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  #21  
Old 07-28-2014, 06:37 PM
cmarin cmarin is offline
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Originally Posted by Car commander View Post
Would you compare your Soulution VS the Dart gear for me? I own the Dart amp but have been tempted a few times by the Soulution gear. I tried the 520 preamp in my system but it was very bright.
I had the Dart and a Soulution 710 in my room for over a year. I still have the Dart but upgraded to a 711 a little over 3 months ago.

Let me first say that it's become clear to me that, at the higher quality level of amps, there is a lot more variation between the effect of different factors (e.g., cables, power conditioners, temporal variations in electrical power quality, room characteristics, associated equipment, etc) than between amps.

And unless you've carefully controlled for these factors, the comparison can not be generalized: YMMV.

In my case, I've made significant changes to my cables since the last time I heard the Dart, so it's difficult to characterize the differences.

But having said that, there is no doubt that the Dart is a great amp. Very refined. Very transparent yet musical. It is very comparable to the 710 but I'd give the nod in musicality to the Dart. At current used market prices, the Dart is a real audio bargain.

The only reason I went with the Soulution initially was the Dart would run out of steam when driving my Magico M5s during loud music passages. Since I often play music at realistic concert levels, I just kept listening to the 710.

The new 711 is a completely different amp than the 710, however. I've been listening to the 711 exclusively for about 3 months now. It's a gem. More resolving, faster and musical than the 710.

I'll be able to listen to the Dart for an extended period over the next month with the same setup as the 711. I'll give you my impressions then.
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  #22  
Old 07-28-2014, 08:00 PM
Car commander Car commander is offline
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Thank you. I will look forward to your assessment. I realize all the high end stuff is good. I have had my dart amp for almost 2 years. It replaced a Pass 250.5. It is of course much better. It is very musical. It does not run out of steam on my Kharmas. I mostly listen just above conversation level.
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Soulution 720/710, K-01, Kharma Mini Exquisite speakers, KS elation ICs, Tara Omega onyx speaker cables.
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  #23  
Old 08-01-2014, 10:46 AM
Audio diver Audio diver is offline
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Audio diver... Welcome to AA!
Ivan,

Thank you. This is really one of the most interesting Hi End blogs available.

Cheers
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  #24  
Old 08-01-2014, 11:09 AM
Audio diver Audio diver is offline
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Thank you, cmarin.

I am trying to understand what are the differences between the 710 and 711. Unfortunately the distributor in my country does not stock the 711 so listening to them would mean to travel to Switzerland.

You say in one of the posts that the newer model is faster and more transparent than the older versions. Since the 710 is extremely fast and transparent, those are areas where I do not feel that progress is needed. But you also mention musicality and that's another matter.
I find the Soulution 710 extremely good but they are slightly on the cold side (one needs to be very careful with cables). The comparison with the Dartzeel is very interesting. I find the Dart to be very musical but slightly euphonic. Further to that they need to be mated with efficient speakers, which is not what I have (Avalon Isis).
Would you describe the 711 as "warmer" than the 710 (i.e., closer to the Dartzeel but without its limitations)?
A further question concerns power. The 711 seems to be more powerful than the 710, with 150 against 120. Do they sound more powerful?
The rest of my system is composed by a 721 pre, DCS Scarlatti (transport+clock)/Vivaldi (conversor + upsampler). Cables are Transparent and Kimber.

Many thanks and congratulations on your great system
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  #25  
Old 08-01-2014, 09:55 PM
Car commander Car commander is offline
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Originally Posted by Audio diver View Post
Thank you, cmarin.

I am trying to understand what are the differences between the 710 and 711. Unfortunately the distributor in my country does not stock the 711 so listening to them would mean to travel to Switzerland.

You say in one of the posts that the newer model is faster and more transparent than the older versions. Since the 710 is extremely fast and transparent, those are areas where I do not feel that progress is needed. But you also mention musicality and that's another matter.
I find the Soulution 710 extremely good but they are slightly on the cold side (one needs to be very careful with cables). The comparison with the Dartzeel is very interesting. I find the Dart to be very musical but slightly euphonic. Further to that they need to be mated with efficient speakers, which is not what I have (Avalon Isis).
Would you describe the 711 as "warmer" than the 710 (i.e., closer to the Dartzeel but without its limitations)?
A further question concerns power. The 711 seems to be more powerful than the 710, with 150 against 120. Do they sound more powerful?
The rest of my system is composed by a 721 pre, DCS Scarlatti (transport+clock)/Vivaldi (conversor + upsampler). Cables are Transparent and Kimber.

Many thanks and congratulations on your great system
I tried 720 preamp with my Dart amp and it was very bright. Not sure why.
I am not sure what you mean by euphonic. I think the Dart amp does 160 watts at 8 ohms. My speakers are 89db and I have never clipped my amp.
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Soulution 720/710, K-01, Kharma Mini Exquisite speakers, KS elation ICs, Tara Omega onyx speaker cables.
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  #26  
Old 08-02-2014, 10:26 AM
cmarin cmarin is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio diver View Post
Thank you, cmarin. I am trying to understand what are the differences between the 710 and 711. Unfortunately the distributor in my country does not stock the 711 so listening to them would mean to travel to Switzerland. You say in one of the posts that the newer model is faster and more transparent than the older versions. Since the 710 is extremely fast and transparent, those are areas where I do not feel that progress is needed. But you also mention musicality and that's another matter. I find the Soulution 710 extremely good but they are slightly on the cold side (one needs to be very careful with cables). The comparison with the Dartzeel is very interesting. I find the Dart to be very musical but slightly euphonic. Further to that they need to be mated with efficient speakers, which is not what I have (Avalon Isis). Would you describe the 711 as "warmer" than the 710 (i.e., closer to the Dartzeel but without its limitations)? A further question concerns power. The 711 seems to be more powerful than the 710, with 150 against 120. Do they sound more powerful? The rest of my system is composed by a 721 pre, DCS Scarlatti (transport+clock)/Vivaldi (conversor + upsampler). Cables are Transparent and Kimber. Many thanks and congratulations on your great system
Thank you for the questions and kind words.

I'd say that the 711 is a significant step above the 710 in many areas. It has richer overall tone, larger soundstage, tighter and more differentiated bass, higher resolution/transparency and is more musical. With it's high current capacity, it gives you a sense of power without limits.

I wouldn't say warmer because warmer has the implication that it is more musical but at the expense of resolution. The 711 is more resolving and more musical at the same time.

And there's no question that just as with the Dart, there is a significant synergy in matching the 711amp with a Soulution pre. You can't judge the benefits of the 711 by listening to it without the 725 or 720 pre. The 711 would mate beautifully with your 721. And apparently the new 725 is a significant step up from the 720/721as well.

A friend of mine lent me an Ansuz power strip and two Diamond PCs. I swapped them out last night with the Jena Labs The One PCs that I had on the 711/720s.

The 711/720 combo sounded great before, but after the swap the noise floor dropped even more and produced even tighter bass/slam, transparency and soundstage. In my view, the 711 has tremendous headroom that can be captured with the right power cords/conditioning. speakers and room setup.
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  #27  
Old 08-02-2014, 02:19 PM
Audio diver Audio diver is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Car commander View Post
I tried 720 preamp with my Dart amp and it was very bright. Not sure why.
I am not sure what you mean by euphonic. I think the Dart amp does 160 watts at 8 ohms. My speakers are 89db and I have never clipped my amp.
Jim,

I am not surprised with your results with the pre-power combination. Soulution and Dart are really different animals and, anyway, in my experience pre and power form the same brand tend to work better.

In my experience the Dartzeel 108 always sounded beautifully but with something that reminds me of a little bit of the traditional tube coloration. Bass and high frequencies are not tube like, but the rest of the spectrum is slightly "beautified" . But is a very sweet amp.
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  #28  
Old 08-02-2014, 02:26 PM
Audio diver Audio diver is offline
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Thank you for your reply.

What you say about the richer tone is promising. That is one area where Soulution could be better. I suppose that is what I mean by slightly cold.

I will definitely have to try it.

I agree with what you say about the sensitiveness of Soulution to cables. My system's power cables are all Shunyata, but it simply does not work well with the 711. After much experimentation I settled on Kubala Sosna elation, which has great resolution and a relaxed sound that I like.

Many thanks
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  #29  
Old 08-05-2014, 07:50 AM
CKKeung CKKeung is offline
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Originally Posted by cmarin View Post
I'll be able to listen to the Dart for an extended period over the next month with the same setup as the 711. I'll give you my impressions then.
Hi cmarin,

Please make sure that you will be listening to the new NHB-18NS. It is said that its internal circuitry is totally different from the old version!
Marten Speakers » Blog Archive » The room
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  #30  
Old 08-05-2014, 11:55 AM
cmarin cmarin is offline
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Originally Posted by CKKeung View Post
Hi cmarin, Please make sure that you will be listening to the new NHB-18NS. It is said that its internal circuitry is totally different from the old version! Marten Speakers » Blog Archive » The room
I wasn't aware of the new model. See that it has a digital volume readout. Wonder if there is an upgrade program. I'll contact my fav dealer JTinn to find out. Thank you for the heads up.
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