Author: James Harding

This year it is the fiftieth anniversary of the Linn LP12 – a product that revolutionised the way that hi-fi was demonstrated and sold by challenging the conventional wisdom that loudspeakers were the most important part of the hi-fi chain, and encouraging customers to trust their ears when making buying decisions.

The LP12 is still in production today, it’s modular design allowing even a fifty year old turntable to be upgraded, piece by piece, to the latest specification.

To celebrate this landmark anniversary Linn has teamed up with LoveFrom – a design agency run by Sir Jony Ives, formerly lead designer of many iconic Apple products.

The LP12-50 features the new Bedrok™ plinth, formed from layers of beech compressed under extreme pressure to create a solid and heavy plinth with minimal resonances to isolate the turntable mechanics.

LP12-50 also has Sir Jony’s trademark rounded corners, a new machined control button, and – refining the one part of the LP12 that really needed refining – new lid hinges, crafted in Scotland.

There will be just 250 of these turntables produced, at £50,000 each. To register your interest please visit https://www.linn.co.uk/uk/turntables/lp12-50

To celebrate their fiftieth anniversary, Naim has introduced a limited edition version of their first integrated amplifier – the NAIT1.

The NAIT 50 is a modern day re-incarnation of Naim’s first integrated amplifier, the NAIT 1 from 1983. Today’s version has replaced the Tuner input with a Streamer input, and new version includes a high quality 1.5 watt headphone amplifier instead of the balance control on the original. The main amplifier is 25 watts per channel, with a peak output of 225 watts allowing it to comfortably drive most loudspeakers. A quality moving magnet phono stage with discrete circuitry is also built in.

The NAIT 50 is a limited edition product – just 1,973 will be produced with a retail price of £2699. We are expecting delivery at the end of July but if you’d like to reserve one now please get in touch.

We are delighted to have the first products from Naim’s New Classic 200 Series on demonstration by appointment in our Ascot showroom.

The NSC222 streaming pre-amplifier can handle digital signals with a bitrate of up to 32bit/284kHz, and has access to all the major streaming services such as Qobuz, Spotify and Tidal. It also has the facility to listen to radio stations from around the world via the internet.

A high quality Moving Magnet phono stage is built in, so you can connect your turntable and give your records a new lease of life. If you want to keep your music to yourself, a headphone output using technology derived from the award winning Atom Headphone Edition is included.

It can be partnered with the latest version of the iconic NAP250 power amplifier, delivering 100 watts of Class A/B power per channel to really get the best out of your loudspeakers.

Also newly available is the NPX300 power supply, which will enhance the performance of the NSC222 and many other Naim products past and present by virtue of the 6 Discrete Regulator (DR) technology.

Our favourite loudspeaker manufacturer, Kudos Audio, has today announced a eco-friendly finish for its Titan Loudspeaker range.
Liquid Amber veneer is responsibly harvested from the fast-growing Liquidambar styraciflua tree, native to the south-east USA, before being finished with a soft sheen and hard-wearing lacquer to ensure that the loudspeakers look great for many years to come.

Following on from the award winning Dione soundbar earlier this year, Devialet has today launched the Mania rechargeable speaker.
With up to 10 hours of playback on a single charge, the Mania features a unique adaptive cross-stereo system that ensures you hear stereo sound wherever the unit is positioned. Like Devialet’s Phantom, the Mania utilises Devialet’s push-push woofer configuration to deliver impressively powerful bass, and it is the first Alexa-compatible Devialet product.
Mania is available for you to try today by appointment at Hidden Systems.

Linn has replaced the Akurate LP12 with the new Selekt LP12. This deck features the new Arko 7075-grade aluminium gimballed tonearm and the Kendo moving coil (MC) cartridge, along with:

• Karousel single point bearing
• Kore aluminium sub-chassis bonded to a machined-from-solid armboard
• Trampolin suspended aluminium base board
• Lingo 4 power supply

The Arko and Kendo are both separately retro-fittable to any LP12, allowing you to take advantage of the recent developments in materials technology and engineering expertise no matter how old your LP12 is.

Call us to arrange your demonstration today.