CONNECTED TO MUSIC & MOVIES Issue No. 36 Autumn 2016
WE ARE
1986 - 2016
30th Anniversary Issue
Amazing Offers • Fantastic Competition • Q&A with Ray Kimber
We’re Celebrating!
of Innovation
Buy online at www.russandrews.com
Call us on 01539 797300
Mail Order Direct • 60 Day Cable Home Trial • Cable Upgrade Scheme • Free Delivery (orders over £100 within UK Mainland)
Welcome
In this issue
This issue of Connected – celebrating our 30th anniversary – has been fascinating to put together. It has seen me trawling through our archives, questioning and interviewing key players, visiting customers, listening to systems and putting together features and articles which tells Russ's story before and after the company was founded in July 1986.
and just glad to be at the end, but with a YellO mains cable he is clearly putting great skill into playing expressively and changing the pace to give meaning and emotion to it. We said "if you can hear that on the lowest of the low in Hi-Fi terms (and many reviewers shuddered with horror when they saw it in our room!), then the better the equipment, the bigger the difference".’
As part of our 30th anniversary celebrations, we've chosen to relaunch a product which was originally launched in the late 1990s, just about the time that I joined the company. Back then, the YellO Power mains cable was the first power cable in a range of just three in total, and was originally completely covered in a bright yellow heatshrink – hence the name YellO.
For me, the fact that Russ had used a portable stereo in the dem was refreshing. First, it showed that our upgrades could really be used on any level of system, and second, it was encouraging to me that he even considered putting it on a portable stereo. When I started out on my Hi-Fi journey, I had put together a system that was very much at the budget end of the scale. I'm sure I wasn't alone when I wondered if it was even worth bothering upgrading the system – I thought quite simply it wasn't good enough. Russ's message, loud and clear, was very much that it was, and I was soon appreciating how much more music I could enjoy from my lowly system.
Before I joined the company, I had received Russ's catalogues and was particularly taken by the fact that he had used YellO with a portable stereo at Hi-Fi Shows. This is what Russ said in our information booklets at the time: ‘At Hi-Fi Shows I often use a portable stereo to demonstrate the benefits of our YellO mains cable over the original. Almost any CD is good for demonstrating the improvements in clarity, information, bass etc. but I have a jazz recording that begins with a solo clarinet playing the intro to 'Mood Indigo'. This short intro shows the improvement in musicality so obviously that most people laugh in amazement at the change. With the original mains cable, the clarinettist sounds bored, rushing the notes
I was delighted when our new products team, after working closely with Kimber Kable, announced that YellO was to be made available again after a decade's absence. The YellO cable sums up what we're about – helping more people to enjoy more music from their systems, and its reintroduction is a fitting way to celebrate our 30th John Armer, anniversary. ■
Editor
Regulars
Editorial First Words News Reviews Letters Competition
3 4 6 38 40 47
Changing Times in Hi-Fi Russ Andrews Timeline Q & A with Ray Kimber Music from 1986 Customer System What Hi-Fi 40th Anniversary Dalton’s Deliberations 30 Years in the Industry
14 18 23 24 26 34 37 44
Features
Products
New Products
Icons from RA & Kimber: Russ Andrews PowerBlock Kimber 4PR speaker cable
Special Offers
8 30 32
YellO Power Introductory Offer
8
10% off PowerBlocks, with Half Price PowerKord-300 option 30 25% off 4PR speaker cable
What Hi-Fi Subscription Offer 15% off TT-1 turntable cable WIN a Silver PowerKord
32
36 39 47
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.
Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 3
Russ’s First Words
The First 30 Years 30 years ago my wife Sue and I started Russ Andrews Accessories. That’s long enough for the kids to grow up, run off to join a circus, travel the world, join a commune etc etc! But 1986 wasn’t the beginning of course, it was really the end of the beginning. It all began 17 years before that in 1969 when I discovered what I REALLY wanted to do. My career; my life’s work. You can read more about my first forays into Hi-Fi, first as a Hi-Fi dealer and then as an R&D consultant, in the Russ Andrews Timeline on page 18.
three years to be able to articulate what I could hear, but I never again allowed more than one pair of speakers at a time in my retail demonstration rooms.
The discovery of this degrading effect opened my mind to the possibility that other, hitherto undiscovered, outside influences might affect the sound quality of a Hi-Fi system. I discovered the degrading effects of poor mains supply, mainsborne interference and transient spikes, cable The realisation that directionality and system supports. The first As a Hi-Fi dealer selling something outside of the glimmerings of my concept equipment in a Hi-Fi shop, system could make of there being an I discovered that having other loudspeakers in the profound differences to the infrastructure that the hardware operated in came room degraded the rhythm most important attribute into my mind. I realised that and timing and musicality the sound and the musical of the system playing. The of a system was my first quality of a system was realisation that something Hi-Fi OMG! moment. affected by everything outside of the system could around it; not just by the make profound differences hardware itself. All this went against conventional to the most important attribute of a system was wisdom. Remember that this was an era when it my first Hi-Fi OMG! moment. It took me about was believed that all amplifiers sounded the same, any turntable would do the job and the most important component in a Hi-Fi system was the loudspeaker. It was a real ‘Flat Earth’ world. Thus the groundwork was laid well before we launched RAA Ltd. I was a well-established maverick! The years since 1986 have seen both the continued development of the earlier products and the launch of new products based on new discoveries: the early Torlyte platforms and
4 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
Russ’s First Words just keep coming. One that springs to mind is Super Burn-in: it was many years in development by Ben Duncan, and then with further optimisation by us to find the best recipe for each application. A huge effort and expense… but the results are truly astonishing. More recently our work on earthing and grounding has delivered huge benefits to the sound of The mid 1990s witnessed our biggest innovation every level of system for very modest costs. A and complete break with the ‘correct’ way of benefit of our grounding products is that a lot of doing things in the Hi-Fi the work for the customer is of industry. We abandoned the DIY kind: a little bit of work the ‘Manufacturer – Dealer for you, but it means that the – End User’ business Over the years we have cost effectiveness is very model, cut out the middle attractive. evolved into a modern man and went straight to At the other end of the cost the customer. Our new multi-channel internet(but not effectiveness) scale is Mail Order business was the DDE-1 disc enhancer. Coan immediate success and based supplier with a developed with Paul Houlden, the company started to unique approach. it must be the last word in CD grow very rapidly. Over enhancement. I certainly the years we have evolved never want to listen to another into a modern multiCD that has not been treated! channel internet-based supplier with a unique approach. Our Connected Magazine, 60 Day But launching whizzo new products is only one Money Back Guarantee, Lifetime Warranty, and way in which we meet our customer’s needs Cable Upgrade Scheme – and the ability to speak (your needs!). You don’t just need cables or to an expert if you email or call us – has brought accessories, you need to be supported in your us into very close contact with our customers love of music and how to get the best music and their needs. Meeting those needs is at the from your replay system. The creation and very heart of our success and always will be. development of a business that can do all of that, supported by a dedicated team that can deliver Hardware upgrading work led to the design and it, is what we have really achieved over the last manufacture of our own range of amplifiers, 30 years. That, and the backing of a fantastic preamps and loudspeakers. The apogee of this network of customers who appreciate our efforts work can be heard in the system I created for my and push us in wonderfully positive ways to friend Chris Bonar and, of course, in my own do better. Over the years you have more modest system. His is a fully given me so many good ideas and active 3-way system whilst mine is an interesting problems to solve. Long active/passive hybrid. You can read may it continue! about Chris’s system on page 28. turntable stands became a full range of system supports; a large range of mains-cleaning products continues to develop; my own early cable designs were dropped in favour of the remarkable KIMBER range, which now benefit from our advanced RFI-reducing technology in the SD versions.
New developments and products
Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 5
News
Come and see us at the National Audio Show Come and see us at the National Audio Show at Whittlebury Hall Hotel, near Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire on 17th and 18th September 2016 where we will be situated in the Becketts room on the first floor. The show is a great opportunity to hear the world’s finest audio products, from budget to high-end, in one place. It’s also a good opportunity to learn more about audio too: the organisers run seminars throughout the weekend, including how-to set up your system, how to stream music around your home, how to turn your computer into a high-end audio source and how to control everything from your Smartphone and tablet – and more.
CANJAM is the premier UK show dedicated to Hi-Fi headphone listening. It’s organised by the popular Head-fi.org forum and has a reputation for presenting the top brands from the world of headphones. Simon attended CANJAM in August to support Cavalli Audio and Mr Speakers who were using PowerKord-100s along with Kimber’s Axios headphone cables and various Kimber interconnects. Combined with the new range-topping Liquid Tungston amplifier and Ether Flow headphones, the sound was breathtaking. For a full assessment of the show, see Simon’s report on our blog at www.russandrews.com/canjam2016
As ever, we’ll be there in force showing off many of our products - including the new ones - and we will have a well-stocked shop with a Show Discount too. Russ and the team will be on hand to offer system upgrading tips and advice, so come along and say hello!
New Pricing The strength of the US dollar against the pound has meant that regrettably there have been some rises in our retail price of Kimber Kable and products – such as PowerKords – that incorporate Kimber Kable. The new prices can be seen in this issue of Connected and on our website. If prefer, you can download our e-catalogue which is at russandrews.com/catalogue
6 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
News PROMOTION
New power supply for Michell Gyrodec turntable
FREE 3 MONTH
SUBSCRIPTION TO TIDAL
WITH ANY NEW PURCHASE OF A MERIDIAN AUDIO PRODUCT
READY
Don’t forget! Meridian Audio’s promotion for a free 3 month subscription to Tidal runs until 31st October. Meridian has teamed up with Tidal, the high fidelity audio streaming service, to offer a complimentary three-month subscription. The offer is open to anyone buying a Meridian product before 31st October 2016. Normally £19.95 per month, to claim your free 3-month trial, you must register your Meridian product on Meridian’s website and you will be emailed a voucher code. Visit www.russandrews.com/meridian to find out more. Tidal has just won the Group Test Winner award in Hi-Fi Choice ‘Sweet Streams’ review of music streaming services.
”Tidal is still the one to beat thanks to its great performance.” Hi-Fi Choice, Sept ‘16
Those of you with Michell Gyrodec turntables will be pleased to know that we’ve developed a version of our stunning PowerPak Pro for use with it. The PowerPak Pro is fitted with the correct 3-pin socket for use with the power supply lead fitted to Gyrodec’s motor. The PowerPak Pro is a very high performance DC power supply. It starts life as an already very good switch mode power supply - the very best and most musical one we’ve ever found - which we then upgrade with Kimber Kap capacitors and Kimber Kable internal wiring. For good measure, we fit a Silencer mains filter in circuit too. The PowerPak Pro is fitted with an IEC socket to allow you to connect your choice of mains cable. If you want the very best performance, it’s worth having the cable upgraded from the motor. The existing cable is wired directly to the Gyrodec’s motor, but we can perform the re-wire for you; you will need to send the motor to us. Prices start at £70; contact us to find out more about this service.
PowerPak Pro™
for Michell turntables
Code: 1921
£299.00
Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 7
yellOPower™
YellO Power is Back! There’s never been a better time to upgrade your power cables. Back in the 1990s, one of our most popular products was the YellO Power mains cable. Designed to offer a cost-effective introduction to the benefits of our woven PowerKords, YellO used slightly less-pure copper than that used in our PowerKords, and PVC insulation rather than the fluorocarbon used in the better power cables. It did, however, feature Kimber’s unique weave that is proven to reject Radio Frequency Interference.
YellO Power was replaced in 2005 with the nonwoven PowerMax but we were always a little sad to say goodbye to the original design. But the good news is YellO Power is back! For our 30th anniversary we’ve updated the original design, using a variation on the PVC-insulated copper. Like the original design, YellO Power features eight woven conductors (four for live and four for neutral). Yello Power replaces the PowerMax cable and in our opinion is the highest performing Hi-Fi power cable available for the price.
Where would you use the YellO? If you’ve yet to upgrade any of the power cables to your system, fitting a YellO Power is the perfect place to start. YellO Power will work well on any Hi-Fi separate component, from sources – turntables, CD players and so on – to preamps, integrated amps power amps. TV screens and Home Cinema components will benefit as well. YellO Power is perfect to use with our PowerBar and X-Blocks mains extensions, making an effective way of connecting them to your wall socket. And if you have any of our power conditioners or power supplies with an IEC socket, it’s a good cable to use to connect those to the mains too.
Russ says...
“YellO Power enables you to play at higher volumes with subjectively lower distortion, revealing previously unnoticed details and delivers deeper, tighter bass. I’ve heard this unassuming cable significantly outperform much higher priced competitors – and at this price you have no excuse not to give it a try!” 8 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
Ideal for
3 Hi-Fi separates 3 TVs and DVD/ Blu-ray players 3 Portable systems 3 Power supplies and mains conditioners
3 Mains extensions
Wonder why it is called YellO Power? The very first YellO Power cables were protected by a bright yellow heatshrink which gave its name to the cable. Customer feedback meant that we changed this to a conventional black techflex covering with a single yellow heatshrink carrying the name of the cable. The new YellO Power cable is similar in style to this, but features two yellow heatshrinks as a nod to both its name and its former appearance.
£30for30
DAYS
What’s in a name?
30
ANNIVERSARY
E D I T I O N
Special Introductory Offer
ORDER BY 7th October 2016 and get your yellOPower™ for just £30! Code 1050
1.0m 1.5m 2.0m Upgrading
After 7th October
£60.00 £75.00 £90.00
NOW! £30.00 £37.50 £45.00
If you like what YellO Power is doing for your system, remember that our Cable Upgrade Scheme means that we will buy back your YellO Power cable if you want to upgrade it to one of our higher-performing PowerKords. Within a year, we will give you 100% of the purchase price back.
High performance UK 13A mains plug
For more information visit www.russandrews.com/upgradescheme
Fitted with Russ Andrews 13A fuse
Flexible braided protective sheathing High purity copper insulated with PVC
made with Unique woven cable design effectively removes mains interference
High performance IEC
WARRANT Y
We are so confident that you will love the new YellO Power that we give you 60 Days to try it at home - if you’re not 100% satisfied we’ll give you your money back.
We cover against any manufacturing faults and defects for a minimum of 25 years. Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 9
Updated PowerBar™
The NEW Updated PowerBar™ If you have yet to upgrade the power to your Hi-Fi system, one of the easiest ways to do this is to upgrade the mains extension that supplies your kit. And our updated PowerBar is one of the simplest ways you can do it.
High performance sockets have a tight grip and positive ‘click’ when a mains plug is inserted
PowerBar features high performance sockets, internal wiring linking the sockets together (no cheap busbars which can compromise performance) and an IEC socket to connect your choice of mains cable – our new YellO Power cable is a perfect partner.
SUPER BURN-IN LITE Sockets and cabling benefit from a ‘lite’ version of our Super Burn In process
You have the choice of four, six or eight sockets and we can optionally fit the SuperClamp for effective surge and spike protection. PowerBar now comes with sleek aluminium extruded casework which makes it look even neater - just the thing to supply power to your kit.
Where can I use it?
PowerBar is an ideal starter mains extension for any level of system. Its high performance sockets mean that it is equally at home powering a high-end system as it is an entry-level Hi-Fi or Home Cinema. Dimensions
Brackets fitted to PowerBar mean that the extension can be wall-mounted, if required
PowerBar™ 4 Way 6 Way 8 Way
WARRANT Y
Code: 1169
£99.00 £129.00 £159.00
Add a SuperClamp for £10.50
60mm Width x 48mm Height 540mm length (8-way) 415mm length (6-way) 290mm length (4-way) 10 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
Remember, until 7th October 2016 YellO Power cable is just £30 for 1m, making it a great way of connecting your PowerBar to the wall socket.
NEW Axios-8 Cables Axios-8 is a new addition to Kimber’s range of headphone cables. Using half as many conductors as the original Axios, Axios-8 uses four conductors per channel (eight in total).
Like the original cables, Axios-8 features Kimber’s very flexible pure copper conductors and FEP insulation; Axios-8 is also hand-braided to give a seamless, woven transition at the point where the cable splits. All connectors feature hand-polished wood accents. See the full range of Axios cables at russandrews.com/axios. Axios cables are individually hand crafted to order and delivery is approximately four weeks.
WARRANT Y
8 wire Straight 1.2m £324.00 2.0m £390.00 3.0m £472.50 4.0m £555.00 5.0m £637.50
8 wire 1Y
Axios-8 is available for the following headphones: Abyss AB-1266 Beyerdynamic T1 Audeze LCD-X LCD-XC LCD-2 LCD-3 EL-8 Open EL-8 Closed
Enigmacoustics Dharma D1000 HiFi Man HE1000 / HE-6 McIntosh MPH1000 MrSpeakers ETHER ETHER C
Oppo PM-1 / PM-2 / PM-3
Sony MDR-Z7
1.2m 2.0m 3.0m 4.0m 5.0m
£499.00 £565.00 £647.50 £730.00 £812.50
Cable formatted as a ‘1Y’ cable – a single 3.5mm or ¼” jack terminating at 2 earpiece connectors. For Sennheiser HD800 add £100 per cable.
Pioneer SE MASTER-1 Sennheiser HD800 / HD650 / HD600 / HD580
See the full range of Axios cables at russandrews.com/axios.
8 wire 2Y 1.2m 2.0m 3.0m 4.0m 5.0m
£649.00 £715.00 £797.50 £880.00 £962.50
Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 11
Updated AbZorber™
The AbZorber™ has had an update! What others think
Hot on the heels of our new PowerPurifier mains filter, the AbZorber is the latest of our power conditioners to benefit from an update. The AbZorber now comes in the same attractive, rack-friendly case as the PowerPurifier which means that both of them can sit neatly next to each other in your Hi-Fi rack.
Paul Rigby reviewed the AbZorber in the March 2013 issue of Hi-Fi World. Testing it with a variety of music he found the effect was immediate on plugging it in: “your favourite records suddenly benefit from a lowering of the noise floor”. Listening to Yo La Tengo’s track Fog Over Frisco, Paul noted that the “previously invasive twangy guitar was appreciably calmed” and he could “hear the cymbals properly for the first time”.
What is the AbZorber?
Designed by Ben Duncan, the AbZorber is a type of power conditioner that works to reduce the effects of spike activity and noise in Hi-Fi and Home Cinema systems. AbZorber works to reduce the effect of mains spikes within normal mains voltages – something that in our opinion conventional spike protecting components don’t address.
More about the AbZorber
Mains spike and surge activity occurs all the time in domestic mains systems and, although it’s very rare to get the kind of surge or spike that will actually damage equipment, this activity can sap the dynamics from your system, leading to more lack-lustre sound and pictures. Our SuperClamps and MegaClamps address a large part of this issue that occurs outside of normal mains voltages, and a good job they do too! These work by grabbing spikes and surges as they hit above approximately 340V. While they are effective, what they don’t do is mop up the residue of these spikes within normal mains voltages. Ben Duncan researched and designed the AbZorber to address this specific problem because, from an audio perspective, the noise created by these inverse spikes can negatively
12 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
Summing up, he stated “The Russ Andrews AbZorber is a seemingly simple piece of technology in appearance and to use… but it works hard to remove deleterious noise, improving all aspects of the spectrum”.
affect the system’s musicality, taking the ‘life’ out of the experience. Uniquely, the AbZorber components work within the normal mains voltages up to 240V, ‘mopping up’ these residual effects of spike activity. As far as we are aware, no other product does this. 999.00 800.00 600.00 400.00 200.00 0.00 -200.00 -400.00 -600.00 -800.00 -999.00
999 800 600 400 200 0 -200 -400 -600 -800 -999
0.00m
0 0m
8.00m
16.00m
24.00m
32.00m
8m
16m
24m
32m
40.00m
40m
The top graph show a simulation of spike activity on the mains waveform, with spikes, represented by vertical lines, of 1000V. The lower graph shows a simulation of the effect of the AbZorber, showing the reduction in spike intensity.
Updated AbZorber™ Unique design reduces the effect of inverse spikes
WARRANT Y
We cover against any manufacturing faults and defects for a minimum of 25 years.
LED light shows when unit is in operation
UL94 V0 rated ABS box chosen for sound quality and aesthetics – sounds better than metal casework
What to use it with
Passive, parallel design simply needs to be plugged in close to your system
Half width casework means it will sit comfortably on a Hi-Fi shelf, and can sit alongside a Power Purifier if required
Because the AbZorber technology is unique, it can be used either on its own, or alongside our other power conditioners; Fit an AbZorber and a Power Purifier together and you will create a really pure mains supply. For best results, plug in the AbZorber as close to your system as possible – a spare socket in the mains extension that powers your Hi-Fi system is ideal. The AbZorber can be used with Hi-Fi and Home Cinema systems of all levels.
AbZorber™ We are so confident that you will love the new AbZorber™ that we give you 60 Days to try it at home - if you’re not 100% satisfied we’ll give you your money back.
The AbZorber is fitted with a 10A IEC socket input for your choice of power cable. We recommend a YellO Power™ cable or PowerKord™
Code: 1445 £560.00
Buy an AbZorber before 7th October and partner it with a YellO Power cable for just £30! Total cost £590. Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 13
1986 1986
Changing Times In Hi-Fi
An awful lot has happened in Hi-Fi since the company was founded. Back in 1986 we saw the introduction of the first true high-end CD player in the form of the Meridian MCD-PRO but despite the ‘CD revolution’ the world was still dominated by vinyl and cassette. Since then we’ve seen any number of formats come and go; in addition to those already mentioned we’ve also seen DAT, LaserDisc, VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, MiniDisc, Mp3, Hi-Res files and now streaming is the latest. But what of the forgotten products we’ve been offered over that time?
Simon Dalton takes a look back at some new components from 1986, 1996 and 2006 …
Yamaha Digital Sound Field Processor DSP-1 reviewed in Hi-Fi Answers, August and October 1986 by Keith Howard.
Amongst Yamaha’s diverse interests in the 1980s was a combined expertise in both architectural acoustics and LSI integrated circuits. These interests came together in the form of the DSP-1 Field Processer, a device designed to revolutionise the way we experience music in the home. The technology evolved from digital signal processing which Yamaha developed to recreate ambient acoustics in the primary stages of concert hall design. Their knowledge enabled them to represent the acoustics of a new venue before any building began, giving the architects a flying start at creating a venue that sounded good.
The DSP-1 offered a range of acoustics to replicate venues in which the music was likely to have been recorded: so there were three different sizes of concert hall, two churches, a stadium and jazz club to name a few (there were twelve in all). Despite an initial instinct to the contrary, Keith Howard found that he was actually quite impressed with Yamaha’s demo: “on choral and
Yamaha Digital Sound Field Processor DSP-1 14 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
Changing Times In Hi-Fi
orchestral programme in particular” he writes, “the results were intriguingly impressive. The soundstage deepened and widened in a dramatic but quite natural way… and the impression of being in a real acoustic was considerably more convincing than with any [other] demonstration I have heard”. The unit did not come with any of the necessary ancillary devices – four additional loudspeakers and four additional power amps to be precise! – but Yamaha did supply their own 4-channel amp to go with the DSP-1 at an additional cost. Set-up from there on was reasonably straightforward with the DSP-1 slotted in between the pre or integrated amp and the power amps.
“the answer, of course, is that it doesn’t. How could it when in the strictest sense it cannot be called high-fidelity, since it doesn’t recreate the original but second-guesses it.” It’s not too surprising then that this particular type of DSP tech never really became mainstream in the Hi-Fi world, though of course digital signal processing itself is still used extensively today.
Given its impressive results, and at a comparatively affordable price (£599), whatever happened to this technology? Well, of course such simulated acoustics are now part and parcel of every AV amp on the market, with greater and lesser success. But Keith puts his finger on the problem when he addresses the question of whether this tech pointed the way forward for Hi-Fi: Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE
15
Changing Times In Hi-Fi
Moving forward 10 years and we find a landscape where multichannel audio has become far more commonplace in the form of ‘surround sound’. But it’s not this that has taken my attention from the period… It was only a matter of time: remember those tedious days of having to get out of your seat to flip an album over or, heaven forbid, select a different track? Back-breaking wasn’t it? Well, CD put an end to all that. But then we seemed to find the physical exertion of changing the disc after every album too much like hard work. Thank goodness for those inventive types who brought us – yes, you’ve guessed it – the CD multiplayer! Life would never be the same again. Five players on test in the July/August 1996 issue of Hi-Fi Choice magazine could take up to six(!) CDs and play them one after the other – or any combination thereof. You’d never have to get off your seat again (there were even some players that could keep you going for around five days!). 16 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
1996 1996 Of those five units on test two are likely suspects from Kenwood and Sherwood, both of which unsurprisingly receive a lowly two stars for sound quality. But there’s also the NAD 515 and Harman/Kardon FL8300 which seem to equip themselves rather admirably on the sound quality front. Nevertheless, the review admits, “good single-deck CD players at comparative prices will outperform their multiplay rivals with ease”. Not surprising then that the CD multichanger never really made the grade.
It’s interesting to look back at the multiplayer as another example of the demand for ease of listening, where interaction with the system is kept to a minimum. Today this is reflected in the playlist. Like the CD multichanger, up until recently at least, this convenience was gained at the cost of quality. But now you can stream in CD quality, and with the development of MQA, we have potentially reached the Nirvana of convenience at audiophile standards. Still, I’m not sure whether or not this is too much of a good thing – quantity isn’t always better, even when it is accompanied by quality…
2006
Changing Times In Hi-Fi
2006
By 2006 the ubiquitous iPod had already changed the way the world thought about convenience when it came to music: if the multichanger had offered hours of music on tap the iPod was taking that concept and stretching it to years. Apple were now driving the music market and the question was: “where will they take it next?” The answer, as it turns out, was a shoebox sized device called the Apple iPod Hi-Fi and it was going to “reinvent home stereo”. Unlike many Apple products which have been characterised by their game-changing nature, Apple iPod Hi-Fi was essentially an iPod dock, so it was not a new concept. Where they seemed to be going with this was to take that concept and create a design which offered ‘audiophile’ sound quality in a package reflecting their own house design and build standards. On the latter, they clearly succeeded. Build quality was superb and there was no doubting the quality of the components used, nor the highfidelity motivation to the audio design (the choice of a mid/treble driver design to avoid the problematic crossover frequency in traditional mid/bass designs
is one example). Ultimately, though, for this to be a game-changer, the sound had to be something very special indeed (I’m reminded of the Meridian F80 which certainly did achieve the audiophile standard, though at somewhat more cost…). At launch, Steve Jobs – a self-confessed ‘audiophile’ alleged that he was so impressed with the performance of this speaker that he was “getting rid of my stereo that cost a lot, to go with these things”. Hmm. I’m not so sure any audiophile in the sense we use the term would have found that a sensible decision. For what it was though, the Apple iPod Hi-Fi was impressive, possibly even the best of its type at the time, especially at high volumes where its solid build was able to pack a real punch. The review from the May 2006 edition of Hi-Fi News suggests that even proper audiophiles “in their less critical moments” could enjoy the sound. But it never was – and was never going to be – the start of a revolution in Hi-Fi that it was purported to be. Apple discontinued the device a year after its launch. ■
Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 17
Russ Andrews Timeline John Armer reviews Russ's past and looks at the milestones since the company was founded in 1986. 2016 marks thirty years since Russ Andrews Accessories was officially incorporated. But Russ's background in Hi-Fi stretches further back than that – Russ admits he was 'switched on' to better sound quality as a 14 year old when he heard a friend's father's home-built Hi-Fi. After leaving school he built his own system and started working for GEC Telecommunications as a test engineer which gave him experience in fault-finding and repair. A change of career path took Russ to Edinburgh in the late 1960s to study Chiropody as a mature student: "My wife Sue grew up and went to school in Edinburgh and I'd visited relatives there as a child so we decided to move up there". To supplement his grant, Russ took a part-time job at a Hi-Fi shop and before long was offered a partnership. He jumped at the chance and later was given the option to buy Hi-Fi Corner, a shop on Leith Walk in Edinburgh, becoming MD (and curtailing his studies in Chiropody). It was at this time that Russ first met Ivor Tiefenbrun (founder and now Chairman of Linn products). He knew – quickly – just how good the Linn Sondek LP12 turntable was and how musical it was. Ivor introduced Russ to Julian Vereker, founder of Naim Audio, and Russ became one of the first dealers selling
18 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
Linn turntables with Naim amplification. "Naim were selling their NAP 160 and NAP 200 power amps into the pro audio industry, but I thought they sounded so good that I became the first retailer to sell them to Hi-Fi enthusiasts. Eventually I set up my own shop on Northumberland Street in Edinburgh called Russ Andrews Hi-Fidelity." It was in the late 1970s that all this changed. "I had become bored with retailing, selling other manufacturers' products and I wanted more involvement in creating my own". A bad car accident was the catalyst to moving away from the shop in Edinburgh, which still carried on with the Russ Andrews name until the 2000s. After the move, Russ became a Research and Development consultant for companies like Nytech, Meridian, QED (where he worked with a German manufacturer to develop QED's Incon cables). He also started working with ARC, designing, building and then selling their loudspeakers. Russ's position as a freelance R&D consultant gave him experience in developing amplifiers, tuners, turntables, cartridges, loudspeakers and cables. Its breadth gave him an appreciation of how a Hi-Fi system works as a whole within its environment and meant that he was well placed to develop his infrastructural approach to upgrading a Hi-Fi system – the concept that the mains power, cabling and supports, and even the 'sound' of the room itself – are key to the performance of a system. This in turn led him to create the products that were to become the heart of the company we know today.
1983
Russ Andrews Timeline
The germination of an idea Whilst travelling in the States, Russ came across a spike filter. Recognising its value in cleaning the mains supply, he got the manufacturers to make a version for the UK – but all the prototypes blew up! A lifelong friend, Richard McGinnis who was an engineer at NASA, told Russ about a suppression device that was used in aerospace applications. Russ acquired the parts and built them into a filter which became Clamp 1. Its descendent – SuperClamp – is still in production today.
1984
Russ Andrews Turntable Accessories Linn had originally supplied the LP12 turntable with the Grace 707 tonearm, but when they started supplying their own brand of tonearms, they asked Russ to take over the import and distribution of Grace tonearms and Supex cartridges. Russ formed Russ Andrews Turntable Accessories (RATA) to sell these, and started working with Goldring to produce his own
range of cartridges – the RATA RP range which were both well received and well reviewed.
1984
Introduction of Torlyte As well as offering Turntable tonearms and cartridges, Russ looked to the idea of turntable support. His R&D led to trying Lakeland slate as a support Russ and Sue had moved to a farm close to Kendal on the edge of the Lake District in Cumbria by this time. The slate support initially upgraded the sound of his turntable “but what I later realised” says Russ – “was that the high mass support was masking the sound of a faulty tone arm. When the tone arm was repaired, the slate stand sounded worse”. The resulting stand - Torlyte was developed after many prototypes. Rather than high mass, Russ’s approach was the opposite of the slate support the name Torlyte comes from the fact that it’s a low-weight torsion box design. The initial designs were painted black and while they looked different from those offered today, the
principles remain the same – to support equipment with a stand that is very low mass and rigid.
1986
The Year of Incorporation Russ met Ray Kimber in 1986 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago and was immediately taken with the superiority of his cables’ performance and Ray’s coherent, honest design philosophy. Within a year, Russ became the UK distributor for Kimber Kable and RATA was officially incorporated in July 1986 selling Kimber Kable, Torlyte and turntable accessories mostly through a dealer network throughout the world. At that time, the business operated out of converted stables in Russ and Sue’s farmyard, and Torlyte was manufactured in the barn!
1986
The mains event Russ continued his research in to the mains supply and, working with Kimber Kable, produced his first woven PowerKord in 1986 based on their 4TC and 8TC speaker cables. At that time, Kimber
Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 19
Russ Andrews Timeline Kable was producing mostly loudspeaker cable but Russ encouraged them to make an interconnect based on their internal signal cable. The interconnect was originally called PSB but it was renamed PBJ (it’s now been superseded by Timbre). As far as we are aware, our PowerKords were the first commercially available Hi-Fi mains cables offered in the UK – and to date, we’ve sold over 55,000… and counting!
1991
The Olson commission At the end of the 1980s, Russ was given the opportunity to put all he had learned into practise when his friend Chris Bonar commissioned him to build a cost-no-object system. Russ actually built two systems – one for Chris (see page 26) and one for himself. The resulting Olson II 3 way system was launched at the 1991 Penta Hi-Fi show in London and the systems are still giving great pleasure to this day. A range of amps and speakers, based on the Olson systems, followed.
1993
Outgrowing the stables The business moved into the ‘Chris Bonar cabin’ – really a converted hut in Russ and Sue’s farm yard.
1996 Mail order
By 1996 the company had dropped the ‘Turntable’ part of the name, becoming simply Russ Andrews Accessories and had made the controversial decision to sell its product solely via mail order direct to the customers and not through a dealer network. Russ’s daughters Rohan and Kirsteen came on board and new catalogues were produced which extolled the benefits of upgrading a Hi-Fi system’s infrastructure (previously, Russ’s audiophile catalogues had mostly been lists of parts). The result was a doubling of turnover over the next three years!
2000
New mains products 2000 saw the launch of a range of power products to complement the successful 20 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
PowerKords and SuperClamps. The new PowerBlock – probably our most iconic product – (see page 30) was joined by Silencer, Purifier and SuperPurifier to bring effective mains conditioning.
2000
New offices opened Having outgrown the hut, the expanding company opened new offices in Staveley in the Lake District. Ray Kimber travelled from the US to attend the opening which was carried out by Tim Collins, MP.
2001
15th anniversary products To mark the company’s 15th anniversary, Russ launched a range of Silver PowerKords made with Kimber’s finest woven silver cable and the Crystal range of interconnects. A silver-wired version of the PowerBlock followed soon after.
2001
Russ Andrews Timeline
2005
Best mail order company
Moving to Kendal
Our products have been the winners of many awards from the Hi-Fi press, but we were delighted in November to receive recognition from ECMOD. Effectively the ‘Oscars’ of the catalogue and mail order industry, not only did we receive the award for best catalogue company in our turnover category, but we also received ‘The best of the best’ award, beating the likes of Laura Ashley, RS Components and Scotts of Stow.
We moved offices again in 2005, to the outskirts of Kendal to premises that were more suited to our mail order business – most of our orders now originate from our website (we started selling online in 2003) and via the call centre.
2002 Going Pro
Back in 2000 we had worked with the band Embrace, supplying cables for the recording of their album Drawn from Memory, but in 2002 we worked extensively with the engineers at the Astoria studio in London (owned by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd) to fit both mains and signal cabling, and our Torlyte. Other work in the pro audio field included work on Russell Watson’s home recording studio, and supplying cables to Michael Zimmerling (recording engineer for Simply Red) and Ken Nelson (Gomez and Coldplay).
2006
Connected to Music and Movies This very magazine you are reading was launched back in 2006. Replacing the previous customer magazine Directions, Connected was a new format with more pages and more room for in-depth articles and product features. The first issue contained articles by Robert Harley (Editor of US magazine The Absolute Sound), had a feature on Russ’s Hi-Fi system and saw us celebrating our twentieth anniversary!
2008
Measuring RFI 2008 saw us working with audio electronics authority Ben Duncan and physicist Dr Craig Sawyers to look more closely at the effect of
our power cables on Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). We had been the subject of a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (the ASA) about our claims that our PowerKords can cancel RFI - a complaint which has since been thrown out. But the upshot of the additional R&D was the development of a new range of mains cables with enhanced RFIrejecting capability: The SuperKords, our most advanced mains cable technology.
2008
Balanced Mains As well as working more closely with Ben Duncan and Craig Sawyers, we also started working with specialist transformer designer Paul Houlden to introduce our range of Balanced Mains Units. The first units were the BMU 50 and BMU 150 but they were replaced by the larger BMU 1000, BMU 1500 and the BMU 3000. Paul also manufactures other Ben Duncan-designed products for us – the Zapperators and The AbZorber.
2011 New mains extensions
Our 25th anniversary year saw the launch of our X2 block using Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 21
Russ Andrews Timeline the incredible UltraSockets. The X2 was joined by the X4 and X6 and the UltraSockets made their appearance on our PowerBlock – and as replaceable wall sockets. The following year we launched our very successful Super The team in 2011 Burn In cable enhancement, following extensive R&D by Ben Duncan, which we can apply to all Kimber Kables.
2013
Improving our PowerKords The PowerKord-100, PowerKord300 and PowerKord-500 were launched in 2013 to replace the older Classic, Reference and Signature PowerKords. The new cables featured a number of enhancements including a new large-gauge earth, Noise Reducing Sleeving and the latest iteration of the superb WattGate plugs – the Evo range.
2013
Our mains products recognised in Hi-Fi Plus ‘Best of the Best’ Writing in the 100th issue of Hi-Fi Plus magazine, Roy Gregory kicked off a feature on ‘The most 22 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
important Hi-Fi of the last 99 issues’ with none other than the Russ Andrews Audio Quality Mains Supply. Roy had reviewed many of our mains products in issue 3 of Hi-Fi Plus (Russ had installed a full Russ Andrews ringmain for him and fitted Silencers, Purifiers and PowerKords) and so taken was Roy that he included it in HiFi Plus’s 100th issue round-up.
2014
Upgrade service reintroduced Our equipment upgrade service had first been offered in the 1990s following Russ’s research into component quality. We were delighted to been able to relaunch it in 2014, offering upgrades on an individual basis to turntables, CD players, amplifiers and loudspeakers.
2015 Kimber Axios
Kimber launched the stunning Axios headphone cable last year which features a new, innovative woven design with a seamless transition where the cable splits to connect to the earpieces. The cable is already the winner of a Hi-Fi Choice, 5 Star Recommended Award.
2016 Our thirtieth anniversary!
2016 marks 30 years since the company was incorporated. We’ve chosen this year to reintroduce one of our best-selling and most talked about products – our YellOPower mains cable. Kimber Kable has remanufactured this classic design for us which means that our entry-level power cable is once again made with woven Kimber Kable, bringing the core benefit of the braided design enhanced musicality - within reach of more and more people.
Q & A with Ray Kimber Want to know more about Ray Kimber, the man whose cable designs Russ was so taken with in 1986? We asked him more about recent Kimber Kable products and what music he's been listening to recently… Kimber Kable had been around for about six or seven years before Russ Andrews Accessories was formed. The story about how you originally came up with the idea for a braided cable – you were working as a sound and lighting engineer and you found that the woven design rejected noise and improved fidelity – is a fascinating story. With a background in pro audio, what made you move over into Hi-Fi and form Kimber Kable in 1979? The move to HiFi happened as a natural course of market. The pro people that had heard our cables started to recommend Kimber to retail stereo stores and to their friends. We started to get orders without even trying. I know from talking to you in the past that this counter-rotating braid is the design you are most proud of; it has certainly stood the test of time. Kimber's most recent cable design – the Axios headphone cable – features a variation on this weave. What were the challenges in designing Axios? There were many challenges in designing Axios and it was a project we had been working on for years. I had predicted a resurgence in headphones approximately 10 years ago and knew that we needed to
eventually address this from a cabling perspective. A speaker cable is behind speakers or furniture so isn’t necessarily a focal point in a room, whereas a headphone cable can be worn almost like a piece of jewellery. The cable needed to sound good, feel good and contain a certain emotional allure. We researched every detail we could think of in Axios, down to designing a special braiding machine that we built in house to braid the cable in such a way that we didn’t need a solder joint at the breakout for the leads. Do you think that the effect of a high performance headphone cable in a headphone set-up is as significant as speaker cables in a conventional Hi-Fi system? I truly do. A really great pair of headphones will cost less than a really great pair of speakers and the cabling for a really great pair of speakers costs much more of course than a headphone cable. Headphones essentially eliminate room acoustics which allows people to listen very critically. Improvements that are evident in a great set of speakers with great cabling can even be more obvious when used with a great set of headphones and a great headphone cable. What is the most recent recording you have made with IsoMike? Robert Silverman recorded in 256 DSD. It will be released in 4.0 and also vinyl. We anticipate a release by the end of the year. What music have you been listening to recently?
Everything from Twenty One Pilots to pipe organ recordings. Do you prefer to download music or listen to physical media? I prefer to own and listen to physical media. The time and effort put into artwork and the booklet of physical media is something that I think gives extra meaning to the music and is something that should be appreciated. Often times the photos, or drawings or insight that the album artwork/booklet provides allows us to better understand where the musician was coming from when the songs were written. A lot has changed in audio over the last 30 years since our company was founded. Do you think technology will continue to push performance in the next 30 years, or will it simply deliver more features and convenience? I think we will continue to see the advancement of both convenience and performance. Even now we see that people are demanding better quality sound and also demanding more convenience. We want our music to be portable but at the same time many of us are not wanting to sacrifice fidelity for portability. I believe that a mix of convenience and performance will continue to drive this Hi-Fi industry forward. Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 23
1986 in 5 Albums A recent research project carried out by Imperial College and Queen Mary University, London, looked at the development of music featured in the Billboard Hot 100 between 1960 and 2010. Amongst its many findings, it concluded that the least diverse year for music in that period was 1986! The primary reason for this, they suggested, was the proliferation of the drum
machine, which was overused and created a ‘sameness’ unheard of in any other period. An initial glance at the charts for the year doesn’t make things brighter either. Whether it was down to the drum machine or other factors – like the emergence of market-led producers such as Stock, Aitken and Waterman – there’s plenty evidence to suggest we were not at the height of musical
creativity. Sinitta’s So Macho, The Chicken Song from Spitting Image, Samantha Fox’s Touch Me (I Want Your Body); they’re all there (and we daren’t even mention Five Star!) But before we get too down hearted, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Simon Dalton takes a personal look at some of the more credible albums from the year of our inception.
And a few singles from 1986!
24 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
Dire Straits Brothers in Arms
The Smiths The Queen is Dead
Ubiquitous at any Hi-Fi show, this album had a life beyond any normal CD at the time for two timely reasons. Firstly, the second track on the album, Money for Nothing, became synonymous with the MTV generation, having been played more than almost any other song on the channel. Secondly, and highly relevant to Hi-Fi enthusiasts, Brothers in Arms was the first album to reach over 1,000,000 sales on CD, having been digitally produced and specifically targeted at that market. For many years to come, if you had a demo in a Hi-Fi dealers, you’d be listening to this album, such was its influence in the industry.
In the year that saw The Smiths perform their last ever live gig, The Queen is Dead was released to huge critical and popular acclaim. This is an album that defies the ‘lack of diversity’ accusation: there are no drum machines here! The combination of Morrissey’s acerbic wit and Johnny Marr’s uniquely creative guitar accompaniment, produced an album considered by many to be not only one of the best from the 1980s but of all time. Indeed, in 2006 the album was voted the second greatest album of all time by the NME.
1986 in 5 Albums
Paul Simon Graceland
Pet Shop Boys Please
Madonna True Blue
By the 1980s it would have been easy to suggest that Paul Simon’s career was pretty well washed up. His 1983 album Hearts and Bones had been a commercial disappointment (though, in retrospect, undeservedly so), his marriage had finished and he’d begun to fall into a period of depression. However, a developing interest in South African township music inspired him to visit the country and record with local musicians. The influence can clearly be heard but is creatively mixed with other musical genres to produce an album of eclectic styles that became associated with Simon just as much as the seminal Still Crazy After All These Years from 1975. It wasn’t without controversy though, with a significant number of musicians dismayed at his perceived flouting of the cultural boycott of apartheid whilst others accused him of colonialism. Regardless of how accurate these criticisms were, there is no doubt that for many, Graceland introduced them to musical influences they may not otherwise have discovered.
If any album from this year shows how you can use those drum machines and still produce a unique sound, this is it. The synth driven rhythms of Chris Lowe combined with the lightness of Neil Tennent’s eloquent vocals created a blueprint which was to propel them to the most successful duo in UK chart history. In many ways The Pet Shop Boys mirror The Smiths in their ability to play with upbeat melodies and serious lyrics, and vice versa, in tracks which reflected the contemporary cultural and political landscape: “I’ve got the brains/you’ve got the looks/let’s make lots of money”. Please is characterised by a simpler musical structure to their later work, a foundation from which they could explore the possibilities of electronica from their own unique perspective.
I’ve always been of the opinion that Madonna is a great singles artist but I’ve never been convinced by the albums I’ve heard. True Blue didn’t change my mind. The thing is, to me it always seemed that the singles on albums were padded out with lower quality filler, and musically I don’t see True Blue as convincing me otherwise. So why include it here? Well, sometimes an album has significance beyond its music (and it is worth it for the five singles on there).
The sparse cover was also an indication of the way in which visual elements were seen as part and parcel of the band’s overall aesthetic, later to be developed on both stage and screen.
True Blue was the biggest selling album of 1986, debuting at number one in the UK album charts for the first time by any American artist. In Europe, it topped the album charts for a record 34 consecutive weeks. We were starting to see Madonna the record breaker, the international superstar, the cultural icon, the Queen of Pop, and arguably the most important female recording artist ever. You simply can’t think of the 1980s without Madonna.
Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 25
The Chris Bonar Commission
Words: John Armer. Pictures: Simon Dalton.
Russ, Sue and Chris
Back in the late 1980s, Russ’s friend Chris Bonar commissioned Russ to put together the best system in the world – “cost no object” (though Chris himself denies using these words!). We thought the occasion of our 30th anniversary was just the time to visit and find out more about this system which continues to bring so much pleasure to this day. It was a coolish summer day in August when Simon – camera in hand – and I headed north on the train from Kendal to Chris’s home in Dundee. Russ and his wife Sue were visiting Chris when we arrived at Chris’s expansive 1960s house and it wasn’t long before we were led into the heart of the home: Chris’s listening room. 26 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
Chris is now retired and can devote much time to listening, though in the summer it does have to be fitted around other pastimes including fishing and gardening. Before we settled down for a listen, I wanted to know about how he’d met Russ and more about ‘the commission’.
Half-jokingly I asked Russ if he could build the best Hi-Fi system in the world. “Yes, of course” was his answer. “I first met Russ in about 1974 at his shop Hi-Fi Corner, and most of my Hi-Fi came from there or Russ’s later shop” said Chris. “By the 1980s I was using an LP12 as my source, with Naim amps and Linn Isobariks shoehorned into a small studio room. “By the late 1980s the idea had grown on me - with some encouragement from Russ - that, if
I wanted to achieve the system I really wanted, I wasn’t going to be able to just go out and buy something from a dealer. If I wanted the best, it was going to have to be bespoke. Half-jokingly I asked Russ if he could build the best Hi-Fi system in the world”. Russ jumped in at this point: “Yes, of course, was my answer, little knowing that the resulting system would be my ongoing focus for the next 25 years”. There followed an intense period of R&D and the system was finally completed just before the London Hi-Fi Show at the Penta Hotel in 1991. Chris’s system was the one which was demonstrated at that show. Once the system was completed, Russ built a second one for himself; in the years that followed Russ’s own system proved invaluable as a test bed. Russ would test upgrades on his own system. And if they worked, he would implement them on Chris’s.
The Chris Bonar Commission
The system The front end of the system was, for many years, a heavily-modified Pioneer Laserdisc player. It was a testament to the performance of that player that it was only in 2009 that Meridian’s stunning 808.2i CD player knocked it off the top spot. The Meridian is similarly heavilymodified: it sports a new switchmode power supply, very similar to our PowerPak Pro. The player has also been rewired with Kimber’s finest silver wire and has had extensive internal component upgrades.
previous preamp, the Russ Andrews Silver Reference Active preamp, is still in circuit. Russ explained why: “In theory, we could simply connect the output of the Meridian to the active crossover modules, but the system sounds so much better connected via the original preamp. While not handling source switching and volume control duties, it nevertheless acts as a buffer between the source and amplification; the sound with it is more musical”.
Unlike the Meridian At a fairly early stage, CD player, the How about the preamp is Russ’s own other sources? An the decision was made design. Essentially a Oppo BDP-95, to concentrate on passive control unit similarly combined with an CD playback. upgraded, is active line-level pressed into stage and associated power service for DVDs and Blu-rays, and supplies, the unit uses Kimber’s an upgraded Sky HD box used for silver wire, silver Kimber Kap TV. A JVC D-VHS player is used for capacitors, Vishay resistors and legacy formats. Teflon PCBs. Two 500VA transformers are housed in a TV and video sources are separate box. connected to the system via an Arcam AV9 preamp processor, and The main amplification in each images are projected via a Sony channel consists of two Russ VPL-VW500ES 4K projector. Andrews MPA Silver Reference Although this had not always been monoblock power amps – one for the case in the past, Chris’s each bass driver; a dual-mono Russ decision was that this should be a Andrews mosfet power amp (one two channel system, so there is no amp for each midrange speaker); surround sound and no rear and one more Russ Andrews speakers. monoblock power amp for the Didn’t you have a turntable? I asked. “At a fairly early stage, the decision was made to concentrate on CD playback” said Chris. “You got fed up fiddling with the turntable which was a hobby all to itself” remembered Russ. The Meridian CD player acts as a preamp, with volume and sources controlled by the handset. But the
From the top: Russ Andrews Silver Reference preamp, modified Meridian 808.2i CD player, Sky HD set top box and Arcam AV9 processor in a very early Torlyte cabinet
tweeter/ supertweeters. 1000VA power supplies for each of them are housed in separate boxes. A crucial design feature of Russ’s monoblock power amps is the provision of a separate regulated power supply, derived from its own transformer, for the low level input stage circuitry. “This approach means that the music has dramatically less distortion,
SD Technology features throughout: here used to link power supplies to the crossover modules Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 27
The Chris Bonar Commission
Sources and preamp sits in front of the main amplification and crossovers; which are normally hidden by curtains. The small TV is used when the projector is not in use.
particularly when the system is being driven hard.” Between the preamp and the power amps sit Russ’s own design of active three-way crossover modules. The crossovers are housed in two boxes per channel, one for the mid and one for the treble/ bass. I asked Russ what benefits the active crossovers brought to the performance of the system, over and above his own system. “My own system is an active/passive hybrid, whereas Chris’s is fully active. The active operation gives greater clarity and scale.” Like the amplification, the speakers are Russ’s own design. Each has two separate, decoupled Torlyte cabinets – one for the bass units, and one for the midrange. The tweeters are housed on top of the midrange. Russ explained more about the design. “The speakers are correctly called the Russ Andrews Olson II three way loudspeaker. The design was inspired by work done by Harry Olson in the 1950s using the isobaric principle that he invented. The distinctive shape of the speaker
cabinets is also an Olson design that lent itself perfectly to this isobaric approach. Each cabinet has, behind the visible driver, a second driver in parallel. This arrangement gives a much better output for a cabinet of this size. The system has a very healthy yet controlled bass output.” The two-drivers-per-cabinet arrangement is the reason why there are two monoblock amplifiers driving each bass cabinet, and a dual-mono mosfet amp driving each midrange cabinet; there’s one amplifier per drive unit. The drive units themselves are special; Russ worked with the manufacturer to create them. They are large (15” for the bass and 10” for the midrange), very efficient, and silver-wound.
cabling that hooks it all up? Chris has an ingenious solution to the problem that almost all of us have – the accessibility of the rearmounted sockets to connect and disconnect power cables, interconnects and speaker cables. His amps are on Torlyte racks, behind the speakers, with the backs facing outwards. That means all the connections are accessible, and the mass of wiring that would normally be on view is covered by curtains. It also means that relatively short runs of speaker cables are required. Naturally our SuperKords are used throughout, including the many links from the power supplies to the equipment itself, which have been upgraded most recently. A mixture
The tweeters are Visaton ribbons, two per speaker with one facing upwards to create more of a sense of air and space. A Pioneer supertweeter sits alongside. So what about the Listening position, with Sony projector behind.
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The Chris Bonar Commission
of Kimber Select KS-1030 and KS1036 interconnects with SD modification is used to link sources to preamps and pre- to power amps; Kimber’s KS-3038 speaker cable (with SD mods) link the power amps to the speakers, with Kimber’s silver 8AG speaker cable used to drive the tweeters. I counted at least three of our eightway PowerBlocks used to connect all of the PowerKords to the Kimber ringmain which itself is powered by a 3KVA balanced mains unit.
wholly realistic sense of scale the system reproduces. There are no five-feet-wide violins here; the orchestra is in a palpable sense of space before you, in front of and behind the speakers, with each instrumentalist and singer in defined space. This isn’t a system that impresses you with its sound, because you don’t notice that it has a sound... rather, when it is playing, you are listening to musicians in the space in front of you, while the electronics just vanish.
Ultimately this is a very special Careful attention has been paid to system that has enjoyed continual the grounding, with the casework improvements and upgrades since grounds linked together via an RF it was first put together. We asked Router to external copper earth Chris what his rods. The rods motivation was to themselves are Ultimately this is a very improve the arranged in a star special system that has system. “I’m a bit of pattern for lower a perfectionist in impedance. enjoyed continual things to which I improvements and Our ClarityPro system put my mind, enhancers are in use, upgrades since it was whether it’s with five of them first put together. competitive sailing, positioned behind painting, making the speakers. films or even gardening. My The system itself is in a large living problem, so far as my more room space, about 18ft wide and creative activities are concerned, is 30ft long. Acoustic treatments that when I get as good as I think I were effective yet unobtrusive: can get I tend to lose interest and fibreboards, covered with material move onto something else. so they ‘disappeared’, are attached Happily this has never been the to one long wall to the right of the case with my Hi-Fi. While it has listening position to reduce flutter exeeded the wildest expectations echoes. that I remember having back in the eighties, it is still very much work in We had some time to listen to the progress. The most recent system. My impression was that upgrades, including having most the longer you listened to it, the of my PowerKords converted to more you appreciated just how SuperKords, indicate that if special it was. Yes, it’s a physically anything the pace is accelerating. large system, but it disappears And now that I myself have when it is playing. Drawing you reached the eighties I am into the musical performance, increasingly confident that this will musicians sound skilled, unforced and natural. I was also struck by the always continue to be so!” ■
Detail of the midrange driver
8AG speaker cable, with SD modification connecting the tweeters
The Russ Andrews Olson II 3-way loudspeaker. The Visaton ribbon tweeter can be seen at the top on the right; Pioneer supertweeter is next to it. Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 29
ICONS from RUSS ANDREWS
T H E P O W E R B L O C K™
It’s difficult to comprehend now, but back in 2000 when we launched the PowerBlock, there really was nothing like it on the market
the music in a satisfactory way? The accepted orthodoxy suggested that the only solution was to buy better and better kit. That’s what he’d done, but the orthodoxy had failed him, just as it was failing so many music fans. But by listening and questioning, over time he came to recognise the negative effect that mains noise could have on musical reproduction.
short of revelatory: “Right from the count-in the differences were obvious, with greater immediacy and presence, and far more natural vocals. The whole sound became fuller and much less tinny, with notes from the plucked upright bass which were simply nonexistent before!” He continued, “none of this was subtle and all of it is vitally important to a system which is going to hold your
– and the manner in which both the industry and the Hi-Fi buying public reacted reflected this; they simply couldn’t get enough of it. John Armer, then a fresh-faced new addition to the sales team, recalls that we could not make them quick enough: “as Russ’s research into the impact of mains someone new to the ‘magic of mains’, I couldn’t quality on the ability of a Hi-Fi to provide believe how popular the truly engaging musical reproduction, was PowerBlock was. truly ground-breaking. People scoffed at the Remember, back then, this was something time, but that didn’t stop him – it never has. radically new; there wasn’t attention and entertain you”. This At the time, the PowerBlock was in really anything else like it on the upgrade alone, he suggests, is some ways the culmination of the market at the time and with the major and worth every penny. So years of research he had spent in amazing press reviews it got, the could the simple addition of a developing solutions to this phones never seemed to stop!”. problem. Both the PowerBlock and PowerBlock make any difference Nowadays, we are well aware of when the ring main has already the principles he established were the improvements that can be been upgraded? put to the test towards the end of achieved by upgrading the mains 2000, when Roy Gregory of Hi-Fi+ It’s an interesting question. Most supply, and this is largely thanks to magazine joined Russ to test his people add the PowerBlock into Russ. His research into the impact theories in practice at a customer’s their system before even of mains quality on the ability of a home. considering the upheaval of an Hi-Fi to provide truly engaging additional dedicated ring main, so Because they were wanting to musical reproduction was truly having gone to this trouble, is the examine the whole principle of ground-breaking. People scoffed PowerBlock even necessary? The improved mains, on this occasion at the time, but that didn’t stop answer is an emphatic “yes”. Even they started by upgrading the him – it never has. with all the advantages of the actual ring main feeding the wall Russ came to an understanding of uprated ring main, the PowerBlock socket first. This provided an the significance of mains quality brings “a further improvement in interesting foundation to test the on music reproduction by dynamic range… combined with impact on the system when the listening. Why was it that you much better separation and tonal Powerblock was added later – could have some of the best naturalness”. Even more than this more of that shortly. According to components of the time and yet though “was the significant Roy, the effect the upgraded ring they still failed to communicate improvement in rhythmic and had on the system was nothing 30 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
Hi-Fi Plus Product of the Year 2001
Hi-Fi Choice Best Buy 2006
Hi-Fi Choice Silver Award 2006
timing integrity. Again, right from the first chords the difference was obvious, the band playing as a whole and with far more purpose and energy”. Following the review, the PowerBlock was given a Hi-Fi+ Product of the Year award. Roy wasn’t alone in recognising the significance of the PowerBlock’s introduction to the Hi-Fi market either. Considering a number of mains products in the October 2000 edition of Hi-Fi Choice, Jimmy Hughes picked out the PowerBlock as an exceptional product capable of making improvements that many would only have thought possible by upgrading a key piece of hardware: “the improvement in vividness, clarity, and separation is quite remarkable”. He goes on to conclude that it is “capable of making a fabulous difference to clarity and stereo imagery that needs to be heard to be appreciated” adding that it “brings out the best in your system [and] makes a difference that can’t easily be obtained by other means”. In its basic form, the PowerBlock remains very much same today as it was when we first introduced it, although the MegaClamp is now fitted as standard to all models, adding both high-level surge
Hi-Fi Choice Silver Award 2007
Hi-Fi Choice Recommended 2014
protection and sound improvements to the mix. The most significant
floor has gone way lower and I've reached that Nirvana where you don't hear the system playing music, you ts ke just hear music, and plenty of it… oc S I am quite gob-smacked that my tra Ul th i system can sound so brilliant”. kw
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improvement to the PowerBlock was made back in spring 2012 when we added the option of UltraSockets as an upgrade to the standard SuperSockets. To really grasp the significance of this improvement, you’d have to have the sockets on your original block changed so you could make a comparison. This is exactly what customer Bob Parsons did: “I was confident that there would be an improvement” he said in an email to us, “but I am really quite astonished by just how big an improvement”. He expanded on this by observing that “this is a whole new experience. The noise
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Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 31
1979 ICONS from KIMBER
4PR SPEAKER CABLE The start of something big
1979 to 2016. Spot the difference?
Answer: pretty well nothing. And therein lies the whole Kimber approach to cables; if something is good to begin with, don’t get involved in unnecessary fiddling and tweaking just so you can give it a ‘re-launch’. This philosophy is unusual in our industry and was picked up on in a review of Kimber’s PBJ interconnect in Stereophile magazine back in 2012. There, Stephen Mejias wrote “The fact that Kimber's tried-and-true PBJ—not the Mk.II or v.6 or Special Edition PBJ, but the same old design—has stuck around this increasingly fickle world all this
2016
32 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
time is just one reason to take notice”. When asked how Kimber has managed to keep the price of PBJ so low after all these years, Ray Kimber replied “Every product we make is priced based on actual labor and materials cost. We use the same parts in different ways throughout our products, and we don't throw out good ideas just to have something new to talk about." “Isn't that refreshing?” muses Mejias, “at a time when people seem more interested in what's new than what's needed, Ray Kimber remains dedicated to providing high-quality products that will last for years to come”. Nowhere more is that the case than with 4PR.
Hi-Fi Choice Best Buy 1999
What Hi-Fi 4 Stars 2008
DISCO-TECH
Hi-Fi Choice Hi-Fi Choice Awards Grouptest Winner Winner ‘Best 2011 Speaker Cable’ 2011
Hi-Fi World 4 Globes 2013
you’ll benefit
In what is now nigh on a legend in the Hi-Fi world, Ray from the use of better materials Kimber discovered the RFI reducing properties of and additional weaving cable whilst working on lighting rigs for conductors, but the weave is there throughout. Does discotheques back in the 1970s. He found that the that mean there’s never any reason to move from 4PR? speaker cables were acting as an antenna for noise generated by the lighting and introducing this into the Of course not. But it does mean that, no matter what level of system you own, 4PR will never disgrace itself. sound system. Encasing the speaker cable in a metal conduit helped reduce the noise but had the Sadly, one of the drawbacks of unintended consequence of sticking with the same basic design lowering the fidelity of the 4PR speaker cable is for a product is that the Hi-Fi media, audio as the steel was above all else, like ‘new’. That makes what started it all interacting with the magnetic it difficult to get attention for a back in 1979. field of the speaker cable. product like 4PR. Nevertheless, in
In what is now nigh-on 2012, 33 years after its introduction, Kimber’s website takes up the Hi-Fi Choice magazine gave their story: “Ray had the idea of some a legend in the award for Best Speaker Cable to 4PR, counter-rotating sets of Hi-Fi world. stating that "For sheer musical conductors to cancel the enjoyment, no other cable tested magnetic interaction effect, but this year is on a par with the 4PR"; no mean feat for the then also surmised that the counter-rotating sets of old guy! A year later, it also won their group test with conductors would likely not pick up noise even without the comment that the cable featured “many high-end the conduit. He was correct, the noise was greatly virtues at a budget price, including lovely detail and reduced! But, Ray was also quite surprised at the very well-judged bass, plus sweetly extended treble”. difference in perceived audio quality. It was that 4PR and is one of the first cables we sold and our discovery of noise elimination and improved fidelity experience with it stretches back to 1986. If you are yet that set him to developing cable designs”. to try Kimber speaker cable in your Hi-Fi, this is the The final woven design was so effective that not only perfect place to start. It’s an ideal partner for amplifiers did it reject RFI but also had a significant effect on from the likes of Arcam, Cambridge Audio, Cyrus, Naim perceived sound quality. It was this discovery that or Audiolab – amongst many others. All of these have convinced Ray to develop the cable specifically for the the potential to present a very musical performance audio market. and 4PR will help to release this. 4PR is suitable for both standmount and floorstanding speakers, though 4PR IS BORN you’ll find the latter would benefit even more from the The culmination of this early research and additional conductors found in 8PR if they are larger development was 4PR speaker cable. That models (the doubling of conductors will help to move foundational design was so effective that it has those larger drivers more efficiently). remained largely unchanged for the last 37 years! So good is 4PR that you’ll find it in all measure of systems, 4PR until 7th from budget to high end, making it one of the biggest bargains in the Hi-Fi market. Why so? Well, that basic October 2016 woven design is at the heart of almost all Kimber with Bananas WAS SAVE NOW Kable, so the basic principle of RF rejection is there 2.5m pair £99.00 £24.75 £74.25 3.5m pair £118.00 £29.50 £88.50 from the top to bottom of the range. As you move up,
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See full details at russandrews.com/4pr Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 33
40TH
ANNIVERSARY What Hi-Fi? Sound and If a week is a long time Vision magazine is 40 in politics, then 40 years years old this year, and as in Hi-Fi is a lifetime. their anniversary edition And there’s no denying it: in hits the shelves we asked October 1976, when the first issue of What Hi-Fi? arrived in Simon Lucas, the editor, newsagents, the UK was another to give us his opinion on country. Those old enough to the last 40 years. remember the first Ford Fiesta, The Brotherhood of Man or James Callaghan don’t need me to remind them that what passed for modernity in 1976 wasn’t always, frankly, at the cutting edge of anything.
The very first issue - October 1976
But it’s true, 1976 also saw Concorde’s maiden flight, The Sex Pistols achieve nationwide notoriety thanks to the feckless Bill Grundy, the first Muppet Show and the two Steves (Jobs and Wozniack) launch their computer company Apple – this is the kind of pioneering spirit I’d like to associate with What Hi-Fi? rather than The Best of The Stylistics (the UK’s Number One album at the time the magazine was first published). That first issue cost 35p at a time when a pint of beer cost 32p (and our current cover price (£4.99) is more-or-less comparable to a pint now). And, like every single issue that followed it, the first issue sought to be an impartial and trustworthy guide to the best way to get value for your Hi-Fi money. Beyond that, mind you, it has undergone quite a number of changes.
’Best cartridge under £50‘ featured the RATA RP40 in the 1986 Awards issue 34 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
There was very little colour in the mag, for instance – and what there was inevitably attached to adverts rather than editorial content. And there were so many adverts: from
manufacturers still going strong and from those who’ve fallen by the wayside, and from a huge number of HiFi retailers (it seems every town of any size had a least a couple of independent dealers). The idea that a company could sell electronics using an image of an inviting woman in her scanties was pretty widespread, too. And just as the ads reflected the times, so did the editorial content. Turntables still ruled the Hi-Fi roost, of course, so the comparisons of decks, arms and cartridges was widespread. Cassette featured heavily too, both in terms of decks and cassettes themselves – if you wanted to know about variances in wow and flutter between brands, What Hi-Fi? had you covered. Music centres (remember them?) got a hefty look-in too, as did the first of the exciting new Video Cassette Recorder machines – there was a Sound & Vision element to What Hi-Fi? from the very start. From there on, the magazine simply evolved to reflect the tastes, preferences and requirements of its readers. The first reference I can find to Russ Andrews is in our 1986 Awards Issue; their RATA-styled RP40 cartridge was one of the six 'Best Cartridges Under £50'. Reviews of their other turntable products followed – the RP70 cartridge in October 1987 and the Torlyte
1976 - 2016 turntable stand in March 1988.
RATA Cartridge on test in October 1987
Torlyte featured in this issue from March 1988
Of course, digital audio started to come on strong at the beginning of the 80s, and by the middle of that decade the all-conquering Compact Disc was making significant inroads into vinyl’s dominance – the idea that the future was small and shiny, rather than cumbersome and easily damaged, was pervasive. Tests of groups of turntable cartridges dwindled, replaced by phalanxes of CD players – and a little later, CD recorders. The writing was on the wall for compact cassette too (although reviews of in-car entertainment continued unabated. This was a time when the demand for after-market incar radio/cassette players, preferably with as many buttons and lights as possible, was strong). (What didn’t change for the first twenty years or so were the extraordinarily picky and opinionated reviews of software. LPs, and later CDs, were reviewed with one eye on sound quality, of course, but an equal emphasis on what I would describe as selfconscious ‘authenticity’: Supertramp? Yes please. Prince? Oh we’d really rather not.) And as technological advance followed technological advance, What Hi-Fi? simply adapted accordingly. Through DVD – still the most successful and rapidly up-taken Big New Thing in home entertainment history – and the revolution in television viewing heralded variously by plasma and then LCD technology, Sky, Freeview, successive Playstations and the like, the ethos has never changed. Products were and are
X6 Block won a 5 Star award in this power extensions review in the Sept 2015 issue
reviewed by a team, in a controlled, expensively specified environment, and comparatively, with no consideration other than sincerely assessing the value for money they represent. And that’s true of the cutting edge of today’s technology, be it highresolution audio on disc or via download, 4K television and Bluray players, audio and video streaming services, ever-morecapable smartphones or the through-the-roof market for stand-alone DACs and high-end, high-performance headphones. Have a look at page 36 of this magazine to see how you can get an extremely generous deal on a What Hi-Fi? subscription and make sure you’re always abreast of the products that lead the market. No one can predict the next technological breakthrough of course, but whether or not the future of your home entertainment is an intangible, cloud-based subscription service, OLED TVs so thin and flexible you can roll them up like wallpaper or – let’s not rule anything out – the enduring and unquenchable lure of vinyl records, What HiFi? will be there to make sure you’re getting absolutely top value for your money.
Simon Lucas, Editor. What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision magazine Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 35
36 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
Daltons Deliberations
Does high end have to mean high price? Email Simon at: simondalton@russandrews.com
It would be easy to think so. Whenever we tend to see a high end product featured in a magazine it’s invariably accompanied by a hefty price tag. But this doesn’t have to be the case. Let me clarify this before we go any further. The odds are that, if you want the very best that Hi-Fi has to offer, you’re going to have to spend a lot of money. Of all the systems I’ve listened to over the years there are two that stand out to me. The first is Chris Bonar’s system featured in this issue. That’s the culmination of years of development by Russ and Chris and is pretty well priceless (it’s not a system that’s available on the open market). It’s capable of a sound that is simply sublime. The other system I would put in my ‘top two’ would be the one put together by Ray Kimber for the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in October last year. That featured a combination of EMM Labs amplification, Kimber/Russ Andrews cabling and Martin Logan Neolith speakers, totting up to well over $1,000,000. How good did it sound? Let’s put it this way: after listening to Magic Bus from The Who’s Live at Leeds CD (yes, a standard CD), I instinctively applauded. It really was that good. The fact is, you’re not going to get
that level of performance from a £5000 set up, let alone a budget system. But that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to achieve a high-end sound from these. Does that sound like a contradiction? It isn’t really. What I’m suggesting is that the very best in Hi-Fi is always going to cost a fortune. But that doesn’t mean that everything else
The cables, supports and accessories have a fundamental effect on a system’s ability to present music in a truly engaging way. is worthless, or indeed ‘low end’. Here’s an analogy; in the last illfated series of Top Gear, Rory Reid tested the Ford Focus RS. He suggested that this was possibly the best car in the world, not due to its ultimate performance but because it was a blast to drive and equally at home as an everyday practical family hatchback too. In ultimate terms, a Ferrari or Lamborghini would have better performance, but that didn’t stop the Ford being an incredibly entertaining experience to drive as well. OK, so how do we achieve this if we’re not a city banker or Premier League footballer? First, I’d say we need to kick the habit of
shortlisting just the Five Star products. I’ve talked about the problem of ‘trusting the stars’ in this column before (see issue 22, or go to russandrews.com/starturn) so I won’t go over the same ground again. Suffice to say, ideally you need to trust your ears and listen to the component in your room with your set up to really know which is best for you (also see Russ’s latest blog on listening at russandrews.com/ learning-to-listen). The second point is to ensure you have the right infrastructure to get the true performance from your system. I can’t emphasise this enough. This is just as important as the hardware (I know, I would say that wouldn’t I? But I honestly believe it’s true!) The cables, supports and accessories have a fundamental effect on a system’s ability to present music in a truly engaging way. Get the combination of hardware and infrastructure right – at any level – and I reckon you’re pretty well guaranteed to get a high end experience of a system that truly engages you in your music and allows the hours to drift by unnoticed. Conversely, get that infrastructure wrong, and I’ll bet you’ll be very disappointed - whatever you’ve spent.
Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 37
Reviews
Kimber Tak-Cu tone arm cable
The Kimber TAK-Cu is a superior cable for use with high quality turntables, such as the Linn LP12, that have a detachable tone arm cable, fitted with a DIN plug. Neville Roberts writing for Hi-Fi Choice says... The effects are plain to hear: “when I play some music” he reports, “the cable does a fine job and conveys a really clear sound with excellent timing and rhythm”. Specifically, when listening to Dave Brubeck’s version of The Trolley Song, he finds that the cable conveys the emotion of the song superbly, with a great sense of clarity and realism. Moving onto a classical piece, the TAK-Cu is more than capable of following the highs and lows of Mozart’s Symphony No.41, Jupiter, by the London Philharmonic. He observes that the replay is “both musical and well controlled” and “the strings in the quieter sections are delightfully delicate and contrast strikingly with the livelier moments”.
The cable is just as impressive with vocals too. To test its ability in this area, Neville uses a recording of Simon and Garfunkel’s The Boxer which he knows to be a “rather bright recording”. The cable “doesn’t disappoint, showing no Sounds of Sibilance (!)” Moreover, the cable again shows its ability to get to the heart of the music by bringing out those subtleties in the performance that make it so engaging. Gaining 4.5 stars and a recommendation, Neville concludes that the TAK-Cu tonearm cable “is great at conveying all the Kimber Tak-Cu complexities of the Rating: music and is certainly Recommended worthy of consideration”. Price: from £335 for 1m Magazine: Hi-Fi Choice Issue: September 2016
Kimber Axios for
Sennheiser HD580, HD600 and HD650
“Listening to a variety of music” writes Neville Roberts, “it is immediately apparent that [Axios] offers serious audible improvements compared with the standard cable”. He uses a number of different pieces of music in the test which illustrates the cable‘s propensity for musicality across a range of genres. Starting with the LSO’s recording of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, he observes that “the quieter sections are just as detailed as the louder passages, with excellent imaging, transparency and spatial positioning”. He adds that “the dynamics also improve and there is a clear perception of increased headroom to accommodate the louder passages effortlessly”. He then moves onto the large scale choral piece Carmina Burana, again performed by the LSO this time under the direction of Andre Previn. The complexity and volume of the orchestra and chorus combined in 38
CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
this piece is a great test for the ability of the cable to track the whole piece successfully without losing any definition in a muddy mess. Axios passes the test with aplomb: “even when the full orchestra and chorus are really letting rip in the first movement, the vocals remain clear and full bodied, meanwhile the delicate tinkling of the triangle is still clearly audible in the background”. Impressive stuff! In summary then, Neville is highly impressed with Axios and states that “this is a classy replacement cable for your cans and, although pricey, it delivers noticeable sonic improvements and is extremely Axios headphone cable comfortable to wear”. Rating: It comes as Price: £698 for 1.2m ‘Recommended’ with Magazine: Hi-Fi Choice the full five stars. Issue:
August 2016
Reviews
Russ Andrews TT-1™ turntable cable Unusually for a review, Paul Rigby initially describes and assesses the sound when using his standard cable first. This is actually really useful because it gives us a really clear benchmark from which to judge any improvements, and it also illustrates well just how much these ‘out-of-the-box’ cables can strangle a good system’s performance: “The basic cable offered lots of impact on the drums but it was all attack and no character. The organic drums could have been synth drums for all my ears cared. More than that, both the synth crescendos and the entire electric violin solo sounded horribly bright and forward, hurting the ears on occasion with its tinny screech”. These are the kind of problems we hear about all the time, and it’s so easy to assume that this is a problem with your hardware, often leading to unnecessary and expensive changes in equipment that still don’t address the cause of the problem. The TT-1 costs just £104 for a 0.5m length – a LOT less than a new turntable and is designed to be used with turntables that have phono outputs; for the review Paul used the cable between his phono stage and his amplifier. So how much difference can it make? I’m going to quote Paul at length here because his description is very revealing: “Replacing the basic cable with the Kimber, the metronomic synth note at the beginning of the track now sounded metallic instead of tinny while the drums now offered a 3D aspect instead of sounding like only the beginning of the drum note was being played: that attack I mentioned. The percussion now sounded heavy, with a large bulk and mass. The electric violin was loud without being screechy and the synths offered far more focus. The upshot of both of the latter also meant that, for the first time, I could properly hear the bass guitar and,
not only that, the bass guitar strings being plucked! The change in sound quality was not just an enhancement, it was a dramatic improvement.” He’s right; these are the kind of improvements people expect from an equipment upgrade. But, the thing is, you wouldn’t achieve these improvements by changing the turntable because you’d still have the same level of cable throttling the performance! In conclusion, Paul is emphatic in his recommendation: “The TT-1 shows how important the cable running from your phono amp is. The wrong cable can hamper sound quality frankly cocking up any good work created in the phono amp itself. In my opinion, it’s probably more essential to get this one cable right, in terms of budget priority, than any other cable in your hi-fi. The Kimber does the job and does it well.”
SAVE 0.5m 1m
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WAS £104.00 £129.00
Russ Andrews TT-1™ turntable interconnect until 7th October
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Russ Andrews TT-1™ turntable cable Price: £104 for 0.5m, £129 for 1m Website:: theaudiophileman.com July 2016
Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 39
Letters
STAR LETTER Win a Silencer mains filter, worth £52.00
The benefits of technology when listening
In defence of CD
STAR LETTER
In response to your article on streaming [Does Streaming lead to buying music, Connected issue 35], I now have a Wi-Fi connected TV using the new SKY service. Also a better smart phone. Both give me the opportunity to surf and stream music. My streaming account allows access to a whole range of music. I use my headphones connected to my phone to review anything I might fancy. Of course through the power of technology further suggestions are made based on my searches and buying. For example the brilliant Matthew Halsall - When the World Was One, great on vinyl. I have some forgotten Windham Hill CDs. A search on eBay, Amazon and the www brought a great deal of information and buying opportunities. An email to my local second hand record shop brought the reply that they had a number of WH albums (vinyl) in ‘new age’. Next day 7 records arrived in mint condition for less than £5 each. Brilliant . . . These are wonderful examples of technology helping our purchases to be more relevant and maybe save a bit of money. At 68 always relevant. Trevor Young, Reading
40 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
I was surprised but very pleased to read Russ’s defence of CD [Russ’s First Words in Connected issue 35]. I agree with everything he said about LP; but he didn’t touch on other “minuses” – the bugbears of horizontal and vertical tracking angles, accurate loading of cartridges, invariably wrong; and for me, the two worst aspects of LP playback – ineradicable end of side distortion and the number of turntables that are pitchunstable, one of the worst being a notable product that dare not speak its name – and a real “wow”. I hope however that he will expand on a statement that mystifies me: that “good vinyl is preferable to bad CD”. What are his criteria? N Antoni, London Russ’s reply: You are quite right to pick me up on the statement "Good vinyl is preferable to bad CD”. I should have added "Good CD is preferable to bad vinyl”! I’ve never had much enthusiasm for arguing the toss over which is ultimately better. Which is better for any individual depends on personal preferences and ability to solve the problems involved in realising the full potential of either replay medium. There are far more variables than most people realise. I’ve spent over 40 years working first on
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.
vinyl and then on CD playback problems. I feel slightly cheated that CD is being phased out just as I’ve got it sounding really enjoyable! Vinyl is very definitely a hobby in its own right. The medium throws up so many mechanical playback problems that are not easily solved; and keeping the setup optimally tuned up requires obsessive dedication. CD is an equally flawed medium that requires considerable remedial work on any commercially available player and on the system input circuitry, cabling and RFI issues to extract its full potential. I use Vinyl and CD extensively, have large collections of both types of disc and can enjoy my music from both. I can accept the limitations of both and live with them. Russ.
Letters Praising your Ultra Purifier
The best place for your mains filters?
I was considering that I needed an amplifier upgrade. As it is biamped, this could be a considerable cost. I decided to change the Mini Purifier that I have been using for the last 8-10 years with an Ultra Purifier.
Where a separate hi-fi ring spur is available, should the new Power Purifier Classic be plugged into it, rather than the main ring for best performance?
Initial testing showed a considerable improvement in background detail, sound timbre and loudness (the measured sound level had not increased, but it sounded louder). Apart from a decrease in effect after 3 days, which I had noted previously with the Mini Purifier, the system became more and more together as the Purifier burned in. After two weeks, the system settled down and sounded GREAT. The Ultra Purifier is a very worthwhile addition to my system and I can’t thank RA enough. P Watson, Tyne & Wear Thank you for your observations. The Ultra Purifier is now incorporated into our PowerPurifier which also allows you to combine our other mains conditioner modules – such as the Mains Zapperator and the ClarityMains – into one attractive case.
I have a Quantum Symphony, purchased from Russ Andrews several years ago. Does an existing Russ Andrews product supersede it? Are there plans to introduce a Russ Andrews Sky Q Silver Box? I have a Russ Andrews Sky HD box and would not want to change it to a “standard” Sky Q Silver box due to the risk of a reduction in sound and picture quality. P Maynard, by e-mail Thanks for your e-mail. Yes, the Power Purifier should be plugged in close to your system. If you have a mains extension that powers your system, a spare socket in the mains extension is ideal. The Clarity Pro is the update for the Quantum Symphony. It is more powerful and can be adjusted to give a better effect in your own system. You can see the Clarity Pro here: www.russandrews.com/claritypro
Clarity Pro - from £559
The New PowerPurifier - from £325
We are currently awaiting stocks of the Sky box – they are difficult to
get hold of at the moment – but as soon as they become available to us, we will investigate offering an upgraded version. JA
Clear(ance) improvements I just wanted to give you some feedback on my recent purchases, which have been bought from your clearance offers. These have included a PowerBar, Classic and Reference Powerkords, and some Crystal Cu interconnects. I have previously, some years ago, bought a Torlyte platform, a couple of YellO mains cables, some fuses, a plug, etc., and, partly spurred on by recently adding a power amp to my system, I felt it was time for a further upgrade. Well, to say that I have been stunned and hugely pleased at the amazing improvement is a bit of an understatement. I thought my system sounded good before, but suddenly there was more of everything; more detail, more emotion, more ‘tunefulness’ and, having played bass in semi-pro bands myself for over 40 years, could feel more ‘connection’ to the musicians. Wow! ‘What an idiot’, I can imagine you all saying, but I don’t care!!!! Well anyway, thanks so much. I’m happy for you to use any of this in any publicity material, if you’re not too busy ‘phoning the ‘men in white coats’! I should add that the staff’s service has always been friendly,
Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 41
Letters
helpful and knowledgeable whenever I’ve been in touch. M. Deiton, Gloucestershire The clearance section of the website is updated regularly and contains pre-owned cables that we’ve received back for upgrade; factory seconds – items with blemishes or marks but otherwise in ‘as new’ condition; new items which are unusual lengths; and discontinued items. You can check it at www.russandrews.com/clearance
Curing clicks and pops Does the Russ Andrews Silencer remove RF interference (transient clicks on my speakers) coming from an air-conditioner (when the cooling switches on and off )? My Hi-Fi is plugged into a surge protector junction box and connected by short and screened cables. T. Cooper, by e-mail The Silencer may help, yes. I say may because that’s not its primary function. Clicks and pops can either be airborne or travel along the mains wiring. Spikes that travel through the mains wiring are
Keep in touch...
easily dealt with by a surge suppression The Silencer device, such as a - £52 Super/MegaClamp or one of our mains filters (such as the Silencer) which have clamps built in. If the above don’t work, then it’s likely the problem is airborne. Just before the switch (usually in the thermostat) closes and makes contact, electricity will jump between the contacts (called arcing) and generate quite a powerful RF pulse through the air. This of course completely bypasses any filter or clamp you’ve got plugged in to your mains. The effect of this pulse is an annoying click or pop through the speakers. The problem is, you don’t know which part of your hi-fi is acting as the aerial. It could be the CD player, amplifier or the crossover network in your speakers. The only way to deal with the problem is at source and using two components to suppress the RF pulse. They are called a VDR and Contact suppressor VDR & Contact Suppressor - £9.50
www.russandrews.com/vdrcontact-suppressor/ These two components sit over the on/off part of the offending switch and absorb and dissipate the energy as heat, and is probably the only way that the click can be solved. PB
Are your fuses directional? I’ve recently received some RA fuses for my amp. Can you tell me if these fuses are ‘directional’ or can I simply put them in regardless? Also, as these fuses use some sort of ‘super burn in’ process I am assuming they don’t need burning in. B Cassidy, by e-mail SuperFuses are not directional, so no need to worry about which way round to put them in. Super Burn-in is an additive treatment rather than a ‘speeding up’ of the natural burn-in period. So your fuses will still show subtle improvements as it ‘burns-in’ over time. PB
SuperFuse - £25
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42 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
Letters
Musical Fidelity system upgrades Russ Andrews customer Ray Johnston took advantage of our equipment upgrade service, upgrading all of his Musical Fidelity system. Ray put pen to paper to let us know how he got on with the upgrades. In February I sent my Musical Fidelity A5 integrated amp to Russ Andrews for repair – the volume control was noisy. On its return, the engineer Zac said the layout of the amp was good – ever thought of an upgrade? This took me by surprise! I said I’m game as I’d spent thousands of pounds upgrading my system‘s infrastructure over 15 years.
A few days later John and Zac came back with my integrated amp. I couldn’t believe the difference in the sound… it was as if I had gone one or two models up. There and then I asked them to take the CD player back and upgrade it. The CD player again consisted of upgrading many of the internal components, fitting Kimber KCAG wire in the signal path, fitting a Silencer mains filter and WBT RCA sockets. John came back with my CD player and hooked it back up. What struck me right away was the clarity of the sound and I had to turn the volume down because the upgrade was so big. Stunning. [The sound was certainly much more dynamic which had Ray reaching for his volume control – Ed].
Inside the upgraded Musical Fidelity A5 Integrated Amp
The upgrade consisted of replacing many of the components in the amp with better performing ones (using a mixture of Kimber Kap capacitors, Russ Andrews slit foil capacitors and Panasonic Audio Grade capacitors). Signal cabling was upgraded to Kimber KCAG, Russ Andrews PowerKord linked the IEC input to the power supply, the power filter was replaced with a Silencer and the binding posts upgraded to WBT terminals.
New wiring and caps in the upgraded Musical Fidelity A5 CD player
With the amp and CD player done I said take my Musical Fidelity A5 tuner. The upgrade consisted again of replacing many of the internal components with better ones and fitting KCAG signal wire. PowerKord was used to link the IEC socket to the power supply. I spent extra money on the tuner upgrade; because there was more room in
the tuner, I had two Silencers and two ClarityMains fitted. I had previously had a new digital aerial fitted to replace the old FM aerial (the signal had been poor) and my tuner with the upgrades and with a strong signal sounds like being in a studio.
Inside the upgraded Musical Fidelity A5 DAB FM Tuner
The final component to upgrade was my Russ Andrews HP-1 headphone amp. Zac said because Russ put quality components into his headphone amp there’s not a lot to do, but there were some Kimber Kap capacitors that could be fitted and the signal wire was changed to KCAG. They also fitted WBT RCA sockets. Make no mistake, I’ve had the best components fitted and it’s cost me a lot of money. My journey has been over 15 years and is a part of me as music has been an important part of my life. My conclusion to my system’s upgrade? In a word – stunning. Ray Johnston, Kendal
Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 43
‘‘
30 Years in the industry
What does thirty years in Hi-Fi mean? We asked friends, suppliers and reviewers for their recollections of Russ over the last three decades. The ones we could print (and one which we really shouldn't have!) are included here for your delectation.
Paul Houlden Toroidal Engineering Company
Chatting to Russ one day, I happened to ask “How long have we known each other?”. His answer was typical Russ: “Forever!!” And that is probably true. We first met in the 70s, we both had Hi-Fi shops, his up north, mine sort of west. The industry then was very different to now, and this is not the time or place to expand on that. I decided that retail sales were not for me in the early 80s and so got stuck back into manufacturing power supplies. Naturally Russ and I met up again, and so for over 30 years I’ve been supplying him product. I have to admit I’ve learnt a lot through that time, had some ‘downers’ ( haven’t we all ) and had some terrific ‘uppers’. Throughout this roller coaster of life, both Russ and I have had one aim: to improve the listening experience of the music lover. And guess what…. We’re still at it. To know someone for 40+ years, and still share the same ideals is remarkable. Well done Russ, and here’s to even more future success.
44 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
Angela & John Rogers Ringmat Developments Only 30 years? Russ Andrews Accessories seem to have been around forever. Perhaps this is because Russ has achieved so much in that time, setting industry standards, winning awards, delighting customers. We have known Russ since the early days when RATA, as it was known then, was a small family run business and have seen the business grow into the success it is today. We remember the first workshop, and the caravan, which later became the somewhat rustic ‘museum’, before the very impressive premises currently occupied. Russ Andrews have stocked some of our products for many years and we have always enjoyed a very happy relationship, both business and personal. Visiting Russ and Sue, listening to Russ’s latest equipment and, most importantly, discussing ideas, has always been enlightening. Their hospitality is legendary, as is their sloe gin – how Russ goes to work the next day will always be a puzzle! Congratulations to Russ and all the team for being both innovative and such friendly people.
Paul Messenger Hi-Fi reviewer and journalist Russ Andrews might have launched his accessory business some thirty years ago, but I had become aware of him at least a decade earlier, partly through the Edinburgh shop that also bore his name. He was very much a front man for Linn Products when I met him at a Harrogate show, and made the mildly outrageous claim that he could tell which rooms were using Linn LP12s without bothering to enter them. It was a claim I tried out for myself a few years later, and found that I could do it too! He probably helped install my Isobariks when he arrived in his VW campervan in the 1970s, but was driving a Volvo estate to install a Linn/Naim tri-amp system in Inverness when he got crushed between a mobile crane and a truck. The Volvo stopped quickly but the tri-amp system kept moving, seriously damaging a shoulder. This inhibited his passion for mountaineering, so he left Scotland and moved to Lyndhurst in the New Forest, but after recovering he founded RATA (Russ Andrews Turntable Accessories) and moved back up North to the Lake District. I certainly remember travelling up to Kendal to witness the opening of a luxurious new manufacturing facility early in the current millennium, where I met Ray Kimber whose fine cables had underpinned much of Russ’s success.
In 1972, I had a style and qualityobsessed friend at Grammar school who was fussy even about mains plugs. He would drool over the MK catalogue. In Nov 1976, Mullard introduced VDRs and my first article was published. I had developed a special interest in mains, as the Hi-Fi and disco equipment I’d designed and built suffered noises from the lightshows and dimmers of the era. That first article mentions some cures. By 1986, working simultaneously as product designer, consultant and reviewer in Hi-Fi, recording studio and live show lands, I’d already begun to reprint ‘AQMS’ – a compendium of articles on quality mains for audio. I can clearly recall Russ Andrews Turntable Accessories (RATA) being the only other entity out in audio land that was backing-up what I was saying, across a broad front. Russ wasn’t afraid of being controversial either. At a time when most boffins were championing mains filters (after all, we’d seen the maker’s graphs) he was eschewing them, aware of the degradation to the music that inline filters caused. The idea of listen-testing what ‘plainly worked scientifically’ - let alone checking the cure wasn’t worse than the disease, music-wise – was anathema at the time. It has been neat to observe how over time, one after another things that Russ and team have promoted, have become proven to have basis in wider science. And some of the best mains plugs are still MK.
Roy Gregory TheAudioBeat.com and Hi-Fi+ Magazine As somebody with a reputation for having a possibly unhealthy – the “O” word has been mentioned – interest in system infrastructure (equipment support, signal cables and AC supply) I think it’s only fair to ship the blame on to the one responsible. I well remember Russ demonstrating for me the cumulative benefits of a dedicated AC supply, clean ground, star-earthed distribution block and dedicated power cords. The results were fundamental to the system’s performance, impressive enough to open the crack through which I appear to have subsequently tumbled. But what I really remember were the cracks in Russ’s own performance, his earnest, serious façade occasionally, momentarily dropping to reveal a fleeting glimpse of something hovering dangerously between religious zeal and childlike wonder. It wasn’t just the musical performance that impressed that day but the irrepressible spirit of enquiry and the sheer enthusiasm that drove it. Since then, others have come (and gone) and our understanding of the inner workings of audio systems and their vulnerability to outside influence has advanced enormously. The Russ Andrews path may no longer be the only route up the mountain – but without it we wouldn’t even have noticed that there’s a mountain there!
Paul Rigby - theaudiophileman.com I hope that I’m speaking without hubris or any element of presumption when I say that I believe that I ‘understand’ Russ Andrews. The man is a bundle of energy. His aim in life is to learn and, because of that, I guess that he’s a man who can be diverted at a moment’s notice. He both hates and loves problems. ‘Hates’ because they act as obstacles to the aim of the perfect sound, ‘loves’ because they give him a chance to solve a puzzle and, during that task, he might just glean a new strand of knowledge which would please him no-end.
‘‘
Ben Duncan international audio electronics authority
Photo by Naomi Swain
30 Years in the industry
He casts his intellectual net wide. He wants to do everything, experience everything, be everywhere and learn everything he can in those subjects that fascinate him. The only real enemy that Russ Andrews has is time. The fact that it might eventually defeat him in his task is, I suspect, galling to him. I also suspect that, in the meantime, he will enjoy the journey. The splinters from Russ Andrews’ life-long quest for aural knowledge is the stream of sonic benefits in the shape of products that he helps to bring to market.
Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 45
30 Years in the industry Phil Hansen - PR Consultant, Red Sheep “It’s Kirsteen Andrews here, we’re looking for a PR agency and saw your advert. Would you be interested in meeting?” That phone call was in 2005 and was the first interaction I had with Russ Andrews. Of course I knew about the company by reputation as I’d been into Hi-Fi and worked in the industry for years, but I’d never actually met the man. When I did, it was instantly apparent that we were going to get on. My company is founded on the principle of only working with clients that ‘do it differently’. It’s fair to say Russ Andrews does it differently – ultra-light Hi-Fi racks; speakers in the corners of rooms (and without their crossovers); unshielded interconnects; the list goes on. Never afraid to challenge the norm, to question the reasons why and to forge his own path, Russ’s passion is infectious and his quest to perfect is without equal. He may come across as very serious about his subject and certainly isn’t one to suffer fools, but get to know the man and behind that driven exterior you’ll find a man whose wicked sense of humour is revealed by the subtle twinkle in his eye. And you’ll find a man who properly understands what all this Hi-Fi stuff is about – music. Congratulations on 30 years of doing it differently. 46 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 36 Autumn 2016
Ivor Tiefenbrun, Chairman, Linn Products When my PA belatedly reminded me that I had agreed to write something for Russ's 30th Anniversary celebration I panicked and phoned Russ for a few ideas. He laughed maliciously and told me not to worry about it. He would write it for me and send me a small invoice. With only a small niggling worry I thanked him and left him to it. I Disclaim all responsibility for what he has written . It's a pack of libellous nonsense I won't read and neither should you. I deny everything. It was a fateful day in late 1972 when I walked into Russ's Edinburgh shop carrying my soon-to-become-legendary LP12 turntable. Assuring him that I was the most interesting and important Glaswegian he would ever meet (the truth of this was later revealed at the reception desk of a small hotel in San Francisco when the rather overexcited clerk recognised me as a direct descendant of his Scottish hero William Wallace! Even at 2am, after a long transatlantic flight, Russ played up to his hereditary role as manservant and sword bearer. It got us an upgrade!), I showed him the turntable. He then told me he had been selling it for months already, why was it so hard to get hold of, did I know it was the best turntable in the world, why did it sound so good? Etc, etc, etc. We bonded immediately and became great friends. He listened attentively whilst I explained the truth about Life, the Universe and Everything, but then spoilt it by arguing with me. Why do people do that? Seriously though, in spite of being wrong about almost everything, he has built a fine business over the last 30 years, has commanded an enviable share of the market and still loves music. But I ask you, special cables, RFI, mains filters and lightweight supports? Where will it all end?
Nate Malan - Kimber Kable When I was a young pup back in the summer of 1986, I met Ray Kimber and subsequently started spinning wire bobbins the old fashioned way: on a drill press. At Kimber Kable, 30 years later, we still wind bobbins that way (If you find something that works exceptionally well, and even better, is simple, then by all means do not change it!). Over the same 30 years I have had the pleasure to work closely with Russ Andrews, who operates in the same manner. Sometimes good oldfashioned effort, expended in well-designed, time-proven processes are best. Several decades ago, Russ was visiting the Kimber factory in Ogden, Utah and illustrated to me his willingness to work hard and persevere by “staying the path”. This example came as we hiked and bouldered a local mountain that rises from around 4,300 feet above sea level to a finish elevation of around 7,000 feet above sea level. Although I am younger than Russ, he proceeded to teach me a lesson in fitness, and I believe Russ has always taken on tasks with this head-forward attitude. Congratulations Russ, Sue and the RAA team for this great “milestone” of 30 years!
Competition
WIN this amazing Special Edition
Silver PowerKord! When it came to choosing a prize for our 30th Anniversary competition we knew it had to be something a bit special, so what better way to celebrate than to give away a unique Silver PowerKord™ as the prize? This will be a real one-off, special edition cable made for you and not available to buy. It uses 16, pure silver VariStrand conductors arranged in Kimber’s famous weave, and is terminated with the top-of-the-range Wattgate™ W350EVO RH IEC making it a perfect choice for your CD player, turntable, preamp, power amp or integrated amp. If we were to sell this cable it would be in excess of £2000, so this really is a superb opportunity to own a stunning cable.
WORTH OVER
£2000!
In 2002, Russ worked closely with the engineers at Astoria Studio in London, installing mains and signal cabling along with Torlyte® supports. To be in with a chance to win this stunning cable, simply answer the following question: Which music legend owns Astoria? (tip: you’ll find the answer in the pages of this magazine). Entries must be received by 31st October 2016 and the winner will be picked at random from all the correct entries. The winner will be informed by 14th November 2016 and will receive a 1m Silver PowerKord™.
Send your answers to us at competition@russandrews.com or on a postcard to: 30th Anniversary Competition, Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Rd, Kendal, LA9 6NS.
Terms and Conditions 1. The closing date for entries is 31st October 2016 and the winner will be notified by 14th November 2016; 2. The rules of entry are given in the text of the competition; 3. The winner will be chosen at random from the correct entries; 4. No purchase necessary to enter; 5. There is one prize of a Silver PowerKord™. 6. The prize is not transferable, cannot be exchanged for cash nor will a cash alternative be offered; 7. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into; 8. We reserve the right to feature photographs and the names and counties of all entrants in future publications and publicity; 9. This promotion is not open to employees of Russ Andrews Accessories or their families, or anyone connected with the promotion; 10. The promoter is Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal, LA9 6NS, UK.
Issue 36 Autumn 2016 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 47
30
YellO Power is back! ANNIVERSARY
£30for30
DAYS
Buy yours now!
Special Introductory Offer ORDER BEFORE 7th October and get your yellOPower™ for just £30! Code 1050
1.0m 1.5m 2.0m
After 7th October
£60.00 £75.00 £90.00
NOW! £30.00 £37.50 £45.00
Customer Number
Offer ends 11.59pm online (5pm on the phones) on the 7th October when the YellO Power cable will change to its normal price of £60.
Return address: Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal LA9 6NS, UK.
To celebrate our 30th Anniversary we’re giving you the opportunity to buy up to 3 Yello Power mains cables at the introductory price of just £30! That’s an amazing deal for a cable of this quality, but you’ll need to be quick!
Reference Code
E D I T I O N
High purity copper insulated with PVC Unique woven cable design effectively removes mains interference
Introductory Offer Limited to 3 cables per customer See page 8 for details.
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 Money Back Guarantee • Cable Upgrade Scheme • Free Delivery (orders over £100 within UK Mainland)