Hifi Pig

Jim Marshall the founder of Marshall amplifiers has died at the age of 88.

The Marshall Website published a tribute which included the following

“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved founder and leader for the past 50 years, Jim Marshall. While mourning the Guv’nor though, we also salute a legendary man who led a full and truly remarkable life.”

In addition to the creation of the amps chosen by countless guitar heroes and game-changing bands, Jim was also an incredibly humble and generous man who, over the past several decades, has quietly donated many millions of pounds to worthy causes.

“While the entire Marshall Amplification family mourns Jim’s passing and will miss him tremendously, we all feel richer for having known him and are happy in the knowledge that he is now in a much better place which has just got a whole lot louder!

“Rest in Peace and thank you Jim.”

Neil Young has for a while now been a champion for hi resolution formats and released his Archives Volume 1 box set on Blu-ray as far back as 2009 whilst making noises about Blu-rays superior sonic attributes. Hifi Pig reads with interest that the multi-faceted Young (Hifi Pig is a bit of a fan) is in the throes of developing a brand new hi-res format for audio that is said to equal studio quality.

Young has been forthright in his condemnation of current digital formats and their inability to present a recording in the manner the artist would like.

Mid last year the Canadian singer-songwriter reportedly filed documents with the United States Patent and Trademark Office which in effect were applications for the following trademarks: 21^st Century Record Player, Earth Storage, Ivanhoe, SQS (Studio Quality Sound), Storage Shed and Thanks for Listening). The trademarks applied for relate to “Online retail store services”, “High resolutions discs featuring music and video of music” and “High resolution music downloadable from the internet” More »

Hifi Pig received a press release today announcing the launch of G Point Audio,

G Point Audio will be offering a carefully selected portfolio of artisan hifi products from Poland to the British audiophile. The products in their collection are designed and crafted for the “most sophisticated and enjoyable musical experience possible” and are made by people passionate about music and audio reproduction.

Greg Drygala the owner of G Point Audio says that the artisans  he is working with are “passionate about music, they are fanatical about sound and they refuse to bring compromise of any kind to their creations” and It is this attention to detail that he believes will help set the G Point Audio collection apart from others. Having spoken to Greg on a number of occasions it is clear that he shares this passion and will bring this to the business.

The collection includes selected pieces from Lampizator, The Absolutor Linear Preamp, Cube Audio loudspeakers, Auto-Tech horns, and exquisite cables from Albedo and Argentum.

G Point Audio  are confident that the products and brands they carry will become “beloved items with which you will share many intimate moments of listening pleasure and they will become part of your home as would a work of art” and looking at some of the really superb looking speakers in particular, Hifi Pig can see why he should think this.

In these times of financial uncertainty it is great to to see the launch of a new hifi dealer for the UK and we at Hifi PIg wish Greg and his team all the very best for the future.

Living Voice, the specialist high-end audio company based in Derbyshire, England will be well known to many on Hifi Pig we’re sure. Established in 1987 Living Voice manufactures specialist, high performance, hand-built loudspeaker systems of uncompromised performance and uncompromised quality. “Designs of imagination, vision and innovation are created for discerning music lovers”. Brainchild of Kevin Scott, Living Voice was born of a passion for music and is driven by a passion for absolute excellence and this can be seen in the flagship Vox Olympian.

The Vox Olympian is unique in both concept and execution: “a synthesis of fine furniture making, fine art, and cutting edge acoustic science.” More »

Hifi Pig is partial to a bit of studio type kit used in domestic settings and thought the latest offerings from Adam, due out in October of 2012, looked quite interesting. Consisting of two nearfield monitors and a dedicated subwoofer, the F Series is designed in the tradition of ADAM professional monitors. The aim is to focus on the essence of ADAM speakers at a new, lower price point. 

The F5 and F7 near field monitors feature a newly designed version of the ADAM proprietary Accelerating Ribbon Technology. These tweeters are said to reproduce the higher frequencies with “the very airiness, clarity, and detail ADAM is famous for” and the high performance woofers are designed to seamlessly integrate with the tweeters performance.
Wherever deeper and more powerful bass response is required, the Sub F subwoofer will be available. It has been specifically designed to match the F monitors and will perfectly complement them in any set up.

Could be just the ticket for a desktop system.

MBL have introduced the C15 Mono Power Amplifier to their Corona Line of high-end audio components. It offers a mighty 500-watt (4-ohm) and so should be capable of driving pretty much any loudspeaker with ease. MBL claim that implementation of their LASA-technology (Linear Analog Switching Amplifier) results in a “homogeneous characteristic of THD throughout the frequency range” and that the frequency response is independent of loudspeaker load.
German precision design and execution are evident in the inner-workings of the mbl C15 with all power supplies and transformers not only being screened off by magnetically shielded partitions encapsulated in MU metal, but also electrically isolated. The Amplifier offers both balanced and unbalanced inputs whilst loudspeakers can be wired in Single or Bi-Wired format. The nifty MBL SmartLink network enables other Corona devices to talk with each other via standard Ethernet cables and software updates can be uploaded via the integrated SD card reader.

The MBL C15 is available like all other Corona products from MBL in white or black with a choice of finish options and will retail at 9600€

Groningen, The Netherlands, March 2012. “A  preamp, a DAC and a  power amplifier” is the rather business-like opening gambit of Mola-Mola, a new Dutch high-end company. This would ordinarily guarantee exactly no excitement at all in the sty, were it not for the people behind the new name: Bruno Putzeys and Jan-Peter van Amerongen. 

Putzeys is probably best known for the UcD and Ncore class D amplifiers and Van Amerongen is the entrepreneur who made these amps ubiquitous under the  Hypex brand. They have now got togeher to build audiophile kit which will make its  first  appearance at the Munich High End show in May 2012. More »