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While I can't say that there is a deliberate Blue Circle house sound per se, there certainly seems to be a consistent focus on overall neutrally and musical truth. The BC707 was no different. I wasn't aware of any overt character or a deliberate massaging of a specific portion of the spectrum. Early on, I cued up Mehta's Mahler 2 [Decca/Super Analog KIJC 9139/40] and was immediately struck by the scale and size of the presentation. It seemed so much larger in all dimensions than I'd previously heard. The instrumental timbre of the strings especially in the higher treble range was natural and fleshed out while the impact of percussion and the blat of the brass section was solid and with plenty of impact.

Orchestral drums and those of pop recordings had a big weighty sound with great punch and excitement. The Heavy's deliciously naughty Great Vengeance and Furious Fire [Counter 007] was suitably lewd and lascivious with its tawdry lyrics and big-ass 70's funk sound. Drums and bass were solid yet fluid while guitars were raunchy with oodles of tone.
Nuance wasn't lost on the 707 either as small-scale chamber pieces such as Schubert's delightful Trout Quintet [Decca CS6090] as performed by Clifford Curzon and members of the Vienna Octet was sublime. Subtle phrasings and nuances were noticeably
explicit. The placement and image size of the performers was well-defined, overall spatial perspective fully fleshed out. Instrumental timbre was excellent and it was easy to differentiate violin from viola or a Steinway from a Blüthner, something at which many audio components fail.

Compared to my Pro-Ject Tube Box SE, the BC707 smoked it in all areas. The rendering of recorded venue, image placement and soundstage depth was far superior. The bottom end went deeper with greater weight and definition. It was also more fluid and bass lines bounced along without impediment. The midrange and treble regions were richer with greater complexity and nuance. All served to enhance my enjoyment of LPs. The Pro-Ject was softer, warmer, less dimensional and with rolled off frequency extremes. Music just did not leap off the page to the same degree as with the Blue Circle. Considering the price difference, I was not expecting it either. The Tube Box is a nice pleasant phonostage that offers good performance. But as I have said before, spending more can many times get you more and the Blue Circle piece certainly delivered.

In conclusion, the Blue Circle BC707 was a big step up from an entry-level phonostage, particularly in terms of reduced noise, overall tonal balance, nuance and detail. Furthermore, the BC707 was timbrally neutral, instruments had a good sense of scale and best of all; the way it played music was natural as opposed to that tipped up, artificial audiophile sound which tells me that I'm listening to a bunch of electrons zipping through electronic bits, not real people playing music. Over the BC707, listening to music was never boring or irritating, which I admit can happen occasionally with my current analog front end. I only wish I still had the Scheu Premier II table on hand. I suspect I was not hearing all this lovely phono stage is capable of. Still, one must start somewhere. If you have a modest table/cartridge combo and hanker to hear more of your records, do check out the BC707. Not only will it surprise and please you now, I suspect it will continue to serve you well down the road through further system upgrades. And, you can get it in hot pink too.

Quality of packing: Appears very solid.
Reusability of packing: Appears reusable several times.
Quality of owner's manual: No complaints other than a little more proof reading would be welcome.
Condition of component received: Flawless.
Completeness of delivery: Perfect.
Website comments: Decent pictures and information.
Warranty: 3 years parts and labor.
Human interactions: Professional, helpful, friendly and always humorous.
Pricing: No complaints.
Final comments & suggestions: None.
Blue Circle website