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With all the esteem I developed for the nowe amplifiers, I must stress again how they aren’t universal panaceas. I already mentioned the room size, loudspeaker sensitivity and system gain as specific requirements but now I must add one last limitation: bass. Discussions about its role—if there can be more or less, how that should balance out, what happens when there is less etc—have been ongoing since the beginning of audio. The mono3.5 sounds a bit like a Quad ESL63 electrostatic. It has no low bass to speak of and the midbass is not as dynamic and open as the competition. There is a saying attributed to Peter Walker of Quad who responded to accusations over the lack of bass in his speakers that should somebody miss any bass, he ought to take a cardboard box and kick it during the song.
I respect this attitude and understand where it comes from—a preference for better controlled albeit limited bass—but I believe that for reproducing music in any ultimate fashion, the frequency response should be equal in every part of the spectrum. Here today’s amplifiers are incapable of creating a really big sound. They also won’t recreate the low bass passages from the Laurie Anderson disc Homeland as impressively as more powerful amplifiers do it. This held true also for the Ayon GosHawk speaker (90.5dB, 6 ohm). The Chario monitors responded superbly but even they could have profited from stronger bass to become more dynamic especially at higher volume levels. If somebody does miss the bass, the nowe amplifiers could be tried on semi-active speakers like Avantgarde Acoustic horns or Adam models where they will handle only the midrange and treble.
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When I reread that last paragraph a few times, something did not sit right. Everything I wrote is true and exactly as I see it. Yet it did not fully represent what I wanted to convey especially after using these monoblocks for a prolonged period. Yes there wasn’t as much bass as with more powerful competitors. That’s a fact. But, one could easily get used to such a tonal balance. The real assets of this sound are so devastating to our former beliefs about what solid-state amplifiers should and should not do that the mono3.5 can easily be used solo without extra power in the bass section. The lower midrange is full and active to prevent the sound from getting thin or dry.
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This is a true reference amplifier based on a unique and bold notion that really works if we know what to do with it. This is a sound we should expect from a very expensive tube amplifier around a 300B or 2A3 triode. It’s a very refined project with a fantastic external design and exceptional sound; an almost perfect trinity.
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Description: The manufacturer lists ultra-fast Toshiba TPCA Mosfets; 60-watt high-power MP2060 Kool-Pack and MK-132V Micronox precision resistors by Caddock; WBT Nextgen 0210 and 0710 silver terminals and RCAs; rhodium-plated Furutech IEC; ultra-fast General Semiconductor FES16BT rectifiers; Siltech G6 silver/gold hook-up wiring in Kapton dielectric; Nippon Chemi-Com low impedance LXZ 105c filter capacitors; Wima MKP 10 polypropylene capacitors; Lachowski mains transformer; and Energizer Ultimate 9V battery bias.
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The thermal behavior of the mono3.5’s surface was captured on film with a thermo camera by Politechnika Gdańska. Here is a link. The casings are milled from aluminium to which bolt the transistors, capacitors and transformer. The profile is flat and looks similar to a Linn Sondek CD 12. In the front we only have the company logo. On the back below the protruding cover we get the listed socketry and a mechanical power mains with red back lighting. The unit sits on three large spikes. The amplifiers look great but are impractical to position, hence I used the finite elemente Ceraballs. As it turned out, the diameter of the threaded holes in the amplifiers were identical to the ones in the Ceraballs. After unscrewing the bottom cover we can see how the parts and cables are positioned or run inside milled-out channels.
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In the middle like the queen of a beehive sits a copper block with an aluminum element bolted to it. Between those two parts sits the tiny but ultra-fast TPCA Toshiba transistor. The input signal proceeds through a 0.22μF polypropylene Wima capacitor. There are also two Caddock resistors and a battery to replace the classic bias circuit for the transistor. From the Mosfet the signal couples to the output via one coupling capacitor, the usual bottleneck for this type of circuit.
The power supply is quite overbuilt when we take into account that it only powers one active element the size of a fingernail. There is a powerful toroid from the Lachowski company and a small army of paralleled capacitors for a total storage of 150.000μF. The transformer and capacitors are damped with silicon to eliminate vibration. The hook-up wiring is fairly short as this is an ultra-minimalist construction. The finish of the enclosures was not perfect as my loaners were the first units made. Once finalized, these amps should become one of the finest looking audio products on the market.
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Technical data (according to manufacturer):
- Input level until clipping: 4.4V/2Ω
- Input impedance: 200 kΩ
- Gain: 0dB
- Output power: 10W
- Mains voltage: 110/240Vac (50/60Hz)
- Maximum power consumption: 100W
- Power consumption at idle: 50W
- Dimensions: W 320mm x D 320mm x H 40mm
- Weight (a piece): 8.4kg
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opinia @ highfidelity.pl
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