Music Hall mmf 1.

REVIEWED
Turntable
Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary
Loudspeakers
Richter Thor 10.6
Subwoofer
Dynaudio Special Forty
Loudspeakers
Micromega M-100
Int. Amp/DAC/Streamer
Nagra CDP
CD Player
B&W 800 D3
May/June 2018 $9.99 aushifi.com
Loudspeakers

ON TEST

B &W
800 D3
B&W has slashed the
«ÀˆViœvˆÌÃy>}ň«“œ`it

INTERVIEW

Sound Gallery
celebrates its
2nd anniversary
03

John Ong reveals why…

9 771442 125002
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 DESIGN + PERFORMANCE

EDITOR’S LEAD IN

HEARING DAMAGE
ON THE RISE

I
have been rather intrigued by a motor vehicle advertisement
that’s currently in high rotation on television which shows a car
warning its driver that a pedestrian has stepped out in front of
said vehicle, allowing the driver to apply the brakes and prevent
an accident. I honestly can’t remember what type of car it is at
the moment that I am writing this, and I am so close to dead-
line that I won’t have the opportunity to watch enough television to see
the advert again so I can make a note of the make of the car in time to
include it in this editorial… but the fact that I can’t remember tells you
something about the effectiveness of television advertising, in that not
only can’t I remember the model of the car, but I can’t even remember
the make. (Then again, it might just be telling you something about my
shot-term memory!)
What intrigued me about the ad is that the person who steps out
in front of the car is wearing headphones, the passenger in the car is
wearing headphones… and in fact every single person in the commercial
is wearing headphones except for the driver… and in my experience as
a commuting motorcyclist, most drivers these days are wearing either
headphones or earphones as well. I guess that since wearing headphones
(or earphones) whilst driving is actually illegal, they wouldn’t have been
able to get the commercial to air if the driver had been wearing a pair.)
This advert certainly has a ring of truth about it to me, because the
large majority of people I see on the street in commercial suburbs—on
week-days at least—are wearing headphones. While this is certainly great
news for the audio industry (particularly those companies which man-
ufacture headphones, which seems to be all of them these days) it’s not
so great news for the people wearing those headphones, because many
of them will be listening at volume levels that will result in either short-
term or permanent damage to their hearing.
When I say ‘many’ listeners, I mean around one in every ten. Na-
tional Acoustic Laboratories recently measured the headphone playback
volume levels most often used by more than 3,500 regular headphone
users and found that just over ten percent of them were listening at levels
that have been proved to result in hearing damage. At present, statistics
show that around 15 per cent of Australians will experience some form
of hearing loss in their life. National Acoustics Labs estimates that as a
result of the increase in popularity of using headphones, this figure will
increase to 25 per cent by 2050.
Hearing damage isn’t only about losing high frequencies, or dimin-
ished acuity; it can also mean tinnitus, which causes sufferers to con-
stantly hear ringing or buzzing sounds in their ears for the rest of their
Embodying the spirit of the Jamo brand,
life. And like hearing loss itself, tinnitus is incurable. The take-away here
is to ensure that you do not to listen to your headphones at sound pres- STUDIO 8 series delivers contemporary design,
sure levels that could result in hearing damage, which based on current high performance, and balanced, natural sound.
research into hearing loss, means levels of 85dBSPL or more. But how are In traditional bookshelf and floorstanding speakers
you supposed to be able to establish if you’re listening to your music at and with optional Dolby Atmos ® integration.
sound pressure levels that are too high?
Home theatre and music systems never looked so good.
If you use headphones, a rough and ready method is to load an SPL
app onto your mobile phone, and then hold one of your headphones’ jamo.com.au
ear-cups as close as possible to your phone’s microphone and measure
the volume level using the app. If you use earbuds, I don’t even have
a rough and ready method, so you’ll need to watch this space, because
we’re working on a solution for you. greg borrowman
DANISH SOUND DESIGN
May/June 2018, Vol. 49 No. 3

Editor: Greg Borrowman hifi@nextmedia.com.au

Art Director: Kristian Hagen
Managing Editor: Jez Ford
CONTENTS AUSTRALIAN HI-FI MAGAZINE VOLUME 49 NUMBER 3 – MAY/JUNE 2018

Photography: Oliver Delprado

Contributors: Caroline Cannon, Lesley Swan,
Jutta Dziwnik, Nada Grkinic, Steve Holding,
Madeleine Ella, John Shand, Jez Ford, Karyn Brown,
Val Barbour, Whendi Walkley, Tina White.
Advertising Sales: Lewis Preece 0434 439 032
Advertising Liaison:
Diane Preece dpreece@nextmedia.com.au
Divisional Manager & National Sales Manager:
Jim Preece 0400 808 900
Production Manager: Peter Ryman
Circulation Director: Carole Jones
Australian Hi-Fi Subscriptions
Phone: 1300 361 146 or +61 2 9901 6111
Locked Bag 3355, St Leonards, NSW, 1590
Subscribe online: www.mymagazines.com.au

Level 6, Building A, 207 Pacific Highway,

St Leonards, NSW, 2065. (Locked Bag 5555, St
Leonards, NSW, 1590) Telephone (02) 9901 6100
Fax (02) 9901 6166 www.nextmedia.com.au
Chief Executive Officer: David Gardiner
Commercial Director: Bruce Duncan 24 HARBETH
Australian Hi-Fi Magazine is published by nextmedia Pty Ltd
30.2 ANNIVERSARY
ABN: 84 128 805 970, Level 6, Building A, 207 Pacific Highway, St LOUDSPEAKERS
Leonards, NSW, 2065. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may
be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the prior permission of the Harbeth seems to be stringing
publisher. Printed by Bluestar WEB Sydney, distributed in Australia and
NZ by Gordon & Gotch. Information contained in this magazine, whether
out its 40th Anniversary model
in editorial matter or in feature articles or in advertisements or otherwise, launches, but when they’re as
including in particular, but not limited to, technical information, is published
on the basis that neither the publisher nor distributors assume or accept
ǷɁɁƞŘʊǜǒƬʯ̋ƖʹƙŘȭƞǞȭǔʊǒƬƞ
any responsibility or liability in respect of its correctness. Neither the in that unique veneer, who’s
Proprietor nor the Editor nor any member of the staff of this magazine or
its distribution agents accepts or assumes liability or responsibility for any about to complain?
loss or damage resulting from the incorrectness of such information. The
submission of product or material for editorial inclusion in this publication
signifies acceptance of the abovementioned conditions.
Editorial Contributions. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return EQUIPMENT REVIEWS
or safety of manuscripts, artwork, photographs, goods or any other matter
supplied to this magazine. The design and contents of Australian Hi-Fi are
copyright and must not be reproduced in whole or in part without prior
permission, in writing, from the publisher. 16 MUSIC HALL MMF 1.5 40 MICROMEGA M-100
nextmedia Pty Ltd does not carry insurance cover on goods or other mate- TURNTABLE INT. AMP/DAC/STREAMER
rial supplied to it for editorial review, advertising or any other purpose, and
does not accept liability for such goods. We require therefore that equip- A superb turntable whose performance belies ďǒƬ˿ ƞɁ ǜǒǔȭǷʊ ƞǔǏƬʁƬȭǜǚ˿ ǔȭ hʁŘȭƋƬƙ Řȭƞ ǔnj
ment or material supplied to this company be covered by an extension of
your own insurance policy for the period the item/s may be in transit to us, its price—it’s an exceptional performer and you ever needed any proof, you need look no
in our possession, and in transit back to your warehouse. nextmedia Pty
looks exceptionally good into the bargain. further than Micromega’s M-100, because it’s
Ltd has an excellent record of maintaining equipment security and ensur-
ing safe return of equipment and other material in good condition and will ƋɁȧɡǚƬǜƬǚ˿ƞǔǏƬʁƬȭǜǔȭnjɁʁȧŘȭƞǔȭnjˁȭƋǜǔɁȭƿ
continue to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to avoid accidental 30 RICHTER THOR 10.6
damage or loss or theft of goods or other material, but we advise that the
onus of insurance rests with the equipment’s owner and supplier.
SUBWOOFER 44 NAGRA CDP CD PLAYER
Equipment Reviews are based on laboratory measurements and controlled Big is bad, ports are poxy and vinyl sucks. We review a state-of-the-art CD player, built
listening tests. The choice of equipment to be tested rests with the Editor
of Australian Hi-Fi. Manufacturers and distributors are not permitted to Research into what consumers really want is by hand in Switzerland, that delivers superb
read reviews in advance of publication and no review or portion thereof, what informed the design of Richter’s latest performance, but has more than its fair share
no matter how small, may be reproduced for any purpose or in any form
without written permission from the publisher. All equipment reviews and greatest subwoofer… of Swiss quirks!
should be construed as applying to the specific samples tested—neither
Australian Hi-Fi nor its technical consultants assume responsibility for
product performance, quality or applicability. Neither the editor, the
36 DYNAUDIO SPECIAL FORTY 58 B&W 800 D3 LOUDSPEAKERS
publisher, nor any of its employees or agents accepts responsibility for the LOUDSPEAKERS If you haven’t yet experienced the gloriously
opinions expressed by contributors.
Readers are reminded that commercially available recordings (DVDs, CDs
Their dynamics, their tone and their imaging spine-tingling high-frequency sound of B&W’s
etc) and radio/TV broadcasts and Internet streams are usually subject to are the highest on their long list of strengths, famous diamond tweeter, then there’s no bet-
copyright. Whilst articles and advertisements concerned with recording
and recording techniques may appear in Australian Hi-Fi Magazine, readers
says reviewer Jez Ford. And how thrilling was ter place to start than with the new 800 D3.
should not construe this as authorising or inciting them to make recordings the speed of the bass delivery?
of copyright material. In all cases we recommend that you contact the man- ÀǔƋʁɁȧƬǷŘÀȊɍ̋̋“ȭǜƬǷʁŘǜƬƞÄȧɡǚǔǞƬʁ
ufacturer and/or supplier of the recording to request permission to record
the material.
Privacy Policy. We value the integrity of your personal information. If you
provide personal information through your participation in any competi-
tions, surveys or offers featured in this issue of Australian Hi-Fi, this will
be used to provide the products or services that you have requested and
to improve the content of our magazines. Your details may be provided to
third parties who assist us in this purpose. In the event of organisations
providing prizes or offers to our readers, we may pass your details on to
them. From time to time, we may use the information you provide us to
inform you of other products, services and events our company has to offer.
We may also give your information to other organisations which may use it
to inform you about their products, services and events, unless you tell us
not to do so. You are welcome to access the information that we hold about
you by getting in touch with our Privacy Officer, who can be contacted
at nextmedia Pty Ltd. She’s in Locked Bag 5555, St Leonards, NSW 1590.

4 Australian Hi-Fi ˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ

 Audio Analogue AA-Phono
(see page 10)

52 SOUND GALLERY
ÀƬǚŽɁˁʁȭƬɻʊȭƬ˹ƬʊǜǒǔȊǞʊǜɁʁƬǔʊ
also one of its most upmarket stores,
ŘȭƞɁȭƬ˹ǒƬʁƬ˿ɁˁƋŘȭǞȭƞŽʁŘȭƞʊ
that are not available anywhere else
in Australia. And there’s a very good
reason for that.

58 HIGH-END REVIEW
Almost all high-end loudspeaker
manufacturers depend on specialist
driver manufacturers to build their
drivers for them… which why many
of them sound similar. But when you
build all your own drivers, you can
ƋʁƬŘǜƬŘǜʁˁǚ˿ƞǔǏƬʁƬȭǜʊɁˁȭƞNJ

DEPARTMENTS

Audio News 6
Behind The Scenes 52
Blu-Ray Reviews 70
Dealer Directory 72
FEATURES DVD Reviews 70
Editor’s Lead-In 3
6 AUDIO NEWS
Esoterica 51
New releases including the Perreaux 255i, Open
Jazz Track 68
Audio Designs CP1 & UF1, Audio Research Ref
160M, Denon AVR-X8500H, Audio Analogue AA-
Hi-Fi Marketplace 73
Phono, Audio-Technica AT-LP7, DS Audio ST-50, High End 58
Audioquest Beetle, BlueSound, Clearaudio Tracer, Interview 52
Exposure XM9, Chord Qutest, Devialet Phantom, Obituary 82
Astell&Kern AK70MkII, Musical Fidelity M6S, and Rock On 66
Focal Listen Wireless. Shop Talk 52
MUSIC
SoundSites 50
52 INTERVIEW
Subscriptions 4
John Ong has been an integral part of the Mel- 66 ROCK ON
bourne audio scene for more than twenty years, ‘Who cast John Legend as Christ in this version
ŘƋʁɁʊʊ ǜǒƬ ǞƬǚƞ Ɂnj ʁƬǜŘǔǚǔȭǷƙ ʁƬʊƬŘʁƋǒƙ ƞƬʊǔǷȭƙ of Rice and Webber’s classic musical Jesus Christ
Music Hall mmf 1.5
REVIEWED

Turntable
Harbeth 30 2 Anniversary
Loudspeakers
Richter Thor 10.6

manufacturing, and now retailing (again!)… Superstar?’, asks an incredulous Jez Ford. But he
Subwoofer
Dynaudio Special Forty
Loudspeakers
Micromega M-100
Int. Amp/DAC/Streamer
Nagra CDP

loves the latest Dylan re-release on Mo-Fi vinyl…

CD Player
B&W 800 D3
May June 2018 $9 99 aushifi com
Loudspeakers

82 OBITUARY
68 JAZZ TRACK
ON TEST

John Sunier wrote the Super Fidelity column B &W

for Australian Hi-Fi Magazine for more than 20 This month, John Shand rustles up an eclectic 800 D3
B&W has slashed the
«ÀˆVi œv ˆÌà y>}ň« “œ`it

years, but he also authored several books, cre- half-dozen new releases, one of which was in-
ated a world-famous website and was a famous spired by Donald Trump, whilst another was in-
broadcaster… spired by WA’s Mungo National Park. That’s jazz INTERVIEW

Sound Gallery

for you!
celebrates its
second anniversary OUR
FRONT
03

3 EDITOR’S LEAD-IN
John Ong reveals why…
9 771442 125002

The number of Australians with music-induced
hearing damage is on the rise, with National
Acoustics Laboratories predicting that if things
ƞɁȭɻǜƋǒŘȭǷƬƙǔǜ˹ǔǚǚŘǏƬƋǜɁȭƬǔȭnjɁˁʁÄˁʊǜʁŘǚǔŘȭʊ
by the year 2049.
70 BLU-RAY REVIEWS
If you’ve already heard of Alter Bridge, you’re
ŘǒƬŘƞɁnj•ƬǏÄɡǜƬʁƙŽˁǜǔȭnjɁʁŘǜʁƬŘǜƙŘȭƞǔnj˿ɁˁɻʁƬ
a fan of Barbra Streisand you won’t want to miss
this blast from the past.
COVER
Taking pride of place on this issue’s front
cover is a B&W 800 D3 Loudspeaker.
For a full review and laboratory test of a
pair of 800 D3s, turn to page 58.

Australian Hi-Fi 5

PERREAUX 255i
INTEGRATED
AMPLIFIER
Perreaux has released a new integrated amplifier, the 255i, which it
says is the most powerful Class-AB integrated amplifier it has ever
built, being rated at 250-watts continuous per channel into 8Ω and
500-watts continuous per channel into 4Ω.
The new Perreaux 255i can optionally be fitted with a
32-bit/384kHz DAC and a phono preamplifier which can accommo-
date both moving-magnet (MM) and moving-coil (MC) cartridges.
The 255i has three separate power transformers and four independent
power supplies. According to Martin van Rooyen of Perreaux: ‘The 255i
is designed to handle difficult speaker loads. Its MOSFET output stage is
capable of continuously delivering a genuine 360-watts into an 8Ω load and
530-watts into 4Ω, so it will drive difficult speakers with ease, producing
controlled, quality audio.’
On the rear panel, the 255i has one balanced line-level input (via
XLR) and four unbalanced line-level inputs (via RCA). The front panel
includes a line-level auxiliary input via 3.5mm socket and a head-
phone output via 6.5mm socket. You can also bypass the preamplifier
section of the 255i and connect directly to the power amplifier via an
‘Amp In’ pair of RCA sockets.
The optional DAC/Phono module uses the top-of-the-line ESS
Technology ES9038PRO Sabre DAC and has two coaxial digital inputs,
two optical inputs and a USB input. The coaxial and optical inputs
can handle up to 32-bit/192kHz, while the USB input goes up to
32-bit/384kHz and also handles DSD 64, 128, and 256. This new DAC/
Phono module can also be factory retrofitted to the Perreaux 150i and
250i integrated amplifiers as an upgrade.
All functions on the 255i are controlled by a microprocessor, ac-
cessed via front-panel pushbuttons and rotary encoder. The amplifier’s
operational status is clearly shown via a large LCD display. Volume
and balance is done via microprocessor-controlled resistor banks, so
there are no noisy potentiometers in the signal path.
The microprocessor also monitors the amplifier’s output stage to
protect it against mains power in-rush, over-current, over-temperature,
d.c. offset, internal a.c. supply variations and d.c. at the output. ‘The
protection is non-invasive and does not degrade the signal path’, said van
Rooyen. ‘You really need to audition this amplifier to appreciate its innate
sound quality,’ said Mark Gusew of BMC Wholesale, which distrib-
utes Perreaux in Australia. ‘The amount of top-to-bottom control over the
speaker is remarkable—with inherent speed and dynamics. This is one of the
most musical amplifiers you will ever hear!’ The Perreaux 255i retails for
$7,995, with the optional DAC/Phono upgrade at additional cost, and
is available now.
For further information, please contact BMC Wholesale on
(03) 8683 9910 or visit the website at www.bmcw.com.au
6 Australian Hi-Fi
PERREAUX | OPEN AUDIO DESIGNS
OAD RELEASES
FIRST AMPLIFIERS
OAD (Open Audio Designs) has released its first two amplifiers, the CP1
control preamplifier and UF1 power amplifier. Although Open Audio
Designs is a new company, the man behind it, Melbourne electronics
designer Jon DeSensi, will be well-known to Australian audiophiles,
having previously founded Music Labs Australia. ‘OAD is a performance-
oriented company that strives to advance state-of-the-art music reproduction
at all times,’ said DeSensi. ‘Driven by genuine advances in technology and
performance, the OAD brand uses “ultrafidelity” as both its trademark and
hallmark, as this underpins everything that we do.’
The first two products available from OAD are the CP1 control
preamplifier and UF1 power amplifier. The CP1 has an 11cm colour
TFT LCD full colour display with a touch capability, so that all features
of the CP1 are controlled from the display, effectively eliminating the
need for mechanical potentiometers and switches. ‘Unlike its mechanical
counterpart, an electronic touch display also has the advantage of allowing
the shortest possible signal path from inputs to outputs, thus ensuring the
integrity of the audio signal,’ DeSensi told Australian Hi-Fi Magazine. For
those who’d prefer to control the CP1 from the comfort of their couch,
it comes with a remote control that duplicates all the functions of the
touch display, including input switching, volume control, mute and
standby modes.
The OAD SP1 has eight discrete power supplies, four for each chan-
nel, and input selection is via high-quality gold-plated Swiss-made
relays. Once you’ve selected the input you want, all the other inputs are
isolated. Volume and balance control is all achieved via a resistor ladder
that uses laser cut precision, low-noise and zero-induction resistors.
OAD rates the power output of the UF1 power amplifier at 200-watts
per channel, both channels driven into 8 ohms. The output stage is
comprised of Thermaltrak bipolar transistors that enable it to have an
ultra-wide bandwidth coupled with a high-current capability. ‘Thanks
to the UF1’s unique technology, including the latest in cutting-edge bipolar
transistors, the UF1 offers superb sound characteristics as well as incredible
power and low level detail,’ said Rom Beyerle of Sonic Purity, which
was the first retailer in Australia to demonstrate the new amplifiers. ‘An
amplifier must be able to cope gracefully with impedance dips to 4 ohms and
lower. The transistors used in the UF1 are in a different class from conven-
tional transistors in that the current gain is completely maintained over the
full power bandwidth.’
Available now, the Open Audio Designs Ultrafidelity CP1 Control
Amp sells for $6,500 (RRP), while the Open Audio Designs UF1 Power
Amplifier sells for $6,300 (RRP).
For more information, contact Sonic Purity on (04) 0950 4805 or
at SonicPurity.com.au. You can also contact Pure Music Group
at www.puremusicgroup.com or Open Audio Designs at
www.openaudiodesigns.com
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
 THE HI–FI HEADLINES
NEWSLETTER No.237

1 2 3

➜
➜

4 5 6

There is a lot happening
at Len Wallis Audio
at the moment, with
both new product
releases and with the
continuing flurry of
price adjustments...
1 STAX, who we believe manufacture
the finest headphones on the market,
turns 80 this year. To celebrate they have
released a very limited anniversary model
based on the existing SRS-3100 system.
They have upgraded the specifications
of the SR-L300 Earspeaker (pictured)
It is still rated at 70 watts RMS/channel,
and sells for $2,650.
The ND8006 is an excellent solution
for today’s market. It incorporates a high
quality CD player, along with streaming
facilities for on-line and stored content.
It has AirPlay, Bluetooth, Internet Radio
and is compatible with Spotify, Amazon,
TIDAL and Deezer among others. It has
HEOS multi-room technology on board
allowing you to add additional wireless
speakers around your home as well. It
can also be used as a quality DAC. At
$1,990 this unit has a lot to offer.
3 We now have the AVID Acutus SP
turntable on display. We have been
singing the praises of AVID turntables
Digital to Analogue componentry,
releasing the world’s first high-end DAC,
the Digilog, in 1987. Their expertise
shows in this uni.
5 The wave of price readjustments
continues – the most dramatic being
from PANASONIC. Their TH77EZ1000
77” OLED TV is without doubt one of
the finest TV screens ever produced –
but at $34,000 sales were very limited.
Panasonic have just repositioned this
at $19,995. If you are considering a
very high performance large screen TV,
drop in and have a look – you will not
be disappointed.
6 BLUESOUND has been steadily

to approximate the performance of the
SR-L700. The changes to the SRM-252S
driver are mostly cosmetic.
There are only 13 of these systems
available for Australia, so if you have
an interest it would be wise to act now.
The system sells for $2,698.
2 MARANTZ have released a new
amplifier (PM8006) and a matching CD/
Streamer (ND8006). The amplifier is an
update of the very successful PM8005.
for a long time now, but this is the
first time that we have shown their
flagship model. This is fitted with an
SME 309 tonearm, and sells for a little
over $23,000.
4 The other exciting new product is the
MUSICAL FIDELITY M6s DAC. This
is a 32bit/768kHz Digital to Analogue
Converter that sells for $2,699. Superb
performance and great value. Musical
Fidelity were one of the pioneers of
gaining a reputation as one of the best
wireless multi-room streaming systems
on the market – they have also recently
repositioned (reduced) their prices to
bring them closer to parity with overseas
markets (joining the likes of Krell,
Musical Fidelity and Stax). With the
availability of higher resolution streaming
now available from companies like
TIDAL the demand for higher
performance systems is growing,
and this is where Bluesound steps up.

64 Burns Bay Road, Lane Cove, NSW 2066

(02) 9427 6755
sales@lenwallisaudio.com.au www.lenwallisaudio.com.au
 AUDIO RESEARCH | DENON

AUDIO RESEARCH ‘The result is a new benchmark in musicality in every criterion of sound
quality,’ Sawyer told Australian Hi-Fi Magazine.

REFERENCE 160M The Ref 160M is rated at 140-watts continuous, with less than
1.0% THD at rated output and less than 0.04% THD at 1 watt. The
Audio Research has released its Reference 160M Vacuum Tube Monau- frequency response is 0.5Hz to 110kHz –3dB and the power bandwidth
ral power amplifier. It uses a new audio topology for Audio Research, is 5Hz to 70kHz –3dB. Available in silver and black finishes, the Audio
with fewer and better components in the signal-path than in previous Research Reference M 160 monobloc power amplifiers will retail for
designs, switchable ultralinear/triode operation, proprietary auto-bias, $49,990 per pair.
and output tube monitoring and protection. ‘The array of features fitted
to the new Ref 160M has never been offered before in any Audio Research For more information, contact Synergy Audio Visual on
amplifier,’ said Philip Sawyer, of Synergy Audio Visual, which (03) 9459 7474 or at www.synergyaudio.com
distributes Audio Research in Australia. ‘The designers at Audio Research
have created a new style that features a transparent faceplate that allows
you to see the KT150 vacuum tubes while integrated into
that faceplate is an innovative power meter whose output-
level markings are illuminated by hidden LEDs.’
The four KT150 power tubes are automatically and
continuously biased using Audio Research’s
proprietary auto-bias circuit, which is flexible
enough to allow you to substitute KT88 or
KT120 valves. The driver tubes are 6H30s. The
power supply uses solid-state power regulation.
‘The best circuit path is a short path,’ says Sawyer,
‘so Audio Research engineers created a new audio
circuit topology with the shortest signal path and
the fewest components, all of which are incorporat-
ed on a special four-layer circuit board that lowers
the noise floor to unprecedented levels.’

DENON AVR-X8500H (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) and HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma)
compatibility are also supported. eARC will be enabled via firmware

13.2-CH AV RECEIVER
update in 2018.
The AVR-X8500H also comes with the full Audyssey Platinum
suite of DSP algorithms including MultEQ XT32 automatic room
Denon has released its AVC-X8500H 13.2 channel, 150-watt per chan- acoustic correction, which can analyse each speaker’s output at up
nel AV Receiver with support for Amazon Alexa, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, to eight measurement locations and generate precision digital filters
and Auro 3D in Australia. to optimise each channel for the correct frequency and time domain
The AVR-X8500H uses thirteen custom-made discrete monolithic response. Also included is the MultEQ Editor App that allows users
amplifiers each rated at 150 watts into 8Ω, enabling it to deliver Dolby to view and customise the sound to address specific problems in the
Atmos or DTS:X without any external amplification. The AVR-X8500H room, and tailor the sound to personal preferences.
also supports Auro 3D surround sound decoding via firmware update, The AVR-X8500H receiver is not being mass-produced,
up to Auro 13.1 channel, three-layered speaker layout including top but is instead being hand-built in Japan in small batch-
and height centre channels. It offers full wireless connectivity via es and is available in Australia now for $5,999 (RRP).
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and streaming capabilities with Apple AirPlay and
wireless multi-room audio technology. For further information, please contact Qualii on 1800 242 426
The AVR-X8500H is fully compatible with the latest HDMI con- or visit the website at www.qualii.com.au
nectivity and HDCP 2.2 specifications on all eight HDMI inputs and
triple HDMI outputs. The receiver
also supports 4K Ultra HD 60Hz
video, 4:4:4 Pure Colour sub-
sampling, High Dynamic Range
(HDR), 21:9 video, 3D and BT.2020
pass-through support. As such,
the AVR-X8500H is prepared for
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc play-
ers, set-top boxes and other 4K
Ultra HD sources. Additionally, it
can support legacy
systems by upscaling
standard and high
definition analog and
digital video content
to 4K Ultra HD.
Dolby Vision, eARC

8 Australian Hi-Fi ˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ

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 AUDIO ANALOGUE | AUDIO-TECHNICA

AUDIO ANALOGUE
AAPHONO
PHONO STAGE
Italian high-end hi-fi manufacturer Audio Analogue has released
the second product in its ‘PureAA’ line, the AAphono… which is,
obviously, a phono stage!
‘Audio Analogue’s PureAA line draws key ideas from its Anniversary
amps, released to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary, but aims to
apply them in a slightly different way,’ said Boris Granovsky, of |
Absolute HiEnd, which distributes Audio Analogue in Australia.
‘Whereas the Anniversary amplifiers are totally minimalist, models in
the PureAA line have loads of features for music lovers who need a wider
range of functions and connections in a single product.’
The Audio Analogue AAphono accommodates both moving-
magnet and moving-coil cartridges, offering a selection of different
gain and loading options for MC cartridges as well as a range of
input capacitance and resistance options for MM cartridges. ‘Selecting
options is as simple as pressing a button,’ said Granovsky. ‘And any
adjustments you make are saved and will be remembered if the unit is
switched off or even if it’s disconnected.’
The AAphono’s circuitry includes three toroidal transformers: one 89dB (MM) and 72dB (MC). It measures 87×220×372mm (HWD),
for each channel plus one for the control circuitry. The amplifica- weighs 5.8kg and sells for $2,800 (RRP).
tion is split between two separate gain stages with an infrasonic filter
placed between. Audio Analogue specs the frequency response of the For more information, contact Absolute Hi End on (04) 8877 7999
AAPhono at 10Hz–20kHz ±0.25dB, and the signal-to-noise ratios as or at www.absolutehiend.com

AUDIO-TECHNICA AT-LP7 TURNTABLE

Audio-Technica says its new belt-drive AT-LP7 turntable is the best
turntable it’s ever made, and it’s now available in Australia, fitted with
an Audio-Technical VM520EB phono cartridge, for $1,399 (RRP).
The Audio Technica AT-LP7 is belt-driven, fully manual and comes
with a J-shaped tonearm fitted with a removable AT-HS10 headshell
that is in turn fitted with an Audio-Technica )VM520EB moving-
magnet phono cartridge. The VM520EB has a 0.3×0.7 bonded elliptical
stylus and Audio-Technica’s ‘dual magnet’ geometry, where the two
magnets are positioned to mirror the angles of the groove walls.
‘The AT-LP7 is the finest turntable the company has ever offered,’
said Bob Peet, of Audio-Technica. ‘And thanks to our exclusive Dual
Magnet design, where the magnets are precisely positioned to match the
left and right channels of the record’s stereo groove walls, the VM520EB
provides exceptional channel separation, stereo imaging, frequency response
and tracking.’
The AT-LP7 has a 20mm thick anti-resonance platter made of
polyoxymethylene. The J-shaped tonearm has gimbal bearings and is
adjustable for tonearm height. But the AT-LP7 is not just a turntable.
It incorporates a phono preamplifier that can be switched in or out of
circuit, so you can use your own phono preamplifier if you prefer. If
you use the AT-LP7’s internal phono preamplifier, it can be switched
for either moving-magnet or moving-coil operation.
For more information, contact Audio-Technica’s Australian
distributor, Technical Audio Group (TAG) on (02) 9519 0900
or at www.tag.com.au

10 Australian Hi-Fi ˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ

 DS AUDIO | AUDIOQUEST

DS AUDIO ST-50
STYLUS CLEANER
Japanese optical cartridge pioneer DS Audio has just launched its first
audio accessory, the ST-50 stylus cleaner. The ST-50 isn’t your typical
stylus cleaner. It comprises a cleaning pad made of the same urethane
resin used to filter the air in high-tech clean rooms. To use it, you sim-
ply tape your turntable’s platter in place so it can’t rotate, then place
the ST-50 onto the turntable platter and lower the tonearm (preferably
using a tonearm lifter) so the phono stylus sinks into the gel pad. Do
this three times and DS Audio claims your stylus will be completely
free of dirt and dust. ‘In the same way that the urethane resin prevents
dust from contaminating a clean room by absorbing micro-level dust
particles, the ST-50 effortlessly removes particles of dust and dirt from the
stylus tip,’ said Boris Granovsky of Absolute Hi End, which distrib-
utes DS Audio in Australia. ‘Compared to using brushes and solvents, it is
extremely gentle and safe, because no force is being applied to the stylus tip
and there is no risk to cartridges that use cement-bonded styli, whose bond-
ing can sometimes be dissolved by certain solvent-based cleaning liquids.’ casing and rinse it in tap water, then allow it to dry at room temperature for
The ST-50 stylus cleaner presents with a sleek aluminium casing around 30 minutes.’ Available now, the DS Audio ST-50 stylus cleaner
with a nickel-plated finish, with an underside padded with leather so sells for $115 (RRP).
as to present a soft surface for the turntable’s platter. ‘Best of all, the
ST-50’s urethane gel pad is washable and re-usable,’ said Granovsky. ‘So For more information, contact Absolute Hi End on (04) 8877 7999
to maintain optimal cleaning power, you simply remove the pad from the or at www.absolutehiend.com

AUDIOQUEST BEETLE BLUETOOTH DAC

Audioquest’s new Beetle is a small portable Bluetooth DAC that also Available now, the Audioquest Beetle retails for $349.
has an optical digital input and a USB input. ‘Audioquest designed the
Beetle as a multi-purpose DAC for today’s many different lifestyles,’ said For further information, please contact Amber Technology on
Richard Neale of Amber Technology, which distributes Audioquest 1800 251 367 or visit the website at www.ambertech.com.au
in Australia. ‘The obvious application is to use the Beetle’s USB input to
enjoy clean, clear, naturally beautiful sound from any laptop or computer,
but thanks to the Beetle’s asynchronous Bluetooth technology, you can
wirelessly stream music from your mobile device, while surfing the web,
checking Facebook updates, or sending email.’
The Beetle’s optical and USB inputs can handle bit-rates up to
24-bit/96kHz. It uses Bluetooth 4.0 A2DP 2.6 which can be upgraded
via software provided by Audioquest. If you’re making use of the Bee-
tle’s USB or Bluetooth functionality, you can control the voltage of
the analogue output via a 64-bit/bit perfect digital volume controller.
Neale said the Audioquest Beetle was also ideal for upgrading the
sound quality of TVs with optical audio outputs. ‘Often the only audio
output provided on modern HDTVs is an optical one,’ he said, ‘but you
could also use the Beetle to provide a major sonic upgrade for media play-
ers and gaming consoles.’

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 BLUESOUND| CLEARAUDIO

BLUESOUND multi-room, high-res audio system, and to

introduce our award-winning Pulse Soundbar and
every room of your home, with as close to life-like
performance as possible… it’s the ultimate choice

PRICES DROP unique Vault to even more audio enthusiasts by

Convoy International, which distributes
Bluesound in Australia, has announced
price reductions across the entire Bluesound
range, including the award-winning Pulse
soundbar and Vault 2. Geoff Matthews,
CEO of Convoy said, ‘Today consumers have
the ever-competitive market global retail market
available to them, and accordingly we have
seized the opportunity to ensure our award-
winning Bluesound products remain the preferred
implementing some cost efficiencies that have
resulted in reduced prices.’ Bluesound builds
a range of smart music system components
that includes audiophile-grade wireless
speakers, digital music players that allow you
to stream all your music wirelessly to every
room in your home including those recorded
in high-resolution. It includes high-capacity
rippers and storage devices. ‘Bluesound is the
future of home audio,’ said Matthews. ‘Discover
Bluesound and listen to your favourite tracks, in
in hi-res multi-room music streaming.’
New Bluesound pricing is:
Bluesound Node 2: $899
Bluesound Powernode 2: $1,399
Bluesound Vault 2: $1,999
Bluesound Pulse Soundbar (black): $1,499
Bluesound Pulse Soundbar (white): $1,599
Bluesound Pulse Flex: $599
For more information, contact Convoy
International on (02) 9774 9900 or visit the
website at www.convoy.com.au

CLEARAUDIO ‘But beneath the seeming simplicity of its sleek design lies a wealth of
workmanship and a raft of smart details.’ Sitting only three steps down

TRACER TONEARM from Clearaudio’s flagship Universal arm in the company’s range of
tonearms, the Clearaudio Tracer sells for $3,495 (RRP).
German manufacturer Clearaudio has released a new tonearm, the
Clearaudio Tracer, taking its tonearm line-up to ten, if you count For further information, please contact Advance Audio
both its standard radial tonearms, of which the Tracer is one, and its on (02) 9561 0799 or visit the website at
tangential tonearms. www.advanceaudio.com.au
‘When creating the Tracer tonearm, Clearaudio’s design team drew on a
number of engineering tricks typically associated with high-end watchmak-
ing,’ said Nigel Ng of Advance Audio. ‘Its design features a high-pre-
cision, low-friction tungsten/sapphire bearing and a carbon tonearm tube,
which means the design is both extremely rigid and very lightweight, giving
a just-right combination of stability and agility.’
Anti-skating force is adjustable using a simple dial, rather than
some more complex method, and the azimuth of the aluminium
headshell is also easily adjusted. The underslung counterweight
reduces the overall centre-of-gravity of the arm, yet tracking force is
still a straightforward adjustment. The Tracer tonearm is available with
a black carbon arm-tube or a silver carbon arm-tube. Aluminium parts
are anodized to match the colour of the arm-tube. ‘The Clearaudio Trac-
er is an elegantly minimalist design that places particular emphasis on the
stable positioning of the phono cartridge above the record surface,’ said Ng.

12 Australian Hi-Fi ˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ

EXPOSURE | MUSICAL FIDELITY | FOCAL
EXPOSURE XM9
MONOBLOC
Exposure has added a monobloc power amplifier, the XM9, to its com-
pact XM series. Rated with an output of 80-watts into 8Ω, the Expo-
sure XM9—despite its small size—does not use a switch-mode power
supply, but instead features a linear power supply with a large 200VA
custom-made toroidal power transformer… and not surprisingly,
because Exposure’s chief designer, Tony Brady, is no fan of switch-
mode power supplies. ‘While most smaller hi-fi components—and indeed
a good many larger ones—fall back on switch-mode power supplies… they’re
far from audiophile grade and pollute the mains supply with noise,’ he said.
‘I’ve also used only high quality resistors and capacitors in the XM9’s signal
path and, in the output stage, Toshiba bipolar output transistors that have
been carefully chosen for their superior dynamic performance.’
According to Bill Plantzos, National Sales & Marketing Manager
for RVM Australia, which distributes Exposure in Australia, the arrival
of the XM9 is further proof that high-performance hi-fi does not
need an ‘XXL’ space and budget. ‘Real world hi-fi at “real world” prices
is something Exposure has always been particularly strong on and the XM
series is no exception, offering smart solutions for music lovers who want
superior hi-fi performance,’ he said. ‘The XM Series is the first of Exposure’s
ranges to cleverly pack a full quota of high-quality features into a narrow,
half-width design and this new XM9 is a perfect partner for the recently-
released XM7 preamplifier.’
Available now in black or titanium finish, the Exposure XM9
monoblocs sell for $3,695 per pair.
For further information, please contact RVM Australia on
(08) 9417 9944 or visit the website at www.rvm.com.au
MUSICAL FIDELITY
M6S DAC/HEADPHONE
AMPLIFIER
Musical Fidelity has released its M6S DAC/Headphone amplifier, which
uses a high-quality 32-bit/768kHz capable ESS Sabre Pro ES9028PRO
Hyperstream II engine. According to Musical Fidelity, this enables the
M6S to have only 0.0004% total harmonic distortion and a signal-
to-noise ratio of more than 119dB. Stereo separation is claimed to be
better than 120dB across the audio band.
The Musical Fidelity M6S has seven inputs (Coaxial×3, Optical×3
and USB) and can accept all data rates up to 32-bit 768kHz and DSD
64/128. All inputs are upsampled to 32/768. The output stage has both
fixed and variable single-ended and balanced outputs.
Tim Sleath, of Audio Marketing, which distributes Musical Fidel-
ity in Australia, told Australian Hi-Fi Magazine that the M6SDAC’s
sound quality gave the instant impression of effortless grace and trans-
parency. ‘There is a sensation of communication from the artists that is
hypnotic and compelling,’ he said. ‘It is so musically integrated: the whole
sound is sweet and clear; the treble is completely grain free and extended.
The bottom end sounds endless with tactile bass dynamics and the sound-
staging is excellent: you get a very palpable sense of the recording venue, so
that it places performers in a real-time holographic space.’ Available now
in black or silver finishes, the Musical Fidelity M6S DAC/Headphone
amplifier sells for $2,699 (RRP).
For more information, contact Audio Marketing
on (02) 9882 3877 or at www.audiomarketing.com.au
FOCAL IN COLOUR
French manufacturer Focal has announced that its popular
‘Listen Wireless’ headphones are now available in three
coloured finishes—Blue, Olive and Purple—in addition to
Black (released in 2017). The new coloured versions are called
‘Listen Wireless Chic’ models and retail for $419 (RRP). They’re
a closed-back design using Bluetooth 4.1 aptX wireless that
have 40mm-diameter drivers with Titanium/Mylar diaphragms.
For more information, contact BusiSot AV on 1300 888 602
or at www.busisot.com.au
Australian Hi-Fi 13
 CHORD ELECTRONICS | DEVIALET | ASTELL & KERN

CHORD’S QUTEST DAC

Chord Electronics’ Qutest DAC, which it claims ‘sets a new technical The square-edge chassis design is reportedly the work of owner and
benchmark for a small, home system digital-to-analogue converter’ is now Chief Designer John Franks. The two ‘control spheres’ are not only
available in Australia. The Qutest is based on the latest proprietary used for filter and input selection—they also illuminate with different
FPGA technology developed by Rob Watts for Chord Electron- colours to denote sampling frequency and filter used. Available now,
ics’ Hugo 2 DAC/headphone amp, and includes user-selectable the Chord Qutest sells for $2,400 (RRP).
frequency-shaping filters and input selection controls, available via
two fascia-mounted spheres. Unlike the Hugo 2, however, the Qut- For further information, please contact Radiance AudioVisual
est lacks a headphone amplifier, rechargeable Li-on batteries and on (02) 9659 1117 or visit the website at
crossfeed circuitry… three reasons it retails for considerably less than www.radianceav.com.au
the Hugo 2 despite the shared circuitry. ‘The new Qutest is the latest
evolution of Chord Electronics’ most affordable standalone DAC, the multi-
award-winning 2Qute, which it directly replaces,’ says Chris Strom,
of Radiance AudioVisual, which distributes Chord Electronics in
Australia. The Qutest has galvanically isolated USB-B, optical and dual
coaxial digital inputs, plus high-resolution 768kHz-capable dual-data
digital inputs for connection to Chord Electronics’ devices includ-
ing the 705/768kHz-ready M-Scaler-technology BLU MKII digital/
CD transport. Qutest offers support for up to 32-bit/768kHz PCM and
DSD512 via its galvanically isolated USB-B input, 24-bit/384kHz PCM
and DSD128 via coaxial (BNC) and 24-bit/192kHz data on Optical
TOSLink. DSD 64 to DSD 256 is supported via DoP and ASIO native
DSD format is also supported up to 512.

DEVIALET WHITE PHANTOM

French manufacturer Devialet has increased the peak power of its
White Phantom powered speaker at the same time as local distributor
Interdyn has reduced the price.
Devialet says it has increased the peak power of the entry-point
White Phantom by 60 per cent by upgrading its firmware, which
means any existing owners will also be able to increase the peak power
of their units, using the Devialet Spark app. (The continuous power
output, of course, remains the same.) At the same time, Devialet’s Aus-
tralian distributor, Interdyn, has reduced the price of the White Phan-
tom to $2,690 (it was previously $2,990). ‘Devialet has turned the world
of audio on its head once again,’ said Sam Encel, Director at Interdyn.
‘The Phantom now sounds more impressive than ever, and the brand has
further cemented itself as one of the leading innovators in audio tech.’

For more information, contact Interdyn on (03) 9426 3600

or visit www.interdyn.com.au

ASTELL&KERN AK70 MKII

The new AK70MkII is the first dual-DAC
high-resolution player from Astell&Kern for
less than $1,000… and it’s not the $999 you
might expect, but $899. The AK70MkII is the
successor to Astell&Kern’s best-selling player,
the AK70, which won a Sound&Image Award
last year. This MkII version features two
major upgrades: two Cirrus Logic CS4398
DACs, one each for the left and right chan-
nels, and also has almost twice the power
output. Astell&Kern says the 4.0VRMS-rated
balanced output can drive any headphones
on the market today.
In addition to 3.5mm unbalanced and
2.5mm, 4-pole balanced headphone outputs,
the AK70 MkII features digital out via USB,
supporting native DSD output via USB
through DoP (DSD over PCM) and convert-
ing DSD to PCM for output to external USB
Audio devices that do not support DoP. The
Astell&Kern AK70 MkII has 64GB of internal
flash storage, and its microSD card slot can
be used to deliver up to 256GB of additional
storage. It’s Wi-Fi enabled, supports OTA
firmware updates and streaming music from
other devices on the same network, plus it
supports the AK ‘Connect’ app, available for
iOS and Android devices.
It also has a USB DAC function so it can be
connected to a Mac/PC to bypass its internal
sound card and output hi-res audio.
For more information, contact BusiSot on
1300 888 602 or at www.busisot.com.au

14 Australian Hi-Fi ˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ

www.caryaudio.com.au 02 9774 9900
ON TEST
MUSIC HALL
mmf 1.5
TURNTABLE
R
oy Hall, the founder of
Music Hall, is the person
responsible for the very
modern trend for quality
turntables to be supplied
all set up and ready to go.
Before Music Hall started
to build its ‘plug ‘n play’ machines, the
manufacturers of audiophile-grade turnta-
bles worked on the principle that one of the
indicators of the quality of a turntable was
how much work the buyer had to do before
being able to play an LP.
At the extreme high end of the turntable
market, this meant not only assembling the
turntable by putting oil into the bearing,
fitting the platter, locating the motor and
wrapping the belt around both the drive
pulley and the platter, but also fitting
the tonearm, then attaching the phono
cartridge to that tonearm and aligning it.
Ensuring correct alignment involved pur-
chasing test records and alignment tools.
For machines using springs for isolation,
even more tuning was required. Some
manufacturers say their machines are so
complicated they’ll only work correctly if
installed and tuned by a factory-trained
technician.
Even at the opposite end of the market,
most turntable buyers were required to fit
the platter and dustcover and install and
align the phono cartridge and Hall realised
that even this level was a hurdle for many
buyers and as a result they were buying
cheap, poor-sounding turntables simply
because they were ‘ready-to-go’ out of the
box. According to Hall, the result of this
was that the best-selling turntable in the
16 Australian Hi-Fi
United States was the Crosby Executive
Black turntable, which sold for $109 with
tonearm and cartridge and was, in Hall’s
personal and considered opinion, ‘a heap of
rubbish!’ Hall designed his Music Hall USB-1
turntable as a direct competitor to it.
Music Hall’s new mmf 1.5 turntable isn’t
exactly a ‘turn-key’ model, because you do
have to do some assembly and alignment
yourself, but it’s pretty straight-forward, as
you’ll soon learn…
THE EQUIPMENT
The Music Hall mmf 1.5 is a three-speed
(33.33, 45 and 78rpm), belt-driven turnta-
ble—with dustcover—that comes complete
with a tonearm into which has been pre-in-
stalled a ‘Melody’ moving-magnet phono
cartridge, and also has a built-in phono pre-
amplifier, so the mmf1.5 can be connected
directly to the line input of any amplifier…
quite handy given that not a few amplifier
manufacturers are not including phono
inputs on their products these days.
If you don’t think there’s anything at all
remarkable about the previous paragraph,
it’s because you haven’t peeked at the
recommended retail price of the Musical
Hall mmf 1.5. No need to peek. I’ll tell you.
You’ll get change from six hundred bucks.
Why do I think that’s remarkable?
Because I have reviewed a great many
turntables whose dustcover is an optional
extra that will set you back around $100.
And most turntables don’t have a phono
preamplifier built in, so if you need one,
you’ll be up for anything from $150 for a
basic no-frills Rek-O-Kut model, to maybe
$350 for a Musical Fidelity V90-LPS.
Then there’s the cartridge that comes sup-
plied with the mmf 1.5. The Melody is made
especially for Music Hall by Audio-Technica,
so I have no idea what it costs Music Hall,
but Audio-Technica’s most popular low-cost
cartridge is its AT-95, which usually retails for
around $80. So if you had to buy a dustcover,
a preamp and a cartridge, you’d be up for
$330, which is already more than half what
Music Hall is asking for its mmf 1.5 which
comes standard with all three.
But there’s something else that’s remarka-
ble about the Music Hall mmf 1.5 turntable.
Whereas most companies that manufac-
ture budget turntables seem to feel that it’s
necessary to make those turntables look like
budget turntables by compromising their ‘fit
‘n finish’, Musical Hall has instead seemed
to have gone overboard making the mmf 1.5
look as flash as possible, from its high-glossy
cherry-wood veneered finish and nicely en-
gineered S-shaped tonearm (which has a re-
movable headshell, about which more later)
to its high-quality hinged Perspex dustcover.
Musical Hall has
instead seemed
to have gone
overboard making
its mmf 1.5 look as
ǡŘʊǒŘʊɡɁʊʊǔŽǚƬ
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
 M u s i c H a l l m m f 1 . 5 Tu r n t a b l e

It even has a high-quality heavy-duty rubber

platter mat in place of the flimsy felt ones
that are usually supplied at this end of the
market. The result of all this is that the
Music Hall mmf 1.5 looks like it’s a high-end
turntable.
To get the review turntable into action, I
had to place the aluminium platter over the
spindle and then wrap the drive belt around
the motor shaft. This is made easy for you be-
cause the belt is pre-fitted to the platter, and
there’s a little section of red cloth under the
belt, so if you pull the cloth to the other side
of the motor shaft you’re able to complete are already fitted to the turntable plinth, and you’ll have to make sure the stylus-to-mount-
the installation quickly and easily without lastly connect power to the mmf 1.5, that ing-hole distance is 11mm or more, otherwise
ever having to touch the belt itself. The thick power being supplied in this case by a wall- you will not be able to correctly adjust that
rubber platter mat can then be placed over mount plug pack (sometimes rather unkindly cartridge in this particular headshell.
the platter. called a ‘wall wart’). This device (which The misalignment made me realise that
I was a bit confused about cartridge also must also be assembled, by the way, by Music Hall does not provide any type of
installation, because my review unit came selecting and fitting the correct 240V pin ar- cartridge alignment tool in the packaging.
with the cartridge pre-installed into the rangement for your country, delivers 12-volts This would normally mean you would need
headshell—which is supplied separately in d.c. to the mmf 1.5 to power both the drive your dealer to loan you their own protractor,
the packaging—so all I had to do was ‘push n motor and the internal phono stage. or have them align the cartridge correctly
twist’ the headshell into the tonearm. How- The Music Hall mmf 1.5 turntable feels for you, but in this case, because the correct
ever the manual has full instructions that very solid, and sits on four very solid vibra- alignment is with the cartridge bolts at the
detail how to install the cartridge into the tion-absorbing feet. The only problem you extreme end of the track in the track, you’ll
headshell prior to fitting it to the tonearm. I might have is that although these feet cer- easily be able to align the cartridge correctly
subsequently learned that all cartridges will tainly absorb unwanted vibration, they’re not without need for a protractor. Very fortuitous.
be pre-installed, so the instructions in the height-adjustable, so the surface on which I then checked tracking force using an
manual about it are superfluous. you place the mmf 1.5 needs to be perfectly external digital tracking force gauge and
So far as the tonearm is concerned, it flat and level, otherwise the turntable could found that if you use the ‘short-cut’ method
doesn’t come completely pre-assembled or rock… which you most certainly don’t want described in Paragraph 6 (Page 3) of the
aligned either. I had to fit the counterweight, it to do. Instruction Manual, the tracking force will
and then adjust the tracking force to 2 grams, be incorrect (too high). If, however, if you
which is the recommended tracking force for IN USE AND LISTENING use the tracking force adjustment instruc-
the Melody cartridge. Then I had to set the SESSIONS tions described in Paragraph 7 (Page 3) of the
anti-skating dial, which is simply a matter Before I started using the Music Hall mmf 1.5 Instruction Manual, the tracking force will be
of turning it to the ‘2’ calibration mark. I I thought I’d better do some basic alignment exactly right!
should also remark at this point that it’s great checks, the first one being for cartridge align- I checked that the anti-skating force
that the tonearm on the Music Hall mmf 1.5 ment, since it’s the most important thing applied was correct using a GN Records Turn-
actually has anti-skating at all. In the rush to get correct on any turntable. It turned table Set-Up & Test LP and established that
to deliver ever-cheaper turntables, many out that although the Melody cartridge had setting the anti-skating gauge to the same
manufacturers are not providing anti-skating certainly been pre-installed, it had not been numerical value as the tracking force (that
devices, which is not only bad for sound pre-aligned. In fact the calibration was several is, at ‘2’ for a tracking force of 2 grams, and
quality, and bad for your stylus, but bad for millimetres in error. at ‘1.5’ for a 1.5 gram tracking force, etc) will
your LPs as well. Using my own cartridge protractor, I found result in the tonearm applying the correct
Music Hall makes much of the shape of that to get correct alignment I had to move amount of anti-skating force to the stylus to
its tonearm (which looks suspiciously like the cartridge mounting bolts to the extreme give proper playback and least record wear.
it came from a Technics SL-1200 turntable) end of the tracks in the headshell. This means My last check was for platter speed using
with its publicity material seeming to say that that if you change to a different cartridge, my own strobe card, and I was a bit flum-
so-called ‘S-shaped’ tonearms are ‘superior’
(presumably to straight or J-shaped tonearms)
in some way. The truth of the matter is that
the shape of any tonearm has zero effect
on the performance of the cartridge it’s
supporting. So long as a tonearm’s effective
length and mass are correct for the cartridge
it’s supporting (and there are no untoward
tonearm resonances), it would not matter if
the tonearm were shaped like a pretzel… it
would still do the job.
To finish my install I had to attach the
dustcover hinges to the dustcover, and then
fit the dustcover hinges into the supports that

Australian Hi-Fi 17
ON TEST
moxed to find that the speed was ‘way out
as well, at both 33.33 and 45 rpm… being
rather too high in both cases. I checked using
my own strobe card, because Music Hall
does not provide a card. I think it should,
but your dealer should be able to give you a
card (or loan you a strobe disc). Alternatively
you could just buy your own (a dual-speed,
dual-frequency KeyStrobe Reference Standard
Turntable Stroboscopic Disc costs around
$40) or just print out your own strobe card by
downloading this one: www.tinyurl.com/
ahf-strobe-card (but you should note that
this strobe is only for setting rotational speed
at 33.33rpm and will only work correctly in
Australia and other countries with a 50Hz
mains frequency).
However it didn’t really matter that the
‘out-of-the-box’ platter speed was incorrect,
because adjusting the platter speed on the
Music Hall mmf 1.5 is very simple. You
simply press and hold the platter speed knob
at the rear of the turntable (it’s just alongside
the d.c. input socket) until the red LED along-
side it illuminates (about two seconds) then
turn the knob clockwise to increase speed or
counter clockwise to decrease it. When the
speed is correct, wait until the red LED turns
off, which indicates that the motor control
unit (MCU) has memorised the setting. You
need to do this separately for all three speeds.
(But if you only intend to play 33.33 and
45 rpm records, you need not bother setting
the 78 rpm speed at all… it won’t make any
difference to the other adjustments.) Any
speed adjustment you make will be retained
in memory even if you turn off the turntable,
or power it down, but I would recommend
making it a habit to check the platter speed
fairly regularly.
A final quick comment on speed adjust-
ment. The fact that you can adjust the speed
on the Music Hall mmf 1.5 is a boon for
anyone who can play (or who is learning to
play) a musical instrument, because it means
you can ‘tune’ the speed of whatever record
you’re playing to be in exact tune with the
instrument you’re playing, so you can ‘play
That you can
adjust the speed
on the Music Hall
mmf 1.5 is a boon
for anyone who
plays a musical
instrument...
18 Australian Hi-Fi
M u s i c H a l l m m f 1 . 5 Tu r n t a b l e
Although the cartridge along’ with an LP
comes pre-installed in for fun, or for in-
the headshell, it does
not come pre-aligned. structional reasons.
The correct alignment If a turntable doesn’t
is with the screws at have adjustable
the extreme end of
speed, this can’t be
the track.
done. Just saying…
Since I was using my own external phono
preamplifier (at least for most of the time), I
set the rear panel Phono/Line selector switch
on the rear of the Music Hall mmf1.5 to the
‘Phono’ position, which bypasses the mmf
1.5’s own phono preamplifier. If you don’t
have your own phono preamp and your
amplifier does not have a dedicated phono
input, you’d instead set this switch to ‘Line’
and connect the mmf 1.5’s interconnecting
cables to the ‘Aux’ input of your amplifier
or AV receiver. (Don’t forget to also connect
the ground wire or you’ll end up with mains
frequency hum.)
I started off my listening sessions listening
to the Music Hall Melody cartridge, which is
fitted with a conical stylus. I initially won-
dered why Hall had specified a conical stylus,
rather than an elliptical one, until I twigged
that conical styluses are tougher than the
more commonly-encountered elliptical sty-
luses and they’ll generally sound better than
elliptical styluses when replaying LPs that are
worn and/or scratched. Also, a conical stylus
is really the only stylus shape that should be
used when playing 78 rpm records, which
are much rougher on styluses than ordinary
LPs… and the mmf 1.5, as we discovered in
the opening paragraph of this review, is ca-
pable of playing 78 rpm records. This means
that if Music Hall had fitted an elliptical
stylus to the Melody cartridge, and someone
damaged it when playing a 78, they’d have a
claim on Musical Hall.
Once I started listening to the Melody, I
really forgot about what shape its diamond
stylus was, because the sound it was deliver-
ing was excellent. It’s a really smooth, love-
ly-sounding cartridge, presenting admirable
detail, good channel separation and excellent
frequency extension in both the bass and
the treble. It also tracks remarkably well…
though noticeably less so on the innermost
tracks of an LP, particularly when there’s
material that’s difficult to trace (such as on
Emerson Lake and Palmer’s Tarkus LP).
Listening to the lovely-sounding elec-
tric piano triplets on Everybody Hurts, from
REM’s wonderful album ‘Automatic for the
People’ was thoroughly enjoyable, and as
Stipe’s voice becomes more powerful and
pervasive as the track builds, you can feel
the foreboding as he sings: ‘When you’re sure
you’ve had too much of this life, well, hang on.’
The Melody reproduced guitarist Peter Buck’s
deft finger-picking perfectly clearly and the
cartridge’s bass delivery was more than up
to delivering the rhythmic underpinnings of
Mike Mills (bass) and Bill Berry (drums) in a
tight, forceful manner. It was also up to de-
livering the myriad sonic complexities of the
album’s two finest tracks, Nightswimming and
Find the River. On vinyl, the ‘mood’ of these
songs is completely different than when you
hear them played from a digital file, even
when it’s on a budget spinner like the Music
Hall mmf 1.5.
You’ll hear the way vinyl can deliver
‘mood’ better than digital no better than on
the late Leonard Cohen’s ‘Popular Problems’.
Even the best songs on this album—Born in
Chains and Samson in New Orleans—do not
touch his early masterpieces—at least for my
money—and his voice is not even a shadow
of his younger self, but the emotional deliv-
ery is superb… the songs actually sound tired,
and you can really hear the suffering behind
the lyric, yet at the same time you can also
hear that there’s redemption waiting just
around the corner, even if that light on the
corner lamppost is flickering erratically. Popu-
lar Problems on vinyl just takes you to a place
that Popular Problems on digital does not.
My feeling is that you’re going to be so
happy with the sound and tracing ability of
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
ON TEST M u s i c H a l l m m f 1 . 5 Tu r n t a b l e
the Music Hall Melody cartridge, that you’ll
be listening to it quite happily until the
stylus needs replacement (usually around
1,000 hours of listening… assuming you’re
not playing 78s!).
When the time for a stylus replacement
does come around you have a few options.
One is to buy an elliptical replacement
stylus for the Melody cartridge. The ‘Carbon
Fidelity’ CFN3600LE stylus sold by US outfit
LP Gear will slot straight in. Another is to
buy a brand-new cartridge already fitted with
an elliptical stylus (Audio Technica’s AT-95E
or AT100E, for example) and a new headshell
with slots that allow correct alignment. One
option you won’t have in Australia is to
buy a replacement stylus, because the local
distributor sells only complete cartridges for
$80 (RRP) and not replacement styli. The
advantage of having a second cartridge fitted
to a separate headshell is that because you
can swap headshells in a matter of seconds
on the Music Hall mmf1.5, it would be easy
to use your more expensive, elliptical stylus
on your newer records, and the Melody with
its conical stylus on your older records (and
when playing 78s).
If you do decide to buy a new cartridge
and headshell you’ll also need to purchase an
alignment tool. The tool I always recom-
mend is the Pro-Ject ‘Align-It’ which retails
for around $199 (RRP). If you don’t want to
spend this much, Turntable Basics sells one
for $20 (plus shipping, as it’s only available
on-line). If even this is too much, grab your-
self a Garrott Bros cartridge alignment card
for $10. (It would have been so much easier if
Music Hall had included an alignment card.)
Incidentally, if 1,000 hours from a stylus
doesn’t seem very long to you (despite the
fact that it would involve listening to three
albums per night, five days a week, for two
years), consider the fact that when playing an
LP, essentially what’s happening is that you’re
dragging a diamond through a ditch (groove)
made of vinyl. If you straightened out the
‘ditch’ on both sides of an LP and joined
them together, that ditch would be around
1 kilometre long, so 1,000 hours of playing
time equates to dragging your stylus around
1,560 kilometres.
Also, I was also being rather generous
when I stated stylus life at 1,000 hours. Stylus
manufacturer’s suggestions regarding stylus
life usually range between only 400 hours
and 800 hours, with all of them noting that
actual stylus life will depend on the align-
ment of the stylus (overhang, azimuth, etc)
as well as the tracking and anti-skating forces
you use… plus, of course, the condition of
your records and the playback speed.
Stylus life also depends on stylus shape.
Conically-shaped styluses wear out faster
20 Australian Hi-Fi
LAB REPORT
than elliptically shaped ones, for example. Readers interested in a full technical appraisal of the
Serious audiophiles have their stylus exam- performance of the Music Hall mmf 1.5 Turntable
should continue on and read the LABORATORY
ined under microscope (100× magnification
REPORT published on the following pages. Readers
required) every 100 hours after they’ve should note that the results mentioned in the
notched up around 400 hours of play. This report, tabulated in performance charts and/or
displayed using graphs and/or photographs should
is why I always factor replacement stylus
ċě ČŭŢƛƧƓƯěē ðƛ ðƐƐŗǍŁŢĴ ŭŢŗǍ Ƨŭ Ƨļě ƛƐěČŁǠČ ƛðŠƐŗě
cost into my buying decision whenever I am tested.
purchasing a cartridge. It’s far better to buy
a cheaper cartridge on which you can afford
to regularly replace the stylus, than to buy an
expensive cartridge and not replace the stylus LABORATORY
regularly because you can’t afford it! TEST
But no matter what cartridge or stylus you
use, its performance would be for naught
RESULTS
unless the basic performance of the turntable
Newport Test Labs is now measuring the
to which it’s fitted is not up to par, and I’m
frequency response of phono cartridges
happy to report that the performance of the
using two different measurement
Music Hall mmf 1.5 is not just ‘up to par’, but
techniques. Graph 1 shows the frequency
exceptionally good!
response and channel separation of the
Despite me using the slowest piano music
Music Hall Melody moving-magnet
I had available, I could not hear anything in
phono cartridge when is reproducing
the reproduced sound that I could attribute
a pink noise test signal. This is a
to either wow or flutter. The pitching was
particularly difficult test for any cartridge
rock-steady and sustained high-frequency
because pink noise means that the
sounds were perfectly pure. Neither could I
cartridge is simultaneously reproducing
hear any low-frequency contributions from
all frequencies between 20Hz and 20kHz.
either the main platter bearing or the drive
Reproducing this pink noise test signal
motor whilst I was listening to music. The
you can see that the Music Hall Melody
sound was as clean as a whistle.
cartridge delivered a very flat frequency
response between 70Hz and 1kHz, where
CONCLUSION the response was within ±3dB. The overall
The Music Hall mmf 1.5 is a superb turntable
frequency response was 22Hz to 20kHz
whose performance belies its price... big-time.
±5dB. You can see the overall flatness
And it’s not only an exceptional performer;
of the response was pulled down by the
it also looks exceptionally good into the
low-frequency boost centred at 55Hz and
bargain. Best budget turntable of the year? It
the high-frequency roll-off above 15kHz.
certainly has my vote! Nigel Cullen
Across the range between 150Hz and
14kHz the frequency response was a truly
CONTACT DETAILS excellent ±1dB.
Channel separation was 21dB @ 1kHz,
Brand: Music Hall which is good, as well as being better
Model: mmf 1.5 than specification. More importantly,
RRP: $599 channel separation was maintained at
Warranty: Three Years 15dB or better all the way from 300Hz up
Distributor: Convoy International Pty Ltd to 9kHz.
Address: Unit 2. 314 Horsley Road Graph 2 shows the frequency response
Milperra NSW 2214 of the Music Hall Melody cartridge
measured using a spot frequency
T2: (02) 9774 9900
E: info@convoy.com.au
W: www.convoy.com.au
Ɗ Performance
Ɗ Appearance
Ɗ Phono stage built in
Ɗ Adjustable speed
Ɗ Stylus availability
Ɗ Strobe card
Ɗ Alignment card
Ɗ Non-adjustable feet
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
EXPERIENCE
SOUND
LAB REPORT M u s i c H a l l m m f 1 . 5 Tu r n t a b l e

dBm
-10
technique, where Newport Test Labs measured Graph 1. Graph 1. Frequen-
only one frequency at a time, then presented cy Response and channel -15

the results as a contiguous graph. This is separation using pink

-20
noise test signal at -10dB
obviously a much easier task for any phono re 3.54cm/second RMS at -25

cartridge because at any given time it’s only 1kHz. Music Hall Melody
reproducing one frequency, and only in Cartridge. -30

one channel. As you can see, the Music Hall -35

Melody cartridge returned a much flatter -40

frequency response using this measurement -45

technique: 20Hz to 16kHz ±1.5dB, but the

-50

response above 15kHz rolls off quite steeply

-55
to be 1dB down at 16kHz and 6dB down at
20kHz. -60
20 Hz 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K

In real terms, the actual frequency -10

dBm

response of the cartridge when it’s reproduc- Graph 2. Frequency Re- t

sponse using spot frequen- -15

ing music will fall somewhere between the

cies at -14dB re 3.54cm/ -20
responses shown in Graphs 1 and 2. When second RMS at 1kHz. Music
replaying undemanding music, the response Hall Melody Cartridge. -25

is going to be closer to what’s shown in -30

Graph 2, while as the music becomes more -35

demanding (more instruments plus a greater

-40
range of different types of instruments) the
response will start to approach that shown in -45

Graph 1. -50

In Graph 3, Newport Test Labs has meas- -55

ured harmonic distortion of the Musical Hall

-60
20 Hz 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K
Melody cartridge when it’s reproducing a
single 1kHz tone. Performance is fairly typical
dBFS dBFS
of a moving-magnet phono cartridge, with a 0.00
.EWPORT 44EST ,ABS
.
0.00
.EWPORT 44EST ,ABS
.

second harmonic at –35dB (1.77%), a third

harmonic at –57dB (0.14%), a fourth at –61dB -20.00 -20.00

(0.08%), a fifth at –65dB (0.05%), a sixth

at –77dB (0.01%) and a seventh at –75dB -40.00 40.00

(0.01%). If there were any higher-order har-

monics, they were buried beneath the record -60.00 -60.00

surface noise at those frequencies, which was

at around –85dB. -80.00 80.00

Square wave performance was very good,

as you can see from the oscillogram, with -100.00 100.00

well-controlled ringing and the only notice-
able anomaly being that the overshoots and
ringing are not symmetrical on both halves
of the waveform.
When the turntable’s adjustable speed
control was in its default (detent position)
Newport Test Labs measured platter speed
as 2.4% fast at 33.33rpm and 1.8% fast at
45rpm. This means that a 3kHz signal played
back at 3,073Hz at 33.33rpm and at 3.054Hz
at 45rpm. From a musical perspective, this
difference represents less than one quarter
of a semitone in pitch, so it might just be
audible to someone with perfect pitch, but
not to anyone else.
After the rotational speeds were correctly
adjusted (necessary in order to be able to
perform accurate wow and flutter measure-
ments), via the speed control at the rear
of the turntable plinth, Newport Test Labs
measured the total wow and flutter of the
Music Hall mmf 1.5 turntable as 0.05%
RMS unweighted at 33.33rpm and 0.04%
RMS unweighted at 45rpm, both of which
are excellent figures, and ‘way better than
0.00 Hz 4000 00 8000.00 12000.00
Graph 3. THD at 1kHz @ 3.54cm/sec RMS. Music Hall
Melody Cartridge.
the Australian standard, which is 0.15%
RMS unweighted. When Newport Test Labs
measured the wow and flutter components
separately, the result for wow came in at
0.12% (unweighted) at 33.33rpm and for
flutter, at 0.08% (unweighted). Again, both
are excellent results.
Turntable rumble is shown in Graph 4.
The green trace shows measured noise when
the platter is stationary, so it’s just show-
ing mains hum (the peaks at 50Hz, 150Hz,
250Hz, 350Hz and 450Hz.) Except for the
50Hz and 150Hz hum components, all others
are more than 80dB down. You can see that
at low frequencies, the background noise is
sitting at around –70dB, so this represents the
limit of the measurement. Once the platter
is rotating (black trace) you can see there’s
16000.00 20000.00 0.00 Hz 100.00 200.00 300.00 400 00 500.00
Graph 4. Rumble and noise re 1kHz at 3.54cm/sec RMS.
Green trace shows background noise and hum (disc not
rotating). Black trace shows noise and hum when record
ŁƛƓŭƧðƧŁŢĴ̻sƯƛŁČQðŗŗŠŠij˘̻˜»ƯƓŢƧðċŗěǠƧƧěēLJŁƧļ
Melody moving-magnet cartridge.
a bit of low-level noise below 30Hz, though
the left-most of the two peaks is the tonearm
resonance frequency, but otherwise, below
150Hz, any noise from the turntable itself is
indistinguishable from the background envi-
ronmental noise. Above 150Hz bearing and
motor noise is essentially more than 90dB
down, which is an excellent result.
Power consumption of the Music Hall
mmf 1.5 is negligible, with the turntable
pulling 2.9-watts when playing at 33.33 rpm
or 45 rpm, and 3.05-watts when playing at 78
rpm. When the turntable is switched off via
the plinth control, the power pack continues
to consume 0.16-watts of power on its own.
Overall, both the Musical Hall mmf1.5
turntable and the Melody cartridge returned
excellent results in all tests. Steve Holding

22 Australian Hi-Fi ˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ

 SX10AE

SIMPLY, A GOOD STEREO RECEIVER.

BUILT-IN BLUETOOTH®, POWERFUL BASS & ESSENTIAL CONNECTIONS.

For authorised dealers and more information visit www.pioneeraudio.com.au or call Powermove
Distribution on 08 8338 5540.

PioneerHomeAU
ON TEST
HARBETH
30.2 ANNIVERSARY
LOUDSPEAKERS
H
arbeth does seem to be
stringing out its 40th
anniversary models
a tad (given that the
company celebrated
that anniversary ‘way
back in 2017) but so
long as we keep getting models finished in
those beautiful silver Eucalyptus Anniversary
veneers we won’t be complaining!
As you’ll likely already guessed from the
model number, the 30.2 is an upgraded
version of Harbeth’s M30.1 model, the review
of which you can find at www.tinyurl.com/
AHF-Harbeth-30p1-Review. The M30.2 Anni-
versary model sports WBT ‘Nextgen’ binding
posts, Harbeth’s ‘new-look’ tweeter, au-
dio-grade polyester capacitors that are made
in England specifically for Harbeth plus, of
course, being an ‘Anniversary’ model, it is
badged front and rear with ‘40th Anniversary
24 Australian Hi-Fi
Limited Edition’ badges, plus the grille has a
metallic black and gold anniversary badge.
The coup de grâce is the silver eucalyptus
veneer, which is exclusive to Harbeth’s ‘Anni-
versary’ models.
THE EQUIPMENT
The Harbeth 30.2 is a two-way bass reflex
design with a 25mm soft-dome tweeter, a
200mm bass driver and a single front-firing
circular bass reflex port. You can’t really
see the dome of the tweeter, because it’s
protected by a steel mesh that Harbeth calls
a ‘Hexgrille’ presumably by virtue of the fact
that the holes in the mesh are hexagonally
shaped, rather than the circular, square or
diamond shapes that are usually found in the
metal grilles used to protect tweeter domes.
Although Harbeth reportedly manufac-
tures one of its tweeters, the one used in
the 30.2 is made especially for it by SEAS,
and is made to a different specification than
the tweeter used in the Monitor 30.1, even
though that one is also made by SEAS for
Harbeth. One very obvious difference is
that the Hexgrille on the 30.2 is a light grey
colour, whereas the one on the 30.1 is black.
Note that it’s only me who’s calling the col-
our ‘light grey’—everyone else, presumably
taking their cue from Harbeth’s terminology,
is calling it ‘silver’. It’s certainly not silver, or
even silver-coloured. If you see it in the flesh,
I think you’ll agree with me that ‘light grey’
is the closest match on the colour spectrum.
(I initially thought that maybe they were call-
ing it silver because 40th anniversaries call for
gifts made of silver, but when I checked the
all-knowing Wikipedia, it seems that silver is
for 25th anniversaries. For fortieth anniversa-
ries, it appears that ruby is the gift to give.)
The bass/midrange driver’s cone is injec-
tion-moulded and uses the second generation
of a special formulation of polypropylene
that Harbeth developed in partnership with
the University of Sussex, using grant money
from the British Government’s Science &
Engineering Research Council. The first gen-
eration of this material was dubbed ‘RADIAL’,
which was an acronym invented by Harbeth’s
owner, Alan Shaw, to stand for ‘Research And
Development In Advanced Loudspeakers’,
so it seemed only obvious that the second
generation of the material would be called
RADIAL2.
Harbeth rates the cone in the 30.2 Anni-
versary as being 200mm in diameter, however
the Thiele/Small diameter, which is what’s
used by designers to determine the volume
of the cabinet and the size and length of
the bass reflex port(s) in that cabinet is just
164mm, which results in an effective cone
area (Sd) of 212cm². The cone’s roll surround
is made from rubber, which is excellent news
for Australians, because the extremely high
levels of ultraviolet radiation in Australia
mean that roll surrounds made from foam
usually start to fall apart after about five
years, whereas rubber roll surrounds are virtu-
ally indestructible.
The 30.2 Anniversary’s bass reflex port is
50mm in diameter and 55mm long, and is
positioned quite a long way from the driver
whose output it is intended to augment,
which is quite unusual. As you can see, it is
also positioned at the top of the front baffle
rather than at the bottom, which is the more
usual placement. When I reviewed the 30.1
I surmised that this location was chosen in
order that the cabinet could be smaller (ex-
cept that despite being advertised by Harbeth
as a ‘space-saving reference monitor’ it’s not
particularly small!) but I suggested that the
same result could have been achieved by
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ

using two ports, located slightly above and
to either side of the bass/midrange driver… a
configuration that Harbeth already uses on its
Monitor 40.2.
The bass reflex port on the 30.2 Anniversa-
ry does not have same problem that I noted
on the 30.1, which is that if you operate the
speakers without the grilles fitted (as many
passionate audiophiles are wont to do) you
will see a piece of white damping foam at
the inside end of the port. It seems Harbeth
has paid heed to the comments in my earlier
review and although the foam is not black,
as I recommended, it’s now grey and is dark
enough not to be visible through the port if
you use the speakers without the grilles.
If you’re now thinking to yourself that you
could simply leave the grilles on when the
speakers are not being used and take them
off when you are using them, you’ll have to
think again, because the grilles on the 30.2
Anniversaries are very, VERY difficult to re-
move. This is because instead of being made
from the usual wood or plastic and attached
to the front panel using plastic pegs, the
frame of the grille on the 30.2 Anniversary
is made from flat mild steel, which has to be
pressed into a rather deep and very narrow
groove that runs around the periphery of
the front baffle. This technique means you
won’t get any unwanted reflections from the
grille frame when you’re using the speakers
with the grille in place (and those reflections
are one of the reasons audiophiles remove
loudspeaker grilles in the first place!).
However this construction technique also
makes the grilles very difficult to remove—
indeed, a previous reviewer had actually
damaged the cabinet of my review sample
The Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary
proved to be a very neutral-
sounding speaker… or perhaps that
should be ‘natural-sounding’
while he was removing the grille—which
means you may do the same if you continu-
ally remove and replace the grilles. Unfortu-
nately, as I noted in my review of the 30.1
speakers, this makes it hard to remove the
grilles for vacuum cleaning, which has to be
done every couple of years if you want the
grilles to retain their ‘blackness’. So if you do
want to vacuum the grilles I’d suggest doing
it while they’re still in place… just do it very
carefully!
Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary Loudspeakers
If you look at the size and weight of the
30.2 Anniversary, one thing should strike
you immediately, which is that for a speaker
whose cabinet measures 460×277×275mm
(HWD) it doesn’t weigh very much—only
11.6kg in point of fact. The reason for this is
that all the panels on the speaker except the
front baffle are only 12mm thick… less
than half the thickness usually
found in a loudspeaker of
this size. Even the front
baffle of the Monitor
30.2 is only made
from 18mm-thick
stock, whereas
the front baffles
of most speak-
ers are between
25 and 32mm
thick. This very
lightweight
construction
is intentional,
because Harbeth
prefers to control
panel resonances not by
increasing the mass of the
panels, but by controlling the
resonances with tuning devices (damping
mats) attached to the inside of those panels.
Unlike some Harbeth models, however, there
is some cross-bracing inside the Monitor 30.2
to help constrain panel movement.
Unlike most modern loudspeaker cabinets,
which are constructed without any visible
seams, joints or fixings, the Harbeth 30.2
Anniversary cabinets have more than a few
visible joints and fixings, in particular the
12 screws that hold the rear panel to the two
side panels and to the
top and bottom panels.
Unlike the screws that
hold the Harbeth 30.1
together, the heads
of the screws holding
the 30.2 together are
‘tamper-proof’ so you
need a special screw-
driver to remove them.
(Though this appar-
ently didn’t deter the
aforementioned reviewer who damaged the
cabinet whilst trying to remove the grille
from also damaging the tamper-proof screws
by trying to remove them with a standard
Philips-head screwdriver!) In switching to the
tamper-proof design, Harbeth has succeeded
in making the screws less visible than they
were on the 30.1.
The six panels from which the Moni-
tor 30.2 Anniversary are constructed are
high-density fibre-boards that are veneered
on both sides. This dual-side veneer tech-
nique is much better than using just a single
veneer on the outer wall (a technique used
by most speaker manufacturers) as it seals the
fibre-board better against climatic conditions
and ensures dimensional stability. Where-
as the Monitor 30.1 is available in a fairly
wide range of veneers that are made from
real wood, the 30.2 Anniver-
sary is only available in
Silver Eucalyptus. The
veneers on my review
sample were grain-
matched and
finished with a
thin coat of cel-
lulose lacquer
that according
to Harbeth’s
Owner’s Man-
ual can be kept
clean by wiping
it lightly with a
damp cloth.
As presaged in
the introduction, the
rear of the Harbeth 30.2
Anniversary sports original WBT
Nextgen binding posts that are made in
Germany (the 30.1 has very nice standard
gold plated binding posts). Having used both
types, my vote is definitely for the WBTs—
they’re great!
Inside the Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary you’ll
find a large printed circuit board that is home
to four ferrite-cored inductors, nine capaci-
tors and six cermet resistors. As stated in the
introduction, the 30.2 Anniversary uses very
high-quality audio-grade polyester capacitors
that are made in England specifically for
Harbeth. The internal wiring on the 30.2 is
thick, multi-conductor, ultra-low resistance
ultra-pure oxygen-free copper.
IN USE AND LISTENING
SESSIONS
The Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary proved to be a
very neutral-sounding speaker… or perhaps
that should be ‘natural-sounding’, in that it
added no character of its own to the recorded
sound. This was hardly surprising, of course,
because it was designed by engineers working
at the British Broadcasting Corporation
specifically to monitor the sound quality of
the audio transmitted by the BBC’s radio and
television stations. Well, the 30.2 Anniver-
sary wasn’t actually designed by the BBC,
of course, it was designed by Alan Shaw, the
current owner of Harbeth, but he purchased
the company from Hugh Harwood who was
one of those engineers at the BBC before he
left to establish Harbeth in 1967.
Australian Hi-Fi 25
ON TEST
However, although the 30.2 Anniversary was
designed by Alan Shaw and takes advantage
of the new processes and materials that are
now available, Shaw himself says that it’s not
really a ‘new’ design, just an evolution of an
original BBC design (in this specific case, it’s
an evolution of a design known as the LS5/9).
For best performance you’ll need to mount
the Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary on stands, yet
Harbeth itself doesn’t make any for them. As
it happens, Harbeth speakers are so popular
in the UK that two British manufacturers
make stands specifically for the various Har-
beth models. Two that are already available
for 30.1 (and thus are perfect for the 30.2 An-
niversary as well) are made by TonTräger and
HiFi Racks, and are available in Australia from
importer/distributor Audio Magic for $1,700
and $1,190 per pair, respectively. Alternative-
ly your local hi-fi dealer may have Australi-
an-made stands available to suit the Harbeth
30.2 Anniversary. The only real requirements
are that the stands are solid, elevate the
speakers at least 50cm above the floor and
don’t have a flat metal plate at the top.
As always when I listen to a pair of Har-
beth speakers, I was impressed by the way the
30.2 Anniversaries were able to create a real,
palpable sense of acoustic space to the music
that was reproduced… and they managed to
deliver this ‘air’ and ‘ambience’ irrespective of
the ‘scale’ of the music being played. It didn’t
matter whether it was a solo performer or a
full orchestra—or any type of ensemble in
between—the sound was seemingly suspend-
ed in the room, neither constrained within
the cabinets nor ‘larger than life’, but just,
somehow, ‘there’.
Listening to Tomorrow, the opening track
on Rachel Collis’s album Nightlight, the 30.2
Anniversaries’ delivery was so ambient that
if I closed my eyes, I could really imagine she
was singing there in the room, and the sound
of her piano was superbly realistic. When the
percussion chimes in, the percussive nature
of the sonic was like a sudden aural shock
to the ears after the fluidity of the vocal and
piano. It’s this sense of naturalistic space—
and of image height and depth—that I think
is probably the Harbeth 30.2 Anniversaries’s
greatest strength.
I trialled the bass delivery of the Harbeth
30.2 Anniversary first with Machine Gun
Fellatio’s Unsent Letter and was surprised to
hear rather more punch and depth than I
might otherwise have expected from what is
essentially a relatively small two-way loud-
speaker, but the bass was certainly not overly
extended, which I proved to my satisfaction
by continuing the listening session first with
piano and then with pipe organ. However,
in smaller rooms it should be more than suffi-
26 Australian Hi-Fi
Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary Loudspeakers
cient, and if you want more bass, it’s simply a
matter of moving the loudspeakers closer to a
rear wall… as I discovered, though I preferred
the overall sound when the speakers were
a couple of metres from that wall, so that’s
where I conducted almost all my auditioning.
I was totally blown away by the clarity
and precision of the bass delivery, which was
particularly evident when playing Schu-
bert’s piano trios, as realised by Trio Alba
on SACD (Audiomax 9023013-6). Listen to
the openness of the sound of Chengcheng
Zhao’s piano, and to the dynamics. I thought
that perhaps Philipp Comploi’s cello was a
bit more ‘out front’ in the sonic mix, but
perhaps all the better just to hear the utter
gorgeousness of the sounds he is able to
extract from it.
This same SACD also was perfect to reveal
the performance of Harbeth 30.2 Anniver-
sary’s tweeter, because Livia Sellin’s violin
has been recorded to perfection. Listening
to the opening bars of D897 Notturno was a
truly magical experience, as the sounds of
both the cello and the violin seemed to issue
from almost nothingness then solidify in the
atmosphere directly in front of me. Impor-
tantly, the higher harmonics of the violin
sound were almost ethereally pure, with no
‘edge’ at all. I paid particular attention to the
presentation of the very highest frequencies,
because, as I noted in my review of the 30.1s,
I thought the highs on the 30.1 were slightly
held back. I am happy to be able to say that
the high-frequency sound on the 30.2 Anni-
versaries is not ‘held back’ in any way at all…
it’s perfect. Not only is there no roll-off at all,
but also the sound itself is rather more pure
and more translucent.
As for the midrange from the Harbeth 30.2
Anniversary, it was perfection itself, and as
the late great J. Gordon Holt famously said:
‘If you don’t get the midrange right, nothing else
matters.’ One of the discs I use for assessing
vocal clarity is a BBC recording of Dylan
Thomas’ famous ‘play for voices’, ‘Under
Milkwood’—which was very likely monitored
with BBC speakers. If a loudspeaker can’t
articulate correctly, you’re going to miss half
the dialogue of the play, and if it can’t sepa-
rate different voices speaking simultaneously
you’ll miss the whole ‘feel’ of the hubbub of
the play. The Harbeth Monitor 30.2s didn’t
let me down… I heard not only every single
word, but also every single syllable of every
single word. Glorious!
The perfection of the Harbeth 30.2
Anniversary’s midrange sound was further
revealed when I listened to the amazing
soprano sound of Berit Norbakken Solset on
‘The Image of Melancholy’ (BIS 2057), which
is not only riveting, but hauntingly beautiful.
Once more, having played exactly the same
recording on the 30.1 and made copious
notes about what I was hearing, I scored the
30.2 fractionally higher.
CONCLUSION
It is my guess that almost every single person
reading this review will be doing so in order
to make a decision about whether to buy a
pair of Harbeth Monitor 30.1s or a pair of
Harbeth 30.2 Anniversaries, and it’s a hard
decision because they’re both superb-sound-
ing speakers that, not surprisingly given their
many similarities, sound very similar.
If it were a horse race, and I were the stew-
ard, I’d put the 30.2 Annniversaries ahead by
a nose!
But it’s not a horse race, and so after lis-
tening to the two side by side, you may well
decide you prefer the sound of the Harbeth
Monitor 30.1s.
In the end, it will probably come down
to having to make exactly the same decision
you have to make every time you book an
aeroplane flight, and that is that whether you
choose to fly First Class or Business, you’re
going to arrive in exactly the same place, at
exactly the same time… but it’s ‘way nicer up
at the pointy end. Hugh Douglas
Continued on Page 28
Readers interested in a full technical appraisal of
the performance of the Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary
Loudspeakers should continue on and read the
LABORATORY REPORT published on the following
pages. Readers should note that the results
mentioned in the report, tabulated in performance
charts and/or displayed using graphs and/or pho-
tographs should be construed as applying only to
ǜǒƬʊɡƬƋǔǞƋʊŘȧɡǚƬǜƬʊǜƬƞƖ
CONTACT DETAILS
Brand: Harbeth
Model: 30.2 Anniversary
RRP: $6,950 per pair
Warranty: Five Years
Distributor: Audio Magic Pty Ltd
Address: 482 High Street
Northcote VIC 3070
T: (03) 9489 5122
E: info@audiomagic.com.au
W: www. audiomagic.com.au
Ɗ Superb midrange
Ɗ Ambience retrieval
Ɗ Gorgeous highs
Ɗ Stands
Ɗ Grille removal
Ɗ Single veneer choice
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 LAB REPORT
LABORATORY TEST REPORT
Graph 1 shows the frequency response of the
Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary loudspeaker, as
measured by Newport Test Labs. It’s excellent,
as you can see, with the lab reporting it as
47Hz to 26kHz ±3dB. I couldn’t actually find
the specification for the Harbeth 30.2 Anni-
versary on Harbeth’s website—every time I
clicked on the tab that said ‘Specifications’ it
took me to those for the 30.1, which show its
response as 50Hz–20kHz ±3dB.
Not only is the 30.2 Anniversary’s frequen-
cy response extremely flat, there’s also no
skew or tilt that would otherwise mean the
speaker might emphasise the high or low end
of the spectrum, so the response is not only
flat, but also balanced. Comparing the same
measurement with that Newport Test Labs
made on the 30.1, it’s very easy to see where
Harbeth has made improvements. First, the
response between 250Hz and 5kHz is a little
flatter, a little more linear and doesn’t tend
to trend downwards in level with increasing
frequency. Essentially, the response between
250Hz and 5kHz is ±1dB.
Harbeth has also made considerable
improvements to the frequency response at
high frequencies. They haven’t been able to
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eliminate the peak in the tweeter’s response
at 6.1kHz, but where the 30.1’s response
above this frequency was a bit jagged, and
rolled off down to 15kHz before picking up,
the 30.2’s high-frequency response is much,
much smoother and barely rolls off at all…
in fact it doesn’t really begin rolling off
until above 20kHz. (The frequency response
shown in Graph 1 is actually the result of two
separate measurements, details of which are
included in the graph caption.)
In Graph 2, Newport Test Labs has meas-
ured the high-frequency response of the Har-
beth 30.2 Anniversary with the grille in place
(black trace) and without it (red trace). Once
again you can see how smooth and extended
the tweeter’s high-frequency response is, even
with the increased resolution afforded by the
graphing—this is very good performance. You
can also see that the grille is almost totally
acoustically transparent, and there are no
frame reflections at all (because the frame is
recessed into the baffle). There is a very slight
transmission loss, as the cloth absorbs some
of the sound, which it does between 3.2kHz
and 20kHz, but the loss (between 1 and 2dB)
is basically uniform with frequency, so the
www.synergyaudio.com 03 9459 7474
essential ‘character’ of the sound would not
be affected. The grille does increase atten-
uation above 20kHz, so that whereas the
high-frequency response without the grille is
3dB down at 26kHz, it’s 3dB down at 24kHz
when the grille is fitted. Although it’s evident
on the graph to the eye, this difference would
not be perceptible to the ear… even a trained
ear.
The near-field low-frequency response of
the Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary is shown in
Graph 3, as measured by Newport Test Labs
(but with somewhat different scaling from
the same measurement the lab made on the
30.1). Essentially the graphs are almost iden-
tical, with the minima of the bass/midrange
driver at 44Hz and the port’s output having a
very low Q. The ‘kick’ in the port’s response
at 280Hz is rather more obvious with this
scaling, but it was also present in the output
of the 30.1. It would seem to be caused by a
cabinet resonance; its effect is also visible on
the impedance trace.
The impedance of the Harbeth 30.2 Anni-
versary shown in Graph 4 only drops below
6Ω at 160Hz (to 5.8Ω), and is also mostly
above 8Ω, so it’s higher than I usually see on
  /synergyaudiovisual
 Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary Loudspeakers
dBSPL dBSPL
110 110
Newport Test Labs Newport Test Labs
105 105

100 100

95 95

90 90

85 85

80 80

75 75

70 70

65 65

60 60

55 55

50 50
20 Hz 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 40K 500 Hz 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 40K

Graph 1. Frequency response. Trace below 900Hz is the averaged result of nine Graph 2. High-frequency response, expanded view showing response with grille
individual frequency sweeps measured at three metres, with the central grid point ɁǏɤŽǚŘƋǘǜʁŘƋƬɦ˸ƬʁʊˁʊǷʁǔǚǚƬɁȭɤʁƬƞǜʁŘƋƬɦƖďƬʊǜʊǜǔȧˁǚˁʊǷŘǜƬƞʊǔȭƬƖÀǔƋʁɁɡǒɁȭƬ
on-axis with the tweeter using pink noise test stimulus with capture unsmoothed. placed at three metres on-axis with dome tweeter. Lower measurement limit
This has been manually spliced (at 900Hz) to the gated high-frequency response, 500Hz.
an expanded view of which is shown in Graph 2.
dBSPL Ohm Deg
110 30 180
Newport Test Labs Newport Test Labs
105 150

100 120

20
95 90

90 60

85 30

80 0

75 -30
10

70 9 -60

8
65 -90

7
60 -120

6
55 -150

50 5 -180
10 Hz 20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 3K 10 Hz 20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 40K

Graph 3.³Ɂ˹njʁƬɴˁƬȭƋ˿ʁƬʊɡɁȭʊƬɁnjnjʁɁȭǜȊǞʁǔȭǷŽŘʊʊʁƬǡƬ˾ɡɁʁǜɤʁƬƞǜʁŘƋƬɦŘȭƞ Graph 4. Impedance modulus of Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary Loudspeaker (black
ŽŘʊʊʤȧǔƞʁŘȭǷƬƞʁǔ˸ƬʁƖÂƬŘʁǞƬǚƞŘƋɴˁǔʊǔǜǔɁȭƖñɁʁǜʤ˹ɁɁnjƬʁǚƬ˸ƬǚʊȭɁǜƋɁȧɡƬȭʊŘǜƬƞ trace) plus phase (light blue trace). Dark blue trace is reference 6 ohm precision
njɁʁƞǔǏƬʁƬȭƋƬʊǔȭʁŘƞǔŘǜǔȭǷŘʁƬŘʊƖ calibration resistor.
dBSPL dBSPL
110 110
Newport Test Labs Newport Test Labs
105 105

100 100

95 95

90 90

85 85

80 80

75 75

70 70

65 65

60 60

55 55

50 50
20 Hz 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20 Hz 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 40K

Graph 5. In-room frequency response using pink noise test stimulus with capture Graph 6.,ɁȧɡɁʊǔǜƬʁƬʊɡɁȭʊƬɡǚɁǜƖõƬƞǜʁŘƋƬǔʊɁˁǜɡˁǜɁnjŽŘʊʊʁƬǡƬ˾ɡɁʁǜƖ<Řʁǘ
unsmoothed. Trace shown is are the averaged result of nine individual frequency sweeps blue trace is anechoic response of bass driver. Black trace is the frequency response
measured at three metres, with the central grid point on-axis with the tweeter. (from Graph 1).

most modern speaker designs with 8Ω nomi-
nal impedance ratings, but it means that the
30.2 Anniversary is a true ‘eight-ohm’ design.
The kink in the impedance trace is that panel
resonance I noted earlier. The saddle between
the two resonant peaks is at 45Hz, showing
that you will get little effective output from
the bass/midrange driver below this frequen-
cy. The rather high impedance of the system
around 1.3kHz means some amplifiers might
reduce their output in this region as a result,
so amplifier matching will assume greater im-
portance with this design than it might with
some other speakers. The way the impedance
rises above 15kHz ensures the speaker will be
very ‘amplifier-friendly’ however.
The in-room response of the Harbeth 30.2 them… unless you have a small room and lis-
Anniversary is shown in Graph 5 with New- ten at lower levels, in which case 40–50-watts
port Test Labs using a pink noise test stimulus, would likely be sufficient.
averaging nine different sweeps measured at Looking back at the conclusion I drew
three metres, with the upper frequency of the about the Harbeth Monitor 30.1 after exam-
measurement limited at 10kHz. As you’d ex- ining its test results, I wrote that it ‘was a
pect, the response is superbly flat and there’s very well-designed loudspeaker, with a higher
absolutely no ‘skew’ to the trace—it almost efficiency than I would have expected for its
tracks the 85dBSPL graph horizontal. size and driver configuration.’
Newport Test Labs measured the sensitivity I am going to say exactly the same thing
of the Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary as being about this Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary model,
86.5dBSPL at one metre for a 2.83Veq input, but add the note that its measured frequency
which is a touch lower than the average for responses are superior to those which Newport
all speakers, so I’d suggest that you use an Test Labs measured for the Harbeth Monitor
amplifier with an output power rating of 30.1, and the efficiency is identical.
at least 60 or 70-watts per channel to drive Steven Holding

Australian Hi-Fi 29

THOR 10.6
SUBWOOFER
B
ig is bad, ports are poxy
and vinyl sucks. These are
the three things Richter’s
managing director, Brian
Rogers, discovered when he
went on a tour of Australian
hi-fi retailers. He was asking
them about subwoofers, of course, and the
consensus was that their customers wanted
subwoofers that were small, they didn’t like
bass reflex ports to be visible, and they didn’t
like vinyl finishes (due to problems with the
vinyl splitting and peeling at the corners,
according to Rogers).
So when he returned from his road trip, he
asked his Senior Engineer, Dr Martin Gosnell,
to start developing a brand-new Richter sub-
woofer, one that was smaller and lighter than
the company’s award-winning Thor MkV, and
to make sure it was either a sealed design, or
if it had to have one or more bass reflex ports,
that customers wouldn’t be able to see them,
and that Gosnell could specify any finish he
liked, so long as it wasn’t vinyl. Oh, it would
be good if he could squeeze in a more power-
30 Australian Hi-Fi
The arrival of the new Thor 10.6 proves
that Gosnell met the design brief. It’s 20 per
cent smaller than the Thor MkV, 30 per cent
lighter, and its amplifier is rated at 450-watts,
compared to the 300-watt amplifier inside
the MkV. Importantly, you can’t see the twin
(tuneable!) bass reflex ports (at least you can’t
if you leave the loudspeaker grille fitted) and,
miracle of miracles, there’s no vinyl to be
seen, just a very classy matte-painted surface
that’s so black it’s probably the same finish
that was used on Hotblack Desiato’s stunt
ship. (You know, the one Zaphod Beeblebrox
‘borrowed.’)
THE EQUIPMENT
Remove the front grille of the Thor 10.6 and
you’ll instantly see this subwoofer’s most
imposing feature, a dish-shaped polymer
cone with an unusually distinctive neoprene
roll surround that was tooled by Richter
itself. Richter rates this driver at ‘10-inches’
in diameter, and it’s this ‘10’ that informs the
model name: 10.6. The ‘6’ bit shows that it’s
part of Richter’s ‘6 Series’.
Richter might rate the single front-firing
bass driver as a 10-incher (254mm), but my
reviewer tape measure put the overall moving
diameter of the cone plus roll surround at
226mm. The important diameter, the Thiele/
Small diameter, is 210mm, which puts the
effective cone area (Sd) at 346cm².
t would seem that Richter is using one of the
other common methods of stating driving
diameter, by referencing either the overall
diameter of the driver frame, or the distance
between the mounting holes in that frame.
Ultimately, it’s the cone area that dictates
how much air the cone will displace (along
with cone travel… or ‘throw’ of course).
As you can see from our photograph, the
ichter has two bass reflex ports on the front
panel. The beauty of having ports on the
front, rather than on the side of the cabinet
(like some earlier Richter models!) or at the
back or underneath the cabinet, is that it
means you can recess the subwoofer into
a wall—or into a cupboard or cabinet—to
completely remove the subwoofer from the
istening room. In the case of the Thor 10.6
this will be made easier by the relatively
small size of the cabinet, which measures just
442×308×390mm (HWD). Then again, the
mall size means you also might think it’s
o small in your room that you can hide it
somewhere (such as behind a couch or chair)
so that there’d be no need to go to such
engths… and you’d be right.
I have to say that although I am not
personally particularly perturbed about the
actual physical size of any subwoofer (though
my better half certainly is!) I do care about
ts shape, as I particularly dislike subwoofers
that are as wide as they are high and deep,
because I don’t find this squat look very
appealing. So I particularly liked the profile
of the Thor 10.6, which is higher than it is
wide. I also liked the fact that the feet are
individually height-adjustable. Although ad-
justable feet are almost universal on standard
loudspeakers, they’re a rarity on subwoofers,
which seems to me rather strange, since
a floor doesn’t magically ‘flatten out’ just
because you’re positioning a subwoofer on
it rather than a main loudspeaker. And, just
as you don’t want a normal loudspeaker to
‘wobble’, you also do not want a subwoofer
to ‘wobble’—indeed it is essential that it is
completely stable.
But back to those bass reflex ports. Each
one is 75mm in diameter and 225mm long,
with radiused curves at the exit. They come
with tight-fitting grey foam ‘port plugs’
which you can insert to block one or both
ports. This allows you to ‘tune’ the sound
of the subwoofer to better-suit the size of
your room, where you have the subwoofer
positioned, what you’re using the subwoofer
for (type of music, type of movie etc) and,
of course, your own personal tastes. For
example, in larger rooms, leaving both ports
unplugged will deliver higher sound pressure
levels in the 30–100Hz area, but the frequen-
cy response will roll off more rapidly below
35Hz than if both ports were plugged. If you
plug both ports, the deepest bass frequen-
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
 Richter Thor 10.6 Subwoofer

cies (those below 35Hz) will be reproduced
at a higher (relative) volume, but the bass
between 35Hz and 100Hz will be slightly
attenuated. In terms of how the settings will
affect the music, the sound will be quicker
and punchier with both ports left open, but
smoother and more extended with both ports
When they coined the phrase
The Richter Thor 10.6’s low pass filter is
not only adjustable, it’s also switchable (or
‘defeatable’, if you prefer this terminology):
You can switch it out of circuit by setting the
‘Low Pass’ switch to ‘Off’. Setting this switch
to ‘Off’ is recommended if you’re using the
LFE output from an AV receiver to provide
the subwoofer’s signal,
as most AV receivers
pre-filter the signal
preferable to use the speaker level terminals,
then connect your main speakers to the ‘To
Speakers’ terminals on the Thor 10.6. With
this wiring arrangement, the Thor 10.6
‘strips’ the low frequencies from the signal
going to your main speakers, relieving them
from any low-bass duties, which will improve
their performance as a direct result.
The Richter Thor 10.6 also has a ‘Pass
Through’ output that allows you to ‘dai-

ɽǜŘˁǜŘȭƞǜƬʁʁǔǞƋɻƙǜǒƬ˿ƋɁˁǚƞ
presented at their LFE sy-chain’ multiple subwoofers to improve
output. (And you’d also performance. When you use only a sin-

˹ƬǚǚǒŘ˸ƬŽƬƬȭǜŘǚǘǔȭǷŘŽɁˁǜ set the volume to ‘REF’

as noted earlier.)
gle subwoofer in a room, the volume of
the sound will vary throughout the room
the Richter Thor 10.6… Multiple inputs are depending on where the listener is sitting
provided on the Thor because of room modes. By using two (or
10.6 subwoofer. There even more!) subwoofers in a room—but they
are both balanced and must be positioned at different points in the
unbalanced LFE inputs. room for this trick to work—it’s possible to
blocked. Blocking only one port will provide The balanced LFE input is a standard XLR ‘even out’ these variations, so the volume is
a middle ground between the two. socket, while the unbalanced LFE input is the same no matter where you sit. In most
Turning our attention to the rear panel the left-channel of the line-inputs. There are cases, a single subwoofer will suffice if only
of the Richter Thor 10.6 we find a large and also unbalanced line inputs (left and right one or two people are listening and they’re
impressive plate that has more features than channels) via RCA terminals. There are also seated close together. It’s only when multiple
I am used to finding on a subwoofer, and high-level (speaker-level) inputs, accessed via listeners are spaced in different places in a
better-quality fittings as well. Looking at the multi-way gold-plated speaker terminals. room that multiple subwoofers might be-
features first, the Thor 10.6 has the usual Speaker-level inputs are now a rarity on come necessary.
rotary volume level and crossover controls subwoofers, but they’re extremely useful I was pleased to find that the Richter Thor
(with the crossover control handily marked if you want to use the subwoofer with an 10.6 has multiple power switches. There’s a
with calibrations at 10Hz intervals from ordinary stereo amplifier that has neither LFE main power switch, so you can switch the
40Hz to 90Hz, with additional calibrations at nor line-level outputs. Even if your stereo amplifier off completely, effectively isolat-
140Hz and 160Hz). But the volume control amplifier does have line-level outputs (or ing it from the mains power, plus there’s a
also has a setting marked ‘REF’. Richter’s pre-out or a record-out terminals… all are secondary power switch so you can choose
Owner’s Manual doesn’t explain this, so we suitable for driving a subwoofer), it’s often between having the subwoofer power-up
asked Richter, and were told that ‘REF’ should
be used when the Thor 10.6 is being set up
and controlled from a home theatre amplifier
or receiver. In this case the volume should be
set to REF and then volume controlled from
that amplifier or receiver.
The Thor 10.6 has equalisation built in,
switchable between three modes: ‘Music’,
‘Merlin’ and ‘Home Theatre’. The ‘Music’
and ‘Home Theatre’ modes are self-explana-
tory. The ‘Merlin’ mode apparently perfectly
matches the frequency response of the Thor
10.6 to that of Richter’s Merlin loudspeakers.
The somewhat flowery prose in the Owner’s
Manual puts it thus, and is here reproduced
verbatim: ‘Merlin mode has been exactly
tailored to allow a seamless audio experience
from Merlin’s tight bass response deep down by
approximately and additional 1.5 octaves. The
phase and magnitude response has been matched
specifically so that you can combine these two
products as the perfect complement allowing you
to cover the entire audio and subsonic spectrum
with no compromise. Setup together you will
experience performance usually only found in the
very highest quality active integrated loudspeaker
systems, you will experience an extraordinary
new sense of dimensionality and atmosphere
without compromising musically, transient emo-
tional content, detail or a sense of point source.’
ON TEST

automatically when it detects an audio signal,

and switch to standby at other times, or you
can have the amplifier powered-up all the
time. Richter has very sensibly named the
two modes ‘Auto’ and ‘Always On’.
Although the subwoofer loaned to me for
review had a matte-black finish, which I’ve
already discussed, you can optionally order
the Thor 10.6 in a matte white finish. How-
ever, if you do this, be aware that the front
grille cloth will still be black.

LISTENING SESSIONS
As with any subwoofer, for it to perform at
its best it is absolutely essential that the sub-
woofer be correctly positioned in your listen-
ing room and that its volume, crossover fre-
quency and phase controls are set so that the
output of the subwoofer integrates smoothly
with the output of your main speakers. Rich-
ter’s excellent 20-page instruction manual
(the information is excellent, but I found the
type rather too small for us vision-impaired
types) has outstandingly good advice about
all of this, but my advice is to work out where
the subwoofer should be positioned in your
room by following the specific procedure
outlined in this article: www.tinyurl.
com/subwoofer-placement and that
you should then tune the Thor 10.6 using
the specific procedure outlined here: www.
tinyurl.com/subwoofer-calibration
That’s what I did, and the result was that
the Richter Thor 10.6 sounded amazing in
my living room! OK, so the Thor 10.6 was the
major reason for the amazing sound, but the
tuning certainly helped!
When I say that the Thor 10.6 sounded
amazing, a large part of my amazement was
that I simply wasn’t expecting such a small
subwoofer—and one with a relatively small
bass driver—to deliver such prodigious levels
of deep bass. This thing really kicks arse.
And it’s not only kick-arse bass, the bass it
produces is as tight as a fishes… well, let’s
not spell it out in a family magazine. Suffice
to say that when they coined the phrase
‘taut and terrific’, they could well have been
talking about the Thor 10.6. Listen to kick-
drum for example and you’ll hear the Richter
deliver the perfect sound of the beater head
smacking the drum skin: depthy, realistic
and with the lower frequency of the full skin
stretch hitting you in the stomach while the
higher-frequency harmonics provide the fill.
If you’re into percussion trivia, you might
be interested in learning that the bass drum
pedal mechanism that drives the beater
head was invented by brothers William and
Theobald Ludwig in 1909. Their American
company, Ludwig & Ludwig (they hailed
from Germany, after all) was an extraordinar-
ily successful manufacturer of bass drums as
a result, so by 1923 it was the largest drum
manufacturer in the world. Despite this, sales
really didn’t take off until a little band called
The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan show
in 1964, with the word ‘Ludwig’ emblazoned
on Ringo’s bass drum. This single appearance
literally doubled Ludwig’s sales, forcing them
to switch to seven day, 24-hour production
to keep up, and Ludwig would thereafter
dominate drum sales in North America for
the next twenty years.
Although it’s still in business, Ludwig is
no longer the largest drum manufacturer in
the world, but it’s certainly the most famous,
and by mere happenstance the timing of this
review (2018) co-incides with the 100th an-
niversary of Theobald’s death (he was one of
the 50 to 100 million victims of the influenza
epidemic of 1918).
Impressive though the Richter’s perfor-
mance with kick drum is, it’s equally impres-
sive with other low-pitched instruments that
regularly appear in most musical groups—
double-bass, cello, bass guitar, and keyboards
(acoustic and electronic). Firstly, the bass is
‘pitch perfect’, as they say, so that when a
bass guitarist strikes the bottom string of his
four-string electric bass, what you hear from
the Richter is a beautifully rich-sounding ‘E1’
with a very obvious fundamental frequency
of 41.203Hz, and not what you often hear
from a subwoofer, which is a sound that
primarily consists of the ‘E’ the octave above,
at 82.406Hz… which, although it sounds fine
and very musical, is also very wrong, because
the pitch of E2 should actually be 82.407Hz,
because we’re talking about the tempered
scale here. The beautiful sound of the bottom
string of the bass remains faithfully delivered
even if the guitarist has tuned it to D, which
is common for songs in the keys of D or G,
because it makes playing the bass easier… it
also helps if you play a lot of Pink Floyd!
But it’s not only the fundamentals that are
precisely and accurately reproduced by the
Richter 10.6, it’s also the harmonics, which is
essential in order to enable instant recogni-
tion of, say, the sound of a Fender Precision
bass versus the sound of a Rickenbacker 4001,
though most people will be more easily able
to pick the musician playing it—in this case
maybe Steve Harris versus Peter Buck, for
example.
The harmonic rendition of the Richter
Thor 10.6 is perfect, with the frequency of
the harmonics delivered exactly… as well as
the levels of those harmonics. Outstanding
performance indeed.
Distortion is exceeding low. Listening to
my favourite performance of Beethoven’s Cel-
lo Sonata No 3 (Steve Isserlis with Robert Lev-
in on Fortepiano, available on Hyperion), the
aural clarity of both instruments is stunning,
and the contrasts between them achingly
revealed, and most appropriately both are
given equal sonic weight, as the performers
(and no doubt the composer!) intended.

32 Australian Hi-Fi ˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ

 Richter Thor 10.6 Subwoofer
Cello sound is glorious no matter what’s
being played, but one that I always recom-
mend to friends asking about cello is Elgar’s
superb Cello Concerto in E minor. Listen to
this on a lesser subwoofer and you may
wonder if you’re hearing a human voice,
but listening via the Richter 10.6, there is
no room for doubt. I don’t think the great
Jacqueline Du Pre would be my first choice
for either performance or sound quality, but
she’s certainly my sentimental favourite,
so for this work, emotion trumps both
performance and sound quality, with the
steely Maria Kliegel’s performance coming
in a close second.
Recognising that many readers of this
review will be primarily looking to purchase
a subwoofer to enhance their enjoyment of
movie soundtracks, with music as a second-
ary reason, I also evaluated the Richter 10.6
in a five-channel home theatre system (I’d
like to go Atmos, but my better half told
me six loudspeakers in our smallish family
room—though I like to call it my home
theatre room—were more than enough).
Watching movies, I was impressed by the
speed and stopping power of the Richter
10.6, as well as its ability to deliver the
very lowest sounds on my Blu-rays. The
‘depthiness’ is certainly enough to rattle
furniture and create an intensely powerful
sound field in the listening room, no mat-
ter whether you’re experiencing a pitched
battle, a factory scene or just the director
injecting low-frequency FX to generate
tension in the audience.
Now you’re probably imagining that
I used the ‘Home Theatre’ mode when
watching movies, but you’d be wrong.
I did switch to the Home Theatre mode
when I first started watching, but I wasn’t
convinced by the sound I was getting so I
experimented with the other modes and in-
terestingly enough, found that in my home
theatre system, which has fairly small front
speakers, I preferred the overall sound when
the subwoofer was set for ‘Merlin Mode’
and both ports were unplugged.
Also interesting is that when I was using
the Richter 10.6 in my main system, I pre-
ferred the ‘Music Mode’ equalisation, but
with the ports plugged when I was listening
to classical music and unplugged when I
was listening to anything else. This might
sound like a bit of a bother, but it only
takes a few moments to plug or unplug the
ports, and mostly I listen to either one type
of music or the other in any one listening
session… I tend not to chop and change
between the two genres, so it took only a
few seconds of my time per day to make
the switch… though admittedly I had not
bothered to fit the grille, so the switching
process was quicker than it would have
been if I had.
CONCLUSION
Aussie company Richter has succeeded where
most other subwoofer manufacturers have
not. It’s managed to build a small subwoofer
that doesn’t sound small at all, exhibiting
marvellously deep bass performance, with
tuneful, rhythmic musical delivery and su-
perbly low levels of distortion.
Even if it didn’t have the extraordinarily
high level of connectivity, multiple EQ modes
and classy finish the Richter 10.6 would have
been on my short list. But because it does
have all these extras, it elevated itself right to
the top of that list. Samuel White
Readers interested in a full technical appraisal of
the performance of the Richter 10.6 Subwoofer
should continue on and read the LABORATORY
REPORT published on the following pages.
Results displayed in the graphs and associated
comments about those results should be con-
strued as applying only to the sample tested.
CONTACT DETAILS
Brand: Richter
Model: Thor 10.6
RRP: $1,499
Warranty: Two Years
Distributor: Richter Audio Pty Ltd
Address: PO Box 231
Church Point NSW 2015
T2: (02) 4962 1594
E: info@richteraudio.com.au
W: www.richter audio.com.au
• Amazing bass!
• Connectivity
• EQ modes
• Two colour choices
• Single grille colour
LABORATORY
TEST
REPORT
Graph 1 shows the effect of bungs and
low-pass filter on the near-field frequency
response of the Richter 10.6 subwoofer’s bass
driver. The black trace shows the driver’s
response when both bungs are fitted, the
blue trace shows the driver’s response when
only one bung is fitted, and the red trace
shows the driver’s response when no bungs
are fitted. The trace also shows the difference
between the response when the low-pass filter
is out of circuit (black and blue traces) and
when it’s in circuit, but set to its maximum
crossover frequency of 160Hz. You can see
LAB REPORT
that when the low-pass filter is active,
the high-frequency response rolls off at
around 18dB per octave above 150Hz,
whereas when the low-pass filter is defeat-
ed, the natural roll-off of the driver is at
a much more leisurely 12dB per octave.
The traces show that when one bung is
fitted, the cabinet is tuned to 30Hz and
when both ports are left open, the tuning
is 43Hz. The output of the ports is shown
in Graph 4.
In Graph 2, Newport Test Labs has
shown the effect of the three equalisation
curves on the near-field response of the
Richter 10.6’s bass driver when both ports
are plugged and the low-pass filter is not
in circuit. The ‘Music Mode’ equalisation
results in the flattest and most extended
response, with the frequency response
extending from 20Hz to 220Hz ±4dB, as
you can see from the black trace. In ‘Mer-
lin Mode’ (blue trace) the Richter 10.6’s
high-frequency response is rolled off
above 60Hz at around 12dB/octave, and
the very low-frequency response is given
a little added extension below 20Hz. The
‘Home Theatre Mode’ equalisation deliv-
ers maximum output at 60–70Hz, but is
rolled off above and below these frequen-
cies, at around 30dB per octave below
60Hz and at around 12dB per octave
above 70Hz, so the response is around
45Hz to 140Hz ±4dB and, as you can see,
is the least flat of all the responses.
Graph 3 shows the Richter 10.6’s
response in Music Mode with both ports
unplugged. You see the bass driver’s
low-frequency response (the black and
blue traces) rolling off below 70Hz to the
minima at 43Hz, before rising to peak at
around 22Hz before rolling off again. The
red trace shows the output of the two
bass reflex ports, and you can see that the
ports start contributing to the output at
15Hz and are fully operational at 22Hz,
after which the output is linear until
65Hz, where it starts rolling off, neatly
intersecting with the roll-on of the bass
driver. Note that the blue trace was meas-
ured with the low-pass filter in circuit and
set to 160Hz, and the black trace was with
the low-pass filter out of circuit.
Graph 4 also shows the Richter 10.6’s
response in Music Mode but this time
shows the difference between operating
the subwoofer with both ports unplugged
(the black traces, with the solid trace
being the near-field response of the bass
driver, and the dashed trace the near-field
response of the port) and with only one
port plugged (the green traces, with the
solid trace being the near-field response of
the bass driver, and the dashed trace the
near-field response of the port). You can
see the cabinet seems better-tuned when
Australian Hi-Fi 33
LAB REPORT Richter Thor 10.6 Subwoofer

dBSPL dBSPL
110 110
Newport Test Labs Newport Test Labs
105 105

100 100

95 95

90 90

85 85

80 80

75 75

70 70

65 65

60 60

55 55

50 50
10 Hz 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 200 300 400 500 10 Hz 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 200 300 400 500

Graph 1.hʁƬɴˁƬȭƋ˿ʁƬʊɡɁȭʊƬɁnjõǔƋǒǜƬʁɍ̋ƖȴăˁŽ˹ɁɁnjƬʁʊǒɁ˹ǔȭǷƬǏƬƋǜɁnjŽˁȭǷʊ Graph 2.hʁƬɴˁƬȭƋ˿ʁƬʊɡɁȭʊƬɁnjõǔƋǒǜƬʁɍ̋ƖȴăˁŽ˹ɁɁnjƬʁʊǒɁ˹ǔȭǷƬǏƬƋǜɁnjƞǔǏƬʁ-

ŘȭƞǚɁ˹ȊɡŘʊʊǞǚǜƬʁƖ*ɁǜǒŽˁȭǷʊǔȭʊǜŘǚǚƬƞɤŽǚŘƋǘǜʁŘƋƬɦʒɁȭƬŽˁȭǷǔȭʊǜŘǚǚƬƞɤŽǚˁƬ ƬȭǜFóȧɁƞƬʊƖŒɁȧƬǜǒƬŘǜʁƬȧɁƞƬɤʁƬƞǜʁŘƋƬɦʒÀˁʊǔƋȧɁƞƬɤŽǚŘƋǘǜʁŘƋƬɦʒÀƬʁǚǔȭ
ǜʁŘƋƬɦʒȭɁŽˁȭǷʊɤʁƬƞǜʁŘƋƬɦƖ³Ɂ˹ȊɡŘʊʊǞǚǜƬʁɁǏɤ*ǚŘƋǘŘȭƞŽǚˁƬǜʁŘƋƬʊɦʒǚɁ˹ȊɡŘʊʊ ȧɁƞƬɤŽǚˁƬǜʁŘƋƬɦƖ
ǞǚǜƬʁɁȭƙ³ñhȧŘ˾ɤʁƬƞǜʁŘƋƬɦƖ

dBSPL dBSPL
110 110
Newport Test Labs Newport Test Labs
105 105

100 100

95 95

90 90

85 85

80 80

75 75

70 70

65 65

60 60

55 55

50 50
10 Hz 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 200 300 400 500 10 Hz 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 200 300 400 500

Graph 3.hʁƬɴˁƬȭƋ˿ʁƬʊɡɁȭʊƬɁnjõǔƋǒǜƬʁɍ̋ƖȴăˁŽ˹ɁɁnjƬʁǔȭÀˁʊǔƋÀɁƞƬƙʊǒɁ˹ǔȭǷ Graph 4.ÂƬŘʁǞƬǚƞnjʁƬɴˁƬȭƋ˿ʁƬʊɡɁȭʊƬɁnjõǔƋǒǜƬʁɍ̋ƖȴʊˁŽ˹ɁɁnjƬʁƖ<ŘʊǒƬƞŽǚŘƋǘ

ɁˁǜɡˁǜɁnjŽŘʊʊʁƬǡƬ˾ɡɁʁǜʊ˹ǔǜǒȭɁŽˁȭǷʊǔȭʊǜŘǚǚƬƞɤʁƬƞǜʁŘƋƬɦʒȭƬŘʁǞƬǚƞƞʁǔ˸Ƭʁ ǜʁŘƋƬǔʊɡɁʁǜʊ˹ǔǜǒɁˁǜɡǚˁǷʊƙƞŘʊǒƬƞǷʁƬƬȭǜʁŘƋƬǔʊɡɁʁǜ˹ǔǜǒɁǜǒƬʁɡɁʁǜɡǚˁǷǷƬƞƖ
ʁƬʊɡɁȭʊƬ˹ǔǜǒɁˁǜǚɁ˹ȊɡŘʊʊǞǚǜƬʁɤŽǚŘƋǘǜʁŘƋƬɦŘȭƞȭƬŘʁǞƬǚƞƞʁǔ˸ƬʁʁƬʊɡɁȭʊƬ˹ǔǜǒ *ǚŘƋǘǜʁŘƋƬǔʊȭƬŘʁǞƬǚƞ˹ɁɁnjƬʁʁƬʊɡɁȭʊƬ˹ǔǜǒȭɁɡɁʁǜɡǚˁǷʊƙǷʁƬƬȭǜʁŘƋƬǔʊȭƬŘʁǞƬǚƞ
ǚɁ˹ɡŘʊʊǞǚǜƬʁʊƬǜŘǜȧŘ˾ǔȧˁȧɤŽǚˁƬǜʁŘƋƬɦƖ woofer response with one port plugged.

dBSPL dBSPL
110 110
Newport Test Labs Newport Test Labs
105 105

100 100

95 95

90 90

85 85

80 80

75 75

70 70

65 65

60 60

55 55

50 50
10 Hz 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 200 300 400 500 10 Hz 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 200 300 400 500

Graph 5.ÂƬŘʁǞƬǚƞʁƬʊɡɁȭʊƬɁnjŽŘʊʊƞʁǔ˸Ƭʁ˹ǔǜǒŽɁǜǒɡɁʁǜʊɡǚˁǷǷƬƞƖ*ǚŘƋǘǜʁŘƋƬ Graph 6.hŘʁȊǞƬǚƞnjʁƬɴˁƬȭƋ˿ʁƬʊɡɁȭʊƬɁnjõ“ƋǒǜƬʁɍ̋ƖȴʊˁŽ˹ɁɁnjƬʁȧƬŘʊˁʁƬƞˁʊǔȭǷ

ǔʊ˹ǔǜǒǚɁ˹ɡŘʊʊǞǚǜƬʁʊƬǜǜɁȧŘ˾ǔȧˁȧɤɍȴ̋Œ˘ɦƙʁƬƞǜʁŘƋƬǔʊ˹ǔǜǒǚɁ˹ɡŘʊʊǞǚǜƬʁʊƬǜ ɡǔȭǘȭɁǔʊƬǜƬʊǜʊǔǷȭŘǚƖÀˁʊǔƋȧɁƞƬƙɡɁʁǜʊɡǚˁǷǷƬƞƙŽǚŘƋǘǜʁŘƋƬ˹ǔǜǒ³ñhɁǏƙʁƬƞ
ǜɁʕ̋Œ˘ƙǷʁƬƬȭǜʁŘƋƬǔʊ˹ǔǜǒǚɁ˹ɡŘʊʊǞǚǜƬʁʊƬǜǜɁȧǔȭǔȧˁȧɤǮ̋Œ˘ɦƖƅõǔƋǒǜƬʁɍ̋Ɩȴ ǜʁŘƋƬ˹ǔǜǒ³ñhʊƬǜŘǜɍȴ̋Œ˘ɤȧŘ˾ɦƙŽǚˁƬǜʁŘƋƬ˹ǔǜǒ³ñhʊƬǜŘǜǮ̋Œ˘ɤȧǔȭɦƖ
Subwoofer.]

both ports are unplugged than when just a
single port is plugged.
The low-pass filter’s action is shown in
Graph 5 for three settings of the low-pass
filter control, with the Richter 10.6 operat-
ing with both ports plugged. Again we see
that with the low-pass filter set at maximum
(black trace), the near-field response is 20Hz
to 220Hz ±4dB. With the low-pass filter set
at its minimum point (40Hz, red trace) the
Richter 10.6’s response extends from 17Hz
to 51Hz ±4dB. When the low-pass filter is set
to 70Hz, the response extends from 18Hz to
120Hz ±4dB.
The far-field in-room frequency response
of the Richter 10.6 subwoofer is shown in
Graph 6. With the low-pass filter set at its
minimum (40Hz) setting, Newport Test Labs
measured the frequency response of the
Richter 10.6 subwoofer as 15Hz to 68Hz
±3dB. With the low-pass filter set at 160Hz
(maximum), the frequency response of the
Richter 10.6 was measured as extending from
24Hz to 220Hz ±3dB. Finally, Newport Test
Labs measured the response without the low-
pass filter in circuit (black trace) as 26Hz to
260kHz ±3dB.
As you can see, the Richter 10.6 returned
outstanding results in all Newport Test Labs’
laboratory tests. Steve Holding

34 Australian Hi-Fi ˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ

ON TEST
DYNAUDIO
SPECIAL FORTY
LOUDSPEAKERS
D
ynaudio has a tradition
of marking momentous
occasions in its history
by producing special
editions of its loud-
speakers. Yes, I know
many manufacturers do
this, but Danish manufacturer Dynaudio has
been building speakers for so long that it now
has a quite a few ‘specials’ in its catalogue…
and back-catalogue. The ‘Special One’ closed
off the company’s first decade in business.
The ‘Special Twenty-Five’ was designed and
built in 2002 for Dynaudio’s 25 anniversary,
and the ‘Sapphire’ was commissioned for the
company’s thirtieth anniversary.
So by now you should have guessed that
the Special Forty was built to commemorate
Dynaudio’s 40th anniversary, in 2017.
But is there anything particularly special
about this model other than it was built
as an anniversary edition and is likely to
become a collectable model? I just had to
find out…
36 Australian Hi-Fi
THE EQUIPMENT
Fully designed and engineered in Dynaudio
Labs, the Special 40 is built right across the
road from those laboratories in the compa-
ny’s own factory in Skanderborg. It continues
the tradition of high-quality stand-mount
designs—not super-compact, being a me-
dium-sized speaker 36cm high and 31cm
deep without counting protuberances—but
certainly very room-friendly.
And while Dynaudio is currently creating an
ongoing series of active and wireless models
for the new age of streaming audio, that’s
not the ‘focus’ of the Special Forty—this is a
firmly traditional passive loudspeaker… no
built-in electronics at all—if you don’t count
the crossover network, that is!
Indeed Dynaudio says its goal here was
to revisit the company’s 40 years of inno-
vation and bring it all together in the light
of everything it has learned since. I liked
Dynaudio’s description of its Special Forty
as ‘our greatest hits… re-imagined, remixed,
remastered...’
One key approach has been to deliver a
tweeter with an extended response not so
much upwards (the –3dB point is quoted at
23kHz) but significantly downwards into the
midrange, as low as 1kHz, while the woofer is
engineered to extend upwards as far as 4kHz.
That creates a natural crossover between
the two drivers, while one of the benefits of
designing its own drivers is that Dynaudio’s
tweeter and woofer also deliver as similar
tonality and dispersion as the physics of the
varying frequencies allow. So Dynaudio’s
preferred first-order crossover circuit need
only apply mild slopes and simple circuitry
to achieve the desired impedance and phase
alignment. As the company says: ‘why ma-
nipulate the musical signal to make the drivers
gel, when you can make better drivers in the first
place?’
Up top, then, is the Esotar Forty tweeter,
currently unique to this model, a 28mm
soft-dome diaphragm, the coating of which,
applied in variable thicknesses for maximum
performance, is described as ‘DSR’, apparently
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ

a tongue-in-cheek initialisation denoting ‘Dy-
naudio Secret Recipe’. Behind the diaphragm
is a new magnet and venting system designed
to relieve the dome from back-pressure.
The thrilling speed of the
bass delivery from the
Dynaudio Special Forties was
immediately evident
Improved damping material is also used
to absorb rear radiation, with the result of
reduced resonances and improved speed and
accuracy. Although this tweeter was designed
and built specifically for the Special Forty, its
design is based on the Esotar2 tweeter that is
used in some other Dynaudio models.
The bass/midrange driver is described by
the company as ‘the ultimate incarnation of our
legendary 17W75 MSP woofer’. In this case the
initialisation is not tongue-in-cheek, but used
to indicate that the 170-mm diameter cone is
made from Dynaudio’s exclusive ‘magnesium
silicate polymer’, which benefits from all
the stability and strength of attachment of a
one-piece design, held in place with the com-
pany’s ‘AirFlow’ chassis and with a hybrid
neodymium/ferrite magnetic system that’s
inside, rather than outside, the voice coil.
Not that you’d know from looking at
the front baffle, but the Dynaudio Special
Forty is a bass reflex design, and the port is
rear-firing, located above a small and robust
connections panel that houses a solid pair
of binding posts good for spades, bananas
or bare wire. Each port comes with a bung
to allow you to ‘tune’ the speaker for your
personal preference, room size and speaker
position. Blocking off the port essentially
turns the bass reflex enclosure into a sealed
one. You can also ‘half-block’ the port by re-
moving a central portion of the bung, about
which more later.
The speakers loaned for review were
finished in a luxurious high-gloss grey birch
finish and, as is invariably the case with Dy-
naudio models, the first thing to impress was
the immaculate build quality and finish—the
deep gloss of the varnish, and here the way
the wide stripes of the birch flow around
from the chamfered baffle to the side walls
without a hint of a join, and then over the
top, so that the baffle and top grains meet at
90 degrees.
The stripes of the veneer vary quite
dramatically in colour on the grey version
Dynaudio Special Forty Loudspeakers
because these are not age rings, as you might
think—they are too straight and uniform,
for one thing. Rather multiple layers of birch
wood have been coloured and compressed
into blocks before being
sliced sideways to pro-
duce this striping effect.
Heaven knows how
it all stays together; I
salute the craftspeople
who achieved the effect,
prior to the piano lac-
quer being applied.
Although my review
models were supplied
in grey birch, as I’ve
noted, another finish is available: a high-gloss
red birch. Both are finishes that Dynaudio
says it has never used before and are exclusive
to this model.
LISTENING SESSIONS
The thrilling speed of the bass delivery from
the Dynaudio Special Forties was immedi-
ately evident when spinning David Bowie’s
‘Let’s Dance’ LP, a recording only seven years
younger than Dynaudio itself.
On China Girl there’s not a nanosecond of
overhang to the Carmine Rojas bass line, and
it’s tuneful too, with every note of its busy
run over the intro and closing defined in
tone and shape, solidly underpinning Omar
Hakim’s spare 80s’ beat, and Bowie impecca-
bly imaged and unimpeded by the surround-
ing flow.
And the dynamics! The Who’s ‘Tommy’
(24/96) came crashing in, the entry of 1921
making me near-jump out of my seat with its
entry, so sharp and powerful an impulse did
the Dynaudios deliver.
IQ’s Mellotron-laden 1312 Overture com-
bined snapping snare and octave-leaping bass
over multiple layers of choir and synths can
swamp lesser speakers—here everything was
swirling and spreading through real space
both between the speakers and apparently
beyond.
An ability to deliver depth of field was
enjoyably revealed in a Philip Glass Ensemble
strings piece from the ‘Mishimi’ soundtrack
(1934: Grandmother & Kimitake), also thrill-
ingly rich in tone.
The resulting combination of clarity, detail
and control was nicely displayed by Angus
& Julia Stone’s Grizzly Bear and its opening
combination of clicky guitar and reverbed
Rhodes before the beat and bass kick in.
Open and wide is this Rick Rubin soundscape
through the Special Forties: Angus front and
real, Julia placed slightly behind in soulful
support, then split to ping-pong sides for the
delightful ‘ba-ba-ba-ba’s’.
While enjoyable at lower volume levels,
these speakers beg to be turned up, and of
course benefit from decent amplification to
fully open the available dynamics and slam,
and to deliver that bass to its full effect.
Their claimed sensitivity is only average at
86dB/W/m (but see our test report on the fol-
lowing pages), while they’re given a nominal
Australian Hi-Fi 37
ON TEST
impedance of 6Ω (confirmed during testing),
so they don’t need an absolute beast of an
amplifier to drive them, though you should
invest in adequate power to have them de-
liver their best; the large reserves of a Classé
integrated amp in this case bringing them
thrillingly on song.
I also experimented with different speaker
positions, and clarity was certainly highest
with the speakers in a good amount of free
space, some metre or more out from any
walls on stands that put their tweeters at my
seated ear height. If you need them further
back, there’s some bass tuning available
from those foam bungs I mentioned that
are supplied for the bass ports—either full
bunged or with centres removed to tame
any rear reflections that might muddy rather
than support their balance. I just kept them
out in free space, toed-in, their sound easily
filling a medium or even medium-to-large
space, although these are speakers with such
brilliance of imaging and dynamics that
they are best appreciated in reasonably close
proximity, where they can fully weave their
magic.
CONCLUSION
Dynaudio has been sensible to finish these
speakers so strikingly in sliced birch, as
the unusual finish draws attention to their
similarly high level of design and perfor-
mance. The Special Forty is an exceptional
standmount worthy of its anniversary
status, with dynamics, tone and imaging
highest on their long list of strengths. Put
them into a high-quality system, and hear
how they sing. Jez Ford
CONTACT DETAILS
Brand: Dynaudio
Model: Special Forty
RRP: $4,499 per pair
Warranty: Five Years
Distributorƕ*ˁʊǔăɁǢÄĴñǜ˿³ǜƞ
Address: 158 Christmas Street
hŘǔʁǞƬǚƞĴ“,ʯ̋ʕƶ
TFƕ ɍʯ̋̋ƶƶƶȴ̋ʹ
T2ƕ ɤ̋ʯɦȳƶɍ̋ʹȳ̋̋
Eƕ ǔȭnjɁźŽˁʊǔʊɁǢƖƋɁȧƖŘˁ
Wƕ ˹˹˹ƖŽˁʊǔʊɁǢƖƋɁȧƖŘˁ
Ɗ Highly musical
Ɗ Thrilling imaging and staging
Ɗ “ȧȧŘƋˁǚŘǜƬǞȭǔʊǒ
Ɗ Not bi-wireable
Ɗ ď˹ɁǞȭǔʊǒƬʊɁȭǚ˿
Ɗ Best with high-quality power
38 Australian Hi-Fi
LAB REPORT
Readers interested in a full technical appraisal of
the performance of the Dynaudio Special Forty
Loudspeakers should continue on and read the
LABORATORY REPORT published on the follow-
ing pages. Readers should note that the results
mentioned in the report, tabulated in perfor-
mance charts and/or displayed using graphs and/
or photographs should be construed as applying
Ɂȭǚ˿ǜɁǜǒƬʊɡƬƋǔǞƋʊŘȧɡǚƬǜƬʊǜƬƞƖ
LABORATORY
TEST
REPORT
Newport Test Labs measured the frequency
response of the Dynaudio Special Forty
as extending from 45Hz to 20kHz ±3dB.
This is the response shown in Graph 1.
The section of the trace below 2kHz is the
averaged result of nine individual frequen-
cy sweeps measured at three metres, with
the central grid point on-axis with the
tweeter using pink noise test stimulus and
with the capture unsmoothed other than
by the averaging process itself. This trace
has been manually spliced (at 2kHz) via
post-processing to the gated high-frequen-
cy response, an expanded view of which
is shown in Graph 2. You can see that the
response is not only spectrally balanced
(no tilts or skews in any direction), but
across the midrange it is particularly flat,
essentially extending from 90Hz to 14kHz
±1.25dB.
Graph 2 not only shows the high-fre-
quency performance of the Dynaudio Spe-
cial Forty in greater detail, it also shows
the difference in the frequency response
depending on whether you’re listening
with the grille on (black trace) or the grille
off (red trace).
You can immediately see that the high-fre-
quency response is flatter without the grille
than with it fitted. When the grille is in place,
there’s a peak in the response at 4kHz, then
small suck-outs at 3.2kHz and 6.5kHz. Up at
15kHz, where there’s already a little suck-out
in the tweeter’s response, the presence of the
grille makes it a little deeper.
In Graph 3 Newport Test Labs has measured
the near-field low frequency response of the
bass/midrange driver when the port is open
(bass-reflex tuning, shown by the black trace)
and when the port is blocked off (infinite
baffle tuning; green trace). The output of the
port itself is shown by the red trace. (All near-
field acquisitions.) You can see that no matter
what tuning you use, the output of the bass/
midrange driver starts rolling off below about
125Hz. As theory predicts, it rolls off smooth-
ly but only gradually at around 12dB per
octave when the port is blocked, but rather
more rapidly (24dB per octave) when the port
is open, though in this case the output of
the port compensates for the lack of output
from the driver. You can see the port’s output
peak at 47Hz does not quite correspond with
the driver’s minima at 50Hz, presumably the
result of some small compromise to get the
cabinet to work well with the triple tuning
possibilities (open, plugged, half-plugged).
The different tunings are also evident on
the measurement of the Dynaudio Special
Forty’s impedance, which is shown in Graph
4. The red trace shows the classic bass reflex
‘double hump’ with the saddle at exact-
ly 50Hz. The resonant peaks are at 34Hz
and 80Hz, and both only a tad above 30Ω.
When the port is closed, there’s just a single
resonant peak at 70Hz that tops out at 39Ω.
The impedance drops below 5Ω at 20Hz and
between 150Hz and 220Hz, but is otherwise
mostly above 7Ω. However those excursions
below 5Ω mean that the Dynaudio Special
Forty should be classified as a nominally 6Ω
design… which is exactly what Dynaudio has
done. The impedance at very high frequen-
cies is heading downwards. An upwards tilt
would have been preferable, but since the
impedance is still a high-ish 6.5Ω at 40kHz,
it’s unlikely to bother any well-designed
amplifier. The phase angle (blue trace) is
well-controlled.
The composite graph (Graph 6) superim-
poses the various measurements and extends
the measurement range for two of them, so
here you can see that the tweeter keeps on
rolling off above 20kHz and has a tiny reso-
nance at 26kHz, and that the port has a fairly
large resonance at 700Hz. I doubt this would
be audible, but in the case of the Dynaudio
Special Forty you could check for yourself by
placing the speakers side by side, blocking the
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
 Dynaudio Special Forty Loudspeakers

dBSPL dBSPL
110 110
Newport Test Labs Newport Test Labs
105 105

100 100

95 95

90 90

85 85

80 80

75 75

70 70

65 65

60 60

55 55

50 50
20 Hz 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 500 Hz 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 40K

Graph 1. Frequency response. Trace below 2kHz is the averaged result of nine Graph 2. High-frequency response, expanded view showing response without
individual frequency sweeps measured at three metres, with the central grid point ǷʁǔǚǚƬǞǜǜƬƞɤŽǚŘƋǘǜʁŘƋƬɦŘȭƞ˹ǔǜǒǷʁǔǚǚƬǔȭɡǚŘƋƬɤʁƬƞǜʁŘƋƬɦƖďƬʊǜʊǜǔȧˁǚˁʊǷŘǜƬƞʊǔȭƬƖ
on-axis with the tweeter using pink noise test stimulus with capture unsmoothed. Microphone placed at three metres on-axis with dome tweeter. Lower measure-
This has been manually spliced (at 2kHz) to the gated high-frequency response, an ment limit 500Hz.
expanded view of which is shown in Graph 2.
dBSPL Ohm Deg
110 70 180
Newport Test Labs 60 Newport Test Labs
105 150
50

100 40 120

95 30 90

90 60
20

85 30

80 0
10
75 9 -30
8
7
70 -60
6

65 5 -90

4
60 -120

3
55 -150

50 2 -180
10 Hz 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 200 300 400 500 10 Hz 20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 40K

Graph 3.³Ɂ˹njʁƬɴˁƬȭƋ˿ʁƬʊɡɁȭʊƬɁnjnjʁɁȭǜȊǞʁǔȭǷŽŘʊʊʁƬǡƬ˾ɡɁʁǜɤʁƬƞǜʁŘƋƬɦŘȭƞ Graph 4. Impedance modulus of Dynaudio Special 40 loudspeaker with port open
woofer when port is open (blue trace) and when port is closed (green trace). Near- (red trace) and closed (green trace) plus phase (blue trace) with port open. Black
ǞƬǚƞŘƋɴˁǔʊǔǜǔɁȭƖñɁʁǜʤ˹ɁɁnjƬʁǚƬ˸ƬǚʊȭɁǜƋɁȧɡƬȭʊŘǜƬƞnjɁʁƞǔǏƬʁƬȭƋƬʊǔȭʁŘƞǔŘǜǔȭǷ trace under is reference 4 ohm precision calibration resistor.
areas.

dBSPL dBSPL
110 110
Newport Test Labs Newport Test Labs
105 105

100 100

95 95

90 90

85 85

80 80

75 75

70 70

65 65

60 60

55 55

50 50
20 Hz 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 10 Hz 20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 40K

Graph 5. Averaged frequency response using pink noise test stimulus with capture Graph 6.,ɁȧɡɁʊǔǜƬʁƬʊɡɁȭʊƬɡǚɁǜƖõƬƞǜʁŘƋƬǔʊɁˁǜɡˁǜɁnjŽŘʊʊʁƬǡƬ˾ɡɁʁǜƖ³ǔǷǒǜ
unsmoothed. Trace is the averaged results of nine individual frequency sweeps blue trace is anechoic response of bass driver. Black trace is frequency response
measured at three metres, with the central grid point on-axis with the tweeter. from Graph 1.
Upper measurement limited at 10kHz.

port of only one of them, and then feeding Forty as having a sensitivity of 83.5dBSPL at and frequency response. It’s low enough that
both speakers the same monophonic signal one metre for a 2.83Veq input, when using you should try to use a more powerful ampli-
with content at this frequency. If you can pink noise as the stimulus. This correlated fier than you might otherwise have consid-
hear a difference, choose the tuning with the quite nicely with a measurement of the Spe- ered, but I’d imagine 100-watts per channel
sound you most like. cial Forty made by Canada’s National Acoustic would be more than sufficient.
Dynaudio specifies the Special Forty has Laboratory, which reported it as being 83.5dB- Overall, the Dynaudio Special Forty
having a sensitivity of 86dBSPL but does not SPL (averaged 300Hz to 3kHz, re 2.83V/1m). returned exemplary performance in Newport
state all its measurement criteria. Newport Test It also correlates with about what I’d expect Test Labs’ suite of acoustic and electrical
Labs reported its test sample of the Special from a loudspeaker of the Special Forty’s size measurements. Steve Holding

Australian Hi-Fi 39
MICROMEGA
M-100
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER/DAC/STREAMER
M
icromega’s M-100
Integrated Am-
plifier is very ob-
viously not your
ordinary integrat-
ed amplifier. This
isn’t only because
it’s not just an integrated amplifier, but also
a DAC and a Streamer. It’s also because it’s
the wrong size, the wrong shape and doesn’t
have the usual array of controls you’d expect
to find on an integrated amplifier. So what
was this famously French company thinking
when it brain-stormed this design?
THE EQUIPMENT
Whatever they were thinking, one thing is
absolutely certain, and that’s that the de-
signers were thinking outside the square… a
long, long way outside the square… thinking,
maybe, of a flattened rectangle, or an activity
aid at an aerobics step class. I suspect that
when you see your first M-100, you’ll either
love the look, or hate it.
To help you love it, the M-100 is available
in a myriad of finishes. The standard finishes
are black or silver anodised aluminium (an
obvious offering, as the M-100 is machined
from a single block of the stuff, however
Micromega has a ‘Micromega Custom Finish’
(MCF) program in place which allows you
to specify any finish you want… you can
even have it covered in leather if you like.
In a conversation with Micromega’s Adrien
Hamdi, he revealed that at present, painted
finishes are the most popular option (though,
mind you, it’s an option that adds $1,800
to the current RRP), with Micromega able to
40 Australian Hi-Fi
paint the M-100 any colour from the central
European RAL colour chart. Reckoning
that its French customers will own French
loudspeakers, Micromega also offers to match
Focal’s Black Lacquer, Carrara White, Imperial
Red, Electric Orange and Bleu Nogaro loud-
speakers. (This isn’t just a patriotic offer, it’s
also a commercial one, because Micromega
now makes electronics for Focal, and in most
countries in the world—not Australia—the
two companies share distributors.) If you
choose a Focal colour option, you’ll save a
few bucks, because Focal colours add only
$1,490 to the retail price.
If you needed even more proof that
Micromega was thinking outside the square
when it designed the M-100, consider that it’s
designed to be wall-mounted. Yep, you can
attach it to the wall, so if you have optioned
in a bright colour, or a multi-hued finish,
you’ll be staring at a huge expanse of it… one
that’s 430mm wide and 350mm high. You
will have to purchase a wall mount to do this
though, and a Universal M-One wall mount
costs $190 (RRP). Note that if you do mount
the M-100 conventionally, watch out for the
four tiny shallow-coned feet at the bottom
of the amplifier, they’re not actually sharp,
but if you put the amplifier on a soft wooden
surface, or push the amplifier over any
surface, you could end up damaging and/or
scratching that surface. Micromega does actu-
ally warn you about this in its manual, but it
doesn’t supply a manual with the M-100. You
have to go on-line and download your own.
You can mount the M-100 in a conven-
tional fashion on a shelf—though it would
have to be a pretty deep shelf—or on an
equipment rack. No matter which orientation
you go for, you’ll be able to see the infor-
mation shown on the front-panel display
because there are two displays, one at the
‘top’ of the amplifier (this being the ‘top’ if
you’re flat-mounting the M-100) and one
on the thin edge of the amplifier, which
would be the ‘front’ if you were mounting
it conventionally. The ‘top’ display has two
buttons either side of the display that are
used to control all the functions on the
amplifier. Because I had to send the M-100
back at the conclusion of this review I didn’t
wall mount it, sitting it horizontally on my
equipment rack and one thing that annoyed
me about the dual displays is that whenever I
used the remote, the ‘top’ display turned off
and simply showed the word ‘Micromega’,
leaving only the ‘front’ display active. Maybe
there’s a way to stop this from happening… I
certainly hope so!
How do four small buttons control all the
M-100’s functions?... and there are plenty of
them! Once you have turned the amplifier
on (top left button), the screen illuminates
and the two buttons on the right become
volume buttons (up/down), while the one at
bottom left becomes an input source button.
If you press the input source button, the
screen changes, and then the functions of the
four buttons also change, so you can cycle
through inputs.
Other screens allow you to adjust the
relative sensitivity of the inputs by up to
12dB, so the volume will stay the same when
switching between components that have
different output levels, adjust balance, and
rename inputs (from a programmed list).
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
 M i c ro m e g a M -1 0 0 I n t e g r a t e d A m p l i f i e r/ DAC / S t re a m e r
The ‘front’ display doesn’t have any
buttons. What looks like a button is actually
a 3.5mm headphone jack. I would have
preferred a larger, 6.35mm jack, but at least
there is a headphone jack. What’s more, the
headphone circuitry has been implemented
very cleverly, so that no matter what level
you’re playing your speakers, if you plug in
your headphones, the volume will instantly
revert to the one you last used when using
your headphones, and the speakers them-
selves will be automatically muted. It’s no
ordinary headphone jack, either. In addition
to using it conventionally, you can also
switch between in three levels of binaural
processing. If I can jump ahead of myself, I
was impressed by the binaural headphone
circuitry inside the M-100. It slightly softened
the edges of the sound, and brought wide-
ly-panned elements into the central stage
area, but was totally immersive… at least it
was in the ‘light’ and ‘strong’ settings: The
‘medium’ setting was less so.
All the connections are made at the rear of
the amplifier, and the rear panel is recessed,
so that the top and sides of the aluminium
extrusion extend beyond it by 60mm. This
makes it more difficult to access all the
connectors on the rear panel, but it makes
it possible to hide all the cables from sight if
you’re wall-mounting the amplifier, or even if
you’re sitting it flat.
On the recessed rear panel you’ll find an
unbalanced line input (via RCA terminals)
and a balanced line input (via XLR termi-
nals). There’s also a phono input whose gain
is switchable for use with either moving-mag-
net or moving-coil cartridges. So that’s three
‘analogue’ (more about this later) inputs in
total. Then there are the digital inputs: one
coaxial (RCA), one optical (Toslink), one AES/
EBU (via XLR) and one USB (B-type). There’s
also an Ethernet port. (If you load the free
Micromega app onto your smart phone—iOS
or Android—you’ll be able to play internet
radio and networked files via UPnP/DLNA.)
The coaxial and AES/EBU digital inputs
will do any sampling rate or bit configura-
tion up to 32-bit/768kHz and the M-100 can
handle PCM DSD and DSD over PCM (up to
11.2MHz DSD); the optical input is capable
of up to 24-bit/192kHz. There are two USB-A
slots on the rear panel. One is to allow firm-
ware updates, plus can also be used to replay
music stored on a stick or a drive (though
a firmware update is required). The second
USB-A slot is so you can plug in a USB ‘don-
gle’ associated with the ‘M.A.R.S.’ circuitry.
M.A.R.S. stands for Micromega Acoustic
Room System and it’s an equaliser that’s
designed to compensate for acoustic deficien-
cies in your room and in your loudspeakers.
Unlike many programs, it doesn’t offer much
in the way of customisation: there are only
two equalisation curves to choose between.
One aims to eliminate room effects for you,
and also make the frequency response of
your speakers as flat as possible, while the
other just aims to eliminate room effects,
and leaves the frequency response of your
speakers pretty-much as the designer of those
speakers intended.
If you order the M.A.R.S. option, you’ll
not only get the essential USB key that
activates the M.A.R.S. circuitry, but also a
mini-tripod, a threaded microphone holder,
a long high-quality cable and a Dayton
Audio EMM-6 precision electret condenser
measurement microphone. (Hence the reason
for the provision of a microphone input
above the ground terminal on the rear panel
of the M-100, which I didn’t mention earlier,
because it wouldn’t have made sense until
you’d learned about the M.A.R.S. option. It’s
this that you plug the EMM-6 into, so the
M-100 can then use it to measure your room.
My review sample didn’t come with the
M.A.R.S. option fitted, but if you do order it,
it will cost you an additional $1,490 if you or-
der it pre-installed, and an additional $1,990
if you decide to add it afterwards.
The two sockets which look like they’re
HDMI sockets are reserved for future use with
I2S data streams (as are already used inter-
nally prior to the DAC), and as a final digital
bonus the M-100 offers Bluetooth streaming,
with the aptX codec available for so-called
‘near-CD’ quality lossy compression if your
sending device also supports aptX.
Also on the rear panel are balanced XLR
pre-outputs, a subwoofer output, a pair of
control triggers and a giant set of speaker
terminals. I say ‘giant’ because they’re larger
than what I normally see—great huge blocks
of gold-plated metal that can accommodate
bare cable, banana plugs or spade connectors.
INTERNAL CIRCUITRY
The M-100 is so narrow that I suspected the
company might be using Class-D circuitry,
but I was wrong. In fact, from the vehement
anti-Class-D diatribe contained in the White
Paper that’s downloadable from Micromega’s
website, I don’t imagine the company will be
building an amplifier with a Class-D output
stage anytime soon!
However, the power supply for the M-100
is not a conventional linear type, but a
switch-mode power supply (SMPS) of a type
Micromega calls a ‘resonance power supply’
or ‘LLC’ that has a switching frequency of
between 90kHz and 120kHz which puts the
rectified components up at around 200kHz
and higher.
One thing Micromega’s White Paper does
not make clear is that although the output
stage of the M-100 is analogue, the signal
path through the amplifier is not analogue,
because all internal processing is done in the
digital domain: any signal you apply to any
of the analogue inputs (XLR, RCA or Phono)
will be converted to 24-bit/96kHz PCM at the
input and only converted back to analogue
just prior to the final amplifier stage.
As for the output of that analogue output
stage, Micromega rates the output power of
the M-100 at 100-watts per channel both
channels driven into 8Ω loads and 200-watts
per channel both channels driven into 4Ω
loads. The heat from the Thermaltrak output
transistors is dissipated by a tunnel and fan
system that does not operate all the time, but
is whisper-quiet when it is operating.
LISTENING SESSIONS
Before you start listening I’d recommend you
download Micomega’s control App. When I
loaded it onto my phone it found the M-100
immediately and offered easier access to var-
ious settings and adjustments you can make
to the circuitry than I thought was possible
using the front panel controls, plus it allows
easy renaming of the inputs, rather than
simply selecting from a preset list. For music
operations it accesses internet radio, includes
a good search option and accesses podcasts as
well as live stations, and you can go to ‘Audio
Server’ to play from UPnP and DLNA shares
on your network.
If you’d rather not use your phone to
control the system you can instead use the
remote control Micromega supplies with the
M-100. Micromega was also thinking outside
the square when it designed this remote,
because it’s nothing like you’d expect a
remote to be, not least because its size, shape
and the location of the buttons on it make
it very difficult (I won’t say impossible, but I
was tempted) to use the remote with just one
hand—you have to hold onto it like you’re
controlling a drone.
My listening sessions started out with my
favourite black vinyl spinners, and although
I was acutely conscious of the fact that al-
though I was playing vinyl, the music was be-
ing ‘digitised’ on-the-fly, what I was hearing
through my loudspeakers was all analogue…
and very beautiful-sounding analogue into
the bargain. Playing my QRP re-mastered ver-
sion of ‘Tea for the Tillerman’ (no, I haven’t
yet forgiven Yusuf Islam, but I’ve mellowed
enough to play and perform his music after
a two-decade hiatus), the very first moments
of Where do the Children Play were enough to
convince me of the sonic transparency of the
M-100’s digital and analogue circuitry.
Australian Hi-Fi 41
ON TEST
It wasn’t just the richness and depth of
the bass, but the incredible level of detail—
such as hearing the sound of the pick hitting
the strings just before I heard the note of
the string itself, not to mention the lovely
high-frequency response: sweet, airy, extend-
ed… and more gorgeous than I’ve ever heard
it sound on CD. After seriously surprising
myself that I was so happy with the M-100’s
performance with black vinyl, I then slowly
worked through listening to all its digital
inputs, a process which necessarily including
evaluating everything from various streaming
services right up to the latest high-res formats,
and found that the longer I listened to the
M-100, and the more inputs I evaluated, the
more impressed I became by its performance:
This is one seriously cool component! (Well
not totally cool, the case could become warm
despite the fan… which I could hear up close
when no music was playing, but not from my
listening position, and never when the music
was playing.) And speaking of streaming,
that process seemed to continue even when I
switched to listen to a different input, so make
sure you stop it when you’re not listening if
you don’t want to consume bandwidth.
Listening to Takatukas’ ‘Red Blood’,
which seemed appropriate given the M-100’s
heritage, the M-100 delivered the wild roll-
er-coaster-ride of sound for which the band
is famous, from the trademark machine-gun
drumming of Bruno Mellier to the screaming,
almost ear-piercing lead guitar shredding
of Gerald Ozga. It kicks in from the opener
Paranoiaque/hypochondriaque and keeps the
excitement through all 15 tracks to Ras Kouy-
on. The slam and tone of Nicolas Vitry’s bass
is a constant delight as well.
I was able to confirm that the M-100’s
performance was totally consistent across all
the inputs using my library of cuts that are
identical except for format, many of which
are sourced from Soundkeeper Recordings.
LABORATORY
TEST
REPORT
Newport Test Labs measured the power output
of the Micromega M-100 as 108-watts per
channel, both channels driven, at 1kHz and
all frequencies up to 20kHz (the highest
frequency measured in this test), and as 102
watts per channel both channels at 20Hz. All
measurements are a little higher than Micro-
mega’s spec of 100-watts per channel into
LAB REPORT
The M-100 delivered consistently silent challenge and delivered nearly 300-watts
backgrounds, extraordinary dynamics and per channel, both channels driven, right
excelled at maintaining ruthlessly accurate across the audio band.
tonality irrespective of music genre. The frequency response of the Mi-
cromega M-100 is graphed in Graph 4
CONCLUSION and tabulated in the accompanying Test
As ‘all in one’ components become increas- Result table. Across the audio band (Graph
ingly common, manufacturers are pulling 4) you can see the M-100’s frequency
out all the stops to make sure their products response was ruler flat from 20Hz up to
stand out. Micromega has pulled out so many 2kHz. Below 20Hz it rolled off to be only
stops building the M-100 that you have to 0.2dB down at 5Hz (and 1dB down at
peer upwards to see it (literally, if you wall- 2Hz, though this frequency was below the
mount it). Brilliantly designed, lovely-sound- graphing limit) and above 2kHz it rolled
ing, able to be optioned-up and/or upgraded off to be 0.5dB down at 20kHz and then
and, thanks to the MCF customisation on 1dB down at 34kHz. The –3dB response
offer, it can be as beautiful as your heart’s extended from below 1Hz to 45kHz.
desire. Magnifique! Jules Larkin Above 45kHz, the response essentially dis-
appears, because the sampling frequency
Readers should note that the results mentioned
of the internal ADC is 96kHz, meaning
in the report, tabulated in performance charts and
response has to be completely rolled off
displayed using graphs or photographs should be
by 48kHz in order to avoid aliasing.
construed as applying only to the sample tested.
Channel separation was excellent at
CONTACT DETAILS
Brand: Micromega
Model: M-100
RRP: $6,490
Warranty: One Year
Distributor: Absolute Hi End
Address: PO Box 370
Ormond VIC 3204
T: (04) 8877 7999
E: info@ absolutehiend.com
W: www. absolutehiend.com
Ɗ Feature-packed
Ɗ Does everything
Ɗ Amazing sound
Ɗ No analog signal path
Ɗ Display switching
Ɗ Remote control
8Ω. Measured into 4Ω loads, the Micromega
M-100 only just exceeded its specification at
1kHz and 20kHz (201-watts per channel) but
dropped just under specification when the
test frequency was 20Hz, where it delivered
186-watts per channel, since this is just 0.3dB
lower than specification, it’s inconsequential.
The M-100 delivered the same power output
irrespective of whether a single channel was
driven, or both channels, made possible in
part because the amplifier uses dual power
supplies, so one can’t deplete the other.
Good design. Newport Test Labs also tested
the M-100 into 2Ω loads, for which it’s not
actually rated, but the Micromega rose to the
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
 M i c ro m e g a M -1 0 0 I n t e g r a t e d A m p l i f i e r/ DAC / S t re a m e r

dBFS dBFS
0 00 0.00
.EWPORT 4EST
. 4 ,ABS .EWPORT 4EST ,ABS
. B

-20 00 -20.00

40 00 40.00

-60 00 -60.00 hardly significant. Note the extremely low

-80 00 -80.00
level of the noise floor over the audio band,
down below 120dB referenced to 1-watt,
-100 00 100.00
which is outstanding performance.
-120 00 -120.00
Graph 2 shows distortion at rated output
(100-watts) into 8Ω and you can see the
-140 00 -140.00
0Hz 4000.00 8000.00 12000.00 16000.00 20k 0Hz 4000.00 8000.00 12000 00 16000.00 20k
M-100’s performance was outstandingly
Graph 1. Total harmonic distortion (THD) at 1kHz at Graph 2. Total harmonic distortion (THD) at 1kHz at good, with a second harmonic at –100dB
an output of 1-watt into an 8-ohm non-inductive rated output (100 watts) into an 8-ohm non-induc- (0.001% THD) and fourth and sixth harmon-
load, referenced to 0dB. tive load, referenced to 0dB.
ics down at around –110dB (0.0003% THD).
dBr
dBFS
0.00 3 00
.EWPORT
.EW
W 4EST ,ABS
A
Interestingly, a third harmonic component
.EWPORT
W 4ESTT ,ABS
2 50 is obvious, so this is likely related to the
-20.00 2 00
output stage, but it’s 113dB down (0.0002%
1 50
-40.00 THD) and so inaudible. Note that the noise
1 00

0 50
floor across the audio band has dropped even
60.00
0 00 lower, down close to –140dB. There is some
-80.00 0.50 low-frequency noise (the spike at the extreme
-1.00
100.00
left of the graph) but it’s more than 80dB
-1.50
down. The slight anomalies in the noise floor
-2.00
-120.00
-2.50
are likely sampling-related.
-140.00
0Hz 10000.00 20000.00 30000.00 40000.00 50k
-3.00
10 00 Hz 100.00 1000.00 10000.00 40k
Intermodulation distortion (CCIF), as
measured by Newport Test Labs, is shown in
Graph 3. Intermodulation distortion (CCIF-IMD) us- Graph 4. Frequency response of line input at an
ing test signals at 19kHz and 20kHz, at an output of output of 1-watt into an 8-ohm non-inductive Graph 3, and shows the two test signals (at
1-watt into an 8-ohm non-inductive load, referenced load (black trace) and into a combination resistive/ 19kHz and 20kHz) just left of centre. The
to 0dB. inductive/capacitive load representative of a typical two sidebands at 18kHz and 21kHz are both
two-way loudspeaker system (red trace).
around 110dB down (0.0003% THD), and
the unwanted regenerated difference signal
low and midrange frequencies, as you can see –98dB (0.0012% THD), a fourth harmonic at at 1kHz is 100dB down (0.001% THD). The
from the tabulated results, but only 74dB at –110dB (0.0003% THD) and a fifth harmonic signals up around 40kHz are likely to be a
20kHz, rather less than I am used to seeing at –113dB (0.0002% THD). Note that in this mixture of sampling artefacts and second
from an integrated amplifier, but more than case (and with all the other measurements harmonic distortion components, but are so
will be necessary to ensure perfect stereo im- Newport Test Labs made on the M-100), the high in frequency and so low in level that
aging and channel separation. Channel phase results include not only the non-linearities they can be discounted.
errors were virtually non-existent, and even of the analogue output stage, but also of the Newport Test Labs measured the signal-
the largest of them (1.05° at 20kHz) would be analogue-to-digital and digital-to-analogue to-noise ratio of the Micromega M-100 as
completely inaudible. Channel balance was converter stages. Performance into a 4Ω 81dB A-weighted referred to 1-watt and 97dB
an excellent 0.035dB. load (not shown) was similar but with slight A-weighted referred to rated output. These are
Distortion at an output of one watt into increases in the levels of the 2nd and 4th har- very good figures, that would have been even
8Ω (Graph 1) was very low, as you can see, monics, but only to –95dB (0.0017% THD) better if the lab had used a 20kHz low-pass
with a second harmonic component at and –105dB (0.0005% THD) respectively, so filter, as the M-100 exhibited some ultrason-
ic noise that dragged down the measured
figures somewhat, but is so high that it would
ÀǔƋʁɁȧƬǷŘÀȊɍ̋̋“ȭǜƬǷʁŘǜƬƞ ÄȧɡǚǔǞƬʁ ǂ ³ŘŽɁʁŘǜɁʁ˿ ďƬʊǜ õƬʊˁǚǜʊ be completely inaudible to the human ear.
The square wave performance of the Mi-
Test Measured Result Units/Comment
cromega M-100 is shown for three frequen-
Frequency Response @ 1 watt o/p 2Hz – 34kHz –1dB
cies and are ‘non-typical’ of an amplifier
Frequency Response @ 1 watt o/p <1Hz – 45kHz –3dB because they show artefacts (ringing) caused
Channel Separation (dB) 108dB / 101dB / 74dB (20Hz / 1kHz / 20kHz) by the internal A-D and D-A converters. The
10kHz wave is severely compromised because
Channel Balance 0.035 dB @ 1kHz
the essential internal filtering eliminates the
Interchannel Phase 0.02 / 0.05 / 1.05 degrees ( 20Hz / 1kHz / 20kHz)
higher-order harmonics necessary to create
THD+N 0.01% / 0.0002% @ 1-watt / @ rated output a high-frequency square wave, because only
Signal-to-Noise (unwghted/wghted) 77dB / 81dB dB referred to 1-watt output four components 10kHz, 20kHz, 30kHz and
Signal-to-Noise (unwghted/wghted) 94dB / 97dB dB referred to rated output
40kHz are available, hence the almost-sinus
shape of the waveform.
Input Sensitivity 136mV / 1.36V (1-watt / rated output)
Considering that the measured perfor-
Output Impedance ̋Ɩ̋ʹ˫ at 1kHz mance of the M-100 takes into account A-D
Damping Factor 400 @1kHz and D-A conversion as well as amplification
Power Consumption 2.58 / 44.71 watts (Standby / On) to 100-watts (8Ω) and 200-watts (4Ω) per
channel, my conclusion is that the M-100 de-
Power Consumption 62.83 / 337 watts at 1-watt / at rated output
livered an outstanding level of performance
Mains Voltage Variation during Test 235 – 253 Minimum – Maximum Steve Holding
on the test bench.

Australian Hi-Fi 43
ON TEST
NAGRA
CDP
CD PLAYER
N
agra’s CDP player is
like no other CD play-
er you have seen be-
fore, because the front
panel display is built
into the CD drawer,
the front of which
does not close flush with the front panel, as
with most drawer-style CD mechanisms, but
sits proud of it. It’s also small… so small that
the face of the remote control is almost larger
than the front of the CDP.
Open the drawer and you’ll see that it is
not some piece of extruded plastic plucked
from the shelf of an OEM manufacturer, or
even a piece of stamped metal. It’s a solid slab
of aluminium alloy, through which protrudes
the CD drive and laser assembly (a Philips
CD-Pro2M). This thing is solid, with a capital
‘S’—and very obviously assembled by hand.
Once you drop a CD over the drive, you
then have to hold it in place by attaching a
magnetic clamp. If you don’t do this, the Na-
gra CDP will refuse to play… but it will give
you a warning as to why it’s not co-operating
by showing the words ‘No Clamper’ in the
front panel display.
44 Australian Hi-Fi
You can close the drawer by simply push- adoption of pilot lights to indicate control
ing it in… though I recommend you don’t status. The person operating equipment using
do this. Far better to close it using the tiny this system only had to glance at, say, an
spring-loaded Open/Close toggle switch that instrument panel, to see which controls were
pokes through a slot cut in the front panel. ‘On’ and which were ‘Off’ by whether or not
The toggle switch you can see on the front a red painted bar was visible.
panel just to the right of the disc drawer Of course you don’t have to use the Na-
alters the brightness of the display (through gra’s front panel controls at all if you’d rather
six levels). Again, this is a spring-loaded, not. The CDP (along with all other variants
momentary-contact switch that protrudes of Nagra’s player, about which more later)
through a slot cut into the front panel. The comes standard with a Nagra RCU-II infra-red
third toggle switch you can see on the front remote.
panel is used to fast-forward and fast-rewind
through individual tracks, plus it also doubles
as a track skip (forward/reverse) control.
The rotary control at the right of the front
panel controls the Nagra CDP’s other trans-
port functions. It’s a bar of aluminium that
sits in a 6mm-deep recess in the front panel.
This thing is
solid, with a
In its horizontal (Off) position, it obscures
a horizontal red bar underneath it that be-
comes visible when you rotate the bar clock-
wise, first to ‘Stop’, then to ‘Pause’ and finally
capital ‘S’—and
to ‘Play’ (at which point the bar is vertical). very obviously
The reason for the red bar is to show that the
Nagra is ‘On’. It’s a technique that was used
assembled by
in the early day of electronics, pre-dating the hand...
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ

This is a multi-function device that will also
control other compatible Nagra components.
In addition to allowing you to control the
basic transport functions of the CDP it ena-
bles you to access more advanced playback
functions, including programmed play,
repeat track, repeat disc, A–B repeat, shuffle
play and track scan. It’s a very large remote
(51mm wide, 25mm deep and 222mm long)
and a very heavy one too (it weighs 310g).
I particularly liked that I could stand it on
its end, which makes it easy to store, easy to
pick up, and overall means you’re less likely
to accidentally misplace it.
The chassis of the Nagra CDP is not
moulded or pressed in any way, it’s entirely
constructed from thick flat sheets of alumin-
ium that are bolted together. It’s a technique
that’s often used to build prototypes, or
products not many of which will be built,
because it saves tooling costs. It does mean,
however, that appearance of the Nagra CDP
is like stepping back in time to the 1950s… or
even the 1940s. It seems Nagra is celebrating
this by deliberately using knobs, switches and
controls that are also built in styles that hark
back to these times.
If you were thinking that the front panel
of the Nagra CDP looks a bit bare, it’s because
there are three different versions of this
player available, and on the ‘CDC’ version
the blank space is occupied by volume and
balance controls and an output level meter…
or, as Nagra prefers to call it, a ‘double modu-
lometer’. The ‘CDT’ version looks identical to
the model reviewed here, but is only a trans-
port and must be used in conjunction with
an external digital-to-analogue converter (of
which Nagra makes two, the ‘Classic’ DAC
and the ‘HD’ DAC.)
The rear panel of the Nagra CDP has both
balanced (via gold-plated XLR) and unbal-
anced (via gold-plated RCA) audio outputs
as well as three digital outputs: SPDIF (via
RCA), Optical (via Toslink), and AES (via
XLR). But what’s most notable is what isn’t
there: a 240V power socket. It doesn’t have a
240V power socket because you need to use
an external power supply to deliver power to
the CDP, via a proprietary three-pin socket
which is what you can see on the rear panel.
It appears that Nagra does not want any
high-voltage circuits anywhere near its digital
circuitry or low-voltage analogue circuits.
As for that external power supply, you
have a range of choices because there are two
different external supplies, plus the CDP can
also get its power from some other Nagra
components, such as the BPS phono pream-
plifier. Included in the price of the CDP is Na-
gra’s ACPS II, a small single-rail stand-alone
power supply that usually retails for $1,695.
You could also power it with a Nagra MPS
Power supply, which retails for $9,295, and
can supply 12V d.c. power for up to four
Nagra components (but only three if one of
them is the HD DAC, which requires two sep-
arate power supplies to itself). One advantage
of using this unit is that it can be fitted with
an optional Li-Ion battery, enabling total
isolation from the 240V mains. The battery
can power the CDP for up to 11 hours. Local
distributor Advance Audio supplied the Nagra
MPS Power supply for this review, but with-
out the battery fitted, so mains power was
used for all the listening sessions and for the
testing by Newport Test Labs.
IN USE AND LISTENING
SESSIONS
The very first thing you will notice about the
Nagra CDP is that the disc drawer mechanism
is noisy when it’s moving inwards and out-
wards. Very noisy. This was a surprise in part
because Nagra says the motor is: ‘a state-of-
the-art planetary reduction motor: a component
developed by a NASA-approved supplier, whose
products equipped the Mars Rover robot sent to
the red planet.’ It was only after reading this
that I realised that a motor designed for use
in space doesn’t have to be quiet, because
you couldn’t hear it in space… there’s no
atmosphere, so no medium for the transmis-
sion of sound waves. The only requirements
for a motor used in a space program would be
that it’s accurate and reliable… the manufac-
turer really wouldn’t care how noisy it was.
The drawer motor is no doubt accurate (it’s
accurate to within two microns, according
to Nagra) and I have no doubt it is also
absolutely and completely reliable… but I
do have to tell you that it’s ‘way noisy… but
Nagra CDP CD Player
obviously, once it’s done its job of opening
the drawer or closing it, it’s then as silent as
space itself!
As noted at the beginning of this review, a
magnetic clamp must be attached manually
every time you load a CD. Nagra says that
this clamp improves the centring and posi-
tioning of the CD on the transport, which is
certainly true. However its primary function
is to stop the CD from launching itself into
the air when the transport spins it up to
playing speed (which varies between 200
rpm at the beginning of disc and 500 rpm
towards the end). The only issue about drives
that use a clamping system is that you have
to remember to remove both disc and clamp
whenever you transport the player from one
location to another. If you don’t, it’s possible
for the clamp to become dislodged and fall
inside the player, which in the case of the
Nagra CDP will then require you to remove
the six screws securing the top plate and ex-
tract it manually before you attempt to apply
power. This is perfectly safe to do yourself,
because there’s no 240V power inside the
CDP… just 12 volts.
I did appreciate the fact that Nagra has
helpfully included some (red!) illumination
in the drawer when it’s open, which makes
it easy to load and unload CDs in a darkened
room, but I’d stab a guess that this feature
was actually requested by Nagra’s own dealers
and distributors, who often do their demos in
rooms that can be very dark indeed… such as
the demo rooms at hi-fi shows!
Loading is quite quick, but the time it
takes to load a disc is dependent on the num-
ber of tracks on the CD, varying from around
six seconds for an 18-track disc to 24 seconds
for a 99-track disc.
Australian Hi-Fi 45
ON TEST
A state-of-the-
art CD player,
hand-built in
Switzerland,
that delivers
outstanding
sound quality
Once a disc is loaded, other operations (track
skip, fast search and so on) are exceptionally
fast, and the operations are also buffered, so if
you flick the fast forward switch six times in
quick succession, the laser will skip six tracks.
The only quirk in the transport operation
is that the Nagra ‘locks out’ the ‘CD Open’
toggle switch so that it won’t work unless the
transport is stopped, so if a disc is paused or is
playing, pressing the CD Open toggle switch
doesn’t stop play and open the drawer as it
normally would with other CD players. I guess
that this quirk of operation is just down to the
unusual front panel switching.
The sound I heard from the Nagra CDP CD
player was outstandingly good. Low frequen-
cies were tight, powerful, and bouncily tuneful,
no matter what I played, and the sonic quality
of the bass was totally organic… nothing
unnaturally electronic here. Listening to
well-recorded cello, for example (Steven Isserlis
playing Bach’s Cello Suites) I found the Nagra’s
pitching was spot-on and the string sound was
gloriously real, allowing me to totally appreci-
ate the gorgeous sound Isserlis is able to extract
from his cello. If you’ve passed on these suites
in the past for being too ponderous, you’ll love
Isserlis’ faster tempi. Also, the way he is able
to voice the chords is truly astonishing… and
reproduced to perfection by the Nagra CDP.
But even when reproducing electronica-style
bass, with programmed drums and synths and
looped bass, the sound was convincingly and
realistically ‘live’, and with rawer, rock-driven
sounds, such as Rachel Maria Cox’s ‘Untidy
Lines’, the Nagra CDP was able to deliver
the true emotion behind the songs, easily
demonstrated by listening to the ripping guitar
work on Emotionally Untidy or the slow burn of
Constellation.
The clarity and illumination of the Nagra’s
midrange made listening to large-scale choral
works an even-greater pleasure, for the way it
made it easier to follow the different sections
when singing along, or enjoy the cohesiveness
of the whole when just listening to lift the
heart, both of which I often do when playing
46 Australian Hi-Fi
LAB REPORT
LABORATORY
Handel’s ‘Messiah’. Of all the versions I own,
my ‘go-to’ work is Stephen Layton’s wonderful
reading for Hyperion… and it’s home-grown
TEST
here in Oz! The delivery of high-frequencies by
the Nagra CDP was outstanding, with beautiful- REPORT
ly intonated upper violin sound on every CD
I auditioned… the authenticity of the sound
a far cry from the screechy violin delivery of Newport Test Labs measured the output
some compact disc players. As for the sound of
Simon Barker’s shakuhachi on his superb solo
voltage of the Nagra CDP’s unbalanced
outputs as just over 1 volt, as you can see
album, ‘Descalzo’, well it was as if the angels from the tabulated test results. This will be
were playing in heaven. more than sufficient for all integrated am-
plifiers, but if you intend to drive a power
CONCLUSION amplifier directly, you should check that
Nagra obviously would prefer you to partner its input sensitivity is lower than 1 volt,
its CDP CD player with other Nagra compo- otherwise that amplifier won’t be able to
nents, such as its Classic Preamp and Classic deliver its rated output power. The output
Power Amplifier, but unless you’re one of voltage balance between the left and right
those audiophiles who insists that all the channels was excellent, at just 0.019dB,
components in your system have to look the and the phase error between the channels
same, there is absolutely no reason why you was particularly low: only 0.03° at 16Hz
should do this if you have other preferences or and 0.01° at 20kHz. At 1kHz it was perfect:
priorities for amplification. there was no phase error at all between
So if you’d like a state-of-the-art CD player, the channels.
hand-built in Switzerland, that delivers The frequency response of the Nagra
outstanding sound quality and has a user CDP CD player as measured by Newport
interface that will have you smiling with Test Labs was excellent, with response
satisfaction every time you interact with it, the between 20Hz and 20kHz shown in Graph
Nagra CDP CD player is the one for you. 9, and you can see it’s ruler-flat from 20Hz
Andreas Park up to 2.5kHz, after which there’s a very
gradual roll-off until the trace is 0.18dB
Readers interested in a full technical appraisal down at 20kHz. This puts the normalised
of the performance of the Nagra CDP CD Player frequency response within the audio band
should continue on and read the LABORATORY as 20Hz to 20kHz ±0.09dB.
REPORT published on the following pages. Readers
should note that the results mentioned in the
report, tabulated in performance charts and/or
displayed using graphs and/or photographs should
ŽƬƋɁȭʊǜʁˁƬƞŘʊŘɡɡǚ˿ǔȭǷɁȭǚ˿ǜɁǜǒƬʊɡƬƋǔǞƋ
sample tested.
CONTACT DETAILS
Brand: Nagra
Model: CDP
RRP: $22,195
Warranty: Two Years
Distributor: Advance Audio Australia
Address: Unit 8, 509–529 Parramatta Road
Leichhardt NSW 2040
T: (02) 9561 0799
E: info@advanceaudio.com.au
W: www.advanceaudio.com.au
Ɗ Great sound
Ɗ Truly unique build
Ɗ Made in Switzerland
Ɗ Noisy drawer mechanism
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ

Graph 1. THD @ 1kHz @ 0dB recorded level.
Graph 3. THD @ 1kHz @ -20dB recorded level.
Graph 5. THD @ 1kHz @ -91.24dB recorded level.
No Dither.
Graph 7. THD @ 20kHz @ 0dB recorded level.
Graph 9. Frequency Response at @ 0dB recorded
level.
Graph 2. THD @ 1kHz @ -10dB recorded level.
Graph 4. THD @ 1kHz @ -60dB recorded level.
Graph 6. THD @ 1kHz @ -90.31dB recorded level.
Dithered.
Graph 8. CCIF Distortion (Twin-Tone Intermodulation)
@ 0dB using 19kHz and 20kHz test signals in 1:1 ratio.
Graph 10. Impulse Train. (One maximum amplitude
positive sample every 70 samples (630 pulses per
second).
Nagra CDP CD Player
You can see the roll-off above 20kHz is excep-
tionally steep from Graph 10.
Newport Test Labs measured channel sep-
aration as 122dB at 16Hz and exactly 100dB
at 1kHz, both of which are excellent results.
Channel separation at 20kHz was a little less
than I am used to seeing at this frequency
from a CD player, but it’s still far more nec-
essary in order for the Nagra CDP to deliver
perfect stereo imaging.
Distortion with a 1kHz test signal at a
recorded level of 0dB was low (Graph 1),
but the presence of six harmonic distortion
components in the output suggest that this
distortion was related to the output stage,
rather than to the digital-to-analogue con-
version process, particularly since you can
see that when the level of the test signal was
reduced by 10dB (Graph 2) all but two of the
distortion components disappeared. The two
that remain, the second and third harmonics,
are at levels of –120dB (0.0001% THD) and
–114dB (0.00019% THD) respectively and
would be completely inaudible (as would the
six components at 0dB, since all are more
than 100dB down, or less than 0.001% THD).
At a recorded level of –20dB, which is
more representative of the levels music would
be recorded on a commercial music disc,
there’s only a single harmonic distortion
component visible in the output from the
Nagra CDP, and it’s at –131dB (0.00002%
THD). An excellent result!
Graph 4 shows distortion at –60dB and
this time the signals you see are all caused by
errors in the digital-to-analogue conversion
process. However, all the signals are more
than 120dB down, or less than 0.0001% THD,
so would not be audible.
The Nagra CDP CD player’s performance
at exceptionally low recorded levels is shown
in Graphs 5 and 6, where the test signal has
been recorded without dither (Graph 5) and
with dither (Graph 6). Without the dither,
you can see odd-order harmonic distortion
components stretching out to 20kHz. Once
dither is applied, however, all the distor-
tion components disappear, leaving only
the –91.31dB test signal at the far left of
the graph. Because all music recorded onto
CD is dithered, it is the performance that
is shown in Graph 6 that is what the Nagra
CDP will deliver in your hi-fi system. What’s
most notable here—apart from the complete
absence of any distortion components at all,
of course!—is the low level of the noise floor
in Graph 6… it’s down at 135dB right across
the audio band, which is a truly excellent
result, making the Nagra CDP quieter than
most amplifiers.
Testing the Nagra CDP with a very
high-level, high-frequency signal (a 20kHz
Australian Hi-Fi 47
 Nagra CDP CD Player

Nagra CDP CD Player - Laboratory Test Results

Analogue Section Result Units/Comment

Output Voltage 1.0186 / 1.0209 volts (Left Ch/ Right Ch)

(Unbalanced)

Frequency Response See Graph dB (20Hz – 20kHz)

Channel Separation 122 / 100 /73 dB at 16Hz / 1kHz / 20kHz

THD+N 0.001 @ 1kHz @ 0dBFS

Channel Balance 0.019 @ 1kHz @ 0dBFS

Channel Phase -0.03 / 0.00 / 0.01 degrees at 16Hz / 1kHz /

20kHz

Group Delay 180 / 5.38 degrees (1–20kHz /

20–1kHz)

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (No 96 /101 dB (unweighted/weighted)

Pre-emph)

De-Emphasis Error 0.16 / 0.85 / 0.37 at 1kHz / 4kHz / 16kHz

Linearity Error @ 0.01 dB (Test Signal Not

–60.00dB Dithered)

Linearity Error @ –80.59dB 0.05 dB (Test Signal Not

Dithered)

Linearity Error @ –89.46dB 0.14 dB (Test Signal Not

Dithered)

Linearity Error @ –90.31dB 0.03 dB (Test Signal Dithered)

Power Consumption 13.57 watts

Mains Voltage During 237 - 242 (Minimum – Maximum)

Testing

Digital Section Units/Comment

Digital Carrier Amplitude 83.09mV Audioband

Digital Carrier Amplitude 1.06V / 0.95V Differential / Common

Mode

Audioband Jitter 1.7 / 0.009 nS (p–p) / UI (p–p)

Data Jitter 2.1 / 0.01 nS (p–p) / UI (p–p)

Deviation -81.8 ppm

Frame Rate 44096.396

Eye-Narrowing (Zero 5.9 / 0.034 nS (p–p) / UI (p–p)

Cross)

Eye-Narrowing (200mV) 6.4 / 0.036 nS (p–p) / UI (p–p)

Absolute Phase Normal Normal / Inverted

Add wireless sine wave signal recorded at 0dB) showed some sampling-related ar-
tefacts, but none fell within the audio band and all were more than

streaming of hi-res 80dB down (Graph 7).

CCIF intermodulation distortion was very low, as you can see
from Graph 8. The two test signals just left of centre of the graph are

audio files to any accompanied by only two sidebands, both of which are more than
110dB down (0.0003% THD), and although there is an unwanted
difference signal generated (at 1kHz) it’s 108dB down (0.00039%

sound system with THD). The sampling-related artefacts are all higher in frequency than
22.5kHz and all but two are more than 100dB down, and those two

HEOS Link.
are more than 90dB down.
Linearity errors were low, as you can see from the tabulated
results, as were the de-emphasis errors… but at least the Nagra CDP
has a de-emphasis circuit—many manufacturers seem to be omitting
them from their CD players these days (or at least not implementing
the circuit, which is almost always present in the DAC itself) on the
basis that so few people are likely to have CDs that are old enough
to require de-emphasis (that is, discs manufactured and sold prior to
1990).
The square wave and impulse oscillograms show that the Nagra
CDP is using a standard oversampling filter and maintains correct
absolute phase.
Overall, the Nagra CDP CD player returned excellent performance
across all the bench-testing conducted by Newport Test Labs.
Steve Holding
www.heos.com.au
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
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50 Australian Hi-Fi ˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ

 No 65 May/June 2018

REVIEWED

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INTERVIEW

JOHN ONG
SOUND GALLERY
Melbourne’s newest store is about
to celebrate its second anniversary!
 INTERVIEW
JOHN ONG
SOUND GALLERY
J
ohn Ong has been an integral part
of the Melbourne audio scene for
more than twenty years, where he’s
worked in audio research and devel-
opment, and audio design and
manufacturing as well as in the
retail sector. His most recent project, Sound
Gallery, is about to celebrate its second
anniversary, so we thought we’d check on its
progress…
Aushifi: When did you first become interest-
ed in hi-fi?
John Ong: I guess it would have been
when I was 12 years old. I always wondered
how things worked… and especially how mu-
sic could be reproduced from a box! I started
pulling them apart—portable radios, cassette
players—anything I could get my hands on
really. I was really good at taking things apart,
but not so good at putting them together…
unfortunately!
Aushifi: Was anyone else in your family
interested in hi-fi?
John Ong: My uncle loved music and had
a really good Sansui system which had an
enormous multi-channel graphic equaliser. I
remember spending hours with that, adjust-
ing all the controls and trying to work out
exactly which ones I’d have to use to have
the most effect on particular instruments.
52 Australian Hi-Fi
I also had lots of fun, such as arranging the
controls into a smiley face just to hear the
effect on the sound. The classic ‘V’ EQ could
never go wrong… at the time anyway. That’s
when I learned about frequency range and
frequency response.
Aushifi: What type of music were you listen-
ing to back then?
John Ong: Back then it was mostly just
pop music or whatever that was on the
radio—Duran Duran, Michael Jackson, Def
Leopard—the usual music you’d find any
teenager living in Malaysia listening to.
Aushifi: When did you get your first hi-fi
system?
John Ong: It was when I was at high
school. I didn’t have any money to get a
decent system so I asked my parents if they’d
pay. They said that if I got ten straight As in
my exams, I could have the system. Unfor-
tunately I could only get eight As, but they
were nice enough to still get me a system, so
I bought a pair of Rogers speakers, a Creek in-
tegrated amplifier and a Denon cassette deck.
Aushifi: Why a cassette deck rather than a
CD player?
John Ong: I was still at high school and
I knew I couldn’t afford CDs. So I bought
blank tapes and recorded the music I wanted
to listen to instead.
Aushifi: The Rogers speakers seem a strange
choice for a teenager?
John Ong: When I bought my system,
it was the first time I’d ever been into a hi-fi
store, and I actually went in planning to buy
a pair of JBLs. When I went in there was a
bunch of old guys sitting around listening to
some music.
When I mentioned JBL, they said: ‘You
should listen to this system first.’
They sat me down and started playing the
system and to my amazement, for the first
five minutes there was no singing… just mu-
sic, and to be honest I was wondering if they
were for real. ‘Is no-one ever going to sing?’
I thought to myself. But then I was blown
away by the emotional impact of the music—
it was the first time I’d ever heard Pink Floyd
(I’ve been a huge fan ever since)—and it was
also the first time I realised that there was
more to music than just the sound, that it
was the emotional experience of music that
was the most important. As for the speakers,
it was quantity versus quality. The JBLs had
more bass and played loud but the small
Rogers moved me emotionally.
Aushifi: So that store was in Malaysia?
John Ong: Yes, that is where I was born
and first studied.
Aushifi: So after you bought your first hi-fi
system, what then?
John Ong: I bought all the Pink Floyd I
could of course, plus I discovered Dire Straits,
the Eagles, and more. I also started helping
out at the store while I was hanging there,
which enabled me to upgrade my system,
learn how to repair hi-fi components, and
also build my own equipment including my
own speakers and a valve amplifier.
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
JOHN ONG SOUND GALLERY
It might have been that which gave me my
love/hate relationship with valve amplifi-
ers—I love valves yet hate them at the same
time. I love the sound, but it’s so much work
to continually re-bias as the valves age…
Aushifi: What caused you to leave Malaysia?
John Ong: My tertiary education actually.
Like all parents anywhere in the world, mine
wanted the best for their son, so they decided
I should go to University in Australia.
Aushifi: So how did you become a hi-fi
professional?
John Ong: I needed a part-time job while
I was studying, so I started working for Surya
Moorthy at Absolute High End in Hawthorn.
I ended up working with Surya for more than
four years. I learned a lot from him.
Aushifi: And where to from there?
John Ong: I went to work for Maya
Audio, an R&D company that was devel-
oping their own DSP algorithms to achieve
surround sound from just two speakers, and
eliminate room effects. While I was there I
got to work in their recording studio, where
we remastered recordings using our algo-
rithms and I learned about psychoacoustics
and human hearing, all of which came to
good use when I joined local Melbourne
loudspeaker manufacturer The Audio Group
(TAG), designing and manufacturing speakers
for sale throughout Australia.
Aushifi: Then you left to form your own
company, Landmark Audio Visual. What type of
company was it?
John Ong: Basically it was a consultancy
company designing home theatre rooms and
sound distribution systems. I was working
with architects and builders to design and
install high-end audio and video solutions.
Aushifi: But then you got back into retail
didn’t you? How did this switch back into hi-fi
retailing come about?
John Ong: A very good friend of mine,
Aris Giannakis, was one of the owners at
Secher Audio Visual and he asked me to join
them. Aris is like family to me and he was
very persuasive. It was also an attractive offer,
because the place was full of people passion-
ate about audio and the company had been
around for more than 25 years.
Two years later the owners decided to re-
structure the whole company to create a new
retail store (Melbourne Hi-Fi) and a new dis-
tribution company (National Audio Group),
so I helped them with that before leaving in
October 2016 to establish Sound Gallery.
Aushifi: Was there a particular reason you
chose to situate the store in McKinnon?
John Ong: I wanted a location well away
from all the other established hi-fi stores, so I
wouldn’t be seen to be competing with them.
I also decided to stock brands that were dif-
ferent from what anyone else in Melbourne
was offering for the same reason.
I also wanted a quiet location—important for
a hi-fi store—and one with heaps of nearby
parking.
Aushifi: How did you decide what brands
you would sell?
John Ong: My very first rule was that I
would not sell stuff that I don’t personally
like. I am also trying not to be a typical
retail store: Instead I am trying to offer a
solution, tailored to suit different customers
with appropriate advice. So getting a system
from Sound Gallery is an experience. All my
customers will spend a lot of time commu-
nicating and listening to music before they
actually get their own system. I feel that
understanding what you are getting is very
important, as a music system is an emotional
purchase.
Aushifi: So what does it take for you to like a
product enough that you’re happy to sell it?
John Ong: It not only has to sound
great, it also has to be totally reliable and the
distributor and manufacturer have to offer
great support, and by this I mean support
for information, upgrades and, if necessary,
spare parts and repairs. All my customers get
great support from me—I give them all my
personal mobile number and tell them to
call me any time they want—so I expect the
same level of service from distributors… and
manufacturers. Service is the key word these
days, especially if you are competing with
online stores.
Aushifi: How do you demonstrate the equip-
ment you sell?
John Ong: I’m not like any other hi-fi
shop most customers will have experienced.
Sound Gallery is not a ‘buy this and see you
later’ exercise. It’s a long process of listen-
ing and experiencing sound. I have several
different systems set up in-store, each one
INTERVIEW
of which sounds different. My training in
psycho-acoustics made me understand that
the sound you like will depend on your
upbringing, and how you’ve been trained to
listen, due to the necessity of understanding
the spoken word. The result is that Asians like
their sound to have good treble and extreme
clarity; Germans like accuracy; Poms like
their sound to be relaxed, while Americans
prefer big bass and prominent treble. So I
play each customer the same music on five
or six different systems that exhibit these
attributes and let them choose the sound
they’re most attracted to. Once they’ve decid-
ed, I then find out about the dimensions and
acoustics of the room in which the system
will be played, their musical tastes, the sourc-
es they plan to use—vinyl, CD, streaming
etc—and their budget before I make any rec-
ommendations. As I said, it’s a long process
and experience.
Aushifi: What music do you play during
these demonstrations?
John Ong: I encourage my customers
to bring their own music, because that’s
obviously the music they like, but it’s also
the music they’re most familiar with. But I
have most kinds of music available here at
the store, and if it’s not in-store on disc or on
my server, there’s always Tidal! There are rare
cases that some customers have really badly
produced recordings that are unbearable to
listen to in any system. In that case, I usually
will play my recordings to show them what
the system can do. You cannot judge a race
car tyre by putting it on a truck can you?
Aushifi: Anyone who visits the store without
knowing what you sell might be somewhat taken
aback by the cost of the components in each of
your systems, because there aren’t many retail
stores in Australia that have a pair of speakers
Australian Hi-Fi 53
INTERVIEW
that cost $75,000 sitting on the floor. What do
you tell these customers?
John Ong: The first thing I do is let them
listen to all the systems regardless of price, so
I can show them how good music can really
sound in a good system and how they all can
also sound so different with the same music.
Ears have to be trained… as do all the other
human senses. For example you might say
you don’t care much about wine, but once
you’ve had good wine you can’t go back.
The same with food: Once you’ve had a great
meal, that becomes your standard. In other
words, once you’ve experienced something
wonderful, you can’t go back. It’s for this
reason that my dad always told me that the
five senses are the biggest evils of all. As I
mentioned before, it’s the experience most of
us want when pursuing the hi-fi journey. You
have to experience it to understand or know
the difference.
Aushifi: Do you have a typical customer?
John Ong: I’d have to say that most of
my customers—most of whom I regard as my
friends now—are successful family men aged
30 and up. I even have a few that are pushing
80. But now that you mention it, I realise
that I don’t have any customers who are
single… all of them have partners.
Aushifi: When you first opened, how did you
tell people in Melbourne that Sound Gallery was
open for business?
John Ong: It was very low-key. I sent out
a press release that was published in Austral-
ian Hi-Fi Magazine and on the aushifi.com
website, but basically it was word-of-mouth
from people I know personally. I didn’t email
anyone at all. I don’t have a newsletter or
email address database. I have a website, of
54 Australian Hi-Fi
course, plus a Facebook page, and I’m on
Instagram for promoting the business online,
but it’s all low-key because Sound Gallery
is a different concept hi-fi store… it’s not a
box-mover shop. People who love music will
eventually find me.
Aushifi: What days and times are you open?
John Ong: Basically Sound Gallery is open
10.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. every day except
Thursdays and Sundays, but we can cater for
anyone at any time by appointment.
Aushifi: They seem like rather strange hours?
John Ong: Most mornings and after
hours I’m at customers’ houses delivering
and setting up systems. Sound Gallery always
delivers and installs what we sell—especially
high-end systems—unless the customer pre-
fers otherwise. This service is included in the
price. Most people don’t realise that system
set-up contributes at least 25 per cent to the
final result. If you buy a good system but
don’t set it up correctly it can sound terrible.
Most dealers in Melbourne will deliver gear,
but they won’t necessarily install it for you
professionally.
Aushifi: So it’s only you at the store?
John Ong: No, my wife works here at the
store as well, plus I have contractors who
help me with big installs.
Aushifi: Do you mostly sell complete audio
systems, or individual components?
John Ong: It’s really a combination of
both. Most of my customers have been hi-fi
enthusiasts for some time and come to me
because they’re frustrated with the sound
they’re getting from their existing system.
Many have not heard a different sound and
are amazed when I demonstrate the different
sounds you can achieve. Plus I have to say
JOHN ONG SOUND GALLERY
that most are under the misconception that
they need to use tweaks to improve their
sound… cables and interconnects and so on.
I tell them that it’s the synergy of the whole
system that’s the most important. If the
‘bones’ of a system are not right, tweaks are
simply a waste of money.
Aushifi: But you do think cables and inter-
connects can improve the sound of a system?
John Ong: All cables sound different and
can improve the sound of a system: That’s
something I demonstrate to my customers
all the time. But you need to get the synergy
between the various components correct be-
fore you start looking at cables and intercon-
nects… or any other type of tweak.
Aushifi: How do you think the availability
of audio products via the Internet has affected
‘bricks ‘n mortar’ hi-fi retailers such as Sound
Gallery?
John Ong: Buying on-line can be cheaper,
but it’s also risky because you can’t be 100
per cent sure of what will be delivered—there
are a lot of counterfeits out there. Then you’ll
have to install it yourself, and if anything
goes wrong you’re usually on your own.
Keeping a shop open is an expensive busi-
ness, but if you have any problems, at least
there’s a physical door that you can kick! I
always stress service, back-up and expertise. I
tell people up front that I’m not the cheapest,
but they’ll have my service and can call me
for help at any time.
Aushifi: With vinyl making a comeback,
what would you recommend for a new custom-
er who already owns a large collection of LPs
and wants a turntable?
John Ong: It would depend entirely on
his system—everything has to match up.
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
 2018
OCTOBER 19TH – 21ST 2018, THE COMO MELBOURNE

THE ORIGINAL AND

BEST HI-FI SHOW IN
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INTERVIEW
Older customers usually have older sys-
tems, with good-quality older components.
If they already own a good turntable I
often recommend that they don’t buy a
new one at all, but instead get their old
turntable serviced—new bearing fluid, new
belt and so on—their tonearm correctly
aligned, then fit a new stylus,or a new
cartridge.
Aushifi: When you’re at home, do you play
vinyl, CDs, from computer or stream?
John Ong: I have two systems —one for
music and one for home theatre.
On the music system I play vinyl when
I have the time and I’m listening serious-
ly, but if I’m busy doing something else I
stream from my own collection.
Aushifi: What would be your desert island
music choice if you could take only three al-
bums… in any format of your choosing?
John Ong: Pink Floyd’s Division Bell,
Keith Jarrett’s Koln Concert, and anything
Teresa Teng ever sang!
Aushifi: What digital format do you usually
recommend for your customers?
John Ong: My view is that a good record-
ing will always sound good, no matter what
format you’re using, and a bad recording
will always sound bad. Customers often ask
which hi-res format I’m playing when I play
ECM recordings of Keith Jarrett that were
recorded back in the 70s and they’re amazed
when I tell them it’s standard 16-bit 44.1kHz.
Aushifi: Many hi-fi stores now also import
and distribute products. Do you think retailers
who are also importers can offer consumers
unbiased advice?
56 Australian Hi-Fi
John Ong: In an ideal world I’d like to
think they’re importing and distributing
those brands because they really believe in
them. I do bring in one brand (Weiss), but
only because I know the designer person-
ally and admire his philosophies and his
products.
Aushifi: Are looks becoming as important as
sound quality when it comes to hi-fi components?
John Ong: Visual appearance is very
important in these modern days, especially
when living space is scarce. Gone are the
days when you could put four Genesis
speaker towers in a room. Customers are
still after sound quality, but these days
they also look at size, colours, and the
type of finish. At the end of the day, they
have a family and everyone in the family
has to live with the system. It does help if
the system looks good. Sometimes there’s
compromise involved, but in the end if
you can’t live with it, you shouldn’t buy it.
Music was once a selfish hobby, but now
the whole family has to be involved and
enjoy it. They have to like what it looks
like, and be able to use it. I think that’s why
single component all-in-one units that do
everything are becoming more popular,
components such as the Bel Canto ACI 600,
which is a DAC, and a streamer, and an
integrated amplifier… just add speakers.
Aushifi: Is there any one area of modern hi-fi
systems that causes the most problems?
John Ong: The biggest problem area
is streaming. Few people understand how
their home network works, or how to stream
music via iPad or smartphone or computer.
JOHN ONG SOUND GALLERY
And when you set it up for them and get it
working, some guy from the NBN comes in
and changes all the network settings and you
have to go back and re-install all over again.
Software user interfaces aren’t the friendliest
either! Lots of improvement is necessary—
and software has to evolve to become more
user-friendly so that hopefully anyone who
can use a smart phone will be able to stream
music!
Aushifi: What do you think differentiates
Sound Gallery from other hi-fi retailers in Mel-
bourne?
John Ong: I think it’s the way I ap-
proach customer service. I understand that
hi-fi is an emotional purchase, so I always
listen to customers patiently in order to tru-
ly understand what they need, so I can sug-
gest to them how to achieve what they’re
after and am also able to demonstrate it.
I am still an audiophile at heart… I am
just trying to combine my passion with
my profession.
SOUND GALLERY
224 McKinnon Road, McKinnon, VIC 3204
T: (03) 9578 8658
M: 0403 368 755
E-mail: info@soundgallery.com.au
URL: www.soundgallery.com.au
www.facebook.com/soundgalleryaustralia
www.instagram.com/sound.gallery.australia
Opening Hours:
10.30 a.m. – 6.30 p.m. (Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat)
(Thursday and Sunday by appointment only)
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
THROUGH
DEDICATION.
PASSION.
KNOWLEDGE.
W E W E LCO M E YO U TO T H E I M P O SS I B L E M A D E P O SS I B L E .
T H E M O ST A F FO R DA B L E M AG I CO E V E R – A 3
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The standards we set for bearing our M logo are not without consequence.
The push forward into the development of new, exotic, costly technologies and
materials has meant that these products are accessible only to a fortunate few.
And though we have long pursued the delivery of a more affordable product
AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA THROUGH ABSOLUTE HI END
and despite constant experimentation and testing of various methods for
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short of earning the Magico M engraving. Not anymore.
Introducing the most affordable Magico ever- appealing to a wider
audience the A3 brings together a bevy of technologies unheard-of at its price
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renowned elliptical crossover, the A3 is the impossible made possible.
0488 777 999 . info@absolutehiend.com . www.absolutehiend.com
ON TEST
B&W 800 D3
LOUDSPEAKERS
T
he 800 D3 represents a
landmark in the company’s
history, because it was spe-
cifically created to celebrate
B&W’s 50th anniversary.
As such, I expected to find
some gold used in the 800
D3, this being the precious metal most-often
used to celebrate 50th anniversaries in most
countries around the world. B&W has instead
used diamond, a material more commonly
reserved for 60th anniversaries. To be more
specific, the dome of the 800 D3’s tweeter is
made of diamond, which you’d have to agree
is quite a step up in materials science from the
cloth and base metal domes that are usually
used to build tweeters… and by ‘base’ metals,
I mean aluminium, titanium and beryllium.
Using a dome made from diamond is not
without its costs, and the first cost is simply
that: they’re expensive! They’re so expensive
that even B&W can’t afford to damage one.
In fact, to minimise the possibility of damage,
they are not even installed in the cabinet until
the absolute last minute… just prior to each
speaker being individually measured before
being placed in its shipping carton.
Another cost of using a dome made from
diamond is that—rather counter-intuitively,
diamond being the hardest mineral known
to mankind—the diamond dome is actually
quite fragile, so to prevent it being acciden-
tally damaged, B&W protects it with a grille
mesh that very slightly affects its frequency
response and reduces its efficiency. B&W is
continually improving this grille to make it
ever-more acoustically transparent, in order
that it has less effect on the sound waves that
must pass through it. The latest incarnation
of the grille has a mesh grid that looks a little
like one of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic
domes, with myriad interlinked triangles.
The dome is removable, but has a childproof
locking system, so a special tool is required to
remove it.
A further ‘cost’ of using diamond as a
dome material is that it’s heavier than fabric
or metal, which means it’s more difficult to
drive, and somewhat less efficient as a result.
B&W gets around this issue by using four
magnets, rather than just one, to drive the
dome. B&W claims an increase in efficiency
of around 2dB. To keep these four magnets
cool—so they maintain their efficiency—the
B&W uses a rather elegant acoustic
construction to extract unwanted energy
from the rear of the diaphragm by
moving it away to be dissipated inaudibly.
tube in which the tweeter is housed (about
which more in a moment) is made from
aluminium alloy, so the whole surface acts as
a heatsink as well as an ‘enclosure’.
Given all the foregoing drawbacks, one
might be forgiven for asking why B&W uses
diamond domes at all. The reason is that
diamond has a hardness factor of 10 on the
Mohs scale, which means that whereas most
other tweeters enter their ‘break-up’ mode
well below 50kHz (and some do so below
20kHz, so within the audio band itself!)
B&W’s diamond tweeter does not enter its
‘break-up’ mode until a frequency of nearly
70kHz. The result is that the dome is com-
pletely rigid, exhibiting perfect piston-like
behaviour not only within the audio band,
but also for at least an octave above it, and
delivers superior sound quality as a direct re-
sult. (By way of comparison, aluminium rates
only a ‘3’ on the Mohs scale, and beryllium
scores only a ‘5.5’.)
There is one other problem with using
a hard dome in a tweeter, and that is the
problem of getting rid of pressure waves from
the back of the dome. Whereas the pressure
waves at the front of the dome that are
caused by the dome’s forward and backwards
movement are what we perceive as sound,
the corresponding waves issuing from the
back of the dome interfere with sound qual-
ity. Some manufacturers don’t address this
issue at all, while some others use a damper
or disperser immediately behind the dome.
B&W uses a rather elegant acoustic construc-
tion that extracts unwanted energy from the
rear of the diaphragm by moving it away to
be dissipated inaudibly as it moves down the
tube, with the different frequencies being
absorbed at different distances down the tube
(which requires a fairly long tube). This tech-
nique is what B&W refers to as its ‘Nautilus’
technology. As you can see from the 800 D3,
the tweeter is mounted in its own ‘Nautilus’
enclosure at the top of the cabinet. This
enclosure is vibrationally isolated from the
‘head’ that contains the midrange driver, and
this ‘head’ is in turn isolated from the main
cabinet that contains the two bass drivers,
so that cabinet vibration cannot adversely
affect the motion of the midrange or tweeter
diaphragms.
As mentioned in the previous paragraph,
the midrange driver of the B&W 800 D3
is contained in its own sub-enclosure, and
this also has a Nautilus tube to absorb the
unwanted pressure wave from the rear of
the midrange cone. This cone, which is
150mm in diameter, is unlike almost all other
midrange cones ever made in that it does not
have a roll surround around its periphery to
assist with cone movement. Instead it uses
a ‘suspension’ system B&W has been using
for some years now, which it calls a ‘fixed
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
B&W 800 D3 LOUDSPEAKERS ON TEST

suspension’, and the drivers that use it ‘Fixed

Suspension Transducers’ or ‘FST’ drivers. In reality,
the suspension is not ‘fixed’ at all, but instead of
connecting to a flexible ring of rubber or foam
that moves up and down along with the cone, the
cone is instead terminated by a very narrow poly-
mer ring that stretches to accommodate the cone’s
movement. This trick is made possible because
B&W’s FST drivers operate only over a very narrow
band of frequencies that do not require much
in the way of cone movement. The advantages
are claimed to be improved transient response,
improved damping and reduced distortion (this
last because the foam ring does not reflect energy
back across the cone surface in the same manner
as a roll sound). B&W also says that this suspen-
sion improves the high-frequency response, so the
crossover point to the tweeter can be at a higher
frequency than it would otherwise have to be.
The midrange cone is made from a material
that B&W calls ‘Continuum’ that’s said to have a
‘unique composite construction’ and first appeared
on the 802 D3. Continuum must be superior to
Kevlar as a cone material, because B&W itself
previously used Kevlar in this application. The
sub-enclosure in which it’s housed is made from
a fibre-glass-like composite B&W calls ‘Marlan’.
The tear-drop shape means there are no reflec-
tions added to the direct sound, which enables
improved imaging.
Eliminating reflections and diffractions is one
of the reasons the main cabinet of the 800 D3 is
curved. When a bass driver is mounted on a stand-
ard flat baffle its performance is severely affected
by that baffle. Yet, in the main, manufacturers
continue to use flat baffles… primarily, it must be
said, because it’s so difficult to physically mount a
driver on a non-flat surface. B&W has solved the
mounting problem by fixing both the bass drivers
in the 800 D3 to aluminium tubes that protrude
through the baffle.
From an engineering viewpoint, this is expen-
sive and difficult. From a visual viewpoint the
appearance will be in the eyes of the beholder. I
really like the look of the protruding drivers, but
several others whose opinion I asked did not share
my opinion. If you don’t share my opinion either,
B&W supplies a black cloth grille that will hide
both bass drivers and another—separate—grille to
hide the midrange driver from sight.
As for those bass drivers, B&W has also upgrad-
ed the material from which they’re made. Whereas
B&W previously used a material called Rohacell to
make the cones in its flagship designs, it now uses
a material it calls ‘Aerofoil’. Since the word aerofoil
is already in use to describe the cross-sectional
shape of an object that when moved through the
air creates an aerodynamic force (i.e. the blade of a
helicopter) it seemed odd to me that B&W would
use the same word to describe a material. However,
we do know that the construction of the cone
is very similar to that of B&W’s Rohacell cones,
which sandwich a hard foam core between two
skins of woven carbon-fibre.

Australian Hi-Fi 59
ON TEST

However, unlike the Rohacell driver, whose

foam core is the same thickness everywhere
across the cone, the core in the ‘Aerofoil’ cone
is not constant over the cone’s diameter, but
varies depending on the distance from the
point at which it attaches to the voice coil for-
mer. Because of this, and the name, it’s not too
much of a stretch to imagine that the shape of
the core in the ‘aerofoil’ driver is not dissimilar
to that of an aerofoil: flat on one side, bulging
on the other, and thinning at both ends.
Although B&W specifies bass cone diameter
at 250mm, this is the mounting hole diam-
eter: the diameter of the moving part of the
cone is only 228mm, and the Thiele/Small di-
ameter is 215mm. This puts the cone area (Sd)
of each driver at 363cm², for a total cone area
of 726cm², so that if B&W had used a single
bass driver, it would have had to have had an
overall diameter of around 340mm in order to
deliver the same amount of bass.
The 800 D3 is a vented-box design, with
the bass reflex port located underneath the
cabinet, which is my favourite location, as
it means the room is loaded equally, which
doesn’t happen when a port is located on the
front or rear of the cabinet. The port itself is
B&W’s ‘Flowport’ design, so-named because
the surface of the port is dimpled—much like
a golf ball—to ensure a smooth flow of air
through it. Unlike most down-firing ports,
whose performance is affected by the surface
on which the loudspeakers stand, B&W’s port
‘fires’ down into the top of the base of the
speaker, so dispersion is completely controlled,
no matter whether your floor is made of stone,
ceramic, wood or carpet.
The cabinet itself, apart from being curved
internally, is also filled internally with criss-
crossed ply/alloy braces to prevent cabinet
vibrations and inhibit standing waves… a
system B&W calls ‘Matrix’ bracing that it has
been developing for many years, this latest
iteration being its ‘Optimised Matrix.’ Unlike
many curved cabinets, the 800 D3 is a stressed
design, so B&W has to use an alloy beam at
the rear to contain the stresses. I found this
silver beam an unwelcome visual contrast
with the Rosenut finish on my sample (I
would have preferred a black alloy strut with
the Rosenut finish) but that’s really a personal
call (beauty being in the eye of the beholder,
after all), and since it’s around the back of the
speaker, I actually couldn’t see the beam at all
from my listening position. But I do think that
the silvery colour would better-suit the 800 D3
in its ‘Satin White’ finish. (A Gloss Black finish
is also available.)
There are four gold-plated multi-way speak-
er terminals on the rear of the cabinet. The
centre two connect to the midrange driver and
tweeter and the outer two to the bass drivers
to permit bi-wiring or biamping.

60 Australian Hi-Fi ˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ

B&W 800 D3 LOUDSPEAKERS
B&W provides short wire links to connect the
two sections for those using only a single set
of speaker cables. The ‘heads’ of the screw-on
connectors are rounded, which makes them
difficult to tighten, something I found even
more difficult because they didn’t seem to
twist smoothly down the post threads, so
B&W should talk to its supplier about improv-
ing its machining standards.
As for their size, I assume that you’ve
already assumed that the 800 D3
cabinets are big, and you’d be
right, with each one meas-
uring 1217×413×611mm
(HWD).
If you were wonder-
ing what that asterisk
on the B&W 800 D3
price is for, along
with the reference un-
derneath, ‘*Includes
life-time of free hi-res
downloads from B&W’
it means that if you buy a
pair of B&W 800 D3s you au-
tomatically qualify for a life-time
membership to B&W’s ‘Society of Sound’
which means you can download hi-res albums
and tracks from B&W’s website for free and
‘forever’. The only trick to this is that every
time B&W loads a new album to its download
site, it also removes one, which is presumably
part of its licensing agreement. So to get max-
imum benefit from membership, you need to
download at least two albums every month,
which could be annoying to keep remember-
ing to do, but is certainly a clever ploy to keep
you involved with the B&W brand!
LISTENING SESSIONS
First-off, I have to say that in a review of
B&W’s slightly smaller 802 D3s that I wrote
fairly quickly as a direct result of first hearing
them, I was so smitten by their sound quality
and their overall performance that I failed to
emphasise one aspect of their design that I
absolutely loved and also found immensely
practical in day-to-day use. Since that same
design feature is also found on the 800 D3s, I
will use this review to redeem myself. The de-
sign feature to which I refer is simply the fact
that these B&W speakers are fitted with wheels
(or, if you prefer a more scientifically accurate
term, ‘castors’), so they can be moved really
easily. They’re also so heavy (96kg per cabinet)
that I could hear no difference in sound
quality between listening to them whilst on
their castors and when listening when they
were spiked. The castors make it really—and I
mean really!—easy to position the speakers out
of the way whenever you’re not listening to
them, and wheel them out into the optimum
position when you are.
If you find you do prefer the sound when
the speakers are on spikes (note that your
ability to hear a difference might depend on
the floor surface on which the speakers are
standing), you will appreciate B&W’s spike
design too, because after you’ve wheeled
the speakers into the position where they
sound the best, all you need to do to raise
them on their spikes is reach underneath
and spin three sprockets that in turn force
the spikes down onto the floor,
simultaneously raising the
castors so they don’t touch
the floor. And if you
don’t want the spikes
to damage your floor,
you can place ‘spike
cups’ underneath
each spike. You don’t
have to buy these
from a furniture shop
either: B&W supplies
them with each pair of
speakers, in fact they’re
not only supplied—B&W has
cleverly integrated these spike
cups into the cabinet design so they’re
stored underneath the cabinet whenever
you’re not using them, making them impos-
sible to accidentally misplace.
When I first fired up the B&W 800 D3s I
was already anticipating that the gloriously
spine-tingling high-frequency sound of the
diamond tweeter would grab my attention,
as it always has when I’ve auditioned B&W
models using it on previous occasions. So I
was shocked to find that with the B&W 800
D3s this was most definitely not the case.
Unlike many curved cabinets, the 800 D3 is a stressed
design, so B&W has to use an alloy beam at the rear
to contain the stresses.
ON TEST
What grabbed my attention the instant
the music started was that I was suddenly no
longer in my own listening room, but in a
concert hall. It was as if the acoustic char-
acteristics of my room had changed, so that
my overwhelming impression was of having
a sense of their being a huge space. Just as in
a concert hall, even before the music starts,
you can ‘hear’ the size of the hall you’re in,
with the B&W 800 D3s, I was hearing that
size… the music was no longer constrained
to the physical dimensions of my listening
room. This is the first time I’ve experienced
this sense of space so acutely. Then there was
the glorious sound of Jane Peters’ violin (I was
playing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto Op 35)
beautifully contrasted against the orchestra.
No shrillness here, just crystal clarity to her
violin’s tone and its extraordinarily resonant
sound, even when fully stopped. I was also
immediately aware that I was not hearing
the left and right speakers at all. Right from
the outset I found myself totally immersed in
the musical experience. With speakers I have
auditioned previously, it has taken me a little
listening time to make this transition. Even
with the very best speakers, it’s always taken
a few minutes… and with some speakers, it’s
never happened. With the B&W 800 D3s,
there was no transition time at all: the effect
was immediate.
Switching to a piano concerto (Grieg’s A
Minor, Op 16) I was taken aback by the sheer
impact of the kettledrum introduction to the
first movement (allegro molto moderato), which is
punctuated by a full orchestral climax, and then
even more taken aback by Simon Tedeschi’s
take on what is possibly the most famous piano
flourish in classical music, particularly when he
attacks the bottom-most notes on the keyboard.
The sound from the B&W 800 D3s was effort-
less—despite the fact that I was playing the
work at concert-hall volume levels.
Australian Hi-Fi 61
ON TEST
The piano sounded ‘just right’ with its tone
totally accurate across all the octaves. The
orchestra’s sound was also completely full
and powerful.
Imaging from the B&W 800 D3s was per-
fect: the best stereo imaging I’ve ever heard.
Listening to the ethereal soprano voice of
Sara Macliver as she sang the Pie Jesu from
Faure’s Requiem was like being transported to
a higher plane. I’d like to say it was as if she
and Sinfonia Australis were playing in my
living room (they’d just fit), but no, I once
again had been transported to the concert
hall, with all the musicians perfectly posi-
tioned and Macliver’s perfectly-pitched voice
centre-stage, but with the harmonics seeming
to float through the hall. Her voice also re-
vealed that the transition of sound from the
midrange driver to the diamond tweeter is
seamless: it’s as if all the sound is issuing from
B&W 800 D3
Loudspeakers
Brand: Bowers & Wilkins
Model: 800 D3
RRP: $41,900*
Warranty: Five Years
Distributor: Bowers & Wilkins Australia
AddressƕăˁǔǜƬʯ̋ʯƙʕǣǮñŘƋǔǞƋŒǔǷǒ˹Ř˿
,ǒŘǜʊ˹ɁɁƞÂăĶʹ̋ȴʕ
T: (02) 9196 8990
W: www.bowerswilkins.com
Ź“ȭƋǚˁƞƬʊǚǔnjƬȊǜǔȧƬɁnjnjʁƬƬǒǔȊʁƬʊ
ƞɁ˹ȭǚɁŘƞʊnjʁɁȧ*ūĶ
Fabulous bass
Airy, natural sound
Superb high frequencies
Aluminium spine
Speaker terminals
62 Australian Hi-Fi
a single full-range driver—it’s impossible to de-
tect the point at which the sound transitions
from the midrange driver to the tweeter.
Stevie Wonder’s Superstition has always
been a favourite of mine, and through the
800 D3s, that spare kick drum/cymbal intro
got my blood pumping even before that great
syncopated keyboard riff stabs in. The B&Ws
reproduced the biting, cutting, sound of the
guitar brilliantly, and when Stevie chimes in
with ‘very superstitious, writing’s on the wall’ it
was as if he were there in the listening room.
But as if to prove that good speakers will al-
ways reveal a bad mix, You Are The Sunshine of
My Life was delivered too accurately (if there’s
even such a thing) as they made very obvious
the weird phasing effects that go on for about
the first twenty bars. One dares to say that if
this track had been monitored using 800 D3s
it might have ended up sounding completely
different!
As I noted when I reviewed the B&W 802
D3s, the 800 D3s’ dispersion is unbelievably
good, thanks to the almost flat-faced FST
driver and that it’s essentially baffle-less, so
there are none of the response aberrations,
reflections and timing errors that occur when
a midrange driver is mounted on a baffle. The
result is a sound-field that was suspended in
my listening room so three-dimensionally that
the sonic ‘sweet spot’ was almost everywhere.
One big difference between the 802 D3 and
the 800 D3 that I noted straight away was the
improvement in the deep bass. I thought the
802’s bass was fabulous, but the 800 D3’s bass
is better again, not just for the way it extends
lower-down into the low frequencies, but
also for the way seems to have a better ‘grip’,
so that I ‘felt’ the bass as a physical presence
in the room to a greater extent… as well as
hearing it. It would thus appear that their bass
power and extension are amongst the reasons
the 800 D3 is able to deliver that sense of
acoustic space I noted as my ‘first impression’
when listening.
But that sense of acoustic space is also
helped by the 800 D3’s treble response, which
is as clear and pure as I recalled from the 802
D3: very smooth and mannered, such that
there’s none of the ‘tizz’ in the extreme highs
that is the signature of most hard-domed
tweeters, yet without missing out on any high-
end musical detail, or on any ‘air’ around that
detailing.
CONCLUSION
In the world of high-end loudspeakers, man-
ufacturers use many methods to convince
consumers of the superiority of their particu-
lar acoustic creation.
Some use physical size, others use sculp-
tural devices, while a few of them provide
myriad complex adjustments to encourage
‘listener participation’.
B&W 800 D3 LOUDSPEAKERS
Regrettably, an increasing number of
manufacturers are rather crudely just attach-
ing unjustifiably high price tags to inferior
products in an attempt to fool consumers
into thinking that because their products are
expensive, they must somehow be ‘better’
simply because they cost more.
B&W has employed an entirely differ-
ent selling strategy with the 800 D3. It has
created a loudspeaker whose sound speaks
for itself. Audition a pair and they’ll speak to
you. They’ll say: ‘We’re the best speakers you’ve
ever heard!’
And in another bonus for Australian buy-
ers, the fact that B&W recently set up its own
wholly-owned subsidiary in Australia means
that it now doesn’t have to pay another
company to distribute its products, which has
in turn resulted in price reductions across the
entire range, and most particularly in the re-
tail price of the 800 D3s, which has dropped
significantly.
The B&W 800 D3s are still expensive,
of course, but at least—like that classic
television advertisement—you’ll be able to
tell your significant other how much you’ve
saved by waiting. greg borrowman
Readers interested in a full technical appraisal of
the performance of the B&W 800 D3 Loudspeak-
ers should continue on and read the laboratory
report published on the following pages. Readers
should note that the results mentioned in the
report, tabulated in performance charts and/
or displayed using graphs and/or photographs
should be construed as applying only to the
ʊɡƬƋǔǞƋʊŘȧɡǚƬǜƬʊǜƬƞƖ
LABORATORY
TEST
REPORT
Newport Test Labs measured the fre-
quency response of the B&W 800 D3 as
extending from 28Hz to 28kHz ±3dB,
which is an outstanding result and
very close to B&W’s spec of 15Hz to
28kHz ±3dB. This response is shown in
Graph 1, where the trace below 1kHz is
the averaged result of nine individual
frequency sweeps measured at three
metres using a pink noise test stimu-
lus with the central grid point on-axis
with the tweeter and with the capture
unsmoothed. This response has been
spliced using post-processing to the gated
high-frequency response (measured at a
single point at one metre directly on-axis
with the B&W 800 D3’s tweeter while its
protective cover was in place).
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LAB REPORT B&W 800 D3 LOUDSPEAKERS

dBSPL
110
You can see that the ±3dB variation is Graph 1. Frequency Newpor
Newportt Test
est Labs
a
response. Trace below
105
caused by roll-off in the low frequencies (be-
500Hz is the averaged 100

low 30Hz). If we restrict the measurement to

result of nine individ- 95

within the audio band, the trace shows that ual frequency sweeps 90

Newport Test Labs measured the frequency re- measured at three

metres, with the central
85

sponse of the B&W 800 D3 as 20Hz – 20kHz

grid point on-axis with 80

±2.5dB… obviously an exceptionally flat and the tweeter using pink 75

linear response. noise test stimulus with 70

Note, too, that the response is balanced capture unsmoothed.

This has been manually
65

across the audio spectrum, with no ‘tilt’ that spliced (at 500Hz) to the 60

would tend to make the speaker sound a little gated high-frequency 55

bassy or a little bright. The response is also response, an expanded 50

view of which is shown 20 Hz 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 40K

very uniform, without any real peaks or dips

in Graph 2. 110
other than one at 9kHz… and this is at such Newpor
Newp r t T st Labs
wpo L
105
a high frequency, so small and covers such
100
a narrow bandwidth that I do not believe it
95
would be audible.
Graph 2. Low frequency 90
Graph 2 shows the low-frequency response ʁƬʊɡɁȭʊƬ Ɂnj njʁɁȭǜȊǞʁǔȭǷ 85
of the B&W 800 D3 measured by Newport Test ŽŘʊʊ ʁƬǡƬ˾ ɡɁʁǜ ɤʁƬƞ
trace), woofers (green
80

Labs using a near-field measurement tech-

trace) and midrange 75

nique that simulates the result that would be

driver (blue trace). 70

obtained in an anechoic chamber. The bass ÂƬŘʁǞƬǚƞ ŘƋɴˁǔʊǔǜǔɁȭƖ 65

drivers’ response (green trace) is extraordi- Port/woofer/mid levels

not compensated for
60

narily extended, stretching all the way down

ƞǔǏƬʁƬȭƋƬʊ ǔȭ ʁŘƞǔŘǜǔȭǷ 55

to 50Hz before starting to roll off, which is areas. 50

10 Hz 20 50 100 200 500 1K 2K
around an octave further than most bass
drivers manage. And where the bass drivers 40 180

Graph 3. Impedance Newpor

Ne p r t Test Labs
a
do start rolling off, you can see the output of
modulus (black trace)
150
30

the port (the red trace) coming into play with with phase (blue trace) 120

the port’s output peaking at around 27Hz. showing high-pass (pink 20

90

The output of the port rolls off smoothly trace), low pass (green 60

trace) sections. Orange

either side of this peak, which is good, and trace under is reference
30
10
although there’s some ‘leakage’ of high fre- 3 ohm precision calibra- 8
9 0

quencies through the port at around 400Hz tion resistor. 7 -30

and around 1kHz, it’s so low in level that it 5

-60

would not be audible. The midrange driver’s 4

-90

response is also superbly flat and linear. 3

-120

The impedance of the B&W 800 D3 drops -150

to 3Ω at 350Hz and 700Hz—a low impedance 2

20 Hz 50 100 200 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K
-180
40K

that B&W acknowledges in its specification.

However, whereas B&W specs the ‘nominal’
impedance of the 800 D3 at 8Ω, you can see
from the trace on Graph 3 that the impedance
This would suggest to me that you’d be
better off considering the B&W 800 D3 as be-
ly a 4Ω design… or perhaps 6Ω.
w impedance at high frequencies
if you use a Class-D amplifier,
to be one of the newer designs
erant of such loads. And since the
pedance stays mostly below 4Ω
rom 70Hz to 900Hz, any amplifier
ou use will need to have a high
tput current capability. The min-
race at 25Hz suggests that B&W
t optimistic with its claim for ex-
5Hz. The phase angle (blue trace)
le more than I am used to seeing,
ly contained within ±60°, so it
le any good-quality amplifier. The
ng the low-pass and high-pass
he 800 D3 (the pink and green
that the electrical crossover is at
Hz.
Test Labs measured the sensi-
B&W 800 D3 as 89.5dBSPL at
one metre, for a 2.83Veq input, under its
standard test protocol, a figure that is only
very slightly lower than B&W’s specification
of 90dBSPL… and so close to it that the dif-
ference is inconsequential. It also means that
the B&W 800 D3 is remarkably efficient for
such a large speaker with such a flat and ex-
tended frequency response and further means
it will perform well even with low-powered
amplifiers… though I would not recommend
using any amplifier with a power output of
lower than 100-watts per channel, just to en-
sure you can make the most of the 800 D3’s
dynamic capabilities when playing at higher
listening levels.
The B&W 800 D3 returned a flatter, more
extended frequency response than any other
non-DSP corrected loudspeaker Newport Test
Labs has ever measured, and did so whilst
maintaining high efficiency. It’s a design that
B&W’s engineers are no doubt very proud
of… and if I were on B&W’s design team, I
would be very proud too. Steve Holding

64 ÄˁʊǜʁŘǚǔŘȭŒǔȊhǔ ˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
ROCK ON by Jez Ford
STILLS & COLLINS
Everybody Knows
Eek, awkward or what? It’s a musical
‘Back with the Ex’ as the former lovers
of legend reunite for a crowd-funded
album and tour, but if Stills is still
pining for his Judy Blue Eyes, it’s hard to
believe this collection will re-stoke the
fire. At their best the voices meld well
in harmony, but it’s a mixed bag, the
cover versions especially disappointing.
The Wilburys’ Handle with Care is little
differentiated from the original and can’t match its quality, while the
constant harmonies laboured through Leonard Cohen’s Everybody
Knows sound more karaoke than classic cut. Better are Houses, Judy’s
song about Stills, and Judy, one of several Stills songs about her, and the
slower chorus harmonies of Stills’ So Begins the Task and Collins’ River of
Gold. Our supplied files (from Sony via MPE) betrayed high frequency
instabilities, but a check of other sources yielded problem-free files.
FOREIGNER
With the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
This live performance of band plus
orchestra and choir makes an enjoyable
end-to-end performance, though most
tracks are individually faded rather than
gapless. Aside from occasional new
intro sections (Urgent and Jukebox Hero
being especially fun) the orchestra is
supplemental rather than fundamental,
adding depth and tone rather than
re-scoring guitar solos for oboe or
other such sins, though this approach does miss opportunities for
more imaginative arrangements rather than merely expansions of the
originals. Why keep the synth intro to Waiting For A Girl Like You or the
Hammond solo of Cold as Ice with such a broader palette to hand? Still,
the hits are here, the band rocks, and the performance is well-captured,
so you can sample this before buying tickets for the Oct–Nov orchestral
tour of Australia or their headlining of a seven-day ‘Rock The Boat’
cruise alongside Russell Morris, Ross Wilson and, um, Shannon Noll.
BOB DYLAN
Highway 61 Revisited (Mo-Fi vinyl)
Dylan’s 1965 sixth album gets the
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab treatment
with a restored analogue mono version
pressed at 45rpm across four sides, the
increased vinyl resolution maximised by
playing the ‘master’ at half speed while
cut using Tim de Paravicini’s GAIN 2
Ultra Analog system, comprising a
customised Studer and handcrafted
cutting amps driving an Ortofon cutting
head on a restored Neumann VMS-70 lathe. The price of such attention
to detail is $95 from local Mo-Fi distributor Synergy Audio, and while
it’s odd having the songs split across so many sides, the yield is tape-like
clarity, time-transported reality as Mike Bloomfield’s magnificent guitar
leads Dylan’s electric transformation. Vinyl pundit Michael Fremer rates
Mo-Fi’s pressing above anything but first lacquer 1A and 1B originals...
and good luck finding one of those. This is pleasure worth the price.
66 Australian Hi-Fi
RICK PARFITT
Over and Out
When Rick Parfitt fell ill in 2016, it
left the Quo fulfilling a booked tour
and concert movie without him,
with the album and film released as
‘Last Night of the Electrics’. Despite
Francis Rossi giving his head to the
hits it lacked energy in both the
performance and a rather muddy
mix, so it’s an unexpectedly welcome
coda to find that Parfitt had been
working on a solo album, its final polishing completed posthumously
by producer/musician/co-writer Jo Webb with assistance from friends
and family including Rick Parfitt Jnr, Queen’s Brian May, Muse’s Chris
Wolstenholme and Quo’s Alan Lancaster and John ‘Rhino’ Edwards,
all given a lively mix by Biffco’s Ash Howes (a less ‘produced’ version
of the mix is available as an extra in the Deluxe edition). Parfitt’s
only other solo work in 1985 was never released, yet this has quality
beyond mere commemorative value, and diversity too—perhaps half of
the 10 tracks mine that classic 12-bar groove (the riff two minutes into
Lonesome Road could be heralding Caroline or Down Down), but things
branch increasingly wide as it progresses, a reminder that Quo, too,
had more strings to its bow than that riff. So the spookily-appropriate
title track is delightfully sweet and acoustic, When I Was Fallin’ In Love
could be a lost tune from the Wilburys/Petty/Lynne songbook, and
we get as far as strings and piano on Without You. If the lyrics are less
than poetic, the layered arrangements highlight Parfitt’s talent at laying
down tone, crunch, rhythm and solos. And nothing sounds unfinished
or patched, so kudos to those who brought his final blues to our door.
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
LIVE IN CONCERT NBC Television Event
The team behind this NBC ‘event’
includes its own superstars—John
Legend as Christ, Alice Cooper for the
Herod cameo, Rice and Lloyd Webber
themselves as executive producers, plus
Tony and Emmy award-winners enough
to stack a cabinet high. Musical director
Nigel Wright is retained from the most
recent JSC arena tour and delivers an
impeccable band—those who love the
score’s powerful rock, strings and horns combo won’t be disappointed,
and the recording is fine. Individual performances vary. Judas is played
by Brandon Victor Dixon, hot from playing Hamilton’s Aaron Burr (a
villain, which Rice’s Judas is not), and he scores an instant hit, spinning
Heaven On Their Minds very much to his own advantage. Jin Ha is
spot on for Annas (John Paul Young’s role in the 1970s Australian
production), while the talented Sara Bareilles, authoress of the
wonderful ‘Waitress’ musical, blows hot and cold here as Magdelene.
The crucial let-down, from his very first line, is Legend’s poor casting
as Jesus, for which he lacks the softness, the high tenor register and
the powerful falsetto required. This also negates the useful vocal
distinction between Jesus and the lower register of Judas, particularly
in the two-handers of Strange Thing Mystifying and The Last Supper, in
which Dixon wildly outclasses Legend, who then goes on to crucify the
usually thrilling Gethsemane. Another irritation is the audience, mixed
far too loud, screaming when particular stars come on stage, and most
intrusively going X-Factor wild whenever Legend attempts one of his
faltering falsetto notes; this should all have been reined in for the audio
release. Any new JCS release is welcomed, but this one ranks in the
lower echelons of available recordings. Jez Ford
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
JUST LISTEN.
YOU WON'T BE
DISAPPOINTED.

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JAZZ TRACK by John Shand
JONATHAN CRAYFORD
East West Moon (Rattle/Birdland RAT-J-1033)
In collaborating with the stellar New
York rhythm section of bassist Ben
Street and drummer Dan Weiss, New
Zealand pianist Jonathan Crayford
steers well clear of the mentality
of using Big Apple musicians as
a proving ground for one’s own
musicianship. The playing here is often
about restraint rather than rampant
virtuosity, and the real stars are the
compositions. Crayford composes with all the care of a sculptor
delicately chiselling at a slab of marble, so the pieces become fields
for very specific forms of improvising that elaborate upon the story
inherent in each work. Often these are stories in which some level of
disquiet is the dominant mood. The opening Subito, for instance, has
a glow of autumnal lyricism about it against which Weiss lays a vague
undercurrent of agitation.
SPLINTER ORCHESTRA
Mungo (Splitrec 27)
Can human-made music become part
of the natural soundscape? That is
the question asked by the 21-piece
Splinter Orchestra on this three-album
set recorded on a dry lake bed in the
Mungo National Park. The answer is
an emphatic affirmative. This is not
large-scale improvisation as a free-for-
all, but as a taut, disciplined exercise
in moderation. It’s also a response to
the immediate environment, while still allowing fairly unfettered
creativity and interaction. Avoiding self-conscious contributions is
crucial, as these players (who include such exceptional improvisers
as Jim Denley, Laura Altman, Peter Farrar, and Cor Fuhler) know.
The music’s very minimalism may alienate some listeners, but those
who fully engage will be transported, not just in a spatial and
environmental sense, but almost into another way of listening.
JOHN HARKINS TRIO
The Girl Next Door (www.johnharkinsjazz.com)
I like the fact that pianist John Harkins
is not a prolific composer. The three
originals on this nine-track album not
only stand up among the astutely
chosen standards, they include
one tune that deserves to become
a standard in its own right. Called
Kathleen Mary, it is performed with
a bossa lilt to the rhythm, even as
the gorgeous melody suggests that
malleability whereby it could swing, be funky or played as a ballad,
and work just as well. Elegance is a hallmark of this music. Harkins,
bassist Brendan Clarke and drummer Andrew Dickeson have arrived
at a restrained, timeless, manicured approach to making jazz, in
which no note is out of place. The corollary is that there are few
surprises, but the grooves are always buoyant and the soloing
always vibrant.
68 Australian Hi-Fi
GIAN SLATER & HIERONYMUS TRIO
Where the Rest of the World Begins (54 Records CD5402)
This music, sophisticated in both
conception and execution, results
from a collaboration between Sydney’s
Hieronymus Trio and the Melbourne
vocalist Gian Slater. The trio’s gifted
Emma Stephenson has composed six
songs that fall within the somewhat
foggy realm of art music as much as
that of jazz, with a diaphanous beauty
built upon ever-shifting fabric, like a
butterfly’s wing changing colours with the light. That Stephenson can
not only generate such original musical and structural ideas, but also
pen enthralling lyrics, marks her as a bold new force. As an improvising
pianist she has developed a distinctive vocabulary in conjunction with
the understatement of bassist Nick Henderson and drummer Oli
Nelson, while Slater brings her voice’s grace and purity (plus unerring
instincts for musicality) to bear upon the words and airy melodies.
TINA RAYMOND
³ƬǢõǔǷǒǜ³ƬǢ (Orenda 0039)
The Trump presidency prompted LA
drummer Tina Raymond to record her
first album as leader, its title referring to
the US political landscape: left-leaning
on either coast; the right entrenched
in the middle. Raymond, pianist Art
Lande and bassist Putter Smith have
made convincing improvising vehicles
of material by such champions of
progressivism as Woody Guthrie, Joni
Mitchell and Joan Baez. To prove she wasn’t out to knife her country
in the back Raymond has also included anthems of US patriotism, such
as a startling Battle Hymn of the Republic, complete with parade-ground
drumming that unravels without losing its martial quality. Lande finds
something fascinating to say on everything, being one of the rare
pianists to fully intertwine impressionism and a more sinewy swing,
while Smith brings a chunky sound and flair for lyricism.
SHARNY RUSSELL
Comes A Time (Treasure House Music sharnyrussell.com)
Sharny Russell lives on the NSW
North Coast, and it’s not much of
a stretch to hear hints of a breezier
lifestyle and even a little sun and
surf in her song-writing and singing,
in a certain blitheness of tone and
approach. That sunniness in her voice
is especially prominent when she
improvises. Russell’s scatting never feels
laboured, instead having an appealing
effortlessness, as though it rides on a natural updraft emanating from
the song and the surrounding playing. Much the same could be said of
her song-writing, although some pieces compromise the high quality
established by the rest, and should have been dropped. Her voice and
piano playing are well served by a core band of Paul Cutlan (reeds),
Brendan Clarke (bass) and Gordon Rytmeister (drums).
John Shand [www.johnshand.com.au]
˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
 Still s
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BLU-RAY REVIEWS – Different Tastes
Alter Bridge:
Live at Wembley
Director: Daniel E Catullo III
Starring: Myles Kennedy, Mark Tremonti,
Scott Phillips, Brian Marshall.
Show: A– | Picture: A | Sound: A– | Extras: B
M M
y ignorance was exposed when Via Vision included this
disc with a few it had sent through for review. Alter
Bridge? Never heard of them.
When I get a Blu-ray review disc I first pop it into my computer’s
disc drive and run an analysis program on it. That gives me useful
information about such things as the average bit-rate of the video,
confirms (or otherwise) the claimed audio standards and so on.
Then I run a Blu-ray software player which provides additional tech
data on the disc, and I pile all that into a database I’ve been main-
taining for lo these last two decades. In the remarks field I typed
‘Creed similarities’. That’s because the moment I started the disc
running in the player, I thought ‘Creed’, the huge 90s band, with its
heavy sound, occasionally Christian themes and its 25× Platinum US
and 6× Platinum Australian album sales.
But there’s a documentary on this disc too about Alter Bridge,
and this opened with the breakup of Creed. Aha, this is the same
band as ‘Human Clay’ period Creed, with a new vocalist.
The genre is variously alt metal, progressive metal and hard
rock. And, yes, it has a definite Creed flavour. The singer, Myles
Kenneday, has a classic ‘metal’ voice and the instrumentalists have
plenty of time to show their virtuosity, with some very flashy guitar
solos scattered through the 21 live performances. As heavy groups
must, seemingly by force of custom, there’s a quite lovely acoustic
ballad (Wonderful Life) in the middle of the concert.
The disc has a generous play time of two hours. The excitement
starts with an intro to the main menu with graphical sailing ships
firing canon with wonderful oomph.
When you select play, you’re tossed into a two minute long ani-
mated DTS-HD logo. Then onto the concert… with the stereo (24
bit) LPCM track engaged by default.
My receiver happened to have Dolby Surround mode engaged,
and clearly there’s plenty of extractable surround information even
in the two-channel track. The stereo track is a little cleaner than the
surround. In the surround mix the underlying crowd sounds sof-
tened the dynamic impact slightly by removing the ‘space’ between
the musical notes. Still, all the instruments and vocals are clean and
well-balanced, while the bass is appropriately heavy.
The crowd is very enthusiastic, singing along with these mighty
songs. This isn’t challenging music, but extremely well done as it
nicely explores the line between power ballads and heavy metal.
There’s a nice extra in the box: a CD containing 14 of the 21 tracks.
Unfortunately, you can’t squeeze a full two-hour concert onto a CD.
FEATURES
Running time: 118 minutes
Picture: 1.78:1, 1080i60, MPEG4 AVC @ 24.36Mbps
Sound: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 24/48 3/2.1 @ 5052kbps (core: DTS
24/48 3/2.1 @ 1509kbps); English: LPCM 24/48 2/0.0 @ 2304kbps
Subtitles: Nil
Features: CD with 14 tracks; Documentary (1080p24 - 55 mins); Photo gal-
lery (1080i60 - 9 mins)
Restrictions: Exempt, Region Free
70 Australian Hi-Fi
A MusiCares Tribute to
Barbra Streisand
Starring: Streisand, Diana Krall, Seal, Herbie
Hancock, Jeff Beck, LeAnn Rimes, BeBe Winans,
Faith Hill, Matthew Morrison, Barry Manilow,
Tony Bennett, Stevie Wonder, Arturo Sandoval.
Movie: A– | Picture: A | Sound: A | Extras: D
usicares is an American music industry charity established
nearly thirty years ago ‘to help artists in critical need’. Each
year it gives a ‘Person of the Year’ award to a prominent
musician who has also been sufficiently philanthropic. I’d say more,
but there’s really nothing much on the disc describing the purpose
of the concert. I assume that it raises a pile of money for the charity.
In 2011 Barbra Streisand was the honouree. The 65-minute con-
cert consists of a bunch of other prominent artists covering some of
the songs for which she was known over her career. The lady herself
does the last couple.
I spent much of my life dismissive of so-called MoR music, while
simultaneously excusing some of my favourite artists as ‘not MoR’
for some reason or other. But the reality is that Streisand is middle
of the road, and she’s one of the many artists that make much MoR
well worth listening to. Most of this concert is well worth listening to.
Streisand was the one of the first artists I heard on CD, at a CD
player demo, before their release, at a hi-fi store here in Canberra.
When I purchased my first CD player—a Sony CDP-101—hours after
they were launched, I bought ‘Guilty’, that Streisand CD. I may never
have purchased her at all, except in those early days there was almost
nothing available on CD.
I loved Seal’s version of Guilty. These renditions range from fairly
faithful reproductions of Streisand’s versions, through to some which
are almost unrecognisable. His was instrumentally identical to the
original, but with Seal’s gorgeously smooth vocals a fitting replace-
ment for Streisand’s. Another highlight was the Jeff Beck, LeAnn
Rimes and BeBe Winans performance of Come Rain or Come Shine. Yes,
that Jeff Beck. I would never have thought of it, but his guitar made
a superb third voice in what became effectively a trio.
Less successful was Barry Manilow’s by-the-numbers Memory. I
don’t know who, if anyone else, was lip syncing, but his microphone
non-technique made it clear that he was.
The sound quality was a little variable too. Streisand herself sound-
ed excellent (albeit with a stack of reverb dialled in). But Diana Krall’s
microphone was a big zingy, and her piano a touch too quiet, unfo-
cused. There was also noticeable sibilance on Leona Lewis’ superb
rendition of Somewhere.
The music comes with 24 bit, 48kHz sampling in both 5.1 chan-
nel DTS-HD Master Audio and stereo LPCM. The surround mix makes
little use of the surround channels, just feeding them some of that
reverb for a sense of hall space, along with the audience applause.
The disc defaults to the 5.1 mix. Stephen Dawson
FEATURES
Running time: 65 minutes
Picture: 1.78:1, 1080i60, MPEG4 AVC @ 34.94Mbps
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Subtitles: Nil
Features: Featurette (1080i60 - 2 mins)
Restrictions: Exempt, Region Free
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OBITUARY

JOHN
SUNIER
1936–2018

W
riter and broadcaster
John Sunier, whose radio
program Audiophile
Audition was broadcast
nationally throughout
North America every week for more than a
decade, and who wrote music reviews for
many audio magazines, including Australian
Hi-Fi Magazine, has died aged 82.
Audiophile Audition was a national radio
program for audio buffs and music lovers
that entertained millions of public radio
and concert music station listeners for near- While working at WGBG-FM, Sunier studied LPs, cylinder records, and various tapes, plus
ly fourteen years. The hour-long weekly pro- part time at Boston University, where he was a pair of Tonkinese cats, and established the
gram began in April 1985 with 53 stations, awarded a Master of Science (Communica- website ‘Audiophile Audition’ [www.audaud.
and ended up being carried on 200 station tions).Sunier produced the educational radio com], which is now one of the world’s pre-
across the USA—both public and commer- series ‘The Standard School Broadcast’ for six miere sources of reviews of recorded music,
cial. years, and later became Director of Sound particularly of high-resolution recordings.
In addition to being involved in radio for Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Films. He was ‘John was recognised far and wide as a definitive
broadcasting and audio for more than five program director and/or manager for several expert in all matters audio, all matters for audi-
decades, Sunier was also a well-known clas- FM stations in San Francisco, as well as edi- ophiles,’ said Paul Henerlau, manager at Audi-
sical and jazz music reviewer. For ten years tor of FM Guide and Sound Advice magazines ophile Audition, ‘and his incredible energy and
he wrote a regular monthly column for US and founder and editor of the specialist bin- drive found a distinctive expression in Audiophile
magazine Audio, and also wrote reviews for aural recording magazine The Binaural Source. Audition. In the last year of his life, John stepped
AudiophileFile, The Sensible Sound, AudioX- When Audiophile Audition ceased broadcast- back from his beloved website, assuming more of
press, and at the time of his death had been ing, Sunier moved to Portland, Oregon tak- a Professor Emeritus role.’
contributing a regular column titled ‘Super ing along his harpsichord, his piano, loads John is survived by his wife of 32 years,
Fidelity’ to Australi- of SACDs, DVD-As, xrcds, CDs, LDs, DVDs, Donna (Dorsett). Rod Easdown
an Hi-Fi Magazine for
more than fifteen Pictured at the piano on his
75th birthday, taking requests.
years. He also au-
thored three books
about audio, one of
which, ‘The Story of
Stereo 1881–’, pub-
lished by Gernsback
Library (New York),
is now available in
pdf format at avhub.
com.au/story_ste-
reo_sunier. It was
largely based on the thesis for his degree
of Master of Science from Boston Universi-
ty, which is also available in pdf format at
avhub.com.au/stereo_sound_sunier. Sunier’s
other books were ‘A History of Stereo Sound’
and ‘Slidesound and Filmstrip Production’.
Born John Henry Sunier on Novem-
ber 30, 1936, in Iowa City, the son of
John Henry Senior and Johanna (Graf) Su-
nier, Sunier studied at the University of
Iowa, where he received his Bachelor in
Music in 1959, after which he worked at
radio stations WSUI and KSUI. He then
moved to Boston to work at WGBH-FM.

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