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CRAZY HOBBY Controversially, my actual system is built around components that have never been reviewed by yourself. I think this is the ultimate proof that good quality journalism is not biased by commercial elements. So, please take this as a compliment. To give you a flavor, I use Analogue Audio amplification and CD player, the Maestro 200 integrated and Maestro 192 CD player. The choice of amp has been heavily influenced by your reviews of Sugden, Jungson and Icon Audio 845 the CD player as a package deal is the first item ready for future upgrades but still a very natural and fine match using Synergetics XLR interconnects. My speakers are ProAC D80, not to criticise but I have really missed ProAc in your magazine. In my opinion they are simply the single best speaker in the world and the D80 has it all. As for analogue I have a Gyro SE with Never Connect power supply, a Koetsu Black, Techno arm and a battery phono stage from Nagra. This is a killer combination and I think it will be very hard to get comparable results from digital. Suggestions from your side for future improvements are welcome, but I will never leave the Koetsu as this has added a sense of musical magic incomparable to anything else I have experienced ('heard' would be the wrong expression here). It is only recently that I have started experimenting with clean power and the main reason for my letter is why has Hi-Fi World never looked into clean power solutions (or I have missed it completely). I have bought an active power regenerator from a brand called PurePower from Canada. I was very sceptical as enthusiasts told me I would loose on dynamics and musicality. Now, after a week of listening I can only tell this is the single biggest “upgrade” I have ever made. As I am not a writer I will refrain from trying to describe differences but I can only tell I keep listening to my music collection and I have suffered from serious fatigue since this device is on my rack. Next up is a room correction system (another controversial I would like to see your respected opinion on). Pure Power 2000 mains conditioner from Canada was "the single biggest upgrade" says Bert van Dijck. Hi Bert. Thanks for your letter and observations on the importance of clean mains power. Many readers have expressed a similar view, that improving the quality of mains power makes a big difference to sound quality. Hi-Fi World suffers a small disadvantage here in that its offices are based in a part of London that seems to have a clean, high voltage supply and we had a long explanation about this from reader and EDF engineer James Watson in our February 2010 issue. However, a manufacturer of World Audio Design output transformers who also makes mains distribution transformers explained that rural supply lines were often long, subject to heavy industrial and agricultural loads, and noisy as a result, and more in need of supply conditioning. As our editor, David Price, has just moved to such a location perhaps he will be letting us know more about all this in the near future. NK The flat earth end is a venerable Technics SL-BD21 with an Ortofon OCP-20 (T4P). The silver disc is a Rega Planet, used as a transport and a Tom Beresford off-board DAC which has been modified by AudioUpgrades with a custom designed power-supply and better components. A Musical Fidelity X10D sits between the DAC and the pre-amp. Lastly, I use a rather nice pair of B&W DM602 S3 standmounts mounted on Apollo Olympus stands. The whole thing is connected using Chord Odyssey 2 cables and Chorus interconnects. Now the thousand dollar question: can you suggest which component I should change to produce a clear but airy treble, warm but informative midband and tight bass? I find the B&Ws have a slightly etched, cold treble that whilst revealing is not what I’m looking for. I have a large collection of CDs and a fair bit of vinyl. My musical tastes are largely Classical but I do listen to other genres as well. I am happy to consider older equipment and would prefer to keep costs reasonable. I might be able to afford a higher budget but the maximum I would have to play with is £2000 and this would not be for the next four years. Your thoughts and advice are very welcome.
Monitor Audio RX8s, a great modern sound for £999, says Noel. Hi Nigel. You say the B&W DM602 S3s are "rather nice" but you don't like the cold treble. B&W pulled the treble down a bit and smoothed it too, in the B&W CM9 (reviewed in our December 2009 issue) and the CM5 standmount is similar, so you might well find this is just the sound you are looking for. B&Ws are on the bright side though, as are most loudspeakers these days. Alternatively, try auditioning a few Monitor Audio loudspeakers. The new floorstanding RX8s (£999) were pretty impressive I found, when I reviewed them in our January 2010 issue. NK I was thinking of buying new 'speakers, a pair of Cremona Auditors M series as I thought the Ruarks were too big for my room, 13ft x 10ft. How do you think matching the Sonus Fabers and Musical Fidelity will sound? After all I paid just £500 for the Ruarks and they are going on for 10 years old now and I don't think it would be proper to replace just one driver and have the possibility of a failure in another over time. I don't mind forking out on decent speakers as I would like a pair that I can grow old with. Also, I plan on holding on to my Nu Vista setup as I have contacted Musical Fidelity on having the units upgraded. Rest of my setup is VPI Scout turntable with a Goldring 1042 cartridge, A5 tuner and Nakamichi DR-3 cassette deck and Tci cables. Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors are what I want, says Alan. Hi Alan - well, it seems you just want me to give you the green light for the Sonus Fabers, don't you? The trouble is, the best I can really do is go to orange! Yes, they're superb speakers, excellent in their price bracket - but only if you like that sort of thing. The trouble is, the difference between the Cremonas and any of the handful of excellent price rivals is like that between £35,000 cars. Do you want the silkiness of the Jag, the tautness of a BMW or the go-anywhere capability of the Landrover Discovery? My point is simply that you need to try a range of options first; just buying 'sight unseen', as it were, is like buying a new car online then finding you can't reach the pedals when it's delivered! I can merely speculate that the Sonus Fabers should be a good general match. The Musical Fidelity amplification just errs ever so slightly on the warm side, whereas the Sonus Fabers are a teensy bit on the dry side. You should end up with a nicely balanced combination. The only thing that worries me in theory is that you've come from Ruarks, which have an altogether more visceral sound; less subtle and delicate, more emotive and bombastic. If you liked their character when you bought them, I wonder if you'd find the Sonus Fabers a little cerebral now? They are very much a clean, dry, super finessed speaker that excels on classical music but lacks the heft or exuberance for the likes of rock or pop. If you've set your mind on them, and have actually heard them elsewhere already, then go ahead and come back to us with your thoughts; we can then tune the rest of your system to give its best with the new loudspeakers. DP |
