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The Sonic Euphoria PLC |
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Getting caught up in the Sonic
Euphoria |
Michael
Wright
April 2004
What is all the Euphoria
about?
One of the great benefits of being an
audio reviewer is all of the different companies that
you come into contact with. Obviously
reviewing components from widely respected companies
like Conrad Johnson (whose splendid MF2500A amp and
Premier 18 preamp I reviewed a while back) is great,
but it’s those companies that aren’t yet in the
mainstream that make this job so neat. These guys tend
to be unpretentious and really are all about the
music. We all share a love for music and the means
with which we achieve this end. This couldn’t have
been any truer than at this past winter’s CES, where I
spent a lot of time mingling with manufactures from
smaller, mostly unheard of companies.
It was in one of these rooms that I was fortunate
enough to come across Jeff Hagler of Sonic Euphoria.
He was telling me all about his new Passive Line
Controller (PLC) preamp and admittedly I was
completely taken with its elegant simplicity which
could be seen through the acrylic top on the display
model. My only previous experiences with passive
linestages had been with Steve McCormack's Line Drive
from the early 90’s and a Placette Audio passive
linestage. I heard the Placette piece in one of the
local audio shops a while back, in a system that I was
not very familiar with and couldn’t really make a
value judgment on it. Hopefully. I’ll get to hear it
in an environment that I’m familiar with and can
report on it to you at a later date. But the Line
Drive I had at home for a while and can say my
experience with it was mixed. I was not accustomed to
the operation and nuances of a passive preamp and did
not enjoy it as much as I could have had I been more
knowledgeable about what I was working with.
First, let me speak a bit about the generalities and
idiosyncrasies of passive linestages. Since there is
no active circuitry, they are not suppose to be able
to drive long interconnect and even with shorter runs
of interconnect you’ll want to make sure the cable is
low in capacitance. They also require the use of line
sources that typically have high output and they need
to be hooked up to amplifiers that have a high input
impedance. For whatever reason, after listening to
passive linestages, I always felt better off listening
to an active linestage afterwards.
But there was something different about the Sonic
Euphoria that drew me closer to it. Not only were
there no active parts on the inside, but here were
dozens and dozens of copper wires that looked as if
someone took great time and effort to run each one
neatly from the volume and selector switches, to the
autoformers and then to the input and output
connectors at the back of the preamp. My ears really
pricked up when Jeff mentioned that the balanced
version of the preamp that he was showing me was only
$1,795 and that he also had a single-ended unit
selling for $1,195! I started thinking to myself,
“Hmmmmm, Cancun may have to wait. I hope the wife
likes the Wisconsin Dells.” Jeff invited me to step
into the next room and do a little listening and I
came away impressed. Track after track came through
clean and clear and with impact. My curiosity was
peaked and I just had to get one of these passive
preamps home for a review. A few weeks later, one
arrived. The unit I received was single-ended. I plan
on getting a balanced PLC in house and will do a
follow up to this review in the months to come.
The look of Euphoria
The outside of the preamp is fairly
minimalist but still has enough going on to catch your
attention, trust me. Even though your $1,195 is not
spent on any frills or a light show doesn’t mean that
the preamp isn’t attractive because it is. Compared to
some of the other passive preamp offerings, e.g.,
Channel Island, FT Audio and even the Placette, you
would be very impressed with the PLC’s looks. The
faceplate is a 1/2 inch thick brushed aluminum with
nice metalwork and come in either silver with silver
knobs or black with black knobs.
Affixed to the lower right corner of the PLC is a
small label with the name ‘Sonic Euphoria’ on it.
There are three knobs on the front of the preamp for
source selection, volume control, and a half step
switch. The source selector and volume control
switches are by Elma. They are precision-made, of very
high quality and rated for 25,000 cycles. The action
of the knobs is a little stiff but nothing that would
be bothersome. The selector switch has six positions
that are not labeled so you’ll have to take care to
make sure you know which inputs you have your
equipment on. Since I only use two inputs, phono and
CD, this was not a problem. You folks who will need to
use four or more inputs need to make sure you come up
with your own system for remembering which piece of
equipment is on which input selector position.
The volume selector is a little larger than the other
two selector knobs and has 24 positions, each position
is in increments of 1.8dB steps. The third, and
probably least used knob is the ‘Half Step’ switch.
This switch will reduce the volume level by about
0.9dB or ½ the level of a standard volume control
step. In the up position, this switch is not engaged
and entirely out of the circuit path. In the down
position you will experience a slightly reduced volume
level. Sonic Euphoria recommends not using this switch
unless entirely necessary. The best sound quality is
with this switch in the up position and is where I had
it for the entirety of this review. If you do want to
use or experiment with this switch, do not use it if
you have the volume up high or around step 19 (or 20,
but who’s counting) because it will not function
properly. In fact, to be safe, I would talk to Jeff
first to see if using it in your configuration is even
necessary. Like I said, I never used it or found the
need to use it, you might. The back of the preamp is
fairly straight-forward. There are four input
connectors and three outputs, one of which is a tape
out. There are several upgrade options you can get
with this preamp such as a remote control. Another is
WBT connectors. They cost $30 per pair for each set of
inputs or outputs.
This preamp also employs the use of a grounding cable
to ground the chassis. Connect the banana end to the
grounding post on the back of the PLC and plug the
other end into a standard wall outlet. The power pins
are not connected. This method was chosen as an easy
way to connect the ground. The purpose of the ground
connection is to drain any charges that may accumulate
on the chassis and to prevent static discharges from
appearing on the audio signal. The right and left
signal grounds are isolated from the chassis as well
as each other. This is done to assure as much channel
separation as possible. The inside of the preamp is
unlike anything I’ve seen before. As I mentioned
earlier, there are short lengths of copper wire being
run inside of the preamp from back to front and side
to side, all done very neatly, point-to-point and with
what had to be a lot of painstaking care. The
connectors as well as all of the switches seemed to be
tight, with no play or looseness and all of the places
where solder was used were clean and professionally
done.
The most prominent feature on the inside of the PLC
has to be the two autoformers. As Jeff Hagler explains
it, “An autoformer is a simplified transformer, in
which the primary and the secondary share the same
windings. They generally function the same as a
transformer. Since the input and output share they
same winding it is a simpler device than a full
transformer (this is good), but for the same reason it
cannot provide electrical isolation between the input
and output. Electrical isolation is good for noise
filtration, particularly ground loops. The autoformers
are significant in their ability to convert energy
between voltage and current, thus yielding current
gain during normal operation. Second are the impedance
matching capabilities, which can enhance the
compatibility of the source to the amplifier. These
are two big advantages over resistor/pot based units.”
I’ll add here that inside of the balanced PLC are two
pairs of autoformers and twice as much of the copper
cabling that’s inside of the unbalanced version. This
may account for much of the price difference.
The sound of Euphoria
Let me explain something to you before I
get into describing how the PLC sounds. Please,
whatever you do, do not think of this as just some
overachieving $1,200 preamp because if you do, you’ll
be cheating yourself big time. In fact, don’t even
think about price when reading my description of the
sound of the preamp. Friends who came by and listened
to the PLC while I was evaluating it guessed prices
anywhere from $3,000-$6,000. So let’s just say that it
sounds like it’s worth far more than it actually cost.
Actually, I did get a kick out of the sheepish grins
and looks of amazement when I told them the price.
Sonically, this preamp will hold it’s own with most
preamps available, and definitely
with any 3-4 times it’s price. Any stereotypes you’ve
developed about passive preamps, particularly when it
comes to cable length, you’ll need to discard when
thinking about this unit. I routinely used 1-2 meter
long interconnect between my sources and the PLC and
2-3 meter long interconnect from the PLC to the
amplifier and encountered no problems. When I do my
follow-up with the balanced PLC, I’ll be sure to
report on the effects of longer runs. Most of my
listening was done with the volume control in the
1:00-3:00 range, but even then, I experienced no hum,
popping, crosstalk, or any sonic anomalies whatsoever.
I was getting more than enough volume to drive my
Martin Logan Quests (just ask my wife) even when using
my Thor T-3000 tube phono preamp. The only time I did
have an issue with hum wound up being the ground on my
Merrill turntable coming loose, and that was it.
When listening to the PLC, one of the first things
you’ll have to get used to is how natural the musical
portrayal is. If the character of the rest of your
audio system is neutral, the PLC will render music
that is clear and without discernible distortions. It
has helped me to easily and quickly identify the
changes in my system every time I swapped out a piece
of equipment or cable. This alone, to me, makes it an
invaluable tool in doing equipment reviews. In terms
of its performance in the realm of dynamics, high
frequency extension and low bass extension and slam,
it only seems to be limited by the equipment it’s used
with. For example, when listening to CDs with my Sony
XA7ES feeding the PLC, the highs were soft, dynamics
did not have as much impact as I would have liked and
while the bass was extended, it was not very tuneful.
I switched to the Cary 303/200 and all was right with
the world. Extended yet sweet and airy highs, a close
to palpable midrange with dimensionality and bass that
was not only deep, but also tuneful. I made another
change, this time to the highly regarded
Electrocompaniet EMC-1 and it bought me slightly more
detail, high end extension and air with bass impact,
but was not quite as musical as the Cary. It was still
a joy to listen to. I can’t wait to try this player in
its balanced mode when the opportunity presents itself
(Dave Thomas assures me that balanced, the EMC-1 is
without equal).
My most enjoyable listening sessions came when playing
vinyl and combining the PLC with the Thor T-3000 phono
preamp. The T-3000 is easily the most cherished part
of my system and the PLC, having no active components
inside, easily let me see why.
The point I’m getting at here is that every time I
changed something in the system, the change was
immediately apparent. In most cases, the character of
the music changed and I could better analyze each
components effect on the music. It takes a talented
preamp to both control a system while staying out of
the way of its sound.
Musical Euphoria and a
comparison
I had the opportunity to listen to a lot
of great music through the PLC starting with vinyl.
Sonny Rollin’s Tenor Madness [Prestige] contains one
of the greatest saxophone vs. saxophone confrontations
ever recorded when Rollins and John Coltrane try to
one up each other towards the end of the title cut.
With the PLC it was easy to tell when Rollins stopped
playing and Coltrane began, and vice versa. The track
“Walkin’” from Miles Davis’ Cookin at the
Plugged Nickel [Columbia] filled my room with the
ambience of the live event and Miles seemingly playing
his trumpet in between my speakers. I especially liked
Wayne Shorter’s sax work and Herbie Hancock’s steady
piano, which underscores this piece.
An even bigger treat was to be had on the Miles Davis
and John Coltrane album Live from Stockholm 1960
[Dragon] where they play “All Blues” with a
verve and passion the Swedes have probably not
experienced since. The recording was only okay
probably due to some poor microphone set up but the
performances were great. On Betty Carter’s Look What I
Got [Verve], her warm, full husky voice comes through
clearly on the title track. I really got a greater
appreciation for her singing style and the uncanny way
she phrases a song. On H. Owen Reed’s “La Fiesta
Mexicana” from Fiesta [Reference Recordings] which
features the Dallas Wind Symphony lead by Howard Dunn,
the rousing opening with brass, bells and tympani all
come at you at once. The PLC orchestrated this opening
with aplomb and sent room-shuddering bass through the
excellent Soaring Audio SLC-A300 amplifier (review
coming).
Things were going quite smoothly when the Dynamic
Design cable company’s Don Smith came by with some of
his White interconnect and Silver speaker cables with
bass bi-wire cables to see how they would fare in my
system. Ohhhhhhhhhhh! Why did he go and do that! The
system took a huge step up in musicality, detail and
bass impact. Seems the PLC enjoyed receiving and
giving via this cable and interconnect. And these
aren’t even their best cables, but come from the
middle of their line (their more expensive Platinum
cables will the subject of an upcoming review). A
couple of the more memorable selections we played were
“Blue In Green” and “Sometime Ago” from
Lee Ritenour’s CD Stolen Moments CD [GRP]. Both
of these selections caused me to close my eyes and get
taken somewhere while Lee softly plays his guitar.
Another joy was listening to Tchaikovsky’s Violin
Concerto featuring Itzhak Perlman and The Philadelphia
Orchestra lead by Eugene Ormandy. Itzhak is one of
the true treasures we have in any vane of music and
the PLC allows you to hear more of his skill and
artistry come through clearly.
To be totally fair, on a couple of fronts, if a
comparison is to be made, it should be with another
passive preamp. To my mind, passives like the Placette
and probably the Bent NOH come to mind as other worthy
competitors to the PLC. But truthfully, the Sonic
Euphoria can be favorably compared to some active
preamps costing much more as well. This preamp is
lively, dynamic, musical and a tremendous steal at its
price. I did compare the PLC briefly to my Thor T-1000
linestage, which, bear in mind, is of Mark I vintage.
When I switched to the Thor, the soundstage became
slightly larger, a little bit wider, and even a bit
more musical. I was impressed at how neutral the Thor
sounded even compared to a passive design. The high
end and midrange performance is exceptional on both in
terms of upper frequency information and openness. The
Thor has a slightly warmer sounding midrange while the
PLC sounded more neutral. At the same time, the Thor
did not have quite the naturalness of the PLC on brass
and cymbals or the same string articulation on bass or
guitars. Both leave nothing to be desired when it
comes to low end performance. The bass seemed fuller
and had better impact with the Thor, but was slightly
deeper and tighter with the PLC. Other than the
addictive tube warmth you get with the Thor, all of
these comparisons were fairly close which says a lot,
I think for the Sonic Euphoria.
On the other hand, even though I could clearly hear
those areas where the PLC may have been better, the
Thor was still very musically satisfying and
involving. The PLC has caused me to decide to send the
Thor in for the Mark II update. It was a classical
confrontation between a passive preamp and one that
was active. I have to tell you that in my system, the
PLC more than held it’s own with the Thor. Tube lovers
probably would give the nod to the Thor simply because
they love tubes (something I’ve been guilty of in the
past). On the other hand, solid-state aficionados
definitely would have been impressed that for once,
the passive preamp did not get blown away by the
active one. If nothing else the PLC shows what a
well-designed passive can accomplish when compared to
one of the best preamps available.
Winding it down
One very telling experience I had with
the Sonic Euphoria PLC was when I had a couple of
friends over for a listening session. We were caught
up in the listening when I got up to make a change.
Almost immediately, one of my friends blurts out that
the Sonic Euphoria does have a weakness and that he
was able to pick up on it right away. He commented
that he felt the music had all of a sudden opened up
and that the high frequencies had more air, more
information and that the performers across the stage
seemed more in their on space on the stage, more
dimensional. I had to point out to my friend that I
had actually swapped out the Sony CD player and that
we were now listening to vinyl. The PLC was actually
still in place. He sheepishly smiled and said “I knew
that.” The Thor is going to remain my “active”
reference as there is just too much magic there not to
have one. But the Sonic Euphoria PLC has been such a
joy to listen to and an invaluable tool in evaluating
other equipment and cables. I liked it well enough to
purchase one to use as my “passive” reference. I can’t
recommend it any higher than that.
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Specifications
Specifications:
Voltage gain (configurable): Unity to as
much as 9dB
Output Impedance: 0 to 1000 ohms
Attenuation: 1.8 dB per full step
Half Step Switch: -0.9dB
Volume Positions: 43 (24 full + 19 half
steps)
Inputs/Outputs: 6 in, 3 out
Dimensions: 17 x 13 x 3.5”
Weight: S.E. 14lbs Bal 17lbs
Serial Number: 30903
Price: $1,195 Single Ended, $1,795 Fully
Balanced |
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