Click images above to enlarge. (Bentley
/ Naim & info desk)
Report by Les Best & Robin Francis
With the wind and rain battering bare faces, expectant ears,
camera, lenses and laminated name tags, it was a relief to take
shelter and be greeted by the warm smiles at the front desk of
the 2020 Bristol Hi-Fi Show. With five packed floors of premium
hi-fi to explore, we knew we would be fully warmed up by the end
of the show.
We followed the laid back (slightly retro sound & looks)
from the Harman / JBL stand. A real reminder
of how simple things were in the ‘80s. Another name of long
standing and a further welcoming greeting came from Keith
Monks who was keenly demonstrating his new Prodigy record
cleaning machine. With a sleek, modern design, this machine garnered
a lot of attention from vinyl lovers looking to insure their records
remained in tip-top condition.
A new-to-us company, Kirmuss Audio, kept all
hi-fi enthusiasts mesmerised with their technical and passionate
explanation regarding their Ka-Rc-1 ultrasonic record cleaner.
Our just purchased copy of Vincent Berlanger’s “Pure
Cello” on the Audio Note record label was handed over for
the ‘well advised’ (by Vincent Bélanger himself)
clean on this super quiet machine.
‘What a difference a year makes!’ Last
year’s demonstration by Dynaudio left us
colder than the temperature outside the hotel! This year we couldn’t
get enough of the musical power, control and elegance of the Confidence
50 loudspeaker (powered by Dynaudio’s Bill Livingston’s
own Naim amplification). We were handed the main control tablet
for the Naim system and were encouraged to select whatever genre
we wished. The fact that we (and others) sat back, removed our
loose jackets and relaxed our shoulders is testament to all components
used (list with photographs below) in the gently lit Dynaudio
room. The Dynaudio Confidence 50 speakers not only conveyed emotional
insight into every track selected, these speakers delivered tonal
accuracy on par with some of the most revered studio monitors
with added emotion and drama. Hopefully, we will be able to explore
other speakers in the Dynaudio Confidence range later?
Naim / Focal bravely occupied the same huge
space as last year, but with added room treatment in the form
sound dispersion & absorption panels in specified areas. Whilst
both of us found the system vastly lacking last year, this year’s
ND555 fronted Statement (power & pre) / Scala Utopia Evo combo
was, to at least one of us, jaw-droppingly good. The centrally
placed Naim Statement amplifier (746W into 8O, 1450W into 4O,
9kW burst power into 1O) certainly had a tight grip on all areas
within the musical spectrum. Given the cost (57k amplifier &
65k pre-amplifier) I can imagine this system will be a discussion
piece for a long while.
The PMC / Martin Logan / AVM / Bryston demonstration
focused mainly on the MartinLogan Expression ESL 13A, Motion series
& the PMC Twenty5 26i’s. Obviously, this was a wide
range of speaker types for a very wide ranging audience (something
for everyone). Those who had not before experienced the musical
holography of a MartinLogan ESL, left the demo room especially
in awe. Many also visually expressed contentment after listening
to music through the PMC Twenty5 26 i’s.
That doyen of hi-fi, Audio Note, repeated their
relatively simple looking system set-up from last year. Again,
we were quickly reminded not to be fooled by simplicity! Just
as with the relatively no thrills looking system set-up, we were
treated by a very low key live (unamplified) cello duo performance
(Belanger alongside CD) by the aforementioned Vincent Bélanger.
With eyes closed, we listened and genuinely found it difficult
to differentiate ‘live’ from recorded. The Audio Note
system demonstrated great depth, breadth, width and tonal accuracy
with ease.
The uniquely named Von Gaylord 130watt Nirvana
mono block amplifiers and Legend Reference speakers fronted by
the MBL CD transport offered a big, vibrant and detailed sound.
This was a room we would definitely have spent more time listening
and exploring given the chance.
Although not for us, it is impossible to not mention to the
beautifully crafted Curvi-BMR (Funk Firm / Curvi hifi)
speaker. Resembling a vertical side-winding snail in shape, this
speaker is definitely eye-catching and raised many eyebrows. Coupled
with the Akutrak phono stage turntable – cartridge performance
comparison by physicist Arthur Khoubesserian, this room prompted
many a technical and emotional discussion.
We entered the Living Voice / Kuzma demonstration
room with great expectation. Thankfully, the celebrated Auditorium
OBX speakers fronted by the Kuzma Stabi R turntable did not disappoint
- giving a sound and experience to behold. The effortless dynamic
range and beautiful natural highs massaged our ears. Credit has
to be given to the ‘Living Voice Pure Music Battery Power
Supply’ occupying one corner of the room. Considering the
consistent use of specific power conditioners in many of the rooms
at last years’ show, this was definitely a ‘different’
(and refreshing) approach!
Rogers - another name from yesteryear displayed
‘another type of retro’ with a visually beautiful
collection of ‘vintage’ turntables including a pristine
looking Goldring Lenco75 with an equally attractive Thorens TD124
with 12” SME arm. To prove the fact that beauty and high
audio quality can be achieved, the Thorens TD124 with 12”
SME arm provided us with a stunning fluid and haunting playback
of the vocals of London Grammar’s Hannah Reid.
As with last year’s show, we were treated with various
streaming demonstrations, but this year it seems we were provided
with extra home theatre & AV room demonstrations from the
likes of Klipsch and Kef, through
to Emotiva / SVS systems. Most of these demos
generating room filling, chair vibrating sounds. However, it was
the Rel AV room we feel offered the most accurate,
fastest and believable sound (room size permitting) with their
S/510 in-line array configuration supporting a pair of Kef Ref
1 stand-mounts. The Rel set-up was not only visually very impressive,
but their ability to fill-in, punch, be subtle (when required)
and convey sound with speed in a 2-channel setup is the reason
we have chosen to invest within our own two-channel systems.
We spent two days (one day more than last year) exploring, discovering,
excited and generally fulfilled at this years’ Bristol HI-FI
Show. Yet, we still did not see everything. We may have to consider
pitching a tent for the full three days next year
(weather &
any other unnatural events permitting)!
© Michael Valentine Studio
22-23 February 2020
Featured exhibitors:
Audio Note, Audio-Technica, Audiolab / Wharfdale, Avid HI-FI,
Bentley / Naim Audio, Bowers & Wilkins, Canton, Chord Company,
Chord Electronics, Decent Audio, Dynaudio, Elipson, Emotiva /
SVS, Falcon Acoustics, Funk Firm / Curvi HI-FI, Fyne Audio, GIK
Acoustics, Harmon / JBL, Henley Audio / Musical Fidelity, Keith
Monks, KirmussAudio, Living Voice / Kuzma, Melco, Michell Engineering,
Naim Audio / Focal, PMC / MartinLogan / AVM / Bryston, Proac,
Pro-ject, Project Audio Systems / Musical Fidelity / Klipsch,
Rel, Rogers, Sound Fowndations, Tonar, Von Gaylord Audio &
Voxativ
Audio Note delivering a natural sound. “Audio
Note keep it simple” - Vincent Bélanger
Dynaudio
- Power, control and elegance. Our show listening room winner!
List of components:
Confidence 50 Raven speakers
Naim ND555/55PS, Naim NAC552/552DR, Naim NAP300/300DR
Naim SuperLumina interconnects
Naim SuperLumina 2.9m speaker cables
Naim core with 16 bit albums ripped from CD (Accurip) and 24 bit
albums from HD tracks loaded onto the core
Akutrak phono stage turntable
& cartridge performance comparison
by physicist Arthur Khoubesserian (Funk Firm)
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to The Bristol HI-FI Show 2020 page two photographs
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