So I did a recent comparison on my preamp to found out how much my preamp is actually buffing my system. Then realize my Supratek preamp is actually pretty badass lol.
^ So I said this… Well I take it back. If you do not feed the Platimon some good equipment, it will probably not sound as good as you would want it to. Probably like all good equipment, you want to feed it with something pretty freaking good lol. I wanted to test if the Platimon still sounded good with entry level power amp (Schiit Vidar 2) and preamp (NITSCH MAGNI PIETY) and well… I didn’t really like how it sounded lol. It still sounded pretty good, but at the same time, not as enjoyable compared to when the 45 tube preamp was hooked. Enjoyment level plummeted a lot. Hooked up my Supratek preamp back into the chain and everything sounded so dang amazing again.
What the Plaitmon still retain with the NITSCH Magni Piety as the preamp to me:
- Drums still sounded amazing
- Soundstage width is still amazing
- Dedicated Left and Right channel was still pretty cool
What the Platimon loss with the NITSCH Magni Piety as the preamp to me:
- Mids sounded lifeless to me
- Electric Guitar don’t sound as good to me compare to my original setup
- Imaging blurs a little more and that in return kinda hurt all the little details I could usually hear
- Music sounded more clutter and instrumental separation was an issue
- Soundstage seems a little more flat since it seem to have less depth
- Clarity seems to take a hit on the Platimon
What the Platimon Gain with the Supratek 45 Cabernet DHT Preamp
- Mids came to life for me, especially noticeable for female vocals and electric guitar as that is my main requirement in music
- Imaging is more pinpoint picture perfect again for me
- Feels like I can hear much more detail, probably because instrumental separation is better. Its probably thanks to the pinpoint imaging as well.
- Soundstage had more depth and it feels more like a concert again
- Clarity is much better
- Music sounded “bigger”
I feel like I am repeating myself from the other thread, but I did only test it out on the Platimon speaker. So, I will say this again. If you get a Platimon speaker, you will probably want some good gear so it can sound really good. With my current gear using the Supratek Cabernet 45 tube Preamp, its the best I heard for electric guitar and drums, imaging is super amazing, and details are much easier to hear. Without my Supratek preamp, I will probably only like the Platimon as the best drums sounding speaker for me. Female vocals though? My god, Supratek 45 tube really help female vocals on the Platimon. I don’t know why there is such a big drastic change in that, but I probably don’t want to remove my 45 tube from my system as I think that might be the key why female vocals always sound amazing in my system. I can see why all reviewers recommend a tube amp for the Platimon. The Platimon speaker nature is a clean midrange. But because something is clean, doesn’t necessarily make it enjoyable to probably a lot of people. You probably want that warmth and texture you get from tubes in the midrange. I wouldn’t call the vocals thin without the tubes, but it feels very incomplete. With 45 tubes, its a good direction if you like vocals. The Supratek preamp just makes vocals easier and much enjoyable to listen to.
So I am still on the search of the poweramp for the Platimon and am trying to do a lot of research on it. Pretty much all reviewers recommends a tube amp for the Platimon. I know everyone likes tube, but I watched the reviewer’s other speaker review videos and found they sometimes recommend solid-state poweramp. Honestly it might be if your speaker could run tube, might as well. I know tube vs solid state don’t really matter once getting into the higher end of things and its really how the hardware is design. But tube amps are usually just a safe route of knowing what you are getting into, like if you want really want more midrange and a holographic soundstage, a lot of tube amps will provide that. If you want more “oomph” in the bass, a lot of solid state will provide that.
I think with all that said, my new poweramp/speaker amp candidates are (Supratek is staying no matter what, so I will probably use an integrated amp as a power amp):
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Decware ZMA Amp (highest contender so far) / Maybe the Torii V since some people say its better than the ZMA for some reason, but the ZMA power supply still interests me more / Maybe the Sarah 300B amp if it can drive the Platimon speaker (The website says it can drive as low as 89 db speaker, but maybe it won’t be enough power for my genre). I will probably talk to Steve one day for his recommendation if I pull that trigger to be on the waiting list for a year.
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A 20wpc Push pull integrated amp from Korea (not Allnic) that uses 6L6 tube. It is said it was specifically made to drive an vintage RCA speaker so the amp itself carry some of that vintage sound I guess.
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The AGD monoblock class D amp still looks cool, but its the most expensive and I heard it still carry that “Class D” sound. So I gotta really hear it first before I purchase this if I still want to go on this “cleaner” route.
I am not addicted to the Platimon btw. I did not do this experiment as an excuse to listen to the Platimon on a weekday for the 3rd week in a row. I am just writing this down to help me remember that this is the direction I should go. Hopefully, I am going in a right direction… hopefully.