Shelf of the Month Feb 2015

Shelf of the Month February 2015

Here we are again, shelf of the month for Feb (minus the Raleigh Chopper Mug!) and its been an unanimous choice this time! Being an independent shop we get to choose what we stock and that generally comes down to what we like and what we feel offers above performance for the price tag. This month we showcase 3 products that offer exceptional performance and, accidentally, all sell at the same price! 

The tell-tale sign of a product we love is how often it gets used. With theMonitor Audio SIlver 8 we have a speaker that is constantly on demo. These speakers are always playing in the shop, on whatever system is connected. Considering the staff's varied musical tastes, they never fail to convey the scale and subtlety of any music you throw at them. What makes the Silver 8 special is the dedicated Mid-range driver. It takes the load off the mid/bass driver and lets the vocals and instrumentation breathe. On looks alone, you would think the Silver 8 has oodles of bass, and it does, but it is very controlled and never feels like it overpowers the rest of the range. Tall but smart in stature, they come with an Editors Choice recommendation from Hi-Fi Choice magazine and a glowing Stereophile Magazine review. If you visit the shop and they are not playing, they will be in the demo room upstairs being listened too. Guaranteed. 

Before I whittle on too much about the Silver 8's, I must turn attention to the new ROKSAN AUDIO K3 Amplifier and CD player. We have been Roksan Audio stockists for a while and have loved the Caspian range since the start. The Caspain M2 won, and continues to win, many awards. However, the new K3 is a serious contender to take some of those awards. What is lacks in out an out finesse of the Caspian M2 it makes up with a truly involving sound that pulls you in and makes you forget you are listening to electronics and just enjoying the music. The K3 pair together makes perfect sense, but the K3 Amp does come with bluetooth built in to allow you to stream directly from any smart device. And its Apt-X bluetooth, so if you are in the Android camp, it allows high resolution streaming. If thats not enough, it comes with a high quality MM Moving Magnet Phono stage for your turntable. And if thats still not enough (still, really?!) Whathifi.com and Hi-Fi World both gave it glowing 5 star/globe reviews! 

Roksan is available from our lovely friends at Henley Designs Ltd. who incidentally distribute the Custom Design Milan stand that the equipment is on. 

So there you are, we have thoroughly enjoyed listening to the £1250.00 superstars this month and long may it continue! Honestly, from my desk upstairs, I can hear the Silver 8's playing Supertramp