The focus of the 2019 Kantata Audio Autumn Event was to launch Amphion, Hegel and Auralic as brands in Northern Ireland. Two rooms were running throughout the day with a smaller, Bluesound based, lifestyle system providing background music in the hallway.
Room one showcased the brand new Hegel H390 streamer/DAC/integrated amplifier which is getting fabulous reviews in the hifi press at present. It was partnered with an Auralic Aries G1 and Amphion Argon 7LS loudspeakers. The Hegel H90, H190 and H590 were also available along with the complete range of Amphion Argon loudspeakers. On request, different combinations of the amplifiers and loudspeakers were demonstrated to event attendees. A couple of tracks went down particularly well - the “Bass & Drum intro” from Nils Lofgren Band Live (2009) and “Wall Street Part 1” by Simon Philips from Protocol (1989).
Room two centred around Hegel’s flagship H590 amplifier but with the added bonus of the Auralic Aries G2 / Vega G2 pairing with an Audioquest Diamond HDMI cable as the Lightning Link. Loudspeakers were again Amphion Argon 7LS’s. Throughout the day, the brand new Auralic Altair G1 made “guest appearances” in place of the Aries G2 / Vega G2 combo and was very well received indeed.
All in all a very successful day which I hope everyone enjoyed.
Many thanks to Richard, from Auralic, for staging an excellent demo & creating the video. Thanks also to Bill, from Auden Distribution, for his banter, wit and repartee (plus not inconsiderable expertise!) and to Sharon & Kirsty for all their help.
