Firstly and big thank-you is needed to go out to ED at the service department at Conrad Johnson (USA, VIRGINIA),a extremely helpful man off paitience in helping me convert the voltage of the new Conrad Johson pre PV10,and through his help as this was made possible.
Secondly another big thankyou goes in the direction of Tony over at Omiga Audio,for 1) suggesting and recommending the Bel Canto 2)making himself avaliable in any difficulities that would have arose in the conversion change of the amp that may have been needed,and allowing me to pick his brains and time,so a big thank-you goes out to thoes two individuals.
Well there is always a risk from buying from the states,and what ifs???,luckily the two people i have delt with have been two top notch guys who were a pleasure to deal with,with the goods arriving in mint condition.
The two amps were to replace a exellent Copland valve amp,the copland mayored and focused on the midrange,with the frequincey extremes taking the back seat,so you got a pure live vocal rendition,it really didn't have any of the negative traits that can be assoiciated with valve amps it was snappy involving,and didn't really have any major flaws at its prospective price point,it had a superb phono stage and was built like a tank!and weighed 25kg,heavy beast,so why change?.Well isn't this hobby addictive?The urge for a little bit more performance,and that nagging little, what if i try this? niggling away in the back of your mind,and that devilish urge to upgrade and change for better or for worse.
I was tempted as the âââ'¬Å¡Â¬uro was so strong against a weak dollar,it would be foolish not to take advantage of the situation,I had heard and enjoyed the valved pre of Conrad Johnson,so i set about getting one of thoes first.But what would be its partner?I thought alot about a copland SS power amp,as i liked the Copland sound and thier products are top quality with strong build.
But then again there was the Bel Canto with its class T operation,which Tony had started the ball rolling,it had superb reviews,and all that had heard the Bel canto sang of its praise,so I thought,well whats there to lose (apart from money)
In the end the voltage change on the Bel canto was a simple job,that even I could do,yes it was that easy.the Conrad Johnson had to be rewired,it was only 30âââ'¬Å¡Â¬uros,shipping was about $200 for both with insurance,so not bad.
The time came to wire and fire them up,my system is unidentifiable to this time 1 years ago,where the sound was lusher,but I purchased the Cal Audio DAC,stunning piece of kit,and the Sonus Fabers were changed to some B&W P6,the SF were charming,holographic,but were only giving half the performance due to small drivers and cabinets size,plus the treble was a touch grey and grainy,so I went back to B&W which also have thier weak points,but look stunning in the cherry finish.
I put the amps on,great they both worked,the Conrad was superbly built with gtreat controls that felt solid,and precise that gave more range and usage than the Copland which was a bit sudden at low volume,whereas the Conrad gives greater control at low volumes,and allows more useage of the volume dial.
The bel canto is turned on from the rear of the amp, can be used as a mono block,at the switch of a button,hmmm very nice thoght,but i was to use it as a stereo power amp.The amps is like a brick,unimposing,(till you look inside and are greeted by a "hello boys"transformer!!!
A bel canto logo is on the left hand side of the amp,in gold and gives off a touch of class.But the nice suprise comes with a groovy little blue light,that looks real cool.
But how did the combo sound?well one thing that is amazing me at the moment,is that im reading alot of people claiming all things sound the same,here and in spain,under blind test they sound the same,amps,cables cd players,why is this pheonomenon happening? I honestly dont know because the pre power sound miles different to the copland,in fact at first it was a sonic shock,how?
At firat i noted two blatently obvious changes,firstly the treble,now the fact is the B&W are bright,detailed and can be onthe borderline of being harsh,well i noticed it became alot sweeter,liquid like in its fluity,cleaner it just changed so much for the better,it cleary the best ive heard it sound,the Bel canto really really excela is this area,I believe it will bring out the best of any tweeter as it so pure and dynamic.
The other obvious change was the midrange,wow was it strange at first,the Copland was forward pushing the vocalist righ out at you,bit in your face,live feel,but with the Bel Canto I felt it far more recessed,like they had joined the band again,it was quite startling it first,and was not sure what to make of if,but with time it did sound more natural,if restrained and different to what i was accustomed to.
The bottom end is far faster than the Copland,leaner,and cures quite a few boom room problems.
Having let the kit warm up over the past few days I would say that the Bel canto to me,is one hell of a power amps,it really passes the signal straight through,whats on the disc is what comes out of the speakers,its extremly dynamic,fast,clear and a super clean top end,with a restrained midrange,that does have a valve like natural timbre and realness to the sound,it exspensive new but offers truly involving sound the draws you in,and has you playing disc after disc,it so clean its unreal.
The Conrad to is exellent,I just wished it had a phono,so will look toward a creek or a graham slee in the future,but for now im enjoying the wizardry of these stunning amps.
_________________
UPGRADING-resistance is futile.
my hifi pixs: http://ImageEvent.com/adam1/hifipixs
Secondly another big thankyou goes in the direction of Tony over at Omiga Audio,for 1) suggesting and recommending the Bel Canto 2)making himself avaliable in any difficulities that would have arose in the conversion change of the amp that may have been needed,and allowing me to pick his brains and time,so a big thank-you goes out to thoes two individuals.
Well there is always a risk from buying from the states,and what ifs???,luckily the two people i have delt with have been two top notch guys who were a pleasure to deal with,with the goods arriving in mint condition.
The two amps were to replace a exellent Copland valve amp,the copland mayored and focused on the midrange,with the frequincey extremes taking the back seat,so you got a pure live vocal rendition,it really didn't have any of the negative traits that can be assoiciated with valve amps it was snappy involving,and didn't really have any major flaws at its prospective price point,it had a superb phono stage and was built like a tank!and weighed 25kg,heavy beast,so why change?.Well isn't this hobby addictive?The urge for a little bit more performance,and that nagging little, what if i try this? niggling away in the back of your mind,and that devilish urge to upgrade and change for better or for worse.
I was tempted as the âââ'¬Å¡Â¬uro was so strong against a weak dollar,it would be foolish not to take advantage of the situation,I had heard and enjoyed the valved pre of Conrad Johnson,so i set about getting one of thoes first.But what would be its partner?I thought alot about a copland SS power amp,as i liked the Copland sound and thier products are top quality with strong build.
But then again there was the Bel Canto with its class T operation,which Tony had started the ball rolling,it had superb reviews,and all that had heard the Bel canto sang of its praise,so I thought,well whats there to lose (apart from money)
In the end the voltage change on the Bel canto was a simple job,that even I could do,yes it was that easy.the Conrad Johnson had to be rewired,it was only 30âââ'¬Å¡Â¬uros,shipping was about $200 for both with insurance,so not bad.
The time came to wire and fire them up,my system is unidentifiable to this time 1 years ago,where the sound was lusher,but I purchased the Cal Audio DAC,stunning piece of kit,and the Sonus Fabers were changed to some B&W P6,the SF were charming,holographic,but were only giving half the performance due to small drivers and cabinets size,plus the treble was a touch grey and grainy,so I went back to B&W which also have thier weak points,but look stunning in the cherry finish.
I put the amps on,great they both worked,the Conrad was superbly built with gtreat controls that felt solid,and precise that gave more range and usage than the Copland which was a bit sudden at low volume,whereas the Conrad gives greater control at low volumes,and allows more useage of the volume dial.
The bel canto is turned on from the rear of the amp, can be used as a mono block,at the switch of a button,hmmm very nice thoght,but i was to use it as a stereo power amp.The amps is like a brick,unimposing,(till you look inside and are greeted by a "hello boys"transformer!!!
A bel canto logo is on the left hand side of the amp,in gold and gives off a touch of class.But the nice suprise comes with a groovy little blue light,that looks real cool.
But how did the combo sound?well one thing that is amazing me at the moment,is that im reading alot of people claiming all things sound the same,here and in spain,under blind test they sound the same,amps,cables cd players,why is this pheonomenon happening? I honestly dont know because the pre power sound miles different to the copland,in fact at first it was a sonic shock,how?
At firat i noted two blatently obvious changes,firstly the treble,now the fact is the B&W are bright,detailed and can be onthe borderline of being harsh,well i noticed it became alot sweeter,liquid like in its fluity,cleaner it just changed so much for the better,it cleary the best ive heard it sound,the Bel canto really really excela is this area,I believe it will bring out the best of any tweeter as it so pure and dynamic.
The other obvious change was the midrange,wow was it strange at first,the Copland was forward pushing the vocalist righ out at you,bit in your face,live feel,but with the Bel Canto I felt it far more recessed,like they had joined the band again,it was quite startling it first,and was not sure what to make of if,but with time it did sound more natural,if restrained and different to what i was accustomed to.
The bottom end is far faster than the Copland,leaner,and cures quite a few boom room problems.
Having let the kit warm up over the past few days I would say that the Bel canto to me,is one hell of a power amps,it really passes the signal straight through,whats on the disc is what comes out of the speakers,its extremly dynamic,fast,clear and a super clean top end,with a restrained midrange,that does have a valve like natural timbre and realness to the sound,it exspensive new but offers truly involving sound the draws you in,and has you playing disc after disc,it so clean its unreal.
The Conrad to is exellent,I just wished it had a phono,so will look toward a creek or a graham slee in the future,but for now im enjoying the wizardry of these stunning amps.
_________________
UPGRADING-resistance is futile.
my hifi pixs: http://ImageEvent.com/adam1/hifipixs
T.
.
, and redline don't do the mods, Dennis moorcroft is the main man there, I believe merlin can enlighten you more here, I'm having a elipise sent straight to me from the US (By the customer), so I can 'encourage' it some what, so give me a couple of weeks and I'll do a piece of the voltage conversion Ok. Wm
