home entertainment 2007

Exposure’s MGX component system.
Fatman tube products at very competitive
prices, developed by pro-audio
tube specialists TLAudio with Chinese
partners, and including nostalgic
“magic eye” meters and an impressivelooking
iPod dock-amp.
More conventional electronics included
a number of interesting items. Pioneer
is pitching to get back into the High
Yes, it’s a Rega phono preamp!
End with its new A6 and A9 integrated
stereo amps and PD6 CD player. Harking
back to the PM400 and its brethren
from the late 1980s, the new components
are distinctively styled with chunky
faceplates, and were developed after
numerous listening sessions at Air Studios.
Insiders rate the A9 amplifier particularly
highly as a genuine audiophile
product at a very affordable price: £700.
At rather more substantial prices,
Chord Electronics’ combo of CPA2500
preamp and SPM650 power amp looked
predictably gorgeous. Costing around
£8000, these are essentially strippeddown,
less costly versions of, respectively,
INDUSTRY UPDATE
the CPA5000 and SPM1400E. Exposure
showed the decidedly ambitious
MC-X CD-based component system,
looking all mean and black and featuring
balanced interconnection throughout.
Its fully regulated, 300W
monoblock power amps help account
for the MC-X’s price of £15,000.
Naim bravely and successfully
used its powerful new Supernait integrated
amplifier to demonstrate the
differences among its CD players. A
key feature of this amplifier is an
onboard DAC and front digital input
that facilitate connection to a PC
while avoiding the latter’s onboard
soundcard; the DAC is muted when
the analog inputs are in use. Cyrus’
Discmaster QX will play both DVDs
and CDs as standard, but an extra,
separate, audio-only DAC with its own
output sockets can be ordered or added
later as an upgrade, to improve the
quality from CDs.
Its treble peak notwithstanding,
Rega’s new Apheta moving-coil
cartridge looks as if it’s taken up permanent
residence in my tonearm, so
I look forward to trying the very
flexible phono stage
Rega is just finalizing.
It’s unusual in using a
combination of transformers
and active electronics
to supply the
gain. It also has
adjustable loading and a
specific, tuneable HF
filter for taming the
Apheta’s top-end peak.
In addition to the
serious hi-fi, some other
introductions caught my
attention. Digital audio
broadcast (DAB) radio
specialist Pure Digital
has signed a marketing
deal with PA specialist
Marshall. Rock fans in DAB zones
can now have a tiny radio (and
matching extension stereo speaker)
in full Marshall livery, with a volume
scale marked from “0” to… “11”!
Ruark used to distribute those neat
little Tivoli Audio radios in Britain,
but DAB digital radio is available only
in certain territories, and because
Tivoli is a US brand, DAB-equipped
Tivolis were difficult to obtain. As a
result, Tivoli is now being distributed
in the UK by Armour Home Electronics,
while Ruark has launched the Vita
Audio brand. Vita’s R1 table radio
shows a strong Tivoli influence, but is
different in shape and operation,
comes in a wide range of colors, and
includes DAB as well as FM.
Another British speaker brand
branching out into new areas is
Acoustic Energy. AE has already
enjoyed success with an easy-to-use
WiFi Internet Radio, has since added
their Bluetooth speaker line, and at
Bristol showed a prototype of the very
neat-looking Media Adapter, which
combines remote-controlled Internet
radio with easy WiFi connectivity
between PC and hi-fi system. At least,
that’s what I think it does.
Arcam is following up the commercial
success of its all-singing Solo stereo
music machine with the new Solo
Movie 5.1, which combines high-quality
DVD-Video replay and five channels of
amplification with a host of other features,
including CD, SACD, DVD-
Audio, DAB and FM radio, and iPod
integration, all in a single compact unit.
It’s not cheap (£2000), but it’s clever,
Turn it up to “11”: The Pure Marshall DAB radio.
remarkably compact, and delivered a
very persuasive demo at S&V.
Sound & Vision 2007 may not have
broken records in attendance or number
of exhibitors, but it was undoubtedly
successful, attracting increasing numbers
of overseas attendees, and providing a
good opportunity for mostly British
brands to show their latest kit. The overall
impression it gave was that the British
high-end audio industry is in reasonably
good health. ■■
www.Stereophile.com, May 2007 17