For Hi-Fi enthusiasts Christmas isn’t really in December, it’s actually at the end of February when the industry convenes upon the Marriott Hotel in Bristol to show off its wares and reveal new ideas that have been in the works.
Although an exhibition packed with excited people isn’t the ideal scenario for seriously demoing gear, it is a great place to whet your appetite on what to listen to in your local Richer Sounds store when you’re ready to build your new system. Here’s a look at the items that caught our eye when we popped down the road to satisfy our curiosity.
Please note most prices given in this article for upcoming products are a guide at the time of writing.
Monitor Audio Bronze Speakers
Hearing that British brand Monitor Audio are bringing out a 6th generation of their acclaimed Bronze series is like hearing that your favourite pudding now comes with an extra layer of chocolate on it. We are BIG fans of Monitor Audio at Richer Sounds and hearing that an award-winning speaker range has been given a design boost has us salivating, desperate to hear how these entry level speakers can be improved.
The naming of the different models has now stepped in line with the higher ranges with the Bronze 50 and 100 standmounts (£260 and £325), the 200 and 500 floorstanders (£570 and £770), a C150 centre speaker (£175), W10 subwoofer (£525), FX surround sound speaker (£300) and the company’s debut up-firing AMS Dolby Atmos speaker (£300)! This latest incarnation has been designed completely from scratch with new dimensions for the cabinets (making them bigger than the previous generation), bespoke drivers and an improved C-Cam tweeter that sits behind a grille strikingly similar to that of their Silver range of speakers. Gone is the traditional black oak wood veneer finish too, replaced by a simple plain black design instead. Other finishes include white, walnut and stylishly subtle light wood option called “Urban Grey”.
The range is expected to land in the next few months so keep your eyes peeled for the reviews on our Blog page!
Arcam AV Receivers
Another Classic British marque that has some new goods to show off was Arcam. The newly released SA30 Hifi amplifier/streamer has just made its way onto our shelves but that didn’t stop us from sampling its delights at the show. The amplifier has connectivity for Airplay 2, Chromecast and Bluetooth plus control from their MusicLife app making it a super mix of smoothly controlled sound from their Class G amplification with modern capabilities. Like their previous and current AV Receivers, the sound profile of the SA30 can be tuned via Dirac software to better suit your room’s acoustics for even better audio.
The new HDA AV Range was also on display and while the AVR10 AV receiver has already arrived at RS, the AVR20, AVR30 and AVR40 were also on display for us to gawk at. Their chassis design matches the SA10, SA20 and SA30 Hi-Fi amplifiers and improves upon the outgoing FMJ series. They even had their AVR40 processor hooked up with matching PA240, PA410 and PA720 power amps for a truly powerful and immersive 7.4.4 surround sound experience in their demo room. A quick excerpt from Lady GaGa’s turn in A Star Is Born was a perfect way to show off the company’s penchant for powerful, muscular cinema sound whilst maintaining the richness it shows off for music.
Cyrus One Cast
Not everyone wants big boxes strewn with buttons for their Hi-Fi system and Cyrus showed that sometimes less is more with their new One Cast streaming amplifier. Taking the One HD amplifier and turbo charging it with network capability seems like a no brainer to us and compatibility for a wealth of streaming services such as Spotify, Amazon and Deezer as well as CD-quality Qobuz and Tidal sounds like the right ingredients. However no dedicated app is required, just simply “cast” over to the amp via your streaming service of choice with a few quick taps on your smartphone for example and away you go. This simplicity extends to voice control via products such as Google, Alexa and Siri providing you’ve got a compatible microphone-enabled device. The ARC compatible HDMI connection is also a welcome addition, joining USB, optical and coaxial on the digital input front. The three line level inputs, one pair of preouts and an additional Moving Magnet phono stage connection remain the same, as does the Class D amplification and 32-bit DAC. Expect the One Cast to come in at around £1299 and be in stores soon.
Audeze Headphones
Whilst the wealth of Bluetooth-enabled, noise-cancelling headphones on the market are vast, not everyone wants these features. It’s very pleasing therefore to see simple yet effective cabled headphones doing what they do best such as being hooked up to Astell & Kern Hi-Res portable players like Audeze did on their stand. We were particularly keen to sample the £399 LCD-1 planar magnetic headphones and £849 LCD-GX gaming headphones. Both carry on from previous models by being extremely squishy and comfortable along with utilising an open-backed design which, although made it a bit tricky to assess due to the background noise of the exhibition, have a lot of promise to give excellent clarity for those wanting an “at home” pair of cans.
Whilst Audeze are very good at the traditional audiophile cans, they’ve also come up with the hybrid premium wireless LCD-i3 earbuds at £849 which can be cabled to devices as well as being used via AptX HD Bluetooth. These sit below the flagship LCD-i4 models but improve upon the previous iSine 20 range by using improved drivers, magnesium housing and an ergonomically designed ear fins for improved comfort.
Rel Series S Subwoofers
Kings of low-frequency, REL Acoustics are back with the new S/510 subwoofer which was demoed in a line array of three units stacked on top of each other, the arrangement aimed at giving a floor to ceiling “panoramic presentation”. The S/510 has improvements made to its Continuous Cast Alloy Cone by adding a carbon fire backing help it to deal with the huge demands of its upgraded 500 watts of power. Along with the added 8mm of travel from its passive radiator, this helps to strengthen the cone with more stiffness and ultimately produce deeper and more accurate bass reproduction. The rumble of which was certainly felt within the four walls of their demo room! Prices start from £1799.
Denon Home Speakers
Denon have decided to take their HEOS multiroom platform to the next level by introducing the new range of Home wireless options. The Home 150, 250 and 350 are the companies new small, medium and large speakers that integrate with the company’s other networked devices such as their AV receivers and CEOL HiFi systems. Featuring a tidy woven wrap-around grille, each speaker has a proximity sensor that then illuminates the touch sensitive buttons when your hand gets near it. Access to the usual suspects of streaming will be present as with other HEOS devices as well as voice control for Alexa, Google and Siri via built in microphones. Denon are always a safe bet when it comes to sound quality and usability has just taken a step upwards with their new range.
Make sure you keep abreast of these new arrivals in our stores by signing up to our VIP club emails and being the first in line to arrange a demo!
Author: Steve, Bristol store
