A week of High End Audio
Written by Terry Ellis September 2018
Two High End Systems, one busy week
A week in the middle of September that started just about the same as most others developed into a very interesting and quite special experience for me. I would get to witness the installation of a £400k+ system at Nintronics dealership and then spend a day at a friends listening to his £100k system for the first time. There are not many weeks in a year like that for most audiophiles, even one as travelled as me.
Two High End Systems, one busy week
A week in the middle of September that started just about the same as most others developed into a very interesting and quite special experience for me. I would get to witness the installation of a £400k+ system at Nintronics dealership and then spend a day at a friends listening to his £100k system for the first time. There are not many weeks in a year like that for most audiophiles, even one as travelled as me.
First System is better captured on video
I had made a brief plan with Nintronics to film the arrival and unboxing of the new Bowers & Wilkins 600 Speaker range. This range has been around since 1995 and seen many iterations, but with every one there is renewed interest and vigour. This time audiophiles get trickle down 800 and 700 series technology for the lowest price point.
When I called to confirm the day and time to arrive Roger at Nintronics informed me they had Padood coming as well to install a YG Acoustics, Nagra system for their new large demonstration room. I didnt know what system, but when I found out it was the full YG Acoustics Sonja XV Junior, YG Rack System and electronics from Nagra I was overwhelmed with the opportunity for a close look at these amazing hifi components.
I spent a whole day and night filming, 12 hours in total, the results of that work (with another 24 hours editing) are best displayed in video. Here is a link to part one
I had made a brief plan with Nintronics to film the arrival and unboxing of the new Bowers & Wilkins 600 Speaker range. This range has been around since 1995 and seen many iterations, but with every one there is renewed interest and vigour. This time audiophiles get trickle down 800 and 700 series technology for the lowest price point.
When I called to confirm the day and time to arrive Roger at Nintronics informed me they had Padood coming as well to install a YG Acoustics, Nagra system for their new large demonstration room. I didnt know what system, but when I found out it was the full YG Acoustics Sonja XV Junior, YG Rack System and electronics from Nagra I was overwhelmed with the opportunity for a close look at these amazing hifi components.
I spent a whole day and night filming, 12 hours in total, the results of that work (with another 24 hours editing) are best displayed in video. Here is a link to part one
A weekend to remember
At the weekend I had arranged to go and spend some time with my friend Tim whom I have met as a result of Pursuit Perfect System and become close to. A month prior he had been to our demonstration room and listened to the reference review system, at the time comprising of Chord Qutest Dac, Luxman 700 Ultimate Pre and Power Combination and the KEF Reference 3 Speakers. It was my turn to visit him and experience his two systems hifi and home cinema and enjoy some good chat and wine. I arrived later than planned Saturday morning due to traffic, a few coffees and lengthy chat later I settled in for a new listening experience
At the weekend I had arranged to go and spend some time with my friend Tim whom I have met as a result of Pursuit Perfect System and become close to. A month prior he had been to our demonstration room and listened to the reference review system, at the time comprising of Chord Qutest Dac, Luxman 700 Ultimate Pre and Power Combination and the KEF Reference 3 Speakers. It was my turn to visit him and experience his two systems hifi and home cinema and enjoy some good chat and wine. I arrived later than planned Saturday morning due to traffic, a few coffees and lengthy chat later I settled in for a new listening experience
First time listening to the KEF Blades
This listening session presented several firsts and new experiences for me, none more notable than the seating position. Tim's preference for listening is laid back on a curved recliner style chair you are more likely to see in a psychiatrist treatment room than an audio room. Maybe the chair is an indicator of Tim's method of relaxing and relieving stress by listening to his accomplished system this way. In was certainly strange to me and took me at least an hour to feel comfortable, however once I had adjusted there was some very interesting sonic benefits to listening this way.
This was my first time properly listening to the KEF Blade speakers, having only briefly seen them at hifi shows without an opportunity to get in the sweet spot. Tim chose the Kent and Foundry Blue finish which has a blue Uni-Q driver. These looked stunning in his listening room, very elegant and imposing in a good way. Tim has placed the speakers a long way into the room, they have an amazing amount of space around and between them, something I have seldom seen and been able to hear the effects of. To support the Blade speakers in this large room Tim has installed two KEF subwoofers which are setup to pick up the bass where the Blades roll off. I asked Tim what he thought adding the subwoofers brought to the presentation given the Blade already have eight 9 inch bass drivers between them, his answer was simple, they are fundamental to the overall performance.
A system in transition
It was an interesting time to visit because Tim is currently in transition with his system. He has a strong love for Parasound electronics and has been using their JC1 Monoblock amplifiers and JC2 Pre amplifier and is very happy with them. Tim has just started the transition to a full PS Audio front end and pre and power setup, and I wanted to attend right in the middle to hopefully hear both, the former Esoteric source and Parasound pre and power and then we could compare to the new PS Audio BHK pre and power with their excellent Directstream Dac and Memory player.
Nothing ever goes to plan, the PS Audio BHK amplifiers had not arrived, but he did have the PS Audio front end which was already installed and he was putting some hours on the PS Audio BHK pre amplifier out of the system. We started listening to PS Audio Source and Dac, Parasound JC2 pre amplifier into the JC1 monoblock amplifiers. Power conditioning was courtesy of Audioquest and two Niagara 7000, with Audioquest Tornado Power Cables and Audioquest balanced analogue signal cables. The speaker cables were from JPS Labs with the same speaker cable also linking high level to the KEF subwoofers. There was one additional essential little black box to add Dirac Live to the system a MiniDSP DDRC-24. The KEF Blades have IsoAcoustic GAIA I isolators installed under them with all the equipment platforms having IsoAcoustic Orea Isolators under them. The system is set out with a military like precision and symmetry, even the most ardent OCD Audiophile could have no complaints here.
It was an interesting time to visit because Tim is currently in transition with his system. He has a strong love for Parasound electronics and has been using their JC1 Monoblock amplifiers and JC2 Pre amplifier and is very happy with them. Tim has just started the transition to a full PS Audio front end and pre and power setup, and I wanted to attend right in the middle to hopefully hear both, the former Esoteric source and Parasound pre and power and then we could compare to the new PS Audio BHK pre and power with their excellent Directstream Dac and Memory player.
Nothing ever goes to plan, the PS Audio BHK amplifiers had not arrived, but he did have the PS Audio front end which was already installed and he was putting some hours on the PS Audio BHK pre amplifier out of the system. We started listening to PS Audio Source and Dac, Parasound JC2 pre amplifier into the JC1 monoblock amplifiers. Power conditioning was courtesy of Audioquest and two Niagara 7000, with Audioquest Tornado Power Cables and Audioquest balanced analogue signal cables. The speaker cables were from JPS Labs with the same speaker cable also linking high level to the KEF subwoofers. There was one additional essential little black box to add Dirac Live to the system a MiniDSP DDRC-24. The KEF Blades have IsoAcoustic GAIA I isolators installed under them with all the equipment platforms having IsoAcoustic Orea Isolators under them. The system is set out with a military like precision and symmetry, even the most ardent OCD Audiophile could have no complaints here.
A big room with a good acoustic
Tim had already warmed the system up before I arrived he now had to warm me and my ears up and started with some very stereotypical audiophile type recordings. Instantly I could hear this was a high end system, there is something about the way music is presented on a high end system that separates itself. Just bolting together some expensive boxes, despite helping doesn't guarantee this sound, but when the system is put together well it's very easy to hear this difference. It's the transparency of the whole presentation, vocals become 3 dimensional holographic and really carry over the emotion of the musical message. The sound stage from the KEF Blade was incredible, some of the best I have experienced so far in terms of depth and precision. With the right track the space in between the speakers disappeared and I could see actual musicians playing in front of me beyond the speakers in their own identified space. This is not something I have heard very often and it's incredible to experience. The sound stage was vast in terms of width which meant elements to the left and right were separated in a similar vein to how real musicians might be on a stage, this only works as an authentic experience if there is enough scale of sound and this system certainly delivered that. There was an authentic essence of real musicians, playing on a real stage right in front of me, how often do you hear that?
Switching the music style to orchestral movie sound tracks from the 60's and 70's was another new experience for me, this is not music I normally listen to but am more intrigued by it now due to the quality of the recordings. The system's excellent wide and deep sound stage worked wonders for this style of music, allowing each orchestral element to stand out in its own space with wonderful scale and insight. It was interesting to consider every sound in the music was made by hand and how clever the recording techniques were to achieve the sense of depth and height. With this style of music the system really demonstrated its ability to play with big transient swings while remaining calm, composed and sweet sounding, a lovely tube style warmth akin to the analogue recording methods of the day. We discussed how important it is for a hifi system to not compress when big dynamic swings are called of it and how this system was very accomplished in that regard.
Tim wanted to demonstrate the systems full talents and switched the style of music again, this time he put on a Doors track which he informed me was a 1960s one take studio recording. I never listen to this style of music but the raw nature of how the music was being presented instantly sucked me in. The vocal was big powerful and dynamic and full of emotion right at the forefront of the sound stage with a drummer 6 or so feet back. That drummer about half way through the cut gets a solo piece and I was transfixed by it. I could hear and see that drummer up his game to deliver an outstanding solo performance full of gusto. The holographic 3D imaging of this section of the song took my breath away, it was incredible.
Time for a change
Good company, good change, good music, great sound made 5 hours pass by in a flash, but I wanted to hear more. Tim had taken delivery of the PS Audio BHK pre amplifier earlier in the week but he didn't feel it had enough hours on it to use it for the demonstration. By now I was very familiar and impressed so it was a great time to swap out the Parasound JC2 for the PS Audio BHK.
This pre amplifier change had a huge impact on the overall sound presentation of the system and highlighted to me the importance of this system critical link . It was the type of change where some aspects seemed better but others seemed missing. The system now had even more depth, the sound presentation was further back in sound stage and wider apart when the music called for it. The vocal had more space and silence around it and seemed cleaner. Once the BHK pre amplifier fully warmed up the music had wonderful coherency and organic character. There was something missing, the music had lost some of its rhythm and drive, the part that makes you want to tap your feet or bang your head. It was more polite and technically correct while being a little less engaging. To choose between the two would be a difficult decision because the more I listened to the BHK I really started to appreciate the extra sound stage depth and width and know I would miss that if it was gone. Tim has a very interesting time ahead of him when the PS Audio BHK 300 Monoblock amplifiers arrive and he has the synergy of a full PS Audio front end. I plan to go back to experience this and I am really looking forward to it.
Good company, good change, good music, great sound made 5 hours pass by in a flash, but I wanted to hear more. Tim had taken delivery of the PS Audio BHK pre amplifier earlier in the week but he didn't feel it had enough hours on it to use it for the demonstration. By now I was very familiar and impressed so it was a great time to swap out the Parasound JC2 for the PS Audio BHK.
This pre amplifier change had a huge impact on the overall sound presentation of the system and highlighted to me the importance of this system critical link . It was the type of change where some aspects seemed better but others seemed missing. The system now had even more depth, the sound presentation was further back in sound stage and wider apart when the music called for it. The vocal had more space and silence around it and seemed cleaner. Once the BHK pre amplifier fully warmed up the music had wonderful coherency and organic character. There was something missing, the music had lost some of its rhythm and drive, the part that makes you want to tap your feet or bang your head. It was more polite and technically correct while being a little less engaging. To choose between the two would be a difficult decision because the more I listened to the BHK I really started to appreciate the extra sound stage depth and width and know I would miss that if it was gone. Tim has a very interesting time ahead of him when the PS Audio BHK 300 Monoblock amplifiers arrive and he has the synergy of a full PS Audio front end. I plan to go back to experience this and I am really looking forward to it.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of anything else I had a wonderful time with a great friend and inspirational, interesting character who always makes me laugh with his quick wit. Being an audio reviewer first and friend second it's time to dissect the system with a sharp blade cold heart and critical mind. I was massively impressed by the sound of this system in so many ways. The size and scale of the presentation I think helped by the laid back seating position made the music tower over me and have a real look up on a stage like presence. The depth to the sound stage was incredible and the 3 dimensional imaging was some of the best I have ever heard. It was the most authentic listening to and looking at real musicians playing I have experienced so far. In these performance aspects it was an inspirational experience and has put the KEF Blade (2) on my radar for a future upgrade plan. They are excellent speakers in these regards and they are performance aspects I look for and appreciate,
Tim's music preferences have likely dictated his system component choices and setup decisions. There are things I would do different but there is a lot I would have happily put into my pocket and taken away with me. That is what the hifi journey is all about and what is great about listening to other systems, especially better systems than your own. They are inspirational, you can take away parts or all of it and use it as a guide to achieving better sound. Sometimes you need to experience it for yourself to know it's there and just what is capable from home audio systems.
I am really looking forward to going back and listening to the system again once Tim is happy he has the new PS Audio equipment setup properly and I will bring you more on that at the time. My thanks again to Tim for a wonderful weekend.
