Connected 29 issuu

CONNECTEDTO MUSIC & MOVIES

Issue No.29 Winter 2014/15

NewBalanced Mains 3000Our flagship balanced mains unit, page 8

™

WIN a SuperFuse!™Enter our competitionPAGE 27

Classic System FeatureNytech receivers and integrated amplifiersPAGE 16

NEW Meridian Explorer2

USB DACPAGE 10

Russ Andrews is the sole UK retailer of Kimber Kable

Mail Order Direct • 60 Day Cable Home Trial • Cable Upgrade Scheme • Free Delivery (orders over £100 within UK Mainland)

Buy online at www.russandrews.comCall UK Orderline 01539 797300International Tel +44 (0)1539 797300

Exclusive UK distributor

Stop listening to your Hi-Fi and start listening to the performance

We design our products to allow you to listento your music, not your system.

EDITORIAL

Regulars

Editorial 3First Words 4News 5Dalton‘s Deliberations 15Letters 20Competition 27

Features

R & D Past & Present 12

Classic Hi-Fi - Nytech Receiversand Integrated Amplifiers 16

From Inside the Industry - TheLaw of Accelerating Returns 22

Staff Focus 23

ProductsNew Products 7Product Highlight - Kimber Select Interconnects 14

Recent Reviews 24

Mains Zapperator 28

3Issue 29 Winter ’14/15 CONNECTED MAGAZINE

© Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2014. E & OE.Any views expressed are those of the writer and donot necessarily reflect the views of the company.

Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal LA9 6NS, UK.

Welcome In this issue

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Readers of this column will knowthat over the last eighteen months Ihave been discovering recordingsfrom the ‘Golden Age of stereo’dating back to the 1950s and 1960s.Whilst I’m still collecting andlistening to CDs, most recently(probably to do with the longernights) I’ve been turning myattention to my Home Cinemasystem and watching movies.

The system I listen to my music on isa surround-sound system thatdoubles as a Home Cinema,connecting to a plasma display. Aswell as enjoying Hollywoodblockbusters as much as the nextperson, I have a particular penchantfor classic films from the 1920s tothe 1950s. One question I get askedby non Hi-Fi friends is why I’ve puttogether a high definition systemwith Blu-ray player and HD screenwhen all I watch is ‘old films’. Theusual question is “surely theyweren’t filmed in HD?” Yes, it’s truethat old films weren’t filmed in HDvideo, but many people fail to realisethat the 35mm film that movieswere shot on from their inception inthe 1890s to just a couple of yearsago has always been high definition.Quite simply, there’s more detailand more information in a frame offilm than there is in a frame of1080p HD video. Only with theintroduction of the new 4K HDformat, which has four times theresolution of 1080p HD video, arewe approximating the resolution of35mm film.

So what does this mean forwatching films at home? Assumingthat they have been properlymanufactured, exposed, developedand printed, 35mm film stocks have

always had more resolutioncapability than the current 1080pHD video images. And assumingeither the original film negatives orprints made directly from thenegatives are used in creating thediscs, well mastered Blu-rays ofclassic films have the potential tolook stunning on a well set-upsystem. Of course the down side ofthis is that damage in seventy-yearold prints can be highlighted in ahigh definition transfer, but some ofthis can be mitigated with careful(and not over-zealous) digital clean-up. Rather than dismissing olderfilms, it’s worth seeking out somegood examples on Blu-ray andseeing just how good they can look.

I mentioned above the importanceof having a well set-up system; acouple of months ago I had anengineer out to properly calibratemy TV. It’s something I’d beenthinking about for a while, havinggot my infrastructure pretty wellsorted. Professional calibrators haveaccess to hidden TV menus to allowvery detailed image adjustment, andmost of the adjustments are madewith a type of camera positionedclose to the screen which measurescolour, contrast and brightness viaprofessional calibration software.The upshot of the three hourscalibration was a very big step up inpicture quality; images were clearer,with plenty of ‘pop’ and lots ofdetail in the darkest portions of thepicture. In my experience,professionalcalibration is wellworthwhile – justmake sure you’vegot your cablingsorted out first!

John Armer, [email protected]

4 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 29 Winter ’14/15

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FIRST WORDS

This year’s National Audio Show(at Whittlebury Hall) proved to bea turning point in my longjourney explaining what quality Iam looking for in a Hi-Fi systemor any part of it. My talk of‘musicality’ and ‘rhythm andtiming’ has been heard andunderstood by many but alsoremained a mystery to many.

It finally came to me that what Iwas listening for in any system,cable or component comparisonwas an improvement in themusicians’ performance. Thechange I am talking about is theone you hear at a live concert. Thechange that comes about as themusician(s) relax and start todeliver real feeling in the musicthey are playing, to communicatetheir love of the music they areplaying to the audience, and theirresponse to the audience reaction.

This kind of change has happenedto some extent in most of theconcerts I have been to. In many ithappens in a thrilling andmemorable way. We have allexperienced it and we don’t haveto listen in a special way or evenconcentrate hard. It just happens

and we feel it without having tothink about it. That is how I listento a Hi-Fi system as well.

When I explained this to any of myaudiences at the Hi-Fi show andthen did a quick system A-B, thereaction was amazing. They got it,they heard it, and they reacted toit. I have never heard so many inan audience react so strongly and

positively to my demonstration. Iwas thrilled by their reactionbecause, like the musician at aconcert, I was communicating myfeelings directly to them – theygot it!

The demo itself was very simple,using the same set-up we haveused before: an Arcam CD playerand integrated amp with a pair ofFocal 706 speakers. I first played it

using the free cables that themanufacturers provided – mains,interconnect and speaker cablesplus a cheap white four-way mainsextension. I then re-wired it with aset of our entry-level cables andblock (PowerKord-100s pluggedinto our PowerBar mainsextension, Timbre interconnectsand 4PR speaker cable). If you justlisten for a change in themusicians’ performance, thedifference is blindingly obvious incomparison with concentrating ontrying to hear a change in thesystem’s sound.

I suppose it is the differencebetween hearing and listening.

You can do this easily for yourselfwhen comparing any change inyour system: listening to a newpiece of hardware, a cable, asupport, cone or treatment. It is soeasy it might make you laugh insurprise. When you think about it,listening to the musicians’performance is what it’s all about.It’s what your system is there for.It’s the thrill that makes all thetime, trouble and effortworthwhile.

If you just listen for achange in the musicians’

performance, thedifference is blindinglyobvious in comparisonwith concentrating on

trying to hear a change inthe system’s sound.

Russ during a dem at this year’s Whittlebury Show

Listening to thePerformance


NEWS

News

On 1st November,we opened our firstoffice in the US. Theculmination of twoyears planning andorganisation, RussAndrews USA –under the ablestewardship of Russ’sdaughter RohanAndrews (right) – isshipping our products direct tocustomers’ doors all over theUSA. This will enable US-basedmusic lovers to benefit frommuch lower shipping chargesthan those incurred whenimporting from the UK - and amuch faster service. Orders forin-stock products ship toanywhere in mainland USAwithin 48 hours and shipping isfree of charge on all orders over$150.

A new dedicated website atwww.russandrews.com/usfeatures products carefullyselected for sale in the US. Aswell as our multi award-winningPowerKord power cables andRuss Andrews-brandaccessories, the close workingrelationship between Russ andRay Kimber has enabled theentire range of genuine KimberKable products, from speakercables, to analogueinterconnects, HDMI cables andits outstanding USB cables, to

be made available toUS based audio fansfrom one locationfor the first time.

Just as in the UK, UScustomers will beable to try theproducts in theirown home for 60days (far longer than

the 30 days offered by someother companies). If, at the endof the trial, the customer isn’t100% satisfied with theimprovements the productbrings, it can be returned for afull refund. And we’re offeringour Cable UpgradeScheme to UScustomers too; the“Cable UpgradeProgram” enablescustomers toreceive a refund ofup to 100% of theoriginal costagainst the cost ofa higherspecification modelif returned inperfect condition(the exact refundamount isdependent uponage and conditionof the cable).

While we haveserved customers

in the USA for many years,shipping our products directfrom the UK inevitably meansthat US-based customers paymore for shipping and have towait longer for their goods. Byopening up our first statesideoffice we are at last able toprovide the same levels ofservice to our US customers aswe do here in the UK. Ourcommitment to long termrelationship building is key toour success and we feelconfident that our US basedcustomers will feel the benefitof our ‘local store to everyone’approach to business.

Russ Andrews in the United States!

The USA arm of the Russ Andrews website:www.russandrews.com/us

Rohan Andrews


The National Audio Show atWhittlebury Hall just seems to getbetter and better. This time we tookover two rooms, giving us theopportunity to have dems runningconstantly throughout the two daysin our dedicated room. This also hadthe advantage of not having toclose the shop for each dem, whichwas handy as it was pretty well busyfor the whole time!

This year Russ’s dem was split intothree with the duties sharedbetween Russ himself, Rohan, Zacand Simon. Dem 1 illustrated thedifference that the introductoryrange of cables can make to asimple CD/amp/speakers set-up;Dem 2 took the same format butused cables towards the top of therange to show how much more canbe gained from your components;and Dem 3 was a simpledemonstration of our newSuperFuses and the hugeimprovement they could bring evenwhen just using a basic ‘ghettoblaster’ as a source!

Common to all threewas the idea that totruly appreciate theimprovementsbrought by theseupgrades – or, indeed,a great way to judgeany upgrade whetherit be a cable or a newpiece of hardware –was to listen to themusic as aperformance ratherthan a recording. Russclarified this with the analogy oflistening to a live performance andhow its character can change as theperformer relaxes and grows inconfidence in response to theaudience. You will often find, forexample, that the second half of aconcert is better than the first andthe way we appreciate this is byobserving the manner in which theperformance touches and affects us.How engaged are we? How muchdoes our mind wander to thinkingabout other things? Or are we

enthralled and whollycaptivated by theperformance?

It’s this latter conditionthat we should expectfrom our music systems athome just as much as at alive performance. And ifwe listen to theperformance rather thanthe sound we’ll be in amuch better position tojudge the quality of the

components we are listening

to, whether that be a new cable or a new amp. The audience wascertainly struck by theimprovements in the performancebrought by our cable upgrades, andthe fuses were flying off the shelvesnext door in the shop!

Once again, it was also a greatopportunity to meet you at theshow and put faces to names oldand new and it’s always a pleasureto meet up again with our regularfriends who attend the show every year.

Show competitionwinnerAt every show we have a competitionand this year was no exception.Congratulations are due to Mr R Wallof Ashford who was randomly chosenfrom the correct entries who guessedthe length of speaker cable we’dplaced in a jar - 9.1m. He won a 1mPowerKord-100™ fitted with theWattGate EVO320 IEC worth £155.

NEWS

National Audio Show ’14 Report

Our shop was next to our dem room

We were all kept very busy!


NEW PRODUCTS

New Products

New LP cleaning brushesWe’ve sourcedthese superb newrecord cleaningbrushes. There aretwo types – the firstis a brush withsynthetic bristleswhich is designedto be used with wetrecord cleaning machines that need the application ofcleaning fluid. There are three sizes of brush suitable forcleaning 7”, 10” or 12” discs.

The second brush has goat hair bristles and is suitable fordry use – use it for spot removal of stray dust and hairsbefore playing. Both brushes are suitable for both vinyland shellac records.

Technical GroundFaceplate Russ Andrews customer JohnConway sent us pictures of abinding post faceplate he’dconstructed to tidy up theinstallation of his RF Router andspike. We liked his idea so muchthat we’re making our own versionwith the same high quality bindingpost we fit to our X-Blocks and PowerBlocks.

You would use the Technical Ground faceplate to provide apoint at which you connect the output of your RF Router orStar RF Router. The faceplate fits to the wall with the backingbox provided; behind it you connect the cable that passesthrough the wall to your external grounding spike.

Upgrade yourMeridian M80/ F80

Technical Ground FaceplateCode: 1914 £12.00

Record Cleaning Brushes Code: 43207” £18.0010” £21.0012” £26.00Goat Hair Brush (12”) Code: 4320 £42.00

Prompted by Russ who wanted to improve his ownM80, we’ve been investigating ways in which we canimprove the performance of the popular M80 andF80 portable systems from Meridian Audio.

The area we’ve found gives a significantimprovement is its mains transformer; we havespec’d a very high performance replacement whichhas been built by the same transformermanufacturer that makes our Balanced Mains Units.The new transformer uses our SuperSilenttechnology which virtually eliminates transformernoise through the use of innovative coretechnology, higher quality materials and betterquality control.

How to upgradeOwners of the Meridian F80 and M80 will need tosend their units to us for modification. The work iscarried out in-house by us - this is a Russ Andrewsmodification, not a Meridian Audio modification.

We recommend you send your unit to us in its originalpackaging. If required, we can arrange fully-insuredcarrier collection. Turnaround time is usually 2-5 days,but you must contact us before it is sent to us to ensurewe have the capacity to do the work.

M80/F80 Upgrade Code: 8617 £349.00

CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 29 Winter ’14/158

NEW PRODUCTS

New Balanced Mains Unit 3000Our flagship Balanced Mains Unit, the BMU3000,has been completely refreshed. The new unitfeatures not one but two balanced mainstransformers which combine to give 3kVA ofpower – enough to power all sizes of Hi-Fi orHome Cinema. The design allows us to use ournew SuperSilent transformer technology which, inour subjective tests, is quieter in operation andsounds better.

The new unit is mounted in an equipment-sizedcase, making it perfect for housing in anequipment rack (it’s heavy though; werecommend sitting it on the bottom shelf). Thecasework is constructed from impact and fire-resistant ABS. On the back of the unit, next to the16A IEC input socket, there are five 13AUltraSocket mains outputs, meaning that in manycases the BMU3000 can act as your mainsextension as well as your balanced mains supply.

High current 16A IEC mainsinput for your own choice ofmains cable (not supplied –we recommend thePowerKord-300 or better).

Balanced Mains Unit 3000 Code: 1196

£3599Dimensions: W: 425mm D: 300mm H: 93mmWeight: 23.4kg

5 UltraSocket mains outlets

Twin-isolated 1500Vtransformers providing3kVA of power

Output protected by a 2-pole(live and neutral) circuitbreaker for safety and highsound quality.

NEW PRODUCTS


If you are familiar with balanced audio circuits inHi-Fi systems, you’ll be aware of the benefits ofbalanced systems. A Hi-Fi system with a balancedcircuit (usually connected together with ‘XLR’type interconnects) splits the audio signal intotwo halves – negative and positive. The benefit ofthis is that ‘noise’ on the positive half of the signalis cancelled out by ‘noise’ on the negative half ofthe signal. If done correctly, the resulting soundcan be of higher quality than an unbalancedcircuit.

It’s this same principle that can be applied to themains supply.

About the UK mains supplyMains in the UK is unbalanced; in other wordsthere’s 230V on live and 0V on neutral. To‘balance’ it, you need to split the mains supplyand put 115V on live and 115V on neutral.

Because there’s still a 230V difference betweenlive and neutral at the sockets you don’t need tomake any modifications to equipment to work ona balanced mains supply. Many recording studiosuse a balanced mains supply because it is so veryeffective at reducing the level of buzzes andhums.

The benefit of a balanced mains supply is thatboth 115V ‘legs’ are of different polarity – so thatnoise on the live legs is effectively cancelled outby noise on the neutral. It’s this noise cancellationthat’s essentially the same as balanced audio.

Why balanced mains?In our opinion, feeding your system withbalanced mains is the very best way to reducemains noise and get the best performance fromyour system.

What is balanced mains?

“I did not realise how much grungethere had been before” R. McInnes, Aberdeen

Original BMU 3000


NEW PRODUCTS

Explorer2 is an extremely highperformance USB Audio DAC.

Developed from the original multi award-winning Explorer, the new Explorer2

incorporates the latest audio technology,enhancing its performance far beyondwhat has previously been achievable.Included in these advances is the playback of MQA, or Master QualityAuthenticated files.

In simplest terms, Explorer2 replaces yourcomputer’s soundcard and can be used ina variety of applications from privateheadphone listening to full systemplayback.

Explorer2 offers a really simple, effectiveway of upgrading your computer’s soundquality – whether you listen to mp3s,stream music from the likes of Spotify orTidal, or listen to high resolution musicfrom Linn Records and HDTracks.

Meridian Explorer2 includes a short USB cable toconnect to your computer. Better performancecan be achieved by using a Kimber Mini-B USBcable. Explorer2 is plug-and-play with Linux andMac computers, and drivers are available foruse with Windows PCs. Features:

• Designed and built by Meridian in the UK• Compact USB DAC that outputs a line-level signal for connecting to a Hi-Fi system and a separate headphone output• Accepts files of up to 24bit 192kHz resolution• Inputs upsampled to provide 24bit, 176.4/ 192kHz resolution outputs (depending on original file resolution).• 3.5mm analogue output socket, fixed at 2V RMS, for connecting to your amplifier or receiver

• 3.5mm headphone jack with variable-level output (controlled by your computer’s software)• Headphone output impedance 0.47Ω suitable for driving all headphones• USB Mini-B input socket for connecting to your laptop or desktop computer• Robust metal case• Lights indicate incoming sample rate and whether the files are MQA-encoded lossless audio

What is MQA?MQA stands for Master QualityAuthenticated and is a new type offile system invented by Meridian.There are two types – MQA-encoded lossless audio files andMQA Studio files. MQA Studio filesare based on a new, exclusivelysourced, artist/ producer-approvedstudio master. Explorer2 includes apowerful decoder and audiorenderer for MQA-encoded audiofiles, offering very high resolutionaudio from a compact file size.

Meridian Explorer 2

Meridian Explorer 2

Code: 4653 £199.00


NEWS

As we write this, we’re busy building abrand-new Russ Andrews website. It’s awhile since our existing site wasrefreshed, but the new site we’redeveloping will represent a majoroverhaul!

We’re working hard on the new site to makenavigating around it much easier. There will beseparate ‘home’ pages for Russ Andrews mainsproducts, Kimber Kable, and Torlyte, which willmean it will be easier to tell the ‘story’ of themains supply, connecting cables, andequipment supports. The product pages willfeature a configuration tool, which meansyou’ll be able to build a cable to your specificrequirements – or browse from a list of theavailable termination options, if you prefer.The product pages will also feature lots more

information about our products and there’ll bebetter images too, so you’ll be able to see ourproducts in far more detail.

The site will be ‘responsive’ meaning that it’lllook great whether you’re browsing it on adesktop or laptop computer, or a tablet, or a phone.

All this is a major investment, but weguarantee that finding your way around ourproduct range will be far more intuitive, andthe new site will be packed with information,tips and advice. We’re planning to go live withthe website in Spring 2015, so keep your eyespeeled. If you’re a subscriber to our e-mailnewsletter, we’ll let you know by e-mail whenthe new site is up and running.

Coming soon… our all-new website!

Images are for illustrative purposes only

www.russandrews.com


FEATURE

You’re probably aware that hereat Russ Andrews we don’t justsell Kimber cables. Headed up byRuss, Research and Development(R&D) has always been, andremains, a very important part ofthe business. John Armer looksat Russ’s background as an R&Dconsultant and where our R&Denergies have been directed.

Before the formation of RussAndrews Accessories, in the late1970s and early 1980s (and followinghis time as a Hi-Fi retailer inEdinburgh), Russ was involved as anR&D consultant for many companies.These included QED, Meridian Audio,Nytech (Russ goes into more detailabout Nytech on page 16) and ARCloudspeakers which gave a breadthof design experience not normallyavailable to one engineer. It wasaround this time that Russ started hisinvestigation into the mains supplyand its effect on Hi-Fi systems whichultimately resulted in the creation in1986 of the company you knowtoday. R&D into the mains supply isongoing, witnessed by the increasein the size of our mains productrange, all designed to solve specificmains problems. Back in the 1980s,the range of mains productsconsisted of just PowerKords andSuperClamps!

Alongside the research into themains supply, a major R&D focus ofthe new company was intocomponent quality. The impetus forthis was to improve Russ’s own

system; not just byimproving its infrastructure– mains, cables, supportsand so on – but byimproving key internalcomponents. This led to aperiod of investigation intothe ‘sound’ of the individualcomponents that make upeach piece of Hi-Fiequipment, and theselection of the best-sounding resistors,capacitors, inductors,diodes, switches, volumecontrols and so on.Gathered together, thesehigh quality componentsbecame the foundations ofthe ‘Audiophile Catalogue’which was the forerunner to ourexisting mail-order catalogue.

At the end of the 1980s, Russ wasgiven the opportunity to put intopractice all that he had learned whenhis friend and investor in thecompany Chris Bonar commissionedhim to build a ‘cost-no object’system. There followed an intenseperiod of R&D, and the fruits of hislabours – the Olson II 3-way system –was unveiled to critical acclaim at the1991 Hi-Fi show in London. Thatsystem is still in use by Chris to thisday, and Russ built a second systemfor himself, again still in use to thisday. Russ went on to develop a rangeof Hi-Fi equipment derived from theOlson commission including CDplayers, preamps, power amps,integrated amps, phono stages andloudspeakers.

Whilst equipment – such as CDplayers and amplifiers – aren’t part ofour core range of products today,many of the products in our rangeexhibit features that hail back tothose R&D discoveries. The electricalcomponents that feature in many ofproducts, whether they are ourmains filters, interconnectattenuators, power supplies and soon have been chosen based on whatwe know about how they sound. OurRAVE-1 USB amplifier was designedfrom the ground up by Russ,incorporating audiophilecomponents rarely found inequipment at this price level. Andour popular and acclaimed Sky HDBox with Russ Andrews upgradesowes its high performance in part tothe choice of components we use inthe power supply and circuit boardmodifications.

Research & DevelopmentPast and Present

We have an extensive stock of parts, and researchinto components is ongoing; we are continuallytesting and listening.

Issue 28 Summer ’14 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 13

Equipment upgradesOne area we’ve been expanding recently is thatof equipment upgrades. Upgrading equipmentwas a service we offered back in the 1980s andearly 1990s, but recently, encouraged by theenthusiasm and skills of Zac Wilson, our HeadProduct Technician, we’ve been reviving theservice. Almost any Hi-Fi product can beupgraded to higher performance using ourtechniques and components. The two things gotogether – the know-how and the rightcomponent.

The first equipment type to benefit from ourexpertise was loudspeakers, and our speakerupgrade service has proved very popular. Thishas been followed by source componentsupgrades, such as to SKY HD boxes and thesuperb Oppo BDP-105 Blu-ray Disc player…even the Meridian F80 and M80 upgradesfeatured in this issue on page 7. It’s fair to saythat there’ll be more upgrade services to comein the future – watch this space!

FEATURE

The Russ Andrewsdesign philosophyFrom our 1993 audiophile catalogue...

Whilst most manufacturers have beendismissing the significance of componentquality, we have been at the forefront of

research, designing and developing our ownrange of Audiophile components; driven by adesire to achieve the best sound we possiblycan, for the enjoyment of all kinds of music athome.

Over the last 12 years it has been more and moreevident that the single most important influenceon sound quality is component quality. Thelogical progression of our work is to design andperfect our own circuits using thosecomponents. It becomes immediately apparentwhen you do this that many of the subjectivesound qualities attributed to particular circuitdesigns are, in fact, the sonic signatures of thecomponents used. The performance ofaudiophile components is far closer to the idealso a variety of circuit design possibilities can beassessed objectively and the optimum chosen.Adopting this radical approach has resulted inthe development of less complex circuits thatachieve their objectives with the leastdegradation and greatest musicality.

In short, fewer components are used of higherquality, and the quality of each componenthas a greater significance.

It’s not just loudspeakers we upgrade; a recent R&Dproject has been to update our upgrade guides forthe Nytech range of amplifiers. Here Zac is puttingthe finished touches to an upgrade of a NytechCTA 252 XD II.

“

”

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PRODUCT FOCUS

Become an expert:Kimber Select Interconnects

Kimber’s range of Select analogue interconnects aresuperb performing cables and recommended foranyone who wants an uncompromising connectionbetween source components and amplifier. But allthose numbers – 1016, 1026, 1036... – can get a bitconfusing, so here’s our guide to help you decidewhich one’s best for you.

Features throughout the rangeThe first thing to note is that the basic structure of thecable remains the same throughout the range but thecomposition of the conductors and connectorschanges. Kimber’s Select interconnects are made witheither very high purity copper conductors (the start-of-the-range KS-1016), pure silver (the range-topping KS-1036) or a mixture of the two (the hybrid KS-1026).Select interconnects use gold-plated copperconnectors except the KS-1036 which uses platinum-plated silver plugs.

Fluorocarbon dielectric – the use of this specificinsulation allows it to be applied to the conductorsunder high pressure but at a lower temperature. Thisensures that the application process has as little effecton the metal as possible, ensuring minimum disruptionto the integrity of the conductors.

Geometry - Select interconnects start with Kimber’sproprietary X38R core compound to minimise vibrationinterference. The conductors are then applied to thesurface of the core in a specific geometry and held inplace within a constrained matrix. The matrix is wovenfrom Kimber’s own ESD yarn to minimise electrostaticinterference and is applied at precisely the same timeas the conductors to ensure the integrity of thegeometry.

Which cable is best for me?As the points above show, the key differences in thecables are down to the type of conductors and the RCAphono plugs used. The simple advice is to go for thevery best interconnect in the range you can afford –and remember, until 4th February 2015 you’ll save20% off the normal price!

Cable comparison Prices are for 0.5m pair

Cable Conductors Copper Silver WBT plugs WAS SAVE NOWper channel

KS-1016 6 100% 0102Cu £703 £140.60 £562.40

KS-1026 6 50% 50% 0102Cu £1097 £219.40 £877.60

KS-1036 6 100% 0102Ag £1749 £349.80 £1399.20

WBT NEXTGEN RCA phono plugsWBT have an international reputation fortheir high quality connectors and theNextGen range uses their unique low massdesign to aid efficient signal transfer. The Cuversions feature gold plating over purecopper whereas the 0102 Ag plugs use pureplatinum plating over pure silver contacts.

Internal construction of the Select KS-1036, showing three of the six Silver woven conductors and the Kimber ESD constrained matrix.

Kimber Select KS-1016 analogue interconnect



Sale prices only available until 4th February 2015

OPINION


Dalton’s Deliberations

I read with interest Lee Dunkley’sopinion piece in the latest issue of Hi-Fi Choice magazine (December2014) which discusses the trials andtribulations of a visit to a Hi-Fi Show.He’s clearly a fan but is frustratedwith the often cattle-market likeconditions at most events. Onedown side of this, he argues, is that“visitors walk in and out as theyplease, sometimes making a swiftretreat if the demo room is toocrowded to comfortably see what’son display”. He continues: “Theproblem is it’s too easy to make asnap decision on a room and votewith your feet – meaning that youmight miss out on the star of the show”.

He’s got a point and there’s nodoubt that Whittlebury Hall (thevenue for the National Audio Show)is not the most intuitive venue tofind your way around and the roomsare far from perfect fordemonstrations. But there are acouple of other points here thatinterest me, points which are, I think,far more important. And they arehidden in the two quotes above...

Seeing is believing?I’ve sometimes overheard Hi-Fi fans(note I say Hi-Fi fans, not music fans)talking about the look of Hi-Ficomponents as though this hassome inherent bearing on theirmusical performance. “Wow, look atthat” they may say, “I’d love one ofthose!” And it’s not even playing...Sadly, I wonder if this view partlyunderlies the statement above that

“visitors walk in and out as theyplease, sometimes making a swiftretreat if the demo room is toocrowded to comfortably see what’son display”. What about hearing?Surely, whether or not you can seethe items making the music, if theysound good enough you’re going tohang around to listen?

Again, he says “it’s too easy to makea snap decision” with the result that“you might miss out on the star ofthe show”. Really? I kind of doubt I’dmake the snap decision to walk awayif the music sounded that good – atthe very least I’d make sure I’d comeback later. In fact, ironically, I’dsuggest that if the system is reallythe best in show you would be ableto make a snap decision, but to stayrather than leave, because you’dinstantly be aware of how good itsounded (interestingly, this is anaspect about listening that’s oftenmissed; if something sounds betteryou shouldn’t have to listen to it forvery long to notice).

Now don’t get me wrong, I love thelook of a nice amp or speakers asmuch as the next man but let’s becandid; it has no bearing whatsoeveron the performance of thecomponent. To me, the sad thing is

that too many systems at Hi-Fishows look fabulous but soundpretty awful. And that includes onescosting many tens of thousands of pounds.

This can have a positive side: one ofour customers confided in me thathe enjoyed coming to showsbecause he always felt so muchbetter when he got home andlistened to his own system. The factwas, although it hadn’t costanywhere near as much, havingfollowed the Russ Andrews upgradepath his system was so much moreenjoyable to listen to.

If you check out our show reviewand Russ’s First Words in this issue,you’ll see that our own dem (whichwas a closed door event to alleviatethe ‘cattle market’ issue) emphasisedthe importance of listening to theoverall performance of the music togive you a true insight into how wella Hi-Fi is reproducing it (see pages 4and 6). Keep this in mind and youshould have no problem decidingwhich rooms are worth going into –and all it takes is a walk aroundlistening through the doors; whenyou hear Hi-Fi, pass by, but whenyou hear a performance, well that’sworth waiting for.

Sadly, I suspect the real reason manyvisitors to Hi-Fi shows don’t hangaround is not because a room iscrowded and that they can’t see butbecause there’s nothing musicalenough emanating from the spaceto make you want to stay.

“Surely, whether or notyou can see the itemsmaking the music, if

they sound good enoughyou’re going to hangaround to listen?”

Stop. Listen. Look.Write to Simon at - [email protected]


CLASSIC HI-FI

Classic Nytech

Back in 1975 the Nytech CTA 252 seemeda very unlikely candidate for cult status.It looked a bit weird – like a desk calculator, was atuner/amplifier with the emphasis on the tuner,and had very modest, measured performance(15W continuous at 1kHz into 8 ohms with a 1%distortion figure. It fell to 11W at 20Hz to 20kHz!).Its ‘ace up its sleeve’, however, was that it justsounded so enjoyably musical.

At Hi-Fi Corner in Edinburgh and then at the RussAndrews High Fidelity shop we sold bundles ofthem with Rega Saturn turntables and KEF Codaloudspeakers; a choice combination. At that timewe were selling lots of entry-level amps like A&RCambridge A60s and needed a suitably modestbut good-sounding tuner to match so I persuadedRichard Hay to put the tuner section of the CTA in aconventionalbox for us. TheEdinburghWirelessCompanyFMT1 tuner was born.

My associationwith Nytech was longand fruitful though stormy asRichard Hay, like me, was astrong personality with strongviews. I clearly remember my first visit to theoriginal Nytech factory when they were stillassembling the last of the ‘Scandinavian musiccentre’ style units but had just started making thestand-alone CTA 252.*I was the only Nytech retailer who visited andtook an interest in the performance of theproducts and Richard was easily persuaded thatthere was a commercial opportunity in improvingthat performance of the CTA 252. He quicklyresponded with more power across the audioband to 25W per channel and with better discstages – first on the existing moving magnetcircuit and then with a separate input board thatcould be configured for any moving coil cartridgeinput requirement. By this time I had, after aserious car crash, parted from my partners in RussAndrews High Fidelity and moved down toHampshire. After my recovery, I was able to workas a consultant to Nytech helping develop newproducts like the CA 252 and CA 202 range ofintegrated amplifiers that used the CTA output

The Edinburgh Wireless CompanyFMT1 tuner

It’s not a name we see in Hi-Fi magazines today, but inthe 1970s and 1980s Nytech was a well-regarded BritishHi-Fi manufacturer, rubbing shoulders with the likes ofLinn, Naim and Meridian. Initially involved with Nytechfrom his days as a retailer, Russ went on to become aconsultant to the company, working withNytech’s MD Richard Hay to improve and expandthe range of receivers and integrated amplifiers.In the first of a series of articles, Russ gives somebackground to Nytech’s distinctive products andhis involvement with the company…

Nytech CTA 252 receiver

Issue 29 Winter ’14/15 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 17

stages, disc stages and an improved preampsection, free from tone controls and filters.

I met Alistair Clark and helped him set up ARCloudspeakers (which is another story I will cover ina later issue). Using ARC 101 and 202loudspeakers in their active configuration, Richarddesigned active electronic crossovers and a newera was born in loose association with Linn, Naimand Meridian (again another story for later).

The Nytech CTA started to gain serious attentionwith the Series 1 XD version in 1978 when itgained the uprated power supply, power amps,banana speaker outlets and a ‘preamp-out /power amp in’ facility that cleared the way for amore powerful power amp – the CPA 602 and‘active’ electronics of the early 1980s. This is the

point at which Nytech gained cult status as ‘thepoor man’s Naim’. I agree with that sobriquet in asmuch as it wasn’t as good as the Naim but thenext best thing musically and a whole lot cheaper.

It is very clear to me that a lot of Nytechs havesurvived and change hands at good pricesbecause they have always made very enjoyablemusic. I have been giving a repair service eversince Nytech ceased trading and written upgradeguides for the CTA 252 XD II, the CA 252 and CA202. We have updated these using our currentbest-sounding components. The upgrades give aa double benefit now that the capacitors aredying of old age and need replacing anyway. The new capacitors we have chosen are bothinexpensive and the best-sounding we can find – perfect!

* I remember seeing a stack of obviously-rejectGarrard autochangers piled in a corner and askedwhy they seemed abandoned. Richard said thatwhen they accumulated 50 or so, the engineer camefrom Garrard to fix them. “How does he fix them?” Iasked. “He’s got a specially calibrated tool thatprecisely bends a connecting rod in the mechanism.”I couldn’t stop myself laughing out loud becauseback in the 1960s when I was just learning to be aRadio and TV service engineer, one of the non-electronic jobs they gave me was to repair

autochangers. I had a jig with a mirror below it so Icould watch the mechanism in action. Some of themresisted all my attempts at subtle adjustment andlubrication. In these cases I found that very carefullybending a connecting rod with a pair of pliers didthe job! My dictum was “when all else fails, bend it!” Ithink it made my decade to discover that what Ithought was an unsatisfactory fudge was how themanufacturer did it! It opened my eyes tomanufacturer ‘fudges’.

CLASSIC HI-FI

>>

Russ and Zac discuss the upgrades to the Nytech receivers


CLASSIC HI-FI

Product Spotlights

CTA 252This very compact tuner/amplifier (receiver) is very mucha product of its time and origins.It started life in the early 1970s as partof a modestly-priced non-Hi-Fi music centre. Itfeatured an FM tuner with manual tune and four pushbutton pre-sets, mono switch, low and high filters, only twoinputs – tape and disc. In addition to the volume andbalance controls it had bass, middle and treble controls. Tofurther gild the lily, it had two pairs of speaker outputs anda third pair to provide a differential output for two rearloudspeakers which can be used together with a front pairin a quasi Hafler surround sound configuration. Thisfunction is aided by a blend control to regulate the degreeof left and right mixing applied to the rear loudspeakers. Allthis and two headphone sockets! No wonder the inside is astightly packed as a modern car engine bay. DIN standardsockets ruled on the back panel.

CTA 252 XD IIThe XD II was the finalversion of the beast butsouped up to Hi-Fiperformancerather likethe earlyVW Golfbecame theGT hothatch. I hadpersuaded Richard to dropthe Hafler-style surround soundfacility and switch to 4mm banana speakeroutput sockets. The ‘tune-up’ included power supply, poweramp, preamp and disc stage improvements.

Nytech upgradesIf you are the owner of a workingNytech CTA 252 XD/ XDII, a CA 252or a CA 202, we have producedupgrade kits with instructions onhow to improve key components.You need to be technically-mindedand have some experience withelectronics (or know someone whodoes). Each kit includes all the partsyou need to perform the upgradeand the instructions are illustratedwith line drawings showing whatgoes where.

Alternatively, we can offer anupgrade service, doing the upgradework here in Kendal.

The upgrades are well worthwhile;the Nytechs are fine sounding intheir own right, but the upgradedmodels sound more transparent,musical and enjoyable and can easilyhold their own against modern,more expensive equipment.

We also have a repair and set-upservice if you have a faulty Nytechcomponent. Contact us for details.Finally, we have a small quantity ofupgraded Nytech CT 252 XD IIreceivers for sale: again, contact usfor more information and prices.

Russ’s tip If you don’t fancy a ‘full-on, upgradeeverything’ challenge, just do thepower supply and disc input if youplay vinyl. Next, you can tackle thepower amps – or if you don’t feelconfident enough, send them to usfor upgrade and setting up. The CTA252 XD II is very complex, so do it abit at a time and check that it worksat every stage.

Nytech


CLASSIC HI-FI

NytechCA 252By the late 1970s the inevitable demand for a simple ‘purist’integrated amplifier resulted in the launch of the CA 252. Itwas a precursor of a full range of similarly-cased amps,electronic crossovers, preamps and a tuner. The CA252 was based on the CTA circuitry strippeddown, improved and presented in a verystylish sloping front metal casework. Thiswas the first product of my ‘nocompromise’ approach allied to Richard’sdesign talents and cost-consciousproduction engineering. As a consultant, I couldmake demands and give opinions no employee could. It was astormy but very rewarding period.

With the CA252, Nytech could seriously compete with anyone. Itsstrengths were low cost and a very musical performance. I seem toremember Richard being rather insulted by the ‘poor man’s Naim’comment in the press, but I thought it was fair and well-meant. Thesubsequent cult status rather proves it, I think.

The shortage of inputs became a problem when the number of sourcecomponents proliferated beyond tuner and tape needs. The advent ofthe CD player at this time was incompatible with the old DIN standardinput sensitivities, but it was a long time before CD was really acceptedand many owners remain vinyl-only fans to this day. The way to adaptany of the Nytech integrated amps and preamps to enjoyable CDperformance is to use our type G attenuated interconnectsplugged into either the Tape or Aux inputs. The same leadscan be used for any source (tuner, DVD player, Sky box)with the 2V CD level standard.

CA 202To meet demand for an even less expensive integratedamp, Richard simplified the circuitry even further whilst still includingthe very successful power amplifier modules from the CA 252 and CTA252 XD. These compact, reliable and sweet-sounding amp modules areupgradeable and repairable. Although several of the transistors areobsolete and unobtainable now, we have found suitable replacementsthat work very well as substitutes. Today, the CA 202 would bedescribed as a CA252 ‘lite’. ■

LETTERS


A route tobettersoundIt took meabout 10 mins toinstall the routerbetween aSupersocket earth terminal and mynew earth rod. I’m really intoacoustic guitar at the moment somy first choice of CD was PacoPena’s “Fabulous Flamenco!” Withinthe space of half a track I knew thatwhatever the router does andhowever it does it the result is quiteastonishing.

My initial reaction was that thesound was just so “relaxed”, asthough some strain and stress hadbeen taken out of the reproduction.I find the effect quite hard todescribe, it’s sort of subtle andprofound all at the same time. Themaestro’s mastery of his instrumentwas transparent and the guitargained both in texture and finedetail (if I didn’t know better I’d saythat it now sounded like two guitarsplaying rather than one!). I couldhear more notes and decays werewonderfully prolonged.

I played the whole CD right througha couple of times, forgetting that Ihad intended to watch last night’sWorld Cup match, and thenindulged in a bit of Kraftwerk’s TourDe France. I listened to that twice aswell, finally going to bed at 2amquite beguiled by the wholeexperience.

As you predicted, I LOVE it! So, it’sRodrigo y Gabriela next... WOW!J. Conway, Lancs

No to chromeI was very interested toread Russ’ First Words inthis month’s Connected – especiallyhis description of ‘chromium plated’high-end trophy equipment. Thislast weekend I was lucky enough tobe in a music workshop presentedby Kris Drever of Lau (fantasticelectro-folk trio, if you haven’talready heard of them). Kris, who isa brilliant guitarist, had broughtalong his battered old Martinacoustic. So battered that hefrequently has to stick small squaresof plectrum-plate over the holesthat he manages to wear in thebody of his guitar with hisincredible playing. He said that heloves to hear the buzzes, rattles,squeaks and other ‘non-perfect’sounds that his instrument makes.For him it adds character andwarmth to the sound he somehowmanages to squeeze from 6 stringsand a wooden box.

Kris records his fantastic musiccarefully, he uses good qualityequipment and an expensiveinstrument but he’s a folk musician -he doesn’t want a pitch perfect,clean but boring sound. And I thinkthat is what we should strive for inour hi-fi - warmth, character andmusicality. Not bland, flawless,characterless perfection. If it’s goodenough for apro like Kris,it’s goodenough forme.R. Mellors, by e-mail

It’s all clear nowI bought a Clarity 8 in your veryrecent sale and would agree withRuss’s summary of its effect whichis indeed not subtle. More detail,greater air and space and the stereoimage better resolved. Bass wascleaner with a sweeter treble.

The result was all themore surprising asmy system isconnected to the mains via a PSAudio Power Plant anda Ben Duncan isolationtransformer, wellprotected or so I thought from thevagaries of the mains. I was onlyexpecting a marginal improvementwith the Clarity, however all of theabove improvements were readilyapparent. I sometimes listen to CDvia a Teufel surround sounddecoder (powered by a home-madebattery supply). Listening this way,small events and details which wereonly vaguely resolved were with theClarity intelligible. There may be asmall clue as to what is going on, asthe distortion readout of the Power

Plant is showing lower distortion by0.1 or 0.2%.

Want to share your experienceswith our readers? Or simply wantadvice? Write to us! We’ll publishthe best, funniest and mostinteresting in each issue ofConnected. The writer of this issue’s Star Letterreceives a Silencer, worth £52.00

Get in touch at:[email protected] or write to us at: Connected, RussAndrews Accessories, 2b MorelandCourt, Westmorland Business Park,Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 6NS, UK.

Win a Silencermains filter,worth £52.00

STARLETTER

Your letters

RF Router £169

Clarity-8 £799

STARLETTER

Issue 29 Winter ’14/15 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 21

LETTERS

So if you do not have a RussAndrews Clarity in your system thenyou need one as it is likely to be thesingle most effective improvementyou can make.P Graves, by e-mail.

A Clean UpgradeI’ve finally realised my goal of usingRuss’s products throughout myentire system, from SuperSocket tospeaker cable and everything inbetween. After making all of theconnections and a short satisfiedtest listen, I decided that it would bea good time for some system andcable maintenance. So I purchasedsome DeoxIT and the nifty little RCAcleaning tool recently added to yourproduct range, then proceeded toclean and treat every contact, socket

and connection, before carefullyplugging everything back togetheragain.

The initial test listen had soundedfantastic, but my efforts optimisingthe connections betweencomponents, have proven to beextremely worthwhile. In fact, youcould almost categorise theimprovements as an ‘upgrade’ intheir own right, and a very costeffective one at that. The sound hasmoved into another dimension alltogether, like placing a verydelicious cherry on top of an alreadyfantastic cake. Not only that, as I sithere with a smile that smacks ofsatisfaction, I’m more listening tothe music, than the sound of astereo system which is now greaterthan the sum of its parts.

As the mind wanders to wonderingwhere my next hi-fi fix will comefrom, I recall the subject of aprevious ‘Connected’ issuecompetition, in which the readerswere tasked to suggest ideas foritems that could be added to Russ’already substantial product line, thatI hadn’t gotten around to entering.

As a sound engineer, being wellaware of the capabilities ofacoustical treatments being used invarious applications in recordingstudios, I’d like to propose that thiscould be an area you might like toinvestigate, with a view to becominga supplier of such products to uscustomers. Regardless, thank youfor your efforts on behalf ofaudiophiles throughout Europe andbeyond, keep up the excellent work.A. Jack, by e-mail

Fidelity of soundCustomer Ray Johnston wrote to usto tell us about his experiencesupgrading his system which consistsof a Musical Fidelity hi-fi system andOnkyo home cinema.

Said Ray: “I went into the Russ Andrewsshop and I had a chat with Peter who Ididn’t know but now, seven years later,is nearly family. He said start with themains, which I did. When I left the shopI was blown away with the approachand as time went on I got on really wellwith John and all of the staff. And thebest thing is you’ve got the opportunityto try everything. There has never everbeen any hard sell: they’ve made mefeel like being part of the Russ Andrewsfamily.”

Ray lives quite close to us in Kendalso Peter and John couldn’t resistpopping round and having a look athis system which is fully supportedwith Kimber and Russ Andrewscables and accessories. Ray has aMichell Gyrodec turntable andMusical Fidelity CD player, withMusical Fidelity amplification andRuss Andrews-upgraded KEFloudspeakers. His Home Cinemaconsists of a Denon BD player and

Sky HD box with Russ Andrewsupgrades, Onkyo surround soundamp and Celestion speakers playinginto a Samsung 4K screen. Raypowers his system with a 3KVABalanced Mains Unit, withPowerBlocks and Reference andSignature PowerKords to power hiskit. Interconnects are Kimber Selectand his Hi-Fi system,which is bi-amped,uses KS-3033 andCrystal-24 speakercable. His HomeCinema systemsfeatures KimberHD29 HDMI cablesand 4PR speakercables. As Ray said tous “I love my systemand I’m absolutelydelighted with thesound and picturequality”.


Robert Harley, editor of USpublication The AbsoluteSound, turns the idea of thelaw of diminishing returns onits head - something Russcalls the Rule of Increasingreturns.

Many audiophiles think of anaudio system from theperspective of The Law ofDiminishing Returns. That’s theidea that each successive dollaryou add to your hi-fi budgetrealizes progressively less sonicimprovement. To use anextreme example, there’sundoubtedly a greater sonicdifference between a $1000loudspeaker and a $2000loudspeaker than there isbetween a $100,000loudspeaker and a $101,000loudspeaker. The additionalthousand dollars buy you muchless at the top end of the scale.

The Law of Diminishing Returnsalso suggests that sonicimprovements are much moredifficult to achieve once youhave a great system. Themountaintop is a morechallenging climb than the

foothills. Moreover, accordingto this thinking, the sonicdifferences become less andless musically significant onceyou’ve achieved somethreshold of performance. Thesmall improvements to analready superlative system arenot only very expensive, but ofincreasingly little consequence.

My experience with state-of-the-art audio suggests that TheLaw of Diminishing Returns is afallacy. In fact, I think that anaudio system follows The Lawof Accelerating Returns.

First, by improving one link inthe reproduction chain youbetter reveal the qualities andcharacteristics of every othercomponent in the chain. Forexample, replacing apreamplifier that is slightlyopaque, shaves off a layer ofvery fine detail, and compressesdynamic contrasts with one thatis much more transparent,resolving, and dynamic allowsyou to hear, for the first time,just how transparent, detailed,and dynamic your sources,cables, and loudspeakers really

are. The upgrade isn’t just tothe preamplifier; you’reunlocking the potential of everyother component in the signalpath—potential for which youpaid good money that wasotherwise wasted.

This observation applies only ifthe other system componentsare of high quality themselves.A more transparent preamplifiercan also reveal previouslyunheard flaws in your sources.Consequently, upgrading a hi-fisystem is a fine art that requiresthat you not only target theweakest link but that you alsoselect each new componentvery carefully; your nextupgrade will unmask everyother component’s intrinsicsonic personality. It’s alsoessential that the upgradedcomponent is a demonstrablestep forward in transparencyand resolution, not merely onethat offers a different set ofvirtues and flaws that tilts yoursystem in a different but lateraldirection. Such is the path toyears of “upgrades” that resultin no real increase in musicalrealism.

Over the past two years myaudio system has taken oneperformance leap after another.With each upgrade, I gain a newappreciation for every othercomponent in the system. Irecently called my friend andcolleague Jonathan Valin andbegan the conversation bysaying “I just heard the [Magico]

The Law of Accelerating Returns

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The Law of Diminishing Returns

“It was as thoughupgrading one

component liberatedevery other

component in thesystem.”

FROM INSIDE THE INDUSTRY


STAFF FOCUS

Q7s for the first time.” He wasperplexed until I explainedthat the improvement I hadmade to the system revealedcapabilities and qualities thathad lain dormant in theloudspeaker. It was as thoughupgrading one componentliberated every othercomponent in the system.

The second reason why TheLaw of Accelerating Returnsapplies to an audio system issomething Meridian Audioco-founder Bob Stuart callsThe Increasing Importance ofthe Smaller Difference. Heposits that humans arenaturally inclined to make very finediscriminations, such asdifferences between twochampion dogs of the samebreed. Dog aficionados aren’tinterested in the differencesbetween dogs and cats, or

between different breeds ofdogs, or even betweenmediocre and stellarexamples of the same breed, but they are fascinated by thevery finest differences amongthe breed’s elite dogs, someof which are invisible to theuntrained eye. The smallerthe difference, the greaterthat difference’s importanceto those who care about such things.

Music reproduction takes thisconcept to the extremebecause musical ecstasy issuch a profound andrewarding experience—welong to experience it moredeeply and more frequently.Because we care so muchabout music, there’s not alinear relationship between asonic improvement’smagnitude and its musicalsignificance.

There’s a step function inwhich a “small” increase in,for example, resolution ofmicro-detail, vaults the senseof musical realism into atotally new plane because wefind musical meaning in thatdetail. No matter how modestor ambitious your system,listening to your favoritemusic after realizing such aleap is nothing short ofthrilling. And that’s a returnworth pursuing.

Many thanks to Robert Harleyfor permission to reprint hiseditorial from The AbsoluteSound, issue 246.www.theabsolutesound.com

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The Law of Accelerating Returns

The Increasing Importanceof the Smaller Difference

Name: Peter BevirJob: Head of sales and product developmentTime with us: 13 years

Peter joined Russ Andrews back in 2001,making him one of the longest standingmembers of staff, so we’ve picked him to bethe first in a series of mini staff profiles.

Peter’s love of electronic and dance musicgoes right back to his time as a DJ in theclubs in the north west of England and as faras Canada and Tenerife, and it was there toothat his interest in Hi-Fi electronics began.He studied studio engineering at collegeand this has formed the foundation of anever expanding knowledge of audioelectronics, and he loves to keep up withthe latest in Hi-Fi technologies.

Ask him for his favourite band and there’llbe an immediate response: “DepecheMode”. Beyond that, he says, it’s difficult topin anyone specific down as he tends to likea wide variety of individual tracks ratherthan particular artists as such – though stillbroadly electronic and dance orientated.

Since purchasing his Sony W905 LCD TV lastyear he loves watching movies! Although it’scapable of 3D pictures, he still finds hegenerally prefers high quality 2D images,with the exception of the classic VincentPrice film ‘House of Wax’ which he says is byfar the best 3D film he’s experienced,despite its age.

Apart from his sales role, Peter also sourcesnew products for us, alongside Russ and Zacwho head up R & D. This is a part of his rolehe really enjoys, particularly the aspect ofseeing a project developed from a simpleidea all the way through to production.

One of us!

Reviews


Keep up to date with new reviews in our news section at www.russandrews.com/news

Kimber’s superb D60 digital interconnect is the latest inour range to receive a recommendation from Hi-FiChoice magazine in the December 2014 issue.

The reviewer tested D60 in the more traditional set upof CD player and DAC and concluded that “the KimberD60 is a beautifully made cable that effortlessly conveysthe digital signal from my CD to an external DAC and isone to consider if you’re looking for a premium-qualitydigital interconnect”.

Kimber D-60

The October 2014 edition of Hi-Fi Choice carries a shortreview of the PowerKord-8 and the reviewer NevilleRoberts finds “an overall improvement in the sound withthe PowerKord 8 fitted, particularly with image placementand focus”.

And it’s not just these areas where improvements are to befound, as he continues by reporting that “I also findimprovements in the lower registers with the bass drumsfeeling deeper and tighter with more impact. The sound ismore compelling to listen to and somehow fuller inpresentation”.

All in all, the reviewer is very impressed with thePowerKord-8, noting that the benefits it brings are to befound right across the musical spectrum, observing “animprovement in overall refinement across a wide range ofmusic genres and this, coupled with a discernible ease inthe way the music is reproduced when compared with astandard lead, means that it gets the full five-star ratingfrom me”.

PowerKord-8™

REVIEWS

Reviews

Kimber D-60 interconnectVerdict:

RECOMMENDEDPrice: £201 for 0.5mMagazine: Hi-Fi ChoiceIssue: Dec 2014

PowerKord-8™Verdict:

RECOMMENDEDPrice: £99 for 1mMagazine: Hi-Fi ChoiceIssue: October 2014


REVIEWS

Our new SuperFuses have been incredibly popular andthe first review comes courtesy of the September issueof Hi-Fi Choice magazine. The reviewer comments that“it is not just a replacement fuse, but more a mains plugupgrade kit” as it comes with a sachet of DeoxIT Goldcontact cleaner for sprucing up the plug contacts whenfitting the fuse.

“When I fit the Superfuse” writes Neville Roberts, “I candetect a subtle improvement in overall musicality, top-end detail and openness”. In addition to all this, he alsoexperiences “an improvement in the sound stage”. As hesays: “not bad for a fuse!”

SuperFuse™

SuperFuseVerdict:

Price: £25 eachMagazine: Hi-Fi ChoiceIssue: September 2014

Russ Andrews Upgraded Sky HD BoxPrice: £611Magazine: www.theaudiophileman.comPublished: October 2014

For Paul Rigby of www.theaudiophileman.com the biggest and most important gain that the Russ Andrews upgraded SkyHD Box brings is via the clear improvements in sound quality. If your TV is running sound through a high quality Hi-Fi or Home Cinema system then, he suggests, the “Russ Andrews’ project not only gains validity but becomes a serious audiophile choice”. Starting with a listen to Radio 4 toassess the box’s ability with vocals, he states that“Differences were immediate. The Russ Andrews’ Sky boxoffered voices with greater resonance and enhancedreverberation that seemed to emanate from the speaker’schest” creating an overall “more believable presentation”.

Moving over to the higher sampling rate of a Radio 3broadcast revealed even more obvious improvements:“The Russ Andrews box lifted the presentation from itspreviously flat soundstage” and “the silences between eachinstrument were stark”.

All in all, the improvements lead the reviewer to concludethat “if you have invested £1,000 or more on a qualitysound support system for your TV... then this new Sky box isa good investment”.

Upgraded Sky HD Box


REVIEWS

The November 2014 issue of Hi-Fi Choice magazinefinds our new Torlyte speaker stands receiving a 4.5star award with a solid recommendation.

The reviewer points out the unique properties ofTorlyte and the distinct advantages: “high massstands have the potential to store more energy, sothese stands adopt a low mass design in order todiffuse or ‘dump’ the energy with the intention ofimproving rhythm and timing”. And it works, as heobserves: “They certainly don’t disappoint. I haveno sense of colouration or an over lively bass”.

Torlyte® Speaker Stands

Torlyte® Speaker StandsVerdict:

RECOMMENDEDPrice: £695 per pairMagazine: Hi-Fi ChoiceIssue: Nov 2014

The unique Torlyte modular rack system receives areview in the June 2014 edition of Hi-Fi Choicemagazine. The great advantage of Torlyte’sconstruction is that it manages to achieve a highamount of rigidity and strength whilst remaining verylight in weight. As the reviewer observes; “light it maybe... but flimsy it isn’t and I have no problems with itsupporting my weighty valve monoblock amplifiers!”

The effects on the musical presentation are just asimpressive with far greater insight into the recordings.“Musically, what strikes me is a fast presentation withgood clarity and sparkle, but without any edge orbrashness to the sound, an indication low colouration”he says.

In conclusion, Neville Roberts (reviewing) suggeststhat Torlyte “will reward you with great detail andsuper clarity”.

Torlyte® Rack

Torlyte® RackVerdict:

RECOMMENDEDPrice: from £460Magazine: Hi-Fi ChoiceIssue: June 2014


Terms and Conditions1. The closing day for entries is 9th February 2015 and the winners will be notified by 27th February2015; 2. The rules of entry are given in the text of the competition; 3. No purchase necessary toenter; 4. There are four prizes, each of one SuperFuse, picked at random from the correct entries;5.The prize is not transferable, cannot be exchanged for cash nor will a cash alternative be offered;6. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into; 7. We reserve the right to featurephotographs and the names and counties of all entrants in future publications and publicity; 8. This promotion is not open to employees of Russ Andrews Accessories or their families, or anyoneconnected with the promotion; 9. The promoter is Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court,Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal, LA9 6NS, UK.

A SUPERFUSE™worth £25

WIN

We’ve something a bit different for this issue’scompetition, with a wordsearch. Our new Superfuseshave proved to be one of our most simple and popularupgrades with lots of customers coming back for more.For your chance to win one of four superb SuperFuses,simply find all the words in the list and highlight themon the puzzle. Send your completed entries to:

Connected 29 CompetitionRuss Andrews Accessories, 2b Moreland Court,Westmorland, Business Park, Shap Rd, Kendal, LA9 6NS.

The last date for entries will be 9th February 2015 and the winners will be picked at random from the correct entries.

Congratulations go out to customer MrAndrew Roberts of Stafford who won a1m PowerKord-100™ mains cable worth£155. We asked; ‘In what year did ourPowerKords™ first go on sale?’ and MrRoberts was picked at random from theentrants who correctly answered ‘1986’.

Congratulations!

Win one of four SuperFuses™COMPETITION

Mail Order Direct • 60 Day Home Trial • Cable Upgrade Scheme • Free Delivery (orders over £100 within UK Mainland)

Buy online at www.russandrews.comCall UK Orderline 01539 797300 Int Tel +44 (0)1539 797300

Exclusive UK distributor

Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal LA9 6NS, UK.

Return address: Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd,2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park,Shap Road, Kendal LA9 6NS, UK.

Customer ReferenceNumber Code

Try one now in your own system for only £87.20 (was £109)

SAVE 20%

in our SALEuntil 4th Feb ‘15

The answer is probably ‘quite a few’. Wi-Finetworks are more prevalent than ever and in ouropinion present their own potential problems. Ourlistening tests have shown that Mains Zapperatorsare particularly useful in homes with computernetworks. Plug one in close to your system to create a quiet zone or use them in multiples nextto computers and Wi-Fi routers.

"I have been staggered by the degree ofimprovement this mains device offers"Mr. B. Hodgetts, New Zealand

"If anyone hasn't used a MainsZapperator, you'll be impressed bywhat one can do. If you already haveone, add another!"Mr. K. Harrison, Doncaster

"music seems more lifelike and real"Hi-Fi Choice, Nov 2012

How many Wi-Fi networks can you pick up?

Order Code: 1443

Connected 29 issuu

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