Have any DartZeel owners moved onto other brands?

I love the smell of Triode in the morning.

stereo said:

I see where you are coming from. Don't get me wrong: I love my Dartzeel, but I admit it is colored, the same way a good triode amp is (very) colored. It is just a pleasing coloration for the ear....

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I love the smell of Triode in the morning.

Actually I love the smell of Triode anytime.

zz

stereo said:

I see where you are coming from. Don't get me wrong: I love my Dartzeel, but I admit it is colored, the same way a good triode amp is (very) colored. It is just a pleasing coloration for the ear....

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stereo,

I also appreciate your opinion, as you're someone who's listened to it all
But I've always been able to hear these colourations, sometimes right away, sometimes over the long run. And always when I get back to the 108, it's not a colouration I immediately notice, but a certain "rightness", a natural sound, even with bad digital. A lot of gear has that "something" that strikes you right away. With the Soulution, like Goldmund and Halcro before them, there's a certain lack of body, of weight to the instruments, most noticeable on bass drums on a rock track (take Led Zeppelin, for instance). Now, I don't know if this is a colouration or just a particular trait of the amp, but it's very noticeable.
I've even had a tube amp compared to a darTZeel (the integrated, though), and it was very clear what the tubes were doing to the midrange, versus the darTZeel.


alexandre

asiufy said:

stereo,

I also appreciate your opinion, as you're someone who's listened to it all
But I've always been able to hear these colourations, sometimes right away, sometimes over the long run. And always when I get back to the 108, it's not a colouration I immediately notice, but a certain "rightness", a natural sound, even with bad digital. A lot of gear has that "something" that strikes you right away. With the Soulution, like Goldmund and Halcro before them, there's a certain lack of body, of weight to the instruments, most noticeable on bass drums on a rock track (take Led Zeppelin, for instance). Now, I don't know if this is a colouration or just a particular trait of the amp, but it's very noticeable.
I've even had a tube amp compared to a darTZeel (the integrated, though), and it was very clear what the tubes were doing to the midrange, versus the darTZeel.


alexandre

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I agree that it's hard to describe the 'rightness' of the 108. it has 'enough' of the 'breath of life' of tubes and a very smooth extended treble to avoid any dryness. and it's low parts count in the signal path keeps the mids transparent and natural and the noise floor very low. yet it's also micro dynamically alive. it manages to walk the 'in between point' of tubes and solid state avoiding the pratfalls of both. OTOH depending on one's perspective I can see some of what it does as color but not 'coloration'. when amplifiers have a coloration then over time one tends to find ways to balance out that coloration. the dart never needs that. I do observe that sometimes dart owners try a bit more ruthlessness in an alternative amplifier, but almost always return to the naturalness of the dart. ultimately it is a matter of personal taste.

the 458's are slightly more neutral and have a more complex palette. it's even more difficult to describe.

I believe we all agree that Herve is doing great amps!

asiufy said:

In Brazil, one of the most corrupt countries on Earth.

alexandre

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Hi Alexandre,

Where in Brazil are you based? I have traveled quite a bit to Brazil on business but I have never had a chance to mert anyone from the Brazilian audiophile comunity.

Hi Roysen,

I'm in São Paulo. People who visit on business usually end up here, and wish they were in Rio instead
The audiophile community here is small, and very splintered. But of course, next time you come I'll show you around! Let me know!


alexandre