Amp/Preamp Asylum: REVIEW: Audio by Van Alstine, Inc. Transendence 7 Preamplifier (Tube) by Marc Bratton

Model:	Transendence 7
Category:	Preamplifier (Tube)
Suggested Retail Price:	$1400 + $400 for phono stage
Description:	Hybrid Fet-Valve
Manufacturer URL:	Audio by Van Alstine, Inc.
Manufacturer URL:	Audio by Van Alstine, Inc.

Review by Marc Bratton ( A ) on June 02, 2003 at 21:47:57
IP Address: 63.191.49.167

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The Transcendence 7 is Frank Van Alstine's latest preamp creation, based along the lines of his FET/Valve circuit concept, which is basically one wherein the tubes are used to do all the voltage manipulation but aren't expected to source much current. This task is left to the MOSFET buffer circuitry, which are driven by the tubes. The idea is to let each type of device do what it does best, thereby combining the strengths of both devices with the weakneses of neither.
I chose the SL (straight line) configuration, which is sans tone controls and the like. It does however have dual tape monitors (buffered in my unit)and a mono switch (yay!). Configured as such, it is $1200 for the basic preamp, $300 for the phono stage, and another $139 for buffered tape inputs. Opening the substantial little unit up, the 1st thing one is struck by is the size of the toroid transformer, and the large array of good sized Rubycon electrolytic capacitors, these bypassed by polystyrenes. The damn thing fairly bristles with them...Mr. Van Alstine is evidently of the 'very big, and very stiff power supply' school of thought. There are 3 circuit boards; one for the phono stage, one for the line stage, and one for the headphone amp, which was completely redesigned for this preamp. It has it's own very large, well regulated power supply, and takes its signal from the line stage, so you get the benefit of the tubes with the headphone amp. Everything is very neat, tidy, and well arranged. Input impedance of the phono section is the industry standard 47kohm, and the phono section has 40db of gain. The line stage input impedance is 50kohm, and it has the industry standard 20db of gain. Output impedance is a very low 40 ohms. The signal to noise ratio is quite good for a tube preamp; I don't hear much tube noise until about 3:00 o' clock on the volume pot, FAR louder than I'd ever listen, even with my insensitive planars. Contrary to Mr. Van Alstine's assertion, this unit needs to be fully warmed up to sound it's best. If you plsy it while it's warming up, you can clearly hear it come 'on song' after about 1 hr; 2 hours is best. When the volume knob is warm to the touch, it is ready. BTW, this little unit runs HOT for a tube preamp. No doubt this is a function of so much high voltage circuitry shoehorned into a relatively small box. Don't stack anything atop it, and give it plenty of room for ventilation, and it will be fine.
Soundwise, this unit doesn't sound much like a 'classic' tube preamp.
The only thing that gives away its thermionic innards is the absolutely
grainless and liquid quality it imparts to the sound. The tube midrange is there in spades, but I would not call this a particularly lush sounding preamp. In addition, its treble is very well delineated, and seems to extend far beyond the reach of my aging ears. The bass is deep,
tight, and hair trigger fast, such as I've never heard from any pure tube preamp before. In addition, the dynamics are absolutely explosive...this is one powerful sounding preamplifier, emphasis on 'amplifier'. If this preamp doesn't wake up your amplifier, it is already dead. Imaging is very three dimensional, and very stable. It doesn't matter how loud or complex the music gets, everything remains rock stable and in its place. With this preamp, it is definitely possible to focus on each individual instrument, and still not lose track of what the whole is doing. No matter what signal you give it, it sounds unflappable, a characteristic supposedly shared by his FET/Valve amplifiers. Inner detailing is quite good, but this preamp is not 'in your face' about it.
The phono board is an extraordinary value for money option. Even with its stock Chinese tubes, it sounded essentially identical to my EAR 834P as far as tonality and instrument timbres go, with the welcome addition of deeper, tighter, FASTER bass, more extended treble, and much improved dynamics. Not bad for $300.00. Of course, the savings of not having to duplicate the power supply or chassis is a big part of this, but my point is that the sound is flabbergastingly good for a little circuit board with a handful of capacitors and two tubes. Speaking of which, if you get this option, ditch the stock tubes in favor of Mullard CV 4004's, which work quite well in this application. As far as the line stage goes, his stock EH 12AT7's actually bettered considerably the NOS
Mullard CV 4024's I'd tried there. The Mullards sounded thinner, brighter, more 2D. I left well enough alone there, and put back in the stock tubes.
The real surprise was the headphone amp, which in most units is decent, but little more than an afterthought. Not this one...this headphone amp ROCKS! It has the same liquid and grainless quality that my OTL EarMax has, but it can play a LOT louder, a lot deeper, and a lot cleaner. I tried to get it to clip or distort, and could not do so. My BRAIN was imploding with the wonderful sound of Led Zeppelin subjectively at 110db plus, and there was not a hint of strain. You could hurt yourself with this thing! My only minor quibble is, the separation is so good that with older ping pong stereo recordings, you don't get any centerfill inside your head. Flicking the mono switch rectifies this.
In conclusion, this is the most utterly satisfying full function preamp I've ever owned, and is WELL worth the price of admission, and then some. I think Mr. Van Alstine really has succeeded in combining the strengths of tubes and solid state; it's not just hype. I'm not going to say it betters anything around 2k out there, because I haven't heard everything around 2k out there. But I'd be very surprised if anything near that price could beat it. Try to get past the utilitarian looks. I think Mr. Van Alstine has his priorities straight. His components are fancy on the inside, rather than the outside, and are well worth looking into.

Product Weakness: Appearance is a bit pedestrian, and utilitarian. The case is so small and thin as to allow a bit of microphonics, easily solved with a set of Vibrapods. You won't impress your audiphool friends. Maybe this is a strength...
Product Strengths: Robust, well regulated, multi staged power supply. Impeccable sound quality. Excellent build quality, with history of excellent reliability in the past. What more could you want?

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	AVA Omega III 260
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	AVA Transcendence 7SL
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Teres/Morch UP4/Virtuoso
Speakers:	Magnepan MMG's
Cables/Interconnects:	DH Labs
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	all kinds
Room Size (LxWxH):	see x my x sys
Room Comments/Treatments:	see my system page
Time Period/Length of Audition:	2 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Brickwall/Monster
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Appearance is a bit pedestrian, and utilitarian. The case is so small and thin as to allow a bit of microphonics, easily solved with a set of Vibrapods. You won't impress your audiphool friends. Maybe this is a strength...
Product Strengths:	Robust, well regulated, multi staged power supply. Impeccable sound quality. Excellent build quality, with history of excellent reliability in the past. What more could you want?