A Tale of Two Amps (Part 2) The Sonofa'GUM SG-5500

Like the McChanson SET, the REDGUM Sonofa is one of the best bang for buck amplifiers around at the moment, and when it comes to solid state it may just be the very best value on the market fullstop.

The name REDGUM should be better known than the name McChanson, but like McChanson, REDGUM is hardly the household name that Rega, NAD, Rotel, Denon, Technics, Sony, Yamaha etc have become. REDGUM are a small and specialised HiFi business operating on the outskirts of Melbourne (Australia). They do a a range of stereo gear, but their big speciality is amplifiers, and they produce an impressive range. From the Sonofa, which is their baby amp at AUD $699, right up to their AUD$19,000 monoblocks.

The Sonofa is the latest model added to their range and it departs from the usual REDGUM formula of "Made in Australia." REDGUM had the Sonofa made in China, so they could keep the prices down of what they see as being the introductory model to their range. Sonically, it's a REDGUM design, for sure, and they modify the units once they arrive back in Australia. Presumably to prevent the Chinese factories from producing grey label copies.

I don't need to give a long review here of how good this amplifier is. Michael O'Conner has already done that for Audio and Video Lifestyle magazine, and he knows how to talk about stereo gear better than I do. So I can only give you my personal experiences.

Out of the box, it's got weight and substance to it. It's an immaculate build and as Michael says in his review -- think Rotel. So you set it up and plug it in. It sounds good, really good, but it is also one of the most interesting sounding amplifiers I have ever heard. Hard to put a finger on. It's different, but a good different, and I'm thinking that maybe this is the REDGUM sound that gets talked about. But it will probably need burn in I say to myself. I have been so conscious of burn in since I started to upgrade my equipment and am constantly amazed at some professional reviewers who appear to review quality stereo equipment straight out of the box. What you hear today will always sound better tomorrow, unless of course it's a cheap, ordinary piece of gear. But that is not what we are talking about here.

Cut to three weeks later and the amplifier is fully burned in and and has been delivering exceptional music. There is clarity across the mid-range and the bass is exceptional, and the overall sound has a sharp definite punch to it. This is a powerful amplifier. It kicks and keeps the clarity at its 55 watts per channel. No distortion in sound whatsoever as you pump the volume.

Speaking to Lindy Gerber at REDGUM, she told me that she believed the amp would be great for somebody who wanted to replace one of their classic Japanese amps that was getting a bit long in the tooth. While I agree with her, kind of, I think she was being too generous, and maybe underselling the Sonofa. The Sonofa is a better and very different amplifier to the classic and reasonably priced Japanese amps that we all know and love so well. It has much better clarity across the mid-range, and its bass is sharp and tight. Not the more boomy bass which has always been a problem with the mid-market Japanese amps in my opinion, and something that has always sent me seeking alternatives. I like reggae and amps that boom the bass turn reggae into a mess. The Sonofa handles reggae beautifully, as it does everything else. I am tempted to say that it really excels with rock music, but some further listening is needed.

My own view about Sonofa is that it handles bass just so well, that it sounds more like a great Brit amp (I'm thinking QED) from the mid 90s, when reggae was big in the UK.

Is there anything else that I need to say? Maybe a couple of things. The burn in period of 2 to 3 weeks is really important if you only play vinyl. On CD it doesn't probably need so long, although after 3 weeks it starts to do soundstaging on CD really well, and I guess that does matter if you like CD.

This amp, like a valve amp, needs warm up. I believe this is because of the large toroid transformer (180VA) REDGUM use in all their gear (the same thing that is responsible for their big sound?). It needs five minutes to warm up in standby, and about 20 minutes if you have shut the amp completely down at any stage.

You can get this amp direct from the REDGUM site or try The Wizard on Ebay. Make him an offer like I did. The Wizard also has a link to the Michael O'Conner review I mentioned above.

The Soundsmith Denon 103 Rebuild

Every now and then you come across a piece of stereo equipment whose performance goes way beyond your expectations. Up until 3 weeks ago I had been using a Denon DL304 in my system and raving about its clarity and musical detail. I was pleased to see that my own experience of this cartridge was matched by just about every reviewer around.

I had bought the DL304 as a step up from my stock standard classic DL103. You either love the DL103 or you wonder what all the fuss is about. I'm in the former camp. The DL103 just makes beautiful music and seems to have a real talent for eliminating record surface noise. The DL103 I had was a secondhand one I picked up from one of those online Japanese stores that specialises in selling used gear into the western market. I knew nothing about its history, so wasn't all that surprised one day when it touched down on a piece of vinyl and the cantilever broke off.

In seeking to replace it, this time with a brand new version, I came across a total bargain price for the DL304 and have been happy ever since. Here was the same Denon sound but with far greater transparency and more musical detail. At the price I paid it was more than worth the additional cost above buying a new DL103. The only problem I had was the fact that the DL103 was now useless only because the cantilever had snapped off and I couldn't bear to just throw it away. Sure I had heard about rebuild and retipping services that were available, but I was led to believe that they produced mixed results. Then I came across the particular service that The Soundsmith was offering, thought about it for a while and decided that the idea of ruby cantilever with a nude contact line diamond being added to the dead DL103 was a great way of getting a new DL103 for around about the same price. Obviously, there also seemed like some good potential here for getting an improved sound out of the 103.

Then the evil voice of the audio devil popped into my left ear and said "why not get the rebuild done in a wooden body?" I managed to resist this for quite a while. I had already placed my order with Soundsmith for the ruby cantilever option and the DL103 was winging its way to the US. It was only when Soundsmith emailed to confirm they had received the cartridge, and it was in the standard 13 week wait for a rebuild, that the audio devil popped up again and began a full-frontal assault on convincing me that I would never be happy until the DL103 had been fully reincarnated. After several days I realised that resistance was futile and emailed Soundsmith asking about the wooden body. This option more than double the cost of the rebuild and, coincidentally, took the price of the rebuild to what I had paid for the DL304.

It was audio madness, but I gave into temptation and paid the extra money for the wooden body, then went back to enjoying the 304. Then the fully reincarnated DL103 finally returns in the mail. It looks good but kind of weird too. The wooden body is kind of greenish, it has a brass top plate and you can clearly see that the cantilever is ruby red. Apart from having a certain chunkiness about it, it does not look anything like a Denon cartridge.

I was expecting the sound to be good. I was expecting that it would sound nothing like the DL103 any longer and nothing like any of the other Denon cartridges I had ever heard. I was not expecting the sound to be gob-smacking astonishing. As soon as it touched down on a piece of vinyl for the first time, I knew I was in goose-bump territory. It was the Denon sound taken to a whole new height. The richness and timbre that I love in the Denons had suddenly and dramatically burst into a full and glorious bloom. The clarity, transparency and detail reached beyond not just what the DL103 could do, but the 304 as well, and the soundstaging was simply magical.

I am tempted to say that, with hindsight, I didn't really need to spend the money on the DL304. It's an exceptionally good cartridge and worth every cent I paid for it, but the reincarnated DL103 is simply astounding. It is the cheapest way that I've come across to buy a cartridge that is clearly hitting at the big end of town.

A Tale of Two Amps (Part 1) - The McChanson MarzE Single Ended Triode

It's highly likely that there are only a few people who have heard one of these rather exquisite 8 watt per channel SET valve amps. McChanson is hardly a household name when it comes to stereo systems, yet the maker of these amps, Eric Chan, has been involved with valve amplifiers since the 1960s. He's currently a one man cottage industry, building stereo and guitar amplifiers from his residence in the leafy suburb of Burwood (Sydney, Australia).

I came across Eric largely by chance. Over the last 3 or so years, I have grown interested in what the Chinese have being doing with bringing cheaper valve stereo amps to the international market. Irrespective of the debates about the quality of some Chinese gear, the Chinese have allowed many of us, myself included, to hear what that really expensive valve sound was all about, without having to buy in at the higher end. So in idle moments I regular check valve amps on Ebay just to see what the latest "remarkable" offer might be. Three months ago, the McChanson amp pops up within my Ebay scope and I notice that the seller was in Australia and that what he was offering was truly remarkable indeed.

The offer simply was this: A custom built single ended triode Class A amplifier for between $600 and $750 Australian, depending on which components you chose. Basically, Eric was offering me an opportunity to place an order with him on Ebay, and then work with me (when I won the bid) to build the amp. As I said a remarkable offer, an offer that I thought was too good to be true. So I Googled "McChanson amplifiers" and ended up going through a long list of dud results to find some wonderful snippets about Eric's guitar amplifiers on obscure (to me) guitarist forums. Comments were universally full of praise for the tone Eric's amps could produce, and I realised that a McChanson guitar amp had a bit of a cult following, not just with guitarists in Australia, but also in the UK and the US. Could not find one single thing about one of his stereo amps, but this was looking like it had potential.

So I contacted Eric and we had a very interesting email conversation about what he does and how he works, and I was totally knocked out by his knowledge and how humble he was about having such knowledge. I asked Eric at one point that if I didn't like the amp he built for me would he be unhappy if I resold it? His response was that if I did not like it he would be happy for me to re-sell it, but he was 100% confident that I would like it. He was 100% correct.

Work commenced on my amp in late June and Eric kept in contact with me by email nearly every day. He would send me pictures when he had cut the top plates, when he had commenced the point to point wiring, and ask questions about which of the components he might use that I would prefer. This was during the football world cup, and Eric is a big soccer fan, and he would email me occasionally saying "no work on your amp today, I stayed up all night watching the football" and we ended up discussing the world cup results for several emails.

I ended up paying just over $700 for the McChanson MarzE amp Eric built for me. Better tranformers and the ability to switch between pentode and triode mode. Triode is sweeter; Pentode gives you a bit more kick in power. I made the decision upfront to go with the 6L6 power valves in the amp, and hence have them as strapped pentodes for the SET stage. Eric offers to build this amp in pure triode mode for 300B valves.

I shied away from the 300B configuration; just search the internet and see how much each 300B valve costs. Out of my league right now.

When Eric says he is building the amp in 6L6 mode, he means the whole family of valves that work that way. For example, KT 66s can be used, and EL 34s, easily done with a bias adjustment with a multimeter. This is very much an interactive piece of gear. And you will change the valves to suit what you like. You can't do that with solid state.

Okay, I guess the big question is what does it sound like? Unbelievably transparent; rich and full and incredibly detailed. It gives a big three dimensional sound on vinyl that makes it hard to listen to CD on a good solid state amplifier. So it seems that everybody says that valve amps have warmth; I suppose it does, maybe, but the biggest thing for me is its pure tonal clarity. Vocals and instruments just sound so real on the McChanson.

For the price, this is a simply a killer of an amplifier. And the service you get from Eric, well, what can I say, other than he is an exceptional and honest person, who treats his customers with the utmost respect, and endeavours to find out what they like in order to deliver an amp that suits their tastes.

And what is even better for me is that most nights I get to play it as loud as I want. I am the only guy in a family of five, and yep female ears are more sensitive, particularly to any distortion. There is no distortion on a McChanson amp. None at all.

Here's the link to Eric's current Ebay sale.

ISOkinetik ISOdrive Turntable PSU and motor kit for Rega

Not sure how common it is for these kits to arrive without any instructions, but mine did. Repeated emails to the Ebay seller requesting instructions were ignored and a search of the net failed to provide any illumination. The Isokinetik site itself was of no assistance. So I decided to go it alone and post my experience here in case any other unfortunate audio addicts have the same experience.

First of all it helps to know that this kit is not made by Isokinetik itself. It is in fact a combination of the Rega P3 motor upgrade and the Heed Orbital 1 PSU. Is this a bad thing? Yes and No. On the up side is the fact that buying this kit from Isokinetik looks like it is a considerable saving compared to buying the Rega P3 motor upgrade and the Heed Orbital 1 separately. Saving money on audio gear is always a good thing.

But on the down side is the fact that Isokinetik don't tell you this. So if you have already done the Rega P3 motor upgrade, then you will be buying a motor that you don't really need. In my case this wasn't a problem as I was building a new Rega from all new component parts, the foundation being a brand new shiny red Rega plinth that I purchased in the UK.

Now the first problem with the kit, is that is ships with two PCB. One is already connected to the motor and it seems obvious that you should use it. The other comes unconnected and you spend hours looking at them both wondering how they fit together.

The first step is to de-solder the PCB from the motor and hide it in a drawer, or some where else out of sight. You don't need it. Forget about it. It is the Rega PCB for running from the mains power, not the PCB for running from the PSU. The PCB for the PSU only has one component on it -- a red Wima capacitor. Did you need to know that? Probably not.

The next things you do is re-solder the motor wires to the new PCB (the one with the red capacitor). This is pretty straightforward as the solder holes on the PCB are marked Grey, Red, Blue to match the wires on the motor.

Now you need to find yourself an electrical cable to run from the new motor PCB to the PSU. The kit does not come with cables. If you have a spare one sitting around doing nothing like I did, cut of the plugs at both ends to reveal the neutral blue wire and the live brown wire inside. Solder the blue wire to the hole on the PCB across from where the motor's grey wires were soldered. Solder the brown wire to the hole on the PCB across from where where the motor's red and blue wires were soldered.

This completes the wiring at the turntable end. To mount the motor and the PCB follow the Rega instructions which can be found here: These instructions will also tell you how to remove an old Rega Planar motor if that is what you need to do. But the instructions do not cover using a PSU. So if you have a Rega that has an onboard on / off switch, you will end up with 2 wires (usually black) that do nothing. Cut them back to their exit holes in the underside of the plinth and plaster some electrician's tape over them. They will never be needed again.

At the other end of the cable you will need to add the male IEC cable that the kit ships with. It is a pretty ordinary IEC and I had lost of problems with getting its internal clamping screws to secure the brown and blue wires. In the end I had to solder the brown wire to the live pin and the blue to the neutral. Once you have done this, plug the male IEC into the female IEC at the back of the PSU. Then plug another standard cable into the back of the PSU and run it to the mains. Do not run it to your mains filter board, if you are using one. It will suck the freaking life out of your system. The PSU needs to do its own filtering and it probably does it better than any mains filtering board you have.

So is that the end of the problems with this kit. I wish it was, but there is more. The Rega P3 motor upgrade comes with a neat, very nice metal pulley to replace the standard plastic one. This should fit snuggly on the motor spindle and voila you are in vinyl heaven. Not so this time round. The pulley which is 100% vital to making it all work slipped up and down the spindle like a doughnut on a knitting needle. Without even putting the belt on, the pulley would not spin. Checking online forums showed that this was not an uncommon problem, but usually on old Rega gear, not brand new stuff. The solution is to superglue the pulley to the spindle. Not ideal but it works. Considerable care must be taken in doing this. Clearly there are quality control problem here, probably with Rega, but Isokinetik and its sellers too.

There are a few more things that people should know about this kit. The PSU like much stereo equipment needs burn in time. How much I don't know. I have only had it working for the last 24 hours. Currently I think it needs 10 minutes warm up to get it working at its best. But then you have your turntable spinning for that time doing nothing.

So has it made any improvements to the sound? At this stage, I really do not know. I have done the Rega P3 motor upgrade on my Rega Planar and the improvement was excellent, running it through a mains filter board, and without a PSU. The kit sounds as good as that. Just. Only just. It will need to get better over time to justify the money spent. One thing it does which is totally added value is button on the front of the PSU that changes speed between 33 and 45. Oddly, Isokinetik don't promote this feature.

One really odd thing that I have noticed is that the PSU reduces the volume I was getting out of the amp and speakers. I cannot explain this and am totally puzzled by it. There is obviously no connection that I can see but it has happened.

After 48 hours of playing I can say that the music sounds crystal clear. What seems to be missing is the extra oomph that vinyl often gets. You know, it's the thing where the sax or trumpet or lead guitar comes shooting out of the speakers.

The Amazing Denon Dl-304

I won't bore you you what an amazing phono cartridge the Denon 304 is. Suffice to say it is one of the best cartridges in the world. Amazing frequency range, incredible sound staging, tight and clear, and and a tone that is just so beautiful.

Yes the Denon 103 is the legend and for good reason. Denon have been making this industry standard since the 1960s and it is as good as everybody says it is. Anybody interested in vinyl reproduction needs to listen to a Denon 103. But then there is the Denon 304 which costs 3-4 times the amount that the 103 costs. Is it 3 to 4 times better? That is a difficult and impossible question to answer. The 103 is so very good and its variants like the 103R and the 103SA are superb. But the DL-304 is just sublime.

Normally it sells for a standard US$699 but there are some great places to get it at a great price just now:

Mantra Audio in the UK: 291 pounds

HiFi Exchange Australia: AUD $525

HiFi Exchange also has the top of the range Denon DL-S1 available at a price that is equal or better than international competitors. I haven't heard this one so I can't comment.

The Denon 304 is not cheap but it is worth every cent. If you are thinking about buying that Denon DL103sa collector's item then I suggest you think twice. The 103sa is a beautiful cartridge but it doesn't do what the 304 does.

Yes, I am a big fan of Denon cartridges, and Denon pay me nothing to give them free advertising. This is not a spam blog. I have contacted Denon Australia three times about expanding the cartridge range they offer in Australia and ever time I have had no response.

While I will be monitoring the prices of Denon cartridges and posting them here I also hope in the coming weeks to talk about two very special amplifiers I have recently come across and hope to get interviews on the blog from their makers.

Like a lot of people I'm a big fan of what Denon cartridges do. What they do fullstop. Then when you take price into account they seem to the best value for money around. If you shop wisely. The prices for Denon carts are quite often all over the shop, so here's a rundown of the range of prices I found on the internet in an idle moment.

DL103 UK pounds: 99 to 129; US dollars: 229 to 249

DL103R UK pounds: 212 to 289; US dollars: 369 to 379

DL103SA UK pounds: 382 to 449; US dollars: 399 to 499

DL301 US dollars: 299 to 329 -- no UK prices; this cart seems to be the poor cousin out of the whole range

DL304 UK pounds: 291 to 379!!!; US dollars: Pretty uniform at around 699.

DLS1 Us dollars: 849 to 949

DL110 UK pounds 139 to 149; US dollars 139 to 149!!!

DL160 UK pounds, pretty uniform at 169; US dollars 179.

For an Australian buyer of these carts, there are some really obvious things going on here.

Buy a DL103 from the UK.

Buy a 103R from the UK at the lower end or the US at the lower end.

Buy a DL103SA from the US; the UK prices for this cart are astonomical. It's a limited edition, only 1000 or was that 2000 made:) :) Maybe a joke on the consumer, but still I want one.

Buy a DL304 from the UK. The US prices for this cart are fair. But for some reason this cart is undervalued in the UK. I've got one, it's brilliant. At the low end of the UK price it's a steal with the current Aussie exchange rate. (try Mantra Audio) Also there's an Aussie seller with a great price. More on this later.

DLS1 -- you'd need a bloody good reason for wanting one, but you can save $100 US by shopping around. I still haven't heard of this cart being available in the UK, but there is an Aussie seller who has them. Which I will pick up in the next post.

Both the DL110 and DL160 must be bought from the US. The prices for these carts between the UK and US defy the exchange rates.

Mostly all of the carts I have listed above will be cheaper if you buy overseas at the best price, including shipping, than buying in Australia. Ask the UK guys to give a price excluding VAT if it's not already listed. Mantra Audio does this. It has a great price on the DL 304, but not all its prices are the best.

Not all of these carts are available in Australia, but before you buy check out the price in Australia and tally up the shipping costs. Sometimes you get lucky.