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Eximus vs. AURALiC: Simon Lee's narrower but deeper box had an unfair advantage. It's a small button deceptively labeled filter. This is specific to the 6.3mm headphone port. It does not relate to a defeatable digital filter as might be assumed from a DAC. Rather it operates purely in the analog domain. Bypass is the default setting. Engaged and confirmed with a red LED, bass response is up 6dB @ 30Hz "good for certain headphones like AKG. This is not a x-over type filter but a simple boost at 30Hz. Most headfi systems don't resolve this during playback but you can instantly feel it in the change of ambience. The knee of this filter is at ca. 75Hz."
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When not abused for Reggae and Dance Hall bashes, superior subwoofers properly set up enhance spatial realism via low-level infrasonic cues. They also deepen tone colors with an injection of black and in general increase the presentational scale and gravitas. That's what the Eximus filter does. It acts as an instant lateral space expander. For headfiers with Audez'e-trained LF expectations it also quite transforms the HD800's low-down virtues. Purists will call it a cheap trick but once experienced you'll never call it cheap again. With that the Taurus couldn't compete. So I defeated the boost function. What might otherwise separate these machines? Very little. Advanced hifi electronics by definition have already crossed off linear frequency response, low distortion, high S/N ratio and such. What's left tends to come down to the relative balance between driven/relaxed, transparent/dense and all their complementary relatives.
These attributes operate outside the domain of primitive tonal balance. They occur within the transient, sustain and decay trinity and how minor shifts in weighting those aspects affect perception. The AURALiC and Eximus designers aimed for and achieved the same balance of very minor warmth/softness coupled to high control, excellent dynamics and great magnification with terrific bass impact and extension. This recipe isn't dominated by air, speed, lit-up energetics or heightened powers of incisiveness. Unlike Burson it's not dominated by mass and density either. As much as such things can be assessed, this very robust sound walks close to the mythical middle of neutrality.
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To test for preamp chops, I ran the Nelson Pass FirstWatt SIT2 and used my usual 6-meter Zu Event interconnect to bridge the distance. Then I exploited three scenarios. A/ The Eximus either drove the SIT2 amplifier directly; or output analog into the Taurus via a balanced Zu Event cable with its own volume control bypassed. With the Taurus control then set fully counterclockwise for presumably mute, my 91dB Aries Cerat Gladius speakers still emitted the faintest of music signal so there again was just a skoch of bleed-through. B/ The ARK MX+ fed either the Taurus or the Eximus via its analogue XLR outputs. C/ I compared the ARK MX+/Taurus duo to the Eximus solo. |
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One of my test tracks was from Kardeş Tüküler's Çocuk Haklı album which I'd spotted in Taksim Square's shopping district of Istanbul last year. "Sevdayla Uslandı Gönlüm" with Feryal Öney on vocals is very much in a Mercan Dede vein musically and on production values. In the first scenario the single-box Eximus—perhaps by eliminating an interconnect —had the obvious advantage on separation. It better resolved the densely packed very darkly timbred layers and rich textures of this song as various superimposed/intermingling events. Admittedly that's a challenging task but was one of the reasons for this track. Bass articulation and intelligibility of low-down action were superior too.
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In the second scenario where each half ran two components, the AURALiC duo clearly pulled even on bass, arguably taking a small lead in heft though not definition. This made the small remaining distinction about dark/light. In terms of illumination and weightiness the Eximus was somewhat lighter. In the third scenario the Eximus led again on the same counts as the first. This suggested once more a possible advantage of a shorter signal path inside a single chassis. Adding up cost savings on the Eximus plus further savings on one less interconnect and power cord made the DP-1 in my book first amongst these two equals.
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One of the core takeaway conclusions should be that top-flight headphone amps like AURALiC's Taurus can make for absolutely brilliant preamplifiers. Here great attention was spent on noise floor and raw drive. What this type of box lacks in exploded functionality it makes up for in compactness and price. And how many sources do most of today's music listeners really want to accommodate? Perhaps those preamp days are mostly over. If it weren't for remote control and balance, I'd remove 'perhaps' from the last sentence. Though many find a balance control redundant, I listen to my big rig also from the work desk. That sits diagonally in one of the rear corners. Without balance I'd be listening to just the left speaker. Here the ModWright LS100's defeatable balance makes everything right. But that's not a common scenario.
For standard setups—listening area equidistant between the speakers—and where infrared convenience over volume isn't mandatory, the Taurus asks an inconvenient question. What more do you need? If you want the particular elasticity and textural effervescence of the ModWright, you'll want a 6SN7 or other triode in the low-level signal path. If you're into transistor virtues done well, there's sonically very little separating my €10.000+ Esoteric C-03 preamp from the Taurus. Were it not for the former's consummate gain adaptability (which changes its voices in three stages to make a terrific reviewing tool), one could in this context call its classy remote a heavy-duty €8.000 item. Ouch...
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| Final words. AURALiC's Taurus follows the excitement of their ARK MX+ converter. As a high-power headphone amp it drives HifiMan's toughest HE6 to perfection. It'll thus power any commercial headphone on the market. In the general sonic vein of Burson Audio's HA160 with resolution the next level up plus greater top-end brilliance and an overall higher degree of sophistication, the Taurus is a top-flight headfi/preamp whose strategic dry warmth is sourced from high class A transistor bias. It stays clear of valve darkness and moisturization and becomes an iron first in a velvet glove for cans and amplifier input stages alike. Its noise floor is exceptionally low, and its 4.5wpc/32Ω power very butch for the breed. Once again team AURALiC demonstrates a high level of circuit design know-how. Hats off! |
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Quality of packing: Very good.
Reusability of packing: A few times.
Ease of unpacking/repacking: A cinch.
Condition of component received: Flawless.
Completeness of delivery: Perfect.
Human interactions: Good.
Pricing: Good value.
Final comments & suggestions: No remote control could preclude preamp use for some. The line and headphone outputs are simultaneously live. This can make for certain inconvenient scenarios detailed in the review. Dedicated selector switches as Resonessence Labs has them for their Invicta DAC would remedy that. |
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