Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Tom's Gift to Creation

Frist things first:

I did not blow up anything! I put a sticker on the side of the

entertainment unit to prevent any move forward if power-off has not been

double-checked.

Also, there are no hum anymore (probably linked to the fact that the

sub-woofer (ep500) is now connected using high-powered i/f. So perfection has been achieved.

Not A/B is necessary. All differences below are so obvious and crystal clear that my mother and/or my cat would have had a 20/20 result in a "blind" test. No kidding. And no kidding about the "No Kidding".

I am not using technical terms. Johns (jakeman and ihifi) were eloquent enough using audio terms that I don't feel there is any need to repeat (maybe just re-add to the fact that they were pretty accurate, thank you!), but only care about musical differences and charateristics.


Bottom line
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Almost all that follows can be summarized by the layman experience below:

If you imagine an outstanding recording of a solo flute.
The A1400 will make it sound like a flute.
The 805 makes it sound like an outstanding recording of a solo flute.
The 805 sounds really good. The 1400 sounds like reality.

How is this post built
----------------------
There is no real order in my comments. So bear with me.

Instruments in general
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Anything that has big attack and short release sounds much, much better.

Amongst the most impressive onces are: harpsichord, timpani, pipe organ and percussions in general.

Anything with important bass
----------------------------
In general, bass is very different. It is "louder" while yet quiteing down so fast that it does not interfere between notes. The end result is punchy, accurate and all of the following "chest bass, stomach bass and guts bass"!

Harpischold is a good example. Fanstastic rise and "shutting up" makes

the recordings now sound like the real instrument. Usually, harpsichord sounds way more "bassy" that the real instrument. Tonight, for the first time, my home sounded like the harpsichord was in it.

Strings in particular
----------------------
One intriguing thing is "period instruments". Those are pre-XIXth

century strings. Violins in that era had very loud attacks, but short

sustain. And some vibrato. Below are the conditions measure how

noticeable is the diffenrence between the old (baroque+classical eras) and new instruments (romantic+modern eras).

CD + non-1400: Sort of guess there is difference
SACD + non-1400: somehow hear the difference
CD + 1400: somehow hear the difference
SACD + 1400: Definitive difference.

Also, glissendi (mostly used in contemporary music) are amazingly accurarate. sForsandi (crescendo of 1 note) are SO impactful. Pizzicati are almost scary of depth....

Some particular works:
----------------------
"Jonchaies" from Xenakis. That is a 64 musician work where every instrument is playing something different. I heard that work a good 30 times. Tonight, I heard 6 new instruments. That is QUITE big.

Beethoven's "Grosse Fugue" for string quartet (played by Quartetto Italiano on CD) is quite simply a magical experience now.

TACET Recordings
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I have about 10 recordings from TACET. Those are recordings that are placing instruments all around, including in the back. With the 805, it was a stretch of the imaginationt that something was in the back. Now, it is obvious. I have to admit that this one is UNEXPECTED. I really new thought this would be different. But it makes sense as those multi-channels are all based on stereo phases. So, if the amp is fast, the phases are going to be more accurate and our ears better fooled.

Surround Effects
----------------
SACDs and DVD-a are now having a proper "hall echo" effect. When it is loud up front, it is WAY louder in the back. That is 100% natural. For once, no SACD has ever sounded "fake" in my ears. Lack of proper amplifier has always been the problem.

Speaker auditions
-----------------
I am no longer in any position to do auditions. It would be completely unfair to advise that what people hear out of the M80 would be what they hear at home. Not even close.

Speculations:
-------------
The followings are open items on which I have no opinions, but are valid things to consider.
1) In the A1400 improving more than speakers?
2) If you have M3s, is the difference M3+1400 bigger than first upgrading to M80 (BIG change)
3) All other questions...


CONCLUSION:
-----------
I you can afford it, this is a HUGE improvement. If you cannot afford it right now, please be happy with what you have and just keep in mind that you might be eventually able to improve things so that you can just re-listen to everything instead of buying new stuff.

CDs sound a bit more like SACD. SACDs/DVD-Audios are now beyond my hearing capabilies.

MY PERSONAL MESSAGE:
--------------------
I do not have personal access to Tom. Anyone who has it, or if Tom reads these posts, I have only the following to say: "Tom, I could write pages about the A1400, but you know all of them from your own listening. So, the only thing I want to tell you is: THANK YOU FOR THIS INCREASE IN MY QUALITY OF LIFE! Thank you!!

So, you like it, right?



(hard to tell)

And some people think all amps are the same.

Yeah...
Actually, I forgot to add the following "final words":
1) If you can afford it, this is the most no-brainer you can get.
2) If you can't afford, take comfort in the fact that it does not make something bad good, but just something really good better. So, you can be very happy with what you have and don't be frustrated. But it WILL be worth when you can afford it.

So, I know many of you will want to be sarcastic, but don't be until you return a unit for not having meet your requirements... This is not like tryinbg to find a difference betwen M60 and M80. This is like finding the difference between some unknown spearkers to Axiom speakers. It's THAT different.

I used to be ALMOST one of them.

Eric,

Sounds like you know a few musical instruments

What did you mean by --> "sub-woofer (ep500) is now connected using high-powered i/f"

Keep the impressions coming !

John

I have been trying for years (and failing) to explain how the sound from a high quality big-ass amplifier sounds better.

I think you nailed it.

Enjoy !!

I am, I am enojoy it!

One thing I forgot to mention is that this is all based on -8db listening for 4hours (used ot be -6db) and -19db for 2 hours (used to be -17db). I am not even CLOSE to put it high volume.

Oh! You missed a few previous posts then! The pre-out sub out of my receiver does not work anymore. So the EP500 is parallel connected with my M80s. The xover I choose on the sub is 60hz.

I have always said buy the most power you can afford. It's nice to see this is finally being recognized.

Eric, your post also rightfully compliments the M80s. I couldn't believe how much capability they had in them until I ran them with the A1400-8.

Please don't forget to do a 1 watt, double blind, randomized, prospective, placebo-controlled, and 0.1dB level-matched testing from the same seating position to verify your impressions,....just in case.

J

It's nice to see another person's thoughts on the amplifier. I'm also interested in what Mojo has to say.

I'm also curious when we're going to see more professional reviews. Isn't Audioholics supposed to be doing one? Also, Peter Aczel of The Audio Critic should get a review unit. Being such a revolutionary design, I'm sure he'd love to put it through its paces.

Great to hear that the A1400 has met all of your expectations, and thanks for your observations.

A few additional tid bits that I forgot yesterday.

1) Players' breathing noises are now less anoying. By sounding more realistic, they are more easily filtered out by my brain. Unexpected benifit.

2) Voice (the human instrument) is also greatly more natural sounding.

3) I also listened to about 10 minutes of the train station scene in TrueHD of Bourne Ultimatum. For that, it "sounded" better, but I would not have been able to say why. It's quite a difference from noticing the improved attack of a violon to picking up improved ash-hitting-an-ashtray background noise! So I'll have to get back to you on HT improvements (My music/HT ratio is terms of time is 40/60, but in terms of importance to me it's 98/2--max 97/3--so guess what has priority right now!)

Can't wait to finish this day and be back home! And I am taking tomorrow off!!!!

Nice report Eric. Its amazing how this amp brings out the detail and nuances in the music when driving a great pair of speakers. It ranks right up there with the finest amps on the market today.

Have you done SPL readings? What are your average SPL and peak SPL?

I am listening to the same volume as before (2db less, actually). When my neighbors are not there, volume calibrated such that fortissimo is between 98-102db (depends on recording), pianissimo is a little under 60db, and piano-forte/forte ("regular" volume) is around 85db.

I do not live in a church, so my needs for high-SPL is not that big. But gotta have the accuracy!

I did listen to some solo violin and then a minute or two of a string quartet at +10db (both SACDs), which was probably frequently hitting (sustain) 106db. String attacks are usually way higher than that, but they are hard to measure with cheap SPL meters meant for calibration.

I'm torn when I read these kind of reviews. Part of me want to believe it so that I can have the possiblility of a great upgrade somewhere waaaayyy down the road when I can afford it (or when the wife will let me...).

On the other hand I want to believe all the people who say that all amps sound the same as long as they aren't over-driven. It would be nice to know that I can keep buying inexpensive receivers and still get the best sound possible as long as the volume stays reasonable.

So whom to believe? Well, it's probably not a matter of "belief", I'm sure neither side is lying about what they think but dammit, somebody's gotta be wrong...... right?

I'm not trying to start the old fight again, I but I would love it if some of you Axiomites on each side of the debate could get together and do a blind a/b test and prove or disprove all of this.

I'm very happy for you, Eric. And I appreciate your review.

I am considering using this as my signature now...

Copyright!

Had forgotten the picture!

It is in a fake drawer. When the amp is on, I leave it open, thus remembering to turn it off when not in use and then I shut the drawer off so it is invisible.

Could be a neat trick to sell my receiver!

Eric,

Not sure how far away your pre-pro/receiver is but if it has a trigger out then you can turn the amp on (with delay preferably) through one on/off switch. Of course, you may still want to keep the cabinet open to look at your amp once in a while.

Interesting contrast of technology and level of eqipment in that picture with the JVC VHS on top and the $4K A1400-8 on the bottom.

John

It's even more interesting when you know that to the right is an HD-DVD player!

I connected the trigger to the amp, but to no avail. I will have maybe to try a different cable. I was a bit disapointed.

I am saving for my (future - later this spring) Axioms. I spend my money from the source out. As a musician I was just taught that way. Look at it this way...you have a $179 korean guitar and a pawn shop peavey amplifier. Do you buy the Les Paul or the Marshall stack first? It really is a no brainer but in the A/V world convention says great speakers with a mediocre amp will be just fine. I have a pre/pro amp set from Emotiva that replaced an old $200 pioneer reciever. It is running <$400 of 12 year old speakers that I bought at the same time as the reciever. I am experiencing all the same kinds of revelations as the OP. I know that new speakers are going to rock my world because they are going to be fed the good stuff!

I believe that picking your price/quality level and then work from the source out will lead to the most satisfaction.

My opinion....

Jeb

In answer to SPL questions...

Friday I had someone over (will create a separate posts for my 3 visitors so far) and we were listening to Pink Floyds' "Time" at -6db (95db avg. on the SPL meter). My friend wanted to "really check it out" so I slowly moved the knob up. I reached +12db on the volume (can go up to +18) and the SPL meter went to 112db. Sound remained crystal clear for the duration, but I quickly had to bring it back down as the windows were shaking so much I got afraid they would burst or that plaster would fall off in the appartment below!

Brought it down to 106db on the meter for a good minute. Apart from being loud, it was not painful at all. This amp can really deliver when asked to!

Yesterday a friend popped in and wanted to hear the speakers. I was dealing with a freezing rain soaked dog at the time so I just hit play on the Squeezebox I had paused when the doorbell rang. Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here, was starting up.

He was just starting to say that these big speakers suck because he was listening to the staticy, retro intro to the song when the intro finished and the louder, super crisp guitar part started in. He never finished his sentence. All he said was "Oh!" and then sat silent. Kind of humorous.

Speaking of freezing rain. Another good storm. 10,000 in my general area without power. Every young tree in my yard is bent over like it's drinking out of a puddle and I had to winch my neighbor out of the ditch because his normal car was not working and he tried to take his old beater with worn out all season tires onto the ice rink that was our road. Backed out the driveway and didn't stop till he was in the ditch on the other side.

Kind of a funny moment

OOps I meant to post that in Off Topic but I see it doesn't stray far from the demo line of conversation so I'll leave it.

Are you telling me that guy had never heard Wish You Were Here, before?

Mushroom...

Well, he is running around 70 plus years old, so Ya, there is a possible generation gap, even for Pink Floyd.

On the plus side, he loves the speakers but is going to fix up his old tube amp for me so I can here the music as it is "supposed to be heard."

Heh heh. I am actually very exited. I hope he really meant it.