Mono AmplifiersOnix RA125 Integrated AmplifierTellurium Q Iridium Power AmplifierMistral DT-307a Hybrid AmplifierTisbury Audio Mini Passive PreamplifierRoksan Oxygene Amplifier and CD PlayerBlack Pearls' Birth 100 AmpilfierRoksan K2 BT AmplifierVan de Leur 002/402 Pre/power ampsTellurium Q Claymore Integrated amp

Digital to Analogue Converters

Audio GD Digital Interface USB to S/Pdif ConverterLampizator DAC Level 4 ReviewHuman Audio Muto DacNeko Audio D100 DACHuman Audio Tabla USB to SP/dif Interface

Review Links

http://hifipig.com/a-cacophony-of-cartridges-part-1/

http://hifipig.com/shelter-5000-moving-coil-cartridge/

http://hifipig.com/sme309-vs-michell-technoarm-a/

http://hifipig.com/a-cacophony-of-cartridges-part-2-denon-mcs/

http://hifipig.com/one-man-and-his-turnatable-well-three-actually/

http://hifipig.com/pro-ject-debut-carbon/

http://hifipig.com/oracle-paris-mk-v-turntable/

http://hifipig.com/london-jubilee-cartridge/

http://hifipig.com/the-funk-firm-technics-sl1200/

http://hifipig.com/roksan-radius-5-mk2-turntable-nima-tonearm-corus-silver-cartridge/

http://hifipig.com/origin-live-modified-technics-1210-turntable/

http://hifipig.com/the-cartridge-man-music-maker-iii-cartridge/

http://hifipig.com/mike-new-bearing-for-technics-1210-turntable/


http://hifipig.com/consonance-mini-droplet-linear-cdp3-1/

http://hifipig.com/cyrus-cd8x/

http://hifipig.com/mhzs-cd88-cd-player/

http://hifipig.com/musical-fidelity-x-ray-v8-cd-plus-triple-x-power-supply/

http://hifipig.com/lampizator-transport/

http://hifipig.com/unison-research-unico-cd-primo/

http://hifipig.com/roksan-oxygene-amplifier-and-cd-player-4/


http://hifipig.com/infinity-rs2-5-ribbon-hybrid-loudspeakers/

http://hifipig.com/mbl-116f-radialstrahler/

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Another band I missed firsttime round as I was in fullon house and techno

mode in 1991 when Quality Street,the band’s only album, was firstreleased. This re-release on the 3Loop Music label is a two CDpackage with the original album, aCD of selected B sides and two

Radio 1 sessions plus a 24 pagebooklet.World of Twist were seemingly agreat influence on a lot of bandsand Noel Gallagher apparentlyalmost named Oasis after thesecond track on the album, “Sonsof the Stage” and Liam

Gallagher’s band Beady Eye evencovered the track.First of I should say that even onthe first listen through I reallyenjoyed this record - it’s a space-indie-pop amalgamation - sort ofRoxy Music meets Madchester -with this being most evident onthe track that should have been a

huge single, Sons of the Stage(which sounds very reminiscent ofHawkwind’s Brainbox Pollution).I’m very surprised that QualityStreet didn’t get higher than it did(#50) in the UK charts. The songsare nicely crafted indie pop tuneswith sound effects and synthwarbles over the top and in the

background and it really is avery enjoyable listen indeed.Stand out tracks are Sons of theStage, The Storm, the dreamyfinal track Life and Death andthe blessed out version of theStones “She’s A Rainbow. I cansee this album getting played todeath in the coming months in

our house.Sadly the second CD in the packrefused to play on my CD playeror in the laptop so I can’t commenton that, but the booklet is aninteresting read with an engagingforeword by the bands guitaristand co-songwriter Gordon King.

Album Reviews

I can see this album gettingplayed to death in thecoming months in our house.

Book a Trip 2 - More Psych Pop Sounds from Capitol Records by Stuart Smith

Now Sounds haveraided the vaultsof Hollywood’s

Capitol Records to bringus 24 slices of

psychedelic pop piefrom the late 60swith many of thetunes being on CDfor the first time,all sourced fromthe original mastertapes and compiledand produced bySteve Stanley.Needless to say Iwas a babe in arms

when these tracks firstmade their way onto theDansettes and radios ofthe US but that’s not tosay they’re not worth a

listen. Indeed thecollection here harksback to a much moreinnocent time, but it’sgood fun and shows uswhy Capitol were theundisputed kings of popin this era.With song titles likeCatch the Love Paradeand Groovy Day andband names such as TheLaughing Wind and ThePink Cloud this is clearlynot hardcore acid-head-freakster fare. No, this isa collection of fun, happy

jingle-jangle tunes aimedat a mass marketaudience that perhapscaught a whiff ofpatchouli from a passinghipster – more Mom’sapple pie than Kool AidAcid Test and certainlymore pop thanpsychedelia.Like I say, it’s good funand nicely put togethercollection of tunes thatcomes complete with aninformative booklet withdetailed notes on thebands and the music.

World of Twist - Quality Streetby Stuart Smith


I stopped listening to BBCRadio 1 a long time ago butthat’s not to say I don’t enjoy

dipping into that totally uncoolterritory that is the hit parade as Ibelieve it’s called by the youngerpeople.We bought last year’s LiveLounge sessions and enjoyed it agreat deal despite mypreconceptions and so getting holdof this year’s CD seemedobligatory. For those that don’tknow Live Lounge is where Radio1s DJ Jo Whiley gets in currentbig names and some lesser namesto perform live on her show. Someperform their own tunes whilesome perform other artists’ songs,indeed most of the tunes herein are

covers: Arctic Monkeys performHold on “We’re Going Home “byDrake, Vampire Weekend do aversion of Robin Thicke’s“Blurred Lines” and Mumford andSons have a bash at “Tesselate” byAlt-J.What I like about this two CDcollection is that it’s in the mainpretty simply recorded and itreally is a good record to pop ononto the CD player of a Saturdaynight to set the mood.Highlights for me are the fabulousRudimental who kick off thealbum with “Waiting All Night”,Naughty Boy and the infectious“La La La”, Daughter doing awonderfully stripped back versionof Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”, Jake

Bugg’s skifflish “Lightening Bolt”and the aforementioned “BlurredLines” by Vampire Weekend.There are no real howlers on thealbum at all but on a matter ofprinciple I skip Little Mix andtheir cover of Mumford and Sons’“I Will Wait”.It’s a feel good blast of an albumand it is getting a good deal ofairplay here at the moment.

Radio 1 Live Lounge 2013 by Stuart Smith

Album Reviews

The Kotois thetraditio

nal 13 stringJapaneseinstrument andKimio Eto iswidely regardedas its master. Hebegan trainingon theinstrument at the

age of eight and composed his first work agedeleven. Amazingly he was blind from the age of fiveaccording to the sleeve notes and this makes thisrecord all the more astonishing.Here on this él release we have an amalgamation ofdifferent bits of albums on one disc, “Art of theKoto” from 1962,“Sound of the Koto” from 1958and “Koto and Flute” (with Bud Shank) from 1960and they’re an interesting collection of tunes. I’m notgoing to suggest for even the briefest of momentsthat I understand the nuances and the virtuosity of

Eto’s playing, but this album makes for an interestingand different kind of listening experience.You get pretty much just the instrument for theentirety of the record, though the track “YachiyoJishi” (Lion of a Thousand Generations” does havesome voice on it and of course there’s flute on thelast three tunes.There are themes of nature throughout with titles like“Sakura” (Cherry Blossoms), “Yuki No Genso”(Snow Fantasy), “Izumi” (The Spring) and “Kinuta”(Sound of the Water) and “Tanima No Suisha” (Awaterwheel in a Gorge) and the music does bring tomind scenes of the natural world.My favourite tracks on the record are the three withthe flute accompaniment and I think this is becauseit’s an instrument I’m more familiar with. That’s notto say this is a difficult listen, it’s not – though therewas the obligatory “What the hell is this?” when Ifirst put it on the main rig as it’s just so different tothe kind of music I listen to.If you’re feeling contemplative and in need ofdrifting off then pop this on, close your eyes and driftaway with the music.

Kimio Eto - Sound of the Koto by Stuart Smith


Yes, it’s that time of yearagain; when objectivitygoes out the window and I

select my esteemed top ten albumsof the year. Forget chin strokinganalysis, these are the albumswhich made my hair stand onend… gave me goose-bumps… made me beltout the lyrics and mad-ly air-drum/air-guitarwith impunity!So, without furtherado…10) CARCASS-SURGICAL STEELThe British grindcorelegends showed that a20 year break betweenalbums did them noharm whatsoever withthis thrashing return toform. Brutality andmelody in equal meas-ures.9) KOЯN- THEPARADIGM SHIFTSurprise of the year. The formernu metal anti-heroes are all grownup and It shows in this urbane,stomping and innovative release.8) QUEENS OF THE STONEAGE- …LIKE CLOCKWORK

With a mind boggling list of guestmusicians, this album was nevergonna be anything but great. Asuperb combination of the bestelements of their earlier works.7) STONEFIELD- STONE-FIELDThe girls from rural Victoria deliv-ered a lesson in what the essenceof rock’n'roll is really about. Nobullshit, straight up. Anthemic.6) BAD RELIGION- TRUE

NORTHThe LA punk veterans gave us oneof their strongest albums in thiscatchy yet uncompromising ef-fort. Driving rhythms, infectiouschoruses, vitriolic lyrics and asense of melody throughout prove

that this band is as relevant as ev-er.5) DAVID BOWIE- THENEXT DAYBowie once again shows himselfto be the master of image manipu-lation and reinvention, parodyinghis own album cover! For a dudewho’s been around this long (andpretty much done it all in rock) torelease an album of this qualityand inventiveness is nothing shortof incredible. The man is a gen-

ius.4) ALICE IN CHAINS-THE DEVIL PUT DINO-SAURS HEREMinus their original singerand focal point in the lateLayne Staley, AIC un-leashed a bombshell. Easi-ly the equal of anythingfrom their “classic” period,this record is chock full ofgargantuan riffs, imagina-tive songwriting and eclec-tic styles from metal tocountry. A must see on thisyear’s Soundwave Festivallineup!3) MUTATION- ERROR500

Who said avant garde music had tobe esoteric and self serious? Foranyone lamenting the demise ofMr Bungle and Naked City, getonto this album! A supergroupfeaturing electro terrorist Merz-bow and members from groups as

Albums of the Year

BEST OF 2013Regular Hifi Pig contributor and all round good egg

Stewart Hall picks his favourite albums from last yearsreleases.


Albums of the Yeardisparate as Napalm Death, TheFall and Cardiacs, this is quitesimply visionary guitar driven mu-sic. Brutal, fractured and pervad-ed by an inconceivable sense ofsing-along-catchiness, this albumis a total anomaly… and utterlybrilliant.2) NINE INCH NAILS- HESI-TATION MARKSTrent Reznor and Atticus Ross’foray into film scores has paid offimmeasurably. Hesitation Marksis a triumph of emotional control.Malevolent, brooding and at timesfrightening, it’s also eminentlydanceable, catchy and ethereal.Heaven and Hell rolled into one.The equal of anything they’ve everproduced.1) GHOST- INFESTISSUMAMYou could throw a blanket overthe top five this year, I agonizedover the order, but in the end therecan be only one… and this is it.The second album from Sweden’sGhost. Is it metal? Is it pop? I’m

not sure, but the band has some-how combined occultist lyricalthemes and a ghoulish stage pres-ence (and hidden identities) withutterly epic songs, soaring vocalharmonies, and an unashamedpenchant for pop hooks. Gothicundead zombie chic, a devilishlyclever image and an absolutelybrilliant album…. congrats name-less ghouls, you’re number one!HONOURABLE MENTIONSProjected Twin- Earth vs WorldFranz Ferdinand- Right Thoughts,Right Words, Right ActionsEels- Wonderful GloriousKanye West- YeezusSTINKER OF THE YEAR-FALLING IN REVERSE-FASHIONABLY LATEY’know… it sorta pains me toname this as the worst album ofthe year, just thinking about itmakes me laugh out loud!But sadly, the band are not come-dy geniuses. This record is an em-barrassingly egregious example of

what happens if you inexpertlyattempt to combine every genrethat’s popular right now into a sin-gle work. Lame-arse whiteboyrap, second rate metalcore and bitsof power metal and So-calpunk/pop snottiness are uncom-fortably mashed together on thiscomplete abomination. It’s onlyredeeming feature is that it’s funnyas fuck… unintentionally….DISHONOURABLE MEN-TIONS:The Flaming Lips- The TerrorNick Cave & The Bad Seeds-Push The Sky AwayGoldfrapp- Tales of UsWell, that’s it for my musical yearthat was 2013… it was a strangeyear. It was no 1967… but it sureturned up a few terrific albums…and heaps that were merely “prettygood”. As for next year, I’m fas-cinated by the prospect of what itmight have in store…Bring on 2014!Stewart Hall

Well it’sbeen aninterest

ing year for music inthe Hifi Pighousehold. I’vediscovered a load ofbands from the pastthat didn’t registerfirst time round –Kitchens ofDistinction, Worldof Twist, PhantomLimb, Held LampiProject, Big SexyNoise andDrugstore. I’veheard some crackinghouse and techno inthe shape of The

Field, Kaito and Sano.Then there’s beensome great releasesfrom the likes ofHawkwind and KateWilliams, but if I wasto choose just onealbum that reallyknocked the socks offme it would have to beBird Radio’s “TheBoy and theAudience”. It’squirky, it’s out thereand it’s wonderful.Roll on 2014 and let’shope the musical yearis as good as this onehas been.Stuart Smith.


Your HistoryHow did you get into/what was your first job in the in-dustry?

Being a regular concert goer (e.g. seeing Pink Floyd liveseveral times), I was always quite disappointed by HiFiperformances. Still I had a decent system at home in mystudent days, as it was the “thing to have” at that time(mid seventies). But then I was demoed a pair ofKlipschorn-like speakers at a HiFi shop – and was blownaway! This was much closer to the performance of a liveconcert, vibrant, and “in the face” the way I liked it! So Istarted investigating horn technology, even getting mesome rare literature from universities in EasternGermany (GDR), which took a year to arrive here in theWest... I soon started doing my first horn calculations,but still did not know very much about appropriatedrivers, crossovers and other technical issues. That'swhen Matthias, our engineer came into play: we met byhappenstance on the wedding party of a mutual friend,and started talking... about horns! In a way this was

meant to happen! So we joined forces, and after a fewexperiments with laminated horns, I finally decided tomake horn speakers a real serious business model,investing into the moulds for ABS injection moulding andfounding Avantgarde Acoustic.

Who or what was the biggest influence on your career?

That's not easy to say, there have been many memorableevents along the road in the past 22 years. Maybe it wasthe IFA in 1993, where Matthias and I had swollentongues in the evening, because people were soenormously intrigued by our designs that we had toexplain what we do 10 hours a day. That really gave methe final “kick” to believe in the strength of our concepts!

Proudest moment/product you’re most proud of?

Of course the TRIO, being our first product. It was soradical when it was conceived, and now became a kind of“industry standard” for ultimate horn speaker design.

Behind the BrandsHolgerFromme isthe

managing directorof the German hornloudspeaker andelectronicsmanufacturerAvantgardeAcoustics. Here heanswers Hifi Pig’sBehind the BrandsQuestions


Behind the BrandsThat's certainly an achievement I'm really proud of. Butfor a different reason I'm equally proud of our latestbaby, the ZERO 1. Because it is the first product that trulyand fully incorporates all our company stands for today:horn design expertise, unique know-how in electronics,and forward thinking in regard to digital technologies. Ican't help but being extremely proud of this concept,too!

You and your system

What was your very first system?

The amp was a big ROTEL receiver, the turntable was byThorens and the speakers made by Infiniti... nothing toospecial, anyway.

Tell us about your system history

Working hard for my company, I did not have the time to“evolve “my system like a true audiophile would. But Ihave always had a decent system at home since the TRIOwas available, with Matthias recommending or buildingme some nice electronic components from time to time.Only when our BASSHORN came out in 2003, I could

finally make a big step in performance and have owned aTRIO + 6xBASSHORN system ever since.

What component/product do you miss the most/wishyou had never got rid of?

That's probably my old ROTEL receiver! It was so cool tofinally own one, with it's big pro-like handles and theheavy wooden casing. Should I have kept it for its sound?Rather not, I guess, but I should have kept it for being thehifi device I was ultimately proud of owning.

Best system (or single component) you have ever heard(no brands you represent please…!)

I'm much more impressed by music than by sound. Andthere I know where I belong... So I rather won't answerthis question.

Tell us about your current system(s)

I'm using TRIO with 6 BASSHORNS, in tri-ampedconfiguration with our XA electronics. My music sourcestoday are purely digital, with a MacMini feeding a


Behind the Brandsprototype DAC (based on what we use as a DAC in theZERO 1 speakers).

The state of the industry

What's your view on the valve renaissance of the past20 years or so?

I do welcome it because it certainly drove the interest inhigh end audio, differentiating our industry from the “bigplayer” market. But I have a problem with our productsbeing seen as “made for tubes” because of their highefficiency. It's almost like some people ignore theevolution and the achievements of solid state designs.

But what counts is the outcome, the sonicresult, and if I hear great designs like realized inMatthias' XA amp circuitry, I can only say: stayopen, and don't judge too early!

What are you views on the state of theindustry/where is it going/what will it looklike in 5 years/what will typical systems looklike?/What will happen to prices?/What willhappen to the high end – will it carry on re-gardless?

I meanwhile enjoy the convenience of usingdigital streaming, and I can't deny that I'm alsovery happy with this concept's sound. In myview this will carry on, making this technologymore and more attractive and accessible to agrowing audience. This will also help in makingpeople aware of the quality they can possiblyachieve, as there is no more need for largelycompressed formats. So people will start tounderstand that the format is no longer abottleneck on the way to experiencing a life-like sound at home, raising their standardsregarding the playback chain – up until thespeakers. I also think that the ZERO 1, with itsintegral “all-in-one” concept shows us the wayto a possible future of high end audio. If thiswill work for each and every music lover I can'ttell. But I'm pretty sure that it will soon workfor a majority!

What are the industry’s biggest con(s)?

It has no lobby! Thus the public tends to beunaware of high end audio and politics keepssetting up obstacles for our almost artisanmanufacturing, by introducing standards thatfit the “big players” best.

The way you work


Behind the BrandsPresuming the measurements are fine, what do you lis-ten for when assessing products?

Our engineers are not looking for a specific sound, we tryto be true to a signal in the first place! With our super-fast horns it is easy to capture all the detail of the signal,thus preserving the inner detail of the music. And to ourown amazement, the result of further improving detailresolution often acts like an “elevator” for all otheraudiophile criteria like staging focusing, naturalsmoothness, timbre etc. And along the way you'll alsoget the speed and punch that I like so much with certainmusic...

Your sound preference -‘Smooth, listenable musicality’,‘forward, driving, ‘foot-tapping’, involving sound’ or ‘de-tailed neutrality and transparency’?

I'm certainly more the forward driving type of listener.But without neutrality and transparency I would certainlynot be able to thoroughly enjoy a system.

Your preference - Full-range floorstanders or free-standing mini monitors with a sub?

A third category: big monitors (UNO/DUO horns,TRIO horns) with a sub (BASSHORN)!

It’s all about the music, man…

What is your favourite recording?

Currently I'm always impressed when listening to TommySchneider's “Plan B3”. When the Hammond B3 kicks-induring his version of “Ain't no sunshine”, my jaws drop...

Tell us about your 3 most trusted test recordings

For human voice: Nat King Cole's “Love is the thing”. Forguitar rock: Gregor Hilden's “Sweet rain”. For alternative:Master Choa Kok Sui "OM"

What are your most embarrassing recordings/guilty mu-sical pleasures?

No specific ones, I'm in general not a big fan of Jazz. Oh,and I can't stand “Hotel California”, not even in its highlypraised live version.

Having safely ushered your loved ones out of the houseas it is burning down to the ground, you ignore allstandard safety advice and dash back inside to grab justone recording – what is it?

I will run back and grap my 1TB hard disk with all mymusic :-)

Involved in the Industry?If you think Hifi Pig readers would be interested in finding out who’s

behind your brand then get in touch with us by clicking here or calling uson +33 297237078



Hifi Pig Magazine January 2014

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Transcript of Hifi Pig Magazine January 2014