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At the 2004 – 2005 hi-fi shows I was disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm, and the lack of willingness of many consultants to communicate. Fast forward to 2007 and it is obvious many hi-fi companies and their respective outlets have suffered a reality check. With a younger generation obsessed with downloads, space saving gadgets and mobile phones, the market for high-end two-channel hi-fi appears to be decreasing faster than the planet’s protective ozone layer. Manufacturers who fail to treat its existing supporters positively, or fail to respond to changing trends will become extinct!

Though the promotion for this year’s London Hi-fi show - Or should I say ‘Sound & Vision show’ seemed a tad low key, visitor numbers did not appear to suffer. Enthusiasts’ internal alarm clocks are obviously as finely tuned as the hi-fi components they may aspire to own.

Though a few UK big players were missing from this year’s line up such as Musical Fidelity and Avid, there was more than enough customised brushed chrome, carbon fibre, titanium products etc for the enthusiast to get excited about...

Classical music aficionados will always flock to hi-fi shows. The Audio Note demonstration room welcomed them with open arms with a system tuned to their liking (precise, but somewhat cold to my ears). I was afraid to breathe in fear of a disapproving glance.

Instead, I opted to annoy eyebrow raisers by getting up close and personal with my camera. I was keen to test this systems’ speed and depth with sounds of a more energetic nature, but felt any change from what seemed to be the norm here would have fallen on deaf ears.

Initially I was impressed by what appeared to be an open airy sound from the Abingdon Music Research (AMR) room. The LS-77 speakers with their modern styled brushed chrome surface immediately caught my eye. Vincent Luke from AMR was pleased to talk about their internal design:

“…The LS-77 speaker crossover unit is mounted onto cherry wood instead of the conventional direct metal mounting, resulting in less resonance and greater musicality”.

The brushed chrome CD-77 Reference Class CD player and AM-77 dual mono amplifier certainly looked the part. Solidly built with no fussy cable, or second box set-up.

Unfortunately this system did not perform as well as expected when I introduced my own selection, which included Kurt Elling’s album “Nightmoves”. Elling’s rich mahogany baritone combined with Rob Amster’s exquisitely placed upright bass lines will reveal any systems shortfalls. Elling and co seemed to lack vivacity here. However, this system is definitely worthy of further attention.

Without doubt the Nola demonstration room captivated many listeners imagination. Nola’s Pegasus Reference loudspeakers are an awesome sight. Standing at over six feet tall with a gloss rosewood finish, front and side mounted woofers and an external crossover box - You expect to hear something special from these beautifully crafted giants – And you certainly do.

It was not difficult to see (and hear) that there was more to this system than the spectacular Nola Pegasus Open Baffle (X-Ternal X-Treme (X)-Over II) loudspeakers. Each component (including the speakers) sat on isolation platforms that were literally shrouded in mystery. Further interrogation revealed nothing about what was underneath the magician’s cloth. All other components where on display for all to see:

Award winning Edge Signature 1.1 Battery Operated Pre-Amp. Edge 1.1 Mono Blocks, Weiss Medea Jason CD transport & DAC, Russ Andrews Silver Power Block (complete with DIY plug) & Synergistic Research Tesla series cables (with active shielding) all combined to produce clean, deep, well-rounded bass, amazing depth, and astonishing vocal clarity. And the take home price for this set-up? A snip at £120.000. Hey, that is still cheaper than buying an empty shed in central London!

Other impressive systems included:

3D Shanlin
Precision build quality, superb looks, value for money.
Electrocompaniet
Power amplifiers from the Norwegian company.
Project & Roksan
Turntables, amplifiers etc.
Pure Sound
For heart-warming valves.
Townshend
hi-fi rack built like an oil rig.
Clear Audio
Award winning, desirable turntables.

Albums used for demonstration included:

Kurt Elling – Nightmoves (CD)
Rachelle Ferrell - Individuality (CD)

Report by Robin Francis
© Michael Valentine Studio Ltd.
September 2007