Apex Peak/Volcano Review - Page 17

I was suppose to have the Shug but it went microphone in shipping.  I've emailed Todd but unless they get 1 year, not holding my breath.

I didn't know what I was missing in Mike Oldfield's The Songs of Distant Earth until I got this amplifier.  It was like listening to a new album.  

And its official... the Peak is awesome!

I finished my comparison of the Burson Soloist and the Peak and its was a complete stomp.  

Some background.  If we go back a few months I ran a comparison of 5 amps.  The GS-1, HeadOne, WA22, B22 and LF.  Long story short I ranked them B22 > WA22 > HeadOne > GS-1 > LF and sold all but the B22.  Along came the Soloist and on first run it bested the B22 in clarity, separation by such a margin that I packed the B22 for sale.  But while I was burning in the Syl BB I started to notice that the clarity was at the cost of a bottom end.  It wasn't simply tight, its was MIA.

So given that running the Soloist v B22 again was pointless if the Peak was better... I ran the Soloist against the Peak and I completed the review for the sake of completion-ism but it was pretty obvious within a few songs that it was academic.  The Peak is simply effortless.  Its dynamic, fast, has great body and incredible clarity with a pitch black background.  Its, for now, simply the best I've heard with the LCD-3.

Colour me impressed.  And to think based on some comments here and in 'professional' reviews I was pretty sure I was bringing it in simply to rule it out :O

Fingers crossed it holds against the B22 tomorrow because frankly its a whee bit more desktop friendly ;)

Forgot to mention.  Performance aside, the case could do with being beefed up some.  Its pretty easy to get the tube to be microphonic and its the only amp I tested that picks up my BlackBerry traffic like a $5 computer speaker :p

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solude 

And its official... the Peak is awesome!

 

I finished my comparison of the Burson Soloist and the Peak and its was a complete stomp.  

 

Some background.  If we go back a few months I ran a comparison of 5 amps.  The GS-1, HeadOne, WA22, B22 and LF.  Long story short I ranked them B22 > WA22 > HeadOne > GS-1 > LF and sold all but the B22.  Along came the Soloist and on first run it bested the B22 in clarity, separation by such a margin that I packed the B22 for sale.  But while I was burning in the Syl BB I started to notice that the clarity was at the cost of a bottom end.  It wasn't simply tight, its was MIA.

 

So given that running the Soloist v B22 again was pointless if the Peak was better... I ran the Soloist against the Peak and I completed the review for the sake of completion-ism but it was pretty obvious within a few songs that it was academic.  The Peak is simply effortless.  Its dynamic, fast, has great body and incredible clarity with a pitch black background.  Its, for now, simply the best I've heard with the LCD-3.

 

Colour me impressed.  And to think based on some comments here and in 'professional' reviews I was pretty sure I was bringing it in simply to rule it out :O

 

Fingers crossed it holds against the B22 tomorrow because frankly its a whee bit more desktop friendly ;)

It makes me kind of sad you arent putting all that into the same thread you were using before :( i heard today that you had been comparing the soloist but it was in the soloist thread....anywho, im happy i caught this here at least. The Peak is one of the amps i would love to hear from everything ive heard about it. Mike at Headfonia also loved it to pieces

The next step is to try different tubes.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoupRKnowva 

It makes me kind of sad you arent putting all that into the same thread you were using before :( 

Me too but there seems to be a limit to the title characters ;)

I'll probably make a B22 v Peak v Soloist v Mjolnir thread later though.  

good to see some life in the peak thread again
 

Finished my B22 v Peak run and everything I thought about the B22 v Soloist hold true which means the Peak thoroughly smashed both.  The joke... now I wonder about the Arete.  Could it be a Peak with no fuss?

From what I've read, the Arete is an excellent option for those not wanting to deal with tubes, and it has a warmer, slightly more colored sound, but the Peak reigns supreme. Only the Pinnacle can knock the Peak off it's high horse, and well it should for 10k. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solude 

Finished my B22 v Peak run and everything I thought about the B22 v Soloist hold true which means the Peak thoroughly smashed both.  The joke... now I wonder about the Arete.  Could it be a Peak with no fuss?

I was thinking the same thing. It's a shame this gem has been overlooked by the majority of audiophiles.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tme110 

good to see some life in the peak thread again
 

I have this one but haven't listened to it since getting the P/V, I'll have to give it another try.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audio-Omega 

I didn't know what I was missing in Mike Oldfield's The Songs of Distant Earth until I got this amplifier.  It was like listening to a new album.  

Remind me was the greenish light on the Peak changed to match the Volcano or vice versa?  Stupid I know but if I order a Arete I want matching LEDs :p  Despite never turning my gear off ;)

my peak is older and has blue lights like most of my other gear, the volcano has a green light.
 

mine too. I keep the volcano at maximum distance from the peak (almost at floor level) and I have it reversed so the back is the front and I can easily reach the power switch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tme110 

my peak is older and has blue lights like most of my other gear, the volcano has a green light.