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HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:10
Hi Everyone,

Thanks for checking out my HiFi Lounge blog, for those of you who haven't come across us before we setup towards the end of 2012, basically it was a total gamble as I really didn't know how many people bought HiFi and particularly in the area we decided to base ourself, I have always been into live music and hifi so decided to leave my job, sell our house to fund it and start a hifi shop, it has now been nearly 2 years and it really has been a case of so far so good :)

The whole ethos of HiFi Lounge was to be something like a HiFi social club where it would be very relaxed, no pressure sales and a nice environment to demo a great variety of HiFi components, we didn't want to offer all the brands under the sun, just the brands that I enjoy personally with the hope being that others would like them also, I think it is fair to say that our portfolio has grown over the last 2 years but I now feel that I have got everything together that I originally envisaged.

Anyway I will update this blog with any new products that come through our doors and try to write mini reviews where I can, we also try to do a few open days throughout the year which have become quite popular, the last one we did last week was in conjunction with Naim and we had over 100 people come in which is still quite amazing, I think that was the appeal of a free BBQ more than anything :) So please keep an eye out for news on our next open day.

I won't keep on any longer, if you'd like to see any of my older blogs please follow the link below and thanks for looking.

http://hifilounge.tumblr.com/page/19

I will start off with a few blogs from recently then I will update once anything new happens.

Feel free to follow us on twitter and facebook -

https://www.facebook.com/pages/HiFi-Lounge/189093477889512?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/hifilounge

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:11
Hi All,

Last week I had the pleasure of spending some time listening to Musical Fidelity’s new monster integrated amp, the NuVista 800, to be honest I haven’t heard any of the original NuVista products launched back in 1999, but I am constantly reading HiFi Mags and often hear about the ‘much loved MF NuVista products from years back’ so when I was offered the opportunity to have a listen to the new NuVista offering I jumped at the chance.

From what I understand is that NuVista tubes offer many advantages over standard valves like better reliability, more consistant matching, they are smaller and run cooler + offering much better performance, apparently they were developed by RCA in the 50’s for TV’s and the like but around 15 years ago MF started using them in their NuVista HiFi range of components, but their availability was limited as there weren’t too many of the bases left that the valves sit in, so MF ended up with stacks of tubes left but no bases, now MF’s boss Antony Michaelson didn’t give up on the NuVista technology and after years of searching he came across more NuVista bases which he ended buying the whole lot meaning that NuVista is back.

Now the NuVista 800 really is a sight to behold, it is a beautiful piece of engineering, it is definitely a 2 man lift coming in at a back breaking 45kgs and it is certainly no shrinking violet as this is a big amp, its basic design is a hybrid so it uses the NuVista valves for the pre-amp section and uses a solid state dual mono design derived from MF’s Titan amp to create 300 watts per channel power amp section.

But what does it sound like? Well for our listening we used the Magneplanar 1.7’s panels with their additional bass panels, Maggies are notoriously hard to drive but when driven properly they really do sing, and this is what the NuVista 800 achieved, what is great is that the valve pre section just added a hint of warmth which made vocal tracks sound gorgeous but the power amp section really got hold of the Maggies in a way that I have never heard before, I can honestly say that I have tried our Maggie 1.7’s on a lot of amps and I have never heard them sound this good, I can only imagine what the bigger 3.7’s would sound like when driven by the NuVista 800.

It will be priced at £7999 which to be fair is a lot of money for an integrated amp, but the NuVista 800 doesn’t perform like any other integrated, it really is like a Pre/Power combo and with the NuVista Tubes really does offer something quite unique and really does have to be heard to be appreciated, we will hopefully have a NuVista 800 on demo in around a month so please do get in touch to arrange a demo.

Please find more information below on our website + here are a few pictures that really don’t do it justice.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/musical-fidelity-nuvista-800

I’m sure I could see the wooden shelf bowing under the weight.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7932_zpsd0b3142c.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7932_zpsd0b3142c.jpg.html)

4 NuVista Tubes glowing.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7941_zps9192fe58.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7941_zps9192fe58.jpg.html)

Beautifully Machined Military Spec Aluminium Front Panel.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7949_zps28974e8f.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7949_zps28974e8f.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7961_zps5fe7048b.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7961_zps5fe7048b.jpg.html)

Getting the best out of the Maggies.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7943_zps99b19a42.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7943_zps99b19a42.jpg.html)

Stock Picture.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Nu-Vista800Front_zps6f0807d1.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Nu-Vista800Front_zps6f0807d1.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:13
Hi All,

Yesterday I was lucky enough for my friendly Arcam Rep to bring in their new Universal player, the FMJ UDP411, I only had an hour of so of listening and then unfortunately he had to box it up and take it away, what a spoil sport, but I did get a chance to put it up directly against the OPPO 105D for 2ch only, as for me sound quality will be the UDP411 main selling point and the OPPO is its main competition.

Firstly we hooked up the UDP411 via both RCA and XLR into the Bryston SP3 as the Arcam AV950 950 wasn’t hooked up unfortunately, and flicked between both connections, both sounded great but the XLR just edged it for me offering a slightly bigger soundstage with more drive with better dynamics, it was only slight but noticeable, I also tried it as a streamer, it saw my NAS and played with no problem at all, compared to Naim though Arcam’s app needs a fair bit of work, the good news is that Arcam have their own coder now who’s main job is to improve the app so all being well this should improve shortly.

So onto sound quality, to sum up I would say that at long last the mighty OPPO 105 has some real competition, not that either was better or worse, which sounds like a real cop out, but both sounded excellent but offering 2 very different presentations. I love OPPO’s presentation, I find it clean, detailed, immersive and all that stuff, but I have have always loved Arcam’s more slightly more laid back and smooth presentation and for me that was the main difference, the UDP411 came across with all the detail of the OPPO but with a weightier more life like presentation, especially apparent with vocals, it just felt more organic.

I guess the OPPO could be considered better value for money with the Darbee processing built in and the M/C analogue outs, but for out and out sound quality it is now great to have two great high performing options that offer 2 very different presentations, I can quite easily see the UDP411 ending up in my system, as I do like my system to match and having a full Arcam rig would be very satisfying, it will also be interesting to try it over HDMI into the AV950 and also digital out into the D33.

It looks like it is still a couple of months away before the UDP411 is available but yesterday’s taster has certainly left me wanting to explore it in more depth as early signs sounded very promising so needless to say we will have one on demo as soon as released.

Please see a link below for more info and couple of pics -

Arcam FMJ UDP411 Audiophile Blu-ray player ('http://hifilounge.co.uk/arcam-fmj-udp411-bd-player')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7703_zps4eb56d0d.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7703_zps4eb56d0d.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7705_zps187901ec.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7705_zps187901ec.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7707_zpscd3d656f.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7707_zpscd3d656f.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7709_zpsf0e07984.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7709_zpsf0e07984.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7713_zps3808ce71.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7713_zps3808ce71.jpg.html')

Cheers,
Paul

HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:14
Hi All,

Just a quick one to say that we now have the full new REL S Series Range on demo which comprises of 3 new models, the S2, S3 and S5, these are a clear step up from the excellent outgoing R Series and also can now be run wireless thanks to REL’s new Longbow technology first seen with the Habitat1 making installation extremely easy.

It has long been known that REL is the subwoofer company to go to for a sub to integrate with a 2 channel system thanks to its Hi Level connector meaning that you can integrate a REL sub seamlessly with your front L+R speakers, I was always against a sub for music until I tried a REL at home a couple of years ago and it really does work.

Another thing I’d like to share is an upgrade that I did at home this week to my system, which I have to say is one of the best in AV terms that I have ever done so I thought I’d share it, although many have probably already tried it. When I was at Munich a couple of weeks ago for the Highend Show the most impressive demo believe it or not was the REL demo, they were running 3 subs for cinema, now I’ve always read that more than one sub is the way to go but I had never experienced it, so there was one on the front L+R for high level and .1, one on the centre for high level only and one on the rears for high level and .1. I have to say it made such a difference to the overall immersion, especially having a sub on the rears. When all 3 subs were working you were right in the heart of the action, as soon as the rear sub was turned off the soundstage jumped to the front, it was quite a stark difference.

So this week I added a REL habitat1 to the rears at home and a REL T7 to the centre to go with the R-328 that I already had, a bit of a hotch botch of different subs but the difference really is astonishing as it means that you can set all your speakers to large thanks to the high level connection which just adds more weight and scale to the soundstage, not necessarily more bass, although I did have to go round the room and move a few things that were rattling a bit too much

The best upgrade though is adding a sub to the rear channels, for me that was a real game changer as having that extra bass, especially on an action film say where a jet plane fly’s from the rear to the front is absolutely brilliant, adding a small sub to the centre helped level out the front soundstage and equalise the room better but if 3 subs is a little overkill then I would go with 2, one for the front and one for the rear, it is made a lot easier now thanks to REL’s wireless technology meaning you don’t have to run cables everywhere.

I did have to buy an RCA splitter though for my Arcam AV950 as it only has 1 sub out but after talking to REL this really isn’t a problem for the .1 channel.

Anyway, sorry for going on a bit, it is just that I’ve been playing around with kit for what seems like years now and I thought I’d experienced most things in AV but if anyone has got a spare sub kicking about I would highly recommend experimenting as it is a real game changer.

Finally if anyone would like to come in to demo and of the new REL S Series please feel free to pop in anytime.

Below are a couple of pics of the new REL Range that I took at Munich and the awesome G1 for good measure.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3241_zps549efa96.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3241_zps549efa96.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3240_zpseda98fab.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3240_zpseda98fab.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3239_zps62c910ab.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3239_zps62c910ab.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3237_zpsbf23e599.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3237_zpsbf23e599.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3243_zpsda908204.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3243_zpsda908204.jpg.html')

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:15
Hi All,

This is a real quick post, I borrowed the Sonus Faber Amati Futura’s and the Guarneri Evolution’s from Absolute Sounds the other day for a customer home demo but I couldn’t let the Evolutions go back without hooking them up and having a quick listen, I would have kept the Amati’s but at 55kgs each there was no way I could get them upstairs unfortunately.

Anyway if anyone would like to pop in for a listen I am hoping to have them here for a few days yet, it will give me a great opportunity to hook them up to our Devialet 240 to see how special this combo will sound ahead of our Devialet / Sonus Faber Day on June 7th.

http://hifilounge.tumblr.com/post/85017763523/devialet-and-sonus-faber-day-june-7th

One thing is for sure both the Amati’s and Evolutions are stunning looking speakers, once I get to 5.30 tonight it will be a case of lock up, sit back and have a good listen, can’t wait :)

As usual I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7501_zps1107387f.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7501_zps1107387f.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7502_zpsbd88bc9b.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7502_zpsbd88bc9b.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7503_zps91e2a2d6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7503_zps91e2a2d6.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7506_zps20c086fd.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7506_zps20c086fd.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7508_zpsd5d2b183.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7508_zpsd5d2b183.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7514_zpsed6e66fe.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7514_zpsed6e66fe.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7518_zpsd113c213.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7518_zpsd113c213.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7519_zpsbc9415ec.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7519_zpsbc9415ec.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7521_zpsdc22afb3.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7521_zpsdc22afb3.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7527_zps56714912.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7527_zps56714912.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7529_zpsaaa95ec6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7529_zpsaaa95ec6.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7539_zps5b009f39.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7539_zps5b009f39.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7547_zpsfdf4690b.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7547_zpsfdf4690b.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7553_zps9a6fb90b.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7553_zps9a6fb90b.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7557_zps1a6911e1.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7557_zps1a6911e1.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7562_zps1b438aaa.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/DSCF7562_zps1b438aaa.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:16
Hi All,

Since we launched I have always wanted to add a valve brand to our portfolio as an alternative to all the solid state systems out there, but with so much choice out there I spent a good year reading reviews and doing my research as this was my first step into using Tubes and was a little wary of the technology and all the stories you hear about the problems of living with valves, but it didn’t matter what I read I always kept coming back to PrimaLuna for many reasons.

PrimaLuna are Dutch Company who launched their first valve amp in 2003 to glowing reviews, excuse the pun. The whole ethos behind PrimaLuna was to design Tube products that offer that beautiful human and lifelike valve sound but that had to be easy to use, affordable, beautifully built, and designed to last a lifetime, almost the perfect product. Really PrimaLuna have revolutionised the valve amp market by introducing ‘Adaptive AutoBias’ which is an exclusive design which monitors the tubes in real time and adjusts them as needed, so the tubes always perform at their best and you don’t have to worry about setting the bias. They also use a soft start circuitry so when you power up the amp it will wake up slowly so not to put too much stress on the valves and as well as the finest point to point wiring and the use of high end components and other safe guards in the design to prolong the life of the tubes, up to 10,000 hours for the output valves and 3000 hours for the power valves, all goes to making them as easy to live with as a solid state product.

We are concentrating on the PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium range which is their top range but are still extremely affordable and can cater for EL34 power valves offering that smooth laid back valve sound or KT88’s or KT120’s which offer more power, grip and scale, again in true PrimaLuna fashion it is extremely easy to swap valves as you would just take out say the EL34 and replace it with a KT120 and set the bias switch on the side to the KT120 position and the Bias is automatically set. Also the Dialogue Premium range comes with a seriously solid and quality remote which allows you to do all the normal stuff but it also allows you to switch between Triode and Ultralinear modes to offer 2 very distinct presentations, all this comes in a high gloss hand rubbed finish which completes a stunning package which is hard to believe for the price.

Obviously all of the above counts for nothing if it doesn’t sound any good but this isn’t a concern as I have been listening to the Dialogue Premium Integrated this morning on the Maggie 12’s and as combination it is stunning, if you have never experienced the valve sound before then you really should as it offers something very different to the conventional solid state amps, extremely lifelike, rich and real, much the same way that vinyl sounds, hence why vinyl and valves are 2 of the biggest growth areas in HiFi at the moment.

Currently I am running the EL34 power tubes with KT120’s on their way to me so that will be interesting to see how that alters the characteristics, at the moment we only have the integrated on demo but I also have on order the Dialogue Premium Preamplifier and 2 of the stereo/mono amps which you can either run as one stereo amp of at the flick of a switch it becomes a mono power amp, another brilliant PrimaLuna feature.

Anyway I’ll shut up now as I could go on forever on how good the PrimaLuna kit is, but mainly it is cracking value for money, looks and sounds amazing and is extremely easy to live with, for me that is an unbeatable combination, just watch your back though as I have never had to lift such a heavy piece of HiFi.

It has been said that everyone who is into HiFi and music should at least once in their life own a valve system, now I can see why and I can see a PrimaLuna system making its way into my house very shortly as I start to put a system together for home, so if you’d like to come in for a listen please feel free, right I’m off to try it with some different speaker combinations, as ever here are a few pictures and for the full range of products please click below -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/primaluna

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2879_zps4d07c3da.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2879_zps4d07c3da.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2880_zps142c34be.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2880_zps142c34be.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2881_zpsd9b99a78.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2881_zpsd9b99a78.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2882_zps10fa8d42.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2882_zps10fa8d42.jpg.html)

With Its Protective Guard In Place

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2922_zps86a38a10.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2922_zps86a38a10.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2929_zps5f25eef4.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2929_zps5f25eef4.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2932_zps09de95f3.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2932_zps09de95f3.jpg.html)

Naked & Beautiful :-)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2912_zpsec202bfa.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2912_zpsec202bfa.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2885_zps4eaadd7c.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2885_zps4eaadd7c.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2894_zps9663a426.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2894_zps9663a426.jpg.html)

Who Turned The Lights Out!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2908_zps1e83062b.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2908_zps1e83062b.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2918_zpsca4bf253.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2918_zpsca4bf253.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:17
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/banner-hfl-t-a_zps22fc6da3.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/banner-hfl-t-a_zps22fc6da3.jpg.html')

Hi Everyone,

It has certainly been a year of adding brands to our portfolio, they have all been brands that I really believe in and enjoy personally and hopefully offer a great cross section of some of the best HiFi brands available today. I have now almost got all the brands that I wanted from day one with just one last big one that will have to wait till sometime next year but that will be the cherry on the top and gets me very excited just thinking about it :)

Since we launched I have been fortunate to borrow quite a few products from T+A and have always been extremely impressed with the very neutral presentation and stunning build quality so it gives me great pleasure to finally add T+A as one of our brands.

T+A are based in Germany and produce some of the world’s best HiFi equipment, whether that be valve based or solid state. T+A actually stands for ‘Theory and Application’ in the field of audio technology, basically T+A are scientists who love their music and finely hone all their hifi components to the highest quality, during development of their products there are no restrictions on expense or effort, only one thing matters to T+A and that is to achieve the perfect sound mixed with the finest German engineering, there really is nothing like the build quality of a T+A product and it is no wonder that T+A win so many awards and receive such glowing reviews.

T+A offer a huge range of products, they are like the Naim of Germany, but for now we have decided to just concentrate on 3 of their ranges, the DAC 8 and AMP 8 combo, the HV-Series for the ultimate in solid state and the V-Series for some of the best valve products currently available. I have to say if anyone is looking for a high end DAC then you must try the DAC 8 as it is truly stunning, with 4 different filters, a very impressive ‘Wide Mode’ which really does add width to the soundstage and a very high quality headphone amp section built in, it really is a fantastic DAC.

So if you’d like to experience any of the T+A range please feel free to get in touch to book a demo, please find a link to their range on our website and some pics below -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/t-a

HV-Series

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/start_en_zpsb76ff798.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/start_en_zpsb76ff798.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/ta-mp3000hv-pa3000hvjpg2_zpsf5b435e0.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/ta-mp3000hv-pa3000hvjpg2_zpsf5b435e0.jpg.html')

DAC 8 & AMP 8

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2890_zpsa9b5db58.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2890_zpsa9b5db58.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2859_zpsa5728f88.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2859_zpsa5728f88.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2853_zps14605128.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2853_zps14605128.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2862_zps2265c21b.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2862_zps2265c21b.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2869_zps58305780.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2869_zps58305780.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2876_zps1914e5e5.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2876_zps1914e5e5.jpg.html')

V-Series - M10 Mono Blocks

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF5948_zpse4421c50.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF5948_zpse4421c50.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF5947_zpsf875ff8f.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF5947_zpsf875ff8f.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF5957_zpsf5a57edd.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF5957_zpsf5a57edd.jpg.html')

V-Series - D10 SACD/CD Player -

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF6559_zps98097fc7.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF6559_zps98097fc7.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF6560_zps26526a8f.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF6560_zps26526a8f.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF6567_zpsae674f9f.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF6567_zpsae674f9f.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF6573_zpsa2337839.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF6573_zpsa2337839.jpg.html')


http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7262copy_zps31b0f0c8.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7262copy_zps31b0f0c8.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7263copy_zps1b591f16.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7263copy_zps1b591f16.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7261copy_zps72563cbd.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7261copy_zps72563cbd.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7264_zpsdf0e1da9.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7264_zpsdf0e1da9.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7267copy_zps43a68c1a.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7267copy_zps43a68c1a.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7268copy_zpsa2d9b6bf.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7268copy_zpsa2d9b6bf.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:20
Hi Everyone,

Ever since hearing the Maggie 12’s and 1.7’s a few weeks ago, which led to me becoming a Magnepan dealer due to being so impressed, one question kept bugging me, if the 12’s and 1.7’s are this good how good must their bigger brothers be? so after a quick phone call to the Maggie guys we now have the Magneplanar MG 3.7’s on demo, and the answer to that question is staggeringly good :)

There is something quite captivating about the Maggie sound, if you have never heard a magneplanar speaker before it is well worth popping in for a listen to something that sounds very different to a conventional box speaker. They really do offer something quite different and for vocal and acoustic they really do present the music in a very ‘live’ manner, as if the artist is performing right there in front of you.

The 3.7’s start at £6,000, yes a lot of money, but once you’ve heard them £6,000 becomes a bit of a high end bargain, as I don’t know of any speaker that can perform at the level they do for the money.

I am in the process of organising a Maggie Open Day on October 5th, probably with the 12’s in our downstairs demo room and the 3.7’s upstairs so it will be a great opportunity to hear something quite different, more details to follow once I’ve got everything in place.

Just to wet the appetite please see some pics below, please feel free to come in before the open day though as I will have them set up pretty much permanently, just because I am enjoying listening to them so much :)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2229_zps74511e72.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2229_zps74511e72.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2223_zpseed4f99d.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2223_zpseed4f99d.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2224_zps20703478.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2224_zps20703478.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2237_zpsab823503.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2237_zpsab823503.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2240_zps9ac35dbf.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2240_zps9ac35dbf.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2243_zps4bf5f9f6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2243_zps4bf5f9f6.jpg.html)

Thanks for looking,

Cheers,

Paul.

HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:21
Hi All,

I really am going to have to stop bringing in speakers for demo, they really are starting to take over the building, saying that I just couldn’t resist the new Sonus Faber Venere 3.0, basically I have been so impressed with the Venere 2.5 that the proposition of that with a dedicated mid range driver sounded a little tasty.

Needless to say they haven’t disappointed, I have been running them in for the last couple of days and I am happy to say that they have that classic Sonus Faber smooth, organic sound with the dedicated mid really helping with portraying the vocal. They are a slightly bigger cabinet compared to the Venere 2.5 which helps give a slightly more open sound and along with the 2 bass drivers really does give a very full sound but with a very controlled bottom end.

Even though these are built in China I still find it hard to comprehend how they have managed to make such a stunning speaker for the money on both the looks and performance, for £2898 for gloss white or black or £3198 for the walnut finish these really do offer amazing value for money.

We now have the Venere 1.5, 2.5 and 3.0 on demo so please feel free to come in for a listen.

Here are a few pics of the Venere 3.0 -

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2489_zps4cc27949.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2489_zps4cc27949.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2493_zps0f50d41a.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2493_zps0f50d41a.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2495_zps9c8a4f0f.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2495_zps9c8a4f0f.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2500_zps15fe5b51.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2500_zps15fe5b51.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2505_zpsd5e175f8.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2505_zpsd5e175f8.jpg.html)

The Venere 2.5 v the 3.0.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2513_zps653f5d2b.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2513_zps653f5d2b.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2533_zps51815f35.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2533_zps51815f35.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2537_zps9cd57179.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2537_zps9cd57179.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2540_zpsf2b369a6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2540_zpsf2b369a6.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:21
Hi Everyone,

Well it certainly took longer than expected to get my Michell Engineering Gyro Dec and Orbe on demo but I couldn’t be happier, as an Orbe owner before starting HiFi Lounge I always wanted to offer Michell turntables to our customers, as far as I am concerned there is no more iconic turntable that the Gyro Dec in HiFi, yes it looks stunning, it really is a great piece of engineering but most importantly it sounds equally good also, then there is the mighty Orbe, when you look at how much you can spend on a fully specc’d LP12 nowadays it makes the Orbe look like the bargain of the century, even when fitted with a top arm and cartridge.

When I owned my Orbe I always dreamt of having a SME V tonearm installed on it, now I have got the prefect excuse, as a dealer, to install one on our demo unit, and what a tonearm it is, I had never installed one before and I must admit that I thought it would be quite a painful experience considering all the adjustments that are possible but it really couldn’t have been easier, the instructions are fantastic and it takes you through step by step and before you know it you have got a 100% perfectly set up tonearm, the level of adjustment really is quite unbelievable, like the Michell turntables the SME tonearms really are quite a beautiful piece of engineering.

We have the Orbe SE with Iso Base and SEcure cover on demo partnered with the SME V tonearm and Dynavector XX2 cartridge, which all sounds amazing, for the Gyro Dec we have fully blown Gyro on demo with the Michell TechnoArm and a Dynavector 20x2 which sounds great also.

Don’t forget our 1st anniversary party on October 26th which is also a vinyl day so we will be running the Gyro Dec, Orbe and Rega RP8 on our Musical Fidelity, Bryston and Naim systems with vinyl for sale on the day, please do bring along any vinyl you’d like to hear, we are also having a Turntable themed cake being made which if it comes out as planned will be too good to eat :-)

Please see below for more info on the Michell Engineering and SME ranges -

Michell Engineering (http://hifilounge.co.uk/michell-engineering)

SME Tonearms and Turntables (http://hifilounge.co.uk/sme)

As ever here are a few pictures -

From This, A Pile Of Boxes -

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2207_zps2049424d.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2207_zps2049424d.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2210_zps490ab10f.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2210_zps490ab10f.jpg.html)
To This, The Gyro Dec In All Its Glory.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2551_zps839da41c.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2551_zps839da41c.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2553_zps70fc182c.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2553_zps70fc182c.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2555_zps919cc528.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2555_zps919cc528.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2557_zpsd656e2f2.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2557_zpsd656e2f2.jpg.html)
And The Excellent Orbe With SME V

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2558_zps387d39fc.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2558_zps387d39fc.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2560_zps95b7ed76.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2560_zps95b7ed76.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2563_zps087f57a7.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2563_zps087f57a7.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2569_zps3c964723.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2569_zps3c964723.jpg.html)

Hope to see you at our vinyl day on October 26th :-)

Cheers,

Paul.

HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:22
Hi Everyone,

For anyone who has been into HiFi Lounge recently you may have seen that we have had the Martin Logan Montis speakers here for the last couple of weeks but unbelievably I have been to busy to actually hook them up, well today I finally got them into place and have been running them all morning and they certainly don’t disappoint and sound as stunning as they look.

When I went to the Munich High End show earlier in the year one of the demo rooms had the Montis running and at that time I had never heard anything like them before, in the end over the weekend I kept going back to that room and the PMC room for the Fact.12’s, but it was that experience that led me to taking on Martin Logan as a brand.

I decided to take on the the Electromotions and the Montis for demo to show both ends of the Martin Logan spectrum, although you could spend more on the Summit X’s and CLX’s, the Electromotions cost £2499 and the Montis £9800 for their standard finishes, the Electromotions have a passive bass system whilst the Montis use an active system and they certainly do pack a punch, being active you can actually tailor the bass weight to your room, although I love a bit of bass I actually had to turn them down to their -2 setting then they sounded excellent, it is a great feature though, much like the Fact.12’s, giving you the ability to tune them to your room.

So how do they sound other than stunning? it really is their neutrality and transparency that hits you, it is such a clean and open presentation, you really do hear everything, but all this detail doesn’t come at the expense of musicality and they never sound hard, edgy or bright, they really are quite an achievement. I have spent quite a bit of time listening to the Electromotions, which I consider quite a bargain at £2499, and the main thing you notice with the Montis is the bigger soundstage and sense of scale, and with the active bass it is much faster with less overhang with more drive and impact.

Both are fantastic speakers though, especially if you want to hear everything in the recording, it is a totally different listening experience to a standard speaker so please feel free to come in and have a listen, Early next year we will be having a Martin Logan open day, hopefully I can get the CLX’s in for that :-)

Please see below for the full line up of Martin Logan speakers on our website -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/martin-logan

Also here is a very good review of the Montis Speakers from HiFi Choice earlier in the year, it is actually the copy that we were the focus for the dealer visit, it must have been a sign :-)

http://www.absolutesounds.com/pdf/main/press/HI_Fi_Choice_ML_Montis_Feb20134web.pdf

Below are a few pictures of the un-boxing -

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2245_zps81236633.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2245_zps81236633.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2246_zpsb56818d3.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2246_zpsb56818d3.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2247_zps79b69128.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2247_zps79b69128.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2248_zps1d46e222.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2248_zps1d46e222.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2252_zps072c6195.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2252_zps072c6195.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2254_zps03ed5807.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2254_zps03ed5807.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2257_zps349f24d9.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2257_zps349f24d9.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2258_zps67036739.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2258_zps67036739.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2262_zps7266aa95.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2262_zps7266aa95.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2263_zps84d37769.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2263_zps84d37769.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2267_zps32022260.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2267_zps32022260.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2779_zpsb475cc9e.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2779_zpsb475cc9e.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF2755_zpsb76bdfd1.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF2755_zpsb76bdfd1.jpg.html)

Thanks,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:24
Hi Everyone,

Both Wendy and myself just wanted to say a huge thanks you to everyone who came along to our Naim Summer Party on Saturday and helped make it such a success, we certainly had the weather on our side.

We were expecting quite a large turnout but as the day got into full swing I was amazed how many people were here, at one point the car park was full and people were still streaming in, it really was a fun day and so nice to see so many our Naim customers as well as many new faces, with people coming from all over the country.

I also want to thank Mark, Phil and Grace from Naim for helping organise, setup and run the event, true pro’s that seemed busy all day talking and deming the Naim range, we certainly couldn’t have pulled it off without their help, have to say that I think Muso really was the star of the show which got great feedback from everyone who heard it with everyone agreeing that it was great value for money and just couldn’t believe the sound quality from such a device, Naim certainly are going to have a huge success on their hands with Muso.

I also want to send a big thanks out to Team HFL super subs, Ross, Ady and Damian who really did go above and beyond the call of duty running the BBQ and serving drinks, at one point they just couldn’t get the burgers and sausages on the BBQ quick enough, we bought about 150 burgers and 150 sausages and one point it really did look like we were going to run out of food, luckily this didn’t happen and everyone seemed to enjoy the grub, thanks guys, top job and we’ve had no reports of food poisoning yet which is always a bonus :-)

So once again thanks to everyone who helped out and also thanks to everyone who came along as events like this wouldn’t be the success they are without the support of our excellent customers, hope to see you at our next one :-)

Below are a few snaps that Wendy took throughout the day -

The New shop gets it first use :-)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/DSCF7970_zps7c937799.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/DSCF7970_zps7c937799.jpg.html)

Phil from Naim did a stirling job running through the Uniti Range + demoing Muso.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/DSCF7975_zpsb40552b9.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/DSCF7975_zpsb40552b9.jpg.html)

Starting to get busy.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/DSCF7977_zpsf3803fbc.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/DSCF7977_zpsf3803fbc.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/DSCF7982_zps93282caa.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/DSCF7982_zps93282caa.jpg.html)

Look out Jamie Oliver.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/DSCF7969_zps18196d28.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/DSCF7969_zps18196d28.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/IMG_0466_zps11f21d16.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/IMG_0466_zps11f21d16.jpg.html)

And Relax, The serving up 100+ burgers and Sausages Ady, Damian and Ross take a much deserved rest.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/DSCF7983_zpsce7a18d4.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/DSCF7983_zpsce7a18d4.jpg.html)

Muso, Sure to be a huge success.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/IMG_0465_zpsb52749ba.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/IMG_0465_zpsb52749ba.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul & Wendy.

HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:25
Hi All,

It was 6pm last night and I was about to leave for the the day when Brian, the PMC driver, turned up with a very nice surprise, a pair of brand spanking new Twenty.26’s, obviously the thoughts of an early finish disappeared as I stayed long into the evening to get them unboxed and to give them a good listen.

Well they certainly feel like a Twenty speaker on steroids from the size of box, to the plinth, the cabinet, even the grills are thicker to accommodate the protruding mid range, and they weigh a fair bit also, I listened to them last night for an hour or so, driven by the Devialet 170 and they seem to be everything I’d hoped for, fantastic Twenty clarity with real bass presence and a very natural sounding mid, obviously they are a bit tight at the moment so I’ll move them upstairs later and run them for a few days and get some Bryston power running through their veins, that should free them up nicely in readiness for our PMC and Bryston open day on April 12th, details below -

hifi lounge, PMC and Bryston Owners Club April 12th + 10% Off any PMC or Bryston Products Bought On The Day! ('http://hifilounge.tumblr.com/post/79352653089/pmc-and-bryston-owners-club-april-12th-10-off-any')

It just dawned on my that my next weeks work is listening to the Twenty.26’s at volume to get them run in ready for the event, it’s a tough life :) Got Daft Punk’s ‘Random Access Memories’ playing at the moment and they really do sound fantastic.

Here are a few pics, not the best quality admittedly -

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7224_zps3bae7a2a.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7224_zps3bae7a2a.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7237_zps7133725e.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7237_zps7133725e.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7241_zpsf0278c47.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7241_zpsf0278c47.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7242_zpsc6e8b961.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7242_zpsc6e8b961.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7244_zps70c6dc29.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7244_zps70c6dc29.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7248_zps54d851fd.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7248_zps54d851fd.jpg.html')

Hope to see you on April 12th,

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:26
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/devialet-Home_zps3c24192e.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/devialet-Home_zps3c24192e.jpg.html)

Devialet Land At HiFi Lounge!

Hi All,

I am really pleased to announce that we have now got our Devialet demo models at HiFi Lounge, this is a brand that I have been following with some interest for some time now, it is very rare for a new company to launch in hifi and to make such a splash with nothing but positive comments across the board, even from the most respected journalists who have heard it all before, such as the comment below -

Devialet’s amplifier is the most extraordinary product I have reviewed for Stereophile. Superb sound quality, future-proof design, everything you need in one box - it is the epitome of what a high-end audio product should be. Wow! - John Atkinson in Stereophile Magazine

Devialet are a French company formed in 2007 with its first product the D-Premier launched to amazing critical acclaim in 2009, the range was then expanded to 4 products in 2013. I think it is fair to say that there is nothing like a Devialet, for one it looks stunning, but more importantly it has the performance to back those looks up. At its heart it is a hybrid amplifier section, the first of its kind mixing Class A to give that musical sound but driven by Class D known for power and a compact size. The range also have phono stages built in, a streamer, a top class DAC that converts all sources to 24/192, even vinyl, all configured online and saved to an SD card. Every model sounds exactly the same it is just a matter of choosing the spec for you and matching the power to your speakers. Is the Devialet the ‘Future Of HiFi?’ as described by many, why not pop into HFL to find out for yourself.

As ever please find a few pictures below, now I’m off to figure out how it actually all works and more importantly how it sounds. If you’d like to explore the Devialet range in more detail please feel free to come in for a listen, we have the 110, 170 and 240 on demo, please follow the link to the listings on our website for more info -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/devialet

We will also be having a Devialet Day, hopefully in May so please check our events page for more info once a date has been arranged.

Its an exciting day as all 3 Devialet models arrive!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7099_zps582c13bb.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7099_zps582c13bb.jpg.html)

Obviously the first one to unbox is the top of the range 240!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7108_zps626ac727.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7108_zps626ac727.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7114_zps2d7fab69.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7114_zps2d7fab69.jpg.html)

The ultimate portable system, comes with its own bag, nice!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7117_zps23517820.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7117_zps23517820.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7119_zpsa44259bb.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7119_zpsa44259bb.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7126_zps7355eee4.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7126_zps7355eee4.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7131_zpse01a2100.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7131_zpse01a2100.jpg.html)

Has there ever been a prettier piece of HiFi?

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7135_zps2b155de5.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7135_zps2b155de5.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7137_zpsf1307bd8.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7137_zpsf1307bd8.jpg.html)

The back panel slides off for easy access to all the connections!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7147_zpsdb7177c1.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7147_zpsdb7177c1.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7148_zps21af28e6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7148_zps21af28e6.jpg.html)

2 very different worlds collide, Devialet and Primaluna!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7164_zpsc0d09322.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7164_zpsc0d09322.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7157_zpsc3a4f4df.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7157_zpsc3a4f4df.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7161_zpsc0b90b8f.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7161_zpsc0b90b8f.jpg.html)

All 3 Devialet models together!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7171_zps77f5a8ad.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7171_zps77f5a8ad.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7175_zpsda5cd985.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7175_zpsda5cd985.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF7177_zpsd699043c.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF7177_zpsd699043c.jpg.html)

Thanks,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
04-08-2014, 18:28
Thanks for looking but hopefully the above gives everyone a rough idea of what we do, we are in the process of setting up a dedicated highend headphone shop which will be opening next month, I will post more about this shortly.
Many Thanks,
Paul.

Spectral Morn
04-08-2014, 19:01
Beautiful looking shop, good luck with it.



Regards Neil

Musicraft (Derby)
04-08-2014, 23:00
Hi Paul

Welcome. Looking forward to your News And Reviews :)

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

doodoos
05-08-2014, 16:06
Bought my Audeze cans and Trilogy headamp from Paul. Top man with the biggest variety of headphones I 've seen, all on dem.

HiFi Lounge
05-08-2014, 17:54
Thanks guys, looking forward to contributing to AoS :)

HiFi Lounge
21-08-2014, 14:37
Hi Everyone,

It’s certainly been quite a while since there has been a new product announcement from Bryston and I guess this is more of an revisement rather than a new product but it is certainly a good idea, so basically Bryston have now added the BDP-1USB to their range.

The idea is that if you have a USB DAC like the BDA-2 you can run direct from the BDP-1USB via USB meaning that you don’t need an internal sound card creating a cheaper product, the difference between this version is that it only has a USB output, so no SPDIF or AES, I run the BDP-2 via USB out into my BDA-2 and I have to say that it offers the cleanest presentation I have ever heard.

The Bryston digital players have always sounded amazing and with the versatility of being able to read from an attached hard drive or thumb drive as well as reading from NAS drives it really is a very complete digital source.

Still waiting on price and availability to be confirmed -

Bryston BDP-1USB Digital Player ('http://hifilounge.co.uk/Bryston-bdp-1usb')

Spec Below -

EXCELLENCE in digital playback is a cost-no-object endeavor, but expense in engineering should not demand unnecessary features. If your digital-to-analog converter features only a USB input, or USB is the best sounding way to connect your source, choose Bryston’s BDP-1USB.
SOUND QUALITY When used with a USB DAC the expensive custom audiophile sound card found in our BDP-2 serves no purpose. The BDP-1USB eliminates this cost and saves you money with no sound quality penalty. The system is powered by a noiseless linear power supply which will not pollute the delicate digital audio path or your AC mains. It can also comfortably manage complex music libraries of up to 30,000 tracks stored on either locally connected USB drives or your home NAS.
FEATURES A vast array of features such as UPnP compatibility, Squeezebox® emulation, DoP (DSD over PCM), and more are all built in to our intuitive and attractive firmware accessible from practically all web browsers.
CONTROL Comfortably control your BDP-1USB from your chair using Android or iOS tablets and mobile phones using our built-in interface or your choice of many 3rd party apps.
You just discovered the perfect partner for your USB DAC. Hear the most engaging musical experience possible—Bryston’s new BDP-1USB.

Features:

Linear Power Supply - not switching common to computers and other digital music players
4 USB inputs/outputs any of which can be used to connect mass storage or Digital to Analog Converter
Back bottom USB provides high current for large capacity buss powered hard drives
Fast Ethernet 100mbps connectivity to network Connect to music stored on NAS
UPnP/DLNA Client, Server, Renderer availability Large library support up to 30,000 tracks Gapless playback
Intuitive Graphical User Interface accessible by virtually all web-browsers including on mobile devices.
Support for FLAC, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV, MP3, and a huge variety of other audio formats
Seamless control with iOS, Android, or other mobile devices
Bit perfect digital audio playback Compatible with Asynchronous USB DACs
DSD over PCM (DoP) playback with compatible DACs 5 year parts and labor warranty

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/ScreenShot2014-08-20at160756_zps0cad7cc4.png ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/ScreenShot2014-08-20at160756_zps0cad7cc4.png.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/ScreenShot2014-08-20at160812_zpsecb62c75.png ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/ScreenShot2014-08-20at160812_zpsecb62c75.png.html')

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
08-09-2014, 08:33
Hi Everyone,

I think it is fair to say that Arcam really are on it at the moment as we now have their new A49 Integrated Amp on demo and it really is something quite special.

We got it in last week but it wasn’t until Saturday that I had a chance to have a proper listen, once with a customer then later in the evening. I was always keen to listen to this amp at length as it uses a new type of amp design called Class G which Arcam promised would be something quite special and it appears that they weren’t wrong. Now I’m not that technical and to be honest it is the sound that matters but the beauty of Class G is that it gives you the first 50 watts as Pure Class A which always sounds natural and as soon as I powered it up I could hear that the A49 was something pretty special.

I was running it on the excellent PMC Twenty.23’s which I know extremely well and with the A49 driving them there really was a extra level of bass weight and control that sounded gorgeous and a fullness to the sound that just sounded right, it offers a very natural, effortless presentation that is hard to not be impressed with, this is an amp where you could listen for hours without any fatigue setting in.

In total it has 200 watts per channel, offers a MM phono stage and can power direct Arcam’s R Series of products so pair it with the irDAC or airDAC to add digital playback to it all powered from the A49.

Even better partner it with Arcam’s excellent D33 DAC to create something very special indeed, and with the UDP411 Universal Player just round the corner shortly followed by the C49/P49 Pre/Power Combo based on Glass G as well as some other exciting products from Arcam this year, it certainly looks like Arcam are going to be a big player in the 2 channel market again which is great news for everyone and needless to say that we will have it all on demo once available.

It is an exciting time at the moment for integrated amps as there is so much choice of really top end amps like Naim’s excellent SuperNait 2, Musical Fidelity’s new M6si or their storming M6500i, Devialet with their stylish highend amps, Bryston with the B135 SST2, or something quite different like the PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium valve amp, and now with the Arcam’s A49 joining the party there is now another top end offering that really does bring something quite different to the party.

If you’d like to book a demo of the A49 please get in touch, it is priced at £3750, please find more details below + a few pictures -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/arcam-a49-integrated-amplifier

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF8079_zpsed722471.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF8079_zpsed722471.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF8081_zpsb4890da3.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF8081_zpsb4890da3.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF8086_zpsf6c919c6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF8086_zpsf6c919c6.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF8089_zpsc221023d.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF8089_zpsc221023d.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
17-09-2014, 07:53
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/banner-hfl-2ndyr_zpsb6ee7399.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/banner-hfl-2ndyr_zpsb6ee7399.jpg.html)

Hi Everyone,

Wow, where did that last year go, it only seems like yesterday that we were preparing for our 1st anniversary and here we are a year later making plans for our 2nd Anniversary. This is a very special one for me as when we were discussing starting a HiFi shop I hoped we would make it to 2 years as I knew we had enough money to pay the rent till then but I had no idea what would be in store after that, luckily everyone has been brilliant and we are still here and fighting fit, so thanks to everyone who has helped support us so far and has made this the perfect job, well that is if you can call it work :-)

So after the success of last years vinyl bash we promised to make it a yearly anniversary event, this year it is made even more special as we are holding it in collaboration with Rega, probably the worlds most Iconic and successful turntable manufacturer around who have been making turntables for over 40 years now. There aren’t many vinyl lovers who haven’t owned a Rega deck at some point in their lives, so Rob from Rega will be here all day to answer any questions you may have and to help spin the tunes all day.

As last year Chris, and hopefully Martin, will be coming along with their great selection of new and used vinyl for sale, this proved extremely popular last year, and ended up costing me a small fortune as I couldn’t resist adding to our collection, if I remember right we went on late into the evening with people still buying vinyl at 8pm, then running upstairs to put it on for a quick listen, be warned, buying vinyl can become a real addiction.

This year we will have 2 vinyl systems setup, downstairs we will be running the excellent Rega RP6 with a Dynavector 10x5 cartridge, a match made in heaven in my opinion, we will run this through the Fono MM Phono Stage going into the excellent Rega Elicit-R amp with a pair of Rega speakers which are to be confirmed. In our upstairs demo room will be running the stunning RP10 turntable with the Apheta cartridge, if you love your vinyl you really do need to hear this turntable, we will run that into Rega’s Reference Ios phono stage then into the Rega Osiris flagship amplifier and a pair of PMC Fact.12’s or Twenty.26’s to finish of the system. Don’t tell anyone but there were rumours that Rega may be able to bring along their state of the art Naiad £30,000 turntable, this is far from guaranteed as none are available just yet but we live in hope :-)

In celebration of our 2nd Anniversary and as part of our partnership with Rega we are offering some special packages for any Turntables purchased on the day, please see below for more details -

1, Buy a RP1, RP1 Performance or RP3 Turntable and receive a Fono Mini A2D phono stage worth £89 absolutely free.

2, Buy a RP6 Turntable and receive a Fono MM Phono Stage worth £198 absolutely free.

3, Buy a RP8 or RP10 Turntable with the Rega Apheta Cartridges and save 50% off the price from a Aria Phono Stage, so £399 instead of £798.

You can see the full Rega range on our website below -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/rega

This event last year was great fun, one of the best we did, this year to keep it fresh we would like to try and do it with a 1970’s theme, don’t worry you haven’t got to dress up in flares and wear flowery skirts, but please feel free to do so if you want to :-) It would be great if we can play 70’s music all day as it was such a brilliant era for music in general. I will need some help here though as I haven’t got loads of 70’s vinyl what with being a bit of an 80’s boy. So if you’ve got any vinyl from that era that you’d like to hear through a great system please feel free to bring it in, this can be from any genre from dance, jazz, blues and rock etc.

We will have croissants and coffee for breakfast with nibbles throughout the day, so look forward to seeing as many of you as possible to help celebrate our 2nd Birthday but more importantly to have the chance to play some great music throughout the day.

Here are a couple of pictures rom last years event -

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/DSCF2743_zps0211d509.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/DSCF2743_zps0211d509.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/DSCF2740_zps0e59f06d.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/DSCF2740_zps0e59f06d.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/DSCF2739_zpsfc97872d.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/DSCF2739_zpsfc97872d.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/DSCF2731_zps5999e059.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/DSCF2731_zps5999e059.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/DSCF2749_zps9fcef747.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/DSCF2749_zps9fcef747.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
06-10-2014, 16:13
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Springsteen/hp_album-collection-vol1_zps9ff3fa9c.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Springsteen/hp_album-collection-vol1_zps9ff3fa9c.jpg.html')

Hi All,

There have been Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin remasters lately but this is the one I have been waiting for, Bruce Springsteen is re-releasing his first 7 albums remastered from the original master tapes as a box set on the 17th November as both CD and Vinyl :) For me it doesn’t get any better than this although I must say though that it is a shame that there is no 24 Bit download available at the same time, but for me the vinyl is what I am most excited by, follow the link for more information -

‘Bruce Springsteen: The Album Collection Vol. 1, 1973-1984’ boxed set out November 17 - The Official Bruce Springsteen Website ('http://brucespringsteen.net/news/2014/bruce-springsteen-the-album-collection-vol-1-1973-1984-boxed-set-out-november-17')

For me the best of Bruce’s work were his first 4 albums, I grew up listening to these on my walkman with my first weeks wages going on Bruce’s back catalogue on tape back in ‘85, according to the reports, thanks to new mastering techniques there is a new level of detail on these albums that have never been heard before which really is fantastic news for all Bruce fans, I just can’t wait to sit back and re-visit these classic albums in all their re-mastered glory.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Springsteen/unnamed-3-e1411582249427_zps0cb683ea.jpg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Springsteen/unnamed-3-e1411582249427_zps0cb683ea.jpg.html')

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Springsteen/d1c36c95_zps7dfe0748.jpeg ('http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Springsteen/d1c36c95_zps7dfe0748.jpeg.html')


It is a real shame that the box set isn’t going to be released in time for our 2nd anniversary vinyl day on October 18th as it would have been fun to play a few tracks but maybe we should arrange another Bruce Springsteen day but this time just working through all 7 albums in order, now that sounds like fun :-)

Talking of our 70’s themed vinyl day in a couple of weeks, details below, I have been buying up a fair bit of 70’s vinyl lately, I have just got round to ordering the re-mastered Led Zeppelin box sets + I’ve just bought my 2 favourite Bowie albums on vinyl, Scary Monsters and Hunky Dory along with some Bread and Carpenters vinyl classics for a bit more laid back listening, but if you have got some 70’s vinyl please do bring it along to our vinyl day to give it a spin.

So although the new Bruce vinyl won’t be out in time for our vinyl day I do have the original versions so I guess we could still play a couple of tracks, anyway hope to see you at our Vinyl day on October 18th.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/banner-hfl-2ndyr_zpsb6ee7399.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/banner-hfl-2ndyr_zpsb6ee7399.jpg.html)

http://hifilounge.tumblr.com/post/97717171673/2nd-anniversary-vinyl-bash-in-conjunction-with-rega

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
06-10-2014, 18:16
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/NEWS/bkpam250607_devialetlogowhitebackground_zpsac6383f 4.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/NEWS/bkpam250607_devialetlogowhitebackground_zpsac6383f 4.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/NEWS/PMC_logo_zpsc510dfe2.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/NEWS/PMC_logo_zpsc510dfe2.jpg.html)

Hi Everyone,

I was just about to finish for the day when one of my customer let me know that he had just seen that Devialet’s revolutionary Speaker Active Matching or SAM technology is now available on PMC’s Twenty range of speakers, so I just thought I’d quickly mention it as this will be really interesting and something I can’t wait to try, especially on the awesome Twenty.26’s :-)

At the moment the Twenty.23’s, 24’s and 26’s have all been SAM’d, I will try all these combinations later in the week and let you know what I think but from what speakers I have tried so far with SAM applied I am really expecting great things.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/devialet

http://hifilounge.co.uk/pmc-speakers

Hopefully the below should make a stunning combination!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/NEWS/devialet-250-slide_zps3182bcd3.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/NEWS/devialet-250-slide_zps3182bcd3.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/NEWS/web_2026_3_zps5298e452.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/NEWS/web_2026_3_zps5298e452.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
09-10-2014, 17:33
Hi Everyone,

Well as we have said before, it is certainly a busy time for Arcam at the moment and as one of our favourite brands it is great to see so many excellent products coming out of Arcam HQ just up the road in Cambridge.

I thought I would just do a quick post with a couple of updates on some of the incoming products, please see below -

Arcam FMJ UDP411 Universal Player.

We took delivery of our demo UDP411 yesterday, this is a product I’ve been looking forward to quite a lot as it is going up head to head against my favourite Blu Ray player brand OPPO with their brilliant 105D player, I listened to an early UDP411 and for out and out sound quality I was really impressed, very different to the OPPO but then choice is always good, but apparently it is even more refined now than a few weeks ago when I listened.

I will run it in first but a player that can play Blu Rays, CD’s, SACD’s and is also a network streamer is always going to be an interesting proposition, please find more info on our site and a few pictures below, needless to say if you’d like a demo please get in touch.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/arcam-fmj-udp411-bd-player

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_0855_zpscc664dcb.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_0855_zpscc664dcb.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_0856_zpsf8c60d19.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_0856_zpsf8c60d19.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_0860_zpse1e1ff61.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_0860_zpse1e1ff61.jpg.html)

Arcam FMJ A39 Integrated Amplifier

Every now and again a product comes along that just seems to be too good to be true and this is where the A39 comes in, basically this is a slightly cut down version of the awesome A49 and it only costs £1500, using the same Class G technology, I was lucky enough to have a listen to a early version again and I was amazed how close it gets to the A49, obviously it hasn’t got the same power but for normal listening it offers a very similar presentation at a price that I find hard to believe, we should have the A39 on demo shortly, if you are after a new amp then I would highly recommend a listen.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/arcam-fmj-a39

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_0807_zps383b3c60.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_0807_zps383b3c60.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_0808_zps5ec83c1a.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_0808_zps5ec83c1a.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_0809_zps6ff7754b.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_0809_zps6ff7754b.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_0810_zpsfc3d7f9f.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_0810_zpsfc3d7f9f.jpg.html)

Arcam FMJ CDS27 Player

For the last piece of news, Arcam will shortly also have their new audio only player available, basically the CDS27 replaces the CD17 and CD37 and will play CD’s, SACD’s and is also a network steamer up to 24/192 and at a price of £800, what is not to like.

It uses the class leading TI/ Burr Brown PCM1794 DAC and also uses a high precision re-clocking system along with a new specially designed power supply. The player has single-ended and balanced outputs so again I am expecting big things of the CDS27.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/arcam-fmj-cds27

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/375_large_zps14d2ed99.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/375_large_zps14d2ed99.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/374_large_zps7add45d9.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/374_large_zps7add45d9.jpg.html)

So as you can see it is certainly a busy time for Arcam and great to see them really getting stuck back into the 2 channel market again where so many of us first really got into hifi with Arcam.

Next up will be the P49 and C49 but that is for another blog, if any Arcam products do take your interest please do get in touch as we will have the full range on demo.

Cheers,

Paul.

HiFi Lounge
14-10-2014, 10:40
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/banner-hfl-2ndyr_zpsb6ee7399.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/banner-hfl-2ndyr_zpsb6ee7399.jpg.html)

Hi Everyone,

Just thought I’d write a quick post as a gentle reminder to everyone regarding our 2nd Anniversary vinyl bash in collaboration with Rega this Saturday the 18th.

If you love your vinyl, as we do, then this is certainly an open day not to miss as Chris will be here, as he was last year, with a great selection of new and used vinyl for sale, this year he has a credit card machine so beware as once you start flicking through all that vinyl it can become quite addictive :-)

This year we are holding the day with Rega, surely the most well known turntable brand in the world, they have been making decks for over 40 years now, Rob from Rega will be here to help run the day and answer any questions you have, more info below -

http://www.rega.co.uk/hi-fi-lounge-vinyl-open-day-18th-october.html

This year’s theme is 70’s vinyl, I have been buying up some 70’s vinyl from ebay lately and also bought the first 3 Led Zeppelin albums but we definitely need a greater selection so please start flicking through your vinyl collection and bring along any of your favourites from the 1970’s as for me it really was a great era with such a diverse selection which should make it a real fun day.

We will be running a reference Rega system upstairs with their stunning RP10 and downstairs we will run a more modest Rega system comprising of the excellent RP6 turntable, and don’t forget for any Turntable purchases on the day we will be doing special offers on Rega phono stages, details below -

1, Buy a RP1, RP1 Performance or RP3 Turntable and receive a Fono Mini A2D phono stage worth £89 absolutely free.

2, Buy a RP6 Turntable and receive a Fono MM Phono Stage worth £198 absolutely free.

3, Buy a RP8 or RP10 Turntable with the Rega Apheta Cartridges and save 50% off the price from a Aria Phono Stage, so £399 instead of £798.

You can read more from my original blog regarding the open day below -

http://hifilounge.tumblr.com/post/97717171673/2nd-anniversary-vinyl-bash-in-conjunction-with-rega

Both Wendy and myself really hope that as many of you can come along to help us celebrate our 2nd anniversary along with all things round and plastic this Saturday, particularly from the 1970’s, as last years event was really good fun so can’t wait to do it all again :-)

Thanks,

Paul

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/RED-RP6-OFFSIDE-copy_zps7b78e320.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/RED-RP6-OFFSIDE-copy_zps7b78e320.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/REGA-RP10-ILMAN-AANIRASIAA-LEVYSOITIN_4401513-1-140924171757-large-1200x800_zps10220ed6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/REGA-RP10-ILMAN-AANIRASIAA-LEVYSOITIN_4401513-1-140924171757-large-1200x800_zps10220ed6.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/regarp6red-e1345891712394_zpsd24f6326.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/regarp6red-e1345891712394_zpsd24f6326.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/RP10-Detail-2_zps5c8f2fd2.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/RP10-Detail-2_zps5c8f2fd2.jpg.html)

HiFi Lounge
14-10-2014, 15:33
At HiFi Lounge we are pleased to be offering the excellent Magenplanar MG 12 Speakers for sale. These are around 12 Months old and are our demo models, they are in excellent condition and will come boxed with all documentation.

They are in the black cloth finish with black wood trim.

We are big fans of 'Maggies' at HiFi Lounge, particularly these 'little' Maggies, they really do offer something very different and are unbeatable at their price point in our opinion.

We are an Authorised Magneplanar Dealer so please buy with confidence.

Price New - £1600
Our Price - £1200

More information below -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/magnepan-mg-12-speakers

These speakers can be viewed at our demo rooms in Bedfordshire, so please feel free to come and have a look and listen, if you could just ring first that would be much appreciated.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8149_zpsf69c5ea9.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8149_zpsf69c5ea9.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8154_zpsce8e15c1.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8154_zpsce8e15c1.jpg.html)

Thanks,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
22-10-2014, 08:54
Hi All,

I have just taken in a 2 month old Naim SuperNait 2 and HiCap DR from a customer that we sold them to originally, he ended up upgrading to a Naim Separates system very quickly, both units will come boxed as new with all the cables and documentation and both are in mint as new condition, obviously the HiCap DR is the perfect partner for the SuperNait 2 but both can be sold separately if required.

Supernait 2

Price New - £2850
Our Price - £2350

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8158_zps57c7d624.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8158_zps57c7d624.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8162_zpsa47889aa.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8162_zpsa47889aa.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8167_zps21aed20e.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8167_zps21aed20e.jpg.html)

HiCap DR

Price New - £1250
Our Price - £1000

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8169_zps311e19f5.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8169_zps311e19f5.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8174_zps290836fe.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8174_zps290836fe.jpg.html)

Any questions please feel free to get in touch.

Thanks,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
28-10-2014, 10:29
Hi Everyone,

Firstly both Wendy and myself would like to thank everyone who came along to our 2nd anniversary Vinyl 70’s day and made it such a fun event, it really was great to see so many people turning up with vinyl under their arm ready to play, it really was a very diverse day with a real mix of great music, roll on next year when we will unleash the 80’s, really can’t wait for that one as that was my era :-)

Also over the last month or so we have had some great new products come in, firstly we now have the much anticipated Naim Muso on permanent demo, then there is the awesome new Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800 that has got to be the ultimate integrated amp, for one it is huge and extremely heavy but it really does sound sublime, then we have the excellent new A39 and A49 Class G amplifiers from Arcam which again really are quite special when it comes to a one box amplifier, other than amps we also have Arcam’s new UDP411 on demo which really is a universal player as it plays DVD, Blu Ray, CD, SACD and is also a 24 bit streamer all with the classic Arcam sound. If any of the above are of interest please feel free to get in touch, also both Arcam and Musical Fidelity are both running promotions at the moment so please see below -

Arcam Promotion:

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Offers/banner-hfl-offers-arcam_1_zpscc51eb3f.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Offers/banner-hfl-offers-arcam_1_zpscc51eb3f.jpg.html)

In the summer Arcam ran their ‘Road To Rio’ trade in promotion for all their AV Receivers and Processors, starting from November 1st they are running a similar promotion that will run till the end of December, basically you can trade in any AV product, not necessarily and Arcam product and receive the below discount against Arcam’s AVR450, AVR750 and AV950, please feel free to ring for more details.


Trade-in any home theatre product against an AV950 and receive a trade-in allowance of £950.00 (new trade-in RRP = £5,050.00)
Trade-in any home theatre product against an AVR750 and receive a trade-in allowance of £750.00 (new trade-in RRP = £3,250.00)
Trade-in any home theatre product against an AVR450 and receive a trade-in allowance of £450.00 (new trade-in RRP = £1,750.00)


Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800 Promotion:

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Offers/banner-hfl-offers-mf_1_zps82366ef6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Offers/banner-hfl-offers-mf_1_zps82366ef6.jpg.html)

Now the NuVista 800 is a very special amplifier indeed, offering a hybrid design of solid state amplification for 300 watts per channel mixed with a Nu-Vista valve pre-amp section to give a real naturalness to the sound, to celebrate the launch of this product Musical Fidelity are running the below promotion until January 31st 2015.

Basically HiFi Lounge will offer you the full retail price you paid for your current amplifier (any brand) against the Nu-Vista 800. This means you can make a monster upgrade with no loss on your outgoing amplifier. The small print is fairly straightforward: Nu-Vista 800 must be an upgrade from your traded in amplifier, the trade in must be working and in acceptable cosmetic condition and it needs to have its basic accessories (remote controls etc.) So as you can see this is quite a unique offer and if you are in the market for a new amp then definitely worth considering, in fact the Nu-Vista is so good that even if you are not in the market then I would most definitely still consider it.

PMC Speaker Trade In:

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Offers/banner-hfl-offers-pmc_1_zpsf8623f41.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Offers/banner-hfl-offers-pmc_1_zpsf8623f41.jpg.html)

As everyone who knows us is aware we are un-ashamedly big fans of PMC speakers and we have decided to offer very good trade in prices against any speaker that is traded in against any of PMC’s speaker range for any new orders placed from the beginning of November till the end of the year, whether that will be against PMC twenty.21’s or up to the amazing Fact.12’s or even against the epic MB2 SE’s or BB5 SE’s, please feel free to give us a ring to discuss further.

So as you can see it looks like it is going to be a very busy run up to Christmas but please do not hesitate to get in touch to discuss any of the above or anything else Hifi or Headphone related.

Regards,

Paul.

HiFi Lounge
29-10-2014, 15:01
Hi Guys,

Well I didn’t see this one coming, in response to the growing weight behind DSD downloads Bryston have announced the new BDA-3 Digital to Analogue converter which will play PCM up to 32 bit / 384Khz and DSDx4 natively and as if that isn’t enough it also includes 4 USB inputs and one output which really is quite different but could prove quite useful.

No prices yet but rest assured we will have one on demo as soon as available, more info below -

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/bryston/bryston-bda-3-external-dac

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/ScreenShot2014-10-29at141901_zps0e98b1cc.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/ScreenShot2014-10-29at141901_zps0e98b1cc.png.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/ScreenShot2014-10-29at144533_zps16480332.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/ScreenShot2014-10-29at144533_zps16480332.png.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/ScreenShot2014-10-29at145132_zps31daceaf.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/ScreenShot2014-10-29at145132_zps31daceaf.png.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
30-10-2014, 10:01
HiFi Lounge are pleased to be offering the excellent Bryston BDA-1 DAC, it is around 2 years old and will come boxed as new with all documentation, everything is in mint condition.

This is our Display model, I still consider this one of the best DAC's out there at the full retail price so for £995 it really is a bargain.

Being that we are a Bryston Dealer it will come with the remainder of the 5 year warranty.

Price New - £2350
Our Price - £995

More information below -

http://bryston.com/products/digital_audio/BDA-1.html

This BDA-1 can be demoed to at our HiFi Lounge showroom in Bedfordshire, so please feel free to come and have a look, if you could just ring first that would be much appreciated.

If you would like more information please call Paul on 01767 448121 (8am-5.30pm) or e-mail on paul@hifilounge.co.uk

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8189_zps141cec82.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8189_zps141cec82.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8190_zpse52d2afb.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8190_zpse52d2afb.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8197_zpsb7d3fe81.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8197_zpsb7d3fe81.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
31-10-2014, 09:26
Hi all,

I’ve just had a customer trade in some great Naim equipment, it really doesn’t get much better than this, just add a power amp and you’ve pretty much got the best Naim system available, other than Statement obviously :-) Please see below for more details, everything is at HiFi Lounge so please feel free to come in for a look and listen, please call first though, these items can be sold individually or together as one system.

Everything is is mint condition and comes from a pet and child free house and has sat on Naim Fraim since bought, this is only available to the UK and collection would be preferred or possibly local delivery could be arranged.

Obviously we are a Naim dealer so please buy with confidence.

Naim NAC 552 Preamplifier

We are pleased to be offering the excellent Reference Naim NAC 552 Preamplifier with its partnering 552 PS which Naim converted to DR specification last year, it is around 3 years old and will come boxed as new with all documentation and Accessories, everything is in mint condition.

Price New - £18,995
Our Price - £10,995

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8212_zpsead6e069.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8212_zpsead6e069.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8219_zpsfa7a4706.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8219_zpsfa7a4706.jpg.html)

Naim NDS Reference Network Player

Next up we are pleased to be offering the excellent Reference Naim NDS Network Player, it is around 18 months old and will come boxed as new with all documentation and Accessories, everything is in mint condition.

Price New - £7395
Our Price - £5500

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8206_zps28acbe61.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8206_zps28acbe61.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8211_zpsb70b110f.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8211_zpsb70b110f.jpg.html)

Naim 555 PS DR Power Supply

Finally we are pleased to be offering the excellent Naim 555 PS DR, it is around 6 months old and will come boxed as new with all documentation and Accessories, everything is in mint condition, this is the perfect partner for the NDS.

Price New - £5995
Our Price - £4995

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF8200_zpseb02d36b.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF8200_zpseb02d36b.jpg.html)

Any questions please feel free to ask.

Regards,

Paul.

HiFi Lounge
29-11-2014, 12:21
Hi All,

Its a strange one this as when we were planning to setup HiFi Lounge, around 2.5 years ago, I asked my web designer to add Copland as a brand and we’d activate it once I have my demo stock as I was always planning to bring Copland on as one of my first brands, not really sure what happened but for some reason I never got round to it, well at long last I am really pleased that we can now activate Copland on our website as I now have part of my demo stock in the building with their beautifully built CTA-405A integrated valve amp, it has recently been upgraded to the ‘A’ prefix as it now comes as standard with KT120 valves.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/copland-cta-405a-integrated-amplifier

Copland are a Danish company founded in the mid 1980’s by Olé Möller who over the past 30 years have produced valve and solid state amplifiers with their current range focusing on valve amplifiers. Copland products are known for their beautiful minimalist design and for their use of high grade components that have won them many followers amongst the audiophile community and with press alike, winning multiple awards around the world.

I guess what really spurred me on was Coplands announcement of their new DA 215 DAC, PRE & Headphone amp which we also have on order to use in Highend Headphones, this should be a really stunning product at a sensible price with a Class A headphone amp section and valve pre-amp.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/copland-da-215

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Untitled_zpsbee5274a.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Untitled_zpsbee5274a.png.html)

Copland have always been known for making beautifully engineered equipment and just moving the volume control on the 405A shows why they have this reputation, it is silky smooth with just enough resistance.

At the moment as I say we have the CTA-405A on demo and the DA 215 to follow shortly and we will be looking to add the Pre/Power shortly. If you’d like to come in to have a listen please feel free, below are a link to the rest of their products and a few pictures -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/copland

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3463_zps275ed1cd.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3463_zps275ed1cd.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3464_zps3e82e492.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3464_zps3e82e492.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3474_zps3ddcf92d.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3474_zps3ddcf92d.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3484_zps22d6f656.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3484_zps22d6f656.jpg.html)

The Valves Hidden Away!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3486_zpsdbdb4af7.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3486_zpsdbdb4af7.jpg.html)

Beautifully Engineered!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3471_zpsf241ec95.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3471_zpsf241ec95.jpg.html)

We're Getting Quite A Collection Of Valve Amps Now!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3490_zpsf592de03.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3490_zpsf592de03.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3495_zpse98b6759.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3495_zpse98b6759.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3498_zps53b66828.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3498_zps53b66828.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
29-11-2014, 13:59
Hi All,

At HiFi Lounge we are pleased to be offering the excellent PMC Twenty.26's in Walnut. These are a customer trade in who bought them from us originally, he upgraded to PMC Fact.12's, they are around 6 months old, in as new condition and will come boxed with all documentation and packaging.

They come from a child and pet free home who is a non smoker.

Price New - £5750
Our Price - £4750

We are a PMC dealer so please buy with confidence.

These speakers can be viewed and listened to at our demo rooms in Bedfordshire, so please feel free to come and have a look and listen, if you could just ring first that would be much appreciated.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF7237_zps5636258f.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF7237_zps5636258f.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF7241_zps86894876.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF7241_zps86894876.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF7242_zpsd3deb898.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF7242_zpsd3deb898.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF7244_zps1c6386d5.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF7244_zps1c6386d5.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF7224_zpsfd792bf6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF7224_zpsfd792bf6.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF7248_zps4ec8f574.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF7248_zps4ec8f574.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
17-12-2014, 19:04
Hi All,

Just a quick message to say that we now have the Arcam Solo Bar and Solo Sub on demo, I have to admit that sound bars have never really been something to get me too excited but as I am a bit of an Arcam fan when they announced the Solo Bar and matching sub I actually found myself looking forward to having a play.

Also I have to say that since we launched just over 2 years ago I don’t think I have had a product that has had so much interest, with the phone ringing and a lot of demo’s booked for it for before Christmas so it looks like Arcam are onto a winner here.

This is purely a 2.1 system with no surround sound trickery, which quite frankly is all a nonsense anyway, Arcam have concentrated solely on sound quality for TV, Movies but also music, it is almost as if Arcam have squeezed one of their A19’s into a soundbar shaped package as for music playback it really is very good indeed. Once unboxed you can run a room calibration setup using the supplied mic which really makes a huge difference, you can switch between on and off so you can choose what you prefer.

I will say though that if you are going to use Arcam’s new Solo Sub then I would really recommend a hard wired connection as opposed to wireless, wireless does work but with a cable connected the sub definitely has more drive and just seems more powerful.

The Solo Bar’s other strength is the number in inputs, 4 x HDMI, 1 x Coax, 1 x Optical, ARC + a sub out meaning that if your prefer to use another make of sub then that is a possibility, it really is hard to fault the Solo Bar really.

Whether listening to music or cinema the sub integrates perfectly with the Solo Bar with no real idea where the bass is coming from, I played the opening scene from Dark Knight and it really does pack quite a punch. Another feature that is quite useful is BlueTooth, not something that I use very often but it works faultlessly and even displays the name of the song playing on the Solo Bar which I thought was a nice touch, oh yes and there is also an app to replicate the remote control for either your phone or tablet.

So all in all, a brilliant pair of products from Arcam, if you’d like to come a have a listen please feel free to get in touch.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/arcam-solo-bar

http://hifilounge.co.uk/arcam-solo-sub

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3557_zps2ad3b2d5.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3557_zps2ad3b2d5.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3549_zps610053fe.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3549_zps610053fe.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3553_zps2b1be3a6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3553_zps2b1be3a6.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3554_zps23567d58.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3554_zps23567d58.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3560_zpsdf3fbbbc.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3560_zpsdf3fbbbc.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3563_zpse3705ebf.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3563_zpse3705ebf.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
20-12-2014, 17:10
Hi All,

I found out about this product a couple of weeks ago and was firstly really surprised to hear that Astell&Kern, known for their highend portable products, would be entering the highend audio market, secondly I was really surprised by the price at £8999, this was going to have to be really good.

Luckily for me, the Astell&Kern distributors in the UK, Computers Unlimited, had the only model in the UK and unbelievably they kindly agreed to lend it to me to play with and have a listen to. Firstly this is an extremely well built product that really is far heavier than it looks, the styling is certainly interesting but there is going to be a matching power amp with a dedicated stand that will finish the look off.

So what exactly is it? Well in short, it is a highend cd ripper, network player and pre-amplifier, basically just add a power amp and you are ready to go, saying that it has a headphone out so you could use it as a stand alone desktop solution. This version comes with a 1TB SSD drive built in, so that will add to the price significantly, there will also larger drive options going forward. Where this product really wins though is that it has its own internal battery which in theory will improve the sound quite dramatically, much like the Chord Hugo, I can see this approach being adopted by many more products going forward. The battery can be charged whilst the unit is being played but this isn’t recommended as it will degrade the sound slightly, you have the option in the menu to either charge when being played or when in standby.

Also there is the touch screen which works very well indeed, if you have used any of the recent AK portable players you will be straight at home with the interface, we ripped a couple of CD’s to WAV, to be fair this did take quite a while but it is no effort to just let it rip whilst you are listening to something else. It is also seen as a server so other streamers can access the music, we used our Naim NDS to play some music from it and also you can access music stored on other servers from the AK500N, so it really is an extremely versatile product.

We hooked it up to a pair of Bryston 7B SST2 Mono Blocks and a pair of PMC Twenty.26’s to see how it sounded, needless to say that it was very good indeed, I used a variety of music and the same signature sound came through, very open and detailed but with a nice touch or warmth to give it that slightly analogue sound, apparently there will be an app coming shortly which will make the user experience a little better as at the moment you have to go up to the screen to use it.

So to sum up it is a great product if a little quirky looking and expensive but for people that are looking for the ultimate network player then this really should be listened to as with some innovative features like the battery power, Internal SSD storage and excellent pre-amp it really could offer a great solution to many audiophiles out there.

We will have it here until January 2nd if you’d like to come and have a listen, please find a few specs and pictures below -


Cirrus Logic CS4398 x2 (Dual DAC)
One click CD-ripping
Easy DLNA-based networking
PCM to DSD
4 BAY SSD
Uses a built-in battery for noise isolation
Multiple input and output connections
Price £8999



http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3600_zps53fd503a.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3600_zps53fd503a.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3588_zps09790bce.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3588_zps09790bce.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3592_zpsef134e02.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3592_zpsef134e02.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3602_zps75bb7783.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3602_zps75bb7783.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3605_zps66d28dd1.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3605_zps66d28dd1.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3606_zps0a71d7a9.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3606_zps0a71d7a9.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3613_zpsee825d69.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3613_zpsee825d69.jpg.html)

Cheers,

Paul.

HiFi Lounge
22-12-2014, 11:14
Hi All,

Another quick blog to say that we now have Arcam’s new flagship FMJ P49 2 channel power amplifier on demo along with their new FMJ C49 Pre-amplifier.

It has certainly been a busy year for Arcam with them releasing products right up to the end of the year, lucky for us everyone has been a winner but for me after spending quite a lot of time listening to their A49 integrated amp based on Arcam’s Class G amplification it has been the P49 that I have been really waiting for.

I am not overly technical, I just know the sound that I like so I won’t go into the details of how Class G works other than the P49 gives 200 watts into 8 ohms, 400 watts into 4 ohms, but most importantly the first 50 watts are pure Class A, which is probably enough power for most speakers, I think it is fair to say that Class A does sound the best but runs hot and is inefficient, that has all changed with Arcam’s Class G technology, and the best part is that it sounds as good as I hoped.

Basically to help run it in I took it home, don’t tell the boss :-) and have been running it on my PMC Fact.12’s through the Arcam AV950 and the results have been quite amazing, the Fact.12’s are not the easiest speaker to drive and do need a meaty amp to get the best from them but the P49 really has loads to spare and drives them with ease, what I love about this Class G technology is just how right everything sounds, you get a really great powerful, full and controlled bass with brilliant detail and seperation, it is such a well balanced sound that has a analogue and rich quality to it.

I was wondering if one P49 would be enough on the Fact.12’s, which it is but I can’t help wondering how it would sound with 2 x P49’s set as Mono Blocks :-)

Not forgetting the C49, I have only had a quick listen to be honest, I hooked it up with the P49 partnered with the UDP411 as a source via its balanced outputs into our demo Fact.12’s and it sounded very well balanced, open with that great Class G drive at the bottom, I’m hoping to give it a more thorough try out over Christmas but early signs sounded very promising.

If you do fancy coming in for a listen please feel free to get in touch, below are the links on our website + a few pictures.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/arcam-fmj-p49

http://hifilounge.co.uk/arcam-fmj-c49

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/1_zps17059fa2.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/1_zps17059fa2.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/2_zpsd3e72076.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/2_zpsd3e72076.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/3_zpsdc0f7e8c.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/3_zpsdc0f7e8c.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/4_zpsb3c95a37.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/4_zpsb3c95a37.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/5_zps6001bcd7.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/5_zps6001bcd7.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/6_zpsbc0c58a2.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/6_zpsbc0c58a2.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
24-12-2014, 18:27
Hi All,

A real quick post before Christmas, I was hoping to blog this a week ago when announced but we were just too busy so most of you are probably aware of it, but I have to admit that it has been a long time since a product has been announced that has got that WOW factor that just makes you want one, step forward the Devialet Phantom, the new all in one speaker from Devialet that includes their ADH technology combining class A sound quality with Class D amplification.

Only a few people have heard the Phantom but by all reports it is absolutely astounding, especially for its size, there will also be a new app called Spark and a standalone remote and stand for Phantom, they can be linked to create a bigger system comparison of multiple Phantoms.

It will be released in January so we will have one on demo as soon as possible, please ring for more details, for now please see a few pictures below + a link to Devialet's website for more information -

http://en.devialet.com/phantom/

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/demo-phantom-full1_zpsd7b3af99.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/demo-phantom-full1_zpsd7b3af99.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/demo-phantom-cyber1_zpsfd14c7cb.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/demo-phantom-cyber1_zpsfd14c7cb.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/devialet-phantom-prices1_zpsa1604113.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/devialet-phantom-prices1_zpsa1604113.png.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/branch-accessories_zpsa549554c.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/branch-accessories_zpsa549554c.png.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/devialet-12_zps9e10fe59.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/devialet-12_zps9e10fe59.png.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/devialet-4_zps302f011a.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/devialet-4_zps302f011a.jpg.html)

Have a great Christmas Everyone,

Cheers,

Paul.

HiFi Lounge
13-01-2015, 14:42
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/banner-isol-8-hfl_zps44a5dde3.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/banner-isol-8-hfl_zps44a5dde3.jpg.html)

Hi All,

I have to admit that power conditioners are an area that I haven’t spent too much time exploring in the past but have always felt it was an itch I wanted to scratch in more depth, as in principle they make a lot of sense, particularly nowadays with all the rubbish that sits on the mains ring polluting the supply which affects the performance of your hifi, have you ever noticed how your system can sound better late at night once everyone has turned everything off and gone to bed? I definitely find this at home.

I have tried a few conditioners in the past all with varying effects, but I borrowed one of Nic Poulson’s conditioners just before Christmas and had one of those rare WOW HiFi moments. We know Nic well thanks to his excellent Trilogy Headphone amps that we are big fans of and his other company is ISOL-8 which focuses on conditioners and mains distribution, Nic co-founded IsoTek which I’m sure many of you have heard of but he parted ways after a few years and set up Isol-8, I have to say he really does know his stuff.

At the moment we have the MiniSub Axis on demo, to be totally honest I have only tried it with headphones but the difference was so big that if you take headphone listening seriously I would really recommend that you at least borrow it from us and give it a try, I have tried a lot of kit over the years and it is very rare that you try something and it stops you in your tracks, there is one track that I have used for demo’s many times, when the MiniSub Axis was used I heard a car horn at the beginning that I have never heard before, I had to grab the iPad and go back as I wasn’t sure if it was outside, but it was on the recording but had just been lost before, quite amazing, then when I went back and took the MiniSub out the horn got lost in the mix again, the extra insight is great but you also get more detail, separation, textures, it really does help bring out parts of the mix.

We will have the MiniSub Axis setup permanently in Highend Headphones and I will shortly be adding a Substation Integra to try with the bigger hifi systems for HiFi Lounge, I strongly believe that adding an ISOL-8 conditioner will help get the very best from your system but I am also quite happy to lend our demo model out for anyone to try at home as every setup is different and the overall performance gains can be different, so if you’d like to give an ISOL-8 conditioner a try at home please feel free to get in touch to arrange.

Please find below a link to ISOL-8’s products on our website.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/isol-8

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/mr_ms_axis_detail_zps20d71a7b.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/mr_ms_axis_detail_zps20d71a7b.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/mr_ss4_2shot_lh_iso_zpsd232dcc1.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/mr_ss4_2shot_lh_iso_zpsd232dcc1.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/substation_integra_front_mr_zps5f3d3dd7.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/substation_integra_front_mr_zps5f3d3dd7.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/mr_powerstation_top_iso_zps8e1ac930.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/mr_powerstation_top_iso_zps8e1ac930.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
14-01-2015, 09:11
Hi All,

Wendy and myself were very honoured to receive an award from PMC Speakers the other day for ‘UK Retailer Award For Best Retail Experience 2014’ Being that it was our love for all things PMC and Bryston that actually planted the seed to move away from printing and to try our hand at being a HiFi Dealer really does make the award mean so much more.

Don’t worry I’m not going to do an Oscar speech now but we would just like to thank PMC for the award and for being so supportive since we approached them about possibly opening a HiFi shop nearly 3 years ago now but most importantly for making such great speakers :-)

Below is the blurb from PMC’s press release + a picture of myself, Wendy and Tom Barron, PMC’s UK Sales Manager.

Best Retail Experience: HiFi Lounge

Especially significant as this award is based purely on customer feedback, the team at HiFi Lounge in Dunton, Bedfordshire has been commended due to its approachable manner and enthusiasm for PMC products and all things audio. By combining the highest level of professional knowledge with a superb showroom and retail environment, HiFi Lounge presents a welcoming and comfortable attitude to specialist audio-visual retail.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/NEWS/10469168_768277953220791_7047855181982528195_o_zps 6051c0a8.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/NEWS/10469168_768277953220791_7047855181982528195_o_zps 6051c0a8.jpg.html)

Don’t worry we won’t let it go to our heads :-)

Cheers,

Paul & Wendy.

HiFi Lounge
20-01-2015, 17:17
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/well-tempered-3-large_zpsc6b109e7.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/well-tempered-3-large_zpsc6b109e7.jpg.html)

Hi All,

Since we launched HiFi Lounge towards the end of 2012 I have always wanted to offer 3 different turntable brands, we launched with Rega, probably Britain’s most well known Turntable brand with over 40 years experience behind them, then we added Michell Engineering, that was easy as I was an Orbe user for many years before opening HFL so was really keen to offer their turntables, but adding the third brand was a little tougher, well after looking at pretty much all the brands out there I’m really pleased to announce that we now have taken on Well Tempered Lab turntables.

Well Tempered Labs is a company owned by Bill Firebaugh, a former aerospace engineer who likes to think outside the box when it comes to turntable design, over the last 25 years + he has refined his innovative designs, many patented, to produce extremely musical turntables that have many unique features. As an example most Turntables have bearings in the tonearm, not here, according to Bill this introduces vibrations and resonance so he got rid of the bearing and used a golf ball damped in a silicon gel which offers damping for the arm helping keep the needle firmly in the groove, this along with squash balls used for suspension and an ‘invisible’ drive belt made from a polyester filament that has a diameter of 0.004 inches, all add up to a truly unique turntable design.

All of these innovations would stand for nothing though if WTL’s turntables didn’t perform, unsurprisingly they do, I have taken home our demo Versalex which we have fitted with the Dynavector Te Kaitora Rue Cartridge and I can honestly say that it is one of the best vinyl sounds I have ever heard, fantastic detail, very solid powerful bass but it is the vocal’s that really impress, very natural and smooth, there is also a very fluid sound to the overall presentation, I’m sure that the cartridge helps here but as a package it really is very special, it is going to be hard to bring it back into the shop I have to say, for more information on Bill Firebaugh’s design ideas please follow the link below -

http://www.welltemperedlab.net/welltemperedlab/philosophy/

One thing worth mentioning is when I was looking for one more turntable brand, Well Tempered’s name kept coming up and what was really interesting was how many people in the HiFi trade actually own Well Tempered Lab turntables which really helped in my decision making, as if guys that have listened to lots of decks buy Well Tempered for themselves then there must be something in it, they are also considered very good value for money going up against turntables costing much more and giving a really god account of themselves.

At the moment we have the Simplex and the Versalex on demo, the Amadeus GTA MK II will be coming in shortly, we have fitted the Simplex with Dynavector’s 10x5 cartridge which is also on our Rega RP6 and Michell Engineering TecnoDec so it is easy to compare decks and as mentioned have the stunning Te Kaitora Rue on the Versalex, so if you would like to come in for a listen please feel free to book an appointment.

Well Tempered are most definitely unconventional but when it comes to getting the best from your vinyl they are right up there with the best, please find a link below to their products on our website + a few pictures.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/well-tempered

Simplex

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3696_zpsc4d269f9.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3696_zpsc4d269f9.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3699_zpsd9be8e0c.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3699_zpsd9be8e0c.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3702_zps50ffb373.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3702_zps50ffb373.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3703_zps3e1b5249.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3703_zps3e1b5249.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/rear-tone-arm-lp-28ci9151_zps62beded6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/rear-tone-arm-lp-28ci9151_zps62beded6.jpg.html)

Versalex

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3708_zps0830e133.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3708_zps0830e133.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3716_zpse13a64c3.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3716_zpse13a64c3.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3718_zpsa90ac7b8.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3718_zpsa90ac7b8.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3723_zps64792886.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3723_zps64792886.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3724_zps04ff6dbd.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3724_zps04ff6dbd.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/9210175-copy_zps9779e395.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/9210175-copy_zps9779e395.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
03-02-2015, 10:18
Hi All,

As many of you know we are big fans of Magneplanar speakers here so once we heard the Maggie MG12, their smallest floorstander, was about to be upgraded we couldn’t wait to get our hands on the new model so it is great news that after a couple of months of waiting the new .7 Magneplanar speaker is now with us and on permanent demo.

They are styled slightly differently with metal side strips rather than wood and a rounded top rather than flat, it doesn’t sound much but it really helps make them a touch more stylish, as an option you can also now buy an oval stand that really does look quite nice. The main changes though to the .7 compared to the MG12 is that they now use the same ribbon technology, know as Quasi Ribbon, as the rest of the Maggie range meaning that the .7 is a faster speaker and more insightful, it is still a 2 way speaker though which helps keep the size reasonably small for a panel speaker.

I have been running them for the last couple of days on our PrimaLuna valve amp and I have to say that even though the .7’s now cost £2000 I really don’t think you will find a more magical speaker than the .7, OK Maggies have their limitations but what they do well they really can’t be beaten, if you listen to a lot of vocal, acoustic, jazz, blues, orchestral, well most types of music really other than industrial metal then I really recommend you come and have a listen, as I really do think that the .7’s are a real HiFi bargain and there aren’t many of them around.

Please see below for a couple of pictures and a link to the Magneplanar lineup on our website -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/magnepan

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3799_zps34z86ffr.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3799_zps34z86ffr.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3802_zps4qjer2t1.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3802_zps4qjer2t1.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3804_zpsgfx5gp0v.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3804_zpsgfx5gp0v.jpg.html)

Maggie .7 with optional oval stand!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Screen%20Shot%202015-02-03%20at%2009.30.28_zpsin52ieff.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Screen%20Shot%202015-02-03%20at%2009.30.28_zpsin52ieff.png.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
09-02-2015, 10:51
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/banner-hfl-classicrock_zpsxn86tbge.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/banner-hfl-classicrock_zpsxn86tbge.jpg.html)

Hi Everyone,

To start our open days off for 2015 we thought we’d start with a bang, after the success of last years Led Zeppelin day with Dave Lewis from ‘Tight But Loose’ Dave will be back again but this year we are widening the bands we will be playing to those classic rock bands that we all love, so expect loads of Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Some Led Zeppelin of course, David Bowie, The Who, Rolling Stones, Yes, Eagles, I will definitely sneak some Springsteen in, but basically any rock from the 70’s is welcome, I may even slip in some Guns & Roses, not strictly 70’s but it was over 20 years ago that they shook the rock world so that makes them a classic rock band in my book.

Dave Lewis will be in attendance with the TBL crew and there will also be a variety of TBL products on offer including TBL magazines, books and T-shirts. He will also be staging a fun Zep/Classic Rock quiz with prizes to be won.

We will be running the fantastic PMC MB2 SE speakers with a full Bryston rig comprising of their awesome 1000 watt 28B SST2 Monoblocks, if anything can rock then this system is it :-) We will use a mix of CD and vinyl, for vinyl we will be using our new Well Tempered Versalex Turntable with the amazing Dynavector Te Kaitora Rua MC Cartridge fitted and for any video footage we can fire up the JVC X500 projector on our 120” screen.

Get your records cleaned!

To offer something a little different on the day, Barry from Grade1 Records - the Cherished Music Store will be on hand to clean any records that you’d like to get the best from, either give your old favourites a new lease of life or even if you have got any brand new pressings they really do benefit from a clean as it will remove the releasing agent used when pressing the album, this really does greatly improve dynamics so I would definitely recommend you give it a try if you love your vinyl, priced at £3 per vinyl so definitely worth a try.

We will supply refreshments throughout the day with Wendy making sure that everyone is got ample tea and coffee, so please put March 21st in your calendar for a day that is just to enjoy some classic rock music on some great equipment and to have some fun.

Let’s Rock and raise the HiFi Lounge roof!

Cheers,

Paul.

Andrei
11-02-2015, 22:17
Hi All,

At HiFi Lounge we are pleased to be offering the excellent PMC Twenty.26's in Walnut. These are a customer trade in who bought them from us originally, he upgraded to PMC Fact.12's, they are around 6 months old, in as new condition and will come boxed with all documentation and packaging.

They come from a child and pet free home who is a non smoker.

Price New - £5750
Our Price - £4750

So the child, the pet, and the home are all non-smokers?

HiFi Lounge
12-02-2015, 18:45
So the child, the pet, and the home are all non-smokers?

I guess it depends how you read it :-)

HiFi Lounge
16-02-2015, 12:47
Hi All,

Just a quick post as Naim have just announced their latest product, the NAC-N 272 Streaming Preamplifier.

We are big fans here of the NAC-N 172 and this new product takes this idea to the next level, other than it being a step up in design and performance, where it stands out is that the NAC-N 272 is also upgradable via either Naim’s XP5 XS, XPS or 555PS Power Supplies further enhancing performance, and for the first time in a Naim product DSD is supported, this will be added to other streamers in the Naim range via a firmware update shortly. Also there is connectivity via Bluetooth and Spotify Connect is also catered for.

The beauty of mixing the streamer and preamplifier is that both these components in a hifi system are both very ‘quiet’ with no big power amps inside of moving parts so there really isn’t much compromise on performance and when the NAC-N 272 is partnered with either a NAP250 or even a NAP300 you end up with a high performing hifi system without too many boxes.

The NAC-N 272 is Priced at £3300 or £3595 with DAB/FM and will be available in March, we have our demo model on order so if you’d like to come in and demo it please feel free. Please see below for more information on our website -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/naim-nac-n-272-streaming-preamplifier

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/nac-n272frontweb_zpsnqry8trc.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/nac-n272frontweb_zpsnqry8trc.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Screen%20Shot%202015-02-14%20at%2016.03.19_zpsq2dzol3b.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Screen%20Shot%202015-02-14%20at%2016.03.19_zpsq2dzol3b.png.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Screen%20Shot%202015-02-14%20at%2016.03.51_zps2t3ofyms.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Screen%20Shot%202015-02-14%20at%2016.03.51_zps2t3ofyms.png.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Screen%20Shot%202015-02-14%20at%2016.03.35_zpseft0yjsr.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Screen%20Shot%202015-02-14%20at%2016.03.35_zpseft0yjsr.png.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/nac-n-272_internals_0_zpsf1iwcvx7.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/nac-n-272_internals_0_zpsf1iwcvx7.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
17-02-2015, 11:26
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/banner-hfl-classicrock_zpsxn86tbge.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/banner-hfl-classicrock_zpsxn86tbge.jpg.html)

Hi all,

Just a quick update, we will now have vinyl for sale at our 'Classic Rock Saturday' open day on March 21st as Barry from The Cherished Music Store will be bringing along a collection of used vinyl and CD’s for sale on the day so it will be an opportunity to maybe pick up some bargains along with getting your favourite records cleaned. We will set Barry up in the downstairs demo room for cleaning and selling, so this will be the chillout room, with all the rocking happening upstairs :-)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
18-02-2015, 11:41
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Chord_07_12%200741_zpsxswyehcx.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Chord_07_12%200741_zpsxswyehcx.jpg.html)

Hi All,

It is no secret that we are big fans of Chord’s Hugo here so inevitably I was intrigued by the rest of the Chord Range and after listening to their setup in Munich last year driving the mighty PMC BB5 SE’s and trying a couple of components to make sure that it performs well with our speakers I was sold, so I am really pleased to announce that HiFi Lounge will now be a Full Chord Electronics dealer offering their full range.

Chord Electronics were established in 1989 and have gone on to be one of the worlds leading manufacturers of Highend Audio, under the leadership of their owner John Franks, Chord have always strived to to push forward the world of audio to offer landmark products giving fantastic performance mixed with stunning design and build quality

I think it is fair to say that there is no other audio brand out there quite like Chord Electronics, offering highend audio products with unique styling and stunning build quality which are all hand built in the UK in rural Kent. Possibly best known for their DAC’s, under the leadership of Rob Watts, they also offer a range of highend components. With customers like Skywalker Sound, Air Studios, and Even Sir Paul McCartney on their books along with stunning reviews that their equipment gets you can be sure that Chord really do offer some of the best products currently available today.

Along with Hugo we will also have the much anticipated Hugo TT on demo shortly along with the brand new CPM 2800 MKII Integrated amp, with a digital section based on Hugo and also we will have Chords Reference Network player to give a good taste of how Chord performs.

Personally I can’t wait get these products in to have a listen to, once they are here I will post some pictures and initial impressions, it goes without saying that if you’d like to come in for a listen please get in touch to make an appointment, below is a selection of the Chord Range on our website and watch out for a Chord Electronics Open Day coming soon -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/chord-electronics

Chord Electronics SPM 14000MkII Ultimate Mono power amplifier

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Chord_07_12%200764_zpslwznvni4.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Chord_07_12%200764_zpslwznvni4.jpg.html)

Chord Electronics Red Reference Mk III CD Player

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Chord_07_12%2008671_zpspngbadxr.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Chord_07_12%2008671_zpspngbadxr.jpg.html)

Chord Electronics DSX1000 Reference network music player

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Chord_07_12%200855_zpslxy9ibeq.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Chord_07_12%200855_zpslxy9ibeq.jpg.html)

Chord Electronics CPM 2800 MKII digital integrated amplifier

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Chord-2902_zpsd2fjytiv.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Chord-2902_zpsd2fjytiv.jpg.html)

Chord Electronics Hugo TT Desktop DAC / Headphone Amplifier

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/TT_zpsyphrqf6p.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/TT_zpsyphrqf6p.jpg.html)

Munich Highend Show 2014

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3293_zps5b5e815f.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3293_zps5b5e815f.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
20-02-2015, 17:16
Hi All,

Just a quicky to let everyone know if you haven’t already seen, that at the Bristol HiFi Show this weekend PMC Speakers have launched their latest product to join their multi award winning Twenty loudspeaker range, the Twenty.Sub which surprise, surprise, is a Subwoofer which is designed to match perfect with the Twenty range of speakers and can used for both movies and music, personally I’m quite looking forward to trying it with the Fact.8’s also.

Available in April and priced at £2950, it incorporates PMC Transmission line technology partnered with sophisticated class D power and custom 7” twin bass drivers so it is certainly going to pack a punch, needless to say we will have one on demo as soon as it is available so please feel free to come in for a listen.

Please find a couple of pics below and a link to it on our website.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/pmc-twenty-sub

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/PMC_Twenty_1_zpss6ihh4zj.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/PMC_Twenty_1_zpss6ihh4zj.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/PMC_Twenty_2_zpshuazsytt.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/PMC_Twenty_2_zpshuazsytt.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
03-03-2015, 11:45
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF3990_zps2qjuxi72.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF3990_zps2qjuxi72.jpg.html)

Hi Everyone,

I don’t think there is any better known or more respected cable company in the UK than The Chord Company so when we were looking to bring another cable company on to give an alternative to our Atlas range that we are big fans of then The Chord Company was the obvious choice, especially with their excellent Sarum range of highend cables so it gives us great pleasure to now be able to offer Chord’s cables to our customers.

At this time we are focusing on Chord’s higher end cables so we have the Signature Tuned Aray cables and also their brand new Sarum Super Aray cables on demo which were launched at Bristol last week and replace the Tuned Aray cables after a few years of being the go to highend cable for may HiFi enthusiasts as it offers unrivalled levels of transparency, insight and musicality, so I am really looking forward to sitting down and giving this new range a good listen.

Don’t worry though if you have the previous Sarum cables though as these can be upgraded to the new Super Aray spec by going back to Chord, if this is something you’d like to discuss please feel free to get in touch.

Obviously cables are very subjective and to really hear how they can improve your system you do really need to try them in your system at home so if you’d like to give either the Sarum or Signature a try please get in touch to arrange a home demo.

Introducing Chords New ‘Music’ Cable

As if Chord’s Sarum wasn’t highend enough Chord also announced at Bristol that they will shortly be launching their new flagship range which will sit above Sarum called ‘Music’, this will be a development on the Sarum Super ARAY’s unique conductor configuration but will be using a new isolating material called ‘Taylon’ which has never been seen in cable manufacture before and will reveal even more detail from a recording but will also allow poor recording to sound their best which sounds like a winner to me, needless to say we will have these cables on demo once available.

As I said please feel free to get in touch to arrange a demo or to try the Chord range in your system at home, please find a link to the highend end of the Chord range on our website -

www.hifilounge.co.uk/the-chord-company-cables

Cheers,

Paul.

DSJR
03-03-2015, 14:22
Some complex and highly expensive stuff there - The streaming Naim preamp frightens me to death with its complexity :eek:

HiFi Lounge
10-03-2015, 10:57
Some complex and highly expensive stuff there - The streaming Naim preamp frightens me to death with its complexity :eek:

Hi Dave,

After 10 mins you'd be flying along, it would be like 2nd nature :-)

HiFi Lounge
10-03-2015, 10:57
Hi All,

I think everyone knows that we are big fans of Devialet here, from the configurability, its style but most of all how it sounds, Devialet really are offering something different and exciting in the world of HiFi.

Since we took Devialet on as a brand around a year ago the plan was always to have the full range on demo, we started off with the stereo versions, so the 120, 200 and 250 but now we have just taken on the 200 Companion so that we can now demo the Devialet 400 Dual Mono Setup, this basically means that you run a Devialet 200 for each speaker configured as a monobloc giving 400 watts per channel into 6ohms.

I have been running the 400 over the last few days with our new Chord Sarum Super Aray cables and the difference over running a single Devialet 200 is quite marked, it isn’t about being able to go louder but just how more effortless the sound comes across with better seperation and imaging, it is certainly a pretty potent setup, especially with SAM activated.

Now I need to start saving for a 250 companion so that we can demo the Devialet 800 Dual Mono Setup with 800 watts per channel :-)

Below is a link to Devialet on our website + a few pictures, keep an eye out as we are planning to hold a Devialet Dual Mono open day in conjunction with Devialet’s Phantom release, once we know when Devialet will release the Phantom to dealers we will announce a date but I would expect it to be around June time hopefully.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/devialet

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF4014_zpszewuyagn.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF4014_zpszewuyagn.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF4017_zpsf6r5basl.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF4017_zpsf6r5basl.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF4019_zpsn7xivksv.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF4019_zpsn7xivksv.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF4013_zps7hk68rme.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF4013_zps7hk68rme.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF4005_zpsfvichsyk.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF4005_zpsfvichsyk.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
12-03-2015, 15:40
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/NEWS/Naim_Audio_Logo_Black_zpsgbfmxxmb.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/NEWS/Naim_Audio_Logo_Black_zpsgbfmxxmb.jpg.html)

Hi All,

Just a quick note to let everyone know that it is that time of year again when we get the annual Naim price rise so if you are thinking of buying anything within the Naim range shortly it may be worth thinking about getting your order in sooner rather than later.

Basically there is an increase of around 4% across most of the range to cover the rise in costs to Naim of raw material, the price rise will come into affect from 1st April so anything ordered up to the 31st March will stay at the current/old prices.

Naim have managed to hold the price on the Uniti Range, excluding the UnitiServe, Muso, NAP 200, 250, 300 & 500 + their speaker range.

Please find the new price list below, hopefully it shows up OK, if not please get in touch and I will e-mail it over.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/naim-audio

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/NEWS/Screen%20Shot%202015-03-12%20at%2008.47.36_zpsrzqhzz3y.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/NEWS/Screen%20Shot%202015-03-12%20at%2008.47.36_zpsrzqhzz3y.png.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
25-03-2015, 09:03
Hi All,

Just a quickie to say that we now have Chord Electronics DSX1000 Reference Network player on demo, anyone who came along to our Classic Rock Day may have seen it and heard it as we used it for some of our streaming duties.

There is no denying that Chord Make beautiful looking equipment, quite unlike anyone else, when you first take it out of the box you know that this is going to be something quite special and it doesn’t disappoint. At its heart it uses the latest version of the FPGA DAC architecture and with Rob Watts expertise in DAC technology you get a sound quite like anything else out there, anyone who has a Hugo will know all about this.

So basically it is a UPNP streamer that will play all file formats up to DSD64, it also has variable volume control as well as a fixed line out meaning that you could just hook it up direct to a power amp for a very neat digital system. It can be controlled via its beautiful machined remote control or via a tablet or phone with its recently updated app that works extremely well, control is so important when it comes to streaming and Chord really do understand this. It also boasts a 3.5 inch colour screen to access settings and to show album artwork.

So taking all the above into consideration this is a stunning network streamer that looks and sounds like nothing else out there, we are waiting for our CPM 2800 MKII Integrated Amp to come in for demo so that we can show a complete Chord system but in the meantime if you’d like to come a have a listen to the DSX1000 please feel free, please find a link below to the Chord Electronics range on our website and a few pictures of the DSX1000 -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/chord-electronics

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/1_zpsxxprv7bu.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/1_zpsxxprv7bu.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/2_zps8gtyzf4w.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/2_zps8gtyzf4w.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/3_zpspolotnhn.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/3_zpspolotnhn.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/4_zpsdtiowj8i.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/4_zpsdtiowj8i.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/5_zpsbczskioh.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/5_zpsbczskioh.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/6_zps5ok3moo6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/6_zps5ok3moo6.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/7_zpsiykxbxtw.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/7_zpsiykxbxtw.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
26-03-2015, 09:43
Hi All,

This is one piece of Naim equipment I have personally been looking forward to, I am a big fan of the NAC-N 172 as I found if you could go with a 2 box solution partnered with a NAP 200 it would give a nice increase in performance compared to the similarly priced SuperUniti.

So when my demo NAC-N 272 arrived yesterday I hooked it up to our demo NAP 250 which I guess will be the perfect partner, maybe even a NAP 300 would be worth considering, and left it running overnight so that I could come in this morning for a good listen before the phone starts ringing, I compared it directly against the SuperNait 2 / ND5 XS system as both are similarly priced 2 box solutions.

Firstly both systems sound excellent and are reasonably close in performance but the NAP 250 is the classic Naim amp and as good as the SN2 is it just can’t compete with the control and drive of the 250. Comparing the 272 with the ND5 bought 2 different presentations with the 272 being very open, airy, detailed with great seperation, a very delicate sound with the ND5 XS being slightly darker and warmer but overall I preferred the 272/250 combo really for the extra insight that it bought to recordings, but I could see this combo not being as forgiving to bad recordings as the SN2/ND5 system would be and I would imagine if you added the HiCap to the SN2 this could bring back some of that openess of the 272, but then in typical Naim fashion you could add a XP5 XS or XPS to the 272 to further enhance that.

At the end of the day both are excellent systems and I can see some people preferring one over the other and vice versa, its a great choice to have though, later on I will compare the SN2/NDX v the 272/250 as that will certainly be interesting.

So to sum up the NAC-N 272 is a streaming Pre-Amp with digital inputs so you can use it as a DAC, it also has Bluetooth and Spotify Connect as well as internet radio and DSD 64 support, a first for Naim, it is priced at £3300 or with DAB/FM £3595, if you’d like to come in for a listen please feel free of if you’d like to discuss trading in an existing Naim system please feel free to ring as the 272/250 combo really seems like the next logical step up from the Uniti Range of products now.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/naim-nac-n-272-streaming-preamplifier

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF4098_zpsbpl5lsxa.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF4098_zpsbpl5lsxa.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF4101_zpsmfw4sjcb.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF4101_zpsmfw4sjcb.jpg.html)

Partnered With The NAP 250

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1230_zpsmbreifbd.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1230_zpsmbreifbd.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1225_zps4px8mgwr.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1225_zps4px8mgwr.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
27-03-2015, 19:01
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/NEWS/Naim_Audio_Logo_Black_zpsow8fu6vi.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/NEWS/Naim_Audio_Logo_Black_zpsow8fu6vi.jpg.html)

Hi Everyone,

After a day of listening to the new Naim NAC-N 272 yesterday and being very impressed I just thought I would mention the below regarding trading in existing Naim equipment to accommodate the 272.

So If you have a NAC-N 172 XS and would like a nice and easy upgrade or are one of the many Uniti users out there please do get in touch to discuss your trade in options as this really is the next step up in performance without going to a large multiple box Naim system and we can offer very good trade in prices, sorry if I sound like a salesman, but I have been really impressed with the 272 :)

Also I know that a lot of people run an external power amp, such as a NAP 250, on their Uniti Products or SuperNaits, so adding a 272 would just be a matter of swapping out one box for the 272 to run with the power amp and you really would get a great lift in performance, it seems like Naim have thought of everything again :)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
03-04-2015, 06:57
Hi All,

Naim have just sent over a link to the NAC-N 272 review from HiFi News so I thought I would include it here, knowing how hard to impress HFN is then 85% is a very high score indeed, looks like they are as impressed with the 272 as I have been :-) -

https://www.naimaudio.com/sites/default/files/HFN_Naim%20NAC-N%20272.pdf

Cheers,

Paul.

HiFi Lounge
18-04-2015, 15:49
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/super-lumina-cables_connections_zpsjurdpth2.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/super-lumina-cables_connections_zpsjurdpth2.jpg.html)

Hi All,

Just a quick blog to let everyone know that we now have Naim’s new Super Lumina range of cables on demo. I must admit at first I wasn’t too keen to put these on demo as they are certainly not cheap and I did wonder how good they really could be, then my friendly Naim rep lent me his demo set, I should have known better than to have doubted Naim as on our NAC 252 / NAP 300 / NDS system the upgrade really was substantial compared to Naim’s NAC A5 speaker cable. Firstly the soundstage grew in width and depth, the bass was more controlled but for me it was the extra space it gave everything, everything was more Airy and open with vocals having more presence, basically everything was improved, so I was sold and ordered our demo setup there and then, I’m so easy sometimes :-)

Basically the Super Lumina speaker cables and interconnects were designed alongside Naim’s £150,000 Statement system but used in a more modest system the gains are still there to be heard, it really is almost like a hardware upgrade, like adding one of Naim’s power supplies, even if you are not running a Naim system they would certainly be worth trying.

We have now got a 7m pair of Super Lumina speaker cables, this is the problem with having our main Naim system to one side of the room, and a Din-Din interconnect, the proof in the quality of these cables is trying them at home so if you would like to borrow them please feel free to get in touch and to take them home for a few days.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/naim-super-lumina-cables

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1257_zpsijevkhwk.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1257_zpsijevkhwk.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1262_zps01fplyxd.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1262_zps01fplyxd.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1264_zpsimfqnmbm.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1264_zpsimfqnmbm.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/super-lumina-1_zpstoz8airj.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/super-lumina-1_zpstoz8airj.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Screen%20Shot%202015-04-18%20at%2016.01.18_zpskfqimwpu.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Screen%20Shot%202015-04-18%20at%2016.01.18_zpskfqimwpu.png.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
21-04-2015, 09:13
Hi All,

Sonus Faber have slowly been working their way through their speaker range with new models being released over the last couple of years, the latest make over is to their entry level range of speakers, so out with the Toy range and in with the new Chameleon range, I have to say that these look like a great speaker at an excellent price with a novel idea and a great name to match.

These are classic Sonus Faber, so expect plenty of leather and style but the main difference form any other speaker that I have seen before are the exchangeable side panels in a choice of 6 colours, a very cool and fun idea.

There are 3 speakers in the range, a bookshelf, a floor stander and a centre speaker so it is very simple to create a multi channel Chameleon setup and with prices being extremely reasonable, starting at £388 for the centre speaker I can see these being very popular indeed.

We have on order the bookshelf and floorstanders for demo along with all the different colour panels, they are due in a few weeks time so please keep an eye out on the website for more information, please find a link to the range on our site and a few pictures below -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/Chameleon-collection-by-sonus-faber

Chameleon B

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_390_zpszjwu5z8z.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_390_zpszjwu5z8z.jpg. html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/1-Slide-Chameleon-B1_zps0wtbx8xg.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/1-Slide-Chameleon-B1_zps0wtbx8xg.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_53_zpsnkrgj4b6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_53_zpsnkrgj4b6.jpg.h tml)

Chameleon T

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_132_zpsgets8obi.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_132_zpsgets8obi.jpg. html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_115_zpsg0wmk8my.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_115_zpsg0wmk8my.jpg. html)

Chameleon C

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_360_zpsrl2zcj9n.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_360_zpsrl2zcj9n.jpg. html)

Colour Choices

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_5_zps2ghpeuaf.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_5_zps2ghpeuaf.jpg.ht ml)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_8_zpsya9dcjbc.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_8_zpsya9dcjbc.jpg.ht ml)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_7_zpstoovbrnh.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_7_zpstoovbrnh.jpg.ht ml)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_9_zpsrf1swp9x.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_9_zpsrf1swp9x.jpg.ht ml)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_6_zpsrvofqsab.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_6_zpsrvofqsab.jpg.ht ml)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_10_zpsbpmbhnbh.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Sonus_faber_chameleon_gallery_10_zpsbpmbhnbh.jpg.h tml)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
21-04-2015, 12:57
At HiFi Lounge we are pleased to be offering the Magneplanar 1.7 Speakers. These are our demo speakers with very little use and are in excellent condition and will come boxed with all documentation, they are around 12 months old and are in black cloth with aluminium trim, as new.

We are an authorised Magneplanar Dealer so please buy with Confidence!

New Price - £2700
Our Price - £1995

Collection Only!

More information below -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/magnepan-mg1-7-speakers

These speakers can be viewed at our demo rooms in Bedfordshire, so please feel free to come and have a look and listen, if you could just ring first that would be much appreciated.

If you would like more information please call Paul on 01767 448121 (8am-5.30pm) or e-mail on paul@hifilounge.co.uk

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF4049_zpsa0c5iw3n.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF4049_zpsa0c5iw3n.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF4052_zpsc95zjnvh.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF4052_zpsc95zjnvh.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/DSCF4050_zpsoinluycl.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/DSCF4050_zpsoinluycl.jpg.html)

Thanks,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
21-04-2015, 14:35
Hi All,

I know a lot of people have been waiting for us to get the new Chord Electronics 2Qute Dac on demo so I just wanted to scribble a quick post to say that our demo model has just arrived.

For those who don’t know this is basically a Hugo in a Chordette chassis without the internal battery, so it runs of the mains, and no headphone output but still offers that award winning Hugo sound.

This really is the perfect DAC for home HiFi’s as well as the heart to a top end headphone rig, used as a Dac into something like a Stax rig or a Trilogy amp will really be something quite special, that is the beauty of the 2Qute, it is so versatile, and priced at £995 it won’t break the bank, so please feel free to get in touch to arrange a demo.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/chord-2qute-dac

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Chord_2Qute_side2_WHT_zpsnoht7osz.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Chord_2Qute_side2_WHT_zpsnoht7osz.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Chord_2Qute_Top_WHT_zpsiwcywxsu.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Chord_2Qute_Top_WHT_zpsiwcywxsu.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/1d718e32_10891699_575523122547713_9739383594124963 8_n_zpsllhcli2j.jpeg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/1d718e32_10891699_575523122547713_9739383594124963 8_n_zpsllhcli2j.jpeg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
28-04-2015, 12:04
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Screen%20Shot%202015-04-28%20at%2010.46.06_zpsnqmt8mj0.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Screen%20Shot%202015-04-28%20at%2010.46.06_zpsnqmt8mj0.png.html)

Hi All,

I did promise myself that this year I wouldn’t bring on anymore brands, but so far we have added Chord Cables, Chord Electronics, Well Tempered and Isol-8 so that new years resolution didn’t go very well to be honest :-) but for some time now I have been looking for a brand that just did streaming transports, so basically a network player that you add your own DAC to or can plug directly into a Devialet etc, so I am really pleased to be able to add Aurender to our portfolio, that is definitely it for this year, I promise.

Why did we go with Aurender? several reasons really, firstly control, their app really is excellent, obviously sound quality is the most important aspect of any HiFi purchase but with network players the control point is almost as important, you need a feature rich app that works and doesn’t crash and this is where Aurender really score big. It has all the normal features such as playlists etc but also includes cool features like being able to drill down by whether 16bit or 24bit files, even DSD which is also supported, then you can go one step further and search by frequency rate, so 44.1Khz as an example, all clever stuff.

Another great idea of the Aurender range of transports is that whichever model you go for will buffer the audio to its internal Solid State Drive before playing, so basically no moving parts are involved in the playback, I have found in the past that playing audio back from a SSD drive or USB drive always sounds better than direct from a conventional Hard Drive.

At the moment there are 3 models with another due to launch shortly, the N100 is basically a streamer that takes the data from your NAS drive, the X100L has either 6TB or 12TB of internal storage, both os these only have a USB output so perfect for something like a Chord 2Qute DAC or Hugo TT as well as a source for Devialet, then there is the Flagship W20 with multiple Digital outputs.

At the moment we have the N100 and X100L on demo so please feel free to come in to have a look and listen, please find more information below on our website -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/aurender

Aurender N100

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Aurender%20N100-3_zpspsuvrrek.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Aurender%20N100-3_zpspsuvrrek.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Aurender_front_041_zpsswprbsyu.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Aurender_front_041_zpsswprbsyu.jpg.html)

Aurender X100L

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/jwbMTNuEdiQkaHcO_zpsi5z0b9qt.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/jwbMTNuEdiQkaHcO_zpsi5z0b9qt.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/aurender-x100l_zpspfjnpoml.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/aurender-x100l_zpspfjnpoml.jpg.html)

Aurender W20

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Screen%20Shot%202015-04-28%20at%2010.43.41_zpsv8xy0wyw.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Screen%20Shot%202015-04-28%20at%2010.43.41_zpsv8xy0wyw.png.html)

Our Demo N100 + X100L

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF4203_zpscelxnbbc.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF4203_zpscelxnbbc.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/DSCF4197_zpsjqolhawp.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/DSCF4197_zpsjqolhawp.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
15-05-2015, 10:47
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/CHORD_DAVE_FR_WHT_zpszc15prgd.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/CHORD_DAVE_FR_WHT_zpszc15prgd.jpg.html)

Hi All,

It is that time of year again when the Munich Highend Show is on and most manufacturers launch some really exciting new products, but this is the one that has caught my eye.

I must admit I have been totally won over by Chords DAC’s recently, starting with the Hugo, then the 2Qute, then last week we got our Hugo TT, which is stunning I have to say but yesterday Chord introduced DAVE to the world, their new reference DAC which they are calling the most advanced DAC the world has ever seen, priced at £7950 it isn’t cheap but I can only imagine how good it will be.

Not only is it the most advanced DAC available but it is also a digital Preamp and also a headphone amp, could this be the best headphone amp the world has ever seen? quite possibly.

I won’t attempt to explain why this DAC is so good but please see below for Chords press release and if you’d like anymore information please don’t hesitate to get in touch -

CHORD ELECTRONICS INTRODUCES THE MOST ADVANCED DAC IN THE WORLD: DAVE

Chord Electronics has launched its most advanced DAC to date. Given the acronym DAVE, Chord’s latest-generation digital-to-analogue convertor features the very best conversion technology available, using proprietary techniques never seen before.

DAVE is a highly advanced reference-grade DAC, digital preamp and headphone amplifier. Hand-made in Kent, DAVE is based around a proprietary FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) offering more than ten times the program capacity of its predecessor.

At its heart lies a new (and in electronics terms, huge) LX75 version of the Spartan 6 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The FPGA’s extraordinary capability enables a number of key sonic benefits including significantly improved timing and the best noise-shaper performance of any known DAC. DAVE’s technology delivers music with unmatched reality and musicality, with an unrivalled timing response.

Technology in depth: new WTA filter

Chord Electronics has implemented a brand new WTA (Watts Transient Aligned) filter with 164,000 taps. WTA filtering is now up to 256 FS (that’s 256-times the sample frequency) — no other DAC has ever FIR filtered at such a high rate! In order to process signals at this unprecedented rate, DAVE has massive parallel-processing capacity with 166 separate DSP cores just for the WTA filtering alone. This enables DAVE to reproduce the original unsampled analogue signal more accurately than any other DAC.

The output stage has been advanced with a new 20-element Pulse Array DAC and a unique second-order analogue noise-shaper, which gives ultra-high-frequency linearity. Its output feeds both balanced XLR and single-ended RCA outputs, as well as an advanced headphone output with more than enough capability for the most impedance-challenging headphones.

Display

A key benefit over its predecessor is a full-sized LCD display, showing input, sample frequency and volume, plus set-up and configuration options. The display, which sits behind the famous Chord porthole, is clearly visible from a variety of angles and retains the signature colour display for volume and sample rate as introduced by the landmark Hugo DAC/headphone amp. On its fascia, DAVE also features a rotary encoder with a large stainless steel controller and ball buttons, enabling direct interactivity in addition to the supplied remote control.

DAVE’s advanced technology is enshrined in Chord Electronics’ trademark casework which has been precision-milled from solid aircraft-grade aluminium to deliver functional strength and rigidity, as well as great beauty. Simply stated, DAVE is the most advanced DAC in the world, something Chord Electronics is immensely proud of.

Why DAVE?

Chord has given its most advanced DAC to date a moniker that best reflects the product’s capability; a device so advanced and with so few compromises, that it is absolutely truthful in the extreme; a standard that all other DACs on the market simply cannot hope to match.

Chord initially looked at using Latinised versions of the term ‘Extreme Truth’ or ‘Veritas’ in a move away from model names with simple numbers and letters. Chord eventually chose the acronym DAVE which joins Hugo and stands for Digital to Analogue Veritas in Extremis.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/CHORD_DAVE_HI_WHT_zpsmwzi9dh7.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/CHORD_DAVE_HI_WHT_zpsmwzi9dh7.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/CHORD_DAVE_HPHONES_WHT_zpsy3mo81vs.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/CHORD_DAVE_HPHONES_WHT_zpsy3mo81vs.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/CHORD_DAVE_FR_WHT_zpszc15prgd.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/CHORD_DAVE_FR_WHT_zpszc15prgd.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/CHORD_DAVE_REAR_zpsxpvi7j4x.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/CHORD_DAVE_REAR_zpsxpvi7j4x.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
23-05-2015, 16:17
Magneplanar 1.7's advertised above now reduced to £1700 to make way for the new 1.7i model.

HiFi Lounge
23-05-2015, 16:17
At HiFi Lounge we are pleased to be offering the excellent Musical Fidelity A308cr Dual Mono Preamplifier and A308cr Dual Mono Power Amplifier, all in excellent condition, boxed with all instructions, internal packaging, manuals and remote.

The Volume does sometimes stick a little when using the remote, it is fine by hand though, I have reduced the price accordingly, it can be fixed by Musical Fidelity if required.

This system was a customer trade in who is now a happy owner of a Musical Fidelity NuVista 800, he has owned it all since new and it comes from a non smokers home and also child and pet free.

We are an Authorised Musical Fidelity Dealer so please buy with confidence.

Our Price - £1500

Collection Only!

More Information here -

http://www.musicalfidelity.com/uploads/manuals/English/a308crpow_eng.pdf

http://www.musicalfidelity.com/uploads/manuals/English/a308crpre.pdf

These can be listened to at our demo rooms in Bedfordshire, so please feel free to come and have a listen, if you could just ring first that would be much appreciated.

If you would like more information please call Paul on 01767 448121 (8am-5.30pm) or e-mail on paul@hifilounge.co.uk

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/IMG_1314_zpszy1yxfbq.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/IMG_1314_zpszy1yxfbq.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/IMG_1320_zpsqkklmvqe.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/IMG_1320_zpsqkklmvqe.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/IMG_1315_zpsdbnjkd4v.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/IMG_1315_zpsdbnjkd4v.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/IMG_1321_zpsyfb08ufk.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/IMG_1321_zpsyfb08ufk.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/IMG_1323_zpsqrjg7vkd.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/IMG_1323_zpsqrjg7vkd.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/IMG_1324_zpsfx8tahv3.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/IMG_1324_zpsfx8tahv3.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/IMG_1326_zpsie3g6ml1.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/IMG_1326_zpsie3g6ml1.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/For%20Sale/IMG_1329_zps3aie4dc8.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/For%20Sale/IMG_1329_zps3aie4dc8.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
26-05-2015, 09:51
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Cars/IMG_1465_zpskyowtftx.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Cars/IMG_1465_zpskyowtftx.jpg.html)

Hi All,

It certainly all seems to be cars, cars and more cars here at the moment, every weekend we seem to be at a different car event, this weekend though was pretty cool as Wendy and myself got invited along to Silverstone for the Blancpain GT race at Silverstone as guests of Naim Audio and Bentley Cars, Naim are one of Bentleys sponsors, it was a great event with a range of supercars hammering around Silverstone, a really awesome sight to see.

The real highlight though was that we were allowed access to the grid as the cars were forming for the start, I’ve been to countless races over the years but have never had this opportunity, it really was quite surreal, it really did feel like you shouldn’t be there, I’m sure all the mechanics must hate us getting in the way, it was great fun though.

It was a 3 hour race and Bentley put up a good show but it was eventually won by a McLaren, if anyone in interested there is a 2min highlight reel below -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLEC8B95916B0BA0A2&v=yq1ntBtYlkk

So Thanks for Naim for the invite and a great day out, as ever please find a few pictures below -

The Lamborghini’s were racing in their own race series, this is an expensive car park -

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Cars/IMG_1457_zpsbwtvlx5r.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Cars/IMG_1457_zpsbwtvlx5r.jpg.html)

OUCH!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Cars/IMG_1459_zps12wufnam.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Cars/IMG_1459_zps12wufnam.jpg.html)

How gorgeous are these 2 show Lambo's

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Cars/IMG_1445_zps1esjjrod.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Cars/IMG_1445_zps1esjjrod.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Cars/IMG_1452_zpstfwtnqmp.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Cars/IMG_1452_zpstfwtnqmp.jpg.html)

On The Grid as everyone gets ready to start the 3 hour race.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Cars/IMG_1464_zps32vei8gg.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Cars/IMG_1464_zps32vei8gg.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Cars/IMG_1478_zpsksoexbfk.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Cars/IMG_1478_zpsksoexbfk.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Cars/IMG_1481_zpsrbo07ftl.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Cars/IMG_1481_zpsrbo07ftl.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Cars/IMG_1489_zpsro2x1mng.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Cars/IMG_1489_zpsro2x1mng.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Cars/IMG_1496_zpsw1bohzbq.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Cars/IMG_1496_zpsw1bohzbq.jpg.html)

Bentley In Hot Pursuit

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Cars/IMG_1520_zpsnzh3lru6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Cars/IMG_1520_zpsnzh3lru6.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
05-06-2015, 08:31
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/PMC%20Speakers/image001_zpskwnh2olf.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/PMC%20Speakers/image001_zpskwnh2olf.png.html)

Hi all,

This proved to be a very popular promotion last time PMC run it so they have decided to bring it back for June, July and August this year.

Basically if you buy a any new Twenty Series speakers during these 3 months you have a chance to get your money back, so you get a free pair of speakers, can’t be bad. All you have to do is register your new speakers within 14 days of receiving them then PMC will hold a draw during July, August and September and 3 lucky people will get their money back, happy days.

I know it is easy to say that you never win these kind of draws but one of our lucky customers did win the last Golden Ticket promotion and actually got his money back on a pair of Twenty.23′s, so you really do never know.

Also don’t forget our Big PMC Open day on July 18th where PMC will be opening their doors for the first time to the public, they will be running various speaker setups culminating in their stunning Active MB2 XBD-A speakers, I really can’t wait to hear these :-) If the weather behaves I’m hoping it will be like a PMC Summer party, oh yes not forgetting the BBQ.

We will also be offering 10% off any PMC Speakers purchased at the event so really there has never been a better time to buy a pair of PMC Speakers, I hope I’m not starting to sound like a salesman :-)

More information below on the PMC Twenty Range of speakers and the Open Day -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/pmc-speakers

http://hifilounge.tumblr.com/post/118856978028/boys-toys-day-july-18th-with-hifi-lounge-pmc

Hope to see you on the 18th July.

Cheers,

Paul.

HiFi Lounge
11-06-2015, 18:06
Hi All,

Now I know I can get a little over excited when we get a new product in here, emperors new cloths and all that, but ever since Devialet unveiled the Phantom just before Christmas I have been gagging to get my hands on one but due to Harrods exclusivity deal this wasn’t possible, although I nearly did venture into Harrods to buy one just so I could see if all the glowing reviews really were justified.

Well after a 6 month wait Devialet bought in a couple of Silver Phantoms for us to listen today, now like a lot of us I have read the reviews, but in all honesty they really did seem to good to be true so once both Phantom’s were hooked up I think it is fair to say that my expectations were pretty high and I was ready to be disappointed. Well the good news is that these awesome looking wireless speakers exceeded what I was expecting, I instantly had a big smile on my face as we tried some of my favourite tracks. The first thing that strikes you is the bass, it is immense, extremely solid and powerful, a couple of times I found it a bit much but you can set the Phantom to night mode which tones the bass down a little so it is good to have the choice, then we tried some vocal music, this is where Phantom really surprised me, voices come across as very natural and effortless with that excellent low Devialet noise floor where everything seems to project itself from an eery silence. So in two words, very impressed.

We used Devialet’s new Dialogue to get everything up and running, you don’t have to use a Dialogue but it certainly makes it all a lot easier to get Phantom up and running and to use the new Spark app with Tidal and other streaming services built in so definitely recommended as a partner for Phantom and around Christmas time the Dialogue will add UPNP streaming to the Expert range which really is excellent news.

We run 2 Phantoms in tandem but you can run up to 24, now that would be scary as just 2 had the room shaking with some of the demo tracks used, you just can’t state how powerful these things are, it really is quite astonishing technology.

HiFi Lounge has signed up to be a Devialet Premier dealer making us one of only 8 outlets in the UK where you can demo and buy Phantom, we have planned a Devialet open day for the end of August where you will be able to come along to experience Phantom and the Expert range and speak to representatives from Devialet, these guys really are bringing a different slant to highend music playback and we are really excited to be part on board for the journey.

We will have our Phantom stock around the beginning of July so not too much longer to wait, Devialet have done a slight re-design to add Bluetooth to Phantom which has held things up a little, but it is certainly well worth the wait.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/devialet

Below are a few pictures and a couple of links to quick videos I shot as it really is worth seeing a Phantom in action :-)

https://youtu.be/lvO4X8R77qY

https://youtu.be/7vfpoxai3JE

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1716_zpsdbfkccyl.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1716_zpsdbfkccyl.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1718_zps8xwh80as.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1718_zps8xwh80as.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1720_zpsnvvjlqxv.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1720_zpsnvvjlqxv.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1721_zpsza7ttiis.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1721_zpsza7ttiis.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1725_zpsfbddwzyw.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1725_zpsfbddwzyw.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1726_zpswazchx2e.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1726_zpswazchx2e.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1728_zpskgeidbbv.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1728_zpskgeidbbv.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
20-06-2015, 16:55
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/banner-hfl-devialet-openday_1_zps7hgxminh.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/banner-hfl-devialet-openday_1_zps7hgxminh.jpg.html)

Hi All,

It’s unusual for us to do 2 open days over 2 weekends, one after the other, but I really can’t wait to be able to give everyone a chance to hear Devialet’s new wireless speaker, Phantom, as it really is something else, so we have arranged a Devialet Open Day the weekend after our Boys Toys Day for July 25th with representatives at HiFi Lounge from Devialet to help answer your Devialet Phantom and Expert questions.

We will be focusing mainly on Phantom, so showing it in its one speaker configuration or as a stereo pair system + you will be able to compare the White Phantom against the more powerful Silver Phantom, I don’t want to overstate how good the Phantom is but I really can assure you that you will be quite amazed how such a small and stylish piece of electronics can sound this good, you really would have never seen or heard anything like it before.

Being that it is a Devialet day I would like to also run various expert systems including Dual Mono setups of the 400 and 800 using our Aurender transports for sources with SAM running, we will plan a timetable of events nearer the time and will update this blog accordingly as it would be nice to have a RAM demo also to show how easy it is to alter turntable cartridge parameters on the fly with Devialet’s new firmware but we’ll have to see how the day pans out as I can see Phantom stealing the show.

Back to Phantom, I was lucky enough to hear a stereo Silver Phantom setup last week, below are my initial impressions, to say I was impressed was an understatement.

http://hifilounge.tumblr.com/post/121283485563/devialet-phantom-in-he-building-at-long-last

We are expecting our Phantom stock around the end of June so if you can’t make the open day please feel free to come in anytime for a listen but if you can make the open day it would be great to see you on July 25th for a day to enjoy all things Devialet. As normal we will be offering refreshments throughout the day and we will have plenty of Phantoms in stock if you wanted to take one home on the day, I know some people are not going to be able to resist once they have heard it, I have already ordered my one :-)

More news about the days schedule once I have it, If you would like to attend could you please fire me over an e-mail to paul@hifilounge.co.uk so we know how many to expect, thanks.

Below is a link to Devialet on our website + a few pictures from a Devialet event we attended earlier this week.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/devialet

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/IMG_1757_zps3vq3u2bn.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/IMG_1757_zps3vq3u2bn.jpg.html)

The Standard Phantom rated at 750 Watts Per Channel

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/IMG_1737_zpsxtgqxa7o.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/IMG_1737_zpsxtgqxa7o.jpg.html)

The Silver Phantom rated at 3000 Watts Per Channel

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/IMG_1753_zpswbnx5pis.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/IMG_1753_zpswbnx5pis.jpg.html)

Devialet Expert 400 and 800 Systems

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/devialet-400-slide_zpsntbylzqf.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/devialet-400-slide_zpsntbylzqf.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/devialet-800-slide_zps4cym1fcf.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/devialet-800-slide_zps4cym1fcf.jpg.html)

Hope to see you on July 25th,

Cheers,

Paul.

HiFi Lounge
29-06-2015, 12:21
Hi All,

As many will know we are big fans of Michell Engineering turntables here and it really isn’t everyday that they announce a new deck but we are very lucky to have been lent something new From Michell to give a try which is due to be released shortly, basically is it a re-think on the Orbe SE Turntable which can sit on the Michell Iso Base and with the matching SECure cover looks stunning but for some people it could be considered a little on the large side, so the SE-R is basically a low profile Orbe SE with the turntable built into the base, Michell have also taken this opportunity to offer better isolation and damping with the new base, one thing this is for sure is that it looks totally stunning.

I have been running it in into our Devialet 400 system with PMC Twenty.26′s and as a system it really is well matched, what I love about the Michell Decks, other than the looks :-) as that you get a fantastic analogue sound with all the detail but presented with real weight and drive, they really do offer brilliant turntables.

We have our third anniversary vinyl event coming up on October 17th which will be in conjunction with Michell Engineering so we will most definitely be using the Orbe SE-R for that, it will be a Vinyl day with an 80′s theme so should be good fun.

Below are a few pics of the Orbe SE and the new Orbe SE-R so you can compare to 2 different looks -

I don’t have any price details or availability yet but will update our Michell product page as soon as I have these details.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/michell-engineering

Original Orbe SE

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Orbe%20SE_zpsvfggkf7f.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Orbe%20SE_zpsvfggkf7f.jpg.html)

The New Orbe SE-R

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1832_zpsb1abg24c.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1832_zpsb1abg24c.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1829_zpsef34yjuh.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1829_zpsef34yjuh.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1830_zpslkhhclvt.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1830_zpslkhhclvt.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1834_zpsuwgfcyso.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1834_zpsuwgfcyso.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1841_zpsxvwozrvr.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1841_zpsxvwozrvr.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1842_zpstiwqucbh.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1842_zpstiwqucbh.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1844_zpsgwivy96s.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1844_zpsgwivy96s.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_1845_zpsvgovvn8x.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_1845_zpsvgovvn8x.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
02-07-2015, 09:05
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/banner-hfl-boystoys-final-Final_zps2o53dsn9.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/banner-hfl-boystoys-final-Final_zps2o53dsn9.jpg.html)

An Open Day For Both HiFi and Car Enthusiasts.

Hi all,

Well with our Boys Toys Open day only a couple of weeks away now I thought I would do a quick update, basically we have over 100 people registered now with a great collection of cars coming along which really is excellent news, I really didn’t know what response we would get to this idea but it seems to have gone done well so far, so thanks to everyone who has registered so far.

Obviously the biggest concern when organising an event like this is that it is heavily reliant on good weather, well I have just done a long range forecast on Accuweather and it is showing a big round yellow sun at the moment so it is looking very promising :-)

I will update this one more time at the beginning of the week of the event but the basic timetable will be for the car owners to come to HiFi Lounge from 9am onwards for Sausage and Bacon butties on the BBQ for breakfast in the HiFi Lounge gardens, then around 11am we will go for around a 40 min drive around some gorgeous Bedfordshire lanes, so make sure you have fuel in the tank, to arrive at PMC around 12pm where the HiFi fun will begin.

We will have the run of the downstairs of PMC’s stunning Georgian Manor House where you will be able to hear a Best of British system comprising of Naim, Rega and PMC Twenty Speakers, there will be a headphone room using the Bryston BHA-1, PMC will be holding demo’s in their mixing room to show how studio work is done then there is the main event, a chance to hear the awesome active MB2 XBD-A’s with a £30K Vertere Turntable, and as a bonus Stephen Hill, a local artist and petrolhead will be displaying a collection of his car art, I have known Stephen for many years now, he actually designed our HiFi Lounge logo and he really has a unique style that looks really awesome.

Finally there will be a Hog Roast and drinks available at PMC so all in all it really should be a fun event, oh yes, not forgetting there is a 10% discount on any PMC or Bryston purchased on the day.

So to sum up, cars to HiFi Lounge for the morning and all the HiFi guys to PMC from midday onwards, for anyone who hasn’t registered yet please fire over an e-mail to me on paul@hifilounge.co.uk

For those who didn’t see the below newsletter that PMC sent out I thought I would copy it below.

Hope to see everyone on July 18th :-)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/PG1_zpsntirwrm1.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/PG1_zpsntirwrm1.png.html)
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/PG2_zpsmb6btokl.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/PG2_zpsmb6btokl.png.html)
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/PG3_zpsem1q3ne8.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/PG3_zpsem1q3ne8.png.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
16-07-2015, 12:43
Hi All,

As the weekend is now getting close we thought it would be worth posting the route that we will be driving through the Bedfordshire Countryside once we leave HiFi Lounge around 11.30am after breakfast to arrive at PMC around midday.

I really want to park all the sports cars in one area at HiFi Lounge so that we can all leave as a convoy, the idea is for only sports cars to come to HFL for breakfast, normally everyone would be welcome but due to restricted parking spaces and the number of people and cars intending to come we really would only mainly like sports cars here, thanks.

Anyway on with the route :-)

Countryside Sports Car Driving Route - Wrestlingworth Ring

Route from HiFi Lounge to PMC

30 minute driving route of 15 miles of beautiful Bedfordshire countryside.

We will be driving through a number of villages please respect the speed restrictions and enjoy the fabulous driving on the route in between.

When arriving at PMC we will be turning directly off the A1 at a point where there is no slip road, please be careful to try and space out as we approach to avoid backing the traffic up to the Biggleswade roundabout.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/0602_900_ferrari_f430_lotus_exige2006_ferrari_f430 _and_lotus_exigevarious_front_low_views_zpsyaidrsp x.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/0602_900_ferrari_f430_lotus_exige2006_ferrari_f430 _and_lotus_exigevarious_front_low_views_zpsyaidrsp x.jpg.html)

Route Step by Step:


Leave HiFi Lounge Millow Hall Farm - Turn right
Dunton Roundabout - Take 3rd exit
Drive through - Dunton (30mph)
Drive along ‘Cambridge Road Straight’ (60 mph)
Drive through - Eyeworth (40 mph)
Drive the ‘Eyeworth Esses’ (60 mph)
Turn Left onto B1042 High Street, Wrestlingworth
Drive through - Wrestlingworth (30 mph)
Pass by Cockayne Hatley via ‘Hatley Road Corner’ (60 mph)
Down ‘Hatley Hill’
Take 1st Left - Sutton Road (40mph)
Cross staggered cross roads ‘Follow Through’ across B1042
Continue Sutton Road (60 mph)
Pass by Sutton and enjoy ‘Sutton Road Curves’
Dunton Roundabout - Take 2nd exit
Drive by HiFi Lounge - Millow (30mph)
2nd Left - Towards Water Tower A1 junction
Mini Roundabout - Take 1st exit for slip road onto A1
‘Final Straight’ - to Biggleswade Roundabout (60/70mph)
Biggleswade Roundabout - Keep to in inside lane
Go straight over roundabout, take it easy exiting A1 North
PMC is 1st left off roundabout - 300 yards
Enjoy PMC and afternoon of fun


http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Open%20Days/Drive%20Route%20Map_zpsdtw0yzbo.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Open%20Days/Drive%20Route%20Map_zpsdtw0yzbo.png.html)

Google maps full directions:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Millow+SG18+8RH/Wrestlingworth+SG19+2EJ/52.1259108,-0.2043672/Millow+SG18+8RH/Biggleswade+SG18+9ST/@52.0937738,-0.1811151,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m37!4m36!1m5!1m1!1s0x4877cd90f899ff 13:0x8502b3aa926cd16c!2m2!1d-0.2069681!2d52.0766006!1m10!1m1!1s0x4877d18ddad0fa 27:0x86465fc2dd67c1d1!2m2!1d-0.1628086!2d52.1150164!3m4!1m2!1d-0.1884954!2d52.1293318!3s0x4877d1de6f6b0d07:0x39b2 2658cca13bb7!1m0!1m10!1m1!1s0x4877cd90f899ff13:0x8 502b3aa926cd16c!2m2!1d-0.2069681!2d52.0766006!3m4!1m2!1d-0.2114171!2d52.0696979!3s0x4877cd9fc7802f43:0x508a cebfc8c988ee!1m5!1m1!1s0x4877cc5030a851f1:0x4d3df7 ab67cee564!2m2!1d-0.2497209!2d52.0733409!3e0

Roll on Saturday :-)

Cheers,

Paul.

HiFi Lounge
23-07-2015, 08:49
Hi All,

As everyone knows we love our Sonus Faber speakers at HiFi Lounge, no one makes a speaker that looks as beautiful as Sonus Faber and they still retain their lifelike and organic presentation that really can make the hairs on the back of your next stand up. Well slowly but surely they have been working their way through their range of speakers with new designs, the latest is the introduction of the Chameleon range with replaces the Toy range.

Now this is Sonus Faber’s entry level range of speakers but you really wouldn’t know it, they are beautifully built with the classic Sonus Faber leather trim, chrome surrounds around the drivers, magnetic grills, all hand made in Italy and best of all they have interchangeable side panels. Now I have never known this before on a pair of speakers but it is such a great idea, at the moment there are 6 different colours, Red, Orange, White, Black, Blue and Grey, so you can choose a colour to match your decor or if you fancy a change just swap over the panels to a different colour. I guess if you wanted you could even take the panels to a car body shop and get them sprayed any colour you like, ingenious :-) We have all 6 colours on demo if you’d like to see how they look.

Best of all in my opinion is the price, without panels the bookshelves only cost £555 with the panels costing £145 a pair and the floorstanders only cost £1338 with the panels costing £332 for the pair, when you see the finish of these speakers you really won’t believe how much you get for your money.

How do they sound? Like classic Sonus Faber’s, so plenty of detail but this is presented in a full, rich and lifelike manor, not forward but just very natural.

Below is a link to the Chameleons on our website, a link to a Sonus Faber Chameleon video and a few pictures, if you’d like to come in for a listen please feel free -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/Chameleon-collection-by-sonus-faber

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYuoFalbMSg

Sonus Faber Chameleon T

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2004_zpsl07a7gc8.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2004_zpsl07a7gc8.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2006_zpsfdudyggu.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2006_zpsfdudyggu.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2008_zps70mqjl02.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2008_zps70mqjl02.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2010_zpsmft774v3.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2010_zpsmft774v3.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2011_zpsoazxe9p7.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2011_zpsoazxe9p7.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2013_zpswykysdar.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2013_zpswykysdar.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2016_zpst09l0xu6.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2016_zpst09l0xu6.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2017_zpsp85lfo4q.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2017_zpsp85lfo4q.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2019_zpsidwpqoau.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2019_zpsidwpqoau.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2021_zps4eyduun8.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2021_zps4eyduun8.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2025_zpsdtdlzfy5.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2025_zpsdtdlzfy5.jpg.html)

Sonus Faber Chameleon B

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2131_zpsw6x3wmfn.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2131_zpsw6x3wmfn.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2132_zpseiarpcro.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2132_zpseiarpcro.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2133_zpsrfg8pg4l.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2133_zpsrfg8pg4l.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2134_zps6bplpmet.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2134_zps6bplpmet.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2135_zpsbyzagnrt.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2135_zpsbyzagnrt.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2137_zpsf3bzwlbs.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Sonus%20Faber/IMG_2137_zpsf3bzwlbs.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
28-07-2015, 07:56
Hi All,

I just wanted to make one more post regarding our Boys Toys Day, I have been forwarded some amazing pictures over the last week, when I get a chance I will sit down and compile an album of the day but I just wanted to put a couple of links below to 2 more albums, one from Dave Yuen and the other from Steve Wright, thanks guys, some awesome pictures there :-)

Steve Wright -

http://bit.ly/1MsNstW

Dave Yuen -

http://bit.ly/1gimdpX

Cheers,

Paul.

HiFi Lounge
01-09-2015, 12:46
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/PMC%20Speakers/image006_zpsazkkftyq.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/PMC%20Speakers/image006_zpsazkkftyq.jpg.html)

Hi All,

As everyone knows we love our PMC Speakers at HFL, so when PMC mentioned that they are running a promotion during September where i Series owners can easily trade in their speakers against the new Twenty range we were really pleased to be part of the scheme.

So how does it work? Basically if you have an i Series pair of speakers and would like to explore upgrading to the multi award winning Twenty range of speakers just get in touch, we need to know the finish, age, condition and if boxed, we will then give you a very competitive price for your speakers.

The idea is to take the hassle away from the customer who would have to sell their speakers on, I know some people are happy to do this but a lot of people don’t use 2nd hand HiFi forums or eBay, this way we can collect your speakers when we deliver your new Twenty speakers so it couldn’t be easier really.

This offer is running throughout September so if you would like us to give you a price for your i Series speakers please get in touch, it may not cost as much as you think to upgrade to the Twenty range of speakers, we have the full range of Twenty speakers on demo so please feel free to come in for a demo.

It is also worth mentioning that PMC’s prices will be going up on many of their speakers on September 30th, so maybe another reason to upgrade now.

More information can be found in the below link + the voucher required -

https://sp1.actemarketing.com/speasapage.aspx?X=5L12LX63EOOJIM8F00Y9WW

http://hifilounge.co.uk/pmc-speakers

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/PMC%20Speakers/Screen%20Shot%202015-09-01%20at%2012.01.33_zpss9gv4r0f.png (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/PMC%20Speakers/Screen%20Shot%202015-09-01%20at%2012.01.33_zpss9gv4r0f.png.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
07-09-2015, 15:06
Hi All,

A quick announcement to let everyone know that Focal Speakers are now available to listen to at HiFi Lounge.

For some time now I have been keeping an eye on Focal speakers as they have always interested me as a brand, especially since partnering up with Naim, so I have patiently been waiting for them to bring out something exciting that would really grab my attention, yes the Aria’s are great speakers and fantastic value for money, but exciting, not really. But then in the September issue of HiFi+ they had a bright orange pair of Focal’s new Sopra speakers on the cover, then followed a stunning review of the Sopra No2 with a review score of 88%, needless to say my interest was peaked so a quick call later and a pair of Sopra No1′s arrived fro me to listen to. Firstly you can’t help but be impressed with the looks and finish, these are stunning looking speakers, but obviously most importantly they sound fantastic. The review picked up on how well they imaged and gave a huge soundstage, I have to agree, the soundstage is amazing, it goes far beyond the speakers, not sure how they achieve this but it is pretty special. This review can be read below, needless to say I was sold -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/image/attachments/Focal/Focal_Sopra_HiFi-News_Sept15.pdf

The Sopra range is the first range of speakers that Focal have used Naim electronics to develop them on, the new Naim 272/250 and NAP300 were used I believe, so there really is a great synergy with Naim, saying that I have also been using them on Bryston and Devialet and they sound equally as impressive. Also Focal are known for their driver design and technology and with the Sopra range they have 3 innovations that they are very proud of, NIC. TMD and IHL, I won’t go into depth here but please come in for a listen as these new Sopra’s really are something quite special.

Now I am going through a bit of an Orange phase at the moment so it wasn’t probably the smartest move, especially when I try to sell these on one day, but I just couldn’t resist ordering our demo No2’s in Orange, and I have to say they look absolutely stunning, well I think so anyway :-) Don’t worry though as they come in a variety of different colours.

So if you would like to explore the Focal range of speakers, we have Aria on demo also, please feel free to get in touch to arrange coming in for a listen, below is a link to the Focal range on our website and a few pictures.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/focal

Focal’s Sopra No2′s Arrive!

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/1_zpswgbidqoi.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/1_zpswgbidqoi.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/2_zpsorgn6su8.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/2_zpsorgn6su8.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/3_zpsxahu8j1q.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/3_zpsxahu8j1q.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/4_zpscmlseywn.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/4_zpscmlseywn.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/5_zpsm9zn21av.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/5_zpsm9zn21av.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/6_zpsa0iyu3ol.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/6_zpsa0iyu3ol.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/7_zpsiw4wbnse.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/7_zpsiw4wbnse.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/8_zpssddvp6da.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/8_zpssddvp6da.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/9_zpsddrreuvt.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/9_zpsddrreuvt.jpg.html)

Followed by the Sopra No’1′s

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2410_zpsnnwk8mrn.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2410_zpsnnwk8mrn.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2413_zpsaosscfem.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2413_zpsaosscfem.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2418_zpssp9fyfxh.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2418_zpssp9fyfxh.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2420_zpsmiuivnxi.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2420_zpsmiuivnxi.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2423_zps6qcjcqjx.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2423_zps6qcjcqjx.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2424_zpsqzym2e6c.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2424_zpsqzym2e6c.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2425_zps9ouped1v.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2425_zps9ouped1v.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2426_zpsqxtjwmrc.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2426_zpsqxtjwmrc.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2434%201_zpsfinbovdi.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2434%201_zpsfinbovdi.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2435_zps3p1qp9rb.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/Focal/IMG_2435_zps3p1qp9rb.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

pmarsh22
21-09-2015, 15:03
Like the Zep SDE lying in against the wall

pmarsh22
21-09-2015, 15:06
hope this works

http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/pmarsh22/media/image.jpg2_zpsw0txfmpk.jpg.html?sort=3&o=5#/user/pmarsh22/media/image.jpg2_zpsw0txfmpk.jpg.html?sort=3&o=5&_suid=1442847880668023744478504323163


http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/pmarsh22/media/image.jpg1_zps9yt7tvll.jpg.html?sort=3&o=3#/user/pmarsh22/media/image.jpg1_zps9yt7tvll.jpg.html?sort=3&o=3&_suid=144284795012706289109967999186

pmarsh22
21-09-2015, 15:14
http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah291/pmarsh22/image.jpg2_zpsw0txfmpk.jpg (http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/pmarsh22/media/image.jpg2_zpsw0txfmpk.jpg.html)


http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah291/pmarsh22/image.jpg1_zps9yt7tvll.jpg (http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/pmarsh22/media/image.jpg1_zps9yt7tvll.jpg.html)

HiFi Lounge
23-09-2015, 08:00
Nice :-)

HiFi Lounge
06-10-2015, 09:09
Hi All,

Just a quick blog to say that we now have Chord Electronics new 2800 MKII Digital Integrated amplifier on demo. I think it is far to say that Chord really have stolen the DAC market lately, and rightly so, with their fantastic Hugo, TT, 2Qute and shortly to be released DAVE, now I am a big fan of these products so when I heard that Chord were releasing an digital integrated amp and the digital section is basically a Hugo, well I just could resist to get one for demo.

With 120 watts on tap, Bluetooth and a Hugo lurking beneath the beautiful casework this really is an amp worth listening to and at a price of £6690 I would say that seems pretty fair, especially when you see it in the flesh, one thing is for sure, no one makes electronics like Chord :-)

If you would like to pop in for a listen please let me know, below is a link to it on our website and a few pictures -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/chord-cpm-2800-MKII-digital-integrated-amp

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_2569_zpsylfeptq5.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_2569_zpsylfeptq5.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_2570_zpsffmxgzkh.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_2570_zpsffmxgzkh.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_2571_zpsmmfun4qz.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_2571_zpsmmfun4qz.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_2578_zpsrfxmfakt.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_2578_zpsrfxmfakt.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_2572_zpsj9w3gquy.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_2572_zpsj9w3gquy.jpg.html)

Partnered with the DSX1000 Reference Network Player, Beautiful.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_2599_zpsrmoiozfc.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_2599_zpsrmoiozfc.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_2604_zps6mmlstba.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_2604_zps6mmlstba.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/IMG_2605_zps9szuubks.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/IMG_2605_zps9szuubks.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.

HiFi Lounge
30-12-2015, 09:59
HI All,

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, I just thought that I would quickly update this with my listening impressions of DAVE after spending hours listening over Christmas with an Aurender as a source through the Stax SR-009s's, needless to say we got on very well and DAVE is most definitely one of my favourite Christmas guests who is welcome anytime :-)

Firstly it was a great to have time over Christmas to have a proper listen, as a big Stax and Chord DAC fan I knew it would be good but I have to say it has to be the most natural sound I have ever heard over a headphone rig and most definitely the best I have ever heard the Stax SR-009′s.

One session I started listening at 9pm, finally urned it off at midnight, went to bed, couldn’t sleep as I kept thinking of more songs I couldn’t wait to listen to so got back up and carried on listening till 3am, it was certainly a very addictive system :-) The only problem is that I am struggling to put into words what made it such a fantastic listen, as you would expect DAVE certainly extracted all the information out of the recordings and also gave great width to the SR-009′s but I think it is the effortless nature that it presents the music that makes it hard to put into words, it just sounds right, natural, organic and very engrossing, I really would struggle for anyone to not be impressed, I know the SR-009′s are not for everyone as they are very open, airy but don’t have the most powerful bass but with DAVE at the heart of it everything just sounded so together, see I’m struggling again :-)

I can’t wait for the magazines to start reviewing DAVE to see how they describe it as I’m sure they will do a better job than me, I still think the the Hugo TT is the sweet spot in the Chord DAC range as you get a serious amount of performance for the money but DAVE just brings a more refined sound that really is quite infectious and once you’ve heard it there really is no going back.

Not a cheap system by any stretch of the imagination at around £16,000 but when I consider the level of sound quality and enjoyment it bought it is almost a bargain in highend audio terms.

Happy New Year everyone :-)

Cheers,

Paul.

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Christmas/IMG_3174_zps6qu8f1wc.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Christmas/IMG_3174_zps6qu8f1wc.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/Christmas/IMG_3169_zpseysdkxct.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/Christmas/IMG_3169_zpseysdkxct.jpg.html)

HiFi Lounge
13-01-2016, 13:42
http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/n1z_n1a_zpsrnriczny.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/n1z_n1a_zpsrnriczny.jpg.html)

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick update to let everyone know that we now have the multi award winning Melco N1A Player / Server on demo.

I have been following the Melco products for some time and after all the positive things I’ve heard I couldn’t resist taking them on to have a play and so far I have nothing but positive things to say.

For those who don’t know, in the most basic terms the Melco units are basically NAS drives built and configured for HiFi Use, but they also double up as a local player to be fed directly into a USB DAC or amp, such as Devialet with a USB input, their other strong point is that you don’t need to use a computer to set them up, it can all be configured using the front screen and buttons.

Melco was formed in 1975 as a turntable manufacturer amongst other HiFi Products but then moved into IT and became Buffalo some years later, but now they are back in HiFi merging the 2 worlds creating Audiophile Storage solutions for HiFi which result in far better sound than the more traditional NAS drive route. This is achieved by Melco using products aimed at music playback, not just Data Retrieval, and also by using quality components and power supplies which has a big impact on sound quality.

Using a NAS drive to feed a streamer has been a great solution until now but a conventional NAS drive is designed with computer usage in mind, not to get the best from your music collection, these are 2 very different things and when it comes to music playback everything has an impact.

Any NAS drive is designed to sit on your network with the music having to be fed through your router, again another device that is built to a price using cheap parts that will add noise to music playback, the real beauty for me with Melco is that you can put it on your HiFi rack and feed your streamer direct meaning it doesn’t feed over long lengths of network cable and keeps away from your router, how this is achieved is that it has 2 ethernet ports, one to the outside world that sits on your network so that you can move music to it but more importantly the 2nd port is a connection direct to your streamer so feeds the streamer directly. I have installed our demo Melco N1A in our demo Naim rig so feeds my Naim NDS, NDX and NAC-N 272 directly and the improvements really are easy to hear.

So if you’d like to maximise your streaming setup or would like to try it as a dedicated player into a USB DAC, such as a Chord Electronics DAC, then please feel free to get in touch to arrange a demo.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/melco

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/MELCO-n1a-bb_zps84jbmxlc.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/MELCO-n1a-bb_zps84jbmxlc.jpg.html)

http://i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr109/Mikawen/New%20Kit/MelcoN1Z_zpswgavsg49.jpg (http://s474.photobucket.com/user/Mikawen/media/New%20Kit/MelcoN1Z_zpswgavsg49.jpg.html)

Cheers,
Paul.