Life is, as you know, full of surprises. Sometimes (or maybe most of the times?) they turn out not be exactly what you had wished for. But sometimes the surprise could be a really nice one. I would say that the Etalon Suprampli desribed here turned out to be such a nice surprise.
Despite what the colour may suggest (which is an option I decided to go for), this little cracker definitely doesn’t leave you feeling blue… 🙂
So what is Etalon and what is it that makes this amplifier stand out in the crowd?
For those who have never come across Etalon before or who have just heard its name being mentioned without any closer details (and I could count myself to this latter category approximately a year ago), let me try to shed some light on this for you.
BACKGROUND
Etalon is a Hungarian brand founded some 20 years ago by Mr. LászlĂł Sallay. Mr. Sallay has, among others, had a career within both BrĂĽel & Kjaer who makes measuring devices, as well as within Ortofon. Armed with this significant experience of over 20 years, he then founded a music publishing company (working with the labels Hungaroton, Harmonia Mundi and Naxos) which, in turn, resulted in his creation of the brand Etalon Acostics. The slogan chosen for the brand – ‘The Mirror Image of Live Music’ – says a lot about the musical philosophy of the designer behind this brand and the know-how put into this to accomplish a musical reference. On this point, Mr. Sallay has chosen his own way of finding solutions to sonic challenges, which differ from most other designers, who want to find technical solutions to technical problems. According to Mr. Sallay, the task of reproducing music is anything but technical and the habitual thinking confuses the underlying purpose and means. He further explains that the connection between a non-material content, artistic experience, and how it is embodied in the form of sound waves, are not understood. Thus, because of audio ignorance of the processes described here, many devices are constructed taking into account technical considerations only.
Etalon Acoustics approaches this issue in a different way that overcomes the purely technical considerations, and instead focuses on the relationship between the subjective realm (spiritual content) and the target domain (technology). This vision is translated into reality by the limit or reduction of components in the signal path, and outright suppression of all components that are solely for the technology, keeping only those that are used to reproduce the music. The idea behind the focus on simplification is that components not removed may produce audible errors. This also means of course that the remaining essential components need to be perfect. Any imperfection in the choice of these components will have a detrimental effect on the final musical result. Thus, the result is a general simplification of circuits, and a severe and meticulous selection of components used, which are also selected through careful listening.
SUPRAMPLI
The Suprampli is an integrated amplifier, and it in fact represents the entry-level model of the range of amplifiers currently on offer by Etalon. If you think entry-level here means modest performance, you couldn’t be more wrong. This amplifier displays qualitities that you would have a hard time to even find in amplifiers costing 10 times as much. This integrated amplifier is actually a power amplifier with a passive preamp stage. It produces 2 x 40 watts / 8 ohms in class AB, which may perhaps not sound particularly impressive on paper, especially to those who think more power equals better sound. Unless you have low-efficient speakers that are difficult to drive, you can rest assured that its output is more than you will ever need in a system.
The amplifier itself shows unusual restraint. The front panel, which contains a centrally-placed display, is finished in smoked plexiglass. There is a variety of wooden side panels to be chosen and in my case I chose to have them finished in a blue colour. Since there are no buttons or knobs anywhere on the amplifier, all functions are controlled via a remote control, which permits you to select the source (there are four sources), adjust the volume, and a standby function. The enclosure is solidly built, which ensures good immunity against unwanted vibrations, and it rests on four rubber feet.
The rear side of the amplifier also appears to be very sober, and contains 4 high-level inputs. The speaker terminals seem well made and can use bare wire, forks, or banana plugs to connect the speakers. The amplifier will probably not appeal to the hardcore vinyl or head-phone community as it comes without any such outputs.
LISTENING IMPRESSIONS
For this listening session, the set-up looked as follows:
– Amplifier: Etalon Suprampli
– CD-player: Accuphase DP70, Accuphase DP75V
– Speakers: Tonian Labs M2, Rauna Leira MkII
– Interconnects: Auditorium A23
– Speaker cables: Auditorium 23 LS
CD titles selected: ‘The Astounding Eyes of Rita’ and ‘Le Pas du Chat Noir’ by Anouar Brahem – ‘Wilderness Exit’ by Knut Bjornar Asphol – ‘Changing Places’ by Tord Gustavsen Trio – ‘In Praise of Dreams’ by Jan Garbarek – ‘Real To Reel’ by Mark Gillespie & Tom Drost – ‘Silk And Salt Melodies’ by Louis Sclavis Quartet – ‘Saltash Bells’ by John Surman – ‘The Doudouk Beyond Borders’ by LĂ©von Minassian.
It does not take many listening minutes to understand why this little entry-level amplifier has managed to attract an ever-increasing number of devoted audiophiles who, in their persistent pursuit of sound perfection, are not afraid of stepping out of the (mainstream) box and temporarily leave their own comfort zone. Their look-out beyond the more established mainstream equivalents has certainly paid off…. and rightly so. The first thing that immediately strikes you when listening to the Suprampli is how amazingly live and close it sounds to original instruments or voices. If this is the level of performance you get with the entry-level model, which leaves almost nothing else to wish for, then I really fail to see how much better things can actually get if you go for one of the more expensive models in the Etalon line-up. I have the answer to this question already. Given that all Etalon amplifiers display the same ‘house sound’, what you get already with the Suprampli means you do not really need to look any further up the price range – unless it is more power or options that you are after. Soundwise, the entry-level model is your one-stop ticket and all you will ever need.
Listening to ‘The Astounding Eyes of Rita’ and ‘Le Pas du Chat Noir’ by Anouar Brahem, the oud, the piano, the accordion, the bass clarinet, the darbouka and the bendir – all being accoustic instruments – are reproduced with such naturalism and presence that, with your eyes shut, you are having a hard time to tell if you are actually listening to a recording only or if you are instead experiencing a live performance. Its immediacy and openness is like a fresh breath, and to this end it is very similar in character to the Audiozone Amp-1. As a matter of fact, these two amplifiers appear to display pretty much one and the same sound picture despite their technical differencies. They are both very fast, open and present but will never ever show even the slightest hint of aggression. The smallest subtlety and details are generously displayed – even at low listening volume. I’d like to use the phrase ‘in your face’ here, but I mean this in a most positive way. Both the Suprampli and the Amp-1 will draw your attention to them. It’s like them telling you ‘Hey, you! Stop with what you are doing now and pay attention to what I have to tell you…’.
The guitar and the flute on the Real to Reel’ album by Mark Gillespie and Tom Drost (e.g. the tracks ‘The Friends You have Gained’, ‘Shape Of My Heart’, ‘The Light At The End’) are displayed with pin-point precision, wide soundstage, transparency and fluidity. It never gets harsh, yet it never gets (too) sweet either. The amplifier manages somehow to always find the right balance between these two extremes. Bravo.
The amplifier is also very revealing. You can easily hear the breath of the performers, the finger snaps on the guitar, the bass clarinet and the flute or the pressing of the keys on the piano. The extent to which this ‘noise’ is heard naturally also depends on the speakers you are listening to. Here, there is an enormous difference between the Rauna Leira and the Tonian Labs M2, where the latter speakers (due to their higher efficiency – 98dB) leave nothing behind. This sensitivity can of course be a good thing, but it also means that any flaws in the recording will immediately be revealed. Poor-quality recordings will suddenly become unlistenable. The end result will obviously depend on your set-up. The Suprampli has proven to mate very well with the Rauna Leira II speakers. It seems to bring these (already very good) speakers to quite an impressive level. To those of you who have wondered what amplifier to use to these speakers, here you have another amplifier to add to your shopping list.
Will 2 x 40 Watt be enough? Unless you are having a pair of low-efficiency (less than 85dB) standmounts and want to rock until you drop or your listening room is the size of a shopping centre, the answer is yes, absolutely. With the Suprampli you will get enough dynamics and ‘meat to the bone’ which, together with the other qualities that characterise this amplifier, will leave you wondering what the heck you have been listening to all these years. No, power is nothing without control and bigger is not necessarily better. Here, less actually means more. It’s what you manage to achieve with the little you have that actually makes the difference. If your amplifier sounds dull and uninvolving at low listening volume, only using a few watts, it certainly is not going to sound any better when played at close to full volume, using almost the full spectrum. Louder? – Yes! Better? – No!
CONCLUSION
The performance and dynamics of this little amplifier truly impress. There is nothing entry-level about it, except for the price (approximately EUR 1500). Soundwise, it plays in the same league as the highly praised Audiozone Amp-1. It is difficult to say which one is the preferred choice here as they sound very similar and also have similar output. Whilst the Amp-1 is built like a tank and is unlikely to let you down in the foreseeable future – if ever, the build quality of the Suprampli, whilst still being pretty good, cannot match that of the Amp-1. However, the Suprampli comes both with a remote control and four inputs as standard – all with a price tag which is much lower than that of the Amp-1. Which one to prefer is therefore dependent on your personal taste and wallet. One thing is for certain though – you can’t go wrong with either of them.
My highest recommendation.
Sols