Apollon 1ET6525SA ST Amplifier Review

[Badunn]

Many talk about 'desktop' amps which if I'm honest I struggle with that definition, even the latest reviewed Topping mini 300 given its power output. I've bought into the SINAD way of thinking (I have SMSL C200 dac/headphones amp and hifiman he 400se headphones, and other asr recommended iems)...

My question is... for average listening levels would the Apollon sound better or same as the Topping mini 300. I use tannoy xt6f floorstanders with a wim pro to stream to the SMSL and then an Arcam SR250 amp.

IE... at what point is SiNAD truly transparent and your limited by other components? (in my case probably the tannoys). I never want to listen at reference levels either, maybe just slightly loudish (whatever that means).

 

[Elmutcho]

I’m looking at the Apollon site, and can’t really make head or tail of all the options, especially if this model performs this well. Any insight?

 

[PristineSound]

Apollon make the best cases.

Facts man.

I won't gush over the technical performance, because as I commented on the previous Buckeye review, it is to be expected using Purifi and Hypex modules.

But I will comment on the casework, the utter visual bliss and pleasure, the craftsmanship, build quality with luxurious materials. It strikes a great sense of pride of ownership to see such art in your rack. I own a Apollon Hypex Lux, beauty meets brawn.

In my opinion (understanding that beauty is in the eye of the beholder) these Apollon hands down have the best casework, the distant second is the Nord with SE cases.

 

[amirm]

My question is... for average listening levels would the Apollon sound better or same as the Topping mini 300.

Problem with this valid question is that it is hard to answer. We don't know what average is to you. We don't know what content you play.

This is why I made the comment in the forum that the level of power that the Apollon produces will be sufficient for almost every speaker and person. With Topping, I would not be able to say this.

If you have to know the answer, get the topping and see if you run out of power when you crank it to max, either with distortion appearing or just not getting loud enough.

 

[TheWalkman]

How sweet it is!

 

[pickyAudiophile]

I use tannoy xt6f floorstanders.

I used to own the larger xt8f floorstanders from 2013 to 2014. Yes, these Tannoys can be identified as a tight bottle neck in your system from a distance!
These were the most uneven emitting speakers and therefore heavily colored perceptable speakers I ever had in my room. Lacking detail retrieval and I remeber I could hear the omnipresent surface resonance of that alloy coated mid-woofer badly. Just horrible from today's point of view... Look for replacement before making any other changes.

 

[Roland301]

@Apollon Audio Are there any changes to the input board or PSU compared to the 1ET400A variant?

I'm curious if the new modules could be a drop-in replacement in my unit..

 

[David_M]

@amirm, for the power on/off tests, it seems all tested amps have a phase of 30uV of noise during the idle phase. This seems awfully high. What gain do you set the amps to do this test?

Also, why not short the inputs of the amplifier to eliminate any noise from the AP source and then perform this test to eliminate the AP source noise as a factor?

 

[LumiAudioNut]

Micro Audio power supplies, like most SMPS solutions used in high-power audio amplifiers, do not employ tightly regulated high-voltage rails for the output stage. Instead, they provide an unregulated (or loosely regulated) high-voltage DC bus whose voltage varies with mains input voltage and load conditions.

In real world conditions, what downsides would there be to having a SMPS power supply having “unregulated (or loosely regulated) high-voltage DC bus whose voltage varies with mains input voltage and load conditions” potentially have for a listener?

What are the practical benefits (if any) to having a Hypex SMPS1200A400 power supply instead?

On a practical note, the speakers I happen to currently have in rotation are the KEF LS50 Meta’s, KEF R3 Meta’s and Magnepan 2.7’s (terribly inefficient but relatively benign resistive load).

Thank you,
Lumi

 

[amirm]

@amirm, for the power on/off tests, it seems all tested amps have a phase of 30uV of noise during the idle phase. This seems awfully high. What gain do you set the amps to do this test?

The gain is what the rest of the testing was at as that is the last test I run.

Also, why not short the inputs of the amplifier to eliminate any noise from the AP source and then perform this test to eliminate the AP source noise as a factor?

Because no one uses the amplifier with inputs shorted. AP's noise floor is quite a bit lower anyway:

See how it registers just 3 microvolts when the amp is off.

Regardless, this is not a noise test but power on/off glitch test. That it also shows the idle noise floor is a byproduct.

 

[Jiraya369]

Many talk about 'desktop' amps which if I'm honest I struggle with that definition, even the latest reviewed Topping mini 300 given its power output. I've bought into the SINAD way of thinking (I have SMSL C200 dac/headphones amp and hifiman he 400se headphones, and other asr recommended iems)...

My question is... for average listening levels would the Apollon sound better or same as the Topping mini 300. I use tannoy xt6f floorstanders with a wim pro to stream to the SMSL and then an Arcam SR250 amp.

IE... at what point is SiNAD truly transparent and your limited by other components? (in my case probably the tannoys). I never want to listen at reference levels either, maybe just slightly loudish (whatever that means).

find out what loudness you listen to with a UMIK-1, put the numbers into a calculator for your speakers and then find out how much power you'll need.

In general, people dont listen above 90 db. Some people are a bit goofy and push it but i personally, for example, listen at 70-82 db on average. 88 db is where i push everything to the max and then get scared of the output.

Also, it depends on the recording as well, are you listening to modern recordings with squished dynamics or highly dynamic tracks? What sort of dynamic peaks do you like, how loud do you want em?

I'd personally say anything above 80 db sinad is transparent but sinad itself isnt enough, an amp could have 100 sinad and be load dependent or something, you need to check everything else.

This guide is good as a rule of thumb. Honestly, if you get a reasonably good and NON-broken modern dac/amp, and assuming no other thing is a problematic variable like low bitrate bluetooth, some eq turned on by accident or something, you wont hear that much of a difference. Even if you do, it'd be 97-99% similar and in a blind test, the difference would be so minute you'd just not care enough. The speakers and how they perform are still the bigger factors. FR is the most easy to identify one. We don't really know what level of speaker distortion is genuinely problematic cus it depends on the frequency, we're less sensitive to lower frequencies for example.

Loads of variables in transparency but the key is to just get something good enough, because our body is smart and we can adapt to small oddities, even if they show up on graphs those wont affect you much in the real world.

 

[daniboun]

@Apollon Audio two questions please :

1)Why do prices double for exports to the USA?

2)Why don't you update product pictures on your website?

 

[dan_uk]

Facts man.

I won't gush over the technical performance, because as I commented on the previous Buckeye review, it is to be expected using Purifi and Hypex modules.

But I will comment on the casework, the utter visual bliss and pleasure, the craftsmanship, build quality with luxurious materials. It strikes a great sense of pride of ownership to see such art in your rack. I own a Apollon Hypex Lux, beauty meets brawn.

In my opinion (understanding that beauty is in the eye of the beholder) these Apollon hands down have the best casework, the distant second is the Nord with SE cases.

I've got the "Nord One NCx500ST Stereo Power Amplifier" with the SE case and I think its a thing of beauty. Will defo try and see an Apollon in the flesh some day if I get the chance! Personally, I couldn't live with the Buckeye case.

 

[oozlum]

Yes the graphs can be overwhelming. Even scary to look at (speaker measurements, after 4y on this forum I still oblivious)
But if you look for panther one and the quick comments on each graph it is easy to follow. I have made a myself a rule, if it is not at least happy panther I will not read the review in detail (if at all) Life is too short to pay attention to bad products when you have many better ones to consider

I wouldn’t deny myself to learn more about audio evaluation even from not so well regarded products so easily, though.

 

[DanielT]

Good job and thanks for the test Amir.

1,190.00€ (USD $1,348) for an endgame amp. Great hifi times we live in.

 

[delta76]

I wouldn’t deny myself to learn more about audio evaluation even from not so well regarded products so easily, though.

sure if you have time and/or the will to learn. I read reviews for pleasure and occasionally "maybe I want this". as I said life is too short.
not to be ungrateful to Amir who point out bad products so we can avoid, quickly

 

[Haskil]

I think hifi is reaching at its peak.
Our future generations will never know the struggles to find the best amp.
They will assume that amplifier technology has always been perfect.
They will laugh at us for being too obsessive about audio.

Trust the industry to continue making bad electronics, just like it continues to make bad refrigerators, washing machines, cars, and vacuum cleaners...

 

[wwenze]

I always enjoy looking at this kind of crosstalk and see which part of the power supply chain is taking care of which frequency

We're seeing the fight between having two separate PCBs vs sharing one power supply

 

[daniboun]

Je possède l'ampli Apollon 1ET400SA et un Audiophonics LPA-S400ET « Shoebox » équipé des mêmes modules. L'Apollon est vraiment magnifique !

Audiophonics offers two enclosures for its Hypex and Purifi modules, the more attractive one being, of course, the more expensive... But at least they offer a choice for those with tight budgets.

Everything is identical inside, but you can save €100 with the simplest case.

 

[daniboun]

Many talk about 'desktop' amps which if I'm honest I struggle with that definition, even the latest reviewed Topping mini 300 given its power output. I've bought into the SINAD way of thinking (I have SMSL C200 dac/headphones amp and hifiman he 400se headphones, and other asr recommended iems)...

My question is... for average listening levels would the Apollon sound better or same as the Topping mini 300. I use tannoy xt6f floorstanders with a wim pro to stream to the SMSL and then an Arcam SR250 amp.

IE... at what point is SiNAD truly transparent and your limited by other components? (in my case probably the tannoys). I never want to listen at reference levels either, maybe just slightly loudish (whatever that means).

An ASR member had presented the audibility thresholds for amplifier and DAC measurements. If we stick to the information shared below, we should be almost certain of making the right choice at the right price.
Understand that the closer you get to the so-called "strict" threshold, the better the performance will be.

Thresholds :

Lenient
Dynamic range, linearity: 96 dB
THD, IMD: -66 dBFS / 0.05%
Noise: -85 dBFS / 0.005%
SINAD: 85 dB
Crosstalk: -60 dBFS
Jitter: -110 dBFS, -100 dBFS around the main tone
Frequency response: ±0.5 dB
Channel balance: 1 dB
Output impedance: 2 ohms

Strict
Dynamic range, linearity, SINAD: 120 dB
THD, IMD, noise, crosstalk, jitter: -120 dBFS / 0.0001%
Frequency response, channel balance: ±0.1 dB
Output impedance: 0.16 ohms