Dave told me today to audition this "masterpiece" from Ralph after work. I left early and went straight to his home for a serious audition of 45 minutes. I listened to different type of music. I have to say the Air One is something quite special. Apart from the expected silence from a passive preamp, the most surprising of it is the unlimited dynamic range alongside superb transient response. It is no different from the very best active line stage. Presence of bass instruments is presented majestically with scale, details and speed. Stage is very deep extending beyond the physical boundary of Dave's listening room.
The most shocking feature of it is the wholesome integration of everything in the music landscape. Layers and layers of harmonics from different instruments are superimposing on each other. Yet they are so clearly laid out in the stage. This is quite a new experience unexpected.
So now, after a month I can say that the Cessaro preamp is the one thing in my system I would part with last. It amazed me so much to begin with. I was completely shocked at how big an upgrade it was. I really didn't expect that it would be so good, and be so much better than my previous (active) preamp.
The space, air and HUGE soundstage. The way bass has improved dramatically. The beautiful textures and tonality, the way the whole musical tapestry hangs together is just SO natural and right. You have to hear it to believe it. I've never heard anything like it.
I am so pleased PT gave me the chance to buy it! And most of all thanks to Ralph!
I nearly forgot- one bonus feature for us HK apartment dwellers- it's fantastic at low volumes for late night listening,
Hi Jeff, bass is somehow deeper, tighter, more tuneful. I was never unhappy with the dynamics of my old preamp but the Cessaro is just MORE. The soundstage is much bigger and deeper than before (MUCH deeper). But the biggest and best difference for me is the whole presentation. Instruments and voices are simultaneously more separate and better defined, yet still better integrated into the whole picture. It sounds stupid, I know. (PT said it better than me above).
You just have to listen and forget anything you knew about passive or active. You don't need another gain stage, but you DO need a huge silver transformer in your pre!
Had a short encounter of the Air 1 in my system before it was delivered to my friend who is now another proud owner of this masterpiece preamp....the preamp is absolutely designed for high efficiency horn speaker system. When it is switched on with the power amp, I could barely hear any noise from the mid-range horn. This is a point where my best house preamps cannot do. I think this is the magic of this 'passive' preamp incurring no coloration, no energy loss, no 'additives', no compression.
Music and sound wise, the most noticeable improvement from my previous setups is on the background darkness and the noise platform leading to a much more natural mellowness of the vocal and spatial transparency. Free flow of dynamics energy filling up a seemingly larger soundstage differentiating distinctively each and every objects in the performance.
This is really an amazing preamp. The very first impression is, the whole stage becomes wider and deeper. Each side is around 2 ft wider, and much deeper than I expected. It's not just a bigger image, but the music becomes more majestic and lively too. The dynamics is very good, with no suppression on energy. Besides, it is super quiet, nearly zero electric noise coming out from my mid to treble horns. It makes the sound so pure, open, stable and accurate. This preamp got the quietness, dynamics, 3d imaging, transparence, majestic presentation, stability. To sum up in one line: It got everything! Besides, I love that I don't need another crazy power cord to add colors or personality to it. It just gives you what your source gives. A brilliant design with excellent craftmanship!
What a great piece you have out there! I can see a suite of Wadax there. With high output from Wadax, it will mate extremely well with Air One. David in the same thread had written similar comments like yours. Enjoy!
How do you compare Air One to Takumi K15EX? The latter I had just auditioned ar AE during lunch time. It is mind boggling when PT play a cut of Teresa Teng. I truly mean and swear I have never experienced Teresa Teng at such realism
Comments
We are all waiting for your report on Cessaro Air One.
Let us know once you are familiar with it in your system.
The most shocking feature of it is the wholesome integration of everything in the music landscape. Layers and layers of harmonics from different instruments are superimposing on each other. Yet they are so clearly laid out in the stage. This is quite a new experience unexpected.
The space, air and HUGE soundstage. The way bass has improved dramatically. The beautiful textures and tonality, the way the whole musical tapestry hangs together is just SO natural and right. You have to hear it to believe it. I've never heard anything like it.
I am so pleased PT gave me the chance to buy it! And most of all thanks to Ralph!
I nearly forgot- one bonus feature for us HK apartment dwellers- it's fantastic at low volumes for late night listening,
In what way does the Cessaro Air One better than your previous active preamp in the areas of dynamic and transient responses?
I am trying to understand from a conventional mindset how possible is a passive preamp better than an active one in such areas?
You just have to listen and forget anything you knew about passive or active. You don't need another gain stage, but you DO need a huge silver transformer in your pre!
Music and sound wise, the most noticeable improvement from my previous setups is on the background darkness and the noise platform leading to a much more natural mellowness of the vocal and spatial transparency. Free flow of dynamics energy filling up a seemingly larger soundstage differentiating distinctively each and every objects in the performance.
This preamp got the quietness, dynamics, 3d imaging, transparence, majestic presentation, stability. To sum up in one line: It got everything!
Besides, I love that I don't need another crazy power cord to add colors or personality to it. It just gives you what your source gives. A brilliant design with excellent craftmanship!
What a great piece you have out there! I can see a suite of Wadax there. With high output from Wadax, it will mate extremely well with Air One. David in the same thread had written similar comments like yours. Enjoy!
How do you compare Air One to Takumi K15EX? The latter I had just auditioned ar AE during lunch time. It is mind boggling when PT play a cut of Teresa Teng. I truly mean and swear I have never experienced Teresa Teng at such realism