Last Friday evening we were joined by Touraj Moghaddam of Vertere Acoustics and Miles Showell, Mastering Engineer at Abbey Road Studios to hold the first of our series of events devoted to all things vinyl.
We set up a phenomenal system made up of the Vertere RG-1 Reference turntable, a FM Acoustics FM-122 MkII Phono Linearizer, the Naim Audio Statement Pre/Power Amplifier and Wilson Audio Alexia loudspeakers. The whole system was cabled using Vertere’s Absolute Reference Pulse-HB cables.
The event was a sell-out. Our demo room was packed full of vinyl enthusiasts, who were even sitting on the floor in order to get a good spot to hear the presentation.
Touraj and Miles put on a fascinating show to the filled room, sharing insider knowledge from both sides of the cutting machine. Miles presented in detail the challenges he faces when mastering an album and cutting it to vinyl whilst Touraj detailed the key trials of vinyl playback and how to get the best sound from a good vinyl.
The pair played a number of their favourite and rare vinyl as well as some special acetates. We were able to hear tracks like Bohemian Rhapsody and Magic Bus in a way that few have heard before. The system gave stunning realism with such depth to the music. You were really able to forget this was a hi-fi and believe you were there with the band in front of you. A number of guests commented that is was the best they had heard for some years.
A particular highlight for many of the guests was the demonstration of Miles’ ½ speed mastering technique. He played us the same Donna Summer track, one mastered in the usual way and one done by him in ½ speed. The track was really opened up, the sense of space and the timing on the track was a real eye opener as to how big a difference mastering can make.
People were having so much fun that we still had a full demo room at 11.30pm.
We enjoyed hosting this evening so much that we will be holding a number of vinyl events in the coming months. To keep up to date on the latest goings on, sign up to our newsletter.