Starkrimson Stereo Ultra 2.5

Excellent purchase

Great Amp, superb performance.

This is my first experience with a class D amp and the quality of reproduced sound is very impressive. There is great transparency and instrumental and vocal timbres are true to life. A bonus is the amp is very efficient and runs cool, especially considering how powerful it is. Looking forward to many more enjoyable listening sessions. Orchard Audio has produced an excellent amplifier at a very reasonable price. Currently powering Gallo Ultimate Reference speakers with a Benchmark DAC1 USB as source, in a balanced configuration. Musical genres sampled thus far are classical, jazz, blues, rock and Motown/soul.

I’ve had the Ultra playing in my home system for the past five days alternating with my own amp which is Class a/b, biased to 15watts of class a with 210 watts into 4 ohms, stereo not dual mono and intentionally voiced with 2nd and 3rd harmonics to have bloom, warmth, sweetness which some audiophiles covet and others disdain. If only it were that simple. . .

After selling the 2Cherry and living with its replacement (Wells Audio) for the past five months, I was pretty sure I had become a ‘class a’ convert. Now, I can honestly say that I could be very happy with either the Ultra or the Wells because for some music selections I prefer the Ultra and for other music I prefer the Wells. In the perfect world, one would own both with a set up location that made switching back and forth easy based on the music being played.

Some Examples:

Luca Sustek “Nuway” and darned if on half the cuts, I preferred the clarity, detail and slam of the Ultra presentation while on other cuts I preferred the sweetness of the Wells. I’m pretty sure though that the Ultra is the more accurate portrayal of the piano.

Now another CD:

Rush – Presto the first two songs “Show Don’t Tell” and “Chain Lightning”. . . both amps sound great!!

Ultra – clear, enveloping, and slightly more low end, the sound floats but not as much as the Wells

Wells – a little less clear, slightly different tone, slightly more enveloping

Next Up:

Eric Church – Chief country music with a great beat, strong vocals and beautiful harmonics

Ultra – Clarity and Speed, the attack on the strings is awesome, snare drum and bass clarity, beautiful, big soundstage

Wells – Lush, bigger bass but not as fast or deep, also a big soundstage, strummed strings, beautiful

Alex Fox – Cest La Vie Nylon String Latin Guitar with strong back beat support and no vocals

Ultra – Deep, powerful, clear low end…. man, those strings when picked, beautiful

Wells – Deeper low end but a smidge less punch, beautiful tone when the guitar body is tapped

Hamilton Broadway Show – 2 CD set

Two words describe the difference between the amps. . . the Ultra is crystal clear, you can understand every word…. the Wells is more warm, the presentation less intense

Jethro Tull – Original Masters

“Locomotive Breath”. . . Ultra wins the piano clarity and tone Wells wins the flute and sound stage

“Witches Promise” – Ultra wins the flute and vocals. . . but the Wells vocals have more body

“Skating Away” – the xylophone on the Ultra is hauntingly beautiful

“Tales From The Woods” – both great but different

“Thick As A Brick” – again, both great but different

If you buy this amp, don’t listen to your current amp for at least a day before the Ultra arrives. Then put the Ultra in your system and listen to it exclusively for 2 or 3 days so that you really get to hear what it can do. Then try some back and forth with your amp and finally a few more days with only the Ultra.

I think there is a pretty good chance that if you buy the Ultra and try this method, you will decide before the 14 days is up that it belongs in your system permanently.

Four things about the Ultra will jump out at you with this method:

• The background between notes is completely black and the presentation is CLEAR
• It is not bright or harsh
• It has really good detail and authority from top to bottom
• It does a really good job of defining vocal and instruments locations

Leo has created something special. . . this amp deserves an audition when you are considering your next amp or if you are looking for a way to upgrade the clarity and accuracy of your system.

Leo, thanks for this great product!

Leonid “Leo” Ayzenshtat (founder and owner of Orchid Audio) made a generous offer to start a “Tour” of his Starkrimson Stereo Ultra Amplifier within the SHMF membership. I submitted my name to receive, evaluate and review a sample to be circulated between other interested members! Keep in mind that my findings below may be unique to my ears, my room, my music, my other associated components and my 25 years of acoustical music educational training/degree and performance background experiences!

For the past 10 years, I’ve been well pleased with the performance of my stereo AB amp (175wpc/6ohm), the Emotiva USP-2. It has been flawless in creating a live holographic and dynamic soundstage with all the genre of music I enjoy! For these evaluative listening sessions, I turned off the sub and set my stand-mount monitors full range (in-room response solid to 32hz). From June 13 through June 16, I introduced this Starkrimsion amp into my system. Leo has configured this “tour amp” with an additional 18,800uf of capacitance per channel. Using my very familiar musical library of superb vocal, instrumental, orchestration, piano and live jazz trio performances and recordings, I Immediately heard the sonic differences. Over 4 days and 25 hours of detailed listening, this turned in affirmative performance confirmations that really got my attention!

What did the Starkrimson bring to the table to improve that which I “thought” I already had in spades all these years with my AB amp? Everything! I immediately identified my sound system presentation as being more live, my spouse states more mellow and smooth. To me, the greatest improvement was to Attacks and Decays. Beginning notes and percussive sounds just start with more immediacy and effortlessness, without harsh edges or strain. Decays have become gloriously long and precise, with more sustained prime note and overtone releases as per live performances. This to me has created a much more refined, non-fatiguing and eloquent reproduced presentation that more closely represents the you-are-there live experience!

Soundstage imaging has expanded and better filled in behind the speakers, especially in the left/right horizontal plane. Stage depth and height has remained the same (was very deep and high before) thus overall, the front baffles/. 5cf cabinets have not just disappeared (as before), but have become visually Invisible (mind-blowing)! Pinpoint imaging and focus with soloist, sectional musicians and piano is rock solid, with plenty of air, body and separation that well defines their proper placements/size within the holographic soundstage. Overall, the Starkrimson has created a more mesmerizing 3D presentation that simply allows the music to just naturally exist in my listening environment!

Details, Resolution and Response of fine nuances (articulation, diction, sonic subtilities, clarity, ambiance) are now better heard and understood. I found it easier to define exact vocal lyrics that weren’t as clear to me before and better discern background supportive vocal/instrumental harmonies, counter melodies and percussive rhythms that breathe and support emotional and expressive realism into the music. Full bandwidth responses are silky, accurate and crystal clear. Timbre and articulated sonics exactly duplicate real world instrumental sounds and vocal performances. Bass is very well controlled, deep, articulate, tight and fast. I attribute part of this “sonic prowess” to the dead-silent background of the amp. With pre-amp settings at normal live listening levels, a muted volume output produces absolutely No sound/noise from my tweeters (extreme black background) with my ear resting on the baffle grill cloth. FWIW, my ears were recently tested down to 0db at 8Khz in audio-booth testing!

Being an easy monitor load, system Dynamics appear greater and with less effort and strain. Crescendos and loudest passages in the music jump out without harshness or loss of fidelity…always articulate and in control! The additional 6db of power headroom (+3db continuous, +6db of peak Headroom) over my (1/5 the investment cost) Emotiva amp is not what I attribute this graceful expansion of sound to. My normal listening sessions are typically enjoyed at 85db continuous levels, with peaks that reach 95 to 105db! With my 87db efficient monitors, I had plenty of clean power before, but believe the Orchard Audio Amp offers what some have akin to Class A Tube Amp Sonics in the Starkrimson!

Overall, I left the unit on for 4 days straight, with my small dedicated listening room (990cf) never feeling warm or uncomfortable (like with my A/B amp). My spouse has commented on how “Musical” my system sounds with the new amp and that She will enjoy the music more than ever…Agreed!! Build is Very Solid and good looks, as always, are simply in the eyes of the beholder (I like it). In 2021, I returned $8K worth of electronics/accessories (Regenerator, SACD, Interconnects), as their contributions couldn’t Improve my System’s Synergy. Suffice to say, Leo’s Starkrimson Stereo Ultra Class D GanFET Amp has taken my music enjoyment a Couple of Quantum leaps Forward in realism and fidelity…I Will be Getting My Own!!!

Ted

The Ultra arrived earlier than expected, for a variety of reasons which I won’t go into here. Suffice it to say that Leo kept me in mind and made an offer that he knew I wouldn’t refuse.

Right out of the box (which, to my mind, should be a little heavier gauge– I am only a few hundred miles from Leo’s location, and even so the shipping guerrillas put a lot of dings in the box) the Ultra meshed with my other gear very effectively.

Great detail and pretty even emphasis of the full frequency range. The sound stage provided was wide, deep and detailed. Timbre was delightful, with note decay so sweet.

Its been a month or so now and things just get better. I will say its a ‘break in’ process, and I know many do not buy that. But a few days ago I noticed a real coming together of things. . All of a sudden things were just right for me. Imaging became holographic, the mid-range warmed up a touch and it all sounded “real”

Yeah, I know, the usual audioholic jargon. But something is happening and I like it very much.

System:

Salk Sound Streamer, with Roon and Tidal
Denafrips Hermes/Venus 2
DSPeaker Dual Core Anti mode 2
Supratek Cabernet preamp
Tetra Audio Model 506 speakers
DanaCable cables
Gingko Audio vibration control devices.
Orchard StarKrimson Ultra with CAP upgrade
Ears

I have been looking for an amplifier upgrade to my system for quite awhile. I have been using a custom Class AB amplifier for number of years but I missed the power and the bass extension of the Tripath Class D amp I had in the early 2000s.
It wasn’t perfect in the high frequencies but bass control and large scale dynamics were hard to fault.
Fast forward a decade or so and newer technology has come along. Enter Leo Ayzenshtat’s Starkrimson Ultra Class D design it has all of the considerable advantages of Class D without the weaknesses that earlier Class D designs had.
I have been running this amplifier continuously for the last eight days, so far has not put a foot wrong and at this point in time I don’t expect it to. The bass extension and control is noticeably better than my Class AB amp. It’s basically superior across the entire frequency range with the blackest background I have heard to date.
Perhaps the key take away is that this amplifier is faithful to the source. It has no unnatural artifacts accompanying the music. It’s a keeper.
Thanks Leo.

I was able to audition a prototype last weekend, comparing it to a couple of other Class-D amps. One amp was considerably more expensive at $6k. I won’t mention the brand because the manufacturer makes truly excellent amps and I don’t want to embarrass them. Bottom line: the Orchard Starkrimson Stereo Ultra made my system come alive in a way I didn’t think possible.

My speakers are Magnepan . 7s, which are a 4-ohm load with about 80dB sensitivity. (Magnepan claims 86dB but that isn’t accurate. ) The Maggies are very transparent but somewhat lacking in dynamics and authority even with powerful amps. With the Starkrimson driving them, the sound became more lively and dynamic but without a trace of harshness. The bass was on a par with the $6k amp, as was the treble smoothness, but the Starkrimson was more open. Playing reference tracks that I’ve heard dozens of times on the . 7s, I was frequently startled — literally — by the realism of instruments and vocals. Micro-detail, textures and subtle dynamics that I hadn’t noticed before became clear. The Starkrimson made these already-transparent Magnepan speakers even more so, and I wanted to listen to all my favorite music all over again.