I really enjoyed my time with these not so little desktop speakers from KEF. At £600 they're not a cheap solution but in the grand scheme of things I think they offer pretty good value for money given they're active and have a DAC on board. Really simple to get up and running and really very well built. We got out son to do his own report on them given he's of that generation ... http://hifipig.com/kef-x300a-loudspeakers/
Morning Chewsters. Here's the Hifi Pig review of the £575 Pro-Ject Xpression Carbon UKX turntable. Peter really enjoyed it and awarded it a very high score indeed so it's off for second review to see if it will get the scores needed to get our Outstanding Product award - it's currently with Stewart and the second review will be published shortly. This review is a great read IMO and Peter has gone into great detail. http://hifipig.com/pro-ject-xpression-carbon-ukx/
The JoSOund Ra speakers review is now live on Hifi Pig. For those that haven't heard of the Ra they are a £43 000 single driver speaker using Voxativ Fullrange Loudspeakers drivers.
Me neither sadly, Alan. I often think there's a mentality amongst audiophiles that stuff has to look a particular way...often boring. I enjoy art and sculpture in particular (we used to be lucky enough to live near the Yorkshire Sculpture Park) and so I enjoy seeing folk put stuff out there in hifiland that is interesting....despite it not being something I can even aspire to from a financial perspective.
Lovely review Boss and Bossetta Glad I didn't get em, would have been a nightmare getting them up all those stairs, ask Colin, he struggles carrying his heavy bones up em! Gotta get him to invent a time and place displacement machine......or a lift?!?
Good luck with finding an original pair of original Darius! Actually, I do know of one set which Touraj himself is currently fettling to modify a replacement driver's dust cap (a mod he used to do the the original Kef driver to alter its resonance characteristics). I had that very pair here for the first part of their transformation and they sounded very good...a clear as a bell midrange with excellent imaging, if a little strident up top and lacking in true bass extension. The new pair shares the name only and seems to retain nothing much of the original design which was all about isolation and control of driver and cabinet resonances (remember the exo-skeletal frame?)
I have tried loads of times to make a speaker with this bass unit and I have never found it produces enough bass without the ABR. I've tried sealed box and ports but it just never seemed to go low enough.
I have tried loads of times to make a speaker with this bass unit and I have never found it produces enough bass without the ABR. I've tried sealed box and ports but it just never seemed to go low enough.
The original was the B200A (Kef 1014) and I agree Gus, they're not that great as bass but they do have a good lower mid response which I guess is what they were initially chosen for the Darius. There were other models (SP1022, 1039, 1054 etc) with larger magnets/voice coils as used by KEF in some of their own models but many other commercial speaker manufacturers got the 1014 unit. The speakers shown above are unusual in that they're the ONLY ever pair to be replaced with the 1022 and have Touraj (the original designer) modify them for the Darius. Bass impact is better than the original.
Well that was knackering but great fun!!! The Hifi Pig coverage of Munich has started. There's loads of it so will be published just as quick as we can over the next few days. There's my usual waffle and Linettes ever popular Birds Eye View stuff and at the weekend we'll publish a teenagers perspective of the show. The teenage perspective idea went down really well and Harry had a load of interest from lots of different brands that were exhibiting wanting him to do reviews. http://hifipig.com/category/munich-high-end-2014-2/
This month's FREE magazine is out and ready for download. The Reader's System is great!!!...and MCRU put together the Dealer System. http://hifipig.com/free-magazine-2/
Not sure why that would be, Dave...unless it is a conflict with OSX. I always download a few times on Chrome and Firefox before I announce it's live and had no issues. Just tried again and it was really quick. Here's the link to ISSUU so you can at least read it. http://issuu.com/stuartsmith19/docs/june S
Thanks Doc! We think it is a useful thing and it does have exclusive content we only upload a few months after publication in the mag. That reader system is great and reads like the diary of a crack head!
Soulines Turntables are from Serbia and this €4000 Kubrick DCX turntable with arm is a stunning looking bit of kit and sounds very good too. Read the full review.
and next up is our lad Harry giving a teens/ipod generations viewpoint on the Carot One Fabriziololo pre/head amp and their Titta (ye not) in ear headphones. http://hifipig.com/carot-one-fabrizi...ta-headphones/ The pre/head is €199 and the in ears are €40.
Comments
I was reviewing the standard unit.
I'm looking forward to your thoughts on it!
KEF. At £600 they're not a cheap solution but in the grand scheme of
things I think they offer pretty good value for money given they're
active and have a DAC on board. Really simple to get up and running and
really very well built. We got out son to do his own report on them
given he's of that generation ... http://hifipig.com/kef-x300a-loudspeakers/
http://hifipig.com/primaluna-prologue-premier-valve-integrated-amplifier/
http://hifipig.com/tellurium-q-ultra-black-interconnects/#more-11717
http://hifipig.com/pro-ject-xpression-carbon-ukx/
http://hifipig.com/ms-hd-power-ms-e01-power-distribution-mains-filter-and-ms-40puk-high-current-mains-cable/
http://hifipig.com/clones-audio-pre-and-power-amplifiers/
Nice balanced review from Dan Worth on the UB,s from Tellurium Q.
haven't heard of the Ra they are a £43 000 single driver speaker using
Voxativ Fullrange Loudspeakers drivers.
http://hifipig.com/voxativ-by-josound-ra-loudspeakers/
Would be a great proposition with a socking great pair of stone fronted TOCAs, real 'art' HiFi.
I often think there's a mentality amongst audiophiles that stuff has to look a particular way...often boring. I enjoy art and sculpture in particular (we used to be lucky enough to live near the Yorkshire Sculpture Park) and so I enjoy seeing folk put stuff out there in hifiland that is interesting....despite it not being something I can even aspire to from a financial perspective.
Glad I didn't get em, would have been a nightmare getting them up all those stairs, ask Colin, he struggles carrying his heavy bones up em! Gotta get him to invent a time and place displacement machine......or a lift?!?
http://hifipig.com/roksan-darius-s1-standmount-speakers/#more-12002
I was always intrigued by the original Darius' speakers, so these look interesting. I'd love to see them in a shoot out with the classic Darius.
The teenage perspective idea went down really well and Harry had a load of interest from lots of different brands that were exhibiting wanting him to do reviews.
http://hifipig.com/category/munich-high-end-2014-2/
Jerry's review of the Audio4Soul OCC IT! Xtreme Speaker Cables at €300 for a 2.5 m pair. http://hifipig.com/audio4soul-occ-it...peaker-cables/
and
Danny's review of the Directwave Directors Interconnects at £360 for a 1m pair. http://hifipig.com/the-directwave-di...interconnects/
http://hifipig.com/clio-the-cats-thoughts-on-the-munich-high-end-show/
http://hifipig.com/free-magazine-2/
S
A very convenient way to access this type of thing. :-)
turntable with arm is a stunning looking bit of kit and sounds very good
too. Read the full review.
http://hifipig.com/soulines-kubrick-dcx-turntable/
the LessLoss DFPC power Cords at £1824 for up to a 2m pair http://hifipig.com/lessloss-dfpc-ref...-mains-cables/
and next up is our lad Harry giving a teens/ipod generations viewpoint
on the Carot One Fabriziololo pre/head amp and their Titta (ye not) in
ear headphones. http://hifipig.com/carot-one-fabrizi...ta-headphones/ The pre/head is €199 and the in ears are €40.
http://hifipig.com/mcintosh-ma-5200/