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| Welcome to the latest signals news burst – and thank you for opening it. We hope you’re well and that you’re coping with the heat. For once, describing June as ‘flaming’ does not sound like irony. Mind you, simply mentioning it has brought the temperature down by a good 10 degrees 🙂 |
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| Headline news this week has been Linn’s launch and re-designation of their mid-range LP12 turntable. Selekt, pictured above, replaces Akurate. The obvious change is the arrival of a new tonearm called Arko which is replacing the venerable Akito.
On top of that, they’ve announced two new vaguely affordable cartridges and the opportunity to buy the Majik level, ‘Krane’ Tonearm as a stand-alone product. The new cartridges are called Koil (yes, thankfully it is a moving coil) and Kendo, also a coil. With Koil, there is a new entry level Moving Coil equipped Majik MC turntable.
I’m so used to feeling utterly bamboozled by the complexity of Linn’s message when they make announcements that I’m aghast that I seem to have actually grasped this one at first strike. Well done them!
On top of this, they are launching at a point in the year when business is traditionally a little quieter and we are more receptive to having a story to tell. The new products are due to ship soon and are listed . . . on our site . . . |
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| A week or so ago, we had the bright idea of writing a little piece for the web site about the sonic merits of straightforward CD based systems. Not for the first time some Accuphase products had caught our ears firing up our evangelistic spirit. This time it was their most modest CD player in concert with their second most affordable integrated amplifier with some high value ATC SCM 40 loudspeakers.
We then set about playing some more modestly priced alternatives. The new Rega Elicit 5 has been with us for two or three weeks and we’ve been very impressed. At £2k it’s an absolute gem. Having said that, if you can afford the step up to the Accuphase level, you really ought to hear that too. If you have not read it, the article is, oh, erm . . . |
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| After months of scarcely being able to get new products from certain quarters and being almost frightened of making a sale lest we run out, supplies are becoming far more freely available. This is, of course, dovetailing magnificently with the current news narrative that the economy is in free fall.
In our near thirty years of existence, we’ve been through so many catastrophic downturns that we are are perhaps a little more chilled about this than most. Looking at the current retail landscape, though, there are definitely some fairly aggressive offers out there on certain products and it would be both mad and unfair were we not to allow customers to remain loyal to us whilst also taking account of what is available.
Naim Uniti products are now free flowing and we are happy to put together some well priced packages with suitable loudspeakers. With both PMC and Focal, we are able to offer some appealing ‘trade-up’ pricing too. The gist is that now is a very good time for one of ‘those’ discussions. Feel free to tell us your requirements! |
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Melco’s new N10 S38 SSD server = joy
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| A recent arrival has been the twin box linear power supplied SSD N10 S38 music server. We always felt that the linear supply on the ‘normal’ spinning hard disc N10 took it ahead of even the more expensive SSD N1Zs server.
Adding the SSD tech to the N10 turns out to be something of a masterstroke and this new server is an utter joy. With an admittedly higher price and ‘just’ 3.8 tb of storage vs the 5 tb that you now get with the standard N10, the two downsides are quite clear to see. For most users, though, this is a price worth paying for the performance uplift. RRP is £9399 . . . and we have a demonstration unit here to rub the point home 🙂
The new N10 3.8 SSD sounds noticeably quieter and somehow calmer than the hard drive version. So far so dull? Not at all. What these shifts bring is something that is analogous to a better lens on a camera. Greater resolution extends through hearing more ‘stuff’ to hearing a better replication of tonal colour and intonation. It’s clearer and more dynamic, has greater scale but does not shout. It really is win / win. Except for the bill, obvs. |
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| I’ve been avoiding saying anything in the hope it would perhaps go away but it looks very much like we will be holding Audio Show East on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th October 2022. Same venue as before, Trinity Park, Suffolk Show Ground Ipswich.
Covid permitting . . . Arrangements still fluid . . . Stress therapy sessions booked.
Expect more missives soon! 🙂 |
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