Review: Bent Audio Tap Linestage


Category: Preamps

Before, I get to the details of reviewing the Bent Audio Tap Linestage, I first would like to give a context regarding what my linestage reference of the last three years has been in order to "set the stage" so this review would be the most helpful to the members reading it.

My reference over the last three years has been the Placette Audio Dual Mono Active Linestage. It replaced a ML-32 reference preamp in my system. I had auditioned six different preamps/linestages, half were tubed - half were solid state ranging in price from $6000.00 to $16000.00, until I finally heard the Placette Active in my system and found what I was looking for sonically. It offered, compared with the other pieces in my home auditions, the following sonic virtues:

1) No noise floor at all. Music just "floated" out of a totally black background.
2) A great soundstage, front to back - side to side, with the best center fill and layering I ever had in my system.
3) Precise microdynamics and details without being what I would call "dry" or "etched" at all.
4) Excellent extension on both the top and bottom with great slam in the lower bass.
5) Natural tone/timbres, very important to me because I listen almost totally to acoustic jazz.

Not bad stuff! However, being the curious audiophile that I am, I had read about a few new linestages that had come out the last couple of years and decided to listen to what some of the best designers were up to now. This time around I auditioned a highly regarded solid state,tubed, and transformer based units. Even though the solid state ant tubed pieces were almost twice as expensive as my Placette, and they have their virtues, I did not find them to better the Placette in the above mentioned areas. Different but not better for my ear's and personnal taste.

That's the context, now on to the review. The Bent Tap Linestage is the child of John Chapman and his company Bent Audio out of Canada. I would like to share John is one of the great gentleman/designers of high end gear and is a true pleasure to talk and to do business with. His pieces are purchased direct, with a 30 day trail period with full refund if one is completely not satisfied.

At this point in time there has been a full review on the Tap Linestage on POSTITIVE FEEDBACK ONLINE website by Bruce Kinch and on SIX MOONS website there is what they call a "pre-view", along with one of SIX MOONS reviewers, Les Turoczi, who considers the Tap Linestage one of the "favorite discoveries of 2006" and has made it his new reference linestage in his system.

The above mentioned reviews, along with information on the Bent Audio website, will provide excellent background information on the topic of passive preamps/linestages and specificly on the issue of transformer based passives compared to Vishay resister based approachs. By the way, the Placette Active is a Buffered Vishay based passive linestage that gives no gain, but eliminates any concerns with impedance matching the front end with the down stream amps.

I never get into lengthy details regarding engineering or parts, that is all provided by the Bent Audio website, however I always comment on build quality and looks before I get to the the most important part the sonic performance. The Tap Linestage has a "cool modern" look to it, but it will never be the "eye candy" that my Pass Labs or Accustic Arts pieces are to me. The front has angled sides and sits atop a 1" slab of clear acrylic which has been routed out to securely mount the twin transformers. Inside high quality Arlon circuit boards, ribbon cables, and custom OCC copper wire sourced from Neotech speak highly of the construction of this piece.

Now, to the most important part of any review, the sonic performance of the piece being evaluated. In the following areas the Tap and PLacette active were, at least for me in my system, indistinguishable:
1) Total black background, no noise floor, music just "oozes" out of the system.
2) Both provide the best soundstage and layering of any linestage I have ever had in my system.
3)Macrodynamics are present and powerful, but intergrated in the overall "fabric" of the music.

Were the two linestages start to part sonic company is revolving around to key sonic areas, tone/timbres and image density of players in the sound stage.

I find that the Tap to be slightly "warmer/fuller" then the Placette Active in overall timbres, what many listeners would refer to as the "magic of tubes", mind you, not "fat/euphonic" but more "velvety" then the "silkyness" of the Placette. It reminded me when I went from an Edge NL-10 to a pair of Pass Labs XA-100's, both great amps, but I found the XA-100's to be subtly more what I call "organic/musical". Another verbal stab at it would be to say that the Placette Active has "razor sharp" leading edges and the Tap is a little more "rounded off" but has more body and decay then the Placette Active.
The Placette Active never sounds "etched, dry, or overly analytical, but a little less "sweet" then the Tap. They both offer beautiful sonic pictures and what you would like would be very much decided by your personnal taste and what type of system synergy you would end up with in your rig.

The other sonic difference that I noticed was in the area of image density. The Tap kicked it up a notch in comparsion to the Placette Active regarding the density of images, not the size or air around the individual players, but how "real" they sounded in the stage. Again, both linestages are quite terrific regading this sonic aspect, but the Tap gives more in this area then the Placette Active.

So, is there a winner or loser between this linestages, I don't think so, there both reference level in their performance. As I always say at this level of gear it comes down to personnal taste and system synergy. There's always very small but real differences in gear, but the final voicing of any system finally comes done to matching this tiny sonic bits together to get what we are listening for in the pleasure of the music we care about.

The Bent Tap is my new reference linestage for the reasons stated above. Both the Tap and Placette Active are great performers, terrific bargains for what they sell for, the Tap $3000.00, the Placette Active $5000.00, when you think they compete with any linestage on the market today and both John Chapman and Guy Hammel are great gentleman to work with, you might put both on your audition list if your seeking out a new linestage. Which one you would like better truly would come down to personnal taste/system synergy, so really won't know till your try it in the context of your own rig.
teajay
Drubin, please post your impressions once you are done evaluating.

What I meant by solid state is that the tubed linestage I am now using, if I replace it with TAP, then it's a solid state system pretty much. My cd player and amp are solid state. I posted it before, but something happened and the post did not appear. If it appears, sorry for the dup.
"03-06-07: Drubin
is it correct to describe the TAP as solid state? It's passive so it has neither tubes nor transistors. Same for resistor-based passsives. "

I don't think so.

TVC's are best described by the primary component that does their job, the transformer. For that reason, the best description might be simply "magnetic".
Tedmbrady, how's the experiementing with your different speakers/gear with the Tap been going? Are you missing in some way your Modwright tubed preamp?

It would be great to hear from you regarding what your recent impressions have been regarding the Tap, if it's a keeper for you or maybe not your sonic cup of tea. Let us know.
My TAP evaluation is on temporary hold. I just discovered that my Sason speakers present an interesting load (high impedance for the most part) that is adding to the Krell's clinical sound, and thus to my TAP eval. I need to either insert a well-heeled tube amp in this process (like an Atma-Spehere M60 or MA1) or go in another direction with speakers (the leader being ATC actives and chuck the whole amp idea). John has been very understanding and insisted I keep the TAP until I can eval it with the right gear. I can't let this linger, though, regardless.

I'll report back soon. As of now, the TAP is still a close no. 2 to the Modwright in MY system, but I've explained why.
Well, a couple of updates, one of which is very interesting and concerning:
1) The uninteresting one: I bought a McCormack DNA-500 amp and mated it last night with my Modwright pre. Too much humm and buzz, and the dimmers in my house drove it crazy. I inserted the TAP and all is dead quiet, even using the TAP in rca SE mode (which you need to do if using balanced cables to the DNA-500 and yet rca's to the subs). Dead quiet and very musical so far. Yes! John's been very understanding about my eval, but maybe I've found a good synergy.......oh,
2) Interesting and concerning one: John Chapman has been terminated by S&B as a TX102 supplier!! Some sophomoric misunderstanding about a UK TAP-X review (read about it on John's Audio Circle forum) and S&B's unwillingness to have John compete with them on their new pre?? Looks like he'll fire up a new non-S&B TAP in the summertime.

More to follow....