Audiophilepure

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“I pulled out several of my favorite violin LPs to hear how they would fare with the I1’s phono stage. This last year or so has seen the release of a few newly polished Bach sonatas and partitas, like Julia Fisher’s PentaTone set, recently released on vinyl [PentaTone PTC 5186 664-67] and Giuliano Carmignola’s set of CDs [Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft 483 550]. But I turned to an old favorite, Johanna Martzy’s version from her The EMI Recordings box set [Coup d’ Archet 017-19]. The I1’s phono modules tightened up Martzy’s articulation from what I usually hear listening through a tube phono stage. There was less reverberation from the strings off of the body of the instrument than I heard with the CH Precision P1 or the Audio Research Reference Phono 3. The I1 phono modules exhibited a similar lean and slightly dry signature on older Chess recordings, the ones that usually almost drip with moisture. The Best of Muddy Waters [Chess LP 1427] almost made me wish I still had a Koetsu cartridge on hand to slow things down, just enough to see the sweat drip from Muddy’s face.

But perhaps the biggest surprise came when listening to McCartney [Apple PCS 7102]. One of my favorite LPs, I keep two UK first pressings on hand as a failsafe. John was my favorite Beatle, and when I play McCartney I sometimes worry that John is looking from George’s Cloud Nine ready to wreak retribution unless I give Plastic Ono Band or Imagine equal time. Yet, as many times as I’ve heard the LP, the I1 still made me sit up and listen anew. I thought I knew every tiny nuance on this record, but there it was — an entirely new (to me) bright clicking noise of wood claves that had gone unnoticed until excavated by the I1.”

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” I’d be engaging in a stretcher, as Huck Finn likes to put, if I didn’t confess to indulging in playing some CDs and LPs by the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd at what might be safely termed robust levels. Pushed to these volumes when driving the Wilson Audio WAMMs, the amp didn’t falter but I did pick up on a hint of fatigue. Driven to reasonable SPLs, I never experienced any sense of the Amp II faltering. Rather, it offered a wealth of tonal colors and detail that made it a delight to listen to for hours on end.

When time came to part with the amp, I did so not with a heavy heart—my far more expensive Ypsilon Hyperion monoblock amplifiers are superior, which is what you would expect—but with respect and admiration for a musical amplifier that is punching beyond its weight class. This Amp II is a classic example of what Germany has become the envy of the world for—its Mittelstand, or medium-sized industry, that produces reliable and high-quality products. For anyone seeking a reasonably priced, as the high-end goes, amplifier, the Accustic Arts offers an extremely enticing design.”