This is a 2 part review. The first gives a some background on what led to the upgrades, so you can skip to the 2nd part to save some time if you wish.
A few weeks ago, my Ultra 550 amp blew a fuse. I looked around the house and all I could find was an 8A slow blow. That blew when I turned the power on, so I called Frank. We discussed the possibilities and decided it was best to send the amp in for repair. I had been considering the Ultra+ upgrade for my Ultra SL preamp, and decided it was a good time to send that in as well since I would be ampless.
Frank received my equipment, which was thankfully in good condition after being shipped with UPS. I was glad I had kept the original packaging. This is the email he sent soon after:
“We have bench tested your amplifier and could not find any problems with it.
We did replace the main high current high voltage power supply board even though the diodes checked OK as did the big power supply capacitors. This was the most likely suspect.”
My amp was under warranty, so this didn’t cost me anything other than shipping. I recently went to radioshack though, and bought the proper size fuses so this mistake wouldn’t happen again.
Frank installed my preamp in his personal system with Salk HT3s. It was so cool to have the owner of AVA using my equipment in his own stereo while speaking to him on the phone. This type of service is extremely rare, and is one reason why I don’t ever see myself moving away from AVA equipment. Frank listened to my preamp and said that is sounded “hot”, and that the Ultra+ upgrade would definitely be worthwhile.
While this was going on, I decided to have Frank upgrade my Ultra 550 as well, to the Ultra+.
While my equipment was being upgraded, I used a Denon receiver in their places. The first time I turned it on; I actually got a feeling of disgust. It’s difficult to describe, but if you’ve ever accidentally seen a naked old man in the locker room at the gym, then you’ll understand my reaction to the sound of the Denon.
A few days later my amp and preamp were on their way back to me.
Review starts here:
I unpackaged my amp and preamp and looked them over. Everything looked good. I noticed that the sticker on the back of my preamp had been changed to show that it was now an Ultra +. I also looked at the sticker on the amp and noticed something strange. Instead of saying Ultra+ 550, it said Ultra+ Double 550. I emailed Frank to let him know there was a typo on the sticker, and that it shouldn’t say double. This was his response:
“Actually your amp is an Ultra+ Double 550. I checked the output devices while it was here and they are the double die parts. Evidently your amp originally got built as a Double 550 as a mistake here. No problem, its a good kind of mistake for us to make for the client.”
I thought to myself, “Wow a free double upgrade!!!”
It didn’t change the sound since it had always been a double 550, but it’s cool to know that now I had the best amp Frank makes.
Anyway, on to the short review of the sound.
The most noticeable change was to the volume control with the preamp. Previously, I did most of my listening with the knob around 9:00. I’m now using it closer to 11:00 to 12:00. The volume is also less twitchy when using the remote, and it’s much easier to control since I now have a wider range to adjust the volume. I asked Frank what caused this, and his response follows:
“One other thing, the increased volume control use is simply a factor of overall lower distortion which allows you to play louder without it sounding louder. The distortion was very low originally, but now it is varnishingly low.”
After paying attention to this for a few days, I believe what Frank said. I usually associate loud with distortion, and I had no idea that I was listening as loud as I was due to the lack of distortion. Since I realized this, I’ve decreased the volume to levels I used to listen, and fond that there is almost 0 fatigue now after hours and hours of listening.
Speaking of volume, another improvement with these upgrades is the low volume performance. I can play music at almost a whisper, and it still sound full. It sounds MUCH better than it had before the upgrades at these levels.
Bass was another very noticeable change. There appears to be less bass than there was before, but what bass is there is VERY CONTROLLED. It almost sounds like I went from an MTM to a 3 way speaker. It’s difficult to put into words, but if I didn’t know better, I’d assume there was another woofer hidden somewhere. This is what Frank had to say:
“The low frequency response is more linear and controlled and much higher definition. This is a trade-off with more bass, which you get with less control and higher distortion. The improvements we made did indeed noticeably reduce bass distortion, among other good things.”
The thing I noticed after the bass was the improvement of the mids. I was paying attention to how good the bass sounded, and noticed that on bass heavy tracks, the mids seemed to be less affected then before. In the past, I noticed that when the woofers have to play a lot of bass, the mid performance suffers. This is no longer the case. The mids are so clear and clean now. The best way to describe this, is that if you’ve ever listened to a 2 way speaker in full range, and then later crossed it over to a sub. Once the midrange and low frequency duties are separated, both the bass, and midrange make huge improvements. This is exactly what I experienced with these upgrades.
This review is running a little long, so I’ll just say that the highs are better than before. The main difference is how smooth and realistic they sound.
After everything mentioned above, the transparency is probably the biggest change I’ve noticed. My speakers simply disappear now. I hear absolutely no coloration. Everything sounds exactly as it should (to my ears and somewhat limited experience). Not sure if the upgrades had an impact, but the imaging seems to have improved too. It’s amazing to listen to an entire song either in the dark or with my eyes closed, and not once be able to point out exactly where my speakers are sitting.
I can’t say enough about Frank, his customer service, or these upgrades. Switching to AVA and Salk is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I have absolutely no regrets buying any of their equipment.
If you have an Ultra amp or preamp, I highly suggest letting Frank upgrade them for you. It’s worth every penny and you won’t be disappointed. This review really doesn't do them justice.
Thanks again Frank. I’m looking forward to many years of enjoyment with your equipment,
Kyle
