Audio Connection by nextmedia Pty Ltd

SERVING AUSTRALIANS FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS

Audio Connection Leichhardt Unit 3-4 / 509-529 Parramatta Rd (Cnr Parramatta Rd & Elswick St) Leichhardt NSW 2040

Audio Connection Drummoyne 137 Victoria Rd Drummoyne NSW 2047

Contact (both stores): Phone: 02 9561 0788 Email sales@audioconnection.com.au Web: www.audioconnection.com.au

OUR BRANDS

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CONTENTS

Contents 4

Welcome!

Wilson Audio

Clearaudio

Dan Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Agostino

DALI

Arcam

Steinway Lyngdorf

Definitive Technology

Linn

Gryphon

Nordost

GoldenEar

Secondhand 03

WELCOME

Ivor and Gilad Tiefenbrun of Linn, Robert Suchy from Clearaudio, and many more – far too many to list here. The time we’ve spent with these figureheads of the industry have taught us a lot about audio and music, as each manufacturer explains the engineering behind their approach and goes about

debunking much of the infamous mystique that surrounds high-end audio reproduction. It’s this mystique that a lot of lesser manufacturers of audio products have exploited over the years to ‘hawk’ their products to discerning hi-fi customers. Promising a raft of benefits, heavy with audio jargon such as “100% propagation delay”, or “cones that will improve dispersion”, or “reduce the 4th-order harmonic distortion”, these products only served to create confusion and mystery around high-end audio. This had the effect of turning away a lot of first-time potential customers dipping their toes into hi-fi, only to be bitten by the horde of snake-oil charlatans. Thankfully, as time goes on, these types of products are gradually being ‘outed’, allowing quality products to rise to the forefront without the stigma

Gryphon Audio’s Flemming Rasmussen

dCS’ Raveen Bawa exhibits the Rossini

Welcome…

e are in quite a fortunate position in the world of audio reproduction, having access to some of the world’s best and most expensive equipment all in one showroom. With access to this equipment comes interaction with some of the best engineers, visionaries and influential people in our industry. Take a look through the past ten years of the events we’ve held and the manufacturers we’ve brought to the country, and you’ll see names like Flemming Rasmussen from Gryphon Audio, Bjorn Bengtsson from Nordost,

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WELCOME

OUR SERVICES

Our audio stores may be our most visible asset, but at Audio Connection we provide a full range of smart home installation capabilities and home theatre design, with a talented and creative team of installers and engineers who can consult, design and install the perfect entertainment or smart home solution for your needs and desires, now and into the future. Ask our team how they can help turn your home into a smart, energyefficient home with high-quality and future-proof distributed entertainment!

Services we provide: • • • • • • • • • • • •

On-site consultations + advice on technologies to suit your home Wi-Fi and internet solutions Installation services Home theatre setups Acoustic treatments TV and audio installation Multi room audio solutions Smart home solutions Home audio visual cabling advice Home security and access control solutions Full wiring schematic drawing documentation + plans Project Management – working with all trades involved

Bjorn Bengtsson demonstrates Nordost

Clearaudio’s Robert Suchy spins up the vinyl

created by the imitators. Today’s hi-fi customer will be met with a plethora of fantastic products, and this has contributed to the surge in the two-channel market. There almost isn’t a bad product on the market at the moment, allowing the customer to find a solution that suits them without the fear of purchasing a fraud. Whilst every manufacturer has their own approach to how audio should be reproduced, a common message across all is that while a vision and ideology is important in the manufacture of audio products,

true quality hi-fi comes from a solid background of science, engineering and countless hours of research and development. No longer can a competitive product be cobbled together with hammer and nail; audio perfection can be approached only through innovative design, thorough engineering and fastidious testing – all guided by heart and a passion for music. The experience of quality hi-fi is not something we can explain in mere words. We invite you to visit us and listen for yourself. As for which one sounds best, that’s for you to decide – we’ll only be too happy to help.

WILSON AUDIO

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LOUDSPEAKERS

Wilson Audio Alexx

A NEW STAR

he all-new Alexx is the latest in Wilson Audio’s legendary line of floorstanding loudspeakers, drawing from recent designs such as the Alexia and the Sabrina, as well as the ‘WAMM’ — Dave Wilson’s up and coming magnum opus — with which it was developed concurrently. It incorporates Wilson’s latest thinking on loudspeaker design in the areas of time-domain geometry and driver configuration, with Wilson’s engineering team reimagining the classic MTM (midrange-tweetermidrange) geometry in a modular approach that optimises the enclosure properties for each driver.

Driver development for the Alexx includes the latest version of the Convergent Synergy Tweeter, and all-new woofer design using 10½-inch and 12½-inch woofers developed alongside the WAMM project, installed in the Alexx’s ultra-low resonance woofer enclosure, which now features an angled baffle for even better time-domain integration. The Alexx benefits throughout from Wilson’s ongoing analysis of low-resonance cabinet strategies via laser micrometer. The Wilson Audio Alexx pushes the proverbial envelope in the areas of coherence, dynamic contrast and musicality for its category, while its aesthetic is at once a testament to its prodigious technology, and the desire to integrate easily into a wide variety of high-end residences.

From the time he started building loudspeakers in his garage, Dave Wilson had one motivating passion: to make the reproduction of music sound as much like the real thing as possible. Forty-two years on from its founding of his company, Wilson Audio is renowned for producing the most accurate and sought-after loudspeakers in hi-fi, with Dave Wilson still at the helm.

CLEARAUDIO

Clearaudio HIGH END – MADE IN GERMANY Since its inception in 1978, Clearaudio has amazed music lovers worldwide with analogue playback devices that set new standards of audio playback, constantly raising the bar. These turntables are ‘Made in Germany’ using the highest quality materials and workmanship,

with uncompromisingly accurate in-house design — only a tiny proportion of components are externally sourced. Under the Clearaudio banner, the founding Suchy family achieves ever greater acoustic quality, to “take the best and make it better — only then is it just good enough.”

Clearaudio has engaged in ongoing research into moving coil technology since 1978, also bridging the performance gap between moving coil and moving magnet cartridges. Its ultimate expression of the cartridge art is the 12magnet MC Goldfinger Statement – labelled “an audiophile dream”.

Clearaudio Concept

Clearaudio Performance DC

Clearaudio Innovation

Clearaudio Master Innovation

The revolutionary Clearaudio Concept delivers an affordable entry point to the high-end of vinyl playback in a turntable that has won multiple awards – including the German Design Award and turntable awards from the UK’s WHAT HI-FI? three years in a row. The Concept’s elegantly styled turn-table package features a level of groundbreaking technology usually only found in highend models, combining plug-and-play simplicity with outstanding sound quality and yet affordability – never has more audiophile technology been made available in this class of turntable before.

Looking for top-drawer highend performance combined with ease of set-up and use? The Performance DC is the most advanced of Clearaudio’s packages, here combining the turntable with the Clarify tonearm and the Virtuoso 2 moving magnet cartridge in a complete package designed to open up the high-end listening experience for those who simply seek the best in music reproduction. It’s another award-winning combination, including Turntable of the Year in Australia’s Sound+Image Awards, which declared the Performance DC to be “a true giant killer”.

This vinyl spinner is ppropriately named — it represents this German company’s innovation at a spectacular level, yet also delivers stunning aesthetic appeal, the precisionmachined 70mm-thick acrylic platter atop a stainless steel sub platter rotating in a virtually friction-free environment thanks to Clearaudio’s patented ceramic magnetic bearing and high-torque decoupled DC motor, while Clearaudio’s optical speed control uses infrared to deliver outstanding speed stability. Multiple awards for the Innovation include Germany’s prestigious reddot design award.

The latest model in the Innovation series confirms how even the best is constantly developed and brought to new sonic heights at Clearaudio. The Master Innovation can take up to three tone arms, the inertia of the Innovation is doubled, while its resonance minimising chassis comprises four layers of a complex ‘sandwich’ of aluminium, Panzerholz bullet-proof wood and aluminium, Incredible speed stability is assured through Clearaudio’s ceramic magnetic bearing, coupled again with the self-regulating, sensor-controlled Optical Speed Control.

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TURNTABLES

Clearaudio Statement What can be said to express the thrill of music reproduced on what many regard as the finest turntable of our age? The Clearaudio Statement is a fusion of extraordinary craftsmanship with unprecedented functionality, beautiful design and superb engineering – the breathtaking self-levelling pendulum chassis supports Clearaudio’s Floating Platter System to deliver the most minute musical details. Up to four tonearms can be mounted, including Clearaudio’s pinnacle tonearm, the tangential Statement TT1, which replays LPs as they were cut — in a straight movement with no curves. The result — nothing is added, coloured, distorted or lost... let your ears relax as they hear the whole and complete musical performance. Its many awards are almost superfluous… this is simply an unequalled level of vinyl reproduction.

AMPLIFICATION

DAN D’AGOSTINO

Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems POWER AND PASSION

Momentum Integrated Amplifier The latest stunning addition to Dan D’Agostino’s new company’s line-up is the Momentum Integrated Amplifier – the first integrated design ever to bear his signature. It combines the core audio circuits of the Momentum preamplifier and the Momentum stereo amplifier, both acclaimed by reviewers around the world as among the best audio components ever created. The integrated amplifier is rated at 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms, and 400 watts per channel into 4 ohms. A completely separate power supply, encased in a chassis machined from solid aluminum billet, isolates the sensitive audio circuitry from electromagnetic interference. The Momentum Integrated Amplifier is an audio first – an integrated amplifier designed entirely without compromise.

No name is more closely associated with high-end audio amplifiers than that of Dan D’Agostino. During a career of more than 30 years, D’Agostino has pioneered countless advances in the design of amplifiers, preamplifiers, CD players, and surround-sound processors. Known as the audio industry’s most passionate promoter of high quality, high-powered amplification he was founder and chief engineer of Krell Industries, and now, with his new signature company, he has embarked on a fresh start, with spectacular new designs.

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DALI

WIRELESS

DALI KUBIK ONE HEAR DIFFERENT…

When is a soundbar not a soundbar? When it’s a sound system like DALI’s KUBIK ONE, marrying sleek Danish design with exacting engineering to lift TV audio to new levels. The KUBIK ONE is not, however, just for TV and movies — this clever speaker has a huge variety of inputs, including Bluetooth for wireless streaming and USB straight from your computer, so it sounds wonderful playing music anywhere in the home. With three bass enhancement settings, the KUBIK ONE can deliver the perfect bass level for almost any room size, or you can connect any active subwoofer for a whole new level of performance. The result is an attractive and intuitive sound system that can fill a room with beautifully reproduced music from just about any source. And KUBIK ONE’s interchangeable covers mean you can always match your décor, even when it changes!

LOUDSPEAKERS | SUBWOOFERS

DALI

DALI Loudspeakers RAW PASSION FOR MUSIC

ore than one million satisfied DALI owners in over 65 countries attest to the high quality and sublime sound from this unique Danish company’s speakers. With exclusive driver units designed

EPICON, RUBICON, OPTICON The EPICON series (main image above) signals exclusivity and simplicity with speakers for the most demanding of music and movie enthusiasts. Their performance is clearly DALI, but taken one step further – true musical passion and escapism for the mind. The RUBICON range (above left) sets a new benchmark in affordable

from scratch by its own engineers, Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries leverages 30 years of experience to create a unique DALI sonic identity that focuses on musical realism and sound integrity.

audiophile-quality reproduction in a perfect union of striking design and sound engineering expertise. The result is beyond expectation, an overall aural experience that will elate. DALI’s OPTICON loudspeaker range (above right) delights the eye and elates the ear, combining clean, cutting-edge Danish design with high quality sound to both soar and soothe.

Subwoofers DALI’s subwoofers blend perfectly with your main speaker system thanks to carefully selected built-in crossover roll-off, ultra low time shift, and woofer acoustics with soft and coherent overtone reproduction, converting your system into a perfectly balanced full-frequency range system. They’re the link between standard audio reproduction and the sound of reality!

DALI SUB P-10 DSS

DALI SUB K-14 F

With one long-stroke carbon-fibre 10-inch cone firing down and two more 10-inch passive radiators, this is an elegant and compact yet powerful subwoofer! Individual settings & memories for stereo and theatre use make this a superb all-rounder.

Built around a 14” aluminium longstroke woofer with a 500W amplifier, the SUB K-14 F has all the power and control required whether you’re underpinning music, seeking soundtrack subtleties or planning all-out movie mayhem!

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ARCAM A PASSION FOR GREAT SOUND

STREAMING • UNIVERSAL DISC PLAYERS • AMPLIFICATION • DACS • HOME THEATRE • SOUNDBARS • SYSTEMS

ounded in 1976, Arcam quickly became renowned in the UK and beyond for the quality of its home hi-fi amplifiers, beginning an engineering-led business that is still innovating four decades later to achieve the very best in music and home cinema sound. The company displayed leadership in being one of very few European companies to develop its own CD, DVD and Blu-ray players from

scratch; it has been at the forefront of digital radio, and has a world-class reputation for making some of the best-sounding home

theatre electronics. Arcam launched the first offboard digital-to-analogue converter in 1988, and continues its unrivalled series of DAC and

streaming options for every eventuality. Most recently it has won plaudits for its series of unique amplifiers based on Class G delivery. As the company says, no-nonsense engineering works wonders when it comes to bringing music and movies to life. Today Arcam is delivering ever more ways to do this in a fast-changing world of entertainment, developing new and innovative products to make the most of whatever the future may bring.

ARCAM

Arcam SR250 STEREO RECEIVER

Arcam’s SR250 is something different – a stereo amplifier that sounds as good as the best separates in hi-fi stereo, but also offers all the connectivity and flexibility of a modern AV receiver.

he SR250 is an audiophile product by any measure, offering a level of sound quality far above other receivers. It delivers stunning realism with everything from heavyweight blockbusters to your favourite concert video, but it is built for music, too, replaying all your favourite sources, streaming via UPnP over a home network, and having built-in FM and DAB+ digital

radio, plus internet radio when you connect it to your home network. Arcam has also included the very latest room correcting technology from Dirac Research. ‘Dirac Live for Arcam’ (see panel) gives the ability to tune the acoustic performance of the system to any room. You enjoy the best possible experience, tailored to your own home. Both video and audio stages are designed to embrace current and

DIRAC LIVE FOR ARCAM Your listening room is an important element in your sound system, and Arcam uses room-correcting technology from Dirac Research in its SR250 and AV receiver range (overleaf). With Dirac Live you can easily measure the acoustic characteristics of your speakers and room, then calibrate the system to reproduce sound as intended. The software runs on Windows or Mac computers, with a microphone provided to ensure the ultimate in clarity and imaging is achieved right at your usual listening positions.

upcoming technologies, including HDMI 2.0a inputs which can handle 4K Ultra HD and 3D video. The SR250 is, quite simply, one of the highest performing AV receivers Arcam has ever made.

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AMPLIFICATION

Arcam A29

STEREO INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER

Arcam draws on everything the company has learnt through 40 years of successful amplifier design, to deliver new standards and class-leading sound quality for its price. Class G amplification delivers a massive but perfectly controlled 80 watts per channel into 8 ohms or 175 watts into 4 ohms, with all the inputs you’ll need – including one for a turntable – for the best possible reproduction of your music.

CLASS G TURBOCHARGED AMPLIFICATION

Arcam A49

STEREO INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER

The pinnacle of Arcam’s integrated amplifier design, with Class G amplification (see panel), toroidal-based power supply, paralleled transistor output stages and exceptionally low levels of distortion and noise to its enormous power reserves – 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms (including 50 watts in pure Class A mode) or 400 watts into 4 ohms. A groundbreaking design for music lovers.

Arcam C49 & P49 For those seeking the highest levels of purity, the C49 preamplifier and P49 Class G stereo power amplifier combine the best components and all Arcam’s

Arcam has introduced Class G amplification in its latest ranges, a complex technology able to overcome the issues of crossover distortion that occur in the more common Class AB, and without the inefficiencies of Class A. When engineered correctly Class G delivers low distortion Class A through much of its operation, but is able to ‘turbocharge’ the power, introducing a secondary supply when required by the music signal. Modern high-speed silicon allows this switching to be fast enough to avoid “turbo lag”, so delivering huge dynamics without the inefficiencies.

STEREO PRE-POWER AMPLIFIERS

extensive engineering experience to produce a product to give many years of musical pleasure and reliable service. With massive power, yet total control

and finesse, this is also a flexible and expandable system, allowing for the ‘ultimate’ system of C49 with 6 bridged P49s tri-amping suitable speakers.

UNIVERSAL DISC PLAYERS

Arcam UDP411 UNIVERSAL DISC PLAYER Arcam’s universal player embraces movie and music playback, offering outstanding performance in both disciplines. Blu-ray movie performance is to the very highest standards, while

Arcam’s long experience in music electronics ensures that music from SACDs and CDs is delivered with equally outstanding quality, a true rarity from a Blu-ray player. Arcam’s

Arcam CDS27 Few specialist manufacturers have ever stepped up to the plate and succeeded where development of digital disc playback is concerned. Arcam is a standout here, with more than 25 years of digital audio

unique and hard-won engineering expertise allows the UDP411 to deliver a stunning portrayal of your discs, delivering both blockbuster movie experiences and wonderful music.

SACD/CD/NETWORK STREAMING PLAYER

experience, and global recognition of its successful products. The CDS27 not only meets reference standards for CD music playback, it plays high-res audio from SACDs and can also stream music from a network via UPnP. Arcam has

gone to incredible lengths to maximise the superb performance of this latestgeneration player, so that music from SACDs, CDs and networked sources is delivered to your speakers at the very highest standards currently available.

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AMPLIFICATION

Arcam AVR550

Arcam AVR850

Arcam’s AV receivers are audiophile products that go far beyond competing receivers in the level of sound quality they can deliver. The AVR550 is equally at home with highresolution surround sound or two-channel music, delivering stunning realism across 7.1 channels with everything from heavy-weight blockbusters to your favourite concert video.

The AVR850 takes Arcam’s multichannel amplification to its highest level, with seven channels of true hi-fi quality power to take your movie experience to new levels, while still achieving the subtleties required for the superb two-channel music delivered through this same system. Dolby Atmos offers the possibility of height-enhanced surround sound, while internal tuners deliver FM, DAB+ and internet radio with all Arcam’s established radio expertise. The range of inputs on the AVR850 offers enormous versatility, with seven HDMI 2.0a inputs and plenty of stereo analogue and digital inputs for music sources, while again Arcam’s use of room correction technology from Dirac Research ensures perfect results in your specific room.

AV RECEIVER

Both video and audio stages embrace current and upcoming technologies, with app control, and processing that includes the latest Dolby Atmos object-based audio. The seven HDMI inputs are all 2.0a specification, ready for 4K ‘Ultra HD’ sources and their higher quality video performance. The AVR550 also includes the very latest room correction from Dirac Research (see previous pages).

AV RECEIVER

SYSTEMS

GOING SOLO A rcam pioneered the idea of its Solo systems a decade ago, aiming to create all-in-one ‘just add speakers’ solutions to deliver the ultimate in convenience without compromising the company’s

legendary audio quality. The latest editions today include the Solo Music system, the Solo Movie system, and the unique Solo Bar, a high-quality soundbar which can be used with the Solo subwoofer for TV audio at the highest levels.

The Solo concept is all about delivering true hi-fi quality sound without the usual intrusion into today’s modern living. Never before has music been delivered with such simple elegance and yet enthralling performance.

Arcam Solo Music

Arcam Solo Movie

Featuring a CD/SACD drive and 80W per channel of amplification, together in a stylish, low-resonance enclosure, the Solo Music provides high-quality sound to the stereo speakers of your choice. In addition to analogue and digital inputs, it enables UPnP streaming from your network, and Bluetooth with aptX, there are built-in FM and digital radio tuners, and four HDMI 1.4b inputs so it can form an audio system around your TV, as well as delivering superb music. The Solo Music includes Arcam’s clever and efficient Class G amplification (see previous pages) in an audiophile design that ensures that absolutely no sonic detail is lost. It’s a compact achiever par excellence!

Arcam’s Solo Movie is an amazing achievement – a UK design combining a Blu-ray/DVD/CD/SACD disc drive with five full 60-watt channels of Class G amplification in a single stylish component. In addition to built-in Blu-ray you also get four HDMI inputs for other video sources, with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD processing onboard. You can add stereo analogue and digital music sources, along with Bluetooth aptX and UPnP network streaming, plus on-board digital and FM radio tuners. All this is handled with Arcam’s high-end audio circuitry and components to make this a unique audiophile ‘5.1 home theatre in a box’. Ask our staff to explain how the Solo Movie can seriously simplify your AV system!

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SOUNDBAR

Arcam Solo Bar & Solo Sub Don’t confuse Arcam’s Solo Bar with the usual run-of-the-mill soundbars – this is an audiophile product with class-leading specifications, designed to offer unrivalled performance. With the Solo Bar wall-mounted or in front of your TV, its six drive units and 100 watts of amplification can provide high quality, room-filling sound, taken to

another level by adding the wireless Solo Sub to deliver low frequency power and scale from its 10-inch downfiring woofer and 300 watt amplifier. While lesser soundbar solutions are under-engineered, Arcam employs extremely rigid materials, high quality construction and hi-fi specification drivers for a bar that

looks great and sounds superb with both music and movies, for which onboard Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD processing ensures a highly accurate and powerful delivery. With all this plus the convenience of Bluetooth with aptX streaming, this is another Arcam Solo product that is redefining a whole category of audio product.

DACS | ACCESSORIES

Arcam MusicBoost Slide your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6S into Arcam’s cunning MusicBoost and enjoy not only a massive hike in audio quality but physical protection from its soft-touch sleeve and a 120% battery boost as well! Using a high quality DAC and dedicated headphone ICs from TI/Burr Brown, the MusicBOOST brings Arcam’s legendary sound quality to your mobile listening experience.

Arcam rBlink

Arcam miniBlink

Arcam has produced a succession of usefully compact DACs with high-quality conversion based around the PCM 5102 DAC. The rBlink receives Bluetooth then offers a choice of line level or coaxial digital outputs for your hi-fi, a simple streaming solution that just gets on with the job of delivering great music from your device or laptop.

This beautiful pebble of a product receives Bluetooth from a smart device or laptop and passes it to any hi-fi system. The inclusion of aptX and a high-end PCM 5102 DAC ensures such stunning quality that the UK’s WHAT HI-FI? magazine made this a Product of the Year. Its simple pairing system brings high-quality streaming in the smallest of packages!

Arcam irDAC-II

Arcam rHead

This is Arcam’s do-it-all DAC, packed with cutting-edge technology and featuring both optical and coaxial digital inputs, USB for direct connection of a computer, plus Bluetooth with aptX streaming. It has a high quality headphone output on the front, plus a choice of fixed or variable outputs for your hi-fi – you even get a remote control. Arcam was the first company to launch an outboard DAC back in 1988 – the irDAC-II uses those three decades of expertise to deliver the company’s latest, most versatile and best-sounding DAC yet.

The rHead brings the quality of Arcam’s amplifier headphone stages to this solid standalone unit. This is a true linear Class A design with no crossover distortion whatsover, and with an ultra-linear analogue resistive ladder used for the volume control device, as in the flagship A49. So the rHead sounds amazingly natural and completely engaging, revealing the true character of any music played through it. The rHead offers both RCA and XLR inputs (switchable), and provides a choice of 3.5mm and 6.35mm sockets for your headphones.

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STEINWAY LYNGDORF

LOUDSPEAKERS

Steinway Lyngdorf Model S Bringing together Steinway & Sons, makers of the world’s finest pianos for over 160 years, and Peter Lyngdorf, one of the industry’s most forward-thinking audio innovators, Steinway Lyngdorf’s high performance digital sound systems combine perfected technology with design artistry and the finest craftsmanship, designed and manufactured in Denmark.

Don’t let the size fool you – the Model S series is an incredibly powerful system, a dense, solid and incredibly inert speaker ready to withstand the rigours of even extremely high outputs. Recognised with numerous awards and accolades, its innovative AER dipole tweeter design produces a spacious and live effect throughout the listening room, making it the clear choice for those seeking perfection at a competitive price point. Ask us for an audition of this amazing speaker system!

LOUDSPEAKERS

DEFINITIVE TECHNOLOGY

Definitive Technology

PRECISION SOUND + ICONIC DESIGN Definitive Technology BP9000 Series The arrival of Definitive Technology’s new BP9000 Series ushers in a new era of true high-performance full-range sound. Redesigned from the ground up with improved acoustic materials, machined aircraft-grade aluminium details and sharper lines to enhance the minimalist aesthetic, the BP9000 Series pushes to new performance levels that other speakers only aspire to achieve. Beyond its striking visual allure, the entire series is tuned to perfection – totally re-engineered with improvements that cascade across the company’s patented audio technologies. From Forward Focused Bipolar Array to built-in powered subwoofers to Intelligent Bass Control, and with seamless Dolby Atmos integration and DTS:X compatibility, the BP9000 Series offers big yet precise room-filling sound, yet offers an elegant footprint that makes every single day of ownership a marvel to behold. This is what obsession sounds like!

BP9080x Tower Standing tall among the new BP9000 Series is the BP9080x tower speaker, its minimalist design belying a remarkable set of abilities and features from the bottom (an integrated powered subwoofer and Intelligent Bass Control) to the top (an integrated two-way Atmos/DTS:X height module). Between these are aluminium-dome tweeters and highperformance drivers that let you hear and feel every note the artist intends. Visit Audio Connection to explore the amazing multi-dimensional sound these speakers produce.

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DEFINITIVE TECHNOLOGY

WIRELESS | HEADPHONES

‘W’ Wireless Music Systems Definitive Technology’s wireless and multiroom-capable W Series solutions distribute audiophile-grade music anywhere and everywhere in your home. Use a smartphone or tablet to

stream your favourite music services, internet radio or your own music library from computer or NAS drive to a single Definitive Technology system or to many throughout your home. Add

W Series abilities to your existing system; enjoy stunning soundbar performance with multiroom operation as a bonus. The W Series offers the best-sounding wireless speakers on the market,

Symphony 1 headphones Now you can take the Definitive Technology sonic signature wherever you go, with the company’s executive-style headphones – they include active noise-cancellation and a choice of cabled, USB or Bluetooth playback. Precision of sound, elegance and comfort intersect to deliver the superior listening experience you demand.

W Studio

Think you don’t like soundbars? Wait till you hear the W Studio! The larger of two soundbar and subwoofer solutions in the W Series has already won awards as TechHome’s Speaker of the Year, and praise from Australia’s Sound+Image magazine which hailed it “a powerful beast, rich in sound, clever in its control, and a looker”. This flagship

wireless soundbar perfectly blends high-performance room-filling 5.1-channel surround sound with high-resolution music reproduction and wireless streaming convenience, while the compact wireless subwoofer has 200 watts of power to deliver waves of big bass for deep home theatre and music performance.

“We value technology and beauty equally,” Definitive Technology says: “there is no reason why great sounding products can’t look wonderful in your home.” It’s a philosophy that has made this brand the best-selling audiophilegrade loudspeakers in the USA.

LINN

Linn Klimax Exakt DSM SMART, SCOTTISH SIMPLICITY

hat should be the ultimate aim of an accurate sound system? How should technology serve the artistry of the performer in a faithful way? Equally to the point, how many audio manufacturers can hope to maintain their aims along the entire chain of reproduction? Scotland’s Linn is one that can. With its Exakt system, it aims to delete the deficiencies of reproduction and offer

the closest thing possible to a live feed from the studio.

Smart simplicity The Klimax Exakt DSM system reflects simplicity itself. Attractive floorstanding speakers and a single elegantlydesigned component – nothing looks alarmingly technical, nor quite runof-the-mill, yet these seemingly plain vanilla-flavoured transducers are actually palate-tingling tutti-frutti in their operation and performance.

The slimline Exakt DSM is one beautifully-built 24-bit/192kHz-capable network player, able to on-forward packets in any format, and to losslessly stream services including Tidal. It doubles as a hub, kind of a preamp, having nine digital and analogue inputs including – unusually – three HDMI inputs and an HDMI output, so that the Exakt can undertake audio duties for your video sources as well. An Ethernet socket connects to your network for streaming and online music. The Exakt DSM connects to the flagship Klimax 350 six-way speakers via cost-effective and widely available Ethernet cables, the data kept in the digital domain as far as possible to the amplification stage prior to the drivers. So in this system, it is the Klimax 350

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STREAMER

speakers which do the final processing work. They may look like attractive conventional speakers, but they’re also smart – a digital crossover in each speaker delivers independent channels for each of their six drive units, with a volume control, DAC and on-board Class-D power amplifier for each. Those drive units include what Linn calls its ‘3K Driver Array’ configuration for mids and highs, the drivers’ physical proximity and the subtly flared chassis profile delivering point-source coherence and very wide dispersion. Bass frequencies are handled via an ‘Activ Bass Servo-Driven System’, with a 165mm glass-fibre composite upper bass unit handing down to lower bass via two 200mm air-dried paper pulp drivers. There’s more cleverness here,

with the Activ system monitoring diaphragm movement and comparing it to the input signal, in a feedback system aiming to lower distortion and maintain solid control of the drivers. And there’s more – ‘Space Optimisation+’ software modelling assesses the speakers, their room position and the overall acoustic environment, equalising the sound for optimum performance from 200Hz down (the most crucial and problematic room-related range). A ‘Practical Positioning’ option allows for a more convenient speaker location where the room’s layout or size dictates positioning closer to boundaries.

Listening notes Audio Connection in Sydney’s trendy Drummoyne was the venue for my audition; an appropriately-proportioned and acoustically appointed studio provided a suitable listening environment for the all-warmed-up readyand-waiting Klimax Exakt DSM. First I auditioned the system ‘straight’ without any form of Space Optimisation, both my test discs and server files

sounding very dynamic, especially in the midrange, and extremely detailed, while remaining tonally smooth. Bass was fun if a little too full, not in an objectionable boomy way… just a tad overbearing in that room. Switching Space Optimisation on was quite the chalk and cheese experience. The low frequencies were now in balance, with substantial gains in detail and punch, while up the range things tightened up a little too, most noticeably with vocals (which were sublime), hi-hats and cymbals. The snare drum in one of the test tracks sounded delightfully ‘live’ and excitingly dynamic. The soundstage expanded both in the lateral and depth perspectives, while image height gained a more natural stature. Even with the speakers moved to less than ideal positions and ‘Practical Positioning’ then selected on the laptop’s Exakt interface, I heard a very similar presentation; image specificity and stage depth were slightly diminished but overall the tonal balance, detail and dynamic expression of the system remained consistent. This was very impressive indeed and subjective proof that the algorithms at play in Linn’s Exakt DSP are rather powerful and well-engineered.

Conclusion As a digital all-in-one solution the Linn Klimax Exakt DSM system has few if any peers in terms of technology, component count, ease of use and potential sound quality. And as Linn trickles down the tech to its more affordable systems, allowing access points to a wider demographic, we begin to get a clearer picture – and sound – right now, of where audio may just be in the very near future.

This article is an excerpt from the full article by Edgar Kramer in Audio Esoterica magazine.

GRYPHON

The Gryphon Antileon EVO THE LEGEND EVOLVES…

lanned obsolescence has never been part of the Gryphon design concept. Hence the original Antileon Signature power amplifiers have been available for a decade and a half, because they were engineered and built, like every Gryphon model, to remain at the forefront of audio performance for many years.

Now Gryphon takes a significant step forward, with the Gryphon Antileon EVO, available in stereo and single-channel configurations. Gryphon’s Antileon EVO employs true and pure Class A for this spectacular amplifier, believing that there is no short-cut to the sheer magic of pure Class A’s instant availability of full current at all times. Exceptional peakto-peak current capability ensures compatibility with even the most

viciously reactive loudspeaker loads, permitting the loudspeaker of your choice to perform at its very best. This is a fully balanced power amplifier, featuring massive proprietary Gryphon electrolytic capacitors, twin custom-designed 1500W toroidal power supply transformers — even two power switches and two power cords. All this is delivered in another bold, sculptural statement in brushed, black anodised aluminium from Gryphon’s founder Flemming E. Rasmussen, as functional as it is elegant, an object of timeless beauty to match the exquisite pleasure of listening to music re-created by the Gryphon Antileon EVO power amplifier.

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AMPLIFICATION

The remarkable Flemming E. Rasmussen is a Danish polymath whose abilities and education range across music, painting, photography, textiles and audio design, leading to his founding of Gryphon Audio Designs in 1985, heading a team whose enthusiasm allows Gryphon to take engineering and critical evaluation of home audio equipment to new levels. All Gryphon products are designed and manufactured in Denmark, assembled and tested in-house at their own facilities.

The Antileon EVO is just the latest extraordinary design from Gryphon. Other products in the range include power amplifiers, preamplifiers,

integrated amplifiers, CD players, phono stages, speakers, cables, D/A converters and more. For the full range please visit www.gryphon-audio.dk.

NORDOST

Nordost MAKING THE CONNECTION

The premier manufacturer of hi-fi audio cables and accessories made its name with a revolutionary flat audio cable developed from aerospace technologies, and today offers an extensive, all-encompassing range of hi-fi audio solutions for audio and video, power and resonance control. Nordost offers cables in different ranges from universal use right up to Supreme Reference quality.

THE RANGES

Norse 2 range Tyr 2: analogue interconnects | speaker cables | power cords | tonearm cables Frey 2: analogue interconnects | speaker cables | power cords | tonearm cables Heimdall 2: analogue interconnects | speaker cables | digital interconnects | USB cables | iKable | headphones cable | Ethernet cable | 4K UHD cables | power cords | tonearm cables | biwire jumpers The Norse 2 family is labelled its ‘High Performance’ collection, with silver-plated, OFC solid-core Mono-Filament conductors, extruded FEP insulation, and mechanically tuned construction. The three sub-categories of this midrange are topped by the Tyr 2 cable collection, their superior technology providing the resolution, acumen and effortless musicality found in only the highest echelons of cables at this realistic price-point.

Leif range Red Dawn: analogue interconnects | speaker cables | power cords Blue Heaven: analogue interconnects | speaker cables | digital interconnects | USB cable | iKable | headphones cable | Ethernet cable | power cords | tonearm cables | HDMI cable Purple Flare: analogue interconnects | speaker cables | USB cable | Fig-8 power cord White Lightning: analogue interconnects | speaker cables Nordost’s entry-level Leif universal cable range offers quality cabling set at an affordable price, using silver-plated OFC solid-core conductors and a mechanically-tuned construction. There are four sub-categories, topped by the Red Dawn collection, with patented Micro Mono-Filament technology integrated throughout this line, assisting these cables to provide a natural and articulated performance.

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CABLES

QRT power products Odin 2 range analogue interconnects | speaker cables | power cords | digital interconnects | tonearm cables | biwire jumpers Odin is Nordost’s ‘Supreme Reference Range’, designed to facilitate the perfect reproduction of sound through the very pinnacle of cable design. Odin unleashes every facet of a performance – it must be heard to be believed!

Valhalla 2 range analogue interconnects | speaker cables | digital interconnects | 4K UHD cables | power cords | tonearm cables | biwire jumpers Valhalla is Nordost’s ‘Reference Range’, introduced in 2001 to become a benchmark for performance in the consumer electronics industry, with the new V2 range revised in 2013, including groundbreaking Dual Mono-Filament technology and HOLO:PLUG connectors.

Nordost’s QRT power products are designed to alleviate the impact of poor quality AC power on sensitive electronics, limiting RFI and timing errors to bring AC power closer to the desired “distortion-less condition” without limiting the peak current of your electronics. The Nordost QRT range includes power purifiers, harmonizers and enhancers, and their effects are best heard when used as a combined system. The QBASE-Mark II (pictured above) offers a straightline AC distribution path with four-socket and eightsocket options, with a Primary Earth socket defining the order in which you connect your components and also their listening priority in your musical enjoyment, allowing you to further optimise the performance of your primary sources. The QB8 and QB4 represent the perfect starting point in the construction of a highquality, modular AC supply for your system.

Nordost Sort systems

Nordost’s Sort Kones and Sort Füt units are mechanically tuned resonance control devices that act as mechanical diodes, creating a direct ground path that allows extraneous energy to escape from the electronics. It is no industry secret that vibration degrades the performance of components and sound systems drastically, but Nordost has a different approach – not merely isolation, but resonance control, leaving your system sounding more natural and lifelike, your music lively and engaging. At Audio Connection we are happy to demonstrate the differences that high quality cables, power management and resonance control can make – just ask our staff.

LOUDSPEAKERS GOLDENEAR

GoldenEar Technology MAKING HIGH-END AFFORDABLE

Triton Towers

GoldenEar’s premier products are the Triton Series Towers – engineered for superb performance in both high quality two-channel stereo systems and multi-channel cinema and music systems. All Triton towers include GoldenEar’s High-Velocity Folded Ribbon (HVFR) tweeter design, with the top three models each including a built-in powered ‘subwoofer’ with a GoldenEar Forcefield digital amplifier driving up to three front-mounted bass drivers plus coupled sidemounted passive radiators. It makes for an incredible driver count on loudspeakers that nevertheless present as slim room-friendly floorstanders suited to any home.

NEWLY D! UPDATE

Triton Two+

The sleek 122cm-tall Triton Two+ is newly updated, improving still further on the original Triton Two which set the audio world on its proverbial ear with previously unimaginable value, earning rave reviews and industry accolades from around the world – including more than a few ‘Speaker of the Year’ and ‘Audio Product of the Year’ honours and awards. The revised Triton Two+ adds many new technologies and refinements developed for the range-topping Triton One – redesigned midrange/upper-bass drivers, a fully balanced crossover design, high-end film capacitors, and a reprogrammed DSP. It features that built-in subwoofer section, with a 1200W GoldenEar ForceField digital amplifier driving two front-mounted bass drivers coupled to dual opposing side-mounted infrasonic bass radiators. The result is an effortless ‘you-are-there’ clarity that brings the live performance or action right into your home. “A total joy ride”, says Home Theater Shack’s Todd Anderson of the Triton Two+, “a world-class speaker that performs well beyond its price point, delivering GoldenEar’s sound to perfection.”

In audio, a “golden ear” is someone who hears exceptionally well… it was considered the perfect description for “the finest speakers ever” from renowned US audio luminaries Sandy Gross and Don Givogue, who have lavished the care, expertise and experience usually reserved for the highest of high-end speakers on every GoldenEar model their team creates, with a passion for sonic perfection that makes high-end affordable.

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SECONDHAND

Audio Connection started all those years ago buying and selling secondhand audio products at auction houses. It’s something we’ve been passionate about ever since.

We’ve got a keen eye for all sorts of pre-loved equipment, and we’d be happy to either help you purchase a new audio system by taking your trade in, by showing you the latest and greatest pre-owned products we have at an affordable price, or just by helping you move on your existing hi-fi system to make room in your home. We have new products every week, so it’s worthwhile checking back in with us from time to time, as you may find that bargain you’ve been searching for! With one of Australia’s largest range of high quality secondhand audio equipment, we’re sure we can help you, no matter what stage of the audio journey you’ve reached.

Blade + Blade 2 the future has options As the world’s first single apparent source speaker, KEF’s original Concept Blade was hailed as a masterpiece of innovative engineering and design excellence. Its sonic capabilities were so impressive that KEF created an edition that serious audiophiles could actually own, and scooped so many prestigious awards that a second model was created, Blade Two. With all of Blade’s acoustic prowess and iconic design on a slightly smaller scale, Blade Two is easier to position where space is at a premium and where Blade’s extreme bass extension would be superfluous. Blade Two, same DNA. Same striking aesthetic. Same advanced driver technology and unique single apparent source configuration. And above all, the same lush, phenomenally realistic sound.

Audio Connection Leichhardt Unit 3-4 / 509-529 Parramatta Rd (Cnr Parramatta Rd & Elswick St) Leichhardt NSW 2040

Audio Connection Drummoyne 137 Victoria Rd Drummoyne NSW 2047

Contact (both stores): Phone: 02 9561 0788 Email sales@audioconnection.com.au Web: www.audioconnection.com.au