Stellavox Introduces a New State of the Art Amplifier IDEM Monoblocks

[Dierkx1]

factory would be choice #1 for sure.

of course . Herve and team have always been responsive.

 

[pk_LA]

of course . Herve and team have always been responsive.

I assume this is sarcasm given the reports around Dartzeel?

 

[Dierkx1]

I assume this is sarcasm given the reports around Dartzeel?

I won't speak about what others may or may not have experienced. My interactions have been uniformly positive.

As a native New Yorker, I judge myself to have a refined sense of sarcasm, but none employed in my statement.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I assume this is sarcasm given the reports around Dartzeel?

no, it's not at all.

from my own knowledge about darTZeel owners, and checking just tonight with friends who are in touch with many more dart customers and Herve; at least in this part of the world, Herve has been very available for service and support these last 2 years. don't want to oversell the realities, but current dart owners are covered. i know dart owners doing preamp upgrades from Mk1 to Mk2 right now.

you are not going to see anyone talk about what darTZeel is doing until darTZeel itself does public things to talk about. it's on them to show activity. not on their customers to convince anyone. but when questions get asked about living with darTZeel then the dart nation can answer them.

 

[gleeds]

well....er.....there is the very first post i wrote about the 468's in 2019. i'm pretty decisive about it. tubes. and i've wrote it many times since in one way or another.

and from the bigger picture of darTZeel feedback over the years they are pretty much recognized as the solid state amp for tube lovers. enough of that tube liquidity and nuance to hold onto. without the tube hassle and with lower noise and more linear powerful bass. can scale without losing cohesion or getting more tubey and excess coloration. music has color and that is not inherently bad. but it can be.

as far neutrality; the classic solid state sound might be sonic neutrality, but not musical neutrality. or as Peter might say, not classically natural sound. natural sound to me is a touch of tubes. but staying in the neutral zone. the Tenor OTL's were there too. my system is balanced for my darTZeel's to disappear and not be prominent.....but bringing in another more neutral amp does highlight the differences.

as far as the Stellavox and it's neutrality, the amplifier i have had in my system it most reminds of "so far" is the Berning 211/845.....but with balls, and that can scale and control my speakers. read my posts on this thread for my comments. a very very neutral OTL topology (to the degree that i understand it).

so between the Tenor OTL's and the Bering 211/845 OTL's to me both the darts and the Stella fit into that reference sound for me and also into the natural neutrality thing too. provisionally at least so far regarding the Stella's. it has to play out.

The 458s (the model I have listened to for hundreds of hours) also used Evo MM-7s, which were delivered along with the 458 and 18NS preamplifiers just after Mike got his. The 458s delivered nearly unlimited power and a beguiling single-ended purity simultaneously.

Recently, I spent the day with Robert Harley and his hand-wound silver transformer Berning 845s, driving the Alysvox Michalangelos, which are now added to my list of singular amplification devices. Mike, since the Evolution Acoustics MM-7s are rated at 97db efficiency, the Bernings may be the perfect marriage of neutrality and SE magic in one package. In Robert's system, I heard a lack of distortion that at first felt soft/muted but then settled in. After about 30 minutes, I realised the system was producing music with a purity in the high frequencies I had never experienced before. The preamplifier was the well-known CH Precision 10 series preamplifier, which was instructive.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Recently, I spent the day with Robert Harley and his hand-wound silver transformer Berning 845s, driving the Alysvox Michalangelos, which are now added to my list of singular amplification devices. Mike, since the Evolution Acoustics MM-7s are rated at 97db efficiency, the Bernings may be the perfect marriage of neutrality and SE magic in one package. In Robert's system, I heard a lack of distortion that at first felt soft/muted but then settled in. After about 30 minutes, I realised the system was producing music with a purity in the high frequencies I had never experienced before. The preamplifier was the well-known CH Precision 10 series preamplifier, which was instructive.

interesting. as far as under 100 OTL tube watts being an ideal match for the Alysvox in Harley's room seems a question.....but the proof is in the listening.

per my linked comments, i had that (non silver wound version of the) amp in my system, what it did was wonderful.......but.......it could not do the whole job nor stay up with the 458's on large scale or more dynamic music in my EA MM7 system. maybe the current Berning 845 has more power? in any case, great amp for sure, i agree with your 'perfect marriage' comment. at that time i wondered if this amp could maybe have triple or quadruple the power then THAT would be fantastic. 200 OTL watts would absolutely cook.....literally.

now today the Stellavox IDEM version of that amp does get the job done fully in my room. and it has that purity thing you mention. whether better than the 468's is the question at hand to be answered.

in any case, not even remotely considering a tube amp.

 

[gleeds]

interesting. as far as under 100 OTL tube watts being an ideal match for the Alysvox in Harley's room seems a question.....but the proof is in the listening.

per my linked comments, i had that amp in my system, what it did was wonderful.......but.......it could not do the whole job nor stay up with the 458's on large scale or more dynamic music in my EA MM7 system. great amp for sure, i agree with your 'perfect marriage' comment. at that time i wondered if this amp could maybe have triple or quadruple the power then THAT would be fantastic.

now today the Stellavox IDEM version of that amp does get the job done fully in my room. whether better than the 468's is the question at hand to be answered.

Cool Mike. We have the answers - but only you will know what's right! Enjoy the ride

 

[pk_LA]

no, it's not at all.

from my own knowledge about darTZeel owners, and checking just tonight with friends who are in touch with many more dart customers and Herve; at least in this part of the world, Herve has been very available for service and support these last 2 years. don't want to oversell the realities, but current dart owners are covered. i know dart owners doing preamp upgrades from Mk1 to Mk2 right now.

you are not going to see anyone talk about what darTZeel is doing until darTZeel itself does public things to talk about. it's on them to show activity. not on their customers to convince anyone. but when questions get asked about darTZeel then the dart nation living with the product can answer them.

Very nice to read that!

 

[Mike Lavigne]

now that the Stellavox IDEM's have some hours on them, starting last night i started playing with the lower gain settings on the gain dial. first up i went all the way from 22db setting down to the 14db gain setting.....last night and until early afternoon today. this brought an immediate transformation......magical, ethereal, airiness, nuance and extended decays and bloom. the noise floor lowered. more micro-dynamics. very transparent. addicting. more layering in the soundstage. as i listened it seemed to settle in. the music was extremely unprocessed and vibrant. air around images, more ambient soundstage. embracing and immersive. eventually i ran into a gotcha, when i started playing my vinyl references i noticed it was a little lightweight and lacking body. in the digital it had been less evident. it had all the sexiness and music focus, but not the full organic beauty i was use to.

so next, to the 18db gain setting since mid afternoon. in the goldilocks vernacular this one seems to be 'just right'...so far, into tonight. this retains most of the attributes of the 14db setting, but adds body and plenty of it. new ground to my ears for the IDEM. so far just digital, tomorrow i will re-visit the vinyl from earlier today. this added body translates into a more cohesive wholeness, and weighty presentation. while retaining the purity and transparency. impossible to say whether what i am hearing is all the way to the darTZeel body and and weight.....and i'm not going there for now.

talking to Gideon about these changes, he mentioned that the forthcoming Stellavox preamp (Q1-2026), which he has heard the prototype, is designed to allow for the use of the lowest IDEM gain setting and still have all the body and weight retained. interesting.

 

[pk_LA]

A) I am struggling here with spelling! Should I call the pair, "Stellavox', Stellavoxs', Stellavoxie?"

B) How do the Stellav*** compare to the Darts in the area of bass drive and definition?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

A) I am struggling here with spelling! Should I call the pair, "Stellavox', Stellavoxs', Stellavoxie?"

B) How do the Stellav*** compare to the Darts in the area of bass drive and definition?

undetermined so far......best guess in the same ballpark. until i come out the other side of my process the bass performance of the IDEM's is yet to be defined.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

A) I am struggling here with spelling! Should I call the pair, "Stellavox', Stellavoxs', Stellavoxie?"

i'd say "Stelli" pronounced "Stell-eye" for a pair of Stellavox. the whole 'vox' thing does not really work for this at all.

i suppose we should vote on it. i vote.....YES.

 

[Ron Resnick]

A) I am struggling here with spelling! Should I call the pair, "Stellavox', Stellavoxs', Stellavoxie?"

Stellavoxes