Gramophone – September 2019

(singke) #1
gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE SEPTEMBER 2019 133

A


lthoughthemarketforhighly
affordablehi-fihascontracted
more than a little since its past
peaks, there’s no shortage of
equipment designed to tempt new buyers
into investing in a first serious system.
BritishspeakermanufacturerWharfedale
hasbeenattheforefrontofthistrendever
sinceitlauncheditsfirstDiamondspeakers
severaldecadesback–theDiamondisnow
inits11thgeneration–andnowit’sfound
waystomakeitsexcellentD300series
speakers 1 ,launchedlastautumn,even
morecost-effective.
Citingthedevelopmentof‘anumber
ofefficienciesintheproductionprocessto
enablesignificantcostreductionstopass
ontoconsumers’,thecompanyhasreduced
theentry-levelD310bookshelfspeakers
from£159perpairto£129/pr,theslightly
largerD320from£199/prto£149/pr
andthematchingD300Ccentrespeaker
forhomecinemafrom£179to£149.
However,themostspectacularsavingis
onthefloorstandingD330speakers,which
launchedat£499/pr:youcannowbuy
thematjust£349/pr,makingthemahighly
affordablewaytogetapairofspeakerswith
goodsensitivity,soyoudon’tneedahuge
amplifiertofilllargespaces,andclaimed
bassextensiondownto40Hz(+/-3dB).
Wharfedalehasalsorevivedoneof
itsclassicdesignsaspartofitsHeritage
Series.TheLinton(£999.95/pr) 2 joins
the recently launched Denton 85 (£549.95/
pr), and is another design first seen in the
1960s and ’70s. The new model follows
the lead of the 1965 original in being a
large three-way standmount model. It uses
a 20cm Kevlar cone bass unit, a 13.5cm
mid-range driver, also with a Kevlar cone,
and a 25mm soft fabric dome tweeter, and

ishand-finishedinachoiceofrealwood
veneers–mahoganyorwalnut.Matching
open-framestandswithcoordinating
veneerpanelsareavailableat£279.95,or
£1099.95whenboughtwiththespeakers.
AnotherclassicBritishnamelaunching
newproductsisCambridgeAudio,withan
all-newAXrangeofCDplayers,amplifiers
andreceiversdesignedtoslotinbeneathits
CXandEdgeline-ups.AvailableinLunar
Greyandblack,therangekicksoffwith
theverysimpleAXC25CDplayerand
AXA25amplifierat£229apiece 3. The
player has just analogue outputs, while the
amp has four analogue ins and an auxiliary
input on the front panel, and delivers 25W
per channel. Stepping up, the £299 AXC35
CD player adds a coaxial digital input,
while the similarly priced AX35 amplifier
ups the power to 35W per channel
and adds a remote control, display and
headphone output.
Unusually, the two receivers in the
range are stereo-only, not multichannel.
The £349 AXR85 can drive two zones
of speakers with its 85Wpc output, and
has three analogue ins plus a phono
stage input, 3.5mm stereo in and 6.3mm
headphone out sockets, built-in Bluetooth
and an FM/AM tuner. The £449 AXR100
delivers 100Wpc and adds two optical
inputs and one coaxial.
Back to speakers, and PMC has launched
‘Signature’ versions of its fact.8 and fact.12

floorstanders 4 , with technology trickled
down from the company’s Fenestria
flagship model – principally in the
crossovers, which now use military-grade
boards, hand-selected components and a
revised layout to minimise interference –
with switching on the rear panel to tailor
the bass and treble to the room. In two new
finishes, White Silk and Metallic Graphite,
the fact.8 Signature is £6995 per pair and
the fact.12 Signature £14,995.
Finally this month, a completely
revisedversionofthetrendsettingNaim
Mu-soall-inonesystem.Mu-soSecond
Generation–orMu-so2toitsfriends 5 –
sells for £1295 and, as well as the extended
compatibility of Naim’s ‘Future Platform’,
has completely revised audio engineering.
A new control interface has additional
touch-buttons on the main unit and a new
handset, while improved multicore digital
signal processing and upgraded speaker
drivers co-developed with Focal give the
system enhanced sound, including better
bass, helped by a 13 per cent increase
in cabinet volume. The addition of an
HDMI input allows Mu-so2 to be used as
a TV sound system, while Chromecast,
Spotify, Tidal and Roon-ready status, plus
Bluetooth and AirPlay2, make the system
remarkably flexible. New grille colours are
also available: as well as the standard black,
you can choose between Terracotta, Olive
and Peacock.

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SEPTEMBER TEST DISCS

1

From speaker bargains to a reinvented all-in-one


A British brand makes its entry-level range more aordablewhileanother revises a revolutionary product


3 4

5

2

A well-matched all-in-
one system from ATC,
a smarter server from
Melco and how to tackle
classical tagging
Andrew Everard
Audio Editor
Free download pdf