KEF REFERENCE

103/4 LOUDSPEAKER

TOBER 1991 £2.8

• SIN COMPACT DISC
PLAYERS COMPARED
,

ROCK & BLUES NEW ARCAM

CD FROM ALPHA 3AMPLIFIER

ROUNDER 'W MUSICAL FIDELITY

Ti MkII TUNER
OF IMF-USA

No CD on US.copies

I
770961 .766024
 We have always said that we would not make aCD player until we
could make one that sounded as good as the best analogue turntables.

The Naim CDS

it*
TT *1M AUDIO LIMITED, SOUTHAMPTON ROAD. SALISBURY. SP1 2LN. ENGLAND. TEL ( 0722) 332266

%MO»
 Contents FLAI LRES
AMPLIFIERS
ALCHEMIST FREYA AND GENESIS: Gold col- KEF AT THIRTY: we talk to Laurie
oured glories of apre-amplifiers/power- amplifier Fincham, Technical Director, about their
amplifier combination match our reviewer's ears. 48 beginnings - in aNissen hut - and about
the future. 36
ARCAM ALPHA 3: Arcam's redesigned British
Alpha in new internal guise takes on the DIGITAL- READY VALVE AMPLIFIER:
competition. 52 Richard Brice converts aLeak TL/25 valve
amplifier to I
5-bit performance. 72
CROFT SUPER MICRO A PRE-AMPLIFIER AND
SERIES 5POWER AMPLIFIER: High-end valve RECORD SHOPPING: A few more
sound for aless than high-end price. 60 nesting sites, with addresses, for vinyl
vultures. 95
Cover Photograph by
PIONEER A- I19: A budget entry-level amplifier
Paul Hartley Studios
from the makers of the now famous A-400. 64

Editor PHILIPS FA 890: An integrated amplifier at mid-

Noel Keywood price from the Dutch electronics giant 78

Deputy Editor COMPACT DISC

Alan Sircom
SIX COMPACT DISC PLAYERS: A compact survey NEWS: All the buzz about the hi-fi biz. 5
which includes one with aturntable in the drawer.
Editorial Assistant AIWA XC-900
Eric Braithwaite LETTERS: Velvet words from the post-
KENWOOD DP- 5030
man's mailed fist. 8
MARANTZ CD- 52
Production Editor PHILIPS CD6I8
Philippa Steward COLUMNS: In which the Hi- Fi World
PIONEER PD- 7700
joumo's fail to resist the temptation to put
TECHNICS SL-PG400A I6
Advertising Manager themselves on asmall pedestal. 12
Damian McNamara ROTEL RCD-965 BX2: Brand new revised
TVVEAKY CORNER: A variety of tweaks
Bitstream replacement for the super-successful for the conscientious Compact Disc
Marketing Manager RCD-865. 68
Akila Lingham owner. 87
CASSETTE TAPE
Contributors KELLY'S CORNER: Our Quad-on-a-
AKAI GX-95 MkII: Top of the Akai range, and every budget fiend sent home with glue, hammer
Malcolm Steward
facility for serious recording. 26 and nails to construct akit subwoofer to
Peter Herring
Richard Kelly improve his bass lines. 93
LOUDSPEAKERS
Paul Miller
KEF RI03/4: First review for KEF's new thirtieth QUERIES: Bewitched, bothered or
birthday celebration Reference loudspeakers with bewildered about your hi-fi? Soothing
Cartoonist
the unique ' Uni -
Q' drive units. 30 solutions and Witch- Hazel. 97
Freddy Ahmet

Computers: TANNOY 605: A departure from the rectangle, this SPECIAL OFFERS: Make contact with
Bencnmark Press 0442 89 1151 polygonal cabinet loudspeaker is one of the new Kontak or rest your Sorbothane feet in our
range of Sixes 44 accessories pages. 100
Distributed by:
COMAG, Tavistock Road, West
Drayton, Middlesex, UB7 7QE HEYBROOK SEXTET: So called, because the drive LISTINGS: Hi-fi recommendations from
Tel: 0895 444055 units total six between the pair, including aribbon the team 105
tweeter. 56
Origination by:
•
Ebony Ltd., Heathlands Rd., Liskeard, NEXT ISSUE: A cracker or two to whet
Cornwall. Tel: 0579 46880 CANON S-50: Described as offering 'Wide Imaging your appetite for the Guy Fawkes issue 109
Stereo', can the company's first audio product
Printed by:
Southernprint, Poole, Dorset. surround you with sound? 65

HI-Fl WORLD TUNERS

is published monthly on the 3rd Thursday
of the month preceding. MUSICAL FIDELITY TI: With new electronics this
tuner appears in its Mark II version. 42 MUSIC
AUDIO PUBLISHING LTD.,
64 C.astellain Road, Maida Vale,
London W9 ' EX. Tel: 071-289 3533 TEAC T-X3000: Simple scanning of the airwaves at COVER CD: The track- listings and sleeve
Fax: 071-289 5620 apocket- money price. 76 notes for this month's bumper musical
Queries cannot be answered
by telephone. offering 110
TURNTABLES
MAIL ORDER
Tel: 071-266 0461 ( 24 hours) GOLDRING EXCEL: More golden sound as well as RECORD OFFERS: Gold CD's, golden
Subscription Rates:
colour from this English cartridge. 74 oldies and golden greats. LP and DAT too,
UK: £ 18, Overseas Surface: £25 in our mail-order section. 120
Airmail: £38 ( Europe & Middle East), NVA PHONO2 AND MICHELL ISO: Two line-
£48 ( USA, Canada & Far East),
£.58 (Australia. Japan & China). level phono head- amplifiers compared. 80 RECORD REVIEWS: The month's
unmissable music.
No material may be reproduced NITTY GRITTY RECORD CLEANER: Following Rock by Malcolm Steward I12
from this magazine without
on from last month's cleaning article, we look at one Classical by Peter Herring 117
the publisher's permission.
LD Audio Publishing Ltd of the leading and most expensive cleaning kits
around 90

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 3

 gierietiety eJ,e

PRINCIPLE

Bel tini stylus

from the A-T
Gallery collection.
Machida. Tokyo.

hide over 100 years ago Gianni Bettini became the world's first audiophile. As an
Italian cavalry officer visiting New York in the late 1880's, he was intrigued by the newly introduced
Edison wax cylinder 'phonogram' vet unsatisfied with its poor audio quality. Using his flair for things
mechanical Lieutenant Bettini began to turn this business dictation machine into adevice which would
satisfy music lovers and to ensure the ultimate fidelity he opened his own recording studio on Fifth
Avenue. There he made the first realistic recordings of famous contemporary opera singers and built up
a fabulous collection of 'celebrity cylinders' including his holiness Pope Leo XIII. Ills ' micro'
reproducer' phonograph was first in a line of successfid models and today A-T salutes hint as atrue
pioneer of high fidelity.
At Audio Technica we strive toward the same goal, using unrivalled micro-transduer ' know how'
to reduce the weight of Bettini's original device to the mere few grams of our latest moving coil series.
Below we proudly present our ' reference' specifications but add one small note of caution. At this level
'numbers' do not tell the whole story as component compatibility and musical taste come into play.
We thus urge apersonal audition at one of our hand selected A-'l' dealers to fully assess requirements.
Meanwhile, please contact the A- T sales office for acomplete selection of press review copies.

ART 1 0C-30 01-10 0C-5 0C-3

Frequency resixinse 10 - 50,000 10 - 50,000 10 - 50,0d) 15 - 50,000 15 - 50,000
Output voltage ( lkhz, 5em/sec) 0.35mV 0.4mV 0.4m 0.4mV 0.35mV
Channel separation ( Ikliz) 30dB 30dB 29dB 27dB 27dB
Output balance 1.0dB 1.0dB 1.0dli 15dB 1.540
Vertical tracking force 1.4 - 1.6g 1.25 - 1.75g 1.25 • 1.75g 1.25 - 1.75g 1.25 - 1.75g
Acknowledgements: Coil impedance / DC resistance 120 120 120 120 124
load resistance head amp/transformer >1000/>200 > 1000/>200 > 1000/>200 > 1000/>20 0 > 1000/>$00
'Illustrated History Coil inductance %di 5001 50p11 501111 50p11
of Phonographs' Static compliance (cm/dyne) 30 xle 35 xle 35 x10" 35 x10 ° 35 x10"
-Daniel Marty Dynamic compliance 8x10 5 9x10 ° 9xUr 9x10° 9x10"
Stylus profile Micro-linear Micro- linear Micro-linear Ili- Radial Bi- Radial
'From Tin Foil
Magnet type Special Neodymium Neodymium Neodymium Samarituncohalt
to Stereo' 23' • 23' • 23'
Vertical tracking angle
•Read/Welch Df mcnsi,am LxWx 11 nun 22.2x16.8x17.3 25.7x16.8x17.3 25.7x16.8x17.3 25.7x16.8x17.3 25.7x16.8x17.3
Weight 9.5g 8.0g 8.0g 8.0g 8.0g

audio-technica
IINNOVATION 0 PRECISION DINTEGRITY

Technics House. Lockwood Close, Leeds LS11 511'. Tel: (0532) 771441 Fax: (0532) 704836
 news oct '
91

trade winds
Hi -Fi World brings you all the latest

news from the hi-fi industry

AIWA'S NEW INEXPENSIVE 3- HEAD CASSETTE

DECK
The latest cassette deck from Aiwa, the AD-F8I0, is athree-head,
twin-capstan device, for the princely sum of only £ 199.99. This
follows in the footsteps of the £99 AD- F4 10, which we are testing in
the next issue.
Aiwa seem to be aiming at disturbing the cassette market by pro-
ducing up-market decks at down market prices. As befits cassette
decks of this quality, the new AD- F810 has arange of facilities to
match its specifications. These include automatic tape selection, bias
and sensitivity controls, along with abutton to switch the fluorescent
meters off.
The AD- F8 10 also offers features such as three PC-OCC5N
heads and atwin capstan transport which would normally be seen
only in cassette decks costing far more than £200. Aiwa suggest that
the low price is due to their experience in cassette deck design and
mass production.

trado

tracte winds
trade winds
trade winds
trade winds
PROAC'S NEW TABLETTE II

trade winds
ProAc's Tablette (and subsequent Super Tablette) have proved to be
among the most consistently successful loudspeakers in the ProAc
arseral, with over 25,000 pairs sold worldwide over the past twelve
years. Now ProAc have drastically improved the loudspeaker with
the new £399 Tablette 11, available from ProAc's dealers now.

trade winds
The latest Tablette 11 features a mirror image offset placement
drive unit layout. which is said to radically improve the breadth ard
depth of the soundstage. In addition, changes made to the resistive
port are said to improve the speed and extension of the bass, while
adding clarity to the midrange. At the same time, work has been

trade winds
performed on both the cabinet, to reduce box colorations, and the
crossover network. This last has been tuned to aid detail and the
sweetness of the tweeter.

1-11-F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991 5

 oct ' 91 trd winrig
CELESTION GO TECHNICS NEW RANGE OF INTEGRATED AMPLI-
THREE WAYS FIERS
To Noel's delight, three way Technics have released their latest attempt to reduce amplifier noise,
speakers are back in fash- the £449.95 SU-VX800. Rated at 110W(RMS), the amplifier features
ion. The latest manufac- what Technics refer to as ' Extended Direct Drive'. This uses avariable
turer to add three-way gain amplifier stage in place of aconventional attenuator, which is used
speakers to their range is to drive the power amplifier stage. This means that as the volume level
Celestion with the £239 is lowered, so too is the noise from the variable gain amplifier.
Celestion 9 and the £279 The amplifier also has professional pretensions. As well as the
Celestion 1I. The tweeter standard RCA phono inputs for domestic use, the SU-VX800 also
is a titanium dome, and provides balanced inputs for professional users. Because of its bias in
both use new mid-range this direction, the amplifier has arecording output selector to facilitate
and bass drivers and hard- ease of recording. Finally, the amplifier features what Technics call an
wired crossovers. The 4.5in 'Active Servo' power supply, which is said to have good regulation and
mid unit common to both temperature stability.
the 9and 11 has apolycar- Aside from the top model, the rest of the 'VX' range of amplifiers
bonate chassis incorporat- all feature Technics' own Class AA circuitry, improved peak current
ing arear absorption cham- and ' PXS' capacitors using "bio-technology ultra-pure electrolyte".
ber to separate bass and The range includes three other models, the £ 159.95 SU-VX500, the
mid-range loading. Brand £199.95 SU-VX600 and the £249.95 SU-VX700. All the models in the
new bass drivers - 6in for 'IX' range should be available by September.
the 9 and 8in for the II -
also have aone-piece poly-
carbonate chassis but are fitted with a `eked fbre cone. Benefits, say
Celestion, are the elimination of directional beaming associated with
two-way designs and astrong presence in ihe room with an openness
of sound and superb bass articulation. We hope for apair to review
next month.

//////M11111

CABLE ADVANCES
New cables abound from two of Britain's leading cable tweakers. First,
Analogue Experience have released anew 75ohm coaxial intercon-
nect, known as Intershield. Priced at £ 12 per metre, it is unique in that
it can be upgraded by the addition of asecond length of Intershield for
each channel.
Audio tweaker extraordinare Graham Nalty has been busy on the
Sonic Link cable front His latest products include Pure Mains cable, the
third mains cable from the Sonic Link camp. Priced at £20/metre, this
is athree core cable made from 19 x0.2mm diameter cores, of the
same type used in the successful Violet cable.
Sonic Link have also launched their cheapest ever loudspeaker
cable, the £8.00 per metre Sonic Link Grey. It is constructed from PTFE
DAT FROM KENWOOD insulated, silver plated copper conductors of 0.9mm diameter, all
Trio-Kenwood have announced two new Digital Audio Tape record- covered in agrey PTFE sheath. As the diameter of the grey cable is only
ers. Mufti-layer circuits and a reduced drum height have allowed 3.5mm, it is well suited for applications where space is at apremium.
Kenwood to pack in facilities such as track search and subcode editing Finally, following the success of the Blue- Black digital cable, Sonic
into the palm size DX-7 portable at £499.95. A miniature wired Link have announced aBrown cable, priced at £25 for I m, terminated
remote is provided. An add-on A/D converter (for recording from with gold phone, plugs. This cable is said to improve low frequency
analogue sources) and charger cost £ 149.95. The full-size DX-7030 audio quality, while its use of an external screen offers better RF
(£699.95) employs one-bit converters, and Kenwood say a central rejection.
tape drawer internal dampers and an extra thick base plate improves For details contact Analogue Experience on (0254) 676538, or
isolation from mechanical shock and vibration. Graham Nafty of Sonic Link on (0332) 674929.

6 HI- F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991

 oct ' 91 '
racIP winch,
-

TDK HAVE IT TAPED CULLAM ANNOUNCE NICAM DECODER

The company with 42% of the U.K audio tape market have announced New to the hi-fi industry, Cullam Ltd. will be showing their new
new formulations of D, AD, AR and AR-X cassette tapes which will NICAM decoder, the £249.95 Interpreter, at the Hi- Fi Show at the
have been in the shops from the end of August. The old favourite, AD, Penta Hotel Heathrow, Sept I 9-22. The unit, sporting the very latest
which has been in short supply, now reappears with a new ' High in Philips NICAM chipsets, links the TV and Video recorder to the Hi-
Precision' mechanism in C90 - and by popular demand - C 1 20 lengths. Fi system, putting aquality signal through the domestic hi-fi. It comes
High frequency sensitivity, and saturation levels have been improved complete with an infra-red remote control and aseries of presets to
on AR; AR-X also has improved HF sensitivity bias noise is 1dB quieter tailor volume, treble, bass and balance levels.
and it's also fitted with a 'Super Precision' anti- resonance mechanism. For those who are unable to get to the Penta Show, the Interpreter
The packaging retains the distinguishing colours - red for D, blue for should be available country-wide soon, or failing that, contact Bob
AD and so on - but the new formulations can be recognised by larger Massam of Cullam Ltd. on 0865 882 100.
italic designations and abigger TDK logo.

NEW INTELLIGENCE FROM PROTON

Proton have added astylish Bitstream CD player, the £249.90 AC-422,
to their ' intelligent' 400 series of amplifier, tuner, receiver and cassette
deck. All the individual items of the series can be controlled from one
remote. Not only does the AC-422 look soft and rounded, so is the
sound - Proton say it has asweet spacious sound and the harshness
often associated with CD has been eliminated. The succulent exterior
design is the work of Chicago designer Reinhold Weiss, responsible for
the Proton 300 table radio which is one of the few hi-fi products in the
New York Museum of Modem Art's permanent collection.

ATC MONITORS THE UK SPEAKER SCENE

Better known for their professional loudspeakers, ATC are displaying
their SCM range of loudspeakers at this year's Penta Show. In
professional circles, ATC have an impressive following, with diverse
recording companies (including the BBC) using their monitors.
HECO'S NEW BRACE OF LOUDSPEAKERS Now, ATC are turning their attention back to the domestic market.
The successful German company Heco have obviously been busy In their ticket-only demonstrations at Penta, they will be showing their
recently. They have unveiled no fewerthan six new models this month. £1388 SCM 20 'baby' 2-way monitors and £4158 SCM 50A 350W
First comes the floorstanding Superior Forte 850. This model, retailing active three-way loudspeaker.
at £850, is far larger than its partner, the Presto 750 and features 2x ATC will be sharing the rooms with AVI, who will be showing their
225mm bass drivers as opposed to 2x I 75mm in the 750. range of electronics. This includes their £499 midi preamplifier and
Following this, we come to the Superior range's new Fortissimo 950 £799 digital to analogue convertor, designed for both professional and
loudspeaker. This stands I .2m high, has an internal cabinet volume of domestic use.
118 litres and uses 2x225mm bass drivers and 2x 125mm mid- range
units, all made from polypropylene. As with all models in the Superior
range, the Fortissimo offers abi-wiring option. The price of the 950 is PENTA SHOW FINAL NEWS
£1000. If you're jet-setting from Heathrow, drop in to the Hi - Fi Show at the
Moving down the scale alittle, Heco have announced four new Heathrow Penta Hotel. If you took your hols in Blackpool instead of
Interior Reflex models. All are reflex-ported cabinets with high the Bahamas, there are car parks available or a courtesy bus from
efficiency (averaging 90dB/ I W/ I m) and range in price from £ 160 for Hatton Cross Underground station. Trade days are Thursday Ichh and
the Reflex I 0to £350 for the floorstanding Reflex 35. Friday 20th September, the Show opens to the public at 4pm on Friday
Finally, Heco have improved upon their Libero sub-woofer/satellite and continues through Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd from 10am to
system. They have changed spring terminals to binding posts through- 6pm. BADA will have astand in the foyer dispensing advice on hi-fi and
out and have redesigned the front baffle of the bass unit, as well as will be giving away vouchers entitling the holder to afree home visit
improving the appearance of the sub-woofer This has meant that the and consultation bytheir local BADA dealer. KEF will be demonstrating
unit has become less time consuming and therefore less expensive to the RI 03/4's reviewed in this issue and ahundred manufacturers will
assemble. The resulting drop in unit cost has been passed on to the be displaying their wares. So will the Hi - Fi World staff on Stand 15B,
customer, so that the Libero now costs £375, instead of its original fresh (well, fairly fresh...) from their publicly acclaimed appearance at
price of £450. St Ives earlier in the month.

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 7

à
 The only Hi-
Fi Show AIWA, AKAI,
ALBARRY,
in Northern Ireland ALPHASON, AUDIO
INNOVATIONS,
AUDIONOTE,
AUDIOPLAN, B&W,
October 25th - 27th BASIS, CAMBRIDGE,
CAT, CELESTION,
CHINON, COGAN
HALL, COPENHAGEN,
Stormont Hotel, DELTEC, DIAMOND
ACOUSTICS,
587 Upper Newtownards Rd, GAMEPATH, HECO,
HI-FI WORLD, JAMO,
Belfast, Northern Ireland

BELFAS

JOHN SHEARNE,
LUMLEY, LYNX,
MARANTZ, MERIDIAN,
METAXAS, MICFIELL,
MICROMEGA, PIERRE
LURNE, PINK
TRIANGLE, QUANTUM,
SONIC LINK, SONY,
STAND DESIGN,
TARGET, TANNOY,
TEAC, TRIANGLE,
WHARFEDALE,
YAMAHA

Organi s
ed hai
In-Car
Jope Street, ALPINE, BAZOOKA,
CAR SPORT
MAGAZINE,
INFINITY, KEN WOOD,
NAKAMICHI, PHEONIX,
PIONEER,
ROCKFORD FOSGATE

8 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

 oct'91
GROOVE TUBES HIT THE HI-FI WORLD
Mention the name ' Groove Tubes' to any aspiring guitarist and they will
reel off alist of names of famous players, from the Allman Bros to 77
Top, who re-valve their amplifiers with Groove Tube products. All the
valves undergo aunique and intense selection process, with avery high
IN BRIEF
rejection rate. Those that survive are then placed on adistortion scale
between one and ten. This is what makes them well respected within
the guitar playing fraternity, as they produce asound that is at once NORTHERN IRELAND HI-FI SHOW
consistent, reliable and capable of dramatically improving the original This year's Northern Ireland Hi -
Fi show is sponsored by Zeus
amplifier's sound quality. Audio and the finest magazine in the whole universe, bar
Now, the Groove Tube experience is coming to the hi-fi industry. none: Hi - Fi World. Our show will run from Friday 25th
Mike Cooper, of Groove Tubes (U.K. Ltd), is set to put his years of October to Sunday 27th October in the Stormont Hotel,
experience in the guitar industry to the resurgence in the world of Upper Newtownards Rd, Belfast.
valves that is part of 90's hi-fi. Selected dealers throughout the country, The show, now in its fourth year, will have exhibits from
starting with London's Vinyl Tube Audio, will be able to demonstrate some of the world's finest manufacturers as well as equip-
just what can be achieved from changing afew valves. They are not ment that is more down to earth. In addition, Hi- Fi World
cheap, but next month's issue of Hi - Fi World will see amore thorough staff will be on hand for afriendly chat
evaluation of their worth. Forthose unable to wait, please contact Vinyl Opening times will be 2pm - 8pm Fri 25th, 10am - 6pm
Tube Audio on 071-485 4854 or Mike Cooper direct on (0902) Sat 26th and 10am - 5pm Sun 27th.
674902.

GOLDRING'S NEW BLACK SATIN SUPPORTS SLATE AUDIO PRICE REDUCTIONS

Not content with being the U.K.'s last major ca-tricige manufacturer, Slate Audio have re-negotiated their price terms with their
Goldring have announced their latest accessories, the Black Satin range suppliers. As aresult, they are now able to offer lower prices
of equipment supports. The range, designed to match Goldring's Black on all their custom work, as well as for any stands finished in
Satin loudspeaker stands, runs from basic turntable tables to five-tier white marble. In addition Slate Audio are continuing to
shelving units. develop new products, such as the Tableslab, designed to
The shelves are designed to be modular, so extra shelves can be replace MDF shelves, and the Turntabletable for heavy-
added as you feel fit. Each shelf is also isolated on its own set of spikes. weight turntables which costs £363.86. For more details,
Finally, all the Black Satin tables come flat packed for easy assembly. contact Peter Soper of Slate Audio on (0525) 384174.

NATIONAL SOUND AND VISION SHOW

The twelfth annual National Sound and Vision show, spon-
sored by Cleartone, is taking place aweek earlier than usual
on the 27-29 September at the Last Drop Village, Bolton.
Apart from most of the manufacturers in the country
appearing, there are said to be special 'show-only' deals, 0%
finance on selected items, bars, refreshments and free park-
ing.
Admission costs £ 1.50 per adult, but is free for children.
Opening times are 12pm to 8pm Fri. 27th, I Oam to 7pm Sat
28th. and 10am to 6pm Sun 29th.

MOREL LOUDSPEAKERS IN THE U.K.

Morel loudspeaker drive units, well respected within the hi-
fi industry, are now being distributed by Clere Electronics, of
Newbury.
Morel's domestic range of eighteen drive units, designed
primarily for mid to high power handling uses, consists of six
tweeters, two soft-domed mid-range units and ten woofers,
ranging in size from five to twelve inch units. For professional
applications, Morel also manufacture two ' Integra' coaxial
loudspeakers of ten and twelve inch diameter and a soft
domed, horn tweeter.
The majority ofthe drive units use adouble magnet driving
system and what is known as ' Hexatech' aluminium voice
coils for maximum power handling. For more technical
information contact:
Clere Electronics Ltd., Kingsclere, Newbury, Berks. RG15
8PN. Tel (0635) 298574

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 9

cri DYNAMIC DYNACO relates to particular speakers or That planar surfaces such as show all the parameters.
Iread with interest Richard types of speakers Irespectfully walls and floors reinforce low Regarding receivers, one
Kelly's article concerning the suggest that it is not strictly frequencies, and that where aspect Inever see mentioned is
Leak TU10. My own experience correct in the widest sense. they come together gain is the compatibility between the
CU along similar lines may prove of The speakers mentioned in maximum, is accepted acousti- average external input levels, and
interest to some of your readers. my previous letter had originally cal fact for amonopole ( box) the fixed internal radio input.
In early 1990 Idecided to been damped in accordance loudspeaker. Corners are Last December whilst in
seek out aused Dynaco Stereo with the recommendations points of high acoustical Germany Ipurchased aFisher
70 valve amplifier to replace my enclosed with the KefKit 3s. impedance and also the only Hi- Fi receiver (RS- 909) which I
functional but not fully musical When first switched on the place where all the room planned to use upstairs in a
solid-state amp. Perusing the ads boom was deafening regardless modes can be driven most second system for cassette tape
in the back of Stereophile, I of their positions in my listening effectively. dubbing etc. However, at the
phoned six or seven audio room (20ft long, 12ft wide and This isn't to say corners moment it is installed downstairs
dealers until Ilocated one who 8ft high). My domestic circum- cannot be used - they were in the main system on a220 volt
specialized in the sale of vintage stances necessitated having to commonly used in the days of supply ( no 240 V tap) instead of
gear. They had three for sale; 1 place the speakers in corners, mono for corner horns and my usual amp and tuner, and it
sent them payment for one and 20ft. apart, and Ihad no such like. However, your performs very respectably.
received the amplifier within the alternative but to try to conceive experiences are not broadly Fisher is still abig name in
week. amethod of controlling the bass. applicable; they relate to your Germany whilst having disap-
Not unexpectedly, on Idid that by numerous experi- own room and your particular peared here, but as we all know
switching on, the amplifier ments in structural and damping loudspeakers. You have well it is only are-badged Sanyo and
produced white noise instead of alterations over aperiod of staggered room dimensions nothing to do with the original
music. With aschematic, manual, twelve months until I was that result in room mode American Fisher Radio Corp.
and sundry replacement parts eventually satisfied that the bass resonances of 28Hz along the (My father currently has and runs
from DoReTech Audio Services was tightly controlled and devoid length of the room, 47Hz my original New York Fisher in
in New Jersey, Ireconditioned of perceptible colouration, across the width and 70Hz his system.) However one
the power supply, replaced the especially boom, although, as floor to ceiling. Someone with, disconcerting aspect of this
sockets, some valves, the P.C. previously mentioned the say, anear- square room would receiver which had to be
board, and numerous resistors speakers are in corners and have all the resonances at or attended to was the vast
and capacitors. In most cases, the literally within one inch of the around one frequency, causing difference in level between radio
replacement parts were of skirting boards. terrible room boom with and any other input When
Isubmit, and am confident corner placement. reverting to radio after listening
that Icould demonstrate to your Wall and corner placement to disc, say, the sound would
satisfaction, that it is possible to can be compensated for, by crash out, and it was anuisance
Send your letters to: construct speakers that will reducing bass output and to have to remember to reduce
tolerate close proximity to increasing acoustic damping of the volume each time. On the
Hi -Fi World Letters corners and walls and conse- the drive unit. However, the bench, the radio was found to
quently boom or other coloura- loudspeaker then suits only a be 7dB above the average of all
tion is as much aproduct of wall or acorner. Put it on my other gear. Although the
Page, 64 Castellain
inadequately constructed and stands out in the room and it input sensitivities proved to be
damped speakers as of room will sound dry and bass light. the standard 150mV/2.5mV
Road, Maida Vale,
modes. Stand placement is generally (line/phono), the radio output
Amateurs can overcome this preferred because it gives best was 800mV RMS. Though Idon't
London W9 IEX.
problem and thereby encourage imaging, especially in the front- use the loudness facility, to have
amore flexible placement of back plane. This is why monop- turned up the volume control to
speakers which would provide a ole loudspeakers are commonly pot tap point ( 12 o'clock
wider sound stage, and therefore optimised for stands and position) where the loudness
tighter tolerance and higher more pleasure, than the stilted therefore don't suit corner or circuit ceases to have influence,
quality. My total expenditure was practice promoted by dealers, of wall placement. It's not all due would have meant aridiculously
$270 - $ 170 for the amp., and placing speakers parallel and nine to some plot by dealers - this loud volume of sound, much
$100 for various parts and feet apart, and which requires time they're innocent! NK greater than that required for
valves. listeners to sit in arigid central the onset of any form of tonal
The result is avery cost- position. Although the benefits compensation. Ihad to add a
effective, reliable 35w Valve amp of my methods were appreci- couple of resistors to reduce the
that is capable of very musical ated by commercial manufactur- TAPES AND TESTS output prior to the selector
performance with efficient ers, they were considered too Thank you for another fine issue switch.
loudspeakers. labour intensive and therefore, (July). Itook it on holiday to One other thing Iobserved
Try it - you'll like it too costly having regard to the Canada, and it was aconstant was aliberal sprinkling of 220pF
Byron Minter, profit margin taken by dealers. companion for bedtime reading capacitors on all inputs and
Summit, New Jersey U.S.A. The two speaker manufacturers' throughout our stay after ahard outputs which must presumably
representatives mentioned in my day of travelling and sightseeing. I have an aural effect. Phono
We have and we do! NK previous letter were mystified by found the cassette tapes review measures 440pF, tape monitor
the absence of colouration from and the four receiver tests to be 700pF, and CD/aux. 900pF. The
speakers so close to corners, and particularly interesting and power amp is an STK4171 Mk5
were unable to offer ascientific informative. A previous compre- hybrid (Sanyo or Sanken), which
POSITIONS explanation, although they hensive tapes review which I 1realise is not praised for
Ihave read your article ' Position- appreciated the comfort of have kept on file is the What Hi - absolute sound quality but
ing your loudspeaker'.1 am sitting in armchairs some six feet Fi supplement of November ' 89, which, as 1say, seems reasonably
prompted by my own practical either side of the point of which is very detailed but getting good.
experience to question your convergence of the speakers, rather out of date now. Later Thanks again for avery
pronouncement that ' Firstly, without any loss of the advan- ones from that source have interesting magazine.
placement against awall or tages of atwenty-foot wide opted for the more usual purely C.G. Doman
worse, in acorner, drives one or sound stage which Ibelieve subjective test which is much less Bedford
more of the main room modes enhances the impression of useful. Inote from your test
very effectively resulting in the realism from orchestral and figures an all round improvement Tape testing is arare pastime
boomiest sound possible'. Whilst operatic recordings. in tape performance in the last that Ifind interesting. Believe it
1do not doubt the correctness GA. Jolly couple of years, but 1am or not, as far as Iam aware,
of that statement so far as it Hockley, Essex particularly pleased that you only Paul Miller and Iare

10 HI- F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991

capable of testing tapes to
necessary IEC Standards. We
use the same set of tests. What
Hi- Fi? feel that the complexities
of measured performance are
inappropriate for their reader-
ship; many readers do seem to
find technicalities aturn off. The
tape companies like to see their
products tested diligently
however, and Iknow many
readers appreciate aconsidered
and consistent approach. You
may be interested to know that
Paul Miller and Icollude to
ensure our measured results
correlate, to avoid confusion.
His test figures can be directly

reply
compared with mine. NK

' FREDDY AHMET

TEST MATCH
Ipurchased the last two issues of
Hi -Fi World at my local news
stand and was quite impressed for bias/eq., were used. OLD AND LOVELY the same time.
by the quality of the reviews - A. Lal The Revox G36 article was of The reason for this is the fact
with one exception, more on Long Island City, New York special interest to me. Iowned that there will be capacity to
that later. one of the last to be produced. earth after each I 00kohm
My main reason for writing to Iregret to say there is no more It gave me lots of pleasure for 25 resistor, and this forms alow
you is to ask if it is possible to information on the crossover at years, until reluctantlyl let it go pass filter. This capacity comes
get from you aset of schematics present but it is unlikely to be to amusician to record guitar. mainly from the coupl ng cable -
& PC board layouts for the made available as plans or akit. The pleasure is not only in sorry, interconnect - and the
Quad ESL-63/Celestion 6000 The tapes are tested broadly the sound reproduced but also input impedance of the amplifier.
Woofer combo which was to requirements of IEC94 owning such awell designed and Iwould guess that this capacity
mentioned in the correspon- Standard. As you suggest, a quality manufactured article. would be not less than I 00pF,
dence columns. 1have had apair standard and fixed ' Test Bias' is Except for blowing up the small probably more, and I 00kohm
of ESL 63's since '81 ( SN 1700s!) used, which is based upon the leaf switch - my silly fauht - which into this wIl have ameasurable
and have never felt the need to typical bias levels used in Hammonds repaired F.O.C. even effect at 20kHz. But, of course, it
change. Yes, Ihave listened to Japanese cassette decks, namely after Itold them what happened. wouldn't have been measured
Apogees and Magneplanars, et al Ferric: + 3dB, Chrome + 3dB, Nice style of service, similar to under these arrangements.
but find them lacking in transpar- Metal + 4dB. These figures are Quad and Leak. The best solution would have
ency. By the way, why do the gathered from astatistical Whilst 1have owned all these been to increase the coupling
Apogees appeal to the UK sample of MOLs taken from lovely bits of equipment and still capacitors in the Revox output;
market so strongly? There is little our cassette deck tests. The use the Quad with its A.M. however, if resistors had to be
doubt that the balance is quite Nakamichi ZX-9 test deck overseas tuner which pulled in used, they should have been put
bass-heavy with asubdued therefore has its bias set to be Brazil radio, the wonders of CD at or in the amplifier, not in the
treble. To say that the bass is representative of real life and modem equipment must be tape recorder.
under controlled is an under- product. appreciated also. This problem can also arise if
statement The test technique Iuse Incidentally Iparted with my one is trying to attenuate asignal
Regarding the review of eliminates the need for areal- Leak Troughline for the Sony coming from aunit before
cassette tape in the July '91 issue, life flat frequency response and, 5000 tuner - now that is areal feeding it to an amplifier.1 once
this was not done right You therefore, the adjustable tunerl Even better than Yamaha did this by fitting aseries 1Mohm
should have used adeck with record-EQ you speak of. The 7000. resistor in the output of atuner
variable bias and record eq. and tapes under test are compared Keep up the good work. and wondered what on earth
set up each tape before taking with IEC Primary Reference John Sullivan had happened to the treble.
measurements. The old Revox Tapes by mathematical process- Nuneaton, Warwickshire Many thanks for the subjec-
710 had these adjustments. ing in an FFT spectrum analyser, tive and objective approach used
Roughly, one first sets bias to the US made and thoroughly in Hi -Fi World and keep up the
give minimum mid- range excellent Hewlett Packard good work.
distortion (or similar) level, then HP356 I A. What we publish is a REVOX RESISTORS Mike Grieve
adjusts the record eq. to give flat difference response, which is Just one point arising from Noel Cockermouth, Cumbria
HF response to some sensible what you would get were you Keywood's review of the Revox
frequency. I'm sure you know to use any of the tapes under G36 tape recorder in the August Yes - and no! You are right to
this, but perhaps your conclu- test on adeck set up for issue. make the point that this could
sions are not atrue measure of commercial equivalents to IEC He mentions the mismatch be aproblem, even though it
the merits of the tape itself, but Primary Reference Tapes, like between the tape recorder and wasn't in our case, since we
rather acombination of the TDK D and AR, TDK SA and the external amplifier which, were aware of the possibility.
deck/tape quality. It is true that TDK MA. initially, led to alack of bass. The The reason for not simply
most decks don't have variable So our tests very accurately reason for the bass cut when fed increasing the size of the output
internal eq., but that should not depict the situation encoun- into amodem amplifier with an capacitors, which are too small,
have prevented you from doing tered by users when they buy input resistance of, say, 10kohms is that there are following
it right As it stands your tape tapes. But the test procedure is was presumably coupling compensation networks that
review is valid only for owners of too complex to explain each capacitors which were too small may depend upon their value
the deck which was used, and time we run such areview. NK in value. Inserting I 00kohms in being maintained. We didn't
the order of merit would be series in the tape recorder have time to analyse the circuit
quite different if another make, output would re- instate the bass
having different factory settings but it could well cut the treble at Continued on page 83...

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 II

 T 'm beginning to suspect we cone diameter was reduced to back damping, free from all the
1 are about to see the return 6in, but then the bass really low frequency energy that
of the 'three-way' loudspeaker. cracks up. bounces around in the cabinet
Manufacturers have started using Good two-ways are a behind any two-way driver. Now
the words enthusiastically again, balancing act. Most don't work Celestion tell us they have three
o putting it over as anew, very well, but some do in certain new three-way designs, one
worthwhile feature, something areas and have gathered agood costing £239 (see Trade Winds)
we should all listen to. For me reputation. The general standard and the other £900. Iasked
this is wonderful news, because I though is quite low. Iam hoping them to send the less expensive
have always preferred a (good) the three way will raise this. one straight away. You can
three way to atwo way. They've The great advantage the understand why.
got araft of advantages that three-way possesses is amid-
should help to bring better range unit that can and should
sound quality to enthusiasts, in be dedicated to covering the EMC
some cases at avery competitive range of the human voice. As Alan Sircom wandered into the
price. you might guess, this means office muttering about how bad
What's athree-way loud- using asmaller cone, around 4in the Philips FA890 amplifier
speaker? Quite simply, one with being acommon diameter. A (tested in this issue) sounded
three drive units. It isn't always good, synthetic mid- range unit with LP. He made it sound so
the case that the more drive will reproduce human speech bad that Ibecame suspicious.
units you have, the better. Quite and vocals with grace and ease. It There's been talk about new
the reverse in fact: more drive will also handle awide range of Europe-wide regulations
units often produce more musical instruments with alacrity. designed to prevent hi-fi
problems. No, three drive units, The difficult spectrum equipment from being sensitive
to radio transmissions. The hi-fi
must not act as atransmitter
either. Apparently, the idea is to

kaleidoscope
make sure that in the future,
when we all have mobile radio
phones (ye Gods) and every-
thing becomes remotely
operated by any form of
Reflections from Noel Keywood transmission you can think of,
from long wave to light, all
around will stay calm and
unaffected.
at least in amufti- unit design, are the problem: it has too much extremes, the low frequencies The part of every amplifier
close to amagic number in my work to do. Apart from acting as and high frequencies, are each most sensitive to radio frequen-
view. Any more and the an air pump to produce deep dealt with by adrive unit more cies ( RF) is the disc stage. A
problems become too great bass, it has to handle the critical dedicated and better able to moving magnet pickup cartridge
Any less and another problem human voice as well. There's a cope with them. The bass unit acts as an aerial, feeds the signal
takes over. OK, so the real ideal balance to be struck here and can have awhopping great cone into the first transistor, where it
is just one drive unit, but that is whichever way it is arranged, the to move large amounts of air gets rectified at the base- emitter
in anotionally perfect loud- outcome is unsatisfactory. Make with ease. This greatly reduces junction. From then on, it
speaker. The way things stand, I the cone big so that it moves a bass distortion and, because it is becomes an audio signal that
prefer to see three drivers. It lot of air easily and gives good abetter air load match, it gives gets amplified by the rest of the
represents the best compromise bass, and it will start to 'break up' (or should give) faster, more signal chain and - presto - your
of all. at no more than around 800Hz. dynamic sounding bass. The hi-fi has become aradio.
'Human hearing is most acute This is too low to cover the tweeter has less work to do, but The usual way of defeating
across the mid-band. Not region of the human voice. So there is less obvious benefit at this is to put asmall capacitor
unsurprisingly, we have evolved the cone is made smaller, high frequencies. It is in the bass across the said junction, shorting
to posses superb aural discrimi- typically around Bin (200mm). It and the crucial mid- range that a the RF to ground. However, the
nation over the band of then has problems producing three way can really knock the new IEC Regs. are so tough that
frequencies the human voice good bass, which we all know spots off atwo way. even this is not enough, Arcam
occupies. This extends from about, but the performance is One of the last good three tell me. Like Philips, they have to
around 300Hz up to 3kHz. just about acceptable. ways was the Leak 2060, phased meet the regs. for the German
Sibilance (the 'sss' sounds) A good, synthetic 8in cone out in the mid- seventies I market, where they already
contains higher frequencies that will just about get up to afew believe. It had asuperb mid- suffer from imposed EMC
reach up to 8kHz or so and kHz before its output starts to range unit. The white plastic (Electromagnetic Compatibility)
deep male voice has elements get ragged, above which it is not cone had arear damping layer requirements. "We have been
(chest boominess) that goes allowed to go by the crossover. applied to it. Sets of radial holes carrying out tests with Naim,"
down to around 150Hz, but This is the compromise now so were used to break up standing they said, "to see if we could
both are random and sporadic popular, particularly in Britain. It waves. Designed by Alex Gamer, both come up with asystem that
effects. Since our hearing is most is very cost effective, but it is also now Technical Director at would meet the requirements
acute in this region it is wise to barely satisfactory. The cone Tannoy, that loudspeaker would but not affect the sound so
pay it most attention when starts to behave in arandom and still put many modem designs to much. It is virtually impossible,
designing amufti- driver loud- uncontrolled fashion, over the shame. but we have managed to
speaker. It is here that the upper frequency -ange of the Iwas reminded of it by the minimise the problem. A simple
popular two way starts to run human voice, from around I kHz new Heybrook Sextet (' omble capacitor won't do. Proper line
into problems that the three-way up to 3kHz. Modem synthetic name) tested in this issue. The filters with inductors must be
can avoid. cone materials have helped Sextet really sings across the employed. Some German hi-fi
Two way loudspeakers minimise this problem, but it mid- band, like no speaker Ihave manufacturers ship their
commonly cross over at around hasn't gone away by any means. heard for along time. In part, I products out with the compo-
3kHz, the big drive unit handling Just how prevalert and influential put this down to the fact that nents installed and the dealer
all the lower frequencies and the it is you only realise after hearing thé mid- range unit is not trying then snips them out later," Iwas
smaller tweeter all the higher athree-way. A better perform- to act as abass unit as well. It told. Not Philips dealers it would
ones. And it is the big unit that is ance would be possible if the has its own little chamber with seem! •

12 HI- F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991

 pace Aliens stole Richard with them, installed in the home
L., Brice's column two months of John Bamford, ex-editor of Hi -
back, only to replace it with the Fi Choice, now with Pioneer U.K
one we printed the previous Ltd.
month. We felt it would only be Following last year's show,
fair to give him abit extra this John was charged with looking
time round. Idrew the short after these Sir Galahads until a
straw, so Iget the short column. buyer could be found. One has
Still, at least it cuts the meander- been, so he was saying farewell
ing down to aminimum. to them. Iunderstood why he
Why do we spend hundreds was so sad at the thought of
or even thousands of pounds to their departure within seconds of
listen to music? What makes us hearing them.
willing to pay afortune to They seemed to portray
reproduce our favourite music with an incredible intensity
Bauhaus, Bartok or Bacharach and without any sense of strain
pieces? Why am Iemployed? either on the part of the listener
You can tell it's summer when or the system. Recordings such
hi-fi scribes go all philosophical. as Frankie Goes to Hollywood's
The reason for this musing is 'Three Tribes' are now impos-
two products that passed across sible for me to play on my home
my aural portals this month. The set-up because of the informa-
first is asmallish black box that is tion they revealed.
sitting at my feet as Iwrite. Idigress - this isn't areview.
The point is that we often

Feedback from Alan Sircom become divorced from why we

interested ourselves in hi-fi in the
speakers too many!
Some of you may have
first place. Both these pieces of already heard one of the new

sircom's
audio equipment had one systems, the Roland Sound
important thing in common. Space Processor, when it was
Both made me want to listen to demonstrated on 'Tomorrows
music more than the average World' on the 21st of March this
midi system could ever inspire year (BBCI television with

circuits
me to. NICAM stereo, simulcast on
In one of my most frightening Radio I ). The RSS system
nightmares, Iwalk into ahi-fi attempts to position sounds not
shop, tell the assistant about my only all around the head of the
ludicrously expensive system, 'istener as in quadraphonic, but
and ask what my next upgrade at angles above and below too.
Before you all turn the page to refined. It's less wasteful and should be. The assistant cockily Theoretically the listener can
avoid an advertorial, let me say more cost effective in batteries - says, ' Records." Ireply, " Oh I hear sound anywhere within a
that this piece of equipment has clockwork doesn't use any. It tried that once, but it did nothing three-dimensional space
long been discontinued, goes loud enough for your picnic for me." completely surrounding them.
objectively is dreadful and the Party to dance the Charleston If that ever comes true, Conventional recordings rey
rarity of software would bring a without drowning other sun- please, someone, just take me for their stereo effect on leve
smile to anyone still trying to worshippers in ill-controlled bass outside and shoot me• differences between the left and
collect new classical LPs. and it's perfect with aglass of right loudspeaker. The extreme
The box is an old mechanical well-chilled Chablis brought from
His Master's Voice portable your Tourer by your man-
gramophone which can only take servant, don'tcha know?

recorded
ten- inch discs. To operate it you Little things like this, which
have to crank the handle that my girlfriend found in ajunk
sets the clockwork in motion. shop three years ago for fifty
There's alever to engage the pounds, provide agreat deal of
brake on the clockwork motor, a listening pleasure on alevel that
speed adjuster that allows the we're all guilty of avoiding. The

message
user to speed up or slow down hi-fi snob, always first off the
from 78rpm and atrue metal mark to criticise somebody who
tone arm that amplifies the signal has only spent £20,000 on their
from the disc prior to its entering system, has forgotter how much
the buift-in folded horn. Apart Pleasure can be gained from a
from the lid, which acts both as modest sounding system.
record storage and as abaffle to Lest this should sound jaded, I Left by Richard Brice
aim the sound in the listener's di- should now introduce the
rection, and asmall receptacle to second audio gem Iexperienced

T
hold used needles (ideally you this month. At last year's Penta he recording industry is cases are obvious: If all the sound
should change the needle after Hi- Fi Show, Max Towrshend buzzing with interest in new comes from one or other
playing every record), that's it. displayed the most hugely surround-sound technology. loudspeaker it is obviously
How does it sound? Crackly dramatic loudspeakers one could Manufacturers are hoping that perceived as emanating from a
and abit tinny, Igrant you, but imagine. Standing over five feet they will overcome the hurdle point within the loudspeaker. If
the lnkspots sound better on it high, they sported no less than that beset quadraphonic, both channels are producing
than anything else Ican imagine sixteen drive units each and cost because they have developed equal amounts of power, the
in today's marketplace, and in about £7, 000 apair. two- channel systems which only source appears to come from a
some ways Imight consider it At the show in paper thin require an un - modified stereo hi- point mid-way between the
superior to its modem equiva- rooms packed full of people fi to enjoy it Roland and Q- loudspeakers. Clearly different
lent, the Personal Stereo. these speakers failed to give their Sound have learned that, even ratios between these two
What sound it does produce all. Nearly ayear later, Igot a for the most ardent music lover, extremes will produce all :he
(mostly mid-band) is genteel and brief chance to spend an evenirg four loudspeakers is two loud- intermediate positions.
HI- F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991 13
 When arecord is recorded, guitarist playing in the position of system which is intended for stereo. All of it is bogus of
o the artist, producer and engineer your olfactory lobes! mass entertainment must assume course - the phase carries no
work to construct the stereo The Roland Sound Space an average head and we humans real information about where
image by ' steering' each particu- system aims to produce, via are not used to listening using the sound should come from.

sà.4
o
lar instrument, vocalist etc. into a
stereo position by means of a
loudspeakers, sounds which the
listener would have experienced
different ears.
There's no doubt that many
But for an atmospheric sound
effect where the sounds come
special control on the recording from true Binaural stereo but two- channel surround-sound from is irrelevant - it's only nec-
studio mixer called a ' panoramic without the bother of wearing recordings will become available essary that you should feel part
potentiometer' or 'pan-pot'. This headphones. It goes further than in the next few months and, I'm of the scene. If you try it, I think
control works in asimilar fashion conventional stereo in that it sure other transaural products you'll be amazed. The sea
to the 'balance' control on an takes account, not only of level, will follow. The Roland system is crashes behind your head, the
amplifier. If the engineer rotates but of the time differences of the expensive so it will only be pro- wind whistles about your ears.
the pan-pot clockwise, the signals reaching each ear. And it ductions with ahefty budget that It's most entertaining. 'Garden in
impression when sitting between simulates the effects of the flappy will use it until the technology Springtime' (Track 6) works well
the two loudspeakers, is of the bits of skin of the peripheral becomes cheaper. Of course, too. The gentle breeze seems to
particular instrument (say ahi- auditory system that surround there are the purists who say all fill the room and birds twitter
hat cymbal or guitar) moving left the auditory canal. Technically this is simply agimmick. I thought from all directions.
to right across the 'sound-stage'. they are called the pinnae and the demonstration was very If this whets your appetite,
The stereo system seems they are not simply there so that impressive; so what if it is an the circuit in Fig. Ican be
simple but it is also very subtle. It Van Gogh could cut one off as a illusion or atrick - the gramo- interposed in the signal lead
was invented by Alan Blumlein at sign of devotion or to provide phone itself was aparlour-toy from the C.D. player to the
E.M.I. and was the result of a somewhere to anchor your once upon atime. amplifier. The changeover switch
good deal of development of reading glasses. We know now allows instant comparison
the simplest and earliest form of what Blumlein did not: that the Primitive
between the in-phase and out-
stereo which was obtained by pinnae play avery important part In the meantime, you can try a of- phase condition. Irecently
placing two microphones within in our ability to localise sound. primitive form of stereo used this technique when I
the ears of a 'dummy head'. If a Time difference information surround-sound yourself. The produced arecord of children's
stereo signal is recorded in this and the pinnae's subtle and effect works best for sounds music. Iused conventional effects
way and subsequently listened to complicated filtering of the which have little precise imaging mixed with out- of- phase effects
on headphones, the listener's sounds arriving from all the -amono source works well in along with conventional stereo
ears are transported to the various directions, are synthe- fact. Sound effects are very music tracks. As part of acon-
positions of the two micro- sized using digital electronic suitable, so try to get hold of a ventional stereo 'mix' the out-of-
phones. This technique is known delays and filters within the RSS LP or Compact Disc of library phase effects tracks fill the room
as ' Binaural' stereo and is unit The RSS control unit sounds. Ican recommend while the business of the music
capable of really amazing results. augments astandard studio 'Essential Sound Effects' ( BBC goes on in front of you.
However if the two signals are mixer. Each channel has adual Records BBC CD 792). Listen to Try the out-of- phase effect
reproduced on loudspeakers, the 'pan-pot' control which allows track 3on this C.D.; it is agood on headphones too. You'll notice
stereo results are very poor and the engineer to steer asource all mono recording of seagulls that the snare drum will cease
E.M.I. knew most people wanted around, and above and below calling and crashing waves. Now bashing away in the centre of
to listen to loudspeakers. the listener. reverse the phase of one of your your pituitary gland and will fill
If these 'transaural' techniques loudspeakers. This only involves your head. It may even appear to
Corollary
have afault, it is that perceived swopping the wires over on the move outside it into an imaginary
Blumlein solved the problem but source positioning is occasionally rear connectors of just one of sound world beyond •
the corollary is an obvious one: erratic. This is true of binaural your loudspeakers.
Listen on headphones and the stereo too. The trouble is God With this modification, your
signals are inappropriate - the created all men equal but He speakers will provide your ears
stereo image is within your head also gave them differently shaped with huge amounts of phase, or
(technically the image is said to pinnae and ears adifferent timing, information just like they
have ' Iateralised') with atiny bass distance apart. Any transaural receive in real life or in binaural

"Out-of-phase"

In Out
phono phono
socket 0 socket
"In-phase"

Fig I. Phase Reversal Transformer is Sowter Miniature Bridging

Transformer type 3575 or similar
Transformer

14 HI- Fl WORLD OCTOBER 1991

 these simple tools
can turn this ad into afull colour
hi-fi brochure

When you're buying hi-fi Complete the coupon, pop it in the post and, before you

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Quality design, allied to simplicity of construction, is the key to our success. For example,
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 downmarket to players around the
hundred to one- hundred-and-fifty pound
mark
It is now perfectly possible to buy for
two hundred pounds aplayer of aquality
that would have cost twice as much afew
years ago. It's also possible to hear sounds
that would be cheap at half the price!
With that in mind, we picked on our
carefully selected half-dozen. Also, we
compared the current crop against the
winner of our CD comparison in the April
199 Iissue, the NAD 5425 (at the time of
this test, only the identical but remote
control-less 5420 was available). Six
months on, have there been any major
steps forward in the budget CD market?
We adopted adifferent methodology
for this group review. The Royal 'We' in
these pages isn't used out of genteel
politeness. Alan Sircam sat in on the
listening session, while Noel did the meas-
urements. Both Eric and Alan have quite
different systems at home - Alan's abox
loudspeaker user, but Eric's an electro-
static fan - and we wondered whether we
might fall out. We didn't! And just to give
grandma the acknowledgment she
deserves: she didn't die rich, but she died
solvent.

Recordings used:
The Jam: Compact Snap
(Polydor 821 712-2);
The Cult: Electric
(Beggars Banquet BEGA 80 CD);
Seal: Future Love EP
(ZTT Zang 11 CD),
Tracy Chapman: Tracy Chapman
(Elektra 960 774-2);
Echo and the Bunnymen: Ocean Rain
(WEA/Koroya 240 388-2)

compact collection
Eric Braithwaite tests six Compact Disc players

and finds a week's wages can land a bargain.

My grandmother, being athrifty Yorkshire- be temed the ' upper-budget' end of the Omette Coleman/Pat Metheny: Song X
woman, nad aguiding tenet about CD world. This area is the one that (Geffen 924096-2);
spending money. It was ' Never spend at attracts people moving up from amidi Cesar Franck: Three Chorals/Peter
one go more than you earn in aweek' system. Buye-s will happily spend such a Hurford
This wise saw is worth bearing in mind for sum of money, but not an amount that (Argo 41 I710-2);
this month's survey of six Compact Disc will frighten the bank manager. Inevitably, Stravinsky: Dumbarton Oaks/English
players. They range from the Philips the product has to be made to sell at a Chamber Orchestra, Colin Davis
CD6 I 8, at apenny under £ 170, to the low budget, and sometimes it's bound to (Decca 425 622-2);
Pioneer PD-7700 at £250. All of the show. Walton: Facade/Peggy Ashcroft, Jeremy
others sit afew pounds either side of the Only two or three years ago, almost Irons, London Sinfonietta, Ricardo Chailly
£200 barrier. That's the price bracket that any CD player at two hundred pounds (Decca 421 717-2);
relates comfortably to the average weekly practically came with ahealth warning. Schubert: Octet D803/Academy of Ancient
wage, so granny would have had no With afew noble exceptions, their sound Music
qualms about opening her purse for any could be characterised as brash and (L'Oiseau -Lyre 519-2);
of these players. brittle, with ascreamingly sharp treble; Harp Music of the Italian Renaissance/
Manufacturers are fighting hard in the listening could be painful. Today, that poor Andrew Lawrence- King
marketplace for their share of what might quality of sound has moved much further (Hypenon CDA 66229).

16
HI-F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991
Measured Performance
The XC-900 uses aPhilips Bitstream chip
(SAA-7350), just like the XC-700, with
which it has much in common. The '900 is
an improved '700 in fact, rather than a
completely different design. Our review
sample unfortunately suffered distortion,
as the analysis below shows. The spikes are
distortion products and quantisation noise,
giving the XC-900 asimilar measured per-
formance to the XC-700, tested in our July
I991 issue. The odd feature about this is the
fact that the SAA-7350 chip usually gives
somewhat better results, at least when
used properly. Istrongly suspect this player
has layout problems, Philips' true one- bit
system being more critical than three- and-
a- half bit systems. Distortion on low level
signals was higher than that of many players,
although little worse than the budget Phil-
ips CD6 I 8.

comparison review
Aiwa have given the upper echelons of Sound Quality
the frequency response characteristic a AIWA XC-900 Walton's Facade' began the listening
slight plateau lift, which is marginal in audi-
session. This recording became afavourite
bility. It is difficult to be adamant about it
affecting sound quality - but it may to some
£219.99 of ours, since it showed up any shortcom-
slight degree. Slight treble lift can add a ings in depth, imagery, timing and colora-
sheen to the sound, or even some glassi- The XC-900 sits on arung just above the tions in voice to boot. Inserted in the
ness. Only listening tests can determine budget XC-500 and '700 players, re- Aiwa, it gave us something of ashock
this. from the first squeak (and it did squeak!)
viewed in our July 1991 issue. The Philips
Noise was low, channel separation wide
equipped XC-700 in particular proved of the piccolo. Peggy Ashcroft's voice
and output healthy at 2.3V. There was little
in the way of high frequency distortion or good value - an act the 900 has to follow. seemed to plod rather than lift - much of
spurious high frequency outputs above 1-Fere, it is in the company of some stiff her marvellous rhythm and timing was
21kHz. The XC-900 looks much like the competition. subdued.
XC-700 in overall measured ability. Aiwa use alarge case with that most The Cult's drumkit was ill-defined and
recent piece of ingenuity from Japan - a the overall mix somewhat muddied, parts
Test Results moulded plastic fascia that all but perfectly of the mix receding. " It sounds as though
Frequency response 4Hz-20.9kHz mimics abrushed aluminium extrusion. I Ian Astbury's singing from way behind the
Distortion won't tell which costs the microphone," said Alan. In
-6dB .008 .008 most. There is aslight loss Omette Coleman's 'Song X',
-30dB .036 .03 of flatness and lack of the drumkit, albeit complex and
-60dB .9 .83 difficult for all but the very best
depth to the gloss of the
-90 41 44
plastic version, but it takes players to delineate, also
-90dB dithered 14 17
left right atrained and critical eye seemed amorphous. The
Separation
IkHz -103 - 108 to spot this sort of thing. saxophone playing was by no
10kHz -79 -93 Aiwa include atwenty means as raunchy as it could -
Noise -98dB button numerical keypad or should - be.
with emphasis -98dB We tumed next to Tracy
on the player, but this
Dynamic range 101dB Chapman, but found her voice
gets reduced to ten
Output 2.35V
buttons on the remote was too nasal. It was also
control, to make it recessed in asoundstage which
Frequency Response
manageable 1presume. did not give an impression of
The XC-900's front being particularly wide, and was
panel is not littered with limited very clearly by the outer
+03 facilities and it lacks some edges of the loudspeakers.
of the complexities of the A quick burst of harp failed
dB 0
Technics, but it does have to enthuse us much more. I
-0.5
afair range, all the same. thought it sounded synthesised
Amongst them is acalibration tone set to and Alan commented that if he hadn't
-8dB, which these days is abit low to known better he might have thought it
100 200 500 2k 5k 10k
show true peak levels. It does give agood was an electric lute! Peter Hurford's organ
62Hz I
k 25kHZ
idea of where to place OVU however. A recording showed the bass to have
Very slight plateau treble lift peak search facility will set the player to something of asquashy quality. All the
scan an entire disc at high speed and then pipes except the higher ones tended to
Distortion read out the level of the highest peak merge into one another in awelter of
0.3%
encountered in dB below full output. This sound which is not actually typical of this
commonly shows -2dB or thereabouts, recording.
6dB above the calibration tone. Good
cassette decks can just about cope with Summary
this over ashort period. This was acruder presentation than we
Remote control of volume is not fitted, would have expected, bearing in mind the
but there is an optical digital output. The success that Aiwa have had with the less
front panel has aheadphone output with expensive XC-700. But that player is
o
TEST DISTORTION HARMONICS 21 k its own volume control and alarge, blue some thirty pounds cheaper than the XC-
TONE I
k
fluorescent display that shows track 900. The higher price of the XC-900 is
Distortion spikes clearly visible number, time, index number and atrack not so easily justified, since ft offers little
c.alender. improvement.

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

 Measured Performance
The frequency response characteristic dis-
plays asmall rise in high frequency output,
seen below, which is possibly enough to be
audible as aslight emphasis of treble. This
can result in adivorced sounding high fre-
quency region, which compromises the sense
11:ENVAXX)
of cohesion that it is important to have in
music. Because of this likelihood, rising treble
— 00 coo • • • • - is a property best avoided in CD players
tes.mas and, these days, manufacturers are success-
ful in doing so. Even companies like Pioneer
«Li•••••••1M
and Philips seem to have got the message,
o first exploited by Cambridge and then by
Arcam. Kenwood have not engineered with
the wisdom of experience here.
Overall distortion levels were low right
through the dynamic range of the machine.
At - 30dB music level alow 0.007% distor-
tion was returned, asmall amount of third
harmonic being responsible. This can just be
seen as asmall blip at left in the distortion
KENWOOD DP-5030 as it turns. This is one of the best ways of
providing the facility.
analysis. At lower levels, resolution of the
signal proved effective on both channels and
£199.95 Sound Quality
good signal symmetry resulted in relatively
low distortion, especially in the presence of
The Kenwood, alas, was in need of alittle dither. Distortion on a - 90dB dithered sig-
Afthough conventional enough in basic more of the civilising influence that has nal measured 6%, a low value - if not the
style, the Kenwood is nicely detailed and been brought to bear on the sound of lowest.
neatly finished. It looks atouch sharper In all other areas the Kenwood meas-
many other £200-ish players over the last
ured well, but unusually low noise figures
and just abit better made than the others. few years. Music had asheen to it, bass
suggest muting at digital silence. They are
Use of areal aluminium extrusion for the was big but plummy and voices had a not atrue measure of noise.
front panel helps, giving asmooth, even metallic tinge. This was particularly
surface finish with adeep sheen. Some noticeable on the Tracy Chapman CD,
Test Results
visual interest has been added to the basic where her voice sounded thinner and
physical layout of buttons, display and disc Frequency response 4Hz-2IkHz
more pinched than it should. It seemed as
Distortion
drawer by the addition of ledges and though there was atrace of midband -6dB .005 . 006
grooves, to pick out the different areas. coloration, which 'hollowed out' the musi- -30dB .007 . 007
Underneath it all, the DP-5030 is conven- cians' surrounding acoustic. While there -60dB .7 .7
tionally made, differing little from the was an impression of depth, on closer -90 44 44
other players in this group. inspection this was vaguer in specific -90dB dithered 5 7
One reason the player itself looks Separation left right
details than we heard from some of the
1kHz -109 - 113
other players. IOkHz -84 - 88
Both soundstage and Noise -I 28dB
imaging were fair for the with emphasis -128dB
price, but the overall Dynamic range 105dB
impression was of an Output 2.06V

element of incoherence, as
though the strings holding
together any complex
textures were looser than Frequency Response
they could be. This was
particularly obvious when
playing both Echo and the
'QS
relatively unencumbered by facilities - Bunnymen and Omette Coleman. On the
twenty button keypad apart - is that many latter's 'Song X' CD, admittedly adifficult
have been confined to the remote control one to resolve, it took concentration to 05
unit This carries apeak search facility, tell what was going on or where. Music
track or selection repeat and A- Brepeat, generally took on something of aponder-
where any excerpt can be selected and ous feel. The overall tonal balance, while
100 200 500
repeated. The track-time display can be not as accurate as other players in this 62Hz
2k 5k 10k
I
k 25kHZ
toggled to show remaining track time or group managed, was not overly fierce or
disc time. Kenwood have apredilection unpleasant Alan said of the higher Rising treble
for flashy (literally) displays. Using peak frequencies: "There appears to be ashiny
Distortion
search, the machine finds the track band of treble - and the rest somewhere
03
conta.ning the highest peak, replays it below ft."
continuously for level setting purposes
before recording and sequentially flashes Summary
all the numerals of the calendar. All this The Kenwood lacked the smooth integra-
flashing makes it look like afruit machine. tion over the frequency band which we
Pressing Random play induces another fit found in nearly all the other players in this
of flashing from the calendar, this time group. Alone, perhaps it would not have
with the numbers flashing on and off in been so noticeable, but better overall o
pseudo-random sequence. control and an easier sound to listen to is TEST DISTORTION HARMONICS 2Ik
TONE I
k
Remote control of volume is carried available in the same price range from
out by amotorised volume control. A other manufacturers. Some third harmonic distortion
small red LED on the control knob flashes

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

 Measured Performance
MARANTZ CD-52 presence, rare in players at this level,
though we felt it was alittle harder than .rt
might have been.
The Marantz has a ruler flat frequency
response right up to 20kHz, as the analysis
£199.90 There wasn't agreat amount of true
shows. Marantz don't tend to be much depth, when compared to the reference.
worried about such matters, unlike Tech- It would appear that Marantz have taken a Vocals in The Cult's album were abit
nics and Meridian, for example. Such a
second look at their styling and have further back in the mix, but images were
characteristic does invariably result in an
decided that they could do better. Iwould extremely stable and an appropriately
even perceived tonal balance however,
which has its advantages. It tends to ensure agree. The radiused edges and full width 'dirty' sound prevailed. The elements of
that neither warmth nor brightness colour convex ridge of earlier models have been the various Rock mixes were clear,
music, both being minor inaccuracies. reduced in prominence, the display greatly defined and well-presented. In addition,
This is aBitstream player, but it uses an improved by increasing its visibility and there was perceptible and distinct 'air'
inexpensive grade of chip. Less accurate
some of the blandness removed by some around the performers.
than higher grades, measured distortion
ridges and depressions. The last is most Overall tonal qualities were excellent
was higher than that of many rivals in this
report and the analysis picture below clearly effectively used on the power button - a Feeling enthusiastic, we tried Omette
shows the spikes reaching 20kHz. Meas- big, square object with
ured level was not overly high all the same, the words Compact
at 0.028%. Distortion at this level is not high Disc Digital Audio
enough to be obvious, but it can just tinge
moulded into the front
music with the slightest of roughness or add
just asmall amount of muddle. Such things
face in the style of
are only discernible by long comparisons engraving.
though. Low level signals were resolved sat- Before, Iseem to
isfactorily. recall, Marantz used a
Channel separation was wide and un- garish blue fluorescent
wanted spurious outputs above 20kHz
display with unusually
minimal. Marantz have used effective filter-
ing. Iwas surprised at the amount of audio
small symbols on it.
band noise. It measured no less than -86dB, Now they have swung
suggesting use of an SAA732I/3 chip. Luck- round to big numerals, easily legible aT. a Coleman. For the first time in the test,
ily, at this level hiss does not become obvi- distance. Both track number and time are Coleman's sax sounded dynamic; while
ous: Compact Disc has alot of leeway in this more easily discerned as such than is the individual elements of the drumkit
area.
common on rival players. Marantz now were still not as separable as they could
The CD- 52 does not have the near
being an arm of Philips, the CD-52 has have been, we could recognise where the
perfect measured performance of the Tech-
nics, to name but one example, but it was FIS, or favourite track selection. This bits and pieces were! Pat Metheny's guitar
satisfactory. recognises discs and plays pre-selected was precisely placed and distinguishable.
tracks only. This is acruel CD, for it's complexly
Test Results
The main transport buttons have been stranded free jazz, and there's no 'tune' to
Frequency response 4Hz-2IkHz
increased slightly in size, now being hold on to. The Marantz portrayed the
Distortion
adequately large. They are well placed in performance successfully, making it
-6dB .006 . 005
-30dB .027 . 028 the most accessible position at top right of enjoyable.
-60dB .9 I.2 the fascia, falling to hand easily. The player 'Facade' sounded both sweet in tone
-90 28 31 has aten button keypad and so does the and realistic, with the instrumental timbres
-90dB dithered 9 II remote control unit The programme and the mutes on the brass all present
Separation left right
memory will store up to thirty tracks and and correct. Peggy Ashcroft has the ability
IkHz 109 108
can repeat one, many, or any number to 'swing' her voice, changing inflections
10kHz 85 88
Noise 86dB between selected points (A- B). and the rhythm line by line. While this
with emphasis 88dB The headphone output has avolume wasn't as clearly articulated as the best
Dynamic range 102dB control and an electrical digital output is players can manage, there was more than
Output 2.3V included on the rear panel. Fast search has enough to produce an enjoyable perform-
Frequency Response two speeds, which can be convenient ance.

Sound Quality Summary

We began with Jam's ' Down in the Tube Clear, clean and articulate, though lacking
05
Station at Midnight', and discovered that some depth, the Marantz is an honest
dB 0 this player had authentic, tight bass. player, if more analytical than would suit
Guitars were clean and voice had real some tastes.

100 200 500 2k 5k 10k

62Hz lk 25kHZ

Very flat frequency response

Distortion
03,

o
TEST DISTORTION HARMONICS
TONE I
k

Distortion spikes up to 20kHz

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

 Measured Performance
The frequency response of this player looks
peculiarly dated, with digital filter ripples
and aslowly falling high frequency output.
This used to be common some years back,
but nowadays something more closely ap-
proaching flatness is usually achieved. The
roll off is enough to ensure a complete
absence of treble sharpness, prominence or
glare, but it is not quite enough to produce
obvious dullness. In the engineering oía CD
player, or perhaps Ishould say the final
trimming of its subjective properties, when
such aprocess is indulged in, rolling down
upper treble by just asmall degree is gener-
ally a wise move. So no criticism of the
Philips is implied; rather the characteristic
suggests that Philips have made aconscious
decision to response- tailor for the sake of it.
Budget Bitstream usually throws up some

PHILIPS CD618 top right, where they fall easily to hand,

the CD618 proved easy to operate. At
small amounts of distortion, more than that
encountered from differentially operated

£169.99
twin- chips. This was the case with the
bottom right there is aheadphone socke:
CD6 18; there are just a few anharmonic
with asmall manual volume control. The distortion products, seen in the analysis
rear panel cames normal analogue signal below. Overall energy levels in distortion
This is abudget Bitstream player, right at outputs and an electrical digital output products was not high though, so 1would
the bottom of the price range, but not expect any undue coarseness from this
supplied with asimple remote control all source. The player did not resolve low level
the same. Philips keep the fascia simple, signals very effectively, a - 90dB dithered
Sound Quality
signal possessing around 30% distortion.
perhaps because they have to, but the This one had our feet tapping. Tracy However, this is acceptable at the price.
CD618 is no worse for ft all the same. A Chapman's CD had bass that went low
0- 10 keypad for instant track selection is very nicely, if atrifle warm and boomy. Ft
fitted to the player, as well as the remote Test Results
was, however well integrated with the rest
control. Iwas surprised to see lack of fast of the frequency range. This gave the Frequency response 4Hz-20.6kHz
search or programming on the RD6830 Distortion
feeling that the Philips had power and
-6dB .004 . 004
remote control handset. This is where push behind the music-making. It was not -30dB .03 . 02
cost cutting does become noticeable. The perhaps uftra-dynamic, but more than -60dB .85 1. I
player itself has two speed search in- acceptable. The mid and upper ranges -90 29 35
were tuneful, clear and -90dB dithered 28 30
Separation left right
articulate.
IkHz 91 93
"This is agood,
10kHz 87 92
easy sound to listen to, ' Noise 97dB
said Alan. " No quirks or with emphasis 100dB
quiddities," Dynamic range 100dB
Iadded. Output 2.07V
The Cult's CD had
good depth, if slightly
shallower than the
Marantz, but the overall Frequency Response
presentation could only
be described as bouncy.
It was difficult to believe, but both pairs
cluded, and ft will store up to twenty of feet moved to Omette Coleman. The •05

tracks in the memory. Repeat of asingle sax play.ng was suitably fierce, with real dB 0
track or aselection of tracks is possible, as intonation and atangible feel of both
usual, and so is repeat between user Coleman and the band working hard.
selected points (A-B repeat). Some parts of the drumkit seemed alittle
What this player lacks is apeak search dulled and the bass notes indistinct, but it
facility, now to be seen on the more was easy to follow the instruments and 100 200 AA 500 2k 5k 10k
62Hz
expensive Japanese models and the their musical strands. This is no mean feat
I
k 25kH/

Marantz (now an arm of Philips). It does on this recording. Treble rolls off
not have remote control of volume or any The last three CDs into the drawer
other facility to aid tape recording, such as began to show up aslightly 'soft' treble. Distortion

I.
Edit. None of these facilities are essential; Woodwind in Facade' was accurate and
whether they are useful depends upon the rhythm and timing of Peggy Ashcroft's
individual user requirements. voice made us sit up and take notice.
The blue fluorescent display panel has Stravinsky's ' Dumbarton Oaks' displayed
very large numerals showing track number the amb:ence of the venue unmistakeably.
and elapsed track time. A time display
option allows remaining track and disc Summary
time to be shown as well. Philips include a There is acertain fakery in reproducing
15 track disc calendar, which shows music with awarm bass and asoft treble, TEST DISTORTION HARMONICS 2I
k
graph.caly how many tracks are left on a but ft does make the Philips both 'lis- TONE 1
k

disc. The whole display was one of the tenable' and 'expressive.' We weren't SUrE' Small amounts of distortion visible
clearest and most legible in the group. which of us said which word; they came
With large main transport buttons at out together!

20
HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991
 comparison review
Sound Quality
Measured Performance PIONEER PD-7700 The Pioneer made agood impression
from the beginning. Classical brass and
It is not possible to measure jitter on the
analogue output of a CD player, so the Typically £250 strings were well rounded, but somewhat
effect of the turntable cannot be directly thin. Although the oboe and clarinet in
quantified. However, Pioneer always em- Schubert's Octet were easily distinguish-
Pioneer have captured imaginations by the
ploy atechnology that measures well in a
use of aturntable within aCD player. It able, the authentic' strings of the Acad-
conventional sense, like Technics, so it was
no surprise that the PD-7700 produced no doesn't have apickup ami however, nor emy of Ancient Music, dry at the best of
measurable distortion at the - 30dB test belt drive. ht does mimic LP in one sense times, sounded definitely lean. Walton's
level. The distortion analysis below shows though, by supporting adisc across its 'Facade' showed the voices to be atrifle
this as an absence of spikes along the smooth entire surface area in order to prevent more lightweight than they ought to be,
noise floor. This standard of performance but they were well placed in the acoustic.
vibration and resuhtant jitter of the digital
was maintained at all signal levels, right
signal. This does require owners to insert Despite atouch of jangliness in the upper
down to -90dB. In the presence of dither,
distortion at -90dB falls from 30% to 2.5%, discs 'upside down', so that the label side treble, the overall presentation was both
the latter being almost as low as possible. So rests on the black rubber mat of the delicate and refined.
the PD-7700 is a linear, low distortion turntable (no, we didn't try afelt mat). Perhaps too much so: aquick check
design. This makes the shiny reflective surface against the reference on Tracy Chapman's
A small downturn in the treble end of eponymous disc showed that though the
face upward which, if you insert CDs in
the frequency response trace, clearly visible
their cases the usual way around (shiny bass was controlled, it wasn't as tight as
in the analysis below, usually results in a
certain smoothness of treble character and face down) leads to ajuggling act
an absence of even the slightest form of before insertion. It's aproblem
glare or feeling of detachment. Filtering easily solved by reversing all the
above 21 kHz was extremely good, remov-
ing unwanted supersonic products effec-
CDs in their cases of course. I. ulPiî
Keen to show buyers the
tively. There was little in the way of measur-
wonder of aCD on aturntable
I. I. I
, Ill
able rubbish put out by this player. The
player almost certainly muted at digital si- and, perhaps, to add an analogue I. I:
lence, since no output noise was measur- feel to the player, Pioneer equip
Ii'I.I Ii 14 I. I. ui
able. That's known as cheating! 1suspect the disc drawer with asmall, clear
that Pioneer might be trying to hide some window through which the
supersonic noise, since low bit digital to
spinning platter can be seen. This is
analogue conversion systems are often noisy.
to perhaps ensure incredulous owners possible dud Lould even be plurni .ily
that turntables can exist within CD payers times. Other recordings showed the mid-
Test Results and that the whole scheme is not asham! band to be light, but clean and airy. Our
Frequency response 4Hz-20.8kHz Above the peculiarly shaped disc only quibble was that classical music
Distortion drawer, which reminded me of the prow particularly sounded subdued. While tonal
-6dB .004 .004 balance was never in question, we never
of aGreek trireme, sits ablue fluorescent
-30dB .005 .005
display panel, showing track number, time, became as involved in the music as we
-60dB .58 .42
-90 31 29 index number and track calendar. The nu- would have liked to have been. Inner
-90dB dithered 2.5 2.3 merals were on the small side for distant detail was very good for the price range,
Separation left right viewing. To its right lie no fewer than but the soundstage was shallower than
I
kHz -105 -107 twenty track number buttons, afeature ideal. This turned out to be common
I
OkHz -79 -82 among our batch of players. The overall
also to be found on the remote control
Noise -1 I 8dB
unit. Like many of the others, this player impression was one of being 'Civilised' in
with emphasis -I 26dB
Dynamic range I 08dB will scan adisc for the highest peak. The the good sense of the word.
Output I.96V strength is not noted but the excerpt at
which it occurred is replayed repeatedly Summary
until stopped, allowing record level to be This player has both positive and negative
Frequency Response set. Remote control of volume is pro- attributes about it. If the Pioneer is used
vided, using an electronic attenuator, but as apalliative, to settle down araucous
an alternative fixed output is not provided. system, its calming influence will be well
An optical digital output is fitted. received. In more conventional surround-
+0.5
ings, however, the Pioneer's dry, polite
dB 0
nature may prove too urbane.
-0.5

100 200 500 2k 5k 10k

62Hz I
k 25kHZ

Slight treble fall

Distortion
0.3%

o
TEST DISTORTION HARMONICS 2Ik
TONE I
k

No distortion

HI- Fl WORLD OCTOBER 1991 2

 Measured Performance
This machine has avery flat frequency re-
sponse, as the analysis below shows. It
extends from 4Hz right up to 21 kHz, before
dropping away rapidly. This gives the player
an even tonal balance.
Mockunticui 001011101 OINC PLATO11 KAM.
Technics use a single MN6474 digital
a.nc.‘ OUTPUT convertor chip which, like the Philips
••••01
04. 01. 0.Q-soi' SAA7350, configures two DACs per chan-
ji1111111111 .
111111011plit
Ii«1«.•••••
nel in distortion- reducing differential mode,
making four in all. This accounts for the
abbreviation MASH on the drawer front,
I 7. IZZI"="" and the legend 4DAC below. The outcome
Of Atanc
of this is lower distortion than any other
player in the group - and very low distortion
by general CD standards. The analysis shows
that harmonics were not detectable at -
30dB music level from adisc. At other music
levels, distortion was commensurately low
in comparison to other players, especially

TECHNICS panel headphone output has asmall

manual volume control. An optical digital
when the signal was dithered. The worst
case result was then just 1.7% at -90dB.

SL-PG400A output is provided at rear, plus afixed Channel separation was wide in the mid-
band, but deteriorated by an unusual amount
analogue output. Remote control oe
at high frequencies. However, at -62dB
£179.95 volume is not provided.
The player is well finished, but build
worst case, it was still far greater than that
from cassette and LP; stereo imaging was
quality was no better than usual. Some not compromised. There was little in the
Technics products long ago settled into a hollowness in the case and flimsiness in way of unwanted outputs above 20kHz,
certain house style. Ft isn't radical, but it is the disc drawer are obvious. Technics use showing that Technics use effective filters.
distinctive enough to distinguish them Noise was very low too.
Japanese MASH low-bit technology to
from the rest. A gunmetal grey finish of minimise distortion. Measured perform-
lighter hue than the blacks normally used ance was good, with the exception of Test Results
helps in this regard, added to which is a some crosstalk at high frequencies. Frequency response 4Hz-2IkHz
display of pale blue, with red numerals. Distortion
And the display has asurprise feature of Sound Quality -6dB . 006 .006
great interest to tape enthusiasts: amusic The piccolo at the beginning of Watton's -30dB .004 .004
-60dB . 36 .37
level display. It's probably included to Facade frightened us for amoment by
-90 23 22
capture the attention of buyers en masse, being sharp and piercing, more than ii. -90dB dithered 1.7 1.7
but in this instance the flickering lights do should be, but the mid-band soon showed Separation left right
have apurpose. They inform of peak up as both sweet and gentle. Voices were IkHz -99 -101
alittle laid back, but Peggy IOkHz - 62 -62
Noise - 107dB
Ashcroft's voice retained all its
with emphasis -I1I dB
wide variety of inflection and Dynamic range 109dB
intonation The brass instruments Output 2.05V
were definitely using mutes,
though this could have been more
obvious. The Decca recording of Frequency Response
Stravinsky's Dumbarton Oaks
came across well, with afair grip
on dynamics, though it was +05
levels likely to be encountered when obvious from the double basses and cellos
recording, as well as showing what level that bass response was lightweight.
d13U

exists on the CD itself. To enhance the Moving over to the rock programme, 0.5
-

usefulness of this for recording, aclever Seal's Future Love Paradise' also turned
peak detection system has been included. out to be lacking in life. While the bass
Press abutton marked Peak Search and was quite well defined, if abit overblown, 100 200 SOO 2k 5k 10k
the player will scan adisc at high speed to there was no power behind it. This made 62Hz 1k 25kHZ

find the maximum level encounterec. It tracks from The Cult lack 'graunch' - Very flat frequency response
then goes back to the point where the "Makes 'em souno like Simon and
peak occurred and replays it continuously Garfunkel", intoned the Neanderthal
in Repeat A- Bmode. It's apretty neat Distortion
Sircom. Tracy Chapman's CD showed
0.3%
trick, and useful too. bass to be lagging - as though it popped
The display panel also shows track up out of ahole, realised it was tardy, and
number, track time and index number then put its head down again to wait for
simultaneously, plus a 'calendar' of tracks the next time. That mid-range was very
remaining to be played. Beneath lies a clean and tidy, though; it's apity that
horizontal row of buttons for track music like Echo and the Bunnymen's
number selection, repeated on the 'Seven Seas' lacked so much in terms of
remote control unit of course. Over to punch and vibrancy. o
the right lie the programming buttons, TEST DISTORTION HARMONICS 2Ik
which relate to atwenty track programme Summary TONE I
k

memory. Technics seem to have placed While the facilities are interesting and No distortion at - 30dB
more emphasis on recording from CD useful, the Technics' inability to drive
though, including ahost of functions for music hard overshadowed its delightful
assessing track allotment per tape side, mid-band performance, and in the end
assessed by total playing time. The front failed to keep our attention on the music.

22 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

CONCLUSION

Inevitably, agroup test of this kind turns

into acontest. On this occasion there was
one clear winner, avery close runner-up
and two trailing behind well after the tape
had been broken.
We took no account of the price of
these CD players - in fact we didn't even
ask the manufacturers - until the listening
session was over. Nor did we do a 'bells
and whistles' count This was so that we
wouldn't be swayed by any artificial value-
for money considerations and could
concentrate on sound quality alone.
When CD players are displayed on the
shelves in the shop, arange of facilities
suited to the buyer's purposes is obviously 'Drawer Open/Close'. Since you have to years ago. The best that could be said for
going to sway the final decision. One walk over to the player to put in and take them was - they played discs. Both mid-
extremely useful adjunct which even the out adisc anyway, Ican't help but feel this range and bass were hollow, without real
cheapest player possessed was aremote is unnecessary frippery, adding one more substance; the soundstage was neither
control. This provision is market-led' as button to the clutter. Like any new toy, particularly wide, detailed nor defined.
the advertising men would have it It the fun of seeing the drawer open and Without being as offensive as the older
seems that we're all becoming lazier, close from adistance wears off quite players at this price level ("as long as you
losing the use of our legs, or we've rapidly. don't like listening to harp or piccolo," said
become so used to controlling so much in The remotes offer all the available Alan) the XC-900 was simply unrefined.
the home from the comfort of our seats facilities and everyone except Phil ps Mid-range coloration also put the
that aremote is indispensable. include the natty new ' peak search' facility Kenwood DP-5030 out of the running in
It is worth saying aword or two about to aid home taping. The Marantz and this company. " Not vexatious," Alan
the remote handsets. These days it's not Philips remote control handsets are most commented about its overall character,
uncommon to end up with four or five easily distinguished within this batch, but but the glassy, metallic sheen to the upper
lurking down the back of the seat, while curiously the Marantz, in common with mid also reminded us unfavourably of past
some poor soul tries to switch the the Kenwood, omits one piece of identifi- budget players, though it was not as fierce.
television to Channel Four with the cation: neither has aCompact Disc logo While tonal colours were not outra-
control that belongs to the cassette on it Programming buttons on the geously altered, this player's overall
player. It does help if they are distinguish- Marantz handset are set into grooves, diffuseness made it somewhat uninterest-
able from one another. The Aiwa, which is auseful application of ergonom- ing. It's ability to turn itself into afruit
Kenwood, Pioneer and Technics controls ics. The user's fingers are less likely to slip machine when Random Play was selected
were the usual black colour, oblong, and from one button to another. The Philips did add interest, though it did nothing for
palm-size, with the normal plethora of control, finished in grey instead of the tie sound quality.
small buttons. All grouped the most used pervasive black, is easily the simplest, but
functions together below the program- the player is also the cheapest of the In Front
ming buttons. group wi- th fewer facilities than the others. In front of the Kenwood was the Technics
To my mind Philips remote handset is the SL-PG400A. Its most striking quality was
Quibbles most elegant. Being slimmer and gently the sweetness of the mid-range and
There are two quibbles here. Pioneer and curved, it frts easily into the palm and, treble. This was aplayer which treated
Kenwood both provide numerical keys up cleverly, ' Previous' and ' Next' buttons are music gently, and gained our respect in
to twenty for programming track replay, arrow-shaped, instead of using cassette this regard. In some areas, such as inner
with a ' Plus' or ' Greater Than' button for deck type symbols like the others. detail and definition, it was up with the
higher track numbers. Philips and Marantz In the sound quality stakes, bringing up best and could equal the front-runners. It
offer asimple calculator-style keypad the rear were the Aiwa XC-900 and the did nothing wrong - except in its rather
which Ithink makes entering double figure Kenwood DP-5030 players. The Aiwa was anaemic bass which drained the punch
tracks easier and keeps the remote adisappointment, especially as it uses the and life out of performances. " It can't put
relatively uncluttered. same chip as the XC-700. It was reminis- tie boot in where it's needed," Isaid in
The second quibble is the provision of cent of the £200 players of two or th-ee our original listening notes. This would not
necessarily be adisadvantage, if carefully
matched with the rest of the system, but
care would be needed. We were both
much taken with the tape level and CD
peak-level bar meters, which kept us
amused in the way computer games do,
and could certainly come in handy for
(sssh!) home taping.
Firmly in the middle was aplayer
whose weaknesses were also, paradoxi-
cally, its strengths - the Pioneer PD-7700.
This is the player that pokes atoe into the
realm of the LP - its disc drawer is
ecuipped with aturntable! The sound was
both delicate and refined, and came close
to the top players. Bass, though well
controlled, did turn alittle plummy low

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

 "Here is aplayer which offers
superlative styling, virtually
unbeatable sound quality and is
something of abargain.., without
doubt the finest sounding CD
transport Ihave yet tried"
Chris Frankland. Hi Fi Review, Dec ' 90.

Hear here

MERIDIAN

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THE BIG NAME FOR HI-FI 6.1 VIDEO
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 comparison review
down, but this would not be aproblem in
aprice context related to the cost of the
player. Lean, dry and civilised (in the good
sense of the word rather than the
pejorative) summarises the sound. While
we felt its leanness lessened its ability to
bring music to life, this is aplayer that
would suit many buyers.
Top two in the ranking were the
Marantz CD-52 and Philips CD6I8. After
some discussion, we agreed in marginally
preferring the Philips. Civilised, without
being too restrained, it was the more
listenable - or more musical' to use a
much abused word. Where the Marantz
scored was in better, tighter, bass control:
the Philips was atrifle woolly, and could
come close to losing its grasp. Its upper
treble was softer, too; whereas the
Marantz would be described as 'analytical',
not masking any of its mistakes, the Philips
was warm and consequently, we thought, BACK TO THE NAD
more expressive.
The choice between these two players Back in April this year, we conducted a Compared with the best two - the
is down to personal preference - and similar test of six players in the same once Marantz and the Philips - it lacked life and
price. To our surprise, the Philips CD6 18 range. There were two broad conclusions thrust. Polite, but not invigorating. In
was the cheapest of the whole group, so then, but time has moved on and over- today's ranking ft would be on apar with
the boys and girls in Eindhoven deserve taken them. " Six weeks," someone the Pioneer, though for somewhat
congratulation for what they have wearing aGannex raincoat said, " is along different reasons. The PD-7700 portrayed
achieved. time in politics." S.xmonths is along time the depth and scope of the sound stage
in CD player design! with more delicacy and precision, for
One-bit processing, we said then, isn't instance. It is £80 cheaper, though, but is
Reference system used: the panacea 'or the cheaper player it was overtaken by the Philips CD618 at exactly
Arcam Delta 170 CD transport with often claimed to be; for some companies, the same price, and the Marantz at alittle
Deltec PDM-ONE Series II digital- it still isn't, but both Marantz and Philips under thirty pounds more.
analogue convertor. Deltec DSP-50S pre- have made asuccess of it this time. It is Both these machines had greater
amplifier, our own custom active cross- becoming easier to lay your hands on a strengths, though again different ones,
over/equalisation network driving modi- good player under three hundred pounds than the NAD. The Marantz, though
fied Quad ESL-63's via Deltec's DPA-50S than it was then. perhaps less subtle in fine detail, was more
power amplifier and Celestion's SL-6000 In April, it was the NAD 5425 which involving and 'musicianly'. The NAD was
sub-woofers via Audiolab's 8000M came ou T. the best of the bunch. We laid-back alittle too far by comparison.
monoblock amplifiers. Audioquest Topaz slotted its brother, the 5420, into this The Philips CD6 I 8, undoubted star this
interconnect, Deltec pre/power intercon- month's batch to see how it fared now. month, was aparty-goer compared to a
nect, Deltec loudspeaker cable, Monster The two players are in fact identical - the wine taster. Perhaps this is why we liked it
Cable for the sub-woofer • difference in numoenng is to do with the so much! •
5425 being supplied with aremote.

Measured Performance Test Results

Frequency response 4Hz-20.9kHz Separation left right

The 5240 uses Japanese MASH technology,
IkHz -115 -112
which is effective in reducing distortion to a
Distortion IOkHz -84 -92
minimum. The distortion analysis shows an
absence of distortion spikes and the measured -6dB .005 .005
levels in the test results compare well with -30dB .004 .004 Noise 106dB
those of the other machines. So the 5420 is right -60dB .27 .27 with emphasis 110dB
up with the best in this sensitive area. -90 29 29
Much like Arcam, NAD tailor the top end -90dB dithered 5 4.5 Dynamic range 110dB
response of their players to roll down slightly. Output 2.15V
This can be seen in the frequency response
analysis. Such an artifice invariably results in
softened out upper treble. Such players sound Frequency Response Distortion
'smooth', as it were, avoiding any likelihood of
0.3% I
treble sharpness. If ere is away to err, this is it.
Even Marantz and Philips use the little bit of
response tweaking to their benefit now.
+0.5
Separation between the stereo channels
was well maintained right across the audio band. dB 0
Noise was very low and output normal at 2.15
-0.5
volts. Effective filtering above 2IkHz ensures
that little in the way of unwanted rubbish gets
through to the outer world.
0
By current standards, the NAD 5420 re- oo 2oo. 500 2k 5k 10k TEST DISTORTION HARMONICS 2Ik
mains awell engineered player, fully up to the 62Hz I
k 25kHZ TONE I
k
best of the competition in terms of measured
performance. Slight treble roll off. No visible distortion harmonics

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

25 _
er
 a
kai's revamped GX-95 Mk II
is amammoth deck, repre-
sentative of old seventies
designs, with angular styling and kitsch
legends. It uses acomplex dual
capstan transport, has three heads
and all the necessary features for
serious recordists for £399.99. I
suppose the cynical could say " So
what? Denon make cheaper dual
capstan types with all these features."
They do, but the Akai has afinely
honed transport of asort more
commonly found on decks costing far
more. It is meant to reach the very
highest standards - and that is how I
judged it.
The cassette compartment pales
into insignificance against the great
slab of afront panel. Around it are
clustered ahost of legends - including
agold plated 'Super GX' badge. This
refers to Akai's own glass crystal
ferrite head, aunique feature of Akai
decks. All other manufacturers,
except Nakamichi with their more
expensive models, now buy in heads
from outside suppliers like Canon and
TDK. Making their own gives Akai the (because for tape buffs that means left/right channel ferric ad,ustment
potential to pull ahead, assuming their 'Serious') the record and replay heads potentiometers that affect chrome
Akai make their technology is at least as good as are therefore clustered together (sia- and metal as well, so identical results
own dual capstan everyone else's of course. The glass mesed) in asingle block, but not only can be achieved on both channels.
transport crystal ferrite head is so resistant to do Akai put in aspacer, they leave an The review sample was perfect in this
mechanism, wear, Akai give it aten year guaran- air gap too. The curious and suspi- respect. Chrome ard metal adjusters
shown here. tee. cious can therefore see that the are fitted too, so the median (zero
At top is the reel Next to the GX badge there is a heads are disc rete - and there will be setting) level of the front user bias
motor and to its legend: Discrete 3 Head. This signals no argument about it! control can be altered. Dedicated
right, the that Akai are aiming to enter Naka- So what's the big deal? Discrete tape fiends or frustrated recording
actuator motor. michi territory. As yet they have heads potentially offer the highest engineers may be interested to know
The direct drive decided not to keep the record and level of performance. They do not that all necessary calibration levels for
motor is not replay heads completely separate, like have to be miniaturised, because by OVU, record gain, etc are available
visible. Nakamichi. Unwilling to copy, they being spaced apart they have plenty internally, and record gain (to
compromise. In order to of room. Having to squeeze both compensate for differing tape
be able to use the units into asingle, size limited location sensitivities) is also brought out to the
label ' Discrete as Akai do compromises this benefit: front panel in auser cont-ol. Icould
3 Head' the heads overloaded at avery low see no record equalisation adjus7.-
level. ment though, but this is very rarely
The external bias adjuster works offered on any recorder - even
effectively with metal tape, as Nakarnichis.
well as chromes and Akai offer users avariety of serious
ferries. Internally, features or the GX-95 II. It does have
there are indi- alogic controlled transport. This can
vidual be put into record whilst playing, a
technique known as 'punch-in
recording'. User adjustable sensitivity
is fitted, together with a
calibration system that is
very easy to use. This
applies to the user adjust-
able bias system as well.
Dolby Band C roise
reduction systems are fitted,
and Dolby HX PRO
overload headroom
extension. For some curious
reason, Akai make this
switchable and awarning flag
has been added to the
fluorescent display to inforrr
onlookers. HX PRO is rarely
made switchable like this,
Decause there is little point. It
raises treble overload by a
small but useful degree, but

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

 record so high onto premium grade the old Japanese sandard, which did
metals like TDK MA-XG (+ 10) for roll off in such amanner instead of
example. that Dolby is not really the IEC Standard, so that they would
needed; hiss is barely audible. This play our prerecorded tapes without
was far from the case with the Akai. dullness. It may just be that the GX-
All 1can say in Akai's mitigation is that 95 II is made in such small quantities
the GX head on their lesser GX-52, that Akai are not prepared to
now discontinued, managed + 5.5dB - Europeanise its replay characteristics.
avery high figure.1 suspect that the Other facilities Ihave not yet men-
discrete arrangement of the GX-95 II tioned are aswitchable MPX filter, a
introduces problems. volume control for headphones and
The transport is also one of Akai's automatic switching from tape to
own, adual capstan type with direct source and back, which is very
drive to the main capstan. The back- convenient. While we're totting up a
tension capstan is belt driven from score for the convenience factor, the
the main capstan flywheel, acommon GX-95 Mk11 comes with one of the
arrangement that is usually successful. best infra-red remote controls I've
In addition to the capstan motor seen. This duplicates most of the
there is aseparate reel motor and a control functions.
servo motor to pull and push levers Another great convenience
around. The whole works smoothly pioneered by Akai is the powered
enough, if not as silkily as aNaka- cassette lid, also operable from the
michi. Iwas surprised to see that the remote. It closes automatically when
usual access holes for azimuth and any transport function is selected. The
head height on the cassette lid were cassette has only to be dropped in
actually marked as such, possibly and acommand made. The door will
tempting users to experiment close by itself and the machine will
then start, as commanded. NK

Sound Quality

heading for The listening session began with pre-

recorded tapes. The immediate
impression of arecording of Martin
Best and his medieval ensemble was
that agood part of the music

the heights
sounded decidedly muffled. By and
large, pre-recorded tapes sounded, in
terms of depth, precision of imagery,
space around the instruments and
tonality, almost up with the best - but
with aserious reservation. The flute
in aVivaldi sonata lacked the absolute
Alkai's GX-95 Mk Il cassette deck, with three heads
clarity and purity of sound it ought to
and every facility for serious recording, should reach have had, as though it had become a
relative of the clarinet, albeit several
the height of performance. Noel Keywood checks it out times removed. While the plucked
cello and double-bass strings were
and Eric Braithwaite listens. well positioned, and quite realistic, the
ambience of the studio appeared to
sound alittle hollower than normal.
When it came to other recordings,
affects nothing else. As Iexplain in more detail in the it was obvious that the treble
Talking about the display panel Measured Performance section, the response on pre-recorded tapes fell
reminds me that it also shows tape transport works beautifully. It is agem markedly. Brass in Mussorgsky's
type, an automatic sensing system of amechanism, almost matching the 'Pictures at an Exhibition' lacked edge
being used. A long record level very best from Nakamichi and Revox. and bite, with the upper strings
indicator reaches from -40 to + 10, Unfortunately, this deck is let down sounding resiny. This DG tape is an
with good resolution around the zero by its head, as 1have already ex- exciting performance, but on this Akai
point However - ,the suggested peak plained - and by inaccurate replay it fell rather flat; yet the soundstage
record level is an unusuaky high figure. equalisation which 1have yet to was definitely three-dimensional. The
And this is where aserious weakness explain. very subtle Chandos recording of
in the Akai's performance showed up. The replay amplifiers must be Vaughan Williams' Norfolk Rhapsody
The head was surprisingly limited in correctly equalised if prerecorded showed the oboe to sound too
the maximum level it could get onto tapes are to be played properly, and 'round' and the GX-95 failed to bring
tape, no better than abudget deck in if standardised and, therefore, up the glorious tuttis. The violins
the £ 100 league. We tested asecond compatible recordings are to be sounded rather muddled when the
sample and it gave similar results. made. Tests showed that there was strings came in.
Record levels were a'so limited with insufficient high frequency gain in the Voices fared worse. Tina Turner in
ferric and chrome tapes. This is a replay amplifiers, resulting in dull 'Break Every Rule' sounded as though
major flaw in the performance of the treble from pre-recorded tapes. Head the mic had been placed in adamped
GX-95 azimuth had been perfectly set, so no cocoa tin, though, again, the studio
Low recording levels mean improvement was available here. I ambience was well caught, and it was
reduced dynamic range and greater suspect that the GX-95 II replay possible, which is rare with acassette
audibility of hiss. A top Nakamichi will equalisation has been optimised to deck, to 'see into' the mix. The bass

1-11-F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991 27

 It's KEF's thirtieth birthday this output which is said to be 1I 2dB signal going through the loudspeak-
month. To celebrate the event, they suggests that they go very loud. ers, which were wired out of phase
have launched anew addition to Nothing in my listening tests sug- and firing into each other. This
their Reference Series, the £995 gested otherwise (see Measured Per- cancels out as much volume as
R103/4. The current Reference formance). possible, while still allowing the
range, from the small RI01/2 up to KEF provide an excellent instruc- loudspeaker to cook properly.
the massive RI05/3, all show the tion book. It covers every eventuality To determine their abilities Iused
maturity that the company has that the prospective loudspeaker my normal Pink Triangle Anniversary,
reached. A combination of solid owner should need to know about with SME's Model V pick-up ami and
research and development, com- including placement, biwiring, bi- both Roksan's Corus Black and
bined with the admirable build quality amplification and the use of specialist Goldring's Excel cartridges. Compact
of these loudspeakers has created cables. In addition, the manual is Disc was Arcam's Delta 70.3 player.
products that some consider to be Amplification used was an EAR G88
the best in their field. preamp. and EAR549 monoblock
KEF's research ethic has brought
about many changes in the field of
Imagery and power amp. combination (valve and
200watts) and Alchemist Product's
loudspeaker design. Their current
Uni - Q drive unit is no exception.
detail are these Freya pre-amplifier/prototype phono
stage together with Genesis
This is essentially two drive units
housed within the same loudspeaker
loudspeakers' monoblock power amps (see test in
this issue). Cabling was acombina-
frame. As such, the sound appears to
radiate from asingle, or 'point'
strongest points, tion of Furukawa and Audio Note
Silver. A pair of ProAc Studio IMk II
source. This is made possible by use
of aNeodymium-Iron- Boron magnet
combined with the and Audio Note AN-Jloudspeakers
(silver wired and on Huygens stands)
alloy, said to have ten times the
energy product of conventional
ability to play very were used for comparison. Itried
briefly to use my Audio Innovations
ferrite. It allows asmaller magnet to
be used, which can sit inside the
loud. First Audio power amplifier with the
RI03/4, but the marriage was not a
voice coil of the bass unit happy one. Likely reasons are
To add true low frequency professionally laid out and presented, proferred in the Measured Perform-
response to the loudspeaker, two as befits one of Britain's largest ance section, but suffice it to say that
150mm units are used in adirect- loudspeaker manufacturers. the system did not work as well as I
coupled cavity, linked together by a The loudspeaker itself is well would have hoped.
force-cancelling rod. The lower finished. Our sample was in rose- That aside, the KEF RI03/4
frequencies are radiated through a wood, although other veneers are proved to be arefined, stable and
port directly below the Uni - Q unit. also available, with nicely appointed detailed performer. The most
In addition, there is also an terminals and an ingenious grille. This interesting area about it was that the
optional active low-bass equaliser, has amagnet fitted to the front, more care you put into system
known as the KUBE (KEF User- making removal adoddle. In all, the matching, the greater the results.

forward reference
KEF move forward with a new Reference loudspeaker, the RI03/4.

Alan Sircom reviews it.

variable Bass Equaliser) 200. Used RI03/4 looks sleek and refined, Once run in, the loudspeakers sound
between pre- and power-amplifiers, especially as it is afloor-standing good, given components of asimilar
the KUBE 200 is said to extend the model. quality, and agood sound is possible
RI 03/4's bass response to 20Hz At the base of the loudspeaker almost as soon as the loudspeakers
(-6dB), as well as equalising the loud- are four spikes, held within black are roughly positioned. Careful
speaker to suit individual tastes and plastic feet for ease of positioning. placing, along with judicious cabling
room settings. Unfortunately, we Once the loudspeakers are in their and system matching, will bring
were unable to test the KUBE 200 optimum position, the plastic feet are enormous advances in the quality of
until after the bulk of the listening tightened, which also tightens the the overall sound.
session had been completed, so the spikes. After this, the feet can be Even when poorly matched and
results here are without the KUBE in removed to expose the spikes. It's a set up, the Reference I03/4's
place. good system, but it does mean that showed signs of greatness. Their
With or without the KUBE 200, they are not as adjustable as possible. imagery was always exemplary, with
the loudspeaker is quoted as having a KEF are supposed to be looking into awide and deep soundstage produc-
sensitivity of 91dB. This means that fitting fully adjustable ones in the near ing stable images that demarcate
the RI03/4 is quite asensitive beast, future, which would be useful. well. Imagery and detail are these
which matches amplifiers from 50- Idid attempt to run the loud- loudspeakers' strongest points,
200w into its four ohm load. This speakers in fully by leaving aCom- combined with the ability to play
figure, combined with amaximum pact Disc constantly on repeat with a very loud.
30
HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991
 In the mid-band,
the KEF's were
outstanding,
resolving the
slightest differences
in tonal colours
between
instruments with
finesse and ease.

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 31

 This cutaway of portrayed them every bit as well as
the 103/4 shows the source and amplifier would allow.
the hidden bass On ' Everything But You' from Duke
units and the Ellington's Unknown Sessions LP, the
'coupled cavity' instruments took on their own
loading used with distinct tonal entities, where some
them. Each of the lesser loudspeakers meld the instru-
two drive units has ments together.
a sealed chamber This ties in with the loudspeakers'
behind it. They fire resolution of detail and dynamic
into a shared contrasts, both of which were equally
chamber in the superb. They played everything that
middle of the was put before them with clarity, not
cabinet and this getting in the least bit scared when
exhausts to the the music became difficult or had
outer world
through a large
diameter port on
the front baffle.
When the upper the KEF 103/4
drive unit cone
moves down, the proved to be a
lower one moves
up, so compressing refined, stable and
the air in the
central chamber. A detailed performer
steel coupling rod
ties the drive unit
frames together,
to oppose reactive
great swings from loud to soft.
forces.
Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances,
Exposed to the
especially when played through the
outer world is the
Alchemist amplifiers, had adynamic
Uni-
Q drive unit
range that few loudspeakers can
with its inbuilt
match, but were also adept at
tweeter that fires
reproducing every subtle nuance that
through the centre
the superb analogue Athena record-
of the main cone.
ing has. Although these two elements
By this technique,
-detail and dynamic range - are
high frequencies
intrinsically linked, some loudspeakers
and middle
often trade the first for the second,
frequencies are
producing asound without any bite
heard to come
or drama. The KEF's are not in this
from one point on
category.
the baffle, making
the 103/4 partly a Highlighting
point-source
Finally, among those elements of a
loudspeaker. The
performance that are easy to define,
port contributes
the RI 03/4's had afine sense of
output
coherence to their portrayal of
progressively
music. With the exception of the
below about
frequency extremes, especially the
200Hz.
bass, no one area stood out as
The soundstage the RI 03/4's making voices and bass lines easy to outstandingly good or poor. This
produce travels far from the boxes, follow. meant that no instrument became
in all three dimensions. With careful Most loudspeakers cannot keep over emphasised, making recordings
positioning and system matching, time the way asealed box unit can; sound fractured, as if the band are
they have the ability to disappear the KEFs are no match for loud- rehearsing.
completely from asonic standpoint. speakers such as Linn Kabers with Unfortunately, their main failing
In this area, they can match the finest respect to their pace and timing. was the bass performance. ft had a
of box loudspeakers, only being They can keep up with almost every peculiar quality about it aflatness
bettered by panels. On Mozart's other loudspeaker in their class, that, although nice, was not strictly
Piano Trio's, this gave the music a however, almost regardless of accurate. lt never sounded uncon-
sense of an acoustic that is still cabinet construction. trolled, but could sound alittle
uncommon. Where loudspeakers such as Linn woolly and ill defined at times. In
Because of the deep bass that the Kabers fall down is in their tonal fairness, more experimentation,
RI 03/4s can produce, the images separation, which is not as precise as running in and aslightly bigger room
within the soundstage had asubstan- possible. In the mid-band, the KEF's would go some way to correcting
tial feel that made them near- were outstanding, resolving the this criticism, but it must be said
tangible. This was not as noticeable slightest differences in tonal colours nevertheless.
as the Audio Note J's, which take this between instruments with finesse This leads me to one of the
solidity almost to its limits at their and ease. No matter how difficult it potentially most interesting areas
price. But the KEF's were as articulate was to define the differences about the KEF R103/4, its inherent
as any other loudspeaker in this area, between two instruments, the KEF's tweakability. Every change that is

32 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

 THE BIGGEST
BREAKTHROUGH
IN RECORD
REPRODUCTION
SINCE THE
LINN SONDEK LP12.

LINN LINGO

EXCITING ISN'T IT.

The new Linn Lingo is aprecision engineered power supply for the Sondek LP12 transcription turntable. At first
glance it doesn't look like an earth-shattering achievement. Indeed, asecond or third glance won't give agreat deal
more away. However, it's not what the Lingo looks like that's important. It's what it does. The product of years of
development work in Linn's R & D department, the Lingo uses ahigh precision oscillator and sophisticated circuit
isolation techniques to vastly improve the turntable's speed stability and reduce motor vibration. However,
technicalities and specifications are ultimately immaterial in appreciating the advantage the Lingo has to offer —
more information retrieved from the record than ever possible before. As you'd expect from
Linn — with its well known upgrade policy — the Lingo can be easily fitted to your existing LP12,
or purchased with anew turntable.To hear just how much more music the Lingo can get off arecord,
visit one of the Linn dealers overleaf. That way you'll find out for yourself what all the fuss is about.

LINN
HEAR THE DIFFERENCE The dealers listed on this page are, in our opinion, the most experienced and knowledge-
able in the U.K. They all offer excellent demonstration facilities and carry awide range of systems at awide range of prices.
Linn dealers will give you sound advice and time to listen, so don't be afraid of ahard sell or alot of gobbledegook.

A
ENFIELD MIDDX. UXBRIDGE
S COTLAND AUDIO T:" 159A CHASE SIDE 081-367 3132 UXBRIDGE AUDIO:,278 HIGH STREET
FARNBOROUGH HANTS 0895-30404
ABERDEEN
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441 HOLBURN STREET 0224-585713 0252-520146 SOUNDWAVES, 20 TEVILLE GATE
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RADFORD HI-FI:,43 KING EDWARD COURT
34 NORTHUMBERLAND ST, 031-557 1672 6 CROMPTON STREET 0942-323897 HARPENDEN 0753-856931
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041-226 4268 0904-627108 HARROW AUDIO:' 27 SPRINGFIELD ROAD
STEREO STEREO* 081-863 0938 BATH
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ALTRINCHAM LONDON Ni 0272-264975
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RADFORD, HI-FI,* 52/54 GLOUCESTER ROAD
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COVENTRY AUDIO T,* 40/42 ALBION STREET
GRANCE PRECINCT 051-647 5626 175-177 HOLLOWAY ROAD, 071-607 2296
FRANK HARVEY,* 163 SPON ST, 0203-525200 0242-583960
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0204-31423 THE STEREO SHOP, 94 NORWICH ROAD 2/4 CAMDEN HIGH STREET 071-388 1300
0473 233832 ST THOMAS 0392-218895
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HOUSE, RAWSON SQUARE 0274-309266 MARTINS HI-FI:, 5HIGH ST, 0553-761683 SWISS COTTAGE 071-624 8855 0452-300046
CARLISLE LEICESTER AUDIO 7;* 190 WEST END LANE PLYMOUTH
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0533-623754
CHESTER LONDON SE1 0752-226012
SOUNDSTAGE, 99 BROOK STREET LOUGHBOROUGH SOUND ORGANISATION, 1CATHEDRAL ST, SOUTHAMPTON
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DUKE STREET 0509-218254 CHANDLERS FORD 0703-252827
CONGLETON LONDON SE13
CONGLETON HI-FI, 1/1A DUKE STREET MILTON KEYNES BILLY VEE,* 248 LEE HIGH ROAD, LEWISHAM SOUND WAVES
0260- 297544 AUDIO INSIGHT,* 53 WOLVERTON ROAD 071-318 5755 HOLBURY DROVE PRECINCT, 0703-899131
STONEY S'FORD 0908-561551
CREWE LONDON SE19 SWINDON
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0270-255488 LISTEN INN,* 32A GOLD ST, 0604-37871 CRYSTAL PALACE 081-771 7787 TORQUAY
DONCASTER NORWICH LONDON SW5 RADFORD HI-FI:,6 FORE STREET,
SOUND WITH STYLE, 81 NETHERHALL ROAD BASICALLY SOUND, OLD SCHOOL THE LISTENING ROOM ST. MARYCHURCH, 0803-326723
SOUTH YORKSHIRE 0302 321421 BRACON ASH 0508-70829 161 OLD BROMPTON ROAD 071-244 7750/59 TRURO CORNWALL
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LONDON SW11
LINTONE AUDIO,* 7-11 PARK LANE 0603-627010
RPM, 2 BURLAND ROAD OFF WEBBS ROAD YEOVIL SOMERSET
091-477 4167 NOTTINGHAM 071-585 0274 MIKE MANNING AUDIO, 110 MIDDLE STREET
LINTONE AUDIO,* No 8 THE ARCADE PARKER HI-FI, 70 LONG ROW, 0602-476377 0935-79361
LONDON SW19
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MURRAY HI-FI, EAST ANGLIAN BUILDINGS, 0926-881500
LONDON W1 CARDIFF
PRINCES DOCK STREET 0482-227867 ST IVES DOUG BRADY HI-FI,* 18 MONMOUTH STREET AUDIO EXCELLENCE:,134 CRWYS ROAD
LEEDS AUDIO FILE,* 2 FOUNDRY WALK, MARKET HILL COVENT GARDEN 071-379 4010
0480-66123 0222-228565
AUDIO PROJECTS* HI-FI EXPERIENCE:, LION HOUSE, 227
45 HEADINGLEY LANE 0532-304565 NEWPORT
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AUDIO EXCELLENCE:,37 HIGH STREET
IMAGE HI-FI,* 8 ST ANNES ROAD CREATIVE AUDIO, 9 DOGPOLE 0743 241924 KJ LEISURESOUND, 26 NEW CAVENDISH
HEADINGLEY 0532-789374 0633-220012
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BETTER HI-FI, 16 COOK ST, 051-227 5007 YARD, BAILEYS STREET, 0785-55154 NEWBURY AUDIO, 2WEAVERS WALK 0792-474608
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051-733 6859 PURKISS HI-FI, 51-53 PICCADILLY, HANLEY OXFORD N. IRELAND
MANCHESTER 0782-265010 AUDIO r, 19 OLD HIGH STREET,
CLEARTONE HI-FI,* 54 BRIDGE STREET WOLVERHAMPTON HEADINGTON 0865-65961 BELFAST
061-835 1156 CLEARTONE HI-FI,* 39 VICTORIA STREET WESTWOOD & MASON,* 46 GEORGE STREET LYRIC HI-FI,* 163 STRANMILLIS ROAD
MIDDLESBROUGH 0902 772901 0865-247783 0232-381296
GILSON AUDIO, 172 BOROUGH ROAD WORCESTER PORTADOWN
PORTSMOUTH
0642-248793 WEST MIDLANDS AUDIO LYRIC HI-FI:,84 BRIDGE STREET,
JEFFRIES HI-FI:" 29 LONDON ROAD,
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RADLETT
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E I R E
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0706-524652
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To find out more about Linn hi-fi and the Linn difference, please
CHRIS BROOKS AUDIO,* 10-12 OAK STREET,
STOCKPORT 061-419 9050 CHELMSFORD phone 041-644 5111, or post the coupon to Linn Products Ltd,
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061-429 7666 0245-265245
WAKEFIELD
IMAGE HI-FI,* 17 THE SPRINGS
CHICHESTER
CHICHESTER HI-FI:, 7ST PANCRAS r
ilease send me aLinn information pack by return of post
0924-200272 0243-776402
Name
WARRINGTON COLCHESTER
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242 PARK VIEW 091-252 4665 GREEN STREET 0323-31336
made to the system is shown up with ing, except when played at high they are too neutral, showing up
such clear contrast that one almost volume. It is very difficult to explain problems in my room and system.
expects an announcer to inform you why this feeling struck me. Aside KEF sReference I 03/4's have a
that 'The following record has been from the extremes of frequency, the remarkable chameleon- like ability to
brought to you by ...' 1have never RI 03/4's behaved well, were fairly change with the system they are
heard system changes so distinctly as dynamic and should have been highly used with. They also let through
Idid with the KEF RI 03/4's. This exciting, but they left me feeling a almost every last piece of information
shows that the loudspeaker is little cold towards their performance. the amplifier gives out, with as little
consummate at highlighting changes 1suspect that they are not yet fully coloration as possible. Their only
within asystem; agood reviewing run in and that they are slightly too fault is also their main strength: an
tool, it could be said. large for my room. Ifind alot of absence of character. On the end of
On the most subjective of levels, what the KEF RI 03/4's do is deeply avery well matched system, Ifeel
very much in the realms of cable impressive. They are so neutral that that the KEF I 03/4s are likely to
changes and the like, Ifound that the for once earlier links in the chain take sound better than many other £ 1000
KEF's were ultimately alittle uninvolv- the blame for any coloration. Maybe loudspeakers •

Measured Performance quality will be easy on the ear, the only Frequency Response
qualification here being that like other (Third Octave)
The KEF RI03/4 isn't what it seems by KEF Uni - Qs, the 103/4s are best listened
simple inspection. You'll see just one drive to slightly off-
axis. We point them straight
unit in the pictures, but as the cutaway down the room; they are best not toed
shows there are in fact four. You'll be hard inward to fire directly at listeners.
pushed to see one of them even in the As claimed and as we found in use, +5
cutaway; the tweeter nestles in the centre sensitivity was unusually high at 92dB
dB 0
of the single Uni - Q drive unit - that's the Sound Pressure Level (SPL or, in common
one exposed to the outer world. In this parlance, volume) for one watt of input. -s
manner, high and middle frequencies are Low overall impedance is largely the
radiated from the same point on the front reason for this, drawing more amplifier
baffle. This has two benefits: it removes re- power than usual. Since amplifiers are,
sponse errors due to inevitable phase can- these days, designed to be able to deliver
40 20k
cellations between adjacent drive units, and large transient currents, the KEFs exploit
it ensures the sound source is aurally cohe- the inherent properties of modern ampli-
sive. In other words, all the sound comes fiers well. However, the corollary to this
The in-room response at adistance clearly
from the same place; you don't get treble is that they also stress them more and will
shows smooth and extended bass output
from one point on the baffle and middle highlight differences.
reaching down to 40Hz (-6dB).
frequencies from another, which is an un- Ifound the ultimate example of this
natural effect that can often be heard. problem in Celestion SL- 6000 sub-woof-
The tweeter handles frequencies down ers; their continuous heavy current re-
to around 2.5kHz. The 6in cone of the Uni - quirement strains amplifiers to their limit, Frequency Response ( Impulse)
Q works from 2.5kHz down to around revealing (or causing) enormous differ-
200Hz and the twin bass units hidden inside ences in sound quality. Alan found the
the cabinet work down to 38Hz (-6dB), ac- 103/4s did differ markedly in their sound
cording to KEF. Because the 103/4 uses a between various amplifiers. He suspected
small amount of floor reinforcement of bass it was due to their mid- band lucidity, and
+5
output, it has to be measured on afloor. I this probably does have an influence. I
used an averaging technique to get area- suspect that differences are due both to dB 0
sonably accurate picture of what alistener this positive factor and the negative one
will hear in use, at a distance from the of them being ademanding load. -s
loudspeaker. This is seen in the third-oc- Because of their high sensitivity, the
tave analysis. This gives ablock- like picture, 103/4s will provide high volume from low
due to sound level being shown in fixed powered amplifiers, but here 1am talking
frequency bands. In our room, output was about modern solid state designs like the 50 20k
flat down to 50Hz, with 40Hz as the - 6dB Musical Fidelity Al. Old, low powered
limit. This is close enough to KEF's own amps will be less happy and valve amps
figure of 38Hz and, by any standards, the should have a4ohm tap or they will not The impulse response gives avery accurate
overall flatness of response at low frequen- match. Alan did find that the Audio Inno- picture of high frequency performance and,
cies is impressive. Our analysis has avertical vations First Audio Triode amplifier was with high resolution vertical scale, clearly
scale of high resolution (5dB/division), which not compatible, for example. shows amid- range lift.
tends to magnify response deviations. Although KEF talk about the 103/4s
Whilst the analysis in Fig Iaccurately being "conjugated" to " minimise imped-
shows frequency response from I 2Hz up ance variations". Iwas surprised to find Impedance
to 20kHz, the smooth curve of the impulse that they varied in impedance as much as
analysis, Fig 2, gives the same picture, but in most loudspeakers. Furthermore, the
more detail and with more accuracy at high rates of change are high, indicating signifi-
frequencies (and with alower limit of 50Hz). cant reactive components. Whilst the 35
This shows a certain amount of shallow 103/4 is no worse than other loudspeak-
15
peaking around 2kHz, with some roll off in ers in this respect, it is no better either.
treble output above that frequency. The Taken in conjunction with low overall 8

103/4 just manages to reach 18kHz within impedance, Iwould rate the I 03/4s as a 5
KEF's own quoted 2dB limits, which are not- too-amenable load, contrary to KEFs
3.6
tight as loudspeakers go. This makes the own view. Buyers should keep this in
2.5
2dB bandwidth 50Hz-18kHz, which is very mind if they want to get the best out of
good. KEFs own measured response dis- these KEFs. 2
played similar characteristics to our own. Power handling is rolled into the am- 12 Sk

All other things being reasonably equal, plifier requirement, quoted as 50-
this tells us that the 103/4 will sound tonally 200watts. Iwould say around 100watts Impedance hovers around five ohms but
balanced, but is likely to display some slight was plenty enough. KEF loudspeakers are drops to just less than four ohms at around
projection of vocals with asmall amount of traditionally sturdy and reliable. 90Hz, before rising at low frequencies. High
subtle emphasis of detailing, due to the mid- The weight of each cabinet is 18.1kgs rates of change show significant reactance
range plateau lift. The absence of high fre- and dimensionally they are 900mm high, in the load too. This shows that the 103/4
quency peaks usually means that treble 215mm wide and 305mm deep. NK is not an easy load.

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 35

 Electronics Limited
WAS FOUNDED HERE
2" ° October 1961

The Kent Engineering and Foundry

Nissen hut where KEF Electronics
started in 19611.

speaking for
thirty years
On the 2nd of October this year,

KEF will be exactly thirty years

old. We spoke to Laurie Fincham,

Technical Director - a long-

standing back- room boy' now in

the front room - about the

background of the company

36 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

When did KEF start?

KEF started in 1961, on the 2nd of

October to be precise. Raymond
Cooke (the founder) came from
Wharfedale, where he had been
Technical Director. In fact, if you look
at Gilbert Briggs' classic book ' Loud- \• ss immure. , ..«1111111MIRMICUM11411 11- le,
.:.,. _,. . .. . ...

speakers', there is apicture of him

magnetising drivers, looking abit like
Alan Blumlein (the inventor of
stereo), with his big spectacles and
even bigger trousers.

Why did he start the company?

At the time Gilbert Briggs had sold

Wharfedale to Rank and he felt that
the company was not going in the
direction that he felt was correct.
Raymond always loved music and
likes the scientific approach to
designing loudspeakers. His aim is to
make things work for their own sake
and he is aperfectionist. Anyone who
has shown him amanual, only to have
it rewritten because of amisplaced
comma, will agree.
Going back to the Wharfedale
days, Raymond had some ideas that
he wanted to try out, such as dome Left: A new ' Q'
tweeters and styrene woofers and so Series Range
he decided to start the company, loudspeaker
with acouple of people who came under assembly.
from Rank. Idon't think he was that
keen to do it, as he had ayoung
family.
The father of one of the Rank
people owned the site that we are
still on today. He said to Raymond, original rectangular BI814 drive unit,
"I've got aplace in Maidstone where which in turn was developed into the
we can start." That was the old B139 bass drive unt. The original unit
Nissen hut. The two thus became needed tuning with lead shot to
directors of the company, until about balance it dynamically.
1971-72. Prior to this, the Kent The K-Iwas born out of aneed to
Engineering Foundry had been in the experiment with diaphragm materials,
partner's family for years, making crop bringing amore scientific approach to
sprayers, combine harvesters and loudspeaker design. Raymond was
motorised road sweepers. also interested in consistency. Dor't
forget that in 1958, with the advert
So why did Raymond take up the of stereo, two loudspeakers were
Kent Engineering and Foundry needed instead of one. Ideally they
name? should be as alike as possible. Stereo cabinets. The notion of the boxed Above:
certainly provided the boost that was loudspeaker really didn't come about Inserting the
Very simple. He did have alot of needed for small DOX loudspeakers. until the early 60's. tweeter into a
fancy names for the company, but After all, most people in those days 'Uni -
Q' drive
every time he tried to approach the listened using alarge reflex enclosure So the Celeste was the first com- unit.
local bank for finance they would just in the comer of the room. Try fitting plete box loudspeaker KEF pro-
say " Never heard of it." When he apair of those in! duced?
said " KEF" they said " Oh, yes, we've
heard of them!". So he just put the So originally you produced kits It was our first, launched back in
word ' Electronics' after the name to without boxes? Is that how it all 1962. It frightened everybody by its
make it sound modem. That's how it started? pricing. ft was small, heavy, extremely
came about. It's as simple as that. As insensitive and it cost twenty guineas.
soon as the backing became available, You have to remember that at the Everybody sold through wholesalers
they started with acouple of tables time, there was a.nnost no complete in those days, who were the arbitra-
and afew rolls of tin foil from the box loudspeaker business. The tors over whether aproduct was
local shop and they were offl. Celeste did follow pretty soon after. good or bad. They sold everything
The only real boxed loudspeaker until from hi-fi to kettles and they were
Did he start manufacturing drive then was the Acoustic Research AR- horrified by the price of these things,
units straight away? I. This was the first infinite baffle but Raymond stuck to his guns. Ithink
loudspeaker that made any sense and that the Celeste made more of an
Yes. The first KEF product was the K- it appeared, Iguess, in the mid to late impact overseas, where the market is
1, athree-way baffle which had the fifties. The rest sold speakers without less reactionary than the U.K, but
HI- Fl WORLD OCTOBER 1991 37
 eventually it caught on over here.
People began to accept low efficiency
in favour of small size. new
Where did you go from there? ULTRA—COMPACT
Our next step was to make a ,pe
floorstanding version, originally called
the Duette. This was abit expensive
to manufacture, so it became the
Concord, named after the aircraft. I
remember at this time KEF were
using the local prison to build some
cabinets, in much the same way as
JPW do today. There was areally
celeste
good craftsman there, but he got let the t,, si axd snroli be ii Weaker, has been deseyneal foe Ihe erdhusecast who lacks the
out for good behaviour, so we had •oce Ior el ' beige' 11, le sel up The Celeste iS o COrr0Ort 1 cu. it.. soi dip bait in the KEF trodden
',elsuperbly finished Irl SOild Afeicon hardwood and tot t•whote grille.
difficulty getting any decent boxes any Eusely positioned fur optimum stereo results, the Celeste es at home an top of your bookcase.
mndow sill or moroletnece
more. A predornmaiit footage of the Celeste is its very wocath frectLency response and wide dispersion
By this time, about the time that I sloch set it apart from all other loudspeakers of comparable sise and price. The exceptionally Pa."
.iineoseans naturally enroll some loss of low frequency response below the train system resanonce
the response below 85 cis tolls at only 12 cfil pee octane, correction is muddy oppl:ed by a 111,0dICUT
joined the company in 1968, KEF i/Otni the preamplifier. The midrange ond high frequency response remains tree from
'.irokup resonances due to the very rigid constr.rction of the dial:eh -09ms and cabenet- Crossasei
were becoming well established and licquency I ka is
SPECIFICATION.
Size: 18" x 103" x63"
46 cm is 27 cm x 17 crn
Weight: 24 lb 10 9 kg
Impedance: 15 ohms
Mea input: 15 watts r.rrr s 30 watts peak
Price: £22 Ten free
Bess unit H.F. unit
Ior kJ:x:1,1w 13 x 9ri ply deaphrogin of Spherical dame ealiator with moulded Melia
stionded polystyrene with aluminum, skins deophrugo,

VO.Ce COO II" du, voice cod

Ilus density 10500 oersteds Flux densely 15.000 oeistem
•sill Eli, 137,000 maxwells Total Flux 53500 maxwells
35 Cis
85 cis

electronics limited TOVIL, MAIDSTONE, KENT

releplmon. Maidstone 55761 /assume KEF, Maidstone

October. 1962

It frightened plastic (Melinex and expanded

polystyrene) drive units from the
everybody by its outset, however. Most people used
paper cones at the time, but the cost
pricing. It was of the tooling for manufacturing
paper cones was prohibitive. The
small, heavy, vacuum forming machine for plastics
was considerably cheaper and it was
extremely easier to modify cone shapes. This
meant that experimentation was far
insensitive and easier, although plastics have their
own unique problems. The original
it cost twenty vacuum forming machine is still in use
today; you can tell that Raymond is a
guineas. Yorkshireman at heart!

What problems did plastic drivers

create?

The Anechoic their Concerto, Cresta and Chorale The reality was, when the company The material wasn't as consistent as
Chamber and set the company well into the 1970's. became established and successful in people were led to believe. The
the R103/4 These began the successful C-Series, the early 1970's, we started to do plastic is temperature dependent and
Reference notably the Coda's. some real investigation into cone it wasn't as dead as we would like
against which materials. We realised that we didn't either, so we had to coat it. But worst
production How did Raymond start bringing have anywhere to go as it was difficult of all, it was very heavy. This meant
models are better science, technology and to assess the effect of acone in that originally we had the bandwidth,
checked. engineering practices into the isolation without taking the effects of but not the efficiency.
loudspeaker world? the box into account. This was when
we began to get into impulse testing. Moving on, you had aconnection
He started with the drive units, partly Now, it has all turned full circle. As with the BBC didn't you?
because of his own feelings about the we have been able to test the effects
loudspeaker generally and also of loudspeaker boxes on drive units, Yes. We have produced arange of
because of the climate of the time. it may be now that the drive units are monitor designs over the years, as
The mythology of speakers, that it is the weak link. Even now, we still see well as collaborating on many
the ingredients not the chef that that the box is frttle understood, projects. One of the most stimulating
matter, is totally erroneous. Every- although this may be due to costs of was the KM-I. This peaked at about
body back then was into new manufacture. 125dB and had I .6kW of power, a
materials, as they are every so often. Cost did play apart in KEF's use of sort of precursor to the Meridian D-

38 HI- F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991

6000, but with more poke. It had
some pretty sophisticated devices in
it. We were making it partly for the
BBC and partly for the U.S. market.
This posed something of adilemma:
was it an audiophile's dream or an
engineer's workhorse? The require-
ments for the two are quite different
Because its sound pressure levels
were so great, we used to say that it
was measured on the Richter scale,
instead of in decibels.
We had problems with it because
it went loud, but did it well. People
expect to hear acertain amount of
distortion at high listening levels.
Without it, they just keep turning the
sound up! Engineers would end up
with the loudspeakers at the thresh-
old of pain saying " If it could only go a
little louder!" The loudspeaker was so
powerful that the tweeter needed a
heatsink. It was never agreat com-
mercial success, but it taught us alot
about the psychology of how people Thirty years on - the KEF factory today.
listen.

Rather than looking at the £99 Far left: KEF

market, we are exploring new ideas manufacture

and technology for the future. These, their own drive

such as Uni - Q drive units for instarce, units. A vacuLm

appear to the outsider to be aradical forming machine

departure, but for us they are part of (blue frame)

alogical progression taking place moulds the cone

within the company. KEF has always from a plastic

pursued comprehensive engineering sheet. The cones

solutions. Way back in the seventies can be seen

we bought in the most advanced stacked at left.

computers of the day to process test

information and we are still expand- Below:
ing this facility. Now, however, it is Crossovers are
complemented by other computer tested for
based design programmes. Our response
extensive and advanced research has accuracy with
guaranteed us astabe and respected automatic
place in the market, which we wIl computer bawd
continue to build on • system.

Going back to your domestic

market, what do you think was the
greatest aid to your development, in
the boom times of the early 1970's?

In 1969 Resale Price Maintenance

was abolished, re-establishing the
word 'discount'. This moved some
manufacturers away from the whole-
salers and into the hands of the
smaller specialists. To avoid phce
wars, we decided to go direct to
dealers.

What about KEF today?

For one thing, we never abandoned

the sale of drive units. Any company
who wants to manufacture loud-
speakers can use our drivers: Roger,,
Tangent, IMF and Linn do, for
example. We have also continued
with the Constructor Series. It is rai
indeed for us to buy in any drive
units.

HI- Fl WORLD OCTOBER 1991

 SEPARATES
Classic groups are made

up of great individuals,

and everyone has particular

favourites.

From the melancholic tone

• of acello to the deafening roar

of a thrash metal drummer.

Each will benefit from a

different type of hi-fi repro-

duction. And as you're doing

the listening you should be

the one putting together your

Fr re-
-- 102 20-39' "
system.

Our range of separates are

designed to bring you an

infinite repertoire of sound.

But however you put them

together, all our remote con-

trolled components can be

operated by the SH-R500

remote. (In fact it's so versatile

it'll control most makes of TV,

video and satellite as well.)

All in all this year's collec-

COLLECTION. tion has been created to suit

everyone, whichever models

you choose.

Separates shown.. SU-VXBOO

Amplifier. ST- 6901 Tuner, RS-BX707

Quartz Direct Drive 3 Head Cassette

Deck. SI-PS900 Programmable CO

with MASH. SH-R50 0 Learning

Remote Control for components with

infra red receivers.

Contact your nearest Technics

dealer as listed in Yellow Pages b

Thomsons Directories.

Technics
For Music Lovers.
 MUSICAL FIDELITY 1 Ti FM TUNER
italiGer

VOW " 90.0 0

musical the criticisms of the original. Internal

circuitry has been changed, and the
transformer removed to become an
external unit which can sit on the
anyway - leaving nothing but manual
tuning for local radio and the new
boys.

floor. Cosmetically, little has changed, Sensitivity

and
it appears to my eye. The new The number might not seem quite so
charcoal grey case matches the inadequate if it wasn't that this tuner
Musical Fidelity house style, with its can pull in afair number of transmis-
chamfered edges top and bottom. sions because of its sensitivity, given a
The perspex window in front of the half decent aerial. Ipicked up awide
display is chamfered to fit too - an

faithful
variety, ranging North and South of
elegant touch. The company name is the London office from Bedford to
in white; legends over the small but Brighton.
well-spaced control buttons and the Another surprising omission in this
display are the familiar Musical Fidelity price range is asignal strength meter,
blue, though four indicator LED's and one red LED shows whether asignal
one in the unlabelled on/off switch is just receivable, but there's no clear
are red. Blue ones are available, I indication of the better of two
...is what we might expect
hear, but they cost an awful lot of reasonable quality transmitters, for
money. Nonetheless, the overall example. Ears have to be used to
Musical Fidelity's new T I Mk II
effect is restrained and tasteful. select. One learns the frequencies
Matching it visually with non- Musical fairly quickly, but it's aminor nuisance.
tuner to be. Eric Braithwaite
Fidelity gear might not always be too Tuning is straightforward. In
successful - its distinctive appearance manual mode it will tune up or down
listens for the tunes.
will not harmonise with other strong in 0.05MHz steps; in automatic mode
styles. it tunes straight up or down until a
Facilities, as well as aesthetics, are transmission is detected. Or stations

I
ought to declare an interest understated rather than exaggerated. may be recalled by pressing a
right at the beginning. No, it's In atypically English fashion, apart memory preset of course. Actually
not that I've ever been from the on/off switch, there are few programming astation into memory
associated in business with buttons. In fact, Icounted thirteen is supremely simple. Tune in, press
Musical Fidelity, nor that I've fallen small, oval push-buttons. Two are for the memory and then asingle preset
prey to the boss's cakes and been tuning, one will install afrequency into button and asecond or so later, it's in.
bribed out of both hunger and memory, one will switch to mono
objectivity. It's just that I've had a and one will initiate automatic Sound Quality
certain fondness for the original scanning of the waveband. A further The goddess Serendipity must have
Musical Fidelity TI tuner since Ifound eight are dedicated to programme been working overtime when I
myself demonstrating one for a storage. This is reminiscent of other listened to this month's tuners. I
customer afew years ago. Not having OK designs. Quad, for instance seem managed to hear transmissions of at
heard it before, both he and Iwere to think six is more than enough for least some music Iboth knew and
impressed. At first hearing Ithought anybody, but then, jokers always say liked. Listening to tuners is quite
the tuner had an engaging and that people with Quad tuners don't different to reviewing other sources -
detailed mellifluous quality. Time told know there is radio apart from Radio you can't always pick your favourite
me that it could also have atendency 3! However, with the explosion in tracks, and waiting for afew to come
to coarseness, but the amount of broadcasting over the last two years, along willy-nilly doesn't improve the
detail it offered allowed its sins to be eight is looking abit on the low side editor's nervousness about meeting
forgiven quite easily. for real convenience. That's only one deadlines. As areference Iused a
The Mark II version goes some for each of the major BBC and reconditioned Leak Troughline and a
way, say Musical Fidelity, to redressing Commercial stations - in London, Hitachi FT-5500 MkII.
42 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991
 Radio 3had sonatas played by squeak from his chair were all there. is unfatiguingly delightful, if on the soft
Busch and Serkin on offer from This must come pretty close to side. The lower registers are slightly
1930's recordings. So this didn't test what the studio engineers at Broad- warm. Both add up to an emotional
stereo. What it did do was provide a casting House hear, with one excep- experience. Feet tap, the head goes
startling reminder of how much it is tion. Background hiss can be annoy- back on the settee, the eyes close,
possible to hear when a78 is well ingly evident with the T1 MkII, the speakers can be ignored, and the
transcribed onto CD. Every modula- particularly on Radio 3. This is nothing music takes over. Perhaps, in the cold
tion of every worn groove was to do with R3 being aweak transmis- light of home, Iwould have liked
audible. So was the sound of the sion; it is because it has more silences more precise imagery, aslightly leaner
dampers on the piano strings. The and awider dynamic range, as the and more ruthless tonal presentation,
depth was glorious in being so BBC engineers keep reminding us. aslightly tighter bass. Maybe even a
surprising. The piano was clearly This was the TI's only real drawback foot or two more of depth which I
behind the violinist. If there was a -and adigital tuner can do better know can be found.
criticism, it was that although both than this. It is possible - Ihear it often That extra ounce of perfection
violin tone and piano were splendidly -to notice nothing but microphone costs more than £270 Ithink This is
realistic (allowing for the cuppiness of hiss coming from ablack silence, or the price at which the Musical Fidelity
apiano further away from the the whirr of air-conditioning in a T1 Mk II proves that the broadcasters
microphone) the violin was alittle broadcast. aren't wasting their time and energy
softer and warmer than it perhaps on the quality coming out of their
Emotional Experience studios. This is alucid tuner Ienjoyed
ought to be.
The mid-range of the T1, while sweet alot, even if it is alittle bit hissy at
Clean and Vivid is fractionally forward and the treble times •
A switch to Jazz FM found another
transcription of an early fifties
recording. It was in mono again, but Measured Performance
sounded gloriously clean and vivid, if
obviously curtailed at the top end. The TI proved itself to be acompetent terms of hiss where, on Radio 3at least, it
performer in nearly every area. Frequency would be detectable. Music and speech
Nostalgia is all very well, but readers
response was flat to 12kHz, above which are so continuous on other stations that
have aright to be more informed, so asmooth roll off begins, before the plunge there are few gaps long enough for the
Ihad acup of coffee and came back downward due a deep MPX filter that problem to become noticeable. Overall
to stereo. More 077 showed the TI eliminates unwanted pilot tone at 19kHz. levels are kept up by compression too
Mk II had agood wide soundstage, These characteristics can be seen in the (Optimod); only on Radio 3 is this not
which - given agood recording - frequency response analysis below. always the case. NK
Pilot tone and sub-carrier filtering was
could extend out beyond the Test Results
good enough to all but completely elimi-
speakers. On some, it seemed
nate signals at and above 19kHz; the pilot Frequency response (- 1dB) I 0Hz - 12kHz
occasionally that instruments at each was - 68dB down for example. This en- Stereo separation - 32dB
side could be more forward than sures the output remains clean, which is of Distortion (50% mod.) 0.4% ay.
intended, but the stage was unmis- greatest consequence for tape recordists. Hiss (stereo, CCIR) -67dB
takeably three dimensional. "Just hear Spurious high frequency tones can inter- Signal for minimum hiss 0.32mV
fere with bias to form audible whistles. Sensitivity
that horn!" Ifound myself muttering
One of the benefits of effective filtering is mono 1.2µV
as asax stepped forward out of the stereo 20µV
to prevent this sort of thing occuring.
mix, leaving the strands of drums and There was some second harmonic dis- Selectivity (alternate channel) -87dB
bass behind it, but loud and clear as tortion on full left and right stereo signals, Signal strength meter none
the engineer intended. but otherwise levels were low. The distor-
A later piece included an accor- tion analysis below clearly shows this small
dion which was realistically wheezy, problem, but since second harmonic al- Frequency Response
ters only timbre, I wouldn't expect it to be
so well positioned you could touch it,
especially noticeable. The other factor is
and at exactly the right sound level that there was just 0.16% distortion on
against the other instruments. There centre stage information, lessening the
was good emotional involvement, just subjective contribution of left and right +3

like being there. It was difficult to stage components, so this is hardly a

dB 0
avoid feeling that if something problem 1feel.
Iwas disappointed to measure ahiss -3
appeared to be missing, it was
level of - 67dB at full quieting. This is the
because it wasn't in the recording. best the T1 can manage and by current
This is radio? Of course it is. It doesn't standards it is noisy. Most tuners now
have to be the poor relation in the better - 70dB, since below this tuner hiss is
50 I
k 20K
family of sources. easily audible, at least when listening to
Radio 3with agood aerial. Our listening Flat response up to 12kHz
Ifound Cantabile singing live in a
tests confirmed this problem.
studio on Radio 2; everyone was
Sensitivity was very high at just 20uV
clearly positioned in space, though for intelligible stereo (- 50dB hiss). Selec-
Distortion
sounding alittle more diffuse laterally tivity was unusually high too, at around
I %

than the top rank tuners. During the 88dB both above and below aweak signal,
interview which interspersed the so the T1 has good passband symmetry. It
singing, it was obvious who was will capture weak transmissions easily and
keep keep them free of interference when
leaning towards the mic and who was
astrong station is close by.
sharing whose. Voices were clear of Only one LED marked 'Signal' is fitted,
sibilance or spitching; possibly Jazz but it did not give any useful signal strength
FM's presenters - they do have very indication, coming on at 4uV - asignal so
chesty mics - were abit too growly, weak as to be of little use to man or beast.
and the notorious slight chestiness of This was disappointing at the price. Just
o
one LED that came on at 0.5mV to indicate
the BBC's announcers' microphones TEST DISTORTION HARMONICS 7kHz
full quieting had been achieved would have TONE I kHz
was alittle overemphasised, but the been helpful.
slight smack of anews reader's lips as So the TI measured well, except in Some distortion (0.8%) on L&R signals
he came to the end of aphrase and a

HI- Fl WORLD OCTOBER 1991 43

 OUR HI-FI DRIVES
THE CRITICS WILD.
WHAT WILL IT
DO T U?
Imagine you are acritic and spend all day listening to hi-fi for aliving. Sounds okay

until you realise how much mediocre hi-fi you have to endure. Boring isn't in it. But

wake up, one British company makes hi-fi that isn't like the rest. The company is

Musical Fidelity. We're different because we

design hi-fi for people who want to enjoy

recorded music delivered through the

cleanest, most elegant signal path possible. We spare you the dross such as

flashing lights and fiddly gizmos that only clutter the signal path. Our low feed-

back amplifier circuits sound

open and natural, for the

most realistic sound possible.

They can deliver astonishing

dynamic range. And create an

aural image that lets you pin-

point every voice or instru-

ment. The results can be stimulating, to say the least. "From this tiny inferno issues

50 watts of the nearest thing to magic" is what Audiophile with Hi-

Fi Answers

say about our A100 integrated amplifier.

And in Hi-
Fi News & Record Review, a critic

writes that our huge 250 watts per channel

SA470 super power amplifier is "probably the best amplifier ever produced

in the UK." In fact, we make a wide range of hi-fi separates and loudspeakers

that deliver maximum performance. To hear hi-fi that could send you wild, visit a

Musical Fidelity stockist. Where you'll soon discover why hearing is believing.

MUSICAL FIDEUTY

FOR DETAILS OF YOUR NEAREST STOCKIST WRITE TO MUSICAL FIDELITY,I5/16 OLYMPIC TRADING ESTATE,FULTON ROAD,WEMBLEY,MIDDLESEX HA9 OTF OR TELEPHONE (081)900 29q9.
 golden few weeks prior to the review,
shrouded in mystery and secrecy.
That was apre-production model. It
didn't want to work, but at least it
Alchemist amplifiers aslick image
unusual among new British amplifiers,
which often seem to begin life as
cigarette tins.
looked nice and interesting!

alchemy
Opening the case up shows that
A couple of weeks later, another attention to detail has been followed
sample duly arrived, comprising the through to the interior of the amplrfi-
£1150 Freya line level pre-amplifier, ers. The blue circuit boards are well
£1400 Genesis monoblocks and a laid out, without excess cable runs or
prototype of the phono stage, as jumbled components. In the Genesis
pictured. The price of the disc stage is power amplifiers, for example, there
not set yet, but it is expected to be is different internal wiring for bass and
Alan Sircom turns his ears to
around the £500 mark. Even this mid range/treble frequencies, to
time, things were not easy. There improve the effects of bi-wiring. This
the shiny golden Alchemist
were considerable problems, such as shows the integrity of the designers of
anoisy vaiume control - but only on this amplifier, as well as their inher-
pre and power amplifiers
certain channels and with only some ently tweaky nature.
sources - the greatest offender being
our Deltec PDM-ONE convertor and Solid
aMusical Fidelity Digilog. Despite asolid construction, the
After anight of furious research, amplifiers are not particularly heavy
the fault was traced to an integrated or large. It is refreshing, in the realm

s
ignificant New Product Time. circuit (op. amp.) in the tape loop of of the big Krells, heavyweight Musical
The Alchemist amplifier range the preamplifier, sensitive to small DC Fidelitys and gigantic Thresholds, that
has been quietly doing the inputs. When this was changed, the the Alchemist amplifiers are diminu-
rounds among top dealers up and entire system was delivered to my flat tive by comparison. They will happily
down the country, being thoroughly on ahot, sweaty Thursday. Six sit on aSound Organisation table
successful wherever it went Almost seconds into the first track was without destroying it and both
without any press coverage, the Freya enough to convince me that this was monoblocks together are no heavier
line level pre-amplifier and the Odin one of the most important new than aNaim amplifier. After the
and Genesis power amplifiers have amplifiers in Britain today. various back-breaking comings-and-
created areputation for awesome The casework, while alittle on the goings of our Musical Fidelity SA-
dynamics, excellent detailing and a garish side, is very distinctive and 470, the thought of lifting two
strong grip on loudspeakers. uniquely Alchemist. The grey Ham- monoblocks into the house initially
The tale that follows is that of the merite rear panels, brass front panels filled me with dread; being more than
amplifier and its many attempts to and preamplifier knobs carved from able to carry one under each arm
pass into our hands. Ft first amved a chunks of solid metal give the gave my confidence aboost.
48 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991
 Although the Alchemist amplifiers At one point in the course of the cope with dynamic changes. This is an
are lightweight, the same could not review, Ihad the opportunity to area where valve amplifiers tradition-
be said of their power output and compare the phono stage and Freya ally score better than their solid state
sound quality. Putting about 180W preamplifier to the Naim 52. in the cousins. Not so the Genesis amplifi-
into four ohms means that they drive context of aLinn/Lingo/Ekos/Troika, ers, which express dynamic contrasts
the highly efficient KEF I 03/4s (which 52/250 and Isobarik system. Even so dramatically that few British built
Ihad on review at the same time) to here, in the context of quite a power amplifiers can match them.
ear-bending levels with ease. One of synergistic system, the phono stage This meant that music with extreme
the most surprising areas that the and the Freya seemed to grip the dynamic changes (Rachmaninov's
Alchemist amplifiers excel in is their bass dynamics of the lsobariks better Symphonic Dances, AC/DC's 'Whole
speed. Transients have atendency to than the 52. Admittedly, this was Lotta Rosie' and so on) caused
become alittle blurred in large ampli- done very briefly, with only one track neighbours to complain.
fiers. This has given rise to supporters ('Go Down Easy' by John Martyn Dynamics aside, the Genesis
of small amplifiers (those who have from his Solid Air album), but the amplifiers are capable of resolving a
discovered the virtues of the Pioneer improvement was dramatic enough great deal of detail, without painting
A-400, or valve enthusiasts) calling for the owner of a52 pre-amplifier to their own picture of what the music is
bigger amplifiers 'sludge-pumps'. As I express some concern over it. doing. They are quite transparent and
consider aseven-watt triode amplifier When comparing the distinctive open, with agood soundstage and
to be one of the finest-sounding signatures of the Alchemist and the
currently available, Icould be consid- Naim amplifiers overall, they prove to
ered one of the 'small amplifier' be entirely different beasts. The
supporters. ft is all the more surprising sound quality of the Alchemist is
that 1have found arelatively large closer to the John Sheame Phase It is refreshing, in the realm
amplifier (bearing in mind, that One, reviewed recently. In outright
anything over lOw seems like aKrell terms, Ifelt the Alchemist amplifiers of the big Krells, heavyweight
to me) that has the attack and to be preferable, but the Sheame is
transient speed of asmall one. slightly more graceful sounding, Musical Fidelitys and gigantic
To give the Alchemist athorough especially in the treble. Ft is also about
going over, both the KEFs and the £1 000 cheaper. Thresholds, that the Alchemist
ProAc Studio 1Mk Ils were used (my The light and clear sound of the
Audio Note J's still need alot of Alchemist is markedly different from amplifiers are diminutive by
running in, having been silver wired), that of the Naim system; the latter
using Audio Note and Furukawa places rhythmic information in a comparison
cables. The sources used were my stronger light In some ways, the
Pink Triangle Anniversary, with its Alchemist is the more dynamic of the
SME Model V pick-up arm with both two, although at least one owner of
aRoksan Cows Black moving magnet Linn/Naim equipment suggested that
and Goldring's Excel moving coil its sound was too thin' for his liking. It some depth to the bass, giving an air
cartridges and an Arcam Deb 70.3 certainly proved to be more impres- of solidity to instruments. Ifeel that
Compact Disc player, connected via sive and dynamic sounding than they can err on the side of brightness
Audio Note Silver cable. To make Noel's Deitec amplification, although at times, especially when used with
direct comparisons with the amplifier, here the Alchemist displays dynamism incorrect cabling. However, the
both Audio Innovations' Triode pre/ at the expense of refinement and Genesis amplifiers do appear to be
power amplification and Esoteric detail. coherent without overstressing any
Audio Research 549 200w valve In fact, 1can only think of ahandful one area of the frequency range
monoblocks, with their matching of British preamplifiers that could unduly.
partner, the very OTT G88 valve pre- better the Freya. Concordant's Their portrayal of timing informa-
amplifier were brought in. Exquisite preamplifier, the Finestra, tion, more commonly described as
the SP 1.5 and the long-awaited First 'sense of rhythm', is as good as
Openness Audio may all better it in some acknowledged leaders in the field.
Starting with the Freya preamplifier, respects, but adirect comparison was Little Feat's records have their usual
this happily trounced everything that not possible at the time. Iwas privy foot tapping qualities to them. In
got in its way, including the G88, to afactory prototype of the Pink terms of tonal separation, the
which sounded thick and leaden by Triangle PIPIT during the course of amplifier combination is not as
comparison. While the G88 had a the review and that bettered the precise as agood valve amplifier,
lucid, warm quality about its presenta- Freya dramatically. It is also similarly voices in the choir on Argo's version
tion that the Freya slightly lacked, the priced, but is still afew months away of Haydn's Nelson Mass were hard to
sheer openness of Compact Disc from final production. differentiate, although the text was
through the transistorised Freya won easy to follow.
over the valve G88 overall Ifelt. Sweetness On the whole, the pre and power
This was shown up dramatically Moving over to the Genesis power amplifier combination had anatural
when the prototype phono stage was amplifiers, aside from aslight break- air, smacking of class. Their impres-
added. While there was aslight glare through of radio frequency interfer- sion of the instruments on The Blues
to the treble, when compared to the ence at times, there is little to criticise, Brothers version of the Peter Gunn
G88, the solidity and richness of the especially at the price. They have the theme was less artificial than that of
Alchemist preamplifier, combined sweetness and openness of agood most amplifiers. This was due more
with its good stereo imagery and valve amplifier, with the clarity and to their individual dynamics than their
sheer depth of bass eliminated any bass of atransistor design. Again, the timbrai qualities.
contest between the two. The little closest sounding competitor was the Ithink it is important to note that
Audio Innovations Series 200 EAR 549 power amplifiers, although the amplifier is highly system depend-
preamplifier could not compete their overall sound had alot in common ent While it will sound pretty good in
either, but at least its sweet sounding with the Innovations triode amplifiers. almost any system, to get the most
qualities meant that it did not disgrace The first striking thing about the out of it, some care and attention
itself badly. power amplifiers is their ability to should be paid to the choice of le>
HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 49
He should have gone
to audio eXellence

B
uying hi-ti by post is easy — BRADLEY EXPLAINED TO M R D ONALDSON
THAT HE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO SWITCH ON
choosing the best system and THE WRETCHED SYSTEM.

getting the right sound is

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At Audio Excellence you can
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We're neither aloof nor sales
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So don't be like Bradley —
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WHERE THE MUSIC MATTERS
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loppo,te er,tol Guild)

COLLEGE GPI N

BRISTOL CARDIFF GLOUCESTER SWANSEA

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interconnect and loudspeaker cables.
Once you begin to play with cables,
huge differences can be made to the
sound. The slight brightness that I
mentioned earlier was noted when
using the KEF I 03/4s with Furukawa to
the treble and Audio Note Silver to
the bass. On changing the cables over,
the sound changed greatly, losing its
brightness, but gaining athickness in
the lower bass. Removing the
Furukawa eradicated this problem
completely.
Ibelieve that this is asure sign of
quality in an amplifier. If its character is
so neutral, but so precise, that altering
cables can bring about changes, then
the amplifier must be something
special. Ifeel that the Alchemist
amplifiers are aSignificant New
Product, as suggested at the start of
the article. To better them involves a
hefty injection of cash, although they
can be equalled by respected names in
British hi-fi, some of which have
become well established over the
years. The Alchemist is abold new
arrival that deserves to become apart
of this establishment •

The Freya pre-

Measured Performance amplifier was

mist must move the roll off point down to well laid out
Each of the compact Alchemist monoblock Test Results
power amplifiers produces anominal 100 50Hz or lower however. lternally. Note
i
Power 1I
Owatts
watts output. In fact, they measure 110 Channel separation was good via MM, the use of drive
watts into eight ohms and nearly twice as but mediocre via MC. This is acommon shafts behind the
CD/tuner/aux.
much ( 196 watts) into four ohms. The enough situation however, crosstalk be- control knobs.
Frequency response 16Hz-40kHz
power supply of each has good regulation tween the low level stages of MC often
Separation -102dB This keeps signal
in the best of current tradition, the benefit being the cause. At - 50dB the situation was
Noise -77dB paths short,
being powerful and well controlled bass. satisfactory, certainly being good enough
Distortion 0.004%
This ensures an air of dynamism is con- for full sound stage width to be achieved. lessening hum,
Sensitivity 400mV
veyed. Similarly, overload cei5ngs were on the low noise and
DC offset 44/37mV
Both power amplifiers had more DC side. Whilst the 60mV figure for MM is eistortion.
offset (40mV) than is common. The value is satisfactory for all moving magnet car-
Disc ( MM)
usually lower than 5mV. Whilst 40mV is tridges, the 3mV figure for moving coil is
Frequency response 170Hz-40kHz
not enough to cause significant amounts of low for high output types designed for MC
Separation -87dB
power to be dissipated anywhere in the connection (as opposed to those meant for
Noise -76dB
usual loudspeaker, Alchemist must ensure MM inputs). A Goldring Eroica LX will, for
Distortion 0.004%
the figure gets no higher. example, produce 3.5mV at 25cms/sec rms,
Sensitivity 3mV
Bandwidth of the CD input was rea- running the preamp stage into severe dis-
Overload 60mV
sonably widest 16Hz-40kHz, but more low tortion. This would occur on occasional
frequency extension would have been useful. musical peaks. It is common for MC inputs
Disc ( MC)
Compact Disc does go down to below 4Hz to overload at around 10mV. Sensitivity
Frequency response 170Hz-40kHz
and on some discs there is measurable and was high, meaning this stage has been de-
Separation -50dB
audible subsonic content. Amplifier design- signed for high quality, low output MC
Noise -60dB
ers need to consider this. Separated power cartridges, something Alchemist need to
Distortion 0.005%
amplifiers and independent volume con- make clear.
Sensitivity 0.15mV
trols on each channel ensure excellent Distortion remained low unti ,the power
Overload 3mV
channel separation. It measured 102dB on amps were driven hard at high frequencies.
CD, which is avery high figure. However, Then it shot up to no less than 0.5%, alevel
it is possible, by use of independent gain that will affect treble quality. Played at
trimmers and amaster volume control for normal levels, the power amps stay below
example, to achieve good channel separa- the arbitrary accepted safe limit of 0.1% Distortion
tion together with amore usable form of right across the audio band. Pushed abit, It
O. IX

volume control. An alternative scheme is the amp hits 0.1% distortion at ten watts
found on the ingenious G88 preamplifier output and rushes up to 0.5% much above
from Esoteric Audio Research. This uses this (at IOkHz). In use this may well cause
two volume controls mechanically coupled some slight hardness, coarseness or inci-
by rubber tyred wheels. Turning just one sion to be heard in the treble. The disc
knob turns the other, but slippage allows stages were distortion free.
one to be reset relative to the other, so The Alchemist has a few measured
altering channel balance. weaknesses and arguably needs a bit of
The disc stages were inaccurately equal- tidying up. Much the same situation oc-
ised at low frequencies, bass rolling off cured with the John Shearne amplifiers we
O
below 170Hz on both the Moving Magnet reviewed in the August 1991 issue, where
8k TEST DISTORTION HARMONICS 60kHz
(MM) and Moving Coil ( MC) input. Because Ifelt that there was some direct influence TONE I
()kHz
the rate of roll off was slow this should upon sound quality. That is likely to be the
make the bass delivery from LP sound lean case with the Alchemist combination, but it High frequency distortion of 0.04% at I
W
or possibly light, but not as blatantly defi- may well only tinge the sound quality rather rises to 0.5% at high output.
cient as the figures might suggest. Alche- than damage it. NK

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 51

 t's amoot point as to which of treble and balance - but 'disc' on the Welly on asize five foot, instead of a
Arcam's integrated amplifiers - input selector is now ' phono'. The tight fitting size eleven boot. While
the Alpha or the Delta - was the disc input is moving- magnet only. the outer edges of asomewhat
true replacement for the much There is one addition, which is easy shallow soundstage were distinct,
loved old A60. In terms of sound, the to miss at first glance. Now we are there was some smearing of images
Delta had perhaps more of the warm offered a 'direct' switch as well, next between the speakers. Overall a
euphony of the A60 than the Alpha; to the tape button. This is Arcam's warm-edged but clean sound, with all
the enterprising youngster gained a concession to audiophilia - it bypasses the best latent virtues of the old A60
good deal of favourable acclaim all the tone control circuitry. made tighter.
the same. Sharper, cleaner, more on Round the back, things are slightly The differences were immediately
the ball, the Alpha in its first version different, too. There are the same obvious. The Alpha 3 is drier, leaner,
had alot going for it number of input sockets, but instead cleaner, more fleet of foot. It's more
What the Alpha 2addressed was of three pairs of 4mm loudspeaker of asprinter, and how much more!
aesthetics and cost. The original sockets (Arcam used to supply aset Omette Coleman's 'Song X' was a
Alpha had afront face to it which of banana plugs for the speaker leads) revelation compared to the Mk II. It
divided up the areas between the there are now four pairs of sensible was very quick on its toes. A cymbal
knobs into raised rectangles. They binding posts. splashed alittle, the individual pieces
collected dust, they were expensive For those who have become of the drum kit were abit muddled
to mould, and true to my growing slightly confused, this is ahangover together, and some of the subtle
reputation for liking shapes other from the A60, which allowed the user dynamics were glossed over, but it
people hate, it seemed that Iwas the the option of wiring the speakers to was awarded four Wowls for
only one who approved. The Mark II the amplifier so that apair would performance and the same number
mute if headphones were used. The out of five for excitement. It stopped
option is still there, but two pairs of absolutely dead with no hang over at

now we
speakers can be left permanently all, and achieving that is difficult for
connected, with one pair switched off almost any amplifier.
by inserting aplug in the headphone No less lively, but less of astrain,
socket to switch them out. Alterna- solo Classical guitar was clean and the
tively, the two pairs of sockets can be plucked notes tidy and tight. Air was

are three
used to bi-wire speakers, auseful step almost visible around the notes, if it
forward in tune with present thinking. was alittle too widely spread across
Now to the insides. Power has the centre. Orchestral music was
been increased to 40W - against the more laid back than the Alpha 2, with
original 30W - and the output stage agood wide soundstage not bounded
now has bigger capacitors, plus air by the speakers. Instruments are
cored inductors. " In 1990 we sold perhaps not as finely positioned as
Arcam's integrated ' baby'
over seven thousand Alpha 2's," said they could be, but were nicely lit, if
Steve Reicher of Arcam," but we not sharply spotlit. Horns swelled into
amplifier is now in its Mark Three
were only asked for fourteen MC tuttis, but aspot of hollowness in the
stages, so we spent the money we brass tended to take away alittle of
guise. Eric Braithwaite compares
saved by removing it on improving the bite. Inner detail could seem a
the circuitry." On avery minor note, little blurred at the edges.
it to its older brother, the Mk Il
"You may have noticed we've
changed to simple bog-standard feet," Lean
he added. "We had 'designer' feet for Tonal qualities were believable
the Mark II, but they kept falling off. throughout the range, though liable
replaced the raised extrusion with a These don't." to be alittle too lean, which reduced
flat one, with only agroove running the piano's force and grandeur in the
the length of the amplifier to demar- Losing Out
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto, and
cate the top half, carrying the name "Our slogan for this amplifier is 'The took away some of the power of
and the model, from the bottom half British are coming!" he added. "We - Barenboim's thundering climaxes in
containing the controls. Iwas con- the British home industry - have been Chopin. The Arcam kept agrip on all
verted. It looked simple and elegant - losing out to the Pioneers of this Barenboim's very fancy footwork and
and it conformed to what was world lately, and we're out to get our the shades of tonality, though with a
becoming adistinctive Arcam house rightful share back again with this bit of astruggle. It's atorture track,
style. amplifier. It's more dynamic, more and the Alpha wasn't vanquished.
Outwardly, at first glance, the open, there's more space than the Though Iwould have preferred a
Alpha 3has little to distinguish it from Mark II. We're really rather delighted more precise layout of images and a
the Mark II. The Greek 'alpha' now with it" little more depth, hall or studio
has 'Arcam' above it while the name So why did the Alpha need to be ambience was well portrayed without
of the character has gone off to the improved? The Mk II, which Ilistened exaggeration. Dying notes died
right in front of the phrase ' Integrated to first for this review, was sweet, instead of tailing off, and aside drum
Stereo Amplifier'. Perhaps we're now engaging and very listenable. Ihad to in ' Facade' had the most satisfactory
expected to have learnt alittle be dragged back to my word proces- clean and tight 'bonk' so sharp you
Greek? The colour of the small sor and reminded Iwas supposed to could almost measure the skin. Not
indents on the now metallised knobs be writing about it If it had ashort- fruity or overblown, but not bass-
is white instead of blue, and the new coming, it was lacking in power. It happy, the Arcam Alpha 3portrays
ones lack the groove that was avery needed efficient speakers on the end, music as adisplay of beautiful dried
useful guide to their position when otherwise the treble and upper mid flowers; the bass is controlled but not
looking down from above. Both these range would coarsen and the deep - more acarefully shaded
changes, albeit minor, seem unfortu- amplifier loosen its grip on the watercolour than abrooding power-
nate to my mind. frequency extremes when the ful Munch. The benefits of the
The number of knobs remains the volume was whacked up. Bass was revisions and increased power output
same - input selector, volume, bass, warm but not deep - asize seven (we measured SOW, Arcam claim
52 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991
40W) are improved speed, cla-ity and
tight control.
The listening was all done
bypassing the tone controls; switching
them in narrowed the soundstage
within the speaker boundaries, and
dulled the dynamics alittle
However oderous' comparisons
are, they've been invited, so Iwired in
that amplifier, the Pioneer A-400. At
first hearing, it seemed Arcam had
lost the duel. Fast - very fast - clean,
pinpoint imagery, but asoundstage
less wide and no deeper. were the A-
400's immediate attributes. On music
like Tina Turner or Fela Kuti the
dynamics - and dynamism - were
astounding, as was the shaffi rasp and
bite of the brass. It made the Alpha
seem restrained, lacking the thrill of
being on the edge. But, while the
Alpha 3won't give up on anythIng,
The diving plane lack of control was evident in the
lower and upper mid, which could
the Pioneer turned 'Song X' into
confusion rather than complexity. It
screamed across muddle the textures and affected the
tone of strings. Dynamics were
didn't have the same 'Wow!' fac:or. in
reverberant recording venues notes from right outside slightly compressed - rather than the
gutsiness of the Pioneer's CD stage,
wobbled away rather than died
cleanly into the distance.
the speakers. First the Alpha on LP tended to recess the
heavy bits and give way without giving
Vinyl
Where the Arcam scored over the
impressions were up. But despite ashallower sound-
stage than is possible, it brought out
Pioneer was undoubtedly nthe disc
good enough to go all the good tonal qualities and detail
of my finest - and expensive -
stage. They still believe in vinyl ir
Cambridge, but they don't in Tokyo.
The A-400's is barely better than the
completely collectable LPs. Very creditably, the
softness in the bass, the lesser degree
A- II9's, reviewed in this issue. The
Arcam was glorious, with all the best
overboard of grip in terms of dynamics, and a
toJch ot wiriness ii strings, all by a
attributes of the CD input Bass rolls small degree, were all that distin-
off, and that turned the deep heart- Quad ESL 63's at tne other. That's guished the disc input from the CD.
beat in 'The Wall' woolly, but it saves twenty times what the Alpha costs. Does it beat that amplifier? In
the sight of randomly flapping cones, It's good, but not that good! The terms of absolute gut; and sheer
and every detail of the mix was stage is detailed - very detailed drive, no, not quite. In terms of inner
spread out in front of the listener. indeed, every grunt, groan of the definition, the better the source, the
The diving plane screamed across conductor and shuffle of underem- clearer it becomes. If you have kept
from right outside the speakers. First ployed orchestral feet was exady your records, the phono stage won't
impressions were good enough to go placed and at exactly the right disgrace agood mid-price turntable
completely overboard and put volume. If there was any query, a and cart-idge, and the quality of the
£2,000's worth of turntable, arm and slight ringing cou d be heard on some sound should give you pause about
cartridge in at one end and feed it piano notes, and bass was less trading them in fo- CDs. There, the Continued
with the same money's worth cf controlled than ideal. Indeed, aslight Arcam Alpha 3is way ahead. • on p55

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 53

 Forfurther •
details and
afull
demonstration
contact your
local dealer

ACTION
ACOUSTICS
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Redcar
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DEFINITIVE AUDIO THE MUSIC ROOM
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 Measured Performance Test Results

Glancing inside the Alpha 3, my attention frequency roll- off built in, to stop disc warps Power 50watts
was caught immediately by the presence of flapping loudspeaker cones. This prevents
alarge toroidal mains transformer. It sug- amplifier power being wasted and it lessens CD/tuner/aux
gests the Alpha should have have very good distortion in the loudspeaker too. It can be Frequency response 4Hz-44kHz
power and transient current delivery. The heard to dry out bass a bit Ifind and the Separation -76dB
suggestion was turned into fact when I early-ish roll off point of 44Hz (- I dB) is Noise -94dB
measured the Alpha. It almost managed the likely to be detectable with loudspeakers Distortion 0.005
unusual feat of doubling its power delivery that go low, especially in comparison with Sensitivity 200mV
into alow load. A ' normal' loudspeaker of an amplifier like the Denon DR- M350 and DC offset I . 3/2mV
eight ohms nominal impedance receives Pioneer A-300, both of which lack such a
fifty watts; alow impedance four ohm load filter in their disc stages. Disc MM
will receive up to eighty watts. That's afair Arcam go for a good measured per- Frequency
amount of wallop for £ 199.90.1t makes the formance; they are not fully paid up mem- response 44Hz - 46kHz
Arcam as powerful as aPioneer A-300, but bers of the ' measured performance doesn't Separation -57dB
less powerful than the cheaper Denon matter' school. Distortion was below 0.01% Noise -75dB
PMA-350 or the more expensive Pioneer -avery low value - right across the audio Distortion 0.006%
A-400 which costs £ 230. Arcam are under- band. Only towards full output did levels Sensitivity 2mV
standably keen to wrest at least some of the rise alittle, but the arbitrary 0.1% limit was Overload I
00mV
sales going to these Japanese amplifiers not breached at any frequency. The distor-
back into their own hands, since it has tra- tion analysis clearly shows how little high
ditionally been an area in which they were frequency distortion was produced. This
strong. invariably results in smooth sounding treble, Distortion
The CD, tuner and tape inputs all have lacking coarseness or any tendency toward oi%
awide bandwidth. 1note that Arcam have sounding fierce.
now ensured good subsonic extension There was very little hiss and negligible
through these inputs to match the abilities hum, through all stages including the phono
of Compact Disc in particular. The lower - input. Sensitivity was high, especially of the
IdB limit was 4Hz. In line with their usual latter stage, allowing low output moving
policy, one employed by most UK amp magnet cartridges to match- in well.
manufacturers, high frequency output is In all areas, as perhaps should be ex-
rolled off above 20kHz, the - 1dB limit being pected from such awell established manu-
one octave further up at 44kHz in fact. The facturer of quality amplifiers, Arcam engi-
idea of this is to suppress any possible neer the Alpha 3very well.
supersonic signals that could intermodu- 0

late down into the audio band. 8k TEST DISTORTION HARMONICS 6OkHz
TONE I
OkHr
Arcam have apolicy of using the latest
IEC disc equalisation curve that has alow Very low distortion at high frequencies

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HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 55

 laims to have matched the through quite alot of positioning tests unit that may be appropriate. Alan
properties of agood electro- and found that just 10cms or so in Sircom recommends Heybrook's own
static loudspeaker with abox front of aback wall and angled in amplifier which, he says is very good.
design are made regularly. Heybrook toward listeners (even this is not The feature of these loudspeakers
in fact don't claim much for the essential) was about right. Wall that caught my attention immediately
Sextet - and perhaps wisely there's mounting often compromises both during our initial listening session was
no suggestion in their literature that it bass quality and stereo imagery; with their apparent clarity, coupled with
possesses any 'electrostatic' proper- the Sextet it does neither. excellent sound staging and acertain
ties. This would be ared rag to quite A black grill cloth covers the drive dryness that suggested great control.
afew reviewers who rely on the units, but not the vertical fillets of Often, further listening tests only
Quad ESL-63 electrostatic as along burr walnut on either side of the show that initial impressions were
stop reference. But they were very front baffle. The cabinet is finished in inadequate; something or other
keen for us to review it all the same, black ash veneer. A gloss black fillet lurking in the background, like abox
perhaps sensing that because 1use across the front at the top face honk or screechy treble, slowly makes
modified ' 63s the Sextet would carries the Heybrook name. Ifound its way forward in one's mental
appeal. Well, they were right! the Sextet visually attractive; it is impression, eventually overwhelming
The Sextet costs £899, which is a interestingly different, whilst at the and destroying enjoyment
tidy sum of course. But areally good same time remaining traditional and
tasteful. As ' big' loudspeakers go, it Qualities
loudspeaker, of which there are very
few, can bear almost any price. It uses blends into surrounding furnishings Whilst the Sextets sounded interest-
three drive units, one of which is a with ease. ing initially, they also sounded abit
distinctive looking mylar ribbon The rear carries two pairs of bright, somewhat forward and
tweeter, taking up the usual position screw/4mm terminals, linked together 'scratchy' in their treble quality. It was
at the top of the cabinet Below it sits externally. Removing the wire links the latter effect that would compro-
adedicated mid- range unit with a allows bi-wiring, where the treble unit mise them, Ithought. Surprisingly, it
140mm polypropylene cone that is fed independently from the didn't Further usage only allowed me
should, in itself, possess little coloura- amplifier, the bass and mid share a to readjust to their presentation and
tion. It is back loaded by asealed cable. Iused the speakers bi-wired appreciate their qualities even more.
enclosure that contains amixture of with Linn cable. Perhaps they softened up in the face
long haired wool (from hippy sheep, Heybrook claim the Sextet is easy of firm treatment from the 300 watt
as Alan would have it!) and acoustic to drive and needs amplifiers of 30- per channel Class A Musical Fidelity
fibre. The idea of using two materials 200watts. Measurement showed their SA-470; it lets no speaker step out of
is to get abroader range of absorp- claims are justified. The loudspeaker is line.
tive properties. Below this unit lies a avery easy load for any amplifier to The Heybrooks are in any case an
180mm bass unit with acentral phase drive; it is almost ideal in fact. Iwould unusually tight and dry sounding
plug and doped paper cone. It is recommend any 50-100watt amplifier loudspeaker, from one end of the
loaded by areflex chamber, having of your fancy. Having said that, make audio spectrum to the other. They
twin ports that exhaust through the it agood amplifier, since the Sextet is have the firmest, fastest bass Ihave
base of the cabinet Because of this very lucid and revealing. It should be heard for along time. There is some
upper bass box 'whoomph'; Icould
hear the cabinet going off at times,
but the effect wasn't unduly irritating,

successful sextet
mainly because the loudspeaker is so
absorbing to listen to in other areas.
Drums were reproduced with afirm
and controlled resonant ' boom' of
superb definition due to minimal cone
waffle or overhang. Similarly, bass
For Noel Keywood the new Heybrook Sextet loudspeaker lines were supremely well laid out in
ter-ms of fundamental strength and
is a great success. timing, even if some of the richness
within overtones was alittle 'dried
out' as it were, due to the 160Hz dip.
The effect was not overtly noticeable
last feature, the cabinet must be partnered with something decent all the same; Ilistened for obvious
raised off the floor or any carpet If Quite what is determined by its loss of information but noticed only
spikes are screwed straight into the sound quality; bright sounding this lean-ness. Alan Sircom and Eric
cabinet base, using inserts provided, amplifiers Iwould not recommend, Braithwaite both commented on a
then the recommended gap is 23- because the speakers veer toward "loss of cohesion between bass and
30mm above acarpet and 30-40mm brightness in themselves. I ' cheated' mid" which 1suspect was attributable
above abare floor. Alternatively, by driving them from aMusical to this dip also. There was plenty of
Heybrook offer asmall metal base for Fidelity SA-470. Apart from exercising deep bass and in-room measurement
£49, the precise value of which brutal cone control, which comple- confirms bass extension right down
defeats me. We used it all the same, mented the Sextets, it has smooth to 40Hz within about -2dB - an
meaning 30mm to the floor was the treble, which is necessary. It is also excellent result Like all box loud-
required gap. extremely revealing and atmospheric, speakers though, the Heybrooks
The tall, slim cabinet of the Sextet which again did alot for the loud- don't reproduce subsonics and at
is unobtrusive, visually and physically. speakers. times they, like others, sadly ignored
It stands 900mm high, is 270mm wide At amore realistic price level I two octaves of information 1am used
and just 200mm deep. It will slot into would suggest that ahigh quality to hearing from the box-less Celes-
quite small spaces and, better still, has amplifier of excellent lucidity and tion sub-woofers. This inability applies
been designed to stand close to a 'smooth' or even 'warm' tonal to all reasonably sized boxes though;
rear wall, afeature that makes it even balance is used. An AudioLab 8000C/ even giant TDL Transmission Line
less intrusive than usual. Iwent Pcombination springs to mind as a Studio Monitors like our currently
56 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991
resident and much liked Studio 4s,
only hint at what exists below 40Hz
on Compact Disc. No matter, the
Sextets deliver incredibly fast bass of
superb balance and definition.
They've got alot of impact and there
isn't the merest hint of one-note
effects. The prominent bass line of
Robbie Shakespeare on ' Make em
Move' from Language Barrier
sounded powerful, but precise. Time
wise, each note was perfectly placed,

e They fully
conveyed the intent
and involvement of
that bass line - and
Iloved them for it.

making for superb intelligibility. Ionly

noticed here that, unusually, deep
bass fundamentals and, therefore,
bass power seemed abit exaggerated
due to the weakening of upper bass
harmorics, attributable to that 160Hz
suck-out.
Another cogent test of bass
'playing' in aloudspeaker comes from
the Tina Turner album, Break Every
Rule. The track of the same name is
founded upon adistinctive bass line; 1
have heard (and walked away from)
speakers that have completely flunked
this track, producing random huffings
and puffings at all the wrong mo-
ments. The Sextets strode along with
superb pace and control. They fully
conveyed the intent and involvement
of that bass line - and 1loved them
for it.

Projection
But it wasn't the bottom end per-
formance of these speakers that first
caught my attention, nor is it their
greatest distinction in my view. That
honour actually goes to asynthesis of
properties that Iwould lump together
under the title of sheer 'projection'.
The Sextets are one of the few box
loudspeakers 1have ever come across
that can really produce aplausible
sound stage thrown well forward and
as firmly etched and strongly defined
in the centre as at the edges. In this
sense they move into Quad territory
-and they do it with great authority.
There are no ' ifs', 'ands' or ' buts'
about this: the Heybrooks image
spectacularly well and the information
they project forward is of superbly
high quality. Again, like the Quads,
their mid-band lucidity and analysis is
so great that production techniques
and the finest of details are brutally
exposed. Trouble is, here Ihave to
admit that their richness and forward
1-11-F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991 57
 AND NOW WE ARE A FAMILY

THE DIAMOND ACOUSTICS REFERENCE 1's 2's & 3's

SETTING NEW STANDARDS IN LOUDSPEAKER DESIGN

We believe that coupled with some of our specially recommended components such as
LUMLEY REFERENCE valve amplifiers, CHORD solid state amplifiers, MFA & CAT
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projection is so startling that they do especially between transients, when and this does sometimes intrude. Box
actually surpass my own modified all the wood, metal, paper and whoomph, scratchiness in the treble
ESL- 63s. Whereas the electrostatics damping gunk quivers uncontrollably and divorced lower bass all play their
were smoother and more revealing and unstoppably. Heybrook have part here, to the detriment of the
with simple programme material, the done agreat job in seeming to have whole. But as Isaid earlier, the
Heybrooks showed they could quelled all this extraneous motion. I Sextets have such enormous
resolve more in the way of dynamic heard some whoomphs, buzzes and strengths, they are so revealing and
contrasts and stay relatively squeaks at times, but being belted by entertaining, that in their worst
unmuddled whilst doing so. In fact an SA-470 does make loudspeakers moments they manage to remain
this is apure level problem with the complain abit - in the few moments below the threshold of offence.
Quads; they do start to flatten out that opportunity allows. Iwas captivated by the Sextets,
mid-band contrasts and they can also By keeping upper treble down a which preserved all the excitement in
get abit muddled if pushed up in bit, Heybrook have made certain that music and presented it with great
volume. The Sextets proved equally the Sextets don't sound really sharp. forthrightness. They were hard to
or more revealing, and they also Their treble quality is pure, if abit walk away from - with almost any
sounded less congested at high-ish brittle. They don't have any long term record, no matter how badly it was
levels. What this meant in practice nasties though, but Imust say that recorded. Ionly hold slight reserva-
was that the sound stage was strongly they can develop an incisiveness that tions about partnering equipment,
projected forward out of the loud- made me wince with some over- since whilst these loudspeakers are an
speakers and individual images upon it bright recordings. In contrast, the easy load, character mismatch in
were very clearly delineated, one Quads, Ishould note, always sound other items could push their highly
from the other. An unresolved sweet and delicate - and also more particular nature past the point of
contest started between the Quads cohesive. acceptability, without revealing their
in one room and the Heybrooks in The Heybrooks hang together great strengths. Matched with care,
another with atrack by Sonny Terry temporally, but they change character they're agreat loudspeaker - dra-
and Brownie McGhee, " Bring it on in other ways across the audio band, matic, entertaining, fast and very
home to me", from the album Sonny like most multi- driver loudspeakers - revealing •
and Terry. The Heybrooks pushed
both artists and the instruments firmly
forward out into the room and Measured Performance
improved the intelligibility of the
musicians speaking to each other. Because the Sextets rely to some degree of sudden rates of change shows the im-
upon wall and floor reinforcement of pedance is largely resistive in nature, except
Here, as in other examples. Isuspect
their sound, they have to be measured in below 100Hz where, as usual, the ports
the Heybrooks inject some artifical
situ for ameaningful frequency response produce peaks, around which the electri-
enhancement Raised output around to be obtained. The third- octave analysis cal reactance reflects the mechanical re-
5kHz is responsible for this, as it is for shown below was made in- room with actance. By normal standards, the Sextet
making the Sextets sound abit bright some position averaging, although this is an easy load.
if not unpleasantly so. Whatever, I was not essential. Frequency response The Sextet measures well, although
stays much the same on or around the some of its idiosyncrasies are explained by
have to acknowledge the fact that the
forward listening axis; only at significant its measured performance, Ibelieve.
resolution, clarity and projection of
angles above and below does the tweeter
vocalists by these loudspeakers is lose output. The optimum listening posi- Frequency Response
utterly superb, even if it is arguably a tion is reasonably uncritical.
trifle artificial. Icould more easily and Bearing in mind the fact that the ver-
readily discern what these two were tical scale is expanded to highlight devia-
tions, the response of the Sextet is afairly
saying with the Heybrooks, whilst 5
balanced one. Features to note are asmall
noting that the Quads were providing
'presence' peak around 5kHz, respon-
dB 0
more detail of afine and delicate sible for some forward projection of detail
nature. 1suspect, as well as the apparent ' bright- -5

ness' of the loudspeaker. Above this,

Questionable treble output rolls off to become - 2dB at
OkHz and - 4dB at 20kHz.
The Heybrooks became more
Ignoring the suck- out at 160Hz, caused
questionable when reproducing the 40 160 20k
by floor interference, bass output is very
strings of the Concertgebouw even, reaching down to 40Hz within afew The in- room response of the Sextet is ba-
Orchestra; Ashkenazy remained on dB or so. This shows why the Sextets sically even from 40Hz up to I
OkHz within
stage whilst Ifound the strings sound so even and balanced in their bass a few dB. Only a floor suckout dip at
performance. Experiment confirmed that 160Hz is aminor problem.
virtually in my lap. In this respect (i.e.
the suck- out cannot be removed by repo-
forward projection) the Sextets are
sitioning and that moving them forward
strange and do, Ibelieve, distort Impedance
from a rear wall only widens the dip.
perspectives. They are best with close making it more audible. These speakers
miked Rock and some simpler need to be kept close to arear wall, as 0 C

Classical pieces, since they enhance recommended by Heybrook. 35

presence and closeness. Classical Sensitivity measured 87dB Sound Pres-

15
purists are warned! sure Level ( i.e. volume) for one watt input
8
-anormal enough value. The Heybrooks
Keeping with the upper bass and
will go loud with afifty watt amplifier, or 5
mid-band, Inoticed also that the very loud with ahundred watt amplifier. 36
Heybrooks are aloudspeaker that Heybrook suggest anything up to 200watts
25
starts and stops cleanly and with great can be used. Ifound they produce 110dB
precision. Again, this is Quad terri- SPL peak in a 16ft x 12ft room without 2
12 5k
tory. It results in superb time domain strain. My ears couldn't take any more!
The impedance curve, seen below, Impedance dips to 6 ohms minimum at
delineation of events, awonderful
dips down to 6ohms minimum at 800Hz two points, but otherwise hovers around
clarity of timing and great sense of and 150Hz. However, over most of the 8ohms from 100Hz up to 20kHz. Low
silence when it is meant to be there. audio band it hovers around 8 ohms, frequency peaks, seen at left, are pro-
Box loudspeakers commonly suffer making this an 8ohm loudspeaker. Lack duced by the ports.
from being unable to fall silent,

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 59

 valve
audiophilia
Croft's latest version of the Super Micro pre- amplifier and Series

power- amplifier could mean high- end valve sound without a second mortgage.

Alan Sircom counts his pennies and plugs them in.

C
The Croft r
-oft amplification has always switched on, so the temperature fourteen valves. Even if the ran
Super Micro A had areputation for being outside rises. The rain storms, freezing relatively cool, they would still give off a
pre- amplifier 'valve audiophilia on the cheap'. fog and blustery gales that are normally lot of heat As it is, the Series 5runs as
stripped bare. The boxes and the logos may look no associated with British Summer hot as its analogous toaster
Note the more than functional, but the equip- disappeared as soon as they had been Both products are intended to meet
inverted valve ment always sounds good. Two recent switched on long enough to provide particular demands. The Series 5was
seats and the devices add credence to this reputation: cosy heating for the listening room. This designed to be inexpensive and good
complete Croft's atest version of the popular means that my lasting memory of the sounding, without being either low
absence of a Super Micro A pre-amolifier and their Crofts is one of perspiration. powered or cumbersome, while the
printed circuit new and diminutive Series 5power To be fair, the pre-amplifier does not Super Micro A is designed to produce a
board. amplifier. The two combined will leave run that hot. With only seven valves more open sound typical of American
change from £ 1,200: the Super Micro A inside its case, there is alot of room for the, or valve, pre- amplifiers.
costs £ 649, the Series 5 £548. air to circulate and for the heat to Amar Biswas, one of the directors of
It is strange that all the hot- running dissipate without raising the room Eminent Audio, who are Croft's
valve amplifiers arrive for test during the temperature too dramatically. The distributors, went on afact-finding tour
summer months. Croft's latest pre- and Series 5power amplifier is adifferent of the U.S. tube amplifier manufacturers
power-amplifiers are superb weather matter. Encased in abox slightly larger earlier this year. The Americans were
indicators. Once the amplifier is than atoaster are no fewer than said to be impressed by the value for

60 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

money factor Croft are so good at amplification used for comparison was bit as much bargain material as its
Amar, on the other hand, was more Esoteric Audio Research's G88 pream- preamplifier cousin, but in adistinctly
than keen to see what goes into some plifier and 549 monoblock power different manner. While the Super
of the latest high-end valve gear, to find amplifiers, along with my Audio Micro A is attempting to take on the
out if this technology was practical Innovations Series 200/First Audio high end almost single-handed, the
enough to fitter down into Croft's range. combo. Both of these are considerably Series 5has less lofty ambitions. This
He was particularly impressed by the more expensive than the little Crofts power amplifier is designed for those
sound that some of the manufacturers (except the Audio Innovations preampli- who want the warmth and life of avalve
were producing. Preamplifiers like the fier), but do give an idea as to what a amplifier, without the cost that has
CAT. especially, were offering awide, good quality valve amplifier can do. become associated with them. At 25w/
open sound that was difficult to find in Finally the loudspeakers used were channel, the Series 5can hardly be
British equipment, but would still sound Audio Note's AN-J's (silver wired) on classed as apowerhouse. It is possible,
very acceptable to ears this side of the Huygens stands and ProAc's Studio I as it is with all Croft's stereo power
Atlantic. When examining these Mk II's on Slate Audio stands. Both amplifiers, to add another Series 5to
products and questioning their designers Furukawa and Audio Note Silver cables make apair of tasty monoblocks, if
Amar found that there was away of were used. some minor surgery is performed.
approximating this spaciousness without First, the Super Micro A preamplifier. Alone, it does have enough grunt to
sacrificing any of the traditional Croft Once thoroughly warmed up, this item drive relatively efficient loudspeakers
virtues. It involved the use of U.S. octal does seem to have found at least some well.
based triode valves; two 6SL7GTs in In many senses, this is more a
the preamplifier output stage and two standard British valve product than the
6SN7GTs in the main amplification Super Micro A. ht has that distinctive
stage. The installation of these valves in Croft valve sound to it rich, warm and
the existing Super Micro A preamplifier enjoyable. Again, the amplifier is alittle
took all of one weekend. forward in its presentation, but its
By comparison, the Series 5is a for those who soundstage is deep, rather than wide.
more straightforward design, using The bass, normally an area of some dis-
standard EL84's as output valves and are fast becoming appointment with valve power amplifi-
ECC 83's as drivers, using many of the ers, is tidy and tight ft may not have the
features found in Croft's successful tube addicts, this snap that is associated with good solid
Series 4amplifier, but in asimplified state amplifiers, but it has fine weight
form. The simplification does not mean is adifficult system and extension for such adevice. Its
that there has been adrop in compo- treble can be alittle jangly on occasion,
nent quality, as the power amplifier uses to beat. but this also has alot to do with the
good quality metal film resistors and equipment it partners.
polypropylene capacitors.
As with all Croft's products, the Wide and Deep
amplifier has been hardwired through- As the two sections were quite warm
out Not acircuit board in sight, of the aspects of the more expensive and had contrasting strengths in
although the aluminium base plate for and esoteric American preamplifiers. soundstaging, Idid worry that they
the valves on the Super Micro A has an Whilst being somewhat forward in its would mis- match badly, but the wide
interesting feature. The valve seats have presentation, it is lucid, open and very soundstage of the Super Micro A and
been inverted, so that the valve is coherent with awide soundstage. Its the deep stage of the Series 5combine
inserted to the bottom of its seat, sense of rhythm is alittle slow, when well to produce three-dimensional
instead of the top. This has allowed compared to the better transistorised images with an impression of solidity,
components to be attached to the seat preamplifiers. In mitigation it has one of without sounding artificial. The warmth
with greater ease than normal, so the the richest sounding midbands of any of the two when combined did not
components are less likely to be preamplifier under £ 1000. It rarely strays seem to be too overt, but sounded
dislodged. into sounding thick or muddy, but almost charming in its listenable
instead retains the warmth and clarity of character.
Functional
atypical Croft valve preamplifier, with As with most all-valve amplifiers, the
Croft live up to their 'cottage industry' the clean detail of asolid state model. dynamic range of preamp. and power
reputation when it comes to their cases, It does err on the euphonic side of amp. in unison puts solid state to shame,
which can best be described as neutral, but only just At frequency ringing the musical changes in dynamic
functional. To keep prices down, extremes, the Super Micro A holds its contrasts with arealistic ease. As two
corners have to be cut and this is an own well with its peers, only sounding a stand-alone pieces of amplification, both
area that is easy to chip away at without little ragged when compared to more work well. The Super Micro A seems to
harming the sound. Externally, all the expensive models. Though the Ion have the edge in terms of high-end
Croft pre-amplifiers share the same box. Systems and the Audiolab preamplifier, bashing it would not sound out of place
A better class of knob for the twin both of which are similarly priced, may in asystem costing several thousand
volume controls distinguishes the Super be slightly better at the extremes, pounds, while the Series 5, by virtue of
Micro A and Mega Micro from the neither can offer as warm and inviting a its 25w output alone, would not hold up
lesser pre-amplifiers. While the boxes sound as the Croft. The joy of this as well.
are infinitely better than they were in preamplifier is its sheer musicality it can Taken as acomplete amplifier
the early ciggy tin days, they are still not be criticised on anumber of counts, system, for those who are fast becoming
designed with aesthetics in mind. especially its microphonic casework, but tube addicts, this is adifficult system to
As we are dealing with two very its appealing overall sound leaves 'em beat Only Concordant's Exultant
distinct entities, Ishall look at the two smiling, unless driving rock music is the system comes close price-wise; Ihave
products separately an( : then describe mainstay of the musical programme. not had achance to evaluate this system
how they integrate together. The The preamplifier seems to fit into yet, but it should be interesting.
sources used were aPink Triangle most systems well and as many of the If only Croft could work on the
Anniversary turntable, with SME Model older power amplifiers such as Quad II's niggles that Ihave about their build
V pick-up arm and Roksan Corus Black or Leak TU I 2's or Stereo 20's are now quality, Iwould have no reservation in
moving magnet cartridge - the Super in need of something more modem, the recommending this pre and power
Micro A along with many British valve Croft Super Micro A, with its high-end combination to anyone in the market
preamplifiers, has no moving coil stage. pretensions and its mid-price cost seems for top quality valve amplification on a
Compact Disc was Arcam's Delta 70.3 to be an obvious choice. shoestring. They may not look beguiling,
Bitstream integrated player, while the The Series 5power amplifier is every but their sound certainly is •

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 61

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he cheap amplifier business is obvi- sockets. (graphic equaliser? It gets worse!) Tracy Chapman's ' Fast Car' showed the
ously looking up, in numbers - or The knobs and push-buttons are fairly bottom end to be abit wobbly rather than
down, in price! Pioneer's A- I19 insubstantial plastic affairs, though the smaller tightly controlled. Both on this CD and on
amplifier is priced at amere £99. Give ones are slightly domed and improve the Cat Stevens' Tea for the Tillerman', voices
up apacket of cigarettes aweek, or order a spartan looks. The case is nothing if not well- were grainy and again without their real
couple of pints of Guinness less on Friday ventilated - there are plenty of slots above timbre, though this was bearable. The rather
night, and the money for it is saved in ayear. and beneath. Underneath, by the way, are coarse grained, thin upper- mid and treble
This is acheap and simple model. The alternative positioning slots for the rearward tended to make cymbals splash across the
lettering on the black, uncluttered fascia says rubber feet, if you find you want to place the sound stage instead of sticking in there with
-for once - exactly what it is: an Integrated amplifier on top of something less deep the rest of the drum kit There's nothing
Stereo Amplifier. There are tone controls for without the drum feet poking over the worse than an amplifier which shouts and
bass and treble, abalance control and edges. screams; at least the Pioneer A- I19 doesn't
volume control, and afour position input Round the back, there are nickel plated do that.
selector. The low price end of the budget phono sockets for disc, two tape recorders, This mild problem showed up more on
market is obviously not quite ready for tuner and CD, and some very cheap spring- Vlado Periemuter's Chopin disc, where the
audiophile minimalism yet, for there's also a clip terminals for the speaker cable. While reverberant hall failed to surround the piano,
headphone socket, aloudness button ( oh these accepted 79- strand, one failed to stay and stayed more just left and right of it, and
dead) and aswitch to choose either a sprung, losing its grip if the amplifier budged the upper notes took on a ' honky-tonk' tone.
second tape input or agraphic equaliser even an inch. Iknow this is acheap amplifier This is a 'forward' sounding amplifier. The
wired into the spare pair of record/play but, along with some of the phono sockets whole soundstage, as it were, is convex
feeling distinctly infirm when plugs were towards the listener instead of concave.
inserted, such weaknesses do give rise to Nothing too wrong with that; it may not be
Measured Performance
worry over longevity. entirely true, but it does make an amplifier
Power output measured 40 watts into a Pioneer's assumptions about an A-119 sound enthusiastic. Combined with arather
normal eight ohm load, increasing to 56 owner's listening priorities are clear from the weedy treble, however, this meant the
watts into a low four ohm load. This is
selector knob. Firstly comes ' DATTTape' - a Pioneer A- I19 lost some dynamic punch.
enough power to make most loudspeakers
bit optimistic this, since even the cheapest While apparently quite lively, playing Grace
go loud, but not deafeningly so. The increase
DAT recorders cost five times the price of Jones' Slave to the Rhythm' showed that, in
in power is limited too, suggesting mediocre
regulation and, probably, muted ' slam' in the this amplifier. Then comes CD at the top of terms of dynamics, the Pioneer went ' barn
bass. the selector knobs arc. Finally, Phono and and slap' rather than 'wham! bang! slam!'
The CD, Tuner and Tape inputs have a
wide frequency response of 6Hz-5 I kHz.
This is appropriately wide for CD, which
goes down to 4Hz. Channel separation was
satisfactory at - 70dB and hiss minimal at -
9I dB. There was no hum. The analysis
shows the presence of odd order harmonic
distortion measuring 0.08% at high frequen-
cies. This can sometimes be detected as
slight coarseness in the treble. In the mid-
band, distortion feel to 0.04%. Both values
are satisfactorily low not to be aproblem.
The disc stage had a wide bandwidth,
with more low frequency extension than
might be sensible. By reaching down to 7Hz
it will amplify warps, which consumes power
and increases distortion. Otherwise, meas-

pioneering spirit
ured performance was fine in all areas.
The A- I19 measures well in all respects
and has no obvious weaknesses. NK

Test Results
Power 40watts A basic amplifier from Pioneer for under a hundred pounds.
CD/tuner/aux.
Eric Braithwaite listens to the sound change - in his pocket
Frequency response 6Hz-51 kHz
Separation -70dB
Noise -91dB Tuner are relegated to the right. I'm sure readers have been waiting for me
Distortion 0.04% Listening rather bore out these apparent to say this, but of course the loudness circuit
Sensitivity I50mV priorities. For one thing, gain was lower made it worse! While the track touched the
dc offset -25/- I
8mV when the phono/disc input is selected; stomach lining it didn't turn it over - as bigger
Disc MM reasonable listening levels required avolume and pricier amplifiers can do.
Frequency response 7Hz-43kHz
position around the two-o-clock mark - and It's perhaps unkind to grumble too much.
Separation -55dB
not with alow output cartridge either. In For this money - and providing you don't
Noise -72dB

Er'
Distortion 0.04% comparison, CD would give the eardrums a have an extensive record collection you want
Sensitivity 2.5mV fair bashing at the noon position. to get the best out of on the cheap - the
Overload 150mV The disc stage (moving- magnet only) was Pioneer A-119 does adecent job. Tuner and
adisappointment, as it tends to be in Tape circuits, by the way, were as good as
Distortion cheaper amplifiers. While there was quite a the CD, though the second tape/graphic
reasonable lateral spread, and what might be equaliser input was atrifle more compressed.
called 'basic' imagery (not inaccurate or But you wouldn't use agraphic equaliser or
foggy, but without much more than a the loudness circuit, would you?
semblance of depth and separation), Overall, the Pioneer is bright and cheery,
instrumental tones and colours became without the worst boot- boy brashness that
'samey', upper mid- and treble were can afflict the buyer on abudget, and it does
somewhat pinched, with the result that go loud enough for asmall party. There are
voices sounded weedier, and dynamics were, better, in terms of delicacy, for another fifty
overall, understated. It was as though the disc or sixty pounds, but yes, times are hard and
0 stage was pushing hard against aclosed door, money is tight For Pioneer to put this little
Elk TEST DISTORTION HARMONICS 60kHz
TONE 10kHz but not getting through. amplifier on the market at less than the ton
Some high frequency distortion (0.07%) CD was adifferent story. Bass was of shows they take the youth and bedsitter
decent quality and went down low, though market fairly seriously •
WORLD OCTOBER 1991
64
T
hrough the design facilities at
their three-year-old European
Research Centre at Woking,
Canon have produced their first ever
if anyone can. • •

piece of hi-fi, the S-50 Wide Imaging

Stereo loudspeakers priced at £349. Canon's first venture into audio is a novel loudspeaker
Our review pair were the smaller of
two designs destined for the that gives stereo all around the room.
marketplace. The larger 5-70's will be
floor standing and have adedicated Can they succeed where others have failed,
bass driver. In contrast, our S-50s
have just one unit and are small asks Eric Braithwaite.
enough to be mounted or stands of
normal he ght. Alternatively, Canon
suggest, they can be put on shelves.
The S-50 looks like no other A British team designed them: Phil readers may recall being used for
design. A matt black done sits above Ward, who spent several years with Dinky Toys and the like. The dome
ashallow gloss black cone that also Mordaunt-Short, and senior designer and base are made of moulded ABS
forms abase. The cone acts as an Mike Jewitt - also well known in the plastic. The dome itself feels inert,
'acoustic mirror' Canon tell us. The loudspeaker design world. He worked partly because of its shape, but it's
dome above holds adownwards closely with Hire Negishi, head of also fi led with natural wool wadding.
facing, pulp-coned five inch drive unit Canon Research Europe. The "It was difficult to stop this sliding
with aparasitic tweeter cone in the aesthetics are down to Alan about inside," said Phil Ward, " so we
centre. Boothroyd, known for the stylish searched around for some system of
These loudspeakers are abass Meridian designs. It was he who came keeping it firm and in the right place.
reflex design; the one-inch port exits up with the idea for the 'sexy' dome One day in Boots the Chemists we
from the rear under-side of the shape, as aCanon spokeswoman put saw they sold hairnets, and thought
dome, between two flat sided it, although adome had to be apart that was exactly what we needed."
support pillars. A pair of bind,ng posts of the design. The production speakers still use
are fitted in arecess on the Jnder- The whole construction is hgid hairnets, though not bought in the
side. The Canons stand just alittle and inert. The conical 'acoustic lunch hour from the local chemist,
over afoot high on their three small mirror' is, so Canon say, the largest but Icouldn't persuade Phil to
plastic feet and they are very well casting of its kind in the U.K. It's made comment as to whether chestnut
finished. of Mazak, the zinc alloy that older sounded better than blonde or grey..
HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 65
 Let's get the jokes over with first. somewhat more diffuse; the differ-
Measured Performance Yes, they do look like apair of high- ence, in terms of imagery, between
Loudspeakers that deflect sound invariably have a tech post- Modernist lamps, and gaslight and halogen bulbs.
bumpy frequency response. They often exhibit pecu-
people did ask me why Ididn't switch Turning to Tracey Chapman's ' Fast
liarities in their tonal balance and overall character as
on the lights. There were even cracks Car' and Grace Jones' Slave to the
aresult. The common problem is adepression in the
frequency response (suck-out) that erases aband of made about them being available in Rhythm' showed agood grip of bass
frequencies. Subjectively, the effect may become ap- red with white spots and was Igoing in the former, although the artificially
parent only on occasion, but when it does show itself to join the Brownies. Let alone one enhanced bottom end buzzed abit,
it can be irritating for alistener. For example adepres- smart Alec who suggested Ipinched and exhibited arather curious effect
sion around 3kHz dulls violins.
next door's garden gnome to sit on in the latter disc. The mix in 'Slave to
By general 'funny' loudspeaker standards ( i.e.
the top of one of them "to make it the Rhythm' was more what you
loudspeakers that dispense with convention, forfeit-
ing accuracy for some other design goal), the Canon feel more at home." might hear from the back of the
manages relatively well ion terms of frequency re- Back to serious matters.The National Exhibition Centre at
sponse. Our analysis has a high- resolution vertical acoustic mirror is nicknamed ' Mount Birmingham, instead of from just in
scale, making the ups and downs look worse than Fuji' apparently, and it does bear a front of the stage, which is where the
usual. Bearing this in mind - and using the conven-
resemblance to that even-sided squat recording is placed. The listener is
tional Tannoy 603 tested in this issue as abasis for
volcano. That is, as far as Ican judge cosily enveloped by the sound rather
comparison - you can see that the Canon has a
bumpier frequency response than is common. There from the postcards. The principle is than being obviously in front of it
is a suck-out around 3kHz, which removes some that this will reflect the sound coming The effect is quite fetching, if not
sense of detailing, and average high frequency level from the downward- pointing single precisely accurate. It's as though the
above 8kHz is depressed. However, the peak around drive unit under the dome, and the listener is on the outside edge of a
5kHz gives agood impression of treble, although the
listener should be able to hear decent goldfish bowl, with the sound being
impression is none too subtle. Although the loud-
stereo from almost any position in generated from inside near the
speaker sounds essentially balanced in tonal terms, it
does not sound smooth and this plot shows why. the room. If it can be made to work, opposite side. It does take abit of
As aload, the loudspeaker is easy to drive in that this avery attractive notion. getting used to, especially if you're an
it has ahigh overall impedance with anominal value electrostatic image freak like myself.
well above 8ohms, as the analysis shows. The mini- Canons to the Right...

e
mum value is 6ohms over anarrow band of frequen-
Listening began with the Canon S-50s
cies around IkHz. So little current will be drawn. The
positioned on stands as though they
drawback of this is that sensitivity is compromised
and, indeed, the Canon was insensitive. It produces were an ordinary pair of boxes. The The effect is
86dB Sound Pressure Level ( read: volume) for one manual is an ideal of its kind; well-
watt of input power from an amplifier, whereas the printed and informative about quite fetching, if not
Tannoy 603 will give 89dB. That + 3dB advantage placement, spikes, room reflections
means the Tannoy will be significantly louder for any
and cables. precisely accurate.
given amplifier power.
William Walton's ' Facade' began
For what it is, the Canon S-50 measures well.
Against more conventional loudspeakers, it is poor the march of Compact Discs through It's as though the
however. the loudspeakers. This is not the early
one with Dame Edith Sitwell declaim- listener is on the
ing her own poems, still at the top of
Frequency Response
her voice and sounding like the outside edge of a
enormous megaphone she used at
the first performance, but the Decca goldfish bowl, with
recording with Peggy Ashcroft and
+5
Jeremy Irons reading and the London the sound being
Sinfonietta doing the playing. It's
dB 0
tricky, because the different voices generated from
-s Irons uses, and Dame Peggy's variety
of inflections, have to come across, inside
while many of the instruments are
played with mutes, which can muffle
the differences. On the plus side, while these
SO lk 20k
Results were better'.than previous speakers are certainly programme-
A bumpy frequency response, typical of areflected- experiences of omnis would have dependent, and the 'goldfish-bowl'
sound loudspeaker, but one that has aflat underlying suggested. Both Jeremy Irons and effect is less prominent with some
trend. Peggy Ashcroft were in the right than others, the S-50s certainly
place; the band, however, was sounded clean, clear and dynamic.
Impedance bunched up more left and right than Upper mid and treble could be bright,
is actually the case, and there ap- though mercifully not fierce, with a
peared to be little sense of depth. sheen which overemphasised sounds
The London Sinfonietta are - or like Eduardo Fernandez slapping his
35
should appear - well behind the palm on the body of the guitar during
Is orators, who are obviously out in Turina's ' Homereje aTarrega', or
front and close to their microphones. Grace Jones' finger-snapping. In our
A little further listening to Rach- room there was some mid-range suck
maninov's Second Piano Concerto out, but to be fair, the manual does
(Ashkenazy/Concertgebouw/Haitink) advise some attention to furnishings
showed that while the piano had like carpets and curtains, and the
good weight and presence in the first Canons may well have benefitted
2
few bars, it tended to disappear into from aless live acoustic. Bass, helped
12 5k
the rest of the orchestral texture presumably by the inert materials the
Nominal impedance was high, exceeding eight ohms. afterwards, and the instrumental dome and acoustic mirror are made
It dipped to around six ohms minimum at I
kHz only. strands became somewhat confused. of, was surprisingly plentiful for such a
The speaker was insensitive as aresult.
Generally, orchestral recordings small drive unit. It is aided by areflex
appeared wider than normal, and port, which is tuned to 55Hz.
66 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991
...and Canons to the Left
HOT SEATS IN THE HISTORY
Now the crunch. Do they do what
they were designed for - allow a OF OMNIDIRECTIONAL SOUND
stereo seat anywhere in the room? I
took up alittle- used place in the well, sad to say. Since they relied on sound-
rudid mar. Th. Ineent pry,

comer, where Ihadn't sat since Iwas IV Vidallb.n radenbutiPt. an the IS•nernnent •• try
waves bouncing off the walls and ceilings,
atIle r an
••••••
orehnni
, d'em'rat'.•.-'•
4 In 4 r
made to wear adunce's cap some .1. :id
and
room reflections tended to counter some
A
time ago. Two very different pieces of and han
reel
• II,'
frequencies; reflective surfaces bounced
let% a. ant
music this time: Fela Kuti's ' Original brrin
TN.
un. some back absorbent surfaces literally
Sufferhead' and Handel's Zadok the at.. Uwe%
11.• ete
sucked in others, and the overall frequency
Priest'. . $vutt
rnetson,
response when it reached the listener's ears
Whereas part of Fela's drumkit ndle.
1ra
n. could be quite bizarre. Imagery, in the sense
and
had surged forwards from between
ty Win/
urn that
that we're used to hearing it when projected
the speakers, and his voice hung in from normal boxes, was at best vague and
••.a.
front of them in the normal seat,
,
indeterminate.
leeward
from off side, while stereo was One way round this sort of amorphous
1,1.1

sound is to reflect the sourd from in the

certainly present and there was no
,

(1,111

n lane'. speaker, as it were, instead of throwing it out

serious off-axis collapse of parts of
.• ' maul into the room haphazardly and hoping it will
the frequency range, the effect was
p.' ..••• ^I, T1
homogenise. This is broadly speaking the
disconcerting. It was as though the
function of Canon's 'acoustic mirror', the
whole stage had been skewed and
THE BURNE-JONES TREBLE TWENTY. offset cone they've placed below asingle, full
distorted in shape. While the organ,
Reproduced by courtesy of ' Gramophone'. range drive unit.
brass and voice still had positions in
the soundstage, they weren't quite Normal loudspeakers are designed to beam Briggs and Burne-Jones
the ones they had from dead centre. the treble and mid- range frequencies directly Canon's literature calls this 'aJapanese idea
Brass was noticeably harsher. at the listener's ears for the best resolution of and aBritish product'. They haven't re-
The chorus and instruments in imagery. The trouble with this is that the searched their loudspeaker history thor-
'Zadok the Priest', curiously fared ideal listening position become limited to a oughly enough. Back in the fifties, Gilbert
rather better, and seemed more small area. This is variously referred to as the Briggs, speaker designer and founder of
clearly defined, though still with this 'sweet spot' or the ' hot seat'. Out of the Wharfedale, offered aloudspeaker for sale
disturbingly twisted polygon of a magic area one or other of the stereo which comprised anarrow wooden column
stage. loudspeakers will dominate, ruining the with an upward facing drive unit. Placed a
impression of asound stage. couple of inches above it, and mimicking its
Out of afamily of three on the sofa, two are shape, was atumed wooden cone. All fre-
Conclusion likely to miss out on the full performance. quencies would therefore be reflected
The design of the S-50s is certainly In the early days of stereo recording, this outwards, rather like the ripples on apond
was one of the things people who had been after astone has been thrown in. This was
innovative, and it's avery far cry from
listening in mono moaned about. Everyone for mono, of course, and the specimen 1
the vague and dishwatery omnidirec-
had become used to being able to put a came across ayear or so ago seemed to
tional speakers of acouple of decades
single loudspeaker almost anywhere, as long work. The Canon relies on exactly the same
ago. Other more conventional box
as it was in front of their favourite seat With principle, so the Japanese are rather behind,
speakers will portray the traditional
astereo pair, as we all know to our cost, the even if they don't know it
soundstage far more effectively,
best place needs to be found for the When 1spoke to Canon, Phil Ward told
though. If pin-point precision is what loudspeakers first, and then the seating me there was asimilar design patented even
you're after, the classic LS3/5a design, arranged to match afterwards. earlier, in 1926. However, we do know that
unrivalled in this respect, costs very It's no wonder that the idea of reproduc- Gilbert Briggs' speaker was actually built.
little more, and the Epos El Is match ing some sort of stereo stage, which will exist At asimilar time, 1959, another omni
the Canons' £349 price tag pretty regardless of where the listener is, has using the same principle and looking much
closely, whilst easily bettering their attracted - and tormented - more than afew like the Canon was built by by anow-
overall fidelity. designers over the years. Previous attempts forgotten company, Bume-Jones. As can be
If you want speakers which offer a at the feat have usually squirted sound out in seen from our illustration, adownward
sane off- axis sound for the whole all directions, much as instruments do in real pointing drive unit, but with two reflectors
family, and, like me, have unpleasant life. This has produced abreed of loudspeak- instead of one, formed adevice called the
memories of the omnis of the past, ers termed 'omni-directional', or 'omnis' for Treble 20. This was not afull- range speaker.
give the Canon S-50s atry and short. Most had amain drive unit at the top It was designed as an add-on tweeter to
surprise yourself. But make sure you of the box firing upward to reflect sound improve the dispersion and clarity of the high
can live with them for longer than the around the room. The designers' hope was frequencies. Apparently it worked in mono,
that some form of stereo would thus be but was far from effective if used as astereo
time of ademo. While supremely
heard from anywhere the listener chose to pair.
entertaining and fast, they're not
stand or sit It is very tricky to make the principle work
neutral by any means. From the point
A refinement, used in some of Stig properly with stereo. Displacing the reflecting
of view of literally filling the room
Carisson's Swedish Sonab designs in the cone so it doesn't sit immediately under the
with sound, there's nothing to match
seventies, was to place four tweeters in the driver, and firing the driver downwards,
them. It's the way they do it... I'd love
comers at the top, two firing upwards and should control both the horizontal and
to hear them in my local pub. backwards, two upwards and forwards. This vertical dispersion of the sound. This should
A final word. Canon Audio don't gave some conventional soundstaging, result in astereo image staying stable instead
intend to sit back, wait for the supplemented by reflected images. A of wandering about all over the place. It has
plaudits - or the sneers - and remain Grundig design from the same decade was always been amajor problem with omni
an omnidirectional speaker company. somewhat similar, as Irecall, but amore loudspeakers. Canon join along line of
Other audio products will apparently unusual shape; the units were placed inside a companies and inventors trying to reach the
be following, and, said the little bird, metal perforated sphere alittle bigger than a elusive goal of widening the stereo sound
will be just as innovative and startling. football which was parked on the top of a stage. There's nothing new under the sun -
They won't look ' black box ordinary' tubular, and rather wobbly, chrome pole. especially not in omni-directional loudspeak-
they say, and that is certainly some- Few of these attempts actually worked ers •
thing to look forward to •

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 67

 Rote' Revised
Improvements to the RCD-865 Compact Disc player

and an upgraded Bitstream chip have resulted in the new Rotel RCD-965BX.

Paul Miller tests it.

eThe effectiveness
a
fter what seems an intermi- subjective qualities of the older
nable wait within afast SAA7320, offering asweeter and
moving market Rotel have
finally announced the replacement for
of asimple but richer sound than the intermediate
SAA7321. This is particularly relevant
their successful RCD-865 Compact
Disc player. The new RCD-965BX is
well-matched jazz when the DACs are compared in
single-ended rather than differential
mode, of course.
amodem Bitstream design, yet its
aesthetics depart little from those of
quartet is rarely So the RCD-965BX is an exten-
its predecessor. Yet inside substantial
revisions have been made, develop-
revealed in such a sion of Rotel's original theme,
expanded in its repertoire and
ments that have added not apenny
to the original list price of £300.1
calm but open and sophistication, pulling out ever more
subtle detail without compromising its
wondered whether this might be
another winner from Rotel.
sophisticated sought-after 'musical' quality. Two
years on, the Bitstream era has
Without pre-empting the condu-
sion, my short answer to this is afirm
manner as it is with witnessed many new players which
are able to resolve oodles of detail.
Nevertheless, it is the manner in
'Yes!' However, the evolution of this
new player has not been entirely
this player. which this detail is presented that
straightforward. An intermediate really sorts the men from the boys.
model, the RCD-865BX surfaced All too often we're faced with an
about ayear ago in France, Germany actually lagged behind its predecessor elaborate wall of music, where,
and the U.S., but it was never as far as sound quality was concerned. though everything seems in order, the
distributed in the U.K This BX But with the introduction of the end result still lacks interest or
version was designed to overcome new RCD-965BX, complete with conviction. That unpredictable spark
many of the technical limitations of new SAA7323 DAC and revised, fully necessary to ensure music is genu-
the original, trading the old SAA7320 symmetrical layout, all this is history. inely engaging can be absent.
Digital-to-Analogue convertor (DAC) What we end up with is aplayer that The RCD-965BX, more than any
chip from Philips for amore up-to- sounds much like the RCD-865, only player at this price, is blessed with just
date SAA732I. The specs were vastly more so. Hardly surprising when you this intangible spark Programme rich
improved but problems in its circuit consider that the newer SAA7323 in high frequency content like the
layout meant the RCD-865BX DAC brings to light many of the crash of percussion or the bite of a
68 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991
metal stringed guitar, for instance, is Madonna's 'justify my Love' is quite
Measured Performance
resolved with exquisite precision. Yet remarkable and this player lets you
Despite Rotel having abandoned the
beyond this there is an airiness, a have it right between the eyes - it is
original SAA7320 Bitstream DAC in
sense of atmosphere and natural raw, deep and tremendously solid. favour of its newest relative, the
ambience that transforms facsimile Rather than submerge the track SAA7323, its technical performance
into reality. under awash of ill-controlled low has not advanced to the degreelwould
The natural, unfussy quality of Laila frequency information, the RCD- have expected. There is a hint of
Dalseth's ' Emily' (Gemini) sounds 965BX carves out great welts of bass compression at peak levels which is
reflected in the mild reduction in dis-
positively glorious with the 965BX, drum, producing slabs that underpin
tortion from OdB to - 10dB, just as the
the rich grumbling timbre of the bass, the precise focus of her vocals and OdB frequency response also shows
the brassy splashes of percussion and the steady, crisp bite of percussion. some instability below 500Hz. The
gentle ripple of piano all combining It's so controlled, but equally so player is near enough DC-coupled, by
beneath the uncomplicated power of engrossing, that you find yourself the way!
her voice. The effectiveness of a winding-up the volume further and Odd- order distortion advances
with frequency, as is customary with
simple but well- matched jazz quartet further. But this is the best of
the 7320 family, though at low levels
is rarely revealed in such acalm but Bitstream and the sound simply the figures are clearly worse than those
open and sophisticated manner as it expands to accommodate the extra typically obtained with the SAA7321
is with this player. It has aremarkable volume. There's no bunching of DAC. Moreover the RCD-965BX suf-
command of the most intricate instruments, no hardness or compres- fers from alow-level speed correction
details, but rather than throw them sion to grate on your nerves. The tone which compromises both the
overall S/N ratio (just 93-94dB, A-
forward out of the mix these subtle- music just keeps on swelling and
weighted) while popping up on the dis-
ties retain aperfect sense of propor- when you run out of room, well, just tortion plot around 7.3kHz. This anom-
tion - clear as crystal but never open adoor or two! aly is consistent from channel to chan-
exaggerated. This entirely natural, effortless nel, as are the spray of mains harmon-
quality should appeal to Classical buffs ics clustered to the left of the IkHz
New Generation in particular, enabling them to peak.
Nevertheless these technical short-
Little of this is betrayed by the sober experience the ebb and flow of a
comings would appear to have no
appearance of the player, however. grand orchestral work without ever adverse subjective impact. But then
Sure, Rotel have attempted to jazz the original RCD-865 also suffered the
things up with asatin rather than a most appalling basic measurements
matt finish on the fascia, plus anew The music just while going on to set new standards in
sound quality. It is atrend that contin-
display and index skip facility. Never-
ues with the RCD-965BX.
theless at aglance you'd be hard keeps on swelling
pressed to distinguish it from either Test Results
the RCD-865 or RCD-855. The latter and when you run Frequency Response (- 1dB)
will be kept on by Rotel for agood <1Hz.-20.8kHz.
few months yet, by the way. out of room, well, Distortion @ IkHz
Left Right
The same Philips transport
OdB 0.0019% 0.0017%
mechanism and digital output are just open adoor or -10dB 0.0016% 0.0012%
used between these players, though -30dB 0.025% 0.013%
Rotel have now opted for anewer two! -60dB 0.417% 0.420%
third-generation decoder (SAA7310), -90dB dithered,
which processes digital information 27.5% 17.0%
off disc, before sending it on to the losing sight of the music's scale and Distortion @ 10kHz
OdB 0.016% 0.016%
SAA7323 Bitstream DAC. Like others drama. Even the relatively simple
Stereo separation
in the SAA7320 family, this one-bit Pachelbel ' Canon and Gigue' is IkHz 10 I . 4dB 104.1dB
DAC uses acombination of 4x, 32x transformed into something alto- 20kHz 96.5dB 94.4dB
and 2x oversampling (256x in all) plus gether more moving and elegant by Peak Output 2.075v 2.077v
a2nd-order, single-stage, noise- the RCD-965BX. Compared to much Noise (A-wtd.)
shaper to generate the high-speed of its competition (and by that 1mear w/o emphasis -93.1dB
w emphasis -94.3dB
Bitstream. By contrast, the parallel all, save Pioneer's superb PD-8700)
SAA7350 family (as used by Marantz, this player throws open its doors to a Frequency Response
Arcam, Dettec and Meridian) use 3rd- beautifully balanced piece of music,
order shaping and lower rates of the fleet enthusiasm of the three
oversampling. violins counterpointed by the very
+0.5
According to Philips, the SAA7323 measured rhythm of harpsichord and
0
is supposed to offer the low noise bass.
floor of the SAA7320 without the
Conclusion
sporadic idle patterns that compro-
mised this early chip, even though my No other player I've heard has been
test results imply that there are able to reproduce this deceptively 60 I
k 2Sk
Flat response with slight filter ripple.
problems yet to solve. Nevertheless, simple apiece of music with such
the fine sound of this player is poise, such attention to proportion Distortion
attributable to the application of the and intricacy of detail. Above all it 003
DAC and bears testament to the sounds so remarkably engaging, never
quality of Rotel's RF engineering. This, flat but bubbling with arichness and
plus the high quality analogue filter life from within. It's the sort of sound
and gain stage, are crucial to the that can stop you dead in your tracks
success of the RCD-965BX. but still prove utterly satisfying hours,
Fortunately, this isn't another of days and months later. So the RCD-
those sophisticated but damningly 965BX will not dazzle you with false o
over-civilised and boring players. Yes, displays of bravado. But if you have TEST 71. 20k
TONE 1
k
the 965BX can boogie with the best just an ounce of sensitivity then it Motor reference tone at 7.3k
of them! The strength of bass from cannot fail but have you enthralled •
HI- Fl WORLD OCTOBER 1991 69
 STOP POWER POLLUTION
PURE SOUND NEEDS PURE POWER

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 t
wo Leak TL25 Plus monoblock the output tubes had gone soft. But The inherent noise of any tube
valve power amplifiers have the noise level wasn't hiss, it was the power amplifier is primarily generated
been languishing in an upstairs sound of tearing calico! Ichecked all by the first valve stage, in this case,
cupboard in my home since they the voltages to see if any of the D.C. the EF86 pentode and its anode load
were retired from the hi-fi system blocking capacitors needed replacing. and screen feed resistors. The TL25's
several years ago. Recently, Ithought I They didn't. were designed using cheap and nasty
would try them as monitoring Rather than put them back in the carbon composition types for these
amplifiers in the small recording cupboard, Idecided to see if anything critical components, so the first job
facility which we have built up and could be done to this thirty-year-old was to replace RAand RB ( Fig. I) with
expanded since Istarted getting work design to improve matters. The I/4W metal film types. The low-noise
as arecord producer. The studio is modifications 1came up with may be resistors improved matters but the
MIDI based, which means alot of the of interest to anyone owning an old sensitivity was still too high. Pentode
music goes straight onto the digital Leak amplifier. The electrical work is valves, like the EF86, have high gain
master tape and we get really clean very simple and the main design but are much noisier than triodes.
recordings with very low levels of change can easily be undone to allow Fortunately any pentode may be
distortion and noise. Obviously any comparisons. operated as atriode by connecting
monitoring system must match the the screen grid to the anode and by
level of performance from the Modification
happy coincidence what was needed
recording equipment. Part of the problem with the TL25 was less noise and more gain. That is
Idusted off the TL25's, plugged Plus is its high input sensitivity. It is what is shown in Fig 2b where the
them in, fed Compact Disc and not ideally partnered by most input valve is shown changed to
Digital Audio Tape sources to them modem pre-amplifiers. It is both noisy operate as atriode.
via apassive preamp. and wafted for itself and will exaggerate any noise on Buying new output valves as
that valve sound to wash over me. I the input signal. Attenuating the input matched pairs, aservice offered by
was horrified! One channel hummed is acludge since you then amplify the good retailers, improved matters
loudly: that was easily cured, one of noise in the attenuator as well! further by reducing hum.

Sound Quality

fifteen-bit
The audible benefit of the modifica-
tion is obvious. Listening to our DAT
master tapes and Classical CDs, Ican
Richard Brice
hear the hiss from the microphone
pre-amps before the music starts. The
modifies a pair of
signal comes, as it were, 'out of

valve
silence'. This is essential for amoni-
Leak TL2S Plus
toring amp. in order to judge where
to edit track beginnings and ends.
valve amplifiers
Hum could still be lessened. A good
performance can only be secured by
careful matching of output valves and

performance
Iworry what effect valve ageing might
have. Ifeel Leak cut corners on the
power supply design for this amplifier,
the High Tension line is smoothed
with an RC network rather than the
'Rolls Royce' solution of alarge and
expensive smoothing choke - and it
shows! However, the amplifier is
VI V2 Output Valves linear and being aClass A design the
power supply unit noise shouldn't be
I /P V3 V4 VS
modulated by the music signal, as
R happens on apoorly designed Class
AB transistor amplifier.
The audible implications of the
_ raised output impedance that results
LI 11 —
from the conversion of the first valve
— MAIN TAG BOARD
from pentode to triode will depend
on the design of the loudspeakers
being driven. It's difficult to generalize,
RB but as arule any loudspeaker with a
RA
tendency to bass overhang will not be
improved by driving it from avalve
0/I) Mains
amplifier. Fortunately our nearfield
Trans- o transformer
former 0 o monitors are reasonably bright so the
TL25's may just warm them up abit
I", es el In every other respect the sound
quality is unchanged or improved by
.411..J
the modification.
AC Power
LJS
Conclusion
Fig I. The under chassis view of the Leak TL25 before modification. The Modified, the Leaks are 'digital
orange lead ( OR) should be moved along one tag to common with the red compatible', turning in ameasured 15
lead ( R) from the Anode . bit noise performance, level fre-
quency response, good reactive load

72 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

handling and low harmonic distortion.
The loudspeaker damping factor is
poor but in listening tests this didn't
seem to be aproblem.
There's something about valves,
something musical and aesthetic. A
friend of mine used the studio the
other day to check some backing
tracks. She pointed to the TL25's
glowing on their shelf and said, ' Is that
asculpture?' Ilike to think of an audio
system as ameeting of art and
technology and if your power amps
get mistaken for objets-d'art then
you're half way there already! •

Measured Performance

Changing the forward gain of any amplifier

should not be undertaken lightly or wan-
tonly. To check the performance of the
modified TL25 Plus, Iran aseries of checks
on the modified amplifiers on the test
bench:
Very Low Frequency Response Fig 2a
Modified Performance Specification 20Hz, 5Watts (250v)
• •
Rs
Output Power, kHz sine-wave input, (RA)
I20K
clipping starts just greater than
I7v r.m.s. ( 24.6dBv): 28.9 Watts
into 10ohms.

Noise ( unweighted)
EF 86
-58dBV, predominantly I
00Hz power Test Results
supply noise.
The modified amplifiers deliver a very
Noise ( 100Hz notched out) - 65dBv. healthy 33.9 Watts into 8ohms, revealing
that the ' Plus' is awell deserved epithet. IN 0
Dynamic Range ( unweighted) Frequency response is good too: within
83dB, approx. 14 bit half adB from 20Hz to 20kHz at 1Watt
(100Hz notch) output. Noise ( unweighted) measures
90dB, approx. 15 bit about 83dB below maximum output which
50uF 2K2
is equivalent to acorrectly dithered 14 bit
Frequency Response at 1Watt dynamic range. The major noise compo- O I
uF
+/-0.5dB, 20Hz - 20,000Hz nent is at 100Hz and is due to aless than
-3dB, 40kHz perfect power-supply design. If the hum is
at 5Watts filtered out, the noise is - 90dB below full n.f.b.
-3dB, 20kHz output; equivalent to atheoretical 15 bit
performance. The original
Distortion (IkHz, 5Watts) The lowering of the loop gain has had
Leak circuit
approx 0.1%, predominantly third anumber of effects. One is to increase dis-
harmonic tortion. This is pretty insignificant since
the inherent (open- loop) distortion of the
Sensitivity amplifier is well below one percent at
1.1v r.m.s. for full output. normal operating levels. The second ef- (250v)
Fig 2b
fect is to increase the stability margin of
Output Impedance (
80Hz, 5Watts) the amplifier when feeding into reactive
I5ohm loads ( like a real loudspeaker) and will 120K
Damping Factor 5.33 result in asmooth, coherent performance R6
Rs
(Re)*
when feeding difficult loudspeakers.1 have (RA)
1M
Squarewave Response ( 3kHz, 5Watts) found insufficient stability margin to be a
No overshoot or ringing. *RBcan be
common cause of the nasal, congested VI removed in
E86
midrange sound that some amplliers Triode Mode
Reactive Load Handling possess.
The third consequence of lowering
IkHz into I0ohms and I
0ohms in parallel the forward gain is to raise the output
with 32uF: impedance. The measured value is 1.5
NO
ohms at 80 Hz at amedium power output.
For a 1960's valve amplifier this is agood
figure but poor by modern standards. The
loudspeaker's bass resonance is better
damped with the first valve operated as a 2K2
pentode.
luF
5kHz into 10 ohms and I
0ohms in parallel Sensitivity is reduced to 1.1v r.m.s. for
with 3.3uF full output This is correct for most modern
'\/•-• pre-amplifiers and is ideally suited to aCD
n.f.b.
source with apassive pre-amp. My studio
OVU line-up level is - I OdBV or 3I 6mV 100
r.m.s. Full output is achieved when nput The Leak circuit
signal level is + 11dB above OVU, an ideal modified to triode
No sign of instability observed. figure.

HI- Fl WORLD OCTOBER 1991 73

 English
The last of the great British cartridge In common with most moving-coil
manufacturers must still have some cartridges, the stylus is not user-
greatness about them to survive in replaceable. Goldring therefore offer
the age of digital. Goldring have some ahealthy trade-in on cartridges with a
excellent products: their 1000 Series worn or damaged stylus. Goldring
moving magnet cartridges have afine suggest that the Excel should track at

excellence
reputation as outstanding value for anywhere between I .5g - 2.0g, with a
money. The Eroica is one of the nominal recommended value of I .7g.
better lower-priced moving coil The manufacturer's recommended
cartridges around today. loading for this cartridge is 100 ohms,
Further up the price scale in a with load capacitance not exceeding
more rarefied atmosphere, where 500pF, including the arm lead. This
value for money is less of an impor- sort of load presents little problem to
tant issue than sound quality, how do most amplifiers with MC stages.
The talents of Goldring's
Goldring fare? Priced at £499, Those who have to use ahead
Goldring's Excel is close to the top of amplifier, with valve preamplifiers, for
Excel moving coil cartridge
the British cartridge world, if you example, should experience no
exclude Linn's or Audio Note's difficulties either. Finally, the output of
were appreciated by
cartridges. Neither of the latter are the Excel is 0.5mV at 5cm/sec, which
home grown though. Linn's cartridges is enough for most MC stages or
Alan Sircom
are made in Japan to their own head amplifiers. Idid have cause to
specification, whilst Audio Note's are use the Excel once with apoorly
designed in Japan, but built on the matched head amplifier (an Audio
South Coast of England. At its price Innovations, designed for the very low
(and beyond), the Excel has some output Audio Note lo), which
fierce competition from rivals like changed the character of the car-
these. tridge dramatically, so be warned
Stylus profile and geometry are
recognised as important factors in Convenient
determining performance. The Excel A convenient feature of the Excel is
features aVan den Hul 1stylus. its use of threaded mounting holes.
Though very similar in profile to the The cartridge bites on to the mount-
Gyger used on the £550 Excel GS, ing bolts, eliminating the usual
the Van den Hul is a 'straight' stylus, miniature nuts. This is agood idea, as
lacking the special twenty degree it gets rid of unwanted hardware that
grind of the GS. It means the Excel can resonate and affect sound quality.
cantilever has the usual slight end- Physically, the cartridge is of about
bend, if you'll pardon the expression, average weight for amoving coil at
that puts the stylus at the correct 8.5g. The body is quite deep, but not
rake angle. Our diagram shows this. very wide, being T-shaped in appear-
74 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991
ance when viewed from the front can not as fast or as well appointed dring Excel is avery able performer.
The side panels are finished in a as the luxury imported models, but It's alittle too polite for some tastes:
brushed-gold colour, with four gold still every inch agentleman. Mozart and Mendelssohn enthusiasts
screws and four grooves contrasting The Excel's smooth character was will love it, Mahler and Motorhead
with the wooden centre panel. While detailed - not in the same way as the fans will be less impressed. Around
some may say that this is alittle garish, big Ortofons, but with aclarity and the £500 mark, cartridges follow
it can look quite attractive when refinement that doesn't exaggerate distinct paths. This one is aleafy
partnered with aturntable which has any areas where the Excel misses out English country glade, gentle and
asuitable finish. Black and wood seem One can point to the bass as an area refined, which leads toward music •
to blend in well, but the Goldring where this cartridge's detail is slightly
looks quite out of place in asilver lacking. There is quite abit of informa-
arm. tion being resolved, but it can get
muddled when the music gets

e
complex. On ' In The Neighbourhood'
from Tom Wait's Swordfishtrom-
bones LP, the simple bass line was
the Excel picked played with clarity, depth and intensity
that had the appearance of being
out the lyric with realistic, but on 'Georgie And Her
Rival' from Elvis Costello's latest LP,
ease; even Husker Mighty Like A Rose, bass, guitar and
drum kit got confused, blurring into
Du at their most one another. However, the bass still
had agood, weighty presence.
intense and The This track also showed up an
emphasis to the slightly splashy nature
Tallis Scholars at of cymbals. The track is sibilant
anyway, but unfortunately it shows up
their most archaic the only major blot in the Excel's
otherwise exemplary treble perform-
were easy to follow ance.
In terms of imagery, the cartridge
leans toward producing awide
soundstage rather than going for
To ascertain just how good the depth. It is not two-dimensional;
Best of British is, Iput the Goldring image depth is good, but it is over-
Excel on my Pink Triangle Anniver- shadowed by the width of the
sary, with its SME Model V pick-up soundstage, which better caught my
arm, sitting on aMana table. I attention. Within this soundstage
needed agood moving coil phono instruments were positioned with
stage for this test, but my only head some stability, and they had good
amplifier did not work successfully solidity due in part to the good bass
with this cartridge. Instead, Iturned weight
to using the G88 valve preamplifier
from Esoteric Audio Research (EAR), Articulation
which has aspecialised moving coil One area where the Excel excelled
input transformer. A pair of EAR 549 (pun strictly intentional) was in the
200W valve monoblocks were used articulation of vocals. No matter how
also, along with the Alchemist difficult the voice or recording, the
amplifiers tested in this issue. Excel picked out the lyric with ease;
Loudspeakers were predominantly even Husker Du at their most
ProAc Studio IMk II's, on Slate intense and The Tallis Scholars at
Audio stands. Finally, Furukawa cable their most archaic were easy to The expensive Gyger stylus of the GS has atwenty
was used throughout. follow. Tonally, the variety of male degree grind to compensate for the cantilever
Isuspect there is aslight mis- voices within the Sarum Chant angle.
match between the cartridge and separated well. As these voices are
arm (the cartridge sways gently in the singing in unison it is usually only
groove and the loudspeaker cones possible to differentiate between
flap alittle) but does not appear to them with the finest equipment The
be asignificant problem. The Goldring Excel fits within this
cartridge is very compliant, so it category. Rhythmically the cartridge
possibly needs an even lighter ami bopped along nicely, not as precise in
than the SME. its timing as aTroika or aClavis, but
not lagging far behind either.
Bristol Car My biggest reservation has nothing
Having sorted the problems out and to do with the sound quality of the
let the cartridge run in properly the cartridge itself. As with all Goldring
true character of the Excel began to cartridges Ihave encountered to
appear. It has arefined, sweet sound, date, the cantilever sits very close to
that is polite without being dull. If this the underside of the cartridge body. The Van den Hul Iof the standard Excel we tested
is the best that we British can do, On some slightly warped records, the meets the record vertically so, as usual, the
then at the very least it is true to our cartridge body bottoms out, hitting cantilever needs an end-bend.
character. The Excel in some ways is the disc surface.
the cartridge equivalent of aBristol Apart from this niggle, the Gol-
HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 75
 mode and finally the two Up/Down good, however closely spaced
tuning buttons. Below, ranged along stations did not interfere with each
the lower third of the fascia are the other. Programming and retrieving
programme and AM/FM selectors all from the memory looked simple
clearly labelled. It proved avery enough, though it does seem alittle
intuitive layout - with one exception. obscure to press I/11 and 10/20 to
This was reassuring and fortunate come up with memorised station
because we weren't sent amanual. number 11 instead of pressing I/11
Money has obviously not been twice. Icouldn't lay my hands on
spent unnecessarily. While fairly number twenty, although it could be
lightweight, and tucked into a tracked down by using the Memory
somewhat flexible aluminium box, the Scan facility. Perhaps Iwas being
T-X3000 doesn't feel as feather light stupid.
as some. The current Japanese fad for The Memory Scan, by the way,
drum feet is evident; though gold offers auseful five-second taster of
coloured, they're shallow and not too each programme; very handy if, like
Teac's £ 99 T- X3000 tuner obtrusive. A few pennies have been me, you have an innumerate memory
saved round the back by using apair yourself and can't remember which
could be music to people's of spring terminals for the AM aerial stations you programmed in beyond
connection. The VHF/FM socket is the first five. Any combination of
ears as well as pockets, the now-usual Japanese one which stations from the two wavebands can
will require an adaptor for the normal be memorised up to amaximum
decides Eric Braithwaite UK co-axial plug. number of twenty. Well, up to
The display is informative without nineteen for me.
being cluttered, and it is in this year's
colour flavour - orange. Ft's here that Sound Quality
he Teac T-X3000 proves that one observes asingle omission: it has As usual, no allowances were made in
Japanese tuners aren't all no signal strength display, doubtless the partnering equipment for the
facsimiles of aflight deck, due to its low price. The frequency remarkably low price of this Teac
needing aforty page manual to readout is in in kHz and MHz, tuner, so comparisons are with an
guide the buyer round the buttons according to whether it's tuned to 'absolute' reference. In this case, the
and flashing lights. This simple, clean- AM or FM. There is atwenty station reference tuner was the Hitachi FT-
limbed design has the bare minimum memory for push button tuning, for 5500 Mk II, some way above the T-
of facilities - and therefore knobs and this is asynthesiser tuner. Tiny orange X3000's price bracket.
buttons - without short-changing the lights show whether the MPX fihter is As luck would have it, BBC Radio
user in any way. Thinking of change - switched in, reception is in stereo, 3was playing arecord Iknew - the
it will leave apound coin over out of automatic tuning is on, and if the Aldo Ciccolini/Enrique Batiz recording
ahundred pounds. station is tuned in. There were only of Fallas 'Nights in the Garden of
Finished in 'brushed aluminium' two or three niggles over using the T- Spain', which put me into agood
matt black this FM/AM tuner has X3000. One was that the 'Tuned' mood, especially as the weather had
small, neat and readable legends silk- indicator persisted in lighting up no turned dull and grey outside. Neither
screened in gold, with no fussy matter how bad the reception really dull nor grey would describe the
advertising slogans. It's awelcome was, and when it was set to scan the tuner though. This is abright record-
example of restraint and functional- FM waveband it behaved like aslow ing, but it didn't sound fiercer than
ism. What is offered in the way of train. It stopped at every station, the norm. Checking against the
controls (from left to right) is Power whether it was an acceptable reference - which has aslightly 'grey'
On, aswitch for the MPX filter, Auto/ transmission or not This was due to treble - suggested that the Teac had a
Mono, which reduces hissy stereo the strength of signal from our aerial good, sensible unexaggerated upper-
from weak stations to aclearer in fact, but it is apotential problem to mid and treble response. Where it
mono, the display panel, the station bear in mind. proved alittle lacking was in the
memory programming button, tuning Selectivity and rejection were very lower mid and bass. Timpani didn't
76
HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991
 sound tight, but rolled around abit, BBC local radio was more of abuzz stations were worth stopping for.
brass was all of apiece, without clear than in real life, announcers had a Oddly, one of the omissions was BBC
differentiation, and the lower mid- noticeably - though again not outra- 648, the European World Service
band and bass were loose by geous - emphasised chestiness which transmission, which it should have
comparison. Horns and lower strings was over-bronchial, and interviewer been more enthusiastic about
tended - sorry about the onomato- and interviewee were rather vaguely
located. This is due to the rather Conclusion
poeia - to waffle and woof, ashort-
coming which showed up in music woolly and loose lower mid-band Iwas tempted to summarise the
from other stations. that was evident when the tuner was listening session by saying this is a
Further listening tied this down to playing music. Baritone voices, tuner for background listening.
adegree of muddle in the mid-range therefore, had added growl, while Bearing in mind the astonishingly low
and below, which affected one's tenors came over quite realistically. price, it's more. Among its peers, it
perception of the soundstage. While Sopranos, while we're at it, didn't does have afreedom from obtrusive
the width of the representation was shriek, though female announcers did faults - the treble is well balanced,
commendable, the instruments - or hiss just alittle more than would be overall the sound is quite sweet In
the players - were slightly diffused ideal. the context of abudget system it will
across it without the precision the The AM section, as it is so often serve most people well, whilst not
reference had. Imust have been the case, was disappointingly banal. It offering the detail and depth that
feeling lucky, for I turned to Jazz FM wasn't ridiculously muffled or, listening spending double the amount will
Ç.
just as they were playing Ella Fitzger- to Capital Gold, utterly dull, but it provide. The Teac T-X3000's great
ald. Here, the studio tinkering - abox made little effort to produce anything strength is that it gives ataste of how
of violins on the left, her voice much better than amid-price tranny. good radio can be, and none of its
forward in the mix, and asolitary If the scanning process on FM was a faults will turn people off. Not unless
saxophone on the right, was quite slow train, on AM it was a 'cross the you must listen to Capital Gold or its
obvious, though without the inner world in one day' express. It only out-of-London equivalents on
detail - in the drum kit for instance - managed to convince itself that four Medium Wave •
that the reference brought out.
An electronic organ alittle later,
Measured Performance found it virtually impossible to get astrong
while keeping up agood rhythm and signal to break through. Sensitivity was
coming across full of life, showed up Tuners these days are reaching avery high very high also. Hissy stereo (- 50dB hiss
the Teac's tendency to burble alittle standard of overall measured perform- level) was possible from asignal measuring
helplessly at the lower end of the ance, due to modern dedicated integrated just 20uV. There is no signal strength
spectrum. There was something at circuits which combine high performance indicator.
with consistency- always difficult to achieve At just £99, this tuner has an ex-
the back of the mix, but it wasn't
with tuners. Teac have brought these tremely good measured performance. It
clear quite what was droning away. ft qualities together in their new budget T- represents extremely good value. NK
turned out, switching to the Hitachi, X3000 tuner. It has a surprisingly good
that it was avibraphone which the performance - at an amazingly low price. Test Results
engineer seemed to have forgotten Where once tuner frequency response Frequency response (- 1dB)
about in the mixing. would be peaky or absent in treble exten- 20Hz - I
4.6kHz
sion, the T-X3000 measures flat out to Stereo separation -38dB
A reassuring aspect of this tuner
14.6kHz, as the frequency response analy- Distortion ( 50% mod.) 0.2%
was that when the quality of the Hiss (CCIR) -72dB
sis below shows. Teac have provided a
transmission improved, so did the good high frequency filter to cut out all Signal for minimum hiss 500uV
representation. While its faults were unwanted information at and above I 9kHz. Sensitivity
still evident, high quality transmission The steep dive down at far right shows its mono 1.25j1V
from Radio 2lessened them some- effect; measurement confirmed a high stereo 2011V
degree of attenuation, both of pilot tone at Selectivity (alternate channel) -87dB
what. Ihave to admit, reluctantly,
19kHz (- 68dB) and sub-carrier (- 58dB).
listening to the J.Y. Prog'. This must Channel separation was excellent on
have been when my luck ran out stereo, even at high frequencies. Distor- Frequency Response
However, multitrack recordings were tion was low at 0.2% (average) and it was
clearly multitracked, although a primarily second harmonic in nature, which
central image was slightly over-large, is benign in its subjective impact. At the
price the Teac have managed very well in
and the same spreading of music +3
adifficult area, especially so since the T-
across the distance between the o
X3000 is very selective. High selectivity
speakers was evident The Teac can compromise both distortion and chan- -3
couldn't manage the relative transpar- nel separation; on the Teat both proper-
ency of the reference, or its depth of ties measured well.
stage, and prolonged listening Being sensitive, arelatively low strength
aerial signal of 0.5mV ( minimum) proved
suggested it had alighter tonal quality.
enough to get this tuner into astate known 50 I
k 20K
While this kept music bright and
as 'full quieting'. This is where hiss sinks to Flat frequency response up to I
4.6kHz
cheerful, without overflowing into aminimum and best subjective results are
brashness, it affected voices. obtained, especially in terms of clarity. At Distortion
Jimmy Young himself sounded -72dB, the hiss level was low; it is difficult 1%

lighter in tone and more nasal, as did to hear this. Only at times, usually during
an announcer on acommercial silences on Radio 3, can a very slight
background hiss be heard at this level.
station. He - on the reference -
Around -70dB is the threshold of good-
sounded more like John Inman than ness: above it hiss can be detected, below
he did on the T-X3000, which added it the task becomes difficult. The Teac
adistinct nasality to his voice. He also comes in comfortably below.
seemed to be having more trouble The station pulling power of the T-
with his teeth - there was more X3000 was no weaker than its audio per-
formance. In other words, it was very 0
'spitching' and sibilance in evidence on
good. Rejection of strong, interfering sta- TEST DISTORTION HARMONICS 7kHz
voices generally, though it was by no tions just 0.4MHz from a weak wanted TONE I
kHz
means wildly out of order. Micro- station was extremely good at 87dB. I Very low distortion of 0.2%
phone hum during an interview on

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 77

 0
ver the next few years. we If anyone is going to be at the CD players feature aPhilips transport
are told that we are about forefront of the new restrictions in and Philips chipsets.
to see the coming of the Radio Frequency breakthrough, it is Unfortunately, the research and
CL) Euro- amplifier. Changes in legislature going to be Philips, the quintessence development seems to be done on
and standards in the European Com- of all things European. Their latest the more theoretical levels, possibly
munity regarding consumer electron- amplifier seems to typify products overlooking the real world product.
ics are said to bring about major built for Europe, designed by commit- This seems to be ashame, because I
changes to the sound of an amplifier. tee for the marketplace, but not for am sure that asimilar amount of R&D
Perhaps the new Philips FA890 the listening room. put toward correct implementation of
(029.95) integrated amplifier is the Philips have an outstanding their developments would make their
first of this new breed. reputation for design, research and own products as superior as their
development. Throughout the history

euro-
amp
research work. This has been borne
of consumer electronics, the Philips out with their Compact Disc models
name has been synonymous with of late, that seem to combine
new technologies; Compact Cassette, innovation with good execution of
Compact Disc and the new Digital the design at acompetitive cost.
Compact Cassette are all obvious The product in question here, the
examples. In many cases, this original FA890 amplifier, is designed for
Philips' FA890 amplifier is designed
research has been followed up with remote control use. This fits in with
later refinements, such as the the Philips standard RCS infra red
to conform to new Euro
developments that have been remote, meaning that the volume
occuring with digital to analogue control on aCompact Disc remote
regulations. Alan Sircom doesn't
convertors recently. will also adjust the volume control on
In many cases however, the fruits the amplifier. This is important to
think much of them.
of Philips' R&D labours have not been bear in mind when connecting the
exploited to the full by Philips CD player to the amplifier. People
Over the next few years, the latest themselves. While they have made who place convenience high on their
crop of standards have suggested that significant headroads in to the list of priorities are apt to use the
hi-fi equipment remains immune to domestic Compact Disc market and remote volume control on the player.
large amounts of Radio Frequency have every intention to broaden this Using the remote output with this
interference (hereafter referred to as area, their own brand products have amplifier would cause dramatic
RF), particularly in the phono stage. traditionally lost out to other manu- changes in volume levels, as ft affects
To make an amplifier meet stringent facturers. Philips themselves are not two volume controls simultaneously.
requirements in this area necessitates too unhappy about this, as they sell a Remote aside, the amplifier is, in
use of RF input filters that degrade large amount of components to appearance, apretty typical European
sound quality. them. Many of the most successful or Japanese product. It has one of the

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largest on/off switches that 1have 'Sympathy for the Devil' by the bloated, have little definition and can
seen on any amplifier. This, combined Rolling Stones, the souna-stageing never sound bet
with the pale blue lights that halo properties of the amplifier were Ifeel that the FA890 amplifier is
both the on/off switch and the servo flaccid and ill-defined. There was a not cesigned for the specialist hi-fi
assisted volume control make for a sense of stereo, but inner detail market. its market is for those whose
somewhat ostentatious front panel. within that sourd stage was quite priorities place ease of use and
The remainder of the controls poor. system matching above outright
consist of apair of loudspeaker In fairness to the amplifier, it was sound quality. While it is not the stuff
switches, to enable two pairs of quite detailed and it did not sound as of hi-fi in our terms, those who are
loudspeakers to be run, aheadphone vexatious as some of the similar looking at upgrading from their midi
socket, recording selector, plus bass amplifiers from the Far East. It has, system, but are willing to trade sound
and treble controls with a 'direct' however, little else to commend it in for convenience, will find the Philips
switch to disable them. This has a sound quality terms. Vocals sound amplifier an attractive prospect. The
display light that comes on when the recessed and muted, guitars and rest of us will have to look elsewhere,
tone switches are out. violins sharp and drums, while not I'm afraid •
A row of signal selectors offer
Phono, TV/Auxl, VCR/Aux2, Tape I,
Tape2/DAT (curious this one, as I
would have expected this to read Measured Performance
'DCC', but 1digress), Tuner/IDBS, Alan said the FA890 sounded immediately Distortion 0.004%
CD/CDV. Below these lies the infra and obviously awful on disc; he used a Sensitivity I70mV
Roksan Corus Black moving magnet car- dc offset -36/-39mV
red sensor and balance control, with
tridge. Isuspected the problem was ex- Disc ( Moving Magnet)
the large volume control above it
cessive input capacitance, likely due to Frequency response 40Hz-64kHz
At the rear cf the amplifier lie all Separation -73dB
EMC requirements. Philips confirmed that
the respective phono sockets for the the FA890 met stringent German EMC Noise -83dB
inputs, with gold sockets for the requirements, which will soon be adopted Distortion 0.006%
phono and CD inputs. Above the disc Europe w de. Tests showed that it has Sensitivity 2.8mV
570pF input capacitance. The figure should Overload I45mV
stage sockets lives amoving coil/
be 200pF or thereabouts. Excessive ca- Input Z 47k/570pF
moving magnet selector switch. Next
pacitance significantly alters the frequency Disc ( Moving Coil)
to the sockets there are two sets of Frequency response 40Hz-52kHz
response of moving magnet cartridges,
loudspeaker connectors, but they do rolling off nigh frequencies and producing Separation -70dB
not accept either thick cables (thicker adull sound, although sometimes with a Noise -68dB
than 79 strand) or 4mm sockets. This forward upper mid- band. Distortion 0.008%
The verdict is that the FA890 is not Sensitivity 0.35mV
indicates Philips' insensitivity to such
compatible with moving magnet pickup Overload I
5mV
matters. Finally, there are aseries of
cartridges, except afew low impedance
AC output sockets and acaptive
designs. It is OK with moving coil car-
mains lead exits the rear panel at the tridges - and CD of course. Distortion
top right hand comer. The AC Otherwise, the amplifier measured 0.1%
sockets allow connection of up to well. It is enormously powerful ( 1I 2W
three components to the amplifier. into 8ohms/ I 82W into 4ohms) and has an
This means that the on/off switch on excellent power supply. allowing it to
deliver heavy currents and cope with dif-
the amplifier controls the other
ficult loudspeaker loads. Together with
components. remote control, it's a bargain for those
In terms of outright sound quality, who aren't fussy about sound quality.NK
the FA890 sadly falls too short of the
mark to allow it to even approach Test Results
amplifiers such as the NAD 30201, Power 112watts o
8k TEST DISTORTION HARMONICS 60kHz
especially on the phono stage. The CD/tuner/aux.
TONE 10kHz
amplifier has asound quality that is Frequency response 4Hz-74kHz
Separation 83dB
both harsh at the higher frequencies
Noise -86dB High frequency distortion was negligible
and indistinct and muddy in the bass.
When listening to records such as
HI- Fl WORLD OCTOBER 1991 79
 a
sfewer and fewer people buy lead, an on/off switch and aDIN comes as standard with moving coil
turntables these days, ampli- socket for the power feed to the matching only. Either head amplifier is
fier manufacturers are phono amplifier. The rear of the likely to be far better than almost any
beginning to question the value of Phono2 amplifier has two phono in-built phono stage on the market,
putting an expensive disc stage into a sockets, with an earthing post, for the with only aselect (and expensive)
new amplifier. Even once-resolute disc input, two phono sockets for the few preamplifiers bettering their disc
vinyl supporters are beginning to line level output and acaptive PSU performance. As such, it would not
produce Compact Disc-only versions lead with aDIN plug on the end. The be worthwhile considering either of
of their most successful amplifiers, Phono2 also has the facility for these phono stages unless one has a
while the latest crop of specialist running an extra power supply at a very fine turntable, arm and cartridge
budget super-amplifiers from Japan all later date, but this necessitates combination first.
seem to have adisc stage fitted only sending it back to NVA briefly for For this test, my Pink Triangle
as atoken gesture. modification. Anniversary, SME Model V and
At the same time that we see Goldring Excel were used as the
slippage in the quality of the on-board Simple Beast
reference turntable. Amplification was
disc stage, we see the rise of the The ISO is afar simpler beast. It NVA's own P80 passive preamplifier
external phono stage, known as a comes in ablack Perspex box about and A80 monoblock amplifiers,
head amplifier. These seem to fall into the size of apresentation case for a together with NVA's own cable. To
two distinct categories. On the one gold watch or afountain pen. Its take the NVA bias out of the
hand there's the amplifier manufac- power supply unit is aline trans- equation, aPioneer A-400 was also
turer who still wishes to make fine former, akin to those used to power used.
amplifiers which suit turntables, but aPersonal Stereo from the mains. On The ISO, along with aselect few
does not want to produce one the underside of the box, aside from products such as the Finestra (also
version with, and another without, the feet and the power cable, there designed by the ISO's creator, Tom
disc stages. This is typified by Deltec lies agold earthing post. At the rear Evans) and the S.P. 1.5 preamplifiers,
and Nene Valley Audio, whose £300 of the unit there are four phono are designed with phase integrity,
Phono2, with aseparate £230 Power sockets, marked IN and OUT in gold including absolute phase, as an
Supply Unit is tested here. lettering. Michell's name and ' ISO' in important criterion in forming the
The other manufacturer getting capitals are engraved in gold on the overall sound. The Pioneer A-400 is
into head amplifiers is, logically top of the device. A red LED glows also strong in the area of phase
enough, the turntable builder. They diffusely through the black Perspex accuracy, so was considered to be a
want their product to be displayed at front logical alternative to the NVA.
its best and if amplifiers are falling Both boxes of electronics need to Loudspeakers used were ProAc's
short of producing good phono be far removed from any mains Studio 1Mk II; Furukawa cable was
stages, they need to correct the transformers, including their own used throughout with the A-400.
trend. Most well known in this power supplies. NVA 'sPhono2 is Both head amplifiers were given

upstaged disc
The latest trend in amplification is to put the Phono stage preamplifier

in a separate box, which is then known as a ' head amplifier'.

Alan Sircom gets to grips with two up-market models.

country are Roksan, with their quite capable of sitting directly by the approximately thirty six hours run in,
ArtaXerxes and Michell's ISO, priced side of any NVA preamplifier in before any serious listening took
at £393, which is also tested here production, as they are all passive place.
with the NVA. models without mains power.
Both head amplifiers are two-box Michell's ISO seemed to be even Separation
units, divorcing the electronics from more sensitive of positioning than the Both the NVA and the ISO are
the power supply. The NVA is far NVA, but this may also be due to its superbly detailed, showing most
more substantial, with two identically apparently lower noise floor. The ISO integral phono stages aclean pair of
sized black cases, which have the benefited from being nearly afoot heels. The most obvious improve-
same minimalist styling as the rest of away from any transformer. With a ment that Icould hear was asense of
NVA's range. As is usual with NVA, Pioneer A-400 amplifier on the top separation between instruments and
the cases are impossible to open shelf of aSound Organisation table afiner degree of articulation than
without first taking lessons from and the ISO on the lower shelf, normally expected from vinyl.
Richard Dunn, the man behind the transformer hum was readily notice- Whether this is due to the amount of
company. able in most positions. It should be time spent in researching what goes
From the front, there is little to tell placed as far from the amplifier as into afine phono stage, or if it just
the two boxes apart; the power LED cables will allow. proves the efficacy of physically
and the NVA logo are on different While the Phono2 can be factory separating the phono stage from the
corners, but that's it. The rear of the set to suit either moving coil or rest of the amplifier Icannot com-
power supply has acaptive mains moving magnet cartridges, the ISO ment, but Ido feel that the former is
80
HI- F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991
probably closer to the truth.
In fact, in terms of articu ation and
Either head distinct increase ir noise on the NVA.
It was noticeably louder in volume,
clarity, there is little between tnern.
The NVA delves further into the
amplifier is likely to but even when the volume levels
were suitably adjusted to match the
lower regions of the music, giving a
sense of weight that is more immedi-
be far better than two, the ISO had afar quieter
background. In fad, Icannot think of a
ately noticeable than it is with the
ISO. This is not to say that the ISO
almost any in-built phono stage that is as hushed as the
ISO. Given that it is placed asuitable
plays music w'tn alightweight air, but
that the NVA is more solid sounding
phono stage on the distance from any electrical interfer-
ence, it displays litle of the hum
than the ISO. This was especially
noticeable with strident rock tracks.
market, with only a normally associated with amoving
coil amplifier.
such as Danzig's 'Twist of Cain',
where this solidity appeared as pace
select (and At the end of the test, my
opinions had changed radically from
and driving rhythm. The ISO was not
too far behind, but it did not seem to
expensive) few the beginning. Initially, the NVA's
powerful driving sound impressed me,
accent this area in the way that tne
NVA did.
preamplifiers with its forceful interpretation of loud
rock music. Gradually however, as I
Unfortunately, this depth to the
sound was let down by the NVA's
bettering their disc plundered my collec:ion of records,
the lighter rock, jazz and classical
treble. Ifelt this to be far too 'hi-fi'
sounding and verging on the edge of
performance music began to convince me other-
wise_
brightness on some material. Iknow The NVA Phono2 is afine head
the sotrid quaky of my turntable arid amplifier, well suited, obviously, to
'bright' snot aword that comes to displaying any of its own interpreta- NVA's own equipment. Its pacy and
mind regularly. tions. This was especially tue when powerful rhythmic sense will be
With the addition of the Goldring the ISO was played through the appreciated by those who place
cartridge, the turntable veers toward A-400, apartnership that is successful those characteristics highly. The
the warm and polite; something I from both atheoretical and asonic Michell ISO appears to be in a
rarely feht with the NVA. It was Inc d, standpoint. diffe-ent league. It is more civilised
detailed and, for the most part, very In both amplifier systems, how- and studious. It can rock with the lads,
listenab e, but Ifelt that the NVA's ever, Ifeht that the ISO was :he but tis equally suited to astring
accent was far too pronounced in the stronger of the two in absolute terms. quartet, ajazz trio and the two Pet
upper regions. It did not have the deep bass Shop Boys. As such feel that the
It was here that the ISO really performance of the NVA, but it was Michel ISO is possibly the finest
carre Hito its own. It showed up the far easier to st in front of for long moving coil stage that Ihave encoun-
character of the cartridge without periods. In addition, Ialso -iaticed a tered :o date •
HI- F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991 81
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Because no two listening environ-
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apleasure to visit. will enhance
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CREEK • EPOS • EXPOSURE • LINN • MERIDIAN • NAIM AUDIO
NAKAMICHI • ONIX • REGA • ROCSAN • QUAD
...continued from page II much 1have enjoyed reading it. I RANTING AND TUNING that he was in Wokingham
will clarify this by saying 1have In ashort period of time you recently and the source of the
fully to establish this point. If not purchased or looked at ahi- have produced the first decent interference turned out to be
you would like to, let us know! fi magazine for 8to I 0years. new hi-fi magazine. In particular the local Police Station.
In the meantime, Iagree that Iwonder if you could help the articles concerning second- The BBC suggested two
although using 100k resistors me? Many years ago Ipurchased hand and venerable items such things - phone them (as anyone
got us out of apredicament JR loudspeakers but, now the JR as the Thorens TDI50 and the can from anywhere in the
simply and quickly, it is not a EX Ibass units have developed a explanation of recording levels country) on 081 752 5040, or
recommended mod. since much hum. For the record this hum has been most enlightening. better still, they said, make a
more than I 00pF of subsequent only appears at acertain volume An indication of another tape of the interference and
capacitance will roll off treble. setting and can be removed by useful future topic seems to be send it to them to think about
either turning the volume up or hinted at by the inclusion of at
down. My problem is that I what appears to be adiagram of BBC Engineering Information,
ADDICTION cannot find out the new address aDIY phase-reversal switch on BBC White City,
Ithink congratulations are in or telephone number of the pI7 of the August issue.ltrust 201 Wood Lane,
order for producing an excellent company. that this will be repeated, London WI2 7TS
magazine that hopefully has no Thanks for your articles in together with some accompany- EB
intention of forgetting about the your Tweaky Comer. This item ing text.
many thousands of vinyl LP just fell into my lap at the right Might you not put your
users. The pressure to dump' an time. Having recently moved and considerable knowledge to work SPLEEN VENTING
entire music collection for the now setting up the hi-fi the explaining tuner and aerial As along time user of vintage
sake of keeping up with the system is suffering from various specifications? Ilive at the outer valves (Leak TL12, rebuilt by
Jones' can at times become interference or noises or spikes extremes of two BBC transmit- Glen Croft) 1am pleased to see
enormous, especially as it can (?) coming through the speakers. ters ( Oxford and Wrotham) and interest and awareness increas-
seem at times that there is areal Having never experienced this at am plagued by intermittent ing. It is agood thing to give
shortage of LPs in the high street my old address Ispent many whistling interference on Radio people genuine alternatives,
shops. hours going through the system. I. Having tried aNAD 4020 of individuality is important The
If your staple diet is classical It was only the other day that I some vintage and aSony 730ES main point of this letter is asad
music there is indeed alack of decided that it was not the hi-fi leaves me none the wiser case of spleen venting.
new titles, but there is a but the electrical supply. What a regarding apermanent solution, Imust vent said organ at the
secondhand market that is relief reading your article today. despite afour element aerial myopic philistine who described
expanding at an enormous rate Problem. Very interesting pointing towards Wrotham. early incarnations of the NAD
and many of the older record- BUT. What happened to the As you have aknack of 3020 as ugly ducklings. Iam a
ings often beat the socks off names, address and phone reviewing items 1am vaguely tolerant man, but that cannot
newer digital releases (as most of numbers of various companies interested in (e.g. Aiwa HS- 150 pass unnoticed.
us already know). supplying the products you have and NAD 8100) at about the The seductive curves of the
Despite the impression of this mentioned. Can you help in this time Iwant to find out more, I controls on the old 3020 is
vinyl shortage, the reality is that matter as well? live in hope of something on unmatched and will live in plastic
there is awealth of material M.I. Skudder tuners and aerials appearing moulding legend. Who could not
available if you know where to Orpington, Kent soon. fail to be mesmerised by the fine
look. As far as 1am concerned Matthew Parris, LEDs pulsing like the music
the high street chains are all but As you have probably gathered, Wokingham, Berkshire through the innards of an all time
useless for anything other than JR loudspeakers no longer exist. classic? The NAD 3020B and
chart material. What the We spoke to Jim Rogers Space Gremlins infiltrated the KEF Coda Ill's gave me my first
discerning music lover should be himself on the matter. He office and stole the words glimpses of music.1 have moved
doing is supporting the local suggested that it may be a which should have accompanied on, but your reviewer should be
specialist retailers who can give a crossover fault, which should Richard Brice's diagram. aware of the deep emotional
service that the mega stores can prove no problem to acompe- However, we paid the ransom turmoil he can cause by such
only dream of. tent service engineer. The bass demand, and they were flippant remarks. The mouldings
In an effort to support those units themselves were originally returned to us in time to be may have gone, but their
who prefer vinyl agroup called made by Audax, but later printed in this issue. AS memory lives on in many hearts.
Analogue Addicts was set up loudspeakers were fitted with G. Lee,
more than ayear ago, to SEAS drivers. Should the drive As regards the tuning problem, Muswell Hill, London
campaign for the maintenance of unit prove to be too trouble- the causes can be very diverse.
choice for the music lover. It also some, Jim recommended The BBC engineers told us that As someone who seems to find
aims to guide members to the looking at similar models from older aerials weren't really aesthetic delight where others
specialist retailers of both new the current SEAS range. designed to receive beyond 94- don't, 1sympathise. As some-
and secondhand records, and to With regard to mains 95MHz, and of course Radio 1 one said, you can't please all the
encourage an increase in quality suppression, do not expect a is now broadcast on 98MHz. A people all of the time... EB
of the end product. 100% reduction in spikes from newer design may be the
Those readers who do not any device. For your problem, I solution, but the BBC also
want to be pushed around by would prefer to put QED (tel warned us that there are still a FELLOW SPIRIT
the big hardware and software 0784-246236) suppression number of the older variety 1have cancelled my regular Hi - Fi
manufacturers and can see boxes on any offending floating around in the shops, so mag. (no names no pack drill) in
through the marketing hype electrical devices outside the hi- beware. favour of your publication.
should join the AA. Details are fi system, than to use any mains However, this isn't the end Anyone who uses aLeak
available from: conditioner or purifier. of it. Apparently, Radio 1is Troughline as areference is a
Box 33, 22 High Street, Keighley, If you find that the source of transmitted at lower power fellow spirit!
West Yorkshire BD2 I2AA. the interference is external to from Wrotham than Radios 2, 3 lam aged sixty, so my youth
Richard Hudson your building, try using the and 4, which may mean was what Iconsider the Golden
Treasurer - Analogue conditioners by Copenhagen substituting alarger aerial. The Age of hi-fi. Then, newly married
Addicts. Transformers ( imported by computer couldn't quite make with an understanding wife, I
Zeus Audio - tel 0232 332522) up its mind as to whether the graced the living-room of my
or Radar Developments (tel Wrotham or Oxford transmit- semi with ahome- built
ADDRESSING ISSUES 0793 765256). These do help to ters would be more suitable Wharfeda'e sand-filled enclosure,
1have purchased your magazine eliminate impulse spikes and are overall. using Gilbert Briggs' book. It was
for the first time and must take said to be effective, without Just to add to the confusion, driven by aPamphonic valve
this opportunity to say how actually degrading the overall one of the engineers told us amp. ( EL84 push-pull), Connois-
sound. AS
HI -
FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 83
 seur three speed deck and arm stereo, and 1have the original dence about transmission lines. DIRECT FROM CROFT
from Sugden, another Yorkshire- dilemma of asatellite speaker for My good friend Raymond's My first encounter with an OTL
man the comer hom. Iam using an memory has lapsed here, was aFutterman. Operating
Like an idiot Iditched this Audio Technica arm and Linn because the Kodak speakers correctly, it produced asound in
system in the mid 60s for aLeak Asak cartridge with anew tip on (which KEF were kind enough to advance of any transformer
Stereo 30 (transistor), two the Garrard. design and build at my request) coupled amplifier we heard.
bookshelf speakers and a have come to the conclu- were indeed transmission lines, My first OTL design, the
Garrard deck. It took me some sion that in the price bracket I at least under our industry's Series 11, came onto the market
months to acknowledge my could afford, Transistorisation current woolly interpretation of around nine years ago and had
mistake; the amp was as hard as and Stereo mid-sixties style was this terni, albeit rather short most of the features now used
nails and where had all the bass adisaster we all felt we had to ones. on the DCO 150 you reviewed,
gone? live with in the name of progress. They had two B139s and two alongside my Series Ill.
Idrifted, hi-fi wise, into the 1look at today's all-singing, all- T1 5s (Duettes) but also a The output stage of our
70s and 80s until Ihad asystem dancing gear and am reminded rectangular opening at the foot OTLs is based on the first
of indifferent oriental gear which of aradiogram that impressed of the front baffle from aheavily Futterman circuit of 1954, which
Ikicked into touch when 1made me as achild. It had aclock and damped, double-folded line. was direct coupled (only
an Antique/Junkshop find. 1was cocktail cabinet built in. It had to They were small - the front subsequently did Futterman go
offered an old ' radiogram' which be good! baffle was just big enough to to the capacitor coupled circuit
I ' reluctantly' accepted, saving my Tom Wolstencroft, accommodate the drivers and to obtain increased output).
chuckles of glee until Igot home. Stockport, Cheshire. the vent The question of DC balance
Ifound Ihad aRogers Domestic Itook them around the and offset is not aproblem in
Comer Hom fitted with a country, and recall that one pair our amplifier. The power
Lowther PM6, aWhiteley did afair job of filling the Fairfield supplies are floating, hence, there
Stentorian cabinet fitted with a TRANSMISSION Hall, Croydon with two Leak is no offset present on the
mint Garrard 301 and afifty watt RESUMED 50w valve amps., circa 1965. output even in the event of an
Beam- Echo Avantic mono Iwas most interested to read They had an aperiodic bass output tube developing ashort
amplifier with EL34 push-pull Noel Keywood's Reflections in which worked well in almost any circuit! The bias adjustment on
output! the September issue. environment, reinforcing our OTLs is merely to match the
1put in anew 32uf+32uf cap Icompletely agree that Raymond's comments on the current flowing in the two pairs
in the amp. as amatter of course accuracy is what it is about, but validity of this design approach, of output valves and has no
-the old one was dated 1969 - that narrow thinking has Thiel/Small notwithstanding. affect upon DC offset (any valve
and everything was in order. I rebounded into sloppiness. Denis Wratten, amplifier with afixed bias
didn't even need anew idler There is often not enough rigour Acoustic Gold, requires bias adjustment to
wheel, the original had seen so in the design approach, apart of Hampton, Middlesex. compensate for the ageing of the
little use. course from certain companies. valves).
1have got my 'sound' back The same applies to magazine Whilst we may have built
after twenty odd years!1 am reviews, dare 1say... only around 100 OTLs, this is
looking out for another amp for Ialso noticed the correspon- around 100 more than anyone

OVER THE EDGE

The deceptively clean and simple exterior Alistening test and conversation with
designs of the Creek range of hi-fi you Creek stockist will prove different.
components might lead you to think that Creek. Emotional rescue for your music.
our performance claims are
Creek Audio Systems
somewhat exaggerated. Rosehall Industrial Estate,
Coatbridge, Strathclyde ML5 4TF,
Scotland.
AUDIO SYSTEMS Tel: (0236) 20199. Fax: (0236) 28230

84
HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991
else in this country - and not one Paravicini below. We were know abit more about the nitty could possibly damage the load
speaker system has sustained any under the impression that your gritty of valve OTLs. Iasked (loudspeaker), because either
damage! OTL is direct coupled, but it Tim de Paravicini of EAR to B+ or B- can be regarded as
The Series Ill was developed now seems likely it is capacitor provide us with greater having near zero impedance.
around three years ago to be the coupled. Amar of Eminent told illumination. Tim designed valve
cheapest OTL possible, whilst me, after the review was put amplifiers for Lux of Japan and In example 2, the Power Supply
still retaining usable output into print, that acrowbar now produces the EAR range of Unit (PSU) centre tap is not
power and using top quality protection circuit is fitted to valve amplifiers. He isn't an connected. This is the only
components. The original protect against DC offset. Is it impartial observer, but he is method by which the PSU can
circuitry is necessarily simplified, or isn't it? We would all like to one of the few people in Britain be made floating. This circuit
hence, the increased measured know. (the world?) who KNOWS cannot be atrue DC amplifier,
distortion. The feedback can Harmonic distortion with about such matters. NK since the load current returns
easily be raised to reduce this, higher order components is via either C+ or C- to the
but sadly the amplifier sounds audible, even in small quantities. valves. A short on VI or V2 will
flat and lifeless. Nobody is suggesting that it REPLY TO CROFT FROM charge either C+ or C- and so,
We don't consider the must be reduced to nothing, TIM DE PARAVICINI this circuit behaves as a
pursuit of astonishingly low levels but 1would suggest it is 1am going to use two simplified capacitor coupled amplifier, not
of distortion has much relevance reduced to an inaudibly low circuit diagrams to illustrate my atrue direct coupled amplifier,
to sound quality - have you level. Whilst there is and always arguments about direct valve which is why the loudspeaker
measured some of the direct will be argument over what coupling. cannot see aDC offset of
heated triode, zero feedback constitutes such alevel, around course.
amplifiers? 0.1% maximum is desirable with Example Iis one of two
If you require alow distortion extended harmonics. Normal methods of direct coupling. It Without acircuit, it is impos-
OTL then try any Futterman. valve amps. often have second has the ability to reproduce sible to know exactly which of
We do not hear the high
frequency Droblems that you do. B+
If it sounded as you describe we Example I.
would not consider manufactur-
ing it or have acontinual waiting
list with advance payments for DRIVE
AND V2
Series Ills or 3s's. We can only C+
BIAS
presume it was being clipped. 200V
As regards matching, one
point not brought out was
CENTRE
speaker impedance. OTLs like 4-- CATHODE TAP N
higher impedances as ageneral CURRENT MONITORS
rule. Indeed, they can drive the
the impedance peaks that solid
state amplifiers cannot, because
of their limited voltage capability.
OTLs are rare because they
DRIVE C-
normally cost megabucks: AND VI LOUDSPEAKER
200V
Counterpoint, Klimo, Prodigy, BIAS
Atma-sphere, New York Audio
Labs. etc. It is not because they
have spurious problems.
The Series III is £2400
cheaper than any other OTL
available. Whilst it is not available
for all and sundry, neither is any B-

other variety of valve amplifier,

or esoteri ca. harmonic distortion only which,
Glen Croft, Eminent Audio, being subjectively innocuous,
Wolverhampton. can exist in amounts up to 1%
and still be difficult to detect.
Well, I'm glad you're alive and So the guidelines differ accord-
well! We tried to contact you ing to the nature of the
many times and received so distortion.
many contradictory messages We did mention high output
about your state of being, as it impedance, but did not make it
were, that we were forced to clear that this means high
give up. You were asked to impedance loudspeakers are
contact us via Eminent Audio - preferable. However, very little
but you did not. information is available to
The reason for our persis- buyers or dealers on this
tence was - apart from saying subject, so speaker matching on
hello! - to get acircuit diagram the basis of impedance will be
for analysis and to double check difficult. Although aware that
and discuss our results. We still valve OTLs need ahigh
do not have acircuit and impedance, well damped signals down to DC, but the two arrangements Croft
consequently cannot offer (acoustically) loudspeaker, we requires very good control to use, but afloating centre tap
unequivocal replies over any of were surprised to find that your set the output offset with no suggests that, effectively,
your contentions about valve amplifier controlled TDL Studio signal. capacitor coupling is used. The
OTL amplifiers. However, 1can 4s well. Even many lesser solid Should either VI or V2 position of the capacitor has
see no way that afloating state amps fail here, so we develop afault, say acathode/ been moved from the positive
supply eliminates the possibility were careful not to make an grid short circuit, so drawing an side of the loudspeaker to the
of DC offset, except by the issue out of this. excessive current, apermanent negative return line, but it is
mechanism suggested by Tim de Finally, readers might like to DC offset will then exist which there all the same. •

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 85

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 This certainly seems a Once upon a time, CD was
sensible accessory, and it
guaranteed free from Magic.
appears to be the only way of
cleaning the laser lens in most Not any more. Nowadays all
front-loading CD players.
sorts of weird and wonderful

CD gadgets and fluids are available

CLEANING to enhance performance. Most

are accompanied by a ' scientific'

claim and some, to our surprise,

do seem to work. Where it was

AUDIO TECHNICA CD applicable, we used a Cambridge

LENS CLEANER AT
Audio CD- I Disc Quality
6078
fI5.30 Assurance Unit to help establish
When Compact Disc players
were top loading, the tiny the veracity of the claims.
plastic lens which focusses the
laser onto the disc was
accessible, and could be

CD Tweaks
cleaned (gently!) with acotton
bud. Now, however, it's
tucked away and can't be got
at when the drawer closes. AUDIO TECHNICA
Audio Technica's answer to CD ROTARY
the problem of hidden lens CLEANICA AT6059
cleaning is aspecial Compact £49.95
Disc with tracking information This is aneat white, palm-
on it to steer the laser. Eight sized battery operated toy for the man who has won't - since cleaners can't -
tiny brushes on the disc machine, looking like asmall already been given more than do anything to make scratched
surface remove dirt from the food processor - especially he ever needed for his last discs readable.
lens as it passes over them. with its smoky coloured plastic few birthdays. If it brushed as This certainly cleaned off
One wet brush does the lid. well as spun, it would be fingermarks, stains and smears
cleaning, and the other seven The disc is given an rather more effective. of cigarette ash. Its only
dry it advance brush-over, then disadvantages were that it is a
While the instructions placed on aspindle and little flimsy, and has to be held
suggest applying only one sprayed with cleaning fluid down with one hand while the
drop of fluid to the cleaning (which, judging just by the handle was turned with the
brush (clearly marked by an smell, has an alcohol base) other. The cleaning ring under
arrow), this proved almost from the atomiser provided. the lid is also going to become
impossible from the small A-T suggest stains should be dirty with use, and didn't seem
bottle provided. An eyedrop- removed with apreliminary to be removeable for washing
per-type would be far better. spray and what seems like a or replacement.
One snag is that it won't rather hard miniature rubber
necessarily work on all CD squeegee. The lid is then
players; it took three attempts replaced, and the disc spun
with our Arcam transport dry. The process takes about
before it could be persuaded ten seconds, and the two size
to start cleaning. A second C batteries are expected to
snag is that it plays music for last for about 50 CDs.
ten seconds while it finishes A single spin demonstrated
the job. The instructions point that this machine is more of a
out that some players won't spin-drier - Audio Technica ALLSOP 3
play the sound, in which case grandly use the word 'centri- COMPACT DISC
keep your eye on the time fuge' - than awashirg ma- CLEANER
display and count up to ten chine. Both stains and finger- f12.99
and your blessings. The music marks had to be removed This has aturntable with cogs
(hah!) would clear asupermar- using the rubber squeegee, for round the outside, and a
ket at closing time in less than only dust and fluff was revolving cleaning pad above.
the few seconds it lasts. removed in the spin. The lid Hold the knob and turn, and
Lens cleaning is arecom- doesn't lock on, and can be the revolving pad cleans the
mended service procedure. I lifted off while the disc is CD radially. The cleaning fluid HUNT E.D.A. P3
don't know whether the effect spinning; fortunately the comes in aplastic bottle, and f10.99
was psychological or not, but motor isn't strong enough to three drops onto the playing The hard work here has to be
after the lens had been turn aCD into either abacon side of the disc are sufficient. done by hand. The kit consists
cleaned, the CD did seem - slicer for children's fingers or Intended to remove dust, of a 'CD Holder' (akind of
well, cleaner sounding than into afrisbee, since it is held light stains or fingermarks, plastic prong which you grasp
before. The inner detail down by asmall rubber clamp. Allsop say it will prevent at one end, while the other
definitely seemed more It's hard to see this gadget 'skipping and mistracking' - but end is inserted through the
defined. as much more than aYuppie only if aresult of adirty disc. It hole in the disc to keep your
HI- F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991 87
 rnicruniEs
_ ICÍCIrTlEr-E

c=zi EZI ED C31=1 93 a

o BB> BB ea 0000
- - cioom a c>.
ofzi 0 CI - i
.
I 1 CI 0
1

LOGIC 0 1

MICROMEGA AND MUSICALITY

You only have to look at a Micromega CD Player to see
THE LOGIC
that it is very different from the mass of more ' normal' 'The purpose of any piece of audio equipment is musical
machines on the market. You only have to use one to see performance. The purpose of the new bitstream Mic-
that the differences are more than skin deep. In fact, romega Logic is to bring unparalleled levels of musical
everything about the Micromega range is the result of a performance to the most competitive of fields; affordable
fundamental reappraisal of the ideal conditions for CD compact disc players. Tucked inside this attractive pack-
replay. age, brim with useful facilities, is a player of superb
It's all very well us talking of power supplies and data constructional and component quality standards. At £-499
integrity, but as acustomer you want to know how these the Logic resolves more detail, more space, more control
things affect what you hear. and more musical understanding than its competitors.
Ambience and scale is reproduced with an eye to the truth
CD has had specific musical failings. In general these can not the understated, not the overblown. Music has
be summed up as a lack of the following: deep bass colour, texture and emotion. This is what transforms mere
weight, upper range tonal accuracy, dynamic coherence listening to atrue experience. Experience the Logic.'
and many aspects of stereo performance. It has also been
accused of having an antiseptic or clinical sound. The
upshot of all this is that many CD players sound gutless
with screeching highs. The sound can sound harsh and
'glarey' when the music gets complex or loud, and the
soundstage is wide yet mostly flat.
DUO BS II
Many 'audiophile' players try to compensate for this by
adding pleasant second order harmonic distortion to EFIICUTT1EG
'sweeten' the sound, and a midrange suckout to give an
impression of depth. Thus they try to hide the problems
rather than solve them.

Micromega players retrieve much more information than

other CD machines. This is because of the way they are
INPUTO PHASE()
built. The result is amore complete sound. High frequen-
cies and harmonics are sweet and airy, the music swells
with atrue sense of body, and it does not get hard as it
gets loud. The soundstage is open, with width, depth and
height, and properly proportioned images which do not
wander. Even more importantly, music is preserved with a 'Micromega's separate bitstream digital-to-analogue con-
natural sense of ebb and flow, which allows you to hear verter, the Duo BS, has been extremely well received by
how an instrument is being played, and gives melodic press and consumers alike. Now in its Series II guise, the
lines aclear and well defined shape. And that all adds up Duo BS II hits new heights of performance at aremarkably
to increased mu iicality. affordable price (£499). Working from either aco-axial or
optical output the Duo BS II will simply transform your
These effects benefit any type of music, yet they are more existing player's performance.
easily recognised on well recorded acoustic perform-
ances. In our experience, recordings on the Chesky,
Reference Recordings and Harmonia Munddi labels are
particularly revealing. Once you have heard the differ-
ence, you will hear it with every type of music. "It /1U/Kd Dt/Bn Company
How often have you heard natural sound and natural
perspectives from aCD? How often have you tapped your PO Box 13
feet or been swept along by the emotive swell of an London E18 1EG
orchestral crescendo? With a Micromega player this is
Tel/Fax: 081-989 0692
normal.

THE ONLY LOGICAL DIGITAL CHOICE

sticky fingers well away from 'decreases vibration so as to
the playing side), aspray improve the CD sound.'
bottle of cleaning fluid, an Interestingly, no claims are
applicator tool (shaped abit made about the colour.
like adoll's house dustpan A-T also suggest that the
handle) aminiature tooth- ring has aprotective aspect -
brush (the sort you're often the slightly raised edge will lift
given to clean astylus with) aCD afraction off asurface if
and, for some reason, apaper it's put down without its jewel
hanky. box.
The fluid is sprayed on the The rings were easy to slip
underside of the applicator on and off without any
tool, which is covered in athin deformation. Being athor-
layer of cloth reminiscent of oughgoing sceptic about pens
the 'Jiffy' cloth to be found in from outer space and snake
the kitchen. This is acrylic and use to refresh yourself after a oil preparations generally, I
something of asurprise, for it's sticky journey; these, however, was amazed to find slightly
quite coarse. The damp cloth won't be agood substitute - more precision and tightness
side of the applicator is then they're impregnated with a in imagery, and what Ifelt to
stroked radially over the CD, strong medical-alcohol be alittle, but worthwhile FEET
which is planted on the smelling liquid. greater overall clarity. The red-
holding tool, from the centre Reference to the Quality light absorbing properties of ALLSOP 3 AUDIO
hole to the outer edge, Assurance Module showed a the green rings doubtless ISOLATORS
overlapping each stroke until slight (but statistically insignifi- lessens stray reflections of £24.99 (Pack of 4)
the whole CD has been cant) drop in the number of laser light too. A set of four NAVCOM
cleaned. The process takes a corrected errors on the newly (see above) round moulded
couple of minutes, though the wiped disc; the CD, however, feet. The lower surface has six
CD on its holder is rather did come up sparklingly clean, bumps on it to sit on the table
wobbly. Ididn't drop one on with dust, afew odd bits of or w'latever, the upper
the floor, though. fluff, and afingerprint re- surface (which the amplifier,
Unlike Audio-Technica's, moved. It was also kind to the turntable, CD player or other
which is very restrained in disc; no surface scratches item stands on) is finely
terms of making assertions appeared after using the grooved. The feet will support
about their cleaner's effective- wipes. anything weighing up to 9kg.
ness, the accompanying blurb This seems fair enough - 'Reducing vibration,' says the
to the P3, amid agood deal of there are no claims on the blurb, ' results in less distortion
techno-speak about ' Fine container other than about for tighter bass, clear sound
nozzled (calibrated) metering the removal of dust, stains, and greater overall sound
bottles', ' Unique " radial" and fingerprints, and this the
cleaner' and so on, claims that Milty Wipe performs. The slight rubber-eraser
digital 'harshness' is minimized, smell - Ican never resist a
there's 'greater spaciousness quick sniff - took me right back
and ambience', ' broadcasted
GREEN RINGS ALLSOP CD PLUS to my schooldays. Installed
(sic) improvements in clarity' PROTECTIVE under our Arcam transport,
and 'up to a26% increase in STABILISERS the main result appeared to
clarity.' £I2.99 (Pack of I0) be aslightly wider soundstage.
To acertain extent, the Green rings - except that Timing was slightly loosened,
latter claim was met on these are black! Very similar to but paradoxically some
measurement. Using the the A-T Green Rings; Allsop transients seemed to be
Cambridge Quality Assurance say theirs are made from tighter. Feet could well be a
Module the counters displayed NAVCOM ' Noise and usefu' aid, but results will
fewer signal dropouts after the Vibration Control Material', depend on the quality of the
test disc had been cleaned which 'enhances stabilisation transport, mechanism, and the
with P3 - almost exactly 26%! by dampening disc vibration. physical weight of the player,
Nonetheless, despite claims to Less vibration allows the CD as well as its proximity to
the contrary in the accompa- player's laser to read data with loudspeakers •
nying literature, some slight better accuracy, resulting in a
surface scratches did appear truer reproduction of sound
on the disc after the applicator for clearer, more natural
had been used on it. sounding music.'
AUDIO TECHNICA The black rings are a
MILTY COMPACT GREEN RING smaller diameter than A-T's
AND LASER VISION STABILIZER AT6079 green ones, and consequently
DISC CLEANER £6.50 (Pack of S) less easy to fit on without
£2.17 (Drum of 80) These are thin (ana fingerprints appearing on the
Known as ' Milty Wipes' to removable) green-coloured disc. They also stretch slightly,
save time and typesetters' plastic rings, grooved to slide so are not as re- usable as the
tempers, these are soft, lint- snugly onto the outer edge of green ones. Nor did they fit as
free impregnated cloths, eighty the CD. evenly around the edge.
of which come in around Each ring weighs 0.5g, and Results were similar to the
plastic tub. Audio Technica say the added A-T green rings, except
The tissues are not too mass around the circumfer- diminished somewhat. Perhaps
dissimilar, at first sight, to ence of the disc 'suppresses green does have something to
those useful wet wipes you shaking during rotation' which be said for it after all.
HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 89
 down to
Ispent awhile in the rare record having been in the business, Ihave my
business. It's like owning abookshop. own tried and trusted cleaning
Everybody assumes that you can method, but it seemed worthwhile
spend all your time reading - or trying out amachine anyone could
listening to all the records you were buy.
never able to buy. Some do. They In aparticularly mean mood

the nitty
either have private means and don't recently, Ihanded over fifty pence for
need to be in the trade, or they do twenty records whose sleeves were
need the income and find they're gummed together with damp,
sliding fast down the slope to bank- cobwebs, brickdust and worse. The
ruptcy. There are plenty of tales in 'worse' looked as though it had

gritty
both worlds of book and record something to do with rodents. If there
sellers who couldn't bear to part with was going to be areal test, this would
their stock to those funny intruders be it. Sense prevailed, however, and I
called customers. stuck to aselection of ordinarily
My stock, alas, was strictly for sale. marred discs. Idid try one or two of
Such is the lust of foreign collectors the ones that looked as though they'd
these days, that the discs were too come off arubbish tip, but if anyone is
often on display for sums Iwould gormless enough to spend £249 to
Eric Braithwaite gives the £ 249 blench at if Iwas asked to pay them. clean up records the dustman
That explains why I'm to be found wouldn't touch, they have aproblem.
Nitty Gritty Record Master scouring one of London's most Iwas just curious to see how much
famous second hand markets while the Nitty Gritty could cope with.
LP cleaning device a whirl. the birds are still yawning and waiting The Nitty Gritty Record Master
for the alarm to go off on Saturday which we were provided with is a
morning. Ihave found bargains - and manual machine. The moulded plastic
some rarities - but they mostly have black top has avinyl finish; the base,
one little problem. which contains the reservoir for waste
By the time even amint record cleaning fluid and the vacuum pump,
finds its way onto amarket stall it's is made of thin wood, finished in
liable to have collected at least afew walnut. A small round turntable on
sticky fingerprints. There's nothing like the left holds the record, with ahand-
London air, exhaust fumes and the held clamp over it. To the right is a
dust thrown up by athousand pairs of narrow trough with two velvet ' lips',
feet to add afurther delicate patina of which dries the record. This behaves
grime on top, even after only an hour in similar fashion to the suction hose
or two in acardboard carton on the of avacuum cleaner to remove the
pavement That is why Ispend afair dust and liquid. A plastic outrigger
amount of time, scrubbing brush - blanks off part of the nozzle for drying
metaphorically - in hand. In fact, EP's and I 0- inch LPs or 78's.
90 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991
 Nifty Gritty's own cleaning fluid is paranoia, but also reach into the playable - and the brickdust had to be
squirted onto avelvet pad which is grooves rather better and brush them brushed off by hand first.
wiped over the surface of the LP. The more thoroughly. Record cleaning is not acure-all.
record is then placed wet side down Nitty Gritty's machine removed No machine or method can restore a
on the platter and the clamp-cum- fingermarks carefully - carelessly! - scratch or adamaged or worn
turning hub is positioned over the applied to selected records before- groove, but what the Nitty Gritty did
label on the spindle that projects hand, though some marks needed successfully was restore ordinarily
through the hole in the middle. two goes to shift entirely. Two LPs afflicted LPs to playable health. It is
Next stage of the operation is to which had somehow collected alot of something of atime consuming
switch on the mains powered vacuum surface dust and goo ( I'm asmoker, process, however. While you're
pump, which sounds exactly like a which is bad for records anyway, and I supposed to wait for the used fluid to
miniature vacuum cleaner, the have alot of building work going on evaporate, which restricts cleaning
vacuum pump exerting quite afierce outside which spreads an astonishing sessions to between six and abaker's
suction. Turning the record, by means amount of dust and grime every- dozen LPs at atime, arubber bung
of its clamp, through two or three where - including inside the record underneath can be removed and fluid
revolutions dries the disc totally. sleeves) came off the machine drained away so more can be dealt
Finally, lift the record off and repeat markedly improved, much quieter and with.
for the other side. Iheard the shuffling of orchestral feet The more expensive models do
The machine proved quite and the tap of elbow on music stand take agood deal of the bother out of
effective - the LPs came off the platter which had been disguised by the it the 1.5 and 2.5 models turn the
looking clean and shiny, with the surface noise. record over awetted pad through a
normal detritus and surface dust Records tainted with fingermarks revolving capstan which drives the
removed and vacuumed away. Tiny regained their original pristine state edge of the LP, and then turns it again
stubborn particles won't necessarily and no longer produced that slight while the vacuum operates. The most
be shifted as easily, though. Iwas but irritating ssshhh' as the stylus expensive will wash and dry both
worried that the velvet pads which tracks through the grease. A pa-ticu- sides of the record at once - aboon if
rub the record during the drying/ lady intractable LP, once cleaned, was you want to clean alarge collection
vacuuming process seemed abit thin revealed to have suffered serious regularly.
with their hard plastic holder just a groove wear in the past. Some of the Our Record Master certainly
fraction of an inch beneath. It took a crackle and pop had vanished, functioned well and the ability to
little while to pluck up courage to however, which did make it less restore agood proportion of the
clean aprized rare record for fear of painful to listen to. The thoroughly original sound to arecord is definitely
scratching it. Fortunately, it survived, polluted records needed more abenefit. If you have alarge vinyl col-
but Iwould have thought athicker cleaning sessions than were really lection, the range is well worth
cleaning pad would not only alleviate worthwhile, but they were rendered inspection - and so are your records! •

Why SO NY

HI-FI
DEALER AWARDS
1986

do we
NFWS WINNER
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HI- F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991 9I

 ellana atousStitsS
'SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND'
Either way the Mana Spirit level is one of the most useful turntable tweaker tools we've come across.
Jason Kennedy, HiFi Choice, Feb '90

If you own an expensive system, Ifeel that in most cases, it is incomplete without aReference table.
Alan Sircom, Hi-
Fi World, July'91

One could imagine that turntable, arm and cartridge had all been instantly upgraded.
Martin Colloms, HiFi News, July'90

Ihaven't experienced such astartling improvement through changing asingle component for avery long time.
Paul Messenger, HiFi Choice, June'90

Well you don't need adegree in the bleedin' obvious to hear the huge improvement the Sound Frame wrought.
Paul Hartley, Hi-
Fi World, May'91

Dynamics expanded, low level information was scavenged from inaudibility,

and timing, speed and precision nothing less than asubstantial leap forward.
Malcolm Steward, Audiophile with Hi-
Fi Answers, Dec'90

The Mana Reference Sound table deserves each and every superlative that's been heaped upon it.
Malcolm Steward, High Fidelity, Dec'90

Several hours and many albums later Iwas even more convinced as to the worth of the Sound Frame
Paul Hartley, Hi-
Fi World, May 1991

Mana Reference Table Available from selected dealers

(comes with spirit level) £300

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Allow 28 days for delivery

92 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

box
for a
panel
Richard Kelly builds a

Wilmslow sub- woofer kit

for his Quad ESL

loudspeakers.

y
ou may recall that recently
Iacquired apair of Quad
Electrostatic loudspeakers
and came to the conclusion
that they were excellent in all
respects but slightly lacking in the
ability to go loud. It's been proven to
me that if you take the signal below
100Hz out of the Quads and put it
into asubwoofer system, then not
only do you get prodigious bass all
the way down, but because there's
less work for the Quads they can go
that little bit louder.
When ! heard that Wilmslow Volt driver of 16 ohm impedance and
Richard Kelly's monthly look
Audio made subwoofers for both the has two voice coils, one for each
original ESL and the 63's Ithought it channel. Rather chunky it is too!
at budget hi-fi - old, new,
might be in everyone's interest to
check them out, so Iasked Wilmslow Excited
borrowed or blue.
to allow me to build one and give it a There are two separate crossovers
whirl. mounted on the back panel, these
The CDVC kit, as it is called, duly being constructed with pretty basic
arrived the next day and was hur- RS components - nothing to get
riedly opened and checked off against excited about unfortunately.
the packing list. All the panels are Wilmslow have improved the binding
I8mm MDF and are well finished, just posts that they use. Instead of the
needing afinal dusting off before standard sort of chrome and plastic
assembly. Even though the panels are ones that are commonly found in
not marked as to exactly what's what, component shops, they now supply
it's arelatively easy task to identify all beefy copper posts that certainly look
the relevant bits. the part.
If you bought the first issue of Hi- How does it go together? Very
Fi World you would have seen my easily. No matter how Itried to
article on another Wilmslow Sub- misinterpret the instructions Icouldn't
woofer, the CCP. 1no longer have get myself into an irremediable
the CCP so Ican't check this out, but situation, so 1can safely say the whole
if my memory serves me correctly kit seems to be idiot proof. From
this one shares many of the same beginning to end, allowing more than
cabinet pieces. Externally they look ample glue drying time, the whole
identical. It's only when you get inside caboodle took 36 hours to build.
that the first difference hits you: it's At the moment I'm using aNAD
only got one drive unit This is an 8" 1000 pre and 2100 power amp to

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 93

 by
The SAM 40 combinat ION
SYSTEMS

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94 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

drive my Quads. This combination
has been working most satisfactorily eNo matter how I low enough, certainly, but where
previously there was real extension
and it seemed fitting that they remain with all the open nuances and shades
in place. Wiring up the subwoofer is tried to misinterpret that bass guitar can display, there was
simplicity itself: two leads in and two alack of insight into this side of
out. It is placed centrally between the the instructions I reproduction.
speakers. Ihope this doesn't sound too
It was switch on time. After the couldn't get myself damning. In asub-optimally sited ESL
first hour had passed Iwas disap- system Ican see that the Wilmslow
pointed with the result. My previously into an irremediable CDVC sub-woofer will make a
spacious sound stage had become valuable contribution to the overall
less wel focused and Icouldn't for situation, so Ican sound. If the Quads are imaging OK,
the life of me figure why. Nor could I then this will not be adversely
detect any great increase in bass safely say the whole affected; the crossover appears to
output. produce little or no degradation of
Ithink that at this point Ihad kit seems to be idiot signal. If you can't get round the
better refer readers back to the July problem of speaker positioning, then
issue of Hi -Fi World. My Quads are proof this could well be the product for
placed hard against the side walls you, but do try to optimise before-
approximately one third of the way which case they will be making hand.
down along room. With this concessions and may well be lacking Confused? You betcha...I wonder if
arrangement Iwas quite delighted the balance that Ihave (you believe I'd have come to the same conclu-
with their bass performance. The this man could be balanced?). sions if Ihad adifferent room and my
whole sound was well balanced from With this in mind Icarefully own Quads worked less well! Side
top to bottom. All Iwas after was an disarranged my system and pulled the wall reinforcement gives me enough
increase in volume... and Iwasn't speakers back towards the rear wall bass for Reggae.
getting it. and away from the side walls. The Iapologise for seeming so indeci-
So to be fair to the CDVC Iwas ESL's then sounded well sub- sive about the CDVC but with so
expecting from it something other optimum on their own, but perhaps many variables coming into play I
than extra bass - its principal purpose more like they may sound in many set can't persuade the Editor to extend
in life. Iwas perfectly happy with the ups. Splicing in the subwoofer my deadline by six months. You shall
bass from my Quads and had hoped definitely made abig difference, hear more when and if Ido find that
the sub-woofer wouldn't degrade it I bringing the lower registers into court "sweet spot". Until that time my
had better accept however that not again and at the right sort of level. overall view of the CDVC is a
everyone will be able to use the ESL Performance was marred only by a qualified one - it offers slow-ish bass
in an optimum siting arrangement, in lack of tunefulness to the bass. It went to those who have none at all. •

a
reader, Tony Seaton of
Bromley, suggested we should
continue and expand our
secondhand Classical and Rock vinyl,
with some interesting Jazz, and special-
ises in film music. Also has agooc
more second
selection of vinyl suppliers which selection of second-hand CDs and

hand record
featured in our May issue. While we Cassettes. In addition, some good rare/
saved up the train fares to reach parts imported new Vinyl. Iunderstand Gavin
that only lager commonly reaches, we (hence GaRon...) keeps asimilar
decided to let him kick off with his own emporium in Cambridge.

shops
additions and comments.
HAROLD MOORES' RECORDS
BARGAIN RECORDS 2Great Marlborough Street, London
9The Arcade, Eltham High Street, W I. 071 439 9206
London SE9. 081 859 5836 Expensive, but exceptionally expansive
A wide selection of sensibly-priced exhibition of excellent Classical material.
second-hand Classical, with alittle light Probably the largest selection around. RECORD TRADE CENTRE
music and Jazz. 64 Beckenham Road, Beckenham
OVEN READY RECORDS 081 658 3464
BEANOS 46 Kingsbury Square, Aylesbury, Bucks. New and used Vinyl, CD and Cassette -
27 Surrey Street, Croydon 0296 82296 often agood selection of 'audiophile'
081 680 1202 My wife has found some excellent rdre- pressings.
Claim to be the U.K.'s biggest. ish 70s Folk-
Rock here at not too OTT.
Moores' (see below) makes me wonder prices. Worth avisit Good Mail-order VOLUME ONE
about this...They may also be atouch and 'Wanted' list services. 41 Upper Wickham Lane, Welling,
pricey for some lines, but this hasn't Kent. 081 304 4622
stopped me from spending asmall PIED PIPER Simon and Simon have agood selection
fortune in there before now. Leave your 293 Wellingborough Street, of rock, Folk, Blues, Rap, Jazz and some
Access card at home! Can be atouch Northampton. 0604 24777 Classical. Huge range of singles. Fair
'cocky' at times - if they haven't heard of We've done well here on one or two prices - but the boys know when
an obscure album, some of the staff will rarities at tolerable prices. 60s Psychede- they've got aGoodie! Nice Hi- Fi to
claim it doesn't exist, with the attitude ' if lia would seem aspeciality. listen to, too !!
it existed, we'd have seen it in ashop
this size!' RAW POWER RECORDS If we're really going to take the 'World'
34 Lewisham Model Market, Lewisham title seriously, Tony writes, he knows
GARON RECORDS High Street SE 13. 081 852 4422 'some wonderful places in Paris, one in
65 Covered Market, Oxford A small shop and arespectable range of Munster, one in Munich, and an
0865 246887 Rock; some Blues/J77/60s and an excellent one, also selling some vintage
Ron keeps agood assortment of occasional rarity. Prices reasonable. U.K. Hi- Fi in Boulder, Colorado...' •

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 95

 bonicetinc

SONIC LINK INTERCONNECTS SONIC LINK MAINS CABLES

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• Ireckon 1must have one of
the most front-end based
systems around. When I
upgraded my turntable Iwas
determined to aim high and
avoid the need for further
upgrades. I've ended up with a
Linn Sondek/Ekos/K9 playing
through aMarantz PM35 and a
pair of B&W DM II Ois on
Target stands. It's amazing how
good abudget amplifier and
speakers can sound!
I'd like some advice, please,
on where to go from here.
Having heard the difference even
ahalf-decent amplifier can make,
1have more or less decided to
begin in that department, rather
than purchase aLingo for the
Sondek. Can 1set about
choosing apre/power amplifier
combination without knowing
what speakers they will ulti-
mately be partnered with? One would match your musical Write in with your the other system. This will
possible final system 1have tastes well. alleviate some of the lack of
considered is to have aNaim Also, while tube amplifica- problems to Hi -Fi dynamics and detail. Other than
NAC72/NAPI40 driving apair tion may not be to everybody's the Audioquest, try DNM
of Naim SBL's, with aLingo and taste, it might be worthwhile Rainbow Ribbon solid core,
World, 64 Castellain
aHi-Cap added at some stage in delving into some of the valve Linn K20 or any of the others
the process. products currently available. A under £ 10 per stereo metre.
Road, Maida Vale,
The question is, what are the maximum budget of £ 1300 Next, the amplifier. The
alternatives Ishould think about? would enable you to explore NAD 3140 was discontinued
London W9 IEX.
I've heard lots of good things amplification by Art Audio, over eight years ago, so it may
said of the Audiolab 8000P/ Audio Innovations, Concordant be alittle past its prime. Try
and Croft. Our panel of experts
8000C amplifiers, but what experimenting with bypassing
speakers are suited to them? I Finally, loudspeakers. These the 'SLC' circuit, at the rear of
should say that 1am not keen on are obviously somewhat will endeavour to the amplifier; this was designed
small loudspeakers such as the dependant on your choice of to compensate for cable
Linn Kans or Naim IBL's, and I amplifier. The Naim SBL is an solve them or at variation and may help. Failing
need to have speakers that work excellent choice, although it this, however, look at models
well close to awall. really begins to come into its least offer some like Mission's Cyrus One and
My tastes in music are very own when used with aNAP Musical Fidelity's BI MkII, or
varied, covering jazz, classical and 250 or I 35's. Aside from the practical advice. the ' made-for- UK' Japanese
rock, with female vocals afirm SBL's, the Heybrook Sextet, amplifiers, such as the Denon
favourite. raved about by Noel in this PMA-350, Marantz's PM40-SE
Bob Bishop, month's issue, could also fit the or the successful Pioneer A-
New Malden, Surrey bill well. AS Probably the first thing Iwill 400.
do in Brussels is to upgrade my Now we move to the
While Iagree that it would • As astudent residing in this main system. What upgrades do loudspeakers. The B&W 220's
probably be abetter bet to country for ayear, Ibought a you recommend, considering a can sound alittle bass heavy at
upgrade the amplification, I second-hand system consisting of limited budget will not allow times. Try the new Mission
would not discount the virtues NAD 3020B and Celestion 3 everything to be upgraded at Cyrus 780's or the B&W
of adding one of the power speakers to listen to my Sony once? DM610's in their place.
supplies that abound for the D20 Sony Discman. The Axel Boey, Finally, to replace the CD is
Linn. Both Linn's Lingo and the Celestions are placed on a Milton Keynes, Bucks an expensive, but worthwhile
Pink Triangle Pink Link offer bookshelf three inches from the venture. Look at models
dramatic improvements in back wall and are connected A tough question, this. When around the £ 300+ mark to
sound quality at the source. It is with Audioquest solid core you suggest that the second make asignificant step forward.
alittle 'flat earth' to suggest so cable. system that you have sounds Players here include the
hierarchical an upgrade, but it To my surprise this combina- 'brighter' and with more detail, Marantz CD- 605E, which is a
makes sense on both asonic tion sounds brighter, clearer and are you sure that you are not particular favourite, but is due
and financial standpoint, as the more dynamic than the main confusing the two? Systems to be replaced shortly, so be
power supplies cost around system 1have at home in often err on the side of quick! This, partnered with a
£500 - far cheaper than most Brussels, which consists of a brightness to make it sound good interconnect, such as
pre/power amplifiers. Philips CD743, aNAD 3140 and artificially detailed. While it may Audioquest or Sonic Link would
Moving back to the amplifi- B&W 220 speakers., which are be that Lady Luck has shone eliminate the last of the nasties.
cation, in addition to the placed on the B&W-recom- upon your British system and AS
Audiolab and Naim amplifica- mended stands and connected made it synergise, 1suspect that
tion that you have mentioned, with QED multistrand cable. This it may be doing so by default. • My system is as follows: Linn
also check out Linn's own system sounds far less dynamic, That aside, the faults you LP I2/Lingo/Ekos, Naim 32.5/Hi-
range. Its sound is alittle laid less detailed, more muffled and mention in Brussels system Cap/250 and Linn Kan ll's
back compared to the Naim kit, very bass- heavy. could lie anywhere within it, I'm biwired with Naim AS cable.
but is highly musical, all the According to the principle 'a afraid. Starting with the The turntable is on aMana
same. At the same time, it may chain of reproducsion can only cheapest area first, move from wall shelf, the amplification and
be worth looking at Ion De as strong as ts weakest link' it QED cable as quickly as Lingo on aTripod stand and the
Systems SAM 40 pre/power should be the opposite. Can you possible, maybe to the Au- speakers on Kan 11 stands.
amplifier. Its clean, clear sound comment please? dioquest that you are using in Ineed anew cartridge for this

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 97

 N. ENGLAND CENTRAL ENGLAND
London W1
Alderley Edge (Cheshire) Birmingham Hi -Fi Experience Lion House 227 Toff. Cf. Road
Aston Audio Ltd 4West Street 0625 582704 Griffin Audio 94 Bristol Street 021 692 1359 071 580 3535
Altrincham Boston ( Lincs) London WC2
Cleartone Hi -Fi 15 Ashley Road 061 928 1610 Boston Hi - Fi Centre 65A Wide Bargate 0205 365477 Doug Brady Hi- Fi 18 Monmouth Street 071 379 4010
Blackpool Cambridge Oxford
Norman Audio 216 Church Street 0253 295661 Steve Boxshall Audio 41 Victoria Road 0223 68305 Audio T 19 Old High Street Headington 0865 65961
Bolton Coventry Portsmouth
Cleartone Hi- Fi Frank Harvey 163 Spon Street 0203 525200 Jeffries HiFi 29 London Road 0705 663604
235 Blackburn Road Derby Rayleigh ( Essex)
0204 31423 Active Audio 12/16 Osmaston Road Rayleigh Hi -Fi 44A High Street 0268 779762
Bradford The Spot 0332 380385 Reading
Hi -
Fi Experience at Erricks Rawson Square Kings Lynn Reading Hi - Fi 4Queens Walk 0734 585463
0274 309266 Martins Hi -Fi 5High Street Southend-on-Sea
Cheadle (Gtr.Manchester) 0553 761683 Rayleigh Hi- Fi 132/4 London Road
Swift Hi- Fidelity 12 Chapel Street
BADA
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061 428 7222 Leicester Hi - Fi 6Silver Walk offers a low Stony Stratford ( Bucks)
Leeds St Martins Sq. 0533 539753 Audio Insight 53 Wolverton Road
Audio Projects Listen Inn 6Hotel Street cost FIVE YEAR 0908 561551
45 Headingley Lane 0533 623754 Tonbridge
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0924 200272 0323 31336 134 Crwys Road 0222 228565
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Audio T 173/175 Station Road 081 952 5535
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Doug Brady Hi- Fi Kingsway Studios Kingsway North Audio T 159 Chase Side 081 367 3132
0925 828009 Guildford
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Swift Of Wilmslow 4/8 St Anne's Parade Parsonage 058 276 4246
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system. Iknow Ishould buy a the Rogers would never sound • My problem is not upgrading they are much more expensive
Troika, but Ihave run short of at their best, either so close to my set up - alternative source than adomestic cassette deck
money, houses being what they the walls, with the 500, or, alas, ove- load syndrome has put paid plus cheap line/mic mixer. The
are! with LK20 cable. AudioNote to that - but sort of extending it price you pay depends on the
Iwas thinking of buying an AN- B cable would be an Ihave aRega planar 3, with quality and how serious you are
AT 005 until Iread the review worthwhile replacement. The the new cartridge imminent, about recording. EB
in August's Hi -
Fi World about it speakers are more of a Rotel 840 BX, Denon DRI7 I,
being too bright. Iwant a problem; if they really cannot Linn Index. Ihave not as yet • Ihave recently purchased my
smooth-sounding system with be kept further out from the used the 'tape-to-tape dubbing' first hi-fi system, comprising a
good bass. Would Ibe better off walls, then AudioNote K's on facility or the deck's microphone Rotel RCD 855 with Deltec
with amoving- magnet cartridge Pirate or Huygens stands might inputs. Little Bit DAC, Creek 4040S3
rather than acheap moving coil? be the only option. There will My query is how to record amplifier and Celestion 3
S. Chisholm, be some reflection from the botn vocals from the mic and loudspeakers. Iam now looking
Middlesborough, Cleveland walls, inevitably muddying the music from abacking tape on to add atuner - my old radio
bass alittle, and probably some the same cassette. Can this be sounds terrible now! Ishould
While some systems will tame restriction of the soundstage. done with standard hi-fi therefore be delighted if you
an AT- 005, yours is not one of Possible alternatives - but they equipment? What sort of beast could suggest some tuners that I
them. In the same price bracket would have to be tried at home will allow me to do this? What should audition. If possible I
the Linn K9 is probably the best -could be JPW AP2's or AP3's, would you recommend? would like it to sound as close as
bet, though it may sound less and perhaps KEF 10I's. EB Obviously, adding another possible to my CD/DAC
refined than you really want. deck will allow me to separately combination which Ithink
We believe the Roksan Corus • Iam currently running avery record the vocals and play a sounds superb. A friend has
Black should be agood match, mixed system, but am fast backing tape, but how do I suggested the Sugden DTFM as
and it may be worth trying an moving towards the sound of record both together? an ' audiophile' tuner. Is this
Ortofon 530. EB valves. My front end consists of a Mark Lawla, worth considering? Ilisten mainly
Philips 850CD (now seemingly London to Radio 3and I'm not astation
• Ihave abalanced system Mkl!), and Quad II pre/power hopper so limited presets pose
comprising Voyd turntable, stereo, all pretty much original. It can be confusing. The no problems for me. Ican afford
Helius Cyalene arm, VST V This is going to apair of 'microphone' inputs, which are to spend up to about £350 on a
cartridge, Audio Innovations 500 Mordaunt Short MS25ti's. The usually at the front, and the tuner, excluding aerial. Perhaps
amplifier and Rogers LS4a question is, with £500 should I 'line' inputs at the back which you could also answer this
speakers on Foundation Stands upgrade the Quads to modem you normally use for recording question: why in all the hi-fi
with Linn K20 cable. specs, or should Ipip for another via an amplifier, are nearly magazines are tuners treated
The room is ten feet by pre-amp, preferably valve. always alternatives. You can use almost as apoor relation of hi-fi?
twelve feet with abay, quite They're nice, and suited to my either one or the other, but not D. M. Halfpenny,
heavily furnished, with the growing Classical tastes. And the both together. While this could Prescot Merseyside
speakers firing down the twelve CD isn't very fast. Can you be done in the reel-to-reel
foot length. Iam looking for a suggest aspeaker upgrade for days, cassette decks which have To deal with the last question
speaker upgrade to get the best later reference for £250 above offered a 'mixing' facility - the first, largely because FM broad-
out of the system and the room. the pre-amp limit, along with any ability to put signals from two casts have alimited bandwidth -
The LS4a's, while good, are a people doing Quad upgrades - separate sources together the upper frequency limit is
little reticent and woolly at times. including Quad! before they reach the recording I5kHz, as opposed to 20kHz
These will be pensioned off to a Steve Force, heads - have always been few for CD, and because many pop/
second room. Ienjoy the tonality Cheltenham, Gloucester and far between, and Idon't rock stations compress the
of the Rogers, but am not so believe there is adomestic dynamic range - there has been
keen on the muffling quality. Quad themselves will bring the version on the market. afeeling that tuners offer the
Speakers must sit no more than Il's up to spec with new valves There are three ways of poorest quality sound in the hi-
one foot or sixteen inches from and replace aged components. going about it. One is to get an fi chain. We believe they are a
rear and side walls. I've short- The basic charge is fourteen electronically knowledgeable valuable source of music which
listed Snell K's, Audionote K's, pounds per hour plus V.A.T and friend to disable the Erase head, might otherwise never be
Tannoy 3000's and the new the cost of components, which would then allow you to heard, so we both use and
Rogers floorstander. charged pro rata for each record the music first and the review them. While, because of
However, Ihave reservations quarter of an hour's work. Ring voice on top of it the second the relatively limited bandwidth,
on compatibility with CD, which them on 0480 52561, and time around. Apart from the sound will never scale the
as yet Ido not own, and also am they'll discuss what can be invalidating the guarantee, and heights of CD, it's possible to
concemed about the limitations done. Doug Dunlop of Concor- annoying the company if the get pretty close to what the
of the room in respect of dant Audio (0455 843752) deck needs servicing, synchro- studio engineers hear.
floorstanding models. Music rebuilds the Quads, using the nising the two recordings can Tuners to look out for in
varies from Indie Pop, Rock, old chassis, to an entirely new be afiddly business. your price bracket include the
Choral, Classical, Folk and Big design for £ 360 with atwo-year The second is to buy a Pioneer F91 and Harmon
Band. guarantee on the valves. No mixer with both line and Kardon TU9400, both with
Ihave also been advised to longer Quads, they're rebadged microphone inputs, which will clear and clean FM. Home-
ditch the LK20 in favour of a as the Exultant, and 192 pairs allow you to input anything grown tuners are the Musical
better cable, i.e. Audionote AN- have been made since 1989. from two different sources, Fidelity TI, now in Mk II guise
B. Can you offer any advice on We are hoping to have apair including apair of microphones. and reviewed in this issue,
my speaker choices, room for review before the end of The combined output is fed which has avery lucid and
compatibility in terms of bass the year. from the mixer as one signal to detailed presentation, the
extension/clarity and the The pre- amp is probably the cassette deck as though it minimalist Ion FMT Iwhich
likelihood of noticeable benefits best replaced, as the Quad is was the 'tape out' of an offers exceptional sound quality
of changing cables. quite antiquated, when com- amplifier. These vary from uncluttered by buttons and
G. A. Gilding, pared to the latest models; around twenty pounds at knobs, and the Arcam Delta 80,
Lancaster Croft's Super Micro A ( re- Tandy's to hundreds or even which may seem on the warm
viewed in this issue) might be thousands for professional side. The Sugden Ihaven't been
As you suspect, the room is suitable, as would the £400 Art mixers. able to hear, but previous
one of the problems, but not Audio VP- 1or even Concor- Otherwise, Teac's profes- Sugden tuners have also had a
the only one. The Audio dant's £ 675 CD-only Exhilarant sional arm, which they call somewhat warm presentation.
Innovations Series 500 is pre- amp. EB Tascam, make several combined EB
sensitive about its ancillaries; mixer/cassette decks, though

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 99

 fine dust around the grooves,
causing noise build up. Nagaoka's
rolling record cleaner actually lifts

Hi-Fi World
dirt from the bottom of the
groove - even fine dust. It uses a
peculiar form of sticky coating on a
soft foam backing. Dirt of all types
-especially fine dust of the sort left
by brushes - is removed com-

special
pletely. ht is lifted from the record's
surface, and no deposits are left
behind. This is an effective way to
dry clean arecord.
ROLLING RECORD
CLEANER PRICE £ 10.20

audio
Remember that CDs must not oe
scratchec - even finely. Tests
showed that the Nagaoka kit was
the best all round cleaner. It has a
solvent and ad-amois leather pac
which, together, bring the CD

accessories
surface back to almost as-new
condition.
NAGAOKA
CD CLEANING KIT £ 10 50

A range of high quality audio

accessories selected by us for their

PIXALL MK II
RECORD CLEANER
usefulness and effectiveness.
Simple in both function and design,
and made in the U.K, this uses a
roll of sticky tape which lifts the
dust out of the record groove.
Three or four passes will clean the
record very effectively, and can
reduce static at the same time.
After each pass, the dirty length of
tape can be peeled off and thrown
away, reducing the risk of any
SORBOTHANE CD FEET gritty particles picked up being
Four big, round rubber feet ground back into the vinyl. When
50mms in diameter and 1 8mms the tape roller runs out a
deep. Made from asoft slightly replacement is simply clipped in.
sticky feeling form of artificial This is one of the most effective
rubber known as Sorbothane, ways of cleaning an LP.
these feet have the peculiar ability PDCALL MARK II .. PRICE £ 10.75
ANTI-STATIC RECORD to soak up vibrational energy, due REFILL ROLLER PRICE £ 2.75
SLEEVES to their high internal kinetic losses.
Translucent antistatic record Some people go nuts with them,
sleeves from either Tonar or swearing they improve everything,
Nagaoka, according to availability. from the TV to the fridge! We sell
KONTAK A surface treatment makes them them for use (as intended) with
Contact Cleaning Fluid anti-static, lessening dust attraction. CD players, temtables and various
Kontak is an effective two part This helps keep records pristine. other hi-fi commnents that might
cleaning solution that removes They are supplied in packs of fifty. be sensitive to vibration. They
contaminants from electrical con- We suggest you regularly change improve sound quality by
nectors of all sorts. It is applied sleeves in order to prevent providing amore stable platform.
with pipe cleaners supplied. Clear trapped dirt contaminating Well-nutty and alot of fun.
instructions list the most sensitive records, especially after cleaning. SORBOTHANE
contacts that need treatment in a The record label is clearly visible CD FEET £24.95 NAGAOKA
hi-fi system, ahthough items like through these sleeves, an aid to STYLUS CLEANER
fuses which are not mentioned easy identification. Here's another simple but effective
should also be treated. LP SLEEVES ( 50) .... PRICE £ 7.50 cleaning kit from Nagaoka. It
The dirt that Kontak removes is consists of astylus brush and
clearly visible on the pipe cleaners, IMO 01W RN REMO GROOVES cleaning solution. Use carefully to
demonstrating just what degree of NAGAOKA Far:- 1 keep your pickup cartridge stylus
contamination contacts have CD CLEANING KIT and cantilever clean.
reached and what Kontak is As with cassette deck cleaning kits, STYLUS CLEANING KIT. £ 2.50
achieving. we don't recommend the 'cogs
Users commonly express and wheels' cleaners and choose
surprise at the amount of dirt and not to sell any of them. Tests we AUDIO TECHNICA
contamination Kontak removes. have carried out with aCambridge GREEN CD RING
After application, asystem regains CD- ICD Quality Control Unit NAGAOKA ROLLING STABILIZER
its original life, sparkle and vigour. clearly show that careful manual RECORD CLEANER These are detachable green rings
KONTAK PRICE: £21.20 cleaning is the the most effective The big crawback with most which are fitted round the
way of removing all types of record cleaners is that they fail to circumference of the Compact
surface contaminants without remove all types of dirt. Brushes Disc. The non-slip material allows
causing damage to the disc. pick up fluff, but they redistribute the disc to be picked up without

100 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

 above ( i.e. gold plated, heavy duty) reflected back off the disc edges, safe too. Just rest the stylus on its
but with side entry for heavy causing optical interference. high speed vibrating brush and
loudspeaker cables of up to 5mm Because green is far removed in watch dirt get driven off automati-
conductor diameter. The screw the light spectrum from red, an cllv
clamp grips the cable over its full opaque green coating effectively ELECTRONIC STYLUS
diameter by app'ying pressure with absorbs this scattered light, CLEANER £ 19.95
anon- rotating cylindrical slug. - reducing interference signals
SIDE ENTRY BANANA reaching the laser and improving
PLUGS ( 4) £ 10.00 sound quality. The green coating is LASERGUIDE
applied to outer and inner edges. The clear polycarbon
It has been formulated by one of ate of Compact Discs
GOLD PLATED Japan's largest companies, scratches easily.
SPADE CONNECTOR Mitsubishi, to be harmless to the Measurements we
For amplifiers with loudspeaker CD itself. have camed out
screw terminals, here is aheavy, LASAWAY GREEN PEN ... £.00 show that scratches,
duty gold plated spade connector. being closer to the
touching the playing side and
leaving fingermarks. It also raises It has the same unique axial clamp silvered reflecting
the disc slightly from any surface connector as the 4mm plugs surface where the
it's placed on, avoiding scratches if described above. laser beam is
you don't replace it directly in the SPADE CONNECTOR ( 4)[10.00 focussed, are much
jewel box, as you should! It also more of aproblem
ARCAM than fluff, finger
adds atiny but significant degree of
marks, etc. They

•
mass to the outer edge of the disc, RCA PHONO PLUGS
improving its stability and reducing demand heavy error
Specially made in Japan to Arcam's
correction and often overwhelm a
vibration when it rotates at high specification, this heavy duty
speed inside the CD player. Green phono plug will accept audiophile players capacity to substitute in
spare programme information held
absorbs stray red laser light, so cables up to 7mm in diameter.
redundantly for this purpose. Inter-
reducing random reflections within The 36mm long body is nickel
the disc, much like agreen pen. So polation is then used to cover up
plated and the contacts gold
the problem - which means
the rings perform many useful plated. Superbly built, we supply in
guessing what the missing signal
functions - and they are remove- polarised pairs with one/two ring
was like in order to fill in the gaps.
able too! Improvements to the end identity to allow send/receive
sound include better focussed and The only answer is to fill in
ends to be established to take into
firmer images, plus agenerally account directionality. These plugs AUDIO TECHNICA CD scratches, lessening their ability to
LENS CLEANER act as optical prisms capable of
denser and richer sound. must be soldered with care to
Here's aproduct for smokers in scattering the laser light Laser-
cables.
particular. However, seeing the Guide is an optically engineered
GREEN RING STABILIZER RCA TYPE PHONO
(5) £ 6.50 peculiar haze that can coat silicone treatment that claims to
PLUGS (4) £ 14.95
windows even when there are no do this, reducing randomly
smokers about suggests this clever reflected light by up to 50%. It is
little gadget is anecessity for one claimed that Laserguide improves
and all. It is alaser lens cleaner for stereo depth and openness. Just
your CD player, beautifully made apply to the disc surface.
by Audio Technica. Contained in LASERGUIDE £ 14.95
the pack is adisc with fine brushes
on it Each brush takes one drop
of cleaning fluid, then it is inserted
and played. The brushes gently
clean the laser lens, removing oil,
grime, dust and other airborne
deposits like nicotine ( ugh!) Audio
Technica recommend I ice once
month
CD LENS CLEANER £15.30

ELECTRONIC STYLUS CLEANER

DISPOSITIF DE NETTOYAGE DE ELECTRONIMIE

GOLD PLATED 4MM

Iter.»....1 Ike 141.1.........•••••••••

BANANA PLUGS
We have anew style, heavy duty,
gold plated banana plug with a THE
911FEN
unique type of axial solderiess
connection for loudspeaker cables.
The wire is stripped back and
pushed into aclamping collar, Gesmunium
Iii CD
which is then screwed down tight. AUDIOQUEST
MellffliMMOIMMMCnom

It will accept cables up to 6mm OPTICAL LINK Z

outside diameter and up to 4mm UME041JAIIIMMMON
This is awide bandwidth, ultra high
CIONINAN'
I.E.MM

conductor diameter, holding them performance optical cable for

firmly and more evenly than the AUDIO TECHNICA digital links, made by Audioquest
usual grub screw arrangements. ••:•:••••
••01
ELECTRONIC STYLUS The most common use is linking a
They are supplied in aset of four. CLEANER
1.01e3".
1,....1.••••••
• reellt..

CD transport to adigital-to-
BANANA PLUGS (4) £8.00 cared of damaging your stylus analogue convertor. it is available
when cleaning it? Try this amazing in I metre and 2metre lengths with
LASA WAY GREEN PEN little device - an electronic stylus conventional TOS - link connectors.
SIDE ENTRY 4MM When red laser light hits the cleaner that vibrates gunge right OPTICAL LINK Z
BANANA PLUGS silvered reflective surface of adisc, off the tip! Powered by asmall AA (I M) £ 69
Similar to the plugs described some of it scatters and is later battery, it's adoddle to use and (2M) £ 99

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 101

 FREE!
accessory offers

20 record sleeves with

every 2Record Storage
Cubes ordered

SO record sleeves with

every 4cubes ordered

RECORD STORAGE
CUBE
This cube has been designed by us
to hold roughly one hundred LPs.
It has an internal width of 37cms.
Internal height is 32.5cms and
depth 32cms. The cubes can be
stacked or placed alongside each
other to increase storage - and
they can even be used as seats!
Strongly made from 15mm
medium density fibreboard ( MDF),

HI—FI WORLD SPECIAL AUDIO ACCESSORIES

ORDER FORM

Please send me:

the panels are milled to have own experience as afine sounding
Ili Record storage cube £42.00 each
strong side joints. We have type. It uses FPC-6 ultra- pure
D Pixall Mk11 Record Cleaner £I 0.75 each
specified adurable black paint copper (99.99997%) and the plugs
D Pixall refill roller £2.75each
finish to give it asmart, yet unin- are welded.
D Kontak cleaning fluid £21.20 each
trusive appearance. The screws are AUDIOQUEST QUARTZ
D Anti- static record sleeves £7.50 ( 50)
self-starting, but clearance holes CABLE
0 Nagaoka rolling record cleaner £I 0.20 each
are pre-drilled. You'll only need a IMETRE LENGTHS [ 79/PAIR
0 Nagaoka stylus cleaner £2.50each
Phi ips X- head screwdriver to 2METRE LENGTHS [99/PAIR
D Nagaoka CD cleaning kit £ 10.50
D Gold plated 4mm plugs £8.00 (4) assemble the cube; it comes in a
0 Gold plated side entry 4mm plugs £ 10.00 (4) flat pack
D Gold plated spade connectors £ 10.00 (4)
D Arcam RCA phono plug £ 14.95 (4) RECORD STORAGE
D Lasaway Green Pen £7.00 each CUBE PRICE £ 42 EACH
D Laserguide £ 14.95
El Audio Technica CD Lens cleaner £ 15.30 each FREE!
0 Audio Technica Green CD Ring Stabilizers £6.50 ( Pad < of 5) 20 RECORD SLEEVES WITH 2
D Audio Technica electronic stylus cleaner £ 19.95 CUBES
D Audio Technica cassette deck head cleaner £7.25 SO RECORD SLEEVES WITH 4
D Audioquest Sorbothane feet £24.95 (4) CUBES
D Audioquest Optical link Z £69 ( Im) FOR 6CUBES,
D £99 ( 2m) JUST PAY FOR FIVE ( m)
D Audioquest Quartz cable (pair) £79 ( 1m) FOR 8CUBES,
0. £99 (2m) JUST PAY FOR SEVEN (E294)

All prices include postage & packing in the UK only.

Ienclose cheque/PO for E made payable to Audio Publishing Ltd. AUDIO TECHNICA
CASSETTE DECK HEAD
Iwish to pay by Visa/Access, please debit my account no: CLEANER
This kit is the most specialised we
have found to date for clearing
vital components in the transport
mechanism of acassette deck
Expiry date: Audio Technica's kit is stocked
in preference to those natty
NAME looking cleaning cassettes with all
the cogs and wheels inside, and
ADDRESS also in preference to abrasive
cleaning tapes. Nakamichi do not
recommend either, they tell JS.
Whilst acceptable for inexpensive,
two head decks, they are atnreat
AUDIOQUEST QUARTZ to critically aligned three head
Please send completed order form
Access
INTERCONNECT types.
together with your cheque/PO to:
YEA CABLES There's nothing to beat careful
HI-FI WORLD, A fully balanced analogue signal manual cleaning, using hign quality
64 Castellain Road, Credit Card Orders cable with heavy duty, gold plated materials applied with new, clean
Maida Vale, Telephone 071-266 0461 phono plugs and advanced Quartz cotton buds. This is the proper
LondonW9 I EX. Answerphone during evenings and Hyperiitz cables using polypro- way to clean your cassette deck
weekends pylene insulation. The Quartz CASSETTE CLEANING
cable we have chosen from our KIT £ 7.25

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

102
 NOTTINGHAM
Carr/fee/4w ANALOGUE
STUDIO
If, like us, you believe in the superiority of
"If we can't Analogue reproduction and, in particular, the
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shelves of flashy boxes or flavours-of-the-month,

where to go:' just awealth of the finest hi-fi we can find.

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Technology * Space Deck * Space Arm Mentor *
Mentor Reference * Klipsch Hom * British Horns
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WRITTEN DETAILS AVAILABE ON REQUEST

For amusical experience you will

SPECIALIST AUDIO RETAILERS remember, please contad us on —
110 MILL ROAD, CAMBRIDGE
0773 762947.
TEL: 0223 60442

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(0455) 843752
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DEVON SCOTLAND SCOTLAND LEEDS
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drive units • Radiatron switches • Schottky
Barrier Diodes • Sfernice potentiometers •
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DARLINGTON, CO. DURHAM DLI If ‘‘ Tel: 0539 83247 Fax: 0539 83317
(0325) 460812

104
HI- F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991
 PINK TRIANGLE

recommended products
DELTEC PDM-II £ 2000
COMPACT DISC Uses Philips new Bitstream DAC-7 super-chip to LITTLE PINK THING £ 392
give aperformance of unparalleled drama. Fright- Good-looking, neutral sounding turntable. Excel-
AIWA XC-700 £ 170 eningly deep and controlled bass, master tape lent soundstaging capacity and decent bass. Best
Using Philips SAA-7350 Bitstream chip, this player standards of fidelity. Very forthright; atrifle vio- partnered with aRega, Roksan or Linn arm.
sets new standards of smoothness and clarity at lent in its truthfulness. Literally - stunning!
the price. NOTTINGHAM
ANALOGUE SPACEDECK £ 590
NAD 5420/5425 £ I70/£290 Idiosyncratic turntable, with its high mass platter
One of the best implementations ofJapan's MASH and distinctive looks, that is both fast and goes
low- bit system, offering a big, solid sound with TRANSPORTS deep. Well partnered by the Space Arm ( 080)
plenty of weight. and the Analogue Tracer II cartridge ( E175) from
the same company. Usually used in the context of
ARCAM DELTA 170 £ 620
avalve- based system.
PHILIPS CD-850 £400 An easy yet tidy sound that underpins digital
All the finesse of top quality Bitstream, with an convertors well.
open, balanced and involving performance. MICHELL GYRODEC
£595 (£695 with RB300)
MERIDIAN 200 £ 750
Highly underrated turntable. Impressive build
ARCAM ALPHA ACDI £420 Well built transport mechanism which lends afine
quality, virtually unmatched by the other British
Offers awarm, full bodied sound with big bass. sense of solidity and detail to music. Well suited
high- end manufacturers. Very solid, dry sound.
to non- Meridian DAC's too.
Plenty of bass and good soundstaging. In some
ARCAM DELTA 70.3 £ 699 systems it can sound a little bland; in others,
Arcam's first Bitstream player. Its refined, but TEAC PI0 £ 1400 excellent. Better than ever with its new power
powerful sound sets the standard at the price. Orders events in aprecise manner, lessening time supply.
domain confusion and blurring. Succinct and
impressively controlled.
MERIDIAN 206B £950 PINK TRIANGLE PT EXPORT £ 676
'Entry level' Meridian player. Detailed, with awide Terrific soundstaging abilities, good bass and a
soundstage, but somewhat lacking in joi de vivre'. MERIDIAN 602 £ 1500 neutral performance that improves upon the LPT
As with the 606, this improves over the 200 considerably. Works with all the arms listed with
transport. Good build quality and astrong sound, the LPT, plus the SME range.
NAIM CDS £ 2937.50
if atouch bland when used with the wrong DAC.
The current talking point in the world of hi-fi. A
worthy contender for the ' best CD player in the
world' throne. Perfect partner for aNaim system.

World favourites
D/A CONVERTORS
ARCAM BLACK BOX I, II AND III
£210, £ 260 &£ 360
-
Three solid performers that can transform amid-
price Compact Disc player with adigital output.
A comprehensive selection of our preferred products
They get progressively better as the price gets
higher.

DELTEC LITTLE BIT £ 300

Sets up awide, open stage and places acaptivating
performance within it. Spectacular Bitstream
technology at avery low price. TURNTABLES
AUDIO ALCHEMY DIGITAL REGA PLANAR 2 £ 155 LINN SONDEK LPI2 £ 679
DECODING ENGINE £ 376 The first of the real hi-fi' turntables. Excellent Still one of the finest, after all these years. Brought
Paperback sized Bitstream convertor that offers value for money, having been spent where it into the 90's by the Linn Lingo (or Pink Triangle's
aserious upgrade for the price. Sweet, open and matters - the arm and the bearing. Quite trans- Pink Link) power supply at £496 extra, the LP I 2
detailed. parent and lucid, it fares well against some more has always been the turntable by which all else is
expensive turntables. measured in this country. Tuneful and musical,
MERIDIAN 203 £ 495 placing dynamics above imagery in its list of
Impressively detailed and complex sound, ¡fa little SYSTEMDEK IIX-900 £ 190(no arm) priorities.
lacking in involvement. Great package. A suspended turntable that is easy
to set up and takes avariety of arms (the Moth ROKSAN XERXES £ 695
MICROMEGA DUO BS £499 arm being the obvious choice). Sound quality is Fast, tight and clean, some have described the
Superb, warm, rich analogue- like Bitstream sound, surprisingly natural, if not as precise as some. Roksan (especially with its Artaxerxes phono
from the idiosyncratic French. Latest guise suits a pre-amplifier) as almost CD- like in its presenta-
wide variety of convertors, as opposed to earlier tion. A good alternative to the LP12.
REGA PLANAR 3 £ 249
versions. Improves upon the Rega 2in almost every way.
Sets an impressive standard that others strive to VOYD VALDI £699
DELTEC PDM SERIES,' £ 595 beat. Similar to the Pink Triangle, the Valdi is an expres-
Spacious representation with strong embodi- sive performer, with adeep bass that sneaks up on
ment of performers. Natural and relaxing, but you. Matches Audio Innovations equipment well.
MICHELL SYNCHRO £ 265
superbly refined and subtly impressive. Very well built turntable. Distinctive looks. Solid,
stable sound, with good bass at the price. Bit PINK TRIANGLE ANNIVERSARY
MERIDIAN 606 £ 1200 lacking in involvement and detail. £1175
Now revamped to allow for the DAC-7 Bitstream, One of the finest sounding turntables in produc-
the earlier 606 was afine performer, improving LINN BASIK £ 285 tion, the Anniversary takes the listener nearer the
on the traits of the 203, but still atrifle uninvolving recording studio than almost any turntable. Suits
Fitted with Linn's excellent Akito tonearm, the
at times. We shall see how the DAC-7 version Basik is very much in the Linn mould. Its timing the same arms as the PT Export.
fares. and pace are superb. Very musical.
TOWNSHEND
ROCK REFERENCE £ 1995
Great soundstaging, pitch stability and timing, the
Rock Reference has abass performance that is
deeply impressive.

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

recommended products TONEARMS AUDIO TECHNICA AT- 005 £ 122.95
Needs an exceptionally good front end to sound TUNERS
good, its resolution of detail is very good for the
REGA ( MOTH) RB250 £ 78 price. A cautious recommendation, as it can easily DENON TU - 260L £ 100
Excellent value for money. The one piece Rega sound raucous and fierce in the treble. Sensitive and has aclean, balanced sound. Aston-
arm. Lucid and graceful. ishing value.
SHURE VST-V £ 173
REGA RB300 £ 115 Excellent tracking moving magnet cartridge. The NAD 4225 £ 159
Little to beat this arm at the money. Has appeared Shure offers some of the fine detail of MC's with Fine, spacious presentation; smooth and easy
in some outrageously expensive turntable pack- the brusque-ness of an MM. sounding. The best under £200.
ages without sounding out of place. Very slight
softening of notes, when compared to the finest. ORTOFON MC30 SUPER £ 270 ION SYSTEMS FMT- I £ 259
Despite being detailed and analytical, the MC30 Fine minimalist tuner with good stereo, deep bass
still sings aseductive song. Very solid body. and excellent detail. Probably the cheapest ' real'
LINN AKITO £ 137
tuner on the market.
Different presentation to the Rega arm. Not quite
GOLDRING EXCEL £499
as happy with expensive MC cartridges as the Smooth, detailed and refined sounding cartridge. ONIX BWDI
RB300, it nevertheless shines with cheaper MM's
Bit relaxed and easy on the ear, but still high in £395 (exc power supply + lead)
(especially on all Linn turntables). enjoyment quotient. Great partner for the 0A21s, as it can be pow-
ered from the amplifier, the tuner has awonderful
ROKSAN TABRIZ £ 165
LINN TROIKA £ 798 open clarity, that belies its price.
Good bass and not too tizzy for the price. Works
One of the most musical cartridges ever, the
very well in Roksans ( naturally) and Pinks.
Troika uses athree point mounting. As such, it is NAIM NAT- 02 £ 853
somewhat limited to Linn and Naim arms (and Little box, big money, dead good. Try and find
LINN ITTOK LVIII £ 560
would usually appear on the LP I2). better unless it's a...
Great dynamics, excellent timing and delves deep
into the lower registers. Latest models use refine- LYRA CLAVIS £ 980 NAIM NAT-01 £ 1377
ments developed on the Linn Ekos.
The cartridge that currently resides at the top of All else is mere artifice. If you want better radio
the U.K. music lovers' list. One of the finest reception, go and live in the BBC's studio.
NAIM ARO £ 752 cartridges ever made. More music than hi-fi!
Unipivot tonearm with a seductive soundstage
and alot of character. Can resolve an vast amount
of information from agroove. Works well in a
ORTOFON MC5000 £ 1500
The big information retriever. Can resolve more AMPLIFIERS
Linn, its sheer freedom of movement makes it
detail from the plastic than almost any other
difficult to use with amore 'springy' deck. cartridge around. Slightly too analytical for some NAD 30201 £ 149.95
tastes. Well known budget classic. Its
LINN EKOS £ 1097
crown has slipped abit of late, but it still repre-
A sort of Turbo' Ittok, the Ekos improves upon
sents the standard to beat. Distinctive ' NAD'
the strengths of the Tik-Tok, making it more
sound.
transparent and dynamic, without becoming
overtly so. CASSETTE DECKS DENON PMA-350 £ 169.99
The usurper to NAD's throne. Packs a lot of
SME SERIES V £ 1247
DENON DRM-400 £ 140 punch for the money. Phono stage not as strong
Probably the finest built of all pick-up arms, the V The least expensive usable cassette deck avail- as the rest of the amplifier.
seems to have little to criticise about it, on the
able. Plays prerecorded tapes well and produces
right turntable. Some suggest that it can sound
acceptable recordings. Variable bias, wobbly speed. MISSION CYRUS ONE £ 200
polite; it performs (without getting in the way of
Well-known British amplifier. Minimalist appear-
the music) with grace and artistry. Strong sound-
TECHNICS RS- B665 £ 180 ance, suitable partner for most equipment.
staging properties; it does not appear to have the Unusually speed stable, giving clean clear record-
problems associated with other arms at fre- ings; poor with metals. Plays prerecorded tapes CREEK 404053 £ 220
quency extremes. well. Good for piano. Easy on the ear, the Creek seems better suited to
LP than CD.
NAD 6325 £ 160
One of the best at the price: superb with pre- PIONEER A-400 £ 230
CARTRIDGES recorded tapes and makes excellent recordings. One of the most controversial and popular
Awkward to use. amplifiers today. Excellent sound, especially when
partnered with extremely esoteric source com-
AUDIO TECHNICA AT95E £ 18
AKAI GX-52 £ 200 ponents. As with the PMA-350, weakest link is the
Probably the finest starter cartridge. A little
Fine recordings from the GX head on all tape phono stage.
bright, scratchy and atrifle thin, it still represents
types; good replay too. Excellent all round.
excellent value for money.
ONIX 0A2IS £ 350
NAD 6340 £ 220 Yet another minimalist amplifier, the 0A21 has
ARCAM C77 £ 22
Unmatched ability with prerecorded tapes and the rare combination of detail, finesse and balls.
Good all rounder. Quite neutral and tidy, but abit
makes very stable recordings on all tape types.
lacking in life. Works very well in old arms. Can
AUDIOLAB 8000A £ 350
be upgraded by stylii changes.
NAKAMICHI CASSETTE DECK 2 £ 300 Well-built amplifier with astrong following. Very
Especially good with metal tape, with which it neutral sound for the price.
ORTOFON 510 £ 30 makes fine recordings. Excellent with prerecorded
Even-toned, with excellent bass and good stereo
tapes too, but slightly inferior to NAD. NAIM NAIT 2 £ 389
imaging (all due to its solid body) for the price.
The classic small integrated amplifier is still hard
Also upgradable via stylii. NAKAMICHI CASSETTE DECK 1 £600 to beat. New CD only version is not so hot,
Our sample had poor speed stability, but other- though.
GOLDRING 1020 £49 wise the Cassette Deck 1offers agood, if some-
Sweet sounding cartridge, similar to the Ortofon
what overpriced, all round performance. LINN INTEK £ 398
in many ways, but has less clattery treble. The mid
Since the price reduction and sonic improve-
point of their 1000 series cartridges.
NAKAMICHI CR- 7E £ 1500 ments, the Intek has become aworthy competi-
As cassette goes this is the ultimate - and better tor for the Nait, but has more power.
LINN K9 £89
than the Dragon. Near perfect recordings on all
Can sound abit forward and lacking in bass in
tape types; replays prerecorded tapes extremely ION OBELISK 3 £ 399
some turntables and arms; the Linn nevertheless well too. Great stereo, with a punch. Ion Systems' top
has atight, crisp sound, with plenty of speed of
integrated puts build and sound quality far above
attack. It is also quite detailed.
big boxes or loads of buttons. Upgradable with
their X-PAK- Ipower supply and can also make a
ROKSAN CORUS BLACK £ 110
fine stand alone pre- amplifier.
Very expressive and musical cartridge. Coherent
and detailed, it can be a little bright in some
systems.

106 HI- F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991

 LOUDSPEAKERS TDL STUDIO 1 £ 599

recommended products
NAD 1000+2100 £ 179.95/£289.95
Good, all-round budget powerhouse pre/power Smallish transmission line loudspeaker. Good
combination. Can be made even more powerful imagery, well focused (when positioned prop-
by adding another 2100 power amplifier. GOODMANS MAXIM II £90 erly) and some of the deepest bass you can
Fine 'giant killer' loudspeaker. Not as small a imagine. Slightly room dependent.
IAUDIOLAB 8000C/8000P £ 325/£545 sound as would be expected from asmall box.
Built like atank. Clean, neutral sound with aslick Will not compromise expensive equipment. PROAC STUDIO 1MK 2 £612.25
styling to match. Since removing the metal dome tweeter, ProAc's
GOODMANS M500 £ 130 Studio 1has taken the lead among neutral loud-
NAIM SEPARATES RANGE Fine budget loudspeaker. Not very subtle, but speakers at this price break. Very musical.
A legend in its own lifetime, the Naim range has highly efficient, even-handed and dynamic. Good
always been hard to beat, even harder to criticise. for loud rock. NAIM IBLS £ 815
Goes from the reasonably priced NAC 62 at £405 Small, floorstanding loudspeakers, best suited to
up the remarkable NAC 52 at £4535 NAD 8225 £ 149.95 Naim amplification. Can sound excellent in the
Very light, open and clear sound for the money. right room (being fast, expressive and tight), but
CROFT MICRO RANGE from £ 265 thin and reedy in others. Can be driven passively
Hand built range of pre and power amplifiers. WHARFEDALE 505.2 £ 190 or actively.
Exceptional value for money. Very warm and Gets abit befuddled with complex music, but can
inviting (and so is the sound). still sound excellent in some areas. Still one of the AUDIO NOTE AN-J£799 (Copper Wired)
loudspeakers to beat at the price £999 (Silver Wired)
ION SYSTEMS SAM 40 from £ 949 Excellent soundstaging, a natural performance
Highly expandable pre- power amplifier system. B&W DM6 I 0 £ 199 and high efficiency from these derivatives of the
Great sound from the outset, it gets better as the Our latest test winner. Very competent and Snell design. A good match with Huygens stands.
system expands. Easy and inexpensive way to go musical, without any nasties. Work well with valves , especially Audio Innova-
active, as the circuitry fits within the amplifier. tions/Audio Note equipment. Silver wiring is a
HEYBROOK HB I S3 £ 249 worthwhile option.
AUDIO INNOVATIONS SERIES 500 Powerful, efficient loudspeakers. Lots of welly,
£990 lots of bass. Enjoyable to sit in front of, if not the LINN KABER £ 1198
Sweet sounding valve integrated amplifier. Good most refined of treble performances. The obvious upgrade for owners of Linn Kans.
looking, but alittle system dependant. Need alot of power to drive properly. Active
NAD 6225 £ 299.95 version also available.
MUSICAL FIDELITY P- I80 + CRPS Fun floorstanding loudspeaker that goes deep and
£799/£499 loud without shouting too much. Our Ad. Man- TDL STUDIO 4 £ 1499
Stonky power amplifiers, which are both power- ager's current favourite!!! Bigger version of the Studio I. Needs a large
ful and refined (especially with the addition of the room. Capable of moving alot of air. The best
Choke Regulated Power Supply). Go well with EPOS ES11£300 loudspeaker for organ music, short of the really
Croft and P.S. Audio pre-amplifiers as well as Few can match the virtues of the ES I1. One of the big TDL's. Impressive, awesome and abit fright-
Musical Fidelity's own. finest at the price. Great imagery, weighty bass ening.
without becoming overpowering. A goody!
CONCORDANT AMPLIFIER RANGE NA1M SBL £ 1527
from £ 675 ROGERS LS3/5A £ 350 Highly suited to the Naim system, the SBLs are
Possibly the finest valve preamplifiers made in this Smooth, refined and open sound. Little real bass, impressive, dynamic, powerful and expressive
country ( particularly the £ 1800 Exquisite), the but excellent soundstaging and phrasing. One of sounding, especially in active guise. May prove too
company's modifications to the Quad 11 also add the finest classical music loudspeakers around, intense an experience for some people!
considerable worth (and watts) to this classic only matched by the Harbeths at the price.
mono power amplifier. QUAD ESL-63 £ 2072
HARBETH HL/P3 £ 359 Large electrostatic loudspeakers. Imagery and
DELTEC DSP-50S/DPA-50S £725/925 Souped- up, bi-wirable version of the BBC design, detailing second to none, but lacking in bass. An
Noel's favourite. Very clean, very clear, very as typified by the Rogers LS3/5A. Even better academic among loudspeakers.
neutral. imagery and clarity, especially on vocals. Best
suited for Radio 3and Radio 4 enthusiasts, the LINN ISOBARIKS from £ 2190
AUDIO INNOVATIONS SERIES 200 PRE HL/P3's lack alittle in volume and alittle depth to Few who listen to lsobariks working properly
AMPLIFIER/FIRST AUDIO POWER the bass. cannot fail to be stunned into submission by their
AMPLIFIER £ 305.50/£1531.50 gut-wrenching dynamics. A bit larger than life at
Pretty amplifier combination which can sound LINN KAN II £439 times. If the Quad is an academic, the bar-Ws are
very sweet with the right components. Very lucid So called to prove that you Kan get abig sound the Mike Tyson of the loudspeaker world.
and transparent. from alittle box. Incredibly fast, pacy loudspeak-
ers, that give the appearance of a huge bass NAIM DBL £ 6000
ART AUDIO MAESTRO £ I927(PR) response, given the box size. Perfectly suited for Huge, active-only loudspeakers, which make even
Beautiful looking valve power amplifiers. Not the Linn/Naim system, may not prove so wonder- the powerful lsobarik quake in its boots (stands?).
powerful, but very sweet and involving, especially ful with other equipment. Can produce immense sound pressure levels.
when used in triode operation. Not for the squeamish!
KEF 101/2 £495
JOHN SHEARNE PHASE ONE £ 2398 The baby of the KEF Reference series. Tells you MERIDIAN D6000 £ 7500
Pretty, valve- like amplifiers with a sweet, lucid exactly what is being played, does not mask flaws The pinnacle of Meridian's research into active
sound. Highly suited to neutral sounding equip- in the system prior to the loudspeakers. Very loudspeaker systems. Makes other systems seem
ment. system dependent, but can sound good with the primitive by comparison. Once set up, it becomes
right system. one of the easiest systems to use. Very control-
LINN KAIRN/LK-280/SPARK lable, the overall sound is slightly bright in some
£1295/£653/£639 PENTACHORD £499 rooms, but is otherwise intensely dynamic and
Top flight Linn amplification. A little forward for (or £990 for sub-woofer system) powerful.
some tastes, but very detailed and designed with Real wood finished pentagonal loudspeakers with
the future in mind. Bandor units and no crossover. With the addition TANNOY WESTMINSTER ROYAL
of the sub-woofer, they are capable of asuperbly £10000
MUSICAL FIDELITY SA- 470 £ 6000 transparent, but deep and dramatic sound. Vast full- range horn loudspeakers, which are very
Expensive, powerful and feels as heavy as acar popular in Japan. Incredibly dynamic and detailed,
engine, the SA-470 appears to have no limits NEAT PETITE £ 525 with arich sound and efficiency that lends itself
whatsoever (more than can be said for those who Baby loudspeakers with a sound quality that toward valve amplification.
have to lift it). positively trounces the opposition. Tight, fast,
great stereo and good dynamics. Few little boxes
come close.

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 107

 "At home I use valve amplification Art Audio - two stereo power amplifiers and the
and prefer listening to vinyl. CD excellent Maestro mono. blocks. All are switchable
misses the air and ambiance of a fr triode to pentode and offer excellent sound
recording." Niro Nakamichi, Hi-
Fi Choice, June 1991 quality at arealistic prices.

If you want to hear what Mr Nakamichi is talking Audio I at avery wide range of amplifica1 .
about, come and listen to our selected range of valve t bitting detailed triode s( lllll dwith godd looks.
amplification.
Conconlain :1utlio - three pre-amplifiers that are truly
We are the only dealer in the UK to specialise exquisite 5 th. dt•tailed sound %Vith depth and
exclusively in the valve sound. Here you can compare all partner well with the Exultant Ouad II
and contrast various pre and power amplifier amplifit•rs.
combinations and really hear the difference they
make. Even CD players can be helped by using valve Croft - a %vide range of pre and power amplifiers.
amplification. Well established designs, offering immaculate
sound quality at affordable prices.
We have a range of turntables, cartridges and
speakers to suit. Recent additions to the range are the Orange - a new range fr Germany with accurate
fabulous Pentachord System, Grado cartridges, Mytho spdc . .• sound and high build quality.
and Magnaplanar speakers.
Sound Design Studios - seamless, faithful and very
Telephone us to arrange a demonstration and bring spar' .• sound. from their reasonably priced
along your records to hear how they should sound. init•grated pre-amplifiers to the awes • 150 watt
OTi. blocks.
You'll find no hard sell .... Just sound advice.
Ex-de strat• second-hand equipment and rare
records available, please pl •for details.
1
VINYL TUBE AUDIO:
1345 Foriess Road. London NW5 I
AD
where music matters Tel: 071-485 4854

4:t
. 0
Wo GE •
A, bete
otse '
AI -
L-t*
\

The most extensive range of quality products in the south-east. Backed by our
service department and wide ranging delivery service. Please phone or call in
for ademonstration or a copy of our new in house magazine. ub.
352 — 354 Lower Addisombe Rd. Croydon, Surrey CRO 7AF. Tel, 081-654 1231/2040
Neil Ramsden 0535 • 606086
Here's aselection
PRODUCTS
& SERVICES
• The Can
of articles appearing
in the November issue of
Opener
headphone
adaptor unit

tite04.6.4mrAw
• The Stock
Cube LP
storage system

It h
ION SYSTEMS NEW FMT-2 TUNER
Exclusive review on the latest super-tuner from the innovative and
minimalist Ion Systems' stable.

o MUSICAL
FIDELITY'S NEW
COMPACT DISC
PLAYER
e Musical Fidelity have always
O been active in the promotion
eeklom . • The Main of digital audio. Finally, they
Course have announced aCompact
separate Disc player. We test it to see if it was worth the wait.
mains spur
•Almost any commercially available title from
and equipment
anywhere in the world on any format installation PIONEER'S NEW DOLBY SCASSETTE DECKS
•The finest in-store listening facility in the UK service The battle for the domination of the tape format war hots up. We look
•full International mail order service at two frontrunners in support of the good ol' Compact Cassette,
Open Mon - Sat • 9am - 5.30pm • Closed Tues armed with anew noise reduction weapon: Dolby S. How will they fare
against the forces of DAT and DCC?
COMPLETE RECORD SERVICE
GROUP TEST
Basement • 38 Cavendish St • Keighley • BD21 3RG The amplifier market between £200 and £300 has become one of the
most political areas in hi-fi. We cut through the red tape and listen to
six of the most significant models.

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HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 109
 Rounder
record reviews pose, perform live or even play or
sing at all doesn't matter - as long as TRACK 2
you look appealing on the video you THE DUKE ROBILLARD
can always hire people to do every- BAND featuring Susann
thing else for you. Forrest
You'll be relieved to discover that "Passionate Kiss"

Records
there's nothing so cynical or plastic from the album Turn It Around
about any of the music or performers (AMALTHEA AM I016/NETCD23)

to be found on this month's free CD:

all of these guys are playing music
simply because there's nothing else

CD
they'd rather be doing.
Rounder Records' catalogue is
handled in the UK by Topic and
Special Delivery Records who form
the English ami of The Network, an
alliance of independent record labels
who distribute specialist music
For two decades America's
throughout Europe. Our thanks go to
them for supplying us with the nine
Rounder Records has been putting
tracks which make up this issue's free
CD. If your local record dealer hasn't
out what it describes as quality
anything in stock from Rounder tell Duke Robillard's an all-time hero of
him to give Special Delivery aring - mine. He's one of the finest guitarists
alternative music. There's never
his customers are missing out on alot around and, like Richard Thompson,
been a more appropriate moment of exciting music. his playing tends to win the admira-
tion of other guitarists (including
CONTENTS
to discover their output with our failures like me!). He's not agraduate
There are tracks from nine different of the stunt-guitar school or given to
front cover CD. In the days of the artists included on this CD. You'll displays of blistering speed and
hear songs that show the influence of difficult playing for its own sake: he
synthetic pop star, the video straight blues, gospel, soul and the simply plays with so much feeling and
pot pourri of disciplines that charac- finesse that the instrument virtually
pretty boy who can't play a note, terise the sound of New Orleans. comes alive in his hands and talks to
Like Isaid before, what links them you. With his latest trio he has
Rounder's artists remind us what together becomes apparent once you support musicians who do full justice
listen: each of the artists is singing and to his eloquence and craft. If you only
real music's all about. playing straight from the heart. buy one album this year make sure
it's Turn It Around.
TRACK I
THE HOLMES BROTHERS TRACK 3
Some of the most powerful and "The Final Round" JOHNNY ADAMS
exciting music I've come across in the from the album In The Spirit "Body and Fender Man"
past few years has been from artists (ZENSOR ZS 1
03/NETCD10) from the album Room With A View
associated with the Rounder Records Of The Blues
Corporation of Cambridge, Massa- (ROUNDER CD 2059)
chusetts. Despite the variety in style
and approach of the musicians on the
label there's acommon bond which
unites them: they all play what could
loosely be described as roots music.
That term is pretty vague and in case
it means nothing to you I'll tell how I
interpret it. Ithink of roots music as
real music: music which emerges from
heritage and experience, music which
represents atradition, music that's
buried deep in the performer's soul.
It's not prefabricated, synthesized or How the Holmes Brothers avoided
artificial, nor is it devoid of emotion the attentions of arecord label for
or feeling, like so much contemporary the best part of twenty years remains Singer Johnny Adams hails from New
music. It's not arecent invention, and one of life's great mysteries. At last Orleans and was described by
it definitely isn't the kind of stuff that's they've put their invigorating brand of Newsweek as "the best not-yet-
hastily compiled to avoid missing the blues and soul onto disc and, to famous singer in the world". No
latest bandwagon that happens to be Rounder's eternal credit, it's alive- in- understatement but hardly due
passing. In anutshell it is music which the-studio recording. "The Final reward for acareer which spans thirty
has integrity. Round" has all the drive of classics years! Nonetheless, the album from
Unfortunately, integrity and today's like Sam and Dave's " Hold On I'm which this track was drawn - featuring
music business aren't frequent bedfel- Coming" and benefits from an songs from the pens of R'n'B's most
lows. In arecent interview on abrasive edge borne out of sheer distinguished songwriters, including
Canadian television Frank Zappa enthusiasm. Popsy Dixon's magnifi- Percy Mayfield - was chosen as
summed up the situation succinctly cent falsetto vocal interjections are Album Of The Year in the New
when he said that to be asuccess the icing on the cake. This album Orleans Music Awards. Helping it on
nowadays all amusician needs to do should have been made years ago its way were contributions from some
is to look good: the ability to corn- and then followed by many more! particularly fine musicians: on " Body

HI- F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991

and Fender Man" listen out for player's soul: after hearing this track I guitar fills punctuate the vocal line,
guttariets Duke Robillard (fills and first think that there's little chance you'll reinforcing its impassioned pleading.
solo) and Wafter "Wolfman" Wash- disagree. Iwould add that Iparticu-
TRACK 8
ington (second solo), and the larly enjoy his economical guitar work
unmistakable sound of keyboard on this album where he demonstrates SUGAR RAY featuring The
voodoo man Mac Rebennack on effectively that it's the quality and not Blue Tones
piano and DX-7. the quantity of notes you play that "The Helmet (Bluetone
counts. March)"
TRACK 4 from the album Don't Stand In My
TRACK 6 Way
RORY BLOCK
(BULLSEYE BLUES NET CD 9507)
"The Spirit Returns" NATHAN AND THE ZYDECO
from the album Mama's Blues CHA CHAS
(MUNICH NETCD22) "Ain't Gonna Cry No More"
from the album Your Mama Don't
Know
(ROUNDER CD 2107)

MAMAS
e et,,,,c.Get-c" ›9
BLUES

The album's title track is clearly meant

as awarning: Sugar Ray Norcia
Singer and guitarist, Rory Block doesn't appear to be someone
featured on Hi- Fi World's first CD whose path you'd particularly like to
and we're pleased to hear from her block if this wholly instrumental track
again on this one. This time the track fyou are drawn to music that's busy is anything to judge by. The blues
is taken from an album Ireviewed in and rhythmically intense you'll revel in harp has an inherently mournful
these pages recently, the stunning the infectious Arcadian strains of quality but in Sugar Ray's grasp it
Mama's Blues. "The Spirit Returns" Nathan William's music. This young sounds suicidally desperate. If you
demonstrates the lady's talent for Zydeco practitioner and his cohorts prefer your blues to sound like it's
writing and playing fiery acoustic whip up adancing storm on "Ain't really hurting then Sugar Ray's
country blues. Like the rest of the Gonna Cry No More", taken from an definitely your man.
album the song was recorded on the album where cajun meets R'n'13.
TRACK 9
fly at the Payne AME Church in reggae, the blues and any other
Chatham, NY and captures her influence that happens to be passing. IRMA THOMAS
dynamic and animated playing The Cha Chas play with an fervour "Thinking Of You"
that's perpetually tugging at the leash from the album The New Rules
wonderfully. Check out Peter Ruth's
(ROUNDER CD 2046)
blues harp as well: this track shows and this is one track where your limbs
what can be done with just two will defy any attempt you make to try
instruments and one voice. and keep them still.

TRACK 5 TRACK 7
WALTER ' WOLFMAN' JOHNNY COPELAND
WASHINGTON "Cut Off My Right Arm"
"Tailspin" from the album Boom Boom
from the album Wolf At The Door (ROUNDER CD 2060)
(ROUNDER CD 2098)

This month's CD closes with atrip

back to New Orleans to hear the
lady who has been dubbed the city's
Queen of Soul. Irma Thomas' voice
has astounding power and range and
it's hard to believe that this boppy
little number, which brims with the
sort of enthusiasm that would be
The agite muscularity of Johnny Clyde expected from ateenager cutting her
The Wolfman is another rhythm and Copeland's distinctly melodic Texas first disc, was recorded when she'd
blues player from New Orleans and blues style is showcased to perfection reached forty-five years of age, after a
"Tailspin" typifies his and his band, on this album. ft's good-natured, carrer in music which up to that point
The Roadmasters' distinctive style. good-rockin', good-time music: sparse had spanned twenty-five years. Fact
Although seemingly laid back and but powerful arrangements aug- fans might also be interested to note
relaxed, the combo is deceptively mented with the astringent ecge of that the original version of the Rolling
tight, playing with razor-sharp Copeland's guitar and voice. Listen to Stones' "Time Is On My Side" was
precision. Rounder describes Wash- the track we've selected, aslow recorded by Ms Thomas: if anyone
ington as having ajazz player's ears, a burning soulfuL shuffle, and savour has acopy they don't want I'd be
blues player's attack and agospel how forcefully Copeland's stinging pleased to hear from them •

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

record reviews Mrs Johnson imagined wasn't far from
,ÎNNIE JOHNSON the truth.
Johnson progressed from the
parlour to backing Chuck Berry, and
played on all of his big hits. This gave
one of rock's top statesmen cause to
Only the arrival of a agree with Mrs Johnson about her
son's abilities: Rolling Stone Keith
Duke Robillard disc Richards who played on and pro-
duced two of this album's tracks is
prevents a sixty-six ,Ilso an admirer. He remarked 'When
first heard Chuck Berry's records,
year old piano player way back when, the first thing I
wanted to know was Who's this guy
from grabbing the singing Johnny B. Goode, and the
JOHNNIE JOHNSON second thing was, Who is playing that
Rock Record of The Johnnie B. Bad goddam piano?'
ELEKTRA NONESUCH AMERICAN Berry himself has the greatest
Month slot. EXPLORER SERIES 7559-61149-2 respect for Johnson and recalls
• 'When Iwas around four years old, friendly call-and-response duels
my parents bought apiano.1 imagine fought on-stage. He would play licks
it was just for decoration in the on the guitar which he knew were

malcolm
house, because no one in the family impossible to replicate on the piano
was musical, not aone. But Isat but Johnson would answer him with a
down and started playing right off the run so close that he 'would get a
bat, something simple like "Chop- tremendous ovation.'
sticks". My mother cried and said it Ifeel presumptuous adding my

steward
was agift from God.' So says Johnnie thoughts about his skills to those of
Johnson in his introductory notes to Richards and Berry but this man plays
this album and on the evidence with such anatural ease and an
presented here Idare say that what astounding fluidity that it would be

song ' Passionate Kiss'. It's adelight- Paul and aStratocaster to capture
fully simple number and is indicative the time in which the song first
in general of Robillard's adroit became popular and to imbue it
fusion of rock and blues dialects. with arespectfully fresh feel.
(Listen to his 1986 album Swing if The tracks which follow contrast
you're also interested in hearing his sharply. 'Tell Me How' sees him
sincere and fluid approach to jazz). 1 paying tribute to his early hero
adore his playing and it's his chaste Buddy Holly and using two Stra-
technique and attitude to song- tocasters in stereo to emphasise
writing that Ifind particularly the toppy, bleached tone which
appealing. His music has apared- characterised his sound. ' IThink
down, elemental quality that's You Know' is the first blues tune
reminiscent of rock's early pioneers. Robillard penned and is performed
It also convincingly demonstrates' here as ahomage to Stevie Ray
the veracity of Lou Reed's belief Vaughan. Playing the songs con-
that arock band needs no more secutively hammers home the
than abass, drums and two guitars. chameleon-like adaptability of
Whilst Robillard's playing is Robillard's technique.
direct, straightforward and honest 1have all of Robillard's albums
there's no doubt that he stands and consider this to be one of The
high above many others who are finest he has made.1 enjoy, for
regarded as axe-heroes. His example, the discs he cut with his
technique, which is devoid of former band, The Pleasure Kings,
artifice and extravagance, is which feature some marvellous
accomplished, sophisticated and playing and strong material but
RECORD OF THE brilliantly communicative: he seems which always leaves me slightly
able literally to allow the guitar to disappointed because the players
MONTH speak. Go through the tracks on supporting him seem rather pedes-
Turn It Around and savour the trian by comparison. That's not the
THE DUKE ROBILLARD voice of each guitar he uses and the case with this album, where the
BAND FEATURING different responses he's able to band are, as the vernacular has it,
SUSANN FORREST elicit with each instrument. The cooking with gas, especially singer
Turn It Around Doc Pomus number, 'Sweets For Susann Forrest.
AMALTHEA AMIO I6/NETCD 23 My Sweet' is aprime example of If you're aconnoisseur of guitar-
how he conjures different images based rock and appreciate music
* If you've listened to this month's and effects achange of mood by played with elan, passion and
front cover Compact Disc you'll a[tering his playing subtly or by genuine devotion you need to buy
have had aone-track introduction switching guitars. Here he uses a this album immediately.
to Duke Robillard courtesy of the brace of Epiphones, aGold Top Les

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

disrespectful not to pass comment or like ' Blues With aFeeling', with Taj on as afavourable comparison. Ithink

rock & por record reviews

to compliment him. He's also afine piano and Sonny Rhodes on lap steel, that you'll discover that there's alo:
singer, an ability he dismisses with and 'Take aGiant Step' where Taj of satisfaction to be gained from
modesty, describing his voice as plays guitar and Bill Summers accom- music which is this intelligent and
merely 'passable'. panies him with simple percussion comfortably removed from the
The track 'Tanqueray' first made have, for me, greater impact and, dare mainstream.
me sit up and take notice of his Isay it without sounding aged and
distinctive style and by the time I pompous, more dignity than the rest.
reached Johnson's version of Muddy Nonetheless, the album has ahigh
Waters' Key To The Highway' (both, octane rating throughout and comes
incidentally, tracks which feature Keith highly recommended.
Richards) Iwas completely hooked.
This is the sort of music that burrows
under your skin very quickly. And by
the way, if you think for one moment
that asixty-six year old rock'n'roller's
music is going to be short on energy
and enthusiasm, think again. It oozes
vitality.

JOHNNY WINTER
Let Me In
POINTBLANK VPBCD 5
• The arrival upon my desk of an
JOHN AND MARY album by Johnny Winter put me in a
Victory Gardens nostalgic mood. He had featured on
RYKODISC RCD 10203 my playlist regularly during the
• In case :he names aren't too seventies when Iwas busy checking
familiar John and Mary are John out blues guitarists. Outwardly he was
Lombardo, afounder member of the an unusual candidate for my interest:
thinking and sensitive person's rock most of the guys Iwas listening to
band 10,000 Maniacs, and Mary were black but Winter was white -
TAJ MAHAL Ramsey, aclassically-trained violinist very white indeed, being an albino
Like Never Before who played with both the Erie with the longest, whitest hair I'd ever
PRIVATE MUSIC 211 679 Philharmonic for four years and the clapped eyes on. Despite being so
• Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, a.k.a. Lexington String Trio whilst studying distinctly memorable Isomehow
Taj Mahal, developed his profound at Buffalo University. Lombardo met failed to keep in touch with his career
interest in black American and Ramsey when he attended apoetry in later years.
Caribbean music while he was recital at which Ramsey's trio were Win:er, unlike many of his
studying for his degree during the playing. I've always thought it more contemporaries on both sides of the
early Sixties. Having gained his B.A. he appropriate for musicians to indulge Atlantic, had an authentic blues style
started out playing the blues in in such intellectually stimulating that really appealed to me. His playing
Boston folk clubs before switching behaviour rather than getting cranked wasn't asanitised, soul- less pastiche
coasts and relocating to Santa up on vodka and throwing television that simply stole afew licks and chops
Monica. There he met up with sets out of hotel bedroom windows. from the music's originators but pad
another ardent musical archivist, Decorum and erudition are so lacking no more than scant respect to it in
virtuoso guitarist Ry Cooder. To- in the music business, don'tcha think? spirit: he sounded genuine, he played
gether they formed aband called The The partnership produces thought- with gutsy emotion and conviction.
Rising Sons whose repertoire drew fil and intensely melodic music, with Working with the likes of Muddy
on blues and rock influences. its conjunction of Lombardo's rock Waters and others who had lived the
Subsequent to that collaboration sensibilities and six and twelve-string blues must have helped; it had to be
Taj Mahal has commanded the guitar, and Ramsey's folk and cassical abetter education than sitting in a
respect of his peer group and bearing influences, viola, violin and ethereal bedsit in Bexleyheath with Bert
witness to this ahost of ' name' voice. Bringing further colour to the Weedon's Play In A Day and a
musicians appears on this his latest proceedings are Maniacs' drummer couple of LPs trying to capture the
album. Included in the credits you'll Jerome Augustniak and guitarist muse!
find Darryl Hall and John Oates, The Robert Buck, and guests who include Let Me In shows that time hasn':
Pointer Sisters, Mac Rebennack ( Dr. ex-Small Face Ronnie Lane, who changed him. His guitar playing and
John), guitarists David Lindley - takes the vocal lead on 'We Have vocal manner appear as heart-felt and
another Cooder-collaborator - and Nothing'. The music has aref-eshingly committed as ever before. ' Illustrated
Little Feat's Paul Barrere. And adding gentle air it isn't lacking in dynamics Man' gets the album of to aroaring
the most contemporary element to or excitement but I've found that start and leads into amagnificent
the album, on 'Squat That Rabbit', after an hour or two of anything roller-coaster re-working of Robert
there's D.J. Jlry Jeff on tumtables(!) heavier this album affords the listener Parker's classic ' Barefootin' where
The album's spread of songs an opportunity to unwind and catch Winter's guitar slides, screams and
encompasses traditional and more his breath. wails atortuous path through the
recent styles of black music. Whilst As you might expect, there's quite backbeat. The ubiquitous piano of
the latter will no doubt encourage asim.larity between the music of John Mac Rebennack features here too, as
younger listeners to investigate Taj's and Mary and that of 10,000 Maniacs. well as on three other songs including
output Ifound myself more at home As an admirer of much of the latter the lament ' Life Is Hard'. This track
with the orthodox material. Duets group's work you can interpret that alone justifies purchasing the album

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 113

Specialist Hi-
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local Specialist Hi -
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HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 115

 THE The one hi-fi event that
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HII/LF
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 record reviews
XI' IIONIE
It's the personal touch that
A Birthday Olfcring
Xoleoe Itultdpn l'eurrA counts in each of this

month's recordings:

individual views on Bach,

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH ANTON BRUCKNER
Prelude and fugue in B flat Symphony No5 in B flat Chopin and Liszt, two
major Major
BVVV866/Aria and ten variations in the Symphony Orchestra of the flautists on top form, cogent
Italian style BWV989/Chromatic Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Hamburg;
Fantasia and Fugue BVVV903/Capriccio conductor, Gunter Wand Bruckner conducting, and a
on the departure of abeloved brother BMG Classics RCA Victor Red Seal
BVVV992/Fantasia in C minor RDD60361 ( DDD/74.01) champion of Renaissance
BVVV919/Adagio in G Major BWV968/
Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in D Major • Among those 'cathedrals of sound' choral music who
BVVV912 that are the symphonies of Anton
Rosalyn Tureck, piano Bruckner, it is perhaps the Fifth which appreciates the virtues of
TROY 010 ( ADD/65.32) most rewards an intensive exp oration
of its ' architectural detail', for here is 'line and length' on the score
• Most of us have to settle for the off- music which in terms of symmetry,
key chorusing of friends, but for a thematic development and strtetural and the score-cardl
certain William F. Buckley Jr, of Con- logic is as fine as any ever written.
necticut, birthdays meant the music of Bruckner is often pigeo^-holed as a
J.S. Bach. It helped, of course, to have a 'naive composer' and socially he was,

peter
drawing room capable of holding a even ingenuous. But not in his music.
Bosendorfer grand piano, and an The complex finale of the Fifth displays
audience of twenty-four. Most of all, it acontrapuntal mastery akin to - ,:hat of
helped to have as aclose friend one of Bach and the kind of intellectual muscle
the finest Bach interpreters of modem more readily associated with Beethoven.
times, Dr Rosalyn Tureck. Interpreter is Uniquely in symphonic music it com-

herring
perhaps the wrong word, for Rosalyn bines the challenge of sonata form with
Tureck was one of the pioneers of the the rigorous discipline of amighty
revival of interest in Bach's keyboard couble fugue, amusical argument
music and what is on offer here is resolved in abreathtaking coda that
playing of great affection, freedom and satisfies every expectation built up : nthe
evident delight. preceding movements. The kinship with
This CD is one of aseries of four Beethoven is more than superficial: the
issued by the Troy label using material spiky, angular theme of the fugue is
recorded at recitals in Mr Buckley's clearly based on that of the Grosse Fuge Wand's practice for several years now,
home between 1979 and 1984 (not OpI31 and the assimilation of the is taken from concert performances, in
always on his birthday, it should be tnemes of the first three movements this case in Hamburg's Musikhalle in
added, and on one occasion on Dr into the opening bars of the finale is an October 1989. The impulse of the
Tureck's birthday). The recording was undisguised imitation of the 'Nicht diese performance suggests asingle concert
something of an afterthought and, tone...' of Beethoven's Ninth. tape was employed with 'patches' from
although close and dry, the end result You expect spiritual rewards from a others to cover the odd blemish. If it
(as remied by Andrew Kazdin, one of Bruckner symphony; the Fifth, more has been assembled with movements
the regular engineers for Sony Classical) than any other, also throws down an from different concerts, then it has been
is wholly acceptable. As far as possible, intellectual challenge no less satisfying. seamlessly achieved. Only one or two
the sequence of performances is exactly The attentive ear will almost hear the distant coughs betray the presence of an
as played and, thanks to acombination composer's mind at work and gain an audience during the performance itself
of close microphones and an attentive understanding not only of how this and Iapplaud the decision of the tape
audience, Mr Buckley's birthday guests particular symphony is constructed from editor to retain the 'inter- movement'
only make their presence felt when it its basic 'building blocks', but any piece shuffling and rustling rather than fade
comes to expressing their appreciation. of abstract music, given an interpreter into an unreal digital silence.
Wttle eschewing the familiar capable of revea ing the inner structure As in every Bruckner symphony, the
keyboard warhorses, the programme as part of an understanding of the brass playing is critical and the NDR
achieves agood balance between the whole, that is. Such an understanding is Symphony Orchestra is not found
popular (the Chromatic Fantasia and tne great strengtn of Gunter Wand's wanting in this respect; nor is its
Fugue, the Capriccio BWV992) and the conducting. In lesser hands, this woodwind section which is entrusted
less-well-known. You and Imay not symphony could become episodic and with many telling and exposed solos. In
have been on William F. Buckley's disjointed. Not here; everytning builds every way, this recording earns its place
original guest list, but it feels aprivilege inexorably to the final apotheosis, and in the front rank of Bruckner perform-
now to eavesdrop on this perfect with perfect pacing. Who suggested ances and is especially welcome because
recreation of an 18th century drawing Bruckner's symphonies were overlong? the Fifth is one of the least well
room recital. Bach on the piano may not Seventy-four mirutes here and 1am left represented of the symphonies in the
be authentic, but it is difficult to imagine wanting more. catalogue. Hear great music-making; and
it played more persuasively. The recording, as has been Gunter hear how great music is made.

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 117

record reviews &by/ Jsz: PIANI) 1(
De PI
11111lidi Ié illri It

I
VIM MAYER • LONIR ,SYMMI, fectir-I;nil. Flute
TAMAS VASARY--COMM, Cam mkt Trio

FREDERIC CHOPIN FRANZ LISZT WOLFGANG AMADEUS

Ballades Nol in G minor Op23; No2 Piano Concerto No3 Op. posth./De MOZART
in FMajor Op38; No3 in A flat Major Profundis/Totentanz Flute Quartets Nol in D Major K285;
Op47; No4 in Fminor Op52; Steven Mayer, piano; London No2 in G Major K285a; No3 in C
Barcarolle in Fsharp Major Op60/ Symphony Orchestra; conductor, Major K285b; No4 in A Major K298
Berceuse in D flat Major Op57/ lamas Vasary Peter- Lukas Graf, flute; Carmina Trio
Fantasie in Fminor Op49 ASV DIGITAL CD DCA778 ( DDD/66.32) CLAVES CDSO-9014 ( DDD/54.13)
Eugen In*, piano
CLAVES CD50-9105 ( DDD /61.48) • World premiere recordings' pro- • No one would numbe- the Flute
claims the sleeve, which may surprise Quartets among the finest of Mozart's
• Born of Russian- Serbian parentage those who already have aperformance chamber works (he did, after all, make
and now an American citizen resident in of 'Totentanz' in their collections. But no pretence of his dislike of the flute as
Paris, Eugen Indjic made his first concert this is the Busoni edition of 1919, itself asolo instrument), but any lack of
appearance in 1957, aged ten. In 1970, produced from what was probably substance has its compensations. They
he won the Warsaw piano competition, Liszt's second version of awork which were written as much for the enjoyment
followed by Leeds two years later and occupied him on-and-off for almost two of the performers as the entertainment
the Rubinstein prize two years after that. decades. The differences are mainly in of an audience and, after two centuries
When he was sixteen, one critic simply the orchestration, with the finale and more, this delicious music still fulfills
said: ' He plays Chopin like aPole.' showing the most marked contrast with these two roles.
Judging by this recording, made in the usual scoring. While losing nothing The first three quartets were
Heidelbe-g last autumn, that quality of the flashing brilliance of the piano composed around 1777-8, to a
hasn't been lost in the intervening years. writing, if anything this formative stage of commission from the Dutch music
But it was the programme of this Liszt's 'Dance of Death' reveals aslightly lover, De Jean; K298 would appear to
Claves release that first attracted me. more sombre intention than that date from some eight years later, a
Along with the Etudes, Inumber the encountered in the final version. lively, witty work written for the musical
four Ballades among the most rewarding The origins of the 'Third Piano family of Mozart's friend, Baron
ot Chopin's compositions, music full of Concerto' are odd and outlined only Gottfried von Jacquin ( tis noticeable
invention and imagination. And the sketchily in the accompanying booklet. It how every one of the instruments gets a
beautiful and hypnotic Op49 Fantasie seems that somehow the manuscripts, chance to shine, Mozart evidently aware
surely contains the quintessence of which date from around 1839, were of what was required to keep everyone
Chopin in its twelve-and-a- half minute unaccountably filed by archivists in both happy). After the variations of the first
span, the noble chorale- like theme Germany and the Soviet Union with movement, there is ashort minuet and
woven into magical harmonizations and scores for the Piano Concerto Nol. then abubbling rondo based on an old
urged into the kind of bold rhythmic The error was uncovered by American French folk tune.
adventures of which Chopin was the musicologist, Jay Rosenblatt, who then One would imagine that the
master. Eugen In* plays it with great prepared aperforming edition of the excellent Peter- Lukas Graf and his
fluency and confidence, while ensuring work. ft emerges as just under fifteen colleagues in the Carmina Trio are
his virtuosity remains the servant, not minutes long, in one continuous rather more skilful performers than the
the master of his playing. movement and certainly worthy of Mr von Jacquin family, yet they seem to find
Iappreciated his controlled approach Rosenb att's efforts just as much fun in playing this delightful
to the Ballades as well, and the popular For me, however, the most reward- piece.
Barcarolle (Chopin's evocation of the ing 'find' here has to be the thirty-three The freshness of the playing-is a
magic of Venice) and Berceuse are minute ' Instrumental Psalm', De consistent pleasure througnout these
enlivened by the freshness and precision Profundis. If, indeed, this work has never quartets and, while the Collins Classics
dthe playing. Sensitive and scrupulous, been recorded previously, it is an version with flautist Judith Hall, may be
without becoming too fastidious, this is astonishing ove- sight. Admittedly, it was on apar artistically, 1do prefer the more
Chopin playing of ahigh order, en- left unfinished. However, out of the
hanced by aclear, natural recording that plainchant version of Psalm 129 ('Out of
registers all the nuances of these the depths Icry to you, 0 Lord...'), Liszt
meticulous interpretations. does craft music of botn substance and
virtuosity. The danling reworkings of
the plainchant tneme are no mere
show.
Judged on these performances,
Steven Mayer must be included among
the great present-day Liszt interpreters
and he swell-supported by the
composer's fellow Hungarian, Tamas
Vasar-y. The recording, aTrygg
Tryggvason production from Waltham-
stow Town Hall, is full-bodied, with
ample space arbd the kind of crystal
clarity which we now take for granted.

118 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

 RECORD OF
THE MONTH
They had to plug the church doorways with
foam in an effort to stop the wind, blowing
relentlessly across the flat Norfolk country-
side, from sweeping down the nave. The
'control room' for the recording had to be set
up in the village hall, which meant running 180
metres of low- loss video link cable between
the microphones and the digital recorders. At
one point, the cable had to be elevated above
the road at aheight sufficient to allow
FOLK AND FANTASY: combine harvesters to pass under. And, on
BRITISH WORKS FOR FLUTE top of that, engineer and producer had to
-VOLUME TWO hope that the local United Sta:es Air Force
Kenneth Smith, flute; Paul Rhodes, base would stick to its promise not to fly over
piano the area during the two days of recording.
ASV DIGITAL CD DCA768 ( DDD/73. 13) Iwas in the village of Salle in Norfolk In addition to recording the undisputed
(more afarming hamlet), acommunity which, choral masterpieces of Palestrina, Victoria, Byrd
• A second compendium of British flute like so many others in East Anglia, possesses a and, of course, Tallis, among others, Peter
music? Surely Kenneth Smith is ' barrel- magnificent parish church funded out of the Phillips arid his colleagues have also seen arole
scraping' this time? Not so: with an profits of the wool trade in the Middle Ages in focusing attention on these composers'
agreeable, contrasted mix of original but now, of course, utterly disproportionate neglected contemporaries, if not forcing a
compositions and transcript ons, the to its needs. As well as its architectural merit, revision of their standing in the musical hierar-
Philharmonia's prinepal flautist has come the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is chy. In th sway, many will have been introduced
up with another wirning showcase for also possessed of awonderful acoustic, ideal to the distinctive character of the music of
both his instrument and his own talents. for medium-scale unaccompanied choral Clemens non Papa, William Comysh, C_ario
As the title suggests, this time he has music. Which is why, despite all the practical Gesualdo and others. And the reputation of
turned to composer> wno tapped the problems, it has been the principal recording Isaac, you can but feet can only be enhanced by
rich spring of British folk music, Ralph venue for The Tallis Scholars' hugely success- this new issue.
Vaughan Williams and Percy Grainge- ful series for Gimell Records. Somehow, The Missa de Apostolis, which Iheard
among them. The 'fantasy' of the title everything from creaking church doors to recorded at Salle, is amagnificent setting for six
comes from works such as Amold Bax's low-flying jets has been overcome to produce voices which, as Peter Phillips commented, has
Four Feces for Flute and Piano, with its some of the finest recordings of Renaissance great breadth and grandeur. The same qualities
fairy-tale like evocatons, and the wistful, polyphony ever made. can be enjoyed in the motets Optime Pastor
haunting ' By the rive- in spring' of and Virgo Prudentissima, the former acelebra-
Michael Head. HEINRICH ISAAC tory piece written in 1513 for the historic
Michael Head, one-time professor at Missa de Apostolis (6w)/Motets: Optime meeting between Cardinal Lang, chancellor to
the Royal Academy of Music, is one of pastor; Tota pulchra es; Regina caeli laetare; Maxim;lian land the newly-enthroned Pope Leo
three unfamiliar names among the Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum; Virgo X (son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, like Maximi-
composers here. Peter Lamb's ' English prudentissima (6vv) Ian, one of Isaac's employers). The text is full of
Air' is an exquisite miniature, but no The Tallis Scholars; director, Peter Phillips allusions and hidden meanings, all of which are
lightweight, while John McLeod's ' Le GIMELL CDGIM023 ( DDD/74.30) explainec in Peter Phillips' sleeve note. He
Tombeau de Poulenc' packs ideas into a writes with all the style and fluency with which
genial eight-and-a-hadf minutes of music. * ' Like watching areally good •slow bowler,' he directs the choir.
As well as an effective transcription was how the cricket-loving Peter Phillips Another motet, Virgo Prudentissima of 1507,
of his 'Greensleeves' orchestral fantasia, summed up the wonderful unfolding of the was written for Maximilian's coronation as Holy
Vaughan Williams is also represented by Missa de Apostolis of the Flanders-born Romar Emperor and, showing the politcal
the colourful ' Suite de Ballet', where composer, Heinrich Isaac. As we talked after tradition of having 'God on your side' is nothing
Kenneth Smith's playing - especially in the recording session at Salle, he went on: 'The new, it a_d<s the Blessed Virgin to look favourably
the Humoresque and Passepied - Mass slowly unfolds; Isaac doesn't think things on the new ruler. There are two other Marian
positively sparkles. And if you want to have to be imitated precisely and he paces the motets and one for Easter Sunday to complete
hear him out-Galway :he man with the music cleverly.' this representative 'musical portrait' of Heinrich
silver licite himself, sample the exuber- 'In his time, Isaac was reckoned second only Isaac.
ance of Hamilton Harty's fantasy ' In to Josquin. His style is certainly more diverse As with any Tallis Scholars' performance, the
Ireland'. ; nmore reflective vein, Paul than Josquir's and, for music for grand occa- 'core' of superb blend and tuning is evident
Rhodes' transcription of Percy Grain- sions, he preferred the greater Dreadth of five throughout, along with the ability to sustain a
ger's ideas on the famous Lincolnshire of six voices.' line apparently effortlessly: ' staggering the
folk song ' Brigg Fair' is beguiling, as is 'He was,' concluded Peter Phillips, 'one of breathing, as Peter Phillips describes it. Just a
Kenneth Smith's reworking of one of the greatest masters of choral sound.' couple of Schoeps microphones positioned at
Elgar's most delightful tunes, ' La Like Josquin, Heinrich Isaac was born in the 'focal point' is all that is needed to produce
Capricieuse'. There is expressive playing, Flanders (now Belgium and The Netherlands) the precise, transparent sound that characterizes
too, in Lennox Berkeley's finely-honed around 1450. He was regularly in the employ of all the Tallis Scholars' recordings, plus of course
Sonatina. Italian nobility, including the Medicis, and that carefully-chosen acoustic. Having found his
Indeed, the contr bution of pianist became court composer to Emperor Maximil- optimum microphone position, producer Steve
Paul Rhodes, to the success of both ian Iin Vienna. After his death in 1517, his style Smith told me, if changes had to be made, it was
'Summer Music' (the first volume, found many disciples. But where Josquin's status the singers that moved, not his mics!
reviewed acouple of issues ago) and as one of the key figures bestriding the worlds Because of the paucity of recordings of Isaac's
this new collection cannot be over- of medieval and Renaissance music has been music, it is tempting to describe this new issue as
estimated. Clearly sharing his partners maintained over the centuries, Isaac was a'valuable document' or some such. But that
enthusiasm for this neglected area of gradually relegated to an entry e the music would suggest the works here need that kind of
British music, he colours and contours dictionaries, with his works rarely sung or scholar>,crutch. They do not; this is simply a
the piano role with comparable recorded. very fine composer at long last getting his due.
imagination.

HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991 119

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120 HI-FI WORLD OCTOBER 1991

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THE HAWK FLIES HIGH SOLSTICE SOUND & SHADOWS THE HEAT OF HEAT
BLUES
SONNY ROLLINS PROMISE OF TOMORROW SD LPs £7.49, CDs [ I0.99
OLD EMENDS NEW FRIENDS WALKING ON A TIGHTROPE
WORKT1M SHADOW PROPHETS
BLUE SUN
IRMA THOMAS
SOUND OF SONNY
MOVING OUT
CHICK COREA
TRIO MUSIC (dbl)
THE SEARCHER
TOM scorr
DELMARK NEW RULES
REBIRTH BRASS BAND
FREEDOM SUITE LIVE 80/81 STREAMLINES (Available on LP only) FEEL LIKE FUNKIN' IT UP
WES MONTGOMERY GARY BURTON/CHICK FLASH POINT SOLOMON BURKE
WES MONTGOMERY TRIO COREA JUNIOR WELLS SOUL ALIVE (CD only)
JOHN PATITUCCI
INCREDIBLE JAZZ GUITAR DUET ON TAP
JOHN PATITUCCI WALTER •VVOLFMAN'
MOVIN ALONG BLUES HIT BIG TOWN WASHINGTON
ERIC MARIENTHAL
THELONIOUS MONK/ JOHN ECM LP ( single): £ 8.99, VOICES OF THE HEART HOODOO MAN BLUES WOLF AT THE DOOR (CD only)
COLTRANE (double): L12.99 ROUND TRIP SOUTHSIDE BLUES JAM NATHAN & THE ZYDECO
THELONIOUS MONK/JOHN ECM CD ( single): £ 12.99 OTIS RUSH CHA CHAS
CHICK COREA
CD ( dbl): £ 16.99 COLD DAY IN HELL YOUR MAMA DON'T KNOW (CD)
COLTRANE LIGHT YEARS
CHARLIE PARKER EYE OF THE BEHOLDER SO MANY ROADS CLARENCE 'GATEMOUTH'
BIRD AT ST NICKS BROWN
AKOUSTIC BAND EARL HINES
ALRIGHT AGAIN (LP only)
PHILWOODS QUARTET AT HOME
MARK EGAN
WOODLORE A TOUCH OF LIGHT CALLOWAY/HAMILTON/
MODERN JAZZ OUARTET FIELDS/BIG BAND JAZZ Rounder LPs £ 7.99,
DON/DAVE GRUSIN CDs I1.99
DJANGO TULSA TO HARLEM
STICKS AND STONES
THELONIUS MONK/SONNY SLEEPY JOHN ESTES
GARY BURTON
ROLLINS TIMES LIKE THESE LEGEND OF
THELONIOUS MONK/SONNY BROKE AND HUNGRY
OMAR HAKIM
ROLLINS IN EUROPE
RHYTHM DEEP
Delmark LPs £ 7.49,
H1- F1 WORLD OCTOBER 1991 121
BLUE STING ZENSOR CLANNAD
FUAIM
ENGLISH CLASSICAL
PLAYERS
HILDEGARD OF BINGEN
FEATHER ON THE BREATH OF
BOILED IN LEAD MOZART tn & SCHUBERT 5th GOD
LITTLE BRO MONTGOMERY THE HOLMES BROTHERS
AT HOME (LP £.99. CD £ 12.99) IN THE SPIRIT (LP/CD) ORB (dbl) CI 1.99 (LP & CD)
DEBUSSY/RAVEL STRING
RORY BLOCK QUARTETS
Linn Records LPs £ 7.99 FAIRFIELD QUARTET
MUNICH MAMAS BLUES (LP) Cooking Vinyl LPs 7.49,
CDs £ 10.99 CDs £ 11.99
T-BONE BURNETT
PROOF THROUGH THE NIGHT
CULTURE IN CULTURE Zensor LPs £ 7.99, CDs £ 11.99
CULTURE CROSSCUT RECUT RECORDS

RAVEL & BARTOK

J. B. LENOIR
ALABAMA BLUES!
IRMA THOMAS
COOKING CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE PIANO CONCER I
0 £8.99 JOHN COLTRANE
LIVE - SIMPLY THE BEST
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE BALLADS
RORY BLOCK BEETHOVEN
MUSICIANS OF SWANNE
VINYL
MAMAS BLUES Crosscut CD only £ 11.99 5th SYMPHONY £8.99
ALLEY
Munich CDs £ 10.99 PIANO CONCERTO (dbl 11.99)
IN THE STREETS & THEATRES OF
GREGSON AND COLLISTER
LINN STOCKHOLM ART TRIO
LONDON

AMALTHEA HOME AND AWAY (CD only £6.99) BRAHMS PIANO TRIO £8.99
COLEMAN HAWKINS

THE DUKE ROBILLAIUD BAND

THE OYSTER BAND
STEP OUTSIDE (LP £4.99, CD E6.99) RECORDS LINN SELEKT
WRAPPED TIGHT
BENNY CARTER
TURN IT AROUND (CD Cl 1.99) FOUR BROTHERS BLUE NILE FURTHER DEF1NMONS
MAKOROKOTO RECORDS
A WALK ACROSS THE ROOFTOPS AL GREEN
SOLOMON BURKE
HEARTBEAT
MICHELLE SHOCKED HATS [FT'S STAY TOGETHER
TEXAS CAMPFIRE TAPES A CHANGE IS GONNA COME
CAROL KIDD JUNE TABOR & THE OYSTER
EDWARD II & THE RED HOT CAROL KIDD ELVIS COSTELLO & BAND
CULTURE THE ATTRACTIONS
POLKAS FREEDOM & RAIN
LION ROCK ALL MY TOMORROWS
LETS POLKASTEADY ARMED FORCES
IN CULTURE - CULTURE (LP) NICE WORK ROCKIN JIMMY
SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK THE PENTANGLE THE UGHT OF THE MOON
LINTON KWESI JOHNSON BREATHS...THE BEST OF THE NIGHT WE CALLED IT A DAY BASKET OF LIGHT
DREAD BEAT AN BLOOD LONDON SYMPHONY
DAVY SPILLANE DAVID NEWTON NANCI GRIFFITH BFtAHMS SYMPHONY No. 4
EEK-A-MOUSE ATLANTIC BRIDGE VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCE LAST OF THE TRUE BEI IFVERS
DEE JAY EXPLOSION (LP) NANDEL
COWBOY JUNKIES MARTIN TAYLOR ALPHA BLONDY & THE WATER MUSIC
YELLOWMAN, EEK-A-MOUSE TRINITY SESSIONS DON'T FRETT WAILERS
SPECIAL REQUEST AND A CORELLI
JUNE TABOR & THE OYSTER POLISH CHAMBER ORCH. JERUSALEM
CONCERTI GROSSI
POPULAR DEMAND II Pl BAND MOZARTNIVALD1/BACH/BARTOK/ STEVE PHILIPS
KAPSBERGER
HEARTBEAT REGGAE FREEDOM AND RAIN ELGAR (dbl) CI 1.99 (LP & CD) STEEL RAIL BLUES
PIECES FOR LUTE
SAMPLER OYSTER BAND WILLIAM CONWAY & PETER MILCHO LEVIEV QUARTET
LITTLE ROCK TO LEIPZIG EVANS BLUES FOR THE FISHERMAN
ELLO SONATAS Linn Selekt LPs £7.99
Heartbeat LPs £ 7.99, NAPPY END CRUSELL CLARINET
CDs £ 11.99 TURN THINGS UPSIDE DOWN QUARTETS
BRUCE COCKBURN THEA KING/ALLEGRI ST Ol JARTET
LIVE
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