Ypsilon
- Thread starter jasbirnandra
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Yes, as I'm currently interested in the integrated Phaethon I of course could not resist visiting the Ypsilon rooms.
In their own room they played on the hefty Hyperions, the new DAC 1000 and new Wilson Benesch speakers. It's always difficult on a show to get what you are really listening to, but I had no complaints at all, I thought the music flowed with ease and sounded just right. I stayed in here for quite some time and enjoyed some good music.
They were also present in the room next door (through a reseller I guess), this was a smaller setup and I think it was the Aelius playing with some horn speaker. I didn't care for this room as much though. Maybe due to the speaker choice, I don't know.
I was a little disappointed that they were not playing on the Phaethon though, but I get it that everyone wants to show off their top performers.
Ciao sono nuovo di questo forum. Vorrei chiederti come va l'amplificatore integrato yhaphon phaethon e come pensi che potrebbe andare insieme ad altoparlanti come Rockport Avior?
I ended up buying the Ypsilon Phaethon after testing a few other integrated amps at home, it was one of those moments when you plug something in and put music on play and you just realize immediately that this is something else. I've been nothing but happy with it. I could throw superlatives and clichés around to describe how it sounds, but not sure how much that's worth, to me it just sounds right and I like it a lot! If you partner it with great sources it will make those shine at their highest potential. The design and look of both the amp itself and the remote is also top notch! Truly beautiful.
My one minor complaint is that if it's turned off (or looses power) it defaults back to input 1, it's not a big problem and that's also the input I'm using, but if someone was using XLR cables or any other inputs they would have to switch input after turning it back on.
I have no experience with Rockport Avia I'm afraid so can't really say, best is always to try in your system before buying of course.
Congratulations! May I ask what speakers you are using with the Phaethon? Also what were the other amps you considered? The Phaethon also has been highly recommended to me and have been seriously considering it. My problem is we do not have a dealer in Manila so would have to buy from abroad blind.
Thank you. I'm using Kroma Audio Thais speakers (from Spain) and couldn't be happier.
It's over 2 years ago since I bought the Ypsilon Phaethon now (this thread is kind of quiet) so not sure I remember what else I listened to, but I think Audionet and Aavik where among them. The Phaethon was highly recommended to me though and I felt right away when I listened to it at home that this was it and I have never looked back or been tempted by something else since then, and I normally tend to change things quite often. I saw recently that someone on a Swedish forum compared Phaethon with Boulder and Pass Labs and ended up choosing the Phaethon for his Boenicke W11 speakers.
While buying blind is always a risk of course, I think that if Phaethon is within your budget you will not be disappointed by its performance. But of course it always comes down to personal preferences. I find the Phaethon to be very airy, organic and natural in my setup, and that is exactly how I would like it to be and the presentation that I'm looking for.
@Hyperion here is the Swedish dealer who I bought mine from and also got excellent guiding and help from, I'm sure he can answer better than me if it would be a good match with your setup.
Hello everyone,
the Ypsilon room was my highlight at the HighEnd 2018.
The music was a bit strange.
Chinese gong folklore or something.
But I stayed there for over half an hour and was completely spellbound by the nature of the performance.
I had never heard such a musical flow and naturalness.
Thumbs up.
best regards
Thomas
the Ypsilon room was my highlight at the HighEnd 2018.
The music was a bit strange.
Chinese gong folklore or something.
But I stayed there for over half an hour and was completely spellbound by the nature of the performance.
I had never heard such a musical flow and naturalness.
Thumbs up.
best regards
Thomas
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@VoicesInMyHead Thanks for the very helpful reply. Nice to hear about the qualities you described. Marcus of Perfect Sense Stockholm was the one who brought the Phaethon to my attention. He was kind enough also to inform me that it would match well with my Verity Parsifal Anniv speakers as he also carries the latter in his store.
Glad to hear that you are are very happy with the Phaethon and feel no urge to change. That inspires a lot of confidence in this choice should I not get to audition prior to purchase.
Glad to hear that you are are very happy with the Phaethon and feel no urge to change. That inspires a lot of confidence in this choice should I not get to audition prior to purchase.
I'm very fortunate to have Marcus locally here in Stockholm, he carries a lot of high quality gear for sure and it's always a pleasure to go there listening to music. If he says that the Phaethon would be a good match with Verity I believe him, my own experience and also what I hear from others is that he would rather recommends against it than selling something you won't be happy to with in your setup. I've learned the hard way to listen and to trust his experience and knowledge.
It's also of course very common to recommend what you have yourself on forums like this, everyone has put both money and emotions into their gear. Are there "better" amps out there? Probably. I have not heard them all. But I can honestly say it's the one for me, I can't even imagine where I would go from here one day. I think Verity is also very natural, organic and musical sounding, I think we share similar taste in musical reproduction and I can see that it would be a good match, both for your speakers and your musical preferences.
The bad sides? I mentioned above the channel input not being remembered from stand by, and as most tube gear it gets quite hot, also the lowest volume can sometimes be a bit too high. I don't find any of these a reason to not like it though...
Yes you are very lucky indeed to have Marcus part of your commmunity. He is so knowledgeable and generous with his insights. He also has impecable taste in gear.I'm very fortunate to have Marcus locally here in Stockholm, he carries a lot of high quality gear for sure and it's always a pleasure to go there listening to music. If he says that the Phaethon would be a good match with Verity I believe him, my own experience and also what I hear from others is that he would rather recommends against it than selling something you won't be happy to with in your setup. I've learned the hard way to listen and to trust his experience and knowledge.
It's also of course very common to recommend what you have yourself on forums like this, everyone has put both money and emotions into their gear. Are there "better" amps out there? Probably. I have not heard them all. But I can honestly say it's the one for me, I can't even imagine where I would go from here one day. I think Verity is also very natural, organic and musical sounding, I think we share similar taste in musical reproduction and I can see that it would be a good match, both for your speakers and your musical preferences.
The bad sides? I mentioned above the channel input not being remembered from stand by, and as most tube gear it gets quite hot, also the lowest volume can sometimes be a bit too high. I don't find any of these a reason to not like it though...
Thanks for reinforcing the sound I am trying to pursue: transparency in a natural and musical way. Yes, I think we are aligned here
On the downsides, do find the 3db step on volume to be unprecise in trying to find the perfect level? I see this as a non-issue for digital but might be for phono.
Lastly, does it get too hot to touch when playing for long hours during the summer? My concern is that the excessive heat might shorten the life of the parts as I keep the gear on for 12 hours a day, mostly with no aircon in hot manila weather.
Do you remember what Audionet Integrated you compared the Phaeton to?
I don't think the Audionet Humboldt was already on the market back then...
The few times I heard the Ypsilon Phaeton at shows, I liked it quite a lot
I don't find the volume steps to be unprecise or anything wrong with, it's only the first step that can sometimes in the evenings be a bit too loud. For digital this can be adjusted in the streamer if needed, on my RIAA I don't jave the possibility just as you say. But this is not a big concern and I had similar experience with another transformer based preamp I had (Music First Baby Reference v2). It's mostly my wife that thinks its too loud when she wants to sleep...
It does get hot, but I also have it in a not very optimal ventilated space, and I think it was built to work like a big heatsink to absorb it, and the heat is not any worse than any other Class A or tube based gear. I usually put it in standby mode over night, and I'm easily listening to music for 12 hours per day also. I can see your concern about your warm climate, but as long as you keep it in open air I don't thin it would be any problem.
It was WATT, but it wasn't a back to back comparison and they're also in quite a different price league, so not really a fair duel. Humboldt would be unfair in the other direction though...
I liked WATT and could definitely have "lived with it", but the Ypsilon spoke directly to my heart in a different way. Also, have I mentioned how gorgeous it is? It's beautiful! Like a piece of art.
I have not, but those sure looks nice...
I hope to be able to hear them one day.Yes, I have heard it many years ago with YG Anat Ref IIs, Boulder 2000 series digital and preamp. I have to say given that the YG is apparently a very difficult load, the sounds was incredibly detailed, disciplined and with a shockingly tight powerful bottom end. Clarity beyond clarity in terms of the resolution of words, whispers.
That is good to hear. Thanks for the helpful insightsI don't find the volume steps to be unprecise or anything wrong with, it's only the first step that can sometimes in the evenings be a bit too loud. For digital this can be adjusted in the streamer if needed, on my RIAA I don't jave the possibility just as you say. But this is not a big concern and I had similar experience with another transformer based preamp I had (Music First Baby Reference v2). It's mostly my wife that thinks its too loud when she wants to sleep...
It does get hot, but I also have it in a not very optimal ventilated space, and I think it was built to work like a big heatsink to absorb it, and the heat is not any worse than any other Class A or tube based gear. I usually put it in standby mode over night, and I'm easily listening to music for 12 hours per day also. I can see your concern about your warm climate, but as long as you keep it in open air I don't thin it would be any problem.
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