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The slight midrange reticence noted earlier and the greater apparent upper band detail tended to
highlight the flaws of poor recordings. Something thin and two-dimensional such as Nothing
Shocking by Jane’s Addiction [Warner 9-25727-2] was unbearable via the Audio Zone trio.
The
recent 180g vinyl reissue is no sonic improvement on the Redbook version either. The W4S
monos tended to round off the edges of this sonic dog to lend it a touch more palpable.
Conversely, playing a wonderful recording like Tilson-Thomas’s triple disc set of Stravinsky Ballets [RCA 09026-68898-2] was awesome. The reverberation of timps rumbling off the walls of
Davies Symphony Hall, the primal violence of The Rite of Spring, the layers of the orchestra were
all laid bare as were Stravinsky’s spiky angular rhythms and consummate flair for scoring wind
instruments.Overall, the AMP-D2SE offered a cooler overall balance than the SX-1000 but offered greater
extension at both ends of the spectrum plus a touch more excitement and sparkle.
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Having said
that, I generally preferred the slightly warmer balance of the SX-1000. However, the SX-1000
monos I had on hand were not representative of Wyred4Sound’s current offerings. Those
apparently utilize a different ICEpower board.
The PRE-A1 preamp added very little and behaved more like a switching box. Running the
monos direct from the Shanling CD player’s onboard volume control vs. with the preamp in the
chain, I found little difference in terms of information retrieval. As with most active preamps, I
simply heard a bit more tonal complexity, image density and refinement. Overall, musical details
were better realized than running direct.
Comparing the AZ combo against my more than twice as expensive Audiomat Opera Reference
was a little unfair. Ditto the W4S monos. Neither combination could approach the Audiomat’s
thoroughly engaging way of presenting music, whether it be low-level detail, texture, timbral
accuracy, flow, transient fidelity or image density. Not that the AZ or W4S amps were bad. Their
dynamic agility, speed and ability to remain composed at quite high volumes were in fact superior
and those traits might be more important to you than my fairy notions of musicality or emotional
engagement. A particularly copasetic speaker match was the AV123 Strata Mini. Here the various
tradeoffs were perfectly balanced. I suspect any speaker with a full rich balance would offer an
excellent match. I’d certainly avoid the clean lightweight variety.
The weird thing I find with good class D stuff is that you’d expect a typical solid-state sound but
instead get a quite enjoyable synthesis of the better aspects of transistor and tube sound - not
detailed and neutral enough to sound sterile or anemic, not as overly warm and rosy as some
tubes. Of course this also means that you won’t quite hear the best aspects of both breeds either.
Sorry, one can’t have everything. Still, it’s an intriguing sound perhaps more related to the curious
distortion measurements I have seen of several class D amplifiers than to any claimed technical
superiority.
While I am a tube guy at heart, class D has come quite a ways in the last few years and may one
fine day finally win me over. I suspect something like the AMP-D2SE or similar offerings from
Wyred4Sound or Bel Canto might do it, perhaps with a tube preamp thrown in to satisfy my
thermionic proclivities. As with everything I have reviewed from this Canadian brand, the Audio
Zone separates are certainly worthy of further investigation. |
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Quality of packing: Excellent.
Reusability of packing: Should be reusable several times.
Quality of owner's manual: Unavailable at time of review.
Condition of components received: Flawless.
Completeness of delivery: Perfect
Website comments: Very basic. Would benefit from more photos and product information.
Human interactions: Professional and friendly.
Warranty: Three year parts & labor.
Pricing: Reasonable considering special edition monos only cost $500 more than standard model.
Final comments & suggestions: None. |
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