Cambridge Audio Alva Solo Moving Magnet Phono Preamplifier - Silver

L'ampli est arrivé en parfait état. Il n'y avait aucune imperfection visible nulle part. Pas d'empreintes digitales - rien. Bien que je l'aie reçu il y a seulement quelques heures, le son est déjà très élégant et aéré, sans aucun bruit. Le niveau de volume est inférieur à celui de certains autres préamplis, mais similaire à celui des modèles d'amplis intégrés des années 70. C'est en fait une bonne chose car cela permet d'avoir beaucoup plus de marge et moins de chances d'avoir de la distorsion. Mon autre préampli (109,00 $) est déjà très bon, mais j'ai estimé que mon Arcam méritait un meilleur préampli en fonction de mon budget. Je suis très impressionné. L'emballage et la présentation sont excellents. Un excellent achat pour égayer mes journées en raison de la pandémie. Cambridge a un gagnant ici ! ***Mise à jour novembre 2023 : l'ampli fonctionne aussi bien qu'en 2020. Rien n'a changé !

Buen precio y llegó todo en orden, buen preamp.

Decidir comprar um módulo desses com um custo elevado para nós brasileiros requer acima de tudo coragem e uma boa dose de otimismo. Fazia tempo que não investia em um pré de phono e estava muito satisfeito com os que meus amplificadores vintages japonêses incorporavam (Sansui AU-505 de 1974 e Kenwood KA-2500 de 1969), mas como atualizei meu toca-discos para um Audio Technica AT-LP5x (eu tinha um Technics SL-1800) e gostei do up sonoro, resolvi, com um pé atrás, espetar esse Alva Solo na traseira de meus pequenos integrados. O que já era bom ficou ainda melhor e abriu as portas para patamares sonoros insuspeitos e ainda a serem explorados onde as constantes a mim mais atraentes foram a amplitude de palco e principalmente a neutralidade benfazeja do respeito aos registros originais. Gravações já gastas e mais críticas e estridentes foram submetidas ao Solo que as transformou não só em algo agradável mas sumamente palatável. Os melhores prensados e mais conservados registros então pareciam convidar a um banquete nos próprios estúdios e aí precisei frear meu entusiasmo pois não poderia passar o dia e a noite toda ouvindo música. Uma das melhores aquisições que já fiz. Quem tem medo de comprar, como eu tive, pode ir de olhos vendados.

I am using a current Rega Planar 2 with Carbon cartridge and a Rega Brio-R integrated amplifier as my connected sources and this MM-only phono preamp is fantastic. It is simply THERE at every point...highs, mids, lows, sparkle, shine, thump...magnificent achievement for under the $200 price point. Read up on this unit...the power supply is strong and clean and, importantly, uses a standard power cable not a wall wart. You can really tell the difference, too. I upgraded to a Pangea 14SE MKII power cable and it sounds great with very little burn in time. Try finding any other combination of outstanding circuitry and power handling at this price point and you will not get far. Thank you, Cambridge, for a well thought out design and lovely fit and finish. This is a tight, heavy little machined aluminum box that really fit the bill for me and I couldn't be happier. UPDATE 4/19 - After a few months this started sounding very congested and just not right somehow. The sparkle is gone and it’s kind of a mess overall. No idea what caused this to happen but YMMV. Plan on trying to sell mine off because it cannot compete against like anything else I have. Weird. And what is up with the name adding Alva? Like Thomas Edison? Apart from that why would anyone name anything Alva. Sounds very unattractive.

I recently purchased a new turntable and decided that the old Behringer preamp had to go. There are plenty of cheap options and even more expensive ones so I was pleased to find the solo at a little under $200. I also looked at a slightly less expensive model from Schiit which got a lot of great reviews but there was also mention of some issues with quality control so I decided to go with the more established company and bought the solo. Shipping took a bit as it came from the U.K. But that was expected. Within ten minutes of the UPS driver leaving it at my door I had it hooked up and running. The difference in sound quality was immediately noticeable. Instrument separation and clarity was drastically increased and the low end became clean and powerful. About three weeks later however the brilliance seemed to vanish and I noticed a hum when the turntable motor was powering up. I had read a review which mentioned the loss of sound quality and got a bit depressed, believing I may have a faulty unit. Before trying to box the thing back up and starting the warranty process I decided to try something. I unplugged the turntable from the power strip that the solo was also plugged into and ran it to a strip connected to a different outlet. Oh happy day, the hum is gone and the sound is vibrant once again!! Perhaps my next investment will be power management gear but that’s for another day. I guess my only gripe (now that the first issue is resolved) would be the power indicator. When it’s on it’s slightly bright. When off it’s slightly less bright and doesn’t change color. Not the end of the world and not at all relevant to the fantastic sound quality so I’m giving this unit all the stars.