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Soulution 710 Amplifier and 720 Preamplifier

Friends:

I am just curious how much better these ultra-reference, ultra-expensive Swiss units are than well respected American reference products like Pass Labs, Spectral, Boulder, Clayton Audio on the SS side or VAC on the tube side.

I am driving German Physiks Carbon mkIV omnidirectionals.

I am told the Soulutions are ultra neutral, ultra-transparent,and ultra musical, sharing the finest characteristics of tubes and SS, yet high bias class AB I'm told by a dealer.

I realize all is in the ear of the beholder, but are these swiss designers using better parts, more innovative circuitry, etc to generate a level of musicality and purity a notch above the finest US brands?.

I am looking for a final purchase as I approach retirement, and am actually considering the Soulution 710 Amp and 720 Pre (an almost mind-boggling cost of $85,000 retail, less a fair discount)..yes I am most fortunate to be in this position, but I do not wish to pay $40,000 extra for 3% difference in sound quality. (I realize this is the nature of purchasing ultra-reference high end gear)

Any strong opinions about the Soulution line would be greatly appreciated (including reliability) Yes, I am planning a trip to NYC in less than 5 weeks to audition, but your thoughts would be a helpful foundation to my audition.

Thanks in advance
Brian
audiobrian
classicjazz
153 posts
 
I perused the reviews on the Soulution website. I made a mistake regarding the unit to which I was referring. The review from Stereo magazine June 2006 listed the 720 preamp at 13,900 Euros. The 710 is of course the amplifier and Bvdiman is accurate in his price quote.

For those of us living with a currency that is weak against the Euro, the Soulution gear is quite expensive.

Boulder gear offers a bullet-proof build quality and sophisticated materials and design, a pro-audio background and apparently, a "build it then figure out the price" approach for its 2000-series gear. I would say the Boulder gear is liquid, has tremendously rooted bass and is really non-impeachable.

The Goldmund gear I have (current Ultimate class stuff) is different. A sense of air and lightness of touch, tremendous treble purity and lack of grain but at the cost of a little loss of body from the midbass down (attribute this to the amp and not the preamp). My Goldmund gear is not optimal for my current speakers but I will keep it for some future second pair of speakers.

I have been told that Soulution gear is closer to Goldmund than Boulder in sound. Having been on the merry go round with new entrants into the high end audio arena, I now tend to stick with long-lived companies for service, resale etc.
bflowers
80 posts
 
Classic jazz: I have heard similar to you that Soulution is similar to dartzeel or Spectral. Fast but not a warm as Boulder. I was interested in Soulution after hearing all the superlatives, and there were some dealers interested in separating me from my money. Fortunately I spoke with a balanced dealer who was able to describe the differences qualitatively versus quantitatively.
bvdiman
491 posts
 
Hi Classicjazz,
I had the opportunities to hear at a friend's the Kharma Grand Exquisites quad amped with 4 pairs of Telos 5000s (yes, 8pcs). He upgraded from 4 pairs of 2500s and just loves his Kharma/Goldmund pairing. So am more or less quite familiar with the G sound. You may find in Soulution what you felt missing with Goldmund. Them being more full bodied, with solid palpability and packs a wallop from the mid on down--this kind of surprises me too in a way as rumors have it different (lean, too resolute etc.), which certainly is not so at least in the context of my system--partnered with my pre. But You got to let the thing break and spend more time with them. I was just about to return them to the dealer when they began to start sounding good (a good two weeks). Also depending on the speakers of choice, brand may sway. For darker balanced ones--Goldmund, Spectral would be my choice. In between--I preferred the FMA, Soulution. Whilst those with hotter tops--MBL or Boulder would be perfect. So ultimately still no best, just taste, synergy and $$$.
musicdesign
4 posts
 
Hi Brian:

I agree with the above posts...very system dependent..I heard Soulution in New York....remarkeably agile and resolute...I felt a little cool in the upper mids, similar to my old Halcro DM-88's. However great amps, I'm sure, with the right speakers. With the $ being so weak, Boulder and Spectral also are great contenders. High powered tubes would also sound stunning with your German Physiks.
classicjazz
153 posts
 
Hi Bvdiman,

8 Goldmund amps are incredible. I don't find anything lacking in my Goldmund gear but I know my current speakers are not the right fit which is why I am using Boulder gear. I would imagine Goldmund would work well on Verity or Wilson Benesch (two brands of gear I had in the past).

To Brian, how would you characterize the sound of your speakers? I would probably put Goldmund on one side and Boulder on the other and perhaps MBL to the warm side of Boulder (by some margin). From what other have said, Soulution might be between Goldmund and Boulder.

To Bflowers,

I would imagine your system to be pretty darn excellent. The most radical change would be to switch speakers and keep everything else. Don't know that I would do that though but if we assume the B gear is solid and you want to really change the sonic presentation, speaker change would be the fastest, most radical way. And it would still be cheaper than a Soulution pre/power front end (assuming buying used top-notch speaker vs. new Soulution).
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