Dayton Audio's bargain power house amplifier

In May this year (2021) I finally unboxed and tried out my new Dayton Audio APA150 power amplifier. This only took 13 months, and a shelf rearrangement. I needed a more compact replacement for that old SAE TWO receiver, especially since I don't listen to FM anymore and stream the stations, that are so distorted on FM radio, clearly from the web instead.

To call the APA150 integrated, as TNT Audio does, is a bit of a stretch with only a volume pot and one input, but it could do for a single source system as a standalone ... for a starter system.

However, for today's generation, any HiFi culture is dismal, and they are outright ignorant in its requirements, which doesn't even include source switching anymore!

For myself though, I run a very compact remote controllable kit preamp, based on the now defunct Sanyo (no longer an entity) LC75342 chip set, with 4 line inputs, volume, gain, balance, and bass/treble controls, a sweet piece worth a lot more, were it to carry a major brand name on its brushed aluminium front plate. So the switching and sound control problem is taken care of, and the (power) amplifier can do its thing without getting niggled!

Aside from saving a LOT of shelf space, how is the APA150?

It is a HUGE bang for the buck!

 

This new amp, much like my vintage about 40 year old SAE TWO R3C, just simply is there, and makes anything from any line level source louder, with all the little details, no bloat, and no fowl attitude, that's it. Which is exactly what a good amp is supposed to do! 

 

Its clean powerful sound reminds a lot of the days when I had a KA-1000 with its Sigma Drive, once Kenwood's top of the line ... when the damned thing worked and didn't need jiggling switches and resoldering the whole main board every few months 30 years ago. Frankly, every Kenwood piece I bought in the early eighties crapped out, so I am left with a really sour aftertaste about one of the big dreams of my teens.

But with this Dayton Audio APA150 you get really neat audio performance out of this comparatively cheap amplifier, that does not claim or pretend to be high end, but I would like to hear it run head to head against a 1000 dollar plus Creek!

 

Only time will tell, how long it will last, and if it will age as gracefully as my most beloved SAE TWO R3C (and the old Superscope, Marantz, Technics, and McIntosh gear piled up in various room systems, shelves and corners)

A nice review is here at TNT Audio:

https://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/dayton_apa150_e.html

 

THE DUEL, Part 1

It's the duel of the phono preamps at high afternoon!

Lehmann Audio Black Cube goes vs. Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 in toe to toe vinyl combat!

Why no Youtube video? I am not set up for video productions, and my house is a mess, PLUS Youtube is famous for censoring even test videos with short samples, if they happen to recognise any copyrighted music. So no, no video!

The story how this came about (to skip this all, look for the header "The Duel"):

I've had my Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 for several years now, and really love it. It simply is plain pleasure, has no noise, and no hum on my OC9 moving coil cart, which is difficult for any budget phono-preamp!

Some cheap pieces are plain lame and are too low in volume, or they spit, hiss, and shriek. The Pro-Ject in contrast is a joy, as it is refined, and has very good adjustable gain to give music enough impact, without distorting anything.

In the shelf before the Lehmann Audio:

Its companion phono-preamp for a second turntable so far has been a surprisingy good and dirt cheap (around 80 bucks) Technolink TC-760LC from Phonopreamps.com. They sell the TC-760LC on Amazon with an optional higher grade power supply. They come in black and a dark off colour sort of "champagne" silverish kind of finish.
The Technolink is noticeably weaker and has a bit more hum on the moving coil input, but if you are on a budget, it is perfectly satisfactory, delivers fine detail, does not fatigue, and is a good long play listening device! As my first moving coil capable phono box was a cheap Music Hall (which cost 20 bucks more!) with actually a bit lower and non-adjustable gain, this one is not bad at all. If I had not tried and kept the Pro-Ject, I would probably be ignorant and happy with this budget phono-preamp!

The 200 dollar Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 (which has been more than excellent for my very entry level system) had bumped a far more expensive Creek OBH15 without contest. That was easy, as the Creek was playing so bad with my Audio Technica OC9 moving coil marvel, having some kind of deep bass resonance problem, it made my ears hurt, no matter what amp I yanked from my collection of vintage classics that included Marantz, Superscope, Pioneer, Yamaha, Technics, and others at the time. So the OBH then sat in its box in a dusty shelf for several years, and I was glad to be rid of it as a trade in before I even bought the Pro-Ject.

My friend Peter, proprietor of "Turntable Treasures" in Tacoma, was curious about what I thought of this "Lehmann Audio Black Cube Statement" and loaned it for a little testing.


The Setup:

This called for 2 turntables, close enough to start with and set up to sound identical.
My main living room turntable has been a Dual 510 for some time now. The original platter mat has been replaced by a foam mat, which makes the normally slightly dark sounding machine (due to its factory mat it turns out) a little brighter. It is augmented by a secondary player, a Dual 1246, fully automatic, with a very similar platter, but different mat. This mat was also replaced by a foam mat of the same type. Having the same arm and counter weight, and both running with a Grado Black now, we now have two practically identical source turntables.
The machines feed into the Lehmann Audio (Dual 1246) and the Pro-Ject (Dual 510), then into a remote control Sanyo LC 75342 chip set kit preamp, into a Dayton Audio APA150 power amp. The Dayton came out of an audiophile scrutinisation on TNT-Audio with flying colours, and I have to say I like it!
The weakest part of the chain is my speaker pair, the Dayton Audio B652, but I cannot play loud in this neighbourhood, and the B652 is actually highly regarded in many circles, so there would be absolutely NO point for me to spend more money on other speakers. They deliver the goods at low to mid volume.


THE DUEL:

FIRST RECORD

Archiv Produktion
"Musica Antiqua Koeln", Reinhard Goebel
Digital Recording on vinyl
Digital Stereo 2566127

side 1 track 1, Pachelbel, Kanon & Gigue D-dur

Lehmann: more chunkie sounding cembalo with more impact

track 2, Handel, Sonata G-dur, 2 violins & coninuo

On the Lehmann the violins are more open/spacious sounding vs. more boxed in on Pro-Ject.

I drifted off on the rest of the record and just enjoyed through both preamps, somehow turning off my critical listening mode. This actually means, that BOTH preamps achieve a most important goal, which is just forgetting about the equipment, and enjoying the music. I have certainly had equipment, where I kept thinking and imagining what a better piece would sound like, but these preamps just simply are. "Zen", just being, has been achieved. 

 

FIRST RESULTS FOR MOVING MAGNET CARTRIDGE TEST ONLY:

This is a comparison test, so while close, if you have the extra money, the edge goes to the Lehmann Audio.

Both are a step above cheaper phono stages, and they are VERY close. 

The Lehmann Audio Black Cube does appear to deliver a "sturdier" bottom end foundation and sounds more spacious than the Pro-Ject, so it gets the nod!

However, we have entered the realm of "high end" audio, where differences and improvements are subtle. Too often, an upgrade of one piece means skipping another vital part altogether, so setting up your budget is first, and choosing the second best option with something else you need for a complete system will often win over not having a missing piece. 

In this case, the more than 250 dollar difference between the Pro-Ject S2 and the Black Cube phono stages (you need a phono stage for playing vinyl) means being able to buy the Dayton Audio APA150 (which you can use as a standalone without any remote control preamp) and a pair of the reasonable good and audiophile approved Dayton B652 speakers. 

Plus, the differences noted in this first comparison will likely only be noticed in a direct back and forth comparison of the same record rapidly plopped from one player/preamp to the other.

BUT ISN'T THERE A WINNER FOR NOW? 

Yes my Dear, it is the Lehmann Audio Black Cube Statement.

Here is TNT-Audio's take on The Lehmann Audio Black Cube:
https://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/statement_e.html

Here is the TNT-Audio review of the Dayton Audio APA150:
https://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/dayton_apa150_e.html

The low budget, but very acceptable Technolink TC-760LC:
https://www.phonopreamps.com/TC-760LCpp.html

The TC-760LC with upgraded power supply:
https://smile.amazon.com/TC-760LC-BLACK-Phono-Control-optional/dp/B00II2L880/

The TC-760LC with upgraded power supply in silver(ish ... sort of)
https://smile.amazon.com/TC-760LC-SILVER-Phono-Control-optional/dp/B00IHHNVNG/

Pro-Ject Phono Box S2:
https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/phono-box-s2/

Lehmann Audio Black Cube Statement:
https://www.lehmannaudio.com/phono-stages/black-cube-statement.html

MORE comparisons with Audio Technica OC9 MOVING COIL and different music on the platters TO COME!