Engström Monica Preamplifier Review

racewong

http://novohighend.com/engstrom-monica-preamplifier-review/

Introduction

Engström is a small Swedish, family owned company whose ultimate purpose is to bring sound back to life in its original, natural and purest form.  Hence the term “Scandinavian sound” was coined.

Founded by Lars Engström and Timo Engström in 2009, they believe that they have achieved this through their range of amplifiers.  The critically acclaimed Lars monoblock amplifier (with a built-in linestage) was the company’s first product.  This was replaced by the Lars 2 monoblock amplifier, Monica pre amplifier and the mighty Eric monoblock amplifier.  The Arne integrated amplifier is the latest addition to the Engström family.

Being an engineer by trade and passionate about tubes, Lars Engström is responsible for the heart of these musical instruments in achieving the Scandinavian sound.  But the Scandinavian theme doesn’t end there.  Timo Engström is an industrial designer and is responsible for the unique and elegant external aesthetics that each instrument exudes.

Product description

The Monica is the only preamplifier produced by Engström.  Coming in at $48,000 US, this can hardly be called spare change.  Being named after Monica Zetterlund, a famous Swedish Jazz performer, I had a big expectation of its performance.

The Monica is a two-boxed preamp.  One chassis contains a power supply and the gain control while the second chassis houses the linestage, isolating the audio signals from the other unit.  Both chassis are distinguishable by the single chromed concentric input selector/gain dial and an OLED screen on the power supply unit.  The contemporary design will definitely appeal to many.  The front and left facade is clad with a single black piano finish material with a rounded curve between them.  The top and right facade is covered by a single vented chrome [applied to polished brass] enclosure with a similar gentle curve at 90 degrees to the other.  This level of design just screams out “class!”

Rather than listing all the detailed technical specifications of the Monica here, I will refer you to the Engström website at www.engstromsound.com.  Instead, I’ll focus on the design highlights and the unit’s performance.  The Monica is a fully balanced and perfectly matched preamplifier for both the Lars 2 and Eric monoblocks.  The rear panel of the linestage chassis houses six input channels (three balanced XLR and 3 unbalanced RCA connectors) and four outputs for each channel (two balanced XLR and two unbalanced RCA).  This means a maximum of 4 monoblocks can be connected at any one time.  To achieve the creation of its pure, distinct sound, the Monica utilizes a fully balanced linestage with no negative feedback.

Many of the design rules applied to the Lars 2 monoblocks were used in the Monica preamplifier, since the Monica was conceived after the Lars 2.  This being the case, there are some very special exceptions in the Monica.



Gain stage configuration

The gain stage is balanced and each side is a Single Rail Push Pull circuit. Thanks to this four triode systems are arranged for both horizontal and vertical balance. This kind of configuration has high input impedance, high gain and low output impedance.

Signal capacitors

The same types of capacitors as in the Lars 2 are used in the Monica. These are of Tin foil and Teflon isolation type. Engström believes these are the best sounding capacitors.

Volume control

The volume control is built with relays and resistors in a T-Pad configuration. Only 3 resistors are in the signal path at each time. The volume control has constant impedance. The importance of having a constant load on the input transformer is stressed. The volume and input selector can be controlled remotely via Bluetooth using an Engström mobile app on your device of choice. The volume setting and input are indicated on an OLED display.

Output transformer

The output transformer makes the output impedance very low. The output transformer is used in a parafeed connection. The output transformer has a core of Murinite (Mu) metal.

Power supply

All voltages are regulated and well filtered. The plate voltage is choke filtered and tube regulated. The filament voltage is rectified by Schottky diodes for low voltage drop and low noise.

Performance

The big question was, how would one know what the amplifiers are actually contributing in isolation?  This brings me to 3 different situations: 1):  When I first received the Monica / Lars 2 combo;  2):   The leave of absence of the Lars 2;  and 3):  Complete leave of absence of the combo.  During my tests, I played all the music from LPs through my Kronos Sparta turntable, equipped with the Thales Simplicity II tonearm and Topwing Blue Dragon MC cartridge.

Upon its arrival into the heart of my system, I was absolutely gobsmacked.  Tube amplifiers have been stereotyped by words like “bloom”, “laid back”, “slow” and “lack of attack”.  One’s bloom maybe one’s fullness.  One’s laid back maybe one’s easiness.  You know what I mean.

From the word go, the Engström Monica / Lars 2 combo was able to communicate a larger and deeper tonal balance throughout the ranges.  The integration between the octaves was melodious.  The imaging was holographic.  Instruments were cocooned in their own nest.  Having said this, their roles in the band or orchestra had specific presences.  I love the stage placements of the instruments.  In Jazz compositions, the artists were distinctly placed on a horizontal plane.  With classical pieces, the orchestral seating layouts and depth were well defined.  The instruments were also layered vertically as some instrument sections were seated slightly higher than others.

The legendary Dave Brubeck Quartet is a household name to most music lovers. Take 5, from the album Time Out was the first Jazz music piece to sell over a million copies. Paul Desmond was brave to take things out of the box and use the odd time signature groove in 5/4.  The music was simply broken down into an intro, verse/chorus/verse section, separated by a solo alto saxophone and drum section, ending with a coda.

In the intro, the Monica / Lars 2 combo depicts the soft snares and prominent ride cymbals, which was common in this genre of jazz.  This suggests that Joe Morello used a traditional grip (underhand grip for the left and overhand grip for the right).  A mellow piano transitioned in detached chords sitting to the right of the soundstage.  The double bass came in the end of the intro and transitioned well into the first verse.  The effective fade of the gradual layering of the instruments was phenomenal.

The spiky definition of the cymbals from the drums on the left and the well captured balanced high and low strings of the grand piano on the right, aided to the mellow jazz piano tone.  The breathy character of the alto saxophone and the plucky transients of the double bass strings were well defined.  The sounds of the end-pin from the double bass on the wooden floors of the studio could also be heard

The alto saxophone and drum solos were engaging and dynamic.  The saxophone had a smoky timbre to it and the drum slowly built up the mood and was dramatically varied.  The drum was panned hard left.



A classical piece that is easily identified by most listeners is the Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 by Frank Liszt.  I listened to the one conducted by Leopold Stokowski.  This piece starts off with the dark melancholic Lassan with playful and mercurial moments.  This short dramatic introduction had a deep and powerful bass placed to the right.  The dynamics and PRAT were just right on this track.  With the ensuing Friska section (faster), the Monica / Lars 2 combo was no slouch.  It presented the alternating speeds, sonics and dominant harmonies with attack and coherence.  Musically, the whole piece was brought to an end with increasing and decreasing crescendos of prestissimo octaves.

Then came Daft Punk’s award winning Random Access Memories. Electronica is a very complex combination or mix of sound made by electronic “instruments”.  You may not even call them musical instruments but I guess if they make music, then they are. Wiki defines Electronica as an umbrella term used to describe the rise of electronic music styles intended not just for dancing but also concentrated listening. And the last 2 words are why I had it in my playlist.  If sounds were not coming from instruments, let alone being familiar with them, then this should be a good test for a musical instrument like the Monica / Lars 2 combo.  Damn did it sound fantastic. The overall sonic mix was definitely exotic.  The cultural literacy and sonic colonialism was mixed well to produce ecstasy.  The insistence, drive and purpose of the music was impeccable.  The variations of tempo were let loose to play exactly as intended.  “Doin’ it right” – vocoder loop of Panda Bear’s vocals, projected a feeling of cautious expectation – the promise that this night could… might… will be perfect – while his chorus revealed an uncharacteristically raw, human side to Daft Punk’s robotics. The sonority of the vocals reproduced by this amplifier combination was unmatched by many.  The emotions ran free…  This was exactly what the Monica / Lars 2 combo did.  It let free the emotions of the music.

Last was Metallica’s Hollier Than Thou from the self named album or better known as The Black Album.  And why not huh?  The dips were ultrafast in the hertz and staccatos, while the darkness of the silence and the attack were “audible” and visceral! The balance between the guitar and the drums was perfect.

In order to listen to the Monica preamp by itself, I separated the Monica / Lar 2 amp combo, and replaced the amplifier with my Crayon CFA1.2 amplifier.  A week into this change, I connected the Monica to my Crayon CFA1.2 via the RCA output.  This utilized the power amp section only.  I was disappointed at the beginning but came to my senses after understanding what was done.  I actually got some poise and control of the Crayon amplifiers.  The Monica was more revealing but did not add extra refinement or depth to the music.

I sometimes took forced “holidays” from listening to the Engström components.  During this period, I often got opportunities to listen to other systems of varying magnitudes in and around my part of the world (Malaysia).  All these systems had very good attributes in their own rights, which I would be very happy to live with but I still end up missing the Engström.  I was hooked on the Scandinavian sound.

Conclusion

The Monica is simply a gorgeous preamplifier that is ranked high up in the list of uber HiFi.  The Scandinavian purity of sound produced can be described with as many adjectives in the dictionary as possible but once implanted in the mind and soul, its absence is a painful deprivation.

The Monica best suits one who is seeking poise and control of their existing amplifier but to maximize its true potential, the gains are exponential in combination with the Lars 2 or the flagship Eric monoblocks.

Review system

Kronos Sparta, Thales Simplicity II, Topwing Blue Dragon MC cartridge; Zanden 1200 mkIII phonostage, Monica V2 preamp, Lars2 monoblocs;  Cessaro Brahms Speakers; Dalby Audio power cables, Skogrand Wagner, Beethoven interconnects, power and speaker cables; Telos GNR grounding; JMF Audio PCB302; Frank Powerbank x2; Frank Ground Loop EMI filter and ABL Sursum cryo MCB.

Engström
www.engstromsound.com

Engström Monica Preamplifier
Price: $48,000 US

vhs

coeywong88

so nice