Enleum AMP 23R Review - Why is this so different to other amps? 

I've read and seen 5 reviews of this amp. This one was the most complete by far, and had no hesitation pointing out the amp's limitations.

You’ve put on a clinic on how to properly review an amp - I wish more hifi reviewers would take a page from your approach.

Great content. Good for you for calling out the quality vs parts. Nice to see you in front of the camera too.

Lovely review. As mentioned previously, very nice to see you in front of the camera.

Hey man, just wanted to say how much I appreciate your hard work with these videos! Keep going & stay as cool as you are!

Impressive how articulate you are! It surely reflects how high your standards must be! Nice to see more in front of the camera! Excellent work!

I like watching videos of things I'll never be able to afford. Nice review

Love your work mate, such high production.

Finally your are back on your channel, was missing you ;-) as always, very very well-explained and honest review!!!

this was an amazing review, thank you

Welcome back cool guy, amazing review as always. 😎

Killer review as always!

Thank you for the review.

thanks for the honest impressions.

Whilst I can't spend these amounts of $ on gear, I love your test-track suggestions. In fact will watch any video to "spot" them and thank you for the links!

Thanks for the honest review

The major plus of the Enleum for me is that it is primarily a speaker amp and outputs 25 wpc into 8 ohms. I use it mostly as a speaker amp that just happens to be a superb headphone amp. It drives my Heddphones better than anything I've tried previously. The fact that you are getting a superb speaker and headphone amp (for me) justifies the price tag. Few, if any of the other headphone amps you mentioned are also speaker amps, so it would be worth making this distinction. I've had my Enleum for about 9 months and haven't found any of the shortcomings sonically, that you referred to. I think musical tastes factor into this as well of course. Mine being primarily instrumental, jazz and orchestral, which I think fit the Enleum very well. Again, when you factor in the Enleum's capability as a speaker and headphone amp, the value proposition looks quite different. As a small/compact amp, its exceptional. Also, a word of advice for those commenting negatively about cost and quality of this amp....at least try to hear it for yourself before making negative comments. It's not very helpful.

Wonderful review.

Oh I love this content. Very knowledgeable and down to earth reviews of actually interesting stuff that nobody covers in depth

Good honest review ✌😎👍🥁😎🥁thanks!!

great review

Another great review Cameron, enjoy CanJam NYC

I am extremely impressed with the way you conduct yourself in these reviews. I love someone who has balance in their lives and in their opinions.

Good to see the finger snaps are back.

That DC issue reminds me of the issue that Schiit had with the Asgard 1. Jason fixed it right away with Asgard 2! Great review!

Good job chap!

Excellent review. Gets to the heart of the 23R's strengths and weaknesses with surgical precision. Most reviews don't mention the smoothed mids. When I switch back to my Cayin HA-300 tube amp, I really notice it. Nothing is perfect but the 23R gets close.

Good review. Still one of the best sounding solid state amps. It’s beautiful and rich sounding with horn speakers. Well, I own the older high power Bakoon amps. Also I believe Enleum addressed the DC drift with a video before GS published this. Probably all the rumblings that surmounted this review to talk about.

Well, thanks for letting me know! honest review, no sell out talk.

1:45 Love the transition.

Thanks!

Nice review 👍, please review the Violectric V550 Pro.

I’m listening to you on a pair of Soundpeats TWS ..they’re crap on calls ..but they play music wonderfully…that’s what stood out ..YOUR MUSIC IS PHENOMENAL 😳👍

cannot wait for the holo bliss review

Excellent review and interesting little amp. Any plans to review the Gustard R26?

Let's get a bliss review now

Excellent review as usual, mate, had the same experience unfortunately, during the review process, too. Such a shame, I was overly hyped for this

I've been living with the Enleum and enjoyed it very much, but do agree it has its quirks. However, I found it interesting you described it as "warm" where I would say it sounds more hollow or v-shaped (more upper midrange/treble emphasis and detail). Also, as you noted, I also found it responds quite differently depending on the incoming voltage level from the DAC. Higher voltage emphasizes its sound character, lower voltage mellows it out.

I subscribed to ur channel. It's kind a special cause it's the first one I ever subscribed to in my entire 10 years of internet usage. I find ur perception, genuine honest, experimental nature is in sync with mine. I followed 2-3 videos from ur channel specially ur hard work deciphering mqa and the mindset to find the truth. Pls continue ur work. If we met in real life, i guess we would be good friends for sure. Also pls review the S17 pro and Violectric 222

Golden, you are amazing. Thank you.

I have ordered the new GoldenWave/HiFiMan Prelude headphone amp, eagerly waiting for its arrival within the next few days. There are several amps in my shortlist including this Enleum, Holo Bliss KTE as well as speaker amps such as the Benchmark AHB-2, Keces, First Watt, etc… And, there are the tube amps such as Felix’s Audio Envy, Euphoria evo, Tranformatic Primavera, Viva Egoista 845… so little money, so many gears! So, I hope the Prelude can keep me happy for a while more. It came highly recommended for the Susvara. A friend in Hong Kong who is using it said this amp was built for Susvara. Another friend who had used the Ferrum Oor but sold it, is currently happily using the Holo Bliss KTE, also recommended the Prelude. He tried the Prelude and told me that the Prelude is very close to the capabilities of his Bliss KTE but at a much lower price.

*THIS and very few give so much info. Enlightening with no time wasted. THANK YOU for this thorough review in so many aspects.*

Nice review, I had both the Ferrum stack and the Enleum V2 for my Susvara. I disagree about the midrange impressions, after some time I sold the Ferrum stack and kept Enleum, it is clearly on another level for my ears (stage, impact, dynamics, layering).

There are pads provided with the amp to be placed under the feet to prevent the amp from sliding

@GoldenSound Appreciate your effort and opinions. Love the RTA on the bottom of your logo screen. Would you please share the underlying source that creates it?

Wow, fantastic cinematography. What camera body and lens(es) are you using?

You can sell anything for any price, is the take home. Using the case for a heat sink is a neat touch.

Danke!

Yah, may + 23r + sus is a rough combo trippling down on that propensity for textural smoothness. Tbh this review is a fair bit more positive than I would have given my 13r

You should review the Isoacoustics Orea pucks. They're great and not heinously priced. I have them under all my electronics and the Gaia feet under my speakers.

I would love a complete review of the ferrum oor and the Ifi IDSD/ICan signature in the future. I've been using the rebel amp for the past 2 years and i'm curious to know how much of an upgrade I would get from a 2-3k$ amp

Nice review, as an owner of much bakoon equipment you need to run in current mode to hear the best, I am less a fan on the Korean version as much more expensive though sweet looking

I've got the 13R love it. Only aesthetically speaking I thought the 23R was a downgrade from the 13R. I was planning on getting a 2nd setup with the 23R in mind...but now having second thoughts. Didn't have any of the concerns you described on the 23R with the 13R. I get the feeling that its was just a more cost effective version of the 13R...

Its so pretty, thats my contribution.

hello golden sound can i please ask you if you have ever reviewed the holo audio cyan dac/amp i know holo has a great reputation and i know of which you are a great fan of , there seems to be little or no reviews on you tube only a few written reviews online. any info would be great there is one for sale online at a great price just do not want to make a mistake . great work thank you for your time.

I have demoed it, I thought it was a fine sounding amp. Definitely agree it is a specialty amp and more than likely anyone considering it almost certainly has more than one amp already and looking for some flavor in their sound palate. Not an amp for everyone or your only amp necessarily. I wasn't bothered by the mid range as I don't mind a more relaxed midrange. Unique product and I'm strongly considering it as a tube alternative.

I hope you review the HoloAudio - Bliss Headphone Amplifier

Any chance you could review a Mass Kobo 394 ii or OJI BDI-DC44B G-Tuned ? I think that pretty much rounds out remaining TOTL SS amps with perhaps the CFA3 and Dark Star missing from your review catalog. On the tubes side Trafomatic Primava, Riviera AIC-10, and Viva Egoist 845 would be the 3 mains ones missing that you haven't had a chance to review.

Great review GS! Can I ask, did you limit the gain to 7dB for the HP out or did you switch it open to the full 22.5dB? I own this, but a later revision with serial Hxxx as opposed to Axxx. I drive it with the the Mojo 2 currently running it at 3V instead of the measured recommended 0.3V. I find that as I INCREASED the output level of the Mojo 2, I get a better outcome from the AMP-23R; have tried both voltage levels extensively and the higher output voltage on the Mojo 2 always wins on perceived clarity / separation and DR, in contrast to what was measured. Also, have compared the sound between the Mojo2 direct and out of the AMP-23R with a lot of bass, mid-bass heavy music and always preferred the more dynamic and impactful presentation of the Enleum; this amp can follow every little transient cue and highlight every single nuance in the input signal. I would never have thought the AMP-23R mid bass to be anywhere near "wooly" and always thought it was extremely tight and articulate, BUT the Mojo 2 direct is slightly better on clarity in that region, yet not in a way you'd ever be able to tell unless you were doing some extensive AB'ing. Will be interesting to test when I get my Mola Mola Tambaqui. I've been listening using the OG Utopia's btw. Still hearing pops as I change gain with the Hxxx version, though with so much power on tap and such swings in volume just from a small movement of the gain control, I don't think anyone is crazy enough to be swinging it from 0 to 100 and back like that.

GS, I have a Jotunheim 2 so you know I'm done, you know I'm happy. I always watch your videos anyway...! Best, D. p.s. SMSL DO200 DAC, so yeah. #W. B. Cables matter.

I agree with you about the cost people just have to stop paying such crazy prices before the prices will ever come down to earth not just audio but everything in life .

Retail products are usual 5xbuild cost. The problem they have is small volume manufacturing, so that Chassis could be very expensive and while the parts on the PCBs maybe inexpensive, the manufacture of the PCBs will be higher for Enleum then another large volume manufacturer. If they sell through dealers, you need to consider the that dealers get products at 50% below list price and the distributer (if there is one) will get at least 10-15%. That leaves the Enleum with 35-40% of the retail. Around $2200? Does that seam reasonable for Enleum? If it is only Direct sales, then there is defiantly a bit of overcharging.

Thanks for using our song Only Girl in the Room by ISYLA 😊

Not seen any “limitations” reviewed here that haven’t been mentioned elsewhere. Interesting review but not quite the complete picture. - the pops and clicks are a feature of the unusual gain arrangement. Might impact people with multiple headphones but with 1 pair of speakers you’re going to either be on mute or 1 of maybe a couple of volume positions. So, who cares? Hear no complaints at all from people who have owned since release. - every review has acknowledged the fabulous mid range. Only 2 have suggested anything amiss. Again both headphone users. Weirdly friends. 1 suggested “unengaging”. Directly contradicting every other review. This suggests something more subtle. I can buy into this much more. It’s part of the sound signature. If you love the rest of what it does you’re not really going to care. Also, it goes unsaid that the effect described mirrors exactly what happens to sound at gigs so er… - doubt you’ll find many boxes where the cost of the components reflects the final price. Some sure but it’s a long long way from what happens in most cases. A final component might cost £2 but you might have had to work 100s of hours listening to 50+ £2 components to get to that final decision. Soo has mentioned of at least 2 component prices in this device where out in the real world the scarcity is so high the cost has rocketed. That aside, simplifying R&D down to “this has just been developed further from something which already existed so it can’t have cost that much to do” is a pretty basic misunderstanding of how actual R&D works. - the DC offset thing is fascinating. Soo has refuted it. No user has had their headphones destroyed or damaged by it. Ditto with speakers. No-one rotates their volume at that speed when sat on their arse using a remote control. So, it’s s theoretical. Nothing wrong with that but a theoretical with no example to back it up is effectively a non issue. Put some cheap headphones on it; wham that gain up and down until you destroy them and then there’s something to talk about. - lowering the gain of a source? Fair comment but can you name a device where it isn’t the case that this occurs? Every device has a sweet spot. The reviewer found it here. Would be a bit concerned if they’d not. My pre supposedly wants 2V. It can take 3.5V but I prefer it at 1.V. Friend with the same products prefers 2.5. It’s useful to know you can change the sound signature slightly by varying stuff like this but it’s not a big thing. So what are we left with? Essentially if you like the sound signature you’ll love it. It seems expensive given the component cost. Do these say something about the product or something about the reviewer?

Have you looked at the Sony TA-ZH1ES? I assume you'd have words (good and bad) to say about the curious design decisions, build quality, output power level & the digital enhancements it offers.

I own this amp. I prefer thin, neutral and transparent as I like to hear every detail. I have stayed away from tube amps for this reason. However, this amp adds just a touch of warmth without any limiting of resolution, image separation, and dynamics. On the Susvara and Utopia 22 this amp is magnificent. If you own Expanse, ZMF or other warm headphones you are better off with something like the Burson Soloist GT. I love, love, love the automatic return to zero volume knob when you unplug. A brilliant safety feature. The other issue is that I am slightly hard of hearing in one ear and need to adjust balance. Most of my other amps require me to crank up volume to 80-90% of volume to obtain listening levels I like. On the AR23 the dial is at 11am with plenty of headroom. Power delivery is effortless. I value a product based solely on performance and this is a tremendous value for me.

Would you go for the primaluna + OOR over the woo wa33?

The Enleum comes with rubber pads to stop it sliding around.

Does anybody have any recommendations for were to learn about how audio gear works and the theory behind different design patterns?

Hi. Any chance of you reviewing Gryphon Diablo 120 amplifier?

♥

I wish there were objective ways to measure all of the qualities talked about when it comes to DACs and AMPs, and how much of these differences are actually audible. Right now, it's all ambiguous and difficult to discern how much of the qualities is because of the AMP, because of the DAC, and how much is simply individual placebo. It also doesn't help that most headphone measurements don't go up to the limits of human hearing (for many younger people, up to 24khz is perfectly audible). Do you have any thoughts on the differences between objective and subjective measurements, and what differences will actually be audible to different people?

There is not a single high-end amp of which has a BoM that costs anywhere NEAR the MSRP of the amp, not the Holo Bliss or any tube amplifier. Passion for Sound did it right with his review.

6000? And a power line EMI filter is for ... those cheap China products? Thank you that gave us a chance to take a look inside. I don't see anything that can explain that absurd price. A cheap toroid, a cheap BUF634, cheap sockets, cheap resistors... It reminds be Lampizadors with USB modules from eBay.

Why do I think, big baby 👶, when watching your videos?

Top notch review by someone who loves music ...sinewave 🙌🏻

4:12 no pun intended

with all the power from the amp to HP out with only such dinky wire connecting both ends..... surely they can do better

65db SINAD??? Did I read that right?

AR23 comes with silicon disks for feet which prevents movement. Obviouisly you did not get

$6k? Why not charge $12k, or even $20k. Someone would pay it.

😮

Very nice and accurate review, thank you! One thing I don't get about the Susvara, though. I don't get it. Why are they considered such outstanding headphones? To me, it seems part of their reputation is related to the fact that hardly any amp can drive them properly. Let alone any cheap stuff under 1000 Euro / $. It's fine, when very good and expensive headphones need capable amps and dacs. But to exceptional good headphones shouldn't sound bad on the vast majority of gear out there. This makes them a not really good pair of headphones, imho.

Apollo Bliss, hmmm

That DC offset is scary. Wow. Wasn’t expecting that.

The other reviews were selling this product hard.

Volume tech sounds cool. but because it measures so bad, it defies its purpose...

If it’s was 3500 bones , I would consider it. 65 hundred dollar bills is a bunch:)

After seeing the Holo Bliss the build and parts just don't compare, the Bliss is superior in every aspect and a bargain when compared.

RnD costs a lot, and how does it sound? For me, too much to spend.

Always exceptional, informative and detailed videos. In this instance you've reaffirmed my opinion that so many hi-fi products are a complete rip-off. There is no way the price tag of this item can be justified. You pointed out that some of the components were not of the highest quality, so taking that into account and the overall performance, plus having it manufactured in Korea all point to it being a massively overpriced component.

I use my AR23 fed by a TT2/mScaler. 😅Detail and image separation in the bass is fantastic. I wish he had detailed his source chain as this can have a great impact on sound quality. I trialed the Ferum Forge gear and the AR23 is noticeably more powerful, impactful, and dynamic.

Love yours videos, but learn to set your compressor right 😀 regards from senior Mastering Engineer

This is a good amp without a doubt. But looking at its price tag, I think LTA z10 is a way better choice in terms of sound quality and functionality.

Lol. Hahahahahaha just laughed and left.

SSSSSSibilants

So it's a more powerful TA-ZH1ES that costs $6.000. Got it.

What's the brand of those blue caps? SAMWHA? If yes, it's highend AF 🤣 ps. 1.4v dc offset H@H@H@H@H@H@.

the inside doesn’t justify the high price.

$6k? Seriously?! All anyone needs to do is look and compare to the current offerings from HoloAudio, Schiit Audio, Denafrips, etc. to see this is about $3000. over priced….