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I listened to a lot of vocal music through the FL Phono because that’s typically where I can fault a solid-state unit compared to tubes. Spending hours with Johnny Cash, U2 or Mozart’s Magic Flute revealed no such weakness. It is true that compared to the tubed SQ-PH-1t, the Audia Flight does not project voices in the same fashion and does not showcase them but the FL phono is also more honest and less colored. A very critical point to me was the fact that the FL phono does not sound dry or recessed in the midrange—on the contrary, it offers a rich sound, not dark or constrained whatsoever— but lets through the harmonic complexity of the original recording while maintaining density. It is not that obvious of a trick as inferior electronics typically trade tonal density to increase retention of small nuances. The FL phono delivers both without strain.
On U2’s No Line on the Horizon, while the compressed songs did not get resurrected, the decently recorded ones were truly revealed. Poor discs remain poor through the FL phono and good ones get better. I’ve come to the conclusion that this piece plays no tricks, no tailored response curve, no artificial emphasis, just delivers superb imaging and staging coupled with utmost silence and its associated transparency - not forgetting tone density and excellent dynamics. |
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Most of my listening was conducted with the Denon DL103 and MC board but very similar conclusions could be drawn using the Grado Reference Sonata 1 and MM inputs. The overall gestalt was warmer and slower with the Grado than Denon but is a result of the cartridge voicing, not phono pre. Actually, the FL phono managed to inject quite a bit of additional energy and jump factor into the Sonata 1 over what I am used to from the Clearaudio Nano.
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It was fairly obvious on the Gorillaz’ Demon Days which can sound bloated and slow through the Grado unless properly matched. Through the FL phono, the over-ripe upper bass got back under control revealing the music hidden beneath it. True, the combination did not reach the same slam and speed as the DL103 when used with the same phono stage but it really seemed that the skewed spectrum had been straightened out. I still prefer the Denon for its transparency and dynamics but the FL phono addressed one of my reservervations with the Grado by offering an alternate though more ‘doctored’ view of the recorded music. |
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At this juncture a number of readers are already thinking "this is no review but an infomercial" but in truth, I can’t find where to fault the FL phono or even detect a hint of weakness. The only thing it will not do is color the signal. If you are looking for tube roundness and selective emphasis, you won’t get it from the Audia Flight. Everything else it will deliver in spades including rich and realistic tonal hues without bleaching, exaggerated edges or other items you might associate with solid state.
As to whether the FL phono surpasses similarly priced competitors or can justify a significant premium over an ASR Mini Basis Exclusive for instance remains to be seen over the coming months. Based on absolute performance, the FL phono is a superb preamplifier that makes vinyl playback absolutely delightful. My gut tells me that throughout this series of tests, the Audia Flight will remain at the top of the heap because perfectly well-pressed vinyl played back through it manages to edge out the best SACDs in my collection. And interestingly, the total cost of table, arm, cartridge and phono pre used in this review adds up to about the same as the Esoteric X03-SE for a very similar level of excellence. |
As stated at the onset, I will reserve conclusion of this review for a later day but up to this point, mark me impressed, very impressed indeed with a unit that draws on all the usual strengths of transistors without any of their weaknesses. In light of the rest of the audiophile market, its price although high is definitely not stratospheric and from what I can judge, more than justified by performance and built quality. To be continued at a later date to provide better context but clearly a must-listen for anybody looking for a premium phono preamplifier... |
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This Epilogue reports on my concluding impressions after I'd completed the 6th installment of this review series.
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Quality of packing: Very good.
Reusability of packing: A few times.
Ease of unpacking/repacking: Easy.
Condition of component received: Flawlss.
Completeness of delivery: No issue.
Website comments: Complete and informative.
Human interactions: US importer always very responsive and helpful.
Pricing: Juistified by performance and quality of fabrication.
Final comments & suggestions: After-market power cords had minimal impact over the cord supplied but quality interconnects—Zu's Varial worked well for me—are mandatory. |
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