Abrahamsen amplifiers

[Pavlo]

Many thanks to Electro and others who pointed me towards Abrahamsen Audio for an amp to compliment my Tannoy D700 speakers. In the end I bought the V1.0 upgrade CD player and the V2.0 grade amp. I spent a lot of time listening to alternatives and nothing in that price bracket comes remotely close. I would go so far as to say that nothing came close at three times the price! The units are built like a Norwegian pine cabin and look superb but it is the sound that really sets them apart. The stereo image is astounding and each instrument can be heard very clearly and quite differentiated from the whole. I listen to everything from rock, to Leonard Cohen to Tchaikovsky and it all sounds astonishing on this set up. What I have also realised is how damn good my speakers are despite their age! Not many I listened to came close! Sometimes the performers sounds as if they are standing in front of you - you can hear them shuffle about and their breathing. If you close your eyes it can make the hairs on your neck stand up its so realistic.

And now the down side. This equipment will brutally show up any second rate recording and low quality CD's sound even worse. Sibilance can creep in and treble can be harsh. I have three CD's out of a couple of hundred that I will not listen to again! The counter point to this is of course that good recordings are out of this world. The equipment doesn't appear to have a characteristic sound and doesn't get in the way of the music or add to it or detract from it. As far as I can tell it's totally neutral which is more than I can say for many top brands I listened to.

i connected the CD player and Amp with balanced XLR cables (as recommended) after a week or so and much to my surprise it did seem to make a difference.

one final comment: how on earth do they produce this quality for the price they charge?

current set up: Tannoy D700, Abrahamsen V1.0 CD and Abrahamsen V2.0 Amp

 

[CnoEvil]

Many thanks to Electro and others who pointed me towards Abrahamsen Audio for an amp to compliment my Tannoy D700 speakers. In the end I bought the V1.0 upgrade CD player and the V2.0 grade amp. I spent a lot of time listening to alternatives and nothing in that price bracket comes remotely close. I would go so far as to say that nothing came close at three times the price!

I'm glad you got sorted....Electrocompaniet works well with Tannoy, so I can imagine Abrahamsen doing the same.

Just as a matter of interest, what amps did you hear at 3x the price.

 

[Pavlo]

I would be struggling to remember now however I am referring to an amp + CD player in this reference. I did listen to an awful lot after I first posted in September! And thanks to you as you were one of the people who recommended Abrahamsen!

 

[SteveR750]

We'll have an interesting comparison soon, I'm taking my Hegel over to Colin / IQSpeakers place, and we'll get a chance to compare the two Norwegian heavyweights! The challenge is to either blow up Matt's Phantoms, or more likely Colin's house!

 

[Electro]

Many thanks to Electro and others who pointed me towards Abrahamsen Audio for an amp to compliment my Tannoy D700 speakers. In the end I bought the V1.0 upgrade CD player and the V2.0 grade amp. I spent a lot of time listening to alternatives and nothing in that price bracket comes remotely close. I would go so far as to say that nothing came close at three times the price! The units are built like a Norwegian pine cabin and look superb but it is the sound that really sets them apart. The stereo image is astounding and each instrument can be heard very clearly and quite differentiated from the whole. I listen to everything from rock, to Leonard Cohen to Tchaikovsky and it all sounds astonishing on this set up. What I have also realised is how damn good my speakers are despite their age! Not many I listened to came close! Sometimes the performers sounds as if they are standing in front of you - you can hear them shuffle about and their breathing. If you close your eyes it can make the hairs on your neck stand up its so realistic.

And now the down side. This equipment will brutally show up any second rate recording and low quality CD's sound even worse. Sibilance can creep in and treble can be harsh. I have three CD's out of a couple of hundred that I will not listen to again! The counter point to this is of course that good recordings are out of this world. The equipment doesn't appear to have a characteristic sound and doesn't get in the way of the music or add to it or detract from it. As far as I can tell it's totally neutral which is more than I can say for many top brands I listened to.

i connected the CD player and Amp with balanced XLR cables (as recommended) after a week or so and much to my surprise it did seem to make a difference.

one final comment: how on earth do they produce this quality for the price they charge?

current set up: Tannoy D700, Abrahamsen V1.0 CD and Abrahamsen V2.0 Amp

Fantastic ! Glad you are happy with your Abrahamsen equipment and that your lovely Tannoys sound so good . *smile*

I agree about the neutral sound of the Abrahamsens and also Electrocompaniet as well , many people think that they are on the warmer side of neutral but in reality what they are hearing is just a lack of distortion imo .

 

[wilro15]

Another happy Abrahamsen customer here! The more I use the amp, the more I like it. The sound from my system has really opened up recently and I am enjoying it very much.

I haven't found any harsh sibilance on recordings, the opposite actually - I can now listen to recordings that my Naim amp made too harsh.

I am still trying to secure the Abrahamsen V6.0 DAC second hand to complete the system.

 

[Electro]

We'll have an interesting comparison soon, I'm taking my Hegel over to Colin / IQSpeakers place, and we'll get a chance to compare the two Norwegian heavyweights! The challenge is to either blow up Matt's Phantoms, or more likely Colin's house!

It will be like a showdown between Odin and Thor *smile* .

I am looking forward to the report ,I would expect them to be very close in performance .

 

[Electro]

Another happy Abrahamsen customer here! The more I use the amp, the more I like it. The sound from my system has really opened up recently and I am enjoying it very much.

I haven't found any harsh sibilance on recordings, the opposite actually - I can now listen to recordings that my Naim amp made too harsh.

I am still trying to secure the Abrahamsen V6.0 DAC second hand to complete the system.

If you can't find a V6 keep a look out for a second hand Electrocompaniet ECD1 dac they are very similar in looks and sound quality but unfortunately equally hard to find as nobody wants to part with them .*smile*

 

[wilro15]

Yeah ECD1's are still quite expensive too. There is one on ebay going for £700 + £60 postage. Thats a lot for a second hand DAC!

 

[Electro]

Yeah ECD1's are still quite expensive too. There is one on ebay going for £700 + £60 postage. Thats a lot for a second hand DAC!

Yes that price is a bit over the top ! £500 - £600 is about the going rate for a good second hand one .

The ECD1 dac has been one of Electrocompaniets most popular products , the demand was so high that they were on constant back order from the factory over most of it's lifetime !

 

[iQ Speakers]

Hi Pavlo glad your liking it, can not remember did you hear the bigger S2 speakers with yellow cones or did i only have the M1 that I built? If you need service you no where i am.

 

[wilro15]

I have just acquired a DAC V6!

The only problem is, until today I had given up on finding one so earlier this week I bought a LiTe Dac-83. Now I have 2 DACs on the way to me!

Wife is likely to kill me.

Again.

 

[iQ Speakers]

Just tell her its a 2 box DAC! Let us know what you think, how much was it?

 

[wilro15]

Sadly the LiTe is already a two box DAC! *biggrin*

 

[iQ Speakers]

Even better "its a 3 box DAC it was cheaper like that"!

 

[CnoEvil]

Even better "its a 3 box DAC it was cheaper like that"!

Boxing clever, I see.

 

[CnoEvil]

Ive just "had" to buy two more levals for my Atacama Evouque rack, its for the dems love, honest! Seems to working at the moment!

No complaints about your stacking now.

 

[iQ Speakers]

Ive just "had" to buy two more levals for my Atacama Evouque rack, its for the dems love, honest! Seems to working at the moment! EDIT having said that shes not home yet!!! Oh...... Im liking the turned ally feet and top caps! EDIT its Audio grade Aluminium which is slightly better than Areospace grade!*biggrin*

 

[iQ Speakers]

I'm sure there will be Cno, you seem to be back in full health and spirit I hope?

 

[SteveR750]

I'm sure there will be Cno, you seem to be back in full health and spirit I hope?

Almost back to my grumpy old self.

...thoughI have had better experiences, than having 24cm of plastic tubing pulled out of my k**b, in a room full of nurses. Oh well, falling to bits is never easy.

You need a new pair of speakers then to help you cheer up. You know it makes sense

 

[CnoEvil]

I'm sure there will be Cno, you seem to be back in full health and spirit I hope?

Almost back to my grumpy old self.

...though I have had better experiences, than having 24cm of plastic tubing pulled out of my k**b, in a room full of nurses. Oh well, falling to bits is never easy.

 

[iQ Speakers]

Im suprised they didn't need more! I'm sad as I'm now thinking this is a nice rack instead of... well im not sure i really should post a picture should!?

 

[CnoEvil]

You need a new pair of speakers then to help you cheer up. You know it makes sense

You know something, I think you're right........NOT!

Good try, though.

 

[The Mad One]

Massive thanks colin (IQ Speakers)

Im now the proud owner of Abrahamsen V2.0 Amp

First thing you notice when halling it out of its box is the weight ouch my back aches now, then i found myself just staring at it forever (a few mins really)but seemed like forever thats how lush it looks.

Once set-up up and powered up i was amazed how it sounded its truely gob smacking thats how good it is ive only been running it for an hour and already im smitten.

Thanks again colin your a true gent and great listener/adviser.

 

[iQ Speakers]

Cheers The Mad One the first no UP version to be reviewed. Can be upgraded to the UP.