Hifi Pig

Black Rhodium the UK based cable manufacturer has announced the launch of the LIBRA and CRATOS mains power cables.

Both cables have been designed for low ‘Transient Phase Distortion’ by increasing the thickness of the inner insulation to 1.2mm.

“The benefit of thicker insulation is that when two electrical conductors carry an electrical current, the magnetic field produced by the current in one conductor affects the resistance of the other conductor. This is known as the ‘Proximity Effect’. Because the loudspeaker load is reactive, the current and voltage in the speaker cable are not in phase and the modulation effect produces a ‘Transient Phase Distortion’ signal that distorts sound quality. By moving the conductors of LIBRA and CRATOS 2.4mm from each other, the magnetic field (which reduces inversely proportionally to the distance) on the other cable is lowered and the ‘Transient Phase Distortion’ is less audible.”

Libra is suitable for all equipment that requires less than 5 amps of continuous current whilst Cratos is designed for high power amplifiers and power distribution systems and has a continuous current capacity of 15 amps.

Bryston LTD, celebrating 50 years in 2012, has announced the introduction of the BDP-2 digital music player, an enhanced version of the BDP-1 that accommodates larger music libraries with faster load times.

Both the BDP-1 and BDP-2 were designed to give listeners the ability to enjoy their library of high-resolution digital music files (resolutions of up to 24-bit/192kHz are supported) residing on a USB storage device, which in turn is directly connected via standard USB cable or thumb drive to the Bryston digital music player. New to the BDP-2 are six USB 2.0 inputs and upgradability to USB 3.0, future-proofing the device as a long term solution. Additionally, the BDP-2 contains eight times the internal memory and three times the processing speed compared to the BDP-1, which will remain in the Bryston lineup alongside the BDP-2.

“The user interface and sonic qualities of the BDP-2 are identical to the BDP-1,” explained Bryston VP James Tanner. “We have given the BDP-2 NAS and eSATA drive connectivity, UPnP/DNLA client/server support and much more speed for those customers with very large libraries of music files,” Tanner added. “The BDP-2 is the logical step-up product in terms of features and functionality based upon the success we have had with the BDP-1,” Tanner concluded.

The BDP-2 features two RS232 ports for control system connectivity and two Gigabit Ethernet connections, all pointing to a new internal motherboard powered by an Intel® Atom™ processor. The 10A peak power supply in the BDP-2 is more robust than the BDP-1’s power supply to accommodate these changes. The BDP-2 also has accommodations for a user-supplied internal drive. The BDP-2 has an MSRP of $2995 and the BDP-1 remains in the Bryston lineup at $1995. The BDP-2 will become available January, 2013.

THIEL Audio has announced that the company has been acquired by a private equity firm based in Nashville, TN. New THIEL CEO Bill Thomas has indicated that the brand focus will continue to be on premium quality phase and time coherent loudspeakers, with long time THIEL employees Brad Paulsen, Gary Dayton, Lana Ruth and Rob Gillum all remaining onboard.

“We identified THIEL as a brand with an unmatched heritage in performance audio and it is our intent to invest in the company’s infrastructure, strengthening the engineering department first and foremost,” stated Thomas.

In addition to Paulsen, Dayton, Ruth and Gillum remaining with THIEL, the entire factory team has been retained and the existing sales channel—comprised of reps and dealers—will remain in place. The R&D and manufacturing facility in Lexington, KY will continue to operate at full capacity as well and the company says there are no plans to close this operation.

As part of their Atratus range of cables, Epiphany Acoustics have announced the launch of a shielded mains cable.

The Atratus mains cable has “been designed on a ‘no holds barred’ basis, using only the most suitable, highest quality components”. The cable itself is comprised of heavy gauge copper conductors with a 100% coverage shield. It is terminated using gold plated connectors on each end for a “lasting and reliable connection”.

Oliver Freeborn, the companies owner commented on the cables, “The shielding mechanism ensures that any and all interference immediately gets shorted to ground, keeping it out of your hi-fi system”.

Price is £49.99 for a 1m cable.

Cyrus Audio is launching an advanced iOS control app for its range of  streaming products. Called Cadence, the new app is completely bespoke and will give users visibility over networked music, extensive streamer feature control, and an intuitive interface. The app will also ‘drive’ many features, such as changing inputs, browsing connected devices as well as offering individual control of multiple Cyrus streamers on a network.

The first version of Cadence will be launched for the iPad and will be compatible with iOS 5.0 and above. Variants for the iPhone 3Gs (and above), iPod touch 3rd generation and Android will follow.

Meridian Audio the UK hifi manufacturer have announced the opening of its first boutique in the United States, located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The outlet becomes the 14^th boutique across the globe to provide the Meridian retail environment.

Meridian Fort Lauderdale will be marking its official opening with an exclusive invitation-only event on November 29th  and will be be a dedicated showcase for Meridian’s products, offering customers a full Meridian experience, including a home cinema setting. Products on display will include the DSP Digital Active Loudspeakers, Meridian Reference Series and the Digital Media Systems.

The boutique is owned and operated by Nicholas Ehr and Tim Ralph. Childhood friends, the pair has been in business since 2003, operating in both residential custom installation as well as commercial IT industries.

John Buchanan, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing at Meridian, commented, “We are very excited about the first US boutique and the continued growth of our global boutique programme. Nick and Tim are both very passionate about the brand and Meridian Fort Lauderdale will provide a great experience for customers.”

Isotek, the Uk manufacturer of power optimisation products will launch and entry level range of products called the Discovery range.

The Discovery range will consist of three products: EVO 3 Polaris (a six way mains conditioning block), EVO 3 Mira (a mains conditioning device for TVs and Projectors) and the EVO 3 Premier (a high-performance power cable).

The EVO3 Polaris will retail at £249.95, the Mini Mira at £194.95 and the Premier at £79.95.

Having been a bit of a fan of Lemmy and his cohorts in our early years (and still to this day it has to be said) it’s with a great deal of interest that Hifi Pig read the news that Motorhead had launched their very own brand of headphones on to the market and felt compelled to include them in our hifi news.

There are three over the ear models to choose from and a couple of IEMs with different finishes. All come suitably named with monikers such as Bomber, Iron Fist and Motorizer for the over ear models and Overkill and Trigger for the IEMs.

The over ear models come in any colour you like as long as it’s black and the IEMS come in black silver or brass and all are suitably liveried with Motorhead logos and detailing.

The website has the following to say about the Motorheadphones – “No weak-kneed, lily-livered, tin-pot and skinny sounding little pieces of garbage, no, that ain’t Motörhead’s style. These are headphönes designed to deliver everything louder than everything else BUT with the sort of range, clarity and TRUE rock reproduction you’d expect from a band of road warriors who have been at the top of the tree year after year.”

Prices for the over ear headphones are £79.99 – 129.99 and the IEMs come in at £39.99 or 49.99.

RCJ Audio based in the NW of England, have announced a new range of HiFi support equipment designed to support your kit and have high WAF. RCJ have named the new supports Red Pike, Yewbarrow, Pillar, Great Gable and the Scafell after the guardian mountains of Wasdale.

The support shelves incorporate a built in damping system, employed to remove vibrations that inevitably emanate from equipment – the supports are also designed to fit the company’s range of Hush Isolation Platforms. 

They are available in 2, 3 or 4 shelf options with a variety of finishes including  Oak, Cherry, European Walnut and Birds Eye Maple veneers with solid wood framework and surrounds… Granite, Slate, Engineered Stone and Valchromat inserts available in lieu of veneered finish.

Each of the racks is fully compatible with RJCs Hush Isolation Platforms which may be fitted in lieu of the shelves as well as on them.

Complete with adjustable feet and built in damping, these supports can be used under all of your equipment. Available in a variety of sizes and also compatible with Hush Isolation Platforms.

The example shown is the Great Gable, fitted with 450mm and 650mm depth shelves, finished in both European Walnut and Oak with American Black Walnut surrounds, frames in Oak. Also shown with Hush Isolation Platforms fitted.

Priced from £300.