The Raptor
EMMELINE By Ray Samuels Audio
 

Reviews

Bound for Sound

By Martin DeWulf, Publisher

For other high end sound equipment reviews visit www.boundforsound.com.

Folks are always wanting a bargain. I know I am, but there are timeswhen it is advantageous to spend a few extra bucks. For example; I’ve never thought it was wise to make price the biggest consideration when buying audio components. I’d rather spend $500 on something than $50 if I’m getting demonstrably better quality in return for the added expenditure. Spending more for a well made product that offers value at manyu levels makes more sense than spending less and continuously looking for something better in the future.

There is one exception to the above. I have a Pierre Sprey (Lloyd Walker) ribbon conductor power cord on the preamp right now and it has worked extremely well, sounding even better than the skinny cheap cord, while experiencing no degradation over time. (Having now had the opportunity to test Jack Bybee’s new cord on the phono section just introduced by Ray Samuels, I expect it to work as well on the preamp, but I’m speculating.)

When I first mentioned this preamp in BFS, I had some pretty glowing things to say about the highs. I may have been a little over enthusiastic initially, but after a nice long audition, the highs still strike me as awful good -s as good as I’ve heard with any preamp, regardless of cost. Yeah, that’s pretty good. The high frequency smearing attendant in even the more expensive preamps is revealed when compared to the Emmeline. It’s as if a whole layer of electronics have been erased from the signal path.

And by golly, that’s pretty much what Ray has done with this design. Looking inside the chassis of the control section (the power supply is separate and connected only by an umbilical) all one basically sees are two 6922 line stage tubes, and that’s about it. Well there are some resistors and a couple caps, but compared to the regular preamp that tends to cross my path, this is the simplest I’ve seen – makes preamp construction look like a piece of cake, which it isn’t, but you know what I mean. My first thought was it couldn’t possibly drive some of the more difficult amp loads around – but it did. Bravo simplicity!

I can talk till I’m blue in the face about construction and design, but you know that the sound is what counts, and ultimately it’s the sound that a unit lives or dies by. The Emmeline is a tube preamp, and in some respects it sounds that way. Having some of the most crystalline and pure highs in the industry, the mids are similarly impressive though not as perfect in their presentation. The stage is awesomely right when images are up front; dimension, presence, timbre and texture are wonderfully present – big, voluminous and energized. Just the way I like it. But I have to admit, the Emmeline does not cut the super clean lines through the mids that I hear with the Symfonia, the Blowtorch, or the McCormack. It’s not a huge thing, but it’s there. As a result, the rear of the stage suffers a tiny bit. It seems that there may be a price to pay for the gorgeous front of the stage images.

Bass is nice with the Emmeline, a little more full than with the Marsh, but well short of being bloated or one note. It’s nicely integrated into the lower mids, adding to the feeling of foundation when called for.

Conclusion. Overall, I would place the Emmeline slightly ahead of the Marsh in the tube sweepstakes in this survey. Which isn’t to slight the Marsh in any way; for the bucks, the Marsh is on the money. For another $700 or so though, one can experience something a little closer to the high-end ideal, particularly in the highs… this is classic tube sound. I do suspect, however, that while I can see Marc Yun being able to tolerate (maybe even enjoy) the sonics of the betubed Marsh, the tubular glories that the Emmeline displays (and so many audiophiles covet), would be too much for Marc to appreciate, much less find desirable.

For other persons, persons who like what they say… Audible Illusions linestage sounds like, this is the perfect preamp to consider.

Blue Light Special: Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline II Stealth Review

By Fred O’Neal (Tuberoller)

I would have to guess that value is subjective and can only be determined by need or desire. I’m sure that there is not one of us who “needs” a headphone amp or any other audio gear but the desire burns strong or we would’nt all be here. I know there are many,many other factors that determine value but let’s face it,we’re dealing with desire here. I want the Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline II “Stealth” just as much as you do. I wanted it when I first saw and heard it,I wanted it after the Detroit meet,I wanted it after the Chicago meet,I wanted it when it was(introductory) priced at $1395.00 but …...Do I still want it priced at $2495.00? Read on and we’ll come to a conclusion in this matter together.

I gotta admit that my relationship with the Stealth has been one of love and disappointment. Throughout its various incarnations it has both pleasantly suprised and let me down. When I heard the first prototype(which was affectionately named the “lunch tray amp” because it was mounted on a tray) I was’nt immediately impressed. I really love most of Ray’s stuff but I harbored some doubts about Ray’s ability to execute a good tube based amp/preamp design. I am not fond of Ray’s other tube preamp design and I let him know it. The Stealth was off to a very bad start with me and my ears. The next time I heard the Stealth it was still mounted to the lunch tray but it had taken on a decidely different character. Ray rarely discussues what changes he makes betweeen these impromtu “sneak previews” but he was definitely on the right track. The improvements were what I would call “monumental” if that were’nt such a cliche. I’ll just say the improvements were huge and very easily audible. I hoped from that point on Ray had his bearings straight and figured my next sneak peak would verify even greater improvements,I was wrong. The next time I heard it the Stealth was mounted to a board, but still resting on the lunch tray, and the sonics had taken a big step in the wrong direction. It was bright,distant and had nothing even remotely resembling a soundstage. I was then sure that Ray was incapable of getting this right and then distanced myself from the Stealth in the nicest way I could. I tried very hard not to listen to the Stealth through the later development stages and only listened to it again at the Detroit meet. During that time I did loan Ray a few of my tube amps so that he might get the idea of what us tube guys really like. I think that helped,or maybe Ray just got his ears back. The Stealth I heard at the Detroit meet was the best yet but was till lacking in many ways. In my comments from the Detroit meet I said that the Stealth lacked low-level detail,impact and realism and I was firm in that belief. That Stealth lacked only production boards and casework causing me to have further doubts that there would be any significant sonic improvements with the production parts.

About a month after the Detroit meet I had a chance to listen to the Stealth again and was treated to a rebirth of sorts. I have to seperate that “post Detroit meet” Stealth from all the earlier versions because it did not sound the same to my ears. This Stealth perked my senses and made my desire the see and hear the final production version nearly insatiable. Ray told me the only differences between this version and the Detroit meet version was production parts,including boards, the attenuator and some of the internal parts upgrades. I am forced to take Ray’s word here,knowing that he usually does’nt share that much information with me. Fast forward to the Chicago meet and Ray drops an atom bomb on everyone in attendance with the latest Stealth, which was clearly in a league by itself. This is in the company of the mighty Blockhead,Wheatfield HA2,Supra,MPX3, RKV and few other heavy hitters. He further shocked nearly everyone in attendance by stating that he was going to include all the upgrade parts,including the stepped attenautor at a price”not more than $1400” .

Lacking only the final production casework and the front and rear circuit boards,I was certain this latest version of the Stealth was ready for the big time and asked if I could purchase and review this prototype. Ray agreed but wanted to make a few changes,which he told me were instalation of the other two boards which he had coming in shortly. When I finally got the “Tuberoller Big Sack” edition of the Stealth(which is the Chicago meet version in the prototype Silver enclosure without any silksceening) I suffered a serious let-down. I had no idea what was wrong but something was amiss and Ray was fairly stubborn about getting to the bottom of it. This was not the Chicago meet amp and it was certainly not the “Big Sack” edition I was touting. I made some lofty claims about the Stealth in these forums and I was worried that I was gonna have to take a big bite out of my own foot to straighten this one out.

I have to admit that Ray Samuels has become a good friend of mine and I like the guy a lot. I also have to go on to say that Ray can be typical as any other audio designer. Getting to the bottom of the problems I was having with the Stealth was not easy. Ray was’nt fighting me but he was certainly not making my task of reviewing the Stealth easy. I was ready to post a very generous luke-warm review of the Stealth and then at the last minute the Stealth recieved what can only be called “a Stay of Execution”. Ray found that stinkin’ diode problem and offered a preproduction Stealth with the fix in place. We’re in business now.

Associated gear:

Head amps:

  • Singlepower Supra
  • SinglePower PPX3
  • Wheatfield HA2
  • Meier Audio Prehead LM
  • Meier Audio HA-1 MKII
  • Headroom Max w/stepped attenuator (reference)

Power amps:

  • Antique Soundlabs Tulip 2A3 tube stereo
  • Hafler DH-500 Mono blocs
  • Atmasphere M60MKII tube Stereo
  • VTL MB750 Mono blocs(dad’s system)
  • PS Audio HCA-2 stereo
  • Atamasphere MKII Monoblocs
  • Pass Labs Kilo kits Monoblocs(dad’s system)
  • Krell PB350

Headphones:

  • Sony MDR-10
  • Senn HD600 (reference)
  • Senn HD650
  • Beyer DT880
  • AKG 271S
  • Beyer DT931
  • Grado RS1
  • Grado HP2
  • Grado HP1

Loudspeakers:

  • PSB Image 7PT (reference)
  • Von Scwiekert VR-1
  • Mangnepan MG3.6
  • Quad ESL989 (dad’s)
  • PSB Sratus Gold”i”
  • Krell Lat-1 (dad’s)
  • Custom sub woofers featuring 4 15inch MB Quart Vera drivers and external Pass Labs crossover network.(dad’s)

Preamps for comparison:

  • Synthesis Harmony-tubed(reference)
  • Rogue 99 Magnum-tubed
  • Meier Audio Prehead
  • McIntosh C220-Tubed (dad’s)
  • Pass DIY(dad’s)
  • VTL 5.5(dad’s)
  • Ray Samuels Audio XR-2 phono amp

Sources:

  • VPI Scout Turntable/Lyra Titan Cart.
  • VPI Extended Aries W/Grado Reference
  • VPI HW-19 MKIV W/ Grado Sonata
  • Philips 963 SACD
  • Musical Fidelity A324DAC
  • Teac Esoteric DV-50
  • Revox E-642(Dad’s)
  • Linn LP12 (all the stupid expensive upgrades) SME tonearm,Transfiguration Spirit Cart.(dad’s)

Cables:

  • Acoustic Zen WOW! interconnect(reference)
  • Moon Audio Silver Dragon interconnect
  • Various Synergistic Research interconnects and power cords(dad’s)

I know that gear list is extensive but I wanted to audition the Stealth in it’s full capabilities as a preamp as well. The Stealth paid a visit to my Dad’s various systems and we were able to do some side-by-side comparisons.

When you first get a look at the Stealth its easy to judge it based on it’s very handsome looks and stout build quality. A peek under the hood further conveys the initial impressions of high build and design standards. Based on what I’ve seen of other headamps and preamps my first educated guess to the price of the Stealth might be $3000-6000 dollars. This is without any consideration of the it’s “Handbuilt in the USA” origins. The Stealth is a two chassis preamp/headamp with a 5-foot shielded umbilical cord attaching the power supply and control assembly housing the tubes and all switching functions. The combined height of both chassis,including the tubes, is 7 3/8 inches tall with the power supply taking up 3 7/8 inches of that measurement. Depth of the combined unit is 8 3/16 inches from the rear RCA jacks to the front panel control knobs. Both chassis are 10 inches wide and finsihed in a very nice anodized black with superb silver silk screening. All external knobs and switches are constructed of machined aluminum and the indicators are the cobalt blue LEDs that are all the rage now. The Stealth features four line-level inputs and a Dact stepped attenuator with 24 steps to adjust volume. The dual variable outputs allows for bi and quad-amping with 1 to 4 power amps,which is a really nice feature. The power switch features a nicely executed mute function and a standby mode. When the Stealth is powered up, you know it, because those blue LEDs are broadcasting your intentions to everyone near you. I have left the Stealth powered up the entire time it has been with me(4-weeks).

I spent my first few days with the Stealth sitting on my desk being fed the sweet sounds of the Teac DV-50 player. In keeping with my strict review standards(yeah,right) I only used my reference HD600/Equinox to give me a basline performance. It was tough to resist going to the R10s cause they are so damn sexy. I gave in a few times and got far more intimate than I should have with borrowed headphones. The R10 have some limitations but they have never sounded better to me than when driven by the Stealth. There is music playing. You know you’re wearing headphones cause they’re hanging off your head but the depth and width of the percieved soundstage is incredible. The effect is almost spooky-good. I close my eyes and think of music and listen for clues that give away the ambiance of the studio or live venue. Listening to the Sam Cooke “Live at the Copa” SACD remaster,you can hear the snaps of Sam’s fingers and his rythmic head movements as he sways away from the mic on occasion. Each instrument and Sam’s amazing voice are placed on the Copa stage right out in front of you. I swear I could reach out and touch them all. This is as deep and punchy as I’ve heard the bass on the R10 and it does’nt sound anything like typical closed-phone bass. There is no boominess or overlapping of instruments and drums seem truly organic and full. The sweet,defined midrange is expansive but never seems to run out of space for one more instrument or voice to fit in nicely. Listening to my favorite Gorge Ben recording “Africa Brasil”,the extensive and overlapping percussions all occupy their own space and things never get crowded and there is never a loss of control. Treble extension is far reaching and very tightly controlled on the R10/ Stealth combo. There is a light,airy feel to the treble that belies one of the weaknesses of the R10s. I have always felt these phones were holding back to appeal to the type of listener that might purchase these phones. The Stealth and R10 work in conjunction to reproduce piano notes,cymbals and muted trumpet wails in near perfect pitch. These two are making music together and it was a real privilege to be allowed to sit in on a session.

The Stealth is a tube amp and I have always loved the sound of the 6SN7 tube. I really love the sound of this tube in preamps and the headamps that have topology that takes advantage of what this tube can do. Right now the premiere amps using the 6SN7 tubes are the Singlepower offerings and the Stealth, comparisons are inevitable. My listening sessions with the Stealth/HD600 combo were always filled with extensive note taking and when I was done listening to my reference recordings I typically found myself listening to my cousin Tanya Reed’s “Live in Chicago” disc because I was in the audience and it is fun to try and hear all the things I heard that night reproduced. It was a two mike recording and the soundstage and imaging were left intact on the final mastering. The HD600 do imaging like no other headphone I know. This is why they sound most like speakers to my ears. Headphone soundstage will never sound anything like a live performance or even a good set of speakers but some phones can make a good show of it. The HD600 do a good job of soundstaging but carry the imaging flag all the way to victory. The R10 do the soundstage right on the “Live at the Copa” disc but the HD600 come close and one-up the R10 by replicating the pinpoint position of each instrument on the Copa’s stage. It’s one thing to be there,it’s another to have a good seat. The HD600 have the best seat in the house. Bass is thunderous and well controlled without being boomy or blotchy. Again,I can place the drummer and his poorly positioned kit on the “Live In Chicago” disc in the right corner of that nasty little joint. His arm kept banging against his tophat stand and he was grumbling the whole time. The Stealth/HD600 makes the memory of that performance crisp,vivid and as real as headphones are gonna do it. I played this back for the recording engineer who did that show and he just sat back and shook his head. He said “I gotta get me one of these” and offered to buy the Stealth review sample.

A tube amp without the midrange just ain’t a tube amp. The Stealth is absolutelya tube amp in the sense that it offers up midrange sweetness in large,heaping buckets, but don’t mistake this amp for an RKV or Earmax. This is as dynamic a tube amp as I have heard. There is a literal explosion of midrange punch and impact. On the Gorge Ben recording,snares jump from a super-silent backround in an almost alarming fashion. There are some brief silences on some tracks followed by loud male accapella chants,followed by the whack of the snares and then the big drums come in and you brace yourself for some kind of low level distortion that never happens. Switching to the HP1000 I thought this track might give the Stealth a challenge but it stepped up and pulled this passage off as well as I’ve heard it on the Grados. I could almost get to really like the HP1 and HP2 if I was using them solely with the Stealth.

Treble detail and extension are again excellent using the HD600 and HP1 with the HP1 gaining a degree of control and definition that makes me again reconsider my position about these phones. The HD600 seem to take on the character of the Stealth,following where it leads in complete obedience and servitude. The Stealth has the HD600 under control and every note falls into place as intended. I think this is a healthy relationship with both the HD600 and Stealth playing at championship levels.

The Supra and Wheatfield both offer great midrange depth and outstanding tonality but compared to the Stealth the Supra sounds a bit slow and the Wheatfield comes up way short in the bass depth and definition. The Supra performs OK with the HD600 in deep bass notes but there is poor instrument seperation and very noticable overlapping of lower bass notes. Electric bass and deep drum notes sound near identical on the Supra using the standard Electro-Harmonix tubes,improving in definition with a loss of punch when upgrading to NOS tubes like the Ken-Rad VT231. The Supra has good control of the low impedance R10 but looses it’s grip on the Grados at loud volumes where there is noticeable bass distortion and haziness. The Wheatfield and Supra can both be tuberolled to match the treble of the Stealth with high impedance phones but on all the low impedance phones the Supra and Wheatfield are left in the dust. The Supra can sound hazy and the Wheatfield gets low-impedance treble all wrong. Both the Supra and Wheatfield seem to offer more volume but with far,far less control on all the headphones.

The solid state amps seem to fair a bit better against the Stealth. Both the Prehead and Max can easily match the Stealth for bass punch with the Max taking an edge and the Prehead coming close in terms of speed and pacing. The Prehead sounds snappy and robust where the Stealth might sound accurate and focused and the Max sounds confident and experienced. All have great bass but the Max is still king. Where the solid-state amps fail to compare is the midrange,but you’re not suprised right? The Prehead makes a contest of it but voices are not rendered nearly as true as the Stealth and soundstage depth is not as palable with the R10. The R10 and Prehead are clearly not a good match. The Max had great bass with every phone but the midrange was a bit more distant than the Stealth and Prehead but strangely, the Max sounded very nice with the R10. There was a meeting of skill and talent between the two and they did pretty good. If I were an R10 owner the Max would be on the short list. Using the Senns, the Prehead and Max both serve up a great big helping of dynamics that the Stealth ultimately matches but does not surpass.

In order to assess the real value of a component like the Stealth it must be allowed to wear all it’s hats. Wearing the preamp hat the Stealth is doing far better than returning on your investment. I gotta say before you read any further that the Stealth is one of the best preamps I have ever heard. It tamed the wild and hairy midrange of the Krell amps and speakers and manhandled the big VTL amps and Quad speakers. The VTL have a real tendacy to jumble up the midrange when a preamp with too much gain is used. The large increments in volume on some preamps causes the VTLs to thrust a huge,bloated midrange that kills any enjoyment for me. The Stealth allowed the VTL/Quad system to breathe easy and keep a comfortable pace. I don’t know if you can ever make any Krell gear sound good but the Stealth does what it can. My ears did’nt hurt when I left my dad’s house and that’s as good as I’ve ever done.

In my systems,stacked against the Rogue 99 magnum and Synthesis the Stealth held up well against the Rogue but was beat up on by the little Synthesis Harmony. The Stealth never made me feel like I was missing something but it just did’nt give me the sparkling treble detail and seductive vocal treatment the Harmony affords me on my best vinyl rig. It sounded great but the Harmony sounds near perfection and provided a stout,moving target for the Stealth. The Stealth does bass better than the Harmony and Rogue in a big way but the Harmony has that magic that won’t let me give it up for good. The Rogue,simply put, is lost. In the company of two great preamps like the Stealth and Synthesis the Rogue 99 is an example of a good idea over-applied. It’s just too slow and mushy and detail is sacrificed at both frequency extremes. The Rogue has a remote but it is an obvious afterthought and I rarely use it. Everything the Rogue does wrong the Stealth does right. The Rogue has a fitting name and is indeed outclassed in this crowd.

If we assign a dolar value to all the things the Stealth does well where would that put us? How much is a stellar preamp and an amazing headamp worth to you? If we consider the build quality,versatility,and ulimate performance of the Stealth, the price seems fair and almost reasonable(I’m Tuberoller, $2495 will always sound like too much to me). If we look at it a different way,Where is the other headamp/preamp combo that is built to these standards and performs this well,and if it exists how much does it cost? A compelling case is made in favor of the Stealth at any price.

I’ll correct my spelling and grammar when I wake up.Leave me alone.

I’ll add some pics too.

Bound for Sound

By Martin DeWulf, Publisher

For other high end sound equipment reviews visit www.boundforsound.com.

Talked about this preamp some time ago, liked it a lot, but had a problem. It sounded good at first, but as time went on, things sounded progressively worse. Sent the preamp back to Ray, and as it so often happens in this hobby, it worked perfectly when Ray got it. I bring this up because the preamp is very unusual in one regard. You probably won’t believe this, but if you use certain esoteric after-market power cords on this preamp the sound degrades over time: drastically (I thought the unit was broken when using it with the Empirical cord and the SLVR). I’m not kidding. So, when Ray brought back a new preamp I plugged the stock cord into the unit and it has sounded wonderful. NEVER have I had something like this happen before, but it’s a repeatable and demonstrable fact. The skinnier and less esoteric the cord is, the better this preamp sounds.

There is one exception to the above. I have a Pierre Sprey (Lloyd Walker) ribbon conductor power cord on the preamp right now and it has worked extremely well, sounding even better than the skinny cheap cord, while experiencing no degradation over time. (Having now had the opportunity to test Jack Bybee’s new cord on the phono section just introduced by Ray Samuels, I expect it to work as well on the preamp, but I’m speculating.)

When I first mentioned this preamp in BFS, I had some pretty glowing things to say about the highs. I may have been a little over enthusiastic initially, but after a nice long audition, the highs still strike me as awful good – as good as I’ve heard with any preamp, regardless of cost. Yeah, that’s pretty good. The high frequency smearing attendant in even the more expensive preamps is revealed when compared to the Emmeline. It’s as if a whole layer of electronics have been erased from the signal path.

And by golly, that’s pretty much what Ray has done with this design. Looking inside the chassis of the control section (the power supply is separate and connected only by an umbilical) all one basically sees are two 6922 line stage tubes, and that’s about it. Well there are some resistors and a couple caps, but compared to the regular preamp that tends to cross my path, this is the simplest I’ve seen – makes preamp construction look like a piece of cake, which it isn’t, but you know what I mean. My first thought was it couldn’t possibly drive some of the more difficult amp loads around – but it did. Bravo simplicity!

I can talk till I’m blue in the face about construction and design, but you know that the sound is what counts, and ultimately it’s the sound that a unit lives or dies by. The Emmeline is a tube preamp, and in some respects it sounds that way. Having some of the most crystalline and pure highs in the industry, the mids are similarly impressive though not as perfect in their presentation. The stage is awesomely right when images are up front; dimension, presence, timbre and texture are wonderfully present – big, voluminous and energized. Just the way I like it. But I have to admit, the Emmeline does not cut the super clean lines through the mids that I hear with the Symfonia, the Blowtorch, or the McCormack. It’s not a huge thing, but it’s there. As a result, the rear of the stage suffers a tiny bit. It seems that there may be a price to pay for the gorgeous front of the stage images.

Bass is nice with the Emmeline, a little more full than with the Marsh, but well short of being bloated or one note. It’s nicely integrated into the lower mids, adding to the feeling of foundation when called for.

Conclusion. Overall, I would place the Emmeline slightly ahead of the Marsh in the tube sweepstakes in this survey. Which isn’t to slight the Marsh in any way; for the bucks, the Marsh is on the money. For another $700 or so though, one can experience something a little closer to the high-end ideal, particularly in the highs… this is classic tube sound. I do suspect, however, that while I can see Marc Yun being able to tolerate (maybe even enjoy) the sonics of the betubed Marsh, the tubular glories that the Emmeline displays (and so many audiophiles covet), would be too much for Marc to appreciate, much less find desirable.

For other persons, persons who like what they say… Audible Illusions linestage sounds like, this is the perfect preamp to consider.

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