This review page is supported in part by the sponsors whose ad banners are displayed below

Reviewer:
Srajan Ebaen
Financial Interests: click here
Source:
27" iMac with 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, 16GB 1.333MHz RAM, 2TB hard disc, 256GB SSD drive, ADM Radeon HD 6970M with 2GB of GDDR5 memory, OSX 10.8.2, PureMusic 1.88a in hybrid memory play with pre-allocated RAM and AIFF files up to 24/192; Audirvana 1.4 in direct/integer mode, April Music Eximus DP1, Esoteric/APL Hifi UX1/NWO-M w. Bakoon BPS-02 battery-powered Audiophilleo 2
Preamp/Integrated: ModWright LS-100 with Psvane tubes, Esoteric C-03, Bent Audio Tap-X,
TruLife Audio Athena, Bakoon AMP-11R
Amplifier
: First Watt SIT1, FirstWatt SIT2, ModWright KWA100SE
Speakers: Aries Cerat Gladius, Boenicke Aud
io B10, Voxativ Ampeggio
Desktop: Apple iPod Classic 160GB/AIFF, Cambridge Audio iD100, Aura Vivid & Vita, EBTB Terra III, Ardán Audio stands
Cables: Complete loom of Zu Audio Event,
KingRex uArt USB cable with Bakoon BPS-02
Stands:
Artesania Esoteric double-wide 3-tier with TT glass shelf, Rajasthani solid hardwood console for amps
Powerline conditioning: GigaWatt PF2
on amps, GigaWatt PC-3 SE Evo on front-end components

Sundry accessories: Extensive use of Acoustic System Resonators, noise filters and phase inverters
Room size: 5m x 11.5m W x D, 2.6m ceiling with exposed wooden cross beams every 60cm, plaster over brick walls, suspended wood floor with Tatami-type throw rugs. The listening space opens into the second storey via a staircase and the kitchen/dining room are behind the main listening chair. The latter is thus positioned in the middle of this open floor plan without the usual nearby back wall.
Review component retail: €629

12.12.12. If you put stock in numbers, that's one propitious date. It's certainly what Funjoe in Hong Kong figured when he launched Clones Audio that day. "Clones Audio is a one-man workshop. Producing affordable stuff to make enjoying the music easy is my goal. My products are amplifiers inspired by the 47labs Gaincard, i.e. gainclones. It's the story behind this project. I was a diehard fan of 47labs. I had their 47treasure 0247 and 0347 and also their Lens speaker. I liked their concept very much. One day my father comes over to listen to my 47labs system. He's an audiophile who also plays the Blues guitar. Afterwards he very much wants his own set. But he thinks that 47labs products are quite expensive [at $3.200 to $5.100 for a Gaincard he was far from alone - Ed]. I was thinking of buying him a 2nd-hand Gaincard but found this not only costly again but in Hong Kong nearly impossible to find. So I decided to make him one for his birthday.
47lab Gaincard


"Now I discovered how many people had made their own gainclones yet few had really captured the original's true soul. That's perhaps because their gainclones went wild and after so-called audiophile-proved parts. I tried that too but didn't think it sounded as good. So I went back to doing it the simple way. After much trial and error I finally had my own version with a new PCB layout and a tiny case to keep the signal path short. At last my father received his own set and he felt that now it should be shared with others.


"I started to think of making a small number for sale. I of course will make all my amplifiers by hand to guarantee highest performance. I would like to keep things affordable so more people can take the first step on their audio journey with this wonderful sound. Having my own production was another dream. So I hurried up to make it true before my first baby is born (expected around December 24th). I've found so many top-value component tips from 6moons reviews over the years that I'd now like to contribute my own."


21.12.12. If Funjoe's baby arrives after the first day of the next grand Mayan cycle, it'll belong squarely to the new era. As for gainclones, they're decidely of the last. If I have my history straight, 47labs' Kimura-San was working hard on his super-complex PiTracer when he needed a reliable amplifier reference whose sound would be an intimate constant during R&D of the flagship CD player. Not willing to devote much time on designing a statement amp just then, he whipped up a 'first semester electronics 101' circuit to serve the purpose. Apparently word of its unexpectedly good sonics got around. This led to subsequent circuit refinements and finally commercialization. Thus a legend was born.