Merry Christmas from Loud & Clear!

Welcome to our Twelve Days of Christmas; twelve special treats for music lovers; twelve of our favourite things.
You may well have seen these on emails and social media but for any you missed, here’s the final countdown of our 12 Christmas Treats:
12. A Chord Ethernet Cable
Controversial? Good. Because we need your attention, this is relevant to everybody who has a music streamer; and that is most of our customers. Your Ethernet cable makes a difference; a huge difference. We know, we’ve done the dem. From Chord Company C-Stream through Shawline, Epic, Signature, Sarum T to the jaw-dropping ChordMusic, each step delivers a major performance leap. Connect a Chord Company Ethernet cable to your streamer and you will, quite possibly, fall off your seat at the improvement it makes. Don’t believe it? Pop into the shop, its 5 minutes that may well change your life ?.
11. Technics Ottava SC-070 music system
When space is tight, an all-in-one music system is a great solution. The Technics Ottava SC-070 all-in-one combines CD playback with DAB radio, high-res audio support and Bluetooth streaming, It may be compact, but the Ottava is notable for its wide sound-stage and open, spacious presentation. At £799, it may be one of the cheapest one-box systems we have, but it certainly doesn’t sound it.
10. Rega Research Neo power supply
Neo PSU is a standalone advanced turntable power supply; a perfect upgrade for RP3, Planar 3, RP6 and older Rega turntable owners. Neo reduces noise, improves speed stability and rotational speed accuracy, allows user controllable fine speed adjustment previously seen only in Rega’s reference RP10 and the convenience of electronic speed change. Sonically, a big improvement on its predecessor, TTPSU, and only £27 more. £225
9. Innuos Zen Mini music server
Complete music library management; Innuos Zen servers are the easiest and one of the best ways we have found so far to rip, store, manage and play your music collection. No need for a PC, slip a CD into your Innuos and 5 minutes later, out it pops, perfectly copied and stored losslessly, with all cover-art, artist and track information beautifully displayed on your screen, tablet or smartphone. Stores up to 4000 CDs, from £699
8. Rega Research Planar 2 turntable
Want to get back into your vinyl? Or are you just discovering the charms of analogue? Then really your only question finish – gloss black, white or red? Relaunched last year by Rega, the Planar 2 ‘plug ‘n’ play’ turntable is a thing of beauty and considerable quality; there isn’t a deck to touch Planar 2 for sound quality at this price-point. And it looks pretty awesome too. £375
7. Can You Feel The Force? The John Luongo Disco Mixes CD
From our very own Groove Line Records, a quite stonking double CD disco delight to really get those Christmas parties started! John Luongo, having forged an unparalleled reputation in his native city of Boston as a DJ, promoter and mixer at the vanguard of the disco movement, went on to deliver an unprecedented number of classic disco mixes. This double CD showcases the finest productions created by this pioneering and hugely influential DJ and mixer and is the very first collection of its kind. £15.
6. RHA MA750 wireless in-ear headphones
Premium metal construction, noise isolating, Aerophonic™ sophisticated design and accurate and balanced audio are some of the added benefits of the MA750 wireless earbud from Glasgow-based headphone specialists RHA Audio. Complete freedom of movement with Bluetooth aptX™ connectivity to any compatible device (including socketless iPhones!). Just £150
5. ARCAM rPhono phono stage
A pocket dynamo, the diminuitive size of this fantastic MC/MM phono preamplifier belies its punchy output. Amplifying the tiny signal from a cartridge is no mean feat but the rPhono does it in style. Whether you are looking to upgrade performance of your inbuilt pre-amplifier phono stage or adding a turntable into your set-up, for sheer audio quality and bang-for-buck, rPhono is our choice. £399

4. MOON by Sim Audio 2401 integrated amplifier
Our go-to stereo integrated amplifier, this powerhouse from Canadian giants MOON ticks all boxes. Every input you could need, including a moving magnet phono stage and digital connectivity (up to 24-bit/352.8 kHz and DSD 256), two channels of conservatively-rated 50W amplification, the 240i delivers performance and finesse of something far pricier. £1990

3. Sondek LP12 Service Gift Voucher
Ivor Tiefenburn MBE, great inventor of the Linn Sondek LP12, built this wonderful turntable to last and 45 years on, it most certainly has. But every machine needs servicing for optimum performance and when it comes to LP12s, we’re the experts. An LP12 Service Gift Voucher entitles the bearer to a full strip-down and meticulous rebuild of their cherished deck, renewing all perishable parts (springs, grommets, nuts et al), replacement bearing oil, speed-check, cartridge alignment and tonearm balancing, leaving your LP12 singing, no matter how old! £100
2. Naim Audio Uniti Star
This one-box music streamer is aptly named, it may well be Naim Audio’s new shining star. Play, rip, store and serve your treasured CD collection, stream and download music in high-resolution, choose from the international world of internet radio stations or a host of streaming services; all in traditional Naim high quality audio performance. £3499
and a cartridge in a pear tree…
1. Dynavector 10X5 MC cartridge
The 10X5 will extract musical detail from your vinyl that you just didn’t know was there. A brilliant all-rounder, the benchmark for high output moving coils and a firm favourite at Loud & Clear, you can even use it with a moving magnet phono stage. Crystal clear tunes and perfect timing, this is the best value cartridge we know. £499
Wishing all our friends, customers and colleagues a wonderful Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!