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The Ultimate PowerKord
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Leave nothing up to chance with this
superb NEW 20th Anniversary PowerKord ™from Russ Andrews
The Silver Signature PowerKord™ see page 6
LIFE IN THE HI-FI LANE THE STORY BEHIND THE
COMPANY WIN THIS!Tivoli iSongBook worth £279
See page 42
NEW ANNIVERSARY
PRODUCTS
see page 5
Issue No.1
NEW!
Products
New Products
2006 marks the 20th Anniversary of Russ
Andrews Accessories.
But I actually started my quest into how to achieve truly enjoyable music from a Hi-Fi system back in 1972.
I then achieved my ambition of putting together what was regarded as the best system of its day (see page 38).The result was deeply disappointing.It made a sound that I later described as ‘Hi-Fi’,without any musical merit whatever.I felt cheated and betrayed by the industry;I was a Hi-Fi dealer after all and I was selling this stuff to others!
At first,of course,I questioned my own judgement and listening ability,but then I began to suspect that the industry had taken a wrong turn and lost its way.From that moment on I have been working to find out what went wrong and how to put it right.
I questioned everything (making me a very controversial figure in the process)and found that few people seemed to have any answers that worked.So I set to and researched everything for myself.Very early on I discovered how influential the mains quality was,starting a research programme that continues to this day.Over the years I have become involved in the design of almost every part of a Hi-Fi system including,crucially,cables.It was this background in cable design and manufacture that enabled me to
recognise the very special innovations that Ray Kimber had developed in both construction and manufacturing
techniques when I first met him in 1985.His cables had an honest,consistent,
coherent design philosophy and I knew he would make them sound even better as time went on.
All of this work has been innovative and ahead of accepted practice.Everything has been seen initially as revolutionary and controversial,but has then gradually been accepted.Among other things,I was the first to discuss and design solutions to mains quality;the first to discover cable directionality;the first to identify the importance of component quality;and the first to discover the importance of light,rigid stands for Hi-Fi equipment.
These have not been isolated
discoveries,but developmental steps on a long road to a full solution to the
problem.Each step has been essential to the overall understanding of what is happening in a Hi-Fi system and how to get the best out of it.
“Each step has been essential to the overall understanding of what is happening in a Hi-Fi system and how
to get the best out of it.”
Along the way,I have also discovered that what works in the analogue domain is equally and sometimes more
important in digital,and similarly what works for two channel music works for surround sound and picture quality in AV systems.
The answer is not ‘mechanistic’:valves versus transistors or electrostatic versus dynamic speakers.Nor is it ‘synergistic’-the right ‘combination’of equipment.The
answer is that everything matters,
everything affects the sound,but some things are more important than others.At the beginning of the upgrade path the least important thing is the
equipment.Only after the fundamentals of how and where you connect up and use the equipment have been dealt with will ‘better’equipment be worth spending money on.
Get those fundamentals right,and a system of inexpensive,modest
equipment will give more pleasure and enjoyment than the very best
equipment just connected up in the usual way (see ‘The Magic of Musicality’on page 32).You see,when it really comes down to it,I’m in this for the emotional buzz that music and movies give.
We are right back where I started with my 1972 system.I now know how to get real musical enjoyment out of it - but it’s taken years to learn how! Of course,part of the driving force behind my quest has been to help others achieve this same ‘nirvana’.
That’s why I have written a series of free information booklets to share the knowledge gained from my research (available to download from our website);why I have developed my ‘Upgrade Steps’to guide you through the upgrade process;why I produce a catalogue of tried,tested and fully guaranteed products;and why I continue to this day researching and developing new products.I look forward to sharing my passion with you all for many years to come.New Products
First Words Achieving truly enjoyable music
We asked our friends at KIMBER to make a new speaker cable for us,using more wires in the
construction.The new cable,which uses the same purity
copper and insulation as Kimber’s 8TC speaker cable,has a total of 24 individual wires - rather than the 16 used in 8TC.And as well as extra wires,the weave is spaced more than 8TC so that the wires cross each other at a steeper
angle,which means the cable has even greater immunity to RFI.Study the picture of the cable Anniversary speaker cable is stunning!
I
computer’s on-board soundcard,he felt the best thing
was the combination of “higher resolution and
the extinction of a rather nasty brittle
Hi-Fi World
Feb ‘06Welcome to Guy
Back in September we welcomed Guy Clapson as our Business Manager.
Guy comes to us from ‘Boys Stuff’,a company who specialise in gifts and gadgets for men:but don’t worry...we’re not going to start selling remote control tanks or home brewing kits! Guy will be keeping his eye on the business,on all aspects from manufacturing to sales,from marketing to despatch.
Guy’s appointment will leave more time for Russ to concentrate on R&D and you should be seeing the fruits of his labours - in the form of new products - being launched in the coming months and years.
Russ Andrews Ultra Purifier PowerKord™
News
IsoMike ™CDs
We’ve added several new CDs to the website,each of them recorded with IsoMike™ - Kimber’s new technique of recording hard-to-record music such as orchestras,jazz bands,quartets,solo pianos etc.The result is far more dynamic and detailed recordings,with a great sense of soundstage depth and space.
The CDs are dual-layer multi-channel SACDs that will play back on both regular and SACD players.And find out more about IsoMike™ at /isomike
IsoMike™ Tests 2005 B
£15.95
Purity:
An Inspirational collection
£12.50
Joe McQueen & Friends:
Ten at 86£15.95
IsoMike™ Tests 2005 A
£15.95
The Fry Street Quartet:
Haydn
£15.954VQFSJPS 5FDIOPMPHZ o 4VQFSJPS 3FTVMUT
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%HRER %VHYQER 7XIVIS 8MQIW %YKYWX
Kimber 4PR speaker cable
Kimber Select KS2020digital interconnect
Kimber Timbre interconnect Russ Andrews Silencer Block FDIOPMPHZ o 4VQFSJPS 3FTVMUT /7
/7
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Kimber have developed and launched two
cables,designed to improve the
The new cables,large copper conductors - the permissible under USB specifications,and t he signal conductors are plated with an unusually thick (6.1%) silver plating to enhance conductivity and signal support.
The ferrite noise reduction beads help the cable to preserve the delicate data stream,longer lengths.
When a USB cable is used to link a device KIMBER The Fry Street Quartet:
Beethoven £31.95
We’re all responsible
for helping high-end audio enjoy a wider appreciation says Robert Harley,in this article reprinted from US publication
The Absolute Sound
There’s been much talk and little action about what I consider to be the single biggest issue in high-end audio:the increasing marginalisation of our industry.The fundamental problem is that only a tiny percentage of people who enjoy music even know about high-performance audio, never mind become customers.I’ll save the reasons for this state of affairs for another editorial.Instead,I’ll tell you about what TAS is doing to counter this trend.
This issue’s Roundtable discussing the business challenges facing high-end audio is the first chapter in what I hope will be an open and energising forum in the pages of TAS exploring ways to facilitate mainstream acceptance of the high end.I encourage you to write letters, editorials,and proposals expressing your views - for possible publication.TAS is here to serve as a vehicle for
exchanging ideas and encouraging
debate.If you have ideas,express
them.(Contact me at
rharley@.)
Expanding the high end beyond its
current market is of vital importance
not just to those of us who earn our
livings in the industry.It’s equally
important to those of you who enjoy
the products the industry creates.A
strong and growing high end brings
better performance at lower prices,
greater innovation,wider selection of
retailers and products,and a myriad
other benefits.The goal is also
altruistic:Many more people will forge
a deeper connection with music,
which can only make the world a
better place.
So how does the high-end industry
go about bringing its products - and
more important,the experience those
products deliver - to a mass audience?
Allow me to let my imagination run
free,unfettered by real world
obstacles.I envision an association of
high-end companies and retailers that
acts to promote not the individual
member companies,but the
wonderful experience that high-end
audio provides.The association would
pool its resources to advertise in
mainstream mass media with the
message that anyone who enjoys
music is in for a surprising and
extraordinary experience.Rather than
From Inside the Industry
try to tell the story behind high-end audio in the advertising,the reader is directed to the organisation’s Web site, which describes the high-end listening experience,explains - in non-techno-geek language - why high-end products are fundamentally different from mass-market audio,and tempts him to visit a participating retailer with the promise of a life-changing experience.The marketing and graphic quality of the advertising and Web site should be nothing less than world-class.
The organisation would need a public-relations expert to educate mass-media columnists about high-performance audio,so that our field is no longer the object of ridicule in newspapers and magazines.When the mass media does cover high-end audio,they sensationalise it by featuring exorbitantly priced products and systems.The implication is that high-end audio is only for very wealthy snobs or geeks.The organisation’s PR person would even secure high-end systems from the member companies and install them in the homes of columnists with huge audiences and little knowledge of what the high-end is all about.I’m confident that after living with even a modest high-end system,mass-media journalists would “get it.”Can you imagine a review in the New York Times recommending that readers buy
a quality system from specialist
manufacturers and retailers rather
than mass-market dreck from a chain
store? I can.
The organisation’s representative
would also set up high-end systems in
portable booths in public places
(including colleges) and invite
listeners in one at a time.Travelling
mini-shows could tour the country.
Progress would be slow and
painstaking,but,as John Giolas points
out in this issue’s Roundtable,the only
way to create converts is by exposing
them to the experience.No amount of
advertising,slick literature,or
descriptive text can substitute for ten
minutes in the sweet spot.
There’s something all of you can do to
help the cause:Play your system for
friends and colleagues.Emphasize
that even entry-level high-end
delivers a fundamentally different
experience than mass-market gear.
Don’t let your listeners be put off by
the fact that your system is the result
of years of painstaking research.De-
emphasise the tweaky.Don’t mention
that layer of rhodium in your binding
posts.
Turning high-end audio from an
insular,hobbyist pursuit into an
experience enjoyed by large numbers
of music lovers is a daunting
challenge.But we have one huge
factor in our favour that bodes well:
I’m convinced that most non-
audiophiles,when exposed to a good
demo of even a modest system,would
instantly fall in love with the
experience and make it a priority to
hear their favourite music wonderfully
reproduced in their homes night after
night.
We just need to get them in the
listening seat.
Many thanks to Robert Harley for
permission to reprint his editorial from
The Absolute Sound Issue 160,March,
2006.For more information,visit
I
embark on his quest to discover how to achieve truly enjoyable music from a Hi-Fi system.
The Linn link
A visit from Ivor Tiefenbrun (founder and MD of Linn Products) introduced Russ to the Linn Sondek LP12
turntable,a product that he quickly recognised as having superior musical merit.Their friendship developed,and it was through Ivor that Russ met and befriended Julian Vereker (founder of Naim Audio).At that point Julian was selling his incredibly expensive
NAP160 and 200 amplifiers solely into the pro-audio industry.Russ thought they were so much better than
anything else that he’d heard that he began selling them (the first retailer to do so),advertising them and
recommending them to everyone he knew!
Following a weekend mountaineering with Chris Bonnington (Russ’other passion is climbing),Russ had a
serious car accident that left him with shoulder and head injuries.It was this incident that precipitated another change in direction:to leave retailing
and become a
freelance Research and Development (R&D)consultant.Work for Nytech and then QED followed,including his first research into cables when he
worked with a German cable manufacturer to develop QED’s Incon cables.
A misunderstanding during a
conversation with Michael Lewin (of Graham’s Hi-Fi) led to Russ’s discovery of cable directionality.His curiosity also led him to discover that
improving the contacts on standard mains blocks brought clearly audible improvements in sound quality.He also started working for ARC developing loudspeakers,a
relationship that lasted until the mid-eighties.Russ was involved in the ARC 101 then 102,103,050 and is
particularly proud of his work on ARC 801 where he and Alistair Clarke
(formerly of Mordant Short) designed and made the drive units themselves.In the early eighties,Russ was involved in developing all QED’s products
including amplifiers,tuners,turntables,cartridges and loudspeakers.He also spent many months travelling around the USA trying to set-up distribution for ARC and Nytech through a
network of dealers.The attempt was unsuccessful partly because American customers favoured USA products over European ones,but also due to the fact that whilst selling direct from manufacturers to retailers was
commonplace in the UK it was not how things were done in America! Through the early 80s,Russ continued his R&D work for Nytech including work on their range of integrated amps ad tuners (CTA252,CTP102,CPA602,CXA252 etc).He also worked with Meridian on their range of amplifiers (the 101 preamp,the 103and 105 power amps) and their M2and M3 loudspeakers.
A Super idea
Whilst travelling in the States,Russ had come across a spike filter.
Recognising the value of filtering out spikes and surges,he commissioned the company to make a version that could be used at UK voltages but all the prototypes blew up! By happy coincidence a friend,Richard McGinnis (an engineer at NASA),told Russ about a suppression device they were using in Aerospace.Russ bought parts from the manufacturer and built them into a filter,which was launched in 1983 as Clamp 1 (later to become the SuperClamp).
RATA Starter
When Ivor asked Russ to take over import and distribution of Grace and Supex tone arm cartridges he agreed and commenced trading as Russ
Andrews Turntable Accessories (RATA).Working with Goldring,he started work on his own range of moving coil and moving magnet cartridges.Throughout this period,Russ was searching for and finding more and more high quality components that were later to become the foundations
Russ was first ‘switched on’to better sound at the tender age of 14when he heard a friend’s father’s home-built Hi-Fi system.Already a
music lover - he sang in both the
church and school choirs and had been exposed to jazz and swing at home by his father who played piano accordion in a dance band before the war (with Eric Law who later went on to become a famous band leader) - he vividly remembers the impact on him of this first exposure to Hi-Fi,“The sound made my spine tingle and I knew this was something I just had to have”.
1964-6 Russ builds his first Hi-Fi system.
After leaving school,Russ gradually built his own system using a valve amplifier kit and speaker kit.At the time he was working for GEC
telecommunications as a Test Engineer involved in electronics and radio servicing.The pay was good,and he became proficient at fault finding and repair - so much so,that he was soon completing his day’s allocation of work within a couple of hours.He recalls that such efficiency didn’t go down very well with co-workers in this heavily trade-unionised environment!
A change of direction
Russ is not a man who likes to be bored,so it was only a matter of time
before he sought pastures new.The
move,when it came,was a somewhat unexpected change in direction:he relocated to Edinburgh to become a mature student of Chiropody.To support himself,he took a part-time job repairing Hi-Fi equipment and radios at Hi-Fi shop Audio Aids.His new-found interest in people’s feet,however,proved no competition for his Hi-Fi passion when the following year he was offered a partnership in Audio Aids.He jumped at the opportunity! It was whilst working at Audio Aids that Russ realised how much better equipment sounded when played in a room on its own,and he went on to build a dedicated dem room in the shop.This concept of a ‘dem room’to listen to equipment before making your purchase gradually spread and has now become accepted practice within the industry.The Audio Aids recording studio,fitted with a couple of Revoxs and an Allen and Heath mixer,gave Russ his first experiences in recording.In addition to recording local groups they hired out recording equipment for various concerts during the
Edinburgh festival.One particularly
memorable occasion was when they provided the music system for a bizarre performance art piece by German
conceptual artist Joseph Beuys (widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the second half of the 20th century).
In late 1971,Russ took the opportunity to buy Hi-Fi Corner in partnership with Graham Tiso.As if he wasn’t busy enough,he also taught a course at Telford college about how Hi-Fi
equipment worked and how to build your own.It was around this time that he put together what was regarded as the system of the day - a Thorens TD124 turntable,Quad 33 and 303amps and Spendor BC1 loudspeakers -only to discover that it failed to deliver truly musical sound.It was this experience that prompted Russ to
A Brief History of...
1960
1964
1970
1971
1973
19761978
1979
1979
1980
1982
Northumberland St,Edinburgh Development (R&D)consultant for Nytech.worked on first mains block .home-built Hi-Fi system.partner in a Hi-Fi shop called Audio Aids.Graham Tiso.
retailer to sell and promote Naim Designing loud-speakers for ARC.entire product range.Travelled round the USA work with Meridian.Developed Russ Andrews SuperClamp.
Outside Northumberland Street shop,1976.
Left to right:Russ,Dave Watson,Jerry Ubysz,Roy McCullough.
Inside the shop
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Words:Kirsteen Andrews
of the ‘Audiophile
Catalogue’.Amongst other products he sold were Sidereal capacitors,which used Kimber wire;Kimber went on to take over Sidereal in the late 80s
and re-launched them as Kimber Kaps.
The Torlyte® Years
The award-winning and well-reviewed RATA RP range of cartridges were
launched in 1984 as was Russ’range of equipment furniture,Torlyte®.Russ had been looking for a stiff,low mass
material incorporating wood and had spoken to a local cabinet maker,Tony Mulvaney.Tony suggested that a torsion box might be the answer,he made one and together they worked on developing the original Torlyte®designs.Torlyte® was initially only available in a black finish and was sold through QED as well as direct to customers.By 1986 Russ had bought out Tony’s involvement and taken production in house.
In 1985,Russ met Ray Kimber whilst attending the CES in Chicago and
recognised the unique innovations Ray was making in cable construction and manufacture.Russ continues to this day to be convinced by Ray’s coherent,honest design philosophy and the
resulting superiority of Kimber cables.Less than a year later,Russ had taken on the UK distributorship for Kimber Kable and Russ Andrews Turntable Accessories Ltd.(RATA)was incorporated as a
Limited company.Already very aware of the detrimental impact on a Hi-Fi system of poor mains quality,Russ experimented with making mains cables by threading earth wire through the centre of
Kimber 4TC and 8TC speaker cable.This was so successful at improving sound quality that he started selling them –they were first specialist mains cables on the market.Ray took the idea on and developed the PowerKords,which were launched in 1987.Aware of Kimber’s internal wiring cable,Russ suggested that they use it to make an interconnect – and the PBJ was born (originally called PSB and now superseded by Timbre).
The Olson Commission
At the end of the 80’s,Russ was given the opportunity to put into practice all that he had learnt when his friend (and investor) Chris Bonar commissioned him to build a ‘cost no object’system.There followed an intense period of R&D,and the fruits of his labour – the Olson II 3 way system - were unveiled to critical acclaim at the 1991 Penta Hi-Fi Show in London.Naturally,Russ went on to develop a range of Hi-Fi
equipment derived from the Olson system including CD players,preamps,phono stages and loudspeakers.He also produced a range of DIY upgrade kits giving step-by-step instructions on how to upgrade the components in a selection of branded Hi-Fi equipment.
A mail order company
Finally,Russ brought together the high quality components,cables,RATA equipment range and upgrade kits (along with volumes of technical knowledge) in the Russ Andrews Audiophile Catalogue:a densely
packed tome that proved popular with customers,and the fore-runner of the existing catalogues and information booklets.Eldest daughter Rohan joined the company to provide much needed help.
As the company grew it expanded from this hard-core of DIY enthusiasts and changed its catalogue to appeal to a less technical audience.Colour and pictures were added and the focus of product information moved away from technical explanation towards
explaining the benefits.In the new era of digital,and bearing in mind the expanded product range,it was decided to drop ‘Turntable’from the company name.Youngest daughter Kirsteen joined the company,and not long after,the decision was taken to stop selling to retailers and instead become exclusively mail order direct to customers.
Expanding the company
To aid communication with customers,catalogue production was increased to two issues a year,the Directions
magazine was launched,work started on Russ’range of information booklets,and a website providing information and a catalogue request feature was launched.In order to cope with the increase in business,more sales and
History of Russ Andrews
1983198419861991
19921997199820002006
manufacturing staff were taken on and the business relocated from Russ’s house to the village of Staveley,near Kendal.Following the addition of a factory shop to the front of the
building,the new offices were
officially opened by Tim Collins MP in April 2000.
Meanwhile,Russ continued to focus primarily on ways to improve mains quality.By 2000 he had launched the PowerBlocks,Silencers and Purifiers that remain the core of the current range.His interest in sound recording was reawakened when he was
approached by Embrace to provide cabling for their recording of ‘Drawn from Memory’.
In 2001,to celebrate the Company’s 15th Anniversary,Russ launched yet more products:the Silver PowerKords,
the Crystal range of interconnects and the Russ Andrews SCART cables.The icing on the birthday cake,however,came in November when the company received not one but two awards at ECMOD - an annual Mail Order
Industry Award ceremony,successfully beating competition from the likes of Laura Ashley,RS Components,Scotts of Stow and The White Company to win the prestigious ‘Best Overall Consumer Catalogue’Award.
Going Pro
Having been approached to re-wire the Astoria recording studio (owned by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame),Russ personally supervised the work and then began developing a range of Pro Audio cables which were launched in 2002.Other work in the Pro Audio field has followed including wiring up Russell Watson’s home studio,and supplying cables to Michael
Zimmerling (recording engineer for Simply Red) and recording engineer/producer Ken Nelson (Gomez,Coldplay).
On another front,Russ started work with SJ Audio to produce an upgraded Russ Andrews Signature version of their attractive pre and power
amplifiers.To go with the amplifiers he also designed a new quarter wave
loudspeaker,Quave,manufactured by Castle.The system was launched at the Hi-Fi News Show in London,
September 2002,and was praised by many as producing ‘the best sound at the Show’.
Web assisted
June 2003 saw Russ Andrews launch their new fully transactional website which quickly proved a hit with customers.An impressive 45% of all orders are now placed via the website,which is continually being developed to improve the customer experience.Most recently,the site has become multi-currency so that the Company’s many customers abroad can choose to pay in Euros or Dollars.
The appointment of Guy Clapson (formerly MD at ‘Boys Stuff’) as
Business Manager at the end of 2005will enable Russ to focus more on R&D.Amongst other projects he has been developing some new products to be launched this year as part of our 20th
Anniversary celebrations - so stay tuned!Accessories (RATA).Becomes UK distributor for Grace and Supex tone arm cartridges.
cartridges launched.
incorporated as a Limited company.
1986first specialist Hi-Fi mains cables.Kimber produce their first interconnect.
unch of RATA
range of Hi-Fi equipment.DIY upgrade guides produced.
Audiophile Catalogue.
Accessories Ltd.
becomes exclusively mail order.
of The PowerBlock,The Silencer and The Purifier.
2001Early Torlyte®Turntable Stand
Ray Kimber with Russ at the opening of the Staveley shop The new range:Two- and three-way loudspeakers,phono stage and integrated amplifier
Silver PowerKords,Crystal interconnects and Russ Andrews SCART cables.2002Launch Russ Andrews Signature amplifiers and Quave speakers.2004
Anniversary.New Special Edition 4TC and 8TC speaker cables launched.Lots of new products in the pipeline...
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