Beautifully designed, amazing-sounding headphone amplifier
The 2007 Edition of Graham Slee’s headphone amplifier is a
beautiful piece of gear. The silver
desktop box is the size of a romance novel, but leaves you infinitely more
satisfied. The front has three modest
features: a quarter-inch headphone jack, a volume knob, and a three-position
toggle switch.
The toggle switch is a great feature. It lets you choose between two RCA inputs on
the back, and has a center position, “mute,” that cuts the output without
having to adjust the volume, and consequently lose the sweet spot you found.
There is no on/off switch, so your best bet is to plug it
into a power conditioner or a high-quality surge protector. Graham Slee strongly advises leaving the Solo
on for at least 72 hours before using it for any serious audio production
work. This is more typical of tube
components than solid-state circuits, but their point is that any component in
the signal chain will perform better after a gentle warming.
For the audio techies, Graham Slee offers some more
invaluable and extremely specific advice.
The Solo automatically adjusts to your headphone’s impedance level, from
between 8 and 2,000 ohms. They do not
suggest using anything with sensitivity below 80dB @ 1mW, nor “electro-static”
headphones (don’t worry, you would know if you had them). They do suggest using phones with sensitivity
between 30 and 300 ohms when you need a lot of level, like when monitoring a
live stage mix.
The Solo’s face is simple and elegant. The volume knob is a smooth turn, indicative
of a quality potentiometer and other components behind it. They ultimately add up to a rich, bright
delivery of sound.
Graham Slee, himself, is an old-school audiophile, by which
I happen to have a deep admiration, having caught the tail end of the vinyl
era. English audio products are
traditionally known for incredible quality (Allen&Heath and Neve, for
example). The Solo delivers remarkably
clean audio to your headphones, just like you would expect from the raw hands
of a dedicated Englishman.
The Verdict
