It’s time for North West Audio Show 2018

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25-06-2018, 18:11
Macca

I had a listen to the ones with the rinky-dink little drivers. Speakers like this are not even on my radar but if you wanted a little speaker that will work best tucked away in the corners and will give at least a taste of 'scale', especially if you are into Classical, they are worth a listen.
25-06-2018, 18:30
Barry

Love that digital Nagra tape machine - one of the last they designed for the professional market.
25-06-2018, 18:50
Marco

Thought you might've liked that!;)

Marco.
25-06-2018, 19:53
Lee Henley

I’m with you on this one Marco for the money they are a bargain

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marco

Now, Kralk Audio:

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/924/AMXmPR.jpg

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/921/lywYwA.jpg

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/923/wDLnlr.jpg

For me, probably the best sound of the show (depending on the music being played), based on delivering the highest SPPV. The speakers on demo simply had no right to sound that good, considering their modest cost! :eek:

I spoke to the chap who made them (built them in his garage) and told him that they were too cheap! He could easily add a grand onto the price, and they'd still be competitive.

Don't get me wrong though, they don't set any new standards for sound reproduction, and aspects of their presentation lacked a little subtlety, namely at the top-end, where with some material the tweeters used could be a little insistent' and slightly nasal sounding, but then when the retail price is £1300, not £13,000, you can't afford to buy the absolute best quality drive units. What's there though, does the job nicely.

These speakers are clearly about the SUM of the parts, not about the 'greatness', or otherwise, of any boutique components, and have been voiced, first and foremost (I suspect mostly by ear), by someone who loves music. At the end of the day, it's a music lover's speaker, not a tool for analysing test tones or wallowing in superficial 'hi-fi effects'.

In that respect, the Kralks never failed to sound nicely open and communicative, especially when reproducing acoustic instruments, such as sax and piano. Vocals were also rendered convincingly and with natural clarity, although perhaps the midrange lacked the beguiling 'hear-through' quality and forensic levels of insight one gets with the very best loudspeakers.

Low-frequencies were tight, tuneful and nicely extended, and as such, bass-driven/rhythmic music bopped along with an infectious elan, producing that all-important 'fun factor', which promotes extended listening sessions, and if one is so inclined, boogying around the room!:D

The Kralks may not be your first choice as a truly neutral monitor, or for in-depth analysis into the minutiae of musical mixes, but for anyone with a budget of around £1500, who wants a decent sized stand-mounted speaker, beautifully built and finished too I may add, and likes their favourite tunes to put a smile on their face, with a design that possess no small measure of musical ability, then the Kralks are the 'fun listen' you've been looking for!

For the money, I really can't recommend them highly enough. My advice? If you're in the market for speakers like this, then grab them NOW before the manufacturer realises he's giving them away, and the price goes up accordingly!! :cool:

I would be very happy to see these fantastic speakers promoted and sold on AoS: Details here: http://kralkaudio.com/

Marco.
25-06-2018, 20:03
Marco

No worries, mate. And btw, really nice meeting your good lady and you, along with your wee lad. Hope you had a nice stay at the hotel:cool:

Marco.
25-06-2018, 20:43
Lee Henley

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marco

No worries, mate. And btw, really nice meeting your good lady and you, along with your wee lad. Hope you had a nice stay at the hotel:cool:

Marco.

Nice to meet you as well too, yes we had a lovely stay at the hotel, Mrs H wants me to book again for next year
25-06-2018, 21:36
Qwin

Attended on Sunday, good collection of gear as usual.

I particularly liked the Dutch & Dutch active speakers with room correction, fantastic dispersion and beautiful non sibilant vocals.

The Aeron gear blew me away, the C-101 tube Pre/headphone amp with built in DSD USB DAC was the size of a CD case and about 40mm tall. Its matching 50w(4ohm) 30w(8ohm) class D power amp was a similar size. I had been impressed with RichB's Mini-T amp at the NEBO meets, these things took it to another level. For all there diminutive size, coupled to some Arcaydis EB2S speakers they produced a terific midrange, gob smackingly good for the very reasonable price of, £295 for the Power amp and £325 for the Pre/DAC.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WtVqStgTR1g/maxresdefault.jpg

I also managed to arrange (in principle) a home demo of a PS Audio Stellar DAC/Pre with a part ex of my current DAC possible against it, so well worth the trip.
26-06-2018, 04:47
Crackles

Quote:

Originally Posted by Qwin

Attended on Sunday, good collection of gear as usual.

I particularly liked the Dutch & Dutch active speakers with room correction, fantastic dispersion and beautiful non sibilant vocals.

The Aeron gear blew me away, the C-101 tube Pre/headphone amp with built in DSD USB DAC was the size of a CD case and about 40mm tall. Its matching 50w(4ohm) 30w(8ohm) class D power amp was a similar size. I had been impressed with RichB's Mini-T amp at the NEBO meets, these things took it to another level. For all there diminutive size, coupled to some Arcaydis EB2S speakers they produced a terific midrange, gob smackingly good for the very reasonable price of, £295 for the Power amp and £325 for the Pre/DAC.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WtVqStgTR1g/maxresdefault.jpg

I also managed to arrange (in principle) a home demo of a PS Audio Stellar DAC/Pre with a part ex of my current DAC possible against it, so well worth the trip.

Do you have a website link for the Aeron gear? Can't seem to find anything other than a brief review.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
26-06-2018, 06:53
Qwin

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crackles

Do you have a website link for the Aeron gear? Can't seem to find anything other than a brief review.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

They are looking for a UK distributor.
They are based in Kowloon HK email: info@lhe.com.hk
Their European Distributor is Audio4 branch of Stereoland in Italy: www.audio4.it - www.aeron-audio.it email: info@audio4.it

That's all I know about them from the leaflet I picked up.
26-06-2018, 09:24
Bksabath

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marco

Lol - what are you like!:D

Anyway, due to time constraints I'm going to lob up the remainder of the pics I took, to make sure it gets done, and add in some comments later, so here goes...

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/xq90/921/KEkDbK.jpg

Check back for comments later!:cool:

Marco.

P.S Where has Mark YNWaN disappeared to? He was so excited about going to the show, and now more than 24 hours later, not a peep! Come on, Mark, tells us your thoughts on the show!

IMO that was the best TT arm combo in the show (cartridge big part of it as well but ££££££)

Is any one going to make me an offer for 8 month old Volvere SP and SME V ?

About other pictures on your last post Marco I did not like the PMC speakers there where a few and they all sounded like PMC speakers

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