Hi Jay. Not surprised about the great value that Denafrips products offer 👍 I have own the Terminator DAC for the past 2 and half years and it’s still the best DAC I’ve ever heard ! It would be very very VERY interesting to see you reviewing the big Denafrips Apollo power amp … it is said to be a true giant-killer. I hope Alvin sends you one in the near future. Keep the the good work. Best regards from Sweden 🇸🇪
Jay I have in mind to get the Thallo and Hades combo. I also have the Kinki EXM1 in mind. I think you have golden ears, if you could chime in which would be best/your opinion? I am combining them with Audiovector QR3 SE speakers. Thanks.
Thallo (Greek: Θαλλω, meaning "blooming" or "green-shoots") is the Greek goddess & Hades (/ˈheɪdiːz/; Greek: ᾍδης, translit. Háidēs; Ἅιδης, Háidēs-[hay-dees]), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld - interesting names for sound equipment!
Πες του τα πατριωτη !!πολυ καλα και ποιοτικα μηχανηματα σε προσιτες τιμες για αυτο που ειναι και στην Ελλαδα δεν εισαγονται !![οι εδω ''πονηροι''με αλλες μαρκες ''βγαζουν'' περισσοτερα ]
Jay, I've watched your video several times and I'm curious to learn your thoughts on the Thallo/Hades combo vs the Hegel h190. That's the one amplifier you mentioned during the review but did not state whether you preferred it or the Denafrip combo. Any insight you can share is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
My takeaway from the review was that bass performance is similar but the Denafrips combination has more top end air and extension which is the weak point of the Hegel.
Okay so, great review, can you please give a reasonable comp to the thallo as a standalone power amp. A... What... Luxman? Your beloved museatex 55? A simaudio moon? A bryston 4b? What is a decent comp at whatever price.
Hi Jay, I watch both your Thallo and Apollo review. I’m in the between to choose both for my Focal Sopra (8ohm, 89db), which one you should recommend Thallo or Apollo?
It’s unlikely we will ever see an Apollo review. Shipping a 150 pound anything gets expensive quick. Athena that should be doable. I have the Apollo and it’s waft Jay said here but more of it.
It is the end game for me, I pulled the trigger and I believe I am set for many many years to come. Just about everything I have thrown at this system has sounded incredible. I have the Ares II and Iris DDC feeding the Hades pre... I was thinking of upgrading to the Pontus II, but I don't know, thinking diminishing returns at this point.
@@michaelwright1602 Pontus II is significantly better by all accounts of multiple reviewers, e.g. Nemo to name just one. The step from Ponus II to Venus II is small and debatable, but not from Ares II to Pontus II, that is a big step up.
Hi Jay as much as iam excited about the Hades Thallo combination aren't we overlooking the Athena,would like to hear what your thoughts are about the difference between those two Pre-amplifiers ,I have the Kinki EX-M1+ as well because of you and I love it 👍
How would the Freya + stack up against the Hades? I have the Kinki EX-M and love it…Just purchased the Thallo and looking forward to pairing it with my Freya.
@@jptok The Thallo and Freya + gave me a larger and deeper soundstage with finer resolution and more precise instrument placement, as compared to the Kinki EX-M1...Blacker backgrounds bring out distant instruments without being analytical. I do find that with certain lower volume recording's the Freya runs out of gas, but for 97% plus it's a match that has my foot tapping and my brain totally immersed in the music. I'm using a Marantz ND 8006, network/CD player with it's version of a DAC. While this gives me a decent soundstage, I'm sure this is a limiting factor which at some point will be replaced. "A British Audiophile" recently reviewed the Thallo and on his system noted a lack in the midbass, which I think I can appreciate??? As much as I liked the Kinki with it's inherent limitations, Thallo is a jump in refinement. Changing tubes on the Freya (Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB) made a big difference.
@@williammilligan1451 Hmmm... I was wondering the same thing, as I have the original Freya. But, I'm seriously looking at getting the Thallo and the Hades, may order this week. I already own the Model 5's and can attest to Jay's findings with those. I just need to end this, and hopefully the Thallo and Hades will fill the bill so to say.
Hi, Jay, I have asked Alvin from Denafrips to send you the Athena and Apollo combination for you to review. Could you please kindly reach out to him please? Thank You.
Really wished they sent you an Athena pre as well! This was the first I've heard of the Ha-Des, looks smaller like a competitor to the Hestia instead of the larger Athena.
I have the Thallo. It is very sensitive to input and how it is driven. You should plan to attach it to a true balanced signal. I am currently using a audio-gd r28 and it outputs twice the voltage as the Hades. I will try the Hades to see if it is more compatible. When over or under driven, the Thallo does not play well with others. The Hades sounds much better than the r28.
Well, did you get the Hades preamp? Looking at this pairing with the Thallo, as it is more than likely the best way to go due to the matching of the system and sensitivity of the Thallo. These Denafrips pieces are not our normal consumer gear where the designs lend themselves to be mixed and matched with whatever you have laying around.
I have the Hestia and Hyperion, looking to upgrade for my main system, it has done well but runs out of steam when I push it. Ironically it still doesn't doesn't exhibit bad behavior, very clean to the limits. Excellent performance overall, am keeping these for the bedroom gear. Looking at Apollo Athena combination as my best fit.
@@michaelmityok1001 I've been in contact with Alvin and we have exchanged several emails. I have also considered the BX 7 from Kinki Studios as the amps of choice paired with the Athena, they are monoblock units. I build tube amps for a hobby and have always built monos as a rule. Separate power and signals have always given superb results. Having said that the H&H combo is very good for the bang buck ratio, nothing in mall stores can touch it period! Enjoy the 🎶 music.
@@Pete.across.the.street unbelievable value for money, build and sound around $10K especially when you consider the specs too. Grounded, smooth, dynamic and tonally accurate for SS so it is not strictly "neutral" or "transparent" in audiophile speak, but it is non fatiguing to my ears, wonderfully balanced between airiness and density.
@@Pete.across.the.street I'm going to purchase this because I have enough experience with the Hestia to know it's superior. The Hestia is far beyond most preamps, Classe, and others. Have had many that dont come close. Very surprising to me as I am VERY discerning about sound. Golden Ears at 65, if that helps.
Jay, I am struck by how different your impressions of Thallo are from those of Tarun (the British Audiophile). It is not so much that you like it more than he does, but that your descriptions almost contradict each other. T finds the mid base weak and lacking in drive, you find it exceptionally powerful. T finds Thallo incapable of reproducing the deep voice of his favorite blues male singers, you suggest that it makes lesser voices sound like those Jonny Lee Hooker. T thinks the soundstage is mediocre, you think it is exceptionally wide and deep. T thinks that it is lacking in scale and dynamics, you do not explicitly comment on this aspect but you suggest that it is not at all lacking in this department. I am sure you both are honestly describing your impressions, but this leaves potential buyers of this amp confused (I have Pontus and the Athena and I am looking for an amp that can do justice to large classical orchestral music and am considering Thallo and kinki ex 7).
is the Thallo better than the Parasound A23+? I use ATC SCM 12's with the parasound...looking for more resolution. The Parasound has a lot of power and it doesn't bloat the bass becasue the speakers only go down to like 60-70 htz.
I own this setup, the KLH Model 5's, the Denafrips Iris DDC, Ares II DAC, Hades and Thallo amps... Pontus II coming in a few weeks. Listening to it right now, Grace Mayha Last Live at DUG Tokyo... If you have not heard this SACD, just buy it. This setup is simply incredible for the money. It pairs incredibly well with the KLH Model 5's, they were meant for each other. For the money, this is in the $20,000 plus range of gear. Each piece is built like a tank. And the sound, go watch Jay's KLH speaker review, he used this setup in that video. It is all true.
@@Muchangi.K Not yet... But, I tell you this, with the Iris DDC and the Ares II... And what I have going on with the Oppo BDP-83 and GeerFab digital breakout box... I'm actually on the fence.
Great review on the Thallo. There are very few reviews on the Thallo and i was intrested in this amp before your review. It is top on my list but i read great reviews on the van alstine dva m225 mono's also that are now top on my list. I know you can't do any request of a comparison of your subscribers but wouldn't it in this case intresting?? Also the Denon pma-sx11 or a110 grabbed my attention.
I have the EX-B7'S and they finally broke in after 300 hours. They are astonishing. They blow away all the Brystons I have owned including the 4B3 and trounce the Parasound JC5. Delicate, forceful, clean, fast... they drag you in... even if you are working.
So.. Is it overty dark or laid back sounding? It sounds like it might be. I recently tried the Denon 1600ne with my 5's and hated it because it was so dark and lack any transparency (way too laid back, homogenized all of the recordings). The IOTAVX stack was a much better fit. Also, it's worth mentioning that they don't offer a refund or return policy.
No refund or return policy has been mentioned before. But, I would suspect, as I have been shopping for used gear, the Denafrips brand products when posted on hifi sites are normally snapped up within hours of the sales posting. I am seriously looking at the Hades and Thallo, possibly the Pontus II. I have the Ares II on its way and will see how that performs compared to my other DACs. If the Ares is what I am looking for, the Hades and Thallo will be ordered. Then possibly the Pontus II if the Ares performs as I am hoping it will. I already have the Model 5's, and they performed exactly as Jay described in his review, I just need to take them up a notch. Hopefully the Ares II/Pontus II, Hades and Thallo will be the end of this journey I have found myself on.
Hey, nice , surprising performance of this amp! Sounds like most of us should be trying it , especially if we' re not too much into tubes.. Did not get your remarks regarding the mandatory-ish use of balanced, though ... Rca -> xlr cables exist since forever , and while you lose some benefits with them (common -mode rejection mainly, so the signal is potentially a bit more noisy), amps will be otherwise running just fine with them 🤷.
The best system I heard is combo of Spectral Audio, MIT, Avalon Acoustic, ASC. From electronic, wire to room, they got together to form 2C3D solution. Very transparent, the whole system disappeared and you can pinpoint lots of stuff. Dream for studio stuffs. However, it is not practical to promote such concept it is limited to work with other brands. It is true matching is very important in this field. You often can guess which brands will go in hifi show.
If I can remember CLSIIZ is not easy to drive.Solid state amp need to able to drive at 1 ohm. 50watt at 1 ohm is better than 200watt at 8ohm, in term of loudness. That was decade or two ago, today amp is much more powerful. Just take note the spec from 1 ohm.
Hay Jay, Could you please do a review on bryston 4b3 amplifier? You a Canadian you should have some idea of quality and sound characteristics? Based on your review I purchased Terminator 2, and it is a keeper but unfortunately the Willsenton R800i did not cut the mustard for me. I know most of your review are aimed at entry level audiophile. Some of us past this level so can you please include audio gear around $10K USD. Thank You.
So what’s the price on this preamp? Does it have gain? The lower model doesn’t AFAIK. Also you never spoke about any emotional connection at all. Are these engaging?
Okay so for those that are curious. I just got an email from Vinshine Audio saying the preamp is live on their site, it’s $1,327.15 US (although that will fluctuate with the exchange rate as they work in Singaporean currency, not the US Dollar), and it’s Unity Gain ( 2.0 volts RCA/4.0 volts XLR). In fact all their preamps are that way, and all the amps are 26db I think. Now I don’t think they’re actually passive, as it says class A preamps. So I don’t know what that all means if you put your 2.5 RCA/5.0 XLR DAC, like my D70s MQA. Or anything else that’s higher. But it seems that it just puts out 2 volts no matter what basically. The amp is 1.8 volt sensitive on the input. So it should work really good with a good DAC going straight in, assuming the output impedance is low (pre is 200 Ohms) like the preamp’s is. So that just leaves me wondering what the emotional impact is, and of course WTF Jay meant when he described the sound as husky, or whatever he called it. 😁
HAHA.. That slow zoom in to the hair.. Very nice. (Not to offend, but listening to these Ancient Greek names pronounced wrong was harsh.. like a broken metal tweeter) Hades? .. Hay-dees* as in .. Hey, Deez (Nuts)* just sayin* (speech is audio related.. Hell, Audio is a Latin root word but Phonics is Greek) Have you heard much of the Schiit brand? I looked these up on the USA distribution site for pricing. Im curious how either would stack up (price comparison). Nice review.. It's clear that you are impressed by the expressions here ... Have to thank you for reviewing and showing products that basically NO ONE else is even talking about. That's very high value.
How about using it with my Cornwall III’s? Struggling with choosing tube or ss amplifier, because I also want to use it with my tv and not want to put a tube amp on/off constantly. What do you think?
Grunt in vocal? I think Uncle Kevvy at upscale audio would say "Chesty". Hmmm... Sounded like the Thallo would give the parasound JC1 a run for it`s money?
ja, I heard the comparisons in the video, uh. In México I don´t have the opportunity to hear audio gear so maybe I´ll take the risk with the kinki amplifier and KLH. Thanks man
I believe this is what one would call a "modern purist" set of gear. The pairing I believe Denafrips is going for are the Pontus II DAC > Hades Preamp > Thallo Amplifier, which as of right now, is my plan. The single RCA input is more than likely expected to be used for your TT. Denafrips is one of those "keep it simple stupid" kind of designer/manufacturers, much like Kinki Studio. Less is more, especially when it comes to sound. Fewer connections = better sound. Just my thoughts on the matter, and just the kind of matched set I am looking for.
The Thallo Does not really get that hot just warm. Generally speaking though it is never a good idea to stack components on top of each other. The bottom unit overheats as you are trapping its ventilation and the top unit overheats from the heat radiated from the device below.
Why the cheap looking carbon binding posts? 🙈 The design is otherwise very classy, maybe a nice upgrade could be the adjustment of the display color on the preamp..
I think the binding posts are meant to look like Furutech's FT-816 or FT-866, which cost ~$200/pair. Realistically, they're most likely the same carbon fiber/rhodium-plated binding posts partsconnexion and others sell for $20/pair. And Denafrips won't change the color of the preamp display-- I tried. I was dreaming of a black Athena with a white display :(
