Overview
Mr. R. contacted us in 2022 regarding upgrading his hi-fi system. Simon visited Mr. R’s home to listen to his current system, to get an understanding of the sound of his existing hi-fi and also the positioning of his speakers in his lounge.
A home demonstration was arranged to make sure Mr. R’s chosen system combination worked well in his home. The system worked perfectly in situ and his existing ‘modified’ Roksan Radius V turntable gained a new lease of life, thanks to the Gold Note PH-10 phono stage and PSU-10 power supply upgrade.
Equipment
Previous System
Arcam FMJ A39 Integrated Amplifier
Arcam FMJ D33 DAC
Avid Pulsar phono Stage
Linn Sneaky DS Network Streamer
Partington Dreadnought stands
Russell K Red 50 Mk.1 Speakers
RME ADI-2 Headphone DAC
Synology NAS drive 1TB
Retained in The New System
Arcam FMJ CD37 SACD player
Atlas Mavros Digital cable
Chord Shawline Streaming cable
Hana SL Moving coil cartridge
Origin Live Encounter tonearm
Roksan Radius 5 turntable, upgraded with a Radius 7 motor
Russ Andrews power cables throughout
Tellurium Q Ultra Black RCA cables
Tellurium Q Ultra Black Speaker cable
New System
ATC SCM-19
English Electric Switch8
Gold Note Magnifico Record Clamp
Gold Note PH-10
Gold Note PSU-10
Hegel H390
Innuos ZENith MK3
IsoAcoustics GAIA III
REL T/7x
Solidsteel SS-5
Tellurium Q Black II USB
Tellurium Q Ultra Black II XLR
Tellurium Q Ultra Black II Bi-wire Links
What they said about us
Over many years I had built up a system to play vinyl, my CD collection now ripped and stored on a NAS drive and a digital streamer to take advantage of a Qobuz subscription.
I have been an occasional customer of Home Media for some time having previously purchased KEF Q1 loudspeakers, a NAD 352 integrated amplifier, (Both still in service with a friend) and a set of headphones. I started to attend a few in store demonstration events, one by Ortofon demonstrating their cartridge range and another by Gold Note demonstrating their Vinyl replay systems. This allowed me to listen to products of interest to me and to speak to the team at Home Media.
Although neither of these events led to a purchase at the time I was impressed with certain aspects of each and tucked them away for the future. Able to make an investment in a new system, I initially approached Home Media by email, which I felt was a simpler approach than trying to explain my current system over the phone. My aims were two fold, first to simplify the system and second to improve my musical experience, through an upgrade.
I was contacted by Simon, who arranged a home visit, where he listened to my current system and we discussed my intentions. I mentioned that during the Gold Note demo I was impressed with the phono stage and particularly the addition of a separate power supply, which I felt had opened up the sound stage. I also mentioned that I was impressed with the ATC floorstanders used during the demo. Although my room was of a similar dimension to Home Media's demo room, Simon felt that standmount speakers were still the way to go.
I wanted to keep the turntable and the SACD player as I have a collection of SACD discs, everything else was up for consideration. Simon later contacted me with a list of products, which he felt would meet my requirements and fall within the stated budget. All of these were available for home demonstration.
I had originally thought to listen to a demonstration of a system at Home Media in Maidstone, but it was clear that a demonstration in the place where the system was to be situated was Home Media's recommended method for assessing the merits of the product. I agreed to listen to the products recommended and the items were delivered and installed in my home.
Not only did Home Media give me a home demonstration, the system was then left with me to listen to over time. I was contacted to see how I was getting on and we discussed any additional improvements. I was also given the opportunity to listen to alternative products. A further visit was arranged to swap out items for further consideration. There was no pressure to make a rushed decision and my thoughts were carefully listened to.
In the end I was extremely happy with both the system recommended and the service provided. I would recommend a home demonstration where available.
I have owned a number of HiFi systems over the years. I could have had a number of boxes delivered and installed them myself, but here I would also recommend Home Media's installation service to get the best out of your system. My thanks go to the whole of the Home Media team.