Denon TU260L MkII Tuner and Kef Cresta II Loudspeaker hi-fi+ Real Deal review

Having stared the quest for identifying real hi-fi for an affordable budget in the last issue with a look at the Pioneer PDS507 CD player and the Rotel RA931 amplifier, I am continuing here with a tuner that seems to have been around for ever, and a pair of speakers which, though relatively still 'wet behind the ears', are currently 'making a lot of noise' in the hi-fi press.

Denon TU260L Mk II Tuner and KEF Cresta 2 Loudspeakers.

The Denon TU260L Mk II Tuner is quite possibly one of the finest single pieces of affordable hi-fi equipment to have ever come out of the land of the rising sun.

In my opinion, this diminutive, understated tuner deservedly occupies a place in the hi-fi hall of fame. Since its arrival on the market way back in 1990, it has consistently out-sold all its rivals, and given machines costing twice as much a very good run for their money. How? - by being very, very good at its job. Whether you are listening to a sparkling Shostakovich from the Festival Hall on Radio 3, or a scratchy Test Match Special from Trinidad on Radio 4 long wave, the sound is presented honestly and with an inherent richness. On FM, stereo imaging is excellent. Speech is clear and natural, and music reproduction is surprisingly lively without sounding at all forced. It handles over-compressed pop channels with ease, managing to convey a believable sense of cohesion. Radio 3 is clean and clear, making a thoroughly credible 'front-end' source component.

I'm not going to get too involved in Medium Wave or Long Wave, suffice to say that the TU260 easily does as good a job as the rivals on Medium Wave, and as most of them don't bother with Long Wave, anyway the Denon obviously beats them hands down!

It aesthetically blends into just about any similarly coloured (black) system, and being quite skinny it has the ability to squeeze into a very small gap. And, to cap it all, at £130.00, it is a veritable bargain.

The secret of its success is, and always was, its simplicity Indeed, Denon have only just incorporated RDS on the recently introduced Mk II version having managed quite well without this facility on the TU260 for over 9 years. Indeed, though the TU215 offered this feature at a comparable price point, and is more popular in mainland Europe, the TU260 has remained the best-selling benchmark budget model, and a firm favourite with the UK public at large.

The tuning and memorising of up to 40 stations is totally Granny-friendly. Just press the scan button, let it find the station and then give it the number you want. If only they made video programming this simple! The display is neat, discrete, and easy to understand. You'll find no garish colours or gimmicky flashing lights here, the information you are given is the information you need, and no more.

Signal strength, the fly in the ointment of most tuners, has never been a big problem. In fact, I can clearly remember answering a customer query regarding this subject by remov-ing the aerial during a demonstration, and shoving my finger in its place, immediately achieving a strength 9 stereo signal, albeit on a local station. Now that's impressive! In fact, it sucks in a signal better than a Dyson sucks dirt off a carpet.

You may think that I am on some sort of commission from Denon here. I can assure you (unfortunately) that I am not. I can only say that in my experience in the hi-fi business, I have never known any one item that has maintained such a consistent level of sales, and, more importantly remains within customers' systems regardless of any upgrades they subsequently make to their other equipment. They never come back broken and they never come back second-hand. The conclusion is obvious. This is as much tuner as most people will ever need. And that's not because we don't care about the radio - it's still the most cost effective way of listening to music, as well as opinion, the news, satirical comedy and the Archers. In fact, it's the only way of listening to the Archers. That Tommy, eh…..

OK, we all know the digital radio revolution is here. Pretty soon, no doubt, the inevitable reduction of equipment cost and increased availability of signal will make all but the best analogue tuners redundant. However, until that time arrives, the TU260 still represents the best budget hi-fi tuner available, and one that you should definitely put on your list for audition - the radio might surprise you.

KEF Cresta 2 Loudspeakers.
As I previously mentioned, the Cresta 2's are a fairly new addition to the KEF product range, and appear to be seriously challenging the established array of budget loudspeakers. So far, the general reaction from the press and the public has been extremely favourable, and it is fairly easy to see why. At £150.00 a pair, they are a lot of box for not a lot of money.

Available in black or cherry finishes, I found that the black pair I was supplied with were somewhat 'retro' in appearance, reminding me of the old 1980's Tannoy Mercury in overall dimensions and style. The Cherry pair that we got to photograph are much prettier, which probably explains why they are in such short supply. Compared to the competition, they are not the smallest loud-speaker choice on the market, and at 14' in height they are certainly not one for the bookshelf, either in terms of size or proximity to the wall! Speaker stands are a definite requirement, as is a good foot of space behind them. I have recently been experimenting with a varied selection of loudspeaker cabling and bi-wiring configurations to ascertain whether it pays to dispense with the bi-wire capability in favour of a better quality single run cable (eg. a £5.00/metre bi-wire cable versus a £5.00/metre single cable). This exercise will no doubt appear in full in a forthcoming issue, but I can recommend using the bi-wire facility in the case of the Crestas - I found it made an appreciable difference.

The finer points of design and components were admirably described by RG in his introductory piece in issue 3, so I don't feel I need to go into too much detail here. The purpose of the 'Real Deal' is to identify performance above and beyond the call of budget.

So how do they perform? The easiest way I can answer that question is to quote from a recent demonstration that we gave to a couple of 19 year old customers. Having trawled their way through the usual budget candidates using various vinyl house/trance pieces, their reaction upon hearing the Crestas was total disbelief at such a high quality sound being available at such an affordable price. The overwhelming opinion was that, at last, the bass was, and I quote, 'fat'. I pressed them for further information, and in plain terms, the Crestas seemed to be able to handle everything thrown at them with ease, and to prove the point, we made the sale.

We continued auditioning after the satisfied customer had left, and we threw a varied selection of music at the system. After all, once you get to my advanced years, there is only so much Leftfield you can take. From Lyle Lovett to Gustav Holst, it was abundantly clear that KEF have cracked the budget speaker market open with the Cresta 2. My mate Karl summed it up quite succinctly when he said: 'It's like singing in the bathroom - It always sounds good!' I can't attest to his vocal qualities, but I think I under-stand what he is saying. Curiously the overall sound is relaxed, but the constituent parts, particularly the bass, is solid and well defined. So well defined that in certain extreme conditions such as heavy reggae, I needed to turn the volume down. Must be my age!

Now, I can wax lyrical on the advantages of cabinet rigidity the finer points of crossover capabilities, and frequency response till the cows come home, but that would be missing the point. The proof of the Crestas is firmly rooted in the price point. It's that old, much abused phrase 'value for money'. They work and they definitely will not break the bank. They are not the best loudspeakers in the world. They aren't supposed to be. They are however, going to be hard to beat at £150.00, and are more than worthy candidates for the 'Real Deal'.

They are astonishingly refined for the price, and as experiment has proved, they can grow with a system without letting the side down. In fact, the only major criticism that I can come up with is that they need to be treated like a far more expensive product. Don't run them in? Sluggish bass and splashy treble. Dodgy stands or poor positioning? More bass than you'll know what to do with. Well, at least it will still be fat - in every sense of the word. Don't take liberties and they should reward you with a long and enjoyable life. If you need speakers and £150 really is the limit, this is where the buck will probably stop. If you can stretch, then the B&W 601 is a more open but less meaty alternative for another fifty sheets. Listen to both, it's probably your music that will decide. And if you're not in the market for a pair of cheap speakers but are sad enough - I mean enthusiastic enough - to have read this far, give them an audition just for fun - you will be impressed!

So, if you put all the components that I have covered so far in both 'Real Deal' reviews together, you end up with a stunning hi-fi system for the princely sum of £655.00. Take out the tuner, and the basic system of Rotel RA931 MkII, Pioneer PDS 507 CD, and Crestas, will set you back £525.00 tops. It is possible to achieve hi-fi performance for midi system money. These babies have proved it. Try them out for yourselves and see!!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Denon TU 260L MkII Stereo Tuner
FM Section: (stereo) 0.8%; (mono) 0.5%
THD: (stereo) 76dB; (mono) 82dB
Signal to Noise Ratio Frequency Response: 20hz -15 kHz, (+.5dB - 1.0dB)
Stereo Separation: 40dB (1kHz)
Station Presets: 40
RDS Services: EON-TA, PS, PTY, CT
Dimensions (W x H x D): 434 x 75 x 239 mm
Weight: 2.5kg
Price: £130.00
Web: www.denon.com

KEF Cresta 2 Loudspeakers
Design: two way bookshelf
Drive Units: HF: 25mm (1') soft dome tweeter; LF: 130mm (5') pp coated cone
Frequency Response: 48Hz-20kHz (±3dB)
Crossover: 3kHz
Amplifier Requirements: 10 - 100W
Sensitivity: 90dB
Impedance: 8 ohm
Internal Volume: 12 Litres
Weight: 6 kg
Dimensions (H x W x D): 365 x 205 x 252mm
Price: £150.00
Web: www.kef.com

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