Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene 3

I admit to be a bit of a fan of Jean Michel Jarre, and have been since the very first release of the original Oxygene in 1976/77 (depending where in the world you were).

His career has spanned several decades since and has seen the release of many albums, some good, some not so good, and some great ones. (yes I'm biased).

In 1997 , Oxygene 7-13 was released, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the original, continuing on the 'story' if you will. Now, another 20 years later , Oxygene 3 is released , which in Jean Michel's own words, is the final chapter of the 'trilogy'. If it was ever intended as such I don't know but it's good marketing, and if the release schedule is to remain the same, I don't see him release another in 20 years from now, the man would be 80 then, but who knows...

So what is Oxygene 3, firstly a conflicting album title, which I expected to be 14-20, as in the sequential numbering of the tracks on the album.
Secondly, it is an album that isn't so much the same as the previous two. I personally am missing a good up tempo single, and the single track that's on the album, in my view has a weak melody.
Yet , the album , as a story (and that's how the albums should be listened to, like an electronic opera of classical piece, that tell a story and has several chapters), is more cohesive than the second one, and a certain style , chord progression, and sounds can be found largely throughout the album, it certainly put me in a reflective mood, and maybe that's its intention, be it that it probably wanted me to reflect on the state of the planet, instead it made me reflect on what it is that's 'wrong' with the album. The structure of the tracks is such that as soon as there seems to be the beginning of a melody, or I get the feeling the track is finally getting going, there's a change and I'm misled, confused even. Not what I expected, still the sounds , the sound effects, the atmospheres are great and showcase great skill and knowhow, not really surprising considering the decades long experience of Jean Michel.

So in short, Oxygene 3 hasn't have me wax lyrically, but it is strangely endearing, and together with the previous two, makes perfect sense. Recommended listening nonetheless!

Monitor Audio Silver 6 Speakers

It doesn't matter how good your amplifiers and source material are, if you have poor speakers, poor placement of speakers, or both, you still won't be able to enjoy the music as it was intended.

I've been searching myself for a pair of new stereo speakers to replace my old KEF Q1's.

One of the reasons is that the Q1's are stand mounters , and my room is such that one of them was prone to be knocked of, so I had been looking for floor standing speakers for a while.

After auditioning several models, I've settled on the Monitor Audio Silver 6 speakers in Walnut. They come in a variety of (real wood veneer) finishes, however gloss black and white lacquer is at a premium.
The finishing is superb indeed, which is just as well as they are part of the furniture. The only slight criticism is the plinth, which somehow looks a bit cheap, but is sturdy and gives the speaker added stability.  This is also where the adjustable spikes screw in, which are equipped with easy to adjust lock wheels etc so no need to try and get a wrench/spanner under the plinth to secure things up.

They are compact enough not to be in the way, and large enough to transmit sufficient bass.  Sufficient? Let's make that more than enough for my listening room.  I had to use the supplied foam bungs to plug the rear ports to reduce the bass a little.  This instantly shored things up.

Ideally I wouldn't want to do that, but my listening room is fairly tricky, hence the need. Your mileage may vary.

The Silver 6 is a 2.5 way design and to my ears it appears Monitor Audio has succeeded in making the crossovers from one driver to another seamless.  The 25mm C-cam tweeter sounds clear, open and slightly bright. Don't read this as aggressive, they are not. Perhaps it is because coming from the gentler sounding Q1's that I am hearing things I previously didn't.
My Arcam amplifier is slightly on the polite side so combining these with more forward sounding speakers results in a pleasant balance in my view.

In my room, I had to position them with a slight toe in ,which shored up the stereo image. If your
speakers are closer together, you may find this not to be needed at all.

The tracks I initially played to audition them at home were Chris Isaac's  Wicked Games (remastered), Diana Krall's Temptation, Vangelis' Rosetta , Gregory Porter's Musical Genocide, and finally the Eagles Hotel California live.
All these showcased the precision these speakers posses, bass was low and punchy, but never boomy (speaker positioning plays a part in this of course), and good resolution between instruments. In my listening environment they are placed ever so much too far apart but I didn't get the sense that I had a 'gap' in the middle. If anything, the soundstage was fairly evenly distributed between the speakers and a little behind it.  Compare it to seeing an artist perform live on a stage a little further away, rather than in an intimate setting right in front of you, that kind of feel. It wasn't flat, and in my room, that's all I can wish for.
These should be on the audition list for anyone looking for a new pair of floorstanding speakers.

Second Hand HiFi, Arcam DV135

As you know, this blog's main reason for existence is to write about my journey through HiFi, along with music reviews and product reviews.
One of the objectives is to illustrate that music enjoyment using good quality equipment, does not have to break the bank.  As I have owned an Arcam A85 integrated amplifier for some time, I was looking to complement that with a good quality CD player.
However, I also have some DVD's, and my wife doesn't appreciate equipment as I do, so a compromise needed to be found in a multidisc player that complements the A85 nicely. Enter the DV135.
The ARCAM DV135 has been around since late 2007 and the reviews it received at the time all ranged from good to very good. It was praised time and time again for it's excellent music reproduction, only falling short when compared to dedicated CD players of a similar cost. The DV135 plays DVD's , CD's and SACD's amongst others which is all I need. It also has an HDMI  output which means it connects up easily to most modern TV's.  It doesn't transmit surround sound in a digital format via that port, but for my uses that is not needed. I don't own a surround system, and have no interest in one either.

Playing a few well known CD's immediately showed a nice improvement in music playback, certainly when compared to my Sony DVD player, which was always a stop gap measure.
The sound quality of the DV135 is neutral to warm, with a very good soundstage and separation between instruments. Only the trickiest of recordings loose a little in that respect, but many CD players do too.

You would do yourself a favour to do a bit of research, find which equipment had good reviews, see what you like, and find them secondhand, if you can live with not having the latest and greatest.  I dare to wager that my system can still keep up with some of the newer stuff being released now, for a fraction of the price. I paid very little for mine, but it came without a remote. I personally don't miss that, and there are universal remote controls out there that I an substitute if I ever feel the desire.

Quality Interconnects from QED

Over many years the debate on quality cables and their impact on sound quality has been going on amongst manufacturers, hifi enthusiasts etc.

How much of an improvement cables make is down to a few factors in my opinion. The hifi equipment must be of a reasonably good to very good standard and you will have to know what your system sounds like before you could really hear differences between one good cable and another.

What most people will notice though is the difference between a cheap wire , and a quality cable. Particularly in the field of speaker wires.  However, also the interconnecting cable between an amplifier, and a source such as a CD player, Tuner, Network streamer or Turntable can make a difference, particularly when compared to the often very cheap RCA cables included with a lot of gear. Great to get you going, but that's all.

So with that in mind I recently bought a set of QED Performance Audio Graphite Interconnects, to replace an older cable between my trusty CD player, and my amplifier.   I chose the 0.6M length version, retailing for 24.95 GBP.
The cables are well packaged and very well made with a nice good looking 'Graphite' finish and gold plated contact areas.
Did I notice a difference?  Well, to be honest , yes I did! It wasn't day and night, but then my current HiFi is hardly the top of the range.  I currently play CD's from a Marantz CD6003, feeding an Arcam A85 amplifier, into KEF Q1 speakers.   All these components are a few years old but I know what they sound like, and they work in my current listening room.
I am looking to change the speakers next , but taking my time.  Anyway, back to the interconnects.
I noticed that compared to the older cable, I had an improvement in bass, which appeared tighter and better timed, as well as details in the higher registers, edges of cymbals, percussion instruments, and room ambience all seemed to be easier to pick up.  Some of these elements were not night and day, and I'd say the biggest improvement in my case was the firming up of the lower registers.

I would however say not to go over board. Keep everything in balance. A pair of 25GBP cables is well worth it for equipment such as mine, but paying a ten fold of that, would be silly, unless your other components are of a similar standard. Even then, I don't think you get a ten fold improvement.

In short, these QED Performance Audio Graphite Interconnects are well worth the investment.

For more information and others in the range visit:  http://www.qed.co.uk

Vangelis Rosetta

It has been some time, but Vangelis today released his latest album, Rosetta.
Inspired by the ESA mission of the similar name, to launch a spacecraft to a comet and attempt to land on it is the theme of this album. An artist impression of the comet is used as the album art.

From the opening notes of this album first track called 'Origins' it is clear that this is a triumphant return of Vangelis as I grew up with. Themes, soundscapes, melodies, and atmosphere all echo that of some classic albums such as Antarctica, Direct, Spiral and others are woven through out this album. I was transported back a few decades my memories of these by the second track 'Star stuff'.
The production of the album is as we are used to from Vangelis. Sparkling high notes, supported by layers and textures and Cello like bass that reaches quite deep at times.  This album will also be able to give any hifi system a decent workout! A very good test will be the track Perhelion, a dramatic piece with pulsing synthesisers and percussive drama!

The album's overall character is quite bombastic at times and is perhaps not the best choice if you want to relax. If you want to be entertained, I'd recommend giving this a listen, preferably through a decent HiFi of course!

WELCOME

SONIC SEDUCTIONS , is a new blog on which I will share with you my journey through music enjoyment , through the use of  'affordable' hifi equipment.
Expect album reviews, equipment reviews, as well as my personal experiences.

If you're a manufacturer of Hifi Equipment, or record label/independent recording artist I invite you to submit your CD's and/or equipment in for review.
Equipment will be returned where required, CD's etc will not.

Send me a pm with your requirements.