Just as mega sports cars all offer different approaches to performance, giving the Aston Martin driver a completely different experience than the Ferrari, Porsche or Corvette driver, so do mega power amplifiers.  I’ve spent a lot of time these last few months with some of the world’s top amplifiers and it’s amazing how different from one another they sound.  But each amp, in its own way, defines state-of-the-art audio performance.

Burmester’s smaller 911 MK3 has been a reference amplifier here for almost four years.  Surviving a fall from the FedEx truck in the middle of a busy intersection, the 911 has played nonstop for the duration, rarely being powered down, always providing fantastic performance.

But even considering the 911’s prowess as an amplifier, more power changes the game.  Beyond the obvious ability of bigger amplifiers to achieve higher sound-pressure levels, they also offer more control at all power levels.  Most, if not all, speakers present a treacherous load to an amplifier’s output terminals, changing impedance with frequency and generating back EMF—some speakers are even highly capacitive to boot.  The dynamic load a speaker presents does not adversely affect a massive amplifier like the 909 MK5, with substantial power reserves and a high-damping factor, in the same way it does a small amplifier.  The end result?  A spacious sound, free of fatigue.

Big Power, Big Price Tag

Merely swapping out the 911 for the 909 provides an immediately noticeable and revelatory improvement—which it should for $73,495.  The German Physiks speakers I’ve been auditioning for the last month appear to grow in stature, feeling like someone snuck in overnight and moved them about 4 feet farther apart; the effect is not at all subtle.  And that’s starting with the amazing Burmester 911 as a baseline!  The instant Alex Van Halen’s drum stick hits the opening cymbal in “You’re No Good,” there’s more decay, more weight and more meat on the bone.  Right from the first power cord, the guitar has a much fatter sound, feeling more like a wall of amplifiers at a live performance, with a feeling of unlimited power.

The bass line underneath Radiohead’s “In Limbo” not only has more texture, but there’s also more space between everything—said bass line, the ethereal guitars, keyboards and dreamy, over-processed vocals.  This tune can sound compressed, as if the musicians are too close together and crowded, but the 909 opens it right up, giving the music room to breathe and keeping the pace of the rhythm section solidly anchored while everything else floats around the room.

Burmester’s 911 MK3 produces 350 watts per channel into 4 ohms; the 909 MK5 pumps out 600 watts per channel.  With 20 precision-matched outputs per channel and an enormous 3.5-kV power transformer, the 909 doesn’t have much empty space inside its mammoth enclosure, which measures 19 by 19 by 20 inches and weighs in at 170 pounds.  Fortunately, it comes in a padded road case with wheels—another sign of the care that goes into its production.  It’s worth noting that all Burmester power amplifiers are burned in at full power for seven days continuously before they are released to customers.  Though Burmester suggests that the 909 sounds its best after 200 hours, it’s damn good straight out of the (aluminum) box.  Those with tough to drive speakers take note: the 909 mk.5 will produce 1250 watts per channel into a 1 ohm load – indefinitely.  I needed one of these back when I had Apogee Scintillas!

The Loud and Quiet of it All

Playing Rachel Macfarlane’s Hayley Sings through the 909 MK5 provides a perfect example of the silky smoothness that the amp presents.  It’s not all about brute force.  Backed by a Sinatra-esque big band, her lead vocals deliver a strong timbre that the 909 effortlessly renders.  As her voice goes quickly from loud to soft, it never gets lost in the blaze of horns accompanying her.  Equally delicate is the opening bass line in Rage Against the Machine’s “Calm Like a Bomb.”  The 909 captures every bit of texture, until the song goes full tilt, with distorted guitars bombarding the listener from every angle. Again, this monster amplifier handles it all in perfect stride.

Switching speakers to the GamuT S9s and giving the volume control a twist towards the maximum, on Fear’s “New York’s Alright if You Like Saxophones,” sheds new light on this classic punk cut.  The 909 provides an otherworldly, out-of-body experience, transporting me right back to when I followed the band in 1981.  It’s as if the 909 reproduces the sound and the sweat.  There’s an extra dimension at work here.

With the volume up to brain-damage levels, it just wouldn’t be a proper Burmester review without a few Scorpions tracks, so out comes the 45-rpm maxi singles.  Tracking through “Rock You Like a Hurricane” has those present for the audition reaching for lighters and brings the police to our front door—the ultimate testament to the 909’s brute force.

Those of you in the audience who are more proper audiophiles will be pleased to know that the 909 MK5 does a smashing job on your favorite acoustic tracks, female vocal pieces and, of course, large-scale orchestral recordings.  The cannon shots at the end of 1812 Overture really come to life with this much power on tap, and if that’s not enough, you can bridge the 909 to produce a monoblock capable of 1,930 watts per channel.  You’ll probably need an electrical-supply upgrade to a pair of 20-amp dedicated lines; Burmester makes note that your power must be up to the task in order to achieve this high output.  Bridging can be done via external adaptors, as with the 911, or your 909s can be ordered directly from the factory this way.

Unshakable

While it’s just so much fun to explore an amplifier that has no real dynamic limits (at least in the context of my room and system), the true magic of Burmester’s power amplifier is twofold:  It has an almost silky sonic texture that is unique, nestled right between the “just-the-facts” sonic signature of the Boulder 3050 or the Simaudio MOON 880M, as well as the slightly warm and inviting, almost tube-like sound of the Pass XA200.5.  Heavily biased, but not fully Class A, the 909 generates precious little heat, even after a long listening session.

Anyone attending Burmester’s after-hours party at last year’s New York Hi-Fi Show witnessed a pair of these mighty amplifiers playing to a crowded room that was easily the size of a small club with a 30-foot ceiling.  By the end of the night, the 909s remained barely warm to the touch, and were not damaged by the DJ plugging and unplugging things with the volume turned up, making a hateful sound through the enormous Burmester speakers in the process.

Exquisite Build

This brute force is packaged in a stunning box.  From the extrusions on its heat sinks, to its subtle bits of chrome plating, to the Burmester logo machined in script on its top cover, the 909 goes to show that no one produces better casework than Burmester.  I spend a lot of time removing the last few dust specs in post-production and can’t help but be blown away with the quality work of Burmester’s machine shop.  Even with the images blown up 1000 percent on screen, there are no machining, engraving or plating flaws to be seen anywhere.

This is truly a luxury product that delivers the goods sonically and is also a joy to look at, even when turned off.  The 909 MK5 is built to a standard that should allow you to leave it for the next generation—a true value in a society where so many products are easily discarded.

The back panel has two large carrying handles, and the speaker binding posts have large winged knobs, making it easy to attach any type of speaker cable you might be considering.  Even though there are banana plugs in these gigantic twist terminals, Dieter Burmester himself suggests spade-lug termination on your speaker cables for the best connection and transference of such high power.

The only problem with the Burmester 909 MK5 is that once you have the experience, it’s tough to go back.  As we spend more time with this remarkable amplifier, we will do a proper head-to-head comparison between it and the 911 MK3 with a wide range of program material, and will report back in the Comparo section of our website, so please check back shortly.

For now, suffice it to say the Burmester 909 MK5 will handle any challenge.

The Burmester 909 MK5 power amplifier

MSRP:  $73,495

www.burmester.de (factory)

www.rutherfordaudio.com (North American Distributor)

Peripherals

Spoiler alert:  The Paradigm Reference Signature S8s are amazing speakers that don’t cost a small fortune.  They offer performance way beyond what you’d expect for $8,998 a pair.  Many of us know the Canadian company for its smaller speakers and great home-theater systems, but the Signature S8s have major audiophile cred.

Eddie Jobson’s Theme of Secrets paints an enormous sonic landscape in all directions, with low-level detail and spatial cues galore.  It’s a fantastic yet obscure audiophile freak-out record that, in a great system, feels like a surround-sound mix from two channels, which is a test that the Ref Sig.S8s pass handily.  The beryllium tweeter and line-array-type configuration give the speakers a high degree of coherence, which is a major contributor to their ability to reproduce vocals—male or female—with such lifelike ease.

The ’80s club classic “Sex (I’m a…)” from Berlin encourages twisting the volume control.  The Ref Sig.S8s keep the driving disco beat firmly anchored without losing track of the seductive lead vocals, while also keeping all of the backup vocals sorted, as they pop in from all over the soundscape, mildly suggesting what our lead vocalist might be.  The cranky, out-of-phase lead vocals in Sheep on Drugs’ version of “Waiting for the Man” takes a similar turn, with a great mix of vocal layers and spacey electronic effects zooming all over the listening room—further showcasing the fact that these speakers possess extraordinary imaging abilities.

Those with more traditional tastes, take notice:  The Paradigms perform equally well rendering the delicate shadings of Anne Bisson’s “Dragonfly” or Annie Lenox’s strong lead vocals in “No More I Love You’s.”  Tracks like these reveal that the integration of the tweeter and midrange driver directly below it is fantastic.

Thanks to their 92-dB sensitivity, the speakers barely budge the power meters of the 200-watt-per-channel D’Agostino Momentum stereo amplifier that I’m currently enjoying.  The Momentum really grips the Ref Sig.S8s’ four 7-inch woofers, proving that you won’t likely need to pair these speakers with one of Paradigm’s massive subwoofers.  Justin Timberlake’s “Let the Groove Get In” is the only track with which I can actually push the multiple woofers to their boundaries, with the Momentum’s needles moving in earnest to the song’s opening bass riff.

Taking further advantage of the powerful low-frequency abilities of the Ref Sig.S8s, I demo some Aphex Twin—and there’s loads of low-end rumble, but everything else is smooth sailing.  If you really need to rattle the foundation of your house, or love your movies loud, ­by all means peruse the Paradigm catalog.  However, most of us will be thrilled with the bass response that these speakers deliver.

Best of all, the high sensitivity of these speakers allows a wide range of compatible amplification, making them a fantastic anchor for your system.  We can continue the tired chicken/egg argument of whether one should prioritize the speakers or source components—but I suggest building around a pair of speakers that you love, because they ultimately require more effort to interface with your environment, visually and audibly.  And what’s not to love here?

Quality is Key

The Ref Sig.S8s may have a relatively small footprint—about 4 feet tall, with a base measuring 8.5 inches by 20.5 inches—but they are massive on quality.  Paradigm creates such high-value speakers by designing and building all of its drivers in house at its factory near Toronto in Canada.  Unlike many lesser speaker companies, which are often forced to work with off-the-shelf drive units—and sometimes make up for a driver’s inadequacies by tweaking the crossover network, and thus produce a substandard result—Paradigm builds it all from the ground up.

Visiting Paradigm last year revealed what a large proportion of its factory is devoted to research and design.  Paradigm is one of a very small group of speaker companies that not only builds their own drivers, but also only builds drivers specifically to meet the needs of a speaker, once that speaker’s objectives are finalized.  And because the company has such a large operation—the factory is almost 260,000 square feet—there are tremendous economies of scale in terms of the raw materials they can purchase.

Even Paradigm’s tiniest Atom mini-monitors ($398 per pair) feature these same levels of design and engineering excellence and attention to construction detail.  I’m sure that a company outsourcing all of these components would have to charge twice as much for a similar speaker—and many do.

The Cradle Will Rock

Near the end of this review, HDtracks announced the release of the first six Van Halen albums on 24-bit/192-kHz download.  What better way to evaluate the performance limits of the Ref Sig.S8s than to crank Van Halen for an afternoon?

I start slow, with David Lee Roth on “Ice Cream Man,” and the speakers illuminate the delicate vocal stylings of this track, which is full of echo and reverb, with S8s reproducing Eddie Van Halen’s acoustic guitar flawlessly.  Midway through the track, as the rest of the band chimes in, the Ref Sig.S8s have no problem accommodating the driving bass line and the drums.  The amount of clean, undistorted sound these speakers produce is as impressive as the finesse with which they deliver it.

These are far from just being rock-and-roll, brain-damage speakers.  They do finesse as well as they do loud, making them a fit for whatever music you enjoy.  Bill Bruford’s The Sound of Surprise, for example, is an album that bridges classic jazz patterns with some great prog rock riffs.  On the track “Half Life,” piano floats amidst Bruford’s slower interludes, but the Ref Sig.S8s can instantly accelerate when the program material dictates.  Playing acoustic fare also underlines the speakers’ worthiness of great amplification.  The beryllium tweeter strikes a perfect balance of resolution, clarity and timbre that benefits from being fed thusly.  These speakers easily reveal the subtle differences between the megabucks power amplifiers we had in for issue 53.

Having used these speakers with a wide range of amplification, I’d suggest going the tube route if you have to compromise your amplifier budget.  The slight softness of a modestly powered tube amplifier will provide a more musical result overall than an inexpensive solid-state amplifier.  For those of you closed to the idea of a metal-domed speaker, I submit that it was probably the amplification used that ruined the experience for you, not the speaker.

The Rega Brio-R integrated amplifier proves an excellent low-price, high-performance partner for the Ref Sig.S8s, as does the PrimaLuna ProLogue Premium integrated tube amp.  And it just gets better as you go up the food chain.  The new 200-watts-per-channel Plinius Hautonga integrated amplifier that we are currently auditioning is a brilliant combination with these speakers, offering wonderfully lifelike sound and limitless dynamics.  With these speakers, those with amplification in the $5,000-to-$10,000 range might even be scratching their heads, wondering why their more well-heeled audio buddies bothered spending more.

Under the Hood

Beneath the veneered cabinets, which are available in beautifully finished cherry or gloss black, lurks the best technology that Paradigm has to offer (though the company has just released a 30th anniversary model that looks very intriguing…).  The 1-inch pure-beryllium dome tweeter of the Ref Sig.S8 is coupled to a 7-inch cobalt-infused aluminum midrange, which utilizes a dual-layer voice coil and an enormous die-cast basket that acts as a heat sink—critical for a driver that takes the bulk of the bandwidth in this three-way speaker system.

Four 7-inch woofers round out the package, with an on-axis spec of −2 dB at 39 Hz, and a typical −3 dB at 24 Hz in an average room.  Our trusty Stereophile Test CD confirms that the speakers can deliver on a strong 30-Hz track, with a dip at 25 Hz and then quickly fading off after this point, even with the massive Pass Xs 300s driving them.  This is very impressive performance for a pair of $8,998 speakers.

Don’t let the compact footprint fool you:  These slim speakers weigh 100 pounds each, so unless you turn green when someone makes you mad, get some help to unpack and move them into place.  The Ref Sig.S8s come with small rubber feet, and a full set of spikes.

Paradigm suggests that you use the speakers with grilles on, as this is the way they were voiced.  Always one to follow directions, I go this route and concur that this is a slightly smoother sound, though it makes the high-frequency response slightly more pronounced if you remove them, especially when using a tube amp.  Plus, there’s so much craftsmanship here that it just seems a pity to hide it all beneath those grilles!

Setup is straightforward, beginning with the speakers about 9 feet apart on the 15-foot short wall of my main listening room, with a slight toe-in to make the listening position about 10 feet back.  As with any speaker, I like to key in on the bass response first—going for the best combination of power and locking them into the room, and then making slight adjustments for imaging later.  The Ref Sig.S8s are not terribly fussy speakers to work with, thanks to their great power response and wide dispersion, so even those with modest skills will be happy with the results.  But, if you’re so inclined, 30 minutes of serious geeking out will reward you with a more three-dimensional soundstage.

If you’re looking for a pair of speakers that offers serious five-figure performance without a five-figure pricetag, consider the Paradigm Reference Signature S8s.  In the scheme of today’s wacky audio world, where $100k speakers are no longer rare, these are refreshingly great—and we are happy to give them one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2013.

The Paradigm Reference S8 Signature Speakers

MSRP: $8,998 per pair (available in cherry or piano black)

www.paradigm.com

Peripherals

What do you get for a whopping $205,000 dollars?  You get real music, provided you have speakers and ancillaries up to the task.  Each of Boulder’s massive 3050 monoblocks weigh 450 pounds and supply 1500 watts of Class-A power per channel, delivering an experience beyond anything I’ve ever heard.  The price tag of awesome is rarely a small one.

You also need a dedicated 220/240-volt line for each monoblock amplifier.  My wimpy 20-amp dedicated lines are not enough for me to commandeer a pair of these for review, so I go to the mountains of Boulder, Colorado, home of Boulder Amplifiers.  Forget the usual audiophile excuses about how a review can’t be written without the product being in your own system, because in this case the Boulder listening room features a pair of Focal Grande Utopia EM speakers, a model I am very familiar with.

“We haven’t sent these out for review because no one has enough AC power in their listening room to accommodate these,” laughs Boulder’s Rich Maez as we tour the factory.  And I’m guessing that only a privileged few also have floors stout enough. For those with enough power on tap and hefty floors (and the wherewithal to afford a pair), the 3050s arrive with Colorado-mined black granite bases that perfectly match the asymmetrical shape of the amplifiers.

The Epitome of Craftsmanship

The visit begins in the machine shop, where the exquisitely machined parts that make up a Boulder amplifier come to life.  Each 3050 heat sink is machined from a 115-pound solid billet of 6061-T1 aluminum alloy.  Once through Boulder’s various CNC machining centers, the amps undergo a series of final finishing operations, ending with bead-blasting and clear-anodizing processes.  As impressive as the chassis and heat sinks are, perhaps the coolest part of each Boulder 3050 is the massive power switch, which features a highly polished paddle machined from stainless steel.  It’s actuation feels like the clunk of a Bentley door.  (Click HERE to visit our website for more pictures of the Boulder factory.)

Shop foreman Ian Balmforth has been with Boulder for over 15 years, having inherited the job from his father, and he takes a tremendous level of pride in his work.  The rest of the employees in the Boulder factory share the same level of enthusiasm for their work, often putting their efforts and expertise into different phases of component production and for different models.  When orders are ready for a batch of 3000-series components, they work on nothing else until the run is complete.  Whereas so many products are built in hours, the Boulder 3050 monoblocks take approximately four weeks each to complete, from the time the raw metal enters the dock until the finished, tested and safely crated amplifiers leave.

Fully balanced, differential power amplifiers from start to finish, the 3050s offer only balanced inputs, and the driver stage consists of Boulder’s latest discrete 99H modules.  A giant metal tunnel runs through the center of the amplifier chassis, with four separate, potted transformers inside, which helps drop all mechanical and electrical noise to the theoretical minimum.

Power and Control

The Boulder 3050s have more power than anything else you can buy, but sheer watts are not the whole story.  Boulder’s president Jeff Nelson explains it as a “factor of control,” telling me that the more power available and the more devices to distribute the load—there are 120 output transistors in each 3050—the easier and more precisely the amplifier can control the movement of the speakers’ drivers and the EMF that the woofer cones generate.

Rich Maez begins my listening session of the 3050s with an introduction to the range.  Everything is driven by Boulder’s 2010 preamplifier and 1021 network disc player.  The 1008 phonostage we reviewed back in issue 27 sits on another rack with a SOTA turntable.  AC/DC’s “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” plays through the 800-series monoblocks (also reviewed in issue 20) with good results.  Everything Boulder is famous for is here in spades with this $12,000 pair of amplifiers:  Bass weight and control, lightning-fast dynamics and a big soundstage—impressive and duly noted.

Switching the cables to the 1050 monos and then to the 2050 monos clearly illustrates the progression.  Tonality remains the same, but each pair of amplifiers reveals more music than the models before.  Going up the range brings a lower noise floor, more weight and more dynamic jump.  And the 2050, which has been Boulder’s flagship for years, is indeed impressive, with the Grande Utopias turning in a truly grand performance.

For those not familiar with the Focal Grande Utopia EMs, they are one of the world’s finest loudspeaker systems, but their stunning level of resolution can disappoint if the rest of the system doesn’t deliver the goods, and I have heard this speaker turn in more than one lackluster performance over the years with mediocre systems.  (That’s my polite way of telling those of you who don’t like the Grande Utopias to shut your pie holes…insert smiley face.) They excel here.

Music’s New Definition

Wonderful as the 2050s are, the 3050s are a quantum leap in every aspect of performance.  Revisiting the AC/DC track is a stunning experience.  The Grande Utopias simply liquefy in the room now that the 3050s are powering them; there seem to be no speakers whatsoever, just music.  Tonality remains the same, but soundstage width and depth jumps to another level with the 3050s.  The Grandes become even more coherent, fading further into nothingness.  I’ve been listening to Back in Black since the day it was released in 1980, and I’ve never heard it like this.  The drums now have the force to convince you that you’re listening to the real thing, along with the right texture and tonality of the various drumheads.

Miles Davis’ “Freddie Freeloader” stretches out between the speakers, with natural-sounding cymbals and endless texture present in the recording; it feels as if you can hear all the way inside his horn.  This speaker-amp combo delivers a similar effect with the piano, which just floats directly out in front of the left speaker and is rendered to perfect scale, as a drumstick cracks down on the rim of the snare and Miles’ trumpet glides in so gently you don’t even notice it until the sound is there in full force.

These amplifiers deliver unbelievably tight pace and texture in the low-frequency register, regardless of volume level, again giving a feeling of being in the performance instead of just listening to it.  Acoustic bass is fleshed out perfectly, with just the right amount of resonance and texture, while electric bass growls as it should.

Unlimited Dynamics

Revving up the tempo with a dose of hard bop, Rich goes for some Freddie Hubbard, whose horn on “Philly Mignon” blows me back in the listening chair—Maxell-man style.  The complete lack of clipping or compression continues to amaze me as the hours roll by.  The opening bit to Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine” feels as if you are in an elevator 6 feet under the floor, moving up through solid matter to listening level and then up another three stories.

The bongos in Bob Dylan’s “Everything is Broken” take on a life of their own, sounding much larger than life.  While I’ve often dismissed Dylan’s Oh Mercy album as flat and uninvolving at the standard 16-bit/44-kHz resolution, it comes alive in all three dimensions in this system.  I don’t even want to listen to vinyl!

More time goes by as I investigate countless tracks that I’ve heard time and time again on many systems.  I’m continually amazed by the new experiences these amps deliver—from the Beatles to Metallica.  As Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong run through “Isn’t this a Lovely Day,” I feel as if the room’s walls are missing and the performers are walking around me as they sing.

Playing music through the Boulder 3050 monoblocks is hallucinogenic.  Continually stunned by everything I choose, I don’t want to leave the listening chair, but by now it has become dark and everyone but Maez and Nelson have long gone home for the day, so it’s time to call it a night.

Boulder achieves the ultimate with the 3050s:  They resolve more detail than anything I’ve ever experienced, yet they are never harsh or off-putting in any dimension.  As I listen to quite a few albums I am infinitely familiar with (some of which are not known for their sound quality) the music comes alive through the Boulder/Grande Utopia combination in a spectacular manner.  I’ll go on record to say that this is the most musically lifelike system, coming the closest to the real thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to.

Meeting the Goal

Boulder president Jeff Nelson claims his company’s ultimate goal is to produce an amplifier devoid of sonic signature, one that lets the music come through as it may.  For this reviewer, Boulder has succeeded fantastically.  In the early 1990s, in his review of Boulder’s original 500AE power amplifiers, Stereophile editor at the time, J. Gordon Holt, said that the amplifiers “are just not there.”  Though incredible progress has been made in 22 years, this still remains the essence of the 3050s.  They truly disappear, becoming a conduit of music unlike anything I have experienced.

The paradox of the Boulder 3050s is twofold:  Hearing them will reset your bar in terms of what is possible in the world of reproduced sound, even if you only listen to average recordings.  They will also spoil you for anything else.  You don’t really need that 401k, do you?  You’ll be too old to enjoy it anyway, right?  For our readers fortunate enough to afford a pair of 3050s, I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

In addition to otherworldly sonic performance, Boulder amps come with a level of craftsmanship that is also beyond anything else I’ve experienced.  Most Boulder amplifiers produced over the company’s history are still in use, and most are still owned by the original owners.  Boulder doesn’t do “mid-model updates,” and a quick glimpse at eBay shows only a couple pieces for sale on the secondary market, and they command high prices.  (Three of the six sellers say their reason for selling is that they bought the next piece up in the Boulder line.)  I can’t imagine where you would go after owning a pair of the 3050s.

Those a little less well heeled might consider the 900-watt-per-channel 3060 stereo amplifier, which sells for $115,000.  It will still require a single 30A 240-volt outlet, but Rich Maez assures me that it offers up a very enticing experience.

Having spent plenty of time with some of the world’s top amplifiers, I can tell you that the Boulder 3050s deliver the goods.  This is not a case of paying three times as much for a miniscule increase in performance; this is a mind bender.  You’ll never be the same.

Boulder 3050 Monoblock Amplifiers

MSRP:  $205,000 per pair (including granite bases)

Boulder Amplifiers

www.boulderamp.com

The Simaudio MOON Evolution series 850P has a number of interesting technical elements that make it an amazing preamplifier.  If you happen to be the type of audiophile who is swayed solely by technical expertise and specs, you should mosey down to your MOON dealer to buy an 850P right now.  If you’re the type of audiophile who craves a component that is both completely musical and free from coloration and grain, you should also head down to your dealer, if only to demo the 850P, which I think you will find more than worthy of your equipment rack.  In Brief: the 850P is wondrous.

The argument continues as to whether or not vacuum tubes exceed the performance of transistors in terms of retrieving more information from the source and why.  As the boundaries are pushed on both fronts, the results are equally excellent.  I’ve always liked the wonderful midrange and airiness of vacuum tube preamplifiers—that holographic image they are known to provide.  Many call this a sort of euphonic coloration, and for whatever reason, I enjoy it.  Especially with digital sources, a bit of that tube magic always seems to go a long way.

Lately, at the extreme high end of the price spectrum, I have found that a handful of solid-state preamplifiers provide a magic that I’ve never heard from tubes.  I’ve recently had the good fortune of listening to some excellent (and high-priced) examples from Indigo/Qualia, Burmester and Robert Koda, all of which deliver top-quality sound from a solid-state design.  You can add the Simaudio MOON 850P to that short list of preamps that offer a combination of cleanliness, dynamics, resolution and quietness unsurpassed by their vacuum-tube brethren.

Considering that a fully matched and optimized set of NOS tubes for one of my favorite tube preamplifiers commands about $2,000 these days (with no guarantee on the tubes), I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the 850P will work effortlessly for decades, always plugged into the wall and always ready to go.  And the 850P only draws 27 watts from the line in the process, so there is no eco-guilt associated with leaving it on continuously.

I’m still not ready to abandon the glowing bottle entirely, if for no other reason than the fact that sometimes different is good, if not downright enjoyable.  But for those becoming tired of chasing down NOS vacuum tubes (and I for one am tired of vacuum tubes that now cost more than my first car), the 850P is liberating.  Yet, after a few months with the 850P and the companion 880M power amplifiers that we reviewed recently, I’m convinced that these new MOON pieces belong to an elite group of components that offer their owners a no-holds-barred level of performance.

The two-box, 72-pound 850P is priced at $28,000.  One of the boxes is for the power supply and the other is for the gain, control and switching circuitry.  The two chassis’ are tethered together by three umbilical cords; two 4-pin XLR  cables (for left and right channel DC power) and an 8-pin RJ45 etherCON cable (for data communications). The cost of this level of high performance is concurrent with the price tag; if anything, compared to other units I’ve auditioned costing consistently more, it’s really quite the bargain.  Should you desire blue LEDs on the front panel, rather than the standard red, it can be done for an additional $625.  When we visited the factory, they explained that the blue LED’s are quite a bit more costly than the red ones.

Truth in the Listening

Like every other Simaudio product we’ve auditioned, the 850P needs about four or five days of being continuously powered up before it blooms into its final sound.  With no capacitors in the signal path, it will not require hundreds of hours of break-in time, so you can get down to business straight away.

Serious listening begins with the Rolling Stones live album Brussels Affair (Live 1973), with the classic track “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” which seems a bit ironic, as the 850P really does offer it all.  Feeling the band spread out on stage in front of me—through the $120k-per-pair Sonus faber Aida speakers, with a pair of 880M monoblocks—I’m instantly immersed in the performance.  With the 850P, I get what I want and what I need: a highly resolving musical performance with an absence of noise and grain.

It goes without saying that the 880Ms are a perfect match for the 850P, and in the context of a mostly MOON system (I use the 810LP phonostage for analog source material and the dCS Vivaldi for digital duties), you’ll forget that you’re listening to a stack of solid-state gear.  As I hinted at in the beginning of this review, the 850P is truly without a sound of its own, and when mated to the other MOON components, it’s dead quiet.  Even when putting my ears directly up to the Aida tweeters, there is no background noise coming through.

Digging Deep

Even an average recording, like Run-DMC’s King of Rock, comes alive through the 850P.  This linestage offers up layer upon layer of texture, with atomic clock-like pace.  The slightly wavering analog synthesizer in “Can You Rock It Like This?” is firmly anchored, while the other keyboard floats in and out of the mix, as Run and DMC assault the soundstage.  Their shouts from the left and right channels echo well into the background.  All of this remains on top of some massive bass beats that go deeper than I’ve experienced before.

On a quest for even more bass, I turn to SBTRKT’s self-titled album, which underlines the sheer drive and control that the 850P can deliver.  When pushed to near-live sound pressure levels, the Aidas feel as if we’ve added a pair of subwoofers to the system, shaking everything in my listening room that isn’t nailed down.  The soundfield now extends well past the speakers, almost seeming to extend past the walls themselves.  A quick dose of heavy rock, care of the Scorpions smash album Love at First Sting, reveals more treasure.  This early digital recording, which is somewhat densely packed, still has it’s digital edge, but is much more open, with depth in all three dimensions.  The two lead guitarists now have plenty of space between them, where on a lesser system they just feel like the same guitar overdubbed.  This is a subtle enhancement, but an exciting one.

It’s these small details, from records that you’ve listened to hundreds of times, that makes the 850P amazing and worth the scratch—if you’ve got the space on your Visa card.  The way the pedal steel gently enters the mix at the beginning of Matthew Sweet’s “You Don’t Love Me” feels like a Navy SEAL rising up out of the water slowly, never drawing attention to himself.  Whether it’s the gentle swish of a brush on a cymbal, the plucking of a violin string or the sound of fingers sliding up the neck of an acoustic guitar, the clarity of the 850P provides subtle insight into any musical performance, going the extra step towards creating the illusion of real music in your listening room.

Revisiting Herb Alpert’s disco classic “Rise,” from the album of the same title, is simply a blast.  Even though the MoFi LP has somewhat of a “smiley faced” EQ curve, the bongos at the beginning of the track explode out of the speakers with tremendous texture, again bringing something new to the sonic picture.

Considering how much more music the 850P illuminates from tracks with average production values, the really great recordings in my collection come alive in a big way.  Solo vocals prove irresistibly silky.  Tone and timbral accuracy are also perfect.  Aficionados of classical and jazz will be floored at the additional amount of information now available.  While this preamplifier does not embellish, fatten or sweeten the sound at all, it maintains tonal richness, with lifelike renderings of acoustic instruments.

If the rest of your system is of equal capability, the MOON 850P will take you to an even higher level.  In addition to Simaudio’s own 880M amplifiers, I pair the 850P with a few other fantastic amplifiers and achieve equally satisfying results: the vacuum-tube-powered Octave Jubilee monoblocks, the solid-state Burmester 911 MK3, the Xs 300 monoblocks from Pass Labs and the D’Agostino Momentum stereo amplifier—all of which prove an equally capable match for this stellar linestage.  If your system isn’t in the stratosphere yet, the 850P is the perfect building block to start down that path.

Under the Bonnet

Those with multiple program sources will love the 850P.  With four single-ended RCA inputs, three fully balanced XLR inputs and a monitor loop (RCA inputs), control flexibility is the name of the game.  But it doesn’t stop there.  With a pair of balanced XLR outputs and another pair of RCA outputs (one fixed and one variable), the 850P can accommodate any combination of multiple power amplifiers, crossovers or powered subwoofers.   Like every MOON product, the foundation of the 850P begins with the power supply.  In this case, its massive, dual mono supply is in a separate box with transformers custom built for this application only, rather than relying on off-the-shelf parts.

In addition to the overbuilt power supply, the 850P also utilizes Simaudio’s M-Octave damping system, which suspends the circuit boards via an eight-point suspension to minimize the amount of internal mechanical vibration and external environmental vibration—and the system works well.  Placing the 850P on an HRS platform proved pointless; there was no change in sonic character.

We rarely use the “B word” here at TONEAudio, but the volume control on the 850P is the best one we’ve encountered from a mechanical and electrical standpoint.  Using the control manually reveals a highly damped feel, and the precision attenuators are so tightly matched that the level increases in .1-dB increments.  Twisting the volume control a bit more vigorously then allows 1-dB changes.  Nice!

Thanks to careful, high-quality component choices, the 850P should provide years if not decades of trouble-free service.  And don’t forget Simaudio’s 10-year warranty.  With so many garage builders, whose total yearly output rarely reaches double digits, it’s nice to know this is a company with years of history to support a product of this caliber.  You can revisit our Simaudio factory tour here, to get a glimpse of what goes into making the MOON components.

Indeed Special

The 850P is a rare product, in the sense that the typical audiophile adjectives don’t really apply.  It doesn’t destroy or annihilate, it just gets out of the way.  And while that may sound simplistic and devoid of fanfare, if you’ve been on a quest for an ultimate preamplifier, you know how tough this is to achieve.  This is a rare component in the way it disappears, revealing nothing but the music carried through it.  Those still wanting the tube sound might not be convinced, but regardless of what your built-in prejudices are, anyone in the market for a destination preamplifier should audition the 850P.  I’ve yet to hear one that reveals more music.

Simaudio MOON Evolution 850P Preamplifier

MSRP: $28,000

www.simaudio.com

Peripherals

After a few months with the Oppo BDP-105, I’ve reached the conclusion that it’s the perfect digital anchor for just about any system.  If you’re a music lover, this player will allow you to listen to anything your heart desires on any kind of media.  If that weren’t enough, it’s also a 24-bit/192-kHz DAC that lets you play all the digital downloads in your music collection—I can’t think of a better DAC for the price.  Those collecting music files in the DSD format are also covered, the BDP-105 can play DSD files from any optical or USB storage too. And if you’re a movie nut, Oppo throws in an awesome DVD/Blu-ray player with the deal.

But that’s just scratching the surface.  If you’d like to get back to listening to music, just go online and order a BDP-105.  It rules.  I’ve auditioned a lot of great digital players over the years, with reasonable to ridiculous pricetags, and the BDP-105 makes the entire process so painless; it’s a wonderful thing indeed.  It’s hard to believe that the MSRP is only $1,199.

The earlier Oppo players of just a few years ago came across as slightly lacking in mechanical finesse, though they represented an excellent price/performance benchmark.  But you can forget whatever you thought you knew about Oppo.  The BDP-105 is a world-class product, from the casework to the thoughtful packaging.  If you didn’t know any better, you’d swear that you were unpacking a $20k Meridian player, right down to the nice bag that the case is wrapped in.  Also included is a concise owners manual that easily guides you through all of the setup procedures—an essential read for those using both the audio and video portions of this player.

The remote is straightforward and all business.  This is where the $1,199 Oppo differs from the $20k Meridian player (and even trumps the mighty Meridian).  In addition to the standard-issue backlit remote, Oppo also provides a free, downloadable app for Android or iOS users, allowing you to leave the remote in the box.  For someone always losing remotes (like me) or despising clutter (my wife), this is an outstanding solution.  The menus are easy to read, and the app separates functionality into two screens: one that acts as an express remote, and one with the full feature set of the remote.  This is a brilliant move that I wish more manufacturers would duplicate.

Getting Down to Business

Those wanting to skip the manual and just concentrate on playing with their new shiny thing (or in this case, matte black) can get pretty far without the manual.  CDs and SACDs play without needing the user to access the remote control or external monitor.  Playing the discs in your DVD-A or video collection requires a monitor, so that you can set the correct multichannel aspects for your system.

While I’m not much of a videophile, it’s worth mentioning that this player integrates fantastically with my Anthem MRX 700 home theater receiver.  (Be on the lookout for this combination being mentioned frequently in upcoming concert-disc reviews.)  The video performance of the BDP-105 is simply stunning, and I’d happily pay the 1,200 bucks asked for just the video section of this player.  Operation is quick, color rendition is excellent and the noise floor is supremely low, resulting in a very saturated picture.  But that’s another review for another day.

Regardless of disc chosen, the BDP-105 plays them quickly and effortlessly with no long boot-up sequence required.  When listening to audio discs, users can access a “Pure Audio” mode from the remote to shut down all of the video processing circuitry, providing optimum audio performance—and this is worth doing.  On the extended “Mountain Jam,” from the recent MoFi release of the Allman Brothers classic album Eat a Peach, the midrange frequencies open up, and the Pure Audio mode removes a layer of grain from the high frequencies.  The extended drum solo on this record reveals good attack and transient response, while the audience mixed in confirms an excellent sense of the three-dimensional spatial perspective.

For someone with a wide range of music, all in different formats, the BDP-105 helps to bring the fun back to music collecting.  Now, when you’re shopping at the local used music store, or eBay, it won’t matter what the format is.  While this reviewer is not on the DSD-download bandwagon yet, it’s nice to know that new BDP-105 is already equipped to handle this format, and the other Oppo player I have needed only a quick firmware download/install to be fully capable; perhaps at a later date we will explore this option.  For those interested in the full media capabilities of the BDP-105, please click here.

Ins and Outs

Those moving away from optical discs will enjoy the DAC performance of the BDP-105.  With coaxial, Toslink, asynchronous USB and HDMI inputs, the BDP-105 is a perfect digital hub for any source, whether it’s a computer or a transport.  RCA, HDMI and balanced XLR outputs (along with full 7.1 outputs) make the BDP-105 equally easy to merge into any system.  Those just starting to assemble a component system can even take advantage of the BDP-105’s variable outputs and work without a preamplifier or linestage.  Stepping up to the main system in room one, utilizing identical Cardas Clear interconnects, I find no difference in sound quality between the RCA and XLR outputs, and the BDP-105 has no problem driving long interconnects of either style.

The BDP-105 works well in the context of a system built around a PrimaLuna ProLogue power amplifier and a pair of Dynaudio Confidence C1 II speakers.  Nothing in the owner’s manual specifies whether the volume control is in the analog or digital domain, but the volume control works effortlessly from the remote or phone app.  Those wanting to build an all-digital system could easily live with the Oppo player and a power amplifier.

My reference Sooloos Control 15, via the S/PDIF input, provides excellent synergy, as do high-resolution digital files played from the Aurender S10.  I use the Meridian Audio Core 200 to sample the Toslink input, and a MacBook Pro for the USB input, running iTunes and Amarra.  All inputs work without a hitch, providing good fidelity and the ability to easily switch between them without noises or glitches.  This player is positively painless to use, no matter what the source!

To make sharing music even easier, there is a USB input right on the front panel that lets you plug a USB stick directly in, provided the music files are in standard formats.  When the player is hooked up to a video display (which you’ll need for DVD and Blu-ray formats anyway), you can even stream music files from your NAS.  If there’s a format that the BDP-105 can’t handle, I haven’t got it.

Comparisons Big and Small

The BDP-105 does so much right and nothing wrong.  Unless you put the player head-to-head with something like a dCS stack or the DaVinci DAC (on a world class system), you won’t even miss the resolution that these flagship players offer—and those comes at a much higher price.  While the following is a somewhat silly comparison, it does outline the boundaries of the BDP-105’s performance envelope:  Jumping into a friend’s Ferrari F430 immediately reveals what my little Fiat Abarth is incapable of; yet, when I’m back in the Abarth’s drivers seat for 10 minutes, happiness returns and I’m not missing the F430 one bit.  And let’s not even talk tune-ups.

Comparing the BDP-105 to similarly priced hardware, and even players costing twice as much (some even more), the Oppo is ahead by a country mile.  There are a few DACs in the $1,000-to-$2,000 range, the Rega in particular, that sound slightly more “analog-like,” revealing a smidge more music than the Oppo, but none of these players have the format diversity that the Oppo offers.  It even has an onboard headphone amplifier that works as well as anything you’ll pay a couple hundred bucks for; the Oppo headphone amp proves compatible with all of the headphones at my disposal.

Whether rocking out with Alice in Chains or a peaceful Mozart symphony, this player always delivers a highly musical experience.  Highs are well rendered, and, if anything, the tonal balance of the BDP-105 is ever so slightly on the warm side of neutral, which is a good thing with most digital files.

Fans of acoustic and vocal music will be thrilled with the natural sound quality that the BDP-105 reveals.  Even after a few months, I remain impressed with just how much performance is here for this price.  The title track from Dessa’s 551 sounds fantastic, with the combination of vibes, her husky voice and the deep bass beats.  The mix stays coherent with the lead vocals well out in front while the vibes occupy a larger-than-life, diffused part of the recordings space.

A Fantastic Buy

The BDP-105 feels substantial when lifted from its box, and removing the cover reveals a tidy layout.  A miracle of surface-mount efficiency, the Oppo has separate boards for power supply, analog circuitry and the DAC section, all tied together with flat cables.  The construction suggests Mark Levinson–level quality more than anything else.  This player is a benchmark for sound at its price, as well as for build quality.  I’ve seen more than a few $5,000 players that are mostly air under the hood.

While we are more than happy to award the Oppo BDP-105 one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2013, it is worthy of even more.  This is a rare component that ticks all the boxes from both a sonic and an engineering perspective, and that is tastefully designed and luxuriously packaged to boot.  No, you don’t get a dCS Vivaldi for $1,195, but you do get a digital player that can deliver every format imaginable, doing so at a level better than every one of its peers.  And there’s that free video player thrown in with the deal.  It doesn’t get any better than this.

For an encore, we will be comparing the BDP-105 to its lower-priced sibling, the $499 BDP-103.  Watch the Comparo section of our website.

Oppo BDP-105

MSRP:  $1,199

www.oppodigital.com

Peripherals

As I tear through some of my favorite reference tracks, I’m not only taken by the Viola Bravo stereo power amplifier, which I’ve heard sound fantastic at a number of recent hi-fi shows, but I’m also amazed at how much it shares with the best solid-state amplifiers I’ve heard, particularly the big Boulders.  We have here a new contender for the top of the mountain, complete with glowing green power indicators.

Rather than opt for a monoblock design, Viola takes a different tack by going with a dual-chassis configuration.  One of the boxes holds the majority of the power supply, including a 2-kV power transformer, and the other contains the amplification circuitry, with strategically placed 80,000-uF capacitors located near the output-stage nodes to keep power close at hand.  This setup works brilliantly; the Bravo produces a fast, clean sound, without sounding harsh or grainy.

This approach also makes for a sound not unlike that provided by a pair of monoblocks: a huge soundstage combined with amazing stereo imaging and precise placement.  As Prince walks between the channels on “Shy,” the speakers momentarily melt as the volume of the guitars gently increases and the other instruments join in.  This is a special amplifier indeed.

Viola Labs’ principals Paul Jayson and Tom Colangelo spent part of their early careers at Levinson, and the Bravo definitely has the trademark solid bass response of the best Levinson designs of yore, but with a much more palpable midrange and even more natural highs.  The bass line in the title track of George Michael’s Older goes straight to the gut, controlling my KEF Blades as few amplifiers in recent memory have.  Only the massive Pass monos have more grip in my system, but it’s really a close call.  Viola claims that the Bravo needs a 25-amp line to deliver the absolute maximum power, but we only have dedicated 20-amp circuits here, so we’ll take them on faith.  It is worth noting that the Bravo never feels strained in the least, even on a dedicated 20-amp line.

Put On Your Kidney Belt

With the power supply weighing in at about 125 pounds and the amplifier weighing about 90 pounds, you’ll need a friend to help you unpack and place these fairly large enclosures (17 inches wide by 9.6 inched high by 26 inches deep).  The duo also tips the price scale at $58,000, so if you are paying in small coins, you’ll need strong biceps there, as well.

These tidy enclosures eschew exposed heat sinks in favor of fan-cooled operation, with a massive umbilical cord joining the two boxes.  These two elements are the only shortcomings of the design.  The umbilical cord, which is connected via spade links on each box, can present a problem, especially if you’re among the 8 percent of people with some form of color blindness.  Either way, attach the umbilical carefully, one wire at a time, to avoid a loud (and costly) boom at turn on.  As far as the fan goes, it’s not completely silent.  Those living on a steady diet of rock, jazz and hip-hop (like yours truly) will never notice it, but if your taste turns more towards string quartets at low volume, the fan will be invasive.  The Bravo’s fan is not as quiet as the one in my ARC REF 150, so I’d say it could use some improvement.

The Bravo delivers 350 watts per channel into 8 ohms.  If that’s not enough juice for you, the power easily doubles as the load is halved, thanks to the Bravo’s true-voltage-source design.  Taking things a step further, the amp’s fully balanced design allows it to be configured in bridged or parallel mode for higher power.  The bridged mode is better for situations requiring higher voltage output (i.e. higher impedance speakers), while the parallel mode is better for speakers with higher current demands.  You can even link four pairs of amplifiers together to get 3,600 watts per channel into one ohm!  Viola certainly gets big points for being infinitely flexible with this amp’s configuration options.

Because it is a fully balanced amplifier, the Bravo offers only XLR inputs, which do not present a problem for the reference preamplifiers at my disposal from Simaudio, Nagra, Burmester, Robert Koda and Audio Research.  Whether running through a short length of Cardas Clear cables or a 20-foot pair, the Bravo works flawlessly.

The manual could use some photos to better describe the differences in operation, but it is well written.  One would think that paying almost 60 large for the amp would warrant a little more thought in this area (à la Sonus faber), but Viola is no more guilty on this front than most.  However, a well-written and well-illustrated manual is an essential part of the ownership experience at this level.

Nits Aside

You’ll forget about these minor points the minute you begin listening.  And while you’ll forget about the 40 matched output devices, you won’t be able to lose track of the control this amplifier brings to bear on your favorite music.  From the first track, you can tell this one is very special.  Where my Pass Xs amplifiers take on an almost tubey sound, the Bravo is extremely neutral, with no detectable sonic signature.  It is part of a miniscule subset of solid-state power amplifiers having no character, no grain and no coloration whatsoever.

All of the large speakers at my disposal (GamuT S9, Dynaudio Evidence Platinum, KEF Blade, and Sonus faber Aida) are phenomenal matches for the Bravo, and thanks to its highly resolving nature, it easily showcases the differences in character between said speakers—making it a true reference-quality component.  The S9s and the Aidas in particular both have potent low-frequency reach and they both play to the Bravo’s strong points of extension and control.

A quick trip down memory lane to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here proves highly illuminating.  The heartbeat at the beginning of DSOM bores into my soul at high volume; the elevator at the beginning of “Wish You Were Here” is equally overwhelming as it blasts across the soundstage, reminding me just how great these recordings still sound, even after all these years.  I had an equally fun experience listening to the Bravo in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, when Genesis speaker designer Gary Koh was playing Infected Mushroom at discotheque levels.  Awesome!

We can go on and on about the complete lack of background noise present with the Bravo, but that’s selling it short.  What you really notice instantly is the tremendous dynamic swing that it is capable of producing.  Several major Music Matters Blue Note listening sessions keep me coming back for more.  The explosive nature of these records, not held back in the least by the Bravo, makes drums, percussion and horn blasts all the more exciting and all the more real.  I’ll even go as far as to say that it sounds better than when I was listening to a few of these albums via the master tape at Kevin Gray’s studio.

This astonishing level of dynamic clarity is even more persuasive with music that is limited in this area.  Records that you thought were somewhat limited (like the recent Slayer box set) still are, but with this much range at your disposal, they do come more alive than ever before.  And thanks to the Bravo’s effortless delivery of high power, you can really blast these tracks without fatigue.

Of course, lovers of big orchestral music will be in heaven playing their favorite large-scale masterpieces through the Bravo.  Make sure your speakers are capable, though!  While it is not an audiophile classic by any means, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s rendition of Pictures at an Exhibition on DG is still a fun test track, with the end of the first movement coming to a major crescendo that almost always has the extreme dynamic peaks compromised.  Here, the Bravo sails through effortlessly.

All About Power

Again, thanks to the amp’s complete lack of grain, the level of timbral accuracy that the Bravo provides is incredible; yet, its ability to resolve the minutest details gives the last bit of realism to recorded music, doing so in a way that few amplifiers can match.  I firmly believe that this is what allows your brain to stop thinking about the gear, the system and the presentation, and just get further into the music and the performance.

Whether listening to Van Halen or Vivaldi through the Bravo, I never find myself entering the analytical reviewer mode.  This is something only the world’s finest components can do, and it is a rare treat.

Having spent a lot of time with great amplifiers large and small, I still prefer large—just as I’d rather drive a car with massive horsepower than one without.  Big power done right tends to eliminate many of the shortcomings of various speakers, because of the control it provides.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Bravo is one of very few amplifiers we’ve tested that does not respond to any kind of power-line conditioning whatsoever.  Its massive choke-based supply has a power-factor correction of .96 (very close to the ideal PF of 1), providing plenty of current on musical peaks.  Connecting the amp to a dedicated 20-amp line is more than sufficient, and adding the Running Springs Maxim line conditioner or IsoTek Super Titan offers no improvement—a major testament to the Bravo’s power-supply design.

Top of the Heap

The Viola Labs Bravo power amplifier is, in every way, one of the finest we’ve had the opportunity to audition; it is definitely a destination product.  If your mindset is in sync with the Viola design ethos of the amplification being dead neutral, neither adding nor subtracting anything, this is a droid you should audition.  Build quality is equally superb and the amp carries a prestigious design pedigree, brought to life by two of high-end audios most respected men.  Just get a good workout in before you unbox it!

Viola Labs Bravo Power Amplifier

MSRP:  $58,000

www.violalabs.com

Peripherals

It’s easy to build a tube amplifier, relatively speaking.  I did it in high school electronics class.  It played music and buzzed like hell, but it sounded fairly good compared to the JVC receiver my parents owned.  There was just something unmistakably yummy about the way acoustic instruments and vocals sounded through my old-school AR speakers that hooked me on tubes forever.

It’s not so easy to build a great tube amplifier, though.  I’ve got no skills in that arena.  Many of today’s tube-amplifier manufacturers follow one of two paths: rebuild a classic from the vintage era (1940s and 1950s) with good success, or embrace more modern technology and tubes to produce an amplifier with the best characteristics of legacy and current thinking.  Put the EHF-200 MK2 from Rogers High Fidelity squarely in the latter camp.

This amplifier takes full advantage of company principle Roger Gibboni’s years of engineering expertise in the world of communications and radar technologies.  The amp combines solid circuit design and meticulous point-to-point wiring with high-quality current parts, like a massive 1100VA toroidal power transformer and beefy output transformers, to create an instant classic.  Gibboni says on the Rogers website that one of the company’s goals was “to create an amplifier that your kids will fight over when you’re gone.”  And with a lifetime warranty, the EHF 200 MK2 should outlive you.

He has succeeded brilliantly, and if the beautiful casework doesn’t convince you, then remove the bottom cover and gaze at the workmanship.  It’s instantly obvious that this amplifier is built with a lot of TLC—and built to last more than one lifetime.  Only the highest-quality, tightest-tolerance parts lurk under the hood.  MSRP for the MK2 model, which includes preamplifier inputs and a variable-level output, is $14,000 even.  (The standard EHF-200 model does not have this flexibility and so it is priced slightly less at $11,500.)  The MK2 features three single-ended RCA inputs on the rear panel, along with another set on the front panel.

Spacey Indeed

The Radiohead classic “High and Dry” instantly reveals the spatial abilities of this amplifier.  Lead singer Thom Yorke is firmly anchored in the mix, with some strong guitar bits and a few layers of synthesizers perforating the mix in a highly obtuse but effective and three-dimensional way.

Springsteen’s “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” comes through my vintage Acoustat 2+2s with a fervor that I’ve never experienced since having the speakers expertly rebuilt.  There’s an unmistakable magic that has always existed between tubes and electrostatic panels that always seems to make the world stop for a while as you drink it in.  Thanks to the drive this amplifier possesses, triode mode rules the day, and so young Springsteen’s voice is buoyant between the 8-foot-tall panels.  And thanks to the subwoofer outputs, driving a pair of powered subs is a cakewalk—a valuable feature often overlooked on many integrated amps.

Major Style Points

The EHF-200 oozes style, from the deep red color of the chassis to the cool blue power meter on the front panel.  And, of course, glowing vacuum tubes are always a hit with music lovers and audiophiles alike.  The amp comes with a billet remote that is a piece of sculpture, and Rogers also includes a microfiber towel with the company on it logo to keep your amplifier free of fingerprints and scratches.

From the amp’s carbon fiber and rhodium speaker binding posts to the finely machined controls, it’s clear that the amount of thought that went into this product is indeed high.  Its built-in headphone amplifier works symbiotically with the usual suspects in my headphone arsenal, which includes Grado, Sennheiser and Audeze phones.  Each Rogers amplifier even comes with a handwritten note from the person who assembled it, telling you to enjoy your purchase—a nice personal touch.

It’s worth noting that there is a pair of RCA input jacks on the front panel, a reviewer’s dream if there ever was one!  No more fishing behind the equipment rack to find the remaining input.  Active audio hobbyists who switch and compare gear on a regular basis will really appreciate this feature.

Every aspect of the EHF-200 operates with extreme silence, from the subtle clicking of the volume attenuator to the switching back and forth between triode and ultralinear modes.  Some amplifiers we’ve auditioned clunk fairly dramatically when changing modes, requiring the amplifier to be turned off every time, but the EHF has no such problem.  You will immediately notice more gain in ultralinear mode, but this reviewer finds the extra sweetness of triode operation to be worth the small increase in gain required for full output.  My reference dCS Vivaldi has 6 volts of output, so this was no problem at all.

Major Performance, Too

Style without substance is meaningless—and when the pedal goes down, the EHF-200 MK2 fires up.  With a quartet of KT120 tubes, (two per channel), the EHF produces 117 watts per channel into 4 ohms in ultralinear mode and 80 per channel in triode mode; just flip a switch on the top panel to change modes.  The power tubes are all biased automatically, so there is no need to worry about adjustments or scouring the earth for matched quartets.  This should make the EHF as trouble free as a tube amplifier can get.

The applause in Cheap Trick’s “Day Tripper” hints at the EHF’s ability to reproduce a large soundstage.  This amplifier paints a musically accurate picture that still renders a hint of tubeyness.  The EHF’s overall tonality reminds me of the much more expensive Octave Jubilee monoblocks that we recently reviewed.  The EHF is not as warm as a Conrad-Johnson amplifier, but it’s not quite as reserved as my Audio Research REF 150.  And though the REF 150 has a bit more power (150 wpc versus 117 wpc), the EHF is a thousand bucks less for a full integrated.

Though the Acoustats have a sensitivity rating of only 82 dB per watt, the EHF has no trouble driving them to more than adequate levels, even in triode mode, which again is absolutely dreamy.  The rest of the speakers at my disposal are all considerably more efficient, so the EHF never runs out of steam, unless I play music so much louder than is reasonable and prudent.  And even then, it clips so gently that there is only a slight compression of the soundstage to warn you that you’ve gone too far—that is, if you aren’t paying attention to the little blue meter on the front panel.

Wendy Lewis’ lead vocal on the Bad Plus’ For All I Care is positively goose-bump inducing, especially her detached rendition of the Bee Gees classic “How Deep is Your Love.”  The EHF is a tonemeister, always straddling the line of perfection, never embellishing too much, yet it is always musical and engaging.  The subtle harmonics on both ends of the frequency spectrum from Charlie Hunter’s eight-string guitar on his Bing, Bing, Bing! album bounce around the room in a spectacular manner, with decay that seems to go on forever—another hallmark of a great tube amplifier.

I move the EHF to room one and pair it with the 90-dB-per-watt KEF Blades, and it continues to dazzle with it’s ability to generate serious low-end grunt.  Cranking the latest effort from Kanye West illustrates how well this amplifier not only generates serious LF information, but how much control it also exhibits.  Keeping the party rolling with Genghis Tron’s Board Up the House disc adds layer after layer of highly distorted guitars to the driving beats, neither of which cause any difficulty for the EHF.

Tonality is beyond reproach, as hours of listening to audiophile classics will verify.  Those living on a steady diet of female vocalists and plucky acoustic guitar records will surely wet themselves over the EHF’s presentation.  And those who like to rock (I salute you) will dig the dynamics that the EHF brings to the table.  Its robust power supply allows it to play louder than its size and specs would suggest.  Cranking up the live version of the Tubes’ “I Was a Punk Before You” is exhilarating, as is Jeff Beck’s album, Live at Ronnie Scott’s.  There’s just something about tube amplification that lends itself to raucous rock—and the EHF delivers in spades.

Tube Choices

Some will argue about the sonics of the KT120; yet, after living with this tube in a number of other amplifiers, I am in the love it camp.  The EHF works well with the KT120, offering more than enough delicacy to make the most devout tubeophile happy.  It offers better dynamic contrast and impact than the KT88/6550 is able to muster.  And we’re only talking four power tubes here, so when it is time to re-tube, it won’t cost a fortune.

With the 12AX7 in good supply, the sky is the limit for those feeling the need to tube roll.  The EF86 tube is NOS with no major substitutions, so if your taste doesn’t go to the exotic, re-tubing the EHF will be painless.  After trying a handful of different 12AX7s at my disposal, sticking with the stock JJs proved a great place to hang my hat.  Stick with the stock tubes and enjoy, I say.  And stick with the packaged Quiet Cable power cord too – this would easily set you back a thousand bucks, for something equivalent from one of the majors.  I tried my favorites from Shunyata, Cardas and Audience with no improvement whatsoever, so use the one in the box with confidence.

An Elegant Solution

With so many people trying to simplify their lives, the Rogers EHF-200 MK2 is a refreshing solution.  Of course, $14K isn’t exactly play money, but the sound quality delivered by this amp easily equals or betters most amp/preamp combinations that are similarly priced.  And remember, going with a combo solution will require at least one premium interconnect and a pair of power cords, so if you’re playing at this level, plan on dropping at least a few extra thousand on wire just to be on par.

With the EHF-200 MK2, Rogers offers a world-class solution in one box.  Add your favorite digital and analog sources (should you be so inclined) and you’ve got a super system that fits on a single rack.

This is an amplifier we thoroughly enjoy.  If you’ve been looking for something a bit out of the ordinary and a bit more bespoke that offers the full-on tube experience, look no further.   The EHF-200 MK2 is fantastic.

Rogers EHF-200 MK2 Integrated Amplifier

MSRP:  $14,000

rogershighfidelity.com

Peripherals

The finger snaps on Thomas Dolby’s “The Ability to Swing” hang in midair between the speakers, as Dolby’s highly processed yet ethereal vocal enters the mix.  “It isn’t worth a bean, if you haven’t got the ability to swing,” he declares.

Indeed, the six-figure system assembled in room two is in full swing right now, but the amplifier powering the Sonus faber Guarneri Evolution speakers is the humble AVA Ultravalve, not the $65,000 Octave Jubilee monoblocks I’ve been using for some time.  This is truly an amazing amplifier.  If I powder-coated the chassis a certain shade of blue-green, slapped an Air Tight badge on the front panel and told you I paid five figures for this little jewel, you’d believe me—it’s that good.

With so much excitement about the vinyl resurgence of the last few years, some of you have forgotten how popular vacuum tubes have also become lately.  Yet, in the midst of these newer products sprouting up, it’s easy to forget some of the players that have been around for quite a while.  Audio by Van Alstine (AVA) is that “other” amplifier company in Minnesota—Audio Research is located nearby—and it is a perfect example of a manufacturer that has quietly gone about its business making great products without a ton of fanfare.  And you rarely see products from AVA for sale on the secondary market.  The company obviously has a legion of loyal customers,

No matter how much time I spend with mega-dollar power amplifiers, I always love a variation on the Dynaco Stereo 70 theme.  While I’ve never heard one that I didn’t like, there are big differences between them.  Some have a softer, warmer presentation and definitely embellish more than others; the original ST 70 is the prime example of that voicing.  With these types of amps, your best recordings don’t sound much better than your worst, but everything sounds somewhat liquid and dreamy—not a bad place to hang your hat if you have a modest system, or a lot of MP3s.

Tube Through and Through

Frank Van Alstine has been at this game for a long time.  He started out modding and repairing Dynaco electronics 30-plus years ago, and revamped the ST 70 circuit so much over the years that it is now truly his own design now.  The Ultravalve is still based on a pair of 6CA7 output tubes (EL34 or KT77 tubes can be used as well), but it does not have a switch for triode mode, fancy power output meters or anything that distracts from the amplifier’s performance.  And its price is right: $1,999 puts one in your hot little hands.

Like the original ST 70, the Ultravalve uses a 5AR4 rectifier tube and a pair of more readily available 6GH8A small-signal tubes in place of the now long-obsolete 7199 tubes in the ST 70, which is fetching premium prices online.  The Ultravalve is one of the first power amplifiers I’ve listened to with which I just don’t feel the need to roll tubes.  It sounds just fine as is, and a little bit of research shows that there aren’t a lot of variations on the 6GH8A tube anyway.  Perusing Mr. Van Alstine’s board on the AudioCircle forum shows him to be a practical man, so I just enjoyed the amp’s stock tubes.

I do upgrade the power cord to a Cardas Clear cord for my review, only because that’s what I use with everything else and we value consistency here.  The Ultravalve does benefit slightly from the upgraded power cord and from being plugged into a Running Springs Dmitri power conditioner.  But keep in mind that none of this is necessary to enjoy the Ultravalve.

Removing the bottom panel of the highly polished stainless steel chassis reveals tidy workmanship throughout, again showing that AVA sticks to the basic layout of a ST 70: driver circuitry on a well-thought-out PC board and the rest of the amplifier wired point to point.  There is a switch on the rear panel to float the ground, as well as three binding posts for 4-, 8- and 16-ohm speakers; this is my only gripe with the Ultravalve.  It really could use some beefier binding posts for those of us with bigger speaker cables.  My solution is just to re-terminate with bananas plugs.

Ace of Bass and Dynamics

Bass control is a big part of the equation here.  The original ST 70 has a puny power supply and it shows up in the playback, with the bass response lacking dynamics and sounding wild and wooly.  An original Conrad-Johnson MV50 isn’t much better.  An original Marantz 8B has a more liquid midrange but still falls short down under.

As brilliant as the Sonus faber Guareri Evolution speakers are, like any high-performance Italian product, they are a bit picky about what you feed them.  Just like my Fiat Abarth getting grumpy when filled with anything less than premium gas, the Evos need current and control to give a stellar performance and sound as big as they should.

And when delivering Nine Inch Nails’ “Help Me I Am in Hell,” the Ultravalve sounds big. I move the amp out into room one, with the KEF Blades (with their 90-dB-per-watt sensitivity), and it sounds damn big, with guitars floating around the soundstage and the heartbeat at the end of the track filling the listening room.  Upping the game with a much more densely recorded track, “Mr. Self Destruct” from NIN’s album The Downward Spiral, I find that the Ultravalve not only keeps the groove of the driving synth bass well intact, but it also does not lose the focus.  The amp starts and stops on a dime as Trent Reznor brings the music to barely a whisper, only to audibly assault us again and again with a huge ball of sound and dynamics.

It’s still hard to believe I’m listening to a $2,000 amplifier.  For those of you in the audience thinking that it’s sheer insanity to put an amplifier like this in a system like this, I submit that it’s the only way to see what its performance envelope truly is.  Daft Punk’s Homework lights up the Blades and I can turn the volume up to the point where I feel like I’m back in New York at Fashion Week.  All that’s missing is the catwalk.

The Ultravalve carefully follows Stanley Clarke as he rips up the fretboard on “Bass Folk Song No. 7,” clearly demonstrating its ability to keep the Blade’s 9-inch woofers in control.  The amp reveals Clarke’s delicate touch on the fretless bass, and it never gets sloppy, slow or wooly.

It’s also Got Top

The Ultravalve is ultra quick, even when playing a less-than-superb recording, like The Stooges self-titled album, on which the amp keeps its composure, provided you don’t turn the volume past the point of soft clipping.  Rather than getting harsh, like many other low-powered tube amplifiers we’ve auditioned, the Ultravalve begins to suffer from a collapsed soundstage.  This degradation is slow at first, but the amp then quickly slides into the same flat, brick-walled sound that plagues many of today’s digital recordings.  But if you keep the Ultravalve within its comfort zone, you’ll be handsomely rewarded.

Miles Davis’ “Diane,” from Steamin’ with The Miles Davis Quintet, proves open and spacious, with Philly Joe Jones’ brushwork on the drums exquisitely rendered, as Davis floats through the soundstage.  This amplifier becomes more convincing the longer you listen; about an hour is required for it to open up completely, but it is still damn good two minutes after initial turn on.

Perhaps the only stretch for the Ultravalve while paired with less than highly efficient speakers comes when asking it to reproduce large-scale orchestral pieces or electronica at club levels.  Prokofiev’s suite from The Love for Three Oranges taxes the Ultravalve as the large kettle drums reach full throttle, requiring listening at less than what might be considered a live level—but how often do you do that?

Back to Earth

Using the Ultravalve with similarly priced components is highly rewarding.  It is fully capable of anchoring a modestly priced but high-performance system.  Mating the amp to a Conrad-Johnson PV-12 preamplifier (with CJ’s recent capacitor updates), an Oppo BDP-105 universal player and the Rega RP6 turntable, with a pair of KEF LS50 speakers, proves breathtaking—especially for a relatively inexpensive system like this one.  But you’ll be surprised just how damn good the Ultravavle sounds as part of a no-holds-barred system.

While the 35 watts per channel of the Ultravalve may not be enough juice for everyone, if that much wattage will work for you, I cannot recommend this amp highly enough.  The level of resolution, tonality and bass control this amplifier offers for $1,999 is unmatched by anything I’ve ever experienced at this price point.  I am very proud to award the Ultravalve one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2013.  I’m keeping this one!

AVA Ultravalve Vacuum Tube Amplifier

MSRP: $1,999

Audio by Van Alstine (AVA)

www.avahifi.com

Peripherals

For a number of reasons, it’s always tough to get a full read on any speakers’ performance at a show, although the Estelon XA was the most interesting new speaker I heard this fall at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest.  The seductive, curvy shape immediately caught my eye, and I paused on seeing the ceramic drivers.  No sooner had my mind passed judgment that these were just another set of ceramic driver speakers that wouldn’t rock, I heard some fairly dynamic music and drew a different conclusion.

Estelon designer and founder of the company Alfred & Partners, Alfred Vassilkov has been creating speakers and crossover networks for other companies for the past 25 years, and he is finally bringing a product to market under his own name that is 100 percent his vision.  When the concept for these speakers was born in 2006, Vassilkov faced a dilemma: there was no enclosure material available that would suffice for his ultimate design.  Now, with a new marble-based composite material that Vassilkov has patented, his concept has been born.

This exotic, computer-modeled shape is cast as one solid piece, much like the monocoque tub for a Formula 1 car, and then coated with multiple coats of an automotive finish.  The Estelon speakers are available in gloss or matte black. Our review pair arrived in the matte finish, which looks similar to the matte finish on the newest models from Lamborghini and Range Rover.  While robots were initially employed to apply the finish, they could not produce cabinets that were up to Vassilkov’s high standards, so the robots were abandoned in favor of some highly skilled humans.  The photos truly do not do these cabinets justice; the matte finish is seductive in person.

The Estelon XA is a three-way design, using all-ceramic Accutron drivers, a 1.2-inch tweeter, a 7-inch midrange and the latest 11-inch woofer.  They have a single set of binding posts and weigh about 190 pounds each.  MSRP is $43,900 per pair, which  includes delivery, setup and a pair of custom-made flight cases that are laser cut on the inside to fit the speakers snugly.

Simple Setup

Though the XA’s are a little tougher to move than a traditional wood speaker because of their curvy shape and slippery finish, they shouldn’t take long to place in your room.  My listening room is 16 feet deep and 24 feet wide, and while I began my listening where my GamuT S-9’s normally reside, the final placement ended up just slightly further apart, with the Estelons just over 10 feet from each other (tweeter center to tweeter center) and the front of the tweeters about 40 inches from the rear wall. Vassilkov and his European representative, William McIntosh, were kind enough to visit my studio and double check my setup.  After about an hour or so of their attention to detail, we were all convinced that the speakers were performing to the best of their ability in my room.

Their large base made them easy to slide around on my carpeted floor, and once the optimum spot was found, fitting the spikes gave the anticipated last bit of bass performance.  Minor movements of an inch here and there during the next few days after Alfred’s visit only confirmed that we had the speakers in the right spot in the first place!

The XA’s have a sensitivity of 89db/1watt, 4-ohm impedance and a suggested range of amplifier power from 20 to 200 watts.  They are indeed very easy to drive and I had no problem getting great sound with my freshly restored C-J MV50 tube power amplifier that only produces 45 watts per channel.  Again, thanks to the chameleon-like characteristic of these speakers, you will be able to enjoy whatever kind of amplification you have, so you won’t have to go amplifier shopping to accommodate your new speakers.

While about eight different amplifiers were used in the evaluation, the majority of my listening was done with the solid-state Burmester 911 mk.3 (and later a pair of 911’s) and the all-vacuum-tube Octave ME 130 monoblocks.  I found these amplifiers to be extremely tube friendly and easy to fine tune with different cable.  I tried the latest from Kubala Sosna (which is also used for internal wiring), Cardas Clear, AudioQuest Sky and my reference Shunyata Aurora cable, all with excellent luck.  Each cable set exhibited its own characteristics, and each seemed to suit a particular amplification choice slightly better than the other, making the XA’s easy to fine tune to perfection.

The Sound

I found their lack of coloration, while maintaining a high level of coherence, the XA’s strongest suit.  As a panel-speaker enthusiast, coherence is one of my biggest hot buttons,  and the XA’s delivered this in spades.  Precious few cone speakers that I’ve heard at any price can truly pull this off, so I came away highly impressed with this aspect of these speakers’ performance.

In the past, other speakers I’ve heard with the Accuton drivers have never floated my boat, for lack of a terribly technical description.  They either have sounded too forward or somewhat restrained; great with classical music at moderate level but not a speaker that could really rock out with conviction.  The Estelon’s shattered this belief; they always maintained a balance between being resolving yet natural with the ability to play any music as loud as I wanted to.

As someone who typically listens to music in 8-12 hour shifts, a fatiguing speaker will reveal itself quickly, and the XA’s passed this test with flying colors.  This is a wonderfully open speaker that you can listen to for days on end.  I was reminded of the MartinLogan CLX’s time and time again because of the XA’s transparency and ease of delivery.

The Bottom

One of the first test tracks queued up was Tom Jones’ “What Good Am I,” from his current album, Praise and Blame. Jones’ voice is closely miked and this is one of those recordings in which you can hear him breathing in the room, full of emotion.  It’s a sparse arrangement, with Jones accompanied by acoustic guitar and a pounding kettle drum that will rattle your ribs if your system is up to the task.  The XA’s excelled, reproducing this drum with the necessary texture to avoid the “one-note bass” effect, capturing the attack and decay with ease.

Before investigating a few more of my favorite bass-laden tracks, one more Tom Jones cut was in order, “Style and Rhythm” from his last album, 24 Hours. Though not as exquisitely recorded as his current record, this is a great track to crank up loud and dole out some speaker punishment.  With a pair of Burmester 911 mk. 3’s in monoblock mode and about 800 watts per channel on tap, it was no problem even at ear splitting levels.

After running through the usual bass test/torture tracks, including everything from the Telarc 1812 overture LP to my favorite electronica tracks, the Estelon XA’s remained unrattled.  There was nothing I could throw at these speakers that caused them to stumble.

The Top

Because the ceramic tweeter is very revealing, you may find that less-than-exceptional electronics are not up to the task.  I assure you that after living with these speakers for some time and auditioning everything from a vintage Pioneer receiver all the way up to the Burmester 911 monoblocks, I could hear exactly what my gear is capable of producing, especially in the upper registers.

I would categorize the upper-frequency tonality as revealing and perhaps ever so slightly forward, yet without grain. A little too much zip in the cable or amplifier realm might be too much of a good thing with the XA’s, but warm and gooey isn’t the answer either; this only makes the speakers sound slow and muddled.

Again, the ESL-like speed of the XA’s gave cymbals the correct amount of tone and decay without sounding harsh or overly brilliant. Art Blakey’s drumming on Lee Morgan’s Tom Cat was sublime through these speakers. I was grinning ear to ear after listening to a large selection of my favorite Blue Note remasters; these speakers definitely reveal the truth.

The Middle

Every audiophile has their hot button. Some want pinpoint imaging, others want subterranean bass and 10 others want something entirely different. But for me, a speaker lives and dies with correct midrange.  Of course, all of the other aspects of HiFi reproduction are great fun; I just can’t live with a speaker long term if it can’t get the midrange as close to perfect as possible.

Without a boring you with the minutiae of a long punch list of favorites, suffice to say that these speakers nail the midband, another testament to a perfect integration of cabinet, crossover design and careful choice of drivers.  Upon listening to “Lay Your Hands on Me” from the 45 rpm, 200-gram Clarity Vinyl pressing of Peter Gabriel’s Security, Macintosh remarked, “I”ve never heard that track sound this good.”  This is the level of tonal accuracy that justifies the five-figure price tag.

Low and high level dynamics

The Estelon XA’s provide engaging performance at any volume level, another aspect that can be attributed to the world’s finest speakers.  Even when listening to music that you could easily speak over, the stereo image does not collapse and there isn’t a volume level that the speakers suddenly “come alive.”  While there is a definite level at extremely high level that the speaker finally starts to compress, it is much higher than is reasonable and prudent for 99 percent of us.  The one thing that could lead to trouble with these speakers is that they are so clean right up to the point where the stereo image starts to flatten; they might be damaged by an amplifier that does not have a lot of clean power in reserve.  If you really like to rock, pay careful attention to your choice of amplifier and err on the side of too much rather than too little power.  Come to think of it, when rocking out, can you really have too much power?

The outstanding MoFi pressing of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?” will tell you everything you need to know about the low-level dynamics of these speakers.  At the beginning of the track as Gaye is starting his intro rap, you can hear a number of other people in the background, all on different layers, and when he starts to sing, the myriad vocal layers are easily distinguishable.  Again, this is in full effect from low to high volume.

The lack of grain and overhang that the combination of drivers, crossover and cabinet contribute (or perhaps distract from) the presentation is instantly apparent while listening to violin and piano.  One of my favorite test records of recent months is The Jung Trio: Dvorak Trio In F Minor Op.65, available on SACD or 45 rpm LP from Groove Note Records.  The speed and tonal purity required to reproduce the violin and piano are one of the greatest challenges to a speaker system, provided the electronics are up to the task.  The XA’s played this recording flawlessly and was one of a very short list of speakers that almost fooled me into thinking these ladies were performing in my room.

Depending on whether your taste in music takes you to a heavy-rock band or a full-scale orchestra, you will not be disappointed in the XA’s with either type of program material.  I had just as much fun listening to Mahler as I did Van Halen, and I never felt that the speakers were running out of juice.

A very special addition to the high-end loudspeaker world

Though Alfred & Partners is a new company, it comes built on years of experience in the field.  The fanatical attention to detail shows what can be accomplished when a great driver set is combined with cutting-edge materials and design.  We give these speakers our highest recommendation and look forward to listening to some more of Estelon’s creations in the months to follow.  This is a pair of speakers that I could not fault in any way, no matter what music I listened to.

And if you’d like to get a substantial helping of what I heard during my evaluation, stop by Estelon’s room in Las Vegas at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, where the speakers will be showed with the same Burmester 089 preamplifier and 911 mk. 3 power amplifiers that were used for this review.

The Estelon XA Speakers

MSRP:  $43,900  per pair (US)

€ 29.900 per pair (Europe)

Alfred & Partners, Estonia

www.estelon.com

Peripherals

I’ve probably listened to a thousand amplifiers in the past 25 years and have easily owned at least 75-100 in search for the perfect balance of tonality, dynamics and reliability.  Proponents of every different amplifier topology have their reasons why their pet choice is “the best,” forsaking all others in the process. But the main argument usually comes down to the tube camp vs.  the solid-state camp.

While I’ve always loved vacuum tubes, I have different requirements than the average listener who may only turn on his or her system for a few hours a week.  With a reference system that is usually playing at least 12 hours a day, the tube game can get tiring in a hurry, especially when you’ve chased down some unobtanium tubes for your pride and joy.

If you’ve fallen under the spell of a great vacuum-tube power amplifier, it’s hard to wipe the experience out of your memory bank; that tonal delicacy and three-dimensional, airy presentation is indeed seductive.  It’s the same for the best examples of the solid-state camp with bottomless dynamics, weight and bass grip that you can’t get on the other side of the fence.

I’m happy to report that you can have it all in one box: the Burmester 911 mk.3.  It’s not inexpensive.  Current MSRP on a 911 mk.3 is $29,995.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve already thrown half of that price tag away over the past 10 years, swapping amplifiers in and out of your system.  A couple of thousand here, another thousand there, and pretty soon you’ve flushed a year’s worth of your kids’ college tuition down the drain. And you’re still not quite happy.  I know that feeling all too well, and I’m right there with you.

Sixty seconds to music

The 911 mk.3 couldn’t be easier to set up.  This 90-pound amplifier is covered with heatsinks on all four sides, so don’t play catch with it.  The powder-coated silver aluminum case has a pair of handles on the rear panel that makes it easy to move into place on your rack of choice.

There is a pair of balanced XLR inputs, a 15-amp IEC socket for the power cord of your choice and binding posts with gigantic plastic wing nuts that make it a snap to attach the beefiest speaker cables you can imagine.  A pair of 12-volt trigger outlets is provided to allow the 911 mk.3 to be turned on from your preamp, if it is so equipped.  I’ve never shut off the 911 mk.3 since it’s been here, so while handy, it’s not been necessary.  The front panel has a single power switch with power-on and standby LED’s.  Plug it in, turn it on and enjoy.

Built to take it

Much like the black Porsche 911 turbo in Bad Boys, the Burmester 911 mk. 3 crashed into my life.  While awaiting the delivery of the 911 and the companion Burmester 011 preamplifier, I received a phone call.  “Is this TONEAudio Magazine?”  “Yes…” “Great, I have a damaged palette that I found in the middle of the street with your companies’ name on what’s left of the label.  Give me your address and I’ll be right over.”

At this moment I was horrified that the 911mk.3 and the 011 were destroyed and my relationship with Burmester was not getting off to a great start.  Twenty minutes later, a very nice man from Northwest Gas arrived with a palette in the back of his pickup truck that looked as if it had been dropped out of an airplane.

Upon inspection, the 011 was without a scratch and the 911 mk.3 only had a slight dent in the left corner of the top faceplate.  Nothing sounded loose internally, and upon plugging them both in, they worked perfectly!  When I told Burmester’s Robb Neiman about my experience, he said “Oh yeah, we had a pair of our speakers get dropped out of the cargo plane at CEDIA this year.  They fell 30 feet and only had a tiny scratch.  They played fine.”  If this doesn’t speak volumes about the rock-solid build quality of Burmester, take a peek inside the chassis where everything is massively built and tidily tucked in place.

The essence of musicality

During the past six months, I’ve had the opportunity to use the 911 mk.3 with about 20 different pairs of speakers, all with excellent results. But the bulk of the review listening was done with the Verity Audio Sarastro II, the MartinLogan CLX, the GamuT S-7 and recently the YG Acoustics Anat II Studio.  All world-class speakers in their own right and all of them have given their best performance with the 911 mk.3.

I’ve also had about 20 amplifiers come through my listening room, either for review by me or on their way to someone else on the TONEAudio staff.  All great amplifiers to be sure, but every time I put the 911 mk.3 back in the system, I always felt like I was back home.

The best way to describe the 911 mk.3 (and for that matter all the Burmester electronics I’ve heard) is complete neutrality and complete lack of grain.  As I’ve mentioned in the 082 integrated review, everyone who has heard the 911 mk.3 always makes the comment that it does not sound like solid-state amplification, nor does it sound like tubes.  I’ve never heard an amplifier that does a better job of getting out of the way of the music than the 911 mk.3.

The bass is powerful and articulate, the mids seamless and smooth, and the highs are extended, not harsh, grainy nor forced in any way.  When working on a review of the vintage Mark Levinson no.23, it reminded me of how that amplifier had a midrange that was pushed slightly forward.  A few other solid-state amplifiers exhibited an artificial quality to the midrange or high frequencies that always left me thinking “pretty good for solid-state.”  This thought never went through my head while listening to the Burmester amplifier.

Three of my favorite large solid-state power amplifiers – the CJ Premier 350 (my previous reference for almost five years), the McIntosh MC1.2KW monoblocks and the SimAudio Moon W-7 monoblocks – each have more power than the 911 mk.3. But at the end of the day, none had the complete neutrality, lack of grain and smoothness that the Burmester has.

When playing my MartinLogan CLX’s at insane levels, I found my self wishing for a touch more power, but that was really pushing it.  Should you find yourself at that point, you can use the 911mk.3 as a mono amplifier and just add a second one.  I experienced a very similar CLX-based system that used a pair of 911’s, and that was the ticket for those who need the ultimate push over the cliff. Or perhaps the top-of-the-line 909 power amplifier …

Richly detailed

Dynamics are big fun, and so is bass grip and slam; that’s what large solid-state power amplifiers are famous for.  What continues to hold my interest so strongly after six months with the 911 mk.3 is the way this amplifier continues to unravel records I’ve been listening to my whole life on a countless variety of systems.

Even with records that aren’t known for killer sonics.  One day while stuck in an early 70’s groove, I was listening to Three Dog Night’s Seven Separate Fools CD and noticed a few layers of violins and mellotron that I’ve never heard on “Pieces of April.”  Sure, that’s a crazy music choice, but the point is that while the 911 mk.3 is an extremely high-resolution component, it is not one that sacrifices musicality for ultra detail, it blends both.  My favorite aspect of the Burmester gear is that it does not transform your system into something that you can only listen to a limited number of “audiophile approved” pressings. It brings more enjoyment to your entire music collection.

Same thing with DEVO’s Q: Are We Not Men?, A: We Are DEVO? While evaluating the original to the current remaster, this record took on a whole new dimension, with the soundstage expanding in all three dimensions.  Fast forward to current releases, “Adrien” on Peter Kruder’s (of Kruder and Dorfmeister fame) new disc, Private Collection, starts with chimes that just float slightly to the left of the soundstage, but the echoes travel all the way right and sound as if they trail off behind the listening chair.  Indeed, very trippy.

Another favorite disc that features very densely packed music is The Word is Out, by Jaco Pastorius and his Big Band.  This is a killer fusion album that has a great mix of acoustic and electronic instruments with a lot going on simultaneously.  Even at high volume, Pastorius maintains his space just slightly left of center without his bass line becoming flabby, with the drums miked somewhat behind the plane of the speakers, while the horns float in front of the mix, going all the way from left to right.

While at times almost impossible to describe, the 911 mk.3 is very linear in its performance, regardless of where you have the volume control set, until you push it so far that the soundstage flattens out, ever so slightly.  Even at this point, I wasn’t hearing any harshness or clipping.  Though the 911 mk. 3 is claimed to be heavily biased into class-A operation, it didn’t get overly warm during normal listening, and no matter how hard I pushed it, would not shut down.

I continue to draw the same conclusion with the 911 mk. 3. It has a huge, three-dimensional soundstage that I would normally associate with tubes, with the pace and drive I would normally associate with solid state, yet the weaknesses of neither.

As good as it gets

After six months of listening day in and day out, I can find no fault with the Burmester 911 mk.3 and am happy to say that this will become my new reference amplifier.  It was dropped off of a truck on its way to me and I’ve often played it continuously for 24 hours day after day when breaking in new speakers, and it’s never let me down in any way.

The 911 mk. 3 offers perfect balance in my book; it is highly detailed and articulate, yet not harsh, and it is tremendously musical without being dark or rolled off in any way.  This is truly the best power amplifier I have ever experienced.  I can’t recommend it highly enough.

The Burmester 911 mk. 3 Power Amplifier

MSRP:  $29,995

www.burmester.de

Peripherals

The quandary we’ve had was to put the Zeppelin in the iPod section of our website or review it as a regular hifi component.  After spending quite a bit of time with it, we’ve all come away with the same conclusion:  this is so much more than a fancy set of iPod speakers with a dock, it’s really a high performance portable audio system.  You can add another digital component via the combined digital/optical input jack, just like the ones on an Apple Power Book.  For iPod Video users, there is an S-Video out, so you can place your Zeppelin right below a plasma screen and watch your favorite episode of Desperate Housewives with amazing sound quality!

I don’t know how B&W is making a penny on these.  With the retail price at $599, the Zeppelin is more than an exceptional value; it might be the hi-fi deal of all time.  Where else can you get a pair of 2-way powered B&W speakers with a powered sub in a package like this for such a low price?  The demand for these is so high, I couldn’t even buy the review sample!  They are selling every one they can get their hands on and I know everyone who got one of these under the Christmas tree freaked out.

I had to do this review in stealth mode the minute I found out I couldn’t get one for my daughter in time for Christmas…

Tech stuff

As I said, the Zeppelin uses a pair of 3 ½” glass fiber midrange drivers along with a pair of dome tweeters that are claimed to be very similar to the ones in B&W’s legendary 800 series. Each individual midrange/tweeter combination has it’s own 25 watt amplifier  Bringing up the bottom is a 5- inch bass driver with a 50-watt amplifier, so this system has a total power of 100 watts!  You can find more information here.

This will give you the complete story of the engineering behind the Zeppelin as well as some great photos.

The Zeppelin is definitely a case of where a picture isn’t worth a thousand words. The photos don’t tell you is what a substantial piece of hardware this is.  When I first unboxed the Zeppelin I was not prepared for how well this is built and how heavy it was!  Again, this is not an entry-level piece of gear that’s been jobbed out to meet a price point.  The Zeppelin is built to the same high level of fit and finish that B&W’s flagship products possess.

The Zeppelin plugs into a standard AC outlet and uses a two-prong AC cord, so it does not have an IEC jack. Just to go over the top, I used an ICE Cube adapter and plugged in a new Shunyata Helix Alpha/VX power cord. This $1600 accessory takes the Zeppelin a bit out of the “budget hifi” column but it did allow it to be all it can be.  Spectacular. For the rest of you with a more level head, rest assured, the Zeppelin sounds fantastic with the stock power cord as well.

The Sound

The comparison to the 800 series is a great one.  I just happen to have a pair of B&W 805S speakers in my living room, powered by a stack of Classe components and there is more than a slight family resemblance going on, especially in the tonality department.  For those of you that have B&W speakers somewhere else in your home you can now take it with you.  I’d seriously consider having a lined road case built, so I could take one of these with me wherever I go!  (That is if there is ever one in the store to purchase!)

With the big connection between B&W and Abbey Road Studios, it just seemed right to make the first thing I played on the Zeppelin a Beatles song; Eleanor Rigby to be precise and the violins sounded fantastic, the timbre was spot on.  This is serious hifi.

B&W claims that the Zeppelin is down 6 db at 47hz and 22khz.  I imported my Stereophile test disc into my iPod and ran a low frequency sweep.  Without actually measuring it, I can’t completely verify this, but the output on the 50hz track was very strong, with some output at 40hz still, so I’d bet they are right on the money.  Listening to some of my favorite discs by Tosca, Kruder & Dorfmeister and Mickey Hart, the Zeppelin has plenty of bass that not only has good extension, but good texture and definition.

The biggest compliment I can give the Zeppelin is that when using uncompressed tracks, this system sounds like you are listening to at least a couple thousand dollars worth of gear.  Thanks to that long, Zeppelin shape, the tweeters are far enough apart to give you a very good stereo image.

Highs are extended, possessing plenty of detail, but not crunchy.  Listening to acoustic instruments was very pleasant and never fatiguing.  I felt that there was a lot of air and texture that again was way beyond what I’d expect for this price.  The only bad news is that the Zeppelin has more than enough resolution to reveal the difference between compressed and non-compressed tracks with ease.  I suspect many iPod users will have a new music experience should they re-rip some tracks in Apple Lossless format or uncompressed.

Conclusion

Usually when someone asks me to suggest a hifi system under a thousand dollars I want to take a shower, because I always feel terrible about what I’ve suggested.  No more, the B&W Zeppelin is a wonderful piece of gear that I have already happily suggested to more than one friend.  I am also very happy to give the Zeppelin one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2008.

The Zeppelin does it all. It’s well built from a company you know and trust.  Its design is stunning, fits anywhere and only requires one power cord to make it work.  Best of all, the sound quality is phenomenal and should put a smile on the face of even the fussiest audiophile. There is no better accessory for the iPod than the Zeppelin if you want an all inclusive system.

B&W Zeppelin

MSRP: $599

B & W  Group North America

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com

Even with a track that is not bass heavy, the Pass Xs 300 amplifiers immediately show their superiority.  Sinéad O’Connor’s luscious voice on “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” from her album Am I Not Your Girl? lingers in the air between the KEF Blades in a way that it never has before—her voice is bigger and airier, with a higher degree of “reach out and touch it” than I’m used to.  And when Michael Jackson takes us through a time warp with minimal accompaniment, courtesy of The Stripped Mixes, he truly feels right in the listening room about five feet in front of the couch.  The realism is staggering.

In the world of high-end audio, where Internet-forum pundits loudly proclaim that expensive gear is not worth the money and that its curve of performance versus diminishing returns is incredibly steep, I must strongly disagree in favor of the Xs 300s.  Having lived with Pass Labs’ $22,000-per-pair XA160.5s monoblocks for over a year, and then having stepped up to the $34,100-per-pair XA200.5s (a huge jump in performance) and now taking the leap to the $85,000-per-pair Xs 300 two-chassis monoblocks, I’m still staggered at how much more of everything is available with Pass’ flagship amplifiers.

Here in Portland, Oregon, one of America’s greenest cities, my aging hipster friends would mess themselves if they knew I had a pair of amplifiers that draw 1,000 watts each, all the time.  Okay, so I’ve thrown concerns about my carbon footprint out the window with these amps, but I do walk to work and I’ve replaced all 22 of the 50-watt halogen bulbs in my studio ceiling (along with the 15 in the house) with LEDs that only draw 7 watts each.  That just about makes up for the power that these massive monos consume.  I’d light the place with candles and eat dirt before I’d give up these amplifiers!

As TONE staff member Jerold O’Brien helps me unpack these super-sized beasts, which weigh in at 168 pounds for the power supply and 130 pounds for the output stage, we become awestruck:  The Xs 300s have six banks of output devices per channel and Pass has increased the bias current by a factor of 10 compared to the XA amplifiers.  And as Pass Labs’ Desmond Harrington is fond of saying, “This means more control.”  Interestingly enough, Jeff Nelson of Boulder Amplifiers says the same thing, and both the Boulder 3050 monoblocks and the Xs 300s are definitely the two most incredible amplifiers I’ve ever heard (for those of us who are not worried about the price tag).

Where the mighty Boulders take more of a “just the facts, ma’am” approach, the Xs 300s sound more like a gigantic tube power amplifier with tighter grip and more bass grunt, while retaining the airy character and ravishing tonality that you would normally associate with vacuum tubes.  I’d happily put the Xs 300s up against any vacuum-tube power amplifier on the market, regardless of price, and I’d still prefer them to tube power.  The Xs 300s are equally yummy, and knowing you’ll never have to forage for power tubes again is a major bonus.

Love at First Listen

O’Brien and I are both equally stunned when we begin to hook up the Xs 300s.  Way too anxious to just let one stack sit there while taking the photos for this review, we connect one of them to the GamuT S9s.  We look at each other and O’Brien exclaims, “Dude, your system sounds better in mono with one of these than it does with the pair of XA200.5s.”

Strong words indeed; this is the level of performance increase that comes with spending twice as much money with a reputable company.  If you’ve ever fallen deeply in love at first sight then you know how this is.  The Xs 300s are love at first listen.  (After months of using them with an incredibly wide range of speakers, from the $1,500-per-pair KEF LS50s to the $150,000-per-pair GamuT S9s, I’m even more smitten with them now than the day I unpacked them.)

By the time we have the photos done and the second channel connected, it’s time for some shut-eye, so the Xs300s are left to play all night, and we’ll reinvestigate them in the morning.  As is the standard procedure with massive class-A power amplifiers if they are going to be on all night, no heat is needed in the studio.

The next day’s listening session begins with a comfortably toasty listening room, but more importantly, the amplifiers are now thoroughly warmed up.  Normally, we always leave solid-state power amplifiers on 24/7, but this is just not practical with the Xs 300s, because they produce such a prodigious amount of heat.

Boxes Ticked

The amount of sheer control the Xs300s provide is unbelievable—there is truly nothing they won’t do.  When we swap out a few of the other amplifiers we have on hand for the Xs300s (even the awesome XA200.5s), it feels as if a subwoofer has been added to the system, even with the tiny KEF LS50s—which, incidentally, sound amazing through these four-box wonders.

It isn’t just all power and punch, though:  These amplifiers offer the magic of incredibly high resolution, without throwing delicate tonality out the window.  You’ll notice tasty little nuances in your favorite well-worn recordings, prompting the desire to revisit as many of them as possible.  I predict many late-evening listening sessions once you get these fully broken in.

A perfect example is Ornette Coleman’s Ornette on Tenor. This straightforward bop record features great interplay between Coleman on sax and Don Cherry on trumpet, backed up with bass and drums—a sparse mix to be sure.  The sax and trumpet tear it up across the wide stereo mix, with the drums and bass exploding from the left and right channels, respectively.  The scale at which all of this takes place, especially in the way the Xs 300s render height, makes it all sound so convincing.

The Hammond organ sounds fabulous as it creeps into the mix at the beginning of War’s “The World is a Ghetto.”  The Hammond is barely there, just skating in and out of your consciousness, but it adds an unmistakable texture to the track—all the better in 24-bit/192-kHz resolution courtesy of HDtracks.  All the while, the funky, wah-pedal-laden guitars segue in over layer upon layer of horns.  Backing up to “The Cisco Kid” proves equally enlightening.  When a piece of gear can render a track that you’ve heard way too many times and still keep you riveted, you know you’re onto something special.  This is what the top of the mountain looks like, or rather sounds like—and it’s good.  No, it’s wonderful.

Those who live and die by the sword of pace and timing will be equally enthralled with the Xs300s.  The needle in the gigantic round meter on the front panel of the amplifier chassis stays firmly planted in the center, indicating that the amp is staying in single-ended class-A operation.  Until pushed well past reasonable and prudent levels, the needle barely ever budges, as is the case when powering the 90-dB-per-watt KEF Blade speakers.

Jazzman Marc Ribot’s Silent Movies is a collection of atonal tracks that exhibit laser-sharp focus through the Xs 300s.  The decay of Ribot’s heavily processed guitar on “Natalia in Eb Major” is so realistic that I’m magically transported back to the 10th row at the Montreal Jazz Festival as I soak it all in.  As Ribot switches from distorted electric guitar to clean acoustic, the Xs 300s allow the notes to just linger in the air so that you can feel the strings resonate.

Comfortable at All Levels

Even at practically intolerable volume levels, the Xs 300s hold their poise completely, with no soundstage collapse whatsoever.  Audioslave’s “Gasoline” is by no means an audiophile darling, and it’s actually somewhat compressed; yet, on a great system this track can be unraveled.  With the meters just beginning to budge from their stops, I can feel my brain rattling around inside my head from the sheer sound-pressure level, but the pounding drums and lead guitars stay in place and Chris Cornell’s high-octane scream stays anchored, drilling itself into my being.  These amplifiers remain composed, even at these elevated levels.

Yes, this kind of listening is bad for your eardrums, but being able to pressurize your listening room at near concert levels (no matter what kind of music you enjoy) is enthralling to say the least, so use the Xs 300s with care.  A sound-level meter would be an apt accessory for these amps.

In the end, every aspect of music reproduction sounds more convincing with these amplifiers.  Pass Labs founder Nelson Pass has always been a proponent of the “first watt” methodology (i.e. if the first watt doesn’t sound great, why bother with the rest?), and he went so far as to built a pair of small power amplifiers bearing that name.  We’ve reviewed most of the First Watt amplifiers and they are superb; the massive Xs 300s manage to retain that same level of delicacy while still providing major power.  There are just some speakers with which 15 watts per channel simply won’t cut it.

Setup and Stuff

If you think you really don’t need 300 watts per channel of class-A power, think again.  The combination of speed, control and bone-crushing dynamics offers an experience you just don’t get with less power, even at low listening levels—it’s more about the control these big amplifiers provide than just power.  Incredible acceleration is an added benefit of all this power, along with the ability to stop instantly.  The Xs 300s are lightning fast with no hangover or fatigue.  They’ve been playing nearly nonstop since they arrived, and at the end of a 16-hour day I can still keep going back to the record rack for just one more.

Like the other Pass amplifiers we’ve used, the Xs300s require about 100 hours of play to be all they can be, but they are damn good straight out of the box.  Once you become intimately familiar with them, you will notice that they sound slightly hazy at first turn on, and gently yet linearly they come out of the fog over the course of about 90 minutes.  Everything just gets easier as they reach operating temperature.

Because of the heat they generate, these amplifiers need ventilation, and Pass confirms that you can stack the chassis one on top of the other, but be sure to give them plenty of room.  And if you are in tight quarters, make sure you have decent HVAC.

The Xs 300s can be used with balanced or RCA inputs, though they are fully balanced amplifiers.  The ARC REF 5 SE and Robert Koda K-10 preamplifiers work fantastic, as do the Simaudio MOON Evolution 850P and Burmester 011.  Even my vintage ARC SP-11 Mk. 2 works well, but the high resolution of the Xs 300s does reveal the limitations of this great vintage piece.  The only real downside to the Xs 300s is that you’re likely to find yourself wanting linestage and source upgrades.

A pair of enormous cables connects the chassis with the biggest Neutrik connectors I’ve ever seen.  I plug each monoblock set into a dedicated 20-amp line, even though the power cords are of the 15-amp variety—there’s no point in putting regular gas in your Aston Martin, right?  The four speaker binding posts are the super-coolio Furutech carbon-fiber jobs that ratchet tight and click when you’ve reached the proper torque, which is a nice touch.

The $85,000 Question

Though saying so may result in some hate mail, the Pass Xs 300s are worth every penny of their $85,000 price tag.  Considering a few other amps on the market that I’ve sampled, Pass could probably charge an even 100 grand for them and easily get away with it.

But you have to ask yourself a couple of questions before making this kind of a purchase decision:  Do these amplifiers take you somewhere you’ve never been before, giving you an experience that you just can’t get with a lesser product?  Are they built with a level of precision, care and attention to detail commensurate with other products at a similar price?

Yes and yes—and then some.  Fortunately, I’ve had the privilege of listening to a lot of fantastic amplifiers in the $20k-to-$40k range over the last few years, and the Xs 300s are considerably better.  They reveal more music and are more transparent, with bottomless dynamic power and they present no problem driving any of the speakers I have at my disposal.

So if you’ve got the system, the software and the scratch, buy these babies—you won’t regret it one bit.  And the couple of readers I’ve talked to who have jumped off the cliff agree with me.  These are indeed very special amplifiers.

Pass Labs Xs 300 monoblocks

MSRP: $85,000 per pair

Pass Laboratories

www.passlabs.com

Peripherals

As you look at the gorgeous French polished aluminum box that isn’t much larger in size than a medium Dominos pizza container (and probably not much heavier if you order your pizza with extra meat and cheese), forget everything you know about high-end audio. The Devialet D-Premier is anything but cheesy. It belongs in the Louvre—with a great pair of speakers connected, of course. But it will look equally stylish in your listening room. While it appears to be a square box at first glance, when you place it on a countertop or other flat surface, you detect the slight curve of the casework, which adds to the visual complexity.

Much more often than not, associating the word “lifestyle” with an audio component is the kiss of death, as the term usually means “mediocre performance wrapped in a shiny box.” What makes the D-Premier so exciting is that it offers world-class performance in an elegant, compact enclosure. If you happen to be someone who has always loved music, but avoided a high-end system because you didn’t want all the boxes and cables overwhelming your living space, the D-Premier is the perfect solution.

Peruse the company’s website (www.devialet.com), and you might be under the impression that the D-Premier is merely an integrated amplifier. Yet it’s quite a bit more. This compact sculpture houses a complete audio system: There’s a 240-watt-per-channel power amplifier, full-function preamplifier, 24 bit/192khz DAC, phono preamplifier, and a wireless bridge all tidily packed inside. As of this review, the wireless function and HDMI input were not yet enabled, but when they are ready in the fall, it will only take a quick firmware update via an SD card slot located on the rear panel to gain the additional functionality. You’ll be able to painlessly download the software via the Devialet website and make the upgrade just as you would on a camera or laptop, insert the card, reboot, and voila, a new component.

One of my biggest challenges in writing this review was figuring out exactly what to call the D-Premier. With such a wide range of capabilities, for now, let’s think of it as an integrated amplifier with benefits. The D-Premier features an analog input that can be configured for MM or MC phono use, and an additional line-level analog input, both via RCA jacks. In addition, four RCA S/PDIF inputs, a pair of TOSLINK optical digital inputs, an XLR AES/EBU digital input, and an HDMI 1.3 input are onboard, so you can connect anything but a balanced line-level source via XLR connectors. One set of speaker outputs is provided, as is a line level RCA output for a subwoofer. Bass level can also be controlled via the remote.

Far Beyond Class D

Devialet takes a different approach to amplifier design with its patented ADH (Analog/Digital Hybrid) technology, which utilizes a pure Class A driver directly connected to the speaker outputs, with the Class D output section doing all the “heavy lifting” as a current provider connected in parallel. More technical information is available on the Devialet website, but to simplify, the Class A section sets the distortion-free sonic signature of the amplifier and the Class D provides high-power output with low heat, allowing for the compact form factor.

The D-Premier utilizes a pair of Class D output modules, yet it is driven by a pair of Class A amplifiers in a unique hybrid module configuration that provides the advantages of both designs and the limitation of neither. First and foremost, the D-Premier does not sound like any Class D amplifier I’ve ever heard. I admit a slight personal bias against Class D amplifiers even though I keep auditioning every one I can get my hands on. But shortcomings remain. They typically offer a degree of sterility in their presentation, and in my experience, have been highly speaker-dependent, much like an SET or OTL amplifier. Hence, an optimum match yields decent sound, but a less than optimum one makes for a mediocre musical performance. Even the best examples have sounded somewhat flat. That said, it is clear that Devialet’s technology represents a quantum leap forward in tonal purity.

Pairing the D-Premier with a wide range of speakers (GamuT S9, B&W 805D, Magnepan 1.6) along with several models I had in-house for review and photography (Zu Soul Superfly, Martin Logan Aerius i, PMC DB2i, Totem Forest) all provided synergistic combinations and a consistency I’ve never experienced with traditional Class D amplifiers.

While Class D amplifiers often exhibit an impedance mismatch with some speaker/speaker cable combinations, resulting in a sound that is brittle and lifeless at best or seriously rolled off at the HF portion of the frequency spectrum, the Premier-D did not change its character. But remember, it is not a pure Class D amplifier. I did all of my testing with the factory standard settings, yet the amplifier characteristics can be optimized to your speakers to allow for the most advantageous combination. Again, custom tuning is as easy as upgrading the firmware, and makes the D-Premier obsolete-proof.

The most interesting result of my speaker swapping related to how well the D-Premier performed when driving the Magnepan 1.6s, which are notoriously power-hungry. 240 watts-per-channel is usually the place that gets the party started with these speakers, yet the D-Premier not only effortlessly drove them to realistic sound levels, the sound quality was fantastic, offering a three-dimensional soundstage with excellent bass extension and texture. The Magnepan 1.6 speakers remain in my arsenal if for no other reason to torture amplifiers. There are precious few under-400 watts-per-channel amplifiers that I’ve heard that can really grab hold of the Magnepans and offer the control and sheer current delivery that the speakers really need.

Should the need for even more power arise, the D-Premier can be configured to be part of a multiple amplifier system. So, you could easily multi-amp your Magnepans or any other speaker in such a manner. Multiple D-Premier units can be configured for bi-ampflication or as bridged mono amplifiers. The amplifier section is stable into 2-ohm loads and is rated at 240 watts per channel into a 2-6 ohm load and 190 watts per channel into an 8-ohm load.  Devialet allows two adjustable parameters for the power amplifier section: maximum power and the impedance of the speaker used. According to Devialet’s Mathias Moronvalle, “When tuning the amplifier to anticipate high current for a given voltage due to low speaker impedance, the amplifier can deliver more peak current and thus, operate more linearly.”

My GamuT S9 speakers, while highly resolving, are ever so slightly on the warm side of neutral, so the D-Premier turned in a brilliant performance here. It’s also worth noting that this amplifier was not terribly affected by differences in cable. Switching between Cardas Clear, AudioQuest SKY, and Shunyata’s Aurora showed a difference between the three, but not as much as it did with my reference Burmester gear.

A Balance of Resolution and Musicality

The measured specifications of the D-Premier indicate an amplifier that seems to be completely free of any distortions with a noise floor of over -130db. Even with the volume control at maximum, not a hint of background noise emanates from the speakers.  If I had to describe the D-Premier’s presentation in one word, it would indeed be “clean.”

D-Premier is one of a small group of components that is highly resolving without being harsh. It will, however, reveal every bit of nuances in the connected source hardware as well as your software, so if your source material is not up to snuff, prepare to be outed. If you want forgiving sound, buy a vintage vacuum tube amplifier with EL-34 tubes.

The depth of the soundstage that the D-Premier presented continually impressed. Devialet’s unique method of blending Class A into the mix gives this amplifier its magic. No matter what music I listened to, I experienced a tremendous amount of image depth that resulted in a highly realistic musical experience. On the intro track from the Beatles’ LOVE, that mosquito felt as it was buzzing directly in front of my nose.  I had a similar experience with “Equinoxe 1-4” from Jean-Michel Jarre’s Equinoxe; I found myself surrounded in synthesizer sounds seemingly coming from all around the room. Zoolook was equally enchanting.

Bass was tight and well controlled, and the highs were extended albeit smooth.  The D-Premier diverged from its standard solid-state and vacuum-tube competitors at the very end of frequency extremes. When I listened to one of my favorite acoustic bass recordings, Charlie Haden’s The Private Collection, every bit of Haden’s playing came through with the required amount of texture, conveying convincing realism, especially on the 24/96 version. And when I mixed it up with Sly and the Family Stone’s “Don’t Call Me Nigger, Whitey” the electric bass line had plenty of speed and snap. My reference Burmester 911 mk. 3 monoblocks had a richer presentation, but these amplifiers (and the accompanying preamplifier) have a price tag that’s about six times that of the D-Premier. Hence, the performance is way beyond what you would expect at this level.

The D-Premier has an upper register that has to be heard to be believed; it is devoid of a signature sound. I listened to quite a few acoustic recordings to try and define one, but it had none. At least in terms of sound quality, Ginger Baker’s drumming on Cream at Royal Albert Hall is sublime, especially when he hits his favorite ride cymbals with the small bolts affixed to them. Once again, no signature was added or subtracted.

It’s important to keep in mind that, for $15,999, you are getting essentially four components and really, five if you take into account the music streaming capabilities. Break down the price, and it’s impossible to find an amplifier, preamplifier, DAC, and phonostage of this caliber for $16k, not to mention the requisite three additional sets of interconnects, three power cords, and additional rack space needed to accommodate all the gear. If you are going to use all of these features, the D-Premier is an incredible bargain. But even if you just use it as an amplifier, preamplifier, and DAC, it’s nearly unthinkable to get such high performance for this price. I certainly haven’t heard anything that compares.

Too Cool

For those who love to argue about the validity of Apple’s hardware versus everyone else’s hardware, a simple swipe of the mouse will tell you the difference. The action of Apple’s mouse eclipses anything in PC world; you both notice and appreciate it, or the care spent on the mousing algorithm has gone to waste.

By comparison, the D-Premier’s volume control is not only visually compelling but possesses the best control action I’ve ever felt. In the day of stepped attenuators via remote, the D-Premier’s square control module’s action is silky smooth. It feels like the throttle in a Bentley Continental R; the sound builds gently and evenly, just like the thrust of the Bentley’s V12. Once you experience it, you will be spoiled for anything else. And unlike most components that use an IR sensor—limiting the remote control to a line of sight ranging from about 10 to 15 feet—the D-Premier remote is controlled via RF, so you should be able to control the volume from anywhere in the house.

Another huge plus? The ability to hang the D-Premier on the wall and completely bypass the equipment rack—whether in a design-conscious environment, one where space is at a premium, or both. Thanks to a removable panel that hides the cables and the highly polished surface, the D-Premier all but disappears into the room. A pale blue light that indicates the volume level and input source is the only way you’d ever suspect it’s an electronic component. Everything is controlled from the remote. Just like Apple, the packaging is as artfully done and the instruction manual easy to understand—no detail is ignored.

Oh, the smooth, exquisite, polished finish of the D-Premier begs to be caressed. But resist the urge, because you’ll mar its perfection with your fingertips. However, if you and your friends can’t resist, a microfiber cloth and a gentle cleaner will keep it in top shape. (Use the same cleaner that you use to keep a flat-panel display screen clean. Do not use Windex, 409, or any heavy duty cleaner as it will probably stain and streak the polished aluminum casework.)

DAC

The DAC section has 24/192 capabilities through the S/PDIF and Optical inputs, but there is no USB input. I used the dCS Paganini transport via S/PDIF and balanced connections, and concur with Devialet that even better performance was achieved with the balanced connection. The low noise floor again made such a conclusion apparent, especially when listening to classical recordings recorded digitally. The silence with this combination proved to be uncanny.

When comparing the D-Premier’s DAC to a number of standalone DACs in the $2,500 to $5,500 range, the Devialet was the clear champion in terms of dynamics and tonality. Some of this must be attributed to the simple signal path that’s involved. Again, much like the phonostage, this DAC should be more than capable for 95% of the most demanding audiophiles. Those wanting more performance will have to spend five figures on a DAC alone, which means more boxes, cables, etc., defeating the purpose of this savvy component.

The D-Premier upsamples everything to 192khz/24-bit resolution from a fixed-frequency, low-phase noise clock source. Devialet feels that this architecture provides extremely low jitter and contributes greatly to the DAC’s highly transparent sound. After extended listening to digital files, one walks away from the D-Premier is unfatigued, especially when listening to acoustic instruments. It’s one of the rare DACs that I’ve heard at any price that makes you forget you are listening to digital and allows you to just concentrate on the program material.

A Fresh Phonostage

Like most other phonostages, impedance and capacitance loading is controlled in the analog domain, with a network of resistors and capacitors switched in and out (but controlled again, by the SD card configuration). That’s where any similarity to standard phonostages ends. The default setting of the D-Premier’s phonostage is a standard moving magnet arrangement with 47k loading. I began listening with the Grado Statement 1 mounted on the Spiral Groove SG-2/Triplanar combination. While the aforementioned cartridge is a moving iron design, it uses a standard 47k loading and is fairly impervious to capacitance loading. Thanks to the D-Premier’s high gain and ultra low noise floor, its lower output of .5mv was no problem. This proved an excellent match for the rest of my system, offering up an eerily silent background.

I’ve never heard a phono preamp with a -130 db noise specification, which alone makes this configuration interesting on a number of levels. I spent a fair amount of time searching my record collection to find the quietest pressings. After listening to the last year’s worth of Music Matters Blue Note releases, I moved on to Speakers Corner’s pressing of Santana’s Caravanserai. The mellowest Santana album, it features involved percussion that punctuates Santana’s guitar tracks. The intro to “Song of the Wind” is particularly quiet. With the D-Premier’s ultra-low noise, the track seems to build out of nowhere. The component blends the silence of a digital recording with the warmth of analog: A perfect combination.

How does it happen? The phono signal is sent through a set of Burr Brown analog-to-digital converters (again at 24/192 resolution), and the RIAA equalization is applied in the digital domain. Again, Devialet feels that this approach offers greater linearity and more accurate translation of the RIAA curve than performing the task in the analog domain.  While analog purists may wretch at the idea of taking their beloved analog signal, digitizing it, and processing it digitally, the D-Premier flawlessly functions. Devialet provided a custom profile for the Shelter 501II MC cartridge; it worked perfectly when I made the change. In the future, Devialet will supply “cartridge profiles” for most of the major cartridges in use, and again, it will only require rebooting the D-Premier and uploading the settings.

Again and again, the D-Premier defies comparison. Because the phonostage is so quiet, it offers a different perspective with its low-level detail retrieval. However, when moving to my reference Audio Research REF 2 Phono, the latter still had a more inviting analog presentation. Such a last bit of analog magic comes with a pricetag that’s almost twice that of the D-Premier. Those with perfectly clean records, and especially classical music lovers, will really appreciate this phonostage. At the risk of repeating myself, but remaining entirely honest, the onboard phonostage easily meets or exceeds most of the phonostages I’ve experienced in the $5,000 range. With performance at this level, 99% of D-Premier users will probably be thrilled. It’s certainly much better than any other onboard stage I’ve heard in an integrated, save the one in the darTZeel CTH-8550, another very, very expensive amplifier.

More on the Horizon

As they say on late-night television infomercials, “Wait, there’s more.” In the future, the D-Premier will have a functioning HDMI 1.3 input, so you will be able to use the amplifier along with your video system or as a high-quality DAC for playing back Blu-ray music discs. There will also be a wireless adaptor, which means you will be able to stream from your favorite computer source, just like you would with a Squeezebox.  Only an extension board needs to be installed at your dealer, the antenna is already in place. (When these additional features become available, the D-Premier will return to TONE this summer for a follow-up review when these additional features are available.)

In the interim, there’s no reason not to make the D-Premier the hub of your audio system. The only thing missing is a USB port for the DAC. But considering the number of high-quality USB>S/PDIF converters on the market, I wouldn’t consider its absence a deal-breaker. There isn’t a wasted square millimeter of space inside the enclosure, so I don’t know how Devialet engineers could have squeezed another board under the hood!

Conclusion

The Devialet D-Premier is a top-shelf audio component in every way; it’s even better when considered as a complete audio system in one box. Revolutionary engineering combined with short signal paths and minimal need for external cables all adds up to incredible sound that will have very broad appeal. Clichés aside, the D-Premier is more than the sum of its parts, in concept, performance, and value. If you take advantage of all the functions it offers, I don’t know how you could possibly acquire an amplifier, preamplifier, DAC, phono preamplifier, and music streamer for the cost of the D-Premier. Of all the components to which we have awarded our Exceptional Value Award, I can’t think of one more deserving than the D-Premier.

If all that weren’t enough, the component’s elegant design makes it blend into any decor with ease, forever banishing the idea of not having a high-performance audio system only because of the ensuing clutter that comes along with a rack and cables.

Whether you are downsizing from a rack full of gear or starting fresh, the Devialet D-Premier offers world-class sound, meticulous attention to detail in both style and construction, and a virtually unlimited upgrade path. What’s not to love?

The Devialet D-Premier

MSRP:  $15,999

www.devialet.com

(North America)  www.audioplusservices.com

Peripherals

One of the biggest concerns facing the audio industry is how to lure new converts to the wacky world of gear. These days, the higher end of the high end will easily set you back six figures. That’s not only out of reach of Joe Six-Pack, it’s out of reach of most rational humans that don’t earn seven figures. At TONE, we continue to provide more coverage of entry-level and vintage gear for good reason; we all have to start somewhere. But it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. You can get satisfying sound on a tight budget, and the Polk Audio Blackstone TL2s will stretch your audio budget further than anything I’ve ever experienced.

Since its emergence in the mid-70s, Polk’s mantra to offer high-end sound without matching high-end pricing has remained the same. On a recent visit to its corporate headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, I saw and heard a number of its latest efforts, including a new flagship speaker in the $5,000 per pair range. But the most exciting thing I saw was the Blackstone TL2 speakers you see here.

For $99.99 each, you get a pair of tiny satellite speakers that use a 3 ¼-inch-long throw woofer and ½-inch silk dome tweeter in a tiny cabinet weighing only about 3 pounds that I guarantee will blow you out of your chair, ala the old Maxell cassette man, when they are mated with the matching PSW111 subwoofer ($299.99.) So, for $500, you can have a rocking set of speakers that won’t take up much space in your living area.  Add a great vintage 70s receiver for $200 to $300, and you still have enough money left from a $1,000 bill to grab a decent used turntable.

Five- and six-figure speakers are pretty normal in our world, so it’s incredibly cool when you hear something this amazing for $500. For the stylistically inclined, rest assured that these speakers look as great as they sound. Their curved cabinets should fit any decor, whether you use them with stands or mount them to the wall or ceiling.

How Does Polk Do It?

Beginning with its RM 3000 system, Polk entered the world of small satellite main speakers with a powered subwoofer in the late 80s. The tiny speakers and their powered subwoofer listed for $700 and redefined what a sat/sub system could do.  They may not have invented the genre, but they certainly moved to the head of the class in short order.  More than 20 years later, Polk remains at the forefront, building a better system for $200 less. Of course, some of this is due to offshore manufacturing, but most of the credit goes to the experienced design team located in their Baltimore.

Employee turnover is very low at Polk, and a majority of the staff has been with the company for decades. Such depth of experience makes it a lot easier to build a substantial base of knowledge. Every aspect of Polk speakers is designed from the ground up, which also helps in a situation like this, because instead of trying to build a box around off-the-shelf components, Polk’s engineers designed everything to solve the specific problem of making a high-performance speaker fit in a small enclosure.

Just like Polk’s larger speakers, the TL2 uses a ring radiator tweeter that is similar to that used in its LSi floorstanding speaker systems. The company’s Time Lens system of aligning the woofer and mid bass on the same plane gives the speakers a high level of coherence, making them sound much like a single-driver speaker but with the performance advantages of a two-way system. (Read about the TL2’s other unique features here: http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/blackstonetl/technology.php)

Set-up Options

Polk offers three different ways to use the TL2/PSW111 combination. No matter what your amplification situation, it’s a breeze to utilize. The system can be used with your speaker level outputs, line level outputs, or, if you have a multichannel home-theater system with an LFE input, that will also work.

The TL2 claims a low-frequency response spec of -3db at 125Hz, but you can take advantage of room gain by placing the speakers in the corner of the room or near the rear walls. They will even work well on a bookshelf, though imaging performance may suffer. The PSW111’s LF crossover setting is variable from 60Hz to 150Hz. A 60Hz setting is too low for the TL2s and leaves a hole in the upper-bass response, but start at that level so you can slowly bring up the subwoofer level and presence.

Should you lack sophisticated measurement tools, play a few bass-heavy tracks and fine-tune the level and frequency crossover controls until the speaker system has sufficient bass weight without the subwoofer sounding rough or boomy. You’ll know you’ve nailed it when you get full-bodied bass response from the tiny speakers and can’t really tell where the sub is located in the room. If you have access to test tones, you can get a great feel for where the satellites stop and the subwoofer takes over, making it easier to concentrate on overall system smoothness.

Mind-Blowing Sound

Any pre-conceived notions you may have about small speakers will vanish the minute you play music through the TL2s. Having heard more than my fair share of outright lousy inexpensive (under $1,000/pr.) speakers, the TL2s are a treat, even for those of you with champagne taste and budgets. Initially staying in the budget groove, I plugged in my used Pioneer SX-424 receiver that I picked up for $60 on eBay for last issue’s “Slummin” column. Using 50-cent-per-foot Radio Shack speaker wire and a used Denon 3910 universal disc player (also purchased on eBay for about $200) made for a highly impressive budget system, and a great place for any music lover to start their journey.

Even with 15 watts per channel, the little Polks played authoritatively. When listening Alice in Chains’ Jar of Flies, I could crank “I Stay Away” to (small) room-rattling levels. A brief stint with favorite tracks that have a lot of LF energy will help you optimize the subwoofer to perfection and attain more musical enjoyment.

As much fun as the TL2/PSW111 combination is with a vintage receiver, I wasn’t ready for the big jump in sound quality I got when stepping up to better electronics.  First, I swapped the SX-424 for the Cambridge Audio 840P (a 90-watt-per-channel solid-state integrated amplifier) and then, for the Croft Series 7 tube preamplifier, and finally, the Micro 25 hybrid power amplifier. Each took the sound quality further than the preceding setup. Indeed, the TL2s are extremely revealing speakers.

Suffice to say that, when mated to the $2,500 Croft setup, the Polk combination more than held its own. Connecting it to world-class electronics revealed imaging performance and reproduction of spatial cues that I expect from speakers costing much more. Granted, with the dCS Paganini stack driving the system, you could now easily hear the speakers’ limitations, yet they still made no missteps. The only errors were those of omission. But if you don’t listen to music with huge dynamic and frequency extremes, you may never miss a thing. Once properly setup, bass from the three-speaker system boasted excellent detail; this was not a case of hearing just one-note bass thump away. I was particularly excited listening to Marcus Miller’s new A Night In Monte Carlo, which contains several great bass solos.

The mids are natural and open, neither squawking nor beaming. Fans of vocal music will be thrilled with the large helpings of coherence. Listening to Anja Garbarek’s “Big Mouth” on her Smiling and Waving proved a joyful experience. The shifts in her timbral character as she goes from a highly processed background vocalist to a cleaner, main vocalist were easy to track with the speakers, as they never lost control of the electronic instrumentation in the background. Ani DiFranco’s live version of “Amazing Grace” from Living in Clip was another fun song that the TL2s aced. DiFranco’s complex vocal stylings fall flat and lose natural resonance on unresolving speakers. But the Polks sailed right through, delivering a rich performance. And if you are sick and tired of Nils Lofgren’s “Keith Don’t Go” (and let’s face it, who isn’t?) but hooked on plucky acoustic guitar music to serve as test material, try DiFranco’s “Gravel”–you may have a new favorite test track.

And if it’s power you want, it’s power you’ve got. I was consistently impressed with how loud these little speakers played without breakup. Though many of us believe that you can only get “big sound from big speakers,” the TL2/PSW111 combination renders such thinking obsolete. Even when spinning some of my favorite heavy tracks from Led Zeppelin, UFO, and Deep Purple, I was able to push these speakers extremely hard before distortion started to set in. And yes, I dialed up the volume up to levels that would certainly cause the average apartment or dorm dweller to get angry looks from neighbors.

Finally, the Polks do something that almost no budget speaker does well: They offer up a liberal share of resolution at low volumes. And in tackling this challenge, they do an even better job with tube amplification than solid-state. Even at quiet conversation levels, it was easy to discern the differences between Robert Plant and his backing vocalists on the recent Band of Joy. This degree of dynamics and contrast reveals a high level of linearity that I’ve never had the pleasure of experiencing at this price.

Oh, and for those looking for the ultimate computer system, the TL2s perform incredibly well when used nearfield on a desktop. With the subwoofer under your desk, the TL2s throw a huge soundstage. Matching them with the latest MiniWatt three-watt amplifier served as a perfect choice, as it coupled tube warmth with the speakers.

You Know You Want ‘Em!

I’ve rarely heard a pair of $1,000 speakers, let alone a $500 set, which possesses this level of balance. You need the subwoofer to make them sing, but it’s worth the extra money. The $600/pair Silverline Minuets are also excellent, but don’t have the TL2/PSW111’s bass grunt or cheaper price. The Polks win the day.

If I were starting my hi-fi journey today, these would be the speakers I would buy. The Polk TL2/PSW111 combination offers everything a music lover could want: Great imaging, weighty LF performance, tonal accuracy, and the ability to play loud when required. And they are solid enough that, should you join the ranks of dedicated audiophiles, you will be able to go through a few rounds of electronics upgrades before you start thinking about a better pair of speakers. The TL2s are that good; they may just stay in your family forever.

Polk Audio’s claim of “Big Speaker Sound Without the Big Speakers” is spot-on.  TONE is eager to award the TL2/PSW111 speaker combination one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2011, and they will be the speaker to beat for one of our Product of the Year Awards this December. Enthusiastically recommended.

The Polk Audio TL2 speakers and PSW111 subwoofer

MSRP: $99.99 ea (speakers), $299.99 (subwoofer)

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/blackstonetl/index.php

Peripherals

Swiss hi-fi manufacturer Nagra built its reputation on the ability to produce high-quality audio components in very compact casework. The company has continually honed its engineering and design skills, making every speck of space in pro audio gear count. Such expertise has resulted in consumer gear that looks very similar to pro gear.  Indeed, when I visited Nagra’s factory last summer, the MSA amplifier was in its final design stage. Prototypes sat on the table, along with another new amplifier that uses 300B vacuum tubes.

Unfortunately, with its “bigger is better” philosophy, the U.S. market has been a bit reluctant to embrace Nagra. Nothing could be more shortsighted: Nagra gear often outperforms the stuff in the large boxes. We’ve used quite a bit of its gear as reference components over the years, and the sound quality has always been first rate. The MSA power amplifier is yet another example of the firm’s engineering prowess.

The current MSA amplifier utilizes a single pair of power MOSFET output transistors and is completely symmetrical from input to output, featuring only a pair of XLR input connectors. Should you need single-ended RCA inputs to accommodate your preamplifier, Nagra supplies a pair of Neutrik adaptors in the boxs. The amplifier also has a pair of switches that adjust input sensitivity to 1V or 2V for maximum output. It’s a handy feature, especially if you have an older preamplifier that doesn’t have a lot of gain, or if you’d just like to optimize the volume control range of your preamplifier. The MSA is also designed to be used as a bridged monoblock, so listeners requiring more power can easily add a second amplifier and double the power output.

Requiring the same amount of rack space as the Nagra PL-L preamplifier (11 x 9 x 4.6 inches), VPS phonostage, or CDP CD player, the $11,750 MSA takes advantage of Nagra’s VFS Vibration Free Support platform to further improve sonics. Unlike the pyramid-shaped PSA amplifier, rated at 100 watts per channel and outfitted with an LED display to indicate power and clipping, the MSA adds the familiar Nagra modulometer power indicator along with a red LED to indicate clipping. These touches prove very useful, especially when playing heavier music, as the MSA does not sound harsh when driven to modest levels of clipping.  An optional cover is available to hide the heat sinks, but they are such a functional piece of modern art, it’s a mystery as to why anyone would want to cover them up. A familiar rotary switch used for on, off, mute, and “auto” functions rounds out the styling cues.

Initial Impressions

At just 21 pounds, the MSA is easy to unpack and set up. Thanks to the gigantic heat sink located on top of the amplifier, it runs cucumber cool. Even when pushed hard with heavy metal favorites, it barely got warm to the touch. The MSA does not require much space to keep it within operating limits.

My review sample already had some hours on the clock, but my experience with past Nagra gear has been that it only requires 50-100 hours of break-in time. Much like any solid-state amplifier, the MSA opens up and sounds its best after being powered up for a few hours, and can be left in the “on” mode all the time, or the “auto” mode where it will slip into standby mode after a few hours. In the interest of being green, the MSA draws only one watt of power in standby mode.

Top, Bottom, and In Between

Having lived with the Nagra PSA power amplifier for a few years, it’s fair to describe its “sound” as extremely neutral. The PSA adds or subtracts little, if anything, from the presentation. This characteristic may be good for some. But for anyone looking for a bit of tonal embellishment, it may not serve as a proper fit. I’ve always preferred the sound of the PSA with the PL-L tube preamplifier, as the latter claims an ever so slight warmth to its presentation, making the two a highly enjoyable and musical combination.

While the MSA stays true to the Nagra philosophy of signal purity, there is an additional dose of signal purity and delicacy to the presentation. It might be due to the single pair of output transistors. Currently under review, the First Watt M2 also uses a single pair of MOSFET output transistors and has a sonic signature that’s not unlike the best vacuum tube SET amplifiers I’ve experienced. The difference with the MSA? It possesses the low-level detail of the world’s finest SETs, yet also maintains the grip and control associated with a great solid-state amplifier. An outstanding combination, it underscores my philosophy that, with solid state, you can have it all.

Granted, some users will need the extra bit of power that the PSA brings to the table. My reference GamuT S9 speakers have an 89db sensitivity rating, and unless I played fairly compressed rock music (for example, Def Leppard’s Pyromania) I rarely pushed the MSA to its limits. Even when cranking the band’s “Rock, Rock (Till You Drop),” I remained impressed at the ease the MSA exhibited, even with its little red LED almost solid in appearance. The Nagra owner’s manual does not list the latter as a “clipping indicator,” per se, but as a warning that the output stage is passing more than 9 amps of current. I can push the PSA harder, but it was not as composed at the limit as the MSA. For those with more refined musical taste, the MSA should provide more than enough juice.

Balanced in all aspects of performance, the MSA excelled with pace and reproduction of inner detail. When listening to DEVO’s “Blockhead” from Duty Now For the Future, the underlying synth riff never got buried in the mix, as it’s wont to do with lesser amplifiers—especially during the chorus, when the band members yell “Blockhead!” Should classic DEVO not be your liking, Keith Jarrett basically achieves the same effect as he sings along in a trademark disjointed manner while playing piano.  During one of his improvisational bursts in “No Moon At All” from the 2010 duo album Jasmine, Jarrett’s voice floats right above the keys as it does when you hear him live. Since he uses a standard Steinway on the performance, it was easy to compare the tonality between the recorded instrument and my Steinway. The MSA displayed perfect tonal realism with acoustic instruments.

Furthermore, Charlie Haden plays bass on Jasmine, underscoring the MSA’s quick transient attack and delicacy. You can hear every move of Haden’s fingers sliding up and down the neck of the bass. And while the MSA was long on texture, it did not run out of steam when asked to produce prodigious bass, either. Playing deejay and spinning club-music favorites from Kruder and Dorfmeister, as well as the recent Hotel Costes 14, featuring some great tracks by Tosca, I was stunned at how well the diminutive amplifier controlled the woofers on my reference speakers.

But what takes the MSA into another realm is its ability to resolve subtle spatial cues. No matter what my choice of program material, I always managed to hear those little sonic treats that only come to life on the world’s finest amplifiers. An extra layer of guitar here, one more overdub there: These are the things you either forget about when using a lesser amplifier or, your brain attempts to fill in the gap. But when you hear them through your speakers, you know you are indeed listening to something special.

As it did with the other Nagra components with which I’ve paired it, the VFS platform ($1,925) added more clarity to the MSA’s overall presentation, most notably on low-level acoustic passages. Admittedly, the VFS did not make as dramatic of a difference with the MSA as it did with my VPS phono preamplifier, no doubt due to the vacuum tubes in the VPS being more sensitive to outside vibration. I highly recommend first getting intimately familiar with the MSA and auditioning the VFS at a later date.

Style and Performance

If you are looking for a high-performance music system that needs to fit in a compact space, I can’t suggest the MSA highly enough. This one is a precious jewel, offering a level of refinement only heard from some of the world’s best (and most expensive) solid-state power amplifiers. Adding the PL-L preamplifier makes for a genuinely formidable combination. And while 60 watts per channel isn’t everything to every audiophile, if you have a pair of speakers with the efficiency to optimally operate with this level of power, you will likely find the MSA an enchanting wonder.

Nagra MSA Power Amplifier

MSRP: $11,750  (VFS Platform, $1,925)

www.nagraaudio.com

Peripherals

“It just sounds right.” Conrad Johnson’s longtime motto is simple and true. After all, the company counts a loyal following and a 30-plus-year history of producing some of the audio industry’s top amplifiers and preamplifiers. C-J’s ART, ACT 2, and GAT preamplifiers have won almost every award the press bestows, and many of the world’s top audio journalists agree that these preamplifiers are the best in class.  Considering how infrequently we all agree on anything, that is high praise indeed.

Of course, the C-J sound has changed a bit over the years. ART preamplifiers have always had a huge, three-dimensional soundstage with boundless weight to the presentation, while the 6H30 tube-based ACT 2 (my personal reference for many years) is slightly more dynamic and arguably more tonally correct. The current GAT offers the best of both worlds. It has the size and weight of the ART with the speed of the ACT 2, and is a hybrid design, using a composite triode gain stage (via one 6922 tube per channel) and a MOSFET buffer stage.

If you’ve been lucky enough to own or sample the GAT, you know it’s a truly spectacular preamplifier, albeit with a hefty $20k pricetag. The big news is that, for those wanting high performance on a lesser budget, the ET3SE offers much of what C-J learned with the GAT. During a recent factory visit, Lew Johnson showed me the internals of the ET3SE and pointed out all the similarities to the main circuit board of the GAT, which he had on-hand for direct comparison.

“As you can see, there is a lot of shared technology here. The ET3SE is sort of a baby GAT,” he said, with budding enthusiasm. “Here’s what’s really special. The phonostage is essentially the TEA-2SE that you just got done reviewing, and it’s all on one chassis. And, as you can see, we’ve incorporated a healthy dose of our CJD Design Teflon capacitors.” The main differences between the top-of-the-line GAT and ET3SE? The size of the power supply, the complexity of the stepped attenuator controlling the volume level, and the sophistication of the composite triode stage.

In a sense, the ET3SE offers about a quart and a half of the GAT’s sound for less than a quarter of the price. It lists for $4,000 without phonostage and $5,500 with a built-in phonostage. The high-gain version features 54db of gain, and is suggested for cartridges with an output of 1.0mv or less; the low-gain version features 40db of gain and is optimized for cartridges greater than 1.0mv, though most high-output moving coil and moving magnet designs usually fall in the 2.0–5.0mv range, which should be perfect. We reviewed the high-gain model.

It should be noted that non-SE versions are available for $2,500 and $3,350, respectively, but lack the high zoot capacitors. Johnson mentions that while the GAT preamplifier uses 23 massive 2.0uF/350v CJD Design Teflon capacitors (at a retail price of about $250 each), the ET3SE uses a handful of 4.0uF Polypropylene capacitors bypassed by .15uF Teflon capacitors.  This arrangement has the bypass capacitor dominating the sound of the main cap, but “there is no free lunch, the pure Teflon arrangement remains audibly superior.”

If past C-J phono and linestages we’ve heard are any indication, you can expect the non-SE versions to have a somewhat warmer tonal balance with less extension at the frequency extremes; more of the “Classic C-J sound,” if you will. Should you purchase a non-SE model, you can always send it back to the factory for the upgrade, but it will end up costing a few hundred bucks more than the cost of a normal SE model. While I’m spending your money, I highly suggest going all the way and purchasing the SE version. You won’t regret it.

Clean Design

The front panel is free of knobs, utilizes the same round numeric display for volume as past C-J preamplifiers, and comes in any color you like, as long as that happens to be classic C-J champagne anodized aluminum. Like all C-J preamplifiers, the ET3SE is a single-ended design, complete with RCA jacks for inputs and outputs. For 99% of ET3SE owners, this should not present a problem, as the model had no issue driving a 25-foot pair of interconnects without signal degradation. (I’ve had similar luck with my ACT2.)

On top of the splendid aesthetics, the ET3SE is extremely flexible, boasting five high-level inputs as well as the phonostage. It also has a tape loop, or as C-J likes to call it, an “external processor loop.” If you have a tape recorder or outboard equalizer, this is a great way to switch it in and out of the amplification chain when not in use. I employ a Manley Massive Passive studio equalizer when working on restoring my vinyl collection, so this is one of my favorite features. My only complaint? I would love to see a second pair of main outputs for those who use a powered subwoofer.

The only downside to the SE model with all those Teflon capacitors is that it really does take 500 hours to sound its best, just like my ACT 2. But once it’s finally broken-in, the ET3SE opens up and offers a surprising amount of performance for a preamplifier in its given price range. At first glimpse, the ET3SE sounds slightly compressed, with a constricted soundstage. It begins to come out of the fog at about 150 hours, with the presentation making a big jump right around the 300-hour mark before showing further improvement between 300 and 500 hours.

Mix and Match

Most of my listening was spent with the recently upgraded MV-50C1, a unit that last summer went back to the C-J factory to have a full complement of CJD Design Teflon capacitors and similar power supply upgrade. While Johnson pointed out that my “new” MV-50 does not possess the last bit of frequency extension offered by its current tube amplifiers, it’s still damn good, retaining all the magic that the MV-50 had in its day, with a lot more bass grip and high-end clarity that it did when brand new.

I also made it a point to drive a handful of other amplifiers, both tube and solid-state, all with excellent luck. Nelson Pass’ First Watt M3, a single-ended, class-A solid-state design, proved to be an awesome combination with the ET3SE. I’ve been using C-J vacuum-tube preamplifiers with solid-state power amplifiers to great success since the late 70s when I first mated the C-J PV2 with a Threshold 400A, another of Pass’ fine designs. Nothing has changed; it’s still a great pairing.

Because the ET3SE is a model of simplicity, it warms up quickly and uses a basic remote to change functions and volume. The attenuator “clicks,” just like the one on my ACT2; it’s a friendly, familiar sound. The remote is a stripped-down plastic model—cheaper when compared to the billet aluminum remote that higher-end C-J preamplifiers use—but it helps keep the cost more reasonable. If you must have the billet remote, the folks at C-J can sell you one as an accessory.

That Big C-J Sound

Once the break in period was complete and I got down to serious listening, I became amazed at how much this preamplifier is capable of delivering! During casual listening sessions, and when using less than the most pristine software, it was easy to get fooled into thinking I was listening to one of C-J’s top preamplifiers.

The size of the soundstage instantly caught my attention. Left to right, images extended beyond the speakers’ boundaries, and there was an abundance of front-to-back depth as well. Not as much as with the ACT 2, but much more than I expected. And thanks to that ever so slight warmth to the ET3SE’s character, its extra tonal body goes a long way with digital playback, especially on discs that sound less than perfect.

The Motorhead concert set Better Motorhead Than Dead: Live at Hammersmith features a somewhat flat recording of Lemmy Kilmister’s voice. But through the ET3SE, his timbre on signature tracks such as “Love Me Like A Reptile” and “Ace of Spades” had extra presence that was both pleasant and welcome. The ET3SE is just one of those preamplifiers that makes your music collection come alive, especially after it gets an hour or two to fully warm up.

Moreover, the preamplifier’s hybrid design strikes a perfect balance, offering a punchy sound that will have you clamoring to try and define. Whereas some hybrid designs end up representing a compromise, the C-J blends the best of both worlds—extremely quiet, providing healthy tonal contrast, yet powerful and controlled, with weight and accuracy at both ends of the tonal spectrum.

For example, Trey Gunn’s recent I’ll Tell What I Saw features a ProTools-heavy mix, and its massive bass riffs can get muddy in a hurry. Yet the ET3SE sailed right through, keeping the bottom solid and on track, while maintaining the integrity of the powerful percussion. I was equally stunned when enjoying a 24/96 high-resolution copy of Talking Heads’ Fear of Music, a fairly dense album that exposes the beginnings of bandleader David Byrne’s obsession with Brazilian rhythms. Again, the ET3SE did an outstanding job of keeping the pace tight and maintaining the dynamic impact.

Phono Fantastic

For audiophiles that long for the good old days when preamplifiers contained a great phonostage, the ET3SE comes up roses, especially if you don’t want a rack full of gear and cables. On analog, I used the Oracle Delphi V/SME 309/Lyra Dorian combination for a majority of my listening. But even when I experimented with cartridges in the $2,500 range, they never made me feel as if the ET3SE’s internal phono stage was outclassed.

To get a read on more budget-conscious cartridges, I tried the Rega P3-24 with a Dynavector 17D3, but the relatively low output (.3mv) pushed the noise floor of the ET3SE’s phono section. The higher output (.6mv) Lyra Dorian proved a better match. Even the additional .1mv of the Shelter 501II offered superior results when compared to the 17D3, which seems to fare better with phonostages offering at least 60db of gain.

One of the most pleasing aspects of a great internal phonostage is that one need not worry about synergy between phonostage and linestage, or the optimum interconnect cable. Given that the TEA2SE outboard phonostage is $4,000, the ET3SE’s level of phono performance is amazing.

Suffice to say, it was easy to get lost listening to records for hours on end with the ETSE3. When used in conjunction with the MV-50, Oracle turntable, and B&W 805Ds that reside in System Three, the C-J caused me to always come away highly impressed at the quality and amount of true high-end sound available at a price that won’t force you to make your kids attend community college.

Extra Credit

Those who can’t stand to listen to anything in its stock form should consider rolling the tubes in the ET3SE. The phonostage uses three 12AX7s and the linestage one 6922. While I was able to get a significant jump in performance by using the EAT tubes reviewed in this issue, three add $775 to the price of the ET3SE, and they burn away, whether or not you are using the phono input. A more cost-effective upgrade can be had from purchasing one premium 6922 tube for the linestage (again, I suggest the EAT tube). As good as the ET3SE is, it goes to 11 if you swap the stock tube for the EAT.

True Value

I am proud to award the Conrad Johnson ET3SE a 2011 Exceptional Value Award. For many audiophiles, this preamplifier will be all you ever require, offering great sound, top build quality, and immense flexibility for $5,500. I defy anyone to find a more musical combination of preamplifier and phonostage for this price.

The Conrad-Johnson ET3SE Preamplifier

MSRP:  $4,000 without phonostage, $5,500 with

www.conradjohnson.com

Peripherals

If you haven’t fully addressed vibration control in your audio system, that means you still have a final frontier to conquer. And the SRA Ohio Class XL+²  platform is a great place to start your quest. I’ve seen my fair share of DIY attempts: granite slabs, maple boards, sand boxes, and inner tubes to name a few, many piled up like Dr. Seuss contraptions. While any of these alleged solutions will change the sound  of your system, I’ve yet to hear one that consistently reveals more music throughout the frequency range. Often, gains are made in one area at the sacrifice of another.

Until now. And trust me, I was highly skeptical until the very end. The cable world is renowned for its empty promises, and the field of vibration control is no different. Most of it is hit-and-miss. If you peel back the curtain, precious few anti-vibration vendors have any real credentials to back up their products.

Kevin Tellekamp, the brains behind SRA, is a music lover and audiophile, but he also has an extensive background in math, physics, and acoustics. Oh, and he holds more than 50 worldwide patents on vibration control. His “day job” involves solving vibration-related issues for NASA and the US Military (hence, the ship-related product names) along with some other very high-profile customers. At the time of this review, Tellekamp was working with a NYC hospital to isolate its CT scanner from intruding vibrations in order to increase its resolution.

Component Couture

Each of SRA’s Ohio Class XL+²   equipment platforms is a made to order component. SRA takes many things into account when performing the necessary calculations to optimize a platform, for the given piece of equipment. The result is perfectly suited to your gear and according to SRA, their designs are “future proof.”

Each Ohio Class XL+² is designed and manufactured with a specific component in mind, but should you change or upgrade, as audiophiles have a habit to do, the platform can be recalibrated for the new item, at no cost to it’s original owner.  In the rare case that this is not possible, a very aggressive trade in allowance will be made, provided your platform is still in excellent condition.

SRA currently has a database with thousands of different pieces of gear on file, but as Tellekamp pointed out, “if it’s not in our database, we’ll get the measurements.”

They call this Component Specific Design, and even take into account the exact type of footers used by each equipment manufacturer.  Because of this, additional cones, balls, etc. and any kind of additional mass loading is not recommended as it will diminish the component specific design of the SRA isolation unit. Tellekamp is quick to point out that the Earth vibrates somewhere near 3 hz, “What on Earth, weighs more than the Earth? Mass loading is simply not effective.” Another critical aspect of the SRA designs is that they do not use any material in their products whose performance decreases over time.  As anyone who has used a vibration control product using Sorbothane knows, this material compresses relatively quickly and loses its ability to damp vibrations, especially when stacked within an enclosure per Tellekamp.

Each Ohio Class XL+²  is hand built and because of the different parameters involved can range in price from about $1,000 each to as much as $8,000 each.  Lead-time from order to delivery is usually about a month.  Tellekamp and his team consider every part of the design, including the room, and how its products interface with their surroundings. Be it rack based or floor based application, SRA always concentrates on three main problem areas first, regardless of any special circumstances, they are:  Air-born energy, Floor based energy and equipment born energy, which proves to be largely dependent on the first two, but there are some residual vibrations internally from power transformers, etc.

The pair of platforms I received for my Burmester 911 mk.3 amplifiers cost $3,000 each and arrived in massive wood crates. Packaged more carefully than the $30k Burmester amplifiers they would be supporting, their construction quality immediately became evident; workmanship and finish are flawless. My review samples came in high-gloss black, but three standard colors are available and the platforms can be done in two optional custom colors for an additional cost. Tellekamp sent me another email stating, “They take about 2-3 days to achieve final effect, enjoy!”

A Vexing Moment

At this stage of the game, I was still highly skeptical.  With a 12-inch thick concrete floor and a solid-state amplifier, how could I be subject to vibration issues? Tellekamp was quick to correct me, “Vibration will travel quickly through this floor. Stand at one end in your bare feet and have someone bounce a golf ball at the other end, you will feel it unless there are deep voids or saw cuts separating the solid mass.”

Not wanting to risk the sound changing in the slightest by powering the amplifier on and off, a friend slid the platform into place under the first 911, while powered.  Now, listening could begin in earnest!

In the middle of listening to some recent Blue Note remasters, I could immediately hear a darker background with instrument decay having a wider degree of contrast.  Of course, this is where even the most seasoned listener may suspect that the mind is playing tricks – that new upgrade has to sound better.  Moving on to a number of tracks that I was very familiar with, the change with the SRA platform was almost spooky. Everything I played possessed a more organic, relaxed feel, and didn’t come at the expense of any of the dynamic punch my system offers.

Over the next few days, these effects increased, and I felt psyched out by the whole experience. Every time I played something that I’ve heard many times before, more music came to the fore. It was time to make to the switch to the 911 that wasn’t supported by the SRA. What a difference. The soundstage collapsed somewhat and there was a level of cloudiness to the presentation that I hadn’t noticed before. Everything sounded slightly more electronic and less natural. The effect was akin to unplugging the amplifiers from the RSA Maxim power conditioner and plugging straight into the wall.  Think about the impact being similar to the effect of making a substantial upgrade to a component. For example, when listening to the same phono cartridge on my Rega P3 and P9, the tonality is similar. But the P9 retrieves more detail and offers more dynamic contrast.
With a pair of identical amplifiers at my disposal, it was incredibly easy to go back and forth for comparison rather than to have to rely on aural memory. Because at this stage of the game, you want to believe that the shiny new thing makes a difference.  And fortunately, the difference is not understated—the SRA platform offers a marked improvement in every way and takes nothing away from the musical performance when in place.

So, what’s in the Box, Doc?

Though I’ve seen some hints and glimmers at what lurks inside the SRA platform, I still don’t know.  But whether it’s some kind of unobtanium goo from Area 51 or a gigantic wad of Hubba Bubba, it works even better than claimed and like the monolith in 2001, it’s well camouflaged.

After spending considerable time with the SRA platforms, I consider them essential to my system’s performance and would put the effect on par with what I’ve achieved with careful attention to power line conditioning.  If you have a system capable of great resolution and dynamic swing, you will notice about 50% of the effect that the SRA platforms offer instantly and the rest in about 48 hours.  It’s not subtle.

While I can’t suggest placing the Ohio Class XL+²  underneath your amplifier(s) highly enough, I would also suggest optimizing the rest of your system first, so that you can take full advantage of what the SRA platform has to offer.  If you still have major room or setup issues, the added benefit of this component will not be as evident.  Much like adding premium cable to your system, if you still have a big plasma screen between your speakers, or a large area of bare floor, these are much bigger bang for the buck improvements that need to be addressed first.

SRA will be sending us one of its Craz racks in the near future for evaluation, and we’re very anxious to observe the improvement it makes to the rest of the reference system. For now, I give the SRA Ohio Class XL Plus 2 platforms my highest recommendation. If you own a high-performance audio system, I guarantee it will offer a level of performance you didn’t know existed.

The SRA Ohio Class XL+²  Equipment Platform

MSRP:  Equipment dependent

www.silentrunningaudio.com

Peripherals

Merely mentioning that you still listen to vinyl records in casual conversation amongst non-audiophiles almost always invokes a raised eyebrow. And if you try to explain the thrill of vacuum tubes, people that don’t give you a dog-like stare will surely move you to the penalty box. But as vacuum tube fans know, current designs continue to advance like the Energizer bunny, with the best examples light years ahead of the humble beginning of the Williamson circuit from the 1940s. In 1955, the Heathkit version of the original circuit claimed to have “performance far beyond the finest speaker systems available.”  Much has improved since then.

Hailing from Germany, the Octave MRE 130 monoblocks look straightforward in terms of aesthetics. But they’ve also combined a few unique features, along with meticulous attention to detail, to create a pair of power amplifiers that sit at the top of their class. The standard MRE 130 monos run $16,000 per pair, and thanks to external power supply modules ($7,500 additional per pair), allow for the option of taking their stunning performance even further.

The most distinctive aspect of these amplifiers is the substantial redesign of the classic pentode amplifier circuit. The first part of the Octave approach is its power management system, which not only provides a soft start for the tubes, but also furnishes a separate supply that is optimized for the input stage—as well as another for the output stage and a third section that takes care of the additional current requirements of the pentode circuit. In addition, an electronic protection circuit protects the amplifier from damage, should tube failure occur while remaining audibly transparent.

While Octave has only been distributed in the United States for a few years, the company began in 1968 when founder Andreas Hoffman’s father began a transformer-winding factory in Germany. Hoffman started building solid-state amplifiers in 1975 and turned his attention to tubes in 1977. In the years that followed, his products won numerous awards in Europe and Asia.

The MR 130 amplifiers are rated at 100 watts per channel into an 8-ohm load and 130 per channel into 4 ohms. Available in silver or black, the MR 130s are substantial at 46 pounds (22.7kg) each, but not so heavy that they need more than one person to lift.

Setup

Removing the tube cage reveals a complement of two 12AU7s (ECC82C) and a 6C5 as driver tubes, with a quartet of 6550s for the output stage. They can also be configured with KT88s. The review pair came with KT88s installed, and Octave was thoughtful by including two spare power tubes. The company should also be praised for producing one of the most comprehensive and well-written manuals in the industry. It offers background on the design, a thorough explanation of how to properly bias the tubes, and finally, for the technically inclined, measurements.  Hoffman has indicated that future versions of the MRE 130 have been slightly modified to ship with a 6SN7 in the place of the 6C5, to make it easier to find replacments, but assured me that there is no change in sound.

Once the tubes are installed in their respective sockets, the output tubes need to have proper bias set. Five LEDs indicate bias status. A middle green LED indicates correct bias, while a yellow one to the left of center glows with an underbias situation and a yellow one to the right indicates overbias. An orange LED all the way on the far left is used when installing a fresh set of tubes. Finally, a red LED on the maximum far right position only lights when a tube is defective.

The remainder of the setup is straightforward, with two pairs of easily accessible speaker binding posts and a pair of RCA and XLR input sockets. Input type is selected via a switch, and the inputs can be shorted as well, so you can change cables without causing amplifier or speaker damage. XLR connectors are offered, but the amplifier is not fully balanced, as Hoffman doesn’t feel that it’s a superior way to design a tube amplifier.

Although the manual states that output tubes can take “up to 300 hours to sound their best,” my review samples had just come from the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, where they had about a week on the clock. I did not hear a change in amplifiers’ sound character during the test period, other than that of initial warm-up. The MRE 130s require about 45 minutes to sound their best.

It’s also worth mentioning that an output tube failed during the course of this review, and while such an episode may have caused drama with other amplifiers, the MRE 130 simply went quiet. The corresponding red LED lit up to indicate the defective tube. Once the latter was replaced, the MRE 130 went back to performing flawlessly.

Listening Impressions

Beginning with a handful of audiophile classics, I was instantly struck by the soundstage depth and fine detail offered by the MR130s. The LP of the Fleet Foxes’ debut encapsulated such characteristics, keeping the band members’ harmonies wonderfully separated. And the title track from the new Fleet Foxes record, Helplessness Blues (reviewed this issue), proved quite a treat as well. The heavily layered vocals were easy to pluck from the main musical line, as they floated above and in front of the big bass drum in the background.

John Fogerty’s version of “I Put a Spell on You” from Creedence Clearwater Revival’s self-titled album (45RPM Analogue Productions version) proved equally captivating. Shortly thereafter, the band’s “Suzie Q” equated to retro treat, with the lead guitar distinctly defined in the far left channel, full of glorious distortion as Fogerty chimed in and out of the right channel. Yet the bass guitar sounded diffuse, hanging back behind the performers. It was as if bassist Stu Cook was off playing in another room.

While most tube amplifiers impart a glorious sense of pace and a generous measure of air, they usually falter in the area of bass control. But the MRE 130s did not fall victim to the common problem that plagues all but the world’s best tube amplifiers— proof that Hoffman’s power-supply design is highly successful. The funky bass lines in George Michael’s “Hard Day” from Faith arrived with just the right amount of weight and grip, and without losing control. Keep in mind that this song usually overwhelms most tube amplifiers and ends up boomy.

I was equally impressed with the deep bass performance of the MRE 130s when grooving to George Clinton’s “Why Should I Dog You Out?” from The Cinderella Theory. If you have speakers capable of delivering major low-frequency extension, the MRE 130s will step up to the plate. Depth and dimension were definite specialties of the MRE 130s even if they weren’t the equivalent of my Burmester 911 mk.3s. But the Octaves were about to make some big performance gains.

Increasing Performance: Step One

Users not interested in experimenting with different tube configurations will enjoy the MRE 130s as outfitted at the factory. However, if you are a maniacal tube enthusiast that always searches for more performance, rest assured that more is on tap. Towards the end of the review period, the new KT120 power tubes were released. And while this model isn’t a plug-in replacement for every amplifier that utilizes 6550 or KT88 tubes, Hoffman assured me that the MRE 130s’ power supply was up to the task of this particular tube’s increased current demands.

Hoffman also claims that, without redesigning the amplifier, it really won’t produce much more power than with the stock KT88 tubes. Yet, with the KT120s installed, the sound quality tremendously improved on both ends of the frequency spectrum. Bass became deeper and tighter, with even better control than before. The MRE 130s already exhibited some of the most controlled bass I’ve ever heard from a tube amplifier, and with the KT120s, they offer even more grunt.

At the other end of the spectrum, more air circulated around cymbals than before.  Heading back to the CCR catalog, the high hat cymbals seemed to float better while the overall sound achieved a heightened level of refinement. Acoustic instruments became fleshed out with more body; the more complex sounds of the violin and piano took another step towards reality. Originally recorded to two-track 30 i.p.s. tape, Liz Story’s Steinway on her Solid Colors LP suspiciously sounded like the one in my living room.  The amplifiers did an excellent job of letting me just forget about the gear and get lost in the musical presentation.

While the MRE 130s came with a pair of JJ ECC82s (12AU7) installed in each unit, swapping them out for the new Pvane 12AU7s from Shunuang yielded more delicacy. Substituting your favorite NOS tube may change the tonal character of the amplifier, but the new Pvane tubes did not alter tonality. They simply dropped the noise floor of an already very quiet tube amplifier even further, and peeled off a layer of grain that I didn’t previously know existed.  If you do nothing else to your MRE 130s, I highly suggest making this small change.

Step Two: Adding the Big Black Boxes

After becoming thoroughly familiar with the MRE 130s in their stock form and then again with upgraded tubes, another big performance jump came via the Super Black Box, which incidentally, is silver. While a pair of Super Black Boxes add $7,500 to the MRE 130s’ price tag, the improvement is major—and well worth it. As you might suspect from such a substantial upgrade, the soundstage immediately became larger in all three directions, the upper register had more clarity, and the bass possessed even more heft and control.

Whereas Naim gives you the opportunity to add a completely different power supply, the Octave Super Black Box is a giant capacitor bank tethered to each amplifier by a massive power cord and connector. Once powered up, the Super Black Box has a blue status indicator—just like the power amplifier. Should you feel the need to disconnect them, a yellow LED glows for approximately two seconds, indicating the discharge. Hence, you will not be exposed to any harmful voltage when unplugging them.

Digging through deep tracks to locate old-school synthesized bass, I dusted off Edgar Winter’s Jasmine Nightdreams. The second cut, “Little Brother,” has a fairly loose and whumpy albeit powerful bass line that was much more agreeable with the Super Black Boxes in place. The song lost some looseness but not the character of the bass.  I discovered the same effect when playing “Word Up!” from Korn’s Greatest Hits, Vol.1. The driving bass line attained more authority and punch than before, an experience that led me to revisit most of the initial tracks I used to determine the MRE 130s’ character. A definite transformation.

Still, the improvements afforded by the Super Black Box went beyond bass performance. The three-dimensional aspect of the presentation increased to the point that I felt as if I were listening to surround sound. Kraftwerk’s Tour de France took on an uncanny sense of depth that normally requires an analog source to achieve. I found myself listening start-to-finish to several albums in the digital format that I normally experience one or two tracks at a time before moving on. The MRE 130s’ resolution healthily expanded, as did the jump in dynamic range.

Hoffman also told me that one of the side benefits of additional power-supply capacity lowered the amplifier’s output impedance, which accounts for its spectacular bass performance. Such extra capacity also gives the MRE 130s’ the ability to more easily drive difficult loads. I had no problem driving my MartinLogan CLX speakers or the Magnepan 1.6s, each notoriously tough to drive with tubes. Without the Super Black Boxes in place, the MRE 130s ran out of juice with the Magnepans and rolled off the highs with the CLXs. This upgrade is a must if you plan on using these amplifiers with either speaker.

Before adding the upgraded tubes and Super Black Box, the MRE 130s took a back seat to my Burmester 911 Mk. 3 monoblocks in terms of imaging and delicacy. But, after I made the changes, the Octave units held their own in these areas when played within their limits—very impressive for a pair of amplifiers that cost one-third as much as the Burmester gear.

Conclusion

While I can’t imagine using the Octave MRE 130s without the Super Black Boxes now that I’ve had the experience, they are fantastic amplifiers without the add-ons, and Octave is to be commended for giving the end user the opportunity to work their way up to a statement product.

The Octave MRE 130 monoblocks should satisfy all but the most power-hungry systems. If 130 watts per channel is not enough, Octave also produces floor-standing Jubilee monoblocks, which we will audition in the near future. If you’ve always wanted the benefits of tube amplification without any of the drawbacks, these amplifiers are for you.

Octave MRE 130 Monoblock Amplifiers

MSRP: $16,000/pair; Super Black Box: $7,500/pair

www.octave.de

Peripherals

While we shy away from audiophile clichés, the Magnepan MMGs are truly one of the best values in hi-fi. These days, $600 dollars will buy you a pair of speakers that are more than likely built in China and resemble toys that belong in a Happy Meal rather than your living room. Not so the MMGs.

In the past, Magnepan’s entry-level speaker was only available direct from the factory, keeping costs to the bone and dealer markup out of the picture, but now they will be on your dealers showroom floor. Equally generous, Magnepan allows for a very liberal trade-in during the first year (full purchase price in most cases) should you move up the ladder to one of its larger speakers. Product manager Wendell Diller points out, “We actually don’t get many pairs back. They usually end up in a second system or passed on to a family member.”

What the MMGs offer—quite possibly better than any product (save the new Rega Brio-R integrated amplifier) we’ve reviewed with a budget price tag—is a serious helping of genuine high-end sound. Properly installed, and matched to room and amplifier with care, the MMGs give you the best swig of champagne on a beer budget that you’re likely to encounter in high-end audio.

Setup and Amplifier Matching

I initially used the MMGs in my small living room (11 x 17 feet, 8 foot ceiling) with excellent results. Their light weight and small size makes them easy to experiment with different listening positions. At only 1.25 inches thick, the 14.5 x 48-inch panels weigh about 15 pounds each, so you can move them back up against the walls when not doing critical listening and bring them back out to proper position for serious sessions. Yes, imaging will suffers somewhat, but even against the walls, the MMGs can still be used for background music. They are available in off-white, grey, or black with natural, black, or oak trim. Back in black is the way I’d go.

Once the MMGs had about 200 hours of play, I broke up listening sessions into three distinct categories. The first utilized speakers with budget receivers that can be purchased used for under $100. The Pioneer SX-626, Marantz 2235, and a few other vintage 70s receivers I had on hand would not drive these speakers to any kind of realistic volume level without issue. At best, I kept going to Radio Shack for fuses; in one instance, I looked for my fire extinguisher. The Nakamichi TA-2A, featuring an amplifier section designed by Nelson Pass, proved the exception.

The next group featured the recently reviewed Croft Micro 35 preamplifier and a vintage Nakamichi PA-7 power amplifier. The latter is a solid-state design, again with Nelson Pass’ STASIS topology, and can be procured for about $700 on the used market.  A number of other great power amplifiers that can be had for under $1,000 will also mate well with the MMGs, which respond as well to quality as quantity of watts. While only 50 watts per channel, the robustly constructed Rega Brio-R integrated did a splendid job driving these speakers. I did not have such luck with any of my lower-powered tube amps. This has always been my experience with Magnepans. Tubes yes; low power, no.

Finally, to probe what the MMGs were capable of delivering, I tried the Simaudio 600i and 750D CD player/DAC. The combination is 20 times the cost of the MMGs yet truly showed what the little speakers could do given superior source components. If you have electronics at this level and always wanted to sample the Magnepan sound, the MMGs will make for a good show; they certainly have enough resolution.

In my smaller room, the speakers ended up about six feet apart with very slight toe-in, and located about three feet from the rear wall for the best sound. If you are working with a room this size and can accommodate them, add a pair of 2 x 4 foot GIK 242 panels about 2 feet in front of the speakers. They absorb the first reflection from the sidewall and help expand the left-to-right stereo image beyond the speaker boundaries.

Room gain was my friend, offering slightly more bass in the smaller room. Still, I preferred the MMGs in my main listening room (16 x 24 feet) on the long wall. This kept the speakers well away from sidewall boundaries. The small amount of lower bass I lost in transition was well worth the expanded stereo image.

Prepare to Settle In

Foghat’s “Take It or Leave It,” from Mobile Fidelity’s edition of Fool for the City, painted a wide aural canvas. The rock classic spread out well beyond the speaker boundaries and revealed solid echo traits. Because they have enough mid-bass energy, the MMGs do a surprisingly good job with this type of music—provided there is enough power and you keep the volume reasonable. Another great example of the wide-stereo effect came courtesy of Chicago’s “Prelude to Aire” from Chicago VIII. Most percussive elements were again floating well beyond the speaker boundaries and possessed substantial depth. I also highly recommend Explosions in the Sky’s recent Take Care, Take Care, Take Care. Its ethereal soundscapes are full of minute details and reverb-drenched guitars that will bounce all over your listening room.

The MMGs really shine on music that has a slightly limited dynamic scale. Queue up your favorite minimally accompanied vocalist and hear the MMGs strut their stuff.  The Bad Plus’ “Nirvana” (from For All I Care) had an ideal balance of airy vocals and instrumental richness, with a slight touch of compression—a good thing in this case since it didn’t push the speakers beyond their capabilities. “Long Distance Runaround” from said album proved equally enjoyable, with great plucky acoustic bass riffs that played to the major strength of all Magnepan speakers: the ability to resolve mid-bass texture.   Vocalist Wendy Lewis’ voice hung between the speakers as the piano remained off to the right, with excellent decay. By not asking the MMGs to go terribly deep or play incredibly loud, I fooled a number of non-audiophile listeners that thought we were auditioning more expensive speakers. Of course, music lovers locked into traditional audiophile female vocal fare will not believe their ears, either. The MMGs amaze in the manner in which they disappear.

Switching to Genesis’ Lamb Lies Down on Broadway quickly revealed the shortcomings of the MMGs. When the first big synth bass riff kicks in on the title track, it simply wasn’t there. Whether you are listening to Pink Floyd or Eminem, you aren’t going to get deep bass. But the bass that you do get is very high quality. And that’s what makes the MMGs the most musically involving speakers I’ve heard for the money. To wit: Their performance with the Beastie Boys’ Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, on which they magnified many cool tidbits buried in the mix.

All types of panel speakers have been justifiably accused of providing a “one person” sweet spot. The MMGs are guilty as charged. However, the real limitation is that the sweet spot is more restricted in the vertical axis than in the horizontal. Much of this is due to the fact that the MMGs don’t have the sheer panel area of larger Magnepan models. I’ve experienced the same effect with smaller speakers from MartinLogan, so this is not endemic to Magnepan. But again, keeping the MMGs within their comfort zone provides stellar results.

Yes, your favorite box speaker may offer better off-axis performance, but it will not give you the gigantic soundstage and natural midrange offered by the MMG when you sit up straight in your listening chair. It’s a trade-off, but one I’d happily make for this level of resolution—and certainly, price. And the MMGs’ resolution impressed me the most. While it’s unlikely they would ever be used in this category, the speakers easily resolved differences between the $6,000 Simaudio i-7, $8,000 600i, $12,000 700i integrated amplifiers during last issue’s comparison test—an impressive feat for any speakers, much less a $600 pair.

An Auspicious Start to Any High-End Audio Journey

If you crave a high-quality music system on a tight budget, the anchor is no further away than Magnepan’s Web site. Played within their limits, the MMGs provide a rich musical experience that will hook you in your quest for better sound—just as the company’s products have done for many other audio enthusiasts.

With only minor limitations, the MMGs communicate musical fundamentals like nothing else in their price category. The only downside? They require careful attention during setup to sound their best, and their high resolution will reveal shortcomings in the rest of your system. However, on many levels, that’s what high-end sound is about. And the rewards far outweigh the minimal effort required to get the MMGs sounding their best. To put it another way: The MMGs deliver the goods better than any other speaker I’ve experienced at this price.

Magnepan MMGs

MSRP:  $599

www.magnepan.com

Peripherals

While the original design of the Magnepan MMG harkens back to 1969, Klipsch goes back even further, to 1946, when it took a unique path for high-performance speaker design: the loaded horn. Beginning with the legendary Klipschorn—inspired by large horn speakers used in theaters—Klipsch utilized horn-loaded compression drivers for the midrange and tweeters, along with a folded horn for the woofer.

Originally introduced in 1957 to be used as a third channel for the era’s three-channel recordings, the speaker was initially deemed “heresy” by critics that viewed it as a violation of designer Paul Klipsh’s fully horn-loaded design. Legend has it that such reactions led to the speaker’s name. Unlike the gigantic Klipschorn, the Heresy III uses a more traditional direct-radiating 12-inch woofer and a much more compact box. At only 24 inches tall, 15 inches wide, and 13 inches deep, the Heresy III packs a wallop. It’s intended to be placed close to the rear wall, as to not intrude on your listening space.

Note: When I began this review, the Heresy IIIs were $749 each, just falling within the cost parameters of our all-budget issue. But now that every speaker is custom produced to order in Cherry, Walnut, or Black Ash veneer (all requiring a 3-4 week waiting period), the price has risen to $799 each. So, yes, we are making a slight exception. But where else can you get a custom-produced, hand-built, US-made pair of speakers for such dough? By such criteria alone, the Heresy III qualifies as one of the best values in speakers today.

Rocking in Five Minutes

The Heresy IIIs are ready to roll the minute you unpack them. After investigating numerous placement options, I advise sticking with the factory’s suggestion of placing the speakers close to the rear wall (a foot or less is great). However, I felt that corner loading was a bit much, as it made for whumpy bass. The spec sheet claims a frequency response of +/-3db from 58Hz-20kHz, yet a cursory listen to test tones revealed solid bass output between 45 and 50Hz. Thanks to a 99db sensitivity rating, you can use the Heresys with any amplifier.

Just like I did with all of the other speakers reviewed in this budget issue, I started my listening with a stack of 70s receivers. The Heresy IIIs proved an amazing match with them all, offering much better sound than you would expect from such minimal investment. The best pairing came with a mint NAD 3020A that just received a full refurbishment at NAD. How apt: Many an audiophile started their journey with the 3020A. Its high-current design offered a level of resolution that the other receivers couldn’t match, and yet it can be obtained for under $200.

Audiophiles might not expect a pair of box speakers placed low and close to the wall to offer up any kind of substantial imaging, but the Heresy IIIs defy convention. The soundstage extended well beyond the speaker boundaries, while a generous helping of vertical dispersion added to the experience.

Mmmmm…Tubes

While the Heresy IIIs use a horn midrange and tweeter, they don’t have the “honk” that accompanies most horn-loaded speakers. The mids and high ends are smooth, with drivers blending in a seamless, coherent manner. They will make your favorite vintage solid-state receiver sound much better than you ever thought it could while your choice low-powered tube amplifier (current or vintage) will redefine budget audio fun.

In the end, my choices centered on the Woo Audio WA6 and the Conrad Johnson MV 50A1 recently rebuilt at the CJ factory. The SET amplifier yielded a slightly larger three-dimensional presentation, but the CJ had both more extension at the frequency extremes and a more palpable midrange. Both models drove the Heresy IIIs louder than I needed. Time spent with the Dynaco Stereo 70 and PAS 3 preamplifier also made for highly enjoyable encounters.

Dynamics Make the Difference

The Heresy IIIs offer up a very natural sound. Still, the one aspect that’s usually missing from a low-budget system is the ability to play loud and clean. As the polar opposites of the Magnepan MMGs—which possess a seamless midrange presentation but can’t really rock—the Heresy IIIs give up a little bit of coherence yet have the capacity to play heavy duty rock and roll at reasonable levels. I couldn’t even think about spinning SunnO))) at anything above a whisper on the Magnepans. And the small woofers in the otherwise excellent Paradigm Millenia Ones can’t move enough air to get the job done. But on the Heresy IIIs, I wasn’t three minutes into “Etna” and my neighbors were already throwing things over the fence. Next time, I better close the door.

Subsequent metal explorations left me with the same conclusion: These speakers can really rock without any of the compression that occurs with a less-efficient speaker that’s mated to a modest power amplifier. Playing 99db speakers with a 40-watt-per-channel tube amplifier (and its warm distortion characteristics) is like having 1000 watts per channel on tap for 89db speakers. Because the Heresy IIIs play so loud and cleanly, they actually pose a slight threat to your hearing. After an hour of Ozzy and Dio classics, I noticed a slight buzz in my ears. So proceed with caution if you buy a pair.

Just as a high-powered amplifier can make moderately efficient speakers light up, the same holds for high-efficiency speakers. They take the burden away from your amplifier and no matter what music you enjoy, deliver an ease that you just can’t get from a pair of mini monitors. Another side benefit? The Heresy IIIs can play at low volume levels and retain their resolution. Even if you aren’t a metalhead, you’ll be surprised at how lifelike acoustic and vocal records sound, even at soft volumes. Plus, the Heresy IIIs are as linear as they are dynamic. When listening to complex music, the speakers did not lose their poise; they transmitted fine details at every volume level.

A Solid Choice

The Klipsch Heresy IIIs constitute a consummate blend of vintage and modern sound in a package that’s easy to drive and effortless to integrate into your listening room. No matter where you are on your hi-fi journey, these speakers provide a constantly engaging and truly thrilling musical experience. And, considering they are built with care by one of hi-fi’s true pioneers, you can’t go wrong.

After living with the Heresy IIIs for several months and listening to a wide range of music, I found no blatant shortcomings—especially considering the price. Sure, I’d love to see them made out of solid wood like they were in the 50s, and some better binding posts would be nice. But these accoutrements would add to the cost and don’t affect the sound.

One of the secrets to any good loudspeaker at any price is its ability to convey natural reproduction of the critical mid frequencies. The Heresy IIIs handle this job better than most competitors, and by adding a huge dynamics at well under $2,000/pair, they’re an unqualified success. I know this much: I need a pair.

The Klipsch Heresy III

$1,598 per pair, any finish

http://www.klipsch.com/na-en/products/heresy-iii-overview/

Peripherals

Clean power is one of the most essential parts to any hi-fi system’s success. Many audiophiles claim that they already have clean power because they are either close to a generating facility, far away from it, or have dedicated lines; I’ve heard all the reasons. And I’ve also heard the most common argument—that a well-designed power supply in an audio component doesn’t need additional help.

Unfortunately, if you subscribe to any of these beliefs, you are just plain wrong.  I’ve had the opportunity to audition hundreds of components during the last six years and have yet to hear a single one that hasn’t benefited from proper power-line conditioning. Ah, but there’s a catch.

I’ve also had the chance to try countless power products and only found one that follows the Hippocratic oath of “doing no harm” to the signal. Often, it’s easy to mistake a lowered noise floor for transient edges being shaved off, or tonality slightly altered, thus accentuating a particular frequency range and making the conditioned sound different—but not better—overall. It’s no wonder that after a certain period of time, the system happens to sound better when plugged straight into the wall again, and the honeymoon is over.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. A good power-conditioning product should remove distortion artifacts from the AC power line, lower the noise floor, and keep its collective hands off of instrument tonality. And that’s precisely what the EVO 3 Sirius does. Following a brief listen when visiting the US importer, The Sound Organisation, I asked for a review sample. And after a few weeks of listening with various combinations, I am highly pleased with the results.

The Dilemma

Power supply sections are some of the most obvious places where budget hi-fi components cut costs. If you lift the cover on your favorite megabucks amplifier, you will usually find a massive power transformer and banks of filter capacitors that help turn AC power into DC. But these components cost big money and large, high-quality capacitors can fetch hundreds of dollars—each. Ironically, due to their power supply limitations, least-expensive components often best respond to power conditioning. However, more often than not, a person with a $4,000 system isn’t going to invest in a $5,000 line conditioner as their next upgrade. (Actually, it wouldn’t be a bad idea.)

At $995, the IsoTek EVO 3 Sirius is a great place to start tapping clean power. It won’t break the bank, and as your system goes, you can add a second EVO 3 or one of IsoTek’s larger units. The company also carries a complete line of power cords, which provide additional gain. Yet the EVO 3 is where you want to begin. Sound Organisation president Steve Daniels encouraged me to try the power cords I had on hand and commented, “You’ll see a marked improvement no matter what mains cable you use.”

The EVO 3 uses a standard 15A IEC power cord, but IsoTek’s products are also available for 220/240-volt applications with UK and EU plugs. The model reviewed here offers six standard 110-volt outlets, all isolated from each other. Maximum current draw is rated at 10 amps, so the unit operates well with all but the largest power amplifiers.

Try This At Home, Kids

Most audiophiles like results that they can quantify and process. Here is an easy test to see if you need power conditioning (you do) and if said conditioning is actually doing anything (it should); the tools and methodology are inexpensive and simple. Procure a 50-foot extension cord and run it well away from your system into another room of your house, plugging one end into your system and the other into a common AC-powered hand drill.

First, listen to your favorite piece of music, preferably a selection with acoustic instruments and a fair amount of “air.” Now, turn the drill on and observe the effect that this has on your system’s presentation. You should hear the soundstage compress a bit and a layer of haze materialize as a result of the noisy drill motor. Finally, repeat the process with everything (including the drill) plugged into the EVO 3. Problem solved.

The Lack of Sound

Eliminating noise from the line is the easy part, but the most critical aspects of power-line conditioning concern the preservation of dynamics and keeping complex tonality in check. Listening to a wide range of components, tube and solid state, it became obvious that the EVO 3 did no harm to the signal. Music sounded livelier when the components were plugged in to it rather than directly to the wall. It’s also worth noting that the EVO 3’s effect was such that it passed muster with my non-audiophile friends. All detected the same enhancements and described them in relatively the same way. No, this isn’t a mere tweak that you’ll struggle to hear.

Jesse Sykes’ Oh, My Girl provided a great workout for the EVO 3. The delicacy of Sykes’ complex and somewhat gravely voice is easy to dilute if the system is not up to speed, and with the EVO 3 removed from the system, her lead vocals (and accompanying twangy guitars) lost substantial dimensionality. While the EVO 3 worked incredibly well with the PrimaLuna Prologue Premium vacuum tube amplifier, it brought higher levels of musicality to the solid-state Emotiva combination (also reviewed in this issue) as well.

The biggest surprise occurred when plugging my dCS Paganini stack into the EVO 3, currently on a dedicated 15-amp line. Immediately, the sound became “less digital.” This characteristic was most apparent and dramatic during the playback of 128kb/sec Rhapsody files. Again, the overall presentation became more liquid and analogesque. Granted, a 128kb/sec bitstream will never sound like an LP. But with the EVO 3 in place, it was much more pleasant and far less grainy.

Plug One In

The IsoTek EVO 3 Sirius provided consistent results, regardless of the equipment used. It will lower the noise floor of your system, and improve dynamics and low-level resolution. Exactly what a power line conditioner is supposed to do. Here’s one of the best upgrades you can make. Plus, knowing that you are plugged into clean power simplifies the other aspects associated with fine-tuning. Highly recommended.

IsoTek EVO 3 Sirius

MSRP: $995 US, £299 UK

US:  www.soundorg.com

UK:  www.isoteksystems.com

Peripherals

Too bad the folks at Rega aren’t in charge of balancing the trade deficit. While a substantial amount of modestly priced hi-fi is now produced in China, Rega continues to make solid designs built by hand by skilled craftspeople in its UK factory. That the company produces a 50wpc integrated amplifier with an excellent phonostage is quite admirable; that the firm does it at this level without going to the Far East is nothing less than incredible. Rega’s main man, Roy Gandy, is fond of saying that Rega likes to build products that offer top performance in their respective class. But this time, Rega hit the ball way out of the park.

Longtime Rega enthusiasts might be surprised that the price of the Brio-R is $300 more than that of the previous model, which has been around for about 12 years. However, the new version offers substantial gains even as it occupies a much smaller footprint. Think of the $895 Rega Brio-R as the Lotus Elise of integrated amplifiers; it’s not quite what you’d expect until you get behind the wheel. And yes, the “R” stands for remote.

Make sure to use both hands when unpacking the Brio-R. The compact box is fairly heavy, weighing in at about 20 pounds. Peaking inside shows that Rega didn’t allow a square millimeter of space to go to waste. The Brio-R features the same enclosure as the Rega DAC we reviewed earlier this year, the shared approach keeping costs low and quality high. No detail is left to chance; the remote-control circuitry is even given its own separate power supply to ensure signal purity. Poking around inside reveals one pair of output transistors per channel, high-quality film caps, and a very short signal path.

Small Yet Strong

Despite its smaller box, the new Brio packs a bigger wallop than its predecessor. And there’s never been a more perfect example of specs not telling the whole story. While the previous Brio 3 is rated at 49 watts per channel and the new model at only 50 watts per channel (73 watts per channel into 4 ohms), Rega claims the new output stage can reasonably drive outputs “as low as 1.7 ohms.”

Indeed, while the last Brio struggled with low-impedance speakers, the Brio-R effortlessly sailed through. Driving a pair of Magnepans usually translates into the kiss of death for most small integrated amplifiers (and a few larger ones, as well), but the Brio-R did a very respectable job of powering the notoriously power-hungry MMGs reviewed in this issue. It’s also worth noting that my Cambridge Audio 740C (rated at 100 watts per channel) was not up to this task. Moreover, the Rega had no problems driving my vintage MartinLogan Aerius. A reasonably priced integrated that can tackle Magnepans and MartinLogans without problem? High marks are in order.

Like the prior Brio, the Brio-R features an onboard MM phonostage, also improved in sound quality and sensitivity. In the past, users that didn’t utilize a Rega phono cartridge complained about a lack of gain in the phonostage, an issue that required serious twisting the volume control to achieve reasonable listening levels. With a sensitivity of 2.1mv, the Brio-R had no troubles reaching full volume at the 12:00 level when outfitted with a Sumiko Blackbird cartridge, which boasts an output of 2.5mv. Thanks to its quietness, I was even able to use a Grado Master1, which has an output of only .5mv (47k loading). Doing so necessitated setting the volume at almost 2:00 for the maximum level, but the Brio-R remained up to the task.

Setup and Controls

The Brio-R will have you listening to music in a jiff. The spartan front panel shares the same design brief as the Rega DAC, with a power button on the left, volume control on the right, and a button that requires a touch to toggle between inputs. The mute control is only accessed via the remote, which also allows for volume level and input switching.  And the Brio-R can only be turned on and off from the front panel.

Around back, five inputs and a fixed level output made for an excellent match with my recently restored Nakamichi 550 cassette deck, which incidentally is almost the same size as the Brio-R. For the tapeheads, the output has a level of 210mv.

The only caveat? Input one is the phono input and not marked as such. Plugging in a line-level source here will cause a hateful noise at best and blown tweeter at worst, so proceed with caution. If you’re not a vinyl enthusiast, get a pair of Cardas RCA caps, if for no other reason than to prevent a mishap. Rega turntables do not have ground wires. But if you’re using a ‘table that has one, the ground screw is underneath the amplifier’s rear face.

The Brio-R uses a standard IEC AC socket, so those that enjoy swapping power cords can geek out all they want. However, the RCA jacks and speaker binding posts are so close together that some cables will not be compatible. And while the average consumer that purchases a Brio-R may not step too far into the world of premium cables, the amplifier is good enough to warrant doing so. Given the restricted space, speaker cables with spades are almost out of the question; grab bananas or banana adaptors.

Sounds Like Separates

Resolution often sets separate components apart from integrated amplifiers. The Brio-R has an overall clarity that I have never experienced at this price—and I’ve heard my share of much more expensive pieces that struggle to sound this good. After all, only a handful of sub-$3k amplifiers provide true high-end sound; the Brio-R belongs at the top of that short list. It truly sounds like separate components.

At the beginning of John Mellencamp’s “Sweet Evening Breeze” from Human Wheels, a Hammond organ faintly enters from the far back of the soundstage, barely registering a whisper. Other inexpensive integrateds I’ve sampled (except for the PrimaLuna ProLogue1) don’t resolve this. Or, what does come through is flat and on the same plane as the rest of the music—a blurry rendition. Oingo Boingo’s “Nothing Bad Ever Happens” from Good For Your Soul has similar textures, with multiple layers of guitars and keyboards that, via substandard gear, blend together and smear. By yielding genuine dimensionality, the Brio-R is a budget component that you can listen to for hours on end, fully engaged in the presentation.

The amp claims a fair share of headroom as well. Whether listening to KISS, with or without a symphony orchestra, the Rega didn’t run out of steam until played at very high volumes. Switching to the 99db sensitivity Klipsch Heresy IIIs (also reviewed this issue) resulted in a completely different situation. This combination achieved near rave-level SPLs with Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral. The opening drumbeats to “Big Man With a Gun” were big and powerful, yet the little Rega didn’t seem to break a sweat.

Your favorite speaker with a sensitivity rating of between 87–91db should prove a more than acceptable match for the Brio-R’s power amplifier section.

Vinyl Adventure

The phonostage in the Brio-R should prove a perfect match for anything in the $100-$600 range and when used with the Rega RP1 and its Performance Pack, an upgrade that includes the Bias 2 MM cartridge. The latter features a tonal balance slightly tipped toward the warm side of neutral, helping less-than-stellar LP pressings sound their best.

For example, a friend that brought over budget treasures purchased for fewer than $3/each couldn’t believe the performance wrought by the RP1/Brio-R combination. Again, the Brio-R’s phonostage offers excellent resolution and a very smooth upper register. And while the RP1/Bias combination turned in a great show, switching to the P3-24 and Blackbird offered a substantial helping of “what the analog fuss is all about.”

Good Things Do Come in Small Packages

The Rega Brio-R sets the benchmark for an $1000 integrated amplifier and then some.  While it’s easy for those that regularly hear the world’s best (and often most expensive) gear to get excited about great sound, it’s truly thrilling to hear this level of sound quality from an amplifier with an $895 price tag. Music lovers on a budget no longer have to sacrifice quality. This one could make a crazed audiophile out of you where you least expect it.

The Rega Brio-R

MSRP:  $895

www.soundorg.com (US)

www.rega.co.uk (UK)

Peripherals

Known for naming its speakers after famous German composers, Vienna’s latest model should be rechristened the Schenker or the Jabs—as they were the two German guitarists whose music I blasted at the beginning of the review process. Small speakers often struggle to play rock music, so, to gauge potential, the Scorpions’ Blackout and Love at First Sting were first on my agenda. Powered by the mighty McIntosh MC1.2kw monoblocks and capable of delivering 1200 watts each, what better way to start a listening session?

Pondering KISS’ Alive! as my next choice, I instead stayed with Schenker, this time Michael Schenker from UFO, while turning the volume control perilously higher for a majority of Lights Out, the band’s powerful double live set. As I completely ignored the 180-watt maximum power rating on the spec sheet, the thought of reaching for my checkbook to buy the Vienna review samples crossed my mind. But not for the usual reasons; the meters on the MC1.2kws were moving way up the scale. You probably won’t hook your Haydns up to a pair of 1200-watt behemoths, but if you do, rest assured that their robust construction is up to snuff.

High Tech, Easy Setup

These elegant $1,800 mini-monitors have a small footprint. They are only 6.85 inches wide, 10.4 inches deep, and just over 14 inches tall. With the appropriate stands, perfect for a small-to-medium-size room. My review pair arrived in an optional piano white finish that was simply beautiful. No part of these understated speakers is done by chance. Featuring a 6-inch woofer made from the company’s clear X3P material and latest-generation 1-inch soft dome tweeter, the Hayden also takes advantage of enhanced technology gleaned from Vienna’s top-of-the-line speakers.

The Haydn’s unique wedge bass port places the tweeter directly in the front of the angled port. Successfully eliminating port noise, which can be a problem with small monitors featuring a high excursion woofer, the Haydn delivers the goods when called upon to reproduce lower bass frequencies. Kraftwerk’s “Boing Boom Tschak” is an excellent test for such a task. Many small, ported speakers make a muffled groan when asked to handle the deep bass on this record, but the Haydens sailed through without issue. The MC1.2kws were reading about 600 watts on the power output meters before the woofers hit their stops—indicating an end to the madness.

Bass fun aside, paying careful attention to speaker rake is key to extracting the maximum performance from the Haydns. Tilting them back slightly, about a degree at a time, reveals a spot where they just disappear from the listening position. As a result, the soundstage dramatically increases. If you have DualLevelPro on your iPhone, you can quickly get the speakers within a half-degree of one another. You’ll know when you have it right: the stereo image will extend well beyond the speaker boundaries. If it’s not perfect, the image just hovers between the speakers. Take 30 minutes, and grab a friend to help, and you will be in heaven.

After getting read on the speakers, I replaced the MC1.2kws with the Conrad Johnson MV-50C1. This EL-34 powered amplifier produces 45 watts per channel, more than enough for all but the most ambitious listening. It proved an excellent match for the Haydns’ 89dB sensitivity. Similarly, the Rega Brio-R (also reviewed in this issue) made for an excellent solid-state choice and logged a fair amount of listening time as well.

Fatigue Free

While I preferred the scrumptious match of the CJ amp with the Haydns—I really enjoy the hyperrealism of listening nearfield with a pair of high-performance monitors driven by a great vacuum tube amplifier—the Haydns’ smooth albeit resolving soft dome tweeter was never harsh. So those with solid-state amplification need not fear. Audiophiles that love solo vocalists will be very pleased with these speakers. To wit, play Keren Ann’s recent 101. The breathy, expansive vocals will melt even the most diehard Patricia Barber fan and really show off the midrange clarity offered up by the Haydens.

When moving to electronica from Deadmaus, Kruder & Dorfmeister, and Tosca, the music underscored the small speakers’ ability to produce a substantial amount of bass, even in my main listening room (16 x 24 feet). “Bug Powder Dust” from The K&D Sessions goes very deep. Yet the Haydns captured most of the fundamental tone, with a bit of sub-harmonics as well. The single 6-inch driver performed impressively, yielding solid bass reproduction and quite a bit of texture. Of all the speakers we auditioned for this issue, the Haydns were the only pair that went toe to toe with my Magenpan 1.6s in terms of upper bass detail—no small feat. I was consistently surprised at the amount of low-frequency oomph they mustered.

Great small monitor speakers also excel at pinpoint imaging, and the Haydns didn’t shirk in this area, either. Listening to the soundtrack to the 1981 animated classic Heavy Metal, the main vocals of “All of You” hovered out in front of my face, with the guitars far behind the imaginary line between the speakers. Moreover, the spacey electronic effects were distinctly placed from left to right, without ever losing the bass line.

As much as I punished these speakers at the beginning of the review, they did an equally excellent job playing music at very low levels—a great example of their linearity. Should you happen to be an apartment dweller that lacks both space and the luxury to really wind up your system, these speakers can keep you very happy until you don’t have neighbors behind your adjoining walls.

While I wouldn’t generally pair 89dB speakers with an SET, the Haydns were so easy to drive, my 9-watt-per-channel Woo Audio amplifier proved a delicious partner. Listening to Tomita’s Live at Linz, 1984–The Mind of the Universe at low-level in the nearfield made me feel like I was sitting in a gigantic pair of headphones, with synthesizer effects sounding as if they were coming right from the middle of my head.

Please Please Me

If you have a modest-sized room and won’t miss that last octave of bass, the Vienna Acoustics Haydns practically have no faults, especially at this price. There are a handful of small monitors that offer more bass and resolution, but they cost three-to-five times as much. Kept in the context of the components with which they will probably be paired, these speakers should be able to satisfy the fussiest of budget audiophiles. And, considering their small size, multiple finish options, and fact that they present a load that is easy to drive, the Haydens’ versatility seems to know no bounds.

Vienna Acoustics Haydn Grand Symphony Edition

MSRP: $1,850/pair (standard finish) $2,000/pair (piano white and rosewood)

www.vienna-acoustics.com

Peripherals

No matter your drug of choice—chemical, horsepower, audio—with prolonged use, you always reach a plateau at which you believe you just can’t get any higher. But sooner or later, something else enters your reality that restarts the cycle, and you’re off and running again. Such is my experience with the Pass Labs XA160.5 monoblocks.

If you are new to the world of high-end audio, you can get the condensed history of Pass Labs here: http://www.passlabs.com/about.htm. The shorter version is simple: Nelson Pass is a genius. He’s probably got more patents for amplifier design than almost everyone else combined. And he’s got a great sense of humor, too. The owner’s manual describes the new amplifier as “tending to run heavy and hot, but elicit high performance and reliability from simple circuits.”

Weighing in at about 130 pounds each and $24,000 per pair, the XA160.5s are not for the light of wallet—or bicep. Or, for that matter, air-conditioning capacity. The power draw isn’t huge, but each unit sucks 600 watts from the power line, whether idling or at full power. Because they only produce 160 watts per channel into 8 ohms, doubling into a 4-ohm load, they get very warm to the touch. Yes, this behavior is normal for a class A design. The extra heat was welcome in March when the amplifiers arrived, as it kept our studio toasty. Yet, as days got longer, the amps forced us to run the A/C well before we normally would.

Super Yet Simple

Pass has always advocated keeping things as simple as possible. While squarely looking at the enormous monoblocks might cause you to question whether he still believes in this basics-minded philosophy, thanks to Pass’ patented SuperSymmetry design, the amplifier has only two gain stages. At the risk of oversimplifying, the SuperSymmetry approach achieves low distortion (and tonal purity) by making each half of the balanced amplifier as close to identical as possible so that the resulting distortion from each half of the amplifier circuit cancels out in balanced mode.

To achieve maximum performance, the amplifier must be run in balanced operation. Fortunately, the ARC REF 5 offers balanced and single-ended outputs, which makes comparisons a snap. And Pass is right again: Utilizing the XA160.5 in single-ended mode proved very good, but it featured a layer of grain not present in balanced mode. Whether you use a Pass Labs preamplifier or a model from another manufacturer, make sure to take the balanced route.

Coming Full Circle

My first experience with Pass’ class A amplifiers came in 1979. I combined a Threshold 400A with a Conrad Johnson PV-2 preamplifier driving a pair of Acoustats, making both an incredibly natural combination and excellent case for pairing a solid-state power amplifier with a tube preamplifier. While many combinations have since passed through my room, the tube pre/solid-state power amplifier is always the one to which I’m drawn, especially when it involves a class A amplifier.

The XA160.5s symbiotically works with all of the preamplifiers at my disposal, but the match with the Audio Research REF 5 linestage and REF Phono 2 preamplifier is heaven-sent. Pass Labs president Desmond Harrington tells me that many customers use the company’s amplifiers with tube preamplifiers. “It’s a popular combination, but when it comes to power, we like to see our amplifiers offering the tube sound without the tears.” Truer words haven’t been spoken.

As someone who’s purchased more than a fair share of power tubes, I am relieved to know that the sound of the XA160.5’s will never change. And, you won’t have to buy new power tubes every year. Continuous operation cuts down on tube life. If only Costco sold tubes by the palette.

Like Luke, I Ignored Yoda Just Once

Pass’ instruction manual cautions against using the XA160.5s with a power conditioner. Nonetheless, I plugged them directly into the wall and then into my Running Springs Maxim power conditioner, with the latter providing an even cleaner presentation. The soundstage opened up significantly, and I didn’t experience any loss of dynamics. Yes, the stock power cords that come with the XA160.5s are very good, but aftermarket power cords (Shunyata and Running Springs models yielded excellent results) offered up a slightly clearer window to the music.

In all fairness, think of superior power cords as being able to take an amplifier that goes to 11 up to 11.2. Besides, you wouldn’t put regular gas in your Porsche, would you?

Super and Scrumptious

Unlike a non-class A solid-state amplifier, the XA160.5s shouldn’t be powered on for 24 hours a day. They generate too much heat. Still, just like a tube amplifier, the XA160.5s need an hour to warm up and stabilize. At first turn on, they still sound great, but once you get used to them, you’ll notice a slight haziness that softly dissipates as the clock ticks. Coincidentally, the ARC REF 5 and REF Phono 2 need an hour to sound their best, too, so if you are using a tube front end, everything will warm up at the same pace.

I initially listened to familiar digital tracks from the Sooloos music server/dCS Paganini combination. I was immediately taken aback by the additional weight and depth, even more so with high-resolution digital files. All of the class A amplifiers with which I’ve lived share a tonal richness that other solid-state amplifiers do not possess. Some might refer to this quality as warmth, but I prefer to call it tonal richness. I associate warmth with slowness, lack of pace, and rounded-off treble; the XA160.5s exhibited none of these characteristics. The Pass monoblocks sport the equivalent of a great guitar’s ability to sustain a note. On a choice Gibson Les Paul, for example, music just seems to hang in the air a little longer.

Switching back and forth between amplifiers at my disposal revealed that the XA160.5s are indeed very special. It was as if the particular characteristics from my favorite amplifiers have somehow taken up residency in one model. Thanks to their monoblock design and huge power supplies (the 160.5 is claimed to have a significantly larger power supply than the 160 it replaces), these amplifiers throw a soundstage that is prodigious in all three dimensions. Image width really stands out.

I noticed such traits on all program material, but they became more obvious when listening to classical. Conveying the size of a symphony orchestra—much wider than most listening rooms—is one of the toughest feats to ask a system to accomplish. When listening to Sir Arnold Bax’s sixth symphony, it felt as if the sidewalls in my listening room had been each moved out about six feet. Not realistic, of course, but much more convincing than without the XA160.5s.

Recorded live and flush with ambience, Hugh Masekela’s “Stimela (The Coal Train)” from Analogue Productions’ 45RPM 2LP version of Hope provides an excellent test. Having just heard Masekela perform the song at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in June, the recorded version via the Pass amps colored me impressed. While the live version claimed a slightly different arrangement, the XA160.5s pushed my GamuT S9s to a realistic sound level and conveyed such nuance and tonal contrast, I felt like I was back in Montreal’s Club Soda venue. Even at the high volume level, the front panel’s deep-blue backlit oval meter barely flinched from its center position, indicating that the amplifier never left class A mode.

Of course, man cannot live on jazz alone. At prime operating temperature, the XA160.5s did not miss a beat on a Japanese vinyl pressing of Michael Schenker’s Built to Destroy. No matter how hard I pushed, I could not destroy the amps or my speakers. And yes, that’s a very good thing. Staying in Japanese LP mode, Bruce Springsteen’s The Wild, The Innocent, and the E-Street Shuffle proved tough to resist, as did David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane. These old favorites never sounded better, and when I quickly switched back to the gear I’ve lived with for some time, across-the-range performance boosts became manifest.

Staggering Pace and Tonality

While classical music plays to one group of the XA160.5s strengths, revisiting the recently remastered Beatles catalog plays to another: These amplifiers offer rock-solid pace. Violins in the mono version of “Eleanor Rigby” (from Revolver) were strongly anchored, and Lennon and McCartney’s voices unwavering. There was so much depth, it almost sounded like a stereo recording! Speaking of the latter, the stereo version of “Penny Lane” from Magical Mystery Tour turned out to be just as exciting. Ringo Starr’s drumming and McCartney’s bass held true throughout the psychedelic soundscape.

I am easily swayed by the big sound of these amplifiers, yet that characteristic only scratches the surface of their capabilities. Concerning tonal accuracy and texture? Spot on. Acoustic instruments sound correct, whether listening to wind, string, or percussion instruments. Dynamic contrasts equate to the best I’ve experienced. A few TONE writers whose tastes skew towards classical remain astonished at the lifelike piano reproduction.

Music fans that crave vocal performances will benefit from the XA160.5’s picture-perfect tonality and resolution. Again, the extra tonal body almost feels as if one is listening to an SET—albeit an SET with nearly unlimited power that you can use with real-world speakers. The extra low-level resolution goes a long way, especially when spinning marginal discs. An ideal example comes courtesy of Keith Richards’ Talk is Cheap. Richards is not known for possessing a terribly strong lead vocal. Yet, when put through the XA160.5s, it actually has some depth. Such is the XA160.5s’ allure. They hover at the optimum point of boasting maximum resolution without being harsh, sounding full bodied and musically natural without introducing tonal distortion— a difficult balancing act.

Bass response keeps in line with the exceptional performance found elsewhere in the frequency range. While the XA160.5s have more than ample weight and slam, the bass reveals a level of texture and detail that I’ve only experienced with a small handful of amplifiers. Remember: It’s easy to confuse “audiophile bass” (usually over-damped and distinguishable from the real thing that has life, texture, and resonance); the XA160.5’s are the genuine article. A cursory listen to your favorite acoustic bassist reveals the way these amplifiers allow the instrument to breath, and brings you that much closer to the actual performance.

Top Contenders

Two years ago, I proclaimed the Burmester 911 Mk.3’s the best amplifiers I’ve heard. And over the course of hundreds of product reviews, I’ve used that dreaded “B” word just once in the absolute sense. After conveying my enthusiasm for these amplifiers to Harrington, he responded, “The 160’s are amazing, but you need to hear the 200s.” So just when I thought I couldn’t get any higher, the quest begins again.

It’s always tough to make comparisons, yet the XA160.5 combines the virtues of my three favorite amplifiers into one (actually two) boxes:  the delicacy of the Wavac EC300B, the texture and dimensionality of the ARC REF 150, and the power, control, and composure of the Burmester 911s.

Independent of the “B” word, the Pass Labs XA160.5 monoblocks orbit the top stratosphere of amplifier design at any price. If you would like that je ne sais quoi that you thought required a vacuum-tube amplifier, these are a consummate alternative. There is nothing that the XA160.5s do not do.

The Pass Labs XA160.5 monoblocks

MSRP:  $24,000/pr.

www.passlabs.com

Peripherals

Comparing my Burmester 011 preamplifier to the company’s new 088 preamplifier reminded me of two other German high-performance machines I’ve sampled: Audi’s 430hp eight-cylinder R8 and its new 525hp 10-cylinder model. Both cars are outstanding and from the outside, look virtually indistinguishable. Much as you want to convince yourself that 430hp is enough, all it takes is a quick spin around the block and suddenly, you can’t live without the extra performance. The Burmester 088 is equally exciting—the minute you hear it, your perception is similarly altered.

The 088 is the latest edition to Burmester’s Top Line of electronics. While the latter is one level beneath its Reference Line, everyone that doesn’t hold an American Express Black Card can safely consider it reference gear. The $28,995 088 arrives with either a DAC module or a phono preamplifier stage installed. Our review sample came fitted with the DAC, the very same upsampling module fitted to the Reference Line 077 preamplifier. Interestingly, when connected to my MacBook Pro, system settings in the control panel displayed “Burmester 077.”

At first glance, the 088 looks identical to the 011, with the input selector on the left and volume control on the right. The current preamplifier allows more set-up capabilities on the front panel, as well as switching between SPDIF and USB digital inputs. For listeners that don’t need an onboard DAC or phonostage, the 088 can be configured with an additional unbalanced (RCA) high-level input. At press time, pricing was not available for this configuration.

If you’ve never had the Burmester experience, know that the company’s products are electrically and mechanically built to an incredibly high standard. Front panels are machined to a “jewlers finish” and are of the finest quality we’ve ever experienced. Even when photos of Burmester’s metalwork get zoomed to 400% on a 30” Apple Cinema Display, it appears completely smooth. It’s like chrome-plated glass. If you are even the slightest bit obsessive compulsive, chances are you’ll be using the remote to keep the chrome free of fingerprints—even though it’s easy to clean.

Fortunately, the sound is as exquisite as the casework. The new 088 represents a significant step up from the 011 preamplifier it will replace. (For now, the 011 remains in the Burmester lineup but will disappear in the near future.) While the 088 incorporates a number of evolutionary changes, the biggest difference relates to the incorporation of Burmester’s latest X-Amp 2 gain modules. The latter are used in all of the Reference Line components, as well as the 100 Phono Preamplifier that we recently reviewed. Note: These modules are hand-built with matched discrete components throughout; no op amps are used in the amplification chain.

System Compatibilities

While older preamplifiers like the 011 boast a few unbalanced inputs and a pair of unbalanced variable outputs, the 088 is balanced throughout and utilizes XLR inputs and outputs. This may prove inconvenient for some. Unless you have a studio tape recorder, the tape outputs will require an XLR to RCA adaptor, easily sourced from your Burmester dealer.

The XLR pin out is also different on Burmester gear. Almost every other hi-fi manufacturer follows a standard formula in which pin number one is the ground (as it is in pro audio gear), pin two positive, and pin three negative. Burmester is just the opposite, with pin two being negative. If you mate Burmester gear with other manufacturers’ components, doing so requires a special XLR adaptor, custom cables, or switching your speaker leads from positive to negative to make up for the phase difference between components. Intuitively, the 088 has a phase switch on the front panel. So, when using the ARC REF 2 phono preamplifier, a flick of the switch achieved absolute phase throughout the system.

The 088 offers five balanced inputs and, for those wishing to integrate the 088 in a multichannel system, a surround pass through. A single set of variable level XLR outputs is the only shortcoming. Anyone with a powered subwoofer will have to resort to some kind of “Y” adaptor or purchase different speakers. Hopefully, this limitation will be remedied once a mark II version of the 088 becomes available.

Illusion Nears Closer to Reality

Having lived with the 011 preamplifier and 911 Mk.3 power amplifier for the past two years, the combination’s natural sound became burned into my memory. But after the 088 was powered up for two days and fully stabilized, the difference was immediately noticeable—and all for the better. From its entry-level Rondo Line up to the Reference Line, all Burmester gear has a similar tonality. Still, a higher level of performance exists in four specific areas: increased dynamics, added bass weight, lower noise floor, and greater overall resolution.

With the 088 as quiet—if not more so—as the 011, the unit’s increased dynamic impact revealed itself on “Take It So Hard,” the first track off Keith Richards and the X-Pensive Winos’ Live at the Hollywood Palladium. Decidedly not a record with an audiophile pedigree, the drums are nevertheless miked incredibly well, something I noticed on a recent jaunt in editor Bob Gendron’s car. I also forgot how much fun this record can be. Through the 088, the drums exploded out of my speakers. By comparison, they were noticeably more subdued when I returned to the 011.

Bass detail also stood out from the 011, with the 088 claiming more weight and control. Rock, jazz, and classical music all equally benefited. After queuing up Kanye West’s recent My Twisted Dark Fantasy, the title track’s beats went straight to the gut in a way they never did before. On first listen, even with the 011, West’s album felt fairly dense. Yet the 088 unraveled the layers of texture with fantastic results. This upshot remained consistent with everything auditioned. Moderately dense and compressed recordings sounded more open than I could’ve imagined, and great recordings became sublime.

In projecting an expansive soundstage well beyond the boundaries of the GamuT S9s, the 088 helped the six-foot-tall speakers disappear, as if they were a pair of mini monitors. With such depth, there’s just no need for surround sound! And honestly, there’s no need for vacuum tubes, either.

Burmester’s new preamplifier throws a larger soundstage in all dimensions than any tube preamplifier I’ve tried. If you want enormous, reach-out-and-touch-it sound and do not want to worry about hand-matching expensive NOS tubes, the 088 will painlessly take you there. After living with the 088, it’s tough to believe that it’s “only” Burmester’s Top Line preamplifier, as yet another level of greatness is available in its Reference Line.  (However, moving up requires spending more than double the cost of the 088.)

Resolving low-level detail and texture constitute the most interesting aspects of the 088’s incredible performance. A few of my favorite vocal records instantly brought such traits home. Regardless of playback volume, my system achieved a new level of overall clarity. Digital now sounded almost as grain-free as analog did with the 011. And the analog presentation? Delicious. Spinning Mobile Fidelity’s reissue of Frank Sinatra’s Nice ‘N’ Easy clearly illustrated the 088’s marvelous capability, as it not only succinctly defined the room size, but perfectly reproduced the illusion of height—putting Sinatra front and center with his voice where it would be if he were standing eight feet from my listening position. Such an accomplishment is rarely be achieved when playing music back through electronics, yet the 088/911 combination achieved it with ease.

I’ve never heard Sinatra live, but I have had the privilege of hearing the Fleet Foxes up close and personal. On the 088, the group’s “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” possessed sizeable body and depth. At this point, the illusion neared much closer to reality. Even after full-day listening sessions, the 088 never ceased to amaze, especially with records often as test tracks, regardless of resolution. Even Rhapsody tracks were more palatable to the senses.

A Capable DAC

The 088’s internal DAC is an upsampling 24 bit/192khz design that upsamples all incoming data to 24/192. While some may shy away from this approach on principal, Burmester’s implementation is one of the most transparent I’ve experienced.

Feeding the DAC section with both the Sooloos via SPDIF and a current iMac running Pure Music nearly finished in a dead heat, with a slight nod to the SPDIF input in terms of overall musicality with 16 bit/44.1khz tracks. When I switched to high-resolution files, the USB input fared better.

The Simaudio 750D ($12,000) and Burmester 089 ($28,995), along with the four-box dCS Paganini ($55,900), offered higher performance than the onboard DAC. Nonetheless, the 088’s digital capabilities should be a great addition for anyone getting started with computer audio. It provides performance that’s on par with the best DACs I’ve heard in the $4,000 – $5,000 range. (And remember, there’s no power cord or interconnects to buy.) It could also prove excellent for vinyl listeners that only occasionally listen to digital. Those that listen to analog and digital with equal enthusiasm will be best served with an outboard albeit higher-performance DAC; Burmester’s 089 is the obvious choice.

A Destination, Not a Journey

While the Burmester 088 preamplifier costs nearly a third more than the 011, the model it’s replacing, the unit is definitely worth the price. Sure, $30k is a healthy sum to pay for a single component, but this is a hand-built, high-performance preamplifier with performance equaled by few preamplifiers at any price.

Because it’s massively overbuilt, the 088 should be a destination that you will never leave. To those always in the hunt for the latest thing, be forewarned: Refrain from trading it in before you’ve really had the chance to realize what the 088 can do. Should you be a music lover that wants to cease the tiring practice of upgrading and simply enjoy nirvana for a very long time, the 088 has the potential to become a family heirloom.

Burmester 088 Preamplifier

MSRP: $28,995

www.burmester.de (factory)

www.burmester-northamerica.com (US and Canada)

Peripherals

Many of my non-audiophile friends would love to have a great music system, but often ask the same question: “Do I really need that rack full of components?” With the Bel Canto C5i DAC Integrated Amplifier  you don’t. For those who want a serious hi-fi system with a diminutive footprint, the C5i is the perfect place to begin. Add speakers, a source, and you are ready to rock.

At $1,895 the C5i includes a 60-watt-per-channel class-D power amplifier, 24/192 DAC, MM phonostage, and a respectable headphone amplifier.  Bel Canto skips the preamplifier stage, driving the amp directly from  the DAC section, utilizing their 24-bit digital level control.  Designer John Stronczer likes to point out that their approach leaves “no stinky pots to wear out.”  The MM and line level inputs go through a 24/192 ADC into the DAC section, eliminating the traditional line level preamplifier function entirely. And it’s all neatly tucked into a box the size of a Stephen King novel. Thanks to the class -D amplifier, the C5i only draws about 13 watts from the outlet, so your carbon footprint won’t be taxed.

Fortunately 60wpc is also enough juice to entertain a wide range of speaker possibilities  Most of my listening sessions took place with the new Dali F5 speakers with 88db sensitivity. Yet the C5i had no trouble when mated with the 83db Harbeth P3ESRs – perhaps due to the fact that it doubles its rated power into 4 ohms and can deliver up to 30 amps of peak current.

A Plethora of Inputs

Along with losing the stack of gear and pile of cables required by a more traditional setup, you need just one interconnect pair to operate a system based on the C5i—another plus. With the C5i, your computer or laptop is only a USB cable away from becoming a first-class digital front end. In addition to the USB port, the unit boasts a pair of RCA SPDIF inputs as well as a pair of TOSLINK optical inputs. You can connect a cable TV box, game console, or whatever other digital device suits your fancy, turning the C5i into a media hub. The USB port offers digital playback up to 24/96, while the SPDIF and Toslink ports take full advantage of the DAC’s 24/192 capabilities.

In addition to the MM phono input with standard 47k ohm loading, a high-level analog input is available should you add another phonostage or perhaps, a tuner – like Bel Canto’s FM1. Using the phonostage with a handful of MM cartridges delivered excellent results. The Shure V15mvxr, Rega Exact, and Clearaudio Maestro Wood all worked well with the on-board phono, and I was also happy with the sound of my recent LP-12/V15 combo. Quiet, dynamic and musical, the on-board phonostage is equal to if not better than any of the sub-$300 external phonostages I’ve experienced.

The Rega RP1/Ortofon OM5e also effortlessly pairs with the C5i. Listening to a handful of budget 70s rock records revealed enough midrange warmth and depth to feel the analog love. Bottom line: If you don’t already have a turntable, the C5i makes adding analog to your system a painless process. True analog fanatics will want more performance, but they aren’t the model’s target audience.

Love digital? So does the C5i. High-resolution and 16/44.1 files via a Mac Mini, Sooloos Control 15, and MSB Universal Transport transmitted without a hiccup. When you push play and the music begins, the sampling rate blinks on the C5i’s main display.  Since most of my high-res collection is at 24/96 I didn’t audition any 24/192 material.

The C5i’s DAC performance also impressed by holding its own with a number of competitors in the $500-$1,000 category. Listening to my fair share of the BBC’s Bax: The Symphonies box set, I couldn’t help but notice the DAC’s level of tonal purity and separation, even on 16/44.1 recordings. Should these options seem like too much work, the C5i works great with an iPod. Plugging in a little 4GB iPod Nano yields fab results, especially with Apple lossless files.

Serious Authority

A prominent sonic wallop is likely the first thing you’ll notice when firing up the C5i. Bass is particularly well controlled, as is transient attack. The California Guitar Trio’s “Led Foot” demonstrates the C5i’s ability to maintain pace while simultaneously keeping separate and clean the three distinct guitar voices. California Guitar Trio records contain a wealth of musical information in a small space, an acoustic that most moderately priced integrated models fail at recreating.

Bill Bruford’s Earthworks lies at the opposite end of the sound spectrum. A skilled drummer that never hesitates to maximize his kit, Bruford provides a great torture test. The C5i has no problem keeping the cymbals in their own distinct space as the percussionist takes flight on several rapidly paced solos.

Comparing the C5i to the much larger REF500M monoblocks reveals a close resemblance at less-than-earthquake levels, and for good reason: The C5i uses the same power modules, albeit in stereo rather than in a bridged mono configuration. Again, Bel Canto doesn’t sacrifice sound quality at a lower power level, making the C5i an even more attractive proposition regardless of where you sit in the audiophile pecking order. And diversity abounds.

The high-level outputs give it even more versatility for listeners that desire a satellite/subwoofer system. Users that either don’t want or can’t get speakers right now should think of the C5i as a wonderful headphone amp that happens to have a great DAC and phonostage. It adequately drove the new Grado PS500, Audeze LCD2, AKG 701, and Sennheiser 650 headphones. Yes, you can drop another $500-$1,000 on an outboard headphone amp, but this one works well and is miles beyond any pod or tablet.

New Balance

As much fun as it is to listen to the C5i, its seamless integration into any environment means there’s no reason not to have a great hi-fi in your house. You don’t need a pile of gear, massive loom of cables, or gaggle of remote controls. If you’d like to build a system a few marks above the budget level, the C5i awaits your discovery. It combines both functionality and performance in a compact package, underscoring the fact that you don’t need to spend a small fortune to get good sound. More, please.

www.belcantodesign.com

The NAD 3020 integrated amplifier was a marvel in its day. While rated at only 20 watts per channel, it boasted a beefy power supply and fair amount of headroom, giving it the ability to drive a wide range of speakers. It also included a bevy of features, not the least of which was a high-quality MM phono preamplifier and “soft clipping” circuit that prevented more than a few tweeters from ruin. All this audio goodness came wrapped in a stark, olive green-tinted black case for just $219.

The C316 BEE power is rated at twice that of the 3020 and claims NAD’s latest PowerDrive circuitry from the company’s flagship amplifiers. Tone controls now offer the option to be entirely switched out of the circuit, and an 1/8” jack on the front panel accommodates the high-level output of a portable music player.

As one of many audiophiles with fond memories of the NAD 3020 (an original, not the later A or B version), I had tons of fun bringing one back into the studio for a serious listening session. Mark Stone and the folks at NAD North America gave the 3020 seen in this issue’s Old School section a complete checkup, verifying that it still more than meets its original design specs. Our test sample exceeded the stated 20wpc at 8 ohms rating by a healthy margin, producing 29 wpc at rated distortion. (Steve Guttenberg lends further insights on page 19.)

Still, while the 3020 is a stout amplifier on the bench and in the listening room, time has come to move on to the entry-level NAD integrated. The new model’s form factor remains similar, albeit slightly slimmer. The LEDs follow modern fashion and are blue instead of the red popular in the late 70s. A remote is included in the box. And, adjusted for inflation, the $329 C316 BEE makes for an even monetary better value than the 3020 in the early 80s.

Better Than I Remember

It’s always easy to wax poetic about the past, deluding oneself into thinking that things were better back in the old days. While the 3020’s power meter was constantly pegged driving my Acoustat 2+2’s during the early 80s, it barely broke a sweat powering my current Verity Audio Rienzes, which present a much more benign load. At modest listening levels, neither amplifier caved, but the difference in sound between the two units proved dramatic—and in favor of the old.

Teamed with the Rienze floorstanding speakers and a dCS Paganini stack, and cabled with a full complement of Cardas Clear, the demonstration epitomized what I’ll call audio-foolery. Who in their right mind would mate a couple of $300 integrated amplifiers with $100k worth of ancillaries? Guilty as charged, but the results were telling.

Differences between old and new models are unmistakable. The current amplifier possesses more extension at the upper end of the spectrum, but the vintage unit wins in every other category. The 3020 enjoys a more vivid, almost tube-like midrange, and takes control of the Rienze’s woofers with more authority.

While the C316 BEE is a great little amplifier, the 3020 is a serious piece of audiophile kit.  When listening to Thomas Dolby’s “My Brain is Like a Sieve” from Aliens Ate My Buick, the electronic effects have an almost buoyant feel, wafting back and forth across the soundstage. Yet they stay in a single plain when experienced via the C316 BEE. The wet and expansive echo in Tim Curry’s voice on the title track of Simplicity has depth on the 3020, but none on the new amplifier. The most explicit revelation occurred during the intro of Keith Emerson’s “Ignition” from his recent Keith Emerson Band. Where the 3020 reproduces the low organ notes, all is silence when played through the C316 BEE.

A similar verdict is reached listening to Tone Loc’s “Funky Cold Medina.” The C316 BEE just doesn’t have the grunt. The final nail in the coffin came courtesy of the acoustic guitar intro to Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” A tonal richness exists with the 3020 that fools you into thinking a much more expensive amplifier is behind the scenes. No wonder the audiophile press labeled this amplifier a “giant killer.” At modest volume, it more than held its own with the industry’s best when introduced in the early 80s.

When swapping my aforementioned setup for an iPad, Aperion Intimus 5 bookshelf speakers ($599/pair), and Radio Shack capable, the differences between the two amps practically disappeared. But that’s what makes the 3020 so cool: You can hook it up to a pair of $11,000 speakers and be impressed. While the C316 BEE may not ultimately appeal to audiophile sensibilities (and let’s face it, what $329 integrated amplifier does today?), it makes for a great graduation present for a music-loving teenager about to head off to college.

Progress Worth the Price

Don’t get me wrong: The NAD C316 BEE represents very good value and performance for the price. Like its predecessor, it serves as a great cornerstone for a budget hi-fi system. If mated with a decent pair of $250-$600 speakers, it’s sure to impress the uninitiated. And if you’ve never experienced a 3020 in great shape, you’ll probably be bowled over by the C316 BEE.

The idea of a brand-spanking new amplifier with no scratches or fingerprints, as well as a warranty, will likely appeal to 99.9% of listeners that would rather not take the chance of getting an abused relic. 3020s usually got passed on from friend to friend, creating a lot of audiophile goodwill. But more often than not, they gathered numerous abrasions in the process. However, if you do happen to stumble across a mint 3020, buy it.

Removing the cover of the C316 BEE reveals a tidy layout that’s a model of simplicity, with a large toroidal transformer and beefy heat sink for the power amplifier’s output stage. By comparison, the 3020 looks like someone emptied a colander of pasta on the circuit board. And the C316 BEE does have a remote, so progress isn’t all bad.

Besides, the NAD C316 BEE offers everything you need around which to build a great budget hi-fi system. It sounds good, fits nearly anywhere, and offers much better sound than what local big-box bandits sell for the same amount of money. Will it shift millions of units like its predecessor, and end up in dorm rooms everywhere? We can only hope.

www.nadelectronics.com

Computer audio has grown exponentially in the last few years, its orbit quickly accelerating over the past 18 months. Since they provide many ways to serve CD and high-res digital files, DACs have become the center of this universe. Once headed towards extinction, they’ve become a primary component in many systems, vinyl-centric or not.

An abundance of sub-$1,000 DACs currently exists, similar to the plethora of turntables in the same price range. But, just like in the analog world, if you want cutting-edge sound, there’s a price to be paid. While some argue that with so much evolution, the $11,495 price on the dCS Debussy is a bit much, I beg to differ.

Again, using analog as the benchmark, things become spellbinding as you hover around the $10-$15k mark. It’s where the distinction between the digital and analog worlds blurs—especially for those building a serious collection of high-resolution music files.  Even five years ago, there wasn’t much digital available at any price that sounded natural. Technology trickle-down is solid, albeit not at a level at which every audiophile can participate.

As a four-box dCS Paganini owner, to me the Debussy seems like a bargain, especially if you no longer spin silver discs. And even more so if you haven’t any need for an analog front end and use the Debussy as a control center, eschewing a line-level preamplifier. A prodigious system can be built around the Debussy, a pair of $10,000 speakers, and suitable power amplifier, which is precisely what I did.

The Debussy spent half of its evaluation in my reference system in direct comparison to the Paganini (with and without the Paganini Master Clock) to explore the ultimate limits of its performance. The other half of the review involved the Verity Audio Rienzi speakers ($10k/pair) and Conrad Johnson MV-50C1 power amplifier. Adding a pair of Cardas Clear Light interconnects, speaker cables, two Shunyata Venom 3 power cords, and a Running Springs Elgar power conditioner made for a highly impressive system that came in just under $25k.

Ins and Outs

The Debussy boasts five digital inputs:  an RCA SPDIF, BNC SPDIF, USB, and pair of balanced AES/EBU inputs. All accept 24/96, and the USB and Dual AES interfaces are 24/192 capable. (A single-wire 24/192 software-only update is in development.) The balanced AES inputs can be used in single or dual configuration. The FireWire input of the Paganini is absent but should not be an issue for most users.

Aesthetically, dCS forgoes the mirror finish of its two top line systems in favor of a matte silver finish with black writing that is far easier to read than the markings on the Paganini. After living with the mirrored-surface Paganini, I’d have picked the silver had it been an option. It shows off the Debussy’s smart, curved design, yet it’s more resistant to fingerprints.

The learning curve on the Debussy is less daunting than that on the Paganini, which has more buttons than Sebastian Vettel’s steering wheel. Here, we get power, input, mute, volume+/-, and two DSP filter choices—linear phase with pre-ringing or non-linear phase without pre-ringing. Which is optimum? Log onto an Internet forum and knock yourself out.

As in all dCS DACs, the Debussy uses its proprietary Ring DAC, ultimately oversampling all incoming data to 2.822 or 3.07MHz with a 5-bit depth. When touring the dCS factory, I learned all the DACs share a common “motherboard.” The basic chipset and layout are the same, with more functionality as you go up the range. Such a strategy keeps manufacturing streamlined and designs future-proofed. All updates can be executed via software, further ensuring the unit’s longevity.

These benefits were the paramount reasons I chose dCS for my reference system. With so much change in the digital world, knowing my DAC could stay current by merely downloading new software made it that much easier to write a big check.

Should you use the Debussy as a preamplifier/control center, the digital volume control works brilliantly, with no degradation to the sound even at low listening levels. A switch on the rear panel offers the choice of 2V or 6V output. I can’t imagine anyone needing 6V, and would prefer to see the choices as 1V or 2V, especially with today’s amplifiers having so much gain.

Touring the dCS Factory

Earlier this year, I visited dCS’ new factory in Cambridge. The bigger facility condenses all manufacturing to one level, greatly streamlining build and test processes.  Company principal David Steven and Sales Manager Rav Bawa were great hosts, showing off how much dCS grew since I toured the previous facility in 2010. Bawa explains that “assembly centers around a kit of parts, so that a box can be easily followed from beginning to end with one operator. In the old building, we had to go up and down stairs. You can imagine how nerve wracking that got, considering how heavy some of our components are.”

dCS sources mechanisms from Esoteric and keeps a substantial cache of spares on hand in the unlikely event one fails. Casework is machined and anodized nearby, with all engineering, assembly, and testing done in-house. dCS employs around 20 people and ships digital hardware to over 40 countries. When we walked through the shipping department, almost 100 boxes were on their way to dealers worldwide.

All dCS DACs use the same basic circuit board, with different software loaded for various iterations of the final product. Various assembly stations build and test, and the complete unit is tested yet again when complete. Ironically, because of the virtually nonexistent distortion and jitter in its products, dCS must design and build all of its test equipment.  Finished components are burned-in for 48 hours and run through rigorous tests before final packing and shipment.

Proof is in the Listening

Due to its popularity, I figured the new Bon Iver record a perfect place to begin listening.  “Holocene” possesses a wide soundstage with guitars panned to the left and right in the mix. Comparing the CD to the LP proved a close heat, with the Debussy doing an excellent job at keeping what little front-to-back dimension that exists intact. Black Country Communion’s first, self-titled album duplicates the experience. The vinyl sounds decent but not overwhelming, and much like when paired with the first Fleet Foxes record or Tom Jones’ Praise and Blame, the Debussy gets the nod in terms of providing a more liquid presentation, with more extension on the top and bottom ends of the tonal scale.

As with the Paganini, the big surprise arrives when listening to fairly dreadful digital recordings. The Debussy pulls tons of detail from recordings I believed completely lacking such information. Yes, my Japanese copy of Kiss’ Alive! sounds better than ever. Quite possibly the most highly compressed CD in my collection, the self-titled album from Glenn Hughes and Pat Thrall, now leaves me astonished that air actually lurks on the disc.

However good the Debussy is at untangling dense recordings, it does not embellish tonally to either side of neutral. If you’d like a bit of warmth added to the sound of digital files, look to one of the more popular players featuring vacuum tubes in the output stage. But my experience has been that these players give up resolution and transient clarity in return. The Debussy gives you the truth, like it or not.

Like the other players in dCS’ lineup, the Debussy is not harsh or clinical. The best  digital recordings in your collection will sound virtually indistinguishable, if not better, than favorite analog files. Charlie Haden’s The Private Collection (Naim) is excellent for comparison purposes since it is manufactured to an equally high level in analog and digital formats. And now, you can purchase it as a 24/96 download.

Comparing the high-res file played through the Paganini gives the advantage to the dCS stack in terms of sonic dynamics and overall cleanliness. The Debussy comes close, and with the addition of the dCS Paganini Master Clock (an additional $8,000), takes the lead in overall musicality. While I consider myself a devoted analog fan, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that a lot of records are poorly produced, no matter the generation.

Making similar comparisons between MoFi’s recent remaster of Beck’s Sea Change and the high-resolution files available from HD Tracks uncover revealingly indistinguishable results. The sources are even more similar in sound when I contrast a digital copy I made from the MoFi pressing, recorded to a 24/192 file via Nagra’s LB studio recorder. Even friends with canine-like hearing have a tough time determining the analog pressing from the high-resolution digital copy.

As it does in my Paganini stack, the Master Clock offers extra tonal ease and pace. An early British pressing of Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road put against to the latest HD Tracks download shows the digital file again yields more music. The gulls in the background of “Sweet Painted Lady” possess a previously absent palpability, and the bass line stays firmly anchored compared to its somewhat nebulous position on LP.

dCS also offers nearly bottomless bass grip when playing my favorite Deadmau5 and Thievery Corporation tracks. The deep bass on these albums doesn’t come through well on LP, and if it does, no matter how good your turntable might be, at club-level volume, feedback intrudes on the party and greatly diminishes the effect.

I don’t plan on getting rid of my turntables anytime soon, but it is wonderful to know that this level of parity is attainable. Thanks to dCS and a few other great combinations I’ve heard, my analog agnosticism is put to rest. Granted, $10-20k is not a casual purchase for most carbon-based life forms. But a similar investment in the analog domain is necessary to get maximum performance. Digital has matured far beyond the point where your average turntable outperforms a high-dollar digital front end. As always, the recording quality will determine which source gets the nod, but you’ll never have to “settle” for digital with the Debussy.

Fantastic

The dCS Debussy equates to a triumph, bringing world- class digital performance to a price point previously out of most audiophiles’ reach. But don’t listen to the Master Clock unless you are ready to press the “buy now” button. Once you’ve had such insight, it’s tough to go back to listening without it.

If one could exchange their CD and LP collection for high-quality, high-resolution files, this would be an easy choice to make.  But it’s not that easy. Yet. For those that already have a substantial collection of 16/44 digital files, whether ripped on a hard drive or from CD, the Deb makes it easy to not only enjoy them like never before, but to obtain the necessary amount of air and warmth that you enjoy from analog sources. The experience allows you to listen for hours without fatigue. And I can’t give a source component a higher recommendation than that.

dCS Debussy $11,495

Data Conversion Systems, Ltd.

www.dcsltd.co.uk

dCS North America, LLC

www.tempohighfidelity.com

Peripherals

Having owned a pair of B&W 805 Diamond loudspeakers for the past year, I’m tuned into B&W’s current sound: Powerful, detailed and accurate. The latest diamond tweeter and crossover design combine to produce a very musical speaker that handles nuance with aplomb, yet also rocks at realistic levels when the demand arises.

And yes, the speakers are drop-dead gorgeous. Available in two wood finishes and piano black, they are visual as well as aural works of art. Gino Vanelli once said, “Black cars look better in the shade.” This statement easily applies to speakers dipped in high-gloss black. Much like my neighbor’s triple-black Porsche GT3, it looks breathtaking for about five minutes after it exits the car wash.

Much as I love the black finish on my 805 Diamonds, I let out a sigh of relief when I noticed that the 802 Diamonds that arrived for review were marked “Rosenut.” Being slightly obsessive compulsive, I knew there would be no way to roll the 802D’s around without getting them full of fingerprints. Call me traditional, or perhaps lazy, but just don’t call me Shirley—I’m digging the wood finish of the 802 Diamonds. Derived from the original Nautilus speaker system (still hand-built in small quantities), the wood woofer enclosure nicely contrasts the gloss-black tweeter and midrange modules sitting on top of the cabinets.

A Quick Tour

When I visited B&W’s UK factory earlier this year, I watched the assembly of the speakers in the company’s impressive facility. It employs close to 400 people and takes up almost 60,000 square feet in the seaside town of Worthing. Every aspect of 800 series construction takes place there. The administrative offices are on top of the factory and provide a breathtaking view of the plant, which looks more like an aerospace center than a loudspeaker firm.

Akin to an Eames Lounge Chair, which uses damp wood pressed around a die under pressure to achieve its signature shape, Diamond series cabinets are built from layers of sheets of thin wood, which is visible from the cabinet’s edge. Glued together with high-strength adhesive, this sandwich is placed in a curved die and allowed to dry under pressure. Once removed from the die, the rough cabinet back is trimmed to shape and mated to the front face. But, only after the patented Matrix inner enclosure is fitted, giving the 800 series its famed rigidity and eliminating any seam on the curved back of the enclosure.

Meanwhile, mid/tweeter pods are crafted in a clean-room facility on another side of the plant. Craftsmen wear white suits and matching booties, keeping dust to a minimum. This is also where the bare, molded enclosures (made from Marlan resin, claimed to be as rigid as granite) go from primer coat to final finish, and then off to have the drivers installed. Notably, B&W’s skilled workers utilize the same tools my good friends at Scottsdale’s European Detail Specialists use while buffing multi-million-dollar automobiles for the world-renowned Barrett Jackson Auto Auction.

Speaking of fussy, cabinets are wet-sanded multiple times with abrasives so fine that they almost feel like nothing at all. Then, the cabinets are polished to a mirror-like finish that would make a Dusenberg owner drool. Once everything is completed and inspected, any remaining blemishes—no matter how tiny—are sent back for one last pass. The end result is perfection. Driver production takes place in yet another part of the factory. B&W is one of the few speaker companies that designs and builds all of its own drivers in-house; the engineering offices are down the street in a separate location.

Once the woofer cabinets are joined with the midrange/tweeter pod, drivers and crossover networks are installed, with workers still wearing gloves for most of the process. Each finished speaker is run through a mini anechoic chamber at the end of the assembly line; an operator uses a computerized measurement system to compare each speaker to its master reference. All finished Diamond series speakers must be within .5db of the reference standard or they are sent back for another inspection and rework. During my visit to this part of the factory, the six pairs of 802 Diamonds I observed passed their tests on the first go. A technician with whom I chatted said that because of the exhaustive testing on the individual components leading up to final assembly, “precious few don’t make the cut.”

Finally, the 800 series speakers are carefully packaged for staging in B&W’s immense warehouse, ready for shipment to dealers in 90 countries. The cutting-edge packaging involves substantial engineering. My tour guide smiled and said, “We don’t want them harmed after all this work, do we?” B&W includes packaging assembly instructions on the side of the box, but I suggest shooting video while you unpack the speakers. Should you ever decide to move and repack them, you’ll be glad you did.

Luxurious Feel

Unpacking the 802 Diamonds gives you ample opportunity to get up-close and personal with the speakers, and appreciate the care that goes into their construction. Woofer grilles are wrapped in foam and attach via magnets, as do the midrange grilles, enclosed in one of the two accessory boxes accompanying the speakers. Along with a thorough instruction manual, you’ll also find a microfiber cleaning cloth and pair of jumpers, should you not have speaker cables equipped with bi-wired termination.

I highly recommend always keeping the grille on the diamond tweeter. The diaphragm is vapor-deposited a layer of molecules at a time, and is very unforgiving of fingers and noses. Unlike some speakers’ soft-dome tweeters, these will not survive a dent, pulled out with scotch tape or other methods.

They Really Do Roll…

More manufacturers should follow B&W’s lead and put casters (or, as they like to say in the UK, a trolley) on the bottom of speakers weighing more than 100 pounds (45kg). It saves wear and tear on those squishy disks in your spinal column and simplifies the set-up process. The wheels made it easy to fine-tune placement for the best balance of imaging and bass response. For final placement, B&W offers a set of traditional spikes and set of hard-rubber feet to insert in place of the casters.

Your floor’s surface may determine what method you choose, but the soft feet can also be used to slightly fine-tune the bass response, supplying a bit looser sound than that of the spikes. Your room and ears will be the ultimate judge. While the spikes allow a modest amount of tilt, it shouldn’t be necessary, as the primary purpose of Nautilus enclosure provides for proper time alignment of the drivers. Thanks to wide vertical and horizontal dispersion, I gained nothing from tilting the speakers back. However, in typical nervous audiophile fashion, I ensured both speakers were perfectly level.

The smaller speakers in the 800 series have their “flowport”—B&W’s patented and trademarked name for its bass port, dimpled like a golf ball to provide more controlled air flow and less “port noise” than a standard port—mounted on the front face. But the 800 and 802 Diamond have their downward-facing ports, making them even easier to place. Indeed, precious little jockeying was required to optimize the 802 Diamonds in my listening room.

…And They Really Rock

A prerequisite for a great studio monitor is the ability to play loud without fatigue. The Diamonds excel in this area. If you love to crank up the volume, the Diamonds do not disappoint. Peter Gabriel’s “Lay Your Hands On Me” paints a wide and deep soundstage, combining densely layered vocals with delicate percussion and explosive drums, a challenge for any system. The 802 Diamonds remain firmly anchored, breezing through while maintaining detail in all three dimensions. Mixing it up with a 12” 45RPM single of Van Halen’s “I Don’t Want To Hear About It Later” has the same effect, keeping the explosiveness of both Van Halen brothers in check, yet appealingly separating the backup vocals of guitarist Eddie Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony.

I easily noticed the differences between the original LP pressing, 45RPM single, and recent remaster of the first Van Halen album via the track “Little Dreamer.” With the Burmester 911 mk. 3 fairly warm to the touch, and my walls thumping, the 802 Diamonds segued into “Ice Cream Man” without missing a beat, capturing the delicacy in David Lee Roth’s vocal stylings. My collegiate swim coach used to say, “Finish hard.” So the volume control took a healthy clockwise spin as “On Fire” closed out the LP at maximum volume. I see why these speakers are the tools of choice in so many recording studios.

But Above All, They Balance

An early pressing of the Talking Heads’ “Heaven” from Fear of Music illustrates the 802 Diamonds’ panel-like ability to keep everything in perspective. Tina Weymouth’s bass line lingers in the back of the soundstage yet maintains the plucky, bright bass tone for which she is famous. Moving directly to The Yes Album, the difference between Chris Squire’s growling Rickenbacker and Weymouth’s Hofner presents a study in tonal contrast, while the beats in LL Cool J’s “Big Ole Butt” have the necessary weight and power. Few speakers in this price range possess this level of discerning bass response.

As much fun as those 1989 beats are, the 802 Diamonds also do an exceptional job of anchoring in place the percussion on LL Cool J’s Walking With a Panther. When blasting hip-hop tracks at club volume, it’s easy for the rest of the information on the record to get lost in the powerful bass grooves. However, the 802s retain their composure and wring out detail, even with meters on my prodigious McIntosh MC 1.2kws almost pegged—sending nearly 1200-watt peaks to the 802 Diamonds, which take it in stride without a trace of distortion.

Your favorite vocalist will reveal a marvelous coherence from top to bottom, the transition between woofers, midrange, and diamond tweeter as flawless as one can expect from a three-way cone speaker. For example, the strings on Roberta Flack’s “Jesse” are perfectly placed, occupying their own space without overpowering the singer.

Quite Cooperative

With a somewhat high sensitivity of 90db, but more importantly, a decidedly tube-friendly crossover, the 802 Diamonds should present a formidable experience regardless of amplification. Tube amplifiers in the 20-50wpc range have no problems driving these speakers to more than reasonable levels. The highly resolving nature of the B&Ws will uncloak whatever tonal character your amplifier might possess. I tried more than a dozen amp/preamp combinations, each with disparate characteristics.

My two top pairs comprised the all-tube combination of the ARC REF 5 preamplifier paired with the Decware Zen Torii, and the all solid-state Burmester 011/911mk 3. A pair of Classe M300 solid-state monoblocks also provided an excellent match, yielding a simultaneously fast, nimble and weighty presentation. The only amplifier in my stable that didn’t achieve symmetry? The Channel Islands D-500II. If you have class D amplification, insist on a test drive, as such amplifiers tend to be more speaker-dependent.

While the 802 Diamonds sound their best with world-class electronics, to their credit, they admirably sync with modest gear, making them easy candidates to stand as anchors of a system that will grow with as your budget allows. The 802 Diamonds proved exciting to hear even when paired with the humble PrimaLuna ProLogue One.

Conclusion

I’m pleased to offer the 802 Diamonds one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2011.  These are truly a destination speaker at a price well under what one would expect for this kind of performance. I’ve heard my share of speakers in the $40-60k range that can’t compare to the meticulous level of finish this model exhibits, and thanks to a massive worldwide retail network, you’re guaranteed great support.

B&W 802 Diamond

MSRP:  $15,000/pair

www.bowers-wilkins.com

Peripherals

Hyundai covers its engines for 100,000 miles. Bryston guarantees its amplifiers for 30 years. Decware guarantees its amplifiers for life. Any way you look at it, offering long warranties takes guts. It also means you better make a damn good product, or you’re going to go broke servicing warranty repairs.

The Decware Zen Torii Mk.3 is a damn good amplifier.

While I hate to use the “b” word (best), the Torii is my favorite power amplifier based on the EL-34 tube, and that’s saying a lot. I’ve always had a major affection for such amplifiers, which possess many characteristics of great single-ended triode amplifiers and yet, have more power and control than an SET can muster.

Think of the Torii as an SET with benefits—namely, increased bass control and dynamics. Unless you have extraordinarily efficient speakers, a few watts per channel just won’t rock your world. But 25 watts per channel dramatically changes the game, and is more than enough to power the Verity Audio Amadis speakers (93db/1-watt sensitivity) to a sufficiently high level on music of any kind. The Mk.2 does a fine job with the Verity Rienzis (87db/1 watt) and B&W 802 Diamonds (90db/1 watt). Still, the Amadis’ added sensitivity is just what’s needed to push the envelope.

Decware owner and chief engineer Steve Deckert claims his amplifier is “the last one you’ll ever want” and should only be used with a preamplifier if you happen to have a world-class unit at your disposal. Fortunately, I have two: An ARC REF 5 (vacuum tubes) and Burmester 011 (solid-state), each reference components, and both excellent matches for the Torii. At the end of the day, with the Verity speakers, I was willing to relinquish the last bit of the ARC preamp’s front-to-back-image depth for the additional bass grip and slam the Burmester provides. With the GamuT S9s, the ARC has the edge.

An optional $150 stepped attenuator on the Torii makes it easy to keep the preamplifiers used within their respective sweet spot, balancing dynamics and the lowest noise floor in the presentation.  While the sound remains excellent when using the dCS Paganini straight into the Torii, via the Paganini’s digital volume control, I feel that a killer linestage brings maximum dynamics to the table.

Deckert warned me that the Torii would require a long break-in period. Yet it sounded good right out of its supplied Pelican Case—another nice option, and one that certainly beats a cheesy cardboard box. Moreover, it keeps improving over time and, if I had to guess even after 700 hours of listening time, still sounds as if it is advancing. Where many amplifiers sound grainy and two-dimensional after only a few hours on the clock, the Torii’s tonal character just keeps ameliorating as the hours rack up.

My review sample has the optional V-Cap upgrade, which adds $500 to the window sticker. It’s well worth the price. A custom wood base is also available, meaning that a completely tweaked-out version fetches about $3,600. Each Torii is hand-built by one person and given plenty of attention from start to finish, not unlike a master engine constructed at Ferrari or Aston Martin. Such care becomes obvious the minute you take your Torii out of the carton; it’s truly a product to cherish. (Decware products are all built to order and only available factory-direct.)

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

The only aspect that might drive you nuts with the Torii? The amount of customization you can bring to its sound by swapping various tubes. This amplifier is what a tennis ball is to a Jack Russell terrier; you can chase it forever and you’ll collapse in exhaustion by the time you’re done. If that’s your idea of fun, you’ll never get bored with the Torii. While every tube makes a difference, the output tubes seemingly make the least amount of difference. I tried several combinations, but the input tubes and voltage regulators provide more sonic variance than swapping output tubes.

Deckert attributes this characteristic to his “Hazen grid modification” that involves substituting a non-polarized film capacitor for the piece of wire that normally connects between the suppressor grid and cathode in the output stage. Deckert also touts another benefit of his modification: The basic push-pull output stage makes it less sensitive to tube type. I must concur. This is great news—especially considering that the price of vintage NOS EL-34 tubes can soar as high as $300 each.

The Torii comes with the most informative owners manual I’ve ever seen. Rather than bore you with paragraphs of tube rolling escapades, click here for the manual: http://www.decware.com/newsite/TORIIMK3Manual.pdf

And the adjustments don’t stop with the tubes. You can choose one of two bias settings, and there is a bass and treble control. Not traditional tone controls, mind you, but two more ways to optimize the speaker/amplifier interface. The treble control rolls off the high-frequency response of the amplifier, but simply shunts to ground so it is not in the signal path. Deckert says the “bass control” actually impacts how the amplifier interacts with the speakers, and that there is no fixed “flat” position for these controls. Hence, they must be adjusted with each speaker. Finally, a 4/8-ohm impedance switch is present and, as with any tube amplifier with multiple output taps, should also be sampled, as often times the best match is not what you might think.

Those who stay focused and have the Zen-like patience to settle on a combination (or two) will be rewarded with a presentation that transports them to a special place. Even if you stick with the supplied tubes, the bass, treble, bias, and impedance controls are worth five minutes of your time. Consider: the Torii might actually save you money if you’ve got a pair of speakers that are too forward or a touch boomy. There’s a good chance that making small adjustments will dial in a speaker you may have considered selling. More money for concert tickets never came easier.

Unlike Any Other EL-34 Amplifier

Whereas a Shindo or vintage Marantz amplifier embellishes the sound in a way in which the music tends to sound warm, romantic, and even a bit slow regarding pace and timing (not that this is always a bad thing for many digital and other less-than-stellar recordings), ultimately laying resolution on a sacrificial altar, the Torii strikes a perfect balance of rendering additional tonal richness without altering the music’s fundamental character.

Via the Torii, Moraine’s “Uncle Tang’s Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” from Metamorphic Rock is an absolute prog freak-out, with layer upon layer of maniacal synthesizers and overdubbed guitars all kept in order with larger-than-life drums. Whatever your taste in complex tunes—be it prog, metal, or full-scale orchestral music—you will find intoxicating the Torii’s ability to maintain musical pace.

Without fail, the Torii consistently digs deep into recordings, uncovering morsels of information you may have never heard before. Montrose’s “Rock Candy” is a classic example of a slightly flat recording that comes alive with this amplifier. Usually devoid of any soundstage depth, drums and guitar became invigorated, assuming their own space while lead singer Sam Hagar’s voice remains front and center. And a phenomenal recording like The Band’s Music From Big Pink takes on a life of its own, feeling as if it’s mixed in surround.

The trick the Torii plays better than most vacuum-tube amplifiers stems from its ability to achieve an astonishing balance between tonal richness and tonal purity. And it does so without sliding down the slippery slope of coloration and euphonic distortion. Acoustic instruments retain correct timbre, complete with a fine-grained decay that seems to fade out forever.

Moreover, while most pure tube amplifiers exhibit tube rush when no signal is present, the Torii has none. Chalk it up to the unique utilization of the voltage regulator tubes. The Torii uses them in series, working as active filters rather than in parallel to regulate voltage. This approach also puts almost no stress on the tubes. Unsurprisingly, Deckert claims the latter should practically last the life of the amplifier. While I still notice modest improvements when plugging in to my Running Springs Maxim power line conditioner, the Torii exhibits less improvement than any other vacuum-tube amplifier I’ve plugged into the Maxim. It’s another test that further confirms Deckert’s claims.

Sure. Watts are watts. But thanks to its robust power supply and proprietary output transformers, the Torii has an abundance of headroom and very gently extends past its peak power output, with barely a hint of clipping. Even when playing the heaviest metal, the amplifier always feels bigger than its modest power rating suggests.

All of this adds up to sound reproduction that is rare with most amplifiers, no matter the price, and a practical miracle at $3,600. Granted, 25 watts per channel won’t be optimum for every speaker and room combination. But within this realm, I can’t think of a more enjoyable amplifier than the Decware Zen Torii Mk.2. I bought the review sample and plan on keeping it long enough to see if it will ever break.

One last word to the wise: Those wanting to put a Torii under a Christmas tree should get on the phone now. Orders are currently subject to a 10 week wait. Deckert told me that they have a backlog of 90 to build right now, and hopefully by spring they will be back to the standard 4-6 week wait.

Decware Zen Torii Mk. 3

MSRP: $2,945-$3,700 (depending on options)

www.decware.com

Peripherals

High-end audio products are often subcategorized by a single factor. For instance, in the mid 70s, many speakers built in California had a “West Coast Sound” characterized by a forward treble and somewhat forceful bass. Meanwhile, speakers from the other side of the country were said to possess an “East Coast Sound” favoring midrange accuracy.

While it’s tough to pigeonhole modern speakers according to such parameters, speakers from Denmark seem to share a natural tonality and an ability to capture the essence of instrumental texture without calling attention to their presence. Dali excels at these aspects. Its new F5 Fazon loudspeaker takes prior achievements two steps further by combining timeless styling with great sound and a small footprint.

Available in gloss black, white, or red, the Dali F5 is gorgeous to behold and will look right at home in the most fashionable of homes. Best of all, at $4,495, the F5s are affordable works of art.

Details, Details

Beautiful woodwork is a Danish hallmark, and Dali has always offered great cabinets. Throwing a wrinkle into traditionalism, the curvy F5s are machined from a block of aluminum. The speaker features an absence of parallel surfaces in order to keep to a minimum any cabinet resonance.

The three-driver complement works in a 2 ½-way configuration, with the crossover points set at 800 and 3200Hz, respectively. Dali maintains that their incorporation of wood fibre mixed into the pulp cones utilized in the dual 5-inch woofers are significant contributors to the model’s natural sound; adding increased cone stiffness and a more randomized structure. It also helps with the inner damping of the cone, a claim that only a few minutes of listening confirms as true. I have a personal preference for soft-dome tweeters; I’m always willing to forgo a smidge of ultimate resolution in the service of timbre. And here, the F5 delivers with a 1-inch soft dome tweeter that, as Ice-T would’ve said before he became a “Law and Order” mainstay, keeps it real.

A pair of banana jacks flush-mounted in the silver bases and a tiny compartment that allows you to completely conceal your speaker cables round out the form-and-function factor. Acoustically transparent speaker grilles magnetically attach; your décor and offspring will decide whether they should be left on or off.

Grilles aside, you should have the F5s playing music in a few minutes. Thanks to fairly wide dispersion, they will not suffer terribly if not aligned just right. If you are in the position to fuss over speaker placement, the F5s yield a bit more bass extension if you can keep them about 18 inches from the rear wall. Since the tweeters rise only 29 inches from the floor, lower seating grants the best imaging performance.

Finally, don’t let the 87db sensitivity frighten you: These speakers are incredibly easy to drive and work equally well with tube, transistor, or Class D amplification. Anything from 25 watts per channel and above should get the job done.

The F5’s Evaporative Nature

The F5’s bass response is solid but not overbearing. At first blush, one might think the speakers slightly thin because the upper-mid bass response isn’t goosed to provide a false sense of thickness. However, when called upon to move air, the pair of 5-inch woofers is mightier than the spec sheet suggests. Sampling Peter Gabriel music, old and new—via Genesis’ Lamb Lies Down On Broadway and his more recent Scratch my Back, respectively—the speakers dispense ample impact. Via the F5s, there’s more than enough oomph on “Back in NYC” to sound convincing and hold at bay any thoughts of a subwoofer. Moreover, textures present in the acoustic bass line of “Heroes” on Gabriel’s latest record affirms that’s what is sonically conveyed is anything but one-note bass.

The F5s often remind me of my favorite mini monitors’ midrange clarity. Yet the former take up a smaller footprint than my Harbeth P3ESRs on Sound Anchors stands. Tracking through Pat Metheny’s new What’s It All About? demonstrates how well these speakers keep pace with the guitar icon’s fretwork and harmonics without becoming lifeless and flat.

Of course, enthralling midrange and ample bass don’t alone make a fantastic speaker. Thanks to the small woofers, the F5s offer the degree of coherence required to effortlessly disappear in a room. The resolution will convince you that something very special is happening—an experience that allows you to ease back in the chair and focus on the musical event. Vide, “I’m a King Bee” from Grateful Dead’s Fillmore East: April 1971. The record boasts a wide range of texture and complexity that challenges the best speakers. Answering the bell, the F5s create a wide soundstage that mimics the Fillmore’s hall ambience.

Fatigue-free Finesse

Many speakers make impressive showings during a 10-minute demo. You know the drill: A salesperson plays some plucky guitar bits, runs through some female vocals, and even spruces it up with a touch of classical music or piano fare. It’s often all presented at high decibel levels. Still, you walk away impressed, perhaps so smitten that you reach for your wallet. But somehow, after a few extended listening sessions, those new speakers lose their luster and you’re right back to where you started.

A natural feel, which might initially make the F5s slightly less exciting, is what will keep you enthralled with them down the road. Even after full-day sessions with the F5s, they never become tiring. As much as a crammed Sooloos music server gnaws at my inner DJ and tempts me to spin singles, I find myself listening to many records all the way through with the F5s—truly the mark of a great speaker. I just want to stay in the groove, whether it’s with yet another version of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon or Girls’ Father, Son, Holy Ghost.

No, the F5s do not present the finite level of “pinpoint imaging” that some more decidedly audiophile speakers possess. However, they throw a full-bodied and three-dimensional soundfield. The wood blocks and triangle in Serge Gainsbourg’s “Douze Belles Dans la Peau” from Chant a la Une illustrate this strength. The triangle sporadically pops in all around the room, while the wood blocks are distinctly left of center and somewhat diffused, sounding just like a pair of wood blocks when I strike them in my listening room.

Dynamics are equally impressive. Although small woofers can only move a finite amount of air, these speakers’ woofers give a gold-ribbon performance when faced with heavier fare. Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and the Who present no problem. But, if your tastes tend towards the heaviest metal, I suggest adding one of Dali’s subwoofers.  AC/DC’s “Back in Black” comes across just fine, but Danzig’s “Am I Demon” requires a stronger push over the cliff. Just as important as dynamics, the F5s retain their open character at low volume levels—not always an easy trick and, perhaps, even more telling of a given speaker’s linearity.

Well? Hello, Dali.

Dali F5 Loudspeakers

$4,495/pair

www.dali-speakers.com (factory)

www.soundorg.com (US importer)

Peripherals

Variations on panel-speaker themes are so widespread, they’re enough to make one’s head spin: magnetic planar, ribbon, electrostatic, and hybrid combinations constitute the bevy of options. And woe to the audiophile that doesn’t agree with one approach. For instance, admitting to a Magnepan aficionado that you like MartinLogan speakers can be the equivalent of treason, sparking reactions that will leave you thinking you just argued with a bunch of soccer hooligans in a pub.

Having owned pretty much all panel types over the years—from the Quad 57 to the mighty Magnepan Tympani to the phenomenal MartinLogan CLX—I love ‘em all. However, they all have limitations that, when minimized, allow for captivating musical presentations one will either adore or despise. Much that of like a single driver/SET system, an ESL speaker’s midrange is positively dreamy. Vocals, in particular, sound amazingly lifelike.

Other than its CLX and earlier CLS, all full-range electrostatic designs, MartinLogan hangs its hat on a hybrid design that mates a dynamic (cone) woofer to an ESL panel. The approach looks great on paper, with the cone woofer bringing the necessary punch and the ESL panel providing the trademark finesse. In practice, however, it’s a tough marriage, as the woofer and ESL panel dissipate sound pressure in different ways, making for a slight disconnect in the frequency spectrum.

Critics of the hybrid approach argue that the woofer doesn’t have the necessary speed to keep up with the ESL panel, robbing the otherworldly coherence that draws us to the design in the first place. So, often like that other marriage of convenience, the SUV, it isn’t always as sporty or utilitarian as some might prefer. I’ve always been willing to excuse a bit panel/woofer integration perfection for weight and slam. I can’t play Metallica on Magnepans, but I can on the MartinLogans.

No manufacturer does a better job of joining a cone woofer to an ESL panel than MartinLogan. It’s for good reason—the company has more seat time with the breed than anyone else. MartinLogan’s constant refinement of woofer and crossover designs (and improvements to the ESL panel) cheats physics rather handily. Enter the $9,995 Montis.

Up and Running

MartinLogan provides some of the best manuals in the business, so you will be rocking out before you can even say “vertical dispersion.” These speakers weigh only 58 pounds each and are easily unpacked by one person. If your room accommodates such a setup, start with the speakers about 8-9 feet apart and with slight toe-in. MartinLogan’s “flashlight” method for setting toe-in works very well and, even though these speakers can nicely when placed close to the side walls of a listening room, the further you can keep them away from side walls results in a larger overall sound field.

When listening to the Montis on both the long and short wall in my 16 x 25 foot listening room, the former gets the nod for producing an expansive stereo image. I suggest moving the speakers apart in 6-inch increments until the stereo image collapses, then back in ever so slightly. The Montis are shipped with hard rubber feet that can be swapped with spikes. The latter results in slightly faster bass transients, but thanks to the great improvements I didn’t hear as much of a difference between spiked and unspiked operation as in past ML models.

The bass control, located on the rear panel, affects the output level of the woofer +/-10db at 100hz. Start at the center (zero) position and optimize speaker placement for the best balance of bass definition and midrange clarity, sparingly using the bass control for best results. Also, the Montis has a lighted “ML” logo on top of the woofer cabinet and a small blue LED on the front face. A three-position switch allows users to choose maximum blue, dim, and off.

Beauty Beneath the Surface

Looking much like the earlier Spire, reviewed very enthusiastically in Issue 20, the Montis uses the same ESL panel as the Summit X and a slightly different 10-inch woofer that crosses over to the panel 10hz higher at 340hz. (It was 330hz in the Spire.)

A new Vojkto-designed 24-0bit DSP crossover enables a far better match between woofer and panel than ever before. With custom slopes on the high- and low-pass frequency segments, the Montis boasts more bass drive than the Spire. Plus, integration improved tremendously. MartinLogan designers never sit still, and as scary as “equalized” sounds in product literature referring to the woofer, the concept works splendidly. According to Devin Zell, MartinLogan product manager, the DSP crossover yields another benefit: consistency. “We were able to achieve much more consistent results within the crossover, holding values to a much tighter tolerance than with passive components. This also provides more consistency from one sample of the product to another.”

Acoustic jazz tracks underscore how far the Montis has come. While the Summit and Spire never struggled in this area, acoustic bass always lacked a bit of texture. No longer. Grant Green’s Idle Moments exemplifies this newfound fluidity. The bass playing here is subtle, seldom taking center stage. Yet the additional texture supplied by the Montis keeps the bass in the center of the pocket, right where it belongs, allowing the listener to forget about it and providing a better foundation for the music.

Whether real or imagined, the increased clarity in the lower register permits more midrange detail to shine through. Grace Jones’ Nightclubbing features a more detached electric bass line that, while great on a pair of Cerwin Vegas, usually sounds somewhat out of place on a high-end system. The Montis nails it, retaining the force albeit tightening up the overall feel.

Tube Friendlier

Many ESL enthusiasts clinging to the notion that tubes are the only way to go with beloved panels forget that hybrid designs are a different animal. Earlier MartinLogan hybrids sport a minimum impedance in the 2-3 ohm range, making them easier to drive than recent models that drop to a .25-ohm impedance at 20khz.

While the Vantage, Summit, and Spire are not amplifier destroyers in the way that my full-range ribbon Apogees are, the high-frequency response nose-dives with practically every tube amplifier, often making for a combination that sounds similar to a traditional dynamic speaker, albeit with a blown tweeter. Happily, the Montis sports a minimum impedance of .56 ohms (with an overall impedance of 4 ohms)—making these speakers much easier to drive with a tube amplifier.

The match with the ARC REF 150 is downright spooky—plenty of high-end sparkle, taut bass response, and a wonderful, airy midrange that one usually associates with the finest vacuum-tube/ESL combinations. This amplifier stands as the one of the best companions for the Montis—the very best I’ve heard yet.

The Montis has no problem being driven by the 25-watt Grant Fidelity SET monoblock amplifiers, which utilize the gigantic 845 output tube. High frequencies don’t roll off; however, a slight midbass hump considerably warms up the sound. Some will welcome the more romantic sound, the pairing sounding more like a pair of Sound Labs or Acoustat 2+2s with more bass drive. Either way, the fact these speakers can be comfortably driven by an SET is remarkable. Listeners whose musical taste leans toward female vocalists should be enraptured by this marriage. Sinead O’Connor’s How About I Be Me (and You Be You?) proves exquisite, yielding the larger-than-life vocals at which ESLs excel.

Equally Adept With Solid-State

These speakers are no slouch with the Burmester 911 mk.3, either. Thanks to the Montis’ resolving abilities, the massive solid-state amplifier brings an equally tasty albeit different flavor to the fore. Whereas the REF 150 has a definite ceiling regarding how loud it can play, the 911 mk. 3 easily drove the efficient (91db/1 watt) Montis to brain-damage levels. Even when cranking the title track from AC/DC’s For Those About To Rock, there’s still plenty of headroom for the parting canon shots.

Fast speed metal, served up via Megadeth, Anthrax, and Motorhead, presents no issue for the Montis when the Burmester amplifier is at the driver’s seat, keeping the sound from the panels clean and controlled. Akin to the Summit, Spire, and Summit X, these ESLs rock—provided your amplifier is up to the task. An amplifier of lesser quality has more trouble driving the panels, a deficit that’s often be mistaken for a woofer/panel coherence issue. The better your power amplifier, the smoother these speakers sound.

Slowing the pace, the acoustic guitar interlude in the middle of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s “Déjà Vu” from the 25^th Annual Bridge School Concerts becomes particularly moving. You can easily discern the sound of each individual guitar in its space and, when the players hit the occasional low string, the additional coherence of the new woofer/crossover keeps you in the groove, never drawing attention to the speakers.

Solid Evolution

Should you trade-in your Vantage, Spire, or Summits for Montis? It depends on your room, system, music, and pocketbook. If you absolutely must have the latest/greatest, snag a pair. Is this speaker a significant upgrade? Unquestionably.

When MartinLogan developed the current Spire and Summit X via crossover advances made on the CLX model, the speakers’ added midrange clarity impressed but the main quibble with the hybrid ESL design still lurked. The Montis makes the biggest jump to date at integrating a cone woofer with an ESL panel. If that’s what you’ve been craving, you will enjoy the Montis.

MartinLogan Montis

MSRP: $9,995/pair

www.martinlogan.com

Peripherals

Audiophiles have a habit of prematurely discarding things. In the 70s, a proliferation of low-efficiency box speakers and transistors convinced many enthusiasts to abandon vacuum tubes for high-powered solid-state amplifiers. Listeners were on a quest for “perfect measurements,” only to wonder if they’d made the wrong choice after the fact.

History repeated itself again in the 80s with the compact disc, as many of the same devotees ditched vinyl in favor of “perfect sound forever” and the digital medium’s superior measurements. Fortunately, technology always seems to come full circle and often reaches its development pinnacle years after introduction. The ARC REF 150 power amplifier exemplifies this trend.

Tradition

The $12,995 REF 150 builds on the success of the previous $10,995 REF 110, the consummate one-box solution for audiophiles that don’t require the power of the larger REF 250 and 750 monoblocks. ARC executive Dave Gordon notes: “The REF 110 is a great amplifier. Yet the extra output of the REF 150 is perfect for our customers wanting the REF sound, but don’t want to commit to the space a pair of monoblocks required.” One chassis also has an advantage in that the REF 150 only requires replacing eight power tubes (approximately every 5000 hours) and, subsequently, produces less heat. Tubes are cooled by a pair of back-panel fans that only make themselves faintly known when the music is off. And even then, one must listen intently to hear them.

Looking virtually identical to its predecessor, the REF 150 sports major internal changes. There’s a much bigger power supply, with double the storage capacity of the REF 110, and redesigned output transformers to maximize the capacity of the KT120 output tubes. Past ARC power amplifiers use the 6550. However, the increased dissipation of the new KT120 tube allows for a substantial power increase. Proprietary capacitor technology utilized in the 40^th Anniversary Reference Preamplifier significantly contributes to the new amplifier’s improved transparency. Currently, there’s no upgrade option for REF 110 owners. Still, Gordon mentions that the KT120 tube can be a drop-in replacement for the 6550 in the REF 110 and “provides a bump in power output, close to 20 watts per channel.” Not a bad upgrade for about $600.

Having owned numerous ARC power amplifiers during the past 30 years, I love that the company prefers a path of measured evolution rather than ricochet from one design to the next. This approach keeps high both demand and resale value for vintage ARC gear. Some older models are now worth more used than they were when new. The current hybrid design, featuring low noise JFETs in the first input stage, began back in the late 80s with the Classic 120 and Classic 150 monoblocks. The latter models ran eight 6550 tubes in each channel in triode mode. By comparison, the REF150 utilizes ARC’s patented “cross cathode coupled” output stage, delivering more power from half as many tubes—and providing better overall sound.

Listeners that find the last generation REF 110 amplifier slightly forward in tonal balance and requiring more juice to push will likely feel that the improvements made to the REF 150 a welcome change. ARC diehards, take note: The change in overall sound is almost identical to the improvement between the REF 3 preamplifier and REF 5.  Audio Research achieves a delicate balance of delivering extra, almost-indefinable tonal tube richness while avoiding the common trap of masking resolution with warmth—or speed with an overblown soundstage. In other words, the REF 110 goes to 9.3 and the REF 150 goes to 11.

Compatibility

The REF 150 features a single pair of balanced XLR connections for the input and three output taps (4, 8, and 16 ohm) for speaker outputs. Thankfully, ARC employs quality copper binding posts instead of the awful, plastic-coated connectors used on too many of today’s power amplifiers. Solid connections are important, and these do the job. A 20-amp IEC socket is used for power transfer, as is a heavy-duty power cord.

Integrating the REF 150 into both of my reference systems—one featuring ARC’s REF Phono 2 phonostage and REF 5 preamplifier,  the other comprised of the Burmester 011 preamplifier and Vitus Audio MP-P201 phonostage—proves seamless. Note: the design of the REF series power amplifiers is such that they will not work with single ended (RCA outputs only) preamplifiers.  A balanced preamplifier must be used, or distortion will rise dramatically, accompanied by a substantial decrease in power.  This is due to the omission of the phase inverter stage – a small price to pay for signal purity.  Excellent synergy is also achieved running it direct from the dCS Paganini stack, in effect making the ARC an all-digital control center. No matter your front end, the REF 150 will deliver.

The REF 150 is equally versatile with a wide range of loudspeakers. While it can’t push my power-hungry Magnepan 1.7s to ear-busting levels, it plays them at coherent levels with all but heavy-rock tracks—a major feat for most amplifiers, and an incredible achievement for a tube amplifier. The new MartinLogan Montis speakers make for a fabulous combination with the REF 150, a match previously problematic due to the speakers’ low impedance (.56 ohms at 20kHz), The Montis’ slightly higher impedance combines with the REF 150’s superior drive to play extreme music at any level desired, with no loss of high-frequency information. It all reminds me of the synergy achieved years ago with ARC’s legendary D-79 power amplifier and MartinLogan’s CLS speakers.

Outstanding Impressions

I’m instantly struck by two characteristics: The REF 150 sounds more lifelike right out of the box than recent ARC components, and it possesses colossal bass grip. Those of the opinion that vacuum tube amplifiers can’t produce prodigious amounts of bass weight or control are in for a major paradigm shift. In these respects, the REF 150 amazes.

The Chemical Brothers “Galvanize,” from Push The Button, reveals wet and loose beats that challenge amplifiers to capture their gravitas. The REF 150 aces the test. Sampling everything from Pink Floyd to Stanley Clark shows the amplifier claims immense power and control over lower registers. Regardless of the speakers, the REF 150 goes deep, and yet, stops on a dime with bass transients. No, I don’t believe “tube watts” sound more powerful than “transistor watts.” But there’s no substitute for a well-designed power supply with ample reserve capacity. The REF 150 sounds much bigger and more dynamic than its power rating suggests.

Texture is treated in equal measure, leading me to an old audiophile favorite, The Three, a JVC direct-to-disc LP featuring Shelly Manne on drums, Joe Sample on piano, and Ray Brown on bass. Listening to Brown’s playing on “Satin Doll” is sublime, with every up-and-down movement of his fingers smartly distinguishable.

But man cannot live by bass alone, and the REF 150 excels with practically every other aspect of music reproduction. The amplifier’s ability to hold its poise when pushed very, very hard leaves me stunned. Warner Bros.’ analog remaster of Van Halen’s Van Halen II is no audiophile masterpiece, and the third track, “Somebody Get Me a Doctor,” often collapses into a one-dimensional experience. Yet, even at close-to-concert decibel levels, Eddie Van Halen and Michael Anthony’s background vocals retain distinct separation rather than just sounding like a single vocal.

Imagined or not, electric guitars reproduced through tube amplification represent the proverbial equivalent of an extra push over the cliff. The REF 150’s resolution is particularly tasty when listening to bands featuring multiple lead guitar players; think Judas Priest, Slayer, or Metallica. The title cut to Judas Priest’s Ram it Down personifies the increased power such tracks exert when you can easily discern multiple guitarists in the mix.

For those preferring to twirl rather than bang their head, look no further than Mobile Fidelity’s recent remaster of the Grateful Dead’s Live Dead. Filled with layer upon layer of guitar and keyboard tracks, the LP takes on new life via the ARC, revealing previously obscured tidbits. Consider: Jerry Garcia’s guitar begins as a whisper on “Saint Stephen,” yet when he ramps up the volume, the organ way off in the background doesn’t lose its integrity.

Power and Delicacy

The REF 150 never stumbles, handling the power of a guitar solo or delicacy of a flute passage with ease. Without question, this amplifier roars when required. But thanks to its wide dynamic range and bandwidth, it retains a full-bodied sound at low playback levels. Those subscribing to the “first watt” theory (i.e., if the first watt isn’t great, the rest won’t be either) can rest assured the REF 150 is up to the task.

Rounding out my evaluation with wide range of vocal standards confirms initial impressions. The REF 150 is a very natural-sounding amplifier—never forward, bright, or harsh. Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series Volume 8 comes off with the depth of a stereo record.

At first listen with any component, dynamics usually woo you into further listening sessions. However, tonal accuracy and overall natural sound are the sonic sauces that keep you on the couch for hours, seeking out “just one more record.” Sure, many Internet pundits complain that recorded music sounds nothing like the real thing. Pish. If your speakers and source components are up to task, the REF 150 will produce such sensations with the best recordings—and amply seduce you the rest of the time. Cream’s “Sleepy Time, Time” from its 1995 performance at Royal Albert Hall splendidly reproduces the venue’s ambience. I feel as if I’m sitting in the center of the 15^th row in this famous concert hall—no surround speakers needed!

If you’re seeking classic tube-amplifier sound that is larger than life and full of romance, the REF 150 isn’t your bag. However, if you desire a modern amplifier possessing musical integrity, timbral accuracy, and wideband frequency response—yet still boasting the three-dimensionality, air, and tonal saturation hallmarks of mighty vacuum tubes—the REF 150 offers emotional engagement few amplifiers at any price can match.

Audio Research REF 150 Power Amplifier

MSRP:  $12,995

www.audioresearch.com

Peripherals

“I’m a stat guy at heart. I wanted that midrange openness and neutrality,” remarks Mark Suskind, Polk Audio’s VP of Product Line Management, as we listen to the nuances in Ginger Baker’s drumming through Polk’s latest creation, the LSiM707 speakers.

Incredibly, the $3,999 pair of floorstanders is right at home in a six-figure reference system, throwing out a wide soundstage that both extends well beyond the speaker boundaries and claims three-dimensionality—each member of Cream takes up a distinct space in the listening room—that paints a vivid picture of a seemingly in-progress live event. Wait: Polk Audio and a six-figure reference system? What gives? Is this a Fringe episode where in an alternate universe Polk Audio rules the world of high-end speakers and Walter Bishop blasts Cream in his laboratory while he investigates the unknown? Nope. Just another instance of TONEAudio exploring exciting possibilities.

In the early 70s, Polk Audio grabbed the audiophile world’s attention with its legendary SDA-SRS speaker system and has since counted a number of significant milestones. The LSiM707 brings the history full circle by leaning on nearly 40 years of speaker-production knowledge. Yes, these are handsome speakers, available in a Mount Vernon Cherry medium wood finish or Midnight Mahogany a black ash wood finish. Slim, magnetic grilles keep fingers, noses, and prying guests away from the drivers, or you can use the speakers bare and showcase the gorgeous gloss-black front panel.

A Serious Audiophile Speaker in Every Way

When introduced in 2001, the LSi series garnered rave international reviews, proving Polk a solid contender in the audiophile speaker market. And you won’t find a more loyal group of speaker owners; take a cursory look at the Polk Audio Owners Group on the Web.

The LSiM707 constitutes a four-way system with many new features, some of which break new ground and some that refine past processes. A cutaway view highlights the attention paid to every facet of the design—from the Dynamic Sonic Engine that incorporates Polk’s latest ring radiator tweeter and Extended Motion midrange driver to the meticulously assembled crossover network, featuring premium capacitors and inductors. And, there are a few things the naked eye cannot see, such as the aerated polypropylene woofer cones and rigid internal cabinet bracing. For in-depth tech explanations of these aspects, visit the Polk Web site at http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/lsim/index.php.

To ensure the speakers would perform at the top level, Polk made substantial upgrades to its in-house listening room. Visiting the company’s Baltimore office reveals a full complement of Audio Research Reference electronics—amplifier, preamplifier, CD player. No surprise, then, that the LSiM707 yields excellent results when plugged into my ARC REF 5 preamplifier and REF 150 power amplifier.

Setup

Placing the speakers five feet from the rear wall, with the tweeters nine feet apart— combined with five degrees of toe-in and a slight rearward rake—proves optimum in my room. The LSiM707s sound good without critical placement, but taking the time to make adjustments to rake angle results in superior imaging. Sure, the process requires a few minutes per speaker, but it’s made even easier with the iLevel Pro app for the iPhone. Or you can go old-school with a traditional level. Just have both speakers raked back at the identical amount and use the supplied wrench.

I utilized three distinctly diverse systems to audition the LSiM707s. The ARC REF gear and dCS Paganini CD player highlight how the speakers perform in very high-end systems. My recently rebuilt (fresh power supplies and full CJD Teflon cap upgrades for both units) Conrad Johnson MV-50 amplifier and PV-12 preamplifier, along with a BelCanto CD player, makes for a great setup that won’t break the piggy bank yet still renders highly satisfying performances. For budget-conscious music lovers that might make the LSiM707s a foundation on which to build, a vintage Pioneer SX-434 receiver and 563 universal disc player only add $200 to the cost of the Polk speakers.

I’ll Take Polk Audio For $4000, Please

The LSiM707s’ slight out-of-the-box stiffness vanishes after about 50 hours of playing time, unveiling speakers much more sophisticated than what’s intimated by their price. A few snooty local audiophile associates experienced the LSiM707s (albeit with the Polk logos hidden from view) in my full ARC system. When asked to guess the cost of the mystery component, they estimated between $10-$20k, a conclusion spurred on by my spinning of well-known audiophile favorites. After the guinea pigs became convinced they were listening to $20k speakers, I finally dropped the bomb by informing them the Polks fetch $3,995 for the pair. Consider the so-called experts successfully duped.

While listening to a $20k pair of speakers reveals the areas in which the LSiM707s fall short, this review isn’t meant as a shootout. Big bucks gear possesses extra resolution and refinement—and that’s how it should be. Comparing the LSiM707s to speaker favorites in the $4,000-$5,500 bracket is more useful and interesting.

The $4k Penaudio Cenya and the $5k B&W 805D both present more upper-range resolution, but only solidly go down to 50Hz. Also, each requires a pair of expensive stands to achieve maximum bass performance. Meanwhile, the $5,500 Magnepan 3.7s color a more grandiose aural picture but don’t really rock. Plus, to be all they can be, they necessitate a $10k high-current, solid-state power amplifier.

A Serious Music Lover’s Speaker

The 50 watts per channel that the CJ amp provides is great for most listening, but the configuration particularly excels at vocals and mellower music, as illustrated by Mobile Fidelity’s 24K CD of Tom Petty’s Full Moon Fever. The album’s multiple layers stay intact, with not only the woodblock in “Face in a Crowd” anchored in space but its timbre and scale sounding exactly right. They seem minor, yet these minute details allow you to forget about the system and concentrate on the music. Gram Parsons’ Grievous Angel and CSN’s Déjà vu supply similar experiences. The LSiM707s unfailingly render subtle shadings without missing the larger dynamic swings.

Swapping the CJ gear for the C500 preamplifier and the 450Wpc MC452 power amplifier, I effortlessly buried the big, blue power meters courtesy of albums from Van Halen, Slayer, and Nine Inch Nails. Todd Martens’ column (on page 88) inspired a maximum-volume romp through The Downward Spiral that left me invigorated and convinced that the LSi707s play at high levels without instilling listener fatigue.

Jazz and classical listeners should be equally enthralled with the Polks. It’s one trick to play really loud, but these speakers possess the necessary finesse to capture the essence of acoustic instruments. With a recent listening session to the mastering of Music Matters’ analog edition of Herbie Hancock’s Empyrean Isles burned in my memory, I eagerly played a test pressing of the LP via the LSiM707s. They did not disappoint. Hancock’s piano and Freddie Hubbard’s coronet blast from between the speakers with great dynamics and zero overhang. Cymbals are natural, and bass is pregnant with texture—no one-note bass here.

Man Up and Grab a Pair

The LSiM707s’ greatest virtue owes to their overall performance level; they have no shortcomings. Honestly. The speakers offer major bass grunt—Polk claims 22Hz-40kHz, with a -3db point at 42Hz. However, when listening to test tones, the 30Hz band remains very solid. Moreover, the smooth high-end is grain-free and the mid-band extremely natural. The well-designed crossover network also provides a top-to-bottom coherence that’s rare at this price.

It would be easy to say that these speakers’ only errors are those of omission, but such a statement sells them short. When used with the ARC REF gear, the LSiM707s easily resolved the differences between the $12k dCS Debussy, $30k TAD 600, and $55k dCS Paganini. Most sub-$10k speakers fail this challenge.

Most importantly, for music lovers on a budget, the LSiM707s still deliver a very musical performance when paired with a garage-sale receiver. No matter with what they’re mated, they put forward such substantial resolution that it will feel as if you acquire a whole new system any time you upgrade your amplification and/or source components. This experience translates to unending fun—and a TONEAudio Exceptional Value Award.

Revealingly, on our way to the airport, Suskind commented that Polk “wants the LSiM707 to be a gateway to the high end on a reasonable budget.” The company accomplished this feat—and much, much more.

With the race on to build bigger, better, more powerful gear, Naim has entered the field with its first standalone DAC. In the past, the company took a closed-architecture approach to digital, with its players claiming neither a digital input nor output. One uses them the way they come from the factory; the only available upgrade is a larger power supply.

If you aren’t familiar with Naim, it certainly follows a different approach than other manufacturers. In the case of its $3,695 world-class DAC, performance upgrades come in the form of more robust, external power supplies. This strategy (also used with its SuperLine phonostage) works well in the sense that you buy the DAC once, getting digital decoding ability along with a top-range product’s input and output flexibility—and the same tonality—for a reasonable price.

When more performance is needed, an external power supply is easily added. Enter the $5,595 XPS and $9,345 555PS. While the uninitiated might pause at the concept of an external power supply costing more than an actual component, we’ve been to this dance with Naim before, and the proof is in the listening.

The Naim DAC provides a great digital experience in standard form, but if you can make the jump, opt for the PS555. Like every other Naim component into which we’ve plugged a massive power supply, it makes for a stunning experience. Once you hear it, you will never go back. For those that keep gear for long periods of time, it’s reassuring to buy the DAC and know the job is done. When you get the itch to upgrade, adding a power supply is a simple task.

Regardless of output or file resolution, the Naim DAC plays flawlessly with every digital source we throw at it. No matter your digital arsenal, the user-friendly nit will improve its sound While Naim would, of course, like to see you purchase one of its music servers, if you have someone else’s server in your system, integrating the Naim DAC with a current setup shouldn’t be an issue. In addition to the Naim HDX, we used the QSonix, Meridian Sooloos, Aurender, and Squeezebox servers with all file resolutions without a glitch.

The DAC proves equally compatible with a wide range of transports. The MSB universal transport works particularly well with the Naim DAC, allowing audiophiles invested in physical media of all types—SACD, DVD-Audio, or even Blu-ray—to play their files from one source.

Different Approach, Similar Sound

Even though the Naim DAC takes an alternative modus operandi to the digital decoding process, the company’s CD555 uses old-school, 16 bit/44.1k architecture. The Naim DAC upsamples incoming data to 768khz, using a SHARC 40-bit floating point processor, which also handles the digital filtering.  Audio data is then dumped into a RAM buffer before going to the actual DAC chips for D/A conversion. For a more in-depth overview of this process, download the Naim white paper here:

http://www.naimaudio.com/sites/default/files/products/downloads/files/dac_white-paper_issue3.pdf

Such methodology is not necessary with the CD555 because it only plays 16 bit/44.1khz files from CD; remember, however, the Naim DAC is compatible with all high-resolution digital formats. Credit Naim’s engineering staff for making the DAC/PS555 combination sound nearly identical to the CD555. Under the hood, the models couldn’t be more different.

The Naim DAC employs a plethora of inputs: a pair of RCA SPDIF, a pair of 75-ohm BNC inputs, and four toslink inputs. A USB port rests on the back and front panels; however, these inputs are not intended for direct connection to a computer. And forget about balanced XLR/EBU or FireWire inputs. Naim believes that a computer via USB doesn’t constitute an optimal way to transfer data to its DAC, so the USB input is for an external drive or memory stick. We found this handy when a friend brought over a few albums for a listening session.

Since the DAC is Apple compliant, you can use an iPod, iPhone, or iPad to stream music (up to 48kHz sampling rate) without the need for an external high-performance dock. Merely connect your iPod via the standard USB cord that goes to your charger, and experience the upgraded sound the iPod possesses when you bypass the onboard DAC. Listeners with multiple iPods will find this method goes a long way towards enticing the rest of their family to share in the hi-fi system fun.

Standard and Super-Size

Listening sessions began with the Naim DAC by itself, and without the external power supply. The former exhibits the same character, or “house sound,” that we’ve experienced with the other Naim players. We experimented with an iPod Touch, vintage Denon 3910, MSB universal transport, Naim HDX, and Sooloos music server, as well as a dCS Paganini transport.

By itself, the DAC proves highly competent and exhibits a very natural tonality. Naim gear always excels in the areas of musical pace and timing. However, that PS555 is like connecting an afterburner to the DAC. While tonality remains the same, dynamics take a major jump with the extra power. The rim shots in Lee Morgan’s “Riggarmortes” from the Tom Cat XRCD are breathtaking. And when Morgan’s trumpet enters, it punches through the mix with authority and more texture, the tune now sounding like a high-resolution file.

Bass weight and control also soar with the PS555. Listening to the classic electronica album, Kruder and Dorfmeister, The K&D Sessions, confirms these findings. “Bomb the Bass—Bug Powder Dust” features a deep, loose bass track that can easily get away from a modest system and overwhelm the diaphanous mix. The Naim combination paints a massive sonic landscape, simultaneously offering potent bass that shakes the listening room but never loses control.

More Power

Aside from reproducing music in a natural way—acoustic instruments played back through the Naim DAC/PS555 possess the right amount of texture and decay to convince you you’re hearing the real thing—the PS555 produces a much larger soundstage. Cue up Frank Zappa’s “Penguin in Bondage” from the live Roxy & Elsewhere album. Listening to only the DAC, Ruth Underwood’s percussion effects are buried in the mix, and the CD feels somewhat compressed. Once the PS555 is engaged, room boundaries expand in all three dimensions, allowing Zappa and his cronies to reveal themselves in greater detail.

The additional dynamics that the PS555 brings to listening sessions are invaluable. As nicely as the Naim DAC/PS555 combination renders top-notch recordings, the additional detail and overall listenability it brings to average-sounding records separates the pairing from lesser DACs. Music lovers whose interests venture beyond the same old audiophile standards will be delighted.

Indeed, after swapping the power supply in and out only a few times, I became convinced the NAIM DAC makes such a quantum leap with the PS555. It’s not to be missed. Sure, there are a few excellent DACs in the $4,000 range, and while the Naim unit is highly capable on its own, the PS555 turns it into something special.

You Might Forget About Your Turntable

If we were comparing the two DACs to phono cartridges, the Naim boasts a sound similar to that of a Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum: robust bass response, great stereo image, and a dash of warmth thrown in for good measure—a characteristic that never hurts digital media. In direct comparison to the similarly priced dCS Debussy, the dCS sounds more like a Lyra Titan i, with a shade more resolution and slightly more forward presentation.

For music lovers that want a digital source that is musical in the manner of an analog source, the Naim DAC/PS555 is the way to roll. Also, if you are a CD555 owner that’s a bit late coming to music servers, this DAC and power supply will provide a seamless experience. For these reasons, the Naim DAC/PS555 combination receives our most enthusiastic recommendation.

The Naim DAC/PS555 Power Supply

MSRP:  Naim DAC, $3,695

PS555 Power supply, $9,345

www.naimaudio.com    (factory)

www.soundorg.com    (US Importer)

Peripherals

Do you have a pair of speakers that have been with you since college? TONEAudio contributor Jerold O’Brien owns a pair of JBLs that have been through hell and back—moved all the way around the world since our tenure at the University of Wisconsin. But they are like a good luck charm to him. One afternoon when we were struggling to adjust the Kugelfischer injection on his BMW 2002tii, listening to Alice Cooper’s School’s Out, he laughed and said, “I still love those speakers. Lots of great memories.”

Philosophers and self-help gurus like to say that getting started is 80% of the battle, and nowhere is this more true than beginning the daunting task of trying to assemble a hi-fi system for the first time. Sage advice says to pick a pair of speakers you like and build around them. After all, whether or not you agree with the concept that speakers most significantly shape the sound of your system, they certainly have the greatest impact on your decor. Chances are you’ll be living with your speakers longer than you will a preamp or a receiver, so getting it right the first time constitutes a bonus.

The inexpensive end of the audio spectrum never ceases to fascinate, only if because every design decision made on a $400 pair of speakers like the Definitive Technology SM45s is so very critical. On many levels, some of the best work in audio is done in this price neighborhood, primarily because it’s ultra-competitive. And much of it sounds dreadful if you’re the least bit used to the good stuff. Finding a great entry-level component feels like robbing a convenience store and getting away with the crime. It only seemed appropriate to play Jane’s Addiction’s “Been Caught Stealing” while un-boxing the SM45s.

It Can Be Done

The SM45s were one of the most exciting products I heard at the Consumer Electronics Show last January. Why? It’s exactly the kind of product that gets people excited about making a hi-fi system part of their lives. Combined with a decent amplifier, or perhaps a vintage receiver, one need only add an iPod to start rocking out.

These Definitive Technology models are tiny, only about 6 x 8 x 12, and can actually be used on a bookshelf. Yes, the concept got carried away in the 70s, eventually yielding speakers that were way too large to fit on even a library’s vast bookshelf. While you can place these small speakers on such a surface, they produce much better results when mounted on 24-30-inch-tall stands, so that the tweeters are near ear level. Your task? Finding a placement option that balances with your decor, and the tradeoff between maximum bass reinforcement and midrange clarity.

World-Class Budget Speakers—It’s Not an Oxymoron

The SM45s present Kathleen Edwards’ “House Full of Empty Rooms” from an honest tonal standpoint while capturing the breathiness and nuance the singer brings to the song, all the while doing a marvelous job of following the pace of the backing acoustic guitar. Admittedly, evident compression emerges when switching to Keel’s The Right To Rock and dialing the volume way up on some Korn, Metallica, and Tool.

While the SM45s would play really loud without distortion or destruction, they need more bass grunt to really come alive at high volumes with harder stuff. Metalheads are advised to invest in DefTech’s ProSub 800 or 1000 subwoofer ($399 and $499, respectively) to flesh out the system. Same thing goes for electronica fans. DJ Krush’s Strictly Turntablized could use a bit more boom to get the message across. But remember, these are $400 speakers. A pair, no less. Music with less than subterranean low notes is easily handled, and test tones reveal solid output to about 50hz.  If you can, move the speakers about 18 inches from the wall to take advantage of room gain.

The SM45s possess more than enough resolution to easily discern qualitative differences between Mobile Fidelity’s reissue of KC and the Sunshine Band on vinyl and the original CD. The nonexistent bass line in “Shake Your Booty” via CD comes through loud and clear when switching to LP, with the woofer cones really pulsing.

Avoiding the parlor tricks of goosing one part of the audio spectrum really makes the SM45s world-class budget speakers. They have incredible overall tonal balance.  Playing solo female vocals or electronica excites the “wow” neurons in your brain, and most inexpensive speakers really suck when the playlist takes a turn towards acoustic fare.

Sure, it’s fun blasting party tracks through the SM45s, and seizing upon the big soundstage they throw. And, you can actually listen to music on these speakers. After hours of torturing them with metal and techno tracks, slowing the pace down to engage Keith Jarrett’s Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note: The Complete Recordings proves a fantastic experience. Jarrett’s piano is reproduced with an abundance of scale and texture. Along with the applause, his signature grunting hangs in the air, each in a separate layer. Even the stand-up bass is finely depicted, but the lowest overtones are absent.

Mixing it up with Miles, Coltrane, and other jazz legends reveals the same findings. Drums are full of dynamics, never plodding or obtuse. Tonality this good would be highly impressive for a $1,000 pair of speakers. It’s out of this world at this price.

Keeping Pace with 2012

Yes, $400 buys a smaller pair of speakers than it did in 1978. However, the value proposition that Definitive Technology’s Studio Monitor 45s offer goes off the chart. A two-way system, the SM45 represents the smallest speaker in Def Tech’s newest StudioMonitor series. With the grille off, the glossy front baffle looks smashing, revealing a 5.25-inch woofer and the same 1-inch dome tweeter featured in the SM55 and SM65. The MDF cabinets are covered in a black vinyl rather than a fancy veneer—a necessary albeit completely acceptable compromise. These babies are still highly pleasing, and it’s great to see that the extra few bucks that could have been spent on a fancier enclosure were instead put into sound-producing components.

Thanks to a 90db sensitivity rating, the SM45 works well with low-powered amplifiers and is equally at ease with solid-state, class D, or tube amplification. Our cache of vintage budget receivers from Pioneer, Nakamichi, and Sansui all turn in great performances with these speakers, confirming that an iPod owner could assemble a very capable system built around the SM45s for about $600.

Whether you’re just entering the world of hi-fi, or building a compact second system, a pair of SM45s is the best $400 investment you’ll ever make. These are speakers you’ll still enjoy in your garage 30 years from now. And think of the cool memories that will go along with the journey.

I like these speakers so much that I want you to have a pair.  Definitive Technologies has agreed to give us three pairs of SM45s to pass on to our readers, so when you have a moment, head to http://www.tonepublications.com/contest/ and follow the instructions.  Perhaps you’ll be one of our three lucky readers that wins a pair!

Definitive Technology Studio Monitor 45 Speakers

MSRP: $399/pair

www.definitivetech.com

If you’ve ever auditioned the Focal Grande Utopia EM loudspeakers, you know what a breathtaking musical experience they provide, from the deepest bass note to the highest high, with a clarity that few other models can muster. Focal is one of the world’s only speaker companies with a full research facility and manufacturing complex under one roof. All of the company’s drivers are made in-house, accompanying all of the necessary research, design, and fabrication that go into every aspect of speaker design.

Audiophiles that inquired about the cost of the Grande Utopias were probably a little bit freaked out at the $180,000 price tag. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend that much money to get a great pair of speakers from Focal. The Chorus 826W retail for $3,695 per pair and epitomize how cutting-edge engineering and design get distilled into real-world products.

Visually and Audibly Exquisite

Unboxing the 826Ws is a sensual experience. The black-lacquered finish is as smooth as glass, and the cabinet quality fantastic. Everything harmonizes with each other, and the “W” logo is engraved into the tweeter baffle. Fit and finish is better than expected at this price category, no doubt the result of utilizing a production facility trained in making the Utopia series. Because Focal also has pro and car audio divisions, it boasts incredible economies of scale that are the equivalent of a small speaker company that purchases off-the-shelf drivers from one place and cabinets from another in order to sell decent $10-$20k speakers. Few compete with Focal in this area.

The second I set the stylus down on Lynryd Skynyrd’s Nuthin’ Fancy, the track’s omnipresent opening amplifier hum instantly lets me know these speakers can rock. Courtesy of a 91.5db sensitivity rating, a 50- to 70-watt amplifier gets the job done with power to spare. For most of my listening sessions, the PrimaLuna Dialog Six monoblocks with EL-34 power were awesome. Unless I was blasting King Diamond, I took advantage of the Dialogs even sweeter-sounding triode mode because of the 826W’s sensitivity.

An inverted dome tweeter is a Focal hallmark. However, the 800 series uses a 1-inch aluminum/magnesium membrane whereas the Utopia system uses a beryllium dome that’s far more costly to produce. The tweeter in the 826W easily resolves ultra-fine musical detail, with low distortion and high speed. And that speed feels a lot like a high-quality electrostatic speaker system with a massive soundstage. W versions of Chorus speakers also boast the same W composite material used in woofers of Utopia models.  Where many speakers at this price rely on off-the-shelf drivers, Focal applies technology from its flagship models. The pair of 6.5-inch woofers is remarkably free of upper bass coloration and lower-bass distortion.

Fans of well-defined imaging will be smitten with the 826W. The piano in the Allman Brothers’ “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” comes in way off to the right side of the sound field, as Duane Allman’s famous slide guitar snakes in from the right and both instruments blend in with the band. Everything on Eat a Peach sounds incredible. Small details abound: A drumstick clicked on the side of the kit here, tiny percussion bits there, and the sound of a guitar slide gently moved across a guitar neck while bongos float in the distance. Such resolution is often unavailable in under-$10k speakers.

At Ease Everywhere

The 826W is equally articulate at low volume; it is not a speaker that you need to blast in order to achieve musical engagement. Even at conversation levels, the speaker’s virtues shine. A few of my audiophile buddies unfamiliar with Focal initially believed these speakers fetched much more than their list price.

Closely concentrating on Neil Young’s Harvest reveals the intricacies the 826W produce, the experience easily rendering the superiority of the 24/192 version of the album. At the beginning of the title track, the piano swells up out of the background to meet the banjo, splendidly yielding an abundance of texture and tone.

A series of test tones reveals solid bass down to 40hz, with worthwhile output at 35hz. A quick romp through a series of discs with deep, low-frequency energy is highly enjoyable. More importantly, whether playing Pink Floyd, Snoop Dogg, or Mahler, the 826 exhibits control and plenty of low-frequency detail as well. The hard-hitting beats of Mr. Scruff’s “Sweetsmoke” provide sufficient, non-fatiguing gut punch when the volume gets cranked up to party levels. Equally sublime dynamics come via the beginning of Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter,” where neither the distorted bass line nor the pounding bass drum overpowers the other.

I even notice a few sonic bits on my favorite Doug and the Slugs album, Cognac and Bologna, I wasn’t expecting. The texture in the tom fills and keyboard riffs are rousing.  Rush’s “The Trees” offers similar surprises, as the Canadian trio is presented with the grand scale it deserves even as the chirping birds at the beginning of the track are rendered in full color.  Moving down in latitude from Canada to California calls for Van Halen. After about an hour of high-decibel use, and switching to the mighty Burmester 911mk.3, the Focals are no worse for the wear.

Environmentally Friendly

Occupying just an 11 1/8 x 14 ¾-inch footprint (282 x 375mm), the 826W physically parallels a pair of compact speakers on a pair of stands but adds the deeper bass response of a floorstander. The 826W’s ported enclosure system is called “Powerflow,” and includes one port on the front face of the speaker and another port that fires downward.

Don’t forget to mount these speakers on their stands, or you will be sorely disappointed with bass performance. Oh, yeah: The stands also receive the Utopia treatment, as they’re produced from stylish cast aluminum and include threaded leveling spikes.

Once securely mounted, the 826W is a breeze to set up. The dual-port design seems to be less sensitive to room placement than many single-port speakers we’ve tried, and because these speakers are not terribly heavy at 56.8 pounds (25.8kg) each, shuffling them to their optimum position requires minimal effort.

Award-Winning Performance

Of course, the 826Ws don’t go as deep or play as loudly as the Grandes, but all of the attributes associated with the landmark latter speaker attributes are represented:  tonal purity, wideband frequency response, and high dynamic range coupled with excellent low-level detail retrieval.

The 826W’s only potential drawback? The high resolution reveals shortcomings in the signal path more than most speakers at this price point. Its inverted dome tweeter is not harsh, but ultra-resolving. After spending a little time with the 826Ws, listeners with budget amplification will be shopping for a new amp.

Given that it incorporates so many features from Focal’s top speaker systems, the 826W could be the best bang for the buck the company has yet produced. The model is more than worthy of our Exceptional Value Award for 2012.

Focal Chorus 826W Loudspeaker

MSRP: $3,695/pair

www.focal.com  (Factory)

www.audioplusservices.com  (US and Canadian importer)

My journey with Conrad-Johnson preamplifiers goes all the way back to its original PV-1, purchased new in 1979. Over the last 33 years, I’ve tried a number of different preamplifiers, yet the CJ sound remains a favorite.

Loyal TONEAudio readers know that I’ve been using the ACT 2/series two preamplifier for many years as a reference component. Just like that PV-1, the ACT 2 has performed without as much as a burp—along with the company’s Premier 350 power amplifier—for upwards of 20,000 hours. During a recent dinner with Lew Johnson, he and his partner, Bill Conrad, laughed and said, “You’ve probably spent more hours listening to the ACT 2 than we have. And we designed the damn thing.”

The ART 3 hit the scene a few years ago, and while I enjoyed listening to it in a few friends’ systems, I was too content with the ACT 2 to let it go. However, the GAT is another story. When I visited the CJ factory last year, Johnson said, “I think we finally have something you’ll want to trade your ACT 2 in on.”

While CJ has always made all-vacuum-tube preamplifiers, the GAT marches to the beat of a different drum. Produced in an edition of 250 units, each $20,000 GAT has a small, stamped serial-number pad on the back face. It is also the ultimate in simplicity. Only one 6922 vacuum tube is utilized as a gain stage per channel, and a low-noise FET transistor serves as an output gain buffer—an alternate approach from models employing the FET as the input stage. The combination works brilliantly, offering low noise and incredible low-level detail.

Under the Hood

Much has been said about the virtues of the proprietary Teflon CJD capacitors transforming CJ electronics from a slightly warm, mellifluous sound that this writer always finds enticing to a current sound that gives up none of the tonal richness from legacy designs, yet now possess a level of large- and small-scale dynamics—along with a transparency unattainable in previous preamplifiers. As they used to say at Weight Watchers, “All the satisfaction with none of the guilt.”

The GAT is full of the aforementioned large capacitors, strategically placed in all critical functions. Those used in the power supply look like emergency road flares, and account for much of the GAT’s explosive dynamics. The rest of the circuit board reveals premium parts; this isn’t an overpriced pretty box.

However, those massive Teflon capacitors take some time to sound their best.  We have experienced the same trait with every component featuring a number of them in their design. Right out of the box, the GAT sounds a little flat and restricted—almost in a haze. But it’s easy to pick up on the exquisite tonality that makes this preamplifier one of the world’s finest.

The GAT exits the fog once 100 hours pass, and makes a substantial jump in clarity around the 300-hour mark. Should you be a jittery, impatient audiophile, resist the urge to abandon the GAT until you get at least 300 hours on the clock, or you will be sorry. Most of this “break-in” finishes at this point; you’ll know it when you power it up and it just sounds a lot “bigger.” From that point forward, it continues to slightly improve over the next few hundred hours.

ACT, ART, or GAT?

The ACT, ART, and GAT all possess their own unique sonic signature, and each appeals to a different listener.  The ACT 2 places you about five rows closer to the musical presentation than the ART 3, yet the latter claims more heft in the lowest register of the frequency spectrum, and possesses more tonal saturation as well. Keep in mind, these are not earth-shattering differences. It’s more like the gradation between high-performance tires on a Porsche or Ferrari, but the preamplifiers do have their own unique flavor.

Regardless of your choice of adjectives, these two models owe as much to the type of tube (four 6H30s in the ACT 2, ten 6922s in the ART) as their inherent circuit design.

Enter the GAT. Imagine an equal mixture of the ART and ACT’s tonality, with greater dynamic ability and a lower noise floor. It’s that basic. The GAT makes for a perfect match for both tubed and solid-state CJ power amplifiers, proving a great dance partner with all the amplifiers at my disposal.

Users Chime In

During the course of the review, a few GAT owners were kind enough to send me their impressions, and we’ve all drawn the same conclusion. Whether previous CJ owners or not, all agree that the price asked for the GAT was “very reasonable” in comparison to other units they auditioned. One user called it a “relative steal.”

The GAT’s high-frequency refinement got the highest marks, with one of our respondents feeling the difference between the GAT and ACT 2 isn’t subtle. “It’s as if CJ has brought back the magic midrange from the Premier 16LS and ART preamplifiers, yet carved away the syrupy part.”

All concurred on the GAT’s superior noise floor and, interestingly, the seven GAT owners/responders all commented on the quality of the stock CJ power cord. One reader sums it up succinctly, stating, “I’ve experimented with a number of power cords, and noticed a marginal improvement. But the stock CJ cord is tough to beat.”

Serves the Music

High-performance audio components are like high-performance automobiles in the sense that they offer overpowering excellence in one area, yet lack in others that are even bested by modestly priced competitors. While the GAT is almost equally good with all aspects of musical reproduction, it is the master at combining high resolution with a complete lack of grain or harshness.

Keith Jarrett’s Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 instantly reveals the nuance, texture, and decay the GAT puts at your disposal. Leading and trailing edges of piano notes sound magnificent—almost fragile, not unlike the multicolored light reflection on a soap bubble floating in the air. Acoustic instruments portrayed via the GAT are incredibly realistic.

The GAT also excels in the pace department. The title cut of Frank Sinatra’s Nice and Easy reveals the component’s prowess, as it keeps Sinatra’s vocals out in front of his orchestra while simultaneously painting a Cinemascope-esque soundstage behind him.  At the end of the track, when he snaps his fingers, this bit of fleeting percussion makes it feel as if the man himself is standing about four feet in front of you—unbeatable.

Anja Garbarek’s “Big Mouth” from Smiling and Waving illustrates how the GAT proves equally captivating with female vocals. In this case, Garbarek’s highly over-processed vocals fill my listening room to the point where, at high volume, the doors need to be opened to let some of them out. Yet, at the same time, all of the cool percussion and electronic sounds hover in space. Crowded House’s Woodface offers the same presentation. Even though it’s another studio album full of processing, and an excellent example of “pinpoint imaging,” the GAT bears fruit.

If you are the type of audiophile that loves the latter effect, the GAT will stun you with its massive soundstage and rock-solid imaging—no doubt because of the GAT’s lightning transient speed and freedom from overhang. It stops and starts without going past the mark, providing fatigue-free sound, even after long listening sessions.

Triumph Over Mediocrity

Like any other preamplifier from the top of the mountain, the GAT breezes through pristine audiophile tracks. But those cues aren’t what separate the best from pretty good. As fine as the GAT is with your best recordings, it will endear you with its ability to reveal more music than you thought possible from less-than-heavenly material.

Favorites from Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, and Todd Rundgren (A Wizard, A True Star is particularly nasty sounding) move up from the “terrible recording, but I love the music” to the “sounds pretty good” category. The Rundgren record is particularly splendid when played through the GAT: The bass foundation is better than I’ve ever heard it, along with a few more layers.

I can’t stress the importance of these revelations when it comes to an expensive component. It’s imperative that gear that costs as much as a decent car doesn’t limit the user to five audiophile-approved recordings. This alone justifies the price for this reviewer. Grab a GAT before they are gone.

Conrad Johnson GAT Preamplifier

MSRP: $20,000

www.conradjohnson.com

Peripherals

It’s been a year and a half since we penned the world’s first review of the Estelon XA speakers, the premier product from Alfred and Partners. Since then, the lineup has expanded to five products, including models below and above the XA, not the least of which is the XC. The latter utilizes Accuton ceramic drivers. They’re combined with designer Alfred Vassilkov’s proprietary crossover designs and wrapped into a sexy enclosure shape, also unique to Estelon, which involves a marble-based composite material.

The XC’s alluring design stops enclosure vibration cold. Between the distinctive composite material’s high density and undulating shape, which eliminates standing waves and resonance, the XCs provide a striking clarity. You merely hear what the drivers are capable of producing—and the sound is indeed very, very good.

The XC is designed for smaller rooms than its three larger siblings, yet the tonal quality is essentially the same. How? The XC employs the same 1.2-inch tweeter as the XA and X Centro, and the XC’s smaller stand-mounted enclosure uses a pair of the 7-inch drivers similar to the ones in the larger speakers.

Having just spent some quality time with the XAs at the Munich High End Show, my memory of the company’s house sound is extremely fresh. These speakers boast incredibly low distortion; they have clarity reminiscent of a pair of full-range electrostatic speakers. Vide, the detail present on “The Seeker” from the Crash Test Dummies’ And God Shuffled His Feet simply staggers. A huge soundstage extends well beyond the speakers, and the multiple overdubs are easily laid bare.

Small Speakers, Big Sound

The tonal purity and low-level detail rendered by the XCs allow them to shine on any densely packed recording—electronic or acoustic. Brian Eno-like in nature, Dave Stewart’s Greetings From the Gutter features endless layers of miniscule electronic sounds that hover out in front of the speakers and bounce off the walls in all directions. When the music is experienced through the XCs, a full-range electrostatic speaker comes to mind, confirming the precision of the XC’s crossover network, even in the critical vocal range.

Throwing a piano-and-violin torture test at the XCs doesn’t cause them to blush. “Poco Adagio,” from the Jung Trio’s Dvorak Trio In F-Minor, Op.65, features both instruments together. Despite the record’s lack of bass, the XCs prove the equal of a massive full-range system, reproducing the record’s width and height all the while keeping the three players perfectly separated in the recording space. Get this wrong and the violins become screechy. The XCs shine, especially near the end of the track, where passages become decidedly more fortissimo.

Using the XCs in medium- and small-sized rooms yields great results. Remember, all four Estelon models are designed to produce an almost identical sound in terms of quality, tone, and timbre. It’s just that the smaller XC is optimized for rooms of lesser volume, and in which the large floorstanding model doesn’t make sense.

The room gain from my small (11 x 17 foot) living room convinced me there’s more than enough low-frequency extension to comfortably play any kind of music. Even bass-heavy tracks, like those from Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum, enjoy enough weight to forgo the thought of a subwoofer. Unless you are trying to spin hip-hop discs at club level, the XC will impress. And while formidable in my dedicated listening room (16 x 25 feet), the XC lacks the last bit of the XA’s dynamic punch, staying true to Estelon’s design brief.

Perfect Pace

The speakers’ ability to keep musical pace intact is excellent. Of course, the freedom from coloration (both driver and box coloration) makes vocal recordings a thrill—whether it’s the gravely warble of Elvis Costello or irreproachable tone of Ella Fitzgerald.  The five-part harmonies on the Fairfield Four’s Standing In The Safety Zone epitomizes the XC’s capabilities at handling wide dynamic swings just as all five vocalists remain distinct from one another.

Low distortion is another of the model’s outstanding virtues. Regardless of the music, these speakers return breathtaking clarity. While they have no problems rocking out, acoustic-music aficionados will be astonished at their tonal purity. Even the most densely packed test tracks are charming, suggesting that many of our recordings may not be as limited as we often suspect. We just need a bit more resolution to delineate the information contained within.

While the XC cannot play as loudly as the XA in a large room, the additional 2db of sensitivity (89db for the XA versus 91db for the XC) makes for a better range of amplification choices. The XA performs admirably with 45 watts per channel of vacuum-tube power, yet more power is always better. In contrast, the XC is well matched with amplifiers in the 50-75 watt range. It’s even a charming partner, albeit at slightly lower levels, with Unison Research’s 25-watts-per-channel S6 amplifier.

Looking for extremely high quality in a moderately sized space? The XC needs to be on your short list. You can start with modest amplification, and upgrade to the world’s finest gear without needing to trade-in the XC on anything else.

Immersive

Highly resolving without being discordant, the XCs put you right at the front of the presentation. My listening position in the main room is more intimate than with the XAs. The XCs work well about seven feet apart (tweeter center to tweeter center), and my listening position is eight feet back. They produce an awesome soundstage in all three dimensions. It almost feels as if my couch is inside a gigantic pair of headphones!

Unless you need to reproduce the last bit of sub-40Hz bass at earthquake levels, the XC handles every kind of fare with equal aplomb—from electronica with SBTRKT and Fuel Box or heavy rock, ala Black Sabbath. The recently remastered CD of Paranoid is a treat when cranking the XCs to their limits on “Fairies Wear Boots.” There’s a wall of screaming guitars, but no exhaustion from the speakers. And the big beats in Fuel Box’s “One Day” do not detract from the vocal stylings or delicate percussion tracks laid over synthesizers.

Just like that of the XA, the XC’s slightly forward tonal balance—combined with its ability to resolve detail—needs to be considered when choosing the proper amplifier.  These speakers will show off what your upward components can and cannot do. Naturally, your personal taste will determine amplification selection, as will any speaker capable of such high performance. If possible, audition the XCs with your amplifier.

Setup Simplicity

The XCs are carefully packed in foam-lined flight cases, with integral stands. Ask a friend to help you unpack each of the 110-pound (49kg) speakers and move them to their initial spot in your listening room. From there, fine-tuning should be a cakewalk. Akin to an electrostatic speaker, careful attention to rake angle—easily adjustable with the spikes in the stands—and distance from the rear wall afford the best balance of low-frequency energy and image size.

Our test speakers arrived after logging plenty of hours, so they were immediately ready to go. My experience with the Accuton drivers in other speakers, as well as the XA, dictates that Estelon models need at least a few hundred hours to sound their best, especially in the low-frequency range. Their extremely low distortion triggers one other caveat: The ceramic drivers exhibit barely any cone breakup, so there’s a small margin between driving them to distortion and driving them to damage. Fortunately, they play at high levels quite comfortably, so only the most overzealous users need worry.

Such small cautions aside, the Estelon XC provides fantastic performance in a compact shape. Suitable for most rooms, these speakers are highly revealing and make for an excellent cornerstone for a no-compromise system. Enthusiastically recommended.

Estelon XC Loudspeakers

MSRP: $22,900/pair (stands included)

www.estelon.com

Peripherals

There is nothing better than having your cake and eating it too.  Few speakers personify this idiom like those from Sonus faber—they are stunning, even when your system is off.  And the minute the speakers deliver music, whether analog or digital, you are immediately transported to a place where you can forget about the gear, your troubles and whatever else comes to mind, and immerse yourself in the music.

First, full disclosure: This reviewer is biased.  While many of us claim to want a “straight wire with gain,” or “the whole truth, warts and all,” I can’t honestly say I subscribe to either of these philosophies 100% of the time.  Maybe I could if all music was perfectly captured and flawlessly recorded—but we all know it’s not.  Being a lover of panel speakers, electrostats in particular (and a closet lover of SET/single-driver systems), I value coherence most of all.  I don’t give a damn how dynamic a speaker is. If it sounds like the music is coming from a separate woofer, tweeter and midrange, the speaker falls down my list rather quickly.

A warm, syrupy and ultimately colored speaker doesn’t do it for me either.  Such an overly romantic-sounding speaker is as equally boring to me as a hyperdynamic, ruthlessly revealing speaker. Sure, both make for exciting demo sessions, but they always end up being less entertaining after you’ve lived with said speakers for an extended period of time.

The speakers that always hold my long-term interest are those rare few that achieve a balance of high resolution without being harsh, and a high degree of tonal richness without coming across overly colored or slow.  Those of you old enough to remember taking pictures with a film camera might remember the 81A filter, which offered a slight touch of warmth yet was never distracting, and had the ability to make color slides look richer and more vibrant than reality.  Speakers that top my list must sound great regardless of decibel output and, while we’re making demands, they should not rely entirely on cables and amplifiers to achieve greatness. They must also be relatively simple to set up.  How’s that for fussy?

Enter the Elipsa SEs

I’ve always been a fan of Sonus faber’s speakers, even though the Italian manufacturer’s older models have always been slightly romantic and forgiving. But things at Sonus faber have been quietly changing as of late, and its current models retain the mystique of their predecessors while adding an abundance of resolution to the mix.

If you’ve been envious of the $45,000/pair Sonus faber Stradivari speakers but can’t make the financial leap, the Elipsa SE is a bargain at $22,900/pair.  For all but the top percentile of the truly obsessed, this is the last pair of speakers you need to buy.  The SE model offers an upgraded crossover over the standard Elipsa, and incorporates the same tweeter from the Stradivari—a modest yet worthwhile upgrade from the $20,000/pair Elipsa.

We can discuss crossover slopes, sensitivity and driver-magnet structures all day and, while that is a fascinating story to tell, when you unpack the Elipsa SEs, it’s a sensual experience; not a scientific one.  The true aficionado will appreciate the painstaking effort that goes into every step of the Elipsa SE’s construction.  Whether admiring the hand-coated lacquer of the finish, the leather front and rear baffles or even the finely machined binding posts, you quickly realize that there are no “off-the-shelf” parts used in a Sonus faber speaker.

As anxious as you will probably be to get your new speakers up and running, take a few minutes to bask in the unrivaled craftsmanship that went into their construction.

Versatile Performers

Cueing up Chicago’s “While the City Sleeps” from Chicago V (via the 24/192 HDtracks file) immediately shows off the refined high end of the Elipsa SEs, as the high hat shimmers slightly to the left of the sound stage with seemingly endless decay.  The instant the horns enter the mix with full force it’s clear that these speakers have dynamics to spare.  Giving the volume control a major push to the right—reaching near-insane levels—the Elipsa SEs do not lose their composure: The enormous three-dimensional sound stage remains large and focused.

Slowing the pace somewhat with the title track of Herbie Hancock’s Maiden Voyage (also available as a 24/192 download from HDtracks) portrays an even larger soundstage—now the Elipsa SEs completely disappear in the room, as the drums linger to the left of centerstage, with Freddie Hubbard blasting out on trumpet at the far left, and Hancock’s piano diffusely rendered as it moves gently up and back from center stage.

Combined with a full compliment of Audio Research’s Reference electronics and a dCS Paganini stack, one wonders if the presentation could be any better.  This is what real music sounds like.  While much of this impact can be attributed to the first-order crossover network and wideband drivers required to successfully implement this kind of design—a result of exhausting driver development to achieve perfection—that is only part of the story. It is the integration of everything that makes a Sonus faber speaker system truly more than just a sum of the individual parts.

Sonus Faber’s elliptic enclosure design results in what they call “Virtual 2pi radiation,” which also does a fantastic job disguising the mass of the speaker in such a svelte cabinet, resulting in a high performance speaker that is easy to set up in your room.

Even casual placement results in a wide and deep soundstage.  However, a bit of extra attention to the rake angle of the Elipsas allows them to achieve their maximum performance when set to perfection.  The resulting time alignment of the drivers adds to the coherence and the speakers literally disappear in the room.  A calibrated level (or iPhone app) will help you get both speakers tipped back exactly the same amount.

A great many speaker manufacturers strive to make their speaker enclosures as free from resonance as possible, but it almost always ends up making the speaker sound overdamped.  Listen to the sound a bass drum makes as the mallet bounces from the drumhead: There’s a liveliness to it, with resonance and sustain, regardless of whether it’s Tommy Aldridge or Art Blakey playing.  That’s the life force of a bass drum, which is, sadly, often lost in a speaker (or, for that matter, an entire system) that is overdamped.

An instrument’s resonant signature is much like a person’s voiceprint: Each one is unique, which allows us to discern the difference between violins or electric guitars.  The Elipsa SE preserves this delicate balance.  Yet, even with music created entirely in the world of the studio, the Elipsa SE holds it together seamlessly, no matter how complex the fare.  A long listening session of albums from Frank Zappa and German bands Can and Faust proves that, even at high volume, the speakers can play densely packed music without a soundstage collapse.  Faust’s “Picnic on a Frozen River” from the Faust IV album is full of multiple soft, discordant bits that remain anchored in the left-to-right as well as in the front-to-back soundstage at high volume. Zappa’s classic “Peaches En Regalia” offers a similarly exciting experience, with synthesizer riffs flying around my listening chair, just as it does when listening through great headphones.

Moving into the 21^st century, Playing Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy Reconfigured reveals no weaknesses in the Elipsa SE, nor any sign of fatigue.  Even though this speaker has a low frequency specification of 35 Hz, they are well up to task of hitting this album’s the deep bass grooves.  And the high sensitivity of these speakers will not tax your amplifier, which adds to the dynamic realism that they offer.

The Elipsa SEs perform equally well at low volume, still easily disappearing into the room like mini-monitors.  Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 performed by the Netherlands Wind Ensemble shows the delicacy that these speakers are capable of, as well as the tonal purity.

Very Amplifier-Friendly

With a wide range of amplifiers at my disposal—solid-state, tube and class D amps, ranging from a pair of 20-watt 845 SET monoblocks all the way up to the mighty Pass Labs’ XA200.5 monoblocks—all were able to drive the Elipsa SEs without difficulty.  Granted, each amplifier imposed its own sonic personality on the presentation, which complements the high resolution that these speakers offer. But still, every variation on the theme remained thoroughly enjoyable.

Thanks to a sensitivity of 91 db per watt, the Elipsa SE is comfortable with the 35 watts per channel that the average EL34-based tube amplifier can provide, but because the speakers have a maximum power handling of 300 watts, they will absolutely crank if you have enough high-quality power on tap.

Driven to ear-shredding levels (by the XA200.5 monoblocks) with Mudhoney’s Superfuzz Bigmuff, the speakers revealed their true gloriousness.  The only distortion present was that of the amplifiers in the recording studio.  Following this up with the Pixies’ Tromp Le Monde and ending with Explosions in the Sky’s The Earth is Not a Cold, Dead Place is perhaps a bit off the path of the lute that Sonus faber mentions on their website, but it leads to the most important aspect of these speakers: They are unflappable.

That Bias Again

After giving the Elipsa SEs a major workout with about 15 different amplifiers of all genres, I must confess two things: There was no combination that turned in a bad performance and, being the hopeless romantic that I am, I was seduced completely when combining these speakers with a few of my favorite tube amplifiers.

Now that Audio Research is part of the Fine Sounds corporate umbrella that owns Sonus faber, it is no surprise that the Audio Research Reference electronics are a fantastic match for these speakers.  Yet, whether I was using the PrimaLuna DiaLogue 7 monoblocks, the Octave Jubilee Mono monoblocks or the Balanced Audio Technology VK-150s monoblocks, it was tough to get any work done while listening to these speakers.  The massive soundstage and dreamy midrange sent me back to the record rack repeatedly and many listening sessions ended in the wee hours.

But is the Elipsa SE Right for You?

That’s the answer to the $22,900 question, of course.  This is a pretty tall stack of twenty-dollar bills to spend on a pair of speakers, but few others exist at this price point that approach the Elipsa SE’s level of performance.  And even fewer exist that are this gorgeous.  But I am of the belief that life’s too short to have ugly speakers in your living room. As it turns out, I am not alone.  In an informal poll, the Elipsa SEs have the highest spousal-acceptance factor of any speaker we’ve ever reviewed, as well as the highest interest among non-audiophiles of either gender.

If you want a perfect fusion of acoustic purity and aesthetic beauty, these are the speakers you’ve been waiting for.  The truly tough decision will be whether to acquire the Elipsa SEs or go all the way to the Strads.

Many audio pundits cling to the philosophy that the source is everything in a system, and that is sound advice.  However, I find the speakers to be the biggest variable in a system—they have to integrate with your room and those you share it with, so they are often the highest hurdle to jump.  These speakers are so easy to drive, you would have little trouble starting your journey with modestly priced amplification and avail yourself to a new experience as your budget permits system upgrades.

About 15% smaller in physical dimension and with only one 10-inch woofer (rather than the two in the Strads), the Elipsa SE lends itself more to the average listening room.  As Sumiko VP of Sales Norbert Schmeid mentions, “While the Stradavari is ultimately capable of more performance, the Elipsa is an easier speaker to set up because of the single woofer.” And, at about 100 pounds each, you can move them around your listening room with relatively minimal effort.

Either way, you’ll get your money’s worth—and then some. Don’t be surprised to see these speakers in our awards issue later this year.

The Sonus Faber Elipsa SE

MSRP:  $22,900/pair

www.sonusfaber.com  (Factory)

www.sumikoaudio.net (US distributor)

Peripherals

It couldn’t have been scripted better:  while I was unpacking the Uniti Qute, my daughter remarked, “It’s so cute!”  But this compact marvel is much more than cute. It’s a high-performance music system in a package the size of a Steven King novel.

We awarded the Naim Uniti our Product of the Year-Overall award in 2009 because it packed so much versatility into a compact package, squeezing a CD player, integrated amplifier, DAC, FM tuner and internet radio tuner all into a standard Naim enclosure.

The Uniti has been flying off dealer’s shelves worldwide, but there are a lot of new-generation music lovers who just aren’t that into physical media anymore.  If you fit that description and can get by with 30 watts per channel instead of the Uniti’s 50 watts per channel, the Qute is the one you want.  And here’s another reason to buy the Qute: though it has less power than its big brother, the sound is even more refined.

At only $1,995, the Qute offers all of the functionality of the standard Unity, minus the CD player, and it comes in a box half the size.  A sleek little black box, the Qute has no front panel controls (though you can mute the sound by touching the front screen), just a large alphanumeric display, mini-sized AUX input, a mini headphone input and a USB port.  All the rest of the connections are around back, featuring four digital inputs (2 RCA and 2 optical), an analog input (also via RCA), a BNC digital output and a preamplifier output.  A wireless internet antenna is also included as well as a standard RJ-45 port, should you want to hardwire your ethernet network to the Qute.

Small enough to fit anywhere

The Qute is eight inches wide, three inches tall and 11 inches deep (207mm x 87mm x 314mm), so you should be able to find a shelf that will accommodate it.  As my test sample arrived with plenty of hours on the clock, I had no way of gauging a proper break in, though the full-size  Uniti took about 100 hours to sound its best.

Though most of my test listening was done with the Naim HDX music server, I did take the time to spin some vinyl with my Technics SL-1200/SME 309/Clearaudio Maestro wood combination through the Naim Stageline phono stage.

A wide range of speakers was used, but the majority of the listening was done with the new Finn speakers from Verity Audio.  These little three-way floorstanders have a 91dB sensitivity and though probably more expensive ($6,500/pr.) than what the average Qute owner would choose, this amplifier was more than up to the task.  If you were looking for a high-performance system with a minimal footprint, the Finn’s would be my first choice.  On a tight budget?  Grab a pair of Vandersteen 1C’s ($1,095/pr. and 90dB sensitivity)

Setup

The Qute is easy to set up.  On power up, it immediately looks for the wireless network from which you are streaming UPnP data, and if you have a Mac or Windows PC in place, it will find it immediately and let you stream music from your iTunes library, making the Qute a mini music server.  I tried this briefly, with great results, but having the HDX made this feature unnecessary for me.  However, those using their HDX in another room on the main system will enjoy having remote access to their library via the Qute in another room. There will be an iPhone/iPad app available shortly from Naim that will make this even easier.  Since there are no controls on the front panel, everything is controlled by the remote, though you can raise and lower the Qute’s volume by tapping the Naim logo.  A quick tap mutes the volume instantly, which can come in handy when the phone rings and the remote is out of reach.

The Qute has a wide range of analog and digital inputs, but it has only one pair of speaker outputs. They require that you use speaker cables that have banana plugs, at least on the end connecting with the amplifier.  Unlike the early Naim amplifiers, using Naim-specific speaker wire is no longer a must.  I used Audioquest Meteor speaker cable with excellent results.

Extreme versatility

Other than the CD drive in the full-size Uniti, the Qute can still control four digital sources: an analog source, the built-in FM tuner (DAB for our friends in Europe), internet radio and an iPod.  There is a digital output and line-level output for those wanting to make the Qute part of a larger system, adding a DAC and larger power amplifier, but I think this defeats the compact nature of the whole affair.  To Naim’s credit, it can be done, and easily.

Bypassing the internal DAC of the HDX to use the Qute proved to be a slight step down in overall performance. But using the Qute with an inexpensive transport was a huge step up.  Should you not be quite finished with silver discs, your favorite reasonably priced CD player will make a great transport for the Qute.  I tried my older Denon 3910 and Pioneer 563; both sounded much better through the Qute than through their onboard DAC/analog stages.

The tuner performed admirably with my $20 Terk antenna, but since I live in a city lacking in FM diversity, the real bonus was the ability to access internet radio.  Considering how many great stations are now available, I can’t see why anyone would not want to spring for satellite radio.

At present, the review sample of the Qute was not ready to accept my iPod through the front-panel USB port, but playback from a USB jump drive was no problem.  The album’s table of contents was easily read on the front panel display, and playback then proceeded as normal.  Naim Inc’s Dave Dever assured me that on the upcoming software update, iPod playback would work the same way.  Exactly like the Uniti and Wadia’s 170i, the Qute will allow you to access the digital output of your iPod so you can use it as a high-quality (but extremely compact) music server.  I couldn’t help thinking how cool the Qute would be if it had the color touch screen of the HDX so that album art could be viewed on its front panel…

Saving the best for last, the sound

The Qute is attractive, compact, versatile and easy to use, but best of all, it sounds fantastic.  Naim has always had a reputation for producing low-powered, high-quality solid-state amplifiers.  The early Naim Nait and Nait 2 integrated amplifiers are still held in extremely high regard, and it’s not uncommon for them to fetch considerably more than their original price on the used market.

Paying homage to the form factor of the Nait 2, the Qute outshines its full-size sibling with a presentation that sounds closer to the top-shelf Naim gear than the Nait 5i amplifier that powers the standard-size Uniti.  Thanks to its big power transformer, the Qute delivers the goods.  When used with the 90dB Vandersteen’s or the 91dB Verity’s, I could rock out to my heart’s content in my 11 x 17 foot living room.  The Qute even did a more-than acceptable job of powering the Harbeth Monitor 40.1’s that have a sensitivity of only 86dB.

Refinement is the name of the game with the Qute. Paired with any number of $1,000 speakers and a modest source, Qute proves itself to be one pleasant little amplifier. The Qute is a great performer as the core of a $3,000 – $4,000 system, and I’m guessing that’s how most people will use it.  But I was not prepared for the complete lack of grain when I supersized the system and added the Naim HDX as a source (with all uncompressed music stored on its hard drive) and the $6,500 Verity Finn’s.

I felt like I was hearing the quality of the Qute for the first time, with a lack of grain that I would normally associate with much-more expensive solid-state power amplifiers.  Much as the Nait 2 sounded much better than it should have for its small size, the Qute lives up to its heritage and then some.

Vocals took on an uncanny realism (for an amplifier at this price point) and my favorite current tracks from Peter Gabriel’s latest album, Scratch My Back, had the necessary amount of grit and texture to remain interesting.  Cheapo integrateds usually lack this finesse, and Gabriel ends up sounding like Seal.  Moving to the other side of the fence, Gwyneth Herbert’s subtle vocal shadings were fantastic on “My Narrow Man” from her current release on the Naim label, All The Ghosts.

The level of bass extension and control was impressive as well and again, the concept of texture kept coming up.  It was amazing to hear an acoustic bass really sound like an acoustic bass.  Unless I exceeded the comfort level of the Qute, I was pleased enough with the presentation that I nearly freaked out whenever my eyes perceived the small size of that box.

Last but not least, Qute had a splendid airiness about its overall sound, with plenty of space between the notes.  I’ve listened to more than my share of inexpensive solid-state integrateds, and most of them are rubbish.  Not only was a healthy amount of three-dimensional space reproduced, the tonality was very natural in a way that I previously felt could be accomplished only with much-more expensive gear.

Conclusion

Naim’s Uniti Qute will spoil you.  If this is the core of a high-quality second system, you might find yourself spending less time with your main system. If it’s your first venture into high-end audio, you’re going to have to spend a lot of money, should the upgrade bug hit you some day; the Qute is that good.

Naim has hit the mark perfectly for a high-quality yet reasonably priced, all-encompassing HiFI component.  Add your favorite pair of budget speakers and you are ready to rock for a reasonable outlay, yet it’s good enough to up the ante considerably with higher-priced peripherals before you will get tired of it. A word to the wise: anyone who gets rid of their Nait 2 rues the day.  Should you buy a Qute, I suggest hanging on to it forever.

Just like the legendary Nait and Nait 2 amplifiers, I’m positive the Qute will still hold a special place in many music lovers hearts years from now. This is what the music world needs more of.

The Naim Uniti Qute

MSRP:  $1,995

www.naimaudio.com

Thankfully, using the words “lifestyle” and “high fidelity” in the same sentence no longer makes you want to run for cover or the shower.

Great gear has been slowly getting more stylish: in part to attract the luxury goods consumer, and perhaps just because it’s cool.  Historically, big, clunky boxes have been banished from the main living space in all but the most tolerant of homes, so it’s wonderful to see manufacturers making products that are as enticing visually as they are sonically.

While Danish manufacturer Bang & Olufsen is certainly the pioneer of making audio products with a visual flair, it hasn’t been until just recently, when Devialet hit the scene with their D-Premier, that cutting edge audio performance is combined with sleek packaging.  It makes perfect sense that this fusion of style and performance would come from Europe, where living space tends to be at more of a premium.  Not as many of our European neighbors have the luxury of dedicated man caves.

Now Wadia, part of the Fine Sounds group, joins the party with the Intuition, and it’s a brilliant first effort.  A truly global product, the Intuition is designed and built in Italy.  Where the Devialet is square in form, the Intuition is softer in shape, looking much like an Apple MacBook Pro: inflated slightly, melted, and bent over a curved form.  Available in matte silver and black it was by far the most exciting product at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.  And the matte silver version, reviewed here, looks particularly Mac-like.

Power to spare

With 350 watts per channel at your fingertips (into 4 ohms, 190 WPC into 8) the Intuition can effortlessly drive anything.  It’s amazing how far switching amplification has come in the last few years, but the current design in the Wadia is fantastic, they refer to it as “Class D-Plus.”  Gone is the tinge of harshness and flat soundstage that used to plague these designs.

Because the current requirements from this type of design are very low, it’s easy to leave the Intuition on 24/7.  After a few days of continuous play, the Intuition opens up tremendously.  Interestingly, the Intuition is nowhere near as sensitive to speaker loads as the Class D amplifiers we’ve sampled.  Switching between Magnepans, electrostatic speakers and a plethora of cone speakers proves effortless.

Following Wadia’s John Schaffer’s suggestion, attention to power line conditioning and an upgraded power cord takes the Intuition to another level of performance entirely.  In this case, the Intuition is much like equipment with tubes under the hood, and once I install the Running Springs Dmitri and a Mongoose power cord, I’m rewarded with a dramatic increase in soundstage width, and a smoother high end as well.

Putting the pedal to the floor with a 45 r.p.m. single of AC/DC’s “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” with the Intuition replaces about $200,000 worth of gear in my main system, driving the GamuT S9s.  The S9s go down to 18 Hz and reproduce the cannon shots at the end of the track with tons of weight and punch.  The Intuition proves equally adept with the cannon shots at the end of the Telarc 1812 Overture LP.  Having exhausted my repertoire of cannon shots, it’s time to venture into a wider range of music.

Great everywhere

Jumping in the wayback machine for a cursory listen of Neu!’s Neu!2 is fantastic; this ethereal electronic piece is properly rendered larger than life, with analog synthesizer bits, random drumming and tape-looped moans orbiting around my KEF Blades.  Granted, this won’t tell you anything about timbre, or tonal accuracy – this piece needs to sound grandiose in execution, and the Intuition nails it.

Ditto on the subtle reproduction of acoustic instruments.  The atonal piano riffs in David Bowie’s classic “Aladdin Sane” explode from between the speakers, with killer attack and expansive delay, fading into nothing ever so gently as the driving bass line stays perfectly intact.

The “Shelly Manne” track from The Charlie Watts/Jim Keltner Project further reveals the lightning speed the Intuition possesses.  Both of these master drummers interacting over a major bass line is phenomenal and reproduced with ease.  Anyone judging a system on PRAT (pace, rhythm and timing) will be in heaven.  More traditional, yet equally intriguing, is Kenny Burrell’s Soulero. The Intuition’s ability to keep all four musicians distinctly placed in the listening space is fantastic.

Nuance is the key with the Intuition.  Forget what you think you know about switching amplification – this baby is smooth and grain free.  After moving the Intuition out of the studio and into my new listening room in the house with a pair of KEF LS-50s, I am amazed at how easy it is to lapse into a groove with this combination, at times fooled into thinking perhaps I’m listening to the big system after all.  The overall musicality of the Intuition is impossible to ignore and tough to beat.

A magic DAC indeed

The Intuition has seven digital inputs, so it can become the center of your musical universe with ease.  Two line-level analog inputs are available as well, so those wanting to add a turntable, or other source with RCA outputs can do so, but be aware that the Intuition does convert the analog sources to high-resolution digital information and then processes everything in the digital domain.

Utilizing an SME 10 turntable and Sumiko Palo Santos cartridge, via the Audio Research REF Phono 2 phonostage, provides an excellent addition to the system, with barely any loss of spatial qualities and nuance, robbing analog of its charm.  Hard core analog purists may not want to roll this way, but considering the Intuition’s design ethos, this may be not the droid for you, should you want a pure analog experience anyway.  All but the most maniacal vinyl lovers will appreciate the analog inputs and the ability to enjoy this part of their music selection with the Intuition, should they so desire.

Schaffer also makes it a point to mention that the Intuition on many levels is “the latest generation DAC from Wadia,” incorporating everything they’ve done, up to and including their prestigious 9 series.  After having used both the 581 and 781 as reference players for years, we notice the resemblance instantly.  Bass is solid, tuneful and well controlled, with dynamics to match – amazing actually, in such a compact package.

Part of this continued innovation is the use of Wadia’s patented Digimaster algorithm, controlling level in the digital domain, and the Intuition features the latiest iteration.  Coax and AES inputs accommodate 24 bit/192 khz signals, with the USB input having 32bit/384khz and native DSD capability.  Wadia chose to forgo galvanic isolation with the Intuition, claiming better analog signal integrity, and the results certainly speak for themselves – this is one of the most natural sounding DACs we’ve encountered.

All of the sources at our disposal perform flawlessly, and the optical input’s performance is incredibly good, interfacing with the Meridian MS200 better than any other DAC at our disposal, including the dCS Vivaldi.  Impressive indeed.  We have not had the chance to fully exploit the 32/384 or DSD capabilities at this early date, but expect a follow-up on the TONEAudio website in the next 60 days.  As more mainstream material becomes available in the DSD world, we’ll be listening further.

Could be more intuitive

I love the sound and functionality of the Intuition, though it does take a little bit of getting used to.  Kudos to Wadia’s design team for making the display large enough to be easily seen from across the room; however the super stylish remote is another story.  Shaped exactly like the Intuition but bite sized, it features five buttons, with a larger button in the middle, sporting an engraved speaker symbol, which mutes the Intuition.  The top and bottom buttons select inputs, while the left and right buttons control volume, as they do on Wadia digital players.  You can determine top from bottom on this symmetrical remote by searching for the IR transmitter – that’s the top.

Legacy Wadia owners should feel right at home, but for the rest of us, this is highly cryptic.  Certainly not an epic fail, but something that should be considered for future versions of the Intuition, and perhaps other devices in the Intuition family that are no doubt on the horizon.  Schaffer maintains a poker face when I ask him about a matching Wadia transport to accompany the Intuition, but the pair of WadiaLink I2S inputs on the rear panel suggests something is indeed in the works.

Easily integrated

Very minor nits aside, the rest of the Intuition is as user friendly as an iPod, and this device is clearly what the world needs more of.  Steve Jobs once said at the Macworld Expo that “technology has to be as easy to use as putting a bagel in a toaster,” and I believe that extends to high-end audio.  Geeking out is fun for some of us but off-putting to most – and why miss out on enjoying great music in your home because you don’t want a rack full of square boxes connected by various lengths of garden hose?

After living with the Intuition for a while and sharing it with a few friends in their homes, it’s clear that Wadia has hit a home run, creating a product that should fly off the dealers’ shelves at an MSRP of $7,500.

The Intuition plays music at such a high degree of realism, it is the perfect building block for a system of any stature.  Whether you choose to pair it up with speakers costing $1,500 or $100,000 (and of course, anywhere in between), you will be amazed at the resulting sound quality.

Thanks to the small 15 x 15 inch footprint, and its ability to run cool, the Intuition will be comfortable anywhere in your home, but I suggest putting its sexy shape in a prominent place where it can become a conversation piece.  And a subtle nudge to the rest of the hifi industry: can we have more of this?  It’s definitely where we need to be headed.  Job well done, Wadia.

The Wadia Intuition

MSRP:  $7,500

www.wadia.com

Peripherals

Incorporating a DAC inside an integrated amplifier has been going on for some time now, with mixed results, and the Primare I22 is a product arguably aimed more at the music lover who likes to keep things simple.

The I22 pictured here includes the $799 DAC board (with 24/96 USB and 24/192 Toslink and SPDIF inputs) for $2,498.  Those of you already in possession of a good DAC can order your I22 without DAC for $1,799 and those on the fence can add the board later for $799, without a huge financial penalty.

While aimed at a consumer who will probably spend $1,000 – $4,000 on a pair of speakers to round out a system, the I22 is well at home driving the $35,000 KEF Blades.  Its 80 watts per channel prove more than adequate to really rock the orange KEF flagship speakers.

Taking advantage of Primare’s UFPD (Ultra Fast Power Device) technology, which combines the Class D amplification stage and output filters into a single device, the claimed sonic improvements are readily apparent:  This is a thoroughly modern Class D design, which suffers from none of the sonic artifacts that characterize (and often plague) this configuration.

Listening to the multi-layered vocals of 10cc’s “Marriage Bureau” is a treat – all of the late ’70s multitrack wizardry is in full effect, including the great Moog synthesizer tracks, with everything well sorted and keeping its own distinct sonic space.

The ins and outs

The front panel is the essence of understatement, with a single volume control, flanked by a pale white LED indicator panel, displaying the input in use along with the volume level.  Just to the right is a pair of small, machined buttons to select input, and one more to switch between standby and power-on mode.  Incidentally, this might be counterintuitive to some, as the LED glows when the I22 is in standby mode, extinguishing when the amplifier is on.

Inputs 1-5 are standard line level inputs with RCA jacks and inputs 6–8 are digital inputs (if you’ve had the DAC board installed), with a Toslink, USB and SPDIF.  For the duration of the review, we used the Meridian Control 15 server via SPDIF and the Aurender A10 server via USB.  The majority of the files used were 16 bit/44.1, with a bit of dallying into the world of high res.  Hardcore audiophiles might squeal about the lack of 24/192 USB capability (or DSD for that matter, but I’m not the least bit concerned); however, for those streaming files from a laptop or other digital source, primarily of CD and MP3 quality, the I22 will be just fine as it is.  Should the highest resolution digital files be your priority, order the I22 without the DAC board, or just use an SPDIF converter with your laptop.  Pairing a Mac Book Pro with the M-Tech USB converter recently reviewed worked perfectly, requiring only a minimal investment of $179.

Setup takes but a second to unbox; connect speakers and source and you’re rocking – it couldn’t be easier.  Though it might not be important to some, the I22 is lusciously understated and feels considerably more expensive than its modest price tag might suggest.

Like every other Class D amplifier we’ve tested, the I22 does respond incredibly well to an upgraded power cord and line conditioning.  Adding a power cord and the EVO 3 line conditioner from ISO TEK removes a layer of glare and cloudiness that you might mistake for the sonic signature of the amplifier, giving the I22 an even smoother, more natural sound.

Resolution without regret

Both Carole King’s Tapestry and Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, downloaded via HD Tracks easily illustrate the onboard DACs ability to resolve the difference between standard and high-resolution files.  An even better demo was evident with Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway’s self-titled album, also in 24/192.  Both vocalists occupied their own space, delicately layered upon each other, with a delightful smoothness – again offering higher than expected for the price asked.

The deep low-frequency content in the Daft Punk album focuses on a primary strength of Class D amplifiers – bass response, providing equally solid heft and control.  This is very impressive with the KEF Blades, but even more so with the $1,499/pair LS-50s which really come alive via the I22, exhibiting tremendous LF response.

Equally compelling is the rendition of analog tracks, captured to 24/96, via my Nagra LB studio recorder, using the AVID Acutus Reference SP/Lyra Atlas/Indigo Qualia analog front end.  Again, resolution takes a big jump for the better, i.e. more natural, underscoring the overall sonic performance of the onboard DAC.  Sifting through a series of recent digital captures from the Music Matters Jazz Blue Note catalog makes it even easier to listen to the amount of texture the I22 is capable of rendering when the source material is up to the task.

Finally, combining a Rega RP6 turntable and Exact cartridge via the latest tube phonostage from Monk Audio (12AX7 powered, $1,195 MSRP) rounds the system out nicely for those wanting to make the foray into analog without breaking the bank.  Spinning Daniel Lanois’s Black Dub album, chock full of acoustic and electronic texture, proves how smooth this amplifier is capable of sounding.  While you wouldn’t mistake it for a valve amplifier, it is in no way harsh; in fact, a number of audiophile buddies didn’t know it was a Class D design until it was revealed.

The second track on the Lanois album, “I Believe In You,” features some great drum sounds, that are all captured with excellent depth, texture, speed and delicacy – especially with the brush work via drummer Brian Blades.  Many Class D designs have a tendency to sound somewhat thin in the sense of a two dimensional soundstage, yet here the Primare does very well.  Lead vocalist Trixie Whitley has always stood out in front of the soundstage, as she does on my reference system.  Comparing this to a somewhat similarly priced PrimaLuna tubed integrated, the tubes definitely throw a more three dimensional soundfield, but in comparison to similarly priced solid state kit, the I22 more than holds its own.  And you don’t have to screw around with vacuum tubes, either.

Simple, stylish, sonic excellence

Those wanting bells and whistles should look elsewhere.  However, if you want great sound wrapped in an understated enclosure that will not call much attention to itself, I can’t think of a better choice than the Primare I22.  Now, the only thing you need decide is if you want it in silver or black, and whether you’d like the DAC board or simply use the matching (and equally enticing) C22 CD player.   We are very happy to award this amplifier one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2013 – even more so, with the DAC installed.

The Primare I22 Integrated Amplifier

MSRP:  $1,799

$2,498 (with DAC)

www.primare.net (factory)

www.vanaltd.com (US Distributor)

Peripherals

Digital Sources               Meridian Control 15, Aurender S10, MacBook Pro

Analog Source                Rega RP6/Exact Cartridge, Monk Audio Phonostage

Speakers                       KEF LS50, KEF Blade, Harbeth Compact 7

Cable                            Cardas Clear Light

Accessories                   IsoTek Evo 3 power conditioner, power cord.

It’s easy to become smitten with a pair of large, high-powered, German tube monoblocks at first listen.

There’s always something incredibly cool about amplifiers that have the delicacy, the airiness and that extra dimensional palpability that tubes bring to the listening experience, yet have the weight and sheer dynamic thrust that only comes with high power.  The Octave Jubilee monoblocks have been here for the better part of a year now, paired with many speakers large and small. They’ve excelled with every speaker I’ve had the pleasure to connect them to, with no loss of magic.  If anything, I’m more enthusiastic about these amplifiers than the day they arrived.

Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach’s collaboration “I Still Have That Other Girl,” illuminates the Jubilees’ ability to take a strictly mediocre recording and, with a bit of help from a top-quality source (in this case, the $110,000 dCS Vivaldi stack), extract the maximum amount of detail from it without crossing the line to become overly analytical – striking a perfect balance of tonality and dynamics.  As they should, for $67,500 per pair.

Control in the lower register is difficult for all but the world’s finest vacuum tube amplifiers – again, the Jubilees convey a sense of reality that usually requires a high-current solid-state amplifier.  The big beats on Eric B. & Rakim’s “Put Your Hands Together” hit hard without losing control instead of just coming across as boom, boom, boom – no one-note bass here.  A lost day to unearthing the best bass-laden tracks I can find fails to make the Jubilees falter.  Everything from Daft Punk to Pink Floyd is served up with gusto.

Getting Down to Business

Powering the KEF Blades in room one (with a sensitivity of 90db) is a splendid experience – even at eardrum-shattering levels, the Jubilees show no sense of strain.  It feels as though Alx Rose is right there in the room, whistling the intro to “Patience” from the G N’ R Lies album. The illusion continues further as Rose’s lead vocal comes in with barely a whisper, amidst a pair of acoustic guitars that stay sorted left and right of center.  Perhaps the enchantment is relayed best of all tracking through Use Your Illusion I and II, at near maximum volume, proving that these monoblocks – with eight 6550 power tubes per channel (KT88s can be substituted, while KT120s are not recommended) and massive power supplies – are up to the task of whatever program material you love to play loud. I cannot drive the Jubilees to clipping with the Blades in the system.

They prove an equally excellent match for the GamuT S9 speakers.  With a -3db low frequency limit of 17hz, they easily illuminate shortcomings in an amplifier’s ability to go deep. Again the Jubilees show what they are made of, both with extension and textural ability.  Tal Wilkenfield’s rapid-fire bass playing on Jeff Beck’s Live at Ronnie Scott’s is a perfect example of the way the Jubilees take hold of the GamuTs multiple woofer cones, without haze or hangover, picking up every nuance brilliantly. Yet when asked to go deep, digging up the beats buried in Bombay Dub Orchestra’s 3 Cities disc, the Jubilees feel as if they have a silicon output stage, offering better grip than any power amplifier I’ve had the pleasure of using with tubes under the hood. And Daft Punk’s controversial new album is a true treat, chock full of ’70s and ’80s disco beats rattling my insides at club level, courtesy of the Jubilees.

Inner Space

Moving the amplifiers to room two, now partnered with the Sonus faber Guarneri Evolution speakers, provides another intoxicating experience.  These compact speakers only have a sensitivity of 86db, and while they will play with a 40-watt per channel tube amplifier, they need big power to come alive and energize the room. The intro of Bauhaus’s “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” becomes a massive three-dimensional cube of distorted, in-your-face guitars, surrounded by jangly guitars floating on the periphery of the room boundaries.  “Heathen Child” from the Grinderman 2 album is equally well decoded.  This recording is somewhat dense, yet playing it through the Jubilees lays it bare, filling it with space and texture.

The small but mighty Sonus fabers sound as if the flagship Aidas, which we reviewed in December 2012, have been placed in a shrink machine: they provide a similar amount of detail and finesse, yet in the context of a smaller room.  Supreme Beings of Leisure’s “The Light” expands wide and deep with electronic effects buoyant above the rock-solid bass line and sultry lead vocal, all having their own distinct space.  Having used the Jubilees with the Aidas during that review, this combination feels like it has returned to my smaller room – the presentation is stunningly lifelike.

And while the Jubilees produce 250 watts per channel, those subscribing to the “first watt” theory (i.e., if the first watt doesn’t sound great, why bother with the rest) can rest assured that even at low volume, the Jubilees excel.  The Rolling Stones’ version of “Like a Rolling Stone” from their Stripped LP remains engaging at light conversation level, with plenty of weight and a massive soundstage, providing a highly convincing rendition of the Stones playing in a small club – all of the spatial cues, from Charlie Watts drumming to the sound of the applause bouncing off of the club walls, are reproduced perfectly in my 13-by-16-foot listening room.

When Clint Eastwood whispers “You don’t listen, do you asshole?” on the Pretenders tune “Bad Boys Get Spanked,” it sounds as if he’s sitting right there on the couch, whispering in my ear.  Fantastic.

The Long Game

It’s always a rare privilege to listen to an amplifier for a long period of time, as manufacturers can’t always spare a flagship product in this manner.  However, it’s highly revealing when they can, as it provides the opportunity to experience a wider range of musical selections, far beyond the favorite tracks often used in the context of a normal review.

A wide variety of speaker and system configurations reveal that the Jubilees are infinitely flexible.  Thanks to XLR and RCA inputs, switchable from the rear panel, the Jubilees should work well with any type of preamplifier – all of the combinations auditioned here work perfectly.  They produce more than enough power for all but the most inefficient speakers, and they are even able to power my power hungry Magnepans without strain.  While none of my speakers prove problematic, the manual specifies a load no less than two ohms, so there may be a few speakers that the Jubilees will not drive.

While the Jubilee monoblocks do absolutely nothing wrong, their greatest triumph is truly a natural tonal rendition, combined with the ability to render layer upon layer of musical detail effortlessly.  Much like the Simaudio 880M monoblocks we just reviewed, the Jubilees paint an almost identical palette, yet offer up slightly more space and sparkle than their solid-state counterparts.  Ultimate system matching will come down to personal preference.

Tube and Reviewer Bias

Tonally, the Jubilees come right smack in the middle of CJ and ARC, two of my favorite tube amplifiers.  The ARC REF amps are a bit more in the “just the facts, ma’am” category, where the current CJ ART series tends to embellish somewhat in a more saturated kind of tonality. (A personal favorite and definite bias for this reviewer)

The Jubilees add only the lightest touch of “tube warmth,” yet remain highly dynamic and incredibly quiet as well.  A full tube design, they use four ECC82 (12AU7) tubes as drivers, and eight 6550 or KT88 tubes for output.  The owners manual states that they can also use EL34 tubes, with a slight rebias adjustment, which could be incredibly intriguing.  What the owner’s manual doesn’t state is that a decrease in power is probably likely, as the EL34 tube has a much lower plate dissipation than the KT88 or 6550 tubes.

The Jubilees each use a single bias adjustment per amplifier, yet you can check bias on each individual tube via the rotary switch on the top panel.  The downside to this configuration is that each bank of tubes will have to be as closely matched as possible.  When they deviate by more than 15%, it’s replacement time. Each mono amplifier includes two extra tubes, so that should one go out of spec, you can easily replace it without having to get another fully matched set.  Octave claims a 3-5 year lifespan on the power tubes, and 10 years for the drivers. A set of 10 per amplifier when you do replace them would be prudent, just to be sure to have a couple of spares on hand, because one never knows when catastrophic tube failure will occur. Fortunately, the Jubilees have a very elaborate, yet unobtrusive, protection circuit; when I did have a tube failure, the amplifier gently shut down without clicks, pops or any other bother.  The Jubilees make no spurious sounds of any kind during normal power up or power down either; they quietly go about their business.

That touch of tubeyness is usually in the background, but makes itself known immediately when listening to acoustic music.  The gentle interplay of Pat Metheny and Charlie Haden on “He’s Gone Away” from the Beyond the Missouri Sky album reveals the Jubilees’ ability to let the notes hang on the vine, ever so slightly longer than they do when played through a solid-state power amplifier.  A similar sense of dimensionality is experienced with the Portland Cello Project’s current album, A Thousand Words.

Quite the Destination

The Octave Jubilee mono amplifiers are not for the faint of heart, back or wallet.  However, they deliver a fantastic musical experience that is commensurate with the price asked and are built to last a lifetime.  This has truly been an enjoyable long-term test drive!

The Octave Jubilee Monoblock Amplifiers

MSRP:  $67,500

www.octave.de

In case Plinius is a company that has slipped under your radar, they hail from New Zealand, and have been making incredible products for years now.

However, those that do know about the brand are doggedly loyal.  It’s a brand that I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone slag out on the various internet forums, so they are doing something right.

Something indeed.  Having built their reputation on big, class-A power amplifiers, the Hautonga you see here is an integrated amplifier (with phono stage, no less) that features a 200-watt per channel class AB power amplifier.  Yet, much like the Burmester 911 mk. 3 and the new D’Agostino Momentum, the Plinius comes up with a remarkably grain free sound, that just might fool you that this understated beauty has a class-A amplifier under it’s cover.  Yet the MSRP is only $5,750.

It’s a very understated box, with gently rounded corners and an asymmetrical top plate, yet the rear panel is bright blue, similar to the French racing blue you’ve seen on factory Renault race cars.  It makes for a nice accent stripe where the top panel meets the casework.  The Hautonga is beautifully machined and is available in black or silver.  The control layout is the ultimate of simplicity; a large volume control and gently rounded push buttons to control the inputs.  Oddly, a balance control is absent – no big whoop for digital music enthusiasts, but this might be somewhat inconvenient for analog lovers.  Even if it were implemented from the remote – and the Hautonga has a sleek, stylish, yet commanding remote.

A complete integrated

In the tradition of the best integrateds, the Hautonga features an on board phono stage – handy for those wanting to keep rack clutter to a minimum. It does feature adjustable gain with two settings via on board jumpers, however loading is fixed at 47k ohms.  Though I’m not a fan of running most MC cartridges at this setting, there are still some great alternatives.

The cartridges in my arsenal that mate particularly well with the 47k/high gain combination are the Sumiko Blackbird, a moderately high output (2.5mv) that works fine with 47k loading, and the Grado Statement 1 moving iron cartridge.  With a .5mv output and 47k loading, this is a perfect, if slightly overpriced match (the Statement 1 is $3,500) for the Hautonga.  Keep in mind that Grado does make a series of wood bodied moving iron cartridges, all having a .5mv output, from $500 on up.  I’m guessing one of these on your favorite table will prove equally enticing.

Tracking through a handful of recent favorites from MoFi and Music Matters Jazz, I submit that the onboard phono is probably equivalent to something you might purchase as an outboard phonostage in the $750 – $1,000 range.  Not bad, considering the Hautonga is an awesome deal without the phono stage.  Highs are smooth and well sorted, the overall tonal balance neutral and background noise very low.  And then there’s the necessity for another set of interconnects and power cord; another reason a built in phono is such an awesome idea.

Entry level and Journeyman vinyl enthusiasts will probably never need more analog capability than the Hautonga’s on board stage provides.

Maybe on the next version of the Hautonga, they will open this up to adjustment, or offer a $5,000 version with no phono stage.  Bypassing the onboard stage, utilizing the Aesthetix Rhea phonostage, paired with the SME 10 turntable and Sumiko Palo Santos cartridge, (an analog front end worth about $20k) the Hautonga easily resolves the difference in analog front ends – again showing off what a great amplifier this is.

Further listening

After a few days of being powered up, the Hautonga opens up to a full-bodied sound.  Ever so slightly on the warm side of neutral, the more you listen to this amplifier, you’ll psyche yourself out thinking that it is class-A after all.  It’s also on the warm side when in operation as well, suggesting relatively high bias current.  The Hautonga actually sounds more like my Burmester 011/911 combination than the Simaudio 850P/880M electronics.

Whether paired with their own Tiki streaming audio player (review in process) or any of the digital players at my disposal, the Hautonga is a pleasure to listen to, regardless of source.  While lacking the last bit of resolution available with cost no object gear, dynamics and tonality have not taken a back seat in the design process.  Listening to the title track from Gary Numan’s latest album, Dead Sun Rising, the Hautonga powers the Sonus faber Guarneri Evolution speakers in room two with conviction. This record is full of deep, deep, synth bass lines and the Hautonga sails through effortlessly, even at high volume.

These are speakers that require a lot of current and control to deliver maximum performance and this proves to be a great combination.  Going for the ultimate torture test, swapping in a pair of Acoustat 1+1 speakers, which are usually tough to drive because of their wacky impedance curve and the highly capacitive load they present, was another easy task for the Hautonga.

Thomas Dolby’s The Flat Earth proves spacious, controlled and full of punch.  The rapid-fire bass riffs on the opening track, “Dissidents,” is tough to nail on a pair of Acoustats if the amplifier lacks current drive.  Yet cranking this up, the Hautonga handles it in stride, which leads to some more bass laden tracks from Peter Gabriel and Genesis. Again, this amplifier’s ability to provide controlled bass, full of texture on a set of speakers known for “”one note bass” is highly impressive.

Moving the amplifier out to room one and the KEF Blades is a ton of fun – and again reveals this amplifiers ability to provide a high quality musical experience with ancillaries much more expensive than you might pair it up with.  The Blades 90db sensitivity proves an easy load for this amplifier to drive allowing for plenty of dynamic range and showing off the bass control and drive. While fairly efficient, the Blades also need a fair amount of current to reproduce bass well.  This prompted a long playlist of Deadmau5, Skrillex, Daft Punk and Infected Mushroom, pushing the amplifier to its limits.  Even after hours of this treatment, the Hautonga stayed slightly warm to the touch but no more.

Subtlety beyond its pricetag

While the Hautonga can really rock out when required, what makes it a top performer is the level of resolution and inner detail it provides.  Tracking through the MoFi gold CD of Todd Rundgren’s Something/Anything, a number of small details come up in the mix that normally require more expensive electronics to extract – again convincing this writer that the integrated is one of the best ways to achieve high performance without breaking the bank.   With so many choices to damage the synergy between amplifier and preamplifier, having it all on one chassis saves the day for all but the most geeky – and patient end user.  An integrated is the fast track to great sound.

Vocals and solo acoustic instruments feel right played through the Hautonga.  Revisiting some early Windham Hill recordings from Alex DeGrassi and Liz Story illustrate subtlety, tonal nuance and a wonderful sense of decay.  The old audiophile classic, Solid Colors paints a great picture of Ms. Story and her Steinway, awash in detail rendered perfectly by the Hautonga/Blade combination.

The Jung Trio’s rendition of Dvorak’s Piano Trio in F Minor, Op.65, is another treat showcasing the fantastic tonal contrast and neutrality that the Hautonga has to offer.  Perhaps two of the toughest instruments to reproduce cleanly, the amplifier sails through, with the interplay between the sisters well intact.

Rounding out the picture

The Hautonga also features the other common niceties to round out the package, with four additional RCA line inputs in addition to the Phono and CD player inputs, along with a single XLR input.  A ground lift switch is also provided, which came in handy using a vintage tape deck that had a bit of a hum problem.

Preamplifier in and outputs, 12v trigger, and a HT Bypass assure that you can integrate the Hautonga into any possible system configuration.  They even provide a pair of speaker outputs for those wishing a fully biwired speaker connection.  So no stone really goes unturned.

Nits to pick:  very few, and well under what we’d expect at this price point.  All staff members that used the Hautonga, young and old complained about two things – while very stylish, the remote was fairly hard to read in black and when using the volume control button, it has too much torque, making fine volume adjustments via remote nearly impossible at worst and frustrating at best.  And last, the phono stage loading.  It’s a shame that a phono stage that sounds this good is limited to a handful of cartridges.

Neither of these are a deal breaker, and the Plinius Hautonga is such a stellar performer in so many ways, we are all in agreement that it is highly deserving of one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2013.

The Plinius Hautonga Integrated Amplifier

MSRP:  $5,750

www.pliniusaudio.nzld.com

And you can peruse their Facebook page here:

Peripherals

Analog Source                        Rega RP8/Sumiko Blackbird,  SME 10/Sumiko Palo Santos

Digital Source                                    Plinius Tiki, dCS Vivaldi, OPPO BDP-105

Speakers                                Dynaudio Confidence C1 II, Sonus faber Guarneri Evolution, KEF Blade, KEF LS-50

Cable                                      Cardas Clear

If I had to make a bet, I’d put my money on the Brits taking the prize for understatement.

Unpacking the 1920 loudspeakers from British manufacturer MAD (for “My Audio Design”), it’s tough not to have an internal dialog that goes something like, “Two and a half grand for these?  They are mad!”  But, looking past the relatively simple-looking box speakers, one soon notices gorgeously mitered corners and an exceptional attention to detail paid on behalf of the craftsmen behind these.  Hmmm.  Some understated British artistry, perhaps?  I take the necessary photos and roll the speakers into listening room two, which, at 13 feet by 16 feet, is perhaps even a bit on the large side for a pair of small speakers—truly mini-monitors, in this case.  The next thought that comes to mind is “LS3/5a clone,” until I turn the speaker around and see a rear-facing port.

At $2,650 per pair, the 1920s are towards the high end of the price scale for this category.  Their obvious competitors are the KEF LS50 ($1,499/pair), which we haven’t reviewed yet; the Harbeth P3ESR ($2,200/pair); and the Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a V2 ($1,999/pair).  A mint pair of original LS3/5a speakers can command up to $2,000 per pair.  While the originals do have a certain vintage charm, they are notably woolly sounding in the world of 21^st-century monitors.  Colleen Cardas Imports is handling US distribution and now has three dealers, with more on the way.

A mini-monitor, properly optimized in a small room, is one of audio’s guilty pleasures.  Paired with a great amplifier, these speakers will provide ample bass quantity and well-above-average bass quality, going a long way to convince you that you won’t ever need a subwoofer.  But don’t forgo good stands, as they are essential to getting the maximum output from the 1920s.  Just place these on a pair of high-mass stands (sand filled Sound Anchors are my choice) after applying your favorite sticky substance to couple the speakers to said stands, and expect to be wowed.

Jumping Right In

Auditioning the 1920s begins with the Zombies’ classic, “Time of the Season.”  What better way to audition a British speaker than with some of the best of the British Invasion?  Immediately, the spatial characteristics of these speakers reveal a massive soundstage in the small room, with things clearly delineated and with solid bass—and rock-solid pace.  The added dynamics of the original mono record is an absolute blast with these speakers.  Rod Argent’s keys leap from the speakers.  When mated to the Conrad Johnson MV-50C1 power amplifier, the 1920s confirm the manufacturer’s spec sheet:  These little speakers are incredibly easy to drive.  Even the 20-watt-per-channel Carver Black Magic amplifier has no problem playing these speakers to maddening levels.  (Pardon the pun.)

Ry Cooder’s light touch on the acoustic guitar at the beginning of “The Very Thing That Will Make You Rich (Makes Me Poor),” from the Bop Till You Drop album, hovers just above the speakers, with Cooder well out in front of them.  Cat Power’s “Nothin’ But Time,” from Sun, her current album, has a more modern feel, laden with weighty synth bass riffs, again allowing the 1920s to sound so much larger than they seem capable.  Closing your eyes to concentrate on the presentation, it’s easy to think you are listening to much bigger speakers, only to open your eyes and find this pair of tiny audio morsels before you.  An equally spacious presentation is had with Little Village’s “Don’t Think About Her When You’re Trying to Drive.”

Tonality + Dynamics = Bliss

The performance of the 1920s is especially excellent during playback of a slew of acoustic standards.  But, while the speakers are not as rolled-off sounding on the top end as either the Harbeths or the vintage LS3/5as on hand, they are not quite as extended as the Penaudio Cenya or Dynaudio Confidence C1 IIs that I have here for comparison.  (To be fair, the Cenyas and C1 IIs are considerably more expensive.)  With the 1920s, it’s a nice, gentle roll-off, which will not be noticed on all but the best audiophile recordings and that, more often than not, goes a long way at making digital files and budget solid-state amplifiers considerably more listenable.

The only time I found the tonal characteristic of the 1920s a bit too soft for my taste was when using certain vintage tube amplifiers.  With the Dynaco ST-70 or Harman Kardon A500 integrated amp, for example, even digital files come across as slightly dull.  But, having drawn that line in the sand, the combination of vintage tube amplification and 320-Kb/sec MP3 files sounds much better than it has a right to.

All things considered, the extra efficiency, slam and bass weight are what separate the MAD 1920s from their comparably priced brethren.  You won’t mistake these for a pair of floorstanders, but they open up and breathe so much more than the other small speakers we’ve experienced at this price level.  While the Harbeth and Stirlings both present a benign enough load to drive with a 20-watt amplifier, they are still rated in the range of 83 to 84 dB—which means that a low-power amp can’t deliver the dynamic peaks like it can with a speaker rated at 90 dB.

Crazy Imaging

If you are new to the small British monitor thing, the sonic image that the 1920s present will spoil almost everything else for you.  From the first tap of the hi-hat on the title track to Donovan’s Mellow Yellow, the term “pinpoint imaging” takes on a new meaning, especially if you dim the lights just a bit to keep your eyes from sending visual information to your brain that might otherwise distract processing power from your auditory nerves.  Donovan sounds as if he’s singing just in front of your face, with his overdubs floating in a sea of handclaps and horns.  And the separation between the flute and the oboe in “Jennifer, Juniper” is magnificent.

Maybe it’s the stunning imaging that these old studio records present, or perhaps it’s the strong British heritage thing, but I just kept going back for more British Invasion records to play on these speakers.  I swear I was having flashbacks during Donovan’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man.”  But then, a brief detour spent on a number of Duran Duran and Thompson Twins tracks from the ’80s transitioned me back to the 21^st century—and it was still good.

On the deep-bass side of the musical universe, Dungen and Dr. Dre are both off the menu at all but modest levels.  You can only cheat physics so far, and the 1920s pull off a major sonic feat already.  But heavy rock and hip-hop are simply not a match for these speakers, should you really want to crank it up.  But I’m guessing that, if this stuff happens to be at the top of your music menu, you’re not looking at mini-monitors anyway.  To use an old audiophile cliché, the 1920s are mostly guilty of omission.  They remind me of a first-generation VW Golf GTI or Mazda MX5—they’re tons of fun to drive between 20 and 80 mph, which is where we’re stuck living most of the time.  But if you have a modest amplifier, a medium- to small-sized room and few pipe-organ records in your collection, you won’t even know what you’re missing.

Smart is the New Sexy

A quick visual once-over of the 1920s and you might just pass them by.  While the small box is well executed, these aren’t head-turners.  But inside it’s a completely different story—an abundance of high-grade audiophile parts lurk: ultra-pure silver internal wiring on the tweeter, plus point-to-point wiring with equally zooty copper wire.  Best of all, these are hand assembled in the UK, with all components hand tested and matched before the construction process begins.

Don’t think of the MAD 1920 as a clone of the LS3/5a, nor as an update or replacement for it.  It will just raise your dander.  But do pay close attention to them—they are sleepers.  And don’t let the understated box fool you.  These speakers are the new standard for small monitors.

The MAD 1920 loudspeakers

MSRP: £1,500   (US pricing, $2,650)

US Distributor:  Colleen Cardas Imports  www.colleencardasimports.com

Peripherals

Preamplifier                Burmster 011

Power Amplifier         Conrad Johnson MV-50C1, Pass Aleph 3, Carver Black Magic 20.

Analog Source             Rega RP6/Exact, SME 10/Sumiko Blackbird

Digital Source              Sooloos Control 15, Aurender S10, Light Harmonic DAC

Cable                           Cardas Clear

Accessories                 GIK Room Treatments, Audience aR6-TSS Power Line Conditioner, Furutech DeMag and DeStat, Audio Desk Systeme RCM

While vacuum tube and solid-state amplifiers continue to improve, the gains have been for the most part evolutionary rather than revolutionary at this stage of the game.

Class D amplifiers are a whole different game – much like the introduction of the compact disc, early efforts were harsh and highly unmusical.  But Class D has matured.  Perhaps not into the voluptuous shape of a pair of giant VTL or ARC monoblocks, but not the skinny runway models they used to be.

The NC1000L is a dual mono design, built around the latest ICE Power modules and is essentially two power supplies and two separate mono amplifiers sharing the same chassis.  It features balanced XLR and single ended RCA inputs, both going in via a pair of high quality Lundahl transformers. The NC1000L delivers 501 watts into an 8-ohm load and doubles that into 4 ohms.  Magnepan lovers, this amplifier is your new best friend.  And that’s exactly where I began this review, with my Magnepan 1.7s.  This amplifier’s enormous power reserves light up these wonderful, but power hungry speakers – giving them a true semblance of dynamics, even playing fairly heavy rock.  Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter” never sounded better on the 1.7s.

Oodles of power

Many say the “first watt” is the most important, however I feel they are all important.  I also prefer a lot of power to not so much.  There are a number of classic low power amplifiers, all of which have a tonal magic about them: the Wavac EC-300, the Pass Aleph 3, the McIntosh MC-30, etc., etc.  And as much fun as they’ve been at very low levels, if you don’t have efficient speakers, those amps run out of steam fast. Ultimately, dynamics are just as important as tonal accuracy, or any of the audiophile parameters that try to convince us that we are hearing reality through our stereo systems – even with music that you don’t think demands it.

Low powered amplifiers are always fun to take for a spin, but I always go back to high power at the end of the day, and the NC1000L delivers the goods.  I mentioned Magnepans at the beginning of the review, and after about a month with both the 1.7 and 3.7, unless you are going to drop upwards of $15k on an amplifier, the NC1000L is the amplifier for you – at an introductory price of $2,600.

We can argue the merits of a “dealer direct” product versus one sold through normal distribution channels and whether a $2,600 amplifier sold this way really needs to be compared to a $5,000 amplifier sold with the costs of distribution attached to be fair.  No problem.  The NC1000L stands up handily to everything we’ve heard in this price category. It doesn’t have the sweetness of say, a McIntosh MC275, but you can’t drive a pair of inefficient speakers with an MC275 either. No disrespect intended to either manufacturer, the amount of clean power available with the NC1000L easily justifies its price.  With this much power on tap, I could not play the NC1000L loud enough (without risk of brain damage) to explore the boundaries of their claimed “graceful rounded waveforms at clipping.”

Under the hood

Popping the top of the thick, 14-gauge chassis and thick front panel reveals a tidy layout.  Each amplifier has it’s own separate board, with power supply and ICE module self contained.  The layout is tidy, and my only concern for sonic degradation over time is the screw terminals used to bring in power an input signal.  However, I have seen this approach taken in much more expensive amplifiers and speakers, some ten times the cost of this amplifier.

The NC1000L doesn’t take long to settle into a groove – it doesn’t need hundreds of hours to sound its best. The slight bit of solid-state haze at initial power up vanishes after about three days of 24/7 operation at modest volume.  Its miserly 28 watt current draw at idle lends itself to leave powered up continuously without guilt.

A real pleasure

Thanks to the NC1000Ls balanced XLR and single ended RCA inputs, it will work with whatever linestage or preamplifier you have handy.  After trying about ten different examples from my recently rebuilt Conrad Johnson PV-12 up to the $60,000 Indigo Qualia linestage, the NC1000 merely revealed the character of what was in front of it, with plenty of resolution to discern the differences between front end components with ease.

The NCl000L does fall short of spendier competitors is resolving last bit of detail in the upper registers, but this is not a fair comparison.  Auditioning similarly priced products in the 50-100 watt per channel range, the NC1000L is without peer.  The presentation is very neutral and if like, me you desire a bit more warmth or romance, you can always mate the NC1000L with your favorite tube preamplifier and season to taste.  I did just that with my vintage Conrad Johnson PV-12 (recently rebuilt by the CJ factory with a full compliment of CJD Teflon caps, so it’s not that vintage sounding) and was in affordable hifi heaven.  Man I wish I could have had this amplifier back in the days of my Magnepan Tympanis or Acoustat 2+2s!

This amplifier throws a very wide soundstage, thanks in part to it’s dual mono design, with well delineated imaging, but again not quite as much front to back depth as something with vacuum tubes in the circuit, yet low level detail is excellent.  Listening to the title track on Joni Mitchell’s The Hissing of Summer Lawns is fantastic, with the gentle percussion bits floating well outside of the speakers with Mitchell’s multi-layered vocals well separate from the bass line anchoring the tune.

Timbral complexity is also well represented, as Mitchell gets a bit shrieky on “Shadows and Light.”  This is a track that can deteriorate into a ball of midrange on an amplifier unable to handle complex passages.  The NC1000 does an equally good job with the violin, reproducing this delicate image with aplomb.

The NC1000s ability to drive speakers with a low impedance or a complex load is better than any Class D amplifier we’ve yet sampled, where many early Class D designs were more like an SET amplifier with many speakers, horribly rolling off the top end when the match was less than stellar.  The B&W 802 Diamond speakers always prove tough for the Class D amps we’ve reviewed in the past, but he NC1000L passes with flying colors.  There really was no speaker at our disposal that was problematic for this amplifier.

As with many ICE powered designs, the NC1000L excels at the low frequency part of the audio spectrum. Cranking up Bassnectar’s “Boomerang” with the 802 Diamonds felt like a subwoofer was added to the system now offering a serious punch to the chest at high volume levels.  Ditto with Prince’s “Billy Jack Bitch.”  And of course, the heartbeat at the beginning of Dark Side of the Moon was pretty cool too.  The massive power is well controlled, giving bass instruments a natural response that does not sound overdamped.

Speaking of cool, the NC1000 stays nice and cool, even when pushed to punishing SPL levels, and under normal operation, shouldn’t use much more electricity than a light bulb.

Nod to the new guys

If the market is an indicator, it will be tough for the crew at NewClear to keep building these amplifiers for this price forever.  Other manufactures have done incredibly well with the factory direct approach, and considering this amplifier is so underpriced at this point, our hope is that as NewClear grows and has to amortize those costs, this amplifier will still be a solid product.  But for now, this understated black box has to be one of the year’s best bargains.  If 500 watts per channel sounds like your way to party, get in on the ground floor.

The NC1000 does its job simply and effortlessly, serving the music all the while.  It easily earns one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2013.

The NewClear NC1000 power amplifier

MSRP:  $2,600

www.newclearaudio.com

Peripherals

Analog Source             AVID Volvere/SME V/Sumiko Palo Santos Presentation

Digital Source              dCS Paganini, Sooloos Control 15

Preamplifiers               Conrad Johnson PV-12, ARC REF5SE, Burmester 011

Phonostage                  Simaudio MOON LP810

Speakers                      Magnepan 1.7 & 3.7, GamuT S9, Dynaudio Confidence C1 II, B&W 802D

Cable                           Cardas Clear

With the renaissance that vacuum tubes have been undergoing for the last decade or so, it’s more challenging than ever to create a tube preamp that stands out from the pack.

So when engineer, musician, physicist and Portland local Damon Coffman told me he designed a new preamp that’s “amazing,” I was a bit skeptical.  But when I saw Coffman’s creation, the G-1A, upon a recent trip to local gear shop Echo Audio, it was like catnip.  The unique casework caught my eye instantly, where fledgling manufacturers usually fall short—think steampunk meets art deco, fused with some mid-century modern.  The shop’s wry owner, Kurt Doslu, who is usually the one curbing my enthusiasm, showed me the nifty little preamp.

“Kurt, what’s this?” I asked. “Oh, it’s this new preamp that we’re going to be distributing,” he replied. “It’s pretty good, want to take it home and give it a listen?”  And so the adventure began.

The G-1A has an MSRP of $5,495 and, at present, is only available through Echo Audio in Portland.  There will be a total production run of just 500 units and the first 25 have already been pre-sold—impressive for a new product.

A two-box design, with an outboard, tube-rectified power supply, the G-1A is a full-function preamplifier.  It has a phonostage, with moving-coil (via step up transformer) and moving-magnet inputs and a headphone amplifier built in, which is a lot of capability for that price point.  The G-1A features a single-ended design throughout, with premium RCA connectors for the four high-level inputs and two phono inputs, along with two fixed high-level outputs and a tape out, which makes life easier for this tape enthusiast.

Circuit Basics

The G-1A uses six vacuum tubes in the main circuit: two 12AX7s, two 12AU7s and two 5687s, with a 5AR4 in the rectifier position.  The preamp  ships with standard-issue, current-day production tubes, leaving things wide open for tube rolling—but the G-1A was so enjoyable as delivered, I’ll leave tube rolling for a future blog post.

Coffman says that much of the impetus for the design of the G-1A came from revisiting classic tube designs from the 1920s, when “the original concepts in tube audio” were born.  As a result, his preamplifier is a masterpiece of simplicity, even down to the number of screws holding its case together.  Inside, we see a mix of new and classic parts.  Coffman sourced a number of oil and paper capacitors (“NOS KGB items”) and an input selector switch from the aerospace industry.  He also went so far as to hand-select and measure every single component for sound quality and durability.  Yet, even with this bespoke approach, Coffman’s training in the medical-instrumentation field drove him to streamline the manufacturing approach to assure consistency from unit to unit.

A concert violinist with a master’s degree in physics, Coffman made his mark in the medical electronics industry by producing digital stethoscopes.  A hi-fi guy since his early teens, he admits that building this preamplifier was, in many ways, even tougher than building his stethoscopes.  And most importantly, Coffman is a music guy through and through; his wife, daughter and parents are also musicians. So he is constantly asking himself if the sound is natural.  With the G-1A, a result of two years and countless prototypes, Coffman has finally answered that burning question in the affirmative.

Stunning Musicality

Wanda Jackson’s 2011 release The Party Ain’t Over is a dense recording and, as the first album on my long listening list, established that the G-1A has a timbral clarity that is unmistakable.  The upright bass at the beginning of “Rum and Coca Cola” has a loose, resonant, almost unturned quality such that you can actually hear the bass rattle—and the G-1A brings all this detail front and center, capturing every bit of texture available.

Zooming through some audiophile standards proves equally rewarding.  Listening to the Doors and the Grateful Dead in 24/96 was a spectacular experience with this preamp.  The soundstage that the G-1A presents is enveloping, dishing up the magic you usually have to spend five figures to achieve.  This preamplifier produces a stereo image that extends well beyond speaker boundaries on all axis—of course, the better the source material, the better the result.

The true triumph of the G-1A is its effortless reproduction of acoustic instruments.  Acoustic playback is a must considering Coffman’s background.  The tonal accuracy of piano, violin and drums must be experienced to be believed.   The gentle tap of Phil Collins’ drumstick on the snare frame in the title track of Brand X’s album Unorthodox Behaviour was scarily real. That extra dollop of texture the G-1A provides seems to come from nowhere and yet still makes itself known.

The sparse drumming and percussion in this record, with its almost Zappa-like triangle taps and bells at the far corners of the soundstage, show off the immediacy that the G-1A delivers.  No matter how complex the musical passage, there’s always enough headroom to accommodate another instrument in the mix.  This level of dynamic competence at both ends of the scale is rarely found without spending a lot more money.

Not Terribly Tubey

While you won’t mistake the G-1A for a solid-state preamplifier, much like my Audio Research REF5 SE, the Coffman preamp is highly accurate, with that extra bit of airiness suggesting vacuum tubes under the hood (or, in this case, poking out of the top of the hood)—and nothing more.  Where a few of my favorite tube preamplifiers of old injected their share of warmth and often coloration, the G-1A plays it clean all the way.  It is worth noting, however, that this one really needs a good hour to warm up.  At initial power-up, it does sound a bit thinner than some of the other tube preamplifiers we’ve experienced.  But to complement the highly resolving nature of the G-1A, it is equally well represented in the lowest octave.

Because the G-1A offers such a great balance, I did not spend any time tolling tubes in search of a different “tuning.”  I’m sure it would be fun to swap the phonostage tubes, because the 12AX7 allows so many different variations on the theme, but we’ll leave that for another day.  Plus, the tall, spun-aluminum towers that ensconce each of the tubes do not make for easy tube swaps, and perhaps it’s for the best.

At this point, we could call the G-1A a “best buy” without the phonostage and headphone amplifier.  As both of these segments practically warrant full reviews on their own, I will go into greater depth on our Analogaholic and Macro sites.

Full Function Phono and Phones

The G-1A includes inputs for MM and MC cartridges.  While everything in the preamp is so carefully thought out, this vinyl junkie would love to see that as a function addressable from the front panel.  Coffman does thoughtfully include a loading switch for the MM input, giving 47K, 70K and 90K ohms, allowing most of my favorite cartridges to shine.  The Shure and some of the Ortofon MM range have a much more open sound when loaded to 70k than at 47k, so this is a nice touch.

The phonostage is excellent, easily on par with anything I’ve heard in the $2,500 range, including the outstanding Manley Chinook, and the G-1A is head and shoulders above the EAR 834P, which is fairly colored in comparison.  Most impressive is the sheer dynamic drive that the G-1A provides, with the same tonality as the linestage.

Soundstage width and depth are enormous, making the freshly rebuilt Quad 57s in my second listening sound like a pair of stacked Quads.  Spinning the recent MoFi remaster of Dead Can Dance’s Into The Labyrinth, the level of detail revealed was no less than stunning.  With a diverse combination of acoustic and electronic elements, featuring male and female vocals, this record gives a quick and accurate read on a component’s spatial abilities.

Sampling a wide range of cartridges, including the Denon DL-103R (and the Zu Audio variation), Ortofon Cadenza Bronze, Ortofon SPU and Clearaudio da Vinci all proved excellent matches with the G-1A.  Unfortunately, the Lyra family of cartridges was not as exciting.  The Atlas, Titan i and Kleos all offered the same result: slightly slow and rolled off, which is likely the result of an obvious impedance mismatch.  There are still a few more on the audition list, so stay tuned for a follow-up on the Analogaholic site.

As this was the first sample from the production line, the headphone stage was not complete at this time, so for now we are concentrating on linestage and phono performance.  A full review of the G-1A’s headphone stage will occur on our website very soon as a follow-up review.

The lack of a remote control proved not to be an issue, especially when moving the G-1A into room two, where the listening chair is directly in front of the main rack, so volume adjustment is easily handled.  Coffman assured me that the output stage of this preamplifier would drive “anything” and, after mixing it up with about eight different power amplifiers and driving 20-foot interconnects, I concur.  Driving a few of my test power amplifiers with one-meter and seven-meter lengths of ALO Audio’s newest premium interconnects reveals no change in sound quality or high-frequency rolloff.

So What Makes This Thing Awesome?

The Coffman G-1A has a unique and striking look and it’s built by a man with a plan.  Some might be surprised by the $5,495 price, but consider this: In the best old-school tradition, the G-1A includes an onboard phonostage (MM and MC) and an onboard headphone amplifier—remember when you could buy a full-function preamplifier with all of this under the hood?

With vinyl still growing in popularity and headphones a full-fledged sub-genre of audio, a preamplifier incorporating these two elements is exciting.  Considering that you won’t have to purchase an outboard phonostage, headphone amplifier or a pair of power cords, the G-1A is fantastic if you value sound quality above everything else. The design is so pure it even lacks a remote control.

Judged strictly as a linestage for $5,495, the Coffman G-1A is at the top of its class.  The fact that it includes an excellent phonostage and headphone amplifier makes it the bargain of the year.  All of the tubes are easily found and those predisposed to tube rolling can tune and tweak until Election Day.   Coffman has plans to expand the lineup, possibly making the phonostage and linestage separate boxes. When I asked him if there might be a companion power amplifier in the works, he smiled that evasive smile that usually means “yes, but I don’t want to talk about it now.”

So with that in mind, we award the Coffman Labs G-1A one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2012 and look forward to the company’s future offerings.  Coffman is certainly off to a brilliant start.  I have purchased the review sample, so that it can become an anchor component in room two, and so that we can do a long-term report when a year has passed.

The Coffman Labs G-1A Preamplifier

MSRP: $5,495

Peripherals

Analog Source               AVID Volvere SP turntable/SME V, various cartridges

Digital Source                dCS Paganini stack, Sooloos Control 15, Aurender C10

Power Amplifier             Conrad Johnson MV-50C1

Speakers                       Quad 57

Cable                            ALO Audio, Cardas

Power                           Audience AR-6TS

Red Wine Audio founder Vinnie Rossi has built a solid reputation on battery-powered gear, utilizing LiFePO4 cells with his unique SMART battery management that eliminates the headaches of batteries, while providing the maximum life and performance that this technology can deliver.

His lower powered Signature 15 and 30.2 amplifiers have won awards and acclaim the world over for a smooth sound that sounds neither tube nor transistor-like, and are dead quiet, eliminating the interaction with the power grid.

Having used Rossi’s amps for some time now, I’ve always felt they were very special, but often thought,  “if only they had a bit more power…”  With the Liliana, the dream is realized.  A Class A 6922 input stage drives a Class AB MOSFET output stage to the tune of 115 watts into 8 ohms, doubling to 230 watts 4 ohms.  Serious power.

If you are a current RWA amplifier owner, a quick peek at the website reveals a healthy trade up program, should the urge to upgrade strike you.  RWA warranties all of their products for five years, and a few TONE readers that have had minor issues have confirmed that Rossi’s service department is helpful and quick – A testament to the tremendous owner loyalty that RWA enjoys.

This new design has scaled up perfectly; nothing in the sonics department has been compromised.  Previous RWA owners will notice the same delicacy from previous models, but the additional power opens up the door to more speaker options.  Pairing the Lilianas with the $120,000/pair Sonus faber Aida is a fantastic match, immediately underscoring that these amplifiers are of top quality and able to be installed in the context of any system. Though the RWA amplifiers give up a little bit of grunt to the Pass Labs XA200.5 monoblocks, there is a clarity in the upper registers very similar to what Pass is doing with their First Watt amplifiers.

Grain free sound

If the RWA amplifiers can be said to possess a “sound,” it’s a lack of the grain that creeps into components that are tethered to the AC line.  I’ve managed to eliminate this from both of my reference systems, but at great cost in massive power cords and power line conditioners.  I’ve even used one of RWA’s Black Lightning battery supplies with various Nagra components, achieving similar results.  I also currently have another Black Lightning on order for the rest of my components running on 12 or 24 volts DC.

As Trey Gunn’s “The Joy of Molybdenum” hits the Aidas, I’m instantly convinced that these amplifiers are indeed very special.  This is a dense recording, with some rapid-fire riffs from Gunn, backed up with a solid bass fundamental.  Even at high volume, the Lilianas keep their composure and preserve the three-dimensional soundstage present on this recording.

Plumbing the depths of just how much bass these amplifiers can muster, a quick speaker swap from the Aidas to my reference GamuT S9s, which are a bit easier to drive and slightly less current dependent is telling.  Here, going through a set of Prince tracks, spanning the generations proves that they can go down very deep.  “Insatiable,” from the Diamonds and Pearls album begins with a subterranean, loose, whumpy, synth bass line that is tough for any amplifier – yet the Lilianas keep their composure and handle this torturous track brilliantly.

Mark Ribot’s “Requiem For a Revolution,” from his current Silent Movies album is chock full of texture, with dexterous guitar work from Ribot.  If you’ve had the opportunity to see him recently, you know the fire that he brings to a live performance, full of nuance and emotion.  The Lilianas ability to capture low-level detail clearly makes it easy to close my eyes with the mighty GamuTs and imagine I’m back in the main hall at the Montreal Jazz Festival again.  And of course, those of you that crave female vocals will not be disappointed.

Listening to a cross section of acoustic music, both jazz and classical through the Dynaudio Confidence C1 II speakers in room two proves equally rewarding.  The Lilianas have an excellent sense of pace and timing, combined with tons of texture.  Cymbals sound as they should, with plenty of attack and texture.  An old favorite on vinyl, The Three, featuring Joe Sample on keyboards and Shelly Manne on drums is a direct to disc LP that has some of the cleanest cymbal sounds ever captured to vinyl.   Lee Morgan’s Tom Cat is another great example, with some fantastic brush work on the drums.  Instead of just sounding scratchy, the RWA amps flesh out the texture perfectly.

One of the greatest advantages to using a pair of monoblock power amplifiers is the additional channel separation.  Combining this with a complete lack of electrical interaction because of the battery power makes for an otherworldly stereo effect.  I found when listening to the Dynaudio monitors, the Penaudio Cenyas or the MAD 1920s, the surreal mini monitor effect, that of listening to gigantic headphones in your listening chair was further heightened.  Taking inventory of some ambient and techno tracks from Eno, Deadmau5 and Tosca proved trippy.  Tosca’s “Me and Yoko Ono” was pure pleasure, with instruments and environmental sound bits everywhere.

At the edge

The only place the Lilianas give up a little bit of ground is when being pushed beyond reasonable and prudent levels.  When the Lilianas are pushed to their power limits, the soundstage just flattens out somewhat, instead of the sound becoming grating or harsh.  Even operating at brain damage levels, the Lilianas do not generate much heat and are still only lukewarm to the touch.

However compared to other things in their power and price class, they come through brilliantly, and we probably shouldn’t be playing Van Halen that loud anyway.  230 watts into 4-ohms is still really not enough to drive the Magnepans to major volume, but the Lilianas prove an exquisite match for the MartinLogan Montis speakers we recently reviewed.  The speed and low-level detail that the battery power brings to the table is just what the doctor ordered.

Life off the grid

RWA claims 6 – 8 hours before these amplifiers need to be recharged, which is best done overnight.  The LFP batteries do not have a memory effect, and even after months of charge and recharge cycles, they still manage to play for very close to 8 hours without fail.  For everyone but me, who has their system on for 12-14 hours a day, this should be more than enough time for serious listening.  If you lose track of playback time, when the amplifiers run out of battery power, they just turn silently off, without any annoying clicks, pops or anomalies.  Click the front panel switch back to the charge position (or On/Charge to play via the external charger providing power from the grid).

Thanks to the SMART battery management, you can leave the chargers connected permanently.  They automatically switch out of the circuit when playing in pure battery powered mode.  Considering the amount of money you will save not purchasing a pair of premium power cords, a power line conditioner or a fancy AC outlet, the $6,000 price for a pair of Lilianas is not so crazy after all.  Not being limited by power cord and outlet choices also gives you more flexibility when choosing the location for your RWA amplifiers.

Setup

The Lilianas are easy to integrate into your system.   They do feature single ended RCA inputs, but I had no problems using them with a fully balanced preamplifier like the ARC REF 5SE or the Burmester 011 through either the balanced outputs (via an adaptor) or the RCAs.

The RWA logo on the top surface of the amplifier is functional as well as decorative.  There is a glass window that rotates out of the way, allowing easy access to the 6922 driver tube inside, making it easy for those that like to roll tubes.  Needing only one per monoblock, you can try some fairly exotic tubes without breaking the bank.  I had a friend drop by with a pair of NOS Telefunken CCa tubes that are probably one of the most rare and expensive varieties, to great result.  The Lilianas got sweeter through the midrange, though at the expense of a bit of the LF weight – yet this is a fantastic way to fine tune the amplifiers to your speakers and your taste.

The stock tubes are great all-rounders, offering an excellent balance between low noise and linear frequency response.  However, those requiring a bit more “tube magic” can choose their favorite NOS tube to voice the amplifier as they see fit.  The glass window glows red until the tube has warmed up, which takes about 45 seconds.

A sound choice

The Red Wine Audio Liliana monoblocks will make an excellent addition to your system.  They feature neutral tonality, speed, dynamics and low level detail retrieval that few amplifiers in their price category can match.  Combining that with their compact size and minimal power requirements for charging the internal battery, these are a fantastic pair of amplifiers that will serve all but the most power hungry speakers.  Best of all, RWA offers a 30-day refund period should you find that they aren’t the perfect dance partners for whatever reason.  Highly recommended!

The Red Wine Audio Liliana Monoblock power amplifiers

MSRP:  $6,000/pair

www.redwineaudio.com

Peripherals

When was the last time you set up an entire music system in under five minutes?  I’m guessing never.

In case haven’t had the opportunity to use one, the Meridian Sooloos digital music server, now called Meridian Digital Media System, it is by far the worlds easiest to use – and I’ve used them all. The larger and more diverse your music collection, the more manageable it is, with all your music right at your fingertips, allowing you to sort through it and ultimately listen to it on multiple levels.
For those in the choir that I’m already preaching to, have you tried a pair of Meridian active speakers?

Listening to the M6 speakers connected to a Meridian Media Core 200, which holds up to 2000 CDs in a small box, barely larger than a Mac Mini, I ponder just how far the British hifi industry has come in the 55 years since my trusty Quad 57’s hit the scene.

In the time it took my next door neighbor to grab refreshments from the refrigerator, the M6s were set up and playing music, in this case “Egypt by Air,” courtesy of the Bombay Dub Orchestra.  While there are multiple connection options, depending on which Meridian front end you care to use, all that is needed between the Media Core 200 and the right speaker is a length of RJ-45 cable.  Home Depot cable will do, but I suggest the Meridan SpeakerLink cable, because it’s not that much more, is expertly terminated and is very thin, fitting into your décor very unobtrusively.  It is available from your Meridian dealer in lengths from .5m to 15m. String one more length from the right speaker to the left and plug the two power cords into the wall.  Done.  Those using the Audio Core will connect left and right channels separately, as in a standard hifi system.

Always curious to what those not of the audiophile brotherhood think about the latest hifi gear, I made it a point to have a few extra guests over to peruse the M6/Media Core 200 system while it was here. It was precisely the hit I anticipated – and then some.  Most of my friends know I’m a bit off the deep end, but the combination of these speakers and 2,000 CD’s, all controllable by an iPad proved too much for even the most anti hifi person to resist.  Not a single wife or girlfriend uttered the four word death knell to all things audio, “not in my house.”

Beautifully Built

These speakers epitomize high style and high quality. Barely a foot in diameter at the bottom, gently taper to about four inches at the top, their cylindrical shape covered in a tight black fabric, with a brushed aluminum top cap.  While the 5-½ inch woofer faces downward, the full range driver (crossed over at 200 Hz) does face forward, so this is not an omnidirectional speaker, though it does have very wide dispersion.  The small Meridian logo on the base indicates the front of the speaker and which way you should aim it. A slight bit of toe in worked well in room two, with the speakers about 8 feet apart.  The cabinet is made from a strong yet lightweight composite material, very similar to what Meridian uses for their F80 and M80 compact audio systems.  The M6s are built at Meridian’s facility in Cambridgeshire.

The M6 utilizes Class D amplification rather than the Class A, discrete amplification in the other models, making the compact shape possible. The M6s tip the scale at just under 40 pounds, so they are easy to set up and move about your listening space.  These speakers also lack the Meridian System Remote of the larger speakers, and separate SPDIF digital input.  Speaker Link is the only option for the M6, limiting source components to other Meridian products.

Quick and easy, yet highly versatile

Once plugged into the wall, and wired thusly, the band at the top of the M6s glows with a medium blue tone, indicating they are powered up and in standby mode.  Upon pushing play, the glow turns to a soft white.  With nary a fancy wire product in sight, the M6s delight.  The traditional audiophile might suspect heresy, but the music lover will be delighted.

A number of system options await you.  One of Meridian’s Media Cores or their new Audio Core 200, that looks like a compact stereo receiver, adding DSP speaker control, bass and treble level controls and the ability to add analog sources, like the output of your television or even a turntable. (Via outboard phono stage)  Like the larger DSP series of Meridian speakers, the Audio Core 200 lets you optimize LF output in accordance with where you have the speakers placed in the room, however, the Media Core 200 does not offer this functionality. For those with a Meridian Digital Media System system already installed, the M6s can be connected in another location with network access via the Media Source 200, which allows complete access to your music library, yet running a separate data stream.

This makes it a snap to indulge your musical tastes in one part of the house, while the rest of the family is enjoying something else in the living room.  All controllable via iPod, iPhone or a networked computer, though maximum functionality is only available with the Control 15, or an iPod, via a free app on the App Store.  This lets you scroll through your music by album cover, as you no doubt remember it best.

Serious ability

Meridian’s DSP speakers have always offered phenomenal bass response and these slender cabinets to not disappoint.  Cranking up the volume control as Rory Gallagher’s “Brute Force and Ignorance” hits the play queue reveals that the M6s ability to rock the house.  A series of heavy tracks leaves the M6s unfettered and prove that they can play at considerable volume without listener fatigue. The dense bass line on David Byrne and St. Vincent’s latest Love This Giant gives pause that these diminutive speakers can offer so much heft.

Sampling the Bad Plus’ For All I Care reveals how well the M6 provides room filling sound at low to modest volume.  This mixture of piano and acoustic bass is rendered across the soundstage convincingly, reinforcing the way the M6 paints an acoustic landscape – this is not a “pinpoint imaging” experience, but somewhat more diffuse. More like a pair of Magnepans than a pair of mini monitors in this sense.  The more reflective your room is, the more the presentation extends beyond the speaker boundaries.

The low crossover point lets the Meridian full range driver do much of the work, so the critical midrange frequencies are not split up. This adds to the effortless character the M6 provides, highly noticeable with vocal recordings.  Whether listening to Joni Mitchell or Frank Sinatra, the lack of midrange grain and phase anomalies usually caused by a crossover network in this range is a treat.  It helps with acoustic instruments as well – both piano and violin shine played through the M6.

Thanks to their wide dispersion and powerful LF output, a pair of M6s is easy to place in the listening room and is not as position specific as many other speakers we have auditioned. If you’re looking a pair of high performance speakers that go with the couch, these are the ones.

Practically a complete system

At first blush, $9,000 for a pair of speakers is more than a casual expense, but remember, the M6s are much more than a pair of speakers; they include a pair of stereo power amplifiers (150 x 2 for the woofers 100 x 2 for the full range drivers), an active DSP crossover network, a DAC, and a preamplifier.  Not to mention all of the ancillary cables that you don’t have to purchase to make it go.  Perhaps best of all, you won’t have to look at all of that stuff in your room.  You could easily spend a healthy percentage of the M6 price tag on three pairs of interconnects, a pair of speaker cables, a few mains cables and an equipment rack, perhaps more – and you’d still need to buy a system!

If you are a traditional audiophile that relishes an altar consisting of a large rack full of gear, a massive loom of cables, and all the anxiety that surrounds this affair, the Meridian M6 speakers will not fulfill your requirements.  In the past, “lifestyle” has always been a risqué word when applied to audio, suggesting B & O at best and Bose at worst, yet Meridian produces a winner here, proving sculptural beauty and cutting edge audio performance can indeed coexist. However, if the concept of a music system that doesn’t intrude upon your environment is appealing, look no further.

I urge you to visit your Meridian dealer and avail yourself to just how effortless this system can be.

The Meridian M6 Active DSP Loudspeakers

MSRP: $9,000

www.meridian-audio.com

Associated Components:  Sooloos Media Core 200, Sooloos Control 15