Hi There,
I recently got this amp second for a nice price, about 200euros, in an almost new condition.
The idea is to pair it with my K701. So far I am using a Meier Corda Aria, but the low part of the spectrum is clearly too weak on this setup.
I took the amp out of the box, and was somehow disappointed with the build quality. a simple black metal box, level knob is looking like the one I used on my student projects (long time back ...
), and after all this is about the impression that the amp gives me : well finished student/DYI work. The face is OK though, thanks to a black plexiglass front side and the small blue led (not too bright like the Meier, I ended up putting some tape on it !) and does not look too bad next to my HiFi setup.
Back side connection is fair, nothing exceptional here again. Note the presence of a loop back connection be to able to insert the amp between the amp and the CD player, a nice and useful feature.
I tried the amp, connected it to my CD player Atoll CD100, an interesting CD player with very nice DACs and a generous 2.5V output swing, making it sounds very detailed thanks to its powerful preamp. All source used are true CDs. (everybody sells his CDs at the moment, so I get a lot of good stuff for fairly low prices
)
When I connected my K701, my first impression was OMG, as the folks said on H-Fi, this two guys really sound good together.
I wanted to check the return of some bass on my headset, and started with a track with some bass, Enya Pax Deorum. The bass was here, deep, very tight, sure not overwhelming the rest of the spectrum, but here, nicely. Good point !
The second reaction was, as this track also has a lot of mids, that nothing was lost here as well. But I felt like I've listened a bit too much of Enya over the last 10-15 yrs so I switched to something else, and took the Yael Naim CD, that I value quite much. The recording/mastering of this album is really nice, and precise. The girl happens to have also a very nice voice, so I assessed this was a good CD to check the mids of my new setup.
preview here :
Deezer : Yael Naim
Her voice was crisp, clear, and rich of details, on "new soul" track, I could hear and really enjoy her voice very nicely. Same for the "Paris" track.
I decided to switch to something more dynamic, and picked the full of energy album from "the grates". In some way RHCP's with a -loud- women.
preview here
Deezer : The Grates
On the track "rock boys", I was impressed by the punch, but also the soundstage produced. My K701 where really alive and I did not expect them so dynamic and present on that kind of music. Check for instance the track "howl".
On the down side, One point I noticed also is a bit too strong hi's, high hats are very present.
So sound wise, my rating of the amp is very good, despite the hi's aspect, and pairing with the K701 is again fully valid.
On the downside, build quality is not on top, and I ended up finding out that the loop back connector has a contact problem, need to tilt it a bit to get the left channel sent to my amp. This is something I did not see for a long time, and gives an idea of the build quality in general. Even if this problem is minor is can be fixed very easily, this is clearly disappointing.
So I'd say this amp has a clear interest since it is real good value for the money and amps capable of driving the K701 within a reasonable budget are not so common.
Time for a beer now
And, hum, Meier Corda Aria for sale ...
