World
Premiere
Acousticbuoy Scorpio Linestage Preamplifier
Very competitive with others within its price range.
Review By Tom Lyle
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I distinctly remember trips to
the local audio salons in my younger days when one could only dream of
owning the opulent audio jewelry that sat upon their racks and shelves in
the back rooms where they kept their more expensive gear. The salespeople
at these boutiques must have thought I was a pain in the neck when I would
ask all of my naïve questions, not to mention my fly-on-the-wall presence
when they demonstrated equipment to potential customers. Sure, there was
more than a decent system at home, especially given my tender age. I
thought that this unobtainable gear that they were selling was something
to aspire to, and rationalized that my presence at the store was justified
because one day, one day, I would be a good customer. But for now, this
magnificent sounding gear was out of my league. This was not only because
of the price of the equipment, which might as well been a million dollars
given what they were asking for it, but adding to this sense of
exclusiveness was what was experienced when I approached these components
and laid my hands upon them.
Even in these relatively early days of
high-end audio, when I turned the knobs and nudged the switches, these
rock-solid, precise, and what I perceived as the futuristic
feel of these refined instruments was almost (I said almost) as good as
the sound that oozed forth. Jaded oldster that I am I have become
accustomed to such gear not only in audio showrooms, but taking up space
on my equipment racks in my listening rooms in my home. Yet I couldn't
help but recall those more innocent days when I first laid my hands upon
the Acousticbuoy Scorpio preamplifier. Here were those sensations – the
almost velvety response of the stepped volume control and source selector,
and the precision and solidity of the small toggle switches that grace its
front panel. Adding to this was the machined front panel of the unit with
its text carved into the metal (no stencils or decals here) and its
diagonal striations, all of which separate this component from the run of
the mill. Needless to say I realize that the sound of a piece of equipment
is more important than anything it might or might not look like, and
thankfully the Scorpio did not disappoint in this essential area.
It
was kind of nice – I received the Scorpio preamplifier from the
manufacturer Acousticbuoy knowing absolutely nothing about this component
other than that it was being shipped from
Canada
. Before opening the box I didn't even have time to go to the Acousticbuoy
website to check out its specs, pedigree, or, well…anything. Like I
said, the preamp looked very nice in its solid 17 inch by 4 inch by 13.5
inch grey metal enclosure with thick faceplate, and it was quite weighty,
too, at about 24 pounds. The Acousticbouy Scorpio
front panel controls and back-panel were very utilitarian.
O
Surprise!
After listening through the Scorpio for a few days,
I finally logged onto their website. Surprise, surprise, the Scorpio
preamp is powered by vacuum tubes, a 2AU7 and a 6C4 for each channel.
Acousticbuoy also claims excellent specs for its unit, with very good
numbers for channel separation and its signal-to-noise ratio. Its low
noise is claimed to be in part due to its dual-mono design and its
top-quality internal components. The aluminum cabinet is "hermetically"
sealed, and is claimed to eliminate radio frequency interference (RFI).
The "instrument grade" "rigorously matched" non-magnetic components are
mounted on four layer circuit boards designed to eliminate interference
from the AC power, which is meant to further enhance both the channel
separation and the signal-to-noise ratio.
I used the Scorpio in two different systems for a period
of a couple of months. Whether the signal passed through it to a 250 wpc
amp driving electrostatic speakers or floorstanders, or that signal went
to 70 wpc amps driving two-way stand-mounted monitors, its behavior
remained stable. And as it turns out, its performance was undeniably
impressive. But I did the bulk of my evaluation with it in my main system
where it drove either a solid-state 250 wpc Krell KAV-250a or a 250 Wpc
hybrid conrad-johnson ET250S. The analog front end consisted of a Basis
Debut or Artimus SA-1 turntable, both with a Lyra Helikon cartridge
mounted on a Tri-Planar 6 or VII tonearm.
Phono preamplification responsibilities were handled by
a Lehmann Black Cube SE with its substantial outboard power supply or the
internal phono section of a Balanced Audio Technology VK-3i preamplifier.
Digital was played through Arcam, Oppo, and Benchmark gear, and the
speakers were Sound Lab Dynastats or THIEL 2.4SEs which were at times
assisted by a Velodyne subwoofer. Interconnects and power cable were by
Virtual Dynamics and MIT, and all the power cables other than the
amplifiers were plugged into a PS Audio Power Plant A/C regenerator, with
a second unit used when the Basis turntable was used (the Artimus has its
own outboard power supply). The subwoofer's power cable was plugged into a
Chang Lightspeed power conditioner, and the whole shebang fed into two
dedicated 20-amp lines using Virtual Dynamics wall receptacles. Much of
the equipment was situated on an Arcici Suspense equipment rack, and the
room was treated with Echobusters acoustic panels.
Mighty
After living with the Acousticbuoy Scorpio in my
system for only a short while, it was apparent that this preamp was a
sonic chameleon, adapting to each recording as needed. I guess that's just
another way of saying that this unit was very transparent, and when it
comes to any audio component that is the highest praise I can pay. One
moment I would think that the Scorpio was a mighty brute, the next I
thought its sound was adept at revealing the most delicate of tonal
gradations. When listening to small scale ensembles, each note seemed to
be a patent representation of the artist's or recording engineer's intent,
and the importance of each note played was instantly recognizable. A
perfect example of this would be on works such as string quartet
recordings, and I spent quite some time listening to my favorite
recordings of The Julliard String Quartet, which included selections from
a perfect condition Bartok LP box set on
Columbia
and works of Janacek and Berg on a Sony CD. So when the Scorpio was in the
system, as long as the players were adept (which is certainly true of the
Julliard) and the recording was up to it (and even if it to a certain
extent wasn't such as the only passable quality of the Columbia LPs), I
would be drawn into the piece. The Scorpio's midrange was extremely
detailed, the yet at the same time had warmth, which might sound like I'm
describing a sound that is less than transparent (and a bit of a
contradiction in terms) – but it isn't – it is just that it added to
the natural reproduction of timbre that passes for the real thing, given
the rest of the system is up to it.
Yet the Scorpio could also strut its stuff on overblown
rock, as evident in the amazing Classic Records re-issue of The Who's Live
at Leeds, where 90 percent of the album pushes the envelope
when it comes to riding the thin line between the highest volume that can
be reproduced on an LP and an overloaded signal. But when the band quiets
down and becomes almost introspective on the improvisations during the
middle section of My Generation,
one can easily hear the guitar amp's hum and the dissimilarity of the
master tape's hiss and the tape echo's hiss when it was used on Townsend's
guitar. When the band turned up the volume (again, that's an
understatement) the macrodynamic slam of the Scorpio made the air in the
room turn thick with maximum rock ‘n' roll.
Not comfortable with the musical example above? OK,
then. I'll talk about time spent listening to Bruckner's Eighth
Symphony conducted by Gunther Wand on RCA which is one of my
favorite versions of this monumental work. Usually his more moderate Fourth
Symphony is recommended as a starting point for those not
familiar with Bruckner's power orchestral works, but it was his Eighth
that introduced me to his work, and I think it best flaunts his gifts as a
genius of orchestration. The power of the orchestra going all out on the
second movement's Scherzo tested the limits of the speakers (and me), yet both
during this movement and the more sedate third movement Adagio
the Acousticbuoy Scorpio made crystal clear the acoustics of Northern
Germany's Lübeck Cathedral. They were mind-blowing, as was the entire
performance by Wand and the NDR Orchestra of Hamburg. As the orchestra
quietly introduces the piece, the only evidence that this is a live
recording is the unobtrusive stirring and coughing that can just barely be
heard beneath the music. As the piece begins the vibrating strings create
tension as different sections and soloists take turns with recurring
melodies throughout the expansive soundstage, and the acoustic of the hall
is evident in both the quiet solos and as the orchestra swells. During the
solos, one of many of the Scorpios' positive vacuum tube characteristics
are revealed by slightly increasing the dynamic distance (the space
between the soloist and the orchestra), and a greater sense of real humans
playing real instruments in a real space. And even though this midrange is
lush, it is not unnaturally so, and there is absolutely no loss in detail.
The string's pizzicatos in the introduction (and later in the piece) also
show off the hall's acoustics, in addition to the preamplifier's midrange
warmth. The highs are sweet and at the same time extended, and are
virtually a paradigm of the best that modern tube electronics have to
offer.
In the March 2009 issue of the Review Magazine I wrote
about the conrad-johnson ET250S hybrid power amplifier where I
spent some time comparing two different re-issues of Yes' Fragile album that was originally released in 1972. Since
then I've been spending what much seem to be an inordinate amount of time
listening to the 13 disc (7 CDs and 6 DVDs) box set of the Peter
Gabriel-era Genesis 1970-1975.
To what do we owe to this plethora of great early to mid 1970s British
prog rock? What's next, hi-rez Bruford-era King Crimson? I hope so (sort
of). Anyway, up to now the best versions of these primo Genesis albums
have been on vinyl, namely the superb Classic Records re-issues. The 24-bit/96kHz
DVD-Audio... as as decoded by the Benchmark DAC1PRE in this new set
definitely give the wax issues a run for their money. Which ones you might
prefer (given you like this pompous genre of rock in the first place)
might come down to which format you prefer at the moment, and perhaps the
quality of the equipment they're played back on. But what might tip the
scales might be whether you dig the re-mix job they've done to these
classics on the new digital versions.
The Scorpio did a fantastic job at sorting out the
complex song structures that made this era of Genesis famous. No, these
aren't perfect recordings, these newly remixed versions were obviously EQ'd
to the max, and yet the overall sound of the tapes still remains a little
murky. But this darkness was no fault of the preamp --the Scorpio was just
letting me hear exactly what was on the discs. But when I think of the
crappy pressings I used to put up with when these albums were first
released, the new mixes are pretty cool. The Scorpio was very revealing,
and let me hear deep, deep into the mix. It was even able to extract a
soundstage out of the relatively two-dimensional multi-tracks. So, even
though the original tapes weren't of reference quality, the Scorpio really
showed its strengths sorting out the complex instrumental arrangements
within complex the song structures. Macrodynamics were put on display with
explosive non-distorted bursts, and at the same time, small details were
evident such as the digital signal processing used to improve the
condition of the original tapes. When vocals and other instruments played
during quite passages, it was easy to hear the digital noise gates turn on
and off – the hiss beneath Gabriel's voice quickly faded during his
silence between words and phrases.
Worth
The only sonic fault I could find with this preamp
was subtractive; the lowest of the lowest bass wasn't reproduced with the
same ability as compared to some other similarly priced units. But in many
systems this won't even be noticed, and as long as a system isn't lacking
in this area in the first place, it also should be a problem. The only
other faults of the Acousticbouy Scorpio preamplifier are a matter of
compatibility with the rest of one's system – three inputs might not be
enough for some, and the lack of balanced inputs and outputs, remote
control, and the lack of a tape loop might be issues for some. But aside
from these quibbles, I think the Acousticbuoy Scorpio line-stage
preamplifier is a fine piece of high-end gear, and very competitive with
others within its price range, and more -- the "more" being its tactile
pleasure and other intangibles that add to the impression that spending
this kind of money on a preamp is not for naught.
Specifications
Type: Vacuum tube preamplifier
Tube Compliment: Two 12AU7 and two 6C4
Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Noise Level, dB (A): -90.6 dB
Dynamic Range, dB (A): 91.2 dB
THD+N: 0.035% IMD + Noise, %: 0.064%
Channel Separation: -78.6 dB (1 kHz)
Maximum Output Level: 25V RMS/ THD+N: 0.26%
Input Impedance: 250K Ohms
Inputs: Three pair RCA
Outputs: One pair RCA
Power Consumption: 12 Watts
Weight: 24 lbs.
Dimension: 17x 4 x 3.5 (WxHxD in inches)
Price: $6600
Company Information
Acousticbuoy Products, Inc.
10 Northolt Cres.
Markham
Ontario L3R 6P5
Canada
E-mail: sales@acousticbuoy.ca
Website: www.acousticbuoy.ca