Maybe Mr. C should now be called Mr. D
Fantastic amp.
Maybe Mr. C should now be called Mr. D
Fantastic amp.
Indeed Alan. Just listening to some stuff right now whilst waiting for the young lady (aka the Finance Director) before we head out. Some Bach Cello stuff, what I failed to mention before is the texture this amp is able to convey. Not only the instrument itself (you can make out the differences between the notes produced by the wood and the drawing of the bow) but also the layered nature of the other instruments as well as the micro-detail coming through from the recording room. Realism rools ok!
Current: [P20] Roon/Tidal > Custom PC> Chevron Paradox NDF16 > Phast Pre > Neuro. 686 > Tannoy Berkley (RFC tweaks)
Well, I had this amp in my system for a few hours, firstly it really sounds superb, with great grip on the low end and dynamics and sparkle to hanker after. What you'd expect I suppose.
It was a relatively short listening time but it grew and opened up as the time passed.I had a preconcieved idea of what to expect and I was right in it's ability to effortlessly push
more from the system. But what i hadn't figured was it's ability to sound cultured and unctuous. So I was pretty impressed to say the least. It really finds detail and portrays
ambience well. I can see how this addictive sound could well be a game changer...
I personally wouldn't swap it now for my tubes as i require something else. But that's just me and my quest for capturing atmosphere of the era.
One thing we did find, in my system, was to be careful about material selection. Playing Tidal MQA Masters, the pianos became slightly jarring, we switched to rebook of the same Album and
that was far more palatable. But as i say this could well be synergy with other components in my set up.
I have previously experienced a Nord Acoustics Class D power amp on duty and was very impressed with that also. This PWM amp has a touch more of the nice stuff around the midrange.
Anyway I was impressed and was totally blind to the price point, or indeed the product really. Edward turned up with a non descript box and plugged it in.
I can see the future.....Class D is surely in that picture somewhere.
"lack of passion is fatal"
Vinyl: Thorens TD-124mk2 / SME-312 Aluminium 'special' / SME M2-9R / STEREO: Etsuro Urushi Cobalt / Shure M3D / Ortofon SPU A95 / Cartridge Man Music Master / Shure - SC35C (US) / SAEC C3 MC MONO: Miyajima Zero B 0.7mil mono / Miyajima Premium 1.0 / Amps & SUTs: Radford STA25 mk3 / AD Audio 'Satchmo2' pre & LCR phono / Hashimoto HM-7 SUT / ETR-MONO SUT Digital: Audio Note 4.1 (with DAC5 upgrades) DAC / Roon / Tidal Speakers: Tannoy 12" MGs' in RFC custom 'Rutland' Cabinets with RFC crossovers / Tannoy ST-100 Super Tweeters Cables: LFD Grainless phono / RFC Mercury / Duelund DCA16GA tinned copper / Kimber 12TC / SW1X Audio Design USB-SPdif / Duelund DCA20GA interconnects / SW1X Audio SPDIF Aero 6 / Mains Power Conditioner / Box Furniture rack / Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner / a very beautiful & understanding Wife!
On reports from Edward and Adam, I'm very keen to hear this. Coherence ... cultured ... unctuous .. shimmering ...liquidity ... all hitting the right spot for me.
Interesting about the Tidal MQA content, MQA is an interesting topic at the minute - could be that whatever 'enhancements' are baked in with MQA, this amp is sensitive enough to pick up as overdone?
"lack of passion is fatal"
Vinyl: Thorens TD-124mk2 / SME-312 Aluminium 'special' / SME M2-9R / STEREO: Etsuro Urushi Cobalt / Shure M3D / Ortofon SPU A95 / Cartridge Man Music Master / Shure - SC35C (US) / SAEC C3 MC MONO: Miyajima Zero B 0.7mil mono / Miyajima Premium 1.0 / Amps & SUTs: Radford STA25 mk3 / AD Audio 'Satchmo2' pre & LCR phono / Hashimoto HM-7 SUT / ETR-MONO SUT Digital: Audio Note 4.1 (with DAC5 upgrades) DAC / Roon / Tidal Speakers: Tannoy 12" MGs' in RFC custom 'Rutland' Cabinets with RFC crossovers / Tannoy ST-100 Super Tweeters Cables: LFD Grainless phono / RFC Mercury / Duelund DCA16GA tinned copper / Kimber 12TC / SW1X Audio Design USB-SPdif / Duelund DCA20GA interconnects / SW1X Audio SPDIF Aero 6 / Mains Power Conditioner / Box Furniture rack / Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner / a very beautiful & understanding Wife!
I don't think the aim of MQA is to 'enhance' stuff, simply to take music that is recorded at higher than Redbook standard and, by switching and 'folding' frequencies it is able to pack it in a standard Redbook PCM stream (as well as 'authenticating') the source. I think what Adam and I heard was the farting around with freqs that MQA employed such that the unfold was not faithful to the original. Tony's amp, with its resolving abilities, was able to clearly show this. The Redbook version was unquestioningly better for the 4 ears employed in the session.
Current: [P20] Roon/Tidal > Custom PC> Chevron Paradox NDF16 > Phast Pre > Neuro. 686 > Tannoy Berkley (RFC tweaks)
IMHO The amp is certainly an achievement, i have to say.
"lack of passion is fatal"
Vinyl: Thorens TD-124mk2 / SME-312 Aluminium 'special' / SME M2-9R / STEREO: Etsuro Urushi Cobalt / Shure M3D / Ortofon SPU A95 / Cartridge Man Music Master / Shure - SC35C (US) / SAEC C3 MC MONO: Miyajima Zero B 0.7mil mono / Miyajima Premium 1.0 / Amps & SUTs: Radford STA25 mk3 / AD Audio 'Satchmo2' pre & LCR phono / Hashimoto HM-7 SUT / ETR-MONO SUT Digital: Audio Note 4.1 (with DAC5 upgrades) DAC / Roon / Tidal Speakers: Tannoy 12" MGs' in RFC custom 'Rutland' Cabinets with RFC crossovers / Tannoy ST-100 Super Tweeters Cables: LFD Grainless phono / RFC Mercury / Duelund DCA16GA tinned copper / Kimber 12TC / SW1X Audio Design USB-SPdif / Duelund DCA20GA interconnects / SW1X Audio SPDIF Aero 6 / Mains Power Conditioner / Box Furniture rack / Audiodesk Systeme Vinyl Cleaner / a very beautiful & understanding Wife!
Current Lash Up:
TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.