Reminder, Gelombang AV Fest 2022, 5th - 7th August 2022

 

Here's a reminder to all fellow AV and music enthusiast, that Gelombang AV Fest starts next Friday, 5th August onwards. Be there not just for the HiFi & HT systems on demo, but also for "live performances" by top local artist, and lucky draw prizes to be won!

Be there of be square!

King Arthur's Gem! Novaris Excalibur Surge Protector & PLC

The Novaris Excalibur sitting on top the Torus Power RM-16 AVR in my system. The Novaris is so much more compact and lighter by comparison!

 

I met the Novaris people at the Northern AV Show last month, and very quickly became friendly enough with them to trust me with this review. Novaris is an Australian company that specialize in supplying surge protection and power line filters for railway systems. So happens that the bosses are also self confessed audiophiles that they designed the Excalibur and the PP series surge protector & power line filter for AV & Hifi use. There's one more thing unique about Novaris is that their manufacturing plant is based right here in Malaysia, somewhere in the Sungai Buloh industrial estate.

A week after the show, I picked up this Excalibur sample, that it's so new, you can't even Google it yet!(You can try, really) This unit was being discreetly displayed at the Northern AV Show, together with the Frank(of Powerbank fame!) & Silbatone demos. I saw something that was competently designed, and made by the people with great industrial power supply knowledge! So I was mighty impressed with the Excalibur, so to speak, but the big giant question in the room "How does it sound?"

The front panel display of the Novaris Excalibur, which gives more than the required information regarding the systems power supply. A big red illuminated ON/OFF switch sits just below the display. The back panel features 10 universal power sockets, which is convenient as it will pretty much accept BS 3 pin plugs, NEMA(US Standard) or even Schuko(German Standard) plugs. The input socket from wall accepts 20 Amp plug

So now, that I have the Novaris Excalibur with me, I wasted no time and plugged it in to my system. Taking over from the Torus Power RM-16 AVR, the Novaris now takes power from the wall, and supplies to all my sources, pre-amp and power amps(which are the pair of excellent Tonewinner AD-1 PA). The Tonewinner AD-1 PA when operating in Class-A mode draws a little over 5 Amperes!

I was also quite curious about the Power Factor value on the display. A quick check with Wong sifu told me that in my system, there are losses from the transformers being used  in my system, being the ideal power factor value of 1.00 and the best possible practical result being 0.95. Wong sifu also told me that in the world of consumer electronics, 0.85 value is considered pretty good. He said at 0.71 which was the value being shown on the Novaris meter, he just said hmm.........,, there's significant power losses some where in the system. All other information on the display as above are pretty much self explanatory.

From the very first go, I listened to my speakers up close, with no signal or music being played, the tweeters are dead quiet and not hissing, which is always a good sign. Then the music starts, again I am astonished by the overall quietness of the background in the music. Key word is "Quiet", there is a lack off jet darkness in the back ground, unlike the Torus. The jet darkness background is a signature of transformer based, or sand filled passive PLC designs. The Novaris has neither a transformer inside, or being sand filled for dampening, so the result is fitting I guess. No good, no bad here, just a different way of doing things and the results reflect it. Next thing I noticed obviously are the high frequencies reproductions. The highs are nicely refined, airy and with bite or attack when the music ask. No over smoothening here, which is good. The mid range, a.k.a. vocals mostly, stand out a little bit in front of the proceedings, again which is good. The vocals have good life like presence effect which I like. The bass is very tightly wound, and super solid. I must say the above sound description also in a way, describes the Tonewinner AD-1PA amplifiers in Class-A mode, as per my reviews about them, minus the jet darkness in the background of the music. The Novaris also makes the sound stage just a tad deeper & wider, if compared to than without. However, the stage deepness doesn't quite reach to the back and the layering that the Torus does by comparison.   

The internals of the Novaris Excalibur shows the designer has put in some very good electrical engineering principals in to the circuit. It's got everything it needs to do the job!

The Novaris Excalibur is expected to cost a little more than MYR 13,000 when launched next week at the Gelombang AV Fest 2022. For me, given the construction and materials value in the box, is certainly worth the lot. And in sound, especially when compared to my giant Torus power RM-16 AVR, the Novaris Excalibur gives up little in compromise. And in function, the Novaris doesn't do voltage regulation either, and this function I believe with today's TNB voltage stability compared to just 10 years ago when I bought the Torus Power, is no longer required in most places. As I used the Novaris Excalibur in my system for the past 2 weeks, I did not see any wild in coming voltage swings, based on the display on the Excalibur. The voltage movements in my area recently is mostly +/- 5 range of the 240V that TNB subscribes to.

If automatic voltage regulation is not required in your case, my verdict is that the Novaris Excalibur could be all that ends all PLC & surge protector one needs. You can spend more money and do worst is all that I saying. If one is in the market for a hifi & HT PLC, do ignore this Novaris Excalibur at your own peril, no matter your budget. It's a must check out candidate at the MYR 10,000 or more range.

Novaris is Exhibiting at the Gelombang AV Fest 2022, starting from next Friday, 5th August 2022. 

Gelombang AV Fest 2022 Updates

 

Gelombang AV Fest 2022 is ON 05th - 07th August 2022, at Melia Hotel Kuala Lumpur. 

The following as listed below are confirmed exhibitors:

Centre Circle Audio

AFC Top Hi-Fi

CMY Audio & Visual

Hi-Way Laser

Audio Perfectionist

Absolute Sound

Audio Art

A&L Audio Station

Desa Home Theater

The Experts Group

Atlas Sound

Quantum Acoustic

Begins Acoustics

Statement Systems

Fine SPL

Caruso 

Novaris

AA Audio

Silbatone

More exhibitors are being finalized as of posting!

See you all in 2 weeks..................

Delightful digital !

 USB - Is it a bane or a wonder for digital world in audiophile ? USB or Universal Serial Bus is a universal connector can be found almost any where in digital world from computer to mobile devices and almost anything digital like TV or an amplifier. We cannot deny that USB has become an important part of life while we are using the digital device. What about the context of USB in the audio world ? Well USB is mainly being use for many different hardwares like AV receiver, an integrated amp or most of the digital playback. Although USB is a very useful connection but is also well known for being noisy or not so perfect signal. I am sure many will think about error correction and such but in reality is not what we all think. If you are not someone who agrees with this than probably is time to stop reading. 

Now for those who want to look for the improvement of USB in your audio, this is one piece of hardware that is going to do the job. Today we are going to be talking about Innous USB Phoenix, a USB re-clocker. Pretty fiery name to called the device "Phoenix". A little bit of background of Innous. Its a UK based company founded back in year 2009. Not too old or too young, is almost the time that digital audio getting heat up. The company aim is to have digital audio quality with simplicity. The picture here with the introduction of the re-clocker.

From the outside (Top and Bottom), the hardware is 2 pieces of metal. The top cover and the bottom base. Simple yet solid box for the unit. 3 pieces of legs at the bottom with rubber ring and a little suspension from the leg to the bottom plate. The unit  about shoe box size but the weight is about 9kg for a small box. Majority of the weight is due to the transformer inside it.

Once the cover is lifted, the belly of the beast is revealed. The component arrangement nicely done with possible of shortest route for the wiring. Cables are properly arranged and also as much as possible with similar length. 

The toroidal power transformer made by Innous in house. Pretty big piece for a USB re-clocker. As for any audio product, the power supply is always important. No doubt that Innous do want to give the best for this Phoenix. 

Innous spare no expense to give what is best possible. When comes to capacitor (Mundorf) is like the gold standard. Of course is a pretty penny on this. Each of this Mundorf capacitor has10,000 μf.

This is a lot of capacitance for re-clocker. 

Than it comes to the heart of it all. The clock and the USB chip regeneration. The Phoenix USB Reclocker takes the USB signal from any source and completely regenerates it to an extremely high-precision signal to feed into your DAC, allowing it to perform at its best.

 

Next will be how it is connected link up to your chain of equipment. The simplicity of the re-clocker is allowing any kind of USB playback to be use with it. It can be a simple laptop computer, or digital steamer. The simple rule is as long as it has USB output from it. Simply plug it in and switch it on. Looking at the back of the hardware is as simple as it can get with one input and one output for the USB. On the right side is the on/off switch and the power cord. The input is from the source. It can be a computer or any digital playback device. The output will be from the re-clocker to the DAC. Once connection is all plug in, what you have to do is just to turn on and play as usual. Simple 😏

For myself, I have always been the fan of single board computer. I have hook this up to the USB of the Asus Tinker board. From it output to the re-clocker and than to the DAC. 

I am going to up a simple summary on this box. Not going to go into the detail of what I heard or what I think about the audio but I will say that its something I will miss. What I mean by that, I have been using it for 2 weeks now. Taking it out of the chain I can definitely notices the difference. Is this an upgrade, my answer is yes. It might not be for everyone unless you are very much into USB connectivity for your audio. This box will cause you quite a few penny, being SGD 4000. Not easy to justify for it, is also subject to what kind of level in audio nirvana you want to reach. Simply to put it when you are starting of zero, any small thing will be quite a jump but when you are at 80% level, to squeeze another 5% is not going to be the challenge not just the setup but also to the cost of it. 

A Winner! No Matter Which Way You Look, Tonewinner AD-1PA Power Amplifier

 

Tonewiiner AD-1PA is a solid power amp, weighting 40kg each! I do however find the front panel styling to be bland, blue LEDs aside

In Chinese business, a prosperous or auspicious name is very important for a good start, and Tonewinner is probably one such brand! When Audio Art started selling Tonewinner products about 2 years back, I remembered asking for a review sample, to which Ah Chee replied, "no need to review, this product sells by it self!, as nothing beats great quality and excellent price".

Fast forward till recently, my very own ATI Reference 6004 power amplifier was starting to act up after being in constant service for the last 6 years or so. The problem is one particular channel would shutdown prematurely constantly. So it was sent back to Audio Art for repairs. Ever accommodating, Ah Chee asked if I needed any courtesy amp in the meantime? I said "yes please!" and a few days later, 2 units of this Tonewinner AD-1PA came to my place. I asked why 2 units, Ah Chee replied, "I can still remember you're bi-amping kaki"   

The back panel is simple as should be, with 2 pairs of speaker terminals per channel

Actually, a few months back, I already got a glimpse of the Tonewinner AD-1PA in a friend's system, where he had the full set Tonewinner, from CD player to pre amp to power amp, driving a pair of Rogers LS-3/5A speakers. The sound from that system was very attractive and confident, which I kinda like. Now with the 2 units AD-1PA in my system as left-right mono block bi-amp set up, I was ready to fire up the system. The AD-1PA is mated to my Aesthethix Janus Signature tube pre-amp, which controls volume and switching between the various sources in my system.

Upon firing up the system, I already heard a very nice warmish tone playing in Class-A mode. I switched between Class-A and Class-AB modes, but found that I like the former sound better. Class-A runs the heatsinks hot, but not as hot as like those of my Pass Aleph 0 back then which will always be one of my reference power amp design. In Class-AB mode, the Tonewinner is just cool in temperature all the way. I let the subject matter run in for a few weeks before any serious listening session starts.

This is where it gets serious, in Class-A mode, the Tonewinner has a slight golden warm tonal quality, as opposed to low noise floor, high resolution & crystal clarity kinda sound that today's common amplifier sound. Not that Tonewinner has much noise floor or suffers in poor resolution either. It just doesn't shout those parameters only. With Tonewinner, the voicing is clearly focused on that slightly golden mid range tone, that refined airy treble, and solid, quick & punchy bass!(This is an area where the Pass Aleph design is clearly weakest) Also again comparing to my Pass Aleph reference, the Tonewinner has near zero white hash in the back ground. The Tonewinner doesn't shout high resolution either, yet, if the source captures it, it will be clearly laid bare to listen, albeit in a much subtle manner. Still in comparison to the Pass Aleph 0 which is a single end Class-A amplifier design, I feel the Tonewinner manages to avoid all the weaker points of the older Pass design, namely the Tonewinner doesn't go in to rose tinted mid range. The Tonewinner manages to balance between the treble refinement versus saccharin sweetness in high frequency response, and best of all the Tonewinner never get weak in knees in the bass area, much unlike the Pass Aleph.

When listening to the Tonewinner, I feel the Chinese had voiced it so finely balanced, not one particular sonic signature is ever more dominant. In the past, if one has to choose between tonal quality & sound stage, there is always a dilemma. With the Tonewinner, you can actually have both, and don't need to choose anymore! The scaling and sound stage to the Tonewinner is big scale & 3D. When playing in my room, my PMC IB-2i speakers disappears most convincingly. In many ways, the Tonewinner is voiced very much like an American muscle amp, the kick ass bass power, the textured presentation of instruments, and the big bold scale, all the very qualities I love in a power amp.

I only played the amp in Class-AB mode just for comparison sake only, but what I found was that music became flat without that slightly golden midrange tone, and the bass while still solid, has lost much it's kick, but does sound more refined, in a less textured way, much like a Lexus refinement, which just needs a bit of soul. When in Class-AB mode, the heatsinks are cool to touch and there's a feeling that the amp is just cruising only. After one session, I very quickly reverted to Class-A mode, heatsink expanding sound and all, if one is familiar with Class-A amplifier designs from the 80's. 

 

The insides of the Tonewinner AD-1PA is seriously designed with audiophile cues all over 

Here is showing off it's amplifier module coupled to the whole heatsink panel at both sides of the power amp

I got too excited and jumped straight to the sound section! The Tonewinner amp is rated 300W x 2 in either Class-A or AB mode, and when both amps operating in Class-A, actually draws close to 7 ampere in current. The AD-1PA is very solidly built too, at 40kgs each. Moving them up the flight of stair case to my man cave is a back breaking process. There are plentiful of audiophile cues in the build quality of the amp. Starting with the full aluminum, 5 compartment design chassis which isolates every aspect of the amplifier components from one another. The power transformer just behind the front panel, the power supply reservoir and regulators in the middle, the input board placed behind the rear panel, and the actual power amp section at both sides bolted to the heatsink as a module. Very nice indeed, but that's not all, even the four feet at the bottom corners are of honeycomb molded!( Looks like they learned a thing or 2 from Pioneer too!) My only gripe is that the front face plate looks a little on the plain Jane, in the silver and black surround design. Three function buttons are on the face plate, the big center button is an ON/OFF switch, the smaller one on the left selects the ClassA or AB mode of operation. A small button on the right functions as speaker terminal set A/B select. Pretty simple so far.

On the back panel, Tonewinner provides a choice between RCA or XLR input, with a selector in between and 2 pairs of speaker terminals on both left & right channels. An IEC power socket rounds things up. While the overall build quality is excellent throughout, the only area I think it cold improve is the heatsinks on both sides, which are still rather sharp and can potentially cut fingers or hands when attempting to move the amplifier.(Ah........ just like my favorite Pass Aleph amplifiers again!)    

With the Tonewinner AD-1PA pair in my room, I barely have space to tip toe around to the racks! 

At this point in time, I am still pondering if I should make the pair of  Tonewinner AD-1PA my permanent amplifiers in place of the ATI Reference 6004. The 2 box configuration really does take up much space, leaving me to tip toe around my system as I load my CDs or LPs at the racks. However sound wise, the ATI, despite being rated as 350W x 4, doesn't quite sounding any bolder or louder either. There's certainly a lack of that slight lusciously golden mid range tone, and that airy refined highs that my ears take comfort in every listening session with the ATI as compared to the Tonewinner. I have probably said this too many times already, but made in China hifi has come a long, long way in the last 30 years or so.

And at almost MYR13k a pop, or double that in my case, means spending some money again. Don't get me wrong here, at the asking price, the Tonewinner AD-1PA is not expensive at all, and given today's hifi inflation rates, it's probably some kind of a bargain even. When you factor in that winning Class-A sound quality, one can even spend double or triple the Tonewinner's price and maybe, just maybe can look forward to slight improvement in sound quality???

And that is the big question mark, that one will probably have go and spend 6 figures on an amp, to get some kind of meaningful sound quality improvement over the Tonewinner's asking price. As I deliberate on my hifi spending............................... Stay tuned!