The National Audio Show 2015 Part Three – More Rooms and A Miscellanea

Oct 212015

In this part Three of Adventures in High Fidelity Audio’s coverage of NAS 2015, thanks to Mark ‘Ynwan’ I can now complete the NAS show coverage by including companies missed in the earlier parts, and I am now also able to add a few extra images of companies rooms covered in part One, that add to the overall picture of what they were doing.

More of Mark’s show photos can be found here http://s62.photobucket.com/user/markemark_2006/library/National%20Audio%20Show%202015?sort=3&page=1

Ground Floor S1, S2, S3

Within these rooms Kudos Audio, Cymbiosis, Linn, Chord Cables and Naim were exhibiting.

Kudos Audio – http://kudosaudio.com/

Cymbiosis – http://www.cymbiosis.com/

Linn – http://www.linn.co.uk/

Chord Cables – http://www.chord.co.uk/

Naim – https://www.naimaudio.com/

Entotem – Ground Floor S6

New company Entotem, were demonstrating their radical one box solution which incorporates DAC, streamer, pre-amp and power-amplifier, The Plato, which is being hailed in some quarters as the 21st century’s answer to the music centre.

The Plato – £3600 with amplification, £2700 without – pictured below is a very clever one box solution that embraces new technology but is also compatible with older legacy music formats. Entotem say this about the Plato….

‘….. which is a high specification home entertainment system which will revolutionise the streaming and enjoyment of music, television, video and DVD.

The new system connects to existing HiFi equipment such as a vinyl record, cassette and CD players as well as DVD, Blu-ray and video players and television sets. Plato automatically records from legacy analogue devices and then replays at the highest quality – enabling record, CD, video and DVD collections to be stored in one place.

“It is designed as a media management system – complementing the equipment that is already in the home and particularly enables people with a record collection to enjoy their music more flexibly at a high resolution which is far superior quality to the alternatives currently available.”

Entotem were using the MBACo (short for Modern British Audio, who also make a range of electronics) Progression floor standing speakers £5295 with the Plato. MBACo say this about the Progression……

‘The Progression floor standing speaker is hand crafted in an elegant form that will grace most surrounding. It has been tuned to allow hours of tireless enjoyment projecting a natural soundstage with clear detail. Our carefully selected drivers produce a sound that is warm and enveloping with an excellent tonal balance.

The Progression speaker is manufactured from aircraft grade aluminium extrusions that provide a rigid and graceful structure. The shape of the extrusion is designed to eliminate standing waves in the cabinet that can adversely colour the sound. Along with some beautiful standard offerings, we are able to custom finish our products to match decorations by colour, wood veneers and vinyl wraps. The Progression is hand built at our premises in Kent….’

Specification: 2-way vented-box floor stander

Tweeter: 1x ø19mm aluminium dome ferro-fluid damped

Mid Bass: 2x ø146mm Paper cone with Nextel® coating

Frequency response: 36Hz- 20kHz ±6dB

Sensitivity: 88dB spl (2.83V, 1m)

Nominal impedance: 6 Ohm

Crossover frequency: 3kHz

Recommended amplifier: 50W – 150W into 8 Ohm

These look very striking in the orange finish in use in Entotem’s room.

Entotem – http://www.entotem.com/

MBACo – http://www.mbaco.uk/

Olive/Audiobility Brooklands Suite T4

Audiobility UK distributors of Olive, Cary Audio Design, MIT Cables and Chapman Audio, Olive were demonstrating the new Olive One multiroom 32 bit HD music player.

Olive say this about the One…

‘Our team of audio engineers combines an impressive 150 years of experience in perfecting sound quality at Olive and the world’s leading audiophile brands. It shows in the amazing reviews we have received for our award-winning HD Music Server line. The new Olive ONE allows us to deliver the same stunning sound quality, at an affordable price. If you’re an audiophile, you’ll be impressed by our 32-bit/384kHz Burr-Brown DAC and its dual HD amplifiers. If you’re not an audiophile, here’s all you need to know

Olive ONE converts a digital signal into sonic revelations. It is powered by only the finest audio components available today. From its 32-bit/384kHz Burr-Brown DAC with 8X Oversampling and incredible Signal-to-Noise ratio of 112dB to its ultra-low jitter master clock, every single detail has been tuned for audiophile sound quality.

Most traditional stereo receivers have one amplifier that splits into two channels (left and right). ONE has two amplifiers — one for each channel — so you experience a more spacious, enveloping sound that fills the entire room. Listen to your music the way it was meant to be heard.

Using an advanced Digital Signal Processor (DSP) with our patented SMART technology, ONE optimizes the sound output for your specific brand and model speakers.* It also adjusts to the music genre and your room acoustics. So you get the best possible sound for your space.

Olive ONE supports HD music formats that are the gold standard for studio master quality sound, and deliver 250X the resolution of CD music! But even if you’re playing MP3s or your favorite music streaming service, Olive ONE has one of the best analog output stages in the industry. It enhances everything you play.’

Big claims, that only listening will confirm.

Olive – http://www.myoliveone.com/homes/home

Audiobility – http://www.audiobility.co.uk/

Alacrity Audio – Ground Floor S5

Alacrity Audio were demonstrating their new Dundee 6 speakers, and Alcrity say this about them…..

‘The Dundee6 is a hybrid of our hugely successful Caterthun6 loudspeaker with a 1/4 wave tuned transmission line cabinet.

Because our Acoustic Induction cabinet loading material acts as a 100Hz, 36dB / octave low-pass filter, we do not have to find a way of absorbing all the mid-range, rear-ward radiation from our bass unit. Therefore, the bass notes are fast, tight and immediate, with all the weight and extension you might expect from such a design, plus a whole lot more.

Features;
Overhead Expansion Chamber to reduce over-all resonant frequency of the transmission line. Sharp edges and corners to reduce acoustic coronal effects, such as Incidental Waves and blurred stereo imagery. Front Damping Panel to reduce Frontal Incidental Waves. This may be removed to increase aesthetic appeal, revealing the edges of the mounting recess which, as they have the requisite sharp corners and edges, perform 90% of the same function. Upgrades may be available in the future. Precision machined Trim Ring to prevent Incidental Waves and tighten stereo imagery, Removable base-plate with carpet spikes to lower the center of Gravity. Base-plates are available in a number of finishes (Aluminium as standard, plus Corian, marble, granite, etc, POA.) Only air-core coils and non-electrolytic capacitors used in both bass and treble sections.’

Technical Specification:

Power Handling: 600 W (300 W RMS)
Sensitivity: 86 dB
Minimum Impedance: 8 Ohms.
W x H x D: 1200 x 180 x 300 mm
Frequency Response: 20 – 60 Hz +6dB max, 100 Hz – 20 KHz +/- 1dB max
Crossover Frequency: 2.25KHz
Bi-wireable: Yes
Connections: 4mm Gold
Bass Port: Rear Transmission line tuned to 32 and 27 Hz
Drivers: LF 16cm Bass Mid / HF 20mm Soft Dome
Finish: Oiled, real wood veneers or high gloss lacquers
Optional Extras: none
Recommended Placement: 10 – 15 cm from rear wall
Recommended Stand; none
Shipping Weight: 45 Kg per loudspeaker, packed’

Alacrity Audio – http://alacrityaudio.co.uk/

Roksan Audio (Henley Designs – Melbourne and Inspire Audio – Monza)

Missed by me in the first part of the NAS show report was Roksan’s new Pug tonearm £1375, a strange looking arm which is a lot chukier in appearance than most other tonearms bar The Wand from New Zealand, which the Pug bears a passing similarity in appearance.

Roksan say this about the Pug

‘Roksan are going analogue crazy this month. After last week’s announcement of the new phono electronics, we’re now delighted to announce the launch of a brand new, stand-out tonearm. Drawing on years of accumulated research at the forefront of vinyl technologies, The Pug has been specified to deliver first-class audio from a striking, accessible design.

The Pug is based around a large, yet light and rigid, 22mm diameter carbon fibre arm tube; while most other parts feature high-quality black chromed anodised aluminium. The large counterweight area at the rear of the arm employs a solid, perfectly-balanced fixed section in combination with two adjustable counterweights that are changed by the user depending on the weight and tracking force of the cartridge that’s been installed. Anti-skate is managed by a traditional ‘weight & thread’ mechanism at the front of the counterweight area.’