ORRISON - Absolute Sounds

1 PLUS 18 pages of music reviews and features . vintage REVIEW B&O Beomaster 4400 receiveroAUDloMlLESTot{ Only0nes'Debut LPUK US $ Aus $ ,I|lt![tlllt!ll[[L[[Lll fifli. SHOW BIOG Salon Son & lmage, Montreal 2012 . READERS' CLASSIFIEDS Hi-fi bargains galoredarTZeel NHB =45 B (f I sok pair)Switzerland's contender for the 'Createst Amplifier On Earth' is'a red and goldmonoblock with a six-figure price tag - is the darTZeel NH8-845 more than just bling?Review: Ken Kessler Lab: Paul Milleraving acquired an enviablereputation despite producingless than a half-dozen productsin under two decades.]]]]]}

2 Onea means to achieve musical reproduction,not the contrary.' He islko quick to pointout that designing a minimali$,audiocircuit is not easy. 'lt takes time, patienceand lots of listening, with appropriatemeasurements during the designingprocess, ensuring thbt what we hear is notjust the pleasantness of a specific NHB-458 is truly all of the above -plus, of course, the love it deserves that isdedicated to music reproduction.'lmposing in size and weighing 28k9,the NHB-458 is specified as able to delivera substantial 450Wi8ohm and up to 1kWinto 2ohm [see Lab Report, p25].

3 I citethese riumbers to let you know we aredealing with a seriously powerful beast. I'venow heard it with five different speakers,might say that darTZeel errs on the sideof is a,truly Swjss trait, as aremanifacturing standards so high that thecompany even commissions its own screwsto hold the products together.'It may seem presumptuous, then, tomention a brand so young and non-prolificas darTZeel in the same sentence as Krell,Threshold, Mark Levinson and DAgostino(the latter is new, but the pedigree long).And yet it is certainly a contender in theheavyweight solid-state arena.

4 Beforeapproaching this assault on the state ofthe art, we spoke with founder Herv6De|ltraz both to learn how it representsthe pinnacle of what the brand has beentrying to achieve, and to discover why hefeels darTZeel audio products differ fromthe THE NUMBERSHerv6 prefers not to talk'Simply Nowadays, every audiodesigner will choose the best availablecomponents, and - naturally - this is whatwe do. But the key is how we use thosecomponents: how we fit and connectthem together in the circuit. I alwaysbelieved that simplicity - and by that Imean the shortest possible signal path - isthe key factor.

5 I always tried to use as fewsemiconductor junctions as possible frominput to output, and all darTZeel productsfollow this very simple rule.'Herv6 also insists that the designteam has been kept small. 'The moreengineers working on a product, the morecomplicated will be the result. This usuallyleads to a very sophisticated circuit, butone which has escaped from the originalgroove. Musicality is often sacrificed overperformance. At darTZeel, performance isRIGIIT: Built like a uauh,the NHB458'sfittingsfeel that way, too: the buttons command poweron/ofi, menu access and personal settings, andvarious levels of display illumination20 | I lurue zotzthe most impressive match being.

6 'TheSonus faber' and the same company's Aida,but I also enjoyed the ddrTZeel through thesmallest model from Evolution Acousticsand even that diminutive system revejaledthe presence of something defines itsaudio circuits as adheringto the same philosophythat inspired the NHB-108 stereo power ampof far lower delivery: noconnections, switches,relays nor similarcomponents taint the'Glass side wallsbutton on the back panel. Indeed, darTZeeldescribes this far more ambitious deviceas possessinQ an even simpler signal paththan its smaller sibling's'.

7 'Its main transformer is a 2kVA toroidal,with a separate isolated transformer forthe control circuits andfluorescent display. Thatdisplay is also a controlpanel, allowing the userto customise settingsin of ways,including the type gain of26dB or 32dd,'activationEnclosing this circuitry is a massivechassis with a 30mm-thick front panel,made from a newly-devised aluminiumalloy. The rear panel is made of four 85mm-thick aluminium ingots, CNC machined asa 'tunnel' and incorporating the various components are 'sprung'toabsorb any mechanical hum and vibrationbetween sits on feet made ofaluminium, weighing 2kg side walls reveal another Swisspenchant: just like the see-through backon a fine watch, they allow the usertosee what's and marvel in wonderat workmanship rarely seen in an audiocontext.

8 Calling this'jewellery' is nomarketing conceit. As watch manufacturerslearned, some to their peril, it isn't wise toprovide peekaboo access unless the innardsare flawless. Equally, they know that asneak peek provides evidence that one'smoney was well-spent. In a darTZeel, asin a Patek Philippe, every mechanical partis machined and finished on all its sides -even where you won't see DEITEI,OPMEIIITB ecause I've heard this amp duringits gestation period - it has evolvedconsiderably from hi-fi show to hi-fi show -I found the experience not unlike waitingfor the next episode in a gripping TV know how I diStrust the idea ofgallow the userto marvel at theworkmanship'signal path save for a high quality (inertgas) relay, for the XLR input.

9 There's nonegative feedback in the input or outPutstages, ho compeniation n6twork. A firstfor darTZeel is the fitting, of a thermalswitch in place of a fuse,'easily leset by aofthe rear USB port as perthe CTH-8550integrated, setting the clock, organisingthe power-on settings, limiting the volumeand much mord. Additionally, it keepsthe user informed of the unit's electricalbehaviour if so desired lsee 20:12 | | 21 When we asked Herv Oel traz toexplain why his aniplifier costs asmuch as a Ferrari, he didn't holdback.'The NHB458 was designedat the distributors' request for a bigamp from darTZeel.

10 The proiect wasreally challenging, but I figured thatif I could sell five pairs, the projectwould be worth the effort. lt tookus about two years to make the firstoperational pair, introduced at CES2010. I immediately received severalpreorders, eren though at the timethe price was not known. When Icounted all the parts involved,thedesign time it took, and the cost oJassembly, I felt I had to contacteiil'ter custorirers telling them theprice will be higher than expected.'At present, we iannot'matchthe demand. However we areworking hard on that iisue.