The HiFi Show 2000 – London

Audio Page

This is a selective review of some of the interesting products at the show. Because the main differences in auditioning apply to speakers and amps rather than source material, the review concentrates on those. Review discs were Donald Fagan ‘The Nightfly’: Warner (complex textures), Cedar Walton ‘Roots’: Astor Place (bass, treble – cymbals and hi-hat) and Tony Bennett with Bill Evans: Fantasy (voice, grand piano). Thanks to the exhibitors for playing these demo discs. The interesting exhibitors were on floor three – and so were the power cuts!

Best Sound of the Show

Relco Audio – Italy (subsidiary of Hohner) Relco were exhibiting a very pretty, tall thin ribbon hybrid called the Mantis. The ribbon unit is a continuous ribbon backed by polypropylene about 1 metre high, built into a slim piano-black lacquered MDF frame ending at the bottom in a bass cabinet holding a single 8’’ Focal Kevlar unit. This was driven by their Norma range of solid state electronics, with elaborate power supply filtering. Sound was exceptionally good in the mid and treble, and good enough in the bass. Integration was good, and clarity and detail were outstanding. With Apogee out of business there is a place in the market for a good ribbon speaker, and this is a good one (approximately equivalent to the Centaur in the Apogee range). Quoted export price is around 1,300 GBP and well worth it. www.hohner.it

Loudspeakers

Martin Logan were exhibiting their new speaker – the Ascent. Thinner than the Prodigy, it retains the looks of the latter. Driven by one of those monster amps you only see at HiFi shows (ARC VT-200) it sounded extremely good – natural, airy, balanced. Definitely one of the best sounds at the show, this speaker is surely destined to fill a popular niche in the market size wise, though it is not cheap. British price is 3,800 GBP per pair.

Audiostatic, the German firm, showed their Wing electrostatics – robust pure ‘statics 1.8 metres tall and 30cm wide with striking if slightly ‘industrial/modern’ looks. Sound was good, but some way behind other electrostatics like Martin Logan or Quad. Balance was certainly affected by the small room so it is difficult to judge, but in the same size room the Relco speakers were markedly better (though as hybrids they were less dependent on back reflections). The jury is out on these – they were clean and clear but the frequency response was treble heavy and they were slightly ‘shouty’ – all of which could have been caused by reflections off the very close back wall. In a big room with space around them they may be another beast! More expensive than the Ascent at 4,200 GBP, price was against them. www.geschka-hifi.de

Final (without the ‘Labs’) exhibited their good looking 0.3 electrostatic hybrid. It sounded very pleasant indeed in a larger room – a definite contender for a smaller sized electrostatic, and well priced at 1495 GBP. There are more in the range too. www.final.nl

Carfrae showed their striking Little Big horn speaker. Now this is a speaker with dynamics. The scale of a grand piano was unrivalled in the show. Clean clear sound, excellent detail, but to my ears (which prefer panels) just slightly sharp. Others may be very happy. This does the things it does very well indeed. Driven by a Lowther DX3, they are a classic statement in speaker design. www.carfrae.com

Cabasse was showing a cute new little orb of a speaker which can be used in multiples in home theatre applications, computer setups etc. with a suitable sub. Called the IO satellite system, it offers good clean sound for around 600 GBP (Jupiter sub 1,000 GBP). www.cabasse.com

Pearl Audio Italy were exhibiting an innovative two way box speaker, the Essenzia, where the mid-bass was suspended on flexible lugs within a larger hole which provided the port of the bass reflex design. Sound was excellent – well integrated and smooth, and surprisingly like the sound of Magneplanars. www.Pearlaudio.com

Quad was ill at ease in one of those small third floor rooms. There was no way their new electrostatics were going to sound anything like as good as they did the year before in a large downstairs room, where they were a good bid for sound of the show. The end of an era? www.quad-hifi.co.uk

Ribbon hybrids again on the BKS Audio demo. Wood finish and good sound. Tel Denmark (45) 64-40-15-10

AAD (American Acoustic Development) was a room you could spend time in. With the DVD of Steely Dan’s ‘Two against Nature’ playing through studio size dynamic speakers used by the likes of Bob James, Nathan East, Lee Ritenaur etc (all personal friends of designer Philip Jones of previous AE fame) and the cooler than cool Donald Fagan on screen making the over fifties look hip (and he uses Sonny Rollins on sax…) I had to be torn away. Phil is the absolute definition of a nice, laid back guy with talent oozing out of his fertile mind. Of course – he’s Welsh, is it. Except that like the coolest in the hi-fi business, he lives in China. Of course he does. Don’t you just love it. And he used to be a professional musician, so you can bet he recognizes a good sound. See the range of speakers on www.aadsound.com

Amplifiers

Simetel Nightingale showed some good looking valve amps (would one expect any less of Italians?) with traditional tube compliments (E88CC, E82CC, 6L6, EL84). The Nightingale AFS-20 with its four EL84s per channel sounded like a souped up Leak Stereo 20, and this is a classic sound with the warmth, midrange tone and detail that made many of us into tube lovers. Simetel, Via Pieve Torina 42, 00156 Roma. Tel 06/4110557

Synthesis continued their wacky mini-tube range to include a dinky CD player. Barbie Doll meets 50s Studebaker car radio meets industrial size plastic kitchen toaster stuffed with EL84s. Add a range of pastel colours and you have the Naif range. I’d have called it out to lunch more than naif. Should go with the pink Lambretta. Looks exceeded sound in this case, though the ‘serious’ range of tube and speaker products showed that they could use metal, wood and the usual valve suspects to very good effect. The very pleasant company rep informed me that the firm used to build the classic Vox AC30. No strangers to image classics these guys. www.synthesis-hi-fi.it

J.C.Verdier tube amps sounded very lifelike in the GT-Audio room into the large Ocellia Speakers The scale of a grand piano was dynamic and unusually life-size, though the tweeter on the co-axial speaker units was very directional and treble tailed off rapidly off centre. One for the dynamics fraternity. (44) (0) 1895-833099
CR Developments showed their interesting and good sounding tube range. Though based in Britain they sell mainly to the Far East. Tel. (44) (0) 1702-469055

Cadence were exhibiting striking 200w monoblock 4 x 845 amplifiers made in India. 10,000 GBP per pair. They sounded good into hybrid speakers with electrostatic treble panels. www.audiofreaks.co.uk

Past Audio (somehow sounds less alluring than Jadis, the French translation of past) showed some intriguing looking tube amps with Perspex tops. The C-9 preamp features 6B4Gs, while the M-7B power amp uses 300Bs. Serious Russian technology from this Swedish supplier. www.pastaudio.com

Pathos showed their imposing Twin Towers amps. Beautiful, innovative hybrids. Twin Peaks anyone? And they’re Italian. Tel +39 0444 911213 or www.ukd.co.uk for these and other products like Graaf OTLs

Renaissance showed a 22w monoblock pair of PP300Bs, with E88CC input and 6N7 drivers. Care has been taken in the construction to use the best components (Black Gates, Jenen PIOs, Kiwame resistors etc), the choice of which was finalized by in the time - honoured way by auditioning. Sound was excellent – clean, clear, detailed, though bass was not outstanding. They were playing through South Coast Speakers Excalibur Mk 2s. Amps - 5,995 GBP per pair. www.highendaudio.co.uk Speakers www.southcoastspeakers.co.uk

EAR were exhibiting their innovative and well-known range of valve products, plus some newer solid state units, the proven quality of which hardly needs further emphasis. www.ear-yoshino.com

Final Labs (cute name) defied convention by making (transformerless) power supplies from valves and amplifiers from batteries. With 46 valves in the power supply recurring nightmares of re-tubing time can be confidently predicted. www.finallab.com

Turntables

If Hollywood villains and outlaws come in bad – badder – baddest, then turntables these days come in mad – madder – maddest. Entry into the game requires a bid of a parallel tracking arm, a chunk of acrylic the size of a moped wheel and a suspension that would float an average size porpoise. Continuing the aquatic metaphor, the Atlantis (not far off the size of a lost city) entered stage two of the bidding by taking all of that and chroming it. Well, maybe it was stainless steel but it looked like chrome. The literature states that ‘‘The reading arm has been planned to fully express the enormous capacities of the record player’’ – and who would disagree? Those who have not yet noticed the space taken up by an average record collection will hardly notice the space this leviathon requires. If you have to ask how big it is you ain’t got room for it. Oh yes, I forgot to mention it comes with an air pressure generator (of course it does) that looks like one of those boxes with a handle you push down to blow up the Bridge over the River Kwai. That’s for the air suspension on the arm. Put the whistly theme on the turntable, don your Alec Guinness uniform and you won’t have to go out on Friday nights. Well, I love ‘‘The Producers’’ so good taste is clearly beyond me…. The cryptically titled V.Y.G.E.R. is at www.vyger.com Yes, they’re Italian and very nice guys too. Now, about that Rega Planar……..

Clearaudio were only slightly less monumental with their Master Reference, a slightly understated acrylic version of the above (no air pressure generator…). Would eight and a half grand suit you, Sir? Without the cartridge that is. Ah yes, Sir, the Insider Reference cartridge at six and a half thousand pounds? Ah yes, and then there’s the arm – another three and a half grand OK? These guys are the Mercedes Benz of the turntable business. Life with the Professionals. Three minutes into the dem of Maria Callas sounding divine, the power went dead on the entire third floor of the Novotel. Obviously all those TV sets tuned to the Olympics. How could it be those amps the size of dog kennels, full of hot tubes? Now, if everything was as reliable as a Volkswagen…. www.audioreference.co.uk

Henley Designs showed their range of Ortofon cartridges. Old, still going and still good. www.henleydesigns.co.uk A class act, and a good firm to deal with.

~ Andy Evans ~

September 22, 2000