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August 2022 210

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 hi-fi+ issueƳƲƱ

Editor

editorial
Alan Sircom
editor@hifiplus.com

Contributors this issue

include:
Steve Dickinson
Chris Frankland
Sean Hannam
Jimmy Hughes
Jason Kennedy
Simon Lucas
Shaun Marin

Michael Vámos
Art Director
Jenny Watson
Fonthill Creative, Salisbury
Advertising Manager
Tom Hackforth
+44 (0)1425 655255
tom@hifiplus.com
Publisher
Pete Collingwood-Trewin
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The Editorial office can be
contacted at:
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I
t’s time for an apology! I’ve used the
phrase “It’s a broad church” many
times over the years and never knew
just how English that phrase is,
until I was called out on it recently.
The trouble is it really fits where the
audio world is now, but is admittedly
functionally useless if no-one outside the
UK knows what it means. The term ‘broad
church’ has nothing to do with physical
dimensions of ecclesiastical architecture, but
relates to the Church of England’s traditionally
all-encompassing position that has no
problems with ‘fire and brimstone’ and ‘Jam
and Jerusalem’ sitting on the same pews.
Over the years, the term has been applied
beyond Anglicanism, to include political
parties with similar diversity of ideas. In the
days before the language became loaded,
this was viewed as a ‘liberal’ position, but
is perhaps more accuately described as
a ‘laissez faire’ stance toward viewpoints
within a ‘broad church’ political party.
How does this apply to audio? In fact,
audio is a ‘broad church’ in two ways. Most
importantly, audio encompasses and is
accepting of a diversity of paths; ask ten
audio enthusiasts about the best sounding
format and you’ll get 15 different answers.
Some enthusiasts are staunch objectivists
who think most listening tests are wrong,
others are unblinking subjectivists who think
good audio is made by listening alone, and
arguably more pragmatic observationists who
occupy the middle ground. While arguments
between these different factions frequently
get heated, they are all driven by a common
love of good music and the sound it makes.
The other side of the ‘broad church’
description is just how far it’s possible
to push ‘good audio’ now. At the turn of
the century, there was a clear delineation
between products that made a noise and
those that made fairly decent sound, and
while there were a few portable sound bars
and active desktop speakers that crossed
the border into ‘acceptable’ it was clear there
were big differences between such products
and audio ‘proper’ and that even applied to
some separates systems. Those lines have
blurred; today’s desktop and portable audio
devices often sound excellent in their own
right; you can spend ‘a few quid’ or a few
million and get good sound. Yes, there are
huge differences in scale, range, headroom
and the ability to fill a room when comparing
these two kinds of products, but these
polar opposites have more in common than
ever before.
Of course, that doesn’t fit in with ‘it’s all
gone horribly wrong’, a moan hugely popular
on social media platforms and the algorithms
that power them. However, when you see a
system that is made in the UK, doesn’t cost
a fortune and more than delivers the sonic
goods in a way unthinkable at the equivalent
price a few years ago, I think this whole
‘broad church’ thing is rare in consumer
electronics and needs to be encouraged and
nourished in all its glory.

ISSN 1465 5950

hifiplus.com

Alan Sircom • editor@hifiplus.com

Issue 211 on sale September 1, 2022 (UK), October 6, 2022 (US)

1
 Two-wire design.
Double the technology. Double the performance.

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ee usa
at
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HiF
FiShowL
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 hi-fi+ issueƳƲƱ

contents
EQUIPMENT REVIEWS
17 conrad-johnson ART108A Class A triode mono
valve power amplifier

25 Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 stand-mount loudspeaker

34 Klipsche Forte IV floorstanding horn loudspeaker

41 Rega System One turntable, amplifier and

stand-mount loudspeaker system

49 Koetsu Coralstone moving coil phono cartridge

55 Eclipse TD307 mkIII stand-mount loudspeaker

61 EAT Fortissimo turntable

34 67 Sennheiser IE600 in-ear headphones

73 Stack Audio Serene Soprano turntable upgrade kit

79 Shunyata Research Everest 8000

power distributor

83 Network Acoustics Muon streaming system

87 Chord Company Signature Super ARAY, Tuned

ARAY, SignatureXL and SignatureX analogue and
digital interconnects, loudspeaker and power cables

COMMENT
49 7 Incoming! Your views on all things audio

10 The North West Audio Show 2022 perhaps the

friendliest audio expo around!

MUSIC

92 A Beginner’s Guide to...

The best in Latin music, from Buena Vista Social Club
to Adrian Quesada... and more

55 98 Music Interview Stephen Fearing

101 Music Interview Swing Out Sister

111 Music Reviews Contemporary, classical and

audiophile music

PLUS
110 Back issues

119 Advertiser index

73 120 Next Issue Find out what’s happening next time!

3
ʺˣ˜˨˩˧͊ˢʶˇ˃ʺʾˣ˩˚˜˧˖˩˚˙ʶˢ˥ˡ˞Ϟ˚˧ • Distributed by boyeraudio.com

Come see us at UK Hi-Fi Show Live, Ascot Racecourse, Sep 10 & 11


incoming
LETTER OF THE MONTH
Advice from a fellow traveller.
I read ‘To Begin at the Beginning.
Again’ (Issue 209) with more than a
little sympathy. I damaged my spine
in a car accident a few years ago and
a part of the damage it caused me,
the accident left me with reduced
movement and sensitivity in my
hands.
I have to say, hi-fi has proved to
be a saving grace for me. Before the
accident, I was always out seeing
bands and going to concerts and
festivals. While I still get out to
as many as I can, the general ‘faff’
involved means a lot of my music
listening is now home based, and
my audio system has gone from the
speakers built into my laptop to
a small separates system. What’s
more, like you I am now a Linn
user, although my system is just a
Majik DSM with matching Majik 109
loudspeakers on stands. However,
I can understand both the connection
you have with the music and with
the Linn kit in general. I may be a bit
biased in this; the Linn Majik being
my first ‘serious’ system.
I didn’t have any LPs before the
accident and I don’t think I’ll get into
that now (although I am tempted,
I think my new life precludes such
things), but I’ve found streaming to
be an absolute joy to use.
I was very much ‘generation iPod’
so my CD collection was tiny and
Please send your hi-fi+ Incoming email to editor@hifiplus.com
COMMENT
In association with
there was no way I was going to rip
discs I am highly unlikely to play
from 20 years ago (Radiohead being
the only exception). But, having
signed up to both Qobuz and Tidal
(and Spotify, but I’m still waiting for
Spotify’s quality boost, so I don’t play
it too often), I have all the music I will
Letter of the month wins the ever need, and the Internet radio side
AudioQuest cable of their means I spend a lot of time listening
choice up to £250! to BBC 6 Music, Radio Paradise,
JB Radio-2 and more. If you like rock
Both AudioQuest and hi-fi+ are
from the 1960s and 1970s, those last
passionate about music and the
two are goldmines!
sound it makes. We know what
Don’t be too worried about using
makes a great audio experience and
an app or two on an iPad. If I can
what makes it better. Most modern
use one now with my now wobbly,
audio equipment is good, but with
inaccurate, button-mashing hands...
the right attitude, right advice and
anyone can. Sure, things take a little
the right components, the sound
longer now and sometimes it’s a bit
it delivers can move from ‘good’ to
frustrating hitting the wrong button
‘great’ to ‘awesome’.
on an app (I call it ‘music discovery
AudioQuest deals with a lot
– extreme edition’) but the music is
of queries regarding good audio
out there and it’s really easy to get
systems because almost everything
hold of now. A good dealer will set up
in audio is connected with a cable!
your app to suit when they install the
The company has amassed a wealth
system.
of information on a range of topics
My Linn system and all that music
in audio, both in general terms
have got me through some very bleak
and with a team comprising keen,
times recently. They will do the same
specialist audio experts.
for you.
Which is why we’ve teamed up
Cillín David, via email
with the good folks at AudioQuest
to bring that expertise to bear in
I’m normally here for a bit of advice, but
our letter of the month, and the
there really isn’t anything else to add.
lucky recipient will receive a £250
This guy gets it and his advice – and
AudioQuest cable (or cables) of
his positive attitude – are spot on!
their choice!
Robert Hay, AudioQuest
7

Whether it’s my hearing or the limits of my system, I’ve never heard a big
difference between formats that couldn’t be explained by mastering.
In-car experience
I read with interest your feature
about the Burmester-equipped
Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo
(Issue 209). I have been following
the ups and downs of In-Car
Entertainment for many years.
I share your feelings about the
significant changes happening to in
car audio lately. It seems that where
in the past it was down to the end
user to improve the ICE performance
from a very low level to something
truly awesome, now it’s more up to
the car maker and the options you
choose as you buy the car.
While this can only be a good
thing, it does sadden me a bit. One
of the joys of ICE – like with good
audio in the home – is the fine-tuning,
the customisation and the bespoke
nature of each system. And, of course,
the bass! I feel those days are passing
as we move into ever more complex
standard fit car systems. Will the
same thing happen to hi-fi in the
home, I wonder?
Bob Revell, via email
The change is marked. Not that long
ago, a car maker couldn’t hope to
compete with the custom ICE industry,
and there are still those willing to spend
thousands to customise their ride to
give it the best in audio, video and
gaming entertainment that’s possible
inside a car. However, numbers are
in steep decline, because the quality
of the supplied units is increasing
exponentially. Part of the problem for
ICE makers is digital modelling of the
interior of a car is now commonplace,
COMMENT
DSP is comparatively cheap, and
an ever-increasing demand for a
more console-driven combination
of navigation, entertainment, climate
control and ride/engine management
tuning all make for a smaller market for
customisation.
I doubt user-customised ICE will
ever fully go away and even in an
increasingly DSP-driven future for
home audio, there is still room for a
good, conventional audio system.
Ed.
Egg on face!
I greatly admire your legitimate
attempt to reference the best design
history, but for what it’s worth at
this point, the great Arne Jacobsen’s
Egg chair conveys the aesthetic of
the Davone Meander loudspeaker
far, far better. It’s fluid, enveloping
nature captures similar qualities in
the loudspeaker, altogether more
clearly. It’s already in print so that
is not likely possible to change, but
I’d respectfully suggest considering
doing so online.
John Penturn, via email
Thank you, and I agree... in part. I did
consider the Egg chair as a design cue
for the Meander, and I think there are
strong arguments for both the Egg and
the Series 7 chair (also a Jacobsen
design). Ultimately, I felt the wooden
sections of the Meander have more of
a System 7 ‘feel’ and it doesn’t appear
qute as padded looking as the Egg
chair. But the distinction is narrow at
best and on another day and looking
at the Meander from another angle,
8
I might well have gone with the Egg.
I think one thing is very strong with
this loudspeaker, and that comes out
of this discussion; if we’re arguing fine
points of industrial design while citing
the same genius, Davone got it very
right indeed!
Ed.
April Fool?
I’m not sure if Jason Kennedy’s
review of Esperanza Spalding’s latest
“creation” is a belated April Fools joke
or if he was ON something when he
listened to “Emily’s D+Evolution”!
The mere mention of Jazz in the same
sentence as this title is an insult to
any true jazz fan! I think Spalding
has been listening to too much Bartok
or other freaky atonal apostle but
frankly it’s TERRIBLE!! I genuinely
don’t think Spalding is ‘growing’
musically in anyway except perhaps
commercially. This album’s a mess
with a capital “M”!
Tom Evans, via email
That’s the thing about jazz, you
have to throw a lot of things at the
medium and not all of them will stick.
I’m not wholly sure where Esperanza
Spalding is taking her music and
there are times she sounds like she’s
duetting with a broken fax machine,
but I also think that her music defies
easy categorisation (OK, so we can all
agree it’s probably not opera). ‘Jazz’ is
probably about as free-form as it gets
in those terms... and look on the bright
side... she’s not as Out To Lunch as
Eric Dolphy!
Ed.
 The Apex
“The Pinnacle of Performance”

Stereo and Mono Amplifiers Set New Performance Standards

www.gryphon-audio.com
 SHOW REPORT
SHOW
NORTH REPORT
WEST AUDIO

The North West

Audio Show 2022
Steve Dickinson

T
here was a cheerful
air to the 2022
North West Audio
Show – the first
since 2019 and one
of only a tiny clutch
of shows to have
taken place at all since then. That
there have been so few shows over
the last couple of years meant that
most people who were present, visitors
and exhibitors alike, were just glad to
be up and running again. But there’s
also a happy mood to this show, no
doubt helped by the cheerful hotel staff
proffering complimentary glasses of
fizz on arrival and the old school charm
of the venue itself, Cranage Hall in
Cheshire. Whatever the reason, quite
a few exhibitors and visitors I spoke
to over the weekend told me, quite
unprompted, that this was now their
favourite UK show.
That’s also reflected in its growth,
the first event could easily be covered
within a shortish day. This 2022 version
needed a full weekend to do it justice,
making good use of the range of
rooms available from large seminar
spaces to small bedrooms, but with a
good spread of middle sized rooms in
that Goldilocks zone between too small
to set up well, and to too big to sound
really good. The eclecticism of the
exhibits, and the variety of equipment
on show elevates it above many of the
other UK shows. There’s the weird,
and the wonderful, and the weirdly
wonderful, and a scattering of the
wonderfully weird, just for the hell of it.
I was there for the duration,
and I harbour sneaking suspicions
I still missed something interesting,
somewhere or other. So, apologies in
advance if I don’t mention something
you feel worthy of attention, but
here’s my pick of the notable stuff
I happened upon.

10
 SHOW REPORT
NORTH WEST AUDIO

1 2 1 If you’ve noticed a lot more

Accuphase around lately, it’s
probably because they have new,
more energetic distribution in the UK,
and more dealers taking the range on
as a result. MusicWorks showed the
flagship DP/DC 1000 2-box CD/SACD
transport/DAC, the C3900 preamp,
and A75 Class A power amp, into
a pair of FinkTeam Kims. Supports
and mains courtesy of MusicWorks’
own proprietary AcouPlex damping
material, and Audiomica cabling.

2 Acoustica brought a Naim Solstice,

which attracted a fair amount of
3
attention.

3 For those who mourn the demise of

Kralk Audio and their range of rather
good, well-priced loudspeakers,
the good news is that the founder
is back with a new range, Alchris
Audio. Displaying here the (£800)
AR6 standmounts and (£4,500) AR66
floorstanders, oh and some interesting
lines in bespoke cabinets.

4 Auden Distribution filled a large

room effortlessly from a pair of
rather fine EgglestonWorks Viginti
loudspeakers (£46,000) driven by a
4 5
Hegel H590 amplifier (£9,300) and
an AURALiC streamer. They also
had a much smaller room featuring
the delightful Amphion Argon 1
standmounters that created such a stir
at last year’s midlands show.

5 Coppice Audio is a new name.

Set up by two friends, both skilled
carpenters in the art of making
traditional oak framed buildings,
Coppice Audio offers a small range of
loudspeakers and equipment stands
made from sustainable hardwood. The
(£2,500) X1 standmounter, (£4,000)
6 X2 and (£7,250) X3 floorstanders,
complemented by hand built stands
and bespoke equipment supports.

6 Stalwart North West audio dealer

Doug Brady was celebrating its 60th
anniversary, by bringing what felt like
most of their shop, setting up several
systems in one of the largest rooms,
with the Big System™ comprising
a Bergmann turntable, Accuphase
phono stage, dCS digital side, and
Gryphon amplification into Marten
loudspeakers. Pretty good birthday
cake, too.

11
 SHOW REPORT
NORTH WEST AUDIO

7 DS Audio, courtesy of Sound 7 8

Fowndations annouced the (£5,500)
ES-001 eccentricity stabiliser. This
measures, in real time and to the
nearest micron, how off-centre the
hole in your vinyl is, and shows you
how to minutely adjust the position
on the spindle to correct for it. The
difference is easily audible... and
the ES-001 also acts as a handy, if
expensive, record puck.

8 The Funk Firm was showing

its ‘isolation bubble’ principle for
upgrading turntables and tonearms,
and also brought us its new Kepler
9
turntable, which uses a combination
of belt and direct drive; here with three
Raptor Z tonearms for £75,000. The
‘want’ is strong in this one!

9 G-Point Audio had sources including

the new Lampizator Horizon DAC
(£7,380) playing into AudioNec Evo
2 loudspeakers (£37,620). These
took turns with Diptyque DP160
planar panel loudspeakers (£10,800).
Amplification was courtesy of Riviera,
a UK premiere for this Italian brand of
zero feedback hybrid amplifiers.

10 Innuos brought us the first showing

10 11
of its new Pulse network players, the
£900 Pulse Mini, and £2300 Pulse
players, (soon to be accompanied
by the £4950 Pulsar) which will of
course complement its Zen range
of servers beautifully and offer
Innuos’ performance at a price point
somewhat below its Statement range.

11 KEF was demonstrating its new

LS60, a slim (£6,000) active
wireless floorstander with a similar
configuration to the Blade models, but
housed in a somewhat smaller, room-
friendly, box. It also had the (£24,000)
Blade 2 Meta and (£7500) Reference 12
1 Meta models, named for their use of
metamaterial behind the tweeter.

12 Long Dog Audio, purveyors of

mostly tube-based phono stages to
the discerning audiophile, demoed
their wares through an intriguing,
one-off pair of acrylic, open baffle
loudspeakers. They’d probably make
you a pair if you pestered them
hard enough, and they’d probably
be somewhere around £9-10,000.
Judging by the reaction of visitors,
they may not remain one-offs for long.

12
 NEW

PULSE SERIES
PULSE MINI | PULSE | PULSAR
Network Music Players

Introducing the PULSE Network Music Player series – three new players that bring the Innuos
experience to music lovers who mostly want to play music f rom streaming services like
Qobuz or Tidal, or who just want another zone in their home connected to their main server.

Coming soon to an authorised Innuos dealer near you.

innuos.com
 SHOW REPORT
NORTH WEST AUDIO

13 Lowther is back! Resurgent under

13 14
new ownership and very much
intending to pick up where the old firm
left off. Still UK based and hand built,
the familiar range of drive units, and
some classic loudspeaker designs,
from the £7,000 Acousta to the
£22,000 AudioVector.

14 Neat Acoustics showed the new

Petite Classic (£1,995), now sporting
an Air Motion Transformer tweeter in
a cabinet the same size as the original
Petite, the speaker that first put the
brand on the map three decades ago.

15 NVA is also back! And staying true 15

to the original designs, but with
upgraded components they showed
the (£3,600) INT 400T, a development
of NVA’s classic AP70 integrated
amplifier, their (£4,500) Cube
loudspeaker, made from Birch ply, and
a dinky starter system, yours for £995
including cables.

16 The Padood system, small but

beautifully formed, managed to fill one
of the larger rooms remarkably easily
from an SME front end fitted with
a Shelter 501 cartridge, into Nagra
electronics. None of the individual
16 17
components takes up the sort of
space traditionally expected of very
high-end equipment, and lots of
visitors were surprised at the scale
delivered by the modestly-sized YG
Acoustics Carmel 2 loudspeakers
(from £27,000), in an eye-catching red
anodised finish.

17 Vertere brought three of their

turntables, the SG-1, MG-1, and DG-1,
and introduced their new Imperium
drive for the SG- and MG- models.
They also brought a good selection of
the exquisitely finished FM Acoustics
electronics, which they also distribute 18
in the UK.

18 Willow Tree Audio’s engaging

combination of Audio Music
amplification into Hørning
loudspeakers is now something of
a fixture at this show. This year’s
compliment included the new Audio
Music Ultra preamp (£14,000) and
A33M Tower monoblocs (£24,000/pair)
using transmitter valves, and Hørning
Zeus loudspeakers (£9,750), source is
the Jays Audio CDT Mk 3 (£5,000) and
Audio Music DAC-1 (£13,000).

14
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
conrad-johnson ART108A
Class triode ono  mplifier
Alan Sircom
B
ill Conrad and Lew Johnson searched
for a long time before they discovered
and settled on a general design solution
that gave their stereo and mono power
amplifiers what they felt were desirable
virtues for real life, state-of-the-art sonic
performance – this involved the circuit, the
underlying concept itself (pentode or triode coupled), class
of operation (AB or A) and, most importantly a wide variety
of power outputs from 50 to 300W per channel.
17
Jeff Fischel, current owner and president of conrad-
johnson design, inc. saw no need to change much in the
aforementioned approach, but has worked very hard since
acquiring the company towards significant new solutions and
improvements in every single category of design, production
and manufacturing. The ultimate proof of the pudding is the
new flagship ART108A Class A Triode Mono amplifier and its,
no less interesting, but somewhat less power gifted sibling,
the ART27A Class A Triode Stereo amplifier (reviewed in
issue 183).
 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
conrad-johnson ART108A
Installation and setup is straightforward and simple in the tradition
of all conrad-johnson amplifiers over the past (almost) 50 years.
A Sensitive Soul
When asked about the thinking behind these amplifiers, Jeff
Fischel said how he wanted to cater for a wide variety of
loudspeakers available today, and their sensitivity covering a
field as wide as from 86db to 104dB. Other considerations,
including different room sizes around the world and the
broad shift from ‘man cave’ to ‘shared listening space’
for many listeners, were also taken into consideration. His
solution was to design a circuit that would provide the same
highest quality sound, use similar input and power valves
(in different quantities depending on the model), same very
best c-j mains and output transformers and generously
specified accompanying power supply sections.
ART108A monoblocks have, in essence, a circuit
which is designed to operate in pukka Class A using the
(arguably today’s best) Genelex Gold Lion KT88 output
valves configured as triode devices. In practical terms,
this means one pair of KT88s will yield clean 36 Watts of
Class A power (more than enough for systems using high
sensitivity loudspeakers), while the ART108A mono gives
an impressive 160 Watts drawn from four pairs (eight valves
in total) of KT88s without being pushed near or over any
dangerous limits of distortion, overheating or demise no
matter how hard driven.
There is a recent tendency for valve amp designers to
go ‘a bit zeitgeisty’ in choosing whatever is the latest in a
string of new power valve releases. However, I applaud
conrad-johnson for taking the ‘tried and trusted’ route with
the KT88; the ‘on trend’ valves might get the column inches
but might not prove to be a good sonic ‘fit’ for the brand or
its loyal followers.
In today’s market, a pair of ART108A mono power
amplifiers delivering 2×160W of unadulterated Class A
power means you can use them with virtually any modern
high-end loudspeaker of your choice! As with all best c-j
products, each ART108A monoblock has separate power
supply stages for the input (driver) and output (power)
sections of the design. Not only that, multiple and separate
regulation is present for both input and inverter stages
as a bonus.
Active and passive commitment
conrad-johnson’s decades of commitment to very best
passive and active components for their products continues
to this day. Precision, laser-trimmed bulk metal foil Vishay
resistors (ordered from their makers to specific values
designs and circuits dictate) are implemented in all crucial
18
positions both in power supplies and voltage gain audio
stages. c-j proprietary PTFE (Teflon) dielectric capacitors
can be found all over the place – both to couple the inverter
stage to the output stage, as well as to bypass the high
value (also proprietary) PP (polypropylene) capacitors in
the fully regulated power supplies. Special, customised
proprietary, wide bandwidth Translinear output transformers
(additionally optimised for Class A operation), sit between
the output stage and the Cardas Audio loudspeaker terminal
block on the rear panel of each monoblock.
All internal wiring and other machined OFC connector
have been selected for sonic performance. The elegant and
attractive open view layout of the chassis and encapsulating
metalwork make the ART108A an object that is nice to look
at and have in a living or music room of every home interior.
Each ART108A mono power amplifier weighs 40kg and is
shipped and delivered in a custom designed wooden crate.
Care and feeding
Installation and setup is straightforward and simple in the
tradition of all conrad-johnson amplifiers over the past
(almost) 50 years. Each output valve is individually biased
and the process has become even easier than before,
thanks to bi-coloured LEDs next to each of the output
valves. Our recommended biasing procedure may differ
somewhat to that preached by the manufacturer, but
we feel it gives equally accurate final bias setting plus
one big bonus for every audiophile – an opportunity to,
actually, hear the sonic difference between an incorrectly
(underbiased) and correctly biased device.
So, after installing all the valves, make sure each of the
bias adjustment potentiometers is at its minimum (fully
anti clockwise) position. Switch the mono amplifiers on
(preamplifier first with muted outputs), let them warm up for
30-60 seconds and then play some of your favourite music
at moderate level for 30-40 minutes. Leave the volume
control on the preamplifier where it was (mute the outputs
or, if no ‘mute’ function available, select an unused input
position on the selector) and start turning each of the bias
potentiometers slowly clockwise until the accompanying
LED glows yellow/amber. Now move to the next valve, and
repeat the process until all eight power tubes have been
biased correctly. You will feel more heat dissipated from
each of the 16 KT88s in two monoblocks as you go along,
but that is fine and perfectly normal; this is, after all, a true
Class A mode of operation and when biased, to retain
linearity, Class A gives off a lot of heat!
 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
conrad-johnson ART108A

Put the same piece of music you were listening to at the beginning and play it back at
the same level as before. Brace yourself for an ear opening (and pleasant) surprise.

Regardless, once biasing is done, put the same piece
of music you were listening to at the beginning and play it
back at the same level as before. Brace yourself for an ear
opening (and pleasant) surprise.
Long live the KT88!
The expected lifetime of KT88s is at least 2,500 hours when
correctly biased and re-biased (once every six months or
so with moderate regular use) which is a very long time.
Small driver valves have at least as much life in them, too.
It may sound obvious, but don’t keep the amplifier on at
all times or longer than required – aside from the energy
it will consume in the process, you’ll be tearing through
your valves’ lifespan and Class A operation develops
heat and heat has its own side effects by default. Once
all the c-j Teflon capacitors have conditioned themselves
to full potential (also to be achieved by normal listening
procedures and stints, no more), ART108A monoblock will
come to full song within 45-60 minutes from start up and,
sound utterly acceptable from cold. It’s only if you don’t
play music for months on end that the capacitors might lose
some of that conditioning, and even that’s debatable.
In order to ensure optimum conditions, I chose to use the
c-j flagship line stage GAT Series 2 as the ART108As natural
partner and both digital (CD and streaming) and analogue
(LP) sources were used during critical listening sessions in
a reference-standard audio system, culminating in a pair of
Wilson Audio Alexx V loudspeakers.
Of course, other high-grade audio products are available,
many of which will be a good match and there’s no secret
handshake between these products that precludes using
good devices from other brands. However, the optimal
word is ‘good’; you need something that delivers the sort of
performance that befits an amplifier of the ART108A’s sonic
gravitas, and – when it comes to preamplifiers – the number
that make the cut is vanishingly small. You could spend a
lifetime and a King’s ransom trying every preamp on the
circuit and conclude that you should have just gone with the
GAT Series 2.
Sonic Signature
I feel the ART27A (tested in Issue 183) was a pivotal product
in conrad-johnson’s development. It showed the brand
the sonic benefit of the smaller amp’s ‘realistic musical

20
 WHERE TO BUY:
audiovector.com/united-kingdom
 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
conrad-johnson ART108A
The ART108A more than rise to that challenge; they deliver the scale and slam
needed to drive big high-performance tower loudspeakers to ‘fun’ levels.
precision’ and the challenge was to scale that up without
sacrificing either this new found subtlety or the sort of
impact and dynamic range that bigger amps provide. And
the ART108A more than rise to that challenge; they deliver
the scale and slam needed to drive big high-performance
tower loudspeakers to ‘fun’ levels while retaining much
of the grace, speed and precision of the smaller stereo
amplifier. The conjoining of those two hitherto disparate
elements is uncanny. Yes, in absolute terms, the bigger
amps are directed more at ‘scale’ than the ‘pace’ of the
smaller model, but these are more shades than brightly
painted distinctions.
This applied pretty much universally, irrespective of the
recording you played through the system. For example, I
played Boris Blank’s Electrified [Polydor], both at relatively
low volume and at ‘reasonable’ sub-party volume levels.
This was a fine test of the amplifier because tonally it didn’t
change across the volume range; a sign of quality because
playing at low levels is often an uneven experience. The
bass is the true bellwether here; it neither goes ‘light’ at low
levels or ‘flappy’ at high power output. I’d argue that the c-j
amps are more Boris Blank and less The Prodigy in terms of
sheer pace, but even here the c-j scores better than many
of its predecessors and is closer to a solid-state amp in
pace terms by comparison.
There’s more to life than electronica, however, but
everything was so adept when played through the
ART108A, any list of tracks is more like showing off the
depth of your music collection. If we are showing off,
Orange, by Caroline Shaw and the Attacca Quartet
[Nonesuch] scores many ‘cred’ points; this modern string
quartet arrangement is difficult at times and always a
challenging listen, but the rewards are great here. There is
a tendency for these close-mic’d instruments to sound a
little hard and grating, often more so than required by the
music. The ART108A amps get past that close-quarters
recording and get under its skin. You sit and listen to the
performance as a work of great texture and beauty for
a modern composition; still edgy and ‘angular’ at times,
but impassioned and textured. The refinement and ‘right’
balance (both in tone and staging qualities) that were always
c-j watchwords are there in full effect. As with most modern
conrad-johnson designs, the ART108A is less ‘warm and
cuddly’ and less ‘rose-tinted’ than previous models, but it’s
still romantic-sounding enough to draw you into the music.
Each track cited on my notepad had an ‘Aha!’ by it.
Meaning I’ve either turned into Alan Partridge (it’s a distinct
22
possibility, I have dismantled more than my share of Corby
Trouser Presses) or each successive track I played was
a revelation. Whether it was the power of Schiff’s piano
playing [Beethoven Piano Sonatas, ECM] or the interplay
of musicians on Cannonball Adderley’s Somethin’ Else
[Blue Note], these are all albums that have been played by
me extensively and each one gave up a few more secrets
through the ART108A. It’s heady, exciting stuff.
Listening anew
The conrad-johnson ART108A amps are capable of making
you listen to your recordings as if they were new to you. In
absolute terms, no ‘hollow-state’ power amplifier can fully
compete with the detail extraction and sheer grip the very
best solid-state amps can impart on the sound, but similarly
no solid-state amp can deliver the grace, richness and
refinement on offer here. That doesn’t sound like a trade-off
or a compromise to me; it sounds like the ART108A delivers
its own slice of sonic perfection, one that many people will
want to replicate in their own systems.
The conrad-johnson ART108A is more than the brand’s
latest statement piece amplifier. It’s like the subtle and
delicate ART27A meeting the power and detail of some of
the brand’s classic Premier series flagship power amps.
That’s a combination that really gets under your skin.
Technical specifications
Type Mono valve power amplifier
Power 160 Watts rms both channels driven into 4 ohms from
30 to 15KHz at no more than 1.5% total harmonic distortion
Tube Complement 3 × 6922, 8 × KT88
Sensitivity 1.0V rms to rated power
Small Signal Distortion less than 0.25% at mid-band
Frequency Response 20 Hz to 20 kHz, ± 0.25 dB
Hum and Noise less than 200 microVolts
Phase phase correct
Input Impedance 100 kOhms
Dimensions (W×H×D) 48 × 22 × 53cm each
Weight 40.4kg each
Price £48,000 per pair
Manufactured by conrad-johnson design, inc.
conradjohnson.com
Distributed in the UK by Audiofreaks
audiofreaks.co.uk +44(0)208 948 4153
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW

Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4

stand-mount loudspeaker
Alan Sircom

T
he 800 Series is the long-standing
jewel in the Bowers & Wilkins crown.
The passive loudspeaker range gets
a regular refresh about every seven
or eight years and it consistently
improves upon the last iteration. The
problem for many, however, is that the
previous version of the 800 Series was
already outstanding. Just how much better can they get? It
was to address this very question that we ordered a pair of
805 D3 and 805 D4 from Bowers & Wilkins to compare.
A quick recap is in order; unlike other companies
numbering systems, the numbers run backwards for
Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series. The 805, being the smallest
in the line, is the only stand-mount loudspeaker to carry
an 800 Series badge. Like its bigger siblings, the 805 D4

25
 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
o rs ns 80

There is a team of engineers, acousticians, and technologists who do the

hard science parts that help form the next generation of loudspeakers.

is hand-built in Bowers & Wilkins’ head office factory

complex in Worthing, on the South Coast of England. The
800 Series is also the cornerstone of the Bowers & Wilkins
line; typically, the first to use technologies developed by the
company’s R&D team.

The Hard Science Club

That phrase ‘R&D team’ is frequently chronically overstated
in loudspeaker design, as it can mean one swivel-eyed
guy with wild hair, a loudspeaker cookbook, and (maybe)
a measuring microphone. However, in the case of Bowers
& Wilkins, there is a team of engineers, acousticians, and
technologists who do the hard science parts that help form
the next generation of loudspeakers; that ‘next generation’
usually begins with the 800 Series and filters down through
the rest of the Bowers & Wilkins range, and then – typically
when out of patent – to the rest of the loudspeaker making
community.
The loudspeaker’s headline change is its cabinet, and in
some respects, this is the 805 D4 playing ‘catch up’ with
the developments put into the D3-era floorstanders. Bowers
& Wilkins describe this as a ‘reverse wrap’ cabinet; where
the front baffle of the D3 was relatively flat and the cabinet
was designed to curve around that baffle, the 805 D4 starts
from a solid aluminium spine and the whole cabinet is
curved from there. Not only does this give the loudspeaker
a more modern, elegant, and gently curved front, it reduces
the profile of the front baffle, there by reducing baffle-step
problems and improving the dispersion properties of the
drivers. It also significantly increases the rigidity of the
loudspeaker itself.
This new cabinet design also means the 805 benefits
more from Bowers & Wilkins huge presses in its Worthing
factory. The previous MDF-braced pressed ply cabinet now
a fully layered, glued and formed plywood enclosure and
bracing system. This allows the 805 D4 to use improved
internal chambering, both at the rear of the mid-bass
unit and for the crossover itself, and Bowers & Wilkins’
aforementioned R&D team (I prefer ‘Band of Boffins’) have
rubbed their accelerometers over every surface of that
cabinet to optimise internal volume and control air pressure
within the front-firing ported stand-mount.

Into the Continuum

Larger models in Bowers & Wilkins’ latest 800 Series
use the new Biomimetic Suspension drivers, where
the traditional cone spider is replaced by a composite

26
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o rs
suspension system. However, the 805 D4 retains a version
the 165mm ‘Continuum Cone’ mid-bass driver from its
D3 predecessor. It’s not merely last generation’s cone,
however, as it has a new voice coil and former. It is also now
mounted on an aluminium plate at the rear of the cabinet.
The reason for not using a Biomimetic Suspension
driver is simple; those new units lack the cone excursion of
Fixed Suspension Transducer/Continuum Cone designs.
In larger, multiple bass cone systems that need for extra
excursion goes away, but in a two-way stand-mount, using
Biomimetic Suspension drivers would spell lighter bass.
Spider aside, the materials used in both ‘Biomimetic
Suspension’ and ‘Continuum Cone’ drivers remain
identical… and a closely-guarded trade secret. Bowers &
Wilkins holds the secret in the same safe where the recipes
for KFC and Coca-Cola and the formula for Krabby Patty
burgers are kept. This secrecy is understandable; the
company’s iconic woven yellow Kevlar cone became the
subject of extensive rip-offs and clones and that’s a fate not
to be repeated with subsequent drivers.
All we can say is it’s not yellow, it took years to develop,
the cone material manages to be stiff in all the right places
and yet flexible when required, meaning cone break-up
modes are at once less abrupt and pushed further out of
band. Bowers & Wilkins used Kevlar for years with good
reason; but this silvery-white looking woven material that
replaced it brings all the benefits of Kevlar to the table, and
adds a lot of benefits of its own, making it a hard act to
follow for Bowers & Wilkins rivals.
Similarly, the 25mm diamond dome tweeter is similar to
the units that has been installed in 800 Series models for
the last 15 years, with Bowers & Wilkins taking a pragmatic
‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach. However, the
805 D4’s tweeter has two stronger magnets instead of the
three in the D3, giving it more room to breathe. This gives
the 805 D4 a frequency response up to a bat-eared 35kHz.
However, once again it’s the housing that’s changed…
and changed for the better. The solid tweeter pod that the
driver sits in is a longer, machined from solid aluminium,
tapered tube. The 30cm long tube sits almost perfectly
decoupled on a Connolly leather-clad cast aluminium
top plate, as distinct from the wooden top panel of its
predecessor.
Hits the spot
Sonically, this loudspeaker hits the spot fast. The most
immediate thing that draws you in is the bass; for a small
loudspeaker intended for small to medium rooms, there’s a
healthy amount of gut-pounding, fast, deep, chunky bass
firing at you.
Depending on your musical tastes, one of the first tracks
you will play through these loudspeakers will reflect that
bottom-end gruntiliciousness. I went with the title track from
Infected Mushroom’s 2005 I’m The Supervisor [Resist],
28
ns 80
but it could just as easily been a track by Rammstein, The
Prodigy, Orbital, The Chemical Brothers or Leftfield. I played
it loud and powerful through a Burmester 911 Mk 3 power
amp and it didn’t disappoint. Those bass notes come
thick and fast here, and they could pose a near-existential
threat to a ported two-way; at the very least, they arrive fast
enough to choke up the port, turning precise deep beats
into a more broken almost flatulent sound. The 805 D4,
however, takes this in its stride, sounding every inch the
bigger loudspeaker. Close your eyes and there is a larger
floorstander bringing the ruckus, in the process producing
a clear and detailed presentation of what passes for subtle
bass textures in the techno onslaught.
Bowers & Wilkins is not undermining the laws of physics
here, and it isn’t cheating with the 805 D4. There are natural
limits to the bass of a two-way stand-mount loudspeaker,
but what the 805 D4 does so well is push those limits
without sacrificing performance. It’s not that it makes
artificially deep bass, it’s that so many similarly specified
loudspeakers pull their punches at the bottom end; either
going for a mid-bass ‘lift’ at around 80Hz or just sounding
bass light. The 805 D4 has sufficient bass energy to deliver
clean and powerful bass down into the sub-40Hz region,
and that is impressive in its own right.
Once you calm down and begin to play less hyperactive
music, the quality of this loudspeaker shines through.
It’s not simply a bass machine, but what drew you to the
impressive bass holds in other places. The soundstage is
wide and deep and extraordinarily solid, especially when
you consider this is a stand-mount. This seems to hold
even when the music gets complex and orchestral; it’s
comparatively easy to have three or four jazz musicians
[Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note] sound
rooted in space, but this gets a lot harder to do when
dealing with whole string sections [Solti/LSO, Mahler’s
Eighth Symphony, Decca]. However, the 805 D4 presents
a solid, large, and open soundstage no matter the music.
I think the cabinet is making this comparatively large stand-
mount act like a small point-source.
We’ve come to expect Bowers & Wilkins loudspeakers to
be honest transducers, with plenty of detail and not much
in the way of unevenness in the frequency response, but
the 805 D4 takes those concepts to their present limits;
and throws in a cabinet with some of the lowest coloration
I’ve (not) heard and an absence of driver distortion that
makes it sound more like you are direct injecting music into
your ears with no intermediary. Honesty without sounding
‘stark’ is always good to find and the 805 D4 does it with
such charm many will be won over. You hear this most
clearly with female vocals [‘Heart Like a Wheel’ from Kate
and Anna McGarrigle, Warner] and solo pianos [Schiff,
Beethoven Piano Sonatas, ECM]; the purity of tone from
both can be masked by cabinet and driver alike but here
it gets close to electrostatic levels of clarity. This is doubly
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
o rs ns 80

The 805 D4 loses nothing in the honesty stakes, but gains

some fun and excitement along the way.

clever in a two-way design as there is no midrange driver to

help deliver that sonic clarity.
Perhaps most importantly, the 805 D4 has a sense of fun
to its sound. Not comedy or clowning around… just music
is supposed to be enjoyable and it certainly is through these
loudspeakers. There’s a continuum (cone-related pun not
intended) in speaker performance, with ‘worthy, but dull’ at
one end and ‘excitable to the point of being unhinged’ at
the other. Traditionally, Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series models
tended toward the former because honesty should reign
supreme. The 805 D4 loses nothing in the honesty stakes,
but gains some fun and excitement along the way.
There are some observations to be made here. First,
factor those stands into the equation; yes, other stands
are available but Bowers & Wilkins own make a useful
contribution to the sonic performance of the 805 D4. Next is
the power issue; although the 805 D4 is less power-hungry
than its predecessor, it’s still a loudspeaker that needs
some quality and quantity behind it. The advantage to the
current version of the 805 is if you short-change it in the
amplifier stakes, it will tend toward soft and easy on the ear;
compare this to the previous version that goes in the other
direction and sounds hard and edgy when underwhelmingly
partnered. This does mean a loudspeaker with something
like a ‘power band’; while it’s good at whisper quiet and Sometimes a change is little more than a step, but in the
ear-punishing alike, it really shines in that sweet spot where Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 it’s a giant leap. Whether or not
listening is ‘comfortably loud’. you follow the fortunes of the little reference speaker from
the brand, the Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 has entered the
Climbing off the fence race as one of the best stand-mount loudspeakers in audio
Normally, I tend to sit on the fence when it comes to right now.
changes from one version to another; there is generally an
improvement with each iteration, but it’s usually not so big Technical specifications
as to make the previous edition sound bad. There are a few
exceptions, however, and the 805 D4 is one of the biggest. Type two-way bass reflex stand-mount loudspeaker
The 805 D3 is a great loudspeaker, and you can see and Drivers 25mm diamond-dome tweeter; 165mm Continuum
hear why it was so popular… right up until the moment you mid/bass woofer
hook up a pair of 805 D4. It takes all the things the 805 D3 Frequency Response 42Hz to 28kHz (+/-3dB from
reference axis)
does right and makes them a lot better.
The change is not clichéd veil lifting, but what happens in Impedance 8-ohm nominal; 4.6-ohm minimum

the run-up to visiting the optician for a check-up; you spend Sensitivity 88dB (2.83V/1m)
a few months with nearly the right optical prescription and Finishes Gloss Black, White, Satin Rosenut, Satin Walnut
then are wowed as you get fitted with lenses perfect for Dimensions (H×W×D) 44 × 24 × 37.3cm
you. That moment of sonic clarity and focus you get from Weight 15.5kg
the D4 in the wake of the D3 is striking. It’s worth restating Price £7,000 per pair (FS 805 D4 stands £1,250 per pair
that the 805 D3 is an extremely competent and good
sounding loudspeaker, but it’s thoroughly outclassed by Manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins
its progeny. bowerswilkins.com +44(0)800 232 1513

30
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Klipsch Forte IV
loudspeakers
Jimmy Hughes
W
ith their vintage-looks
and historic-pedigree, the
Klipsch Heritage series seek
to recreate the glory days
of hi-fi’s golden age when
speakers were Large, Loud,
and Proud. There are five
models, from the entry-level Heresy to the huge and hugely-
aspirational K Horn.
A cynic might dub Klipsch Heritage ‘The Ultimate Dad
Speakers’ – the go-to brand for aging Boomers seeking to
extract every last hidden-nuance from their old Neil Young,
Led Zeppelin, or Herbert von Karajan albums...
Well, maybe... As an aging (and aged) Boomer myself,
I can’t deny being drawn by this aspect of Klipsch. But
it seems younger enthusiasts with a taste for fast, clean,
lifelike sound also like the Heritage series. Good sound is
good sound; it’s beyond fads or fashion.
Priced at £5,749, the Forte IV sits immediately above
the £3,995 Heresy model, and below the £7,299 Cornwall.
A tall slim floorstander, the Forte IV – while a fairly big
loudspeaker – has a surprisingly-small footprint. It’s flexible
over placement, and can be positioned close to rear or
side walls.
Maverick genius
Each model in the Heritage range is based on an original
vintage design by company-founder, audio-pioneer, and
all-round maverick-genius Paul Wilbur Klipsch (1904–2002).
His masterpiece, the mighty K Horn, first saw light of day as
far-back as 1946 and is still in production. Top that!
The Forte was introduced in 1986 and was soon the
most popular model in the Klipsch range. A decade or so
later, the Forte II was discontinued, but in 2017 a Forte III
was launched. The revised and improved Forte IV came
along in February 2021.
Features common to all Klipsch speakers in the Heritage
series are; high efficiency and horn-loaded midrange and
tweeter drive units. The Forte IV has a sensitivity of 99dB for
1W @ 1m, so you don’t need a hugely-powerful amplifier to
create a big room-filling sound.
Klipsch loudspeakers typically deliver a keen forward
lively sort of sound, but older models were a bit peaky and
34
unrefined. Compared to smooth, well-damped, inefficient
designs, the earliest Klipsch models could be a bit raucous
and colored – not unusual for older horn designs...
Such flaws gave early horn-loaded loudspeakers
something of a bad name. Sure, horns offered high
sensitivity with excellent attack and presence. But didn’t
these benefits come at a price? In a word, horns lacked
refinement; peaky-brightness and boxy-coloration came
with the territory...
However, in recent years, chief designer Roy Delgado
has successfully upgraded and improved the Heritage line.
These changes were aimed at reducing the coloration and
brashness of earlier designs while seeking to retain all the
energetic immediacy that characterised the original models.
Today’s Klipsch Heritage speakers sound far more
natural and well-balanced. That bright peakiness, which
some horn speakers are prone to, is barely evident with the
Forte IV. True, they do produce a forward lively direct sort of
sound, but it’s akin to the crisp-immediacy you hear live.
Choosing the right amplifier is important in any context,
but with horns, it’s vital. Lively sensitive speakers can
be surprisingly revealing of sonic-differences between
amplifiers, letting you hear subtle changes in tonality and
dynamic attack that less-responsive more heavily-damped
speakers tend to smooth-over.
The ideal amplifier for Klipsch sounds warm, clean, and
refined. Because huge power reserves are not needed,
low-powered valve amps work very well with the Heritage
line. I used a Consonance M100S Plus integrated; its’ paired
300B output tubes delivering around 22W per channel.
I also tried a Perreaux 200iX solid-state integrated
with excellent results. As someone who listens mainly to
classical music, I find the Forte IVs sound very natural
and uncolored, with an exceptional ability to recreate the
wide dynamic swings and crisp-attack you hear in a live
performance.
Re-voiced – re-tuned – re-vamped
The Klipsch Forte IV is a three-way design featuring a
12-inch woofer coupled to a rear-facing 15-inch passive
radiator (ABR) to increase bass output and extend depth.
The horn-loaded midrange and tweeter feature all-new
titanium compression-drivers for smoother, sweeter highs.
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Klipsch Forte IV

35
 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Klipsch Forte IV
The Forte IV offers impressively tight, powerful bass-slam... I was genuinely
startled by the solid impact and weighty depth of the kick drum.
The Forte IV has been completely revised over its
predecessors. A new crossover-network featuring fourth-
order filtering results in a truer more-open, natural-sound,
with reduced-coloration, crisp powerful dynamics, and fast
life-like-attack.
The new K-702 midrange compression driver features
a modified proprietary Tractrix horn with patented Klipsch
‘Mumps’ technology to create smoother more-even
mid-frequencies, while ensuring a wider more-consistent
dispersion throughout the listening area.
A newly designed wide-dispersion high-frequency phase
plug helps ensure the top octaves match the coverage
pattern of the midrange and high frequency horns. This
results in a smoother, truer, more-natural sound that offers
excellent clarity and fine detail.
At just 31cm (12in) deep, 42cm (16.5in) wide, and 92cm
(36in) tall, the Forte IV’s narrow, shallow footprint takes
up very little space, yet results in big room-filling sound
comparable to much larger enclosures. A rear mounted
panel contains four binding posts for bi-wiring.
The Forte IV shares a few things with the larger, more
expensive Cornwall IV. Both use the same mid-range and
tweeter, but the Forte has a smaller woofer (12in rather than
15in), and a reduced-size cabinet. The Cornwall is a reflex
design, while the Forte a sealed-box with an ABR.
Claimed bass depth between the two models is similar,
but overall the Cornwall is about 3dB more efficient. Despite
using similar drive units, the crossover points are slightly
different – the Forte crosses over at 650Hz and 5.2kHz,
while the Cornwall does so at 700Hz and 5kHz.
As with all Klipsch Heritage speakers, each pair of Forte
IV loudspeakers features grain-matched real wood veneers.
There’s a choice of Cherry, Walnut, Black, or Distressed
Oak. The enclosures are built in pairs and given sequential
serial numbers.
The magic of Horns
As a long-time fan of horn-loaded speakers, the Klipsch
Heritage range inevitably caught my eye – and ear. Having
faithfully used Impulse H1 horns for over 30 years, Klipsch
seemed like an obvious step-forward when I sought
something better. But – which model to choose?
The Klipsch La Scala and K Horn are true full-range
horns, but very large, heavy, and expensive. Access to my
living room involves a flight of stairs. It wouldn’t be easy to
manoeuvre such big weighty enclosures down my stairs,
though not impossible either!
36
After much deliberation I choose Cornwall IVs as the
best and most practical option. I’ve had them just over a
year now and am very pleased with the sound. But, before
deciding on Cornwalls, I also considered the Forte very
carefully. It ticked a lot of boxes.
For me, a big plus-point for the Cornwall was their
suitability for placement close to corners or walls (hence,
Corn-wall). Might the Forte need a bit more surrounding
free-space to prevent the bass from becoming heavy or
boomy? One review I read suggested as much...
However, this proved not to be the case – at least not in
my room. Klipsch actually suggest placing Fortes between
2 and 10 inches from a rear wall. At such distances the
bass was well-controlled and firm. There was no boom or
overhang. Bass-depth was impressive and satisfying.
The Forte IVs I received for review were brand-new,
but – unlike my Cornwalls – they sounded pretty clean and
smooth straight from their cartons, albeit a tad thin/hard.
The Cornwall needed several months’ use for their bright
frisky treble to ease-up and became less prominent.
This extra-smoothness boils-down to crossover
differences. It seems the Forte’s Mid and HF drivers may
have a tad more resistive-attenuation to ensure the highs
balance-better with the slightly reduced output of the
smaller 12in bass driver.
Bass depth between the Forte and Cornwall is broadly
similar, but the Cornwall’s lower frequencies sound bigger
and more-voluminous. I do most of my listening at a
distance of around 25ft, and this increase in bass richness
and heft is very noticeable and welcome.
Impressive Bass Slam
That said, the Forte IV offers impressively tight, powerful
bass-slam. Playing track one from REM’s New Adventures
in Hi Fi, I was genuinely startled by the solid impact and
weighty depth of the kick drum. For a brief moment,
I thought my KEF KC62 sub must be connected – but
it wasn’t!
From a far-field listening seat some 25ft back from the
speakers, the Cornwall delivers a big room-filling sound
that’s very satisfying. However, when I sit at my writing desk
(about 5ft away from the speakers), this extra-scale and
projection is a mixed blessing.
In the near-field, the Cornwall can be too-assertive –
even a bit overpowering. Volume levels need lowering to
avoid an oppressively ‘loud’ sound. The Forte’s slightly
smaller-scale presentation proved more-comfortable for
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Klipsch Forte IV
The Forte really projects voices and instruments, creating a very vivid,
holographic, three-dimensional ‘out of the boxes’ soundstage.
near-field listening – more akin to a conventional (non-horn)
loudspeaker.
In my experience, the larger Klipsch models definitely
benefit from mid-field or far-field listening distances in big
rooms. Sure, you can reduce volume levels when sat closer,
but this can lead to the music sounding constrained and
emasculated.
Despite the Forte’s top-end being slightly less-forward
than that of the Cornwall, I still found it beneficial to toe the
Forte in quite sharply. Initially, I listened to the speakers for
a week or so slightly toe’d by 20 degrees, then tried toeing
them more acutely to about 45 degrees.
This helped make the sound slightly richer and fuller.
It added warmth to the midband, while increasing low-
frequency heft. However, bear in mind I was listening at
a distance of 25 feet; your room may produce a different
result, especially if you sit a lot closer...
Precise stereo imaging
Helped by a narrower cabinet, the Forte produces more-
precise stereo images than the Cornwall. Being such a
dynamic speaker, the Forte really projects voices and
instruments, creating a very vivid, holographic, three-
dimensional, ‘out of the boxes’ soundstage that has
palpable width and depth.
I noted the Forte’s precise imaging soon after I first
started listening to them. Playing a 1960 LP Jumpin’
with a Shuffle by the Jonah Jones Quartet on Capitol, I
was surprised to hear how firmly the piano located in the
soundstage compared to my Cornwalls.
This particular LP (a reissue bought in the early 1990s)
didn’t make much impact on me, musically or sonically,
when I first bought it. But hearing it again (decades later) on
the Cornwalls IVs – and the Forte IVs – I was surprised by
how detailed and three-dimensional the recording sounded.
This is something Klipsch Heritage models do; they
highlight what’s right with the sound, not what’s wrong with
it. Their clarity and responsiveness help bring-out hidden
details in recordings that might otherwise sound muddy and
nondescript on many regular speakers.
The Forte IVs fast, crisp, lively-sound engages your
interest and touches the emotions. There’s nothing cerebral
about the Forte IV. The sonic presentation is full-blooded
and immediate, with impressive scale, depth, and clarity. It’s
exciting and visceral; agile and responsive.
Playing Elbow’s The Seldom Seen Kid, the Forte
conveyed a rich deep soundstage from high to low. It
38
reproduced deep-bass passages cleanly and powerfully,
but remained comfortable and refined during the louder
more strenuous sections, sounding impressively-firm
and focused.
Try track nine, ‘Some Riot’, and soak-up the luminous,
sparkling, multi-faceted, three-dimensional effect created
at the start. Then go and play this same track on a
conventional, low-efficiency, non-horn-loaded loudspeaker
and notice how flat and constrained things sound by
comparison...
On a wide variety of music, from acoustic to electronic,
the Forte sounds great. It really gets the best out of a broad
range of material. From historic to modern, Pergolesi to
Punk, these speakers let you enjoy all kinds of music and
recordings. Their ‘Window of Acceptance’ is very wide...
The Forte IV has a deserved reputation as the Goldilocks
of the Klipsch Heritage range. It delivers a noticeably bigger,
better sound than the smaller Heresy, is very comparable
to the larger Cornwall, yet costs quite a bit less and doesn’t
take up nearly as much space.
At £5,749, Klipsch Forte IVs represent good value.
With a saving of £1,550 over the Cornwall, you get a lot of
loudspeaker for your money – an outstanding performer
that punches well above its weight. Despite loving my
Cornwalls, I’d be more than happy to live with Forte IV’s –
no hesitation.
Technical specifications
Type three-way horn-loaded design with passive radiator
Drive units 25mm titanium-diaphragm horn-loaded
compression tweeter; 44mm titanium-diaphragm horn-
loaded compression midrange; 300mm fibre-composite
bass cone, 380mm passive bass radiator
Frequency response 38–20,000 Hz (±3dB)
Power handling 100 watts (400 watts peak)
Sensitivity 99 dB
Nominal impedance 8 ohms
Finish book-matched American walnut wood veneer
Dimensions (W×H×D) 42×92×33cm (each)
Weight 32.7kg (each)
Price £5,749 per pair
Manufacturer Klipsch Klipsch.com
UK Distributor Henley Audio
henleyaudio.co.uk +44(0)1235 511166
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Rega System One
Jason Kennedy
I
was talking to a former executive at Technics
recently who told me about the way the business
worked in the days when separates sold in the sort
of numbers that only headphones and Bluetooth
speakers do today. For Technics, the game was all
about market share and the way to achieve that was
with advertising. This meant double-page spreads
in Sunday supplements and back pages on every hi-fi
magazine. It worked... and the brand made a lot of hay in
the shining sun. At the same time Rega was doing things
rather differently; with the Planar 2 and 3 turntables, the
company became one of the main turntable makers in
British hi-fi without recourse to marketing but rather by
building an excellent product at a competitive price. Those
turntables still hold their value today, which is more than
you can say for most hi-fi of the 1970s and 1980s, Technics
turntables excepted.
Rega is now the UK’s foremost independent
manufacturer of complete audio systems has a broad range
of turntables, electronics and loudspeakers and, in my
humble opinion, makes one of the very best turntables in
the world. But critically Rega also does its utmost to keep
its products affordable to the man and woman in the street.
There are numberless small companies in this business
who make great products but because of the scale of
their operations they are not able to bring them to market
41
at prices that the casual music enthusiast would consider
approachable. Rega has always looked for efficiency in
production and built in sufficient numbers to achieve this
enviable goal, one that only the larger brands which facilities
in China can compete with.
My first Rega
The Rega System One is the epitome of this high value
ethos. It is the company’s first complete hi-fi system in a
box and includes everything you need to make vinyl records
sound great in your home, cables and all. The source is
Rega’s most affordable turntable; the P1 is a full-size record
player with a proper dust cover and high quality motor,
bearing, platter, plinth, arm and cartridge. The Planar 1 to
give it its full title has a phenolic resin flywheel platter; this
hard plastic offers a stiff and flat surface and has peripheral
weighting to aid speed stability. Like all Rega turntables,
drive is achieved via a smaller subplatter, an approach that
can be found in the Linn LP12 among a few enlightened
others and avoids the problems inherent in driving the
periphery of the platter with a belt or idler wheel. The main
one being considerably lower energy transfer from the
motor to the platter. Remember that a turntable’s job is to
‘read’ miniscule vibrations in a vinyl groove, anything that
adds vibration to the system will distort the signal being
read so extraneous vibration is to be avoided at all costs.
 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Rega System One
Bias or anti-skate is described as ‘automatic’ and cannot be adjusted, and
this suits the Rega Carbon moving magnet cartridge supplied.
The Rega RB110 tonearm isn’t based on the casting that
forms more costly Rega arms but instead is a high quality
piece of engineering that should last considerably longer
than the flimsy looking options found on many budget
turntables. Bias or anti-skate is described as automatic and
cannot be adjusted, and this suits the Rega Carbon moving
magnet cartridge supplied. Some consider this to be a
limitation but given that bias is always a compromise (like
tracking angle, no single bias setting is correct across the
whole side of a record), it is an acceptable way of reducing
cost. Downforce is, of course, adjustable but the RB110
has a stop to suit the requirement of the Carbon, making
user set up very easy indeed. The arm also has a proper
lift/lower system, that looks very much like the kind fitted
to Rega’s top models. The arm bearings use a patented
combination of polymer casings and steel ball races and are
found in both the RB110 and RB220 arms.
A 24V synchronous AC motor – as found across the Rega
turntable range – powers the P1; the more expensive models
get the motors that measure best of course but the basic
design is the same. This motor drives a round section belt
from an aluminium pulley with separate steps for 33.3 and
45rpm. This means changing speed requires the platter to
be removed and the belt moved from one to the other, but in
reality it’s ‘simples,’ as that mysteriously Russian-accented
African meerkat insurance salesman is prone to saying.
Motor switching is under the front of the plinth and easy
to find by feel. Not a great deal is said about the plinth
itself save that it comes in matt white or black finishes, it
42
feels like furniture grade wood but is presumably some
kind of particulate board with a finishing skin. The turntable
sits on three rubber feet for stability and damping, and
has a socket on the rear for the wallwart power supply.
Its tonearm cable is fixed in order to provide a direct
connection between arm and amplifier. Some brands offer
RCA outputs on their turntables but the low power nature
of the signal produced by a cartridge means that such
interfaces are detrimental to sound quality.
The integrated amplifier that Rega developed largely for
this system is called Io. It’s (naturally) the least expensive
model they make and yet offers the all important phono
stage required for the P1. It is based on the same circuit
as the remarkable Brio amplifier and while it has a smaller
power supply and thus lower 30 Watt output, it is the least
expensive amplifier that’s made in the UK. Features extend
to a headphone output and remote control with two line
inputs alongside the MM phono stage. It’s interesting to
note that the first two incarnations of the Naim Nait offered
only 13W; it wasn’t until the Nait 3 in 1993 that it reached
the sort of Wattage on offer in the Io. Another similarity
is that the early Naits also had just three inputs including
phono... coincidence, perhaps?
The most radical element in the Rega System One is
the Kyte loudspeaker. This eschews wood almost entirely
in favour of a Rega’s favourite plastic, phenolic resin. This
is the material that you find in light switches and mains
sockets; it’s not intrinsically expensive yet making such a
large moulding proved a difficult process to get right and
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Rega System One
This system does what Rega components have always been particularly good at;
producing a musically coherent and thoroughly engaging listening experience.
Rega doesn’t make enough speakers to bring the price
down that far. The box is stiffened using ceramic plates and
a wooden cross brace.
The drivers are pretty much identical to those found
in Rega’s more conventional RX1 bookshelf model and
consist of a 125mm mid/bass driver with a paper cone and
the Rega ZRR soft dome tweeter. These have trim rings
to hide fixings for a neat look and sit in a baffle set into the
main cabinet. This has a reflex port moulded into the rear
and a pair of cable terminals above one another and close
to the fixing holes for a supporting leg. Because the cabinet
moulding has to have sloping sides for manufacturing
purposes the bottom is not at 90 degrees to the front as is
the case with wooden boxes; the bolt on support means
that the front baffle sits vertically but does make it nigh on
impossible to Blu-tack to a stand. However, given Rega’s
dislike of damping this is probably deliberate. The other
consideration is that this system is for regular folk who don’t
have or want stands but put their speakers on a shelf or
sideboard... the weirdos!
Freedom from excitement
Being not averse to speaker stands nor particularly anti-
damping I bucked convention and Blu-tacked the Kytes to a
pair of Custom Design 60cm stands without using the T bar
support leg. I reviewed the Kytes alone a couple of years
44
back and discovered that this sounds better than using
the leg or the metal adaptor that Rega sells for those who
want to use conventional stands. This meant that the front
baffle leans back slightly but plenty of speakers work like
this by design and the base angle is only five degrees so the
tilt isn’t extreme by any standards. The turntable went on
my regular rack – which is well isolated – so it got a better
chance than a typical situation and in my experience solid
plinth turntables do benefit from as much freedom from
external excitement as possible. I connected the speakers
up with the supplied cables which are three metres long
and marked for polarity, they don’t have plugs so you need
to pull off the pre-cut insulation at either end and bind them
to amp and speaker terminals.
Being an audio nut, I took the lid off the Planar 1; it’s
easy and removes a potential source of vibration (especially
when left up), then dropped the needle carefully onto John
Renbourn’s Another Monday and soon became immersed
in fabulous playing and singing. This system does what
Rega components have always been particularly good at;
producing a musically coherent and thoroughly engaging
listening experience. It gets to the “crux of the biscuit” as
Frank Zappa used to say, bringing out the heart of the
musical matter in such a direct and unaffected way that
you can’t help but enjoy yourself. It’s limited in terms of
bandwidth, the Carbon doesn’t quite soar to the heights of
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Rega System One

Its ability to provide all the detail that contributes to an engaging and
rewarding musical experience outweighs its limitations by a large factor.

treble and the Kytes don’t go down to the lowest octaves
of bass, yet all the important musical cues are present
and correct. Timing is spot on, vinyl has a huge advantage
over digital in this respect because it’s a real time, non-
processed system involving converting a mechanical signal
to an electrical one. There is plenty of potential for tonal
aberration but little for errors in the time domain and those
are the ones that get in the way of realism in my book.
Typically Rega
This system’s balance is typically Rega by which I mean
slightly lean, the Kytes are largely responsible for this
because there is so little mass to store and subsequently
release energy as is the case with wood based boxes. This
makes them very fast and agile with no thickness which is
not to all tastes but ultimately serves the music rather well.
They do attack and decay very well and even reproduce
depth of image to a decent standard, and bass is strong
enough to make bass guitars, drums etc very convincing.
I also tried the Io and Kytes with a digital source in the
Silent Angel Munich M1 streamer. Playing Ronnie Size’s
‘Brown Paper Bag’ on this proved a thrilling experience,
the intensity of the drum and bass making for an adrenaline
rush that left me wanting more. On the lush production
of Beck’s ‘Paper Tiger’ the scale came through with ease
albeit the electric guitar seemed a little more eager than
usual. It’s not a rich tonal balance that’s for sure, it’s more
about pace and engagement than polish but if you put a
plush recording on you get a plush sound out. The caveat
here is that the difference in level between vinyl and line
sources such as a DAC can be quite large with some
recordings so it’s wise to turn it down when switching
between them.
Vinyl is the natural source for this system of course and
always the most rewarding, I found myself more distracted
by the Rega System One than expected truth be told;
its ability to provide all the detail that contributes to an
engaging and rewarding musical experience outweighs
its limitations by a large factor. That it costs no more than
some of the cables in my usual system is remarkable
and goes to show that if the manufacturer puts its mind
to it there is no need to spend more. It is possible to put
together a similar system from diverse brands for a similar
price but it seems unlikely that you would end up with
the sonic coherence, build quality and lifetime guarantee
offered here. Rega is a very unusual company in many ways
but its success in both commercial and product value terms
means it competes with the very best.

Technical specifications
Rega Planar 1
Type Belt drive, manual operation
turntable, arm and cartridge with
dust cover
Rotational Speeds 33 1/3 RPM, 45 RPM
Tonearm Length 9-inch
Rega Io
Type Solid-state, 2-channel integrated
amplifier with built-in phono stage
Analogue inputs One MM phono input
(via RCA jacks), two single-ended
line-level inputs (via RCA jacks)
Rega Kyte
Type 2-way, two-driver stand-mount with
rear-ported bass reflex enclosure.
Driver complement One 19mm soft
dome tweeter, one 125mm paper cone
mid-bass driver

Drive Mechanism EBLT belt driven via Digital inputs None Frequency response Not specified
24V AC motor Analogue outputs None Crossover frequency Not specified
Speed Control Not specified Supported sample rates N/A Impedance 6 Ohms nominal
Platter Type 23mm phenolic resin Input impedance line – 47kOhms, Sensitivity 89dB/W/m
12-inch platter Phono – 47kOhms, 220pF Dimensions (H×W×D)
Platter Weight Not specified Output impedance (preamp) N/A 325 × 188 × 232mm
Bearing Type Performance brass main Headphone Loads 32–300 Ohms Weight 3.7kg/each
bearing Power Output 30Wpc @ 8 Ohms Finishes Black
Plinth Configuration Solid plinth Bandwidth Not specified System price £1,199
Dimensions (H×W×D) Distortion Not specified
117 × 447 × 360mm (lid closed) Manufacturer Rega Research
Signal to Noise Ratio Not specified
Weight 4.35kg www.rega.co.uk 01702 333071
Dimensions (H×W×D)
68 × 180 × 290mm
Weight 2.9kg

46
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW

Koetsu Coralstone
cartridge
Jimmy Hughes

W
hen it comes to iconic hi-fi A quick glance at the printed specifications of assorted
brands, Koetsu are among the Koetsu cartridges indicates more similarities than
elite. Audio Royalty no less. differences between the various models. The Coralstone
The company, founded by has a cantilever made from boron, and coils wound from
Yoshiaki Sugano, produces silver-plated copper, with an impedance of 5 Ohms. It
exquisite moving coil weighs 12.5g.
cartridges that have a near
mythic reputation for quality. The Coralstone is a beautiful The power of platinum
example of Koetsu artianship. The generator uses a platinum magnet – an alloy of the
The Coralstone is very much an upper-echelon Koetsu, cobalt-platinum system, and one of the most powerful
retailing at £8,498. Despite the hefty price tag, it’s by no permanent-magnet materials known. It can be machined,
means the most expensive model in the Koetsu family. rolled, or drawn without difficulty, and lends itself to
However, it is certainly among the most beautiful, thanks to the creation of magnets with complex shapes or a very
its gorgeous gemstone body. small size.

49
 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Koetsu Coralstone
The Coralstone did not disappoint. Its sonic presentation was outstandingly cohesive,
very detailed, yet noticeably more neutral and natural-sounding than expected.
The diamond tip is a proprietary fine-line type designed
by Sugano-San and manufactured by Ogura. A classic
magnetic circuit is used with a traditional Yoke, but
due to the use of a platinum magnet the output drops
slightly to 0.3mV compared 0.4mV for Koetsu’s using
neodymium magnets.
The gemstone body, specially chosen for its beauty and
natural-grain, is carved from solid stone, and polished to a
gloss finish. It looks more like a piece of jewellery than an
audio component! The rather ‘blocky’ squared-off nature of
the body is very much Koetsu’s signature shape...
It’s easily been a decade or more since I last had a Koetsu
cartridge at home. Would the wait be worth it? Fortunately,
the Coralstone did not disappoint. Its sonic presentation was
outstandingly cohesive, very detailed, yet noticeably more-
neutral and natural-sounding than expected.
I now seek truthfulness and neutrality from vinyl replay. I
want to feel I’m listening to the original master tape, rather
than a flawed piece of vinyl with lots of fake character
added. The sound should be clean and detailed, with no
background noise so far as possible. Not much to ask for!
I fitted the Coralstone to an Origin Live Resolution
turntable with Illustrious arm, and set the tracking weight to
the suggested upper limit of 2g. Early impressions were of a
very natural open tonality that sounded clear, unobtrusively-
detailed, and deceptively-unexaggerated.
Jumpin’ with a Shuffle
One of the first LPs I played was Jumpin with a Shuffle
by the Jonah Jones Quartet on Capitol – a nice French-
pressed reissue of the original 1960 USA LP. In some
ways, Capitol’s Full Dimensional Stereo recording appears
not that ambitious in terms of range – the sound is slightly
contained. Or is it?
I used to think this LP was no more than average, but
played on a good turntable/arm/cartridge, the recording
really opens-out. The crisp breathy-tones of Jonah Jones’
muted-trumpet solos cut like a hot-knife through butter.
And Jones’ crooning vocals are smooth, yet focused
and present.
The Coralstone reproduced this LP with unexaggerated
naturalness, while at the same time bringing out contrasts
I hadn’t realised were there. For example, the trumpet
solos were suddenly showing much greater presence and
projection than usual.
Playing the Contemporary Records album West Side
Story with Andre Previn and his Pals – the Mo-Fi pressing –
50
the sound was crisp and very detailed. The cutting level on
this LP is a tad on the low side, so a good pickup is needed
to tease out all the detail – which the Coralstone most
assuredly did.
Using a Pro-Ject Phono-Box RS2 as my phono stage, I
set gain to maximum and chose a capacitance of 200pf and
a loading resistance of 600 Ohms. These setting were not
ultra-critical, but seemed to deliver a nice overall end-result.
In particular, Red Mitchell’s bass line seemed
slightly cleaner and firmer at 200pf compared to higher
capacitance values, while Previn’s piano sparkled and sang.
As ever, in another system, with a different tonal balance, an
alternative set of values might be preferred.
Power and depth
Turning to the album Bass Desires by Marc Johnson
on ECM, I was impressed by the sheer weight and heft
of reproduction – the power and depth of the lower
frequencies. The sound was very solid and cohesive;
unobtrusively detailed and rich.
Mine’s just a standard ECM German pressing on normal
vinyl, but – based on what I was hearing – the LP almost
sounded like an audiophile remaster at 45rpm on 180g vinyl
– it was that punchy. The bottom end was very focused and
powerful, and the sound had impressive depth and range.
In addition, the overall reproduction sounded totally-
effortless and beautifully clean. Even in the louder
more densely-layered passages, the sound never grew
congested. There was no struggle or strain. The music
simply ‘happened’ between the loudspeakers.
Surface noise was very low. The Sugano-San designed
Ogura stylus tip always seemed to find the quiet part of the
groove. On LPs that did have some surface noise – say, a
continuous background rustle of light ticks and pops – the
noise subjectively seemed in a different plane to the music.
It’s difficult to explain this in so many words, but
somehow the noise was separate from the music.
This meant you could more easily filter it out and just
concentrate on voices and instruments. Where low-level
background noise was present, it was generally very muted.
Heat Damage
I have a number of LPs that have suffered long-term heat
damage causing the surface to become mottled and dull.
This results in surface noise – usually a muted swish and/or
a continuous mushy background rustling. Unfortunately it’s
not something that cleans off.
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Koetsu Coralstone
You want the sound to keep its pristine clarity and dynamic
separation for as much of its working life as possible.
It’s interesting to play these damaged LPs with different
pickups because some emphasise surface noise more
than others. The Coralstone was quite a bit better-than-
average at delivering nice quiet backgrounds, though some
damaged LPs remained noisy.
Early Koetsu cartridges were not noted for excellent
tracking ability, and could be prone to distortion and
breakup during highly-modulated passages, especially
towards side-ends. Fortunately, modern Koetsu cartridges
like the Coralstone are very good trackers.
Some months back, while rummaging though some
boxes of old LPs in my basement, I came upon a pristine
copy of Shure’s Era IV trackability test disc. Could the
Coralstone meet the challenge? It most certainly could
– and did!
Time for torture
The Era IV LP was designed as a torture test for pickups,
with passages of music featuring flute, bells, and harp
– either solo, or in combination – at different modulation
levels. Aside from the flute and harp test (band one side
two) the Coralstone played every track without breakup.
Impressive!
On the flute and harp test, there were a few brief
moments of discomfort from the flute as the level went
from one to five. Basically, the Coralstone was okay up to
level two, but then showed slight signs of breakup at level
three. Another high quality MC cartridge did much the
same thing...
Interestingly, when the solo flute plays the same
music (side one, band four), there were no problems with
mistracking. Shure claim that combining harp (fast quick
plucked notes) with flute (long continuous notes) makes
things much harder for the pickup.
For another test of tracking, I sampled several different
recordings of Saint-Saens’ mighty third symphony. The
end of the piece features full orchestra, pipe organ, and
percussion. It makes a fearsome grandiose noise, and –
coming at the end of side – can be a nightmare to track.
I tried a number of recordings, including Barenboim and
Karajan (both DG), with the latter (a bright-sounding early
digital recording) being especially demanding. Fortunately,
the Coralstone was completely unfazed by the onslaught
and reproduced the music cleanly right to the end.
The Coralstone delivered excellent stereo separation,
and produced stable well-defined stereo images that were
solid and focused. On the Jonah Jones LP, I was pleased
52
with the way the piano located solidly in space as it can
sometimes be slightly ill-defined.
Built to last
Another thing I’ve always admired with Koetsu cartridges is
their longevity. When you’re spending this sort of dosh on
a pickup, you want it to last – you want the sound to keep
its pristine clarity and dynamic separation for as much of its
working life as possible.
It’s difficult to predict the lifespan of a cartridge.
Much depends on how often you use it, and also on the
cleanliness of your LPs. Based on one to three hours
use each day, I’d expect the Coralstone to deliver top-
class results for at least three to five years; possibly
(probably) more.
Nowadays, most hi-fi enthusiasts will have other media
like CD or downloads they listen to. Vinyl is just one of
several sources. Speaking personally, I still listen to LPs but
also play CDs/SACDs, digital files, and stream music. There
are so many sources, and only so many hours in a day...
Despite other more-convenient sources clamouring
for attention, many of us still like to play LPs. For serious
vinyl fans, a Koetsu Coralstone delivers exalted levels of
excellence that are inimitable. Lucky owners can look
forward to enjoying superior record-reproduction for a very
long time.
Expect a refined luxurious quality of sound that
transcends the sum of the parts. If your ideal phono
cartridge is one that makes LPs sound like master tapes,
and you have the cash to spare, then the Koetsu Coralstone
is definitely a pickup you must audition.
Technical specifications
Type Moving Coil Cartridge
Magnet material Platinum
Cantilever material Boron
Output 0.3mV
Recommended Tracking Force 1.8–2.0g
Recommended Load 75–500 ohms
Net Weight 12g
Price £8,498
Manufacturer Koetsu
UK Distributor Absolute Sounds
absolutesounds.com +44(0)208 971 3909
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Eclipse TD307 mkIII
stereo speakers
Simon Lucas
T
ime is of the essence, right? Ask
Eclipse the question and the Japanese
company’s answer is likely to be along
the lines of “well, yes and no”.
“Yes” because the company
maintains loudspeakers that prioritise
accurate reproduction of the time domain
are more convincing and enjoyable than loudspeakers that
focus on getting the frequency balance right. Eclipse has
been convinced of this emphasis right from the off – the
‘TD’ in the model name stands for ‘time domain’, just in
case there was any confusion.
55
On the other hand, “No” because the TD307 mkIII is the
first new Eclipse model for seven long years. Plague years
notwithstanding, that’s a glacial launch schedule. And while
I don’t doubt the company has been hard at work for that
entire time, a glance at the product itself suggests those
seven years haven’t been spent rethinking its aesthetics.
If you’re at all familiar with Eclipse loudspeakers, the
appearance of the TD307 mkIII is going to come as no
surprise. The egg-shaped enclosure stands on a pedestal,
and features a single driver glaring out – this is what Eclipse
speakers always look like, and the TD307mkIII is just a very
compact variation on the established theme.
 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
c s T
The use of a single drive unit is central to the Eclipse philosophy. A single
driver means there’s no requirement for a crossover network.
Small is beautiful
At 21cm high and slightly less than 14cm in width, the
TD307 mkIII are little, all right – though they’re actually
a bit larger than the outgoing TD307 mkII, with nearly
200cc extra cabinet volume. The idea is the extra space
will help low-frequency extension – Eclipse is claiming
frequency response of 80Hz – 25kHz. That doesn’t indicate
teeth-rattling bass power, true, but then again Eclipse is
positioning the TD307 mkIII as the ideal desktop speaker for
the discerning at-work listener – and the last thing anyone
needs when trying to get some work done is low-end
activity disturbing their paperwork.
The bigger cabinet is far from the only amendment over
the outgoing model. The single 65mm drive unit is now
made from fibreglass rather than paper – the stiffer cone
material allows less resonance and allows greater excursion.
There’s a new magnet system, consisting of a bigger main
and sub-magnet, plus a ‘repulsive’ magnet giving a 20
percent increase in magnetic force which, in turn, allows for
bigger sound pressure levels. The reworking of the magnet
system also reduces distortion and sound leakage.
The use of a single drive unit is central to the Eclipse
philosophy. A single driver means there’s no requirement for
a crossover network (which will inevitably promote phase
distortion and inhibits dynamic expression, no matter how
well implemented it might be), and it means frequency
integration should be smoother than the multi-driver
alternative. And as is customary with Eclipse, the driver
itself isn’t attached to the cabinet – instead, it’s connected
to an internal five-pillar stay with high-mass anchor, which is
in turn connected to the stand. This helps direct vibrations
out of the structure, and means the cabinet itself is about as
quiet as they come.
There have been other, more practical, changes too.
The new speaker terminals are a big improvement, for
example – they’ll now accept either 4mm banana plugs or
bare wire. There’s some rudimentary cable-management in
the base of the stand. And there’s now only one screw that
needs adjusting in order to change the speaker’s angle of
orientation on its stand – the previous model required you to
adjust three.
So the TD307 mkIII are far simpler and tidier to position
on a desktop than the model they replace – for the
purposes of this test they’re either side of a 2020 Apple
MacBook Pro and toed towards the listening position
just a tiny bit. The laptop feeds a Chord Electronics Anni
amplifier (it’s both the ideal size for desktop use and every
56
0
bit as talented as the company’s full-size amps) via a
Chord Electronics Qutest DAC. Admittedly this is not the
most compact, nor the most affordable, desktop system
around – as well as reasonably deep pockets you’ll need a
reasonably big desk. But the resulting sound isn’t especially
typical of desktop audio systems, either.
Using Colibri to access properly high-resolution digital
audio files, and opening up with a 24bit/96kHz file of Nick
Cave & The Bad Seeds’ (Are You) The One That I’ve Been
Waiting For? [Mute], it doesn’t take long for the TD307
mkIII to establish their modus operandi. The positives and
negatives to their performance seem to mirror each other –
the Eclipse coin most certainly has two sides.
The most obvious and immediate entry into the ‘plus’
column is the straightforward insight they seem to have into
the recording. Resolution is approaching revelatory here: the
TD307 mkIII are alert to even the most minor, most transitory
information and can integrate it into their overall presentation
in the most natural and unforced kind of way. The full story
of the way brushes interact with drum-skin, the harmonic
variations apparent from one piano key-press to the next,
even the mouth-noises of a singer preparing to deliver the
next line… the Eclipse lock onto all of this and more, and as
a result there seems no doubt you’re getting every scrap of
information contained in the original digital file.
Unambiguously unfussy
And, what’s more, you’re getting it in the most
unambiguous, most unfussily musical way. There’s
a directness to the way the TD307 mkIII present the
recording, a tangible sense of a performance in progress,
of musicians sharing that hive mind that compels them
to act as a single unit like starlings in murmuration. The
unity and singularity of the recording is made almost
indecently obvious.
As long as you spend the time getting the positioning of
the speakers right, you’re also rewarded with soundstaging
and imaging that’s a considerable distance ahead of any
nominal desktop rival.
You want them reasonably close, you want them pointing
at you – and then the precision, the focus and the three-
dimensionality of the stage the Eclipse conjure is yours to
revel in. Even a fairly busy, reasonably complex and usually
rather hazy recording like Spiritualized’s I Think I’m In Love
[Dedicated] absolutely snaps to attention, as in thrall to the
TD307 mkIII’s authority and powers of organisation as the
listener is.
 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
c s T 0

You cannot, as a famous pretend-Scotsman

used to say, change the laws of physics.

The tonal balance the Eclipse strikes is equally confident 80 db/Wm means they won’t go particularly loud – so
and convincing, and where low-level variations in intensity don’t ask them.
are concerned they’re without serious peer. These, then, are the accommodations you’ll have to
Of course, you can’t expect all this sunshine without reach if the idea of the most vivid, most focussed, most
a little rain. And where the Eclipse TD307 mkIII are thrillingly direct-sounding desktop audio system available
concerned, it’s a predictable lack of low-frequency power appeals to you. What else? Well, all that careful positioning
and extension, along with a corresponding lack of dynamic is going to cover the glossy plastic cabinets with finger- and
impetus, that rains on their parade. palm-prints – so don’t go thinking you’ll get away without
You cannot, as a famous pretend-Scotsman used doing regular house-keeping.
to say, change the laws of physics. And though the The Eclipse TD307 mkIII are far from perfect. But power
advantages to using a single driver to cover the entirety of them appropriately, position them correctly and generally
the frequency range are unarguable, the disadvantages accept them on their own terms, and they’re about as
are equally obvious – especially when it’s a driver of such rewarding a listen as a desktop set-up can be.
modest dimensions to start with. Both extremes of the
frequency range suffer, but it’s bass extension (or the Technical specifications
lack thereof) that’s most obvious here. The bass guitar is
uncommonly high in the mix during the Nick Cave tune, Driver complement 1× 65mm fibreglass full-range dynamic
driver
but here it struggles to make its presence felt. And with
a recording that’s propelled purely by low-end sounds – Frequency response 80Hz–25kHz
Mexico Sundown Blues by James Ray & The Performance Crossover frequency n/a
[Cleopatra], for example – the bass roll-off is so steep the Impedance 8 ohms
recording changes character entirely. Sensitivity 80 db/Wm
In the same way that a greyhound is different from a bull Dimensions (H×W×D) 212 × 135 × 184mm
mastiff, the Eclipse TD307 mkIII are different from all the Weight 2kg per speaker
other desktop speakers around. They have negligible bass Finishes Gloss white and black
weight and equally insignificant bass power – and if you Price £600/pair
don’t take care with positioning, their treble response can
roll off quickly too, leaving you with a sound that’s basically Manufacturer Eclipse eclipse-td.com/uk
all midrange. Forget listening off-axis, in other words – the
compromises are too great. And that sensitivity rating of Distributor Decent Audio decentaudio.co.uk

58
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
EAT Fortissimo turntable
Alan Sircom
T
he Forte is one of the most popular
and recognisable turntables in the EAT
(European Audio Team) brand’s line-
up. It has been in that catalogue for
more than a dozen years and for good
reason; the turntable delivers the goods
at a very keen price. So, when hi-fi+
got a chance at looking at the new Fortissimo, which
is effectively the already substantial Forte writ large, we
jumped at the chance. Well, maybe ‘jumped’ isn’t the right
word; ‘braced for impact’ is closer because in its crate, the
Fortissimo weighs in at a hefty 86kg or 190lbs. Put another
way, this turntable weighs as much as undefeated Post
War heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano did
throughout much of his career. The temptation to say the
Fortissimo ‘pulls no punches’ is too great.
61
The Forte and Fortissimo models allow the user to opt
for an EAT-designed tonearm or supply their own – 12” –
arm. In the case of the Fortissimo, it came supplied with the
new F-Note tonearm and the company’s Jo No 8 cartridge
as a complete package. Like the Forte line, there is also a
smaller Fortissimo S, which moves the power supply and
motor into the main chassis. You could call this a ‘smaller’
design, in the way Saturn is a ‘smaller’ planet to Jupiter; the
in other words, the ‘little’ Fortissimo S is still bloody big!
Heavyweight similarities
The Forte connection is worth mentioning a lot, because
the similarities between the two heavyweight turntables are
clearly obvious. They are more than family resemblances,
especially the EAT family is both relatively large and diverse.
The Fortissimo is plainly ‘inspired’ by the Forte. But that
 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
EAT Fortissimo

The Forte showed the audio world that high-mass turntables need not look agricultural
and the Fortissimo continues that concept even though it moves the ‘high-mass’ needle.

doesn’t mean this is simply a Forte with a bulkier price tag.
Similarly, EAT could have made the seemingly logical step
to make the new Fortissimo either a sleek and wispy thing
or a grotesquely over-muscled super-high mass box, and
the fact it retains the substantial but not bloated lines of the
Forte is a feather in EATs cap. In effect, the Forte showed
the audio world that high-mass turntables need not look
agricultural and the Fortissimo continues that concept even
though it moves the ‘high-mass’ needle.
The oversized (16in, 400mm) platter is perhaps the most
noticeable thing on both Forte and Fortissimo models and
the most striking difference between the two are 12 brass
inserts around its periphery. In fact, the platter also features
a central brass hub to the main platter, which ups the total
mass to an impressive 22kg. The two-part platter is a mix of
harder alloys in the outer part and softer alloy for the inner
section, with judicious use of Sorbothane damping to keep
resonance at bay.
Despite being a ‘girthy’ platter, it’s in part magnetically
suspended, with a series of neodymium magnets along the
bottom half of the platter. This isn’t to ‘float’ the platter like a
suspended design, but more about offsetting the pressure
of all that platter mass on the inverted bearing, which
means an order of magnitude less rumble. And it’s the
bearing where the big changes happen between Fortissimo
and Forte; this time, the shaft surface is treated with Movic
low-friction coating. Movic is a graphene-based material
developed by NASA and it reduces friction levels by a factor
of six over the previous version. It still uses a ceramic ball tip
with a Teflon plate as a bearing mirror/cup.
The rest is very much in line with the existing Forte
model, with its unique stand-alone, twin AC motor power
block, and two relatively short silicon string belts, designed
to reduce wobble (not that wobble is much of an issue with
a platter of this mass, and the substantial nature of the
bearing block.

62
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
EAT Fortissimo
Not an F-bomb
You can use almost any 12” arm on the Fortissimo, but
EAT’s own £6,998 F-Note is a perfect partner. Like the
deck, it’s a high mass design, with a low-friction bearing,
but EAT has redesigned the four point bearing system
to overcome the need for a more ‘glacial’ bearing to
wrangle the mass of the arm. VTF and VTA are both easily
adjustable without the need for additional tools. This sits
on its own massive base and the whole arm looks cool
in chrome. Finally the £2,998 Jo No 8 cartridge – with
its nude Shibata stylus profile and boron cantilever, it’s
TPE suspension and 8N pure copper wire –completes
the package
There’s a temptation for manufacturers to overstate
the design criteria of a turntable in its sonic presentation.
In particular, high-mass designs are often ‘big’ and ‘solid’
sounding, often to the detriment of the performance itself.
EAT is different; it’s almost understated by comparison,
and that’s its biggest strength. It’s got all the strengths of
high-mass designs (excellent speed stability, strong, clearly
defined bass) without the weaknesses (hard-sounding
treble, slightly constricted midrange, lack of rhythmic
‘bounce’) making for a turntable of great poise and honesty.
The only strong character of high-mass that shines through
is the sense of grace and poise it imparts on the music,
which puts it more toward the traditional expansive high-
end sound than the light and fast ‘Pace, Rhythm and
Timing’ presentation that remains popular in some circles.
That’s not to say the turntable can’t get funky; I played
‘Mr Wiggles’ from Motor Booty Affair by Parliament
[Casablanca] and that funk-meets-disco proto-rap laid
down a beat as infectious as it was precise and deep.
However, even this album highlighted the size and
precision of the soundstage. This is a track that starts
with a reverberant vocal but is then cut back to a tight
rhythm section playing between the speakers almost
as background music to the DJ. Here, that sound was
bursting to get out from between the speaker cabinets.
Having heard the Forte (admittedly some time ago), the
original deck had the same expansiveness of sound, but
the Fortissimo brings greater precision and snap to that
staging. The Forte does not make a vague image, but the
Fortissimo brings the sound to an even sharper focus.
This becomes really important when playing larger scale
classical works and more complex prog-rock pieces. I
haven’t played ‘Roundabout’ Fragile by Yes [Atlantic] for
years in part because it’s so multi-layered that it can sound
confused; lighter, faster sounding turntables stress the
sophisticated rhythms and bigger decks just go for the
clarity of instrument and voice. Few get the balance right,
and it’s a mark of the poise of the EAT Fortissimo that you
can enjoy both the Squire/Wakeman/Bruford classic back
line, and the refined noodling of Howe and Anderson, all in a
cohesive, coherent whole.
64
‘Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me’ on This One’s
for Blanton! by Duke Ellington and Ray Brown [Pablo]
is something of an audiophile standard, but on the EAT
Fortissimo it’s not simply due to the scale and imaging,
but that it shows the recording’s playful side beautifully.
This was Ellington in his twilight years, but what his piano
playing might lack in energy, it more than makes up for in
sophistication and effortless fills and vamps.
That record encapsulates what the EAT Fortissimo does
so well; it does all the audiophile things you expect of it, and
then goes the extra mile by making the music enjoyable,
unforced and unfussy. This is a very approachable sound.
The Full Package
I’ve described the Fortissimo as a complete package and
not broken out the F-Note or Jo No 8 for a reason; there’s
no need to do so. Sure, you can swap out both to get the
last scintilla of performance if you throw money at the front-
end, but you’d be looking at a lot of money to substantially
improve on this bundle. Especially as they dove-tail so well
on the turntable; I’d struggle to think of an arm that’s a
better match to the Fortissimo that isn’t a Graham Phantom
Elite (which doubles the cost) or a cartridge that isn’t
something that wasn’t in the £5,000-£9,000 price bracket
I don’t like using the B-word in audio. Officially, there
are no bargains in high-end audio by definition; high-end
describes a set of products that are luxury goods, and
not the kind of things you might find filed under ‘Middle of
Lidl’. That all being said, the EAT Fortissimo is a substantial
flagship turntable in a market where similarly-specified
‘flagships’ can cost an order of magnitude more. Couple
that with the F-Note arm and Jo No 8 cartridge and you
have a package costing just over £20,000 that will easily
see off many turntable systems costing twice that... possibly
more. Put simply, this is a true reference grade, high-end
flagship turntable without the flagship price.
Technical specifications
Type two-box high-mass turntable
Electronic speed change 33.3/45.11rpm
Speed variance ±0.09%
Wow & Flutter ±0.008%
Signal to noise ratio -73dB
Dimensions (W×H×D) 70 × 25 × 44cm
Weight 68kg
Finish Black, Makassar, Leather Black
Price from £10,500 (depending on finish, arm, and cartridge
combination)
Manufacturer EAT europeanaudioteam.com
UK Distributor Absolute Sounds
absolutesounds.com +44(0)208 971 3909
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“Discovering rich new meaning in well-worn LPs is perhaps the most profound testament to the Transcendence’s
preeminence. I consider the Transcendence one of the greatest achievements of high-end audio, not just in
turntables and tonearms, but across all product categories.”
- Robert Harley, The Absolute Sound, July/August 2019

“The A.J. Conti Transcendence is an invaluable tool for me, in addition to being supremely pleasurable to listen to!
To put it simply, it tells me the truth about the vinyl I have on…I spend a lot of time in studios and the only thing I can
compare it to is a perfectly maintained Studer tape deck.”
- Joe Harley, Record Producer

THE A.J. CONTI TRANSCENDENCE

Hand built in New Hampshire with materials sourced exclusively in the USA and Canada

BASIS AUDIO | www.basisaudio.com | +1-603-889-4776

 EQUIPMENT REVIEW

Sennheiser IE600
in-ear headphones
Simon Lucas

“F
ashion is ephemeral, dangerous
and unfair.” Admittedly Karl
Lagerfeld didn’t have the world
of consumer electronics
uppermost in his mind when
he made this statement, but it nevertheless
applies. Sennheiser certainly seems to think so.
As of right now, it’s hard to think of a less
fashionable sector of the hi-fi market than that
of wired in-ear monitors. Mainstream consumers
gave up on them a while ago – at almost exactly
the same time as smartphone manufacturers
gave up on headphone sockets, in fact. You might
be forgiven for thinking wired headphones are the
preserve of airlines who want you to enjoy the in-flight
‘entertainment’ but don’t want you to be tempted to
make off with their headphones after landing.

Wired beats wireless

Those who take listening seriously, though, know that
for sound quality a wired connection beats the wireless
equivalent 99 times out of 100. These are the people who
know a portable digital audio player wipes the floor, where
sound quality is concerned, with even the most capable
and least compromised smartphone. And these are the
people Sennheiser has squarely in its sights with the IE600
wired in-ear monitors.
As with its IE900 wired in-ear monitors we reviewed
back in issue 197, Sennheiser intends the IE600 to deliver a
superior on-the-go listening experience. Unlike the IE900,
though, the IE600 are merely very expensive rather than
eye-wateringly pricey.
But despite what Sennheiser would no doubt
describe as a ‘affordable’ price, there’s next-to-no
evidence of corners being cut or pennies being
pinched. The IE600 may be necessarily small, but
they’re very big indeed on specification.
Inside each tiny, lightweight (4g) housing,
Sennheiser has found room for a 7mm
‘TrueResponse’ transducer to do the audio
business. The company is adamant that a single,
full-range driver is preferable to the multiple-driver-
plus-balanced-armature alternative many self-proclaimed
‘high-end’ alternative designs utilise – as long as it’s

67
 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
nnh s r
properly implemented, that is. Given that Sennheiser
is claiming a frequency response of 4Hz to very nearly
47kHz, its assertion that the driver fitted here is ‘full range’
seems difficult in the extreme to argue with. And given that
Sennheiser is claiming the most accurate channel-matching
and the lowest unit-to-unit variations anywhere in the
industry for its drivers, thanks to a manufacturing operation
that includes precision cameras to monitor the process,
‘properly implemented’ seems to be covered too.
Also inside each earpiece is Sennheiser’s ‘D2CA’
technology. In layman’s terms (which are, let’s face it, the
terms with which we’re all most comfortable), there are two
tuned resonator chambers inside the nozzle of each IE600
– they’re designed to mitigate the ‘masking’ effect that
can manifest itself at lower volumes. When similar sounds
occur simultaneously in a piece, it’s tricky for human
hearing to resolve – so D2CA captures and attenuates
these frequencies, allowing uncolored and naturalistic
reproduction. The non-layman’s explanation is way too long
to go into here.
The earbuds themselves are the result of engineering
that’s no less involved and no more compromised than
that of what’s inside them. The housing is formed using
68
00
metal-powder-based 3D printing, meaning all necessary
chambers and channels are created with no milling
required. And the zirconium alloy from which they’re formed
has triple the strength and flex-resistance of (suddenly
antiquated) high-performance steel – it features in the
drilling head of NASA’s Mars Rover, which bodes well for its
chances of standing up to a stint in the departure lounge
followed by a long-haul flight. After a thorough cleaning,
steel-shot blasting, polishing and surface treatment (this
last, admittedly, in the name of aesthetic appeal only), the
housing is complete and ready to resist corrosion and
scratches no matter how careless the eventual owner.
The IE600 are supplied with a couple of paramid-
reinforced cables – one’s an unbalanced cable with a
3.5mm termination and the other a balanced 4.4mm
alternative. They connect to the earbuds using gold-plated
MMCX (micro miniature coaxial) connections that are
recessed into the housing for optimum stability. The cables
themselves have integrated, flexible and pliant earhooks to
help achieve a comfortable fit – and Sennheiser provides six
pairs of eartips (three foam, three silicone) to the same end.
A hard, compact carry-case and a rather self-important
‘certificate of authenticity’ complete the package.
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
nnh s r
Surely, no one is going to drop £600 on a pair of in-ear monitors and then just hook
them straight into the headphone socket of their computer, after all. Are they?
Painstaking engineering
In order to do some justice to this overtly painstaking
engineering, the IE600 are connected to both the 4.4mm
output of an iFi iDSD Diablo DAC/headphone amp attached
to a 2020 Apple MacBook Pro and and the 3.5mm output
of an EarMen TR-Amp DAC/headphone amp linked to the
same laptop – though not at the same time, obviously.
Surely no one is going to drop £600 on a pair of in-
ear monitors and then just hook them straight into the
headphone socket of their computer, after all. Are they?
And then to double down on all the high-end high-quality
good taste that this listening session seems to be all about,
the first listen is to a DSD64 (5644.8kbps) file of Stevie
Wonder’s mighty Living for the City [Tamla]. The results are
predictable, but no less enjoyable and engrossing for it.
The sound of the Sennheiser IE600 is absolutely
saturated in detail – it drips from every element of the
recording, no matter how minor or how deeply buried
in the mix. The soundstage the Sennheiser establish is
prodigiously broad, absolutely rock-solid in the way it’s
focused, and so cleanly separated that no facet of the
recording can’t be located and individualised. No transient
is too short-lived to escape the attention of the IE600, and
the powers of organisation on display here are such that
the unity and coherence of the overall performance isn’t so
much hinted at as made blindingly obvious.
Down at the bottom of the frequency range there’s
remarkable extension – perhaps not down to the 4Hz
Sennheiser is claiming, but certainly the low frequencies
dig down to a level where no sunlight can reach them.
To complement this prodigious depth, bass sounds are
fanatically straight-edged, attacking and decaying with
absolute certainty – when the left hand reaches down to
the far end of the clavinet’s keyboard, the alacrity of the
IE600 response is almost startling. As with the rest of the
frequency range, the Sennheiser give the low stuff all the
detail (of tone, of texture, of timbre) to make every note
an individual occurrence – and they have the dynamic
potency to differentiate one key-strike from the next with
real positivity.
The midrange, though, is the star of this recording – very
few singers push their voice as far forward in the mix as
Stevie Wonder, but then very few singers have the purity
and character of tone to get away with it. The IE600 are
alive to the tiny contributions made by inhalation and palate
noise, and consequently build a vocal performance that’s
thrilling in its immediacy.
70
00
The spaces, silences and pauses for breath apparent
throughout the recording are all given due consideration
too, and even though this song is generously overdubbed
the IE600 present it as a lucid and consolidated whole.
Only the top of the frequency range, which extends as
gratifyingly far as it does at the other end, sounds the
mildest of alarms – there’s an almost subliminal edginess
to the way the Sennheiser serve up treble sounds. As far
as this recording is concerned, the shine and wolfish bite
aren’t problematic – but give the IE600 a toothy recording
or attach them to an unsympathetic source of music and
they could be.
And there are, it turns out, limits to these monitors’
powers of resolution. Girls in Their Summer Clothes by
Bruce Springsteen [Columbia] is a narrow, congested
pea-souper of a recording, with competing elements piled
on top of each other – and despite their best efforts, the
IE600 can’t open it up or spread it out. The listener can
almost sense a power-struggle going on, as the monitors
attempt to force some distance between the horns, the
percussion, the piano and the voice. Still, that’s more about
the recording than the Sennheiser IE600.
Having enough money to buy premium in-ear monitors
and attach them to a high-quality audio player doesn’t
automatically mean you only listen to glossy, high-fidelity
recordings, of course. But as long as you’re aware of the
limitations of the IE600 where the silk purse/sow’s ear
interface is concerned, there’s very little else that should
dissuade you from trying them out.
Technical specifications
Type in-ear
Drivers 7mm dynamic driver
Frequency Response 4Hz–46.5kHz
Impedance 18 Ohms
Noise cancellation none
Distortion < 0.06% at94dB / 1kHz
Sensitivity not quoted
Accessories 6 × silicon/foam eartips; hard case;
MMCX-terminated 2.5mm and 3.5mm cables
Weight 4g
Price £599
Manufacturer Sennheiser en-uk.sennheiser.com
UK Distributor Sennheiser en-uk.sennheiser.com
 Clearly, limitless.
“It’s almost as if the streamer is stripping away everything that isn’t music and presenting the DAC
with the signal alone with precise yet fluent form that sounds so right it’s uncanny.”

“The new Core module is not only a must for those who wish to obtain the absolute best sound
quality—but also for those who desire zero-config, true Plug & Play functionality.”

Aqua LinQ
Network Interface

( Clarity and simplicity. )

UK Distribution by UK authorised dealers:

4 Zephyr House, Calleva Park, Aldermaston, RG7 8JN Unit 10 Comielaw Farm, Anstruther, KY10 2RE
0118 981 9891 0800 464 7274
info@audioconsultants.co.uk info@eliteaudiouk.com
audioconsultants.co.uk eliteaudiouk.com
Magtech amplifier
M
ost amplifiers use free-floating,
unregulated power supplies. Speakers
require large amounts of current and
power and this causes the power supply
voltages in unregulated amplifiers to drop
dramatically (often by 30%) between idle and full power.
As the voltage drops, the power the amplifier can
deliver is reduced by the square of the voltage. If the
voltage remained stable, the amplifier could produce
much more power.
Amplifiers produce their lowest distortion at a specific
design voltage. If the power supply voltage varies, so will
the amplifier’s distortion.
Most amplifiers use bias to eliminate crossover
distortion and determine their class of operation. Since
bias is voltage-sensitive, if the voltage varies, so will the
bias, which will further reduce performance.
Dynamic music will cause an amplifier’s voltage
to fluctuate wildly. Therefore music will modulate
the amplifier’s distortion, power, and bias. This
seriously degrades performance under real-world,
dynamic conditions.
sanderssoundsystems.com | Info@sanderssound.com
To eliminate these problems, a voltage regulated
power supply is required. All low level electronics are
regulated, so why aren’t amplifiers?
Amplifiers are not voltage regulated because
conventional voltage regulators are inefficient and get
extremely hot and burn up when trying to regulate the
large power supplies found in amplifiers. Therefore it is
not practical to regulate the large power supplies in high
power amplifiers.
To solve this problem, Sanders invented a new type
of linear voltage regulator that is nearly 100% efficient.
It runs cool even when regulating multi-thousand watt
power supplies.
Only the Magtech amplifier can use this propriatary
regulator. So the Magtech has better performance under
dynamic music conditions than any other high power,
audiophile-grade amplifier.
When the superb performance of the Magtech’s
regulated power supply is combined with its very high
power (which eliminates clipping), lack of protective
circuitry (that degrades performance when operating), it is
obvous why no other amplifier can match the Magtech.
 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Stack Audio Serene Soprano
turntable upgrade kit
Jason Kennedy
T
heo Stack is an obsessive about detail,
the all-in-one plinth for the Soprano he
brought for review was not good enough
to be sold because one of the corners
wasn’t sharp enough, apparently. I could
just about feel what he meant but
couldn’t see the problem. He feels that
if you are going to sell a product at this price it has to be
perfect and he’s right, but he’s more of a perfectionist than
many. Theo started out by teaching himself how to design
on the computer using CAD and all of the Stack products
from the Onset streamer he started out with through the
Link II streamer that went into production and now the
Serene LP12 upgrades that he’s concentrating on have
featured superbly machined and finished metalwork.
There are three levels of Serene LP12 upgrade and
Soprano is the best of them, it replaces all the structural
elements of the turntable and leaves only the motor,
bearing, springs, sub platter, platter, arm and electronics
from the original Linn. The entry level Tenor system uses
73
stainless steel and acrylic parts while the mid point Alto
sees the introduction of machined aluminium parts featuring
a honeycomb latticework to give them structural integrity
with minimal weight. With Soprano, however, even the plinth
is machined from aluminium – a single billet, at that – so you
can imagine how stiff and strong it is.
The critical armboard and subchassis are machined
from a single piece too, but here the weight has to match
that of the original pressed steel subchassis and wooden
armboard of the original so it had to be kept down. The
problem with taking so much metal away is that it makes
it very likely that the component will warp during the
machining and anodising processes, so it’s critical that the
job is done with very high precision. It probably isn’t obvious
from the pictures but the hexagonal cells are of varying
depth; this varies the weight in each cell and maintains the
correct centre of balance for the subchassis. You might
also be able to spot that some of the hexagon bases have
a slightly different finish, this is a constrained layer damping
system that Stack calls AVDC. What is not apparent is that
 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Stack Audio Serene Soprano
the most critical parts of both the subchassis/armboard
and the plinth incorporate a proprietary vibration dissipation
system, about which Stack remains very tight lipped; a
patent application is underway.
There are a number of companies making aftermarket
components for the LP12; it is an iconic turntable that has
been on the market for going on 50 years so there are
plenty of them out there. Most use aluminium to replace
key elements, an approach that Linn has also followed, so
it’s not a radical approach. Making a complete plinth in this
material is unusual though; there is one other example on
the market but at a significantly higher price. A one-piece
aluminium plinth and top plate brings a degree of solidity
to this turntable that is extreme but the precision it results
in and the way it behaves undoubtedly have an impact on
performance even though this is a suspended design.
Ekos, Rega or ARO
The quality of engineering is only really apparent when you
look at the separate elements, many of which are hidden
74
within the plinth; the turntable as a whole looks like a regular
LP12. As the bearing, platter, motor etc all come from a
donor LP12 the components are the same size as that
venerable turntable. The armboard on the review sample
had a collar for the Ekos arm machined into it, but Stack
will shortly be introducing armboards with (both) Rega
mountings as well as one of the Naim ARO which has long
been a favourite among dedicated Sondek users.
The two other parts of Soprano are the baseboard
(including feet) and a cross-brace, which both feature the
AVDC technology to eliminate ringing. Whether such a rigid
plinth still requires a cross-brace is open to debate, but this
part also supports the power supply for the motor.
I asked Theo Stack what he was trying to achieve with
his Serene modifications and he said: “I didn’t want to lose
any of the original qualities that the LP12 provides, I aimed
to keep the euphoric, rich sound but to add a bit of extra
substance to it. Initially, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was
searching for, however, when I heard it, I knew immediately
that I had begun to achieve what I had set out to.”
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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Stack Audio Serene Soprano
I really like the sense of stability that the Stack Soprano brings to
the party; nothing seems to phase it, no matter how complex.
Substance and precision
I am not an LP12 owner and never have been, but I’ve
heard enough of them to have a reasonable handle on
their character and appeal. You’d think that by replacing
all of the wood and steel of the original with aluminium that
the sound might end up being metallic, yet the methods
used to damp and dissipate vibration have been entirely
successful in keeping this turntable’s relaxed yet beautifully
timed character front and centre. It’s hard to say how
Soprano would compare with a modern LP12 but it delivers
on Theo’s desire to add substance and precision to the
bass in no uncertain terms. I started out with a Dynavector
DV-202L cartridge in the Ekos arm but latterly moved to a
Transfiguration Proteus, both connected to a Tom Evans
Groove+ SRX MkII phono stage. The Stack LP12 was
powered by a Lingo 4 power supply and had the Karousel
bearing, but the Linn other parts were standard issue.
Despite the wholesale replacement of so many key
elements the Soprano still sounds essentially like an LP12, it
has that lovely easy groove that makes it so popular and it’s
very easy to enjoy all sort of music with. Where the precision
metalwork makes itself heard is in the bass which while still
warm is firmer and stronger, and this means that all manner
of instruments sound more solid and purposeful. Drums have
really good attack and weight which means that you get
excellent dynamics from a well struck kit, if the recording is
good that helps of course but even mainstream releases often
have decent drum sound, sometimes very decent indeed.
The power of drums is always evident regardless of what’s
going on higher up in the mix, and when they are of electronic
origin there can be a meaty bodaciousness that gets into
your subconscious and makes your body move along with
the beat. At least it does when the Prodigy are involved, the
track ‘Poison’ [Music For The Jilted Generation, XL] starts with
spoken word which is startlingly clear then moves into drum
machine beats with a distorted edge for maximum impact,
something that comes through loud and clear on bigger
speakers. It’s high intensity musical entertainment that’s
underpinned by some seriously low bass.
Drilling down
I really like the sense of stability that the Stack Soprano
brings to the party; nothing seems to phase it, no matter
how complex. It’s a real treat to close your eyes and listen
to the many elements within a busy mix being rendered
in lifelike fashion. Almost regardless of how quiet a given
76
voice or instrument is it’s possible to follow what they are
contributing. This sense of stability also extends to the
imaging which is properly rock solid, everything is in its
right place to paraphrase Radiohead, and it stays there no
matter which way the dynamics swing. This is because the
Soprano is also very good on detail, it really drills down into
the mix and pulls out the nuances.
Paul Messenger used to play the Grateful Dead on his
Naim Armageddon upgraded LP12 and it always had a
fabulous groove with precise bass lines, this variation on
the theme does the same trick with that most articulate
of bands. On Blues for Allah [United Artists} the interplay
of the various guitars and keyboard are reproduced in a
tremendously insightful manner, it really feels like you’re in
the studio control room listening to the sort of monitors they
had back in the early ‘70s.
For those who love their LP12s the Stack Soprano
package offers a way to increase its resolving powers and
solidity in the bass without having to give up what makes
this turntable so engaging. The option exists to upgrade
one part at a time, starting perhaps with the Sub-Chassis
and armboard or to go the whole hog and get the full effect.
In LP12 terms the whole hog is very competitively priced
and results in a significantly more revealing turntable.
Technical specifications
Type Upgrade components for the Linn LP12 turntable
All-in-one Plinth Single piece top plate and plinth machined
from aluminium with AVDC technology
Baseboard Machined aluminium baseboard with AVDC
technology
Subchassis Single piece subchassis and armboard machined
from aluminium with AVDC technology
Cross-brace Machined aluminium cross-brace with AVDC
technology
Dimensions (H×W×D) 140 × 445 × 349mm
Weight 14kg (complete turntable, arm & cartridge)
Price Soprano Full Set £5,740
Soprano Baseboard £1,100
Soprano Cross brace £140
Soprano All in one plinth £3,000
Soprano Sub chassis/armboard £1,500
Manufacturer Stack Audio
stackaudio.co.uk 01626 249005
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Enjoy pure, unaltered sound
with the BC150 floorstanding
loudspeaker from Burmester.

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 EQUIPMENT REVIEW

Shunyata Research
Everest 8000 power
distributor
Alan Sircom

S
hunyata Research’s
Everest 8000 power
distributor is ideally
designed to work in
lock-step with the
company’s Omega
XC power cord.
But we’ll save the pythonesque
(as in ‘like a python’ and not ‘My
hovercraft is full of eels’) power
cord for a later date; the conquest
of Everest is hard enough for
one issue!
Shunyata Research’s
designmeister general Caelin
Gabriel has a very particular
set of skills. Skills he acquired
over a very long career. Skills
that make him a nightmare
for noise. When Gabriel
stopped designing and
for the , he turned his
attention to civilian life, and
his uniquely well-engineered
products became noticed by
record producers (delivering
cleaner power to lower
noise, thereby making the
recording more precise and
your music sound better)
and cardiologists (delivering
clean power to lower noise,
thereby making medical
imaging more precise and
patients more likely to
survive). At the same time,
Shunyata Research was
building a commanding
reputation as audio’s chief
noisebuster.
Peak performance
As the name suggests, the Everest
8000 is the peak of Shunyata
Research’s line. It’s a synthesis and
distillation of all the best bits of what
has gone before. Sometimes, this
means adding more of the same;
for example, there’s three times the
amount of the company’s patented
QR/BB modules that act like a power
reservoir, compared to the already
excellent Denali 6000/T tested in issue
162. Others have been significantly
improved, such as the CCI (Component
to Component Isolation) combo of
zoning and filtration, the monolithic
construction of the design, the use
of the company’s patented ArNi VTX
‘virtual hollow tube’ wiring throughout
(even in the buss connectors).
It’s very easy to get wrapped up in
the technology and patents, but they
all direct toward two long-standing
Shunyata Research goals. The first
is a recognition is that a lot of what
we think about power is wrong; we
think those power ‘nasties’ come
from the miles of cable leading up
to the system, but in fact Shunyata
Research argues the culprits are
the system itself as each power
supply in your system generates
its own noise. By recognising
that noise goes both ways and
the more important way to treat
this is to limit the pollution of
one power supply on another,
Shunyata takes the road less
travelled in audio and the
Everest 8000 is perhaps the
finest proof of concept you’ll
hear on the subject.
The other big concern is
to ensure there is enough

79

No such weasel words are needed with the Shunyata Research Everest 8000
power distributor; it makes your system sound better no matter the system.
instantaneous AC power on tap for
a system. This has been a problem
that long plagued power conditioners
and distributors; yes, the signal was
cleaner and clarity was improved as a
result, but if it comes at the expense
of the dynamic range and rhythmic
‘bounce’ of a system, for many it’s
too big a compromise. This is why
many audiophiles eschew the benefits
of a power conditioner or distributor,
even when the need is significant. In
fairness, this is a problem that most
power companies are addressing,
but few have ‘nailed it’ like Shunyata
Research, the company having
developed its own measurement
protocol to test what it calls DTCD
(Dynamic Transient Current Delivery)
and applies the measurement system
to everything from plugs to whole
devices like the Everest 8000. The net
result is devices that leave the dynamic
range entirely uncompromised, but
that depends on use case. When
it comes to the Everest 8000, that
use case is the whole of audio! That
might be overkill if you are using a
comparatively small system with
relatively small loudspeakers that don’t
deliver massive dynamic swings, but
the Everest 8000 offers benefits over
and above that to justify its use in high-
performance metropolitan systems.
Why You Can’t Have
Nice Things!
Shunyata Research’s Everest 8000
comes supplied in a range of power
connection options, to suit US, EU,
UK, Asia and Australian plug systems.
If you are reading this from the US, the
Everest 8000 includes figure of eight
‘Cable Cradles’ that each hold a pair
of power cords in place. UK plugs are
larger than US ones and such strain-
relief holders are not available here.
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
h n a a R s arch r s 8000
Also, because the UK plug commonly
has its pins at 90° to the cable itself,
our sockets need to be angled.
And ‘it doesn’t suit right-angled
plugs for the fashion-conscious’ is the
nearest you’ll get to a criticism of the
Shunyata Research Everest 8000. It’s
a remarkable performer in so many
ways, far more so that the clichéd
‘reduces the noise floor’ epithet that’s
applied to every power conditioner
and distributor, ever. Yes it does that,
but it also gives the audio electronics
permission to deliver sound as
intended. Individual notes have a more
clearly defined ‘space’ around them,
both in terms of dimensionality but also
in attack, decay, and release. You hear
the most subtle of reverb tails (whether
applied naturally, electronically, or
digitally… and you can often hear the
difference in small-scale recordings).
So far, so ‘audiophile’. We love a bit
of additional ‘microdynamic shading’
and the ability to reach ever further
into the mix for additional hard-to-find
details. And if the Shunyata Research
Everest 8000 did that and that alone,
it would be deserving of high praise.
But there’s more. Stopping all those
power supplies from clashing with one
another makes them get out of the way
of the sound in some surprising ways.
Bass lines aren’t just cleaner, they
80
get funkier or more menacing when
(and only when) it’s required. You hear
more of the body of the instrument
and the player behind that instrument
too, creating a more lithe and natural
performance… even when those
instruments are electronic, you get
more sense of musical order and verve.
I’ve long played the get-out
card with power conditioners and
distributors; I live in London surrounded
by other houses full of electronic
devices pumping nasties into the mains
and radio frequency environment, so
Your Mileage May Vary. But no such
weasel words are needed with the
Shunyata Research Everest 8000
power distributor; it makes your system
sound better no matter the system
and regardless of where you live. It’s
a game-raiser and a game-changer in
one. To quote a tagline from a well-
known UK supplier of double-glazed
windows “Fit the best: Everest!”
Technical specifications
Type power distributor
Maximum Continuous
Current 30A (US), 16A (UK, EU)
Maximum Current/Outlet 20A (US),
16A (UK, EU)
Maximum Transient Protection 40,000A
@ 8/50µs
Isolation Zones 6 (across eight sockets
for US/EU, seven for UK)
Power Inlet IEC C19R
Dimensions (W×H×D) 20 × 53 × 37cm
Weight 16kg
Price £9,950
Manufacturer Shunyata Research Inc.
shunyata.com
UK Distributor Boyer Audio
boyeraudio.com
+44(0) 330 223 3769
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KOG AUDIO 024 7722 0650

Network Acoustics Muon
Streaming System
G
etting great results
from a streaming
audio system is not
as simple as it seems.
It’s a bit like a high-
end turntable, where
selecting the right components is only
the first step of the process. Setting
the thing up to perform as well as it
can is often a painstaking process that
frequently requires professional input.
It’s an art that some of us have learned
over decades as the components
themselves become more refined
and the knowledge about what really
matters accumulates. Streaming of a
quality that turntable owners would
accept is less than a decade old and
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Jason Kennedy
there’s still a lot to learn about what
makes streaming sources sound
engaging and revealing.
Network Acoustics has not been in
business long but it has a good handle
on what it takes to give any streaming
system a good chance of performing
as well as it can. Richard Trussell and
Rob Osbourne of Network Acoustics
have been working on ways to stop
the noise that seems to be an intrinsic
part of data networks from polluting
the data flowing from both local and
external streaming sources. They make
cables and filters at two levels with this
sole purpose in mind and the results
produced by the ENO and now Muon
filter and ethernet cables suggests
83
that they have found a rather effective
way to stop noise entering the system
without harming the signal.
The Muon Streaming System
consists of an ethernet filter in a
compact, ABS box (sounds better
than metal) measuring 7.5 inches long
with a Neutrik RJ45 socket at one end
and a 50cm captive ethernet cable
connected to the other. This has two
cores that terminate in a Telegärtner
RJ45 plug. The plug goes into your
streamer or possibly hard drive (if it has
a dedicated ethernet output) and the
socket connects to Network Acoustics
Muon Streaming Cable which is plugs
into a network switch at the other end.
It could be connected to the router

I would go so far as to say don’t buy another hard drive, streamer or
DAC until you’ve heard what the stuff you already have can do.
if that’s in the vicinity, but as a rule
it pays to have at least one switch
between the router and the network
for a streaming system, as a switch
provides a degree of isolation.
Secret sauce
The Muon Streaming Cable is similar
to the captive lead on the filter but has
a small filter nearer to one end than the
other, this end should be connected
to the filter. The minimum length that
Network Acoustics offer the Muon
Ethernet Cable in is 1.5m. That length
is not an arbitrary one but an important
ingredient in the Muon’s performance,
in a classic ‘secret sauce’ manner,
where the technology that filters the
noise is not disclosed. Richard and
Rob will say that the RFI/EMI filter
uses proprietary pure silver elements
and that this metal is also used in
the cables which are 99.99% purity
UP-OCC types, but that’s all folks.
It’s a passive device that sits inline
and somehow extracts the noise that
undermines digital audio.
I have been using the ENO filter
and cable between an English Electric
8Switch and a Melco N10 music library
for some time so the first comparison
I made was with this already very
effective filtering combo. The Muon
increased the clarity of vocal and the
acoustic around it, reinforced the
impact of a kick drum, increased the
sense of immediacy and opened up
the soundstage to let the dynamics
through. This was with Patricia Barber’s
Company (Modern Cool) which is an
excellent recording but I’ve not heard
the drums in particular sound so real
for a long time, good enough to get
the arms flailing around on the air kit in
fact. On a more audiophile level it was
possible to hear that the gaps, the quiet
moments were in fact quieter, the noise
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Network Acoustics Muon
floor being audibly lower. This indicates
greater perceived signal to noise and
hence dynamics.
Natural to the max
The next step was to take the Melco
out of the loop and contrast the Muon
Streaming System with an Audioquest
Cinnamon ethernet cable between
switch and streamer using Qobuz
as the source, a maximum potential
situation as far as filtering goes. This
was more dramatic with openness,
ease, detail and colour flooding in
to make the voices on Ryan Adams’
live studio version of ‘Dear John’
tear inducingly beautiful. The sheer
onslaught of nuance and tonal depth
was overwhelming and the pedal steel
extraordinarily enchanting, it was like
turning up the naturalness to the max.
Once I had regained composure
I did something similar but this time
using the Melco as the signal source,
dropping in the Muon chain in place
of a Melco ethernet to the switch.
Here I put on Chasing the Dragon’s
recent Locrian Ensemble recording
of Mendelssohn Octets where the
timing became much clearer and with
it the melody, likewise the character of
the stringed instruments came to the
fore along with the way in which they
were played. There was an increase
in openness too but not to the extent
seen above. On another more familiar
piece the same comparison produced
greater tone colour with piano notes
gaining greater shine, the space
around it and a voice being better
defined and the phrasing used by all
the musicians making its presence felt.
I carried on making comparisons
with various streamers and DACs
including using USB between Melco
and DAC with the Muon components
shielding the drive from the network, as
84
it was doing above. The result was very
similar with naturalness, beauty and
openness all being greatly increased,
so much so that ‘Helplessly Hoping’
(Crosby, Stills & Nash) put a lump in
my throat. The sound is so clean and
yet so relaxed that it’s as easy as very
good analogue.
With the Muon Streaming System
Network Acoustics prove that RFI/EMI
is what stops streaming systems
performing sounding as good as they
should. I would go so far as to say don’t
buy another hard drive, streamer or
DAC until you have heard what the stuff
you have already can do when it’s free
of the hidden harm that electrical noise
brings. This is one of those, “you don’t
know what you’re missing until you hear
it” products. It’s a game changer.
Technical specifications
Muon Ethernet Filter
Type Silver wired ethernet filter
Input Neutrik RJ45 ethernet
Output 50cm UP-OCC continuous cast
pure silver ethernet cable
Termination Telegärtner RJ45 CAT8
connector
Size H×W×D 50 × 190 × 78mm
Weight 300g
Muon Streaming Cable
Type 4-core 100MB/s ethernet network
cable
Conductor UP-OCC continuous cast
99.99% purity silver
Length 1.5m (longer lengths available)
Terminations Telegärtner Cat8.1 wide
bandwidth gold plated connectors
Price Muon Ethernet Filter £1,295
Muon Streaming Cable £995 (1.5m)
Muon Streaming System bundle
£1,795
Manufacturer Network Acoustics
www.networkacoustics.com
44 (0)1803 313714
 Crowning Siltech’s world

Se
ee usa
at
THE

SHOW
10-11th September
#H
HiF
FiShowL
wLiive
wL
www.siltechcables.com

Distributed in the UK and Ireland by Padood

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 DSD-SR MK2

“The best-kept secret in high-end audio”

Alan Sircom – Hi-Fi+ issue 188

www.aplhifi.com
 EQUIPMENT REVIEW
Chord Company
Signature Super ARAY,
Tuned  Y, Signature L and
Signature cables
Alan Sircom
S
ignature is the
real-world top-of-
the-range for most
prospective Chord
Company owners.
While both Sarum T
and ChordMusic
stand above Signature in price and
performance terms, a significant
number of Chord Company users
fall into that mid-to-high end bracket
typified by Naim Audio’s Classic
Series or Linn’s Akurate line. People
who might conceivably spend
around £1,000 on a really good
1m interconnect but find £2,100 (or
£4,000) a step too far on a cable no
matter how good it sounds.
Chord Company’s Signature also
covers a very broad church, with
everything from analogue, digital
and networked audio interconnects,
loudspeaker cables and even power
cords. The brand has been building
and refining Signature for the longest
time, too; the first cable to carry the
name was launched back in 1998.
From the outset, Signature was the
cable that took shielding seriously,
investigating the (at the time) largely
ignored problems generated by high-
frequency interference. Now that we
exist in a soup of such interference
thanks to Wi-Fi, the research that gave
us Signature was not only prescient,
but also quickly filtered (pun intended)
through the Chord Company’s
products ever since.
87
There’s therefore something of
a sense of completeness in looking
at Chord Company’s long-running
Signature range of cables. But with that
completeness comes a lot of acronyms
and neologisms for technologies and
configurations relating to different
products in the range. The terminology
needs a spot of decoding.
The most significant of these
neologisms is ‘ARAY’, which is a form
of mechanical tuning at one end of
the interconnect, originally developed
for digital cables in order to maintain
a consistent impedance. The design
began with S/PDIF because the need
to keep a 75-ohm cable at 75-ohm
is paramount, but quickly spread
to analogue, digital and network
cables alike.
An ARAY of cables
The original Tuned ARAY is reserved
for interconnects, but even greater
– Super ARAY – precision is used in
Signature digital because listening tests
found the added precision is of greater
benefit in digital at this level. ARAYs
are also used on the SignatureX power
(and above) cables, plus ChordMusic
speaker cable. Elsewhere, the
company’s recently incorporated XLPE
(Cross-linked Polyethylene) insulation
brings similar improvements, according
to Chord Company. All feature silver-
plated copper conductors, with the
power cord and speaker cable using a
braided/twisted pair layout.

hord o an na
Chord Company’s SignatureX, XL, Super and Tuned ARAY cables come in just
about every connection you could think of, but they all perform the same way.
It’s relatively easy to pour on the
superlatives when it comes to products
like ChordMusic with its innovative
Taylon insulation and a price and
performance that both cause a sharp
intake of breath. Part of the reason
that hyperbole is easy to get is these
cables are used in cost-no-object
settings. Signature has a tougher job;
it must sound good and open the
sound of a system, but not so wide
that it undermines the performance
of the sort of components with which
it’s likely to be used. You want the ear-
opening experience, but not so ear-
opening as to highlight the limitations
of the system. It’s a task many cable
brands get wrong, usually either by
making a ‘MiniMe’ of their top cables
or applying a touch of ‘The Peter
Principle’ to lower end cables and
pimping them too far.
The Middle Ground
Signature, by way of contrast, gets
all these things right; it’s a cable
designed specifically for really good
audio systems in this middle ground,
and it does this beautifully. That’s not
to say it fails to hit the spot when used
with some exotic or humble audio
equipment, but when used in the
right context it shines like few others.
Considering this, a combination of
Primare electronics (a fully Prisma’d up
I35 and the excellent R35) into a pair
of KEF LS50 Meta on their own stands
were nigh on perfect partners.
Signature has the right blend of
raucous fun and civility no matter
what music you put its way. Bass
lines are taut and deep and extremely
musically infectious; the midrange is
open-sounding and articulate with
just the right degree of forwardness to
the presentation needed to give such
EQUIPMENT REVIEW
r r ARA T n d ARA na
systems a bit of emphasis and a lift.
Then the treble was at once clean,
extended and almost impassioned
sounding. It was one of those cables
that clearly defined the two very similar
voices of Maddy Prior and June Tabor
[Burning of Auchindoon, Silly Sisters,
Chrysalis] singing in harmony. This
album from 1976 also highlighted the
rhythmic and soundstage solidity that
Signature brings to a system. It’s a very
organic sound; measured, yet not so
precise it deadens the music.
While there’s the merest hint of
softening at the edges, the effect is
curiously not cumulative and works
well in the context of the sort of
electronics used here. But perhaps
most of all, the smooth and satisfying
performance is extremely true-to-life,
making a sound that is more than
detailed and informative enough for
systems in this price point.
88
r and na r
One of the two big things that come
from Signature is consistency. I initially
thought about breaking this review
down into the individual performance
characteristics of each cable, but
quickly realised this would be a simple
repetition of the same review for each
cable. They all do the same uplifiting,
fun yet solid sound and do it well. That
consistency works well in a complete
cable system, and it points you toward
a complete Chord Company Signature
system if you try one of the cables. And
that leads to the second big thing; its
sense of balance. This is a perfectly
poised cable, regardless of which of the
Signature models we are discussing. If
it has a sonic intent, it’s one of musical
enjoyment rather than stark detailing.
But it’s so well balanced in terms of
price, performance, partners and
probably some other things that don’t
begin with the letter ‘P’.
Chord Company’s SignatureX, XL,
Super and Tuned ARAY cables come in
just about every connection you could
think of, but they all perform the same
way. They are all about making music
enjoyable and satisfying and are some
of the best all-round bang for your
buck you can get in cables today!
Price and Contact Details
Signature Super ARAY streaming
cable £1,000/1m
Signature Super ARAY digital
cable £1,000/1m
Signature Tuned ARAY RCA
interconnect cables £1,000/1m pair
SignatureXL speaker cable £700/1m
terminated pair
SignatureX power cord £1,000/1m
Manufacturer Chord Company
chord.co.uk +44(0)1980 625700
89
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91

A Beginner’s Guide to…
Latin music
There’s a lot more to Latin music than The Girl from Ipanema...
and here are some perfect places to start!
L
atin music is, as you
would imagine given
the size of the continent
where the majority of
it originates, incredibly
varied. However, there
are threads, themes
and styles that run through it, which
gives us an excuse to look at the music
from South America as some kind of
conceptual whole. And to also reach
beyond simple geography to areas
such as New York, Mexico and Cuba,
which also play a role in what can be
described as Latin music.
There are several highly distinctive
musical styles that fall under the wider
banner, which include famous genres
such as Bosa Nova, Salsa, Samba,
Rumba, Tango, Mambo (many with
dance connections) and of course,
the seemingly world-conquering
Reggaeton, beloved of beachside bars
the world over. But there’s also a lot
of rock – Carlos Santana or Sepultura
anyone? – tons of pop, classical and of
course, some wonderful jazz.
MUSIC FEATURE
Shaun Marin
It’s not all about rhythm, but a
lot of it is…
If you are the kind of person who
can tell their Samba from his Rumba,
you’ll know that a lot of what makes
Latin music special is its unique use
of rhythms, and the importance of
percussion and movement – this is
primarily music to be danced too!
However, Latin America’s history
of conquest, slavery and internal and
external rivalries have created an
incredibly rich musical heritage, where
differences are far subtle than a few
dance steps. And that’s without the
region’s rather unique take on rock.
Past, and present
Latin America has a rich musical
history, but it’s not stuck in the past,
and in recent decades has become the
source of a large chunk of the world’s
biggest selling pop music. Who can
forget the work of Columbian superstar
Shakira, or the uber-hit Despacito
(actually, we would rather forget the
latter... but we can’t).
92
The diaspora
When a people move, they tend to
take their music with them, adding
to the richness of the culture where
they settle. The perfect example of
this is New York, where for hundreds
of years people from all over the
world have landed. The city’s ties with
Latin America are well known, and
the source material for epics such as
West Side Story, but the 1960s and
1970s was a particularly rich time for
the musical cultures of Puerto Rico
and beyond in the Big Apple. That’s
why this list contains quite a few New
York based artists – because it is
just so good!
In general the influence of Latin
Music can be found the world over,
and it is a testament to this rather than
any disrespect that a large number of
our favourite Latin recordings come
from artists with their roots in South
America rather than being based there.
The power of music in the diaspora is
incredibly strong, and culturally we are
all better for it.
 MUSIC FEATURE
A Beginner’s Guide to… Latin music
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club (World Circuit, 1997)
Wim Wenders’ documentary Buena Vista Social Club
introduced the world to a group of Cuban musicians
who had been plying their trade for decades. Ry
Cooder initially brought together a group of primarily
retired Son musicians, who recorded this award-
winning, genre defining album in only six days. We
know you probably all know it, but how could we miss
it off this list!
João Gilberto
O Amor, O Sorriso E a Flor (Odeon, 1960)
The wonderfully talented João Gilberto is about far, far
more than The Girl From Ipanema. This earlier album
of beautiful Bosa Nova introduced the world outside
of Brazil to his incredible talent for the first time, and
stands as a testament to the creative melting pot that
was South America in the 1960s. A timeless mixture
of vocal majesty and dexterous guitar playing, this
album would be Gilberto’s fitting legacy if he’d never
met Stan Getz.
93
Alma y Vida
Alma y Vida (Sony, 1971)
Inspired by the crossover sounds of Blood, Sweat &
Tears and Chicago, Alma y Vida adopted a smooth,
soulful sound that makes ample use of horns. While
it may not be as Latin as Salsa or Bosa Nova, this
peculiarly Argentinian take on soft rock is music to
our ears. With exemplary musicianship throughout –
check out the guitar solo on Veinte Monedas – this
debut album is a joy.
Afro-Peruvian Classics
The Soul Of Black Peru, Various Artists (Luka Bop
1995)
This beautiful Afro-Peruvian compilation is thanks
to Talking Heads’ David Byrne. And we should
be thankful for this 15-track masterpiece, as it’s a
perfect jumping off point for further exploration for
this wonderfully intimate, soulful sub-section of Latin
music. What’s more, rather than the panpipes usually
associated with Peru, this is more like the Flamenco
you’ll hear in southern Spain.
 Discovery
is perhaps the
simplest turntable
to review as it just
does “it” better; “it”
being pretty much
everything related to
vinyl replay.
Alan Sircom, Hi-Fi+

Life’s just better with a t: +44 (0) 1642 263765

e: info@decentaudio.co.uk
DECENT AUDIO System www.decentaudio.co.uk
Int. Pat. 20 2022 102 406.5

THE NEW WBT-0120

94
 MUSIC FEATURE
A Beginner’s Guide to… Latin music
Eddie Palmieri
Recorded Live At Sing Sing (Tico, 1972)
As the cliché goes, if this live album doesn’t get your
feet moving then it’s possibly time to check your
pulse. Legendary Puerto Rican/American pianist and
bandleader Palmieri fronts his incredible Harlem River
Drive ensemble for this visceral, jumping album. His
brother Charlie takes on organ duties for these four
tracks – and an extended, powerful poem from Felipe
Luciano – recorded in the infamous Sing Sing prison.
Rubén González
Introducing... (World Circuit, 1997)
Pianist Rubén González played with some of the
biggest names in Cuban music from the Second
World War up to his retirement in the 1980s. But that
wasn’t enough to satisfy the man often credited with
defining Cuban piano playing, and he came out of
retirement to global success with the Afro-Caribbean
All-Stars, the phenomenon that was the Buena Vista
Social Club, but also on several exceptional solo
albums including this wonderful record.
95
Suba
Tributo (Six Degrees, 2002)
Producer Suba was on the verge of major success
with São Paulo Confessions (also worth investigating)
when he died trying to rescue the master tapes
from his burning studio. This truly genre-defying,
exceptional album is a tribute to the Serbian-born
Brazilian-based artist’s talent. Compiled and created
by his friends and one-time contributors, this is a
joyous celebration of a major talent cut short.
Fania All-Stars
Live at Yankee Stadium, Vol. 1 (Fania, 1976)
Fania Records may have been based in New York, but
all its artists had roots in Latin America, and included
some of the biggest names in the business. A heady
blend of talent hailing from Puerto Rico, Dominican
Republic, Cuba and elsewhere, the Fania All-Stars
were the pick of the label’s talent. This (along with
Volume 2) is our favourite of their many live albums
and was recorded at New York’s Yankee Stadium in
front of 40,000 adoring fans!
 1 YE
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 MUSIC FEATURE
A Beginner’s Guide to… Latin music
Nuyorican Soul
Nuyorican Soul (Talkin’ Loud, 1997)
Formed by a pair of House DJs and featuring a guest
roster including Roy Ayres, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Jocelyn
Brown and George Benson, this solid-gold classic
defies you not to dance. Taking its cues from Puerto
Rico, this blend of covers and new material has a
timeless quality to it; it blends funky tunes, killer
groves and top-of-their-game musicianship to create a
truly evergreen, always fresh sounding album.
Adrian Quesada
Boleros Psicodélicos (ATO, 2022)
Timing is everything, and this exceptional album had
just been released as we were compiling this guide.
Quesada is better known for this work with the Black
Puma’s, but this thoroughly enjoyable homage to the
‘Psychedelic ballads of 60s and 70s Latin America’
is an inspired diversion. Guest vocalists take it in
turns to bring these decades old tunes to life, while
retaining their original mix of bossa nova smoothness,
Beatlesque psychedelia and lovelorn lyrics.
97
Nu Yorica! Culture Clash in New York City
Experiments in Latin Music 1970-77, Various
Artists (oul Jazz Records, 2015 (reissue))
Of all the musical melting pots, it’s hard to better New
York in the 70s. This album features masters of the
genre such as Eddie Palmieri, Joe Bataan, Machito,
Ocho, Grupo Folklorico, Cortijo, Ricardo Marrero,
Cachao and many more. The perfect base for future
exploration, it’s tricky to get hold of on vinyl, but well
worth purchasing the double CD version.
Venezuela 70
Cosmic Visions Of A Latin American Earth
Venezuelan Experimental Rock In The 1970s,
Various Artists (Soul Jazz Records, 2016)
This is a sensational compilation. Full of cracking
tunes from artists whose recordings are difficult if not
impossible to get hold of – even in the streaming age.
The album covers a multitude of styles, and is where
Andy Wetherall got some inspiration for his iconic
production work on Primal Scream’s ‘Come Together’,
showing how far and wide he cast his creative net.
 MUSIC INTERVIEW
Chris Frankland
T
his is the story of
how a critically
acclaimed, multi-
award-winning
singer/songwriter
from Canada and
the proprietor and
founder of a specialist hi-fi company
based in Essex got together to release
a special, one-off album on vinyl.
Rega’s founder Roy Gandy first
met Stephen Fearing when he was in
the UK to teach a singer/songwriter
masterclass for a group of Colchester
degree students, which Gandy had
attended believing it to be a guitar
workshop. But the mistake worked in
his favour as it was at this event that
Fearing agreed to collaborate with
him to record The Secret of Climbing
with Rega.
And if you don’t already know
the album, you need to check it out.
I only discovered it recently, but its
sound quality and superb musical
performances so impressed me that I
jumped at the chance to find out more.
I catch up with Fearing while he is
in the UK on a five-date tour. Between
gigs, he has agreed to put on a special
concert for Rega in front of a small
invited audience of friends, musicians
and hi-fi industry guests.
I ask him about that first meeting.
Whose idea was it to do an album
together? Well, Rega had already
98
produced an album with Christine
Collister, who just happens to be a
friend of Stephen Fearing’s – you might
call it serendipity.
Fearing takes up the story:
“Christine and I are old friends. She
was with Clive Gregson when he
produced [Fearing’s album] Blue Line
[1991] and Christine sang on it. I have
copy of the record she did with Roy.”
Recalling that first meeting with
Gandy at the masterclass in 2016, he
says: “I was on stage, teaching songs
and doing a Q&A. And he kinda stuck
out from the usual people that come
to my songwriting events and I was
curious to know ‘who is that guy?’
I introduced myself to him and he said
Rega had been using ‘Beguiling Eyes’
from my Out to Sea album on turntable
listening tests. I thought that was
really weird because that album was
recorded on very early home-studio
digital technology and I didn’t know
how that went hand-in-hand with being
a turntable manufacturer and pioneer.
He said it was about a captured
emotional spirit in the recording.”
And so it was that they agreed to
collaborate on a recording for Rega.
Fearing adds: “His idea was to use
as little technology as possible – two
microphones going through a preamp,
that it turned out Rega made, going
to a refurbished Studer A80 one-inch
tape deck. I was intrigued.”
MUSIC INTERVIEW
Stephen Fearing

99

I have recorded vocals in a closet under the stairs. I have done
a lot of weird things. You do whatever you gotta do.
The goal was the purest possible
recording with as little tech in the
way as possible. Gandy was always
suspicious of even the best mixing
desks because of the quality of the
chip-based amplifiers they use. For
The Secret of Climbing, the mixer was
designed by Rega electronics guru
Terry Bateman and used all discrete
circuitry with some PCBs borrowed
from its hi-fi amps.
Fearing was curious, as he recalls:
“The idea really appealed and to be
honest the idea of working with Roy
really appealed. I was intrigued by
working with someone who was used
to focusing on the back end and
starting the process with them, to see
how it would be different. I have made
a lot of records with record companies
and independents and producers and
friends, but we’re all gathered around
the beginning of the process, so the
idea of working with a company that
exists at the back end of the process
was interesting to me.”
None of which would have prepared
him for finding himself in Gandy’s
listening room with a large foam-
covered board in front of him between
MUSIC INTERVIEW
Stephen Fearing
the two microphones (one for the
guitar, one for vocals) to prevent bleed-
through of the sound.
Luckily for Gandy, Fearing is no
stranger to such things. He tells me:
“Years and years prior, I had been in a
recording situation where we had done
the same thing and it was awkward
and weird. I have recorded vocals in
a closet under the stairs. I have done
a lot of weird things. You do whatever
you gotta do.
“So I said OK, I’m in this guy’s house,
I am in the front room and now there’s
a wooden board there. Can I do this? It
didn’t really matter. It was just another
layer of slightly odd. We were already
way out of the realm of ‘can I have a bit
more reverb in the cans, man?’ “
One of his only concerns was
Gandy’s choice of microphone for his
vocals. He explains: “Roy had these
two microphones that he’d been using.
He loved Ry Cooder’s Meeting by the
River album so much that he found
out what the microphones were [Pearl
CC22] – and they are really superb
for recording instruments. But I didn’t
like the sound of my voice, and since
we weren’t doing any EQing and
100
using no compression, there was no
filtering except the microphones and
the preamp, which didn’t have any
controls. So the microphone had to
sound good.
“Any vocalist you will ever meet
doesn’t like the sound of their own
voice and no matter how blasé you
are about it, it is in the back of your
head. So I was concerned the process
wouldn’t work, so we ended up getting
an Audio Technica AT-4040. It was a
good mic, kinda consumer grade, but
it worked really well as it had a sort of
built-in shelf to take out any harshness.
I have a lot of sibilance in my voice
when I sing and it got rid of that.
I thought the vocal quality was really
excellent.”
The Pearl CC22 was then used for
his guitar. Fearing recalls: “I realised
that we were getting a decent sound
and I liked the fact that all the other
parameters were off the table – you
can’t do this and you can’t do that and
we either get it or we don’t.”
Remarkably, four of the eight tracks
were done in one take and the other
four took only two. Gandy says that the
whole recording took only two days.
He also puts it down to Fearing’s ability
to maintain an extraordinary level and
complexity of playing while he sings.
Many guitarists, Gandy observes, back
off a bit when they are singing.
Fearing himself is also wary of
the quest for ‘perfection’. He says:
“I have been in the situation where
we have been chasing after this
unattainable goal of ‘perfect’ and
that’s soul-destroying – where you
do your very best, you pour yourself
into it and the producer goes ‘let’s
try it again’. And you do it again and
again and again and you start to lose
sight of everything. Then I got to work
with Colin Linden [who recorded
his 2000 album So Many Miles and
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101

There’s money to be made, but it ain’t coming to the artists. They get
0.004 cents per stream. If I sell a CD at tonight’s show, that’s $20.
co-produced That’s How I Walk in
2002] as a producer and his whole
thing was ‘you have to get ‘spirit’, you
have to get emotion and the more
times we do it, the less chance we will
have of getting that’.
“So I came over to work with these
guys [from Rega] and I knew we had
eliminated all the possibilities for faffing
about – it was a faff-free session. The
only thing left was to leap off the cliff
with that in mind. Now, when I listen to
it, I can hear that it is just a lovely, clean
and unadulterated performance. I can
hear the mistakes, but they’re OK.”
I say to Fearing how it is great to
hear the full range of his guitar that so
many commercial recordings seem to
emasculate.
He agrees: “When it is just voice and
guitar, you can give the guitar all of the
bandwidth. As soon as there’s a bass,
you have to start carving stuff out of the
guitar because they interfere with each
other. And often times on records, the
acoustic guitar ends up sounding like a
shaker. But that’s my whole deal. When
it’s just me and a guitar, the guitar has
to be the whole band. As soon as we
put that lovely Pearl mic in front of my
guitar, it allowed the whole sound of the
guitar to come through. In the room, the
guitar sounded a bit dead and thuddy,
but through the microphone it sounded
quite lovely.”
With 11 albums under his belt and
having used analogue tape and digital
for his recordings, does Fearing have a
preference?
“I think it comes down to what is the
best tool for that job in the moment,”
he replies. “If I had enough money
– and these days in the performing/
recording world with streaming, money
is this thing that hardly exists from the
sale of the product, but if I had the
money, I would work with tape, as it
does something that I like. Instead of
MUSIC INTERVIEW
Stephen Fearing
having to dial up and algorithm and
add saturation and tape compression,
to have it there for real would be one
less thing to worry about.”
The guitar Fearing played on
the Rega recording is one of his
favourites – a handmade Manzer
Cowpoke from one of Canada’s top
guitar makers, Linda Manzer, who is
equally celebrated in the jazz world
for making seriously beautiful arch top
jazz guitars for Pat Metheny, as well
as flat top guitars for Bruce Cockburn
and Fearing.
And speaking of guitars, who are
Fearing’s favourite guitarists. He smiles
and says: “Well, if I don’t mention
John Martyn, then I am basically
lying. I was 17 years old, just about to
leave Ireland, where I grew up, I was
flipping through the channels and John
Martyn was playing live in Leeds. I
knew nothing about him. Up until that
point it had been Gordon Lightfoot
and Paul Simon and then there was a
wild-looking Scottish guy running his
acoustic guitar through a Strat pickup
into an Echoplex and a Fender Twin,
which is complete anarchy. I had never
seen anything like it.”
Fearing’s latest album, The
Unconquerable Past, has also been
released on vinyl, but it’s his first on
vinyl in quite a while. Why? “Because
I couldn’t afford to do it before,” he
102
confides. “But there is a new pressing
plant in Canada now and so that made
it possible. Vinyl has become this
iconic thing and it’s kinda cool. CD
sales have gone down. It wasn’t that
long ago that CD was the mainstream.
I was happy because I could throw
300 of them into my suitcase and
do a tour. LPs are becoming more
commonplace. So if you don’t press
vinyl, you’re missing a trick.”
Streaming has become a part of our
modern world. But what does Fearing
think about it – good or evil?
Fearing is unequivocal: “I see my
daughter and the power of the phone,
where she can listen to so much
music, and she loves it, and I totally
get that. But somewhere in there,
people are making significant coin.
I have been to Times Square and the
equivalent in Toronto where there is
an LED billboard that is 100ft by 300ft
and it says Spotify. And that costs a
fortune, so there’s money to be made,
but it ain’t coming to the artists. They
get 0.004 cents per stream. If I sell a
CD at tonight’s show, that’s $20. To get
that money from streaming would need
5,000 streams. There is no way that it
will ever pay and so what is happening
is that, when you go to make a
record, you have to decide, can I
afford a string quartet? No, I can’t.
How will I make that money back?
Not until Government and copyright
laws change. The record business
has always been corrupt, but not to
the degree it is right now. And I will
never reach that many people through
Spotify because all the algorithms are
skewed towards who is popular.”
Fearing plays regular dates in
the UK, so check out his website at
stephenfearing.ca. He is well worth
hearing live.
https://stephenfearing.ca
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103
 i
i
Sean Hannam

I
t’s been 35 years since British You reissued some of your albums as
sophisti-pop act Swing Out deluxe CD versions a few years ago,
Sister released their debut but the new box set puts everything
album, It’s Better To Travel. in one place, doesn’t it? It’s a nice
To celebrate its anniversary, collection for the fans…
the duo, Corinne Drewery CD: From an avid collector’s point of
(vocals) and Andy Connell view, I don’t think there’s anything that
(keyboards), whose second single, they couldn’t have found somewhere
‘Breakout’, was released in 1986 and in the world – excuse the pun –
got to number four in the UK singles (‘Somewhere
(‘ In The World’ is the
chart, have teamed up with record name of a song from their 1997 album,
label Cherry Red to curate and compile Shapes and Patterns) but, as you say,
an eight-CD box set called Blue Mood, it’s all in one place.
Breakout And Beyond – The Early Some of the songs were available
Years Part 1. in different countries and are quite
Released in late July, this expensive to collect – if you’re a real
comprehensive collection spans collector, you still want the original vinyl
1985-1992 and contains the band’s copies, or the Japanese version with
first three albums, It’s Better To Travel, the obi around the sleeve.
Kaleidoscope World and Get In Touch
With Yourself, as well as the Japan-
only concert album, Live At The Jazz
Café, and four discs of B-sides, 7in
mixes, remixes and rare versions.
There’s also an impressive
booklet, sleeve notes based on new
interviews with the band, pictures of
rare memorabilia and illustrations by
Drewery.
As you would expect from an act of
Swing Out Sister’s ilk, it’s a classy and
well-presented package.
In an exclusive interview – or should
that be, ahem, breakout session – with
hi-fi+, Drewery and Connell talk about
their influences and making those first
three studio albums.

104
105

Your first album, It’s Better To Travel,
is 35 years old this year. How does
that feel?
AC: It’s lovely, but, in one sense, it’s
horrifying. We were never supposed
to have longevity – we had a singles
deal. It was only because ‘Breakout’
did what it did that the label saw some
kind of legacy with the project.
The idea that we’ve been somehow
doing this for that length of time is
bizarre, but there’s a certain pride – not
many people stick it out that long. It’s
a testament to our stubbornness if
nothing else.
It’s Better To Travel had a lot of
different influences, like ‘60s
pop, soul, jazz, funk, but it’s also
electronic at times, isn’t it?
‘Breakout’ is more synth-led than
I remembered – the intro has quite
a Pet Shop Boys feel, like ‘West
End Girls…’
AC: That’s a good point. What
happened was that our subsequent
albums – certainly the second one –
changed people’s perception of the
first one.
There are real strings on the first
album, but not the orchestral thing that
turned up later.
On the first album, Martin [Jackson
– original member and drummer] was
programming the drums. We’d come
from synths – we were making Street
Sounds [electro] records before Swing
Out Sister. Our producer, Paul O’Duffy,
brought the orchestral side in.
It was a lovely combination. In
hindsight, it seems very astute and
cleverly planned, but it really wasn’t in
the slightest.
I used synths, but I had aspirations
to use more instrumentation if we got
the chance or the budget, and Corinne
was coming from another place –
The Supremes, Dusty Springfield…
CD: I think we always had those
aspirations. When you think back to
MUSIC INTERVIEW
Swing Out Sister
what we would’ve been listening to
at the time we were making our first
record, it was mid-‘60s music – the
golden era of the Brill Building, like
Goffin and King, and Bacharach
and David.
We grew up with that and we
absorbed it – that was our musical
education, and we were very lucky to
have that.
It was very sophisticated, but when
it came to making our own sounds, we
hadn’t paid our sophistication dues,
so we were trying to emulate that with
Emulators and Fairlights.
Although we didn’t have the budget
for a full orchestra, we were using
some quite sophisticated recording
techniques – we were emulating the
grandeur of the records we’d grown up
with, but in an electronic way.
Your music is also very cinematic…
AC: Our common ground was film
music – John Barry and Ennio
Morricone.
There’s a real John Barry influence on
the instrumental track, ‘Theme (From
It’s Better To Travel.’ It reminds me of
‘Space March’ from the You Only Live
Twice soundtrack…
AC: Exactly.
CD: You got it in one.
AC: When you say, ‘it reminds you
of…’ We’re doing a straight homage!
CD: It was before that whole
loungecore, Easy Listening, cinematic
sound had really become popular.
Things had been a lot more
stripped-down and synth-oriented,
and it then got a bit acid house, heavy
house and dance, and a bit Bristol.
What we were doing wasn’t
in sync with all that – it was more
traditional. We were trying to create
classic records – little three-minute
pocket symphonies, as Brian Wilson
said – and we had a great time
experimenting.
106
The second album, Kaleidoscope
World, is much more grandiose
than your first – there’s a real ‘60s
orchestral pop feel to it…
CD: Our producer, Paul O’Duffy, liked
the same stuff as us – on that album,
we indulged. We had a bit more of a
budget and we went to town – we even
got together with Jimmy Webb.
How was he to work with?
AC: Our mouths were permanently
open. It was such a cheeky thing to
request – to get him to come and
arrange some songs for us. Who did
we think we were? Seriously. But he
was on the first flight, and he was such
a straightforward, no-nonsense guy.
He sat and played the piano in the
studio breaks, and we thought, ‘This
can’t be happening.’
John Barry popped into the studio
while you were recording the second
album, didn’t he? Sadly, you didn’t get
to work with him…
AC: Yes – he did. I’d forgotten that.
How could I forget that?
Our producer had worked on
something with him – he very
graciously came to the studio for an
hour, listened to our stuff and gave it
his blessing. He was busy – I think he
was working on A View to a Kill, so his
calendar was full. That would’ve been
interesting, but it was great to just be in
his presence.
CD: He gave his blessing to the
instrumental version of ‘Forever Blue’,
so we didn’t get sued!
AC: It’s a Midnight Cowboy
homage…
‘You On My Mind’, from Kaleidoscope
World, is one of my favourite
Swing Out Sister songs. It sounds
like a classic ‘60s pop single by
Sandie Shaw or Petula Clark.
The orchestration reminds me of
Tony Hatch…
 MUSIC INTERVIEW
Swing Out Sister

CD: You’re hitting all the right

buttons.
AC: That song came very late in
the recording – we had the album and
then we had a kernel of an idea that
we were messing around with. We’d
got bold by that time – we did a pop
arrangement in the old school sense.
To this day, I’m astonished that it
wasn’t a bigger radio hit, because it
sounds fantastic on the radio – some
sort of frequency thing happened,
and it came alive. It didn’t sound
like anything else – it leapt out of
the speaker.

Your third album, Get In Touch

With Yourself, has a string ‘70s
soul feel and a groove to it – there
are influences like Isaac Hayes and
Curtis Mayfield at play. Was that
a reaction to the ‘60s sound of the
second record?
AC: I don’t think there’s ever been
a point where we’ve sat down and
said, ‘We’re going to make this kind of
record – these are the influences, and
this is the sound we want…’
In a broad sense, Kaleidoscope
World is ‘60s, and Get In Touch With
Yourself is ’70s, but it’s never as
simple as that. It didn’t feel like that at
the time.
CD: Because we’d gone so far down
the road of Easy Listening, lounge
and cinema, we had to put the beat
back in.
We were thinking, ‘What’s the least
amount of beat we can put in, or the
coolest way we could do it that wasn’t
house music?’
We were very much up against that
whole house movement, which was
about stripping everything down to The eight-CD Swing Out sister box set
nothing and keeping the vocal in. We Blue Mood, Breakout And Beyond –
were still trying to keep as much music The Early Years Part 1, is available now
in, but also incorporate the groove. It on Cherry Red Records.
was, ‘Let’s get a groove on.’
AC: Curtis Mayfield is never far away h
from most of the things we do. i i

107
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 MUSIC REVIEWS

Contemporary, classical
and audiophile music
Music reviews: how we rate them

Unlike many music reviews, we
strive to make music reviews that
cover both musical and sonic
quality. This means we don’t just
listen to the album on a pair of
laptop loudspeakers, but listen
to the recording the way it was
supposed to be played… through
a damn good audio system.
Our rating for sound quality
reflects that performance; while
a highly rated recording still
might be some way away from
‘demonstration quality’ (those
rare recordings will be highlighted
as such in the text itself), it will
still be extremely good enough
to show off and challenge
your system.
Changing formats and
defining genres
The way we access music have
forever changed. While many still
collect physical media of all kinds,
high-resolution downloads and
streamed music have become the
main ways people acquire music
today. This is both good and bad;
having ‘always-on’ access to the entire
musical canon is awesome, but some
recordings vary in quality depending
on provider, and the ability to search
for jazz and especially classical works
can be very variable. As such, our
classical reviews remain steadfastly on
disc for now. But don’t be surprised if
what might be a sublime recording on
one format is merely ‘OK’ on others.
Again, where possible we will highlight
such differences, but bear in mind that
when it comes to streamed formats,
the album may differ from country
to country.
Of course, the main point of
buying music is to listen to music,
and not simply the sound it makes.
Our resident music-lovers are all
experts in their respective fields. Their
recommendations are based both
on the music itself, the musicianship,
and where it sits in that genre. We
also cherry-pick our records before
publication, so only the best of the
best make the cut. That way, an
album that gets an all-round five-
stars for music and sound quality is
something very special indeed.

This issue’s featured reviewers are:

Michael Vámos Sean Hannam Shaun Marin

The fi rst album I bought I have been writing The key for me is
was by Earth, Wind and about music for over discovery. I love
Fire. I like many genres; 25 years. A big fan the sounds of my
indie-rock, alternative of indie (once got to youth, but I hate the
music, rock, blues, new interview Johnny Marr!), nostalgia circus.
wave and R&B; from Talk Talk, Tom Waits Americana, ‘60s rock/pop and cult fi lm/ What’s happening in areas like UK jazz
and Nick Cave to Depeche Mode, The TV soundtracks, I also run a successful and the modern alternative scene is
National, Band of Horses to Domenique music blog, discovering new sounds and more exciting than anything that has
Fils-time. collecting albums. come before.

Jason Kennedy Jimmy Hughes

Like Jagger, “I was born
in a crossfi re hurricane”
and have been diverted
by music ever since.
First it was Led Zeppelin
and the Clash and now it’s Frank Zappa,
Joni Mitchell, Keith Jarrett, Ryley Walker,
Nina Simone, Charlie Mingus, Bugge
Wesseltoft, Tortoise…
I acquired a taste
for classical music
in my early teens.
I particularly enjoy
symphonic, chamber,
and instrumental music from the
19th century. Recently, I’ve become
especially enamoured by the late works of
Franz Schubert.

111

Listen Without Prejudice/MTV Unplugged
George Michael
The Title says it all – Listen Without
Prejudice. But sometimes, it’s harder
than you think. Having never been
a fan of Wham or George Michael,
I didn’t want to listen. But I saw the
title of that album, and thought: “OK,
you got it, George.” I will listen without
prejudice. I listened and I liked. He
managed to evolve from a pop icon
to a great R&B singer. And while this
review is mainly about the 2nd part of
that album – the MTV Unplugged live
album, I have to say I liked the Studio
album after listening to Listen Without
Prejudice. I remained very sceptical
until I heard the MTV Unplugged album
with which it is so often bundled today.
My favourite tracks on the studio
album is ‘Freedom’ and even more so,
‘Cowboys and Angels’, a jazzy R&B
track, that shows what is to come from
him, and one of the best tracks he’s
made. Cool laid-back drums, great
bass line, not all acoustic, quite yet, but
still pretty damn good.
If, like me, you’re not a Wham or
George Michael fan, try this album,
especially the MTV Unplugged part.
George Michael proves to be one
of the best white R&B singers I’ve
heard. His timing, rhythm, pauses and
phrasing is great. He knows when to
hold the note, when to stop the note,
when not to sing, and when to go up
the register. I admit I believe Marvin
Gaye is the greatest R&B singer ever.
George Michael, shows some of the
MUSIC REVIEW
Contemporary
Sony Music CD, download
Recording Music
same qualities as Marvin. While the
album is great just for the music, the
real treasure is in his R&B singing. His
voice glides in and out between the
chorus singers, especially noticeable
on ‘Star People’.
The MTV Unplugged album is like
stepping into a movie theatre with a
movie star you might not be that fond
of, but as the movie unfolds you realize
that the actor really can act and that
you love the story.
Let’s open where George and band
opens, with ‘Freedom’. ‘Freedom’
shows off the rhythm, the groove, and
the great chorus, and music of the
artist. No more synth bass, real bass,
great chorus and his singing takes this
a big step up from the studio version.
Then— four minutes in, When they
start chanting it gets really groovy.
I know groovy is an outdated word, but
it fits so damn well to great R&B. And
here George’s voice really shows up,
an instant R&B classic.
The grooving continues on
the second track – ‘Fastlove’ is a
fantastic poppy R&B track. Step out
on the dance floor and let it rip. Like
in ‘Freedom’, 3:30 into the track, a
fantastic acoustic guitar drops in and
the rhythm changes, and George’s
timing is brilliant, it all simply clicks.
Another true R&B grove track.
There’s one Wham track, ‘Whatever
She Wants’ and in this version it has
become a great pop track. Way better
112
than the original. On my system, which
goes down real low, the room feels like
a concert from the deep bass and the
George/chorus interaction really works.
Live he manages to make this rather
basic pop tune, really exciting.
‘Star People’ is the star of the
album, musically, rhythmically and in
every way – and his singing – simply
fantastic. The basic beat is great. First
half of the song is fine. But the latter
part, when George Michael starts
chiming in and out with the chorus, his
phrasing and timing is simply fantastic.
But apparently it takes George four
minutes to get warmed up, because
at minute four, that song becomes
freaking fantastic.
George riffs over the chorus.
Glorious? Worth the whole album
alone. And if your feet are not moving
by then, your doctor should check out
your heart for irregular heartbeat.
This is the one album I’d bring to
a party, as there’s four tracks that
will make almost everybody dance,
regardless of age, nationality or race.
Great rhythms appeal to everyone, and
the Unplugged version really ‘grooves’.
All we need them to do, is release it on
vinyl too, so people without DAC’s can
hear it too.
A bonus on the Unplugged version
is that the sound quality is better than
on his studio albums. Plug in and let
your feet loose.
Michael Vámos

A Soundtrack To An Imaginary Movie
Steve Cradock
When hi-fi+ spoke to Ocean Colour
Scene guitarist and Paul Weller’s right-
hand man, Steve Cradock, last year,
for the remixed and reissued version
of his second solo album, Peace City
West, he told us he was working on an
instrumental record.
That album is now here – it’s called
A Soundtrack To An Imaginary Movie
and it does what it says on the tin.
The project took shape during the
summer of 2020 – as Cradock explains
to us in an exclusive interview carried
out in the spring of this year, it was
created during lockdown.
Speaking to us from his home
studio, Kundalini, in Devon, he says
he’s never harboured a desire to
compose music for movies – the album
title was meant as a joke. “Two pieces
of music came together on the same
day – it just sort of happened. I played
the melodies on acoustic guitar and I
thought, ‘There’s something there.’ ”
He adds: “I had a couple of tracks
before that, including the one where
Brian Travers [UB40] plays saxophone
[‘Sarcoline’].” Travers, who died last
year, recorded the sax parts for
‘Sarcoline’ 10 years ago.
The track, which also features Hugo
Levingston on flute, is haunting and
moody – it sounds like the theme for a
‘70s TV show about a private detective
who lives and works in a shadowy
city and hangs out in a jazz club in his
spare time.
MUSIC REVIEW
Contemporary
Kundalini Music CD, vinyl, download
Recording Music
Other guests on the record include
Cradock’s wife, Sally, on gongs and
Tibetan singing bowls, Jess Cox
(cello), the Stone Foundation’s Rob
Newton (congas) and, from The
Specials’ touring band, Nikolaj Larson
(Hammond B-3 organ) and Tim Smart
(trombone). Cradock’s son, Cassius
plays piano too.
The album soaks up influences
including jazz – Cradock was reading
a book about John Coltrane’s A Love
Supreme while he was making the
record – as well as folk, Easy Listening,
soundtracks and classical music, but,
he says, “ultimately, I could play most
of these tunes on an acoustic guitar
or piano. The second side is quite
piano-led.”
Like A Love Supreme, A Soundtrack
To An Imaginary Movie starts with the
sound of a gong, but rather than jazz,
the first piece of music, Lapsis Lazuli,
is a pastoral and folky composition,
with some gorgeous cello and acoustic
guitar, and the next track, ‘Quercitron’,
comes from a similar place – possibly
an English country garden in the
summertime.
‘Cochineal’ is groovy loungecore,
with Hammond and congas –lift music
goes vintage sci-fi.
‘Dragon’s Blood,’ which clocks in at
over eight minutes, is the only misfire –
it’s ambient and minimalist meditation
music but it’s a step too far. It might
work in a Buddhist retreat, but on
113
record it kills the mood and is pure self-
indulgence. Cradock tells us his dad
told him not to include it… Sometimes
it’s best to heed fatherly advice.
The Erik Satie-esque ‘Falu’ is much
more welcome, as is the mesmerising
and cello-led ‘Fulvous’, and the tranquil
and babbling ‘Glaucous.’
Final composition, the wonderful
‘Gunjo’, with strings and trombone,
is very filmic – Bacharach-meets-
Morricone. A Spaghetti Western theme
with a dollop of Easy Listening cheese.
The record was mixed by Enrico
Berto, who works with Weller’s
keyboard player, Tom Van Heel.
Cradock says he wanted the mix
to sound 3D and immersive – he
describes it as a ‘swamp sound.’
It certainly sucks you in. “I sent the
record to Weller [before it came out] –
he listened to it all the way through and
said, ‘Wow – it’s a journey,’” he says.
It certainly is. If it was a soundtrack
to an imaginary movie, it would be
hard to choose the genre, as there’s so
much going on musically – it’s a rich
listening experience.
It’s somewhat ironic that the record
was conceived during lockdown, as we
could’ve done with it being released
at that time, as its mellow moods
might’ve helped us to chill out and
keep calm during those dark days.
On A Soundtrack To An Imaginary
Movie, Cradock is keeping it real.
Sean Hannam

Damien Jurado Field Painting Music LPMQR003
Damien Jurado is to my mind one of
the unsung heroes of 21st century
popular music. He’s a truly outstanding
talent, but he just doesn’t seem to get
the recognition the quality of his music
deserves.
Jurado is a native of Seattle,
releasing 18 albums to date, and over
the years he has progressed from his
intimate lo-fi, DIY beginnings in 1997 to
produce considerably more considered
recordings. Always keen to experiment
(he has investigated the use of found-
sound in recordings), he’s worked with
a variety of producers, but his most
productive relationship so far was
with the late Richard Swift (who also
worked with the likes of the Fleet Foxes
and was the live bassist for the Black
Keys) with whom he made an excellent
series of albums from 2010 onwards.
While instrumentation and
production have changed, Jurado’s
strained, pained, relatively-falsetto-
for-a-big-guy, vocals have remained
front and centre. Allowing listeners
to enjoy both the sound he makes
and the pictures he paints. And what
pictures that are; beautiful vignettes
of lives barely glimpsed, of moments
of despair, love and dealing with the
trials of day-to-day existence. Stories
so perfectly suited to his delivery
that you can almost believe they are
autobiographical until you realise that
no single person could have lived
through this much pain!
MUSIC REVIEW
Contemporary
Reggae Film Star
LP (reviewed), CD, download
Recording Music
As an example of his incredible
song-writing prowess, Jurado is the
man responsible for the track most
guaranteed to make a tear well-up in
this reviewer’s eye. If you’ve not heard
Medication from his incredible Ghost of
David LP then I recommend you do so
immediately. Like now. Go on. Tidal or
Spotify will do. It’s the first track on the
album. But approach it with care.
Okay, you back? See what I mean?
Sensational: dark, beautiful, exquisitely
crafted and intimately recorded. I just
listened to it again, and it still hits me.
Every time. That’s what you get with
Damien Jurado; all that good stuff, all
the time.
On to Reggae Film Star, the latest
album in what has been an incredibly
prolific period of activity for Jurado that
averages out at an album a year since
2016, plus a selection of EPs. And
according to some recent interviews
he has at least six more in the bag and
ready to go, and there are reissues of
his earlier hard-to-get work promised
for later this year.
This is partly why he has
transitioned to a self-releasing model
for this record, after a recording career
that spans contracts with indie-
legends including Sub Pop and Secret
Canadian. He plans at least a couple of
albums a year, which is great news as
far as this reviewer is concerned. But
it’s not the quantity that matters, it’s
the quality, and Jurado’s recent albums
114
have been masterpieces, each and
every one of them.
Reggae Film Star opens with
Roger, which sounds like a lost Nick
Drake track, and we mean that as
a compliment, all acoustic guitars
and beautiful strings accompanying
Jurado’s tortured, almost
whispered vocals.
But after this acoustic opening,
the album takes a turn to more of a
full-band sound, although one always
playing second fiddle to his vocals.
Standout tracks such as Meeting Eddie
Smith and What Happened to the
Class of ‘65 are up there with anything
Jurado has produced in recent years,
and demonstrate that his imagination
has a long way to go before it runs out
of stories to tell.
Towards the end of the album some
of the shorter tracks feel like sketches
for songs which never really make it to
adulthood. These pen portraits are just
as powerful in this form, and possibly
better for not being extended beyond
their natural limits; the 90 seconds of
The Pain Of No Return are pretty close
to perfection.
At the end of the day Reggae Film
Star feels like a transformative album
for Jurado, an attempt to develop his
sound while retaining the elements that
he does best – such as that incredible
storytelling. And that’s absolutely
fine with us.
Shaun Marin
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115

Various Artists
Blue Note’s Re:imagined project
first saw the light of creation back in
the dark days of 2020 yet proved a
tremendous success. The combination
of emerging British jazz and soul artists
with a back catalogue as rich as Blue
Note’s brought a fresh energy to tunes
both classic and lesser known. We
now have a second edition wherein a
tranche of new talent has taken its pick
of the treasure trove.
A look down both the artist and
song list reveals a few well-known
names mingled in with a lot of more
obscure tunes and new artists. That
Blue Note chose British artists for this
project is an honour in itself but also
a recognition of the fact that the UK
and London in particular is particularly
fertile place for jazz right now.
Blue Note Re:imagined II opens
with trumpet player Yazz Ahmed’s
reworking of Chick Corea’s ‘It’ from
1969. Here the vibe is jazz rock
with lively trumpet, moody bass
horn and groovy vibraphone. Multi-
instrumentalist Conor Albert brings a
soul jazz vibe to Bobby Humphrey’s
‘You Make Me Feel So Good’, with
ensemble vocals, funky guitar, bass
and drums producing quality noodling
over a sound that Gilles Peterson could
‘play out’ to good effect.
It’s not all about vintage classics
as singer Parthenope proves with her
take on Norah Jones’ ‘Don’t Know
Why’, this doesn’t stray too far from
MUSIC REVIEW
Jazz
Blue Note Re:imagined II
Blue Note vinyl, download
Recording Music
the original but has more guitar than
keyboards and a lovely dusky voice.
Jones did it so well that it would be
hard to improve on but this is an
interesting variation. The first of three
Donald Byrd tracks, ‘Miss Kane’ by
dubstep, grime and garage producer
Swindle has a suitably fat bass line,
snappy drums and a solid groove with
trumpet lead, the sound is thicker
and heavier than the original and
the trumpet nowhere near as bright.
Afro-jazz nine piece Nubiyan Twist do
a fabulous job with Byrd’s ‘Through
The Noise (Chant No.2)’ from ’63.
With vocals by Nubiya Brandon and a
big band that really knows how to get
down in perfect synch, this is superbly
arranged and played with a rich tonal
palette and some fine improv from sax
and guitar in the finale.
Ego Ella May’s version of ‘The
Morning Side Of Love ‘by Chico
Hamilton was released early to garner
interest in this album and it’s not hard
to hear why. It’s more R&B than jazz
and her voice is sublime over a track
that flows thanks to a solid lead bass
sprinkled with piano and percussion.
Singer Oscar Jerome and rapper
Oscar #Worldpeace combine forces
to impressive effect on Grant Green’s
‘(Why You So) Green With Envy’,
where an odd guitar sound contrasts
with an off kilter beat and some very
deep bass notes, the pairing injecting
energy through their lyrics. For Wayne
116
Shorter’s ‘Lost’ Daniel Casimir adds
Ria Moran’s vocal to piano, drums
and bass with a mute trumpet to good
effect thanks to both the quality of the
tune and the musicianship.
Theon Cross is that unlikely thing
a jazz tuba player and a successful
one at that but his take on Monk’s
‘Epistrophy’ shocks with the power
and burred edge of a heavily modified
tuba sound. It’s a little bit OTT on big
speakers but some will love its take no
prisoners angle. I prefer Maya Delilah’s
rendition of ‘Harvest Moon’, yes the
Neil Young one and hardly a Blue Note
original, apparently Cassandra Wilson
covered it in ’95. With a dreamy voice
behind it and quiet keys you quickly
forgive the impertinence and relax
when what might be described as a
‘banging donk’ comes in and grabs
your attention, a situation further
enhanced with some fine guitar work.
The album progresses through
Binker Golding’s intense take on
Joe Lovano’s ‘Fort Worth’ through
to a rousing finale in Frank Moody’s
update of Donald Byrd classic ‘Cristo
Redentor’, not a famous title but a
proper ‘choon’ with a full choir, big
bass drops and a crunchy beat to
round off a fine selection of gems from
the Blue Note catalogue. If the last
Re:imagined was any indication you’ll
be hearing more from these artists in
the none too distant future.
Jason Kennedy
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117

Ingrid Haebler
Born in 1929, and now aged 93, Ingrid
Haebler was Philips’ unofficial ‘house’
pianist during the 1960s and 1970s.
For the Dutch label, she recorded the
complete Mozart piano concertos and
sonatas, plus the works for two pianos,
and Schubert sonatas, along with
concertos by JC Bach on a fortepiano.
Although Haebler’s repertoire was
said to extend from Bach to Stravinsky,
for Philips it was Mozart and Schubert
that figured most prominently. She
also recorded Bach’s French Suites,
Beethoven’s concertos 2 and 4, the
Chopin Waltzes, plus Schumann’s
piano concerto and Kinderszenen.
While Haebler was the first to record
all the Mozart’s piano concertos,
the cycle originally stopped short of
the four early pasticcio concertos.
However, in 1973, concertos 1 – 4
were recorded with Eduard Melkus’
original instrument orchestra the
Capella Academica Wien, and Haebler
playing a fortepiano. In retrospect,
she helped pioneer the performance
of 18th century keyboard music on
period instruments. She was the first
established pianist of international
repute to take historical performance
practise seriously. Haebler’s 1970s
benchmark recordings of sonatas
and concertos by JC Bach on original
instruments came at a time when this
was still something of a fringe activity.
Schubert was another composer
Haebler specialised in. She recorded
MUSIC REVIEW
Classical
The Philips Legacy
Decca CD, vinyl, download
Recording Music
12 sonatas and some shorter works
in the late ‘60s. Alas, while much
admired, these recordings (and others,
including the Mozart concertos and
sonatas) did not enjoy a long catalogue
life. They went out of print quite quickly.
Haebler’s reputation as a pianist
seems to have grown over the past
30 or so years. Her stature is higher
today than it was when she was active.
After leaving Philips at the end of the
‘70s, having taped the Beethoven violin
sonatas with Szeryng, there were no
more recordings for a while.
Then, Denon signed her to record
all the Mozart piano sonatas. Issued
between 1987 and 1992, this is a
superb Mozart cycle – among the
best-ever. Alas, it proved to be her
swansong; she made no further
recordings after that.
Ingrid Haebler was a very self-
effacing unflamboyant pianist. She
was the least-showy player you could
imagine; the music always came
first. Her playing is distinguished by
its effortless-simplicity and refined-
elegance. She was deeply-musical and
sensitive, without being precious. As
such, she’s more a conduit through
which the music passes, rather than an
interpreter. Her recordings have stood
the test of time and worn well.
Yet ironically, some found her
playing bland and faceless. But when
listening to a Haebler recording, you
never think of her – you just experience
118
the music, played with taste, elegance,
sensitivity, charm, plus a complete
absence of mannerisms.
There’s also a beguiling-innocence
and purity. That’s why she’s so
satisfying in Mozart and Schubert.
Her early ‘70s Mozart violin sonatas
with Szeryng are highly-prized by
music-lovers and audiophiles. The
recordings sound very open and
tonally-sweet, and the LPs often fetch
high prices on eBay.
Still, one wonders what sort of
career she’d enjoy if starting-out
today. Would her quiet musicality and
lack of showmanship cut through the
noise? Hopefully yes, but she’d always
be a connoisseur’s pianist – a small
quiet voice in a sea of loud virtuoso
extroverts.
This 58CD box celebrating her
Philips years is a gift from heaven
and contains much to treasure. I’d
almost given up hope of seeing her
complete recordings reissued on CD.
The recorded sound, like the playing,
is clean, natural, and unexaggerated.
Philips’ sound at its best...
Indeed, as a broad generalisation,
her recordings now sound far better on
the best contemporary systems than
they ever did on the equipment of the
1970s. Today’s hi-fi digs deeper and
brings out far more detail, revealing
greater depth and a wider range of
tone colour and dynamics.
Jimmy Hughes
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119
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120
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