New Denon AV Receivers from Pixll

• 23rd May 2013
• Read More

Pixll and the New Denon X Series Amps 

Arcam AVR 380, Arcam AVR450 and Arcam AVR750 by Pixll

• 21st May 2013
• Read More

Morning all,

It seems to be that time of year when the manufacturers are about to bring out their new models in readiness for the winter months (I know we haven't even reached summer yet! :) Arcam are the latest company to meet Pixll to discuss their latest and newest AV Receivers and despite the well documented problems with the AVR 600 we have high hopes for the the three new models the Arcam AVR 380, AVR450 and AVR 750.

Arcam AVR 380 £1499

Arcam has a long established reputation for delivering AV receivers that offer extra sonic capabilities over mass market models. The AVR 380 has been desgined to deliver a truely special experience for all home cinema enthusiasts.

With the perfect power stage for modern "lifestyle" loudspeaker models the AVR380 delivers an impressive and yet musical soundwith a wide range of material and is equally at home with music as it is with movies.

The AVR380 already has an eye to the future with 4k "Ultra HD" and 3D video capability on board. Ultra HD video scaling means both standard and High def sources can be scaled to any resolution when needed too.

For cinema or media room installations the AVR380 can be easily controlled via ethernet, RS232, 12 v triggers and standard IR while audio can be streamed from network servers, internet radio or USB drives.

The AVR 380 is designed in the UK.

75WPC (all channels driven), 90WPC (stereo, 4 ohms)

7 x HDMI, 2 x HDMI Outputs

Network audio, USB (inc Ipod) playback, internet radio, FM Tuner

Available summer 2013

Arcam AVR 450 £2200

The AVR 450 has a very similar spec to the AVR 380 although it offers the user more power and a toroidal based power supply. It also affords more demanding home cinema applications better connectivity and flexibility. 

90 WPC (all channels driven) 110 WPC (stereo, 8 ohms)

7 xHDMI In, 2x HDMI Out

Network Audio, USB (Inc iPod) playback, internet radio

Tuners for FM/DAB/DAB+ (in appropriate markets)

Available July 2013

Arcam AVR 750 £4000

Arcam are professing this model to be their "best ever stereo amp!" Not just their best ever AV amp! High praise indeed and a very confident claim! Will it live up to its billing-we will have to wait and see but this is a very important model for Arcam and needs to be a success. Pixll hopes it will be.

Arcam claim that the level of sound quality is far above competing receivers. The power amplifiers are perhaps the finest within any AV receiver. Power delivery is both clean and tight against a background noise level that is astoundingly low. The AVR 750 is comfortable driving any loudspeaker to exteremely high levels and delivers a sonic detail and emotional connection that quickly takes listeners to the very heart of the music.

4k (UHD) video compatible including upscaling

7 HDMI inputs, 2 HDMI Outputs, 3 component inputs, 4 component inputs

Supported modes- Dolby True HD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Pro Logic IIx

DTS Master HD, DTS-ES6.1 discrete, DTS-ES 6.1 matrix, DTS 5.1

Power Consumption max 1.5KW, Power consumption in standby  <0.5w

Weight- 16.7kg

Dimensions- 433 x425 x171

Class G power amplification

Free IOS control app

on board PSU for R series accessories

Speak to Pixll for more information or to pre order any of the new Arcam products. We are available on 0113 2509991 or e-mail info@pixll.co.uk

Pixll 

New PMC Speakers (article by What Hi FI)

• 14th May 2013
• Read More

Morning all,

Noticed this article in What HI Fi this morning with regards to PMC! What a speaker! for more information on PMC please call Pixll on 0113 2509991 or e-mail info@pixll.co.uk 

PMC launches flagship fact.12 speaker at High End Show

8 Reasons we should be excited about Ultra HD by Techradar (Pixll)

• 14th May 2013
• Read More

A really good article by Techradar on why we should be exited about the new wave of Ultra High Def screens. I hope it will give the consumer electronics industry the shot in the arm it needs. I have to say I'm not sure I agree that the leap from HD to Ultra HD is as big as it was from Standard Def to High Def but I'll let you be the judge of that.

8 reasons why you should be excited about Ultra HD

In depth 4K is coming and you'll have no choice but to love it

Once you've had 4K, you can't go back...

Pioneer's 2013/2014 range of AV Recievers by Pixll

• 13th May 2013
• Read More

Morning all,

You'll have seen online news of Pioneers new VSX range of receivers which are due out any day. Well Pixll met with Pioneer last week to discuss the full range of new models including replacements for the 5 star rated SC LX86 and SC LX56 models.

Whilst we are still waiting on confirmed specs and pricing we have provided some idea below of what to expect. Sorry we dont have any images of the new models yet but they dont look radically different from last years range of Receivers. We are expecting more detailed information soon.

Pioneer AV Receivers 2013/2014 by Pixll

Pioneer VSX 423 £250

Pioneer VSX 528 £300

Pioneer VSX 828 £350 (exclusive to one of the online retailers)

Pioneer VSX 923 £449

A key model for Pioneer. Expected to have 4k pass through, 8 HDMI In's, 2 out one of which will be an assignable HDMI zone.

Pioneer VSX 1123 (looks like this model will be exclusive to one of the major high street retailers) 

Pioneer SC 1223 £650

A key model for Pioneer. This will be the cheapest model in the range to carry Class D amplification

Pioneer SC 2023 £899

All Aluminium construction, more power, more custom install features such as 12v triggers and RS232 control.

Pioneer SC LX57 £1200

3 x HDMI Outs, 9x 190 W, superior DAC's onboard for better musical reproduction, audio scaler 192/32

Pioneer SC LX77 £1600

carries THX Ultra 2 Plus certification, more power, AIR Studios tuned, full band phase control

Pioneer SC LX87 £1999

The Flagship model. 220W x9, USB DAC, better transformers

Pixll understands one interesting feature will be the addition of Spotify to the receivers. The specs that we were shown featured the Spotify logo on them but our understanding is that Spotify will be changing the look and feel of its service shortly and Pioneer didn't want to release their models with this feature on until Spotify had made their modification. Pioneer will release their new models and Spotify will be added via a firmware upgrade shortly after.

One thing we noticed flicking through the specs of the various different models when comparing the new models to Yamaha, Onkyo and Denon is that in years gone by Pioneer lagged behind its competitors in terms of its features. Onkyo always had more flexibility, better connectivity, more "bang" for your money- not so any more. Whilst we know that is not the most important thing in an AV receiver it is important. Pioneer now carries more HDMI ins and outs than all of its competitors at each price point (at the time of writing)

Finally, there will be a couple of slimline AV Recievers released later in the year to compliment the slimline TV's that are now the norm and for those customers that have to have their receiver on show. 

For more information on Pioneers new range of 2013/2014 AV recievers please contact us on

Iron Man 3- Pixll

• 3rd May 2013
• Read More

Hi all,

After a long week at work myself and three friends decided to head out to the cinema and see the latest Iron Man film and boy is it good. AV Forums have reviewed it so I've copied the link below for you to have a read.

http://www.avforums.com/movies/Iron-Man-3-review_11214/movie.html

For those of you worried that a third Iron Man film might be a bridge too far dont! Go and see it. I'm not quite as geeky about the Marvel films/comics as some but this was thoroughly enjoyable. Its a bank holiday this weekend you have no excuse :)

Enjoy!

Chris

Pixll

AV Forums Review of the Acoustic Energy 3 Series 5.1 speaker setup

• 2nd May 2013
• Read More

Latest Review of the Acoustic Energy 3 series 5.1 speaker system (Pixll)

Unlike the relentless pace of change we experience with TV’s and AV electronics, the rate that new loudspeaker designs hit the market is fairly relaxed. Even the most determined of brands will generally only update every two years or so and many brands are quite content to let their products go for rather longer than that. Within this business model there are some more extraordinary examples of longevity. Acoustic Energy will happily sell you a pair of AE1 Classic speakers if you want and although this was out of production for a few years and has evolved into newer models, it effectively dates back to the 1980’s. Neither is it sold for sentimental reasons - if you like what the AE1 does, very little else will do.

What you see here is a brand new range of speakers from Acoustic Energy which is sufficiently unusual an event to be celebrated anyway but reading through the release information that was supplied with them, the design influences of the venerable AE1 are apparently present and correct in these all-new models. Given that Acoustic Energy has a strong track record in making some great affordable multichannel packages, it was only sensible that they were checked out. How does going back to the future work in loudspeaker design?

Summary

When you are a relatively small company as Acoustic Energy is, a complete new range of speakers represents a significant investment and striking the balance between keeping your existing customers happy while winning new fans of the brand is a tricky balancing act. With the 3 Series, Acoustic Energy has done a mighty impressive job of walking this design tightrope. These speakers could only be Acoustic Energy to look at but at the same time they have a design aesthetic which is unlikely to offend anyone. For the asking price, this is a well finished, handsome and flexible set of speakers.

Sonically, they strike a similar welcome balance. The 3 Series should be able to work with a huge variety of AV amps and cope with almost everything you could throw at them. They also manage to sound clean, fast and enjoyable while they do so. I feel that the speakers are better value than the sub but the price for these components is a combined price and not a package one so if you choose, you could talk to a dealer about some of the alternatives - or you could choose what is a very civilised and capable performer. There is plenty of competition (and the prospect of Q Acoustics deciding to go multichannel with their Concept 20 could add another one) but Acoustic Energy has built themselves a great new range of speakers that needs to be on your shortlist.

Scores
Build quality
Connectivity
Ease of use
Audio - movies
Audio - music
Power handling
Value for money
Overall

Design

The 3 Series range is a standard grouping of standmount (301), floorstander (305), Centre (307) and Subwoofer (308). The system supplied for review used 301’s front and back with centre and sub completing the set. Pricing is very competitive with the 301 costing £425 a pair which pitches it right at a competitive area for stereo standmounts and with the centre costing another £349, five speakers can be had for £1,200 which is a pretty solid value proposition. The £800 asking price for the 308 sub looks a little more bullish but the spec of the 308 is sufficiently good to go some way to justifying it - more of which later.

The biggest visual clue to the 3 Series being an Acoustic Energy product is the main driver used in the 301 and 307. This is a 110mm spun, hard-anodised aluminium cone in keeping with Acoustic Energy tradition and with the pointed dust cap and burly surround it means that the 3 series speakers look like traditional members of the AE clan. Aluminium is used by a number of speaker brands with varying degrees of success but with thirty years of relevant experience, AE are as likely as anyone to achieve good results with it.

Where the 3 Series differs from AE designs of old (although not the highly regarded Compact that formed the basis of the last AE system we tested here) is the use of a soft dome tweeter to partner the main driver. This is a 28mm unit and as you might expect it is used in the 301, 305 and 307 for a suitably consistent tonal balance. The other part of the design that all the passive speakers make use of is a front mounted slot port instead of the more common circular design. This has two benefits. A properly engineered slot port should avoid whooshing or any other form of audibility even when the speaker is being driven hard and placing it at the front should limit the interaction between the speaker and the wall even if placed quite close to it. The 307 centre rather unusually is the same in terms of porting and cabinet dimensions as the 301 so make sure that you have the space for it if you are sharing a shelf with something else.

The 308 is by far the most expensive of the models in the range but looking at it, this begins to make a bit more sense. The 308 is a big lad - 12 inch downward firing doped paper driver in a box that is 36cm cubed. It’s no SB13 Ultra but you are unlikely to lose it either. Power comes courtesy of a 500 watt amplifier and AE claims useable output until the mid 20’s in terms of Hz. One interesting feature that I think other manufacturers might do well to emulate is that the 308 ships with feet in place which means at no stage do you risk parking a downward firing subwoofer on the very expensive driver while you hunt around in the box for the other bits. This is a very good idea only slightly undone by shipping the sub on its side in the packaging for reasons I couldn’t entirely fathom. Inputs and outputs are exclusively RCA in type but you can loop through and look at external EQ’s if you need to which is always appreciated.

Perhaps the best piece of news with the 3 series as a whole is that in styling terms AE have built some of the best looking speakers in the price bracket and by some margin. The styling is clean and free of gimmicks but has enough details - like the thin chrome trim rings around the drivers - to avoid looking too sober and dull. The cabinets are immaculately finished and are completely free of imperfections. The review set were supplied in gloss black but for those of you that think crocs are cool, white is also available.

Criticisms of the design are slight by contrast. The grilles are fixed by a magnetic tab system which avoids the need for unsightly holes for lugs but the front panel is slightly recessed from the rest of the cabinet which could be a slight dust trap over time. The 301 is also only a single wired design which shouldn’t be a huge problem but anyone desperate to use the bi-amp feature on their AV Receiver might find this disappointing. The fairly hefty price of the 308 opens it up to more competition from dedicated subwoofer manufacturers but it is hardly a ‘me too’ product.

Setup

The 3 Series was used with a Cambridge Audio 551R and 751BD player for the bulk of critical review and this was supplanted with Sky HD and a PS3 for some additional testing. Music was supplied courtesy of a Cambridge Audio Stream Magic 6 and NAD DAC1 wireless DAC allowing for audio from a computer to be streamed directly to the rest of the equipment.

Test material was mainly Blu-ray but as with everything that is run in the lounge, the AE’s were used all the time so technically test material included such dynamic surprises as Countryfile and other niceties. Installation proved to be simplicity itself and none of the speakers proved a problem to get up and running. The sub was sufficiently large that I found it only really worked in the side position slightly in front of the front speakers but it seemed happy enough in this position.

Sound Quality

One of the reasons why the AE1 Classic has lasted as long as it has is because what it does well is still very hard to better elsewhere. There are very few other speakers that can match it for agility and excitement. The good news is that there is recognisably some of this DNA in the 3 Series and what is even better news is that some of the less amenable aspects of the older speakers seem to have been dealt with as well.

The overriding impression that the 3 Series present as a set is one of effortless cohesion. With the same drivers in all the speakers it should not be too surprising that the handover from speaker to speaker is extremely good but with two different materials being used in the drivers in each speaker, the other piece of good news is the handover between driver and tweeter is seamless and really well handled. This gives a front soundstage that is spacious and convincing.

Detail retrieval is extremely impressive too. The claustrophobic soundtrack of The Raid is packed with incidental sounds that add to the experience of the film and the AE’s manage to bring a huge amount of it to your attention without losing the overall balance of sound. The dispersion seems pretty wide as well so even though there is no dedicated rear speaker for the range, I never felt the spread of information at the rear was limited or being beamed at a specific spot on the sofa. That said, it would be interesting to see what AE could have done with an effects speaker and it is an area where some of the competition at the same price have the 3 Series at a disadvantage.

What very few of these rival speakers can do as well as the AE’s can is match their speed and the resulting ‘clean’ performance. The 301’s and 307 start and stop with little or no overhang or bass bloom and while this is pretty handy for film, it really comes into its own with music. The 301 shows almost as little cabinet coloration as the exceptionally talented Q Acoustics Concept 20 but with the added bonus that the 301 manages an extra 19Hz in the bass before bottoming out which is fairly appreciable in practice. This speed and agility is what Acoustic Energy has been about for nearly thirty years and it is good to see that the 3 Series still has it.

Impressively, the 308 sub has more than a little of this too. For a big driver, there is impressive get up and go to the performance and it does a commendable job of integrating with the speakers to handover in a seamless and believable way - which at 55Hz made for usefully omnidirectional bass even from a slightly offset position. Where the 308 is slightly less convincing is that this speed seems to have been bought at the expense of a bit of low-end slam. When something explodes on screen, the 308 gives a slightly polite rendition. As someone who has never been a huge fan of using subs for music, I realise that the 308 is pretty talented in this regard but this has been bought at the expense of some of the absolute bottom end and this means that at the asking price there are some subs I’d probably prefer to make my films go with a bang. On a more specific note to the review equipment, I found that to get the auto on/off on the 308 working properly, I had to increase the output from the amp and back the volume off on the sub to get it to function properly.

This slight restraint is present on the passive speakers as well but it is nowhere near as pronounced. Every now and again I listened to something and wanted the 301’s to be slightly more ballistic in their presentation but effectively this almost always comes at the cost of harshness or brightness with poorly recorded material and AE has decided - correctly - to avoid this. The last spark of excitement might be missing from them but these are unfailingly able speakers and nothing from Spotify or internet radio could provoke them. This is a range of speakers that manages to walk a very neat line between clarity, liveliness and civility that means you should find yourself using them all the time and not simply for film nights.

As a last, very welcome feature, the 301 is a very effective stereo speaker. It goes low enough to be more than listenable without a subwoofer and the qualities that give them such ability with film soundtracks is replicated with stereo. If you have an AV receiver that has any ability with music at all (and the 551R for all of its simplicity is a very musical piece of equipment), you will most likely find yourself listening to music in stereo where you might not have bothered with a sub sat package.

Contact Pixll for more information on the 3 Series or for a demonstration.

SKY Update- 5.1 surround sound through HDMI

• 30th April 2013
• Read More

Hi all,

We are not too happy with Sky at the minute. We have been having lots of trouble with our broadband connection at the business and after much headscratching it turns out the router is the problem. No problem I hear you say?! Ring them and request a new one.  After ringing their customer service and explaining it is for business use I was told it would be at Pixll for the Saturday if not the following Monday. I could live with that. Well we are now on Tuesday and we've been given various dates for delivery by Sky. Very very frustrating.

Anyway, less of my whingeing. What I am pleased to tell you is that I noticed Sky have finally decided to allow 5.1 output over HDMI (rather than the picture going via HDMI and the sound going via Digital Optical).

Sky has confirmed it is rolling out Dolby Digital 5.1 output over HDMI to selected Sky+ HD set-top boxes. Sky says the software update is coming to all Sky DRX8xx boxes, so the DRX890 and DRX895 Sky boxes, the latter being the 2TB Sky+ HD box.

You will need to go in to Settings > Sound menu to enable the Dolby DIgital 5.1 over HDMI setting (see below, picture courtesy of SkyUser), once the software update has been pushed to your box.

The update is being sent out automatically to the relevant Sky+ HD boxes over the next two months.

The software update will then hit other Pace and Samsung set-top boxes "later in the year".

There is also a new Eco mode included in the update, which puts the Sky box in to a low power mode, using just 0.5 watts, when not in use. More details here on Eco mode.

Sky first revealed plans to enable DD 5.1 over HDMI back in July 2009 and it seems like we're finally seeing the update. The ability was already enabled on the latest Sky Amstrad multiroom box.

BBC to trial 4k at Wimbledon

• 30th April 2013
• Read More

We noticed the following article on AV Forums this morning which we thought we'd share.

BBC to trial 4K at Wimbledon 

 
The BBC is to experiment with Ultra High Definition (4K) TV broadcasting at this year's Wimbledon tennis championships, according to sources that have spoken to TechRadar. Unsurprisingly, the trials will be backed by Sony, who are setting themselves as the major player in the next gen of panel display.

The BBC has used Wimbledon as a test ground in the past, both in its experiments with HD and later 3D.

Camera's and Outside Broadcast trucks will be supplied by Sony to record the action although it's not clear, at this stage, if any 4K action will be sent for broadcast. If so, presumably it will have to be done via satellite.

"We're trialing 4K at Wimbledon this year," said TechRadar's  source. "We're really excited about 4K, it's definitely something the public are going to love so we're keen to start rolling it out as soon as possible. When you look at it, you feel something, like the jump from SD to HD, it's amazing. Wimbledon is going to look better than ever."

Monitor Audio MASS speakers wins Red Dot Design Award 2013

• 25th April 2013
• Read More

Our MASS Home Cinema Speaker System is awarded for high design quality in the "red dot award: product design 2013"!

The innovative power of the Monitor Audio MASS speaker system impressed the 37-member jury of experts for the "red dot award: product design 2013". Those who succeed in winning over the renowned experts in the field can decorate their product creation with the "red dot" and position themselves at an international level. The jury members were delighted to receive 4,662 entries in 19 different categories in this year's competition. Only the best designs were able to win the enthusiasm of the jury, which is how the MASS system received the red dot for its successful design creation.

Monitor Audio's diminutive MASS home cinema system offers sculpted space-efficient design, packed with technology and easy-installation features to make the introduction of high quality home cinema sound into any living space a simpler and more satisfying experience. There are two main system models: a compact satellite speaker and active subwoofer. Both are ground-up designs by Monitor Audio's in-house team, involving the specification of wholly new signal path components.