Auris Nirvana
"I really don't enjoy writing reviews, but I will if motivated by exception. This is when I consider a product or service that plays itself above and beyond expectations. One review a day for 365 could be the norm in this society if I didn't have barriers. Sometimes I write in the comments of reviews I complete that I hate these review requests. With AI and data mining can't you read my thoughts by now? In fact, another barrier to review writing is that language and speech and spelling were consistently my weakest subjects in all my years of schooling. Yet over the barrier I go. So how did this product, the Auris Nirvana, exceed my threshold for writing a review? No, I may never claim the credit from Headamp for writing this review. That is very nice of them but I would more likely remember the super quick and safe shipping that this retail site accomplished with a heavy box. Auris did a great job of packaging by the way. No, I did not look into the amp's internal workings for engineering beauty. The Nirvana does look stately and authoritative, but also warm and inviting from the outside and really does appear well built. But I am more mindful and focused on a different beauty, inner, of which there are two. No, I did not find a magic tube rolling combination that "blew me away" from appreciating the Nirvana's core musical attributes in stock form including the manufacturer's music reproduction goals and ideals. A 12Au7 GE mil spec NOS (5814) tube did not invite me into further tube trials. The trial tube was removed yesterday after five minutes and no further chases were entered until I decided to roll with power tubes. I have NOS GE and Mullard 1970s EL34 tubes purchased about 15 years ago and never used until now. A "break"right now is when I actually trialed the valves because this review will probably take all day. So, the NOS Mullards did not "demolish" the JJ tubes, even after warming up for 30 minutes. But they were not "broken in" I realize although I will admit to hearing a bit more light and glow with the Mullards. OK, these NOS power tubes can stay in place due to more important priorities, and why not give them a chance. If I find a few misplaced 12Au7 tubes in the house I would try them also. Someday I could do thorough comparisons if I have the time and yet I doubt the stock JJ EL 34 and Electro Harmonix 12Au7 will be humiliated. If anything here is validated it must be the amplifier design. No, I am not using headphones with this Nirvana. Just kidding, and in place now is the Hedd Heddphone which is my favorite at this time. Trialed are also the Audeze LCD-XC, a Meze Elite, the HiFiMan HE-6 and the Rosson Rad-0. All these headphones sound great with the Nirvana and the Hedd must just give me the most "milage" for my ears. Nooooo, I thought a few weeks ago when the Nirvana was out for delivery. Looking at my Questyle CMA 15 and Bakoon 13-r I felt buyer's remorse while considering the cost of that amp and what I already had available for headphone amplification. They are great headphone amps and do well with all my headphones. This would be a seesaw of guilt of surplus vs desire. I had researched the Nirvana for days and we all know how that goes. The amp sat in box unopened for three days and I finally decided to investigate its inner beauty. Convinced that the Nirvana should have some inner beauty, the unboxing took way too long thanks to the sturdy packaging. I had procrastinated on the see saw to come, which did somewhat mock the super quick shipping. However there was no debate on first listen and desire won. The inner beauty of sound won. And that's the story. Not so fast, what about new unit break in? Guess I missed that. What about the source contribution to the sound? Possibly my T+A MP 2000 R and Auralic Vega and Aries both G2.0 hold back the Nirvana a little bit. I bet the amp would scale up some with better sources. What about the music I listened to for a week or so? Jesse Baylin has a few albums out including Dark Place, and listening takes some investment of attention. This is a YMMV presentation but I find humor and catharsis within the somber material. Lungs has an acoustic guitar to the left and the Nirvana brings out the nicest guitar tone I have heard from this track. Of course on first listen one thinks blah, but the guitar tone really benefits from the Nirvana's presentation. Further, this amp brings out with more separation the guitar's lines and flaws and humanity. When the two crescendos occur during Lungs the guitar is still heard to the left and the Nirvana brings more of the guitar through the jumbled mix than any other sound system presentation I have heard. This can be found on Qobuz. I used the Hedd to best tease out the relationship between the singer and the guitar, they are very close and related in my opinion. Bireli Lagrene has an older recording named Standards. This is energetic classic jazz and all three members of this group have a large contribution to the album. With the Nirvana and the Hedd the percussion and bass have great authority and dynamics. On Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise I listen to the numerous cymbal tonal gradations and dynamic colorations with the varied cymbal hits. Secondly would be the bass clarity and authority with also the percussion dynamics, leaving no mess behind, the Nirvana portrays these instruments with command and I would presume accuracy also. And the tone of Bireli's guitar benefits from a release of inside out illumination from the amp. Of course, great guitar tone is not hard to find amongst our current options in recorded music, however Bireli's tone is also worth hearing with optimized presentation. This is a tone that is warm but not muffled and has some harmonic sparkle with attack and decay but the inner radiance of each note holds this complex moment together. The Nirvana communicates this overall joy and excitement superbly. The recording is on Qobuz. Regarding somber and cool jazz piano trio I would mention Tord Gustavsen, and how the presentation affects the listener. What I am listening to with Tord's Changing Places often is a moody, contemplative, sparse affirmation of languidity and release. Like the winter's stasis, it is ok to retreat into inactivity and just feel. However there is more to this recording and the presentation really affects the mood. Back to inner radiance, I hear this best with piano and guitar, what happens to Tord's music with such radiance is it becomes uplifting and affirming. I can see the cloudy skies but there is hope. From the lyricism to the contemplative precise placement of each note in the lines to the notes beauty and presence that invites one to grab and hold each warm note close to the heart, the Auris Nirvana excels. Following the dynamic shading of each note, the Nirvana excels. And the Hedd sings with this amp. Am I listening to a musical presentation or multitudes of details? That is the seesaw. I can access both at my will in most cases but sometimes the Nirvana has such a compelling tug my thoughts go to stasis. I could continue with numerous examples of details revealed and other strengths, but whatever the music, it is the compelling that transcends. These two inner beauties for me characterize the Nirvana, radiance and soul. The soul here is easier to explain, the emotions evoked are more obvious, the" head bobbing" more embarrassing, the rocking is greater, the cerebral joy from Schubert and Bruckner is elevated more. So, what kind of a "best of" is the Auris Nirvana? I really don't know but I am listening to music differently now. And maybe a new Nirvana will come out tomorrow. And it is obvious the amplifier deserves a nice review, I even looked up the spelling for a few words. All I had to do was listen to more music and transfer the energy to print. Sorry about the errors I missed. No, what gives me the motivation to write on is thinking of one last deserving mention and to simply kudos the soul of the designer/manufacturer. Music. They get it."