I also moved from a Naim 500 system, in my case 3 X 500’s driving Naim DBL loudspeakers, to a Dartzeel pre/power. Explaining to change in sound to my local dealer (he sells Naim but not Dartzeel) I remember saying that with the Naim a trumpet would sound like a trumpet but with the Darts every trumpet sounded different. Don’t get me wrong, the dynamic slam of three 500’s the Darts can’t quite live up to but almost every other aspect of the musical performance is improved. I recently bought new loudspeakers, new B&W 801 D4’s, an upgrade from my old 802’s and I can’t quite get over how good the sound is! Looks like the Dart has even more to give. When my dealer heard my set up I could see he was visibly shocked at how good it is. He said he had never heard anything like it before and felt like he was in the control booth of a recording studio before the signal gets processed and produced into media. High praise indeed and I have an early 18/108! Herve told me they have made many improvements since my pair were built, will have to ship them off to Switzerland to be fiddled with one of these days.What source are you using with it? Obviously the 8550's ability to reveal will be dictated by the resolving quality of the source.
When I demoed the 8550 it was fronted by a dCS Rossini + clock - no problem revealing what this totl player is capable of giving.
I now have a new DarTZeel pre and power in my system fronted by my Rossini+clock (even though I loved the 8550 I decided to go further up the line). This combination EASILY reveals more than my previous totl Naim 552/500 system.
As for price I actually felt the 8550 was a "bargain" (if one can say that). My Naim 552/500 lists for $70k - the $42k super integrated from DarTZeel outperforms and has a lower box and cable count. It is extremely impressive imho.
Thanks.You won’t be disappointed. I’m really enjoying my Sasha DAW and DZ 8550 MK II combo
Thanks for the sharing330 watts at 4 ohms is plenty of juice for Sasha DAW's! My room is roughly 18x16x9 (Length, width, height in feet). I listen in the 80-90 dB range and am probably only using a couple watts on average. The DAW has a sensitivity of 91dB/W/m at 4 ohms. That would give you at least 115 dB on peaks at 1 meter. Unless you have a small auditorium for a room, I think there is enough power! In my small room, 105 -108 dB peak levels are obtained easily and without strain (except for your ears).
I believe the grounding post is for the phono preamp. When in the phono setup menu, you can choose floating, chassis or signal grounding.
G'day mate,Just curious if 8550 is powerful enough to driver Avantgrade UNO SD (with 18ohms impedanc)? Thanks for all advices!
Dear Big Dog RJ, so kind of you for this detail feedback. Really appreciated!!! I am also considering CJ’s new ART88+150. Still debating whether SS or Tube works better for horn speakers (learning a lot in the other related post here). How is your experience with CJ? Much better than SS like DarTZeel 8550? I remember in another post that you bought their classic ARTsa. Sadly this ARTsa model is out of the market already.G'day mate,
If those are the speakers that you're using: Avant Garde UNO SD, of course the Dartzeel amplifier will drive those! In fact, any high quality amplifier (tube or SS) will effortlessly drive horns. These are rated at 107dB 18 Ohm loads, which is a very benign load, there's absolutely no strain on the Output stage, so no issues there.
Just looking at the specs on the UNO SD, it clearly states, recommended amplifier power ratings of just 10W! So in this case, the Dartzeel is overkill.
I haven't heard this particular combination but I'm thinking that you'll be quite amazed at the ample power levels the Dartzeel will have driving high efficiency speakers with easy loads, and especially horns. I've tried that same amplifier (the Mk-1 version) on my CLX's, and it was just about right. Plenty of drive, and very good control on the stats. However, over in Aus, the price was off-putting compared to the other options available, such as Pass Labs, Vitus Audio and Burmester. So I passed on the Dartzeel offer, it was on sale end of last year.
BTW, nice one on the AG UNO SD, they're top flight horns, no doubt. When I was on my quest for that final speaker choice, back in 2018, my short list comprised of the AG DUO XD's. At the time I had a nice little Conrad Johnson CAV45 Control amplifier, 50w of EL34 tube power was more than adequate to fly! But then I ended up with ML Electrostats, and the rest is history.
The Dartzeel is a fine piece of machinery, meant for a certain type of clientele... so if you're serious about getting it, I can confidently say that you won't be disappointed at all.
Cheers, and enjoy those fine tunes!
woof! RJ
I am also considering CJ’s new ART88+150.
Very correct as mentioned in the last post, the ART150 will truly be overkill for your AG Horns. The ART150 is a power house, using a quad set of KT150 tubes. These are wired in Ultra linear pentode mode and in push-pull config, they will blow your roof off driving the Uno's very high efficiency ratings. As mentioned in the post below, the ART27A will be far more suited, that's if you prefer tubes. Although rated at just 35w/ch, note this is rated in pure Class A, so very effortless drive with easy loads, such as Horns.Dear Big Dog RJ, so kind of you for this detail feedback. Really appreciated!!! I am also considering CJ’s new ART88+150. Still debating whether SS or Tube works better for horn speakers (learning a lot in the other related post here). How is your experience with CJ? Much better than SS like DarTZeel 8550? I remember in another post that you bought their classic ARTsa. Sadly this ARTsa model is out of the market already.
P.s. 90% of my listening is classic music like Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, Chopin, etc. No rock and occasionally Jazz vocal.
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