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Author Archives: Jason Kennedy

World News

Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit

Posted on by Jason Kennedy

I managed to get away to Greece in late July final yr, simply because it was reaching Greek temperatures within the UK, and loved two weeks of correct ‘scorchio’ climate. I observed how a lot hotter the cities have been (even within the shade) than the much less densely populated areas, particularly these with out buildings. This is essentially as a result of the roads and buildings absorb warmth after which slowly launch it over the day. This is what high-mass cupboards do, albeit at a distinct frequency; they retailer the power that comes from the drive models and launch it over time, somewhat extra time than it takes for the sign to be produced by the drivers. The heavier the loudspeaker cupboard, the extra excessive this will get even when heavy audio system do have a solidity within the bass that fairly interesting for a similar motive.

With most wood cupboards the power is immediately radiated by the panels of the field to some extent, the higher the bracing the decrease the radiation seems to be the rule. Vivid takes a completely totally different strategy to controlling radiation by making the cupboard as stiff and light-weight as doable. The Giya G1 Spirit is a big speaker that stands simply over 5 foot excessive and has a quantity of 180 litres nevertheless it weighs lower than 70 kilos. A Bowers & Wilkins 802, by comparability, is greater than a foot shorter and weighs almost 90 kilos.

Two skins

The Vivid Giya cupboards are constructed from two skins of vacuum-infused glass-reinforced composite, a complicated variant on fibre glass, with finish grain balsa between the 2 skins to supply stiffness. A few producers make bass drivers in a sandwich association like this however they use foam because the filling; a speaker cupboard wants one thing a bit extra stable. The distinctive form of Giya just isn’t a whim of the Vivid styling division however a real occasion of kind following perform. The tubular ring on the high represents the top of the inverted horn that absorbs power from the 2 bass drivers on both aspect of the cupboard. This is similar to the tapered tube idea that Vivid designer Laurence Dickie created for Bowers & Wilkins within the authentic Nautilus loudspeaker, which has subsequently discovered its method into the 800 sequence fashions.

Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit

In Vivid loudspeakers, this tapered tube system is used with all of the drivers. You can see the place these for the tweeter, upper- and lower-midrange drivers terminate on the again of the cupboard the place small hex bolts are seen. The bass drivers which produce essentially the most power and are thus more than likely to vibrate the cupboard, aren’t fastened to it within the ordinary method. Instead they’re bodily braced in opposition to each other and held in place with a compliant mounting the place the chassis meets the cupboard, that is an strategy present in a number of the higher subwoofers, and I word, an idea speaker that Monitor Audio confirmed in Munich High-End 2022, and signifies that the bass system is solidly anchored with minimal danger of transmitting power into the ‘field’.

This continues to be a reflex-loaded loudspeaker nonetheless; it’s simply that just like the bass drivers there are two reflex ports that look a bit like gills and sit reverse each other both aspect of the cupboard behind the bass drivers. This association is used in an effort to stability the ports and let the bass system breathe evenly.

Breaking up the chain

Vivid develops and makes its personal drive unts. This is the one method that Dickie may use domes that aren’t standard hemispheres, as a substitute they’ve a catenary form which is the form a series varieties when it’s hung between two posts. This form was chosen as a result of its break up level is notably increased than an everyday dome even earlier than you add the carbon fibre reinforcing ring to its perimeter. If Vivid’s measurements are to be believed, and Dickie is a first-rate engineer, the catenary form has such clear benefits over common domes that one wonders why nobody else makes use of them, maybe there’s a patent at work right here.

The decrease midrange is maybe essentially the most uncommon driver on the Giya G1 Spirit, it has a big oblate sphere (doughnut formed) central dome and really steep cone sides. The giant central dome signifies that this 125mm driver has a 75mm voice coil, which is a uncommon ratio. Like the domes above it this driver has a carbon fibre reinforcement ring on the base of the dome, an association not seen on some other driver together with these within the Vivid vary.

Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit

The G1 Spirit is out there with a standard onboard crossover or a separate outboard one. The latter is available in a comparatively standard rectilinear case product of the identical materials because the speaker, so it’s good and glossy with chamfered corners. Connection to the loudspeaker is through an umbilical that fixes proper beneath the speaker, with the onboard crossover the cable terminals are additionally beneath the speaker. This makes for a really neat look however requires that the speaker be laid on its aspect in an effort to make the connections, which is true in each onboard and outboard crossovers. The benefit of the latter is straightforward speaker cable connection and fewer vibration for the crossover elements to deal with, nonetheless it was initially conceived to permit the G1 Spirit to be actively pushed, and this has been executed with electronics from Linn, Devialet and Trinnov prior to now.

Clean dwelling

The sonic character of this loudspeaker may be very distinct, inasmuch because it seems to have nearly none of its personal. And but as a result of that is a lot extra clearly the case than with most different loudspeakers it actually stands out. The very first thing that hits you is that nothing hits you besides the music, that’s there aren’t any sharp edges, no sense of grain or distortion. Dickie disagrees with that final phrase and prefers the time period ‘coloration’ as a result of that’s the appropriate time period, nonetheless the Giya G1 Spirit doesn’t simply sound as if it has a fair tonal response, it sounds as if it doesn’t have the sharp edges discovered with the overwhelming majority of loudspeakers. If something it is vitally very similar to an electrostatic, it has the identical smoothness and ease as one of the best examples of the style however that is mixed with the low finish energy and dynamics of a reflex design.

It’s a speaker that warrants prime quality and nicely matched amplification, I used to be capable of provide this to an extent however not the complete extent so suspect that even with the unimaginable outcomes I bought there’s extra to be heard from these extraordinary loudspeakers. Nonetheless having them within the system proved to be a very revelatory expertise the like of which I’ve hardly ever had the pleasure of. There is an efficient number of very open sounding loudspeakers in the marketplace right now, the extra superior designers take note of the truth that you possibly can’t get a fair response in a traditional room except the sound that hits the aspect partitions, ground and ceiling has the identical stability because the direct sound from drivers to your ears. This broad dispersion strategy requires nice driver design and a cupboard that doesn’t hinder power coming off these drivers in all instructions, the Giya G1 Spirit cupboard is devoid of sharp edges so the sign has nothing to mirror off because it exits the speaker. This reduces sensitivity to an extent but additionally reduces coloration to a a lot larger extent, this speaker’s sensitivity is definitely fairly excessive at 92dB (2.83 VRMS at 1m) and its nominal impedance a comparatively simple six Ohms. So Vivid has managed to maintain coloration down with out sacrificing ease of drive which is a uncommon achievement in itself.

Wide Dispersion

The broad dispersion is presumably one motive why this speaker sounds so relaxed, not the first motive however an element. It’s additionally why the picture scale adjustments with every bit of music performed, in actual fact every little thing about each recording performed by means of the Giya G1 Spirit appears to be revealed. Give them acoustic recording resembling Chasing the Dragon’s Mendelsohnn Octets and the sense of being there’s greater than palpable, it’s completely convincing. You get the openness of the excessive ceiling on the Henry Wood Hall the place the recording was made and also you get the timbre of the eight devices layered and dare I say it, vivid, in entrance of you. What additionally struck me about this and plenty of different items of music is how nicely the Vivids observe stage, that’s the quantity stage of particular person voices and devices relative to 1 one other in a given combine. Described as micro dynamics that is an space the place the extremely low noise (as a result of there’s so little cupboard vibration) of those audio system places them into one other league. It permits the listener to comply with and recognize totally different performers inside a gaggle and to listen to the way in which that totally different parts of a mixture have been handled.

 

If that every one sounds somewhat dry what it boils all the way down to is a level of transparency that’s distinctive, and that signifies that extra of the musical sign will get into the room with out being coloured or distorted. With Mari Samuelsen’s first solo album Mari [DG] it signifies that a big group of musicians seems within the room somehow of magic, the diploma of realism is positively uncanny. This is a spectacular recording however simply how spectacular turned so much clearer with the large Vivids, I’ve by no means heard string tone that’s so pure nor had a way of the size and nature of a studio acoustic that was so nicely reproduced. It makes the music she creates that rather more highly effective and shifting, and it makes me realise that the Rega P10 turntable is even higher than I assumed it was, and I used to be fairly impressed within the first place.

With much less pure recordings within the type of Frank Zappa’s dwell You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore [Zappa Music] releases, you possibly can hear how he has constructed up these tracks utilizing snippets from totally different performances, a guitar break right here, a voice there. You can hear the joins however this doesn’t get in the way in which of having fun with the brilliance of the music, Zappa had requirements that not even his extremely rehearsed bands may at all times dwell as much as and by utilizing one of the best bits spliced collectively he was capable of assemble the close to as doable excellent concert events for these of us unable to attend the true factor. Having a loudspeaker that’s able to delivering that music at an acceptable quantity with none sense of effort and the entire bandwidth required is a really particular expertise that will get you as shut as you possibly can to being there.

Not a cartoon

The bass on the G1 Spirit just isn’t apparent, that’s like the remainder of the bandwidth it doesn’t have sharpened main edges that outline it a bit like a cartoon. Rather the bass is three dimensional, it’s bought depth and weight and strikes with easy pace. Essentially it’s extraordinarily pure, and simply as prolonged and highly effective because the sign calls for, so if that sign emanates from a synth or electrical bass it may be very muscular certainly. But if it’s a piano or double bass there’s extra texture and depth of tone, extra selection and color. Whatever the supply it’s very juicy and interesting and at all times bang on time.

Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit

The Vivid Giya G1 Spirit is an distinctive loudspeaker, because of the way in which that its drivers and cupboard have been executed it doesn’t have the issues related to 99.9% of dynamic loudspeakers. Instead you get sound that’s as thrilling, highly effective and delightful because the recording permits, and plenty of of them allow an terrible lot of all three. It’s a speaker that I may all too simply dwell with proper as much as the purpose the place enthusiasm wanted to be summoned for one more loudspeaker evaluate. It’s not a speaker for reviewers, it’s a speaker for music lovers who don’t should make comparisons.

Technical specs

  • Type 4-way, five-driver, reflex loaded floorstanding speaker
  • Driver complement One 26mm metallic dome tweeter with Tapered Tube loading; one 50mm metallic dome midrange driver with Tapered Tube loading; one 125mm alloy/carbon diaphragm lower-mid driver with 75mm voice coil, two 225mm alloy diaphragm bass drivers with 100mm voice coil in 45mm hole
  • Crossover frequencies 220Hz, 880Hz, 3.5kHz
  • Frequency response + / -2dB 29–33,000 Hz
  • Impedance 6 Ohms nominal, 3 Ohms minimal at 20 okayHz
  • Sensitivity 92dB @ 2.83 VRMS at 1 m on axis
  • Dimensions (H×W×D) 1600 × 440 × 820mm
  • Weight 67.4kg/every
  • Finishes Piano black, Pearl white, Oyster matte plus premium colors
  • Price £82,500/pair

Manufacturer

Vivid Audio

www.vividaudio.com

Distributor

Vivid Audio UK LTD

www.vividaudio.com

Tel +44(0) 1403 713 125

Back to Reviews

The put up Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit appeared first on Hi-Fi+.

World News

Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit

Posted on by Jason Kennedy

I managed to get away to Greece in late July final yr, simply because it was reaching Greek temperatures within the UK, and loved two weeks of correct ‘scorchio’ climate. I observed how a lot hotter the cities have been (even within the shade) than the much less densely populated areas, particularly these with out buildings. This is basically as a result of the roads and buildings take in warmth after which slowly launch it over the day. This is what high-mass cupboards do, albeit at a unique frequency; they retailer the power that comes from the drive models and launch it over time, slightly extra time than it takes for the sign to be produced by the drivers. The heavier the loudspeaker cupboard, the extra excessive this could get even when heavy audio system do have a solidity within the bass that fairly interesting for a similar motive.

With most picket cupboards the power is straight radiated by the panels of the field to some extent, the higher the bracing the decrease the radiation seems to be the rule. Vivid takes a completely totally different method to controlling radiation by making the cupboard as stiff and lightweight as attainable. The Giya G1 Spirit is a big speaker that stands simply over 5 foot excessive and has a quantity of 180 litres but it surely weighs lower than 70 kilos. A Bowers & Wilkins 802, by comparability, is greater than a foot shorter and weighs almost 90 kilos.

Two skins

The Vivid Giya cupboards are created from two skins of vacuum-infused glass-reinforced composite, a classy variant on fibre glass, with finish grain balsa between the 2 skins to offer stiffness. A few producers make bass drivers in a sandwich association like this however they use foam because the filling; a speaker cupboard wants one thing a bit extra stable. The distinctive form of Giya isn’t a whim of the Vivid styling division however a real occasion of kind following operate. The tubular ring on the prime represents the top of the inverted horn that absorbs power from the 2 bass drivers on both aspect of the cupboard. This is similar to the tapered tube idea that Vivid designer Laurence Dickie created for Bowers & Wilkins within the unique Nautilus loudspeaker, which has subsequently discovered its means into the 800 collection fashions.

Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit

In Vivid loudspeakers, this tapered tube system is used with all of the drivers. You can see the place these for the tweeter, upper- and lower-midrange drivers terminate on the again of the cupboard the place small hex bolts are seen. The bass drivers which produce probably the most power and are thus most definitely to vibrate the cupboard, are usually not fastened to it within the regular means. Instead they’re bodily braced towards each other and held in place with a compliant mounting the place the chassis meets the cupboard, that is an method present in among the higher subwoofers, and I observe, an idea speaker that Monitor Audio confirmed in Munich High-End 2022, and signifies that the bass system is solidly anchored with minimal threat of transmitting power into the ‘field’.

This remains to be a reflex-loaded loudspeaker nevertheless; it’s simply that just like the bass drivers there are two reflex ports that look a bit like gills and sit reverse each other both aspect of the cupboard behind the bass drivers. This association is used so as to steadiness the ports and let the bass system breathe evenly.

Breaking up the chain

Vivid develops and makes its personal drive unts. This is the one means that Dickie may use domes that aren’t typical hemispheres, as an alternative they’ve a catenary form which is the form a series varieties when it’s hung between two posts. This form was chosen as a result of its break up level is notably larger than a daily dome even earlier than you add the carbon fibre reinforcing ring to its perimeter. If Vivid’s measurements are to be believed, and Dickie is a first-rate engineer, the catenary form has such clear benefits over common domes that one wonders why nobody else makes use of them, maybe there’s a patent at work right here.

The decrease midrange is maybe probably the most uncommon driver on the Giya G1 Spirit, it has a big oblate sphere (doughnut formed) central dome and really steep cone sides. The giant central dome signifies that this 125mm driver has a 75mm voice coil, which is a uncommon ratio. Like the domes above it this driver has a carbon fibre reinforcement ring on the base of the dome, an association not seen on some other driver together with these within the Vivid vary.

Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit

The G1 Spirit is accessible with a traditional onboard crossover or a separate outboard one. The latter is available in a comparatively typical rectilinear case fabricated from the identical materials because the speaker, so it’s good and glossy with chamfered corners. Connection to the loudspeaker is through an umbilical that fixes proper beneath the speaker, with the onboard crossover the cable terminals are additionally beneath the speaker. This makes for a really neat look however requires that the speaker be laid on its aspect so as to make the connections, which is true in each onboard and outboard crossovers. The benefit of the latter is straightforward speaker cable connection and fewer vibration for the crossover parts to deal with, nevertheless it was initially conceived to permit the G1 Spirit to be actively pushed, and this has been completed with electronics from Linn, Devialet and Trinnov previously.

Clean residing

The sonic character of this loudspeaker may be very distinct, inasmuch because it seems to have just about none of its personal. And but as a result of that is a lot extra clearly the case than with most different loudspeakers it actually stands out. The very first thing that hits you is that nothing hits you besides the music, that’s there aren’t any sharp edges, no sense of grain or distortion. Dickie disagrees with that final phrase and prefers the time period ‘coloration’ as a result of that’s the appropriate time period, nevertheless the Giya G1 Spirit doesn’t simply sound as if it has an excellent tonal response, it sounds as if it doesn’t have the sharp edges discovered with the overwhelming majority of loudspeakers. If something it is rather very like an electrostatic, it has the identical smoothness and ease as the most effective examples of the style however that is mixed with the low finish energy and dynamics of a reflex design.

It’s a speaker that warrants prime quality and effectively matched amplification, I used to be in a position to supply this to an extent however not the complete extent so suspect that even with the unimaginable outcomes I received there’s extra to be heard from these extraordinary loudspeakers. Nonetheless having them within the system proved to be a very revelatory expertise the like of which I’ve hardly ever had the pleasure of. There is an efficient number of very open sounding loudspeakers available on the market at this time, the extra superior designers have in mind the truth that you’ll be able to’t get an excellent response in a traditional room until the sound that hits the aspect partitions, flooring and ceiling has the identical steadiness because the direct sound from drivers to your ears. This vast dispersion method requires nice driver design and a cupboard that doesn’t hinder power coming off these drivers in all instructions, the Giya G1 Spirit cupboard is devoid of sharp edges so the sign has nothing to mirror off because it exits the speaker. This reduces sensitivity to an extent but in addition reduces coloration to a a lot higher extent, this speaker’s sensitivity is definitely fairly excessive at 92dB (2.83 VRMS at 1m) and its nominal impedance a comparatively straightforward six Ohms. So Vivid has managed to maintain coloration down with out sacrificing ease of drive which is a uncommon achievement in itself.

Wide Dispersion

The vast dispersion is presumably one motive why this speaker sounds so relaxed, not the first motive however an element. It’s additionally why the picture scale adjustments with every bit of music performed, the truth is every thing about each recording performed by means of the Giya G1 Spirit appears to be revealed. Give them a great acoustic recording comparable to Chasing the Dragon’s Mendelsohnn Octets and the sense of being there’s greater than palpable, it’s completely convincing. You get the openness of the excessive ceiling on the Henry Wood Hall the place the recording was made and also you get the timbre of the eight devices layered and dare I say it, vivid, in entrance of you. What additionally struck me about this and plenty of different items of music is how effectively the Vivids monitor degree, that’s the quantity degree of particular person voices and devices relative to at least one one other in a given combine. Described as micro dynamics that is an space the place the extremely low noise (as a result of there’s so little cupboard vibration) of those audio system places them into one other league. It permits the listener to comply with and respect totally different performers inside a gaggle and to listen to the best way that totally different components of a combination have been handled.

 

If that every one sounds slightly dry what it boils right down to is a level of transparency that’s distinctive, and that signifies that extra of the musical sign will get into the room with out being coloured or distorted. With Mari Samuelsen’s first solo album Mari [DG] it signifies that a big group of musicians seems within the room come what may of magic, the diploma of realism is positively uncanny. This is a spectacular recording however simply how spectacular grew to become lots clearer with the massive Vivids, I’ve by no means heard string tone that’s so pure nor had a way of the dimensions and nature of a studio acoustic that was so effectively reproduced. It makes the music she creates that rather more highly effective and transferring, and it makes me realise that the Rega P10 turntable is even higher than I believed it was, and I used to be fairly impressed within the first place.

With much less pure recordings within the type of Frank Zappa’s stay You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore [Zappa Music] releases, you’ll be able to hear how he has constructed up these tracks utilizing snippets from totally different performances, a guitar break right here, a voice there. You can hear the joins however this doesn’t get in the best way of having fun with the brilliance of the music, Zappa had requirements that not even his extremely rehearsed bands may at all times stay as much as and through the use of the most effective bits spliced collectively he was in a position to assemble the close to as attainable good concert events for these of us unable to attend the actual factor. Having a loudspeaker that’s able to delivering that music at an appropriate quantity with none sense of effort and all the bandwidth required is a really particular expertise that will get you as shut as you’ll be able to to being there.

Not a cartoon

The bass on the G1 Spirit isn’t apparent, that’s like the remainder of the bandwidth it doesn’t have sharpened main edges that outline it a bit like a cartoon. Rather the bass is three dimensional, it’s received depth and weight and strikes with easy pace. Essentially it’s extraordinarily pure, and simply as prolonged and highly effective because the sign calls for, so if that sign emanates from a synth or electrical bass it may be very muscular certainly. But if it’s a piano or double bass there’s extra texture and depth of tone, extra selection and color. Whatever the supply it’s very juicy and interesting and at all times bang on time.

Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit

The Vivid Giya G1 Spirit is an distinctive loudspeaker, due to the best way that its drivers and cupboard have been executed it doesn’t have the issues related to 99.9% of dynamic loudspeakers. Instead you get sound that’s as thrilling, highly effective and exquisite because the recording permits, and plenty of of them allow an terrible lot of all three. It’s a speaker that I may all too simply stay with proper as much as the purpose the place enthusiasm wanted to be summoned for an additional loudspeaker assessment. It’s not a speaker for reviewers, it’s a speaker for music lovers who don’t must make comparisons.

Technical specs

  • Type 4-way, five-driver, reflex loaded floorstanding speaker
  • Driver complement One 26mm steel dome tweeter with Tapered Tube loading; one 50mm steel dome midrange driver with Tapered Tube loading; one 125mm alloy/carbon diaphragm lower-mid driver with 75mm voice coil, two 225mm alloy diaphragm bass drivers with 100mm voice coil in 45mm hole
  • Crossover frequencies 220Hz, 880Hz, 3.5kHz
  • Frequency response + / -2dB 29–33,000 Hz
  • Impedance 6 Ohms nominal, 3 Ohms minimal at 20 okayHz
  • Sensitivity 92dB @ 2.83 VRMS at 1 m on axis
  • Dimensions (H×W×D) 1600 × 440 × 820mm
  • Weight 67.4kg/every
  • Finishes Piano black, Pearl white, Oyster matte plus premium colors
  • Price £82,500/pair

Manufacturer

Vivid Audio

www.vividaudio.com

Distributor

Vivid Audio UK LTD

www.vividaudio.com

Tel +44(0) 1403 713 125

Back to Reviews

The submit Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit appeared first on Hi-Fi+.

Uncategorized

Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit

Posted on by Jason Kennedy

I managed to get away to Greece in late July final 12 months, simply because it was reaching Greek temperatures within the UK, and loved two weeks of correct ‘scorchio’ climate. I seen how a lot hotter the cities had been (even within the shade) than the much less densely populated areas, particularly these with out buildings. This is essentially as a result of the roads and buildings absorb warmth after which slowly launch it over the day. This is what high-mass cupboards do, albeit at a unique frequency; they retailer the power that comes from the drive models and launch it over time, fairly extra time than it takes for the sign to be produced by the drivers. The heavier the loudspeaker cupboard, the extra excessive this may get even when heavy audio system do have a solidity within the bass that fairly interesting for a similar cause.

With most wood cupboards the power is instantly radiated by the panels of the field to some extent, the higher the bracing the decrease the radiation seems to be the rule. Vivid takes an entirely totally different strategy to controlling radiation by making the cupboard as stiff and light-weight as attainable. The Giya G1 Spirit is a big speaker that stands simply over 5 foot excessive and has a quantity of 180 litres however it weighs lower than 70 kilos. A Bowers & Wilkins 802, by comparability, is greater than a foot shorter and weighs practically 90 kilos.

Two skins

The Vivid Giya cupboards are produced from two skins of vacuum-infused glass-reinforced composite, a complicated variant on fibre glass, with finish grain balsa between the 2 skins to offer stiffness. A few producers make bass drivers in a sandwich association like this however they use foam because the filling; a speaker cupboard wants one thing a bit extra stable. The distinctive form of Giya just isn’t a whim of the Vivid styling division however a real occasion of type following perform. The tubular ring on the prime represents the top of the inverted horn that absorbs power from the 2 bass drivers on both facet of the cupboard. This is similar to the tapered tube idea that Vivid designer Laurence Dickie created for Bowers & Wilkins within the authentic Nautilus loudspeaker, which has subsequently discovered its method into the 800 collection fashions.

Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit

In Vivid loudspeakers, this tapered tube system is used with all of the drivers. You can see the place these for the tweeter, upper- and lower-midrange drivers terminate on the again of the cupboard the place small hex bolts are seen. The bass drivers which produce essentially the most power and are thus most certainly to vibrate the cupboard, should not fastened to it within the standard method. Instead they’re bodily braced in opposition to each other and held in place with a compliant mounting the place the chassis meets the cupboard, that is an strategy present in a few of the higher subwoofers, and I notice, an idea speaker that Monitor Audio confirmed in Munich High-End 2022, and signifies that the bass system is solidly anchored with minimal danger of transmitting power into the ‘field’.

This continues to be a reflex-loaded loudspeaker nevertheless; it’s simply that just like the bass drivers there are two reflex ports that look a bit like gills and sit reverse each other both facet of the cupboard behind the bass drivers. This association is used in an effort to stability the ports and let the bass system breathe evenly.

Breaking up the chain

Vivid develops and makes its personal drive unts. This is the one method that Dickie may use domes that aren’t typical hemispheres, as a substitute they’ve a catenary form which is the form a sequence kinds when it’s hung between two posts. This form was chosen as a result of its break up level is notably larger than an everyday dome even earlier than you add the carbon fibre reinforcing ring to its perimeter. If Vivid’s measurements are to be believed, and Dickie is a first-rate engineer, the catenary form has such clear benefits over common domes that one wonders why nobody else makes use of them, maybe there’s a patent at work right here.

The decrease midrange is probably essentially the most uncommon driver on the Giya G1 Spirit, it has a big oblate sphere (doughnut formed) central dome and really steep cone sides. The massive central dome signifies that this 125mm driver has a 75mm voice coil, which is a uncommon ratio. Like the domes above it this driver has a carbon fibre reinforcement ring on the base of the dome, an association not seen on every other driver together with these within the Vivid vary.

Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit

The G1 Spirit is accessible with a standard onboard crossover or a separate outboard one. The latter is available in a comparatively typical rectilinear case fabricated from the identical materials because the speaker, so it’s good and glossy with chamfered corners. Connection to the loudspeaker is by way of an umbilical that fixes proper beneath the speaker, with the onboard crossover the cable terminals are additionally beneath the speaker. This makes for a really neat look however requires that the speaker be laid on its facet in an effort to make the connections, which is true in each onboard and outboard crossovers. The benefit of the latter is straightforward speaker cable connection and fewer vibration for the crossover parts to deal with, nevertheless it was initially conceived to permit the G1 Spirit to be actively pushed, and this has been finished with electronics from Linn, Devialet and Trinnov prior to now.

Clean dwelling

The sonic character of this loudspeaker may be very distinct, inasmuch because it seems to have just about none of its personal. And but as a result of that is a lot extra clearly the case than with most different loudspeakers it actually stands out. The very first thing that hits you is that nothing hits you besides the music, that’s there aren’t any sharp edges, no sense of grain or distortion. Dickie disagrees with that final phrase and prefers the time period ‘coloration’ as a result of that’s the appropriate time period, nevertheless the Giya G1 Spirit doesn’t simply sound as if it has an excellent tonal response, it sounds as if it doesn’t have the sharp edges discovered with the overwhelming majority of loudspeakers. If something it is rather very like an electrostatic, it has the identical smoothness and ease as the very best examples of the style however that is mixed with the low finish energy and dynamics of a reflex design.

It’s a speaker that warrants top quality and effectively matched amplification, I used to be capable of provide this to an extent however not the complete extent so suspect that even with the unbelievable outcomes I obtained there’s extra to be heard from these extraordinary loudspeakers. Nonetheless having them within the system proved to be a completely revelatory expertise the like of which I’ve not often had the pleasure of. There is an effective number of very open sounding loudspeakers available on the market right this moment, the extra superior designers consider the truth that you’ll be able to’t get an excellent response in a traditional room except the sound that hits the facet partitions, ground and ceiling has the identical stability because the direct sound from drivers to your ears. This huge dispersion strategy requires nice driver design and a cupboard that doesn’t hinder power coming off these drivers in all instructions, the Giya G1 Spirit cupboard is devoid of sharp edges so the sign has nothing to replicate off because it exits the speaker. This reduces sensitivity to an extent but additionally reduces coloration to a a lot larger extent, this speaker’s sensitivity is definitely fairly excessive at 92dB (2.83 VRMS at 1m) and its nominal impedance a comparatively simple six Ohms. So Vivid has managed to maintain coloration down with out sacrificing ease of drive which is a uncommon achievement in itself.

Wide Dispersion

The huge dispersion is presumably one cause why this speaker sounds so relaxed, not the first cause however an element. It’s additionally why the picture scale modifications with every bit of music performed, actually all the things about each recording performed by way of the Giya G1 Spirit appears to be revealed. Give them a very good acoustic recording similar to Chasing the Dragon’s Mendelsohnn Octets and the sense of being there’s greater than palpable, it’s completely convincing. You get the openness of the excessive ceiling on the Henry Wood Hall the place the recording was made and also you get the timbre of the eight devices layered and dare I say it, vivid, in entrance of you. What additionally struck me about this and lots of different items of music is how effectively the Vivids monitor stage, that’s the quantity stage of particular person voices and devices relative to 1 one other in a given combine. Described as micro dynamics that is an space the place the extremely low noise (as a result of there’s so little cupboard vibration) of those audio system places them into one other league. It permits the listener to comply with and admire totally different performers inside a bunch and to listen to the best way that totally different components of a mixture have been handled.

 

If that every one sounds fairly dry what it boils all the way down to is a level of transparency that’s distinctive, and that signifies that extra of the musical sign will get into the room with out being coloured or distorted. With Mari Samuelsen’s first solo album Mari [DG] it signifies that a big group of musicians seems within the room come what may of magic, the diploma of realism is positively uncanny. This is a spectacular recording however simply how spectacular grew to become lots clearer with the massive Vivids, I’ve by no means heard string tone that’s so pure nor had a way of the dimensions and nature of a studio acoustic that was so effectively reproduced. It makes the music she creates that rather more highly effective and transferring, and it makes me realise that the Rega P10 turntable is even higher than I believed it was, and I used to be fairly impressed within the first place.

With much less pure recordings within the type of Frank Zappa’s stay You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore [Zappa Music] releases, you’ll be able to hear how he has constructed up these tracks utilizing snippets from totally different performances, a guitar break right here, a voice there. You can hear the joins however this doesn’t get in the best way of having fun with the brilliance of the music, Zappa had requirements that not even his extremely rehearsed bands may all the time stay as much as and through the use of the very best bits spliced collectively he was capable of assemble the close to as attainable good concert events for these of us unable to attend the actual factor. Having a loudspeaker that’s able to delivering that music at an acceptable quantity with none sense of effort and the entire bandwidth required is a really particular expertise that will get you as shut as you’ll be able to to being there.

Not a cartoon

The bass on the G1 Spirit just isn’t apparent, that’s like the remainder of the bandwidth it doesn’t have sharpened main edges that outline it a bit like a cartoon. Rather the bass is three dimensional, it’s obtained depth and weight and strikes with easy velocity. Essentially it’s extraordinarily pure, and simply as prolonged and highly effective because the sign calls for, so if that sign emanates from a synth or electrical bass it may be very muscular certainly. But if it’s a piano or double bass there’s extra texture and depth of tone, extra selection and color. Whatever the supply it’s very juicy and interesting and all the time bang on time.

Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit

The Vivid Giya G1 Spirit is an distinctive loudspeaker, because of the best way that its drivers and cupboard have been executed it doesn’t have the issues related to 99.9% of dynamic loudspeakers. Instead you get sound that’s as thrilling, highly effective and delightful because the recording permits, and lots of of them allow an terrible lot of all three. It’s a speaker that I may all too simply stay with proper as much as the purpose the place enthusiasm wanted to be summoned for one more loudspeaker assessment. It’s not a speaker for reviewers, it’s a speaker for music lovers who don’t need to make comparisons.

Technical specs

  • Type 4-way, five-driver, reflex loaded floorstanding speaker
  • Driver complement One 26mm steel dome tweeter with Tapered Tube loading; one 50mm steel dome midrange driver with Tapered Tube loading; one 125mm alloy/carbon diaphragm lower-mid driver with 75mm voice coil, two 225mm alloy diaphragm bass drivers with 100mm voice coil in 45mm hole
  • Crossover frequencies 220Hz, 880Hz, 3.5kHz
  • Frequency response + / -2dB 29–33,000 Hz
  • Impedance 6 Ohms nominal, 3 Ohms minimal at 20 okHz
  • Sensitivity 92dB @ 2.83 VRMS at 1 m on axis
  • Dimensions (H×W×D) 1600 × 440 × 820mm
  • Weight 67.4kg/every
  • Finishes Piano black, Pearl white, Oyster matte plus premium colors
  • Price £82,500/pair

Manufacturer

Vivid Audio

www.vividaudio.com

Distributor

Vivid Audio UK LTD

www.vividaudio.com

Tel +44(0) 1403 713 125

Back to Reviews

The publish Vivid Audio Giya G1 Spirit appeared first on Hi-Fi+.

World News

Music First Audio Reference V2

Posted on by Jason Kennedy

Music First Audio is Jonathan Billington, a transformer winding specialist who was born right into a enterprise began by his father and a companion method again in 1963 and carried on by his mom after his father handed away. It wasn’t till audio tweak-meister extraordinaire Thorsten Loesch managed to seek out Jonathan and persuaded him to make some transformers with which to construct a transformer-based preamplifier (or TVC as they’ve turn into identified) that Billington bought the thought to make passive preamplifiers and joined the hi-fi fraternity.

The relaxation is sort of historical past, since then Music First Audio has established itself because the premium model in TVCs with a variety of preamplifiers and step-up transformers primarily based on transformers wound in a workshop close to Rye in East Sussex. Up till now all Music First Audio passive preamplifiers have been primarily based on a mechanical swap that selects particular person faucets from a transformer for every channel. Each faucet represents a level of attenuation and the amount vary of the preamp is outlined by the quantity of positions on the swap. I used to be below the impression that it was the variety of faucets fairly than the controller that’s the limitation, however plainly nobody makes a swap with something close to the quantity of steps that Jonathan needed to supply within the new Reference V2; even the Baby Reference V2 has a mechanical swap and affords 30 steps plus mute.

The Reference V2 achieves its 60 instances 1dB quantity steps through the use of relays together with a transformer that has 30 secondary faucets and two primaries; the relays toggle between the 2 to offer this unusually big selection. It’s one thing that Townshend Audio has achieved with its high passive preamplifier and permits not solely wider and finer gradations of quantity however supplies the choice to show the extent as might be seen on the Music First Audio. Given that the management knob itself shouldn’t be motorised and thus doesn’t transfer it is a helpful indicator of what to anticipate when it comes to quantity. The second LED exhibits which enter is chosen, Music First Audio makes use of letters to indicate inputs, which is uncommon however simple to familiarise your self with. Well it’s in case you solely have two sources related. Those who use all six of the inputs provided will want an excellent reminiscence. Another advantage of the relay system is that it permits distant management of each enter choice and quantity, and Jonathan has had the nice sense to produce an Apple IR distant for the job. Not solely is that this a fantastically made factor, it additionally has such huge dispersion that it’s going to management the receiver nearly no matter which method it’s pointed; you may actually be beside the preamp and level the distant on the reverse wall and it’ll work. No devoted hi-fi remotes obtain this in my expertise… and it even has a mute button.

Sensitive elements

The Reference V2 is notably bigger than something Music First Audio has inbuilt latest instances but it surely follows a sample shaped by the unique Reference mannequin which was usurped by the Baby Reference a couple of years in the past. The further area that the total width case supplies is beneficial on the subject of spacing out the elements inside, the relays used for degree setting want energy so there may be the potential for stray fields and with the ability to hold delicate elements away from them is a helpful. There isn’t any mains transformer, the ability is equipped by an exterior Longdog Audio linear energy provide. The unique plan was to make use of a top quality switched mode provide (SMP) as a result of the sign shouldn’t be amplified and the ability is simply there to function the relays, the issue with that is that an SMP if it’s not designed for audio (see costly) injects noise into the mains and that undermines the efficiency of lively elements such because the amplifier and supply.

This preamp’s six inputs are cut up into 5 single-ended pairs on prime quality WBT sockets plus one pair of XLRs, the unit equipped for overview had a pair of clean covers below the inscription ‘tape out’, suggesting that that is an choice ought to it’s required. On the output aspect, you get two pairs of RCA phono sockets and two pairs of XLRs, however the guide discourages utilizing each RCAs and XLRs collectively. As every preamp is made to order, it’s doable to have the Reference V2 with any mixture of XLR and RCA connections. Each pair of outputs additionally has a floor/elevate swap with a view to fight hum points attributable to floor loops, which is a helpful characteristic that’s not seen fairly often outdoors of valve electronics.

I used the Reference V2 with a Moor Amps Angel 6 energy amplifier and a wide range of audio system together with PMC twenty5.26is and Vivid Giya G1 Spirits, the latter proving notably insightful as you may think. Being a passive machine this preamplifier could be very quick on character. In truth, it appears to be completely devoid of the colorations and distortions related to even high-end lively designs. It’s neither quick and ahead nor gradual and clean; it sounds very very like the supply you connect to it and its sins corresponding to they’re, are strictly of omission. In quick, it doesn’t add something to the sign and an enormous quantity of that sign will get via to the ability amplifier.

With an iFi Pro iDSD DAC it’s each exact and pure in its presentation, very properly outlined however with none of the grain related to all however the very best lively preamplifiers. That’s the good thing about passive operation, you eliminate the challenges inherent in energy provide design in a single fell swoop. If the recording has good stage depth you realize all about it; there’s a actual sense of sonic holography with stay performances which were properly captured no matter whether or not its Ryan Adams or Mari Samuelsen. The latter’s album Mari is extraordinarily properly made and the Music First Audio lets you realize all about it, delivering the finesse of her phrasing together with the stress and emotional impression of the items she performs. There’s an electrical ambiance on lots of the items that’s totally revealed by the uncanny silence of the Reference V2.

Uncanny constancy

I’ve observed that some TVCs lack the bass punch and extension discovered with the higher lively preamplifiers, however this isn’t certainly one of them. That a lot grew to become clear on all kinds of tracks that have been performed. It goes down so far as you want and might kick just like the proverbial mule when the sign requires it. Voices are additionally very properly catered for, the diploma of transparency on supply which means that a lot of the intonation and expression of the midrange comes via that it takes little or no to droop disbelief. With the very best performances this provides you goose bumps such is the energy of realism and presence. But readability is just one a part of the equation, timing is equally important to the tip outcome and that is one other space the place the Reference V2 responds to the supply with uncanny constancy. There is not one of the emphasis that some designers use to make a product sound pacey and thrilling, simply clearly outlined main edges which have impression however no exaggeration.

For a little bit of distinction I hooked the Reference V2 as much as a pair of Valvet A3.5 Class An influence amps that are extra consistent with the type of amps that Music First Audio use for dems and growth. And it labored properly, the additional openness and finesse made every part that was performed that rather more partaking and thrilling. Keith Jarrett’s piano enjoying was completely absorbing due to the benefit with which the notes flowed via the system, the Reference V2 is clearly able to delivering actually fluent, cohesive music the place the tonal depth and the expressiveness of enjoying take priority over energy and assault. It’s all concerning the musical message, and for that matter the spoken one. Joseph Malik’s ‘Tavistock’ combines spoken phrase with low key jazz backing to tremendously highly effective impact, its understatement reinforcing the best way he communicates a perspective that’s so pertinent at this time. Clara Baker’s ‘Things to Burn’ can be very efficient in the best way that it combines mild vocals with aggressive guitar, the dynamic distinction being maximised by the extraordinarily low noise of the preamp.

Music First Audio has achieved good with this new vary topping preamp, it’s among the many highest in school but because of respectable fairly than elaborate casework the worth shouldn’t be stratospheric. It’s not cheap both however preamplifiers that sound this good by no means are, and infrequently what you’re paying for is machined aluminium, right here you get what it says on the tin: reference grade management par excellence.

Technical specs

  • Type Passive transformer primarily based preamplifier with distant management
  • Analogue inputs Six pairs of inputs which might be any mixture of XLR connectors and RCA jacks
  • Analogue outputs Two pairs of XLR outputs, two pairs of single-ended outputs (by way of RCA jacks), elective Tape Output (by way of RCA jacks)
  • Gain 0dB
  • Dimensions (H×W×D) 100 × 410 × 355mm
  • Weight 7kg
  • Price £7,720

Manufacturer

Stevens & Billington

www.mfaudio.co.uk

+44 (0)1424 858260

Back to Reviews

The publish Music First Audio Reference V2 appeared first on Hi-Fi+.

Uncategorized

Music First Audio Reference V2

Posted on by Jason Kennedy

Music First Audio is Jonathan Billington, a transformer winding specialist who was born right into a enterprise began by his father and a companion method again in 1963 and carried on by his mom after his father handed away. It wasn’t till audio tweak-meister extraordinaire Thorsten Loesch managed to search out Jonathan and persuaded him to make some transformers with which to construct a transformer-based preamplifier (or TVC as they’ve grow to be identified) that Billington obtained the thought to make passive preamplifiers and joined the hi-fi fraternity.

The relaxation is sort of historical past, since then Music First Audio has established itself because the premium model in TVCs with a spread of preamplifiers and step-up transformers primarily based on transformers wound in a workshop close to Rye in East Sussex. Up till now all Music First Audio passive preamplifiers have been primarily based on a mechanical change that selects particular person faucets from a transformer for every channel. Each faucet represents a level of attenuation and the quantity vary of the preamp is outlined by the quantity of positions on the change. I used to be below the impression that it was the variety of faucets reasonably than the controller that’s the limitation, however plainly nobody makes a change with something close to the quantity of steps that Jonathan needed to supply within the new Reference V2; even the Baby Reference V2 has a mechanical change and presents 30 steps plus mute.

The Reference V2 achieves its 60 occasions 1dB quantity steps by utilizing relays together with a transformer that has 30 secondary faucets and two primaries; the relays toggle between the 2 to offer this unusually wide selection. It’s one thing that Townshend Audio has performed with its high passive preamplifier and permits not solely wider and finer gradations of quantity however offers the choice to show the extent as might be seen on the Music First Audio. Given that the management knob itself just isn’t motorised and thus doesn’t transfer this can be a helpful indicator of what to anticipate when it comes to quantity. The second LED reveals which enter is chosen, Music First Audio makes use of letters to indicate inputs, which is uncommon however straightforward to familiarise your self with. Well it’s in case you solely have two sources related. Those who use all six of the inputs supplied will want a very good reminiscence. Another good thing about the relay system is that it permits distant management of each enter choice and quantity, and Jonathan has had the great sense to provide an Apple IR distant for the job. Not solely is that this a superbly made factor, it additionally has such broad dispersion that it’s going to management the receiver nearly no matter which method it’s pointed; you may actually be beside the preamp and level the distant on the reverse wall and it’ll work. No devoted hi-fi remotes obtain this in my expertise… and it even has a mute button.

Sensitive elements

The Reference V2 is notably bigger than something Music First Audio has inbuilt latest occasions however it follows a sample shaped by the unique Reference mannequin which was usurped by the Baby Reference just a few years in the past. The additional house that the complete width case offers is beneficial in the case of spacing out the elements inside, the relays used for degree setting want energy so there’s the potential for stray fields and having the ability to hold delicate elements away from them is a useful. There isn’t any mains transformer, the ability is provided by an exterior Longdog Audio linear energy provide. The unique plan was to make use of a top quality switched mode provide (SMP) as a result of the sign just isn’t amplified and the ability is just there to function the relays, the issue with that is that an SMP if it’s not designed for audio (see costly) injects noise into the mains and that undermines the efficiency of lively elements such because the amplifier and supply.

This preamp’s six inputs are cut up into 5 single-ended pairs on prime quality WBT sockets plus one pair of XLRs, the unit provided for assessment had a pair of clean covers below the inscription ‘tape out’, suggesting that that is an possibility ought to it’s required. On the output facet, you get two pairs of RCA phono sockets and two pairs of XLRs, however the guide discourages utilizing each RCAs and XLRs collectively. As every preamp is made to order, it’s potential to have the Reference V2 with any mixture of XLR and RCA connections. Each pair of outputs additionally has a floor/raise change with a view to fight hum points brought on by floor loops, which is a helpful function that’s not seen fairly often exterior of valve electronics.

I used the Reference V2 with a Moor Amps Angel 6 energy amplifier and quite a lot of audio system together with PMC twenty5.26is and Vivid Giya G1 Spirits, the latter proving notably insightful as you may think. Being a passive system this preamplifier could be very brief on character. In truth, it appears to be completely devoid of the colorations and distortions related to even high-end lively designs. It’s neither quick and ahead nor gradual and clean; it sounds very very like the supply you connect to it and its sins reminiscent of they’re, are strictly of omission. In brief, it doesn’t add something to the sign and an unlimited quantity of that sign will get by to the ability amplifier.

With an iFi Pro iDSD DAC it’s each exact and pure in its presentation, very effectively outlined however with none of the grain related to all however the perfect lively preamplifiers. That’s the good thing about passive operation, you do away with the challenges inherent in energy provide design in a single fell swoop. If the recording has good stage depth you realize all about it; there’s a actual sense of sonic holography with dwell performances which were effectively captured no matter whether or not its Ryan Adams or Mari Samuelsen. The latter’s album Mari is extraordinarily effectively made and the Music First Audio lets you realize all about it, delivering the finesse of her phrasing together with the stress and emotional impression of the items she performs. There’s an electrical environment on most of the items that’s absolutely revealed by the uncanny silence of the Reference V2.

Uncanny constancy

I’ve observed that some TVCs lack the bass punch and extension discovered with the higher lively preamplifiers, however this isn’t one in all them. That a lot turned clear on all kinds of tracks that have been performed. It goes down so far as you want and might kick just like the proverbial mule when the sign requires it. Voices are additionally very effectively catered for, the diploma of transparency on provide that means that a lot of the intonation and expression of the midrange comes by that it takes little or no to droop disbelief. With the perfect performances this provides you goose bumps such is the energy of realism and presence. But readability is just one a part of the equation, timing is equally crucial to the tip consequence and that is one other space the place the Reference V2 responds to the supply with uncanny constancy. There is not one of the emphasis that some designers use to make a product sound pacey and thrilling, simply clearly outlined main edges which have impression however no exaggeration.

For a little bit of distinction I hooked the Reference V2 as much as a pair of Valvet A3.5 Class An influence amps that are extra in step with the kind of amps that Music First Audio use for dems and improvement. And it labored effectively, the additional openness and finesse made every part that was performed that rather more partaking and thrilling. Keith Jarrett’s piano taking part in was completely absorbing due to the benefit with which the notes flowed by the system, the Reference V2 is clearly able to delivering actually fluent, cohesive music the place the tonal depth and the expressiveness of taking part in take priority over energy and assault. It’s all concerning the musical message, and for that matter the spoken one. Joseph Malik’s ‘Tavistock’ combines spoken phrase with low key jazz backing to tremendously highly effective impact, its understatement reinforcing the best way he communicates a perspective that’s so pertinent at this time. Clara Baker’s ‘Things to Burn’ can be very efficient in the best way that it combines mild vocals with aggressive guitar, the dynamic distinction being maximised by the extraordinarily low noise of the preamp.

Music First Audio has performed good with this new vary topping preamp, it’s among the many perfect in school but because of respectable reasonably than elaborate casework the value just isn’t stratospheric. It’s not cheap both however preamplifiers that sound this good by no means are, and infrequently what you might be paying for is machined aluminium, right here you get what it says on the tin: reference grade management par excellence.

Technical specs

  • Type Passive transformer primarily based preamplifier with distant management
  • Analogue inputs Six pairs of inputs which might be any mixture of XLR connectors and RCA jacks
  • Analogue outputs Two pairs of XLR outputs, two pairs of single-ended outputs (through RCA jacks), optionally available Tape Output (through RCA jacks)
  • Gain 0dB
  • Dimensions (H×W×D) 100 × 410 × 355mm
  • Weight 7kg
  • Price £7,720

Manufacturer

Stevens & Billington

www.mfaudio.co.uk

+44 (0)1424 858260

Back to Reviews

The submit Music First Audio Reference V2 appeared first on Hi-Fi+.

World News

Rega System One

Posted on by Jason Kennedy

I used to be speaking to a former govt at Technics not too long ago who instructed me about the best way the enterprise labored within the days when separates bought within the kind of numbers that solely headphones and Bluetooth audio system do at the moment. For Technics, the sport was all about market share and the best way to attain that was with promoting. This meant double-page spreads in Sunday dietary supplements and again pages on each hi-fi journal. It labored… and the model made loads of hay within the shining solar. At the identical time Rega was doing issues reasonably in a different way; with the Planar 2 and three turntables, the corporate turned one of many principal turntable makers in British hi-fi with out recourse to advertising and marketing however reasonably by constructing a superb product at a aggressive worth. Those turntables nonetheless maintain their worth at the moment, which is greater than you’ll be able to say for many hi-fi of the Seventies and Eighties, Technics turntables excepted.

Rega is now the UK’s foremost unbiased producer of full audio programs has a broad vary of turntables, electronics and loudspeakers and, in my humble opinion, makes one of many absolute best turntables on the earth. But critically Rega additionally does its utmost to maintain its merchandise inexpensive to the person and lady on the street. There are numberless small corporations on this enterprise who make nice merchandise however due to the size of their operations they don’t seem to be capable of carry them to market at costs that the informal music fanatic would take into account approachable. Rega has at all times seemed for effectivity in manufacturing and inbuilt enough numbers to attain this enviable purpose, one which solely the bigger manufacturers which amenities in China can compete with.

My first Rega

The Rega System One is the epitome of this excessive worth ethos. It is the corporate’s first full hi-fi system in a field and contains all the pieces it’s worthwhile to make vinyl records sound nice in your house, cables and all. The supply is Rega’s most inexpensive turntable; the P1 is a full-size report participant with a correct mud cowl and top quality motor, bearing, platter, plinth, arm and cartridge. The Planar 1 to present it its full title has a phenolic resin flywheel platter; this tough plastic affords a stiff and flat floor and has peripheral weighting to assist pace stability. Like all Rega turntables, drive is achieved by way of a smaller subplatter, an method that may be discovered within the Linn LP12 amongst a couple of enlightened others and avoids the issues inherent in driving the periphery of the platter with a belt or loafer wheel. The principal one being significantly decrease vitality switch from the motor to the platter. Remember {that a} turntable’s job is to ‘learn’ miniscule vibrations in a vinyl groove, something that provides vibration to the system will distort the sign being learn so extraneous vibration is to be prevented in any respect prices.

Rega Planar 1

The Rega RB110 tonearm isn’t primarily based on the casting that kinds extra expensive Rega arms however as a substitute is a top quality piece of engineering that ought to final significantly longer than the flimsy trying choices discovered on many price range turntables. Bias or anti-skate is described as automated and can’t be adjusted, and this fits the Rega Carbon shifting magnet cartridge provided. Some take into account this to be a limitation however on condition that bias is at all times a compromise (like monitoring angle, no single bias setting is right throughout the entire facet of a report), it’s a suitable manner of decreasing value. Downforce is, in fact, adjustable however the RB110 has a cease to go well with the requirement of the Carbon, making consumer arrange very straightforward certainly. The arm additionally has a correct carry/decrease system, that appears very very like the sort fitted to Rega’s prime fashions. The arm bearings use a patented mixture of polymer casings and metal ball races and are present in each the RB110 and RB220 arms.

A 24V synchronous AC motor – as discovered throughout the Rega turntable vary – powers the P1; the costlier fashions get the motors that measure finest in fact however the primary design is similar. This motor drives a spherical part belt from an aluminium pulley with separate steps for 33.3 and 45rpm. This means altering pace requires the platter to be eliminated and the belt moved from one to the opposite, however in actuality it’s ‘simples,’ as that mysteriously Russian-accented African meerkat insurance coverage salesman is liable to saying.

Motor switching is underneath the entrance of the plinth and simple to seek out by really feel. Not a terrific deal is claimed concerning the plinth itself save that it is available in matt white or black finishes, it looks like furnishings grade wooden however is presumably some sort of particulate board with a ending pores and skin. The turntable sits on three rubber ft for stability and damping, and has a socket on the rear for the wallwart energy provide. Its tonearm cable is mounted in an effort to present a direct connection between arm and amplifier. Some manufacturers supply RCA outputs on their turntables however the low energy nature of the sign produced by a cartridge signifies that such interfaces are detrimental to sound high quality.

The built-in amplifier that Rega developed largely for this technique is known as Io. It’s (naturally) the least costly mannequin they make and but affords the all necessary phono stage required for the P1. It relies on the identical circuit because the outstanding Brio amplifier and whereas it has a smaller energy provide and thus decrease 30 Watt output, it’s the least costly amplifier that’s made within the UK. Features lengthen to a headphone output and distant management with two line inputs alongside the MM phono stage. It’s attention-grabbing to notice that the primary two incarnations of the Naim Nait supplied solely 13W; it wasn’t till the Nait 3 in 1993 that it reached the kind of Wattage on supply within the Io. Another similarity is that the early Naits additionally had simply three inputs together with phono… coincidence, maybe?

Rega Io

The most radical ingredient within the Rega System One is the Kyte loudspeaker. This eschews wooden virtually solely in favour of a Rega’s favorite plastic, phenolic resin. This is the fabric that you just discover in mild switches and mains sockets; it’s not intrinsically costly but making such a big moulding proved a tough course of to get proper and Rega doesn’t make sufficient audio system to carry the worth down that far. The field is stiffened utilizing ceramic plates and a picket cross brace.

The drivers are just about an identical to these present in Rega’s extra typical RX1 bookshelf mannequin and include a 125mm mid/bass driver with a paper cone and the Rega ZRR gentle dome tweeter. These have trim rings to cover fixings for a neat look and sit in a baffle set into the primary cupboard. This has a reflex port moulded into the rear and a pair of cable terminals above each other and near the fixing holes for a supporting leg. Because the cupboard moulding has to have sloping sides for manufacturing functions the underside just isn’t at 90 levels to the entrance as is the case with picket containers; the bolt on help signifies that the entrance baffle sits vertically however does make it nigh on not possible to Blu-tack to a stand. However, given Rega’s dislike of damping that is in all probability deliberate. The different consideration is that this technique is for normal people who don’t have or need stands however put their audio system on a shelf or sideboard… the weirdos!

Freedom from pleasure

Being not averse to speaker stands nor notably anti-damping I bucked conference and Blu-tacked the Kytes to a pair of Custom Design 60cm stands with out utilizing the T bar help leg. I reviewed the Kytes alone a few years again and found that this sounds higher than utilizing the leg or the metallic adaptor that Rega sells for individuals who wish to use typical stands. This meant that the entrance baffle leans again barely however loads of audio system work like this by design and the bottom angle is barely 5 levels so the lean isn’t excessive by any requirements. The turntable went on my common rack – which is nicely remoted – so it received a greater likelihood than a typical state of affairs and in my expertise stable plinth turntables do profit from as a lot freedom from exterior pleasure as doable. I linked the audio system up with the provided cables that are three metres lengthy and marked for polarity, they don’t have plugs so it’s worthwhile to pull off the pre-cut insulation at both finish and bind them to amp and speaker terminals.

Rega Kyte

Being an audio nut I took the lid off the Planar 1; it’s straightforward and removes a possible supply of vibration (particularly when left up), then dropped the needle fastidiously onto John Renbourn’s Another Monday and shortly turned immersed in fabulous enjoying and singing. This system does what Rega parts have at all times been notably good at; producing a musically coherent and completely partaking listening expertise. It will get to the “crux of the biscuit” as Frank Zappa used to say, bringing out the center of the musical matter in such a direct and unaffected manner that you could’t assist however take pleasure in your self. It’s restricted when it comes to bandwidth, the Carbon doesn’t fairly soar to the heights of treble and the Kytes don’t go right down to the bottom octaves of bass, but all of the necessary musical cues are current and proper. Timing is spot on, vinyl has an enormous benefit over digital on this respect as a result of it’s an actual time, non-processed system involving changing a mechanical sign to {an electrical} one. There is loads of potential for tonal aberration however little for errors within the time area and people are those that get in the best way of realism in my e-book.

Typically Rega

This system’s stability is usually Rega by which I imply barely lean, the Kytes are largely answerable for this as a result of there may be so little mass to retailer and subsequently launch vitality as is the case with wooden primarily based containers. This makes them very quick and agile with no thickness which isn’t to all tastes however finally serves the music reasonably nicely. They do assault and decay very nicely and even reproduce depth of picture to an honest customary, and bass is powerful sufficient to make bass guitars, drums and so forth very convincing. I additionally tried the Io and Kytes with a digital supply within the Silent Angel Munich M1 streamer. Playing Ronnie Size’s ‘Brown Paper Bag’ on this proved an exhilarating expertise, the depth of the drum and bass making for an adrenaline rush that left me wanting extra. On the luxurious manufacturing of Beck’s ‘Paper Tiger’ the size got here by means of with ease albeit the electrical guitar appeared a bit extra keen than traditional. It’s not a wealthy tonal stability that’s for certain, it’s extra about tempo and engagement than polish however when you put a luxurious recording on you get a luxurious sound out. The caveat right here is that the distinction in stage between vinyl and line sources corresponding to a DAC might be fairly giant with some recordings so it’s sensible to show it down when switching between them.

Vinyl is the pure supply for this technique in fact and at all times essentially the most rewarding, I discovered myself extra distracted by the Rega System One than anticipated fact be instructed; its skill to supply all of the element that contributes to an attractive and rewarding musical expertise outweighs its limitations by a big issue. That it prices not more than a number of the cables in my traditional system is outstanding and goes to indicate that if the producer places its thoughts to it there isn’t a must spend extra. It is feasible to place collectively an identical system from various manufacturers for the same worth nevertheless it appears unlikely that you’d find yourself with the sonic coherence, construct high quality and lifelong assure supplied right here. Rega is a really uncommon firm in some ways however its success in each business and product worth phrases means it competes with the easiest.

Technical specs

Rega Planar 1

  • Type Belt drive, guide operation turntable, arm and cartridge with mud cowl
  • Rotational Speeds 33 1/3 RPM, 45 RPM
  • Tonearm Length 9-inch
  • Drive Mechanism EBLT belt pushed by way of 24V AC motor
  • Speed Control Not specified
  • Platter Type 23mm phenolic resin 12‑inch platter
  • Platter Weight Not specified
  • Bearing Type Performance brass principal bearing
  • Plinth Configuration Solid plinth
  • Dimensions (H×W×D): 117 × 447 × 360mm (lid closed)
  • Weight 4.35kg

Rega Io

  • Type Solid-state, 2-channel built-in amplifier with built-in phono stage
  • Analogue inputs One MM phono enter (by way of RCA jacks), two single-ended line‑stage inputs (by way of RCA jacks)
  • Digital inputs None
  • Analogue outputs None
  • Supported pattern charges N/A
  • Input impedance line – 47kOhms, Phono – 47kOhms, 220pF
  • Output impedance (preamp) N/A
  • Headphone Loads 32–300 Ohms
  • Power Output 30Wpc @ 8 Ohms
  • Bandwidth Not specified
  • Distortion Not specified
  • Signal to Noise Ratio Not specified
  • Dimensions (H×W×D) 68 × 180 × 290mm
  • Weight 2.9kg

Rega Kyte

  • Type 2-way, two-driver stand-mount with rear-ported bass reflex enclosure.
  • Driver complement One 19mm gentle dome tweeter, one 125mm paper cone mid-bass driver
  • Frequency response Not specified
  • Crossover frequency Not specified
  • Impedance 6 Ohms nominal
  • Sensitivity 89dB/W/m
  • Dimensions (H×W×D): 325 × 188 × 232mm
  • Weight 3.7kg/every
  • Finishes Black

System worth £1,199

Manufacturer

Rega Research

www.rega.co.uk

+44(0)1702 333071

Back to Reviews

The publish Rega System One appeared first on Hi-Fi+.

Uncategorized

Rega System One

Posted on by Jason Kennedy

I used to be speaking to a former govt at Technics not too long ago who informed me about the way in which the enterprise labored within the days when separates offered within the form of numbers that solely headphones and Bluetooth audio system do immediately. For Technics, the sport was all about market share and the way in which to attain that was with promoting. This meant double-page spreads in Sunday dietary supplements and again pages on each hi-fi journal. It labored… and the model made lots of hay within the shining solar. At the identical time Rega was doing issues quite in a different way; with the Planar 2 and three turntables, the corporate turned one of many primary turntable makers in British hi-fi with out recourse to advertising and marketing however quite by constructing a wonderful product at a aggressive worth. Those turntables nonetheless maintain their worth immediately, which is greater than you possibly can say for many hi-fi of the Nineteen Seventies and Eighties, Technics turntables excepted.

Rega is now the UK’s foremost impartial producer of full audio methods has a broad vary of turntables, electronics and loudspeakers and, in my humble opinion, makes one of many best turntables on the planet. But critically Rega additionally does its utmost to maintain its merchandise reasonably priced to the person and girl on the street. There are numberless small firms on this enterprise who make nice merchandise however due to the size of their operations they aren’t in a position to convey them to market at costs that the informal music fanatic would think about approachable. Rega has all the time appeared for effectivity in manufacturing and inbuilt ample numbers to attain this enviable objective, one which solely the bigger manufacturers which services in China can compete with.

My first Rega

The Rega System One is the epitome of this excessive worth ethos. It is the corporate’s first full hi-fi system in a field and consists of the whole lot you have to make vinyl records sound nice in your house, cables and all. The supply is Rega’s most reasonably priced turntable; the P1 is a full-size document participant with a correct mud cowl and top quality motor, bearing, platter, plinth, arm and cartridge. The Planar 1 to provide it its full title has a phenolic resin flywheel platter; this tough plastic gives a stiff and flat floor and has peripheral weighting to assist pace stability. Like all Rega turntables, drive is achieved by way of a smaller subplatter, an strategy that may be discovered within the Linn LP12 amongst just a few enlightened others and avoids the issues inherent in driving the periphery of the platter with a belt or loafer wheel. The primary one being significantly decrease power switch from the motor to the platter. Remember {that a} turntable’s job is to ‘learn’ miniscule vibrations in a vinyl groove, something that provides vibration to the system will distort the sign being learn so extraneous vibration is to be averted in any respect prices.

Rega Planar 1

The Rega RB110 tonearm isn’t based mostly on the casting that kinds extra pricey Rega arms however as a substitute is a top quality piece of engineering that ought to final significantly longer than the flimsy wanting choices discovered on many funds turntables. Bias or anti-skate is described as computerized and can’t be adjusted, and this fits the Rega Carbon shifting magnet cartridge provided. Some think about this to be a limitation however provided that bias is all the time a compromise (like monitoring angle, no single bias setting is appropriate throughout the entire facet of a document), it’s a suitable method of lowering price. Downforce is, in fact, adjustable however the RB110 has a cease to go well with the requirement of the Carbon, making person arrange very simple certainly. The arm additionally has a correct carry/decrease system, that appears very very similar to the sort fitted to Rega’s prime fashions. The arm bearings use a patented mixture of polymer casings and metal ball races and are present in each the RB110 and RB220 arms.

A 24V synchronous AC motor – as discovered throughout the Rega turntable vary – powers the P1; the dearer fashions get the motors that measure greatest in fact however the fundamental design is similar. This motor drives a spherical part belt from an aluminium pulley with separate steps for 33.3 and 45rpm. This means altering pace requires the platter to be eliminated and the belt moved from one to the opposite, however in actuality it’s ‘simples,’ as that mysteriously Russian-accented African meerkat insurance coverage salesman is vulnerable to saying.

Motor switching is underneath the entrance of the plinth and simple to seek out by really feel. Not an important deal is claimed concerning the plinth itself save that it is available in matt white or black finishes, it looks like furnishings grade wooden however is presumably some type of particulate board with a ending pores and skin. The turntable sits on three rubber toes for stability and damping, and has a socket on the rear for the wallwart energy provide. Its tonearm cable is mounted as a way to present a direct connection between arm and amplifier. Some manufacturers provide RCA outputs on their turntables however the low energy nature of the sign produced by a cartridge implies that such interfaces are detrimental to sound high quality.

The built-in amplifier that Rega developed largely for this method known as Io. It’s (naturally) the least costly mannequin they make and but gives the all necessary phono stage required for the P1. It is predicated on the identical circuit because the outstanding Brio amplifier and whereas it has a smaller energy provide and thus decrease 30 Watt output, it’s the least costly amplifier that’s made within the UK. Features lengthen to a headphone output and distant management with two line inputs alongside the MM phono stage. It’s fascinating to notice that the primary two incarnations of the Naim Nait provided solely 13W; it wasn’t till the Nait 3 in 1993 that it reached the form of Wattage on provide within the Io. Another similarity is that the early Naits additionally had simply three inputs together with phono… coincidence, maybe?

Rega Io

The most radical aspect within the Rega System One is the Kyte loudspeaker. This eschews wooden virtually fully in favour of a Rega’s favorite plastic, phenolic resin. This is the fabric that you simply discover in mild switches and mains sockets; it’s not intrinsically costly but making such a big moulding proved a troublesome course of to get proper and Rega doesn’t make sufficient audio system to convey the worth down that far. The field is stiffened utilizing ceramic plates and a wood cross brace.

The drivers are just about an identical to these present in Rega’s extra standard RX1 bookshelf mannequin and include a 125mm mid/bass driver with a paper cone and the Rega ZRR delicate dome tweeter. These have trim rings to cover fixings for a neat look and sit in a baffle set into the principle cupboard. This has a reflex port moulded into the rear and a pair of cable terminals above each other and near the fixing holes for a supporting leg. Because the cupboard moulding has to have sloping sides for manufacturing functions the underside is just not at 90 levels to the entrance as is the case with wood containers; the bolt on assist implies that the entrance baffle sits vertically however does make it nigh on not possible to Blu-tack to a stand. However, given Rega’s dislike of damping that is in all probability deliberate. The different consideration is that this method is for normal folks who don’t have or need stands however put their audio system on a shelf or sideboard… the weirdos!

Freedom from pleasure

Being not averse to speaker stands nor significantly anti-damping I bucked conference and Blu-tacked the Kytes to a pair of Custom Design 60cm stands with out utilizing the T bar assist leg. I reviewed the Kytes alone a few years again and found that this sounds higher than utilizing the leg or the metallic adaptor that Rega sells for many who need to use standard stands. This meant that the entrance baffle leans again barely however loads of audio system work like this by design and the bottom angle is barely 5 levels so the lean isn’t excessive by any requirements. The turntable went on my common rack – which is properly remoted – so it received a greater likelihood than a typical scenario and in my expertise stable plinth turntables do profit from as a lot freedom from exterior pleasure as potential. I linked the audio system up with the provided cables that are three metres lengthy and marked for polarity, they don’t have plugs so you have to pull off the pre-cut insulation at both finish and bind them to amp and speaker terminals.

Rega Kyte

Being an audio nut I took the lid off the Planar 1; it’s simple and removes a possible supply of vibration (particularly when left up), then dropped the needle fastidiously onto John Renbourn’s Another Monday and shortly turned immersed in fabulous enjoying and singing. This system does what Rega elements have all the time been significantly good at; producing a musically coherent and totally partaking listening expertise. It will get to the “crux of the biscuit” as Frank Zappa used to say, bringing out the center of the musical matter in such a direct and unaffected method which you could’t assist however take pleasure in your self. It’s restricted when it comes to bandwidth, the Carbon doesn’t fairly soar to the heights of treble and the Kytes don’t go right down to the bottom octaves of bass, but all of the necessary musical cues are current and proper. Timing is spot on, vinyl has an enormous benefit over digital on this respect as a result of it’s an actual time, non-processed system involving changing a mechanical sign to {an electrical} one. There is loads of potential for tonal aberration however little for errors within the time area and people are those that get in the way in which of realism in my ebook.

Typically Rega

This system’s steadiness is usually Rega by which I imply barely lean, the Kytes are largely liable for this as a result of there may be so little mass to retailer and subsequently launch power as is the case with wooden based mostly containers. This makes them very quick and agile with no thickness which isn’t to all tastes however finally serves the music quite properly. They do assault and decay very properly and even reproduce depth of picture to a good customary, and bass is robust sufficient to make bass guitars, drums and so forth very convincing. I additionally tried the Io and Kytes with a digital supply within the Silent Angel Munich M1 streamer. Playing Ronnie Size’s ‘Brown Paper Bag’ on this proved an exciting expertise, the depth of the drum and bass making for an adrenaline rush that left me wanting extra. On the luxurious manufacturing of Beck’s ‘Paper Tiger’ the size got here by with ease albeit the electrical guitar appeared just a little extra keen than common. It’s not a wealthy tonal steadiness that’s for positive, it’s extra about tempo and engagement than polish however should you put an opulent recording on you get an opulent sound out. The caveat right here is that the distinction in degree between vinyl and line sources reminiscent of a DAC will be fairly giant with some recordings so it’s smart to show it down when switching between them.

Vinyl is the pure supply for this method in fact and all the time probably the most rewarding, I discovered myself extra distracted by the Rega System One than anticipated fact be informed; its capacity to supply all of the element that contributes to an enticing and rewarding musical expertise outweighs its limitations by a big issue. That it prices not more than among the cables in my common system is outstanding and goes to point out that if the producer places its thoughts to it there isn’t any must spend extra. It is feasible to place collectively an identical system from numerous manufacturers for the same worth but it surely appears unlikely that you’d find yourself with the sonic coherence, construct high quality and lifelong assure provided right here. Rega is a really uncommon firm in some ways however its success in each industrial and product worth phrases means it competes with the perfect.

Technical specs

Rega Planar 1

  • Type Belt drive, guide operation turntable, arm and cartridge with mud cowl
  • Rotational Speeds 33 1/3 RPM, 45 RPM
  • Tonearm Length 9-inch
  • Drive Mechanism EBLT belt pushed by way of 24V AC motor
  • Speed Control Not specified
  • Platter Type 23mm phenolic resin 12‑inch platter
  • Platter Weight Not specified
  • Bearing Type Performance brass primary bearing
  • Plinth Configuration Solid plinth
  • Dimensions (H×W×D): 117 × 447 × 360mm (lid closed)
  • Weight 4.35kg

Rega Io

  • Type Solid-state, 2-channel built-in amplifier with built-in phono stage
  • Analogue inputs One MM phono enter (by way of RCA jacks), two single-ended line‑degree inputs (by way of RCA jacks)
  • Digital inputs None
  • Analogue outputs None
  • Supported pattern charges N/A
  • Input impedance line – 47kOhms, Phono – 47kOhms, 220pF
  • Output impedance (preamp) N/A
  • Headphone Loads 32–300 Ohms
  • Power Output 30Wpc @ 8 Ohms
  • Bandwidth Not specified
  • Distortion Not specified
  • Signal to Noise Ratio Not specified
  • Dimensions (H×W×D) 68 × 180 × 290mm
  • Weight 2.9kg

Rega Kyte

  • Type 2-way, two-driver stand-mount with rear-ported bass reflex enclosure.
  • Driver complement One 19mm delicate dome tweeter, one 125mm paper cone mid-bass driver
  • Frequency response Not specified
  • Crossover frequency Not specified
  • Impedance 6 Ohms nominal
  • Sensitivity 89dB/W/m
  • Dimensions (H×W×D): 325 × 188 × 232mm
  • Weight 3.7kg/every
  • Finishes Black

System worth £1,199

Manufacturer

Rega Research

www.rega.co.uk

+44(0)1702 333071

Back to Reviews

The submit Rega System One appeared first on Hi-Fi+.

World News

Rogers Classic LS5/9 SE

Posted on by Jason Kennedy

The story goes that Rogers’ designer Andy Whittle was trying round for good materials to make a devoted stand for his LS3/5A, probably the most iconic of BBC-designed loudspeakers and got here throughout Panzerholz. This is a hardcore model of plywood the place the glue is changed with resin, and the result’s an especially high-density materials that’s so in contrast to common wooden that it’s bulletproof and sinks in water. But it’s the density that appealed to Whittle who, whereas growing a Panzerholz stand has discovered one other software that needs to be much more helpful to these eager to make their music sound higher; loudspeaker cupboards.

The Classic LS5/9 SE is an upgraded model of Rogers’ normal model with a Panzerholz entrance baffle. The excessive rigidity and self-damping qualities of this materials make it eminently nicely suited to an software the place you need to minimise vibration and thus cut back coloration. It’s solely 9mm thick just like the common birch ply model, however Panzerholz is so stiff that it’s unimaginable to bend this panel along with your palms, which – as anybody who has picked up a bit of 9mm ply will know – is kind of stunning.

Despite this alteration, the SE model nonetheless qualifies as a licensed BBC design. In different phrases, utilizing this materials for the baffle just isn’t a sufficiently big change for it to be exterior the specification. The cupboard is in any other case as per the usual design with birch ply building and a recessed entrance baffle that creates a body for the Tygan cloth grille to take a seat in, albeit there are squares of Velcro to maintain it there.

This reflex-loaded loudspeaker has a front-firing port and a tag strip with a soldered jumper for organising driver output on the entrance; that’s manufacturing unit arrange slightly than in‑room. The tweeter sits behind a perforated metal brass cowl initially conceived to guard the comfortable dome from harm when the speaker was moved round. It additionally gives a level of added dispersion and helps the treble to flee the recessed baffle. The tweeter is a big 34mm Audax unit that Rogers customises to supply better part accuracy. It crosses over to the Rogers mid/bass driver at 3kHz which is excessive for a tweeter of this dimension however displays the classic of the design.

Vinyl reflections

The cone on the primary driver is polypropylene and has a vinyl encompass; this latter may be very uncommon and one other ingredient of the BBC spec. The attraction of the fabric is that it’s stiffer than rubber. The downside is that it takes the unit about half an hour to heat up earlier than it sounds its finest. Rogers has upgraded the crossover for this SE model with mud iron cores within the inductors slightly than ferrite, a costlier method that’s mentioned to lead to a extra pure sound.

For anybody who, like me, has puzzled what designations like LS5/9 imply I requested Andy Whittle to elucidate: “These numbers are the BBC’s coded tools format. In this, cupboards have the prefix ‘CT’, filters ‘FL’, and loudspeakers ‘LS’, therefore the primary two letters. Figure ‘3’ within the code signifies that the design is primarily for out of doors broadcast (OB) use. A determine ‘5’ would imply studio broadcasting, as in LS5/9. The quantity ‘9’ after the stroke is the mannequin quantity.” It’s not the obvious solution to describe a two-way with an eight-inch driver, however there’s an administrative – if bureaucratic – logic behind the numbers.

The LS5/9 is what the BBC designated a grade 1 monitor for its potential to ship low coloration and deal with energy, rendering it appropriate for essential broadcast work. The LS3/5A, by comparability, was a grade 2 design principally created for out of doors broadcast vans and with out the bandwidth on supply from this bigger design. It’s not huge at 18 inches excessive however has adequate quantity and an eight-inch fundamental driver making it able to respectable sound stress ranges for its dimension. I slightly just like the 4mm sockets supplied for speaker cables; they appear nice and as there’s not a lot steel concerned ought to sound higher than chunky terminals. Those with naked wires should discover some match sticks!

As the Panzerholz stands weren’t prepared when these audio system arrived I used a pair of 55cm Solid Steel stands that Andy felt had been the perfect dimension for the Classic LS5/9 SE. After a little bit of experimentation with placement it grew to become clear that the perfect tonal stability was achieved with the audio system near the rear wall and toed in to an extent however not a lot as to be instantly on-axis to the listening place. Amplification consisted of a Townshend Allegri Reference preamp and Moor Amps Angel 6 energy amp for almost all of the listening. However, as you’ll learn I tried another energy amp with a powerful Class A bias for a few of the time too. These Rogers audio system sound like screens since they’re robust on element and don’t easy over the shortcomings of less-than-naturally balanced recordings. In different phrases, they’re revealing to an extent that highlights overly ‘sizzling’ or compressed productions; being initially designed for broadcast monitoring they don’t have the ‘sweetened’ voicing discovered with many trendy loudspeakers.

Mind Ecology

I haven’t frolicked with many BBC designs, however this one definitely lets the sound escape from the field higher than these I’ve. It’s nonetheless not as open as the perfect trendy alternate options however combines monitor-style transparency with the size of picture very properly. Their strongest swimsuit is the midrange which helps you to revel within the qualities of any voice, sax or violin you care to hearken to. Lyrical intelligibility is exceptionally excessive because of the decision right here, and the advantages of a barely lean stability develop into apparent. They are additionally taut and pacey which isn’t a typical attribute of the style. Put on one thing with vitality and tempo like Shakti’s ‘Mind Ecology’ [Natural Elements], and also you get a rush of thrilling music that’s managed but very thrilling.

Rogers Classic LS5/9 SE

But then I placed on the Doobie Brothers’ ‘What A Fool Believes’ [Minute by Minute] and was carried away by the angelic qualities of Michael McDonald’s voice. This might not be a sweet-sounding speaker by nature, but when that sweetness is within the recording you recognize all about it.

The Classic LS5/9 SE just isn’t an apparent selection for these after a visceral sound, however they’ll ship it with gusto, I attempted Massive Attack and Christian Scott, and in each instances, the fashion and ferocity had been instantly evident. What did shock me was the bass extension on the previous’s ‘Man Next Door’ [Mezzanine] which was far decrease and extra strong than anticipated for a speaker of this dimension. It was actually deep and muscular and gave me a brand new respect for the design and this specific iteration of it. The Panzerholz should be a major issue right here in addition to within the sense of immediacy that this SE model can produce. Andy solely talked about the sense of openness that it brings. He didn’t warn me that the couch would begin to vibrate.

Coffee, tea or MP3

The slightly ahead nature of Esperanza Spalding’s ‘Ebony and Ivy’ [Emily’s D-Evolution] was additionally evident however so had been the varied layers within the recording. The sound right here jogged my memory of ATC loudspeakers because of its ‘warts and all’ evaluation mixed with pace, and the excessive stage of element permits the lyrics and the lyricist’s voice to be absolutely appreciated. Still, there’s no getting away from the try at making the observe sound radio-friendly.

I thought of the truth that Rogers is making a pentode valve amplifier referred to as the E20a II, an built-in that options design enter from Audio Note UK’s Andy Grove, and this acquired me pondering that perhaps an amplifier with related traits can be the way in which to go together with the Classic LS5/9 SE. So I attempted the CAAS Elysian 100 Mono-block energy amps with them. These are solid-state amps, however the first 20 of their 100 Watts are delivered in Class A, and as few of us not often use extra energy than that they’ve a distinctly Class A sound.

This hunch proved appropriate, and the sound grew to become sweeter, smoother and flowed properly. The bass lacked grip by comparability, however the trade-off was price it as a result of these amps matched the audio system so nicely that it proved very laborious to press pause.

Rogers has proved with the Classic LS5/9 SE that you may replace an iconic design with out shedding the qualities which have allowed it to endure for half a century. This is a outstanding achievement and leads to an equally outstanding loudspeaker, little doubt about it.

Technical specs

  • Type 2-way, two-driver stand-mount monitor with front-ported bass reflex enclosure
  • Driver complement One 34mm dome tweeter, one 210mm polypropylene mid-bass driver with vinyl encompass.
  • Frequency response Not specified
  • Crossover frequency 3kHz (third order)
  • Impedance 8 Ohms
  • Sensitivity 87dB/W/m
  • Dimensions (H×W×D) 460 × 275 × 285mm
  • Weight 12kg/every
  • Finishes walnut, amazaque, olive, rosewood.
  • Price £5,599/pair (walnut, amazaque, olive),
    £5,899/pair (rosewood)

Manufacturer

Rogers International UK Ltd

www.rogers-hifi.uk

+44 (0)333 533 0135

Back to Reviews

The publish Rogers Classic LS5/9 SE appeared first on Hi-Fi+.

Uncategorized

Rogers Classic LS5/9 SE

Posted on by Jason Kennedy

The story goes that Rogers’ designer Andy Whittle was wanting round for good materials to make a devoted stand for his LS3/5A, essentially the most iconic of BBC-designed loudspeakers and got here throughout Panzerholz. This is a hardcore model of plywood the place the glue is changed with resin, and the result’s an especially high-density materials that’s so in contrast to common wooden that it’s bulletproof and sinks in water. But it’s the density that appealed to Whittle who, whereas growing a Panzerholz stand has discovered one other utility that needs to be much more helpful to these desirous to make their music sound higher; loudspeaker cupboards.

The Classic LS5/9 SE is an upgraded model of Rogers’ normal model with a Panzerholz entrance baffle. The excessive rigidity and self-damping qualities of this materials make it eminently nicely suited to an utility the place you need to minimise vibration and thus cut back coloration. It’s solely 9mm thick just like the common birch ply model, however Panzerholz is so stiff that it’s not possible to bend this panel along with your arms, which – as anybody who has picked up a bit of 9mm ply will know – is kind of shocking.

Despite this variation, the SE model nonetheless qualifies as a licensed BBC design. In different phrases, utilizing this materials for the baffle is just not a sufficiently big change for it to be outdoors the specification. The cupboard is in any other case as per the usual design with birch ply building and a recessed entrance baffle that creates a body for the Tygan cloth grille to take a seat in, albeit there are squares of Velcro to maintain it there.

This reflex-loaded loudspeaker has a front-firing port and a tag strip with a soldered jumper for organising driver output on the entrance; that’s manufacturing facility arrange fairly than in‑room. The tweeter sits behind a perforated metal brass cowl initially conceived to guard the tender dome from harm when the speaker was moved round. It additionally supplies a level of added dispersion and helps the treble to flee the recessed baffle. The tweeter is a big 34mm Audax unit that Rogers customises to offer better section accuracy. It crosses over to the Rogers mid/bass driver at 3kHz which is excessive for a tweeter of this dimension however displays the classic of the design.

Vinyl reflections

The cone on the primary driver is polypropylene and has a vinyl encompass; this latter could be very uncommon and one other aspect of the BBC spec. The attraction of the fabric is that it’s stiffer than rubber. The disadvantage is that it takes the unit about half an hour to heat up earlier than it sounds its greatest. Rogers has upgraded the crossover for this SE model with mud iron cores within the inductors fairly than ferrite, a costlier strategy that’s stated to lead to a extra pure sound.

For anybody who, like me, has questioned what designations like LS5/9 imply I requested Andy Whittle to elucidate: “These numbers are the BBC’s coded tools format. In this, cupboards have the prefix ‘CT’, filters ‘FL’, and loudspeakers ‘LS’, therefore the primary two letters. Figure ‘3’ within the code signifies that the design is primarily for out of doors broadcast (OB) use. A determine ‘5’ would imply studio broadcasting, as in LS5/9. The quantity ‘9’ after the stroke is the mannequin quantity.” It’s not the obvious approach to describe a two-way with an eight-inch driver, however there may be an administrative – if bureaucratic – logic behind the numbers.

The LS5/9 is what the BBC designated a grade 1 monitor for its capacity to ship low coloration and deal with energy, rendering it appropriate for crucial broadcast work. The LS3/5A, by comparability, was a grade 2 design principally created for out of doors broadcast vehicles and with out the bandwidth on supply from this bigger design. It’s not monumental at 18 inches excessive however has ample quantity and an eight-inch predominant driver making it able to respectable sound stress ranges for its dimension. I fairly just like the 4mm sockets supplied for speaker cables; they appear nice and as there’s not a lot steel concerned ought to sound higher than chunky terminals. Those with naked wires should discover some match sticks!

As the Panzerholz stands weren’t prepared when these audio system arrived I used a pair of 55cm Solid Steel stands that Andy felt have been one of the best dimension for the Classic LS5/9 SE. After a little bit of experimentation with placement it grew to become clear that one of the best tonal stability was achieved with the audio system near the rear wall and toed in to an extent however not a lot as to be immediately on-axis to the listening place. Amplification consisted of a Townshend Allegri Reference preamp and Moor Amps Angel 6 energy amp for almost all of the listening. However, as you’ll learn I tried another energy amp with a powerful Class A bias for among the time too. These Rogers audio system sound like displays since they’re robust on element and don’t easy over the shortcomings of less-than-naturally balanced recordings. In different phrases, they’re revealing to an extent that highlights overly ‘scorching’ or compressed productions; being initially designed for broadcast monitoring they don’t have the ‘sweetened’ voicing discovered with many fashionable loudspeakers.

Mind Ecology

I haven’t hung out with many BBC designs, however this one definitely lets the sound escape from the field higher than these I’ve. It’s nonetheless not as open as one of the best fashionable alternate options however combines monitor-style transparency with the size of picture very properly. Their strongest swimsuit is the midrange which helps you to revel within the qualities of any voice, sax or violin you care to take heed to. Lyrical intelligibility is exceptionally excessive due to the decision right here, and the advantages of a barely lean stability turn into apparent. They are additionally taut and pacey which isn’t a typical attribute of the style. Put on one thing with vitality and tempo like Shakti’s ‘Mind Ecology’ [Natural Elements], and also you get a rush of thrilling music that’s managed but very thrilling.

Rogers Classic LS5/9 SE

But then I placed on the Doobie Brothers’ ‘What A Fool Believes’ [Minute by Minute] and was carried away by the angelic qualities of Michael McDonald’s voice. This is probably not a sweet-sounding speaker by nature, but when that sweetness is within the recording you understand all about it.

The Classic LS5/9 SE is just not an apparent selection for these after a visceral sound, however they will ship it with gusto, I attempted Massive Attack and Christian Scott, and in each circumstances, the craze and ferocity have been instantly evident. What did shock me was the bass extension on the previous’s ‘Man Next Door’ [Mezzanine] which was far decrease and extra stable than anticipated for a speaker of this dimension. It was actually deep and muscular and gave me a brand new respect for the design and this explicit iteration of it. The Panzerholz have to be a major issue right here in addition to within the sense of immediacy that this SE model can produce. Andy solely talked about the sense of openness that it brings. He didn’t warn me that the couch would begin to vibrate.

Coffee, tea or MP3

The fairly ahead nature of Esperanza Spalding’s ‘Ebony and Ivy’ [Emily’s D-Evolution] was additionally evident however so have been the varied layers within the recording. The sound right here jogged my memory of ATC loudspeakers due to its ‘warts and all’ evaluation mixed with pace, and the excessive degree of element permits the lyrics and the lyricist’s voice to be totally appreciated. Still, there’s no getting away from the try at making the monitor sound radio-friendly.

I thought of the truth that Rogers is making a pentode valve amplifier known as the E20a II, an built-in that options design enter from Audio Note UK’s Andy Grove, and this acquired me pondering that perhaps an amplifier with comparable traits can be the best way to go together with the Classic LS5/9 SE. So I attempted the CAAS Elysian 100 Mono-block energy amps with them. These are solid-state amps, however the first 20 of their 100 Watts are delivered in Class A, and as few of us not often use extra energy than that they’ve a distinctly Class A sound.

This hunch proved appropriate, and the sound grew to become sweeter, smoother and flowed properly. The bass lacked grip by comparability, however the trade-off was price it as a result of these amps matched the audio system so nicely that it proved very laborious to press pause.

Rogers has proved with the Classic LS5/9 SE you could replace an iconic design with out shedding the qualities which have allowed it to endure for half a century. This is a outstanding achievement and ends in an equally outstanding loudspeaker, little question about it.

Technical specs

  • Type 2-way, two-driver stand-mount monitor with front-ported bass reflex enclosure
  • Driver complement One 34mm dome tweeter, one 210mm polypropylene mid-bass driver with vinyl encompass.
  • Frequency response Not specified
  • Crossover frequency 3kHz (third order)
  • Impedance 8 Ohms
  • Sensitivity 87dB/W/m
  • Dimensions (H×W×D) 460 × 275 × 285mm
  • Weight 12kg/every
  • Finishes walnut, amazaque, olive, rosewood.
  • Price £5,599/pair (walnut, amazaque, olive),
    £5,899/pair (rosewood)

Manufacturer

Rogers International UK Ltd

www.rogers-hifi.uk

+44 (0)333 533 0135

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The submit Rogers Classic LS5/9 SE appeared first on Hi-Fi+.

World News

Tord Gustavsen Trio: Opening

Posted on by Jason Kennedy

Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen often is the king of scandiwegian cool. Still, the restraint he workouts communicates a broad gamut of emotions, the like of that are not often heard in any inventive context. In some ways, Gustavsen is a Bill Evans for the twenty first Century; he’s good at attending to the center of the matter. On this newest album, the primary since 2018’s The Other Side, Gustavsen is joined by a brand new bass participant Steinar Raknes, a fellow Norwegian who makes use of electronics to change the sound of his instrument. Drums, in the meantime, stay the area of long-time ally Jarle Vespestad with out whom Gustavsen’s albums wouldn’t be the identical.

The really feel of Opening is extra sombre than its predecessor. Not that Gustavsen was ever overly full of life and upbeat, however there’s a contact calmer right here. His albums have at all times encapsulated the ECM sound, and the crisp readability, exact reverb and ‘inky black’ backgrounds are as soon as extra to the fore on this recording. It’s a lot part of Gustavsen’s sound that it’s laborious to think about how a unique label would deal with such finely nuanced work.

Album opener ‘The Circle’ is a melodic piece with shining piano over plucked bass and mushy however strong drums and percussion. It’s very a lot the Gustavsen model of sublimity masked as simplicity, however all it’s a must to do is shut your eyes, and the sensation behind these notes transcends language and will get straight via. ‘Findings / Visa från Rättvik’ is an early spotlight, its drum and bass intro (the devices not the musical model) construct environment and we get the primary publicity to Raknes’ bowing method that options extremely on this album. Then the piano begins to swirl, and the cymbals splash round it to create an ethereal but strong sound that’s entrancing. The title observe combines electronics with instrumentation to create the impact of a looming storm. Still, as a substitute, it brightens up because the deep atmosphere ebbs away earlier than the piece reaches its denouement comparatively too early.

‘The Longing’ is even shorter and downtempo with lovely chords flippantly embellished with sticks on cymbals, the piano shimmering gently. The bowed bass on ‘Shepherd Song’ is augmented to create an impact like low backing vocals earlier than the proper chords of Gustavsen’s piano are available in and convey one thing similar to a groove, a rarity on this artist’s oeuvre. It nearly makes the observe sound like a daily jazz trio, however the nuances of the taking part in put it on a better plain.

The bowed bass is closely bolstered on ‘Helensburgh Tango’ which creates scale over a brooding snare drum that rustles like a rattlesnake over the occasional low kick drum punch. Like ‘Re-Opening’ which follows that is extra of an ensemble piece, but when the piano lastly will get into the highlight the sweetness begins to circulation; you may’t beat the keyboard for delivering the emotional quotient.

‘Findings II’ evokes a starry night time with glowing notes over quiet backing, the quietness of the piece revealing the depth of the soundstage that ECM likes to supply with refined use of echo and reverb. ‘Stream’ brings us again to extra acquainted territory for Gustavsen, right here he invests what seems to be the lightest of phrases with which means whereas the bass brings chunky bodaciousness to maintain issues shifting in the suitable route. ‘Ritual’ marks a definite change in model, with Raknes seemingly lower unfastened to ship one thing like an electrical guitar league on the bass, the sound being harking back to Dan Berglund previously of E.S.T. This observe is borderline aggressive, however fortunately Gustavsen is not any Jon Lord.

The album ends with two people tunes, ‘Fløytelåt / The Flute’ is superbly delicate with what often is the bass producing a whistling backdrop within the Ennio Morricone model on the intro and Gustavsen channelling the great things in full impact. The Finale ‘Vær sterk, min sjel’ brings us again to the pianist’s consolation zone with an open-hearted, heat and optimistic tune that can allow you to drift in excellent ease.

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The publish Tord Gustavsen Trio: Opening appeared first on Hi-Fi+.

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