Everything you need

The new Quad Vena integrated amplifier is both completely modern and affordable, yet pure Quad. We were lucky enough to have a pre-production version of the Vena arrive on our doorstep recently and we have to say, it's the highlight of our year.

The NuForce DDA-100 provided a  new standard for purist and affordable digital amplification last year (and is still the amplifier to beat at its price level). The Quad takes everything we love about NuForce and makes it even better, with more inputs, both digital and analogue, extremely capable wireless via inbuilt BlueTooth and a sound that is at once more detailed and richer than the class leading DDA-100.

We've now got the first production Venas in stock - ahead of most of the world! At just NZ$1300, the Vena brings Quad ownership to a whole new generation - find out more here.

Oppo

Have you heard of the Oppo BluRay players? They have almost come out of nowhere, first appearing in 2009 with an award winning universal disc player that carved out a significant US market share.

From that point they have built better and better disc players that have now become the standard not just for any serious home cinema enthusiast, but also for a whole new generation of digitally based audiophiles. Their range has recently become more coherent and competitively priced and the introduction of the new Darbee Edition versions means that the time is now right to introduce Oppo to our line up. That they are also a logical companion to the recently introduced NuForce AV range made the choice even easier.

We've found the new Oppos work on two levels. Firstly, for watching movies, these are the state of the art players - the picture quality is nothing short of remarkable. Then there is the audio performance - even the entry level machine is a viable alternative to many CD players, but when combined with a DAC they are something else again. Have a read of our introduction to Oppo and you'll find that they may well work for you in unexpected ways.

NuForce Theatre Update

Last month we introduced you to the new range of AV separates from NuForce. We've just had two more new models in this range turn up and they set a new standard in both affordability and sound quality.

If you own an Oppo, Cambridge Audio or other high performance BlueRay player with multiple audio outputs, would you like to integrate other analogue sources into a no-comprise surround sound system? Do you think that balanced inputs and outputs are better? If the answer to any of these questions is 'Yes' the NuForce MCP18 has been designed just for you. It might take a little while to get your head around exactly what this preamplifier does, but we can assure you that when combined with any worthwhile power amplifiers, in both stereo and multichannel scenarios, it will stun with both driving ability and sound quality. Here's a well written review which explains much for you.

We've now got the whole range in stock and for the first time ever, we have AV products that are just as good as, if not better than many specialist stereo components. You can find out why we think this here, but even better, come in and find out for yourself.

QED Digital cables

In any system, you may actually end up with a mixture of different types of digital cables. There is Optical and Coaxial for digital audio, USB for connection from many computers, and HDMI for both picture and sound. With some components you will also have a choice of different types of cable you can use - and you may be surprised to learn that there are real differences between which type of connection you use.

Having spent and inordinate amount of time torturing ourselves as to which range of digital cables seems to cover all the bases, we've settled on the QED range - it's a good mix of both value for money and absolute performance from one of the most well respected and reviewed brands around.

We've put together our own unique take on the range for you to read here.