RETURN TO THE FAITH
Well, I’m back.
“Who are you, where are you back from, and why should I care?” I hear you ask.
I am a Van Alstine disciple of the last 43 years, and have owned Frank’s gear from the days of Jensen’s Stereo Shop. I sort of fell away from the path of True Faith about seven years ago, and though I’ve always kept an AVA amp and preamp on hand, was seduced by the spell of gear with copious reviews and higher prices. It’s a long story, and boring too, so I won’t burden you with details. But even in my time of being lost in the hi-fi wilderness, I continued to recommend AVA gear to friends and family as a superb, cost-effective means to sonic enlightenment.
The shining audio beacon that lights my return to the AVA fold is the DVA M225 amp. For the last year I have owned two very highly regarded Pass Labs monoblocks, and was initially quite happy with them. But I gradually became aware that although these amps did depth and detail and gravitas extremely well, I was missing out on at least a couple of attributes I really wanted. I was able to identify the lacking qualities as – to use the vernacular of our passion – soundstage and dynamics. No doubt the many adherents to the faith of Pass amplification will, at a minimum, be quick to call me crazy and question the acuity of my hearing. So be it. I am willing to go so far as to attribute my perceptions of problems to poor system synergy.
But after a trial with the M225s, I have sold the Pass amps – which list at four times the price of the M225s – and am now enjoying music that calls out to me, demands my attention, and pulls me in. The M225s render a very accurate, clean and clear audio picture, and present a soundstage to die for. I am convinced that they are world-beaters, certainly at anything near the price point and probably several multiples of it. Some have called it the best amp Frank has even come out with, which is a bold statement but one I must agree with.
To answer my opening questions: I am a happy audiophile, I have returned from a sojourn into non-AVA gear, and – OK, so you might not really care – I hope more audiophiles can experience this audio achievement that AVA has wrought.
System Equipment: Martin Logan CLX speakers and BalancedForce subs, Audio Research Ref 6 preamp, PS Audio Stellar phono pre, Exemplar-modified Oppo UDP-205 CD deck, Denon DP-75 TT/Kuzma 4 Pt tonearm/My Sonic Labs cart.
