Marantzs' AirPlay enabled NA7004 streamer.

AktiMate Mico - award winning, and at $385pr excellent value.

NAD Viso 1 - NAD's challenge 'Find a better smart music streaming dock.'

Focals' stunning Little Bird shelf system.

Finally – while on the subject of wireless devices there is a tremendous amount of press coming from overseas regarding Focals’ Bird system. This is in reality a simple inexpensive shelf system comprising of speakers (which is what Focal is famous for), amplifier, a built-in (and ingenious) subwoofer and a tuner. It has both digital and analogue inputs, and streams wirelessly from you computer or iDevice.
There are three variations and the least expensive sells for $1,199, so I was surprised to see a review in this industries bible, The Absolute Sound (they usually confine themselves to products we can only dream about.) Even more surprising was their comment ‘To hear the Bird system is to experience a certain amount of audiophile-grade shock and awe’.
While the Focal Bird system may not be a hi-end audiophile product (despite the lavish praise offered by The Absolute Sound) it really does set a very high bar for anyone looking for a small, compact, affordable system.

NAD describe their latest offering as “a gateway to your digital music sources and to the world’s best radio”. They’re not claiming that the C446 ($899) is the world’s best radio, although it is awfully good, but through it you can access thousands of internet radio stations and get any sort of music program you want to hear. What’s on offer that way now is amazing – so many different style and sub-genres are there now – everyone is catered for.

It has the usual FM/AM and also DAB+. It can stream your own music collection from its hard drive storage on your network via either wireless or wired network connection. It is compliant with the modern standards for digital networking like DLNA and UPnP. You can even play from a USB input.

The onboard processing is an audiophile quality 24bit/192kHz DAC feeding high performance analogue circuits to give you maximum realism in playback. The radio circuits are of a standard above broadcast quality, ensuring the best from those AM and FM sections as well. AM and FM can even be output as a digital signal via back panel connections (see below).

You can browse and select music on the C446 via iPhone, iPad, Android devices or PCs using Windows 7. It supports all the popular digital formats: MP3, FLAC, WMA, WAV, and AAC

On the back panel you’ll find connections for AM and FM antennas, Wifi, Ethernet, analogue audio out, optical digital out, RS232 and 12v trigger for custom controls.

The appearance of this device at $899 is very competitive, some $600 under the nearest equivalent at the time of writing. It is a type of tuner that we expect to see more of in the coming years, but for now it has an open road to scoop up lots of sales!

The C356BEE is built to NAD’s Modular Design Construction (MDC) standard, enabling the modification of specific functional areas over time. For starters you can add the PP375 phono stage if you want to use a turntable. Improved speaker binding posts provide for two pairs of speakers – with remote switching.

Low distortion and good honest power ratings (80w x 2) as is usual with NAD ensure that you can extract the maximum musical quality from your system without spending an exorbitant amount of cash to do so. Standby power is a mere 0.5w, but when it’s fired up the perceived power output is way higher than the rating indicates. NAD’s Full Disclosure Power Ratings make sure they are conservative in this regard, unlike some!

A limited number have just come into stock (in black only) and they are selling for $899.

Yamaha have plugged the gap in their player lineup with the new BD-S667 Blu-ray player that gives a host of features and quality for a very reasonable price. It’s networked and DLNA compliant so you can bring video, photos and music files from elsewhere on your network to playback through this player. It also has a USB connection to assist in efficient use of the BD Live feature. You only have to download the BD Live material once, and the player can thereafter access it from the USB key.

The back panel sockets include HDMI, Component Video, Optical & Coaxial digital audio, stereo analogue audio, remote, USB and Ethernet.

There is no doubt that NAD would always be one of the first (if not the only) product you would think of when considering a good quality, yet affordable, Hi-Fi component. This new pricing simply re-enforces their position.

There are too many changes to list here, but for example:
· C165BEE Pre-amplifier. $1,199.(Previously$1,499)
· C275BEE power amp. $1,499.(Previously $1,899)
· C326BEE Integrated amplifier. $599. (Previously $749)
· C355BEE Integrated amplifier. $899. (Previously $1,099)
· C375BEE Integrated amplifier. $1,699. (Previously $2,199)
· C515BEE CD Player. $399. (Previously $449)
· C545BEE CD Player. $599. (Previously $749)
· C565BEE CD Player. $899. (Previously $1,099)
· C725BEE Receiver. $999. (Previously $1,199)
· VisoTwo DVD/Stereo Receiver $1,299.(Previously $1,699)
· VisoFive DVD/Surround Receiver $1,499.(Previously $2,199)

They have also announced some very good Home Theatre specials:
· T737 A/V Receiver with the T557 Blu-ray player. Retails for $2,098, but we are now offering this combination for $1,398.00
· T775HD A/V Receiver again with the T557 Blu-ray. Retails for $4,998, but we are offering this for $3,598.00.

We have taken this opportunity to create a couple of very good, well priced Hi-Fi packages based on NAD electronics and Focal speakers. These packages are:

· Great Start Package:
NAD C326BEE amplifier
NAD C515BEE CD player
Focal Chorus 705v bookshelf speakers.
Package price $1,599 (initially $1,897)

· Performance Plus Package:
NAD C355BEE amplifier
NAD C545 CD player
Focal Chorus 716v floorstanding speakers.
Package price $2,995 (initially $4,047.)

NAD have even gone further and published their true power ratings – even for their range of Home Theatre receivers. This is a brave – but honest – move. Home Theatre specifications are almost totally fictitious these days. When testing the power output of their A/V receivers many (most?) A/V companies test the power output of one channel only into a stable restive load for a very short period. The resulting figure is then applied to all channels. Speakers are never a stable restive load, and nobody ever runs their Home Theatre system by listening to one channel only! I have seen reviews where receivers have been placed in real life situations and their output can be as low as 38% of the rated output. One company recently made a big feature of the fact that they would guarantee that their A/V receivers were are least 80% of the rated power under real life situations. Given the current situation this is an impressive claim – but whatever happened to 100% (or honesty in advertising)?

Why is this a brave move for NAD? Because if they are honest in their specifications then they will not (and do not) compete on paper. If you were to compare the written specifications only you would never purchase a NAD A/V receiver. However we are happy to demonstrate that there are very few A/V receivers on the market today that will outperform NAD in terms of musicality, dynamics and even output.

When purchasing any audio component be very wary of specifications. Maybe one day this industry will formulate some accurate guidelines which everyone will follow. Until this happens – trust your ears and listen.

There was a system review in the January edition which caught my eye. Some of the comments on the system were “Poor dynamics, coloured, a bit anaemic at times,….” “Horrible hard strident and very fatiguing. Some of the more complex classical passages were completely lost on this system and you could not follow it.” Hardly flattering.

Yet – as the Club President and newsletter editor, John Vandyke, points out – each of the components in the system have been individually reviewed in glowing terms, and he believes that the findings are the result of poor system matching.

Everyone involved in the audio industry is aware of the importance of component matching in a system. A combination of very fine individual components does not guarantee a satisfactory result. However if the components ‘gel’ it can sound marvelous, and not necessarily be expensive. A classic example is the combination of the Marantz PM5003 amplifier and CD5003 CD player with the Focal Chorus 714 floorstanding speakers. This combination sells for less than $3,000 and if you are in the market for an excellent sounding, low cost system this would be a great start.

However it is a slightly more expensive combination that has really caught out attention. It is centered on the recently released Musical Fidelity A1 amplifier – which is a re-release of the famous A1 of 15 years ago, and one of the most musical sounding amps I have heard in a long time. The combination of this amplifier, the NAD C565Bee CD player and a pair of B&W 805 speakers (on good stands) is superb. It is one of the most enjoyable systems I have heard in decades, and considering it sells for around $9,000 with stands is tremendous value – I have heard many systems, costing many times this amount, which has not given me the enjoyment of this combination.

When it comes time to put together a quality component system it is essential that you listen to the combination. If this – for whatever reason – is not possible, you will need to rely on the advice of experienced listeners or good dealer (hopefully us). Like the Sydney Audio Club, your local dealer spends a considerable amount of their time listening to various combinations of equipment – some work, some don’t. But by consulting an experienced dealer at least you get the opportunity to find out.

If you would like some more information on the Sydney Audio Club go to www.sydneyaudioclub.org.au or email them on sydneyaudioclub@optusnet.com.au.