Posted by Frank Stuppel [ 24.25.213.170 ] on September 01, 2004 at 18:56:50:
Stoetkit Review – By Phillip B. Wilson- Audiophile from Tulsa.
A beautiful, solidly constructed and great-sounding amp that is one of the heavyweight contenders in its price range. This is a category I know something about – my own system weighs in at about $2000.
Here are the particulars. First, the amp is VERY solid and looks great. I didn’t put it on the scale, but the Stoetkit is hefty, with a thick, brushed steel cover that is very attractive. In the front of the amp there is a small blue light that lets you know when the amp is on, a good feature to prolong tube life (I’ve left my amp, which has not power indicator, on for hours after daylight listening sessions where it is hard to tell whether the tubes are on or not). The transformers and tubes are laid out nicely on the top, which has a black lacquer finish. Unlike my Zen Select or a set of Paramours (the other comparable amps I’ve had significant experience with), the Stoetkit does not resemble an old lamp project gone wrong – in other words, the WAF (and for those of us with wives, this is often the critical issue) on this product is the best I’ve seen in any kit.
The Stoetkit has several other features beyond cosmetics that are excellent, and superior to most other kits with which I am familiar. It has a volume or gain control conveniently located on the front of the amp. This means you can connect directly to your source (other than a turntable – I use a Rega Planet CD player for serious listening and my iPod when sound quality is not critical and I don’t want to mess with changing discs); you do not need a separate preamp. I like this for two reasons. First, it obviously saves a lot of time and expense – you don’t have to investigate and purchase a preamp. Second, and perhaps most important, you don’t have another piece of electronic equipment between your source and the speaker. I have adopted a pretty minimalist philosophy about audio and I think less is more when it comes to accurate reproduction of sound. In my book, the fewer components the better. The Stoetkit works well into that frame of mind.
Another great feature is that the Stoetkit has two source inputs. This gives you added flexibility and makes changing sources a snap. In my system (only one source input) you have to remove the input wires any time you want to change sources. I also use single strands of Cat5e for cabling, so every time you move cables you risk having to rebuild your interconnects. The Stoetkit eliminates that hassle.
Ergonomically, the amp is also well-designed. The volume control and input selections are on the front (the gain control on my Zen is in the back, requiring you to reach over hot tubes and transformer). The only nit I would pick here is that the on/off switch is in back where it is hard to see and also requires negotiating the heated components to switch. I know these design issues are primarily related to circuit design and trying to remove potential interference from the path, and if one has to choose between accessible power switch and volume, the volume control should clearly be up front.
I listened to the Stoetkit off and on for several weeks, with one extended (two-hour) serious listening session on a Sunday morning when the power was (relatively – I don’t use a power supply conditioner) clean. I was able to listen to all my reference material and to compare it to my system, which is composed of the following: A Zen Select (SE84C) amplifier (available as a kit but mine was built at the factory), Rega Planet CD player, Fostex 206E drivers (“full-range” with no crossover) in 1.3L bass reflex cabinets, using home-brewed single strand Cat5e for speaker wire and interconnects. My listening room also doubles as a playroom, living room, dining room and kitchen – in other words it is far from ideal. When listening seriously I pull the speakers away from the corners and listen nearfield, as I did during my serious listening session with the Stoetkit.
So how does it sound? Overall I was very pleased with the Stoetkit in my system. On several of my reference recordings it outperformed my regular system. Even on the recordings where I prefer my current setup the Stoetkit was not far behind. Here are some highlights from my listening notes:
On Schubert’s Trout Quintet I first noticed the extended bass in the first movement. The Stoetkit was just getting warmed up and it was already really going low – to my ears lower than my Zen gets on that piece, which I listen to a lot. Mind you that my system is not designed for (nor do I desire) heavy bass, but I would say that the Stoetkit, at least on this piece, was more authoritative in the lower octaves than the Zen. When all five instruments were playing things started to get a little more “mushy” than on the Zen, and overall I would say that I found the Stoetkit enjoyable but not excellent on this piece.
My favorite track on one of my favorite albums of all time is “Tear Stained Eye” on Son Volt’s Trace. This song really exposes an amp – it is acoustic but has wide ranging guitar and vocals and a thumping bass drum that goes pretty low. The Stoetkit really sang on this one – super engaging bass and excellent presence on the guitar and vocals. I hated to write it, but my notes say, “draws me in more than the Zen.”
The Stoetkit was not as engaging on “So What” by Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue or on “Think of One” on Wynton Marsalis’ album of the same title. The speed and attack on these jazz pieces was excellent, but I still felt like something wasn’t there, particularly when the whole ensemble gets going. On “Meloncholia” on the same album, which Marsalis does in an extremely quiet and reverential way, the amp handled the extended quiet moments and interludes well. This was by far the best it sounded on the jazz that I listened to.
Lucinda Williams’ “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” (also on the album of the same name) was another matter entirely. Here I noticed some details, especially in the high end, that I have never noticed before on that song (which I listen to a lot). Where there is a lot going on the amp seems a little compressed again, but when it was just Ms. Williams and the guitar it was as good as I’ve heard.
A couple of other highlights were on Bob Dylan’s Freewheelin Bob Dylan. “Blowing in the Wind” was superbly detailed and on “The Girl From North Country” my notes say this was the best soundstage and placement of voices of all the recordings. I noted that the harmonic played at the end of GFNC was “stunning.” On “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” I wrote that it was also very good, but not quite up to the standard on the other two tracks. Not as clearly placed voice and just not as captivating.
On Leo Kottke’s One Guitar, No Vocals I was really impressed with the harmonic chords he plays on “Snorkel.” These rang and echoed like in a theater. Nick Drake’s beautiful guitar playing really sang on the Stoetkit in “Way to Blue,” “Day is Done,” and “Fruit Tree.” I did notice a lot more noise floor on these songs, which may be attributable to the recordings. That does bring up one thing that I did notice on the Stoetkit – there is a low hum from the amp (it is not there in my system with the Zen, I checked it when I noticed it. The hum is audible from the listening position (if you’re really quiet). I noticed this when I first turned on the amp and checked to see if it was there at the end of the listening session – it was. This did not bother me at all while listening and I don’t think it harmed the performance of the amp doing what it is supposed to do – reproduce music accurately – but it was there.
Finally, I listened to Arthur Rubinstein playing Chopin’s Ballade, Opus 23. This was probably the least engaging of the songs I auditioned, and frankly the Zen has some problems reproducing this one as well (it is an old recording and just seems to get compressed at times). Maybe my ears were getting tired.
Overall, I really liked this amp. If it was around when I was putting together my system it would be a really tough call. It is ergonomically much better designed. I don’t know much about circuitry, but the Zen is quieter than the Stoetkit and on some pieces sounds more engaging. The Stoetkit performs better (in my system) in the low range and has more “punch” than the Zen (probably due to its higher power). Surprisingly, the Stoetkit was more engaging to me on a couple of songs that I would normally consider to be the Zen’s strong suit, low complexity acoustic pieces. My guess is that a better-matched pair of speakers might even allow the Stoetkit strut its stuff a little more – my system (speakers, interconnects, cables, etc.) are ideally intended for a flea-powered amp. Even so, the Stoetkit performed admirably. I have not heard tons of equipment in my short time (year and a half) in this hobby, but this amp is GOOD. If you are looking for a high performing amp on a budget, this is definitely one I would put on the short list.
PBW
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