Vito D.- Torino

I have just bought the Teac vrds 7 Clinamen modified and I’ve been testing its features. Before describing my listening impressions, I’d like to give a little foreword on my initial experience with Clinamenaudio and his creator, Stefano Buttafoco. I’ve always thought that mid-high efficiency of audio system was necessary for a correct and enjoyable fruition of music; whilst the general opinion is that loudspeakers driven by hundreds of Watts in solid state amplifiers have low efficiency.

 Therefore last year, after discovering Clinamenaudio on the web and having a chat with Stefano, I decided to go and see him for a test on the field. I started off with a few doubts on the low power of the amps (4-5 Watts) even if matched with efficient speakers like his. He reassured me laughing up his sleeve, sure of the result. I brought a few ‘strong’ CDs to test the system but I had to eat my words. Everything sounded energetic and natural at the same time.

 Whoever approaches the Clinamen world must be ready to abandon preconceived ideas and have his mind open at 360°. After all Stefano’s ‘commercial’ approach is not directed to the customer but to his product which must meet the quality specifications of the mission he has embraced. Also the choice of direct sales perfectly conjugates the exclusivity of products and price, which is given by quality components and hours of labor. And what great labor that is!

But let’s go back to the products. Here too I started off a bit doubtful when I read about the 500 millivolt output of the modified Teac against the standard 2 Volts; but Stefano on the phone warned me not to be scanty on the volume. I usually listen with the knob at 10 o’clock, but with the modified Teac one shouldn’t be afraid to go beyond that. Obviously it all depends on the efficiency of the speakers and the power of the amp. At 2 or 3 o’clock all the possible potential for powerful and undistorted listening is unleashed. The best possible digital? Of course I don’t know but, going back to the past, Marantz Cd7, Teac P70-D70, Vitus Audio; I cannot recall such a result.

 Besides the technical issue of the 500 millivolts which suggests turning the volume knob, you’d do that anyway, because the absence of distortion allows you to do so without regretting it due to noises.

 ‘The natural path of sound’ is served…the harmonious tissue gets richer, the instruments are contoured, clean and separate, it’s dynamic, voices are clearer, I can understand sentences in English that I couldn’t before, ambience noises are brought to light and I’ve never noticed them before or they were very faint.

I think the result is due to the expert combination of various elements, excellently implemented by Stefano, starting from the excellent mechanical base of the Teac. Top of the list the analogic output with transformers followed by expedients on vibrations and electromagnetic interferences through tone wood. The test has been carried out inserting the reader in a high efficiency system, with Royal Device 95 dB speakers driven by its dedicated amp zero feedback Vero Assoluto alternated with a small valve 8 Watts amp.

 I would like to publicly congratulate Stefano on his dedication and the obsessive care in his work obviously accompanied by his competence, professionality and attention to the customer. The ingredients are all there so that we can aspire one day to complete a Full Clinamenaudio system. All that’s left is to bring back the old piggy bank, hoping we live only once.

Regards to all the enthusiasts.