HI-FI & HOME ENTERTAINMENT REVIEW SPECIAL FROM

ISSUE 2017-#2 $9.99 NZ$11.99 (INC. GST)

MOVIE
ACTION
BIGSCREEN PROJECTORS
TOP AV RECEIVERS
TV AUDIO SOLUTIONS
WIRELESS SPEAKERS
MULTIROOM AUDIO
ALL-IN-ONE SYSTEMS
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 ISSUE 2017-#2 CONTENTS
TVs & PROJECTORS
BENQ X12000 AV projector 07
EPSON EH-TW9300W AV projector 11
PANASONIC OLED televisions first look 82
SONY VPL-VW550ES AV projector 15
SONY VPL-VZ1000ES AV projector 19
STEWART FILMSCREEN projection screens feature 20

SYSTEMS & SOLUTIONS

CYRUS Lyric all-in-one system 22
KEF/PORSCHE DESIGN Space One noise-cancelling headphones 25
PIONEER Fayola FS-W50 wireless home theatre system 29
YAMAHA MusicCast wireless multiroom system 33

SOURCES
ZAPPITI NAS & 4K HDR Player entertainment NAS drive & streamer 36

AMPLIFIERS/RECEIVERS
ARCAM FMJ AVR390 networked AV receiver 39
DENON AVR-X2300W networked AV receiver 42
DENON AVR-X6300H networked AV receiver with HEOS 44
ELAC Element Series EA101EQ-G integrated amplifier 47
MARANTZ AV7703 AV preamplifier with HEOS 51
NAD C 338 integrated amplifier 54
PARASOUND Halo integrated amplifier 58
PEACHTREE AUDIO nova 150
integrated amplifier 61
SONY STR-DN1080 networked AV receiver with UBP-X800 UHD Blu-ray 65

LOUDSPEAKERS
ATC Home Theatre Series loudspeakers first look 68
BLUESOUND Pulse Flex active wireless speakers 70
DALI Zensor 1 AX active wireless loudspeakers 72
DYNAUDIO Focus 20 XD active stereo loudspeakers 74
KRIX Esoterix stereo loudspeakers first look 77
TRIANGLE Elara LN01A active wireless loudspeakers 80
www.AVHub.com.au
3
 BEST BUYS
EDITORIAL AUDIO & AV
Issue 2017-#2
ISSN 1442-2824 2017

Editor Jez Ford

jford@nextmedia.com.au
Contributing Editor
Greg Borrowman
Contributors
Greg Borrowman,
Stephen Dawson,
Jez Ford
Group Art Director
Kristian Hagen

O
ur twice-yearly review-fest of Best Buys Audio & AV often brings the
latest audio and AV trends into focus, and one repeated theme in this
issue brings me great happiness. Indeed it is a trend that aims to reverse
another trend the rise of the soundbar to become master of so many
lounge rooms for all things audio.
Now Im not saying there arent any good soundbars in the world, because weve
reviewed some of the very best of the breed, from names such as Bowers & Wilkins,
Definitive Technology and Focal, and given them fairly high praise. Youll note that
those three are all established loudspeaker companies which produce high-quality
conventional speakers, and one suspects they entered the soundbar market simply
because soundbars were selling like crazy, and were being bought instead of precisely
those conventional speaker lines. One can almost see the gritted teeth around the
planning table as someone says Sorry guys, fraid we have to make a soundbar.
Advertising Sales Manager
Lewis Preece
Advertising Traffic Di Preece
Divisional Manager & National Advertising Sales Manager
Jim Preece jpreece@nextmedia.com.au
Production Manager Peter Ryman
Circulation Director Carole Jones
Best Buys Audio & AV is published twice a year by nextmedia Pty Ltd, ACN: 128 805 970,
Level 6, 207 Pacific Highway, St Leonards, NSW, 2065 2017. All rights reserved.
No part of this magazine may be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the prior
permission of the publisher. Printed by Bluestar WEB Sydney, distributed in Australia
by Gordon&Gotch. The publisher will not accept responsibility or any liability for the
correctness of information or opinions expressed in the publication.

Whats the problem with soundbars? Well theyre riddled with compromises.
Theyre a dreadful shape for sound reproduction a long tube with an array
of small drivers, plus amplification, trying to pretend its able to create surround
sound when it cant, and handing over in the middle of the frequency range to a
subwoofer which is often too small, and gets parked in a corner so the bass pulls
to one side. The brands I mentioned above, and we can add the highest models
from major soundbar players like Yamaha, they have produced quality results by
spending significant funds to achieve clever solutions. Soundbars
under $1000 not so much. I dont recall one that Id pick over a
markedly different solution.
Well, there are no soundbars in this issue of Best Buys Audio
& AV. Instead we have just such different solutions. Soundbars
took the market through their convenience and supposed neatness
though theyre not so neat once theyre parked in front of a
low-slung modern TV with wires trailing from their cramped
connection bays at the back. Convenience yes one unit, or one plus a sub,
doing all your movie and music needs, probably streaming with Bluetooth as well.
Well, now you can get all that and more from a pair of active bookshelf speakers
parked either side of your TV. In this issue
we have examples from DALI, Dynaudio and
Triangle, active speakers that need no amplifer
and can receive wirelessly, or via Bluetooth.
We have a neat HDMI-equipped sound system
from Pioneer, and a little amp from ELAC, just the thing for TV and AV gear
playing through speakers of your choice, and again with Bluetooth onboard. And
NADs latest integrated amp comes with Chromecast to play from all sorts of apps.
Of course if its real home cinema performance you want, an AV receiver and
multiple channels are the way to go, and here too receivers are getting clever, with
two examples in this issue where the HEOS multiroom platform has been included
in high-quality AV receivers from Denon and
Marantz, while the models from Arcam and
Sony can do their own streaming too, and all of
them able to deliver real surround performance
from your movie source of choice, be it Netflix,
Blu-ray or Ultra HD Blu-ray!
So lets get back to quality hi-fi gear that can
do sound properly, and still keep things neat
and convenient. Thats what makes me happy.
Jez Ford, Editor
All material submitted is at the owners risk and, while every care will be taken, nextmedia
does not accept liability for loss or damage, nor for loss or damage to material or products
submitted for editorial review, advertising or any other purpose. Equipment or material sup-
plied to this company should be covered by an insurance policy for the period that the item/s
may be in transit to us, in our possession and in transit back to you or your warehouse. The
submission of product or material for editorial inclusion in this publication signifies accept-
ance of the above mentioned conditions. While articles and advertisements on recording
techniques may appear in Best Buys Audio & AV magazine, readers should not construe
this as authorising or inciting them to make recordings of copyright material. In all cases we
suggest you contact the manufacturer and/or supplier of the recording to request permission
to record material.
Privacy Policy: We value the integrity of your personal information. If you provide personal
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with our Privacy Officer, who can be contacted at nextmedia, Locked Bay 5555, St Leonards,
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Speak to your authorised KEF LS50W dealer for further information. E&OE

TVs/PROJECTORS
AV PROJECTOR
BENQ X12000
H
eres a projector thats loaded
with little miracles that add up to
something genuinely big Ultra
High Definition bigscreen projection.
With the X12000, BenQ continues its push into
the higher end of the projector world, here adding
a long-life LED light source to the clever XPR
(eXpanded Pixel Resolution) that debuted in the
companys W11000 recently, and which allows a
doubling of the projectors native resolution for
that glorious Ultra High Definition result. How
does it do this? Lets find out.
EQUIPMENT
Firstly, those LEDs. Where the BenQ W11000 (a
$7999 model) runs a more traditional lamp, this
X12000 uses the Philips ColorSpark HLD LED.
LED is for Light Emitting Diode, HLD for High
Lumen Density, the method by which the current
weakness in green LED inensity is corrected, here
by using blue LEDs to excite a rod filled with
green-glowing phosphors, a kind of tunnel to create
green light at high intensity from a narrow surface.
High Lumen Density achieved!
This LED system runs cooler than regular
lamps, and without any warm-up time it starts
with the proper colour temperature and at full
brightness. And importantly, its good for 20,000
hours of operation. If you spent six hours of every
day watching this projector, youd be able to watch
it for more than nine years before hitting the limit.
The X12000 has two HDMI inputs, one
supporting copy-protected Ultra HD from Ultra
HD Blu-ray players, and the other running to
1080p max. Theres a D-SUB15 input, and the
other connections are all for control. There is no
3D support on this projector.
Its a hefty thing, no lightweight for bringing
out on special occasions; it weighs 18.5 kilograms,
and its clearly well built. Theres vertical and
horizontal lens shift and a 1.5:1 zoom all
manually adjusted, not powered. The range from
the screen to produce a 100-inch (2.54 metre)
image size is from three metres to four-and-half.
So, how about those magic pixels? This is a
Texas Instruments technology to which BenQ
currently seems to have exclusive and preferential
access. It uses the well-established idea of a digital
The BenQ has two HDMI
inputs one supports UHD,
the other is for 1080p.
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
micromirror device (DMD), which in this case
has a grid of mirrors arrayed 2716 wide and 1528
tall. That comes to 4.15 megapixels, or half that
needed for the 8.3 million pixels in an Ultra
HD image. But each DMD mirror can switch,
moving the angle of its mirror and so delivering
another 4.15 million pixels to a slightly different
posion making up the 8.3 million. Its more
than a little gobsmacking to think about those
four million mirrors flipping 120 times a second
(for such is their speed), but this has been the
principle behind all DLP projectors for years, and
its only the number of pixels here and the XPR
diagonal placement of the second set for the UHD
doubling that is new.
PERFORMANCE
Does the magic pixel shifting work? Yes indeed it
does. The X12000 manages to reproduce each and
every one of the 8+ million pixels discretely. On a
test pattern the XPR dodge creates slight imperfec-
tions each resolution line is sketched out,
although with some inconsistency in line widths.
But on real-world UHD material, we are confident
this makes no practical or visible difference in
performance compared to a native UHD projector
capable of more cleanly differentiating each pixel.
The results pretty much speak for themselves.
Watching a range of Ultra HD movies and digital
test clips, the projector produced an amazingly
sharp and detailed picture, beyond that of regular
Blu-ray although normal Blu-ray is also
7
 TVs/PROJECTORS
upscaled beautifully to the
higher resolution. Indeed we
were finding it hard to point to a
native UHD movie and say look
at this to show a clear, objective
difference between the regular
Blu-ray and the Ultra HD Blu-ray.
Its more a sense that when watching
Blu-ray content theres a loss of
substance just on the edge of perception
that just isnt present with the Ultra HD
Blu-ray version.
So here, with scene after scene, in movie
after movie, there was a superb transparency.
And as with superb audio systems, the clarity
here can even be uncomfortably revealing at times.
When we first watched the superb X-Men: Days
of Future Past on Blu-ray, with a full-HD front
projector, we marvelled at some brilliantly realistic
special effects in this gorgeously-shot movie,
including street scenes from the 1970s. But then
rewatching the Ultra HD Blu-ray version on this
BenQ, the New York street through Wolverines
window was noticeably less convincing. Thanks
to the clarity of delivery with this projector, it
looked as though it had been digitally inserted into
a window frame. Which indeed it had been (and
most likely at 2K resolution, as many SFX still are).
It is possible to switch off the XPR pixel
doubling, using the Silence picture mode, which
is designed to reduce the sound level made by
the projector. It switches off things which might
make sound, or which generate heat which might
require more fan cooling, and XPR turns out to be
one of those. But you do not want to switch off
XPR. The native resolution of the DMD is 2716
1528, which of course doesnt match any present
home video format, so everything has to be scaled
by some weird multiple to fit. It doesnt matter so
much with standard definition material, but any
full-HD content is going to lose clarity.
Of course, theres more to projector
performance than just resolution. With black


levels and colour, things were interesting. We
settled on preferring its Cinema mode, which
delivered accurate colours and a subtle, natural
picture. This was more appropriate for most

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support WCG signals anyway, so instead it takes
normal signals and makes a best guess at what
theyd be like with a wider colour gamut. The
results were bold and often entrancing, but not
really accurate, pushing too much red and general
richness into the picture.
8 www.avhub.com.au
Black levels fell onto the correct side of
the threshold in which blacks look truly black
unless youre peering at them critically. There are CONCLUSION
projectors that can go way blacker, but in normal The BenQ X12000 is really quite the bargain for
use you will tend not to notice unless youre the technology here, when native 4K projectors
looking for it. remain, even with a solid-state lamp, two or three
Now, remember how we mentioned that times as much. If you can stretch to this kind of
those mirrors were switching at 120 times a price but not much further, find a shop that sells
second? They deliver the X12000s image at 60 the X12000 and see for yourself how good Ultra
frames a second, and thats fixed its always HD front projection can look.
60 frames a second. So no problem for 60Hz
source material, then, which will include a lot
of US-made TV shows from the likes of Netflix BenQ X12000
and other streaming services. But with Australian AV projector
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TVs/PROJECTORS
AV PROJECTOR
EPSON EH-TW9300W
W
e can kick off by declaring this
projector to be the 2017 winner
of the Sound+Image Award for
Projectors Over $2000... and
with Sound+Image being our sister magazine, you
might guess that were going to be heaping some
praise on this projector. At $4999 it is a brilliant
performer, with very little in the way of quirks,
and several major bonuses onboard, most notably
wireless signal transmission.
One thing the EH-TW9300W doesnt do is
Ultra High Definition, often called (not entirely
correctly) 4K. Although it doesnt completely
ignore it either. Obviously TVs have gone UHD
in a big way, raising screen resolution four-fold,
from 19201080 to 38402160 pixels. The
projection market hasnt followed quite so quickly
the panels inside projectors which create
images are actually quite small, just a couple of
centimetres in the case of this Epson, which uses
three LCD panels to deliver its final colour image.
Quadrupling their pixel count is no mean feat.
But solutions are being found that go a long
way to delivering many of UHDs advantages. And
this EH-TW9300W uses some of these to deliver
its superb results. Lets find out how.
EQUIPMENT
So, although its panels are 19201080, this
projector can nevertheless accept full UHD signals
at up to 60 frames per second, and then uses all the
additional information from the UHD input in its
efforts to create a much better image than could be
achieved from 1080p alone.
Firstly the resolution. The projector has pixel-
shifting technology which purports to be a kind
of 4K enhancement, achieved by remapping the
incoming UHD pixel information into separate
frames and overlapping two projected images,
with your eyes combining them into, hopefully, a
sharper result than 1080p.
Theres other information in a UHD signal
that doesnt come with 1080p. So youll get a
fair go at High Dynamic Range, which broadens
and improves the definition of brightness, and
also a wider set of colours, with support here
for the REC.2020 colour space. And the Epson
implements the Hollywood-mandated HDCP
2.2 copy protection, without which many UHD
sources (such as the new UHD Blu-ray players)
wont shake hands and pass the UHD signal.
Otherwise things are fairly straightforward,
with Epsons usual solidity of offering. The
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
EH-TW9300W is a good sized projector, fairly
heavy at around 11kg, with a massive zoom range
of 2.1:1, and a nice wide range for both horizontal
and vertical lens shift, all giving quite a lot of
placement flexibility. When switched off, a pair
of powered shutters close in front of the lens,
protecting it from dust and damage.
Also giving placement flexibility is the
WirelessHD connectivity provided with the unit.
You get a small transmitter box with four HDMI
inputs (and a passthrough in case you want a TV
attached as well), plus an optical digital audio
output. This box then sends the signal wirelessly
to the projector, right up to a full 60p UHD
signal. Doing away with the often long HDMI
cable run is a huge plus here and potentially a
big saving on HDMI cable costs.
Aside from this advantage of WirelessHD
transmission, you can take this review as also
applying to the Epson EH-TW9300 projector
(without the W in the model number), since
we gather this is identical in its workings and
performance apart from omitting WirelessHD.
The projector supports 3D, but now that
3D is on the way out of favour again (ho hum),
glasses are now an optional accessory.
11

TVs/PROJECTORS
Right: the back of the Epson.
If youre using WirelessHD to
send the signal, only the
mains connection is required.
Below: plug your sources
into the transmitter unit and
WirelessHD does the rest.
PERFORMANCE
Making the projector produce a picture of the
right size and with the right focus and pointing
it in the right direction was a snap, thanks to the
powered lens adjustments. These employ the usual
convention of allowing button taps for the finest of
adjustments, and respond to a held key by adjusting
fairly quickly. During these adjustments a simple
grid test pattern is shown.
So, what about that WirelessHD functionality?
Hard to use? Flaky? Not in the slightest; there was
no particular set-up required it took around
20 seconds for the projector and transmitter to
move past their meeting pleasantries and engage
in some action the first time, and afterwards
somewhat less, if still rather more than with an
HDMI cable connection. The signal was delivered
with 12-bit colour, 4:2:2 colour resolution and
with the BT.2020 colour space selected right up to
2160p/60Hz a great deal of data going over the
air, and with no visible degradation at all.
As for the image, lets begin with black levels.
The projector has a dynamic iris that could,
according to the specifications, yield a contrast
ratio up to a million to one under ideal circum-
stances. The iris has two speeds, accessible under
the Image menu: fast and slow. The idea of a
dynamic iris is that it opens and closes to adjust
the amount of light needed. Dark scenes can
have the light clamped down. For bright scenes
it opens up. For the most part the High Speed
setting worked very nicely, but it didnt seem to
work on the frame-by-frame basis of many earlier
Epson projectors, resulting occasionally in a little
brightness lag, ramping up the output of a scene
over a second or so.
12
But the native black levels (i.e. auto-iris
switched off ) of the projector were extremely
impressive and really, this mode delivered an even
output level with appropriately dark blacks.
When delivered a UHD signal with HDR
and WCG information, the colour and greyscale
delivery were smooth and extremely impressive.
The test patterns on Sony Ultra HD Blu-ray discs
(accessed by keying in 7669 while on their main
menu) showed a smoothly graduated ramping up
of greyscale with no visible stepping whatsoever.
Ultra HD discs seemed to deliver a benefit with
natural green and brown tones, and a slightly
more glowing scarlet aspect to some reds.
So we approve the ability to benefit from
UHD signal information, though we couldnt
say it achieved actual UHD resolution. To do so,
the pixels would need to be much smaller than
usual. The default mode does the pixel shifting
thing, which actually softens the picture a little,
but then post-processing (at the default level)
sharpens things up to roughly the same amount as
the original picture when fed with 1080p content.
Pixel boundaries are completely eliminated,
creating a smoother picture when viewed up close,
but sitting just a little further away around 2.5
metres from a 2.1 metre screen there seemed
little difference between the 4K enhancement and
not having it on. Having said that, the differences
were clearest only with UHD test clips, which are
deliberately razor sharp, whereas real content from
Ultra HD Blu-ray discs lost little of significance
in sharpness, with the picture looking simply
stunning, and we marvelled over the superbly
detailed rendition of the images, with first-class
sharpness, excellent colour and a very smooth
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
rendition. However some UHD resolution is
clearly lost. Theres a grainy, pointillist feel to
the recent UHD release of the original 1984
Ghostbusters and that quite disappeared with
this projectors pixel-shifted version.
There was one quirk with 50Hz interlaced
material perhaps because Epson designers live
in a 60Hz country. Use your source to deinterlace
and deliver 50p instead.
CONCLUSION
That aside, the Epson EH-TW9300W AV
projector is the best yet from Epsons conventional
line-up, which means that its very good indeed. Its
also reasonably priced. Dont expect true Ultra High
Definition resolution from it, but do expect it to go
beyond mere 1080p inputs by making use of the
other aspects of UHD, including High Dynamic
Range and increased colour gamut. The results
from this are quite brilliant at the price.
Epson EH-TW9300W
AV projector
r
Excellent picture
r
Supports 4K HDR and WCG
r
WirelessHD connectivity
r
Quirk with 1080i/50 and 576i/50
Price: $4999
Projection technology: 3 x 18.8mm
Polysilicon TFT active matrix LCD panels
Resolution: 1920 by 1080 pixels
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Lamp: 250 watts UHE-E
Lamp life: 3400 hours
Contrast ratio: 1,000,000:1 (Dynamic)
Brightness: 2500 lumens (white and colour)
Inputs: WirelessHD (4 x HDMI on transmitter,
1 with MHL support), 2 x HDMI, 0 x compo-
nent video, 0 x S-Video, 0 x composite video,
1 x D-SUB15, 1 x Ethernet
Outputs (on transmitter): 1 x HDMI,
1 x optical digital audio, USB charging port
Dimensions (whd): 520 x 170 x 450mm
Weight: 11kg
Warranty: Three years (three years on lamp)
Contact: Epson Australia
Telephone: 1300 361 054
Web: www.epson.com.au
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TVs/PROJECTORS
AV PROJECTOR
SONY
VPL-VW550ES
W
hile we are seeing clever ways to
achieve Ultra High Definition
projection by the superposition-
ing of multiple images of lesser
resolution, there is one company for whose
projection no such complexities are required
Sony. And this is not only true UHD, but also
true 4K, by which we mean that the horizontal
resolution is 4096 pixels, actually rather more than
Ultra High Definitions 3840 pixels. If youre using
the projector in some kind of professional capacity
connected to a computer, youll probably want
the full pixel count. For home cinema, you should
stick with the 3840 pixels across. Those pixels
are native to the SXRD (Silicon X-tal Reflective
Display) panels within, with three 0.74-inch
SXRD panels each having the full native eight-
million pixel count, no jiggery stuff required.
Sony was so quick out of the gate with 4K
projection several years ahead of competitors
because it could leverage its expertise from
the movie-making end of the chain, and it
has developed its 4K projectors over those
years, culminating in the extraordinary VPL-
VW5000ES, an $89,999 beast of a projector
capable delivering up to 5000 lumens of
brightness. But be reassured that other Sony 4K
models offer home-friendlier sizing, and pricing
witness the VPL-VW550ES 4K projector
reviewed here, and for extreme room-friendliness
check out the new Ultra Short Throw VZ1000ES,
which sits below your screen firing up, a very
space-saving proposition (see next article).
EQUIPMENT
If the price of this projector ($15,999) still sounds
like premium pricing, we must stress, of course,
that you do get premium quality for your money.
The SXRD reflective chip technology is high-end,
while a 280W UHP lamp provides the light.
The lamp is rated at 6000 hours of life (in Low
lamp mode) and a replacement costs $1150.
The changes from the previous VW520ES model
are mainly related to the High Dynamic Range
information within Ultra High Definition signals.
The VW550ES brings a higher native contrast
ratio, and differently maps the HDR information
within the brightness limits of the projector.
The baseline brightness in HDR mode has been
raised, and Sony has added manual contrast
adjustment while in HDR mode, to help users
find their preference. There is also support for
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
the forthcoming broadcast HDR standard HLG,
and some changes to the way the VW550ES will
upscale signals to 4K.
The projector has a wide zoom range of slightly
over 2:1, plus vertical and horizontal lens shift
to allow matching of picture to screen without
keystone distortion. The zoom, lens shift and
focus are all powered and can be adjusted by
controls on the remote. (A menu setting allows
these to be switched off so people cant fiddle with
them accidentally.) For a 100-inch (2.54 metre)
16:9 screen the projector needs to be located
between 3.05 and 6.28 metres away.
The only inputs are HDMI, making clear this
projectors consumer orientation. They support
HDCP 2.2, so itll handshake nicely with the
latest UHD Blu-ray players. There are also useful
integration connections, including Ethernet. This
works with several major standards, including
Crestron, and some control via a web browser.
In addition to native UHD and 4K display,
the projector will map full-HD content on a one-
incoming to four display pixel basis, so you set up
the projector for the natively displayed resolution
to overlap your projection screen to the left and
right. A test pattern shows you the relevant area.
15

TVs/PROJECTORS
Bigscreen projection in native 4K
the Sony VPL-VW550ES
has lumens a-plenty for
large-scale home cinemas.
PERFORMANCE
We attached the projector to our usual ceiling
pedestal, the only difficulty in installation being
holding its weighty body in position while the
attachment was made bring a friend! Thereafter
an exact match with our screen was quickly made
with the powered lens shift and zoom, and getting
a sharp focus was facilitated by being able to stand
right at the screen while adjusting it. We did spend
a bit of extra time adjusting focus, because with
this projector there were no pixel boundaries
to focus on! The eight-million-odd pixels were
packed in so tightly, and the reflective pixels of the
SXRD display have such thin boundaries, this was
hard to spot. In the end, we projected something
static and simply made it as sharp as possible.
With native 4K material oh, wow the
results were uniformly stunning. UHD content
really shows off the high resolution performance
here, even more so than on UHD TV screens.
With the ability to project a huge image, this was
just so much the better. Were going to borrow
from an earlier characterisation of ours (not
coincidentally from our review of an earlier
Sony 4K projector) and
note that: This
projector just seemed
to instead paint on
colour in an analogue
way, unconnected from
any underlying dot
structure.
The colour was bold
and the black levels
excellent, not quite
inky in their blackness
but extremely satisfying
nonetheless. There are
tweaks galore so you can
change all settings to
16
match your preference, or indeed calibrate to the
highest standard. But we think the defaults will be
pleasing to most viewers.
We also ran through our favourite 1080p
Blu-ray scenes, including discs that had been
Mastered for 4K. Theres a picture mode for such
discs, the main advantage being that these discs
are a precisely known quantity for the projector.
And they looked fine indeed. But then so did
just about everything else. Even our test patterns
looked ridiculously good.
Sony clearly employs some fine algorithms
in working out how to map 1080p signals up
to UHD. All jagginess was eliminated from
hard edges, including those problematic ones
which are just off the horizontal.
But you may need some external upscaling,
as surprisingly the VW550ES did not support
interlaced 50Hz material at either 576i or 480i.
It did support 1080i/50 and the auto cadence
detector was largely adequate, although a little
too easily fooled (only for a second or so, usually)
into video mode when presented with ambiguous
material. On the other hand, Sonys Motionflow
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
motion smoothing technology was first class. If
you set it to Smooth Low, just about all judder
is ironed out, with no visible artefacts created and
very little artificial glossiness to the picture.
CONCLUSION
Given that Sony has had several years lacking
competition on 4K/UHD front projectors, we
should be thankful that theyve done such a fine
job of it. As other paths to UHD appear, Sonys
projectors still rule the roost for full-scale native
UHD projection at an extremely high standard.
Sony VPL-VW550ES
4K/UHD AV projector
r
Brilliant UHD picture
r
Compatible with UHD Blu-ray
r
First-class motion smoothing
r
Not inexpensive
r
3D eyewear not included
Price: $15,999
Projection technology:
3 x 18.8mm SXRD panels
Brightness: 1800 lumens
Resolution: 4096 x 2160 pixels
Lamp: 280W Ultra High Pressure
Lamp life: 6000 hours
Dynamic contrast: 350,000:1
Lens: 2.06:1 zoom range
Inputs: 2 x HDMI
Control: 2 x 12V trigger, 1 x Ethernet,
1 x RS-232C, 1 x IR in, 1 x USB (for firmware
updates)
Dimensions (whd): 496 x 203 x 464mm
Weight: 14kg
Warranty: Three years (first of 1500 hours
of use or three years on lamp, first of 5000
hours or three years on optical block)
Contact: Sony Australia
Email: sonypro.sanz@sony.com
Web: www.pro.sony.com.au
www.avhub.com.au
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TVs/PROJECTORS
AV PROJECTOR
SONY VPL-VZ1000ES
I
n the previous review weve seen Sonys 4K
VW550ES projector delivering its thrilling
native 4K images, but the company has
just delivered something rather different
the new ultra-short-throw projector, the
VPL-VZ1000ES, which fires 4K up from the
floor, and does it with, mmm, lasers.
The VPL-VZ1000ES is still native 4K, so still
ready for all the latest releases on UHD Blu-ray
or 4K streaming, if you have the bandwidth,
from the likes of Netflix, Amazon and YouTube.
But instead of hogging room or ceiling space,
its positioning offers huge advantages able to
be as little as six inches away from the wall yet
deliver a 100-inch image (around 120 inches is
its maximum). The VZ1000ES is around 40%
smaller than the previous-gen Sony VPL-GTZ1,
although as the team admitted at the Sydney
launch, its still not exactly dinky, at 925 494
219mm, and weighing in at about 35kg.
It does, however, deliver the goods in many
situations where a ceiling-mounted projector
would not be possible, especially given the size
of native 4K projectors at this time. And where
actual floor positioning isnt ideal, or the screen
needs to be higher, the VZ1000ES could easily be
incorporated into cabinetry below the screen.
Given that the resolution of 4K is considered
to deliver its full effect at distances at one-and-
a-half picture heights away from the screen, you
could place seating a mere 125cm from a 100-inch
screen. If you try that, its a bit alarming, though
certainly immersive the picture quality supports
it. Most will sit far further from the screen. But it
does show that the VZ1000ES system is entirely
suitable for relatively small viewing rooms with
a just a few seats, rather than your multi-rowed
dedicated home cinemas.
You also get longevity into the bargain thanks
to the use of a Z-Phosphor laser light engine
as the light source, replacing mercury lamps
with semiconductor laser diodes that not only
promise around 20,000 hours of usage (thats
a movie a day for 27 years), but also maintain
brightness and colour accuracy longer. Coupled
with Sonys SXRD panels, the VPL-VZ1000ES
generates 2500 lumens of colour light output,
25% brighter than the VPL-GTZ1. Connections
are made under a bay to the right of the projector
unit, with four HDMI inputs, USB, and remote
operation via a number of methods, including
Ethernet. It features HDR10 and HLG (the
broadcast version of HDR), with Dolby Vision
on the roadmap for Sony products in general.
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
The projector seemed to run impressively quietly
during the launch, and remarkably cool too, while
Sonys Michael Bromley pointed to its low latency
processing as making the projector also excellent
for gaming applications and virtual simulations.
You can turn any wall into a life-sized window
to another world, said Sony at the launch.
For modern houses and apartments with large
windows and limited wall space, a drop-down
screen in front of the window enables great
viewing of TV, movies and sports. There are no
issues with shadows or obstructions from ceiling
lights or fans. And when the show is over, raise the
screen, and once again enjoy your view.
As weve already seen, native 4K projection
isnt cheap, but it is the real deal. Were currently
reviewing the VZ1000ES, and our review will
appear online at www.avhub.com.au/vz1000es.
Sony VPL-VZ1000ES
ultra-short-throw
AV projector
Price: $30,999
Projection technology: 4K SXRD panel
Brightness: 2500 lumens
Resolution: 4096 x 2160
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Light source: Laser diode
Screen size: 80-120 inches
Dynamic contrast: Infinite claimed!
Inputs: 4 x HDMI, 1 x D-sub 9-pin, 1 x RS-
232C, 1 x USB-A, 1 x 12V trigger, 1 x IR In
Dimensions (whd): 925 219 494mm
Weight: 35kg
Contact: Sony Australia
Email: sonypro.sanz@sony.com
Web: www.pro.sony.com.au
19
 TVs/DISPLAYS
PROJECTION SCREENS
SURFACE TENSION
Choose your surface carefully! Projecting onto a
wall may give you a large-screen image, but not the
quality that a proper projection screen will deliver.
Paul Kutcher from Visual Fidelity, distributor of
Stewart Filmscreen, explains why.
W
hen I was chatting to the Editor
of this magazine concerning
the subject and scope that this
article should take, I told him a
story that was relayed to me by a customer who
was having a projection system installed into a
multi-purpose room within his house. After the
installer had mounted the projector and pointed
it at the wall, he turned it on to demonstrate to
the customer and told the client that the image
looked fantastic, and dont waste your money surface upon which to get the best image out of
on a screen, it wont make much difference and
youll barely notice any improvement over the wall.
Given that the customer had already ordered a
screen from the salesperson as part of the project
that was going to be installed a day or two later,
frantic phone calls ensued in an effort to seek
clarity and assurance.
Unfortunately, this type of misinformation is
commonplace, and all it does is sow misconcep-
tions, falsehoods and uncertainty into the minds
of consumers looking to set up a projection system
in their house or business.
BOUNCING OFF WALLS
A wall is simply unable to produce a projected
image with the same level of quality as a projection
screen. This is not surprising, given that walls
are designed to determine room boundaries and
provide a space for mounting pictures, art, a clock
or perhaps even a projection screen. In practical
terms, it is near impossible to produce a wall
surface that is flat enough (within commercial
constraints) to project upon without it having to be
consistently worked and re-worked. The amount
of labour and materials involved to work a wall
to provide a flat, planar surface would be more
expensive than a decent quality screen. And that
is prior to any form of optical coating or paint
being applied to the wall that would also require
application, sanding, re-application, etc.
20
The next time youre in your hallway or
somewhere you have a clear wall, take the time
to shine a light along the wall obliquely and
youll be probably be surprised as to how flat
the wall isnt. Most likely you will notice waves,
undulations and random texture areas where
flaws have been patched, marks from where
the plaster has been nailed onto the frame and
patched, and possibly even the direction of
painting lines. This is hardly ideal as a projection
manufactured from an off-the-roll solution will
your new HD or 4K projector.
Projecting upon a wall will result in an image
devoid of image pop, as paint is simply not
designed to reflect light back towards the audience
in the same way that a projection surface is.
Dependent upon the paint used on the wall,
you might also have hot spotting, a spot on the
image in a particular area of the screen that is
brighter due to the false gain or brightness of
the paint used.
If the wall has any sort of textured finish to
it, you might be seriously impacting upon your
resolution, especially if your projector is a 4K
model. You will also notice that content having
straight lines may have poor geometry, and such
lines will undulate and wander as they move over
a non-flat surface in much the same way as water
ripples across a pond. This same rippling effect
will also be apparent for motion such as camera
pans or zooms as the content moves over the
non-flat areas of the wall.
And just to round things off, if the image area
on the wall has not been framed or bordered with
a black edge to provide a clear delineated edge
from where the image ends and the frame starts,
you will also have a reduction in the perceived
contrast of the projected image. A black border
around an image assists with increasing perceived
contrast and also helps to focus the eyes to the
image framed within the border.
Pictured is an attic theatre from a recent whole-
home installation by Len Wallis Audio, for which
Alberto Vangi, Senior Custom Sales Consultant of
Len Wallis Audio, chose a 125-inch Cinemascope
screen (2.35:1) from Stewart Filmscreen.
Stewart screens are world-renowned for their
reference-quality image performance, and weve
had consistently excellent results with their
products, he says. The screen features motorised
black side-masking which allows the viewer to
perfectly border the image for multiple formats.
IN THE FRAME
In comparison, any fixed frame projection screen
will provide a much flatter surface to project
upon. A surface that is tensioned into a frame will,
in most circumstances, form a flatter and more
planar surface upon which to focus the projector.
The flatness of the surface will eliminate those
previously mentioned artefacts such as rippling and
poor geometry on straight edges. It should also
have a frame wide enough to absorb any image
overscan from the projector, to assist with increasing
perceived image contrast.
The choice of screen surface itself becomes
a little trickier given the number of products
and solutions in the marketplace. A stretched,
rear-reinforced material, such as fibreglass-backed
material, will typically exhibit a degree of surface
texture due to the structure of the reinforcing
material. Also, most cheap vinyl surfaces that are
typically have one side that is quite shiny and the
other side having an embossed finish which is
designed to be projected upon. The embossing is
done to remove the sheen of the material to avoid
the aforementioned hot spotting, but unfortu-
nately the drawback is that the surface now also
has a textured finish that can be detrimental to the
resolution displayed on screen.
A quality projection surface will employ an
optically-coated surface that has been engineered
and manufactured to provide a defined screen
brightness (gain) and will diffuse and reflect light
in a preferential direction, hopefully back toward
the audience. These optically-coated surfaces
provide the flattest, most planar surface upon
which to focus the projector, and as a result will
also produce the best image performance.
In conclusion, a wall is not suitable for
projecting upon if you are looking to achieve
even a modicum of image quality. Even a cheap
fixed frame projection screen will provide superior
performance to a wall, but only a surface that
has been optically coated can provide the level
of image performance that will make you sit up
and go Wow! Paul Kutcher
Stewart Filmscreen
Contact: Visual Fidelity
03 9338 8995
www.stewartfilmscreen.com
www.avhub.com.au
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2

21
 SYSTEMS &
SOLUTIONS
ALL-IN-ONE SYSTEM
CYRUS LYRIC
B
ritish tradition meets British innovation
in this quirky but quality box which
proved to be very smart in more ways
than one. The Lyric aims to deliver
pretty much all you need for a system except
speakers, and to bring the traditional amplifier up
to date with wireless streaming, app control, a CD
player for those still playing those digital discs, and
radio too, with FM, DAB+, digital and internet
radio built in. Yet all still supported by those
fundamentals of solidly engineered amplification
on which Cyrus built its reputation.
EQUIPMENT
While a great many classic British brands
have been sold into foreign ownership and/
or production over the years, Cyrus remains in
private British hands, its HQ still in the UKs
Cambridgeshire, and it not only designs and
prototypes there but also still manufactures its
distinctive hi-fi in the UK. The iconic Cyrus
designs are half-width, with the fascia on the short
end of the chassis, but the Lyric is not of this
ilk, facing the usual wide way to the world, and
coming off looking rather space-age with its lower
CD drive section supporting an angular fascia
where a 55mm-wide display is flanked on either
side by a touch square and up/down buttons.
(Impressively the screen and the touch buttons
brightness can be separately dimmed.)
Theres no volume knob! But perhaps few
people now interact directly with their hi-fi
these days here you have both the app for
smartphone or tablet, and a high quality remote
control, which bursts into life with backlit buttons
22
when you lift it, so highly legible,
with only a few odd icons to
find your way around (and sharp
clicks from the centre nav/confirm
cluster). It can learn TV/PVR
commands, should that be useful.
As its all-in-one tag attests,
you could just add speakers,
given the amplification and CD
player on board, three radio types,
network streaming and Bluetooth.
But its also well-provisioned
with digital inputs theres just
the one analogue RCA input
pair (turntable owners will need
a phono stage or a model with
line-level output), along with an
output pair can be set to fixed or
variable output.
Otherwise its digital all the
way theres USB-B for a
computer, two optical inputs, two
coaxial digital inputs, and two
USB-A slots (one rear, one by the
minijack headphone socket under
a small cover front right, which
is matched aesthetically by a fake
cover on the left). The USB-A
slots can play from a smart device
and charge it even if a different
input is selected.
PERFORMANCE
We salute the delightful packaging
here, and more importantly an
more in-depth User Guide is
a high quality pair of speakers the
is quite capable of revealing the
The Cadence app nicely fits
a phone, with a neat input
screen (above) from which
you select a source then
browse through the sources, strings and high brass tones.
be they Tidal, internet radio
or your various networked
and USB-connected music
collections. The Now Playing
screen shows artwork where
available, and displays more
metadata than most, and you
can swipe sideways for more.
Two volume control options
are given in the app, with the
friendly slider working best.
Cyrus Cadence is a
simple enough app, with no
multiroom abilities, but it
proved reliable and speedy.
excellent Quick Start Guide that
successfully covers everything
clearly and concisely in four pages
buttonry, networking, source
selection and the Cyrus Cadence
app for iOS and Android. A
available on CD and online.
We began with DAB+ digital
radio, attaching the provided rod
antenna, which was quickly tuned
to our local digital stations. Given
quality of the Cyrus amplification
limitations of DAB+ better
than most internet radio, but
surprisingly compressed at times
and with DAB+s characteristic
high-frequency sawtoothing of
The FM tuner was excellent,
and astounded us with its
sensitivity; given our roof
antenna, this was the first
tuner ever to receive our local
community radio station clearly,
even on its weaker frequency,
assisted well by the Lyric
switching to mono automatically
for weaker stations and you
can force its decisions via a
settings menu, which delights us.
The logic of the settings
menus confused us at first few
www.avhub.com.au

of the menu options appear on the app, so you use
the front panel, and to enter FM settings when
playing FM radio you press the back symbol on
the remote, not the Menu or Setup button, as
you might expect. But this is more cunning than
it sounds, because Menu takes you to the very
top of the menu structure, from where youd have
to get through several layers to FM settings. But
back enters at the lowest level effectively a
contextual menu button. Clever.
Playing from computer via USB, we were
surprised to find that as a USB DAC the Lyric
accepted only 16-bit at 32/44.1/48kHz, so no
high-res at all, even 24-bit. Cyrus labels it a a
driverless USB connection, which generally means
USB 1.0, for which even older PCs dont need a
driver, but which does indeed top out at 16/48.
Yet the Lyric has a 32-bit DAC and will play up
to 24-bit/192k WAV, AIFF and FLAC from other
paths, and we gather that Cyrus recommends
USB direct connected drives or NAS storage in
preference to computer USB. But computer replay
sounded great anyway, and for files of CD quality
or below, theres nothing being lost at all. We also
began to get the measure of the power reserves
available in this Cyrus.
To hear its best shot, however, we attached
a USB hard drive of music to the rear USB slot
(labelled iPad rear). This is where the Cyrus
Cadence app comes into its own for browsing, and
in this regard it controls the Lyric very effectively
(also particularly good at finding it when first
opened, which can be a time of stress with many
app control systems). Cadence nicely fits a phone,
with a neat input screen (see left) from which you
select a source then browse through the sub-menus,
be they for Tidal, internet radio or your various
networked and USB-connected music collections.
After selecting our USB drive there was a pause,
which turned out to be the Lyric indexing the
drives not inconsiderable contents, after which it

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offered lighting fast navigation around the contents
and instant folder hopping where so many network
systems take a moment to populate each screen
or worse, fail to fill in scrolling lists as they scroll.
None of that here tracks started near instantly
(and sounded fine indeed). This punctual playback
goes to compensate for no apparent way to create a
playback queue as you browse, other than a master
and semi-permanent network favourites list of up
to 250 songs.


Also notable was the
delivery of metadata to both
the app (which showed
notes as well as basic
track information) and
the Lyrics front panel,
which showed track and file
quality information.
But most notable at all was the sheer
quality of the Lyrics drive. The power here was
highly impressive in its apparent ability to slam, to
deliver dynamic swings at volume, where necessary
with jump-out-of-your-seat power edges. The sheer
zing and definition of Audio Alchemys Marrakesh
was an audio delight, the plectrum strikes on
string clicking with every guitar note, while drums
and percussion were so controlled and lacking in
overhang it seemed you could detect the silent
background behind the full ensemble in action.
We use kd langs The Air That I Breathe as a
tester to see when speakers fail to unravel the layers
here every separate harmony was individually
rendered while the force of the choruses simply
grew without restraint. Its a wonderful presenta-
tion from an all-in-one, and points to an excellent
DAC implementation as well as power a-plenty.
Still more impressively, things were almost as
zippy for UPnP networked music shares. The file
format support was confirmed for WMA, AAC,
MP3, Apple Lossless, and up to 24-bit/192k WAV,
AIFF and FLAC (there seems no DSD support
at all). While you can store individual tracks to a
permanently stored network playlist, we could
find no way to create an ongoing queue, so you
simply select one track or album at a time.
The CD drive sucked in our silver discs to
produce further delight, proving its claimed high
reading accuracy by delivering no discernable
difference to the same tracks played from USB.
With this price and tradition (and performance)
you might expect Class-AB amplification, but
Cyrus is one of the increasing number of audio-
orientated companies to accept and espouse the
benefits of some carefully implemented version of
Class-D. Here the amp is quoted 150W into into
8 ohms or 230W into 6 ohms,
And it uses those watts rather smartly too. The
first time Lyric powers up, it tests your speakers, or
the left one at least, to measure its high-frequency
impedance curve. One characteristic of Class-D
can be unpredictability in high-frequency response,
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
and this Speaker Impedance Detection (SID)
procedure flattens that to within half a decibel.
If you switch speakers, remember to unplug the
Cyrus entirely and turn it back on when the new
speakers are connected.
Firmware upgrading is quite the task; it requires
660 words of instructions, a cable connection to a
PC, and a ballpoint pen, so that wed recommend
asking your dealer to ensure your new Lyric has
been fully updated before you take it home.
CONCLUSION
Theres more in-app access to Tidal, internet
radio (often grungy through a unit of this quality),
a surprisingly enjoyable Bluetooth, and a minijack-
sized headphone output. With all those digital
inputs, a system of some complexity could be built
here, or alternatively the Lyric could be entirely
standalone, your CDs and USB and networked
music delivered by its high quality amplification,
and plenty of it. Sounds pretty smart to us.
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SYSTEMS &
SOLUTIONS
NOISE-CANCELLING HEADPHONES
KEF/PORSCHE DESIGN
SPACE ONE
I
t is unheard of us to wear a pair of review
headphones daily for a month and not write
a word about them. Yet thats what happened
with the Space One. Every commute, a
couple of short flights we normally note down
tracks that show up particular characteristics of
the sound. But really, what characteristics do you
want? A pushy bass? An overladen midrange?
Peakiness on high-mids? No, none of those. You
want nothing extra at all just the music thanks.
And thats why we didnt write anything about the
Space One. They werent doing anything wrong.
EQUIPMENT
The Space Ones are over-ear wired headphones,
with a button on the left shell to turn on active
noise-cancellation, magically removing background
rumble (plane, bus and train noise) by inverting
sound captured by microphones on the headshells.
ANC is a travellers friend; fly longhaul with ANC
once and youll never fly again without it. Business
travel is a key market serviced by Porsche Design
with its own catalogue of products, and when the
company decided to create a Sound category,
noise-cancellers were top of the list.
So with the Porsche Design name on the
Space Ones, theres a danger of thinking that
the design is adding style rather than substance,
superficially Porsching up the exterior for the sake
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
of brand cachet. But thats not it at all. When headphones, and we get the impression that back
CEO Dr Jan Becker talks about the Book One, or then it was KEF consulting F.A. Studio Porsche
Chief Design Officer Roland Heiler talks about for its visual flair, while now we see Porsche
the Sound portfolio, of which the Space One Design using that connection to get KEF involved
is part (see our interview overleaf ), theyre not with sound for its own line of products. And the
talking about mere aesthetics, but rather complete result seems a pleasingly even-handed collabora-
product design all the performance, but nice- tion symbolised by the detachable cable for the
looking too, indeed function feeding form feeding Space Ones, which has a KEF logo on the plug at
performance. Theres nothing blingy about the one end, a Porsche Design symbol on the other
Space Ones nobody stared at our head on the end, with no direction of insertion indicated. Nice.
bus commute. But classy yes, with black cups and
headband, and cast aluminium for the body with
BELOW: KEFs original M500 received a
a sandblasted titanium finish.
Sound+Image Highly Commended award for
When we first saw pictures of them, we its combination of solid sonics and neat design
were struck by the resemblance to KEFs -- which had input from Studio F.A. Porsche.
previous M500 and M400
headphones, and were
surprised that Porsche
Design hadnt indulged
in greater differen-
tiation. But we had
forgotten that KEF
had worked with
Porsche Design
on those M500s
too (pictured right),
and on the subsequent
M400s. Those were,
remarkably, KEFs first ever
25
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PERFORMANCE popped open. We replaced the batteries. We were
The Space Ones are comfortable, and fit firmly keen to replace them because we werent fond of
but not excessively against the head. Indeed such the tonal effect we were hearing when activating
is the excellent seal thus created, there is a high the noise cancelling, but this proved inherent
level of passive noise reduction even without rather than a battery issue. While the cancelling
ANC, and passive proved our preferred listening was certainly effective, it added a boxiness to the
mode, as well see. music and softened the sounds delightful edge,
But first, the battery insertion. This involves which plays so well to their imaging abilities. Its
pressing a release catch invisibly hidden within not wildly severe; it was more the clear difference
the folds of the earcup, its position indicated only when switching from one to the other and
by a pictogram in the instructions. We could not it will matter not at all when you have them
find it, or work it. We pushed so hard we thought plugged into an inflight entertainment system for
our fingers might go through the diaphragm; we a movie. But for music or even spoken word, we
can only assume a sticky much preferred just the passive isolation with the
issue with our review headphones natural sound.
pair. Eventually Because that was so extremely enjoyable.
we took the Everything in its place. As mentioned at the start,
headphones to they did nothing wrong. The bass, for example, is
someone who realistic rather than pushed the full underpin-
already owned ning on the Barenaked Ladies Leave was presented
a pair, and with real thrum and firmness but no bloat, even
after a few when pumping over the rumble of the morning
attempts, commuite. Similar richness was given the stringed
he punched bass on the Blue Chamber Ensembles wonderful
through and version of Chick Coreas Childrens Song No 16 (a
the outer Stockfisch recording), while the taps of percussion
headshell were crisply edged and the arrangement delivered
with all its layers of complexity and rhythm.
Female vocals were a midrange thrill, whether
the aspirated maturity of Joni Mitchell on the
re-recording of Both Sides Now, or kd langs
complex stacked chorus harmonies on The Air
That I Breathe, while Leonard Cohen retained
both his rasp and his deep bass content in a
single vocal image on Going Home. And these are
not highlighted performances of tunes that the
headphones liked the Space Ones seemed to


like everything. Rock rocked, jazz jazzed, classical


got a full head of dynamics and a wide spread of
well-toned orchestra. And spoken word was spot
on tonally accurate to the original miking.
26
Why no Bluetooth? In nearly all cases,
Bluetooth transmission reduces quality and
also limits available volume and with the
quality-first attitude of both companies here, thats
probably enough to explain the omission.
Theres no control lanyard on the cable here,
but we rarely missed it, and while the earcups
pivot flat for storage, their yokes dont fold in
for really compact storage, so the supplied hard
carrycase will come in handy.
CONCLUSION
Try the ANC for yourself it will be great for
aircraft use in particular. But for day to day, you
may find you dont need it, which also saves on
batteries too (though the quoted 50 hours with
ANC engaged is very impressive). Meanwhile be
assured that the Porsche Design input here is not
merely skin deep; this even-handed collaboration
with KEFs voicing skills has delivered a great-
sounding headphone that exudes competence and
confidence across a full range of music.
KEF Porsche Design
Space One ANC headphones
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Roland Heiler, Porsche Design Groups
Chief Design Officer.
SOUND+IMAGE: Did you already have sound on
the Porsche Design roadmap before the work
with KEF came about, and how did the companies
make contact?
ROLAND HEILER: This cooperation with KEF is
the first one for sound products under the
Porsche Design brand. It is a result of our strategy
to deliver Active Noise Cancelling headphones
along with Bluetooth headphones and speakers.
These items are essential to todays style-savvy
business travellers. In order to achieve a sound
quality that matches our design standards, we
partnered with KEF, a company with its own long-
standing heritage and reputation for high-fidelity
sound and refined aesthetics.
However, the first touch-point with KEF was
a cooperation between Studio F.A. Porsche and
KEF for the first generation of KEF headphones.
Inspired by the success of the M-Series, Porsche
Design and KEF decided to enter in a license part-
nership in order to bring high-end Porsche Design/
KEF sound products to the market.
S+I: How were the three product types settled
upon, and what were the overall priorities for
the sound range?
RH: In close alignment with KEF we identified
in-ear and over-ear headphones as a must in
this segment. A portable compact and powerful
An Interview With soundbar was the perfect and logical extension to
the two headphone sets. GRAVITY ONE, MOTION
Roland Heiler ONE and SPACE ONE were to offer a new level
Chief Design Ofcer, of design and audio performance to the most
demanding consumers.
Porsche Design Group
S+I: Can you tell us about any challenges that
were overcome, or design solutions of which
At the recent IFA Global the team was particularly proud on these
Press Conference 2017, three products?
we enjoyed a presenta- RH: For SPACE ONE the biggest challenge was
to integrate the noise cancellation components
tion from the Porsche including batteries, circuit board etc., while
Design Groups CEO, preserving a somewhat compact and sleek
Dr Jan Becker, on the The Book One, detachable
tablet-computer with its
companys Book One, a gearbox-inspired
stylish reinterpretation hinge.
of the 2-in-1 tablet-
computer (pictured right).
But with our audio focus,
we were delighted to be
able to interview Roland
Heiler, the Groups Chief
Design Officer, who was
able to answer our
questions on the Sound
portfolio and how it was
developed with KEF.
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
appearance, since the product was clearly
positioned as a travel headphone.
For MOTION ONE, our target was to create an
utmost slim neckband, appearing rather like a
slightly thicker cable instead of a bulky housing.
The earpieces have a rotating earbud to enable
the cable to be worn over the ear for greater
stability, the cable is detachable by a micro-jack
and the earpieces are joining together by magnets,
to reduce the chance of cable tangles. To integrate
all these features into a preferably small housing
was the challenge here.
For GRAVITY ONE the challenge was to
differentiate the product from the large number
of competitive products on the market, many of
them very ambitious, iconic and design-orientated
already. Our typical standalone feature, design and
functionwise, is the overhanging wings functional
design, which gives space for the downfiring bass
speakers, in combination with the upfiring main
speakers. This allows for multidirectional sound
emission. In addition this architecture allowed us
to hide all the connectors.
S+I: With audio, the form itself can directly affect
acoustics, so was there more to-and-fro between
Studio F.A. Porsche and KEF than might be
the case in other fields? Did the form follow
established function?
RH: Working very closely with the engineering
departments of partners is part of Studio F. A.
Porsches philosophy, because functionality plays
a key role in our understanding of good design
attitude. Especially for the GRAVITY ONE the form
was directly determined by KEFs request for an
upfiring main speaker, due to acoustic reasons.
As mentioned above, the opposite downfiring
bass even more determines the unique design
character. As we are well recognised by the use
of materials like aluminium we decided that the
speaker should be crafted from a single piece
of aluminium. The black accents underline our
distinctive design language.
S+I: Many Porsche Design designs are timeless
but technology can put a clock on shelf-life, say
for your smartphone or the Book One shown at the
IFA GPC, and to some extent with audio products.
How does this impact on the designs and bringing
them to market?
RH: Our target is always to propose designs with a
focus on functionality, exceptional and high quality
materials, that have a long lifecycle. However,
as you mention, consumer electronics do have
specific rules in this respect. But we dont really
change our approach to design. The timeless-
ness of our products is typically a result of a very
minimalistic design language and therefore even
products with a shorter life feature this same look.
S+I: Is the sound range ripe for further
development? Any secrets you can share?
RH: Yes, new products are in the pipeline. As
in the past, we like to surprise but we will of
course let you know in due time whats next in
this exciting product category. Interview: Jez Ford
27
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WIRELESS HOME THEATRE SYSTEM
PIONEER FAYOLA FS-W50
P
ioneer has leapt into the wireless
multiroom arena recently, introducing a
platform called FireConnect by Blackfire
to a raft of products including AV
receivers, soundbar systems and network music
players. But here we have a full system clearly
aimed at modern lounges, with wireless this,
wireless that, and again the FireConnect platform
onboard to bring in the wireless music. And it all
adds up to another reason not to buy a soundbar.
EQUIPMENT
Fayola comes in two versions with or without
its wireless subwoofer. Were reviewing the
2.1-channel FS-W50 stereo system at $2198,
while the same system without subwoofer sells as
the FS-W40 at $1599. We reckon the subwoofer
is well worth the extra money for the performance
level it adds (and given it sells separately for $799,
you save a couple of hundred bucks). Either
stereo system can also be easily expanded into a
true surround system by adding a pair of wireless
FS-S40 satellite speakers. The Controller at the
heart of the Fayola system identifies what con-
figuration youre using and automatically adjusts
multichannel soundtracks accordingly.
SYSTEMS &
SOLUTIONS
Yes, soundtracks Fayola is clearly designed
to be used with your TV. It has four HDMI
inputs, then one HDMI output feed onto
your TV, with all HDMI sockets being UHD-
compatible, so things are well futureproofed.
Theres not much else on offer in terms of
physical connectivity one optical input and
one analogue RCA pair, which might be useful for
additional sources but wed guess are more likely
included to cater for those running sound back
from their TV should the built-in ARC of the
HDMI output fail to talk nice with a particular
TV, as can often happen (though in our case,
using a TCL 4K television, ARC worked fine).
But of course that FireConnect technology
inside offers more paths to music, especially since
it also includes Chromecast. To access this there
are a few terms and condition sign-ups required
for both FireConnect and Google during the
initial set-up. (Our Fayola had clearly been used
before, so we returned it to default settings.)
And youll need Pioneers Remote App. Day to
day, playing TV and movies you will probably use
the nice medium-sized physical remote, but the
app makes streaming music and browsing USB or
network music collections far easier.
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
That Controller box is about the size of
a normal hi-fi amplifier, though it looks very
modern with its matte white surrounds and silver
top. It arrived usefully stickered with a warning
to connect the power cords of all speakers before
turning the Controller on, presumably so it
can do the wireless connections and make those
decisions about the scope of the system to which
its been connected.
Having everything wireless does not, of course,
mean there are no cables. There are four separate
power cords for starters the price to be paid
for removing the signal cables between the units,
thereby requiring separate amplification in each,
and therefore a separate power connection. So the
Fayola hogs three sockets for the Controller and
wireless speakers, and a fourth for the subwoofer,
which also in matte white, a sealed-box design
33cm high with a footprint of 27cm square. Its
20cm driver fires down through legs raised high
enough to overcome a light shagpile; its quoted as
having 150W internal power.
PERFORMANCE
We have been excited about the possibilities
of FireConnect for some time (see our tech
29

SYSTEMS &
SOLUTIONS
brief at avhub.com.au/fireconnect), having first
encountered it in Harman Kardons Omni system,
and noting its inclusion in first Pioneer then
Onkyo AV receivers. Pioneer recently rolled out
the technology as firmware updates across many
of its stereo and AV components, in addition
to new products including the smart streaming
SX-S30 amplifier (our review at avhub.com.au/
s30), and the MRX-3 wireless speaker which we
used to test how the Fayola system could share
its music around the home. Because in addition
to being both high-res and multichannel-capable,
FireConnect allows multiroom input forwarding,
grouping and control. Even video is part of the
future FireConnect roadmap, and theres a new
version about which little is yet known, called
Blackfire RED (see avhub.com.au/red for what
we know so far; it doesnt look likely that current
FireConnect products will be updated to RED).
Pioneer doesnt let the technology get in the
way of the experience, such is the versatility and
ease of use here. The Pioneer app first gives you
straight control access to your Fayola, which it
found immediately, as it had the other Pioneer
FireConnect devices. With the app you can change
inputs, use an onscreen remote control and, once
networked by either Wi-Fi or Ethernet, select the
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as Spotify, Tidal and Deezer, plus Chromecast,
which caters to a great many other apps, allowing
you to cast the audio to the Fayola. Theres also
Bluetooth, and the spec sheet says also AirPlay,
though this last didnt seem available on our unit.
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source with other Pioneer products. (And with
other BlackFire products from different brands?
Nobodys yet sure.)
30
We pushed tracks from our smart device,
and they emerged from the MRX-3 in apparently
perfect synchrony with the Fayola. Internet radio
was shared, so was Spotify using Spotify Connect.
Not shareable (though this could be just our early
firmware) were the HDMI inputs, or high-res
music files above CD quality coming from either
network shares or connected USB.
But ungrouped, the Fayola accepted our
high-res music greedily, and we streamed up to
24-bit/192kHz PCM, and also up to double-rate
DSD. (We were using an Ethernet network
connection; by Wi-Fi only single-rate DSD is
possible.) The Fayola inherits a Pure Direct mode
from other Pioneer products, which keeps things
in as pure a stereo path as possible.
The sound from the 21cm-high tubular white
speakers and sub proved a pleasant performance,
better and smoother than youll get from all but
the highest of soundbars, and particularly effective
at spreading a mix wide. Paul McCartneys
Every Night (24/96 FLAC, unlimited) was deftly
handled, snare snaps in the right, guitar jangle
to the left, and a solidly imaged McCartney in
the middle. It doesnt tick all the fine hi-fi boxes,
lacking openness and sparkle up top and its mids
notably boxy on some spoken word sent via
Bluetooth. The bass from the subwoofer integrates
nicely and goes quite low for such a discreet box,
resonantly rattling our window blinds at 60Hz
when delivering the bottom B of the acoustic bass
on Blue Chamber Quartets Childrens Song No.
6 (Stockfisch 24/44.1). Wed usually take speed
over depth, but this low-end does support what
is clearly the Fayolas strength movie and TV
soundtracks. From the freakish buzzings of Twin
Peaks and the wide open spaces of Spielbergs BFG
in 5.1, to Star Trek Beyond in Dolby TrueHD 7.1,
it was all folded down neatly to the Fayolas 2.1
channels, the speaker combo proving immersive
and powerful, with clear dialogue and the ability
to go big on action scenes during space attacks
we notched the sub down, so scary was it getting.
Only towards the end of our reviewing did
we discover that this pre-release unit did not yet
have the full Australian firmware, so some small
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
things may change. For example the app identified
the Fayola as the AC-400 and Free Style Sound
System, rather than Fayola FS-W50. In any case
you can rename your device using the app, so we
made it simply Fayola. It would be useful if you
could rename the individual inputs too, since
youre stuck with BD/DVD, Game, Cble/Sat and
Strmbox for your HDMI inputs, which may or
may not suit your connected equipment.
CONCLUSION
Neat and clever, the Fayolas HDMI inputs and
prowess on soundtracks make this a great TV audio
solution compared with most soundbars and bases.
The cool tubular speakers do present a friendly
wireless speaker sound rather than hi-fi clarity,
yet the system brings a huge music bonus through
its ability to network and stream music under app
control, plus multiroom through FireConnect.
The Fayola proves a thoroughly modern system for
todays TV and streaming needs.
Pioneer Fayola FS-W50
wireless home theatre
system
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 A MATCH MADE IN
HOME CINEMA
Pair the UBP-X800 4K Ultra HD Blu-rayTM Player with the
STR-DN1080 Dolby Atmos receiver, for the ultimate home
entertainment experience

UBP-X800
See the unrivalled visual clarity of 4K UHD Blu-ray
Discover new depths of realism with 4K HDR
Experience real cinema sound with Dolby Atmos
and DTS:X support
Hear more detail with High-Resolution Audio
and DSEE HX
Anti-vibration construction for clearer sound and video
Enjoy fast, stable streaming from a variety of services
thanks to Wi-Fi with dual-band MIMO technology
STR-DN1080
HDMI connectivity (6-in/2-out) with 4K/60p (4:4:4)
pass-through, and HDR support
Dolby Atmos and DTS:X object-based surround sound
High-Resolution Audio-compatible
Easy Bluetooth connectivity with NFC
Wi-Fi, AirPlay and Chromecast built-in makes
wireless music streaming easy
www.sony.com.au

SYSTEMS &
SOLUTIONS
WIRELESS MULTIROOM AUDIO
YAMAHA MUSICCAST
T
he more MusicCast develops, and
the more products that are released
equipped with this wireless multiroom
platform from Yamaha, the more
valuable become its abilities. This is particularly
true of the ability to share any input from one
MusicCast device to other MusicCast devices
this is handy if youre playing your tunes to one
of the wireless speakers, say, and then with a few
presses of Yamahas app you can have those tunes
flowing through to several rooms, or the whole
house. And this versatility expands enormously
when its applied to a hi-fi amplifier with lots of
audio sources plugged in, or to a huge AV receiver
which comes positively festooned with socketry,
MusicCast will allow you to have pretty much any
music source anywhere in your home talking to all
the other rooms. Even vinyl play on a turntable
in your lounge and you can have those groovy
sounds emerge from anywhere or everywhere.
This is the promise of multiroom audio made
real, and without the need for a complex audio
installation with wires through your walls.
MUSICCAST ROOMS
So what, exactly, is MusicCast? Its perhaps best
understood through the app that links everything
together. This takes as its starting point all the
rooms of your house in which a MusicCast
product can be found. Open the app, and all
your rooms are waiting to be selected (screen
above left). Pick the room, control the music in
that room. Simple.
If you want to listen to the same music in more
than one room, or throughout your whole house,
you can link rooms together. Tap the little Link
symbol, select one room as a master (choose the
room with the sources you want to play to other
rooms), then select which rooms you want to link.
Within seconds theyll all be receiving the same
audio, while on your smart device youll be offered
independent volume sliders for each, and a master
slider to vary the lot.
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
MusicCast has one extra trick you
can even link in a Bluetooth speaker from any
other manufacturer. Nearly all wireless speakers
can receive a signal via Bluetooth, but MusicCast
products can also send via Bluetooth, sharing its
sound with any Bluetooth speaker within range,
or to a pair of Bluetooth headphones.
MUSICCAST SOURCES
With your room and product selected, you
can control everything through your app. If its
a simple wireless speaker like the little $249
WX-010 lifestyle speaker (see overleaf ), then the
list of available sources will include internet radio,
Pandora (free online artist-based channels) and
Spotify Connect (controlled from the Spotify app,
subscription required). But theres also AirPlay and
Bluetooth onboard, available for streaming music
direct from your smart device or laptop. And
theres the Server option, which will seek out and
stream from any shares of music available on your
network, from a computer or on a NAS drive.
The MusicCast system can handle high-resolution
music as easily as it can CD quality or lower-
resolution MP3s and AAC files (Apple Lossless up
to 24-bit/96kHz and FLAC, WAV and AIFF up
to 24-bit/192kHz).
But thats just for the simplest of the MusicCast
units, which doesnt have any physical inputs of
its own. Move up the range and every input to the
MusicCast device is added to the list of options
on the iPad screen left you can see Yamahas
33
 SYSTEMS &
SOLUTIONS
R-N402 smart amplifier (see also opposite) hi-fi, a just-add-speakers streaming amplifier (the
offering all those streaming services but also its WXA-50, opposite top).
various digital and analogue inputs as source Many companies have added a soundbar
selections. Not only can you select these to play and sometimes two as part of their ecosystem.
via the app, you can share them to other rooms. But from the start Yamaha promised to include
If your CD player is plugged into this amp, you MusicCast in as many of its products as possible,
can send that on to a small speaker in the kitchen, not just a separate collection, and this promise
or a Frame hanging in your bedroom. has been delivered upon.
The most extreme example of this would be So MusicCast is not in one or two soundbars,
Yamahas top Aventage integrated AV receiver, but in soundbars from entry-level up to the
the RX-A3060 (right), which won Sound+Images companys top model with Dolby Atmos, the YSP-
2017 AV Receiver of the Year over $2000. The 5600BSW, now in mark II form you can read
back panel of such an AV receiver is populated our original review at the link noted above.
with dozens of inputs, almost all made available to There are standalone wireless speakers, but also
the MusicCast app and network. lifestyle solutions like the Frame range which
offers hang-on-the-wall sound systems. Compact
MUSICCAST PRODUCTS hi-fi systems and active speakers are also equipped
As noted, Yamaha has expanded the MusicCast with MusicCast abilities.
platform into such a wide range of products that And with Yamaha long famed for its AV
we cant include them all here its even now receivers, its no surprise to find that every one of
available in one of the companys Disklavier grand the latest Aventage series has MusicCast inside.
piano. These can play themselves (keys moving
on their own, slightly spooky), and now the A FEW FAVOURITES
piano sounds can be piped through MusicCast to Weve reviewed a good many MusicCast
Yamaha hi-fi through out the home. components, from small portables to that top AV
As with other multiroom platforms, Yamaha receiver, with many of our full reviews available
has the basic ecosystem covered several sizes to read on AVHubcom.au. Opposite weve
of wireless speakers, a streamer to add to your summarised some of these. We were particularly
THE MUSICCAST APP. Start with one room, link other rooms,
pick your source from the main room, and control them all.
34
LEFT: The Atmos-enabled
and award-winning YSP-
5600BSW Digital Sound
Projector, which comes
with a wireless subwoofer
and MusicCast, now in MkII
form. Scan the QR code
for our full review or visit
www.avhub.com.au/5600.
impressed recently by the R-N402 which adds
MusicCast to what is more or less a conventional
hi-fi amplifier, and it shows how the addition of
smarts can completely transform a whole product
category, because while you could plug in various
sources to the R-N402, you could equally just
add speakers and enjoy a smart streaming and tidy
system with nothing else added.
Even more compact a system solution comes
from our favourite MusicCast product, the
NX-N500 stereo active speakers at $999, which
deliver true hi-fi sound in such fine-sounding
proper stereo that it won Sound+Images 2016
Multiroom Component of the Year. Links to the
full review by URL or QR code are shown.
At the other end of the spectrum, Sound+Image
recently dropped a 2017 award on the afore-
mentioned Aventage RX-A3060 networked AV
receiver; again theres a link here to the full review.
The new 2017/8 Aventage receivers are arriving in
Australia as we go to press, and well be reviewing
the latest of them in Sound+Image very shortly.
CONCLUSION
So while other manufacturers are now extending
their multiroom systems to a wider range of
product, we reckon Yamaha MusicCast has a
headstart in this diversity, while its app and
MusicCast offerings are at the top of the tree, and
its product quality second to none.
There are, perhaps, two ways to enjoy
MusicCast. You may have simply chosen a Yamaha
product on its main merits, and find you have
MusicCast as a bonus, and a big bonus too.
But now you know what the platform can
achieve, its worth planning more carefully in
advance. What might work best in your main
music room or AV space? And then how might
you choose to expand the system either now or
later using further MusicCast-enabled products
around the home? Its an interesting change in
the traditional hi-fi upgrade path that instead of
simply making your system better, you can now
choose to upgrade horizontally, by expanding
your music throughout your home. And were of
the firm opinion that you simply cant have too
much music in your life.
www.avhub.com.au

ABOVE: Yamahas Aventage
AV receivers all have MusicCast
inside, making them a hub
for your home as well as your
AV system. Our review of the
$2999 RX-A3060 range-topper
for 2016/7 can be read at
www.avhub.com.au/a3060.
ABOVE: The award-winning
active stereo wireless
NX-N500 speakers at $999
are perhaps our favourite
MusicCast product. Scan the
QR code for our full review
or visit www.avhub.com.au/
yamahastudio.
Yamaha R-N402 ($799)
Why have just a smart speaker when you have
have a whole proper hi-fi system which is just as
smart? We love how companies are beginning
to put their smart streaming platforms inside
proper hi-fi amplifiers, and Yamahas R-N402 is the
perfect example. Its a stereo integrated ampli-
fier with three analogue inputs on RCA pairs, one
of these a tape-type loop with an output, plus
two digital inputs at the rear one optical, one
coaxial and a USB slot on the front to which
you can attach sticks or drives of files. Theres no
USB-B for computer, and a single optical input is
a little light for todays world, but of course with
MusicCast built in there are many other ways to
Yamaha WXA-50 ($699)
This is perhaps the simplest
MusicCast component the
just-add-speakers solution for
Yamahas MusicCast wireless
multiroom system. The $699
WXA-50 provides amplification
plus all the MusicCast streaming
abilities, so it can create a Music-
Cast zone just by plugging in any
pair of speakers. There are also a couple of inputs
one analogue input (and output), one optical
digital, which makes it good for a compact TV
and music solution in the lounge, or for a simple
secondary system in any room. We love the design
with its nod to classic hi-fi components here
rendered in miniature (it is just 21cm wide), and it
has the full suite of MusicCast abilities including
Yamaha WX-010 ($249)
The smallest member of the MusicCast
family is a compact wireless speaker unit some
16cm high and with a 12 x 13cm footprint its
just the thing for a bedside table of office space.
We found its tonal character varies dramatically
with listening distance, and also for different
volumes, with a lift of bass underpinning music
at lower levels to prevent too thin a sound, while
the relative accuracy as you raise the level to
90% allows enjoyable listening for a range of
styles. It is not a spacious sound this is, after
all, a mono speaker, using one 25cm tweeter
and a 9cm woofer supported by a couple of
passive radiators. The big miracle here is that
something so small has access to so many ways
to play DLNA streaming from network music
shares, internet radio and Pandora from the
MusicCast app and Spotify Connect from
play by Bluetooth or AirPlay, network streaming
or from online music sources,which includes inter-
net radio, while the R-N402 also brings FM and AM
tuners (but not DAB+ digital), with antenna inputs
and antennas provided. As an amplifier it uses a
variant of Class D, which allows far higher levels
of power than Class-AB circuits might at this price,
though Yamahas figures are sometimes a little
hard to interpret 2 x 100W is the headline into
eight ohms, though quoting 0.2% THD at a figure
of 50W but it performed up to and above its
level, and there are two sets of speaker terminals
here, so you can attach Aand B speaker pairs breed of smart, networked, multiroom-capable
(though you should are advised not to use both
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
AirPlay, Bluetooth and DLNA network streaming,
various online music services, and MusicCasts
still unique abilities to send via Bluetooth as well
as receive, handy for chaining on a second (any
brand) Bluetooth speaker, or for playing its output
through Bluetooth headphones. The power rating
is 70W per channel (specified into 6 ohms with
0.06% THD). Its a great little performer.
Spotifys app and of course any
other service via Bluetooth
direct from
your device, or
AirPlay using your
home network.
Its connectivity
also includes the
ability to operate
in stereo with a
second WX-010.
So definitely the
entry-level point for
this eco-system, or
ideal for extending
your multiroom
streaming experience
to an additional zone.
at the same time unless theyre both an unusual
16 ohms). Otherwise you can use the Yamaha
R-N402 just like any traditional hi-fi amplifier via
its front panel or supplied remote control or
start up your MusicCast app and enjoy all that
smartness, including the ability to forward any of
the amps inputs on to other MusicCast devices,
and even to a non-Yamaha Bluetooth speaker
thanks to MusicCasts ability to send via Bluetooth
as well as receive. This combination of classic
with multiroom streaming abilities positions the
Yamaha amplifier as a leading example of the new
music hubs for the home.
Yamaha MusicCast
wireless multiroom system
r
So many paths to music
r
Well-designed and versatile app
r
Enormous range of MusicCast products
r
Just the need to choose...
Contact: Yamaha Music Australia
Telephone: 1300 739 411
Website: au.yamaha.com
35
 SOURCES
ENTERTAINMENT STORAGE & MEDIA PLAYER
ZAPPITI 4K HDR
PLAYERS & NAS
I
ts quite the debate at
present ownership versus
streaming. Do we keep copies of our
music and movies, either as physical discs
or as files, or do we abandon convention and live
our lives entirely on subscription? The answer, of
course, is neither one nor the other most of us
will continue to do both for the foreseeable future.
How do you store and serve up your movie
and music collection? Loading discs into players
around the home is starting to seem rather 20th
century. The dream would be one of those fancy
media servers which serves up your media with
snazzy graphic interfaces and networking around
the home. But of course those cost thousands and
thousands of dollars. Or do they?
ZAPPITI MEDIA CENTRE
Zappitis French design team had a clear goal
from the start to deliver that rich movie server
experience, snazzy menus and all, but to do it
without breaking the bank. The initial offering
36
from
the company
included three physical
players (see opposite) and a software
playback interface called Zappiti Media Centre.
The players provide the option of local hard-drive
storage in addition to playing back over your
network from computer or NAS drive, all under
control of apps running on the player. And there
are plenty of apps available, because the Zappiti
players use an Android operating system and can
download any compatible apps from the Google
play store. So while Zappitis own pair of playback
apps (Media Centre for local storage, Explorer for
attached and network playback) do the day-to-day
playback, other apps can provide further options.
We were highly impressed when we played with
the original Zappiti player, the middle size of the
three. Setting up was quick and idiot-proof. With
the hard drive installed, you connect
the Player to your network, connect the
HDMI output to your AV system or TV, then
view your video library through the main Zappiti
Media Centre app, which displays full artwork and
titles, or a video wall (image above). And Zappiti
adds movie information for you synopses, tech
specs and genre information. When you add new
files, Zappiti sends identifying data to its servers
out there on the internet, and hopefully finds a
match, downloading cover art and fairly detailed
movie information.
And not only is the interface gorgeous, so
is the picture quality. It upscales very well, and
actually claims to improve things via the wonder
of Zappiti MagicPixel technology, which seems to
claim improved dynamics, accuracy colorimetry,
more contrast, solid deinterlacing and better
upscaling. The results speak for themselves.
www.avhub.com.au

ZAPPITI 4K PLAYERS
When we first reviewed the 4K players, their only
drawback seemed to be that the HDMI outputs
were 1.4, so they didnt support 4K at high frame
rates, or with High Dynamic Range. Thats all
changed with the new generation of players
their HDMI 2.0 outputs allow storage and replay
of Ultra HD and 4K up to 60 frames per second,
including HDR, 10-bit colour encoding, and also
support for H265/HVEC files right up to 4K,
allowing users to save greatly on disk space.
An upgraded chipset inside also doubles
processing speed and allows for still further
improvements in graphics handling.
The three media players start with the $450
Zappiti Mini 4K HDR, the most compact unit.
This has three USB slots (including one USB 3.0),
a SD/MMC card reader, and it connects to your
network by dual-band Wi-Fi or Ethernet. While it
doesnt have space for a hard drive inside, it sports
a SATA connector so you can use an external one.
Next up is the $550 Zappiti One 4K HDR, a
media player equipped with a hot-swap internal
SATA HDD 3.5-inch rack so you can add a
drive of your choice for local storage (see left) in
addition to its sockets and networking.
Top of the players is the $650 Zappiti Duo
4K HDR, claimed as the worlds first 4K HDR
media player with a hot-swap internal SATA HDD
3.5-inch dual rack, a total capacity of up to 32TB.
Another recent innovation for the new
players is Zappiti Share, which allows you to
share content between multiple Zappiti units in
different rooms. Its like a traditional multiroom
audio system, but with video sharing.
Talking of audio, all Zappiti players also handle
music file playback up to 24-bit/192kHz, which
can be output via HDMI or from their optical
digital outputs. Another change for the better is a
new remote control (left) with backlighting a
much better experience in a theatre environment.
Avation, the Australian distributor for Zappiti,
also still has the original players available, so if
you dont need the full 4K abilities and faster
processing, those first-generation models are
priced around $100 below the new ones.



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BMM
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ZAPPITI NAS
The final ace up Zappitis sleeve is its NAS
drive offering (pictured above), which not only
provides eight bays to hold hard drives (it comes
unpopulated), but also has a disc tray from which
you can rip CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays into that
storage. Any of your Zappiti players can then
stream content from this central storage.
When we reviewed the Zappiti NAS we were
delighted by its ease of use. We popped a DVD
into the optical drive tray, closed it and the unit
got to work, ripping its contents. Thirty-five
minutes later the tray opened up, job done. Then
the Zappiti software added all those movie details,
and the DVD was made available to the network
as a complete disc, with menus and special extras
and so on.
Its different with Blu-ray discs. With these,
it rips just the movie, not all the other stuff,
grabbing the biggest title on the disc. Its just
possible this may not be the movie in one
instance we found it had ripped the 132-minute
Icon Mode version of a movie, intercut with
making-of segments and directors commentary.
But it worked fine on all the other discs we tried,
ripping them in around 40 minutes. Playback
was excellent, with even Blu-ray titles flowing
smoothly on our gigabit network.
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Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
The Zappiti NAS and player are seriously
impressive bits of kit. Its not just that they work,
but that they work smoothly, with most aspects of
the system thought through to deliver maximum
convenience to the user. You can, for example,
have separate collections for different family
members, and you can use the Movie Sagas
function to place all your Star Wars or LOTR files
in groups, sorted by release date and displayed in
an impressive carousel. 3D movies are handled
without problems. And Zappiti Sync keeps your
collections automatically synchronised between
Zappiti players and your computers.
The NAS is flexible to grow with your storage
needs, since you can start with a couple of drives
(they can RAID for data protection) and add more
as required. And with Zappiti Share, you get a
true multiroom video system and playback up to
four files in Blu-ray quality at the same time for
different rooms. It is, in a nutshell, the high-end
movie (and music) experience we all dream of,
but without the high-end prices.
Zappiti NAS &
4K HDR players
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37

AMPS/RECEIVERS
NETWORKED AV RECEIVER
ARCAM FMJ AVR390
A
rcam hails from the UK, where it
built its reputation on high-quality
amplification and also a penchant
for bravely investing in technologies
that were often only being developed by
giant international companies such as
CD mechanisms and Blu-ray players. Todays
AV receivers combine many ever-changing
technologies with multiple channels of power
so perhaps its no surprise that Arcam has
garnered itself a reputation for these as well.
EQUIPMENT
The company current has three models of multi-
channel receivers the AVR390, AVR550 and
the AVR850. (There is also a processor which can
be combined with various power amps, and also a
very fine stereo receiver in the SR250.)
Here we look at the entry-level model, the
Arcam FMJ AVR390. But its worth noting that
those three AV receivers appear to be identical to
each other in every respect excepting only their
power outputs. So if you go for the entry-level
model you lose absolutely nothing in functionality.
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
The $3995 of this model buys you seven Four of
times 80W into eight ohms. The top-of-the- line those
AVR850 is close to $9000 and comes with seven channels
times 120W into eight ohms. But it uses a very are via
different Class G amplifier technology, and pre-outs,
explicitly supports four-ohm loads, delivering to which
an enormous 200W into those. Apparently it is youll need
recommended for the AVR390 that eight-ohm to add
impedance loudspeakers be used, though the power amps,
manual doesnt make a big thing of it, noting it but it means
only in one graphic of the rear panel. that you have Arcams MusicLife app can
The tuner here is firmly modern in offering the choice to go double as a controller for the
AVR390, while theres also a
FM and DAB+, rather than the old FM/AM type. all the way to 11 smart physical remote control.
While most of Australia is still a DAB-free zone, channels should
those in the capital cities (Hobart soon) can enjoy you so wish.
digital radios easy tuning and selection by name. Second, it is thoroughly up-to-date in video
As for audio-visual stuff, its hard to see handling, with all but one of its seven HDMI
anything missing. In addition to the bullet-proof inputs complying with the HDMI 2.0a specifica-
construction (16.7kg!), the Arcam FMJ AVR390 tion and HDCP 2.2 copy protection. (The one
features full support for everything that you might that doesnt supports MHL instead, a standard
need for a fine movie or music performance. for sharing from Android phones.)
First off, theres decoding. It does all the usual Its video handling is so up-to-date that it has
surround formats including Dolby Atmos and abandoned analogue video entirely. There are no
DTS:X. And not half-hearted 5.1.2, but 7.1.4. composite or component video inputs or outputs;
39
 AMPS/
RECEIVERS

its HDMI all the way. The video is straight

through as well, with almost no processing other
than the overlaying of some on-screen messages.
The exception are 1080p signals, which the
receiver can upscale to Ultra HD, although we
generally advise leaving this to your UHD display.
The receiver offers support for music delivered
via the USB socket at the rear, and also network
audio via its Ethernet socket. In addition to
streaming local network audio, the receiver
supports Spotify Connect and vTuner
Internet radio. Theres a control app
(Arcam MusicLife) for iOS, but not
for Android. Of course, the receiver
also comes with an IR remote control.
Arcams auto-calibration system is Dirac, which requires a PC/Mac to run, but offers unusual versatility. The two
PERFORMANCE traces show how the original response (blue) is improved (green) for a closer match to the guide curve (orange).
Some high fidelity brands kind of insist that you
accompany their electronics with loudspeakers and
even a listening room which offer performances as software from Arcams website. The receiver is One reason we especially liked this approach,
even as that provided by the electronics. But such supplied with the calibration microphone and a despite the increased complexity, was that we
combinations are vanishingly rare, so its good tiny USB ADC/microphone pre-amp to use with knew precisely what the system was doing, what
to see that Arcam has incorporated a room and the calibration microphone and your computer. was being adjusted. Was the subwoofer also being
speaker calibration system. Unlike the auto-calibration systems on many tuned? With most systems the answer is... were
And its great to see the system that Arcam has receivers, the Dirac system does not try to set the not sure. With this system, the answer is yes, if
chosen. This is the Dirac audio calibration system. sizes of your loudspeakers. This may seem like a you want it to be. And you should. Bass is, more
Among the places youll see this at work is in the weakness, but we reckon its a strength. At least than other frequencies, altered by room effects.
factory audio systems for Bentley and Rolls Royce nine out of ten autocalibration systems get at least But a little caution is warranted. It isnt a good
cars. So posh stuff. some of the sizes wrong! This way, youll ensure idea to try to correct for the basic incapabilities
The set-up phase is pretty processor-intensive, theyre right. of a subwoofer. If it is designed to roll off below
so it actually requires the use of a computer, The Dirac system is not very pretty on your 30Hz, let it. Trying to lift 20Hz to the same
Windows or Mac, to conduct the measurements computer (see screens above), but the software output level will result in greater distortion and
and perform the calculations to generate the is laid out in a reasonably logical manner. The even possible damage to the subwoofer.
adjustments to be loaded into the receivers DSPs. main trick is to realise that you set target We kinda ignored the eight-ohm loudspeaker
Once thats done the computer is no longer frequency response curves for each speaker pair recommendation for a while, and did a big
required. In addition to the computer youll need and the system works out corrections to make chunk of our listening with a pair of four-ohm,
a network connection for the receiver (thats how the output match those curves. All that is done relatively low-sensitivity loudspeakers, just using
the settings are loaded in) and a download of the pretty visually. this receiver as a straight analogue stereo amplifier.

There are few differences between the inputs and facilities on different levels of Arcams AV receivers; they are differentiated mainly by power level and type.

40 www.avhub.com.au
 Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2

But we ran the receiver primarily as a 5.1.4 unit, using a stereo power
amplifier for the additional two ceiling speakers.
Over a period of a couple of weeks we watched a wide range of TV
shows and movies, primarily streamed from Netflix or played from
Blu-ray or Ultra HD Blu-ray. The receiver ran with perfect solidity,
doing its job of delivering music, effects and voices with impeccable
accuracy. It turns out that 80W a channel from Arcam can whip just
about any loudspeaker into shape and make it a slave to the receivers
desires. We generally use a receiver rated at closer to 150W, and if there
was any difference in levels, control or sound-field accuracy, wed be
inclined to say that the Arcam AVR390 was the preferred unit.
The surround included Atmos and Dolby Surround, both making
use of our ceiling speakers. The Dolby Surround decoder in the receiver
delivered some startling results even from two channels. The British
show Misfits is available from Netflix in two channels only but is clearly
encoded with surround, which was faithfully extracted and delivered in
an impressive three dimensions by the AVR390.
As for stereo, were talking a truly audiophile result with this receiver.
Again, that control of the loudspeakers was simply first-class. We mostly
streamed sound directly to the receiver from our network resources.
We must note that this was a little disappointing, in that high
resolution audio was not supported. It topped out at 16-bit/48kHz. The
receiver supports MP3, WMA (lossily compressed), WAV and AAC in
addition to FLAC. None of our 24-bit 96kHz FLAC files would play,
let alone even higher resolution stuff. Which was a pity because our
CD-quality material sounded so good. As we approached the keyboard
for this bout of writing, wed just finished listening to Pat Metheney &
Lyle Mays album As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, and wed defy
anyone to find a stereo amplifier that could do a better job on delivering
every nuance available within the digital signal, along with a nigh-on
perfect soundstage.

CONCLUSION
The Arcam AVR390 is a fine home theatre receiver with superb
performance right out of the box, and with an ability to be upgraded in
the power amplifier department, not just with the addition of amps for
the four other channels, but in all channels if you wish, thanks to the
pre-outs for everything. We doubt that youll need to be upgrading for a
long while, though. Add wireless
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www.heos.com.au
41
 AMPS/RECEIVERS
NETWORKED AV RECEIVER
DENON AVR-X2300W
H
ow far do you want to go with your
home theatre? You can spend, oh,
hundreds of thousands of dollars if
you want. Or a couple of thousand
could get you a collection of gear that some
might call home theatre. But we reckon theres
a sweet spot, beyond which performance and
feature benefits diminish relatively rapidly when
compared to the monetary costs. And we further
reckon that the Denon AVR-X2300W sits very
close to that sweet spot.
EQUIPMENT
Recently Denon has added a feature to some of its
premium offerings: support for the HEOS multi-
room system (see the next review for an example).
But if you dont need or want multiroom, or
youve gone for a non-HEOS solution, then why
spend on HEOS support? The Denon AVR-
X2300W does everything, network-wise, that
those premium models do, short of HEOS, while
also providing 7.1-channel sound, Dolby Atmos
and DTS:X three-dimensional sound decoding,
and full Ultra High Definition video support.
Now, to details. Seven built-in amplifiers each
offer up to 95W into 8 ohms with hi-fi specifica-
tions. A software switch provides support for
four-ohm loudspeakers. And spare channels can be
42
redirected to do other things, like bi-amp the
front speakers or drive a second zone.
There is no provision for the addition of more
amplifiers no pre-amplifier outputs beyond that
for the subwoofer (there are two RCA sockets but
the signal to both is identical). So two overhead
channels is the most possible with this receiver.
It has eight HDMI inputs, including the one
on the front, and can rescale video to higher
resolutions. All of these support the HDCP copy
protection scheme used for Ultra HD Blu-ray,
along with High Dynamic Range and Wide
Colour video standards. And this is no entry-level
receiver, so it includes useful legacy connections
component and composite video inputs, along
with optical digital audio (but not coaxial). But it
doesnt convert those inputs to HDMI.
There is a USB socket on the front panel, and
Ethernet on the rear. Plus two Wi-Fi antennas,
which double as Bluetooth antennas. The Wi-Fi
is dual band and supports the various historical
standards up to 802.11n.
PERFORMANCE
The set-up wizard is, as usual with Denon
receivers, very comprehensive. It even incorporates
some animated elements showing you, for
example, how to connect the speaker wire to the
terminals.
Normally
wed skip
this, but you
have to tell the receiver
your speaker arrangements some way
or another. Wed opted for a 5.1.2 system: front,
centre, surround, subwoofer and two overhead
speakers. The system needs to know that its that
and not 7.1 or 5.1.2 with two front wall speakers,
or some other arrangement. So we went through
the whole process, and quickly learned which bits
to skip. If youre unfamiliar with anything, theres
plenty of clear explanation as you go through the
process. At the end youre asked whether you want
Audyssey Dynamic EQ applied. No you dont.
One routine in setting up home theatre
equipment is checking whether the firmware is up
to date. The firmware is the computer program
that runs within the receiver, enabling its various
capabilities. As delivered, this receiver had within
the box a note saying that while the receiver is
DTS:X capable, this would be provided by a
www.avhub.com.au

future firmware. Thats by no means unusual.
Wed guess that something like half of all the
home theatre receivers, TVs and media players we
review have required at least one firmware upgrade
during the review period.
This Denon receiver has an auto-update
facility, so that it can monitor over the internet
whether any new firmware for itself becomes
available and download it in the background.
We forced the matter immediately after installing
the receiver and set it going on the process which,
it estimated, would take 43 minutes. Wed say it
took around two-thirds of that time.
Returning to our theme, does this receiver
provide you everything you need for a satisfying
music and home theatre system? Wed say,
emphatically, yes. The completist aspect of our
natures would probably prefer, all other things
being equal, four overhead speakers, while the
most that the receiver can support is two. But the
whole speaker allocation process in Dolby Atmos
and Dolby Surround is very effective and we have
to admit that often the differences between having
two and four overheads can be quite subtle.
As is the difference between five and seven
channels around the edges of the room. Wed
say that, with a crude estimation, youre getting
something like 90 or 95% of the full experience of
7.1.4 even if youre using only 5.1.2.
Thats certainly what we experienced with
our favourite test moments, such as the elevator
and the water pool scenes in Hunger Games;
Mockingjay Part 1 delivered by Dolby Atmos,
and this receiver was engrossing with its fully
encompassing surround fields. Likewise, stereo
and 5.1-channel content was enhanced nicely
with Dolby Surround to produce real-feeling
overhead sound elements.
Is 95 watts of power enough? Most certainly
with a sensible choice of loudspeakers. One
wouldnt go for something applying a
weird load to the amplifiers, but anything
of average or higher sensitivity, and
impedance characteristics which arent
ridiculous, will do the job nicely. This
receiver certainly drove our loudspeakers to


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eminently satisfying levels, while exercising fine
control over them.
Of equally vital importance these days is
video handling or, more precisely, carriage.
HDR and wide colour spectrum (BT.2020) video
from our Ultra HD Blu-ray players were happily
passed through by the receiver to the TV, with
full support for the HDCP 2.2 requirements of
Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, even up to 60 frames-per-
second Ultra HD. All those issues from a couple
of years ago where one had to choose between
10-bit colour and Ultra HD copy protection
compatibility have now gone.
While this receiver might not form part of the
HEOS multiroom ecosystem, its network audio
capabilities were otherwise excellent. Indeed, we
wouldnt be surprised to discover that big chunks
of the network audio handling was simply adopted
from the Denon DNP-730AE Network Audio
Player (a unit we use in one of our reference
systems). The capabilities appeared to be similar.
Last year Denon released a new control app
for its recent receivers (shown left). We used the
Android version. It worked pretty well. In fact,
wed say that with normal people it will work very
well. We tend not to use these things like normal
people, putting things through their paces fully, so
we did manage to get it a bit confused on a couple
of occasions. It got stuck in Spotify Connect, for
example, when we were controlling it with the
Spotify app on our desktop computer, rather than
switching to Media Player mode as we asked. Or
refusing to allow a third-party DLNA app running
on a different device to take control. (Oddly,
the Spotify app showed two Denon receivers
available for playback this one, and a Denon
AVR-1300W. We have no such receiver in our
system, but we did review it last year, so perhaps
it was remembered in our Spotify profile. It went
away when we tried to play some music to it.)
As for audio support, the receiver was
omnivorous. We sent all manner of music
to it using its own and the aforementioned
DLNA app. It supported our FLAC files
up to 192kHz sampling, and Direct Stream
Digital up to the double speed 5.6MHz
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
versions. Gapless music files were handled
properly, which is to say gaplessly.
Dont worry Apple folk you arent left
out. The receiver fully supports audio via Apple
AirPlay. Indeed, as were writing these very words
were enjoying Robben Fords debut album, the
live Discovering the Blues, playing in the iOS music
player on an iPad mini 4, transferred via AirPlay
to the receiver. And fine sounding it is, too.
Denon receivers incorporate a network
interface. You access it simply by entering its
IP address in the web browser of a computer or
device connected to the same network to which
the receiver is connected. This doesnt provide
operational control, but does allow full access to
all the set-up menus so you can make changes.
More importantly, you can use this to save your
set-up to a file on the computer. This must take
quite the amount of work by the receiver because
the page tells you that the receiver cannot be
used during this process, which takes about ten
minutes. Its probably worth doing, though,
because then you can restore all the settings should
something go wrong and you have to do a factory
reset at some point. (Not that were suggesting
such a possibility is likely. For us the receiver
worked perfectly.)
CONCLUSION
Ah yes, the sweet spot. Wed suggest that the
Denon AVR-X2300W AV receiver is sitting right
on top of on it.
Denon AVR-X2300W
networked AV receiver
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43
 AMPS/RECEIVERS
NETWORKED AV RECEIVER WITH HEOS
DENON AVR-X6300H
I
mmediately preceding this review, youll
find one of the Denon AVR-X2300W AV
receiver. We opened that review by asking:
How far do you want to go with your
home theatre? We then went on to commend
that receiver for striking a fine balance between
economy and features.
But what if you want to answer that question
not as a matter of compromise between competing
priorities (among which the dollar cost inevitably
has a big part) but to answer it: all the way!
The Denon AVR-X6300H home theatre
receiver is going to take you a very long way
towards all the way!
EQUIPMENT
The Denon AVR-X6300H is an 11.2 channel-
capable AV receiver, packing nine actual amplifier
channels. And, oh, what amplifiers they are! Each
is rated at 150W output (full audio bandwidth,
eight ohms, 0.05% THD, two channels running).
Unlike some brands, all channels support
four-ohm loads (with a protective system switch,
so no increase in power output). And some of
the amplifier channels can be redirected to the
usual other functions driving additional zones,
bi-amping the front speakers and so on.
The 11.2 thing means that the receiver
supports full Dolby Atmos or DTS:X. That is
with three front speakers, two surrounds, two
rear surrounds and four height speakers, or Dolby
44
Atmos-enabled ones. Or, perhaps, we should
say it achieves full mainstream Dolby Atmos,
since Atmos can support many other channels,
and there are some very exotic high-end devices
which do provide more channels. However, that
is a matter of diminishing returns. Its difficult
to exceed the effectiveness of the 11.2 model in
anything short of a massive theatre room. The
receiver supports a wide range of height speaker
placements, including some on the front or rear
walls, or all on the ceilings. You will need to add
two more channels of amplification for a full 11.2-
channel system deployment.
One of the markers of a premium AV receiver
is the retention of a lot of legacy connections. Yes,
this receiver has all the good stuff youd expect,
with eight HDMI inputs and two HDMI outputs,
all rated to full Ultra HD specifications with
wide colour and 10 bits of resolution, and the
latest HDCP copy protection. And, yes, it has a
phono input (for a turntable with moving magnet
cartridges). And the usual optical and coaxial
digital inputs.
Theres also a bunch of surprising analogue
video inputs. In lower-cost models these have
been mostly shed to shave a few cents here and
there from manufacturing costs. You might get
one composite video input, or one component
video input, but maybe none at all. Pretty much
all video sources nowadays have HDMI outputs,
so those old analogue inputs arent really needed.
But part of the package on a premium model is
support for older equipment which the discerning
user may still love.
Denon has made some interesting choices on
this front. First a surprising set of inputs has been
eliminated: there are no multichannel analogue
audio inputs. Were not complaining. We dont
know why anyone would still want to connect
some old device in such a manner when, chances
are, this receiver is going to do a far better job of
decoding any digital audio than said old device.
But 7.1 analogue inputs are something to which
manufacturers have clung for the premium
models. Not Denon.
On the other hand, there are no less than
five composite video inputs, and one of those
is labelled Blu-ray! Now the Blu-ray Forums
licensing controls have prohibited the release of
new Blu-ray player models capable of composite
video output for quite a few years now, so having
such an input does seem to be overkill. Still, no
harm, and all those composite video inputs (and
the two component video ones) are assignable. Or
perhaps people just want to use them to pass video
through to the Zone 2 composite video output.
The component video output can also be assigned
to Zone 2, and theres a dedicated Zone 2 HDMI
output. Plus analogue audio line levels for both
Zone 2 and Zone 3, and assignable amplifiers.
Theres also a single RCA socket labelled
Denon Link HD. This is a kind of legacy
www.avhub.com.au

connection too, but a proprietary one. It dates
from before HDMI took off HDMI with its
strong HDCP protection system and it was
Denons way of getting uncompressed multichan-
nel digital audio from player to receiver while
complying with copy protection requirements.
And while its kind of legacy for that reason,
Denons latest high quality Blu-ray player still
sports a matching output, so its also current.
The receiver can convert and upscale composite
and component video to HDMI output, something
again often missing from lower-priced receivers.
Being a modern receiver, it provides full
network connectivity, with Ethernet and
dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi. And theres a USB
socket on the front (normally under the fold-up
front panel that hides much of the fiddly stuff )
and Bluetooth (SBC codec only).
And since the Denon AVR-X6300H is going
all the way, rather than compromising, among
its network functions it provides support for
fitting into the HEOS multiroom audio system.
This is part of the extension of HEOS from a
typical multiroom ecosystem of wireless speakers
and soundbars into more serious and traditional
components such as amplifiers and receivers. Its
quite the bonus, as well see shortly.
PERFORMANCE
This receivers set-up system is close to that of the
Denon AVR-X2300W; you can read the details
there. The calibration and signal processing is
performed by Audyssey MultEQ 32, so its all
very high quality. But there are, as is often the
case, a couple of things you should watch out for.
When we started playing network music using
losslessly compressed FLAC files the system
initially sounded a little harsh and bitey. Exploring
things, it turned out that an audio Restorer
circuit was switched on. Thats the kind of thing
that purports to correct for the losses in lossily
compressed audio, such as MP3. Its ineffective for
that purpose, and positively damaging for FLAC.
So switch it off.
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movies, but then have quite different settings for fine within their category,
your two-channel music. Just go into the speakers they cant measure up in
set-up, choose Manual and consider switching audiophile terms to a
off the subwoofer if your speakers have been proper speaker system
identified as Small but you know them to be driven by the Denon
bass competent. receiver. But, then,
And then select Direct as the playback mode they can return
to eliminate EQ, and youre getting something the favour to
close to a pure, unprocessed signal path. We the receiver. It
listened to a lot of music in this mode, mostly can in turn
network audio and vinyl, and in both cases it was playback
delightful. The performance brought to mind that source
delivered by an old-fashioned but high quality devices
analogue system. Control over the loudspeakers plugged
was excellent, including with a large four-ohm pair into HEOS
we sometimes use at the front. units. And
And the result was equally impressive with as the HEOS
5.1.4 sound during movies. We didnt add an platform spreads
extra pair of amplifier channels for surround rear. into more products,
We put on the Ultra HD Blu-ray version of Mad including those from sister
Max: Fury Road just to make sure that the Atmos brand Marantz, its potential
was working as expected, and ended up spending power for sharing audio around
the whole two hours re-watching the movie. The the home only increases.
transmission of the wide colour gamut, high
dynamic range video was perfect, while the Dolby CONCLUSION
Atmos sound was delivered to spectacular effect. If youre in the market for a networked AV
This is a movie which must be watched loudly, receiver, you arent really looking to do much
and this receiver permits that, in full. compromising. And thats something you
The network audio functionality worked wont have to worry about with the Denon
perfectly, even over Wi-Fi. We enjoyed double- AVR-X6300W. Its connectivity and performance
speed Direct Stream Digital, and our collection are excellent, and HEOS brings the potential
of remastered 192kHz, 24-bit FLAC renditions to expand beyond your AV system and use this
of the Blue Note Records back catalogue. All the receiver as a hub for the whole home.
playback was delivered gaplessly of course.
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45
A high enough level of sonic Available in black & silver

excellence to make for joyous

listening for many years to come
- The Absolute Sound

The Wait is Over.

EXPERIENCE
THE HALO Year after year, Parasound Halo preampliers and
INTEGRATED power ampliers have been lauded by industry
AT YOUR experts as the best high end audio components
PARASOUND
DEALER for the price.
Some years ago our engineers took up the
challenge to create a no-compromise integrated
amplier that would match the performance of our
individual Halo components. - in every respect.
Now it is here - Halo Integrated.

Network Audio Visual Pty Ltd 02 9949 9349 sales@networkav.com.au www.networkav.com


AMPS/RECEIVERS
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
ELAC
ELEMENT SERIES
EA101EQ-G
F
or many years now we have watched
with some sadness the rise of the soundbar
as a neat solution for TV audio and
music in the lounge, when in fact they
rarely deliver hi-fi performance, and in truth are
not particularly neat either, once the wires are all
tumbling from cramped connection bays behind
them. So we are, conversely, increasingly delighted
by hi-fi companies fighting back, bringing real
hi-fi sound back to the lounge in compact units
tailor-made for TV, music and movies. ELACs
little Element amplifier is just such a solution.
EQUIPMENT
You might be surprised to see an amplifier from
ELAC this German company is best known
today for its hi-fi speakers, for the renowned JET
folded ribbon tweeter, award-winning subwoofers
and more. But the companys earliest roots (more
than 90 years ago) were actually in sonar, and
during hi-fis golden years ELAC was known
for its superb turntables and receivers, before
getting more into speakers in the 1980s. Now
its electronics are in resurgence again, with an
anniversary turntable, a DAC, phono stage and
two series of amplifiers, Alchemy and Element, the
latter currently being just this little EA-101EQ-G.
Its a very neat design, just 5.5cm high, and
only 21cm wide, presenting its narrowest face to
the world, extending back 28cm to a rear panel
which, for our money, makes the perfect choice
of inputs for an amplifier seeking life in a desk or
TV lounge situation two analogue RCA pairs,
two optical digital inputs, one coaxial digital,
and a USB-B input that can be connected to a
computer. Theres also a subwoofer output.
The speaker sockets are wonderfully compact
yet high quality 5-way terminals, taking bananas,
spades, bare wires, as you desire.
The front is formed by a nicely solid curved
block of brushed aluminium, sporting a nice silver
knob, a full-size headphone socket and just two
buttons, one for power, one to shuttle through
those inputs. The display is unusual, an OEL
(Organic Electroluminescent) visible from wide
angles even in bright light, yet without being
piercing like LEDs, allowing a nice compressed
font, just a little small perhaps, but clear.
The top of the unit is rubberised; indeed the
design reminds us rather of an upmarket in-car
amplifier. And like car amplifiers the EA-101
wears its watts on its sleeve 80 watts per
channel boasts the manual and its web page, as
if to stop you peering at the compact enclosure
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
with anything less than confidence. It uses BASH
amplification (Bridged Amplifier Switching
Hybrid), which is not a variant of Class D; the
amplification itself is more like conventional
Class B but with the power supply modulated by
the output signal to vary the gain using PWM
modulation. BASH is best known for its use in
subwoofers and, yes, incar amplifiers, and the
technology is owned by by a Canadian company
Sonavox, which is apparently connected in more
ways than one with ELAC, given we noted that
the app for this amplifier is also from Sonavox.
PERFORMANCE
At face value everything is so very self-explanatory
that it might seem superfluous for ELAC to
provide such a nice A4 book of Operating
Instructions. But in fact there is plenty more here
than meets the eye. Crucially its app does far
more than merely shifting control from a physical
remote to a software-driven touchscreen. It allows
input selection, a master volume control and a
useful offset control for each input, in case you
have some sources louder than others.
Then under Setup it has Input Naming, which
allows free typing, your words displayed in that
beautiful font on the display, which is, of course,
47

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a marvellous chance to make your ELAC display
Arse or similar. The display can be dimmed via
the app with 100 possible levels of brightness.
Also available in the app are sliders for bass,
treble and left-right balance, for subwoofer volume
if you have connected one, and then an interesting
section called Auto-EQ. Regular readers will know
we generally avoid the unexpected distortions
that even digital EQ can bring. But this is clever.
There are two flavours Auto EQ, and Auto
Blend. The Blend is for getting your subwoofer
crossover right, and the EQ is room correction,
comparing a test tone recorded near-field (close to
the speaker) with another recorded at the listening
position. Confidence is increased by seeing the
two graphs laid over each other and the correction
curve applied (see above). And no microphone
is required it uses your smartphone. By
comparing the two positions, the ELAC can
cancel out variable microphone characteristics.
The result we liked it, and left it in circuit
for much of our listening (not quite a first, but
nearly). You can switch it off easily on the app,
using this toggle to compare the EQ on or off.
We let the ELAC warm up on daily TV and
movie duties, for which it proved an impeccable
performer, fed either optically from a visiting
TCL TV, or direct via analogue output from
an Oppo Blu-ray player, and powering a pair
of average sensitivity high-quality German (but
not, apologies, ELAC) standmounters. It proved
tonally impeccable, doing just what an amplifier
should in getting out of the signals way (other
than making it bigger), and able to push climaxes
high without apparent stress.
Moving to movies in earnest, the soaring
soundtrack of the third Indiana Jones movie gave
the ELAC a good workout, from the placing of
tinkling war-room telephones to the wide bustle
of a Turkish market and, of course, endless Indi
action scenes. We indulged in some crankage with
Batman v Superman (the Wonder Woman scenes,
natch) and the ELAC held tight throughout,
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to go as high as required. There was little to
choose between the analogue and optical presenta-
tions, which says much for the ELACs DAC,
since the Oppos is certainly a fine one. (A possible
alternate interpretation of this came from a chance
conversation with another reviewer, whose tests
indicate that the analogue inputs are digitally
sampled at 96kHz anyway, so everything will go
through the same DAC eventually.)
So to music, starting in Mancunian mode
with The Stone Roses Second Coming on CD
through the analogue inputs. It was strangely flat
at lower levels, Driving South and Love Spreads
only gaining dynamics and separation once the
level was up in the 60s (moderately pumping).
We came right up to date with the new Gorillaz
album, and while it seemed tonally accurate
enough, it hardly leapt to life either. We switched
to our more sensitive and larger JBLs in the
music room and if you move it, do recalibrate
the Auto EQ! We had very thin sound until we
realised we had transported the inverse lounge
room EQ characteristic along with the amp.
Recalibrated, and in fact here preferred flat, many
things went well Leonard Cohens vocal on
Going Home was wonderfully present with the
right edgy rasp to it, the slightly soft recording
of Paul McCartneys My Valentine was almost
surprisingly tightened. This ability to brighten up
recordings just stopped short of overbrightening
edgy recordings, though rather it nicely opened
up the details in the recordings.
An oddity the USB input presented high
bit-rate ability to our Mac Mini up to 32-bit, but
nothing over 48kHz. Yet the spec says it should be
good to 24-bit/192kHz.
Finally we used Bluetooth to stream from our
iPad Pro, noting that the ELAC turns up twice
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
in your Bluetooth list, once for Control (already
connected if youre using the app) and a different
one for streaming music. Happily we were able
to be on both simultaneously, and although the
signal was audibly deteriorated by the Bluetooth
link, the lightness of touch to the ELACs sound
was here a positive boon, and in addition to
stored music it made an enjoyable way to listen
to Pandora and Spotify streams, with all the
convenience of control from the screen.
In most situations the half-sized remote proved
the easiest way to control volume, with the up and
down volume top and bottom of the centre ring;
the mute is actually unmarked, doubling as a play/
pause button which usefully paused and restarted
Bluetooth playback.
CONCLUSION
Wed recommend the ELACs simplicity of design
and hidden clever bits to anyone looking for a
compact solution to pair with speakers either side
of your TV, to deliver enjoyable TV and movie
sound beyond that of a soundbar, and to enjoy
everyday music playback streaming from your
smart device or coming from your media box.
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48 www.avhub.com.au
 Dont Limit Your View

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AMPS/RECEIVERS
AV PRE-AMPLIFIER WITH HEOS
MARANTZ AV7703
S
ometimes you want more. More than
even the best home theatre receivers can
provide. That more might be more power,
or more refined power. Or sometimes it
might even be no additional power at all. In all
these cases, the high-end stereo systems of the past
show the way you separate the preamplifier
from the power amplifier. Then you can choose
each of those individually to better fit your needs:
the more that you want.
EQUIPMENT
The Marantz AV7703 is the AV equivalent of that
hi-fi preamplifier. And being for home theatre
it has not two, but lots of channels eleven
main channels, and two subwoofer ones. And
this being 2017, it does a great deal more than a
traditional preamplifier. It is itself a source device,
delivering all manner of digital media in addition
to decoding digital inputs to analogue audio. And
this is another of the higher-end products into
which D&M Group, which has both Denon and
Marantz brands, has added the HEOS platform,
giving it app-controlled streaming and multiroom
abilities. And of course it handles video, too.
But as a preamp it can drive no regular loud-
speakers. For that you need as many amplifiers
as you have passive loudspeakers. Or perhaps
no amplifiers if youre using high quality active
speakers. For those with unusual loudspeakers
which they would be loth to entrust to the
amplifier section of any AV receiver, the Marantz
AV7703 is the kind of front end you need.
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
It can feed a power
amplifier or active
speakers using either
RCA or balanced XLR
outputs. Balanced
connections are the
hefty three-pin plugs
used a great deal in
pro audio, particularly
for microphones. An
RCA connection is ABOVE: The Marantz AV7703 has its own control app (iPad, left) but theres
also the big bonus of HEOS streaming and multiroom control (iPhone).
necessarily unbalanced
one conductor
in the circuit is the wire down the middle of a 12V trigger output, which youre likely going to
the cable, while the return conductor in the want to connect to the power amplifier of your
circuit is the braided metal shielding around that choice, so they switch on and off together.
wire. Since the shielding is part of the circuit, The Marantz AV7703 has a feature set broadly
it may have noise induced in it by the rooms in line with the highest level of Marantz receivers.
electromagnetic environment. With balanced It can deliver full 7.2.4-channel Dolby Atmos or
connections, both wires for the circuit are inside DTS:X decoded sound from its 11.2 outputs.
an earthed shielding, electrically separate from it. That is, a full 7.2 channels of surround sound
If somehow electromagnetic noise is induced in the best that was available until about four years
those wires despite the shielding, it will be induced ago plus four overhead channels. The AV7703
near enough equally in each, cancelling out. As manages its two subwoofer outputs separately so
engineers are wont to say, balanced connections its a real .2, not just .1 with duplicated sockets.
exhibit high noise rejection. (Thats why they are In addition to decoding such things as Dolby
used with microphones, where often the signal is Atmos and DTS:X and other lesser formats, it
only a few millivolts and the cables long.) With can perform Dolby Surround and DTS Neural:X
a metre or so of cable joining the AV7703 to a processing to convert two-channel and multichan-
power amp, and a signal in the tens, hundreds and nel sources into full 11.2-channel sound. You
thousands of millivolts, noise is not a problem. can purchase (for 149) a firmware upgrade
The AV7703 also has plenty of system to incorporate Auro-3D processing. What isnt
integration features. Importantly, one of those is provided are the many strange DSP surround
51
 Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2

AMPS/
RECEIVERS

modes of old, which would try to recreate the
sound of a jazz club or church. These have been
missing for a while (and no loss as far as were
concerned, because we never used them).
As a source the AV7703 provides AM/FM
radio, Bluetooth and extensive network audio
capabilities, including streaming from internet
radio stations and Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay
and DLNA audio. And Bluetooth (SBC codec
only, not the higher quality AAC or aptX codecs).
Plus external sources of course the socketry
is significant, as you can see from the rear panel
below! There are eight HDMI inputs and two
main HDMI outputs (plus a dedicated second
zone HDMI output). All are rated to handle (and
did in fact handle during our use of the unit) full
4K output from Ultra HD Blu-ray discs at up to
60 frames per second. There are also component
and composite video inputs and outputs, optical
and coaxial digital audio inputs, and a sufficient
number of analogue audio inputs. These include
a phono input suitable for use with turntables
having moving magnet cartridges.
This is a large, proud unit. It stands 185mm
tall, not counting the 70mm extra of the two rear-
mounted Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antennas. A fold-up
panel covers most of the complexities, leaving only
a power/standby button, volume knob, input knob
and a round display visible. This 50mm display
shows things like input selected and volume level.
Under the flap is a much larger rectangular
display which shows the things normally shown
by an AV receivers display. There are also various
control switches, a 6.5mm headphone output,
an HDMI input, a USB connection, a set of AV


inputs and a calibration microphone socket.
PERFORMANCE
The AV7703 has a set-up wizard which runs auto-
matically the first time you fire it up. It will be
familiar to anyone whos installed a recent model
Marantz AV receiver, and is in fact identical,
subject to necessary changes. Clearly the extensive
text explanations have simply been edited from
the receiver version. (A typo on [2/6] of Speaker


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Setup has you connecting both your amplifier
and speakers to the preamp.) In general, the
instructions are very detailed and easy to follow.
It tells you, for example, how to strip speaker
cable and attach it to the binding posts of the
power amplifier. Then for each output you have to
specify whether youre using XLR or RCA outputs
which allows you to mix and match.
As it happens, the firmware version number
here was identical to that for the Marantz SR7011
receiver which we recently reviewed in sister
publication Sound+Image. Which makes sense.
The firmware does almost nothing with regard to
the power amplifier. Its all about the processing.
We wired it into a very high quality 11-channel
power amplifier. The Audyssey calibration worked
surely and effectively, and chose values of which
we approve for speaker size and crossovers. We left
off the Audyssey extras like Dynamic EQ which,
we think, adversely affects sound quality.
And then we proceeded to enjoy a great deal
of program material. We concentrated on three
things: two-channel content recorded from HD
stations on our PVR, Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, and
network audio.
Disc after Ultra HD Blu-ray disc delivered
magnificent performance. Colour and resolution
passthrough to a 65-inch OLED was pretty much
perfect. We had to dial around 120ms of audio
delay into the preamp because the TV, unlike
the AV7703, doesnt support auto lip sync over
HDMI. That done, everything about the picture
and sound was a delight.
Not quite as good on the picture front was
our PVR viewing, particularly due to the colour
banding but that was entirely from the source.
We started watching Season 3 of Fargo a truly
great show which this year is being delivered at
1080i on free-to-air TV. But the audio is still only
two channels. However it soon became apparent
that it had been created in multichannel, and
enough of that survived the mixdown to allow the
AV7703s Dolby Surround processing to perform
wonders. Early in the first episode the sound
perfectly tracks the footsteps down the right side
of the room to behind us, followed by a closing
door. It might as well have been 5.1.
With network audio, our 24-bit/192kHz
FLAC music files from the network were rendered
perfectly, as were both regular and double-rate
Direct Stream Digital files. The bandwidth
available over the Wi-Fi network connection (dual
band) proved plenty to support these streams.
The receiver also worked with the HEOS
multiroom system a new addition to Marantz
for this year. We had a couple of standard HEOS
wireless speakers to hand, and using the fine
HEOS app on an iPad Mini 4 we were able to
control the AV7703, group it with the HEOS
speakers or have all running separate content.
Best of all, we found we could use the app to
select an input on the AV7703 and send it to one
of the HEOS speakers, even while the Marantz
continued playing an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc in the
main room. That worked even with the turntable
plugged into the phono input.
CONCLUSION
Clearly the Marantz AV7703 is for those who
want the highest performance, along with the
ability to choose their own power amplification.
HEOS is icing on top of an already huge cake.
It does the job brilliantly.
Marantz AV7703
AV pre-amplier
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52 www.avhub.com.au
 Come and listen to the new Dynaudio

[Special Forty]
Being launched at Australian HiFi AV Show
Intercontinental Sydney | 28-30 July 2017
ch an
un ali
La str
Au

Dynaudio launched a new product to celebrate its 40th Delivering uncompromising sound quality and dynamic range,
anniversary. The Dynaudio Special Forty is a two-way The Dynaudio Special Forty is available in high gloss grey
standmount/shelf-mount loudspeaker whose fabric-domed birch or high gloss red birchtwo nishes Dynaudio says it
tweeter was designed and built specically for it. has never used before and are exclusive to this model.

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 AMPS/RECEIVERS
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
NAD C 338
T
he NAD C 338 signals the emergence
of a new breed of hi-fi component.
Amplifiers have been evolving in recent
years, first gaining digital inputs (and
therefore internal digital-to-analogue converters),
and from there it was a short hop to include
Bluetooth. Now comes network connectivity, and
thereby access to internet music services the
kind of stuff were used to seeing in wireless multi-
room speakers. But why settle for a small wireless
smart speaker if you can have a whole smart hi-fi
system? Thats whats on offer from the C 338.
Indeed higher models in this range can be
fully network-enabled with an optional BluOS
module which makes them part of the Bluesound
multiroom ecosystem. This amp doesnt do that,
but it has Bluetooth streaming and also Googles
Chromecast built in, which connects to your
home network via Wi-Fi, and thereby streams
from Cast-enabled apps and programs on phones
and computers. Presto! a high quality NAD
integrated amplifier, with built-in smarts.
EQUIPMENT
The other interesting angle to the C 338 is
its use of a variant of Class-D amplification.
NAD has made quite the specialty of Class D
in recent years, collaborating since 2005 with
UK semiconductor company
Zetex to develop its own Direct
Digital for the companys ongoing
high-end Masters series, while
another collaboration, this time
with Dutch company Hypex,
allowed NAD to combine Direct
54
Why settle for a small wireless
smart speaker if you can have a
whole smart hi-fi system?
Digital concepts with the innovative Hypex UcD
analogue Class-D technology. The result is
NADs HybridDigital amplification, as used in its
unusual compact D 3020, and now in this C 338.
The more conventional inputs include a
generous four digital inputs (two optical, two
coaxial) and three analogue, which includes a
phono stage for a turntable, hoorah! The obvious
omission here is USB, with neither an A slot (for
plugging in media for playback or for charging a
smart device as it plays), nor a USB-B input for
direct replay from a computer.
There is a mono subwoofer output but no
stereo line-level output no record out, which though an alarming message warned that This
we miss, though theres no denying its become
redundant for most users.
As for power, several ratings are quoted, the
unique power circuits making these a guide at
best, but the headline figure is 2 50W into eight
ohms with THD at just 0.03%, very much a hi-fi
specification, as against some digital amplifiers
quoted at 1% or even 10% THD.
A small
remote control
is provided, with
basic transport
controls as well
as input selection, volume control, and a +6dB
bass-boost button.
PERFORMANCE
Then theres the networking. Note there is no
Ethernet socket here, so if youre going to Cast,
you must connect via the NADs dual-band
Wi-Fi, and so make sure the amp is situated in a
reasonable reception area. In operational terms it
works, essentially, just like a Chromecast Audio
unit. You download the Google Home app (a
pointer to our future!) and follow the prompts.
For us the NAD was found and activated easily,
Chromecast built-in amplifier was manufactured
for a different country and may not be compatible
with your Wi-Fi network. But it worked fine for
us (and if it doesnt, check your router isnt using
a Wi-Fi channel above 11 these arent used
in the US, so often cant be seen by US-centric
equipment). The app walks you through casting
with some sample clips (see iPhone screens
opposite), and then lists all the apps you can
download which have casting buttons you
can also cast from a Chrome browser on any
networked computer. From Spotify to Tidal to
TuneIn radio, theres a big world of music thus
www.avhub.com.au

available, and we found a way to get DLNA
network streaming even from an iOS device
using LocalCast, an ad-supported freebie app.
This proved able to send the NAD networked
files in AAC, MP3 and FLAC/WAV up to
24-bit/192kHz, though it didnt handle AIFF,
Apple Lossless or, unusually, WMA files.
From the NADs first blast of sound we were
impressed by the delivery, a sharp-edged punch of
sound that spoke to tight timing and an ability to
deliver dynamic changes rapidly, indicating power
reserves able to react without delay. The clarity
was equally evident, the amp simply getting out
of the way of whatever source material was played.
The rasping tones of Bob Dylans voice on the
new Triplicate collection of American standards
hung in the central space between instruments,
the NAD making clear the difference between
the light reverb used on most of the albums basic
band tracks but the excessive decay evident on the
more energetic brass-laden arrangements (rather
muddying singer and band on Day In, Day Out
and revealing an electrical buzz on the tracks fade.
It richly portrayed recordings that were made
that way, but it didnt fill out lighter recordings.
Dions I Read It (in the Rolling Stone) is a strangely
pinched and peaky recording, and thats exactly
how the NAD delivered it. But bring out Holly
Cole doing Tom Waits (Looking For) The Heart
of Saturday Night and all is delight feel how
the first acoustic bass notes are hard plucked and
present before Coles smooth vocal gets a perfect
presentation, while piano on the left, guitars right
and a wide spread of drums all form a solid whole
without getting in each others way.
This led us
to the Diana
Krall/Michael Buble (sorry, he was snuck onto
her Wallflower album) version of Alone Again,
Naturally a divine recording by David Foster,
and a delight here both for vocal quality and the
imaging depth on strings.
Those low distortion figures seemed confirmed
by the quick advancing of level to a comfortable
-24dB on the NADs usefully dimmable display,
and we were almost alarmed at how little we
seemed to be missing in the way of power
compared with our significantly pricier reference
pre-power amps as we moved onto more complex
material. Bonhams entry into Led Zeppelins
Gallows Pole was held effectively in its own little
acoustic without eating into the surrounding
rising wave of guitars and mandolin, the whole
perhaps sounding just a little thin, but again,
the digital remaster at 24-bit/96kHz does indeed
sound just a little thin. So we pulled out the vinyl
from the remasters box-set instead noting the
phono input on the C 338 to be rather quieter
than the line level (we turned the volume knob
up to -6dB on the display to get the same level as
before still plenty of headroom, though, as the
NAD doesnt stop at zero, but goes up to +12dB).
The vinyl Zeppelin delivery proved far preferable,
the thinness replaced by a deliciously realistic
delivery, JPJs bass driving in from the second
verse, and Bonhams entry more the lift of full
driving rhythm it should be. Its hard to believe
the high-res and vinyl mixes share the same source,
such was the greater energy and depth from the
LP over the 24-96 digital file.
The headphone output proved clean and
powerful, with its half-ohm output impedance
good for a range of home and mobile-optimised
headgear. And we were most impressed that NAD
has included auto-standby (because EU regulations
demand it) but includes an easy way to defeat it
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
for those who prefer their amp always on, ready to
play. The C 338 even pops out of standby when it
senses an active input, though this takes a second,
so you miss the start of the first track.
CONCLUSION
Seamlessly combining traditional and modern,
NADs C 338 looks more the true successor to
the companys famous 3020 heritage than does
the current D 3020 design. This amp is versatile
and powerful for its price, with a solid dose of
HybridDigital power and plenty of inputs, both
digital and analogue, including for a turntable.
Indeed if your phone, tablet or laptop is your
primary music source these days, you may need to
add nothing but speakers. How modern is that?
NAD C 338
integrated amplier
A great mid-level amplifier for our time
Solid HybridDigital power
Good range of inputs, plus Chromecast
No USB-B for computer input
No Ethernet networking
No record out
Price: $999
Quoted power: 2 x 50W (20Hz-20kHz, both
channels, THD 0.03%)
Inputs: phono (turntable), 2 x RCA analogue,
Bluetooth, Chromecast built in, 2 x optical
digital, 2 x coaxial digital (digital inputs to
24-bit/192kHz)
Outputs: Subwoofer out, headphone out,
loudspeakers out
Dimensions: 435 x 70 x 285mm (including
feet, terminals etc.)
Weight: 4.5kg
Contact: Convoy International
Telephone: 02 9774 9900
Web: www.convoy.com.au
55
 See CALLIA at: The Australian Hi-Fi & AV Show 2017, in Sydney July 28th - 30th

#HearTheMusicNotTheDAC

CALLIA
The New DAC and headphone amp from Prism Sound

CALLIA is exceptionally detailed... Its an outstanding

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HiFi+ Magazine

Here are just a few words from other published CALLIA reviews:
Outstanding ... Stellar Sound ... CALLIA is a fantastic piece of equipment ... CALLIA's DSD playback sounds amazing! ... You've never
heard music this way before ... Prism Sound is a name synonymous with high-end audio production ... uncompromising quality and
accuracy ... service, support, packaging, the product itself, spot on and worth it ... the finish is impeccable.

Read more at: www.prismsound.com/calliareviews www.facebook.com/prismsoundaudiophile

CALLIA, by Prism Sound, is a USB and S/PDIF digital preamplifier incorporating the finest Digital to Analogue converter technology
with line level outputs plus an independent low-impedance headphone output with its own volume control.
Learn more at: www.prismsound.com/callia

30 YEARS HELPING TO CREATE THE WORLD'S GREATEST MUSIC! 1987 - 2017

Read about Prism Sounds Pro Audio history at: www.prismsound.com/heritage

Call us NOW to book your

Callia demo or arrange a quotation
Tel: +61-2-9330-1750 Web: www.cda-proaudio.com
Unit 17, 69 O'Riordan St, Alexandria NSW 2015

| sales@prismsound.com | www.prismsound.com | UK +44 (0)1353 648888 | USA +1 973 983 9577 |


AMPS/RECEIVERS
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
PARASOUND HALO
T
he arrival of Parasounds Halo
integrated amplifier came as something
as a surprise to this reviewer, since
founder Richard Schram and designer
John Curl have specialised in building preampli-
fiers and power amplifiers for more than 30 years.
The last integrated amplifier Parasound built was
long ago, in 1986.
But this new Halo is more than just an
integrated amplifier. It has an on-board DAC, as
well as a subwoofer output with its own variable
low-pass crossover network, and a pre-amplifier
output with its own built-in variable high-pass
crossover network. It also has home theatre bypass
circuitry. So while its certainly a two-channel
integrated amplifier, its one that offers much
more than you might expect.
EQUIPMENT
Parasounds Halo is certainly full-featured.
On the analogue side, there are five line-level
analogue inputs, four of which are unbalanced
(RCA terminals) and one of which can either be
balanced (XLR terminals) or unbalanced (RCA
terminals) but not both at the same time
you can only connect one or the other. Plus theres
a phono input that handles both moving-coil
(MC) and moving-magnet (MM) cartridges
with selectable load (100 ohms or 47kohms) for
the moving coil option. Additionally theres a
front-panel 3.5mm input so you can connect your
phone or portable player.
On the digital side, there are optical (Toslink),
coaxial (RCA) and USB (type B) inputs. The
digital inputs route to a 32-bit/384kHz Sabre32
Reference DAC (ES9018K2M). Via optical and
coax this DAC can handle PCM 16-bit to 32-bit
words at sampling rates up to 192kHz. Via the
USB input it can handle up to 32-bit/384kHz
PCM as well as DSD and DoP. Apple users can
just plugnplay, but Windows users will need to
download the free USB driver from Parasounds
website (www.parasound.com).
There is also a home theatre bypass output
that outputs the left-channel, right-channel
and subwoofer signals without any processing
or volume adjustment. Theres even a pair of
fixed-level Record outputs, so you could send
analogue audio to a recorder of some kind.
The front panel continues a cosmetic theme
thats been a constant at Parasound for many
years, with a slight outward curve to the front
panel, and a shallow groove running along the
bottom, housing most of the tell-tale LED
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
indicators and, in this case, the Power on/off and
Mute buttons.
Also carried over is the symmetrical control
layout, though in this case Schram has not
achieved perfect symmetry, with four controls at
the right of the panel (input selector, subwoofer
level, balance and volume) and only two at the left
(bass and treble tone controls). Some symmetry is
achieved because the left side of the panel is also
home to the tone on/off button, infra-red receiver
window, a 3.5mm auxiliary input and a 3.5mm
headphone output the latter two gold-plated.
The LEDs in the previously-mentioned groove
light up to indicate input selection in the order:
Aux, Line 1, Line 2, Line 3, Line 4, Line 5,
Phono, Opt, Coax, USB, Bypass. While we were
happy changing inputs using the remote control
(which is a nice little unit, about which more in
a moment), it felt a little strange changing inputs
when using the tiny rotary front-panel control.
If Parasound likes things to be symmetrical, why
not balance the large volume control with a large
input selector?
As for that remote control, its made from
plastic but feels very solid in the hand, and comes
with illuminated keys, a particularly nice touch.
Press the illuminate button on the remote and
57

AMPS/
RECEIVERS
the keys glow for a useful ten seconds. Using
either of the volume controls on the remote
cancels muting (it should really only be cancelled
when the up volume control is pressed). The
remote is powered by two AA batteries which, as
supplied, were Toshiba zinc-carbon types. Wed
recommend immediately replacing these with
high-quality leak-proof alkaline batteries.
Internally, as youd probably guess from its
size and weight, the Halo uses a tried-and-tested
Class-AB bipolar output stage, although the driver
stage uses MOSFETs and the input stage JFETs.
DC servo circuitry ensures DC is never present
at the output terminals, and theres also circuitry
to prevent the amplifier from accidental short-
circuits, excessive current draw and overheating.
The heart of the headphone amplifier circuit
is a Texas Instruments TPA6120A2, which is a
Class-AB current-feedback design that has a very
high slew-rate to eliminate odd-order distortion
and enable current-on-demand at the output,
so the amplifier responds quickly and linearly
without distortion, and with gain-independent
frequency response, so full bandwidth is available
at all volume settings.
Parasound amplifiers are designed, engineered
and QC-tested after completion in the USA;
theyre built in Taiwan. In Australia, the Halo
comes with a three-year warranty and full
after-sales support from local distributor Network
AV, but Schram is happy for Parasound owners
to contact him directly and is renowned for
answering every email he gets, which has earned
him a well-deserved reputation for providing
service second to none.
PERFORMANCE
We used Parasounds Halo in two different
systems. One was two-channel, using only a single
pair of large floorstanding speakers; the other was
also two-channel, but had small bookshelf speakers
and a subwoofer so we could check out the Halos
crossover circuitry.

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right from the outset. The illuminated blue strip
inset into the volume control is easy to see from
anywhere in the room, so you instantly know how
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the muting circuit is active. We werent so sure
about the headphone output. Firstly we would
have preferred a full-sized 6.5mm socket; secondly,
plugging headphones in immediately mutes the
loudspeakers (fine), unplugging turns the loud-
speakers back on, and if the volume level is high
when you do this, you could potentially damage

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your loudspeakers, although Parasound has built
extra gain (12dB) into the headphone circuit, so
its unlikely to happen.
58
No matter which of the two systems we
used, there was power aplenty available from
the Parasound Halo. We dare say you will
never ever! need more power than the
160W available (240W if youre using 4-ohm
loudspeakers) no matter what loudspeakers
you connect to it.
It was also good clean distortion-free power no
matter whether we were listening at background
music levels, standard listening levels or cranked
right up to party. We didnt even get a hint of but its also an excellent phono stage, an excellent
output stage distortion no matter how hard we
listened, and when nothing is playing, either
between tracks or between notes, the Halo was
totally silent. No audible hum and no hiss. In fact,
no circuit noise whatsoever.
Turntable owners will find the Halos input
stages completely transparent with both MM
and MC cartridges, removing the need for an
added-cost external phono stage unless you have
a cartridge that requires a particularly unusual
loading. Phono RIAA equalisation was spot-on,
and the dynamics we were able to extract from the
LPs we played proved the phono circuits overload
margin was more than adequate for even the most
dynamic audiophile recordings.
We had the same sonic experience using the
digital inputs, no matter whether we were feeding
high-res files over USB or connected to the SPDIF
digital output of a CD player. Listening to Hein
Coopers Overflow (from The Art of Escape), r
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the rhythmic drive of the song was delivered like it
was on steroids, with the crisp percussion cracking
in like rifle shots and the multi-layered vocals
delivered with astounding clarity. Exceptional
performance indeed, so exceptionally good that
you wont be needing an external DAC either
and, if you have an older CD player with a digital
output, connecting that output to the Halo will
result in an immediate improvement in sound
quality from your CDs.
If you do choose to feed the Halo an analogue
input, either unbalanced or balanced, youll be in
for an aural experience, because what the Halo
will deliver to its outputs is a faithful replica of
whatever you deliver to its inputs just louder!
The Halo delivered Janis Joplins Work Me, Lord
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
(from the newly released Little Girl Blue) with
spine-tingling authenticity.
The quality of sound from the headphone
output is outstandingly good, so if this is your
preferred method of listening at home, youll be
able to dump your external headphone amplifier
and simply listen via the Halo.
CONCLUSION
The Parasound Halo is an excellent amplifier,
headphone amplifier and an excellent DAC. Its
also outstanding value for money. Schram was
once asked about the secret of Parasounds success,
and he said it was because of respect. Specifically
he said We respect our customers because most of
them dont have trust funds and have to work for
their money. So we give them their moneys worth
and then some.
Wed have to echo those words, because with
Parasounds new Halo, you are most definitely
getting your moneys worth and then some.
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AMPS/RECEIVERS
INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
PEACHTREE AUDIO
nova150
P
eachtree recently entered what it called,
unofficially, Peachtree 2.0. Coming
as the company reached its tenth year,
this rebooting is part philosophy, part
action Peachtree is giving new emphasis to real
hi-fi dealers over internet sales, it has hired a new
engineering team and, perhaps most remarkably,
it is now assembling and building its products in
Canada, rather than China. Cheers all round.
This is all the more remarkable given that
Peachtree was, from the start, a thoroughly
modern affair. Its first product in 2007 was the
Decco amplifier, claimed as the worlds first amp
with a USB input to play straight from computer.
(How times have changed today we look
askance at any amplifier that doesnt have a USB
input.) Over its decade of existence, Peachtree
has witnessed the general rush to convenience
products, but also the full-scale change in the way
we consume music, even for those audio-centric
listeners sticking with full quality hi-fi using a
proper amplifier and speakers. Computers and
smart devices are now key sources, either replacing
or adding to CD and vinyl. Peachtree Audio 2.0
aims squarely at these consumers, and the first 2.0
fruit plucked was this nova150 amplifier.
EQUIPMENT
Pictures of the nova150 can make it look quite
compact. Not so its substantial, a little less
than rack-width at 14 inches, and nearly 7kg in
weight. It has air vents on top, so dont be stacking
stuff on its lovely gloss finish (our review unit was
black; the pictured gloss ebony mocha adds the
joy of wood grain). The curves, the aluminum
front plate with its press buttons and knob, these
follow previous designs, but things have changed
inside. Peachtree started out delivering Class-AB
amplifiers, and had a penchant for a visible
valve stage, supposedly to smooth over rough
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
recordings. But now Peachtree has switched
to Class-D, using B&Os ICEpower modules,
so theres more wattage quoted, but also higher
preamp signal-to-noise, an impressive 111dB.
Shoving in a valve stage would just crush that.
Peachtree tells fans of its valve circuit not to
despair, however there are plans for an add-on
valve buffer to insert into the novas loop stage.
Loop stage? Yes so there are five digital
inputs, two being optical, one coaxial, one
USB-A slot, and one USB-B for your computer.
One of the opticals is the increasingly common
mini-Toslink. There are two analogue RCA pairs,
one of which can be switched to be a moving
magnet turntable input (theres a terminal for the
grounding cable), the other of which can be used
in home theatre bypass mode, which bypasses
the volume control and throws everything out at
full level. That way you can have the Peachtree
powering front cinema speakers under the control
61
 AMPS/
RECEIVERS

Separation and staging? The dual vocal parts on the

24/96 of Bowies Blackstar sounded not overlaid but
one before the other, the low one forward, the falsetto
behind and even vertically higher... Quite the show.
of an AV receiver, the volume
controlled from there, while
still doing duties later as a
high-quality two-channel amp.
To switch between either
of these input modes, all you
do is hold that input button
for five seconds. Indeed
holding any input button for
five seconds takes the volume
control out of circuit, lest you
should prefer to use a level
control built into that source.
(As noted, on the first analogue
input, this long press instead
switches between line-level and
turntable level.) This simple
software control method freaks us out, to be the latter, but will go to 96kHz with the former. iTunes may
honest if you (or it) went into the other mode Mac users just go with 2.0 all the way to 384kHz instantly
by mistake while music was playing, it might (see screengrabs below the manual says 32-bit pick this
signal a farewell to your speakers (and possibly should be possible; our Mac Mini offered only up, some
your ears) as everything slams through at full pelt. 16/24-bit). The other digital inputs will go to other
Theres other stuff, a preamp output should 24-bit/192kHz. programs
you wish to upgrade beyond the Peachtrees power, There is an extra bit of thought behind the wont we use
a 12V trigger output, and an IR control input. USB-A slot at the rear, specifically aimed at an Amarra shell around
You press the current input button ten times to iPhone and iPad users. Peachtree has incorporated iTunes (mainly to switch file
disable the front IR receiver and activate the rear a circuit to eliminate computer noise from these frequency automatically) and that
IR input, or vice versa. devices when connected via the normal Lightning- required a tedious restart each time;
The last sockets are two pairs of RCAs labelled to-USB cable this DyNEC (Dynamic Noise ProTools is similarly allergic to having its
Loop input and Loop output. So these will Elimination Circuit) aims to eliminate any audible playback engine suddenly removed. In certain
operate like the tape loops of old, but Peachtree power supply and screen noise before handing the situations it might be an advantage; in others,
also suggests they could be used for inserting room digital files over to the Sabre DAC. not so much.
correction equipment, or that planned proper While trying to A-B between computer input Similarly, and probably for the same sonically
stereo tube buffer, which will slot into this loop. and iPhone, we discovered that, as for many valid reasons of isolation, we noticed the USB-A
If you wanted. Were not sure why you would. amps with USB-B inputs, when you switch away socket will only charge your iPhone if you have
from the USB-B input, the nova disappears from that input selected. We noticed because our
PERFORMANCE your computers list of sound devices, and your iPhone was dead after an evening listening to
Well, lets get straight into this it is always, as computer will likely switch to its internal speakers vinyl. (Which has a certain karma to it.) But
a reviewer, mildly disappointing when something or another default output. Re-select the USB-B Australian distributor Audio Marketing tells us
clearly improves on your price-comparable input on the Peachtree and it reappears. While they expect this to be fixed in a firmware update.
reference system. Within seconds of powering up
the nova150 and playing from our computer via
USB, we were thinking how damned analytical it
sounded (in a good way), how the detail and the
edges of everything were simply better defined
than they are from our reference. This we must
ascribe to the DAC section of the nova150 outper-
forming our resident standalone DAC. Peachtree
has built around the highly regarded ES9018K2M
Sabre32 Reference DAC, capable to 384kHz PCM
and double-DSD (5.2MHz). An in-out button
on the rear switches between USB 1.0 and 2.0
operation Windows PCs (still! but hopefully
changing this year) require a driver installed for The novas DAC is switchable between USB 1.0 to 96kHz (left), or USB 2.0 offering up to 384kHz (and doubleDSD).

62 www.avhub.com.au

Meanwhile we carried on listening. And started
turning it up. We love how Peachtree uses the
line of input lights on the front panel as a volume
indicator, slowly extending rightwards. And
upwards, nudging slowly northwards, as is our
wont. No reservations here, no pause for power,
no apparent limit at all. No change in tonal
character with volume, no audible noise-floor
whatsoever, other than that on the recordings
themselves. Peachtree quotes the nova150 at 150W
per channel (hence the name) into eight ohms,
250W into four ohms, and capable of driving
anything down to two ohms. (These figures use
the AES17 standards for measurement of digital
audio equipment, which allow up to 1% THD+N,
high by traditional hi-fi standards.)
We thoroughly enjoyed this output into
a high-quality pair of 86dB/W/m German
standmounters, and needless to say, it had a ball
driving our JBL 4429s with their nominal 6-ohm
impedance and friendly 91dB/W/m sensitivity; no
wonder we didnt reach any limits.
Weight and dynamics? Yessir, lets crank the


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Separation and staging? The dual vocal parts

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Voices from an Aria music servers digital output,
and sat spellbound by the sheer loveliness of
Alison Krauss, Eva Cassidy and the rest, all held
in space above the giant silences of the acoustic
spaces perceivable behind the instruments.
This sense of space also brought magic to Keith
Jarretts classic Kln Concert, which encouraged
us to play two full sections of it, and even gave
sparkle to older mono recordings setting the
tape hiss just audible on Karajans 1953 recording
of the final Rondo from Mozarts Horn Concerto
in Eb, the orchestral dynamics were thrilling as
they burst with bite around the hall-softened horn.
We activated the phono stage (volume right
down, just in case!) and settled into Marvin
Gaye playing on 180g from a Thorens turntable.
Delight and insight, the Peachtree impressively
clarifying the spliced tracks so we noticed the
significant increase in bass content at the edit
point from God is Love into Mercy Mercy Me.
The headphone amp is no afterthought either,
redesigned for the nova150, a discrete design rather
than a chip solution, good to drive even 300-ohm
headphones. It did a superb job with beyer-
dynamics 250-ohm DT 1990 PROs.
If theres an obvious omission from what
purports to be a modern digital amplifier, its
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
CONCLUSION
There is also the nova300 available (and a nova500
in the wings) should you want still more power
for larger spaces or ragingly difficult speakers
(or headphones). With our speaker selections,
no more was required; we loved the nova150, its
combination of power and precision, its ability
to cleverly combine todays digital sources with
those analogue originals, delivering maximum
musical involvement from them all.
Peachtree Audio nova150
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beats tight as the proverbial gnats. Quite the show.
Delicacy of touch? The delivery of piano
and vocal miking on Diana Kralls Alone Again
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63
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eastwoodhi.com.au
 AMPS/RECEIVERS
NETWORKED AV RECEIVER
SONY STR-DN1080
REVIEWED WITH
SONY UBP-X800
ULTRA HD BLU-RAY PLAYER
W
e have got a little behind with the
evolution of Sonys AV receivers
the last one we plugged into
our system was four years ago in
2013. That was the Sony STR-DN1040, and we
were quite impressed by it. The model presently
under review the Sony STR-DN1080 is,
we deduce, the natural successor after four annual
updates, and it arrived for review with Sonys first
Ultra High Definition Blu-ray player. Needless to
say, the receiver is fully equipped to make the best
of such a high-quality source. Lets see what they
can do together.
EQUIPMENT
One thing that hasnt changed is the the receivers
rated power output. Sony quotes this only into six
ohms: 100 watts from each of the seven channels
across the full audio spectrum at 0.09% THD.
We think thats for two channels operating. That
would mean an output of at least 75 watts per
channel into eight-ohm loads, perhaps a bit more
if output current was the limiting factor with the
lower impedance load.
The amplifier pair that are nominally for
surround back can be redirected to drive a B set Bluetooth headphones. The Bluetooth communi-
of front speakers, biamplify the front speakers,
drive speakers in Zone 2 or run height speakers
for Dolby Atmos and the like.
There are six HDMI inputs, and only one
optical digital audio input. Component video
has now been entirely dropped. Thats a little
connectivity than some (and less than that 2013
receiver offered), but six HDMI inputs ought to
be enough for the vast majority of purchasers.
Theres a USB socket on the front for playback
of music from thumb drives or hard drives.
Networking is provided by Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
Theres one surprising input and one surprising
output. The input is Chromecast. Well talk
more of that later. The surprising output is
Bluetooth. In addition to being able to be paired
with a Bluetooth source device for playback, you
can further pair the receiver with, say, a set of
cations can, depending on the device, be encoded
using the basic SBC codec, the better AAC codec
(typically used by Apple devices) or the even better
LDAC codec (used, so far as we can tell, only by
high-end Sony devices see avhub.com.au/ldac).
The receivers documentation recommends
using the Sony app SongPal for controlling the
receiver and managing network audio tracks. But
when we went to install this on our iPad Mini 4,
the App store kept responding instead with an
app called Music Center. Apparently SongPal is
defunct, and Music Center has replaced it.
65
 AMPS/RECEIVERS
PERFORMANCE
An Easy Setup wizard helps you set up the
receiver at first switch-on (or after a factory reset).
There are two sections: speakers and network.
We had chosen to do a wired network connection,
so the network section was very fast and easy. If
youre going wireless, thats also pretty straight
forward. The receiver scans for access points,
showing the signal strength of those it finds. You
select one and enter the password. Both 2.4GHz
and 5GHz points could be used.
Upon completion of this, the receiver displayed
a message indicating that a firmware update was
available, and said how we could install it.
The auto speaker calibration system (called
D.C.A.C. EX) uses an interesting double-headed
microphone, with the left and right microphone
elements perhaps 70mm apart. This allowed the
receiver to tell us that we had the left and right
height speakers accidentally swapped. The distance
settings were conducted very quickly once wed
fixed that error. Then a second stage went to
EQing the system. You get a choice at that point
of aiming for a flat frequency response, choosing
the Sony Engineers preferred setting, or going for
Front Reference, which matches the rest of the
system to your front stereo speakers. Finishing off
66
the set-up was an option to enable Chromecast,
along with setting the time zone.
There wasnt much opportunity to check
the settings throughout this, but afterwards it
appeared the receiver had set all speaker positions
to Large, even our admittedly-competent but
nonetheless bass-limited ceiling speakers.
We must spend a few words on the menu and
set-up system here. Its hard to precisely put our
finger on it, but there was just a general sense of
a more professional, computer-like, layout to the
instructions and the wizard than is the norm for
home theatre receivers.
And similarly we really enjoyed using this
receiver. The remote is well laid out especially
with the volume control sitting almost alone (with
only Mute next to it) down there at the bottom.
Somehow Sony manages to provide the same
functionality with its remote as other brands do,
but with half the number of keys and yet still
with a good level of system control (see the UHD
Blu-ray information above right). Then of course
theres also the option to do things like choose
inputs using the on-screen menu of the app.
When it came to the receivers bread and
butter, this Sony receiver performed sterling
duty delivering to loudspeakers the music and
sounds provided to its inputs, and delivering to a
TV screen the video provided to its inputs. The
75W we estimated to be the output into eight
ohms did not seem to be a limitation. We would
note, though, that six-ohm loudspeakers are the
minimum allowed, so one should be doubly
careful in loudspeaker selection: choose both a
suitable impedance and reasonable sensitivity.
With our eight-ohm system the receiver
delivered excellent sound, both in stereo and
in surround. We opted for the match the front
www.avhub.com.au

Sonys UBP-X800 Premium UHD Blu-ray player ($499)
A decade ago, one of the prime movers for the
growth of the Blu-ray format was Sonys decision
to put a Blu-ray player in the PlayStation 3. For
a good few years the PS3 was the best Blu-ray
player on the market, and may have helped see
off the challenge from rival format HD DVD. So
many were disappointed when Sonys gaming
division chose not to include a UHD Blu-ray player
in the PlayStation 4, even though its capable of
4K gaming. Now Sonys consumer video team is
out to fix the omission, with the companys first
standalone UHD Blu-ray player, the UBP-X800.
Its labelled a Premium player, but the price is
pleasingly not so premium at $499.
speakers EQ, and that delivered a relatively unadul-
terated sound from the front speakers while having
the others match them tonally. One thing led to
another and we spent way too long enjoying several
of our Super Audio CDs in 5.1 surround. At all
reasonable volume levels, and even at levels verging
on unreasonable, the receiver delivered clean, well-
placed, properly-balanced sound.
As it did for movies. The HDMI connections
easily passed through full 2160p/60 with HDR
and a wide colour gamut from discs played on the
Sony Ultra-HD Blu-ray player (and from another
brand of player as well).
The Dolby Atmos decoding delivered a fine,
encompassing surround field despite the system
being limited to two overhead speakers. One
feature we think may be unique phantom
surround back speakers. The receiver can process
the incoming channels to make it seem as though
there are surround back speakers, creating a kind
of virtual 7.1.2 speaker arrangement.
As for network audio, were pausing for a
moment, pondering the big question: is there any


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Android device or Chrome browser. All of that
(except for AirPlay which worked perfectly
We were supplied the UDP-X800 to use with
the Sony receiver reviewed here, and of course
there are good reasons to team them together,
beyond the neatness of one-brand aesthetics
and ease of purchase. As with TVs and receivers,
most companies implement some form of propri-
etary communication between connected units.
Sonys is called Bravia Sync, in this case using
the HDMI connection to communicate between
the X800, the receiver and, if youre using one,
onto a Sony Bravia television.
The most obvious bonus is that you can use a
single Sony remote control youll note the AV
receivers remote is labelled AV System, and a
throughout) was initially rather flaky. Remember
how we said earlier wed wired the receiver into
Ethernet? Well, we switched over to a Wi-Fi
connection and the whole thing settled down. Our
Chromecast-enabled apps found the receiver (and
those which used a representative icon showed
it as a Chromecast stick). DLNA-enabled apps
found the receiver (its icon was a receiver).
Using DLNA the receiver did a fine job with
our FLAC music files, along with MP3, AAC and
Apple Lossless, with the FLAC one going all the
way up to 24 bits and 192kHz. The manual says
the receiver also supports Direct Stream Digital
up to 5.6MHz, but we couldnt make it work.
If we used a DLNA app to send such a track, it
reported no success. If we directly accessed the
folder containing the DSD tracks (we tried both
DSF and DFF formats) using the receivers own
interface, then it said that the folders were empty.
If we used the Music Player app, the tracks were
found, but when we tried to play them the app
reported Playback failed. So we have no idea
what was going on there.
Especially as the receiver had no problems
decoding both stereo and multichannel DSD
when we played Super Audio CDs to it in native
DSD via HDMI. (It is Sony, after all.) Indeed,
the receiver played DSD including double rate
5.6MHz DSD from a USB stick plugged into
the front socket. Perhaps it didnt like our network
configuration, even though we routinely play
DSD tracks to other receivers and audio devices.
CONCLUSION
Wed be surprised if that werent fixed in a
forthcoming firmware. After all, we note that this
model has not yet appeared (as we write) on Sonys
website. We were very impressed. With solid
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
press of its power button will turn
off Blu-ray player, AV receiver and
television together. Conversely you
can enjoy One-Touch Play where
pressing play will start your UHD
Blu-ray disc spinning, select the
right receiver input and turn on
your TV. Convenience and control!
A full-length review of the UBP-
X800 will appear in the August
issue of Sound+Image magazine,
and once published youll be able
to read the full review online at
www.avhub.com.au/x800.
performance with everything
up to Ultra HD Blu-ray (and
operational benefits from pairing
it with Sonys player, above) and
the convenience of Chromecast
Audio along with DLNA
and Apple AirPlay, the Sony
STR-DN1080 home theatre
receiver looks like a winner.
Sony STR-DN1080
networked
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67
 LOUDSPEAKERS
LOUDSPEAKERS
ATC LOUDSPEAKERS HTS SERIES
N
ot familiar with ATC Loudspeakers?
Perhaps youd like a few references.
The UK company can certainly oblige
its home website lists Clients
in a panel at the bottom, rolling through a short
but spectacular list of those using ATC. First up,
Pink Floyd. Then The Killers, the BBC, the Royal
Opera House, and Coldplay. Gosh. So when ATC
calls themselves manufacturers of the finest audio
systems in the world, the claim at least has some
impressive backing.
THE HOME THEATRE SERIES
The company began (and still continues) in the
realms of professional audio, but its products
were being used in home systems even before the
company began a dedicated range for audiophiles
and home theatre enthusiasts. The companys
most recent launch is the pictured new range of
high performance on-wall speakers, ATCs Home
68
Theatre Series (HTS), which were impressed to
see is still handmade in England, and comes with
an impressive six-year warranty.
But dont think that Home Theatre name centre-channel position. Both versions of each HTS
means theyre just for the movies. They aim to
provide world-class TV and home cinema sound,
for sure, but they are also designed to be capable
of true hi-fi resolution for music in the home, with
neutral voicing and very low distortion aiming to
deliver audiophile performance.
And for many users, or perhaps their spouses,
one of their great attractions may be how slim they
are. With cabinets measuring less than 14cm (5.5
inches) deep, they can wall-mount or be recessed
into walls, making things easy via key-hole plates
on the rear to mate with wall fixings, and with each
product shipping with a template to assist quick
and accurate marking of fixing positions.
There are three models in the new series, all
passive speakers, each available in white or black
satin finish, and in either vertical or horizontal
configuration the horizontal versions get a C
after the name, indicating their likely use in a
model are said to offer equal performance and are
freely interchangeable, allowing flexibility in the
choice of speaker configuration to suit your room.
So lets meet the family.
HTS7/HTS7C
The smallest of the HTS range is the HTS7,
described as a compact two-way design suitable for
small-to medium sized rooms, and also useful as
a potential surround speaker for any installation.
Measuring 39cm high and 24.5cm wide, and
weighing 8kg each, in this case the speaker is just
125mm deep not including its grille, and as with
all the range it has hidden wall-mounting brackets
and input terminals, so that once mounted (or
even better, recessed), cables can run away out of
www.avhub.com.au
 Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2

ABOVE: a 60-inch TV flanked on three sides by HTS7, with the larger HTS11 and HTC40s shown left to indicate their scale.

ATC and driver development

ATC has been innovating in speaker design for
decades, right back to its breakthrough soft-dome
midrange driver in 1976, an innovative up-scaled
design which became hugely popular in studio
monitoring for its uniform dispersion, wider bandwidth
and much lower distortion than contemporary designs.
Forty years on, the soft-dome midrange is still a
stalwart of ATCs high performance speakers, and
the HTS Series borrows driver technology straight
from ATCs high-end studio monitoring products. So
the current 75mm (three-inch) Soft Dome mid-range
is used in the largest of the HTS models here (the
HTS40 and its HTS40C horizontal version), while the
tweeter used throughout the range, ATCs 25mm Neo
Soft Dome, also shares technology with the midrange
unit. This tweeter uses a unique dual suspension
system which aims to suppress rocking modes even
at high output levels, and a short edge-wound voice
coil in a long narrow magnetic gap to ensure low
distortion throughout its operating band.
The middle size of speaker in the series, the
HTS11, uses one of the companys CLD (Constrained
Layer Damping) bass-mid drivers, while the largest
design, the HTS40 (right), has both the 75mm Soft
Dome midrange driver and a 164mm (6.5-inch)
short-coil/long gap bass driver.

sight, and out of mind. But not out of hearing
the combination of ATCs new SH25-76
tweeter (see panel) and 125mm mid-bass driver
benefit from the natural bass reinforcement and
efficiency of wall positioning to reach down to
44Hz (-6dB point) and up to 22kHz, while ATCs
crossover designs have been completely revised to
deliver a wide and accurate response from on-wall
locations; here the crossover occurs at 2.5kHz
and the HTS7 is quoted as 80 coherent on the
horizontal, 10 vertically.
HTS11/HTS11C
The HTS11 is larger, 49cm by 30.4cm and
weighing 11kg, but still keeping that 125mm
depth for discreet wall mounting or recessing.
Its a two-way design again but benefits from a
larger handmade bass/mid driver, here employing
ATCs CLD (Constrained Layer Damping)
cone technology, the enhanced damping aiming
to reduce harmonic distortion in the critical
midrange while improving frequency response
and also dispersion ATC says it behaves like
a smaller drive unit off-axis rather than losing
its fundamental characteristics. The -6dB point
here is a little lower at 40Hz and the crossover
at 2.2kHz, and ATC lists the HTS11 and 11C
as designs suitable for main loudspeakers in
medium-sized rooms, or as a surround speaker in
medium-large rooms.
HTS40/HTS40C
The top of the HTS Series is a three-way design,
with the same tweeter, but adding the latest
version of ATCs famous soft-dome midrange
unit (see panel), and a proprietary long-throw
bass driver which ATC claims to produce excep-
tional low frequency output and linearity, with
the HTS40s -6dB bass point of 32Hz approach-
ing that of the companys rather larger SCM100
system. Theyre a little deeper at 154mm without
grille, as well as larger, being 74cm high and 38cm
in their vertical orientation. Suitable as main
loudspeakers in larger rooms, and surround too if
you like, they nevertheless achieve a remarkably
discreet visual impact considering the pro-quality
delivery of sound they aim to produce
CONCLUSION
Want some more references? Fox, Abbey Road
and Skywalker Sound all use ATC speakers, and
Dolby Labs uses them for the majority of its
R&D listening labs, and in its VIP listening suite
at its new flagship San Francisco HQ, which
opened in 2015. And if theres one crowning
glory of ATC designs in general which their users
constantly praise, its their ability to deliver high
dynamic range while maintaining low distortion
levels. Indeed ATC itself includes a warning in its
operating instructions for the HTS series as to how
the ear and brain tend to interpret distorted sound
as loudness and thus underestimate the actual level
of undistorted sound. The HTS range of loud-
speakers, like all ATC monitors, demonstrate very
much lower levels of distortion than conventional
systems of a similar size. It is therefore advisable
to begin listening at an artificially low level and
carefully increase the volume. In other words,
they can be so much fun you get carried away.
You have been warned!
ATC Loudspeakers
Home Theatre Series
Prices: HTS7/7C $1050 each, HTS11/11C
$1490 each, HTS40/40C $4490 each
Contact: CDA Pro Audio
Telephone: 02 9330 1750
Email: peter@cda-proaudio.com

69
 LOUDSPEAKERS
B
luesound is one of the best regarded of
the multiroom audio platforms that have
come to the fore in recent years, built
around the concept of networked audio.
Coming from the Lenbrook Group which also
produces NAD, Bluesound was early in focusing
both on high-res audio streaming and on a high-
quality and attractive app to allow easy navigation
of your music collection, as well as online music
services. Bluesound has grown to include wireless
speakers, the usual small zone amp and preamp, a
soundbar and subwoofer, and a useful disc-ripping
NAS drive unit. And Bluesound is now expanding
beyond the ecosystem itself into smart amplifiers
and receivers via a plug-in BluOS module for
certain NAD products. And very interestingly,
DALI speakers has just announced its intention to
bring BluOS into its own active speakers.
EQUIPMENT
Here were looking at the Bluesound Pulse Flex
speakers, which in most cases will be purchased
singly, providing a compact way to bring music
into a medium or small room. These are very
compact speakers, only 183mm tall, 125mm
wide and 100mm deep. Potential wall-mounting
70
ACTIVE STEREO SPEAKERS
BLUESOUND
PULSE FLEX
is aided by the quarter-inch threaded holes at the higher quality if your Android device supports
rear (see below). Each contains a 25mm tweeter it) and these have both analogue stereo and
and 89mm bass driver, and each driver scores optical digital audio inputs on a shared 3.5mm
20W of power. Bluesound specifies the frequency socket. Since 3.5mm optical inputs are relatively
response of each unit as from 45Hz to 20,000Hz. uncommon, Bluesound includes an adaptor for a
Its an irony that as wireless multiroom speakers standard optical plug to work with it.
have got smarter, many of them are delivering There are 3.5mm headphone outputs on each
their streaming music in mono, speaker, but no subwoofer
as does a single Pulse Flex. But output, and as yet we dont
these can also be paired into believe the Bluesound SUB
stereo operation, which not subwoofer can be used
only brings the soundstaging with them, only with the
delights that stereo has given us Bluesound soundbar.
since its invention in the 1930s They appear to be quite
and widespread adoption in the robust, and the grille covering
1960s, but also doubles up the the drivers seems to be metal.
power for your music almost An optional battery pack
without exception, pairing up can be purchased to power a
wireless speakers like this delivers Bluesound Pulse Flex for up
a whole additional level of to eight hours.
performance once in stereo.
In addition to their network PERFORMANCE
functionality (Ethernet or Connecting was straight-
Wi-Fi), all Bluesounds speakers forward, connecting to the
support Bluetooth (with the speaker as our Wi-Fi access
Android-friendly aptX codec for point and then typing in
www.avhub.com.au
 Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2

a pseudo website address which brings

up a configuration menu. That done,
a download of the app the BluOS
Controller got things going. It found
the speakers instantly, and promptly
announced they needed firmware upgrades
and started doing it (without asking).
You can play networked music, but
not in the normal DLNA way of browsing
through folder layers. Instead the app
indexes whatever networked music
shares you point it to, potentially tens of
thousands of tracks, as on our own servers.
This can take a while an hour or so in
our case, after which all our albums were
properly indexed with cover art and so on.
The sound from the paired Flexes
was smooth, balanced and extremely
pleasing from upper bass through to treble
extremes. There wasnt much deep bass,
and even the mid bass seemed a little
recessed, but what was produced was
well-controlled. What really stood out
here, though, was the stereo imaging. Yes,
these are network multiroom speakers, but and you have to make sure your external inputs are CONCLUSION
paired up in stereo they did a remarkable plugged into it. We had a source plugged into the right One of the advantages of wireless multiroom
job, with a distinctly rounded soundstage speaker, but it only showed up after ungrouping the speakers is that its relatively easy to repurpose
and considerable height spread in the speaker pair and selecting the right speaker first. Then them for special occasions. You could use your
instruments. Their time synchronisation group, then play. Success! And how good was the stereo two Pulse Flex speakers in mono separately most
must be excellent. on that, given that one speaker would be decoding the of the time, but bring them together to be paired
Another very welcome thing to note: digital audio, then sending half of it to the other speaker for a bit of critical stereo listening, and with
the system plays back network audio over the network! The sync was seemingly just as good battery operation available, this versatility only
gaplessly, including local MP3 files on as music fed via the network. The image was as precise, increases. Add high-res multiroom in a well-
the iPad Mini 4 and FLAC files on the but the height was a little different higher on the regarded ecosystem, and only a lack of the lowest
network server. soundstage with network than with the optical feed. bass counts against the Flexes.
For a while we thought you couldnt The successful sharing of an external input means
play external music inputs (such as from that these could be used as a stereo pair for TV audio;
the optical input) when the two speakers this would be especially applicable if your TV allows
Bluesound Pulse Flex
were grouped as a stereo pair. The input backwards as well as forwards audio-sync adjustment wireless speakers
simply didnt appear on the list of music (i.e. delaying the video, as can some LG TVs and Oppo
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71
 LOUDSPEAKERS
ACTIVE WIRELESS LOUDSPEAKERS
DALI ZENSOR 1 AX
W
ireless active speakers are currently
one of our favourite breeds of
hi-fi especially when they come
from an established loudspeaker
company. The wireless bit means you can stream
music directly to them in some way (they still
require power cables), while the active bit means
they have their own amplification inside, so you
dont need a hi-fi amplifier to drive them. And that
makes them one of the neatest dcor solutions in
72
home audio music can stream from your smart
device of choice, straight to the speakers. Potentially
no other equipment required. And assuming theres
a suitable input on them, you can also plug your
TV in, and enjoy far better audio than your TV
alone (and if the speakers are good, far better than
most soundbars too).
And DALI is most definitely an established
loudspeaker company. The name may make you
think of extravagant moustaches and melting
timepieces, but in our present context it actually
stands for Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker
Industries, established in, of course, Denmark,
and dating back to 1983.
EQUIPMENT
As often happens with real
loudspeaker companies,
DALIs foray into active
speakers is based heavily on an
existing line of passive speakers,
in this case not surprisingly
called its Zensor range. Thats
a full range, with floorstanders,
compact units and centre
speakers. The Zensor 1 is the
smallest of the range, and
the Zensor 1 AX here is the
powered version of it.
The speakers are marked
Designed and Engineered in
Denmark. Black and walnut
finishes are available, but we had the
white models for review, as in the main image
above, which also shows how they can be easily
wall-mounted. The white vinyl wrap was neatly
finished, with a groove around the edge just behind
the baffle, and forward of that a few millimetres of
edge and the front of the baffle finished in gloss.
Not that youll normally see that, since a grille
sits in front of the baffle, held on four posts. But
it is removable, and to our eyes removing the grille
elevated these speakers from nondescript boxes to
rather elegant transducers (see below left, the black
version)... though thats perhaps because we do like
a fine speaker driver. The DALI units certainly did
look fine with the 25mm soft-dome tweeter centred
in a large aluminium faceplate, and the maroon/
brown cones of the woofers with their hints of
wood fibre seeming decidedly classy.
If youre up for something larger, note that
DALI also does active Zensor 5 AX floorstanding
speakers. Apart from the larger enclosures those add
an additional 133mm mid/bass driver, 10Hz of bass
extension and two decibels of peak output level.
But back to the Zensor 1 AX. Each of the
channels has 50W of power available, from Class D
amplifiers. Both amps are in the left speaker, along
with the input connections and controls.
Those inputs are analogue audio (via a 3.5mm
socket) and optical digital audio. The Bluetooth
connection supports the aptX codec for use with
higher quality with higher-end Android phones.
Apple devices will have to fall back on the basic
SBC codec. Theres also a subwoofer line-level
output, so that the bass of these relatively small
speakers can be supplemented, should you wish.
A compact infrared remote control is included.
The IR receiver is on the baffle to the left of
the drivers on the left speaker. It also carries an
www.avhub.com.au

indicator light which illuminates in four colours,
giving easy visual indication of what input is
selected (once youve memorised them).
The on-enclosure controls are all at the rear (see
below): buttons for cycling through the inputs and
raising or lowering the volume. Using both up and
down volume buttons together activates Bluetooth
pairing. Theres also a hard-wired rocker for power.
But youll generally be using the remote control,
which has direct selection of the input, volume,
mute, power/standby, and a button, again, to
invoke Bluetooth pairing mode.
PERFORMANCE
Setting up was straightforward. Apart from
checking that the analogue connection worked
properly, we mostly used the optical input, feeding
it from a high-quality network audio streamer.
And the Bluetooth connection of course. Note
despite the wirelessness there is a power cable
required to the left speaker and a four-metre cable
to connect the active left speaker to the passive
right speaker; this is of impressive quality and
nicely thick, but slipped easily into the holes in
the binding posts on both ends.
We started with something a little light: the
album La Prima Stavaganza from the Australian
Baroque ensemble Capella Corelli. With a
beautifully restrained harpsichord underpinning,
sometimes leading, the strings and the occasional
recorder, this can break speakers that are
unpleasant in the treble and upper midrange.
But not these, which seemed equally restrained
and smooth, and completely up to the task. Each
note of the harpsichord occupied its own place in
the plane between and around the speakers, with
decent height and fine accuracy, the tune dancing
delightfully from place to place.
Heartened by that, we moved on to the
Schubert String Quintet in C (D.956), performed
by the Australia Ensemble. Weve long had
somewhat of a not love/hate exactly, but love/
meh relationship with this recording. Weve felt
it ought to be great, but somehow it lacked an
attack and energy that would lift it above the
average. But with these speakers, that energy
was brought out in a new way, turning it from
meh back to love.
Sometimes speakers of this kind come with
rather course volume controls, so that the output
level changes three or even four decibels with each
button press. These speakers were nicely fine,
moving by one decibel with each adjustment.


Moving from classical delights to a rawer
pop, we tried Cakes 1996 cover of I Will
Survive. Again, fine tonal control and balance
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The kick drum was well sketched, if not fully
delivered in its fundamentals. The limited stereo
spread of this recording didnt hide the accurate
image placement.
Facts & gures
We thought we might try to get a more objective
sense of the deep bass handling by measuring
the output. Close miked, the output from the
woofer (top graph) was flat in the mid and upper
bass, and turned downwards starting around
110Hz to be down six decibels at around 90Hz.
But of course the bass reflex port pitched in. Its
output (bottom graph) was even from 45 to 70Hz
with a symmetrical roll-off on both sides of the
peak, down by 6dB at 37Hz and 10dB at 28Hz.
But it didnt sound as extended as that. So
we doubted our technique (which uses pink
noise), thinking that perhaps we were merely
measuring spurious noise from the port. We
repeated the measurement with a sine wave
sweep so we could be certain we were getting
signal. And we were. This gave broadly similar
results. We think that, perhaps, when played at
higher levels (as, we confess, is our wont) the
electronics limit the bass output to prevent the
system from being overdriven, something that
didnt apply at the measured lower level.
The subwoofer output appears to have a
gentle six-decibels-per-octave low-pass filter
We then had lots of fun with the live 1987
recording of the Capp/Pierce Juggernaut Live
at the Alley Cat. The big band wasnt too big
for these speakers and the rhythmic brass blasts
provided plenty of energy. Guest singer Ernestine
Andersons voice was somewhat emphasised in the
upper harmonics, but otherwise the performance
was exemplary.
Moving over the Alice Coopers Billion Dollar
Babies, delivered at 96kHz and 24 bits to the
optical input, the track Generation Landslide was
delivered with a touch of zing, again suggesting
a high-end boost. The kick drum was again
sufficiently well sketched out to give a solid sense
of the whole rhythm section. Imaging, again,
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
20Hz 50 100 300
20Hz 50 100 300
in place, with a shoulder at 70Hz. If you use a
subwoofer and it has its own filter, wed suggest
turning it up to the maximum setting to reduce
possible interactions between the two, or even
better, use an unfiltered input.
was excellent. Despite the strong bass, we felt a
slight hollowness in the middle, and since wed
installed the speakers well out from the rear wall,
we experimented with this positioning and found
a noticeable balancing with the speakers pushed
back to within 20-30cm of the wall.
The specs suggest that the optical input is
only good for 96kHz. Yet it somehow coped with
some Art Blakey at 192kHz..
CONCLUSION
The DALI Zensor 1 AX speakers are fine little units
that give an outsized performance, and work
particularly well with classical music. Just get them
in a bit closer to the rear wall for rock and roll.
DALI Zensor 1 AX
active stereo speakers
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73
 LOUDSPEAKERS
ACTIVE STEREO SPEAKERS
DYNAUDIO
FOCUS 20 XD
T
he review preceding this one shows
how wireless active speakers have a
good case for being the neatest solution
in hi-fi, and potentially AV too send
your music to them wirelessly, plug in your TV,
no amp required you could potentially have no
equipment on display except your speakers.
You might think such simplicity would
limit this idea more to the mass market than to
those seeking the best in hi-fi reproduction. But
Dynaudio clearly thinks differently. It has been
working for some years on active speakers that are
able to work not only in a wireless environment
but in multiroom modes as well. One of its latest
and surely most attractive solutions is the Focus
20 XD. To these you can attach inputs directly,
or you can add an additional unit which will then
deliver multiple inputs to them wirelessly.
EQUIPMENT
Now then, if the only thing youll be having on
display is your loudspeakers, they might as well
look as good as possible, eh? The Focus 20 XD
standmounters look so very very good that we were
in danger of having our listening notes biased by
their sheer loveliness. Its quite a long time since
74
weve seen such a glorious finish on a loudspeaker. If you have two equally capable loudspeakers,
Does it sound good? Hell, you imagine it just has each with its own amplifier, how does one split
to when it looks that good. an analogue or digital signal between the two?
It was the finish, you see. There was a deep With these speakers, if you choose to use the
lustre to the gorgeous wood grain of the cabinets digital connection (coaxial only; for optical youll
as we pulled them from their cloth bags piano need the additional unit), the master speakers will
gloss. Yet these speakers, so their label claims, were split off the second channel and communicate it
built in Denmark itself, from where the brand wirelessly to the other speaker. That only works
hails, not from some low labour-cost nation. Such with signals of up to 96kHz. If you want to go
work goes some way towards explaining their cost. even higher in
They came in two separate cartons, so that resolution to
we wondered if they might be quite independent 192kHz you
speakers, paired as you wish. But no one was will need to
labelled Right, the other Left. And they connect connect the two
with each other wirelessly when powered up, using speakers together
some wireless system of Dynaudios devising. by a cable to
They employ Dynaudios own drivers as carry the digital
well, with a 25mm soft-dome tweeter in each, audio signal.
and a 170mm woofer in each cabinet. And each Either speaker
driver not each speaker, but each tweeter and can be set to
each woofer gets its own 150W amplifier. master or slave,
That allows for active crossovers, of course, and so you can
gives Dynaudio tremendous ability to control use either left
performance. There are controls on the back to or right for
slightly trim the tweeter level and adjust the bass your source
output for different room placements. connection.
www.avhub.com.au

The tweeter face-plate is wide, and the
screw heads securing both of the drivers
are exposed. We think the result is pretty
enough to be left exposed, without the
magnetically-secured black cloth grilles.
If youre feeding an analogue signal,
youll have to use a split cable and plug
the relevant channel cable into the
matching speakers separately. Things are
made far more versatile, and wireless,
and potentially multiroom by using the
optional Dynaudio Connect box (see
right). The remote control with the Focus
speakers uses about half its keys to operate
the speakers and the rest for the extension
devices, such as the Connect box.
PERFORMANCE
Connecting up really was super simple,
although you only get a quick start guide
in the box and you simply must download
the full guide to understand the meaning
of the indicator lights and such.
We used the coax digital input signal
on the speakers. It turns out even without
the link between them, the Focus 20 XDs
work with 24-bit/192kHz PCM inputs.
Presumably it just downsamples it on the
fly before wirelessly transmitting it from
one to the other speaker.
With a system with such as this, one of
the main worries is synchronisation, and
timing between the speakers. And the best
way to assess that is to check out the stereo
imaging, which will collapse if theres
anything less than near-perfect synch-
ronisation. Playing (digitally, of course)
the 2006 album Mercury by the Alister
Spence Trio (wonderfully realised jazz
Facts & gures
Again we performed some
measurements with the
Dynaudios, in this case to
confirm the excellent sounds that
we were hearing. The close-miked
output from the bass driver (top
graph) showed a smooth bass
end, diminishing very gradually
as the frequency descended from
100Hz to be down by a mere
three decibels at 62Hz. But of


course the bass reflex port has
its contribution to make. So what
did it do? Again measured close,
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flat from 30Hz to 70Hz (bottom
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point was at 28Hz and minus ten
decibels at 26Hz. It goes to show
what a well-engineered compact
speaker can achieve, while
also benefiting from the tighter
sounds standmounts can deliver.
that is original, yet accessible), it was
instantly obvious that not all the price
of admission went into the spectacular
finish on the speakers. These are truly
first-class high-fidelity loudspeakers
even with their wireless intercon-
nection. The imaging was spacious yet
precise, three dimensional and lifelike.
So, so, very good.
As was tonal balance and dynamic
liveliness. Dynaudio speakers always
stand out in their reproduction of
percussion. With the jazz it was just
as expected, but turning to something
more primal, Rage Against the
Machines self-titled album, they
delivered a real punch, a viscerally
hard feel of honest-to-goodness uncon-
strained kick-drum work. We turned
it up, and up, and up, to seeming
rock concert levels (it wasnt really, but
it seemed like it). Yet the sound was
absolutely undistorted. Damn it, very
nearly absolutely perfect.
While we didnt use the Connect
box in this review, we have done so
with these speakers predecessors, the
Focus 200 XDs, and our panel (right)
is based on that experience.
CONCLUSION
For all but the simplest system, we do
recommend adding the Connect box
to the Focus 20 XD pairing. That way
youll have plenty of inputs, wireless
neatness, Bluetooth convenience
and a gorgeous pair of active speakers
on the end of it, delivering superb
sound quality.
20Hz 50 100
20Hz 50 100
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
Dynaudio Connect wireless and multiroom
If youre happy with a simple system of one or two sources
connected directly to the Focus 20 XDs, all well and good.
But things are made much more versatile by adding one of
Dynaudios hub units, such as the Connect pictured here.
This adds (see back panel below) one minijack and one
RCA pair of analogue inputs, plus three digital inputs
optical, coaxial and USB from a computer. This last uses a
micro-USB socket; an adapter is supplied with the Connect.
But theres more. The Connect is a networking device,
able to connect to your home Wi-Fi network and thereby to the
internet, bringing Spotify Connect and DLNA streaming. Theres
also Bluetooth Dynaudio has a Xeo range of active speakers
which have Bluetooth built in, but its a useful addition to the
Focus XD range, since any app source on a smart device can
then be played through the Connect and on to the Focus XDs.
Bluetooth includes the near-CD quality aptX codec for
Android phones which support it; Apple devices will stream at
256k AAC; non-aptX Android will default to the SBC codec. The
optical and coaxial digital inputs accept up to 24-bit/192kHz
signals, but the connection to the speakers is made at
24-bit/96kHz, also the maximum available from the USB input.
But thats if youre using only one pair of speakers.
Underneath the Connect is a little DIP switch to select
multiroom operation, and doing so limits transmission to CD
quality. So in multiroom mode, high-res playback is currently
supported only from local inputs to the speakers themselves.
The Dynaudio Connect sells for $799.
Dynaudio Focus 20 XD
active stereo speakers
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75
 Australias number one guide to all things
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 Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2

LOUDSPEAKERS

STEREO LOUDSPEAKERS

KRIX
ESOTERIX

W
ere delighted to bring you a
magazine exclusive here, on
this entirely new loudspeaker
design from South Australias
Krix Loudspeakers. Krix is a company which
any Australian with an interest in hi-fi and AV
will likely know and respect. Since 1974 Scott
Krix has been designing and selling loudspeakers
first for stereo, then for real cinemas and, by
obvious extension, later for home cinemas. But
the company contains more Krixes than Scott,
with brothers Ashley, Brett, Kingsley and Gary
all joining the company over its first decades, and
the company now selling its speakers not only
in Australia but internationally, while its cinema
division undertakes installations in 30 countries
worldwide, estimating that 60% of Australian
cinemas uses Krix products.
THE RETURN OF TWO-CHANNEL
Krix had noted that sales of two-channel stereo
systems have dramatically increased in recent
years, with the resurgence in vinyl records along
with developments in high-resolution digital, and
the increasing availability of higher-quality music
from streaming services.
While Krixs existing home ranges of speakers
are designed for both stereo and multi-channel
surround use, the company decided to develop a
dedicated two-channel speaker that would deliver
the full experience that good stereo can offer.
For this it has resurrected the Esoterix name
for this model last used some 15 years ago for
its then flagship floorstander model. But this new
model is a standmount design, with Krix paying
particular attention to imaging and directivity
behaviour, to ensure that an accurate stereo image
is rendered when listening in normal living room
conditions. An internally cross-braced, fully-
mitred cabinet provides a streamlined look but
also results in a very rigid, low resonance speaker
enclosure. Combine that with high quality drivers
and crossover components, along with a uniquely
designed waveguide to maintain control of
directivity across the entire frequency range, and
Krix promises that the end result is a refined and
detailed speaker that delivers a soundstage much
bigger than you would expect from a speaker of
its size.
DRIVERS & WAVEGUIDE
The Krix engineering team decided to use the
same Revelator tweeter that was used in its limited
edition 40th Anniversary Neuphonix speaker
released in 2014. Manufactured in Europe, this
Scan-Speak tweeter uses a ring radiator design,
coupled with a patented phase plug, while a large
neodymium magnet and other design enhance-
ments deliver reduced distortion and power
compression. The resulting high sensitivity driver

77
LOUDSPEAKERS
delivers exceptional performance though Krix tweeter. As
set out to improve on this, as well see. the Krix
The 165mm (6.5-inch) bass /mid driver utilises
similarly leading-edge transducer technology,
highlighted by an innovative cast aluminum basket,
which minimises acoustic reflections inside the
driver through large basket windows and sculpted
basket struts. This stylish basket design also
improves power handling capacity by acting as a
highly coupled heat sink for the large neodymium-
iron-boron magnet.
The cone and dust cap are pressed from a
natural wood-fibre material, with a proprietary
coating added to improve clarity and frequency
response. A titanium voice-coil bobbin with copper
caps, minimising voice coil inductance, completes
this cutting-edge design.
But the most unusual aspect to the new Esoterix
design is perhaps that waveguide around the
78
design
team set
out to
achieve a
significant
leap in stereo
performance,
it of course inves-
tigated each element
of the loudspeaker design
improved drivers, more advanced cabinets,
higher quality crossover components and so on.
But it decided that the way the speakers interact for two-channel listening. The purpose of the
with the listening room should also be improved, waveguide is to adjust the balance of the direct
and so building on its wealth of experience in the and reflected mid and low treble in the room by
cinema industry, the team embarked on developing controlling the directivity of the sound radiated at
a high-frequency waveguide specifically engineered those frequencies. By projecting more of the sound
www.avhub.com.au

forward, and away from the ceiling and side walls,
improvements in stereo imaging and definition
could be realised without comprising the open and
sweet sound a true hi-fi speaker can deliver.
The focusing effect of the waveguide also
has the added benefit of raising the apparent
sensitivity of the tweeter. Krix tells us that
loudspeakers which rate highly in double-blind
listening tests often have frequency responses
which are smooth on-axis and off-axis, and show
a gradual fall off in frequency response at high
frequencies. Whereas classic two-way designs can
compromise directivity the sound from the
woofer often becomes too narrow as it rolls off
just below the crossover frequency, and the sound
from the tweeter is too wide as it rolls on. The
result is a hole in the off-axis response, and the
sound radiated on to the side walls of the listening
room is coloured. A waveguide on the tweeter can
control the tweeter sound, delivering a narrower
angle of coverage and so reducing sound radiated
onto the side walls of the room. The result
a more uniform off-axis frequency response.
Given that Krix is renowned for its waveguide
expertise, as used in its commercial cinema
speakers and in designs for home theatre,
including the recent MX series, the team set out to
leverage this existing technology, using computer
simulation to optimise the throat size and
contours of the waveguide for the best possible
control of directivity. After a series of prototypes,
the final waveguide design was locked in.
But a waveguide also increases the apparent
sensitivity of the tweeter within. The tweeter
normally has a sensitivity advantage of around 3dB
(1.4 times) over the bass driver; the waveguide
can raise that approximately 12dB (3.9 times).
So the tweeters sensitivity is generally padded
down in the crossover network to match the
acoustic output of the bass driver at the crossover
point, reducing the actual applied signal level
at the tweeters terminals. That has a secondary
advantage, since distortion increases with the
applied input level so reducing the level to the
tweeter is likely to dramatically reduce unwanted
distortion from the tweeter, especially at higher
volume levels. Reduced distortion plus controlled
directivity Krix reckons the waveguide thereby
delivers a clearer, larger listening experience than
would otherwise be expected from a bookshelf
loudspeaker of this size.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
The cabinet for the Esoterix is a bass reflex design
tuned to a resonant frequency of 45Hz, to take
best advantage of the bass drivers extended
range. The cabinet has been shaped to minimise
standing waves, with internal damping to absorb
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
sound energy within, and the vent positioned
at the kick-up towards the rear of the enclosure
see above, where you can also see the bi-wire
gold-plated brass terminals for positive connections,
allowing the user to bi-amp or bi-wire the unit for
improved performance.
The baffle of the new Esoterix is angled at 7.5
degrees, allowing the waveguide to protrude this
time-aligns the two drivers while also creating what
is obviously a novel design feature. Krix explains
that it expects the speakers to be potentially located
on low-line cabinets or below seated ear level, while
the optional stands for the Esoterix take the baffle
slant into account and will be ideal for a listener
seated between two and four metres from the
speaker. A magnetic grille will be available which
Krix says will float over the bass driver.
The finish continues Krixs flagship model
styling of a timber veneer enclosure with a black
satin front baffle striking yet approachable says
the company of this combination. The Esoterix will
be made in Australia at Krixs manufacturing plant
south of Adelaide, so it will be able to offer a variety
of finishes including the option of custom veneers.
The Esoterix makes its first public outing
at The Australian Hi-Fi & AV Show in Sydney
shortly after this magazine publishes thereafter
it will begin making its way to Krix dealers
nationally as the latest example of Australian
loudspeaker design at its best.
Krix Esoterix
stereo loudspeakers
Price: $6500 (pair)
Dedicated stands will be available as a option.
Dimensions (whd): 260 390 380mm
Contact: Krix Loudspeakers
Telephone: 08 8384 3433
Web: www.krix.com.au
79
H
eres another solution just begging
to beat soundbars at their TV
audio game, while also looking, to
our eyes, not only neater than any
soundbar but also a darned sight classier. The
Triangle Elara LN01A loudspeakers are active, so
they need no external amplifier, and they have
Bluetooth onboard, so you can stream directly
to them. And that might be all you need for a
phone-based music system. But take a look round
the back not only analogue and digital inputs
suitable for plugging in TV audio, but whats this?
A set of phono inputs for a turntable, along with a
substantial grounding post. We say hooray!
EQUIPMENT
More to the point, these inputs come on the
back of a very nice little pair of loudspeakers.
Theyre a French design, the smallest model from
Triangles Elara loudspeaker range, but fitted
with a 50W-per-channel amplifier and relevant
electronics inside the right speaker. So far, the
LN01A is the only active model in the range.
These mid-sized bookshelfers use a 25mm
silk-dome tweeter with neodymium magnet, and
a 135mm bass driver with a treated paper cone...
or not quite a cone, it presents a concave spherical
section to the world. Triangle says that avoiding a
dust cap in this way increases the drivers rigidity
80
and efficiency. The bass reflex port is at the rear, to be any filtering on this output, so youd do best
and the enclosures are available in black or white. with a subwoofer that has its own low-pass filter.
The grilles are removable, and we preferred their You will typically control everything using the
looks as well as sound that way. supplied remote control, but there is a volume
That phono input can be switched to a control on the rear of the right speaker. It doubles
line-level input using a slider on the back (see as an input selector (you press it to cycle through
right). Theres also a the inputs).
permanent line-level input A bright light with
(via 3.5mm minijack), plus sufficient intensity to push
optical and coaxial digital the photons through the
audio inputs, and Bluetooth, grille cloth is located to the
with support for the aptX bottom left of the main
codec. That means the driver, indicating that power
Bluetooth is kind to those is on. Its green in most
Android phones which circumstances, but blue when
support aptX, though less so Bluetooth is in use.
to iPhones which will have
to fall back on the lower PERFORMANCE
quality SBC codec. With the It was a genuine pleasure
amplifier and electronics in using these speakers. They
the right speaker, the passive were trouble-free in operation
left speaker is connected via and sounded delightfully
a supplied three-metre cable. smooth, including with
Not happy with digital audio inputs. We
the claimed 50Hz bass spent quite a bit of time just
extension? Then add an enjoying some vinyl, taking
active subwoofer to the the opportunity to pull out
system using the dedicated some discs which apparently
output. There didnt appear never made it to CD or other
www.avhub.com.au
 Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2

We thoroughly enjoyed
these fine little speakers,
then, with their excellent set
of inputs for versatility,
and truly hi-fi performance
available from them.

digital formats, such as Cha by Jo Jo Zep, a wonderfully irreverant

recording featuring a great mix of voices and instruments with
big band, jazz and pop influences. It was nicely rendered by these
speakers, with the kind of dynamic delivery needed to fully convey
the delight of the performers.
Princes album 1999 (a new pressing) was delivered with a tight
bass control and timing fitting for both his musicianship and crafts-
manship. Surface noise wasnt unduly emphasised, though of course
inevitable with vinyl. The inner tracks of Laura Marlings Short
Movie were still marred with defects (as they were when brand new
last year) but tolerable.
Which led us to going digital and Marlings latest, the brand-new
Semper Femina, played from Spotify, using a Denon streamer
connected via optical to the speakers. Marling, it turns out, is getting
better all the time. Her characteristic vocal, close-miked and pushed
near to overload, sounded as immediate and with as much presence
as on our regular much more expensive reference system. As usual,
her voice verges on sibilance in some songs, but these speakers held
it just the right side of being objectionable.
Switching over to Bluetooth, while remaining in Spotify, we
continued listening with the music now being delivered by a
Samsung Galaxy S7 (with aptX) via Bluetooth. There was a slight
degradation, to be sure, essentially a harshening and a slight loss of
imaging focus, but the delivery was still musical and pleasing.
Switching to high-quality FLAC, decoded to PCM and delivered
again by the Denon streamer, we played some UB40 to check out
ABOVE: And theres more
the bass. The extension and control of the bass line on Madam Triangle has just created a
Medusa completed the music. It actually seemed fully realised, and package in which you get the
Triangle Elara LN01A
felt like it extended beyond the 50Hz bottom-end indicated in the LN01A speakers along with active speakers
specifications (which some measurements later indicated that it did.) the pictured turntable ready
The optical digital audio input happily accepted 24-bit/192kHz to plug straight in to its phono r
Excellent high fidelity sound
stereo PCM when tested, so you can freely run your high definition inputs. The turntable is badged r
Very good imaging
to Triangle but we gather its a r
Phono input!
audio into here.
Pro-Ject underneath, and the
The remote offers useful treble and bass controls on the remote, package will have an Australian r
No marked centres for tone controls
though a clear indication of the centre position would have been RRP of $1499. The result is a
useful. The volume control changed the level by a little over a vinyl system ready to play, with Price: $1199
decibel on each press. Bluetooth available for
streaming, and with inputs Drivers: 1 x 25mm silk-dome tweeter,
enough to handle your TV audio 1 x 135mm woofer
CONCLUSION too a powerful combination. Power output: 50W
We thoroughly enjoyed these fine little speakers, then, with their Frequency response: 56-20,000Hz 3dB
excellent set of inputs for versatility, and truly hi-fi performance Inputs: 1 x analogue minijack, 1 x analogue
available from them. But theres more Triangle has just released a RCA pair (can be phono/line), 1 x optical
digital, 1 x coaxial
package in which you get the LN01A speakers along with a turntable
Output: 1 x subwoofer output,
ready to plug straight into its phono inputs. The turntable is badged speaker-to-speaker connections
to Triangle but we gather its a Pro-Ject underneath, and the package Dimensions (hwd): 291 x 165 x 291mm
will have an Australian RRP of $1499, making the turntable quite Weight (left/right): 4.5kg/5.05kg
the bargain add-on. The result is a vinyl system ready to play, with Warranty: Two years
Bluetooth available for streaming, and with inputs enough to handle Contact: Audio Marketing
your TV audio a powerful combination for todays preferences. Telephone: 02 9882 3877
Web: www.audiomarketing.com.au

81

TVs/PROJECTORS
OLED UHD TELEVISION
PANASONIC
OLED TVs
H
ave you sat yourself in front of an
OLED television yet? Preferably in a
real room rather than an open shop
floor? The difference delivered by
OLED screen technology is a real wow moment.
With OLED, the pixels shine from the front
of the screen itself (rather than through little
holes from a backlight, as with LCD televisions),
and when a pixel turns off, it is absolutely off,
completely black. And those blacks make colours
and contrast wonderfully vibrant. OLED has
become the cream of high-end televisions.
LG has dominated the first years of OLED,
because its display division, LG.Display, has the
only fabrication plant yet capable of making
OLED panels in larger TV sizes. But other
companies are now taking those panels and adding
their own expertise to get the very best out of their
performance. And who knows more about TV
display performance than perhaps anyone else?
Step forward Panasonic.
FROM PLASMA TO OLED
For those who have forgotten the heyday of
plasma, Panasonic took over the mantle of plasma
leadership from Pioneer when that company
stopped making its still legendary Kuro televisions.
The key Kuro engineering team joined Panasonic
and, presumably, is now applied to the OLED
models, where their experience with detailing in
the blacks will be particularly relevant.
As I understand it there is a deeper relation-
ship between LG.Display and Panasonic above
82
the transactional one of buying panels, says Paul
Gray from research company IHS Markit. So
part of the deal is that they like Panasonic because
Panasonic asks them to do difficult things, and
they learn things from them. And I think that
has helped both Panasonic with OLED but also
LG.Display and indeed LG Electronics with
better performing OLED, especially at the black
level, with all that shadow detail. I think thats got
Panasonics thumbprints all over it.
Panasonic Australias Doug Campbell made a
similar point at the Sydney launch of the new TVs.
Panasonic OLED TVs take OLEDs unique
qualities and add a powerful mix of hardware and
software innovations born from our decades of
experience in developing TV technology, as well as
a 20-year collaboration with Hollywood, he told
Best Buys Audio & AV at the launch.
The two Panasonic OLED Series for Australia
are the EZ1000, described by Campbell as the
flagship Master OLED, the absolute best, and
also the EZ950 Series (pictured above), a great
balance of picture quality and design.
The 65-inch EZ1000 is priced at $8899, with
a 77-inch giant to follow in November, price
not yet determined. The EZ950 OLEDs are in
65-inch and 55-inch models at $4999 and $7199
respectively. Panasonics 2017 campaign will
market these top-tier TV models under the banner
of Extraordinary perfected.
The leading tech for the OLED Series is 4K
Pro HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology,
described as the brain behind the EZ1000 and
Best Buys Audio & AV 2017-#2
EZ950 OLED TVs, but really an umbrella name
for three key capabilities:
t
the Studio Colour HCX2 (Hollywood Cinema
Experience 2) 4K Processor, which aims to
control the accuracy of colours, clarity and
gradation-to-black levels at a pixel-by-pixel
level, including processing previously only used
in pro monitors, we were told;
t
HEXA Chroma Drive 4K Pro, pro-quality
colour management technology which interest-
ingly incorporates 6-colour reproduction, with
C, M and Y added to RGB, something that
merits further investigation, since presumably
this doesnt operate at the pixel level, rather
through definition of colours and their
subsequent delivery; and
t
Hollywood tuning a Hollywood colourist
has tuned the TVs for an accurate cinema
experience.
Panasonics range-topper has a soundbar
attached to the TV itself. While this delivers much
better sound than would a normal TV speaker
squeezed into such a slender frame, we cant help
thinking that such a premium TV deserves a great
sound system such as the many options packed
into this issue of Best Buys Audio & AV.
Panasonic OLED TV
Contact: Panasonic Australia
Telephone: 132 600
Web: www.panasonic.com.au
www.avhub.com.au
 SAVE IT ALL!
STORE IT ALL!
SERVE IT ALL!
ZAPPITI NAS:
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IN ENTERTAINMENT
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