Alchemist Forseti

A glance at this amplifier and preamplifier (to say nothing of the model name) tells you they have to be Italian. Well, you’re not even close.

We’ll end the suspense right here. Alchemist components are British. Yes, British. If you always thought you could spot a UK product at 50 paces, guess again.

The pair reviewed here, in the Forseti series, was designed by Tim de Pavaricini, whose work at EAR (especially on custom-built recording equipment) has earned him credits on many an audiophile record jacket. The visual treatment is striking, and we found it a welcome relief from the ubiquitous black boxes that fill the shelves of audio dealers. There’s a practical aspect too. The sides include handles, which make it possible for two people to carry a unit, especially welcome in the case of the power amplifier.

Incidentally, for convenience we have shown the two units stacked, in our photo in the print version of this review, and of course they look fine stacked. Don’t run them this way! The amplifier operates in class A for part of its range, and even when it is idling, you can feel its heat two meters away. Stacking a preamp on it is like putting it on the stove.

The APD20A power amplifier

The power rating of this amplifier is an odd one — 153 watts per channel into 8 ohms, and 253 watts into 4 ohms. Perhaps de Pavaricini doesn’t believe in the decimal system! That is, of course, a fair amount of power, though, as we shall see, real-life power is somewhat lower.

The front panel is attractive, with only a round on-off knob and a pilot light. The rear panel has inputs for both balanced XLR connectors and unbalanced phono. The fuse is not accessible. There are two pairs of output jacks for the convenience of those wishing to biwire their speakers, but Alchemist has added a disturbing feature. Despite the “CE” mark denoting European standards approval, the binding posts will accept the banana plugs that are now banned in Europe (because they fit European AC outlets). However a non-removable plastic collar has been added to prevent you from using spade lugs! We can’t figure this out. A narrow slot in the collar lets you slip in a bare wire, but not a spade. To make matters worse, the posts are soft metal, and we sheared one off. Rats!

Because our amplifier was new, we ran over a hundred hours on it, and it was warm (hot, in fact) when we finally installed it in our Alpha reference system.

We began with the Widor piece from the LP version of Reference Recordings’ Pomp&Pipes (RR-58), with its rich mix of organ and large wind band. The first thing we noticed was the ease with which the Forseti handled the crescendos. It may run hot, but it seems very cool about its work, and some passages were downright scary! Gerard found the brass slightly brighter than with our YBA1 reference amplifier, but it certainly wasn’t shrill, and the detail was stunning. So was the very solid bottom end. The delightfully open sound of the Forseti actually revealed some organ notes that hadn’t been audible before. It was an auspicious beginning, and things only got better.

We pushed on with the Larrson Concertino for Double Bass and Orchestra (Opus 3 8502), and once again we liked what we heard. The strings, which often sound harsh on this recording, were smoother, and the pizzicato passages were especially good. The double bass itself just glowed, with lots of solid body resonance to counterbalance the close-in sound of the bow sliding across the resinous strings. Because the sound was so detailed, the natural reverberation emerged clearly from the background. This was about as good as we had heard this disc sound.

We turned to a selection from Jazz at the Pawnshop 2 (Proprius 9544), Over the Rainbow. The disc is from the same session as the original Jazz at the Pawnshop, with the same 3-D feel of ambient crowd sound. Arne Domnerus’ opening sax solo was so real it gave us shivers, and Bengt Halberg’s piano was less crystalline and more realistic than it had been even with our reference amplifier. The percussion was clear and lively, the rhythm infectious. It made us wish we had been there, in that Swedish pub in 1976…and through the magic of hi-fi we nearly were!

Oddly, the Forseti sometimes seems to have a plentiful amount of bottom end, and yet sometimes it seems lighter. The percussion on Moonglow, on the From the Age of Swing LP (Reference Recordings RR-59), was leaner, though everything else was perfect. The timbres of the brass instruments — saxophone, flugelhorn and trombone — were all we could have wished, and the string bass and Dick Hyman’s piano drew us right into this fine recording.

Our next record was a tough one. French chansonnier Michel Jonasz’ concept album, La fabuleuse histoire de Mr. Swing (WEA 24 23381) includes a challenging selection titled Le temps passe, featuring Jonasz’ powerful, haunting voice, plus killer bass chords few systems can handle. And Jonasz plays mischievously with tempo in ways only a highly evolved system can make sense of. Could the Alchemist handle this?

Could it ever! From the first seconds, when only a soft percussion sound and the resulting reverberation dominate, we could tell this amplifier would have little problem with the disc’s subtleties. Albert and Gerard put their notebooks down and listened. Jonasz’ voice sometimes comes through as sibilant and artificial on this disc, but only its qualities made it through this amplifier. The inventive rhythm worked perfectly, and the richly-equipped percussion kit was a delight to hear, as was the string bass chords that have made the record famous. Once again, the extra power available to the Alchemist was welcome.

We ended with La catina vezina, a haunting song from the Esther album (ATR 001). Esther Ofarim’s voice was perfect, at once smooth and sensitive. The orchestral accompaniment was clearer than ever, clear enough to reveal instruments that are not audible normally. More importantly, the emotional aspect of the song (which doesn’t depend exclusively on the words) came through wonderfully.

We held a second listening session, with some of the same recordings on our Omega system, where its greater power gave it an advantage over the less powerful Celeste 4070SE amplifier we are using in that system. Using the two amplifiers together (one driving the main Reference 3a speaker, the other its subwoofer) gave much better results yet. Interestingly enough, the combination sounded about the same no matter which of the amps we used for the main speakers.

We should warn you, however, that the Forseti may be unhappy with some unusual loads. It was definitely ill at ease driving a pair of Apogee Stages, which are of course ribbon speakers. Indeed, until we tried just the right biwire combination (Straight Wire Maestro on the top, Spectra on the bottom) it sounded harsh and distorted. If you favor alternate speaker technologies, listen to the Forseti with your own speakers before you buy.

We put the Forseti on the test bench, expecting it would sail through the technical tests, and by and large it did. Noise was admirably low (except for some mechanical buzz from the power transformer). It behaved perfectly even at very low level — just above the residual noise — at every frequency from 1 Hz to 20 kHz. The only black mark on its score sheet: with both channels driven into 8 ohms, the amplifier clipped just above 124 watts, well below the 153 watts claimed. We’ve noticed this on several European amplifiers.

We’ve saved the best part for the last: by high end standards, this amplifier is eminently affordable. Indeed, Albert doubted it could possibly sell for $2500 in Canada, and wondered whether that might be the US price, or even the dealer price. A quick check with the distributor confirmed it: it really does sell at a price that seems far too low for the performance.

The distributor told us one more thing. For only $500 more, it exists in a “de Pavaricini Signature” version, with 100 watts per channel, most of it in class A. Presumably it would be better than this one, but let’s face it…how much better could it get?

 

Model: Alchemist Forseti APD20A MkII

Price: $2500 Canadian

Dimensions: 46 x 38 x 13.5 cm

Warranty: 3 years, transferable

Most liked: Lively, musically correct, involving sound

Least liked: Problems with the output posts, inaccessible fuse, doesn’t meet power rating

Verdict: Reference sound moves down in price

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CROSSTALK

 

How can I describe this experience? The listening session had an unsettling impact on me: I didn’t think an amp in this price range could challenge our reference and ask for more.

At first, I noticed a wide, full bodied sound, rich and detailed with an imposing presence and I thought “Well, it’s no surprise — this being an excellent recording of organ and brass, it should sound like that,” and then it occurred to me that it never really sounded quite like that.

Then, on every other piece, I started hearing details within details, “intra details” — there, maybe I’ve coined a word — as when an image, projected on a screen, finds its perfect focus. And, just as it happens on screen, you feel that you can now enter the event instead of just watching it.

This amp let me enter into the performance with its realism. Live unamplified music has a generally warm and smooth texture, even when it thunders or screams in dissonance, and I heard it here. When jazz musicians rally in a crescendo, at the end of a piece, the music often gets an electrifying breath of power that lifts the stage. I heard it here too.

It has refinement and power, great imaging and depth, accuracy of timbre and details. And it has the inviting warmth of the real thing.

–Albert Simon

 

A listening session with an amplifier of this caliber is not work, it is time off, it is a divine hour.

The Forseti’s dominant quality is its remarkable and even extraordinary image, which constantly amazed me. I liked it from every point of view. From the start I noticed its very great power and richness. On all instruments from double bass to brass, its fine bottom end creates a sound that is dense and solid. Highly original percussive effects are brought to the fore. The rhythm is irresistible too, with sharp attacks. And all that subtlety, all that detail!

It’s rare that you can follow the lyrics of a song the first time you hear it, but with this amplifier there’s nothing missing. It sings, and it is even sensuous at times, delivering all the depth of the words.

This session made me optimistic as to the future of high fidelity, for it is clearly the result of serious research aimed at putting better equipment into the hands of audiophiles.

–Reine Lessard

 

This amplifier comes within a hair’s breadth of breaking the laws on unfair competition. Build an amplifier for $25,000, and the sky’s the limit. But build one for a tenth of the price, and…why can you never find a policeman when you really need one?

And consider this: the ADP20A isn’t even Alchemist’s best amplifier!

–Gerard Rejskind

 

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The APD21A MkII preamplifier

This gorgeous preamp looks as though it’s made to fit atop the amp, though as noted this is a dangerous idea. The front panel controls include access to four inputs (not counting two tape decks), with a separate selector to send a particular input to one of the tape decks. If you add the phono stage, available only in moving magnet sensitivity, you lose one of those high level inputs. At the rear, the phono jacks look so-so, but the XLR balanced connectors (for one input and the output) are Neutriks.

The power supply is in a separate box, with its own power switch but no accessible fuse. The phono stage — strictly moving magnet — is optional (but inexpensive) and plugs into the main circuit board.

We weren’t sure what to expect, because the preamp is filled with integrated circuits, with hardly any discrete output transistors. IC preamps are seldom outstanding.

Because our best preamplifier is the Copland CTA-301, in our Omega system, we listened to the Forseti in that system. We began with Over the Rainbow from the second Jazz at the Pawnshop recording (Proprius 9544), and that disc’s familiar virtues were dazzling. There was a good feeling of space, with strong presence of the saxophone and the piano, which carried us along. The leading notes of the sax were perhaps a little harder than with the Copland, thought Gerard, but we had mostly praise for what we heard. The sound was warm and lively, with enough detail to let us follow the musical line easily. The rhythm was strong as well, helped by the excellent bottom end, which most economy preamps simply chop off.

Our next recording was a challenge on several levels, because to handle it a preamplifier must be able to reproduce very low frequencies, to present depth and a sense of space, to smooth over shrillness (but without losing detail), and to follow subtle rhythmic patterns. The record is Michel Jonasz’s La fabuleuse histoire de Mr. Swing (WEA 24 23381 ), and it is magic in the right hands…such as those of this preamplifier.

Once again the bottom end was more than satisfying, with the electric bass chords arriving with impressive impact. Depth and the feeling of vast space were excellent, though Gerard found actual instruments harder to localize. Small details came through with terrific clarity, and Jonasz’s almost unearthly voice was excellent too, though the deliberately sibilant esses were a little sharper than they should have been, perhaps.

Esther Ofarim’s song (ATR 001) was wonderful, her powerful voice passing through the preamplifier largely intact, with clear inflection and melodiousness. The instrumental accompaniment was also very good. Ofarim’s esses were a bit harder than with our reference preamp, and — as with Jonasz — Gerard found it harder to localize her in the large stereo image. “But who cares,” he added, “when it sounds this good?”

All of these recordings were LP’s, by the way, and we wanted to know how the preamplifier sounds without its plug-in phono stage. We tried one of our favorite HDCD recordings, Doug McLeod’s wonderful blues number Chill on Cold, from You Can’t Take My Blues (Audioquest AQCD1041). McLeod accompanies himself on the guitar, and you can tell, because there’s no way the guitar and voice could be so tightly together otherwise. The rhythm came through so well with the Forseti that the feeling of oneness was preserved, and the sound of the guitar was exquisite. McLeod’s voice was pretty much perfect too.

We ended the session with a Stolzel song, Bist du Bei Mir, from The Notebook of Anna Magdelana Bach (Analekta AN2 8251). It sounded very good, with a great feeling of space, though the slight lack of focus diluted the feeling that we could walk into the scene. Soprano Karina Gauvin’s voice was gorgeous, even thrilling, though Albert judged it had lost a bit of its warmth (which might actually be an artifact of our preamp, actually). Luc Beausejour’s harpsichord was clear and crystalline, but without any of the dreaded digital zing. We liked it.

We ran some instrument tests on the Forseti, which behaved well. Noise was especially low. As usual, we checked the leakage between pairs of inputs. It was barely detectable at most frequencies, but rose sharply at high frequency (10 kHz). Between the CD1 input and the Tape 1 loop, it was only 51 dB, a borderline figure. It was a somewhat better 56 dB between CD1 and Tape 2…which suggests you should use that tape loop if you have a three-head recorder, to prevent a possible faint echo from being audible through headphones. The worst figure was between CD1 and tuner, only 44 dB! You’ll want to turn off your tuner when you’re listening to Compact Discs.

Like the power amplifier of the same series, this preamplifier is a bargain, offering sound only slightly inferior to that of very expensive high end units, but at a fraction of the price. And it looks good besides.

By the way, perhaps you’ve been wondering about that Forseti name. There is only one “t” because it’s Scandinavian rather than Italian. Forseti was the god of justice…a fitting name for components that can do such justice to the spirit of music.

Model: Alchemist Forseti APD21A MkII

Price: $2200 + $119 for phono stage (Canadian)

Dimensions: 46 x 38 x 7 cm

Warranty: 3 years, transferable

Most liked: Very musical sound at a great price

Least liked: Slight lack of focus, phono stage won’t take MC pickup

Verdict: The best microchip application since the Macintosh computer

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CROSSTALK

 

You surrender without resistance to the flow of emotions brought to you by this Forseti preamplifier. With the feeling of depth that it creates, with the space it leaves among individual instruments, with the emphasis it places on those instruments, it delivers a remarkable image, great clarity, and a multitude of fine details from every recording. Instruments are beautifully modulated, the percussion’s thousand textures emerge, and the human voice emerges as natural as it can be, all its inflections intact.

And I haven’t yet mentioned the rhythm, which is always infectious, nor the considerable dynamics. This Alchemist preamplifier is something of a sorcerer.

–Reine Lessard

Once again, Alchemist challenges our reference. It must have been designed by a music lover (and it was) for music lovers. Music filled the space of the listening room unhindered. Each instrument was given its rightful place on the vast sound stage.

I didn’t need to squint my ears (yes, I have to do that sometimes) to hear each performer and follow his line through impeccable rhythm. Voices were full and rich and right there with us. I remember noticing that the soprano, on the Bach recording, didn’t seem as warm as on the reference but I couldn’t decide which was closer to the real thing (and I must point out that, even with tremendous improvements in hi-fi design, we are still a long way from the real thing).

Contrast between highs and lows, long notes and transients, loud and soft passages, and between varied textures, is critical for a preamp and this Alchemist handled all that with ease. If a voice sounded ever so slightly sibilant, I even asked myself if it wasn’t actually revealing imperfections in the recording. Now that’s a no-no, in my book: it’s not a matter of just liking a preamp, it’s a matter of trusting it. I’d better stop.

And don’t start trusting me now; take your preamp and your favorite records to your Alchemist dealer and see if he can turn lead into gold for you too.

–Albert Simon

I do my level best to approach all equipment reviews with an open mind, without preconceptions. But I’m human, and as I looked over the dozens of integrated circuit chips in this preamp and glanced at the tiny IC phono stage, which looks like a throwaway, I figured it couldn’t possibly be any good.

Well, I was wrong and I admit it. This preamp really cooks, offering a smooth, open sound, with delightful detail and great depth. It even has a solid bottom end, something missing from far more preamplifiers than you’d suspect.

And then I went down the list of other preamplifiers at that price that has all of those virtues. It sure is a short list!

–Gerard Rejskind