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In Reply to: Dartzeel NHB 108 or Pass XA Amplifiers: Which offers more "Expressive Flow?" posted by DkB on December 23, 2005 at 17:35:00:
Just a brief memo on my listening.I have been in this hifi hobby for 20 years, so i am pretty sure that i know what I listen to, purely depending on my own pair of ears. I neither own the darTZeel nor the Pass XA160 but have heard them both for an hour each at a dealer's showroom. A quick memo taken in my head just to share with you.
On the XA-160:
- Sounded too lush and cosy for my liking... euphonics? bloom? Nice for vocals but a bit slow for fast/attacking pop music. Good but not too my liking. Doesn't sound any better than other amps of equal price. Yes, it sounded different from other amps but not better.
- Big chunky size and ugly meter, but if real-estate shelf/room space is not an issue, then I just raised a non-issue!On the Dartzeel:
- Sounded "WOW! Music is organic and natural! You can hear musicians playing music, not musical-instruments making recorded sounds!" This was my first reaction. Soundstage was DEEP. Deep not to the extent of artificial 100 feet deep but realistically-deep to it's recorded soundstage. (Sorry, if I run out of descriptives to describe this phenomena I heard!)
- Sound... Organic, natural, life-like-tonality, holographic, refinement, sweet extended treble, simply wonderful.
- Relatively small size. Beautiful workmanship and best of all, a serious engineer/designer with a sense of humor - right eye / left eye / power nose!!! Facsia is simply cute! (that is if you think the Mini Cooper, VW Beetle, Nissan March are cute cars.)What I think the dartzeel lacks is brute-dynamic-force and real slam!
So I think speakers-partnering will be important. In my mind, a dartzeel with a 90ish dB sensitivity JM Lab Utopia BE could be heaven to me!
Between the XA and Dartzeel, my choice is clear!
Only 2 amps have impressed me this year! Dartzeel and ASR Emitter2 Exclusive! You really need to go and listen for yourself! Enjoy your listening session! Have fun!
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Follow Ups
- I just listened to the Dartzeel NHB 108 today! - WBWB 07:08:13 12/28/05 (1)
- Very detailed and relevant observations, WBWB. Many Thanks! nt - DkB 09:44:10 12/28/05 (0)
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