A product coming from Germany that bears in its name the letter "V" followed by a digit or a number, carries negative connotations in Poland. Perhaps even more sinister in the UK, because it was on London that most of the V-1 flying bombs and the V-2 rockets were dropped. The “V” in the name of these technological wonders, because they were such, comes from their full name, "Vergeltungswaffe" ("retaliatory weapons" in German). Or should we, Poles, see it differently, and be proud of the fact that it was us, the soldiers of the Armia Krajowa (“Home Army”), who managed to hand over to the British intelligence first the shattered remains of rockets, and then their plans? Or perhaps yet another way: maybe it’s high time to look at it as history and be proud of our times; remembering the past, but thinking about the future? After all, Germany is currently the most important Polish partner, both economically and politically (though it's almost the same thing these days) and our main support in the European Union; our contacts, relations, trade and cultural exchange have not been so good since, let’s think, Otto III and the Congress of Gniezno in the year 1000! Therefore, for my generation, at least for the lovers of music in its full form, i.e. not only as musical notation, but also its implementation (interpretation) and mechanical recording and playback, the letter “V” in the name of German amplifiers from Octave elicits only positive, even very positive connotations – those of reliability, quality and sound at the highest level. After all, it’s "V as Vollverstärker" or as "Vacuum". And we like that a lot.
Andreas Hofmann, responsible for the technical design, finish and manufacturing of Octave products, built his first amplifier in 1975. In fact, the company history goes back to 1968, when Andreas’s father founded a factory dedicated to winding the transformers. And transformers are the basis of almost all audio amplifiers. This is, I think, one of the clues in determining the source of the company’s success – a well-made transformer is a genuine treasure, but if you can manufacture your own transformers, according to your own specifications, as pleased - you are at home.

The reviewed integrated amplifier bears the number 110. Usually, each higher or lower number (depending on the manufacturer) denotes a more expensive and better model in the manufacturer’s hierarchy. Andreas followed that suit: the least expensive is the V40 SE amplifier, followed by the V70 SE, and topped off by the V80. The V110 should therefore be the best and most expensive. And yet it’s not the most expensive (I have my own thoughts whether it’s the best), being priced between the V70 and the V80 SE. The reason is that in case of Octave the number in the name is associated with output power into 4 Ω, not with the price. At least from now on. Previously, it was true that the more powerful the amplifier, the more expensive it had to be – the increased cost was due to, above all, a better power supply but also larger speaker transformers. Starting with the new amplifier that "conversion" is no longer applicable. The unit has been designed to work with a new type of vacuum tubes, the KT120 beam tetrodes - the latest miracle "child" of tube audio. All previous Octave integrateds also employed beam tetrodes, in the form of two 6550s per channel working in push-pull.
This is not the first Andreas’s device with the KT120 in the lead role. He tested the tubes earlier, in the MRE 220 and RE 290 power amps. To drive them he used his long perfected circuit of a preamp and driver, based on the ECC83 in the input stage and two ECC81 as the phase inverter and driver stage.
Tube amplifiers are usually associated with limited serviceable capabilities, difficult operation, problem with tubes and everything that we got used to expect of small manufacturers, for which the sound was most important, with the quality of service, user safety and product durability leaving much to be desired. The Octave, however, is a modern device and we find in it almost everything that a twenty-first century amplifier should have, regardless of the employed technology.

First of all, it’s a "green" product. It uses a system called EcoMod, switching to standby mode after nine minutes without any signal detected at the inputs. In this mode the amplifier consumes only 20 watts of power and is ready for playback almost instantaneously: after detecting an input signal it activates an electronic "soft start" mode, extending the life of tubes and capacitors. You have to wait a while, but after about 30 seconds you can fire off the music. In case you do not like such "tricks", you can switch EcoMod off. The V110 is equipped with five line inputs, including one balanced XLR (although the amplifier has an unbalanced design) and main-in directly to the power amplifier as well as pre-out. The latter two are dedicated to home theater users - the unit can be used as a power amplifier, and can drive two active subwoofers. But you can also use an external preamp or a variable output player with and/or use bi-amping.
Tubes are a delicate matter – both literally and figuratively – and that’s why their protection is extremely important for Andreas. The V110 is equipped with a self-regulating monitoring and protection system to keep the unit safe against components’ aging (e.g. tubes), and user errors. For it to work, however, the user needs to carry out the initial calibration of tubes, adjusting their idle current. Three colored LEDs are used to indicate whether the bias current is too low (yellow), just right (green), or too high (red). It is of course up to the user to set a higher or lower bias setting, the sound will be different, but tube service life may be significantly shortened. Nor will we get the kind of sound that the designer intended for the amplifier. We have his blessing, however, for output tube rolling. There is a switch on the rear panel to let us use KT88, KT90, KT100, 6550, and even EL34, KT77, and 6CA7. Plenty to play with. For the review the stock setup was used, with the KT120s in the output stage.
The amplifier can also be equipped with an optional phono preamp, plugged into to the main circuit board. Power supply can also be upgraded – Mr. Hofmann offers optional power supplies (actually, banks of capacitors), named Black Box and Super Black Box. During the review I had a look at the latter. The V110 comes with a solid remote control featuring two buttons: louder-quieter.

SOUND

A selection of recordings used during auditions

• MJ Audio Technical Disc vol.6, Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing, MJCD-1005, CD (2013).
• Charlie Haden, The Private Collection, The Naim Label, naimcd108, 2 x CD (2007).
• Diary of Dreams, The Anatomy of Silence, Accession Records, A 132, CD (2012).
• Ella Fitzgerald, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book, Verve/PolyGram, “Verve Master Edition”, 537 257-2, 2 x CD (1997).
• Frank Sinatra, Nice’N’Easy, Capitol/Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, UDCD 790, gold-CD (1960/2002)
• Frank Sinatra, Sinatra Sings Gershwin, Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music Entertainment, 507878 2, CD (2003).
• Jean Michel Jarre, Essentials & Rarities, Disques Dreyfus/Sony Music, 62872, 2 x CD (2011).
• Kamp!, Kamp!, Brennessel, BRN016, CD (2013).
• Marc Copland & John Abercombie, Speak To Me, Pirouet Records, PIT3058, CD (2011).
• Michael Jackson, Thriller. 25th Anniversary Edition, Epic/Sony Music Japan, EICP-963-4, CD+DVD (1982/2008).
• Michael Rother, Fernwärme, Random Records/Belle, 091546, SHM-CD (1982/2009).
• Niemen, Katharsis, Muza Polskie Nagrania, PRCD 339, “Niemen od początku, nr 9”, CD (1976/2003).
• Pat Metheny Group, Offramp, ECM/Universal Music K.K., UCCE-9144, SHM-CD (1982/2008).
• Radiohead, The King of Limbs, Ticker Tape Ltd., TICK-001CDJ, Blu-spec CD (2011).
• Richard Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra, wyk. Los Angeles Philharmonic, dyr. Zubin Metha, Decca/Lasting Impression Music, LIM K2HD 035, “K2HD Mastering”, CD (1968/2008).
• Simon & Garfunkel, Bookends, Columbia/Sony Music Japan, SICP-1484, CD (1968/2007).
• The Oscar Peterson Trio, We Get Request, Verve/Lasting Impression Music, LIM K2HD 032 UDC, “Direct From Master Disc. Master Edition”, gold CD-R (1964/2009).

JJapanese editions of CDs and SACDs are available from

Wouldn’t you like to have a tube amp with a modern twist? You've been looking for a unit that would sound rather warm without being muddy and having a limited top? You are willing to accept some limitations that go with it? If you are, this review is just right for you. Then, if you are looking for something different, if precision and bass control is your top priority, let me invite you to read other reviews. For this amp is not for everyone. Yes, it is extremely versatile. But no, it will not sound with any speaker the way it should, despite being seemingly powerful enough to easily drive most of the speaker designs on the market, at least in not too large rooms. It is simply a very interesting amplifier. And like any interesting phenomenon it cannot be locked up in a cage of just a few words, and like most mature product it has many "faces", each of which may smile at us. It is up to us, if we smile back.

Sonically, the unit is surprising in its careful and proper selection of all elements – a slight shift in either direction would result in something much less interesting. This way, we get a tasty sound, very versatile, that is not limited to, e.g., heavier rock music or large orchestral ensembles. Everything has its place, is carefully thought through and selected – the latter obviously being the key to understanding what this is all about.
I will not pretend to KNOW exactly what was going on in Hoffman's mind when he was designing, tuning, fine-tuning, and adjusting the V110. For this review, however, to be meaningful, I must at least try to make some assumptions. Listening to, one after another, such albums as Nice'N'Easy by Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson’s Thriller. 25th Anniversary and The Art of Silence by Diary of Dreams, it is not difficult to notice the common elements of that sound. First of all, a great color. It is also a unique combination of selectivity and resolution, neither of them outstanding on their own. And finally, that something extra, difficult to pinpoint or isolate, that manifests in taste, elegance, and maturity of sound.

Let me being my analysis by recalling an album that, at first glance, is not particularly suitable for that, at least from the purist’s point of view, according to which the reference point is unamplified (“unplugged”) live music – Essentials & Rarities by Jean Michel Jarre. The subject of taking the live music as the most important reference point and its alleged epistemic value has been aptly covered in the recent editorial for "Stereophile" (A reviewing Life, "Stereophile", March 2013, see HERE) by its chief editor, John Atkinson, so I will not repeat it here. Let me just say that elevating the live musical event to the status of the only reference point is sheer nonsense and let me point you to my March editorial Just Music. I have chosen Jarre’s album, or actually the disc no. 2, Rarities, due to several reasons. First of all, it’s great music. I've been a Jarre’s fan from the time of his Oxygene and newer albums, yet what he did before not only is any less than a hit, but it is also more interesting formally. Secondly, the recording quality is amazing, as if it were recorded today, on great studio equipment, not semi-home-made, with the Revox B77 reel to reel in the lead role. Or maybe that's exactly why it sounds like that? Because it is pure analog, without any manipulation in the digital domain, any additional effects, software plug-ins or other wonders, except remastering and its final release form - Compact Disc?
In any case, these are unique recordings. And Octave perfectly captured their depth and fleshiness. There is something about analog synthesizers that the modern digital instruments fail to emulate, and which comes down to the two above elements. For two nights before I received a review sample of the V110 I had been listening to Jarre evening on headphones - both on my classic setup, with the modified Leben CS300 X and the Sennheiser HD800, and on an absolute surprise: a tiny, portable, tube (!), battery powered Synergy Hi-Fi Continental amp and the HiFiMAN HE-300 headphones. It is really hard to transfer some things audible on high-end headphones over to speakers. The hardest to convey is the tangibility of sound and its immediacy. The Octave had no problems with either of them. Low sounds had saturation and definition, and were shown as the basis of the sound, almost physically pushing, for it wasn’t hitting, the cones of the Harbeth M40.1. It's something that usually gets lost for the sake of precision and ultra-transparency, and which on good headphones, coping well with low frequencies, is so enchanting. And which, let’s add, I miss so much on electrostatic headphones. That sheer "mass", not just its suggestion, something big, noticeable, which is transformed into the air vibration in the listening room, filling it with no holes, without trying to draw attention to something else.

It’s similar with the way the amplifier shows high frequencies. Both the bottom end that I already described, and the treble in tube amps are traditionally associated with softening and warming, as well as with low resolution; thinking of a tube amp we primarily think of gentle, warm midrange, in a sense "sacrificing" the rest, a priori, for the sake of something more important. The Andreas’s amplifier actually is actually a lot like that – both edges of the frequency band are warmed and do not seem particularly selective. It's just that there is something more, the amp does not stop with "I don’t give a ...", but pushes further, dragging all that baggage, yet at the same time imbuing it with new meanings. In the end, we end up somewhere that each of these elements can still be identified, but where the whole is more important than the individual parts.
Treble is therefore rather warm in the reviewed amplifier. And does not seem selective at first glance. That’s a mistaken perception. I have the impression that the amp does not show something that usually irritates us in the recordings, something that often suggests the presence of high frequencies, without fully realizing that presence. Amplifiers often pretend to play the treble, while they actually only sketch it; convey attack without a real sound. Not so with the Octave. Hence, its sound seems dark. However, when strong cymbal crashes come in, as on the track Epitapium from Niemen’s album Catharsis, they are really strong, present and immediate. We do not ponder if they are this or that, because they create a perfect whole with the recording and are its integral part. When, in turn, there is more of low end in the sound, when the cymbals temporarily disappear, again, we have a sense of a deep blackness, smoothness and lack of treble. It’s not by chance that I refer to an album with electronic music, I know it very well, both from its digital edition, as well as from the original vinyl, and it is rare for an audio product to be able to show its complexity, despite the limited instrumentation. The Octave perfectly conveyed the volume of sound and the richness of treble, built on a solid, mature bass. The cymbals were meaty, had a strong support. It was not a point in space, perhaps even precise yet without "body", but rather something real, "visceral".

Dynamics was very interesting, too. Again, the first impression is misleading. The sound seems rather calm. The reason is that nothing speeds up, there is no motoric drive; it is not the kind of amplifier like the Soulution, or even D'Agostino, although it is the latter that the Octave is closer to. With the V110 the pulse is more hidden in the song structure, resulting from changes in the music rather than being imposed from the outside. Although it might seem that the effect should be similar, it is not - it's a kind of hysteresis, where the start and end points are common, but the space between them, while maintaining a similar shape, has at a given time a different value. At any rate, pulse, rhythm, its timing is great, but they are the "face" of the sound. That is, I believe, tangibility.
This way I go back to what I said in my analysis of bass and treble. The amplifier makes it possible to bring over a different dimension, a different acoustics to our room. What is "ours" temporarily disappears, and there appears something created - dense, deep, but clearly different from the transparent, open "here and now". Instruments, performers are not thrown onto us, we do not "see" them between the speakers. That sound, therefore, will never compete for resolution, selectivity, openness against, say, the Accuphase E-260, reviewed in “High Fidelity” last month. Actually, it seems to me that it doesn’t even try. It's an absolutely original perspective on the material recorded by someone, on the captured emotions, and magically – for how else to call it, to explain the emotions evoked in us by a mechanically recorded signal? – brought over by the V110 to us, home. The sound is a bit sticky, but in a good sense, that is it has a consistency - both the instruments and that which joins them. This is a mature, deep sound; not for everyone.

Conclusion

This sound is not for everyone. This amp is not for everyone. I know this is not the best way to recommend the device. I would, however, like to be honest with you and save you disappointment. Audio is not about foisting the same products on everybody; audio is the art of choosing. The V110 will not appeal to those looking for speed and transparency, with a pointy, well-defined bass. Or precise, clearly planned out soundstage – they will not find that in the Octave amplifier. Here the emphasis is on continuity, maturity, on integrating resolution and selectivity. Hooking up the outboard power supply improves most aspects, but does not change the character of the sound.
I don’t know how Andreas Hoffman does it, but – in my opinion – he is one of the few designers who "mastered" the KT120 tubes in an exceptional way. I know a lot of other amplifiers based on them. Some, like the Leben CS-1000P or the Audio Research REF 75, are excellent and will be a perfect complement to many audio systems. The V110, however, is not only an integrated, which frees us from having to buy an external preamp, but successfully demonstrates to us what can be done with the high output power of the KT120 without exposing its weaknesses. Earlier, only the Jadis I-35 was able to do something like that. The owner of Octave combined the stereotypical sound of tubes, such as warmth, softness, vividness, with a modern understanding of these amplifying components. I mean great definition, continuity and coherence. This is a strong, versatile, functional amplifier that can be upgraded with an outboard power supply and an optional phono board. Fans of other types of tubes from the KT family, and even the EL34, will have fun with tube rolling – the unit offers such possibility. You can also connect your player with variable output to the V110’s input labeled “Front Ch.”, included as a gift for the owners of home theater. For me it worked best as an integrated amp, but your mileage may vary. In any case, we have plenty of options. What is most important, however, will happen when listening to the first two or three albums, with the stock tubes, no outboard power supply, via the RCA input - it will be sheer magic.

TESTING METHODOLOGY

The testing of the V110 had a character of an A / B comparison, with the A and B known. The amplifier was originally equipped with rubber feet, so it begged using some high-quality rubber anti-vibration components. I have recently got a few sets of Franc Audio Accessories Ceramic Disc, see HERE anti-vibration feet, whose design with a ceramic ball supporting metal components, similar to what Finite Elemente offer in their products, that work great. The amplifier thus sat on three Ceramic Disc feet - two in the back (where it is heavier) and one in the front. The feet, in turn, were placed on the Acoustic Revive RAF-48H pneumatic anti-vibration platform – which is another ingenious invention, this time coming from Japan (see HERE). The amplifier was powered via the Harmonix X-DC350M2R-Improved Version power cord http://www.highfidelity.pl/ @ main-1287 & lang = en .
Typically, to connect the amplifiers to the reference CD player I use Acrolink Mexcel 7N-DA6300 interconnect, RCA version. In this case, however, I wanted to also try out the XLR input, and I didn’t have such version from Acrolink. For both connections, via RCA and XLR, I therefore used Acoustic Revive RCA-1.0PA/XLR-1.0PA II cables. I also used speaker cable from the same manufacturer, the SPC-PA.
The audition was conducted with the player connected via RCA input and no external power supply. After the main audition I checked how it sounded with the Super Black Box power supply.

DESIGN

Every manufacturer aims to develop its own, easily recognizable style. If it manufactures functional objects, it will concern external design, typography, and the logo. In case of tube amps, however, it is a difficult task. Their appearance has been greatly influenced, on the one hand, by amplifier designs from McIntosh and QUAD (currently mostly abandoned, perhaps except Japan – see U-Bros amplifiers), on the other, by Audio Research, resembling solid state amplifiers, and on the third, currently most frequent (with exposed tubes on deck and encased transformers in the back), by an army of manufacturers who turned disadvantages into advantages. Octave amplifiers belong to the latter group.
Looking from the back, we first see a large enclosure covering the power and speaker transformers. The transformers are mounted on the top of the printed circuit board and are isolated from other electronic components. Since they are close to the rear panel, the connections to the speaker output terminals are very short. The output tubes are placed next, separated by an aluminum shielding plate (the whole housing is made of aluminum, a non-magnetic material, and hence much better than steel). Such design eliminates the need for long connections between the tubes and the output transformers. Small tubes mounted in one row at the front, including the input ECC83 dual triode, here in the form of the NOS Sovtek “long anode” 12AX7LPS, and two ECC81s from Electro-Harmonix, one per channel, as drivers phase inverters. Typically, small input tubes are exposed on deck, just like output tubes, here, however, they are hidden in the housing. That’s good, as input tubes are particularly susceptible to interference, and that way they are shielded. Finally, the front panel. While usually very low, here it is comparatively high, due to the fact that the input tubes are hidden.
The front panel sports two large aluminum knobs – an input selector and a volume control. The inputs are indicated by LEDs (blue in the silver finish version), mounted behind a mid-sized transparent plate. They are soldered onto the circuit board housing other electronics, visible through the window. It looks really interesting. Stylistically very similar, although going even further, is a design from another German manufacturer, ASR (see the review of the Emitter II amp HERE). The display could do, however, with some added lines, dashes, or something like that, as it’s not exactly visible which input is selected. The more so that the knob has two more positions, indicated by LEDs elsewhere on the display. One selects the power tubes bias setting mode (yellow, green and red LEDs), and the other activates the main-in "Front Ch." input, bypassing the input tubes and the potentiometer. The volume knob setting is not too visible, either; an alphanumeric display might be a solution. The power switch is located on the side panel.
On the rear, first of all you can see high quality, very convenient speaker terminals (optimized for 4 Ω load), exactly the same as used in their speakers and electronics by Berlin based Burmester. Input connectors are lined up in one row, except for Aux 2, which can be changed by adding an optional board into an MC or MM phono input. Next to an IEC mains socket we can see a very solid, 3-pin, gold-plated, screw-on connector for the Black Box or the Super Black Box outboard power supply. To the far left side we find a small switch activating the EcoMod mode.