My review of the New Valve Order SPA-II phono preamplifier is now live at Positive Feedback Online here.
Here's a couple of snippets from the review:
"It's always a pleasure for me to introduce to the readers of Positive Feedback Online a talented fine audio constructeur, this time Andreas Hadjiminas, working out of Nicosia, Cyprus. Andreas does his artistic expression in vacuum tube circuits, and has created the impressive SPA-II phono preamplifier containing a whopping 22 vacuum tubes—it is a delight to behold! The SPA-II (Stereo Phono Amplifier-II) is the statement phono preamplifier that Andreas developed for his audio electronics company, New Valve Order (NVO) Audio. "
"To put Andreas a context familiar to those of you who regularly read my reviews and blog, think of Don Garber and Noriyasu Komuru, who have been quietly building ultra-quality, artisan-level products in the Grand Constructeur tradition in North America for years. What Panikos had suggested would be the equivalent of Don or Nori building special production runs of limited edition electronics, much as Taku Hyodo did with the CS300X Limited Edition for his private label Leben lineup in Japan."
"Given the quality of the construction (the SPA-II reminds me of Audio Research electronics both in appearance and build quality), the fact that it is a cutting edge phono preamplifier design with 22 vacuum tubes, and that it sounds magnificent, $4600 USD is a ridiculously fair price for the SPA-II. Think of it like this: remember when word just started to leak out about the musical significance of Shindo or Leben electronics, and when you could buy them for a reasonable price before the price shot sky-high? Well that's what you have here with the New Valve Order SPA-II, an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of something wonderful at a very fair price."
"Andreas is such a designer, and the SPA-II is such a component, one that has an inherent musicality, an ability to display timbre, textures, tone color, melody, and the harmonies, in such a way that makes music engaging, musically believable, and fun to listen to. Really, for most people who just really enjoy listening to a wide variety of music, this is what's most important in a piece of Hi-Fi kit. In other words, the SPA-II has the ability to musically open up a lot more of a music collection than most gear, because it brings out the best of the musical content, while still managing to sound good in the typical audiophile sense of that word, for imaging, soundstage, sense of space and the like. At least that's what I've found with my time using the SPA-II in my Hi-Fi rig. The SPA-II makes a greater percentage of my LPs musically satisfying to listen to than any other phono stage I've had come through my system yet, and it sounds great while doing it. That's really, really, high praise on my part for the SPA-II, by the way."
"That basic scenario took place time after time while spending time with the SPA-II. I'd put on an album, any album, and be blown away by the music. Whether it was Mozart's Don Giovanni (Maazel, Columbia Masterworks 35192, 1979), or Rickie's Pop Pop, or Sinatra's Sinatra & Jobim, or Jug's Live! In Chicago, or any jazz album, or any blues album, or any rock album, or any classical album, or what have you, I always felt I was getting musica maximus from my records with the SPA-II, and man, is that ever gratifying.
Overall, the New Valve Order SPA-II when setup the way I had it in my system was rich and a bit dark & warm; excelled in reproducing the textures and tonal colors that make up timbre; and performed beautifully on all of the musically meaningful elements like tempo, melody, harmony, rhythm, and dynamics that make music come alive in your listening room. I'd say it was about dead even with the Leben in regard to musical content prowess. The SPA-II is very good in the way it performs on audiophile-style recording artifacts like imaging, soundstaging, sense of space, transparency, and detail recovery, but not quite as adept at these elements as the Leben RS-30EQ is. However, the artful balance between musicality and sonics that Andreas has achieved with the SPA-II makes for a compelling statement, and it does make a greater number of my LPs sound more like music than my Leben does. On a few really good recordings the Leben is superior, but the most of the times the SPA-II gets the nod for being more musically engaging. That's pretty impressive, because the Leben's calling card is about being musically engaging as well, but the SPA-II does it better on more records.
The New Valve Order SPA-II designed by Andreas Hadjiminas is a significant achievement in vacuum tube phono preamplifier design, and it's easy to understand why Andreas' friend Panikos Kontemeniotis is so enthusiastic about it. At $4600 I think Andreas and Panikos are going to have lots of new friends and fans from around the world. Highly recommended to music lovers everywhere!"
