The weekend of Saturday 24th March sees the Weybridge Hifi show. It’s billed as being “A High End Audio and Home Entertainment” event and takes place at the Oatlands Park Hotel in Weybridge, Surrey. A weekend ticket £18 if you buy it on the door and £15 if you buy it on line.

The show is hardly a massive affair with just 28 exhibitors at time of writing, but is this necessarily a bad thing; the argument goes that with so few exhibitors visitors will be able to get around the show more easily and actually be able to listen to the systems on show.

Highlights of the show, as advertised on Chester Groups website, are Inspire Hifi demonstrating of their direct drive Monarch turntable, Fidelity Arts new Akkus loudspeakers and the appearance of German manufacturer Burmester’ products at an English show after an absence of almost 10 years.

Reference Fidelity Components (RFC), the UK based hi-fi cable manufacturer, has announced that it will soon be stocking Talk Electronic’s widely regarded Talk 3 loudspeaker cable.  The loudspeaker cable has been very favourably received by customers since its launch and has reviewed well in the Hifi press.
This is what Talk Cables have to say about the Talk 3:

“… our all new TALK 3 speaker cable, a spaced pair of 2.5sq mm OFC copper cores which have been insulated with a thin layer of our own proprietary material we call ‘TALK Flex’. These are then placed into a dark green PCV jacket for protection from pulling and scraping during installation.” More »

Monster, has announced its new iSport LIVESTRONG branded in-ear headphones for athletes and enthusiasts. The headphones boldly feature LIVESTRONG’s iconic bright yellow on both the cable and earpieces.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of the iSport LIVESTRONG headphones will be donated to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, created in 1997 by the cancer survivor and champion cyclist, to serve people affected by cancer and empower them to take action against the world’s leading cause of death.  The foundation is now known publicly by its powerful brand – LIVESTRONG – and is a leader in the global movement on behalf of 28 million people around the world living with cancer today.

Having just bought a new pair of lovely “audiophile headphones” I thought “Why keep your headphones stuffed into a cupboard or drawer, getting the cable and the cable extension tangled up?” The house is already a bit of a sty after all and i really don’t need any more clutter!

Having spent so much of my hard earned cash I want them in plain sight, on a bookshelf or right next to my hi-fi where I can get at them with ease? In short I want to show them off a bit whilst having them close at hand. A quick search found CA Electronics, a Dutch manufacturer of connectors, isolators, damping plates, loudspeakers and hand-made, hand coated headphone stands that look very nicely made indeed.

Each headphones stand is powder coated by hand which provides a very durable finish to maximize the stand’s longevity.

The HS-1 looks just the job and is described as being the “perfect stand for any headphone”. It’s made of 3mm thick curved aluminium, stands about 25ch high and is about 10cm deep. The stand has been designed so that the curve of the stand supports the headband and the narrow end holds the ear-pads in place. The slight flexibility of the stand is said to leave headphones resting in a natural position when not in use and CA claim this will enhance a headphones lifespan.

Hifi Pig has snoofled out some very interesting news for valve amplifier fans and enthusiasts of the iconic Radford STA15 and STA25 valve hi fi amplifiers.

UK based Radford Revival have announced the limited edition reissue of Radfords classic series 3 hifi amplifiers. The father and son team of Steve and William Moores hand-build these beautiful amplifiers to order and make them from the original, and hand drafted 1964 blueprints and the original hand-written transformer winding specifications.

Steve has a long history with Radford and has perhaps the largest collection of Radford amplifiers and transformers in the world.

The new transformers on the reissued amplifiers are superior to the originals in several respects. They are machine wound to modern safety and insulation standards. Superior termination is provided by tags embedded in the plastic bobbin, which are much stronger than the original tags, which were glued to the outer insulation of the winding and had a tendency to fall off.

Metal components and casework in the amplifiers are also reproduced from original blueprints (meticulously scanned and converted into metric) and the company used happens to be the very same company contracted by Radford in the 80s to product the metalwork for the Mk4 STA25.

I’m sure you will agree with HiFi Pig that these valve hi fi amplifiers are truly things of beauty and we wish the company every success for the future. We hope to have a review of the amplifiers in the very near future.

The STA15 is £2750 and the STA25 is £2800 which Hifi Pig thinks is a very reasonable sum for such a well crafted piece of engineering.

MartinLogan, well known the world over for their electrostatic speaker technology, announces this month the slender Motion® SLM, a wall-hanging or free standing LCR speaker that is ”powerful enough to stand alone and detailed enough to be used in conjunction with floor standing MartinLogan speakers”. The Motion SLM features dual four-inch, ultra-slim fibre cone woofers and dual four-inch high-velocity passive bass radiators, paired with a Folded Motion™ tweeter – all in an ultra-slim profile designed with super-thin TVs in mind.

The speakers are slim enough to complement even the thinnest of wall-mounted HD displays (even projection screens) and the Motion SLM is designed to step in where underpowered, unnatural sounding TV speakers fall short. The Motion SLM’s is said to have a “larger-than-its-size performance” and this down to the dual ultra-slim fibre cone woofers and high-velocity passive bass radiators, which provide low-end bass extension from an ultra-slim profile combined with the advanced resolution Folded Motion tweeter. The high-gloss black SLM cabinet is only 1.45-inches thin, for a total wall protrusion of 1.83-inches when used with magnetic grille and included wall mount bracket. More »

Electrocompaniet the Norwegian hifi manufacturer of CD-Players, Dacs, amplifiers and loudspeakers launched the EMP 2 multiplayer in October of last year. Whilst this isn’t up to the minute “news” Hifi Pig thought it worth including in this section of the site.

The EMP 2 is part of the company’s Classic line and is a fully fledged and versatile player with support for all modern audio and video formats and media including Blu-ray in 2D and 3D. CD, SACD, DVD and DVD Audio. More »

NAD has announced the imminent launch of its Masters Series M51

Direct Digital DAC.   The M51 includes many ‘firsts’ for the DAC product category: first to support HDMI, first to support USB Audio Class 2 with support for 192kHz, the first to use digital error correction, and the first

35 bit architecture to be found in a DAC. More »

With immediate effect – and until the 31st May 2012 – customers can obtain a minimum trade-up value from an authorised Meridian retailer on selected CD Players and Controller products against the purchase of a new 800 Reference Series product. More »

For the 4th successive year, the HiFi Wigwam internet hifi & music forum has organised its very own hifi show.  This is hosted in the spacious Scalford Hall Hotel in the heart of rural Leicestershire UK, just outside the town of Melton Mowbray, which is otherwise famous for its pork pies!  Hifi Pigs beware …

For the first 2 years the Show was held in collaboration with Chester Group, who are experienced with organising hifi shows worldwide.  For 2011 and 2012, though, the Hifi Wigwam forum has been solely responsible.

Other than in the main reception area, hifi dealers and manufacturers are not allowed in!  Instead the show’s focus is on the real life hifi systems belonging to forum members.

Some 50 systems were presented this year, each in their own room, ranging from the small and low cost end of the spectrum to no holds barred super systems, and with components from well known established manufacturers to vintage hifi, and DIY constructions of amazing appearance! More »

Naim has announced a new addition to its network player range –  the NDS. The new reference network player joins the NDX and ND5 XS and completes Naim’s range of streaming separates sources.

The NDS is an audiophile source, capable of playing and streaming audio over a home network at up to 24bit/192kHz resolution. It offers internet radio yet forgoes a DAB and FM radio tuner to minimise noise. It includes three S/PDIF digital inputs for connection to external digital sources, such as a computer or CD player. A front-panel USB port complets the feature set – either connect an iPhone or iPod digitally to allow the NDS to control and play stored audio or play audio from a USB memory stick, even hi-resolution WAV or FLAC files, with full on-screen control. The NDS will support all the main file formats. WAV, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC, AAC, Windows Media-formatted content, Ogg Vorbis and MP3 files are all catered for, as is gapless playback.

In true Naim reference engineering style, the NDS requires the use of an external power supply. The XP5 XS, XPS and 555 PS are all suitable matches. Performance can be further enhanced by the addition of a second Burndy cable (in the case of 555 PS only) splitting out the analogue and digital sections, which a second 555 PS will bring about even greater gains.

Like its fellow network players, the NDS can be controlled by Naim’s n-Stream control app for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. The app also alows control of a Naim system’s inputs and volume. The supplied remote and front-panel interface provide simple and easily accessed control.

Earlier this month Hifi Pig reported on the “Pie Fi Show” – the Hifi show organized by the Hifi Wigwam forum. The show will take place at the Scalford Hall Hotel in Melton Mowbray on Sunday 4th March, from 10 am – 5pm and is certainly the one that you should really make the effort to attend.

This is not your usual hifi show by any stretch of the imagination and offers people the opportunity to listen to forum members own real life systems. You can buy advance tickets on the dedicated website (linked above) for just £10 if you want to avoid the queue, or you can pay on the door.

Scalford Hall the Venue for this year's Pie Fi Show.

Hifi Pig is pleased to announce that we have just got wind that the owner of the Hifi Wigwam Forum, James, will be getting interviewed on radio 103 The Eye this coming Tuesday morning around 11.30am on the station’s Steve Edwards Show.

You can tune in on 103.0 FM in Leicestershire & Nottinghamshire “if wind is in the right direction”. Or listen online www.103theeye.co.uk where you’ll find a listen live button, top right, on their home page.

Now, Hifi Pig would love to be at the show as he was last year, but alas this year pigs are not destined to fly and he’s a bit afraid he may well become a pie himself.

Onkyo recently announced the release of the first models from its 2012 range. These comprise four receivers all engineered to deliver superior sound quality, better features, and value for money, compared to their outgoing equivalents.

Onkyo's TX-NR616 AV Reciever.

The receivers are:

TX-SR313 5.1-channel home cinema receiver
TX-NR414
networked 5.1-channel home cinema receiver
TX-NR515
networked 7.2-channel home cinema receiver
TX-NR616
THX Select2 Plus-certified home cinema receiver

Beginning with the affordable TX-SR313 (100w per channel) this boasts WRAT (Wide Range Amplifier Technology), a low negative-feedback design philosophy that Onkyo says “reduces signal noise and guarantees superb performance with minimal distortion”. Discrete output-stage components – not cheap ‘all-in-one’ chips –  are said to significantly improve audio quality. More »

A new CD compiled by IsoTek, the pioneering brand of power conditioning products for hi-fi and home cinema systems, aims to improve the sound of audio systems by ensuring they are set up correctly and ready to perform at their best.

The Ultimate System Set-Up Disc comprises 20 tracks to test and fine-tune key elements of two-channel system performance, and is designed to be both practical and easy to use. The CD includes a selection of superbly performed, recorded and produced music from the legendary Opus3 audiophile record label, each one chosen to test specific elements of audio performance, together with a unique sequence of specially prepared sounds and test tones to help with things like speaker positioning and system optimisation.

Isoteks Ultimate System Set-Up Disc

The disc begins by testing stereo and phase, with further tests for basic speaker positioning, then stereo and front-to-back soundstage depth. These tracks (1 to 12) help to fine-tune the way a system is set up, in order to optimise its performance.

Tracks 13 and 14 provide a frequency range test – a useful way to examine the bandwidth that a system is able to deliver. The disc then concludes with six music tracks that have been specially selected from the Opus3 catalogue, each one capturing a certain quality associated with two-channel replay, be it timing, atmosphere, soundstaging, dynamics or bass depth.

The six music tracks from Opus3 include an interpretation of Frank Zappaʼs Dog Breath Variations/Uncle Meat by the Omnibus Wind Ensemble, Everybody Loves My Baby performed by Eva Taylor, Bachʼs Toccata and Fugue in D minor with organ played by Matthias Wager and a track from Eric Bibbʼs new album, Blues, Ballads & Work Songs.

The Ultimate System Set-Up Disc is available now from IsoTek stockists, priced at £19.95.

Hot on the footsteps of the DacMagic Plus, Cambridge Audio announces another arrival to the DacMagic family. The DacMagic 100 is an entry-level digital to analogue converter designed to enhance a whole range of digital audio devices.

Based on the same compact chassis as the iD100 iPad / iPhone dock, DacMagic 100 is said to be the ideal partner for this digital dock and it claims to significantly upgrade the quality of audio stored or streamed from a docked Apple device. In addition, there are three digital connections for connecting a wide range of products including TVs, network music players and Blu-ray players. DacMagic 100 is equipped with Cambridge Audio’s latest USB audio input which allows studio master, uncompressed 24-bit / 192kHz files to be upgraded from any Windows or Apple computer. More »

A little late on reporting this but this weekend (Friday 24th Feb – Sunday 26th Feb) sees the 25th annual “Sound and Vision –The Bristol Show” taking place at the Marriott City Hotel in Bristol.

This is the UKs largest hi-fi, home cinema and audiophile show and all the major industry players, large and small will be in attendance.

The show boasts a great location right in the heart of Bristol with easy access by train, plane or car. Prices are Adults £9, Senior Citizens (over 65)/Student £6 Accompanied Children under 16 free  and students can even claim a free pair of Headphones worth £14.95 when producing valid Student ID. Sadly that was a long long time ago for this porker.

At the time of writing there are 192 exhibitors taking part.

BD Audio is an established company providing high-quality products and services to the U.K. hi-fi market. Based in Malvern, Worcestershire, the firm is owned and operated by Jack Durant. Well known to audio enthusiasts, Jack has many years of experience and has been involved in the design and manufacture of a number of interesting projects. Jack is also a fully-qualified and registered electrical installer, and in addition to routine installation is able to offer services such as the fitment of dedicated, high-current mains supplies for audio and audio-visual systems. Installations are issued with certification to building regulations, and is fully insured and guaranteed for five years. BD Audio can also offer servicing, repair and upgrade facilities for older and existing Ming Da products.

BD Audio will be exhibiting at this years Bristol Sound and Vision Show and will have the full range of 2 channel amplifiers available for demonstration throughout the 3 days, along with the cd player and phono stages, just drop in and let Jack know if there is a particular amp or pre/power combo you’d like to hear and he’ll will be happy to arrange this for you. More than happy to play your choices of music too which makes a refreshing change.

I recently received a message through one of the websites i go on about a new audiophile hifi cable manufacturer from the UK. Curious I had a look at the website as i was after a headphone cable for my new Grado 325is ‘phones.
The guy I spoke to at Reference Fidelity Components couldn’t have been more helpful and although he didn’t have a suitable cable on the site he agreed to make one for me. The cable is very well built and does its job perfectly -so much better than the flimsy stuff you can buy through manufacturers themselves. The cable is now on sale through the website priced at a very reasonable £45 for a 5metre cable. The headphone cable uses Klotz low capacitance twin core cable and professional quality Neutrik quarter inch NJ3FC6 sockets with NP3X black gold plated quarter inch jack plugs.

I did suggest that he call the cable the “Hifipig Headphone Cable” but he decided to go with Fidelity Voyager in keeping with the rest of his range of interconnects, mains cable and digital cables.

If you are after a great audiophile hifi cable at a fantastic price you really could do a lot worse than talk to these people.