Accomplished and sublime. April Music scales to new heights in integrated amplifier performance and design. The Stello Ai700 is an advanced statement in applied engineering and hand-crafted in a beautiful chassis aimed at leading the listener to enjoy that very elusive musical nirvana.
April Music has invested almost two full years to complete Stello Ai700. The amplifier has a power output 2 x 500W into 8 ohm to drive any given speakers. Stello Ai700 is amplified by two ICEpower250ASX2 modules which feature audiophile audio quality, significantly low heat dissipation, a very compact size and an exceptional power-to-size ratio.
Stello Ai700 was presented at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2012 in Denver.
The Absolute Sound listened to the amp at the show and commented: “I almost hate to admit this but the Martens [speakers] and that dinky April amp were simply gorgeous-sounding on Joan Sutherland’s soprano voice! The combo then proceeded to show superb transparency, neutrality, detail, bass, imaging, and realism on Blue Tofu. Guitar Gabriel? The most lifelike I’ve heard since the Scaenas at CES.”
This was the starting point of the “Stello Ai700" project in wanting to 'Bring Your Music Back To Life':
- Simple configuration, yet a high-end sound for all to enjoy.
- Wide dynamic range and powerful drive for almost all loudspeakers at home.
- Reproduction of delicate detail and realistic nuance of the source recording.
- No heavy chassis. Not too much heat. Can run 24hrs/365 days.
The achievement of the above-mentioned factors within a simple box is not easy. But April Music have invested almost two full years to make this mission complete. The most updated ICE power module ASX250 (like the gifted Eximus S1) is used per channel, each with a bridged mono mode to output 500W at an 8ohm load, to drive any given speaker without fatigue.
April Music have devised the huge and delicate input buffer stage with separate power supply to make the sonic characters not like the other so-called class D amplfiers, but close to class A or A/B amps. None other than Alex Rasmussen of Neal Feay designed and machined the chassis in Santa Barbara, CA. So, with the Ai700, you can get the power, dynamics and the musicality. It is simple and equally beautiful looking at the same time.
Litt framandlandsk omtale av STELLO AI700, testet i siste nr av FIDELITY, nr 60. I butikken før påske, ute hos abonnenter nå.
( og bladet har trang økonomi. Mange store kjeder, som stadig har produkter til test, har aldri betalt for en annonse der.... Så ønsker vi bladet fortsatt, må ihvertfall salget økes.. )
mvh Huldra