Something new? Indeed.

Almost year end, so it’s time for a few gongs and a glass or two of fizz.

Kuzma’s extraordinary Safir 9 tonearm claims the HiFi+ Award for ‘Best Tonearm of the Year,’ Editor Alan Sircom concluding:

But all of that pales into insignificance when you sit down and just listen. That’s when you realise this really is the best arm ever.

Hugely influential computer scientist Alan Kay* – basically the ‘father’ of the graphical user interface you’re using right now – once commented “People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.”

So what if one of the world’s top 300B valve manufacturers were to adopt a similar principle and make their own amplifier? What might that look like, one wonders?

As it turns out, it would look exactly like this, the Takatsuki TA-S01.

Beautifully designed and built to an impeccable standard, and currently warming up in anticipation of it shortly spreading a little musical festive cheer.

Finally, no cute pussy cat clips, but we do have a short valve-making movie courtesy of Takatsuki, for whom we’re now UK distributors:

Martin Colloms finds there’s rather more to the Auditorium R25A than perhaps first meets the eye.

For recording after recording, this Living Voice design manifestly conveyed the sense of performance, drawing in listeners and firmly holding the attention. Every time I powered up the system there was that fresh, communicative enthusiasm, reinforced for almost every piece of music sampled. If you ever tried to read the record liner notes, the speakers were dragging you back to the music.

A recent Roy Gregory article – Bonkers! – enthuses about the ‘punching way above its weight’ musical merits of the combination of the Konus Integrale amplifier and Living Voice R25As.

Funnily enough, over the last few months, we’d come to much the same conclusion ourselves. Good things come in small packages. Orange ones.*

So we’re pleased to announce we’ve now become the Konus distributor for the UK. More info to follow.
*Turns out oranges are not the only fruit. There’s a grey option as well.

We’ve been busy in that London, supplying the sound for Notting Hill’s newest restaurant, Caia.

A bit of experimentation and probably the first time we’ve ever suspended Living Voice speakers from the ceiling. Sounds unlikely? Actually, sounds great. More pics on Instagram.

Oh, and we loved the food…

We don’t imagine our name crops up too frequently on the Naim Forum, but a customer alerted us to heartfelt praise on our system at Cranage (NWAS 2022).

And a final drum roll for my favourite sound of the show…

Definitive Audio: A system Kevin Scott set up around the Kuzma R turntable, SJS amplifiers and of course his own Living Voice speakers. This system should never have worked in such a tight space, but oh my, it did, beautifully. A sound presentation that was cohesive, involving, dynamic and quite simply, intoxicating. Amongst several tracks (we stayed there quite a while) Kevin played Vivaldi, Arias by Cecilia Bartoli, not an album I’m familiar with, but it was hypnotic. My old school buddy who accompanied me for the day whispered to me “I don’t know whether to applaud or cry.”
I think his reaction sums up the sound quality better than I can here.

The holistic approach Kevin takes to system building really evident here, where the whole can add up to more than sum of the parts. Also, one of those rare vinyl systems that seemed to minimise surface noise to such a degree, it almost sounded like listening to a reel to reel tape. Very very impressive. This room left a lasting impression and If I had to pick just one system, this is where my money would go (not that I could afford it!).

We’ll be in the vicinity at Cranage with Simon Shilton of SJS. We’ve got a press release type of thing to explain more:

SJS, Living Voice and Kuzma have become regular collaborators at HiFi shows, combining forces through Definitive Audio to create a seamless musical experience for customers to enjoy without worrying about the pitfalls of mixing and matching components.

SJS amplifiers are designed to be used with extremely highly efficient loudspeakers, and Living Voice is the natural choice. When combined with the magic of Kuzma, the superiority of analogue replay on vinyl LP is clear to hear. The usual boundaries of stereophonic reproduction are pushed aside to create an exceptional musical performance that communicates directly with the listener.

We look forward to meeting and greeting you in room 242 at Cranage Hall.

Roy Gregory explores the current production R25A in some depth, acknowledging that while every speaker in the Auditorium lineage shares common DNA, the current models have clearly evolved to perform on an entirely different level.

With the R25As on the end of the system, it’s the music rather than the amplifier that is in the driving seat, with the result that it’s the music you hear, rather than the speakers or the system producing it.

Part-Time Audiophile’s Marc Phillips takes a shine to CEC’s DA5 DAC and TL5 Transport. Also featured in their Summer 2022 Buyer’s Guide, in the category Best Digital Players.

The real reason is that CEC got me interested in my CD collection again, imbuing those listening sessions with the same sense of discovery that I felt when streaming services finally met my standards for sound quality. That’s why the CEC DA5 DAC and the TL-5 transport earns my respect, maybe even love, and a Reviewers Choice award.

It’s been a while, but we were glad to be back in Munich, taking a somewhat more modest approach this time with a system showcasing our fourth generation Auditorium OBX-RW4. Gratifyingly, several initial reports listed ours as being one of the best-sounding rooms at the event.

In a way, the room was the opposite of every other at the show. There was no attempt to ‘out hi-fi’ other rooms. Rather than the focus being all about the sound, it was all about the music. This was a system to melt your heart because there was nothing getting in the way–sonically speaking–of that happening. Yet this wasn’t one of those systems where musicality comes at the expense of sonic performance. Rather, one got the feeling that all the music was there–and that nothing was missing from the sound, either.

The Absolute Sound

Living Voice was running the latest Auditorium OBX RW4 compact floor-standers. Those expecting to see (and hear) the Vox speakers were beguiled by sound that was both delightful and extremely engaging and, while the Kuzma R/Safir and Grand Prix Monaco/4Point14 front-ends (with CAR-60 and CAR-50 cartridges respectively) were obviously playing their part, don’t overlook the contribution of the SJS electronics.

Roy Gregory via Gy8

Possibly taking my crown as the most favourite among favourites was the room with Living Voice loudspeakers supported by SJS electronics and Kuzma and Grand Prix Audio analogue sources.

SoundStage! Australia (10 Favourite Exhibits)

This is the kind of system that, once installed in your home, would deliver a lifetime of musical pleasure, leaving you to concentrate solely on exploring music.

Ultra Audio

This was a truly memorable room three years ago, and it was equally memorable in 2022.

Part-Time Audiophile

With Mari Samuelsen’s rendition of ‘Violin Concerto (Second Movement)’ by Philip Glass the system was heartbreaking, I ordered the vinyl there and then but getting it to sound this good at home will be a challenge.

EnjoyTheMusic

When a system is ‘just right’ like this it’s difficult to tear yourself away, and the Living Voice system was a real treat to listen to. The scale of the music playing defied the relatively small size of the LV loudspeakers and the dynamics on offer were incredible.

HiFi Pig

Living Voice took a break from the magnificent horn systems it usually demonstrates to reveal the capabilities of the rather more approachable OBX-RW4 floorstanders. These sounded superb with Kuzma and Grand Prix Audio turntables allied to SJS tube amplification…

The Ear

The sound of the show so far… There’s something quite special about the OBX-RW4 speaker when used with the other equipment on display in this room.

SoundStage! Australia

Roy Gregory’s new publishing venture, and his views on why reviewing complete systems makes more sense than hopefully slotting in components more or less at random. Three systems to start with, and look – one them’s ours.

But perhaps the most quietly impressive quality that this system demonstrates is its sheer musical willingness. The best systems – irrespective of price – transcend audio niceties and render sonics irrelevant. This is just such a system.

HiFi+ acknowledge the ultimate expression – to date – of Franc Kuzma’s flagship record player with the ‘Turntable of the Year’ Award in their annual round-up.

Franc Kuzma and his team have continued to develop and improve the Kuzma XL, allowing for existing XL owners to upgrade their turntables from the 2000s and onwards. This is a top-grade turntable that just keeps getting better.

In an interview with Srajan Ebaen of 6Moons, our fearless leader provides some insight into his motivation and a personal perspective on what’s really important when it comes to a musically-rewarding hifi system.

For me it’s always the way the system works as a whole and there are many pathways to heaven.

Painstaking attention to detail in the creation of the hand-crafted wooden cases for our favoured SJS amplifiers.

France’s prestigious Diapason magazine has awarded the Auditorium R25A a coveted ‘D’or’ Award.

Original French version meantime, English translation to follow.

The Auditorium Series has reached R4 status with effect from September 1st 2020. All production from that date will be to the R4 specification.

We believe the R4 models deliver a significant increase in attainable performance levels over their predecessors.

There’s a brief interim summary of the changes on the Living Voice website, we’ll be updating the descriptions & specifications shortly.