Norval
AVForums Grandmaster
Hi all
Since there is so little going on here, I thought of sharing a recent listening experience with one of the latest products of one of our very own local manufacturers and friends of avforums, the new Maestro-Audio pre-amp.
For those who have been at the music evening at the Indaba Hotel recently, the pre-amp that they had there was still a prototype, with a few minor issues they had to sort out.
I had the opportunity to listen to the (almost ready for production) and ?played in? pre-amp in my home on my setup.
My reference system: Maestro 120W pure class-A power amp, Vincent SDV3 DVD player, Audio Research LS 2B MK II class-A pre-amp and Chario Academy 1 speakers. Cables are Audio quest Ruby balanced interconnect between the pre and DVD player, Ecosse Master Reference balanced interconnect between the pre- and power amp and Transparent Music Wave speaker cable. My room is 3.5 x 9m, and the speakers are located to play across the room.
First we listened to Nora Jones on the AR pre-amp before we changed to the Maestro pre-amp. Then we did the same with Holy Cole.
The setup with the AR is a lot of fun. There?s good LF extention for such small speakers, with detailed Bass, and no signs of any boom. Mid and top is also very detailed, but never forward or harsh. The system in a whole is very musical, it's not a clinical sound sometimes present in some so called hi end systems.
We then switched to the Maestro, and what can I say? It?s just great! You are now even more there... in the presence of the artists. Bass is less prominent, but still there and enough of it. It's in fact much more controlled and natural than with the AR. Detail in the LF as well as mid range is even better than what it was before. The system in a whole is extremely neutral, and very musical. The High frequencies are detailed, but it never get to the point where it shout at you, or hurt your ears.
In short, it?s as if the pre-amp just disappeared, it?s not even there....... it's just you and the music. 8)
http://www.maestro-audio.com/Pre-Amplifiers.html
Since there is so little going on here, I thought of sharing a recent listening experience with one of the latest products of one of our very own local manufacturers and friends of avforums, the new Maestro-Audio pre-amp.
For those who have been at the music evening at the Indaba Hotel recently, the pre-amp that they had there was still a prototype, with a few minor issues they had to sort out.
I had the opportunity to listen to the (almost ready for production) and ?played in? pre-amp in my home on my setup.
My reference system: Maestro 120W pure class-A power amp, Vincent SDV3 DVD player, Audio Research LS 2B MK II class-A pre-amp and Chario Academy 1 speakers. Cables are Audio quest Ruby balanced interconnect between the pre and DVD player, Ecosse Master Reference balanced interconnect between the pre- and power amp and Transparent Music Wave speaker cable. My room is 3.5 x 9m, and the speakers are located to play across the room.
First we listened to Nora Jones on the AR pre-amp before we changed to the Maestro pre-amp. Then we did the same with Holy Cole.
The setup with the AR is a lot of fun. There?s good LF extention for such small speakers, with detailed Bass, and no signs of any boom. Mid and top is also very detailed, but never forward or harsh. The system in a whole is very musical, it's not a clinical sound sometimes present in some so called hi end systems.
We then switched to the Maestro, and what can I say? It?s just great! You are now even more there... in the presence of the artists. Bass is less prominent, but still there and enough of it. It's in fact much more controlled and natural than with the AR. Detail in the LF as well as mid range is even better than what it was before. The system in a whole is extremely neutral, and very musical. The High frequencies are detailed, but it never get to the point where it shout at you, or hurt your ears.
In short, it?s as if the pre-amp just disappeared, it?s not even there....... it's just you and the music. 8)
http://www.maestro-audio.com/Pre-Amplifiers.html
