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Dartzeel CTH-8550

I'm wondering if there are fox out there with this amplifier. I recently purchased this new integrated Dartzeel CTH-8550 (could not afford the separates). From the first minute this amplifier was connected to my Avalon Indra the sound was nothing short of stunning. This amplifier, has the same magic of the separates, as it is really sounds like nothing. It is the most natural sounding amplifier I've ever owned, and I've owned many including Pass 350.5, MBL 9008, Boulder 2000s, Lamm and others.
What is your experience?

Thanks,

Roy
roy_tirosh

Showing 2 responses by nyctc7

nyctc7
91 posts
 
It's reviewed in the latest issue (8/09) of Stereophile by Wes Phillips. He loves it, but John Atkinson didn't like the way it measured.
nyctc7
91 posts
 
4425, with a caveat that I can't do the review justice (and therefore, the amp justice), I'll try and hit some highlights. But do check out the magazine rack or see if the review eventually appears on the Stereophile website.

Fantastic build quality--each amp handmade for each customer.

Highly configurable: see the manual, pages 9-15 (you can download the manual on the DarTZeel website)

Very powerful for an integrated, able to drive difficult loads. "It drove the Thiel CS3.7 and YG Anat Reference II Pro speakers as easily as it did the benign Klipsch Palladium 39F"

*Fast
*Dynamic
*Detailed
*Transparent
*Very quiet

The downside: Did not outperform the Boulder 865 integrated amp, which retails for $12,000 vs. the Dartzeel's $20,300.

Measurments: Output impedance quite high, which apparently can cause problems (I'm not an engineer or tech). Channel seperation good but not great. The amp exceeeded its power spec, but distortion levels were "not particularly low," only showing acceptably low distortion into higher impedances. One graph suggests the presence of crossover distortion. JA is disappointed with the way the amp measures.
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