A few weeks ago I received the Precious One phono preamp from Dalius Razanas of Rada. This is the “silver version with a maximum upgraded power supply for 120 V. All tubes NOS: 6X4 as a rectifier; 2X 6AU6WA (GE or TungSol) as input tubes and…very rare French 5687 as output tube” to quote the maker of the unit. Dalius also suggested that I could try a E182CC as the output tube.
My front end consists of a highly modified PD 444 turntable, and I am using the DaVA FC cartridge mounted to the AS Aquilar tonearm. I am also using the DaVA SUT and the DaVA tube power supply.
Initially I used the Precious One silver version with the French 5687, as that is what I had Dalius send me. I immediately found the Precious One uncannily musical in how it revealed instrumental timbres and textures, particularly on strings and wind instruments, an impression that built the more I listened. I also had a sense of more being revealed with the Precious One—more musical information, like the tiny sound of the triangle in the Argerich/Abbado recording of the Liszt Piano Concerto on DG—what Liszt apparently called a “mocking little motif.” Or another example would be the intricate rhythmic call-and-response between Art Blakey and Reggie Workman on “Sortie” from the album Indestructible that I could now hear really clearly.
Dynamics and transients were really impressive, probably the best I had heard to date, both macro and micro. Take for example how Miles softens his tone, plays away from the mic or goes right back to it, as he and Cannonball Adderley go back and forth on “Something Else” from Something Else. Or how Adderley soars and leaps in his indelible entrance on “One for Daddy-O.”
However, the fundamental sound, as rendered by the AS Phonolab I had been previously using, was not changed. As I heard it with the French 5687, the Rada Precious One was not an “insert and WHAM” kind of component. The differences between my AS Phonolab were on the subtle side, until I listened intently, and then they seemed major differences, and the longer I listened the more entranced I was.
I had already ordered an Amperex NOS E182CC to try in place of the French 5687 when I emailed Audiophile Bill what I was hearing, as it was his purchase of the Rada Precious One that had spurred my purchase. He told me—just wait until you hear the Precious One with the E182CC.
My God was he right. This tube supercharged everything with a shot of Dutch adrenaline that magnified and revitalized all aspects of the sound, particularly the rhythm and drive. Now it WAS an “insert and WHAM” kind of component.
With this tube installed, whatever I was listening to—Mozart’s 26th piano concerto (Barenboim on EMI) or Elgar’s Cello Concerto (Du Pre on EMI—total coincidence that I listened to these records on the same day), or The Clash’s London Calling, or Kate and Anna McGarrigle’s first album, or Supersax Plays Bird (original Mofi) or the recent UHQR of Are You Experienced? I couldn’t stop drumming my fingers, moving in my chair. Interplay between band and soloist—whatever the music—was really great. And larger band, complex music (jazz or classical) was a cakewalk for the Precious One to play back—witness Ellington’s Afro-Bossa album. I could listen to the music as an organic whole or pick out individual parts, just as when listening to live music.
I kept playing music too loud it sounded so damn good (but no ringing in my ears!). Whatever traces of hardness that had lingered with the AS Phonolab when Miles or Lee Morgan would hit their highest notes vanished. Bass lines I had never really heard clearly, I could now follow. Everything sounded like the musicians on these records had had extra rehearsal time now.
So, all in all, I am glad I took Bill’s advice twice—first when I took the hint to buy the unit before it went out of production, and second to not pass judgment on the sound until I had heard it with the E182CC installed. Like him, I think my phono preamp quest has come to an end.
PS I should call attention to one very unique (very odd?) part of my system—the power source. Due to that source, I have a very, very low noise system, which I believe contributes mightily to my overall system sound.
I run the entire system on 12V LifePo4 200Ah batteries and a 5000W inverter. This is a cruder, simpler version of what Stromtank does in their devices, except that I also add a Puritan Audio Lab power filter device. My entire system is plugged into the Puritan (save for a digital lps), and the Puritan is plugged into the inverter. There is absolutely no compression, constraint or limit that I can hear—and I have tested this repeatedly.
I use a battery charger rated for the LifePo4 batteries when the system is off. I can play at 600-700w avg levels for several hours before needing to recharge. The batteries can be charged from zero to full overnight.
If there is any interest I can post more on my battery system, which is relatively cheap and very easy to set up. The sonic difference between my 12V LifePo4 battery set-up and what I heard with everything plugged into dedicated AC lines was GREATER than any component change I have ever heard, including the Rada Precious One.
