stuartfang
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2012
- Posts
- 123
- Likes
- 79
Greetings! I would just like to say thanks for taking the time to read this review, as it is very useful in helping everyone understand one should not buy a Carot One Fabriziolo.
In general:
To be frank, unfortunately this amp is very resembling to that of the $80 Muse T-20 tube amp, also sporting a Russian 6922 tube. The looks, specifications, and everything. However this do have a RCA input at the back, a 3.5mm speaker line-out, and an audio-in at the front, making it better equipped for a mid-fi environment. It is semi working, so if you have speakers preamped from the back, it will not play through the speakers anymore if you plug headphones in through the front 3.5mm out.
When listening to the HD 600 and 650 from this amp, much detail was lost, transparency decreased, with more coloured, bright sound signature. Should have expected this from a class D amplifier. The Schiit Asgard 2 blow the Carot One out of the water. I can't say it's bad sounding, there may be those that prefer this kind of tube amp sound.
I don't know if it's made in Japan or Italy, can't find much information about the company "Carot One," except on Japanese audio blogs or online store websites (open item, acoustic-technologies), but no information about the origin of the company. On the manual it says it is made in Japan, but I doubt it. Nothing about it is too special or interesting to mention, it feels exactly like the Muse T-20. Personally I would definitely recommend to stay away from Carot One products, for very good reasons such as the aforementioned factors.
Performance:
A very important notice: Through any headphones plugged into it from the front 3.5mm output, there is a loud audible hiss around 30-50dba, making it very bothersome when idle. Yet it still does not completely disappear when playing audio. Tried difference power adapters, RCA cables connecting to my DAC (Audinst HUD-mx1, Cambridge Audio DacMagic, Little Dot DAC_I), and different audio players, and many many different setups, either would fix the situation.
From an individual point of view (not comparing with the T-20 or any other amp), through the Audinst, it made everything sound warmer, colored, and not neutral. It put forth a musical sounding filter to all my music, and through all my equipments available. This accommodation isn't a bad thing for anyone that prefers exciting, life-sounding music. But for anything looking for hi-fi, accurate, and neutral sound, this amp will ruin everything for you! Through the Cambridge and the Little Dot, it sort of made the sound stage narrower, the instruments more merged and less layered, and of course, warmer as well.
With the Audinst and DacMagic, the sound is brighter than a Muse T-20, which I bought just to see if there is any difference in sound. I believe this could be due to a different chipset or a different structured logic board from the T-20. The Tube may be switched, but it involves taking apart the entire amp. It has a brighter signature, and when using the preamp, it makes the sound narrower (less width in soundstage), but with more musical warmth and detailed textures, especially in the mids.
Gallery:
Some images of amp and setup for reference, apologizes for the poor/mediocre quality
Overall:
Is it worth the $300 dollar price tag? Not really. Get an Asgard 2 and you will not regret it over this orange abomination. To be honest this is just a re-branded Muse T-20 with such minor differences, not living up to its price tag. I would say it has a very unique sound signature, better spec'd or a better re-designed version of the Chinese Muse T-20, but these alone improvements are certainly worth the 60% increase in price, as well. I would say this is worth around $200 brand new or mint the MOST, $100 a steal.
I hope this review helped. I really have nothing much to say about this amp when I found out its extremely, bothering similarity to the Muse, hardware wise.
In general:
To be frank, unfortunately this amp is very resembling to that of the $80 Muse T-20 tube amp, also sporting a Russian 6922 tube. The looks, specifications, and everything. However this do have a RCA input at the back, a 3.5mm speaker line-out, and an audio-in at the front, making it better equipped for a mid-fi environment. It is semi working, so if you have speakers preamped from the back, it will not play through the speakers anymore if you plug headphones in through the front 3.5mm out.
When listening to the HD 600 and 650 from this amp, much detail was lost, transparency decreased, with more coloured, bright sound signature. Should have expected this from a class D amplifier. The Schiit Asgard 2 blow the Carot One out of the water. I can't say it's bad sounding, there may be those that prefer this kind of tube amp sound.
I don't know if it's made in Japan or Italy, can't find much information about the company "Carot One," except on Japanese audio blogs or online store websites (open item, acoustic-technologies), but no information about the origin of the company. On the manual it says it is made in Japan, but I doubt it. Nothing about it is too special or interesting to mention, it feels exactly like the Muse T-20. Personally I would definitely recommend to stay away from Carot One products, for very good reasons such as the aforementioned factors.
Performance:
A very important notice: Through any headphones plugged into it from the front 3.5mm output, there is a loud audible hiss around 30-50dba, making it very bothersome when idle. Yet it still does not completely disappear when playing audio. Tried difference power adapters, RCA cables connecting to my DAC (Audinst HUD-mx1, Cambridge Audio DacMagic, Little Dot DAC_I), and different audio players, and many many different setups, either would fix the situation.
From an individual point of view (not comparing with the T-20 or any other amp), through the Audinst, it made everything sound warmer, colored, and not neutral. It put forth a musical sounding filter to all my music, and through all my equipments available. This accommodation isn't a bad thing for anyone that prefers exciting, life-sounding music. But for anything looking for hi-fi, accurate, and neutral sound, this amp will ruin everything for you! Through the Cambridge and the Little Dot, it sort of made the sound stage narrower, the instruments more merged and less layered, and of course, warmer as well.
With the Audinst and DacMagic, the sound is brighter than a Muse T-20, which I bought just to see if there is any difference in sound. I believe this could be due to a different chipset or a different structured logic board from the T-20. The Tube may be switched, but it involves taking apart the entire amp. It has a brighter signature, and when using the preamp, it makes the sound narrower (less width in soundstage), but with more musical warmth and detailed textures, especially in the mids.
Gallery:
Some images of amp and setup for reference, apologizes for the poor/mediocre quality
Overall:
Is it worth the $300 dollar price tag? Not really. Get an Asgard 2 and you will not regret it over this orange abomination. To be honest this is just a re-branded Muse T-20 with such minor differences, not living up to its price tag. I would say it has a very unique sound signature, better spec'd or a better re-designed version of the Chinese Muse T-20, but these alone improvements are certainly worth the 60% increase in price, as well. I would say this is worth around $200 brand new or mint the MOST, $100 a steal.
I hope this review helped. I really have nothing much to say about this amp when I found out its extremely, bothering similarity to the Muse, hardware wise.
