Audiophilepure

The characteristic of the central Voxativ field-coil driver in its exquisite response to the integrated amplifier alone spoke volumes. Even when playing famously “dry” sounding digital recordings, the delicacy of the driver as driven by the SW1X unveiled textures of the strings and woodwinds to such degrees as to be unprecedented. One could almost surmise from experiencing the AMP V Titan Special that those dry recordings are purer sounding. Here, perhaps even a mere four 300B or 2A3 watts would’ve sufficed, and the quality of every watt coming out of the SW1X AMP V Titan Special cannot be overstated

For all this quality and excitement, I have yet to cite Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring; Scherzo à là Russe for Two Pianos LP, featuring Michael Tilson Thomas and Ralph Grierson (Angel S-36024). I played it on the Helius set-up with Koetsu Gold MC cartridge. “Part I: The Adoration of the Earth” was absolutely thrilling with diverse tonalities, crystalline trillings, complex chordings, rapid arpeggios, bombastic and lyrical passages, and startling clusters of high-pitched notes of tremendous energy and stunning effect. There was the anticipation of suspense and dread intermingled through much of the movement, which was an aural feast in full frequencies and dynamic range, characterized by the speed and precision of each pianist. There were a plethora of pleasing dissonances and swift changes of eccentric tempi, and it seemed as though every note from each measure of the orchestral score was anticipated in this earlier score for pianos. Deep bass drum strikes, screeches from an overblown piccolo, the sautillé of double basses, timpani strikes, horn and trumpet parts were all rendered on the keyboards for the four hands of two pianos

https://www.hifinews.com/content/canor-asterion-v2

This turned out to be fortuitous, as the result was excellent as it stood, and PM’s Lab Report [opposite] indicated the single-ended/lower gain route would be the better choice with this cartridge anyway. And when a replacement Pro-Ject Connect it Phono DS cable was eventually delivered, I still preferred the single-ended connection for its more fluid sound and natural high-frequency detail.

Anyway, the tunes on …Cosmic Sofa were originally created for the milestone anime series Cowboy Bebop – not the derivative Netflix version – but Kanno re-recorded them last year for this vinyl release. ‘The Real Folk Blues’ made for especially satisfying listening, the Asterion V2 giving the carefully plucked guitar plenty of presence just as A-Sha Mai Yamane’s crooning was both gritty and packed with emotion. Yet what really stood out – and pardon the audiophile cliché – was the black background, testament to the vanishingly low noise of the Asterion V2 and to the Pick it MC9’s tracking prowess.

As with any traditional integrated amplifier, the Lògos MkII is ready to play after input and output connections are made. During the review, the Lògos MkII was used to drive my Revel Ultima Studio speakers. The sources used are primarily the Auralic Aries G1 streamer and PS Audio PerfectWave Transport, connected through the PS Audio DirectStream DAC. Both the balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) outputs of the DirectStream DAC were connected to the Lògos MkII. These two connection types yielded different output levels for the same volume setting, but I did not notice sonic fidelity differences between them. I would be happy to use either type of connection in my system.

After sufficient break-in, the Lògos MkII convincingly erased my concern about the possibility of getting let down by its performance starting with the first note I listened to. This beauty could sing! And I should add that it could sing pretty damn well, and in fact, better than most. I was quite amazed by the way it sang too. Yes, it sounded full and smooth with no sharp edges along the midrange and high-frequency notes as with most tube devices, but it also exhibited sheer textures in its presentation with impressive bass authority. The ability of the Lògos MkII to move the woofers made it overall sound more powerful than its amplifier specifications suggested. The sheer musicality of the Lògos MkII was nothing short of excellent.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/ta-r-2500-r-multisource-receiver

The first thing I like to test with amplifiers new to my B&W 808 speakers is the low end. The Benchmark amp drives these speakers with remarkable control and precise bass extension. A bassline that is recorded distinctly should sound the same; the beat should be crisp and well-defined. I have created a Qobuz playlist, “Bass Test,” made of tracks I find useful in amplifier and speaker comparisons (footnote 9). Some of these tracks are far from the ultimate floor-shakers, but each tells me something about how an amp/speaker combo handles the lowest octaves. For instance, in Bob Marley’s “Concrete Jungle,” the tonality of the bass instrument is distinctive, and each note is clearly articulated. It’s the same with the Grateful Dead’s cover of “Mama Tried,” with the tonality of Phil Lesh’s bass amp also part of the sound. “Flea,” from St. Vincent’s recent All Born Screaming, features interestingly jagged bass-synth sounds. Meanwhile, Professor Longhair’s “Big Chief,” in the version by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, has a prominent bass part for sousaphone. And Charlie Watts’s booming kickdrum on “Honky Tonk Women” from the Stones’ Forty Licks anthology should pound like a gut punch when the volume is turned up to a level suitable for the raunchy romp the song calls for. In all cases, the T+A R 2500 R’s power amp comported itself well.

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1870-orchard-audio-starkrimson-mono-premium-amplifier

Speaking of class-A amps, I compared the pair of Starkrimson Mono Premiums directly against my First Watt F5 stereo power amp (discontinued; $3000 when new), which is roughly their polar opposite. Both amps post near-cutting-edge distortion and noise specs, but the First Watt gets there from a different direction.

The F5 is a big, heavy, class-A push-pull transistor amp, with output MOSFETs bolted to chunky heatsinks, a hefty linear power supply fat with capacitors, and not much else—designer Nelson Pass favors designs that put as few parts in the way of the signal as possible. With these two amps coming from competing philosophies, I knew this would be a fun comparison.

At first, I was struck by how similar they sounded. Both amps circled closely around neutrality, but each offered its own distinct flavor. Replaying “Car Radio” with the F5, I heard the class-A amp thicken things up a touch, in the expected way. It provided more density and tonal color than the Starkrimsons, albeit at the expense of the micron-precise separation of the GaN amps. The flawless tonal presentation of the First Watt F5 gave the amp more verve and groove-factor, though it gave up some grip at the frequency extremes compared to the Starkrimson Mono Premiums. The Orchard amps let me hear everything in the music more clearly, however, and surprised me with their imaging prowess.

Keeping the A40 in context with the gear I’d probably pair it up with if I were building a system for about 10-15k is a home run. An out-of-the-ballpark, across the fence, into the parking lot home run. Using an older ARC SP-9 preamplifier (about $900 – used), the Naim CD5is CD player (about $2k new), a used SOTA Sapphire turntable (again about $1,500) along with the Harbeth Monitor 30 speakers, Magnepan 2.7X speakers, and the Vera-Fi Vanguards.  Altogether, these Legos were combined to build systems worth about $6,000 to about $20k.

It’s also worth mentioning that the A40 does an excellent job driving the MartinLogan ESL9s we have on hand. If you have a pair of MLs around, this can be your amplifier, too, if you don’t need to blow the windows out. Great success was had with my vintage Acoustat 2+2 ESL speakers, so this might just be a FAB amplifier to pair up with a pair of Quad 57s too. Finally, the A40 perfectly matches the new SVS Ultra Evolution Towers. We’ve got a pair of those in on review, too, and their highly resolving diamond tweeter might be a bit too much for some, but the combination of the modestly mellow A40 and the up-front SVS speakers is a killer combo.

In conclusion, the A40 is an excellent anchor for a sub-$20k hifi system without having to go used or DIY. While you can’t bridge them (again, there goes the magic), using a pair of these in a vertical biamp type system could be incredibly good for those craving more dynamic headroom.