Audiophilepure

The center image, which was my main goal for improvement, was enhanced dramatically. The anomalies I’d been experiencing were mitigated. Midrange bumps and dips were smoothed. Vocals became more lifelike. I felt more like the image was present in the room with me. This effect was consistent and mattered not whether the image was a male or female vocal, a solo instrument, or a combination of vocals and/or instruments. The area that was formerly bare wall had come alive.

Although fixing the center image issue was my main motivation for seeking out the diffusers, the benefits I heard in spatial dimensionality across the rest of the soundstage were not only welcome, but almost amazing. Before the Q7Ds were installed, the system was performing great in the Y and Y axis, and producing what I thought was a decent depth in the Z axis. The diffusers changed all this and brought the Z axis of depth to life. Most unexpected but very welcome. The depth of virtually every recording I listened to expanded with a lovely sense of air around each instrument and voice. It became much easier to pick out individual instruments and voices. Background vocals and other off-center musical cues were a delight, and in some cases gave the music a new meaning. What does all this really mean? For the first time in my room, my system was now producing a really superior holographic 3-D imaging. This was not subtle.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way, the Centaurus doesn’t sound like old triple-crown Philips TDA1544 implementations old guys keep around to listen to female vocals exclusively. Both Holo and Topping have created a very versatile DAC that excels with physical instruments but never falters if you throw it some Moderat or even Haus Arafna. The Centaurus will gallop along wherever your musical tastes will lead. I felt that my amp choices made a larger impact on the genre versatility of the overall system.

When it comes to timbre the Centaurus is more organic than most chip-based DACs I’ve heard but less coloured than other usual-suspect R2Rs. The highlight here is the mids which are rendered in a way that translates supreme realism. Of course, it has to be there in the recording in the first place. The bass is deep and insightful but to be honest I can’t remember the last time I’ve heard bad bass from a DAC. Treble is okay but I’ve heard more finesse from some AKM-based implementations.

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/rotel-a8

Stereo imaging is fine. There is a good sense of focus and a decent amount of stability, though its Marantz rival does render a more expansive soundstage. Still, the Rotel counters with superior definition, particularly at low frequencies where it is considerably more articulate and textured than any alternative we have tested.

We try the Rotel’s moving magnet phono stage and find it perfectly acceptable. As is typical at this level there is a drop off in clarity and transparency compared to the line level inputs, but the A8’s unassuming but hugely likeable character still shines through. As we listen to Mary J Blige’s No More Drama set, it is easy to appreciate the amplifier’s musically engaging yet still composed nature

Enhancing the performance of the Silente are ASEC cables, exclusively developed by Audiomica for this revolutionary amplifier. The set includes interconnects, a power cable, and speaker cables, all engineered to meet stringent military MIL-C-5015 specifications. Equipped with proprietary Audiomica connectors, these cables are the only officially recommended choice to unleash the full potential of the Silente.