Vertere CALON - Dual Mono Phono Amplifier

[VoicesInMyHead]

I was quite surprised to find no mention of the Vertere CALON anywhere on the forum, so without further ado, allow me to introduce…

Vertere CALON
Dual Mono Phono Amplifier

"The CALON dual-mono phono stage represents an exciting and revolutionary new chapter in our quest for flawless record reproduction - a wholly new and re-optimised approach to Vertere preamplifier design. CALON is a game-changing addition to your listening system, capable of elevating the performance of your analogue source to previously unimagined levels of detail, clarity, and sonic excellence."

Sounds good, doesn't it? This summer, I’m having the privilege of borrowing this remarkable phono amplifier. It’s by far the most expensive ($20.000) phono stage I’ve ever had in my system, and without question, also the best. My usual setup features a VTL TP-2.5i phono preamplifier, which I’m perfectly happy with, but as usual curiosity sooner or later takes over and I’ve been wondering for a while what something on a higher level could bring to the party.

My first encounter with the CALON was in September 2024, when Touraj Moghaddam, founder of Vertere Acoustics, visited Stockholm to present it at the local dealer (Stylus Audio). I’d heard this system several times before, but this time was different and the feeling was that this new phono stage had not so little to do with it. CALON seemed to bring me closer to the music than ever before, the whole usual "veil was lifted" thing but taken to a new level entirely. That experience stayed with me ever since, so when the chance arose to try CALON at home for a few weeks, I couldn’t resist.

I’m not a professional reviewer, and there are already several in-depth reviews available (Mono & Stereo, The EAR, What HI-FI? and avforums for example). Nevertheless, I hope to share some of my personal impressions and insights as I continue to spend more time with this baby.

I can leave you with one thing though, it sounds pretty good!

 

[andromedaaudio]

Sounded very good in the FM chain in Munich

 

[P-pan]

My first encounter with the CALON was in September 2024, when Touraj Moghaddam, founder of Vertere Acoustics, visited Stockholm to present it at the local dealer (Stylus Audio).

I can leave you with one thing though, it sounds pretty good!

I was also part of that little exercise at Stylus Audio
Nice that you got one for a more in-depth evaluation.
Looking forward to hear about what you can get out of it in terms of sound quality

 

[VoicesInMyHead]

Sounded very good in the FM chain in Munich

I can imagine it did! I never made it to that room myself unfortunately, I think it was outside across the street? And while I strongly believe it can be beneficial using a phono stage from the same manufacturer as your turntable and especially cartridge, I can really attest that CALON works perfectly fine also with other brands. For reference my current analog setup looks like this:

• Kroma Atelier Thais, lovely speakers from Spain
• Aries Cerat Protos integrated amplifier
• STST Motus II DQ turntable with Supatrac Blackbird and Soundsmith Hyperion
• Audes ST-1500DC power conditioner and Sablon Audio Evo cables

As I understand it, CALON is sold together with a Vertere HB power cable, I didn't get that one with my loaner so I'm using my regular Sablon Audio power cable, which also works fantastic though.

 

[VoicesInMyHead]

I was also part of that little exercise at Stylus Audio
Nice that you got one for a more in-depth evaluation.
Looking forward to hear about what you can get out of it in terms of sound quality

You sure was!

It's still early, but there's no doubt in my mind that this is something quite special indeed. I just turned everything off for the night after having a magical late evening session. There is such an intimacy with the music that I don't think I have experienced in my system before, analog or digital, it's not only that I'm hearing details or small things in the music I've never heard before, but the music itself sounds "different" as well. It's the classic feeling of having to listen through all my records again and hearing them for the first time.

I'm already looking forward to tomorrow...