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First
impressions: by
Mikael Palmqvist  When I visited my local dealer the last time; he thought I should try out this new Pathos while awaiting the new Audionet ART G2, which I’d already “planned” on buying. He insisted that the Pathos is a very competent player and that I should try it before settling for something else. Said and done. Another representative at the dealer wrapped up the player, at the same time commenting on the fact that the Pathos is an excellent player, but hardly anything for me. Why is that, I ask. Well, he says, I think You´ll want a player with more pace and attack, not something so ”civilized”. With that last comment ringing in my ears I jump into my car and drive home. Umm, I thought, I can probably expect it to sound nice and warm, maybe a bit veiled, but still ok on a general level. I reached the house, installed the new player into the system, turned on the power and....heard something very closed-in and veiled, not to mention soft. Well, not to worry, I decided to leave it on and get back to listening later. So I left it on until Friday evening. An excellent time for some listening, after having too much red wine and Parmesan. Or? I´ve had some very well-known reference-level players at home before, but none have managed to dethrone the ART V2 or give rise to a strong buying instinct. The Wadia 861 has come closest so far, with its extended and controlled lower register. However, it was a tad restricted in soundstaging for my taste, as well a lacking some of the last resolution in th upper registers. But as a general observation, the difference to the ART have always been minor, with the ART remaining in the rack due to its overall presentation and excellent control. So now it´s time to unleash the Pathos, a tubed design. Can things really stay in control the way they should? Oh yes, they certainly can, even if the overall control wasn´t the first thing I noticed. Voices are suddenly presented with a wonderful ”glow”, resulting in a level of presence I´ve never heard in my setup before. Can this be possible? At earlier occasions it has seemed impossible for components of non-Audionet heritage to find their right place in the system, such is the level of ”cooperation” between the electronics from the Bochum-based firm. But now things are definitely changing, with the Pathos confidently entering Audionet-territory and giving the ART V2 a run for its money on its own home turf. I continue listening to disc after disc of vocal jazz and singer/songwriters. I´m in heaven, there is a newfound luster in the music that can´t be correctly described. The flow of the music is incredible, the articulation excellent. But we need to gice the Pathos a challenge, right? So I throw in some pop-recordings. The Pathos has good drive and pace, but can’t quite match the level set by the ART V2. So a draw as far as those attributes go, but when it comes to purity and presence, the ART V2 sees itself seriously challenged and even overtaken by this new challenger.
If I were to do a summary and general comparison between the players, the result would be something along these lines: It´s a tie when it comes to dynamics, bass foundation and soundstaging. But when it comes to purity, articulation, presence, musicality and resolution, the Pathos has the advantage. Are there no weaknesses, then? Yes, there are some, but they are mostly minor in nature. I did experience some slight listening fatigue after a while, which was something I couldn´t find with the ART V2. Also, the midrange of the ART is a bit more pleasant, but not as pure as through the Pathos. Based on my listening impressions, I feel the Pathos gives me more ”music” and a closer link to the music. So shame on my initial presumptions, the Pathos is in no way overly ”civilized”. On the contrary, it´s a player with an attitude and it can certainly rock when it needs to. It might not be 100% neutral, it seems to add a certain shimmer and charm in the midrange which absolutely compels You to listen to another vocal recording. Whether this is a good thing or not is a question of taste and preference, but I liked it. I really must admit to being a bit puzzled, can something really triumph over Audionet...? I´m really looking forward to auditioning the new ART G2 within the near future. It´s gonna be interesting to see if it has what it takes for a spot at the top. Associated equipment: Cd-player: AudioNet ART V2 Preamp: AudioNet PRE I G2 with EPS external power supply Power Amps: AudioNet AMP II MAX Speakers: Acapella Violon Speaker Cable: Acoustic Zen Satori Interconnects: Acoustic Zen Matrix II Mains cables: Acoustic Zen Tsunami Electronics Stand Finite Elemente Pagode on Cerabase-feet Dealer contacts: Finland: Soundworks Oy, juha.silvennoinen@soundworks.fi Sweden: P.L.Audio Ab, info@plaudio.com Approximate price (Sweden, incl. VAT): 73000 SEK
Mikael Palmqvist |
