Award Winning Single Ended Triode Amplifiers and Preamplifiers
Review Quotes and Critiques at a Glance
"When operated within its comfort zone, this amplifier is adept of conveying a sense of suavity, legato style, and imaging prowess that is nothing short of stunning. Bandwidth is reasonably extended to maintain transient realism and it retrieves harmonic colors with vibrancy and dynamic nuance. As with other SET amplifiers it does impose its personality over the music, but what a personality"
deHavilland Electric Amplifier Company GM70 SET Monoblock Amplifiers by Dick Olsher
CONCLUSION
"In conclusion, there are just a few things to wrap up, and I noticed that I forgot to mention the deHavilland 845-G’s seems more powerful than any 30-watt amp I have ever heard. I would have guessed 60 to 100 watts just by listening to them. Compared to other amps I have had in for review from 30 to 70 watts, they sounded by far the most powerful.
I want to thank George and Kara for all their help. Their reputation for customer service tells me I was getting the same first class treatment that customers receive. There are several very good SET amps at this price, but none that I know of that give you this kind of sound with as wide a choice of speakers. I can’t imagine buying an amp at this price, or any other for that matter, and not hearing these first."
deHavilland Aries 845-G by Jack Roberts
| "In conclusion, there is a reason there are so many glowing reviews of this preamp. It is a preamp that is priced like an entry-level preamp and sounds like a true high-end preamp. This is truly a product that offers value in the high-end market. It holds its own with the very best, it’s fun to listen to and has a big robust sound but not at the cost of tonality or detail. I didn’t have the UltraVerve without remote control to listen to, but as good as this thing sounds, I’ll take Kara’s word for it. The UltraVerve has really whetted my appetite to hear the Mercury with the new remote when it comes out." | ||
"I like the sound of the Aries 845-G SET monoblocks and the Mercury 2 preamp; real focused and authoritative yet with that recognizable cohesive "single ended triode" sound. They are burning in nicely and the amps have no problem driving my big ESP's."
Steve
Hoffman, Steve Hoffman Forum
"deHavilland Electric Company's winning formula is also based on design simplicity and tube rectification and I think now offers the best sound in tube line preamplification on this planet."
Dick Olsher, Enjoy The Music.com
"The deHavilland GM70 is a work of art, no question about it. My original assessment of these jewels was correct: they make music as few other amplifiers can, do so pristinely, and make listening an absolute joy."
Mike Quinn, JazzTimes Magazine
"Playing "Navigatore" via the Russian GM70-powered amplifiers from a Sony CD player produced the tightest sound of the show. No ringing whatsoever - a hit to a drum had a definite beginning and end. The sound possessed no inherent sweetness but as with a good champagne, it can never be too dry. Nuances and articulation were presented with a sense of natural innocence."
Marja and Henk, CES2005, 6 Moons
"The power of three (deHavilland GM70, deHavilland Mercury, Nola Viper 2's) certainly works for deHavilland, because the sound was relaxed, focused, and utterly natural."
Wes Philips, CES2005, Stereophile Magazine
"This year was no exception: the sound in the deHavilland room was supremely natural within the confines of a huge and palpably fleshed out soundstage."
Dick Olsher, CES2005, Enjoy The Music
"This
was the most memorable sound at the show for me. Using a 50-year-old Ampex
351-2 reel-to-reel tape recorder, Kara Chaffee played a selection of
classical music reels (she found on ebay no less!) that through a system
featuring the GM70 50/watt triode mono
amps ($8,995), Mercury preamp ($3,495), and the Nola
Speakers’ Viper was simply breathtaking. Bear in that I’m not
really a classical music enthusiast, but when any music is reproduced like this
it will be enjoyed. I had to leave to keep from getting spoiled."
Dave Thomas, CES2005, Stereo Times
"On another wall of the same room , I heard the Wilson - Benesch ACT driven by deHavilland GM-70 50W monoblock tubed amps, deHavilland Mercury preamp, and Audio Aero Capitole CD player, all connected with Cardas Golden Reference cables. This was one of the best sounds at the show."
Robert Harley, RMAF, The Absolute Sound
"How did it sound? Straight out of the box it (UltraVerve Jr.) was great. Smooth, detailed, full bodied and dimensional. After playing about three hours it began to open up and a smile came to my face. I kept the unit on for three days and at the end of each day it just got better and better. By the end of the third day I was beside myself with joy."...more
---Audio Asylum Review
"Got a preliminary listen to the amps today. Session lasted a couple of hrs and I am very impressed. The amp has the unique ability of capturing BOTH the micro and macro qualities of the music. It combines the inherent beauty of SET (i.e. continuous, purity, liquidity, harmonic completeness) with the impact , weight and dynamic qualities of top quality pp pentodes. I am especially taken by the overall lack of artificial artifacts imparted by the amps in addition to an uncanny ability of articulating and separating instruments. Soundstage is huge yet very focused. The frequency response across the band is uniformly excellent with no emphasis or selectivity to any particular segment. Further evaluation will unravel the subtleties but even at this preliminary stage it is abundantly clear that the GM 70 is special." more...
Israel
Blume- Pres., Coincident Speaker Technology
---Martin DeWulf, Bound For Sound
"The Aries GM70s counter with spaciousness and sweetness, and the ability to drive speakers that most SET amps won't. Theirs is a more voiced presentation, one that's very pleasurable but not bleached or threadbare, offering a different sense of accuracy, one that reconstructs performers in the listening room, not gives you a microscopic view into each recording."...more
---Marc Mickelson, SoundStage
"The 845-Gs may sonically be without peer among amps below $10K, and at just under $6K they are a flat out steal. A true "Most Wanted Component."...more
---Dave Thomas, Stereo Times
"But having lived with some of the elite high-end pre-amplification from the likes of Jadis, Sonic Frontiers, and Air Tight, the deHavilland UltraVerve is currently my first choice in line amplification." ...more
---Dick Olsher, Enjoy The Music
"This genially extended system easily handled everything I threw at it, with exceptional snap, crackle and pop, remaining clear, coherent and dynamic even when pushed to higher volume levels, to effortlessly portray a warm, capacious soundstage in this crappy little hotel room." ...more
---Chip Stern, Six Moons
"The 845 refers to the 845 transmitter triode used to push 30 watts out of a single ended amp. I was very impressed with easy power and great dynamic range afforded by the combination."...more
---George Graves
"By golly! I forgot that I was supposed to be working and was having fun at an audio show – shoot the heretic!!! I remember a sound that was clean, pure (even when the music was complex), and balanced. No booming bass, or excessive warmth - just the music."...more
---Martin DeWulf, Bound for Sound
"With one amp, it sounded like real musicians were playing in the living room, and with the other, there were no musicians. I could not have said it better. If you are a music lover, you need to listen to the deHavilland 845-G single-ended triode amps. They may rock your boat as they did mine."...more
---Roger S. Gordon, Positive Feedback
If you’re looking for a well-designed tubed preamp with no bad habits, no excesses, that works well with both sand and glass amps, and gives you music galore with both SACDs and LPs—and all at a very reasonable price—then your search may be over. The UltraVerve could be just the thing for you." "Ye Olde Editor’s "very highly recommended!"...more
---David W.Robinson, Positive Feedback
"The
Aries 845G sounds big and powerful, adjectives that rarely go hand-in-hand with
SE output topology. Its power reserve allows the Aires to mate with
real-world moderate efficiency loudspeakers. Yet, there is plenty of SE magic to
be had. There is nothing forced or artificial about its sound, which is
both big tone and suave. It will most definitely relax you with its 'zero
harshness' presentation, but never bore you. Watch out: it coaxes a remarkable
degree of detail and emotional intensity from the input signal. In my book, this
is one of the best sounding SE amps that money can buy. And at its fair asking
price clearly represents a bargain in high end terms. The Aires is a bane for
all those trying to sell less for a lot more cash. You would be crazy or foolish
(take your pick) to spend more money on a SE power amplifier. A five star
recommendation!"...more
---Dick Olsher, Enjoy the Music
"As such, the deHavilland UltraVerve definitely deserves your most serious consideration. The warmth and three-dimensional sound it added to my system was wonderful." ...more
---Mike Levy, Audiophilia
"Last year I picked the deHavilland room as "Best Sound of Show". I would do the same again this year, except that deHavilland had an unfair advantage." "What I was hearing was as close to a concert hall experience as I have ever come without being in a concert hall. Truly amazing"...more
---Roger Gordon, Positive Feedback
"To reiterate, we're not merely talking good sound which many rooms got right -- proper grammar, proper enunciation, even Movable Feast Hemingway-style profundity of message -- but also the consummate delivery of a master reader/orator whose special emphasis on certain words, certain pauses weaves the spell and uncovers new meaning, hidden connections, greater context"...more
---Srajan Ebaen, Six Moons.com
"An affordable, easy-to-use, lovely, and musically satisfying piece of audio equipment." ...more
---John Crossett, Soundstage!
"... Still, the essential quality of raw silk was palpable, with a free-floating diaphanous soundstage and excellent low-level ambience retrieval."...more
---Srajan Ebaen, Six Moons.com
"Regardless of what it was asked to do, the deHavilland Aries connected to the Alon Lotus Signatures by Pranawire Cosmos wire delivered a fabulous presentation of pure music that bordered on holographic. All music got the same great treatment -- it materialized as "live" in the room."...more
---Jim Luce, Planet Jazz Magazine
"But more importantly than all the checkered audiophile shopping cart goodies, this system communicated the emotional message of the music in a very otherworldly fashion that was the aural equivalent of Starship Enterprise's beam-me-up area"...more
---Srajan Ebaen, Six Moons.com
"deHavilland Electric Amplifier Co. Aries 845-G SET monoblocks produced a wonderfully musical and inviting sound from Alon's efficient Lotus Elite Signature speakers." Premier cabling was from PranaWire...more
---Paul Bolin, Stereophile Magazine
"... This room was my "Best Sound Of Show" room. Soundstaging, imaging, you name it, was perfect...more
--- Roger Gordon, Positive Feedback
"The deHavilland Audio room pretty much had it all: convincing tonal balance, naturally detailed textures, emotional impact, and exceptional soundstaging"... more
--- Dick Olsher, Enjoy The Music
"Though low powered by comparison to many other systems I am used to listening to, there was never a hint of strain or limitation to this highly tuneful system, placing it too in contention for the honors of being referred to as the best sounding room at the show."... more
---Greg Weaver, Stereo Times
"...the Best 845-Based Amplifier in the show. The playback was very involving, with a live quality and truth of timbre that were beguiling. This system had great transient response and jump, coupled with subtlety and smoothness."... more
--- Dave Glackin, Positive Feedback
"...I don't think that I've heard anyone else get sound this fine out of 845's...if you haven't heard the "G" model from deHavilland, then you haven't heard what 845's can do.""...more
--- David W. Robinson, Positive Feedback
"Another standout, in my opinion anyway, was the deHavilland room playing through Alon's new Lotus Elite Signature speakers..." ...more
--- Ed Morawski, Positive Feedback
"Most other single ended tube power amplifiers can only dream of performance like this."... more
---J. Peter Moncrieff, International Audio Review
"... the midrange of the Aries-845---glorius! - acoustical instruments and the human voice are rendered with an ease and naturalness that rests and heals the spirit. A Ye Olde Editor's "very highly recommended" "... more
---David W. Robinson, Positive Feedback
"The deHavilland Aries-845 amp excels at projecting dynamic music in a tactile, coherent way that makes you believe you can reach out and touch the musicians. This amp has moxie, and brings the music full of life."... more
---J. Peter Moncrieff, International Audio Review
"The Aries-845 is for music lovers--- The midrange of the Aries-845 is gorgeous-- expressive, palpable, real. These amps present vocals with the kind of in the room presence for which SET amps are famous"...more
---Mark Mikelson,Soundstage!
"-- if I could afford them, I'd buy them. The deHavilland's are more extended on top than the ASL and the middle frequencies are transparent, present and brimming with dynamic impact, amazing power, and resolution from a Single Ended, single output tube power amplifier"...more
---Bob O'Neill, Bound For Sound
"The deHavilland / Buggtussel system produced a sound that was alive and dynamic, yet delicate, with a great sense of a real choir in space, and excellent low bass reproduction of the organ on Cantate Domino." ...more
---Dave Glackin, Enjoy The Music
" The attributes of 300B's are there, but with the added weight in the bass and dynamic range. So, at the price, the deHavilland Aries-845 is a major player and a must audition." ...more
---John E. Johnson, Jr., Secrets of Home Theater & High Fi
" I found the Aries to render a musical quality rich in harmonic structure, superb with detail, outstanding in its reproduction of musical timbre, relatively quick and agile in reproduction, and clear in bringing forth musical nuances."...more
---Bill Wells, The Audiophile Voice
" Most remarkable is the fact that very familiar pieces sound like new mixes. Whole parts "appear" that I'd never noticed before. --Other parts come to life with graphic clarity." ...more
---Lang Phipps, Listener Magazine