Infidelity: Statement Evening

Posted by: Mr Underhill on 29 March 2017

Thanks to Simon, Mike, Jason & Derek.

This is the best demo I have attended over the years. The system was working well within the space that Infidelity had set up and allowed Jason and Derek to demonstrate effectively.

The two sources were and NDS/555 and a Tangerined LP12. The amps: 552, 500; and, Statement pre/power. All into Focal Sopra 2.

Jason started with a piece from the Naim catalogue while we acclimatised to the system. This was then followed by a number of familiar pieces, GREAT; not esoteric lesser known music.

The next piece was Niel Lofgren's live rendition of Kieth Don't Go, played via the 552/500. The 552 was then swapped out for the Statement Pre. The tonality of the Statement was a big step in what for me was the right direction. The Statement allowed me to relax, and revealed more of what Lofgren was doing in terms of leaning into the guitar, or backing off.

Jason later played some Joan Armatrading. Through the Statement Pre/500 it was very good, but replacing the 500 with a brace of Statement Power amps bought a big smile to my face. The 555 had not really got the Focals under control, with the Statements the aural picture just snapped into focus, no to to mention the thoroughly controlled dynamics.

Derek from Tangerine then stepped forward to introduce his metallic LP12. As good as the NDS had been the Tangerine LP12 simply played music, now this was excellent. It was as though the music had been anchored to the Focals, with the T. LP12 there was a sound field with instruments in the room.

I cannot say how relatively good the 500 amps vs the Statement are, as system & room synergy play a big part, but in this room with these amps the Statements were very much in the driving seat, and as good as the NDS was in isolation the T. LP12 took full advantage of the Naim/Focal system.

Bravo and thank you.

Posted on: 30 March 2017 by MDS

Nice write-up, M. I had very much hoped to get there myself but irritatingly work commitments prevented it so good to read your account.

Posted on: 30 March 2017 by Mr Underhill

Hi Mike,

Shame, it would have been good to meet you. They did a really good job,

Posted on: 30 March 2017 by Bert Schurink

It's always great to hear the differences with our own ears. While statement is clearly above my class, but who knows the lottery or....

Posted on: 31 March 2017 by MDS

Well, having thought I had missed the event I was delighted to receive a call today from the guys at Infidelity offering me a chance to listen to the Statement if I could get myself over to Infidelity pronto before they needed to pack up the demo gear etc. I didn’t need to be asked twice and spent a very enjoyable lunchtime with Mike and Hitesh listening to the gear and having a good natter.

What I hadn’t quite appreciated until I arrived was that they were ready to pretty much repeat the event just for me and I had the luxury of bringing along some of my favourite music to listen to. How brilliant was that?!

So, visual impressions first. I hadn’t seen a Statement in the flesh before and I must say I was impressed. The size isn’t overwhelming and could easily fit into many domestic environments. The finish was as good as I expected it to be. I was particularly impressed at the heatsinks on the mono-blocks. The flowing curves were to my eyes a work of art.

The B&W speakers were new to me and hence I needed to accustom my ears to what they were lending to the performance, as distinct from the amps. Starting with the 552DR/500DR combo, I could hear why the B&Ws are popular with some on here. Great detail and control. And vocals, particularly female, were rendered wonderfully well. In truth I wasn’t taken with the bottom end which I found a bit dry and monochrome for my tastes, but then I’m a Focal fan, and speakers are very subjective. The listening area was also much, much bigger than I’m used to and that probably caused some of the ‘leanness’ that I was perceiving, but read below.

As with the event, the 552DR was then swapped out and the S1 swapped in. Oh my! The delicacy; the soundstage; the extra detail - on Mary Black’s No Frontiers I could clearly hear her breathing in and out! Jaw-dropping stuff.

Having listened to a bit more music, the Statement mono-blocks replaced the 500DR. Now the B&Ws were producing some serious bass. ‘Effortless’ was a expression that sprang to mind.

Finally, we had some fun using the Statement to compare the two top-end sources: Stiletto LP12 etc and NDS/555DR. This was interesting and, for me, reassuring. Both were lovely and both presented their familiar characteristics: the vinyl with its signature warmth; the digital with its top-end extension and tighter snap. Once again I was reminded that at this level of source the most important factor is the quality of the recording, not the format.

So overall what did I make of the Statement? Two strong impressions. First the jump in performance from the 552DR to the S1 was very noticeable and significant. It was the scale of jump that I heard when I demo’d my old 282/SCDR against the 552DR. I can well understand 500 series owners who can afford it moving up from the 552DR to S1 in front of their 500 and stopping there. I felt that unless you have speakers that really do need a lot of driving, the S1/500DR could be regarded as ‘as good as it gets’.

Second, the jump from the S1/500DR to S1 and mono-blocks was noticeable but not as great. I heard it mostly at the bottom end. Is that a criticism of the Statement mono-blocks? No. Actually I came away hugely impressed at the performance of the 500DR, feeling it wasn’t that far behind. So I can well understand why so many are rushing to get their old 500s DR-ed.

A thoroughly enjoyable hour or two, which rushed by. I’m immensely grateful to Mike and Hitesh.

Posted on: 31 March 2017 by Christopher_M

Thanks Mike. I know you've abandoned vinyl but did you hear the record player? And if so?....

Chris

Posted on: 31 March 2017 by MDS

Christopher_M posted:
Thanks Mike. I know you've abandoned vinyl but did you hear the record player? And if so?....
Chris

Yes, Chris. The Stiletto LP12 was performing very well. While I'm a CD-man now, I still enjoy a friend's vinyl system when I can.

Posted on: 31 March 2017 by Mr Underhill

What impressed me, apart from the macro scale that was produced by the Statements was the micro detail. For instance, on the Joan Armatrading track there was a backing piano. Through the S1 & 500s this was clearly present and correct. When the Statement powers were bought to bear I was very aware of when the player was adding pressure to the keys, and the percussive way in which he was playing the chords.

Glad you got a chance to hear the demo, and jealous that you got to play some of own material.

Posted on: 31 March 2017 by MDS

Mr Underhill posted:
What impressed me, apart from the macro scale that was produced by the Statements was the micro detail. For instance, on the Joan Armatrading track there was a backing piano. Through the S1 & 500s this was clearly present and correct. When the Statement powers were bought to bear I was very aware of when the player was adding pressure to the keys, and the percussive way in which he was playing the chords.
Glad you got a chance to hear the demo, and jealous that you got to play some of own material.
M

Me too. And, yes, I know I was very fortunate to be able to listen some music that I know intimately. A very big help in evaluating what a system is doing.

Posted on: 01 April 2017 by BigH47

We went on Wednesday, I have to say Mr Underhill's views were much the same as mine. My Sally said it was the best demo she had heard.

I still have a problem with the focal, big or huge, there is something I don't like, but couldn't tell you what.

Music was the same used at the Beta tester's factory events, and the same effects were shown using the new Uniti products.Sorting out a not so good recording the Joan Armatrading track is very impressive.

I can't carry sounds from other places so I have to generally rely on comparative listening on the day. So as impressive as the Stiletto LP12 was, I din't know any of the music so it was difficult to say just how good.

As all of the products on demonstration are lottery win items, I'll just have to be satisfied with what I have and maybe rely on some much smaller upgrades, to push things along. My own system still sounded great as usual.

Thanks to NAIM, Jason,Mike, Simon and Derek from me too.