A quality integrated amplifier needs to have pre and power quality. It's not just a matter of putting pre and power materials into one machine. Think about it, originally, three machines were separately grounded. Now they are grounded in one machine. It will have an impact on the sound. As the saying goes, one of the secrets of good sound is to treat the grounding well. But to separate the original grounding of the three machines into one machine It's easy to say, but it's actually quite difficult to do. How difficult is it? It's so difficult that no one has ever tried it. Japan's Soulnote, which is well known high end audio label has launched what is believed to be the world's first a super-integrated amplifier with completely independent pre and power grounding, made with materials that can match separate machines. So what kind of sound does this integrated amplifier, which sells for over ten thousand HKD, achieve under such "exquisite" and "simple" circumstances? What about the sound? Also, this 4-ohm 120-watt power The power that doesn’t sound so exaggerated Is it really enough for practical use? This video will try to find answers for everyone. Hello everyone, I'm Ken Wong. Welcome to feverSound.com The product we're going to try today is the highly anticipated Japanese Soulnote flagship integrated amplifier. The "Super" Integrated Amplifier A-3. Before the official introduction, I want to tell everyone if you think our video is pretty good, you might as well give it a like or consider subscribing to our channel to encourage and support us. This machine, being a super integrated amplifier, comes with a certain price tag, and a certain quality. Naturally, there's also a certain anticipation for unboxing. Let's open it up and take a look. Net weight 31kg Gross weight 41kg Made in Japan, 230V (Hong Kong is 220V) Nice! The factory will provide you with a wooden board This is the wooden board Accessories Manual BS power cord provided by the factory Spikes A remote control Let's unveil the mystery with it. It's not very big, but it's heavy It's hard to move with the cloth on. Alright! The real thing appears. Long-awaited Soulnote A super integrated amplifier Everyone knows about Soulnote's products It's intentionally made not to be tight-fitting So many parts are slightly loose when installed To eliminate the vibration when mechanical parts operate by themselves So this machine (The sound of vibration) Many things can make a sound by shaking It's normal, it's the factory's way of tuning the sound. There are three spikes on the bottom of the machine. The nails used to be thinner. Now these nails are thicker and sharper. Unboxing compeled As the first integrated amplifier in the Soulnote 3 series It is expensive and has good sound quality I believe I don’t need to say more But compared with other super integrated amplifiers with similar prices What is its biggest difference? Why don't we listen to a few words from designer Mr. Kato Hideki That's right A-3 combines their flagship preamplifier P-3 the selector and volume control inside Plus a pair of monaural power amplifiers M-3 Put together, in one machine More importantly, the left and right grounding of this machine are completely separate There is a chance that it is the world's first integrated amplifier designed in this way And this technology that completely separates the grounding Was originally used in the P-3 for the first time But this time this technology Is applied to the A-3 with power amplification circuits The manufacturer suggests that you directly insert the spikes of this machine Into this board It's better to insert them This will be very good for it The best sound Plus three bases like this These three bases are used to pad on the board The recommended method is as shown in the diagram now Two in the front, one in the back Actually, when this heavy machine is pressed down, it is already very stable Using this board or not Actually, I want to tell you that there is an audible difference in sound And it's quite obvious If you add this board The details, airiness, and soundstage will be slightly better Can this board be omitted? This is left to the user to decide This board is given to you You can use it or not. You paid for it. You have the right to adjust the sound yourself. Here, let me remind everyone. This way of playing affects the sound of the equipment. It's all very obvious. And it's fun. Integrated Amplifier. There's actually nothing special about the front panel. Power button. Here is the source selection. You can turn it continuously. 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 When turning, it's actually stepless. And there's no sound. Very quiet. This is the record out. There's nothing special about turning it on and off. The input 2 and input 5 Input 2 is balanced XLR. Input 5 is single-ended RCA. These two inputs can provide AV bypass function. This is the display, nothing special. Source and volume. It has 70 levels of volume (each level is 1dB). It is displayed in negative numbers. 0 is maximum volume. It can accept a wide range of analog inputs. It's rare for a machine to accept such a wide range of analog inputs. It's amazing that it can accept such a wide range. I also want to praise this volume control. It's also stepless. Actually, it has steps. But when you turn it up, it feels stepless. Very smooth. That's the mute switch. Actually, the front panel is that simple. Okay, let's look at the back of the machine. The back of the machine is quite symmetrical. At the bottom in the middle is the IEC power socket. Then there are left and right source inputs. There are a total of three groups of XLR stereo analog inputs. And three groups of RCA single-ended stereo analog inputs. There's also a record out group. The record out also has XLR and RCA. Then there's a group of large binding posts. For connecting speaker wires. Large speaker wires can be inserted. In addition, on the right side, you will find a 3.5mm mini jack for connecting machines together. The bi-amp setup is also completely fine. Then on the left are some settings, including the ability to set phase inversion for input 2, as well as AV bypass for input 2 and 5 which are set here. Finally, there's the Ground Connection and Separation. For the best sound from this machine, you want the sources and the left and right grounds completely separated, so you set Separation here. However, if unfortunately, for some reason, when Separation is set, there's loop noise, there's nothing you can do. You have to use Connection. This part can be adjusted. That's how the back of the machine is. Explaining the SoulNote product, of course, we need to open it up and look at the inside. The first thing you'll see are three transformers. The left and right ones are each 700VA, untapped toroidal transformers. "Untapped" means they're not sealed with epoxy resin, which makes the sound more lively. There's also another toroidal transformer in the front for the control circuit. All three transformers are vertically mounted on the heavy side panels and panel of the machine, making the operation of the transformers more stable. Since there are independent grounds for the left and right channels, of course, the amplification circuits are also separate for the left and right channels. Fully balanced amplification under the power supply of large toroidal transformers. Then there are plenty of 470μF Elna electrolytic capacitors arranged in an Array manner. The goal is to make them charge and discharge more quickly, making the sound faster. Transient response is faster. However, this bunch of capacitors is placed in the lower half of the machine, so you can't see it from the top of the machine. The driver stage uses TO3P transistors, while the power transistors are placed on the surface of the machine. You should see a miniature version of the M-3, right? That's right, it's the TO3 bipolar transistors. Used for single-ended push-pull amplification. And this amplification method can cover a wide frequency range, achieving consistent timing characteristics. However, such a design outputs relatively low current, which is why this machine requires such heavy-duty power. The amplification circuit continues to use Type R (again, not the Honda's Type R) single-stage voltage amplification circuit with zero negative feedback differential design, only one-stage amplification. Just like the M-3, it uses high-frequency bipolar transistors plus a large amount of bare metal resistors for direct amplification hoping for a more linear and wider frequency response. Speaking of these white bare metal resistors, I believe friends familiar with SoulNote's high-end products should not be unfamiliar. This type is also used in artificial satellites, high-precision bare metal resistors with very low distortion and minimal coloration on sound. As for the input circuit board, you'll see rows of silver factory-customised relays. The model is RSR-2-12D. Made of glass-sealed reeds, ensuring excellent performance whether isolating signals or passing them through. And just like the P-3, the A-3 can separate different sources from signal to ground with such clarity, all relying on these relays. Do you see this beautiful copper plate? In addition to heat dissipation, it also serves as the power busbar for the TO3 transistors. This design eliminates instability caused by inductive reactance and prevents potential negative impacts on sound quality from insulators. The bare metal resistors and advanced relays mentioned earlier are also used in the volume control of this machine, so the standard of volume control matches that of the P3, making it very linear and low-distortion. This machine, like all SoulNote products, has a looseness fitting. This is a tuning technique the factory has always used, especially in the amplifier section. It uses a three-point ring sliding structure made of titanium to not only prevent the amplifier circuit from being affected by transformer vibration but also to easily release its own vibrations. Check out the specifications: The power is 120 watts + 120 watts at 4Ω, but the factory didn't specify the power at 8Ω. The frequency response is from 2Hz to 200kHz. The signal-to-noise ratio is up to 110dB. The maximum gain is 33dB. The size of the chassis is also quite large. As shown in the picture. The weight is 31 kilograms. Now recording. Recording with the Soulnote A-3 integrated amplifier. First, about the speakers. The speakers are B&W 805 D4 Signature. For the source, using MSB Technology's Discrete DAC. The digital streamer is the flagship new model RS130 from HiFi Rose. With a large screen, you can also see what song is playing. Now, talking about the sound. First, what needs to be mentioned is the abundance of details. Not just ordinary details. But the subtlest changes in music. Can be captured and amplified. And it's still a very natural detail. There's a strong sense of analog. Very natural, with a high density of sound. But this analog-like feeling, is not artificial. Instead, it's a very fast, low-distortion sense of reality. Furthermore, another strong point is its outstanding sense of space. I already felt this when trying the P-3. It's the same with the A-3 this time. The soundstage is both wide and deep, seemingly endless. The sound effects are very three-dimensional. It feels like the sound can penetrate walls. At the same time, the imaging is so lifelike, it's vivid. Really, there are too many words to describe it. The third strength also appeared when I tried the P-3. It's the benefit of its independent grounding design. The background of the sound can be described as pitch black. Silent like the deep sea. And this silence, combined with the vast soundstage mentioned earlier. And vivid imaging. These two advantages, which should be difficult to appear in the same unit, make the sound charm of this unit unique. Whether you want to hear sweet vocals or melancholic violin, no problem. Or suddenly want to be excited with classical music, or even listen to rock or electronic music, this A-3 is capable of delivering at an extremely high level. To interpret for you. Such a perfect super-integrated amplifier, are there any shortcomings? There are. Every product has its shortcomings. But first, let me clarify, the price is not its shortcoming. With its current sound performance, I believe it's definitely worth the investment. Its shortcomings, I believe everyone can guess a bit, it's the power. That's right, its 120 watts (4 ohms) are truly unbeatable. The degree of power is sufficient. I believe many classic models from top brands might not achieve this level. Although we usually won't actually hear the full 120 watts, 120 watts still have their limits. If you pair it with some extremely demanding speakers, like some three-way large ATC, Harbeth, big Magico, Wilson Audio, those big speakers, I think you might want to use the P-3 and M-3 as a pre and power combo for even better sound effects. In summary, the Soulnote A-3 is the highest-quality integrated amplifier I've encountered in my ten years of feverSound. Among the many units I've tried, (maybe more expensive Vitus SIA030 is better) Of course, I haven't really tried many high-end integrated amplifiers, but I've tried quite a few in the hundred-thousand HKD range. In fact, quite a few. The A-3, calm and collected, yet fast and energetic, quiet in the background, yet rich in detail, with a deep soundstage and sharp imaging, truly showcases Soulnote's prowess, letting audiophiles know the sky's the limit for Japanese solid state integrated amps. It can reach that heights. Alright, that's it for the review. Friends who are interested, remember to check the price in the description of this video. You can also go to the Aria Audio showroom in Fortress Hill for a live demonstration. Or you can check the link for online purchase. Today's report on the Japanese Soulnote flagship integrated amplifier A-3 ends here. If you like our videos, give us a thumbs up. Friends who haven't subscribed to our channel yet, remember to subscribe. After subscribing, remember to click the little bell next to the channel. You'll get notified as soon as new videos are released. The scenario question is very simple. For an integrated amplifier like this, with a price that could buy you a separate preamp and power amp, it's the question for today. If the sound is the same, would you use the same money to buy an integrated amplifier or buy separate preamp and power amp? "If the sound is the same," thinking deeper, they each have their own advantages. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts. Next time, we'll introduce different types of super-integrated amps. Several are highly anticipated in the market, and many friends are paying close attention. Until next time, bye-bye. (Subtitles Proofreading: Ken)
