HiFi Lounge Installs Blog!

[HiFi Lounge]

Hi everyone,

Just recently I have started posting pictures from our installs on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, with the customer’s permission of course, and this has proved very popular so driving to work today I thought that I really should post these on our here also as I know not everyone lives on social media so here we go.

McIntosh / PMC / Naim / Michell / Atlas / Quadraspire!



This is a nice one to start with, basically this customer first saw McIntosh over 30 years ago and it has stayed with him ever since and he always promised himself one day he would own a McIntosh system, well yesterday was that day.

It was a really straight forward install that went very smoothly and at the end sounded absolutely brilliant as in all honesty you never quite know what to expect as every room is different but on this occasion the whole system really sung.

It basically comprised of the following components -

McIntosh MA5300 Integrated Amplifier

http://hifilounge.co.uk/mcintosh-ma5300-amplifier

McIntosh MCD 350 CD/SACD Player

http://hifilounge.co.uk/mcintosh-mcd350-cd-player

PMC Twenty5.23 Loudspeakers

http://hifilounge.co.uk/pmc-twenty5.23-loudspeakers

Naim Uniti Core CD Ripper and Server

http://hifilounge.co.uk/naim-uniti-core-hard-disk-player

Michell Engineering TecnoDec with Dynavector 10x5 Cartridge

http://hifilounge.co.uk/michell-tecnodec-turntable

http://hifilounge.co.uk/dynavector-dv-10x5-cartridge

Quadraspire SVT Rack in Bamboo

http://hifilounge.co.uk/quadraspire-svt-hifi-rack

All connected up with Atlas Hyper Cables -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/atlas-hyper-cables

So certainly not a cheap system but a system with great synergy non the less.

From This -



To This -









Sabrina’s Back in the our Naim Room!

This has nothing to do with yesterdays install but after a few weeks of trying different speakers in our Naim room it has been really good to get the Wilson Audio Sabrina’s back in there, they really do sing with Naim and in all honesty I would say these are one of my favourite speakers of all time, for their size they really are incredible so please feel free to come in for a listen anytime.



Cheers,
Paul.

 

[HiFi Lounge]

dCS / Audio Research / Martin Logan / Melco / Atlas / Quadraspire!



Hi Everyone,

Just a quick blog with a really nice install we have just completed, it is actually a great story. We installed a very similar system just before Christmas and the customer’s Father went to stay over the Festive period and being a music lover and HiFi enthusiast all his life really enjoyed what he heard so he ordered the same system and this is his install.

Generally the install went very well other than a small network issue which was easily resolved and in the pictures you will see that the amp is on the bottom but due to it being a valve amp it run pretty hot which didn’t overly help the kit above so yesterday I swapped the rack around a little to put the amp on the top, other than that the system really did sing giving a lovely big open soundstage with separation that only a panel can give really.

Please see below for the system components -

Martin Logan Expression ESL 13A Loudspeaker

http://hifilounge.co.uk/martin-logan-expression-13a

dCS Rossini Player

http://hifilounge.co.uk/dcs-rossini-player

dCS Rossini Clock

http://hifilounge.co.uk/dcs-rossini-clock

Audio Research GS150 Power Amplifier

http://hifilounge.co.uk/audio-research-gs150-power-amplifier

Melco N1A MK2 6TB HDD Player / Server

http://hifilounge.co.uk/melco-n1a-mk2

Quadraspire X REFERENCE HiFi Rack

http://hifilounge.co.uk/quadraspire-x-reference-hifi-rack

Atlas Mavros Cables Throughout

http://hifilounge.co.uk/atlas-mavros-cables

Here are a few pictures -











Cheers,
Paul.

 

[HiFi Lounge]

Install Blog - Naim / PMC / Rega / Atlas!

Hi Everyone,

Just back form another nice Best Of British HiFi install of Naim, PMC, Rega and Atlas Cables, please see below for what we installed, there is such great synergy between all these brands, it is no wonder that this combination is so popular.

Naim NAC-N 272 Streaming Preamplifier

http://hifilounge.co.uk/naim-nac-n-272-streaming-preamplifier

Naim NAP 250 DR Power Amplifier

http://hifilounge.co.uk/naim-nap-250-power-amp

Naim Fraim Equipment Support System

http://hifilounge.co.uk/naim-fraim-rack

PMC Twenty5.23 Speakers

http://hifilounge.co.uk/pmc-twenty5.23-loudspeakers

Rega Planar 3 turntable With Fono MM and Neo PSU

http://hifilounge.co.uk/rega-planar-3-turntable

http://hifilounge.co.uk/rega-fono-mm-phono-stage

http://hifilounge.co.uk/rega-neo-psu

Atlas Hyper 3.5 Speaker Cable

http://hifilounge.co.uk/atlas-hyper-3.5-speaker-cable

From this -



To This -







Can’t resist a picture of a Fender when I see one



Cheers,
Paul.

 

[HiFi Lounge]

Install Blog - Focal / Chord Electronics / Bryston / BlueSound / Atlas!

Hi All,

Here are another couple of systems that we have installed recently, have to say with 2 x REL S5′s on this system it really rocked the customer’s foundations when turned up loud, sounded brilliant

Focal Sopra N°2 Floorstanding Speakers

http://hifilounge.co.uk/focal-sopra-no-2-loudspeakers

Chord Electronics Dave Reference DAC / Headphone Amplifier

http://hifilounge.co.uk/chord-dave-dac

Bryston 4B³ Dual-Channel (Stereo) Amplifier

http://hifilounge.co.uk/bryston-4b3-dual-channel-stereo-amplifier

BlueSound Node 2 Streamer

http://hifilounge.co.uk/bluesound-node-2-streamer

Connected Up With Atlas Cables

http://hifilounge.co.uk/atlas-cables







Focal Kanta No2 Install

This was an install from a couple of weeks ago, I have to say I love this colour combination, just needs a touch of orange to turn it into the Gulf Racing Colours

Focal Kanta N°2 Floorstanding Speakers

http://hifilounge.co.uk/focal-kanta-no2-speakers





Cheers,
Paul.

 

[HiFi Lounge]

Install Blog - Wilson Audio / Audio Research / SME / Martin Logan / Devialet!

Hi Everyone,

This was certainly a nice install, not sure if anyone one saw on social media that we did the below home demo for a customer to compare the Wilson Audio Sabrina’s v the Yvettes a couple of months ago?



Well last week we finally installed his new Yvette’s in the stunning Macadamia finish along with an Audio Research Reference 6 Pre-amp and Reference 75SE Power amplifier and SME Model 15 turntable and SME V tonearm, we are still experimenting with various cartridges but for now we went with the Dynavector TKR and it sounded pretty damn good if I do say so myself







We installed the Ref 6 a couple of months ago when the weather was a little cooler -



Wilson Audio Yvette Loudspeakers

http://hifilounge.co.uk/wilson-audio-yvette-loudspeakers

Audio Research Reference 75 SE Power Amplifier

http://hifilounge.co.uk/audio-research-reference-75-se

Audio Research Reference 6 Stereo Preamplifier

http://hifilounge.co.uk/audio-research-reference-6-stereo-amp

SME Model 15 Turntable

http://hifilounge.co.uk/sme-model-15-turntable

SME Series V Tonearm

http://hifilounge.co.uk/sme-v-series-tonearm

Martin Logan Install

In another nice install last week we installed a pair of Martin Logan Electromotion X’s Electrostatic speakers partnered with a Devialet 220 Expert Pro, I have to say that Martin Logan are fast becoming one of our most popular speakers and rightly so.



Martin Logan ElectroMotion ESL X Speaker

http://hifilounge.co.uk/martin-logan-electromotion-x

Devialet Expert 220 Pro

http://hifilounge.co.uk/devialet-220-pro

Please keep an eye on our website for further updates as we have some really nice installs coming up.

Thanks,

Paul.

 

[HiFi Lounge]

Installs Blog - Wilson Audio / Chord / Melco / Naim / Michell



Hi Everyone,

Just a quick blog with a couple of very nice installs from last week, unfortunately the pictures are not the best from the first one but the system certainly sounded awesome, it is only a temporary install at the moment whilst the customers listening room is being finished.

Wilson Audio Yvette Loudspeakers

http://hifilounge.co.uk/wilson-audio-yvette-loudspeakers

Chord Electronics Dave Reference DAC

http://hifilounge.co.uk/chord-dave-dac

Melco N1ZS MK2 2TB SSD Player / Server

http://hifilounge.co.uk/melco-n1zs-mk2

Naim NAC 552 Preamplifier

http://hifilounge.co.uk/naim-nac-552-preamplifier

Naim NAP 500 DR Power Amplifier

http://hifilounge.co.uk/naim-nap-500-amplifier

All Hooked Up With Chord Sarum T cables -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/Chord-sarum-t











Michell GyroDec Install

Up there with the most Iconic turntables ever made and still incredible value, it is always great to install a Michell Engineering GyroDec, this time in the stunning black finish with the SME 309 tonearm and Dynavector 20x2L cartridge, going into a Naim system.

Michell Engineering Gyro Dec Turntable

http://hifilounge.co.uk/michell-gyro-dec-turntable

SME Series 309 Tonearm

http://hifilounge.co.uk/sme-series-300-tonearm

Dynavector DV-20X2 Low Output Moving Coil Cartridge

http://hifilounge.co.uk/dynavector-dv-20x2-hl-cartridge

Dynavector P-75 MK 4 Phono Pre-Amplifier And Phono Enhancer

http://hifilounge.co.uk/dynavector-p-75-phono-stage-preamplifier







Cheers,
Paul.

 

[HiFi Lounge]

Install Blog - A Busy Week!



Sonus Faber / PMC / Bryston / Quadraspire / Atlas Cables

Hi Everyone,

Had a nice local install last week around 200 miles away in the Liverpool area, well worth the drive though as the system really did sing, not sure how many other people around the world have partnered the PMC Cor amplifier with the Sonus Faber Guarneri Tradition Speakers but it is a combination I can really recommend as the amp really drove the speakers extremely well giving a really open and powerful sound which was really did defy the size of the speaker.

Please find the kit list below -

Sonus Faber Guarneri Tradition Speakers

http://hifilounge.co.uk/sonus-faber-guarneri-tradition-speakers

PMC Cor Integrated Amplifier

http://hifilounge.co.uk/PMC-Speakers-Cor-amplifier

Bryston BCD-3 CD Player

http://hifilounge.co.uk/bryston-bcd-3-cd-player

Quadraspire X REFERENCE HiFi Rack

http://hifilounge.co.uk/quadraspire-x-reference-hifi-rack

Connected up with Atlas Mavros Cables -

http://hifilounge.co.uk/atlas-mavros-cables











Naim / Michell Engineering / Dynavector / Spendor

Another nice install, this is a good customer who has just downsized from a big system to something a little more modest but still sounding great -



Naim Uniti Nova All-in-one Player

http://hifilounge.co.uk/naim-uniti-nova-all-in-one-player

Michell Engineering Gyro SE Turntable

http://hifilounge.co.uk/michell-gyro-se-turntable

Dynavector DV-20X2 Low Output Moving Coil Cartridge

http://hifilounge.co.uk/dynavector-dv-20x2-hl-cartridge

Spendor D7 Speakers

http://hifilounge.co.uk/spendor-d7-speakers

Rega / Focal

This was a really well balanced system, the customer liked an organic, fuller and warmer sound so the combination of Rega and the Focal Aria’s worked a real treat.



Rega Planar 6 Turntable

http://hifilounge.co.uk/rega-planar-6-turntable

Rega Elicit-R Integrated Amplifier

http://hifilounge.co.uk/rega-elicit-r-amplifier

Rega Apollo CD Player

http://hifilounge.co.uk/rega-apollo-cd-player

Focal Aria 926 3-way floor standing loudspeaker

http://hifilounge.co.uk/focal-926-floorstanding-speakers





Stay tuned for more installs across the UK, coming soon

Cheers,

Paul.

 

[HiFi Lounge]

This Weeks Installs - McIntosh / Sonus Faber and Wilson Audio!

Hi There,

Well it has certainly been a busy week dashing around the country installing some great HiFi so I thought I would share the 2 from below -

Install one



Have to say there was a great synergy with this system, the Sonus Faber Guarneri Traditions speakers give such a big but controlled sound they will play anything and driven by the Big Mc it was all so effortless and in all honesty is there a better looking system

Please find the kit installed below -

Sonus Faber Guarneri Tradition Speakers

http://hifilounge.co.uk/sonus-faber-guarneri-tradition-speakers

McIntosh MA9000 2-Channel Integrated Amplifier

http://hifilounge.co.uk/mcintosh-ma9000-amplifier

HiFi Racks Podium XL (V)

http://hifilounge.co.uk/podium-xl-v-av-tv-stand

All Hooked Up With Atlas Hyper Cables

http://hifilounge.co.uk/atlas-hyper-cables

Just waiting on the Chord Hugo TT 2 now to finish it all off.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/chord-hugo-tt-2



Install 2

This one was a nice 200 mile round trip to deepest Norfolk but I will travel anywhere to install a pair of Wilsons

This time it was to upgrade the customer’s Wilson Sabrina’s to the new Sasha DAW’s, needless to say he was very happy when we left him.

From The Sabrina -



To the Sasha DAW













Wilson Audio Sasha DAW Loudspeakers

http://hifilounge.co.uk/wilson-audio-sasha-daw-speakers

Cheers,

Paul.

 

[HiFi Lounge]

Install Blog - Naim Audio / Wilson Audio / Isol-8!



Hi Everyone,

It's been a while since I've done one of our install blogs, more a lack of time than anything, if you do like to see what we have been up to though I do update on our instagram and Facebook pages with all our installs and latest news almost daily, it is much quicker than writing a blog so please follow us below for all our latest goings on -

https://www.instagram.com/hifi_lounge/

https://www.facebook.com/HiFiLoungeUK/

Anyway back to the install, Christmas certainly came early today for one of our lucky customer's as I installed a top end Naim system along with a pair of Wilson Audio Sabrina speakers and an Isol-8 Substation Integra to give stable and clean mains, I do have to say there really is great synergy with Naim and Wilson, very much like PMC and Naim, they just work so well together.

The Naim System comprised of the following, NAP 300 DR, NAC 252 / SuperCap DR / ND555 With 555 DR, CDX2 with XPS and needless to say it sounded pretty awesome, the customer has a great listening room, a solid victorian house with high ceilings, perfect for a great sounding HiFi and I certainly left him smiling.

We actually do have this system on permanent demo if you'd like a listen sometime, please find a link to Naim, Wilson and Isol-8 on our website + a few pictures from today.

https://hifilounge.co.uk/product-category/brands/naim/

https://hifilounge.co.uk/product-category/brands/wilson-audio/

https://hifilounge.co.uk/product-category/brands/isol-8/

From This



To This



And Finally this








Cheers,
Paul.

 

[HiFi Lounge]

Install Blog PMC / Bryston / Quadraspire!



Hi There,

Just a quick blog of an install I did yesterday with some of our favourite brands, could almost be a copy of the system I have run at home for years comprising of Arcam for cinema, Bryston for power, source and pre-amp and PMC with the awesome Fact.12 Signatures.

The beauty of this system is that we used Unity Gain on the Bryston BP173 so the customer can have a really nice cinema setup then switch to 2 channel for his music with no compromise and I have to say that it works a treat, we were hoping to install the new Arcam AV40 Processor and PA720 amplifier at the same time but they didn’t quite make it to us in time so they will be going in shortly.

It goes without saying what great synergy there is with PMC and Bryston and for the beady eyed amongst you may notice the new Bryston BDA-3.14 DAC/Streamer/Pre-amp, this was the first installed in the UK, only arriving fresh from Canada on Thursday, even though our demo one arrived at the same time I haven’t had time to play with it yet but it installed pretty smoothly and sounded great out the box, I have to say this seems like an incredibly well priced piece of kit at £4000, especially being a Roon endpoint also.

And finally it is all sitting beautifully on a Quadraspire Bamboo SV2T rack that went together easily and looks epic in the customers room.

So to sum up please see a list below of what we installed -

• PMC Fact.12 Signature Speakers
• Bryston BDA 3.14 DAC/Streamer/Pre
• Bryston BP173 Pre-Amp
• Bryston 7B3 Mono Blocks
• Quadraspire SV2T Rack

Coming Soon to finish off the system -

• Arcam AV40 Processor
• Arcam PA720 7 Channel Amplifier

Already owned -

• Michell Engineering SE-R (one of only a few out there)
• Kiseki Blue MC Cartridge
• Whest Three Phono Stage
• OPPO UHD-203

Very Nice Indeed

Please find some pictures and links below -

https://hifilounge.co.uk/product-category/brands/pmc-speakers/fact/

https://hifilounge.co.uk/product-category/brands/bryston/

https://hifilounge.co.uk/product-category/brands/quadraspire/

From This -





To This -











Cheers,
Paul.

 

[HiFi Lounge]

Hi There,

Unfortunately it looks like my old photo sharing website, Photobucket, has gone down so for the time being all my previous posts are pictureless, anyway onto this post with a new picture sharing client.

Belated Happy New Year, I have a feeling this year is going to be a great year for Hifi.

It has certainly started well so I thought I would share a couple of speaker installs from the last couple of weeks, neither of them on the small side.

PMC MB2 SE Install

So this was a nice local one in Devon, so around a 6 hour drive, install, quick bite of lunch then turn round and come home, all in a day’s work, albeit a long one

The customer already had PMC MB2i’s so it was just a matter of a quick swap over to the new MB2 SE’s, have to say they sounded incredible straight out the box –

The below Cherry MB2i’s are available for £10,000 if anyone is interested, boxed in as new condition, an incredible speaker for this price, just get in touch if of interest.

Out with the Old

And in With The New!

Wilson Audio Alexia 2 Install!

This was a nice install just before Christmas of the awesome Wilson Audio Alexia 2 speakers, we will be going back soon to spike them and try some different amplification, sounds awesome as it is now to be fair.

Let’s see what the rest of the year has in stall for us all,

All the best for a great 2020

Cheers,

Paul.

 

[HiFi Lounge]

Home System Spring Clean + Arcam AV40 + PA720 Install!

Hi All,

I hope everyone is keeping well, normally at this time of year I would be spending most Sunday's at a race track or at a car show somewhere but obviously that is not possible at the moment so last Sunday I used the time wisely to pull out my home system, give it a spring clean and a few hours later, and a hell of a lot of cables, it was all back together and I also used the opportunity to install the new Arcam AV40 Processor with the also new 7 Channel Glass G PA720 power amp and to my disbelief it all worked first time, probably more luck than judgement I'd say.

It was time well spent though mainly due to how impressed I have been with the AV40 / PA720 combo, I have been running Arcam at home for cinema duties for over 15 years now and have owned most iterations from the AVR600 onwards, now I think it is fair to say that the new Arcam range of receivers and processors has not been the smoothest launch in history with quite a few firmware bugs but fair play to Arcam they have worked tirelessly to get these issues fixed with firmware updates coming thick and fast, I know this isn't really the answer but Arcam admitted they made a mistake launching a little too early but the strength of any company is how they deal with any issues and Arcam really did jump on this and resolved the issues pretty swiftly, anyway due to these issues I had been running the new AVR30 at home, basically the top all in one unit, to test new firmware and feedback how things are progressing and I have to say with the firmware around 3 weeks ago I was really happy that it worked as it should so was happy to install the AV40 and PA720 into our home system, we have a reasonably simple system of Sky, Apple TV and a Pioneer LX-800 BD Player but it does have to feed both a Sony Laser VW760ES Projector and Panasonic OLED which was a problem with the previous generation, I had to keep swapping HDMI cables over which was a real pain, but with the new range this is no longer and issue which is great news and stops Wendy moaning at me.

So how does it sound? Well I can honestly say that I really enjoyed the AVR30 but I was not expecting such a step up in performance by going to the AV40/PA720 setup, there is much more clarity overall but especially on speech and everything feels more dynamic and fast, just more engaging which is really important for home cinema, we run a 5.4.3 Atmos system at home and even the height channels seemed more effective adding to the immersion. If you have one of the previous range of Arcam Receivers, like the AVR850 or AVR750 for example I would really consider this combo, I know you are adding another box but you will get a real upgrade as obviously it is always going to be better to take the amps away from the processing but this range is a total ground up redesign so you definitely get more than just different casework and now Arcam are offering a 7 channel amp again, this time Glass G which sounds great, then the combo really does make a lot of sense, especially at the prices they are as the combo isn't massively more than the AVR30. The new range also offers a really good streaming board which I have been using, it isn't quite as good as the Bryston BDA-3.14 I am currently using for 2 channel listening but it does a really good job to be honest so for general listening I use this and power up the Bryston for a serious listening session.

Anyway we have the AV40 / PA720 setup in our Atmos cinema room at HFL so once we are allowed to open the doors again please feel free to come in for a listen anytime, I can assure you that you will be impressed.

Take care everyone,

Regards,

Paul.