The Sound Counsel - News, Reviews & Special Offers

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Dan & Nick

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The Sound Counsel: Specialist Advice

Based in Edinburgh, The Sound Counsel is an audio consultancy focusing on high performance Hi-Fi and Home Cinema equipment. Since 2002 Nick Wearmouth & Daniel Bland have been advising, specifying and installing a vast range of quality audio visual equipment. We have extensive experience of all major acoustic optimisation platforms including DIRAC ART/Bass Control, Trinnov Optimiser, Anthem ARC and Audyssey Pro. We are the oldest Trinnov installers in the UK and one of, if not the, oldest Storm installers in the UK.

The Sound Counsel shop offers the best in pre-owned, demonstration and new stock from our portfolio of products and customer trade ins.

Trading for over twelve years you can be assured of quality product, excellent advice and after sales support plus a superb warranty.

We have a proper bricks and mortar showroom and offices in Edinburgh which are open by appointment. We are official installers and stockists of the following brands: Arcam, JBL Synthesis, Screen Innovations, Anthem, Trinnov, Storm, Project, Sumiko, Primare, Hegel, SVS, Emotiva, Technics, Panasonic, Sony, LG, Samsung, Audiovector, Marten, Lumin, Humax, Hegel, Audioquest, Inakustik, SVS, Emotiva, Ascendo, Monitor Audio, KEF, Denon, Marantz, Genelec, BDI Furniture, CLIK Furniture, Spectral, Mobile Fidelity, Primare, NAIM & Custom Design.

www.thesoundcounsel.com
email - [email protected]
call - 0131 466 6596
 
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Genelec: World Leader in Studio Monitors


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The Sound Counsel can supply the full range of active monitors and sub-woofers from world renown monitoring company Genelec.

What do Genelec Say?


Since the founding of Genelec in 1978, professional audio monitoring has been the core of our business. Our unrivalled commitment to research and development has resulted in a number of industry firsts and established Genelec as the industry leader in active monitors.
Forty years later, Genelec monitoring products remain true to our original philosophy, offering reliability, neutral sound reproduction regardless of size, as well as the ability to adapt frequency response to the listening environment.

We are faithful to our founding principles. We also want to maintain our leading position in our core business with neutral sounding products for any monitoring need from mono to multi-channel reproduction. Our clients receive paramount support in all aspects of the field, from acoustical advice and calibration services to technical service and long product life. Buying a Genelec product is the soundest investment in audio monitoring.

We want to be unique as a company and strive to exceed expectations in all aspects of our business. This means offering first class products and service to our end customers and business partners alike.
During the past decade our business has expanded beyond the professional studio monitor segment to selected consumer and AV installation markets. Our products are found in an increasing number of home setups and AV installations, as well as in residential home theatre systems, bringing music and soundtracks as alive as they were when recorded. Although the applications may vary, one thing remains the same: the desire to have the best possible sound reproduction.

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If you are looking to enquire about a system incorporating a Genelec Monitoring System or would like a demonstration, do get in touch.





 
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The Ultimate In High End Immersive Audio
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Who Are Storm?

Immersive Audio Technologies designs and manufactures audio amplifiers and processors in France, globally distributed under its primary brand StormAudio.

The passion to deliver superior audio electronics is what drives Immersive Audio Technologies as a company. With headquarters in France and worldwide presence through its US subsidiary and Hong Kong office, Immersive Audio Technologies aims to provide premium technical support to its customers from fit to finish, at every stage of a project.

The teams at Immersive Audio Technologies have an accumulated expertise of over 100 years, in this industry alone, and are constituted of great individuals who create a real spirit around the StormAudio brand and its products.

This team, together with its award-winning product line and proven customer service, is the core of the company.

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The Sound Counsel can supply and professionally install the whole Storm Audio range. Contact us for a demonstration.​
 
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REVOLUTIONARY & TRULY FUTURE PROOF

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Who Are Trinnov?

Trinnov Audio designs and manufactures pre-amplifiers and processors featuring exclusive loudspeaker/room optimisation and 3D sound technologies for high-end Hi-Fi & Home Theatres, Professional Studios and Movie Theatres. From the designing of the original sound, to the delivery in the home or in a movie theatre, true innovators and tough to beat.

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We were the first fully qualified Trinnov calibrators in the UK and we look after and monitor a countless number of units functioning in the field including Amethyst and ST2 models.

If you would like to see how Trinnov processing can revolutionise your system, don't hesitate to give us a call for a chat, or better, a demonstration. There is no one in a better position in the UK to bestow the virtues of these models.​
 
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MODULAR AV AMPLIFIERS FOR A NEW AGE

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NAD T778 Review

So here goes on my initial thoughts. So far ive only had a couple of days with it but ive learned a lot about the unit. The NAD replaced a Denon 6500 I’d had for about 6 months and after a bit of wrestling with Audyssey was getting a fairly decent sound out of the Denon. It was always a stop gap as at the time, I hadn’t realised I was going to leave The Movie Rooms so it actually stayed longer than expected. Other than the frustrating Audyssey set-up, the Denon got extremely hot in my rack, so much so that I had to employ the services of a USB fan to help cool it. I suspect this was due to the fact I was running a lot of 4ohm speakers off it, so it was working quite hard and add into that the fronts were low down to 40hz. The only other major issue I had was that the Xbox One X didn’t play nice with the Denon at all, it refused point blank to work in 4K with the Denon in enhanced HDMI mode, so eventually I had to use a HD Fury Dr HDMI to spoof it into 4K.

So other than a lift in sound from putting in the NAD, I was also hoping to combat these other niggly issues in one fell swoop. Knowing the fussiness of a lot of modern AVR’s I didn’t hold out a lot of hope of squashing all these issues with a box fresh brand-new unit, but I was hopeful.

The first thing you notice when you open the unit is how compact it is, it had a smaller footprint than the Denon which it replaced, and it was much smaller than the Arcam 850 I had before that. The accessories all feel very well made. The remote is heavy and has nice bright backlit buttons on the whole front facia. You get the Blue Sound USB adaptor in the box to enable the NAD as a Blusound Zone, plus the usual leads and cables. You do get a basic DIRAC Microphone in the box but already owning an XTZ & Earthworks microphones I pretty much ignored it. It looks like a similar puck style one to the old original Arcam but made from aluminium. It also comes with rack ears included in the box as standard.

The amplifier is 9 channels but only the surround back channels can be re-assigned. They can be Surround Back, Front Height or Bi-Amp (front). For reference, I run 11 channels at home plus one big ported 15” subwoofer. Interestingly you can run an enhanced bass setting in the menu like on the Denon/Marantz, which sends low frequency to a large set of fronts along with the sub, which is useful if you have a big room and only one woofer.

The unit itself has a full touchscreen which is responsive and easy to use, along with and on-screen set-up display which mirrors the display exactly. The unit looks like it doesn’t have any video overlay, so no live volume on the screen or ability to check the codec deployed. Although the detailed video information and audio codecs are visible on the front of the unit if you need to see what is coming in and going out. I did try to get the NAD remote app to work, but it didn’t work instantly so I didn’t pursue this as it want massively important to me. I do intend to try to get this to work if I can. One small niggle is that when you are in the menu, you don’t press enter to access the menus, you press the right jog wheel. This took a bit of getting used to and initially caused me to change the remote IR code by accident. This wasn’t a major problem though as the touch screen came and saved the day, quickly reverting it back on the front of the unit.

Once I had it all plumbed in, I went straight to the update screen and updated the unit. This was a very easy process, it did an online search and updated both the unit and the Blusound zone with the newest firmware. Initially I set the unit up manually with an SPL and a laser measure. This was just to get an initial listen to what the raw sound was doing. This tends to help me as it lets me know what I need to do with DIRAC later in the process to tame or improve certain areas. I have to say the sound straight off the bat was very, very good. What you would expect from efficient digital amplification, fast, very clean with bags of detail and most importantly, not harsh. Exactly what I like. Over the weekend I watched a full film, 8 Days of Night and also the Carabao Cup Final On Sky, along with a bunch of my usual clips such as Blade Runner, Casino Royal and Edge of Tomorrow. The cleanliness of the sound is what is so immediate, and this really helps place specific sounds in the room and also seems to help the transition of the sounds from each speaker. The dialogue was crisp and very clear, this is where I feel the benefits of the digital amplification can be really heard. A lot of amplifiers muddy this, and I did find when I owned the Arcam I needed to split out the centre in DIRAC to give it special attention in the EQ. I didn’t feel the need to do this with the NAD. This overall clarity gives a fantastic base for the deployment of DIRAC, as you can really hear what is going on. Later, on Sunday night I completed the DIRAC set-up. It connected first time on the network and was the usual process with version 2 that I’m used to with the Storm and the Arcam. I did find the test tones violently loud. This almost turned into some sort of stress test of all my speakers. If this is the normal volume for the tolerance of DIRAC on the 778, I would recommend you go out of the room or wear some ear protection for the initial capture. With DIRAC engaged I was able to give the midrange and bass a little more warmth, but overall didn’t need to make as many changes as I had probably done in the past, which again is a great sign. Generally, if you can have a light touch with the EQ you do get the best results I find.

I have a lot of sources plugged into the 778 and the HDMI was rock solid, it didn’t stutter once. BT Ultimate, Now TV, NVIDIA Shield, Xbox One X, JVC Tape Deck & Sony Minidisk all worked flawlessly, every time. The only small niggle was that when I changed inputs on the HDMI there is a very quiet “pop” through the speakers, something I’ve fed back to NAD to see if it can be rectified. One bonus was at turn on; the NAD seems to immediately accept IR commands even when it isn’t fully powered up with the front screen display. This meant the Harmony remote I programmed also worked every time with input changes unlike the Arcam which I had in the past. It needed delays introducing to hit the power on, input change time. One side note is that the 778 wasn’t in the Harmony database but I just used the codes for a 777 and it worked perfectly. Switching inputs and the general speed of the unit in response to commands was excellent.

The other last major part is the Blusound dongle module, again this worked perfectly. So much so the Sonos Connect went on eBay the same day.

Overall, I think it is the best integrated I’ve owned, and one of the best I’ve heard for quite some time. The fact it all works from the off is brilliant and given the competitors struggles to get a glitch free unit, NAD should be commended. To be honest, there is very little wrong with it in my eyes and I can’t wait to keep using it.

Dan Bland​
 
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PROPER BASS IN SPADES


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Who Are REL?

From the beginning this has been a labour of love, born from a desire for a more perfect sound experience. It began with one man’s dissatisfaction with the performance of sub-woofers available at the time. That search for better, that pursuit of perfect sound remains the driving force behind REL. It has persisted through changes in ownership, it has driven massive advancements in technology and innovations in designs. Turning loose the power, the drama and the fun that lies within great music and movies.

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The Sound Counsel are a REL Reference Dealer. We have a number of sub-woofers available for demonstration or home loan. Contact us if you are interested in any of the models listed on their website, we love to talk BASS!!!​
 
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Unrivalled mid-range clarity

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Who Are Amphion?

Unrivalled mid-range clarity
Amphion’s proprietary waveguide provides an elegant and effective solution as it improves the coupling between tweeter and woofer. This superior integration – with the crossover point outside of the critical hearing range - over a broad frequency-band leads into purer, more natural sound. This means unrivalled midrange clarity and voice band quality.

Location-independent listening
Music is a common good and should be accessible anywhere. Our sound is not just optimized for a sweet spot - everyone in the room can enjoy it, thanks to a wide and even dispersion.

Room-acoustical insensitivity
We manufacture loudspeakers which are rather insensitive to room acoustics. The dispersion is more uniform and evenly controlled throughout a broad frequency band. This reduces the room’s adverse effects on final sound allowing you hear more of the music and less of the room. It works in your current room as well as your next.

Faithful low-level reproduction
Amphion’s clarity and unrivalled speech intelligibility remain unchanged even at lowest listening levels. Unaltered sound resolution at lower listening volumes ensures that none of the musical experience is lost.

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We now carry a range of models from Amphion loudspeakers. I can personally vouch for these amazing speakers. Having one foot in the professional monitoring world they are wonderfully honest and open sounding as well as looking dynamite. Having recently changed my ATC & Harbeth's for some Argon's, I can honestly say they are the bees knees, and pretty special for Hi-Fi and for Home Cinema

READ THE REVIEW
 
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The recent preventative measures against the spread of Covid-19 are taking their toll on business all across the world. At The Sound Counsel we are well placed to see the disruption out with strong investment behind us and a business model that allows us to adapt quickly to the changes that are taking place in the UK. For now we have closed our showroom and re-routed our deliveries. We both have children to look after at home and are acutely aware of other more pressing concerns across the county. so we are going to slow things right down and maybe get a paintbrush out.

Regardless of what happens over the next few months we are both still on the phone, contactable by email and when we can we will be posting on the forums so fire over your questions and queries and we can have a chat. Our responses may be slightly slower or sent later in the day.

Independent businesses are an essential part of the retail landscape offering a diverse range of product while delivering a level of service and knowledge that larger chains have little chance of emulating. Supporting your local record shops, sandwich shops, bars, clubs and other retailers while they remain open and crucially later in the year when they re-open helps maintain a healthy competition that benefits all of us.

Nick & Dan​
 

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A little while ago, Trinnov organised some training with Jason Dustal from Murideo about HDMI implementation and it problems. It's reasonably basic stuff, but given the whole isolation thing at the moment it gave me time to write it up into a blog post. You can read it HERE.

Dan​
 
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I recently completed technical and installation training with Samsung relating to their "The Wall" Micro-LED screen. I compiled some of the product training into a general blog post about flat screen TV's and their history. You can read it HERE.

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Anyone with any questions or an installation inquiry relating to The Wall. Just drop me a PM or email either myself or Nick.

Dan​
 
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Another addition following on from Isonoe, we have added Sumiko Phono Cartridges to our demonstration offering. Famed for offering a clear, accurate & balanced reproduction similar to the Technics turntables, these should be the perfect fit.

www.sumiko.com


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Such a shame the Velodyne offer is only on the DD10+. I could be very tempted for a couple of them if it was on the DD12+ as well
 
Such a shame the Velodyne offer is only on the DD10+. I could be very tempted for a couple of them if it was on the DD12+ as well
I can speak to them if you are keen. I know they have stock and given the current situation they may be open to being flexible.

Dan
 
Davone Loudspeakers joins The Sound Counsel


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We are now proud to be the only stockist in the UK of Davone Loudspeakers from Denmark. For more than a decade Davone have been finding new ways to make loudspeakers enjoyable in both sound and design. Their innovative speaker designs with a retro mid-century modern flair, are packed with leading technology like Wisa wireless, which is subjected to rigorous testing to prove their sound quality – nothing else on the market comes close in terms of combined beauty and sound quality. Danish design at it’s best.

With production and development based in Denmark, a country renowned for its design and acoustics, Davone has built loudspeakers by hand since 2007. A combination of the highest quality in sound and design makes Davone a pioneer in High-End audio and one The Sound Counsel is proud to be associated with.

Following Danish traditions, a flexible and small-scale production schedule gives Davone the freedom to experiment and implement ideas that would not be possible to sustain in large scale, mass production. This enables them to only make innovative products they are proud of.

With long lasting ownership in mind, the focus is on enjoying music. With their signature appearance, the Davone loudspeakers offer more than High-End sound quality alone. A far cry from mass produced anonymity, the timeless Davone loudspeakers remain intriguing for many years to enjoy in sound and design.

So, whether you’re a casual listener or a seasoned audiophile, these are well worth your time for an audition.

www.davoneaudio.com
 
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Velodyne DD10+ Promotion

For the next 6 weeks Velodyne are running a promotion on their magnificent DD10+ model. Typical RRP on a DD10+ is £3495. If you trade in any subwoofer until the end of June the RRP then drops to £2495. The price includes delivery to a UK address.

The DD+ range from Velodyne have been at the top of the subwoofer tree for some time, in terms of a single driver, there is none better.

Contact us at [email protected] should you with to take advantage of this limited offer.

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I'm looking to change my subs Its a pity SVS do not occasionally offer a similar trade in deal
 
I may be able to sort something for you if you wanted to PM or email with the details of what you are trying to do?

Dan
 
Just want to give a big shout out to Dan for going above and beyond expectations in personally delivering 2 x SVS SB16 Ultras yesterday all the way from Edinburgh up to NE Scotland
 
Just want to give a big shout out to Dan for going above and beyond expectations in personally delivering 2 x SVS SB16 Ultras yesterday all the way from Edinburgh up to NE Scotland
He must be a very strong chap that’s all I can say. Popeye?
 
@Lesmor many thanks. It was a long drive but worth it to make sure the swap over happened correctly. Sometimes its just not worth the risk with the couriers. Really nice to see you again albeit briefly because of the quick turnaround to get back to Edinburgh in time.

Dan
 
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Technics SL-1210 Mk7 In Stock

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We now have stock of the new Technics SL1210mk7 DJ Turntable. This completes the full range of Technics turntables which we have on display in the showroom. This currently includes the SL-1200C, SL-1210G, SL-1210GR and the soon to arrive limited edition SL-1210GAE.

Our SL-1200C has been slightly modified for display with some upgraded Isonoe Isolation feet and an Audio Technica AT618a disc stabaliser. We also have several cartridges to demonstrate including the Sumiko Pearl, Moonstone & Blue Point Special alongside the Audio Technica ATOC9XSL Cartridge.

Should you wish to have a demonstration of any of the Technics turntables please contact us at the shop. We can also offer a cartridge fitting and turntable set-up service for your existing or new turntable, just get in touch.​
 
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NAD T778 Stock

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We have more stock if anyone is looking. Most of these are sold but we do have three or four spare.
 
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