I am impressed by Consonance products, especially the Cyber10s and the Cyber880A, The point of me it can not solve all my wants for a more powerful amplifier to drive my loudspeaker, so I ask a request to Consonance if it is possible to design a pair of monoblocks using the 880A chassis with 8 full music 2A3 tubes per side, and tube rectification. Then I got answer it is not a short program, we have to take patience to waiting, anyway, I appreciate this is not a “Ready by tomorrow” project, I accept they will be ready when they are ready.
After more than four month waiting, the new amps have finally arrived. I was rather
stunned to see that they have a completely new chassis and are deeper than the
Cyber 880A on which they are based. This is to accommodate the 4 Rectifier Tubes
per side. This makes them rather big, but it is amazing that Consonance would be
happy to go to all the trouble to design and make a completely new amplifier, as a one
off for me. They no doubt hoped there would be more, but making an all new prototype
does not mean that it is going to sound like I hoped it would. I am very relieved to say
that IT DOES. This amp is a revelation. I had previously compared the Cyber 880A, which
impressed me greatly, at its price point, especially with the Full Music Tubes. Comparing
it with the Cyber 845S with the impressive 845B tubes. (This is a fantastic amplifier and is
amongst my best sellers), the 845S were clearly better than the Cyber880A, even with the
Full Music tubes. This is to be expected. The 845S are a completely "No Compromise"
design, and are Monoblocks, each one weighing as much as the 880A does as a stereo
amplifier. It was my hope that the new Monoblocks would be closer, or even comparable
with the 845S in sound quality, but with heaps more power. If they had been in the same
sonic class as the amazing Stereo Knights (Sadly no longer available) then I would have
been thrilled.
This didn't happen. What did happen was that the Cyber 880AM Monoblocks thrash
the 845S, and I am positive that they are better even than the Stereo Knights. These are
pretty well easily the second best amplifier that I have ever heard. (Nothing beats the CAT).
I started running them in, in my Big Room so I could shut the door on the noise, but almost
straight away I was surprised at what I was hearing in there. The soundstage width was
amazing, and I started to wonder if I had ever heard inner detail like that.
I lugged them into my Lounge Room this morning and connected them up to the Reference
Epitome Towers and the R1.3 as a Pre and the Droplet CD5 and Audio Aero La Fontaine.
I am very sensitive to sound in that room, as I do all my design and evaluation in there, but
straight away it was obvious that this was a whole new Ball Game. A good customer called
in to pick up his new centre speaker, which was going with his Reference Eclipse Towers
and Cyber 845s and Droplet. He was as stunned as I was. I then swapped back to the
Cyber 845S and we were both stunned. One of the most detailed, openly transparent and
musical amplifier I have ever heard suddenly sounded a bit clouded and congested. It
always amazes me how ordinary something exceptional can sound, once it has been
bettered. Now one was great, where the other was just stunning. The inner detail, the
soundstage width and precision and the clarity of each note, and the silence around them,
and decay of instruments in the recording room were stunning. I love these things, and am
now very confident that they can fill the gap between the Cyber845S and the CAT. (Which is
a big one financially) They are also a great replacement for the Stereo Knights who's passing
was a great loss to me and many customers. Sometimes things do go right. These amps are
quite affordable with the normal Electro Harmonic A3As, a bit less so with the Full Music tubes,
but I couldn't go any other way. I must really thank Consonance for following through with my
(now) brilliant foresight and for making such an impressively awesome product.
——Wrotten by Greg Osborn |
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