Whilst straight-line speed isn’t it’s forte, there aren’t many times I’ve been disappointed by the Evora’s ability to casually dispatch overtakes, or generally pile on speed. “You just don’t need more power than this in a road car”.
And then.
In an act that I still “huh?” at to this day
– Pete (RevsRus) asked me to look after both his dog and his 600LT for a weekend (3 days into his ownership (the car, not the dog)). Well, you like to help folks out don’t you? 
It’s years ago now, but it was single-digit degreesC, and the memory of it spinning the rears well into 3 figures as it fought to find traction, whilst simultaneously barrelling forwards at a rate that the Evora could only dream of, is still firmly etched in the old memory banks.Yesterday was a similar day of recalibration.
I like my music. Fuck off mik - everyone likes their music. But the same piece of music can sound great or awful. In my 20’s, a good mate devoured every copy of Melody Maker and built a collection of what became a >2k circles of the vinyl variety. He introduced me to many great artists that would otherwise have passed me by, but he had a lot of humdrum stuff too. This approach didn’t appoeal to me. Whereas buying decent (but very much budget) quality audio components did. The rule of diminishing returns absolutely applies to Hi-Fi, but with a limited budget you can still get something that sounds reasonable.
My current NAD 3240PE amp is 32yrs old, but was a bit of a 90’s hero. Same model has been owned by Nef and Maurice (and others on here?) over the years. The “PE” in the model designation refers to “Power Envelope” : via voodoo and wizard electrickery, it is rated at a modest 40 watts per channel continuous, but is able deliver upto 140wpc for transients. Hence it plays like an amp with a rather higher output. It’s still a lovely item today, but the way modern music is mixed increasingly reveals the weaknesses in this approach. Yes the ample transient power can stick a thumping bass drum in your living room, but asking it to do so in the middle of a rich, flowing bass-line can leave it floundering.
Moh powah required.
So I ordered a Cambridge Audio AXR100D yesterday. 100watts per channel, and it’s apparently a class XD amp, for which the maker claims “Class XD is Cambridge Audio’s proprietary amplification system which combines the best of Class A and Class AB amplification, delivering the sound quality of a Class A amp while retaining the efficiency of a Class AB amp”.
And it hasn’t even arrived yet, so I can’t comment on that.
So why the fuck am I typing this now?
Well, I wasn’t going to get a new amp without also updating my speakers was I? My Tannoy Mercury V4i are decent, but they aren’t great. 2.5-way design with a tweeter handling crispy details, and 2x 6.5” drivers on duty for mid range and bass. I’d have dispatched them long ago if I hadn’t supplemented them with a Tannoy TS 2.10 (300watt powered sub with two 10” drivers (one active, one passive) to fill in the bottom end. The sub has spent a decade breezing down to 24Hz in relative comfort, as the rest of the system demanded but a fraction of it’s abilities. Funny things subs – they can add so much, but setup is absolutely crucial. You definitely want them in the mix, but only with frequencies that the conventional speakers can’t produce. Set the cross-over too high, and – whilst you’ll still enjoy rumbly goodness, it will also reinforce low notes that the main speakers are already playing, creating an unbalanced, boomy mess. Tweak them controls.
I’ve had my sights set on a pair of Monitor Audio Bronze 500 floor-standers for quite some time. Similar 2.5-way concept, but with a brace of larger 8” drivers supplementing the tweeter as opposed to 2x6.5”. Reviews highlighted controlled and powerful bass, with the mid-range understandably subdued. I eventually realised this was a questionable compromise. So I didn’t buy them.
Bowers & Wilkins (B&W to friends & family) have recently released the S3 version of their 603 model. They retail above my budget, but this update means the last remaining S2 versions are currently being discounted heavily, bringing them into consideration for the first time. Hmm.
Proper 3-way design. With a dedicated 6” mid-range driver, the twin 6.5” woofers are therefore left to focus only on bass tones. Which they do with some considerable control. It’s extremely difficult to achieve great bass extension with this setup, but that isn’t crucial if you own a sub. (Interestingly B&W quote dynamic range at both -3dB roll-off and -6dB, the former noting a reasonable 48hz lower end, but the latter listing 28Hz. So there is deep bass there - it’s just rather subdued). Similar in size to the old speakers, but around double the weight. Chunky monkies.
Unsurprisingly, the sub had to be tweaked to suit them. Crossover reduced a few clicks so it backed the fuck away from the low but not super low frequencies, and volume fiddled with. I didn’t go nuts as it’ll need tweaked again once the new amp is in situ, but I got to a point I was pretty happy with the setup.
And finally I get to the point.
As noted – the 3-way design provides a dedicated mid-range driver. Vocals and guitars are really quite incredible. The clarity and detail is delicious. And – unshackled from fannying around with said mid-range tones - the tweeters and woofers are able to do their thing with a rather increased focus. Zinging crispy treble. Tight and fast bass response, with the sub stepping in to cover the tummy-rumble end. It’s quite a weird thing when everything seems clearer and louder – it seems logical that one area of the frequency range must become dominant - but thankfully our ears/brain don’t work like that. Pick an instrument and follow it with ease.
Saturday night was spent traversing a huge range of genres from various decades, marvelling at elements in well-known songs that I’d never heard before. Volume levels weren’t crazy – cautious that the old NAD amp really isn’t up to driving them hard, but the piano in Madness It Must Be Love. Stevie Wonder’s harmonica work. The theoretical “without quiet, there can be no loud” masterclass offered through both Pixies No13 Baby, and Waking Up (MJ Cole & Freya Ridings). The crispness of hi-hat and ride cymbal on so many tracks on Nirvana’s Never Mind. The dynamic range of Clubbed To Death by the Heritage Orchestra / Pete Tong.
I could witter on, but aint nobody interested in someone attempting to describe in words how good a sound was. Suffice to say I spent the whole evening grinning and/or gurning my best “oooh” face to mrs mik.
I am part-way through recalibration. And it is good.
Tl/Dr : I bought some new speakers and I like them.
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