ANT Audio "Amber" Amp Review - Prologue...

[antonik]

Here is a small article about the idea behind the circuit of the "Amber" - what makes it unique. I've published it as a Christmas present for members of DiyAudio:

http://www.ant-audio.co.uk/Theory/Pa...earisation.pdf

Alex

Edited: link to PDF file.

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn Hi Duncan, just checking in to see if there's any update on your upcoming review? I've been doing some fine listening to this amp versus my Solo recently, and I've found that the ANT still delivers more impact and punch and a wider soundstage, and the Solo has more extension high and low and a less distant presentation.

Jahn...

Due to family bereavement (and a general sense of 'writers block') and adding in the fact that the amp has to go on to a new home next week... I will now not be doing a review...

I will sumise that the amp imho is brilliant for vocals, inspiring tear jerking moments if the CD is mastered well enough... that is what I like the most about this amp... a dream in the midrange...

Overall, I would recommend this amp, and feel very bad for those concerned (especially Antonik) that I have backed out of this... If situations were different then the review would have popped out weeks ago...

Again... Sorry.

 

[immtbiker]

I had the amp...perhaps the same one...after the NYC Head-Fi Meet, and I can tell you, after one hundred hours of burn-in, it blew the pants off my Grado RA-1 (although it is almost twice the money).
The SR-71, however, dropped it a notch, in attributes such as soundstage, and portability. The ANT is AC only, due to the Class A power consumption.
It is a good amp, a $100 too much, in my opinion, and it's size is perfect for portability, but needs to be tethered to an outlet.
In all fairness to Alex, if the same amp was put in a bigger, heavier chassis, no one would know the difference (except amp dissectors), and the price would seem reasonable.

 

[Jahn]

I'm sorry to hear about your family Duncan, I hope you're doing ok. I concur with Immtbiker on all points but the soundstage, which I feel is still more expansive than the SR71. I've found a great niche for it - Live Music. I'm listening to "Free Saptal Ram" by Asian Dub Foundation and it's insane how real it feels being on the stage - and you can hear the players all spread out on the stage - the samples are insanely out of my head for being a Grado. Good mids from a can plus good mids from an amp = midlicious. Also helping the live show is the impact - live shows sometimes can feel fuzzed out on a recording, but the ANT helps that category plenty. I'm just really grooving on this ANT and if I never heard my modded Pinkie I'd have been perfectly happy with this as my home amp.

As it is I think I'm hogging this baby. I was thinking of bringing it to the minimeet on the 30th, but maybe 1911 wants a shot at it, since he's listened extensively to the RA-1 and this seems like its natural competitor.

 

[1UP]

After Alex kindly loaned me the Amber for a short time, I just wanted to give a small bump to affirm that Bangraman's review -- and Jahn's listening notes -- are spot-on; the Amber is a great sounding amp, inherently musical, with crisp, brilliant (yet never harsh) transients and a super sense of timing with percussion and bass that is mucho groovin'.

Everything I played just sounded soooo fun and nice with my DT990s...I can easily see how these would be a perfect match for Grados (but without Grado-like colourations

).

I'm looking forward to also hearing the Emerald (one step-up from the Amber), hopefully at the Nottingham meet. An entry-level model (one step-down from the Amber) could really also be a real gem. Nice!