HiFi Lounge - Latest News and Chat for HiFi and Headphones!

[Vipers]

PMC Twenty5.26 Open Day - October 1st!

Hi All,

We are just about to dash of for our holiday, yes off to see Bruce Springsteen again, bit of a bucket list trip really to see him play 3 gigs in his hometown which I have always wanted to do, anyway before leaving I just wanted to mention that we have another PMC open day planned, yes another one :-) This time for the new Flagship of the new Twenty5 series, the Twenty5.26 which wasn’t available when we did our Twenty5 launch event a couple of months ago but is due once we are back from our hols, so a very good reason to come home.

So knowing how good the new Twenty5′s are it has always been the Twenty5.26 that I have been looking forward to hearing as these promise to be pretty special and a bit of a giant killer so I thought we would do a mini open day just focusing on these speakers, we may have the 25.21′s running downstairs but the main focus will be the 25.26′s in the upstairs demo room running off Bryston.

Trade In

As mentioned before we can offer competitive trade in prices if you fancy upgrading to the new Twenty5 range so please feel free to get in touch to discuss.

So please feel free to come along for a listen to what promises to be a very special speaker indeed.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/pmc-twenty5.26-loudspeakers

Right time to pack my case :-)

Cheers,

Paul.

[Vipers]

PMC Twenty5.26 Speakers Now On Demo!

Hi All,

The title says it all really, it has been a little wait for the twenty5.26′s to join the twenty5 family but the wait is now over as our demo pair arrived yesterday :-) The rest of the twenty5 series really are quite something but this is the speaker I have been waiting for as for quite some time I have been running the twenty.26′s at home, it is a speaker I know really well and love listening to, the only problem is that I have had demo’s on the go since un-boxing them so they are still sitting in our downstairs demo room, it would be rude to kick a customer out I guess :-) but once 5.30 is here the doors will be locked and I can have a good listen, as a bonus it is my birthday today so thanks for the present PMC :-)

I should say that the cabinets look absolutely gorgeous, a really lovely wood grain with the veneer having a slight sheen on them but the overall fit and finish seems to have gone up a level with this range and they feet etc come in a very nice box nowadays, they certainly have a more premium feel.

Twenty5.26 Open Day - October 1st

As the twenty5.26′s weren’t available for our PMC open day a few weeks ago I have decided to hold another PMC open day but this time just focusing on the twenty5.26′s as a lot of our customers have the original twenty.26′s and are keen to hear the twenty5 version so please feel free to come along on October 1st for a listen.

Trade In

Don’t forget if you are interested in any PMC speakers please feel free to get in touch regarding trade in values for your speakers, we will give the best price we can.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/pmc-twenty5.26-loudspeakers

 A few Pictures

Hope to see you for the open day.

Thanks,

Paul.

#PMC Speakers#PMC Twenty5.26 speakers#PMC Twenty5 speakers#HiFi Lounge

 

 

 

 

 

[Vipers]

Musical Fidelity Encore 225 and Connect Now On Demo!

Hi All,

I’m pleased to say that we now have both the Musical Fidelity Encore 225 and Encore Connect on demo as there has been a lot of interest in both these products and rightly so as they both offer something new in the HiFi world.

With the Encore 225 this really is a high end all in one player that rips cd’s, stores and streams them, you can also plug in digital and analogue sources so you just add speakers and you have one of the most versatile systems on the market today and as it is based on the excellent Musical Fidelity M6 amplifier it delivers 225 watts per channel so will drive most speakers with ease, oh yes it can also play CD’s as well.

As for the Connect, this is as the above but without the amplification but with variable and line level outputs so can be matched straight into a dedicated amplifier using the Connects onboard Pre-Amp for volume and switching duties or used as a source into an integrated amplifier so it is extremely versatile.

I understand that Musical Fidelity have taken their time in releasing these products to make sure that their functionality is as it should be as I have seen it many times where manufacturers release products only for them to be a little flaky when launched but made better over time with multiple firmware updates and I have to say after a few days playing with the 225 in particular that so far everything has worked as it should which is great news as these are such great products they really do deserve to be a huge success for MF.

Other features like TIdal will be added in the future but Internet Radio is available from day one and works a treat, at the moment I have been using the Squeezebox app for control as Musical Fidelity’s app is waiting approval from Apple which can take some time but at least it won’t be too much longer.

So if either the Encore 225 or Connect are of any interest please feel free to get in touch to arrange a demo and I will happily run through all the features, as ever below are a few pics -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/musical-fidelity-encore-225

http://hifilounge.co.uk/musical-fidelity-encore-connect

Encore 225

Encore Connect

Cheers,

Paul.

 

[Vipers]

Something New From Naim, What Could It be?

Hi All,

Just a quick blog to say that Naim have just released a teaser trailer for what looks like quite an exciting new product, I have heard rumours about what it could be but nothing has been confirmed, apparently we will all find out more on Thursday but until then please see the teaser trailer below -

https://youtu.be/SuaPfvl9syQ

Roll on Thursday,

Cheers,

Paul.

[Vipers]

Naim Announce New Uniti Range, Meet the Uniti Core, Atom, Star & Nova!

Hi All,

Well this is certainly exciting news, Naim have just announced a totally new range of Uniti products that look absolutely stunning, basically it looks like the UnitiLite has been dropped and everything else is a direct replacement for the UnitiQute 2, Uniti 2, SuperUniti and UnitiServe.

Details are very thin on the ground at the moment but please see the new prices below and it looks like the first product will be the Core shipping early November, the Atom follows early December, the Atom comes in 2 versions, with or without HDMI, finally the Star and Nova will follow early 2017.

New Uniti Range Prices

• Uniti Core - £1650
• Uniti Atom - £1600
• Uniti Atom (HDMI) - £1700
• Uniti Star - £2999
• Uniti Star (Tuner) -£3150
• Uniti Nova - £3800
• Uniti Nova (Tuner) - £3950
  

It also looks like there will be a new Naim app to control the new Uniti range which will be interesting as Naim already offer the best app in the market as far as I am concerned.

New Uniti Specifications

New Power Cable

Interesting Naim have also developed a new mains cable for the Uniti Products called the Power-Line Lite, I have always said that the PowerLine should always come in the box with Naim products as it can make a big difference to the overall sound quality so it now looks like Naim have kind of gone down this route, it will be interesting to see if this is offered to buy separately.

New Remote

Not much to say here other than it looks very classy and is a more stylish remote than the previous Uniti Remote, just like everything here to whole range just really takes all in one designs to a new level.

Well these certainly look like great products, I really love the styling, when I first saw them I was a little concerned about the volume dial on the top and I guess this will cause some issue for people that want to put them in a rack but in reality they look so smart that they need to be on display, they are almost mini versions of the Naim Statement :-)

Trade In

Finally if you have an existing Uniti Product and would like to upgrade to one of the new range please get in touch as we can offer competitive trade in prices.

We are now taking pre-orders so please get in touch to get to the front of the queue for what promises to be extremely popular products just as the previous Naim Uniti Range was. Personally I can’t wait to get these in and will update this with any fresh information once available.

Uniti Core

Uniti Atom

Uniti Star

Uniti Nova

Thanks,
Paul.

[Vipers]

Naim Uniti Dealer Launch Event Photo’s!

Hi All,

I spent the last 2 days at a Naim dealer conference in London for the launch of Naim’s new Uniti Range where we got the background on all the R&D that has gone into these new ground breaking units, basically 3 years of constant development from a big team at Naim has gone into a total re-development of the Uniti Range, in particular the digital section to produce what has got to be a range of the most advanced HiFi Components that the world has ever seen, how Naim have crammed all this tech in for the money is beyond me, especially once you actually see these units, the photo’s really don’t do them justice, they really do look quite stunning.

Although it looks like they all offer similar functions to what went before I think it should be stressed that these new units have such powerful processors at their heart that any new technology that does come along for the foreseeable future can now easily be supported and with things like the Core’s removable disks and the ability to fit an SSD drive if you want and the fact that the Star give you the option to rip to either external drives or an internal SD card show an extra level of flexibility probably never seen before, and a special mention should be made to the new remote which runs Zigby, something I wasn’t aware of before to be honest but it offers 2 way communication so as the volume increases on the product there is also a light display on the remote which increases at the same time, very cool.

Obviously all this tech is pointless if it the sound isn’t up to scratch but luckily when it comes to Naim you know you don’t need to worry here and yesterday we got to hear the Atom on a pair of Sopra 1′s, yes a £1600 all in one powering a £7000 pair of speakers and it sounded excellent giving a that Naim sound everyone loves and that colour screen showing the artwork looked stunning.

As for availability, the Core’s are being built now with the Atom to follow early November, the Star and Nova will be coming January 2017, we are taking deposits now, only 10%, but if you are keen to get a new Uniti it will be worth getting in touch asap as there is bound to be strong demand with only a limited supply to start with.

Trade In

Obviously we are very happy to take Naim equipment for trade in so if you are an existing Naim Uniti customer who would like to upgrade please feel free to get in touch as we can offer great prices for your equipment, even if you are not a Naim owner at the moment but would like to trade something in please get in touch.

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

Anyway onto the pictures -

Uniti Nova

Uniti Star

Uniti Atom + Uniti Core

Nova Internals

Atom Driving Focal Sopra No1′s

Cheers,
Paul.

[Vipers]

World’s First Michell Engineering Orbe SE-R Build!

Hi All,

I was really pleased to be able to sell and install the worlds first Michell engineering Orbe SE-R recently, thanks Darren :-) It really is a stunning turntable and is Michell’s new flagship turntable based on their Orbe SE but the base in now integral into the design, it has the normal stunning Michell look but incorporates a few tweaks to further enhance performance.

The customer also specified a couple of brands that we didn’t stock at the time but happily do now, Whest Audio phono stages and Kiseki cartridges, these will be added to the website shortly, so anyway I just thought I would post a few pictures of the build process as it can be quite involved and takes a fair bit of time to assemble and set everything correctly. For the arm a SME V was used, these really are a joy to work on giving so much adjustment, it really is a beautiful piece if engineering.

Assembling a new design of turntable with a phono stage and cartridge I had never used before had me wondering how it would all come together but I have to say it sounded stunning, a really gorgeous and natural open midrange and top end with a very solid bottom end driving the music on, an extremely natural and organic sound, you just can’t beat vinyl :-)

http://hifilounge.co.uk/michell-engineering-se-r-turntable

Anyway onto the pics - 

Base with Spider Installed

Platter base with Armboard installed

SMA V Arm Fitted

Starting to come together

Kiseki Blue Unpacking

Cartridge installed with Platter, time to set the arm!

Whest Audio Phono Stage hooked up!

Just needs the adjusting pillar covers installing

Ready to go to the customer for final installation

Cheers,
Paul.

[Vipers]

Musical Fidelity NuVista 600 on Demo + Trade In Offers!

Hi All,

I just wanted to write a quick blog to say that we now have the new Musical Fidelity NuVista 600 amplifier on permanent demo, basically this is as the much loved NuVista 800 but with 200 watts per channel instead of the 800′s 300 watts but it still offers that powerful, full and organic sound and is £3000 cheaper which can’t be bad. We also still have the NuVista 800 and NuVista CD Player on permanent demo so please feel free to come in to listen to the NuVista range.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/musical-fidelity-nuvista-600

Musical Fidelity Trade In Offers!

For a limited time MF are offering trade in deals on your existing equipment against either the New Encore 225, Encore Connect and NuVista 600, please see below. I should just say we have been getting a lot of interest in the new Encore range and rightly so as they really do offer something new to HiFi offering ease of use and as expected from MF excellent sound quality and now the IOS App is available to whole system becomes even more fluid to use, it is an excellent app which is so important in this arena, anyway onto the trade in details -

Encore 225 -

Trade in any amplifier to the value of £1500 and get it’s new full value knocked of the Encore 225 Price, Example - trade in an A3 amplifier with original retail price of £849 making the Encore only £3150, Limited Offer!

http://hifilounge.co.uk/musical-fidelity-encore-225

Encore Connect

http://hifilounge.co.uk/musical-fidelity-encore-connect

Trade in any Pre-Amplifier or CD Player to the value of £1000 and get it’s new full value knocked of the Encore Connect Price, Limited Offer!

NuVista 600

Trade in any amplifier to the value of £1900 and get it’s new full value knocked of the NuVista 600 Price, Example - trade in an M5si amplifier with original retail price of £1699 making the NuVista only £3300, Limited Offer!

So if any of the above offers are of any interest please feel free to get in touch at any time, my understanding is that the above offers are set to run till the end of December.

Thanks,

Paul.

[Vipers]

Atlas Announce Limited Edition Mavros Ultra Interconnect!

Hi All,

Anyone who has been into HFL knows that we love our Atlas Cables here, in fact most of our customers that have bought cables from us are now Atlas cable owners with many expressing how happy they are with this addition to their system.

For me I have always loved the fact that Atlas cables don’t really add anything to the sound, it is not a bright or forward cable, it just gets out of the way and let’s the kit do its thing, if anything I would say Atlas Cables go towards the more natural and organic side of the sound field.

Anyway the point of this blog is that Atlas recently won ‘Cable of the Year’ for its Mavros Ultra interconnect in the HiFi News review of the year edition, so firstly congratulations to Atlas for this well deserved award, and to commemorate this achievement Atlas are producing a limited Edition version of the Mavros Ultra, now I have to say as a big Atlas fan I am very tempted to bag one of these goodies for myself so it is supposed to be limited to 50 pairs but I think you are better of saying 49 pairs :-)

Anyway you can find out more below - 

Features:

• Limited production run (Available until 31/12/16 or 50 pairs max)
• Luxurious Gold plated Ultra RCA plugs
• Unique sequence of serial numbers
• Hand signed limited edition authenticity certificate
• Special Atlas presentation box
• Prices starting at £1495.00 inc vat (1.0m pair)
  

Below is the HiFi News Review of Mavros - 

http://hifilounge.co.uk/image/attachments/Atlas%20Cables/HFN_Atlas_Mavros_Ultra_Review.pdf

Kevin Kelly, Managing Director of Atlas Cables had the below to say regarding the launch of the Mavros Ultra SE “We have been overwhelmed by the success of the Mavros range, so it was only fitting for us to highlight this success with a limited run of Special Edition analogue interconnect cables in recognition of the global accolades it has achieved. Mavros epitomises the Atlas DNA – a great-sounding cable created through true scientific research using the very latest materials designed specifically for the job in hand. Hand-built at our dedicated factory in Scotland, we are proud to present this Special Edition version of the Mavros Ultra, which showcases the very best performance we have achieved with copper cable technology to date.”

The reviewers say;

HiFi News - Mavros Ultra

Atlas’s Asimi Ultra had already dispelled the myth that all silver cables sound ‘bright’ but the copper-infused Mavros Ultra succeeds in sounding smoother still. It helps instil a settled quietness to musical backgrounds, the system sounding free of grit and grain and yet not so luxuriant or sweet that the shimmering edge of percussion or brass is polished away.

HiFi world - Mavros Ultra RCA

The ability of the interconnect to combine speed with such composure resulted, time and again, in a stellar musical performance.

Mavros Ultra RCA/XLR

This is a supremely well-balanced cable with a standard of construction and finish to match.

So anyway to wrap up, if you would like to be one of the 49 ;-) remaining people to own this special edition cable please feel free to get in touch.

Please find a link below to the rest of the Atlas range - 

http://hifilounge.co.uk/atlas-cables

Thanks,

Paul.

[Vipers]

Arcam FMJ P429 Amplifier Now on Demo!

Hi All,

I just wanted to mention that after what seems like an eternity of waiting we finally have the Arcam P429 4 channel amplifier on demo and it is now available to buy, I know a lot of people have been waiting for this. In it’s own right it is a great amp to be used in a 2 channel stereo system offering 90 watts per channel which can be bridged to give a pretty potent 270 WPC in stereo mode of pure Glass G power but I know most of our customers have been waiting for this amp to partner with their Arcam AVR850 or AVR550 in an Atmos system to give the potential to run 7.1.4 setup.

This is what we are going to be mainly using the P429 for in our cinema setup for, although we are only running a 5.1.4 setup but it certainly makes a great addition, if you haven’t heard Atmos running I highly recommend it, it really is a game changer for home cinema audio, this partnered with our demo 850′s Dirac room correction really does offer the best home cinema sound I have heard, it really is total immersion, for anyone who wants to know more about Dirac Arcam have recently put a video together that you can watch in the link on our website below - 

Anyway if you’d like to experience Atmos + Dirac on an AVR850 partnered with the P429 please feel free to pop in for a listen anytime -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/arcam-fmj-p429

Thanks,
Paul.

 

[Vipers]

New Pioneer N-50DAB All In One Player Now On Demo!

Hi All,

I have been a Pioneer fan for many years now, I think it is because I had many of their receivers at home long before starting HFL culminating in the mighty Susano which was just epic, that has to be one of the best AV Receivers ever made, shame they don’t make a current model really.

Anyway we have a small selection of Pioneer products here and we have just added the new N-50DAB all in one player to our demo line up, I have to say that this has got to be the HiFi Bargain of the century, if you imagine a Naim Uniti 2 but for £699, in fact it also has a really good phono stage built in so it actually packs more features than the Uniti 2, OK it may not sound quite as good and has as much power but for £699 you really can’t complain.

You can read the full specs below but if you are looking for an all in one player that you just need to add speakers to at a really sensible price then I would suggest that the Pioneer N-50DAB is well worth a look, I have spent a few days playing around with it and there is nothing to fault really, a special mention should also go to the control app as it is very slick and very intuitive and with the internal phono stage you could add something like the Rega Planar 3 and you really would have all the music playback bases covered. This is one of those products where I really can’t see how they can make it for the money, top job Pioneer :-)

http://hifilounge.co.uk/pioneer-n50dab-all-in-one-player

So as mentioned we have this on permanent demo so please feel free to get in touch to arrange a demo if you think it could be a product for you.

Thanks,
Paul.

[Vipers]

Whest Audio Phono Stages Now At HiFi Lounge!

HI All,

I think it is fair to say that one area where we haven’t got a lot of choice at HiFi Lounge is quality phono stages, yes the Dynavector P75 and Rega Aria are excellent stages but I have been aware for some time that there is a whole world above this price point that can really add to the enjoyment you can get from your vinyl collection so it gives me great pleasure to add Whest Audio to our Portfolio.

A good phono stage is vital to any vinyl system and with Whest Audio this is what they specialise in and are the only products they produce, Whest are considered by many to be the makers of the best Phono Stages in the world, starting at £1399 and going up to an eye watering £13,199, Founded and run by James Henriot, their Phono Stages are used in both Domestic and Pro audio fields. These UK made Phono Stages use only the best grade audio components to really get the very best from your vinyl collection. Offering Class A Output stages, single ended and balanced outputs, various cartridge loading options and separate power supplies you know you will be hearing your vinyl at it’s very best. 

So if you love your vinyl as we do and really do want to know you are getting the best from your setup then come into HFL to give Whest Audio a try, below is a link to a review on the WhestThree Signature which we have on permanent demo along with the WhestTwo.2.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/image/attachments/Whest/whest_english_F15_2.pdf

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

Thanks,
Paul.

[Vipers]

Breaking News, Arcam Announce AV860 Processor with Dirac!

Hi All,

I just got an e-mail come through from Arcam with news that I really wasn’t expecting as I had been told late last year that Arcam wouldn’t enter the processor market again which would have been a real shame, especially now knowing how powerful Dirac is, well luckily Arcam have seen the light and from January 2017 the new AV860 processor will be available :-)

Details are a little sketchy at the moment but needless to say this is a cutting edge processor and is bang up to date with all the latest audio codecs and 4K video inputs and at £3999 it isn’t crazy money so I can see this being extremely popular, especially with Dirac implemented, I know I keep banging on about Dirac but I have installed quite a few AVR850′s now in many different environments and the outcome is always the same, a much more focused and immersive sound. 

Needless to say we have ordered an AV860 for demo so roll on January 2017 :-)

http://hifilounge.co.uk/arcam-av-860-processor

Thanks,
Paul.

[Vipers]

Trade in and save on the Excellent Questyle CMA600i Headamp / DAC!

Hi All,

One of our favourite digital headphone amps is the excellent Questyle CMA600i, and there has never been a better time to consider it as Questyle are offering a trade in value of £100 against it if you trade in any headphone related product, to be honest it has always been a bit of a bargain so it is even more so now.

What makes it so good? well firstly is uses Questyle’s patented Current Mode Amplification which gives a very natural and analogue sound whilst retaining all the detail, it really does give a very easy to listen to presentation, then there is the DAC section which is state of the art and offers up to DSD 256 with no converting to PCM, it also has 2 x single ended outputs and a 4 pin stereo balanced output, put this together with its stunning build quality you really do have a headphone amp that is unbeatable for the price, then you just have to choose what headphones to partner with it, the new Focal Elear’s would make a great partner, or perhaps the Sennheiser HD800S’s.

Anyway if you feel this is something you would like to consider please feel free to get in touch or please feel free to come in for a demo anytime.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/questyle/questyle-audio-cma600i-dac-with-headphone-amplifier

Thanks,

Paul.

[Vipers]

Chord Electronics TToby now on Demo!

Hi all,

Just a quick blog to say that we now have the new Chord Electronics TToby power amplifier on demo, this can be used as a stand alone 2 channel power amplifier delivering 100 watts per channel into 4ohms but its main purpose for existing is to partner with the multi award winning Chord Hugo TT DAC / Headamp / Pre-amp. 

Put these 2 products together with a pair of speakers and a source and you have a very compact and highend digital system with one of the best DAC’s in the world at it’s heart, as the TT is also a very accomplished Pre-amp it really does make it an extremely versatile 2 box system. that can also drive any pair of headphones out there as again the headphone sections really is excellent, I have compared it against dedicated headphone amps and it really does hold its own without any compromise or loss of quality.

Anyway if you’d like a demo or even a home demo of TToby please feel free to get in touch.

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

Thanks,
Paul.

[Vipers]

Naim Price Rise Due 1st January 2017!

Hi All,

Thanks to good ‘ol Brexit Naim have been forced to bring their annual price increase forward to January 1st 2017 so if you are considering any new HiFi from the Naim range then it may be worth considering ordering now to save a few quid.

The increase has been done on a product by product basis rather than a general percentage and to be fair to Naim they are have been one of the last companies to increase their prices, all I seem to have done since the vote a few months ago is spend hours increasing product prices on our websites, I knew we should have stayed in :-)

Anyway below is a copy of the new price list due from the 1st January, if you would like it e-mailing over please get in touch or if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to phone or e-mail me, the full Naim range can also be seen in the link below.

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

Thanks,
Paul.

[Vipers]

Focal Utopia & Elear Headphones + MrSpeakers Ether Flow Open & Closed Now On Demo!

Hi All,

This is just a quick message to say that at long last we now have the Focal Utopia headphones on permanent demo, along with the Focal Elear’s and MrSpeakers Ether Flow open and Closed backs, I just wanted to mention this as there has been an unbelievable demand for all 4 pairs of these headphones and it is only today that we actually got a pair of Utopia’s to put on demo as Focal have been really caught out by the demand.

I can honestly say that in 4 years of selling headphones, since HiFi Lounge launched, I have never seen demand like it for the Focal headphones, both the Utopia’s and Elear’s have been ridiculously popular, but to be fair both are setting new benchmarks at what is available at their respective price points and I have to say a special mention to the Utopia’s, all the hype is very much deserved and are worth every penny of their £3400 asking price, the funny thing is that not one part of the listening experience stands out, whereas on a Stax SR-009 you would highlight the amazing detail, insight and clarity and on the LCD-4 you would mention the amazing mid range and solid bass, with the Utopia the whole balance is absolutely perfect, I can totally understand why in this month HiFi+ review they called the Utopia a ‘Masterpiece’ not something you hear very often in this game.

Likewise the new MrSpeakers Ether Flow Closed and Open back headphones have been very popular indeed, I think it is fair to say that the Ether C Flows are now the best closed back headphone currently available and I know this is a big consideration for a lot of people.

Although we have all these headphones on permanent demo getting actual stock isn’t exactly free flowing at the moment as I don’t think Focal or MrSpeakers really expected this level of demand, I heard the other day that Focal are only making 5 pairs of Utopia’s a day to meet the worlds demand so I can only imagine the pressure they must be under at the moment, I suggest that if you are interested then all we need is a 10% deposit to get you in the queue but at least they are starting to trickle through now, alternatively please feel free to come in for a demo anytime.

Any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/focal-headphones

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/mr-speakers-headphones

Thanks,

Paul.

[Vipers]

BlueSound Now Available at HiFi Lounge!

Hi All,

There is no doubting that Wireless speakers are now extremely popular with arguably Sonos leading the way, we actually have quite a few options here starting with Riva then Sonos, then going to the excellent Naim Muso and Muso Qb with the ridiculously good Devialet Phantoms topping the tree which I would say is the first wireless speaker you can sit down and listen to as you would with traditional hifi. Well now we have another addition to our wireless range of speakers, the multi award winning BlueSound.

Now BlueSound has been around for quite some time now but has only been available through Sevenoaks stores but now BlueSound has opened their range up to some independent dealers like us so when I was approached I jumped at the opportunity as it is a brand I have watched for some time as they have a range very much like Sonos but with the added bonus that they can play 24 bit music and are also ready for MQA when hopefully it all kicks of next year.

There are 2 products within the BlueSound range that I think will suit our customers, the Node 2 Streamer and the Vault 2 CD Ripper /  Storage / Player. Firstly the Node 2 is a elegant black box that you can plug into your existing hifi and use it to stream from your NAS or from the Vault 2 but it also brings all the internet services to your existing HiFi like Tidal, Deezer and Spotify etc, and this will stream up to 24/192 and is MQA ready. The Vault 2 is a brilliant product that is extremely flexible, firstly it will rip your CD’s and store them internally within its 2TB’s of storage, you can then either stream to other devices on your network or you can use the digital output into a DAC or use the analogue outs into an amp and use it as a player using the excellent BlueSound app, so it is one of those products that really does take all the hassle out of how to get your CD collection ripped so you can enjoy the benefits of streaming, it can even be used with Sonos or the Muso’s.

Also BlueSound have a range of wireless speakers, a Soundbar and a sub which we have access to but for the moment it is the Node 2 and Vault 2 we have on demo as for me these really are products that can really enhance other products we have here from other manufacturer’s.

You can see the range below and if you think the Node 2 or Vault 2 could be of interest please feel free to get in touch to discuss further.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/bluesound

Thanks,
Paul.

[Vipers]

OPPO UDP-203 4K Player News!

Hi Everyone,

There is definitely a lot of interest in the new 4K Ultra HD Players from OPPO, I know what it is like when OPPO are about to release a new player from my time before starting HFL as I was always keen to get my hands on the new model and this is no different, as far as I am concerned no one makes a better disc spinner than OPPO.

So anyway the wait is nearly over as we heard yesterday that OPPO have signed off the UDP-203 to start shipping and we are expecting our initial batch to be with us at some point next week with another delivery due before Christmas so if you are interested in grabbing what will no doubt be the leading 4K player available please get in touch to discuss further or to reserve one as even though there are 2 shipments coming in this year stock is still going to be quite limited.

Also I should mention that the price has been set at £599 which is great news considering all the price increases lately since Brexit and finally I know a lot of people are waiting patiently for the BDP-105 replacement, the UDP-205, there is no concrete news on this at the moment other than it will be with us early in 2017 at some point, I guess it will be previewed at CES all being well.

So the 4K bandwagon is well and truly rolling now and it looks like 2017 is going to be the year for all things Ultra HD and HDR which I can’t wait for :-)

http://hifilounge.co.uk/oppo-udp-203-4k-player

Thanks,

Paul.

[Vipers]

A Look Back At 2016!

Hi All,

Well it’s that time of year again where it is fun to look back at what 2016 ended up throwing at us but firstly both Wendy and myself would like to thank everyone again for your tremendous support throughout 2016 it really is much appreciated as this year has proved another year of growth for HiFi Lounge and Highend Headphones and we are more than aware that without our brilliant customer’s we wouldn’t be having this much fun :-)

A look back at 2016!

Just reading back the first paragraph, I said it is ‘fun’ to look back but perhaps ‘fun’ really wasn’t the right word as for music lovers 2016 will be remembered forever as the year where we lost some of our most loved and influential artists, for me the loss of David Bowie followed so quickly by Prince at the start of the year was a real body blow as along with Bruce Springsteen and Elvis I have now lost 3 of my favourite 4 artists, but if that wasn’t bad enough there was also the loss of Glenn Frey, George Martin, Scotty Moore, Pete Burns & Leonard Cohen to mention just a few, a very sad year indeed.

A Great Year For HiFi

As for HiFi though, it was a bit of a strange year as many of our brands brought out a lot of new and excellent products but nearly everything was a revision on what had gone before, Devialet brought us their new Expert Pro range and the Amazing Gold Phantom, Rega gave us the new Planar 1, 2 & 3 turntables, how after all these years they keep making their decks better is beyond me, Bryston gave us their new ‘Cubed’ amps which were quite literally stunning, again I thought the SST2 amps were a tough act to follow but Bryston made the jump so big that many people ended upgrading to the new Cubed design, then PMC graced us with their new Twenty5 Series of speakers, again I thought it was impossible to improve on the original Twenty Range but with the help of the new laminair technology and new drivers the upgrade was considerable giving a really effortless speaker that really did disappear, then just last week OPPO finally released their much awaited UDP-203 4K player, these really have been flying off the shelf and finally Naim announced the new Uniti Range which will be un-leashed early in 2017, I had a preview recently and they really are a beautifully designed piece of HiFi, I am expecting big things from Naim here.

So as you can see there really was a lot of refinement going on here, for me the 2 products that really stood out as bringing something new to the market for 2016 was Musical Fidelity’s Encore range, giving a powerful one box design with the Encore 225 that will rip, store an play CD’s but also has analogue and digital inputs + a powerful 225 WPC amplifier to be a true one box solution and also the Focal Elear and Utopia Headphones really got the phone ringing, I can honestly say I never seen so much excitement over new products in the headphone community and I have to say a special mention to the Utopia, with its Beryllium dome drivers it really did bring something new to the Headphone market and for me is the first headphone to challenge the mighty Stax SR-009, they really are that good, So all in all it was another excellent year for HiFi.

BRUUUUUCE!

On a personal note, I had a brilliant year chasing Bruce Springsteen around the world seeing him 10 times this year, now going over 80 Bruce gigs since 1985, I’m not sure if it was spurred on by the passing of both Bowie and Prince but I have always wanted to see Bruce in his hometown of New Jersey so this year I just thought sod it and had a trip of a lifetime to see 3 Bruce gigs at the Meadowlands New Jersey which are already going down in history as 3 of Bruce’s best show of all time, night 3 was just beyond all expectations, we even got to meet Little Steven backstage :-) The other notable Bruce gig this year was Rome in an old chariot racing stadium, what an atmosphere, possibly the best concert I have ever seen.

Best album of 2016

I wouldn’t say this has been the best year ever for music but for me there are 2 albums that stand head and shoulders over everything else, David Bowies final album ‘Blackstar’ and Nick Caves ‘Skeleton Tree’, both albums tinged with an air of sadness, obviously with Bowies passing and the loss of Nick Caves son in such tragic circumstances, you can almost hear Nick Cave crying on the album, I have never heard such anguish with heartfelt and harrowing singing put into an album before, it really can be quite tough going but really is quite absorbing. Which is the best album? It really is impossible to say to be honest, to think that Bowie put out such an amazing album as a final farewell is quite incredible, it was almost as if he saved some of his best material over the years for his final album, amazing stuff so I think this year will be a draw between David Bowie and Nick Cave for me and if you haven’t listened to either of these albums I really would strongly recommend it.

Looking ahead to 2017

I am sure there will be some amazing new HiFi to sing lyrically about throughout the year but 2017 looks set to be a big one for HiFi Lounge as we are expanding, basically we have taken on 2 more barns which are in-between HiFi Lounge and Highend Headphones so the builders will be in early next year to knock through to make it all one big HiFi Toy Shop which I am really excited about, the idea is that we will have a dedicated Naim room and a Highend Room, we also have some exciting new brands coming early next year such as Wilson Audio, Audio Research, DCS and Quadraspire, please see a couple of pics below as the rooms are now.

There is an amazing amount of work to be done yet but if all goes to plan the launch event will be April 1st, yes that is no Joke, and the idea is that Naim will be bringing along their Statement to partner up with a pair of PMC MB2 XBD’s so please pencil that date into your diary but keep an eye on the website for confirmation.

Well I guess I should wrap it all up really as I could talk forever but really again I would like to thank everyone for their support over the last 4 years really as we are now in our 5th year, where did that time go and Both Wendy and Myself would like to wish everyone a great Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Look forward to seeing you during 2017 :-)

Regards,

Paul and Wendy.

[Vipers]

Devialet Phantom Promotion!

Hi All,

I hope everyone is having a great Festive break, I just wanted to mention quickly a promotion that Devialet are running at the moment that if you buy either a pair of Silver or Gold Phantoms then you get a Devialet Dialog and Apple TV thrown if for free making a saving of just under £400.

We only have a limited number of these free Dialog’s and Apple TV’s so if of any interest please get in touch asap to secure one.

You can see the Devialet Phantom range below on our website - 

http://hifilounge.co.uk/devialet

Any questions please feel free to get in touch.

Cheers,

Paul.

[Vipers]

It’s a Hat-trick :-) Best Retail Experience 2016!

Hi All,

I think I said last year it is always a strange one writing about an award you have just won but I just wanted to thank PMC Speakers for the third year running awarding HiFi Lounge ‘Best Retail Experience’, lets hope we can keep it up once the new demo rooms are open :-)

Obviously it goes without saying that PMC make some of the best speakers in the world ;-) You can see their range below and if you would like to come in for a listen anytime please feel free to get in touch, we also offer very competitive trade in prices and now can also offer 0% finance over 12 months.

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

Now the work begins to try and win it for a 4th year :-)

Have a Great New Year,

Cheers,

Paul.

[Vipers]

Piega Speakers Now on Demo!

Hi All,

Happy New Year, let’s hope 2017 is a good one :-)

Just a quick blog to say that we now have Piega Speakers on demo, now I have to be honest that Piega was not a speaker brand I was really aware of until the Rep got in touch to see if I would be interested in having a listen, apparently they are a big brand in Europe but have never really ever got a footing in the UK market, I guess we have so many great UK speaker brands that it must be hard for a foreign company to make an impact.

Basically Piega are all hand made in Switzerland and like anything Swiss they do ooze quality and being that they use ribbon tweeters I was curious as we don’t have anything like that in HFL. So as I am always keen to listen to something new the rep brought in a pair of Classic 3.0′s and 5.0′s for me to listen to and in all honesty the last thing I need is more speakers so I thought I would have a listen and politely say many thanks but they are not for me, but in the end it was quite the opposite, I was so impressed with the level of sound for the money I just couldn’t resist so we now have a pair of Classic 3.0′s and 5.0′s on permanent demo and if anyone is interested in anything from the rest of the range we can call them in when required.

What I have since learned with Ribbon tweeters is that you get a very open and natural top end with no harshness or brightness but still getting all the detail, I do think it is quite a tricky component to get right but it does seem worth the effort once you hear it. So if you are looking for new speakers, which to be fair is probably the hardest part of any HiFi to buy then I would strongly suggest you give Piega a try as like me you may be pleasantly surprised.

Other than ribbon tweeters Piega are also known for their Aluminium cabinets for their higher end designs, you can see the full range below -

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

Any questions please feel free to get in touch.

Regards,

Paul.

[Vipers]

Chord Electronics Unveil Hugo 2, Blu 2 and Poly at CES!

Hi All,

Well it was certainly a big CES this year for Chord Electronics with the announcement of 3 new and very exciting products, just so you know Chord are taking Pre-Orders so if you want to be near the front of the queue please get in touch as these are bound to be as popular as any product Chord has launched recently.

Hugo 2 Headphone Amp / DAC

I think it is fair to say that the original Hugo was a real game changer when launched in 2013, I think it’s success even surprised Chord as it caught everyones imagination, originally designed to be a portable device it ended up finding it’s way into a lot of home highend systems, being that that digital world moves along so quick Hugo 2 really does look to move things along again using the latest DAC technology and Rob Watt’s magic, please see a snippet from Chord’s website below + you can read more on our site -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/chord-hugo-2

‘The legend, remastered. The world’s most advanced transportable DAC/Headphone Amp has undergone a drastic redesign – Welcome to Hugo 2.

Beginning with 26,000 taps back in 2013 with the original Hugo, Hugo 2 now has an incredible 49,152 and uses techniques developed over the past four years to deliver a stunningly clear audio performance, such has never been heard from a mobile DAC/Headphone Amp before.

Hugo doesn’t just deliver better performance and measurements, it’s got all new casework developed by Chief Designer – John Franks, increases PCM support to 768kHz and adds up to DSD512 (Octa-DSD) native playback, now includes four filter options, remote control functionality, increased Bluetooth range, and sports Micro USB charging.’

Blu II Upscaling CD Transport

Personally I am really looking froward to this one as it promises to take CD playback to new levels using a powerful new FPGA core where Rob Watts has developed sophisticated WTA (Watts Transient Alignment) filtering and upscaling algorithms which can output digital data at 705.6kHz (16 x CD’s 44.1kHz native resolution). I know a few people that have heard it and they say CD has never sounded better, there certainly seems to be life left in the old dog yet :-)

http://hifilounge.co.uk/chord-blu-2-transport

‘Welcome to Blu Mk. II – CD Without Limits – The Blu Mk. II is our advanced second generation FPGA CD transport. Designed for DAVE it up samples your CD collection (or BNC/S/PDIF input) to a mighty ONE MILLION taps.

At its core lies a giant state of the art Xilinx XC7A200T FPGA loaded with the world’s most advanced filter technology by Rob Watts. This, combined with the legendary precision of the CD Pro 2 mechanism and a Chord Electronics proprietary switch mode power supply, creates an experience never heard before from CD – setting a new standard. Blu Mk. II also sports a stunning revised aesthetic developed by Chord’s Chief Designer – John Franks.’

Poly Wireless Streaming Module for Mojo

This one had been rumoured for some time so it is great to see it finally see the light of day, basically Poly is a plug on module that will turn the award winning Mojo into a Hi-Res wireless network player and SD card player, in reality making the Mojo a portable player, this could be another game changer from Chord.

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

‘Mojo just got smarter – Connect. Play Go. with Poly – the Wireless Network SD Playback Module.

Poly allows the award-award wining Mojo DAC/Headphone amplifier to become a high resolution wireless network music player, streamer, and SD card playback device, removing the need for a wired link. It’s based on a condensed high-level PC, with data server, DNLA streamer, Wi-Fi hub, Bluetooth module, and SD card reader/player.’

So 3 really exciting products that we will have available for demo one launched, all are quoted for early 2017 so I would say around late February / March but once Chord are back from CES I will be able to get firmer details but please feel free to get in touch to discuss in more depth.

Regards,

Paul.

[Vipers]

Wilson Audio Speakers Now @ HiFi Lounge!

Hi All,

In preparation for the launch of our new showrooms we have bought on 4 new brands so that we have something to put in them :-) 

Firstly we are really pleased to add Wilson Audio Speakers to our portfolio, I guess this is what you call Highend as their speakers start at £18,498, hardly entry level, and go up to the £100′s of thousands for the newly announced epic WAMM.

To be honest I have read about Wilson Speakers for years now and how many respected reviewers consider them to be amongst a select few who really do make the best speakers in the world but in all honesty I never thought we would offer them at HFL but we are now 5 years in here and it is time to re-invest and I couldn’t think of a better speaker that I would like to offer our customers.

Wilson Audio were established in 1973 by David Wilson and are run from Utah, USA where all their speakers are designed and built. They are known for building highly rigid speaker cabinets. They construct their loudspeaker enclosures from non-wood materials such as phenolic resin composites and epoxy laminates. The cabinets are then painted using a high-gloss automotive process in a variety of colours. They offer a natural, delicate and open sound that get’s as true to the recording as possible, this is helped with Wilson’s use  of time alignment of the drivers which plays an important part of their design and look offering something quite unique.

Now the new showrooms should launch in April all being well and I wasn’t planning to un-box any of the new demo stock until the rooms are ready but I just couldn’t wait till then to start listening to the Wilson’s so yesterday I un-packed the Sabrina’s, we also have a pair of demo Yvette’s but they come packed in wooden grates so they will probably have to wait until we have a proper demo room downstairs in April as it will be impossible to get them up the stairs to our current demo room as they weigh a tonne.

Anyway it has been a while since we have done an un-boxing so this seemed like the perfect opportunity, they are a stunning looking speaker, they may look small but they are incredibly heavy and solid, it took longer than expected to un-pack them as the speaker comes wrapped in a protective film which took a while to remove and I have got demo’s all day today so am not going to get a chance to listen, they do look gorgeous though, roll on the weekend :-)

There really is nothing like Wilson Audio for both looks and sound quality so if you would like to experience these amazing speakers for yourself please come in HFL for an audition or if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch, you can see the full range below - 

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

Anyway, On with the Un-Boxing :-)

Cheers,
Paul.