Berlioz
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2009
- Posts
- 249
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Because I don't think that I have enough equipment to do this amplifier justice, I'm going to hold off on doing a full review. What follows, is merely my first impressions of the product; a sort of mini-review.
(Click for a bigger picture!)
Attachment 19931
It's safe to say that today is going extremely well. I slept in, only waking to the sound of the doorbell, and saw a pretty cute UPS girl at my doorstep. She seemed taken aback at my groggy appearance, but didn't hesitate to ding me for $80 in brokerage fees. "D-N-A Audio...what's in the box?" she asked.
I realized I didn't have any socks on. "A headphone amplifier." She raised an eyebrow, looking slightly confused until *SLAM* - I closed the door. Well, that takes care of that, onto the review!
Packaging
The outer cardboard box was certainly dented and bruised, obviously a veteran of the belt driven horrors that are the UPS distribution centres. However, the amplifier inside was spotless. There wasn't even a mote of dust on the entire unit; I have to say I'm very impressed. It came with firm, molded foam inserts, and a variety of plastic covers. The power cables and tubes came in a separate bag, which was also padded with bubble wrap. There was no shipping damage to anything, whatsoever.
Aesthetics
People say that the looks don't really matter...fine, but this amplifier looks ridiculously good. I think Donald was going for an art deco look here - he nailed it. The blue colour is actually a lot deeper than it looks on his website, and it looks great. The unit itself is also bigger than I thought it would be, with quite a bit of heft to it. My dad (40+ years of metal fabricating experience) said that the workmanship on the chassis was some of the best he's ever seen. I didn't really understand what he was talking about, but apparently the way the corners have been pressed together, and the way the piece of metal has been cut, is very well done.
There are labels for the tube sockets, and the the protruding components all line up perfectly. The rear panel is uncluttered; the entire amp just screams efficiency and minimalism. The tubes don't light up like a lantern either, having a dull orange glow at their extremities. People who like to see bright, molten red mesh plates might be a bit turned off by this, but it's a non issue for myself.
Personally, I think Donald should put more pictures of the unit up on his site, as the ones he currently has don't quite capture it.
Sound
I have no DAC yet, so I used my Denon DN-C615 as a transport and source. It's a very clean CD player, and it definitely shone through the Sonett. For monitoring, I used my Shure SE530's. I realize that this situation is far from ideal, which is why this is a mini review!
With no outboard DAC, and a pair of IEM's, you'd expect this amplifier to perform pretty poorly. Thankfully, I like surprises. First things first, this amp is amazingly quiet. Honestly, I have to resort to expletives just to describe how quiet it is. There is zero hum when the SE530's are plugged in. Considering how many tube amps I've tried, and how often I hear that dreaded, resonating hum, I am blown away that this amp can sound so quiet.
As for music, I threw all of my favourite recordings at it. At first, the pile of CD's was pretty small, but as I found what this amplifier is capable of doing for my recordings, it grew and grew, until maybe half of my collection was sitting on the kitchen table. I'll start at the low end of the audible range.
For bass, this amp is probably the best I've ever heard. While House is not exactly a genre associated with audiophiles, I like it a lot, and I always demo amps with a least one House album, and I am almost always disappointed. This amp has extremely tight, bouncy, punchy bass. There is something else going on though, and I'll try to describe it as best I can. The bass seems to know it's place. The low bass sinks under the mid bass and upper bass, when you want it to, but really hits you in the chest when it should. The upper bass in particular is like nothing I've ever heard. It dives in and out, always present, always well defined. I ended up hearing a lot of small, subtle transients, which added a whole new dimension onto one of my favourite genres.
For the mid range, this amp has that characteristic tubey smoothness, only it takes it one step further. It also has that sparkle, that...analytical neutrality that you'd find in an SS amp. I played some acoustic flamenco guitar, as well as some Clapton and Dylan, and it was hard to take it all in at once. The guitar is so edgy and real, but the voice is so smooth and believable. At no point did I feel that the sound had been smoothed over so much that I was losing detail. Rather, it seemed like I was getting all the details, with a very smooth and lucid presentation.
The amplifier has the exact same qualities for the treble as it does for the midrange. I can't say that it's more analytical than any SS amp that I've heard; my friends SPL Phonitor may even be more analytical. However, it is much more musical and involving than any SS amp I remember hearing. My friend plans to bring over his Phonitor for some head to head comparisons. I look forward to making a tube convert out of him.
Summary
Alright, this review was actually pretty long. However, I think the amplifier is definitely deserving of such praise. I wouldn't hesitate to send something back if I wasn't satisified with it, but there's literally nothing wrong I can say about the Sonett. But don't believe me, try and find someone who's willing to lend you one, and experience it for yourself.
It's minimalistic design and presentation is exactly what a headphone amplifier should be, at least in my opinion. The faithful, yet musical sound it produces is something that I've yet to hear from another tube amp (which have always sounded slightly warm to me). I'll sum it up with one of my favourite quotes:
"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupry
(Click for a bigger picture!)
Attachment 19931
It's safe to say that today is going extremely well. I slept in, only waking to the sound of the doorbell, and saw a pretty cute UPS girl at my doorstep. She seemed taken aback at my groggy appearance, but didn't hesitate to ding me for $80 in brokerage fees. "D-N-A Audio...what's in the box?" she asked.
I realized I didn't have any socks on. "A headphone amplifier." She raised an eyebrow, looking slightly confused until *SLAM* - I closed the door. Well, that takes care of that, onto the review!
Packaging
The outer cardboard box was certainly dented and bruised, obviously a veteran of the belt driven horrors that are the UPS distribution centres. However, the amplifier inside was spotless. There wasn't even a mote of dust on the entire unit; I have to say I'm very impressed. It came with firm, molded foam inserts, and a variety of plastic covers. The power cables and tubes came in a separate bag, which was also padded with bubble wrap. There was no shipping damage to anything, whatsoever.
Aesthetics
People say that the looks don't really matter...fine, but this amplifier looks ridiculously good. I think Donald was going for an art deco look here - he nailed it. The blue colour is actually a lot deeper than it looks on his website, and it looks great. The unit itself is also bigger than I thought it would be, with quite a bit of heft to it. My dad (40+ years of metal fabricating experience) said that the workmanship on the chassis was some of the best he's ever seen. I didn't really understand what he was talking about, but apparently the way the corners have been pressed together, and the way the piece of metal has been cut, is very well done.
There are labels for the tube sockets, and the the protruding components all line up perfectly. The rear panel is uncluttered; the entire amp just screams efficiency and minimalism. The tubes don't light up like a lantern either, having a dull orange glow at their extremities. People who like to see bright, molten red mesh plates might be a bit turned off by this, but it's a non issue for myself.
Personally, I think Donald should put more pictures of the unit up on his site, as the ones he currently has don't quite capture it.
Sound
I have no DAC yet, so I used my Denon DN-C615 as a transport and source. It's a very clean CD player, and it definitely shone through the Sonett. For monitoring, I used my Shure SE530's. I realize that this situation is far from ideal, which is why this is a mini review!
With no outboard DAC, and a pair of IEM's, you'd expect this amplifier to perform pretty poorly. Thankfully, I like surprises. First things first, this amp is amazingly quiet. Honestly, I have to resort to expletives just to describe how quiet it is. There is zero hum when the SE530's are plugged in. Considering how many tube amps I've tried, and how often I hear that dreaded, resonating hum, I am blown away that this amp can sound so quiet.
As for music, I threw all of my favourite recordings at it. At first, the pile of CD's was pretty small, but as I found what this amplifier is capable of doing for my recordings, it grew and grew, until maybe half of my collection was sitting on the kitchen table. I'll start at the low end of the audible range.
For bass, this amp is probably the best I've ever heard. While House is not exactly a genre associated with audiophiles, I like it a lot, and I always demo amps with a least one House album, and I am almost always disappointed. This amp has extremely tight, bouncy, punchy bass. There is something else going on though, and I'll try to describe it as best I can. The bass seems to know it's place. The low bass sinks under the mid bass and upper bass, when you want it to, but really hits you in the chest when it should. The upper bass in particular is like nothing I've ever heard. It dives in and out, always present, always well defined. I ended up hearing a lot of small, subtle transients, which added a whole new dimension onto one of my favourite genres.
For the mid range, this amp has that characteristic tubey smoothness, only it takes it one step further. It also has that sparkle, that...analytical neutrality that you'd find in an SS amp. I played some acoustic flamenco guitar, as well as some Clapton and Dylan, and it was hard to take it all in at once. The guitar is so edgy and real, but the voice is so smooth and believable. At no point did I feel that the sound had been smoothed over so much that I was losing detail. Rather, it seemed like I was getting all the details, with a very smooth and lucid presentation.
The amplifier has the exact same qualities for the treble as it does for the midrange. I can't say that it's more analytical than any SS amp that I've heard; my friends SPL Phonitor may even be more analytical. However, it is much more musical and involving than any SS amp I remember hearing. My friend plans to bring over his Phonitor for some head to head comparisons. I look forward to making a tube convert out of him.
Summary
Alright, this review was actually pretty long. However, I think the amplifier is definitely deserving of such praise. I wouldn't hesitate to send something back if I wasn't satisified with it, but there's literally nothing wrong I can say about the Sonett. But don't believe me, try and find someone who's willing to lend you one, and experience it for yourself.
It's minimalistic design and presentation is exactly what a headphone amplifier should be, at least in my opinion. The faithful, yet musical sound it produces is something that I've yet to hear from another tube amp (which have always sounded slightly warm to me). I'll sum it up with one of my favourite quotes:
"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupry
