This all-British stereo hi-fi system takes issues up a degree or two all spherical from our discount £1600 turntable and streaming system. This can be a completely fashionable, totally digital system that takes these ones and zeroes and maxes all of them the way in which as much as 10; or maybe that must be 11?
The system
CD participant: Cyrus CDi (£1595/$1899/AU$2499)
DAC/streamer: Chord Mojo2/Poly (£995/$1600/AU$1998)
Stereo amplifier: Rega Elex Mk4 (£1199/$1875/AU$2499)
Loudspeakers: Neat Iota Alpha (£2025/$2150/AU$3300)
Complete: £5814 / $7524 / AU$10,296
Compact Disc participant: Cyrus CDi
We’ll kick issues off with the principle supply. Stories of the compact disc’s demise have been tremendously exaggerated over the previous few years – partly, it’s true, due to the cussed, great refusal of the turntable to reverse its spectacular upward development. However when you think about that the majority streaming platforms, and positively the most well-liked of them, don’t present music on the high quality {that a} CD gives, it’s clear that there’s loads of life left within the silver disc.
The Cyrus CDi at present units the benchmark at its worth. And because the constant stream of What Hello-Fi? Awards gained over time for the reason that CDi’s launch can attest, it has been a perennial chief in its subject.
It presents the uniform, articulate and intuitive presentation that we anticipate from a costlier participant. There’s a bucket-load of element and precision: every layer of a monitor is exactly unpeeled, with each instrument coming via with coherent circulation and tact.
It’s this wonderful CD participant’s rhythmic expertise, although, that actually raises our eyebrows. Tempo and momentum is exercised with articulation and vibrancy, and we discover ourselves entertained by the Cyrus’s dynamic agility and impartial steadiness in a approach that’s uncommon at this worth.
DAC and streaming module: Chord Mojo2/Poly
Our second digital supply is slightly extra uncommon than the CD participant within the system. Chord is considered one of our go-tos for digital to analogue converters, with What Hello-Fi? Awards popping out of its ears for its high-end DACs. The Mojo 2 is Chord’s entry-level providing, and it’s a pleasure, appropriately sufficient – the identify Mojo comes from a conflation of ‘cell pleasure’.
Now we have married the Mojo 2 right here with its Poly companion, a neat little attachment that opens up streaming skills to the DAC, within the type of DLNA, AirPlay, Bluetooth and microSD card playback.
And, by way of musical matrimony, the Poly and Mojo could possibly be gearing up for his or her Silver anniversary. Sonically, this can be a match made in hi-fi heaven.
We completely liked the unique Mojo, however Chord has superior issues in just about each sonic space with this sequel. The soundstage has been opened up and that further depth and dimension has been full of larger decision that isn’t solely unmistakably current because of a giant enhance in readability but in addition extra exactly positioned. A hearken to Ludovico’s Rolling Like A Ball in hi-res is sufficient to inform us as a lot; the main edges of piano notes are crisper with out compromising the circulation of the piece, whereas harmonic subtleties are extra simply discernible.
Certainly, the enhancements over the unique Mojo (which, please bear in mind, we completely liked) are sufficient for us to have really helpful the improve to the second technology even to homeowners of the primary iteration.
Built-in amplifier: Rega Elex Mk4
All of the brilliance of these two sources for our music would come to nothing, after all, with out an amplifier to take advantage of their skills, to spice up the sign they’ve supplied and to ship it alongside to the loudspeakers with the oomph to make the whole thing sing.
Enter Rega’s newest Elex amplifier. The Elex Mk4 is the successor to our multiple-Award successful Rega Elex-Rconsidered one of our favorite amplifiers of the previous decade.
As we are saying in our evaluation of the Elex Mk4, this isn’t a showy amplifier; it doesn’t attempt to artificially seize your consideration or disguise any insufficiencies behind metaphorical jazz palms. It merely handles each aspect of the music in an extremely assured and stylish method. That is an amplifier that is aware of what it’s doing and needs you to simply sit again and pay attention.
The way in which the Rega handles music – delivering it as a cohesive complete slightly than particular person components – is effortlessly finished. We battle to give attention to explicit strands or frequencies to critique, and as a substitute are content material listening to trace after monitor and marvelling at how the Elex turns its hand to each music. It merely doesn’t impose itself on the music – that’s an enormous accomplishment.
It does have a slightly lean character that works to its benefit on the subject of timing. Agile and nimble-footed, it may be as pacy or as regular as wanted, marshalling musical components with authority and making sense of complicated rhythms with ease.
Revealing and devoted, the Elex Mk4 is succesful in methods far past our expectations at this mid-tier worth level. The addition of digital inputs and a headphone port is a good step in the suitable path from Rega; that’s not one thing of direct concern on this explicit set-up, nevertheless it does give extra flexibility in the way you would possibly hearken to this terrific amp.
Stereo audio system: Neat Iota Alpha
The ultimate piece of the puzzle on this wonderful British hi-fi system comes within the considerably unconventional type of the Neat Iota Alpha loudspeakers. Little knee-high floorstanders, angled to permit for that diminutive stance, they’re sensible performers that gained’t dominate a room.
On which word, they aren’t notably fussy about placement: they want a little bit of reinforcement from a rear wall – we place them round 30cm out into the room, with only a trace of angle in direction of the listening place.
And the place of the tweeters offers further scope for tweaking. Depart them on the outer edges and you’re going to get a wider unfold of sound. Leaving them on the within provides only a contact extra focus. The optimum placement will depend on your room and system, so it is best to have enjoyable experimenting and tweaking.
Get all the pieces arrange simply so, and you’ll get pleasure from a surprisingly expansive and spacious presentation from these little packing containers that wouldn’t be misplaced from rivals twice the peak. There’s a very good quantity of precision, and the presentation stays secure even when the music turns into demanding. The Neats sound approach greater than anticipated, delivering a way of authority and solidity completely out of maintaining with their dimension. With eyes closed we might by no means guess the audio system are so small.
The Alpha’s presentation is splendidly cohesive, the three drivers integrating seamlessly, and the sound is appealingly strong. Dynamics are sturdy too, with larger-scale dynamic shifts dealt with with confidence even at greater volumes.
Whereas there’s a good quantity of low-frequency motion, it’s truthful to say bigger, equally priced conventional floorstanders from the likes of B&WFyne Audio or Q Acoustics will dig deeper and hit tougher. It will be unrealistic to anticipate such compact audio system to fill a bigger room totally, however in a small to medium house they’re nice for something under nightclub ranges.
Verdict
Every of the elements on this better of British stereo system is a prime performer in its personal proper. As a crew, nonetheless, they gel collectively splendidly to permit your music, whether or not from CD or a stream, to be heard at its fullest potential. It is going to present many a few years of listening pleasure; and that, in spite of everything, is what that is all about – having fun with and sharing the music we love.
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