Review of the Aries Cerat Diana Forte power amplifier

[flyer]

Hello all,

I am happy to report to you the very positive review of the Aries Cerat Diana Forte SET amplifier by Enjoy the Music.com. Please check: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superio...ier_Review.htm

This is a true SET amplifier but featuring 60Watt output power driving about all but the most difficult speaker loads. It is actually the stereo version of Aries Cerat's Concero65 mono blocks which feature by default an impedance selector switch.

Enjoy the read!

[Dr.Ears]

I would not want this amp in a house with children and/or pets. It uses super rare tubes and operates at dangerously high voltages and must generate very high heat.
Both the 813 & 814 tubes are just about extinct, I assume the manufacturer has a supply, but you will be relying on their mercy.

[flyer]

Hi Dr.Ears, thank you for your comments. Allow me to clarify some things to the points you raise.

The tubes are not that rare as you make it sound. They are not mainstream that is correct, nor is the amplifier ...but the tubes still can be purchased in some numbers. But yes, the manufacturer does carry a large stock of them. It is noteworthy they last till well above 5000 hours, so with normal usage (i.e. 1000 hours per year), you will need maximum one replacement pair in the first 10 years!

Most higher-powered tubes have high voltages. As you can see on the pictures, the Aries Cerat amplifiers have very sturdy tube protection cages so an inadvertent contact is very unlikely.

The heat produced by this amplifier is the equivalent of 1000 Watt. In my room, which is 22 sq.m. and has a quite low ceiling of 2.35 cms, this implies the room heats up by 1 °C every two hours and I have no ventilation in the room. I like to think this is a fairly moderate effect. If you are having the amplifiers on all day in a similar room, some ventilation would be required effectively.

Many other amplifiers will be producing at least as much heat. I won't name brands but I used to have push pull tube amps with a quartet (or even an octet) of KT tubes per channel and the heat production was in another league! I find the 1°C increase for my fairly small room every couple of hours not a problem and not different from Class A amps that would need to have at least 150W of power to have the equivalent in apparent power from the Diana's.

[Kingrex]

Did I read this review right? The treble was kind of rolled off and the lower base so non-existent he had to use a subwoofer for the entire review?

[mep]

I would not want this amp in a house with children and/or pets. It uses super rare tubes and operates at dangerously high voltages and must generate very high heat.
Both the 813 & 814 tubes are just about extinct, I assume the manufacturer has a supply, but you will be relying on their mercy.

That's why it is nice to have a dedicated room so your choices in gear aren't regulated to what is safe with children and pets.

[Dre_J]

Did I read this review right? The treble was kind of rolled off and the lower base so non-existent he had to use a subwoofer for the entire review?

That would unfairly shortchange the product. I'd read more carefully. There is more there, there. (speaker(s) types, sonic traits, etc.)

[dcc]

I have had the chance to listen on numerous times to the Aries Cerat Concero 65 (the mono block version of the Diana Forte) with the Aries Cerat Symphony loudspeakers at Flyer's place and quite frankly I never felt that the treble were rolled off, quite the contrary. Regarding bass, there was plenty of it.

Should you need more power, you might want to go with the Aries Cerat Ianus Mk 2 mono block amplifiers. This is a 140W class A amplifier with massive current supply that should be at ease with speakers down to 0.5 ohm.

[Kingrex]

Are we seeing more manufacturers building a complete system, source to amp to speaker. Just thinking MBL, Macintosh, Voxativ, Aries Cerat?

[dcc]

Having quite power hungry loudspeakers, I would not imagine driving them with Aries Cerat SET amps. Flyer who is a very close audio buddy knows that this would be a recipe for failure.

All I can say that a full Aries Cerat (loudspeakers, amp, preamp, phono stage and DAC) is impressive to listen to. I helped Flyer fine-tuning his newly acquired turntable a few weeks ago and it was a joy to listen to his system both on digital and analog.

I also had the chance to listen to a system where two Aries Cerat preamps were brought in and it made a difference. One of the most regarded French audio reviewers was present on that day (he is half French Japanese and is also an audio designer actually) and he was quite impressed.

[Kingrex]

I see that clarification in the very first paragraph. It has to be paired with the right equipment and the right user. If that were the case it would send you to Audie or Nirvana. Of course that begs the question of how he came to that conclusion since he did not have the right equipment.

It would be nice if the reviewer had more sets of speakers to pair the amplifier with and truly find the correct combination to arrive at his conclusions. It would be nice if he had found the base without utilizing a subwoofer. My understanding of subwoofers is they don't necessarily add base. They bring clarity and body to the mid-range. Utilizing a subwoofer for the review in my mind completely shifts the performance curve of the amplifier. I don't believe I know what Sonic attributes are attributed to the amp or the integration of a subwoofer.

[Dre_J]

I see that clarification in the very first paragraph. It has to be paired with the right equipment and the right user. If that were the case it would send you to Audie or Nirvana. Of course that begs the question of how he came to that conclusion since he did not have the right equipment.

It would be nice if the reviewer had more sets of speakers to pair the amplifier with....

Try reading it again.