AUDIONET G2 PRE & AMP - REVIEW

AUDIONET G2 PRE & AMP

I imagine that most of us are familiar with the parable about “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” Well, I can’t think of a more appropriate parable given the state of affairs here at AKRMedia before the Audionet PRE G2 and AMP arrived for their audition and review.

A component’s review was failing, as the component simply wasn’t holding its own weight. This was the time in the review where the manufacture is contacted with a choice, “I close the review and send the product back. Or a pretty lukewarm review with no awards and no recommendations issues forth.” All manufacturers, to date, have selected Door Number One—“Please return.”

But just as the notes were being taken for the call, the plusses and minuses duly assembled, as there were, indeed, plusses, the balance was flashing red. It was as if the component’s low frequency response had been clean sheared off, just below the lower midrange. It was, truly, an interesting thing to witness, but I soon discovered there were reasons for this. 

What I had quickly began to understand was that there was one fairly dramatic anomaly in specification city. Long story short, the sensitivity measure was a bit off and had thus skewed amplifier matching. 

Given the speaker’s stated sensitivity of 94dB, I proceeded with amplification below fifty watts, which should have been more than sufficient. It was not and resulted, as aforementioned, in the shearing off of all low frequency—bass—information. The mid and high frequencies were, nonetheless, very good. An informed ‘hypothesis’ put this speaker’s sensitivity closer to 90dB. But things would soon change for the better, as the Audionet PRE G2 preamplifier and AMP monoblocks entered Casa Heartsong.

REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start with how the equipment actually sounds and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various accoutrement, specifications, etc. Think of this review then, as a  non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Queen’s Gambit, In the Shadow of the Moon, etc—that, likewise, starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning.

THE SOUND

When the Audionet PRE G2 and the AMP (200 watts) (the “Duo”) showed up, they were immediately seated in the trio, which then became a quintet. To say that the Audionet Duo woke the speakers up, brought them to life, enabled them to dance upon their own grave, and then magical reattached their lower bass frequencies would be just about right. The Audionet Duo confirmed the fact that there had been far too little juice to animate the speaker, but that problem had been solved.

The Audionet Duo gave rise not only to everything south of the lower midrange that had been missing, but the entire frequency spectrum was now infused with weight and power and nuance. Additionally, transparency and resolution and their collective ‘mining’ of detail, its microscopic cousin, and transients were now on full and proud display. The Yes, the Audionet Duo had saved the day and the review of what turned out to be an exceptional loudspeaker. This should be a clear lesson to those who seek to ‘goose’ the numbers. Don’t. It could end very badly.

The Audionet Duo’s volumetric cube—its recreation of intended soundstage—is exceptionally wide and exceptionally deep, cavernous, with outstanding height. And they are wonderfully intimate, personal, and sweet when called for. Spatial recreation—horizontal positioning, layering, relative space, air and ambiance are, truly, superb! I listened to the Audionet Duo for an entire day straight through and went to bed smiling, energized, and shaking my head in disbelief. If this is what well curated, well thought out power/wattage bring, “I’ll have more please.” 

The Audionet PRE G2 and the AMP were partnered with a rather exceptional trio—Grimm Audio MU1 streamer, Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC, Bricasti Design M1SE DAC. The speakers were the Tri-Art OPEN 5 and the Verity Otello. Cabling was Audience FrontRow and RSX Technologies power cables. Power conditioning was handled by the Audience AdeptResponse aRS-T4 Power Conditioner (see System(s)).

BASS

Eiji Oue’s “V. Infernal Dance of King Kashchey” (Stravinsky, Reference Recording) storms in and the Audionet Duo via either the OPEN 5 or the Verity Otello is magnificent. I am jarred by the bass power, its weight, and the superlative calibre of the assembled timpani. I imagine, my neighbors are too. As I had mentioned in the review of the Tri-Art OPEN 5:

“The timpani were differentiated and fleshed out via both their surfaces and interiors and this level of transparency and resolution were new. This is a track I have heard across many years and many systems and the insight provided was, entirely, new.” 

Or in other words, regarding the bass of a given speaker, the Audionet Duo will take your speakers by their necks, figuratively speaking, and shake every last bit of ‘the living bass’ out of them, while providing special muscle—750 watts at 1 Ohm—for those speakers with wildly erratic or vanishingly low impedance  curves (personalities). 

As with the OPEN 5 and then the Verity Otello, the balance of the bass response tracks—Dave Holland’s “Emerald Tears” (Emerald Tears, ECM),  Paul Chambers “Yesterdays” (Bass on Top, Blue Note),  Marcus Miller’s “Power” (M2, Concord), etc.—were, in fact, spectacular. The transparency, ever-present, laid bass plucks and strums, knocks and twangs in-room, three-dimensional and wholly palpable and almost, literally, real. Spectacular. And this was new on so many levels via the Audionet Duo.

MIDRANGE

Day two I sit late into the night listening now to track after track of vocals. Joan Shelly, Kandace Springs, Patricia Barber, Elina Duni, Andy Bey, etc. one by one pass along with the hours and I am in complete thrall. The singers, all, were center stage, their voices natural, naturally resolved and beautifully transparent in a way that consistently put them but several feet before me and in the midst of Casa Heartsong. The entire day had served as a singular event, that provided insight and an attachment to the music, to a degree, that one rarely experiences, via electronic reproduction, at home. The Audionet Duo had again made it so and with a loudspeaker—Tri-Art OPEN 5—at less than twenty percent of its cost!

The balance of my midrange test tracks— “Gloomy Sunday”, (Eternal, Marsalis Music), “Árbakkinn” (Island Songs, Mercury (Universal France)), etc—were taken by the Audionet PRE G2 and AMP and transformed, like the others, from electronically reproduced streams of music into music that seemed present, personal, dimensional, and it was always very immersive. If I’ve had a similar experience, I do not, as this moment, remember it. Suffice to say, that the Audionet Duo’s midrange is spectacular as well.

TREBLE+

Let me reprise my experience with the Audionet PRE G2 and AMP with the TRI-ART OPEN 5, as the assembled ‘quintet’ played through one of my go to tracks in my ‘Review Treble Mix’—“Take Five” (Time Out, Columbia-Legacy). As I had stated:

“I can’t remember the time this performance has been so transparent, so easily rendered, so real. I shake my head again at the TRI-ART OPEN 5s well aware that their price tag says, “Yeah, I know, we shouldn’t be able to do this. But, we are.” And I sit back and enjoy with complete awareness of that fact.”

You’ll find no treble acrophobia—fear of treble heights—with this quintet, as led by the Audionet duo. 

I play, once again, Hilary Hahn’s “Sonata No. 1 in G minor: Adagio” (Hilary Hahn Plays Bach: Violin Sonatas Nos 1 & 2; Partita No. 1, Decca), just to make sure that I wasn’t imagining things the last time out. True to form Hilary’s violin is off in a flash to treble Alpha Centauri, free of grain and dissonance and breakup and sizzle and sibilance, and power gliding beautifully. Did I mention the fact that the Audionet Duo is solid state? 

 

THE PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES

Inevitably, the packaging for large, heavy, and expensive equipment, like the Audionet PRE G2 and AMP, is tasked, primarily, with ‘content security.’ It is not a bling affair that manufacturers with small, light, and less expensive equipment can indulge. Job one is to secure the component, given the transportation industry and its general disregard for the ‘sanctity’ of the transported good. I have certainly had my share of these types of experiences.

The standard Audionet packaging for the PRE G2 preamplifier and the AMP monoblocks is to purpose—sturdy, double boxed, encased in hard foam slabs.

DESIGN, LOOK & FEEL

The OPEN 5s are sculptures which harken back to antiquities and the praise, adulation, and even worship that would be given to statues in human form—anthropomorphic—or abstractly assuming human form. There is no doubt that the OPEN 5s reflect this kind of sculpture. Perhaps they are guardians of the musical altar, who happen to sing incredibly well. Bonus! Just saying. 

I imagine some will definitely fancy the big OPEN 5s and some will not. I am one, however, who favors their artistic sensibilities, their goddess-like metaphor, and then there is their beautifully stained patina which covers their bamboo craftsmanship. Well done.

DESIGN—LOOK AND FEEL

The Audionet PRE G2 and the AMP come wrapped in brushed aluminum panels that cover its front, sides, and top and that vary in thickness from 4mm to 10mm in thickness. The chassis is constructed of sheet metal 2mm thick, and is varnished in black. 

The first impression is that both components are imposing, exceptionally well executed, and to heft one is to understand their sheer weight, gravity up close, and to imagine that they are indeed, constructed of the finest parts to specifications.

Aesthetically, the Audionet PRE G2 and AMP monoblocks are symmetrical, clean, well-proportioned, and reminiscent of Bauhaus architectural design. Though one could also imagine the juxtaposition of the Audionet gear in a beautiful San Francisco Victorian or a Mid-Century Modern home or a Mid-Century Modern high-rise.

In the final analysis the Audionet components are big, bold, industrially well designed, substantive, and with clear architectural leanings, at least, it appears so to me. 

FUNCTIONALITY

The Audionet PRE G2 is a “microprocessor-controlled reference preamplifier,” wherein its microprocessor regulates:

“All A microprocessor controls and regulates all functions and informs the user via a dimmable display. The inputs can be named, and different input signal levels corrected. Other devices can be switched on via Audionet link. All functions can be controlled remotely. Source signals containing DC components can be compensated for.”

Those in possession of six sources and a choice of balanced or single-ended output devices—amplifier, subs, etc.—will find themselves with a wealth of opportunities and the ability to experience new options, new aural experiments—change.  A listing of the various inputs and outputs follows below:

Inputs:

• 5 pair Furutech RCA line, gold-plated

• 1 pair XLR symmetric, gold-plated

Outputs:

• 1 pair Furutech RCA line, gold-plated

• 1 pair Furutech RCA inverting, gold-plated

• 2 pair XLR symmetric, gold-plated

• 1 pair Furutech RCA Monitor, gold-plated

Did I mention the naming protocols and the ability to name and rename the various channels, a reviewer’s dream?

The Audionet AMP monoblocks are not without their own technological implementations and benefits. 

I had assumed on placing them into the system that whether singled-ended (cinch, RCA) or balanced (XLR) were tethered from the PRE G2, then that link would automatically be selected for signal throughput. Other inputs and outputs:

Inputs:

• 1 Furutech RCA line, gold-plated, teflon insulated

• 1 XLR balanced, gold-plated

Loudspeaker Outputs:

• 2 pair Furutech 4mm-jacks, rhodium-plated

Well that was not the case. While the singled-ended (cinch, RCA) is, indeed, set as standard for those who wish to utilize single-ended cables, for balanced (XLR) you will have to select that option from the front panel of each monoblock. 

This, as a reviewer, I found rather cool. Brilliant way to do ‘on-the-fly’ comparisons between RCA and XLR cables (which I did), leaving them both in for switch on demand. Cool.

There are hosts of additional documentation on both the PRE G2 and the AMP to which I will directly you for your perusing enjoyment. PRE G2. AMP

THE SPECIFICATIONS

AUDIONET G2 PRE

Frequency range: 0 – 2.000.000 Hz (- 3 dB), DC-coupled 2 – 2.000.000 Hz (-3 dB), AC-coupled

SNR: > 120 dB

THD + N: < -102 dB for 20 kHz (df: 0 - 80 kHz) < -114 dB for 1 kHz  (df: 0 - 20 kHz)

Output impedance: 22 ohms

Output current: max. 60 mA

Mains: 120 V or 230 V, 50…60 Hz

Dimensions: width 430 mm height 140 mm depth 420 mm

Weight: 15 kg/mono block

AUDIONET AMP MONOBLOCKS

Power: 200 W into 8 ohm

350 W into 4 ohms

550 W into 2 ohms

750 W into 1 ohm

Filtering Capacity: 82,000 µF

Frequency Response: 0 – 300,000 Hz (-3 dB)

Damping Factor: > 1,800 @ 10 kHz > 10,000 @ 100 Hz

Harmonic Spectrum: k2 typ. -117 dB for 25 Watts @ 4 ohms

k3 typ. -140 dB for 25 Watts @ 4 ohms

Intermodulation: < -110 dB SMPTE 100 Hz : 20 kHz, 4 : 1, 50 W @ 4 ohms

THD + N: < -105 dB at 1 kHz, 35 Watts @ 2 ohms between 20 Hz and 20 kHz

SNR: > 122 dB

Input Impedance: RCA: 37 kOhm, 220 pF XLR: 3 kOhm, 170 pF

Power Consumption: max. 1,000 W

Mains connection: 120 or 230 V, 50…60 Hz

Dimensions: width 215 mm height 190 mm depth 500 mm

Weight: 22 kg/mono block

CONCLUSION

Spectacular! Not everyday does a preamp and amplifier duo come into your life and raise the ‘living dead,’ figuratively speaking from their musical graves. Well, if you’ve gotten this far, the reference to the ‘living dead’ may well be clear. But I digress.

The Audionet PRE G2 preamp and AMP monoblocks are velvet hammers. Should the program material require them to access the stygian depths of the Holy-Bass-Head-Grail, they will take you there swiftly, as it is a path they know well. And in this respect, the Audionet PRE G2 preamp and AMP monoblocks are hammers. Yet should the material require a stratospheric rise to tip-top, treble heights or a most proficient, beautifully resolved, and compellingly engaging vocal, you will be there. This skill is, of course, the velvet covering the hammer. I report this from much experience and having travelled often to the electrostatic world, where, apparently, the Audionet Duo and the Tri-Art OPEN 5 appear to share a condo.

Without further adieu, we happily award the Audionet PRE G2 preamp and AMP monoblocks our highest award—the DIAMOND AWARD—for excellence in regard to superb high fidelity reproduction, musicality, and the required gravitas to make it work beautifully.

Pros: The marriage of power and finesse, high-fidelity and musicality, in a simple, clean, and beautifully designed package.

Cons: None.

THE EQUIPMENT

• Streamers & Sources

• Grimm Audio MU1 Streamer

• Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Streamer

• Silent Angel Genesis GX Word Clock

DACs

• Bricasti Audio Design M1SE DAC

• Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC

Amplification

• LYRIC Ti 100 Integrated

• Audionet G2 Preamplifier

• Audionet AMP Monoblocks

Speakers

• Verity Otello Floor-Standing Speakers

• Vivid Kaya 45 Floor-Standing Speakers

Wires&Cables

• AntiCable USB Cable, Interconnects (XLR, RCA), Level 3 Power Cords

• Audience Front Row USB Cable, Interconnects (XLR, RCA)

• RSX MAX, BEYOND Power Cords

• WireWorld Platinum Ethernet Cables

Power Generation

• TORUS RM20 Power Conditioner

THE COMPANY

Audionet
en.audionet.de
+49 (0) 30 2332 421 0
service@audionet.de

DISTRIBUTION

Bill Parish

GTT Audio
+1 908 850 3092
av@gttaudio.com
www.gttaudio.com