Thread: Octave MRE 220 Monoblocks

Hi Folks. I bought new Octave MRE 220 monoblocks, replacing my Ayre MXR's, and thought I would write this review to share my assessment of them, so far, for any who may be interested. They have spent about 50 play-hours/6weeks in my system comprised of an ARC Reference 10 pre amp, Ayre C-5xeMP Universal Player, two Shunyata Hydra power conditioners (separating analogue and digital), Shunyata ETRON Anaconda and SIGMA Digital power cables, Shunyata ETRON Anaconda balanced interconnects, all of which sit atop a double wide HRS SXR audio stand and drive a pair of ProAc Response K 6's connected via Acoustic Zen Satori double barrel speaker cables. All of the components, with the obvious exception of the Octave's, are fully broken in.

Starting with the short version: these amps are absolutely incredible with no discernable short-comings thus far. Like any new high-end component and particulary tubed ones, there is a break-in period for all the constituent parts to reach peak performance including signal flow and temporal alignment/coherence. For my ARC Ref 10, it was 600 hours of play (yes; a lot). Fortunately, for the MRE 220's its about 100 hours/3 months according to Thomas Brieger of Octave. In typical tube fashion, they started out bright and a bit closed-off. However, right out of the box they were still very impressive.

Even though the MRE 220's have been in production for a few years and are very well known/regarded in Europe and Asia (having won the prestigous Golden Sound Award in Japan), my impression is that the Octave brand is relatively new to North America. I'm in Canada and may be one of only a handful of folks here who own a pair. Consequently, pre-purchase researching was a bit challenging. However, I was amazed with the accessiblilty and helpfulness of the company principal and cheif designer, Andreas Hofmann. When I sent my first email to Octave with a bevy of questions, he was the one who responded! He and Thomas Brieger of Octave have demonstrated an unprecedented level of support in answering all my questions throughout the purchase and set-up process. Maybe that is the way things are in Germany. It's very rare here.

True to German form and reputation these babies have the build quality of a Panzer tank, and are similar in weight. I thought my Ayre MXR's were "heavy" duty. The MRE 220's come in at about 10 pounds more a piece. They are gorgeous in appearance, at least by my tastes. The fit and finish are precise and impeccable. For those who follow/known amplifier design and in particular tube amps, you know the important of the transformer section. In that regard, I was not surprised to learn (based on the weight and performance) that these beauties employ custom iron core transformers (old school meets new).

Now for the more fulsome sound review. What I so enjoyed about my Ayre MXR's was the rich and real mids, especially the human voice. However, they were lean (some have said very lean) in the bass and a bit washed out in the dynamic transients (some have said lack articulation in the higher ranges). But the mids were so impressive in the MXR's that I forgave their shortcomings. With the passage of time, however, I pined for more bass and clarity. The problem with bass is that it doesn't always play well with the mids. Bass can often over power or washout the naturalness of the mids, especially voice. I sense that perfecting the presence of the upper range without compromising the mids cretaes a similar design challenge. An easy design fix for component designers appears to be backing off a bit on both, thereby appealling to those of us who love to live in middle earth.

Like a fine wine and most things in life, its all about balance and proportion. When you get that right, then you have arrived (I've avoided the overused Holy Grail analogue). The Octave MRE 220's nail it! The highs are clear and crisp and not harsh or hashy, matching or exceeding the best I've heard from top of class high end solid state amps. Piano and cymbals rendered perfectly real. The ability of the MRE 220's to mine the inner details and nuances of recordings meets or beats the best amps I have had the pleasure of listening to. The bass is equally superlative: complete across the whole lower range. Impressive for any amplifier. Extremely so for a tube amp. Powerful and effordless. Like the ACR Ref 10, the Octave has an umatched ability to conjoin the best sonic qualities of the two audio worlds.

One of the virtues of the Ayre MXR's that I truly enjoyed was their abilty to create a wonderful soundstage through my K6's in my somewhat acoustically challenged sound room. The MRE 220's exceed all of the Ayre's soundstage parameters: width, depth and spacial presence - in a significanct way. No small feat considering the Ayre's reputation in that regard.

With the exception of my ProAc's, all the components I have owned over the years have come from manufacturers on this side of the Atlantic. The audio mags I read review most often review components from NA manufacturers, though that is changing. I love my ProAc's and I have again been rewarded for casting an audacious eye beyond the NA market. An affirmation of how many truly outstanding components there are in the broader global market. In that regard, I was not surprised to see Magico at this year's AXPONA pair its tour de force Magico M Project speakers with the Octave Jubilee monoblocks and preamp.

I have not heard any of Octave's preamps but based on my experience with this product I am sure they are equally outstanding. All I'll say is that the MRE 220's and ARC Ref 10 play beautiful music together. If there is a techincal term for component copulation, then it would certianly apply here.

I hope you enjoyed this review/assessment. It's intended to return the favour to those who have provided their many useful comments and reviews on audo equipement that I have thoroughly enjoyed on this site. Take care and keep in "audio" real.

Congrats!! One thing about Octave - obsession with parts, layout, quality. I remember reading about their lead designer and his unfailing commitment to perfection. And that was on a mid tier octave product. Can't imagine perfection at the mRE 220 level. Enjoy

Originally Posted by Garth

Good review I have never heard the Octave MRE 220 mono blocks . You had the MXR so did I but I up graded to the 20s did you listen to the 20s verses the MRE 220. Just wondering sounds like a great amp you have.

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I did hear the "Twenty" mods in the VX-5 Twenty and was very impressed. It's clearly a step in the right direction. I have not heard the MXR Twenty with the Double Diamond power supply. I was at the crossroad of either upgrading my MXR's or making a more significant change in my system and I opted for the later. For me, that was the right choice. I'm waiting for our local Ayre dealer to upgrade its floor model MXR to the Twenty at which point I can make a proper comparison. More to come on that front. I will say, as i did in my review, that the MRE 220 is a phenominal amp compared to the many I have owned and heard. Enjoy your MXR Twenty. Given Hansen's reputation and the quality of Ayre products, I'm sure they're great.

Originally Posted by Hyperion

Many thanks for a very informative and passionate review! The MRE 220 are indeed special, offering SOTA performance and great value (especially in Europe). If you get the chance - please try the Octave HP700 pre with the mono's. A match made in heaven - I assure you. This preamp got the highest ranking ever from the German magazine Audio last year btw.

Enjoy the music.

/ Marcus

Thanks Marcus for your kind note and terrific suggestion. I will definitely have to check out the HP700. I take it from your assurance that you have heard that "match" first hand. I'll check out the review too.

Ray

Originally Posted by Odyssey

Ray, thank for the time, thought and effort that you put into this write up. I enjoyed reading it.

Thank you for your kind response. Sweet systems. All the best.

Ray

Thanks Joe. Let us know your experience with the new Berkley AR DAC after set up. Take care.

Ray

Originally Posted by Mike

Great write up! Thank you! Have you thought about a little tube rolling?

Yes. The primary driver tube in each monoblock is the Tung Sol 6SN7 (GTB). I purchased two matched Northern Electric 6SN7 tubes in case the initial brightness I experienced during the first dozen or so hours of break-in didn't diminish to a more pleasing/balanced/real level. I thought I would try a tube that may be more "mellow". As it turns out, I simply needed to be more patient. As I should have expected, given Hofmann's and Octave's reputation, the amps are blooming very nicely-particulary in the mids. So at this point, I have no motivation to roll the 6SN7's. Down the road I may, but I suspect out of curiosity instead of necessity.

Originally Posted by octadyndude

Great write up Ray
As an ex Octave V70se and V110 owner I can't say enough about those IA's. Have you tried the black box or super black box with them? If not I will tell you they lower the noise floor significantly while adding a bit more headroom. Also in case you were not aware Andreas's father started Octave as a transformer company - so they know how to make a transformer. Andreas cared more about music and amps so he put all his time and effort into designing tube amps based on a great transformer. The protection circuit is second to none (lost my share of used tubes and never had to do more than recycle power). BTW if you ever have an amp go into protection make sure after you power down leave it off for a couple of minutes. I was told the reason being is the soft start circuitry assumes cold tubes. Not that 2 min will cool off the tubes but they won't be super hot. I've recycled power in 30 seconds and never had a problem.
Anyhow congrats on some great amps

Thanks George. Love the handle. I am considering the super black boxes, but after the amps are fully broken in so I can better assess the difference. Not sure there will be a significant difference with the K6's because they are a very efficient speaker and the MRE 220's have a good output. What do you think given those considerations?

Thanks George. The ProAc K6's are a three way with a ribbon tweeter, dome mid and two bass drivers. They are very coherent (planar-like) and pretty efficient - 6 ohm, very close in efficiency to the Raidho D2 (what a speaker that must be). The additional capacitance provided by the Octave Black or Super Black Boxes would clearly benefit systems with speakers that are more difficult to drive than the K6's and D2's, but I wasn't sure they would have a clearly audible improvement in our applications (speakers that are easy to drive). I truly appreciate hearing about your experience in that regard. Very helpful.

Was there an improvement with the expanse of the soundstage with the BB?

Keep enjoying that awesome system. I am equally impressed with Ocatve and mine isn't even fully broken in. More to enjoy yet.

Ray

Thanks George. I will have to figure out a way to audition the BB or SBB after break-in. You are determined to bring me to the dark side of tube rolling. I'm quite impressed with how the MRE compensates or transforms the typical charaterisitcs of the KT 120 and the Tung Sol 6SN7. As I mentioned in my review, it didn't start out that way.

Would the Ei KT 90's reduce the output of the MRE's? Do they have the same output potential as the KT 120's?

Ray

Yes; I have read many positive reviews of the KT 120. I will say I am very impressed with them in the MRE 220's, though it is the only driver tube I've known. I haven't ask Thomas or Andreas if the KT 150 would work in the MRE's.