Busy day at Jason's (Arke Audio)

Thanks Andy. My wife thinks they look small too, so that's a big win.

You're welcome to pop over sometime - it doesn't sound the same as the old room! 😉

Wow, what an idyllic space to listen to your music. Congratulations on all the effort Jason.

Thanks for the wonderful and kind words Oli! It was a pleasure to welcome you and Steve today.

I need a bit longer to process what occurred today - I am still buzzing and can't quite believe what sounds we were hearing! I shall do a longer write up soon.

The system must've been pretty good if you actually enjoyed being subjected to Leonard Cohen! 😂

You are very lucky to have that system.

My head was wobbling today 😂

Crazy crazy sound.

Fabulous wasnt it.

Lunch was cracking too 😂

It's always a great day out.

What a fantastic looking room! Apparently fantastic sounding as well . 

Very interesting to read about your listening sessions!

It seems the Purifi has some serious synergy going on with the Vaders. That's interesting to me, since I thought the Purifis' biggest strength is the bass control. Since the Vaders have active bass, even a low power amp should do well with amplifying the rest of the drivers. 

Might it be a question of which amp has the lowest distortion? It seems unlikely to me that one could perceive a difference due to distortion when both amps have vanishingly low distortion numbers. Interesting stuff!

But again, that room... just fantastic!

/Karl

Really wonderful write up. Sounds like you had an amazing day and we have a system that goes to yet another level.

Congratulations Jason wonderful room which allows the music and systems within it become more than the sum of their parts.

Once again, a massive thanks to Oli and Steve for taking the time to travel over and join me for a day of tunes and some amplifier comparisons. I have spent some time processing what we heard and trying to gather my thoughts - there was a lot to process and, as ever, unpicking why certain synergies occur can take some unravelling.

Before yesterday my amp was a (John Sampson upgraded) Musical Fidelity A3.2cr power amp. It’s certainly a very decent and capable amp, but it is definitely the weak link in my current system (Cadenza Black, AT1010 Phonomac mk8SE arm, SP10 Panzerholz, Avalon phonostage, BT2 pre and Troels Gravesen CNO4/ARKE Vaders). It has served me well for a few years and certainly seen off various retail amps at many times the costs. It is, however, not on a par with the best the bespoke/DIY amp market can offer! Having already compared it to a 686 on two previous occasions I know my current MF amp is very outclassed. Some may be wondering: ‘Why don’t I have a 686 yet?’. After all, the 686 is an incredible amp and has proved itself in many systems on this forum and beyond. This may take some explaining and some unpicking of my experiences over the past few listening occasions…

The first time I compared the 686 to my MF it was a revelation! It was the first time Oli visited and on that day we essentially listened to Oli’s system on my Ekta speakers (now Oli’s Ektas). The synergy in my old room with the Ektas was sublime! The previous music room had some very unruly room modes and the iron grip and incredibly refined bass of the 686 was frankly perfect. Bass was perfectly balanced for the room and speakers.

Fast forward to Oli’s (and the 686s) next visit… Still in the last room (about 5m x 3m), but now with the Vaders. The 686 was again impeccable and completely outclassed my MF amp - my MF sounded veiled, lacklustre and congested in comparison. BUT…! Yep, there’s a BUT… Why didn’t I love it? Something about the 686 and Vaders wasn’t pulling on my heart strings and I couldn’t put my finger on it. My head could pick no fault, nothing was ‘wrong’ but something wasn’t ‘right’. The upgrade to the 686 was about a 3x cost increase and although worth it in my head something wasn’t right. This has confused me for some time and it wasn’t until yesterday that things became a little clearer!

As you know from above, Oli and Steve visited yesterday, and Oli brought his 686 and a Purifi amplifier. Oli has been writing about the Purifi for a few weeks and it has certainly done some good things in his system, but it hasn’t (in his room/system) dethroned his 686. It piqued my interest, not least because of its relatively affordable price - not as pricey as a 686 and only slightly more than my MF amp. Due to our house renovation, I certainly don’t have enough spare cash to justify a 686 (or beyond) at the moment - perhaps in years to come. I didn’t, however, expect the Purifi to be the amp for me. The Vaders have class D plate amps driving the 12” bass drivers and I do not think class D will be the best solution for the Mid/HF top enclosures. Most people seem to like class D on the bass, but other amps are generally preferred on the Midrange and HF. So, what about yesterday? What did I think?

I shall try not to repeat Oli too much, he has already explained things very well - here is my perspective. We opted not to do quick succession AB comparisons – instead we listened to an amp for an hour or so and tried lots of different music - we all got to hear music familiar to us. The 686 kicked off proceedings and spent about an 1.5hrs in the system. It was a fantastic listen - very precise, clean and transparent and the bass was incredibly tight and well controlled. The bass definition was incredible and it’s ability to unravel multiple bass lines in complex passages was fantastic. Separation, tone and balance were (for me) very good - nothing stood out as too prominent. However, it still wasn’t giving me the emotional response I was craving… Something wasn’t quite right. Yes, it bettered my MF in every respect, but I wanted more and didn’t know what.

As the listening session progressed I started to realise what was missing… Big caveat here! This is not a criticism of the 686, but more of an issue of synergy with my room, my speakers and my personal taste in music/presentation. When we played Robbie Robertson - Somewhere down the crazy river (a favourite test track of Steves) it sounded great, but I wanted a little more drive, weight and slam in the drums. They were incredibly well controlled and defined, but just lacked a little weight and believability. We also played Miles Davis - All Blues, I love Jazz so my next amp needs to nail Saxophones, drums, double bass and piano. Again, the 686 did a sterling job, but again (IMO) it lacked a little bit of low end energy I craved. All blues is punctuated by a cymbal strike which starts after a minute or so and continues through the piece - it is almost hypnotic and sounds wonderful as it sparkles and shimmers in the right channel. In my new room the clarity now is sufficient to hear the cymbal strike reverb and echo around the listening place and it is sublime! The 686 (perhaps still too cold) didn’t quite present this cymbal correctly for me - it had all the detail, but lacked a little shimmer, air and magic. Hard to describe, but it wasn’t there. Perhaps after a few more hours it would’ve nailed it? Maybe the 686 takes longer than other amps to come on song. As always, bake offs are never perfect and the ideal is to use a particular component for weeks or months before making any final decisions. A favourite test track of mine is a live recording of Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan singing ‘Woman like a Man’ live. It’s a track with real drive and energy and some sections are very layered with lots of information. This is a great test of any system and most systems fall short and fail to properly unravel the complex passages. The 686 again (IMO) lacked a little low end energy (with the Vaders in my room), the bass guitar was clearly audible but needed a little more weight to underpin the track. The track was extremely enjoyable but somehow lacked a little something to make it truly special.

After 1.5hrs hours of 686 we stopped briefly to make tea and then tried the Purifi. Many of the tracks were the same and we listened again for about 75-90 mins. Something was immediately different and more ‘right’ for me! The BASS, the BASS and the BASS! As Oli describes above, the bass is SO important - it is essential to underpin the track and add body, warmth (just the right amount) and texture. Anyone who has heard a PROPERLY AND PERFECTLY integrated sub will know what perfect bass does. The bass isn’t necessarily more prominent or dominant, but it should be realistic and tangible. Perfectly balanced bass pays massive dividends through the frequency range above - suddenly everything sounds right! Instruments not playing any bass frequencies sound fuller and more fleshed out, vocals have more body, soul and emotion. Even cymbal strikes and HFs seem to sparkle and shimmer more - they aren’t just there, but they have a presence and context in the recorded space. This all sounds like rubbish until you actually hear a perfectly integrated sub switched on and off. With the ‘right’ bass the soundstage is deeper, wider and everything within it comes alive. For me, this happened with the Purifi - bass synergy had arrived and everything else fell into place within an effortless realism. It was a sublime and rare experience. The 686 is incredible, but in my room/system that bass balance wasn’t quite right. As many know, the Vaders are fully tuneable below 100Hz, so perhaps some further work would help. Sadly we didn’t have a few days to tune everything for every amp.

We listened to many of the same tracks and everything just fell into place with the Purifi. With Robbie Robertson - Somewhere down the crazy river the drums had more presence and weight, they were more believable and tangible. Once this was improved, the guitar and vocals came alive a little more - it just sounded right. Miles Davis - All blues was more live and alive - I honestly don’t think the Purifi was bettering the 686 at midrange and HF… The Purifi with my speakers, in my room was nailing the bass. Not just nailing it, but producing better bass than I have ever heard anywhere! So deep, so controlled and so visceral - highly addictive. The Purifi just unravelled Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan playing ‘Woman like a man’ live. The complex passages were effortlessly layered and presented in a wonderfully coherent soundstage. So much more was easily audible and you could pick and choose what to follow. Listening became relaxing and more effortless. The Purifi was excelling (IMO) at everything we threw at it. We listened to side B of Morphine - Good, it was just fantastic! Drums and bass guitar had a real presence and the presentation of the recording space was just wonderful. The vocals and Saxophone were so right and everything just hung perfectly in space and sounded effortless. I love the double bass, drums and piano and the Purifi played GoGo Pengiun with absolute aplomb. The drums and double bass had such presence and a really believable quality. Getting the lower registers so right paid dividends with the piano - it sounded so full and tonally right, lower registers had real weight and energy. On the GoGo Penguin track ‘Wash’ the bass is absolutely jaw dropping - the gut wrenching, super controlled bass was phenomenal! I believe the double bass is bowed and then processed somehow (in a synth?) It sounds like a bowed double bass on steroids - incredible depth and texture. We listened to various tracks (Regina Spektor - Love Affair and one of Oli’s records) and the double bass was just perfect.

So why did the Purifi do so well (IMO) in my room and on my Vaders? Well, my speakers are certainly in a minority as they have active bass below 100Hz. Due to this, and the many hours of tuning, the bass response is abnormally flat compared to most speakers in most listening environments. Room constraints and room modes are a fact of life - I have measured many speakers in many rooms and all (passive) speakers in rooms have accentuated frequencies within the bass frequency range. Yes, there will be exceptions, but I’ve not heard/measured any yet. In most environments, the additional bass lift can be very welcome - some people love a bass lift at 40Hz or perhaps a little more energy at 80-100Hz. It certainly isn’t a bad thing and the ear/brain tends to compensate extremely well. Due to weeks of tuning and up to 350mm of bass traps in my room, the bass has a good foundation to start. Perhaps the room was overdamped for the bass presentation of the 686? I know in other rooms the impeccable control of the 686 can really help to tame some room modes - it certainly did with my (previous) Ektas in my old music room. The Purifi keeps the impeccable control, but somehow adds more presence and energy in my room. This, in turn, has noticeable and not insubstantial gains throughout the frequency range. Pianos, guitars and vocals have more body and presence, HF is more alive and shimmering.

Why did a class D amp work so well on my Vaders yesterday??? Surely, as mentioned above, the ideal may be class D on the bass and something else (less ‘class D’) on the midrange and HF? Well, with the Vaders it ain’t that easy! Yes, they are two enclosures and the lower does ONLY bass, however, the upper enclosure does not ONLY do midrange and treble. The upper enclosure (tweeter, 6” mid/bass, 8” mid/bass) is effectively a 2.5 way speaker. Neither the 6” driver nor the 8” driver have a high pass filter in the crossover. Both mid/bass drivers are allowed to go as deep into the bass frequencies as they can. Due to the enclosure designs they are rolled off naturally at a higher frequency than most ported bass systems. The 6” driver is in a sealed enclosure so it rolls off naturally below 100Hz - it is definitely involved in the upper bass and has some influence (albeit small) in the mid-bass. The 8” driver is in a ported enclosure with aperiodic tuning (the port is stuffed with acoustilux), so it rolls off naturally from around 80 Hz, but still has a reasonable influence in the mid-bass. Both the 8” and 6” drivers add definition and (a little) extra weight in the bass frequencies. The 12” driver is definitely doing the heavy lifting, but the upper enclosure has a big influence on the bass. This is why I believe the class D is still shining on the Vaders. That extra bass control, grip and presence is paying dividends on the upper enclosure. Getting the bass right has got everything right.

Is the Purifi better than the 686? NO! In my system, in my room, YES. However, I believe the outcome will vary greatly from one situation (room, system and person) to another. In Oli’s room with his system (and Oli’s preferences) he prefers the 686.

Will I still have the Purifi in a year or two? Probably not! Don’t get me wrong, it is amazing and certainly the best option for me at the moment. I simply do not have the funds to better it - if anyone can offer a better option for £1k I’m all ears! For now I’ll be listening with a huge smile on my face and may well change when something better presents itself (and funds allow).

Thanks for reading my rather long report!

what is the rational for this? It makes no sense to me. Even with the natural roll off your still feeding those low frequencies to the drivers and that's surely going to compromise their performance in the frequencies they are supposed to reproduce?

I guess Troels has a reason or justification, do you know what it is?

Your room looks fantastic btw

Just finished reading all the comments from the 3 Amigo's and very interesting it was too.

So, you are now the proud owner of the Purifi amp I assume so enjoy the good times as they say

I wouldn't rush to shift the Purifi. Your system took on a whole new lease of life the second we played that first track with it in the system.

There isn't even any benefit in going for the more powerful modules as they are not needed with your speakers.

Simply incredible sound. Still wobbling my head at it.

Just for the hell of it… more pics

I'll sort the Townshends one day Dave. Hope you are well.

After a busy week, I’m just playing catch up with a few words of my own on the visit to Jason’s.

My formative years for listening to music, began in the early to mid 70s.
Brilliant music coming from the likes of Floyd, Led Zep, Van Morrison, Lindisfarne, Focus, The Who, etc etc

Whenever a new album came out however, me and my friends always reckoned you had to listen to it at least 2,3 or even 4 times before getting ‘into it’.
Of course in the digital age, this luxury or indulgence fell away and instant gratification was required.

Now I’ve particularly found difficulty with this way of appreciating music with different systems. Instant gratification became just listening to one track and then swiftly moving on.
It’s not a great way to enjoy music.
In fact I’ve often gone long periods of not even bothering to listen.. just lost that feeling of being ‘grabbed’.

However just occasionally I’ll hear music through a system that despite not being familiar with the music, it can cut through and engage me. Much like it did after ‘getting into’ an album as an 18 year old.

So when I first heard the Ektas in Oliver’s system, I was immediately taken by that feeling of being drawn into whatever was being played. I ordered the Ektas from Jason pretty much straight away. Hell, I even got Oli to build me a 686, having experimented with a few other amps. Addiction is a serious thing but I’d got addicted to being drawn into the music..
It’s paid off.. I’m drawn into all sorts of familiar and not so familiar music these days. Particularly on vinyl.. I’m still chasing the dragon digitally.

So when Jason said he was auditioning amps to pair with his Vaders in his new music room… Christmas came early.
We’ve seen the room so no need to explore further.

Listening to the Vaders driven by the 686 was rather wonderful. The low frequency stuff can be felt, but not overpowering that is sometimes the case. The LF underpinned everything. The soundstage and dynamics superior to that which I experience in my basement system.
Jason’s system demonstrates a musical coherence that just sounded ‘right’.

I have a favourite test track, which despite having played several million times, I still adore the music. It’s Somewhere Down the Crazy River by Robbie Robertson. Produced by Daniel Lanois, and it’s a swampy atmospheric beautiful piece of work. Robbie sings the chorus, but the verses are spoken word …in his drawling deep gravelly voice. The production lets all aspects of the musical elements shine through.
So hearing this through the Vaders with a 686 was a revelation (compared with my system and room)

So cutting to the chase, when the 686 was replaced by the Purify I was interested to hear this track again.
What I heard was a tad mind blowing.
I was an 18 year old again (ok I know, I know.. it wasn’t produced until I was 30 but you get the picture). Totally absorbed.
It wasn’t just all the detail and soundstage the 686 had produced, but that was there but much much more…a degree of separation of everything that enabled you to listen in far more detail to all aspects of the music enveloping the room. Done with dynamics and finesse combined.
Robbie Robertson was breathing those lyrics from the heart..(is that physically possible?- I know what I mean)

This was all rather unexpected. Physically the 686 has a much bigger case than the diminutive Purify. So it’s gonna sound better right? Well, not with the Vaders.
The small little box was blowing the doors off. Not literally..
Maybe it’s another case of system synergy.. I leave the technical rationale to those who can.
I’d tried out some Nord monoblock NC500 class d amps in my system which sounded decided average compared with the Neurochrome 686. Maybe I expected something similar. Nothing could be further from the truth.

That feeling of wanting to carry on listening to a track continued with all the music played with the Purify. In fact it made me want to explore some music even more (Morphine/Good).
Stunning stuff.

If you get the chance, let Jason show you what’s possible.