AUDIOMAT - Tempo 2.7

Origin: France 
Digital to analog converter 
Bandwidth : unspecified 
Signal-to-noise ratio: unspecified 
Distortion : unspecified 
Conversion: 24 bits / 192 kHz 
Inputs: 
- 1 coaxial input e Cinch (S / PDIF) 
- 1 TosLink optical input 
- 1 AES / EBU input on XLR 
- 1 USB input on anti jitter module 
Outputs: unbalanced on RCA connector

LISTENING

The listening tests were carried out with the following equipment: YBA CD 3 Classic Sigma CD player, YBA 3 Classic Delta preamplifier, YBA 3 Classic Delta double transformer power pack, Kantor PEL loudspeakers, and YBA Glass and ESPRIT modulation cables Kappa, HP YBA Diamond and ESPRIT Kappa cables.

For the digital part, the S / PDIF ESPRIT Eterna digital cable was used. FURUTECH F-TP 615 power strip and G-314Ag-18E brand power cable.

CDs used : Gregorio Paniagua's Folia, Modern Jazz Quartet with Laurindo Almeida - Quiet Nights by Diana Krall - Tri Yann & The Pays de Loire National Orchestra - Ramadou / Générations - Brandenburg Concertos conducted by Trevor Pinnock - Symphonies N ° 5 and N ° 9 '' of Beethoven directed by Rudolf Kempe - Romance of the Symphonic Suite of "Lieutenant Kué" by Serge Prokofiev ", etc ...

1 ° The observations 

Over time, a large number of audiophiles I'm part of would have thought that digital reading had reached the peak of its glory, especially if we refer to the only support that is the Compact Disc. Tempo 2.7 finally puts a lot of things in question. Its implementation within a well thought out system opens up new musical perspectives. I would almost say that with the Dac Tempo 2.7, we change completely world as for the "music bill". The first attempts to instantly compare an integrated CD player and its association with the Tempo 2.7 show a substantial evolution that tends to push the limits of a large number of objective parameters.

I remained interrogative, perplexed, and simply admiring the additional degree of analysis that emerges from different musical styles, as eclectic as they are. I do not even mention the good one when I dared to associate this Dac with a simple DVD player. For example, the bass on "Valeria" performed by the Modern Jazz Quartet is not only accurate, it is accurate. Each note simply falls under the direction, and one is surprised to hear clearly the pinching of each string with a sharpness "diabolical", especially if one remembers the date of the recording! All of this is confirmed by the piano playing that absolutely reflects the one we can hear in an excellent concert hall, or a recording studio. Each note is balanced and results in a succession of well-conducted joints, to the point of believing that the instrument is within reach of hands (or ears).

The tonal color palette in turn takes on an extension that gives all recordings of nobility, distinction, and contrasts that have nothing to do with the usual digital music. It is always on "Valeria" interpreted by the Modern Jazz Quartet that the Tempo 2.7 reveals us the underside of its cards, and more particularly on this difficult game of vibraphone which, here, sparkles a thousand fires, with a multitude of hues, half-hues, quarter-tints, whose respective colors suggest an extension and a multitude of variations. It will not be useless to mention the fact that this vibraphone never began to twist or to provide distortion in high frequencies.Moreover, the speed of execution completed by a facility of "elocution" leads to a fluidity of first order.

From the high register to the high register , the Tempo 2.7 manages all the frequencies with a master hand, and I would say a fingering of which we can judge the dexterity through the play of harpsichord so tasty that illustrates some passages of the "la Folia de Gregorio Paniagua ". Sometimes matte, sometimes brilliant, the notes of harpsichord are of a new limpidity and we can not remain insensitive to the pleasant contrast that results. On this same CD, all baroque instruments are reproduced with a precision that emphasizes the ability to adapt to all musical situations. If the medium gives itself a place of choice, as one observes on the game of baroque flutes and cromornes which sport the wooded formulations, one will also see that the acute registeris present: this one goes up high and clear.

The acute register ! : let's talk about it, precisely. At the same time soft and chiselled, it goes high and predestines to an " opening " towards aerial frequencies, but never acid. Just listen and listen to the "Brandenburg Concertos" - Trevor Pinnock's direction to be convinced of the silky yarn of violins or viols, trumpets and other instruments of the time. The same exercise was reiterated with "Tri-Yann and the National Orchestra of Pays de Loire" and "Generations", where from the orchestral flow emerges a host of details such as the very distinct ringing of the triangle, or the cymbal strokes very frank. The violin soloist is perfectly at ease and comfort me once again in its beautiful precision. Believe me if you want, but we are at the antipodes of a musical "bite" and imprecise.

Finally, and this is a constant at AUDIOMAT, the low register goes down to abyssal frequencies. But, let us hear, AUDIOMAT products add nothing to the musical message. If the low register goes down, the AUDIOMAT electronics, including the Tempo 2.7, always commit themselves to strictly respect the frequencies assigned to them. As I am getting to know the products of the brand, I can attest that this ability to go down very low in the low frequencies is a constant of which many builders, mostly exotic, would do well to inspire - I let them work on their subject!

2 ° The evidences 

After a long series of successive listenings, it seems clear to me that the AUDIOMAT Dac stands out from the competition and even the best integrated CD players from several angles. If I dared to use a metaphor, I would translate it in the following way: the difference is summed up by a comparison between a sky of a blue lightand pure as one can observe it at the top of a mountain, and the sky that can be observed in a large polluted metropolis. If the test with a DVD player can look like this picture, the comparison with the YBA CD player is still not as clear, though ...

Nevertheless, the Tempo 2.7 allows tonal colors to appear very contrasted (but not saturated), and the musical message lets speakers escape a bright and shimmering light.

If one usually uses a "common" CD player or a DVD player, the colors appear rather denatured, tasteless, or bland. Tempo 2.7 puts things in a logical order and restores the original tones to the music.

Then, like all AUDIOMAT products, the dynamics and the sense of reactivity generate a lively and catchy musicality. This Dac has an ability to "muscling" the scores, and to release the energy of an orchestration that only wants to express itself clearly. Be careful, this Dac does not add things where there is none: he does the job thoroughly and naturally. The energy, this Dac will draw from his separate diet, and he also has other strings to his bow to solve once and for all the issue of attack notes. 
To illustrate my point, one only has to take as reference points Beethoven's 'Symphonies No.5 and No.9', directed by Rudolf Kempe (Esoteric Special Reed), where the timpani bearings are comparable to waves that come crashing down fiercely against the rocks. On this point, Tempo 2.7 offers a very structured overall image, and a stability to all tests.

To illustrate the flawless behavior of the Tempo 2.7, I would be happy to revisit the piano attacks of "Valeria" performed by the Modern Jazz Quartet with Laurindo Almeida. The weight of the notes and the consistency go from surprise to surprise. The transient responses take the lead and the gain in terms of the materialization of the notes is simply impeccable. The double bass game is a great comfort to me on the previous points, insofar as the pinching of each string is indisputable clarity and readability . The high amplitude of the notes gradually gives way to a form of flexibility to the touch both frank and light, to finally fade very gradually in time and space.

As much to admit it immediately, the Tempo 2.7 has a sacred personality and it expresses it thanks to its low register medium - serious well structured and well articulated. Do not worry, the Tempo 2.7 is not invasive, and I would say that he knows how to express himself with discretion and manages the "strong" with discernment and trick. It releases the energies when power ups require it, but it also knows how to stay sober when the music is quieter or more contained - and it is on these points that the Tempo 2.7 asserts its difference.

Over the course of these listening days, the AUDIOMAT Dac has shown me its scale, its panache, thanks to an exceptional formulation that we will find without difficulty when Diana Krall shares with us her talent and her qualities of interpretation. through his album "Quiet Nights". The voice then takes a tone of the most natural that I have been given to hear. The phrasing and the inspirations come from the bottom of his throat; they are illustrated by a realism and a stunning presence. The extracts that make up this album are rather "languorous", and in any case relatively sober in term of "musical ornament". It is more the soft-toned vocals that are highlighted; they also make it possible to make a very positive judgment on the silence of operation of the apparatus. De facto, no pollution or veil are to be raised, and the music of Diana Krall will rock you with the words and musical notes.

The homogeneity and overall coherence are always respected, and the youngest from AUDIOMAT ensures a musical presence of every moment and on every floor of the musical building, thanks to its constancy, to its neutrality , which allow to obtain sensations that will reconcile the most refractory to the digital world (yes, there are still some). It is obviously impossible for me to describe all the recordings that have been used for these tests, but the best and the most significant allow me to point fingers and insist on the general transparency , and the clipping of instruments and voices that are pushed. to an unusual degree of perfection.

3 ° Communication with the auditor 

In terms of communicating with the listener, excuse the little, but three months of almost permanent listening have allowed me to form a clear opinion, definitive and definitive: the Tempo 2.7 defines and restores absolutely everything that a record contains. This unfortunately includes the imperfections of an old sound, questionable, or poorly done.

That being said, if we dwell on Beethoven's "Symphonies No.5 and No.9" directed by Rudolf Kempe (Esoteric Special Reedition), there is no mistaking it: with the great art from the composer associated with that of the conductor, we are facing a "Mountain". 
The listener is confronted with a large musical landscape, from which escapes a musical flow completely free of any constraints or contractions. The definition is at its peak, and the orchestral mass culminates in extravagant heights. The contrasts between the shots are well marked, and the staging is very logically arranged. We can clearly see the structure of the double bass, that of the cellos, that of the violins which we can easily see their respective positions in the studio. The percussions and brass stand out precisely from this set of strings with a fascinating clipping; which gives a lot of life to the whole. The oboe is totally unscathed from this orchestral flow to deliver some singular notes, each of which is perpetuated in time and space with a realism that belongs only to very large products. The different scores are linked without any hitch and affirm the prodigious fluidity that remains a constant at AUDIOMAT.

In a different way, Gregorio Paniagua's "La Folia" literally immersed me in the baroque atmosphere of 16th century Spanish music. You isolate yourself, you sift the lights, and you just listen. You discover in the seconds that follow the real, the great music, that of a baroque ensemble that expresses itself with its slightest inflections, harmonics managed to perfection, and will guarantee you a thrill of emotion that will remain etched in your memory . The ensemble of baroque flutes and cromornes "smell" wood, and one is far from a sanitized or bodybuilded reproduction. Knowing well the most musical instruments mentioned, and having manipulated them for many years, I can attest to their realism.

It really looks like this Dac is constantly ensuring that the musicality is authentic in all circumstances, as the notes ambiances, the conviction of the musicians are obvious. Every day, I had the feeling of discovering novelties, new sensations, a kind of hidden side of recordings, sounds that I did not know, forgotten details or just never heard. As a result, I felt I was rediscovering a large part of my nightclub and hearing it in a new light.

In terms of very good recordings, I selected (among others) the Romance of the Symphonic Suite "Lieutenant Kué" Serge Prokofiev. With this very singular excerpt, I had the feeling that the Tempo 2.7 had set itself the goal of "taking the pulse" and auscultating the musical score, and for the circumstance, to reveal a diagnosis of good health, both in as regards the quality of interpretation as the quality of restitution. Here, it is the emotional temperament that highlights the artistic quality of the performance. 
This work by Serge Prokofiev is, by nature, quite exciting and moving. It easily guesses the state of mind in which it was composed. The "interventions" of each instrument have a specific meaning, and have been thought of specifically, and one would think that Tempo 2.7 was "formatted" in order to give each instrument, each note, this meaning which is proper to him. The glockenspiel game (orchestral chime) whispered in your ear its delicate sound, just as the few bassoon notes are reproduced with an accuracy and realism that allowed me to define each inflection , each harmonic. We are very close to this "musical truth" so much sought after by audiophiles and music lovers.

The Tempo 2.7 is there to make "breathe" the score, to breathe life, to give the strings of body strings and a soul borrows a realism to give goosebumps: is not it? final effect sought?

Conclusion :

The analysis of a product can sometimes be long and even delicate in some cases. This is even more true when it is about an audio link which one does not control all the parameters of exploitation. It took me no less than three months of listening to evaluate the potential of this DAC, making the distinction between the musical character of this product and its ability to manage digital files of various origins: CD or dematerialized files .There is no doubt that this Dac is positioned as a "figurehead" musical. Its combination, with both a high-end CD player and a more basic digital source, is sure to give you some unexpected sensations, and far superior to some CD players, usually from the top of the range to the higher end. encountered and / or described elsewhere.

This Dac will know, if necessary, to take up all the challenges that are offered to him with regard to the music in general and dematerialized in particular. I would say that its analytical side contributes to establish the correctness, the general equilibrium, and to exceed the current limits of the dematerialized supports and their methods of exploitation. This is a truly remarkable and successful product presented to us this year - thank you Mr CLARISSE for these beautiful and long weeks spent with Tempo 2.7.

Price: € 3300 (09/2013)