Purity meets Performance is a post from: Sound Galleries Monaco

The upgrades are twofold:

Replacement of SLA batteries with new LiFePO4 Battery technology
Addition of Tube buffer stages

The advantages of the new LiFePO4 Battery technology are as follows:
The new “Lithium Iron Phosphate” (LFP) battery technology provides greater performance, safety, reliability and environmental friendliness than any other rechargeable battery technology.

These LFP battery packs are manufactured exclusively for Red Wine Audio.

Improved sonic performance and extended “off-the-grid” listening sessions.They are designed to be cycled (discharged and recharged) over 5x more than their SLA counterparts, resulting in significantly improved battery life.

Complete discharging does not reduce their overall life as it did with SLA batteries.

Ability to enjoy continuous play time, even while the battery pack is charging (simply by flipping a switch)

They are 1/2 the size and 1/3 the weight of SLA batteries.

They are user-replaceable: (no soldering required)

Changing to this advanced battery technology has enabled Red Wine Audio to add a Tube buffer stage to all of their products. Based on the same 6922 (or equivalent) tube as used in their award winning Isabella pre-amplifier.

The LFP battery technology is the cleanest and purist way to power a tube buffer stage. Now the Signature 30 and 70 series of volume controlled or fixed gain power amps are all improved by the sonic benefits of this tube power stage.

Obviously the Isabella already employs the 6922, so upgrades to the Isabella only involve the change over to LFP battery technology and the smart charging board.

Upgrade prices differ by component, though are approximately $1000 (€790) per component.

All Red Wine products will incorporate these improvements going forward.

We will arrange upgrades for existing Red Wine Audio products. The demand for these is high and currently backdated to November, so the sooner you arrange the upgrade through us the earlier it will be completed.

Red Wine Audio Upgrades to New Battery Technology is a post from: Sound Galleries Monaco

High-End Munich 2010 is a post from: Sound Galleries Monaco

Weiss audio was founded by Daniel Weiss back in 1984 in order to produce the highest quality digital audio products for professional studios. The high-end products produced by Weiss benefit from their enormous expertise in the professional world, including Daniel’s background at the PCM lab at Willi Studer AG in Switzerland.

The desire of a rapidly growing number of audiophiles is to be able to play your music back from a computer at the highest possible quality. Considering the limitations of most computers built in audio output, a truly high-end solution was needed. We are sure you’ll wish to benefit from the high resolution audio music that’s becoming increasingly available over the internet up to 192khz at 24 bit (more than 4 times the quality of ordinary CD’s)

Weiss audio of Switzerland have two solutions which meet these requirements perfectly. They are the Minerva Firewire DAC and Vesta audio interface. The Minerva is a complete solution, which plugs into your computer via Firewire for playback of up to 192khz 24bit files through it’s superb digital to analogue converter. The Vesta is an audio interface which allows you to extract the digital music from your computer, also up to 192 khz 24bit quality and feed it to an external DAC such as Weiss’s own Medea DAC or any DAC you may already own. The Minerva DAC has won critical acclaim from Computer Audiophile, HiFi News, La Stampa, Suono and Ultra Audio to name a few. Both of these products have arrived at exactly the right time for audiophiles who are moving to the new world of high quality digital playback from a computer.

Each Minerva DAC includes a sampler of the excellent HRX recordings from Reference Recordings (176.4/24bit) on a DVD data disc. Also by visiting the 2L website and entering in your Minerva serial number you are able to download a sampling of their excellent high resolution recordings for free.

For more traditional CD playback, Weiss also offer the ultra high-end Jason Transport and Medea DAC. Their product offering also includes the high powered Castor Class D digital amplifier as well as Chiron cables. Visit Weiss

Weiss Français is a post from: Sound Galleries Monaco

Winner of the prestigious Blue Moon award from 6Moons. The Crayon CFA-1, designed in Austria and built in Germany, is unique in both design and sound. Managing to mimic the sound of some of the very best modern Single Ended Triode tube amplifiers, despite being a Mosfet based amplifier. With the Crayon you won’t get a romanticized version of reality, as with some tube amps and other solid state amps that attempt to mimic tubes. Instead you will hear crystal clear clarity and transparency. This quality is combined with the ability to portray the three dimensional palpability of musical instruments, along with emotion, in a way that usually only single ended triode tube amps can achieve. The following extracts from the editor of the 6Moons review make this clear.

“The Crayon Audio amp is a virtual stand-in for triodes in matters of depicting audible space…”

“…Versus my customary ModWright DM 36.5 | Yamamoto A-09S combo, the CFA-1 seemed to enjoy even faster rise times. This translated into hair-raising depictions of stringed instruments. Anything plucked had intense instantaneousness in which initial metallic violence, then the woody resonance and then the disbursing swarm of harmonics were even more real and compelling than over my tubed pre/power reference. Wondering whence this perception of greater realism arose, I guessed on superior speed and timing and just perhaps an even lower noise floor which gave the finest of fades a fraction more endurance.”

“…Switching to the Ancient Audio Lektor Prime CD player levelled the playing field between my reference Yamamoto A-09 single ended Triode Tube amplifier and the Crayon to an extent I have not before heard between tube and transistor amplifiers.”

“…the Crayon stages very powerfully into the far corners. The density of its images is equal in the center as it is at the outer edges”

“…it handles space, interrelatedness and flow, the intangible organic aspects writers default into poetry for to capture. Here the Crayon is the complete antithesis of any transistor amp I’ve ever heard. So, to prevent even the smallest chance of misunderstanding – if the Lektor Prime direct was my default source and a preamp not part of my inventory, I’d own the Crayon Audio CFA-1″

Part of the purity of the sound achieved by the CFA-1 is due to the fact that volume and input selection are performed entirely by software. Because of this certain components that would normally be in the signal path are no longer necessary. With those components removed, so is any detrimental effect they can have on the music. When you make a volume adjustment via the remote control the screen on the front of the amplifier lights up to show you the adjustment you’re making. When you are finished the screen goes blank again and the circuitry used to adjust the volume goes into sleep mode. The same applies when you use the remote to make an input selection.

The holes on the top of the amplifier are actually ‘chimneys’ which allow for very efficient heat dissipation and not simply part of the visual design.

Inputs are provided for Phono (Vinyl records), CD player, Tuner and Record in/out. Yes, you read that correctly, this amplifier contains a built in Phono stage which can be set to accept either Moving Magnet or Moving Coil cartridges. So if you have a good quality turntable or are thinking of adding one to your system, you have everything you need. Just plug the output from the Turntable directly into the CFA-1 and choose the correct setting.

All these features, combined with incredible sound quality are offered at only €3.000 for the 40 WPC version (capable of driving most medium to high-efficiency speakers) and €4.000 for the 90 WPC version which will easily drive most other speakers.

I have found the Crayon to be an extremely versatile amplifier with many speakers. Including the Analysis Audio Epsilon and Fujitsu Ten-Eclipse to name just two. Visit Crayon Audio

Crayon Français is a post from: Sound Galleries Monaco

At Sound Galleries we are known for our “no compromise” ultra realistic systems. Of necessity such systems tend to be expensive. As a general rule the prices for these systems are comparable to car prices. For true music lovers to be able to own one of our top systems is easily worth the cost of an additional car.

However we’ve always wanted to offer systems at much lower prices which could still be described as “High-End”. There will inevitably be some compromises in lower priced systems and it is a challenge to be able to put low cost systems together with as few compromises as possible.

You may well ask, “what is this thing called ‘High-End’ anyway?”. Does it simply equate to high prices? Is it pure snobbery? It is true that determining if a system is “High-End” is a subjective matter. You need to be able to use your ears. The designers of High-End equipment use their ears in the process of creating and perfecting their products.

Typical consumer Hi-Fi systems are usually sold on impressive sounding specifications. Amplifiers far more powerful than is actually required and speakers which promise deep bass and extended highs. Such systems sound artificial and unnatural. Natural sounding systems have to be able to convey the true tonal colours (timbre) of the various musical instruments. They also have to handle all the dynamic contrasts, both small and large. There shouldn’t be timing and phase errors, which prevent instruments from appearing within the three dimensional space as they were recorded. The rhythm, pace and timing (energy) of the music should come across, so that jazz can swing and dance music is danceable. All of this amounts to a pretty tall order for any HiFi system, particularly one which must sell for a very reasonable price. Where compromises have to be made it is better to sacrifice ultimate detail (resolution) ultra low bass, or very extended highs.

These become like “the icing on the cake” because most of the music takes place in the Middle range of frequencies. Get those right and you’re a good part of the way on the road to a system which could be described as “High-End”. Or let’s just say “naturally musical”.

Valve amplifiers tend to be more natural sounding than transistors or many digital amplifiers. They also tend to be more expensive to produce, if high quality and reliability is to be ensured. Amplifiers which are able to mimic these natural traits of valves may be preferred. When it comes to transistor amplifiers that share similar qualities with valves, they have tended to be the very large power hungry Class A designs.

Class T amplifiers, which use digital processing to modulate the input signal, showed tremendous promise when they were first introduced; but were prone to distortions from electromagnetic and radio frequency interference. Class T chips can provide an incredibly natural sound at a very low price, providing they are used with very well designed power supplies and carefully selected components, to avoid the problems introduced by the above interferences.

KingRex are a company which have achieved those goals and still kept their prices incredibly low. Their high quality T20U Class T amplifier and USB DAC in one very compact unit is available at only €291. Just connect it to your PC or Mac and play the music from iTunes or your preferred software. Simply add some high-efficiency speakers and you have a complete system.

We do recommend adding their separate dedicated power supply at an additional €100 to obtain the best possible sound from the T20U. The T20U will accept one analogue input in addition to the USB input. If you have the need for more than these two inputs you will need to add the KingRex pre-amplifier. Not only are the KingRex products easy to accommodate financially, also in terms of space at just 180mm x 138mm x 45mm, these pieces will fit discretely anywhere.

A recommended system, using a Mac or PC as the source and the T20U plus Power supply at €391, plus a pair of the excellent Aurousal A1 at €920 would provide a system that could be described as “High-End” at a price almost anyone can afford.

The KingRex products will work very well with any High-Efficiency speakers. They can be successfully used with Rethm Saadhana’s or Zu Essence for example. It may seem crazy to combine a €391 Amplifier/DAC combination with a speaker system costing between €5.000 to €8.500; but if you’ve been holding off on such speakers because you think you’d have to spend at least as much on Amplification, the KingRex once again provide an incredible value for money alternative. They can then become the benchmark against which more expensive amplifiers can be judged in the future. You will need to spend quite a bit more than the price of the KingRex to significantly improve on their sound.

KingRex easily demonstrate the real benefits of “High-End” audio without spending any more than usual consumer HiFi prices. That is is why all of their products described here have won the ‘Blue Moon’ award from the influential 6Moons High-End audio review web-site. Visit KingRex

KingRex Français is a post from: Sound Galleries Monaco

The stands you place your equipment on will have a profound effect on the sound. It is essential to utilise equipment stands designed to minimise unwanted resonance’s in order to experience the full potential sound quality your equipment is capable of. Unfortunately many High-End audio stands and supports have an extremely high tech appearance, which may not blend in with your living environment. Fortunately Quadraspire have a very wide range of solutions available, which can be custom built to your requirements. Available in various wood finishes as well as clear acrylic, the Quadraspire products are as attractive in the home as they are effective at eliminating unwanted resonance’s.

From the simple, attractive acrylic QX speaker stands which seem to make small speakers literally float in mid-air, through equipment stands available in numerous shelf sizes and column heights you’re sure to find a Quadraspire solution to meet your needs. Quadraspire will also build you a complete ‘Media Wall’ designed to house your flat screen TV monitor, all your CD’s, DVD’s, Blu-Ray discs and other media, as well as your equipment. Just specify your choices and we will order a Quadraspire support system for you. This system can be easily expanded as your needs change in the future. Visit Quadraspire

Quadraspire Français is a post from: Sound Galleries Monaco

Aurousal surprised everyone with their A1 speaker based on a single large band Jordan metal foil driver. Jordan pioneered this type of driver which gradually flexes more as the frequency range ascends, in order to successfully reproduce those high frequencies. In the A1 the lower frequencies are augmented by a front facing port. This small stand mounted speaker achieves stunningly realistic imaging using Aurousal’s recommended placement with the speakers angled in so the centre axis crosses over about 60cm in front of the listener. And, of course, this single driver speaker achieves excellent coherence. This is the reason why at Sound Galleries we favour large band designs without crossover’s. The A1 has deservedly met with critical acclaim for its achievements and its incredible value for money.

Following this Aurousal introduced their VS floor standing model, which makes use of two Jordan drivers in parallel. This more than doubles the radiating area for even more impressive stereo imaging, together with a very respectable bass extension right down to 20hz at -3db. There is still no crossover, so that wonderful coherence we value so highly is also achieved in this model. The VS speaker also adds some “icing on the cake” in the form of an adjustable tweeter, which augments the two main large band drivers. This is not used like a conventional tweeter, because the high frequency output of the combined Jordan drivers is satisfactory by itself. Because these divers produce such deep powerful bass though, it may be necessary to add some further high frequency output with this tweeter, to correctly tonally balance the speaker. How much you need to add via the tweeter controls on each speaker will depend on your room. This is a great additional feature for tuning the VS to your room. The VS is also amazing value for money considering its sophistication and what it achieves.

Aurousal speakers have a wonderful sense of openness and transparency and listening to them will allow you to experience the same emotional response as live music. Allow yourself to be Auroused! Visit Aurousal

Aurousal Français is a post from: Sound Galleries Monaco

Translations:

Chez Sound Galleries, lorsqu’on parle de son, il ne s’agit que du son organique le plus naturel possible. La cohérence, par la gamme de fréquences, est également au top de nos priorités, raison pour laquelle on privilégie les enceintes avec des transducteurs large bande et on évite les erreurs de cohérence causées par des séparateurs de fréquences complexes. La cohérence est également le résultat de l’électronique qui est à la base de ces enceintes. La nouvelle gamme de produits Fonel, fabriqués en Allemagne, s’illustre par des composants électroniques très naturels et cohérents, et avec un design solide et attractif qui respire la qualité. Les audiophiles ont souvent une préférence pour les produits employant des tubes électroniques car le son obtenu est plus organique et naturel ; pour cette raison les tubes à vide sont souvent utilisés dans les étages de sortie des lecteurs CD.

Vous trouverez dans la gamme Fonel aussi bien des produits à tube ou à transistor. Néanmoins, en auditionnant l’électronique Fonel, que ce soit à tube ou à transistor, nous avons trouvé qu’il y a un véritable « son d’intérieur Fonel » et que ce son est toujours authentique et naturel. Par exemple, le lecteur CD Simplicité existe à tube ou à transistor. La version à tube est, par nécessité, plus coûteuse que celle à transistor, bien qu’en terme de son le résultat est étonnamment proche.

Assembler un système High-End me fait souvent penser à la cuisine. On a besoin d’un mélange bien spécifique d’ingrédients dans la juste quantité afin d’obtenir le résultat désiré, selon son propre goût. La préférence pour la version tube ou transistor du Simplicité dépend entièrement du reste du système dans lequel on veut l’intégrer, ainsi que de ses propres préférences. Il y a bien évidemment des considérations techniques à prendre en compte également, surtout au niveau des amplificateurs. Fonel présente également deux versions de son Amplificateur Emotion. L’un est un model Classe A 25 wpc à tubes, l’autre utilise un transistor hybride regroupant un transistor de type Mosfet et un transistor bipolaire afin d’arriver à 300 wpc, ce qui est suffisant même pour les charges les plus puissantes. Le modèle choisi dépendra de l’efficacité des enceintes. Encore une fois, ces deux versions de l’amplificateur Emotion produisent un son étonnamment similaire. Cet amplificateur est également extrêmement flexible, pouvant être utilisé soit comme un amplificateur intégré, soit comme un amplificateur de puissance à combiner avec un pré-ampli ou lecteur CD avec contrôle de volume, comme le Simplicité. L’Emotion a quatre entrées, trois RCA et une XLR ; toutes peuvent être programmées pour une sortie fixe si on veut l’utiliser comme un amplificateur de puissance. Cet amplificateur peut également être customisé sur demande, pour une combinaison différente d’entrées XLR et RCA, si, par exemple, on préfère davantage les XLR que les RCA. L’Emotion va de paire avec le préamplificateur Renaissance et lorsqu’on les utilise ensemble on arrive à des images instrumentales 3D encore plus palpables, pour un réalisme suprême. Cet amplificateur, tout comme d’autres produits Fonel, est prévu avec de jolies télécommandes en bois, assorties qui interagissent avec de magnifiques écrans de visualisation. Ces écrans ne sont pas composés de LED, mais utilisent en échange une technologie de visualisation personnalisée qui vient du Japon qui donne un feedback très naturel. Par exemple, on visualise le contrôle de volume sur l’Emotion sous la forme d’un cadran rotatif lumineux qui avance ou se retire selon comment on ajuste le volume sur la télécommande. Ces visualisations peuvent être vues facilement de l’autre côté de la pièce, sans aucun éclat désagréable, c’est vraiment le mariage le plus naturel possible entre des sensibilités analogiques et des technologies de visualisation avancées qu’on ait jamais vu. Avec le design des enceintes, très attrayant, et des différents panneaux en bois disponibles, on apprécie encore plus le luxe de la gamme de produits Fonel. Et si aucune des finitions standard ne vous convient pas, ils fabriqueront des caisses sur mesure, selon vos propres précisions.

En conclusion, qu’est ce qu’il est exactement, le « son d’intérieur Fonel » dont on parlait précédemment ? Parce qu’il est si naturel, on pourrait employer le vieux cliché de « musical ». Ce terme se réfère pourtant souvent aux composants qui homogénéisent le son de plusieurs instruments. Il est ainsi plus facile d’expérimenter le gestalt de la musique, à défaut de pouvoir suivre les instruments individuels dans un morceau de musique complexe. Avec Fonel on a le choix. Si on veut se relaxer et apprécier la musique dans l’ensemble, on peut le faire aisément. Si néanmoins on choisit de se concentrer davantage, on peut facilement suivre des fils individuels dans de la musique complexe car les équipements Fonel fournissent une multitude de détails. Il y a des équipements qui évitent, vainement, les aigus trop agressives, des cuivres par exemple, en adoucissant les détails, chose que Fonel ne fait pas. Les cuivres ou d’autres instruments à fréquences plus hautes sont reproduits avec de l’énergie satisfaisant, tout en gardant le détail nécessaire. Leur son est réaliste, sans jamais être déplaisant. L’énergie et les contrastes dynamiques et naturels de la musique sont toujours représentés de manière appropriée par l’équipement Fonel. Par conséquent, le son Fonel est un partenaire extraordinaire pour beaucoup d’enceintes en exposition chez Sound Galleries. Quelques-uns des produits Fonel, comme par exemple Emotion et Simplicité, ont déjà reçu une critique très positive sur 6Moons, dans des articles d’agence de Fairaudio en Allemagne, et je suis persuadé que les commentaires favorables les concernant ne s’arrêteront pas là. Et avec toutes ces qualités, vous serez surpris de son prix abordable, par rapport à beaucoup de produits High-End typiques.

Fonel Français is a post from: Sound Galleries Monaco

Translations:

La musique évolue constamment de très doux à très fort, de fort à un peu plus ou moins fort et toutes les combinaisons possibles entre les deux.

Quand un musicien seul, comme un pianiste par exemple, frappe une certaine touche de manière plus dure ou plus douce que la précédente, il s’agit d’un choix délibéré et d’une partie essentielle de la création musicale ; on les appelle des contrastes dynamiques. Si un système audio ne peut pas suivre ces variations dynamiques, l’esprit de la musique est perdu. Le système émet un bruit agréable qui vous rappelle la musique, mais le sens de la musique comme composée ou improvisée par le musicien ne sera pas transmis. En tant que mélomane, vous êtes peut être déjà familier avec des termes tels que «Pianoforte» et «Pianissimo». Dans le domaine de l’acoustique on parle de macro et micro contrastes dynamiques. Ils sont aussi importants pour la musique que le contraste pour la photographie.

Les différences entre la lumière et l’obscurité sont la façon dont tous les détails sont exprimés dans une photographie. Si vous avez un ordinateur avec un logiciel pour modifier les photos numériques, essayez de baisser le niveau de contraste sur une photographie que vous aimez avec beaucoup de détails. Lorsque vous regardez les détails disparaitre, pensez que votre système HiFi pourrait faire la même chose à la musique de chaque disque que vous mettez. Sauf s’il peut capturer tous les contrastes dynamiques. Les enceintes Zu sont des championness de la transmission des contrastes dynamiques. Elles vous permettent d’entendre ces sons forts, mais éphémères, du début, lorsqu’on frappe un instrument de percussion ou on pince une corde de guitare, ainsi que leur désagrégation pendant que ces sons et leurs harmoniques secondaires disparaissent progressivement. «Vitesse, Immédiateté, réflexes rapides comme l’éclair, sont des qualités que les enceintes Zu ont pleinement». Leur «Druide MKIV» est immédiatement devenu un classique après que Srajan Ebean, le rédacteur en chef de 6Moons, l’ait passé en revue, en lui accordant leur distinction la plus haute. Cette excitation extraordinaire est en grande partie due aux transducteurs large bande que les concepteurs Zu Sean Casey et Adam Decaria emploient. Pourtant, malgré ses dimensions réduites et tout à fait acceptables au niveau domestique de seulement 28cm x 16cm x 127cm (L x P x H), le Druid peut atteindre 40 Hz dans les graves sans aucune perte de puissance de sortie. Ce qui signifie qu’il est suffisamment large bande pour la plupart des morceaux musicaux.

Si vous aimez la musique qui va au-delà dans les graves, Zu ont la réponse avec leur subwoofer assorti Method. En général, les enceintes qui sont si rapides, immédiates et dynamiques peuvent manquer de chaleur tonale. La plus grande surprise pour Srajan a été d’entendre combien le son des Zu est «musclé, charnu et corpulent ». Leur chaleur tonale leur permet également de reproduire correctement le timbre naturel des instruments de musique. Les enceintes Zu intègrent aussi un super tweeter qui gère toutes les fréquences supérieures à 12kHz, donc vous ne manqueriez certainement quoi que ce soit dans les fréquences hautes non plus. Et comme si leurs exploits en matière de conception d’enceintes ne suffisaient pas, Zu produisent également certains des câbles les plus fins actuellement disponibles, qui ont été largement plébiscités dans 6Moons et ailleurs.

En fait, leurs propres câbles d’enceintes sont raccordés directement aux transducteurs Zu Druid pour la connexion par câble la plus pure possible.

Zu Audio Français is a post from: Sound Galleries Monaco