Sydney Audio Club Meeting - Sunday 14th July 2019
For our July club meeting we are very pleased to have the distributor Interdyn present (https://www.interdyn.com.au/brands/). Interdyn is the distributor for many great HiFi products including Artnovion, Isotek, Monitor Audio, Ortofon, PMC, Pro-Ject, Roksan, Roon, Rotel, SVS and others. On the day, Tom Jolly (Product Manager) and Gabrielle Fifield from Interdyn will present a reasonably priced system based on Monitor Audio, Roksan and Pro-Ject. Our thanks to Evgeny Vizelman (Director) and Leigh Fischer (Brand & Account Manager) for helping to organize this event.
Details of the system…
Monitor Audio Gold 200 floor standing speakers - $7769.
“These are really exciting. They are the latest generation of MA's Gold series and they have seen a lot of trickle down technology from the MA flagship Platinum series, without the platinum price tag.”- Tom Jolly
Refer to https://www.monitoraudio.com/en/product-ranges/gold-5g/gold-200/
Roksan Blak amplifier - $6999. The Roksan amp includes a PC-USB input.
Refer to https://www.roksan.com/en/product-ranges/blak/blak-integrated-amplifier/
Roksan Blak CD player - $5999.
Refer to https://www.roksan.com/en/product-ranges/blak/blak-cd-player/
“The Blak range is Roksan's top range of exquisite British made electronics. Understated but great looking units with a delightful sound.” – Tom Jolly
Pro-Ject “The Classic” turntable with Ortofon Quintet Bronze Cartridge - $2600 combo.
“This is a beautifully built midrange turntable from Pro-Ject with a stunning MC cartridge from Ortofon.” – Tom Jolly
Refer to https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/the-classic/
Time permitting, Tom Jolly will also give a brief beginners presentation on the Roon music server.
The second half of the music sessions will be our popular BYO. Members and guests are welcome to offer music to share with us all. So bring along your favourite music on CD, USB thumb/flash drives or vinyl. All we ask is that the music and recordings be interesting. We'll ask you to tell us a little about the artist/recording before it is played. Tracks over 6 minutes will be faded out, to give everyone a fair go.
Whether you are a novice or a seasoned veteran, you will have the opportunity to listen, learn and share your experiences with others. Feel free to come and hear the capabilities of the system, or to just share the experience with like-minded music lovers in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
Guests are welcome – we are a very friendly club so you don't need to know anyone to join us for an afternoon of great music and sound.
Venue: Epping Creative Centre, Dence Park
Address: 26 Stanley Road, Epping
When: Sunday 14th July 2019
Doors open 1pm
Meeting starts at 2pm
Tom Waters
President
Sydney Audio Club
W: http://www.sydneyaudioclub.org/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/sydneyaudioclub
E: [email protected]
Follow-Up Report
The vibe, interest level and attendance was high at our July club meeting. Tom Jolly and Gabrielle Fifield from Interdyn made a great team, and a highly likeable and approachable team to boot. Tom proved to be a very good presenter with Gabrielle ably supporting Tom on questions and clarifications. Tom explained all the gear, and interspersed a track or two between talks, just to keep the interest level high. Tom also gave a brief talk on the benefits of Roon and offered a free 2 week trial of the Roon software (without a credit card transaction as is the norm with Roon). Unfortunately Tom and Gabrielle couldn’t bring a Roon Nucleus+ music server to demonstrate… they are such good sellers that they can’t get stock in quick enough! Tom and Gabrielle also brought brochures about the speakers, and some copies of a special “System De-tox disk” from Monitor Audio (which were scooped up quickly).
The system was a mid-priced system – Tom quickly estimated the total cost at around 20K. It was a real-world system, something that most people can afford. And that was the intent – to illustrate that you can get exceptional sound without an uber high price tag. All the components were of very high quality. The system was quite capable of producing clean, transparent, good sound.
Once the system warmed up and we got more people in the room (more damping!), the sound greatly improved. The Monitor Audio Gold 200 speakers are small floorstanders so of course you can’t expect earth shattering bass. But it was surprizing how much good tight bass they did actually produce. And low end bass was good considering our room is a bit difficult. Overall, I believe the speakers would sound great in a more friendly sized room. And as one person mentioned on their Feedback form – they do have a very high WAF. I also quite liked the clean look and sound of the Roksan Blak components. All the components offered very good value for money. From a value prospect, the stand-out was likely the Pro-Ject “Classic” turntable with the Ortofon MC cartridge at only $2600!
Here are some comments from the Feedback forms….
“Very impressive sounding system.”
“Good presenter - knows his stuff. Sensible system - not outrageous. Outstanding imaging, clean bass, a touch bright.”
“Turntable sounded best in this system.”
“Sound was very good, vinyl in particular. As expected, Bluetooth was flat in comparison. Interesting presentation. Nice system!”
“Good meeting. Music was good too.”
“Good all round system.”
“Good to have Roon explained. System had great attack and lovely tight bass. Vinyl sounded amazing.”
“Very enjoyable system. High WAF speakers and sound good too.”
“A bit sucked out in the upper bass. Vinyl was best.”
“Very impressive but would have been good to hear how it reproduces orchestral music.” [People brought very little classical unfortunately - TomW]
“Great effort from the Sydney Audio team. Thank you to Interdyn.”
“The equipment was technologically interesting and of high quality.”
“Enjoyable as always.”
“System was exceptional value for the money. Clean, articulate, transparent.”
“Excellent presentation. Good equipment at price point. The turntable and cartridge particularly good.”
“Good midrange and treble. Not enough bass for me.”
“One of the better meetings. Open, smooth, detailed but not harsh. Lots of variety in the music.”
“Great to see John Vandyke again. Great to meet the two new members. Very synergistic system, top sound for modest money. Speakers sounded as good as they look - wonderful. Very polite sound, plenty of detail and enough low end. Music not balanced - almost no classical.”
Thanks again to Tom and Gabrielle…
Details of the system…
Monitor Audio Gold 200 floor standing speakers - $7769.
“These are really exciting. They are the latest generation of MA's Gold series and they have seen a lot of trickle down technology from the MA flagship Platinum series, without the platinum price tag.”- Tom Jolly
Refer to https://www.monitoraudio.com/en/product-ranges/gold-5g/gold-200/
Roksan Blak amplifier - $6999. The Roksan amp includes a PC-USB input.
Refer to https://www.roksan.com/en/product-ranges/blak/blak-integrated-amplifier/
Roksan Blak CD player - $5999.
Refer to https://www.roksan.com/en/product-ranges/blak/blak-cd-player/
“The Blak range is Roksan's top range of exquisite British made electronics. Understated but great looking units with a delightful sound.” – Tom Jolly
Pro-Ject “The Classic” turntable with Ortofon Quintet Bronze Cartridge - $2600 combo.
“This is a beautifully built midrange turntable from Pro-Ject with a stunning MC cartridge from Ortofon.” – Tom Jolly
Refer to https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/the-classic/
Time permitting, Tom Jolly will also give a brief beginners presentation on the Roon music server.
The second half of the music sessions will be our popular BYO. Members and guests are welcome to offer music to share with us all. So bring along your favourite music on CD, USB thumb/flash drives or vinyl. All we ask is that the music and recordings be interesting. We'll ask you to tell us a little about the artist/recording before it is played. Tracks over 6 minutes will be faded out, to give everyone a fair go.
Whether you are a novice or a seasoned veteran, you will have the opportunity to listen, learn and share your experiences with others. Feel free to come and hear the capabilities of the system, or to just share the experience with like-minded music lovers in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
Guests are welcome – we are a very friendly club so you don't need to know anyone to join us for an afternoon of great music and sound.
Venue: Epping Creative Centre, Dence Park
Address: 26 Stanley Road, Epping
When: Sunday 14th July 2019
Doors open 1pm
Meeting starts at 2pm
Tom Waters
President
Sydney Audio Club
W: http://www.sydneyaudioclub.org/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/sydneyaudioclub
E: [email protected]
Follow-Up Report
The vibe, interest level and attendance was high at our July club meeting. Tom Jolly and Gabrielle Fifield from Interdyn made a great team, and a highly likeable and approachable team to boot. Tom proved to be a very good presenter with Gabrielle ably supporting Tom on questions and clarifications. Tom explained all the gear, and interspersed a track or two between talks, just to keep the interest level high. Tom also gave a brief talk on the benefits of Roon and offered a free 2 week trial of the Roon software (without a credit card transaction as is the norm with Roon). Unfortunately Tom and Gabrielle couldn’t bring a Roon Nucleus+ music server to demonstrate… they are such good sellers that they can’t get stock in quick enough! Tom and Gabrielle also brought brochures about the speakers, and some copies of a special “System De-tox disk” from Monitor Audio (which were scooped up quickly).
The system was a mid-priced system – Tom quickly estimated the total cost at around 20K. It was a real-world system, something that most people can afford. And that was the intent – to illustrate that you can get exceptional sound without an uber high price tag. All the components were of very high quality. The system was quite capable of producing clean, transparent, good sound.
Once the system warmed up and we got more people in the room (more damping!), the sound greatly improved. The Monitor Audio Gold 200 speakers are small floorstanders so of course you can’t expect earth shattering bass. But it was surprizing how much good tight bass they did actually produce. And low end bass was good considering our room is a bit difficult. Overall, I believe the speakers would sound great in a more friendly sized room. And as one person mentioned on their Feedback form – they do have a very high WAF. I also quite liked the clean look and sound of the Roksan Blak components. All the components offered very good value for money. From a value prospect, the stand-out was likely the Pro-Ject “Classic” turntable with the Ortofon MC cartridge at only $2600!
Here are some comments from the Feedback forms….
“Very impressive sounding system.”
“Good presenter - knows his stuff. Sensible system - not outrageous. Outstanding imaging, clean bass, a touch bright.”
“Turntable sounded best in this system.”
“Sound was very good, vinyl in particular. As expected, Bluetooth was flat in comparison. Interesting presentation. Nice system!”
“Good meeting. Music was good too.”
“Good all round system.”
“Good to have Roon explained. System had great attack and lovely tight bass. Vinyl sounded amazing.”
“Very enjoyable system. High WAF speakers and sound good too.”
“A bit sucked out in the upper bass. Vinyl was best.”
“Very impressive but would have been good to hear how it reproduces orchestral music.” [People brought very little classical unfortunately - TomW]
“Great effort from the Sydney Audio team. Thank you to Interdyn.”
“The equipment was technologically interesting and of high quality.”
“Enjoyable as always.”
“System was exceptional value for the money. Clean, articulate, transparent.”
“Excellent presentation. Good equipment at price point. The turntable and cartridge particularly good.”
“Good midrange and treble. Not enough bass for me.”
“One of the better meetings. Open, smooth, detailed but not harsh. Lots of variety in the music.”
“Great to see John Vandyke again. Great to meet the two new members. Very synergistic system, top sound for modest money. Speakers sounded as good as they look - wonderful. Very polite sound, plenty of detail and enough low end. Music not balanced - almost no classical.”
Thanks again to Tom and Gabrielle…
