The best sound I have heard was found at Jacob Heilbrunn's house.

[jep123]

And he fell seriously in love with the Darts he tested in the latest TAS and will have no less than 4 x 468 amps and the preamp when everything is done . Good for him, a well written review as well.

JP

 

[Mike Lavigne]

And he fell seriously in love with the Darts he tested in the latest TAS and will have no less than 4 x 468 amps and the preamp when everything is done . Good for him, a well written review as well.

JP

agree.....but then that is no surprise. Jacob loves him some darTZeel. so do i.

i keep checking for when the review gets posted so i can link it here.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

i did just speak to Jacob on the phone; he has installed his second set of 468's on his Wilson Master Subsonic Subwoofers. he was pretty ecstatic about the result. it's up to him for details.

 

[microstrip]

Please post picture of the first reflections on side walls. Love to see what acoustic treatment you have

Neil Gader wrote a great article in TAS about his room and system at the time he still owned the XLF's - see https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/state-of-the-art-in-dc.

 

[Lee]

i did just speak to Jacob on the phone; he has installed his second set of 468's on his Wilson Master Subsonic Subwoofers. he was pretty ecstatic about the result. it's up to him for details.

I have photos of the delivery.

I’m so jelly, Dunkin Donuts has reached out.

 

[infinitely baffled]

I think he likes the sweetness of the Dartzeels. I got the impression he likes them better than anything else.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has compared Dartzeels to the Boulder 3000 series...?

 

[infinitely baffled]

I'd love to hear from anyone who has compared Dartzeels to the Boulder 3000 series...?

More specifically, the 458's or 468's compared to a 3060 or pair of 3050's

 

[Mike Lavigne]

More specifically, the 458's or 468's compared to a 3060 or pair of 3050's

closest is Fremer's 2017 Boulder 2150 mono review with some comparison comments to the 458's at the end.

Boulder Amplifiers 2150 monoblock power amplifier

"I'm a recording engineer, so I value accuracy," said a panelist in a discussiontitled "How to Read Between the Lines of Audio Advertising"at last October's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. I, too, was on the panel, which was moderated by Brent Butterworth, a writer for the SoundStage! Network of...

www.stereophile.com

i'm told the 3060/3050 is a different level, as i know the 468 is too from the 458. my guess is that it would be a matter of personal preference. they are philosophically different approaches. depending on room, speakers......even sources or musical tastes.....it might differ.

 

[bazelio]

closest is Fremer's 2017 Boulder 2150 mono review with some comparison comments to the 458's at the end.

Boulder Amplifiers 2150 monoblock power amplifier

"I'm a recording engineer, so I value accuracy," said a panelist in a discussiontitled "How to Read Between the Lines of Audio Advertising"at last October's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. I, too, was on the panel, which was moderated by Brent Butterworth, a writer for the SoundStage! Network of...

www.stereophile.com

i'm told the 3060/3050 is a different level, as i know the 468 is too from the 458. my guess is that it would be a matter of personal preference. they are philosophically different approaches. depending on room, speakers......even sources or musical tastes.....it might differ.

There are certain amps with which most people would live happily ever after, I think. I've never heard Boulder but, for me, Vitus or Dart would certainly do it.

 

[fbhifi]

If I’m not mistaken, when Jacob heard the 2150 monos he described them as “Jesuitical.”

 

[Lee]

I am not sure how the Boulder would do. I think they are both excellent amplifiers.

 

[infinitely baffled]

closest is Fremer's 2017 Boulder 2150 mono review with some comparison comments to the 458's at the end.

Boulder Amplifiers 2150 monoblock power amplifier

"I'm a recording engineer, so I value accuracy," said a panelist in a discussiontitled "How to Read Between the Lines of Audio Advertising"at last October's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. I, too, was on the panel, which was moderated by Brent Butterworth, a writer for the SoundStage! Network of...

www.stereophile.com

i'm told the 3060/3050 is a different level, as i know the 468 is too from the 458. my guess is that it would be a matter of personal preference. they are philosophically different approaches. depending on room, speakers......even sources or musical tastes.....it might differ.

Much obliged to you Mike

 

[jw5115]

I was finally able to go to Jacob Heilbrunn's house and hear his sound system. It was breathtaking and even surpassed the WAMM installation at Dave Wilson's house.

As the photo will show, he had some exquisite gear, most notably an Air Force Zero with Graham and SAT tonearms and DS audio optical cartridge. Preamp and amp were Dartzeel which really impressed me. There was clearly something magical in the pairing of Wilson Audio WAMMs and the Dartzeel mono blocks. They are also the prettiest amplifiers I have seen. Digital which did not sound digital was the full Vivaldi stack.

Describing this fully in words is difficult but I think of two words, lifelike and effortless. Music just flowed so smoothly and naturally. Soundstage was deep and wide. You just could not locate where the speakers were if you closed your eyes.

A truly religious experience for me. It's valuable to hear how realistic the latest reference gear can be. Spooky good in many areas!

Perhaps even better was having a few hours to talk to Jacob. He is a very interesting and intelligent person. I am very glad we have him writing for The Absolute Sound.

Where did you get those Nipper Dogs?

 

[TrackingAngle]

Where did you get those Nipper Dogs?

Been there many times. Yes, best I’ve heard. I’m close with near field sound with Wilson XVX/darTZeel/OMA K3/ dCS Vivaldi One. It’s not bad!.

 

[chuck]

I'd love to hear from anyone who has compared Dartzeels to the Boulder 3000 series...?

As a 3060 owner for many years, I heard the Dartzeels a couple of times, just to find out what all the hubbub was about. I'm not a reviewer like Mr. Heilbrunn or Mr. Fremer. FWIW I did not like the Dartzeels at all. See John Atkinson's Dartzeel measurements in Stereophile.

 

[Lee]

Where did you get those Nipper Dogs?

The Nippers are Jacob’s and I am not sure where they came from.

 

[Zeotrope]

The Nippers are Jacob’s and I am not sure where they came from.

I should get one to go with the RCA1443 midrange that I’m using. The DartZeel 18NS and 108 were a significant improvement from the Kondo M77 and Souga that were powering the horns before.

I’m leaning towards ordering the XVX for a second media room. I have to say that the midrange of the RCA1443 on a conical horn was better than the XVX. If you haven’t heard this driver, which in my system runs from 500-9000Hz, you should. 5” phenolic/bakelite diaphragm in a 30lbs enclosure. The sound is effortless, with the most natural tone I’ve heard - especially violin, piano, and female voices sound more real than the XVX I auditioned.

 

[bonzo75]

I should get one to go with the RCA1443 midrange that I’m using. The DartZeel 18NS and 108 were a significant improvement from the Kondo M77 and Souga that were powering the horns before.

I’m leaning towards ordering the XVX for a second media room. I have to say that the midrange of the RCA1443 on a conical horn was better than the XVX. If you haven’t heard this driver, which in my system runs from 600-8000Hz, you should. 5.5” phenolic voice coil in a 50lbs enclosure.

was the souga not driving your woofers enough? What was the difference?

 

[Zeotrope]

As a 3060 owner for many years, I heard the Dartzeels a couple of times, just to find out what all the hubbub was about. I'm not a reviewer like Mr. Heilbrunn or Mr. Fremer. FWIW I did not like the Dartzeels at all. See John Atkinson's Dartzeel measurements in Stereophile.

Measurements are meaningless. Listen and trust your ears.
Putting the pre and power amps on Seismion active isolation bases took things to another level. As did grounding the 18NS power supply to a Shunyata Altaira Signal Hub. (If ground lift is not enabled, are are still grounding the 18NS to the AC mains, even when running on battery power.)

 

[Zeotrope]

was the souga not driving your woofers enough? What was the difference?

With about 102dB efficiency and an easy impedance of 8ohm (and higher) in a small room, sitting near field (10’ away), you would think 7W is sufficient. It’s not. Sound was lovely but dynamic swings were more sluggish, highs were rolled off, and the lows were not nearly as powerful.