Battle of the Titans: Who Makes the Best Solid-State Preamp and Amp?
An interesting shootout is shaping up chez Valin.
As some of you already know from previous posts and blogs (see www.avguide.com/blog/best-amp-ever-soulution-710-amplifier), I’ve had the Soulution 710 stereo amp, the Soulution 700 monoblock amplifiers, and the Soulution 720 preamplifier in house for quite awhile. As I’ve already noted, they’re simply terrific—standard-settingly low in distortion and extremely high in resolution. But they’re about to get some serious competition.
Next week I’ll be getting the BALabo (Bridge Audio Laboratory) BC-1 Mk II control amplifier (linestage preamp) and the BP-1 Mk II stereo amplifier, and roughly the week after that I will be getting the Technical Brain TBC-Zero preamp and TBP-Zero monoblocks. Both the BALabo stuff and the Technical Brain gear are every bit as expensive as the ultra-pricey Soulution gear—in fact, at $60k the BALabo control amplifier is the single most expensive linestage preamp I’ve ever come across. Both are also extremely innovative products from two of Japan’s foremost ultra-high-end designers, Fumio Ohashi of BALabo and Naoto Kurosawa of Technical Brain (whom I spent a good deal of very enjoyable time with on my recent trip to Japan and blogged about at www.avguide.com/blog/high-end-audio-japan-part-four-solid-state-technical-brain).
The Technical Brain amp and preamp, which I heard sound marvelous with Apogee Duettas at Mr. Kurosawa’s charming shop in Kawagoe, are truly remarkable products. (Robert Harley, who got a chance to “lift the hood” on TB’s TBP-Zero monoblocks and TBC-Zero preamp at a CES a couple of years ago, confirmed that their circuits are genuinely innovative and that their build-quality is outstanding even by ultra-high-end standards.) Neither the amp nor the preamp uses emitter resistors or mechanical contacts (relays, lines fuses). Both use newly developed flat-coil EI core transformers in chassis where the finest most carefully selected components and wires are painstakingly arranged to ensure the shortest signal paths and to eliminate vibration. Both are fully balanced. Both are handmade. Both have won every award that Japanese high-end audio magazines give out for excellence. Both are little known in the U.S.
I haven’t heard the BALabo amp and preamp in a well-designed listening room yet, like I have the Technical Brain products. But I did hear them sound positively marvelous three years ago at CES driving Magico M6s and again last year at CES driving Perfect8 Technologies' The Force. Like the Technical Brain amp and preamp (and the Soulution gear), the BALabo products are beautifully made and, technically, unusually innovative. The BC-1 Mk II preamp, for example, uses a novel “Post Attenuation” scheme that avoids signal degradation by amplifying line level signals immediately at the input stage prior to reaching the volume control. The volume control, which has 58 positions and is said to be accurate to within 0.2dB at every one of those positions, is itself a truly heroic bit of engineering that must cost a fortune to make (and certainly costs a fortune to buy). The BP-1 Mk II amp is just as amazing.
Naturally, both the BALabo and the Technical Brain electronics “spec out” extraordinarily well (although, in the game of specsmanship, any amp or preamp will be hard-pressed to outdo the Soulution gear). In any event, for a few months at least, I’m going to get the chance to hear some of the very best ultra-high-end solid-state components that East or West can offer. I will blog about BALabo and Technical Brain as soon as I’ve had a chance to listen to them and to form an opinion about their sound and how each compares to the other and to Soulution’s 700 and 720 with the great Magico M5 loudspeaker.
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Comments
Oh JV....I thought my other favorite reviewer CP was gonna beat you to it.but oh boy, i'm excited to read about that stuff............i wish i lived in your neck of the woods........you've got the best job in the world.
You know what's funny. I do love the blogs but i think it has taken away some of the thrill of going to B&N and excitedly purchasing my copy of TAS.......since there was no other place to get my dose of your flavor-ful writing. it seems that the write-ups have been getting shorter........i believe that's due to the blogs......please save some for the mag.......i like returning to them at different times.......it helps me focus on making that money to experience some of the joy you reviewers feel.in my own space. I admit! I'm A JUNKIE
Hi Jon,
It will be interesting to see which one wins the "best" competion in your house. Maybe you should start some kind of rating system, like they do with wine. All of these products should be excellent but different at the same time. I think that is what a lot of readers really want to understand. Where are they similar and how do they differ. I know that you are using one speaker and one listening room to make these observations but at least there is consistency there and somewhere to start.
Any chance you might be able to compare some of the good ole US made high line products as well?
zead,
Sometimes this job is terrifically interesting and entertaining--this solid-state "comparo" being one of those occasions. As for my articles getting shorter, I just completed the single longest feature I've ever written for TAS in almost twenty years--my review of the Magico M5--so hang in there.
Jon
Elliot,
It will be very interesting, indeed, although, as you said, I expect each of these products will have its own points of interest. At this state of the art, I very much doubt that any one thing is going to "wipe out" the other. I'll certainly do my best to describe the differences among the three contenders here on-line. Each will get its own review in the magazine, starting with the Soulution (which I've listened to the longest).
As for U.S. (or Candadian) gear, I'd like to throw a Bryston product into the mix because of its incredibly good price-to-performance ratio, and maybe a Symphonic Line. I'd also be interested in an EVO combo from Krell and in top-line Spectral. This last won't happen, but the other two may be (faint) possibilities. The trouble is that manufacturers, particularly here in the States, generally don't like their products to be compared to other top contenders. They prefer "stand-alone" reviews. I do, too, really, and as I said each of these three will get its own review in TAS. OTOH, I think any reader has to be curious about how components at this level of excellence compare. I certainly am. So expect a good deal of blogging and a thread on this very subject.
Jon
I have the newsest Bryston 28sst monos and they are really good. It would be interesting to see how they hold up against these super expensive amps. I have had the Evo 2 pre and 900 monos and adding some of these to your sojourn would be very interesting and there are a few others as well.
Have fun and I look foward to reading the results.
JV, looking forward to your comments. I would also throw the Boulder 2000 series in the mix for the "heavy weight crown". Their mono amps, pre, and phono are some of the best solid state or tube products that I have heard.
I thought the Boulders sounded exceptional at 2009 CES (with the Wilson MAXX Series III). But I'm not sure I can get the 2000 series. Plus, where the hell am I going to put all this stuff? It's going to be tough enough already.
Elliot, Why not help out poor Jon and lend him your EVO's or Brystons to go up against the wonderfare from Japan? Jon suggests he's not sure he could acquire them easily otherwise. You could really help make it an interesting horse race by sponsoring the loan of one of the US contenders. I know its hard to sell what you don't have on the floor but perhaps you'd be willing to loan either of them to Jon for a modest review period of a few weeks?
Marty,
I appreciate the suggestion, but I can't review any piece of equipment that hasn't been "officially" loaned to me for review in the magazine by the manufacturer. So...even if Elliot were willing, I couldn't take him up on the offer. But don't give up hope. I really will try to get some American ultra-high-end solid-state amps/preamps in house, too. Frankly I'm just as curious as you are about how they would fare against the competition from overseas.
Jon
JV, good point. Space at your place will be at a premium. Wait, here's an idea! Why not store the gear you are NOT using at my place! That way you can have your shootout and not worry about the space concerns. Should I send you a shipping address for the Soulution amp, pre and player?? Take care man and good luck with your ultra high-end comparisons. So far, the North American solid state recommendations include: Bryston, Krell Evo, Boulder.
<<Space at your place will be at a premium. Wait, here's an idea! Why not store the gear you are NOT using at my place! >>
Ralph,
Great minds must think alike because this is precisely what I proposed to Alon Wolf about the Magico M5. Why keep them in a warehouse or showroom or U-Haul when my listening room was available, free of charge? Unfortunately, and amazingly I actually predicted this very turn of events (I must be psychic or something), the speakers were irreparably damaged while on loan at my house. I'm sure that Alon wouldn't want them back in the sad condition they're now in. I'll just keep 'em around for nostalgia's sake. The way I see it, I'm actually doing Wolf a favor taking these pieces of junk off his hands.
JV
I have listened to the BAlabo several times at the Magico dealer in HK. They are terrific... but when you pair them with the Model 6, you just don't know which is contributing what...
WSlam,
See if you can arrange an audition of the BALabo with the M5s. I can already tell you that this is a combination to die for. Simply a gorgeous sound!
JV
Oh that's just digging the hole tooooo deep! =)
What about FM Acoustics and Goldmund?! Wow all from Switzerland (and Soulution too!)
I don't have enough experience with current FM Acoustics or Goldmund preamps and amps to comment, save to note that in the past both of these brands have sounded terrific and I'm sure they're still great.
Hei
What about some Mcintosh stuff?
I'd love to hear your take on the new Levinson 53/532.
I haven't been completely happy with the change in "house sound" since ML's move and I'm curious whether these latest products continue in that vein.
I think I am typing to deaf ears but an obvious choice is the Ayre MX-R Amps and KX-R Pre-Amp.
Can't see how you can overlook these AT ALL!
I have an old Sansui receiver and AR3a's. These would be fantastic contenders against any of the above, including the broken down POS Magico. Also, I can lend you my KLH table radio if the above won't do.
JV
I would urge you to check out the top of the line Viola spirito preamplifier. i have listen to most of the gear that have been mention on this board and in my opinion viola (made in USA) is a really a great contender in ultra hiend quality sonics reproduction. it surpass every thing i have experience and expected.. the price is very stiff but well worth it. for the solid state power amp, i would like you to consider Karan 650 mono block. this is also another diamond in the mud unit which monsterly powerful and but sweet and finess like butterfly.
cheers
I appreciate all the good suggestions, fellas, but there is a limit to what I can handle and my listening room can hold--and I think three top contenders (two pairs of gigantic monoblocks and one gigantic stereo amp plus three big preamps) may be it. There will, I hope, be time to audition some of these others at a later point.
The BALabo gear arrived yesterday and I will be starting a separate thread about it soon. If first impressions count, I can already tell you (on the basis of about ten hours of listening) that this is, along with the MBL 6010 D/9011, the most gorgeous-sounding solid-state gear I've ever heard--not quite as dead neutral as Soulution, but every bit as high in resolution, possibly more dynamic (I'm not sure of this yet), warmer and a shade darker in balance, more purely beautiful in timbre (but not the kind of beautiful that stands in the way of transparency to sources by making everything sound alike in the same "pretty" way), and perhaps just as realistic in overall presentation (I'm not sure yet).
I can see already that, at this level of excellence, choices are going to come down to nuances and personal preferences rather than to large sonic or technological advantages.
I am amazed that you can grade the almost perfecet electronics even the audions are weeks apart. Best earns can not identify similar quality products side by side in blind tests. Is it possible that your liking of their color or shape effect your memory?
I'm not grading anything at this point, just recording first impressions.
The auditions (or "audions") weren't "weeks apart." They were literally minutes apart. Moreover, I've been listening to Soulution electronics for the better part of a year now, so I'm pretty sure about how it sounds on the cuts I also played through the BALabo. But you can chalk my comments up to differences in color and shape if that makes you feel better. (BTW, have you considered taking a course in English as a second language?)
Cheap shot, JV.
And suggesting that I was "hearing" differences in the shape and color of the two brands of equipment rather than differences in their sound was a "fair shot"?
All right. I can see you will need my help. When would you like me to arrive at your home (for an extended stay; btw, how well do you cook?).
Heh-heh-heh!
Soup's on!
JV,
This is killin' me so I just have to ask. I think I've seen a similar room pic in another blog. One can't help notice that the middle grey panel on your wall is tilted to the right. So the obvious question is: is this intentional? In the company of such distinguished gear (even those permanently "blemished" M5's), each meticulously auditioned, there's got to be a story as to the askew panel. Personally, it would drive me nuts. If you need anyone to come over and straighten it, please let me know. (On the right panel, there is actually a hint of hinges on its left side. These couldn't possibly be an old pair of Maggies, are they?)
In a former life I wrote hard-boiled detective novels for a living, and this is the kind of shrewd, amusing, observant question that would've occurred to my detective-protagonist. So let me tell you why the panel (it's an RPG abfusor, BTW) is tilted slightly to the right. On its bottom edge this panel sits not on the floor but on a large, old-fashioned rectangular electrical outlet that juts from the wall. Because the panel isn't precisely centered on top of this outlet, it tends to slip off its perch a bit if it is jostled by, say, me adjusting interconnects or replacing components on the right side of the equipment stand (which happens a lot), so that it ends up tilting a bit to the right. (It never slips any further to the right than you see it in the pix.) For years I would straighten the panel up automatically whenever this happened. Then one day I got tired of doing this, listened to the system without bothering to straighten the panel up, and decided that it made no audible difference whether the panel was squared up or slightly askew. So I just left it that way.
Thus the solution to the Mystery of the Tilted Abfusor is (as it is to so many of the other mysteries, mistakes, and inconsistencies of my life): Sloth.
Ah ha! Mystery solved. But there is a solution. To paraphrase Steve Martin, two simple words: "VEL CRO". (Actually I didn't think the panels were Maggies for 3 reasons: 1) I think the Maggie panels were a slightly less wide 2) I don't recall so many hinges keeping the panels together 3) I think there is something in the Bible about going to hell in a hand-basket if one uses the Maggies for such a purpose and I assumed you would not want to incur God's wrath as such.) Of course, the offer to drop by, trim a few inches off the RPG panel so all panels are the same height, and drive a big ol' nail through it to hold it in place vertically, still stands.
Marty
The VEL CRO won't do on the walls of my (ancient) digs because of two more simple words: PLAS TER. And, Marty, you can drop by any time you want, with or without carpentry tools.
JV, are the BALabo amps brand new? If so they might not be slightly dark after proper burning in. Just a thought.
curious,
I believe the amp and preamp have been broken in. In any event I heard this same very slight darkness when I auditioned the BAlabos with the Magico M6s three years ago at CES. This isn't a digital kind of darkness, BTW, where low-level information is simply zero'd out. On the contrary, low-level detail and timbre are here intensified (rather in the way a K2 filter darkens blues and intensifies contrast with B&W film), adding a silky voluptuous richness to the entire soundfield. With a great recording, the BAlabo is exceptionally beautiful to hear. With a great recording, it is also extraordinarily realistic.
I'm not complaining; I'm describing.
Jon
You've had another five days of heaven JV. Update us on the BALabos pls. I am like dying to know what Ultra High End means,,,,
curious,
The BAlabo stuff is simply and staggeringly gorgeous sounding, more purely beautiful in timbre than the Soulution though not quite as big and spacious in staging and imaging, or as open, airy, and energetic on top as the Soulution 700s (which are, after all, monoblocks where the BAlabo is a stereo amp), With the Magico M5s the BA has better control, kick, and definition in the bass. Indeed, it is the best I've heard on the bottom with these speakers. It is also, like the Soulution, uncannily high in resolution, consistently allowing you to hear things deep in the stage (or the mix) that (short of the Soulution) you've never heard before. When it comes to detail, from bottom octave to mid-treble the difference between the two amps is minimal. You will not miss a thing with either one.
I think the crux for the BA (vis-a-vis Soulution) will be its slightly darkish overall balance and its exceedingly sweet, delicate, but slightly "closed-in" top end, while the crux for the Soulution (vis-a-vis the BA) will be its biggish and not quite as well-controlled bottom octave. The two guys who've heard both in my house prefer the neutrality of the Soulution. As for me...I'm still collating. However, I can say that hearing into the bass the way you do with the BA is awfully damn addictive. I can also tell you this: There is no question in my mind that a lot of sophisticated listeners would prefer the sheer beauty of the BA to the neutrality of the Soulution, though I'm not sure that I do (yet). Both amps have world-class transient response, too.
I will blog about the BAlabo soon. I should be getting the third top contender--the Technical Brain--this coming week.
Jon
Hi Jon,
What's your verdict on the Technical Brain gear?
How does it compare with the other two?
Hi Jon,
Whats the verdict on the Technical Brain gear?
How does it compare with the other two?
I know these products are supposed to be part of cost-no-object setups but for a wannabe lotto winner like me, how much do they cost? And btw have you tried using different cables to fine tune the treble balance of the BALabos? Thanks for sharing JV.
The BAlabo linestage preamp is (get this!) $60k. The stereo amp is about $80k! And yes, I have tried other cable and interconnect, but I will continue to experiment.
But surely the million dollar question is... drum roll... Is it twice as good as top MBL pre and power amp?
The short answer is "no."
There is a chance, now, that I may add a fourth amp to my informal survey of top solid-state contenders: Symphonic Line from Germany.
Hi Jon,
I look forward to your review on this interesting topic. I am curious if you would be getting the top of line Kraft Mono from Symphonic Line for this write-up. I would also be interested to know for this class of ultra-high-end SS power amp, if there is any significant synergy with its own house top-of-the-line pre-amp.
Cheers.
Hi Jon,
I look forward to your review on this interesting topic. I am curious if you would be getting the top of line Kraft Mono from Symphonic Line for this write-up. I would also be interested to know for this class of ultra-high-end SS power amp, if there is any significant synergy with its own house top-of-the-line pre-amp.
Cheers.
Oh yummy Syphonic Line. A 'low profile' brand but very solid products... even though I am not sure if it is up to the same rank as BAlabo...
We may see, WS! I also have a "bid" in on Viola.
BTW, WS, when you heard BAlabo with the M6s do you recall what cable and interconnect was being used?
JV
With all the top electronics and high output loudspeakers you review may you might considering contacting HRS, SRA or Critical Mass Systems. I can attest that you aren't getting nearly the best out of them in terms of transparency. No offense to Mr. Walker (at least that's what your rack looks like though I may be wrong). You just might be surprised at the reduction in ringing and overshoot that degrades timbral quality.
Besides people who own this stuff are more likely to be using premium vibration control systems as well. Just a thought.
M.D.
M.D.
It's a good thought. I've tried SRA and Critical Mass and also use Symposium Ultras for equipment stands.
Jon
Audioquest WEL Signature interconnects will be perfect for the Technical Brain while the Tara Labs Zero Gold would go well will BALabo - tip from a Japanese friend who's just traded his BALabos in for the Goldmund Telos 1000..