PMC Twenty Range
The new Twenty range of speakers from PMC launched in the late Autumn, when we first heard them we loved them – from the outset it was clear they were a very special range of speakers.
They are a new range of speakers from the ground up, in terms of drives units, crossovers, cabinets etc they share nothing in common with the existing PMC speakers.
We’ve had the 24′s on demo now for about 3 weeks (the other 3 models from the Twenty range are following soon) and we simply cannot get enough of them. Cosmetically they are bit different (in a good way!), the lines of the Twenty are so clean and the magnetic grilles finishes them off beautifully. Sonically they are very clean and fast, very refined, they have that typcial neutrality that we’ve come to associate with PMC over the years. Bass extension is plentiful but more most impotantly it is tight and controlled and not wallowing around in the slightest
Even out of the box they sounded fantastic but as we’re clocking the hours on the them they simply keep getting better and better.
In performance terms they certainly share more with the PMC Fact range they they do with the i Series. One thing we must stress. The Twenty Series is NOT replacing the i Series. It is complete new range and one which sits above the the i Series.
As mentioned above the Twenty 21, Twenty 22 and Twenty 23 will be with us soon and we are looking forward to having the entire range to demonstrate, we feel these are going to be a rather popular range of speakers.
Arcam rDac
The other very popular Dac we have been selling lots of over the past 12 months is the Arcam rDac.
Priced at just £325.00 it is the least expensive Dac out of the 3 we have featured on our blog. But don’t let that put you off, it really does punch above it’s relatively modest price point, especially if you are using the USB input.
The rDac’s connections look a little sparse in comparison to the other models, 1 optical input, 1 coaxial input and 1 USB input and a pair of RCA outputs.
It’s a little smoother and perhaps a bit more refined than the Musical Fidelity when using the optical or coaxial inputs. However, the rDac really comes to life when you use the USB input (Arcam have licensed from dCS their Asynchronous USB Technology) with either a PC or Mac.
The precision clock dramatically reduces jitter (timing inaccuracies) over USB and doing a comparison of a modest CD player connected to the rDac via coaxial vs the same track played via a PC over USB the difference is not subtle, in fact it’s rather dramatic.
Musical Fidelity M1 DAC
If you are looking to improve the front end of your system an alternative to the Rega Dac is the Musical Fidelity M1 DAC.
It has less inputs than the Rega (offering 1 optical input, 1 coaxial input, 1 AES/EBU input and a USB input), but to be fair it is £100.00 less than the Rega. However, it does offer balanced outputs which the Rega does not.
The M1 Dac sounds fantastic on the end of a Sonos ZP90 and will offer improvement to most CD players in the sub £999.00 price bracket. Connect a PC or Mac via the USB input and streaming music has never been easier.
The Musical Fidelity is incredibly detailed and lively sounding, offering lots of textures and pulling detail out of music you wouldn’t think possible. If you systems tonal balance is smooth and laid back and you are wanting to inject some energy into your system the M1 Dac could be just the ticket.
As with all good hi-fi, it’s about getting the balance right, just like the Rega Dac, the M1 Dac is brilliant bit of kit……..in the right system.
Rega Dac
The Rega Dac – Making More Sense of the Music
The Rega DAC is a 16/20/24-bit at 32kHz to 192kHz digital to analogue converter incorporating an enhanced version of the Rega designed circuit. Developed to be simple to set up and use, the Rega DAC is designed to optimise performance from any two channel PCM digital audio source such as a CD player PC or streaming device.
With the PC/Laptop and MAC now widely accepted as creditable mediums for storing and streaming music. The use of high quality lossless files such as WAV, FLAC, AIFF and ALAC offer performance through the DAC equal to and in some cases better than red book CD.
The Rega Dac is an incredibly flexible piece of equipment, sporting 2 coaxial and 2 optical inputs alongside a USB (type B) input for a PC or Mac.
In performance terms the Rega Dac is very musical, dynamic , detailed and simply gets your foot tapping – which can only be a good thing. It never gets aggressive or too strident in its presentation though.
If you’ve a Sonos ZP90 (or ZP90) or any basic streamer with a digital output the Rega DAC will simply breath a new lease of life into your music collection. It even improves upon the performance of the Rega Apollo CD player (and for that matter just about every CD player in the £500.00 to £600.00 price bracket).
It simply makes you want to listen to more music, which can only be a good thing
We approve!
Posted in News
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Tagged DAC, Rega, Rega DAC
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Arcam FMJ CD17 & A18 Package Deal
The Arcam FMJ CD17 and A18 have been 2 of our favourites products in the sub £1000.00 a box price point.
They are both incredibly musical and work really well together.
They were originally priced at £630.00 a box, however for a limited time the pair are available for just £999.00 with free UK shipping as well! For that sort of money this is one serious deal.
Click here to buy now
The Naim SuperUniti at Lintone Audio
The new Naim SuperUniti all in one high performance network player is now with us.
It has so far exceeded everyone’s expectations in terms of the performance level on offer.
To quote Naim – “SuperUniti is an integrated wireless UPnP™ network stream player, USB audio player, iPod and iPhone dock, internet radio, DAB radio, FM radio, ten input digital and analogue preamplifier, digital to analogue converter, and stereo 80 Watt power amplifier. And just so that you don’t lose track of time while listening – easily done – it has an alarm clock too. Out of breath?”
Running with a pair of PMC Fact 3′s the performance so far has been superb, we’ve simply been streaming to it from our UPnP Server we love it! In terms of the amplification it is a lot more powerful and controlled than the original All in One NaimUniti and is capable of driving some much more serious speakers…….as good as a Naim Supernait perhaps???
A genuine slice of high end for not a crazy sum of money………
B&W Zeppelin Air iPod Dock at Lintone Audio
The B&W Zeppelin Air iPod Dock – The ultimate iPod/iPhone accessory?
Quite possibly!
The new Zeppelin Air is on permanent demonstration in-store and proving to be an even more popular seller than the original Zeppelin. Airplay is a wonderful feature and is really easy to set up.
The Zeppelin Air simply connects to your computer network (either via wireless or via ethernet cable) and can play your entire iTunes music library off your computer, not just what is on your iPod.
The best bit thoughis, if you’ve got an iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad you can download the Apple Remote app (for free) and control iTunes on your PC or Mac from the comfort of your armchair.
You can also play the music on your iOS device without even connecting it to the Zeppelin Air. RRP £499.00 and in stock now.
Musical Fidelity V-DAC II
The Musical Fidelity V-Dac II is now in stock with free UK shipping.
Priced at £199.00 this new competitively price model comes in an all new silver chasis (which looks a lot better than the original V-Dac), it offers an all important asynchronous USB input for people wanting to connect their PC’s or Mac’s. Of courses it still retains a convential optical and coaxial input as well.
24bit/192k upsampling, asynchronous USB, under £200.00…….what’s not to like about the Musical Fidelity V-Dac II, shipping now!
Posted in New Products
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Tagged USB
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B&W PM1 - Prestige Monitor 1 - Now in store
The B&W PM1 (Prestige Monitor 1) is now with us in-store.
Priced at £1995.00 a pair (plus £400.00 for the dedicated stands) these are set to make some big waves in the compact speaker market.
Measuring only 331mm tall the PM1 sits above the very popular CM range and just below the highly regard flagship 800 Diamond Series.
We’ve had them running with a Supernait, a Stormaudio V55 and some Cyrus Mono X-200′s with great success, they certainly don’t seem too fussy about what you partner them with.
If you are looking for a high performance, yet compact stand mount speaker – we could have exactly what you are looking for in the B&W PM1 – Now on demonstration in store.
Posted in New Products
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Tagged B&W
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Oppo BDP95
We have been selling Oppo Blu-Ray Players for around 6 months now and have to say that we have been rather impressed and judging by the feedback we have received from satisified customers it seems we are aren’t alone.
There are 2 models in the range, the Oppo BDP93 (£499.99) and the Oppo BDP95 (£899.99). Both offer high performance audio and video, both are 3D ready and have more features than you can shake a stick at. Click on the links for appropriate specification.
In terms of differences between the 2 models, audio performance is the primary difference. It takes a huge leap forward when you go from the BDP-93 to the BDP-95 (this applies to both music and movies), it is excellent as a CD player and can hold it head up against some more than respectable company.
Movie audio is also improved dramatically, providing you use the onboard decoding (making use of the dacs in the Oppo). It makes the walls of the room simply disappear and is very immersive.
However, the BDP93 is no slouch. This has been the most popular machine due to its competitive price point.
Both models can be made region free for traditional DVD at no extra cost. A zone free Blu-Ray modification is available and costs £100.00.
