Audio Mirror WAVE Tube Preamplifier and Addiction SET amplifiers - AUDITION REVIEW

We recently had the opportunity to audition the Audio Mirror WAVE linestage preamplifier and Addiction SET amplifiers and I thought it might be useful to leave some feedback impressions, especially since many of us don't get the opportunity to hear all of the boutique-quality brands out there.

For some background, we have had an Audio Mirror DAC for the past 3-4 years. We started with the Tubadour III, upgraded to the IV and then to the V, before purchasing the WAVE DAC about two months ago.  It's been very rewarding experience, both on the component side as well as working with Vlad at Audio Mirror. Professional, responsive, courteous, and a passionate craftsman.

Years back, we got on the modded CD player train with Alex Peychev (APL) and have seen the value of a small company run by someone with an endless pursuit of musical bliss. Of course, what "musical bliss" means can vary dramatically, but I will say that the improvements in the Tubadour upgrades were more than sufficient for us to move to the WAVE DAC. And once again, we very happy that we did. We being myself and my wife, who is an avid audiophile herself, with impeccable taste and a remarkable ability to distill what she is hearing into pristine descriptors.

I have to thank Vlad for the opportunity to listen to the preamplifier and amplifiers, and will now give you our impressions.

The specs and product descriptions can be found on the Audio Mirror website, so I will say only that the preamplifier has no capacitors in the signal chain, uses top-quality parts and transformers, and the Addition SET amplifiers are 45W powered by the Russian 6C33C tubes. These same tubes also power our reference amplifiers, the Lamm ML2.1 (18W).

We initially had the components set up on our modded 1976 Klipsch La Scala speakers. The speakers have been reinforced with an extra layer of wood, have custom crossovers, are rewired, and we dampened the horns. Nearly all the cabling is Shunyata Sigma X, and the streamer is an Auralic Aries G2.2

First, we got cheeky and tried the Audio Mirror preamplifer with the Lamm amplifiers and the pairing was not optimal. Not bad, but clearly not synergistic. Same with the Lamm preamplifier and Audio Mirror amplifiers. So we moved to the full Audio Mirror compliment (preamp and amplifiers + our DAC), and the result was outstanding.

The sound was full, the instrument tone was perhaps the best I've ever heard, and the scale was large and immersive. We listened to this setup for several days, and the most fitting compliment was that everything sounded great.

From Van Morrison to Tool, from Dino Saluzzi's textural accordion trio to Zoe Keating's looped solo "cello-scapes", there was not a miss in the musical rotation. It made me want to listen to music I hadn't played in a long time, as well as to music that isn't even on my favorites list, just to experience it.  The sound is clean, refined, dense and beautifully orchestrated.

One significant difference between the Audio Mirror and the Lamm was the Audio Mirror was much more laid back. Vocals were even in the mix, not sharply sculpted as with the Lamm. Imaging wasn't as defined, and sounded more like my many sessions listening to Audio Note systems. Different tonal quality, naturally, but leaning more in the direction of ultra-refined, bordering on polite. Almost too much so.

Fortunately, we had a pair of Klipschorn AK6 speakers en route, and Vlad kindly said to have a listen with them as well. So glad that we did. We invited the neighbors and an audio dealer friend to come over and we listened for 3 hours.

We played Miles Davis's "Seven Steps to Heaven", George Jones, Lyle Lovett's "North Dakota" and "Church", prog band Pineapple Thief, Erik Friedlander's "Oscalypso", the Beach Boys, Elton John's "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters", Todd Sickafoose's "Tiny Resistors", Stevie Ray Vaughan, Mark Hollis, Wilco, Dire Straits, Ben Webster, McCoy Tyner and more.

On the Klipschorn speakers, the Audio Mirror truly came to life. It had far more energy than the La Scala pairing, and a much more engaging presentation. The music had an "over there" quality on the La Scala, while on the Klipschorn the music filled the room with an immersive and a more energetic experience.

Energy-- that's where the primary difference lies between the Audio Mirror and the Lamm.

The Lamm sounds like a live event. The Audio Mirror sounds like an amazing recording. If that sounds pejorative, it isn't.  As a friend recently categorized it, "we are always looking for something that perfectly balances refinement and energy."  To that I say there is a buyer at every marker on that scale.  In other words, the Audio Mirror had no discernible flaws, none that we could hear.  Rather, it simply had a different presentation, and equally as rich.

Our emotional side said "let's keep both". If money were no object, we absolutely would, and should we achieve our goals and have even more room for another system, we could definitely see building it around a full Audio Mirror system. With 45W amplifiers the speaker options are even more plentiful than with the 18W Lamm amps.

The primary attributes with the Audio Mirror preamp/amps (which retail together for $33,000--high value, in my opinion) are as follows:

Purity of tone - piano, violin, guitar, etc. are absolutely perfect in tonal quality. You hear leading notes and layers of decay like the finish of a fine wine.

Excellent body and density - you don't just hear guitar strings, you feel the body of the guitar.

Not as extended in the highs as the Lamm, which means every recording is guaranteed bliss. Simply put, it sounds great on every song.

Deep, extended bass

Superb build quality

Reproduction without coloration. You hear the music, not a brand sound.
They are not "tube warm" and they certainly are not "solid state neutral".  They get out of the way of the music, which is a tall order for any audio equipment.

Remote control (our Lamm preamp has remote capability but does not come with a remote)

Beautiful fluidity and control of the music

More soundscape than soundstage - and yet, with excellent instrument separation

The epitome of refinement - reminded me of the way Audio Note presents music, where everything sounds good and never fatiguing.  However, when compared with Audio Note, Audio Mirror is more muscular and tonally dense (which I find more engaging and lifelike)

There you have it, our impressions of the Audio Mirror WAVE tube linestage preamplifier and Addiction SET amplifiers.

I told Vlad I was going to share my thoughts on the forum(s), and can't thank him enough for the opportunity to audition the components.

To paraphrase Mr Schwarzenegger, "we'll be back". This is some truly outstanding audio gear.

Thanks for reading!

Howard