My friend (catch that disclosure?) Tommy dropped off these amps on Superbowl Sunday and picked them up on Mar-17, so I'd like to try to summarize my experience.
As mentioned in my first post, I was immediately taken by the bass, which is often people's first gut reaction to the Cherry amps. However stone-cold, they didn't have the midrange detail that I am used to from my stereo Cherry Plus (w/ upgraded 1800 watt (or volt-amp, I have been told
) transformer).
But over time the frequency ranges all came together very nicely for sure. The Monos ended up still being a little less eager in the upper mids, resulting in a more mature-sounding, smoother presentation while still having all the quickness you would expect. And that bass, oh man that bass.
The monos were also a bit quieter than my stereo - Better channel isolation? I don't know. With my preamp (VAC Standard MKII) off, my Stereo unit has a little buzz through the speakers but the monos were dead quiet.
The overall presentation of the monos remains completely composed at all volumes. Lately I've been reading that some respected designers feel that you need many hundreds of watts of power to keep from clipping frequently, so maybe this helps the insanely powerful monos retain the same sonic signature and dynamics at even the loudest listening levels. (Von Schweikert VR4JRs BTW). Scary, if you ask for it.
The real test was when I put my Stereo Cherry Plus back in after the monos went home with papa. The SQ definitely took a little turn for the worse, IMO. The midrange/upper midrange became a little more foreward, more present which might be a good thing in many systems but I missed to ultra-smoothness of the monos right away. And imaging wasn't quite as precise w/ the Stereo - advantage to the dual-mono topology? Perhaps...
I have been listening to a lot of classical lately and the monos do a better job of portraying the true character of acoustic instruments. Not night-and-day by any means, but a slight and noticeable difference if you hear then back-to-back. A little more body/ a little less string...
Of course the monos were absolutely flawless in their operation, as has every Digital Amp Co product I've sampled. But that's not too big a deal, I guess - SS amps should be pretty bullet-proof.
I had assumed that since
each mono has the same 1800 V A transformer as my Stereo Cherry, that they would make double the power. But that's not the case. From what I gather, the Monos have greater dymanic headroom than the Stereo, and maybe this results in the completely unstressed ease that I felt when listening to them.
Anyway, what else to say without dipping further into the stock audiophile dictionary?
Sweet amps. Unlimited power combined with silky finesse.
One more thought - I did almost all of the auditioning using a $10 Monster pwr strip with 2 x $6 Volex power cords, so I'd imagine there is more to be had from these beasties. (The last day I had then some gents brought some better strips/conditioners, but as I was hosting a GTG it was tough top get a true sense of the SQ over the din)
Thanks, Tommy. Gotta do this again sometime soon
-Mike
