Contents

03 From the desk of Len

Len ponders what it was that made a good hi-fi system a must-have possession of the day during the ‘golden years’ of hi-fi, the 1970s and ‘80s. Have we since lost the all-important emotional connection to music, he asks? Or were other factors at work?

06 Bluesound streaming

Canadian audio brand Bluesound has a rich heritage in network streaming, which it has ploughed into its two latest modestly priced streaming products.

07 New Bowers & Wilkins

B&W has been aggressively pursuing the head-fi market, and not more so than with its latest flagship wireless noisecancelling headphones. The new 700 S3 loudspeakers also get a shout-out for their remarkable revamp of an already excellent and popular range.

08 CEDIA Award

Just after the previous Len Wallis Headlines was published, Len Wallis Audio proudly collected a CEDIA (Consumer Electronic

Design and Installation Association) award for ‘Level 1 Media Room of the Year’.

09 JBL Synthesis demo room

The first of three planned JBL Synthesis demonstration rooms is now operational, based around the SCL-6 and SCL-7 in-wall speakers and representing a theatre system in the $40k - $75K price bracket.

10 Marantz bundles

Until the end of April, Len Wallis Audio has some special stereo system bundles up for grabs, based around Marantz electronics and starting at $2,199.

12 MoFi vinyl releases

The record label suffered badly during the pandemic with virtually nothing coming off the presses. Thankfully, it has rebounded with a number of new and returning albums.

13 High-end Musical Fidelity

The performance of Musical Fidelity’s midtier amplifiers is highly respected the world over, so it’s hugely exciting to see the brand attempt to shake up the high-end this time with its latest Nu-Vista valve models.

14 Naim Classic revamps

A new series from Naim is a rare thing — if ever there was a company that built products to stand the test of time, it is Naim. But here we have modern revamps of its iconic NAP 250 power amplifier, plus a new streaming preamplifier and power supply to match.

16 A new Sonos era

Two all-new Sonos wireless speakers, the Era 100 and Era 300, take the company’s multi-room ecosystem to new heights — heights that include spatial audio and an intriguing new aesthetic.

17 Rega’s timber turntable Timber is back in vogue! You can now buy the highly regarded Planar 2 record player with a timber plinth as opposed to the standard gloss black, white or red one.

18 Revival Audio newcomers

Every so often a great new company explodes onto the market, and that company of the moment today is French speaker brand Revival Audio, which has two models on sale now and another two arriving soon.

19 Special Edition Richters

Now on demonstration in our showroom are two brand-new SE models from the popular Richter stable — the reintroduced Excalibur and well-known Wizard — with engineering upgrades and matte black finishes.

20 Sonus faber Homage

A three-strong speaker range that shows what a company with the heritage of Sonus faber can achieve when it is allowed the budget to do so. Its new Homage models are pieces of art, make no mistake.

21 Sony projector promotion

Purchase a Sony VPL-XW5000 or VPL-XW7000 projector before the end of April and you can get a PS5 bundle worth $900 thrown in for free.

22 Stax audition

If you want to hear what superlative headphone listening is, drop in for an audition of the Reference SR-X9000, the finest headphones Stax has ever produced.

23 Technics SU-G700 MkII amplifier

The Technics SU-G700 MkII is a superbly crafted amplifier, and a very good-sounding one at that. One that does not exhibit any of the digital characteristics that tend to plague amplifiers of similar design.

25 Triangle’s 40th anniversary

It has taken a while, but we are finally seeing the gorgeous, hand-assembled 40thanniversary speakers from Triangle reach our shores, albeit in very small numbers. We already have the Esprit series on the floor, with the Magellan range due within weeks.

26 All-important Accessories

There are many upgrade paths one can go down to improve their system’s performance, from adding isolation feets/pads and upgrading power cables to giving it a new lease of life with an external DAC...

28 Bang & Olufsen sound lounge

Our new B&O sound lounge is now complete, just in time for the release of the company’s Beosound Theatre, a remarkable soundbar unlike any other.

29 Wattbox wonder

With the growing reliance on network/wi-fi and software-related AV products, service calls are becoming increasingly frequent. Wattbox is one company that goes a long way to reduce the number of these calls...

30 Yamaha’s modern twist

The new RN-N2000A is based on the principles of the company’s highperformance A-S amplifier series — but with a modern twist. And it has something more modest for benchtops too.