Cranage Show 2022

[Faustusg]

Any idea what model they were Steve and who was using them? It's quite rare to see them in the UK.

Grande Avant Garde?

 

[Bourney]

It was the tapered model with the bass driver at low level. I get the feeling he was the UK agent.

 

[Maverick]

The new KEF actives were excellent. As were the Alchris (Alan Clark) stand mounts

 

[myrman]

Grande Avant Garde?

Thanks that's them. I have a pair of the standard Avant Gardes. Lovely speakers.

Does anyone know who was running that room?

 

[bencat]

Well had a nice day out enjoyed being in and around the show . Yet another show with tragic intertnet connections for the exhibitors with almost all of them having no access for streaming and while they would play a CD they would not play any digital files of usb sticks for perfectly reasonable reasons. What this resulted in was then a limited range of music and often it was hard to get them to play something you really knew and could relate to . Too often the rooms had plinky plonky music playing by no one i had ever heard and no one I was even remotely impressed with to even ask who it was . Or it was all simple vocal and acoustic instrument numbers to ensure that the system was never stressed .

I then had my own hang up which is I can now no longer listen to Vinyl for more than one or two minutes before all the issues I had with it start to surface again and I stop listening to the music and listen to the medium . In any room with Vinyl as the source I just left as soon as i saw it as no real point for . Lots as always were probably feeling the same about any of the rooms with digital sources . I know it is my issue but it would have been nice if most had alternative sources and split them through the day .

Right best sound for of the show was the Auralic room with one of their streamers / servers and a pair of ATC Active A40 nothing else just those two . Sound was very good indeed and was one I could have lived with quite happily . Listened to Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath and enjoyed the drift in to the past not the very best recording but a grin inducing tune with nodding of the heads at the right points . They played straight after that Country Road by Olivia Newton John which was a very different segway but the system still sounded good and I listened on two vists to at least five or six pieces and enjoyed them the best.

Best music of the show by for me at least a very large margin was Moor Amplifiers

https://mooramps.co.uk/
The reason for this was the lack of any internet and they had to use a personal collection on a thumb drive which was about 2/5 hours of the amp designers personal music choice . So we got some Dire Straits , XTC , Bob Marley , Ian Dury and Blockheads , London Grammar , Level 42 and well you get the idea music that many of us might well play and the result was fun and relaxing and I fully enjoyed my time there chatting and poking a little fun at the largest Angel 6 Amp (as I explained me moaning about the size was a bit rich as I own a Croft OTL 3 and a Krell KSA50 neither of which is bijou) . All taken in good part and did not even throw me out when I started singing which is more than can be said for my wife Linda .

So while the show was fun and enjoyed seeing all the equipment I did notice a huge trend for everything seeming to cost huge amounts and in many cases to not deliver anything like the quality of sound that i would expect for that outlay . Lots of people were there but not a great standard of music on show . I will own up and say the child in me was delighted and entranced to see many power amps with lovely coloured light meters on them for this never gets old and I would love to meet someone who could just make a clip on set for any amp , not bothered about them being accurate ust want to see the needle quiver in time to the music .

 

[JD68]

Well had a nice day out enjoyed being in and around the show . Yet another show with tragic intertnet connections for the exhibitors with almost all of them having no access for streaming and while they would play a CD they would not play any digital files of usb sticks for perfectly reasonable reasons. What this resulted in was then a limited range of music and often it was hard to get them to play something you really knew and could relate to . Too often the rooms had plinky plonky music playing by no one i had ever heard and no one I was even remotely impressed with to even ask who it was . Or it was all simple vocal and acoustic instrument numbers to ensure that the system was never stressed .

I then had my own hang up which is I can now no longer listen to Vinyl for more than one or two minutes before all the issues I had with it start to surface again and I stop listening to the music and listen to the medium . In any room with Vinyl as the source I just left as soon as i saw it as no real point for . Lots as always were probably feeling the same about any of the rooms with digital sources . I know it is my issue but it would have been nice if most had alternative sources and split them through the day .

Right best sound for of the show was the Auralic room with one of their streamers / servers and a pair of ATC Active A40 nothing else just those two . Sound was very good indeed and was one I could have lived with quite happily . Listened to Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath and enjoyed the drift in to the past not the very best recording but a grin inducing tune with nodding of the heads at the right points . They played straight after that Country Road by Olivia Newton John which was a very different segway but the system still sounded good and I listened on two vists to at least five or six pieces and enjoyed them the best.

Best music of the show by for me at least a very large margin was Moor Amplifiers

https://mooramps.co.uk/
The reason for this was the lack of any internet and they had to use a personal collection on a thumb drive which was about 2/5 hours of the amp designers personal music choice . So we got some Dire Straits , XTC , Bob Marley , Ian Dury and Blockheads , London Grammar , Level 42 and well you get the idea music that many of us might well play and the result was fun and relaxing and I fully enjoyed my time there chatting and poking a little fun at the largest Angel 6 Amp (as I explained me moaning about the size was a bit rich as I own a Croft OTL 3 and a Krell KSA50 neither of which is bijou) . All taken in good part and did not even throw me out when I started singing which is more than can be said for my wife Linda .

So while the show was fun and enjoyed seeing all the equipment I did notice a huge trend for everything seeming to cost huge amounts and in many cases to not deliver anything like the quality of sound that i would expect for that outlay . Lots of people were there but not a great standard of music on show . I will own up and say the child in me was delighted and entranced to see many power amps with lovely coloured light meters on them for this never gets old and I would love to meet someone who could just make a clip on set for any amp , not bothered about them being accurate ust want to see the needle quiver in time to the music .

Good point about exhibitors demonstrating very, very expensive gear, most of which didn't seem to justify the cost in performance terms.

Also it was absolutely rammed so there was a constant hum of chatter when trying to hear the systems, but that's understandable given how long we have all been deprived of a hifi show.

Still thoroughly enjoyed it. A great day out.

 

[karlsushi]

I was there today. Never been to a hifi show before and may be a bit biased as a result, but I thought there were some great systems on show.

Highlights for me were (in no particular order):

- The Longdog Audio room with some prototype open baffle speakers, apparently due for release later this year. Horrible looking things using clear acrylic housing, but pretty incredible sound on the end of Longdog amps. Who says open baffles don't do bass.

- The Kii Three BXT system. No doubt these are not for traditional audio enthusiasts and have a typical DSP sound to them (if you know what I mean), but oh my they were great fun. If you want to turn your home into a nightclub, these would be a great option.

- The little EJ Jordan speakers using a brace of full range Jordan Eikona drivers on the back of a Lampizator DAC and more Long Dog mono amps. A seriously addictive natural and smooth sound. Definitely one for LS3/5A fans. No party music here, but on small scale acoustic these were just phenomenal. And very reasonably priced too.

- Kudos Titan 707’s. Silky smooth sound, full of realism and natural detail. Very impressive indeed and seriously smart design too. The consummate living room speaker. Can't even remember what front end was being used, but it sounded great.

- The big room not far from the main entrance with lots of seating, a huge turntable (not sure what it was) and a pair of ATC SCM150ASL's. Hard to imagine there are many better speaker/amp combos out there in terms of taking you close to the recording. Unlikely to fit in most domestic living spaces, but perhaps the most transparent and realistic system I have ever heard in terms of top to bottom ability. Incredible really.

- And last but by no means least, another great party room in the form of some fully active Linn Isobariks, with no less than 12 modded Naim mono amps. Probably the most fun in show. Played way too loud and loved every minute of it. Never heard drums and bass like it. Crazy system.

I did enjoy almost everything in some way, but there was one that really stood out for being terrible. I'm sure I'm going to get lynched on this website when I say this, but following so much love on here for Audio Note gear, I couldn't have been more disappointed with their room. It may have been the track being played when we walked in, but the whole room was like a big boomy bass mess. Literally the worst sound I heard all day. I'm sure there must be more to Audio Note than what I experienced. Very surprised by it as I'd really been looking forward to hearing some of their kit as they seem to have a strong following on here.

All in all though, a great day and great to hear the variety of systems on offer, all enjoyable in their own way.

Top audio fun.

 

[stevied]

Best sounding room at show for me was the Living voice/sjs amplifiers with Kuzma turntable.

Could have listened for hours in that room

 

[TheFlash]

I was there today. Never been to a hifi show before and may be a bit biased as a result, but I thought there were some great systems on show.

- The big room not far from the main entrance with lots of seating, a huge turntable (not sure what it was) and a pair of ATC SCM150ASL's. Hard to imagine there are many better speaker/amp combos out there in terms of taking you close to the recording. Unlikely to fit in most domestic living spaces, but perhaps the most transparent and realistic system I have ever heard in terms of top to bottom ability. Incredible really.

I did enjoy almost everything in some way, but there was one that really stood out for being terrible. I'm sure I'm going to get lynched on this website when I say this, but following so much love on here for Audio Note gear, I couldn't have been more disappointed with their room. It may have been the track being played when we walked in, but the whole room was like a big boomy bass mess. Literally the worst sound I heard all day. I'm sure there must be more to Audio Note than what I experienced. Very surprised by it as I'd really been looking forward to hearing some of their kit as they seem to have a strong following on here.

All in all though, a great day and great to hear the variety of systems on offer, all enjoyable in their own way.

Top audio fun.

Great report, Karl. I've picked out two of your comments for response:

• Not surprised the 150's wowed!
• Me too on Audio Note. Heard them once at Robin's and they were fantastic; every show I've been to an AN room I've walked out after max 1 minute. Sometimes too loud (why!?), and I've never heard the corner positioning for bass actually work. Someone at AN should take note (pun absolutely intended).

 

[bencat]

Wait till they set up at the Wam Show and we can all hear what they can do .

 

[Beobloke]

How were the Ophidian speakers? I’d like to hear them as all the other models from the company I’ve heard have been superb.

 

[ff1d1l]

How were the Ophidian speakers? I’d like to hear them as all the other models from the company I’ve heard have been superb.

ok plus IMHO

Sound of the show for me was the huge red horns in the basement next to the Lowther room, sorry, Universum Mk3, powered by 300b amps and DHT preamps. I'd been round the show twice, and had returned each time to their room and had returned a final time to bestow my best sound in the show card on them.

Unfortunately this coincided with their streamer refusing to read the hard drive, and they wired in a Teac reel to reel. As this was probably 25 percent better than their digital, which was better than their vinyl, they now absolutely walked best sound in the show as far as I was concerned.

What did I like about their sound?
Full range system, not bass shy, but in no way overblown either. Treble was natural, but not hyped or obtrusive. Soundstage was huge, with a palpable central image. The tape provided several startles, and sounded beautifully natural and live.

Honourable mentions to the Hegel/Egglestoneworks system, the Lowther room playing the corner units, and the room on the ground floor with all the Lampizator kit and the speakers using what looked like a large version of the old Lineum tweeter as a mid - excellent sound.

And honourable honourable mention to the 1/4 wave with a 4" driver designs - they sounded better IMHO than some designs here costing Ks, and were being sold as a kit for a few hundred quid. Billy bargain!
Not the BMR curvy ones, which - sorry, I really wanted to love them and think they look superb - I didn't particularly care for the sound of.

And honourable honourable honourable mention to Brian and Trevors room, which never sounded less than excellent, with accurate tonality, explicit treble without being in any way hard, and very fine imaging. In fact the only system I heard all day which managed to image way outside the speakers.

Whoops, nearly forgot the NEAT room...musical and communicative, from really quite small speakers, and very good sound judged on any terms.

 

[SpLinnter23]

Funny how we hear the same things differently. I was much happier listening to most of the turntable set ups than the streamer/server sets up and got a bit tired of set ups which tried to shred my eardrums.
Perhaps this was why I really enjoyed the contrast of simple small stand mount set ups - Auden showed the Amphion 1s with Rega8 and Hegel 120 integrated to good effect and Origin Live through little Rogers LA3/5 (subwoofer augmented).
Also enjoyed Kerr Acoustics room - Townshend Rock turntable and the server set up I liked the most - Lucas Audio server with Lampizator DAC.
Also interesting to see how many speakers were set on Townshend Podiums - endorsement or product placement…

 

[karlsushi]

Just remembered another stand-out system that I should have mentioned above, the NVA room. NVA integrated (which uses a passive pre section of course) driving their new 'Cube' speakers.

Really distinctive and smart-looking little stand-mount speakers (should have taken a photo). Upward-firing bass units and really impressive 'speaker disappearing' trick going on. A lovely natural presentation and one definitely worth checking out for those looking for something a bit different to the usual '2 drivers on the front of a box' stand-mount design. Think they will be on general sale soon at £4.5k. not cheap, but worth looking into if you're in the market for something at that price.

 

[orbscure]

All of the photos I took can be accessed here, I simply don't have the time to resize and upload them all here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8sg96i2dlsb6wp8/AACdKXQqv1IrgQ21lTsmkIlja?dl=0
Despite the usual constraints on the rooms, music being played and general hubbub of a HiFi Show, from memory, my initial highlights were:

B&W Floorstanders in the Accoustica room
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8sg96i2d...a?dl=0&preview=Photo+19-06-2022,+10+30+38.jpg
SCM40M & Aurelec duo - sounded very nice indeed, maybe even the ultimate active speaker/stream duo? The sound of the show for me...
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8sg96i2d...a?dl=0&preview=Photo+19-06-2022,+11+02+08.jpg
Klipch Heretage Cornwall IV's - were superb, considering their size and near field listening position
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8sg96i2d...a?dl=0&preview=Photo+19-06-2022,+12+24+21.jpg
Kii Three BXT system playing heavy metal - bloody hell!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8sg96i2d...a?dl=0&preview=Photo+19-06-2022,+14+00+08.jpg
EJ Jordan speakers & MFA/Longdog & Lampizator DAC - another wow!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8sg96i2d...a?dl=0&preview=Photo+19-06-2022,+12+27+24.jpg
Longdog open baffle speakers - MFA/Logdog kit is great and these prototype open baffle speakers sounded great
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8sg96i2d...a?dl=0&preview=Photo+19-06-2022,+13+22+39.jpg
Amphian Argon - how does such a small footprint convey such a rich, smooth sound? Second place by a short hair to the SCM's
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8sg96i2d...a?dl=0&preview=Photo+19-06-2022,+12+41+32.jpg
Audite Pilare One - a slim floorstander, available as a kit for silly money but did a great job
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8sg96i2d...a?dl=0&preview=Photo+19-06-2022,+14+25+13.jpg
Coppice X1 - another small standmount which sounded very nice indeed and nice chaps to chat too!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8sg96i2d...a?dl=0&preview=Photo+19-06-2022,+15+02+35.jpg
Graham LS5/9f - superb sound, as you'd expect...
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8sg96i2d...a?dl=0&preview=Photo+19-06-2022,+15+12+38.jpg
Universum Mk3 Horns - what can you say, look silly, costs loads but I sat on the front row and was enveloped with sound!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8sg96i2d...a?dl=0&preview=Photo+19-06-2022,+15+18+58.jpg
Lowther corner speakers - maybe too big most for us, but sounded very nice!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8sg96i2d...a?dl=0&preview=Photo+19-06-2022,+15+23+34.jpg
One gripe... if you want to chat with the guys'n'gals looking after the room, take it outside, don't stand in front of the kit to chew the fat...

 

[It Cost How Much!?!]

How were the Ophidian speakers? I’d like to hear them as all the other models from the company I’ve heard have been superb.

I thought they were very average with bloat bass and poor imaging, 14k seems a lot for 87db 1m 4 ohms and a box.

Overall I thought the standard of systems had dropped from previous shows.

Surprisingly the highlights for me were Brian and Trevors smaller system, which was really nice and the Kudos room with the 707.

Very disappointed with the crap played through the big ATC active in a big room. It made it difficult to tell what they were like.

Liked the Nagra system with the purple speakers.

The ATC 40 active with the streamer was very good.

The large red horns sounded OK until they put on some music that was actually not simple stuff (The Police) and then they fell apart, the bass on them is really poor, very indistinct.

I was looking forward to the CAD room, as the last time they had Trilogy 25 integrated and LVs and that is the only time I have liked LVs. Their system sounded very HiFi and hard.

The super expensive room with the record centre tool sounded great so long as you ignored the tit doing the demo. Big 3 way speakers and Kondo pre.

Also liked the LDA room, the new see through speakers look very promising.

 

[savvypaul]

Thank you to all the Wammers who popped in to say hello. Great to meet you...we went through a lot of sweets (you know who you are!)



Mark, savvypaul & Tom



Before Wammers arrived

 

[ziggy]

Just remembered another stand-out system that I should have mentioned above, the NVA room. NVA integrated (which uses a passive pre section of course) driving their new 'Cube' speakers.

Really distinctive and smart-looking little stand-mount speakers (should have taken a photo). Upward-firing bass units and really impressive 'speaker disappearing' trick going on. A lovely natural presentation and one definitely worth checking out for those looking for something a bit different to the usual '2 drivers on the front of a box' stand-mount design. Think they will be on general sale soon at £4.5k. not cheap, but worth looking into if you're in the market for something at that price.

I have the old Cubes driven by NVA amps and think they are great. I was an instant convert to the semi omnidirectional presentation. They integrate very very well with my listening room which is a lot different to a hotel room.

 

[Mickyricky]

fame beckons !Autograph hunters

 

[SCIDB]

I was asked to talk about 10 albums you need to hear before you die.

The 10 albums I used

The Skatalites - Foundation Ska

Blood, Sweat & Tears - Blood, Sweat & Tears

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique

Laura Nyro - Eli & 13th Confession

Pixies - Doolittle

Jimmy Smith - The Cat

The Black Keys - The Big Come Up

The Meters - Struttin'

Betty Davis - Nasty Girl

& (Saturday) Linton Kwesi Johnson - Bass Culture

( Sunday) Mr Bloe - Groovin' with Mr Bloe

I played a track off each of them.

I choose these albums to offer an alternative to the usual faire at shows

The system was supplied by Doug Brady HiFi

It consisted of

Bergmann Mange Turntable £9500

Koetsu Black Cartridge £2098

Accuphase C-47 Phono stage (£9200)

Gryphon Audio Essence Pre amp £15,000

Gryphon Audio Antileon EVO Mono blocks £66,000 a pair

Marten Parker Quintet Diamond Edition £37,000 a pair

Plus cables & other tomfoolery

It sounded well.