30/01/2011

Steve reviews his AT8000 phono amp.

We don't get 'reviews' sent in from Astin Trew customers - well that's to say we didn't till Steve sent in this one!

' My search for the best performing phono stage for under £1000 has resulted in me trying units from Musical Fidelity, Tom Evans and Highphonic. Disappointingly none of them gave me the presentation I was looking for particularly in the bass.

I was attracted to the HiFi World 5 star review which described the Astin Trew AT8000 as one of the best phono stages under £1000 with nothing to criticise at the price. It also has symmetrical balanced outputs which is unusual at this price level.
The standard of finish is very high and much better than some of the others I tried. Yes the transformer is inside the same case. This does offer the benefit of when the electronics ask for more power its immediately on tap. Therefore there is no further transformer box to accommodate. The delicate electronic stages are inside a Faraday cage to help protect the delicate analogue signal. The analogue output signal is very quiet so you won’t experience the noise of some valve stages.

How does it sound? In one word, ‘musical’. I am listening to it now as I write this. Pace and rhythm are spot on to give you that boogie factor. The soundstage is very wide with what I would describe as walk in sound staging. There is also low listening fatigue so you can listen for hours and suffer from that just one more record syndrome. The range of output and loading options is great to the best from your analogue front end. I settled on medium gain and 100 Ohm loading for my Lyra Delos.

Astin Trew did suggest I try the balanced outputs because they do sound different. I do prefer the balanced output which gives a more powerful presentation with better bass performance. This stage also responds well to better cabling and I settled on a home made solid core silver mains cable and Nordost Tyr XLR as my interconnect.
I would summarise the AT8000 as a product that doesn’t attract attention to itself. It does things in a manner that doesn’t attract attention to itself so you can get on with enjoying the music. If you want to improve on its performance you can, but it’s going to cost you a lot more money.' Steve Paines UK

Thank you Steve, for taking the considerable time and trouble to write that - we are so impressed, its going into the 'Reviews' section of our web site as well - together with the photographs Steve has taken of the AT8000 in action! (email available if anyone wishes to validate authenticity).

23/01/2011

January and the Hi-Fi shows start in a month!

Christmas and New Year have come and gone, 2011 beckons with green economic shoots and here at Astin Trew we are busy designing new and exciting products for you - the first of which (new range called 'concord') will be on show at the Bristol Show in February this year.

As Manufacturers, we do not get a lot of customer praise or feedback, its so nice when we do, to know that our products are bringing joy and musical satisfaction into peoples lives. We recently got this unsolicited email:

Dear Sir,
You may remember me contacting you about the AT3500 CD player last Friday 14 January 2011. I have enclosed below a brief appraisal of how I came to buy the CD player and my impressions. Please feel free to use all or part of it as you see fit.

I have had the Hi Fi bug in a small way for over 25 years. Nothing special, simply due to funds being tight, but I had over the years, built up what I considered to be a pretty good bargain system - Cambridge 840A amp Cambridge 740C CD player, PMC GB1 speakers, and an InspireTurntable. All connected with Chord Company interconnects.

I thought it might be time to start another upgrade and started to look at what was available. I came across the name Astin Trew and remembered seeing it some time ago. I liked the sound of the name so I did a bit of investigating and found out that they seem to have something of a penchant for marrying valves and solid state together. Anyway, I looked at the reviews and in the end plumped for the AT3500 CD player. No audition you might say? Well, I’ve spent many an hour in the past auditioning kit in the shop only to get it home to find it doesn’t sound the same, but no worries. I found I had the option of returning it if I didn’t like it. What could be better? What had I to lose? So, it duly arrived and I hooked it up, loaded up a CD and sat down.

It blew my socks off. I thought I had a somewhat decent sound before, but this was something else. Open and detailed, yet also powerful or subtle when the music demanded, but it also had soul. I was hearing things I had never heard before, in a way I had never heard before. I’ll agree that the sound is a little forward, that suits me fine, but it was never tiring. From classical to big band and jazz, to pop and rock, it was the same. I think one reviewer decribed the sound as musical. I think that’s the best description I can give as well. I’ll add "involving" to that though, as I virtually listened to my CD collection non-stop for 2 days. In fact it’s like having a new CD library.

Now, the upsampling facility. Does it make a difference? Yes it does, but with varying results. Some tracks on a CD sound better with it on, others better with it off. One thing is for certain. It’s nice to have the option. Did I make the right purchase? Yes I did. It’s head and shoulders above the Cambridge 740C so I think it was money well spent. My next task is to replace the Cambridge 840A amplifier but that will have to wait a while.

Yours Faithfully, Mark Jurkiewicz

Well thank you Mark, another satisfied customer. And he can factory upgrade his AT3500 to the PLUS version if he wants to, at some future date!

SHOW TIME
Yes, our first venture as an exhibitor, to the Great Bristol Show; and we'll be showing two systems, together with ClairAudient loudspeakers from Audience, Acoustic Signature Turntables and Vovox signal and power cables. We are going for 'best sound in show', why not visit our room (312) and see whay you think - PRIZE DRAW - yes, we are giving away a £500.00p voucher to one lucky winner, to spend on any of the brands represented in our room! Now that must surely be the best reason to visit out room. See you there!