Sound Advice: your hi-fi and home cinema questions answered live from 1pm

I have a new Cyrus CDI with an external power supply, and Arcam Delta 290/290P bi-amped into Heybrook Sextet speakers.

I've had the amps and speakers for 30 years and still love the sound, but I am thinking of adding an Audio Research preamp and using the Arcam Delta 290 to continue to drive the tweeters as it does now.

I understand that this will preserve the "sound signature" of the system but will enhance it. Just wondered what your thoughts are?

We haven’t heard an Audio Research preamp we didn’t like, so I can certainly understand the appeal of owning one. Which one are you thinking of adding?

That said, it doesn’t make much sense to add on to your system as it stands, certainly not when driving the Arcam Delta 290 integrated/290 power.

If you do want to go the Audio Research route, I would suggest buying a matching AR power amp too. You will get much better results. Even then, you might get to the point where your source, and particularly the speakers, are holding things back.

Hi from Australia.

I'm currently trying to decide between KEF LSX II LT or a Wiim Ultra with active speakers (not sure which yet, but possibly the PSB Alpha AM5 or similar). Whichever I choose will mainly be used for TV and streaming.

Any thoughts, suggestions or recommendations will be much appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Etienne,

I would go for the KEF LSX II LT. It would be a neater package and sounds great.

Hi,

OLED or Micro RGB

Is it still early days? Should I wait before I purchase?

Thanks

Yes, it is still early days for RGB Mini LED TVs ('Micro RGB' is a term used by Samsung and LG to describe the same thing), but it's worth remembering that underneath it all, these are still backlit LCD TVs, so they will always struggle to match OLEDs for blacks, contrast precision, viewing angles and responsiveness.

On the other hand, RGB Mini LED TVs can in many cases go even brighter than the brightest OLEDs and have no danger of image retention (though this is no longer a serious issue for OLEDs either). They can also, in theory at least, deliver better colours, though the effectiveness of this comes down to manufacturer tuning.

My personal view, based on lots of testing, is that OLED is still superior overall. However, if you regularly watch TV in a super-bright room, or you want a very large TV (over 80 inches, say), an RGB Mini LED TV might serve you better than an OLED.

If you do decide to go for RGB Mini LED, the new Sony Bravia 9 II is the best we've tested. But the Bravia 8 II OLED is broadly the better TV, and it's currently available for much less.

Have you done a review of the Sony SW9 subwoofer?

Hi Phil,

I'm afraid we haven't yet. When Sony supplied us the Theatre Trio to review, it included the Theatre Sub 8 (SA-SW8) rather than the Theatre Sub 9 (SA-SW9).

I have heard the Trio system running with two Sub 9s at a demo event, and it sounded absolutely awesome, but I'd want to hear one Sub 9 running solo before delivering a verdict on that. We're working on getting one in asap.

Hi Team

If you were building a dedicated home cinema room with no natural light, and you had the necessary budget, would you go for something like the Sony Bravia Projector 8 or the Hisense XR10 paired with a MadVR Envy Core?

Thanks

Hi Mark,

This is a great question!

For me, it has to be the Sony.

While we haven't tested it, I know that the Envy Core has a reputation for excellent processing, particularly HDR tone mapping, but I'd generally prioritise the quality of the projector itself before thinking too much about external processing.

The Bravia Projector 8 is a stunning projector with a native 4K resolution, superb optics and spot-on colour balance, and those are fundamental image characteristics that an external processor won't be able to create if they aren't already present.

I think it would be a closer call if we were talking about a mixed-use room with ambient light, but in a dedicated, light-controlled cinema room, I think this is an easy win for the naturally cinematic Sony.

I have a lovely set of vintage 1990 Heco Superior 840 floorstanding speakers. I absolutely love the sound of them, but suspect they would benefit from being recapped.

In their day, they were ~£1100, or ~£2500 in today's money, so a reasonable speaker.

I anticipate recapping them would cost around £1500 by the time I've factored in the round trip to get them to someone to do the work (transport logistics are not easy from my house, and would likely involve a ferry, driving, and overnight pub stays, so not all bad). Would I be better off investing in a new set of ~£1500 speakers, or sink the cash into recapping and enjoying the experience of doing it?

Capacitors do age, so it is entirely possible that they need changing after three and a half decades of use.

If your Heco sound unbalanced or not as clear as you think they once did, then recapping is well worth doing. If they sound fine, then don’t rush to do it and keep enjoying them.

However, given the sum it is likely to cost, there is no harm in auditioning new speakers such as Acoustic Energy’s AE309 Mk2 (£1200) or the PMC Prodigy 5 (£1995) to hear how things have progressed (or not!).

At the very least, it would be reassuring to know that you are doing the right thing.