Review: Bent Audio Tap Linestage


Category: Preamps

Before, I get to the details of reviewing the Bent Audio Tap Linestage, I first would like to give a context regarding what my linestage reference of the last three years has been in order to "set the stage" so this review would be the most helpful to the members reading it.

My reference over the last three years has been the Placette Audio Dual Mono Active Linestage. It replaced a ML-32 reference preamp in my system. I had auditioned six different preamps/linestages, half were tubed - half were solid state ranging in price from $6000.00 to $16000.00, until I finally heard the Placette Active in my system and found what I was looking for sonically. It offered, compared with the other pieces in my home auditions, the following sonic virtues:

1) No noise floor at all. Music just "floated" out of a totally black background.
2) A great soundstage, front to back - side to side, with the best center fill and layering I ever had in my system.
3) Precise microdynamics and details without being what I would call "dry" or "etched" at all.
4) Excellent extension on both the top and bottom with great slam in the lower bass.
5) Natural tone/timbres, very important to me because I listen almost totally to acoustic jazz.

Not bad stuff! However, being the curious audiophile that I am, I had read about a few new linestages that had come out the last couple of years and decided to listen to what some of the best designers were up to now. This time around I auditioned a highly regarded solid state,tubed, and transformer based units. Even though the solid state ant tubed pieces were almost twice as expensive as my Placette, and they have their virtues, I did not find them to better the Placette in the above mentioned areas. Different but not better for my ear's and personnal taste.

That's the context, now on to the review. The Bent Tap Linestage is the child of John Chapman and his company Bent Audio out of Canada. I would like to share John is one of the great gentleman/designers of high end gear and is a true pleasure to talk and to do business with. His pieces are purchased direct, with a 30 day trail period with full refund if one is completely not satisfied.

At this point in time there has been a full review on the Tap Linestage on POSTITIVE FEEDBACK ONLINE website by Bruce Kinch and on SIX MOONS website there is what they call a "pre-view", along with one of SIX MOONS reviewers, Les Turoczi, who considers the Tap Linestage one of the "favorite discoveries of 2006" and has made it his new reference linestage in his system.

The above mentioned reviews, along with information on the Bent Audio website, will provide excellent background information on the topic of passive preamps/linestages and specificly on the issue of transformer based passives compared to Vishay resister based approachs. By the way, the Placette Active is a Buffered Vishay based passive linestage that gives no gain, but eliminates any concerns with impedance matching the front end with the down stream amps.

I never get into lengthy details regarding engineering or parts, that is all provided by the Bent Audio website, however I always comment on build quality and looks before I get to the the most important part the sonic performance. The Tap Linestage has a "cool modern" look to it, but it will never be the "eye candy" that my Pass Labs or Accustic Arts pieces are to me. The front has angled sides and sits atop a 1" slab of clear acrylic which has been routed out to securely mount the twin transformers. Inside high quality Arlon circuit boards, ribbon cables, and custom OCC copper wire sourced from Neotech speak highly of the construction of this piece.

Now, to the most important part of any review, the sonic performance of the piece being evaluated. In the following areas the Tap and PLacette active were, at least for me in my system, indistinguishable:
1) Total black background, no noise floor, music just "oozes" out of the system.
2) Both provide the best soundstage and layering of any linestage I have ever had in my system.
3)Macrodynamics are present and powerful, but intergrated in the overall "fabric" of the music.

Were the two linestages start to part sonic company is revolving around to key sonic areas, tone/timbres and image density of players in the sound stage.

I find that the Tap to be slightly "warmer/fuller" then the Placette Active in overall timbres, what many listeners would refer to as the "magic of tubes", mind you, not "fat/euphonic" but more "velvety" then the "silkyness" of the Placette. It reminded me when I went from an Edge NL-10 to a pair of Pass Labs XA-100's, both great amps, but I found the XA-100's to be subtly more what I call "organic/musical". Another verbal stab at it would be to say that the Placette Active has "razor sharp" leading edges and the Tap is a little more "rounded off" but has more body and decay then the Placette Active.
The Placette Active never sounds "etched, dry, or overly analytical, but a little less "sweet" then the Tap. They both offer beautiful sonic pictures and what you would like would be very much decided by your personnal taste and what type of system synergy you would end up with in your rig.

The other sonic difference that I noticed was in the area of image density. The Tap kicked it up a notch in comparsion to the Placette Active regarding the density of images, not the size or air around the individual players, but how "real" they sounded in the stage. Again, both linestages are quite terrific regading this sonic aspect, but the Tap gives more in this area then the Placette Active.

So, is there a winner or loser between this linestages, I don't think so, there both reference level in their performance. As I always say at this level of gear it comes down to personnal taste and system synergy. There's always very small but real differences in gear, but the final voicing of any system finally comes done to matching this tiny sonic bits together to get what we are listening for in the pleasure of the music we care about.

The Bent Tap is my new reference linestage for the reasons stated above. Both the Tap and Placette Active are great performers, terrific bargains for what they sell for, the Tap $3000.00, the Placette Active $5000.00, when you think they compete with any linestage on the market today and both John Chapman and Guy Hammel are great gentleman to work with, you might put both on your audition list if your seeking out a new linestage. Which one you would like better truly would come down to personnal taste/system synergy, so really won't know till your try it in the context of your own rig.
teajay
First, I would like to wish a happy B-day to Ted and congratulate him on his new Bent Tap. Then on to the serious questions on hand.

1) Since you have the great luxury of having both the Tap and another excellent preamp which is a highly regarded tube piece to compare in your system, does the Tap lack any of what could be called the "body/texture" or "bloom" that many believe can only be attained by tube linestages?

2) Do you believe that the Tap offers more/better air around individuals in the sound stage compared to your tube reference?

3) Do you believe that the Tap throws a bigger, wider, or deeper sound stage with excellent layering in the soundstage then compared to your tube reference.

Ted, it would be great if you would share on this thread some of the information regarding the above stated areas, because I'm oftened asked by audiophiles who love what they call tube "bloom/richness/easyness" that to get the great microdynamics, lack of noise floor, extension, etc. of a passive, they would have to give up those other virtues that tubes offer. That has not been my experience but I have only auditioned tube linestages, I believe long enough to get a handle on their sonic signature, however your long term reference has been a tube linestage, so your impression of the Tap's warmth/timbres/liquidity compared to tubes will be quite interesting.
Teajay,
Thanks for the B-day wishes. I will report back on the new TAP in the next few days, once I get a better understanding of what I'm hearing (and let it break in slightly longer). My reference tube pre, the Modwright SWL 9.0SE is going to be an interesting comparison because it is an enigma amongst tube pres. Most would say it sounds more like ss than tubes, or at least would say it is a very "neutral-sounding" tube preamp (which may be a minor reason Dan is offering a tube rectified power supply upgrade...to appease the tube fans).

Out of the box the TAP clearly (pun intended) sounds like a more pure signal path, like a process has been removed, and I'm allowed to hear the source more directly. I am quite surprised by this, and need to get acclimated to that effect before I render any long-term opinions. It's not as if the music got leaner, less body, anything like that. It's just as if the eyeglasses got a lot cleaner, and I'm not used to the new view...even though colors are likely more vibrant, and lights are likely brighter (but with less ringing). For the short-term, it's quite a change, and I'm trying to understand whether I like it because it's new, or I like it because it's better.

Any background hiss or slight tube noise is, of course, gone. Gone! Even a slight electrical noise (my room is not the best electrically...I stupidly installed remote dimmers a few years ago...this is a home theater environment too)) has been wiped away by the TAP's ability to float ground at the inputs (a simple switch on the back panel). This blackness adds to the new sonic experience, and although theoretically this lack of noise could never be called a liability, it is nonetheless a new experience. I mean, I liked salty foods, and when that salt is gone, the flavors of the true food spices can shine through...but it takes a little time to get used to it.

I will say that the TAP has already changed my idea of what a preamp needs to accomplish. The remote input switching, the remote phase inversion, the tremendous grounding and output flexibility...hell, even the remote balance controls, they all define for me what a preamp really needs to do to add value to my signal path. In some ways, this passive device plays a more active role than ever before.
Great review Teajay, I had an early model Bent TVC for a while, fantastic component!...John knows his stuff.

Dave
I was just wondering if Tedbrady had come any closer to has final impressions of what the Tap has to offer in the context of his system?

I totally agree with Ted's last post when he stated that since the Tap was quite a change to what he's used to, he had not decided if liked it better then his old reference because it was new/different sounding or he likes it better because it offers more sonic virtues and leads to a qualitative improvement towards the reference of real music. It really does take some time to be able to distinguish between new/different vs. real improvements when the gear involved is all pretty damn good, like his Modwright preamp, to begin with.

So, Ted it will be fun to see what's happened in the last week with your on-going experiement with the Tap. Look forward to your response.
Any updates from Ted?

I've had a single input TAP here for a while. I am hating that I have to send it back now. I really like it for all the reasons already mentioned above. It is very real sounding.