Introduction
This review is going to be a little different from my prior reviews. The reason is that I have tended to review amps that are pretty inexpensive, and as such, I have tended to describe them all based on their shortcomings.
That won’t work in the case of the Apache. It does nothing “wrong”, as best I can tell. And perhaps more importantly, it does some things more “right” than I have ever heard before. It has some capabilities sonically/musically that I personally have never heard before in a headphone setup. So I will focus most of this review on those qualities.
Also, I am not going to completely describe the details of the design/operation of the Apache. Ray himself has done that in plenty of detail in
THIS THREAD. You can read all about it there, as well as look at lots of lovely pictures of the beautiful Apache. The Cliff Notes are that the Apache is a fully balanced, dual mono headphone amp/preamp with 2 each unbalanced and balanced inputs, 1 of each type of output for preamp use, one of each type of output for headphone use, a handy switch between headamp and preamp outputs, and a mute switch. The power supply is in a separate chassis. The Apache is very attractively styled, and extremely well built. To see it is to love it. But it’s listening to it that really made me fall head over heels.
Here is one pic, during its time in my main headphone-only rig:
I listened to the Apache primarily as a headphone amp, and used all of the full-sized cans I have in auditioning it (all listed in my sig). I listened mostly in unbalanced mode, but I did spend some time listening to it in Balanced mode, with some balanced HD600’s and Grado PS-1’s that Ray was nice enough to also lend me for this review. I will discuss my thoughts on balanced mode later. I also used the Apache as a preamp in place of my Krell KAV-250 (which only runs balanced to my Sunfire amp). My only balanced source is my (excellent) SimAudio Moon LP5.3 phono preamp, so my evaluations in balanced mode were done spinning vinyl. But my vinyl playback rig is more than up to audiophile snuff. All of my comments below refer to the Apache running either unbalanced or balanced, unless otherwise noted.
Listening - The Sound
I have to admit something here: I have never listened to any other headphone amps in the Apache’s $3,000 price class for any extended period of time. I have heard Ray’s own B-52 for a few minutes. I own the wonderful Meier Audio Opera, but it’s “only” $1,100. I also have heard (and have on order) the excellent (and also $1,100) Blue Circle Audio SBH. But I only heard it for 30 minutes or so. So perhaps, in a way, and much to my surprise, I was unprepared for some of what the Apache could do.
The Apache is, as I define it, completely transparent, to a degree I have not heard before in a headphone amp. No grain, no noise, no haze – just a completely wide open window to the music. I hesitate to even call it a window. The Apache put me IN the music in a way no other headphone amp has. In addition to the breathtaking transparency, the Apache has soundstaging capabilities that I quite frankly thought were impossible with a headphone amp. The soundstage is impossibly wide, incredibly deep, and unbelievably well defined. I truly thought this sort of image specificity was limited to loudspeaker setups until now. All of my high-end headphones were capable of incredible soundstaging via the Apache. It was a revelation in this regard. None of the other amps I had on hand to listen to could throw this convincing a soundstage, including the Meier Opera, which until the Apache had the best soundstaging capabilities I had heard. Perhaps it is the completely dual-mono design? I’m not sure, but I have to say, it was darned impressive. If the Apache had no other capabilities out of the ordinary other than this, I would say it was worth the asking price.
Ah, but the good news is, the Apache has more treats in store for its owner. The other thing that struck me time after time, song after song, is the way in which the Apache is able to make instruments sound REAL. The great imaging and transparency are part of what makes this true, but there is more than that. The Apache has an almost tube-like warmth and lushness, but in addition to (or in spite of?) that, is still the most detailed headphone amp I have ever heard. So things like brushes on a snare drum; the attack of a tom-tom strike; the pluck of strings – these things were conveyed with a level of realism I had previously only heard with my big B&W speakers and my Krell/Sunfire amplification. That’s $6,000 of amplification driving $20,000 loudspeakers. I got the same sort of amazing sound from the Apache and a sub-$1,000 pair of headphones.
This, to me, was stunning. I spent the first week I had the Apache just repeatedly listening to music, stunned by how, time after time, I could hear things in recordings that I didn’t remember ever hearing before. And all of this was with a RedWineAudio iMod iPod as the source, and obviously unbalanced. I guess I would call this “resolution", and certainly as I have seen others use that term in describing hi-fi products, it makes the Apache the highest resolution headphone amp I have heard.
So what about all the other audiophile “stuff”? Tight, powerful, punchy, deep bass? Check. Open, airy, clean, detailed treble? Yup. Blah, blah, blah, etc. etc. The thing about the Apache is that it did all of those sorts of things so well that I just didn’t HEAR them. What I did hear, as described above, were things I wasn’t used to hearing, at least not as well as I could through the Apache.
So do I have any criticism? Not really, but there is a consideration to be had (outside of course the critical issue of price, which I will address later). The Apache uses a discrete output/buffer stage, with bipolar transistors. However, the input/gain stage uses changeable op-amps. According to Ray, this gives the ability to change the sound quite a bit. With the Analog Devices op-amps in my review pair (which will be the default for the Apache), the amp slightly on the warm and sweet side of neutral. Because of its amazing transparency, resolution, and detail, the warmth doesn’t come at a cost, even when playing vinyl, for me. But none of my sources, even the Moon phono preamp, are overly warm. If you have a super-warm source, you may want to consult with Ray on a different op-amp. I don’t know to what degree that would change the rest of the sound, though, so do so at your own risk.
Balancing Act
OK, so what differences does balanced operation make? I was able to test the Apache as a headphone amp running completely balanced, and completely unbalanced. However, it was not a perfect test. First, I was using borrowed balanced headphones that I am not intimately familiar with. Second, I then had to use a cable adapter to convert them back to balanced, and then adjust for the inherent differences in volume level that you get between balanced and unbalanced. So I have some opinions on the differences, but they are not conclusive. Further, they were not profound. Fully balanced, the soundstage seems to be slightly wider and more vivid, but again, even unbalanced, the Apache is a champ here. Also, the bass seems to be a little deeper and better defined.
Beyond that, I found the difference between balanced and unbalanced to be fleeting, with the headphones I had available to listen to the Apache in balanced mode. When my very own Apache actually arrives, I am going to have my DT880/600’s re-cabled to be balanced. I will then be able to follow-up on this topic more. Just as an aside not specifically related to the Apache, if you are a real vinyl-head, and you use a low output moving coil cartridge, I cannot recommend a balanced phono amp strongly enough – the inherent extra gain from balanced mode, and the lower noise floor, pay big benefits in vinyl playback.
Preamp Use
As for use as a pre-amp, the RSA amp was slightly better sounding than my Krell KAV-250, but it wasn’t significantly better, or uniformly. The RSA amp is slightly warmer sounding than the similarly priced Krell, but as good as the Apache is, the Krell is still the detail champion. The Krell can sometimes sound a little too analytical, though, and the Apache never does. I won’t be replacing the Krell with the Apache, though, because I rarely listen to headphones in my “speaker” hi-fi. And the Krell has a remote control, which for the speaker hi-fi is needed. Most of my headphone listening is done at night, in my bedside rig, which is where I will use my Apache.
Conclusions
So this has been an unqualified rave, to be sure. But before some of you dismiss this as the rantings of some crazed RSA fanboy, let’s get this straight – I have always been a Meier amp guy. I own a Tomahawk, and I think Ray’s portable amps are very good, although I think the Larocco PRII betters the RSA portable amps. And I preferred my Meier amps to the less expensive RSA home amps I have heard. But the Apache tips the scales in the other direction. As good as the Meier Opera is -- and it is very, very good indeed -- the Apache, to me, sounded better in every single possible way. There were no exceptions. And prior to the Apache, the Opera was the best headphone amp I have ever heard. It is now the second best. Is the Apache worth 3x the price? Only you can decide that. The differences are, to me, plainly audible, but like all things in high end audio, these differences are somewhat subtle.
Hmmm…did I say a couple of times “my Apache”? You bet I did. I have no intention in living without what the Apache delivers. Fortunately for me, by selling some other gear I have around, I am able to afford it. $3000 is a LOT of money to spend on a headphone amp. But for me, given how much enjoyment the Apache will give me, it’s a no-brainer. The Apache will become my main home headphone amp, when mine arrives. The sample I have been reviewing will have to back to Ray before mine is done, and I will be very sad when I am without it. It’s a truly impressive piece of gear.
REVIEW: Ray Samuels Audio “Apache” balanced headphone amp/preamp
