Denon Heos

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Denon have launched HEOS, home entertainment operating system? to a large clamour of acclaim from press and trade alike.

 HEOS APP

This is a streaming range with a room amplifier, a preamplifier to connect to your existing hifi system, and three stand-alone table-top units. Remind you of anything?

There will be a streaming soundbar and a wireless subwoofer to follow, like anything you have heard of?

Sounds like a direct Sonos competitor to me!

Short history lesson, 10 years ago a small american company launched a streaming amplifier and preamplifier investing millions in the software to make an advanced control and wifi mesh system. Adding table top solutions and a soundbar later would need more investment with the capital raised rumoured to be over US$ 90 million! This has resulted in growth to a 600 million US$ company in the forefront of streaming multi-room music. This is Sonos, and Lyric Hifi were the first in Ireland to stock it and see the future.

Specialist manufacturers such as Linn saw the potential for an ultimate performance using similar principles and the hifi market was turned on it's head again.

Many manufacturers have coveted the success of Sonos, but no-one has had the investment needed to take them on. Some have elements but no-one has the complete head-on solution, until now

 Denon Heos is the first head-on competitor with an almost model for model line-up and even more to follow.

HEOS 5

So which to buy if you are ready to build a streaming system?

Finish on the Heos is classy and clever, although the Sonos metal grille is easier for cleaning.

Both can stream from your PC, napster, spotify, and online radio

Both have APPS for iPhone and Android

Denon uses your existing wifi and the range includes extenders to make it solid if your wifi is a bit iffy. Sonos has it's own mesh so your wifi is irrelevant.

Both can be easily added to room by room.

Both can use 2 tabletops in one room in stereo mode

The Denon has an auxiliary tv input, for Sonos you need a Playbar

Denon doesn't have a soundbar but will have next year

Sonos tabletops are £ 169, £ 249, and go to £ 349. Denon has models at £ 249, £ 349 and also a heavily upgraded version soundwise at £ 499. £ 179 version to follow

Really it comes down to sound, price, and also how easy is the APP to use?

 HEOS AMP 

 HEOS 7

Production models will arrive in August to make sure but the Denon sounds really good and will certainly take a slice of Sonos's action

At launch there will be Heos 3 £ 249, Heos 5 £ 349, Heos 7 £ 499, Heos Amp £ 399, Heos Link pre £ 299, Heos Extender £ 79

Can't wait to hear the real production versions and the head on competition!

In a growing market there is undoubtedly room for both, and don't forget Sonos have a 10 year headstart, but this is also the first time they have seen real competition, excellent for everyone

 HEOS LINK REAR 

New Kef Range for summer 14

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BIG KEF NEWS

For a while now Kef have been on the crest of a wave sweeping all before them in performance loudspeakers .

Now they have taken it even further.

Following on from worldwide awards for LS50, R series, T series and Blade we have learned that the new Reference series will be shipping this summer. Like R and LS50, technology from the Blade will trickle down into 4 completely new loudspeakers and a subwoofer.

The new speakers all feature a Blade derived treble/mid configuration allied to a new 165mm bass unit developed for Blade2/mini-Blade. Current Reference will continue while stocks last allowing clients to add to an existing system.

The Reference 1 bookshelf model will sell for £ 4500, as will the centre speaker. The Reference 3 floorstanders will be £ 6999 and the Reference 5 floorstanders £ 10500. The Reference subwoofer is £ 4000

These prices are for satin walnut and high gloss black finishes, in both of these the front panel is fini shed in silver to match the drive unit. There are three special edition finishes, luxury high gloss rosewood, full high gloss black with the drive unit in copper like the LS50 and ice blue white where the drive unit is anodised in blue. Special finishes will carry a 10% price premium.

Follow the link for images REFERENCE PICS

Also announced is Blade2, a more room-friendly version with the same technology and amazing design which is 1461 tall instead of 1590 mm

This uses 4 of the 165mm bass units down from the 225mm size of the full Blades and gives a new price point of £15,000.

Blade Techie stuff

Nice, half way between top Reference 5 and the original Blades which continue at £ 20,000

Standard price finishes are

Piano black, Snow white, Racing red, Warm metallic grey,Light metallic silver
Frosted blue, Frosted copper black

Matching any pantone colour you want is also available at extra cost.

Reference speakers are available during July, for Blade 2 deliveries start from September

Naim MU.SO

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A previous blog introduced the Naim Muso soundbar and the changes at Naim that allowed this new product direction to happen. Now I have heard it and it's worth reporting on.

The Muso is a beautiful piece of kit. With a top plate of aluminium and an illuminated top control panel/volume knob the quality of materials screams expensive. While £ 895 might be the top end of soundbars this really looks and feels the part of an even more expensive product, even on a pre-production sample.

Connections are simple, optical for connecting your tv, usb and an analogue line-in, plus wireless music connectivity via wifi and bluetooth.

Firing up a selection of Tom Waits, John Coltrane and an assortment of female vocalists all gave good results. This might not be a hifi system but it's the best soundbar I've heard!

A soundbar never has the room-filling scale of a pair of separate loudspeakers but that's not the point.

Primarily this will make your tv sound great so that you can make out the dialogue. Secondly it's a decent extra room music system and thirdly you can make it into a networked music system with one in many other rooms even if they're not connected to a tv.

Interestingly from a business point of view who will this appeal to? Any music/hifi enthusiast/Lyric client will want one, almost a given, but will the distribution through wider channels such as John Lewis be successful? The investment in this design and tooling means that it needs to be and £ 895 is expensive in the department store environment( even though they sell £ 3-4k televisions) where soundbars are £99 of rubbish.

Time will tell, I would love this bold move to do well, it should be available and on demonstration at Lyric from early September 

Naim Investment by 2

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Naim Investment by 2

Two surprising pieces of news one after the other, one product investment and one financial

Financially Naim were taken over by/merged with Focal the French loudspeaker company in 2011

Now the Focal group has a new majority shareholder of a French Equity company called Aquasourca backed by another French finance house called Naxicap partners.

Focal and Naim will be renamed the Vervent Audio Group (VAG) and Focal founder Jacques Mahul, principle mover behind the original Naim investment, steps down as chairman, although he will continue to support the company as a 'brand ambassador'.

Naxicap have invested in over 200 French companies, providing finance and expertise to take these companies to a world stage.

Paul Stephenson, Managing Director of Naim said: “Naim has a dynamic roadmap for business growth going forward. We welcome our new investors and their shared vision for our future.”

Whatever that means!

I am pretty suspicious of Privaty Equity firms intentions with regard to established businesses. I don't see them as interested in the hifi/music business and their end-game is usually to flip the group elsewhere for a profit. Maybe I'm cynical and French PE firms are different.

To clinch a deal like this and make a big payoff to existing shareholders I would imagine that you would expand the product line-up and the distribution base as quickly as possible to build up value in the company.

Which leads neatly to the second investment that Naim has made in a new product direction.

Introducing Muso™ by Naim, this not written by me but by What Hifi

'In a big departure from its more traditional audio products, Naim has today [24th April] taken the wraps off its latest creation – an £895 wireless speaker/soundbar system, the Naim Muso.

Muso comes equipped with AirPlay, aptX Bluetooth and UPnP (Universal Plug 'n' Play) capability and will be available from September through John Lewis and other retailers.

Muso features six 75W digital amplifiers driving six custom-designed Naim drivers. There are two midrange drivers in their own enclosure, a pair of tweeters and a pair of 'racetrack' bass drivers. A dark grey grille comes as standard, but additional ones will be available in different colours at launch.

Inside the aluminium-covered MDF casework is DSP (Digital Signal Processing) technology developed from Naim's work on in-car audio systems for Bentley.

A large, circular aluminium volume control on top of the unit also includes touch-sensitive buttons for selecting different inputs, pause, play and track skip.

Round the back you'll find the heatsink, and additional USB and 3.5mm analogue inputs are on the side. The USB connection will play music from and charge an iPhone, iPad, iPod and many other MP3 players. Underneath the unit (to keep unsightly cables out of view) are the optical digital and ethernet connections.

Additional features include two room EQ settings to optimise the sound when the unit is placed near or away from walls, and a loudness control to boost bass and treble when listening at low volumes.

The Naim Muso can operate as a standalone system or be used as part of a Naim or AirPlay multiroom set-up. A new control app for iOS and Android devices will be available from September 2014, giving access to thousands of internet radio stations.

And there's a strong possibility that the device will ship with a streaming music service on board too, although that's not confirmed at this stage.

Muso supports the following audio formats: WAV, FLAC and AIFF up to 24-bit/192kHz; ALAC (Apple Lossless) up to 24-bit/96kHz; MP3 up to 48kHz, 320kb (16-bit); AAC up to 48kHz, 320kb (16-bit); and OGG and WMA up to 48kHz (16-bit).

A lot of development went into the bass reflex port (shown below) so the size, shape and positioning of it was carefully calculated during the early development phase. The port is ribbed to increase rigidity and is flared to minimise turbulence, which helps reduce resonance and lowers distortion.

As for the electronics, the digital signal processor is the 'audio brain' of the the system. It uses a high-performance, 32-bit silicon chip and the code that runs it was custom-designed by Naim's engineers.

To ensure strong wi-fi performance, Naim worked with a consultant professor from Queen Mary, University of London to develop an embedded wi-fi antenna system. Two hidden printed-circuit slot antennae, one between the bass drivers and one inside the rear heatsink, work in combination with a dual-channel receiver.

Other highlights include the touch-panel volume control which is made from a solid ring of bead-blasted, anodised aluminium and features 11 illuminated volume segments which vary in intensity depending on the volume setting.

Designed and engineered by Naim’s in-house R&D team, Muso measures just under 63cm wide, 12cm tall and 25.6cm deep, and weighs 13kg'.

I really hope that this Naim plan/roadmap succeeds. I love to see innovative local brands finding worldwide success, even if they have to have new bosses to make it . I just hope that is the same Naim Audio ethos we all know and love that is successful and not the vision of a private equity accountant. I want Naim to become what Jaguar Range Rover is, not Rover MG

Ditto for the Muso as it takes on Sonos. Sonos have been unbelievably successful because their systems sound good for the money and are bullet-proof. They are so successful that Samsung, Panasonic, Denon, and other major players are now out to take the Sonos market later this year. There is also a great opportunity for better sounding streaming products but they must be as bullet-proof and simple to use as the Sonos. This requires major investment and Naim are now ideally placed to gain a slice of this expanding pie given the right products and distribution, hence John Lewis as a Naim dealer which would have been heresy just a few years ago. Expect to hear Muso in Lyric Hifi from September with an accompanying review here hoping it will be really good.