With the retuned preamplifier, I no longer worry about AC/DC or Aerosmith betraying brightness or harshness in the treble and upper midrange. These unwelcome yet inherent aspects remain but display less blunt and disruptive. Now they are more of a feature, less of a downside. Since each of the Circle Labs products is about music and the listener's experience rather than ultra-high fidelity, this slight change in sonic character seems to be another consistent step in the direction this brand took up from the start. As mentioned, to use two bridged M200 and fully benefit requires a true balanced signal which none of my sources is capable of. Luckily I could put hands on an excellent Lumin T3 streamer and Octave phono stage with symmetrical outputs for this final test over both Ubiq Audio and GrandiNote speakers. In either case two M200s created yet better, fuller, more defined and differentiated sound. Superior control even over the easy-drive Mach4 as well as more reactive Model One paid off with even firmer more present and larger imaging. Dynamic crests of orchestras and Rock bands were more violent and even resolution benefitted. These weren't revolutionary changes but the sound definitely moved up from numerous little improvements so the overall advantages felt well worth investing into. The more challenging our speakers, the greater of a difference two Circle Labs power amps will make. Since I currently own no balanced source, a second M200 will remain on my 'maybe' list pending an upgrade of my DAC and phono stage.
The P300 and M200 are two of few products which visited my room more than once over an extended period before taking up permanent place in my system. What I learned over more than 15 years of reviewing is that some products impress me a lot at first but when I hear them again say a year later, I sometimes perceive them differently. Despite some minor changes introduced to both designs since my first encounters, whenever I turn these Circle Labs components on I feel the same joy and excitement. It's almost like getting back home to something familiar which I truly appreciate.
The changes to the P300 seem designed to please me in particular. I'm simply not vain enough to believe that they made them for me. Rather I think that more clients have similar expectations and were willing to trade a little of the previous version's incredible transparency for a bit richer, more saturated sound. My assessment is simple. This is a top quality genuinely high-end set made in Poland which will appeal to those who favor pleasure listening to technical perfection and ultimate fidelity. It's for those who crave emotions, need to feel, love coherence, flow, smoothness and some sweetness. It's for those who also need effortless gobs of power, great drive and dynamics, high resolution and still impressive transparency and clarity over the explicit truth of so many recordings.
That's exactly what I look for so yes, I bought the Circle Labs P300 | M200 set as my new reference 'twin-chassis amplifier'. It won't be the best 2-box amplifier money can buy but should definitely be one of the best in its class. Perhaps in the future I'll add a second M200. For now these Circle Labs separates are highly recommended if you need a lot of power but love the rich, slightly warm, smooth, palpable and spatial sound of tubes. These components will give you that and more. I can't guarantee that they'll meet all of your expectation but for sure they'll make for an interesting and exciting experience!
