Winsome Mouse Amp review thread

Still awaiting arrival of the mouse.

Lastest info from Canada Post:

2007/10/29 20:57 MONTREAL, QC Item accepted and entered into sortation plant
 
Still awaiting arrival of the mouse.

Lastest info from Canada Post:

2007/10/29 20:57 MONTREAL, QC Item accepted and entered into sortation plant

Bummer. Let's hope the sortation plant spits it out soon.
 
The sortation plant very likely has. It won't show a scan again until after the amp is in Tennessee.
 
Canada Post doesn't have the snappiest tracking system in the world but clearing US Customs really slows things down. Shouldn't be too much longer though.
 
For BroonsBane:

winsome3.jpg
 
Thanks go to BroonsBane for his great packing!

Over the past few days, I've tried our wee little Mouse with three different pairs of speakers, listening to a variety of music ranging from traditional bluegrass to jazz to metal:

1. Klipsch La Scala (DH Labs Silver Sonic T-14 cable, Monster Cable Interlink 300 Mk II interconnects, Rega Planet)

Replacing an Almarro A205A MK III 5 WPC SEP, the Mouse turned out to be quite a surprise, esp. given it's small size. Even with the La Scalas high sensitivity, the Mouse was as quiet, as well...a mouse. Any setting on the volume control above 10 o'clock was blisteringly loud. I found a good listening level between 8 and 9 o'clock.

The lower bass was good, the upper bass was slightly bloated, the midrange was excellent, and the highs were fair, with a touch of grain in the upper ranges of treble. This etchiness faded somewhat after about a half-hour of warm up. The Winsome didn't have the upper sparkle and openness of the Almarro, however, it's bass remained tighter than the Almarro's at higher listening levels. The Mouse's sound seemed to harden slightly during highly dynamic passages.

2. B&W DM 602 s2 (Lovan Jazz 18" shot-filled stands, Wire King 14g zip cable, DH Labs BL-1 interconnects, Musical Fidelity X-10 v3, Musical Fidelity A3)

Replacing a McIntosh MC 502, results were very similar to those of the La Scala. I heard the same slight upper bass bloat and high treble grain. However, while turning the Mouse's volume control to around the 12 to 1 o'clock position, I noticed that it simply got louder, with no change in it's sonic character nor audibly increased distortion. Again, I heard some hardening of the sound during super dynamic passages. Compared to the MC 502, the Winsome had less weight on the bottom and was brighter on the top.

3. Dynaco A-25 (with Morel MDT-20 tweeters and Dayton 1% caps, same front end as #2)

To my ears, this was the most enjoyable pairing. The Dynacos loved the Mouse. The sonic anomalies I had heard with the other speakers weren't as evident with the A-25. Perhaps because of their soft-domed tweeters, which aren't as revealing as the B&W, the upper treble was not nearly as harsh. This combo would get loud, without compressing. The bass, although not super deep given the Dynacos size, was very smooth, and the bloat was not as pronounced. I was astonished at how good they sounded together.

Regarding the build quality of the Mouse, I feel it could use more substantial binding posts which will readily accept banana plugs. Although upgradeable, the volume control doesn't have the highest quality feel to it. If one uses heavy cabling or interconnects, the mouse will easily move at the touch of a finger. A few dabs of blu-tack took care of this. Also, the Mouse "popped" slightly upon power up with every combo I tried.

Overall, I was quite impressed with the Winsome Mouse. It would be ideal for building a small system for the bedroom or office where space may be limited. It has more than enough power to push most speakers to adequate listening levels without straining. When considering speakers for the Mouse, one may want to choose soft-dome tweeters, which, to my ears, tamed it's inherent upper treble sizzle.

I had fun playing around with this little amp. Congratulations to Winsome for putting so much good sound into such a small package.

Thanks for allowing me to audition the Mouse.

winsome5.jpg


Regards,

Ken

Cableguy, I'll be sending it your way Wednesday, probably Fed-Ex ground. I'll PM the tracking number.
 
I did want to mention something that Ken said about the pot. The one in the review amp is an ALPS Blue Velvet. Granted, it doesn't *feel* like a quality item, but it is. Both channels track very accurately, which is something you won't get with all stereo pots. Jay does offer a Panasonic pot with a nylon shaft for a bit less money that may feel smoother.
 
I did want to mention something that Ken said about the pot. The one in the review amp is an ALPS Blue Velvet.

Thanks for the clarification, Celt. That said, I had no problems at all with channel balance, regardless of the volume setting.
 
The Mouse if off to the Tarheel state to visit Cableguy and crew.

Shipped FedEx 2 day air, tracking # 8616 8627 3990.

Enjoy, Bill!:music:

Ken
 
Got the Mouse on Friday evening and had an opportunity to audition her on Sunday, all day..... I am not going to write a long & detailed review. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed the performance of this incredibly small amp. The pictures don't really convey the actual size....she's very small. To me that added an additional "Coolness factor".
Having owned several T class amps and several chip amps I was already accustomed to the liquid-effortless mid range capabilities that IMO these amps excel at. The Mouse was no exception in this regard. Smooth, detailed and very live.
I played her all day Sunday and was never disappointed in the performance.
The gear used:
Pioneer Elite DVD hooked up direct
Fried Q's
DCM CX-27's
DCM Time frame 600's

thanks AK for this unique opportunity to audition this very cool piece of equipment. Walker she's headed your way next, enjoy my friend.


Bill
 
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