Holloway Sound Carmen MkIII - Product Review

Introduction

Don’t be ashamed if you haven’t come across the little startup Holloway Sound, you would be amongst the 99% of the population who haven’t. 

Holloway Sound is the work of Founder and Designer, Leighton Holloway. 

Based in Sydney, Leighton has spent the past ten or so years refining his speaker designs and several years ago, began to look at speaker design and manufacturing as more than just a hobby, but a potential business opportunity.

Personally, I have known Leighton for much of that time. We worked together briefly, and as I recall, it was around that time he was building his first pair of speakers for his own, personal use.

A number of years back, I got to spend some time with his original Carmen speaker design (this review pair are the third revision) and while the overall styling has remained similar, the current Carmen speakers utilise a higher grade tweeter, a rear firing reflex port, an improved crossover as well as having impedance equalization circuits added to both drivers.

Taking advantage of the social media platform, Holloway Sound has attracted nigh on 1500 followers on Instagram, more than many other more established brands. 

Holloway uses the medium to show not only his finished products, but products in the stages of the manufacturing process, helping to bring a more transparent and down to Earth element to his operation.

Features

The Carmen’s are quite a large standmount speaker, measuring in at just over 40cm tall, 26cm wide and 30cm deep.

They use a 1” Scan Speak Illuminator tweeter combined with a 6.5” Peerless HDS Mid-Bass driver mounted on an 18mm front baffle.

The nicely curved sides, along with being beneficial in helping reduce internal reflections, are bound in beautiful Italian leather which is available in a variety of colours to suit your decor. 

Forget trying to find any PCBs here, Holloway hand makes his crossovers and fits them to timber.

The Carmen’s also feature high quality binding posts which will accept banana plugs, spades or bare wire.

With the Carmen’s, Holloway is targeting a $3K price point.

Unboxing/Setup

Leighton hand delivered the Carmen’s to me on a road trip from Sydney to Melbourne. 

In this instance, they were packaged in a custom built flight case, but would typically be supplied in a box.

Setup was a breeze, I really didn’t have to toy much with positioning other than putting them in place of my regular ELAC BS403 speakers.

In my listening room, I run a near-field listening setup with an aggressive toe-in, not unlike what you would see in a demo from Ken Ishiwata of Marantz.

I fired up Audirvana Plus on my MacBook Pro, turned on my Vincent SV-237 and away I went...

Listening

Mid-range. 

That was the first thing I noticed when listening to the Carmen speakers. The mid-range presence was fantastic, I could see them suiting anyone looking for some sultry, well detailed vocals.

The sheer size of the soundstage was very impressive too, it imaged far and wide.

My initial listening was with some of my usual haunts, the likes of Bob Dylan’s ‘Man in the Long Black Coat’, Noah Gundersen’s ‘Day Is Gone’ and I pulled out a recent favourite from Dirty Projectors, ‘Keep Your Name’.

The harmonica in the intro of the Dylan track had stunning presence. 

On a good system, it disappears into the room, and it was certainly no different here. The Carmen’s delivered it with just the right amount of bite without sounding harsh.

Gundersen’s vocal shone through in ‘Day is Gone’. 

The song itself is already an intimate affair, yet through the Carmen’s, Gundersen was in my listening room.

‘Keep Your Name’ however showed me the limitations of the Carmen’s. 

Whilst they had stunning mid-range and well balanced high frequencies, they didn’t quite dig as deep in the low frequency as my ELAC’s. 

That isn’t to say they didn’t have weight there, they just didn’t have quite as much as one might expect of a standmount speaker of this size. It's not surprising however, given the long throw woofer ELAC have integrated into the 403's. 

I would describe the Carmen's overall sound as ‘honest’, ala studio monitor.

I’ve always had a fondness for Lana Del Rey, I flogged her first album to death, over and over and while I paid attention to her releases since, none of them have struck me quite as much as her latest, ‘Lust for Life’.

Through the Carmen’s, the title track (featuring The Weeknd) portrayed an atmospheric ambience, with Del Rey’s vocal bouncing back and forth with The Weeknd’s, the two clearly always defined within their own realm. 

Everything I had thrown at the Carmen’s thus far sounded good, but what could I try in order to further identify any weaknesses?

Weezer. 

I love them. For those that don’t know them, they had a hit locally with ‘Island in the Sun’ many years back, but they are so much more than that one track.

Heading way back to their original ‘Blue Album’ release, I played a FLAC of ‘Buddy Holly’.

Again, the mid-range stuck out, distorted guitar riffs, clear concise vocals. 

The Carmen’s did an admirable job of bringing this (now) classic to life. Similar to ‘Keep Your Name’ though, I wasn’t getting the sensation of thumping in my chest. 

I would suggest any bass heads reading pair the Carmen’s with a decent subwoofer to help flesh out the lower octaves, the likes of a REL or Sumiko would likely play nicely.

In the wake of Tom Petty’s unfortunate passing, I decided to play my FLAC of his Greatest Hits.

It’s weird because in a lot of ways, listening through the Carmen’s I felt as though I was hearing a lot of these tracks again for the first time. 

Little subtleties I’d never picked up on before suddenly made way into my listening room. 

On ‘Breakdown’ for example, there is a little whisper at the end of the first verse coming from the wide left. I’m talking a very hard pan. 

I’ve never heard it with as much presence before, or at least the Carmen’s had me take more notice of it, so much so I skipped back and listened to the track a second time just to remind myself what I had heard.

On ‘Won’t Back Down’, I heard clear definition in the drums, hats coming from the left and the reverb of the snare echoing from the right channel. 

The Carmen’s painted a hugely wide stereo image too, the front half of my listening room felt covered wall to wall in sound.

Comparisons 

Given they retail for the same money, my ELAC BS 403s make for a good price point comparison.

One thing I can say about the Carmen’s is that the mid-range quality was sublime, with a degree greater presentation than my beloved 403s. The sound stage felt wider via the Carmen’s also, which was later confirmed after I switched back.

Where the ELAC’s strengths lay are in overall dynamics. 

The bass weight is greater (thanks to the incredible long throw mid-bass woofer) and there is also greater treble extension. Mid-range is also very good, though not to the same extent as the Carmen’s.

The finish on both speakers are certainly very good for the money. 

The Carmen’s with their combination of real wood veneer, painted MDF and Italian leather really look smart, the ELAC’s too in their high gloss walnut give the impression of a high end speaker.

Conclusion

With the third revision of his Carmen Speakers, Leighton Holloway has achieved an excellent feat. 

He has designed a product that sounds great, looks unique, is made locally and hits a very reasonable price point. 

More importantly, the Carmen's have served to show me how far Holloway has come as a speaker designer. 

To be able to demonstrate such a dramatic improvement in performance in the several years since I heard his original design is simply outstanding.

The greatest weakness for the Carmen’s is that at $3K, they are coming up against some stiff competition from a number of very well known and more reputable brands. 

Brands that quite frankly have the kind of exposure that Holloway doesn’t.

Perhaps with some commitment from a few local dealers, or even some people taking a punt on this young brand, the Carmen’s (and by extension Holloway Sound) could really take off.

Until then, you’ll have to take my word that these are an excellent sounding large bookshelf speaker, which even after returning to my ELACs have left me longing for their wide soundstage, mid-range purity and sheer detail retrieval once again.

Awesome stuff.

For further information or product enquiries, please contact Leighton direct at info@hollowaysound.com.au

Image Gallery

Bluesound Node 2 - Product Review

The Bluesound Node 2 offers exceptional functionality at reasonable price, but how does it perform? 

View my complete review at StereoNET Australia.

Apologies

Dear Readers,

I have to say I'm very sorry for my absence from this blog, but I have recently been picked up as a freelance writer for StereoNET Australia which has really taken up all my time for reviews for this blog unfortunately.

For those who still wish to follow my reviews, I will post links to each one on here as they go live on the StereoNET Australia website.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the evolution of my writing!

Sincerely,

Tarkan

That Hi-Fi Guy

Wyred 4 Sound Remedy Reclocker - Product Review

The Wyred 4 Sound Remedy Reclocker is proof positive that your hi-fi is only as good as its weakest link. Crap in, crap out as the old saying goes.

In my case, the weak link would be the Sonos Connect.

From an end user point of view, the Sonos is fabulous. The UI is one of the best going around, noticeably better than most I have experienced from higher end hi-fi manufacturers, so it is a real shame that it is let down somewhat by its lacklustre sonic performance.

That however, remains a problem no longer. Enter the Remedy Reclocker. 

The Remedy sits between the source and your DAC of choice and the long and short of it is that it receives all the ones and zeroes from the digital output, rectifies any timing errors, upgrades the bit depth and sample rate (up to 24 Bit/96 kHz) and effectively outputs a much better digital stream to your DAC.

It sounds almost crazy that this would have much of an audible effect, but it really does.

My reference system consists of an NAD M2 Direct Digital amplifier. This amp was made for digital audio. In fact, it too re-clocks digital audio, theoretically deeming an external reclocker unnecessary. 

However, connecting via the Remedy made a noticeable improvement to the sound of my digital music. 

For starters, the image was obviously wider. Hard pans to the left and right felt further apart than ever before. 

There was also significantly less digital 'sheen' or 'glare' to the sound. By that, I mean a squeal-ish sound that I find occasionally presents itself in higher frequencies.

It all resulted in music that had a greater sense of air to it, a greater depth, ultimately resulting in better sound.

Now, I know what you're thinking, some might argue that the use of a $599 device to maximise the performance of a $549 device seems a tad absurd, but when it brings the quality of that $549 device up to that of a hi-fi quality streamer, who can fault it?

Listening to my 'High Fidelity' playlist via Tidal was a sheer pleasure.

One of my favourite demo tracks lately has been 'Soldiers Eyes' by Jack Savoretti. This opens with a violin on the left channel. In the past, it has almost bordered on harsh, but with the Remedy, there's a sense of smoothness in its stead.

'Poison & Wine' by the now defunct Civil Wars has a hardness on Joy Williams' vocal, and to a degree it is the recording, but it presented itself significantly more coherently via the Remedy.

Adele's 'Someone Like You' prompted me to connect again direct from the Sonos Connect to the M2, but the benefits from the Remedy became even more obvious once it had been removed. I noticed an immediate narrowing of the sound field and an increase of harshness on her vocals.

The Wyred 4 Sound Remedy Reclocker is an excellent addition to a digital based audio system, particularly if, like me, you've prioritised the user experience over downright fidelity.

I could have quite easily carried on using my system the way it was, but having now experienced first hand how much improvement the Remedy has brought, it shan't be leaving.

*Please note* At time of review, I was using the Remedy with the supplied 'wall wart' power supply. I will post a follow up thoughts once adding a Linear PSU.

Wyred 4 Sound Remedy Reclocker $599 RRP

Australian Distributor

Deep Hz Audio

www.deephzaudio.com

sales@deephzaudio.com

Associated Equipment

Sonos Connect

NAD M2

Chord Company Odyssey 2 Speaker Cable

PSB Synchrony One Towers

Wireworld Supernova 7 Toslink Cable

Chord Company Anthem Tuned ARAY Coax Cable

Dali Rubicon 2 - Product Review

I'm going to come straight out and say it, the Dali Rubicon 2 are an excellent standmount speaker.

They do so many things right that it's really difficult to fault them. 

When testing a speaker, I listen for a number of things: 

- How well does it image? 
- How clean are the vocals? 
- Can I hear anything I haven't heard before? 
- How full is the sound? 

I then have to assess whether or not any of the above qualities impact negatively on anything else. 

For example, in a two-way design such as the Rubicon 2, when there are passages of heavy bass attack, does it take away from the mid-range?

The answer is resounding no.




Dali are a brand that were established in the early 1980's by Peter Lyngdorf. 

They have a rich history of developing excellent quality loudspeakers, most of which being manufactured in their Danish factory. 

For those of you living in Australia, you may recognise the brand from a trip into your local JB Hi-Fi. 

For many years JB have stocked the entry model ranges from Dali (currently the Chinese manufactured Zensor series). 

During my own tenure there, the Dali Concept Series was always my 'go-to' speaker range as I found that they significantly outperformed everything else we had on hand at the time.

The Rubicon range from Dali sit just below their current top of the line Epicon series of speakers. 




The Rubicon's share some trickled down technology from their more costly sibling, namely the SMC magnet system originally developed for Epicon, and like it's more upmarket family, the Rubicon's too go sans hybrid tweeter until you get into their larger, floorstanding range.

The Rubicon's are handmade in Dali's Danish factory and the finish shows the sheer workmanship that has gone into them. 

The walnut veneer of my review sample looked seamless, with a stunning curve to both the front and rear baffles. They feature excellent quality binding posts and there wasn't an imperfection to be seen as the attached photo's show.

The Rubicon 2's image far and wide and as is the way with other Dali designs, they are meant to be positioned parallel with the front wall i.e. No toe-in required, a feature I simply adore. 






Once positioned correctly, vocals dangled front and centre and there seemed to be no end to the depth and width of the soundstage. This was most definitely a case of the box disappearing into the room, more so than any speaker I've yet heard at this pricepoint.

I tested the speakers in two different rooms I'm familiar with and I found that they produce the best sound roughly 30cm - 40cm from the front wall where that rear facing reflex port can be put to good use. 

This helps to reinforce the bass and give the speakers a greater sense of scale.

The Rubicon 2's weren't particularly fussy with partnering equipment either. 

I ran them using the Rotel RA-1570 as well as a Denon AVR-4520CI and the results on both occasions were excellent, though there was a slight dip in bottom end performance through the Denon.

A track that really stood out during my testing was 'Everybody Hurts' from REM's Automatic for the People. 

Perhaps it had been too long since I had heard it, or perhaps I didn't remember just how good the production was, or perhaps these Rubicon 2 speakers just played it so much better than I had previously heard, but this one really hit me.

I ran through all my usual test tracks as per my 'High Fidelity' Deezer Elite playlist, I also dusted off a number of my old SACD's and gave them a spin. 

Again, the Rubicon 2's revealed intricacies that had previously been washed over. Toto's 'Africa' from 'IV' had a magical whimsy to it, I felt like I was six all over again.

The Rubicon 2's seemed to reveal more midrange detail than the KEF R500's, yet I wouldn't describe them as having a forward midrange like the LS50's. 

They are just a very balanced sounding speaker.

The Rubicon 2's had a smooth, clean, polished sound and had no qualms about being pushed. 

The way they resolved vocals was incredibly sharp too, i.e. I find some speakers almost carry a slight lisp to them, not the Rubicon 2's.

My only gripe (if at all) with the Rubicon 2's would be that when conducting the 'knock test', they sounded a touch more hollow than that of the KEF R500 speakers indicating that perhaps the cabinet wasn't quite as solid, however, if it did have a negative sonic effect, it wasn't evident in any of my listening.

The Rubicon 2's really are some impressive sounding standmount speakers and well worth adding to your audition list if shopping around the $3K mark.

For further information on the new range of Dali Rubicon speakers, please contact: 

Dali Distribution Australia

www.dali.com.au

03 9873 7707

sales@dali.com.au 

Associated Equipment:

Rotel RA-1570
Cambridge Audio 851C
Sonos Connect
Denon DBT-3313UD
Denon AVR-4520CI
Chord Anthem Tuned ARAY Coaxial Cable
Chord Rumour 2 Speaker Cable
Chord Odyssey 2 Speaker Cable

An Afternoon with the PSB Imagine T3 Speakers

Paternity leave is an incredible thing. 

Getting to spend the first two weeks of your newborn's life as a family, the sleepless nights, the seemingly unending nappy changes, the whole experience is a revelation.

However, after nearly two weeks of being stuck inside the house, the opportunity came up to get some Hi-Fi goodness into me. Without hesitation, I lunged at it!

I had been in contact with Dan Grozdan from local distributor Qualifi. 

Dan is the Product Manager for Loewe (pronounced Loo-Ver), NAD Electronics and PSB Speakers. 

I had mentioned to Dan in the past that having heard the PSB Imagine Mini's and Alpha B1's I was very curious about their new flagship speaker, the Imagine T3. 

The Imagine T3 is the successor to the exceptionally well received Synchrony One speaker that had recently been discontinued.

Dan had told me that the best way for him to sell me on the T3's was for me to see and hear them for myself. 

Colour me intrigued.

So off I went for a drive down to Qualifi Australia in order to check out the Imagine T3's.

PSB for those of you who weren't aware, are a Canadian based speaker manufacturer who have their speakers produced out of a dedicated PSB factory in China. 

Paul Barton, the pioneer behind the brand started manufacturing under the PSB business name back in 1972.

PSB is the sister company to NAD Electronics and the more recently established Bluesound.

Upon arriving at Qualifi, Dan greeted me in the foyer and without delay, we made our way to the demo room which housed the T3's. 

The PSB Imagine T3's are a stunning speaker to look at and you'll have to take my word for it that photo's simply don't do them justice.

The room itself was a standard affair, no treatment applied with the exception of some nice, thick carpet.

The source components were the NAD M50 Digital Music Player and the C390DD Direct Digital Amplifier. 

Dan explained that typically the T3's were run by the new NAD Masters Series M12 Digital Preamp/DAC and the M22 Stereo Power Amp combo, but those were already on loan for review to our friends at Stereonet Australia.

It wasn't a dealbreaker as this wasn't intended to be a full review, but more a taste. 

Dan kindly invited me to go back once the Masters Series combo had returned in order to take another listen.

To begin our session, I pulled out of my trusty backpack a copy of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon on Hybrid SACD and pressed play. 

I was hit with a surge of sound. 

Quiet passages broke out into huge moments of attack, and did so effortlessly. 

The hard panned intro to the track 'Money' imaged spectacularly well and the bass line seemingly floated dead centre in front of me.

I actually found myself smiling uncontrollably for around the first 20 minutes or so.

I then pulled out Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' Hybrid SACD and played the opening track, 'Funeral for a Friend'. Again, I was hit with huge dynamics delivered with complete composure.

The Imagine T3's dig deep, very deep. 

In fact, I would find it highly surprising if anyone would have need for a subwoofer with these speakers.

After listening to the first couple of tracks from Elton, I moved on to Peter Gabriel's 'Up' on Hybrid SACD. The track 'I Grieve' I first stumbled across during an episode of Smallville and ever since it has been on my Hi-Fi demo rotation.

I heard micro detail and dynamics from that track that I had never heard before, that I didn't know existed.

Finally, the Coup de Gråce, Dire Straits 'Brothers in Arms' Hybrid SACD. 

I grew up listening to this album relentlessly and can safely say I know it inside and out. 

The opener, 'So Far Away' had more life, more energy in it than I had ever heard previously, however, it was 'Money for Nothing' that had me convinced. 

The renowned intro, almost symbolic in any demo situation, hit with such an impact that a simple thought popped into my head:

"This is how Hi-Fi should sound."

A bold statement, but these new flagship speakers from PSB sounded that good.

Needless to say, I'm very much looking forward to Round 2 and sitting down with the Imagine T3's again, hopefully paired with the Masters Series components to bring out the very best from them. 

The PSB Imagine T3 Speakers Retail locally for $8999.

For further information, contact Qualifi Australia on (03) 8542 1111 or visit www.qualifi.com.au

Oppo HA-2 Portable Headphone Amplifier/DAC - Product Review

Oppo have been making quite a splash in the electronics world in recent years. Their Blu-ray Disc players have long been considered reference quality and most recently they have made some real strides in the now rather active head-fi market.

The HA-2 is one of Oppo's most recent additions to that list.

Along with it's sister headphones, the PM-3, the HA-2 was only released a month or so back.

The HA-2 itself looks really slick. It feels like a quality piece of equipment and of course like other Oppo Digital products it is manufactured out of their factory in China.

Does this leave concern for build? Absolutely not. The HA-2 is built very well.

Oppo have really tried to cover all bases with the HA-2. It is a headphone amplifier, a Digital to Analogue Converter (featuring the amazing ESS Sabre DAC) and it is also a charger for your portable device. 

The HA-2 is supplied with a mains rapid charger, a Lightning to USB connector, Micro USB to Micro USB connector and a 3.5mm stereo to 3.5mm stereo connector.

The top side of the HA-2 features the on/off switch/volume control, a 3.5mm line in/out (switchable) as well as the standard headphone output. 

The right side features a light up battery indicator accessible at the push of a button, holding that same button initiates charging mode, however it only functions via the type A USB connection.

There is a bass boost switch for those who like a little more emphasis on the lower register and a gain switch to better match the HA-2 to your headphones.

The underside features the input selector I.e. USB, Micro USB or 3.5mm input. It also houses the type A USB input as well as the Micro USB input.

I was hoping to use my old 30-pin iPod Classic with lossless files for the review in conjunction with my iPhone which houses 320kbps files, however after a few attempts to get it up and running, it would seem that it isn't supported by the HA-2.

That's fine though, as this review can then apply to the majority of people who would typically use their phone as their main music source of music when on the go.

One thing I can say about the HA-2 is that the sound has a clean yet musical nature.

I've heard the ESS Sabre DAC before through an Audiolab 8200CD and I have to say, I feel the implementation of it in the HA-2 is in the very least it's equal.

Initially, I started listening with my Denon AH-D340 headphones. These are my usual 'out & about' pair and actually present a pretty tough load for the portable devices I've used. In the past I have found that through my iPod Classic, they lacked bass punch. My iPhone 5S has always been able to drive them much better, so I was curious to see what the HA-2 could do.

The HA-2 handled the AH-D340's with ease, effortlessly delivering thump.

Lorde's track 'Team' from her Pure Heroine LP had plenty of attack, even without triggering the bass boost. With bass boost activated however, the HA-2 still didn't lose cohesiveness. It just seemed to fatten the sound. Oppo have found a way for bass junkies to enjoy it without sacrifice.

The headphones I usually use at home are the fantastically good value AKG K550's. These are a large, easy to drive over ear style with a nice long cable for use with home stereo systems.

It was easy to see how the HA-2 handled difficult loads better, but how about something that was an easier load? Would it still provide a benefit?

The short answer is yes.

Plugging from the HA-2 into the iPhone's headphone output reminded me just how good the output actually is on an iPhone, as far as phone's go anyway.

However, once switching back to the HA-2, there was a noticeable smoothness and musicality to the sound as well as a reduction in harshness and clearer stereo separation.

For example, Dire Straits' 'You and Your Friend' features a slide guitar, hard panned to the left. Through the iPhone, it was there, but was more centred and a little lost in the mix yet through the HA-2, it was better spread out and had more significance.

Mumford & Sons cover of Simon & Garfunkel's 'The Boxer' had the same feel, instrumentation that felt recessed through the phones own output had more life through the HA-2. Jerry Douglas' slide guitar sprung to life.

It's pretty evident that the HA-2 provides some solid sonic benefits compared to a standalone portable device, but what about its other features?

In my opinion, the charge function is an excellent idea and during the course of testing the HA-2, I found that my iPhone had dipped down to 18% battery. I toggled the charge function of the HA-2 and within 20 minutes or so I was back up to 42%. A very neat feature to have when on the go.

Another feature of the HA-2 is the ability to use it with a more conventional stereo.

There are still loads of people plugging straight out of the headphone outputs from their PC's and phones via an auxiliary cable. Utilising the HA-2, you're able to use it as either a DAC for a PC via the supplied charge cable that Oppo provide in the box, or again from your portable device.

I tested this function using my iPhone and connected to a Rotel RA-1570 driving KEF R900 speakers.

The result was very impressive.

The Rotel has a direct USB input for iOS devices utilising a Wolfson WM8740 DAC, but I preferred the sound from the HA-2 in comparison. There was just a greater sense of refinement and spaciousness overall. A cleaner presentation.

Overall I have been very impressed with what Oppo have been able to achieve with the HA-2.

Other than not being able to get my old 80GB iPod Classic to work with it, I found that for the money, there were only strengths without weaknesses.

I'm sure there are better performers out there, but it's unlikely you'll find them at this sort of price.

A real winner for Oppo and a real winner for headphone enthusiasts.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some more listening to do.

For further information on the Oppo HA-2 or other Oppo Digital Products, please contact the local distributor:

International Dynamics
www.interdyn.com.au

Oppo HA-2 RRP $449

Associated Equipment:

Apple iPhone 5S

Apple iPod Classic 80GB
Apple Macbook Pro
Denon AH-D340
AKG K550
Rotel RA-1570
KEF R900