Didn’t realise that was you Jules, in the leather coat taking all the photos and notes, perhaps we’ll get a chance for a chat at the next one.

Was a very enjoyable day, thanks are due to David for hosting. It was actually the first time I’d got to hear my Modwright as I’d just bought it, fitted new NOS valves when all my gear had to go into storage, and have to say it exceeded my expectations. Very happy with it.

None of the stages sounded poor, just some were better than others lol. I was particularly impressed with the Paradise and Jez’s new creation. Nick’s new PH1 £200 stage sounded great for the money, also liked his new version of the Jfet.

Winner for me has got to be his reference stage though, I’ve never heard better.

The Maxonic speakers are astonishing in many ways, give a real sense of occasion to listening, are capable of very high spl’s and are probably the most transparent speakers to what is fed to them I’ve ever heard. They sounded great wth the amp, and also great with a couple of OTL amps brought by myself and another, though it was asking a lot of them to drive to those levels, particularly mine, being a mighty 4 watts. :-)

Look forward to the next one!

And now we agree!
Especially on the last comment - I still think 25 quid is too much to pay for an album, never mind £250.
But a meeting of people interested in hifi and the reproduction of music needn't necessarily end in everyone (or anyone) making a purchase.

Would turntables be a possibility David?

If we had the Paradise or Arkless phono stage there maybe the NVA could have a proper run out ...

I certainly did at TASBO

Wondered who the boy was

Right, here we go!

Thanks for your patience but this is the first free time I’ve had since the weekend. 

So let’s get straight down to business – the room. It’s the spacious basement of MCRU towers and is extremely well appointed for the job.  Nibbles, tea and coffee were all on hand - great job DB. The photo below shows the view from my seat.



So let’s briefly check out the demo gear. The Garrard 301 front end with slate plinth was supplied by the lovely Dom and Natalie of NWA fame. Great to meet you guys!
Check out the day-glo vinyl ...




The cart was Dom’s very own high end design, the DH3, which coped with anything and everything we threw at it during the day with consummate ease.



This Isotek unit supplied the juice.



Solid-state pre and power amps were by Swiss company Soulution. For some reason unknown to myself I didn't take pics of these – sorry! But you can see the monolithic silver power amp resting on the floor in the very first photo above.  All in all about 60K’s worth of muscle – the power amp is rated about 150W. I have to say that this combination wasn’t to everyone’s taste ( for me the sound could be somewhat hard and relentless at times at the high volumes we were listening at ) but most importantly it was extremely revealing. We were left in no doubt as to the capabilities and sonic signatures of all the units tested.

Speakers were by Maxonic, the TW1100Mk2, which retail at 75k for the pair.
Beautifully finished three way designs, you certainly need some space to do these beasts justice. I can see why David chose them - they do super tight bass, scale, soundstage and then some … With the Solution amps there was certainly some ‘dryness’ to the sound but they were extremely fast and open, with dynamics to kill for.







So the idea was to start with the cheapest phono stages and work our way up the food chain. We kicked off with Nick Gorham’s latest Longdog budget creations - £200 MM stage and head amp.
Great to see Nick catering for all ends of the market.




I was struck by the amount of low bass that these units produced, a very pleasant surprise, especially during ‘Fever’. But what I really missed was some top end sparkle and there was a slight hardness to the midband on all tracks as I remember it. Now let’s be honest, in the real world nobody is going to use £200 units with amps and speakers that go into six figures! But I can’t report how they will sound in suitable budget systems - that’s how I heard it on the day, so that’s how I will report it. Big respect to Nick for bringing them along to the party.

Next up was the 70 quid Cambridge unit, the CP2 I believe? Sorry, no pic. I was quite surprised by the qualities of this unit. Whilst not really having the extended top end I was still looking for, it definitely sounded sweeter with a touch more warmth. Vocals felt a little bit more natural and ‘real’ to me. A good effort!

Then we heard an old PS Audio stage, the PS4A. No idea what this originally retailed for, it is long discontinued. Here things started to get more interesting. The treble certainly opened up, we got a big upswing in dynamic abilities and I noted a bit more depth and clarity to the midband. I thought it particularly strong on a 45rpm recording of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Nice!



Moving on to another new Longdog design, this time a JFET design that will retail somewhere around £1300. Case work tbc also; today it was housed in one of the Reference cases. Whilst listening to Yello – Flag I found good depth to the sound, but was wanting a bit more attack; it felt a little too ‘polite’ in this set-up and I was missing some of the resolution, zip and dynamics that the PS Audio dug out.



Onto the NVA Phono 2. I was most disappointed we couldn’t hear it on a level playing field as David (and others) rate it very highly indeed. Quite simply there wasn't enough gain in this set-up so that even with the pre-amp maxed out, we were nowhere near previous volume levels. So sadly I don’t feel it’s fair to pass any comment. Another time I hope.

Next was a Tom Evans ‘Groove’ stage which retailed somewhere around the 2K mark I understand. I found it somewhat of a mixed bag sonically. I liked the explicit top-end, with good dynamics, but on the downside it sounded a tad thin to me overall and the bass didn’t go quite as deep as the PS Audio. It sounded at its best on a Martin Stephenson track, which was new to me.



We then moved onto a little two-box design by Clones Audio. I struggled a bit with this stage. On all records I found the sound too hard-edged and brittle, just too difficult to listen at high volume. It did seem to improve a bit the more we listened – I have no idea whether this was due to choice of recording or extra warm-up time. The Roger Waters was particularly brash but the Steve Miller 12”, Macho City, was more palatable – great tune too and new to me!



And now to the first giant killer of the day! Step up to the plate, a tube design; the US made Modwright SWP 9.0SE. Retail roughly 3.5K in its day but young Ali Tate managed to plunder one for just 500 notes. Yikes!! Jammy bugger. My eyes and ears lit up with this one. I liked the subdued brushed metal finish with subtle branding but more importantly it rocked the house. It presented a huge and sublimely airy soundstage with wonderful depth and texture. The best so far by a country mile. Some found the midband a little relentless but I really dug it’s stark but sweet realism, the live recording of Hugh Masekela got the old goose bumps going, the Maxonics giving us that ‘stalls seat’ experience. There really was the first ‘buzz’ in the room listening to this one. And to think it will only get better - Ali had only recently re-tubed the unit and I could feel his smug glow of satisfaction in the seat behind me. Two photos of this since it’s rather photogenic!




Many thanks to Simon for giving us another opportunity to hear his Paradise, a 'home build' that works out around £1800. I absolutely loved it at the ASBO so was chomping at the bit for another bite of the cherry. It didn’t disappoint. Listening to Yello’s The Race (again!) we were treated to an absolutely thumping rendition with dynamics that left the jaw well and truly open. So fast, such taut, deep bass. The theme from Bullitt with its trademark horns was portrayed with stunning accuracy and realism, my smile was broad and fixed.  This is a stage that you can crank like a Marshall stack but you don’t feel like you are being battered – the music remains totally even-handed without a hint of distortion. This is total audio excitement in a box, or three … Here’s an ass-end shot of two of the three boxes!



So where to go from here? The answer was a brand new two-box design from Jez Arkless. Price not fixed yet but somewhere up to 2K was being mentioned. ‘Inspired’ by the Paradise, but not a clone, make no mistake this unassuming unit with the beady red eyes is a very, very serious contender. Oh my word, the Nils Lofgren live guitar sounded amazingly detailed, the sense of the string timbre being quite palpable. Similar to the Paradise, it generates pure drama and listening pleasure. Perhaps the best compliment I can pay both designs is that they get you listening 100% to the music, not the phono stage. Which is better? No idea! I would need to spend more time with them both, but they are certainly very evenly matched and with no obvious weaknesses from either design, you simply *have* to audition the two if you get the chance. But remember that the Arkless will be available direct from the designer, whereas the Paradise needs to be lovingly built by someone who is expert in their job!




And finally to Nick Gorham’s Music First Audio Reference. About 10K for the stage and 3K for the step-up. The sound has a lovely refined texture and body, but didn’t feel as ‘open’ as the previous two stages. Whilst still being a highly dynamic design, to my ears it slightly lost out on detail retrieval and I rather missed the overt adrenaline rush that the Paradise and Arkless give you by the bucket load.
  


It was a long but very informative and entertaining session. Thanks to everyone who made the effort to bring their kit both new and old, and again, big respect to DB for being such a genial and accommodating host. If you get a chance to attend a future meeting, I think it will be well worth the trip whether you live near or far.

My only disappointment (apart from the NVA issue) was having to leave immediately after all the stages had been auditioned. I missed out on hearing these gorgeous looking speakers designed by Colin at Reiver Acoustics. He also brought his very purposeful looking Edingdales.  Did anyone get to hear these? If they sound as good as they look ….

Great post Jules.
Small point of order: Solution spell their name oddly with an extra 'u' in it.

Thanks Chris, now edited ...

From what I gather, there were too many to really 'get' it all. I remember doing multiple turntable comparisons decades ago when my ears were fresh. After fifteen minutes I found I could hear less difference and after half an hour they all sounded the same. After a good break, the discrimination returned I remember. Also, after travelling to a venue a long way, one's ears (OK, mine) needed half an hour at least to recover from the journey - I used to travel to ATC a lot and the effects of the car journey were repeatable for me. I still see my old friend 'HiFi' Dave once or twice a year and it's the same as he lives 70 miles away, only it takes an hour now for my ears to settle.

Maybe a bake-off situation like this is different as it's les 'formal' than a supposedly serious dem to a client wanting to make a purchase and maybe there were plenty of tea/coffee breaks?

OK since this bake off was in part farcical I'm taking it upon myself to ask some questions and relay information. Was the NVA MM or MC and perhaps Dave could post what he ordered. Also I'm told not user adjustable so if something wrong suggest it goes back to NVA to correct. Since I own the same model the only explanation could be it being MM. MC has plenty gain for almost all circumstances which doesn't line up with reported performance.