Absolare Integrated

[Jazzhead]

Hi Guillaume ... Nice pice that ! ... Is not the server option also available as built into the d1 six DAC ? Or is the separate server differently configured .

 

[analog brother]

he meant it looks much better in person than in the pictures.
pretty enough to warrant the expenditure, even before one starts to quantify any gains in sq.

 

[GuillaumeB]

Hi Guillaume ... Nice pice that ! ... Is not the server option also available as built into the d1 six DAC ? Or is the separate server differently configured .

Cheers Jazz!

Yes you can have the server built in to the d1-six. I already owned the d1 server and Vincent recommended I keep it as there are small SQ advantages to keeping DAC and server separate.

Guillaume

 

[jep123]

Congratulations with the Absolare Integrated. It is an outstanding amp. I have used mine for a few months and I enjoy it more and more.

JP

 

[GuillaumeB]

Here are a couple more pics:




Guillaume

 

[jep123]

Wonderful!

 

[analog brother]

beautiful!

enough juice for sasha 2?

 

[GuillaumeB]

beautiful!

enough juice for sasha 2?

Thanks and yes!

Guillaume

 

[GuillaumeB]

Little bit of good news: Transparent came back to me earlier to say that my Gen 5 XL speaker cables didn't need recalibrating for the Absolare, since both Absolare and Devialet have very low output impedances.

According to the chief designer at Absolare which I relayed onto Transparent: "The unit has a large very low ESR capacitor bank in the power supply and many solid state output devices connected in parallel with a local negative feedback, thus the output impedance is less than 0.01 ohms."

So I swapped the Transparents in. Up until now I had been running my old Chord Sarums, which are ok speaker cables but no comparison to the TAs really.

They could do with being a foot or two shorter but quite frankly I am so happy that I don't have the hassle of shipping back to the US, not to mention the extra cost involved. More importantly my whole system has just gone up a peg or two, sound-wise!

Guillaume

 

[jep123]

What kind of feet are you using under your amp? I have the Stabilian, ask Kerem about those if you don't know them. They are brilliant. Your platform is looking great!

 

[GuillaumeB]

What kind of feet are you using under your amp? I have the Stabilian, ask Kerem about those if you don't know them. They are brilliant. Your platform is looking great!

Cheers! Yes I have some Stabilian Quatros underneath, which came with the amp. I also have some Bronze ones to try out too. I have made so many changes though that I need to just let things settle for a while

The platform is really nice to look at and there was a very definite improvement in the sound, hardly surprising though given that my amp was on the carpet before and the feet wouldn't have been very effective without making contact with a hard surface on the ground.

Guillaume

 

[jep123]

Good idea, let things settle and do not introduce too many new "gadgets" before everything has burned-in.

Enjoy!

JP

 

[Fohlenfan]

The Pics are awesome! Thank you Guillaume.

 

[Fohlenfan]

Hello Guillaume,

in an other Post I saw that you once had a Vitus Audio SIA 025 for auditioning. Can you write something about the differences between the Vitus and the Absolare?
Thank's a lot in Advance.
Kind Regards
Lars

 

[GuillaumeB]

Hello Guillaume,

in an other Post I saw that you once had a Vitus Audio SIA 025 for auditioning. Can you write something about the differences between the Vitus and the Absolare?
Thank's a lot in Advance.
Kind Regards
Lars

For sure!

I had the the SIA-025 last year so it's a bit difficult to make a meaningful comparison with the Absolare. At the time I was comparing the SIA-025 to my (then) Devialet 800, which was my reference point at the time.

I had Vitus SIA-025 here at home for a few weeks, in fact the local distributor also leant me an MP-D201 DAC to pair with it. I really enjoyed this and in some respects it was better than my (at the time) Devialet 800. I would say the Vitus was more musical and produced a more dense soundstage. However the Devialet was the clear winner when it came to grip and control, particularly in the bass region. The Vitus had a richer and possibly sweeter midrange. In the end I decided that I preferred the Devialet although I really did enjoy the Vitus duo. I should point out that I have Wilson Sasha 2 speakers and these have a reputation for being difficult to drive despite their high sensitivity.

So fast forward a year or so and now I would say that the Absolare Integrated gives me many of the benefits of the Vitus SIA-025 with the power and grip of the Devialet 900 (which I now own). The valve pre amp stage also adds a certain magic to the sound, it is extremely neutral sounding but it definitely adds "soul" to the music. There is something incredibly natural about its sound. The Absolare is possibly a little more transparent than the Vitus, but again I haven't compared these back to back...

Apart from SQ differences, the SIA-025 is possibly the more flexible amp as it can accept both RCA and XLR inputs, whereas with the Absolare you must specify single-ended OR balanced inputs when ordering the unit, you can't have both. Furthermore the SIA-025 has HT bypass functionality which can be programmed, handy if you want to integrate this into a home cinema setup. The remote that comes with the Absolare only controls the volume and is very basic.

So these are all considerations I guess. Personally I continue to be amazed by the qualities of the Absolare, it really is an extraordinary amplifier!

Hope this helps.

Guillaume

 

[Fohlenfan]

Hello Guillaume,

thank's a lot! Always a pleasure to read your good specified thoughts. I think i could live with both unit's very well. As you described the the Vitus brings some more flexibility to the game, but in Terms of absolute sound I could imagine that the Absolare will be my favourite. So I'm looking forward to my listening session with NOA next month. I'm very excitetly about that.

Kind Regard Many Thanks!

Lars

 

[butler]

Hi Guillaume,

I’m becoming more & more interested in this amp and am grateful that you've been able to provide 1st hand experience from the perspective of an owner/from your own listening room. I have heard this amp under show conditions, sounded fantastic, but have not experienced the music that I listen to @ 60% of the time, that is, rock/blues. If you (or others) have done so, would appreciate your input as to how it handles a bit of guitar/bass/drum bombast. Also, maybe I missed it on the Absolare website, but I assume the pre is line stage only w/o phono?

Thanks & kind regards,
Butler

 

[jep123]

Hi Guillaume,

I’m becoming more & more interested in this amp and am grateful that you've been able to provide 1st hand experience from the perspective of an owner/from your own listening room. I have heard this amp under show conditions, sounded fantastic, but have not experienced the music that I listen to @ 60% of the time, that is, rock/blues. If you (or others) have done so, would appreciate your input as to how it handles a bit of guitar/bass/drum bombast. Also, maybe I missed it on the Absolare website, but I assume the pre is line stage only w/o phono?

Thanks & kind regards,
Butler

Hi Butler.
I have used the Absolare integrated for a few months now and it handles all I can throw at it with ease. It a very powerful amplifier, but with a lot of finesse. I do not listen to hard rock, but big classical works and electronic music is a joy to listen to. Blues as well of course. Do not be fooled by its rated output power, it has muscles in spades.

The pre is a line stage only.

JP

 

[butler]

Hi JP, thanks so much for the input, good to know that it can handle anything that is thrown it's way, even electronic stuff. I had been looking at some Jadis monoblocks, but the thought of actually downsizing the number of boxes with a great sounding alternative seems more and more attractive, especially since I'm now retired and wish for minimal maintenance issues.

Can I ask what color you decided on (as well as stitching) and if you were able to see the actual leather options/swatches?

Butler

 

[jep123]

Hi JP, thanks so much for the input, good to know that it can handle anything that is thrown it's way, even electronic stuff. I had been looking at some Jadis monoblocks, but the thought of actually downsizing the number of boxes with a great sounding alternative seems more and more attractive, especially since I'm now retired and wish for minimal maintenance issues.

Can I ask what color you decided on (as well as stitching) and if you were able to see the actual leather options/swatches?

Butler

I have black leather with red stiches. It looks even better in real life. Here you have the options:
http://www.absolare.com/leatheroptions.html

I think you can ask Absolare to send you samples, but I am not sure. I am very happy with my choice. The darker finish makes it a bit less "prominent". It is rather large.

JP