THE HI–FI HEADLINES
There is a lot happening at Len Wallis Audio at the moment, with both new product releases and with the continuing flurry of price adjustments...
STAX, who we believe manufacture the finest headphones on the market, turns 80 this year. To celebrate they have released a very limited anniversary model based on the existing SRS-3100 system. They have upgraded the specifications of the SR-L300 Earspeaker (pictured) to approximate the performance of the SR-L700. The changes to the SRM-252S driver are mostly cosmetic.
There are only 13 of these systems available for Australia, so if you have an interest it would be wise to act now. The system sells for $2,698.
MARANTZ have released a new amplifier (PM8006) and a matching CD/ Streamer (ND8006). The amplifier is an update of the very successful PM8005. It is still rated at 70 watts RMS/channel, and sells for $2,650.
The ND8006 is an excellent solution for today’s market. It incorporates a high quality CD player, along with streaming facilities for on-line and stored content. It has AirPlay, Bluetooth, Internet Radio and is compatible with Spotify, Amazon, TIDAL and Deezer among others. It has HEOS multi-room technology on board allowing you to add additional wireless speakers around your home as well. It can also be used as a quality DAC. At $1,990 this unit has a lot to offer.
We now have the AVID Acutus SP turntable on display. We have been singing the praises of AVID turntables for a long time now, but this is the first time that we have shown their flagship model. This is fitted with an SME 309 tonearm, and sells for a little over $23,000.
The other exciting new product is the MUSICAL FIDELITY M6s DAC. This is a 32bit/768kHz Digital to Analogue Converter that sells for $2,699. Superb performance and great value. Musical Fidelity were one of the pioneers of Digital to Analogue componentry, releasing the world’s first high-end DAC, the Digilog, in 1987. Their expertise shows in this uni.
The wave of price readjustments continues – the most dramatic being from PANASONIC. Their TH77EZ1000 77” OLED TV is without doubt one of the finest TV screens ever produced – but at $34,000 sales were very limited. Panasonic have just repositioned this at $19,995. If you are considering a very high performance large screen TV, drop in and have a look – you will not be disappointed.
BLUESOUND has been steadily gaining a reputation as one of the best wireless multi-room streaming systems on the market – they have also recently repositioned (reduced) their prices to bring them closer to parity with overseas markets (joining the likes of Krell, Musical Fidelity and Stax). With the availability of higher resolution streaming now available from companies like TIDAL the demand for higher performance systems is growing, and this is where Bluesound steps up.