Connected 24 doc

CONNECTEDt o M u s i c & M ov i e s

Issue No.24 Spring 2013

Kimber HD09eHigh Speed HDMI withEthernet from just £33

page 7

Plusnews... letters... reviews...

FREE

Mains Guide

INSIDE

Explorer USB DACpage 9

In Search of Musical Nirvana

page 14

Mail Order Direct • 60 Day Cable Home Trial • Cable Upgrade Scheme • Free Delivery (orders over £100 within UK Mainland)

Buy online at www.russandrews.comCall UK Orderline 01539 797300International Tel +44 (0)1539 797300

Exclusive UK distributor

Stop listening to your Hi-Fi and start listening to your music

With Musicality Built In™, Russ Andrews products willhave you listening to your music, not your Hi-Fi system.

Contents

Regulars

Editorial 3

Russ’s First Words 4

News 5

Dalton‘s Deliberations 13

Your Letters 24

Competition 26

Features

In Search of Musical Nirvana 14

Recommendations 18

Competition Winner 27

ProductsNew Products 7

Feature: The AbZorber 12

Recent Reviews 21

3Issue 24 Spring 2013 CONNECTED MAGAZINE

© Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2013. E & OE.Any views expressed are those of the writer and donot necessarily reflect the views of the company.

Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal LA9 6NS, UK.

Editorial

John Armer, [email protected]

■

WelcomeIt seems that the last issue ofConnected – our Musicality Issue –was a popular one, if the comments,letters and emails we received fromyou are anything to go by. You canread some of them in Your Letterson page 24.

We’ve decided to follow up themusicality concept in this issue, andRuss goes into more detail abouthow you can test the musicality ofyour system and what you can doto train yourself tolisten for it. In thatarticle, on page 14,he includes five discsthat everyone shouldhave to demonstratethe musicality oftheir systems. In aseparate feature,we’ve also included aselection of anotherten of hisrecommended discs that are wellrecorded and have a very highmusical content. It’s quite a mix too,so there’s bound to be somethingof interest in his recommendationsfor almost all of you.

As well as the other usual featuresin this issue of Connected, you’llnotice that we’ve included a freeMains Upgrade Guide. When wewere planning this issue, it becameclear that all of us here at RussAndrews are so used to theimportance of mains quality thatwe don’t always give it the spacethat it deserves. We’re also awarethat as our range of mains productshas expanded, some of you may notbe completely clear about whateach individual filter does andwhen you might use it, for example.To address this, we thought thatwe’d put together a simple guide

explaining each of the distinctmains upgrade steps, what eachupgrade step will give you and theorder you should upgrade yourmains. Even if you feel you knowour product range well, it’s worth aread because there’s bound to besomething in there that you havemissed!

Finally, regular readers of myeditorial will know that I wasinvolved in a project that started in

January 2012 to‘remodel my housearound my homecinema system’ (myfriends’ words, notmine) involving themoving of a door in athree-quarter metrethick load-bearingwall in the middle ofmy house just so thatmy TV screen could be

centrally placed between myspeakers. You may be interested toknow that after much hard workthe job was finally finished and mysystem, which had been in storagefor the best part of a year, wasfinally put back together (withmercifully few problems) onChristmas Eve. While it was instorage, my trusty Meridian F80 hadbeen pressed into service as a TVspeaker, but there was nothingquite like having five channels ofsound finally immersing me as itshould have been. I had said thatthe work would take the best partof a year to complete, and theimpending self-imposed deadlineof Christmas, like the print deadlinefor this editorial, was just the thingto ensure it got finished.

“it became clear thatall of us here at RussAndrews are so usedto the importance ofmains quality that wedon’t always give itthe space that it

deserves”

4 CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 24 Spring 2013

First Words

I spent an interesting hour inthe back seat of a Land Roverwatching a BBC iPlayerrecording of a BBC Fourdocumentary (on an iPad!).The programme was “WhenAlbums Ruled the World”charting the transformation froma 2½ minute single song cultureof the 1950s to the ConceptAlbum heyday of the 1970s. Itscentral thesis was that thestandard 2½ minute pop songwas created to fit the playingtime of the 78 RPM shellac discof the 1950s. (The 78 RPM recordwas preceded, of course, by thewax cylinder). Did you know thatthe first Rock and Roll hits werereleased on 78s? I rememberhaving a copy of Elvis Presley’sHeartbreak Hotel on 78.

The 7” 45 RPM single continuedthe format in a modern flexiblevinyl form, and the culture ofpopular hit singles reached newheights of popularity. The 7”single made jukeboxes apractical reality. The coffee shop‘Jukebox’ culture was born. The10” and 12” 33 RPM LP (and theEP) appeared at the same timebut, at first, were simply acollection of hit (and not so hit)singles sold together.

Very soon producers realisedthat the selection of songs andthe playing order could be usedto manipulate the listeners’reaction and emotion. It seems a

great deal of this careand attention wentinto Carole King’sTapestry album, forexample. Sinatra wasone of the first to dothis in the 1950s, wherethe collection of songsin his albums followed atheme as with Songs forSwinging Lovers, and Inthe Wee Small Hours. BobDylan pioneered agame-changing trendby breaking away fromthe tyranny of 2½minute songs with Blondeon Blonde (1966), writing 4minute, 5 minute and 7minute songs culminatingin the 11:23 song Sad EyedLady of the Lowlands coveringthe whole of side 4.

The concept album was nowonly a breath away. The BeatlesSgt Pepper’s arrived only a yearlater. The Classical Music suiteconcept took longer to evolvethrough Simon and Garfunkel’sBridge Over Troubled Water toperhaps its apogee in PinkFloyd’s Dark Side of the Moon andELP’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

Those were great days – Thegolden years of the LP – and Ifeel privileged to have been partof the Hi-Fi industry during thatperiod. The digital revolutionand the internet have nowdestroyed the wonderfullymusical-rich LP concept. It just

about survived the CD (thought Ithink we all miss the LP cover artand reading material), but it willnot survive the download. Themusic industry is back to the1950s bite-size hit single style ofmusic consumption. Youdownload hit tracks, notcomplete albums. The one-hitband is back! Social networks likeFacebook drive popularity andform instant, ephemeral fads justlike Radio Luxembourg and BBC’sSix-Five Special in the late 1950s,followed by Top of the Pops in1964.

Will history repeat itself and giveus an LP format of the 21stCentury?

What’s happened to the album?

■

Russ Andrews

News


NewsEaster and MayBank Holidayopening hoursOur phone lines and shop areopen Monday – Friday 9am –5pm except on the followingdays when we are closed:

Closed:Good Friday - 29th MarchEaster Monday - 1st AprilEarly May Bank holidayMonday, 6th MaySpring Bank holidayMonday, 27th May

New lower postage rate forsmall ordersWe’ve introduced a new lowerUK mainland postage rate of £2for single small, light items under£8 in value. So if you need toplace a small order for just thepopular LightDims, Spiked Feet,or a Figure-8 Adaptor and so on,now it’s even cheaper.

To see the items qualifying forlower postage, go towww.russandrews.com/lowerpostage

Be in with a chance towin a £50 gift voucher!Our facebook page - www.facebook.com/russandrews.accessories- is a great place to find out what we’re up to – new products, newsof new reviews, advice, comments and opinion. It also gives you anopportunity to add your comments, feedback and so on. What’smore, if you go to our facebook page and ‘Like’ us, and we will enteryou into a prize draw to win a £50 Russ Andrews gift voucher.

Firestone Audio- last few!We started offering the Firestone range of mini components backin 2009 and they have proved to be very popular. But, as they say,all good things must come to an end and, unfortunately, they areno longer being imported into the UK. The good news, though, isthat we have bought all the remaining UK stock - and because ofthe quantities we’re passing on the additional discount to you. So ifyou want to join the many numbers of customers who’vebenefitted from these excellent little components, take advantageof them with 25% off the retail price!See them all online atwww.russandrews.com/firestone

25%OFF

Limited stock


News

Our new Super Burn-in process has been up and running for acouple of months now, so we thought we’d give you an update onthe process and the feedback we’ve had.

What is it?Super Burn-In is a new, unique, cable enhancement process, theresearch into which has been instigated by Kimber Kable withadditional support by us. It has been developed for Kimber Kableby Ben Duncan.

How do we process cables?Super Burn-In is achieved via a custom-designed and builtmachine that treats the cable to a specific ‘recipe’ that has been developed.

What can be processed?Almost all Kimber and Russ Andrews mains cables, interconnectsand speaker cables can be treated. We cannot treat any othermanufacturers’ cables.The cables that we treat can be new or many years old. They will all benefit from the process.

What does the treatment achieve?Don’t just take our words for the improvements – have a read ofsome of the customer feedback we’ve had on the process!

Super Burn-in update How to order on NEW cablesBy phone When you order your newcable, simply request Super Burn-In. The treatment may add 1-2 days to thedelivery time, but we will let you know at the time you place your order.Online Buy your new cables and add‘Super Burn-In’ as an additional product[Tip: search for Super Burn-In in thesearch box of the website or type in theproduct code 8320].

How to order on yourEXISTING Kimber or Russ Andrews cablesContact us to place an order for SuperBurn-In and to tell us when you are goingto send in your cables so we can bookthem in. If you need us to arrangecollection, then we can do that too for asmall additional charge. We aim to treatyour cables and deliver them back to youwithin 2-3 days of receiving them.

Pricing, per cableWe charge a flat rate for Super Burn-In, percable. The charge covers a single mainscable, or a pair of analogue interconnects,or a pair of speaker cables, or a singledigital interconnect. The price is the same,irrespective of length. Code: 8320

Introductory Price: £100 per cable

Having had a selection of my existing mains cables treatedand most recently my speaker cables for my home cinemasystem, all I can say is Brilliant....Stunning! Sound iswell...just better with clearer pictures and deeper colours. I would recommend it to anyone.K Harrison, South Yorkshire

Instantly noticeable results. Takes already fantastic cables and interconnects up to the next level.Phil Taylor, Astoria Studios


New Products

New productsKimber’s HD09e is theirnew entry-level HDMIcable, now withEthernet-carryingcapability. The newcable is built to Kimber’sexacting standards andour tests haveconfirmed that it offersa substantial upgradeover the standard cablecommonly suppliedwith your kit, allowingclearer and moredetailed images and fuller, more natural sound.

HD09e is a High Speed with Ethernet, 3D capable HDMIcable, supporting pictures up to 1440p and is Deep Colorcompatible. It supports Dolby Tru-HD, 7.1 lossless PCMaudio and DTS MasterAudio HD. It is available in lengths up to 2.5m.

The need for EthernetMany of the latest generation TVs, Blu-rayDisc players and Home Cinema amps canbe connected to the internet for video andaudio streaming services – they are‘networked’.

Kimber’s new HD09e HDMI cables are‘network-enabled’ which means only onecomponent needs to be connected toyour modem or router. Assuming yourequipment is ‘HDMI Ethernet Channel-enabled’, the HDMI cable then carries thesignal through to the other componentsallowing them to communicate to theoutside world.

Upgrade your Sennheiser headphones with our new HC-2 cable

KIMBER HD09e Code: 2809

0.5m £33.000.75m £37.501.0m £42.001.5m £51.002.0m £60.002.5m £69.00

Kimber HD09e

Russ Andrews Code: 5752HC-2 headphone cable

2.0m £169.003.0m £189.004.0m £209.005.0m £229.00

Owners of Sennheiser’s HD600 and HD650 headphones can enjoy an upgradewith our new HC-2 headphone cable. The cable - which is replacing the olderRuss Andrews HC-1 cable - uses a different, heavier-gauge woven Kimber Kablethan the HC-1 for better sound quality, and we’ve improved the design androbustness of the Russ Andrews custom-made plugs too. The new cable is nowalso available in longer lengths than the HC-1, up to 5m, and can be fitted with a3.5mm stereo jack plug or ¼” jack.

Cable is suitable for the following models: HD650, HD600, HD580J, HD580, HD 565 II,HD 565, HD 545, HD thomann 535, HD 525, HD 414 Classic, HD 265

CONNECTED MAGAZINE Issue 24 Spring 20138

New Products

Upgrade to Oppo BDP

We offer 3 levels of upgrade:Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

Audio Power Supply 3 3 3 � �

Stereo output 3 3 3� � �

Digital input & output 3 3 3� � �

Ultra low jitter Super-Clock 3 3� � �

Multi-channel output 3� � �

Multi-region mod 3� � �

Many of you will know that Russ’s Blu-ray Disc player of choice is anOppo; but he doesn’t use it as it came straight out of the box! Likemost of the equipment in his system that’s not been built by him, it’sheavily modified. Previously we had offered (and continue to do so)modifications to the Oppo BDP-95EU Blu-ray Disc player; we cannow offer similar upgrades to Oppo’s latest Blu-ray Disc player – theBDP-105EU.

Unlike the Oppo 95EU player, we are offering three levels of upgradeto the 105EU. The Level 1 Upgrade focusses on Russ’s improvementsto the power supply, and improving key components on the digitalinput board, the digital output board and the stereo analogueoutput board only. You would opt for this upgrade if you connectthe player digitally to a processor or if you connect the analogueoutputs of it to a 2-channel stereo system only.

If you want better performance, opt for the Level 2 upgrade whichadds an Ultra low jitter Super-Clock for a more accurate and musicalsound.

The Level 3 upgrade includes all this but adds upgrades to themultichannel analogue output board, and adds multi-regioncapability. You would opt for this if you are connecting the player’smultichannel output to the multichannel inputs of a surroundsound processor.

The upgrades are completed by fitting our Silencer mains filter andClarity Mains enhancer to the mains input.

If you are opting for the Level 1 or Level 2 upgrades, we canadd the multi-region modification for an additional £135.

Please note: Unlike our set-top boxes we do not supply ready-modified Oppo players; we simply undertake thework on your existing Oppo player.

We recommend you send your Oppo player to us in its original packaging. If required, we canarrange fully-insured carrier collection. Turnaroundtime is usually 2-5 days.

Oppo BDP-105EU RA upgrade Code: 8610Level 1 £630Level 2 £930Level 3 £1215

Owners of the Oppo BDP-95EU can benefit from a Russ Andrews upgrade:

“Just BRILLIANT! Definitely worth the upgrade…What surprises me is that the picture quality isalso much improved.”N Kemp, Yorks

Oppo BDP-105EU

Oppo BDP-95EU Code 8604RA Upgrade £600Multi-region modification add £135

Meridian Explorer USB DACCode: 4653 £249

Explorer

3.5mm combinedanalogue / digitaloutput socket for connecting to youramplifier or receiver

3.5mm headphoneoutput (volumecontrolled by your computer’s musicsoftware)

Lights indicateincoming sample rate

Elegant metal case

Pure Meridian DNA

14 daytrial


New Products

Explorer is a new, compact USB DAC from Meridian Audio. Explorerconnects to your Windows or Linux PC – or Mac – and effectivelyreplaces your computer’s sound card. We tested it, and we loved itssound quality - it allows your computer-based music to sound justabout as good as it possibly could.

Features:• High performance internal components

• Accepts inputs of up to 24bit 192kHz (lights on the unit indicate incoming sample rate)

• 2V line level output

• Optical digital output up to 96kHz

• Powered by USB

• Designed and built in UK

Meridian’s Explorer offers a really simple way of upgrading yourcomputer’s sound quality. Whether you use your computer forlistening to high-resolution music files (such as those from LinnRecords) or from Spotify or iTunes, or video clips on YouTube,Explorer will allow a best-in-class sound in a compact andconvenient package.

Meridian Explorer includes ashort USB cable to connect toyour computer. Betterperformance can be achieved byusing a Kimber Mini-B USB cable.Explorer is plug-and-play withLinux and Mac computers –drivers are available fordownload from Meridian’swebsite for use with WindowsPCs.

USB Mini-B input socket forconnecting to your laptop ordesktop computer

“The Explorer certainlydelivers a smooth andcaptivating performance.“www.whathifi.com

Kimber USB cables Code: 28000.5m £43.00 1.0m £51.50Available in longer lengths.Type B and Type Mini-B available.

Don’t forget...


New Products

integrita Audiophile Music ServerCode: 4720

1.5TB £2995 3TB £3495 6TB £3995

14 daytrial

As downloading high resolution music gains popularity along withMusic Streamers for playback, have you thought about where youstore your music - your ‘source’ component? Some of you certainly doas we are often asked for recommendations for a high-performancemusic server. We’ve found one, and it’s so good that we couldn’t resistoffering it.

When the team from the German company Certon systems sat downto design the integrita they had a single goal – to build the bestsounding music server they could. integrita should be thought of as asource component – just like a CD player, for example. Weighing in atover 10kgs from the moment you unpack integrita you can feel thequality and attention to detail. This is a Hi-Fi or Home Cinemacomponent in its own right.

This is not just a NAS drive....Behind the thick, anodised aluminium front panel lies a powerfulserver capable of distributing your stored media quickly and easily.Acoustically damped casework, audio grade components and aspecially designed, high performance fanless power supply meansintegrita is completely silent – perfect for your listening room.

integrita features 5 hard drives, configured in RAID 6 for a very highlevel of data security. This configuration means that in the unlikelyevent that not just one, but two of the super-silent, 24/7 AV-certifieddrives should fail, your precious media is still kept safe.

Available in either black or silver, integrita is extremely easy tointegrate into your setup. Just connect integrita to your network(usually a router) via Gigabit Ethernet and copy your files to it. As theintegrita is DLNA certified and comes with iTunes pre-loaded, it’scompatible with virtually all Music Streamers such as those from LINNand Naim and - for video playback - even Smart TVs and gamesconsoles. More information online at www.russandrews.com/integrita

Specifications1 x Gigabit Ethernet

1 x USB 3.0

1 x eSATA

Media server: iTunes, DLNA

Power supply: 100-240V 50/60Hz

Size: 425 x 140 x 370mm WHD

Weight: 11.3kg

integrita - a super fast audiophile multi-media server

Transfer your media direct to theintegrita via the rear USB port

Audio gradecomponents

Super silenthard drives

Highcapacity

Fanless powersupply generatesno noise

Acoustically damped casework,available in Black or Silver

Instant access toyour media files

Gigabit Ethernet

LP12 accessoriesWe offer a range of LINN products, including replacement feltmats, drive belts and lid hinges for the LP12. They can beaccessed online: www.russandrews.com/linn. Alternativelycontact us for more information.

Linn 50Hz LP12 Drive Motor &33RPM PulleyCode 7520Price £92.02

Linn LP12 Bearing Housing capUsed to seal the bearing to reduceoil spills during maintenance.Code: 7521Price £0.50 each

LINN armboardsThe official and original range of LINNarmboards provides the easiest andmost effective way to fit Tone Arms toyour LP12. The range of boards fitsTone arms upto 233.2mm.Code 7518 Price £40.00

iUSBPower power supply

iUSB PowerCode: 4671 £175

14 daytrial

iFi are a new company who have developed an ingenious product – iUSBPower – which is designed to replace and upgrade the power provided by your computer’s USB socket when using a USB audio device.

It’s an effective upgrade for any USB DAC that takes its power solely from your computer, giving a separate, clean, low-noise power supply. And here’s the thing – even if you are using a USB DAC that uses its own separate power supply – such as one of the Firestone Audio products, for example – in most cases parts of these DACs are still powered by your computer’s power supply. iUSBPower cleans this power supply and improves the sound quality to these devices too.

We tested iUSBPower with a number of USB DACs and they were all upgraded – the sound was more dynamic,smoother, more natural and more detailed.

IsoEarth technology reducesthe likelihood of ground loopsand can reduce ground noise,giving better sound

USB output carrying audioand cleaned power connectsto your USB device

Powered byseparate powersupply, included

USB B input socketconnects to the outputfrom your computer

iUSBPower in usewith a laptop,Firestone AudioFireye and KimberUSB cable


New Products


Measurements of mains borne 'spikes' are difficult to make, even with very elaborate gear,owing to their randomly-timed occurrence and fleeting, extremely high speed behaviour.

The only alternative is simulation using the industry-standard Spectrum Software's Micro-CAP 10. Here, the spikes are shown thicker than they actually are, to improve clarity.

In Graph 1, the red wavy line 1, a sine wave, shows the UK mains voltage, with an ideal waveshape (for simplicity), viewed over twocycles, which lasts 40ms = 0.04secs =1/25th of a second. The voltage scaleon the left is in volts.

The black horizontal lines show thenormal, positive and negative peaklimits of the AC voltage, around + and -340v, correct for the more commonlycited rms value of around 230 to 240v.

The vertical red lines 2 represent spikes(impulses, transients) of 1000v (1kV) of both polarities, + and – . As these ride on top of, and so add to the mains voltage prevailing at the instant that they occur, some easily exceed the graph scale.

In Graph 2, plot 3 is a simulation of how The AbZorber has simply 'gobbled up' most of thespikes - to a far greater degree thana simple VDR (Voltage DependentResistor). Note that the spikeactivity is reduced even within theUK mains voltage limits. As far as we are aware, no other productdoes this.

The results on sonic quality in highresolution audio systems can bevery marked if spikes are present onthe user's supply.

The AbZorber is synergistic with the Mains Zapperator, which provides further damping and 'cleaning'.

The design of the AbZorber was in partinspired by the work of the late Les Sage, who first identified the incapacity of VDRs to always maintain clamping on inverse spikes, just before his passing, in the late 1980s.

* Turn to page 22 to read more about the review.

0m 8m 16m 24m 32m 40m-999-800-600-400-200

0200400600800999

0

0m 8m 16m 24m 32m 40m-999-800-600-400-200

0200400600800999

12

Volts

UK mains voltage limits

3

Milliseconds

Volts

Milliseconds

with AbZorber

Graph 1

Graph 2

The AbZorberThe AbZorbermains filter was the subject of a glowing review in the March 2013issue of Hi-Fi World magazine by Paul Rigby*.We asked the designer of AbZorber, Ben Duncan, to give a little more insight into the filter’s ability to capture ‘inverse’mains spikes – spike activity within normal mains voltages.

AbZorber, with a 1mPowerMax Plus™ mains cable.Order code: 1442 £528

■

Product Feature

Issue 24 Spring 2013 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 13

Dalton’s Deliberations

OK, hands up, I’m as guilty as anyone.I am one of those responsible for thedownfall of HMV. Why? Because,rather than necessarily looking at thelong term consequences of myactions, I have seen that I can buysomething cheaper on the internetso that’s where I’ve gone.

It’s not all my fault of course. HMVweren’t the cheapest store on thehigh street and had the prices beenthat bit more reasonable I wouldhave bought more there. And theydid lose their way somewhat towardsthe end. But in general, I do think thatas consumers we have become toofocused on price alone rather thanvaluing other equally importantconsiderations such as quality andcustomer service.

And then there’s impact from the riseof downloads. According to the musicindustry trade body, the BPI, “19.6% ofmusic buyers now only purchasedigital music, and more than aquarter of the populationdownloaded or streamed songslegally in 2012.” And that’s just thelegal ones.

But this isn’t the whole story.Contrary to popular opinion, CDs stillaccount for a significant number ofmusic sales in the UK, and HMV had alarge part of that market. So there isstill a demand on the high street forphysical – as opposed to digital –music. The problem is that thedemand has fallen and continues todo so year on year. This means thatphysical sales may become more of aniche market, but nevertheless amarket they are. And don’t forget that

the sale of vinyl is increasing, albeit asa minor percentage of the market.

The real problem here for companieslike HMV, and especially for smallerrecord retailers – yes, some do stillexist – is being able to adapt itsbusiness model to this new situation.To survive, any business has to berelevant to the current market. Iwould argue that there clearly is stilla demand for physical music sources,

but that businesses have to adapt tothe smaller market and the specificneeds of buyers. Perhaps they needto go back to the core of theirbusiness as specialists in music retailwith a broader selection andknowledgeable staff – you know; like the record shops we used to frequent.

But if the sale of music on the highstreet is to survive in the long term,the cost of doing so has to becommercially viable too. Some wouldargue that this viability should bedecided by the market itself and that,all things being equal, only thestrongest most adaptable businessessurvive. In the end this gives thecustomer best value because themarket is reacting to their desires.Putting aside the question ofwhether this argument is wrong orright, a big part of the problem is thatall things are not equal.

In the case of music sales, companiessuch as HMV are not competing on alevel playing field with the likes ofAmazon, probably their mostsignificant competitor. Amazon’soverheads may be less due to theirbusiness model and this is one of thereasons why they can charge less. Fairplay. But, as we have all heardrecently, there is another way inwhich such companies have anadvantage over those on the highstreet, in the amount of corporationtax they pay – or not, as the case may be.

And then there’s rent. I wasastounded to find that in my ownarea, a standard sized high streetshop once occupied by anotherfailed electronics retailer, had anannual rent of £100,000. This isn’t amajor city centre location we’retalking about here either, just anaverage small town. I dread to thinkwhat the rent was on the HMV storewhich is far bigger. The centre iscurrently marred by any number ofboarded up shop fronts and it seemsthat often landlords are happier towait, sometimes years it would seem,for a top-paying chain to fork up thehigh rent rather than reduce the rentand get another business in sooner.

Until traditional retail outlets aretreated more fairly in the market, thefuture looks rather bleak for the highstreet in general, and specifically formusic fans. It’s already happenedwith Hi-Fi retailers – how far do youneed to travel to your nearest dealer?Let’s hope music retail doesn’t go thesame way.

The demise of the record shop

“If the sale of music on thehigh street is to survive inthe long term, the cost of

doing so has to becommercially viable”

■

Have our shopping habits alone led to the loss of the high streetmusic store asks Simon Dalton

[email protected]


Following on from Russ’spopular article in the last issueof Connected, in which Russargued that the musical qualityis the most important aspect injudging a Hi-Fi system, Russtells us more about theconcept of musicality – andgives some tips in listening forit yourself.

I am going to start by making twoassumptions. Firstly, that you own aHi-Fi system because you love music(if this isn’t true for you then don’twaste your time reading further!).Secondly, that you believe yoursystem could (and should) soundbetter. In this article, I’m going toexplore why wehave lost ourway in oursearch formusical nirvanaand suggesthow we canrefocus ourattention on thethings that reallymatter. After all,isn’t there moreto music thansimply thesound? Surelythe real reason we love our favouritealbums or tracks is to do with theemotion they convey?

High FidelityNo doubt you are aware that ‘Hi-Fi’stands for High Fidelity, and thatfidelity means faithfulness. The term

High Fidelity has been assumed bymanufacturers and reviewers alike tomean faithfulness or accuracy to theoriginal sound. This in turn has led toa focus on the technical aspects ofsound, factors such as low harmonicor intermodulation distortion, lowcolouration, flat frequency response,extended frequency range, highpower dynamics to match theoriginal sound pressure levels, fasttransients. You will be used toreading about these aspects inreviews and manufacturersliterature. This approach has beenassumed to be more than sufficientto deliver ‘perfect sound forever’.

In my opinion, this approach hasfailed to give the results expectedand - in a way - promised to the

buyers of Hi-Fisystems. I suspect thatover the years manypeople have boughtsystems, not found thelistening pleasure theyexpected and havegiven up. This lack oflistening enjoymenthas resulted in acontracting ratherthan a growing marketfor Hi-Fi. As anenthusiast it makes mesad that mine is now a

minority interest, and that socially Imeet few like-minded people(though I do have a connection toyou, the like-mindedly determinedenthusiasts reading the pages of thismagazine). Professionally, it isdepressing to be part of a shrinkingindustry.

‘However expensive,well-engineered andfinely tuned it may be,a system lacking in

emotionalcommunication is asuseless as a Porschewithout petrol.’

In Search of Musical Nirvana


Fidelity to what?Perhaps the solution to thisdepressing state of affairs lies inrevisiting the ‘Fidelity to what?’question. What should a Hi-Fisystem be faithful to? For me, theanswer has always been fidelity tothe music. The sound is the vehiclethat conveys the music; but thesound is not the music. In thepursuit of the sound of the musicthe very essence of the music, theemotional communication, has beenforgotten. Without that emotionalcontent, the sound of the music isjust noise. Very expensive andclassy noise maybe, but just noise.

However expensive, well-engineered and finely tuned it maybe, a system lacking in emotionalcommunication is as useless as aPorsche without petrol. All you canhave is pride of ownership but notthe visceral thrill of driving it. That’swhat I’m looking for in a Hi-Fisystem: the visceral thrill I get fromfeeling the emotional message inmusic.

Our Emotional Response to MusicMusic is an art form. Any art form,whether theatre, painting, poetry,literature or music appeals on anemotional level. We all differ in ourown level of response to aparticular form (eg different kindsof music) but we all get emotionalpleasure from something. Musicworks our emotions on many levelsat the same time; our response tocertain sounds, certain instruments,voices, the key, the key changes, thetempo and so on. If it is a song, werespond to the words in a differentpart of our brain to the music.

Perhaps it’s the one that respondsto poetry. This reaction isunconscious and instantaneous. Itjust happens. We don’t have toconsciously ‘think’ about it. Thequestion is how do we harness thatresponse to use it as a tool to judgea Hi-Fi system?

Daniel Levitin in This is Your Brain onMusic, argues, “The power of art isthat it can connect us to one another,and to larger truths about what itmeans to be alive and what it meansto be human. When Neil Young sings:‘Old man look at my life, I’m a lotlike you were…Live alone in aparadise that makes me think oftwo’, we feel for the man who wrotethe song. I may not live in a paradise,but I can empathise with a man whomay have some material success butno one to share it with…”

Harnessing the EmotionFirst, I think it is very helpful to‘switch off’ your ‘Hi-Fi enthusiast’brain and listen as if you knownothing about Hi-Fi equipment.Non-enthusiasts completely ignorethe hardware as if it were invisibleand just respond to the music itself.If the music delivery is good, theysay things like “it sounds like he issinging/ standing right in front ofme” or , to quote a lady at one ofmy demos “I didn’t know Eric(Clapton) could sing so well.”Another said “I was at the concertyour CD was recorded at andlistening to it on your system feltlike being there.”

I know that detaching yourself fromlistening to the sound so that youcan concentrate on the musical

response is, at first, quite difficult.The difficulty is in knowing exactlywhat it is you are listening for. Ithink the best way is to start with avery big difference and then learnto detect smaller and smallermusical differences.

A Musical TransformationThe demos I have done over theyears at Hi-Fi shows are designed toachieve exactly this effect of a bigdifference in order to help peoplefocus on their response to themusic. I start with a basic systemwired with the simple free cables itcame with (or similar), on a metalstand and with rubber feet or Blu-Tak. I then replace all the cableswith Russ Andrews‘ woven mainsleads, Kimber’s woveninterconnects and speaker cables, aTorlyte rack and speaker standswith our wooden Cone Feet. Theresult is a musical transformation. Itwas one of these dems that elicitedthe comment “I didn’t know Ericcould sing so well”. Often audiencemembers enquire about the music I have played saying they hadn’tthought they liked that kind ofmusic! To them, the music hadcommunicated at the emotionallevel.

Russ’s Feature

I believe that the main reason thistransformation occurs – the hiddenmusicality is revealed – is that theRFI-pollution is reduced by thewoven cable. The introduction ofSD technology, which brings amuch greater reduction in RFI, hasfurther convinced me of thisexplanation. With these cables inuse in my systems, the result is ahuge increase in musicality.

continued...


Test the Musicality of Your System!You could mimic my approach torevealing musicality with your ownsystem. Unwind your upgrade stepsby putting the old cables back,

removing mains filters, Cone Feetetc. Take it as far back as you can –you probably have all the old stuffin a box in the attic! Don’t use yourfavourite demo tracks – picksomething you haven’t listened tofor years, something you don’t playbecause you don’t like it very much;a bad buy.

If you can, choose a live concertrecording because they often havehidden musicality you hadn’tnoticed. You were probably put offby the horrible sound of the

applause: a comment I have heardmany, many times when I tellpeople that I usually choose a ‘live’recording over a studio recording. Ina live concert situation, musiciansoften play with more musicality asthey respond to each other and the

audience. The studio recordingsituation often drains the life andspontaneity out of their playing. Forthe musicality comparison dem, themore intense the musicality in therecording, the easier it is to hearwhen you upgrade the system. (Seebelow for some of my suggestedrecordings).

Follow the Music MessageMusicality is easy to hear once youknow what you are listening for, buthard to put into words. For a

Eric Clapton Unplugged track 5,Lonely Stranger. Listen to theapplause; how good a guitarist ishe?; how good a singer is he?; doyou actually care about thesubject of the song?

Martin Simpson Cool andUnusual track 1, DarlingCorey. Just the intro - it’s verysimple and scarcely makes anysense on a low musicalitysystem.

Some tracks I use that enable me to detect even smalldifferences in musicality.

‘Musicality is a little bit of magic so easily lost in thereproduction of recorded music. It is lost in the pursuit ofperfect, accurate, information-laden, dynamic sound. ’

Issue 24 Spring 2013 CONNECTED MAGAZINE 17

moment, consider just words. Anexample is the King’s speech to histroops before the battle ofAgincourt from Shakespeare’sHenry V: “We few, we happy few, weband of brothers…”. Compare themeaning and emotional impactwhen spoken by great actors like SirKenneth Branagh or Sir LawrenceOlivier and reading it off the pageyourself. The difference in deliveryand phrasing to bring out all thelayers of emotional communicationis musical! On the other hand,playing the right notes of a tune inthe right order on a Steinway pianodoes not, on its own, make music.Something else, somethingintangible – musicality – is neededto transform the mere sounds intomusic. In the performer it is calledmusicianship – the ability to makemusic.

It is a little bit of magic so easily lostin the reproduction of recordedmusic. It is lost in the pursuit ofperfect, accurate, information-laden,

dynamic sound. So if you chooseyour Hi-Fi based on the technicalaspects of reproduction, the lowestdistortion, flattest frequencyresponse route, then you will endup without any musicality. The ironyis that if you just follow the musicalmessage (your emotional response)

in choosing the components of aHi-Fi system - I mean all the parts -the sound quality takes care ofitself. And you will be well on theroad to achieving your dream ofmusical nirvana!

Cowboy Junkies The Trinity Sessiontrack 1, Mining For Gold. Margosings a capella. On a low musicalitysystem it’s a bit boring and the airconditioning sounds rather intrusive.But on a high musicality system thesong is moving and compelling andthe air-con noise goes unnoticed.

Dean Peer Ucross track 2 Lord‘sTundra. The intro turns fromboring and repetitive on a low-musicality system to compelling,ever-changing and deeplyinteresting.

Wycleff Jean The Electric track13, Whitney Houston Dub Plate.You need a very musical systemto make ANY sense of this!

■

Russ’s Feature

In The Art of Quartet Playing by David Blum, when asked aboutrecording in a studio, members of The Guarneri Quartet explained whynone of the four members enjoyed the process:

“It’s a sterile situation; the setting is antimusical. There’s no audience;you’re playing to a battery of microphones. The process is corrupting.You play a piece many times; the mikes aren’t right, the balance isn’tright, there may be mistakes, you’re unhappy with something. And asyou make takes of a movement over and over again, your perceptionsbegin to alter. What you would have at first considered a good tempomay seem too slow because you’ve heard it so many times. So on thefinished version we may end up doing something that’s glib – becauseit’s take number ten…

“For us, the very take-oneness of it is what makes public performanceexciting and challenging, and generally more interesting andcompelling than recorded performance. There’s a tendency to want toplay it safe when recording and be doubly sure of note-perfection.This can have a deadening effect.”

I’ve been promising to reprisethis regular feature of our oldmagazine Directions. This timeI won’t attempt to review eachdisc (I wasn’t very good at it)but I will simply make a fewcomments as I thinkappropriate.

I am tempted to give a musicand sound quality rating, but Iwill only be telling you aboutdiscs that I have come acrossthat are very good in bothrespects so I think it isredundant. Many of thesediscs have been introduced tome by friends andacquaintances so to thankthem and encourage more‘cross pollination’ of music, Iwill give credit where it is due.

Some of these discs wereincluded in my ‘top 25’ discsincluded in Connected issue18, but this time I have a littlemore space to try and say justwhy I find them particularlymusical recordings.

I don’t know about you, but Iam finding it harder todiscover new gems of musicand recordings now that thehigh street record store is interminal decline (see GrahamJones’s book “Last Shop

Standing: Whatever Happenedto Record Shops?”). Sadly, wehave just lost our local highstreet record shop, ActionReplay in Bowness-on-Windermere, as owner DavidSmith finally takes theretirement he’s beenthreatening us with for severalyears. A great loss, as David isa music enthusiast with anencyclopedic knowledge ofrecorded music. I shall missthe banter too; his tactfulremarks about my taste inmusic and my tactless remarksabout his.

I have always found it easy todiscover ‘winners’ whilstbrowsing through record binsand CD racks. Somehow thegems just say “buy me” andmy success rate is very high if Ijust follow that ‘tingle factor’. Imust try harder to make thatwork when I am buy discsonline.

As many of you know, mytaste in music is both catholicand eclectic so don’t besurprised at the range ofmusic or the strangeness ofsome of my recommendations– I think they are worth trying.


Corydon Singers/ Matthew BestRachmaninov VespersHyperion CDA66460

I was first attracted to theRachmaninoff Vespers way backin the 1970s by a RussianMelodiya recording and was very moved by it. This is anoutstanding version by theCorydon Singers recorded in St Alban’s Church, Holborn,London. It is the ‘finest of all’versions according toInternational Record Review andrightly part of the BBC’s ‘Buildinga Library’ Best Recording. Let thebeautiful, beautiful music justwash over you.

RecommendationsLooking for great music? Russ recommends ninealbums and one box set that are worth trackingdown and listening to.


This is 15th /16th Century ‘early’music but with a modern twist.Purists might be alarmed oroffended, but I find itencouragingly attractive. Many ofthe tunes are improvisations –some are beautifully sung byLucilla Galeazzi and Marco Beasley.Beautifully recorded in the Chapelof the Hospital Notre Dame de BonSecours in Paris, the acousticperfectly complements theperformances.

Choir of Westminster Cathedral /David Hill: Tomas Luis de Victoria -RequiemHyperion CDA30026

This recording is a favourite of my dear friend Vera Gourlay and now one of mine.

“Glorious. A rich, luminous acoustic halo seems to surround the music as it soars ever upward.”The Good CD Guide.

“Its refined and dignified austerity is shot through with passionateconviction”Bruno Turner, liner notes.

Eva Cassidy: Simply EvaBlix Street records G2-10199

Twelve previously unreleasedacoustic tracks that, for me,contain the essence and musicalbeauty of Cassidy’s uniquetreatments of these great songs.She always brings a freshinterpretation of songs you thinkyou know backwards that showsyou don’t really know them at all.

L’arpeggiataChristina Pluhar: All’ ImprovvisoAlpha 512

Voices:An aural celebration of some ofthe best vocal tracks on the MARecordings labelMA Recordings M082A

This is a fine introduction to this(now) 25-year old audiophilerecording label owned by producerand engineer Todd Garfinkle. Hisrecordings are recorded using onlytwo omnidirectional microphonesin beautiful-sounding churches inEurope and Argentina. They have afree, natural and intimate feel aboutthem that is a delight to listen toafter hearing so many ‘tight’ over-polished studio recordings socommon these days. Thiscompilation contains many of myfavourites from the catalogue.

Rodrigo & Gabriela: Rodrigo y GabrielaRubyworks RWXCD37

Rodrigo and Gabriela are twoacoustic guitarists who playtogether as one person and yetsound like four guitarists plustwo percussionists! Their secret,of course, is that they have tenfingers on each hand and areable to play percussion on theirguitar bodies whilst, at the sametime, playing the strings. Thismusic is totally unique,rhythmic, musical andcompelling. Irresistible.

Zucchero: Zu & Co.Polydor 9819980

I don’t know who Zucchero isbut on this CD he duets witheverybody in turn. Eighteentracks with the likes of Sting,Macy Gray, John Lee Hooker, EricClapton, Ronan Keating, BrianMay and Luciano Pavarotti (did I mention Tom Jones?). Mad, butI think it is worth having just forthe first track Dune Mosse withMiles Davis. AbsolutelyStunning! I have to thank PeteBevir for this gem.

continued...


The Decca Sound: Fifty yearsof Great Decca recordingsDecca 0289 478 2826 6

This is a rich collection of many ofthe great Decca recordings thatconstitutes virtually a classicalrecord collection in a box. It hasmany of my favourites includingKyung-Wha Chung playing theBruch violin concerto, the KerteszDvorak New World Symphony No. 5and highlights of the Sutherland /Pavarotti Turandot to name justthree of many. This is a £100 boxset, but one I am so pleased myfriend Chris Crewdson pushed meinto buying: so many old friends at £2 a pop.

The sound quality is superb,sounding like a new digitalremastering if the Turandothighlights is anything to go by. My copy of the 1989 releasesounds dreadful, this sounds justlike the recent rerelease of thecomplete opera.

The included booklet is verycomprehensive and informativeabout both the music andmusicians, and the unique Deccarecording microphone techniquesthat delivered such goodsounding music in the hands ofsome of the recording industry’sgreatest engineers.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra,Johanos: RachmaninoffSymphonic Dances, VocaleseAnalogue Productions CAPC34145SA

I’ve long been a fan of thisparticular recording on vinyl, andwhen I heard about a new hybridCD/SACD that had been reviewedby Gary Galo in the December 2012issue of AudioXpress magazine I justhad to get a copy. Gary highlighteda number of different audiophilereissues of the 1967 recording, andcompared the latest SACD with aprevious 1998 96/24 DVD edition.

“The Vox/ Turnabout SymphonicDances remains one of the mostspectacular orchestral recordings evermade!... If Classic Records 96/24 DVDedition provided a window on theoriginal analog tapes, the SACDremastering has wiped that windowclean. The difference in the trebleregion is readily audible on mysystem. Strings on the SACD soundsilkier. By comparison the 96/24 DVDhas a bit of graininess. Theshimmering quality in the cymbalcrashes is more lifelike, with the DVDtaking on a bit of edge. There’s alsoslightly more detail in the treble. By itself, the DVD still soundsspectacular, but the SACD is just that much better.”Gary Galo, AudioXpress Dec 2012

Russ’s Recommendations

Keith Jarrett: The Melody at Night with YouECM records ECM 1675

This is, I think, Jarrett’s firstrecording (1999) after recoveringfrom the debilitating illness ME.His playing style is almostcompletely transformed: lyrical,gentle, expressive, achinglyromantic and rivetingly musical.

A collection of ‘AmericanSongbook’ tunes, he re-interpretsin recognisable Jarrett style,revealing unexpected meaningsand insights. The interpretationsare deceptively simple and gentle,the pauses, omissions, repeatsraise jazz to the compositionallevel of classical piano musicwithout losing any of theimprovisational advantages ofgreat jazz. My favourite is thetraditional song Shenandoah.Listen carefully to every note andphrase. It will “pluck yourheartstrings and tear youremotions to shreds”.

Reviews

Issue 24 Spring 2013 CONNECTED MAGAZINE

21

ReviewsKeep up to date with new reviews in our news section at www.russandrews.com/news

DeoxIT® D5 cleanerVerdict:

Price: £16.95Magazine: Hi-Fi ChoiceIssue: March 2013

Noise Reducing ShortiesVerdict: Price: £14.50Magazine: Hi-Fi ChoiceIssue: February 2013

Feb ’13

Neville Roberts, writing in the March 2013 issue of Hi-Fi Choicemagazine, went through a ‘mass cleaningsession’ of his Hi-Fi system with a tin of DeoxIT® D5contact enhancer. Neville started his review by identifying which metal-to-metal connections benefit from cleaning (mainsplugs and plugs and sockets on interconnects andspeaker cables) and explained the problems caused bya poor connection – namely high resistance at best, torectification and noise at worst. Neville also detailedhow DeoxIT® works, by dissolving oxides andsulphides and holding them in suspension, ready to beremoved by the mechanical action of cleaning and re-connecting the plugs.

Neville cleaned all connecting parts of his equipment(including the mains plug fuses) and found that hehad completely eliminated the odd noisy connectionhe had. He went on to say “One crackly RCA phonoconnection in particular was now, I’m pleased to say,completely silent during a test ‘wiggle’! He concludedhis review by acknowledging that it is “Great valueand as essential investment for any audio system”.

Noise Reducing Shorties The February 2013 issue of Hi-Fi Choicemagazinecarried a review of our Noise Reducing Shorties,awarding them a full five stars and Recommendedproduct badge. Shorties are shorting plugsdesigned to be fitted to unused amplifier inputs;reviewer Neville Roberts recognised that theseunused inputs act as extra ‘aerials’, and that Shorties are a “very effective and low-cost solution to this problem”.

So how did he get on with them? Neville noted that he’d “been using them for some timenow and I can confirm that they really do work. In particular, the annoying pulsing buzz producedby mobile phones in the vicinity of my audiosystem was noticeably reduced after fitting theShorties”. He sums up “A must for any system andfine value too!”.

March ’13

DeoxIT® D5 contact enhancer

The AbZorberOur AbZorber had a thorough testing by Paul Rigby in the ‘Soundbites’section of the March issue of Hi-Fi World magazine. We really like the highperformance of this innovative mains filter and we were intrigued to find outhow Paul would get on with it. Acknowledging that it is designed to remove‘inverse spikes’ – ie noise caused within normal mains voltages - Paul notedthat plugging it in is “…an event lacking pizazz. No lights turn on, nothingwhirls into life and no indication is available that it’s actually doing anything.Nothing, that is, until you listen to your favourite records which suddenlybenefit from a lowering of the noise floor”.

It’s worth knowing that the AbZorber – and indeed our other mains filters –were designed without flashing lights and LEDs because we believe this is asource of noise: something the filters are deliberately trying to reduce!

Paul found that, with the AbZorber in his system, bass heft was improved,instruments became more authentic sounding and applause on a liverecording (Sinatra’s The Lady is a Tramp from ‘The Main Event’) “no longer sounded like AM radio static, while the soundstage was widened”.

Summing up, Paul stated “The Russ Andrews AbZorber is a seemingly simple piece of technology in appearance and to use (you plug it in and forget about it) but it works hard to remove deleterious noise, improving all aspects of the musicalspectrum”.

See our product spotlight on the AbZorber on page 12.

Reviews

The AbZorberPrice: £528Magazine: Hi-Fi WorldIssue: March 2013

22 CONNECTED MAGAZINEIssue 24 Spring 2013

Both of Kimber’s USB cables - USB and USB-Ag - were the subject of an analysis by Martin Colloms in the Oct-Dec 2012 issue of HIFICRITIC magazine, as part of a substantial 15-cable test. The USB cable scored 73 marks, earning a Best Buy award and the comment “well balanced timbre and an even sounding frequency response”.

The USB-Ag cable scored 80 marks, and is a HIFICRITICrecommended cable. It sounded “neutral and wellbalanced… with good image depth and focus, neutraltonality, and a good sense of drive”.

Kimber USB Ag cableVerdict: RecommendedPrice: £142 1mMagazine: Hi-Fi CRITICIssue: Oct-Dec 2012

Kimber USB cableVerdict: Best BuyPrice: £51.50 1mMagazine: Hi-Fi CRITICIssue: Oct-Dec 2012

Kimber USB cables

Reviews

23CONNECTED MAGAZINEIssue 24 Spring 2013

Kimber 4TCVerdict: Highly Commended

Price: £304 for 3.5m pair

Magazine: Hi-Fi NewsIssue: January 2013

Jumbo Cone FeetVerdict:

Price: £31.95 set of 3Magazine: Hi-Fi ChoiceIssue: January 2013

Jan ’13

Jumbo Cone FeetAnother well-established Russ Andrews productand another great review, this time from Hi-FiChoicemagazine. Our Jumbo Cone Feet are aperennial favourite with customers and their bigeffect for a small outlay is confirmed by their FiveStar Recommendation.

Noting the advantage of using three feet to prevent‘micro-rocking’, Neville Roberts explains how thefeet work by helping to minimise “vibrationalenergy generated by your system” which can havean adverse effect on sound reproduction. Unlike‘isolation’ feet, which can trap this energy, woodenCone Feet “help minimise this” by coupling “theequipment to which they are fitted to the rack itsits on, thus channelling this energy away from itand into the floor”.

Well, that’s the theory taken care of, but whatdifference do they make? According to Neville, quitea lot: “I found the sound became cleaner, moredynamic and musical”, he says, and concludes that“they represent a great value upgrade”.

We were already very happy to receive a ‘Hi-Fi ChoiceRecommended’ award for Kimber’s 4TC speaker cable in theirNovember issue, so we were delighted to hear that it had received another award – a ‘Highly Commended’ badge in the January 2013 issue of Hi-Fi News . Reviewer Paul Miller pitted 4TC against 11 other cables in the £200 - £480 range (4TC was priced at £304 for a 3.5m terminated pair).

Paul had reviewed the cable previously, in1992 and 1997, and in describing the cable today noted that it retains its previous appearance: apart from a change in the colour of the insulation on the conductors from blue and black to clear and white of today’s cable! Following extensive measurements, Paul listened to the cable and his assessment highlighted that the likeable sound heidentified when he reviewed 4TC 20 years ago was very much evident today. He also commented about the “midrange emphasis that suited Eleanor McEvoy’s urgent vocals”. Summing up, he states that “the open quality of vocals and snap of synth andpercussion still had our listener’s feet tapping…”

Kimber 4TC speaker cable

Jan ‘13

Want to share your experiences with our readers? Or simply wantadvice? Write to us! We’ll publish the best, funniest and mostinteresting in each issue of Connected. The writer of this issue’s Star Letter receives a Silencer, worth £52.00

Get in touch at: [email protected] or write to us at: Connected, Russ Andrews Accessories 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business ParkKendal, Cumbria, LA9 6NS, UK.

Silencer mains filter,worth £52.00

Your Letters

Thoughts aboutmusicalityThe recent edition ofConnected raisedsome interesting pointsparticularly Russ’s comments about‘musicality’, Simon’s points aboutengaging with the music and IanMacDonald’s letter about theimportance of venue acoustics. I’vebeen a recording engineer/recordproducer for almost forty years andissued over 550 albums. Myspeciality has been acoustic music,mainly Folk music and Jazz. Overthat time I’ve garnered a lot ofexperience, knowledge andattitudes which don’t alwaysconform to the expected ones.Below are some randomobservations rather than any sort ofcoherent thread or structuredargument. They are designed toprompt thought and discussion.

• No-one has any idea what anotherperson hears. I have my hearingtested annually and I have a slightlift at around 250Hz and althoughthere are some differences in eachear I can still hear up to 1.5kHz –not bad some someone in theirsixties. It was brought home to meyears ago when I was mixing analbum and thought the bass was abit loud and the band leader askedme to turn the bass up. Recently Ihad a problem with somerecordings brought to me recordedby someone else: I was unhappyabout some distortion and was told

that I was the only one who couldhear it (except another engineerwho heard it straight away!). Thiswhy I’m wary of hi-fi reviews.

• My monitoring systems in mystudio over the years have beenbased around Quad, Spendor andHarbeth speakers. Some of thatreflects my time spent at the BBC,but I want my speakers to reflect‘musicality’ rather than the clinicalreproduction of studio monitorspeakers. I can’t pander to thelowest common denominator, but Ihave to be mindful that a lot of hi-fispeakers can ‘boom’ at certainfrequencies and not always verylow ones! A lift around 400Hz cando unpleasant things to an acousticguitar.

• I am a microphone fanatic andchoosing the right microphone andplacing it correctly is an art. You canhave the best acoustic in the world,top notch equipment, every pieceof Russ’s mains filters, mains leadsand Kimber interconnects, but if theoriginal recording is bad none ofthe aforementioned will make itsound any better. Some years ago Iwent back to using dynamic micsinstead of condensers on brassinstruments. Condensers withfrequency responses going above25kHz seemed to introduce a‘tizziness’ to the top end which hadno bearing on the importantfrequencies of brass instruments Iwanted to reproduce. More recentlyI’ve been playing around with

ribbon microphones so much sothat I was intrigued by the lovely‘fat’ sound that came off a lot of1930s and 1940s recordings (ribbonmics and valve pre-amps) that Ihave done a series of recordingssimulating a 1930s recordingsession with some very interestingresults.

• No matter what you replayrecordings on the cabling in theaverage recording studio – andeven cutting edge ones - leavesmuch to be desired: mic cables aremic cables the world over and canvary in quality, but not hugely.Studios will buy state of the artequipment, but rarely pay anyattention to cabling and I haveworked in studios at many differentlevels. In my own studio I have anarray of various PowerKords andvarious Kimber cable interconnects,but I certainly could not afford tokit out everything with ‘serious’cables – too many are required!

I suppose that the drift of mycomments is that what we listen todepends as much on the‘musicality’ of the person whorecorded it, the equipment used,the microphones and where theywere placed – a beautiful acousticcan sound wonderful if the mic isplaced correctly, but can have allthe acoustic qualities of an emptyaircraft hangar if it isn’t!

Paul Adams

Fellside Recordings, Ltd. Cumbria



Making a difference tothe sound?Interesting article about concerthall acoustics from Ian MacDonald -thank you for publishing. I havebought various bits of equipmentfrom you in the past - all nicelymade and I suppose the most usefulin terms of convenience is thePowerBlock. But do they makeMUCH difference to the sound(more living in hope thanexpectation)? Not really - smallimprovements which (to my mind)make a nonsense of the vast priceattached to some of your stuff(SuperKord Signature, etc). As aprofessional concert pianist mythoughts are borne out bycolleagues in the profession andparticular by several soundengineer friends from the BBC - ifthey don’t know a thing or twoabout recording/playback whodoes? And as for freezing CDs andthen spraying them with Godknows what, shaving the edge....does anyone ever listen to themusic or is the obsession with themedium obscuring the message?!

J Humphreys, by e-mail

I think you’re quite right that ourcables and accessories do not makeMUCH difference to the sound. Thereason they exist is that theytransform the musicality of thesystem. You are looking through thewrong end of the telescope. Most ofthe musicians I have talked to thinkthe musicality, the musicianship isparamount, but I have met a fewrecording artists whose obsessionwith note perfection dominates therecording process to the detriment ofmusical communication. I’ve quotedDavid Blum who expresses this veryeloquently in my article on page 17. A recording engineer’s job is to get the sound right; the musician’s tocommunicate the emotion.

Your last sentence neatly sums up theAlice through the Looking Glass worldof Hi-Fi: the willingness to condemnthings without trying them and theobsession with sound over music. Asyou can tell, this is not a view Isubscribe to. Russ

Getting back to the musicA few years ago now I startedupgrading my Hi-Fi cables withKimber cables purchased from yourcatalogue. I started with mainscables and Silencer Blocks theninterconnects. I was pleased withthe results so when a used set ofKimber 8TC speaker cables wereoffered to me I snapped them up.The final item I purchased from youwas a point one subwoofer cable formy AV system. Unfortunately thiscaused my sub to hum. I shouldreally have contacted you but nevergot round to it and ended up givingthe cable away to a friend. Ireplaced my sub cable with theoriginal one and the hum wentaway. After this I sold the speakercable and interconnects becausethe lack of shielding was in the backof my mind. The only items I keptwere the Silencer Blocks and mainsleads. After trying various brands ofspeaker cable I seemed to loseinterest in my Hi-Fi. Even with what Iwould class as quite high endcables it still did not make me wantto sit down and listen. Nothing wasparticularly wrong with the soundbut it had just lost that specialsparkle. Remembering how I usedto enjoy my music I decided to giveKimber another go. A set of used8VS speaker cable seemed a goodidea. As soon as they wereconnected the sound was back tohow I remembered. I was justenjoying the music again. I guessthis is what you call musicality. I’msure the sub cable could have been

sorted and I would urge everyoneto try Kimber cables in theirsystems. They really do let youforget the Hi-Fi and enjoy the music.Looking forward to you nextconnected magazine.

C. Newsome, by e-mail

Thank you for your feedback. It’shighly likely that you needed ashielded subwoofer cable to eradicatethe hum and give a better sound.Kimber’s Cadence subwoofer cableoffers very effective shielding and isidea for this purpose. We’re gladyou’ve come back to the fold; for us,Kimber Kables are inherently musical– just as you have discovered.JA

In praise of your OppoUpgradesI have been using my Oppo-95EUBlu-Ray Disc player which you justupgraded this week. I have to sayeven after just a few hours watchingand listening to DVDs and DVDaudio discs on it and I am seriouslyimpressed. Not only are the sonicimprovements substantially better,but the picture quality is muchimproved. I suspect many whowatch movies won’t fully appreciatejust how great they can sound withthis upgrade. Of course the bonus isthat this machine will also play DVDaudio and SACD discs as well whichmakes your upgrade truly essentialfor any serious minded audio/videoenthusiast!

N Kemp, Yorks

Kimber Cadencesubwoofer cablefrom £107


Terms and Conditions1. The closing day for entries is 22nd April 2013. 2. The rules of entry are given in the text of the competition. 3. No purchasenecessary to enter. 4. The winner will be picked out at random from all the correct entries by Russ and will be notified by emailand/or post by 5th May 2013. 5. There is one prize of a Mains Zapperator. 6. The prize is not transferable, cannot be exchangedfor cash nor will a cash alternative be offered. 7. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. 8. We reservethe right to feature photographs and the names and counties of all entrants in future publications and publicity. 9. Thispromotion is not open to employees of Russ Andrews Accessories or their families, or anyone connected with the promotion. 10.The promoter is Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court, Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal, LA9 6NS, UK.

CompetitionWIN

Last issue‘s competition gave you the opportunity to win acollection of cleaning products to get even more out of yourmusic and movies. The lucky winner chosen by Russ out of anumber of excellent entries, was Mr A Jack of Lochgelly andyou can read his entry opposite.

For this issue we are offering a prize of the Mains Zapperator worth £90.00.With the proliferation of wireless computer networks (not justin our own homes, but also our neighbours’) and ethernet-over-mains devices (again, even from neighbours), there’s an awfullot of additional RFI floating about. Mains Zapperators aredesigned to specifically target the noise these devices canput onto the mains supply.

Our listening tests have shown that they increasesmoothness and clarity, and reduce glare and grain inrecordings; there was also a useful increase in imagesharpness in Home Cinema systems too.

The Mains Zapperator is supplied as a ‘plug-top’ unit,designed to connect to standard mains sockets. Use oneclose to your system to create a ‘quiet area’ around it, andideally also throughout your home next to sources of noise:such as your Wi-Fi router and computer in another room.

Mains Zapperator

worth £90

To be in with a chance of winning one of these great little devices, simply look at the questionbelow and email your answer to: [email protected] marked “Zapperator” or send it toMains Zapperator Competition, Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2B Moreland Court, WestmorlandBusiness Park, Shap Rd, Kendal, LA9 6NS. The closing date for entries is 22nd April 2013.

The Mains Zapperator is particularly effective at combating interference from :a. Wi-Fi networksb. Other electrical itemsc. The mains


Competition winner...

Editor: John [email protected]

Design: Sarah [email protected]

Advertising: Simon Dalton 01539 [email protected]

Sales: Peter [email protected]

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Issue 27

Every now and then, theaudio gods seem to alignthemselves and what

ensues can be little short ofspectacular. Over the previous fiveor six decades, recordingtechnology, coupled with inspiredsong writing, has produced someseriously high quality listening forthe audiophile and the masses alike.

Being someone who likes to 'play'HiFi, I can appreciate many of thoseproductions on varying levels. Asfine examples of sound engineering,but also as quality works of artexpressed as the writer intended,and the performances of themusicians immortalised within the recording.

To choose one particular example asa favourite would be difficult, but forthe purposes of this piece, I'll choosePink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.

I have listened to Dark Side many,many times and on many different'HiFi' set ups, on both vinyl andcompact disc. I've also read variouspublications on the writing andrecording of the album so I think Ihave an understanding of the worksmore than many other of my'favourite' recordings. The bandconsider their previous recordingsas 'practise' and by the time theyrecorded Dark Side of the Moon they

had fully learned the craft of writingand recording.

The album was recorded at AbbeyRoad studios early in the nineteenseventies and was the perfectculmination of high quality songwriting and performing at a timewhere new exciting methods ofrecording were utilised along withnewly developed analoguesynthesisers.

For me, Dark Side of the Moon is anexample of the gods of audioaligning themselves, and whatresults is a work of art on a par withanything written before or since.Although each individual track issuperb, what results is a musicaljourney greater than the sum of itsparts! I hesitate to admit it, but Iactually prefer to listen to the albumon compact disc as I can experiencethe recording in its entirety, frombeginning to end, and I can allowmyself to be carried awayemotionally and spiritually, if notphysically, by the music.

When I think of musicality, I think ofall of the aspects contained in apiece, timing, rhythm, passion, theintended implications of lyrics andthe thoughts provoked,instrumentation, tempo etc etc.

I'm sure different people will take

different things out of what theylisten to. I think if a track is writtenwell and the feelings implied by thewriter are conveyed properly, thenthey will come through whether ona simple transistor radio or aridiculously expensive stereosystem. Something I often need toremind myself every time I feel theneed for my next HiFi fix. Being asound engineer I've trained my earto pick the bones out of a track inorder to isolate bass lines, melodies,harmonies and the like. Therefore, awork of music that can 'turn off' myoffice ears and allow me to driftaway and experience the full effectof the piece will rate highly on mylistening list and Dark Side ofthe Moon probably does itfor me better than any other.

Mr A Jack, Lochgelly

”

“Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd

In last time‘s competition we asked you to write of your experienceof a particular recording or concert which you found especiallymoving. The lucky winner chosen by Russ from of a number ofexcellent entries, was Mr Jack of Lochgelly, Scotland who wins£80 worth of Hi-Fi cleaning products.

Mail Order Direct • 60 Day Cable Home Trial • Cable Upgrade Scheme • Free Delivery (orders over £100 within UK Mainland)

Buy online at www.russandrews.comCall UK Orderline 01539 797300 Int Tel +44 (0)1539 797300

Exclusive UK distributor

Russ Andrews Accessories Ltd, 2b Moreland Court,

Westmorland Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal LA9 6NS, UK.

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