Also, what is the warranty situation with the Pilium, and is there a repair center for the brand in NY, or anywhere in the USA? Thanks
Pilium Audio in action-
- Thread starter Rhapsody
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Loaded question, but here are my observations.
I have always preferred Soulution, Vitus, CH Precision, Constellation, DZ, or Nagra and any high end tube gear over Goldmund for electronics and two channel audio. Nothing wrong with the Goldmund electronics but I have always preferred their active speaker systems, especially for home theater and they do play music just fine, but mostly for non-audiophiles.
More of a high end lifestyle type of product and many customers who own the Goldmund gear love it. Not much "soul" or body to the sound with the electronics imho. BUT very CLEAR, that is the word that comes to me when I think of Goldmund electronics. YES, I've sold and am familiar with the NEXT GEN models as well as the previous models. I actually prefer the non-NG models personally as they put in too much digital control for my liking for the operation of the amplifiers in the NG iterations.
I'm not knocking Goldmund at all, for customers that have it and enjoy it, it's great for them.
Pilium is the first SS line that I have owned that made me have NO DESIRE for tubes OR any other SS. FOR ME, it supersedes what tubes do as well as the best SS. PILIUM IS LIQUID SOUNDING, with high resolution and high power as well. Because of the massive size/weight it runs cool to the touch. I love the aesthetics. Because it runs cool, over time the internal components will have a LONG LIFE without component failures.
In the next 3-4 weeks I am delivering FOUR complete sets of the Alexander dual chassis pre/Achilles stereo amp, two of the systems have the Elektra DAC included with the pre/amp as well.
Then in late November I have a full set of Pilium including the Elektra DAC, Alexander preamp, four Hercules mono amps being sent to Magico to drive the M9s so that they break in while I am waiting for my M9 delivery in late Q1 of '21.
I have always felt when listening to the all of the SS brands mentioned above that they were all good, and I believe that they are, but they all sounded different. BUT I always wanted a few sets of tube amps for when the itch struck me when I had any of the mentioned SS brands available.
I no longer get the itch for tubes or any other SS, and I guess the same for the 10 or so customers now that either have or have the Pilium gear on order.
I will put up the Pilium Alexander Pre and either Achilles stereo amp or Hercules mono amps against any SS or tube gear on the planet.
I have one big problem with Pilium. Every time I have received my demo units (3 times now) I have sold them to customers that had one listen and wanted them NOW. Normal lead time is about 8 weeks.
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Warranty is four years. We have a US service center for Pilium in New York as well as a service capability in the San Francisco area for West Coast customers, which we already have a few.
Bob hello,
Is Pilium Iasonas amplifier available in the US market, or is it a special order item, and does it require 15 A outlets, or the 20A like the Achiles? Also, what is the MSRP for the Iasonas and have you listened to it? Thanks so much.
Is Pilium Iasonas amplifier available in the US market, or is it a special order item, and does it require 15 A outlets, or the 20A like the Achiles? Also, what is the MSRP for the Iasonas and have you listened to it? Thanks so much.
Good morning,
ALL of the Pilium products are available for the US/Americas. Lead time is normally 8 weeks.
I have NOT listened to the Iasonas and have not sold an Iasonas. I have sold many Achilles over the last year.
Iasonas has the same amplifier boards as Achilles, although 250W instead of 300W (four less transistors). The Iasonas has 2x 1.5KVA transformers instead 2X 2KVA transformers in the Achilles. Also the Iasonas has half the capacitance of the Achilles in the PSU - 4x50.000 instead of 8x50.000.
The Achilles has also better internal cabling vs. the Iasonas internal cabling. Sonically the Iasonas is very close to the Achilles but with demanding speakers the Iosanas will not perform to the sonic level of the Achilles. imho the Achilles with a Pilium preamp is a revelation. On easy to drive speakers the Iasonas will be very close to the Achilles performance still there will be a discernible sonic difference.
All of the Pilium products use a standard 15amp IEC connector, not 20A IEC connectors. The Iasonas has two power cords, the same as the Leonidas.
Although Iasonas is not an Achilles it can still drive any speaker load with ease and the Pilium sound.
The Achilles MSRP is $49,900. The Iasonas MSRP is $39,900.
One additional comment is that for sure the Pilium amps/integrated amps are powerful, but so are many other top brand SS amps and integrated amps. IMHO it is the liquidity of the sound that sets the Pilium amplification (both pre and amps) apart from the rest.
I would also add that I have no idea what the Pilium amps sound like when mixed with non-Pilium preamps. I personally think that amplifiers amplify what you give them.
I would not recommend long term use of a Pilium amp with a non-Pilium pre unless you tried it with another brand pre and you liked the sound. It might be ok as a stepping stone, until either an Ares or Alexander were used but from my experience it is the the Ares/Alexander that are probably more important to the Pilium sound vs. the amplifiers by themselves.
ALL of the Pilium products are available for the US/Americas. Lead time is normally 8 weeks.
I have NOT listened to the Iasonas and have not sold an Iasonas. I have sold many Achilles over the last year.
Iasonas has the same amplifier boards as Achilles, although 250W instead of 300W (four less transistors). The Iasonas has 2x 1.5KVA transformers instead 2X 2KVA transformers in the Achilles. Also the Iasonas has half the capacitance of the Achilles in the PSU - 4x50.000 instead of 8x50.000.
The Achilles has also better internal cabling vs. the Iasonas internal cabling. Sonically the Iasonas is very close to the Achilles but with demanding speakers the Iosanas will not perform to the sonic level of the Achilles. imho the Achilles with a Pilium preamp is a revelation. On easy to drive speakers the Iasonas will be very close to the Achilles performance still there will be a discernible sonic difference.
All of the Pilium products use a standard 15amp IEC connector, not 20A IEC connectors. The Iasonas has two power cords, the same as the Leonidas.
Although Iasonas is not an Achilles it can still drive any speaker load with ease and the Pilium sound.
The Achilles MSRP is $49,900. The Iasonas MSRP is $39,900.
One additional comment is that for sure the Pilium amps/integrated amps are powerful, but so are many other top brand SS amps and integrated amps. IMHO it is the liquidity of the sound that sets the Pilium amplification (both pre and amps) apart from the rest.
I would also add that I have no idea what the Pilium amps sound like when mixed with non-Pilium preamps. I personally think that amplifiers amplify what you give them.
I would not recommend long term use of a Pilium amp with a non-Pilium pre unless you tried it with another brand pre and you liked the sound. It might be ok as a stepping stone, until either an Ares or Alexander were used but from my experience it is the the Ares/Alexander that are probably more important to the Pilium sound vs. the amplifiers by themselves.
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Rhapsody's latest Pilium Leonidas demo is finished and now burning in for a week, along with it's two brothers.......
it comes in red bob? Stunning colour
The red is a custom color. The standard colors are light Grey, Arctic White and Black. Any other color/custom is available at a small uplift in cost. It takes a few weeks extra for a custom color.
i like it Bob - spartans to battle lol - you just need 297 more to make 300 like the movie.
Thank youTDX, tee me up for one of my favorite subjects
Power wise unless you are driving maybe 81db type speakers in a REALLY large room then there is not much difference between the Leonidas integrated and say the Alexander/Achilles pre/power regarding driving capability/power. The Leonidas is a beast regarding power.
When I listen to the Leonidas I get the full Pilium sonic experience, which to me comes down to high res, mucho micro/macro dynamics, startling/driving bass if the speakers are up to it, textured tones throughout the frequency spectrum, including the mid and lower bass, a clear extended but never too much high frequency presentation, and then it's most endearing quality "the sound is liquid".
If listening to the Leonidas I have no desire for the separates. I'm satisfied.
Then if you then connect the Alexander/Achilles in the same system, fortunately or unfortunately it becomes a heightened listening experience. More information on the soundstage and a bit more of all of the described attributes I labeled to the Leonidas.
The Achilles (stereo amp) has 26 output transistors vs 22 transistors in the Leonidas. This gives the Alexander/Achilles more grip/control on the drivers and stronger more authoritative low frequencies.
It is a certain percentage of the amplification section between the Leonidas (dual mono design) and the Achilles (dual mono, fully balanced), but I think the heightened sonics of the separates are due to the the Alexander dual chassis preamp that is an uptick to the preamp sections in the Leonidas which is more similar to the smaller Ares separate preamp (single chassis).
I usually feel that great amplifiers just amplify what you feed them. I feel the Alexander feeds high test gas to the Achilles, but again, when I listen to the Leonidas I am totally content listening to music. As always ymmv.
That's the best I can do before my coffee on Sunday morning. Hope it helps.
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After 5 hours acclimating to room temp, turned on, playing and now starting the break in process.....
Pilium Leonidas review from High Fidelity-
http://highfidelity.pl/@main-1044&lang=en
http://highfidelity.pl/@main-1044&lang=en
Hi Marcus, YES on both. Both S's and M's traded in on Pilium Alexander/Achilles systems. Delivering four sets of Alexander/Achilles in the next few weeks, plus the Pilium Elektra/Alexander/4 Hercules to Magico in about 2 weeks from now.
The Soulutions were just sold yesterday, they will be shipping this week. Someone is coming to see/hear the Mc's this week. I think they will be sold as well. Sell everything and buy more and more Pilium
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