Translation of:
REVIEW ON AUDIA FLIGHT PRE
in AV EXTREME Issue No.43 a Greek hifi-magazine
« LA FORZA DEL DESTINO »
There was a myth, according to which, all Italian high fidelity equipment contained, in large amount, the brio, the emotion and the melodic musicality of our Mediterranean neighbors. And we lived a good life and the Italians an even better. But one morning, here at the AV Extreme, out of nowhere, we were visited by the Italian Krell !!!!!!, excuse me ….., the Flight Pre by AUDIA I wanted to say, which, by overtaking the Italian customary ways, set out to explore the musical truth to its most secret source.
Having the dimensions and the weight of a small power amplifier, the 15 kilo Flight Pre by AUDIA, gives us an immediate idea of what the whole concept is all about. Then the second ace comes out of its sleeve, meaning its exceptional built quality and assembly and in general, the pluralism with regards to the quality of components and fitting, in which everything is, in one word, excellent, and reminds in a large extend the quality encountered in American manufacturers – this is why we made the comment in the beginning about Krell (of course as you have already guessed it is not only the built quality that reminds you of the Krell range, but with regards to the sound of the Flight Pre, we will deal later on this article).
Let’s begin then from the start, and the front panel of this ….monster, where we meet the large display with the bright blue lettering, which at maximum setting, it really is very bright. Fortunately the brightness can be adjusted in 4 levels or disengaged completely, something which we suggest you do. Under the display, there are 6 buttons by which you can select the inputs, the recording mode, the brightness setting, the balance setting, the mute function and the big volume control, which is realized by metal film resistors and low noise relays that allows the volume to move in 0.5 db steps. The Flight Pre also allows you to name each of the 6 inputs with different names according to the source component. Also if you have differentiated the channel balance, then the front panel display always informs you of this in order not to forget to change your listening position or the position of the loudspeakers.
The "tank" from the inside
The approach of AUDIA in designing and constructing the Flight Pre is totally complete, and as the company explains in the detailed instruction manual, the attention and concept have originated from the designing of the exterior, then the power supply and finally the construction of the gain stage of the pre-amp. Starting from the cabinet itself, we can bow to the clever idea of the company to use two independent "floors" at the same cabinet (it reminds the older DAC from Theta Digital Generation V unit), in order to avoid, on one hand, the two-box design cabinet (which would have increased the cost of the unit a lot) and on the other hand, the electromagnetic shielding of the power supply from the sensitive pre-amp circuits. With this type of construction, the goal has been achieved. Furthermore, the material of the cabinet is aluminum (with great thickness in some areas), while the separating section and the top cover have mechanical damping materials for internal and external vibrations. The internal of the cabinet has a special treatment for the elimination of stray electromagnetic fields, while all metal parts are made by CNC machinery and they have also used laser-cutting equipment. It is also very interesting the use of laser for the "letter-engraving" process at the back panel instead of just printing and also the lettering of the front panel using Computer Controlled machinery.
The power supply is implemented with 3 toroids, two for the audio channels at 50VA each, specially made for audio, and also one more at 30VA for the control section of the unit. This section in turn, controls the volume the input selection, the mute, the brightness, the channel balance, the monitoring/recording and the labeling of the inputs, and all of them are housed at the front panel which is electromagnetically
shielded, in order not to affect the audio circuits, while the voltage before reaching the circuits, passes through electromagnetic filters and regulated stages.
Coming back to the power toroids, each of them supplies a bridge rectifier that use ultra fast soft recovery diodes, which in turn, supply power to a set of capacitors (for each channel) with total capacitance 26,400mF, that produce a steady supply of
+/- 50V at the audio circuits. Furthermore, the voltage that supplies the audio section is regulated by another 4 regulating circuits using discrete components which in turn supply separately each stage, for each channel of the pre-amplifier. In total there are 18 (!!) separate regulated circuits on both channels, just for the power supply of the audio circuit boards.
Lastly, the audio circuits of the preamplifier are using the current amplification concept, biased in class A and are constructed using discreet components only. Each channel consists of 4 stages (isolation stage, gain stage, current mirror stage and finally output stage) and, as we have already mentioned independent supply sections are used (for each channel) while the output stage is not included in the feedback loop.
Finally, with regards to the inputs-outputs, the pre-amp has two sets of balanced inputs (XLR) and four sets of unbalanced inputs (RCA), and for outputs there are two sets of unbalanced (a normal one and a record one) and one set of balanced output, all using very good quality plugs.
In total, this is a preamplifier that if it was made in USA, it would cost at least twice the price sold (actually, more than that)……
Another Reality
The preamplifier by AUDIA arrived to us brand new and …. well shielded in its impressive wooden box. As you realize it was not broken-in and we followed the instructions of the Italian company to break-in the unit for 100 hours of playing music. After the break-in period, the preamplifier showed us that it was not kidding …
From the very first note, the Flight Pre told us that it is differentiated from the Italian school-of-sound- that has prevailed, and the pre-amp very soon (this is what happens when a unit has class!!), showed us that it is placed amongst the finest preamplifiers for the two-channel signal, since being exceptionally quiet, perfect match for almost every power amplifier, very-very transparent and above all, a fanatic supporter of the "realistic" musical dogma. Dynamically … absent, I would characterized it in two words. Let’s see how it arrives at this difficult and worth praising result.
Absolutely realistic, analytical and transparent, the preamplifier delivers the musical signal to the next component, taking care beforehand to analyze in a harmonic way every parameter of the signal. All that, without presenting any "discounts" to the signal or with over-simplicity and mainly without any exaggeration. The character of the preamplifier is delicately portrayed and revealing, where necessary, since the interaction of the Flight Pre with the musical event starts and stops to the analytical character and the extended transparency, while, at the same time you can take for granted the coherency shown when managing the signal. The micro and macro dynamics of the preamp are performing like protagonist, but under no circumstances in a false way just to impress you. To the contrary, they "shine" and actually to the top level, only those elements that exist in the musical passage. The sound "projection" therefore is only huge when and where it should be, the energy is transferred totally, and the feeling overall, especially if the Flight Pre is used with monitor loudspeakers (as it happened with the BM15A from Dynaudio), makes you think you are listening to a studio-grade equipment that is not allowed to have a "personal" character.
If you prefer an airy melodic character overblown like a balloon, and timbres falsely "constructed"….. I am sorry but the AUDIA will not satisfy you. Because this exactly clean character, this character that is "soaked" with the "up-front" logic, is the character that differentiates this preamp. However this character will reject a wide range of audiophiles, who possibly desire a preamplifier with a particular "colored" signature. Fortunately or not, the AUDIA is for those music and high fidelity lovers that completely love to listen to the "truth" of the music.
With regards to the frequency spectrum now, things are expressed once again catalytically. The low end is full, clean, quick, like the live sound is heard, and its "transition" to the middle frequencies, I judge it absolutely reference level. The middle frequencies are vividly present, totally informative and almost – there couldn’t be more – analytical, that is why I would characterized them "dangerous" for the uninitiated listeners to the original live sound, and to be more precise, to the sound produced in the Recording Studio.
The upper midrange frequencies of the AUDIA is truly revealing, praising the authenticity and the peculiarity of the original sound. Nothing seems to be "fabricated", false, or needless – anyway the "air" between the performers, and the harmonic richness are present at the correct quantity, or, better still, at the quantity the music passages allow. With regards to the sound stage of the pre-amp, this is projected in a very dynamic, open and specific way. Everything is placed on the loudspeakers, in them, behind them and in general, wherever the recording producer has intended it. As a general characteristic though, please bear in mind the Flight Pre’s "dynamic" approach and the immediacy of its soundstage.
Finally …
The Flight Pre is considered a tool for the correct judgment of all other equipment in the audio chain, and for the cables too, where it was exceptionally analytical exposing immediately their sonic character. On the other hand I must inform you that in situations that it did not "accept" some cables or other hi-fi equipment, it did not hide this fact, but it was expressed clearly and with great immediacy. Be careful then, before you approach the AUDIA, you must be certain that you and your hi-fi system, need an absolutely clean signal "manager", that adopts the dogma of realism and truthfulness like no other, disregarding the consequences. The only thing I have to declare, is that the rest of the "elite" group of preamplifiers under the Q1 scale, has just received an exceptional partner. Probably the most realistic of all of them ……
Ps Klik hier voor de website van Audia.