Overall neutralness, very clear and open sounding. Nothing to complaint about.

I would have preferred an old analog volume control knob (not rotary) that give more feeling of volumesetting... One other minor remark ; I would prefer the color of the display to be the same as the led when the Pre6 display is disabled (nice blue, as the led on the Plinius Odeon amp) But that's just a gadget... that can be done ?

Plinius Odeon multichannel amplifier with Belcanto Pre6 multichannel pre-amp. See also my review on the Plinius Odeon amplifier. Changing from the well sounding Classé combo towards the Plinius Odeon would again become an important test for both The Odeon and the Belcanto Pre6 now used in the following testreport : My Plinius dealer did very much appreciate my doings and while he was eating some cheese and drinking some red wine, all cables were again changed, ready for this ultimate test. As a matter of fact, I can be quite short about it. While keeping in mind that I use an older version of the Belcanto Pre6 (soft rev. 22/05/2003) their first generation equipment in multichannel pre-amplification might compell somewhat the overall performance of this combination. I was however ensured by the french importer that the newest version, the Belcanto Pre6 Gen II has remarkable better performance, neutralness, …etc. than the one I use for this review. So, in the end, things can only get better. But let’s stay with both feet on the ground and do our job with what we have : As I said, I can be short ; everything that did not feel OK with the Accuphase before, sounded now right or wrong as it should. This clinical all too analitical almost digital sound was completely gone through the Belcanto Pre6. Everything was in place, well done, great soundstage, more dynamics, less harshness, warmer bass-lines without loss of control, vocals right from the middle and with very good coherence under instruments. This was very close to the same level of performance that I got with the Classé combination. For me it was even bettering the Classé, mainly in the lower frequencies where the Odeon has indeed more power and more presence, and also slightly better in the upper mids and highs that are somewhat more revealing musical details that I never heard before. And most of all, this combo sounds already very good and cosy at very low to low listening levels. To me it is also important not to have to fully exploit the pre-amps volume control in order to have some better music in our house. Because music is what we listen to, not sound. Because Music matters. (Where did I hear that before ?…) I believe this Odeon and Belcanto set is without knowing it from each other, a very welcome and matching combination that will set new standards of high-end performance into the home and hometheater environnements nowadays.

Similar Products Used:

Plinius Odeon multichannel poweramp. Teac Esoteric DV-50S B&W Nautilus N803 Classé CA2200 power + CP500 pre See my review on the Plinius Odeon poweramp too.