Saturday 14 January 2012

Music to my ears

Another recent addition to the technological no-mans-land I inhabit has been my new amplifier. If you've not been following, I'm in the camp where computers should be seen and not heard so spent 2011 chasing down SSDs, Watercooling and all manner of technological wonders to calm my computer into silence.
I don't normally add pictures to posts but I think reviews are worth a little context so here it is:
I hadn't considered getting a proper amp at all until I saw this. Once your PC is quiet your amp and speakers start to matter and the unbeatable warm tones make this amazing amp the cherry on the top of your quiet build.

First impressions are very good, very good indeed. I don't have my full audio collection as uncompressed PCM but my limited selection of Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and John Lee Hooker was more than enough to feel quite satisfied with the experience and bring a smile to my ears.

At an incredible price point for its quality, and able to drive 4,6 or 8 Ohms this amp completes your set-up whatever your requirements.

Its a small form-factor but unusual height so might not fit in all hifi cabinets/racks, but I couldn't bear to hide it way - placing this pride of place on my desk.

Its lightweight and compact at about six or seven inches wide.  There are no fancy bells, whistles or horns on this one.  It takes RCA stereo inputs and has Banana outputs and a single volume control sits just in range of the valves radiance so you can feel their comforting warmth on you hand every time you reach for the volume.


More extended listening added the London Symphony Orchestra and a selection of Rock from the past few decades with every note and beat reproduced at a quality that quite simply exceeds requirements.


I am quite literally bathed in the warming light of the orange glow while treating my ears to audio quality unmatched in the computing world. No amount of digital progress can rival the incandescence of a valve amplifier and this binds together two generations of technology seamlessly. The future is here, and its got valves in it.


It's time to wake up and hear the music. It's time for a valve amp.


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