From the click of the super stylish power button that merely needs your touch to illuminate a diffuse white circle of light, the Double Shot power amplifier from Java gets you going.

To illustrate just how serious I am, listening begins with Jon Astley’s “Jane’s Getting Serious” on 12-inch maxi-single no less. Those Yamaha DX7 keyboard pitch bends never sounded better. This amplifier, is excellent in every way.

So lovely, in fact, that when tracking through BTO’s “Blue Collar,” I’m not even wishing for more cowbell. If that’s not musical perfection, what is? While the amplifier delivers more in spatial terms once it’s been on for about an hour, the tight, coherent musical pace delivered is stellar. Good as the Double Shot integrated is, the power amplifier takes clarity and pace further, because of its larger, dedicated power supply.

It is a magnificent experience to play the Peak Consult Sinfonias at a high volume level, taking advantage of the sheer dynamics these speakers are capable of with enough power. Having mighty monoblocks from Pass Labs (X600.8s – 600 WPC), the PS Audio BHK Signature monos (also 600 WPC), and the PrimaLuna EVO 400 monos (almost 200 WPC with KT150 tubes) all offer their own sonic portrait. Being able to achieve a sizeable amount of the three-dimensional characteristics that the tubes offer, with the sheer sonic slam and control that the big solid-state amplifiers deliver in the compact box that is the Java Double Shot, is nothing short of amazing.

Martin Bell, owner of Java HiFi, sent us his Single Shot integrated amplifier last year, which was fantastic. Fantastic in the same way that we’re not saying “it sounds pretty good for class-D,” like we used to say “it sounds pretty good for digital” when referring to the world’s finer DACs. It just sounds fantastic. Like some of the current crop of class-D designs adopting GaN FET topology, the Single Shot (and all the Java amplifiers) brings a natural, un-electronic sonic signature to the presentation. Eyes closed, you might think you were listening to a Boulder or Constellation amplifier. I pick these two premium designs as a comparison, because in the range of all the amplifier data points in my experience bank, these two have the least colored tonality in either direction. The current crop of Audio Research vacuum tube amplifiers are also in this dimension, but we all know the care, feeding, and cooling requirements of tubes.

It’s not what it used to be

Class D has always promised to be the best of all worlds: high power, high efficiency, and lighter weight. Until just recently, this was the case except for the flat, somewhat harsh, and moderately to severely uninvolving sonics, at least in terms of the best amplifiers.

The Double Shot Power delivers 400 watts per channel into 8 ohms – and while it doesn’t completely double into 4 ohms, it still produces way more power than most should ever need. All in a very stylish package that only weighs 20.3 pounds! The matching LDR preamplifier is arriving very soon, and I’m guessing that, like most other components, the only real reason to buy the amplifier and preamplifier separately from Java is to get the additional fidelity coming from having these components on separate chassis and perhaps a bit more input/output flexibility. And there’s nothing like a bit of matchy – matchy going on in the personal style arena either.

The overall character

However, you may have a preamplifier in place that you already love and don’t want to change things around that much. Or perhaps you’d like just a touch of warmth added to the overall sonics of your system, maybe a tube preamplifier? I did just that, using the Double Shot with the Pass Labs XS Pre (slightly warm), the BAT VK-80 (a little warmer), a vintage conrad-johnson PV-12 (very warm), and the digital preamp/front end of the I1 integrated, which is much closer in sonic character to the Java.

With such a neutral presentation from the power amplifier, you can easily fine-tune everything to your liking. All four combinations were excellent, and thanks to the balanced inputs (as well as single-ended RCAs), every preamplifier is in your grasp.

I apologize for repeating myself. Dynamics are indeed the fourth dimension when it comes to musical reproduction. Unless you are solely listening to small-scale chamber music, big power, properly expressed, yields big results unless you have super-efficient speakers. With many of today’s speakers having sensitivity ratings in the 85-90dB/1-watt range and typically being closer to a 4-ohm nominal impedance than 8-ohms, the Double Shot’s power delivers tremendous dynamic range and reserve.

The Java difference

Mr. Bell says it best, when asked what makes the GaN FET design (and Java in particular) a more musical sounding Class D design. “Many older silicon transistor-based Class D amplifiers will have typical switching speeds of around 100 kHz. The switching frequency of our amplifier modules is in the 400-450 kHz range (Closed Loop).

Together with our partners, we have carried out extensive research on the contribution of switching frequency to both efficiency and performance (both measured and in listening tests), and have found that the ‘sweet spot’ is around 400kHz-500kHz. Beyond that frequency and performance is reduced (due mainly to ‘dead-band’ contribution and Output Filter contribution) and efficiency is significantly reduced. With the GaN modules in our amplifiers there is a switching speed sweet spot where everything is “just right” (as Goldilocks would say).

However switching speed alone is not the sole reason why GaN-based systems can deliver enhanced audio performance vs Si-based alternatives.

A well-executed GaN design can also deliver lower distortion (THD), less noise (both electrically and audibly), faster, cleaner transitions and reduced “dead time” and reduced crossover distortion. In general terms, faster switching speeds are also beneficial for reducing electromagnetic interference (EMI). But as noted above, if switching speeds are increased too much, the efficiency and measured/sonic performance of the modules decreases. Science aside, this is one natural sounding power amplifier.

Back to the music

Without delving into too many of my personal music choices (which may not suit you at all), suffice to say that an incredibly wide range of music was auditioned during this review. This amplifier scales well, delivering subtle texture and nuance when required and high sound pressure levels without losing composure. Stream the cannons at the end of the 1812 Overture or AC/DC’s “For Those About to Rock,” and you’ll see what I mean.

What may really surprise you about recordings you might have thought overly dense and compressed is how they come alive with this much power. It might have just been your 60-100 WPC amplifier running out of dynamic range. I’m just sayin’. Like horsepower, way more amplifier power than you think you need is a good thing, more often than not.

Like the Single-Shot reviewed before, this amplifier excels at small sonic details. Think of your favorite acoustic guitarist, and the sound of fingers sliding across the strings. In this case, the standby is always Michael Hedges Aerial Boundaries, an album full of guitar pluckiness, and harmonic activity. Another great album illustrating this aspect of reproducing complex acoustic instruments together is Charlie Hunter’s Ready, Set, Shango! a mixture of bop and modern jazz. Of course, any classic Blue Note record will always do the job.

High-powered amplifiers don’t always excel at revealing the most minute aspects of the music – again, this amplifier does a tremendous job. Breathy singers, male and female, come through with authority at both ends of their vocal range, making for an intimate presentation.

Huge power reserves mean endless speaker choices

This amplifier’s ability to keep instruments locked in their own spaces without ever losing focus, no matter how wacky you get with the volume control, is something few amplifiers can accomplish. The Double Shot excels here. Swapping the Peak Consults for the Clarisys Audio Auditorium Plus ribbons is very exciting, because even though these are so much easier to drive than the Apogees they are based on, they still are a 3.7- ohm speaker, delivering their all with a lot of power.

The Auditorium Plus speakers play well with a 60 wpc amplifier. Still, their lovely, spatial nature shrinks a bit, and the lowest of low frequencies lack the authority and control that a big amplifier delivers. Again, the Double Shot makes these $150k speakers come alive. Because of their wide range, Electronica, Hip Hop, and a lot of current music really comes alive because so much of it has a strong bass groove. No Taylor Swift for me, but Charli xcx’s “Talk Talk” suits the power this amplifier delivers. That bass groove is killer, and the louder, the better.

Ditto for the drums in Beth Gibbons’ “Burden of Life.” Again, at moderate to high listening levels, Gibbons’ voice isn’t clobbered by the drums, losing its way. These types of musical excursions don’t feel the same without big power, but the clarity, pace, and texture the Double Shot has is equally important. It’s not a double shot of crap coffee; it’s a double shot of fantastic coffee!

Moving on to the Mon Acoustics standmount speakers we reviewed earlier this year, a pair of MartinLogan ESL 9s, and the new Magnepan 2.7x speakers all make for an excellent match with the Double Shot. The same characteristics that are easily discernable in the more refined speakers are available here. Nothing makes even a speaker like the compact MONs come alive like plenty of reserve power. If you’re a Magnepan lover, you know that extra power helps these speakers deliver their all. I’ll be discussing the Java amps more in an upcoming review of the Magnepan 2.7x’s, and this double shot is one of the most exciting pairings I’ve ever heard with a Magneplanar speaker at any price. The synergy with MartinLogan speakers is equally thrilling.

The finer points

When you unpack your Java, you’ll notice the rounded corners and the fine detail work on wood and metal surfaces. All Java products have a signature style that is somewhere between modern art and a mid-century modern look about them. In addition, the Java website offers the option of choosing from multiple faceplate colors and outer casework. This is an amplifier that deserves to be in full view in your listening room to be sure.

Around back, the uncluttered panel has a single pair of speaker output posts and the ability to switch between RCA and XLR input jacks. The power socket is in the middle of the chassis, making it easier to configure in an equipment rack. A small point, but telling of how much thought went into this product. The front panel is equally sparse – it is a power amplifier, after all, but the circular main power button that begins to glow when you touch it is certainly one of the best design elements in high-end audio.

Highly recommended

The Double Shot offers high power and resolution in a package easily competing with amplifiers costing considerably more. This makes it the perfect amplifier to anchor your system as it develops over the years. Its neutral tonality encourages excursions into components and speakers all over the range. You can season the mix to taste, and you won’t have to replace everything if you decide a change is in order (as so many audio enthusiasts do).

Just as the world’s finest DACs stand out in the way they can render music in a non-electronic, unglazed way so that you can just swim around in the music, so it goes for the best Class – D amplifiers. In hundreds of hours of listening, not once did I stop to think about what kind of amplifier I was listening to. This is the ultimate compliment I can pay to the Java Double Shot power amplifier. That and an Exceptional Value award.

Please click here to go to the Java website…

While this may sound like one of those AI-generated comments, if you’ve seen, heard, or read about REL’s recent addition, the Classic 98, you know that this is something different than the standard bill of fare from REL. The Classic 98 takes the punchy, linear, extended, and tuneful sound that REL is famous for, but tunes the vibe more to that of a vintage, or perhaps even (dare we say it) classic British sound.

Before REL, subwoofers often had a tough time keeping up with the main speakers in terms of musical pace. Some would refer this to speed, as in the woofer wasn’t fast enough to keep up with the mains, delivering an over extended, often bloated, one note bass – leading so many to proudly exclaim they would never use a subwoofer. Duly noted and often correct, because a subwoofer that does not integrate seamlessly with the main speakers often feels like that person in the marching band playing way too loud for the rest of the musicians. When the sub is too fast and articulate for the main speakers, a similar effect occurs – but now the mains sound foggy and bloated.

As mentioned in the Classic 98 review, John Hunter, the designing force behind REL has a love for vintage speakers, just as many of you do, and if you’ve tried a modern sub with them, sometimes it doesn’t sound quite right. With the Classic 98s slightly mellower sound, connecting a pair of Vintage JBLs, a pair of Harbeths, or my favorite – a vintage pair of Acoustat 2+2 Electrostatics is just right.

The Classic 98 features a 10” down-firing woofer and will set you back $1,399. 

The all-new Classic 99 has a 12” down-firing woofer and is $1,899. With that bigger driver comes a 500-watt amplifier (limited to 450 watts in this application) vs. 300 for the 98. PRO TIP: if you bought a Classic 98 and still feel you need just a little more juice, the Classic 99  looks exactly the same, even though the cabinet is over 45% bigger. If you live with someone who is slightly gear adverse, just sneak home on your lunch hour, swap ‘em out and no one will know. I did this to my ex-wife once when I went from Vandersteen 1s to 2s. Works like a charm.

The walnut cabinet stays tastefully in the vintage/mid-century vibe and is built robustly, like every other REL we’ve used, with the same functionality on the rear panel. This means connecting it to your system via the REL Speakon connection at the speaker outputs of your amplifier, via RCAs from your preamplifier, or wirelessly with REL’s adaptors. I’ve always had the best result with the high-level speaker outputs, because that feeds your REL what’s coming right out of the power amplifier and going to the speakers, but you may need other options.Because of that REL supplies a single channel of Low Level via RCA (uses the same filter as the High Level uses) plus a dedicated theater LFE input, also RCA but this one has its own dedicated Level control.

A more in-depth review is on the near horizon, but for now, the Classic 99 delivers another scoop of what you love about the 98. The bigger woofer, bigger cabinet feels even more effortless than the 98, and will probably suit itself more to bigger rooms than the 98, but again, we’re going to compare the two closely in three different room sizes for the final review.

Using the Classic 99 in a 24 x 36 foot room with the Acoustats about 12 feet apart on the 24 foot wall with the 99 in the right corner works incredibly well, but a second one is probably in the cards. With the crossover set relatively low (my guess about 40hz) the blend with the Acoustatsis perfect. Fortunately, having set up a number of RELs in the past and getting a lot of tips from Mr. Hunter has me in sonic bliss very quickly.

Running through some familiar 60s, 70s, and 80s tracks is absolutely lovely. Those ‘stats still sound as good as they did years ago, but with the extra foundation that the Classic 99 provides, so much more inviting.

At higher listening levels (right before the ESL panels bottom) the presentation is much more dynamic, yet at low to medium levels, the soundstage expands in all directions and it’s easier to be involved thanks to the additional low frequency energy now present. While it’s easy to look to a subwoofer for “more bass, dude,” what REL always brings to the table, is an increase in midrange resolution and a much bigger sound field as a result. 

Tracks that don’t have as much low frequency information impress just as much as the ones that do. That’s the magic of the REL Classic 99. Perfect for those of you who love the Classic 98 but feel you needed significantly more due to either using larger speakers or having a bigger room than the 98 could handle. The Classic 99 reminds me a lot of the old Stentor II of the late 90’s, though that old heavyweight weighed in at around 100 pounds and cost $6,000 back then. Highly Recommended.

www.rel.net

MoFi Distribution proudly introduces the new MoFi Electronics MasterDeckturntable, a reference grade product designed by master turntable maker Allen Perkins. Created by vinyl lovers for those with the desire to accurately reveal and experience the true music embedded deep in the groves of their vinyl LP collection. The MasterDeck turntable will be manufactured in small batches in the USA at MoFi Electronics’ factory located in Ann Arbor, Michigan to ensure the very highest level of quality control.
 
A compelling feature of the MasterDeck is an “all new” Dual-pivot carbon-fiber 10 inch tonearm that offers the best balance of precision, control and friction-free tracking. This tonearm uses a removable headshell and allows for the optimization of virtually any cartridge by facilitating  adjustable horizontal angle (azimuth), vertical tracking angle (VTA), overhang and anti-skate. As well, all internal tonearm wiring is provided by Cardas Audio.
 
The MasterDeck achieves precision playback in part with an optically regulated speed controller using a three-phase brushless DC drive motor, housed in an isolated container. Fine speed adjustments are available for 33, 45 and 78 RPM and are displayed on a four-digit display. The 1.75 inch thick platter is a high mass hybrid material constructed exclusively from Aluminum and Delrin. This platter sits atop an ultra-high quality Encapsulated Spiral Groove inverted bearing. Isolation from both environmental noise and feedback is accomplished by effectively floating the MasterDeck using custom Harmonic Resolution Systems (HRS) Isolation Feet. Finally, with respect to “functional” cosmetics, a solid wood frame, in either Walnut or Black Ash finish, is wrapped around a constrained-layer body of wood and aluminum to eliminate all resonances.

MoFi Electronics MasterDeck Significant Design Features:

• 33.33 / 45 / 78 RPM belt drive turntable
• Unique and highly adjustable 10-inch hybrid tonearm design  1.75-inch aluminium and Delrin platter
• Four-digit display shows fine speed adjustment
• Cardas Audio internal arm wiring
• Solid wood frame available in black ash or walnut finish
• Custom Anti-Vibration feet designed by HRS
• Black constrained layer damped aluminum top
• Dimensions (w x d x h): 20 x 14 x 8” / 50.8 x 35.6 x 20.3 cm.
• Weight: 43 lbs. / 19.5 Kg.

The MoFi Electronics MasterDeck will be available in November, 2023 with an MSRP of $5,995.00 USD

If you happen to be an audio enthusiast that is only impressed with large racks of gear, and convinced this is the only way to go, skip this review. You won’t want the Enleum AMP-23R. It’s small. Tiny, actually. Like 9 inches square and a little over 3 inches tall with super cool feet attached. I’ve seen bigger apple pies than this.

In all seriousness, it has about the same footprint as a Nagra Classic component and is half the height. Listening to the Chemical Brothers “Live Again,” the amount of bass at my command is staggering, controlled, and well defined – as listening to the Chemical Brothers should be. The rest of the frequency spectrum is equally well rendered.

For the rest of you, this amplifier is so special, there’s no real cliché to describe it. Often, as you go up the range of the world’s finest components, they reveal more music – more resolution, less noise, more dynamics, more of their core voice. What if you could have a modest helping (i.e. 25 watts worth) of “as good as it gets” sound for $6,250? That’s the Enleum AMP-23R. After a lot of listening comparisons, it stacks up with the finest gear.

At first, the thought of adding another great, low-powered amplifier to work with some of the high sensitivity speakers we’ve been reviewing, and keeping the hours low on my 300Bs was appealing. However, the minute the AMP-23R was connected up to the Peak Consult Sinfonias ($55k/pair) in place of the C-J ART88/PS Audio BHK600 monos powering them for some initial run in, the AMP-23R is non stop excitement. Running through track after track of music that’s been our review staples for 20 years, the AMP-23R turns in an incredible performance.

So intrigued with this, moving the AMP-23R over to the YG Hailey 3s ($67,000/pair) with a similar sensitivity, but different tonality than the Peaks, and even slightly more resolving, this little amplifier delivers an equally engaging performance. In both instances the source component is the dCS Vivaldi ONE. This is the point in the review, where excuses are made that the review component, only a fraction of the cost of the mega gear in said reference system really doesn’t measure up. Nope. Not here. Of course, the Enleum amplifier will not drive the Peaks or the Haileys to the same level as the big Pass or big PS monoblocks.

The sheer quality of musical experience delivered by the AMP-23R at reasonable volume levels is as good as it gets. (with modest efficiency speakers.)

The only reason I mention the cost of the first two speakers used with the AMP-23R is to illustrate the level of resolution it is capable of – and that it does not sound out of context in a 200k system. Hiding it in the rack when a few friends visited made it a lot of fun to play tricks with them. No one could believe this small amplifier could deliver such an exciting performance!

A fantastic partner for high sensitivity speakers

Installing a pair of efficient speakers is an even more amazing experience. If you’ve always liked horns, or other high sensitivity speakers, but still hold a bit of trepidation about SET amplifiers, the AMP-23R will surprise you in a very good way.

The relatively high impedance of most SET amplifiers makes them slightly more speaker sensitive than other amplifiers, and it’s usually the bass response that takes a hit, combined with their low damping factor, there aren’t many SETs with true bass grip. (Though we have had excellent results with Nagra, ampsandsound, and WAVAC, but these are all much more expensive than the Enleum)

Swapping speakers for the Heretic AD612s (98dB/1-watt), and the new Zu Audio DWXs (95dB/1-watt) both make the AMP-23Rs 25 watts per channel into 8 ohms (45 watts into 4 ohms) seem like way more power than you’d ever need. Even with the higher impedance Zu and Heretics, the AMP-23R never runs out of power.

More listening

Every bit of music selected was a wonderful experience through the AMP-23R. No matter what you enjoy, I think you will be fulfilled. The amplifier possesses a prodigious level of pace and timing. When listening to the usual Blue Note favorites, every player is locked down and does not waver. Tracking through Herbie Hancock’s Main Title theme to Blow Up, the drums are planted at the rear of the soundstage, as Freddie Hubbard’s horn comes in over Hancock’s piano.

Female vocal lovers just might think they are listening to an SET, because of the sheer delicacy this amplifier portrays the human voice. Whether I was listening to Chrissie Hynde, Christine Mc Vie, or Christina Aguilera, every subtle nuance of their voices came through with spectacular feel.

Transient response is also excellent, with no sense of fog, cloudiness, or overhang. Drum heavy music (take your pick) is refreshingly open and punchy. This contributes heavily to a complete lack of fatigue when listening for hours on end. Finally, the sound field created is immense in all three directions, yet the AMP-23R allows music to scale up and down with ease, and it sounds fantastic at very low volume levels as well. Zero complaints here.

A few comparisons

With a couple of great single ended and low powered tube amplifiers on hand to drive the Zu and Heretic speakers, it made sense to undertake some A/B comparisons. To be fair, the $24k pair of ampsandsound Bryce monoblocks deliver slightly more midrange magic and a bit larger overall soundstage. The Pass First Watt SIT-3 offers a bit more organic, warmer presentation, and the Pass INT-25 even warmer still. The Coincident Frankenstein amplifier with WE 300Bs also gives a bit more bloom, but it is in a fun, saturated way.

Except for the Pass INT-25, all of these are more expensive, power amplifiers only, and delivered the performance they did with the $38,000 Pass XS Preamplifier driving them. And tubes are tubes. Sometimes more glorious, but always needing replacement. The Pass INT-25 is more expensive, much larger, and much heavier, with a different tonality.

The point here is not to show any disrespect for the other players, but to again underline just how good the AMP-23R is. 

The Enleum difference

There have been a handful of great phono preamplifiers that operate in current mode, providing a tremendously transparent view of the music. The AMP-23R works this way as well, and the volume control varies the amplifier’s gain, instead of merely attenuating the input. Peaking inside, reveals a pair of Ensense gain modules and a single pair of output transistors bolted to the chassis as a heat sink. Please note, the Ensense modules use all discrete transistors, and no negative feedback. Taking the circuit further, Enleum’s JET2 Bias circuit works in real time to constantly monitor (and correct as needed) each pair of EXICON MOSFETS that make up the output stage.

The stark, yet highly fashionable casework takes the same approach as the circuit design. Ergonomics are top notch, and the machining quality is both tasteful and superb. Even the carefully designed trio of vibration controlling feet work with the mechanical design to keep a minimum of mechanical noise from entering the circuit board.

Around back is a pair of analog RCA inputs marked “Voltage.” These are traditional analog inputs, and the pair of BNC inputs in between them are marked “Enlink,” which are reserved for future Enleum products to work in current mode. (hopefully, a phono stage and matching DAC?) Finally, a small but efficient remote takes care of controlling things from your listening position.

A winning combination

The AMP-23R does everything right. No make that perfectly. In the couple of months that it’s been here, it’s literally a freak out every time we use it. And it’s been so much fun to have audiophile buddies visit with the AMP-23R playing on top of a rack full of massive gear and walk up to turn the level up on this tiny box. Surprise all around, and that’s a great thing.

I’d suggest a 90db/1-watt pair of speakers if you really need serious volume levels, but with the level of musical information that the Enleum 23R reveals, there isn’t a set of speakers under $100k a pair I wouldn’t connect it to. And it’s a killer headphone amplifier too. A quick email to Enleum reveals that the headphone jack is connected directly to the output stage, so it takes full advantage of the circuit, unlike so many integrated amplifiers that tack on a simple op-amp circuit as an afterthought.

Using the Focal Utopia 2022s for reference listening again shows off just how musical and resolving the AMP-23R is. Theoretically, you could buy this amplifier for headphone use only and still feel like you got a good deal.

Conclusion

They say that a true master knows where to pound the nail. I submit the founder of Enleum, Soo In Chae, is in the league of the true masters. The final measure of a top-quality product is the way every aspect of said product is realized. In addition to class A+ sound, this amplifier is wonderfully crafted, and finished to perfection. It is as much a joy to physically interact with and use as it is to listen to.

This amplifier more than deserves to sit on the same shelf with the world’s finest gear. I’ve purchased the review sample, and it will be doing just that here for years to come. I anxiously await what Enleum will bring to market next.

https://enleum.com/amp-23r/

www.audioartcable.com

Listening to PrimaLuna’s new tube phonostage begins with an audiophile cut for a change. If you haven’t had a chance to hear Earth & Wood on Yarlung Records, this is an incredible piece of music exquisitely captured. The tone and dynamics are out of this world good. Seeing the EVO 100 Phono has a 50-ohm setting for MC loading, Rega’s Apheta 2 mounted to a Rega P9 is the toughest cartridge to drive on hand. The Apheta cartridges often get a bad rap at being thin and strident sounding, but nearly all the time they are loaded at too high of an impedance setting. 25-50 ohms is the key to unlocking the speed and transparency that this cartridge offers, and the EVO is a perfect match.

Next up, the SME 20 with a Lyra Helikon reworked by Ana Mighty Sound delivers a completely different voice. Not quite as contrasty from top to bottom, the Lyra has considerably more inner detail and front to back depth. Tracking through a handful of Blue Note remasters delivers a luxurious, texture filled presentation, that brings these classics to life.

Going off on a different tangent, the Technics 1200GR with Luxman LMC-5 is the last choice, again, we’re talking about different and subtlety, rather than hit you over the head differences, but you should know that the EVO 100 possesses more than enough resolution to let all of these different cartridges shine.

A long time in the making

PrimaLuna fans have been asking Herman van den Dungen at PrimaLuna when they would make a killer phono stage offering a level of performance and value to match their award winning amplification products for some time now. They’ve produced a CD player and recently a DAC – both upholding the PrimaLuna traditions of value, performance, and execution. (Staffer Sean Zloch owns the DAC and loves it, btw.) You have to hand it to Mr. van den Dungen for keeping a poker face, he’s never even hinted that they were actually doing this project.

Well, it’s here and it’s fantastic. Though it’s commonplace today to spout superlatives at every turn in the audio reviewing world, the EVO 100 Phono gets highest praise, as I own a handful of great $10k-ish phonostages from ARC, Backert Labs, BAT, Pass Labs, and VAC. The 20k-ish Nagra Classic Phono is also here for listening, so when I say that the EVO is one of the best deals going in a $3,700 phono and delivers performance you’d expect to pay more for, it’s not empty praise. It’s been compared to several great phono stages, with a wide variety of cartridges.

PrimaLuna has been around for 20 years now, and their components stand the test of time. Check your favorite internet forum, EBay, or Audiogon. There’s rarely many used PrimaLuna components for sale. People tend to keep em. For those of you that haven’t heard me say this often, I still have my ProLogue One integrated that I reviewed for The Absolute Sound 20 years ago. Just over 2,500 components have come through the door as TONE approaches its 19^th birthday, and this one’s still delivering the goods. So, this is a product you can buy with total confidence.

Break it down again

The EVO 100 Phono uses a half-sized chassis, like the original PrimaLuna integrated amplifiers, the current EVO DAC and the EVO 100 series products. The physical design and styling match all PrimaLuna products, with the familiar dark blue metallic chassis, black or silver matte front panel, and the Coney Island Hot Dog warmer tube cage. It also comes triple boxed to make sure it is not damaged in transit, and a pair of gloves so you don’t smudge it when installing. If this is your first go around with PrimaLuna, you’ll be impressed with how well their products are packaged.

Though the EVO 100 Phono offers MM and MC capability, there is only one phono input on the rear panel. This is the only real complaint I have with it, and it’s unfortunate that they couldn’t have at least gone the route of having a separate MM and MC input, allowing you to use two turntables, or even using an external step-up transformer with the MM input. A single pair of RCA outputs are also supplied for output to your preamplifier or integrated of choice. With a pair of 6922 tubes for the MC stage, the main gain and MM stage each use a pair of 12AX7 tubes. And all the gain tubes have those vintage coolio metal cans to keep noise down.

Space the final frontier

Even though people are still arguing about analog versus digital, the spaciousness that analog brings to the listening experience is always exciting. Side one of Earth & Wood features Lou Harrison’s 1940s “Canticle No. 3.” Performed by the Smoke and Mirrors percussion ensemble, this track features a steel guitar and a number of vintage percussion instruments. The closest comparison would be to some of the Mickey Hart Drumming at the Edge work. The spaciousness of this recording through the recently installed Peak Consult Sinfonia speakers is massive.

Moving back to more familiar territory, Paul Weller’s first solo album proves equally engaging. Though this record feels digitally mastered, that feeling of a nearly endless soundstage is incredibly cool, revealing fine details not as easily discernable in the Japanese CD version. Isn’t that what vinyl is all about? Uh huh, oh yeah.

The vinyl version of Kruder & Dorfmeister’s The K&D Sessions is perfectly suited to this turtable/cartridge setup, and the tonal saturation that the PrimaLuna adds to the Rega makes for a Technicolor/Superscope presentation. The bass hits hard, and the tinkly bits float around the room. This all-tube design is a master of rendering three dimensional space, precisely the thing I gravitate towards tubes for.

MM and MC

While Chris did not achieve incredible synergy with the EVO 100 and the MM cartridges he had on hand, the Technics 1200G and Concorde Silver (basically a higher performance Ortofon OM40 in a Concorde body) used here was perfection, as well as our other MM reference, the Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood. Both delivered the dynamics you associate with taking the MM path. My least favorite matchup with the EVO 100 on the MM side, was the Linn LP-12 Basik, sporting their Adikt II cartridge. Sometimes it’s just how the planets line up, but this combination is already somewhat on the romantic side, so this might just be a bit too much of a good thing. And remember, I’m the guy on the staff that leans to the warmer side of things.

An interesting aspect of the EVO 100 Phono is the all-tube design – no step up transformers, Op amps, or solid-state gain stage anywhere. A pair of hand-picked 6922s are hidden around back, in a sub enclosure (behind a little door) with the circuit board suspended from the main chassis. You simply remove a small pair of posts to remove the door for tube access. This only delivers 60dB of maximum MC gain, but also adds a level of circuit purity and tonal saturation that others do not. The medium and low gain settings are 56dB and 52dB, handy if you have a high(er) output MC that ranges from .9mV to 2.5mV.

It’s slightly on the low side for something in the .25 – .30mV range, like a Denon 103 if you have a preamplifier/linestage with low to moderate gain. However, when feeding the Pass XS Pre and the conrad-johnson ART88 (in for review) we had no problems with lower output cartridges. And it’s a perfect match for an all PrimaLuna system. If you have a MC cartridge in the .4mV – .6mV range, you will be fine regardless. The EVO offers loading at 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000 ohms for MC and two capacitance settings of 47pF, and 100pF for MM.

Many different system configurations were tried, however most listening was done with the Pass gear and Peak Consult speakers. While the EVO 100 lacks the ultimate level of resolution of the $10-$20k phonostages on hand here, (as it should) to coin an old audiophile cliché, they are only sins of omission. Yet dynamically, the EVO leaves precious little on the table compared to some of the industry’s finest thanks to the enormous power supply with tube rectification handled by a pair of 5AR4s and regulation from a pair of EL34s. It’s like getting out of a Carrera GTS and getting into a standard model 911. After about half an hour, you don’t really miss that extra 50 horsepower all that much.

I have to confess to not being much of a tube roller, but considering the luck I have had with PrimaLuna pre and power amplifiers, I’m guessing those of you that want to invest in some premium NOS tubes for this phonostage can probably wring even more performance from it. This is not to say it is necessary to enjoy the EVO 100, but the most fanatic among you can probably take it a click or two further, should you choose to experiment.

There was a time that almost four grand was crazy money for a phonostage. Today not so much, but for many analog enthusiasts this is still a major commitment of resources. To that effect, the EVO Phono is more than worthy of an Exceptional Value Award for 2023. I know I could live with one of these forever – and with shopping season around the corner, i still may purchase one. Highly recommended.

To get a better handle on how it stacks up to something much more in the same price neighborhood, I sent it over to Chris’ house for a while as he has been listening to the Modwright 9.0 SE (now with X mods) for some time. Here’s his take on the two.

Additional listening; Chris Harr

For several months, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying ModWright’s PH 9.0 phono stage ($3,500). So much so, I recently returned the unit to ModWright for the “X” upgrades (+$1.250). While the “X” mods are entirely positive, they don’t transform the PH 9.0 into an entirely different phono stage. For that reason, it seemed obvious to compare it to the $3,695 PrimaLuna Evo 100 Tube Phonostage.

For initial listening, the PrimaLuna Evo 100 Phonostage is paired with an Avid Volvere SP with a Kuzma 4 Point 9 tonearm. The phono cartridge selected is an Ortofon Cadenza Bronze modified by Andy Kim at the Needle Clinic with a boron cantilever and micro ridge stylus.  Listening to the Evo 100 phono stage, I’m quickly struck by a smooth, liquid and well-layered midrange while listening to Clementine on Halsey’s (Ashley Nicollet Fragipane) Manic album. Make no mistake, Halsey is a pop singer/songwriter of a special quality. Her voice carries a textured emotional depth and the PrimaLuna allows that nuance to be clearly heard. Contrasting overdubbed vocals emerge from a space behind the main vocal rather than blending with the primary vocal. The effect is haunting, in a good way, as though we’re hearing a bit of raw emotional desperation.

Later, listening to “Little Death” from The Beths’ debut album Future Me Hates Me, I’m greeted with the expected crystalline triangle-type sound at the beginning of the track followed by a rapid, light cymbal tap before the song transitions into wall of electric guitars over the top of galloping drums. The Evo 100 keeps the dense instrumentation well-separated and clearly placed in the soundstage.

Next, a ProJect X8 with a Nagaoka MP-200 cartridge (4mV MM) and Cardas Cygnus phono cable is plugged in to assess the PrimaLuna’s MM input. I found the overall combination to be excessively weighted toward the bottom octaves and relatively dark sounding overall. This same configuration is warm through the ModWright also, but very satisfying especially with recordings which tend toward being “hot” in the upper midrange and treble.

Finally, a Rega RP6 with a Dynavector 20x2H (2.8mV HOMC)is substituted. The sound is clear and well balanced, if not as intense as I was accustomed to through the PH 9.0. Overall, I am left with the impression that the Evo 100’s MM stage is best paired with livelier, brighter sounding MM cartridges. I’m sure some of this could be changed by a little tube rolling in the MM section.

My evening concluded by switching back to the Avid and listening to Phantogram’s Eyelid Movies. Phantogram recordings fall into a special category of electronic rock/dream pop with sequenced beats. They’re intense, fun albums but are far from being “audiophile” quality recordings. Despite the average recording quality, I was again struck by the smooth, textured clarity of vocals through the Evo 100.

While the majority of Phantogram’s songs are sung by Sarah Barthel, the occasional track is sung by guitarist and producer Josh Carter. His voice often falls back into the mix, lacking nuance. Through the PrimaLuna, he emerges in a convincing, textured manner not experienced before. Very impressive.

A major difference between the ModWright to the PrimaLuna is how differently they present dynamics. The Evo 100 builds from the bottom-up, whereas the ModWright builds top-down from a higher average intensity level. High frequency dynamic details emerge from the Primaluna, as though someone were turning up a dimmer switch in a darkened room. From the ModWright, the ambient light level is higher, and the color temperature changes instead.

The ModWright PH 9.0X presents dense rock and pop recordings in a stable, lively manner with tighter, punchier bass and equally extended low frequencies. Paired with the Focal Scala Utopia Evo’s powered by a Parasound JC5, The lower octaves and overall tonal balance are more satisfying through the ModWright with rock, pop and electronic recordings, the types of music I listen to most often.

To my ear, The PrimaLuna Evo 100 Phonostage is the warmer, more organic sounding phono stage, excelling at presenting a comparatively more layered midband, remaining unflustered when complex passes occur and remaining sweet in the top octaves.

An audition of the PrimaLuna would be easy to recommend, especially to vinyl enthusiasts who gravitate toward acoustic and vocal based recordings.

$3,695

Primaluna-usa.com

Always on the move, improving their products, Naim has announced today that they have replaced the very popular Chora Line with their new Theva speakers. This is a full lineup, with products for 2-channel and theater users. Here’s what they have to say about all the changes incorporated into the Thevas. It’s pretty extensive.

Focal listened and with consumer feedback is excited to present Theva, a new line of Hi-Fi loudspeakers comprising six products that deliver uncompromising performance and design.

Made in France in Focal workshops, all the speaker drivers in the Theva line are born of Focal’s unique know-how. They incorporate its Slatefiber technology, a cone made from recycled non-woven carbon fibers and thermoplastic polymers from discarded aeronautical and automotive parts. It delivers excellent performance, reproducing a dynamic, rich and balanced sound.

First seen in the Chora line, this cone has proven its worth across numerous products and several divisions, since our engineers have used it to develop the Alpha Evo studio monitors and even the Slatefiber in-car kits.

Also made in France, the Aluminum/Magnesium TNF tweeter – already present in the Chora loudspeakers – offers a mellow, clear treble. With its outstanding performance, it was the obvious choice for Theva loudspeakers.

The finishes for the Theva loudspeakers are inherited from the Chora line, with considerable improvements. They are more modern, to blend even more seamlessly into any interior. The pure, elegant look of the Black, Dark Wood and Light Wood finishes enhances any room, as well as offering an even closer coherence with our other loudspeaker ranges. Each Focal line has its own aesthetic, while together they form a harmonious catalogue and unique signature.

After Chora, every detail was reviewed and redesigned to create loudspeakers that are robust and refined from every angle.

Here are the key areas Focal concentrated on with Theva:

An additional front panel, for the perfect finish and no risk of detachment on the front.

An increased perceived value with a metallic, screen-printed Focal ring around each speaker driver. It also ensures Theva is coherent with all our other lines.

A vent now placed on the rear of the loudspeaker, for a sleeker finish on the front. This also reduces the size of the enclosures, particularly the one housing the Theva N°1 bookshelf loudspeaker, which is much more compact in comparison with Chora N°1.

A fold in the vinyl at the back of the loudspeaker to avoid any detachment.

The addition of a slimmer loudspeaker to the range, Theva N°2, perfectly suited for smaller settings, with an even more attractive profile.

A light base for the Light Wood versions for even more sophisticated products. Likewise for the grills, designed to coordinate with the finishes: a beige grill for the loudspeakers with a light finish.

A tweeter minus its grill and surrounded by a chrome ring for an understated front piece.

The Focal flame beneath the speaker drivers on all the loudspeakers in the Theva range.

www.focal.com

One of the most important things in your audio system is the quality of the power you are feeding it. Before spending a ton of your hard-earned cash on exotic audio accessories, consider sorting out the power first. The more artifacts you have in the power line, the more noise creeps into the audio signal.

The Puron is a small device that is not a “pass-through” device like a standard line conditioner, and it can be used in tandem with whatever current power conditioning you might be using. It looks somewhat like an old metal encased rectifier tube (for those of you old enough to remember that kind of thing) and is meant to be plugged into the same circuit as the components you are using, whether you have a line conditioner or not.

We are in process of trying this in a number of different environments and systems to give you a full report, but for now, the Puron proves successful.

The first trial in our main listening room, only yielded a small, but definite result on a system consisting of the T+A Caruso R all in one, and a pair of vintage ESS AMT1-b speakers, with Tellurium Q Black power and speaker cables. This was chosen because this system has a bit of a high frequency edge to it. The Puron definitely took some of the glare out of the presentation, and actually had more effect the following day after being in the system for about 30 hours. (Which incidentally is what Vera-Fi says needs to happen for optimum result.)

To put things in proper perspective, the TONE studio is a metal clad building (kind of a natural faraday cage), with it’s own dedicated power, attention paid to grounding, and Cardas outlets installed where gear plugs in. There is no wi-fi in my office – even the iPad is hardwired, and there are no wall wart or switching power supplies. Finally, there are no light dimmers of any kind. So, it’s fairly grunge free out here.

The house is a different story. Multiple appliances, wall warts a plenty, Hue light dimmers, and wifi everywhere. All in the context of a 60-year old house. The bedroom system consists of an LG 80” TV and a pair of Totem Kin Play Tower speakers. Nothing fancy, by any means. This was an immediate change for the better. Just watching the last two episodes of Picard shows less pixelation and noise in the blacks. Seriously, I’d buy one just for this. However, it really did clean up the sound coming through the Kin Plays by an order of magnitude.

We’d really like to try this in a few more configurations. But for now at $250, I can’t suggest this one highly enough. – Jeff Dorgay

$250

verafiaudiollc.com

Relaxing with Elvis Costello’s Painted From Memory on the turntable, it’s almost tough to believe that the source is an integrated amplifier, not a $100k rack full of separate components and a $30k loom of mega cables. When music lovers that want high performance yet do not want a rack full of gear, a pile of cables, or the inconvenience of vacuum tubes, ask me what to buy, my answer is always Luxman. There are a few others I’m very fond of, but if you want the phono on board and prefer to keep your DAC as a separate component, Luxman is my personal favorite. And Luxman offers a few incredible digital boxes to keep it all in the family.

I enjoy a few other excellent brands as much, but the combination makes Luxman integrated amplifiers so unique. The combination of every section, performing at an equally high level, to be precise. Coming up on its 100th birthday in a few years, Luxman is a company of constant refinement and engineering excellence. Everything they improve is purposeful, and the new products always outperform the old, leaving you thinking, “how did they do that?”

External beauty

Weighing 25.4kg/60 pounds makes the L-507Z big but not unyielding for a single person to unbox and carry. I suggest some gloves; just because that front panel is finished to such a high standard, you wouldn’t want to scratch it. As with every other Luxman piece that’s been through here, you don’t realize just how lovely this amplifier is until it’s sitting on the shelf/rack of your choice. It’s much like examining a high-resolution photo captured with a high-quality digital camera. The more you zoom in, the more you can see the fine details and level of finish. Perhaps it’s my imagination, but it seems like Luxman has refined their already excellent level of finish on the L-507Z.

This product is beautiful to behold and contributes significantly to the pride of ownership and happiness with writing the check. I’ve only seen this level of fine finish on Burmester and Boulder gear – both cost a lot more than Luxman.

All the usual controls you expect from a Luxman amplifier are here and in the same place they always reside, so the level of familiarity is a great thing. However, a few new features are clearly apparent. In between the output level meters, a seven-segment LED numeric readout resides, letting you know at a glance from across the room how high the volume level is. 

The tone controls are still present; if you’re a complete purist, ignore this paragraph. However, if you’ve longed for a bit of boost or cut at the frequency spectrum extremes, Luxman’s implementation is perfect. The bass and treble controls are gentle in their effect but very handy on a somewhat flat or tinkly record. It’s also convenient for headphone listening – especially if you have a collection of headphones. The tone controls go a long way at adjusting minor differences to make your personal listening that much more enjoyable. There is also a new 4.4mm “Pentaconn” jack on the front panel that Luxman says allows “quasi-balanced” operation because of its separate right and left channel grounds, resulting in better left to right separation. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a pair of phones wired this way, so we were unable to fully investigate. Here is some more information about the Pentaconn connector:

However, our usual stable of phones from Audeze, Grado, Sendy, HiFi Man, and Focal all worked well, indicating a substantial amount of current drive from the 507Zs headphone amplifier section.

Around the back, in addition to the analog phono input, there are four RCA, line-level inputs, and two balanced XLR inputs. Luxman allows you to invert the phase of these inputs in case you have an external source (like Burmester and a few others) that doesn’t use the standard pin configuration. For the first time, 12V trigger and control jacks are also available for anyone needing to blend their L-507Z with home automation.

Subtle smoothness

With only one class-A amplifier in the lineup (at least for now), Luxman is further embracing class-AB topologies, no doubt, in an effort to be more green. Yet, the level of smoothness and refinement always associated with their class-A amplifiers is here at a nearly equal level. The class-A Luxman amplifiers, particularly the L-590II, is slightly warmer but also somewhat less dynamic. A fine distinction but one to be aware of.

Connected to a pair of Dynaudio Confidence 20 speakers and a six-pack of REL 510 subwoofers, the combination is stunning. Because the REL subwoofers perform their best when connected to the speaker level connections, the Luxman’s L-507Z’s front panel speaker switch is incredibly handy. Being able to switch the subwoofers in and out like this makes setting them up that much quicker. It also made A/B comparisons here very easy to get on with.

With 110 Watts per channel (into 8 ohms, and 210 per channel into 4 ohms), precious few speakers are off limits. Trying them with everything from the (86dB/1-Watt) Harbeth Monitor 40XDs, to a pair of (96db/1-Watt) Heretic 614s, Magnepans, and vintage Acoustat ESLs was a breeze. Everything on the list was able to be played as loud as I’d ever need to listen to music. Even the notoriously power-hungry Magnepans deliver an excellent performance.

The lower octave, with or without subs, is solid, with texture and finesse. Starting with the Supreme Beings of Leisure’s 11i (which has notoriously floppy, whumpy bass) and transitioning to Kruder & Dorfmeister, finishing up with some Neu! all were engaging and powerful.

Subtle details

Luxman products personify the “greater than the sum of their parts” philosophy. Building on the technologies that have made their components so well known in the first place with a new 88-step LECUA 1000 attenuator circuit (also used in their top separate components), along with improvements to power supply design and even the circuit board layout all adds up to higher performance.

Where most of the technological improvements will be apparent the minute you turn on your L-507Z, most of them are inside, where you can’t see them. The new LIFES (Luxman Integrated Feedback Engine System) replaces the previous ODNF circuitry and cuts the low amount of distortion in half of earlier models. Again, the technology from their separates is converging in the L-507Z – there’s a level of musicality here that you might associate with a much higher price tag.

You don’t notice this quite as much when pushing the power output needles into the red playing Slayer, but it’s instantly obvious when switching the faire to something more subtle like acoustic instruments. A few reasonably long listening sessions comprised of solo piano, violin, and acoustic guitar had me wondering if this was not a class-A amplifier after all. Good as this amplifier is, the level of midrange integration with acoustic instruments is tremendously good.

The most significant difference is in the shadows or the quiet passages. Where the outgoing L-507uX also produced 110 Watts per channel, this amplifier is not only more silent, it has more low-level resolution. Fine details fade more gently into the backgrounds, with a greater sense of the information at your disposal. Whether listening to analog or digital sources, you’ll hear more.

Fantastic phono

Luxman claims an improved phono section in the L-507Z, and again, I can’t help but agree. With a .3mV/100 ohm spec, the Luxman integrateds have always been perfect for a Denon 103R cartridge, as well as the Dynavector 17DX Carat. Both proved to be a great matches. It’s also a perfect match for Luxman’s new LMC-5 MC cartridge. We’ll have a full review shortly. Setting the stylus of the Dynavector down on Al DiMeola’s new Saturday Night in San Francisco is breathtaking. Hearing these three guitar virtuosos come to life in front of me again has me wondering if I’m really listening to an integrated.

Good as past models have been, this is another step up. Again, putting this amplifier in the context of a $20k – $50k (or even maybe a little more) system as its hub, I could easily see pairing this with an excellent $3-10k turntable and calling it a day. 

Always a joy

In nearly 15 years, I never tire of unboxing a Luxman product. The care in the build that extends all the way to the packaging is a wonderful thing, in this age of ambivalence we live in. The balance of cost, features, aesthetics, and performance are top shelf. Just as McIntosh and Naim have feverishly dedicated to the brand supporters, Luxman is no different. If the combination provided by the 507Z ticks all the boxes on your list, there’s no better choice. 

I only have one complaint about the 507Z; it’s both selfish and personal, so it probably won’t apply to most of you. Since Luxman offers an MM and MC phono option, I truly wish they would offer two phono inputs – one MM and one MC. Come on, there are two headphone outputs on the front panel. That would truly make a 99.9% product 100% perfect.

Keep in mind this is the first of the new “Z Series” integrateds from Luxman, so it will be interesting to see how they rollout the rest of the lineup. Based on the past Luxman models we’ve owned and reviewed, I’ll bet they will be equally fantastic. Stay tuned.

www.luxmanamerica.com

The Luxman L-507Z integrated amplifier marks the beginning of an entirely new “Z”series of amplifiers.

In typical Luxman fashion, they have borrowed heavily on tech from their flagship separates. Their website says, “The L-507z joins Luxman’s integrated amplifier range with numerous advances and features our newly designed “LIFES1.0” distortion canceling feedback engine. “LIFES” is a significant evolution from “ODNF” circuitry, which has long been a key advantage of Luxman amplifiers since its 2010 introduction in our X-series. The robust L-507z marks the beginning of Z-Series, all being developed to include this latest “LIFES” high-quality amplification system, a core technology also shared with our new flagship M-10x stereo/mono power amplifier.”

Bottom line, this amplifier sounds fantastic, and with 110 Watts per channel (into 8 ohms) can drive nearly any speakers with ease. We’ve got a full review on the way shortly but suffice to say that Luxman excels at delivering the quality of separates in a single box. If you want world class sound without needing a rack full of gear, this is the way to go. In addition to the rest of the amplifier updates, the MM/MC phono section is also improved.

A nod to personal audio enthusiasts, the front panel is now equipped with a standard 6.3mm stereo headphone(s) jack and a new 4.4mm “Pentaconn” type. This stereo 4.4mm connection makes “quasi-balanced”, connection possible, featuring separate left and right channel ground returns.. Even the famous output meters now offer a red, LED readout in the center to indicate volume level. All of these subtle changes make for a major upgrade. The507z is the perfect anchor to a high-quality music system.

$8,995
Luxmanamerica.com

The new PrimaLuna EVO 300/Floyd integrated amplifier begins its journey here with a PrimaLuna EVO 400 power amplifier (loaded with KT150 tubes) beside it on the rack. The dCS Vivaldi ONE has a high-quality variable output stage, making for a perfect front-end component to allow easy comparisons, as the EVO 400 is a power amplifier only. Aimee Mann’s “Humpty Dumpty” gets the evaluation off to a start, as it has on every other review I’ve written in the last 17 years.

The MoFi SACD offers a large soundfield in all three dimensions, and Mann’s voice is front, center, large, and breathy. This $7,399 integrated amplifier makes a heck of a first impression. As we’ve had a lot of great integrateds here in the last two years, mainly in the $7,000 – $12,000 range, there is a lot of competition at this price. Some offer onboard phonostages (A high-quality MM phono can be installed in your EVO 300 at the cost of $299, and it’s very good); others concentrate on a built-in DAC. Some have both, others have neither. And they all sound pretty good. There’s a lot of homework to be done. The EVO 300/Floyd leaves the choices to you.

Listening to PrimaLuna’s latest amplifier reminds me of the last time I visited the Louvre. Admiring all the different works of art from such a diverse pool of creativity made me think about amplifiers and how they all sound so different. Measurement geeks that say they all sound the same be damned. Different devices, different topologies all have a different sonic fingerprint. Here, we have something unique.

Your slice of heaven

Possibly one of the most significant discussions we as music lovers have when assembling an audio system is the merits of vacuum tube versus solid-state amplifiers. (And the relative subsets within these categories.) More often than not, tube designs possess an edge when recovering microdynamic information in a recording, and similarly, solid-state amplifiers usually have more current reserve, a higher damping factor, and more control over a speaker’s woofer cone. Hence tighter, more powerful bass response.

Many audiophiles have declared their piece of audio heaven mating a tube preamplifier with a solid-state power amplifier to get the airy delicacy that tubes produce and the extra bass control, dynamics, and current drive of a solid-state power amplifier. While other hybrid designs usually use a pair of tubes as buffer or driver stages to add a bit of warmth, the EVO 300 Floyd brings together a vacuum tube preamplifier and solid-state power amplifier on a single chassis. The result is sheer genius.

Herman van den Dungen, the man behind PrimaLuna, reveals that this hybrid integrated amplifier is designed with a twist. Though it sports a vacuum tube preamplifier section, with six 12AU7 tubes, and a solid-state Mosfet power section, don’t look for a pair of pre-out/power-in jacks on the rear panel. It is not meant to be broken apart into individual sections. On one level, why would you? Both sections have been designed to mate perfectly with the other, and the use of switching or jumpers would only degrade the sound. Tape deck and subwoofer fans fear not, there is a variable output for your sub and a pair of fixed outputs for your reel to reel deck!

As Mosfet devices come the closest to approaching the voice that tubes provide, it’s a natural match, and because there are no output tubes to replace, a re-tube will not be expensive. 12AU7s are plentiful, and even if you feel the urge to roll tubes, NOS 12AU7s aren’t nearly as costly as 12AX7s.

Getting into it

If you’ve never experienced a PrimaLuna amplifier – they are pretty heavy, and well packaged. However, where the EVO 400 all-tube amplifier tips the scale at almost 70 pounds, the EVO 300/Floyd is 55 pounds. Even though the usual massive output transformers are lacking, a dedicated 500VA transformer is on deck for the power amplifier section, and the preamplifier uses a pair of smaller, dedicated power transformers for the tube section.

Removing the bottom cover is a visual feast for the parts geek/aficionado. A cursory look reveals an expensive ALPS volume pot, along with resistors and capacitors from Nichicon, Rubycon, Kemet, Takman, DuRoch, and others. This is the kind of stuff that one usually finds lurking in amplifiers costing 3-5 times as much.

PrimaLuna’s vacuum tube amplifiers are all built with point-to-point wiring (except for the small auto-bias board that eliminates the need to bias the output tubes) and feature a fanatic level of attention to detail. Those arguing point to point wiring can’t compete with the consistency offered by printed circuit boards have never looked inside a PrimaLuna! The EVO 300/Floyd still uses point-to-point wiring, but there are three PCBs now. These boards are 2.4mm thick with 105um gold-plated copper traces, for maximum longevity and highest signal integrity.

Fit and finish elsewhere is equally fantastic. PrimaLuna has always set the standard for execution, using their signature dark blue metallic for the chassis, mated to a thick aluminum front panel with silver or black anodizing. The only thing feeling out of place on recent PrimaLuna products is the control and selector knobs. The rough, pebbly finish does not look as “finished” as the smooth ones used in earlier PL products. This is truly my only complaint with the EVO300/Floyd, but it is something that other PL owners have talked about online. Perhaps offer an upgraded, machined pair of knobs as an add-on?

Around the back, there are five line-level RCA inputs. Unlike the EVO separates, where moving to the 400 series brings balanced capability, the EVO 300 and 300/Floyd only feature RCA inputs. You can only fit so much onto a chassis at some point, and this won’t be a deal-breaker for most.

Finally, PrimaLuna offers a full-function, machined aluminum remote that is again a class leader. You won’t find this level of detail on a nearly $20,000 Audio Research Reference preamplifier. Even better, PrimaLuna’s remote will work with the full range of their components, so if you happen to have an older PL CD player or their EVO DAC (read our review here), you can control everything with one remote. It’s a nice touch that comes with 20 plus years of building components with a human element.

Tomato, tomato?

The EVO 300/Floyd has a rated output of 100 Watts per channel into 8 ohms, and 150 Watts into a 4-ohm load. Early reviews in the UK and European press that are putting it on the test bench reveal closer to 120 Watts into 8 ohms and about 180 into 4 ohms. My EVO 400 reference amplifier delivers 88 Watts per channel and can be switched into triode mode (albeit only producing 50 Watts per channel with KT-150s), offering more flexibility where the ultimate in LF “slam” is not a necessity.

This is more a “different” than a “better” comparison. Listening to both topologies side by side, the lineage is obvious. Thanks to the extra current drive that the hybrid amplifier provides, it will deliver better results with a broader range of speakers. Nothing is off limits with the EVO 300/Floyd. It will even take hold of a pair of Magnepans with ease. HiFi News (and occasional TONE contributor) correspondent Ken Kessler mentions that the EVO 300/Floyd did a great job driving his Wilson Audio DAWs – a speaker that requires a high-quality amplifier.

Carefully listening to tracks with dense mixes and highly layered vocals, such as Todd Rundgren, Crowded House, CSN, and others, shows the hybrid amplifier giving up little quarter to the all-tube EVO yet painting a slightly deeper, more dramatic sound field. Solo acoustic instruments and vocal pieces nod slightly to the tube amp, but heavy rock and large-scale classical pieces favor the Floyd. Again, remember I’m splitting hairs here. This is an incredibly well accomplished product.

Hours of listening underlines what an enjoyable product this is, and at times you might find yourself wanting to lift that top cover to see what’s really in there. We’ve got a pic, so you don’t have to – the EVO 300/Floyd does have a solid-state output stage. PrimaLuna has done a better job combining tubes and transistors on one chassis than anything we’ve come across. This amplifier has not made a single misstep while here. I can’t imagine anyone having buyer’s remorse after taking the plunge. This amplifier has an overall tonality incorporating the inner detail and spaciousness that you would typically associate with an all-tube design.

Feed your head

In addition to adding a MM phonostage, the EVO 300/Floyd sports a ¼” headphone jack on the front panel. You merely need to push the HP/LS switch on the right side to disable the speaker outputs when listening with headphones.

PrimaLuna powers the headphone jack with the full amplifier, so you are not listening to an inexpensive OP amp powered headphone module. Auditioning a wide range of phones on hand from Focal, Grado, and Sennheiser was indeed satisfying. All but the most obsessed headphone listener will not feel the need for an outboard amplifier – further increasing the value proposition or the EVO 300/Floyd.

But why go hybrid?

Telling the story of the EVO300/Floyd on the PrimaLuna home site, van den Dungen (with his usual wry sense of humor) asks the question, “PrimaLuna, what are you doing now?” The answer is complex, but this amplifier is a valuable addition to the PrimaLuna lineup. If you are an audio enthusiast that only wants a vacuum tube setup, PL has you covered. However, if you have a pair of speakers that could use that extra bit of current capability only a solid-state amplifier will deliver, then this amplifier is the perfect solution.

Maybe you’re a tube lover with limited space, or you’re just tired of buying so many tubes. Again, the EVO300/Floyd is the winner. Sonic taste is as wide as the Grand Canyon; you may prefer the hybrid’s voice over anything else. Considering how easy the PrimaLuna amplifiers we’ve owned and reviewed are on tubes, you may never even need to re-tube your EVO300/Floyd. 10,000 hours on a set of 12AU7s in a PrimaLuna or even more wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

As I’ve said many times before in these pages, I love integrated amplifiers because they save you a set of interconnects and a power cord when building a system, making them a supreme value. To that effect, I am thrilled to give the EVO300/Floyd one of our first Exceptional Value Awards of the new year. This is an amplifier you can build a high-performance system around and keep for a long time. Considering that my PrimaLuna ProLogue One is still going strong after 20 years, you can take that one to the bank.

https://www.primaluna-usa.com/primaluna-evo-300-hybrid-integrated-amp

https://www.primaluna.nl/hybrid/evo-300-hybrid-integrated-amplifier/

Peripherals

Digital Source dCS Vivaldi ONE, HiFi Rose 150

Analog Source Technics SL-1200/Denon 103/Pass XP-27

Speakers Sonus faber Stradiveri, Eggleston Nico, Acoustat 2+2

Cable Cardas Clear Relection, Tellurium Q Black II

Not only did Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock’s “It Takes Two” make hip-hop history, the 1988 smash and pop-culture staple espoused a philosophy that mirrors a long-held high-end audio doctrine: Separate components (two) reign superior over their integrated brethren (one), unless the latter commands a far, far higher price tag than the comparable pieces.

From a technological angle, the tenet remains difficult to argue. Two pieces of gear, each dedicated to a primary function in the audio chain and free of the compromises that often need to be implemented to merge preamplification and amplification duties under one roof, seems, on paper at least, to carry the day. What usually goes unspoken is that the arrangement generally requires more thought put into system synergy (especially when different brands are involved) as well as more money and more space. The audiophile industry also counts on such tradition to boost demand for associated categories—cables, interconnects, racks. After all, the more equipment you have to link, the more wire you’ll require, and the more shelves you’ll need. Everything adds up, and quick.

For decades, the approach has simply been accepted and considered the price of entrance. Like many assumptions, experience supported it—and the audio press and marketplace dutifully reinforced it. By and large, two (or, for everyone running dedicated mono amps, three) boxes offered a higher magnitude of sonic enticement than one-box affairs. But, in the words of Bob Dylan, times have changed.

Fueled by leaps in technology, the practicality of high-resolution streaming, and the limitations associated with small living spaces, listeners increasingly appear bent on simplifying their setup without sacrificing on sound. Akin to dialing up practically any album on your phone and wirelessly sending it in better-than-CD quality to your hi-fi, the prospect of marrying such accessible convenience with seductive fidelity faced myriad roadblocks not so long ago. As evidenced by the Luxman L-590AXII integrated amplifier—a model whose predecessor, L-590AX, TONE publisher Jeff Dorgay cites as one of the five of the thousands of audio products that have crossed his doorstep that he wishes he never let get away—those blockades have been eradicated.

They Still Make ‘Em Like They Used to Do

The co-flagship of the five integrated models in the manufacturer’s line, L-590AXII broadcasts its signature calling card by way of two amber VU meters—a color designation the brand reserves for high-current Class A designs. Whether you’re new to high-end audio or a dyed-in-the-wool aficionado, Class A remains the summit to which amplification technologies aspire. As with nearly every choice in life, the approach touts advantages and disadvantages. When it comes to next-to-zero distortion, even-order harmonics, and linearity, Class A rules with an iron fist. The drawbacks: Some designs run extremely hot and many tout efficiency on par with the gallons-per-mile consumption of a 1967 Lincoln Continental. Plus, Class A tends to translate into a higher price tag due to expenses associated with production.

At $9,495, the Japanese-made L-590AXII doesn’t come cheap. Yet even before you begin counting the dollars you’ll save on extra cables, the value proposition of L-590AXII becomes clear the moment you open its shipping carton. Ready to withstand the in-transit abuses thrown its way by UPS or FedEx, the 62.6-pound unit arrives triple-boxed. Unpacking it bestows the sensation of uncovering a series of Matryoshka dolls. Once you unwrap the protective padding from the amplifier, the stalwart construction of L-590AXII manifests itself. The old adage “you get what you pay for” transforms into “you get what you pay for, and then some more.”

Furnished with gorgeous steel and aluminum casework that extends to its bead-blasted, clear anodized finish and screw-free exterior, L-590AXII lures eyeballs with a thick top plate complete with a pair of vents for heat dissipation. The front panel continues the visual feast. The attractive VU meters, extremely responsive in operation, center an array that finds an input selector on the left and volume knob on the right. Riding above the bottom edge: A power button, small monitor button, six more selector dials, two more small buttons, and a headphone jack. In standby mode, a faint honey-colored indicator glows between the meters. When active, a powder-blue light blushes above the Operation button, an orange LED signifies the chosen input, and the meters prepare to dance. Consider the effect stately, not showy.

If you’re a hands-on type of person, know that it’s impossible to overstate the tactile feel of the silver-matted controls. They convey a confidence, prestige, and durability you only get from handmade craftsmanship and the implementation of premium-grade materials. Ironically, L-590AXII’s metal remote boasts similar solidity, But even it cannot replicate the sensation engendered by the panel. The differences go beyond the fact L-590AXII trades in metal rather than plastic or composite. They point to a faculty of command, pride, and authority, as well as the privilege of piloting a purpose-based component engineered for longevity and devoted to virtuosity.

Gumby-Like Flexibility

The guts of L-590AXII subscribe to the same vision. The integrated shares much of the tech instilled in Luxman separates, not the least of which pertains to version 4.0 of the company’s Only Distortion Negative Feedback (ONDF) circuit, a LECUA1000 computerized attenuator, and a discrete buffer circuit. In another nod to L-590AXII’s worth, all three also grace C-900u, the manufacturer’s $15,000 flagship preamplifier. And each involves complexities that underline Luxman’s pursuit of purity and naturalism.

In short, ONDF benefits from a fast slew rate, three-parallel push-pull structure with three-stage Darlington, and the advantages of an open-loop circuit—sans the latter’s instability and distortion. Short for Luxman Electrically Controlled Ultimate Attenuator, the LECUA1000 utilizes an 88-step amplifier circuit and three-dimensional layout that permits the substrates to be placed in a manner that minimizes all routes—and fosters resistance to external vibration. As for the buffer, it comes mounted on preamplifier circuit output stage to preserve signal integrity and enhance the power amplifier section’s drive.

Also on board: A high-inertia power supply circuit with a high-regulation large-capacity power transformer and big block capacitor of 80,000μF independently arrayed for instantaneous power and stability; a low-resistance speaker relay in which two contacts are connected in parallel, an order that leads to a damping factor of 320 (versus its predecessor’s 240) for remarkably vibrant music reproduction; and OFC wire, beeline construction, a loop-less chassis, and gradation cast-iron insulator legs.

Functionally, L-590AXII doubles as the equivalent of a five-tool Major League Baseball star. Four pairs of line-level RCA inputs, two pairs of balanced XLR inputs, tape/record jacks, and preamplifier out and main input jacks—allowing L-590AXII to serve as a standalone preamplifier or amplifier, should you choose to do so now or later—augment four pairs of Emuden speaker binding posts. Oh, and yes, a top-notch MM/MC phono input resides here too, as well as phonostage bonuses such as a subsonic filter and mono button, furthering L-590AXII as a jack of nearly all trades. The only implement missing from L-590AXII’s toolbox? A built-in DAC. Given everything else the integrated promises, and how it makes good on those pledges, it’s a moot point.

The versatility extends to the features anathema to many audiophiles: tone controls. Those of a certain age will remember graphic equalizers that in the 1980s were as ubiquitous as the power conditioners of the current era. Cut from a related cloth but superior in that they present no damage or manipulation to the signal, Luxman’s bass and treble controls offer the opportunity to finitely tailor recordings lacking in certain areas or fine-tune your overall setup. Akin to the attenuators found on many JBL loudspeakers, they can come in handy and beg the question of why a majority of high-end gear shuns their existence. Since no room sounds exactly like another, you can’t go wrong by at least experimenting. Or, you can just leave them alone.

It Can Handle the Truth

From a specifications perspective, when taking into account its rated 30Wpc output into eight ohms (60Wpc into four ohms), the appeal of L-590AXII appears to dim. Many listeners in the market for an amplifier key in on one figure and one figure alone: watts per channel. It’s understandable. Over time, manufacturers have groomed audiophiles to associate herculean output numbers not only with fidelity, but necessity. L-590AXII, and other likeminded Class A products, tosses such logic out into the alley. A caveat: Should you own less-efficient speakers (say, anything below 88dB sensitivity, with 90dB a preferred cutoff), consider instead one of Luxman’s Class AB models, like the 120Wpc L-509X, previously reviewed in TONE.

But, if your speakers don’t require a miniature power plant, L-590AXII stands to school you in how engaging, powerful, robust, gorgeous, and dynamic 30Wpc can sound (and feel). Using it to drive a pair of Klipsch Cornwall IV towers (102dB sensitivity rating)—and matching it with a Feickert Woodpecker turntable with Ortofon Cadenza Bronze cartridge, dCS Bartok DAC, and Oppo BDP-105 universal player—proves positively electric.

Out of the box, L-590AXII performs ably. Once it registers 200-300 hours of break-in time, it finds another gear. And while touching the top of the unit after hours of operation might mirror the wisdom of Flick sticking his tongue to a frozen flagpole in A Christmas Story, L-590AXII runs warm, not broiling, thankfully avoiding the face-melting heat generated by many of its ilk. Also, while some audiophiles may opt to leave L-590AXII powered on for days on end, it reaches top speed from standby in only about 20 minutes. Translation: Be green, save on your utility bill, and shut it down when you’re done.

By the same token, plan on extended listening sessions. L-590AXII renders program material with ravishing degrees of spaciousness and body. It may not have a single tube inside, yet it plays with the corresponding warmth, body, and sweetness of its valve brethren—and without the latter’s regular hassle and finicky disposition. Machines lack emotions, but that doesn’t mean they cannot impart emotionalism to art, exactly what happens every occasion L-590AXII processes a signal. If your preferences lean towards fullness, naturalism, and roundness, and you can stand to sacrifice a hint of clinical precision and forceful slam for beguiling tonality and involving personality, L-590AXII walks your talk.

The Luxman also knows control. Challenged with a complex piece or invited to untangle knots of information, it does so without blinking. Its trademark faculties—nuance, detail, depth, weight, grip, taut bass, punchy mids, resolved highs—hold tight. Whether tested with Lana Del Ray, Bob Marley, Staple Singers, Beyonce, Judas Priest, Allen Toussaint, Accept, Leonard Bernstein, Andrew Bird, Megan Thee Stallion, Missy Elliott, Outkast, Cheap Trick, Eric Clapton, Charley Pride, Bob Mould, or Bob Dylan, L-590AXII possesses an uncanny knack for presenting the air and space around  instruments and vocals—to the extent they exist on the actual recording. L-590AXII knows where things go, assembles multi-dimensional soundstages, and helps makes music reflect live properties. The results beckon you to experience more of the recording, more of the producer’s and artist’s aims. Want truth and perspective? Come and get it.

Just as impressively, L-590AXII never sounds forced or dry. It handles graceful, delicate passages as masterfully as those prone to explosive swings or Marshall-stack potency. Fast and nimble, rich and fluid, L-590AXII conjures an overused audiophile term—effortlessness—by way of its top-shelf-whiskey smoothness and mediation-like ease. Speaking of the latter, L-590AXII’s fanciest magic arguably relates to how loud it can go without any hint of strain, harshness, glare, or distortion.

While the Cornwall IVs play a major role in the equation and harbor ridiculous power-handling abilities, L-590AXII seemingly knows no decibel boundaries. Importantly, the combination doesn’t just do loudness for loudness’ sake. Besides, achieving such a goal isn’t tremendously hard but will sound horribly unpleasant. Instead, the difficulty for any hi-fi lies in playing at booming volumes where the clarity never suffers, where the volume doesn’t ever seem deafening, and where cranking it up edges you closer, closer, and closer still to the kind of system—big, involving, transparent, crisp, vivid, sonorous, direct, in-your-chest present—you dream of encountering at a rock concert.

Built to perfectionist-minded standards and wearing a badge that in the United States still lacks the household recognition of other luxury brands—meaning you both benefit from not paying an extra premium just for a nameplate and leverage the audio expertise of a company with a 95-year history, with its first integrated dating to 1961—L-590AXII can take you there. And rest assured you’ll still have plenty of road to travel on that volume knob, which you might never twist past the two o’clock position. If the prospect of such excitement, enlightenment, fun, and involvement doesn’t grab you, you should probably find a new hobby.

Luxman L-590AXII

MSRP: $9.495

luxmanamerica.com

Peripherals

Analog Dr. Feickert Woodpecker turntable with Jelco tonearm and Ortofon Cadenze Bronze cartridge

Digital dCS Bartok DAC and Oppo BDP-105 universal player

Speakers Klipsch Cornwall IV

Cabling Shunyata Delta interconnects and power cables

Power Shunyata Hydra Delta

Additional listening – Rob Johnson

While I love my reference tube amp, preamp, and phonostage, I prefer to savor them at those times when I’m sitting down and actively listening to music. To me, there’s just no sense in burning through expensive or NOS tubes for background music while I’m working. Therefore, the idea of a solid-state integrated amp, complete with a phonostage and headphone amp, offers an incredibly appealing proposition.

After spending time at local Luxman dealer, Pearl Audio, listening to the L-590AX MkII – and borrowing one owned by a good friend to audition at home – I was smitten with it. I purchased one too. Not only is the build quality and finish superb, but its smooth and beguiling sound is also perfect for all-day, fatigue-free enjoyment. While I initially worried about a 60 watt-per-channel (4 ohms) Luxman providing enough juice for my GamuT RS3i speakers, that concern faded quickly after a few minutes of playback.

Yes, my reference tube components do exceed the Luxman’s prowess in some ways. At more than double the L-590AX’s price, they better! However, those nitpicky quibbles do not leave me longing for “more” while listening to the L-AX590 MkII. I’ve found the Luxman’s exceptional sound and versatility place it among my favorite audio components ever. It’s perfect for those seeking to simplify their audio systems without compromising sonics. Just add the analog or digital music sources of your choosing, sit back, and enjoy.

Today, there are many great-sounding pieces of gear built by relatively new companies. However, I’ve had experiences where more exotic equipment I’ve owned failed for one reason or another. With electronics, it just happens sometimes. But, in a couple of cases, it took months for the manufacturer to complete my repairs. The hallmark of a renowned brand like Luxman is not just in its ability to design and build marvelous components, but its customer service should a problem arise. Given Luxman’s legacy of 90 years in business, I know I’m in good hands.

More Additional listening – Jeff Dorgay

The most rewarding part of this job is when A: people actually listen to what I have to say, and B: when the advice proves excellent and the end user is happy with the results. Then, I have done my job correctly.

Bob Gendron and I had many conversations about him wanting to streamline his hifi system, yet not lose any performance. I tried to convince him that going to the L-590AXII would actually be a step up from what he was currently using. A tall order to be sure. “Are you sure, are you absolutely sure?” Man, we had about 20 of these conversations. I was starting to feel like Yoda arguing with Luke Skywalker in a swamp. I told Bob the same thing I’ve told countless (now) Luxman owners – the (last generation) L-590AXI was an amplifier that I’ve always regretted selling. A lot like my 87 Porsche 944 Turbo. The level of performance and style is off the chart for the price asked.

On phone call number 21, I drew the line in the sand. I told Bob that if he didn’t LOVE the 590AXII, I would buy it back from him and pay the shipping. “It’s really that good?” Yes it is. Needless to say, you’ve read his copy and he’s still thrilled with the amp. Now that Rob Johnson and his friend (along with about 6 other TONE readers since) all have 590s, it’s time for me to get another one.

As for Rob, the phone call started with a suggestion for a good friend of his. We had a similar line of conversation, but as I didn’t know if I’d be buying Bob’s 590, I couldn’t make the same money back guarantee on this one. Fortunately, his friend was equally smitten, which led to his loaning it to Rob for a weekend and convincing him in a similar manner.

The L-590AXII is one of those rare components that offers performance way beyond the sum of its parts. If you sat at a chair blindfolded and someone told you were listening to $40k worth of separates, you’d believe them – and that’s not just me using the force on you. I’ve reviewed the flagship Luxman pieces, and while they offer more power and more ultimate resolution, the 900 series amplifier only plays in class-A mode to about 12 watts per channel. At modest volume, with my Sonus faber Stradiveris, which are fairly efficient (92dB/1-watt sensitivity) it’s tough to hear the difference. Of course if you want the flexibility of separates, and need the power, you’ll need the separates.

Personally, much as I love everything else about the 590, I really love the phono section, (and the tone controls!) especially with a Denon 103r cartridge. The level of performance is incredible – it’s dynamic, quiet, and resolving. One less set of interconnects and power cord less to buy, and unless you are in the $5k-$10k cartridge club, you may find this is all the phonostage you ever need.

In the end what truly makes the Luxman L-590AXII an incredible product, and one of the few pieces of gear that I’ve talked more friends into buying than almost anything else is the level of balance it offers. Much like a sports car, if you have more stop than go, or more go than handling, or more performance than reliability, the exercise fails. The Luxman L-590II takes the systematic approach to perfection. No one section of this amplifier leaves performance on the table at the expense of the other. And, together, this amplifier gives those of you wanting a money no object, mega performance system on a reasonable budget a bigger helping of that than anything I’ve yet encountered, especially if you want on-board phono instead of DAC.

The Luxman L-590AXII is not just an Exceptional Value, it is one of the best values in high end audio in my book. #toneaudioapproved.

Manley has not changed the circuit of their smallest monoblocks, the Mahi’s, but since this review came out in 2007, manufacturing costs and a crazy world economy has brought the price to nearly double what they were in 2006 when we first wrote this review. Still, at $5,399 a pair, these are still one of the best bargains in hand crafted tube amplifiers going and after revisiting a pair of a friend’s Mahi’s, I stand behind everything written here. –Jeff Dorgay, Publisher

Often, good sound in the audiophile world means big: big amplifiers, lots of big tubes, big heatsinks with a lot of power transistors. And of course, we need a big power supply too. That is the conventional wisdom, and it works well, but every now and then you get surprised.

The Mahis are one of those surprises.

When I first saw the Mahis, I really wanted to get my hands on them, just because they look so cool. I’m a major fan of Manley stuff from an industrial design point of view, and now years later, the sound as well. Only about 10 x 11 x 5-inches, the Mahis are small but substantial, weighing 18 pounds each. The chassis are black, but the front panel and spiked feet are a dark, metallic blue, and the front panels have the Manley Mahi logo on them that light up from behind when you turn the power on.

The Mahis are compact but substantial – like taking a teaspoon of matter from Pluto substantial. There is an IEC socket on the back, so you can use the power cord of your choice, and speakers connect via a pair of WBT binding posts, though there are no options for different impedance. I tried the Mahis with a number of different speakers, and this isn’t a problem.

Unlike a lot of tube amplifiers in this price range, the Mahis use a pair of EL-84 output tubes per channel, instead of the more common EL-34. This amplifier began its life about 15 years ago as VTL’s “Tiny Triode” amplifier, making quite a name for itself. They then became Manley 35-watt monoblocks, later morphing into their 50-watt monoblock amplifier. The 9-pin EL-84 looks a lot like a preamp tube at first glance, but it delivers the goods! Guitar geeks in the audience will recognize this tube as the one that contributes to the sweet sound of the old VOX amplifiers the Beatles (and the Knaack) used.

A pair of Mahis now cost $5,399, and are stoutly built at the Manley facility in Chino, Calif. These are monoblock versions of the popular Stingray, without input switching and volume controls, so they are perfect for those of you who already have a linestage you are fond of.

Initial Set-up

For the first part of the test and break in, I used the Mahis in a system consisting of the ACI Sapphire XLs along with the ModWright 9.0 SWL SE linestage. Digital came from an Ah! Tjoeb 4000, partnered with the Benchmark DAC-1. Vinyl playback was provided by my hotrodded Rega P25 with a Sumiko Blackbird and the Hagerman Trumpet phono stage, so I felt we had these amplifiers in a system representative of like-priced gear. Those of you wanting to stay all Manley would do well to consider their Shrimp preamplifier.

These amplifiers broke in very quickly, only requiring about 50 hours to be all they can be. For the duration of my listening sessions a pair of Tetra 506s, along with BAT VK-42SE linestage and VK-P5 phono preamplifier rounded out the system. A ModWright Denon 3910 (things have come a long way since 2006!!) provided digital playback and the LP-12 with Shelter 90x handled analog playback.

The fairly sensitive Tetra 506 speakers (92db/1-watt) prove a great match. The Mahis produce just over 40 watts in ultralinear mode, so this is more than enough juice to make plenty of noise. Triode lovers only get 20 watts per channel, but it’s a bit warmer sound.

Adjustability Equals Fun

The Mahis give you two different ways to tailor the sound to your liking. Not only can you switch between ultralinear and triode mode, there are three settings for feedback as well. The standard setting (middle position) offers about 6 db of feedback, with the low setting has 3 db and the high setting, 10 db. You may question all of this, but it really comes in handy to dial in the sound you want. In a perfect world, if all records were perfectly mastered, you wouldn’t need this, but we all know that’s not the case.

If you are new to the tube scene, the standard ultralinear mode is more powerful, offering slightly more control over the lower frequencies, while being just a bit more extended on the high end. Using the EL-84s in triode mode costs you a bit of extension and control, but the midrange is more liquid.

Quad 57 owners, this is your amplifier. Since this review was written initially, I’ve borrowed Echo Audio’s demo pair of Mahis, and they are beyond lovely with the classic Quad 57s and the current 28xx series Quads. I’ll stick my neck out and say the Manley Mahis offer the most musically engaging presentation I’ve heard with the original Quads.

While many of you might leave everything in the center position and forget it, I found this feature to be really handy as a tone control. Got a CD with way too much sizzle? Crank up the feedback. Granted, you will lose a little bit of ultimate detail and resolution, but the smooth sound will be a lot easier on your ears. Listening to female vocals late at night over a glass of wine or two, crank up the feedback and go to triode mode as well. This combination is as romantic as it gets. If you are playing Led Zeppelin and need that extra push over the cliff, switch back to ultralinear mode and turn the feedback all the way down.

For some of you, this will be too much to handle, so if you are like a friend of mine that keeps VTA settings for all of his favorite records on an Excel file, forget about the Mahis, they will probably drive you nuts. You need a power amplifier with a power switch and that’s it. However, if having a few options sounds like a good time, grab a pair of Mahis and live it up!

A Different Kind of Fun

If you have never experienced an amplifier using EL-84 tubes, you are definitely in for a treat. Though the 6550 and KT-88 tubes are more common because of their higher power capacity, this configuration is very interesting. Conventional wisdom states that the EL-34 tubes have a more romantic sound, while the 6550s have more extension and punch.

However, the EL-84 in many ways is the best of both worlds, having great bass, top end extension, yet a liquid midrange. The only drawback is that these little tubes are only good for about 40 watts per channel, so to take advantage of the magic these amplifiers have to offer, you need a small room, efficient speakers, or both.

The more time I spent listening to the Mahis, the clearer picture I got of their character. The Mahis are very nimble tube amplifiers that have a lot of control in the lower registers. I tried several of my favorite bass-heavy discs from Kruder & Dorfmeister, Mickey Hart, and even dusted off my oldest Run DMC LP’s. The bass response of the Mahis is satisfying on all occasions. There are a few tube amplifiers in this price range that have more power, but the Mahis have more finesse, so if that’s your hot button, you will dig these amplifiers.

Again, the key is system matching. Get a pair of 92-96 db speakers and you may never need a bigger amplifier, because the Mahis are so enjoyable.Hook ‘em up to a pair of 86 db speakers and you might not get the same picture I got unless you are in a small room. Thanks to the great tonality of these amplifiers, you female vocal fans will worship the Mahi sound.

It’s all about detail with the Mahis. You can’t beat the laws of physics with any pair of 40-watt amplifiers, but the Mahis do such a great job with detail, you may not find yourself wanting to turn it up quite so loud. One final detail: the Mahis are very sensitive only requiring about 300 mv to produce full power. If you take a pair for a test drive, turn your preamp way down before starting to listen.

The Verdict

Fifteen years and price increases later, the Manley Mahis are still one of the most enjoyable pairs of tube amps going. I think I need a pair. (I should have bought em in 2006!)

Manley.com

Time flies when you’re having fun, the saying goes, and Naim’s Mu-so is an incredibly fun way to enjoy music.

The initial launch of the Mu-so at the Munich High End Show a few years ago raised the bar – dramatically for what can be called a desktop audio system. And a gorgeous one at that. As someone who’s been listening since the Mu-so arrived, this was a mega product to begin with. We’ve been living with the original Mu-so QB since the review. Pam looked at that, and just said “mine.”

And what’s not to love? Both Mu-so’s offer powered speakers, incredible industrial design, massive digital connectivity, and stunning sound. Thanks to their partnership with Focal, the Naim engineering staff has been able to leverage Focal’s expertise to produce a second-generation product offering true high-end sound in a box taking up a smaller form factor than a sound bar. If you’ve been thinking about a top sound bar for your TV, forget about it – buy a Mu-so.

Compact yet majestic

Don’t let the compact (about 12 x 24 inches, and only 5 inches high) form factor fool you. The new Mu-so packs 450 watts of power, into this enclosure, via a pair of DSP controlled, three-way speakers. When the original Mu-so was introduced, this was its most impressive feature – it could play loud, and with authority.

Nothing’s changed. After all of 8 seconds to pair up the Mu-so 2 with my iPhone, I’m rocking out. Robert Plant’s “Little by Little” has a solid bass groove, and about 20 tracks of Robert Plant later, this tabletop system is massively engaging, even using Spotify as a source. Fortunately, this is the lowest quality setting of which the Mu-so 2 is capable of.

With DAC and streaming circuitry derived from the flagship 500 series (which, incidentally, is also our cover story) the Mu-so 2 is able to decode PCM files up to 24/384khz PCM files and DSD 128.

Different, but the same

The new version of the Mu-so looks nearly the same externally, but Naim says (with their typical wacky sense of humor) that the new model is “95% different.” This means nearly everything has been gone over, optimized, and improved. It may look the same, but Naim has taken a class leading product and improved every aspect of it except one (and maybe that’s the 5%) the amazing volume attenuator. This is one of those works of engineering art that should be in museums everywhere. It feels just like the control in Naim’s top of the line Statement preamplifier. And when you power up the Mu-so, the backlit ring around the control dial glows in a circular fashion for about 20 seconds until warm up, revealing the unit’s control panel/main menu. It’s so beautiful to behold, you just might find yourself dimming the lights to see it more than once.

Again, with every aspect of the Mu-so 2s performance upgraded or tweaked, this is a component that is way more than the sum of its individual parts. Thanks to analog, USB, digital, and network inputs (wired and wireless) you can connect anything to the Mu-so 2. We tried everything, because again, Mu-so 2 is so much fun.

Connects to everything

First: old school analog. Thanks to the standard analog input, you can connect a turntable and phono preamplifier to the Mu-so 2. What better than a Technics 1200, fitted with a Denon 103 cartridge and a Naim Stageline phono? Should you hook a turntable up to your Mu-so 2, we suggest not placing the turntable on the same shelf, as the extended bass response of the Mu-so 2 will cause acoustic feedback. If you have no other way to go, investing in some kind of isolation platform or perhaps a wall shelf directly above the Mu-so 2 so you can keep cabling to a minimum. This was our approach, and it was fantastic.

Next: new school analog. As we have Cambridge Audio’s new Alva Bluetooth turntable, this seemed it might make the perfect fit for someone in close quarters, that needs to put their Mu-so 2 one place and a record player all the way across the room or pull it out and put it on a table somewhere for a night of record playing. The two paired effortlessly, and within 60 seconds we were playing records. Even though this is not a Naim piece, it makes a perfect complement for the Mu-so 2.

Streaming: via iOS device (or other). Just like the Alva, the iPhone synched with the Mu-so 2 in a heartbeat and proves easy to control. All of our listening was with Spotify, and because of this relatively low-quality stream, does not show off all that the tabletop Naim is capable of. Compared to CD and high-resolution digital files, there is a lack of resolution, which causes a smaller, less defined soundfield to expand in the room. In all fairness, it’s still pretty damn awesome.

Connecting the Mu-so 2 to our wired ethernet network via a CAT 6 cable and making it a ROON endpoint really shows off what this baby can do. When streaming a combination of 16/44, 24/96. And 24/192 files, the Mu-so 2 disappears in the room like a full blown hifi system. Naim got this right the first time, and it’s only better now. When comparing it to a few premier soundbars, or our Zeppelin wireless – the Naim is miles ahead in terms of dynamic range, and optimization of the DSP. Eyes closed; it really sounds like there are a pair of speakers on stands in the room.

When listening to heavy rock tracks and electronica titles with substantial low bass output, the Mu-so 2 digs in and goes deep. Thanks to a friend that lent us his original Mu-so (and we still have our Mu-so Qb) this is where you really feel the differences. Highs are cleaner, more defined, and have better, more anchored placement. As are the lowest frequencies – the new model goes down deeper and with less effort. Naim’s collaboration with Focal really shows itself to excellent result here.

All of the other major streaming services are compatible with the Mu-so 2, but if you happen to be a ROON user, this is such an exquisite pairing, and almost makes the Naim app useless. However, if you are not streaming with ROON, the Naim app allows you to control nearly every parameter of the Mu-so 2, so take your pick. This also comes in handy if you happen to be streaming your music collection via ripped CDs and a UPNP network. Again, we had great luck linking the Mu-so 2 to our Naim Uniti Core, with 2TB internal drive. Brilliant.

Finally: Television/movie sound. As I mentioned at the beginning of the review, don’t even think about buying a so called “soundbar,” when you can have a Mu-so 2. Out in the living room, using a projector to get about a 14-foot image on our main wall, putting the Mu-so 2 on a small table, about 18 inches off the ground, provided room filling sound.

Again, what impressed us the most, especially in this context is the Mu-so 2s sheer ability to play loud musical passages and its ability to handle gun shots, and various other cinema related crashes and booms. Streaming Netflix from a MacBook Pro, going to the Mu-So 2 via the Mac’s USB output was the best way to go here, but again, you have options, as this version also offers an HDMI input.

Fantastic, from beginning to end

As lovely as the Mu-so 2’s packaging is, it really should have confetti spray out when you open it. This is a party in a box, waiting to enjoy. Regardless of how you might engage Naim’s Mu-so 2, it’s up to whatever music related tasks you can give it. We tend to pooh-pooh all in ones, but this one is true to its heritage and worthy of an Exceptional Value Award for 2021.

www.naimaudio.com

The team at Rega Research is famous for somewhat out of the box solutions to engineering problems.

In the case of their newest Kyte speakers, they take this to heart, using a phenolic resin material to mould the speaker enclosure rather than make it out of MDF. This slightly curvy shape goes a long way at diffusing internal resonances, it also makes the Kytes fairly light in weight as well. Lower shipping cost means better price to the consumer. They are all pretty clever over there.

Many only know Rega for their turntables, but they have been a full-line electronics manufacturer for decades now. Yet, the speakers probably have the lowest profile in their lineup. At least here in the US, where we like stuff to be massive. Yet not everyone lives in a gigantic space, and more people are stepping up to better desktop hifi systems, especially in the current world where we sit at our desks in our pyjamas and work from home.

In addition to the cool resin cabinets, Rega designs and builds their own raw drivers too. Burn the word value into your cerebral cortex, and be ready for a happy face when you power up the Kytes for the first time. These are seriously good little speakers, especially for $795 a pair.

In typical Rega fashion, they did not just outsource these cabinets to China, they invested in their own equipment to make enclosures from this material. If you don’t know about Rega’s history, nearly 40 years ago, Gandy spent a small fortune to invest in proprietary dies to produce his tonearms, rather than be at the mercy of an outside supplier with dubious quality control. Don’t be surprised if we don’t see a few more speakers using this cabinet technology.

First laps

Knowing Rega founder Roy Gandy isn’t caught up in premium cables and such, I hope he doesn’t mind my listening begins on the desktop with my vintage Marantz 2220, connected with zip cord. Laugh as you might, this system is the great equalizer, because it doesn’t have an enormous power supply and doesn’t double down on power to four ohms, like a well-designed modern amplifier. The result? Hard to drive speakers sound awful with this receiver. And that means they will sound equally dreadful with your budget receiver or amplifier from Best Buy.

Rega lists a nominal impedance of 6 ohms and a sensitivity of 89db/1watt. They pass the Marantz test with ease. True to past experience, speakers that sound great with this mediocre 70s receiver, usually sound fantastic with modern amplification. Next step, our Rega Brio-R integrated/Planar 3 combination. Should you be in the market for a compact, high – performance, vinyl-oriented system, your Rega dealer can put you in the drivers seat for just under three grand. This will probably be some of the most fun you can have with your clothes on for that price.

Considering that a re-capped Marantz will set you back at least $500 these days, $995 for a New Brio (it is now merely called a “Brio”) is an incredible bargain. Just making this change on the desktop system feels as if the Kytes have doubled in physical size. Not to mention the huge increase in resolution.

More seat time

Seriously, the Kytes sound great right out of the box, but bass becomes slightly tighter and more extended after about 100 hours. This isn’t dramatic, but it’s there. So if you like em out of the box, you’ll like em more after a few weeks of play. Romping through a number of Electronica tracks, particularly a long playlist of Tosca and Chateau Flight. The Kytes are incredible, picking up a tiny bit of reinforcement from desktop placement. They do equally well in a room situation if you place them on top of a bookshelf, but be sure to leave a little bit of space between the cabinet back and the wall. The Kytes have a rear-firing port.

As these speakers do have ample bass output, do not put them on the same shelf with your turntable – you are guaranteed to get low frequency feedback. Great as all those Instagram pictures look, this is not the right way to set up a hifi system. (PS: Your Rega dealer can hook you up with a purpose built Rega turntable shelf to lift your table off the same shelf as your speakers)

The Kytes come with a plastic piece that screws in the back of the speakers to keep the front panel more perpendicular to the shelf surface. A stand mount adapter is also available, should you want to use them on stands. We had excellent luck on our 24” Sound Anchor stands, as they have a top surface big enough to accommodate the Kytes with their supplied adaptors. We also had excellent luck, taking advantage of the slight upward tilt (sans adaptors) with 16” Sound Anchors, and a bit of fine tuning with the spikes.

Fortunately, the Kytes are extremely easy to set up in your listening room, should you put them on stands. They offer up wide dispersion, so they aren’t terribly fussy to get the placement perfect. And once set up, they will engage you in the room no matter where you sit. A small woofer can only move a maximum amount of air, yet these speakers can play incredibly loud without distortion, even with a Brio-R.

Chequered flag

This is not very scientific at all, but the Rega Kytes are one of the most enjoyable small speakers I’ve had the pleasure of listening to in a long time. Many small, inexpensive speakers sacrifice overall sound quality for a single aspect of reproduction. The Kyte is such an overall high achiever, with a level of balance usually reserved for much more expensive speakers. Even after hours of constant listening, this is a speaker you will never tire of.

I could go on and on about this track and that track, but you really need to hear these speakers for yourself.

Much like that rare automobile that has a perfect balance of braking, acceleration and handling, these speakers offer everything a music lover will appreciate. Excellent bass response, smooth yet defined treble and a very refined midrange. Nothing sounds forced, nothing sounds lacking. The Kytes completely deliver Rega’s promise of making reasonably priced hifi gear that sounds great. There is a level of graininess and cloudiness that nearly every budget speaker has, that is completely absent with the Kyte, even powered by a vintage receiver. This level of refinement makes them sound much more expensive then their price dictates.

Normally we don’t do this kind of thing, but with mid – October only six weeks away, we’ll let you in on a secret. We will be awarding the Kytes our Budget Product of the Year Award in issue 109. They are more than just an exceptional value. If I were starting my hifi journey again from scratch, I’d buy a pair in a heartbeat. I may buy a pair anyway, just because they are so damn cool.

www.rega.co.uk (factory)

www.soundorg.com (NA distributor)

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…

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.

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.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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.

www.manley.com

Now that we are well into our 16th year of publication, it seems apparent that there are still some in the audience that don’t fully understand what we do, why we do it, and what sets us somewhat apart. Now is as good a time to clarify as ever, eh? Many of you have been reading us since the early days, so I’m guessing you like our approach enough to stay. And for that, I thank you very much.

However, there is still the occasional snarkiness lurking, and just as in today’s world situation, claims get made, no matter how unfounded they might be. You might even go as far as to call it “fake news.” Without trying to offend anyone, I’ve never bought into the concept of fake news, I’ve always seen every news outlet as having somewhat of a slant or bias. We’re human beings, and no matter how much we might try to be 100% objective, it creeps in because for better or for worse, we nearly always put things into context-based upon our experience.

Filtering

So, when I read about world events, I try to digest multiple sources, perform a mental Venn diagram, see where the overlap is, and draw the best conclusion I can. If possible, thanks to the large group of people I’ve managed to get to know here, I get on the phone and call someone. An event in the UK (or any other place) may look one way in our news, yet to people that live there often have a completely different spin. Boots on the ground get the message across.

I feel that audio reviews are the same. No one review will give you a complete insight into a product, because we are all coming from a different place, with different hot buttons, and of course, different biases. Or shall we say, priorities? Most audio reviewers are just like you – audio enthusiasts, mega audio enthusiasts. Often the difference between you and us is that we’ve spent more time listening to a broader range of products than you have, and the hope is that our additional experience will add insight. At least that’s my hope.

When I was on the other side of the desk, I was a very avid consumer of high-end audio products, as any of my long time friends will attest. But that was a different time when dealers could afford to let you take a lot of things home for the weekend to test drive. Still, that was nothing compared to the gear I’ve had the privilege to listen to in my tenure at TONE. We can argue that aural memory is fleeting. I think that if you pull most of the veteran reviewers aside, they will all agree that most manufacturers have a unique enough voice to their products that they have a general knowledge bank in their heads. Quads sound different than MartinLogan, though they are both ESL speakers, and they both sound different than a pair of Magnepans, though they are all dipole radiating panel speakers. And so on.

Need the info

I’m guessing you probably have similar biases, which is why you prefer tubes over solid-state, mini-monitors over floorstanders, metal dome tweeters over soft dome tweeters, etc., etc., etc. That kind of thing. That’s what makes this pursuit of assembling a satisfying music system so exciting and frustrating at the same time. You can’t be everywhere, you can’t go to all the HiFi shows, and you can’t take everything home for the weekend.

So, you probably lean on a mixture of reviews, FB groups, internet boards, and such. What I see as the problem with the latter two, is that it usually devolves into a pissing match with people looking for validation on what they own. The Magnepan person tells you that Magnepans are the best because that’s what they own. And to them, they are. Just as the person who has a pair of single-driver speakers and a 2A3 amplifier will tell you that their approach is the one correct route to nirvana. Finally, it all just turns into a shouting contest, with gnashing of teeth and everyone going away mad. Even more today amid our current crisis, when tempers flare, and nerves are pretty raw to begin with.

Exploring audio gear was supposed to be what made audio fun.

Again I hope that you can gain some insight from all of us. The overlap is where it’s at. The other reviewers all have their unique perspective to offer, but you have to dig a little deeper to find out where their biases lie. Sometimes they will even tell you, which helps, but if you read any reviewer long enough, you get a feel for what excites them, as well as what the limitations of their systems and rooms are. You even find out what their musical tastes are – which may help or may lead you further off the track.

Lew Johnson of Conrad-Johnson once told me to “pick 25 tracks you hate to evaluate gear because when you’re done, you’ll hate them.” For those of you that know what I’m talking about, there is a secret society of audio professionals that absolutely HATE that damn Jennifer Warnes song about the horse. But it’s a tool.

 It’s hard to get excited about an audio component, or put it in perspective if the tracks described throughout the copy have no meaning to you. Thankfully, streaming music now makes it much easier to listen to whatever a particular reviewer is using to evaluate a component.

But at the end of the day, it’s genuinely about the overlap. While I do not suggest buying a component strictly on a review (mine or anyone else’s), it helps to read as much as you can. I think it’s a safe bet that when a product gets a concise review here and elsewhere, it’s worth your time to investigate. Again, the current world situation has increased the degree of difficulty in this case.

Our approach

While we are occasionally criticized for not writing “negative reviews,” whenever I’ve suggested to a manufacturer at a HiFi show that we should start that trend with their product, they always back down. Interesting.

In today’s market, I don’t feel that any of the major companies, or for that matter, even the second-string companies are making rubbish anymore. With the advent of the internet and death by audio forum, bad news travels faster than ever, and if you are a company that builds inferior products, offers dreadful customer service, or both, your days are numbered. And your death will come much faster than me or anyone else writing a negative review. This is where the forums and FB pages can come in handy when researching a purchase. 

If a disproportionate number of end-users are reporting similar failures or consistent bad service, this may be a product to avoid. A reviewer has no way of knowing the answer to that question.

I like to joke that everyone can usually have a great time on vacation. Everyone is happy with their HiFi purchase until something breaks. How a dealer or manufacturer handles things when it all goes pear-shaped is another matter entirely. Sooner or later, nearly everything breaks. That said, I have worked with manufacturers that I have never had a failure with, but that’s an article for another day. When a manufacturer or their supporting dealer gets you sorted out and back to listening to music quickly and painlessly, that’s a big plus – and you can’t get that from a review.

Where a number of the automotive magazines do “long term tests,” keeping a car for a year to see how maintenance is performed, what breaks, and how much it cost to repair, most audio gear does not fail in the short period it is here for review. We have had a few things that have either arrived destroyed (no fault of the mfr) or have failed repeatedly during the review period, but those products have not made it to the completion of the review process. And to be fair, this has only happened a few times in nearly 1700 product reviews.

You’re super busy, and I get it

This leads to the core of our approach. My goal from the beginning with TONE was to be like a great concierge in a great hotel. Not to be “Mr. Know It-All of Hi?Fi.” I’ll let you in on a little secret, no one is. There are thousands of you and a few of us. Collectively, you will always know more. A great concierge listens to their guests, building their knowledge base on feedback received. More than once, our readers have led us to products we didn’t know about.

So, I’ve always felt our job is to help you make a shortlist. When you get into a hotel at 7 pm, tired from traveling all day, and you just want a good steak – now, and you want your clothes pressed in time for your 8:30 meeting tomorrow morning, that person behind the desk handles it. You don’t want to be bothered with 20 Yelp reviews (with at least three of them negative) you want to be taken care of.

That’s how I see my personal responsibility to both you and the audio industry. Need a great tube preamp with balanced inputs in the $5k-$8k range? We’ll help you find it. Need a pair of tube friendly monitor speakers that will work great in a 13 x 15 room, custom color a bonus? Got you covered.

In the context of TONE, writing a disparaging review, wastes everyone’s time, and that means in addition to finding great products for you to put on your list, I have to seek out crappy products to bash. Is that helping anyone?

What makes our process a little different

Nearly all TONE reviews begin with us vetting the products we’re interested in, rather than getting random products and being surprised. We don’t have enough hours in the day. If that’s truly the approach you want, we are not your HiFi magazine.

I’ve always felt our job is to describe a product thoroughly enough, that YOU can decide to put it on your shortlist. Many times our reviews lack the “conclusion” paragraph in most other reviews. That’s on purpose, and it’s a tribute to your intelligence. If we’ve done our job correctly, you will draw the conclusion yourself. Isn’t that the best conclusion?

This is why we always have a clear photo of the rear panel. How many inputs are there? Balanced, RCA, or? Usually a shot of the remote control too. It’s those little things. We always try to use a pair of speakers with a wide range of amplifiers, from low power SET to high power solid state. The other way around for amplifiers. The Magnepan or ESL owner is always going to want to know if it will drive “their speakers.” So we keep a pair of each on hand, specifically for this purpose.

Once the overall sound character of a component is identified and agreed upon (somewhere on the scale of warm, through neutral, to somewhat bright/forward) and put in the context of speakers, cables, and associated components, our focus turns to functionality. We feel how something will integrate into your environment and system can often be the deciding factor. We once reviewed an incredible, $60,000 phonostage that only had one input and no gain/loading adjustments. This isn’t a fit for everyone, but for the handful of people that are looking for just that, it’s a perfect choice.

A nine-watt SET amplifier, no matter how glorious it sounds, isn’t going to drive a lot of speakers. A mini-monitor with flawless midrange, won’t play techno music, a luscious moving coil cartridge with only .15mv output won’t work with all phono preamplifiers. And so on. This is why we take the shortlist approach.

We also try our best to determine if said review components are easy or tough to set up because you all have different skill (and patience) levels. I feel this is often overlooked in product reviews of all types, and can often lead to hifi frustration. I’ve heard many systems not give their all because of lack of setup, not component shortcomings.

See where I’m going with this? It’s neither my job nor my responsibility to make the ultimate decision for you. My job is to help you weed through the jungle of the myriad of products out there. No matter what you buy, there will always be something different, or perhaps that reveals more music than the component you just purchased. That’s why you rarely see the B-word (“the best”) in our pages. Someone always has infinity plus one.

You may or may not know that I photograph every component that graces the pages of TONE. I spent my last life as an advertising photographer and then as a fine art photographer creating high-quality images in the automotive world for years.

 I enjoy photographing the gear almost as much as I do listening to it.

The bigger picture is that I listen to every single component that has been in this magazine. It has helped to give me a broader knowledge base, but it has also helped add that “additional listening” section that you often see in our reviews. Not everyone on the staff has ten phono cartridges at their disposal, or a range of amplifiers, cables, etc. Knowing how a component sounds when it leaves to head to one of our reviewers makes it that much easier to read their copy, and fill in those blanks at the end if they’ve missed something due to lack of additional associated components.

The last link in the chain

Our job would be so much easier if we could visit your house, size up your room, system and music collection – making suggestions that we think could help you build a system, or get to the next level of audio performance. In a pandemic free world, that would be your dealers’ job, and this is why we’ve been running the “dealers that mean business” section at the back of the magazine.

 This part of TONE is a free service to you and those dealers listed. There are a few dealer ads in the magazine, but the DMB section is no cost to those dealers. They are all establishments that we have visited personally, have attended events at, and talked to their customers about the level of service received. Some of these dealers I have even purchased components from over the years. In short, these are dealers I would spend my money with, and get my endorsement.

A final bit of clarity

If you’ve read this far, thank you. This has been a long “blog” post, but I hope it helps clarify how we operate. We’ve received a lot of wonderful emails and phone calls, along with some great in-person chats with you over the years, and precious few nastygrams. 

If we’ve helped make the path a little less confusing, and helped lead you to a satisfying audio experience, then we’ve done our job. That’s always been our goal.

And throughout this wacky time, I hope we can continue to be a useful resource for those of you that read our pages.

Listening to Simon and Garfunkel’s classic, Bridge Over Troubled Water, on AVID’s Ingenium Plug&Play table is not only highly satisfying but clearly illustrates how much difference the turntable makes in the analog equation.

Too often, I’ve seen audiophiles put a mega cartridge on a mediocre turntable/tonearm combination expecting excellence. But like a backyard mechanic that thinks merely putting a big engine in a car that is not capable of handling the extra horsepower will guarantee more speed, the same applies to your analog front end. It’s a system and should be treated as such. Too much or too little performance in any area throws off the balance, and in the end, throws away resolution. The AVID Ingenium Plug&Play is perfection in the sense that it all works together optimally.

An often-quoted audiophile truth states the source is the most essential part of your system, because if you don’t have the musical information to begin with, what’s downstream won’t matter, or at least not as much. To that end, AVID’s founder, Conrad Mas believes that the platform provided by the actual turntable as a stable mechanical platform is perhaps the most important. If you’ve visited an AVID demo at a dealer or hifi show, no doubt you’ve experienced his good/better/best demonstration, where he puts a mid-grade tonearm and cartridge on three different turntables in the AVID line. It’s always a straightforward exercise hearing how much more music is revealed as you go up the AVID range, proving that the table does make a massive difference.

Big sound indeed

Coming full circle, the same thing applies here. The Ingenium Plug&Play centers around the Ingenium turntable, which is a fantastic product on its own. For those interested, I own Ingenium #0001, so I’ve had as much seat time with the Ingenium as anyone but Mr. Mas himself. The level of fit and finish here at $1,795 with the Rega sourced arm and cartridge is nothing short of stunning. The key to the success of the Ingenium’s big sound is the main drive/sub-platter/bearing assembly, made to the same high standard as AVID’s flagship tables, with AVID’s inverted bearing design. It also uses the same high quality, machined center clamp equipped with every AVID table.

Having experienced this tonearm on Rega and other tables that are similarly priced illustrates that the much lower mechanical noise floor of the Ingenium extracts more musical information from this arm than anywhere else I’ve heard it used. The machined, minimalist chassis is used with a combination of three elastomer pucks. Not actually suspended in the classic sense, but not firmly coupled in a solid plinth way either.

While discussing various aspects of the Ingenium’s design, Mas mentions that the Ingenium is now only available as a Plug&Play, in both black and white finishes, it is no longer available sans tonearm. The aluminum platter will be forthcoming, so a sequel to this review is already in the works. And those of you that have a standalone Ingenium possess an instant classic.

Skip the setup

Whether you’re new to analog or a seasoned enthusiast, having a turntable optimally set up is critical to getting every bit of performance you’ve paid for. However, if you’re new to the game, it’s easy to get it wrong – no shame to that. As a result, more manufacturers are starting to sell pre-packaged turntable/cartridge combinations that need little more than unboxing, but most of these are budget tables in the $300 to $500 range. That’s great to get started, but as your excitement for spinning records grows, you quickly outgrow the tables in this range.

The Ingenium, a perfect choice for the analog enthusiast craving more performance than the budget tables, offer but isn’t quite ready to jump off the cliff for a much more expensive model. It unboxes in a few minutes – all you need do is install the drive belt, mount the platter, and remove the stylus guard. Double-checking the factory alignment of the cartridge with our Analog Majik tool suite reveals near-perfect alignment. More than good enough for all but the most obsessed. If you’ve spent the money on this level of tools, chances are you’ve moved up the range with your turntable as well. Kudos to AVID for doing a great job with the factory setup.

This reveals another aspect of AVID tables that is a major bonus. Once you set them up, they stay set up. In nearly a dozen years of using AVID tables daily, they are not fiddly turntables at all. It’s also worth noting that when checked, the speed accuracy of the Ingenium is right on the money.

Should you need performance beyond the Ingenium (even with the aluminum platter) this table is resolving enough to accommodate a better phono cartridge. To keep this as “plug and play” as possible, I’d suggest staying in the Rega range of cartridges, or something that has the same stylus tip to top of cartridge body measurement. (I believe about 15mm here) Then you won’t have to resort to spacers and the like to keep VTA where it should be. Or you can just play records and enjoy it!

Returning to the program

Spinning an old copy of Peter Gabriel, a record I’ve listened to thousands of times over the years, I’m taken back at how much nuance this table reveals. All of the care that went into Gabriel’s first solo album is readily available, and the Ingenium does a fantastic job of painting a large, three-dimensional sonic picture. The harmonies at the beginning of “Excuse Me” is absolutely brilliant – this is the kind of thing that draws people to analog in the first place.

Running the gamut, the Ingenium delivers a finely detailed upper register and well-controlled bass. The elastomer pucks supporting the chassis, do an excellent job at insulating the cartridge from the environment. Bass-heavy tracks can be enjoyed at high volume levels without acoustic feedback, and this is a plus.

As with all the other AVID tables I’ve owned and reviewed, the Ingenium shares a signature core sound that is lively, detailed, and never overdamped. The sense of musical pace is easily discernable. It draws you into the music, wondering “what’s different here,” when compared to listening to the same tracks streamed on a similarly priced DAC. As it should be.

Tipping point

$1,795 is a serious investment for most music lovers, so if you’ve come this far, chances are very good that you’re more than just a casual vinyl lover. For many, the Ingenium Plug&Play will be an excellent destination turntable, especially considering that the platter and cartridge can be upgraded further.

There is a point at which analog really draws you in and makes you crave more. I feel getting to this point requires more than the budget tables offer. This is what the Ingenium Plug&Play gives you at a cost that won’t break the bank, yet still provides a reasonable upgrade path should you want even more analog enjoyment. Well done.

And that is what makes the AVID Plug&Play The Audiophile Apartment’s Product of the Year in the Turntable category.

www.avidhifi.com

Of all the perils analog enthusiasts are faced with, the worst is breaking the cantilever on a precious cartridge.

Ask any audiophile with more than few cartridges, many of them will tell you that it is not a matter of if, but a matter when. If you handle tonearms and cartridges long enough, sooner or later you are bound to break a cartridge, hopefully it will be a Denon 103 and not a Clearaudio Goldfinger.

Thankfully, there are a few cartridge rebuilders on both side of the continent, and I have had the misfortune of trying a few that provide less than exemplary work. However, François Saint-Gérand of Ana Mighty Sound is one of the (if not THE) best cartridge rebuilders in the world today. Here’s a bit of what he had to tell me.

TA:  When did you start Ana Mighty Sound?

FSG:  I was encouraged by Thomas Schick, designer of the Schick Tonearm and personal friend, to start Cala Mighty Sound in 2012. In 2015, Xavier Delacoux joined out team together with Laszlo Szalai and Vencel Szabo. Christian Bianchi (founder of Prisme Audio in the eighties) who develops and build our Le Phono SE phono stage, also came on board.

We were originally called Cala Mighty Sound, “Cala” (Calamean) means beauty in ancient Greek, and it was also my DJ name. But the French pronunciation (spelled Calamine) basically means the dirt in a motor, and the name was also registered by another company so we decided to call ourselves Ana Mighty instead. It is referenced to my beloved wife and of course by extension to analog.

What is your background?

I have a Ph.D in speech recognition and its impact on speech theories and other linguistic fields. I’ve also taught Linguistics, Speech Theories, and Communication at the University level.

Who is in your cartridge rebuilding team?

László Szalai, chief engineer and László Vencel Szabó, his apprentice. László has worked in different audio studios (Hungarian Broadcasting Studio, Hungaroton Records, Archive of the Institute for Musicology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Research Center) as an audio and broadcast engineer. He made hundreds acoustic music recordings and is of course obsessed with excellent sound and HiFi. Vencel is his apprentice and assistant.

Can you tell me a bit about how the rebuilding/repair business in general?

Rebuilding cartridges involves extensive scientific research and field experience. We work with our suppliers and customers to offer dedicated and coherent solutions to our customers.

Rebuilding is actually more difficult than building a new cartridge, you have to completely unmount the cartridge and coils, with no manual or guidance. Working on a Neumann DST, for instance, is a very good example. In lieu of the manual, you must understand its construction and to feel it in your hands in order to get the best results.This is where the extensive experience of Laszlo Szalai is crucial.

Our extensive hands on experience with cartridge building gives us an unparalleled advantage on understanding the entire cartridge manufacturing and rebuilding process.  Very few people have seen the inside of as many cartridges as we have.

What are the common problems you see?

The most common problems are the broken stylus tips, snapped cantilevers, or general wear and tear over time

Specifically, what can be repaired, and what cannot?  What makes you different than other cartridge builders?

We can replace broken cantilevers, rebuild coils from scratch, change dampers, and retip the stylus. Very few people on earth can do all of these, especially rewinding coils, but we can. All rebuilds must meet four basic requirements:

– Repair a cartridge only if it is less than replacement cost.

– The cartridge body must be able to be opened without causing damage.

– Here is what makes us different. Cartridges are best repaired by not adding weight on the moving mass assembly of the cartridge. This is why we do not repair cartridges which have no cantilever shaft (like Audio-Technica and Benz cartridges). Our competitors will insert a larger aluminium tube extend the broken cantilever with glue, rather than rebuilding with a new cantilever. This produces a much larger effective mass of the moving ensemble, resulting in a lower resonance frequency for the coil mechanism, with negative repercussions in the audible range. We feel a cantilever should never be extended, but replaced.

– We cannot repair cartridges which can only be replaced by original parts.(for example AT, FR-7), which are often unobtainable.

What if you use parts different than original?

We have sources for almost all cartridge parts, and in some cases, we custom make our own components which exceeds the performance of original parts. For example, modern suspensions can be better than 30 year-old components. Small variations in parts can have a huge impact on sound. Sometimes even two new cartridges can have totally different sounds.   Our goal is to maintain sonic integrity of the cartridge after repair.

We have used newer parts on many well-known MC cartridges (Ortofon SPU, Denon 103, EMT TSD-15, Koetsu, etc…) the results obtained (both sonically and on measured specifications) were higher than what we expected and this is when we decided that this service should benefit to our customers.

How many repairs have you done?

Ana Mighty has repaired more than 200 cartridges, but László has a solid background with hundreds and hundreds of repairs from the past 40 years.

What is involved in cartridge rebuilding?

No two cartridges are identical. A repair always starts with a cleaning and a detailed inspection of the cartridge. We have a strict policy about not altering the original aspect of the cartridge (except for our highly modified version of cartridges). Once the body is open, we are able to inform the owner about all problems found. The whole process is documented by photos.

The actual repair starts with a very detailed cleaning and finishes with setting the parameters (VTF, compliance, tracking ability, etc.) of the cartridge. At the very end we test each cartridge for 3-4 hours, play them for 24 hours and then run a new set of tests to optimize the fine parameters of the cartridge again, with measurements documented.

What are the most important cartridge components?

The sonic characteristics of a cartridge is a combination of the sum of its parts, and therefore no  single component is more or less important than another. A good example of this is in the process of building coils. Very few have the capacity to rebuild coils, but we do. We can even build a coil from scratch, and at times we have to build it 5-6 times in order to have the right sound. Coils have different winding patterns; the most well-known are cross coils and square coils but we also rebuild the triangular coils unique to Neumann DST cartridges.

Do rubber dampers age over time?  What is their lifespan?

Time is a big enemy of cartridges. The life of the damper is unpredictable, but temperature and humidity does play a role. If a cartridge starts to sound distorted or grainy, it is a warning sign that the damper may need to be changed.

A problematic/damaged/old damper can change the position of the cantilever causing an uneven wear of the stylus (diamond tip). This can also damage LPs over time.  Due to technological advancement, we have better dampers than the original, such as our silicon frictionless dampers available in either single or double donuts as well as dual circular internal designs.

Do you see more wear and tear in coastal cities vs say inland USA?

Certainly yes, temperature (changes), humidity, change of air pressure, vicinity of seas or oceans (salty air), polluted air, altitude, etc. can have an effect on the components. Unfortunately, we don’t have any statistical data about it and it would be very hard to draw a definite answer.

Do you see uneven cartridge wear if Antiskating is set incorrectly?

Yes, and this applies to both entry-level and high-end turntables alike. Not only the stylus (diamond tip) wears unnecessarily and unevenly, but the record as well and while the cartridge can be repaired, the record unfortunately NOT.

Without a proper test record it is not possible to correctly set the anti-skating and this also affects the tracking ability of the cartridge. AnalogMagik is a tool which we use to set Anti-skaing.

The proper setting depends on the stylus pressure as well as on the stylus cut (shape/profile), also slightly on the length of the tonearm and tis dynamic capabilities. Last, but not least it also depends on the turntable settings (its proper leveling, etc.). Some people set the anti-skating by placing a glass disc on the rotating platter and set the stylus on its surface and set the anti-skating to keep the tonearm in position (avoid moving it away). However in this case the stylus is touching the surface of the glass at one point (on its tip), while on the stereo (test) record it touches with its 2 sides representing totally different frictional properties.

What causes bent or skewed cantilevers?

This is mainly caused by the aging of the damper. However, let’s not forget the damper assembly consists of not only a damper (rubber /silicon ring), but also a steel, copper or plastic string that is invisible from outside. The deformation or aging of these strings can also cause such problem. Bent cantilever can also be caused by careless stylus cleaning or by the cartridge dropping off from the side of the record.

What are some good cartridges you have seen, and why do you like them?

The following list is very subjective and is far from complete: Audio Note Japan (Kondo), Jan Allaerts, EMT, Ortofon SPU, My Sonic Lab, Accuphase, Lyra, Koetsu, Phasemation, Air Tight… For us some of the units of these manufacturers provide such musical experience since many years that we enjoy a lot. They have rather neutral sound, they have a relaxed sound, but at the same time they are very dynamic, analytical, precise and show a wide stereo soundstage. They are well designed and mechanically solid.

Is it true that Japan is the only country that can make a complete cartridge?

We don’t think so, however it is true that decades ago serious/excellent cartridges were coming          mainly from Japanese manufacturers. Let’s not forget though about the before mentioned famous European brands, such as EMT, Ortofon, Audio Note UK, Benz Micro, Clearaudio, Van den Hul, Jan Allaerts, etc.

Some have claimed that Koetsu differs only by body, but the cores are the same inside?

This is definitely not true.  Their models have different magnets or pole pieces, coil material can also be different, for example they use parallel wire (copper and silver) making the coil. They sort and match the components carefully, selecting the bodies to the sonic properties of the matched components. For sure this can be also valid for other manufacturers as the magnetic properties of the magnets are not always the same. The earlier Koetsu models have gained a prestigious reputation.

Is it true that only 1-2 manufacturers do all the tipping, cantilevers, and suspension in the world?

To the best of our knowledge there are only a few companies able to manufacture these, however we don’t exclude the possibility of new manufacturers entering this market.

Who are the main cartridge makers of today? Matsudaira of MSL?   Nakasutka San of ZYX?   Audio Technica? Who else do you know?

There are different type of builders and of these builders are important in thier own way :

–    Mass market like Audio Technica and Ortofon with advanced technologies and less human process implied in the building of their products. They produce thousands of MC cartridges, and represent a very small percentage of their total sales. Of course there are some exceptions like the Audio-Technica ART-1000 (of which we are proud exclusive dealers in France) which is produced at around 200 samples per year by only person… and which is also a beautiful and technically made product. Ortofon and Audio-Technica are OEM builders too.

–    Medium mass market like Excel, Benz Micro, Lyra, ZYX, MSL which also address OEM market

–    Small mass market builders like : Jan Allaerts and a lot of artisan Japanese cartridges (Sumile, Top Wing, Miyajima, Fuuga, etc…)

Main cartridge maker is not the one that sells the most cartridges but the one(s) that make the cartridges you prefer. ;)

Show us some examples?

Here is a cartridge repaired by another. You have coil wires soldered together (this is something we would never do), and an aluminum cantilever attached to the end of the original cantilever, on this Koetus Urushi Vermillion.

Here is what it looks like after the repairs with upgrades. We completely rebuild damper, coils and cantilever from the ground up.

And here, we have a modified Denon 103, with one of our body, and cartridge internals.

Closing thoughts from ANA Mighty Sound

It is important to mention that most cartridges that come to us are usually old, many of them were made many decades ago. Similar to other used equipment the aim is to repair it the closest to original condition. It is not always possible to return the cartridge to its original/brand new condition as the parts used for the repair might not be 100% the same as the originals.

With solid experience and special care most of the times it is possible to repair the cartridge very close to its original condition/sound. Many times, we received such feedback that the repaired cartridge sounded better than originally. We dare to state that in most cases changing the stylus to a modern and sharper cut as well as to change the cantilever to something more rigid improves the sound of the cartridge.

We would like to grab the opportunity and highlight here the importance of properly cleaning of the record and the cartridge’s stylus (diamond tip). If you look closely to the record and the stylus you can experience the wonder of this historical micromechanical technology. Love and respect your records, phono cartridge and all your equipment.

Closing thoughts from Richard

Does a rebuilt cartridge sounds as good as the original?  The truth lies with the pudding, and Francois provided me with a rebuilt EMT TSD15N cartridge, and asked me answer the question by listening to his cartridge.

The cartridge has been rebuilt from the ground up with 12 ohm silver coils, it has a proprietary frictionless dual donut damper, a new boron cantilever with Nude Microridge S tip (the smallest diamond tip available).  The rebuilding cost of the cartridge is €1800, but Anamighty does sell fully modified models for €3500.

At first I was skeptical given the cartridge looks a little weird, with wire leads coming out of the cartridge body instead of pins. But as soon as the cantilever dropped onto the LP, my jaw literally dropped!! The sound of the rebuilt TNT15 has the details of my My Sonic Lab Ultra Eminent BC, it has the dynamics of the Lyra Olympos and the transient attack of the ZYX Universe Optimum. Does it sound better the original EMT TSD 15N?  I cannot answer fairly   because I do not have an unmodified original for a side by side comparison. But sitting beside the some of the best cartridges in the market, this €1800 rebuilt EMT holds its own!

I give ANA Mighty Sound my highest recommendation.

www.anamightysound.com

We’ve been using ROON at TONE since the final alpha release, and it’s a powerful solution. None of the other music delivery platforms come close – if you love music and the discovery of more music, it’s the only way to go.

ROON allows you to combine music saved on your computer or NAS with whatever music you stream, seamlessly in an album art oriented browser. It’s like going to the record store and flipping through the largest group of record bins on the planet. Minus the crabby record store person with a dominant attitude behind the counter making fun of your music choices. Want to find everyone your favorite artist has played with or was influenced by? ROON will take you there, leading you down path after path of music exploration.

One of ROON’s strengths has always been the “Roon Radio” function, picking up after your playlist is finished, finding music that is remarkably similar to what you’ve been previously enjoying. That function is improved; the radio function goes beyond your collection, searching whatever streaming services you are accessing. Now, in addition to having the world’s biggest record store at your fingertips, you have the world’s biggest and most diverse radio station to feed you new music.

But capability requires power, and we haven’t even talked about all the other cool stuff ROON does like stream over multiple zones, offer DSP room correction and EQ, as well as a few other goodies. We’ll talk about that in its own article.

The more you ask of ROON, the more it requires from your host computer. ROON actually gives you the specs to build a purpose-built server, but this requires a ton of computing knowledge and that kind of defeats the purpose of such an intuitive platform, at least from my perspective. Even dedicating a Mac Mini strictly to ROON service and stripping it down as much as possible, begins to drag with an extensive music collection and multiple zones.

It’s all about dedication

Thankfully, last year, ROON developed their own box, the Nucleus and Nucleus +. You can read all the techie bits in their white paper here. The ROON crew not only came up with a dedicated box that is dead quiet, compact, and looks super cool, they even wrote their own OS that is optimized for ROON and nothing else.

Both the $1,399 and $2,499 Nucleus and Nucleus+ look precisely the same. The standard machine is meant to handle music collections of “less than 100,000 tracks,” and the Nucleus +, collections larger.

Staffer Rob Johnson went for the standard model, and me with over 12,000 CDs ripped, and quite a few thousand more indexed via Qobuz, and to a lesser extent, Tidal and Spotify went all out for the Nucleus +. I can say without reservation, as much as I love the ROON platform, it finally delivers on the promises 100% with a Nucleus +. When scrolling through a full screen of albums, searching, or when we have all three of our ROON zones going at once, the Nucleus + never hesitates to deliver what we need.

This is even more important to those of you streaming high res files, either via MQA with Tidal or uncompressed via Qobuz. Even when playing 24/192 files in the house, garage, and studio simultaneously, we could not detect any performance gap. You will, of course, need your Nucleus and NAS (if you have one) connected via Ethernet and the fastest router you can put your hands on.

Connectivity

While the Nucleus needs to be hardwired into your network, you can access it wirelessly from your phone, tablet, or laptop anywhere in your listening environment. Simply go into ROON and create whatever “zones” you need. Now that so many streaming DAC’s can be used as ROON endpoints, there’s no need to be a computer-based music listener, tethered to your DAC. Considering what some premium USB cables cost, you can almost buy a standard Nucleus for the same price!

If you aren’t utilizing a NAS for some of your music collection, you can still select a hard drive that is connected to a computer on your network or plug a USB drive directly into the back of the Nucleus. Finally, there is an HDMI output that can be utilized for output, and the sound quality will work in a pinch, but streaming via a ROON ready DAC is still the way to roll for optimum sound quality. Either way, it’s nice that ROON offers the option.

Back to square one

As I mentioned at the beginning of this review – there is no better way to catalog, store and play digital music back than ROON, and taking advantage of the extra horsepower that one of their Nucleus devices is nothing short of perfection. The ROON team has made digital music playback as effortless and glitch-free as it can be made.

Considering what a Mac Mini runs these days, the Nucleus is a bargain in comparison. Get your email on your phone and leave the music serving to ROON. You’ll be glad you did.

roonlabs.com

The first time I drove an Aston Martin, it was an otherworldly experience. The sheer opulence of the car was equally matched by the performance, providing a feel in a sporting car like no other. Yes, a geeked out Subaru STi is just as fast, but the sheer beauty of the Aston is unmistakable. You’ll get the same feeling when you unpack an Artisan Fidelity turntable.

Except this is like unwrapping a freshly restored and re-engineered DB5. Yes, it is an excellent record playing machine:  luxurious to behold, I suspect it will always give you pause when playing a record. Old car guys like to say, “It looks fast just standing still,” and that sentiment applies to the Artisan Fidelity Garrard 301 Statement Turntable, presented here in its latest version 2 form.

Gently placing the stylus down on Herbie Hancock’s Empyrean Aisles, I received an equally out of this world experience. If you’ve spent some time with idler drive turntables, you know they have a loveable, somewhat fat, burly, yet enjoyable tonal character. By comparison, my Thorens TD-124 sounds bloated and lacking in detail, when listening to the same tracks, even with the same phono cartridge. (in this case, a Lyra Delos)

Having an incredible digital front end at my disposal, analog has to be either really good or really different to go through the ritual that accompanies listening to a record. The Artisan Fidelity Garrard 301 Statement offers up a degree of tonal saturation, dare I say, a slightly romantic presentation, that I doubt anyone would ever mistake it for anything but incredible analog. There’s nothing like this in the digital world, and every time I listen to this table, I want more.

Artisan Fidelity’s Christopher Thornton has built the ultimate sleeper Garrard 301 turntable. As a vintage based deck, it still lacks the last bit of clarity that a top modern direct drive offers, but that’s not the point here. We’re not talking about ultimate musical accuracy here, we’re talking about flavor. This table is all about the sonic and visual character) It’s like the difference in body that a Les Paul Custom offers over a Stratocaster. Some prefer one over the other, some have both. You know where I’m going with this…

If you’re of the “a Timex tells time as well as a Rolex, so why spend the extra money” school, stop right now. Turn the page. You won’t like what I have to say.

What makes the Artisan Fidelity Garrard so incredible, separating it from the other “pretty plinth for old hardware beneath” Garrards, is the excruciating level of design fanaticismand precision engineering found in every aspect of this table. Considering how many fine watches cost as much or more than the Artisan Fidelity table, if you value what this table has to offer, it’s a steal at around $22,000 with external regulated power supply.  I’ve used turntables that cost three or four times as much that didn’t provide near the experience that this table does.

Breaking in your brain

Arriving in a couple of crates, the AFG (as I’ll refer to it for the rest of the review) is respectfully packaged, and basic assembly takes only minutes. But it takes a while for everything to sink in fully. If you are as much of a qualityphile as you are audiophile and music lover, you may need to put this table on whatever rack you have in mind and just sit back to take it all in. No other turntable I’ve spent time with offers such a sensual nature of operation. This is a product that begs to be used, often.

Every surface on the AFG is sheer perfection, from the clear coating on the upper Copper platter surface to the premium glossy black automotive paint finish on their proprietary solid billet Aluminum alloy chassis. Everything shines and sparkles. It may even prove tough to keep your enthusiasm in check to mount a tonearm or too, but you will be rewarded. The sample in question, for now, sports an Audio Creative GrooveMaster II tonearm in the front position with the Hyper Eminent EX cartridge from My Sonic Lab.

The rear position is occupied by an SME M2-9-R arm, expertly reworked to feature upgraded bearings, Cardas internal tonearm wire, and a hardwired tonearm cable (also Cardas), sporting a Kiseki Purple Heart cartridge, making for an excellent tradeoff. Additionally, we’ve been using the rear position as a test bed for cartridge reviews on our new site (www.cartridgedude.com). Both arms have been feeding into the new Pass Labs XP-27 phono stage going forward, but for the purpose of this review, all comparisons were made on our reference Pass Labs XS Phono.

As a confessed mechanical enthusiast that loves anything finely machined, coated and painted, the AFG is as close to sensory overload as it gets. The plinth is only the beginning, and once the massive modular platter, consisting of copper, magnesium alloy, aluminum, acetal and stainless steel is installed, a lot of the beauty is underneath. But the plinth alone is a work of art. You can click here for the full explanation on the Artisan Fidelity site, but here’s the short version.

Details, details, details.

That’s what will have you doing a second, third, fourth, and twentieth double take on this table. If you are used to the shortcomings mentioned above of the idler wheel system, it only takes about five seconds of musical flow to turn your head like a dog in disbelief. All the speed inconsistency and cloudiness you’d expect from an idler table does not exist with the Artisan Fidelity. Every aspect of this decades-old design has been re-thought and re-engineered to 21st-century spec.

There is a staggering amount of person-hours in the assembly of one of these, and I suspect more than any other high-end turntable I’ve used. I highly suggest going for the slightly larger plinth which enables one to add a second tonearm, making the investment even easier to amortize. Not to mention the visual appeal of two tonearms!

From the inverted and modular Sapphire bearing/heavy balanced Copper hybrid main platter unit to the finely machined austenitic stainless steel idler wheel, that has only .003 inch variation in its periphery surface diameter and precision billet aluminum eddy current disk brake, it’s the refinement of every aspect of this classic table’s design, combined with fanatic, individual final assembly and listening tests that distinguishes this from your Grandfathers Garrard. Forget everything you think you know about the idler drive system.

Quick setup

As this table uses a rebuilt version of the stock English AC induction drive motor, which happens to be a 220-volt/50hz configured unit, my sample arrives with an optional Sound Carrier Universal Turntable power supply ($1995) and offers a wide continuously adjustable range of fine voltage and frequency tuning for each 33 1/3, 45, and 78rpm speeds. In practice, this takes about five minutes to set up to perfection completely.

Setting both tonearms up to perfection with Richard Mak’s Analog Magik tool kit and a SmartTractor alignment tool, has me rocking in the free world in about an hour. Not bad for two tonearms. You can now purchase both of these tools directly from Artisan Fidelity, and if you don’t already own them, I highly suggest their purchase with your table, as the investment will pay dividends both in the short and long run.

Returning to the listening chair…

We can talk tech forever, and designer Christopher Thornton is such a passionate individual that he can explain everything he’s done in as granular of a level as you’d like. As exciting as this is, I dare you not to fall in love with this turntable by the time you play the first track.

Where my reference Grand Prix Audio Parabolica lifts so much detail from a record, it’s often hard to believe that so much detail exists in these grooves, the AFG gets nearly as much detail, but adds slightly more weight and fleshes out the midbass just enough to carry you through the average to pretty good records in your collection in the way that the more resolving table can’t.

Your perception of musical reproduction is so personal, there is no best here. Some days you want to drive the Bentley, and some days you want to drive the Porsche GT4, both are awesome, but neither can really deliver the experience of the other. Both will get you to the grocery store and back, and you can live with either at moderate speeds.

Much will depend on where your musical priorities lie. I maintain that to really enjoy analog to the fullest, you need more than one setup, but that may not be practical for everyone. Where the AFG excels is in the sheer size, scale and weight of its presentation. Going back to the Blue Note and Impulse jazz catalogs, listening to a lot of acoustic instruments, this table does an incredible job of reproducing the texture and character of a stand-up bass, the force of a horn, or a quick ride around the drum kit. And Ella’s voice has never sounded more realistic in my system.

Classic rock lovers will feel equally at home. Electric guitars sound massive, and multilayered studio recordings from the 60s to the 80s open up a level of sonic sorcery that might have you double checking to make sure no one put something in your drink. The sound field presented by this table with either cartridge is big, wide, deep, airy and immersive.

An experience like no other

I could gush on and on about the Artisan Fidelity Garrard 301 Statement for hours, but we’ve all got to get back to work, eh? The minute you listen to a record on one, it will either captivate you to the point where you can’t live until you find a way to make one yours, or its exuberant nature will not be your cup of tea.  Car talk aside, the only other thing I can really compare the AFG to that might make even more sense is a pair of top range Sonus faber speakers. They are the only other audio product I’ve used with a similar level of finish.  And it is the only other product where my friends’ spouses say, “yes, you can have one of those in the living room.”

Just like every SF speaker we’ve had in for review, the AFG is the only other product that brings a similar level of intrigue with it. Everyone wants to touch it. So much so, that I am thinking about mounting a very inexpensive cartridge to the rear tonearm, so everyone can experience the sheer physicality of operating this turntable.

As one who rarely turns fanboy on products, the AFG is a rare piece of gear that at the end of the review has me losing my ability to remain objective. If you genuinely love analog, you should experience one, whether you write the check or not. However, I suspect if you value the qualities I’ve mentioned here, you will have a very tough time not falling victim to its spell. This one has been here for the better part of a year now, and I pinch myself every time I use it.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you. This is why it was our Analog Product of the Year for 2018.

The Artisan Fidelity Garrard 301 Statement

www.artisanfidelity.com

Single 9″-12″ tonearm compatible plinth configuration, $18,995 (Exotic hardwood and Automotive finishes optional)

Dual 9″ – 12″ tonearm compatible plinth, as above, $19,995

Sound Carrier UTPS Power Supply $1,995 (optional)

Last year, we published a very enthusiastic review of PS Audio’s top P20 DirectStream Power Plant. It’s awesome, and every audiophile cliché you can think of applies. So we don’t need to go there again.

If you’d like to hear all the lavish praise, click here to read our review of the P20. At just a few molecules under $10,000, the P20 is not for everyone. The $7,495 P15 will perform the same miracles on your system and is sonically identical, except for a few minor differences. Where the P15 has a lower maximum capacity (1500 watts vs. 2000) it also only has the ability to utilize a 15-amp AC cord, where the P20 lets you take advantage of a 20 amp AC line and cord, the P15 does not. And it weighs a little less, which isn’t a bad thing.

The P15 features 10 outlets, to the P20s 16, but for most audio enthusiasts, that should be more than enough. With two “high current” zones and three regular zones, it’s easy to plug your power amplifier or integrated into the high current outlet, while plugging your DAC, phonostage and turntable all into separate zones of their own.

Originally, this was going to be an incredibly short review, because as long as you keep the P15 within operating limits, the sonic effect is identical to what the P20 offers. The P15 is the perfect choice for those not needing the full 20-amp capacity of the P20; some of you won’t even need the capacity of the P15. For those of you, PS Audio makes the P12, priced at $4,995.

Let’s address the elephant in the room right away. Yes, the P15 is worth the price to me, because in the context of the system that it’s powering (worth about $40k) there is way more than a 20% improvement. That’s always tough to quantify, and always easy when I’m spending your money, so I get it if this has you outraged.

The last six feet

However, what the P15 does, you really can’t get any other way. The top passive conditioners get you closer, but they don’t offer the last bit of silky smoothness without compromising resolution and dynamics that the Power Plants do because they actually regenerate and rebuild a fresh AC feed to your components – hence the name.

The argument that every crabby pants non-believer on the internet has is “but if the power has traveled all this way to my house, what does the last few feet make?” I could write another article on why I don’t agree with that philosophy, but to blow that out of the water completely, let’s start with fresh power right at the bottom of your audio rack. Now what do you non believers have to say?

Because the Power Plant is providing you with fresh AC, that six feet of power cord now makes an even bigger difference. The P15 and P20 make it much easier to discern the improvement that a premium power cable provides. You need look no further than the touch panel scope on the front panel of the P15 to see it in action. In my office/studio which features recent cabling and more attention to the Earth ground, the AC power only had an input distortion of 2%, coming from a 20 amp dedicated line and new breaker panel. In my house, with older wiring and a breaker box from the early 70s, that distortion rises to 3.5%. Interesting. Both Power Plants reduced output distortion to around .1%, a major increase in clarity.

Plugging an electric drill into the same outlet and pulling the trigger makes that figure jump up to nearly 10%, so while you might be thinking you’ve got clean power, everyone on your power pole’s transformer is contributing to the pollution in your power line. This is a lot of the haze and cloudiness that you might be hearing through your system without any attention to power treatment. This is also why your system sounds better at certain times of the day.
This distortion in the AC line is a major contributor to your system not giving you all the performance you paid for. Less distortion in the incoming AC power means that the power supply in your components work that much less, with less residual noise is getting through to your speakers. The P15 offers an ease that isn’t there without it being in the line, with no loss in transient impact or detail, a peril that more often than not plagues passive line conditioners.

A fresh start

Eliminating the other people on your power line gives you a clean baseline to start from. Perhaps the biggest benefit to have a Power Plant is that your system will always sound its best, day or night. Because it is generating power from scratch, you no longer need to worry about temporary power sags from other things like a refrigerator, water heater, or other appliance turning on at random when you’re in the middle of a listening session.

Adding the P15 to a system consisting of a VAC 170i integrated amplifier, Simaudio MOON 390 DAC/streamer and a Luxman PD 171A turntable doesn’t come close to taxing its maximum power capabilities. Again, the front panel display will tell you how much capacity you are using. In this case, about 39%. Swapping the VAC for the Nagra Classic preamplifier/Pass Labs XA30.8 amplifier (pure class A) upped the utilization to about 55% – still plenty of room.

Both amplifiers were driving the Focal Kanta no.3s, which are fairly efficient, but on hard musical peaks, both amplifiers were able to be driven to clipping and susceptible to voltage sag on the AC line at high volume without the P15. Installing the P15 eliminates this effect, yet you will get a similar “flattening” effect if you run the P15 very close to its limitations. The good news is that limit is much further down the road with the P15 on the job.

It’s not just about loud

As anyone who’s been following the loudness/compression wars for any period of time knows, getting louder isn’t the trick to volume. It’s all about dynamic range – make things quieter and the delta between loud and soft is volume. It’s like reducing the weight of a race car instead of just adding more horsepower.

This is where the P15 (and P20) really excels. Of course, your favorite records will have more life, dynamics and detail, but so will all the records (I use this term generically for analog and digital files) that you thought were marginal to shitty. Should you demo a P15 for yourself, I suggest starting with a few of your worst tracks – ones you might even think unlistenable. You’ll be surprised. I was shocked at how many albums in the junk bin became much more enjoyable. The amount of low level detail revealed by clean power is incredible. That alone is worth the price asked of the P15. Imagine getting another thousand LPs for free that you now love. What’s that worth to you?

The effect on analog and digital sources is equally bold, yet different. Every DAC plugged into the P15 instantly displays less harshness and glare – all the stuff you hate about digital, is now either gone or greatly diminished. Every phonostage exhibited a lower noise floor, especially those with vacuum tubes under the cover, allowing more of the finest musical details to come through. I guarantee you will have at least a few “wow, I never heard that” moments with the P15.

The same conclusion

I have the same suggestion I did with the P20 – get one if it makes sense for your budget. On one level the P15 offers more than a component level upgrade because dropping another 5 or 10 thousand bucks on a better component, or a set of world class power cords still leaves the noise in your entire system un-adressed.

If you are at a crossroads in your system where you are seriously considering a component or cable upgrade in this range, I strongly suggest that you audition a P15 first. I am confident you will hear a tremendous difference. And that goes for those of you at the top of the mountain.

The PS Audio P15

MSRP:  $7,495

www.psaudio.com

Peripherals

Analog Source Luxman PD 171 w/Kiseki Purple Heart

Digital Source Simaudio MOON 390, dCS Vivaldi One

Amplifier VAC Sigma 170i integrated, Pass Labs INT-60 integrated

Speakers Focal Kanta no. 3

Cable Cardas Clear Beyond, Tellurium Q Black Diamond

Rack Quadraspire EVO

Even at a relatively low background level the massive Sonus faber SE speakers are immersive.

The top to bottom tonal balance is so engaging, it’s tough to write, or even have a conversation while they are playing. These speakers truly take your breath away, even before you turn the music on. Even at a modest level the SEs captivate instantly, as Bos Scaggs’ silky voice slowly folds into the mix of “Harbor Lights,” a track I’ve easily heard a thousand times over the years.

For speakers with such a massive physical presence, the delicacy that they deliver is almost tough to describe, it’s so seamless, effortless and with such gentle gradation when the program demands it, yet equally forceful when that is required. Powered by a full Burmester system, with bridged 909 Mk.5 power amplifiers for each SE (delivering nearly 2000 watts per channel) there are no dynamic restrictions here. And this is only a hint of what is to come.

The Sonus faber website says that the SE “is a limited edition masterpiece, available only by special request from premier clientele.” There’s a handful of Sonus faber dealers that you can purchase the Aida’s from, but if you want the SE, there’s only one place – LMC Home Entertainment in Scottsdale, Arizona. Owner Mike Ware is your steward to Sonus faber’s finest, and one of the top hifi dealers in the world. Ware says that his team will install and setup the SEs anywhere in the US, so you won’t have to worry about trying to move these on your own. Ware and his highly trained staff will leave nothing left to chance.

So, it made way more sense that I get on a plane and head out to see Mike. No one wants to see a pair of beauties like this get a nick, dent or scratch from shipping. Trading Portland for Scottsdale in January is not a bad idea either.

The setup

Having extensive experience with Burmester gear, also having spent time with the Sonus faber Aida a few weeks earlier, LMC’s Mike Ware saved me a ton of setup time. His main room, which measures about 25 x 40 feet, proves a much better venue for a speaker this size than my 15 x 26 foot room. Speakers this big really do need a big room to open up into.

Ware has the SE’s installed in the room about 15 feet apart and about 5 feet from the side walls, with three rows of slightly elevated theater seats. The front row center position is about ten feet back, the next row about a foot higher and the final row another foot or so higher. Because this system recreates such a true sense of scale, and fills the room so completely, depending on the performance played, you can get the immediacy of a third-row orchestra seat, the more diffuse position of the back row, or in between. It’s impressive, the way the stereo imaging holds up no matter where you sit.

Sonus faber speakers have always offered wide dispersion in both planes. Moving back to the middle row offers a slightly more homogenous feel with more room for the bass to integrate, but these speakers disappear in the room so well, it’s tough to not go back to the immersive, giant headphone like feel of the front row. Of course, you will certainly have your own preference, should you install your own pair. The best news though is that these are by no means a one-person, small sweet spot speaker. Sitting right in the center will give obvious dividends, but even sitting on the floor, off to the side, it’s still good.

The real deal

For all the naysayers that a great hifi system can’t put the real thing in your room, I say shut up. There’s something so special about these speakers in a big room, it is possible to close your eyes and be there. A perfect example of this is the “Superman” track from the Crash Test Dummies first album.  The SEs do such a precise job at recreating the performers, I feel just like I’m back at Portland’s Aladdin Theater, and Ellen Reid is resting her head on Brad Robert’s shoulder while singing backup. The spatial recreation is that convincing.

Awesome rarely comes easy and it rarely comes cheap. It certainly doesn’t here. A pair of SEs will set you back a cool $250k. Yeah. And that probably means at least another 250 or more in electronics and wire. We can have the argument till the cows come home whether this is “worth it” or not, but the bottom line is that this is what it costs to get sound this good. The rest is whether you want to play. But what a great playground.

Switching to more dynamic faire, bumping the volume on Aphex Twin’s “Minipops 67” is so much fun, even I want to get up and dance. And that’s not a medium in which I choose to express myself. Though I was given the green light to “turn it up as loud as I needed to,” the Sonus faber/Burmester combination never runs out of dynamic range, never flattening out in the slightest.

The driving bass line in the Aphex Twin tracks leads me to the back side of the SE to see where the “deep low level” setting happens to be. It is on “minimum.” According to the owners manual, this controls the output of the 15-inch, side firing woofer (with 4-inch voice coil) that is crossed over to the pair of front firing 10-inch woofers at 80hz.

Sonus faber lists the sensitivity of the SE at 92db/1 watt, and a maximum power handling of 1000 watts. Ware confirms my suspicions, that like the Aida, these speakers will play with anything, but a reserve of clean, quality wattage helps them deliver everything they are capable of.

Further up the spectrum

These woofers cross to the midrange driver at 250hz, and then again to the Beryllium dome tweeter at 2500hz. There is another one of these facing back with a smaller midrange, as part of what Sonus faber refers to as a “soundfield shaper.” This feeds a bit of the main sound towards the rear wall or corner in your room, and depending on where you set the controls, can go far at expanding the soundstage. Ware had these set on the lowest setting in his room, which makes sense considering the size.

The Aida has a similar setup around back, and when we had them here for review, we found that they helped integrate a large speaker into a smaller room better, but as always, experiment to find the sweet spot to taste.

I’d be lying if I told you I remember all the nuances of seeing the Talking Heads on the Stop Making Sense tour back in 1981, but playing the soundtrack through the SEs feels right. Their ability to reproduce the sheer sound pressure level of the live event, with the resolution, clarity, and nuance of a world class audiophile system is better than live in my book. And the way the audience response is folded in and out of the mix, feels totally real. I found a similar effect when listening to Jeff Beck’s Live at Ronnie Scotts, as I did with a number of other favorite live recordings.

The spatial presentation of these large speakers is fantastic. The energetic presentation they offer confirms a true sense of sonic reality. Sitting in the middle row of Ware’s room, the cues from people in the audience cheering, clapping, and whistling is so realistic it’s almost like listening to a full Dolby Atmos setup, not two speakers. Greg Dulli’s vocals at the beginning of Gentlemen is phenomenal. Im pulled to the edge of the seat as His textured, loud, cyring whisper drains off so gradually when he sings, “It’s in our home, baby, it’s in our bed.” Yet 20 seconds later when he begins to scream, I nearly jump out of the chair. That’s musical realism.

Big dynamics are big fun, but revisiting some of my favorite Beatles, Stones and Dylan records reveals how well the SEs lock down the musical pace, almost like a small pair of studio monitors – but a lot bigger. A LOT bigger.

A different look at detail

For many audiophiles, the word detail means a sharp-edged presentation that cuts into your psyche, often revealing the music in a harsh manner, with a forward presentation. Speakers that have a softer presentation are referred to as laid back, warm, or rounded off.

But imagine combining that level of detail, revealing the maximum amount of musical information in a way that is not the least bit harsh or grating, with a range of tonal scale that feels like a continuous gradation, that’s the sorcery that the SE presents. It’s like sleeping on 2400 count sheets.

The resolution experienced with the SEs is not so much in an ultimate sense, but in the smoothness of gradation. Sounds faded from maximum to minimum in an incredibly linear fashion, and swelled from quiet to loud in the same way. This is the last bit of realism for me.

If I weren’t listening to digital files, I’d feel almost like the music was running a tad slow, but it comes back to the way the music is rendered with such an utmost delicacy. The SEs have the necessary speed to accomplish whatever musical task is required, yet they never feel like they are “attacking the music.” The music merely swells and recedes so quickly and smoothly, there’s never any attention drawn to the speakers.

That’s the highest compliment I can pay the SEs. After a really intense seven hour listening session, I never felt like I was listening to hifi, nor did I have hifi thoughts while basking in their glory. All I could think of was what track to play next, comparing what I heard to what I’ve heard before. There’s nothing that these speakers can’t play. Big, or small, loud or soft, acoustic or electric. No limit.

And that’s part of what $250k buys.

The SEs do it all: they sound great at bone crushing levels, yet even at conversation level, they still sound fantastic. Yet they create a sound field that is so dense and full of musical information, as you slowly advance the volume level it’s easy to perceive the level at which you become totally immersed in the music – the point at which you become the music. The SEs provide a transparency and coherence of your favorite ESL, yet they have the punch of a cone speaker and the weight to convince you.

Because each pair of SEs is built to order, any special finish requirements can easily be accommodated.

The other part of the equation is the level of detail that is paid to every single aspect of all Sonus faber speakers, but even more so in the SE. The level of craftsmanship present here is unmatched by any other speaker manufacturer.

Sonus fabers’ craftsmanship is everywhere, from the leather neatly wrapped around the front and rear panels, all the way down to the suspension and feet in the base. No detail is left unfinished to epic proportions.

Ware informs us that it takes about four months to build a set of SEs, and he has a few pair in stock (in popular finishes) so if the urge strikes, you can take them home today. As mentioned at the beginning of the review, LMC Home Entertainment in Scottsdale is the sole dealer for this speaker in the United States. It’s a great place to visit, so you might want to schedule a vacation around auditioning them. Southwest Airlines is offering some specials right now…

As much as I’ve tried to fill you in on what these spectacular speakers sound like, I still feel my words come up short. Should the SEs be on your radar, it will only take about 90 seconds into your favorite track to fall under their spell. At that moment, you will know everything.

You’ve been warned.

The Sonus faber SE

MSRP: $250,000/pair

Peripherals

Digital Source Burmester 069 CD Player, Linn Klimax DS

Preamplfier Burmester 077

Power Amplifier Burmester 909 Mk.5 (2 in mono block mode)

Power Burmester 948 Power Conditioner

Cable Atlas Asimi

www.sonusfaber.com

www.lmche.com

-Photos courtesy of PS Audio

What’s a power conditioner review doing in discussion about analog? Considering how faint the signal coming from your phono cartridge is, anything you can do to keep that precious signal intact is a good thing. Many analog enthusiasts agree that the integrity of the source is paramount, so starting with a solid foundation is critical.

Some of the opinion that if their AC power has traveled many miles before getting to their audio system, a few more feet of wire for a premium power cord is just crazy talk. Equally opinionated, those from this group will usually squawk that their power is very clean. Cleaner than the power you and I get. The best kind of clean.

I disagree. Vehemently.

The power your system uses is like the fuel in an engine on one level, and more complex on another. If you subscribe to the approach that your amplifier is nothing more than modulating the AC signal with audio (a bit simplistic), then any distortion present in the power line will get amplified along with that audio signal. Massive power supplies are nearly always one of the keys to the performance that comes with a mega component.

Sure, your power supply probably goes a long way at getting rid of most of that grunge, but not all. If you’ve ever had the chance to look at the AC signal on a Fluke 435 power analyzer, you’d see just how much sheer distortion is in the AC line.

This is probably a lot geekier than any of you want to get, but inquiring minds need to know, and I must admit being shocked when examining what’s in that power line we plug our gear into. Depending on where you live, this can be better or worse, but rest assured, it’s there. And it can be made worse by other things in the immediate vicinity, on the same circuit as your house.

It’s often said that listening to your system provides better results. Indeed, some of this can be attributed to the psychoacoustic phenomenon of being more relaxed and receptive, but it’s easier than that – your next door neighbor probably isn’t running their appliances. Some of the culprits can easily be in your home as well. Power tools, vacuum cleaners, and even a microwave oven can send nasty artifacts back into the power line; all more distortion that taxes your amplifiers ability to deliver a clean signal.

So what to do?

Many power conditioning products use a series of filtration techniques to augment what your amplifiers’ power supply is trying to do. Some power conditioning products just use magic fairy dust, while even a few others don’t even require you to plug your amplifier in.

Years ago, PS Audio figured out a better way with their original Power Plant 300. It actually regenerated the AC signal from a stable oscillator and generated fresh AC power. It was a brilliant approach, but its only downfall was that it could only service a source component or two, not having enough reserve power for a power amplifier. It worked incredibly well and took things to a new level of clarity.

Today, the top of the line PS Audio P20, power regenerator does more. We’ll argue about the other systems later, somewhere on the internet. Right now, we just want to stress how important it is to get a PS Audio Power Plant into your system.

The PS20 you see here can deliver somewhere between 1200VA and a full 2000VA to your system, depending on whether you have it plugged into a 15A line or have had a 20A line installed. Fortunately, with 15 and 20A receptacles in the PS20, it will sense the available power accordingly and deliver higher power if you have it. Both of my listening rooms have dedicated 20A lines, so this was easy to test.

Due to its massive capacity, the P20 has an MSRP of $9,995. It looks and feels like a giant power amplifier, which on one level it is. If you don’t have access to a 20 amp, dedicated line, save some green and pick up the P15, which has a maximum capacity of 1500 watts. The sonic effect is identical. Those with smaller systems may even be able to work with the 1000 watt capacity of the P12 for $4,995.

The result is unmistakable

Rather than wax poetic for thousands of words, the P20 works precisely as it should. It does no harm to the audio signal and expands the presentation in a few ways. As PS Audio says on their website, “it’s like being 50 feet from a power generating station.” But even the power station nearby still generates distortion in the AC process, no one built power plants with the thought of high-performance audio in mind.

As the P20 starts from scratch with an incredibly accurate DSD sine wave generator, and ultra-low distortion power amplifier (note those big heat sinks on the side of the enclosure) to generate new power with audiophile needs in mind. Thanks to the P20s sizeable current capability and low output impedance, your power amplifier can get all the current it needs, right now, so that musical peaks aren’t blurred, or worse, truncated. This is why some passive power line conditioners, even though they lower the noise floor, can rob your music of the essential dynamics – ultimately leading you to its removal once the honeymoon is over.

The P20 lets you have your cake and eat it too. Distortion goes way down – and you can see it by the front panel meters, which give you the option to see input and output distortion readings, as well as the quality of the AC waveform entering and exiting the P20.

Seriously, it only takes about 5 minutes to evaluate the P20, and a few more hours with a wide range of tracks to stop pinching yourself. Starting my evaluation with the fairly current heavy Pass Labs INT-60, plugging into the P20 was an instant epiphany. Fortunately, with a pair of 20 amp circuits and a 15 amp circuit near the equipment rack, it was a breeze to switch back and forth between P20 and the straight AC line.

It expands your audio universe

Instantly, playing the same tracks at the same volume, more dynamic range is immediately available. Thanks to the lower noise floor now available, digital sounds much more lifelike in its presentation, and an equal effect was observed with PS Audio’s DAC as well as the dCS and Gryphon DACs on hand for reference. Even the tiny PS Audio Sprout 100s sound was dramatically improved feeding it with the P20, but you’re probably not going to try that combination at home! The pristine power that the P20 delivers helps your audio system to disappear in the room better regardless of source.

The PS Audio P20 is an expensive upgrade to your hi-fi system, offering subtle and dramatic results at the same time. Nothing else you do to your system will have this effect. Before you start spending thousands of dollars on power cords, this will give you a clean foundation to build your system around, even in the context of a modest system. Though the cost appears high, I submit you won’t get this type of improvement elsewhere at anywhere near the price. And remember, there are the P15 and P10 for those with systems demanding less power.

To PS Audios credit, they offer their in-home trial, so if you don’t find the P20 stunning, you can just send it back. They also have a tremendous trade-in program to help you dispose of what you were using, and have PayPal credit at their disposal, giving you 6-months interest-free financing.

I’m gonna violate the prime directive and tell you to get one. You won’t be able to un-hear it, and you won’t be able to live without it. So be ready to pull the trigger when you take the test drive. Consider yourself warned. It’s that good.

The PS Audio P20 Power Regenerator

MSRP: $9,999

www.psaudio.com

Peripherals

Analog Source                         Luxman PD-171D w/Kiseki Purple Heart

Digital Source                          PS Audio DirectStream DAC and Transport

Phonostage                             EAT E-Glo

Amplifier                                 Pass Labs INT-60

Speakers                                 Raidho XT-2 w/REL T7i Subwoofers

Cable                                       Cardas Clear

With so much excitement over the $10k – $30k phono preamplifiers, there’s somewhat of a gap between $10k and down. Bandwidth Audio has a great solution.

Not everyone has that kind of cash on hand, and with so many audiophiles having either two turntables, or two-armed turntables, the need for a great $6,500 phonostage with more than one input is strong. Though there is a catch – the Kaskode One offers one MM and one MC input (with Lundahl transformers on the MC side), set thusly. This is not a two input phonostage, where either input can be configured for MM or MC. But then again, neither is my $16,000 Conrad-Johnson TEA 1, and I enjoy it every day, so I’m not holding this against the Kaskode, and the Kaskode offers you the option of running the MC input balanced. A nice touch.

Depending on the load impedance selected by the internal jumpers, three gain settings are available at 60, 66, or 72db. MM is fixed at 46db, which will be fine for anything you might have on hand. You can read more about the loading options here:

http://www.bandwidthaudio.com/kaskode-one-phono-preamp.html

When used with all of the cartridges at my disposal, nearly all having .4-.5mv output, the 66 dB setting was just fine. I never found the need to go all the way to 72db, except for my Denon 103, which only has .25mv output. Even at maximum gain, the noise level stays low.

A different approach

An all-tube design, the Kaskode piqued my interest immediately, and further investigation reveals a different tube compliment than the typical 12AX7/12AU7/6922 that nearly everyone else uses. Instead, Bandwidth uses hand tested and matched D3a/7721 and EC8010/8556 tubes. The good news is that these tubes are not terribly expensive, the bad news is that you can’t find them. If you love the Kaskode One as much as I do (it’s pretty outstanding) order a few sets of replacement tubes right nowand start the hunt for more. This phonostage uses two of the former and six of the latter.

Another benefit to off the beaten path tubes is that you won’t have to agonize about tube rolling. While some enjoy this, I find it more often than not an exercise in futility and a great way to flush a lot of money down the drain. Use the Kaskode with the supplied tubes and enjoy!

Diversion from the path traveled by everyone else does have its benefit though. The Kaskode offers an open, natural, dynamic, and quiet sound that you’d expect to have about double the price tag attached to it, maybe more. But then they don’t have 60 mouths to feed and pay health insurance for like Audio Research does.

While the Kaskode offers balanced inputs, single-ended RCA outputs are the only option. Bandwidth claims that their output stage is very robust and capable of driving long cables with ease. A 30-foot pair of Cardas Clear interconnects, A/B’d with a 3-foot pair confirms this is no problem, so those of you wanting your turntable across the room can rest easy.

A number of companies have based their designs on hybrid technology to get the noise floor down, which does work well, but provides a different sonic signature than the Kaskode. My Audio Research REF Phono 3 is a perfect example of a very mature design – honed over decades. Each tube set/topology has a different sonic signature. It’s up to you to find the one you love and provides the perfect synergy for the rest of your system.

This is not a better or worse comparison, but the Kascode does present a different tonality, a different flavor. ARC’s FET/6H30 design is slightly punchier and less “tubey” in it’s presentation. Never a bad thing, but to me it’s like comparing a BMW M6 to a 911 GT3. They both offer tremendous performance, they just go about it differently with a different ride. And the Kaskode does have a different ride. Used in the context of a system with older Magnepans or the Graham LS5/8s (which are already slightly soft tonally) the Kaskode is too much of a good thing for me – though that might be perfect for you if you want that really romantic sound. However, when the Focal Sopra no.3s were in place in system one, or in room two with the Raidho X-1s (both of which are extended and highly revealing) the Kaskode is sheer perfection.

Putting this preamplifier through its paces with about ten different cartridges reveals no weak spots. The Kaskode really embodies what I think of when the word analog is brought up. I appreciate the subtle balance at work here. This phonostage has an extended HF range without ever being harsh, combined with a silky smoothness that never feels dark, or rounded off.

Good as the MC performance is, the Kascode delivers stunning MM performance, so if you are using an MM cart on your second table or second tonearm, you will not be disappointed. Paired with the recent Clearaudio Charisma V2, I never found myself longing for the MC. Thanks to a 1mv output, the Kaskode also works incredibly well with the Grado Statement 2 moving iron cartridge, which requires 47k loading. Regardless of cartridge used, from $95 Shure to $12k Atlas, the Kaskode extracts plenty of music from your LPs.

Rather than going on and on about specific musical selections (none of which might even be in your record collection) suffice to say that the Kaskode delivers great all-around performance. If your taste leans more to vocal heavy tracks, you’ll be impressed at how well harmonies are defined, with plenty of three-dimensional “reach out and touch it” going on. The soundstage painted by the Kascode is big in all dimensions.

The overall tonal balance is natural yet defined enough to resolve the difference between stringed instruments in an orchestra. Dynamic slam is here in abundance as well, so if you like to rock, the Kaskode has enough sheer dynamic force to keep you interested.

The stuff you don’t see

Because Bandwidth’s designer Mr. Beardsworth comes from a solid engineering background, the Kaskode offers a lot you don’t see until you remove the cover. The level of detail paid to its construction is first class all the way, from the – 2-layer PC board, all the way to the quality of the solder joints. The Kaskode certainly features $20k build quality.

A short delay following turn on and turn off will save you at least one blown tweeter over the time you own the Kascode. An internal selectable subsonic filter is included, and around back is a conveniently placed switch to float the ground, just in case you are having buzz issues. The level of sheer human engineering incorporated into this product shows the level of care that went into its design. (And I’ve had more than one $20k phonostage make a loud “thump” when switched off or from mode to mode.)

The longer you listen, the more you’ll like the Kaskode

Economic arguments aside, if you’ve been thinking about a two input phonostage, and don’t want to spend five figures, the Kaskode should be at the top of your list. Aesthetics are straight forward and understated. It will fit in nearly anywhere you might use something else, though if you’re super OCD, the grey might be a deal breaker. Personally, I love the semi retro look and the grey instead of the usual black or silver.

My only complaint about the Kaskode is very minor. Should you buy one, be super careful around the switches that control mute and MM/MC mode; they are the same flimsy paddle toggles that ARC and BAT used to use years ago. (and I’ve accidentally broken them all) The power switch is much beefier.

If you don’t change phono cartridges often, hence not needing to change gain and loading on the front panel (or via remote control) Bandwidth Audio’s Kaskode One could very well be your final destination. It turns in impressive sonic performance, and thanks to being produced by a smaller audio company, (with less overhead to build into the price) offers class leading performance at a lower price than you’d pay for a similar offering from the big boys. A true audio value and worthy of one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2018.

And for what it’s worth, one of my personal favorites. Highly recommended. I can’t wait to see what else Bandwidth Audio comes up with in the years to come.

The Bandwidth Audio Kaskode One Phonostage

$6,500

www.bandwidthaudio.com

Peripherals

Analog Source Technics 1200G, Grand Prix Audio Parabolica, Brinkmann Bardo turntables

Preamplifier Pass XS pre

Power Amplifier Pass XA200.8

Speakers Focal Sopra no.3 with (2) REL 212SE Subwoofers

Cable Cardas Clear, Tellurium Q

I became an audiophile during the period when digital playback began to make its first attempts to address the shortcomings plaguing the new medium. Despite the BS “Perfect Sound Forever” marketing hype heaped upon the unwitting music consuming public, we all knew something was wrong-really wrong with digital sound. Audiophile inspired components from companies like Wadia, Krell, Mark Levinson and its protege Proceed rallied to address the lack of musicality as defined by the flat, sterile, and edgy sound of the standard one box CD players of the day.

A Rotel CD player would first take up position to feed a Wadia X-32 out-board DAC. Soon after the krell SPB-32X DAC gave it a try. These add on DACs helped clean up the sound a bit but in retrospect they were really incremental improvements rather than the major musical overhaul we all were searching for. After giving these DACs a shot I moved back to all in one players. The  Krell KPS20i was my first really high end player. But it wasn’t till the arrival of the Linn Sondek CD12 which to my ears was the first high end CD player that delivered a sound that even hard-core analog enthusiasts could get behind. I started to get the feeling there was real hope for digital sound after all.

It’s 20 years down the road from my last out board DAC and boy has digital come a long way. Far better DAC chips are available at lower cost and component manufactures have gained much understanding of how to implement these devices. Along with the advancements in Chip technology came an understanding of the importance of power supplies and over all circuit design when creating a musical digital device. Getting the best from digital has also included exploring Up-sampling rates, differing mastering and decoding schemes ranging from the failed DVD Audio, the withering SACD on to the latest entry, MQA. Up till now I have dabbled in all but MQA and always end up in the same place. Well engineered standard 44.1 kHz Redbook can be very good. As can SACD, as could DVD audio, DSD and HD audio etc. It is all so recording and mastering dependent that it becomes a swiftly moving target when trying to pin an absolute conclusion on why any given version of a recording sounds great, or bad for that matter.

Audio Research has been in the digital game since 1995 with the introduction of the CD1.This CD player has gone through several upgrades and its current form the CD6 has done remarkably well in the market place. With the DAC9, Audio Research serves the Audiophile who has streaming, computer audio and/or transport sources at a price that while not inexpensive, undercuts the reference level components out there that can reach well into the tens upon tens of thousands of dollars.

The DAC9 was fed a stream from the McIntosh MB50 Streamer with Spotify and Tidal providing content. The system includes the Dan D’Agostino Momentum preamp, Pass Labs XA200.8 mono amplifiers seated on the lovely Bassocontinuo carbon fibre and leather amp stands.Speakers included  the Sonus Faber Lilium and Lansche Audio 4.1. All cabling was the outstanding MIT Oracle Reference.

In 20 years of reviewing I have never owned or reviewed an Audio Research component. I have heard them dozens of times be it amps and preamps along the way and have always enjoyed them. With a vivid highly resolved sound, music through Audio Research components can in a couple words can be described as “involving” and “vivid”.

The New Audio Research components enjoy a fresh look from the mind and hand of Livio Cucuzzo, Chief Designer for Audio Research and Sonus Faber. With one foot in the past al-la the sculpted rack mount handles on the face plate and one foot in the future via the large display window and seamlessly integrated flush mounted buttons, The DAC9 still projects a form follows function look while managing to feel totally fresh and modern.

My only concern is the thin perforated metal, highly resonant top cage. This approach bumps up against my love of massive over built chassis elements. Based on the sound however, this may not be as much of a concern as I might have thought. But I still wonder what a more rigid structure would yield.

5 digital Inputs include RCA, AES/EBU, BNC, Toslink, USB. Two 6H30 tubes caress the analog circuitry and you can hear it. Below the display is a row of six pushbuttons: Power, Menu, Option, Enter, Input, and Mute.The DAC9 uses the Burr-Brown/Texas Instruments PCM1792A chip in a quad configuration.

Some components need a little time to open up and ripen to find their voice and blossom. The DAC9 impressed me immediately-as in first note immediately. After about a half hour I had a very good handle on what the DAC9 was all about. While it did get better over time, its essential strengths were there from the beginning. I don’t want to give the impression there is any one or two things that stand out in the DAC9’s performance. The sonic performance of the DAC9 is extremely well integrated and broadly balanced. So in no particular order, here we go. Starting with tonality, the timbre of instruments and voices are so right, so natural and un-diminished in any way, it pleads a very strong case that digital is now neck and neck with analog as they streak towards the checkered flag. Compared to digital of even 5 years ago, that older sound might as well be an exhibit in the museum of sonic history. The DAC9 is the embodiment of thoroughly modern high end digital sound. There is a directness and vividness, a hallmark of Audio Research sound, that by its nature shows how any form of past digi-titus has been hunted down and extinguished. Color, texture, bloom all come together in a seamless singularity representing a recreation of a time and place that is totally believable.

Another amazing quality of the DAC9 is the ability to render layered depth. Images are placed with three a dimensional presence that is surrounded by air allowing for great separation and a front to back precision that keeps individual instrumental timbre distinct and untangled. The accuracy of front to back distances or layering goes back, all the way back with stunning clarity. Orchestras are mapped out to the performer. All the modern studio recordings I sampled benefited greatly by the hologram like presence put forth by the DAC9 and holds true to the reputation Audio Research has earned over the years.

Across the frequency spectrum the DAC9 maintains its great neutrality and natural seamless integration creating a single flowing musical garment. As the music expresses the entire frequency spectrum, there are no holes, no missing mid bass information that connects the bass to the midrange, no anomalies in the upper midrange that sticks out mucking up integration with the treble.  There may be more sheer resolution available in the treble via an ultimate reference but it will certainly come at a much higher price. The same could be said of the low bass. Its power and resolution give away little and always presents the music in a totally believable way. Power and impact are soul satisfying. My torture test remains “I’m Home Africa” from Stanley Clarks East River Side Drive. The driving pounding back beat has been rendered by countless devices over the years and the DAC9 keeps up with the very best I’ve heard. Some have presented the bass with a bit more tightness and sheer slam but that was accompanied by a dryness and lack of color and nuance. Any improvement beyond the DAC9 would surely come at a severe premium. I will lay my reputation on the line and say there is very little need to look further if profoundly enjoying music is your goal.

Late in the game I took possession of the Analog Domain Isis integrated amplifier. With the DAC9 in the chain the sound was just glorious. Tactile yet incredibly smooth. We are really on to something with this combination of the McIntosh MB50, the DAC9 and the Analog Domain Isis integrated . Listening to Aaron Nevilles “It Feels Like Rain”, A track I have heard at least a thousand times on a wide variety of gear, the DAC9 continues to provide such a confident, powerful bass giving the music a stable foundation upon which Aaron’s voice simply soars. The whole soundstage comes to life with the background singers subtle contribution taking on greater significance due to a high level of resolution and low noise floor allowing them to bloom in the mix a bit more. Very compelling.

Testing the upsampling feature was a breeze as it can be selected by the DAC9’s fantastic solid  metal remote. My MacBook Air was tethered to the DAC9 via the excellent MIT Matrix USB cable. With the music up sampled on Boston’s “Smokin’”, I found the upsample a bit smoother on top with a bit a bit less glare. Hard wired with the MIT Matrix, I also found the music a bit more vibrant than the wireless streaming mode. The Hardwire approach is the overall better performer. This conclusion played out over many recordings and was especially welcome on inherently brighter mixes. Listening to Tidal MQA recordings sounded just phenomenal at the CD9’s 384kHz upsample rate. John Coltranes Giant Steps was noticeably fuller in tone and more dynamic with greater body and presence. I could pick it every time in comparison to its down sampled version during a blind test conducted by Josh Dellinger Experience Director of the World Of McIntosh Townhouse.

The DAC9 came to the system soon after the Macintosh MB50 steamer that I found so musically satisfying recently. I stand by my conclusion that all on its own, the MB50 delivers a very satisfying musical presentation.

The question is at what price does finding a substantial improvement of the MB50 come? With the Audio Research DAC9, that answer is exactly $7,500. The addition of the DAC9 makes the music closer, becoming more vibrant and tactile, a quality enhanced by its tubed configuration no doubt. The DAC9 lights up the stage and casts a vivid glow around the images creating full rich sound. Ultimately the DAC9 expands the picture in all dimensions in a way that the musical MB50 can’t quite muster on its own. For a shade under 10K, the MB50/DAC9 is an absolutely killer combo of gear. Throw in a Macbook Air and a great USB cable like the MIT Matrix for Hi-rez digital at its best. This is digital the way it was meant to be. Looking back on when perfect sound forever was just a promise made, With the DAC9 It is finally a promise kept.

The Audio Research CD9

$7,500

www.audioresearch.com

Let’s cut to the chase, our first experience with RHA is fantastic. Their $39.95/pair S500 in-ears are incredible for less than a pair of Apple ear buds. You need to go no further to start to get the audiophile bug.

The construction quality alone will floor you for just under 40 bucks. And, the S500s offer a mic for those of you using a smartphone so equipped. As we tend to be more music listeners than multi-taskers, we’ll be concentrating on the music experience in this review. Popping the S500s out of the box is a first-rate affair – again, the level of quality in the packaging at this point shows tremendous attention to detail. Impressive.

Starting the listening with an iPad and streaming selections from TIDAL, the first impression is a good one, playing Rick Springfield’s angst-filled Songs For The End of The World. Springfields’ vocals go from trippy to overprocessed, and the S500s do a great job chronicling the changes in mood.

The other half of the first impression is a high-frequency response that is much better behaved than you’d expect in a $40 set of IEMs – better than you’d expect from a $100 pair. Thank the scads of r&d that goes on at RHA. Even at this price point, the 140.1 driver used is a custom unit, not merely something off the shelf that was appropriated to hit a price point. Combine that with the machined aluminum body, and the S500 exudes class all the way.

Skating through a wide range of rock and jazz tracks, nothing throws the S500s a curve. They play loud and clean enough that you should be careful. You’ll be able to crank the S500s up high without distortion so that you can do some damage. Public service announcement taken care of, a bit of AC/DC’s Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap proves entertaining. The S500 keeps the Young brother’s lead and rhythm lines well sorted, instead of just blurring together like one fat guitar (as every inexpensive phone we’ve ever heard does).

The refinement again comes through listening to Neil Young’s Live at Massey Hall. Revisiting his younger self, singing classic tracks like “A Man Needs A Maid,” and “Heart of Gold,” the S500s deliver a smooth, undistorted clarity, making these time-worn tracks fresh again.

Heading Upscale

To this point, an iPhone 7 and iPad have been used for playback, with excellent result. The S500s work well with off the shelf hardware, yet even these modestly priced phones respond well to moving to an outboard headphone amplifier. Road warriors that take portable headphone amp/DACs with them will not be disappointed. Used with iFi’s new i-Micro Can SE, the S500s take a serious step up in fidelity, revealing enough music, to make them worthy of using in this matter.

Just for giggles, we plug the S500s into the $9,500 Octave V16 that is our reference headphone (when not using the Sonoma Model One) amplifier; they produce even more music. Though you probably aren’t going to go for this pairing, it does show off the ultimate ability of these modestly priced phones. With a pair of last generation Apple Ear Buds, they start out flat and stay flat, no matter what you feed them.

Final Points

The S500s do an excellent job keeping ambient sound out of the listening experience. Though not active noise canceling phones, they performed well on a couple of short plane trips, filtering the screaming baby in 22A out of my mobile listening session.

The RHA 500s are top shelf in every way. Sound and build quality is phenomenal, well beyond the price asked. For $40, you should buy five pairs and hand em out to your non-audiophile friends – if this doesn’t get them hooked on stepping their audio game up, nothing will. And if you live in an affluent neighborhood, buy 50 pairs and hand them out next year for trick or treat!

The RHA S500

MSRP: $39.95

www.rha-audio.com

Having attended a dozen RMAF’s now, this year’s show had the best sound overall that I’ve ever encountered – at any show. While some manufacturers were not happy with the reconfigured hotel rooms, they did a damn good job at wringing good sound from them. The level of consistent great sound was definitely at an all-time high this year.

And while I think it’s unfair to draw a “best sound at the show,”line in the sand, here are my five favorites below. Speaking of unfair, I really liked the PS Audio room too, but this was a teachers pet favorite, because they were showing off a number of components I own! (The Focal Sopra no.3s along with REL 212SE subwoofers and a full compliment of PS Audio electronics, with their new Power Plant power conditioners that we should see for review sooner or later)

Nagra

Rene Laflamme and crew have been getting spectacular feedback all over the world this year, and it is well deserved. Basing a system around their new Classic DAC, Classic Preamplifier and HD Power Amplifier, with time tested speakers from Wilson and analog playback via their own reel to reel deck and the Kronos turntable, the Nagra components gave their best. Though this writer is not a Wilson fan, this was one of the most coherent and musical presentation I’ve ever heard them deliver. This room was a triumph of system synergy.

However, what made this system shine the brightest for me, was the high level of quality and consistency between sources. Great as the reel to reel playback was, digital and vinyl was so incredibly close, it didn’t matter what they were playing. This is what makes a truly high end system magical, when you can just get into the music and forget about the tech.

GamuT

Another group leaning heavily on the reel to reel, (While GamuT designer Benno Baun Meldgaard is a massive RTR enthusiast, they too provided equally stunning playback with all sources, from an all-GamuT system, anchored by their flagship Zodiac speakers. US Importer Michael Vamos had the tunes flowing from morning till night.

The Zodiacs have an amazing way of disappearing in the room, even more incredible considering how big they are. And the sound they produce is one of the most coherent, friendly sounds going. Having used GamuT speakers as reference components for years, they can be listened to forever without fatigue.

Featuring their latest XT-5 floorstanding speakers, the Raidho’s provide a vastly different presentation that GamuT or Wilson, yet on one level offer some of the strengths of each. Very dynamic, yet resolving, (without being fatiguing) the XT-5s paint an incredibly detailed and dimensional look at the music. Scary good.

We’ve just received their entry level X-1 and they are fantastic. Expect to hear a lot more about Raidho from us in the months to come – we have a factory visit scheduled for January, to get the story behind the speakers.

MartinLogan/Audio Research

Many long-term ESL lovers wax poetic about the marriage of an electrostatic speaker and tube amplifiers. ML went for broke this year, using the massive ARC REF 750SEs. Nothing beats the Audio Research REF 750SE monoblocks when it comes to sheer power delivery and control, yet these monstrous amplifiers have the same level of finesse that you’d expect out of a small tube amplifier.

Paired up with the equally gargantuan MartinLogan Neolith, the sound presented was big, bold, and stunning. If you ever thought panels couldn’t rock, this was the system to shatter your beliefs.

Pure Audio Project/Whammerdyne

Last year the $15k Whammerdyne “Truth” 2A3 amp re-defined what I thought a low power SET amp could do, but Pat Hickman has been hard at work, designing a killer low power amp for those not having that kind of budget. While the flagship Truth amp was in rotation and delivering amazing sound with the massive Pure Audio Project Quintet speakers, the real buzz for me was mating these speakers to his new DGA (Damn Good Amp 3) amp that barely tips the scales at $2,500.

Mated to the $3,500 Exogal Comet DAC, this whole system with your choice of reasonably priced cable is still only around $15k. This system was the bang for the buck king of the show. If you want six figure sound on a modest budget and have the room for the speakers, this is the way to roll.

Raidho

Featuring their $42,000/pair XT-5s, the Raidho room offered stunning resolution and the best implementation of a ribbon tweeter I’ve ever experienced. An in-depth, and lively presentation by Rune Skov, with a wide range of musical material had us all on the edge of our chairs. And, as you would expect from Danish craftspeople, the cabinets are just as gorgeous as the sound.

You will be hearing more about Raidho in the months to come in our pages!

Five Postcards from RMAF and Beyond:
A first visit to Denver’s audio show

By Gautam Raja, Photo: Brian Von Bork

#1. Wish You Were Hurting

There aren’t many Indian brands in high-end audio, which is why I’m sitting on an orange sofa at the Hotel Irvine, talking to Jacob George, a pony-tailed architect from Cochin, India. It’s 2015 at T.H.E. Show Newport, and Jacob is the founder and designer of Rethm, a company whose single-driver loudspeakers received good reviews in the international audio press. Jacob is in Orange County to show a pair of his elegant Rethm Maarga’s, and is also on the verge of setting up a US distribution network. He has run into an unexpected problem.

A dealer heard their room, and loved both sound and aesthetics of the speakers so much, that he walked the distributor into the corridor to talk business. The dealer had a bevy of high-profile clients with holiday homes at an upscale location in the US, and knew they’d love Jacob’s product.

But the distributor soon returned: no deal. The sound was right. The looks were right. The price was a problem. Too expensive? No, at $10,500, they were too cheap. His clients were expecting to pay about $80,000 for a pair of loudspeakers.

Long dissolve to 2017. The scene is the Davone room at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver. I walk in and look with suspicion at these pretty teardrop-shaped speakers with a beautiful wood finish. And when they play like a proper high-end product, I’m surprised. I make this admission to the soft-spoken Davone designer and founder Paul Schenkel, and while I don’t expect to be the first, I also don’t expect Paul to have no defensiveness or resignation about this, but a simple acceptance: this is how it is.

A little later, I talk to an experienced dealer about Davone, and he says, “Oh yeah, great speakers, but I can’t sell them. Too pretty.”

Please write back and tell me, why does it have to hurt?

#2. Wish You Were Younger. No, Older. No, Younger

In my recent past, I worked as a salesperson at a high-end audio dealership, a brief career unbesmirched by the ugliness of commerce (i.e. actual sales). But hey, I made lots of friends. Many industry reps visited the dealership, and I would ask them the same wide-eyed question: “Who is the new audiophile?”

They’d say, “You. Young people like you, with your USB turntables.”

And I would respond, “Holy crap, how old do you think I am?”

I’m 43, but I’m told I look much younger. (What they don’t tell me, but I know is true, is that I act much younger too.) But, apparently even 43 is young in audio world, and my callow USB-turntable-toting youthfulness was borne out at RMAF at the seminar “Young Guns of Hi-Fi”. It was part-joke that the venerable Steve Guttenberg sat in on the panel, but I don’t think anyone missed the irony of not having enough young guns to go around. Ebullient, ubiquitous Danny Kaey of Positive Feedback and SonicFlare led the seminar, and also on the panel were Rafe Arnott of Part-Time Audiophile, and Sean Casey of Zu Audio. They were all chronically young rather than chronologically—and I mean that in a good way. I guess that was the point.

Perhaps the only truly young people were self-described “older millennial” Jessa Zapor-Gray, vice president of marketing, Intervention Records, and someone I’ll describe as a likely older millennial, Jordon Gerber, manufacturing manager and chief engineer, Bob Carver Corporation.

The main question posed to the panel was the all-important: “How do we bring young people into audio?” The ball was thrown around a bit, but the game didn’t really take off. It wasn’t poor Danny’s fault, but more that these discussions are like lowering cartridge to your favorite record, and expecting the stylus to follow some other path—any other path—than the inevitable downward spiral through a bunch of well-worn tunes, to finish up “and but”-ting into eternity in the run-off groove.

“That was like stabbing myself in the eye,” said one of the panelists afterwards.

The industry seems to universally claim that young people must step in to save it, and yet one of the revelations at the seminar, something everyone on the panel and much of the audience agreed with, was that young people are ignored in rooms by manufacturers, dealers, and distributors. “These are young people with money, ready to buy,” said Rafe.

Again. Why does it have to hurt?

Also, I have never owned, and do not plan to own, a USB turntable.

#3. Wish You Were Hearing

Danny Kaey and I both live in LA, and he has promised to invite me to the next of his famous listening parties. (Hopefully it’ll stand even after he reads this article.) I phoned him for a post-RMAF chat about his seminars and, of course, “the industry”. Those aren’t my scare quotes; Danny had used them in the title of his Sunday seminar ‘Why We in “The Industry” Are All Arguing Over MQA and So Much More’. Again, Danny tried valiantly to kick it off, but the stylus descended, caught the groove, and a familiar album played out, including the famous “Bits is Bits” song. We all know the lyrics to that one, especially when sung by a computer engineer.

Though Danny is a certified gearhead, the three rooms he liked the most at the show were ones that were about music over equipment: Zu Audio, Classic Album Sundays, and Devore Fidelity.

“Shows need to be much less about listening to equipment and much more about a music party,” he said. “They need to make it comfortable, play non-audiophile music, and much less that quasi-controlled environment… it should be a lounge set-up where you can be social.”

Once again, we’re talking about self-induced pain. Stern chairs set up facing an audio system that’s a small skyscrapered city, playing beautiful inoffensiveness in a sea of variables that make it almost impossible to judge the merits of the object of your desires.

“This isn’t an inherently fun experience,” said one of the (truly) young observers at the Young Guns seminar, and most of us laughed. Jessa Zapor-Gray however, didn’t.

“But it is an industry event,” she pointed out.

I pivoted once more, starting to feel like a member of the fickle rabble in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Are shows such as the Los Angeles Audio Show, T.H.E Show, and RMAF marketed as consumer events, but treated and set-up like industry events?

And is this a problem?

#4. Wish You Were Here

Here’s what I felt on my final walkabout at 3.45pm on Sunday afternoon, catching the last of the rooms on my list before the sources started disappearing, and power amps mysteriously powered down in anticipation of the huge pack-up job at 5.30pm. There’s something deeply lonely about truly high-end audio. It’s polished into the liquid finish of speaker enclosures, brushed into the sides of solid metal casework, made manifest in the fanatical detail that bridges the chasm between 98% and 99%. I believe it’s a necessity not a symptom.

But it’s not a necessity to bake this sterility into the marketing. Looking at the advertisements, you’d think a home with $200,000 loudspeakers is a mausoleum with great light and stunning views. Floor-to-ceiling windows, floor-to-ceiling loudspeakers, and no humans to mar the gloss with their fingerprints, nachos, hairy pets, and cables. In these pristine mansions, no children clap their hands and giggle in front of turntables, no couples do an impromptu dance while dinner warms up. There’s not even the stereotypical target-demographic model: an old, white audiophile grinning at the veils being lifted by his new power conditioner.

These are products, the ads tell you, to be locked up in golden-ratioed towers. They celebrate loneliness, and loneliness sells when we’re largely not lonely. Today, we’re too lonely to be seen apex buying—just look at those extroverted little Bluetooth speakers that sing of backyard barbecues, dinner parties, and spontaneous picnics… in France.

So what happens if we start throwing people—you know, like actual human beings: happy families, beautiful friends—into those product advertisements?

I await your response.

#5. Back To the Home Fires

I should state that I’m no young gun, or gently middle-aged gun, or in fact, any kind of cis-weaponised member of the audio industry. I’m the upstart; the arriviste recently crossed over from consumer to industry, who presumes to comment upon the field. I wrote recently (and perhaps optimistically) that I had the tools to be the ideal observer: “I know the language but not the water-cooler gossip. I have the framework, but carry little baggage.”

In the days following RMAF, I reflected that though audiophilia was a huge, rewarding part of my life, I had an ambivalent relationship to it. You can’t come away from loving a $73,000 pair of loudspeakers without the moral fiber fraying a little. Something changes when you talk high-end all weekend with your audio-show buddy (hey, I have audio-show buddies now!), and he goes home to a small Northern California town that few people around the world had heard of; until the evening of October 8, when the firestorms put Santa Rosa on a global tragedy map. I went directly from discussing my friend’s upcoming loudspeaker purchase, to asking if his home was still standing.

I know it’s futile, even unfair, to bring life tragedy or world poverty to a luxury event. As I wrote in the long caption on an Instagram post (@gautamraja): “At shows such as Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, you meet passionate people whose surnames on their name tags match the badging on their highly engineered, beautifully finished products. Depending on the energy you bring to the show, it could be a study in glittering, exclusionary excess, or a moving view of a human yearning for perfection.”

My energy rattled between the two all weekend, but when things went well, as they often did, it was possible to walk through darkened hotel corridors on a clear, crisp Colorado day, and feel proud to be human.

If it’s going to be beautiful, sometimes it has to hurt.

#6. A Post-it Note From the Old Guy – Jeff Dorgay

Like our new guy Gautam, I too am usually confused for someone younger, but it’s because I’ve remained pretty immature, and the fact that I can still clear out a demo room in under ten seconds. With all this gray hair, I usually get mistaken for Einstein, the Doc in Back to the Future, or Nelson Pass. I’m comfortable with either of these. I asked Gautam to walk around, soak it up and give me his opinion on the vibe. I’d say he pretty much nailed it. I’ve been attending the RMAF now for 12 of the 13 years it’s been going on. I’ll always have a soft spot for it, because it’s where the first, 55 page issue of TONEwas launched 12 years ago.

One thing I did notice this year, was a lot higher percentage of rooms with good sound. That’s a big start. If you want people of any age to get excited about what this industry has to offer, the sound has to be compelling, and not just from a single, head in a vice position. This year, the chance with someone random stumbling in the door and hearing great sound was much higher than in years past, and I think that’s necessary to bring more people to our world. And unlike the Barrett-Jackson car auction in Scottsdale, which I’ve been attending even longer, I did see a lot of unfamiliar faces, and that’s a good start.

All that being said, it was a pleasant show. Saw my buds, met some readers and made a few new friends, so life is good.

In closing, I don’t think anyone realizes what a crushing amount of work, show promoter Marjorie Baumert goes through, so I’d like to ask my fellow audio enthusiasts for a minute of silence and praise. I know how tough it is just to coordinate Thanksgiving dinner. I can’t imagine how tough it is to get all the wacky folks in our industry in one place and keep em all happy. Well done, Marjorie. See you next year.

The second I pushed the play button on PS Audio’s DirectStream Memory Player, listening to my favorite Art of Noise SACD, it was instantly clear that this is an exciting product.

Dropping in a DVD Audio disc of The Doors’ LA Woman is equally thrilling, with buckets of low level resolution, the stuff that we all got excited about years before HD Tracks came on the scene. There’s some incredibly cool stuff going on at the extreme high end of digital, but it’s gonna cost you about as much as a new Z06 Corvette. Equally exciting things are happening at the entry level of digital too, but groundbreaking as some of it is, it doesn’t pass muster in a mega system. PS Audio’s new combo gives a major helping of cost no object digital for just under $12,000, and they even send someone to your door to unbox it. Now that’s impressive.

Crazy as it might sound, the $5,000 to $15,000 range is somewhat vacant. A few boxes come to mind, but they are mostly DACs. Simaudio’s 780D is exceptional at $15k, but it doesn’t play shiny discs. And some of us still want to play shiny discs; some of us have big collections of shiny discs. Even DVD-a shiny discs. If you are strictly a streaming audiophile these days, you don’t need the DMP – skip to the DAC section of this review. But if you’ve got the urge to spin physical media, read on. The DSMP is a revelation, and if you don’t need a disc spinner, this marvel will only set you back $5,999.

Much like my reference dCS, the DirectStream DAC does not rely on off the shelf DAC chips; instead it is controlled by FPGA (field programmable gate arrays) and all the upsampling, decoding and filter functions are software controlled, which will make this DAC a lot more future proof than one reliant on implementing the latest Sabre chip. Super impressive for just under six grand.

The Disclaimer

Don’t freak out, the DMP is based on an OPPO transport. But before you cry wolf, fraud, or “oh no, not another AYRE debacle,” chill out. The PS people are very forthright about the transport and PS’ Bill Leebens says candidly, “The basic drive mechanism is a Blu-ray unit sourced from Oppo. The mechanical element is all that remains: all video circuitry, which can add noise and distortion to the audio signal, has been removed. All control and processing of both digital and analog signals is done in circuitry designed and built by PS Audio.”

So, you aren’t paying $5,999 for a hot rodded Oppo. There are only so many sources remaining for a transport that can play everything, and even dCS only offers an SACD capable transport for their six-figure Vivaldi 2. The good news is that Oppo sells a lot of boxes, so you can be sure that replacement mechanisms will be readily available because let’s face it, everything that spins will fail at some point. I see this as a very good thing. It’s also worth mentioning here that both the DAC and the transport are hand built in PS Audio’s factory right here in Boulder, Colorado.

The Catch

To achieve full-blown SACD performance, where the DMP is grabbing the DSD bitstream directly from your SACD disks, you need the matching PS Audio DirectStream DAC, also priced at $5,999. We reviewed an early version of this DAC several years ago, and found it to be an excellent performer. The current version is more of the same, utilizing PS Audio’s I2S bus through HDMI. This allows the DAC to directly read the DSD stream. Because of the way the I2S keeps data and clock signals separate, it makes for a more lifelike musical rendition.

It’s common knowledge these days that jitter and timing errors are the major culprits behind digital discs sounding harsh, crunchy and un-musical. Great as the benefits of keeping things on the bus separate in the SACD/DSD realm, the effect is just as powerful when playing standard redbook CDs. And if you’re a lover of the shiny discs, chances are you have a ton of these.

Back to The Music

Playing a notoriously lousy CD from my pile, The Eurythmics We Too Are One is nothing short of a revolution. It’s not like I haven’t heard CD’s sound this good before, I’ve had some of the world’s best digital players in my rack over the last ten years – I’ve never been married to analog. I’ve just never heard CD’s sound this good in a box this approachable. Does it blow my dCS Rossini DAC and clock out of the water? No, but the sound quality is damn close and my $40,000 dCS doesn’t play my SACDs. Am I going to put my Rossini up on Audiogon? Nope, but I’m seriously thinking of buying the PS Audio pair to sit right beside it on my rack. I like the shiny discs.

The DirectStream DAC by itself is equally exciting with digital files. This is a breakthrough product in terms of what it offers in musical truth for the price asked. The difference between good, really good, and great digital is the degree that it gets out of the way of the music. Quick test: if you find yourself thinking or saying “this sounds pretty good for digital,” said component has failed the awesomeness test. The DMP combo passes this test with flying colors – regardless of disc or file type played. Of course, just like with analog, the better quality of the file, the more enticing the result.

I suspect much of this is due to the DirectStream DAC converting whatever you feed into it to DSD and then processing it thusly. Without getting overly technical, moving everything to the DSD world either eliminates much of the digital artifacts that plague the digital process, making it easier and less offensive on the ears when filtered out. I keep harping, but even a brief demo on a few familiar tracks will convince you just how natural sounding this DAC is. A few hifi critics have even gone so far as to say “they would give up their turntable” for this DAC. I won’t go quite this far, as I like the black discs too, however, unless you’ve got a pretty spendy vinyl rig that is meticulously optimized, you’ll be shocked at how much less time you spend fiddling with vinyl; perhaps saving it for the best of the best analog recordings in your collection.

No matter what music you like the best, and what format, it’s easy to get lost in it with the DMP. If you have a spare internet connection for the transport as well as the DAC, the transport loads and displays the album art and metadata on the front panel screen. I like the extra user friendliness this provides, especially from across the room, or when a guest is over that isn’t always familiar with my musical taste.

Rather than going into minute detail about this track or that track, suffice to say that everything is as it should be. Bass is detailed, powerful and defined. Highs are rendered effortlessly, without grain, yet full of extension. And the delicate midrange is lovely. Yet what makes this player so fantastic is the integration of all of it – I never found myself wanting more, nor did I ever (on even the longest listening sessions) start picking things apart. The homogenous manner by which the PS transport and DAC recompile digital music files is effortless in every way. I’m guessing you won’t need more than about three tracks to be convinced just how good they are.

More Stuff You Don’t Need

If you are a digital only audiophile/music lover, the high quality of the Direct Stream DAC’s digital volume control and line level circuitry is so good, you can skip the preamp, making this pair an even better value. With fully balanced circuitry and transformer coupled outputs, we had great luck using the DirectStream DAC in this mode with a wide range of power amplifiers. It drove 20-foot runs of balanced XLR and single ended RCA cables without a hitch.

Thanks to six digital inputs (coax, XLR, optical, USB and two I2S) the DirectStream DAC is the perfect digital hub. An additional $899 gets you PS Audio’s network bridge card, giving you Ethernet access as well. This allows your favorite UPNP or NAS to be connected and accessed directly. We can all log in to our favorite internet forum and argue about which offers the best sound, but I found the PS pair universally good, regardless of input. For those who love it, the PS combo is ROON ready, so you can have all that at your fingertips as well. This is a formidable combination.

Can You Tell, I Really Like the DMP

Cool as the extreme user friendliness of this pair of PS Audio components is, it’s the sound that sets this one apart from its comparably priced competitors. This is one of the world’s finest players at any price, and I’ve heard or owned most of them. There is a level of sheer refinement here that I guarantee will win you over.

Much as I love analog, and think streaming TIDAL is super cool, there are times that I don’t want to be a suspension mechanic or an IT guy. That’s when putting a shiny disc in the drawer and just pressing play is a lovely thing. Unless you’re going to drop six figures on a dCS Vivaldi or an Esoteric Grandioso, I can’t think of a better digital disc player than the PS Audio DirectStream Memory Player and DAC. (Neither of these six figure players will play your DVD-a discs) If I had more than two thumbs to raise I would offer them, it’s that good. The only remaining choice is whether you want silver or black.

The PS Audio DirectStream Memory Player and DAC

MSRP: $5,999 (ea.), Network Bridge – Additional $899

www.psaudio.com (main factory site)

Gotta have em right now?

To purchase the DAC, Click here:   http://www.psaudio.com/products/directstream-dac/

To purchase the Transport, Click here:   http://www.psaudio.com/products/directstream-memory-player/

Peripherals

Preamplifier              Pass Labs XS Pre

Amplifier                    Pass Labs XS 300 monos

Speakers                    Focal Sopra no.3

Cable                          Cardas Clear and Tellurium Q Silver Diamond

After the initial success I experienced with the Equi=Core 300 from Core Power Technologies, it only made sense to request review samples of their big-boy 1200 and 1800 (watt capacity) models. At $1,399 and $1,799 respectively these two not only feature fully balanced power, but feature four Hubbell duplex outlets. This should be more than enough capacity for even the biggest power amplifiers.

That’s where the torture test began, with the massive Pass Labs XS300 monoblocks, which draw over 1,000 watts each, continuously. I would not suggest the 1200 for this extreme duty, at brain damage volume levels, I could feel the transients flattening a bit, but the 1800 is more than up to the task, when used on separate 20 amp circuits for each amplifier. At $1,799, one for each channel is an easy choice to make and it works like a charm in the context of a nearly $90,000 pair of power amplifiers.

For nearly every other amplifier, you should be able to get by with one 1800. Keep in mind, I like to play music loud with big amplifiers. If you don’t have monster power amps, you might even be able to get away with the 1200. Check the total wattage drawn by your components and add a little extra for fudge factor when cranking it – that will tell you what model you need.

It’s worth noting that even at extreme volume via the XS300s, the Equi=Core 1800s do not limit dynamics whatsoever, and this is usually where a power conditioner craps out. Playing small scale music or female vocals is a cheap parlor trick, most gear shines with a light load like this, but you can play Slayer at nearly concert hall levels and the Equi=Core conditioners do not give out or give up. That’s pretty awesome. As with my Torus power conditioners that also use a variation on the large isolation transformer concept, the Equi=Core units will benefit from a higher quality power cord, so I suggest using a good one to feed them from the outlet to the power conditioner. After all, why scrimp now?

A certain percentage of audiophiles will ponder and/or argue that your power comes a zillion miles from where it’s generated to your house, so why would a bit more wire make a difference? But it does. More than one PLC manufacturer has told me that they look at the power in the line as this giant river that you tap into and the power cord and PLC is the first line to your components. Clean power helps your components deliver everything that you paid for, because any noise and grunge on the power line is modulated into your component’s power supply and amplified thusly. But we can all argue about that on your favorite internet forum.

The 1200 proves perfect for a combination of conrad-johnson GAT 2s2 preamplifier, c-j MV60SE power amplifier, Gryphon Kalliope DAC and a pair of Quad 2812 ESLs and just like the other two Equi=Core power conditioners, offers the same effect. Background noise is nearly eliminated and much like every other vacuum tube component plugged in to the Equi=Core units, they seem to respond even more dramatically than solid-state components. I’ve noticed the same effect when plugging tube components into my Running Springs, Torus, and IsoTek conditioners. Bottom line, the Equi=Core will improve the sound of anything you plug in, but it’s super sweet with tube gear!

Cuing up some high resolution digital files of Keith Jarrett’s legendary The Koln Concert brings it home immediately. Not only is there considerably less background noise than before, Jarrett’s versatile and complex style comes through better than before installing the Equi=Core 1200. As he runs up and down the keyboard, the Bosendorfer’s resonance comes through more clearly, with more of a three dimensional effect, offering a higher level of tonal contrast than before. It only takes a few minutes of listening, and then plugging straight back into the power line to hear the soundstage shrink dramatically, with a veil now added to the performance.

The sparsely arranged 1969 demo of Crosby, Stills and Nash’s “Marrakesh Express” from the CSN Demos offer the same thing to Graham Nash’s vocal track. With barely any instruments added at this stage, the realism of his voice through the Quads sounds almost larger than life; it’s sheer beauty.

Sonically, the 1200 and 1800 are identical, the larger unit just has a larger capacity, and by that I mean they both do no harm to the musical signal and add no tonal shift of their own. I could wax poetic about this track and that, but a power product either does what it is supposed to or it doesn’t. The Equi=Core 1200 and 1800 conditioners deliver the goods and offer outstanding value for the price asked. They are all made by hand in the Core Power factory in Colorado, and have a 30 day return policy, should you decide for whatever reason these are not the droids you want. I highly doubt that you’d send it back after you experience it, so there is nothing to lose. And for those seeking additional value, they’ve got an awfully good “premium” power cord that can be bundled for only $99. The Shunyata Venom used to be my budget go to power cord, but this one easily takes it’s place.

Even if you think you have “clean power,” you’ll be surprised at what one of these do for the overall sound quality of your system. It’s about a 10-minute demo. Plug it in, listen to your three favorite tracks, then take it out and repeat. This is an easy one, folks. So what are you waiting for? Give them a call, they love to chat with their customers.

The Equi=Core 1200 and 1800 power conditioners

$1,399 and $1,799

www.corepowertechnologies.com

Peripherals

Analog source                        Grand Prix Monaco 2.0 table, TriPlanar, Lyra Etna

Digital source                         Gryphon Kalliope DAC

Preamp                                  Pass XS Pre

Phono preamp                      Pass XS Phono

Amplifier                                Pass XS 300 monoblocks, Pass Aleph monoblocks, Audio Research VT80, PrimaLuna DiaLogue HP integrated, Esoteric F-07 integrated, C-J MV60SE

Speakers                                Quad 2812, Focal Sopra no.3, GamuT RS5i

Cable                                      Cardas Clear

Ubiquitous as the silhouette of the V-Twin engine on a Harley Davidson motorcycle, McIntosh Labs’ top products all feature a pair of blue output level meters, joined by a bright green, backlit glow of the controls adorning the thick glass-front panel.

Today that blue and green glow is modulated by LED lighting (instead of the incandescent bulbs of vintage Macs), meticulously adjusted by factory technicians so all of your Mac components glow with equal intensity and color temperature. Sitting down to listen to music in a dimly lit room of McIntosh gear always feels like sitting in a dark stadium, with only the glow of the Marshall amps and effects racks, waiting for the band to take the stage; it’s a visual celebration of audio in action.

Like their outgoing C1000 two-box preamplifier, the C1100 splits control and amplification functions across two chassis, offering higher performance and lower noise as a result of giving the power supply a bit of space from the sensitive gain stages. The C1000 took things further, offering the option of being configured with a solid-state or vacuum tube active stage, along with having the ability to control both! It had a whopping $27,000 price tag to match.

When was the last time you went to buy a new car and the new model offered more performance at a lower price? I thought so. Yet that’s exactly what McIntosh has done with the C1100. Dropping the price dramatically, now $13,000, the casework on the new model is somewhat more straightforward, but there is no mistaking it for anything but a Mac––though less visually embellished than the model it replaces. A chat with my favorite group of McIntosh enthusiasts finds them split right down the middle: half of them are put off by the simpler casework, feeling it doesn’t differentiate the flagship enough from the rest of the herd, and the other half loves the fact that the new C1100 is that much more approachable.

Quick comparisons: new vs. new

Fortunately, the C52 preamplifier, which is the next product down the line from the C1100, just happens to be here for photography with new writer Greg Petan’s review on page 88. A single box unit, the $7,000 C52 has a built-in DAC and eight tone controls along with a phonostage; it is aimed squarely at an entirely different user.

Having both side by side on the rack begs a head-to-head comparison providing an excellent opportunity to see what shakes out sonically for the extra dough. Though the C52 retains the slightly warm, tonally saturated sound that made McIntosh famous, it is all solid-state, so no glowing bottles here. While the C52 offers more functionality than the C1100, thanks to the onboard DAC, it’s no match for the massive soundstage, dynamics and “reach out and touch it”-ness that the C1100 provides.

As with any such choice, you must decide what your budget, system and rack will allow. If massive flexibility is your top priority, save a few bucks and go for the C52. Purists with a “take no prisoners” performance attitude will prefer the C1100 – along with the three-rack spaces it and a separate DAC will require. However, once you hear it, it will be tough to go back.

New vs. old

When the past C1000 arrived configured as a tube preamplifier, it utilized eight 12AX7 tubes: four for the phonostage and four for the linestage. The C1000, like the new C1100 (which uses 6 12AU7 and 6 12AX7 tubes) is a fully balanced design, to drive McIntosh, or anyone else’s balanced power amplifiers in that mode, but there is only one option – all tube. And for good reason – the current C1100 is quieter than even the solid-state version of the C1000. McIntosh’s Ron Cornelius just smiles, saying, “It’s the quietest preamplifier we’ve ever made, period. There just was no need to make two versions of this one.” Damn, this thing is quiet.

A quick call to a couple of my Mcbuds still in possession of C1000s makes for another impromptu shootout. It doesn’t take long for all to agree that the nod has to go to the newer piece in terms of overall sonics. The C1100 is a winner on every level. You’ll have to listen carefully, but on your favorite tracks that are either more sparsely arranged or more acoustic in nature, the C1100 has an ease and freedom from cloudiness that the C1000 can’t quite match. The three C1000 owners were on the fence concerning whether they would trade up, but all were intrigued and impressed with the C1100.

Extended listening

The more time spent with the C1100, the more you realize just how sonically unobtrusive this preamplifier is. Regardless of source and source configuration (RCA or XLR), it goes about its business quietly and confidently.  Where its predecessor is a few molecules warmer tonally, the C1100, much like the current Sonus faber speakers, manages to achieve a similar feat of maintaining the depth and midrange palpability of legacy models, while exhibiting more dynamic impact and extension at both ends of the frequency spectrum.

Weaving through a number of solo male and female vocal tracks, this new preamplifier works its magic, doing better with subtle spatial cues as well, and those wanting to hear every bit of breath at the microphone will be highly impressed. McIntosh has really raised the bar on their gear in the last 5–7 years, steadily refining and improving the range. Thanks to the economy of the manufacturing scale they enjoy, their gear is much more reasonably priced compared to offerings from other manufacturers 30 years ago.

Not only is the linestage easily the equal of what else is available for $8,000–$10,000, the phonostage is also on par with what you’d probably pay $3,000–$5,000 for as well. But McIntosh is not, nor have they ever been, about the minimalist approach – this is a control preamplifier in every sense of the word. If you want HT bypass, have a pair of turntables and numerous line level sources on hand –– the C1100 may be one of the only games in town. With 12 analog inputs, you will never be short an input.

Back in black (vinyl)

Should you be a maniacal vinyl lover with a turntable/tonearm/cartridge combo worth more than the C1100, you will most likely still want an outboard phonostage. However if you are a casual to journeyman analog enthusiast, with a MM or MC cartridge in the $1,000–$3,500 range, you will be more than satisfied with the performance of the C1100’s internal phonostage. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, so resist the urge to press the argumentative email button right now.

Running the C1100 through its paces with a number of cartridges from the $500 Rega Elys 2, all the way up to the Koetsu Jade Platinum, proves highly palatable. The best feature of the C1100’s phonostage (in addition to the 79dB s/n ratio) is the loading options: 25, 50, 100, 200, 400 and 1000 ohms. A number of megabuck outboard phonostages don’t offer this flexibility, and this additional adjustability is where the C1100 really shines, making it a perfect match for cartridges like the Rega Apheta/Apheta 2, which require loading in the 25–50 ohm range to give their best performance.

On that note, the Soulines HDX Kubrick/Rega RB1000/Apheta 2 combination in for review was a perfect mate for the C1100, with the Apheta 2 loaded to 25 ohms, delivering a silky smooth presentation. The additional MM input makes the C1100 perfect for those with two turntables or two tonearms sporting an additional cartridge. The only limiting factor is 60dB of gain, which will eliminate the lowest output MC cartridges. Keep your cartridge’s output above .4mv and everything will be just fine.

Those preferring MM cartridges can also adjust input capacitance from 50 to 800pf in 50pf steps. This is often overlooked, and fine-tuning this aspect of a MM cartridge will deliver stunning results. That cartridge that you thought might have been a little dull or slightly bright can now be adjusted to perfection. These small touches throughout the C1100 are what make it more than a sum of its parts.

Head trip

Those needing to escape to the world of personal audio from time to time will appreciate the care that went into the C1100’s headphone amplifier. With an impedance selector for low (16–40 ohm), medium (40–150 ohm) and high (150–600 ohm) impedance headphones, everything you can think of can be accommodated. Running through about a dozen phones, new and old, confirmed this claim. Whether I was listening to my ancient Koss Pro 4AAs or a pair of the latest planar magnetic from OPPO, the C1100 shines.

If you spend more than a few fleeting moments with headphones on, you’ll appreciate the Headphone Crossfeed Director (HXD^®), which can slightly blend the right and left channel of the amplifier’s output, minimalizing the “ping pong” effect that comes with some recordings. This one is strictly a “to taste” function, making the headphone delivery sound more like a pair of speakers in front of you, mimicking that imaging pattern.

Listening to the classic headphone favorite Dark Side of the Moon with HXD engaged keeps the soundstage more linear as promised, especially on “Time”; the alarm clocks stay more within a boundary, yet without, they appear to bounce all over the room. Tidy or trippy, that’s the question. Fortunately, experimentation is only a button push away.

Every possible combination

If all of this weren’t enough, perusing the excellent user manual reveals how truly flexible the C1100 is. Need home theater bypass? Got it. Want to trim all of your input sources so the volume level is the same? Got that too. And that’s only scratching the surface of what the C1100 is capable of.

The McIntosh C1100 handily offers sonic and build quality commensurate with the asking price, but what puts it in a category of its own is the convenience that it offers. Those wanting a volume control and power switch only will not be the least bit interested, but those with multiple sources wanting high quality playback for all with easy integration will be in hifi heaven. Don’t forget those blue meters, either.

If you are new to the McIntosh tribe, looking for a step-up from what you currently have, or even looking at $13K (or thereabouts) preamplifiers in other camps, the C1100 is outstanding. The phonostage is incredible, as is the headphone amplifier. You’d be pretty hard-pressed to find a linestage, phonostage, or headphone amplifier along with two additional power cords and interconnects that would match the performance of the C1100, as well as the rack space the rest of this stuff would require for anywhere near $13K.

Factor in reputation, dealer support and all the other things that make a Mac a Mac, and the C1100 is a fantastic preamplifier any way you look at it. Highly recommended if you are a lover of the brand, and if you aren’t, this is the perfect piece to start your journey.

The McIntosh C1100 Preamplifier

$13,000

www.mcintoshlabs.com

Peripherals

Analog source                        Brinkman Bardo/Koetsu Jade Platinum, Soulines Kubrick/Rega Apheta 2, Rega Planar 3/Elys 2

Digital source                         Gryphon Kalliope DAC

Amplification                         ARC GS150, CJ LP125sa+, Pass Xs 300 monoblocks

Speakers                                GamuT RS5i, Quad 2812, MartinLogan Neolith

Cable                                      Tellurium Q Silver Diamond

There’s a lot of interesting hi-fi going on in Serbia these days, and we’ve had a number of review inquiries. However, nothing was more intriguing than the new Kubrick DCX from Soulines; currently imported by Jason Tavares at Adirondack Audio in New York.

This beautiful belt drive turntable has a retail cost of $4,000 without tonearm. The review sample was equipped with a Rega RB2000 arm and Apheta 2 cartridge affixed, bringing the cost of this combination to about $7,000. Jelco and SME boards are also available and were supplied. With examples of both, it was easy to run the DCX through its paces with these arms as well.

A quick touch up of tracking force on the Apheta 2 (1.75g) has records playing quickly. In the quest of perspective, the new Apheta was removed to compare with my original model on a pair of Rega P9 tables. You can read my thoughts on that soon, but suffice to say the new Apheta is more extended, slightly smoother and produces a larger soundfield than the model it replaces. More data points made it easier to judge the DCX on its own merit.

Basic setup of the table is quick and straightforward. Install the platter, the belt and tonearm of your choice. A small wall wart power supply is available, supplying 12 volts DC and Soulines claims an upgraded power supply may be in the works soon. The table is semi suspended and is easy to level quickly. In addition to the power switch, 33 or 45 rpm is easily toggled, with no belt fussing necessary. A model of simplicity!

The DCX does not have a massive footprint and easily fits on a 15 x 19 inch shelf. Weighing only 24 pounds, it should fit anywhere. Whether sitting on a rack, or anchored to the wall in our listening room via a Solidsteel wall bracket; the DCX is immune to foot traffic exhibiting no acoustic feedback effects.

Mix and match

With the Apheta 2 back in place on the DCX, the Soulines table delivers more weight than the Rega P9 can muster, yet offers slightly more energy in the treble range as well; it feels as if you’ve moved up about three rows closer to the stage. Should you have a system that is already slightly forward, this combination may be too much of a good thing. In my studio system, with the Focal Sopra no.3 speakers, this was, in fact, too much of a good thing. Moved to the living room system with a PrimaLuna DiaLogue HP integrated amplifier, MOON by Simaudio LP610 and the Graham LS5/9 speakers (which is a decidedly more laid back system) the Apheta 2 is perfection.  All remaining listening was done via the Conrad Johnson GAT 2 preamplifier, TEA-1a phonostage and the LP125sa+ power amplifier, via the Quad 2812 speakers.

The Rega arm may need to use the supplied spacers to fine adjust VTA with some cartridges, but this is not an issue with the Jelco or the SME as the adjustments are built in. The SME V proved an incredible match for the DCX, but at nearly $6,000, this more than doubles the cost of the arm/table combination. Rest assured though, that the DCX is up to the task. A more cost effective combination is the 309 arm. Though a little spendy at MSRP of $2,800, they can usually be found on the secondary market for just under $1,000 and this makes for an incredibly high performance combination.

As you might expect, the SME arm lends more heft to the presentation, while the Rega is a bit zippier. Again, this all depends on the ultimate voice you want your analog system to feature and the rest of the chain. This table is so much fun, you can really get lost in the chase. Even the vintage SME 3009 proves a great match for the DCX, combined with the Ortofon SPU delivers a rounder, more vintage sound that may be to the taste of some. No matter what combination was tried, this table provides a highly stable platform that gets out of the way of the ancillaries, delivering clean sound.

Though this particular ZYX is not a megabucks cartridge, it gives minute details room to breath, never letting the softest ones get lost in the mix. Taking an old favorite for a spin, Pat Metheny’s Offramp proves illuminating, with smooth, yet shimmering cymbals throughout, and Lyle Mays’ piano effortlessly clean. The last track on side one, “Au Lait” features some ethereal, Twin Peaks-y moans that appear way back beyond the speaker boundaries. Lesser tables tend to portray this track a lot more flat and two-dimensional.

Good as the Kubrick DCX performs with a modest cartridge; it can easily be the foundation for some of the world’s finest cartridges without missing a beat. Moving upscale to the Grado Signature 2 ($3,500) and the Transfiguration Phoenix ($4,500) proved the resolution of this platform, making it a breeze for both cartridges to express themselves, easily distinguishing what makes them unique.  This makes it a great table to build an analog system around, splurge on the Kubrick HDX, upgrading tonearm and cartridge as your budget allows.

The DCX shatters a few of my pre-existing biases, especially the one that has never been terribly fond of acrylic platters. In this case it works spectacularly and does not have an overly flat, two-dimensional sound that I’ve always chalked up to an acrylic platter. Acoustic instruments come alive and often played electronica tracks come forward from the Quads with a large, deep, front to back sound field. This table will easily immerse you in your favorite records.

Taking care of business

After auditioning a number of exciting combinations, I ended up with the combination of the Rega arm and the ZYX R-100 cartridge, reminding me a lot of the Miyajima Kansui that I never should have let a good friend talk me out of. Natural, with a little bit of bloom, but not sluggish or slow. Another outstanding match for this arm and table. Needless to say about halfway through the review I called Jason to purchase the DCX for permanent use as the analog reference driving my Audiophile Apartment system.

This system consists of the Quad 2812’s and PrimaLuna DiaLogue HP premium integrated that I raved about earlier this year, via Conrad Johnson’s new TEA-1 series 2 phonostage (review to follow shortly) listening to a major pile of records. Analog either draws you in or leaves you cold, and unscientific though it may seem, when it all comes together, it keeps you up until all hours of the night, playing record after record, time melting away like you have one of those aliens from the movie Dune, that fold space somewhere nearby.

Count the DCX solidly in this camp. Speed stability measured on the money, and it paints a fairly big, spacious, sonic picture, with music unfolding between the Quads in an incredibly gratifying way. Should you need to adjust the speed slightly on yours, the adjustments on the top of the subchassis make it simple as long as you possess a jeweler’s screwdriver.

The skeletal aluminum structure that makes up the subchassis is machined and finished to an elegant, semi-matte silver finish. The mechanical and sonic quality of this table becomes more evident with every day spent with it. It sounds and feels like a much more expensive table – the quality is in the details; all of the surfaces and edges are finished to a level you would expect from AVID, Clearaudio or SME.

Records spin on an acrylic platter via an inverted main bearing. Designer Igor Gligorov tells me that they every platter, main bearing and spindle are manufactured together as a unit, not in batches (and the resultant problems with batch tolerances) because he feels that this is one of the most important parts of the turntable. “I have put a lot of effort to isolate this system from the rest of the table and surrounding environment.”

The DC motor is sourced from Premotec of Holland with a simple voltage converter via a wall wart power supply. As a mechanical engineer, he stresses the importance of all parts of a mechanical system working together in synergy for the best result. Everything is strategically shaped, assembled and damped. The minute you put a record on the table, Mr. Gligorov’s hard work is evident.

A wholehearted recommendation

Plain and simple, the Soulines Kubrick DCX is a fantastic table in every way. It’s beautifully designed, mechanically and aesthetically. It’s proven easy to set up and has been playing records around the clock since we unboxed it a few months ago, providing hundreds of hours of flawless performance. We’ll report back in six months or so to give you a long-term perspective, but for now, it’s proved fantastic.

This is one you should consider for your system.

The Soulines Kubrick DCX Turntable

$4,000 (without arm)

www.adkav.com (US Distributor)

www.soulines.com (mfr)

Peripherals

Preamplifier              Conrad Johnson GAT 2, with TEA-1 phonostage

Amplifier                    Conrad Johnson LP125sa+

DAC                             Gryphon Kalliope

Speakers                    Quad 2812

Cable                          Cardas Clear

Power                         Torus TOT

A relative newcomer to the audio industry, U.S.-based Kanto opened its doors in January of 2007. After working for larger consumer electronics companies for many years, Kanto’s founders put their design discipline to work developing new products to meet their goal of delivering high-quality products at very reasonable prices. Kanto’s latest speaker product conceived in Canada, the Yumi powered speaker, is building a fan base of its own. After putting the Yumis through their paces, I count myself among Kanto’s recent fans.

In The Eye of the Beholder

Kanto speakers are available in a variety of colors to blend in with any home décor or provide a nice contrasting hue. A prospective owner has the choice of matte black, gray and white finishes. However, I’d highly recommend choosing from one of the beautifully executed gloss finish options including black, white, gray, blue, purple, or red.

Kanto deviates from the standard boxy speaker shape, giving the Yumi’s a modern twist. While the front and back of the speakers are flat as you would expect, all the speaker’s side edges are curved. Rather than having defined sides it’s more like the speaker has a “flow” around it.

Tweeting and woofing are handled by a one-inch silk dome, and a five-inch Kevlar driver, respectively. Despite the small dimensions, these drivers prove themselves serious workhorses. To encourage better bass response, each speaker has a two-inch bass port. With the ability to output frequencies ranging from 60Hz to 20 KHz, the Yumi’s cover the majority of the human hearing spectrum. For those craving full range bass down to 20 Hz, the Yumi’s do include one subwoofer output on the rear.

Lots Under the Hood

Within the modern exterior lies the real magic of the Yumis. In Kanto’s design implementation, one of the two speakers is both the brains and brawn of the pair. It houses the control knob, source switching circuits, and the amplifier. Only this speaker must be attached to a power outlet using a standard electrical cord. Each of these elements requires some additional explanation.

The dual-purpose knob on the front not only controls volume but by pushing in the knob and rotating it, the Yumi toggles through various input options. Owners have a choice of connections for music sources including RCA, 3.5mm, Bluetooth, and optical.

Opposite the knob is a small LED that indicates the speaker’s state and source.  White, blue and amber colors – flashing or solid –  show various states of sources and power readiness. In addition to the various inputs, and a power switch on the rear of the speaker, a built-in USB charger is a convenient addition, making it easy to charge a mobile phone or another audio device while using that device to stream music.

Yumi’s are powered by a 30-Watt Class AB amplifier. Putting that much juice in a little speaker enclosure is a bit like packing a turbo charged V8 engine in a Volkswagen Bug… and it’s awesome! While I admire greatly the energy efficiency and sound quality of modern Class D amp designs used in many powered speakers today, there’s still something about the older-school amplifier circuitry that usually generates, to my ears, a more musically engaging and lifelike experience. The Class AB implementation in the Yumi is no exception. When in standby mode, the Yumi amp sips only half a watt, keeping the circuitry warm and ready for use. While the owner can manually put the Yumi’s into standby mode via the remote, the speakers will do it automatically if no source material is detected for a period.

External dimensions of the speakers are a scant 6.9” W x 8.1” D x 10.6” H (17.4 x 20.5 x 27 cm). The Yumi speaker pair weighs in at about 23 pounds. Of course, the passive speaker makes up only 8.8 pounds (4 Kg) of that heft since the heavy amplifier, power supply, and other technology is packed inside the other speaker enclosure.

All in the Wrist

As if all this isn’t stellar enough, the Yumis come with a plastic remote that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, allowing the owner to control many functions from the comfort of a favorite listening seat. Volume, mute, and source selection are complemented with the ability to control bass and treble. A reset button snaps the sound back to neutral when frequency emphasis isn’t desired. When using a Bluetooth connection, additional buttons control the ability to play, pause, or select the previous or next song.

Sending music from a phone via Bluetooth is incredibly easy, however, in my experience a fair amount of fidelity gets lost with compressed music despite the Yumi’s implementation of the aptX codec created to give Bluetooth better sonics. Using the analog RCA inputs to pipe in music from my reference rig, the Yumis take flight. In every perceivable way, music comes though with a sonic improvement over of the wireless connection. It may be silly to feed the Yumi’s a signal from sources priced much more expensively than the Yumi’s themselves, however, these speakers demonstrate their ability to take great source material and deliver it to the listener in a musically satisfying and very engaging way.

Shocking Sound

These powers speakers deliver impressive sound. Though the Yumi, tracks like “Rotten Apple” by Alice in Chains have a surprising level of texture, emotion and depth which I would normally associate with  larger speakers and more powerful upstream equipment. Similarly, vocal tracks like Cat Power’s “Silver Stallion” reveal the emotion of the performance.

There’s a relaxed naturalness to the Yumis voice. It’s easy to settle into long listening sessions with various music types like electronica, vocals, pop, classical and jazz, never feeling like huge compromises are made. All of the tracks auditioned are delivered with nuance and delicacy beyond the Yumi’s price point. At the same time, there’s a quick-paced liveliness when the music dictates it. These speakers are not one-trick ponies, but chameleons that do well with whatever musical information is thrown at them.

The bass these little babies put out defies expectation. Even a few feet from the rear wall without any bass loading, there’s a good amount of lower frequency heft, and adding a little more is no problem thanks to the tone control options. With any small enclosure, though, there are bass limitations. Those craving heavy and tactile low frequency information can utilize the Yumi’s subwoofer output to augment the monitors.

From a soundstaging perspective, the speakers offer additional surprises. They somehow manage to throw a huge, three dimensional soundstage with ease, as you might expect from a great pair of mini monitors. Musical elements exceed the left and right boundaries of the speaker bodies and there’s a perceived depth of musical cues projected well above and behind the speakers.

The Yumi speakers deserve many accolades. But yes, they do have limitations. Are these tiny speakers going to reproduce spacious orchestral works with the impact, powerful swells and crescendos of a full range floor-standing speaker? Of course not. It’s important to frame perspective here. Let’s just say these Kanto speakers pour forth music, across the frequencies they are capable of reproducing, with ease, grace, and potency.

Given the speaker size and $449 price tag, I can’t criticize something that does so much so well. Some compromises must be decided deliberately by designers in order to satisfy size requirements, manufacturing costs, and future consumer sales. Kanto’s team made took a lot of care to avoid glaring errors that can make modestly priced speakers sound or feel cheap, impeding listening enjoyment. For potential owners living in a small apartment, or who want a set of speakers in a bedroom or den, the Yumis easily offer enough oomph to fill a room with spacious sound. Heck, they did a mighty good job filling my main listening space.

Get ‘Em While They’re Hot!

Right out the gate, these speakers command attention and deliver big, thrilling sound that seems impossible from such an unassuming enclosure. It’s a pleasure to test a product that provides so much quality for a modest price. Over the course of my time with the Yumis, my enthusiasm for them only grows. At the end of the review period, I could not bear to pack up and return these mini marvels, and purchased the demo pair. For all they offer at their price point, we award the Kanto Yumi Speakers a 2016 Exceptional Value Award.

Kanto Yumi Powered Speakers

MSRP: $449

www.kantoliving.com

PERIPHERALS

Analog Source: SME Model 10 with SME V and Model 10 tonearms. Dynavector 17D3 and Denon DL-103R cartridges

Digital Sources: Mac Mini, Roon Music Service, dCS Debussy

Preamplification: Coffman Labs G1-B

Cables: Jena Labs

Power: Torus AVR 15 Plus, RSA Mongoose power cords

Accessories: ASC tube traps, Mapleshade Samson audio racks, Coffman Labs Equipment Footers, AudioQuest Jitterbug, Atomic Audio Labs Mac Mini stand

Audiophiles love to argue about the subject of power delivery.

I can’t say I blame them, a lot of super expensive power products either do nothing, or worse yet, actually degrade the sound of your system. Unfortunately, this always seems to be a point of contention that the mainstream press loves to jump all over, further shaming those of us that are true believers.

30 years ago, I was paying 20 bucks a pop for “hospital grade” outlets in my listening room, and even though power conditioning products hadn’t even hit the market yet, combining this with a couple of dedicated outlets and paying attention to how my house and breaker box was grounded made for better dynamic contrast and a lower noise floor.

There are a number of boutique outlets out there that cost crazy money. The Cardas 4181 is $159. While that’s a lot more than a standard outlet, or even the go to hospital grade plug, which is now about $30 at Home Depot (and not a bad choice if you don’t want to plunk down $159 per on these blue meanies) but this outlet is built to a high standard.

No, I didn’t see God and installing the 4181 didn’t take me to a place of audio nirvana that will have me exhausting my adjective gland here, but what it did do, in conjunction with a pair of Cardas Clear Beyond power cords, each connected to dedicated 20 amp lines, each one feeding a Pass Labs XS300 monoblock (drawing 1000 watts each, all the time) was give the system an ease at high volume it did not have previously. And I’ve been listening to these amps for a few years now and am intimately familiar with their nuances.

Honestly at low volume, I didn’t notice a major change, but as the volume grew, adding the Cardas goodies makes a difference. I’d compare it to putting premium gas in your turbocharged car versus the cheap stuff. Slogging through the drive through lane at Starbucks, you’ll never notice it, but when you swing out to pass that slow moving Camry (and we have a LOT of these in the Pacific Northwest) it’s a little easier.

Whether that’s because of the high quality materials used for the contacts in the outlet, the firmness by which said outlet holds the power cord, or a combination of both, I know it works. While $159 is spendy for an outlet, in the context of your entire system, it’s a pinch.

I see optimizing your hifi system much like setting up a race car. You get a couple of horsepower here a couple of horsepower there, all from attention to the small details. That can add up to the difference between making the podium and not. Of course, hifi is not as serious as being the F1 world champion, but, all these little differences do add up.

While you’re swapping those outlets, double check the ground connection in your circuit breaker box, or have your electrician do it for you. Make sure the ground connection is tight, as well as all the connections to the circuit breakers, especially the ones feeding your system. Lastly, take a peek at the ground outside. If it’s not up to snuff, replace it as well.

I’ve seen audiophiles tear their hair out over noise issues and spend thousands of dollars on power cords and line conditioners, only to find out the major problem was the ground. The good news is that if you address this stuff first, you’ll notice the diff that the power cords and outlets make even more.

Should you choose to accept this mission, you can find the 4181 outlet right here:

http://www.cardas.com/power_outlet.php

And for our friends outside the US, they make a Shuko version as well. Good stuff!

So, happy listening. I hope that if you give a couple of these a try, you have the same result, or better, that I’ve had. The Cardas 4181 Outlet will definitely add a few more horsepower to your system.

I gave Meridian’s co-founder Bob Stuart a difficult time a little over two years ago as he first told me about MQA, making it clear that I wasn’t going to tell you, my readers to buy Kind of Blue, again, no matter how compelling the demo he was about to show me would be.

The demo was amazing, and you wouldn’t expect anything less from Bob Stuart, undoubtedly one of high end audio’s most clever guys. Though Stuart is a confessed digital guy, it’s incredible that his latest creation is so analog sounding. A number of early reports on MQA have been less than bombastic, but like so many incredible things, the magic is in the details – in this case the fine details.

What Mr. Stuart has developed is certainly a paradox. As someone raised on fine analog, hearing MQA for the first time comes across as brilliant, but not in a hit your head with a mallet way. Yet the more analog you have heard, the more easily you’ll appreciate what MQA brings to the table. Music rendered via MQA has an ease and smoothness that you would normally associate with the best analog record and tape playback, in terms of musicality, with the dynamic range and speed accuracy you’d expect from digital. Sound like the best of both worlds? Well, it is.

Though Stuart started development work at Meridian, MQA is a separate company. As he mentions, “We had to set it up this way. First, it’s now a full-time job. Second it’s a completely different type of activity and in MQA we genuinely firewall our licensee activities from each other and that includes Meridian”.

It’s important to keep in mind that MQA is not really a new format, per se. Stuart and his staff say that MQA captures subtle timing information that is lost in the digital encoding process by creating a digital footprint of the recording chain of the album being played. In essence, they eliminate the sonic fingerprint of the gear going from the microphone to the DAC. Those worried that the sonic choices made by the artist and engineer to get said sound will be lost, have no fear. As much or little of the recording chain as the artist and/or producer want to leave in the mix can remain. This is why these recordings are referred to a “Master Authenticated.” They are all signed off on by the artist, so you know this is the record that the artist and producer intended you to hear in the first place.

A Sooloos server full of MQA files, from the 2L label and Warner Music, makes it easy to compare MQA to non MQA files in a relevant way. Good as the recordings from the 2L label are, these are not albums like Chicago V, Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, or Harvest; records that I’ve been listening to for most of my life, and also are available in nearly every format you can think of. Yet with all these classics at my disposal, the shootout begins with Metallica’s black album. Notoriously squashed of life and dynamics, this rock staple comes alive via the MQA process. The beginning of “Wherever I May Roam” is now full of life; rather than being met by a giant wall of overly compressed guitar crunch, the MQA version uncloaks layer after layer of information, providing more listening enjoyment, and illuminating the amount of care made in the recording session. Metallica has never sounded better in my system.

Multiple comparisons to the existing standard and high resolution files I have of the Warner classics on file, via Meridian’s latest 818v3 Reference Audio Core, which acts as a MQA compatible DAC, preamplifier and control system and a pair of 7200SE active speakers prove enlightening. Stuart tells me that this pair of 7200s is very special, because it is the same pair of speakers that he dragged around the world, doing all of the MQA demos for various label heads, artists and producers… Yet, you don’t have to spend $16,000 on a DAC to enjoy MQA. A number of hardware partners are now available (check www.mqa.co.uk for the latest count) and Meridian’s $299 Explorer 2 DAC gives a highly convincing demonstration.

Moving the 818v3 from my home listening room to main listening room at TONEAudio proves equally illuminating, where a direct comparison between MQA and a few other very good DAC’s but to make the ultimate comparison; MQA and vinyl. Again, this is where MQA really shines. For all the vinyl lovers in the audience (myself included), constant comparison between the recent 45 rpm LP remasters of the Neil Young catalog and the tracks available on MQA are nearly a dead heat. Nearly all of my non audiophile friends with no predisposed agenda prefer the sound of the MQA files to even LP, yet the same comments are made by everyone with no audiophile language; MQA sounds more relaxing, more real, more like music. So Mr. Stuart has hit a home run.

Again, is it a night and day difference? Not necessarily. Listening to great 24/192 vs. MQA is like going from a 7 Series BMW or S Class Mercedes to a Bentley. High quality versus very high quality, yet the difference is still there and as Mr. Stuart is fond of saying, “once you hear it, you can’t un-hear it.”

However, I think the even bigger difference or improvement that MQA brings besides another level of refinement is the way it will bring higher resolution to everyone. The main problem with 24/192 files is the size of the data pipe required to facilitate it. An MQA stream is right around 1100kb/sec, actually a bit smaller than uncompressed CD resolution files. This will be tremendous for those of us wanting high res to go, streaming from Tidal and eventually others. Stuart was kind enough to let me stream some beta files on Tidal and the results are excellent.

And this is what I like most about MQA, you won’t have to buy Kind of Blue or any of your legacy audiophile pressings again to enjoy the benefit of MQA. That’s what makes this really cool. Those that do want to purchase these titles will be able to very soon, but linking MQA with Tidal makes it a lot more diplomatic and cost effective.

In addition, files encoded with MQA will still sound better, cleaner on your standard digital setup even if you don’t have a DAC capable of decoding MQA. For now, let’s call the difference about 20% in terms of revealing more music in a less imposing (i.e. digital artifacts, etc) way than a non-MQA file.

The biggest hope for MQA is that as recording studios around the world adopt MQA as a standard and invest in MQA encoding hardware, forgoing the need to send the files to Meridian for encoding as they do now, future generations of musicians work will sound much better; that’s a triumph for everyone. That’s why MQA.

And Kind of Blue sounds pretty awesome too. Touche, Mr. Stuart.

From the mixing console: A chat with 2L’s Morten Lindberg and Bob Stuart

Morten Lindberg of 2L Recordings in Norway, has created some of the world’s finest recordings before MQA was introduced, and he has been a very early adopter of Bob Stuart’s technology, taking things even further. Both of these gentlemen were kind enough to give me an hour of their time, right on the tail end of the Munich High End show to discuss their relationship and process.

TA:  Do you feel that thanks to MQA, music going forward is going to sound a lot better?

ML:  When you’re talking about a well-done setup to a perfectly done MQA setup, yes it is, but comparing to many people with a standard digital setup it will be huge. So many users have shitty playback. There are some major differences.

BS: It depends on what kind of listener you are. Some listen to MQA and say it’s very subtle, others say it’s extraordinary, listening to different aspects of the sound.

TA: For me, MQA was an a-ha moment, but I was listening to a lot of tracks that I’ve been listening to for years, so it was easy. I recently hosted about 40 people in my home to A-B MQA and all but one not only preferred the difference, but heard the same thing. The one who did not prefer MQA said it was “too smooth.” I keep noticing that smoothness, which reminds me more of analog, because of the long tonal gradation that MQA processed recordings possess.

BS:  Exactly, it’s a back to analog, closed loop system now. When you take out the “problems” of digital, you get sounding back to the original. Yet when you hear it on a cell phone with earbuds, MQA still sounds much better and that’s what’s exciting.

TA:  Because the bitstream of an MQA file is much smaller than that of a 24/192 file it’s going to be that much easier for everyone to enjoy high resolution audio?

BS:  Yes, it’s smaller than a CD stream and much smaller than a high res file.

ML: Two years ago I didn’t know anything about Bob or MQA, and this is what first attracted me to the format. I felt our original high res files sounded just fine, but this might make it easier to distribute our high resolution files in a smaller container without losing anything. That was actually the entrance to MQA, the “origami” part of the MQA file. I had to prepare sometimes 8 or 9 master file sets, tailoring dithering and filtering for each sample rate the customer might use, so now just using one file that would unfold and work with multiple end users really attracted me. Originally Bob and I were to sit and talk for an hour, but after our first meeting went seven hours, it still took a while to understand the total philosophy of how we could implement it into our work.

TA: Are you recording your new projects in MQA format? Does it add or subtract from your digital workflow?

ML:  We’ve been meeting regularly in our studio, listening to music, talking about audio and recordings, defining what are we searching for, other than just redistributing our files. There are not yet easily available production tools, so we’ve been figuring out how to work together. While in production, I send raw files to Bob, he does his processing and I get options back. I’m used to turning a knob or pulling a fader and having something happen. This is different. Me listening to the files not knowing what was done and describing what I’ve experienced has been very helpful and taken my level of hearing to a new level.

BS:  And we’ve developed a common language for all of this.

ML:  Remarkably, it’s not very technical; more about color and emotions. We aren’t talking about frequency spectrums that much!

TA: So for now, you’re not really working with an MQA encoder per se, you’re using your current workflow then sending it off to Bob to process.

ML:  Yes, but we are looking forward to a more efficient process very soon. What Bob and I are doing is fine tuning.

TA: So if I understand both of you correctly, MQA essentially removes the “digital fingerprint” of the recording chain.

BS:  That’s what we are trying to do, and soon Morten will have a full MQA setup in his studio, but this process has helped both of us tremendously.

ML: We’ve done quite a lot of projects together and our catalog goes back to 2002, and we’ve gone back to eliminate that “digital fingerprint” from all of our files.

BS: One of the best things about even a great encoder is that you can still improve it further.

ML: It’s really difficult to describe this process, as it isn’t always one process requiring one action. When we listened to my Mozart recording in its original shape from 2006, we’ve now made some major and many minor actions to get it where it is today. We tend to refer to digital as one curse word. A lot has happened since the 80s and 90s and what has evolved from converter to converter as our process has evolved.

BS: The magic here is that by taking out the sound of the converters, even this recording done ten years back is a great recording!

JD: Now having MQA, and as the tools keep changing, changes your process as well. Using this going forward, does it then change how you setup in the studio? Mic choices, mic placement.

ML:  Even though we don’t employ the MQA process when recording (Stuart chimes in “Not yet”) I would like to have MQA in my listening at the venue, it’s embedded in my brain so I know what slight differences I can change when recording.

JD: The parallel to photography stays in my mind, it seems to be a lot like pre visualizing what the end result will be.

ML:  Yes, definitely

BS: We find that Morten’s recordings with two mics, are the cleanest ones we’ve encountered. With other multitrack digital recording you have more blurring because more mic feeds are being processed. With more channels, there’s more blurring, hence the need to turn it up louder. You have to use brighter colors. Once you clean the picture, you don’t have to make the colors as bright to be seen. You can’t expect to make a great recording with 200 microphones.

ML: But they keep trying! This really goes to my heart. Most engineers are more concerned with abuse afterward from the producer or artist. I’m sorry if I seem harsh.

TA: Morten, with this being said, is there any chance of you working outside the current genres of music you now work in?

ML: Of course. It doesn’t matter what kind of music it is, it comes down to my craft and my approach to recording music. Part of the production is finding the right venue, the right room for any given type of music. Instruments balancing in a natural way is a big part of what I do. And this would be more than you might think.

TA: I agree with you gentlemen on all counts. Morten you offer your digital test bench so people can actually hear not only the difference between file formats, and resolution. How long has this been going on and whose idea was this?

ML:  It was my idea from the moment we started to distribute our original masters. About 2008 and it’s a simple web server, delivering about a terabyte a week of different samples.

TA: So back to our original topic somewhat; MQA is helping to simplify the process of downloading high resolution digital music files.

BS: Yes.

ML: Our job is to deliver the best sounding original recording we can in the final format that the customer wants to hear.

Conclusion

The digital process continues to advance, and both Bob Stuart and Morten Lindberg are major players on both sides of the console. With guys this passionate working for us, music delivery will continue to evolve and improve. You may hear a number of arguments on the internet or at the pub, but in the end, we at TONEAudio feel MQA is a huge step forward in digital music fidelity and delivery. We urge you to experience it at your convenience.

www.mqa.co.uk

Amidst the hectic planning for 2016’s T.H.E. Show Newport starting June 3, General Manager Marine Presson took time out to talk with us about the coming event. Read her advice for first time attendees, planned highlights of the coming show, and Newport’s future direction with the tragic loss of event founder Richard Beers earlier this year.

TONEAudio: How did you first get involved with T.H.E. Show Newport?

PRESSON: I met Richard while working at the Atrium Hotel in 2011 and as the Conference Service Manager during the 2014 show, he was impressed with my work ethic and personable demeanor. Along with others, I believed his graphic advertising could use a touch of class and breathing room so I would always tell him to hire me as his Graphic Designer and shortly after the event, he did! In 2015, that was my ‘official’ role but as we grew closer professionally and personally, he started talking about me taking over and light-heartedly introducing me as the GM to some. Initially, I told him he was nuts! But what I didn’t realize at the time, is he already knew of his failing health and wasn’t joking at all. He saw someone that could do what he did and so he taught me everything possible during that short time. He became very sick immediately after the 2015 show and that’s when I began slowly taking over more and more of his tasks. A few days following the New Year, he was in the hospital incapacitated so I made the decision to take over entirely for the simple purpose of continuing his legacy as I knew that even if he recovered, it wouldn’t be in time to pull off this show.

TONEAudio: What makes T.H.E. Show Newport special compared with other audio events around the U.S./World?

PRESSON: Richard built this Show with a focus on making everyone involved – exhibitors, attendees, press, entertainers, etc. – feel like they were part of THE Show family and inviting all to join; this is why “Open to the Public” is noted on nearly all advertising we do. He was open to feedback and suggestions, always implementing positive changes that would further grow the event making it more successful each year, and keeping everyone happy. As I move forward with his legacy, it is my goal to continue creating opportunities for friendships and business connections as well as making it a fun, high-energy event that people can feel excited for. Essentially, it’s a big family party where business can thrive.

Presson (right) and teammates at T.H.E. Show registration 2015

TONEAudio: Compared with past Newport shows, what makes 2016’s event a must-attend?

PRESSON: First—it will be host to Richard Beers’s official and only memorial so we encourage everyone to join us in celebrating his life on Friday evening, June 3rd in T.H.E. Lounge.  Secondly—we are also putting more emphasis on the personal listening market and expect to see more young faces than ever before, a necessity for the survival of the audio industry in general.

TONEAudio: What advice would you give a first-time attendee?

PRESSON: Purchase your tickets ahead of time and bring your confirmation email to ensure a smooth onsite registration experience.  Utilize the tabs in the event guide to navigate your “show attack” – find exhibitors on our alphabetical listing, or use the maps as you walk the halls to find your favorite companies.  Enter your name in every raffle box and join us for the drawing on Sunday to win big prizes!  Isn’t everything so much more fun when you walk away with a prize?  When you need some down time, head over to T.H.E. Lounge to enjoy some amazing live music, grab a drink and recharge your batteries – or take advantage of the lively energy to network with great people.

TONEAudio: We are all shocked and saddened by the passing of Richard Beers, and understand this year’s event is dedicated to his memory. What is your own favorite memory of Richard?

PRESSON: Everyone knows Richard was rarely on time – I got married just before last year’s show on May 15th and being the loving father figure he was to me, made it a point to be on time for the ceremony. It was very special for me. His humor, intelligence, and down-to-earth personality made for countless memorable conversations late into the night that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Richard Beers 1949-2016

TONEAudio: What do you think Richard would most like for all of us to remember about him?

PRESSON: Every discussion with Richard involved laughs – no matter the situation, there was always at minimum a good chuckle.  He was a high-spirited, funny, hard working, and generous warrior.  T.H.E. Show was his #1 priority and even through his failing health, he gave it his all. Failure was never option, he was going to take care of everyone as long as he physically could—and he did.

TONEAudio: What do you see as the future of T.H.E. Show? How will it grow or change over time?

PRESSON: There are still a lot of details to consider for the future but the bottom line is, I am dedicated to ensuring Richard’s legacy lives on. I will make every effort to ensure growth in a warm, friendly, and productive manner.  Being of a younger age than many in the industry, I’m fully embracing my advantage of reaching Generation Y, the Millenniums – they are our future and it’s my personal goal to introduce them to the amazing experiences the audio community has to offer.

TONEAudio: What is your favorite part of managing a large-scale event like this?

PRESSON: When Richard first introduced the possibility of me taking over in 2018, I was hesitant because it seemed like an overwhelming lifestyle. When I got my feet wet, and then completely submerged in this lifestyle the last few months, I fell in love with the role. He was right—it’s the perfect gig for me! Why? Because just like him, I enjoy doing a lot and especially in a fast-paced setting (some of us are just crazy like that!). I thoroughly enjoy being challenged on a day-to-day basis, planning and coordinating, and more importantly I love taking care of people and contributing to their successes.  I am the type of person that thrives in these ‘overwhelming’ situations and the rewarding feeling of completing an even successfully is priceless—for lack of better words.

TONEAudio: What do you find the most challenging element?

PRESSON: All aspects are challenging; you’re trying to make thousands of people happy—it’s nearly impossible to please every single person. But the most challenging this year specifically has been the feeling of loneliness. The wondering of ‘who’s here to help me and who’s here to help themselves?’ I’m still learning who the big players are, how everyone contributes differently, and putting together the pieces of the puzzle that were solely in Richard’s head. Next year will no doubt be less painful!

TONEAudio: When you are not working hard on show planning, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

PRESSON: Spending time with my family and pets—a lab mix, puggle, and senior cat keep me busy! My husband, Wess and I moved to Colorado last June to increase our outdoor opportunities—hiking, fishing, and sunbathing to name a few are musts!  Having been born & raised in France, I’m naturally a foodie so I absolutely love dining out and cooking. And lastly—reading is my therapy.

TONEAudio: Is there anything else you want TONEAudio readers to know about the event?

PRESSON: The mission for 2016 is to maintain as much authenticity as possible. We are keeping a lot of the same from vendors to operations and mostly everything in between (with some fixes to efficiency leaks). That being said, as I discover more about the industry and event itself, I will be making whatever changes are necessary to improve the event and I am game for all that will contribute positivity to the audio community—feedback is always welcome and encouraged; it is only through understanding what you want that we can continuously expand on our successes.
Starting early May, we’ll be launching our Exhibitor Spotlight so be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

On a final note, we’d love to hear your favorite memories of Richard, please share them on his guestbook and be sure to RSVP for his official memorial taking place Friday, June 3rd at T.H.E. Show Newport.

Find out more about T.H.E. Show Newport on their webpage

Whenever I’m asked to suggest a CD player that’s warm, romantic, and “anti-digital,” I always recommend a player with a vacuum-tube output stage. I nominate the same player TONEAudio contributors Bob Gendron and Jerold O’Brien use—the PrimaLuna ProLogue 8, now labeled the Classic. It takes the harsh, digital sting out of CDs. Sure, some digital players are more accurate and refined. But if you are a hardcore analog nut, many end up sounding thin in comparison. PrimaLuna recently took its vacuum-tube digital disc player a step further with the improved Premium.

For those not familiar with the name, PrimaLuna has been in business for more than a decade and boasts a fantastic reputation for sonics, build quality, and wonderful fusion of old-school and modern aesthetics. Available with satin black or silver faceplates, the new player’s chassis is covered in a deep metallic-blue finish that’s hand-polished to display a mirror finish—a PrimaLuna hallmark.

My only complaint with the Classic? It lacks a digital input. But PrimaLuna addresses this and more with the Premium. To its credit, the company has not simply tacked a vacuum-tube buffer onto the end of a traditional CD player to soften things up. All the gain stages utilize vacuum tubes, and the Premium is the only player we’ve seen that uses a tube for the clock circuit, as well.

Arguments about system synergy and tonal coloration aside, the approach works well, and in much the same way an analog enthusiast would choose a Grado Statement or Koetsu Urushi phono cartridge over a Lyra Titan i or Ortofon Winfield. It’s not better or worse, but it’s a specific flavor, and if it’s the one you crave, nothing else will do.

Beginning listening sessions with discs on the harsh side of the spectrum, it takes only a few minutes to see the brilliance of this approach. No, the Premium still can’t make the brightest CD ever made, Stevie Wonder’s In Square Circle, sound like an LP, but everything else on my toxic list becomes considerably more palatable. Tinkly percussion bits in “Thunder,” from Prince’s Diamonds and Pearls, float around the soundstage as they should, with the electronic drums now slightly subdued, and making all the difference in the world.

While I won’t define what this instrument produces as a tone control, it is a different set of tonal values, and even on the best CDs, an enjoyable presentation. For those new to TONEAudio, my listening bias favors an overall tonal balance just a touch on the warm side of neutral. So if you possess canine hearing and want a system than can remove wallpaper from the walls, you know where I stand.

New Versus Old

Costing $1,000 more than the Classic, the Premium adds a larger, dual mono power supply, upgraded active and passive parts, and a different analog stage featuring four 12AU7 tubes (the original uses a pair of 12AX7s and a pair of 12AU7s). The dual 5AR4 rectifiers are retained to excellent effect. One of the biggest improvements arrives via the incorporation of a second Super Tube Clock, further reducing jitter and increasing low-level resolution.

Borrowing O’Brien’s Classic for a side-by-side comparison proves illuminating. Where the original player sounds more like a Dynaco Stereo 70, i.e. “classic tube sound,” the Premium sounds more like a more modern tube amplifier; think BAT or ARC. It still possesses a wonderful and tubey midrange, but also more extension at the top and bottom end of the frequency range, and more inner detail and punchier dynamics.

Brian Eno’s latest work, Lux, illustrates the aforementioned characteristics.  Another of his ambient works, reminiscent of Tuesday Afternoon, the composition rolls along gently with bell-like keyboard sounds that ease in and out of consciousness. Where the Classic cuts the decay short, the music lingers longer and fades further out before going to black via the Premium. A similar experience manifests on the title track of Jack White’s current Blunderbuss, with the newer player doing a better job at keeping sorted individual elements in a mix. Every disc I play with a relatively dense mix yields the same scintillating results.

Long-Term Pleasure

The Premium never gets on your nerves and proves great for extended listening. The vacuum tubes also make it easy to tune the sound. Stock PrimaLuna tubes will be fine for most, but with a plethora of vintage 12AU7s on the market (and at significantly less cost than 12AX7s), one can tube-roll to infinity. Scour the Internet, or brainstorm with Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio, PrimaLuna’s importer, to enjoy different perspectives on the player when the mood strikes.

Full-day listening sessions are free of fatigue and, on more than one occasion, I’m lulled into thinking that I’m not listening to digital. Comparing the Premium to my Linn LP-12 turntable, I wasn’t disappointed in the least. Switching back and forth between CD and vinyl versions of the Tubes’ What Do You Want From Live? surprises me, with critical cues like audience claps and hall ambience nearly identical in texture and rendition.

A wide range of source material reveals no obvious shortcomings, although the slight warmth added by the all-tube design lends something special to rock and solo vocals. The grungy guitars of Mick Ronson and Ian Hunter on the classic “All the Young Dudes” overflows with texture and overtone, sounding like a pair of Marshall stacks right here in the listening room, with their Celestion drivers flapping at maximum excursion. Cat Power’s “Manhattan” is equally enthralling, her wispy vocals hovering just above the main mix—another example of a modern disc sounding better than it ought to.

One Input Makes All the Difference

When PrimaLuna introduced its first CD player about three years ago, computers were not the ubiquitous music sources they are today, and the company’s players had a closed architecture. The Premium’s USB input allows for a computer to be directly plugged in and utilizes an M2Tech HiFace USB/SPDIF converter internally, a touch that tremendously increases the player’s value.

Feeding high-resolution files into the Premium’s USB reveals the DAC’s merits.  The bass riffs in Charlie Haden’s The Private Collection instantly disclose the advantage of extra resolution from the HD download versus the excellently recorded CD. Texture abounds, and the player sounds more neutral when playing high-resolution files, with the slight bit of upper-bass warmth fading further into the background.

Comparison listening puts music played from the tray on equal footing with the same 16/44.1 files played via USB input. Still, high-res files via the server gain the edge in clarity and dynamics. All digital files are upsampled via a Burr Brown SRC4192 24bit/192kHz upsampling circuit and converted to analog via Burr Brown PCM1792 DACs. While some audiophiles condemn upsampling, it works splendidly here.

Ticking the remaining boxes

Since it’s a tube player, the Premium takes about an hour to stabilize. It sounds a bit slow with some upper bass bloat for the first 15 minutes, but within an hour, the issue completely dissipates. The Premium comes triple-boxed and includes a tube cage and pair of white gloves to keep the player’s smooth finish free of fingerprints—or provide amusement when you play Thriller. The posh aluminum remote also controls any PrimaLuna preamplifier or integrated amplifier, keeping room clutter to a minimum. But don’t lose it. You can’t access the USB input or change phase without it.

I appreciate that the Premium only has a 2-volt output from its RCA jacks (instead of the more common 4-volt output), allowing the average linestage to stay in the sweet spot of its operating range and offer a wider range of volume adjustment.

No, PrimaLuna’s strategy isn’t for everyone. Detail fanatics demanding razor-sharp leading edges on transients might be better served by a solid-state player. But if digital still leaves you cold after all these years, and you’re wondering why you still aren’t enjoying your CD collection (or digital files) as much as you should, give the ProLogue Premium CD player a spin.

PrimaLuna Premium CD Player

MSRP: $3,999

www.primaluna.usa.com

Peripherals

Switching from the subtle harmonies embedded in Van Halen’s “Jamie’s Cryin’,” to John Bonham’s massive drum sound via the recent HD remasters of the first two Led Zeppelin albums, I am stunned by how much musical depth, detail and sheer dynamic energy the MOON by Simaudio Neo 430HA reveals, especially in light of its $4,300 price tag. To some, this will come across as steep for a headphone amplifier, but the 430HA is way more than a headphone amplifier. $4,300 gets you a DSD/high res DAC, and a superb linestage, too. Not to mention all the cables (and rack space) you don’t need to connect these three components. Unless you have an amazing DAC, spend the extra $800 and get the 430HA with DAC board installed. Those not needing the DAC can put the 430HA on their favorite shelf without DAC for $3,500.

Having spent a lot of time with Simaudio’s 650D and 750D digital players, as well as with their top-of-the-line 800 series preamplifier, I’m truly floored by just how much of that performance exists inside the case of the 430HA for a fraction of the cost. Only a small group of companies could actually produce a product like the 430HA, and to Simaudio’s credit, this component is designed and built in their Montreal facility from top to bottom, including the metalwork. For those who don’t know, Simaudio has a full metalworking shop in house with their own 5-axis CNC mill.

A quick test drive of some of the world’s finest headphones quickly establishes the 430HA as a top shelf headphone amplifier. Delivering 667mw of power into 600 ohms and 8 watts into 50 ohms, there is nothing it won’t drive, even the notoriously tough to drive HiFiMan HE-6. Headphone enthusiasts with a diverse collection of phones will appreciate the 430HA’s range of connectivity, with 3- and 4-pin XLR jacks along with the standard 1/4” jack. There’s even a 1/8” input jack on the front panel for the line level input of your favorite portable music player. Hiding the headphone outputs behind a sliding door on the front panel is particularly cool.

With one set of variable RCA outputs to drive a power amplifier and a fixed pair of outputs (to drive a tape deck!!) the main difference between the 430HA and the big guns in the Simaudio arsenal is the lack of fully balanced XLR outputs. Keeping with the concept of using the 430HA as a preamplifier and DAC, it can easily be placed near your laptop or other digital source, with long interconnects to a more conveniently placed power amplifier elsewhere. The robust output stage of the 430HA drives 30-foot interconnects with ease.

The biggest difference

Those choosing the DAC option will be equally pleased with the digital input options: a pair of standard SPDIF inputs, Toslink and USB, supporting PCM 16/44.1kHz to 24/192 with the USB input going up to PCM 32/384kHz. The USB input also supports DSD 64, 128 and 256. An analog crossfeed circuit works for those wanting less of a ping-pong effect in their heads and can be engaged or disengaged to your preference. This came in handy with the latest Florence + the Machine album, which has an overly spacey feel.

Yet there are times that this expansive soundstage is a blast. Sun Kil Moon’s “Little Rascals” through the Audeze phones was completely psychedelic. Mark Kozelec’s voice sounds almost as if he’s being water boarded while singing – a textural effect not always conveyed with lesser headphone amplifiers. And of course, early Pink Floyd is fantastic.

However, should you be looking for an all-in-one component to anchor your audio system that happens to have a power amplifier and a pair of speakers, the 430HA is one of the best buys in high-end audio today. Certainly the best I’ve ever experienced, and long-term TONEAudio readers know I do not throw the B-word around loosely.

An honest confession

As much fun as I’ve had with the 430HA over the last nine months, I must confess it’s become the reference preamplifier in my home system, now consisting of a Conrad-Johnson LP-120sa+ power amplifier and a pair of GamuT RS5 speakers. Thanks to the balanced input, I’ve just recently added the Simaudio MOON Evolution LP610 phonostage and an AVID Volvere SP turntable to the mix. To put this in perspective, the $4,300 Simaudio 430HA is the cornerstone of a $70,000 system and I couldn’t be happier.

The 430HA is a rare component offering performance well beyond the asking price. Simaudio has only cut corners in the sense that the casework is of a more spartan design than their legendary Evolution series and the remote less elaborate than the one supplied with their flagship components. But not on the inside. Simaudio’s Lionel Goodfield is quick to point out, “The internal circuitry of the 430HA shares the same level of components as the Evolution series in critical locations, and the M-eVOL2 volume control is the same as the one we use in our much costlier 600i and 700i integrated amplifiers.”

The rest of the technical innovations lurking inside the 430HA are best explained here: http://www.simaudio.com/en/product/37-headphone-amplifier.html But suffice it to say it all works brilliantly, and the minute you give the volume control a hefty clockwise twist you won’t care about any of it – that’s the mark of a great component in my book.

Great components and stellar build quality always count for a lot and it’s tough, if not impossible, to get an amazing performance if these boxes aren’t checked. But after months of extensive listening and comparison, the 430HA is indeed special, musical and effortlessly real.  This component lives in a zone, price-wise, that isn’t mega high end, but is still a substantial investment. However, it offers mega performance – it offers refinement rarely available at this price. As much fun as the 430HA is with first class headphones, you don’t really notice what a phenomenal performer it is until you drop it in a room with great speakers and experience the bass control and upper register separation and cleanliness it delivers.

Like every other Simaudio component I’ve used, it takes a few days of operation, fully powered to sound its best. Eco-minded, take note; the 430HA only draws half a watt when in standby mode, so your carbon footprint will not expand.

Regardless of whether you use it primarily as a headphone amplifier or a 2-channel control center, with power amplifier and speakers, this is a component that you won’t want to move on from – unless you make a five-figure investment. Goodfield sums it up when he says, “It’s not only the ultimate solid-state headphone amplifier, but most likely the ultimate one box solution for computer based audio. That’s what we were trying to accomplish.” I couldn’t agree more.  -Jeff Dorgay

www.simaudio.com

Building upon the successes of their DAC1, Benchmark is not resting on their laurels. The release of the DAC2 series of products extends the capability and sonic performance of the product line with several different versions, offering a wide range of functionality to suit different owners’ needs.

While it might be easy to get confused by so many variations on the DAC2 theme, it’s important to note that all contain an improved digital engine. The primary differences are inputs and outputs, headphone capability and home theater pass-through. Two versions of the DAC2 come equiped with headphone outputs: DAC2 HGC and the DAC2 DX. DAC L and DAC HGC incorporate single-ended analog inputs for use as a preamplifier. The DX model we tested for this review includes an AES/EBU digital input, but no analog inputs.

Like its Benchmark ABH2 Amplifier we just reviewed, the DAC2 comes in a small enclosure with a lot packed inside. Measuring a scant 9.5 inches (249mm) wide, 9.33 inches (237mm) depth and a 1.725 inches (44.5mm) in height, the DAC2 is small enough to place anywhere easily, even on the most crowded audio racks. Plus, at a mere 3 pounds in weight, it’s easy to lift with one hand when placing it – a real joy after helping our publisher crate up the 274-pound Boulder 2160 the other day!

Internal Innovations

Under the hood, digital processing prowess is provided by SABRE DAC chips to decode 32-bit PCM and DSD files. Feeding these converters the best possible signal, Benchmark utilizes its new jitter-reduction technology via their UltraLock2™ system – a dramatic improvement over the original version in the DAC1. Focusing on lowering the noise floor and distortion level, the latest changes prove highly effective. The variable output makes the DAC2 more versatile than a DAC without, and makes it easy to become the cornerstone of a compact, yet high performance system, eliminating the need for a standalone linestage.

The back panel of the DAC2 reveals a plethora of connections fit to this tight space. Inputs include USB, two coaxial digital, and two optical connections. For analog output, the options depend on the DAC2 model chosen. All models have two pairs of single-ended outputs, and one pair of XLR balanced outputs. With the analog input equipped HGC and L models, the DAC2 features a HT pass through too.

You might not earn carbon offset points with your stereo system, but as a tree-hugging Oregonian, I appreciate that the DAC2 only draws half a watt at idle.

Snappy Setup

The DAC2 is extremely easy to set up. My Mac Mini instantly recognizes it, only requiring a few quick tweaks in the Mac OS sound settings to be ready to play music. Benchmark promises the same ease on the Windows side. While we did not have a Windows-based system on hand for testing, Benchmark has worked to make that experience just as seamless. For high resolution playback on Windows, an easily downloadable driver is needed.

Tight real estate on the rear panel is the only issue that has always plagued Benchmark DACs. As such a small unit, with so many input and output choices, the DAC2 rear panel is a bit crowded. If you have thick audio cables be aware that you may find it a bit of a stretch to get them connected. Lastly, those utilizing 24/192 or DSD files via USB will need to hold down the USB button on the remote for three seconds (a one-time setup operation) to engage USB 2.0 mode for the best performance.

Locked-in listening

When I’m anchored into my listening seat, the beefy aluminum Benchmark remote proves a couch potato’s dream come true. The ability to change inputs, volume, and mute leaves little need to get up.

After several days of burn-in, it’s exciting to give this DAC a chance to sing. From the first listen, DAC2 provides a treat for the senses with a highly resolving, yet forgiving nature. Regardless of music type, DAC2 performs as a sonic chameleon rocking and rolling when it needs to, but is equally at home with the delicate nuances of jazz and classical recordings.

Cat Power’s Jukebox illustrates how the DAC2 picks up every pluck of the guitar, keeping them appropriately separated from the vocals, which reside in a different vertical plane parallel to the first. The resonance and decay of acoustic guitar notes are easily discernible across several other recordings too, like Elliott Smith’s XO – his vocals retaining a smooth, organic quality. While DAC2 may not recreate quite the level of transparency reproduced by more expensive DACs I’ve heard, I really like the voice Benchmark engineered into the DAC2. Overly transparent and revealing equipment can tend toward stridency, sibilance and a wince-factor that takes away from the musical experience.

The DAC2, on the other hand, allows a listener to dissolve into the music and enjoy big, beautiful sound rather than getting bogged down in the minutia. For example, several songs on Portishead’s album Dummy have a glare that draws attention to those sharp edges rather than the rounded musical picture. With the DAC2, those sonic artifacts are not removed, but the entire album is much more listenable.

DAC2 also throws a huge soundstage and mines a lot of ambient detail from high-resolution recordings. The perceived stage width and depth easily exceeds the speaker boundaries in all directions. Also, DAC2 projects a sonic image that reaches from floor to ceiling. Many DACs I’ve heard do a good job of this, but so far, I have not heard one under $2,000 that does it so well.

Hearing Headphones

Rather than tossing a headphone amplifier into the unit as an afterthought, Benchmark took great care in delivering a high quality headphone amplifier in the DAC2. Those considering a Benchmark DAC for headphone listening should consider taking advantage of the company’s special pricing offer which bundles a reduced-cost set of Sennheiser HD-650 headphones with some versions of the DAC2 . Those headphones are among my own favorites, and a reduced-cost package through Benchmark is an added bonus for a DAC2 owner, not to mention a great place to start your headphone journey.

With a set of HD650s on hand, listening begins with the Benchmark-recommended cans. While very resolving, the Sennheisers are a bit to the warm side of neutral. As expected, the quality of the DAC2’s sound proves revelatory with any music being piped out. Especially enjoyable are the ease and naturalness of the sound. Electronica like Phantogram’s “Black Out Days” has plenty of punch and detail, but not at the expense of the bigger sonic picture. As an older recording, guitar on Albert King’s Born Under a Bad Sign can have some sting, but the DAC2 pulls the best from it.

When I switch to a set of Audeze LCD-X headphones, the DAC2 demonstrates plenty of power to drive them, delivering the bass punch these headphones are capable of producing with the right setup. Sonically, these headphones are like stepping forward several rows in an auditorium, getting up close and personal with every bit of the performance. For me, this action-packed delivery was perhaps too close and personal, and I found myself preferring the Sennheisers for the bulk of my listening. The HD-650s indeed seem a perfect match for this setup, and I can see why Benchmark recommends them.

In the end, excellent

$1,895 is not a small price tag, but in a hobby offering mega-buck DACs, it’s a modest sum for a component of this caliber. The DAC2 is a very easy component to live with sonically and aesthetically. Its versatility takes the value to another level, making me nominate this one for an Exceptional Value Award and give it an enthusiastic recommendation.  -Rob Johnson

Additional Listening

You have to go back almost seventy issues of TONE to our third issue for our first encounter with Benchmark. The original DAC1 was $995 and garnered our first Exceptional Value Award. It was a class leader then and it remains so today.

Staff member Jerold O’Brien still has his DAC1, so it was enlightening to compare it with the DAC2 alongside. Much like what we found comparing the Nagra PL-P to the current Jazz, the compact exteriors, as well as the overall sound, are very similar. Benchmark gear has always been very neutral, and like Nagra, because they supply so much equipment to the studio world, has little room for embellishment.

The trademark lack of sound that is Benchmark comes through instantly, but stepping up to the DAC2 immediately reveals more music and a deeper insight into recorded material, standard or high resolution. Remember, ten years ago we weren’t even talking about high resolution files, let alone DSD, so moving on to that realm is even more enlightening.

I’ve always loved using Benchmark DACs as a linestage and again, the DAC2 does not disappoint. Auditioning it with everything from a 35 watt per channel PrimaLuna ProLogue 4 up to the mighty Boulder 2160 reveals just how good this component truly is. The DAC2 is perfect for a primarily digital user who wants to put the preamp up on the shelf and run some interconnects to a power amplifier elsewhere in the room – the DAC2 drives long interconnects with ease.

So, ten years later, Benchmark continues to create an awesome DAC in a compact case. I’m guessing I’ll have to arm wrestle Mr. O’Brien for it again. -Jeff Dorgay

Benchmark DAC2 DX

MSRP: $1,895

Benchmarkmedia.com

PERIPHERALS

Publisher’s Note: While I had a blast using the AudioQuest NightHawk headphones playing video games with my PS4, the team at AudioQuest did a lot of work on these wonderful headphones, so it only seemed proper that we put them through their paces as a “real headphone user” would.

So here is John Darko’s take on the NightHawk from that angle.

You can read more of John’s work here:  http://www.digitalaudioreview.net We suggest you do so, he’s a clever chap.

But now, the review!

When AudioQuest asked exWestone engineer Skylar Gray to tackle their first headphone the design brief comprised only a single sentence: “Just make the best headphone you can make” . Implicit in this instruction was the new model would not be designed to a price. Early credit goes to Gray then for not going large and turning in a design that isn’t outrageously expensive by even today’s standards: a pair of NightHawk are yours for US$599.

Following the notion that ‘everything matters’, no stone was left unturned throughout the design process. Firstly, from a consumer point of view, there’s the ‘unboxing’ that isn’t. Gray pushed hard to have AudioQuest dispense with wasteful outer packaging. The NightHawk’s leather carry case is wrapped in a simple cardboard sleeve. Detach and unzip.

When first pulling the NightHawk from their case it’s obvious that these headphones are a break from the norm. Their semi-open backed design concedes diddly squat to contemporary aesthetic trends. Working from the ground up, Gray attended to how each and every facet of a headphone can influence its sound. The headband is made from stainless steel and wrapped in two layers of resonance damping rubber before a final layer of fabric is applied. The headpad, made of leather and microsuede, suspends a semicircular yoke that in turn attaches to the earcup’s 3Dprinted grille via silicone bands, a material that was stress tested to five years’ wear and tear before being chosen over the less costly Neoprene (a distant second).

Not only does this structural arrangement provide proper decoupling of ear cup from headband structure which can introduce unwanted resonances but it also has ergonomic advantages. If headphone comfort is of high priority, the NightHawk phones are up there with the best: they’re lightweight with only the mildest of lateral clamping force. The headband ensures that leaning forward doesn’t cause them to tumble off the head. If they do take a dive, these headphones’ seemingly fragile physicality could be their undoing; sans carrycase the NightHawks aren’t suited to bag life as well as other models (hello OPPO PM3).

Gray claims “a material with good acoustic properties” was required for the ear cups themselves. Kinda obvious, huh? Not so fast. The first casualty was a plastic that was not sustainable, leading Gray to test metal and wood. Viscoelastic rubber that turns sonic energy into heat wouldn’t sufficiently damp metal’s tendency to ring and wood didn’t pass muster due to its inherent inconsistencies, nor would it lend itself to being machined into complex shapes.  MDF failed to pass muster because the corners were too easily damaged.

Liquid wood sidesteps the subtractive manufacturing process required by the other materials and is sustainable. Win and win. Those who have seen the dashboard of a recent luxury car will be familiar with the highgloss burl is capable of. It’s also used to make lampstands and shoe heels. What you might not know about liquid wood is that it arrives at the factory as a pellet. Only when heated does it change to the liquid state required for injection moulding. The liquid wood pellets for the NightHawk are sourced from Germany and moulded in China, where final headphone assembly also takes place. The grilles are 3Dprinted in France, with the driver magnets and aluminum parts sourced from Japan, making the NightHawk a true multicultural product.

However, AudioQuest remains tightlipped about the source of the NightHawk’s driver material for which Gray refused to go with off the shelf materials. “It’s not in my or AudioQuest’s DNA,” he says. “The norm.” as Gray describes it “is a Mylar film that works well in small sizes but is constantly flexing and changing shape.” The latter reportedly causes low frequency distortion adding colouration above 3kHz. Gray calls this the “easy, cheap route”.

After dismantling numerous similarly priced rival models Gray, like all good designers, asked, “How can I do this better?”. Sony’s long gone but much vaunted MDRR10 headphones take the inspirational credit for the NightHawk’s biocellulose driver, a material made from bacteria feces reportedly costing twelve times that of your average dynamic driver to make. This material comes to life by feeding bacteria cultures carbohydrates, causing them to excrete a fiber, cultivated after several weeks, then dried and cleaned before being pressed into 50 micron thick sheets. The 42mm NightHawk driver diagphragms are cookie cut from the sheets. An 8mm driver surround keeps the drivers pistonic motion from distorting the shape.

With their roots in cables, AudioQuest supplies two with the NightHawk: a thinner cable with gold plated plugs, not designed by AudioQuest themselves but able to withstand the bending and winding of mobile use. A second, thicker, solid core, balanced cable with silverplated connectors that won’t withstand endless bending, but takes design elements from the company’s loudspeaker cables, featuring “Solid Perfect Surface Copper+ (PSC+) conductors in a Double Star Quad configuration” is intended for serious, furrowed brow home listening (as conducted here by yours truly).

I’m not going to tell you that from the first note I was immediately struck by a sense of blah blah blah . In fact, nothing from the NightHawk’s presentation really stands out: no rambunctiousness (KEF M500), no overt bass heaviness (Sennheiser HD650), no super incisive treble (Sennheiser HD800). In trying to assess the NightHawk’s personality, I learnt that there wasn’t one to be found. That’s good for the would be buyer but gives a reviewer very little to get his teeth into.

I advise a little persistence to those dismissing the NightHawk as boring or plain after all but a casual audition. Their quirk free presentation will take time to win you over. More excitement can be had from the Sennheiser HD650 phones, which in turn aren’t as refined. However, you can’t run the HD650 so easily from a smartphone…which brings me to the NightHawk’s real talent: they don’t need a lot of juicing to get going. An iPhone or an Astell&Kern AK Jr. will suffice.

The NightHawk’s lean towards finesse and delicacy (as opposed to overall heft and weight) means they don’t necessarily benefit from the additional tonal colour of tubes. Straight talking amps are the order of the day here: the Resonessence Labs Herus or further up the food chain the Chord Hugo. Heck, even AudioQuest’s own Dragonfly is a solid match and one that will have upgraders struggling to justify the additional expense of only minor superior performance wrought by better amplification. That the NightHawk offers an exit ramp from the hamster wheel of upgrades brings ‘em into everyman headfi territory.

Moreover, these are headphones for an oft neglected section of the market: owners of integrated amplifiers whose headphone sockets don’t do justice to the likes of tougher loads from MrSpeakers, Mad Dog, or Beyerdynamic’s T1. The AudioQuest’s 100db efficiency displays none of those rivals’ tendency toward stridency when underpowered. After all, the headphone output on your average integrated amplifier is designed more to complete a functionality checklist than drive specialist headphones; only low-impedance models need apply. Thankfully, the NightHawk come it at 25 Ohms nominal, making them a shoe-in with portables and dongle DACs.

The upshot? You can’t please all of the people all of the time, but with their NightHawk headphone, AudioQuest gets pretty darn close.

The AudioQuest NightHawk

MSRP:  $599

www.audioquest.com

The only promise that BAT’s VK-655SE does not fulfill is the company’s claim that it has enough energy storage to “to lift most speakers over one meter off the ground.” Even at earsplitting levels, neither the 610-pound GamuT S9 nor the 253-pound Dynaudio Evidence Platinum speakers move ever so slightly off the ground.

What the VK-655SE does deliver is musical accuracy, exquisite tonality and bass control. With 1,800 joules of power available, the $16,500 VK-655SE controls the lower half of the frequency spectrum in a way that precious few amplifiers can muster at any price. For the non-electrical engineers in the audience, a heart defibrillator uses between 200 and 400 joules at its maximum setting, so while the VK-655SE won’t lift your speakers off the ground, if you connect your speaker cables to your chest and crank it up, it will probably lift you a meter off the ground. Maybe that’s what they meant.

Speaking of weight, the VK-655SE weighs 120 pounds, so make sure your back and whatever stand you plan to place it on can withstand that much heft. Popping the lid reveals a pair of monstrous heat sinks, power transformers and capacitor banks. The VK-655 is available in all black (as shown here) or with a black-and-silver aluminum faceplate. In the future, BAT will also offer all silver, so if that is the aesthetic you desire, its on the way. Fully intended for use in an all-BAT system, the VK-655SE offers only balanced XLR inputs—though we found that the VK-655SE works equally well with Pass, ARC, Nagra, Simaudio and Robert Koda preamplifiers; all were used in a fully balanced configuration.

Let’s Roll

The VK-655SE is special straight out of the packing carton. Taking the hot-rodders credo, “If you want it to run hard, you have to break it in hard,” I immediately reach for Metallica’s album Kill ’Em All and play “No Remorse” at near-Armageddon levels. Even during a brief stint of driving the Dynaudios to almost 120 dB peaks, the BAT doesn’t strain whatsoever, with the raw power of Metallica thoroughly communicated. While I can’t imagine needing more power, you can turn the VK-655SE into a monoblock amplifier and get a bit more, going from 600 watts per channel into a 4-ohm load to 700 watts per channel. (The VK-655SE produces 300 watts per channel into an 8-ohm load as a stereo amp, and 400 watts as a monoblock.)

For those scoffing at the idea of paying twice as much for only 100 more watts per channel should remember that higher fidelity means gaining control, not just getting louder. This is because doing so doubles the current output, giving the monoblocks the ability to control difficult loads more effortlessly. Having twice as much power on tap will make those monos run even more effortlessly than running them in a stereo configuration, translating into greater dynamic range and an even quieter background – 6db according to BAT. I notice a similar effect going from a single Burmester 911 MK3 power amplifier to a pair of 911 monos. It is not subtle. I’ll stick my neck out and suggest a pair of mono VK-655SEs will achieve the same results.

Experience with BAT’s past products featuring the Super Pak upgrade (the company’s own variety of oil-filled capacitors to help facilitate all this power storage) showed that these components take a while to sound their absolute best—anywhere from two to 500 hours. The higher current flow of large power amplifiers makes the process a somewhat speedier one; the preamplifiers seem to take longer.

Slightly edgy at initial turn-on, the VK-655SE sounds more open, natural and relaxed in the upper register after about 48 hours of constant play, with a subtle smoothing as the hours rack up, but not as dramatic as the change during the first couple days. For the crabby audiophiles in the crowd who do not believe in component break-in, I highly suggest borrowing a pair of identical amplifiers, running one for a few hundred hours while you leave one in the box for that period of time and then compare the two. There is an unmistakable difference between the amplifier with hours on the clock and the one left in the box.

BAT’s Geoff Poore makes it a point to stress that they strive for “dynamic linearity” in their designs. A big part of this comes from their eliminating negative feedback in combination with an unlimited, unregulated power supply – adding to the jump factor that BAT amplifiers are famous for. It’s also one of the main reasons this huge amplifier exhibits the dexterity of a much smaller amplifier. Poore reminds me that “using only two gain stages in the VK-655SE eliminates coupling effects between multiple gain stages, further reducing the amount of image smear and degradation that comes with a more complex design.”

Where some power amplifier manufacturers claim a dual-mono design, BAT takes it to the extreme. In addition to separate power transformers and power supplies for each channel, the VK-655SE even uses separate power cords and receptacles for each channel! Should you have access to dedicated power lines, I suggest trying separate power lines on separate circuits for each channel. My curiosity with the VK-655SE is satisfied plugging each channel into separate 20-amp circuits. Of course, you don’t need two power lines for the VK-655SE, but with two separate mains fueling the fire at ear-splitting levels, the amp exhibits even more ease. About 95% of the time, you’ll never notice it, but if you really like it loud, go for separate AC circuits to power each half of your VK-655SE.

A Quick Comparison

If you believe all amplifiers have the same sound, stop reading now. Though the world’s top solid-state amplifiers are starting to sound more similar than disparate, differences in sonic character still exist. Side-by-side comparisons to a few of our regular amps reveal the BAT to excel in speed, dynamics and bass weight. The Burmester and Pass amplifiers in our stable are slightly warmer tonally, while the big Simaudio MOON 880M monos sound as natural as the BAT, but more bottomless in power capability—albeit at a higher price than a pair of VK-655SEs. It’s almost like comparing an Audi to a BMW or a Mercedes; all are excellent, though they go about delivering the goods in a slightly different way.

None of the speakers we have on hand present a challenging load to the mighty BAT. The current-hungry Magnepans and even our vintage Acoustat 2+2s, which have only an 82 dB sensitivity rating and are not much more than giant capacitors placed across the speaker terminals, do not diminish the amp’s performance in the least. Where some amplifiers can be speaker-dependent and struggle at times, the VK-655SE effortlessly powers every speaker we have on hand with ease.

Part of the neutral sound quality of the VK-655SE can be attributed to its use of all N-channel MOSFET output transistors. The N-channel MOSFET has a higher electron mobility, which makes amplifiers with them appear to have more transient speed than amps with mixed devices. Cursory research on the N-channel MOSFET implies that the N-channel device also has a wider range of operation where it acts like a triode tube—another great thing to have in a power amplifier. Techie bits aside, this amp succeeds brilliantly, especially for $16,500.

Bigger Is, Well, Bigger!

Some arguments in audiophile circles—about the quality of the first watt and that, because of their inherent complexity, higher-powered amplifiers are not as pure as low-power amplifiers in design and thus sound—don’t always hold true. Those arguments certainly don’t hold true in the case of this amplifier. While I’ve heard excellent examples of both low- and high-powered amps, I still tend to prefer the effortlessness of a high-powered one, even at low volumes. The VK-655SE takes a novel approach, featuring no negative feedback and only two gain stages in the entire circuit. In the same way that some large speakers manage to disappear in your listening room like a mini monitor, the VK-655SE has the sheer might of a large amplifier and the nuance of a small power amplifier.

Listening to acoustic instruments highlights the character of the VK-655SE. Its enormous power reserves might not be noticed with less-demanding fare, but the instant a drumstick hits a cymbal or the string of a standup bass is plucked with force, the boundless reserves of this amplifier deliver the dynamic swing required to convince your auditory system that perhaps you’re not listening to recorded music at all.

This is equally true when reproducing a vocalist with a wide range. Whether it’s your favorite opera or Prince, the VK-655SE’s instant delivery comes through free from the stress associated with lesser amplifiers unable to keep up—and this ability is too often overlooked when jumping on the low-power bandwagon. Simple as it might seem, a big, well-executed amplifier just sounds bigger and has a lack of restraint that further contributes to its overall neutral character.

There was nothing that the VK-655SE couldn’t handle effortlessly during this review. In the realm of the reference speakers at my disposal—all with sensitivity ratings of 87 to 90 dB—I can’t imagine ever needing more power than this amplifier delivers. BAT gear is known for its fantastic build quality and excellent secondary-market value, so for an amp at this size and price, I also can’t imagine ever needing another one once you’ve stepped up to the VK-655SE. Unless of course you need a second one.

BAT VK-655SE power amplifier

MSRP: $16,500

www.balanced.com

PERIPHERALS

Aurender first teased their portable DAC / headphone amplifier at the 2014 Munich High End Show. Back then it was called the “V1000” – not exactly catchy.

Six months later at the Rocky Mountain Audio Festival in Denver, Aurender’s Sally Jeung and Harry Lee offered first listens to members of the press while also canvassing for a more promotional-friendly name. Eyeing its wavelike profile I suggested Flow – a name that Aurender would ultimately run with when bringing the device to market the following month.

Casual observers could be forgiven for thinking that the Flow is Aurender’s response to the Chord Hugo, but it’s not. Even a little hands-on time shows it to be a different beast entirely, not least because of its MSRP: at US$1295 the Flow sells for almost half the price of its UK rival.

The differences don’t end there. The Flow isn’t an in-pocket portable like the Hugo. There are no elastic straps for smartphone attachment and the rubber feet found on its base aren’t there to cushion a smartphone; they are to prevent the Flow from sliding across the desktop. Besides, the Flow’s weight (450g/15.9oz) and highly informative display screen, handsomely encircled by a velocity-sensitive volume ring, also point to desktop deployment.

The leather carrying case that ships in the box is free of cutout holes for the Flow’s digital input and quarter-inch headphone sockets, cementing its desktop assignation further. That said, it’s still a go-anywhere device – one that will readily make the to-and-fro between home and workplace.

Then there’s Flow’s most unusual feature: its internals house a slot for an optional, user-installable mSATA drive (up to 1TB). Now the music library storage burden moves from host computer to the unit itself. Don’t mistake it for a DAP though – a PC or Mac is still required to extract data from the Flow’s internal drive before the host device’s playback app feeds a datastream back to the device via the supplied USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 cable.

Usability considerations don’t end there. Along the Flow’s right side are control buttons that talk to iTunes: play/pause and playlist navigation are possible without ever needing to interface with the connected computer, iPhone or iPad. The latter find connectivity via the ubiquitous Camera Connection Kit. Android phones connect via the included OTG cable, but do check that your model supports USB audio output before putting credit card to counter. There’s no coaxial S/PDIF socket here but a Toslink input brings Astell&Kern portables, Apple TVs and some CD spinners into the picture, for which resolution is capped at 24bit/192kHz for PCM.

The Flow is backwards compatible with any USB 2.0 cable. I used a microUSB-terminated Light Harmonic Lightspeed 1G USB cable (US$99) to ensure consistency when conducting comparisons with other devices. If you don’t believe “audiophile” USB cables make a difference, that’s fine; the supplied wire won’t impede the XMOS USB and Sabre ESS9018K2M chips from handling data streams up to 32bit/384kHz PCM and DSD64/128.

Unlike the Hugo, the internal 4450mAh battery will recharge from any USB port. Off-grid listening time is pegged at around seven hours. Navigating the on-screen display via those same side-facing transport buttons allows for user selection of three charging modes (“never,” “always,” or “only when Flow is silent”) and digital filters (three for PCM and four for DSD). The way in which Aurender elegantly implements user options like this really sets it apart from much of the competition.

Now – time to listen.

I’d describe the Flow’s sound as calmly authoritative. It’s the opposite of showy. Fans of flashier micro-dynamics might find the overall presentation a little too conservative but I find its unobtrusive presentation far more conducive to all-day listening. And with so many headphones out there nowadays, especially those that already pack an abundance of transient incision, it’s easy to find an appropriate match. I didn’t have to look very far.

The Flow delivers ample go-juice to take the 600 ohm Beyerdynamic T1 to stout SPLs without surrendering acoustic mass. You can’t say that about the Resonessence Labs Concero HP. With its in-built filters, case-mounted volume control and the same ESS silicon handling decoding, the smaller, less expensive Canadian is probably the Flow’s nearest rival. However, the Concero HP sounds thinner of body and slightly ragged with the top-flight Beyerdynamic. One only has to look at each unit’s specifications sheet to see why: the Flow pushes 43mW into 600 ohms while the Concero can only muster 23mW.

Back to back with the Chord Hugo, the Flow plays it slightly cooler and a little “wetter.” A comparative lack of top-end air lends the Flow a more intimate sonic presentation than its British rival. That might be an issue for owners of the dark chocolate flavored Alpha Dogs from MrSpeakers – with which I prefer the Hugo – but it’s a win for headphones with an already well-extended top end like the Sennheiser HD800. They sound terrific here. Experience tells me this isn’t a result found with just any headphone amplifier.

It would be foolhardy to dismiss the Flow on the basis that it can’t match the Chord Hugo’s treble finesse. Its more humid air plays especially well with cans that present with more “papery” dryness. Think: AKG K-701/2 or Sennheiser Momentum.

The brushed aluminium finish that Aurender deploys across their product range makes for a terrific aesthetic match with the KEF M500 on-ears, which scale really nicely when fed with better amplification. The more considered manner in which the Flow serves up detail and layer separation plays neat counterbalance to the KEF’s sometimes more excitable manner, once again dialing down the potential for listener fatigue when tackling Genesis’s The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway or Swans’ The Seer. Office bound folk should sit up and take notice here.

Talking of which, the Flow’s infinite volume rotary makes for a wonderfully tactile experience for which one might observe favorable similarities to Devialet’s remote control. Ergonomics are often the first thing given the chop when building to a price point, but thankfully Aurender knows that inside every good audiophile is a desire to physically turn the volume up or down. Moreover, anyone who spends the day fumbling for media keys or mouse-clicking in software apps as colleagues come and go will know what I mean.

The Aurender Flow is a great way to get the very best from your favorite headphones in a tidy form factor. Its numerous considerations to the end user coupled to an elegantly powerful sonic presentation make it a delight to use on a daily basis. That it sports the most physically satisfying volume pot in its market segment only strengthens the Flow’s performance-value quotient.

-John Darko

The modest-looking speakers from Blumenstein Audio belie the capabilities contained therein.

We’ve reviewed the Seattle company’s Thrashers, speakers light on looks but heavy on ready-to-rock, garage-grade power. The somewhat more refined single-driver Orca Classic monitors, paired with one of Blumenstein’s Dungeness Classic subwoofers, impressed our staff.

Combining the new Orca Mini monitors with two of Blumenstein’s new powered Dungeness Max subwoofers takes the system to the next level. Having two subs in the 2.2-channel system—which starts at $1,800—augments the Orcas with greatly improved low frequencies. Though matching Orca stands are available, each subwoofer begs you to set an Orca on top of it (placing vibration-dampening material between the units, of course). And with separate enclosures, the subwoofers and monitors can be independently toed-in, and there’s plenty of room atop each subwoofer cabinet to slide the monitors forward or backward.

Hull and Rigging

Blumenstein offers its cabinets—made from nothing but wood, glue and finish—in either birch wood or bamboo. The latter option is available with natural, caramelized, or two-tone finishes. Blumenstein uses non-toxic linseed oil instead of varnish to give the wood a delicate sheen.

The front-ported Dungeness Max has a rectangular footprint of 7.75 by 11.25 inches, which makes it easy to slide in between furniture, and with a height of 22.5 inches, it can fit easily under a desk or table. The Max features a 25-watt built-in amplifier and Blumenstein says it will reproduce frequencies as low as 27 Hz.

The Orcas sport a single pair of binding posts on the back for banana plugs, spades or bare speaker wire. As a powered subwoofer, the Dungeness Max has a knob on the back that controls power and volume. A second knob below that adjusts the crossover point from 60 to 180 Hz. Then comes the wiring…

Blumenstein offers a few ways to connect the subs into an audio system; the easiest requires simply running parallel split sets of speaker wires from a single amp terminal directly to the Dungeness and the Orca;my biggest complaint is that the subwoofer binding posts are tiny, spring-loaded connectors, like those on my old NAD 3020 integrated amp. While easy to use, they’re so small that they limit the gauge of wire you can use.

If you have a preamp with line-outs and a standalone power amp, the amp will drive the Orcas directly, while you connect the Dungeness to the preamp using RCA cables. When using two subs, the left one connects to the left preamp line-out and the right one connects to the right line-out.

Diving In

With two standalone Orcas used as desktop monitors placed about two feet away, the sound is mighty impressive. The lone driver does a very good job with imaging, projecting convincing audio into the soundstage. During the Zero7 song “Destiny,” the Orcas present Sia Furler’s voice fatigue-free and with nuances that reflect the emotion of her performance. Other instruments panned far right and left float into the periphery, beyond the plane of the speakers.

Of course, a speaker this size does have bass limitations. With the subwoofer pair connected, low notes join the acoustic presentation. The ability to adjust the toe-in of the subs independently and the crossover point allows you to tailor bass response to your preference without affecting the Orcas.

With an Orca atop each Dungeness Max and the resulting columns about 10 feet from my listening seat, the Orcas deliver a convincing sonic image, with vocals remaining slightly warm yet highly believable. Compared to near-field listening, the experience is akin to moving back several rows in an auditorium. There’s a bigger overall picture, but with broader dispersion, the density and tangibility of the musical elements decreases. The Dungeness Max subs create solid and tuneful bass, but larger listening rooms—like mine, at 17 by 20 feet—might be a bit too much for them to tackle. In a bedroom, den or smaller-sized living room, they offer very satisfying bass, room-filling sound and a highly enjoyable overall musical presentation.

With a wide-dispersion driver, the Orcas are not too fussy with placement, and because they’re small, the speakers are easy to adjust. For the subs, you can employ simple tweaks of placement and volume to generate just the right amount of low-end augmentation for your needs. The combined system proves incredibly versatile and fulfilling. With hours of listening, I need to keep reminding myself that the Orcas start at just $500 per pair.

Yes, there are better and more resolving speakers out there. However, the efficient Blumensteins offer a very high performance-to-price ratio. By selling unnecessary components like speaker grilles and stands as optional accessories, Blumenstein is able to offer the Orca speakers at a very reasonable cost, allowing those on a tight budget to start with a stereo pair and then add subwoofers later.

For those with $1,800 on hand, the discounted 2.2-channel package is an especially good choice. While this system doesn’t offer the refined look some buyers may be after, the simple beauty of the wood finish will appeal to many, and the sound quality you’re getting for the price makes the entire system a major consideration.

Additional Listening

By Jeff Dorgay

As an advocate of single-driver speakers—longtime TONE readers might remember that I started out with a pair of Lowthers as my reference speakers—I find something totally beguiling about them, though they are often misunderstood, perhaps because of their deceptive simplicity.

You might think that the appeal of single-driver speakers is a complete no brainer, because they don’t have crossovers for the audio signal to contend with, but in my experience with single-driver speakers, the power you feed them is everything. Because these speakers have such a delicacy about them—and the Orcas are no different—picking the wrong amplifier will give you dreadful results. Much like with OTL amplifiers, the result is usually either magical or somewhat flat. And if you’ve had the latter experience, you didn’t do it right.

Interestingly, both sets of Blumenstein speakers I’ve heard here at the TONE studio have sounded incredibly good with the $90,000-per-pair Pass Labs Xs300 monoblocks I use as my main reference. They also sound spectacular with a vintage Harman Kardon A-500 integrated tube amplifier. Oddly, the 300B-based push-pull amplifier from Nagra does not produce magic with the Orcas, though the 845 SET monoblocks I have on hand do. And so it goes, my personal favorite amplifier for driving these exquisite little speakers is the SIT-2 First Watt amplifier (also by Pass Labs), which produces 10 watts per channel from a single gain device. (Look out for our upcoming long-term review for more details.)

When you get it right and you don’t tax the Orcas with Audioslave at maximum volume, you will be shocked at just how deep into the music these little speakers let you hear. If you aren’t going desktop/near field, I suggest a room about 11 by 14 feet or thereabouts.  Music that is more vocally focused, without massive dynamic swings, proves enveloping. The first Crosby, Stills and Nash album is absolutely dreamy, as is Yim Yames’ Tribute To. For that matter, anything mostly acoustic or with sparse vocals will truly blow you away through this system, which reveals just how much music is lurking in your favorite recordings.

Just as you wouldn’t drag race a 400-cc sport bike against a liter bike, don’t expect the Orcas—even with the subwoofers—to blast AC/DC at concert-hall levels. But with the right recording, these speakers will not only shine but also make you appreciate the journey more than you ever thought possible, especially for the price. If you’ve never had the single-driver experience, I can think of no better place to begin your journey than with the Blumenstein Orcas. You may never want to leave.

Blumenstein Audio 2.2-Channel Speaker Package

Starting at $1,800

www.blumensteinaudio.com

Our publisher has been a Rega fan since the fateful day in the mid-’80s when we happened by our local dealer (Audio Emporium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) to find them opening a shipment of Planar 3 turntables.  As they lifted a bright, fluorescent green table out, the sales guy quipped, “What idiot would buy a turntable in this color?”  Little did he know that’s been publisher Dorgay’s favorite color since age 6.  He solemnly replied, “I’m that idiot!” and we took that little British table back to his listening room and were subsequently blown away, being Technics SL-1200 guys at that moment in time, thinking there couldn’t possibly be anything better than direct drive.

Words like pace and timing weren’t even part of our vocabulary back then, but there was a ton of inner detail coming through those Magnepan MGII speakers that wasn’t there the day before, and to this day, both of us have always owned at least one Rega turntable.  For the record, my current reference is a P9 with Apheta cartridge, and it has served me well for some time now.

Evolution no. 10

Someone once said that an elephant is only a mouse built to military specifications, and on one level the same could be said for the P9 – you could think of it as a fully geeked-out P3.  The platter, drive mechanism, tonearm and power supply are all highly evolved versions of the basic Rega turntable.  For those of you that aren’t familiar, the tonearm on the earlier P3 and P9 shared the same basic casting, and now the new RP10 uses a highly refined version of the new casting for the RP3 (and is secured with the same red tape Rega has used for decades), yet the new RB2000 is completely handmade and finished to the highest of tolerances, as was the RB1000.

According to Rega, the RB2000 arm “is designed to have a minimum of mechanical joints while using the stiffest materials possible in all areas.”  Like its predecessor, the bearings are hand fitted and of highest quality, all handpicked for tolerance before insertion into the arm.

A new twist on the Rega platform, beginning with the RP3, is the mechanical brace: magnesium in the RP10, going between the tonearm mount and the turntable bearing, assuring maximum rigidity between these critical areas, while taking advantage of the new, skeletal plinth (further refined from the RP8 design) having seven times less mass than the original Planar 3.

An ex-automotive engineer, Rega principal Roy Gandy has always taken the advantage that less mass means more energy transferred from the record groove to the stylus tip, an opposite philosophy of the “more mass is better” approach embraced by some other manufacturers.  Gandy’s approach has always worked well, but in the past, the P3 and variations have always been accused of being somewhat lightweight in the lower register.  The former flagship P9 has always featured the liveliness that their tables have always been known for, with additional heft in the low frequencies.  Combined with a set-and-forget ethos, there’s no wonder the P9 has won the hearts (and ears) of so many music lovers that just want a fabulous turntable without the setup anxiety.

The race is on

So as much as we wanted this to be a standalone review, the question on the tip of everyone’s tongue – and on our Facebook inbox – has been, “How does the RP10 stack up to the P9?”  As the title of this review suggests, it is an evolutionary move.  Listening to the P9 and RP10 side by side easily shows the additional resolution present in the new table.

A speed check was the first test on our list, and utilizing the Feickert iPad app showed the RP10 to be dead-on for both 33 and 45 rpm speeds.  It’s still somewhat of an urban legend that Rega tables run “a bit fast” to provide a zippier sound.  In our experience, this just hasn’t been the case in the last 15 years or so, and the RP10 keeps them batting a thousand.  So, if you’ve had any internet-related anxiety about the speed of the RP10, forget about it.

Ease as always

Should you opt for the Apheta MC cartridge, which comes pre-installed (at least for US customers), it’s a winner on two counts.  The Sound Organisation, Rega’s US importer, sells the two as a package for $6,495, saving you almost a thousand bucks in the process – and they install the cartridge for you.  Even though this is super easy, because the Apheta features Rega’s three-bolt fastening, and as all Rega tables come from the factory optimized for correct VTA, the RP10 is possibly the only no-fuss, no-muss premium turntable.  All you need to do is set the tracking force to 1.75 grams and fiddle a little bit with the anti-skate if you feel so inclined.  If it takes you more than five minutes to play records on an RP10, you are overthinking it.

If the Apheta is not your bag, rest assured that there are a number of other great cartridges available that will provide excellent synergy with this table.  Here at TONE, we’ve used everything from the ZU Denon 103 cartridge all the way up to the $10,000 Lyra Atlas cartridge on both the P9 and RP10 with fantastic results.  You can read the Apheta review here[1] to get more of a feel for this cartridge, but for those not wanting to dig back, here’s a short synopsis:  The Apheta is a very fast, neutral cartridge with a lot of HF energy.  If you don’t have an MC phonostage capable of going down to somewhere between 25 and 50 ohms, the Apheta will make a poor showing and sound somewhat shrill.  Load it correctly and you will be rewarded with clean, detailed sound.

The P9 and the new RP10 are awesome for music lovers who want great sound without a fuss.  While I’ve listened to a lot of megabuck tables at the TONE studio, $5,000 is my sweet spot – and let’s be clear: I do not consider this the point of analog diminishing returns; however it is all the more I’m comfortable spending on a turntable.  So for me, personally, the RP10 gives me enough of a glimpse into the price-no-object tables for comfort.  Considering Rega has only raised the price $500 over the cost of the P9 speaks volumes for their manufacturing efficiencies.

More listening

As hinted at the beginning of this review, the RP10 does reveal more music throughout the range.  Transients are cleaner, the bass carries a bit more weight, and the high end is even crisper than before.  Regardless of program material chosen, the improvements made feel like going from ISO 200 to ISO 100 on your favorite digital camera (or film for those of you still embracing the medium).

Should you trade up from your trusty P9?  That’s a question only you can answer, and it will probably depend on what your dealer will give you for a trade-in and how wacky you’re feeling with the checkbook.  -Jerold O’Brien

Additional Listening

I’m probably more anxious than most people to finally get my hands on the RP10, as I saw the prototype of this turntable at Roy Gandy’s home about six years ago and it was fantastic back then.  You’ll either love or hate the skeletal design; I love it because it looks so un-Rega, but those of you wanting a more traditional-looking turntable can leave it in its full base.  Me, I’d rather see it in its naked glory and cast a few spotlights on it, letting the shadows fall where they may.

As Mr. O’Brien mentioned, this table, though more radical in design, is definitely evolutionary.  You won’t mistake the sound of the RP10 for an SME or Clearaudio table and that’s a good thing.  Most of the improvements to the tonearm and power supply are not easily seen from the outside, as is the second generation ceramic platter, but Rega tables are always more than the sum of their parts.

In my reference system through the Audio Research REF Phono 2SE, I noticed the same sonic improvements in the RP10/P9 comparison, but what I did notice on a more resolving reference system than Mr. O’Brien’s was that the RP10’s new arm and table design will accommodate an even better cartridge than the P9 could.  Where the Lyra Kleos was about the limit of what I’d mate with the P9, the RP10 could handle the Atlas.  I’m sure most RP10 customers aren’t going to drop $10k on a phono cartridge, but you could, and it can resolve more music than a Kleos will let through.  And that’s part of the magic with the RP10.  It’s a sleeper.

I’ve always enjoyed the Apheta with the P9 and now the RP10, but I found absolute bliss with my Dynavector XV-1s cartridge, offering a slightly warmer overall presentation than the Apheta.  Again, this will be decided by your ultimate sonic preferences and the RP10/Apheta combination is really tough to beat for the money.  Rega has hit a pretty interesting run with the RP10, as there are a lot of great turntables in the $10k–$15k range, as well as in the $2k–$3k range, but this price point is pretty wide open.

We could talk tech for hours, but do we want to?  Put a record on and relax.  Much like my P9, the RP10 has that extra amount of LF weight and drive (torque maybe?) that really makes this table a blast to listen to rock records with.  Going back to Deep Purple’s classic “Smoke on the Water” from their Made in Japan album was incredibly convincing when those famous chords were played.

Extended listening with a wide range of program material reveals a table that gets it right on so many levels.  Mounted on an SRA rack, there were no feedback issues, no matter how loud I played music, so the table’s design is working as it should.

Reflecting on my time with the RP10, I just wonder when Mr. Gandy and his crew will run out of ideas?  They remain fresh as ever, and I can’t believe that after more than 30 years, I’m just as smitten with Rega as I was the day I brought my first one home from the hifi store.  Now, can they just make it in lime green?  I’m happy to give the Rega RP10 one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2014.  -Jeff Dorgay

Rega RP10

MSRP:  $5,495 (without cartridge)  $6,495 with Apheta pre-installed (US Only)

www.soundorg.com (US distributor)

www.rega.co.uk (factory)

PERIPHERALS  (O’Brien)

Colors, like fashions, change in such a fluid manner that at times you don’t even realize that they’ve happened.  Pretty soon everyone is wearing skinny jeans and you’re caught without.  The same could be said with the color orange.  It snuck in a few years ago on a few Lamborghinis and now it’s everywhere.  Even yours truly has a bright orange (make that Valencia) BMW and the color has really caught on – it’s a happy color.

Perhaps nothing is more happy than a 550 horsepower Jaguar F-TYPE coupe (or coup-eh, as the Brits like to call it) in Firesand Metallic.  While it is stunning on the F-TYPE convertible, the coupe takes the excitement to another level entirely.  The biggest question posed by many auto enthusiasts and critics at the launch of the convertible was “how about a proper hardtop roadster in the style of the legendary E-TYPE?”  When the Jaguar gods decided that the concept would go to production, the next curiosity was to see how close the final car would resemble the design brief.

At times, it’s best to keep your top on

The results are indeed smashing, and the coupe succeeds on every level.  It not only casts a sleek silhouette, the additional rigidity of the coupe improves on the already highly competent roadster chassis, sharpening the handling even further.  You don’t really notice it until you drive the two back to back – the hardtop really gets the nod for driving purists.

This is made perfectly clear while behind the wheel of the coupe at Willow Springs Raceway with Davy Jones (not the ghost of the Monkees, but the ‘96 winner of the 24 hours of LeMans) in the passenger seat telling me I’m braking too late, repeatedly.  Where the ragtop feels great for a convertible, with no scuttle shake, the coupe is a few major degrees more crisp, with no sense of squirm under hard braking, or making a slight course correction in the midst of a high-speed sweeper.

Serious music enthusiasts will enjoy the coupe for yet another reason: the 380-watt Meridian sound system that comes standard with the F-TYPE.  An extra 1,200 dollars steps you up to the 12-speaker, 770-watt Meridian system.  We described the system in depth in Issue 58 and concluded that with the increased cabin noise of the soft top, the upcharge for the bigger system is hardly worth it; however the coupe is a different game entirely.

The dual purpose exhaust system stays quiet while tooling around town, giving the F-TYPE the civility of a luxury sports sedan, yet when the accelerator pedal is mashed to the floor, the baffle opens, providing more than enough growl to feel sporty.  Even more so with the 550 hp, supercharged V-8.

You don’t have to drop 100k to have fun

Don’t let the evil British villains in the Jaguar commercial fool you: you don’t really need 550 hp to enjoy the F-TYPE.  While we didn’t have any of the $65,000 base model cars with a meager 340hp V6 at our disposal, the 380hp supercharged V6, priced around $75,000 with a few options is still no slouch, getting from 0–60 at 5.1 seconds and having a top speed of 172mph.  This should be good for all but those needing to leave the scene in the most fiendish manner.   Interestingly enough, the V6 felt a bit better in the convertible, even though it specs the same in the coupe and all of the auto journalists present made the same observation.

Again, the folks at Jaguar made the comparison to the iconic Porsche 911, as if it were the benchmark they are striving for.  And again, after having driven more than a few 911s since the convertible launch and now, I maintain that they are entirely different automobiles.  If I were in the income bracket to afford it, I’d have both in my garage.

Obvious comparisons

The current Carrera is more capable at the limit – and as good as the 8-speed ZF auto box is, Porsche’s PDK is still the one to beat, offering a connection to the road like no other.  When driving in more subdued situations, the Jaguar gets the nod, being way more sporty than a Mercedes SL or BMW Z4, yet more posh than the current 911.

The F-TYPE offers two driving modes, standard and dynamic. Dynamic is the more sporting mode, stiffening the suspension, altering the shift points and programing the torque vectoring more aggressively.  This innovative system feeds more power to the inner rear wheel, while gently applying braking to the outer rear wheel, offering tremendous driver control.  This was instantly evident when we took the cars out on the skidpad at Willow Springs Raceway for a brief drifting session.  When disengaged, it takes the skill of a professional driver to keep the tail in line, yet with the driver assist engaged, the F-TYPE practically defies the laws of physics, even in the wet.

Hard top or soft?

My experience has been that those loving topless motoring won’t care about most of the coolness built in to the F-TYPE coupe because the top doesn’t go down.  Where the classic E-TYPE convertible still stands as one of the most beautiful automobiles ever made, the coupe was always somewhat of a homely stepchild.  This is not the case with the F-TYPE coupe – it is easily as beautiful, if not more so, as its soft-top sibling.

Much as it is with high end audio gear, it’s tough to call a $75,000 to $100,000 car a “bargain,” though in comparison to its competitors from Porsche and Mercedes, the F-TYPE certainly offers excellent value.  And if you don’t need the prestige of an Aston Martin badge, the new Jaguar is a steal.  Having spent plenty of time in both the DBS and Vantage, I can’t see why anyone would want to shell out the extra dough for an Aston, when the Jaguar is so capable.  — Jeff Dorgay

Is the Gemini 2000 a headphone amplifier? Is it a headphone dock? Is it a DAC? Well, yes. Through the Gemini, Hong Kong-headquartered AURALiC creates a design that manages to pack all that into an attractive and great-sounding component. For those seeking a headphone-based desktop system, this AURALiC offers a turnkey package.

Headphone stand

At first glance, the most eye-catching and unique feature of the Gemini is its headphone stand, licensed from Klutz design. Standing about a foot tall with graceful curves, the stand not only looks great, but it offers a secure way to display your favorite headphones and keep them at the ready. AURALiC offers a lot of color options including a glossy white, black, yellow, blue, and the bright red of our review sample. In addition, there’s a choice of a shiny gold or silver base finish. With so many choices each prospective owner is bound to find some color combination to his or her liking.

Acting as a headphone stand, the Gemini certainly has stability and heft. The base of the unit is quite heavy, and lifting the unit makes me feel as if I’m accepting a hefty Oscar statue. The Gemini is not likely to tip over with your valuable headphones draped over it. Another really nice feature of the stand is the ability to wrap the headphone cord onto it, keeping the desktop tidy. Metal pegs at the top and bottom facilitate the process, acting in a similar fashion as the electrical cord holder on an upright vacuum cleaner.

The business end…

The stand element by itself may look impressive, but the real design feat is squeezing the DAC and amp into base of the unit, about an inch tall with 5.5-inch diameter. Each Gemini comes equipped with a 4GB SDXC card which includes Windows computer drivers, a manual, and some sample music.

The Gemini 2000 we reviewed also has a little brother, the 1000. The main difference between the two is the option of a balanced headphone output on the former, and the amount of power output. The Gemini 1000 offers 1000 milliWatts (a.k.a. one watt), and as you might guess, the 2000 offers double that. We didn’t have the opportunity to compare both units side-by-side, but I expect the 1000 would have adequate power to meet the requirements of many headphones.

The lower, narrow part of Gemini 2000’s stand offers ¼” headphone output on one side and a balanced output on the other. Those who desire a mini-output will need to use an adapter.

Tiny red LEDs grace the circumference of the base’s top, indicating the user-selected volume, input source, and file resolution. Equally diminutive buttons on the side of the base facilitate power-up and source changes, while the knurled edge of a scrolling wheel adjusts volume. AURALiC doesn’t label “Volume” as such though. Instead, it humorously claims, “Niceness.”  Moving the wheel, I have to agree with the nomenclature. Until you get used to placement of the controls be sure to bring your reading glasses because these labels are almost microscopic.

DAC

With some trickle-down technology from AURALiC’s marvelous Vega DAC, the Gemini’s DAC is capable of decoding high resolution files including CD-standard 44.1k, 48k and DSD, double DSD and DXD.

In addition to the standard USB connector, there’s the uniquely shaped digital input for Android phones and tablets.  Finally, those with a Toslink-enabled CD player or Astell & Kern player can purchase the appropriately terminated cable for connection with the Gemini. As mentioned earlier, Gemini sports a SDXC card slot, and depending on the card’s capacity, quite a bit of music can reside within the amp itself, controlled by the connected computer with included software.

Connecting the Gemini to a MacBook Pro laptop proves a breeze. After tethering the Gemini to the computer via the included USB, simply go to the System Preferences, and under the sound options AURALiC appears as a selectable option. Once done, iTunes recognizes the change immediately and diverts all sound to the Gemini. For those using Windows-based computers AURALiC provides a Gemini driver to facilitate the interface between the two machines.

Amplifier

Gemini 2000’s shiny base sports a class-A amp design that takes all the DAC, feeds it, and generates great sound. As with the DAC section, the amp benefits from trickle-down technology borrowed from AURALiC’s Taurus II headphone amp. Class-A circuits, in addition to great sound, generate a lot of heat and the Gemini is no exception. Seriously, if the amp remains powered up for an extended period you won’t want to handle the metal base. That’s one hot potato! Don’t worry though; it is designed to act as a heat sink and to handle the temperatures safely.

Listening

Borrowing a few pairs of headphones for this review, I had the opportunity to listen though Audeze LCD-X, Sennheiser HD-650, and others on hand. Two watts produced by the Gemini 2000 proves more than enough for the driving power needed to make all the headphones sing. Trying both the single-ended (1/4”) and balanced outputs, sound is quite similar, but with a bit more detail retrieval and bass substance though the latter.

CD-quality 44.1 KHz or 48 kHz songs render very nicely through the AURALiC. There’s never the singe of high frequency edge, and midrange portrays both vocals and instruments well. Piano, trumpet and cymbals on Enrico Rava Quintet’s “Tears for Neda” demonstrate the Gemini’s prowess with the nuances of instrumental jazz.

When listening to some rock tracks with Apple Lossless files, bass through the Gemini can appear slightly subdued. It’s not quite as robust and punchy as some other amps I’ve heard. However, what’s there is both tuneful and enjoyable. To my ears, the Gemini’s overall sound signature is well-voiced and slightly warm, focusing on the bigger musical picture more than every minute, ambient detail. Switching to the Sennheiser HD-650 reveals similar sonics from the Gemini.

Listening to higher fidelity DSD files truly gives the Gemini a chance to sing. Listening to Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” with high res, the soundstage opens up, and every aspect of the musical spectrum comes further to life, bass included. Similarly, listening to the title track from Paul Simon’s Graceland on DSD offers a sonic treat. Background vocals, various types of percussion and other instrumentation float into the soundstage and with a more pronounced attack and decay. The driving guitar and bass give a sense of speed and energy to the recording, and Simon’s voice remains very upfront.

For those who have invested in DSD-quality files, you’ll definitely get more mileage out of them through the Gemini. If your digital collection does not yet have any, this amp is a very good incentive to take the plunge in purchasing a few favorite albums.

Is the Gemini 2000 right for you?

After experiencing the Gemini 2000, I find myself a fan of its modern, practical design and the very good sound it produces. Indeed, there’s a lot to love! However there are three considerations a potential buyer should be aware of. First, the Gemini is designed primarily for use in a desktop scenario. There’s no battery-powered option so the electrical tether is a must. Obviously, this isn’t the kind of portable setup you will take with you on a plane.

Second, for those who want to bypass the Gemini’s DAC and input an analog source from an iPod or a turntable directly to the amplifier, you are out of luck. The unit does not offer an RCA or a mini-jack input, so many portable sources prove incompatible with a Gemini rig. To be fair though, the Gemini’s DAC is quite good, so there’s not a lot to be achieved from bypassing it anyway.

As a last minor quibble, there’s not a manual impedance selector to help optimize the feed to a variety of headphones. While the Gemini is no slouch regardless, it’s nice to have some options to experiment with to ensure your ‘phones are giving a listener the best sound they are designed to provide.

If those caveats are no concern to you, the Gemini 2000 could become your new best friend at home or at the office. The form factor is elegant and practical, with options to match any décor or preference. The sound it offers is very good, and it pairs well with the headphones I had on hand for testing. A key benefit with the Gemini 2000 is price-performance. In the often-expensive world of hi-fi, $1,995 is a reasonably small investment. Heck, the Audeze headphones cost almost that much. For all the technology packed into this marvel the price tag is very reasonable. Trying to buy a top-of-the-line headphone stand, DAC, and amp as standalone units will cost a lot more. Do keep in mind that the Gemini 1000 costs $995, so if you need only a single-ended ¼” headphone output and can get by with less power, it might be a more economical alternative. Either way, if you seek an all-in-one solution for personal hi-fi, do yourself a favor and check out the Gemini!  –Jerold O’Brien

Further Observations

It’s rare that Mr. O’Brien and I agree on things like this, as he’s more of a “performance is everything” kind of guy and I’m more of a “but it’s gotta look cool” kind of guy.  And though we enjoy the Gemini 2000 for different reasons, I was hooked the minute I saw the cool shape.  Knowing what AURALiC has accomplished with everything else we’ve auditioned, I had a strong hunch it would sound great – and I was not disappointed.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a more conversation-provoking piece of audio gear.  It looks marvelous sitting front and center on the Noguchi table in my living room with a pair of Audeze headphones perched on top.  Guests to my home always beg to play with it, and for me, that’s what the world of audio needs – more “ooh, can I touch it?”

Think of the Gemini 2000 as a headphone hookah.  Display it in a prominent place and let everyone partake!  While the performance is world class, the style points are off the chart.  Get the party started.  –Jeff Dorgay

AURALiC Gemini 2000

MSRP: $1,995

http://www.auralic.com

Spending four days with the Aston Martin DBS a few years ago was an enthralling experience to say the least—and beyond definition to say the most—but a brief time in the company of something outside of your means can often skew your perspective. When I return the silver beauty, a good friend who actually owns an Aston told me, “Yeah, she’s a beauty, but wait until the first oil change: $800. And let’s not even talk about the first major service…” Two years later, said friend ended up buying the Boxster S that I told him to buy in the first place—but that’s another story for another day.

Just like an Aston, Bentley or Ferrari, most mega-bucks hi-fi products have a way of seducing you that standard-issue gear does not. Unfortunately, the review process does not always make it feasible for a manufacturer to leave a six-figure component in someone’s hands for longer than a reasonable honeymoon, and this is why at times these reviews seem overly enthusiastic: The reviewer never gets a chance to move past the honeymoon phase.

So let’s talk about a $110,000 digital player—that’s not a typo. I thought I had lost my mind when I purchased the dCS Paganini four-box system a few years ago (and I felt equally crazy when buying the Naim CD555 a few years before that); yet, after even a few months it was very obvious that the Paganini performed well beyond anything I’d ever experienced. And it just got better the longer I listened to it with an even wider range of music. So how much better could a player costing almost twice as much as the Paganini be? As it turns out, quite a bit better.

A Brief Tech Brief

In the past year, much has been written about the Vivaldi’s technical prowess via Stereophile, The Absolute Sound and others, so if you’re looking for a more geeky perspective (and even if you aren’t), I suggest reading Michael Fremer’s and Robert Harley’s takes on this player. Should you be investing at this level, read everything you can and do some serious listening—one doesn’t want buyer’s remorse on a purchase like this.

Instead of focusing on the technical aspects, we’re going to concentrate more on the Vivaldi experience. What’s it like to truly live with a player like this for a whole year? Is it still exciting? Is it a fling or a long-term love affair?

To make an incredibly long story shorter for those not familiar with dCS, the British manufacturer takes a modular four-box approach to its top digital players, (separating the most critical parts of the playback chain as they see it: a CD/SACD Transport, DAC, system Master Clock, and what they see as the system hub, the Upsampler) with separate sections for the transport (which plays CDs and SACDs), DAC, master clock, and upsampler. This allows the user the ability to build a dCS stack one box at a time, starting with the DAC alone if you so desire, or to eliminate the transport entirely for those not using discs.

Where so many DACs rely on off-the-shelf hardware, the Vivaldi, like all other dCS products, utilize the company’s own “Ring DAC” technology, which is based around field-programmable gate array chips and the proprietary, discrete digital-to-analog converter circuit that runs dCS decoding software and gives the DAC its name. What does that really mean? On one level, it means that when dCS learns something new in the lab, your player can be reprogrammed with the latest software with ease, like having the software in your car’s ECU upgraded for more horsepower. Having gone through a couple of software upgrades with the Paganini, I can tell you that it is an exciting process. Each time, I felt as if I had purchased an entirely new component, with the updates providing a significant performance upgrade at no additional cost. I merely had to insert a disc, upload the data, and voila, I received a much better player than I had before.

Not only does the Vivaldi offer this same functionality, but because the gate array on the new digital main board only uses about 30 percent of its total processing power, there is plenty of room for whatever future upgrades the brainiacs at dCS come up with in the years to come. This future-proof approach goes a long way in terms of consumer confidence when writing a six-figure check.

The Vivaldi is capable of playing all file formats from 16 bit/44 kHz to full DSD, with the option of playing all files natively or upsampling to any higher data rate, as well as upsampling to DSD or DXD. Check the dCS website for all the fine details. Suffice it to say that the Vivaldi will play virtually any music format you throw at it with no issue, and as new formats become commercially relevant, upgrades are a snap.

Inputs, Outputs and Cables

As a four-(unit/box) system, the Vivaldi plays everything but Blu-ray Discs and DVD-A (however my MSB transport connected to the stack allows playback of these formats, giving me a fully functioning digital Death Star). The Vivaldi does play every known digital audio format, including DSD.  John Quick, of dCS North America, brought me a hard drive loaded with DSD files; however, comparing these files to the SACDs in the Vivaldi transport, the optical disc always comes out on top in terms of clarity and a natural presentation. For this reviewer, DSD files continues to be a major non-issue, but the Vivaldi is fully equipped to handle the format.

With a full bevy of every input you can think of, the Vivaldi accepts digital signals from every source imaginable, including iPods, iPhones, and iPads (because the Vivaldi is Apple approved). Even the 320-kbps feed from Spotify sounds amazing—never better, in fact—when played through the dCS stack, especially when upsampled to DSD.

The key to maximum performance is proper setup and connection, and making sure that all three boxes (transport, upsampler and DAC) are all properly set to talk to the master clock. If this is done incorrectly, the clock does not lock all four pieces of the stack together and playback suffers dramatically. On the subject of upsampling, many will argue that imaging and timbre suffer from this approach, but I will tell you that the dCS nails this without any sign of artifacts.

A total of 13 cables are required to connect the Vivaldi stack together, not counting four AC power cables. Like changing the spark-plug wires on a 12-cylinder car, do it one at a time, should you decide to upgrade the complete set of included stock cables (see sidebar). Better yet, have your dCS dealer, who will probably sell you the cables anyway, make a house call.

Are You Experienced?

The Vivaldi is not a plug-and-play device. After getting through the somewhat daunting process of connecting all the boxes together, and getting them all synchronized with the master clock, there are still choices. As all filtering is done via software, you have about six different digital filters to choose from. Like the Paganini, after months of driving myself crazy, I settled on the default settings. Those with ADD/OCD issues will go slightly mad here, because there are so many possible combinations—which leads us to the question of upsampling.

While I rarely hear much difference when upsampling high-resolution files to DSD, 16/44 files (especially MP3 files) benefit tremendously from upsampling, having more air and life overall. There are no instances where I prefer going straight 16/44 all the way through to output.

Should you be using a source like a Meridian digital-music server, which does not offer a word clock input, the proper adjustments will have to be made on the Vivaldi so that the system is not running unlocked, causing effects similar to tape dropout. When using my Meridian server, I go into its menu and disable internal upsampling (which normally yields a 24/88 output) and force it to output CDs at native resolution and let the Vivaldi do the rest.

Serving It Up

Instead of using an external server for delivering digital files, the way to really roll with the Vivaldi is using a NAS drive and the dCS application. You can also access files directly via an external USB drive (or thumb drive) plugged directly into the Vivaldi’s USB port. This provides the clearest, cleanest signal path and a major step up in reproduction quality over any of the servers I have on hand, which makes perfect sense. For my initial review of the Vivaldi, dCS had not fully sorted out the app, but now it is working rather nicely, and in addition to cataloging your music collection, it works as a giant remote control for the DAC and Upsampler, with the ability to control the entire stack in the works in an upcoming software upgrade.

As a music server, the dCS app gets a 7 for convenience (sorry, there still isn’t a server out there that can beat the Meridian for ease of use and speed), but an 11 for sound quality, so take your pick. Personally, I like the simplicity of having it all on one remote, but it is nice to know that if you purchase a Vivaldi, you won’t have to buy or configure an additional streamer—just plug an Ethernet cable into the Upsampler, find your NAS with the App, and roll.

All Digital? Forget the Preamp

While dCS’s digital volume control is excellent in the Paganini, it still sounded more lifelike going from the line-level outputs, with volume control set to its maximum level, to a great linestage. The Vivaldi closes this gap such that, if you are an all-digital music listener, you really don’t need a separate linestage, thanks to the increased low-level linearity of its volume control and the transparency of its output stage.

We put the Vivaldi through its paces with a wide variety of power amplifiers, from the $2,000 VanAlstine Ultravalve all the way up to the $88,000-per-pair Pass Xs 300 monoblocks, which are my current reference. Comparing playback with and without a linestage—including the ARC REF 5SE, Burmester 011 and Robert Koda K-10—we found that, while the Vivaldi doesn’t reveal more music without a linestage in the path, using one does not diminish the presentation either. So if you’re taking the “less-is-more” approach, I’d forget the linestage if you are going all digital. The Vivaldi can be set via its menu to deliver 2-volt or 6-volt output through balanced XLRs or standard RCAs and it will easily drive two systems.

In a Word: Natural

Granted, the price of digital perfection is not cheap, but the dCS Vivaldi achieves it. The Paganini was fantastic, but switching to analog playback via the AVID Acutus Reference SP (with either the Clearaudio Goldfinger or Lyra Atlas cartridges) still stole the day. This always left me thinking, “That’s damn good for digital,” but the Vivaldi offers playback on a completely different level. I don’t love analog any less than I used to, but 12 hour days listening to the Vivaldi instead of a turntable is never a problem. And after myriad comparisons of analog to digital files with various resolutions, not only can I easily live with the Vivaldi, half of the time the Vivaldi reveals more music than analog does in my system.

Listening to some high-resolution files of Neil Young’s Harvest, supplied by Quick, illustrates this succinctly, when compared to the recent Chris Bellman remaster (which is excellent). Young’s acoustic guitar intro is bigger and bolder and has more tonal richness. As the drums and piano enter the track, they have a more distinct space via high-resolution digital, and the sparse bass line and banjo are locked down into their own separate spaces in a way the LP just can’t match. Yet, on Peter Gabriel’s “Lay Your Hands on Me,” via digital and the 45-rpm Classic Records box set, the vinyl takes the lead for all the same reasons, though the full digital recording is still quieter.

Time after time, it’s easy to fool analog-loyal friends by spinning the LP and playing the Vivaldi at the same time, claiming to be playing vinyl. They would all chime in proclaiming analog’s superiority. But when the truth was revealed, they were shocked that they were in fact listening to digital—oh, the horror.

For those with world-class analog front-ends, the digital part of your music collection no longer has to take a back seat to your analog collection. And that’s the highest compliment I can pay the Vivaldi. If you don’t have analog, you don’t need it with this player. I am keeping it as my new reference digital component—and now that I’m 55 years old, it may be my last.

Minor Nits

After a full year, the only complaint I have with the Vivaldi (and the Paganini suffered the same problem) is its human interface. While the new display screens on the Vivaldi are much easier to read, the writing above all of the buttons on the silver-faced units like mine are nearly impossible to read by anyone over 30. If I had to do this again, I would opt for the black version with the white type, only to be able to read the buttons better.

Fortunately, once you get used to the Vivaldi and get it configured the way you want it, you shouldn’t be doing much more in terms of fiddling. And controlling the stack via an iPad and the app does make it much easier.

Line in the Sand

Bottom line: If the office ever burns down, I’ll buy another Vivaldi and forget about rebuilding my record collection. It’s that good. After an entire year of 12- to 16-hour listening sessions daily, I’m still pinching myself over the level of performance this player achieves—and now even more so with the built-in app and server capability.

The dCS Vivaldi becomes more engaging the longer you listen to it and the more of your music collection you can experience with it. It is one of the precious few systems at any price that completely disappears and lets you fully enjoy the music.

Much like an Aston Martin DBS or Ferrari 458, the dCS Vivaldi delivers a level of elegance and performance that is unmatched by lesser players. But unlike with the four-wheeled toys, you can build a Vivaldi system one box at a time. And should you not require a disc spinner, the $68K price of a three-box Vivaldi is almost a steal for the performance it delivers, especially if you are an all-digital listener and can ditch your $10K-to-$40K linestage as part of the upgrade.

If you can afford a dCS Vivaldi, take it for a test drive; you won’t regret it. The most exciting part of adding this player to my reference system is that it remains enthralling after a year of intense listening and it definitely reveals substantially more music than the excellent dCS Paganini that it replaced. This is definitely a long-term love affair, not a fling.

The Vivaldi digital playback system

MSRP:

Transport: $39,999

Upsampler: $19,999

Master Clock: $13,499

DAC: $34,999

www.dcsltd.co.uk

PERIPHERALS