Sound Dragon
Yawns and sets his couch on fire!
I have been on a self-imposed and strategic retreat from higher-end gear lately. After building what I consider the finest system to date, with Pass labs and Goldmund as well as Mytek and a few companies who’s gear graced my system. I have come to a place where I want to focus more on Music and less on the gear. I also wanted a simpler system that my Family could use without fear of damaging something expensive. My criteria for this change became simple for simplicity's sake. My criteria were also simple. It had to have a remote. It had to be an integrated amplifier. It had/has to sound good (to me).
Over Thanksgiving weekend, I received my first contender. The Plinius Hautonga in black. The Specs and details are available on their website. http://www.pliniusaudio.com/en/Plinius_Range/Integrated_Amplifiers/Hautonga.html .
I am still evaluating it and have not drawn any final conclusions. It is my deepest desire to be able to live with it for all of next year. I do plan to have another option as a back up at some point and if a good deal comes along, I will, of course, take it! But overall I want less gear and more music for 2020.
Upon arrival, it was quite cold and so I let it acclimate for a day. Upon first powering it up, it sounded terrible. Like it hadn’t been played before or for a long time. I honestly thought I had made a terrible mistake. As the night wore on, it opened up A bit and I began to hear the promise of better sound to come. I played it all weekend long with holiday music in the house as my wife was in a festive mood. By the third night, I sat down to listen critically once again. It was much better this time around. It seems this amp likes to be warmed up before play. Very Class "A" like. I could probably leave it on or on stand by for the best sound.
Aesthetically, the remote is the heftiest and borderline ridiculous thing I have ever seen in a remote. That said, I cannot claim that Plinius went cheap with their remote at all. The thing is like an aluminum baton. In the plus column, it is functional and difficult to lose. And also refreshing compared to some of the sorry excuses some companies offer for remotes these days.
This Hautonga is black-faced, and I almost wished I had splurged a bit more for the Silver. Silver models command a bit of a premium on the used market. I have always preferred silver faced gear in the past over black. But since I want the gear to live in a designated stereo cabinet, it really is not that critical any longer. I need to get over myself with the color.
It is still too soon to get a full grip on what I am hearing, but I can say that I like it. It is very musical and non-fatiguing. It handles complex and dynamic music very well. I have found it to have very authoritative and authentic bass. It handles low-level volume very well but really shines at moderate to loud volume.
The Hautonga handles the Aerial Acoustic 10Ts with an authority that reminds me very much of my former Krell KSA-250. It can also get warm to borderline hot when the volume goes up. all. Comparisons to Class A in both sound signature and operating temperature. It makes sense however as the Aerials can present a challenging load for most amplifiers, especially as the volume goes up. But the Amp has no apparent issues with them and takes it all in stride. It thinks it’s a Class A amp and I am not going to dissuade it from the notion.
The Hautonga is not as revealing and transparent as my previous Pass/Goldmund combination. But that is also kind of the point in this endeavor. A simple system that sounds good. So far, I am digging this amp. I hope it continues as I would love for it to stay put so I can focus on the music.
Listening to Art Blakey “A Night in Tunisia” and my toes are tapping while I am typing. So far so good!
Over Thanksgiving weekend, I received my first contender. The Plinius Hautonga in black. The Specs and details are available on their website. http://www.pliniusaudio.com/en/Plinius_Range/Integrated_Amplifiers/Hautonga.html .
I am still evaluating it and have not drawn any final conclusions. It is my deepest desire to be able to live with it for all of next year. I do plan to have another option as a back up at some point and if a good deal comes along, I will, of course, take it! But overall I want less gear and more music for 2020.
Upon arrival, it was quite cold and so I let it acclimate for a day. Upon first powering it up, it sounded terrible. Like it hadn’t been played before or for a long time. I honestly thought I had made a terrible mistake. As the night wore on, it opened up A bit and I began to hear the promise of better sound to come. I played it all weekend long with holiday music in the house as my wife was in a festive mood. By the third night, I sat down to listen critically once again. It was much better this time around. It seems this amp likes to be warmed up before play. Very Class "A" like. I could probably leave it on or on stand by for the best sound.
Aesthetically, the remote is the heftiest and borderline ridiculous thing I have ever seen in a remote. That said, I cannot claim that Plinius went cheap with their remote at all. The thing is like an aluminum baton. In the plus column, it is functional and difficult to lose. And also refreshing compared to some of the sorry excuses some companies offer for remotes these days.
This Hautonga is black-faced, and I almost wished I had splurged a bit more for the Silver. Silver models command a bit of a premium on the used market. I have always preferred silver faced gear in the past over black. But since I want the gear to live in a designated stereo cabinet, it really is not that critical any longer. I need to get over myself with the color.
It is still too soon to get a full grip on what I am hearing, but I can say that I like it. It is very musical and non-fatiguing. It handles complex and dynamic music very well. I have found it to have very authoritative and authentic bass. It handles low-level volume very well but really shines at moderate to loud volume.
The Hautonga handles the Aerial Acoustic 10Ts with an authority that reminds me very much of my former Krell KSA-250. It can also get warm to borderline hot when the volume goes up. all. Comparisons to Class A in both sound signature and operating temperature. It makes sense however as the Aerials can present a challenging load for most amplifiers, especially as the volume goes up. But the Amp has no apparent issues with them and takes it all in stride. It thinks it’s a Class A amp and I am not going to dissuade it from the notion.
The Hautonga is not as revealing and transparent as my previous Pass/Goldmund combination. But that is also kind of the point in this endeavor. A simple system that sounds good. So far, I am digging this amp. I hope it continues as I would love for it to stay put so I can focus on the music.
Listening to Art Blakey “A Night in Tunisia” and my toes are tapping while I am typing. So far so good!
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