Ugly but beautiful sounds....Grandinote Audio from Italy

ah understood , thanks . I have tried my bel canto dac direct into my power amp but always prefer a pre amp . perhaps one day I will get to try the domino
 
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..still boxed

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Getting accustomed to the sound with the Pass before changing....

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Connected and ready for the comparison...

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Max is connecting the Demone...

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Relaxing with the new setup...

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OMG !!! This is amazing. ! Some one has good taste !
 
ah understood , thanks . I have tried my bel canto dac direct into my power amp but always prefer a pre amp . perhaps one day I will get to try the domino

Maybe I should not tell you, but Grandinote will present a new top-of-the line preamp at the Munich fair above the current Domino. So maybe somebody will sell his Domino in the next months to come [emoji848][emoji6]

P.S. I'm not referring to me ;-)

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ah yes , thanks I knew that . the genesi pre . pretty high price too . I believe max has taken an apartment to show that off with his new speakers and the demone amps
 
maybe not , modwright is extremely well known and loved . which is important when it comes to upgrading . its extremely hard to sell hi fi kit and so one has to be VERY careful what you buy . both the proemio and the 36.5 dm have good qualities and similar resolving and transparent sound . the modwright also has home theater bypass and they are very good value for money .

however if I had the funds I might just consider the domino which I imagine is a leap in performance from the dm . however at that level audio ref 6 is the same price and that's one heck of a pre amp
 
Maybe I should not tell you, but Grandinote will present a new top-of-the line preamp at the Munich fair above the current Domino. So maybe somebody will sell his Domino in the next months to come [emoji848][emoji6]

P.S. I'm not referring to me ;-)

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Audiophon what was your forum handle before you changed it to Audiophon? I recall that it was diffeent, but cant remember exactly what...Isophon maybe? Am I mistaken?

The tech on those amps look very interesting.
 
Audiophon what was your forum handle before you changed it to Audiophon? I recall that it was diffeent, but cant remember exactly what...Isophon maybe? Am I mistaken?

The tech on those amps look very interesting.

I never changed my nick here in the forum, neither did I call myself Isophon in another forum. But you're not too wrong: my nick Audiohon goes back to the time when I had Isophon speakers and Audionet electronics ;-) ...


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I never changed my nick here in the forum, neither did I call myself Isophon in another forum. But you're not too wrong: my nick Audiohon goes back to the time when I had Isophon speakers and Audionet electronics ;-) ...


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OK, ringing a bell. Gauder is ex-Isophon, no?
 
Correct! He was allowed to use the old brand name when he was still using Isophon chassis. Then he switched from Isophon to Accuton chassis and consequently also changed the brand name.


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If you come to Italy, I'll be happy to host you!

The first thing I noticed is that the Demone have the same sonic signature as the Domino preamp: the sound is incredibly natural and transparent. Instruments and voices are much (!) better delineated in space. Around them there is much more air, probably due to the very low noise floor. I very much felt the sense of being there...

Another point I noticed is that I was relaxing too much with my previous Pass ;-) - the sound was very relaxt with a rounded top-end. The Demone are more open at the top-end, more detailed. This is a much better fit with the diamond tweeters of the Berlina which are not "hot" like the diamond tweeters of many of the B&W 800D3 series. For me it feels like more than the 5 points difference that the German Audio magazin assigned to both power-amps.

Last year during the Munich fair, I talked to Gauder about the right amplification choice for his speakers (unfortunately I don't like at all the AVM - Gauder combination, Vitus is a much better match to my ears, no doubt!), I asked if he knew Grandinote. He told me that some months ago Johannes Maier (a reviewer of the Audio Magazin specialised in amplification) called him up and told him to come and listen to some unknown power amps they had currently under review, partially with the Berlina RC 7 MkII (that they were reviewing too in the same period). The reviewer and Gauder were both very much impressed by the Grandinote.


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so , having tried the grandinote proemio pre with my msb s200 and finding it rather good . . I had the shinai here for a week . another audiophile has said : "The bass end with the Grandinote is powerful and detailed but not overbearing. Note delineation is superb and the timbre is excellent. Instruments in the bass region are fleshed out and full sounding and have realistic impact. There is, for want of a better word texture to the low end.

The midrange is simply gorgeous, vocals both male and female are rendered realistically. There is a warmth to the midrange but not at the expense of detail, subtle breathing and vocal inflections are easily heard and sound very natural. Instruments in this range are also beautifully reproduced especially brass which has realistic sheen and force but never produces the shrill sound that other amplifiers can. This is sound that never goes through you or makes you jump for the volume control.

The Grandinote also made the slightly incisive treble quality mentioned earlier a thing of the past. Delightfully detailed and natural on the treble range but performing that clever trick of smoothness with no lack of detail or impact. Cymbals are reproduced with just the right amount of fizz when required and fully revealed decay.

The retrieval of recorded detail is exceptional but it isn't forced or false, the music simply unfolds into the room very naturally. "

most certainly applies .

just right now I do think the proemio/msb combo is better but then that costs around 24k and the shinai around 9.7k
 
Thank you hifinutt for your impressions! If we consider that the cost of the Proemio alone is just 2k below the price of the Shinai, it's a pretty good result for the Shinai - and you can keep your MBS ;-)


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Martin,

I missed this thread as I was travelling for the past two weeks.
Impressive to know that these amps outclass the Pass mono-blocks. Subscribed!

You also have a great system. Do you now have the new crossover upgrade that you were talking about?

Regards.
 
Hi Nikhil, I hope you had a safe trip home!

Yes, really incredible that - for my ears - the Grandinote are that superior to my Pass. Sunday I met a reviewer for the German online HiFi Magazin Hifistatement. He also had in his private system Pass amplifiers that he swapped against Grandinote.

The German print magazin Audio, are ranking the Grandinote higher than the 100.5 and the 100.8!

So I guess I'm not the only one. ;-)


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