Early thoughts re the Graham Slee Novo

[Phil Lawton]

I've been trialling different genres and formats through the recently acquired Graham Slee Novo headphone amp over the past few nights.

My initial, happy reaction to the first few tracks funnelled through the unit have been tempered somewhat by further plays.

I've been doing an A/B comparison with vinyl (Slee and Marantz amp headphone outputs) and an A/B/C comparison with CDs (Slee, Marantz amp/Marantz CDP headphone outputs).

In almost every case, the Slee has been out-performed by either the output from the amp or the CD player.

The bass performance from the Slee is not as rich as first assessed...if anything, the output is too "toppy" (for the want of a better word...it's the musician in me), almost to the point of being annoying. Bowie's "Heart's Filthy Lesson" on vinyl via the Slee lacks the stomach punch I'd come to expect, while though the amp it comes alive. Same track on CD is much the same, with the CDP's headphone output being indistinguishable from that of the amp.

Underworld's "Little Speaker" on vinyl also disappointed; such a dense mix deserves some serious middle and bottom end, but the Slee was slightly muddy in both departments. Via the amp, the record was immediately engaging. Playing the CD version gave much the same result on the Slee as the vinyl had, while the amp and CDP both brought the track to life, with the CDP outperforming the amp, I felt, although there wasn't much daylight between them.

The Japanese pressing of Joni Mitchel's "Hejira" fared slightly better via the Slee - the soundstage was impressive, although the higher frequencies barely stayed inside the tolerance zone. Pastorius's bass was present, but lacked the character I'd come to expect. Through the amp, it felt as if a curtain had been drawn aside and the higher frequencies tamed...a much more pleasant experience.

LTJ Bukem's "Undress Your Mind" - on vinyl and CD from his rather splendid 'Journey Inwards' album - simply reinforced my feelings for everything else I'd played; lacking that certain something in the bass, giving a bit too much in the top end. Both formats via the amp were incredible.

I do realise that there is some burn-in time to happen with the Slee; I bought it from a hi-fi dealer on eBay who had listed it as "mint" (which it is), but I've no idea if it had been used as a demo model or not. I'll stick with it for a couple of weeks and then move it on if I think it's not for me.

[oldson]

i moved on from GS years ago.
i used to have one of the Solo range headphone amps and initially thought it was great, until i heard others.
before i moved it on i opened it up to look at the components. very little inside and i was quite shocked. a lot of money for what it was.
the optional psu1 was rediculously expensive also imo.

i went down the musical fidelity xcan route (with mods) which blew thee solo out of the water, even before it was modded.

currently i use a Project Ember or my Violectric V200 . had both for years now and will not part with either.

[CageyH]

You judge value by the number of components inside? An interesting approach….

I quite like my Solo UL, but I have never heard the Novo. I am not tempted to change it, as the Solo UL is bought and paid for, and I like the sound. I am sure there are better headphone amps out there, but I don’t want to go down the road of finding one I like better.

[struth]

i gave up with wired and amps and just use wireless ones now. tbh they are so good now that unless your really picky you wont notice.

[oldson]

You judge value by the number of components inside? An interesting approach….

I quite like my Solo UL, but I have never heard the Novo. I am not tempted to change it, as the Solo UL is bought and paid for, and I like the sound. I am sure there are better headphone amps out there, but I don’t want to go down the road of finding one I like better.

"i used to have one of the Solo range headphone amps and initially thought it was great, until i heard others."
this prompted my "interesting approach" if you are happy with yours then great

[CageyH]

This is the bit I am referring to.

before i moved it on i opened it up to look at the components. very little inside and i was quite shocked. a lot of money for what it was.

We had better not start talking about cables then.

[oldson]

i know exactly which bit you were referring to. i just explained why i did what i did.
because other amps trounced it.

[Phil Lawton]

Left the Slee alone for a couple of weeks and returned to it last night for an hour's listening. It's on the same circuit as the Slee Reflex M, which means it's powered up from mid afternoon to when we go to bed and then most of every weekend. Didn't do any A-B comparisons with the headphone outputs of either the amp or CD player this time, but it still sounds a bit toppy.

I assumed that almost a month of burn-in would sort the unit, but it's unclear if this has happened. I did enjoy its performance when I pushed the live version of the Fripp/Sylvian track "Damage" through it, but as above, I don't know what the amp or CD would have done with that (or any other) track. I probably need to do another A-B-C comparison session at some point.

I'll persevere for a couple of weeks and then move it on if I don't feel it's for me.

[Lawrence001]

You judge value by the number of components inside? An interesting approach….

I quite like my Solo UL, but I have never heard the Novo. I am not tempted to change it, as the Solo UL is bought and paid for, and I like the sound. I am sure there are better headphone amps out there, but I don’t want to go down the road of finding one I like better.

I judge value by the mark up attached to manufacturing costs, but accept that should include R&D etc to get the component to where it is.

So if it has a small number of parts that aren't particularly expensive I don't expect it to cost as much as something with lots of parts made in the same country with a similar amount of R&D behind it. I'm also prepared to pay a premium for UK made Vs China to reflect the higher costs of manufacturing (and the % margin on top).

[struth]

i had a novo(i think it was a novo) many years ago when i had my ms a1000 and used it with a decent pair of at headphones. it sounded ok, and was better than most onboard head amps on integrateds' i had tried. the ms didnt have a socket hence why i got it at time. i sold all 3 after about a year i guess.