VAN MEDEVOORT CA470
Preamplifiers
In Van Medevoort’s hierarchy the CA470 was designed to complement the PA472 power amplifier and PA471 monoblocks. Such a combination delivers true high end sound that is difficult to find elsewhere for the same budget.
Funkce a forma
The CA470 shares its aesthetics with the power amplifier, as well as with all other Van Medevoort products, except for the flagship models. These are not show-off units, rather very sparsely conceived devices that make the sound – not looks – their highest priority. The simple black coated steel chassis has an aluminum fascia and is really robust and solid. The fascia hosts an ON/OFF switch and another 6 pushbuttons for switching between inputs. The volume control is a good old school rotary knob. There are no VU meters, no tone controls, and no headphone outputs. On the back panel there are 5 RCA inputs and only 1 XLR one, which I find surprising considering the professional audio background of Van Medevoort. There are 2 RCA pre-outs which is good if you need to drive subwoofers. The CA470 can be linked to the PA472 via a DC RCA link. Alike the PA472 the CA470 is a class A amplifier.
In my PA472 review I was enthusiastic about how silent the power amplifier was. I cannot say the same about the CA470 that sends audible hiss into the speakers. Van Medevoort acknowledges that this is the tax to pay for the design for the sake of sonic benefits.
Nízké frekvence
If you are on the quest for a preamplifier that should be used with a non-Van Medevoort power amplifier I would not recommend buying the CA470. I tried to combine it this way and the results were far from satisfactory, including grounding hum problems. Also, when the CA470 was used with other brands of power amps, I was missing more body to the sound, colors were faded and soundstage unimpressive. All these things disappear like by a magic trick when the CA470 is paired with the Van Medevoort PA472 power amplifier. The symbiotic effect is very strong here, actually so strong that it seems that the CA470 repels power amps other than Van Medevoort’s. I don’t find it surprising – the times of combining pre’s and power’s of different makes are over, unless you can dedicate a lot of time, money and efforts to finding the “right ones”. So further in my review I concentrated on the CA470 sounds in pair with the PA472.
Čistota rozlišení
Let me make a remark: for me Van Medevoort electronics worked always their best when interconnected by XLR cables. This is no wonder if you consider the professional audio part of the Van Medevoort’s business. Then, once again, I am wondering about the proliferous RCA inputs of the preamplifier, considering that Van Medevoort makes also digital sources.
I used Amsterdam Symphony’s recording of Don Giovanni on JBR label while auditioning the PA472 and I wrote that “On the selections from Mozart’s Don Giovanni dramatic opera the PA472 did not try to recreate the event, rather it grabbed me with the seat and transported me to the event, to the gothic Grote Kerk van Naarden during the performance.” Naturally I used the very same recording to hear what the CA470 would bring to the mix. And it did bring splendid improvements.
Tonální věrnost
On the solo parts of Michael Willerming (Leporello) I could hear how the sounds transforms from already great to fantastic. The basic character of the PA472’s sound is preserved (indicating that the CA470 is transparent in this set-up) but it is improved in many ways that can be summed into “more thereness”. The vocal becomes better articulated, more dimensional and more easily trackable as it moved in the soundstage and as the head moved in its relative position to the microphone port. Also the orchestral parts became better delineated and their physical presence and palpability became a grade better. The soundstage was wide and deep and the instruments could be easily tracked within it, including the reverbs coming back from the cathedral’s walls.
The piano in Big Tears Fall (Nils Lofgren, Acoustic Live, Analogue Productions) became more realistic in timbre with the CA470, its decays became more tactile and it became clearer which space the whole instrument occupied.
Prostorovost
I recommend reading our review of Van Medevoort PA472 together with this review because all other sonic achievements that I described with the PA472 hold true here too. In retrospect the combination of the CA470/PA472 was among the most enjoyable that I listened to in long time. It is rather unusual that I miss the components that I was reviewing and if I do then I buy them. I already have good amplification so both Van Medevoorts would be redundant, but I do miss them.
Note: The SOUND score relates to the combination of the PA472/CA470 for this is how the manufacturer designed it. The scores of other attributes relate to the preamplifier alone.
Doporučení prodejci
AudioRanny, Praha, tel. +420 777 003 134
Web výrobce: http://www.vanmedevoortaudio.nl
Připojené komponenty
- Sources: Accuphase DP-720, Mark Levinson No.5101, Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC
- Amplifiers: TAD M-2500, Leak Stereo 130
- Interconnects and speaker cables: AudioQuest Dragon Bass | Zero, Krautwire Numeric Digital, Krautwire MAX-S, Ansuz Signalz C2, Ansuz Signalz D2, Accuphase RCA, AudioQuest Carbon
- Loudspeakers: TAD Evolution One E1, Sonus Faber Gravis I
- Power conditioning: Block Audio Snakeblock, Shunyata Research Denali, Synergistic Research Atmosphere Level 2, Nordost Qv2, Qk1 and QPoint, Stromtank S-1000 and S-2500 Quantum
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