DarTzeel’s new direction

I’ve played with dartzeel’s amp circuitry, and assessed overall design.. they are trying to replicate tube sound, by increasing output impedance and create sophisticated fb loop freq./phase characteristics in SS ckt. I give Dartzeel credit of 50Ohm pre/amp interconnects design, which has sense to eliminate reflections and affecting sound resonances in longer than ~3ft cables. 

Few years ago I red Geneva Switzerland Audiophile direct Accuphase A70 comparison to DartZeel NHB.. Well, Dartzeel lost!. I confirmed in my experiments that replicating tube sound by SS ckt by Dartzeel has some disadvantages, and can be used only for flatter Z/freq. speakers, while Accuphase can drive speakers from 1Ohm to 16Ohms without affecting sound much.

Using medium impedance (50 to 300 ohms) for line-level interconnects is a good idea, although not suitable for modern studio practice. And medium impedance for speaker outputs (1 to 2 ohms) is going to depend on the complexity of the speaker crossover ... simpler crossovers will tolerate it, more complex crossovers will not.

@lynn_olson for ideal non reflective response cable characteristic impedance must match driver and receiver impedances.. we have to choices for coax 50/75Ohms. problem with RCA is a connecting low output impedance drivers (pre/phono/cd etc) to high (47kOhm/10pF) receiver, which generates reflections. Cable of 10ft or longer in such condition has sonic signature, such as harsh sound etc. matching source/cable/receiver impedance eliminates that.

In fairness to the look of Dartzeel they are in line with other high end Swiss aesthetics .Classic gold Rolex watches for example.

Let’s start with facts like the stereo amp is well under 100K not 250K. The mono amps are ridiculously expensive but it’s limited production and overkill for most systems.

As for the preamp it is very expensive but also has a great phono stage internally so no need for cable either to sep phono preamp. ...and runs off battery so don't need pricey power cable.

And until the untimely death of Jonathan tinn the US distributor many units were sold by him to loyal customers at a significant discount off MSRP if you were not filthy rich.

As for the sound of the amp it really nails the midrange and brings out more soul than most SS amps. If paired with dartzeel preamp and a speaker which is efficient or has a powered woofer it is remarkable and was far more musical than my pass labs 260.8 monoblocks [which were good and a lot cheaper but not same league]. Even my EAR 890 monoblocks bested the Pass. Again pass gets you 85 percent there and much cheaper but for transparency and emotional involvement dartzeel takes you further.

Bottom line for me is tube amps especially EAR gets you emotional connection to essence of the music at a far more friendly price point but the dartzeel is remarkable for solid state albeit pricey.