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Soulution 710 Amplifier and 720 Preamplifier

Friends:

I am just curious how much better these ultra-reference, ultra-expensive Swiss units are than well respected American reference products like Pass Labs, Spectral, Boulder, Clayton Audio on the SS side or VAC on the tube side.

I am driving German Physiks Carbon mkIV omnidirectionals.

I am told the Soulutions are ultra neutral, ultra-transparent,and ultra musical, sharing the finest characteristics of tubes and SS, yet high bias class AB I'm told by a dealer.

I realize all is in the ear of the beholder, but are these swiss designers using better parts, more innovative circuitry, etc to generate a level of musicality and purity a notch above the finest US brands?.

I am looking for a final purchase as I approach retirement, and am actually considering the Soulution 710 Amp and 720 Pre (an almost mind-boggling cost of $85,000 retail, less a fair discount)..yes I am most fortunate to be in this position, but I do not wish to pay $40,000 extra for 3% difference in sound quality. (I realize this is the nature of purchasing ultra-reference high end gear)

Any strong opinions about the Soulution line would be greatly appreciated (including reliability) Yes, I am planning a trip to NYC in less than 5 weeks to audition, but your thoughts would be a helpful foundation to my audition.

Thanks in advance
Brian
audiobrian
classicjazz
153 posts
 
At the level of gear to which you refer, I am not sure that there are clear superiors or inferiors. I would imagine that in well-optimized systems each brand provides an array of virtues. The combination of each may differ slightly and ideally you would pick one that suits your own taste. Certainly, the cost of different gear can be attributed in part to the build quality, levels of supply chain markup etc. If you read through reviews of Soulution, you will see that the list prices have risen dramatically from 2005. I believe the 710 preamp began around 14000 Euros and now it is closer to 27000.

I have owned top Levinson, Rowland, ARC, Pass, Brinkmann gear and now have Boulder and Goldmund (second go round with G for me). There are differences between the latter two; how they mate with your speakers will also be critical.

Paul at Goodwin's told me that they will eventually be bringing in Soulution gear and they can order it but given the state of the economy, they are not ready to show the equipment on the floor just yet. This may change and I'd advise inquiring with them.

Stanton Sound and Vision (Thomas) is also a very even-handed and thoughtful person and he can provide an informed perspective on Soulution and Boulder.
bvdiman
432 posts
 
Yes, I agree taste kicks-in big time at this level. Also highly dependent are the speakers you will be using them with. Again, it's essential that you do the final lengthy auditioning yourself. As for me, after doing rounds with Gryphon, Halcro, Goldmund Telos, Burmester, I ultimately preferred the Soulution. Probably them being closer to the FMA sound which I liked and had gotten used to.

In comparison to FM 611--the Soul 710 is 'very slightly' less refined up top (micro--inner detailing, air), but with more solid heft to their midbass (punch) and slightly better grip down low. Both equally transparent, have excellent speed and resolution with voicing aim towards the more neutral camp school of amplifiers. To sum it up, imo, they bring to the table closer to live interpretations of music from recorded materials.

However, if beautiful lush sound you are after, then they probably won't suit.
bvdiman
432 posts
 
I believe the Soulution 710 amp was initially being listed at 17,900 Euros (Dec.'06). And have, unfortunately, since then increased quite rather dramatically.
classicjazz
153 posts
 
I perused the reviews on the Soulution website. I made a mistake regarding the unit to which I was referring. The review from Stereo magazine June 2006 listed the 720 preamp at 13,900 Euros. The 710 is of course the amplifier and Bvdiman is accurate in his price quote.

For those of us living with a currency that is weak against the Euro, the Soulution gear is quite expensive.

Boulder gear offers a bullet-proof build quality and sophisticated materials and design, a pro-audio background and apparently, a "build it then figure out the price" approach for its 2000-series gear. I would say the Boulder gear is liquid, has tremendously rooted bass and is really non-impeachable.

The Goldmund gear I have (current Ultimate class stuff) is different. A sense of air and lightness of touch, tremendous treble purity and lack of grain but at the cost of a little loss of body from the midbass down (attribute this to the amp and not the preamp). My Goldmund gear is not optimal for my current speakers but I will keep it for some future second pair of speakers.

I have been told that Soulution gear is closer to Goldmund than Boulder in sound. Having been on the merry go round with new entrants into the high end audio arena, I now tend to stick with long-lived companies for service, resale etc.
bflowers
80 posts
 
Classic jazz: I have heard similar to you that Soulution is similar to dartzeel or Spectral. Fast but not a warm as Boulder. I was interested in Soulution after hearing all the superlatives, and there were some dealers interested in separating me from my money. Fortunately I spoke with a balanced dealer who was able to describe the differences qualitatively versus quantitatively.
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