Accuphase P4500 Stereo Power Amp - Realism Refined

Over the past few years, more and more audiophiles in Malaysia were bitten by the Accuphase craze through its high quality performance and of course, the mesmerizing VU meters. Readers can read various reviews from official local hifi blogs such as audiofi.net. I also had the chance to contribute a review to novohighend.com on the Accuphase E370 integrated amp a few years ago. Thanks to Victor Pheh of HiFi Creations Trading, I was given the opportunity to listen to the Accuphase P4500 power amp and pen down a few opinions about the amp.

THE SPECIFICATIONS

The designer of this amp has put in quite a remarkable architecture internally and externally. It features an instrumentation amplifier configuration realized with discrete semiconductors in the signal path, triple Darlington 4 parallel complementary push-pull architecture. Big words, big buzz ey? What does it really mean? It gives out S/N ratio of 121 dB, damping factor of 700, 90W/8 ohms and doubled at 180W/4 ohms. And again, what does this means to musical delivery? Read on folks.

One can identify an Accuphase from far with its trademark gold chassis. Simple front fascia featuring the famous large and well lit VU meter. It provides 4 different gain selector to match your pre amp (MAX, -3, -6, -12 db), meter selector, speaker selector and input selector. Besides the power meters, there is also the function indicators to see whether the amp is in BRIDGE, DUAL MONO LINE/BALANCED.

At the rear of the amp, it offers either RCA or XLR balanced input from your pre amp. There is also the operation mode selector which I prefer it to be in the front actually, 2 pairs of speaker terminals and also balanced input polarity selector.

All these to give you a whopping 29.2 kg amplifier.

THE ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT

• SPL Audio Director Mk2 pre amp
• Kronos Sparta TT with SPL Audio Phonos
• SONY HAP Z1ES
• McIntosh MCD 350 SACD player
• PMC Twenty5.24 speakers
• Cables - mix of Siltech and Vermouth Audio

All samplers recorded using SONY PCM D100 Hi Res recorder.

 THE SESSION

I played through different sources and each source gave me quite a different experience. Music range from jazz to heavy metal, vocal heavy, Hi Res audio, RBCD and LP.

• Where Did The Children Play by Cat Stevens - WAV 44.1
• Temptation by Diana Krall - DSD
• Tak Seindah Wajah by Dato SM Salim - WAV 44.1
• Take Five by Dave Brubeck - SACD
• Whiskey In The Jar by Metallica - LP
• Tuesday's Gone by Metallica - LP
• Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton - LP
• Just The Way You Are by Diana Krall - LP

By the time I was reviewing this amp, the amp has been run in for approximately 150 hours.

Where Did The Children Play from HAP Z1 ES

The string works on this track was assuring enough that each strumming sent out a a huge amount of energy to the music. Blends in to the unique vocal of Cat Stevens that goes quite deep at moments. The hollow toms and sharp ride and crash on the drums really gave an authentic 70s vibe for this track. High clarity is one character that the P4500 can offer.  

Temptation from HAP Z1 ES

This one was a hard track to crack. The bass for this track will usually sent me some kind heavy low frequency waves through my PMC. While there is no thud thumping action, the bass that came out was refined and digs deep into my listening area. The big soundstage that the P4500 creates makes up to slightly lower slam that I am used to. Again, when it comes to vocal clarity and sweetness, this amp can really melt my heart down especially listening at night with a dimmed light.

   

Tak Seindah Wajah from HAP Z1 ES

A classic song like this deserves to be played with an amp with stature like Accuphase. There is something about old classics Malay songs that can really touch my soul. Maybe because I grew up listening to such songs played on my late dad's hifi. A simple song that the P4500 presented it in a more emotional and engaging musicality. The vocal sounded melodious, representing such an emotional lyrics. The violin sounded lively and huge in this track.

Take Five from McIntosh MCD350

No review is complete without testing my favourite song. Now, playing this SACD brings me to another level with the P4500. Slamming percussion with very airy saxophone presentation. The P4500 digs really deep into the low frequency of this song while maintaining a huge sound stage. One of those moments that got my feet and hands moving to the beat of the drums. The sound of the ride cymbal was also crisp and with refined high frequency. No tendency of ear pinching at all. Musically lively and refined presentation.

Whiskey In The Jar from Kronos Sparta

Moving to something heavier, I put on Metallica's version of Whiskey In The Jar LP and start spinning it on my Kronos Sparta TT. Now this is when I started a listening to a different side of the P4500. While clarity, huge sound stage and lively delivery are the main highlights, it struggled a little bit to create that head banging, metal experience. While the ferocious guitars of Kirk and James were full of energy flowing through my listening room, the drums sounded a little laid back. Vocal was good with a clear presentation of James's husky voice. 

Tuesday's Gone from Kronos Sparta

I kept playing the same LP and moved on to the next song just to ensure it was not my LP. Tuesday's Gone was a completely different story. All that liveliness I experience from other tracks is back and the glorious rich sound from the P4500 was evident again. A true testament of what this amp can do. Just listen to the string works, drums and and vocal. A perfect blend reproduced through the P4500. Solid tom tom sound from Lars, emotional vocal from James and heavy guitar works from James and Kirk. I personally cannot find anything missing listening though the P4500. Everything just flows naturally and with no restriction nor choking sound.

Tears in Heaven from Kronos Sparta 

I literally shed a tear listening to this through the P4500. For me personally, a good piece of equipment is when it can make me connect emotionally to the music being played through it. A situation where I go blind and ignore the equipment and just let the music engage me really deep. The guitar plucking by Eric can be heard note by note and coupled with his vocal, this was indeed the main highlight for me with the P4500. Effortless to create that ambient that reaches one's emotion. 

Just The Way You Are from Kronos Sparta

Back to Diana Krall, this live LP is a different experience. The sound of the saxophone sounded deep and airy at the same time. Of course the clarity of the vocal remains the main character of P4500. It is not just about clarity with regards to volume but also the details are refined that it gives out a dynamic range on the vocal. Sometimes, given a different set up, the vocal can be of high clarity but it sounds monotonous. Not here. Dynamic melodic vocal is what I hear.

THE CONCLUSION

The legendary Accuphase amplifier is in a league of its own. This P4500 stereo power amp lives up to its name by providing listeners a high level of clarity, refined musicality, huge overall sound and the right level of 'chi' across your listening room. Is it for all musical genre? Maybe not but this amplifier provides you much more than what it is retailed for. Those who enjoy realism to your sound, this is one amp that is very truthful to its listener. In my experience here, there was a clear difference between analogue and digital. Playing analogue, the P4500 will bring out the shine of music realism. Yes, it did not really power through metal music but it definitely will bring a smile to jazz, vocal, ballad and I bet, even orchestral music.

I too believe the P4500 will give even more satisfaction when it is paired with a full Accuphase system.  If you are ready to be mesmerized, contact Victor Pheh for a demo or to purchase Accuphase equipment. This P4500 particularly, its selling price is RM35K but I can assure you, if it matches your existing system, it will give endless pleasure.

Lexicon RV6 - Stepping Out of Comfort Zone

Going back in time, the one time I had a non Japanese AVR for my home theater was way back in 1997 when I was using a Sherwood AVR with a pair of TDL RTL3SE and some unknown KH rear speakers with no center channel nor a subwoofer. What can I say, limited student budget :). Even that, we fellow students in Brighton enjoyed a surround sound with the top of the line SONY DVD player. However, as I progressed in life, I had the opportunity to experience ARCAM as well. Quite delightful processor. When I return to Malaysia, the market was dominated by Yamaha, Onkyo and Denon. The names like Lexicon, ARCAM, Bryston etc , one needs to really indulge into serious HT set up to start seeing this names to reside in our house as its only sold by specialized shops. The Japanese brands however, can be purchased from most chain electronic shops like Harvey Norman, BEST Denki, DHT etc. 

From 2001 till now, I went through 2 Yamaha and 1 Denon AVR. Went through the evolution from DVD DD and DTS to being among the first to adopt Bluray in Malaysia in 2007 and then 4K ATMOS in 2016. Somehow, I have settled into the Japanese Home Theater environment....

..................... until I was introduced to Lexicon RV6 by AV Designs a couple of months ago.

Yes , I am actually a movie buff but I rarely do reviews on HT equipment because of a few reasons:

• It does take some time to calibrate the sound
• A lot of re-cabling to do - Oppo 4K player, Astro, Apple TV, Samsung 4K player, PS4, Subs and speakers
• My setup is in th family living room upstairs. Not a proper enclosed dedicated HT room.

But with this RV6, it was worth the time spent with James Tan of AV Designs to really understand and enjoy what this unit can do.

SPECIFICATIONS

The RV6 does not fall short when it comes the specification. Some of the key features to me is listed below:

• Logic7 Immersion natural sound up mixer
• Dolby ATMOS and DTS:X 7.1.4 decoding
• DTS Virtual:X
• Dolby Vision compatible
• ARC compatible
• Dirac Live for Lexicon room correction
• Lexicon AV Control App
• 7 channel driven at 90 watts (don't panic yet :)
• Spotify compatible (TIDAL would be good if they can do it)

Full specifications can be found HERE

The front fascia is is such a simple and minimalist design. A small blue LED screen that shows input and audio format, up and down input selector button, volume knob and a few key features buttons. Also available is a headphone jack and audio input jack.

On the rear, most AV enthusiasts will be happy with the 7 HDMI inputs and 3 HDMI outputs with ARC. It offers pre outs for each channel if you feel you need more power for your set up.

There are also analogue audio RCA inputs and digital inputs as well if you would like to use the Cirrus DAC available in this unit.

The unit is beautifully finished and looks classy compared to a typical AVR with lots of lights and switches. 

The remote control is similar to my ARCAM CDS50 SACD/Streamer unit. Easy to use for the basic features for this unit with backlight feature as well. I recommend to download the Lexicon AV Control App available for iOS and Android to have a more modern feel in controlling the unit.

 

CALIBRATION

AV Designs was kind enough to fully calibrate the system for this review. The last calibration I did was with my Denon 6 years ago using an Audyssey microphone and some subwoofer crawling. James and his colleague took about 2 hours to complete everything with one subwoofer placed in front and another in the rear of the room via a wireless transmitter. Do note that my own set up was actually a 5.1.2. An additional sub was introduced for this review. 

THE SET UP

• Oppo UDP205, NETFLIX, Apple TV
• PMC Twenty.23 and C - LCR
• SVS PRIME rear speakers
• SVS Elavation speakers
• SVS NSD12 subwoofer
• JBL subwoofer (added for the review)

THE SESSION

I re-watched quite a number of movies over the past 2 months. Justice League, Superman, Jurassic World. Metallica S&M2 concert etc using Oppo BD205, NETFLIX, Apple TV, ASTRO UHD. Each and every device is fully compatible with RV6. One small glitch that happens now and then is the ARC from my new SONY TV when playing NETFLIX. Sometimes, the audio will revert to the TV instead of the RV6. Have to restart the TV and sometimes the audio data does not comes out on the RV6 display. Small glitch but I am sure a better HDMI cable could fix this.

For the overall review, I opted for Star Wars Episode 3. In these 2 samplers, I hope readers can get an idea of what kind of experience you will get having an RV6 in your system. 

Scene 1 - The Death of Count Dooku

The swaying of light sabers with the RV6 sounds meatier compared to the thinner sound that I am used to. It had more life to it. Every hit of the sabers created an impact to my listening pleasure. The dialogue through my center channel also sounds crispier with high clarity. Just listen to the dialogue between Anakin and Count Dooku in this sample. The immersive experience of the surround and ATMOS delivered by the RV6 is simply giving more engagement to me. 

Scene 2 - Yoda vs Darth Sidious

A similar experience here with the light saber and dialogue. Yoda's growling voice sounds really convincing and so does Darth Sidious. The rumble of the Senate's floating seats were also very impactful. The way the low frequencies were channeled to the 2 subwoofers was simply remarkable. Do note that even though the RV6 have 2 sub outs, the device does not split the channel. A device had to be installed to ensure 2 subs can be used with a greater impact. You can discuss further with James if you require 2 subs. The background score during this duel sound huge and gave the right engagement level to be immersed in this scene. Full of life. 

THE CONCLUSION

Overall, Lexicon gave me a complete different experience (even compared to my previous ARCAM, Sherwood AVR). What is the difference you may wonder right? Firstly, the level of engagement with what I am watching. It really pull me more towards having a livelier cinematic experience. I attribute this mainly due to its level of clarity, There were moments that certain effects were brought up on channels that I did not experience before. Sounds cliche right but that is one of the key differences I experience with this Lexicon.

Second, my subwoofer as well sounded more engaging and giving me real impact. Do note that the secondary subs is just a small JBL sub coupled with my front SVS sub.

This RV6 is one AVR that focuses entirely on sound quality. The physical design although beautifully finished, Lexicon opted for a simple and minimalist design. Yes you get Spotify Connect for your music pleasure but I am quite sure that is just an attempt to go along with the market.

If you are into getting a new AVR or purely want to hear to something different than Yamaha, Denon, Marantz, please contact AV Designs for a demo of either this Lexicon RV6 or its bigger brother RV9.

H-2-6, Block H, Boulevard Business Park, No. 115, Jalan Kepayang
51200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Get Directions

03-6241 1237

 

ZEN Upgrade Path is The New Norm - DAC and CAN

 

Yes. A few weeks ago, I was bitten by the iFi Phono bug. I just could not believe how something so small and relatively cheap and affordable can offer such amazing analogue feeling. The bug now continues on the digital side where E1 is kind enough to loan me the whole shebang of iFi ZEN DAC and CAN headphone amp together with a Sennheiser HD660S. Talk about the complete package.

Rather than a typical review of how the DAC and CAN perform, I will bring you along a journey of which you can enjoy an upgrade path whenever your pocket allows it.  For headfi, I usually do not bother thinking of an upgrade path within the same design or model. It was usually straight from one DAC or headphone amp to another model. But there is something special about these ZENs. Read on folks!

THE SPECIFICATION

Equipped with Burr-Brown True Native® chipset, the DAC is claim to be retain the file format and produce it bit perfect. It supports PCM and DXD up to 32 bit/384 kHz, DSD256 and lo and behold, the precious MQA. For yours truly, only MQA is what I have yet to truly experience it. The rest, its kind of over saturated in the market nowadays and for me, I have been into hi res audio for more than 10 years now, way before it became more mainstream nowadays. But MQA is what I really look forward to.

There are debates going around on is it truly MQA. One needs to understand the whole MQA format so that you can really know what your MQA enabled equipment can do. For this model, it is actually an MQA renderer and will require external software such as TIDAL to perform the decoding.

It also carry the PowerMatch feature to match your headphones and IEM. On the rear, it also offers a pair of RCA line outs to either connect this DAC to a power amp/active speakers or with a flick of a switch to Fixed output, turn this DAC into a standalone DAC for your hifi. 

As for the CAN, it is a fully discrete and balanced amplifier and offers a 4.4 mm balanced connection. It runs on Class A discrete circuit that came from their flagship model Pro iCAN, that costs 11 times more. It also comes with Xbass®  analogue bass correction system that corrects any missing low freq response. Another special feature is its 3D Holographic®  dual analogue matrices that places the artist with you in the room, not in your head. Interesting! There is also a feature to choose the appropriate gain to match your headphones. 

I will not bore you readers with the full specs as they are available on iFi website.

THE UPGRADE PATH

Rather than choosing too many different type of music, I am using only 2 reference tracks but with various set up as follows. Source is the Sony Walkman and choice of headphone is my reference Sennheiser HD800S and Beyerdynamic T1.I decide to use my HD800S instead to really challenge this combo as I have heard so many good feedback with HD660S.

1. DAC on unbalanced 6.3 mm without iPower
2. DAC on balanced 4.4 mm (HD800S only) without iPower
3. DAC on unbalanced 6.3 mm with iPower
4. DAC on balanced 4.4 mm (HD800S only) with iPower
5. DAC + iPower connected to CAN and on unbalanced 6.3 mm
6. DAC + iPower connected to CAN and on balanced 4.4 mm

Catch my drift here when I say there re many upgrade path you can take with these?

CONNECTIVITY

The DAC only have 1 input which is the USB. No compatibility issue with my SONY Walkman, Samsung FOLD and even my SONY HAP Z1 ES hi res player. The only thing is, only the SONY Walkman streams out the MQA to the DAC. The Samsung needs an app to allow this to happen.

The DAC also have no issue decoding any resolution you feeds it. DSD, 24/192 FLAC, WAV, MP3 etc. You name it and the DAC can play it.

THE TRACKS

As I mentioned, I am only using 2 tracks to test the combo and experience the upgrade path

• What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong (MQA)
• Take Five by Dave Brubeck on DSD

DAC on unbalanced 6.3 mm without iPower

I first hook up the HD800S. While it was still enjoyable, I do feel that the HD800S does not match well. Something was missing with the overall presentation. Playing What A Wonderful World sounded a bit flat with less emotion can be experienced from the deep vocal of Louis. 

It was a similar experience playing Take Five. There were certain instances where the the DAC can give a good kick the HD800S but most of the time, the overall presentation was leaning on the flat side of things.

It felt more engaging with the Beyer T1. The overall presentation sounded more natural and also well defined. The instrument playing with Louis sounded more airy and also a certain level dynamics started to kick in. 

With Take Five, the DAC gave the T1 quite a workout on the percussion and double bass. Quite musical to be frank. The bass digs deep quite decently with the thumping of the snare sounded dispersed.

DAC on balanced 4.4 mm (HD800S only) without iPower

The deep growling vocal of Louie sounded deeper than using the unbalanced 6.3 mm cable. The intro of this evergreen track sounded soothing with a very spacious ambient. The various instrument playing gave me a chill as it is very mesmerizing. The wire brush percussion can be clearly heard. Given that this HD800S is known to be a difficult headphone to drive and picky with the amp or DAC, I am quite please to hear what I hear. It does show little signs of restricted sound but still acceptable.

On DSD file, the DAC worked quite well with the HD800S. The bass was extensive on Take Five. It provided a natural sounding and thumping of the percussion and double bass. The wind instrument sounded airy and more spacious than an MQA source despite it is not the same song. 

DAC on unbalanced 6.3 mm with iPower

Hmmmm.... quite surprised how much having a dedicated power supply can change things. Apparently the iPower does reduce noise I suppose having to hear a slightly more dynamic sound from the HD800S. Louis vocal started to be more expressive and also the overall song sounded more airy and livelier. More fluid than when the DAC was drawing power form the SONY Walkman.

This is also true with Take Five. The DAC gave the HD800S a good shaking with the double bass and percussion. The sax also sounded sweeter. I can only summarize it as more music was coming through the HD800S when the DAC is used with the iPower.

Switching to T1, the improvement was even more evident. Bass was more refined and overall ambient the first track was soothing. Larger sense of space coming through the T1.

With Take Five, the DAC injected this track with a sense of dynamics that swings the overall presentation towards a more engaging presentation. It pulls me in to close my eyes and imagine this track being played live in front of me. 

DAC on balanced 4.4 mm (HD800S only) with iPower

Now, connecting the iPower to the DAC gives slightly a cleaner sound to the HD800S on balanced cable. The deep vocal experience can still be heard but the impact was more on the fluidity of the music flowing through the HD800S.  Less restrictive.

Now, I did play around with the PowerMatch feature and it does help a bit to smoothen the highs and made both cans more fluid. 

DAC + iPower connected to CAN and on unbalanced 6.3 mm

With both the T1 and HD800S, the CAN drove it quite sufficiently. I find that the T1 is more forgiving compared to the HD800S with this ZEN iFi CAN. With the T1, the overall presentation was leaning more towards a warm and laid back sound while with the HD800S, the DAC and CAN combo presented a brighter sound experience.

DAC + iPower connected to CAN and on balanced 4.4 mm

This was a tricky one. The HD800S sounded the best a Zero dB Gain. A more relaxed and fluid sound from the CAN. The killer is that I had to drive the volume know up to about 12 o'clock to get the music sound livelier. But the sound quality is spot on. Increasing the gain on the CAN will only produce a harsher sound at a lower volume. So, I don't really recommend that.

THE CONCLUSION

If I am to rate each upgrade path on a scale of 1 to 10 compared to how much you need to spend and the improvement you get, it goes like this:

• DAC with unbalanced headphone = 7
• DAC with balanced headphone = 7.5
• DAC with unbalanced headphone + iPower = 8.5
• DAC with balanced headphone + iPower = 9.5
• DAC + iPower + CAN with unbalanced headphone = 8.5
• DAC + iPower + CAN with balanced headphone = 8.0 

Certain consistent observation:

• The DAC alone is a great piece of unit. The PowerMatch feature can help to bring out the peformance of your headphone to acertain level. Highest value for money here for RM 629.
• The iPower brings in something special to the DAC, mainly on the dynamics and surfacing more musical details. This to me is the biggest change in sound especially its just RM 239 to have this extra ooommpph to your listening pleasure.
• Moving to balanced headphone connection opens up the presentation slightly more but please ensure that the whole headphone design allows this and not just a matter of using an adaptor.
• Adding the CAN will need proper matching with your headphones. Suggest to demo the CAN first before purchasing. Adding this will cost RM829 which will bring your complete stack close to RM1700. This is where you really need to ensure you have the right headphones to match this stack.

The only drawback of this combo is their combo choice of the front fascia, LED colour and fonts size and colour. You reaaaallly need to go close to the unit to figure out on which input you are on, which gain you are on etc. 

So there you go folks. A complete upgrade path for your iFi ZEN headphone stack. For a demo, please contact E1 Personal Audio based in Sungai Wang. 

PMC Twenty5i and Ci Series Launched in Malaysia

New Norm of PMC Twenty5i and 

i - for IMPROVEMENT.

On Friday, 18th December 2020, Audio Visual Designs officially launched the PMC Twenty5i and Ci loudspeakers in Malaysia. 

The Twenty5i series, follows a substantial re-engineering of the multi-award winning twenty5 series. It benefits from the research carried out while developing the company’s flagship loudspeakers. The main difference of the new Twenty5i range over the Twenty5 series is improvements to the tweeter. The Twenty5i series now houses a 19mm SONOMEX™soft-dome design, derived from PMC’s premium Fact range.

The twenty5i range consists of four, two-way loudspeakers ranging from the compact shelf-mounting twenty5i.21 to the floorstanding Twenty5i.23 and twenty5i.24, plus the flagship three-way twenty5i.26. There’s also a Centre channel model and the proven subwoofer for use in surround systems.  

Before the start of the demo session, Mr. Low Chan Weng gave a short briefing about Twenty5i and also the different and improvement form previous model of Twenty5.

The demo session was conducted by Mr JoKi aka Mr Joseph. We started off by listening to PMC Twenty5i 21 small little fella bookshelf. We then moved to PMC Twenty5i 23 mini floorstander.

My 1st impression:

Twenty5i.21 offers high transparency and open staging. Its very open sounding in delivering the mid-range and highs. Profound bass which the PMC are known for, means it can fill rooms both medium and small with natural low frequency.

The twenty5.23 offers the speed, transparency  and adds greater bass extension and energy to the music. And yet its slim-line form doesn’t mean it can’t move you. The twenty5i.23 will let you absorb the quietest and most dramatic moments without missing a beat, and its realism with vocals puts you in the best seat in the house.

Both speaker was driven by PMC Cor integrated amp with source feed from Bryston Streamer and DAC.

Then we move to the second venue to demo the PMC Twenty5i.26 

The equipment was TAD pre and Power amplifier source feed from Bryston Streamer and DAC.

I was impressed with the clean, nuanced delivery, precise sense of rhythm and top-to-bottom balance. The wide soundstage also stood out. It has excellent bass extension with a touch of refinement and dynamic power.

Overall of summary this Twenty5i range is dynamic and detailed, transparent and well-timed, extremely revealing and musically addictive. Music just flow with ease and you will get immersed in it easily. In a nut shell, the i - Improved twenty5 series focuses a lot on the mid and high frequencies to compliment PMC legendary ATL design for the low frequency. 

RRP for Twenty5i are as follows :

Twenty5.21i - (RM 10,100)

Twenty5.23i - (RM 17,600)

Twenty5.24i - (RM 25,100)

Twenty5.26i - (RM 41,100)

We then move to the Ci series.

PMC Ci Speakers are truly inspiring in realism and dynamic.

This PMC Ci series that AV Designs have in hand are: 

• Ci30 (top surround)
• Ci45 (surround back)
• Ci65 (centre)
• Ci140 (front speakers)
• Ci140 (passive subwoofer)

James Tan gave a short briefing about this PMC Ci series and the set up in this room. James started the demo session with a demo movie of The Accountant and Bohemian Rhapsody.

Lexicon RV9 AVR was used for this demo as well.

I was shocked by the power delivered by Lexicon RV9 AVR. It drove this Ci Speaker series with such ease. Bohemian Rhapsody sounded solid and detailed especially when music is being played. All the surround element was delivered quite well.  The bass section kicked in deeply.This Ci Speaker series give nice musical sounding to this movie.

 

From The Accountant demo, the sub experience was tight and digs deep to proved that impact. The sniper rifle shooting scene sounded accurate and high realism for movie buffs to enjoy it. The Ci Speaker series does work well in a cinema set up. So, don't be fooled by its slim-in-wall design. They provide the right impact with detail, clarity and wider dynamic for movies. For me this the best multichannel speaker I heard since I listened Starke,M&K and SVS before.

Interested to demo this Twenty5i or Ci range at Audio Visual Designs? Do contact them and arrange for a demo session.

Audio Visual Designs Sdn Bhd

H-2-6, Block H,

Boulevard Business Park,

No.115, Jalan Kepayang,

51200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Reported by

AudioVault

On behalf of El Hefe Reviews

I Spy an iFi - Getting Zen with ZEN Phono

 

In the recent months, I have seen posting after posting of iFi products through my Facebook feed. Its true they say, if you keep seeing it, it will come 😁😁😁. Thank you E1 for loaning me a sample unit of the iFi ZEN Phono unit. Been using it for over a month now and it does help to listen to something new during this CMCO. This unit brought back fond memories when I restarted my vinyl journey back in in 2011. After about 11 years of leaving the vinyl cult, I restarted the passion with the purchase of  a Clearaudio Concept TT and an NAD PP3 Phono stage. Not sure of how vinyl market revival would be, I did not want to spend much on a phono stage. Hence, opted for this NAD phono stage which was about RM450. I then tried Musical Fidelity V Series phono stage. All of these were sub RM1000 phono stages. All of these phono stages did not give me a high level of satisfaction, hence had to go a bit mid range. 

This ZEN Phono (also sub RM1000) is a totally different story. Hooking it up to my Lenco L78 put a smile on my face. I also hook it up to a higher grade Clearaudio Solution AMG Wood TT and it gave me an experience like it was connected to a much more expensive phono stage. So, read on folks.

THE BUILD AND SPECS

It fits in my palm. It measures at only 158 x 117 x 35 mm and weighs about 500 grams. But don't be fooled with its size. It is sturdily built with nice finishing chassis and front face. The power and subsonic button feels solid when pressed. 

The front face looks subtle and uses light blue LED for indicators for the power, subsonic filter and the input selector MM, MC- Very Low, Low and High. The stencil used to label these functions however a but to light and cannot be read from far.

The unit can only accept 1 RCA input and 2 Outputs (1 RCA and 1 4.4. mm balanced). It also comes with a grounding terminal. The input selector uses a small switch to select between the MM and MC options based on the cart you use. Power supply is of the expected 5V plug.

One plus point of this unit. Small it may be but when you hook up your interconnects, it does not tilt upwards due to the weight of the interconnects. I remember my NAD. Once I have hooked up the interconnects, the unit will be tilted up due to the weight of the RCA.

All and all, the unit is beautifully finished.

The specifications is as follow as per iFi's website.

THE EQUIPMENT

• Lenco L78 TT with Shure M44-7 cart (MM)
• Clearaudio Solutions AMG Wood with Hana SL cart (MC)
• SPL Audio Director Mk2 pre amp
• SPL Audio Performance power amp
• PMC Twenty5 24 speakers
• Cabling and RCA - Siltech
• Sony PCM D100 Hi Res recorder

THE TRACKS

I stick to 3 tracks for both set up of MM and MC to compare the performance.

• Take Five by Dave Brubeck on 45 RPM
• My Hero by Foo Fighters  on 33 RPM
• Get Lucky by Daft Punk on 33 RPM

THE SESSION

WITH LENCO L78

Take Five

The very first thing I notice was how huge the sound of the sax especially in between 130 to 145 minute. When it hit the higher notes, it sounded extended without any hint of ear pinching sound. Very nicely done. On the percussion, it gave the PMC speakers quite a work out to really deliver that hard hitting sound but still maintaining the characteristics of the hollow drum sound. The snare also sounded well dispersed across the listening area. 

Get Lucky

On this track, the vocal came out to have high clarity to it but leaning more towards a flat presentation. The bass coming from the bass guitar sounded soulful and I could hear note by note. The bass drum however sounded a bit flat as I prefer a more rounded and bigger bass sound. Still managed to get me tapping my feet and move my body to the groove of this track but I could do with a little bit more bass on this one. The hi hat play however was excellent sound. Sharp and precise. The guitar although sounded a bit faint as a background instrument, it still sounded melodic. 

P/S: Please excuse the background sound of the pianica playing Harry Potter score.

My Hero

Yeah! Love the overall raw sound on this track. In this 'loud' drum filled song, it is very critical that the system can extract and reproduced the drum as accurate as possible. While there are parts that the iFi Phono really shine presenting the intensity of the drum works, the sound of the hi hat however was a little but dry and rough. It was also drowned at the mark of 248 minute. For vocal, again the iFi have no problem presenting a high clarity of vocal from Grohl. At this point, it seems to be one of the consistent character of the iFi. On the shredding guitar works, also it sounded really energised and really ferocious. 

WITH CLEARAUDIO SOLUTION AMG WOOD AND HANA SL

Take Five

While through the MM section, this track sounded big, it did not have that musicality subtlety like being played through the MC section of iFi. Listening through the same section of the song, the high notes here sounded more musical rather than just louder or bigger. The snare sounded even more well dispersed but at the same time, that hard hitting contact between the the stick and the snare can be experienced at a different level here. The toms also sounded punchier through the MC section. Even the tingling sound of the ride playing sounded very musical.

Get Lucky

I experience the same listening session through the MC section of the iFi ZEN Phono. More musical albeit the smaller overall soundstage. The clarity of the vocal remains but with more energy and emotion to it. The bass line also sounded livelier and I can relate to the groove of the music in a more intense level. More engaging all round. It really got my body moving to this track. The hi hat play also sounded even cleaner and crisp. The bass sounded fuller and extensive, the way I like it. 

My Hero

When I thought the MM section have already delivered a lot, this listening session though the MC section sounded even more engaging. Gone was the dry hi hat and came in the crisp sound I like. The overall song sounded livelier while still maintaining that rawness that I like. At the same mark of 248 minute, although still sounded a bit drowned, the drums actually sounded more audible note by note. There was something about the guitar works as well as they sounded heavier and more engaging,

THE CONCLUSION

Bringing up the vocal and present it with enough emotion seems to be a consistent characteristics of this iFi ZEN phono regardless on MM or MC task. Quite remarkable sound coming out from this small unit. For bass, I find that the MC section does a better job in presenting a deeper dig and more extensive bass experience. The MM however sounded more hard hitting. It depends a lot too on your choice of cartridge for your TT. On the highs, the MC delivers a more crisp and sweet sound compared to MM. Regardless for vocal or instrument, I do not have to worry of ear pinching high note experience as the ZEN Phono delivers a clean sound. Overall, this is a very 'quiet' phono stage which allows more music to come out from your vinyl collection. Quite remarkable for a sub RM1K phono stage. For musicality however, I would stick to using the MC section of this phono stage.

Who is this phono stage suitable for? Firstly, if the budget allows, it could be for those who just about to start the vinyl journey. Secondly, for those with RM200 to RM500 phono stage, you might want to give this a try as well. I am confident that you will experience a big jump in sound quality. Thirdly, for those who want a simple, no nonsense and straight forward phono. Last but not least, if your collection of vinyl is mainly rock and vocal works, give this is a demo as well. 

For further enquiry or demo, please contact E1 Personal Audio or Asia Sound on 0321102328 or 012 5122089. The unit can be purchased at RM729.