Although the name Pascal was nowhere to be found, some image Googling resulted in a match with their U-Pro1 modules. Pascal uses a lot of resonance damping by way of blobs of white silicone paste on and around parts. We think some of it also covers up the company name. With the lid off, the power storage banks looked impressive. Per channel there's four times 3300μF of capacitance which should help the on-board power supply of the Pascal modules substantially. Next to hit the eye are a pair of large ferrite filters on the leads from the power boards to the loudspeaker terminals. Both are proof of attention paid to hot-rodding the off-the-shelf capabilities of these boards.
They support the desired operating modes of balanced, stereo, bi-amp and bridged for which dip switches at the back handle the settings. Where 23dB of voltage gain is insufficient, switch #5 can add +6dB. With the lid back on, the exterior was pure functionality and not very exciting. At the front there's the power switch and illuminated blue logo. At the back we have, from outside to in, each channel's RCA, XLR and speaker terminal bracketing the power IEC. Given the low-rider profile, for spade use the orientation of the terminals is properly up. Under the IEC sits an 8-way dip switch bank, a mini USB for firmware updates and a 12V trigger. The finish of the amp is medium-gloss black or silver for the front panel, gun-metal grey for the remainder of the casing.
We used the Brooklyn Amp in combination with the matching Brooklyn DAC+ in for its own review. Digital feed to the DAC+ was the Sound Galleries SGM 2015 streamer while the Brooklyn Amp fed Avantgarde Acoustic Duo Omega horns with BAT super tweeters and dual Zu Submission subwoofers.
With the high 109dB sensitivity of the horns, the amp's 300wpc on tap were somewhat overwhelming. Any attenuation was helpful so we changed a few jumpers in the Brooklyn DAC+ to invoke 6dB of attenuation. Next we turned its variable output all the way down before switching the amp on. The first album we cued up was Jowee Omicil's Let's Bash. This is contemporary jazz spiced up with classic jazz and modern dance trends. It is one of our current favorites to get played a lot. With the Brooklyn Amp fresh out of the box, the sound was thin, lacked definition and although plenty of (sub) woofer power was on hand, it all went on holiday. The same impression held with the Belgian Intermezzo's Uno Dos and Till Brönner's collaboration with Dieter Ilg on Nightfall. The latter's tracks are mostly just flügelhorn or trumpet with bass, thus very dependent on dynamic scale and tonal balance. It all made us stop the session to give the amp a chance to catch its travel breath.
After 24 hours of further contemplation for the Brooklyn Amp, we gave it another try. No doubt the silent meditation had done a good job. The vitally important midrange had gained definition and depth while the higher regions now offered far more feathering instead of the previous uptight presentation. But bass was still in short supply. It appeared that 24 hours were insufficient. So good-hearted as we are, we gave this US-designed but Polish-built amplifier another 76 hours of acclimation.
