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About the sonic contributions of the Black Box I can’t add anything substantial over what Martin Mertens already discovered during his V40SE review. Even over the JBLs and at moderate levels the Black Box created more clarity and authority. Once you’ve heard it, it's unlikely you'll want to be without even though I'd personally prefer not having a second box in the rack when my choice of integrated amp was informed in the first place by a desire to reduce box clutter. I’d attempt a more invisible setup then. With the right speaker the V70SE bass is a positive surprise for anyone who still correlates valves with a washed-out rounded-over rendition of the low frequencies. Granted, a powerful transistor amp can deliver more but not that much more. Without ‘doping’ the bass of this machine leaves little to be desired. Even on infrasonic orgies à la Portishead it comes across as dry, easily extended enough and most importantly agile. The Black Box adds a touch of transparency in the visual sense. Instruments are more easily ‘seen’, more readily localized and more easily sized. Reverb trails too have better focus.
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Conclusion. The lasting impression the Octave V70SE made in its wake was transparency. It never vied for attention to let the music do the talking instead. And that’s exactly what I expect of an amp. The price/performance ratio here is extraordinarily high particularly considering the maker’s proven track record for longevity and freedom from operational aggravations. The Black Box is a viable upgrade path and clearly worth the price. I’d simply be even more impressed if the additional capacitors didn’t require packing into a separate box which must consume a solid portion of the upgrade fee and takes up more space.
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It would certainly be interesting to tease out differences between the company’s three integrated models. Since I didn’t have the other two on hand, I’ll quote the maker who describes the V40SE and V70SE as quite similar save for the latter’s more involved power supply and power reserves. This supposedly translates into audible more control and authority. There’s also the phono board option. Hofmann views the V70SE as belonging on the dynamic/punchy side of the fence. The V80 appeals more to classic fans (particularly opera fiends), has lower bass reach and sounds "more beautiful and round". It also gains features particularly in the headfi socket. There’s incidentally no SE version of the V80 planned. It’s intended to remain in the catalogue unchanged for a number of years. Given the company’s own assessment and my audition I’m fully inclined to believe that the V70SE of today really is the firm’s ongoing bestseller.
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Psych profile:
- Doesn’t exhibit prototypical valve warmth but is tonally neutral without emphasis in any given range. Bass extension is impressive if not as profound as with a transistor muscle amp.
- Exhibits very even, powerful and clear differentiation of transients across the audible spectrum. In the bass this simply relies on a copasetic speaker load which seems to imply a preference for a single woofer per side rather than paralleled arrays.
- Has quick reflexes and with the right speaker tracks even polyrhythmic complexities such that the listener wants to dance.
- Sizes and separates instruments correctly without drift during attacks. Relative to far costlier pre/power combinations the depth perspective is minimally compromised.
- Gains from the optional parallel power supply capacitance box come by way of greater authority, relaxation and image focus independent of loudness. The core character remains unchanged.
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Facts:
- Category: Integrated valve amp
- Dimensions and weight: 451 x150 x 415mm (W x H x D), 22kg
- Trim: Black or silver
- I/o ports: 5 x RCA in, 1 x XLR in, bypass function for one input, variable pre-out, fixed preout, speaker outputs
- Power consumption: 400 watts at full power, 140 watts during normal use, less than 25 watts in eco mode
- Other: Remote control, bypass function, ecomode, power tube bias individually adjustable, socket for optional power supply (€900/€2.400 surcharge respectively), optional MM or MC phono board (€450)
- Warranty: 3 years
- Website
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redaktion @ fairaudio.de
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