The
Groove
phono preamplifier
The
Groove is a dual mono design. Channel separation
is therefore limited only by the specifications
of the cartridge used. At the front end, Tom
has used very low noise I/Cs (less noise than
a 50-Ohm resistor). This stage is followed by
a passive RIAA EQ circuit. The third stage is
an ultra linear gain amp; around this he has
placed the active lower frequency filter to
roll off subsonics. The fourth stage is the
output stage, which is capable of driving several
meters of interconnect.
The case, if made of any metal other than copper,
would have a deleterious effect on the sound
quality, as field effects of even non-ferrous
materials interfere with electron flow. For
this reason, the casework is of Perspex, a material
with no inductive capacity.
Dimensions: 33 x 8,5 x 18 cm
Product Review:
Hifi & Records 2/2005, Helmut Rohrwild
Die
dynamische Potenz des Shiraz kam schon fast
gewalttätig rüber, bleibt dabei aber
völlig kontrolliert, ohne jedoch abgewürgt
zu werden. Die Klangbilder dieser Kombination
waren fein ausgewogen und mit üppigen Farben
ausgestattet – große Klasse.
Tom Evans`s The Groove braucht also keine Konkurrenz
zu scheuen (umgekehrt schon). Ein Phonoverstärker
der echten Topklasse, der seinen hohen Preis
durch eine extrem präzise und dadurch wunderschöne
Wiedergabe vergessen lässt.
www.10audio.com,
September-November 2003
If
life is in the details, then the Groove certainly
brings more life to the party than any other
solid-state phono preamp I can remember. The
Microgroove+ gets everything right, but the
Groove simply does a better job of doing the
disappearing act and letting the music through.
If the Groove was just better in the midrange,
for example, you could probably just use instead
a cartridge (or cables, or preamp, or amplifier,
or speakers) that provided that particular characteristic.
But it is not that simple.
When you listen to a new component, those first
15 seconds are often more valuable in judging
its sound than the hours that follow. While
you may not clearly perceive every nuance of
the change in performance, what you immediately
notice are the gross differences between the
new component and the one it just replaced.
When I switched to the Groove, nothing jumped
out and said "check out that great bass",
or "the soundstage just got deeper".
There was no particular area that focused my
attention on it as a large change. Further listening
revealed that there are small improvements in
every area. But that initial impression, one
that stayed for many hours, was one of a complete
picture that had the ability to bring the musicians
into the listening room with clarity, delicacy,
and most importantly, believability.
The
Absolute Sound Magazine June/July 2002, Harry
Pearson
After
two years with the Groove as a key component
in his system:
„While we are at is, I cannot say
it often enough: Tom Evans The Groove phono
stage is, dollar for dollar, the best buy in
separate phono stages, anywhere , anyplace.
You’d never know it was solid-state just
from the listening. And that is the first time
I can say that about a transistorized phono
stage. I cannot imagine it easily being bettered.
The
Absolute Sound Magazine Oct./Nov. 2001, Roy
Gregory
The
Groove is definitely a breakthrough in vinyl
replay.
The Groove breaks just about every presentational
rule for hi-fi gear that expects to be taken
seriously in the High-End marketplace. However,
its lightweight construction and diminutive
dimensions are the external dressing on a coherent
and carefully considered design path. The Groove
is a hot-rod. There’s not one ounce of
unnecessary weight, and every part is there
for a reason. This product is about performance,
first last, and in between. It’s light
so that it stores less mechanical energy. The
box is made of plastic because it sounds better,
which isn’t exactly news, but it’s
taking the rest of the world a while to catch
on.
Ultimately, it’s not its accuracy, transparency,
or resolution or dynamics that make the Groove
superior to the other phono stages I’ve
used. It’s the way it uses those attributes
in combination. It makes more sense of the signal,
making it more engaging and communicative. It’s
at once more natural and more intelligible.
Thos is an instance in which accuracy to the
fact of the sound doesn’t exclude accuracy
to the spirit and life of the performance. I
used to think I knew what vinyl sounded like.
Now I recognize that its “shortcomings”
had more to do with the phono stages I was using.
The Groove lets me hear more of the music, and
more of exactly who is doing what. In short,
it makes more sense of and delivers more of
the performance.
The Groove isn’t just a new phono stage,
it’s a whole new record collection. While
DVD-A and SACD do battle, good ol` vinyl just
upped the ante.
The
Absolute Sound Magazine Golden Ear Award Dec.
2000/Jan. 2001, Issue 127, Scot Markwell
So
how does it sound ? The Groove goes strait to
the heart and soul of the music, and shows that
the designer is a true vinyl lover.
The Groove was able with an accurate neutral
balance, to capture more of the dynamic impact,
punch, air and transparency of the best LP’s
than almost any other phono section I’ve
heard, along with superbly defined and visceral
bass response (on the best discs, you can be
fooled into thinking you are listening to top
digital bass). ... there is just no competition.
Hifi
Plus Magazine, Sept. 1999, Roy Gregory
The
Groove will re-write what you think is possible
from vinyl. The phono stage happens so early
in the process that it forms a gate that defines
the performance of the entire system. What I’d
assumed were the much trumpted shortcomings
of vinyl were actually limitations in the phono
circuits we’ve all been using. The Groove
doesn’t just open the gate, it takes it
off its hinges, flattens the posts, tramples
the walls and sets free the livestock. Dynamic
range ? You’d better believe it. Musical
coherence and inner detail ? In spades. Natural
harmonic envelope ? If it’s on the recording.
In fact, limitations in the recording start
to outweigh the limitations in the system; each
and every track becomes a distinct and separate
occasion. So choking is the influence of the
average phono stage that I was shocked to discover
The Groove redefined the performance potential
of not just the whole system, but my record
collection as well.
Awards:
Golden
Ear Award 2000, Absolut Sound USA
Product of the year 2000, HiFi+, England
Editor’s Choice 2000, HiFi+, England
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