Dartzeel amp lives up to hype

JTinn: "Essentailaudio: With all due respect, I do not think Mike was really addressing you."

Think again :-) Mike used the same expression 'Andy (Hooper/Quint)' in his post as I did, and no one else brought up Andy before I did. I find it very peculiar that Mike responded and you did not, nor have you explained why Andy's amp burst into flames, if indeed the description is accurate.

I don't understand what the issue is here. If Andy's amp burst into flames and Andy use SST, he must think that he shorted something. This is certainly possible with SST. Are you implying, Essentialaudio, that it was not SST? It also seems that no one else has had this problem. Where is Andy in all this discussion?

Just to elaborate a bit on my comments above about the NY 2005 Dartzeel/VR9 system, in most fine systems, if I listen closely and think about what I am hearing, there is a delicate balance between detail at one end of the scale and smoothness at the other, and I can usually pinpoint where on this spectrum the sound resides. However, I could not really do this for Dartzeel/VR9 system, as is somehow seem to avoid this trade-off entirely, and was extremely detailed and involving while simultaneously smooth as silk at all frequencies. I would describe it as a paradox, both involving and relaxing. This is a very neat trick that was very impressive.

I wish i could have heard the 2005 show sound. The CES 2006 sound was way dissappointing. Shows are weird.

where's the next show this combo will be heard at ?

Wow, alot of discussion since I last posted.

FWIW, I've now had my dartzeel amp for 1 month. I have had zero problems, even switching back and forth from 120V to 240V. Out of the box it sounded very good...with 30 days of break-in on it the performance has become simply fantastic. I cannot over emphasize the need to let this amp break-in before listening critically to it.

I am driving a pair of Dynaudio Temptation speakers which are not the most efficient design and the dart drives them to "earflappin" levels with no hint of distortion. The low end control, resolution, detail is simply amazing. I have not compared the dart to an endless number of other amps, but I have had Linn Klimax Solo's, Boulders, Spectral, Nagra, ASR Emitter II and Art amplifiers in my room for extended periods of time. To my ear, the dart is easily better than all of them combining the best virtues of solid state and tubes. There is this transparency and artifact-free presentation which has you just sitting back and listening to the music and not the equipment. I would be the first one to say that the dart may not have the power to drive all speakers in all room sizes.

With the amp now nearing full break-in, I went back and reran some tests on the power feed. Here's what I found:

- In 120V mode the dart, in my room at least, sounds audibly better with a Hydra 2 in the chain versus going directly to the wall outlet (when I first ran this test the amp was in the steep phase of it's break-in and it invalidated my initial findings). There is a noticeable reduction in grain/noise, more microdetail and no sense of any loss of dynamics. I realize that many PLC's restrict current flow, but the Hydra does not seem to suffer from this ill.
- Replacing the Hydra 2 with a Hydra 8 yields a further, significant improvement. I know it's not cost effective to just have one device plugged into the Hydra 8...
- Now the kicker...I have been using Shunyata Anaconda power cables all around in my system for the past 12-18 months. Just last week I tried the newer Python Helix (which is one step down from the Anaconda) and it simply blew away my non-Helix Anaconda versions.
- With the Python Helix's and a Hydra 8 120V the dart's performance ascended to yet a higher level.
- While many debate whether or not an amp sounds better with 120V feed vs 240V feed, I have decided to buy a Hydra 8 240V (since I have dedicated 240V power to use) and new Anaconda Helix power cables. I can't wait to hear this combination based on my listening tests.

I accept that I may live in an area with dirty power and results would vary. I do have dedicated home run lines for all of my 120V and 240V feeds however.

I bought the dart pre-amp without even hearing it based on how impressed I was with the amp and can't wait to hear it, especially with the 50ohm interconnects. Currently I am using a 30' balanced XLR to connect my pre-amp to the dart amp.

Lastly, JTinn and Herve (the designer/owner of dartzeel) have provided me with absolutely first class service, and no, they did not ask me to post that!