First impressions of the Beta 22!

[pageman99]

I've seen a few impressions of the Beta22 from other folks based on short listens at various meets and everyone seems to have positive things to say. But naturally, these are based on limited listens in relatively poor conditions.

Most of the folks who own a Beta22, at this point, built the units themselves and are naturally hesitant to come forward with their own impressions as it would sound like they were beating their own drum. Perfectly understandable.

Today, my beta22 arrived and I had a chance for a couple hours of intense listening. The unit was fully tested by the builder and is fairly well broken in, but not fully so as Blackgates take a ferociously long time to fully bed in.

To give credit where credit is due, cotdt built this amp for me and was incredibly patient as we worked out the specs and casework. We must have exchanged several hundred emails over the last two months. I could tell this amp was a labor of love for him and I couldn't recommend a builder more highly.

I'll get into more detail with specs when I've more time to work up a more formal review, but lets just say that this version of the beta22 is built with boutique parts, Blackgate K-series and Silver MICAs, an absolutely stunning stepped attenuator: the Quad Mini-V from goldpt.com , solid silver wire etc. etc.

My version is a balanced 4 board version with a separate single transformer power supply. It has one set of balanced inputs and 4 single ended inputs. Outputs are one balanced headphone, 2 single ended headphone, and a set of speaker outs. We chose to use a vintage Kenwood amp case with wood sides and had a fair amount of cutting and trimming to get it up to snuff. I'm pleased with the results, to say the least.

On the front panel are the headphone jacks, volume, the 4 position selector switch and a three position gain switch as well as a speaker mute toggle switch. This version of the beta22 can drive balanced and single ended headphones simultaneously.

Interconnects are Dnm Reson solid core balanced, and Kimber Hero single ended RCA's. Power cords are Audio Magic. The source is a SACDmods Sony NS9100ES with full mods. It is fully balanced, no signal splitting anywhere. Be aware that this is a fast and impactful source of exceptional quality.

I used Senn 650's w/Zu Mobius ver2 balanced cable and a stock single ended Denon D2000.

As far as listening impressions I'll just post some of what I wrote to the builder after tonights first listen, with some expansion and revisions for clarity:

>The beta sounded terrible on first powering up, but I waited patiently, and voila! After an hour it started to open up, reaching full stride after 90 minutes.

The sound is simply stunning. I can't say much other than the Senn 650s are terrific balanced, they scale very well, with the beta22 bringing out their full potential (finally!). Still a bit too recessed at the top end for my taste (others will find the top end perfect as I like a bright top end) but the bass and mids are spectacular.

Clapton's guitar on the Cream reunion dvd is as impactful as any guitar I've ever heard, anywhere. Somewhat surprisingly, his guitar sounded more resolving and detailed than any live performance (I've been to hundreds) whether stadium, theater or club. As you've said previously the mids are very warm and tube like (with all my phones), yet with all the detail and speed of ss. And then some. The beta is so fast Ginger Bakers drums weren't just bangs, but each individual strike had a history of it's own when I focused in on them. From the original crack of the stick through the more solid thump of the middle of the impact through the decay at the end. All this on one strike, amazing. The bass of course was tightly controlled yet rich. This amp, in balanced mode, gets a death grip on the headphone drivers and wrings every bit of controlled information possible out of each bass note.

Grover Washington's sax on Blues for DP and Take Five (redbook) has real bite and the other instruments are very vibrant and lifelike and are well placed on the stage. I've seen both of these groups live (Cream, longer ago than I care to say) and the recordings do perfect justice to the way the bands setup on stage.

I've been searching for an amp that recreates the original live sound that recordings try to capture, whether on stage or in the studio. This amp is actually better than live, at least with amplified instruments, as they are clearer and more resolving than most live venue speaker equipment. The producer then gets a chance to work his magic to isolate and massage each instrument in an idealized way that no live venue can possibly capture.

The Denons single ended are quite good, but not as good, I'm sure as they would be balanced. They aren't quite as refined as the Senns, at least single ended, but I like their overall signature better.

This amp is really, really impressive and well worth the wait. I'll give it a bit more time to familiarize myself with the subtleties, but I can already tell the beta is something special. I found myself holding the earcups and focusing intently on the music. Not the sound, but the music. A rare thing, sound of such high quality, yet, so very musical.

I'm very pleased with my system at this point. There's a small bit of harshness in the upper mids, which only the fussiest of listeners might notice, but I suspect that will disappear as the system breaks in.

Plus, I've yet to listen to accoustical, classical or vocals, so there's more work to do before I can be definitive. I'm really hoping for REALISTIC instruments and REALISTIC vocals. Plus I've yet to see how well the beta22 does with recordings of lesser quality. An important factor. We'll see. But it's promising...

Ti Kan (the designer) has really outdone himself.

More to follow as I get more time with the amp...<

In my write up I didn't use the one word that I should have: transparent. This word is overused IMO, but what it means to me is that one hears the music not the recording. That's all.

As you can see, this amp has made a terrific first impression. But remember this is just a first impression, and as I become more familiar with the amp I'll expand and refine my comments. Hopefully a more formal review will be forthcoming including complete build specs and pics. Check out my new avatar. 8-)

Added some pics (sorry about the sizes). Note, more and better pics added further along in the thread by cotdt:

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z.../DSC_03281.jpg

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z.../DSC_03171.jpg

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z.../DSC_03251.jpg

[SonicArmada]

Hmm I've been considering this amp for my next rig. Mind me asking how much it cost you?

[pageman99]

Originally Posted by SonicArmada

Hmm I've been considering this amp for my next rig. Mind me asking how much it cost you?

LOL, I've gotten quite a few requests about price so I guess I'll address it here and save having to answer all the pm's.

Remember this amp has pretty much all boutique parts and can be built much cheaper. Mine includes a stepped attenuator that cost by itself $209, the gain switch was another $110 and so on. Total parts cost, I've lost track of, but it was somewhere around $1300.

Since we used a vintage amp, there was a lot of cutting and manipulating to get everything to fit. So labor was around 75 hours roughly. Again, using a standard case would save a lot of time.

I've been sworn to secrecy about my actual cost so I can't give out that number. But hopefully, you'll be able to get a ballpark for this particular amp based on my figures. Just remember, each build, and builder is unique so the prices will vary widely.

[cotdt]

Yeah this particular amp costed $1300 in parts but using cheaper parts, the parts cost can be as low as $600-$700 for a very basic balanced Beta22 build. A basic 2-channel Beta22 would cost about $350 in parts. With custom heatsinking and individual power supplies, the parts cost can easily exceed $2000. There is just such a wide variability in cost. And let's not get into 6-channel Beta22s...

[headphonejunkie]

Can this amp work for grados?Always wanted to spend a grand building an amp.

[cotdt]

yes of course, no reason why it wouldn't work. you'll have a lot of fun building the Beta22.

[headphonejunkie]

This will have to be a next year project. Or else my wife will hurt me severely.I would be curious to hear of peoples impressions of it with grados if anyone has heard this amp with grados yet.

[vcoheda]

need more pics and bigger ones. couldn't see anything wit those.

[swt61]

The vintage amp case (Kenwood?) was a unique idea, and looks to be implemented well. I'm very curious about these amps. Congrats.

[pageman99]

Originally Posted by vcoheda

need more pics and bigger ones. couldn't see anything wit those.

Bigger pics to follow including the insides. But I need time!!!!

There is a life outside headfi you know.