Connected issue 40 by Russ Andrews

CONNECTED TO MUSIC & MOVIES Issue No. 40 Autumn 2017

T H E I S S U E

ARE YOUR HEADPHONES WORTHY?

www.kimberkable.co.uk/axios

e welcom

WELCOME

When we get together to plan an issue of our Connected magazine, we gather all of the ideas for articles and features we’ve had, and have been suggested by customers. Quite often a theme emerges and it soon became apparent that this time’s was no exception... Kimber Kable! I sometimes think that we don’t always bang the Kimber drum loudly enough: yes, it’s the only cable we offer and it’s the only one we’ve sold since 1986, but I never think it does any harm to be reminded just how good Kimber Kable is. Simon was keen to delve into more detail about Kimber Kable, the company: their background, how they are seen throughout the industry, and the care taken in the design and production of their cables. You can read what he found out on page 9. One question we frequently get asked is which interconnect or speaker cable should I opt for? Well, we’ve made the job easier by offering just the brand of cable we think sounds the best, but I’ve dug deeper to look at the differences between the cables in the analogue interconnect and speaker cable ranges. There are a few to choose from, but I’ve hopefully managed to make the job a bit easier: find out which is the best cable for your system on page 12. If you want to know what others have thought about Kimber Kable, we’ve gathered some of

our favourite magazine reviews from the past few years. Read them on page 18. Pete and I journeyed south to see Russ Andrews customer Simon at his home in Cheshire - and the results of our visit are on page 24. Simon has put together a fine-performing home cinema system that uses Russ Andrews power products and Kimber Kable extensively – and very good it sounded too. All this plus all the usual suspects, including the most recent reviews round-up, news, customer letters; there's even a brand-new Kimber USB cable launched on page 7. Plus, there's a special guest-penned article from Alan Sircom, editor of Hi-Fi Plus magazine. Alan's got his crystal ball out and predicts how he thinks the future will pan out for Hi-Fi and audio: see page 20.

IN THIS ISSUE

Regulars

contents

Welcome First Words News Reviews Letters Competition

3 4 5 28 33 35

Kimber Kable: An Insight Kimber Kable: The Range Kimber Kable: Our Favourite Reviews Customer System

9 12 18 24

Features

Products

New Products

Spotlight on... Russ Andrews PowerKord-500™ Equipment Upgrades

Opinion

Alan Sircom: What the next five years hold for Hi-Fi 20 Dalton’s Deliberations

PowerKord-500™

Offers

Hi-Fi+ Subscriptions Offer

Finally, we couldn’t have a Kimber-themed issue without some special promotions to tempt you; we’ve chosen 10 of our favourite Kimber products which all benefit from some great promotional pricing – have a look at the centre pull-out section. And that’s not all – those of you after a power cable upgrade can benefit from a very special deal on our PowerKord-500 – see page 16. Happy reading! ■

John Armer, Editor connected@russandrews.com

Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 3

RUS S ’S F IR S T WOR D S

A good read...

iPod, Therefore I Am: A personal Journey Through Music by Dylan Jones is my second book and a response to music very much from the other end of the spectrum. It's The first purports to be a romantic novel: an autobiographical journey of music discovery, The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce. I can do no but also a rejection of the physical manifestation better than to quote the fly leaf here: of recorded music in the form of discs. Instead, it's an exploration of the infinite The Music Shop is about learning Neither one is a dry possibilities of having a how to listen and how to feel; it's about second chances and academic text mining the collection of a thousand albums downloaded and stored on the choosing to be brave despite the minutiae of polyphonic iPod in your pocket. Though a odds. Because in the end, music composition, however! decade old, it is just as relevant can save us all. Both are very personal tales today - perhaps more so now 1988. Frank owns a music shop. that we have moved over to of musical discovery. It is jam-packed with records of streaming with the resulting every speed, size and genre. hundreds of thousands of albums available Classical, jazz, punk – as long as it's vinyl, he sells it. anywhere with an internet connection. Day after day, Frank finds his customers the music I have just finished reading the second of two books about listening to music. Neither one is a dry academic text mining the minutiae of polyphonic composition, however! Both are very personal tales of musical discovery.

they need. The first lines are: There was once a music shop. From the outside it looked like any shop, in any backstreet. It had no name above the door. No record display in the window. There was just a homemade poster stuck to the glass. 'For the music you need!!! Everyone welcome!! We only sell vinyl! If closed, please telephone--' It is a novel of discovery, loss, redemption, rediscovery and love. All that and vinyl! A joyous journey. It spoke to me of my emotional response to music exactly as I feel it. It has recently been read on BBC Radio 4's Book At Bedtime… there is even a Music Shop playlist available!

4 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

From an 'interesting' musical journey it morphs into a list collector's fantasy. A couple of quotes: There are those who would say that the iTunes facility is little but a glorified, animated list – a fully functional, battery powered litany- which, I suppose, is why I like it so much. The list has become one of the defining characteristics of our time, whether it's one of those ' 100 Best...... programmes on Channel 4 ...... , or the first thirty pages of any blue collar men's magazine, or page 3 of any national broadsheet ...' Jones is clearly at the far end of the 'spectrum' from me… honest! But I found it a compelling read. Jones is an accomplished journalist with an impressive CV and his writing ability and passion for his subject propel this book into the 'must own' list. Do you want to share any music-themed or inspired books with us? Write to us at connected@russandrews.com

NEWS

news

CD Ripping Offer Anyone ordering a Meridian Sooloos MC200 allin-one streamer/ DAC/ Hard disc from us before 30th September 2017 can have up to 500 of their CDs ripped and loaded on to it by us completely free of charge, saving up to £350.

High quality streaming in three steps:

• Buy your MC200 from us at just £1200 • Allow us to upload your CDs onto the MC200’s hard drive – we’ll even do the first 500 for free!

• Plug your MC200 into your existing system, connect an iPad, download Meridian’s free Control app, and away you go.

Come and see us at Indulgence!

Full details of the offer can be found at russandrews.com/MC200

London’s newest Hi-Fi Show, Indulgence, is being held at the Novotel London West Hotel, Hammersmith International Centre, 1 Shortlands, London, W6 8DR on 29th September – 1st October 2017 – and we’ll be there! Indulgence is the umbrella brand for the ‘three shows under one roof’ format. We are part of the main show - Audio London - which showcases the best in Hi-Fi; Headroom Zone is dedicated to portable and personal audio, including players and headphones; Pure Pleasure is dedicated to ‘lifestyle indulgences’ (think sports cars and fine wines).

What you’ll need 3 3 3 3

Internet connection iPad MC200 Optional – laptop or PC/Mac if you want to add more discs to the MC200

Meridian MC200

Code: 4536

£1200.00

1TB storage – enough for approximately 2000 albums at CD quality; analogue and digital outputs for connecting to a Hi-Fi system. 2 year warranty.

SAVE upto £350

when you buy an MC200

before 30th Sept 17

CD Ripping Service 70p per disc Up to 500 free with a purchase of a MC200 before 30th September 2017 A small charge will apply if you want us to arrange collection of your CDs prior to ripping.

We’re in room 326 on the third floor, with our power products and Kimber Kable interconnects and speaker cables available to view and buy. We’ll also have our newest products with us, including the YellO Power cables, the Rupert Neve headphone amp and the Supplier power supply. Visitors to the show will be able to take advantage of exclusive show discounts, and Russ and the team will be on hand to offer upgrading tips and give advice on system set-up. You’ll also be able to enter our competition in person to be in with a chance to win a PowerKord-300 Ag, worth over £2000! Tickets are £10 and includes entry to all three zones, and throughout the weekend the organisers plan live music, talks and exhibitions. We hope to see you there! Visit the show website: indulgenceshow.com Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 5

news North West Audio Show Report John and Simon recently attended the North West Audio Show at Cranage Hall in Cheshire. The show has been going a few years now, in various formats, but this was the first time we had attended with our own stand - and it turned out to be a good move. The organisers had certainly done a good job of looking after visitors – not only was the event free, but you were also oﬀered a free glass of wine upon entering! This reflected the overall feel of the show which was very relaxed and friendly. Everyone we spoke to – visitors and exhibitors alike – commented on how enjoyable it was. One of the key reasons for this was that the event was busy but not crammed. This ensured that there was a good ‘buzz’ about the place but there was still plenty of space for visitors to move about freely. The show was also just about the right size to get around in a day – a good number of rooms available on three levels but also very easy to navigate your way round. And the fact that it wasn’t over busy meant that if you did find a room that was full you could easily pop

back in five minutes and get in. Positioned in one of the main corridors, our own stand was busy

There was a good ‘buzz’ about the place, but still plenty of room to move about freely. throughout the whole weekend with customers old and new coming over to chat and buy. A good thing about doing a show based in the North West was that we got to meet a number of long term customers we’d only spoken to on the phones before. As most of the larger shows tend to be based in the south of England, it’s

good to catch up with some of the locals – including Simon, the customer whose system we’ve featured in this issue! Three products in particular garnered a lot of interest on our stand. Not surprisingly, our oﬀer on the Special Edition YellO Power cable saw them flying oﬀ the shelves. The display of our PowerPurifier modular filter system also attracted a lot of attention with extremely positive feedback from visitors. It seems many of you appreciate the idea of just having one box to plug in that can be easily upgraded with additional filters later on. The universally highly-praised RNHP headphone amp from Rupert Neve also attracted many enquiring ears! Even having seen the praise in the press for its ability to provide a highly musical experience, visitors were still surprised at just how good this inexpensive little amp could sound. All in all, this was one of the most friendly, relaxed shows we’ve attended with just about the right quantity of exhibitors to fill a good day – we’ll definitely be back next year! ■ SD

6 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

NEW PRODUCTS

Introducing a new Kimber

neduwcts

pro

USB cable

Hot on the heels of Kimber’s Axios headphone cables comes a new premium USB cable in the Axios design. Axios-USB is perfect for connecting computers or portable audio players to USB DACs with minimum data and voltage loss – its design and construction means that it can be used in lengths up to 6.0m.

Attention to detail Axios-USB has been designed from the ground up by the engineers at Kimber Kable, with particular care and attention being paid to the shielding* of

both the data conductors and power lines. The data cables are shielded independently of the power to ensure low loss, and the insulation on the data conductors is designed to give a stable impedance. The power conductors consist of eight wires, braided to reject noise. The shield itself is a silverplated copper design covering 95% of the cable and is specially bonded to the inner circumference of the USB plugs via a mechanical crimp and silver-doped conductive epoxy. Despite being heavily shielded the cables remain highly flexible and easy to fit.

*cables transmitting very high frequency data – such as digital interconnects and USB cables – require shielding to maintain data integrity. We find that conventional analogue audio signals can sound better when the analogue interconnects and speaker cables carrying them are not shielded. Kimber’s analogue interconnects and speaker cables reject noise via their braided design, so do not require an additional shield.

more details >>

Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 7

neduwcts

NEW PRODUCTS

pro

Effective shielding ensures low loss and low voltage drop – even on longer lengths

USB 2.0 format USB cable

Kimber AXIOS cable type and geometry

Type A, B, C & Micro plugs available with handpolished wood accents

Highly flexible geometry means the cable is easy to route

“This tour-de-force design is a semi-affordable $900 for a meter. This is quite a deal compared to the multi-thousand dollar models I have heard, and generally out performs those I have auditioned. Ray has made these Axios cables just as quiet, detailed, dimensional, image-stable, airy, and dynamic as the higher priced models, plus he has done one thing more the others do not do. The Kimber Kable Axios USB sounds ANALOG! “My hat is off to Kimber Kable who continue to treat audiophiles with honor and respect. My strongest recommendation goes to the Kimber Kable Axios USB, which becomes my USB reference.” Robert H Levi, positive-feedback.com Plug options are A to B, A to USB Micro, A to C and C to C. Other termination configurations are available – please contact us. USB TYPE A

USB TYPE B

USB TYPE C

8 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

USB MICRO B

Handbuilt at the Kimber factory – each cable takes two days to complete

MONEY BACK GUARANTEE

WARRANT Y

25 YEAR WARRANTY

KIMBER AXIOS USB CABLE 0.5m 0.75m 1.0m 1.25m 1.5m 2.0m 2.5m 3.0m 4.0m 5.0m 6.0m

CODE: 2803 £710.00 £840.00 £970.00 £1100.00 £1230.00 £1490.00 £1750.00 £2010.00 £2530.00 £3050.00 £3570.00

[ DELIVER TRUTH ]

AN INSIGHT Back in 1979, it was pretty ground-breaking to be making any kind of specialist audio cable. Simon Dalton delves into Kimber's history to understand how they make such finesounding cables.

Reputation

The first, and probably most significant reason is the In 1979 the only cable company of any real note in the performance of Kimber’s cables - and their resulting US was Monster cable – other, now mainstream, reputation. And it has been the ongoing research and companies such as Audioquest and Cardas didn’t development, based on sound scientific principles, appear on the scene until later (1980 and 1987 which has secured and grown that reputation over the respectively). Ray developed Kimber Kable almost by last 38 years. accident following his research into reducing cable In one sense, Kimber have adhered to that old adage noise in pro applications (see my article in Connected “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. In other words, the basic 38). Pretty soon, though, word was spreading and the principle at the heart of the woven cable design was massive popularity of his 4PR speaker cable ensured correct back in 1979 and is still correct now, so why try legendary status from the start. As to change it? Certainly not just so Within the sphere of you can launch a ‘new’ product onto the American reviewer Neil Gader, writing in The Absolute Sound Buyers‘ audio cables there is the market. Much as reviewers shy Guide to Cables and Interconnects, no-one with a higher away from anything that hasn’t been puts it: released in the last couple of years,

reputation than Kimber

“Kimber Kable’s 4PR was the defining entry-level cable for a generation of young audiophiles (including me) back in the early 1980s. Its distinctive brown/black braided design was my constant companion across a vast landscape of beginner systems. It’s sound was honest and clean with no discernable tonal colorations to hijack an unwitting hobbyist. At that time it was the rare audiophile who didn’t own a pair of 4PRs, and didn’t keep them. I still have mine.” Being there from the start, especially with such a unique product, has ensured Kimber’s place in the history of Hi-Fi. For decades now, Kimber has been a market leader in the field of audiophile cables; no mean feat in such a competitive market. Within that time many other companies have come and gone. So what is it that’s kept them there?

Kimber have never been tempted to produce new products just to get the reviews. When a new cable does appear – such as the recent AXIOS range of headphone and USB cables – you can be sure it’s the culmination of many years of experimentation and research, not simply a marketing driven desire to boost sales. This is not to say that the cables haven’t developed over that time. Over the years Ray has continued to test various metals as conductors, assorted manufacturing protocols, diﬀerent stranding sizes, varying twist lengths and insulation, as well as methods for adhering insulation to cable; all the time improving, modifying, and expanding upon his original cable concept and design.

Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 9

Neutrality and musicality

Attention to detail

One of the reasons Kimber Kable had such a wide appeal was - and still is - its neutrality, meaning that it works well with a wide variety of systems. This is a reflection of Ray’s desire to produce cables which let the character of the system they are being used on take centre-stage and letting the performance shine through, rather than imposing their own sound. In a recent interview with the online magazine StereoLife, Ray clarifies the point: “For me, the goal always was to have neutral electronics, neutral speakers and neutral cables.

One aspect that certainly counts towards Kimber’s longevity is the attention to detail they give when designing and manufacturing products – it’s a way of ensuring that anything that reaches the customer reflects the ongoing values of the brand and the high quality standards that Ray demands. Perhaps an example would help.

Kimber’s OPT-1 digital optical cable was introduced in the early 1990s and has remained pretty well unchanged in design even since. The primary reason for this was the One of the reasons Kimber time spent initially developing the Kable has such a wide appeal cable to make sure it would be as good as it possibly could be. is its neutrality, making it

This goal of producing cables which allow the natural character of your audio components to determine the sound signature is work well with the vast They first sourced a company who reflected in a review of one of made an extremely pure optical majority of systems. Kimber’s flagship cables, their fibre for laparoscopic tools. Having Select KS-6068 speaker cable. Neil bought thousands of meters of the Gader, reviewing for The Absolute Sound fibre, and a specialist machine to cut it, they found magazine, said of the cable: the resulting performance was good but not up to “With a tonal balance that’s predominately the standard they demanded from such high neutral, the KS’s overall personality—though not quality cable.

invisible—isn’t hard to nail down. And rightly so, as it promptly assumes the character of the system it’s immersed in. So, whether your audio rig is strictly grainfree photorealistic or gauzily impressionistic, that’s what Kimber is going to give you in return”.

This didn’t make sense; the cable was of such a high standard but the sound performance didn’t match and there was no way they were going to sell a cable they weren’t happy with (regardless of how much they had invested in it). There had to be an explanation. Kimber investigated further and discovered that the heat that was generated when applying insulation to the cable was damaging the sound performance. The solution? Develop a completely new way of applying the insulator at a lower temperature, solving the issue and finally achieving the performance they always thought the cable was capable of! Then there was the issue of termination. Most optical cables on the market used polished connectors on each end of the cable, and it was this type of connection that Kimber used on their

Kimber Select KS-6068

10 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

The Sony connection

Kimber OPT-1

prototype. However, after much experimentation with these connections, Kimber found that the gloss surface had the eﬀect of reflecting some of the light from the cable. This is not especially problematic where an optical cable is used for medical applications, but in the audio sphere the data loss that this light leakage creates is obviously going to aﬀect the final sound. Kimber therefore switched to a matt black connector, which doesn’t look as attractive but solved the problem and ultimately sounds better (ironically, the cable was reviewed by one of the leading US magazines who concluded that it was a lot better than the others they’d tried but complained that the connectors were rather crude, whilst the others were shiny!).

It’s difficult to under-estimate the effect this attitude has had on Kimber’s reputation over the years, but a good indication is the relationship that this has propagated with Sony. Arguably, Sony is the biggest A/V brand in the world, so when it comes to partnering up with other companies, they can afford to be very choosy. It says an awful lot, therefore, that when it came to choosing a company to develop a superior signal cable to go with their flagship headphones, Sony turned to Kimber. The unique cable that Kimber developed was marketed by Sony as an upgrade to go with their MDR-Z7 headphones, featuring the Kimber Kable brand alongside Sony on the packaging. Then in 2016, when Sony launched their premium NW-WM1Z Walkman® Digital Audio Player, again they turned to Kimber - this time for internal cabling. This was something Sony were more than pleased to point out. A look at their feature list shows the following description: “Made using advanced braiding techniques, the four wire braided cables engineered with KIMBER KABLE® are handcrafted to seamlessly handle high power and deliver ultimate sound performance”.

This one example is typical of Kimber’s approach to manufacturing. It’s the same reason that, although it’s time consuming, their silver cable is fed by hand onto bobbins in preparation for braiding, so it can go through a final check for imperfections before being woven. That attention to detail ensures that Kimber keep their status and, more importantly ensures that customers get the very best product.

Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 11

THE RANGE Ever wondered what the difference is between Silver Streak and KCAG? John Armer looks at Kimber's analogue interconnect and speaker cable ranges and discovers which is the best choice for your system.

As a supplier of Hi-Fi cables and accessories, we are unusual in that we offer only one brand of cable. The only interconnects and speaker cables we’ve sold since the company was founded in 1986 have been from Kimber Kable. And all of our Russ Andrews-brand power cables are made with Kimber Kable. There are many, many brands of cable available, so why offer just this one? The answer is simple: because it works, brilliantly. As Russ told me, “I discovered many years ago the profound difference that well-designed cables can make to the sound of a system. My background in cable design and manufacture enabled me to recognise, back in the mid 1980s, the very special innovations that Ray Kimber had developed in both construction and manufacturing techniques. My subsequent listening tests confirmed the huge leap forward that Ray had made; his cables had an honest, consistent, coherent design philosophy. That’s why I chose to sell Kimber Kable. It works… and that’s what makes it incredible value”. So, we’ve made it easy for you by choosing the brand of cable that we like the best, giving what we think is the most musical, natural, enjoyable sound. But there are a fair number of cables in Kimber’s range – if you’re looking for a new speaker cable, for example, which one should you choose? For the purposes of this article, I’m going to focus on Kimber Analogue Interconnects and Kimber Speaker Cables. They are the most popular cables

12 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

and illustrate well Kimber’s concept of improving cable design, and conductor quality and insulation, as you go through the range. From the entry-level cables to the flagship models and every one in between, each cable occupies a clear performance position, so in all cases there’s a cable that suits your system and your budget. This is the same for the other ranges too and you can apply this concept to Kimber’s digital interconnects, their turntable interconnects, AXIOS headphone cables and so on.

ANALOGUE INTERCONNECTS

We offer ten models of Kimber’s analogue interconnects, from Tonik at the start to Kimber Select KS-1036 at the top. The most distinctive feature of Kimber’s cables is of course the famous woven geometry which helps the cable to resist and reject Radio Frequency Interference. The benefit of this weave is that the cables do not need to be shielded in the conventional sense (a metallic shield can actually degrade sound quality by affecting the cable’s magnetic field, and the shield itself can pick up noise and inject it into the signal ground). The analogue

[ DELIVER TRUTH ] interconnects can be grouped into three ‘families’ based on their weave.

family – KCAG – is made with three pure silver Timbre weave conductors. The tribraid cables also include the Tonik, which uses a slightly different copper purity and insulation when compared with Timbre, to give a costeffective entry-level Hero weave design.

The tri-braid cables (Tonik, Timbre, Silver Streak and KCAG) have three conductors. The Hero cables (Hero-Cu, Hero-HB and Hero-Ag) have four braided conductors: the benefit of this more complex weave is better RF rejection. Finally the very best cable geometry is found in the Select Series of interconnects (KS1016, KS-1026 and KS-1036) which feature the most advanced weave using a mix of braided wire, electrostatic-dissipating yarn and a core compound which serves to space the conductors and damp resonance.

So we have three ‘families’ of interconnect; what are the differences between the cables within each family? Quite simply, these cables are differentiated by their conductor material. Of the tri-braid cables Timbre is made with three pure copper conductors, Silver Streak with one pure silver conductor and two pure copper conductors, and the best cable in the

SWEETNESS / NATURALNESS

TRI-BRAID

HERO

SELECT KS-1036 KS-1026

KCAG

HERO Ag

KS-1016

SILVERSTREAK HERO HB TIMBRE

HERO

TONIK

SPACIOUSNESS/ DIMENSIONALITY

Tonik

Timbre

SilverStreak

The use of allcopper, a hybrid of copper and silver, and allsilver designs is very common in Kimber’s Hero ranges. The Hero interconnects, with their more advanced weave, also employ this mix: Hero Cu is all-copper, Hero-HB is the hybrid of copper/silver, and Hero-Ag is all-silver. And the same can be said for the Select designs, which use a far higher purity of conductor and insulation: the KS1016 contains six woven copper conductors, KS1026 three copper and three silver conductors and the KS-1036 comprises six silver conductors. We’ve put together a graph (left) which we think shows the relative subjective performance of each cable well. In our opinion, the improvements in geometry give a subjectively more open, threedimensional sound and the move from copper to silver increases the naturalness.

A subjective comparison of the characteristics of the diﬀerent Kimber analogue interconnects

Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 13

SPEAKER CABLE

The 4, 8 and 12 series cables we offer consist of 4PR and 8PR; 4VS and 8VS; and 4TC, 8TC and 12TC. The cables' names denote the number of conductors – 4PR has a total of eight individually-insulated copper conductors (four positive and four negative); 8VS has sixteen (eight positive and eight negative), and 12TC has 24 (twelve on each). All of these cables feature Kimber's distinctive braided design and, as with the interconnects, the additional conductors make for a more complex weave, enhancing the RF rejection and the performance of the cable. The 4PR and 8PR cables have high purity stranded copper and polyethylene (PE) insulation; 4VS and 8VS keep the PE insulation but increase the purity of the copper and have a better stranding arrangement (called VariStrand – hence the name VS) . 4TC, 8TC and 12TC keep the VariStrand arrangement but increase the purity of the copper and move to a better, fluorocarbon composite insulation. The Monocle family of cables enhance the basic woven geometry by braiding and spacing different types of copper conductors around an inner core to

improve the basic woven design. Monocle-X has 16 conductors in total (eight positive and eight negative) and Monocle-XL increases the complexity of the woven design with 24 (12 positive and 12 negative).

The top-of-the range Select series of cables enhance the spaced-and-damped construction of the Monocle cables, giving a more effective, complex weave. Like the interconnects, the Select family of speaker cables have three variations of conductor type, using either pure copper (the KS-6063); a mix of pure copper and pure silver conductors as seen in the KS-6065; and all-silver conductors seen in the flagship KS-6068 speaker cables. The Select speaker cables use the purest copper and silver that Kimber employ, and the purest insulation. In addition, these very special cables use a mix of solid core and VariStrand stranded conductors for the ultimate 'reference' performance. 4,8,12 SERIES SWEETNESS / NATURALNESS

It's no surprise that the 12 models of Kimber's speaker cable follow a similar pattern. As you go from first-in-the-range 4PR to the top-flight Select KS-6068 speaker cables, the geometry improves and conductor purity and conductor type changes. Each cable occupies a price and performance point, and like the analogue interconnects, there are three broad 'families' of speaker cables – the 4, 8 and 12 series cables; the Monocle cables; and the Select speaker cables.

MONOCLE-XL

SELECT KS-6068 KS-6065 KS-6063

12TC MONOCLE-X 8TC 4TC 8VS 4VS 8PR 4PR

SPACIOUSNESS/ DIMENSIONALITY

A subjective comparison of the characteristics of the diﬀerent Kimber speaker cables

Monocle-XL™ - showing the Kimber weave spaced around an inner core

14 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

MONOCLE

[ DELIVER TRUTH ] CHOOSING THE BEST

So what does all this mean? Quite simply, it shows that every cable in the Kimber range offers a specific level of performance for its given price point. Whatever your system and budget, there is undoubtedly a cable to suit. As a rule of thumb, the more advanced the cable geometry, and the purer the conductors, the better the sound. That's why the very best cables have the most sophisticated construction and the purest conductors. At the other end of the scale, however, it also makes the more modestly-priced cables in the range – Tonik and Timbre, and 4PR and 4VS speaker cables – terrific value for money. Their designs echo those of the flagship models, meaning that you are getting some of that great performance in the very first cables in the range.

4TC weave

8TC weave

starting with Kimber's Tonik interconnects and 4PR speaker cables will deliver great sound. If you like what you hear, use our cable upgrade scheme and get even better performance with Silver Streak or KCAG interconnects and 8TC speaker cable. Don't worry that the better cables will outclass your system, in our experience they won't; they'll let you hear just how good it can sound.

Those of you with midrange or higher-end systems can choose any of the cables in the range too. Because Kimber's cables have a Whether you opt for coherent design philosophy it makes the first Hero upgrading cables more straight-forward. interconnect, or Kimber's 12TC weave The characteristic sound remains as you KS-1036; or 8VS speaker move through the range; you'll find the cable or KS-6063, our better cables sound subjectively more detailed experience has shown that you and more natural, with cleaner bass and a can expect a musical and more natural midrange and smoother engaging performance, treble; the inherent musicality in the whichever you opt cables is there in all of the cables for - it’s just that from Tonik and 4PR to KS-1036 you get more and KS-6068. of this as you move up the So where to start? In our opinion, it range. ■ really doesn't matter which cable

4PR

8PR

4TC

8TC

you opt for. If you've a modest system, Monocle-XL™ weave

Monocle-XL™

Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 15

POWERKORD-500™ Spotlight on...

The PowerKord-500™ is the very best copper PowerKord™ we’ve ever made: it’s a superb cable. Whether you are looking to upgrade from a PowerKord-300™ or simply treating yourself to the very best, with 15% off until 4th October 2017, now is definitely the time to take the plunge!

What are PowerKords™? PowerKords are our own-brand audiophile-grade mains cables designed to bring out the very best from your Hi-Fi or Home Cinema components. The basic design for the Russ Andrews PowerKord was established back in the 1980s - as far as we know, they were the very first commercially available audiophile mains cables sold in the UK! Since then we have sold over 55,000 PowerKords to enthusiastic audiophiles all over the UK and beyond. PowerKords are the only power cables in the world to feature Kimber Kable’s legendary RFI– rejecting (Radio Frequency Interference) braided copper cable. Utilising this technology has two unique advantages over conventional mains cable designs: 1. The weave itself acts as a highly effective filter for RFI. All cables act as an aerial, to a greater or lesser extent, attracting RFI. The specific 16 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

way in which Kimber Kable is woven ensures that the wires cross at a near-optimal angle to make the cable a really bad aerial. Effectively, being a bad aerial is equivalent to being an RFI filter, so the cable itself is the filter!

Flexible Noise Reduction sleeving

2. Some ‘audiophile’ mains cables introduce a shield in an attempt to block this RFI. But in order to work, this shield has to be connected to ground, which kind of defeats the object because it’s simply re-injecting the RFI to the cable’s earth. By using a woven cable that inherently acts as a filter, you do away with the need for an outer shield.

Why PowerKord-500? The key difference as you move up the PowerKord range is down to the number of conductors used; PowerKord100 uses 8, PowerKord-300 doubles this to 16 and finally the PowerKord-500 has 24. The more conductors there are, the more effective the filter becomes. PowerKord-500 with 24 conductors, is the most effective weave in the PowerKord range.

Buy PowerKord-500™ now at www.russandrews.com/ powerkord500 or phone us on 01539 797300

[ DELIVER TRUTH ] Recommended upgrades How do you make the best better? PowerKord-500 is a superb cable in its own right. If you do nothing more than buy it in its standard form, we are completely confident that you’ll be more than happy with the improvements it brings. But for some, you want the best it can possibly be, and if this is you there are specific upgrades we would recommend. See boxes right.

Super Burn-in Super Burn-in treats the cable in a unique way that cannot be replicated by any other means. There are two levels: standard Super Burn-in and Super Burn-in Plus. Normally £100 per cable, standard Super Burn-in is

HALF PRICE when you buy the PowerKord-500™ before 4th October 2017 High performance mains plug fitted with FREE Russ Andrews SuperFuse (until 4th Oct ‘17)

Kimber's unique cable weave. 24 hyper-pure copper Kimber Kable conductors, separately insulated with Fluorocarbon insulation and arranged in our wide-format woven geometry with large gauge earth

Russ Andrews edition Wattgate W350RH Rhodium EVO Audio Grade IEC connector fitted as standard. Wattgate plugs feature Deep Cryogenic Treatment (DCT) Other Wattgate plugs available

15% OFF

If you want Super Burn In Plus, this benefits from a £50 discount: Was £150, now £100.

SuperFuse You’ve got all those 24 conductors but the power still has to go through that tiny fuse wire in the plug. It’s hardly surprising then, that this little component can have a big effect on ultimate performance. Our SuperFuse does exactly that. We take an already good performing fuse and put it through a specific process on our Super Burn-in machine. Once treated, the fuse becomes far more effective, allowing the cable to work to its full potential. Worth £25

FREE until 4th October 2017 WARRANT Y

15% OFF and FREE SuperFuse Offer ends 4th October 2017

25 YEAR WARRANTY

60 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE

Use it with:

POWERKORD-500™

3 PowerBlock (choose a W350i Ag HC IEC connector - £404.60 for 1m includes discount & SuperFuse)

Plus claim HALF PRICE Super Burn-in was £100 SAVE £50 NOW £50 or £50 off Super Burn-in Plus was £150 SAVE £50 NOW £100

3 CD player 3 Integrated amp 3 pre amp 3 power amp 3 X-Block mains extension

with Wattgate W350 Rhodium IEC Code:1580 plus FREE SuperFuse WAS SAVE 15% NOW 1.0m £504.00 £75.60 £428.40 1.5m £583.00 £87.45 £495.55 2.0m £662.00 £99.30 £562.70

Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 17

OUR FAVOURITE REVIEWS

When we decided to focus on Kimber Kable for this issue, we thought it would be interesting to look back over some of our favourite review quotes from over the years. Of course, having been around for such a long time there’s a huge catalogue of coverage from both UK and US magazines. Bar our first choice from the US magazine The Absolute Sound, which we couldn’t resist, we’ve stuck to our home-grown publications here. Don’t forget, though, that you can also see – and leave – ‘real world’ reviews on our website and see how other users experience their cables.

First up is Kimber’s range-topping Select KS-6068 speaker cable from Neil Gader in a recent publication by the US magazine The Absolute Sound:

Kimber 6068 speaker cable “By any benchmark that I’m aware of Kimber Select Series 6000 is as sonically breathtaking as is its price tag. For the life of me I can’t think of another a top-tier cable that has ever compelled me to listen quite as deeply as I was able to with these wires. On the one hand it’ll expose every weakness in a system. But on the other, it will also permit an otherwise excellent system to realize a whole new level of resolution and musicality. Gulp, wallets at the ready? My highest recommendation.”

Take a step up the range by doubling the number of conductors and you’ll find the results even more impressive, as Hi-Fi Choice magazine found when they reviewed 8PR:

Kimber 8PR speaker cable “… a sense of authority and solidity that pushes the competition aside at the money. Treble, bass, dynamic range, soundstaging… all are hard to better”

Moving up to 8VS you benefit from Kimber’s VariStrand technology, and the results are clear to hear, as What HiFi found when they reviewed the cable:

Kimber 8VS speaker cable It’s not just the high end cables that impress though. Moving from the top of the range speaker cables to their introductory model still brings you the same woven principle and the same sort of impressive character, as TechRadar.com reported:

Kimber 4PR speaker cable “It has a very convincing way with deep bass, keeping it under tight rein while allowing it to blossom when needed and maintaining precise pitch and duration in a way few budget cables can match. Treble is extended, but never shrill, while the midrange is mainly characterised by the ease with which one can hear into and through it. Imaging has very good depth to it as well as width…. for sheer musical enjoyment we reckon this cable is hard to beat”

18 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

“It carries bass weight, yet remains rapid and detailed throughout. Vocals are intimate and the top end sparkles benignly. There’s good dynamic reach too – this cable’s a must hear”

One of our most popular higherend cables is 8TC, a superb performing speaker cable with any level of kit and outstanding value for money. When Hi-Fi Choice reviewed 8TC they were pretty clear about how impressed they were:

Kimber 8TC speaker cable “it’s hard to say anything critical about [8TC] … detail and neutrality are first-class, and treble is very well extended and open. Imaging is good, too, with some of the best depth I’ve heard, and it’s also very dynamic when it needs to be”.

[ DELIVER TRUTH ] It's not just about speaker cables though that same woven construction is used just as eﬀectively with interconnects. Even towards the beginning of the range, that technology brings impressive results. Here’s what What Hi-Fi had to say about Kimber Timbre:

Kimber Timbre analogue interconnect “ignore it at your peril. You get bags of impact and clarity, plus swift and musical delivery”

At the other end of the scale, Kimber’s DV-30 digital interconnect is equally as impressive at its price. Ideal for budget and mid-range digital components, DV-30 won’t disgrace itself with high end kit whilst you’re saving up for KS-2020. Here’s what Hi-fi Choice had to say:

Kimber DV-30 digital interconnect Constructed in the same tri-braid format, Silver Streak replaces one of Timbre’s copper conductors with silver, allowing more detail to come through. When Hi-Fi Choice tested the cable they were able to dispel the commonly held notion that the introduction of silver brings an inevitable harshness with it:

Kimber Silver Streak analogue interconnect "it is evident that the Silver Streak produces masses of detail with no strain or unpleasant edge to the sound". And in a previous issue they also praised its clean and precise nature: “it handles dynamic variations with aplomb, building cleanly and eﬀortlessly to nicely detailed climaxes. Imaging is precise over a broad spread and there’s no hint of colouration. A very fine cable indeed.”

“A superb performer that lacks very little, even compared to Kimber’s high-end models. Tonality, detail and imaging are all really very fine”

The most significant development by Kimber in the last few years has been their Axios range of headphone cables. These superb performing wires combine an audiophile listening experience with the convenience of a highly flexible construction, making them very comfortable to wear with headphones. Like the rest of the cables Kimber have to oﬀer, Axios has already made an impact on the Hi-Fi media.

Kimber Axios for Mr Speakers Ether Flow From another Hi-Fi Choice Awards issue came confirmation that Kimber are equally adept when it comes to producing high-end digital interconnects. Here’s what they had to say about the Kimber Select KS-2020:

Kimber Select KS-2020 digital interconnect “It oﬀered a most disconcerting improvement to the performance of several DACs with which we tried it. The old phrase about ‘lifting the veils’ comes to mind, with details, musical colours and imaging all revealed fresher than ever. Think of it as an integral part of a good, high-end DAC”

Chris Martens, writing in a recent edition of Hi-Fi Plus magazine, was highly impressed with the eﬀect of the cable when used with his superb Mr Speakers Ether Flow headphones: “The bottom line is that Kimber’s Axios headphone cables can and do help high-end headphones be all that they can be - often in quite dramatic ways… The Axios cable is not inexpensive, but it rewards the enthusiasts investment by really delivering the goods, both in sonic terms and in service of the music… highly recommended”

Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 19

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FROM INSIDE THE INDUS TRY

What the next five years hold for Hi-Fi

Alan Sircom, reviewer and editor of Hi-Fi Plus magazine, gazes into his crystal ball and predicts what the next few years will bring in Hi-fi.

Crystal-ball gazing is notoriously unreliable. No one is Nostradamus. Even Nostradamus wasn’t particularly good at being Nostradamus. Nevertheless, there are distinct trends in music and hi-fi that can be seen that will continue to have reach into the next five years and beyond. The biggest change is the continued move away from domestic ownership of music toward online streamed music providers like Spotify and TIDAL. It’s strange just how quickly these have come to dominate the digital music scene, replacing CD and local networked streamed media for many in the space of a couple of years. Five years from now, it seems likely that even the curmudgeonliest CD holdouts will have at least in part migrated to online streaming. One of the reasons for the increased uptake of online streaming is due to greater 20 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

penetration of superfast broadband outside of the cities. Another is improvement in the codecs themselves, and formats like MQA may prove to be an important bargaining chip in the move from spinning discs to online access. Regardless of whether or not MQA ends up being a resounding success, it

MQA has helped pave the way for a more widespread understanding of the importance of better sound has helped pave the way for a more widespread understanding of the importance of better sound, and will hopefully switch more people on to high resolution sound. There is something of a pushback against online and network streaming, however. Five years ago, if you asked most dealers how many CD players they sold last year, anyone saying more than ‘three’ was probably lying. The player was dead, it seemed and never coming back. Except that there are a handful of new disc players – mostly at the higher end of the audio ladder –

and these are reaching a small market of people who argue that the sound of digital played through a spinning polycarbonate disc sounds better than the sound of digital played off a hard drive in the home, or far, far away. I wouldn’t call this a ‘brisk’ trade, and I don’t expect CD resurgence in the same way we had a vinyl revival, but the end of physical digital media is unlikely to occur in the next five years.

Other digital formats are undergoing significant change. There is still no formal date for FM switch-off, but the requirements for starting that switch off process are close to being reached. I am going to stick my neck out here and say that five years from now we will not only have a fixed date for FM switch-off, but that process will be underway within the next five years. There is still work to be done on ensuring more than 90% of the country can receive DAB radio; about how we cope with a potentially massive in-car audio legacy problem; and I have a horrible suspicion that there will be some remote parts of the country who will have to rely on internet radio or similar.

FROM INSIDE THE INDUS TRY

Moving away from digital audio, while there are rumours that the vinyl revival bubble is close to bursting, there are companies making pressing plants anew for the first time in decades, and even companies like Sony Music are now actively involved in pressing LPs. Meanwhile, companies like Music Hall, Pro-Ject, and Rega are selling as many turntables as they can make. I feel this might be undergoing a period of cooling off rather than the bursting of bubbles, as many have caught the vinyl bug anew. A worrying trend in the latest generation of vinyl collectors is the use of low cost retro-looking turntables that are not only uniformly poor quality, but at worst capable of damaging that expensive record collection. The idea of spending £50 on a record player that ruins every £25 LP you play them on seems like false economy, but in the main, the argument to spend more and maybe buy something not only better but less damaging seems not to be getting through. My hope is those LP buyers do discover what a good turntable can do and upgrade in the next few years. My worry is that they don’t and the poor sound they get from their discount disc spinners turns them against

trying to find what good audio is capable of. In terms of technology in the home, it may be that environmental concerns make finding good sounding Class D amplifiers a necessity (for example, if valve amps and Class A or AB amplifiers are outlawed due to energy consumption

Five years from now I suspect many stereo listeners will be taking the personal audio space far more seriously. concerns), and some companies that observe standby power demands from a great distance will have to bring their products into line with half-watt legislation, but the specialist audio world remains a small sub-set of consumer electronics, and flies under legislative radar. For now. Similarly, wireless and active speaker systems – which are a big thing at the lower end of the market – still have to make up considerable ground in the highend market. They will be increasingly important, but still very much a minority interest, five years from now.

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We are seeing a distinct trend toward headphone listening, even from the traditional twochannel listeners. In part, this is a result of price escalation at the top end of audio’s high-end (£5,000 puts you at the very top table in personal audio, or it buys you a pretty good tonearm in today’s traditional high-end audio), and in part by our evershrinking homes. Without a mancave or a dedicated listening room, personal audio is sometimes the only way to experience good sound in a busy, cramped home. It’s not just iPhones and ear-buds now, and five years from now I suspect many stereo listeners will be taking the personal audio space far more seriously. Audio is changing, but it’s also an inherently conservative hobby. Rapid changes happen over decades here, and while there are aspects of digital audio that began changing at the start of this decade that will filter through to all by this decade’s end, in most cases what audio looked like 10 years ago will be more or less what it looks like today, and tomorrow. ■

Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 21

Simply visit: www.webscribe.co.uk/magazine/hifi+ and enter the promotional code: russplus Don’t miss out! Oﬀer ends 31st December 2017.

22 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

EQUIPMENT UPGRADES

ent equipm es

upgrad

We’ve been very busy of late with our upgrade service, with many customers phoning to say how delighted they have been with their freshlyupgraded kit. Components of note we have worked on most recently include the Linn Kairn and Kinos preamps and the Kisto processor which both responded well to power supply and signal board upgrades, along with improved internal Kimber wiring. The Oppo BDP 103 Blu-ray player also joins its bigger brother the Oppo BDP 105 as a player we can upgrade. With 60 components being changed on the power supply, audio and video boards, along with fitting a new, high accuracy master clock. We also fit Kimber Kable wiring internally.

Linn Kairn preamp from £520

You can see all of the components we have upgraded so far at russandrews.com/equipmentupgrades. If you have a well-loved piece of kit that you want upgrading, and it isn’t listed, contact us – the chances are that we’ll be able to make costeffective changes that keep the character of your cherished component, while making it more communicative, more musical and more enjoyable to listen to. If you have any questions regarding the service, or would like to book a component in for upgrade, contact Peter on 01539 797300. Linn Kinos preamp from £450

Oppo BDP 103 Blu-ray Disc player from £650

Linn Kisto processor £815 Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 23

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CUSTOMER SYSTEM

The system: B&W 683 S2 front speakers either side of the equipment rack housing the electronics and the Panasonic 4K panel.

Simon

John Armer visits a customer with an impressive Home Cinema system. Among those who visited our stand at the recent North West Audio Show (see p6) was existing Russ Andrews customer Simon who’d come along to order some Kimber Timbre interconnects for his Home Cinema system. Simon brought some pictures of his system to show us; our interest was piqued and before the day was out we were organising a trip to his home in Cheshire. Simon was introduced to us about three years ago by his brother-inlaw Paul who accompanied Simon at the show. We joked about the differences between their systems at the time – Paul is resolutely 2channel and a vinyl enthusiast; Simon, the subject of this time’s customer system feature, couldn’t be more of a contrast; he’s a selfconfessed gadget freak who loves surround sound, technology and 24 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

great sound and picture quality. Simon lives in a detached, 1930s house in Cheshire. His main system in the lounge is a Dolby Atmos and DTS:X - enabled Home Cinema (read: lots of speakers). The cinema room is set up for playing music as well as movies, together with the ability to stream music throughout the house. It was to the kitchen that we first headed to investigate. Simon’s kitchen is open plan with a dining room at one end, and a conservatory that leads off the kitchen. Streamed music is courtesy of Bluesound, a manufacturer who make some well-regarded streaming components. The ‘hub’ of the system is called the Node which connects to Simon’s home cinema system in the lounge; downloaded and ripped music is stored on a Synology Network Attached Storage (NAS) device. Music in the kitchen is provided by a Pulse 2 – Bluesound’s wireless speaker. Controlled by the Bluesound app,

the Pulse 2 can play content stored on the NAS and stream from Tidal; it can even play MQA files. For good measure it is powered by our YellO Power cable. The compact speaker gave a good sound, which easily filled the downstairs rooms at the back of the house, and the MQA files were clearly better sounding. The Pulse 2 is also voice activated; an Amazon Echo Dot connects to the Pulse 2 via Bluetooth which can understand and respond to voice commands. “Alexa, play some 80s music” says Simon and within a few seconds it was playing from Amazon’s music library. It’s not high fidelity, but it’s very slick and impressive, ideal for music in the background. A second Pulse 2 serves the upstairs rooms, and the two are linked allowing you to play music throughout the house. After a quick look (and listen) to Simon’s guitar set-up upstairs (his Marshall guitar amp is powered by YellOs and a PowerBar) we finally

CUSTOMER SYSTEM

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settled in the lounge where playing two channel content Simon’s home cinema is. The direct into the left and right system Simon has put together speakers with no sub or EQ: no has 11.1 channels of sound in a contest. With the sub in use and 7.1.4 configuration (“I’m a room correction, there was more multichannel freak”, he admits) presence, and more information. with four presence (ambience) We listened to Angel by Sarah speakers in the ceiling to add the McLachlan, and Gold Dust Woman The Oppo UDP-203 player sits below the B&W HTM62 height channels. There are seven and Never Going Back Again by centre speaker more speakers serving front left, Fleetwood Mac, streamed from right and centre, and side and rear Tidal at MQA quality and mightily surrounds and a subwoofer. Like enjoyable it sounded. the presence speakers, the sideBut we really wanted to see and surrounds are installed in the hear the home cinema system, ceiling to minimise the visual and what those 11 speakers and impact in the room. All speakers subwoofer could do. Simon are from B&W. Amplification is popped a demo disc in the player from Yamaha – the CX-A5100 which was perfect for showing off processor matched to Yamaha’s the speakers and the 4K Yamaha CX - A5100 processor MX-A5000 11 Panasonic screen. ‘Immersive’ was the only Immersive was the channel power amp, and an word that came to mind; only word that Oppo 203 4K we were enveloped in the came to mind; we player does duty sound which didn’t seem to were enveloped in spinning CD, come from the speakers; it the sound which SACD, DVD and didn’t seem to come moved around us Blu-ray Discs. from the speakers; it Pictures are viewed on a moved around us, drawing us into Yamaha MX A5000 11-channel power amp Panasonic 55” 4K screen, and an the action or the music that was Epson TW9100 1080p projector is playing on screen. With a touch of used along with the motorised a button on the remote, the big 105” screen for the full home screen came down and we cinema experience. watched the opening sequence from the musical version of The Music is streamed to the system Phantom of the Opera; the film by the already-mentioned starts off with a sequence in the Bluesound Node which connects The infrastructure: PowerBar, PowerKord-8s and mothballed opera house, with to the processor with analogue PowerKord-100s with Kimber Timbre interconnects pigeons flying around: the interconnects. Like the Pulse 2 linking the processor to the power amp surround effects had us ducking speakers, the Node is MQA-ready out of the way to avoid them. and can stream these highWhen the chandelier is unveiled, resolution files from Tidal easily. the music comes crashing in with When playing 2-channel music, the familiar phantom theme the speakers are intentionally set played on the organ. It was loud to ‘small’, with the subwoofer but never harsh – just as it kicking in at about 80Hz and should be. room correction enabled. It’s not a purist approach, but Simon demonstrated the difference

We turned our attention to the infrastructure, in particular the

Kimber 8TC speaker cable with matching jumpers on the front speakers Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 25

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CUSTOMER SYSTEM

power supply and connecting cables. When setting up the system, Simon was clear he wanted good mains power and specified a special install-version of our Balanced Mains Unit 1000. The unit was installed next to the meter in the understairs cupboard, and feeds an unswitched socket behind the system. This in turn feeds one of our PowerBars (“The X6-Block is next on my shopping list.“), with PowerKord-100s and PowerKord-8s connecting the Panasonic TV, the Oppo, the amps and subwoofer. Other parts of the system, including the Playstation games console were connected via our PowerKords to the nonbalanced mains, keeping them electrically away from the main system components. Kimber Kable features heavily throughout; interconnects between the processor and power amp are Kimber’s Timbre fitted with XLRs, ordered at the NW Audio Show (“more bass, more space – they’re ace”, Simon quipped). Kimber Cadence connects the subwoofer. The front left, right and centre speakers are connected with Kimber 8TC speaker cable, the other channels are yet to have the Kimber treatment, but Simon’s got his eye on Kimber’s KWIK-16 install cable. Kimber 8TC Jumper cables are fitted on the front speakers, and the casework is grounded via our RF Router.

Version of the War of the Worlds. The system was effective at portraying the scale of the venues in both picture and sound and you really did become a part of the audience. I was impressed with the way the system didn’t overpower the room it was in; the ceiling speakers go some way to reducing the visual impact conventional surround speakers would have had in the medium-sized room. With the curtains open and projector screen stowed away, it’s a comfortable lounge. And yet when the curtains were drawn and the screen was down you were indeed in your own private cinema. I commented on the care Simon had taken with the selection of his components, the infrastructure and their set-up. He reflected: “I want picture and sound to be excellent. I’m extremely particular – it has to be completely immersive and involve you. If it’s not, it’s not good enough for me”. ■

Detail showing the Timbre interconnects. The white cable is for linking the surround speakers to the amp: Kimber’s Kwik-16 is next on Simon’s shopping list.

Epson TW9100 1080p projector at the back of the room with YellO power cable

Simon is a particular fan of watching music concerts on disc, and we finished with The Eagles’ Rocky Mountain Way from their Live From Melbourne Blu-ray, and a snatch of Jeff Wayne’s Musical ... and the picture with the screen in place 26 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

DA LTO N ’ S D E L I B E R AT I O N S

Changing listening habits Email Simon at: simondalton@russandrews.com

Some recent email communication with a customer got me thinking about the future of our industry. He was suggesting that changes in the delivery method by which we listen to music - LP, CD, Download, Streaming, etc. - are not enough to rejuvenate the industry. I think he may have a point.

Pondering over this made me think about the way the industry has progressed over the years and it certainly does seem that the basic movement has been driven by new formats and - more importantly - the new kit to play them on. I wonder, though, if this is really the case or whether there is something more fundamental that has changed the way we listen to music? I’d suggest there are two, intrinsically related, core issues.

Technology Rapid developments in technology, particularly in the fields of memory and storage, have enabled a sea change in the way music can be consumed. First CD storage enabled a whole album to be played continuously on one disc, then the MP3 shrunk the file size needed to store most of the musical information, allowing for thousands of albums to be stored on a portable device. And now we have portable devices with relatively huge amounts of storage and processing power that are able to download and keep or stream high resolution music files - even more so with MQA.

Convenience vs quality These advances in technology have made it gradually easier and easier to listen to our music collections both at home and on the go. Against this

background, the argument that is often put forward is that convenience has taken priority over quality.

If this is true, there is hope on the horizon: the emergence of new formats like 24/192, DSD and especially MQA should turn things around because these two opposing forces are no longer mutually exclusive; we can now have both convenience and quality. Sadly, I don’t think this is the case, because I don’t think it’s fundamentally convenience that was the threat in the first place.

But it isn’t convenience per se that has had the biggest eﬀect on the Hi-Fi market. Rather, it is the unintended consequence of that convenience.

When the rot set in To understand this we need to go back to the advent of CD. CD certainly was more convenient, both from the point of view of practicality - CDs were allegedly indestructible and from the listening point of view; you don’t have to get up and change the record over half way through. But it isn’t convenience per se that has had the biggest eﬀect on the HiFi market. Rather, it is the unintended consequence of that convenience.

Hop, skip and jump You have a vinyl album. You have a turntable to play it on. What kind of listening habit does this engender? One of the pleasures of vinyl is the ritual you go through to play it cleaning the record, placing it on the platter, brushing oﬀ the stylus, placing the stylus in the groove - and once all that’s done you’re far more likely to sit back and listen to at least

one side before changing to something else. In other words, vinyl encourages you to specifically sit down and listen to an album. This in turn changes our relationship to the music, and the relevance of the quality of its reproduction. What changed radically with the introduction of CD was the ability to easily skip tracks. This had a profound and fundamental eﬀect on our listening habits. No longer did we need to listen to the whole album (and give time for those ‘album tracks’ to win us over) but we were starting to be conditioned into picking and choosing to play just the tracks we liked. This generates a whole diﬀerent listening experience. When we choose to flit from one track to another, ironically, through that choice, we become less discerning. MP3, the iPod, streaming, have all exacerbated the issue. As a result, today, the main currency is no longer the album but the playlist, made up of any number of (potentially unrelated) tracks. This type of listening lends itself to a less significant activity, one where the quality of reproduction becomes less important. Music listening becomes less of an activity in its own right and more of something we do whilst we’re also doing something else. This does not apply to everyone of course; there will always be audiophiles. But we are becoming a smaller and smaller niche. ■ Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 27

REVIEWS

REVIEWS Keep up to date with the latest reviews at: www.russandrews.com/blog

RNHP:

Expressive and expansive Specialist journal Hi-Fi Critic featured a review of the RNHP headphone amp from Rupert Neve in their April – June 2017 issue. The reviewer, Martin Colloms, clearly went to some lengths to assess the build of the unit. “Inside” he notes, “a full size, Prograde PCB is neatly laid out and has classic audio NE5532 op-amp integrated circuits at the input, an ALPS Blue volume control, and the well established Texas Instruments integrated circuit 6120 headphone power amp”. All solid, dependable and well established components then, but of course it’s how these are put together in the final package that counts. So what about the result? First the down side. There were some areas where he felt the amp could be improved. “A hint of grain and sibilance in the mid treble… the soundstage was presented a little nearer than usual… not quite as convincing in beat, weight or perspective as the venerable (albeit 20% more) Lehmann Linear” [a quick look on the web at the time of writing shows it widely selling for £735 – that’s over 50% more].

Martin found that the unit was initially a bit on the bright side too – as is often the case with new components – so he left it to run in before testing. Following this he found the RNHP clearly settled down, “sounding tonally better balanced and exhibiting crisp and powerful transients, coupled with impressive low level detail”. The praise doesn’t end there either, as he notes the amp “has a good grip on dynamics and was both expressive and expansive“, the latter relating to the large scale stereo images which were heard. Finally, he says that “backgrounds were silent and it could play very loudly into numerous headphones from planar magnetics to higher impedance moving coils.” In conclusion, despite his earlier reservations, he writes “this sturdy well built design oﬀers a good performance with versatile (albeit all analogue) input and output facilities. It is powerful, noise levels are low and it will drive a wide range of headphone types and therefore deserves Recommendation”.

RNHP Price: Magazine: Issue: Rating: 28

CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

£469 Hi-Fi Critic Apr/May/Jun 2017 Recommended

REVIEWS

PowerPurifier:

“revelatory in terms of sonic improvement”

The July 2017 edition of Hi-Fi World sees a review of the PowerPurifier. In order to accurately assess what the unit was achieving, Paul Rigby used a standard mains extension and mains cable to supply the power, ensuring that any improvements were down to the Power Purifier itself. He added a single Clarity unit to the standard Power Purifier box and immediately found that this combination “opened up the soundstage, infusing it with space and air, enlarging the stage itself.” The next step was to add three more Clarity units to complete the space available for these modules (an easy thing to achieve as they simply plug in). As a result “the vocal presentation exhibited more detail with greater depth in the soundstage while midrange smearing of the upper mids was reduced to reveal subtle synth runs for the first time, while bass no longer bloomed”. All good news then. So what happens when the Mains Zapperator is added? “Plugging in the Mains Zapperator”, he writes, “I was impressed by the smoothness of the vocals

and an organic presentation, without mechanical falsity about the percussion when all of the modules were in place”. Featured in the Soundbites section of the magazine, these short reviews don’t come with a star rating but it’s clear to see he’s impressed: he suggests that – although no one-box solution can possibly solve all your mains noise issues – “this is an important first step and, for many, will be revelatory in terms of sonic improvement”.

PowerPurifier Price: £329 Magazine: Hi-Fi World Issue: July 2017

Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 29

REVIEWS

PowerPurifier:

REVIEWS

a sound investment

Another great review for the PowerPurifier, this time from Hi-F Choice magazine. Like Paul Rigby, Neville Roberts starts by removing all trace of any other mains filtration to test the effectiveness of the PowerPurifier on its own. He starts with the unit in its ‘Classic’ form and finds that, in addition to suppressing mains-borne noise like clicks from his fridge thermostat, “it improves the spaciousness around instruments”. Adding the MegaClamp module doesn’t appear to make a noticeable difference in this case. He does note that the unit is still offering background protection though thanks to its SuperClamp. The installation of the MainsZapperator is another matter. Here, he is instantly struck by the effect of the module on the tightness of the bass. On “Eivor’s Min Mooir” he writes “it has more forceful punch at the start, while the drum thumping throughout is clearly defined and separate from the rolling bass tones of the synthesiser”. Next up is the addition of one ClarityMains unit and, again, the reviewer is impressed with what he hears. On the same track he finds that “vocals are cleaner, with improved lucidity and presence even when the piece ramps up in energy”. On a live recording of an instrumental tango track he notes how the recording becomes more convincing as a live recording with the ClarityMains in place. He follows the addition of the single ClarityMains by introducing more units, one at a time, to test the cumulative effect of filling all four spaces provided for these filters. At each step he notices that, on the same pieces of music, there is “a gradual increase in

30 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

both depth and width of the soundstage”. Each of the violas in the tango piece, for instance, “are clearly identifiable as occupying a specific space in [the] room”, leading him to conclude that there “is no doubt that each ClarityMains filter has something to oﬀer” noting that this eﬀect is more subtle with each addition. Overall, he finds that the PowerPurifier is a sound investment, noting both its sonic performance and flexibility - being able to upgrade the unit yourself over time is seen as a big bonus.

PowerPurifier Price: Magazine: Issue: Rating:

£329 (Classic) Hi-Fi Choice July 2017 4.5 stars

REVIEWS

BMU 1000:

enables your system to sing The BMU 1000 Balanced Mains Unit comes under the microscope in the August 2017 edition of Hi-Fi Choice magazine. Following a good, concise introduction to the principles behind using a balanced mains circuit, the reviewer points out that, as his system is powered by a single distribution block, he is able to switch quickly from unbalanced to balanced mains and back, making it easier to detect any of the more subtle changes in the music. Starting with the famous recording of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.3 with the LSO conducted by André Previn and featuring Vladimir Ashkenazy on piano, Neville Roberts says he was immediately “surprised by the superb image placement of the orchestra”. Switching back to the standard mains set up, he found that the positioning of the piano becomes rather blurred whilst replacing the BMU1000 resulted “in it immediately snapping back into focus. In fact”, he goes on, “all the instruments are more clearly identifiable and have more space around them.” To assess the effect of the BMU on vocals he uses Carla Lother’s recording of The Lake. Here again, the effect is clear and significant: “there is a greater front-to-back depth and width to the performance. The harmonies sung by the female vocalists are more clearly separated from Carla’s singing in the soundstage”. He also notes that the introduction of the balanced mains has a broader effect on the recording, adding a greater “sense of refinement”.

Moving onto a highly dynamic track from the soundtrack to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, he finds that the piece “takes on a whole new dimension of energy and excitement. The dynamics”, he continues, “are noticeably greater, ranging from the delicate tapping of the timpani through to the more authoritative thumping of the kettle drums as the music surges forward”. The Russ Andrews Balanced Mains Unit 1000 is at the upper end of our range of power purification products and this is reflected in the price. £1599 is not an insignificant amount of money but, as Neville Roberts observes, “if you’re serious about hi-fi, you’re going to want a [BMU], and this is an excellent one to own. To put the price tag into perspective”, he argues, “it elevates the sonic performance, regardless of the source and enables your system to sing and produce a more sophisticated sound all round. What’s not to like about that?”.

BMU 1000 Price: Magazine: Issue: Rating:

£1599 Hi-Fi Choice August 2017 5 stars

Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 31

REVIEWS

Kimber AXIOS

headphone cable:

Help high-end headphones be all they can be.

Hi-Fi Plus and its sister US publication The Absolute Sound have long been familiar with the reputation of Kimber Kable. here we find their publisher Chris Martens waxing lyrical about the AXIOS range in this review. Preceding the review itself, he asks what the point is of using an aftermarket cable with already impressive high-end headphones. The theory goes, he says, that an upgraded cable might make these already good products even better - but does this work in practice? “As a matter of fact it does” he answers, “so that in the best of cases previously untapped (even unimaginable) levels of headphone performance are unleashed in dramatic and breathtaking ways. A case in point would be Kimber Kable’s AXIOS headphone signal cable that is the subject of this review”. He first came across this new development in headphone cables at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in October 2015. At this stage the Kimber team only had a pre-production prototype to lend to Chris on the agreement that he wouldn’t go public on his findings yet. He writes; “the idea was that the AXIOS prototypes would provide a ‘taste of things to come’ and boy did they ever!” With the prototype in place fixed to his Audeze LCD3F headphones, he didn’t actually expect what he was about to hear. “I should say”, he writes, “that I have always regarded the Audeze LCD-3F as one of Audeze’s most nuanced and expressive headphones, so that in attaching a set of aftermarket cables to the headphones I really wasn’t convinced that much if any sonic improvement would result”. So what happened? The new cable, he reports, 32 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

provided “a significant leap upward in the overall sound quality”. So significant was the improvement that he says that he “could almost not believe [his] ears”. It wasn’t that his headphones changed character, but just that their whole performance was lifted; “the Audeze LCD-3Fs still sounded very much like themselves, only better - much better”. These impressive results were with the original prototype, so how did he get on with the finished version? Now, he has moved on to a pair of Mr Speakers ETHER Flow headphones, listening via a Questyle CMA600i balanced output headphone amp/DAC to standard as well as high-res PCM and DSD files. Again, as with the prototype on the Audeze’s, the AXIOS’ “unlock considerably more of the performance potential of the ETHER Flow headphones”. He then goes on to list a number of specific areas in which the Axios has lifted the performance. So is it worth the substantial investment in a Kimber AXIOS headphone cable when you’ve already spent an already significant amount on the headphones themselves? “The bottom line is that Kimber’s AXIOS headphone cables can and do help high-end headphones be all that they can be - often in quite dramatic ways.” Specifically addressing the price, he goes on “The AXIOS cable is not inexpensive, but it rewards the enthusiast’s investment by really delivering the goods, both in sonic terms and in service of the music. Very highly recommended”.

Kimber AXIOS headphone cable Price: Magazine: Issue: Rating:

£698 Hi-Fi Plus July 2017 Very Highly Recommended

LETTERS Fitting SuperFuses to my TV I enclose the following update to my previous review on internal SuperFuses, feel free to use this in Connected or anywhere else should you wish to.

you r s letter swap, came in from the kitchen, took one look and said “I can tell you’ve put them back in, haven’t you?” Yes, she was correct, so now I need four more of these pesky Internal SuperFuse SuperFuses. £25 each

In my previous review on internal SuperFuses I said how wonderful they were in my set-up, with the exception of my CD player, a Consonance 2.2 linear. This has two internal fuses – one 2 amp and one 100mA, but I was only able to replace the 2A as the 100mA was at that point not in production. So the improvement was small unlike the preamp where it was tremendous and the power amp that moved up a notch in volume! A few months went by until I was told that a 100mA was available, I sent for the same and was amazed at the improvement across the board but especially deeper bass! I now have my CD, pre and power amps fitted with the internal and 13A external SuperFuses. So that is the end of it – or is it? Being now bitten by the SuperFuse bug I decided to borrow the 13A SuperFuses from my music set-up and try in my LCD TV plugs, after first having cleaned the said plugs. This was only a short test but I swapped them back and forth three times, and each time decided that the colours were more vivid, including the blacks which were blacker and also the picture was clearer with better definition. At one point, my wife, who had been in on the first

As you can see I am a definite convert and would urge anyone to try them especially as they are covered by the 60 day returns policy, so what is there to lose? Hugh Atkinson, Lincs.

Should I use XLRs? I’m contemplating changing my preamp which amongst other things would Timbre interconnect with XLR connectors enable me to £70 for 0.5m pr connect to my power amp by XLR for the first time. I know there are differences of opinion regarding the merits or otherwise of making this change and wonder whether you have an opinion either way. Wisdom and advice always appreciated. J. Conway, by e-mail On the whole, we tend to prefer single-ended equipment and Russ only uses single ended circuits. However, it may be that the design of your pre-power combo favours the balanced circuit. Then again, it may be that the single ended circuit sounds better. There’s only one way to find out: have a listen. Our experience is that a well-

Win a Silencer mains filter, worth £52.00

STAR LETTER

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.

designed single ended circuit can sound better than a poorlydesigned balanced one. Sorry I can’t be more specific, fun times ahead listening though! The Kimber interconnects are all available balanced and unbalanced so you have a control if necessary. JA

Improving my PowerKord

STAR LETTER

I bought a PowerKord-100 from you about a week ago and I am currently going through the Jekyll and Hyde period of break in. I would be obliged if you could please let me know: 1. The benefit of changing the standard WattGate IEC plug to a Rhodium one. What sort of difference will it make compared to the standard IEC? 2. Send the cable back for Super Burn-in? Will this make a bigger Issue 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 33

you r s L E T T E R S letter

Torlyte Platform - £184

difference than changing the IEC to a Rhodium one?

Torlyte Platform under a turntable?

I also have a Russ Andrews Classic PowerKord (bought 9 years ago) with a Super Fuse, but this cable although it uses the same Kimber cable sounds completely different compared to the newer one. Is it because of the new WattGate IEC?

I would like your advice on using the Torlyte platform as a support for my record deck but am slightly non-plussed because you don’t specifically suggest it for this purpose. On the other hand, there seem to be interesting and positive user comments and reviews on the web about using the Platform in this way.

I am using the new power cable with my Krell Evo 222 preamp, where it makes the biggest difference. R. Akbar, by e-mail The higher quality versions of the Wattgates offer, in our opinion, a more precise and dynamic sound. Music tends to flow better and the sound is more relaxed in a totally natural way. But if you’re considering that or Super Burn-in, then we’d always recommend Super Burn-in as it improves every aspect of the cable, which will be a bigger overall improvement than just the plug. It’s also cheaper. I’m surprised that your old Classic sounds completely different, but I suspect this is just part burn-in period, so until it’s been fully run in, (a minimum of 3 weeks of constant use), it’s difficult to fully evaluate it. The improvement between the Classic and PowerKord-100 (better standard WattGate plug, earth and sleeving) are more tweaks than a radical overhaul, so the sound should be of a similar characteristic but better and more musical. PB

Super Burn-n service - £100 per cable

34 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 40 Autumn 2017

Because of space limitations which determine the existing lay-out of my audio equipment, a Turntable stand is not an option. My Michell Orbe stands on the top level of a Blox rack (on a sprung wooden floor) which has toughened glass shelves. It’s not ideal as a support, there are no doubt better rack systems available at higher prices, but I think it more cost-effective to improve what I have. I suspect that the glass shelves and vibration from the floor degrade the sound a little and the Platform might help to remove these unwanted effects. By the way,the Mains Zapperator I bought some months ago has been well worth its modest cost. The improvement has been subtle, in effect a further “quietening” of the soundstage which reveals more detail. John Harris, by e-mail If anything the benefit of Torlyte is more noticeable and is a bigger upgrade for a turntable. Because it has more and bigger moving parts that generate a greater amount of mechanical energy that can have a negative effect on sound quality. Torlyte provides an effective path away for that energy, so we wholeheartedly recommend one! PB

Silver Streak 0.5m £243

Struck by Silver Streak It has been over a year now since I connected Silver Streak interconnects to the power amps of my system. Much has been written in reviews and by users on how good the cables are and I cannot help but find myself in agreement with many of the positive comments made so will endeavour not to replicate them. My ‘observations’ come from a slightly different viewpoint. I already owned a Silver Streak connecting my DAC to preamp that gave a very impressive improvement. I assumed that the major sound improvement had already been made by this upgrade and that the cables used to connect to the power amps could not provide the same level of improvement if upgraded. This was a mistake, a huge mistake. Last year I took the plunge and bought Silver Streaks to upgrade Crystal-Cu cable from my preamp to two power amps. The effect was to elevate the performance of my system to a level that I neither expected nor ever truly thought it capable of. It really was that significant. At times much emphasis appears to focus on the importance of using the highest quality interconnect from the source and I accept and understand the logic behind this. However in my experience I never really fully realised how good the Silver Streak interconnect was until I used these cables to connect to my power amps. I enjoy music more now than I have ever before and believe other users may be unaware of the benefits made by this upgrade. A Brown, by email

WIN

MADE WITH

C O M PCompetition ETITION

a Silver PowerKord

worth over £2000!

W IN

WORTH OVER

£2000!

We started our 30th Anniversary year with the chance to win a superb Silver PowerKord based on our older Reference cable. To see out the year we have decided to go one better and oﬀer a brand new, 1m Silver PowerKord-300™ Ag mains cable as a prize.

PowerKord-300™ Ag is made with16 pure silver Kimber Kable conductors, woven around the large-gauge central earth core. Terminated with the top-of-the-range Wattgate W350EVO RH IEC, the 300 Ag also benefits from our wide-format geometry and noise reducing sheathing. And to top it oﬀ we’ve added a 13A SuperFuse as the ‘icing on the cake‘. It’s a superb choice for any component such as your CD player, turntable, preamp, power amp or integrated amp. This really is a fantastic opportunity to own a stunning cable.

To be in with a chance of winning this very special prize, simply answer the following question: Which of the following is NOT part of a loudspeaker? A. Crossover B. Port C. Coil D. Platter Entries must be received by 31st October 2017 and the winner will be picked at random from all the correct entries. The winner will be informed by 14th November 2017 and will receive a 1m PowerKord-300 Ag worth over £2000.

Enter the competition online by visiting russandrews.com/competition or post your answer to: Connected 39 Competition, Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Rd, Kendal, LA9 6NS. Remember to include your name, address and contact phone number.

Terms and Conditions 1. The closing date for entries is 31st October 2017 and the winner will be notified by 14th November 2017; 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 1m Silver PowerKord-300 Ag. 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 winners 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 40 Autumn 2017 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 35

Reference Code

The Silencer is a compact mains filter that can be used in two ways:

• Use one to 'silence' mains noise at source – common culprits are computers and computer peripherals (printers, scanners, monitors etc.); fridges; freezers; battery chargers and so on. Silencer is designed to simply plug in close to these sources of noise.

•

The Silencer can also be used as an eﬀective and inexpensive power conditioner – simply plug it in as close to your Hi-Fi or Home Cinema and create a 'quiet area' around it.

Customer Number

Return address: Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal LA9 6NS, UK.

Shhhh..... SILENCE PLEASE!

Includes our SuperClamp for eﬀective surge protection Silencer incorporates our SuperClamp* spike and surge protection to help reduce the eﬀect of voltage spikes - they 'grab' the spike and reduce its intensity. In our opinion, high voltage spikes can raise the background noise level in amplification circuits which is why it makes good sense to try and reduce them.

Order your Silencer now Code: 1403

* To maintain their eﬀectiveness we recommend replacing the SuperClamp components every five years (cost £20).

The Silencer Triple Pack

(£47 each)

£52.00 £141.00

SAVE £15

www.russandrews.com Call UK Orderline 01539 797300 Int Tel +44 (0)1539 797300 Buy online at

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