Nordost Heimdall 2 - review

Another excellent Nordost review - this time for the Heimdall 2 series of cables. The review confirms what we experienced quite closely ... Heimdall 2 is such a big leap over the original Heimdall that it pretty much equals the much more expensive Nordost TYR ( which has now also been upgraded to '2' spec)

To read the Hifi+ review of the Heimdall 2 speaker cable, interconnect and mains cable - follow this link

Hifi + review

Or to buy

Cheshire Audio - Nordost pages

Remember we can trade back your old cables ..... we are particularly interested in trading back Nordost

Home trail available

Atacama Eris ECO 5 - Modular hifi rack

We have now updated our listing for the Atacama Eris - excellent value Bamboo shelved modular Hifi table

Atacam Eris ECO 5 modular

Available with three different bamboo finishes and three different frame colours, Including Satin Black, Diamond White and Metallic Silver

For more information go to : http://www.cheshireaudio.co.uk/acatalog/Atacama_Eris_ECO.html

Atacama Elara Hifi Rack - Bamboo for the masses!

Gone are the days of the square section steel Hifi stand. New materials and the demand for something which looks stylish, rather than resembling an oil rig, have resulted in a huge and diverse range of options.

The Atacama Elara is an excellent value fixed height stand (with adjustable internal shelves)

The Elara uses the new wonder product Bamboo ...(well not new at all actually .. but certainly a recent discovery in Hifi circles)

Bamboo is extremely inert material with is extremely effective at absorbing and controlling vibration ... which results in a more dynamic and realistic sound from your system.

Atacama Elara

See the Elara here : http://www.cheshireaudio.co.uk/acatalog/Atacama_Elara2.html

Nordost Purple Flare - Product of the Year - Absolute Sound Magazine

One of our favourite mid range speaker cables has won Absolute Sound magazines 'Product of the Year'

Purple Flare is a flat section multi core cable. A configuration which has served Nordost well - easy to hide under carpet and hence sometimes the only choice when a high end performance is required in a shared space such as a living room

Congratulations to Nordost on this well deserved award

To try out a set at home (or the matching interconnect) give us a call on 01270 580734

See the range here http://www.cheshireaudio.co.uk/acatalog/Nordost_Factory_terminated.html

Atlas Digital cables

We've just been updating our Digital cables section ... more to come

See http://www.cheshireaudio.co.uk/acatalog/Digital_Cables.html for more details

Atlas Mavros interconnect

Atlas cables have been a bit of a revelation. We took on the range about 6 months ago and have been totally staggered by how well they perform. Some of their budget end designs have been winning various, quite prestigeous awards, but for us, it's the top end which has been the most impressive.

Asimi has become our high end cable of choice,  but if you are not at the extreme top end of the hifi world, then Mavros is a substantially cheaper alternative. Mavros uses a lot of the technology found in Asimi, but uses copper not silver .... this is the main reason for the price advantage, but dont be fooled into thinking that this is any more cheaply constructed, the build is exceptional and the quality of the copper second to none.

As with Asimi, Mavros gives music such a sense of 'reality' that it can be quite a shock .... but it doesn't fall into the trap of being open and detailed at the expense of character or soul

You really should try it out for yourself .... Atlas cables are very compatible (unlike a lot of high end) and even sound brilliant with Naim Audio

See the range here :

http://www.cheshireaudio.co.uk/acatalog/Atlas.html

On the Jig today .. Linn Sondek Ittok / K18ii

In for service recently

This Linn came in with intermittent speed and poor sound .... nice condition for the year, manufactured in around 1985. The normal issue with Linns around this age tends to be a failing Valhalla board, this can be repaired, but as there are a few better alternatives out there we tend to fit either a Hercules board ... or a Heed Orbit kit

In this case we fitted a  Hercules .... this, as well as offering a punchier more musical sound, also gives the option of electronic 33/45 speed change ... quite a bonus on the 33 only Sondek. Linn used to offer a larger 45 sleeve to fit over the 33 pulley to step up the speed, but it was a clunky solution.

The old K18mk2 had to go, as at 18+ years old it sounded dreadful. This has been replaced with a Rega Elys2, which suits the Ittok really well and has a very 'Linn like' presentation

After a full strip down and rebuild, the sound was nicely back to what you would expect ... a well tuned LP12 is still a hard act to follow !

If you have any queries re Sondek servicing/repair ... ring Philip on 01270 582154