Gramophone – September 2019

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.

HIGH FIDELITY

THE TECHNOLOGY THAT MAKES THE MOST OF YOUR MUSIC

Rachel Podger’s

scintillating Four Seasons

has already attracted

plaudits. It sounds even

more striking in DSD

versionsuptoDSD512.

A powerful reading of

Copland’s Third Symphony

by The Orchestra of the

Americas, sparkling in

this 192kHz/24-bit release

fromLinn.

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