Ruark’s latest Sabre-R made quite an impression on visitors to the UK’s Bristol Hi Fi shows also revealed for the first time was Musical Fidelity’s new stereo amplifier that houses HDMI ARC and a built-in phono stage.
Picture What HiFi Organisers of the Bristol Show.
The British brand showcased their new Sabre-R stand mounts coupled with its wood-clad R610 music system.
Audio journalists described the offering as a potent combination with the Sabre-R (and its R610 companion) delivering powerful output from comparatively small unit with the Company appearing to be watching the success of the small Wimm audio products.
Musical Fidelity released two new devices at the same time.
They included the B1xi stereo amplifier and B1xCD CD player, which won’t be in Australia till the end of the year.
The B1xi Class A/B amplifier has oversized transformers and 50 watts of power into 8 ohms, so should be able to drive most speakers without breaking a sweat as for connections it allows for a turntable and wired headphones and Bluetooth devices.
The B1xCD has a headphone input, plus a digital display and is tipped to cost around $1,100 in Australia.
Rega another Synergy product revealed their 7th generation Brio amplifier with the latest model now coming with a DAC.
It retains the 50-watt per channel rating as its five-star predecessor, and the moving magnet phono stage.
It appears that Rega is becoming very comfortable adding digital inputs that don’t compromise sound quality.
We’ve waited six long years for the next generation of Brio, but now finally the wait is over.
Like a BMW car Rega appears to be adopting their seven years between as their new model policy.
One of the stars of the show was WiiM’s new amp with the all new Vibelink Amp which delivers 100-watt-per-channel described as being a pure two-channel amplifier that doesn’t have any streaming smarts built-in.
For now, WiiM isn’t revealing many details. We know that it will get its official launch in March, but the company hasn’t said how much it will cost.
In 2024, WiiM released the Amp Pro, a two-channel, 120-watt-per-channel amp with built-in streaming for $599 so that may give us a sense of where the Vibelink will end up — likely less than the Amp Pro given the Vibelink lacks streaming features.
Fyne Audio unveiled their new F500S Series of loudspeakers at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show.
Described as a “significant audio and aesthetic upgrade” over the established F500 Series and positioned a step above the entry-level F500E Series, the new step-up series is trying to generate serious sonic gains without an increase in overall price.
The F500S Series features five distinct speakers: the standmount F5S and F500S speakers, the F501S and F502S floor standers, as well as a mountable LCR unit named the F500S.
Striving to deliver exceptional sound-per-pound value, the F500S line once again sees the Scottish audio brand using its proprietary IsoFlare driver technology wherein the bass/midrange driver shares a common centre with the high-frequency unit for improved stereo imaging. It’s the same tech as found in the recently-reviewed Fyne Audio F501E – given our hearty five-star assessment, it worked pretty well in a more affordable model.
