This was the third time that I had visited UK Audio Show, held at Staverton Park Hotel. I have always enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere and found it to be well-organized. This year it appeared quieter than usual, which reflects the current economic climate rather than the event itself, which was excellent, although missing a couple of the usual exhibitors for various reasons. Staverton Park hotel and golf club is a great venue with good catering facilities. If you are planning on staying at the hotel for a future event, the bar and restaurant proved a popular haunt throughout the day and late into the evening. With new organisers poised to take over the event from next year onwards the future looks bright for this popular show, which had some often great sounds this year. Here are some of the rooms which caught my attention, I hope you will enjoy reading about them.
The Chord Company
I always enjoy listening to a good vinyl playing system, and that was indeed what I heard in this room. Spinning the tunes was at EAT Forte S turntable via the enormous Musical Fidelity Nuvista Phono 2 phono stage. This was the third time I had heard Chord Electronics’ Integra amplifier and each time it sounds great, so it must be doing something right. At the end of this was a pair of Kerr K320 Mk III speakers, which are well known to me so they allowed me to appreciate what the rest of the system was doing.
I walked in partway through a cable demo, at which point the system was using Chord Co’s Signature cables. As they moved up to the Sarum T, the improvements in bass control were evident, along with a more holographic soundstage, which had more ambience. The top-of-the-range Music cables proved a revelation, improving definition, texture, instrumental body, impact, and soundstage scale.
Coppice Audio/Air Audio/Connected Fidelity
Malvern-based Coppice Audio is now in its fourth year and has always proved popular at shows. Their BG-3 speakers were driven by an Audio Detail pre/power valve amplifier, which in turn was powered by a Connected Fidelity AC-2K balanced mains supply. Up front was a new turntable from Connected Fidelity called the TT-Hub with a Hana Umami cartridge doing a fine job of extracting the music from the grooves in every record played. The music sounded powerful and weighty, yet smooth and delicate when required. It flowed within a wide soundstage, which was well free of the speakers – a rare feat in a show environment. Both micro and macro dynamics impressed me, as did this system’s timing abilities and strong bass.
Goldenear/Heed/Audioquest
Toby Allen of TFT Distribution is always welcoming and puts on a good display. Since he has taken on the distribution of Heed Audio equipment, the sound of his room at shows has taken a turn for the better. On dem here was a pair of Golden Ear BRX speakers (£1,699), with a Forcefield 30 subwoofer (£799). Amplification was taken care of by the Heed Elixir (£1,500) and number crunching by the Abacus S DAC (£2,100). Naturally, Audioquest cables and power conditioning were also present.
I was impressed by this system’s well-balanced, textured, and dynamic musical presentation yet it retails for a fraction of the cost of some of the systems at the show. This would be an excellent setup for the average UK shared living space.
Art/Bricasti
This was my favourite system at this year’s show, despite using a CD source. The Bricasti electronics are the same system that impressed Jason when he reviewed them earlier this year, and I can see why. For reference, the M19 CD transport (£12,000), was paired with an M1 Series II DAC (£15,000), amplification was the M20 preamp (£15,000) and M25 power amp (£21,500). Loudspeakers were the top-of-the-range Art Diamond 10 floorstanders (£34,950), the music was warm, open, dynamic, expansive yet organic with a natural ease and flow. I spent some time speaking with Art’s Derek Dunlop, who proudly explained the family history, which goes back to the original Dunlop Systemdek turntable.
The Rock Doc
The Rock Doc’s Matt McNulty is passionate about Townshend Audio products and specialises in restoring their, you guessed it, Rock turntables. The Rock 2, on demonstration this year, looked stunning in metallic orange and sounded even better, helped by the Excalibur arm and an optical DS003 cartridge, from Japanese specialists DS Audio. These cartridges are said to produce an accurate frequency response and add no measurable noise of their own due to an optical system which is unique to the brand. The optical system removes mechanical resistance when the cantilever vibrates and the result is a clean and exciting sound. The price of £5,995 includes a phono stage, which makes it more palatable. Matt is not afraid to play records that you don’t usually hear at audio shows, many of which are well-worn pressings from his extensive collection. The room proved extremely popular with visitors, so I made sure I popped in early doors before the public made it upstairs to this room.
A Townshend Audio Allegri Reference preamp, EAR 899 power amplifier and Kerr K300 speakers completed the system. Tool’s Pneuma sounded lively and open, dynamic swings hit hard when required, yet the lack of unpleasant edge made it a pleasure to listen to.
Cadnam Audio
This was a new name to me, but the history of the designs go way back. The brand’s David Hall was the engineer behind IAS, who produced a highly acclaimed speaker called the Beaulieu in the late ‘70s. Along with Gareth and Tom Ellis, the brand relaunched as Cadnam last year, the name taken from a small Dorset village. I was impressed with their smallest standmount speaker called the M-4, which retails for £3,285.95. These were fed by a streaming-based system from a revived Nytech Audio, the result was a well-balanced sound that could kick when required. If you are in the market for a pair of bookshelf speakers, these do seem superb value for the performance on offer.
English Acoustics
This popular manufacturer of fantastic-looking and well-respected valve amplification was making great noises through the recently relaunched Heybrook HB-1 speakers. The designer of the original speaker, Peter Comeau, has brought this classic ‘80s best-seller up to date. Fed via a streaming source and the English Acoustic Downton preamp (£5,760) and Stereo 41C power amp (£7,999), these speakers proved great fun to listen to and produced a solid and tuneful bass which belied their dimensions. At a price of around £2,500.00, they will no doubt prove extremely popular.
Henley Audio
Henley Audio had two rooms, but it was the larger of the two that kept me hanging around, especially with the Project 6 Perspex X Balanced UK Superpack turntable (£2,599), with one of the brand’s Pick It MC3 cartridges fitted. Feeding the Lehmann Black Cube II phono stage (£699), HiFi Rose RA180 amplifier (£5,499) and Piega’s impressive Coax 611 speakers, the music was free of fatigue in a soundstage that filled the room. Kraftwerk’s Tour de France gave the system some fruity bass to work with, which it handled with ease. The Piega Coax 611 has aluminium cabinets, two driven bass units and three passive ones. The high frequencies are handled by a ribbon tweeter, which with vinyl at least proved to be smooth and extended. Priced from £14,900, I think these will help to establish this long standing Swiss brand in the UK.
SNA/Etude/Clip Audio
Readers may remember my review of the Etude 5 speakers, which graced my system and front room for the first couple of months of this year. This time, I got to hear the Curvi BMR Mk2 (£4,000), which impressed Chris Beeching last year. Whether fed by Chris Harrison’s Clip Audio Dolomite turntable with the Gainsford PSU, Nine Wave arm and Ortofon 2m cartridge (£5,000) or Danny Baty’s new SNA (Super Natural Audio) AKM chip DAC/pre (£995), the sound was warm, open, detailed and dynamic. The full-range BMR driver provided wide dispersion yet had a solid central image. A white version of the Etude 5 was offered at a show price of £10,000, a saving of £3,000 over normal retail.
Focal/Naim
When I first entered this room, I needed clarification as to why the exhibitors had hidden the electronics behind the banner between the speakers. As it happened, they had hidden them inside their new speakers, the Focal Diva Utopia (£29,999). This new active design contains 400W of Naim power per channel via an electronic crossover. The DAC stage is enclosed in one of the speakers and here was fed by the Naim Uniti Core over an ethernet connection, which was controlled via the Naim App. In total, there were just three mains leads (one per speaker and one for the Uniti Core), one network cable, and a further connection to the second speaker. Do they outperform the best separates system available for £30k? Probably not but they provide an excellent solution for music lovers looking for a first-class system but don’t want multiple boxes and cables taking over their living space. I was impressed with their smooth, airy, refined, natural presentation. Once the wick was turned up a bit, they also produced a decent soundstage.
Solid Sounds – The Spinning Room
Solid Sounds’ Paul Knipe has is known for his bespoke audio racks. More recently, he has opened up a dealership called The Spinning Room and designed open baffle speakers called the Hex 3, which retail for £4,750. The Hex 3 includes a 15-inch bass driver, 8 inch mid and a horn-loaded ribbon tweeter. The crossover is passive, and the speaker features a variable output control for the mid-driver. The speaker has a very different character to box designs, in that it sounds exceptionally open and free, with a wonderful soundstage. You do not get the same kind of bass response as you do with an enclosed speaker, but that 15-inch driver could certainly dig low and move some air.
The rest of the system included a German direct drive turntable called the STST Motus II (£7,979, top of page), an Alphason HR200S tonearm, and an Etsuro Urushi Cobalt Blue SE moving coil cartridge (£4,250). This fed into an Aurorasound Vida II twin input phono stage (£3,949). Digital was handled by the Aurender A1000 streamer/DAC/pre/server, which seemed great value at £4,099. Providing the Watts was a Bel Canto EIX Integrated amplifier (£8,900). Cardas cabling was used throughout the system.
Ultrafide Audio
Gil Scott-Heron’s music is always going to be a great draw for me, especially if it is on vinyl, in this case via a Linn LP12. Feeding the generously proportioned Spendor Classic 100 speakers, the music was involving, with strong expressive bass and a full-bodied, musical presentation. Whereas the source and speakers are well-known to most audiophiles, the amplification is not.
Ultrafide Audio is the domestic brand of the pro-audio company MC². The U4Pre Preamp and U500DC Power Amp retail at £4,500 each, so £9,000 for the pair. With a smaller-than-average footprint and an output of 500 watts, I can imagine them fitting in well with many systems.
Alchris Audio
Yorkshire-based speaker designer and manufacturer Alan Clark has built up something of a cult following over the last few years. While most exhibitors will use the high-end kits in demos, the Alchris system incorporated a wallet-friendly Cambridge CXC CD transport and matching EVO150 streaming amplifier. There was also an Akai cassette deck from the Tapeless Deck Project which had been converted into a streamer. The room was packed out every time I walked past. Still, I was glad I made the effort to pop in for a proper listen. On demonstration was the new Bookie compact speakers, which retail for just £779. Also on demonstration was the transmission-line TX-1 (£1,250), which features a ribbon tweeter. These speakers looked incredibly well made despite their low prices. Both produced fun and engaging music, which was full-bodied and timed well.
Russell K Speakers
Industry legend Russell Kaufman’s speakers have always impressed me, and that was certainly the case with the Red 150se (£8,950), which was demonstrated here in a generously proportioned room. The T+A PA3100 HV amplifier and MP3100 HV Multi-Source player, fed by a Melco N10, made for a fantastic-sounding system that sounded fast, airy, and detailed, yet full and weighty. This was another system that also timed well and produced a fantastic soundstage.
Technics
Technic’s Kevin Walker always proves popular at shows because he is passionate about this legendary Japanese brand’s re-emergence in the UK market. Here, he was demonstrating the SL1300G (£2,799) turntable and SC-CX700 active bookshelf speakers (£2,399). The system can run wirelessly but was demonstrated with connecting cables for performance reasons. The sound lacked a little warmth but sounded clean and detailed enough to engage with the many visitors to this popular room. I can see this kind of system appealing to many who would turn their noses up at the sight of all of the paraphernalia many of us share our living spaces with, so I think Technics deserves applause for providing a fun and attractive alternative.
EJ Jordan Loudspeakers
I was treated to a demonstration of EJ Jordan’s top-of-the-range Kingsway (£19,000) loudspeakers, fed by a Music First passive preamp and Audio Detail DAC and power amplifiers. The speakers contain four full-range units—two at the front and two at the rear. These tall and slim floorstanders perhaps lacked a little bass slam compared to some alternatives at the price point but made up for it with a sound that was particularly transparent, open, detailed and capable of filling the room. This system produced music which sounded attractive and involving even at low volume levels.
Words & pictures: Chris Baillie