CONNECTED TO MUSIC & MOVIES Issue No. 34 SPRING 2016
NEW TT-1™turntable cable page 10
WELCOME
EDITORIAL
WELCOME
In this issue... Regulars Editorial
4
News
6
First Words
8
Letters
23
Features Grounding Guide Update
11
Back to Basics
12
Ringmat Feature
14
Become an Expert: Spike & Surge Filters
16
Customer System
19
And finally...
27
Products New Products Recent Reviews
9 22
Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal LA9 6NS, UK. 01539 797300 +44 (0)1539 797300 © Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2016. E & OE. Any views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the company.
4 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 34 Spring 2016
It seems the previous issue of Connected piqued the interest of quite a few of you judging by the number of letters we received. Simon had some particularly thought-provoking things to ask in his essay What are you listening for?, while I was a little more prosaic in my assessment that MP3 has a place, even amongst us audiophiles. Some of the letters we received are published on p23 to 26. We’ve moved our online blog to russandrews.com (you can access it from the homepage, or type in www.russandrews.com/blog); many of our opinion pieces are being added to it where you can add your own comments if you wish.
You might notice that this issue of Connected doesn’t feature a Dalton’s Deliberations (you’ll have to visit our blog if you want your fix) but it does see Simon don his roving reporter hat as he headed to Manchester to visit the home of customer Gary Hancock (see our Customer System feature on page 20). On his return, I was keen to find out what Simon thought of Gary’s Quad system, which included the rather lovely Quad ESL 57 loudspeakers. Simon’s overwhelming response was that it was unenforced, effortless and engaging. A really good system is just that – it shouldn’t draw attention to its sound; you should just be drawn into the performance.
Gary was delighted with the performance of his system which features extensive Russ Andrews upgrades but I was intrigued by his opinion of the smaller ‘tweaks’, such as our fuses or MiniZap filters and so on. On their own, they’re not as significant as a major cable or support upgrade (Gary referred to these small improvements The Principle of Marginal Gains), but collectively he thought they all combined to create a very worthwhile improvement which simply enhanced the naturalness of the sound. And that’s exactly what our accessories are designed to do. For me, the best thing about them is that they can be fitted at any time in Russ’s Upgrade Path and they are affordable and they’re great for satisfying that urge to upgrade! On our website we call our accessories ‘Other Good Stuff’ and if you navigate to the page, you’ll find them categorised by the job the do – cleaning; antistatic; noise reduction and so on. Have a browse or call us for suggestions. And do a little bit at a time – fuses this month, a Statmat the next, Mains Zapperator after that. That way, you can spread the financial outlay and – most importantly – it gives you time to appreciate each upgrade and what it’s doing. ■
John Armer, Editor
NEWS NEWS
NEWS
Extension to the range of digital interconnects – perfect for the new generation of DACs More and more DACs (particularly the smaller, portable DACs) are using 3.5mm input sockets for their coax S/PDIF digital input. To accommodate these, we now offer the Kimber range of coax digital interconnects with 3.5mm connectors so you can extract the very best from your DAC. The cables available are the DV21, DV30 and D60. They can be terminated phono to Mini Jack, or Mini to Mini. Available in standard lengths of 0.5m and 1.0m, they are also available in custom lengths – contact us for details of pricing if you need a very short length to connect a portable player to a portable DAC.
“our mini digital cables ensure you get the very best performance from your DAC”
To see the digital cables online, visit www.russandrews.com/digitalinterconnect
Mini DV-21
Code: 2510
0.5m
£51.00
1.0m
£59.00
Mini DV-30
Code: 2515
0.5m
£67.00
1.0m
£90.00
Mini D-60
Code: 2525
0.5m
£201.00
1.0m
£341.00
Kimber DV-21 with Mini connector
Kimber DV-30 with Mini connector
Kimber D-60 with Mini connector
Did you know? Most of our power cables, interconnects and speaker cables are available in custom, nonstandard lengths if you need a specific length for a particular application. Contact us for a quote. Issue 34 Spring 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 5
NEWS NEWS
NEWS
The days of sacrificing quality for convenience are over...
is here We’ve written about MQA – the new high-resolution file system – in Connected before, but we’re delighted to announce that the files, and the hardware to play them, are now available.
MQA stands for Master Quality Authenticated and is a new method developed by the Meridian Audio team for digitally storing music. MQA files are designed to increase the timing precision of music to deliver a sound that surpasses the quality of currently available high resolution audio, in a file size that’s no bigger than CD resolution. MQA files are backwards compatible and they will play on a conventional (non-MQA) device and sound great, but they really come into their own when played back through an MQA playback device. Every MQA device features an indicator which will only illuminate when an MQA file is being decoded successfully – guaranteeing you are hearing what the recording or mastering engineer intended. So what do I need to play MQA? There are three elements needed to enjoy MQA music - the MQA files themselves; a method of playing back the files; and a decoder to ‘unpack’ the MQA files and give you audio. Over the coming months there will be more and more playback devices available with MQA decoders
6 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 34 Spring 2016
built in, but as I write this, we simply used a laptop to play the files via a Meridian Explorer2 USB DAC (to decode the files), connected to a Hi-Fi system. MQA files are currently available as downloadable audio files from a limited number of websites, but there’s sure to be greater availability in the coming months as well as the ability to stream files from services such as Tidal. We downloaded files from 2L (http://www.2l.no/). Follow the links to the HiRes Test Bench and you’ll find files available to download to test for free. 2L also sell MQA albums, as do Onkyo Music (https://www.onkyomusic.com/). MQA files are packaged in lossless file containers, such as FLAC, Apple Lossless or WAVs so you will also need software to playback these types of files. The files we downloaded were FLAC files and we used Foobar software on our laptop to play them. Finally, you’ll need an MQA decoder. Not surprisingly, the first decoders are available from Meridian – we used the £199 Explorer2 USB DAC which offers a mini-jack analogue output for connecting to your amplifier; there’s also a headphone output too. The Meridian Prime (£1200) is a compact standalone headphone amplifier offering better performance, it also doubles as a USB DAC so can play back MQA files and connect to a conventional system if you wish. To find out more and buy Meridian’s MQA decoders, visit www.russandrews.com/meridian
Reviewing our products online
One feature of our new website www.russandrews.com that’s proving popular is the ability to place product reviews online. Many of you have told us that you like to share your experiences with our products, and we know that many of you like to read other customer’s feedback too.
NEWS
REDUCED PRICING Meridian Audio have announced some significant reductions in the prices of some of their Sooloos components, processors and loudspeakers. The price changes mean that their products are now more affordable and within reach for more of us. Some of the products to benefit are:
Meridian MC200 sooloos system
MASSIVE PRICE DROP!
with 1TB storage enough for 2000 albums. £1200 (Save £800). The MC200 offers a brilliant way to experience Meridian’s awardwinning sooloos streaming system. With analogue and digital outputs it’s simple to integrate into a conventional Hi-Fi system; you just need a computer or iPad to navigate your collection.
Audio Core 200: £899 (Save £601). When browsing the website’s category pages, products that already feature customer reviews have a star rating that appears below the product’s name and price. To read the review, go into the product page and click on the ‘Read Reviews’ link which will take you to the bottom of the product page. As well as reading the reviews, you’re also given the opportunity to place your own review. There are still quite a few products that have not received a review, so if you feel compelled to share your own product experiences, follow the product links and tell us – and our customers – what you think!
Our new catalogue is online
Although we’re not sending out a printed product catalogue this year, we have produced a new online catalogue which you can find at www.russandrews.com. Follow the links from the homepage to browse our range of products in a magazine format from your desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.
Meridian’s preamp is perfect for use with their DSP loudspeakers. With two coax digital inputs, two optical inputs, four stereo analogue inputs and a USB input, the preamp uses Meridian’s speaker link outputs to connect to their loudspeakers.
DSP 3200 loudspeakers: £2499 (Save £1251). Coupled with the Audio Core 200 or even just the MC200 streaming system) the DSP 3200 loudspeakers make a compact, very high quality sound system that sounds far larger than its compact size.
M6 DSP loudspeakers: £2999 (Save £1501). The M6 loudspeakers are the first floor-standing speakers in Meridian’s range. Used with the Audio Core 200 they make a stunning system capable of natural, room-filling sound. To find out more about these products or buy them, visit www.russandrews.com/meridian or call us on 01539 797300.
1/3 OFF
DSP3200 loudspeakers and Audio Core 200 Issue 34 Spring 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE
7
RUSS’S FIRST WORDS NEWS
About our Equipment Upgrade Service
Anyone reading our literature and website will be familiar with our equipment upgrading service. Whilst it is a popular and successful enterprise, the fact that we do it has always worried some people. ‘Why do you think you can do better than the manufacturer?’ they say. It is a very good question. There are several reasons why it is so well worth doing. My demands for high levels of musicality in all the Hi-Fi hardware I want to listen to have forced me to either design my own or to work with the best I can find and improve it. My long experience building equipment from scratch started in my early teens when I couldn’t afford to just go and buy what I wanted off the shelf new. In those days there were far more shops selling kits, parts and plans than there were shops selling new ready built amplifiers and speakers. When I got over the buzz from building something that worked, I got hooked on the hows and whys it worked. I spent years looking at each component that makes up a circuit – capacitors, resistors, inductors, wire (and even solder), and so on.
8 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 34 Spring 2016
I analysed how and why each component works, whether it can be made to work better, what’s needed to achieve ultimate performance from it, and how it reacts in the real world with all the other factors and components in the reproduction chain. The work I did (and continue to do) led me to the discovery that the components you make it out of are often more important than the actual circuit design details. I found that paying close attention to the most important parts could give startling advances in musicality without the need to make ‘design’ changes to the circuits. The problem hardware manufacturers have is not the ability to design good, competent equipment, it is the cost of doing it with the very best components that are commercially unacceptable. They would be priced out of their market. Production engineers ensure things are made down to a price not up to a standard. Every piece of Hi Fi equipment you own (however expensive) has been made down to a price! One example is your power amplifier. The most important part of it is the power supply yet that is the most expensive part, and so the area where most cost can be shaved. A production engineer I once worked for told me my job (as a designer) was to make it sound
better and better for less and less money… and easier to make! Taking a well-designed product and replacing the most important parts with the best ones is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to get real improvements… the real skill comes from knowing which parts to replace with which components. Your Hi-Fi system has been built up over many years, a personal selection of equipment providing a well-loved sound. The good thing about equipment upgrading is that the characteristic sound remains; you simply get much more musicality. ■
Our Equipment Upgrade Service Almost any Hi-Fi product can be upgraded to higher performance using our techniques and components. If you are interested in having your amplifier, CD or Blu-ray Disc player or loudspeakers upgraded, contact us on 01539 797300 to talk through the options, or find out more by clicking on www.russandrews.com/ equipmentupgrades
PRODUCTS
NEW
NEWPRODUCTS
NEW PRODUCTS
Align your cartridge with GrooveTech Align your turntable’s cartridge accurately and the bass will be at its cleanest, tightest and deepest; treble at its most extended and sweetest; and voices will have less distortion and sibilance. GrooveTech offer two products that, combined with an effective cartridge protractor, ensure accurate alignment.
The GrooveTech GT-1 is a tracking force gauge that is simple to operate and is accurate. It can measure up to 5 grams in 0.001g increments and is operated via a touch screen. It is powered by 2AAA batteries (included) and is supplied fully calibrated; the unit includes a calibration weight for checking the accuracy of the guide at any point.
GrooveTech GT-1
Code: 5081
tracking force gauge
£79.00
Although many tonearms allow you to set the tracking force, they are often very basic and can be inaccurate. The GT-1 allows for simple and accurate adjustment. The GrooveTech GT-2 MKII is a handy alignment gauge for measuring overhang, azimuth and vertical tracking angle (VTA). The gauge itself is a solid piece of acrylic with scale lines for cartridge and cantilever alignment, and a locating pin helps positioning when setting stylus overhang. Full instructions with diagrams are included.
GrooveTech GT-2 MKII Code: 5082 overhang / azimuth / VTA alignment gauge
£69.00
Geo-Disc cartridge Code: 5078 alignment tool £44.95
How to Set Up and Fine Tune a Turntable
Code: 6003 £7.50
Offering advanced cartridge alignment.
This easy-to-read guide is a must if you want to know how to get the very best performance from your turntable. Includes in-depth instructions on cartridge alignment.
Use them with these: Polaris Cartridge Protractor Code: 5040
£9.00
Accurate, effective and very easy to use.
Tip! Easily find a product on our website by entering the product code in the search box. Issue 34 Spring 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE
9
NEW PRODUCTS
Pro-Ject RPM 5 Carbon turntable courtesy of Henley Designs
TT-1™
- our new phono interconnect With every other item of news in the Hi-Fi world being about the rise in sales of turntables, we thought it was about time we added a dedicated phono to phono interconnect to our range of turntable cables. So here it is; the TT-1™ Turntable Interconnect! The cable we’ve chosen for TT-1™ is derived from the Select range of Kimber cable interconnects and is a fully shielded, high-purity copper, coax-based design. Unlike most coax designs which use a solid core conductor, TT-1™ uses a stranded core for optimisation of analogue signal transfer and flexibility. If you have a turntable fitted with RCA Phono sockets*, like the Pro-Ject RPM 5 featured here, use this cable to connect directly to your phono stage. TT-1™ comes with its own superior grounding wire for use where your turntable is fitted with a grounding point. Most modern turntables do have one fitted, but not all, so for convenience we include it as a separate item. The shielded design of TT-1™ means that is suitable for both moving magnet and moving coil cartridges.
UltraPlate™ Phonos
* If your turntable has a cable which connects directly to its tonearm, choose from our range of Kimber and Russ Andrews dedicated tonearm cables. See www.russandrews.com/ turntableinterconnects
Grounding wire included.
Russ Andrews TT-1™
Code: 2070
turntable interconnect 0.5m £104.00 1m £129.00 10 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 34 Spring 2016
Ground your system to reduce buzzes and hums Russ’s Optimising your Grounding guide published in Connected issue 31 is continuing to prove very popular with many of you. The guide is now published on our website – you can download it in .pdf format at www.russandrews.com/grounding.
RADIO
CD PLAYER A
A
DVD A
SKY
RF ROUTER INTEGRATED AMP
B
DCT SuperSocket with earth terminal Code: 1803 Single with earth £37.00 Double with earth £42.00
UltraSocket Code: 1901 with earth terminal Double faceplate with earth £99.00
TURNTABLE A
A
GUIDE UPDATE
C
How to connect your grounding wires.
In the guide, Russ explains the sonic benefits of grounding your system, but Russ Andrews customer Mr De Silva got in touch with us recently for help in solving a buzzing noise he was having with his Sonos system. We suggested he follow our grounding guide and add additional grounding to help cure the noise problem. Mr De Silva e-mailed to say: “Thanks for taking the time to speak to me earlier on the phone regarding the buzzing noise I was having. I followed your advice, got some earth wire and connected up my DAC to the earth post on the Silencer Block. I now have lovely silence from my system further, my music seems to have picked up a level of ‘weight’ that just gives it presence and rhythm. So, thank you so much again - you’ve helped me get back to enjoying my music in a big way. I need to tidy up my earth wire and will investigate your offerings but for now, I’m going to back to listen to some music!” We’ve had several customers who have found that grounding their system has cured problems of noise in the way that Mr De Silva found. If you are suffering from problems with noise from your system, grounding it in the way we suggest may well help to
RF Router MkII Code: 1898 £189
Technical Ground Weave Code: 1091 Terminated 0.5m £19.50 0.75m £21.75 1.0m £24.00
Chassis Ground Banana Adaptor Code: 3197 £12.50
See all of our products for improving your system grounding at www.russandrews.com/grounding Have you found an improvement with grounding your system? Let us know at connected@russandrews.com or leave a product review on our website (see p7 for details).
cure it as well as improving the sound. Issue 34 Spring 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 11
BACK TO BASICS
BASICS B A C K
T O
Want to upgrade your system’s cables but don’t know your PowerMax from your 4PR? Simon Dalton gets Back to Basics. When customers come to Russ Andrews for the first time they often ask “where do I start?” It’s a good question - the range is pretty extensive so it’s not surprising that when you approach it for the first time it can all be a little bit daunting. So here, I’m going to focus on the core of Russ’s philosophy on cable upgrades so you get a solid foundation on which to build.
PowerKord-100™ 1m £155
‘output’: your source is your CD Player, Turntable, Streamer, Blu-ray Player, etc. and your output is your speakers.
It therefore makes sense to start by replacing the power cable feeding your main source component. So, if your main First things first listening is to CDs, you’ll want to The basic principle for upgrading start with the mains lead to your your cables is to “Follow your CD player. Why? Because that’s music through your system”. literally the source of your music Think of it as starting at the and the cleaner you can make ‘source’ and ending with the the power going into it, the more efficiently the player will perform. That’s the Why KIMBER KABLE? same principle with the You’ve probably noticed we only sell power leads to all your kit, one brand of cable; KIMBER KABLE. but your source is the most The reason is simple: because it works. important. Brilliantly! Continuing with the ‘follow Kimber’s unique woven cable has been proven to act as an effective filter for Radio Frequency Interference which many in the industry regard as a serious problem for sensitive Hi-Fi equipment. KIMBER’s cables are characterised by their musicality, transparency and accuracy, producing a sound quality that has won the hearts and minds of reviewers and customers alike.
your music’ theme, your next step is to upgrade the power cable to your integrated amp (or preamp and then your power amp). This now means that you have made a solid foundation for dealing with the mains pollution that can have a negative impact on the whole of your system’s performance.
Why start with the power? Many people, when considering cable upgrades for their system, start with the speaker cables. This can make things worse though, because any problems caused by poor mains quality will be highlighted by the introduction of a more revealing speaker cable. That’s why we recommend you get the mains sorted first, followed by your interconnects, and finish with the speaker cables. But which power cable should you start with? At each step, we’d always advise to go for the best you can afford but at this point the most basic choice is between the PowerMax Plus™ and the PowerKord™ range. The key difference between the two is in the basic cable type that is
PowerMax mains cable - 0.9m £53.95 12 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 34 Spring 2016
BACK TO BASICS
used; PowerMax Plus™ uses a 3-core cable that benefits from heavy gauge conductors – this reduces electrical impedance, Kimber Timbre helping your interconnect - £108 system to get the for 0.5m pair power it needs exactly when it needs it. Likewise, PowerKords™ benefit from lower impedance too, but in addition they use the unique RFI rejecting properties of Kimber’s woven cable (see box). Put simply, PowerKords™ are preferable because they act like filters as well as reducing impedance.
And finally… The last step, as hinted at earlier, is to upgrade your speaker cable. This is the final link in the chain and completes the process of introducing Kimber’s unique RF-cancelling woven cable right through your system. A good starting point is Kimber 4PR or 8PR. They’re the perfect choice for starter components yet still won’t disgrace themselves when you come to move up to your next system. Kimber 4PR £73 for a 2.5m pair.
The next step
Attenuation? At this stage in the upgrade path, it’s worth assessing whether using attenuation on your interconnects is worthwhile. Attenuation steps down the output from your CD/Blu-ray or streamer to make it a better matched load for you amplifier, resulting in less distortion. Call us and we’ll be able to advise you on whether you need attenuation and at what level.
Upgrade Scheme is there to help you gradually move up through the range of cables. If your existing cable was purchased from us in the last 12 months, you’ll normally get 100% of its original purchase price back to use against the next step up. The least you’ll normally get back is 50%, and that’s if the cable is over 2 years old (1-2 years gets 75%). If you’d like to find out more give us a ring on 01539 797300 or check out the details at www.russandrews.com/cableupgrade-scheme.
What now? Once you’ve gone through the whole system in this way, the next move is to return to step one and start the whole process over again with the mains cables, taking advantage of our Upgrade Scheme to make the next step up (see box above right).
returning to the basic 3-step principle outlined here. Indeed, this is also the ideal point to upgrade the extension block that supplies your system too – the PowerBar™ is the starting point here (from £89 for a 4-way). Just don’t get too carried away before investing in the next level of cables. ■ SD
But what about filters and other accessories? Good question. We POWER CABLES strongly 1 CD PLAYER 1 recommend that 2 PREAMP you upgrade to at OR INTEGRATED AMP least the entry level 3 POWER AMP of our cables right through your system CD PLAYER INTERCONNECTS before doing 1 2 anything else. Once you’ve done this PREAMP though, there’s no 2 OR INTEGRATED AMP harm in deviating POWER AMP off into the world of SPEAKER CABLES filters and 3 accessories before
UPGRADE
Next on the agenda are your interconnects. Following the same principle as before, start with the pair that connect your source component to your integrated amp (and then move on to those connecting the pre to power amp if you them). A great place to start for a budget system is with the Kimber Timbre (see picture above) - it offers real value for money and is ideal as a big step up from the free interconnects that come with the kit.
Our Unique Cable
{
Issue 34 Spring 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE
13
HOW-TO GUIDE
b ri n g i n g mu s i c to l i fe
RINGMAT DEVELOPMENTS
A short guide to the Ringmat Support System Many customers buy Ringmat products as single items to bring improvements to their turntable and that’s the advantage of the Ringmat system; each item is an upgrade in its own right. However, there are great benefits to be gained in
Where to start Unless you are looking to buy the whole Ringmat Support system in one go, it’s likely that you will be buying one item initially and then adding others as you go along. If this is the case, we would recommend replacing your existing turntable mat with the Anniversary Gold Spot Ringmat.
Anniversary Gold Spot Ringmat ‘Real Ale’ version - £78.00
The Ringmat is at the very core of the system. According to Ringmat Developments, “its unique design enables 12" records to be supported so that the main vibrational modes of record movement - caused by the input of stylus energy - give the minimum possible error signal. This allows for improved tracking and, as a result, a reduction in stylus and record wear”.
14 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 34 Spring 2016
using them as a system because the benefits of each part grow as they are combined with the others - it’s a matter of the whole being greater than the sum of their parts.
The effects of the Anniversary Gold Spot Ringmat used just by itself are clear to hear: “There is a reduction of background noise with a cleaner, crisper and yet more delicate sound, together with a wider and deeper soundstage; there is an enhanced sense of power, with greater weight and authority in the bass.” To be clear; we recommend the Anniversary Gold Spot Ringmat as your first purchase because it is a great upgrade in its own right – and if you just want a replacement turntable mat, you can stick with this and use it by itself. But there’s so much more you can achieve…
platter of your turntable. The Base Platter Mat has the positive effect of graduating this unequal mass.
·
It treats resonances which feed up through the turntable into the platter and can deflect stylus tracking and compress dynamics.
·
Some platter materials can be susceptible to micro-ringing and the Base Platter Mat acts as an efficient damper for this. The Base Platter Mat is placed directly on top of the turntable platter and underneath your Ringmat.
The next steps Having invested in the Anniversary Gold Spot Ringmat, the next step is to build the rest of the system from the ground up. That means that next you’ll want to add the Base Platter Mat. This has a number of positive effects:
·
It provides an effective interface between your low mass LP and the relatively high mass
Base Platter Mat - £28.20
The next step will be to place your Anniversary Gold Spot Ringmat, on top of your Base Platter Mat.
HOW-TO GUIDE
LP Blue Statmat Similar in design and principle to the CD Statmat, the LP Blue Statmat is used between your Anniversary Gold Spot Ringmat and the record to prevent low level voltage surges which can occur as the platter and spindle rotate. The specially arranged pattern of conductive inks on the LP Blue Statmat help even out these electrostatic charges. This has the effect of not only reducing the occurrence of static pops and clicks on LP Statmat playback, and Statcap - £42 but also of that annoying event where the mat lifts off with the record as it is removed! Your Statmat also comes with a Statcap and the two work in conjunction. The Statcap can be used either underneath your
Anniversary Gold Spot Ringmat or under your Ringcap - either is worthwhile but you’ll need to experiment to hear which sounds best in your setup.
The Full Ringmat Support System includes all of the Ringmat products on this page, plus special Ringmat Spacers designed to fine tune the Vertical Tracking Angle of your stylus.
Next, place your record on top of the Statmat
The Final Step The Ringcap is placed over the spindle and sits on top of the label of your record. It absorbs any residual vibrations which remain whilst the record is being played. It comprises a single ring underneath an absorbent, low resonance disc.
Full Blue Anniversary Ringmat Support System - from £150
Ringcap MkII - £15.60 Ringcap Statcap Record LP Blue Statmat Ringmat Base Platter Mat Turntable Platter
Anniversary Gold Spot Ringmat ‘Real Ale’ version £78.00
Issue 34 Spring 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 15
FEATURE
BECOME AN EXPERT...
Russ Andrews Spike and Surge Filters We have a number of clamping components in our range – but which one is right for you? John Armer investigates. We have two ‘families’ of products designed to improve the sound of your system by reducing the effect of mains voltage spikes: SuperClamps and MegaClamps. They’re both designed by Russ and offer a very simple way to upgrade your system. But what’s the difference between them and which is the right one to use? First things first – both the SuperClamps and the MegaClamps can be used at any time as a system
The SuperClamp
The SuperClamp consists of two components: one a fast solid state device culled from aerospace applications and the other a varistor to absorb the spike energy. At their simplest, these two components are mounted into a mains plug which you simply plug into a power socket (one close to your Hi-Fi system is ideal). We also offer the components mounted into a twoway ‘cube’ – useful if you don’t want to lose a socket or if you need an additional socket. We build SuperClamps into the Silencer and the Mini Purifier mains filters, and also into our XBlock mains extensions, so if you install these in your system, you’ll automatically be benefiting from the SuperClamp. SuperClamps are also an optional upgrade on our PowerBar mains extensions and we can also fit the 16 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 34 Spring 2016
upgrade. They’re simple, plug-in devices so they’re easy to fit; we recommend you use them once you’ve upgraded your power cables. The job they do (reducing voltage spikes) is different from our mains filters, which are reducing mains noise, so use them in conjunction with each other. Like our mains filters, they are passive, parallel devices and avoid the drawbacks of ‘series’ devices. SuperClamps and MegaClamps work by ‘grabbing’ the voltage spike and absorbing the energy in the pulse (to find out more about voltages spikes and why they matter, see page 18).
components to any power cable that’s fitted with a Wattgate™ plug. The size of the plug means that there’s room for the components to be fitted inside. You can fit as many SuperClamps as you like. One customer, Rob from Newcastle, told me that he kept adding them and only stopped when he stopped hearing an improvement as he installed them – and he had over 15. The SuperClamps work particularly well plugged into unused sockets throughout your house and there’s a saving to be had if ordering a pack of three.
SuperClamp Plug
SuperCube
Replace them after five years To maintain their effectiveness, we recommend replacing SuperClamp components every five years. Any product with a SuperClamp can be returned to us for factory replacement of the parts at lower cost than buying a new SuperClamp.
Checklist
The MegaClamp
MegaClamps are a beefed-up version of the SuperClamps, using a very specialist component employed by the telecommunications industry. They grab the spike faster than the SuperClamp and they grab spikes at a lower voltage (anything over 380V), meaning that more spikes are absorbed. They are also capable of absorbing far higher intensity spikes meaning that, unlike the SuperClamp, they don’t wear out over time.
FEATURE
one or more 3 Install SuperClamps and/or MegaClamps in your system, even if you are using ours (or anyone else’s) power filters
you are using the standalone 3 Ifdevices, plug them into a spare MegaClamp
MegaClamps are fitted as standard to our PowerBlock mains extensions and our UltraPurifier power filters. They are also available mounted in ‘wall-warts’ designed to be plugged in next to your system, or in 2-way ‘cubes’ so you don’t lose a socket in your mains extension. It’s worth having at least one close to your system, and they can be used in conjunction with SuperClamps.
socket close to your Hi-Fi
you’re serious about really 3 Ifpure mains, use the SuperClamp Ultra or MegaClamp Ultra
the effect with 3 Augment multiple SuperClamps plugged in throughout the house
What are spikes and why do they matter? See next page...
Ultra Performance
The SuperClamp Ultra and MegaClamp Ultra are the top models. These come in a wall-wart type box only (they are not built into any of our filters) and offer ‘ultimate’ performance. How do they do this? Both MegaClamp Ultra models use multiple SuperClamps/ MegaClamps and additionally employ a component that reduces spike activity between neutral and earth and also holds neutral voltage close to earth. The Ultra versions offer, in my opinion, an upgrade as impressive as our mains filters and should be considered an essential upgrade if you are serious about creating a really pure power supply for your system.
forget to update 3 Don’t SuperClamps every five years to maintain their effectiveness
Price List SuperClamp™ Plug Pack of 3
Code 1835
£25.00 £70.00 Code 1830
SuperCube™
£26.00
MegaClamp™
£179.00
MegaCube™
£179.00
Code 1400 Code 1831
Code 1202
SuperClamp™ Ultra
£57.00 Code 1401
MegaClamp™ Ultra
£329.00
SuperClamp Ultra It’s worth having one connected close to your system, augmented by additional SuperClamps and MegaClamps. Issue 34 Spring 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 17
FEATURE
BECOME AN EXPERT... continued
What are spikes and why do they matter? A spike is a very brief over-voltage ‘event’ ranging from a few tens of volts above the highest legal peak voltage (360V for 230V), up to several thousand volts. They are typically under 1 millisecond in duration, are very common and often (though not always) the energy involved is small. Longer duration events are called surges and have the potential to do more damage, but mercifully these are less common. Spikes are caused by things such as lightning strikes, power outages, tripped circuit breakers and fluorescent lights, refrigerators and washing machines switching on and off. The quality and severity of spike activity varies during the day, and from day to day. Even with well-designed equipment, spikes – if regular – can and will prematurely stress and wear out critical mainsconnected parts and their insulation. In our opinion, high voltage spikes also cause audible degradation of Hi-Fi sound by their effect on a Hi-Fi system’s power supply and by raising the background noise level in amplification circuits. The spikes saturate the core of the mains transformer, preventing normal transformer operation during the period of each spike. Mains spikes reduce the capacity of the power supply by ‘strangling’ the transformer operation producing subjective effects on an amplifier like softened bass and increased high frequency distortion.
Unplug your Hi-Fi during an electrical storm While our SuperClamps and MegaClamps provide a degree of protection from spikes and surges, we recommend that you unplug your equipment from the mains during a storm. Nothing will protect your equipment from (heaven forbid) a direct strike.
18 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 34 Spring 2016
High voltage spike (up to 1200v)
Clamping Voltage
Normal Voltage
With clamp
Time
Our clamping products 'grab' the spike at their clamping voltage and reduce the intensity of the voltage spike.
What do others think? “I had a problem with a microwave oven scrambling the timer on the central heating system. The timer is mounted next to the microwave on the ring main. I bought a Superclamp in 2008 for my Hi-Fi but could not detect any difference so I tried it in the unused socket next to the microwave. It worked: no more problems until this year when the timer was scrambled twice since the New Year. Then I remembered that you recommend factory replacement of parts after five years so I bought a new one. Once again: it works. Incidentally, I bought a Megaclamp Ultra for the Hi-Fi and the increased definition and tunefulness to bass notes is easily audible.” Euan Grant, review placed online on www.russandrews.com/superclampkit
Customer System
Simon Dalton investigates the system of a customer with classic Quad power amps and speakers. It was one of those glorious winter mornings where the air is cold and crisp and the sun is shining brightly. I found myself on the 7.45 train bound for Manchester and the home of long-term Russ Andrews customer Gary Hancock. I say long-term with good reason: Gary has been buying stuff from us for so long that he owns the first pair of Quad 57 Electrostatic loudspeakers to be upgraded by Russ.
Gary kindly offered to pick me up at the station, so it was only a few minutes’ drive to reach his house in the suburbs of the city. Gary’s livingcum-listening room is about 13ft (4.0m) square and houses a classic system consisting of a Technics SP10 turntable, Sonic Frontiers CD player connected to the Quad ESLs via an Audio Research preamp and Quad II power amps. I couldn’t wait to listen.
CUSTOMER SYSTEM
instrumentation and beautifully flowing vocals had a velvety texture that drifted through the room. I immediately had the sense that this was a system I could listen to for hours, without suffering either boredom or listening fatigue. Gary was playing the system at a
First up was Julia Holter on vinyl. A name I’m not familiar with but a Technics SP10 turntable using Ringcap (see p15). great start. The album Have You In My Wilderness was real-world level (“the room shares a a recent purchase from Piccadilly wall with my neighbours so I have to Records, one of Manchester’s be considerate”, he told me) and OK, numerous independent record perhaps there would have been a bit stores. The simple presentation of more punch and kick with the volume turned up a notch or two, but the great thing was that the music sounded so good at this level anyway – not something you can always guarantee. That’s what’s so impressive about the system; that it works so well at conveying the music in a totally engrossing manner without having to move house or end up in the divorce courts! CD was just as impressive. We listened to Panthalassa: The Remixes by Miles Davis. You certainly couldn’t accuse the Sonic Frontiers transport/ processor/power supply of
The Quad ESL 57 loudspeakers (with Russ Andrews modifications) are driven by Kimber Monocle-XL™ SD IIs. The Quads are mounted on Russ Andrews wooden stands that lift the speaker up and give more bass.
Issue 34 Spring 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 19
Customer System
CUSTOMER SYSTEM
Upwards-firing ribbon tweeters (fitted with Focus Rings) help to give more of a sense of air and space.
Sonic Frontiers Transport 3 CD player on Torlyte® Rack
producing a ‘typical’ digital sound. Then again, it’s all connected with Russ Andrews PowerKords, so I shouldn’t be too surprised. This brings me nicely onto his upgrades. All components are fed by Reference PowerKords™ [now replaced by PowerKord-300s] via two PowerBlocks; one supplying the front end components and the other feeding the power amps - both via separate balanced mains units fed off a dedicated ring main. Our SuperPurifier power filters [now the Ultra Purifier™] are used on the unbalanced mains. Interconnects are all Kimber Select with the addition of MiniZaps plus attenuation on the CD to preamp cable. The Technics turntable has a dedicated Russ Andrews power supply and benefits from the Kimber TAK Cu tonearm cable. Our Torlyte® is used throughout and Gary – a carpenter by trade – is currently looking at experimenting with adapting a Torlyte® Platform to replace the solid wood plinth currently supporting his turntable. 20 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 34 Spring 2016
I asked which of the upgrades Gary had bought from us had made the
“What in itself may seem a marginal gain in system performance can make all the difference to the way you are drawn into the musical performance.” biggest impact on the system? He struggled to pick out any single item, observing the way that everything works together to create something that is so much greater than the sum of its parts.
(they are based at the Manchester Velodrome). This has shifted focus onto the importance of every small step made by the team, whether in individual athletic performance, bike technology, diet, or whatever. The point is that these marginal gains can add up. It only needs the shaving off of 1/100th second to make the difference between first and second place. It’s a minute difference, but a huge one at the same time. This is exactly how Gary has found it with his set-up. What in itself may seem a marginal gain in system performance can make all the difference to the way you are drawn into the musical performance. When I first rang to ask if he would be up for a visit, Gary had enthusiastically agreed with the proviso that I also brought along a
He refers me to the principle of ‘Marginal Gains’ adopted by the nearby British Cycling Team Russ Andrews upgraded Quad II valve amps connected with Kimber Select KS-1011 analogue interconnects
CUSTOMER SYSTEM
The System
Audio Research preamp - a Kimber Select KS1021 interconnect (attenuated at -11dB and fitted with MiniZaps) connects it to the CD processor.
Mains Zapperator for him to try. He’d been aware, for some time now, of the dozen or more wi-fi networks that were available to him when he came to log on to his own connection – a common problem nowadays. I pulled one out of my bag and we listened as he plugged it into
A solid wooden plinth supports the Technics SP10 turntable
the PowerBlock™ feeding the front end of his system. What were we just saying about the principle of marginal gains…? A veil had certainly been taken away but the improvement wasn’t a smack-acrossthe-face kind of thing. Nor should it be; if you have a system you like, you want more out of it, not a wholesale change. Gary summed it up perfectly by saying that “it’s actually less superficially impressive but the effect is to make the whole sound more… well, natural really”. ■
Gary’s system is an eclectic mix that shows a keen ear for component matching. The aforementioned 3-box Sonic Frontiers CD player is one I’m not familiar with and sounds incredibly smooth and yet detailed. The Quad II valve power amps were fully upgraded by Russ some years ago and effortlessly drive the similarly upgraded Quad ESL 57s. On the marginal gains theme, Gary noted that the upgrade to WBT chassis sockets on the amps were another example whilst the addition of the Monocle XL SDII speaker cables were a revelation!
The system is powered by Reference PowerKords™ and PowerBlock™ Issue 34 Spring 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 21
Reviews
REVIEWS
Keep up to date with new reviews in our blog section at www.russandrews.com/blogs
Kimber Silver Streak Kimber's great value Silver Streak analogue interconnects are the subject of a review in the January 2016 edition of Hi-Fi Choice magazine.
Fitting the cable between his CD player and Amp, Neville Roberts starts with a recording of Vivaldi's Sonatas For Flute Op.10 and is immediately impressed with the results: "it is evident that the Silver Streak produces masses of detail with no strain or unpleasant edge to the sound". This is worth taking on board because it allays any fears that the presence of silver in a cable will bring with it a brittleness and harshness to the sound - in our opinion, Kimber's decision to only use the highest quality silver is key to this.
The next test is the final movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, a piece chosen specifically because the orchestral climaxes "and choir can end up sounding like a muddy blur". No such problems with the Silver Streak though, "which allows the full force of the performance to sing through with tremendous power". Time for a change of genre, and this time it's Jazz with Michael Kaeshammer's interpretation of Caravan from the album Tell You How I Feel. Here "reproduction of the piano is very clean and
believable... with a smooth and rich sound throughout". "The bass is tight and well controlled", he continues, "and the hi-hats are crisp and ringing without being edgy".
Kimber Silver Streak Verdict: RECOMMENDED Price: ÂŁ221 for 0.5m pair Magazine: HiFi Choice Issue: January 2016
Kimber USB Cu The February 2016 edition of Hi-Fi Choice carried a review of the Kimber USB Cu cable. This copper cable forms the start of the comprehensive Kimber USB range and represents great value for money.
Neville Roberts, reviewing, listened to two differing pieces of music for the review: Haydn's Rondo all'Ungarese by The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and the rock performance Far Beyond Driven by Tim Christensen. Starting with the Haydn piece, he notes that "The orchestral performance is full and forceful"
22
CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 34 Spring 2016
and that "the listening room is full of sound, which gives a sense of spaciousness and the impression of a soundstage that is both wide and deep". Moving onto an entirely difference recording with the Tim Christensen song, he says that the Kimber USB "really rocks and demonstrates plenty of bass clout. Vocals are slightly smoother on balance and give an overall more relaxed presentation to the performance".
So, the Kimber USB is equally impressive with rock too - in fact, possibly even more so according to Neville, who concludes: "A forceful and full performance that is very much at home with rock music".
Kimber USB Cu Cable Verdict: Price: from ÂŁ43 for 0.5m Magazine: HiFi Choice Issue: February 2016
Your letters On Infrastructure When my 15 year old Musical Fidelity NuVista 3D’s CD mechanism started skipping interminably, I decided it was time for a repair. But what to do for playing CDs? I have a Denon DM37 micro system that one of my kids had used for music at college which had been in our garage / utility room for years. It has a CD player and a line level output. Off I went to the cold garage and retrieved the DM37 and its remote, brought it into the house to warm up before plugging it in to prevent condensation when powered up. I also acquired a figure of 8 adaptor to let me power the DM37 using the Reference PowerKord [now the PowerKord300] which powered the NuVista. I wasn’t expecting much after I removed (the rather heavy) NuVista and removed its oak cone feet. I put the feet onto the DM37 and put it into the Hi Fi stand. I connected the Reference PowerKord, the interconnect and the chassis earth (the DM37 has an earth connection ready “plumbed in”). I switched on, set up for CD replay and put on Runrig’s Ballads compilation.
LETTERS
STAR LETTER
If you are a Runrig aficionado, you will know that Donny Munro’s vocals are usually well buried in the mix. To my surprise, the little DM37 into my kW550 amplifier and Proac D28 speakers gave a very reasonable account of itself once it had warmed up a little. No, the tonal balance wasn’t what I was used to, the really deep bass was missing (probably to make the best of the DM37’s 25W power output - not that it was a worry here) and the fine detail and precise imaging was missing. However, the result was really quite satisfying. I played another CD before supper that evening with a very similar outcome. I left the unit on overnight and switched to standby the following morning. That evening I played Cappercaillie’s Grace and Pride anthology (a sort of Celtic compilation theme going here) and my jaw hit the ground. A huge stereo image hit me. It PowerKord-300™ went back £240 for 1m beyond the outside wall to the back garden, it stretched beyond the edges of the speakers and was tall enough to reach the ceiling. The level of detail still wasn’t up to that of the NuVista, but it wasn’t a million miles off.
Win a Silencer mains filter, worth £52.00
Want to share your experiences with our readers? Or simply want advice? Write to us! We’ll publish the best, funniest and most interesting in each issue of Connected. The writer of this issue’s Star Letter receives a Silencer, worth £52.00 Get in touch at: connected@russandrews.com or write to us at: Connected, Russ Andrews Accessories, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 6NS, UK.
Given that the only major component that cost less than the DM37 (itself no chicken) was the set of speaker jumpers - I was delighted. I put it down to following Russ Andrews’ philosophy that the best approach in Hi-Fi is to get your components working at their best. For this you need a welldeveloped infrastructure - power, supports and cabling. The moral is: the 10% rule for cabling etc. really isn’t so sensible. It’s also what is important to you. For me, the stereo image was wonderful. Invest in your infrastructure and you’ll not be disappointed. Andy Trimble, by e-mail
Horses for Courses Thanks for two thoughtprovoking articles by page five in the Winter issue of Connected. Having just joined the phone/iPod set after being allanalogue for over 40 years, and having hated mp3 sound since Issue 34 Spring 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 23
LETTERS
first I heard it, I now feel that it’s a “horses for courses” matter. For example, I can happily use the Radio iPlayer if I need to catch a programme, but can’t bear the lifeless sound of BBC radio via DAB on my Ruark bedside set, preferring always to use the FM section. What I do object to, however, is hearing the sickening way that the BBC, hitherto the last word in broadcast and audio standards, is having to push DAB on all fronts (not even DAB+) to its largely unsuspecting public. I hope not to get Digital Radio for Christmas. Whilst I missed the Gadget Show, I can’t believe the outcome of the test, however it does seem to have been influenced by the methods used, and it must also come back to the horses and courses point; most people, of course, don’t care anyway, until Russ, and others like him, show them the truth. By the way, my (onceunwatchable) Pioneer Laserdisc player and LED television are now producing far crisper video results since I tried powering them through my PowerBar mains extension. Truly staggering! I can’t wait to investigate an Oppo Blu-ray player. Michael Spencer, by e-mail
24 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 34 Spring 2016
Dressing the Cables I was fascinated by the article in Connected for Autumn 2015 about the system belonging to Guy Pettigrew – but for the wrong reasons. The pictures on pages 16 and 17 of the tangle of cables behind his hi fi cabinet look very much like the scene behind my equipment. I’ve often read advice about how signal and power cables should be kept apart, and if they cross they should do so at right angles. “Dressing the cables” is what the magazines call it. That may be achievable in a simple system of source, integrated amp and loudspeakers. With several sources, and a phono amplifier, preamp and monoblock power amps it becomes impossible. I’ve imagined a layout with rows of power sockets at varying heights up the wall, allowing a short straight run to the component on each shelf. If the signal connections on the back of the CD player were as close as possible to those on the amp, and if you had short customlength cables sufficiently stiff that, once bent into the shape that kept them well apart from each other, they would retain it, and if your speaker cables were also stiff, so that they dropped down to the floor and then turned at a right angle to run along beneath the power cables crossing above them – yes, with all that, you might achieve the ideal layout. I’m not sure how
you would have got behind it all to make the connections in the first place, though. Then I looked at the updated grounding guide on page 6. I have a system like that – a preamp and two mono power amps, with five source components. If I got to work on the grounding I could add another nine or ten cables behind the cabinet! But at some point those who live in the real world, where domestic considerations have to modify hi fi aspirations and bank balances modify everything, may feel it’s time to say “enough is enough”. Tony Williams, Hampshire We agree, Tony, that you should, if possible keep the signal cables (your interconnects and speaker cables) away from your power cables – but in a complex system with several components, this isn’t always practical or possible. However, our cable socks are ideal for gathering your cables together – I use them on my system to group interconnects together; they’re a great way to keep them away from my power cables. JA
Cable Socks from £3.35 per metre
LETTERS
Long Live SuperFuses
STAR LETTER
I first spotted the SuperFuse in your Summer 2015 Connected. I had cleaned the pins on my 13A plugs etc but never gave a thought to the fuses so I decided to clean and polish them, in fact until the coating was gone and I was down to the copper. This was to negate the impact of replacing a dirty fuse with a SuperFuse or any other that was new and clean. Doing this really improved the sound and is definitely worth the trouble. This satisfied me for a while but then I started looking at the internet at other fuses and on the forums where nobody seemed to have a good word to say about the fuses or Russ Andrews!
a revelation. After a couple of weeks I had to send for another for my preamp and relegate the gold one to the power amp. With the second one in place the sound was even better. Deeper bass, everything more musical and biggest gain of all for me was the surround sound effect. CDs that had shown no sign of this before now had bits playing in both ears, even the classical music gave me more of this effect. I have not gone down the Russ Andrews upgrade path simply because I had already had reasonable quality cabling etc. from years ago before I had even heard his name but the results from the SuperFuse are making me wish I had known of his products earlier.
Eventually I A lot of my set up is decided to buy a ancient – 1985 NAD competitor’s fuse pre- and power amp, SuperFuses - £25 each – it had the same 1996 Celestion A3 sort of specifications as speakers and 2010 Consonance the SuperFuse, it was only £15 2.2 CD, so if it can work on mine, delivered as against £28.95 and it may well work on anybody’s – most importantly for me it was what have you got to lose - £3.95 gold plated rather than silver as I postage at the worst! had had a bad experience many Hugh Atkinson, Lincolnshire years ago when a silver speaker Thanks ever so much for your letter cable had given me a very bright, concerning your experience with brittle sound. On listening to this our SuperFuses™. It is very in place on my CD power lead, I decided it was very slightly better frustrating that there is so much negative talk about me and my than my polished copper fuse. products on these forums – almost So my appetite was whetted and exclusively from those who have I eventually sent for a Russ never actually tried them (but, of Andrews SuperFuse just before course, there’s no point trying them Christmas. Big mistake – I should because they can’t possibly make have sent for two. The sound was
any difference can they…?). Fortunately, we are able to rely on the feedback from the many customers who have tried them and been more than happy with the results. I must thank you for being one of those and not being put off by of these forum ‘trolls’. I’m pleased that you have had such a good experience with the fuses – they are the culmination of many hours work trying to get the performance just right. If you don’t already use my PowerKords™ for your equipment, I would encourage you to put these to the same test, taking advantage of the 60 day trial period again. Although your equipment is older it still remains good, so I’m sure there’s lots more potential to be released from it. Russ
Thoughts on Listening Customer John Corts responded to Simon’s article What are you listening for? in the previous issue of Connected (33). Thanks for a very interesting article. As a long standing customer both personally and through my son in law can I offer a few thoughts. I will not try to match your four pages and just try to give a concise summary. In purchasing a music system of whatever cost, most customers have to approach it from a cost benefit viewpoint, seeking to get the best musical experience at a cost they can afford and of course related to their interest in music and the need for domestic harmony. (All that hardware on Issue 34 Spring 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE
25
LETTERS
display is not a good addition to the average home...) Buying the best equipment for your budget is very important but difficult. One has to rely on reviews, help from your local dealer and hopefully a good listening experience. The latter is often unavailable and is probably a cause of later problems. However, I think that the specialist magazines often contribute to this by suggesting that this year’s model is better than last years... introducing feelings of unnecessary dissatisfaction in many cases. Once the equipment arrives you should try to buy the best available recordings. However, this is largely limited to the classical repertoire but a wise choice is better value than add ons to your system. Now you can start listening. This is very important but it is also a very difficult area for most nonspecialist listeners, as Simon indicates in his article. Like art and wine etc, full enjoyment requires education, training, experience and really giving time to the subject. Properly appreciating the Van Gogh you refer to needs an educated eye; appreciating an ‘82 vintage as opposed to a ‘93 needs an educated palate; really
appreciating the subtleties Simon refers to needs an educated ear. The majority of viewers, drinkers and listeners do not have these skills, yet despite this they do experience real enjoyment in the main. Indeed it is the expert who recognises the lack of a quality who is often the most unhappy? In the real world most people will spend their money on the hardware. The route to improved enjoyment at a later stage in life will usually come from buying the latest speakers or similar. Right or wrong this is often seen as better perceived value than the products offered for sale by yourself and others. To quote the reviewers [who have reviewed products in the Hi-Fi press] quoted in Connected, for £746 I can experience “a perceptible reduction in background noise and an overall improvement in refinement”; for £400 I can experience “a natural midrange and more expressive crescendos”; for only £43 I can experience “a slightly smoother top end”. I doubt if these improvements represent good value for most listeners in the real world where domestic life has to be maintained and wife, children and so on take up much of your spare income and time.
Don’t forget to keep in touch... Become a fan on facebook www.facebook.com/russandrews.accessories Follow us on twitter www.twitter.com/russandrewshifi
Connect with us on Instagram http://instagram.com/russandrewsaccessories See us on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/russandrewshifi 26 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 34 Spring 2016
I think that the undoubted appeal of your products is mainly to those whose life is significantly taken up with the Hi-Fi world and who have become involved in the search for ‘improvement’ - a search that is never ending as a comparison between Connected 1 and Connected 33 and the final sentence of Simon’s article shows. Thanks for your patience - I hope these thoughts are interesting. John Corts, by e-mail. Thanks for your comments John. I think you hit the nail on the head when you suggest that “ it is the expert who recognises the lack of quality who is the most unhappy”. This is largely because they focus too much on ‘sound quality’ rather than musicality. If one listens to the musical performance, rather than the quality of the sound reproduction, genuine ‘expert’ listening is open to all. This way, you can even enjoy a poor recording because the quality of the performance still comes through. My point is that it’s only a well set up system with the right infrastructure that will allow you to enjoy the performance in this way. SD.
CONGRATULATIONS! Congratulations to Mr. Wheeler of Belper who was chosen at random from the correct answers to our Connected 33 competition. He correctly answered that our SuperKord-100™ has 8 Hyper-pure copper conductors and he wins the prize of a SuperClamp Ultra.
REVIEW
David Bowie Album: Heroes Label: RCA Year: 1977
Respected reviewer Paul Rigby sheds some light on David Bowie's twelfth studio album Heroes. Part of his ‘Berlin’ period, Bowie temporarily resided in Germany to partly recover and recuperate from his hedonistic lifestyle and partly to escape his family and business pressures. Recorded at the city’s Hansa Studios overlooking the Berlin Wall, the studio was close enough to see the Soviet guards who perused their activities. The studio was enormous, built for symphonic work, it could hold 120 musicians. The equipment was top notch too with a beautiful high ceiling reverb. Bowie’s writing collaborator on Heroes was Brian Eno, “When I first met Eno, he was in Roxy Music,” remembered Bowie “I thought he looked more effeminate than I did. He was wearing leopard-skin and high-heel shoes. Not the professor we know today.” The album was done off the cuff, improvised to an extent that any planned ideas tended to fizzle out in the studio where a new idea over-rode anything noted on paper.
Eno’s role was to change the fabric of the music. He wanted to move away from musician-based timing. “I remember walking into the studio one day and Brian was doing one of his counting systems,” said Iggy Pop. “He said that all musicians break up time into bars, 4-beat bar, 3-beat, etc. He said, what about another sense of time to get out of that. He had a long piece of tape running and a metronome. He was counting time, ‘1…2…3…’. When I walked back in he was still going, saying ‘123…124…’. I thought, at that moment, that this is going to change everything.” The title track, a world-wide hit, began as an 8-minute demo. Everyone realised the track was special. Bowie starts all of his vocal tracks with a 'La, La, La’ verbalisation from whence ideas spring. Apparently, from the 'La’s he suddenly sang, “We could be heroes!” He then said that he thought he’d call the track Heroes. This is how most of the album came together. Eno added the shaky, shuddery synth tone with his Synthy suitcase synth controlled by knobs and a joystick whilst Robert Fripp flew in to add the atmospheric guitar wash. Fripp actually plugged his guitar into Eno’s suitcase synth which made the guitar a live filter. Visconti recorded Fripp three times, layering each time to finalise the classic Heroes sound, “When the song was just a piano piece it didn’t say much to me,” added Bowie, “Fripp’s plaintive guitar cry that went through it really triggered off
something emotive in me. It was a song of triumph. It was a song to say that you can overcome some incredible odds.” As far as re-issues go, and the following covers all Bowie releases, not just ‘Heroes’, Bowie’s albums per se have received unwelcome attention from remastering engineers. The Bowie catalogue spent some time on the Ryko label which added unwelcome treble boost to the albums, which usually just sounds too bright. The EMI versions have an EQ boost in the high end as well. Combine that with the compression they also added and the results sound harsh and annoying. Also, Ryko’s gold, ‘Au20 Series’ removed much of the hiss. Trouble is, that’s where much of the high end information lived including: room and reverb ambience, parts of cymbals and guitars. The best CD releases are the original RCA Bowie albums. Whilst not necessarily always sourced via master tapes the CDs are derived from flat transfers. Which means that no information is removed. Check eBay for samples. As for vinyl? The original issues are your best bet.
Paul runs his own website www.theaudiophileman.com Visit it for news, reviews, features and interviews on Hi-Fi and music from vinyl to CD, turntables to speakers, books, DVDs and interviews with the famous, the famously obscure and the obscurely famous.
■
Issue 34 Spring 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 27
Return address: Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal LA9 6NS, UK.
Customer Number
Upgrading biwirable speakers
Reference Code
Jumper cables are replacements for those nasty-sounding brass or gold-plated links that you often find connecting binding posts together on biwirable speakers. Single-wiring often results in better performance than spending money on two pairs of cheaper speaker cable; you’ll often hear more improvements if you spend the same amount on better quality cable and supplement these with high quality jumpers! Our Jumpers use Kimber’s proven 4TC or 8TC woven speaker cable to make this link and we think the benefits are clear to hear, right across the frequency range.
Our jumpers feature: • VariStrand™ conductors (8 for 4TC, 16 for 8TC) • Hyper-pure copper with fluorocarbon insulation • Supplied in pairs (for one pair of speakers) • Available cut and stripped (4TC only) or terminated with bananas or spades
•
PM25 Spades fit binding posts up to 6mm & PM33 up to 8mm
www.russandrews.com/jumpers
60 DAY
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE
Try them in your own system now Kimber 4TC Jumpers Set of four Cut/stripped £42.50 Terminated £84.50
Kimber 8TC Jumpers Set of four Terminated £140
www.russandrews.com Call UK Orderline 01539 797300 Int Tel +44 (0)1539 797300 Buy online at
Exclusive UK distributor
Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal LA9 6NS, UK.
Mail Order Direct • 60 Day Home Trial • Cable Upgrade Scheme • Free Delivery (orders over £100 within UK Mainland)