In 2010, the brand was officially established, there is no strong publicity offensive, but the fame is not shining, natural things must have a reason. SoulNote is a brand of Csr International Limited, many engineers have participated in the development of Marantz and Philips, although the name is fresh, but the foundation is strong, this boutique brand naturally attracts many enthusiasts.
The first test of soulnote, in front of the brand's top merge machine a-2, the Hong Kong version is a-2 h or sh, s is silver, h to Hong Kong. After taking it out of the carton, it was found that there were two foaming sheets between the top plate, because this top plate only had three screws locked in the front two fronts, pressing the front left and right corners, you will find that the top plate knocked the border, it turns out that this is the tuning design of the factory side, when listening to music, no one will press the top plate! Plug in the power supply, the orange light in the machine is lit, almost think that this is a gallstone merging machine, the original factory led light is also a tuning design, soulnote engineers' carefulness is indeed different from other.
Open the sh version of the chassis, you can see that there is a separate base under the 600va toroidal transformer, and then look at the chassis baseplate, the bottom of the original baseplate is separated from the chassis bottom plate, and the foot in front (with another nail foot) is directly supporting the ring cow, directly taking away the resonance of the transformer. The design of the machine is not the same as many 30,000 to 40,000 Hong Kong dollars of the combined machine, row after row of relays (2sk209) and buckle-in components, which affirms that the volume control used by a-2 sh is not the general variable resistance, but the selection of high-precision relays and resistors to switch the volume; when adjusting the volume, the first-level volume control feels particularly strong. In terms of line design, the a-2 sh uses a minimal line plan, a negative return design, and four paired transistors per channel that double as a four-stage Darlington parallel configuration output to amplify current with high efficiency. The transistors and capacitors are arranged on a four-layer circuit board covered with 70μm thick copper foil. The whole design and structure, almost can not find the same level of merger machine using such a heavy and careful production!
The backplane is visible, and the a-2 sh has six sets of inputs: three sets of single-ended rca and three sets of balanced inputs; the backplane also has two buttons – btl/bi-amp and mono/stereo. In other words, the purchase of two A-2 Sh allows you to play mono signal amplification and drive work; in the market, similar designs are indeed rare, but not rare. The factory clearly stated that its brand voice emphasizes clarity, cheerfulness, brightness, and strong control, and the time has come to grind their fists.
The a-2 sh output is 100w@8 Ω, 200w@4 Ω per channel, and the bridged mono output is up to 400w@8 Ω. Having the A-2 sh drive a pair of bowers & wilkins 603 floor speakers is a breeze. Pick up the electrocompaniet mc1 MKIII cd/sacd opportunity a-2 sh military analysis plus power Oval 2 power cord, horn line with the same tiglon MSS-DF100sp-HSE from Japan.
In addition to the golden voice, the author's inherent impression of Japanese audio equipment is always to deliberately refine the sound clean, and even to bring too clean and pretentious music playback. Or maybe Mu Yi's insight is not broad enough! Soulnote a-2 sh full-frequency balance is not biased, not inclined to high frequency, is indeed a surprise, at the same time, the sound has enough analytical power without excessive sharpness, the strength and weakness of the music is not only rich in layers, control is also strong, listening to vocals, piano, violin, jazz, all the subtle changes can be easily heard, felt, enjoyed, without deliberate excavation, the sound is not pretentious, but obviously shiny, beautiful. The low and medium frequencies do not carry grease, the low frequencies are not thick or thin, refreshing and agile, the sound is fast enough and the strength is enough!
First of all, the strength of this a-2 sh was challenged with "martha argerich & friends live from lugano 2014", a hallowed female pianist who let a piano with a scale show the music of a smile, a movement, a strong and a weak, a light and a heavy, sometimes brisk jump, sometimes deep and melancholy. What I heard was that in addition to the rise and fall of the keys, the finger force was changeable and dynamic, and the resonance of the piano box presented the energy and low frequency depth of the grand piano. The performance of violin and cello presents a three-dimensional sense, and the faint details in them are rich and careful, especially when the violin is played, the friction between the bow and the strings is carefully and carefully.
The overture to "Alexandre tharaud Barbara" is soft and affectionate, with bright and bright sound silhouettes. Dominique a's voice is silky smooth, and the layering of the voice and the subtle changes in light and heavy tones are easily reproduced. Canélia Jordana's saliva is not hidden, the lighter smoke-aged throat vocal cords are light and sandy, soft and soft performances, the spit mix is carefully rich, and the sound of juliette with the vicissitudes of the old woman is not the same, the latter has a deep, powerful qi and force hidden domineering, there is no careful and rich layer and the ability to express the subtle dynamics, it is indeed impossible to hear the original richness in the music. Norah jones in "Blue Note", the voice is sweet and refreshing, fat-free but sweet, the bass violin's beef tendon stretch is refreshing and weighty, the a-2 sh performance is eye-catching and meticulous, and the weak tone and stereoscopic sense in the accompaniment are easily presented, not at all strenuous! There is also the first song of "Blue Coast Collection 3" Johnny colorado, beautiful and beautiful, the beautiful voice has the charm of washing the soul!
Listening to muse, ed sheeran, rubberband, a-2 sh also made me hear more of the attraction brought by the subtle changes, especially the vocal performance, the singer's strength, feelings, energy, and expression ability. However, I personally always feel that the brand name soulnote "soul note" must have a reason, listening to different CDs, I found that a-2 sh is indeed rich in emotional expression ability, "a star is born" lady gaga performed shallow sweetness and tension, to i'll never love again hurt the sound of breathing, with the depth of affection, the painful skin feeling, a-2 sh broadcast particularly wonderful!
In terms of musical genre, I personally think that the a-2 sh is better at slow vocal performance and jazz, and the calm, stereoscopic sound and instrumental separation are the strongest. "We Get Requests the Oscar Peterson Trio", the intensity and detail of the instruments, the wonderful performances, and the light and beautiful music are the attractions that I hope to keep listening to every piece of the CD until I finish listening!