OK, so here is my experience guys:
TLDR version: Fedex is picking them up tomorrow to bring them back to China
A bit longer version:
Let's start with the measurements
I have compared them with my current NC250MPs, both in cold state and hot state (running for more than 3 hours)
View attachment 233155
FR shows the Alephs rising above 1kHz and between 200Hz and 100Hz
This is OK since I could correct these with additional EQing
But what I found totally unacceptable is the distortion:
View attachment 233156
I mean....just look at this......
I could even hear this when REW was running the sweeps.......
And it is the same for both channels so I assume this happens 'by design'
Time domain measurements showed only minor differences, if anybody is interested in the mdat file let me know I can post it here
Additionally what drove me nuts was that there was a 'hole' in bass transients - so when I played a track with powerful drums or similar percussions, the transient was missing and instead I just heard the speakers stopping - I guess the amp was running out of power
Just a reminder: my MCLAs have 96dB of sensitivity, listening distance is 3 meters. There is very heavy DSP correction applied, maybe that was also too much for the Alephs but for me that is something that I obviously cannot accept.
Although that still does not explain the huge distortion peak between 500hz and 1kHz........
Subjectively, apart from these shortcomings, the sound was rather enjoyable at very low volume levels: smooth highs, detailed overall presentation, wide and airy soundstage, etc.
I think I would have kept them if the distortion wasn't skyrocketing and if power was adequate
All in all I do not regret trying these (in spite of losing like 400 USD with the shipping costs back and forth) since this is a journey and the best way to learn is trying things for yourself
I need to add that this was the last time I ordered any random amp from China; from now on I will only try models for which I can find measurement data