Red Wine Audio Isabella

Vinnie took his time on this one, and from talking to him, he seemed like he was holding back a little on his thoughts about how it sounds. He wants to wait for the owners and reviewers to sound off. Of course 6 Moons is going to do a review and I think theirs are objective as far as reviews go. Like I have said before, if his preamp/dac sounds as good as his amps, then it will be a big winner in my book.

In order to get objective opinions you will have to get independent group of audiophiles and perform blind test in at least two neutral systems. Not easy thing to do. Most fear of the outcome some are bias and others are pre-fix on their preferences and idea of what sounds good to their ears. Also component synergy will play big part in the evaluation. I usualy compare components home in my system. Shot-outs are great and very helpful but not able to get the whole story and true about two components that are compared and evaluated.
It takes balls and open mind to have two components go head to head at each other and being judged by strangers with unknown preferences and listening skills. However, it is possible. Vinnie is very open minded and is not affraid to ask questions. He knows that I own his Sig. 30 and love it. He also knows about pairing his amp with Dodd preamp. He knows it is his competition and I am sure he somewhat respects Gery and his design. His Isabella must be very competitive and superior while its price tag is $1500 higher. Both are very alike.....design wise. One cap in the signal path. Both use 6922 (X2) tubes. Both run on batteries. Similar volume controlers. Vampire RCA jacks etc.
If I had those two (actually all I need is Isabella) home, I would be more then happy to report my findings. And NO , I am not bias towards DODD. If RWA Isabella is in fact better........it would most likely stay and DODD would have to find a better home. But untill then I am sticking with less expensive DODD which features HT pass-thru , more ins and longer battery operation on single charge. (double of RWA)
Just few thoughts about these fine products that will be talked about and always tried to be compare to each other. Until someone will put that controvercy to rest.

Enjoy the music

Mariusz

i also placed my order for the Isabella w/ dac and can't wait too! nice to see others in this camp.

while the Dodd also uses 6922 and battery, i'm not sure how much the preamp circuitry is alike. i have been trying to get more info from dodd and vinnie because i am curious. I know vinnie is using both sections of each dual-triode tube while the dodd only uses one. vinnie won't tell me the exact topology of the preamp but he says it is much different than the dodd and is one of a kind and it took a long time to perfect but he says it is well worth the effort. i only know basic electronics so i cannot say waht it means even if i saw a diagram, haha. Someone mentioned somewhere that the dodd uses dc-dc converters for the tubes B+ and this is not as clean. dodd did not let me know if this is true or not, but I suppose one can measure the voltage at the tube sockets and see if it is higher than the battery? I asked vinnie and he says his circuit is totally unique and uses no dc-dc convertes so there is no noise and loss of current. From the site the Isabella board looks much cleaner and with shorter signal paths and such, but all that matters in the end is the sound. look, we know dodd is very good from all the happy cusotmers such as Mariusz and i'm sure it is. There are things about the Isabella that make me believe it is going to be better for me, and i waited a long time for it to be ready and am excited.

the Isabella also allows for a hi and low gain setting and has the SMART module which i like the idea of, and a mode to run on the charger's power so play time can continue and the unit can be let on at all times if desired. I really like this idea! vinnie promises that even when running from the charger the sound is very good because of all the conditioning he performs inside, but the pure SLA battery power is the best. the other reason I went for the Isabella is the built in dac with USB. That is one less box and set of interconnects, and the design sounds like it will meet my tastes as i love analog tone but i am getting into the msuic server approach..

i agree with kclone. if it represents the great value and amazing sound of his amps, it is going to be a classic waiting to happen. If not i'll simply return within 30 day. vinnie must be very confident about his baby to offer this and i respect that. I'll be sure to post when I get mine in about 3 weeks and get time to listen. i am also looking forward to the reviews from 6moons and i think i read that Tone Audio will also be reviewing one in the next issiue. vinnie mentons this on his forum here - http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=57174.0

ok enough talk. i want to listen and am excited!

-Nate

Nate, I am curious just like you and would like to get more information in regards to both designs. As little as it is known about Isabella , even less we know about Dodd. If you compare the websites, Vinnie did better job getting as many details as he could at the time of Isabella release day (I think t was Friday). Vinnie is also very active on Audio Circle, where he tries to answer any questions regarding his products. I admire his support and time he dedicates to be as helpful as possible. However, I can not help but noticed the similarities between these two. Yes, there are some differences.......but.
So please keep us posted and hope to hear first impressions from one of you - first Isabella owners.

P.S
Love the DAC idea......NOS DAC and it runs on batteries too.
Very cool. If I was going to get one.....definitly the one with build in DAC. Also Six moons might try to compare Dodd to Isabella pre.......that is going to be very interesting review that I will be waiting for ........so long and congrats on the Isabella purchase. I am sure that non of you will regrat it.

Mariusz

hi Mariusz,

I'd say there is a sufficient amount know about the Isabella from the website. I think the 'unknown' is the user feedback and reviews but these will be coming soon and then im sure Vinnie is going to be bombarded and backloged with order. This seems to happen every time and I remember waiting patiently on the list for my 30.2. Ive come to trust his ear and now i decided to buy now so I don't have to wait nearly as long - Vinnie mentions the dac board will be ready in just a couple of weeks and will be shipping. I bet he is selling many more with the dac than without, so i think we'll see some feedback in a few weeks, including mine :)

I agree - it is a very good idea to include the dac into the preamp to keep the signal paths short and reduce the number of components on the rack.

I'll keep you guys posted

Jeff