Cover Feature
Naim ND555/PS555
And… Compact Disc Player roundup
Old School: Returning to 14-bit digital
The Audiophile Apartment: Two Great Compacts from Technics and Naim
Mine: It Should Be Yours
1095: Gear for Just over a G
Mine: It Should Be Yours
Playlists: We share our readers choices from around the world
Jim Macnie Returns with some great Jazz Choices
Emily Duff’s “Can’t Get it Out of my Head…”
Gear in our immediate future
Tracking through the recent SACD remaster of Todd Rundgren’s Something/Anything, it’s easy to see the validity of the concept album – listening to a series of tracks precisely as the artist intended. Sure you can do that with your favorite streaming service, but for some, the act of putting a disc in the tray, pressing play and easing into the music for approximately 45 minutes is wonderful.
With the Technics SL-G700, you don’t have to choose – it offers the option to play SACDs as well as CDs, along with the ability to stream from your NAS, or a number of music services.
There are still a high number of music lovers with an emphasis on playing physical media, yet are making their way into the current world of streaming. As a few dedicated imprints like Mobile Fidelity are still pressing high quality SACDs, this is a definite niche that has been left unfulfilled outside of a handful of very expensive players.
Thanks to their extensive design and manufacturing capabilities, and much like their current SL-1200 turntable, Technics offers world class products at down to Earth price points. The SL-G700 SACD player/DAC/Streamer is yet another example of something you’d easily pay five figures for from a boutique manufacturer. Reminiscent of the preacher on the radio when driving through Texas one long day, “now here’s some good news.” The SL-G700 will only set you back $2,999.99. This is one of the greatest values in disc playback we’ve encountered in forever.
Instant gratification
Anyone enjoying the unboxing ritual will really enjoy this aspect of the SL-G700. It is carefully packaged, and removing the protective covering, you find a heavy player that is finished to exacting standards. This is a deck you will feel proud to own and display in your system. All of the controls are damped and easy to access, and the disc tray glides in and out with a luxurious ease. Sonics aside, this is one of the most elegant players we’ve used.
You probably won’t remove the cover of your SL-G700, but if you do, you can see how densely packed, and mechanically robust this player is, with all of the various sections electrically and mechanically isolated. In the day of components with more air than circuitry, this is a true treat. The spec sheet reveals that the SL-G700 is almost 30 pounds.
Around back, there are RCA and XLR/balanced analog outputs, along with optical and coax SPDIF inputs for the DAC section. (there are also digital outputs, in the event you’d like to use this as a transport and streamer) You can connect to the SL-G700 to stream wirelessly, or via the Ethernet jack. We still feel a cabled connection provides top fidelity, especially when streaming high resolution files, but it is very nice that Technics has included this functionality. Finally, there is a USB input for an external HD, but you can not connect a computer here. An additional USB port is on the front with identical function, which is great for plugging in a memory stick or small portable drive. This player offers an epic level of accessibility.
Those wanting to hear music instantly need do no more than insert a disc and push play. Should you want to stream Tidal, Deezer, Spotify or music from a NAS drive, can do so via the on-screen menus, accessed by the control on the left. To their credit, Technics has made all control functions available from the front panel, though it will take you some time to get through all of them. For easier access, using their app will streamline the process.
The only thing the SL-G700 doesn’t do, at least not directly, is offer the option of being a ROON endpoint, but you can’t have everything for three grand. However, because it does offer Air Play and Chromecast options, you can still use this player within a ROON ecosystem, just at 16/44 resolution. As we are heavily invested into this playback workflow at TONE, it was simple to stream CD quality selections via Chromecast, and access high res files via NAS. At the end of the day, the SL-G700 ticks all the boxes.
Technics has, however, added a few cool things to the mix. For those of you using Tidal/Deezer, you can fully decode MQA master/studio files, via disc, streaming and USB. When playing CD or SACD discs, they offer a Pure Disc Playback Mode, which shuts off all networking completely, eliminating any network related noise. When streaming DSD files, or listening to SACD discs, there is a DSD Native mode, optimized for these files, eliminating the DSD to PCM conversion that many other (much more expensive) players rely on.
Podcast and internet radio listeners can also program this functionality with the SL-G700, making it an extremely well rounded digital hub. Should you have a matching Technics amplifier, the unified handheld remote can control both devices. This is an extremely well thought out machine from a human interface standpoint.
The sound
Form and function are lovely things – and the SL-G700 is at the top of the class in this respect, but the level of music it reveals is stunningly good too. You can read all about the engineering excellence behind this player on the Technics site. They go into great detail about the tech under the hood. Again, you’d swear you were reading about a thirty thousand dollar player.
You’ll forget all the tech the instant you press play. Perhaps dated, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s “Isn’t This a Lovely Day” gives an instant read on tonality and dynamic scale. When Mr. Armstrong chimes in, his voice is big and bold in comparison to Ms. Fitzgeralds’s creamy soft voice. Not every player can reproduce the dynamic contrast going on here – yet the Technics succeeds brilliantly, providing a highly convincing reproduction. Tonality is neither warm nor cold – Technics strikes an excellent balance, providing a natural sound, that will integrate with any system.
A long suite of acoustic and vocal tracks merely confirm what Ella and Louis reveals immediately. Moving on to more electronic, heavy rock, and such, this player wades heavily in the level of sonic involvement that the world’s best players provide. Whether listening to the notes fade to black with a solo violin piece, or the delicate, atmospheric bits in a Brian Eno album, this is the level of musicality that makes you forget you are listening to digital. And that’s just with 16/44 tracks. Well mastered high-res files and SACD provides an even bigger helping.
The line of demarcation
Like computational ability, digital audio has advanced tremendously in the last five years, and performance that you could only dream of for the price of this player didn’t exist. The Technics SL-G700 hits the mark of a great digital player by being understatedly excellent. If you have to have a ROON streamer onboard, this might be a deal breaker. But for everyone else, and especially music enthusiasts that are more into disc playback, it’s a perfect destination. Unless you are willing to spend the five-figure sum for a dCS, Esoteric, MSB, or one of the stratospheric players, there’s no need to go any further. It’s that good.
The Technics SL-G700
Peripherals
Amplifier Technics SU-G700, Boulder 866, Luxman L-550AXII, Octave VT-110SE
Speakers Dynaudio Confidence 20 with six pack of REL S/510 subwoofers
Cable Cardas Clear
Magic isn’t always where you expect it, and sometimes conventional wisdom suggests trying combinations that you might not think will impress.
The deep synth-bass line in Jerry Harrison’s “I Don’t Mind,” (from Casual Gods) has a rock-solid foundation, anchoring Harrison’s blazing guitar bits, as the backing vocals dart in and out of his lead vocal. Even as this class-A amplifier is warming up, the sonic landscape it renders is large, becoming extra-large in about an hour. Those wanting a super-size drink will have to shell out the extra $3,000 for the larger L-590AXII, which offers a bigger power supply and 30 watts per channel into 8 ohms, vs. 20 per channel for the L-550AXII. But this is damn good.
Leaving the music selection to the ghost in the machine, ROON drags us from Jerry Harrison, through Adrian Belew’s “Oh Daddy,” to Thomas Dolby’s “Nuvogue.” Again, the complete trippiness of these selections and the ones that follow bring us closer to a super-sized presentation after all, with the 550 opening up a bit more as the clock gets closer to the two-hour mark. Though it might rub your green sensibilities a little bit the wrong way, to get maximum enjoyment from your 550, consider turning it on at least an hour before you are ready to begin serious listening. Then take a 60-minute walk and return. Now, don’t you feel better?
Coming off a fresh viewing of the new Bee Gees’ documentary on HBO, the Gibb brothers talk about how one of the keys to their sound, is their alternate lead vocals, and the interaction of their voices as a sole instrument. Even if you’re not a Bee Gees fan, you probably have a few of your own examples of this kind of vocal styling. This is the kind of aural workout that instantly reveals the delicacy that the Luxman class-A amplifier offers. The classic “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” does the job nicely, resolving the differences between each voice, rather than just blending them together as one big, fat voice. Subtle but great.
The dollar per watt quotient
You might be thinking $5,995 for a 20-watt per channel integrated amplifier is crazy talk. Yet, in light of amplifiers from Audio Note, Wavac and a few others, the Luxman is a steal. Another competitor, albeit from the same manufacturer is the $7,995 LX-380 tube integrated, also delivering 20 watts per channel. We’ve been promised a review sample is in the works, so this will also be an interesting comparison. But a tube amplifier is a somewhat different game.
The L-550 AXII can be summed up in one word – refinement. Everything about this amplifier, even the packaging is refined, and thoroughly executed. Many in the audio industry like to push the luxury goods moniker around, yet few components display the density of thought and the level of attention that Luxman bestows on their products.
Grated, some may be drawn towards the glowing bottles anyway, and that’s just fine. But if you’re the kind of music lover that would like 95% of the tube sound with none of the tube hassle, the 550 is the one you want. Whenever I’ve had a Luxman Class A integrated here to audition, it’s always the same hamster spinning around in my head – those last few molecules of airiness, or freedom from hunting for tubes, and agonizing over the tube choices I’ve made. Get off the rollercoaster, life is short. Forget those demons telling you that there’s no happiness with a solid-state amplifier.
A few quick comparisons
This is also a level of performance that will have you questioning the tube thing. A lot of time was spent comparing this amplifier to the Conrad-Johnson CAV 45S2. Though similarly priced, the C-J has no phono stage, no coolio output meters, and no tone controls. The glass bottles still offer a slightly more spacious presentation, but the Luxman is a quieter amplifier, with more bass control.
Pushing play on the St. Vincent/David Byrne collaboration “Who,” sets me back in the chair. Nope, tubes just won’t do that. Going back to bass heavy favorites from Aphex Twin and Kruder & Dorfmeister underline this line of thinking. This is a big part of what you’re paying for. Sure, you can get a 100 watt per channel amp from someone else for half the price of the 550, but it can’t reproduce music this. It won’t have the finesse and delicacy that this amplifier possesses. Do you want a medium sized glass of awesome or a super-size cup of mediocrity? Think about this as the inception thought burrows in your head. Add tire and suspension choices to this kind of thing, and you know you know why I rarely sleep.
Deliberate functionality
If you’ve had the opportunity to spend any time in Japanese culture, you quickly see how everything in their world is done with purpose. This level of mindfulness permeates every aspect of the 550. At first glance, you might think the tone controls are a frivolous addition, yet they are so gentle and inconspicuous, the first time you give in and reach for them, you’ll find yourself unable to live without them. Audiophiles be damned, they work. What do you think a great mastering engineer does?
An equal level of attention is paid to the phono section and the headphone amplifier. Everything has an equally high level of performance. The MM/MC phono is dead silent, with the only drawback being fixed loading at 100 ohms. Both the Kieseki Purple Heart mounted to our Luxman PD-171 table, and the Denon 103r currently in a Technics SL-1100/SME 3009 work brilliantly, offering dynamic analog playback.
At first, you might even find the speaker selector switch unnecessary. For some of you it might be, but being in the middle of a speaker roundup, it made A-B comparisons effortless. Audiophiles enjoying more than one speaker setup will find this all too easy to get used to.
Around back, in addition to the phono input (MM/MC is switchable via the front panel), there are four RCA line level inputs, along with one XLR line level input, full tape in and tape out jacks, along with pre in and main out jacks too. The Luxman site mentions that the 550 shares the same attenuator circuit with the higher priced Luxman amplifiers and a number of overall upgrades from the original 550. You can read all of the details here at the Luxman site. It appears that the major difference between the 550 and the higher-powered L-590AXII is a smaller power supply and output stage in the 550.
Back to the sound
I must confess a bias toward Class-A solid-state amplifiers for all the above mentioned reasons. As much fun as tubes are, these devices are always in a state of degradation from the day you plug a fresh set in. Evaluating gear day to day, makes the consistency of a solid-state amplifier so much easier to deal with, though I still entertain tubes when there is no deadline on the horizon.
A comparison to the $7,500 Pass INT-25 we have on hand, which comes in right between the L-550AXII and the $8,995 L-590AXII is incredibly interesting, as the Pass amp has even more of that tubey delicacy, and is more resolving in fine detail. Taking a cue from Stereophile’s Herb Reichert, I brought out my Line Magnetic LM-805iA SET amplifier for another data point. On one level, this just brought out more confusion, as all of these amplifiers are fantastic, yet in different ways. Honestly, I could live with either of them.
While some might be averse to having an onboard phono stage, I’d really prefer that to an onboard DAC, because that technology is still changing. Today’s DAC performance will probably be eclipsed at the same price point in ten years, but a great phonostage will never go out of fashion.
If I had to have every last drop of resolution, I’d probably buy the spendier Pass amp. If I couldn’t live without the last bit of inner detail of the SET, I’d probably buy the Line Magnetic. But what makes the Luxman a perennial favorite, is that it’s the best all-rounder, wrapped in the most refined casework. 20-30 watts will only go so far, but if you have the right speakers it’s all you need.
Just as I thought this review was finished, as I wrote the above paragraph, the Zu Audio Omen Dirty Weekend speakers (97db/1-watt sensitivity) arrived. Putting those in the system was some of the most fun I’ve ever had listening to music, giving the Luxman amp so much reserve power, it made for an incredibly dynamic combination. Time to bust out the hair metal tracks. I won’t bore you with the fine details, but the Zu and Luxman combination is one of the best party machines going.
When the L-550AXII first arrived, we still had the $149,000/pair Focal Stella Utopia EM speakers in place and their 94db/1-watt sensitivity also made for a great party machine, with those big field coil woofers. However, this might be a little overkill, but it worked wonderfully. The 550 had plenty of LF control and HF resolution to make a great showing with the massive Focals, though for some reason we were playing a lot of hip hop then.
An excellent anchor
Regardless of what ancillary components you prefer, if you would like to build a $10k – $50k music system of very high quality, and you are a music lover that tends to hang on to your gear, this is an amplifier you will never tire of. Just add speakers, a DAC, and your favorite turntable. Off you go.
The Luxman L-550AXII Integrated Amplifier
MSRP: $5,995
Peripherals
Digital Sources dCS Vivaldi One, Luxman D-03x
Analog Sources Luxman PD-171, w/Kiseki Purple Heart, Technics SL-1100/SME 3009, w/Denon DL-103r
Speakers Focal Stella Utopia EM, Sonus faber Stradiveri, Eggleston Nico, Dynaudio Confidence 20, Zu Audio Dirty Weekend, Focal Kanta no.1
Cable Tellurium Q Black, and Black Diamond
Rotel has been gaining a lot of attention, with their statement Michi products at the top of their range, and the Tribute products at the entry level. They’ve just done an overhaul the RA1592 integrated amplifier, now in MKII class – long an anchor of their range.Raising the price slightly from $2,995 to $3,195 the new MKII version looks nearly identical to the model it replaces. A casual look at the specs reveals much the same, but digging in further reveals that Rotel has made over 28 critical component changes. Most of this derived from what they learned building the Michi series.
While it is always tough to remember what a component sounded like a few years ago, we’ve always been impressed with Rotel and the level of value they bring to the mix. For 60 years, Rotel has been providing high sonic performance at an approachable price, and the RA1592 MKII is a perfect example of this philosophy.
In the 16 years we’ve been producing TONE, we try to interact with our readers as much as possible, to try and get a feel for what you actually enjoy and purchase. We’ve always noticed a large number of end users with a system budget of about $6,000 – 10,000 all-in. The new MKII version of the RA1592 is a better choice than ever before for a music lover wanting to listen in all formats.
With an onboard MM phono stage, and DAC, it’s easy to add a turntable, your favorite pair of speakers and get to it. This approach is efficient, because at this level, every $100 you spend is critical, and if all functions are available with a single component, that’s less money that needs to be spent on a suitable rack, and cables. That leaves more in the budget for a turntable and pair of speakers. We know everyone likes to mix it up in their own way, however, if you are looking for the maximum sound and the minimum amount of hardware, it’s tough to beat a premium integrated amplifier.
The full feature set
The RA1592 MKII does everything but stream directly from your network. It is “ROON Tested,” which means it works with your PC or NAS via USB, but it can’t be used as a “ROON Ready” endpoint, so that’s how we used it, with a spare MacBook.
The internal DAC now uses a TI chipset, and as part of Rotel’s Balanced Design Concept, to offer better sound and functionality than the past model based on the AKM chipset. In addition to better sound, the MKII trades DSD functionality in the MKI for on board MQA decoding, which will be a benefit to a much wider user base. I’ll stick my neck out here and guess there are a lot more people streaming Tidal, than there are with massive DSD collections.
The built in MM phono stage was used to excellent result with a handful of MM carts on hand from Sumiko, Audio Technica, and Shure. Whether you already have a turntable, or have been thinking about adding one, the on board phonostage in the 1592 will serve you well with a MM cartridge in the $100 – $800 range. Should you decide to move up to an even better table/cartridge, an outboard phono stage can be used for even greater performance. Our reference Pro-Ject Ultra 500, a fully restored Technics SL-1200 and Denon DL-103 made an excellent combination through one of the 1592s three RCA line level inputs (marked CD, TUNER, and AUX). The 1592 provides a set of balanced XLR inputs, as well as preamp and mono outputs, so there’s plenty of room to grow should you want to build a bigger system.
An APT/X Bluetooth receiver supporting AAC and aptX, three optical inputs, and a USB port on the front panel for iOS devices, giving you a myriad of digital options. Two sets of front panel switchable speaker outputs and a headphone jack deliver maximum output flexibility, and with 200 watts per channel (into 8 ohms, 350/channel into 4 ohms) no speakers should be off limits.
This is a hefty receiver, weighing in at almost 40 pounds, thanks to an enormous power supply transformer and a full class-AB power amplifier.
Superb sound
With a speaker issue up next, we had the good fortune to give the 1592 a workout with nearly a dozen different speakers. It’s overall tonal balance is fairly natural/neutral, and all that power makes for plenty of dynamic punch. It also helps with woofer control and low frequency slam.
A wide range of digital tracks in both standard and higher resolution, from Tidal and Qobuz make the 1592 an excellent musical partner. While this version of the 1592 does not support DSD files, it still decodes PCM files up to 32/384 and unfolds MQA to 24/384.
Starting with the $899/pair Sonus faber Lumina 1s, and going all the way up to the $16k/pair Sonus faber Minima Amators proved a joy. There was no way we could push any of these speakers to clip in our 13 x 18 foot listening room, with even the most demanding of program material.
Rotel’s Michi components represent a major step forward, elevating Rotel to a serious high end manufacturer – yet by applying the improvements learned, and a careful utilization of the parts bin, have polished their former flagship to a much higher level. With careful speaker selection, the Rotel RA1592 MKII will give you an even bigger slice of the high end audio pie than the already excellent component it replaces.
Incredibly capable
What makes the Rotel 1592 MKII the recipient of one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2021 is its high level of overall competence. Even buying gently used pre owned components, it’s doubtful that you could come up with a fully functioning preamplifier, DAC, headphone amplifier, MM phonostage and a 200 watt per channel power amplifier of this quality for anywhere near the cost of the 1592 – that’s it’s beauty.
For many, the mix of components is the thrill in assembling a music system, however if you happen to be a serious music lover that doesn’t want to go through the myriad of choices (and potential non synergistic ones), call it a day with the Rotel. You won’t regret it.
The Rotel 1592 MKII
$3,195
Peripherals
Analog Source Technics SL-1200 with Sumiko Amythest cartridge, Shure M44 cart, Shure V15III (w/jico stylus) and Grado wood.
Cable Tellurium Q Black
Speakers Sonus faber Lumina 1, Harbeth C7ES-3XD, Eggleston Nico, Dynaudio Confidence 20, Gershman Acoustics Studio II
As with so many top audio manufacturers, it’s easy to get caught up in the products at the very top of their range, both in terms of performance and cost.
REL Acoustics is an excellent example of how we can get lost in their no.25 subwoofer, or even the six pack of them that I use in my reference system to excellent effect. Amazing as the no.25s are, not everyone needs, has the space or the budget for a couple thousand pounds worth subwoofers.
REL pours the same level of dedication, performance and execution in their entire line, and their modestly priced Serie T/x subs provide maximum performance within the constraints of a minimum footprint. Yet, at $679 (T/5x), $1,099 (T/7x) and $1,449 (T/9x), there’s a level of sheer performance here that feels like what you’d expect from subwoofers with a higher price tag.
With a REL T/5 that’s been in service for at least 10 years in several iterations, a casual comparison is easy to make – the new models are better in every way. If you happen to be a fan of this company, you know they do not make product upgrades haphazardly. Only when a significant performance gain can be made, is an upgrade slated for production.
First, the visual. Where the T-series was always a basic square box, the new T/x series features rounded cabinet corners, giving them a more refined visual feel. Driver and amplifier updates allow these new subwoofers to go deeper with more speed and refinement than their predecessors. Considering how much the cost of materials and shipping have increased in the last few years, the T/x versions are less expensive than the models they replace.
We’ve just started listening seriously, so we’ll have a full review in a few weeks. For those who place tremendous weight on first impressions, these three new subwoofers from REL are definite winners.
We’re almost done with our full review of Balanced Audio Technology’s new REX tube preamplifier.
At $30,000, it’s crazy money, but it’s crazy good. This two box design with a power supply that eclipses most power amplifiers reinforces the school of thought that power is everything. It weighs 40 pounds, to the actual “control module’s” 36 pounds. Not only does the REX’s massive power supply have a lot of sheer capacity, thanks to tube regulation and rectification, this power supply is a piece of audio fine artwork all by itself.
You’ll also notice that BAT has done an aesthetic overhaul (new logo) that pays homage to their past components, while moving forward, retaining the blue LEDs for power on and user interface (which is all customizable)
If you’ve got the space on your credit card, and the room on your audio rack (and use only balanced components, as there are no RCA jacks to be found on the REX preamplifier) save a little room for when you’ll need to re-tube this 18 tube monster preamplifier. While we don’t want to let too much of the review out from under wraps, suffice to say that this one is easily one of the world’s finest. And in that context, not crazy priced at all.
Go here: www.balanced.com/rex-3-preamp – for more information and photos.
And should you feel like buying one RIGHT NOW, click here to go to the Music Direct website.
You’re only remaining choice is silver or black?
Watching the delicate power level meters bounce to the rhythm of Led Zeppelin from across the room, Yamaha’s A-S3200 serves up an experience that is as visually engaging as it is sonically engaging.
Maybe it’s just being of a certain generation, but backlit power meters are fun. Whether you were there in the beginning, when Yamaha receivers were very popular, or getting on the bus for the first time, the level of design execution this amplifier offers is luxurious in every way.
If you have six to ten thousand dollars to spend on a premium integrated amplifier, there are some fantastic choices – both solid state and with vacuum tubes. For argument’s sake, let’s assume you aren’t interested in being bothered with replacing tubes and would like to stick with solid-state for now. Still plenty of choices. Yamaha’s A-S3200 is at the top of their range, and with an MSRP of $7,500 offers power, performance, functionality and style.
Flexible like Gumby
In the tradition of Japanese integrateds from the 80s, the A-S3200 offers a wide range of function, while still offering a level of sonic performance that will make even the fussiest audiophiles happy. With a pair of balanced XLR inputs, four RCA line-level inputs and a switchable MM/MC phono input, you’ll never be at a loss, even if you have a couple of tape decks.
As the A-S3200 features balanced circuitry throughout, close comparison reveals a slight performance edge to using the balanced inputs if you can. It’s not night and day, slap you in the face different, but back and forth comparisons between the two, the balanced inputs communicate more spatial information and delicacy.
If your choice of music is primarily rock, pop, or anything heavily produced, it might just pass you by. Attempting to keep it real for everyone, a long string of VanHalen, and Billie Eilish tunes were played, with no real difference discernible. Both the dCS Vivaldi and Luxman D-03x players were used with a set of 2-meter Cardas Clear Reflection cables – XLR and RCA, in the effort to keep it as apples to apples as possible.
However, switching the faire to some light classical, with an old copy of the Netherland Wind Ensemble’s performance of Beethoven Wind Music, Octet Op.103, reveals slightly more air and delicacy around these instruments when utilizing the balanced inputs. Likewise, for Michael Hedges guitar classic, Aerial Boundaries. With this record, leading and trailing transient edges have more attack. It won’t drive you to madness through the RCAs, but it is enough of a difference, that you won’t be able to un-hear it if you have the opportunity. Ah, the life of an audiophile.
Mega functionality
In a nod to the golden years of audio (i.e. the late 60s to early 80s), the A-S3200 has plenty of inputs as mentioned earlier, a front panel headphone jack, and incredible flexibility. The headphone amplifier features a trim control with -6, 0, +6, and +12db output, making transitioning from phones to speakers more comfortable. We did not spend a ton of time listening through phones, but a random sampling of available phones produced more than acceptable sound. A nice touch for the occasional, but not obsessed headphone user.
Two sets of speakers are able to be accessed via the front panel, which is incredibly handy, and tone controls. That word. Vintage amplifiers often had fairly intrusive tone controls, but the A-S3200’s controls only affect extreme treble and low bass, making them very good at making up for deficiencies in recordings, or a slight adjustment in room response. Those coolio meters mentioned at the beginning of the review can be set to respond more like traditional, weighted VU meters, or peak indicators. Normal, dimmed, and off allow you to adjust the lighting to your taste and mood too. Some purists will want them off, but why?
MM and MC
Handily, cartridge gain for MM or MC cartridges can be adjusted from the front panel. MM loading is the standard 47k, but MC is only 50 ohms. This will make cartridges needing loading between 200 and 1000 ohms sound slightly dull and lifeless, so if you don’t have a cartridge in this range, plan accordingly on your purchase for the best vinyl performance.
Rega’s Apheta performs brilliantly loaded to 50 ohms, and the Denon DL-103r also turns in a great performance between 50 and 100 ohms, the Yamaha proves a fantastic match. The Kiseki Purple Heart, also available for a test run, (and normally loaded at 400 ohms) loses enough sparkle that it is not recommended with the Yamaha’s built-in MC section, but there are plenty of cartridges that work well around 100-ohms, so there are still plenty of choices.
This phono stage is no afterthought, with all discrete components in the gain and EQ stages, and it turns in a level of sonic performance that we’d expect out of an outboard phono stage in the $1,000 – $1,500 level. Best of all – you won’t need another set of cables. With this level of performance, this is a phono stage that a beginning music lover can be happy with, starting with a budget table/cartridge combination, yet have enough performance to keep you happy, should you upgrade your table, and start looking at $400 – $1,500 cartridges. The overall sound is neutral, dynamic and quiet.
The argument is often made that an integrated amplifier should contain a built in DAC, and while this is certainly the choice that some manufacturers make, phono stage technology does not become obsolete in the way digital technology does. Which brings up the DAC or DAC/streamer argument. This will probably be the big question you will have to answer before plunking down your credit card – would you rather have a very good phono section on board, and upgrade your DAC as times change, or potentially have an outdated onboard DAC 5 years from now? As Dr. Seuss says, “you’ve got brains in your head and shoes on your feet.”
Plenty of power
Yamaha claims the A-S3200 produces 100 watts per channel into 8 ohms, and 150 watts into 4 ohms. This has incensed some of the internet know it alls, claiming it can’t possibly be robust enough, blah, blah. However, those of our colleagues that take measurements, found this amplifier to produce between 170 and 180 watts into 4 ohms. Unable to bring myself to pry the gorgeous casework apart, as you can see from the supplied photo, there is a massive power supply under the cover of this amplifier. And it’s nicely built too – with an incredibly thick copper sub chassis to help with vibration and noise control.
As we are working on a speaker issue, more than the usual compliment of speakers are in the studio to audition with the A-S3200. With 100 watts or so per channel at our disposal, there are no issues driving a range of speakers from Dynaudio, Gershwin Acoustics, Acora, Penaudio, Sonus faber, Focal and Totem. We even tortured it a bit with the old Acoustat ESL’s – if anything will trip an amplifier up, it’s these. While Magneplanars are typically inefficient and power hungry, the old ESLs present a highly capacitive and complex load. Again, there was always enough range at our disposal to play music as loud as we wanted to without issue.
All of the speakers on hand were sensitive enough that we could not drive any of them to clipping in the 12 x 18-foot room used for nearly all of our test listening. This amplifier paints a large sonic landscape providing substantial bass drive and control. With the Focal Stella Utopia Ems still here, we could confirm that the Yamaha not only goes deep, but does a splendid job at controlling those big woofers when required.
The overall sonic character of the A-S3200 is ever so slightly on the warm side of neutral. Where the Class A offerings from Accuphase, Luxman, and Pass integrated amplifiers have a decidedly more saturated sound, the A-S3200, being Class AB, the Yamaha is a bit more neutral tonally. This isn’t a terrible thing.
Final notes
Yamaha’s A-S3200 is a flawless performer. This product is even more stunning in person than our photos or the ones from Yamaha suggest. This is a quality product in every way: great sound, rock-solid build, fantastic execution. The level of sonic quality on tap with this and a few other excellent choices in this price range is staggering compared to 5 or 6 years ago, when most audiophiles would have turned their noses up at the suggestion of a single box doing everything. All but the most obsessed can live happily ever after with the Yamaha A-S3200.
There is one thing to take serious note of, should you buy an A-S3200 for yourself. The idea of component break in is somewhat contentious, and anything dreadful out of the box doesn’t transform into wonderful 1000 hours down the road. These aren’t butterflies. However, the A-3200 is slightly dry and stiff sounding out of the box. Not a deal killer, but after about 200 hours of continuous play, it opens up tremendously. Further than I’ve experienced with other solid-state amplifiers, which makes me wonder if my test unit was up on a shelf in a warehouse for some time before it made its way here. So, my only suggestion is that when you take delivery on your A-S3200, give it a couple of weeks play time before you judge it completely.
This amplifier is towards the top of its range if you have no plans for analog, yet at $7,500 if you have analog ambitions that are somewhere in the neighborhood of a $750 – $4,000 table/arm/cartridge combination, the A-S3200 is an excellent value.
Peripherals
Digital Source Luxman D-03x Disc Player, Naim 555/PS555 streamer, dCS Vivaldi ONE
Analog Source Technics GAE-1200 table/Denon 103r cart, Rega Apheta 2 cart
Cable Cardas Clear Reflection (speaker and interconnect)
Speakers JBL L-100 Classic, Eggleston Emma 2, Focal Stella Utopia EM, Focal Kanta no.1, Sonus faber Stradivari, Harbeth C7-ES3
Focal has just announced their new Clear Mg headphone, replacing the former “Clear” phones as their open back reference. Keeping with Focal’s already smashing sense of style, the new Clear Mg utilizes a primarily Chestnut color palette, featuring subtle integration with the materials used: leather, aluminum and premium microfiber. A handy, form fitting case is also included.
The “Mg” in the name represents the new diaphragm, which is made from Magnesium, and the shape, which is an M-shaped dome. Focal claims the new dome driver to have increased rigidity and damping with lower mass than the original. The result is even more natural, effortless sound than before. Plenty of other new touches abound:
• A new, M-shaped, honeycomb grille, more closely following the curve of the driver.
• Perforated microfiber ear pads for maximum comfort, and enhanced sonic transparency.
• Improved frequency extension at both ends of the audible spectrum.
Focal is holding the line on price, at $1,490 and we look forward to sampling this premium headphone very soon. For more information, please visit the Focal website here:
Editor’s Note: A short introduction is in order for readers who haven’t always followed our narrative.
Bob Gendron has been a contributor to TONE for almost 12 years and was also the magazine’s editor in chief for a considerable period. His knowledge of and enthusiasm for music is boundless — beyond that of anyone I know. Even though he’s never professed to be an audiophile, he’s always had a great system in his home to get closer to the musical experience.
We’ve had countless discussions about analog vs. digital, and whether digital truly delivers enough of the emotional component to be on par with analog source material. As someone who has embraced a high-end, high-quality, and high-dollar digital front end for more than a decade now, I am convinced it is, and when Bob was considering his next upgrade, I suggested the dCS Bartok. Having lived with one for nearly a year, and spent countless hours comparing it to my dCS Vivaldi One, I knew this was the solution.
Unfortunately, the current COVID crisis has made it much more difficult to audition gear in person. So, after a number of “are you sure I’m going to like it that much?” conversations, Bob took a leap of faith and purchased a Bartok. It didn’t take long for the experience to sink in. What follows is the account of a die-hard analog disciple. Again, this is NOT about one format vs. the other, it’s about getting to the point where you engage the music and get past the gear.
Mission accomplished. And now, on to Mr. Gendron…
dCS Bartok DAC
By Bob Gendron
“This machine kills vinyl addictions.”
The dCS Bartok DAC doesn’t come with that declaration. But the U.K.-devised, -engineered, and -built device certainly could. Variation on the Woody Guthrie guitar slogan aside, the 36.8-pound box supports the claim with utmost conviction and wondrous ease. A natural match with TIDAL and other high-resolution streaming services, the MQA-certified and Roon-tested Bartok flips long-held beliefs about digital like a pancake.
Let’s face it: Age-old debates surrounding analog versus digital will never abate. And that’s okay. A major benefit to owning a Bartok is that it doesn’t force you to choose sides or give up one medium for the other. Rather, it levels the playing field while providing options a great majority of DACs only dream about in their marketing hyperbole. Digital music rendered with levels of body, tonality, depth, presence, dynamics, detail, and liveliness on par with those furnished by a five-figure analog front end — coupled with SACD-like refinement, clarity, smoothness, extension, and ultra-low noise — without the harshness, sterility, brightness, and soullessness often associated with digital? Believe it. Or, embrace your inner skeptic. That’s fine, too, because once you hear Bartok in person, you will be even more elated.
There’s one hitch. Price. It lingers as the only potential drawback attached to this spectacular piece. Selling for $14,500 without the optional built-in headphone amplifier (which adds $2,750 to the ask), Bartok remains off limits to a large segment of the populace. Yet it’s important to put everything in context. Bartok exists in an industry in which five-figure power cables are touted by “experts” as being worth every penny and six-figure speakers are championed on the covers of magazines — the very same whose highfalutin editors seldom write a check to pay for what they praise and who still get to keep that exorbitantly costly gear in their personal systems under the justification of “needing to hear the cutting-edge.”
Which isn’t to suggest Bartok is a “bargain” or [insert your favorite audiophile-press cliche here]. Rather, it indicates price has become an end-all-be-all in audio, sponsoring a “keeping up with the Joneses” race that more often than not has nothing to do with performance improvements and everything to do with boasting about how much something costs — and/or, in the case of folks with walls of glowing power amplifiers and the like, how it looks. Call the practice what you want. By any name, it functions as a barricade to entry that both preserves the pleasures of superior music playback for a very select few and fuels denigrating discourse in which less-expensive gear gets treated with thinly veiled condescension in reviews and showrooms. “Oh, you can’t afford X? Well, Y is fine, I guess.”
Bartok flips a large, fat middle finger at that trend. How many of today’s components change someone’s listening habits overnight? How many save valuable time and let you hear what you want in seconds — no washing or delicate handling required? How many help provide immediate access to vast libraries and present said content in a fidelity that transforms what you sense? How many stave off obsolescence via over-the-air firmware updates that enhance operation and sonics? How many DACs feature field-programmable architecture? For that matter, how many tout their own streaming app? (And how many manufacturers take proprietary technology developed for flagship products and put it in their lower-cost offerings?)
The collective answer to all of the aforementioned questions amounts to a number you can count on one hand. Bartok is in that class. TONEAudio Editor Jeff Dorgay authoritatively covered the unit’s flexibility, connectivity, and features in his original review here; ditto its build and construction. He also correctly made the observation that it functions as a long-term investment — another Bartok trait that rails against high-end audio’s obsession with constant replacement.
As much a digital audio product can, Bartok comes on as the equivalent of a ‘60s McIntosh tube amplifier or ‘80s JBL horn speaker — classics to which people keep returning because they are that good, that reliable, that fun. Another incentive: Its seamless interfacing ability with Roon, particularly now that the platform’s 1.8 software makes streaming on Bartok an easier and smarter experience. It also should go without saying (again) that using a Bartok doesn’t mean you’ll stop spinning records. Instead, it serves as an equalizer: Granting added access, increasing options, bestowing convenience, and bringing sought-after analog qualities to digital while spotlighting albums that sound better digitally than they do on a turntable (and vice versa).
For all but the wealthiest, $15k constitutes a hefty sum. So, a bit of gentle advice. If you’re looking at a certain tier of DACs — even models selling for half as much — pause. Then, dig a bit deeper and take the plunge on a Bartok. Or, save up and bide your time. If you opt to do the latter, Tom Petty might be proven right — the waiting is the hardest part — but the payoff will reward your patience tenfold. As for the dreaded upgrade itch that inevitably circles around shortly after you make an audio purchase and encourages you to get the proverbial newest, latest, and greatest? It’ll never graze your skin.
Peripherals
Amplification Luxman L-590AXII
Analog Dr. Feickert Woodpecker with Jelco tonearm and Ortofon Cadenza Bronze cartridge
Digital Oppo BDP-105
Cabling Shunyata Delta interconnects and power cables
Speakers Klipsch Cornwall III
Ever since Apple got serious about wireless headphones, with their Apple Buds, everyone else making headphones has stepped up the game. Much like in the world of racing, where the saying goes that competition improves the breed, nothing could be truer in the world of personal listening.
Technics brings their new EAH-AZ70s to the table with a bevy of features and performance to match. At $249 these immediately go to the head of the class, especially when considering that Apples iBud Pro is still $249. Even this Apple fanboy must come clean. The Technics buds not only sound better, but bring a much more elegant execution. No doubt, this is the result of parent company Panasonic’s depth of manufacturing expertise.
Unboxing
Like everything Technics makes, the packaging on the AZ70s is exquisite. Those of you who save every bit of packaging take note, the box flaps are a tight fit, and if you don’t open them with extreme care, you will tear the box to pieces. I only mention this because most of the headphone enthusiasts I’ve encountered have been very OCD about this kind of thing!
Setup via the Technics Audio Control App couldn’t be easier. Once you install, the buds go in the charging cradle (and Technics thoughtfully sends them 50% charged, so you can at least give them a test drive) and are quickly paired via Bluetooth to whatever device you are using. When done using your AZ70s, just plop them back in the black charging cradle and let them charge again. Technics claims 4 hours for a full charge, so this can easily be an end of day ritual.
Let the listening begin
My test began with my iPhone Max and Spotify. Even at 320kb/sec, the quality put into these phones is immediately evident. Upping the game to streaming 16/44 resolution via ROON is more than worth the effort. The initial crunchiness feared from these buds disappeared instantly. Even a well-designed pair of ear buds at this price point makes an excellent case for avoiding MP3 quality audio.
Tracking through a wide variety of tunes from classic rock to Christmas music, in this case, the 5.6.7.8s “Rock and Roll Santa,” the overall smoothness of the AZ70s makes for comfortable listening, even when at desk duty for some time. The high register of these buds is particularly good, especially considering the price point. Cymbals and percussion instruments are reproduced with ease and clarity. Perhaps the best feature of the AZ70s is their noise cancelling function. When this technology was first introduced, the noise cancelling often took out a lot of music as well. The Technics buds are surgical in their precision, even when the noise cancelling effect is turned up fairly high.
Switching to some iPad use for TV and Movies is equally rewarding. Now that we’re all cocooning, those of you that cohabitate can each get a pair of AZ70’s and watch your own programming in piece, while still cuddling. COVID notwithstanding, two sets of AZ70s might be a helper in maintaining domestic bliss.
Watching the latest episode of Star Trek – Discovery, the AZ70s offer impressive dynamic range, and generate a large soundfield, making it easy to place characters walking on and off screen. Thanks to the equalizer built in to the Technics app, it’s easy to adjust your AZ70s to taste. A tiny bass boost at 100hz was all that was required to get some more weight out of the show’s audio. Going back through some old episodes of American Dad and Family Guy are a ton of fun, as these two animated gems offer a lot of sound effects bouncing all over the screen.
The final frontier
The last place the AZ70s prove to be awesome is paired to the desktop computer. Mixing a few bits for our upcoming podcast series is a breeze, and with everyone’s desk space at a premium, a real boost to productivity.
Any of you doing Zoom calls, or just phone via computer will be liberated from the weight of a cumbersome pair of over-ear phones, as well as increased clarity. The Technics app also provides a “clear voice” setting, which makes talking via computer or your phone much easier.
Conclusion
Much like the way DAC technology has become so much better, and budget DACs now rival units costing much more five years ago, wireless noise cancelling technology is quite good indeed. When airplane travel becomes part of my monthly ritual again, I will never be without a pair of these.
Technics has created a high performance, yet affordable pair of wireless ear buds with the AZ70s that will please everyone from music lovers, to movie fans, to computer users. As good as they sound, taking into consideration the high level of manufacturing execution, they can’t be beat for $249.
I haven’t heard anything that comes close to matching this combination of sound and build quality anywhere near $249.
Highly recommended.
Thomas Dolby’s “May the Cube be With You” turns out to be the track used to put about 100 hours on the Sonus faber Sonetto V speakers before serious listening begins.
The deep synth bass line in this track works wonders at breaking in woofer cones, and the spacy production vibe and multiple layers in this tune make it easy to hear the Sonettos change character over a weeks’ time of continuous play. Like nearly all high-performance speakers, they are a little closed in when first unpacked.
The Sonetto Vs need at least 100 hours to deliver everything they are capable of, and you will need to spend some time optimizing them in your room for the best result. This is not a speaker you can just drop in the room anywhere and expect great results. However, if you can take the time to properly place them, you will be rewarded with outstanding results. It’s like setting the desmodromic valve train on a Ducati – you need patience to get it right, but when it’s right, it’s really right.
I betcha didn’t know that
The three-way design of the Sonetto V uses a pair of 180mm (7-inch) woofers and a 150mm (5.9 inch) midrange coupled to a Sonus faber DAD soft dome tweeter. The woofers utilize an aluminum cone and the midrange a pulp fiber cone, that will be familiar to long time SF owners. The cabinet shape is also familiar, the rounded side, lute shape that has made Sonus faber famous. A pair of dual binding posts lurk around the back, in case you prefer bi-amplification, though with a sensitivity rating of 90db/1watt, you probably won’t need more than one amplifier to drive them.
However, we suggest and amplifier with a fair amount of drive to get the best result. A budget integrated or surround receiver will not provide the necessary control, and may leave you disappointed. If that’s your starting point, don’t shy away from a pair of Sonettos, but know there will be more performance at your disposal when you are able to upgrade. As we’ve been reviewing integrated amplifiers this issue, we tried the Sonetto V with everything from the 30 watt per channel PrimaLuna EVO100, all the way up to the $17k Thrax ENYO ampflifier – all with excellent result. The Sonettos even spent some time with our reference MC275 amplifier – an incredible match for these speakers.
That’s the way I like it
Just the thought of a Sonus faber speaker one person can lift alone is intriguing. Though you can also get the Sonetto V speakers in a wood finish, but the matte white with leather top surfaces are postitively stunning. Sonus faber is known around the world for the high-quality finish adorning their speakers, with a lacquered finish that will put the world’s finest automobiles to shame, but the matte white is very fashion forward. White speakers just disappear in the room visually, making it even easier for the speakers to disappear sonically.
Not only are the Sonetto Vs easy on your eyes and back, they are easy on your wallet. $4,995 buys you a pair of genuine Sonus faber speakers, hand made in Italy, by the same craftspeople that make the Aidas and all the other speakers in the homage collection.
Finally, the Sonetto Vs are part of an entire range. It consists of larger and smaller speakers, along with a wall mounted speaker and center channel that all share the same voicing, so expanding your Sonetto Vs to a full-blown theater setup in the future is as easy as calling your Sonus faber dealer and getting more stuff.
Shake your booty
When setting up the Sonetto, you need to optimize them in room for the best low frequency coupling. Setting up the speakers around the left speaker first to get the best combination of bass extension and mid bass to midrange coherency will take a little while. Nail that and move onto the right speaker. Once you get there, the fine tuning can begin, adjusting toe in and speaker rake angle until the speakers completely disappear in the room.
I used the tried, and battle worn Jennifer Warnes’ “Ballad of the Runaway Horse” to get this right. Everyone who’s ever worked for Sonus faber or their former importer Sumiko will all exhale and laugh right now, but for the rest of you, this is a great track to optimize speaker parameters, and you’ve probably got your own, but I’ve used this track so many times, it’s easy.
Properly set up in your room, the Sonetto Vs will deliver convincing bass response, and a mid/treble that is highly pleasing. Sonus faber speakers from the last 8 years or so definitely have a more modern sound than the early SF speakers, which had always been known for their delectable midrange. The Sonetto Vs do not betray their heritage, yet they have a more extended high end and along with solid LF response too.
A direct comparison to my Sonus faber Stradiveri’s (which are a little bit old school in the SF lineup) proves the Sonettos more forward, much like moving up about 10 rows in the auditorium. But both are lovely in their own way. However, this does prove that the Sonettos can work in a 24 x 16 foot room without a problem. That being said, most listening was done in a 13 x 18-foot room with excellent result. If your room is somewhere from 12 x 14 or larger, you’ll be just fine.
Get down tonight
Stuck in the late 80s and early 90s while breaking in the Sonetto Vs, a long playlist of Thomas Dolby, Level 42, and Paul Young tunes just feel right with these speakers, powered by the glow of the MC275.
A bonus for our apartment dwelling readers, the Sonetto Vs can definitely power the party, but they play great at low volume levels too. Not every speaker can get this critical job done, and even when playing at low levels, these speakers create a large, dimensional sound field that won’t have your neighbors pounding on the walls. What’s the point of having great speakers if you put your headphones on all the time, right?
To be fair to the Sonettos, I left the past behind, making my way back to the current day, musically speaking. Bottom line, there was nothing I threw at the Sonettos that I felt they couldn’t do justice too. Getting in a party mood with “Oppa is Just My Style,” the Sonettos prove they can play loud when the need arises. Even at eviction notice levels, these speakers did not distort, bottom the woofer cones, or exhibit soundstage collapse. Staying at party SPLs, the deep bass line in Girls Day’s “Look at Me” had a few people looking for the subwoofer. And just before you think I’ve gone way too KPop on you, the new AC/DC single “Shot in the Dark” was just released, so a final infusion of heavy guitars (at high volume, of course) ticks the last box. This is a great pair of speakers that can play whatever you enjoy without excuse.
I’m a pushover
Being a Sonus faber owner, I have to admit a bit of built-in bias towards the brand. You won’t mistake the Sonettos for a pair of something else – they have a sound of their own. Like famous painters, everyone has a style that they truly love. If you are looking for a pair of truly beautiful speakers that offer up a dynamic, tonally rich presentation, take the Sonetto Vs for a spin.
Ironically, Anja Garbarek’s “Big Mouth” truly shows off what a big voice the Thrax Enyo integrated amplifier delivers. The Enyo shares the same aesthetic as the flagship models, with a familiar front panel look.
Still, the engineering team has managed to combine a 50-watt push-pull amplifier with line stage for $12,500, allowing you the ability to add digital and analog phono capabilities as you need. (at $3,500 and $1,175 respectively) If you’ve had the opportunity to experience the mighty Thrax 300B monoblocks, it only takes a few seconds to realize how much of that essence is captured here. They’ve managed to hold the line on the cost by making the case cover wrapping around the amplifier from a piece of folded steel with ventilation holes. It’s an excellent tradeoff, as you won’t see anything but the lovely front panel when the Enyo is tucked in an equipment rack. Of course, the top components have massive aluminum panels, but this is a highly effective way to cut costs without cutting performance.
As much talk as there is about the resurgence of vinyl and now the compact disc, barely anyone is talking about what a powerful comeback the integrated amplifier is making lately. For years, the thought of an integrated was somehow considered less-than by obsessed audiophiles. Today, with so many manufacturers concentrating their efforts on single chassis designs, the results have been fantastic and a treat for the music lover that craves high-performance audio in a more compact form factor.
A new definition
Thrax calls the Enyo a “modular audiophile system,” a perfect description. Importer Ozan Turan of High End by Oz sends our review sample fully configured. Some will argue that everything on one chassis is a lousy idea because analog and digital systems interfere with each other and make for potential obsolescence issues. Thrax succeeds brilliantly here, and in the context of the performance offered, should offer years if not decades of satisfaction.
You can look at this from another angle. If a robust 50-watt per channel tube amplifier fits your needs, but you either have analog and digital front ends in place, you only need to pay for the performance you require. A music lover with a vast record collection wanting to dabble in streaming will be more than accommodated by the digital section and vice versa. The streaming music lover who wants to pick up a decent turntable and a few hundred albums needs no more than the internal phono stage. Those maniacal about both can opt for the amplifier alone.
However, the Enyo is a fantastic solution for the music lovers we’ve seen that want a high-performance audio solution without complication. If you’d like a substantial helping of cost no object audio but want to do so with a minimal box count, the Enyo could be the perfect fit. For example, a fully equipped Enyo, a nice turntable in the $2,500 range, and your favorite pair of $10,000 – $15,000 speakers will keep you entertained forever. Yet the Enyo is of high enough quality that it is not out of its element with some of the world’s finest loudspeakers.
With everything on one chassis (especially if you get digital and analog sections built-in), just the money you’ll save on cables will pay for half of your Enyo. In addition to the cash saved, it’s good for your mental health as well. You won’t have to agonize over power cords and interconnects either, or synergy between your amplifier, DAC, and phono preamplifiers. That’s why we like integrated amplifiers so much. The Enyo is all music and no bother – it’s the perfect houseguest.
Interacting with our readers via email and messenger, we’re finding more people that love music that don’t necessarily want to become audiophiles. There are plenty of people that buy sports cars that neither take their car to track days nor spend hours on the internet trying to justify their purchases. An audience of music lovers discerning enough to tell the difference but not utterly obsessed with the gear is silently growing offline. This may be a somewhat heretical perspective for the hard-core audiophiles in the audience, but this time, it’s not all about you. The Enyo is made for you.
Major performance
That’s not to say that the Enyo doesn’t have serious audiophile cred. Removing the cover to take an internal photo reveals beautiful workmanship and premium parts throughout. From the custom-made C-core transformers to the metal cages purpose-built to shield the output tubes from vibration and damage – this amplifier is built to last with novel engineering. The Russian Military GU-50 tubes are all biased automatically and are plentiful on eBay.
A lengthy discussion with Rumen Atarski, the designer and principal of Thrax, reveals more of the intricacy that is inside the Enyo. He has borrowed heavily on the design and manufacturing expertise used in their flagship components to create an approachable masterpiece for those wanting top-quality sound yet still pay attention to the bottom line.
Much of the listening for this review came with our pair of Dynaudio Confidence 20s (with and without a six-pack of REL S/510 subwoofers) to excellent result. Yet, with the Focal Stella Utopias still here for a little while and the Sonus faber Stradivari’s in the main room, the test drive begs to be taken, especially considering the 92db/1-watt sensitivity of the Strads and the 94db/1-watt sensitivity of the Stella’s. Anyone listening to music at less than ear damaging levels could live happily ever after with an Enyo as the core component – it has more than enough nuance and resolution. After living with these two in the system, there’s no speaker I wouldn’t pair the Enyos with.
Setup and interaction
The full-boat Enyo is easier to set up than a Sonos. Plug it in, go through the menus and play music. If you check the phono stage option, your dealer will preset the onboard, solid-state phono section for your cartridge’s loading, and you merely select MM or MC from the menu. Thrax suggests bringing it back to your dealer for resetting impedance, should your tastes in phono cartridges change dramatically. Still, if you are a vinyl lover with multiple arms/cartridges, etc., you’ll probably buy an outboard phono stage anyway. (and Thrax has a very nice one…)
Everything else is available, including three RCA and one XLR line-level input, so if you do choose to expand your system, you’re covered. The DAC section is derived from the circuitry in Thrax’s Maximinus DAC and is on a separate card. When new digital functionality is developed, your Enyo will not be obsolete. It decodes everything, including DSD, and the network board works with DLNA and AirPlay wirelessly. Roon-ready certification is all but done and will further add to the functionality of the Enyo. You can read the fine details and the rest of the tech bits here, at the Thrax site.
Sonically speaking
Because this is a tube amplifier, it requires about 30 minutes to fully warm up, stabilize, and open up sonically. Atarski tells us that the ECC88 (6922/6DJ8) input tube “defines the sound of the amplifier, and they use Phillips, Tesla, and Tungsram as they are widely available.” He also tells us that a NOS Telefunken will bring the unit to a different level. These are available, but the best ones are about $300 – $550 if you can find them.
The Enyo sounds great with the factory-installed tubes, so we don’t want to insinuate that you must buy a $500 tube, but now that the thought is planted, we’ll have to call our friend Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio to get our hands on one. We’ve already found two sets of GU-50s on eBay for backup, as Atarski claims 1000 – 2000-hour tube life. These tubes were originally used in Russian MIG fighters, so they are mechanically very robust. It’s also important to note that the power tubes are biased automatically, so you will not have to bother with that aspect of tube amplifier ownership.
The overall character of the Enyo is open, dynamic, and dimensional. Where EL34 based amplifiers tend to be a bit larger, fatter, and perhaps more tonally saturated, with KT88/6550 based power amplifiers more dynamic but lacking in the ultimate inner detail, this amplifier walks a fine line.
Regardless of your musical taste, this one is easy to warm up to – pun intended. It is incredibly dynamic, and with the Sonus faber speakers and the Focals, they are both so efficient, the Enyo can play really loud. The Enyo has the body you associate with tube electronics, harmonically rich, but not overdone, listening to vocals and acoustic instruments. Listening to Todd Rundgren’s “Honest Work,” with 16 tracks of overdubbed vocals, the sound is spacious and engaging.
Switching the program to Jeff Beck’s Live at Ronnie Scotts and turning the volume way up shows off the ability of this amplifier to remain very composed with this densely packed recording, allowing the audience participation to fold in and out of the mix. Tal Wilkenfield’s rapid-fire bass solo leaves no room for lack of bass control – and again, the Enyo excels. Yet listening to some raw, demo mixes of early DEVO tracks not only keeps things in perspective, but the Enyo’s high resolving power stops this from sounding like a cassette tape. In the end, an incredibly robust 50-watt per channel amplifier that used within the limits of its capability delivers stunning sound.
Spinning some vinyl
As hinted at, the phono stage in the Enyo is excellent, albeit limited in functionality. However, this keeps in with the nature of this product. Suppose your vinyl involvement goes beyond a modest LP collection and turntable. In that case, you will probably want to order your Enyo without the phono board and use your favorite outboard phono stage. Or, if you start out as a novice vinyl enthusiast and decide to make a significant upgrade later, the onboard phono is perfect for a second table.
Excellent results were obtained using the Denon 103r, one of audio’s best values in a modestly priced/high-performance MC cartridge. The synergy was fantastic, and though the phono board is solid-state, its performance within this amplifier is excellent. The noise floor is very low, and the soundstage presented is large in all three dimensions. However, it is not to the level of performance that going up against the onboard DAC with high-resolution material will have you gasping for breath.
But again, our experience shows those dabbling in vinyl tend to buy a fairly modest turntable and a few hundred records, tops. This is precisely the end-user that will benefit the most from the built-in phono card. Convenient, good sound, and very reasonably priced. All in one box.
A winning combination
What really puts the Enyo in a class by itself is its ability to be a high-performance, single box solution. I’ve purchased the review sample to be one of our reference components; it’s that good. The key to this product is whether it suits your needs. If you’re the music lover that wants a great music system right now or the audiophile that is tired of the chase, then the Thrax Enyo is for you. This is precisely why we chose it as our 2020 Product of the Year in the integrated amplifier category.
Thrax.bg (manufacturer)
Highendbyoz.com (NA distributor)
MSRP: $12,500 (Integrated only) +$1,175 Phono module +$3,500 DAC/streaming module
Peripherals
Analog source Technics SL-1200 GAE/Denon 103r
Speakers Eggleston Nico, Dynaudio Contour 20, Sonus faber Stradivari, Focal Stella Utopia EM
Cable Cardas Clear
Back when we were still going to hifi shows, you might have caught the introduction of Boulder’s 866 at 2019’s Rocky Mountain Audio Fest.
I can’t even recall if they had a functioning sample yet, but Boulder’s Steve Huntley was showing it off and answering questions.
There are two versions of the 866, the analog model ($12,250) which features three balanced inputs, and the digital model ($14,450) with an onboard DAC/Streamer. The digital model is here and it is a lovely one (potentially two) box solution for anyone wanting an incredibly high performance digital/streaming based system. With 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms (400 into 4 ohms and 700 into 2 ohms) there are no speaker limitations.
The 866 is every ounce a Boulder. With boundless dynamic range and neutral tonal presentation, you can fine tune the sound to your liking.
Should you choose to control your Boulder 866 via ROON, the amplifier’s analog volume control (albeit digitally controlled) is all you need. Part of the way Boulder keeps the cost down on this one is by controlling it via an app.
Simple, beautiful, powerful.
We’ll have a full report soon, but this one is excellent straight out of the box.
Have you ever interacted with something made in Italy that didn’t elicit a major emotional response?
You never look at a Ferrari or Ducati and think “that’s ok.” Or slip on a pair of Italian shoes and not do a soft, comforting exhale. If you’re more computational in your approach to things, this may not matter, but if you favor a more intimate approach to things, here are a few components that might push all the right buttons for you.
Living with the Riviera APL-10 preamplifier and AFM-25 monoblocks for a few months now, every wonderful stereotype pertaining to Italian design applies. However in this instance, the beauty in outward design is more than backed up by the exquisite sound these components produce. The Riviera trio ticks all the boxes.
These components offer a simple, elegant, functional, and compact aesthetic. Those not wanting a large rack full of gear, will enjoy the form factor of the Riviera components. It’s a shame that they don’t make a matching phono stage or DAC to allow you to build an entire system based on this architecture. Two color contrasting color schemes are available, warm silver with a black center and gold control knobs, or dark grey with black center and sliver control knobs.
While American audiences can get carried away with a bigger is better mantra, the Riviera components are refreshing in the sense that they do not impose on the visual signature of a room. Don’t let the compact enclosures fool you, the preamp weighs in at 12kg (about 26 lbs.) and the monoblocks, 14.4kg each. (about 33 pounds each) You feel the density as you unbox them, and they are all enclosed in a velvet-like material. It almost feels more like you are undressing them instead of unboxing them.
A bit of background information
The APL-10 preamplifier is an all tube design, with three RCA inputs and a single balanced input, featuring a pair of RCA outputs. The monoblocks are a hybrid design. Luca Chiomenti was kind enough to answer my questions about these components, as they take traditional amplifier design in a different direction than some of their peers.
Riviera also offers balanced XLR inputs on the AFM-25 power amplifiers, but no balanced output on the preamplifier. Again, going with compatibility, they offer XLR inputs but prefer the simplicity of a single ended circuit. Trying the AFM-25s with Pass and ARC preamplifiers that offer both outputs, the single ended input of this amplifier does sound slightly more immediate, as if a slight veil is lifted. On most recordings, it was a strain to hear the difference – testimony to the overall design, but when listening to very sparse acoustic or vocal recordings, there is a touch more airiness in the presentation. If you make it easy and purchase a Riviera preamplifier, you will not have to agonize over this! As the name suggests, these amplifiers are rated at 25 watts per channel, into an 8-ohm load. There is no spec listed for 4 ohms, and our reference speakers (Focal Stella Utopia EM and Sonus faber Stradiveri) are 4 and 6 ohm respectively. We had no problem achieving high sound pressure levels with either.
The amplifier and preamplifier both use 12AU7/ECC82 tubes, and arrive with JJ ECC802S Gold versions installed. Of course, you can tube roll, but Chiomenti points out that they have to use current production tubes to meet ROHS and CE certification, but they can supply NOS tubes separately. A very nice touch, and for those wanting to go the extra mile with tubes, who better to find you the best possible NOS match than the man that designed the components?
Tube life is always a thought, and Riviera runs the tubes in their designs conservatively, with long life as the goal. LC is proud of designs that are now 35 years old still working well with original tubes! (but remember, those awesome NOS tubes were new back then…) He goes on to say “tube life expectancy in these amps is longer than audiophile life expectation, perhaps it will be a problem for your grandchildren.” This tube lover says get an extra set of tubes anyway, just to have on hand. Your grandchildren will thank you.
The AFM-25 monoblocks are a Class A design that utilize a single ended Class A input circuit, which “is largely responsible for the overall sound of the amplifiers.” The output stage is solid-state, employing a push pull circuit comprised of Mosfets and BJTs. The result is a mixture that provides the advantages of both, with no drawbacks. Chiomenti again stresses that all of their circuits are “very carefully fine-tuned.” The more time spent in front of these amplifiers, the more their painstaking effort is appreciated.
Nearly instant results
Every circuit style/topology has somewhat of a signature sound, and if you are an audio enthusiast that enjoys Class-A designs, you might think you know what to expect with the Riviera monoblocks. I confess to loving solid-state, Class-A designs and have been using them for decades. Accuphase, Pass, Krell (the early KSA-50), Mark Levinson, Luxman and a few others, have all spent plenty of time front and center here.
Yet, a minute into The Pretenders’ “Private Life,” this is a completely different movie. A great class-A amplifier always has an organic, natural, reach out and touch it presentation, yet this pair goes beyond normal (i.e. very high) expectations. Swapping amplifier and preamplifier individually for other components confirms the initial impression – not only are these three boxes fantastic, they are even better together. Magia.
While the trio sounds good at turn on, like every other Class-A, and tube design, these components need about 90 minutes to fully warm up and stabilize. Once you become familiar with them, you will notice how they come out of a slight haze during the warmup period.
The closest thing in recent evaluation that these amplifiers feel like is the Pass XA 25, for their sense of speed and clarity, yet the Riviera amplifiers have slightly more tonal saturation than my Pass amplifier. And that’s a good thing. It’s been too long to fully remember, but the AFM-25s bring the same “a-ha” feeling that the original Mark Levinson ML-2 monoblocks offered. They will change your perspective.
Evaluating a lot of top components can make things blend together, especially considering how good gear has become these days. But the Riviera combo is indeed very special. They manage to be highly fast and resolving without being harsh, yet present music with a high degree of tonal saturation without feeling so warm in their presentation that you feel the music is losing pace. Finally, when used with the Sonus faber Stradivaris (which feature a sensitivity of 92db/1-watt) or the Focal Stella Utopias (94db/1-watt) the AFM-25s are both dramatic and dynamic.
Improving with time
These components offer a balance that is so realistic, regardless of the program material being served. Female vocals to hard core metal all delight with the Riviera amplification chain. Those needing still more can step up to one of two larger, more powerful amplifiers, and their flagship preamplifier is said to have even more resolving power. Thinking of the Riviera trio in the context of a final destination system, provided you have an efficient enough pair of speakers to keep them in their sweet spot, there is nothing lacking here. Thoughts of wanting anything more or less than what they offer never came to mind. That’s the ultimate success in an audio component.
The deeper you dive into your music collection, the more you will love the Riviera components. Revisiting recordings you’ve enjoyed for years consistently reveals more nuance throughout. The smallest of details are easier to distinguish, acoustic instruments and the human voice lose that last bit of mechanical nature that they often acquire listening to lesser gear. The balance that Riviera Labs has achieved makes these components worth every penny asked.
42 thousand dollars is by no means inexpensive; considering what one might spend for amplification with whatever pair of mega speakers you would choose, this is not crazy money. And other than needing more power, I can’t imagine musical reproduction getting better than this from a qualitative standpoint. Yet, we must reserve judgement until we hear the top Riviera components.
Much like a Ferrari or a Ducati, you can get similar specs on paper at a lower cost, but you can not get the experience they offer any other way. That is what the APL-10 and AFM-25 deliver. You’ve been warned.
Peripherals
Analog Source Grand Prix Audio Parabolica/Tri Planar 7/Koetsu Jade Platinum
Digital Source dCS Vivaldi ONE
Phono Pre VAC Renaissance
Speakers Focal Stella Utopia EM, Sonus faber Stradiveri
Cable Cardas Clear, Tellurium Q Silver Diamond
__________________________________________________________
$13,995 (preamp)
$27,990 (pair of monoblocks)
Removing the Questyle CMA Twelve from its black cloth bag is instantly exciting. Aficionados of fine design, machining, and assembly will really appreciate the exquisite detail and high level of finish the CMA Twelve offers.
It’s no coincidence that Foxconn, the same people who make the iPad and iPhone, build Questyle products and finish the level equally. The tight tolerances are beautiful to behold, with Questyle claiming a machining tolerance of .02mm. The few other manufacturers in the high-end audio world building at this level all have five and six-figure price tags attached.
The CMA Twelve is $1,495, with a $1,995 CMA12 “Master” version. The premium version uses a ROGERS Ceramic PC Board, which Questyle claims to “ensure ultimate performance,” though there is no other indication of upgraded parts in the owner’s manual. Like all other Questyle products, the CMA Twelve is available in a matte black and matte warm gold finish. Its slim form factor of only 1.38 inches (55mm) tall, 12.99 inches (330mm) wide, and 7.87 inches (200mm) deep, makes it easy to integrate into your system and environment. A 5mHz module is also on the rear panel, perhaps anticipating a return of Questyle’s wireless amplifiers.
The front panel features outputs for 4.4mm BAL, 6.35mm (standard ¼”) UNBAL, and 4-pin XLR headphone cables. Moving around back, optical, digital, SPDIF (RCA), and AES/EBU (XLR) inputs should take care of any potential digital source you might have. This is not a streaming DAC, so there is no Ethernet input, and there are no analog inputs either. If you’re using the CMA Twelve as a self-contained, personal listening station, there is no provision for plugging in a phono stage or going line in from your preamplifier.
With several good disc transports on hand from Cambridge, Technics, and dCS to choose from, along with a vintage SONY ES player (with optical output) and Aqua’s new streamer, it was easy to put the CMA Twelve through its paces. When in Rome…
Sonically engaging
The dCS Vivaldi transport revealed the outer boundaries of the CMA Twelve’s performance envelope and was used for most of our disc-based listening sessions. The Aqua streamer was called in to play Tidal and Qobuz files via ROON. Anyone with a bit older CD player can expect an incredible upgrade to their players’ sound. Even if you never use the headphone section, the CMA Twelve is easily worth well more than its asking price used merely as a high-resolution DAC.
Favorite phones from Audeze (Orig. LCD-2), Focal (Stellia and Utopia), and Grado (RS-60s) were on hand for nearly all of the listening sessions – with excellent results. There is no adjustment for headphone impedance anywhere, but this amplifier has no problem driving any load. Questyle claims an output of 2 watts per channel via the XLR output. I was incredibly tempted to plug them directly into our Zu Audio Dirty Weekend speakers (with their 97db/1-watt efficiency rating) to try the CMA 12 as an integrated amplifier!
A big part of the sound (or nearly complete absence of it) of the CMA twelve is its utilization of current-mode amplification, a Questyle patented technology. Those wanting an in-depth explanation of this amplifier orientation can click here to go to the Questyle website. Bottom line, Questyle claims that operating in current mode makes for lower distortion and faster transient response. Running through our usual set of phones, this is a valid claim, especially on musical selections with solo, breathy vocals. Using Johnny Cash’s American Recordings to further investigate this, his signature huskiness is clearer, with more of a resonant ring. Drums and percussion have more power and distinctiveness, without feeling harsh or brittle. Tracking through a number of our favorite Blue Note tracks (high res and CD res versions) easily show off how well this DAC does with acoustic drums, piano, and percussion, offering up a convincingly real presentation of tone, timbre, and attack/decay.
Digital adventures
Taking advantage of the AKM AK4490 chip, and Questyle’s True Direct Stream process does not require any PCM conversion. Music lovers with large DSD collections will experience a higher level of signal integrity than they would with a DAC that must convert the data. Unfortunately, we do not have enough DSD selections here to really comment, other than to say that what we did audition sounded excellent.
As mentioned earlier, the CMA Twelve’s digital performance is so much more refined than any of the other $1,500 DACs we’ve experienced, even if you aren’t a headphone listener, this device is well worth it, as a DAC alone. Using it in this context, with the Aqua LinQ streamer turns the CMA Twelve into an impressive music server, though nearly everything we used in this manner dwarfs the Questyle box in physical size. Merely flipping the front panel switch from Headphones to DAC to get a fixed output and bypass the front panel volume control, again offering slightly more resolution and musical clarity.
With so much emphasis put on high-resolution files, it’s easy to forget about 16/44. Considering that most of us still either have or stream the bulk of our music at this resolution level, it’s important to note that Questyle hasn’t abandoned CD quality resolution in pursuit of high res. Whether we were playing files from a streamer or disc transport (and we highly suggest the $599 Cambridge CXC for this task) the CMA Twelve shows just how engaging CD playback can be in the year 2021.
The overall sound of the Questyle is dynamic and neutral – neither embellishing nor detracting from the music being played. You can easily fine-tune to your personal preference with your choice of headphones. Questyle offers a high/low bias switch on the CMA Twelve’s front panel, offering more current drive for lower impedance phones. Even with a few lower impedance phones, we struggled to hear a difference with this switch in either position, in this case, your mileage may vary, and this is worth investigating.
Going out of my head
Taking advantage of the variable outputs makes the CMA Twelve the perfect building block for a two-channel system, which leads to the only real complaint about this box. With its sonic quality as good as it is, it’s a shame there isn’t a single analog input, so an analog source could be added.
That said, using the CMA Twelve with a handful of solid-state and tube amplifiers from PrimaLuna, Pass, C-J, and BAT was a lovely experience. This is an excellent linestage preamplifier. If you’re a music lover that is purely digital in your musical pursuits, don’t overlook using the CMA Twelve as your core component. Driving a 30-foot pair of Cardas Clear interconnects (RCA or XLR) proved to be a snap for the CMA Twelve, so its small footprint makes it easy to set up close to your listening position and running a long-ish set of cables to a power amplifier and speakers.
A lot to love
In the end, the Questyle CMA Twelve DAC/Headphone Amplifier gets an A and our first Exceptional Value Award for 2021. Would I love a CMA Fourteen, with an analog input and maybe a matching form factor Questyle phonostage? You bet. However, used within its intended purpose, the CMA Twelve is at the top of similar offerings.
Engaging as the CMA Twelve’s sound is, this component’s build quality is without peer at any price. We’ve unboxed enough five-figure components that look like they were made in shop class by comparison. There’s something wonderful about using a component that is this well made, and I hope we see a wider range of products from Questyle in the future.
www.questyle.com (manufacturer)
www.bluebirdmusic.com (US and Canadian distributor)
I have a confession to make. There are multiple records in my record collection that I have bought but still haven’t listened to.
And there are records in my collection that I no longer love. As part of the ongoing new year’s resolution to de-clutter, The LP collection here is getting another round of sort and dispose. This may sound heretical to some of you but about four years ago, Pam helped me go through my collection of about 11,000 LPs and see what I didn’t listen to anymore. So we’re all clear, this was not my wife on my case about having too many records, it was me pondering someday having to move all that vinyl.
It took us a week to go through, sort, re-catalog, and decide what would go and what would stay. A few days later, I had about 3500 LPs in my collection. Erik at Gig Harbor Audio was kind enough to take them all off my hands and give me a fair price for them. (If you bought some cool records at GHA in the last few years, chances are high, there’s a little bit of me in your record collection!)
However, with promos coming in, purchasing some records over the last two pre-COVID years and general entropy, the force is telling me that another round of cleanup needs to happen. Years ago, we picked up the WaxRax RC-2 record cart, and it remains a fantastic tool in the listening room.
So, here’s how it’s breaking down:
The RC-2’s 300 record capacity will hold the top 300 records I hold dear. This will make it easy to roll those records between rooms 1 and 2 for easy equipment evaluation. As I’ve been collecting vinyl from MoFi since day one, an entire bank of shelves will be devoted to MoFi. Everything else will be in alphabetical order for somewhat easy access, and I’m removing the shrink wrap from anything that’s gotten away.
A pair of road cases make the perfect storage space for all of the 45rpm maxi singles in my collection, placed conveniently next to the Technics SL-1200 Mk. 5 with Shure M44 cartridge. But there will be no scratching. Sorry, I just can’t go there.
Finally a new pile of “records that haven’t been listened to” in one crate will be placed front and center to get on top of immediately.
Next, it’s time to get all the CD’s and SACD’s in order.
So far I haven’t found anything that has to go. :).
Focal has a new headphone in their premium lineup, the Celestee. And it’s a beauty.
Many of you know Focal for their world-class Utopia, Sopra, and Kanta speakers, but they have been making open and closed back headphones since 2012. We currently use their Utopia phones as a reference here at TONE, and have just finished a review on the Stellias. Suffice to say, these are at the top of the headphone game. The new Celestee arrives on the market at a very approachable $990 and will be available mid-February.
Focal is always ahead of the game in the aesthetics department, producing speakers and headphones in unique and sophisticated colors, materials and finishes that are distinctively Focal – the French call it “savoir-faire,” and the Celestees have it in abundance. Their choice of navy blue instead of a more traditional black or silver really sets the Celestee apart from the pack, feeling more like something from a top watchmaker. Interestingly enough, navy, copper and bronze have become all the rage in the watch world, and you need look no further than the current Rolex catalog to pick up on this trend. One look and you can definitely see that navy is the new black.
As with Utopia and Stellia, the materials used are first rate, with every detail receiving meticulous attention. The semi-aniline leather and microfiber headband, and leather ear pads makes for excellent comfort and soundproofing, so they will be effective at home or on the go. We are anxiously awaiting a pair for review, and will have more details as soon as they arrive.
You can find out more here:
https://www.focal.com/us/headphones/for-home/celestee
(images courtesy Focal)
Again, Cambridge Audio redefines the standard in approachable audio, with their new DacMagic 200M.
$499 gets you dual ESS Sabre DACs with the ability to decode PCM to 32bit/768kHz, DSD512, and MQA support. It also features Toslink optical inputs, RCA/SPDIF, and USB inputs, as well as Bluetooth, so connectivity regardless of format is assured. RCA and XLR analog outputs are featured, though Cambridge does not mention if these are fixed or variable level outputs. (it would be a major bonus if they are variable)
A full sized headphone jack is on the front panel, so for desktop digital users, this should be all you need. And, the DacMagic 200M comes in Lunar Grey.
Watch for a full review soon.
Listening to Dylan’s “Times They Are A Changin” reminds me of the original PrimaLuna ProLogue integrated amplifier that I reviewed for The Absolute Sound back in 2003. Man, that was the little amp that could.
With just under 35 watts per channel, it offered a combination of new and old school sound, along with a level of build quality that precious few $5,000 amplifiers had. Yet the PrimaLuna was $1,095. Almost 18 years later, this amplifier still works flawlessly and sounds great.
However, time marches on, and fortunately the things that made PrimaLuna an amazing upstart have stayed firmly in place. Putting the two amplifiers side by side for the photos, there’s no evidence that they’ve cut corners in the casework anywhere. If anything, the current casework is a more refined version of the original, and a basic remote control is now part of the package, as is a headphone jack. Our test version even has a PrimaLuna installed MM phono stage, which only adds about $350 to the price – and it’s worth every penny. You’ll pay that much for an interconnect to add an outboard stage. Top value remains a pillar of the brand.
The EVO100 may look similar to the ProLogue 1 at first blush, but under the chassis, the components have been constantly improved. There are even higher quality capacitors, a power supply with more reserve, along with better transformers too. While the price has doubled in 18 years, if you adjust for inflation, the current amplifier is really only 50% more expensive. PrimaLuna has not scrimped one bit on the actual assembly quality of their amplifiers. The cleanliness of their point to point wiring is some of the best going.
For those who don’t want to read all the way to the end, the new EVO is a very worthwhile upgrade. If you’ve got one of the original ProLogues, now might just be the time to trade up. This is a good jump in performance.
Head to head
Letting both amplifiers warm up for an hour, using the new T+A 2500 DAC/Streamer/SACD player (via Roon and Qobuz) as a source, and the Dynaudio Confidence 20 speakers, the difference is vast. Everything we were enamored with in the original is here in spades: great midrange, a vast soundstage, and a saturated tonality that is just right. In the review system, it’s tough to tell the difference 8 watts makes, but it’s not about that.
The new amplifier is much more extended, with much more detail from top to bottom. In the past, PrimaLuna made a ProLogue and a DiaLogue series, with the latter having better components and offering a step up in performance over the entry level. Most noticeably, and has been the case going forward with the PrimaLuna models is an increase in bass performance, without sacrificing the lovely midrange response that draws a music lover to tubes in the first place.
Along with the Dynaudios, I achieved excellent results with a pair of Eggleston Nicos, the Focal Kanta no.1s and another perennial favorite here, the JBL L-100 Classics. You’ve probably noticed that I haven’t paired this amp up with any budget speakers – it’s that good. The EVO 100 is right at home with a pair of premium speakers, and if you aren’t playing music at ear splitting levels, it may be all you need.
Listening to the bass control in Kruder & Dorfmeister’s “Don Gil Dub,” shows off the improvement that power supply makes – right now. If you happen to be a K&D fan, you know how spacy their recordings tend to sound. Seguing into Thorne Miller’s “Soul Man” delivers even more bass grunt, and shakes a few things on the shelving unit near by. Great stuff. Perhaps this isn’t as telling as a violin solo (though this amplifier does an awesome job there too) but it is a real marker for the cool factor a great vacuum tube amplifier brings to the party. This amplifier has that big, airy, nearly psychedelic feel to it and that’s a great thing.
Speaking of tubey-ness, swapping the T+A DAC for the PrimaLuna EVO DAC makes for a slightly less dynamic, but even yummier sound. If you aren’t a crazed analog person, this combination is so synergistic, you could be persuaded to forget about vinyl – seriously. We’ll have a full review on the EVO DAC shortly.
If you have to spin records
In the context of the EVO 100s MSRP, the extra $300 that the phonostage will set you back is perfect for someone with a modest turntable, or a streaming lover wanting just enough vinyl to have fun with. Add a $500 – $800 table (new or vintage) and rock. We paired the onboard phono with a Technics SL-1200 and NOS Shure M44. Woo hoo. This was an absolutely engaging combination, especially with the JBLs (which you can get from Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio to go along with your EVO100.)
Playing a ton of classic rock through the EVO100/Technics/JBL combination just feels so right. This little 40 wpc amplifier plays way louder than one would ever expect it to, and it ticks all the boxes for sound and style. Dusting off the Dynaco Stereo 70 for a quick comparison really leaves the vintage amp lacking. Frampton Comes Alive and Rumors were never so much fun.
Perfectly balanced
There’s only one caveat with the EVO100, it really needs an hour’s worth of warming up to deliver maximum sonic effect. Think I’m kidding? Turn it on and play your favorite track. Then come back to it in an hour and listen – the difference is not subtle. The room just got a lot bigger.
Much like a great motorcycle or sports cars, there are hifi components that bowl you over with a single aspect of their performance, yet I submit the ones you remember the most (the true classics) are the ones that perform well across the spectrum. The EVO100 is one of those special components. There are tube integrated amplifiers that offer more power and more finesse, but they all cost a lot more than the $2,295 the EVO 100 will set you back. This amplifier is so good, you can start with a budget pair of speakers, yet grow up to a $5,000-ish pair of speakers and not feel like you need another amplifier. That’s value.
No matter what kind of music you enjoy, the EVO 100 will deliver great sound. If it’s your first experience with vacuum tubes, especially if you are stepping up from a more mass market receiver or amplifier prepare to be amazed. While PrimaLuna products deliver more fun for the dollar than anything we’ve used, they also have 20 years of manufacturing expertise behind them and some of the best reliability in the business. There are other great tube amplifiers out there to be sure, but no one makes a more robust amplifier than PrimaLuna.
Thanks to being very well designed and built, the EVO 100 is easy on tubes. Again, from my experience with a number of their amplifiers over the years, even with heavy use, you might even see five or more years out of a single set of tubes. That is value and consideration for the customer.
Final touches
As they used to say on those old TV shows, “but wait there’s more.” The EVO 100 still has a few more features. First, the remote. Granted, most of us can use a few more steps in our daily routine, but having a remote is handy. Especially when you’re streaming a long selection of tracks where the volume can jump up and down dramatically. The remote included with the EVO 100 is basic, but built to the same standard as the ones in the larger EVO series components.
Next, the internal headphone amplifier. As in the bigger PrimaLuna amplifiers, the EVO100 actually uses the tube circuitry to power the headphones, and is not a small, op amp board that is added on, sounding nothing like the amplifier you’re used to listening to. A cursory audition of some Grado, Audeze, and B&W phones all proved pleasant. None of the phones in my collection presented an issue to drive, and again, if you are of the headphone persuasion, you’d easily pay some serious coin to get a headphone amplifier sounding this good. Merely use the switch on the right side of the amplifier to go from LS (loudspeaker) to HP (headphones).
One thing missing on my original ProLogue amplifier was a bias switch to recalibrate the Adaptive Auto Bias circuit to apply a bit higher bias to 6550, KT 88, and KT 120 power tubes. The low bias position is more suited for the EL34 tubes that the EVO 100 is shipped with. It probably even squeaks a few extra watts out with KT88s, but the tonal quality is different.
The different sonic characters available with different tubes, is more than another article, so perhaps we’ll pick that up in an upcoming article or video, so stay tuned. Either way, this is another aspect of PrimaLuna ownership that really ups the fun factor. With it so easy to swap tubes, both small signal and output – it’s easy to fine tune your EVO100 exactly to your taste. Me, I’m not a big tube roller anymore, and vintage NOS EL34s are prohibitively expensive. But if you have to go down that rabbit hole, it can be as long of a journey as you’d like it to be. Not to mention Kevin Deal and Upscale Audio have the biggest stash of tubes on the planet, so their staff can help you with your journey.
Though PrimaLuna’s entry level tube integrated has crept up in price in almost 20 years, considering the increased sound quality and feature set, it remains one of the best bargains in high end audio. Again, an easy choice for one of our Exceptional Value Awards.
Peripherals
Digital Source dCS Bartok, T+A 2500, PrimaLuna EVO DAC
Analog Source Technics SL-1200mk. 5 w/Shure M44
Speakers Sonus faber Lumina 1, Focal Kanta no.1, Eggleston Nico, Dynaudio Confidence 20
Cable Tellurium Q Black Diamond
Power Torus TOT, Cardas Clear power cords
Old School:
The Audiophile Apartment:
Mine: It Should Be Yours
Playlists: We share our readers choices from around the world
Gear in our immediate future
Awards!
And… Integrated amplifier roundup
Ironically, this review starts out with the title track from the Kinks classic Low Budget. However, low budget doesn’t mean low quality.
Just because you don’t have $60,000 to spend on a pair of speaker cables, doesn’t mean you don’t love music – right? These highly capable, yet diminutive two-way speakers do an excellent job unraveling this dense recording, keeping the vocals and harmonies intact.
Some audio enthusiasts associate the term “pace” almost exclusively with British speakers, yet these Canadian masterpieces are masters of keeping the musical pace of a recording intact. If you’re new to the world of obscure audio prose, think of musical pace in the context of hearing live music. When you hear a group of musicians playing together, whether acoustic or amplified, the music blends together so that it’s tough to hear one instrument standing out (unless a particular player is soloing). Yet listening to recorded music on a HiFi system, on a less than awesome pair of speakers, perhaps the drums or the vocalist doesn’t seem to “keep up” with the rest of the music. There are several reasons for that, and at least for me, pace is something that I notice more when it’s not happening. I hope that makes it a bit clearer. Pun intended.
The Skylights do an excellent job with pace, and overall balance. Building anything to a price point means something must be compromised. Totem resists the urge to emphasize any aspect of the music spectrum, creating a $1,000 pair of finely balanced speakers. If you’ve ever listened to Totem speakers at a HiFi show, you’ll notice they always use high-quality amplification for their demos.
Totem speakers are very resolving, at the top of their class for the price. Unlike many modestly priced speakers that plateau quickly, the Skylights are true to the breed in the sense that they keep revealing more musical information as the electronics behind them improve. The Skylights turn in an acceptable performance with the SVS Prime Sound Base ($499), a PS Audio Sprout II ($599), and a recently acquired vintage Marantz 2220B ($150), so you don’t have to have primo gear to build a nice system.
However, plugging them into the VAC i170 integrated ($10,000) is an ear-opening experience. The Skylights no longer sound like a great pair of thousand-dollar speakers. Mated with a small sub in the 13 x 15-foot room, they are installed, even better. You don’t need a subwoofer to enjoy the Skylights, but should your involvement and budget improve, these speakers give you a lot of room to grow – that’s value.
Further down the value path, the Totem Skylights are built at their Montreal facility – this is not a “designed in Canada, built in China” speaker, and it shows. The level of finish on the cabinets – from the joints to the way the drivers bolt in, is outstanding. Totem builds honest products.
This two-way system is available in a black ash veneer, mahogany veneer, or a white satin finish. Our review samples arrive in satin white, and I must admit this has become a real favorite. Those with more traditional décor will probably gravitate to the black or mahogany, but in a newer home, the white cabinet blends into the background in a lovely manner.
You can get the full specs here (https://totemacoustic.com/product/skylight/), but the diminutive cabinet of the Skylights holds a 5.75″ woofer and a 1″ soft dome tweeter, with a claimed sensitivity of 88db/1-watt. As someone that doesn’t make purchasing decisions based on spec sheets or measurements, the Totems perform well beyond what their conservative specs suggest. And they will deliver an equally good performance with solid-state or tube electronics. Shaking the dust off of a vintage Dynaco SCA-35 makes for a heavenly, musically involving setup with the Skylights in a 10 x 12 room at a modest listening level.
Because the Skylights have a very gentle roll-off in their low-frequency response, they respond well to being placed close to the wall. This way, they can utilize room gain to achieve some extra bass grunt, without sacrificing the detailed, three-dimensional image they present. You’ll know when you get too close to the walls when the upper bass becomes cloudy and non-distinct. We had excellent luck with the speakers about 8 inches from the wall when using them without a subwoofer, delivering solid output down to around 40hz. Those in more compact spaces will appreciate this.
The Skylights offer excellent vertical and horizontal dispersion, so they are not as critical of speaker placement as some, and this contributes to the large, coherent soundfield they generate. Yet, a little bit of fine-tuning when you get the chance will make for an even bigger musical window. We found toe-in to be more of a determining factor than rake angle with these speakers, and getting the distance between them just right will help you to get the maximum image size.
Going through a wide range of musical selections, both acoustic and electronic, reveals no weaknesses in the Skylights – no music is off limits. However, lovers of bass-heavy music may want to invest in one of Totem’s excellent subwoofers sooner than later. You know who you are.
Refinement is the word that sums up the Totem Skylights best. As you move up the food chain with real HiFi manufacturers, the best offerings reveal more musical information without emphasizing one part of the musical spectrum over the other. These speakers provide that wealth of experience at an easily attainable price. After a few hours with the Skylights, you’ll understand why Totem owners are as loyal to the brand as they are.
www.totemacoustic.com
Back in the late 1970s and early 80s, Japanese hifi manufacturer Rotel was one of the top value proposition audiophile brands. Though not possessing quite the cache of top brands like Mark Levinson and Audio Research, many a budding audiophile brought home a Rotel RA 913 or RA-2030 integrated amplifier to start their journey into the high end. Their products have always offered high build quality, a clean design aesthetic, and most of all, great sound.
Rotel has never left the audio world, but has always had somewhat of a quiet legacy, going about their business building great gear. However, in the last five years or so, they’ve been making a bit more noise so to speak, and their latest products retain all of their key values.
They join us here with two models that celebrate the current rebirth of the integrated amplifier, the standalone CD player, along with the recent passing of audio legend, Ken Ishiwata. Long known for his relationship with Marantz, Mr. Ishiwata was the most well-known of Japanese hifi designers, and always a joy to engage with at hifi shows. He was somewhat of a creative director, taking designs, listening carefully, and making suggestions to improve them further.
Unfortunately, Mr. Ishiwata passed away right before the completion of the Tribute models, but the Rotel team implemented his suggestions in the final designs, a real testament to his legacy. Even a quick listen out of the box shows that these are indeed special components, well within reach of any music lover.
The Rotel A11 and CD11 Tribute models from Rotel are the last two pieces of audio gear to bear his imprint, and like everything else he’s had a hand in, are fantastic. At $699 and $499 respectively, this 50-watt per channel integrated amplifier and compact disc player go about their business in an understated way. If you need a plethora of inputs, outputs and functionality, this may not be the combo for you, but if you want the core for a straight-ahead system that delivers the sonic goods, read on.
More than enough power
Most small to moderate space dwellers should be just fine with 50 watts per channel, and lifting the top on the A11 reveals the necessary ingredients: a hefty power supply with big power transformer, a discrete, class AB power amplifier, complete with heat sinks, and enough control facilities to add a turntable, CD player, and tuner or tape deck.
The A11 has an onboard DAC, featuring a Texas Instruments chipset, it is only a Bluetooth streamer, with no optical or SPDIF inputs. The CD11 CD player provides both an anlog RCA output as well as a coaxial output. This is the only shortcoming of what is an otherwise excellent pair. As good as their performance is, it’s a shame you can’t plug a laptop or budget streamer in to increase the functionality of these two excellent components, but it’s understandable that Rotel drew the line in the sand here.
Half of our listening was done with our reference pair of Sonus faber Lumina 1 speakers, while the rest was split between a pair of Martin Logan Motion 15i’s, the Golden Ear BRX’s, and Totem Sky’s. All excellent choices in the $600 – $1,600/pair range. There were no anomalies with any of these small speakers, and we’d suggest any one of them.
The overall sound of the A11 is natural – neither embellishing, nor subtractive in nature. Thanks to a discrete amplifier section, the tonal saturation present is more engaging than many similarly priced integrateds featuring class-d amplification. Not only is the A11 worthy of both the Rotel name, and the legacy of Mr. Ishiwata, it reminds me of another legendary integrated, the NAD 3020.
Offering great bass control, clear mids, and a smooth high end, this amplifier is destined not only to be a classic, but one that will stay in your family for years. Whether buying your first hifi system, or a second system for somewhere else in your house, the A11 provides engaging sound that you will not tire of.
The shiny disc
Much like the vinyl record, the CD is also enjoying a bit of a resurgence. Used record stores and online shops have a plethora of discs available, and at reasonable prices. For those of you that either aren’t streaming, or just enjoy the physical act of playing a disc, the CD11 does not disappoint.
Good as the A11 is, $499 in 2020 is about $88 in 1983. Those of us that were there at digital audio’s beginning know what rubbish even a thousand-dollar CD player sounded like back then. The A11 goes about its business, just playing CDs. As mentioned, there is no provision for streaming, or even a digital input to connect your laptop, so it serves one purpose only. At this price, even if you no longer have a massive (or any at all) digital disc collection, it’s much like picking up an entry level Pro-Ject or Rega table. A few days of online shopping will put you a pretty diverse collection of 50 to 100 discs in no time.
The overall sound is solid, and smooth. This is a very un-digital sounding player, that compared to a late 80s player (that we won’t name) is amazing. Truly, the only thing the CD11 lacks is a level of resolution that the big bucks digital does. However, in the context of the amplifier, and a like priced pair of speakers, it’s going to be tough to get this level of involvement out of a $499 turntable and bargain records.
Playing MoFi copies of a few Santana favorites (Abraxas, III, and Caravanserai) where the CD11 only captures the 16/44 layer is a joy. Music comes through with a lack of grain, clean top end and great dynamics.
The black disc
The A11 also includes an excellent MM phono stage. As we still had a Pro-Ject Debut with Ortofon 2M Red hanging around, and our long-standing vintage favorite Technics SL-1200mk. 5 with Shure M44, it was time to spin some records. This amplifier turns in a fantastic performance. The phono input is quiet and composed.
Having used a few Ishiwata inspired designs, I can’t help but hope he had a major say in final tweaking of the phono section. Thirty seconds in you can tell this is not an afterthought, but respectfully aimed at providing an engaging experience for the new vinyl enthusiast.
Both cartridges worked great with the A11 – the channel separation is excellent, producing a very wide soundstage, with great delineation of instruments. We even tried the Technics SL-1100/Denon 103 MC combination with a Bob’s Devices step up transformer. Again, the Rotel delivers big sonics. Playing the new Anne Bisson LP, Keys to my Heart, was absolutely dreamy. Ms. Bisson and her crew of vintage jazz cats made for a bold, engaging sound.
The phone
Though you can’t plug a laptop or streamer into either of these components digitally, you can stream your mobile device via Bluetooth to the A11. This is probably the only part of the A11 that feels a bit out of balanced, so I would almost suggest this amplifier and disc player combination to someone favoring physical media. Regardless, at least being able to stream tunes in the background, at dinner or a party via your phone is still acceptable. Again, kudos to the Rotel design team of including such a great amplifier and phono section for this price, having to add a digital input probably would have bumped the MSRP up a hundred bucks or possibly two. And, you can always add a streaming DAC instead of the CD11 if you have no need for digital physical media and still have a formidable combination.
Finally
We also need to mention a few last things. Fit and finish of this pair are way beyond par for their respective price points, but Rotel has always done a fantastic job in this department. The simple remote and the user interface are both intuitive and easy to use. It was a breeze to get these two rocking without the need for the manual without issue.
And…the A11 has tone controls. Laugh if you want, and yes, it sounds slightly more transparent with said tone controls disengaged. Apartment dwellers and those not able to put their speakers in the optimum audiophile position will appreciate a little bit of boost and cut – as will those streaming from a mobile device.
In the end, I challenge you to find a better sounding pair of components on which to anchor a good, entry level music system. The Rotel A11 amplifier and CD11 disc player are an honor to their makers. Two very honest components that do a great job at their tasks. It doesn’t get any better.
The Rotel A11 amplifier and CD11 Disc Player
$699 and $499
As Ella Fitzgerald’s voice coos out of the Dynaudio Confidence 20s/Rel T-510 six-pack combo, I’m back home again.
Not with Ella, mind you, but the sound of a smaller CJ amplifier. Conrad-Johnson has been building great tube amplifiers for just over 40 years now. While some of their Premier amplifiers produce prodigious power, there’s always something incredible about their EL-34 based amplifiers. Lew Johnson has always been fond of saying, “simple circuits well-executed are the best approach,” and nothing could be truer of the Control Amplifiers they’ve built – they’ve only created a couple.
Their concept of a control amplifier puts a high-quality passive volume control in front of the power amplifier, offering a minimalist approach. An outboard passive attenuator works the same way; either offering a more transparent reproduction (i.e. less stuff in the signal path) or a slightly flat presentation (i.e., lousy impedance match between source and amplifier because there is no preamplifier to buffer things).
The CAV 45-S2 is no different, but when it’s a match, it’s really right. With a 100k ohm input impedance, there were no issues with any of the source components we have on hand from Luxman, Line Magnetic, dCS, T+A, BAT, or Pass Labs.
I must admit my personal bias before going further. I’ve owned C-J products since 1979 (PV-1) and am a huge fan. C-J tube gear has a slight bit of extra tonal body, richness, or saturation, whatever you’d like to call it that I have always loved. It’s not overly warm, like vintage Marantz, McIntosh, or Dynaco gear, but there is a tonal solidity that I’ve always enjoyed. After listening to thousands of components over the years, there is a familiarity and comfort whenever auditioning a C-J component that makes for a comforting exhale. Their marketing slogan has always been “It just sounds right.” I can’t agree more.
A brief history
The CAV-45S2 descends on one level from the original MV-45 power amplifier. Still, it wasn’t until the late 90s that they built the first CAV-50, which actually was more a true integrated, combining circuitry from the PV10 preamplifier (which I still own) and MV-55 power amplifier (which I used to own) to create a one chassis amplifier producing 45 watts per channel.
Somewhere in the mid-2000s, CJ brought back the CAV 45, now as a control amplifier, essentially a passive level control driving an EL34 power amplifier, with an abbreviated tube compliment – though still producing 45 watts per channel. The only review I was able to find of the CAV 45 (series 1) was by my buddy from the UK, the always affable Alan Sircom. You can read his review here. I certainly agree with everything he’s got to say, and it seems his only complaint with the CAV 45 is a few small things in terms of cosmetics.
The S2 version addresses the plastic binding posts, now replaced with a gorgeous pair from Cardas. The three transformers may look a bit old school aesthetically, according to Jeff Fischel (president of CJ), they are significantly upgraded and are now the same ones used in the Classic 62. (read Rob Johnson’s review of the Classic 62SE here) Combining the new, unregulated power supply (with three times the storage capacity) and the wideband output transformers, the S2 version of the CAV-45 now produces 60 watts per channel.
A long test drive
With a list price of just under $5,000, the CAV-45S2 is devoid of bells, whistles, meters, and balanced inputs. This control amplifier has three single-ended RCA input jacks of exceptionally high quality and a pair of speaker output binding terminals. According to C-J, most speakers between 4 and 8-ohm impedance will be just fine. After using about ten different pairs of speakers with the CAV-45S2 from a wide range of manufacturers, there are no compatibility issues to report other than this amplifier may be a little underpowered for a set of Magnepans.
Nearly all the time listening was spent with the T+A 2500 SACD/DAC/Streamer as a source component and the Dynaudio Confidence 20 speakers in concert with a six-pack of REL S/510 subwoofers in a 13 x 18-foot room. All cabling is Cardas Clear – signal and power. After 40 years of assembling systems of every capacity, you stumble on a group of components, almost by accident, that create magic. This time, I struck gold.
Truly special
Going from 45 watts per channel to 60 is a much more significant difference than you might think because the chances of someone mating a Classic 62 to an ACT 2, Art, or GAT preamplifier is unlikely to couple it with a Classic 62. You’d be floored if you did, yet matching it up with a lesser preamplifier doesn’t quite show off the Classic 62s brilliance. There’s only been one other tube power amplifier that I’ve owned in 40 years that I’d put in the same category – the legendary Audio Research D-79. A few of us back in the day ran our D-79s direct, using the level controls on the back panel to set volume because this offered another level of clarity. For most, it was too much work, but performance often rewards those that eschew convenience.
Removing the preamplifier stage brings a level of clarity that can’t be achieved without going to a mega preamplifier and a pair of interconnects that will probably cost more than the CAV-45S2. The sonic experience that the CAV-45S2 delivers within the boundaries of its performance envelope is as good as it gets, period.
Listen, listen, and listen some more
There’s a thing about tubes that when it’s delicious, you can’t forget it. But it’s a road with a lot of detours. If your experience has mirrored mine at all, no doubt you’ve heard amplifiers with a silky smooth high end, others rendering a three -dimensional space that is so beguiling you might think you were under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs, yet others offer a delicacy that’s almost intimate enough to be obscene.
The CAV-45S2 offers all of this and a well-defined lower register to boot. Whether I was listening to bass-heavy ambient tracks or heavily layered vocals, it comes through like few others. The presentation that the CAV-45S2 provides is deceptively simple. Should you place one in a system achieving an excellent match, you’ll not only find yourself losing track of time while listening, but you’ll also question why you didn’t do this earlier.
As female vocal tracks are often the litmus test for engagement, I picked three tunes – one for the boomers, one for gen x, and one for the millennials in the audience. I queued Christine McVie’s “Songbird,” Ellen Reid’s “I’m Just Chillin'” and Lana Del Rey’s “Venice Bitch.” All were equally enticing. I’m sure you have your favorites.
There is a cohesiveness to the sound created by the CAV-45S2 that still defies complete description. If this makes sense, it’s got the delicacy and low-level detail retrieval of a great SET, with the punch of a great push-pull amplifier, and plays a lot louder than you might expect a 60 watt per channel tube amp on a relatively compact chassis. Finally, it’s quiet. Jeff Fischel doesn’t hesitate to mention that the S2 is 10db quieter than the model that precedes it. The music gently falls into nothingness through the CAV-45S2, and you’ll find yourself having an internal dialog over how this can be so good for five grand.
Your inception thought
No, you can’t play AC/DC at concert hall levels (though you probably could with a pair of Avant Garde horns) with this amplifier. But this amplifier produces such a high level of engagement that with careful adjustment of the volume control puts you in a positively engulfing spot. You’ll know when you hit it. A little too much, and it’s bloated, too little – the soundfield isn’t quite as three-dimensional as it can be, with detail you didn’t think was there. That’s the spot that keeps you in your listening chair for hours.
Few material things in life are this close to perfection, even fewer at this price. If you have a room and system that can work within the constraints of a 60 wpc amplifier, I submit there’s nothing more fun or engaging than the Conrad Johnson CAV-45S2. It’s an affordable masterpiece. Time to pony up. I am adding this one to the long list of great C-J amplifiers I’ve had the pleasure to own.
And… we are creating a new category of award for this amplifier: The TONE Masterpiece Award, as the CAV-45S2 is truly a masterpiece.
The Conrad-Johnson CAV-45S2
MSRP: $4,995
dCS has started a new campaign acknowledging some of the world’s greatest recording engineers, appropriately titled their “dCS Legends” series. No disrespect to the world’s most excellent engineers, but I submit the digital players from Data Conversion Systems, have become legends in their own right.
In the beginning, dCS produced high-quality analog to digital and digital to analog converters for military and telecommunications applications, then turning their focus to recording studios and pro audio. 1993 marks the launch of their model 950, the world’s first 24-bit DAC. However, dCS didn’t become a household name (at least in audiophile households) until 1996, with the Elgar DAC. A recent visit with an Elgar in our Old School column reveals the original Elgar still having world-class performance, and a definite lineage intact to current dCS products.
I’ve also had the privilege to visit the dCS factory a few times, seeing first-hand how much goes into the construction of every single thing they make.
My own journey with dCS now spans a little more than a decade, beginning with the four box Paganini system. Though I had heard some great dCS demos at various HiFi shows, there’s nothing better than hitting the play button in your room, in your system, and being blown away. I sold a Naim CD-555 and one of my cars, with the Paganini stack staying as my digital reference for quite some time.
In nearly ten years since the Paganini review, TONE has also had the pleasure of reviewing the Debussy, which ended up living with staff member Rob Johnson for a few years, the four-box Vivaldi reference system, the two-box Rossini Player (CD only, no SACD capability) and Rossini Clock, as well as the newest model in dCS’ product line, the Bartok, which is the long-awaited replacement for the Debussy. All have been replaced by the Vivaldi One in my reference system, though the Bartok remains in my second system. Just as I have standardized on one set of tools in my photo studio, having dCS gear in both of my listening areas makes it that much easier to have a similar reference framework by which to evaluate components.
Still crazy (good) after all these months
The Vivaldi One arrived just before Christmas last year, sounding fantastic right out of the box. Really fantastic, even after many months of listening to the Rossini with the Rossini Clock, which is no slouch. Within a few days of being powered up around the clock, it completely stabilizes, electrically and thermally,offering a smoother, bigger, more engaging sound in every way.
A great demo at a show or dealer event is a wonderful thing, and the giddiness that nearly always accompanies the review period spent with components at this level, is a fantastic experience. Yet, sitting in the chair every day for a year, and still thinking “damn!” every time you push play, is living in a different universe. This is what the Vivaldi One brings every day.
But you can’t have it
There’s no real point going on and on about the sound of the Vivaldi One because they are now almost sold out, so unless you’re fortunate enough to snag one of the last available units the only way you can get one is to find a trade-in. The full Vivaldi reference system provides even more performance thanks to dedicating each critical function to a separate chassis. Past experience with every other dCS product tells me that adding a Vivaldi Clock for $15,000 is going to take the Vivaldi One a step closer to the four-box unit.
Based on my extensive experience, the Vivaldi One comes incredibly close to the sound of the four-box array, and again I’ll bet even more with the addition of the Vivaldi Clock. With space at a premium around here, a single-box solution with this level of sound quality is incredibly easy decision. The Rossini is a fantastic player, but I still wanted to play SACDs.
Limited availability aside, many in the market to buy one of these players, the individual components of the Vivaldi stack probably make a lot more sense. Those not wanting disc playback can opt for the Vivaldi DAC and buy in at less than half the Vivaldi One’s cost at $36,000. Adding the Vivaldi Upsampler is $22,000, and of course the Vivaldi Clock is $15k- but the modular approach allows you to add a box at a time. Should you want the Vivaldi transport later, they are $42,000, but dCS just introduced a Rossini SACD Transport for almost half that cost, not to mention used Paganini (and Scarlatti) transports (also offering SACD playback) show up for $7-15k once in a blue moon.
In addition to the ability to play CD and SACD discs, the Vivaldi One’s DAC can decode anything in every possible format, including MQA. dCS is the only company that’s actually written their own MQA decode and rendering code, and this custom implementation of the MQA standard, and the results validate their approach. With all the sniping about MQA playback if you happen to be both a Tidal and Qobuz customer, you know that some of your favorite tracks (and albums) are only offered in high resolution via MQA on Tidal. When unfolded and processed on a dCS DAC, audio perfection is achieved. No other DAC I’ve sampled does this great of a job with MQA files.
I don’t know nearly enough to have this argument, but I’d still prefer straight ahead 24/192 than an MQA file- but if that’s where my music lives, I want to hear it decoded to the best level it can be. For me dCS offers this. Fortunately, their players require no compromise playing both MQA and standard hi-res material. Perhaps I’ve glossed over the high level of quality that standard resolution 16/44.1 files offer up via the Vivaldi One. More than one audiophile that has visited, has mistaken 16/44.1 streamed files were high res. A few even thought I was playing vinyl!
Core competencies
The Vivaldi One, like all other dCS DACs, is built around their patented RingDACTM architecture. You can read more about this here at the dCS website and in nearly every other dCS review. Dramatically oversimplifying, this fundamental feature of dCS DACs does not tie them to whatever DAC chip that happens to be in vogue and the compromises made when that chip was designed.
Everything is done in software, and this allows dCS to make upgrades to the performance at regular intervals. This also makes their products more future proof than those relying on a chipset, resulting in a much higher level of consumer confidence when spending this kind of money. This also makes future updates as easy as updating the OS on your smartphone, and keeps dCS products relevant for a much longer period. Again, justifying the investment.
dCS has their own App, called Mosaic, for adjusting the unit settings and playing music, but for most of you, the Vivaldi One’s ability to be a ROON endpoint is the bee’s knees. dCS generally feels a better, cleaner signal can be derived directly from the network for file playback, so they offer an Ethernet input in addition to the traditional inputs seen on other products. It certainly makes for simpler system architecture and eliminates the need for a separate streaming device. Those with legacy devices can exhale, as inputs for USB, S/PDIF via BNC, RCA or Toslink input, and balanced AES-EBU on XLRs can also be handled.
The Vivaldi One’s digital volume control is of such high quality, those eschewing vinyl for an all-digital playback system, can easily center the Vivaldi One around their favorite power amplifier and call it a day.
The biggest revelation
Stepping up to the Vivaldi range brings digital playback to such a natural level of clarity, ease, and freedom from coloration, that it’s no longer of the tired “It sounds good for digital.” It just sounds good. It sounds really fucking great, actually.
After using the dCS Vivaldi One in my primary reference system for a year, and having it powered up continuously- listening to close to 30,000 tracks in that period- it’s still as exciting to push “play” as it was the evening I unboxed it. Honestly, more exciting, now that I’ve had the time to listen to a vast cross-section of music. The number of revelatory moments I’ve had with it are genuinely off the chart.
The second biggest revelation
Bundled up for a line of executioners bearing flame throwers, I’ll go one step further and claim that disc play still sounds better (i.e., more natural) than files ripped to a NAS. And ripped files still sound better than streamed files via ROON, Qobuz, Tidal, and Spotify, even at the same resolution.
Unfortunately, I do not possess the technical expertise to tell you why this is so. I suspect noise, jitter, and a plethora of other factors that subtly damage the digital bitstream, degrade the sound ever so slightly between these formats. Yet, there is one, albeit thin, veil that is lifted when going to disc playback from NAS (or streaming services with) ROON.
The final revelation
This may not be the case for everyone, but after living with the Vivaldi One for so long, I’m listening to vinyl a lot less. I love analog, love turntables, and everything that goes along with the analog format. Ok, I still don’t enjoy setting turntables up. But when the planets line up, and if you have a fabulous turntable and a perfect pressing, there’s still a few molecules of extra magic in the analog world. But that’s only for those that have original Blue Notes, first stamper British, Japanese, or German this pressing, etc. etc. And if you can afford records like that, you can afford a dCS Vivaldi. Those with a pretty good table/arm/cartridge/phonostage but mediocre pressings aren’t getting close to the level of realism that the Vivaldi One offers.
It’s not that I’m saying vinyl sucks or anything like that, but the Vivaldi One sounds so natural, so engaging, and is so incredibly easy to use that if my record collection was raptured off to vinyl heaven tomorrow, I don’t think I’d replace it. How often do you get convenience and quality in the same sentence? That’s the real magic of the Vivaldi One.
No clichés apply
While I’ve tried not to exhaust my adjective gland on nearly 1000 audio reviews in the last 17 years, it’s tough not to gush over a product this good. Suffice to say that the dCS Vivaldi reference system and Vivaldi One do such an incredible job of decoding digital music files, you don’t think about them at all. That is the ultimate triumph. And that’s what legends are made of.
In the past, car manufacturers pairing with audio companies for bespoke home products have usually been less than outstanding, with more emphasis put on said manufacturer’s “branding,” than actual audio performance. This time, we see something much more from the design studios of Tidal and Bugatti.
Tidal Audio in Germany (not the streaming company) has always produced products at the top of the high end spectrum, with peerless materials technology, finish, and sound quality. This level of execution has always been expensive, so it’s no surprise that they’ve been called upon to build 30 pairs of bespoke, powered loudspeakers carrying the Bugatti brand. In this case it will be “Bugatti by Tidal,” starting with the “Royale” series of loudspeakers.
The “Royale” features 4 subwoofer drivers in a closed-box configuration with impulse compensation per speaker, along with a 3-way front unit utilizing a midrange-driver and tweeter with diamond diaphragms. The Royale is built based on an active loudspeaker concept with built in amplifiers for each channel. Part of the new launch is a newly developed music controller MC-1 allowing for streaming connectivity and smart control of all standard music and entertainment sources. Those not needing a turntable will have everything they need in this breathtakingly beautiful system.
Just like the four wheeled BUGATTI models, with an almost infinite number of possibilities for customization to create one of a kind vehicles, the options list for the “Royale” is equally as unique. Starting with two body designs, Monocoque and Duotone, customers may choose between piano finishes or avant-garde color and material combinations. The start of the partnership manifests itself in the ‘Edition Noir’ and ‘Edition Blanc’, each limited to initially 15 pairs.
While exact specs have not yet been given, if past Tidal offerings are any indication, these speakers will not lack in any way. Pricing has not been announced either, but we’d be shocked if a pair of these cost less than a new Porsche GT3.
The sun still burns hot, a U.S. dollar still equals four quarters, and Klipsch still makes Cornwall loudspeakers.
Refreshingly, some things never change. Save for a gap between 1990 and 2005, the company has been building the floorstanders in its Arkansas factory since Dwight D. Eisenhower’s second term. As for the period during which it disappeared from showrooms? The decision prompted thousands of listeners to begin a letter-writing campaign demanding production resume. Petitioners got their wish. In 2006, Klipsch introduced Cornwall III, although, given the various updates to prior iterations that occurred, the “III” moniker could have easily been an “VIII.”
Originally devised in 1959 by Paul Klipsch to serve as a full-range option between a pair of Klipschorns, Cornwall bowed as the world’s second commercially produced center-channel speaker. Its no-frills name, coined by Mr. Klipsch’s first wife, stems from its ability to be employed in a corner or against a wall. More than six decades later—a time span longer than most audio companies last—it remains distinctive for multiple reasons, not the least of which relates to its commanding 38 x 25.3 x 15.5-inch (HWD) size and 95.76-pound weight.
The Old School Meets the New School
By any standards, Cornwall is big, and boldly announces its presence by way of gorgeous, book- and grain-matched wood cabinets. During manufacturing, Klipsch keeps the veneer leaves in order as they’re sliced from timber and arranged in mirror-image fashion at the splice joint. The consistency pays off in the form of speakers that should charm any admirer of woodworking or old-school craftsmanship. Akin to the eye-catching crown molding in a century-old Victorian or a custom built-in shelving units, Cornwall visually exudes detail, care, pride, and tradition. Crucial to Cornwall and Klipsch’s other Heritage Series models, such convention extends to the sequential serial numbering of every pair.
Much else about Cornwall recently underwent a transformation. Dubbed Cornwall IV, and sold for $6,000 per pair in a choice of three colors, the tower possesses the most significant design changes of any Cornwall in history. A 1.75-inch K-702 midrange compression driver, midrange Tractrix horn with patented Mumps technology, steep-slope crossover network, and Tractrix ports with inner flares are completely new. Ditto the matte-black riser, attractive script-adorned grille, and aluminum bi-amp input panel on the rear. A one-inch K-107 titanium diaphragm tweeter with an all-new wide dispersion phase plug and massive 15-inch K-33 composite-cone woofer round out the innards.
According to Klipsch, the enhancements collectively translate into improved polar response of the mids, minimized electrical degradation, faster transfer, reduced port noise, lessened turbulence, and deeper bass. Cornwall IV also retains an inarguable benefit of its ancestors: Beguiling efficiency, with a rated sensitivity of 102dB. The triple-digit figure allows the user to pair it with a seemingly infinite number of amplifiers—tubes and solid-state alike—without worrying about having to spend a fortune for massive watts-per-channel output.
Instead, with Cornwall IV, or, for that matter, any Heritage Series model, focus your budget on an amp/wire combination that provides clean power and clean signals. Klipsch’s high sensitivity numbers can be a double-edged sword in that the speakers do no mask mediocre power/transmission as blindly as some harder-to-drive models. Plus, auditioning a Klipsch is a smart way to test your current gear/cabling.
Changing the Narrative
It nearly goes without saying that, in many customary circles, “Klipsch” and “audiophile” are disparate. At least one long-established high-end magazine doesn’t acknowledge a single Heritage Series model in its latest, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Buyer’s Guide. In addition, many self-professed audiophiles—whether clinging to measurements, the belief that horns cannot overcome brightness or harshness, or the thought that Klipsch translates to outmoded technology—won’t give the brand a sniff. Under close examination, such thinking appears shortsighted and ironic, particularly in a hobby that places tremendous importance on the supposed sound of live music.
Indeed, somewhere along the way, high-priced entry points, computer-driven metrics, and occasionally sterile, surgically precise sonics gained precedence over emotion, fun, dynamics, and playback that can recreate the concert experience. Today, finding speakers that deliver a professional recording-studio aesthetic and a mixing engineer’s perspective poses far less of a challenge than identifying models that whisk you to a club or hall, and formidably capture the energy associated with the events staged at the venues. Moreover, audiophile-approved speakers that don’t wilt in the face of rock n’ roll, R&B, or hip-hop turned to loud volumes remain few and far between. Even those that sell for the cost of a fresh-off-the-factory-floor Harley-Davidson CVO.
Of course, some listeners prefer perfectionist-oriented imaging. They want to hear a singer’s tongue smack against the top of his or her palate, or the particular gauge of an acoustic-guitar string. All well and good; the inherent appeal is understood. However, returning not only to the sound of live music, but to the ambience, vitality, soulfulness, and presence that coexist with shows—reference points to which, before the pandemic, thousands upon thousands of people related on a weekly basis and happily paid to attain—evokes deep-seated issues the audiophile industry at large prefers to sweep under the rug. In short, the sound of live music, whether generated in an orchestral hall, 800-capacity theater, or hockey arena, varies from that captured in a recording studio.
Mr. Klipsch recognized the distinctions and strove to design products that reproduce live performances in a home setting. Cornwall IV testifies on behalf of his pursuits. And how.
Holy Schnikes
Arranging Cornwall IV in a relatively square 16 x 18-foot room proves relatively hassle-free. Despite its mass, the speaker’s shape allows for ample mobility. The lack of spikes and angular dimensions also proves welcoming. As does Kilpsch’s simple albeit smart packaging, which decreases set-up fuss and echoes Cornwall IV’s get-to-it functionality. As with most speakers, adjusting the positioning of Cornwall IV by an inch here or there nets audible differences. No user’s interior space is the same, but for the purposes of the review, slightly toeing in Cornwall IV with the lead front corner three feet from the back wall, and the tandem placed eight feet apart, produced optimal results.
In quick succession, it becomes evident where Cornwall IV falls a bit short—namely, hyper-deep soundstaging, microscopic accuracy, polite refinement, and pick-the-third-chair-out-of-the-symphony focus. Characteristics that are all often the parlance of studio monitors and several of their tower counterparts. Cornwall IV also tends to reward whoever sits dead-center in the sweet spot. Off-axis listening sacrifices none of the impact but tends to faintly blur details. Klipsch’s Roy Delgado suggests increasing the toe-in to increase the soundstage and image focus. While counterintuitive to what we’d do with a normal pair of floorstanding speakers, this works perfectly, enhancing the on and off-axis experience, with a more stable stereo image, and more stable bass performance.
If you’re accustomed to a two-channel system augmented with a pair of high-end subwoofers, you may also notice a small drop in low-frequency definition. Not to say Cornwall IV doesn’t supply satisfying bass. It does, and without annoying boom and inflated effects. You could add a subwoofer or two, sure, but Cornwall IV goes plenty deep without any help from friends.
Overall, paralleling its physical size, Cornwall IV plays with enormous sound—enormous dynamics, energy, scale, openness, rhythm, and clarity. While many speakers invite you to them, and beckon you toward music that happens between or behind them, Cornwall IV ushers the music to you in absolute effortless fashion. It’s a key distinction. Forget about needing to lean in or meet songs at a halfway point; Cornwall IV aims and directs the action right at you. If you’ve always desired your own concert venue, and can live without laser-sharp imaging and exacting specificity that let you debate the location of the row the mixing engineer intended you to be seated, Cornwall IV will likely cause you to ask, “Where have these been all my life?” Visceral, unapologetic, and the embodiment of engaging, Cornwall IV brings music alive in sensory-invigorating ways.
As for power, presence, and expressiveness? Hold on to your hazy IPA. At every step, Cornwall IV offers you the chance to feel what you’re hearing—just like memorable concerts. TONE Publisher Jeff Dorgay often says “dynamics are the fifth dimension.” For both macro and micro, Cornwall IV slays. It also thrives in the areas of naturalism and transparency, with vocals and instruments coming across with noticeable richness, fluidity, and solidity. The smoothness and detail of its mid and high regions cannot be overstated.
Another welcome revelation? How Cornwall IV performs at low volumes. You don’t need to go crazy with the loudness to savor its spirit. But, if you do turn your amplification up? Holy schnikes. If a speaker could laugh, Cornwall IV would chuckle all the more you challenge and push it with higher decibel levels. It doesn’t flinch, doesn’t distort, doesn’t put a tourniquet around the music. It lets you (and your equipment) decide the limits—a concept foreign to many speakers taxed with well-recorded rock or pop replete with weight, slam, and body.
Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out
Put through its paces, Cornwall IV handles a wide array of music—including numerous audiophile pressings. Cue up “Sad But True” from Metallica’s self-titled album on the MoFi-supervised 45RPM vinyl edition and sit agog at the size, scope, physicality, and tuning of the drums. Spin any of the 7LPs in the must-have Tom Petty Wildflowers & All the Rest box set and marvel at the tones, immediacy, warmth, and producer Rick Rubin’s ear for nuance and texture. Turn to the analog reissues of PJ Harvey’s To Bring You My Love, Rid of Me, or Dry, and savor the previously unnoticeable subterranean frequencies and singer’s throaty phrasing. Unsheathe an analog standby like Pink Floyd’s The Wall or Janos Starker’s 3LP set of Bach’s Cello Concertos on Speakers Corner, and shake your head at how the musicians appear right before you, requiring no grand leap of faith.
Cornwall IV further unveils profound body, depth, and timbre tied to Johnny Cash’s voice on an original pressing of Unchained, particularly when he leans on his chest cavity, as on “Spiritual” and “Southern Accents.” Another vocal standout, Cecile McLorin Salvant’s Dreams and Daggers, demonstrates sublime realism and airiness. Brandi Carlile’s voice resonates with reach-out-and-touch-it tangibility on Give Up the Ghost and intricate By the Way I Forgive You. Ditto Adele’s dark register on her smash 21. As for the current, lilt, and grain of Jimmy Smith’s Hammond B-3 organ on the Tone Poet reissue of his Blue Note platter, Prayer Meetin’: Hallelujah.
Crank up the volume to triple-digit decibel levels, and Cornwall IV lets loose. Drop the needle on AC/DC’s Back in Black or For Those About to Rock, and the Young brothers’ guitar riffs—coupled with the crisp, on-point thwack of Phil Rudd’s drumming—radiates with convincing authority, superior control, lifelike separation, and unmistakable liveliness. Similarly, the insight afforded into the knotty architecture of Guns N’ Roses’ “Coma” on Use Your Illusion I; assertiveness of Kiss’ pouting grooves on “Strutter” and “Do You Love Me” off Double Platinum; conveyance of the all-night vibe of Rihanna’s “Diamonds” on Unapologetic; and bare-bones force projected from Run-DMC’s tag-team rapping from Mobile Fidelity’s SACD of Raising Hell—at last, an audiophile hip-hop reissue—provide one thrill ride after another.
Friends, Cornwall IV will not magically turn average or substandard recordings into gold, but its behavior tilts towards forgiveness. Vide, the latest installment of Grateful Dead Dave’s Picks, Volume 36, touts questionable sonics—an oddity for both the band and series. Through Cornwall IV, you hear the flaws but still appreciate the music while getting a grasp on the moment and what takes place. The latter lingers as one of Cornwall IV’s brute strengths: Replicating the moment—and, importantly, its aura—and translating both into a live-sounding medium.
Speaking of the Dead, a variety of the group’s other archival releases (a handful of selections from the Spring 1990 (The Other One) 23CD box set; the February 18, 1971 show on the American Beauty: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) match like peanut butter to chocolate with Cornwall IV. Everything from the timbre of Phil Lesh’s bass to the tenor of Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann’s percussion—and atmosphere and breadth of the stage itself—personify live Dead. Pass the patchouli oil.
The Mike Campbell of Loudspeakers
Yes, Cornwall IV rocks. But it also feels entirely at home with jazz and laidback fare, be it folk or a solo violin piece. No speaker does everything right (see above). Yet Cornwall IV’s versatility furthers its appeal—and should-be designation as a music lover’s design in the same way Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell reigns as a musician’s musician. Others are flashier, faster, more finessed. Few, however, demonstrate such an innate knack for how to play notes, how to sculpt them and let them fade, how to serve the collective whole, and how to hold an audience’s attention for hours on end.
Addressing tastes of listeners who bought into certain buttoned-down principles promulgated by audio tastemakers who never negotiated the musical sea changes that occurred once the 70s revved into gear, the market overflows with speakers that nail classical, small-scale jazz, low-key Americana, and close-miked vocal music—only to run with their veritable tails between their legs when called to unpack information in dense, complicated recordings. All-rounder designs are rarer. Cornwall IV excels with rock, metal, R&B, rap, electronic, and jazz. Still, the manners in which it handles classical and acoustic-based fare please, and hint at both delicacy and sophistication.
Not to suggest Cornwall IV suits everyone. It certainly does not—and will not suffice for those exclusively bent on critical listening and/or playing the role of recording engineer. But, if you listen to a variety of genres, place a premium on the sound of live music, value engagement over crack precision, possess the requisite space in your room, or, alternatively, want to construct a second system devised for concert-like experiences, you could do far, far worse—and will likely spend thousands more in the process.
Klipsch Cornwall IV (photos courtesy, Klipsch corp.)
MSRP: $6,000/pair
klipsch.com
Peripherals
Preamplifier McIntosh C2300
Amplifier McIntosh MC452
Analog Dr. Feickert Woodpecker with Jelco tonearm and Ortofon Cadenze Bronze cartridge
Digital Oppo BDP-105 and Mytek Brooklyn DAC+
Cabling Shunyata Delta interconnects and power cables
The Sound Organisation and The Sound Organisation Canada today announced they have been selected to be the new distributors for Spendor Audio in the United States and Canada.
Spendor Audio is the most recent addition to the The Sound Organisation portfolio that includes Chord Electronics, The Chord Company, Fyne Audio, ProAc Loudspeakers, Rega Research and Quadraspire in the U.S., and Chord Electronics and Rega in Canada.
Sussex-based Spendor Audio has been designing and building world-class loudspeakers since the 1960s. Founded by former BBC sound engineer Spencer Hughes and his wife Dorothy, Spendor Audio has been owned by veteran audio designer Phillip Swift for the past 20 years. Under Swift’s direction, Spendor has pushed product development and consolidated their speakers into the mainstream A-Line, higher-end D- Line and the traditional-yet-modern Classic Line.
“The Sound Organisation is a world-class distributor and they have demonstrated their commitment to the brands they represent,” stated Mike Picanza, Spendor’s Head of Sales and Marketing. “Spendor is very excited to work closely with the whole team at The Sound Organisation and we have no doubt they will grow our brand in the United States and Canada.”
“Spendor is a terrific brand that is well-known in the audio industry and beloved by many who hear these great speakers,” Sound Organisation President Stephen Daniels stated. “Led by an outstanding team including Philip and Mike, Spendor is the perfect partner for The Sound Organisation and we look forward to introducing them to more ears across the US and Canada.”
The Sound Organisation will be stocking Spendor Loudspeakers at their warehouse and shipping facility in Arlington, TX. Representatives from The Sound Organisation in both countries will be reaching out to current and prospective Spendor retailers in the coming weeks. For those wishing to learn more or apply to carry Spendor Audio in their locations, please contact [email protected] in the United States or [email protected] in Canada.
We look forward to bringing you some Spendor reviews in the near future…
The Sound Organisation Contact Information
United States:
Organization: The Sound Organisation Company URL: https://www.soundorg.com Address: 1009 Oakmead Dr., Arlington, TX 76011 Phone: +1 (972) 234-0182
Phone: [email protected]
Canada:
Organization: The Sound Organisation Canada
Company URL: https://www.soundorg.ca
Sales Address: PO Box 13563, Mississauga, ON L5N 8G5
Sales Phone: +1 (972) 234-0182
Sales Email: [email protected]
Support Address: 347 Charles-Marchand, Repentigny, QC J5X 4N8 Support Phone: +1 (514) 736-2004
Support Email: [email protected]
Tracking through the silky, smooth harmonies of Shikao Suga’s “Kiseki,” I’m instantly reminded why I’ve always been so fond of the Naim Supernait.
It’s a fantastic, nearly all-in-one solution with solid audiophile credibility. What better way to start listening than with the pair of Focal Kanta 1s that Naim/Focal North America was kind enough to send along with the Supernait.
We’ve been using the Kanta 3s as reference speakers for some time, along with Sopra 3s, so the Kanta 1s are easy to get used to. Music lovers tend to fall into one of two camps when stripping away all the other variables when shopping for a music system: destination people and journey people. If you’re the latter rather than the former, the Supernait 3 will appeal to you because you can upgrade the power supply at a later date, and you can add a DAC/Streamer to access your digital files. (The original Supernait had a great DAC built-in but no phono stage. We’ll get to that later.)
Destination people can have their Naim/Focal dealer set up as much or as little as they need and stop by to pick it all up.
Somewhat of a shift
Naim’s Supernait 3 is a significant exercise in evolution as well as a shift in priorities. Where the original Nait was a small chassis affair producing only 15 watts per channel, (albeit with an incredible MM phono section built in) the current Supernait series has been 80 watts per channel. Naim’s founder, Julian Verker once was quoted saying that they couldn’t give the original Nait more power because “it sounded terrible.” As the Brits are fond of saying, “job done.” Both the Supernait 2 and the Supernait 3 are indeed musical, so this limit has been handily overcome.
Where the Supernait 2 had a built-in DAC, the Supernait 3 returns to its roots with an excellent (and I suspect Stageline derived) MM phono stage. Going straight to this with a Technics SL-1200GAE and Shure M44 cartridge, it was time to rock the house with an extended set of 45 rpm maxi-singles. Starting with Devo, and ending with Prince, this phono section delivers the goods. As Naim always offers a modular approach, and there just happened to be an MC Stageline sitting on the shelf, it was put into use with a second SL-1200/Denon 103 combination. The Stageline has such a small footprint, making it easy to turn your Supernait 3 into a two turntable amplifier, and at a reasonable cost. An extra Stageline will only set you back about $800, and they are lurking on the used market now and then for about $500. Not bad, and you can power it directly from the Supernait 3. If you’ve made a modest to somewhat beyond modest investment in a turntable/MM cartridge, the onboard phono section here is not an afterthought, tacked on to appease those with a moderate collection of vinyls (sic). This is a true analog lovers phono stage.
More modularity
In addition to adding an extra phono stage, you can also use your Supernait in the context of a bi-amplified system by just adding another power amplifier, or you can increase its performance with an outboard power supply. Naim has always been a big believer in building massive power supplies – a prime factor in their exceptional ability to reproduce musical pace and timing. Additional power reserves only improve this, and though we did not have an outboard supply available at this time, we did do this with the Supernait 2 in our last review. The improvement was not subtle and worth every penny.
While some criticize this approach, we have always loved this aspect of Naim products because it allows you to grow without discarding your original purchase – a very green solution. And a solid investment. With any non-essential purchase, it’s always nice to know that you can purchase it incrementally. Not to mention having another honeymoon with a component you already love. Adding an external supply creates a new component, allowing you to experience your music collection anew, always fun.
Thirteen years ago, the Supernait 2 was about $4,300, and the current Supernait 3 $4,995. Taking account for inflation, that $4,300 amplifier would be a tick over $7,000 in today’s money, so $4,995 for an even better amplifier is a real bargain. That Naim keeps the price in check is a testament to the production department as much as the accounting department.
Most people wanting to keep their system all-Naim might pair their Supernait 3 with the ($7,690) NDX 2 DAC/Streamer, but we happened to have their top range ND555/PS555 combination (a click under $40k), and this proves to be a stellar combination. Naim’s unifying architecture makes this all so easy to use.
The one thing unique to Naim is their speaker outputs that look similar to banana jacks. No 5-way binding posts here. Naim suggests using their connectors, though we had no problem getting a solid mechanical interface from Cardas, Nordost, and Tellurium-Q cables. Inputs are connected via Naim 5 pin connectors or RCA jacks. Some of you may even remember when Naim allowed only the use of their proprietary connectors. Bottom line, there are plenty of connections, so you can build a powerful system around your Supernait 3. In addition to the MM phono input, there are four more line-level inputs and a headphone jack on the front.
More listening The Supernait 3 builds on the strengths of the Supernait 2. Naim says that the power amplifier circuit has been simplified somewhat (“the second gain stage transistors have been optimized, so they no longer need to be shielded by a cascade stage transistor.”) This increases the amplifiers slew rate. While some will argue whether this makes an amplifier more dynamic or not, there’s no question that this is a very fast, dynamic amplifier. Choose a few of your favorite tracks with some intense drumming, or perhaps some rapid acoustic guitar playing, and you’ll hear immediately that the Naim engineers have succeeded brilliantly. Naim has always been famous for producing amplifiers adept at reproducing musical timing, and the Supernait 3 upholds that long tradition.
The high end is smooth and defined, while the lowest of frequencies are well controlled and extended. When paired with the Sopra 3s, it was easy to see what a great job the Supernait 3 does with LF dynamics. Tracking through the entirety of David Gray’s White Ladder, I was constantly impressed with the sheer weight that these tracks were presented. As the Naim amplifiers are class B designs, they do not run hot, even when pushed hard. Playing most of the new AC/DC record, Power Up, at a juvenile level still leaves the Supernait 3 barely warm to the touch. The Naim sounds equally good with the volume down low. Aimee Mann’s rendition of the Carpenters tune “Yesterday Once More” (From the Vinyl soundtrack) shows off plenty of tonal delicacy and finesse. This is an amp for all seasons.
What the Naim amplifiers deliver is effortless pace and timing reproduction. They are not quite as vivid as your favorite tube amplifier in terms of creating a huge soundfield in all three dimensions. The Supernait is not a small sounding amplifier, though it is not engulfing the way the (all vacuum tube) VAC i170 is. Definitely a different feel. And in all fairness, the apparent sound of the Supernait’s gets “bigger” when you step up to the external power supply. In the context of a $5,000 integrated with phono, it’s still top of the range. It’s also worth mentioning that even without an external power supply, the Supernait 3 offers a high level of dynamic engagement, even with power-hungry speakers like the Harbeth Compact 7s we have on hand.
The only speakers we would suggest staying away from are a full range ESL. The highly capacitive load that these speakers present did not make for a clean sound. In all fairness to the Naim, The $8,000 Esoteric and a $20k CH Precision integrated that came through our doors fared no better with the Quads – they are the ultimate amplifier torture. The rest of you will be just fine.
Aesthetics and such
You’re either a fan of the stark modernism of Naim components, with their brushed black casework and the backlit green buttons that almost look like M&Ms or Skittles. Personally, I love Naim’s look, and their commitment to making minimal changes in casework design over the years, so you can mix and match multiple generations with ease. Again, this helps to protect your investment – 10, 20 or even 30-year-old Naim components still look great together on your equipment rack. The only other manufacturer that has done such a great job of maintaining a consistent design language is McIntosh. It’s no coincidence that Naim gear enjoys the same fierce following that McIntosh does, and their legacy products enjoy a high resale value, should you ever decide to trade up. However, my experience with Naim over the years is few people trade them in – they just move them to a second or third system and buy more. That’s the ultimate expression of customer loyalty as far as I’m concerned.
The only complaints I have about the Supernait 3 have plagued the amp from the last generation – the volume and balance controls lack any tactile feel. Naim’s engineering driven mentality has chosen the motorized ALPS unit for it’s supreme sonics, and I’m guessing most of you will use the remote anyway. While this is by no means a deal-breaker, as most of you will probably use the remote, the stunningly luxurious feel to the volume control in the thousand dollar Mu-so just makes me wonder why Naim has always chosen not to integrate this here. ED NOTE: Naim has informed me that the MuSo volume control is a digital unit, so this is an apples to oranges comparison – but the MuSo volume control is damn sexy. Last but not least, headphone users will enjoy the Supernait 3. Like the phono section, the headphone amplifier is no afterthought. Auditioning phones from Audeze, Grado, and of course Focal, all delivered great results. This goes further to make the Supernait 3 the perfect partner for those with space at a premium.
At the end of the day, the Supernait 3 is a class leader. Great sound, great aesthetic, and top build quality. Not only do I like this one enough to hand it an Exceptional Value Award for 2020, but I have also purchased the review sample. This is too handy of a system anchor not to have around the studio. If you like the Naim approach and don’t really want a big stack of components, the Supernait 3 is for you.
Italian Manufacturer UBISOUND launches two new speakers: The Feel, and Velvet series.
We’ve seen and heard past UBISOUND products at the Munich High End show, and they have always provided great sound, and appealing looks.
The new FEEL Series 2021 maintains the four fascinating glossy colors Elegant Black, Pure White, Sport Red and Fashion Yellow available in two versions: FL32 bookshelf or stand (1,990 USD / pair) and FL38 floor standing tower (2,490 USD / pair).
The new VELVET Series 2021 adopts the extraordinary and unique matt satin deep Black color available in two versions: VL42 bookshelf or stand (2,490 USD / pair) and VL48 floor standing tower (2,990 USD / pair).
In a world where many audio companies try to be all things to all people (or customers), it’s refreshing to stumble upon someone doing one awesome thing.
Backert Labs builds line-stage preamplifiers. That’s it, though they did mention that they have a new phono preamplifier almost ready for prime time. Close enough. And they’ve been doing it for quite a while.
The Backert Labs Rhumba came highly recommended by a few of our readers, and their enthusiasm is more than justified. The Rhumba 1.3 is a fantastic preamplifier – period. That it is only $4,000 is terrific – yet this is a perfect example of extreme focus. Backert Labs also makes a $10k preamplifier, claiming the Rhumba is a more cost-effective version of. They also offer a Rhumba + for $6,500 that kinda splits the difference. After extended listening it continues to engage at a high level. Andy from Backert reveals that they put close to 200 hours on every unit before shipping, so you won’t have to wait to fully enjoy it.
And engage it does
Between the revolutionary power supply and a reasonably simple circuit consisting of a pair of 12AU7 tubes, the Rhumba delivers a mere 10db of gain but that’s more than enough to drive anyone’s power amplifier. Matching it with a wide range of amplifiers on hand, from a near original Dynaco Stereo 70 to a pair of Pass XA200.8s, there were no surprises and no disappointments. In my primary reference system, I could only detect a minute difference between SE and BAL outputs. The balanced outputs sound slightly smoother, and the SE outputs just a touch crisper on the extreme top end. I am splitting thin hairs here. It could also be the difference between SE and BAL inputs on all four of the power amplifiers used too. I feel safe suggesting this preamplifier to mate with any power amp you have at your disposal.
The difference between good, great preamplifiers, and the best money can buy is in the fine details. The world’s premier preamplifiers provide a level of reach out and touch it communication, sometimes even fooling you into believing that you are listening to the real thing. Because a preamplifier doesn’t have to do the work of driving a pair of speakers, and the potential mismatch between the power amp and speaker, it’s usually not as dependent on what it’s connected to. The Rhumba has an output impedance of 75 ohms, which is very low – and it drives a 30-foot pair of Cardas Clear interconnects (XLR or RCA) as easy as it does a 3-foot pair, with no sonic degradation whatsoever.
I’d put the Rhumba solidly between great and best. And for $4k, that’s a steal. If there are any of you listening in the late 80s/early 90s, Audible Illusions came on the scene with a preamplifier (the Modulus) that took a simple, high-quality approach much like the Rhumba does. Back then, the Modulus was the answer for the audiophile that wanted something like a CJ Premier or an ARC SP10, but on a bit tighter budget. The Modulus was $999 when the big boys were about $6k. At least among the $15k – $30k preamplifiers I’ve heard, the Rhumba offers a lot of that experience. And it’s a solid contender among the big name $10k preamplifiers.
After getting enough of a listen in my main system to get a firm grip on the delta between this and my reference components in a familiar environment, the Rhumba comes in the house, placed in a system more in keeping with the way I’d expect it to be used. A pair of Dynaudio’s new Confidence 20 speakers (mated to a six-pack of REL S/510 subs) and the Aqua DAC we recently reviewed, cabled together with Cardas Clear Reflection speaker cables, interconnects and power cords rounded things out nicely.
I had a wide range of power amplifiers at my disposal for these listening sessions. Suffice to say the Rhumba was an excellent match for all of them. The McIntosh MC275 (with EAT KT88 tubes), the BAT VK60SE, PrimaLuna’s EVO400 on the tube side, and a Pass XA30.8 and Nagra Classic on the solid-state side of the equation all make for a great amplification chain.
A solid contender
Most of the listening in this evaluation was done with the EVO400 – I like the price/performance value of this amplifier too, and you can put the Rhumba/EVO400 combination in your rack for well under $10k. Personal bias: this is a very musical pair I could comfortably live with and forget the big dollar stuff. The best of the best is still awesome and deserving of its place, but the Rhumba does so much right, that unless you’ve got everything (and I mean everything) else to go with, it can be a destination preamplifier for 90% of you. Adding your favorite $5k-$10k pair of speakers, an excellent DAC, and an equally good performing analog front end if you spin vinyl will give you a good portion of what the mega gear delivers at an approachable price. You may never want to go any further in your audio journey. More money for records and motorcycles, I say.
Attempting to identify the sonic fingerprint of the Rhumba, I’ll call it ever so slightly on the warm side of natural/neutral. In the last year, I’ve listened carefully to the McIntosh 2600, PrimaLuna’s EVO400 preamplifier, the Simaudio 390, Boulder’s new 1110, Nagra’s Classic, the CJ GAT2, ARC’s LS28 and REF 6 along with a handful of vintage and near vintage pieces, so it’s been in good company.
Tonality is one aspect of preamplifier sound. The most exciting aspect of the Rhumba is the lively, dynamic aspect of its sound – all part of the GreenForce power supply design. Listening to musical selections with wide dynamic swings, and music more in the acoustic vein makes it so easy to hear the complete lack of bloated, cloudy, overhang that some designs possess. The Rhumba still sounds slightly tubey, but just enough to convince you, there are indeed a couple of tubes under the hood. They are easy to get at with a clear window attached magnetically to the top of the case.
Another bias: I absolutely hate tube gear with tubes that just stick out of the top of the case. Too easy to break something. The Rhumba gives you easy access to the tubes, both for service/rolling, and to see a little bit of a glow.
Thanks to designing around the 12AU7/ECC82, instead of the 12AX7/ECC83 makes the cost of pursuing different or NOS tubes much more reasonable – vintage 12AU7s cost considerably less than vintage 12AX7s. As easy as Backert Labs makes it to roll tubes in the Rhumba (and who knows, maybe I’ll cave when they send that phono preamplifier), I avoided going down that path in the context of this review. After years of chasing that rabbit, I choose to give him a wink from afar, and it’s not fair to a manufacturer to say their preamp only sounds great with unobtainium tubes. Not to mention how little fun that is for you, because you thought you were done after you wrote the $4,000 check. But are we as audio enthusiasts ever done? Ha.
Seriously though, the Rhumba delivers such an engaging performance, I never felt the need to try something else, and sacrifice the good work they’ve done merely for different. Tube rollers, you know what I’m saying. If you have lobsters in your pants and can’t wait to swap those tubes out and argue with people on your favorite audio forum – go for it. But I’ll bet you a bottle of your favorite single malt, a year from now, you’ll cave in and go back to the originals.
The Rhumba offers a very natural overall tonal balance that is very dynamic, with a touch of that tonal saturation that seems to only happen with tubes. It never sounds like vintage tube gear, i.e., slow, rolled off, or overly saturated. If this is the sound you’ve been looking for, the Rhumba is what you want. This natural balance makes it easy to voice the rest of your system to taste while leaving the Rhumba as your anchor – again, this is going to be a destination preamp for a lot of people.
The sonic landscape, or to be more precise, the size and scale of the sonic landscape a preamplifier creates is equally important as tonal balance and dynamics. Again, the Rhumba excels, creating a massive soundfield in all three dimensions – it does a fantastic job at getting the Dynaudio’s and two stacks of REL subwoofers to disappear in the listening room. Six weeks after unboxing, I’m still surprised and amazed at how much music this preamplifier reveals. And how many late nights I’m spending listening to “one more record.”
The other stuff
Great as it sounds, the Rhumba is well built from a mechanical standpoint. There are no exposed screws in the casework, the minimal control set feels good, and the remote is simple, effective, and substantial. It feels good when you place it in your equipment rack. The front panel is finished to a high level, but this is not a blingy preamplifier by any means, so you aren’t left feeling that half the cost of the Rhumba was squandered on a fancy case. However, there is only one thing I don’t care for on the Rhumba – those paddle switches.
I can assure you I’ve broken at least one of these on everyone else’s preamplifier. Not a deal-breaker by any stretch, but I caution you to place your Rhumba just inside the shelf enough on your equipment rack so you will not bump it. I guarantee that the slightest bit of torsional stress will break these. You’ve been warned.
The substantial remote is volume only. You’ll either love it or hate it. I say the less remote switching going on, the better for the overall noise floor. Again, the Rhumba is damn quiet. I’d rather put my adult beverage down to manually walk over and switch sources for a few more dB of quiet. Are you with me?
Nothing but joy
I’d like to take a minute to thank our highly interactive Facebook audience for suggesting the Rhumba. I was looking for something new, something that I hadn’t heard before. In a Jeopardy type way, I put it out there – how about new preamps for $5k? A number of our readers responded how much they liked their Rhumba, feeling it was something we should investigate.
The highest compliment I can pay to this preamplifier is that since it’s been installed in my living room, I haven’t thought about it. I’ve just been playing music. I haven’t spent one second pondering whether it does or doesn’t do this or that. The Backert Labs Rhumba is one of those truly rare audio components that takes you on this kind of journey. If you investigate one for yourself, I hope you will enjoy this one as much as I have. It’s a Goldilocks preamp – it’s just right.
The Backert Labs Rhumba 1.3
$4,000
Peripherals
Analog Source AVID Volvere SP/SME309/Kiseki Purple Heart
Digital Source Aqua Hifi LaScala DAC, Bryston BDP-1 Streamer
Phonostage Pass Labs XP-27
Power Amplifier PrimaLuna EVO400
Speakers Dynaudio Confidence 20 w/6pack of REL S/510 subwoofers
Cable Cardas Clear Reflection
Wow, a Sonus faber speaker you can pick up with one hand. Cool.
One of the biggest parts of evaluating high end audio gear, is a lot of lifting. A lot of lifting really heavy stuff. It’s ok, just part of the job, but when something arrives at the door in a small box, both the FedEx guy and I both share an exhale. We’ve had the same FedEx guy for about 12 years now, and ironicalliy, he’s an audio lover. Reads us, TAS, Stereophile, HiFi +, everything – so he knows what’s in the boxes.
“Did Sonus faber forget to ship you an accessory box?” Good one. We have a nice, socially distanced conversation about Sonus faber and other things Italian (like Ducatis) and he goes away anxious to hear what we’ve all got to say about the Lumina 1s. “Can’t belive I missed this.” But we can only keep on top of so much. In case you missed it too, the new Lumina series stands for LU-luxury, MI-minimalist, and NA-natural.
Sonus faber’s vertical manufacturing integration is what makes these Italian beauties so awesome at the low price of $899 a pair. The front panels are exquisitely finished, as you would expect from Sonus faber, however the cabinet sides are wrapped in leather – a move saving countless hours of cabinet finishing. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Sonus faber makes the cabinets out of scraps left over from making the big speakers. Though the company is known for their beautiful, rounded cabinets, the more straightforward rectangular box used here is much easier to produce while keeping costs down. And keeping the Luminas made in Italy.
What makes the Lumina 1 a Sonus faber, is the attention to detail and level of finish. This is part of what sets them apart from other like-priced products. The three speakers in the Lumina range all share the same tweeter, giving the small Lumina 1 a distinct advantage. This is really a pair of $900 dollar speakers with the tweeter used in the $2,100/pair Lumina III floorstander – so the degree of smoothness and resolution that you hear in the big ones is still here. They just have less low frequency output.
Thanks to Sonus faber’s slot loaded front/bottom firing port for the 4-inch woofer, you can cheat physics a little bit and place your Lumina 1s pretty close to the wall to pick up on some room gain. I suspect a tiny mid-bass bump, much like that mega famous LS3/5A. So at the end of the day, the Lumina 1s don’t sound as bass shy as the spec sheet suggests.
The driving bass line in Saults “I Just Want to Dance” holds your attention, and when used in this manner, delivers way more bass than you might expect these tiny speakers to deliver. Sonus faber also offers their Gravis line of subwoofers, and I suspect any one of these will blend perfectly with your Lumina 1s to serve up full range performance. Though one was not available for this review, we did have the new REL TZero ($599) extending the performance of the Lumina 1s substantially. Your Sonus faber dealer will easily be able to hook you up with a Gravis sub should the need for more low frequencies be on your agenda. The modular concept certainly allows your music system to grow with your space and wallet. Should you ever move to a Lumina based theater system, you can move your Lumina 1s to the rear channels with ease, and flesh out the system with a Lumina CI center channel ($699) and some Lumina III floorstanders for the front speakers. Or some Palladio’s for in-wall use, but that’s a story for another day.
Using the Lumina 1s in a more traditional “audiophile” setup, they deliver what you expect from the pedigree: open, natural sound. In a 13 x 15 foot room, listening fairly nearfield, via the VAC i170 tube integrated and a dCS Vivaldi One as a source, these little speakers are not only stunning but sound much bigger than their small footprint suggests. I don’t say that lightly, my personal reference speakers are Sonus faber Stradivari Homage. These are Sonus fabers through and through. Not even half way through the review, the phone call was made to purchase these babies – they’re staying as a permanent reference for what can be accomplished in a compact system.
The wild saxophone runs in Ebi Soda’s “Duhrenger” float all about the listening room, and well beyond the speaker boundaries. Fun. These little speakers create a huge sound field in the 13 x 15 foot room they are being auditioned in. They still satisfy moving them to the larger 16 x 26 foot room, but you might prefer a pair of floorstanders or adding that sub in a room this size.
The luminas sound great right out of the box, though the tweeter does smooth out slightly after about 100 hours of play. All of the current small speaker protocols apply. Find high mass speaker stands, use a dab of blu-tack or similar to maximize the mechanical interface between speaker and stand, and pay close attention to setup. The Lumina 1s provide room filling sound with about 20 watts per channel (or more), yet like most mini monitors are even more enjoyable in a smaller room, in a relatively nearfield configuration.
Experimenting with stands suggests a 30” inch stand to get those tweeters up closer to ear level. Initial listening was done with 24” stands, but this produces a somewhat dull sound, no matter what we did for placement. Keep this in mind, should you be placing your Lumina 1s on a bookshelf. If you have more audiophile sensibilities, you’ll probably want them closer to ear level, if not, the tweeter does have a wide dispersion pattern, though you will not get the ultimate detail they are capable of placing them too far off the horizontal access.
Should you pair the Lumina 1s with a bookshelf style system and plan on playing records as part of your musical repertoire, make sure and find a way to either isolate the turntable from said shelf, the speakers from the shelf, or both if possible. Setting the Luminas up on a 48-inch long IKEA shelving unit, (full of books and records) with a ProJect turntable and the PrimaLuna amp without isolation made it fairly easy to excite low frequency related feedback in the system when listening to vinyl. Putting a pair of Iso-Acoustics ISO-130 stands underneath the Luminas eliminates the problem and you can find a pair right here.
Three different integrated amplifiers were used to put the Lumina 1s in perspective. Nearly all of the listening for evaluation was done with the PrimaLuna EVO 100, (30wpc – vacuum tubes) The Luxman L-550AXII (20wpc – class A solid-state), and a vintage Sansui AU 717 (85wpc-solid state).
The Lumina 1s have more than enough resolving power to reveal the characteristics of each amplifier, yet is easy to drive with whatever you have on hand. As many Sonus faber dealers are McIntosh dealers, the MC252 might be a perfect thing to combine a pair of Lumina 1s with to make a compact, premium sound match up.
Regardless of what you choose to power your Lumina 1s, these are a perfect way to start your journey with Sonus faber. As 2020 comes to a close, these are the last product to receive one of our Exceptional Value Awards.
EPILOGUE: Upon reading this review, Sonus faber’s Livio Cucuzza (the head of their design team) said, “In Italy we say Il Buon vino sta nella botte piccola.” Which means, “In the small barrel, there is good wine.” I think that says it all.
Please click here to visit the Lumina page on the Sonus faber official site…
Breathtaking as they are, not everyone has the room (or the disposable cash) for a pair of Sonus faber Aidas in their environment.
However, if you love the sound and craftsmanship of their beautiful cabinets, with their hand affixed leather front panels, consider the new Minima Amator II. Continuing in the tradition of small but powerful two-way monitors, the new Minimas are exquisite, and use a tweeter derived straight from the $130,000/pair Aida. They offer a lush, spacious sound, that brings the flagship speakers to mind instantly.
Don’t be scared, but these speakers sound flat, flat, flat, out of the box. There’s no bass to speak of and the highs are pretty constricted. Play them fairly loud for a few days, using bass heavy program material and they settle in beautifully. The self titled SBTRKT album does the job here, and after a few days, these speakers show their true voice.
A small speaker with a small woofer can only move so much air, but in our 12 x 18 foot living room, in concert with our reference VAC Sigma i170 vacuum tube integrated amplifier (85 watts per channel) the Minimas make beautiful music, with weight and character to the low end. As with the famous Sonus faber monitors from years past, they nearly defy science, producing such a big powerful sound from a tiny cabinet.
That is part of their magic – the minimal front panel of the Minima, along with that tweeter, creates a sonic perspective that is wide and deep. Their wide dispersion makes for a broad sweet spot that everyone in the room can enjoy. Of course, the best seat is still front and center, but these are easy speakers to set up and participate in.
Much like past small SF speakers, setup is the key. Wimp out on the setup and they will deliver lackluster results. One of the advantages to such a small monitor, is the tight time alignment on the drivers, rake isn’t as important as it is on something like the big, floorstanding SF speakers, but optimizing the tweeter height to your listening position is the difference between mediocrity and magic.
If you can find the patience to spend a long afternoon with the Minimas, you will be rewarded with a broad soundfield well beyond what you would expect from a small speaker. The Minimas deliver dynamics right up to the point where they can be pushed no more. Again, small speakers can only move so much air. Take care and make toe in and placement adjustments with increasingly fine increments, and you will reach the point where the speakers disappear completely. That’s when you know you have it just right. If you’re still hearing even a hint of sound coming from two boxes in the room, you still have work to do. These speakers are deceptively simple – they sound pleasant once broken in, but amazing when optimized.
Kept within their operating range, the level of refinement these speakers offer is out of this world. Tracking through Lee Morgan’s Cornbread, acoustic instruments shine, cymbals shimmer with perfection, and the piano is just right. Ditto for tracks with heavily layered vocals – your listening room opens up and engulfs you with musical details. This is the magic of a fantastic pair of monitors.
Finally, the sheer aesthetic beauty of these speakers is impossible to ignore. Much as I love em, my reference JBL L100 Classics look like a wood shop project in comparison. Just like my reference Sonus faber Stradivari’s, you just want to run the back of your hand across the cabinet and feel the ultimate, luxurious, smoothness of these speakers. The partner acceptance factor of Sonus faber is higher than any other speaker.
What’s not to love in a speaker that is beautiful to listen to and beautiful to behold? Should you need to augment the bottom end of the frequency scale, a small subwoofer will take you the rest of the way there, if you need it. We give these our highest recommendation.
MSRP: $4,000/pair
We’re going on about 10 months of this now…
As we put the finishing touches on our yearly “Awards” issue, and everyone in the audio industry is deciding which great audio products are the best of the best for whatever reason, I’d like to spotlight some genuine human kindness. I’ve had the privilege to get to know a lot of people in the high end, but I admit to a soft spot for the people at Cardas Audio, for a number of reasons.
I really appreciate the consistent positivity of Angela Cardas, and her husband Josh.
The saying goes, that actions speak louder than words, and this certainly applies here. Very early in March, the Cardases sent a bunch of goody boxes out with a big red tag (If you know Angela Cardas, you know that beyond the signature blue that covers nearly all of their cables, her favorite color is bright red) that said in big, bold letters, “Keep calm and carry on.”
Inside the box were assorted snack treats, a great bottle of gin, sourced locally, and some Cardas swag. And why not?
But the thing that I thought was the coolest, especially in a time where there was no hand sanitizer on the store shelves, and you couldn’t get a roll of toilet paper to save your life, they enclosed a small bottle of hand sanitizer that you could attach to your key ring. As someone who constantly loses their keys, wallet and phone on a regular, I’ve taken to wearing the most important keys in my life around my neck. My wife Pam jokes that I should have a “don’t feed sugar, and don’t medicate” tag on that key ring, but that’s another story for another time.
Needless to say, I’ve worn that Cardas hand sanitizer bottle around my neck every day of my life, since the day it arrived, and I can’t tell you how many times it’s been refilled. Though it’s looking a little bit worse for the wear and tear, I can’t help but think perhaps that one small act of kindness may have saved my life this year. I’m 60, had asthma as a kid, and could stand to lose 20 pounds, thanks to the lack of activity over the last year. In short, I’m probably a prime candidate for Covid complications.
As much as I’ve minimized interaction with the outside world in the last 10 months, there have been a number of times that I went to the gas station, or FedEx, or whatever, that I forgot to take a pair of latex gloves. That squirt of hand sanitizer may have been just the thing that’s kept me out of the ER.
Looking back on a recent scare this week, fearing that despite my efforts to self quarantine, I may have contracted this damn virus anyway, my test results came back negative yesterday, and I exhaled a major sigh of relief. So, for now, you’re still stuck with me.
So, I say to all of our readers, and friends in this industry, this is a great time to reflect on everyone that’s gone just a little bit out of their way to make sure we’re all still standing. More than ever, I really look forward to when we can all hang out in person, at a show or a dealer event, have a beer and a few good laughs. Who knows? Maybe we won’t even take some of the arguments so seriously…
Again a big thanks to Angela Cardas for the thoughtful gift.
Note I used the word “buy.”
You might think that even though I do this every day, I’m over the thrill of finding great hifi. Nothing could be further than the truth. In the last week, I’ve put down a deposit on my own pair of Dirty Weekend speakers from ZU Audio, purchased the review pair of Lumina 1 speakers from Sonus faber, (you can read the full review here) and bought a vintage Sansui AU-717 integrated amp.
This is still fun, and it’s still exciting to not only find bargains in high end audio, but to re-discover classic pieces from your history that you miss. (and possibly regret selling)
I’m truly looking forward to the last few weeks of this year. We’ve got issue 105 with awards coming up, and quite a few reviews that we’ve just finished that need to be posted on the TONE website. Issue 106 is already in progress for a Feb.1 launch, and we’ve got our heads down on a new, optimized for mobile, version of TONE.
Crazy as 2020 has been, we are looking forward to the months to come, and hope that maybe by summer or fall, we’ll get to see some of you in person again.
Stay safe, and happy holidays to you and yours.
If you’ve experienced Focals’ Grande Utopia Ems in a large room, set up to perfection, it’s easy to see why many consider them one of the (if not the) world’s finest loudspeakers.
But like a hyper sports car, they need a lot of space to give their all. And if you’ve ever heard the Grande’s and not been wowed, they were either set up poorly or in too small of a room. Their well over $200k/pair price and size requirements limit them to a small audience.
The $100,000 less a pair of Stellas cost should be enough to buy a system to go with. Still not for the less than well funded, but the difference between a $500k or closer to $1M system is often a very different customer, with other requirements. As someone once told me, “the difference between me, and my friends with big, big money is the jet. I fly first class, they have their own plane. We stay in the same five-star hotels and golf at Pebble, but they have the plane. Me, I walk to work, but I get it.
So, if you’re on board, and shopping speakers in this price range, there are some exciting choices. Where 10 or 15 years ago, this would be the stratosphere, it is now first class. (at least in terms of price) I submit that those having a somewhat smaller listening environment can achieve nearly the same result with the Stellas. However, the Stellas still need a fair amount of room to sing. Much like the MartinLogan Neoliths, we reviewed a few years back and the Sonus faber Aida, these speakers all taxed the limits of my listening room, which is only 16 x 24 feet. To be fair to Focal, I would suggest that this is the smallest room to achieve greatness with these speakers.
Any less listening space and you would probably be better served with the next speaker down the range, the Maestro Utopia. When we had the Maestros here, they were much easier to optimize to our room, but the Maestro lacks the field coil woofer and the wide range of adjustments making fine-tuning them to the ultimate degree that the Stella possesses. Choices can be tough.
The Stella does share the same field coil technology as the Grande, though in this speaker, the woofer is a 13-inch unit, instead of the 16-inch one in the Grande. Either way, the Stella still goes down to 22 Hz, so there really is no need for a subwoofer. This is a true full range speaker. Long term TONE readers know we like the low frequencies, and whether listening to a full orchestra, or the heaviest beats, the Stellas can rattle your listening room.
You will need Jedi-like patience
First, make sure and have help unboxing your Stellas. They weigh just a bit over 600 pounds each in their sturdy crates, and 374 pounds each, unboxed. Removing them is very straightforward, and in this case, Focal is at the top of their class compared to a few other large speakers we’ve used. Once unboxed, they are temporarily mounted on wheels, so once your assistants have them on the listening floor, the rest of the process is a breeze. Usually, the long wall in our main listening room is the go-to position, but in this case, placing the Stellas on the short wall, with the tweeters about five feet out from the rear wall proves perfect. There are two sets of adjustments for the low frequencies – the first tips up the bass response at about 50 Hz, in increments from a flat position, and the second increases or decreases the output of the woofer. A single set of jumpers increases midrange level and there are two settings for the tweeters, also adjustable via beefy jumpers, with a chart on the back of the Stellas, accessed by clicking the rear panel behind the tweeter.
This degree of adjustment will either make you super happy or drive you to insanity. We felt it makes a speaker this good, so much easier to implement, and also is part of what makes the Stellas unique in their own right. Focal claims 243 unique adjustments. I probably tried 30 before I got to a level of extreme happiness.
But don’t get too crazy with adjustments just yet. Here’s the only bit of bad news concerning these speakers – they take a long time to break in all the way. Some say it’s close to 1000 hours. They sound flat, forward, and constricted out of the crates, but don’t despair. They start to open up between 100 and 200 hours, really coming into their own at about 400, with marginal improvements in clarity and smoothness going forward. As I recall our reference Sopra no.3s took a few hundred hours to sound their best too. Some of this is the woofer surround, some the beryllium tweeter, and the rest the electronics in the woofer power supply and crossover.
Here’s another Stella tip to save you major disappointment. If you’ve never owned a Focal speaker, their factory in France takes great care to put a tightly adhering, clear plastic wrap on the speakers, so they survive the boat ride. However, in our case, the friendly folks at Focal wrapped over the midrange drivers, so there was almost no output. Everyone was sitting around after unpacking going “damn these speakers have no midrange to speak of,” but it was our fault for not double-checking. Remove the black grills and make sure the drivers are uncovered!! Plan on it taking about a months’ worth of solid listening until your Stellas sound as they should, don’t give up on them!
Incredibly easy to drive
Thanks to the field coil woofer and the rest of the tech inside the Stellas, they have a sensitivity rating of 94db. This sounds good on paper, but some efficient speakers have a lot of crossover network loss, and still need a massive amplifier to really make a lot of sound. Even the 4 watt per channel Whammerdyne 2A3 delivered heavenly results with the Stellas, though that’s probably not quite enough juice in a large room.
Realistically, 30 watts per channel will get the job done, and the emphasis should be on quality here. Working with the Pass XA30.8 (30wpc), our Nagra 300B (25wpc), the VAC Sigma 170i(80wpc) and the new Conrad-Johnson ART 27 (36wpc) all were brilliant choices. For those having more power on tap, you will get even more dynamic swing. Cycling through the Pass XA200.8s, a pair of Nagra Classic Monoblocks, the Audio Research 160Ms and the latest EVO400 monoblocks from PrimaLuna were like going from a 600cc motorcycle to a 1000cc bike, and thanks to the incredibly high resolution that the Stellas offer, each of the dozen amplifiers we auditioned the Stellas with offered a completely different listening experience. So there is plenty of fine-tuning to be done there as well.
But the key to Stella’s superiority is break in and setup. Once you have a rough set performed, plan on spending the better part of a day really fine-tuning your Stellas for best results. As I’ve said many times before, it’s like correctly optimizing VTA on a premium phono cartridge. When you get it just right, these big speakers disappear into your listening space like a pair of LS3/5as – it’s an experience to behold. If they sound harsh or bright, your work is not complete. Pay particularly close attention to the rake angle of these, once you’ve optimized position for the best balance of bass extension and lack of mid-bass bloat. Then make small (I mean tiny) changes on the rake angle to get the tweeter position just right. Consider those controls on the back as your last resort. I didn’t need them in my main listening room, but they were a major blessing in my 14 x 18-foot living room.
Ok let’s go
As your Stellas break-in, you’ll be starting to really get a feel for what they can do. Great as the Sopras are, in comparison, they lack the degree of resolution and clarity that the Stellas offer. Going back and forth between the Stellas, Sopra 3s, and Kanta 3s, the lineage is clear – you would never mistake the other two speakers for anything but Focal, but the sheer ability to move air and swing is what makes the Stellas worth their considerably higher price tag. You just don’t get this in a 20-50k speaker. Think those audiophile clichés of “lifting the veil,” “cleaning the window,” that kind of thing.
If you like the sheer speed of electrostatic speakers, Focal’s beryllium tweeter will not disappoint you. These speakers paint a big canvas, and while I always joke that you need big speakers to make big sound, you just don’t get this level of reach out and touch it with a pair of mini-monitors. Listening to Alan Taylor’s version of “The Tennessee Waltz,” and the banter of the musicians in the studio is scarily lifelike, reproducing every bit of nuance, that you’d expect from a minimalist singer/songwriter with an acoustic guitar in a small room. It doesn’t feel like an excellent recreation, it feels like you’re sitting on a stool in the studio, immersed in the performance. When using the big Pass monoblocks, AC/DCs “For Those About to Rock” can be played loud enough without distortion, compression, breakup, or collapse in the soundstage to approach the sheer sonic velocity of a live performance. This is where the 94db/1-watt sensitivity really comes in handy.
Small, single driver, high sensitivity speakers are entertaining, but they don’t play big music in a big way. And this is really the value proposition of the Stellas – they can render everything from the most intimate vocal performance to arena rock. All the while keeping it in perfect scale and perspective. Few speakers can do this, yet the Stellas do it without effort.
An incredible destination, indeed
We could go on and on about all the tech that goes into the Stellas, but you can read about that here…
Focal goes into great depth about their current beryllium tweeter, the latest driver suspension, the EM woofer and their new power flower midrange drivers. The triumph is that it all works well and works together perfectly.
Having visited the Focal factory, and watching the incredibly skilled people that work there build these speakers is a true experience. Everything in the Stellas is designed and built from the ground up. All the drivers, the crossover networks, and the cabinets. I’ve mentioned this in past Focal reviews, but what I found most impressive about the Focal factory is the way they integrate modern and legacy techniques in building their speakers. In one room, you observe someone in a cleanroom wearing a hazmat suit stamping tweeter domes, yet in another, someone is sanding a coat of the cabinet’s final finish manually, stopping to feel the corners with a bare hand. All of this takes time, patience, and skill. While some will obviously balk at the price of the Stellas, you could pay this kind of money for a timepiece. The Stellas (and the Grandes) are really bespoke loudspeakers, and to me, musical works of art. I can’t help but comparing the Stellas to a fine automobile again, because when you drive top range sports cars, Ferrari does it one way, Aston Martin another, and Porsche still another. All deliver frighteningly good performance, yet you will respond to one of the three more than another. Mega speakers are the same way.
Yet putting it all in perspective, and that’s kind of a wacky thing for speakers that cost a lot more than most cars, the Focal Stella EMs deliver amazing performance. Take your breath away performance.
If you happen to be a dog person and you’ve ever owned or spent time with a Fox Terrier, you know where I’m going with this.
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If you aren’t, Fox Terriers are spunky yet robust little dogs that pack the maximum amount of dog fun into a compact package. Just when you thought I’d be making a car reference, I fooled you. Ha! Come on, how can you resist either of these cuties?
Absolute is an excellent name for this headphone amplifier because it does absolutely everything. If at first blush, you find the shape unconventional, it’s meant to be a headphone stand too! How cool is that? (And pretty thoughtful too.) At $4,495, the Absolute is priced on the low end of premium headphone amplifiers. Seriously, this one is all you need, with outputs for standard ¼” plugs and balanced, the Absolute powers anything you can connect up. Even better, the Absolute can be used as a two-channel linestage, with two line-level inputs, which should be enough for nearly anyone with a DAC and a phonostage to build a mega two-channel system around. Grab a Manley power amp, your favorite speakers, and rock on.
So, you’re either getting an awesome – o headphone stage with a free preamp, or vice versa. The Absolute is worth the asking price as either, offering such high performance and flexibility that I’d suggest buying it as a preamplifier, even if you don’t listen to headphones at all. Besides, you know, once you have the capability, headphone curiosity will get the better of you.
Options, options, options!
Fox Terriers like to go for walks, chase balls, jump around, do whatever looks like fun. They aren’t one-trick dogs, and neither is the Absolute. The level of adjustability is incredible, and this is what makes the Absolute so easy to enjoy whatever headphones you might be using. Those with diverse headphone collections will really appreciate adjustments for feedback, impedance, and tone controls. Before you get all grouchy about tone controls, remember – Manley makes some of the finest studio equalizers in the business, and their expertise is in full effect here.
Considering how much variation there is with all the different phones, you’re going to love the tone controls, once you take them for a drive. The Grado P-2000s are a little bright for me, and the original Audeze LCD-2s benefit from goosing the bottom ever so slightly. Everyone else, you’re out of luck, but with the Absolute, you’ve got a much bigger headphone sandbox to play in.
Honestly, EveAnna Manley does a way better job at explaining all the technical aspects of the Absolute, right here on the Manley website:
https://www.manley.com/hifi/mabhpa
This where all the fine print lurks fully describing this engineering masterpiece to the molecular level. And I’ll be darned if that fox terrier EveAnna Manley doesn’t have a couple of great words in the copy that I needed to drag out my dictionary for! Arf!
But seriously, this is no me-too headphone amplifier. Even if you don’t read all the technical stuff that went into this product (and you should), you merely need to touch it. It feels like a ten thousand dollar piece. A ten thousand dollar masterpiece. In silver, copper, and black, with hand-rubbed burl wood accents. It appeals to the qualityphile as well as the audiophile, and we haven’t even started listening yet.
The minute you flip the switch, the cool factor goes through the roof when the tubes come to life. Again, common-sense rules the day with a tube complement (2-12AX7s and 4 6BQ5s) that won’t break the bank when it’s time to retube. Of course, you can roll tubes to your heart’s content, but this time, I just sat back and enjoyed the Absolute with the factory tubes.
And more options
If the OCD baiting options of tube rolling don’t get you, the ability to twiddle the tone controls, change output loading for low, medium, or high Z headphones, and choose single-ended or push-pull class A operation will. Fortunately, with headphones, you don’t have to get up, mosey to the preamp, flip switches and head back to your listening chair to hear the result. I’m guessing that fully exploring the settings the Absolute has to offer will result in a severe loss of productivity on more than one occasion.
The majority of my listening sessions were with the Focal Utopias, an old-school pair of original Audeze LCD-2s, and the current Diana Phi’s. But I’ll come clean – I really love the slightly warm, slightly vintage yet up to date sound of Manley electronics. So does David Crosby. And a gaggle of engineers around the world. There’s a natural, organic feel to the Absolute that I can listen to headphones nearly all day. And I’m not a headphone guy. That’s why I’m making the Manley Absolute my new reference.
Sonic splendor
Rather than go on and on, listing tracks, you neither know nor like, we’ll leave it at this: as mentioned above, the overall balance of the Absolute is one of slight warmth, yet with tons of resolution. It’s a much harder trick to get headphones to disappear on your head than speakers in a room, yet this is the one thing the Absolute does better than nearly every headphone amplifier I’ve had the chance to audition. And that’s the highest compliment I can pay it.
Be careful, you’ll forget you have headphones on and pull your Absolute out of the rack! I’m not kidding. Even my old Koss Pro-4aas that I’ve had since high school worked great with the Absolute, delivering a better performance than a tattered pair of 45-year-old headphones should. Yep, I’m an old dog.
Speaking of speakers
While the Absolute is worth every penny Manley Labs asks for it, it’s the bargain of the year if you use it as a line preamplifier for a two-channel system. This is precisely what I did next, putting it in my living room system, which at the time was sporting a $140,000 pair of Focal Stella Utopias, dCS Bartok DAC, and a PrimaLuna EVO400 power amplifier. Wowowowow.
The Focals, even after over 1000 hours of break-in, are a bit forward in too small of a listening room. Yet with the helpful adjustments that Focal provides, those tone controls on the Absolute allowed me to dial it all in to perfection. Should you use your Absolute in this context, you’ll love the remote that is included. When unboxing the Absolute, before I realized you could use it as a preamplifier, I had a big question mark floating over my head. Like that odd clue that you get reading a Stephen King novel that doesn’t make sense till the end of the book, it all makes sense. And if you don’t use it as a preamp, you can certainly put it to use messing with whoever is using your Absolute.
I told you Fox Terriers were mischievous.
Having lived with a number of Focal speakers over the last five years, the family resemblance between the Utopia headphones and their floorstanding speakers is unmistakable.
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At $3,995, these are top tier premium phones to be sure. Yet unlike some of the other big guns, the Utopias sound incredibly good merely plugged in to my first gen Astell & Kern player or even the Dell desktop that I use to control ROON in my main system. Ditto for the iPad, so these are not like a number of other premium phones that absolutely require a major headphone amplifier to deliver great sound.
Past experience with Focal speakers (and their beryllium tweeters) shows they need a while to break in properly, sounding slightly edgy out of the box. The Utopia headphones are similar, so they stayed plugged into the Dell with music on repeat for a solid week before beginning serious listening. I suggest you do the same, or the brittle sound you start with may scare you off.
Plugging in to a number of different headphone amplifiers, Kevin Deal from Upscale Audio suggests the Feliks Audio Elise. At only $1,649, this makes for an incredible combination, where my Pass HPA-1 is still a touch forward for my personal taste. The Elise transforms the Utopias, mellowing them out that last bit. Passing from my desk to the living room where a pair of Focal Kanta no.3s are playing (via an all tube VAC i170) the sonic signature is wonderfully similar. We’ll have a full report on the Elise very soon.
The Utopia uses a single, full-range beryllium driver, and I firmly believe that this lack of crossover is a big part of the coherent, open sound these phones deliver. Thanks to the low mass of this driver, the Utopias sound remarkably similar to my favorite planar phones.
No matter what kind of music you gravitate towards, the seamless quality of the Utopias will bring it out. Tracking through a long playlist of Blue Note classics shows off how well these phones capture the fine details of acoustic instruments. Horns and piano are full of texture, and thanks to the ultra dynamic nature of the Utopia driver, drums take on a new level of realism, capturing the initial strike of the drum heads with amazing precision.
Listening to Frank Zappa’s Freak Out! reveals what makes the Utopias worth the price. Their ability to disentangle complex recordings is fantastic. Anyone who happens to be a student of Zappa knows how much he packs into any tune. The massive bass riff in the opening of “Who Are The Brain Police?” is kept in balance with all the tinkly percussion bits, surrounded by layer upon layer of vocals – with Zappa staying front, center, right inside your brain as you listen.
The Utopias do and equally enticing job with sparse musical selections. Moving all the way through Twin Peaks (Music From the Limited Event) I’m stopped dead in my tracks on Sharon Van Etten’s “Tarifa.” If you aren’t/weren’t a Twin Peaks fan, at the end of the new episodes (produced around 2017) there is a different band playing in the bar. David Lynch had an incredible sensitivity for the music featured in the original series, and continues this trend here. It’s worth a spin on your favorite streaming service, you might find a few good test tracks!
As you take the Utopias out of their supplied carrying case, you’ll quickly notice the high level of fit and finish these headphones offer – just like a pair of Grande Utopia Ems. Everything is machined to a standard that you might expect from an F1 car or fine wristwatch. With Focal, engineering and craftsmanship always serves the art. Beautiful to behold, yes. But remarkable to listen to.
Well worth the price asked, these belong at the top of the premium headphone mountain.
-By Paul DeMara
The 1990s were an interesting time for music formats. CD’s were hot, vinyl was dead, and cassette tapes were the primary way people listened to their tunes while driving.
Fast forward to 2020, and cassettes are cool again. When I visit many of the local music stores in my area, cassettes are proudly displayed next to vinyl and CDs. Type the words “Cassette Decks Vintage” on Facebook, and there are thousands of enthusiasts sharing their stories and photos.
For the passionate audiophile, cassettes may seem like a sub-standard analog format versus reel to reel or vinyl. However, cassettes offer something that vinyl doesn’t – the ability to create analog mix tapes of your favorite tunes. It’s easy to spend a good 3 or 4 hours making a 90-minute mix tape while fussing over the song selection and recording levels. What do you get for this investment in time? Making a mix tape brings me closer to the music in a way that a Spotify playlist does not.
Compromises
A good friend of mine who designs audio gear is quick to remind me, “Everything is a compromise.” He was absolutely right. Cassettes are a compromise from reel to reel, but going down the R2R path to make analog mix tapes requires a significantly more substantial investment in hardware and software. Perfection in audio doesn’t exist, but a premium deck with premium tape, crafted with care, offers a positive, emotional listening experience. (Interestingly, while writing this article I happen to be listening to a 1997 pre-recorded cassette, Diana Krall – Love Scenes)
Audiophiles, by nature, are often looking for “the best of the best.” The Nakamichi Dragon is a grail to many, and it’s certainly a fantastic deck, but there are other options. I submit the Luxman K-05 is one such option. You don’t get auto-reverse, automatic azimuth adjustment, and several other features with the K-05. What you do get is superbly engineered Luxman electronics, including their proprietary “duo-beta” feedback bass extension technology. Their cast metal tape transport with dual capstans and dual bearings, crystal-controlled user variable transport motor speed control, accurate analog VU meters, automatic electronic tape bias equalizer with manual adjustment, and most importantly, micro aligned tape heads all add up to an industry-leading upper frequency response. Some say the equal or superior to the mighty Dragon.??My K-05
Tape heads naturally magnetize during playback inhibiting treble response, requiring regular tape head demagnetizing using a unique tool. The Luxman engineers took care of this issue, and it is built-in on the K-05, something I didn’t notice until after I purchased mine. Every time you power up the K-05, there’s a few second delay while an A/C signal is sent to the heads to demagnetize them. All you need to do is clean the heads every 10 hours or so.
Specs don’t reveal the “tone” of a piece of audio gear, but they can offer insight into how much effort went into the engineering of a product. Luxman, as they do with all their products, chose to focus on “technical excellence” with the K-05. The better specs that are a result of tighter quality control and construction tend to cost the manufacturer more money to build. And again, everything in engineering is a compromise. For reference, the K-05 has an extended frequency response of 15 Hz to 27,000 Hz (metal tape), with a wow and flutter of 0.022% along with signal to noise ratio of 60 dB with the Dolby noise reduction switched off. The THD is 0.5%. Getting to those specs cost time and money for Luxman. ??Sonics and use
I’m a low to medium volume listener, and at low to medium levels (for me, 90db and under), I’m hard-pressed to hear a difference between source material and something recorded with a good chrome or metal tape. This is easily confirmed using headphones with the source/tape button while using an audiophile-grade source like MoFi vinyl on my turntable. It’s important to note that you can tweak the auto-bias settings with the manual bias control to achieve your version of perfection. Keep in mind less bias (left of center) offers enhanced treble but weaker bass, more bias (right of center) improves bass but decreases treble.
The biggest “gotcha” with cassettes is they tend to have noticeable hiss at higher volume levels. (Hiss effectively defines the noise floor) To minimize hiss, Dolby B and C are available on the K-05. I’m not a big fan of Dolby noise reduction, but the Luxman engineers did it right with the K-05; when you engage Dolby B or C, there is no treble roll-off. This is a common problem with other decks, particularly with Dolby pre-recorded tapes, because not all decks are calibrated accurately. As a result, I tend to listen to pre-recorded cassettes with the Dolby B turned off. The sonic signature and pace of my favorite tracks still comes through to keep my foot tapping.
The K-05 captures more than enough musical nuance to provide serious emotional involvement, where the compromises made with other cassette decks often do not. My background in electronics sends me to the circuit design first. Luxman uses a sophisticated multi transistor tape head amp in this deck where many other manufacturers get by with a simple 2 or 3 transistor design. This circuit offers enhanced dynamic range as well as a lower noise floor along with low-frequency waveform phase integrity. This is the technical stuff that translates to great sound.
Thoughts on the user interface
As shown in the pictures, the Luxman K-05 is champagne gold with black letters, which for my old eyes, is far easier to read than white letters on a black background. The big, well-lit analog VU meters remind me of an earlier time. The tape transport and automatic bias controls are touch buttons. Slider controls are in place for left, and right recording levels as well as a master control for smooth fade in / fade-outs when making recordings, flanked by a row of metal knobs below the record level controls allows for various record/playback adjustments. The transport responds quickly and quietly to any request. Two buttons I regularly use are the “auto rewind” & “auto-repeat” buttons. If you don’t feel like getting up to turn over the tape, engaging these buttons cause the deck to reverse at the end of a tape and then play from the beginning.
The variable speed control is another rare feature. Not every cassette out there is aligned to the same speed, and this control allows you to fine-tune pitch. Again, these are the kind of engineering details you generally won’t find on other decks. Finally, the tape head has a special narrow width gap that holds the little pad on the cassette tape behind the tape away from the tape head. This removes some of the tape head scratching that can occur from pad pressure. The dual capstans rotate at slightly different speeds to create the required tension on the tape head, as it is on pro-grade reel to reel decks.
Just as specs don’t tell you much about tone, they don’t tell you anything about the mechanical feel of a component, you can only get this from hands-on experience. The K-05 weighs almost 25 pounds, and all of the controls have a solid, weighty, positive feel. Luxman even included two extra lamps in the box for each meter. As with today’s Luxman components, the K-05 feels like a luxury item that has been meticulously cared for during assembly.
One thing that’s hard to quantify is the “feel” of a piece of audio gear. The K-05 weighs in at 11.5 Kg or ~25 lbs. and pressing the controls or adjusting levels has a smooth solid feel. The Luxman engineers paid close attention to how the analog meters look and included 2 lamps for each meter. (I can imagine everyone now looking at their cassette decks to check how many lamps were included) The deck also sports metal knobs and a 3D look using different materials. “Solid” is probably the most straightforward description.
To conclude, the K-05 is one amazing piece of early 80’s engineering, produced from 1983 to 1985. 35+ years later, this deck still gets kudos from cassette enthusiasts. It doesn’t have the notoriety of the Nakamichi Dragon, but that’s the point. This is a deck that cassette connoisseurs lust after and never sell. The challenge is finding one – clean ones are fetching upwards of $4,000 these days.
Alexander Vitus-Mogensen (son of Hans-Ole Vitus) has just introduced his latest creation from Alluxity – the Power Two.
Slightly lower in cost, and power, at $7,800 (vs. $10,600) from the Power One, the 200 watt per channel power amplifier (400w/channel into 4 ohms) makes for an attractive and powerful match to their Pre One or Pre Two preamplifiers. The Alluxity product all shares a high performance, yet slim, understated Scandinavian look. They are available in black, white, silver, and titanium orange, with custom colors available on request and at higher cost.
You can find out more at www.alluxity.com,
or
Their US Distributor, Monarch Systems LTD.
www.monarch-systems.com
Damn, the Bee Gees never sounded this good. If you don’t like reading cable reviews, and you have a Pass Labs XS component (or a few) just buy the Tubulus Argentus XS Umbilical Cables for your system right now. Then come on back to the review after you’ve installed them and see if you agree with us.
In a high-performance audio system, everything matters. And everything has the potential for change, sometimes good, sometimes not. I have a bias against cable and cable reviews. I have found a few things that work well in my three systems and I use them with good result. (Cardas, Nordost and Tellurium Q) I’d rather go get a COVID test than write a cable review, because it’s so tough to quantify, and it seems to make way more people mad than it does happy. So you know we aren’t a cable of the month magazine.
Ok, deep cleansing breath.
Tubulus makes a wide range of cable, but the ones that really struck my fancy are their XS Umbilical cables that go between Pass Labs XS series components. (they also make umbilical cables for the XP series) While I no longer have the XS300 monos in my reference system, I do use the XS Pre and XS Phono, so I’m going to have to get staffer Lawrence Devoe to try a pair in his XS150 monos. I’m going to stick my neck out and be surprised if he isn’t super impressed.
However, in the case of the Argentus umbilical, this has been the easiest cable review I’ve ever done. The XS Pre and XS Phono are never powered down, so it was easy to shut one power supply off, do a quick cable swap and be back up and running. I seriously doubt we lost much thermal stability from being powered down for 90 seconds.
Quiet drama
While some of the online cognoscenti make outrageous claims for and against various cables, some of which cost as much as a nice pre-owned BMW M4, the Tubulus umbilicals offer out of this world value. At about $800 USD, in the context of a $38,000 preamplifier, or a $45,000 phonostage, this is a 2-3% upcharge. Normally I would say the cost is noise, but in this case, it’s the absence of noise that is so exiting.
As the quality meter moved an equal amount with both the XS Phono and the XS Pre, my comments will be global, applying to both boxes. Seriously, if you have both, you need both. If you had the $83,000 bucks to buy these two boxes, I know you’ve got another $1,600 in the cookie jar somewhere.
Both of these components are dead quiet as they come from Pass Labs, and the supplied umbilicals are of high quality. Just as an extremely high-performance sports car delivers a performance envelope that makes it easy to tell the difference between fine suspension settings or tire changes, the Pass XS components provide a similar experiences. Having lived with the XS Phono and XS Pre for a number of years now, I’m comfortable with these two pieces.
No tonal change
I don’t look at premium audio cable as a way to fine tune or voice an audio system. I view cable in a context of revealing more music or less, without affecting top to bottom tonal balance.
The Tubulus cables do not change the tonal balance in my system at all, and I like that. What they do accomplish is to lower the noise floor further and increase resolution. As my XA200.8 power amplifiers are each on dedicated 20 amp circuits, the XS Pre and dCS Vivaldi on their own 15 amp circuit and the XS Phono on another, power isn’t an issue.
Going through about a 30 track playlist of extremely familiar cuts, the “a-ha” moment achieved at power up was merely confirmed after extended listening. Also, the Tubulus cables don’t need much break in. They sounded excellent at plug in, and slightly smoother after a few days.
We probably don’t listen to the same music, so reach for something you know well, that is somewhat layered and densely packed. For me, it’s Crowded House, Utopia, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Crash Test Dummies. Listen closely to a few tracks that have a fairly strong lead vocal, with a subdued backup vocal, like Aimee Mann’s “High On Sunday 51,” or Crash Test Dummies, “Superman’s Song.” Notice how that lurking, distant vocal now has a much clearer, much more defined space. Ditto for any Crosby, Stills, Nash (and Young or not) tune. They have such equally powerful voices, it’s easy for their music to sometimes come across as one big overdub. Yet with the Tubulus cables in place, the distinctiveness of each of these singers is clearer than it’s ever been – and I’ve been listening to “Helplessly Hoping” for almost 50 years. You get the picture.
Gradation
A hallmark of a high-performance audio system is the way loud sounds smoothly and gently transition to quiet ones, and then off to nothing. This is another area I heard dramatic improvement with the Tubulus cables, digital playback sounds more like analog in this context. Everything auditioned has more texture, with more space between the notes than before. It certainly feels like a much bigger (i.e. much more expensive) change than an $1,250 pair of cables.
As the audiophile cliché goes, you can’t un-hear it. Thanks to everything being a little quieter, it always feels like the volume control has been increased by a click or two with the Tubulus cables installed. Remember, volume is about the delta between loud and quiet, so you can either make things louder or quieter to feel different.
Infinity plus one
No matter how good you think your system is, at a certain point, you might ponder if it can be improved. If you’ve built a system around Pass XS components (or at least one of them) you’re a pretty discerning music lover, and the rest of the system is equally excellent.
But…if you’re at 11 and you’ve wanted to go to 12 without upsetting the delicate balance you’ve spent a lot of time getting right, consider the Tubulus umbilicals. I am definitely buying the review pair, and ordering another pair for the XS Phono. That being said, I’m happy to award the Tubulus XS umbilical one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2020. And if you’ve read this to the end, thank you for indulging me.
Additional Listening
As I no longer have the Pass XS, two box monoblocks, contributor Lawrence Devoe acquired a pair of these to give us his impression of how well they perform in this capacity, with his Pass XS150 mono blocks.
As a retired obstetrician I am well aware of how important umbilical cords are for fetal development and survival. Well, it seems that umbilical cords or, in this case, umbilical cables are important for audio components that use this method of linking their power supplies to their control centers. The Pass Labs XS series has taken this approach for their top-of-the-line two-box preamplifiers and monobloc amplifiers. Power supplies ultimately determine the stability of the current governing the signal that goes from an audio component to its intended destination. It follows that the better the power supply, the better the signal generated and the better the sound.
When Pass Labs design-meister Wayne Colburn went all out for the XS series he endowed them with umbilical cables featuring Neutrik PowerCon couplers that can handle high current capacity. While the Pass Labs stock pair of umbilical cables are mighty good, the Tubulus umbilical cables specifically for the Pass XS series components take things a step further, using silver conductors treated with a “special thermo-process” and air insulation for all of their cables. While I can understand the theoretical advantages of this design for audio signal cables, I was skeptical this would benefit the already top-notch connection between power supplies and control chassis on the XS 150 monoblocs.
After replacing the stock umbilical cables with the Tubulus cables between the power supply and control chassis of my amplifiers, extensive listening sessions followed. Any doubts about the sonic advantages afforded by these cables were quickly and completely dispelled. As good as the XS 150s sounded with the Pass Labs stock cables, the Tubulus cables substantially improve the sound of my system that also featuring XS line and phono stages.
Soundstages of good recordings like Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” from the 25th Anniversary Graceland CD exploded out of my MartinLogan CLXs going well beyond the speakers in both depth and width. Details of individual instruments—guitar, bass, pump organ and slide guitar—in Norah Jones’s “Lonestar” from her Come Away with Me CD were revealed as I had never heard them before, and I have used this track numerous times in equipment reviews. Bass, the foundation that supports the rest of the sound spectrum, was full and well defined in cuts like “So and So” on Holly Cole’s Don’t Smoke in Bed LP. Voice reproduction, my ultimate criterion for judging playback equipment, was completely natural in Jacintha’s rendition of the Karen Carpenter classic “A Song for You” on the CD A Song for You Karen. The singer’s breathing was palpable as were the studio echoes in between her breaths.
What these air-insulated silver conductor umbilical cables did to virtually every recording that I played was to liberate it from the physical confines of my speakers and project holographic images of voices and instruments in my listening room. As a pair of Pass Labs XS 150 amplifiers retails for $65,000 and a pair of one-meter cables sell for $1249, this company should really rename its umbilical cable line Tubulus Miraculous!! Highest recommendation.
We’ve just received news and photos of the latest preamplifiers from borg.audio, the Dune and the Warp.
Final pricing has not been announced yet, but these units look to be made with incredible attention to detail inside and out. Both feature built in DAC’s based around the SABRE ES9038PRO chips. The borg preamplifiers also feature high quality ADC (analog to digital conversion) on board that can record from analog or digital sources, along with auto track start and end detection, and a ROON ready streamer (with a one year subscription included). An additional homage to analog is present with the front panel level meters, via an AMEOLED display.
The Warp, is essentially a Dune that features their unique control circuitry. We look forward to sampling at least one of these some time next year.
Rotel is a company that’s gone about their business making high performance gear that is reasonably priced, in a relatively understated way. On one level, Rotel products have always been somewhat of a gateway product for some, and a great destination for others.
If you’ve started your hifi journey with NAD, Cambridge, or Music Hall, (or maybe something else along those lines) and would like to step up a few notches, but perhaps not ready to commit to vacuum tubes – Rotel is always a solid choice.
The launch of their new Michi line is something completely different. With the P5 preamplifier at $4,000 and the S5 stereo power amplifier at $7,000 (and there are a pair of monoblocks at $7k each, if you just have to have more power), this pair offers a serious insight into mega high end sound at an approachable price indeed.
Let’s begin at the source
Unboxing the P5 preamp hints at what to expect. It’s heavy. 50 pounds heavy. Power amplifier heavy. Peeking at the internal view on the Rotel website confirms this is not just some fancy casework filled with air. The massive power supply capacitors are flanked by a fully populated circuit board, (with a lot of discrete components) and all the switching relays at the back of the chassis, to minimize noise. It’s as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside.
Speaking of sources, the P5 is a true control center in every sense of the word. It features a DAC with the ability to decode DSD, MQA, and PCM files up to 32/384, so it is more than reasonably future proof. While there is no balanced XLR digital in, there are three optical and three RCA S/Pdif inputs as well as an Ethernet port and a USB input. As a bonus, it also features an aptX/Bluetooth input, so you can stream from your mobile device. (and so can your guests)
Vinyl enthusiasts will appreciate the option of MM or MC cartridge compatibility, selectable from the front panel, though there is only one phono input around back. As versatile as the P5 is, it’s a shame that Rotel did not provide separate MM and MC inputs. Not a deal breaker.
With two more balanced XLR inputs and four more RCA inputs, even those of you with an FM tuner, and a couple of tape decks won’t run out of input jacks. Rotel also includes two pairs of balanced XLR outputs, three RCA outputs and a pair of mono subwoofer outputs. In short, they’ve got you covered.
Around front, it’s clean, crisp and concise. The front panel display is an off white that goes easy on the eyes and is very easy to read. Both controls (selector on left, and volume on right) turn smoothly should you feel the need to engage manually, but the multi-function remote is the way to roll, especially if you have a lot of sources plugged in. Bonus points – there’s a headphone jack just below the volume control, and it worked well with everything we had on hand, from original Koss Pro –AAAs to the latest from Focal. The Utopia phones cost more than the P5, yet this preamplifier does a great job with personal listening duties. The sweet spot here is probably phones in the $200 – $1,000 range, which covers a lot of ground.
Spinning a few records
Another slightly anomalous behavior is the MC phono input, with loading fixed at 100 ohms. We can’t call the engineers at Rotel bad Smurfs, as a few other manufacturers (Luxman comes to mind) does this as well. And there are a number of great MC cartridges you can work with, so this isn’t the end of the world. We did all of our analog listening with the Technics SL-1200GAE and a Denon DL-103r – a nearly perfect combination. However, this is a preamplifier that you will chose a cartridge for, because variable loading is not an option.
That said, working within given parameters, the Technics/Denon combination is a superb match for the P5. While specs don’t tell the whole story, the phono stage is claimed to have a S/N ratio of 80dB, and suffice to say, it is quiet. Putting the P5 to the immediate test and breaking out the classical LPs shows off just how quiet this combination is.
Putting this in context, think of the P5 as a $2,000 linestage, a $1,000 DAC, and a $1,000 phonostage, with a bonus headphone amp thrown in. Not to mention, there are three three extra power cords and sets of interconnects you don’t have to buy. And the satisfaction of knowing it all works together perfectly. That’s value. Comparing the on board phono in the P5 to anything we’ve listened to in the last few years, it’s safe to say it’s as good or better than any outboard phono stage in the $600 – $800 range. Remember, you’re still going to need even a modest pair of interconnects… The only advantage to an outboard phono is possibly a wider range of MC loading options, but for convenience and high performance all on one chassis, the P5 can’t be beat.
Digital delights
Working with a MacBook Pro, a current Cambridge Audio transport and a vintage SONY CD ES player (via optical output), the P5 handles every file, from MP3/Spotify up to DSD without a glitch.
s with the phono section, putting what the P5 accomplishes in context of comparably priced outboard DAC, it’s fantastic. It resolves more than enough information to tell the difference between source quality in your files, along with a high level of musicality in its class. It does an excellent job with compressed, less than awesome 16/44 material. Zipping through a Kiss playlist, a Monkees playlist and Queen’s Greatest Hits are all decoded with dignity. These tracks all sounded better than they had a right to, with an ample amount of airiness and dynamic range.
Moving on to better quality material, the P5 reveals even better performance. An old standby, Lyle Lovett’s “North Dakota” begins with some very gentle bongos, and they manage to float out in space a bit, and offers enough resolution to distinctly hear Rickie Lee Jones singing backup clearly.
Now for the power
Unless you’re extremely buff, get a friend to help you move the 132 pound S5 power amplifier to your equipment rack. If you don’t have a friend handy, a box of nicotine patches and a good protein shake might get you through. Seriously, get a friend. This is an amplifier that belies its weight. Utilizing a similar design motif as the P5, its rounded corners and gloss black front panel (with super cool power output meters) will look great in your listening room.
With 500 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 800 into 4, there shouldn’t be any speakers on your no fly list. Hint, hint, even if you aren’t going to buy both Michi pieces, this is an excellent amplifier to drive Magnepans with. Staffer Jerold O’Brien and I faced a major dilemma: he helps me moose the S5 out of my listening room and up the 2nd story at his place where the Magnepan 3.7s are, or we rent a UHaul and bring the Maggies to me.
Avoiding as many people as we both can in this age of quarantine, we decided we’d both be exposed to fewer cooties, bringing the S5 to his place. Besides, now that I also have a little orange BMW 2002 stored in his barn, plenty of time to be car geeks after we get done listening.
Most Magnepans need a lot of power to really strut their stuff, and the Michi S5 is one of the nicest combinations for these speakers. 20.1 and 30.1 owners that need even more power, can buy the M8s (1080 watts each, into 8 ohms, 1800 watts into 4 – booyah) which should be enough to power a small outdoor music festival.
Everything from the Maggies, to ESLs from MartinLogan and vintage Acoustats (i.e. all the “really hard to drive” speakers) presented no issues to the Michi. Regardless of what speakers you have, this is an unassuming, yet highly capable and powerful amplifier that merely does the job it’s asked to do without issue. It’s a testament to the amplifiers enormous power reserves and excellent design that it is not particularly sensitive to speaker cables either. It has enough resolving power to hear the difference between brands, but isn’t touchy about cables in a way that some small amplifiers can be.
Power without finesse is nothing though, and again the Michi scores big points. If this amp had no logo on the front panel and you told your audiophile pals that you paid 10k for the S5, they’d probably believe you. Even at low volumes, the effortlessness that the S5 presents adds to the musical presentation. I must admit to being biased towards big amplifiers for this reason.
Overall, the big Michi amp has a neutral tonal rendition. To try and put it in a little bit of perspective, we’ve always held Boulder amplifiers up as the ultimate in “just the facts” amplification, however these are some pretty expensive amplifiers, even at entry level. Comparing to past solid-state designs we’ve listened to, the Michi has more tonal body/saturation that something from Simaudio, Krell, or current Levinson products, but less than our reference Pass amplifiers, or any other great Class A amplifier from Luxman, Sudgen, or the Riviera monos we’ve just reviewed.
You can stay with the Michi preamplifier and keep things extremely accurate, or for those craving a little bit of additional warmth, without sacrificing the control and dynamic power of a solid-state amp, add a tube preamplifier on the front end, to tune to your taste. An amplifier this neutral makes that easy.
A system approach that works
At $11,000 for the pair, the Michi P5 and S5 are a logical step up for the music lover that needs more power than an integrated can provide, and has a lot of flexibility as well. This pair is the perfect anchor for a $20k – $50k system, and only needs a turntable and a pair of speakers to enjoy every format available. Should you be a digital only listener, add your favorite speakers and roll. Should the vinyl bug hit, you’re ready if and when you want to take the plunge.
While you’ll need a stout shelf for the 132 pound P5, a system built around these two components will have a minimal footprint. Thanks to their timeless visual design, they will integrate well into a design conscious environment – a final bonus.
Rocking out with some Slayer, it’s clear that Bowers & Wilkins has produced a winner here. To be honest, I’ve been punishing these speakers for about a solid week now, and it’s clear they have major dynamic ability.
Life isn’t all metal though, (though for some it is) and after seriously breaking these speakers in, an expanded palette of music was in order. Grooving on some Black Devil Disco Club, it’s easy to see that the 702 Signatures have plenty of low frequency ability too.
Bowers & Wilkins has always been a company driven by engineering excellence. I’ve owned a number of B&W speakers since 1980, and they’ve always made fantastic products. Having visited their UK factory a few times now, the level that they implement their engineering vision is second to none. Being a car guy at heart, I’ve always enjoyed the paint shop and the level of finish they are able to achieve. On both of my recent tours to the UK factory in Worthing, my tour guides have always made it a point to say that the B&W factory in China is a mirror image of the UK factory, though it concentrates on the 600 and 700 Series product. 800 Series Diamond product is made in Worthing. These are both huge facilities.
Even a cursory look at the Signature speakers proves that they’ve left nothing on the table, in terms of quality here. Where B&W has somewhat simplified the 700 Series is in the cabinet itself, with a more traditional box shape, instead of the complex, curvy shape of the 800 Series Diamond.
Unpack and setup
If you’re planning on buying a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 702s (Signature or not) read the infographic on the top of the box before you remove your speakers from their packaging. The 702 tweeter is housed in a bullet shaped aluminum enclosure that will be instantly damaged if you just put the box upside down once you’ve opened it. Get a friend to help you unpack your 702s because even though they are not terribly heavy, they are tightly packed and close to impossible to unpack by yourself because their slippery, smooth cabinets are hard to get a grip on. Save the little white rubber thing (that looks a lot like those rubber things they use in a nail salon to keep your toes apart) under the tweeter pod in case you move or ever have to ship your speakers. Trust me on this.
Once unboxed, you’ll also notice a pair of plinths that have been included for safety reasons in certain countries. If you don’t absolutely have to use them, I suggest leaving them in the shipping cartons, as they distract from the sleekness of the 702 Signatures, and B&W says the plinths do not improve the sound.
The last style decision to make is whether to affix the grilles or not. If you have kids, dogs, or a lot of guests, you’ll probably need them, but if you don’t, admiring the 702 Signature sans grilles is quite lovely. High technology doesn’t always look as good as it sounds, but in this case, the 702 Signature succeeds brilliantly. The three woofers, with their subtle chrome rings are just beneath the midrange driver with the big, silver Continuum™ cone, and the tweeter pod at the very top.
And, ooh those cabinets. From the outside, those stepping up to the $6,500/pair Signature series models over the standard $5,000/pair models you get a cool Datuk Gloss finish. I have to say, as a Sonus faber owner, Bowers & Wilkins is right there at the top of the mountain in cabinet finish, offering a level of quality that I’d expect to come from Italy. These speakers are absolutely beautiful to behold. The depth, and smoothness of the finish is outstanding. I’d step up to the Signatures just for the finish.
The Signature models are not just a cosmetic/finish update. Though the spec sheets between the standard 702 S2 and 702 Signature reveal the same numbers – this is the perfect example of specs not telling the whole tale. Thanks to upgraded bypass capacitors in the crossover, the Signatures deliver a more grain free presentation through the mids to the highest highs. The only downside here, albeit temporary, is those upgraded components in the crossovers take a bit more time to be all they can be. Expect a slight edge on top, and a bit of haze and fog through the midband for the first couple hundred hours of use.
To observe this process in action, play the same track every day at the beginning of the day. Make it a track you know intimately. In this case it was Robert Plant’s “Sixes and Sevens,” but I’m sure you have a couple of favorites that you’ll be able to notice the slightest differences. It’s almost as if the 702 Signatures get bigger and smoother sounding as you put hours on the clock.
Sticking with Robert Plant as my go to, shifting forward in time to “All the King’s Horses,” from his Mighty Rearranger album, the backing vocals started out somewhat buried in the mix, yet as the hours went by, I could hear the separation between Plant and the backing vocals much easier and more distinctively.
In our 13 x 18 foot living room, final speaker position ended up with the speakers being about five feet from the rear wall and about two feet away from the side walls. Only a few degrees of toe-in was used, but this and whether to slightly angle the speakers back will depend on seat height and personal listening preferences. Suffice to say that the 702 Signatures were easy to set up and get satisfying sound from quickly. Those needing to place their speakers close to the room walls or corners may want to take advantage of the foam plugs to insert in the rear mounted speaker port.
Other choices
With a sensitivity rating of 90dB/1-watt, the 702 Signatures don’t need a ton of power to be musically involving. Using everything here from the 30 watt per channel PrimaLuna EVO 100 to the mighty Pass Labs XA200.8s, proved a good match. Being that person preferring a more mellow approach, I gravitated more to the combination of the 702 Signatures with the Luxman L-550 Class A (solid state) integrated, the Pass INT25 (also solid state Class A) and our reference VAC Sigma 170i (tubes), but your final sound preferences will determine what you’ll pick. Bottom line, these speakers do not need a ton of power to sound great.
We also made it a point to try the 702 Signatures with a few different sets of speaker cable, from WireWorld, Nordost, Tellurium-Q, and Cardas. Again, all excellent results, how you want to achieve final voicing on your system will determine where you go here. The Cardas Clear cable in our reference system (a touch warm) was more to our taste, but the other three turned in great performances, but are slightly more forward and revealing. My living room is very lightly treated, so this contributes heavily to my leaning more towards a slightly mellow tonal balance.
One small tip, for those purchasing a pair of 702 Signatures: invest in a high-quality pair of jumpers, if you aren’t bi-wiring your speakers. Swapping a pair of Tellurium-Q jumpers in place of the factory issued, flat metal jumpers brought yet another level of clarity in the mid and upper registers.
What’s not to like?
Pretty much nothing really. Your decision will probably be B&W or the other choices, or between the Signature and standard models. However, in terms of what’s available in the $5,000 – $7,000 range that we’ve had the pleasure to audition, the Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature is a solid player in terms of sound quality, engineering prowess, and aesthetic appeal. Not to mention, as one of the world’s largest speaker manufacturers, you can be sure of a great sales, service, and support network to go with your purchase.
The Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature
MSRP: $6,500/pair
Please click here to be taken to the Bowers & Wilkins website.
I love discovering reasonably priced products, squarely aimed at bringing great sound to more people, and new people to our wacky world of audio.
Underwood HiFi scores big time with their new LSA DPH-1 headphone amplifier, which also has an onboard high-res (does DSD too) DAC featuring four inputs. LSA makes use of the AKM 4495 DAC chips and AK-4118 digital input receiver, for those wanting to know… I say, “implementation,” and in this case, they’ve done a fantastic job.
Right now, in typical Underwood fashion, they are running an introductory special and moving these babies for the holiday season at $799, instead of the $999 they will be asking at some point. Even at $999, this would be a great deal – let’s investigate a little further.
If the DPH-1 were only a headphone amp at $999 it would still be great. The DAC is a true bonus, and it makes the DPH-1 fantastic for personal listening, desk side or bed side. It’s small (14” x 10” x 4”) footprint makes it easy to integrate anywhere.
Ins and outs
Around the back, there are four digital inputs – USB, optical, coax and BNC. Personally, I like the BNC as I have a vintage Wadia transport, which I pulled out of mothballs to give the DPH-1 a spin. Interestingly, you’ll notice a pair of RCA analog outputs marked “Tube” and “Solid-State.” This is really cool and gives you more options, should you decide to use your DPH-1 as a line preamplifier. And if you happen to be a digital only music lover, the DPH-1 is all you need.
The tube output runs the DAC’s output through a tube buffer, featuring a “NOS tube from GE.” Turns out this tube is an ex-military issue item that is very similar to the legendary Western Electric 396A tube. Those of you that aren’t tube geeks: plugging your power amplifier into the tube output will give you a slightly warmer, more tonally saturated presentation. This is super awesome option for those of you running a solid-state or class D amp, and it works miracles on budget amps too! Consequently, the solid-state outputs add a little extra dynamic slam to your favorite tube amp.
You can even run both the tube and solid-state outputs into your integrated amp or preamp and switch sonic characteristics on the fly. It’s like having two separate DAC’s in one box. Or, as we do with our reference DAC here, if space allows, or you have systems in adjoining rooms, you can run both systems from the same DAC. Very versatile indeed.
That being said, mating the DPH-1 to a vintage (but tastefully rebuilt) Dynaco Stereo 70 and the LSA-10 Signature speakers was absolutely heavenly. Either way, the ability to fine tune your system to taste is cool, especially at this price.
Getting personal
Running through the gaggle of headphones on hand, from the $3,000 Focal Stellia to my Grado SR-60s, the DPH-1 delivers an excellent experience. The amplifier does a great job driving everything, and has particularly good control in the lower registers. Zooming through some vintage Little Feat tracks, particularly “Romance Dance,” from The Last Record Album, reveals the DPH-1s ability to control a pair of headphone drivers and deliver a convincing musical foundation. Next up, the Bell Biv Devoe classic, “Poison.” If I was listening on a 2-channel system, I’d be blowing the doors down with bass – and as it was, I caught myself turning the volume down, because the distortion free playback this amp provides might tempt you to turn it up too loud. So, watch the volume.
After a solid sampling of phones, the bulk of our test listening was done with the Focals, showing off just how good this amp is. Regardless of where you are on your headphone journey, you’ll be able to move up from wherever you are to some pretty premium phones without worry. That’s value.
Bass is not the only dimension at which the DPH-1 excels. Joni Mitchell just released her Archives – Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967), and this set handily shows the inner detail, definition and upper range smoothness this amplifier offers. Joni Mitchell’s voice is a tough one to nail down – almost like a violin, when it’s wrong, it’s harsh and shriek-y, but when it’s right, it’s dreamy. We’ll happily put the DPH-1 in the dreamy category here, and this lead us to some of the tracks on Lyle Mays self-titled debut album. Nailing the tonality of a piano is similar in degree of difficulty, and again the DPH-1 sails through.
There’s a sign on one of my neighbor’s lawns that says “Presidents come and go, but Wu-Tang is forever.” Point taken, so on the way back from my morning coffee, I had to fire up some Wu-Tang. In their honor, I cranked up “Method Man” as the six-shot mocha took hold. Good stuff.
The DAC section of the DPH-1 does its job without fanfare, as it should be. We tried all four inputs, and were pleased each time, using our Wadia transport for the BNC input, an OPPO 105 (yep, still got one) for the coax input, a MacBook Pro for the USB input and our faithful Sony ES changer from the garage system to evaluate the optical input. Suffice to say, whatever you have, the DPH-1 will accommodate it, and the higher resolution capabilities this DAC provides easily illuminates the additional resolution that high res formats have to offer. Good as it is with high res, the DPH-1 does not compromise 16/44 playback in any way.
Putting the DPH-1 in the context of a nice two-channel system makes for a great, compact music system, requiring minimal rack space to rock. Whether you buy a DPH-1 as a headphone amplifier, or as an anchor to a digital two channel system with a pair of speakers – you’ll be happy wherever your journey begins.
Simple elegance
LSA has followed the aesthetic vibe started with their other components, and the DPH-1 is nicely finished, but not overly ostentatious. It feels good when you unbox and pick it up, and it looks great on your rack. Its basic functionality (volume control, input selector, and headphone jack) makes it easy to use. Fortunately, the power supply is built in, so there’s no external power supply to lose or deal with. A big plus.
By using casework like other LSA products, they keep the cost down. When you’re investigating components in this price range, it’s nice to see a manufacturer stick to basics, striking a balance with a product that sounds great, and has the looks to back it up without going overboard.
Add it all up and LSAs DPH-1 is a fantastic DAC/Headphone amp. If I didn’t spin records, I could easily live with it as my main two-channel preamp and build a great system around it featuring speakers. It ticks all the boxes – easy to use, reasonable price, and sounds fantastic. What else do you need?
We were pretty excited about the LSA-T3 turntable, from Underwood HiFi a few months ago. But they’ve done it again, with their new LSA T-2 that is intro Priced at $799 without cartridge or delivered with a Sumiko Blackbird for $1299.
Underwood’s new LSA T-2 turntable features a low mass Uni-Pivot tonearm which is constructed from carbon fiber and is fitted with a 65-gram stainless counterweight. The output terminates to a pair of RCA sockets with separate ground, giving the user choice over their output cabling – these are located on the underside of the plinth. The elegant 25mm Medite plinth comes in a satin black finish. Machined in Great Britain, the T-2 turntable boasts a 17mm acrylic platter and an aluminum hub which runs on a custom 18mm brass bearing housing with a 5mm white ceramic thrust bearing. The turntable is controlled by a 24V AC synchronous motor which has been positioned to further reduce electromagnetic and mechanical noise. This has required the development of a new bespoke ‘big belter’ drive belt.
They will only have 24 of these available in time for the holidays, so if you’re the kind of person that buys yourself the best presents, perhaps now is the time to indulge!
www.underwoodhifi.com
This issue, we’ve got some great new gear:
The Andover Model-One compact music system
Focal’s ARCHE headphone amplifier (hint, hint,
it’s a KILLER 2ch preamp too!)
Sumiko’s Amethyst MM phono cartridge
We take a look back at VanHalen
A mint Nakamichi CR-7A cassette deck
Sonus faber’s Sonetto V floor standing speakers
Cam VanDerHorst is back with the SWILL column, investigating Snoop Dogg.
We tackle yet another REL six pack: This time the S/510.
And more…
** Those of you on mobile devices, we’ve now got a smaller, more mobile friendly
download. This is a work in progress, so please let us know what you think!
Serious listening with the LSA-10 Signature speakers begins with a quick dial back on the way back machine, all the way to 1965 and some Gabor Szabo.
If you aren’t familiar, this Hungarian guitarist was quite the rage back in the day, with a clean style that remindsme a lot of Johnny Smith or Kenny Burrell. Szabo’s playing quickly showcases the coherence displayed by this 2 1/2 way design from LSA. With a 6.5-inch woofer and soft dome tweeter on the front face, and a 5×7 inch passive radiator facing rearward, this “bookshelf” design might just fool you into thinking it’s a floorstander with your eyes closed. The transition from the lowest bass notes all the way up to the top of the frequency spectrum has this Quad loving audio enthusiast nodding in approval. And as your favorite 80s game show host might say, “what would you expect to pay for speakers offering this kind of performance?” The Signature model reviewed here is now only $1,495/pair.
The $3,495 Statement model is the same, except for a beryllium dome tweeter. If you want a bit more resolution and a harder edge to the sonic picture painted, pony up for the Statements. This part will be strictly personal preference and related ancillaries. Underwood Wally (the man behind distributor Underwood HiFi) will probably be angry with me for loving the lower-priced model. Still, I confess to almost always preferringthe sound of a silk dome tweeter. Bias exposed. While I’m making enemies – throw out the perforated metal grille while you’re at it. (or put it back in the box for another day) The rest of the fit and finish would be better served by a well-executed fabric grill, or something with a finer perforation, more like what MartinLogan does. I’m guessing most of you listen without grilles, so this is really no big deal.
Running the gamut
LSA doesn’t specify sensitivity on these speakers, but even the low powered Pass Labs INT25 integrated (25wpc, pure Class-A) offers more than enough power and control to drive these speakers to a high level in my 13 x 18-foot living room. While several different tube and solid-state amplifiers were given a go with the LSA-10 Signatures, they are not at all difficult to drive. After trying about a dozen different combinations, most listening was done with the PrimaLuna EVO400 power amplifier (85wpc, tubes) in concert with the Backert Labs Rhumba preamplifier and Gold Note DS10 DAC/Streamer, with a bit of vinyl on the side. 95% of the source music used was via Roon and Qobuz. The EVO400 proved to have more than enough drive and smoothness that really compliments the LSA-10s. As with the tweeter choice, those wanting a slightly more forward sound might prefer a non-Class-A solid-state amplifier.
The Hegel 590 is in for review, and this amplifier offers up a punchier, more forward presentation. Substituting the Hegel for the CJ/PrimaLuna combo feels like moving up from row 20 to row 8 in the auditorium. I like the soft dome tweeter; those wanting a bit more aggressive overall sound have more options than a speaker with a tweeter that’s already a little forward. But we can argue about this all day long; let’s get back to listening to music!
Splitting hairs
Just as the line between prince and frog can be thinner than you think, the same applies whether you consider a speaker smooth or laid back. After listening to the LS-10s for some time, I’m still going with smooth. For my money, laid back feels more like a loss of resolution, especially in the upper registers, and the LS-10s do not fall victim to this. Listening to more acoustic music illustrates that cymbals dither into nothingness with plenty of detail, and stringed instruments have the required amount of body to feel realistic. Like nearly all speakers relying on a soft dome tweeter, there is a slight softening of the hardest transients, such as drum heads and the initial strike of piano keys.
A long playlist of hard-rocking tunes clearly proves that the LS-10s ability to move air. That rear-firing passive radiator goes a long way to make these speakers feel like floorstanders. When playing material with heavy bass content (Kruder andDorfmeister, Pink Floyd, Massive Attack, that kind of thing), these compact speakers demonstrate significant authority. In addition to delivering substantial low-frequency information, the quality of what is produced is excellent. Stanley Clarke has been in heavy rotation here lately and tracking through If This Bass Could Talk, proves the LS-10s more than capable.
Setup
Those rear-firing passive radiators will require a bit more time to ace the setup, but your efforts will be rewarded. I suggest starting about a foot further out in your room than what you might be used to with other speakers lacking a rear driver or passive radiator. As always, the key is going to be adjusting around the bass presentation you want, and then adjusting the rest with toe-in and rake angle.
Using a pair of filled 24″ Sound Anchor stands with a bit of sticky stuff to improve the speaker/stand interface works like a charm. Small monitors always need great stands to deliver the most solid bass response, and these perhaps a bit more, because they go down further than many of the other small monitors we’ve used.
The LS-10s do not produce a stereo image that goes well beyond the speaker edges, so adjust speaker width, and toe-in with care. The more time you spend on this aspect of setting them up will produce the largest stereo image they are capable of. What these speakers lack in the last few molecules of stage width and pin-point imaging, is more than made up forin natural tonality and lifelike sonics. Every speaker has design compromises, and they’ve made solid choices here. That devil personal bias sets in again, but I’d much rather have a coherent speaker with a natural midrange over a speaker that produces a mile wide stereo image, yet falls flat on tonality.
A major contender
Trying to stay more in tune with those not wanting a six-figure hifi system, yet still craving a great musical experience, we’ve been auditioning more speakers in this price range, and we all agreed that the LSA LS-10s would be on our top five list if we actually did that kind of thing. It’s not often that a $1,495 pair of speakers do this much right tonally and offer an excellent sense of scale too. Those needing more oomph can step up to the LS-20 floorstanders or add a pair of subs to the LS-10s.
Balance and nuance will always be my catnip, and this is something the LS-10 Signatures excel at. I can’t imagine a better choice in the context of a $5k – $15k system. Different, yes, but in terms of sheer sonic quality, these are awfully impressive. The design choices by the LSA team havemade serve the music. I am very happy to give the LS-10s an Exceptional ValueAward for 2020.
Life is good. I’ve got my head under the hood of my car, changing radiator hoses, and I’m streaming my favorite tunes (in this case about 4 hours of XTC, spanning the entire catalog) on my old Marantz 2220B receiver on top of my tool box. I’m in my happy place, thanks to the Andover Audio Songbird hi-res streamer.
If you happen to own the Andover Model-One music system for your house, you’ve probably realized the only thing missing is a way to stream digital music to it. Now, with the release of the Songbird streamer, you can – and it’s outstanding. And, it’s only $129.
Digital purists will snipe that the Songbird only has 24/192 maximum resolution, and complain about all the stuff it doesn’t have. As the Blues Brothers once said, “What do you want, Rubber Biscuit?” Seriously, think of all the exciting audio products you can buy for $129. Not a lot, eh? What the Andover Songbird does is sound great, and plug in to just about any device you might have, with zero fuss.
Thanks to an optical input, and an Ethernet port, you can use the Songbird as a straight up DAC, Ethernet renderer, or a streamer via Bluetooth or WiFi. Depending on what your streaming with. While it is not a Roon endpoint (yet) you can work around this by using it as an AirPlay device, if you just want the sheer functionality that your Roon infrastructure offers. This proves the way to rock in my garage system. Elbows deep in an engine rebuild isn’t exactly the sweet spot anyway.
The obvious hookup for the Songbird is to attach it to the Andover Model-One in the living room, now under review. The match is perfect, and for anyone with a Model-One, aching for digital/streaming playback, this is the way to roll. Thanks to the Songbird being about the size of a 2000 grit 3M sanding block, it fits anywhere. Power it up, locate it on your network, and go. It shouldn’t take you more than about 60 seconds to be playing music.
Using the Songbird with a couple of budget integrated amplifiers, and a few powered speakers lacking internal DACs, all provide excellent results. It’s amazing that digital can sound this good for $129. Getting all audiophile-y for a few minutes, I did a quick head to head comparison between some 16/44 files streamed through the Songbird and the vintage SONY ES disc player I used to have in the garage. Keep in mind that years ago, this was a $1,000 dollar (maybe a little more expensive) player.
Especially with the cymbals on Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild,” the Songbird offers a distinct advantage in its lack of high frequency graininess that’s there in spades with the Sony player. Even with my head under the hood, I could hear the reverb trailing off more smoothly on Tommy James and the Shondells “Crimson and Clover.” I couldn’t be sure, but a long set of Porcupine Tree tunes sound damn good too.
Great of a match as the Songbird is with the Andover Model-One, it really stole my heart in the context of a vintage system. So many of my friends have second or third systems, mostly vintage (or at least centering around a vintage receiver or amplifier) who aren’t going to drop money on a DAC, or a streamer. Wanna be a great friend? Send your favorite vintage hifi lover a Songbird as a gift.
There’s not much else I can say about a $129 DAC/streamer. It sounds fantastic, easily better than what we were paying a few hundred to nearly a thousand bucks for 20 years ago. It’s easy to set up and install. And if you own the Andover Model-One, it’s the icing on the cake.
We’ll be announcing our products of the year in November, so I’m going to let the cat out of the bag now – this is our 2020 budget component of the year. This is the best sounding, highest value component I’ve ever heard for $129. And you thought we were snooty audiophiles that only liked six figure components. Ha!
NOTE: The Songbird is available for pre-order right now, and will be shipping sometime soon. Probably too late for trick or treaters, but plenty of time for holiday gift season!
Please click here to go to the Andover site…
Who knew that almost 20 years ago that this cool little tube amplifier would change my life?
My first assignment for The Absolute Sound was supposed to be a NAD integrated amplifier. But the day I got my copy of Stereophile in the mail with the ProLogue One you see here on the cover, I thought that might be a great piece to review.
As fate would have it, less than an hour later, Robert Harley was on the phone. “The NAD fell through, they didn’t want the new guy at TAS reviewing it. How about the new tube integrated from PrimaLuna?”
I already knew Upscale Audio’s Kevin Deal from the world of cars, so this felt like a slam dunk. The review was a success, cementing the PrimaLuna brand and my audio reviewing career – though I didn’t know it quite yet. When I started TONE (and for years to follow) people would say, “you wrote that PrimaLuna review in TAS, didn’t you?)
Yeah, I did.
Of course I bought the review sample. This amplifier was so good, how could I not? If you’re a fan of the vintage Dynaco and Marantz EL34 amps, the original ProLogue One felt and sounded like a restomodded classic. Not slow, soft, and syrupy like the vintage amps, yet not as clinical as a current ARC, BAT, or VAC amp. And the price was a killer deal. $1,095 in 2005 was insanely inexpensive for a tube integrated amplifier, wired point to point, with this level of fit and finish.
Another point of contention back in 2005 was the “built in China” moniker, but PL principal and lifetime high end audio pro, Herman Van Den Dungen makes sure everything is produce to perfection. The amplifier you see here has been in use since I wrote the original review in TAS, and it’s only had a single tube change.
When I got the ProLogue One back from my (now ex) niece a few years ago, I couldn’t have been more excited to be reunited with this old friend. And it cost me dearly – I had to trade she and her husband a new Simaudio NEO integrated ($3,400), along with some heavy convincing that having a tube amp around the house with a couple of toddlers was a really bad idea. The fatigued tubes were replaced with a new pair of PrimaLuna 12AU7s, a pair of EAT 12AX7s and a mint quad of NOS Siemens EL34 power tubes. Other than a slightly noisy volume control (with a little bit of contact cleaner took care of immediately) the PL One was back rocking with a pair of 1976 vintage Klipsch LaScalas. The sound was glorious, and with the coolio, upgraded tubes, even better than the day I unboxed it for the first time.
Almost 20 years later, PrimaLuna products have only gotten better, and there is now a wider range to choose from.
My ProLogue One no longer gets daily use, but it has the exalted position of being the first component I reviewed professionally. Today, I still use a pair of EVO400 monoblocks as reference amplifers, which produce around 140 watts per channel with 8 EL34s per channel.
I’m sure these will be as highly regarded as classics in 20 years, much like the great amps from ARC, Marantz, CJ and others. Every time I fire the ProLogue One up, it’s my favorite memory in high end audio.
Japanese cartridge manufacturer DS Audio has just raised the bar significantly on their optical phono cartridge platform.
We’ve reviewed a couple of their cartridges in the past, along with their own proprietary equalizer (necessary for use with an optical cartridge) to great result. Both Richard Mak, our resident analog master and our publisher found the DS cartridges to have a clarity like nothing they’ve experienced.
The new DS Grand Master is a third generation design, claiming to have a 50% weight loss over the previous flagship, a re-designed optical system and equalizer to go with.
DS offers a modular approach, so existing DS users can merely upgrade to the Grand Master for an increase in performance. The Grand Master cartridge by itself is about $15,500 (current exchange rate), definitely in line with the world’s top MC cartridges. Stepping up to the new Grand Master Equalizer/Phono stage will set you back about another $50k, again, certainly on par with what the top of the analog mountain requires.
Considering what a revelation the past DS models have been, we can only imagine what this will sound like, but we’re betting on excellence.
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