More tube tales, this time on an Italian trio. ANDREW WONG, sucker that he is for fashion statements allied to good sound, laps it all up and begs for more ...

NOT all tube gear is created equal. Certainly not those born in a boot-shaped country. For people that have the world in rapture with its fast cars, captivating operas and chic fashion, one would expect the Italian audio world to be eclipsed.

Not so the case, as the Unison Research Feather 1 pre and Power 35 power (with attending Simply Phono phono stage) of this review proves. When you're finished with running your fingers over these beauties, you'll want to listen to them. Maybe even warm your hands over their naked tubes on a cold La Nina night. Whatever the reason you'll buy them for, they'll be worth it, I promise.

Features

The styling of this combination is nothing you'd expect from the Bauhaus school. From the beautiful Bahia wood finish of the front panels to the brushed steel housings, you'll find that nothing has been spared to maximise the value of the investment. From the top-rate RCA terminals and five-way binding posts to the fit and finish, overall build quality is of a very high standard.

The Feather 1 is a Class-A preamp which uses a pair of 12AX7 double triodes. The unit relies on an external power supply for operation or alternatively, through a dedicated connection to the Power 35. Remote control for the volume potentiometer is optional and as one would expect from its name, the unit is rather lightweight.

Inside are two very neat PCBs, one housing the power supply and main audio circuitry, while the volume potentiometer and source selector occupy the other. The egg-cup-shaped volume control on the front panel is smooth in operation, but heavy to the touch, while a toggle switch provides tape monitoring. Source selection is done via a stiff dial on the top of the enclosure.

The Class-AB, self-biasing Power 35 power amplifier also employs a pair of 12AX7s, each forming an input buffer and phase splitter that feeds a pair of EL-34 pentodes (which means four in total) running in push-pull mode (incidentally, this represents Unison's first attempt in push-pull design).

Inside, a hefty output transformer helps in pushing the unit's weight to 35kg. Parts quality is top rate, with high-voltage reservoir capacitors and audiophile knick-knacks commonly seen in high-end country. A little light-hearted entertainment is provided through some simple instructions printed on top of the transformer enclosure. The unit is rated at 35 watts, with four and eight ohm taps at the rear for proper load selection.

The Simply Phono phono stage, as the Feather 1, draws its power from an external unit or via a dedicated four-pin DIN-type i/o connection to the Power 35 (there's no power on/off switch). Designed for moving magnet and moving coil cartridges, it has switchable input impedance for the common 47K-ohm loading as well as 22, 50 and 100-ohm settings via user-friendly DIP switches on the rear panel. Tubes employed are three 12AX7s, all hidden neatly in a cute little box with Bahia wood trimmings.

All three units boast ceramic tube bases and come with "instruction manuals" that feature wood holders (you just have to see these for yourself!) and lengthy tips on caring for the wooden enclosure parts.

Sound

Source was a Rega Planar 3 turntable/RB300 arm/Sumiko Blue Point Special high-output MC cartridge and a Marantz CD-63SE CD player, while speakers were my resident Harbeth HL-P3s, wired via Cardas Crosslinks.

Interconnects were Kimber PBJ, Cardas Crosslink and van den Hul D102 MkIII. An XLO Green power cord was used with the Power 35.

Since the threesome was passed on for review together, the following observations are based on the whole amplification package. The sessions started with the analogue front-end and remained that for most of the review period.

The amps charge up pretty quickly, giving you good sound from as early as 20 minutes after start-up. With an excellent angel like the HL-P3 on the receiving end, treble and midrange were as fluid as it could be without sounding syrupy, while in areas of soundstaging and depth, it was the best that I've yet heard in my listening area.

You don't get that artificial roll-off on the top end or a muddy midrange with indiscernible layers of timbre. Horns sounded very true, showing shades of little details without the unnecessary emphasis that many "audiophiles" love -- y'know, saliva sounds, reed squeaks, piston shuffles and the likes.

I know that if it's on the record, it's on the record but some amplifiers tend to point them out to you with an in-your-face aggressiveness that I don't particularly appreciate. This one doesn't.

One of the combi's strongest points in action is the manner in which it weaves music as a whole; musical, yes, but done in the simplest of ways, and always bringing you straight to the heart of the tune, no matter what genre.

This is a very dangerous trait, one that has been known to make people reach for their wallets when they hear music sounding this way. In this regard, in terms of musical communication, the Unisons are at their strongest.

I must say the phono stage is remarkably quiet, with low floor noise given the front-end's tendency to footfalls. I felt most comfortable with the 47-kohm loading and kept it at that for most of the review, although I had to keep the volume knob in check most of the time.

Though obviously not in the high-end league, the Simply Phono deserves a recommendation and place in a well-matched high-end system; it displayed with great finesse all the excellent recordings I threw at it. Poorer recordings didn't fare as well, but this simply goes to show that rubbish in is rubbish out ... but good stuff is great stuff here.

Although the obvious limitations were the front-end and the lack of bass extension of the speakers used, I could sufficiently gather its potential to report that you won't be disappointed even if you happen to own an analogue rig with a Clearaudio Insider cartridge.

Bass was pleasantly reproduced, although the usable extension in my area went down to 65Hz at the most. Pace, rhythm and timing were good, with no undue characteristics commonly associated with tube amplifiers.

Throughout the review period, I was also struck by the amp's level of musical maturity that matched its asking price. One of the most obvious traits of the amplifier system was its ability to deliver without excuse.

Overall, I did not encounter any hum problems through the review period or inconsistent performance with various ancillaries. Surprisingly for a high-end product of this pedigree, the combi was not fussy about cabling although physical positioning did indicate differences.

Truth of timbre and imaging were never in question. Most of the time it seemed to challenge the quality of your recordings and choice of partnering equipment, which goes to show that Italians are still dead cocky.

On the whole, the Unison Research trio provides a musical experience that thrives on simple items such as coherency and transparency that, I believe, will grow in scope and scale with every ancillary upgrade.

Conclusion

I'm sure you would have noticed the difficulties in suppressing my enthusiasm over this amplifier system. It's not everyday that I get to enjoy music as I had through these babies.

Whatever faults solid-state die-hards have against inherent distortions that valves induce, no one's going to argue that they don't sound euphonic, involving and musical. Such is the case with the Unison Research Feather 1/Simply Phono/Power 35 combination.

Model: Unison Research Feather One preamp/Power 35/Simply Phono
Price: RM4,999 / RM8,999 / RM3,500

Review sample courtesy of Tong Lee Company (05-691-1049), 13/14, Jalan Lekir, Kampung Koh, 32000 Sitiawan, Perak; or (03-732-8178), 66, Jalan SS15/4C, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.

For: Luscious sound; cool styling; well built; simply fantastic for the price.
Against: You probably won't notice any ....