PATHOS Logos
Integrated amplifiers
The Pathos Logos has a big sense for "be there". Whatever I played I had a feeling that I am peering over the sound engineer's shoulder, or that I am part of the audience at an open air concert. It was so alive that I started to realize that there were also other paths to find the audiophile nirvana than the precised and pristine sound.
Function and form
The Logos is specified to output 110Wpc into 8 ohms (220Wpc into 4 ohms) and it combines the solid-state and vaccum tube design in one. Two Sovtek 6922 tubes are visibly resting in the wooden deco block in front of a mirror that multiplies their light. The solid-state output stage is dual-mono and outfitted with oversized transformers and power supplies and it operates in Class A before it switches into AB at a higher power output.
The Logos provides 5x RCA inputs and 2x XLR inputs plus simple speaker terminals. Other than that it is quite a minimalistic device.
Bass management
If I should use just one adjective to describe the Logos's sound it would be raw. The sound is right in your face, full force and alive as if it was extracted directly from a mixing console. I have never heard such an animalistic presentation in high end.
Despite its aristocratic look the Logos does not deliver the super fragile sound of high end esoterica that is easily thrown out of balance by moving your head by an inch. Its performance is robust, fierce and unbelievably entertaining. Is it the last word in resolution, transparency or articulation? No, no and no. But it is a kind of honest and brutal which I found very appealing.
Clarity & delicacy
Macy Gray's I Want to be Your Mother´s Son-in-Law is - through the Logos - a real-life-sized big band that plays tight as one man. Not that the Pathos homogenizes the soundstage, quite opposite, it is wide and deep, nicely layered and resolved, but the musicians play together, the performance does not disintegrate into individual sonic elements. In other words: this is about the band, not its members.
Tonal accuracy
The design of the Logos is exactly what you may expect from an Italian manufacturer: the shapes, materials and ergonomy - all is quite unusual yet artistic in a way. The center of the amp's front is occupied by a chromed volume knob (volume control is achieved through the array of high precision resistors) with a small red display on it that informs on the input selection.
Spatial resolution
Though you can control all amp's functions via miniatuire buttons or a high-class remote, it is always a hit and miss affair as nothing is really marked. On powering up a big red "P" starts blinking on the Logos's display which means that the am is getting ready. It takes about 1 minute before the tubes are in the operational mode. Then you can give it a try and press some button. It does not really matter which one as all are the same size, no description anywhere. So if you resist looking into the manual the only option is to try one by one. Despite this challenge, once you learn how to operate the amp the control becomes breeze.
Recommended resellers
High-End Audio Studio, Praha, tel. +420 224 256 844
Manufacturer's website: http://www.pathosacoustics.com
Associated components
- Sources: Accuphase DP-78, Pioneer PD-S905
- Amplifiers: Accuphase E-210A
- Loudspeakers: Audio Physic Virgo V, Dynaudio Confidence C1, Dynaudio Contour 1.1, Velodyne SPL-800 Ultra
- Interconnects and speaker cables: Homegrown Audio DNA, Van den Hul The Orchid, VDH The Revolution, OCOS
- Power conditioning: Isotek Multiway, Monster Power HTS2600
Gallery
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