Blog: Report from the Inaugural National Audio Show

Russell Williams reports on the recent Inaugural National Audio Show – Whittlebury Hall, Northampton.

The spiritual successor to the Hi-fi News show at the Heathrow Park Inn,  Chester Group upped sticks and plonked it in the sprawling Whittlebury Hall Hotel & Spa next to Silverstone.  This new venue has the simultaneous benefit of being more central to the country as a whole and offering up considerably larger rooms for the exhibitors.  There were inevitable teething problems, the lack of signage being one;  The hotel is a building that has endured many phases of extension, each one appearing to add another courtyard of rooms and with (if the numbers are to believed) 180 rooms on one floor, it was quite easy to get turned around and find yourself confidently pacing down a corridor only to find you’d already done it twenty minutes before. Equally, some rooms took on a Hogwarts quality and once found could never be found again.  I exited a lift Ken Ishiwata had been lucky enough to share with me, only to find upon my return that the lift was no longer there. The map,  such as it was,  agreed it should be where I left it opposite the Naim room, but it had gone.  Weird.

Due to the sheer number of rooms, it was impossible to see/hear everything in a day, so I rationalized what I wanted to hear and what follows are the rooms that left the most lasting impressions. It’s pleasing to note that there is a huge price disparity represented by this selection, but equally depressing how little of it was British.

In spite of any number of large name companies being absent (KEF, B&W & Linn as British examples) there was plenty there to see and although a late name change from Hi-fi to Audio Show had been affected to encourage a broader audience, the emphasis was very much two channel. Plenty there was to see and hear all the same and in fact I think many people would benefit from treating their AV weary ears to more two channel stuff to hear what can be done with a simple source, amp and pair of speakers.

That said, there was multichannel AV rooms to rock your world and no doubt through lessons learned in more compact venues, it occupied rooms, remote enough to stop them from rocking everybody elses.

Arcam had a slightly underwhelming room. The AV888 and P7 were present being fed from a (omnipresent) Denon DVDA1UD, driving a selection of smaller Spendor floorstanders. To be fair, it sounded nice, but I suspect Arcam may have been caught out by the size of their surroundings and they weren’t alone. Quad were trying to prove that ESLs could work in a room smaller than my digs at college and failing too.

No, THE cinema room was filled by Canadians Anthem and Paradigm and how!  I’ll apologise for the lack of pictures, but the room was so resolutely draped and blacked out, turning the lights on didn’t actually raise illumination beyond dusk.  A further indication of how seriously they took the show was exemplified by the display kit, which they don’t even sell; A Sim2 C3CXe was shining through an Isco Panamorphic lens onto a huge (120”+) curved variable mask screen. That’s £50k before we even get to the audio. Gulp.  So, the rack topped by yet another A1UD, sported the EISA award winning D2V processor and the seven channels of required amplification delivered by the matching P2 (stereo) and P5 (5 channel) poweamps. Each channel is claimed as delivering in excess of a rated 350w and I heard nothing to suggest that those ratings are anything less than very conservative. The speakers employed were the stunning looking (in a good ’80s kind of way) Paradigm Signature S8s flanking the gargantuan Signature C5 centre, with the Signature ADP3 dipoles on surround duties. To cap it all, a pair of Signature Sub 25s with 15” drivers and 3000w of continuous power (7500w peak!) ‘filled in’ the LFE channel. That’s going on another £50k before cables. Heady stuff.

I’m sure Anthem/Paradigm will be pleased to hear I liked it. Actually scratch that. I’ve sat through a few demos, even been impressed by a few, but this was the first that absolutely delivered everything it promised and still felt like it was keeping something in reserve. The obligatory ‘Legends of Jazz’ Blu-ray sampler delivered the cleanest, deepest bass of the day at fearsome volumes and yet remained utterly composed and tuneful at all times. I’m not a multichannel music fan, because most of the time I feel it delivers an answer to a question stereo wasn’t asking but this, once the sense of awe had subsided, did deliver music with a wide (if not deep) and seamless sphere of sound. And I use the word ‘music’ advisedly, because it was worth listening to for the music, rather than the technological process that brought it to your ears. That was a multichannel music first for me.

The room (it sat 20 plus) was given a chance to request a movie demo piece and whilst the rest were being polite and English, I asked for the Tai Lun’s escape from Prison from Kung Fu Panda. In my modest room and system, this movie is a tour de force of surround channel steering and subtle bass effects without ever sounding overblown and I didn’t need asking twice for a chance to hear it. I’m glad I did, but kind of wish I hadn’t, because it will never sound that complete, simultaneously subterranean and subtle again. Clear, open voices without a hint of chestiness or sibilance, hung naturally between and free of the speakers, without losing any intelligibility to the cacophony of the effects which likewise, slid seamlessly between the superb tonal matching of centre, fronts and surrounds. Reference is a word used too often, but is entirely appropriate here.

Naim as one of the few large British manufacturers had a presence in a lot of speaker manufacturer’s rooms, but held back the newest products for its own. Their new DAC called the Naim DAC (no sleep lost dreaming that one up) was on demo and is yet to actually hit the high street, but of greater interest to me were the new Ovator S-600 loudspeakers coming in a tad under £6000. The interest is due their innovative use of a Balanced Mode Radiator (BMR) driver that replaces the tweeter and midrange driver with a single panel that is (if I understand it right) derivative of NXT technology. Okay, so it’s not quite their innovation, but use of it in a speaker at this price level certainly is, so kudos to Naim for being there, being British and pushing boundaries.

Unfortunately I have to temper this glee with the demo being typical of every Naim demo I’ve heard at a show. It was very so-so and from other experiences, I don’t know why this always is. I’ve heard Naim at friend’s houses ranging from a full active SL2/NAP500/NAC552/CD555 system, down to more modest CD/pre/power combinations and I have never less than thoroughly enjoyed them,  so what it is about shows that Naim can’t get their heads round,  I don’t know.   Hotel rooms are notorious for hard reflective surfaces and indeed most rooms employed room acoustic treatment, with varying degrees of aural and visual success, but the Niam sound is characterized by a life and vitality that drives music along, taking your mind off the mundane considerations like deep bass and super clean highs, although Naim don’t exactly struggle in this regard either. But, somehow within seconds of sitting down, the system had completely lost my interest. It’s a shame because a lot of people will leave wondering what, I believe, the well deserved fuss is about.

As I mentioned, other manufacturers had selected Naim as their electronics of choice with virtually every component getting an outing somewhere and the lower (please don’t read low) level XS Series in evidence to great effect.

One such user was Guru Professional who were using the newly updated CD5 XS and Nait XS to drive their already cult classic QM10.  These somewhat different but modest looking speakers were being demoed with and without the still prototype Dynamic Extension Module, or DXM – “It’s NOT a subwoofer!” The ‘D’ was actually added to the ‘XM’ whilst I was questioning them about it’s somewhat interesting modus operandi, or rather trying to understand why it wasn’t a subwoofer. The name change is to emphasize the intention of what the DXM is intended to do. Ironically, the QM10s have an unnaturally deep bass for such compact dimensions and extended listening showed that they use their slot loaded aperiodic enclosure and close coupling to the rear wall to very great effect, obviating the need for bass extension more than any speaker of that size that I’ve ever heard. All of that would be for nought if the bass weren’t tight and controlled and capable of delivering a tune, but they do that too and very well and it sounds clean into the bargain. This is quite a feat given that the tiny mid/bass driver is also asked to cover a slightly larger chunk of the upper midrange and low treble than normal, but it makes them an enormously communicative speaker for vocals without a crossover in the way to mangle expression right where it counts.

I can also happily report that whilst the DXM may yet be renamed again, as it’s still six weeks from production at the time of writing,  it certainly worked as advertised.  Yes,  it did deliver extra extension at the very bottom end and that’s not a bad thing after all, but the whole combination was made to sound altogether larger and more, err?  Yes,  dynamic.  Not in the lift you off the sofa way, but struck notes and plucked strings gained a more solid impact and sounded more full scale with added body and therefore a bit more satisfying.  The DXM, like the QM10 is designed to take advantage of close to wall positioning and as such, this combination of slightly left field appearance is very discrete in a room. Tom Tom Audio, the importers of these Swedish loudspeakers and indeed Ingvar Ohman the designer were very receptive to the idea of supplying a pair of QM10s and DXMs for review, so keep an eye on AV Forums Hardware Reviews for any developments and I’ll go into more about what makes these speakers thoroughly unique.

The French.  Love ‘em or hate them because they’re more like us than we’d admit, but if you want true speaker innovation, they’re the ones pushing the boundaries in the way that we did in decades passed.  In fact,  just like us,  one of their most innovative brands (Cabasse) has been sold to the Japanese (Canon) so maybe they’re following our model of selling out. In the mean time, they’re innovating in a way we’ve generally forgotten how to and producing genuinely unique products.

Cabasse had at least two rooms; One run by their British importer Coherent Systems, another reserved for systems fronted by Focal speakers and one reserved for their ultimate statement.  The former had the iO2 satellite and Santorin subwoofer driven by Belles pre/power from an Oracle CD player.  It was as convincing an argument for the imaging capabilities of a satellite, combined with the room tuning capability of a subwoofer as you will hear. I wasn’t quite convinced by their idea of subwoofer tuning, but their speakers delivered exceptional imaging from Cabasse’s entirely in-house take on dual concentric drivers, which involves what is best described as annular ring radiators of ever increasing dimensions depending on where you are in the range. The iO2/Santorin impressed a resolutely stereo speaker friend of mine enough that he is now investigating them further and knowing his personal preferences that is praise indeed.

The statement room though.  My word!  If there is a flagship product that encapsulates everything that a single manufacturer is aiming for, then La Sphere is it.  At a not inconsiderable and conveniently rounded £100k(ish),  La Sphere not only delivers speakers,  but the amplification and DACs to convert digital and analogue sources into an acceptable signal for the system.  Now,  if I’m remembering this right, then the La Sphere system converts everything to 16bit/44.1kHz which in this day and age sounds, in technological terms at least, a bit stingy.  The thing is,  good ole 16/44.1 is a mature and very well understood technology and done well,  it can still float a very considerable boat.  La Spheres sport a true coaxial, four concentric ring radiator drivers that start with a 19mm dome tweeter and ends in a 375mm bass driver all contained within an acoustically inert spherical cabinet of 1.4m (yes 1400mm) diameter, giving you a truly uncompromising product that as the pictures show,  will blend in in precisely no front room unless it’s the bridge of a star ship.

How do they sound?  Well, they’re not the deepest sounding speaker I’ve ever heard,  although what they do is tight and tuneful in a dry way that really tickles me,  but the seamless integration of the drivers and their true point source radiation makes for the most holographic imaging you are ever likely to hear.   As a result,  making absolute judgements is a little hard,  because you are continuously drawn to listening to the individual performers precisely hanging in pin point space within the soundstage.   As a tool for concentrating on certain parts,  or performers within a recording,  they are without parallel.   I’d love to hear them longer term to let the bunny-in-the-headlights effect wear off,  but if you’re lucky enough to get the chance,  do it.

Late in the day I finally managed to find one of the Hogwarts rooms that I’d walked past about five minutes after entering the show,  which was also one of the ones I’d really targeted in the first place.  The room was that of Artisan Audio mainly because of the Soundsmith Strain Gauge cartridge.  The  Strain Gauge (£6500 depending upon options) is one of those oddities that whilst not a new idea (there was one in the ’50s),  is the ultimate and lone expression of a technology.   Unlike a moving coil or moving magnet cartridge that generates a current from a traditional magnet/coil in response to the LP’s groove modulations, the Strain Gauge applies a current (from what would normally be considered a phono stage) across a resistor whose impedance is modulated by the stylus tracking the groove.  The difference is subtle,  but basically the cartridge has a dedicated phono stage that powers the cartridge and so is bought as a system and can act as a stand alone preamp for the truly dedicated vinyl addict.

Now,  it’s hard to differentiate the contribution of individual components within an unfamiliar system and room and as Artisan were also using the Nola Baby Grand speakers (£43k and worthy of a column on their own) that are far from ordinary in price or configuration,  I can only really add that this was one of the most musical rooms I had the pleasure of sitting in.  Like the Absolute Sounds room (see below),  it was one of the few that sounded right even as you walked in the door and much like the AS room,  it also lacked the heavy acoustic treatment so many were leaning heavily on.   It’s a personal feeling that the best rooms at a show tend to have the kit that performs well,  regardless of where it’s asked to do it and that’s a point worth noting at a show of any type and level.   It bodes well for the ability to work in real, imperfect rooms like the ones we live in.  I wish I’d been there earlier and had the time to be a bit more demanding of the material played,  but it was late and discretion was the better part of balshiness at that time of the day.

Krell and Wilson Audio as long term bed fellows had taken a room together and both had their senior marketing managers over from America to run a slick tickets only demonstration.  Krell were running their Evolution Series 600 Monoblocks, preamp, DAC and CD player, plus some 24/192 recordings off a laptop hard disk.   As a child of the ‘80s,  I normally go weak kneed when in the presence of Krell,  but it was the Wilson offering that had my attention this time.  The Sashas (£27k) are the heir to the mantle of the long running Watt/Puppy and this is the most complete revamp to date,  with every single component either revised specifically for the job,  or trickling down from the flagship Alexandria. The demo suffered,  like a few others,  from being slightly too loud and there was a definite hole in the middle of the stereo soundstage,  both of which might have been solved by me sitting further back,  but if no-one has the chutzpah to walk in a and sit front row,  dead centre,  then that’s where I’ll sit.   Regardless,  the ease with which the room was filled was extremely impressive, with the depth of the stereo image reaching back and out behind the speakers made it very easy to hear the fore/aft position of performers.   Immaculate detail from the Focal sourced tweeter was matched by almost subwoofer levels of depth and grip, linked via a transparent midrange in the way that only a good three-way can.

Further down the corridor the UK importer of both Krell and Wilson was beating a different drum,  with no less exotic equipment.   What would you expect from Absolute sounds? All-in-ones?  The front end was provided by a Metronome Technologie Kallista Reference CD transport (French) that would be worth it’s considerable £53k price tag for the sheer art of the engineering alone.   I was so taken,  I forgot to check the DAC used.  Amplification was from the Swiss Company darTZeel who as well as having a different way of using the alphabet,  produce amplifiers that amongst other things,  are designed to have a friendly face (really!) and avoid all switching components and fuses in the audio path.   The models in question were the NHB-18NS pre-amp and NHB-108 Stereo power amp pictured.   The picture cannoy convey the craftsmanship used,  but if you are lucky enough to see one, they fit it with a clear lid that drool should wipe off easily enough.   The business end was occupied by a pair of Magico V2 speakers that actually manage to look quite mundane in this company,  even with their hugely labour intensive vertically stacked baltic ply cabinets.   A quick word about the speaker cable may display my ignorance,  but it won the biggest cable of the show award.   I believe it was the Transparent Cables ONM which I’ll let you Google,  but it has a network of electronics mid run that actually warrants its own decoupling stand.

How did it sound?  Pure Music.  All of the usual hi-fi adjectives are found wanting,  so I’ll just say that they were playing an orchestral piece that I didn’t recognize when I entered, progressed though several other tracks that are of the type only probably ever aired at ‘audio’ shows and I sat slack jawed through the entire damn lot.  None of it was my bag,  but the communication of the essence of the pieces and the performers efforts were laid absolutely bare.   There may be louder,  deeper more accurate sounding hi-fi out there,  but this was entertainment.   Indeed,  the top panel of the V2s vibrated a surprising amount as I placed my hand on it and this would surely introduce a certain amount of colouration to the sound, but I’m not sure any of that matters any more.   Does this mean I prefer a coloured sound?  Possibly,  but I listened to music that I wouldn’t normally have given a fig for and it made me want to listen to it.  That’s what all systems need to achieve to be good hi-fi,  regardless of which specification boxes they tick.

Roll on 2010.

Blog by Russell Williams.

Russell is the Hi-fi and Home Cinema speaker reviewer for AVForums.com and his opinions here are not those of AV Enthusiast or AVForums.