[kitten]

I first posted on these forums after stumbling across the 30.2 and wondering whether it might be the integrated amp I was looking for. I fretted for months with the RWA shortlisted along with Rotel and Naim (both of which I've happily owned in the past) as well as Leben, AVI, Bryston, Perreaux, Lavardin and Decware. With the 30.2 I was somewhat put off by the lack of inputs following the discontinuing of the 3S source selector and at the same time was somewhat curious about the up-and-coming Isabella. Vinnie kindly offered to send me an external passive volume and stepped attenuator in order to compare the 30.2 with and without the Isabella.  When the time finally came to order however, I figured either I would like the RWA sound or I wouldn't, so I went ahead and ordered the Isabella/30.2 combo thinking I would likely keep both, or neither.

I've had the Isabella for three and a half months. This isn't really an attempt at a review. I'm not very good at describing these things and although I'm (admittedly, surely) an audiophile by any sane person's definition, I'm not a hobbyist who buys and sells and listens to a lot of gear. While I've listened to quite a bit of gear, I reckon it would be less than the average person who hangs around these forums so take my comments in that spirit. Growing up with vinyl in the '70s and '80s we never had a proper stereo and a typical evening in my teenage-angst years would be uplifting the cheap record player from the family room and carting it to the bedroom to listen to Led Zeppelin, Hackett-era Genesis, Pink Floyd, Osbourne-era Black Sabbath and Queen with massive headphones at head-splitting volumes. At the time it was bliss. Now, there is a continuous ringing in my ears (tinnitus) which is a result of the bedroom sessions and too many Cure and Red Hit Chili Peppers rock concerts in my misspent youth. Despite this, when measured, I've always been able to make out very high frequencies with hearing testing well above average (with recent worsening now down to average as I get into middle age) but I "hear" these frequencies not from a quiet background but on top of a loud layer of hiss, like a continuous ringing cymbal. I know what you're thinking. Why is this deaf guy bothering to write about audio gear: the thing is I think it makes me even more fussy than the normally equipped when it comes to music replay as harsh sounding systems for me are completely unlistenable. I took my kid to a children's concert not so long ago. It was a piano, vocal, trumpet ensemble in a small indoor arena that would have sounded great unamplified but which they insisted on playing through a PA system at what seemed to me to be at 10 (or even 11 using a Spinal Tap amp) on the volume scale. I had to cover my ears then remove myself to the back row, but no one else seemed to care.

As a completely broke student in my late teens I studied speaker design and built my own what I (of course) thought were the greatest high efficiency speakers ever made. Source was a cheap Sony Discman with headphone socket feeding a cheap 150WPC Trakton car power amp. I powered the amp off the mains using a heavy-duty vehicle battery charger. I wish I'd photographed this system, it was hilarious looking but loud enough for student parties and to seriously annoy the neighbors. While the amp sounded just as loud running off the charger as it did direct from a 12V car battery, the indoor charger's inability to swing more than about 5 or 6 amps (compared with 25 from the battery) so limiting power output to about 36WPC, and being able to compare the AC/DC back and forth, gave me some appreciation of what lack of current sounds like. More power sounds not louder but more clear and less fatiguing. What can seem at first an exciting, sparkly and forward presentation in the upper mid range along with a slightly soft but otherwise OK bass can sometimes just be an amp's inability to swing enough current and I do still notice these artifacts with some of the lower-powered (but not necessarily lower priced) 'exciting' sounding amps that are still around even today.

Getting down to the sound of the Isabella, the 6 moons and Tone Audio reviews I thought summed things up pretty much as I would have if I could write that well (I'd put in my order for the Isabella before these were published) and regarding people's descriptions of the Isabella sounding 'organic', I would describe it as the music being 'presented' rather than 'pushed'. If you are a detail freak you might describe it as a bit veiled; you need to 'go into' or be drawn in to the music and this takes a little time to adjust to if you're used to a more in-your-face presentation. Still, if you were out digging in the garden and dug up a preamp, it would be this one.

On Vinnie's recommendation, I picked up a pair of Sennheiser HD-650 cans to pair with the Isabella for occasional headphone listening, however it was immediately obvious that this was a seriously good combo and that along with the fact I'm now in a condo and can't nudge the volume too much or for too long, means it's now become my main way of listening, just as it was in the good old days. I listen to alternative rock, grunge, rock, hard rock, glam/prog rock, jazz, blues, soul, vocal, classical, reggae, new age, folk, and a little country (I hang my head in shame...). One of my favorite bands is The Church, which IMO is the best band ever to come out of Australasia. A very mystical and sweet sounding group that's hung around for a couple of decades despite no recent attempts to produce anything remotely commercial sounding. A lot of my stuff is older or not that well produced -- Cash, Sinatra, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zep, Hendrix, Elton John, The Who, Bowie, Yes, etc -- and it is with these that the Isabella comes to the fore and to me that is the mark of a good, low distortion amp. Really well produced recordings are revealed as they should be (I second Vinnie's recommendation of Dreaming of Revenge by Kaki King, awesome CD); deliberately overproduced work e.g., Smashing Pumpkins is getting borderline with the Isabella revealing the (deliberate) bass distortion in the recording that less meaty amps wouldn't, but still doing so in an enjoyable and listenable manner; and the really bad stuff still sounds, well, really bad. Bomb by U2 always seemed a lost cause and still is. On balance, I think there's little point in seeking out a replay system that's so resolving that only superbly mastered work sounds fantastic with everything else a bit off. The point surely is to enjoy more of your collection and not less. At this, the Isabella succeeds. Using the oppo DVD as transport via coax s/pdif and listening to Chet Baker Live in Tokyo, from the first few notes in was obvious there is serious bass happening here. I really don't know how Vinnie does this. He doesn't release measurements and seems to trust his ears, along with a few other respected designers, e.g., amps by NVA and Leben that are voiced by ear to name a couple. There are of course other designers who insist that measurements and science are the be all and end all (with amps and DACs in particular), that 'neutrality' --whatever the heck that means-- is correct and that you can't actually trust your own ears because your brains get in the way and you can get used to crap sound over the years and this becomes your reference. All old-fashioned distorting tube gear and outdated DAC chips fit this category, of course. Hmmmm, well, whether that's right or wrong, if my ears are wrong and I like what I hear, as a punter I do know how I will be spending the cash.

Vinnie suggests the Isabella needs a couple of hundred hours to burn in. To be honest, I'm skeptical of the 'burn in' phenomenon but whether or not it exists or is partly or entirely all in the head, the Isabella did seem subjectively to improve over time, and just in case I wanted to wait until I'd put sufficient hours on it before writing here. In particular the higher frequencies that at first are slightly lacking and resulting in a quite laid back presentation, do loosen up and everything 'breathes' a little better with time. I see others have tried tube rolling and reported improvements in the higher frequencies. This is fine, but to my ears the stock tubes result in a perfectly balanced presentation with no mid range glare at all now that the Isabella, my ears, my brain and my cans are fully cooked.

Regarding cost. It is not cheap and you do feel it when you write the check. However, When considering the cost savings of streaming digitally generally off the grid --transport savings, extra interconnects, exotic power cables and conditioners, extra boxes for separate DACS and headphone amps and swanky room treatments (with nothing glaring to tame to begin with, the Isabella/30.2 sounds fine in a 'live' untreated room to me - I have bare floors and glass all over the place) suddenly it all begins looking a lot more reasonable. I'm not trying to tell anyone how to think, just that it can be helpful to consider the full cost of an audio system before concluding that a particular component is too pricey. As someone who recently came very close to spending quite a sizable chuck of change on a high end CD transport and turntable, I'm now glad I didn't. There are many Apple Mac users here of course getting great results, and I will say that I'm getting excellent results as well even more cheaply with Windows laptops using JRiver Media Jukebox and the ASIO4ALL driver (both free). With the USB/I2S interface there seems no need to get hung up over sound cards costing between 200 and 700 dollars that are capable of putting out a bit-perfect digital stream as the Isabella is simply treated by Windows as an external soundcard.

[kitten]

Like many, I suspect, my tastes in music and the way I like it reproduced has evolved over time, from the warmth of the analog sound bashing my ears to kingdom come in the '80s through to the intolerable quest for ever more detail as one comes into money and is able to put it towards 'proper' hi-fi, until the point is reached surely when the details consume and it ceases to be art and becomes the fatiguing experience that has Dad reach for the volume control and eventually the off button. If you've ever felt this way or if you're hearing's sensitive, I'd recommend Vinnie's Isabella, even though he's probably still too young himself to appreciate just how good it will still sound to him in several years' time as his hearing worsens. Oh, and if you feel the need to listen through headphones on the high gain setting, please take care, IMHO you are probably listening too loud.

Vinnie is a pleasure to deal with. Any issues he will put right asap no questions asked. He doesn't ask for referrals or pressure in any way. He doesn't ask customers to write feedback (I just decided I wanted to) and I suppose his ever-expanding awards cabinet already speaks for itself. If you're sitting on the fence and not quite sure, well, there is simply no need to worry about buying his gear.

To the two of you who read to the end of this nutty write-up, I apologise for the length. Not exactly pithy so I won't be giving up my day job to become a hi fi reviewer anytime soon.  

ATB,
kitten

sistem:
Redbook: Toshiba Satellite 5200/Dell Inspiron mini 9, EAC, wav (mostly) and mp3 files, JRiver Media Jukebox 12, ASIO4ALL, RWA stock USB cable; DVD: oppo 981, Eichmann 75ohm coax silver bullets; RWA fully loaded Isabella, Senheisser HD650; Slinkylinks interconnect with Eichmann silver bullets; RWA Signature 30.2; Slinkylinks bi-wire with Eichmann silver bayonets; Epos ES11.

[wilsynet]

I very much enjoyed reading the review.  And in fact, I will forward it to a friend of mine who also has tinnitus.  Thanks so much.

[kitten]

Hey Wilson, thanks, I enjoyed reading your writeups on the Isabellina, Isabella and the different tubes as well.
All the best to your friend. The best treatment for tinnitus I've found is to ignore it and carry on as if it's not there.
k.

[stevenkelby]

Great write up and a good read kitten, well done.

There are of course other designers who insist that measurements and science are the be all and end all (with amps and DACs in particular), that 'neutrality' --whatever the heck that means-- is correct and that you can't actually trust your own ears because your brains get in the way and you can get used to crap sound over the years and this becomes your reference.

Words of truth. Should be compulsory reading for anyone into hifi.

Vinnie is a pleasure to deal with. Any issues he will put right asap no questions asked. He doesn't ask for referrals or pressure in any way. He doesn't ask customers to write feedback (I just decided I wanted to) and I suppose his ever-expanding awards cabinet already speaks for itself. If you're sitting on the fence and not quite sure, well, there is simply no need to worry about buying his gear.

Yes, Vinnie is an absolute champion. 

To the two of you who read to the end of this nutty write-up, I apologise for the length. Not exactly pithy so I won't be giving up my day job to become a hi fi reviewer anytime soon.  

Like Vinnie, you underestimate yourself! Insightful, thought provoking and intelligent, you would be a great reviewer IMO.

Steve

[Profbratsch]

Regarding cost. It is not cheap and you do feel it when you write the check. However, When considering the cost savings of streaming digitally generally off the grid --transport savings, extra interconnects, exotic power cables and conditioners, extra boxes for separate DACS and headphone amps and swanky room treatments (with nothing glaring to tame to begin with, the Isabella/30.2 sounds fine in a 'live' untreated room to me

While I agree with others' assessments that kitten's observations are terrific I wish to offer a small counterpoint. Two components that should NOT be skimped on are the tubes, and perhaps even more importantly, the USB cable (although if Vinnie gives the  on the 6GM8s that will be another great area of cost savings ).  I remember what it was like to move from stock tubes in my former amp, the LSA Statement, to a cryogenically-treated pair of Telefunkens.  The increase in body and weight of the musical presentation was pretty amazing. 

There are three companies in particular that I know of, Locus Design, Ridge Street Audio Designs and Revelation Audio Labs, that have great USB cable products.  I chose the Locus Design Axis cable and, for the first time, DID experience the "burn-in phenomenon" that kitten is a bit skeptical of (I pretty much was as well).  In a way that had not happened to the 30.2/Isabella/Isabellina combo before there was a stage of about twelve hours that was reached (about a third of the way through the recommended 150-hour break-in period) where I could not listen to any music at all.  Upper frequencies were just too strident, so I left the room with the system in repeat mode.  The next day the sound had changed dramatically for the better, both in terms of detail and air, and subtle improvements in many areas continued up to and beyond the recommended burn-in time.  Now I'm just enjoying the music. 

[Vinnie R.]

Hi Kitten,

I want to thank you for taking the time to post a review of your Isabella.  I really enjoyed it and how it tied in some background about YOU, the listener!  It was an excellent read and many of us enjoyed it and thank you for contributing your findings! 

There are of course other designers who insist that measurements and science are the be all and end all (with amps and DACs in particular), that 'neutrality' --whatever the heck that means-- is correct and that you can't actually trust your own ears because your brains get in the way

I really like this quote!   For me, it is the opposite.  I want my "brains" to get in the way.  The ear sends signals to the brain, and the designer/listener needs to make that emotional connection with the music.  You cannot measure this on the bench, but it is there and is really the ultimate test. 

Regarding tinnitus, I have only read about it.  I never experieced it (and hopefully will never), but I can imagine that it can be quite annoying.  I'm glad that your RWA components do not cause irritation with this.  Without having tinnitus, it is hard to know the type of sound that triggers it and how to avoid it.  In this regard, I got lucky! 

Thanks again, Kitten!

Vinnie

PS: Thanks to Profbratsch, wilsynet, and stevenkelby for also contributing and all the kind words!

[PaulinSaudi]

Hi all,

This is an interesting thread for me as I also have hearing damage and tinnitus from 25 yrs working with gas turbines and large engines. It does not stop me from enjoying music but I do find that high frequencies can cause discomfort. I'm using a Sig 30.2 amp and like the OP feel that the Isabella with USB DAC would be much more to my liking than a revealing system. I was wondering also if the tweeter adjustment facility in the WLM speakers would help me? I'm living in Saudi Arabia so can't easily demo the speakers. Any comments would be appreciated  (and apologies if this is not an appropriate thread for my query).

Finally, I would echo the Op's comments on the service from Vinnie. You don't need to be pushy when you make top quality products and provide customer service that is second to none!

Kind Regards,

Paul.

[kitten]

Hey Steve, thanks you are too kind.

Profbratsch: I wasn't at all meaning to suggest there mightn't be some nice improvements to be had from tube rolling -- and there's some good feedback in the tube rolling thread -- more that there isn't anything 'missing' from the stock tubes that needs 'fixing' (for me). This will come down to a listener's tastes, speakers and room acoustics as well, I guess. As for USB cables, there's been a long, ugly flame war on CA about these recently as to whether it's technically even possible for there to be audible differences. Myself, I try to keep an open mind about everything and have seen good reports about Lee's cables. I might give them a try if there's a no-questions-asked return policy.

Vinnie, I can't really put it any other way than to say I'm off the hi-fi merry-go-round. I've no need to listen to any more gear. Well done.

Paul. where are you - I was in Jeddah for a while on business not too long ago. It would depend on the in-room response of the WLMs in combination with your ears. My initial feeling was 'no' I don't think it would help, however, looking the WLM 6 moons review just now, the crossover is lower than normal at 1.2kHz. It will depend, but you're probably getting irritated at somewhere between 1 and 3kHz (no one hears linearly and everyone peaks by around 10db at 3kHz).
As a rough approximation of how much effect this might have, you could try donning headphones and adjusting the equalization settings in your computer's media player to see whether it results in a less fatiguing sound. Based on the WLM review, adjust the 1.2kHz frequency up or down maximum 3db (you might have to use 1kHz as an approximation of 1.2kHz depending on which media player you use). In activating EQ, you would be losing the bit-perfect stream which will raise the noise floor a little. The good thing about the Isabella for me is I don't need any EQ so can output an uncorrupted digital stream.
Take care,
kit.

[PaulinSaudi]

Kitten,

I'm based in Al Khobar but visit Jeddah often. Thanks for the advice - I will definitely experiment as you have suggested. Look me up next time you are in KSA.

Regards. Paul.

[Profbratsch]

I might give them a try if there's a no-questions-asked return policy.

Both Lee and Robert (Ridge Street Audio Designs) have trial periods for their cables.  You cannot go wrong with either and I believe they will make an appreciable difference in your system.  If I am not mistaken both the Axis and the Poiema are designed to isolate the data stream from the voltage line.

You might find the following article both timely and interesting:
http://positive-feedback.com/Issue40/usb.htm

Hope this helps...

[Vinnie R.]

Hi all,

This is an interesting thread for me as I also have hearing damage and tinnitus from 25 yrs working with gas turbines and large engines. It does not stop me from enjoying music but I do find that high frequencies can cause discomfort. I'm using a Sig 30.2 amp and like the OP feel that the Isabella with USB DAC would be much more to my liking than a revealing system. I was wondering also if the tweeter adjustment facility in the WLM speakers would help me? I'm living in Saudi Arabia so can't easily demo the speakers. Any comments would be appreciated  (and apologies if this is not an appropriate thread for my query).

Finally, I would echo the Op's comments on the service from Vinnie. You don't need to be pushy when you make top quality products and provide customer service that is second to none!

Kind Regards,

Paul.

Hi Paul,

Welcome to Audiocircle and the RWA forum!

The Tweeter Control on the WLM speakers allows for a continuous +/- 3dB adjustment, and as kitten pointed out above, the crossover frequency is set low enough where this adjustment makes a very noticeable change in the sound.  Depending on your room, equipment, and of course your hearing (and listening preferences/taste), you can really fine-tune the sound to your liking.  I hope one day you can listen to them - fed with RWA gear, you will love them! 

Vinnie, I can't really put it any other way than to say I'm off the hi-fi merry-go-round. I've no need to listen to any more gear. Well done.

Thanks, kitten!

Best regards,

Vinnie

[keepingtime]

I've had the Isabella and a 30.2 for a few weeks now and I think I've put 100 hours on them by now. They are still improving every day so I think they are not done burning in. In fact I found the Isabellina I had before was still improving after 200 hours so these units probably have many more hours of burn in ahead.

This combo sounds great. It is everything I loved about the Isabellina and then some. The sound is very organic and I can listen for hours with no fatigue. I have also been pleasantly surprised by the detail of this combo. Even the usual audiophile stuff like depth, imaging, and soundstage are great. The tone is very realistic and sounds right. Voices sound amazingly good. That is perhaps my favourite thing about the capabilities of this combo; it's magic with voices.

Now a word about Vinnie. All the glowing commentary about him is true. Never have I had the degree and quality of service and help as from Vinnie. I have indeed had great experiences with other audio industry people before, but Vinnie is on a whole other level. Really. I have been amazed at his willingness to help and the time he will spend doing so. He is most likely a very busy person yet he is always prompt in getting back to you and never makes you feel like he can't spare his time. He also happens to be a genuinely nice guy. It has been my pleasure to work with him on putting this system together.

Thanks again Vinnie 

[Mariusz]

Now a word about Vinnie. All the glowing commentary about him is true. Never have I had the degree and quality of service and help as from Vinnie. I have indeed had great experiences with other audio industry people before, but Vinnie is on a whole other level. Really. I have been amazed at his willingness to help and the time he will spend doing so.

+1

Mariusz

[Vinnie R.]

I've had the Isabella and a 30.2 for a few weeks now and I think I've put 100 hours on them by now. They are still improving every day so I think they are not done burning in. In fact I found the Isabellina I had before was still improving after 200 hours so these units probably have many more hours of burn in ahead.

This combo sounds great. It is everything I loved about the Isabellina and then some. The sound is very organic and I can listen for hours with no fatigue. I have also been pleasantly surprised by the detail of this combo. Even the usual audiophile stuff like depth, imaging, and soundstage are great. The tone is very realistic and sounds right. Voices sound amazingly good. That is perhaps my favourite thing about the capabilities of this combo; it's magic with voices.

Now a word about Vinnie. All the glowing commentary about him is true. Never have I had the degree and quality of service and help as from Vinnie. I have indeed had great experiences with other audio industry people before, but Vinnie is on a whole other level. Really. I have been amazed at his willingness to help and the time he will spend doing so. He is most likely a very busy person yet he is always prompt in getting back to you and never makes you feel like he can't spare his time. He also happens to be a genuinely nice guy. It has been my pleasure to work with him on putting this system together.

Thanks again Vinnie 

Hi keepingtime,

Thanks so much for your post - I really appreciate it.  I'm glad you are enjoying your Isabella + 30.2 power amp combo, and it has been my pleasure to help you throughout the process

Regarding the title of this thread ("Not Another Isabella Review") - well, stay tuned to www.stereotimes.com as an Isabella review (with dac) has been submitted to their editor and should be posted live soon!     I'll post a link once it is live...

Thanks again, and all the best,

Vinnie

[Vinnie R.]

egarding the title of this thread ("Not Another Isabella Review") - well, stay tuned to www.stereotimes.com as an Isabella review (with dac) has been submitted to their editor and should be posted live soon!     I'll post a link once it is live...

See:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=71356.0

 

[rlabarre]

When it rains, it pours!

Here is one more report, this time from an owner of a Red Wine Audio system for about two months now. They are a pair of 70.2s and a fully-optioned Isabella.

Maybe I should preface all by saying that I delayed shipment from Vinnie for many a long month, in part so their delivery could coincide with the debut of a particular piece from a competitor (which I will not name here). The rival unit is a DAC with an impressive roster of bells-and-whistles, also cutting-edge capabilities. According to the corporate hype, this new DAC bests or at least equals the performance of just about any DAC out there, especially when partnered with a companion piece, a brand-new optical transport of theirs, through a proprietary digital connection transmitting I2S straight from the optical disc.

The final ingredient to deciding when to take delivery was my own personal availability. With a full month finally free in June, it was time to give Vinnie and the other outfit their respective green lights to ship. The ensuing 30-day run-off was not going to be just a clash of two "titans", either. Pitted against them would be an eclectic assortment of amps, preamps, digital integrated amps, and CD players from my own personal collection, spanning some 25 years and representing a couple of other small fortunes spent in previous pursuits of audio excellence. Altogether in the upcoming contest, most of the important variables would be covered, at least those within affordable reach -- not only "old" vs. "new", but also Vinnie's "minimalism" against the latest of the "new wave" (and the latter from a firm much larger, longer-established, and better-known than Vinnie's, also one no slouch when kudos get passed around for the quality of their sound and their engineering).

Which was going to be the bigger giant-killer?

I might add that as elated as I was heading into this, I was also sweating bullets. The price of even a single piece of the new gear was wildly extravagant for me in my present economic circumstance. The best news of all would be that my ancient gear could still hold its own against the modern cousins. And ears that are 20 years older than they were the last time I did such an intensive audition might even facilitate that; alas, I am tinnitus-sufferer now, too, like Kitten. Another concern I was entertaining is that maybe the ears never were very discriminating to begin with. For instance, I've never been one to be hear an improvement of certain interconnects and speaker wires over others, so therefore I never spent much on them. In another life overseas in remote places, I've also been absent for whole years at a time without access to anything even approaching high fidelity. You are probably catching my drift. Having never been a die-hard audiophile, would I even hear 'music of the spheres' if it were finally presented to me? Lastly, I tend to be skeptical (at least initially) when I hear too many superlatives. Vinnie's gear and his competitor's come with few if any detractors. Objectivity is a science, but as far as I know, no one has yet come up with a scientific standard for meaningful measurements of "musicality" that are independent of observers.

So there I was, one nervous Nellie. Thankfully during my month-long audition, Vinnie and the CEO of the other company were diligent and patient with answers to my respective questions and concerns. That kind of one-on-one with a customer cannot be easy for anyone in their shoes, but much to their credit, both did, without complaint, and it was deeply appreciated!

Then, revelation didn't even remotely come quickly. In some respects, my journey here was similar to having to learn a new language, when everything is hard work and concentration and for the life of you, you can't hear how different your pronunciation and inflections are from the native speakers you are trying to emulate. Also (as already alluded, I think), I began this contest with a couple of biases. The largest had to do with being determined to find the best bang for the buck. Previous experience had taught me that benefits tend to rapidly diminish with increasing expenditures on audio gear. Secretly, as I have said, I was hoping that my old gear would continue to justify itself, and if not that, then in the DAC department Vinnie's rival's piece would suffice. Choosing it over the Isabella/Isabellina combo would save me nearly $3000 because it comes with digital volume control that is so well engineered, according to its designer-and-CEO-of-the-company, that no one should even want a preamp in their system.

Well, one month later I finally had my answers. The new equipment -- every single last piece -- trounced the old. The former weren't even in the same league. I also laid to rest any doubts about my ability to be a consistent arbiter of what sounds good and what doesn't. The new stuff from both companies allowed me to hear qualities and details of music reproduction that I had never noticed before and in ways that I never thought possible.

So which did I keep? The choice may surprise.

None of my pre-existing amplifiers came close to the 70.2s, so the 70.2s were a given. The real giant-killer of all, though, in my estimation, was Vinnie's preamp. Of all the new pieces -- far and away -- it represented the largest improvement for dollar spent. Nothing that I already owned came close to its grace, aplomb, and toe-tapping magic. And using the rival DAC with its digital volume control to bypass the Isabella (for a direct connection into the 70.2s) actually subtracted from the (quite lovely) musical experience that were there when the two were a pair. I am at a loss to explain why, too, because a preamp can only adulterate a signal path. Without the Isabella, though, the rival DAC sounded a trifle flat and un-involving.

Which leads me to the Isabellina part of the combo. Its only misfortune during this audition was that it met its match. That, by the way, is no slam. Yes, the other DAC was that good. In fact, the sound of the two was virtually indistinguishable; I had no preference for one over the other, at least as far as Redbook playback was concerned (which is fascinating to me, considering the very substantial differences in the design philosophies behind the two units). Where the rival may have had an edge was with higher definition recordings, which it can handle at native word lengths and sampling rates. Also, a few months down the line, the company will be debuting a plug-in with a network port that will give the DAC music-serving capabilities, as well.

Well, Solomonic dilemmas may merit Solomonic decisions, but for me there was no splitting this baby down the middle. Vinnie is a sorcerer of the first order, and so is his rival! Damn the thousands in more dollars, too, that I didn't intend to spend! I am happily keeping all the gear -- from both parties -- and I am not looking back!

[kitten]

Hi Riabarre,
I really enjoyed reading your post. Although you mention you'd rather not name the other DAC, based on your description it's pretty easy to work out what it is. Anyway, while I'm 100% satisfied with my Isabella I must admit the experimenter in me is a little envious of your upcoming foray into hi res with two top-notch DACs like you have to compare and experiment with. I would be really interested to read about your experiences as there aren't many punters wth access to both a great NOS and OS DAC at the same time. Myself right now, 99% of the music I'm interested in is only available in 44.1; it will be interesting to see what develops over the next five (or more likely ten perhaps) years - I hope there is a more mainstream move towards hi res not necessarily because I think it would lead to a more enjoyabe listening experience, but rather I hope it might coincide with a greater appreciation of what's acceptable generally (or put another way, a general backlash against the badly overcompressed music that's worryingly becoming more and more common nowadays).
All the best.

[rlabarre]

Kitten, I was lucky to be a beta-tester of the rival firm's transport-and-DAC combo. To showcase and help inform the cutting-edge capabilities of the pair, they provided us with a Redbook CD and a high-resolution DVD (176.4 kHz/24-bit) of the same recordings (from Reference Recordings). These were a couple of wonderfully recorded orchestral and jazz pieces. I listened to the CD first and was convinced it would not be improved upon. Remember me saying in my earlier post that the Isabella represented the single greatest improvement in sound quality during my test? A whole other level of trancendence was added by playback of the high-definition DVD through the rival DAC. (The Isabellina cannot deal with it). Alas, you are right, though, I think, assuming that recordings in hi-res will be slow to arrive in any kind of numbers.

[Fork]

I will concur on the hi-def files.  We did some A/B listening with our audio club and 24/192 blew the standard redbook away, in a night and day fashion.  Actually, there are some new engineering techniques using redbook specs that give some surprising results.  Most of the vinyl freaks agreed that the supremacy of vinyl tone is going to be eclipsed.  However, we were listening to the Weiss Minerva; the Weiss costs 2x the Isabellina and 3x the addition to the Isabella preamp.  If I could get a minimum number of my favorite albums in hi-def files (like SACD), then I'd get it, but I think we're at least 2-3 years away.  If possible, I'd love to see a board upgrade in a few years for my Isabella DAC, to handle these files.