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Wycliffe Gordon's trombone had life-like body and saturated powerful tone with the proper hint of bite a brass instrument should have. Kermit Ruffin's trumpet was similar yet 'lighter' – very lively, sometimes smooth as silk, sometimes sharp as a razor to almost hurt my ears. No matter how big the band, as long as the recording allowed it, the Bakoon very precisely placed each instrument in a particular place on stage to clearly define which was closer to and farther from me. The only thing I might still have wished for was that amazing holographic imaging only the best SET amplifiers are capable of. That said, the Bakoon left no room for doubt as to which instrument was where or what size it was. It showed it as a 3D image, just not as precisely rendered as for example Kondo's Japanese Souga amp managed. But hey, that's where imagination enters. Close your eyes and let your brain work. With that much information delivered, our own bio computer will produce a very nice precise image of the whole band.
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While I didn't want to give up acoustic music just yet, I wanted to hear more fire and energy than most such recordings encode. There is probably no better way of upping charge than some acoustic heavy metal as Rodrigo y Gabriela call their music. Yep, now there was fire with tons of energy and amazing dynamics from just two acoustic guitars. The Bakoon delivered the right mixture of strings and wood and spiced it up with proper speed and explosive dynamics. Whilst the AMP-12R did not equal the Sugden's heavy rich bass, its pace and rhythm were clear assets. And this applied not just to unplugged music.
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The Australian veterans of AC/DC who followed the Mexican duet overran me with their incredible unending supply of energy, crazy pace and fantastic guitar chops. I really had loads of fun with this 15-watt amp. What made the difference between these two amplifiers was not really bass extension which was very good either way but how rich and heavy the lowest notes came off. The Sugden simply placed more weight on even the lowest bass whilst the Bakoon focused rather on the mid and upper bass. To be clear, this didn't bother me at all, not even with Ray Brown's or Isao Suzuki's double basses. There were lovely timbre, wood, dynamics and detail on both the macro and micro scale. Everything was as I expected it even if the very very low bass notes in Aquamarine were only heard, not felt.
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As I'd reviewed the fantastic HPA-21 shortly before the AMP-12R, I didn't really spend much time using its headphone output. I had loved the HPA-21 with Sennheiser's HD800. That was a perfect match. Also with my Audeze LCD-3 it had been a very very good setup although I felt that truly ideal synergy was reserved for the HD800. The AMP-12R is primarily a speaker amplifier. I also no longer had the HD800 which I'd again expect to be the best match. So I only auditioned the headphone port shortly to confirm that it again sounded very good with my Audeze. If you own cans from this company, do try them with Bakoon amps. Many love this combination and the two companies together with the headphone stand folks from Klutz offer a complete system which no doubt is well matched. What I heard was a rich detailed rhythmically involving sound with low punchy bass, dense smooth colourful mids and quite impressive spacing. The only thing which stopped me from calling this setup perfect was lack of something the Schiit Mjolnir or Sugden HA-4 did - shed some light on the upper frequency range. |
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I tried to explain it whilst reviewing the Mjolnir. It's not about an amp being bright in the top to increase treble visibility with cans. I'd compare it to photography instead. The more light you aim at the object, the more details emerge from the shadows to be captured by the lens. But this won't blind you as basic brightness would. It seems that either Bakoon lacks this one thing which to me would make it a perfect match with Audeze headphones. But even after my short session with the LCD-3, I think it safe to say that the headphone output of the AMP-12R is, 1/ very good; 2/ similar to the HPA-21; 3/ not far behind the HPA-21. And you need to remember that what you buy here is an amplifier for your speakers. The great headphone output is simply a welcome bonus. Most AMP-12R owners will never look for a separate headfi amplifier. [That would be me. I reviewed the HPA-21 but stuck with my far costlier AMP-12R for my night-stand headfi system with Audeze LCD-2– Ed.]
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Summary. Listening to various recordings I tried to catch out the Bakoon red-handed, perhaps trying to color the sound I knew very well or change it in any way. I failed. And that was my impression from the very start. What we have here is an amazing clarity and purity of sound, playing exactly what arrives at these inputs as much as the amp is capable of (i.e. except for the very lowest bass). This means that the AMP-12R differentiates very well between recordings to show their various upsides and downsides. It is not so highly analytical as to point out the downsides but it won't hide them either. Even poorer recordings remain acceptable as long as the music itself is likable and involves you sufficiently to forget about technicalities.
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When it comes to high-quality recordings, it's your choice entirely whether you want to study their tiniest details or just let the musical flow carry you away. And let me tell you, it's very easy to let the Bakoon charm you with the beauty of the music it plays, with the palpability of its presentation and the real emotional connection it creates to the players and vocalists. It's an amazing performer. All you must do is let it do its job properly by giving it some efficient speakers.
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As Soo In Chae explained, this really isn't an integrated amplifier but a power amp with passive gain control. Externally it looks exactly like the predecessor. For the horizontal volume wheel I might like some engraved markings to more easily set it, perhaps in yellow like the company logo on the front. Inside it looks quite similar to the AMP-11R Wojciech reviewed – a large motherboard with two small SATRI modules and the impressive external power supply.
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Technical specifications according to the manufacturer:
Maximum power output: 15W (8Ω, 1kHz)
Gain: 20dB (max)
Frequency response: 10Hz - 1MHz (gain at + 10dB)
Inputs: 1 x SATRI-LINK (BNC, current input), 1 x RCA (voltage input)
Input impedance: 3.68Ω (SATRI-LINK),100kΩ (RCA)
Outputs: 5-way Cardas binding posts, 6.35mm headphone output
Signal/noise ratio < 50μV (gain at + 0dB)
DC Offset: <1mV
Power consumption: 20W (idle), 50W (max)
Dimensions: 195mm (W) x 195 |
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opinia @ highfidelity.pl
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