Life With Ric Schultz' $2200 Highly Tweaked EVS 1200 class D IcePower Dual Mono 600w Amp
Unboxing: no expensive tool and die laser cut foam, though I
suspect that will change once the word gets out. However, it Is EXTREMELY well
packed. After all, these are Rics’ babies
Listening: I have listened to my system, as is, for a good 3
months, so I am very familiar with the way it sounds on various types of
music, including red book and SACD/DVD-A
My sole/soul reason for ordering the EVS 1200 was my DPA-1 is
undersized for my large room. It would be totally unfair to compare to my DPA –1
@ 125 wpc vs the 1200s 600wpc,since my large room robs a lot of the DPA-1s
goodness out of it, especially on dynamic music. (this was evident when I
compared it to the PS Audio M700s MSRP $2999.) In a large room there’s no
substitute for sheer power.
A fair comparison would be to the new Elac DPA-2 (same
designer as the DPA-1) which is 210wpc as a stereo amp, BUT with the flip of a
switch it becomes a 625w mono amp @ $1499: 2 DPA-2s is $2990. Factoring in
built in dealer markup, pretty much apples to apples price-wise. Now, unless
someone sends them to me, it’s anyone's guess how they would stack
up. Besides one power cord is cheaper than 2. My DPA-1 sits on my rack connected
direct to 20 amp dedicated wall outlet with a WireWorld series 7 PC.
Initial Set Up: I don’t have room in my rack unless I remove
the DPA-1, just in case I wanted to compare. No need! Instead, I put a milk
crate in front of my rack. 4 x 4” ceramic tiles were placed at the corners. On
top of the tiles is a large 3/4” thick acrylic shelf, with 4 Machina Dynamica
springs directly under the 1200. Alas, the WW PC is too short. Not to worry,
I have an excellent TekLine PC ~
$900 MSRP that has been powering one of my subs. It’s well broken in and long
enough to make the connection. Not exactly 100% the same, but under the
circumstances, close enough.
Prior to the 1200s arrival I listened to Yo Yo Ma’s Soul of
the Tango, which is very clear, but not a demanding disc, and it sounded
terrific. Logically, it was the first disc I played through the EVS 1200.
Although initially lean sounding, which I find typical of new kit, or kit that
has been unplugged for a good while until the parts get warmed up and/or broken
in. However, immediately the 1200S provides a deeper sound stage and the
instruments sound BIGGER. Just what the doctor ordered. I can tell good things
are at hand. YMMV
This is all I will say about the EVS 1200 until it has
considerably more hours on it
A NIT PICK: I forgot to put the resistors
on last night, or to flip the enable/disable switches on the back of the amp to
standby. I know Ric is all about keeping things simple BUT, moving the toggles
to the front, actually, replacing them with push button switches that light up
red for standby/green for play (or just green for play) would not only be
helpful (who wants to go behind their rack every time to enable/disable the
toggles?), but would look cool on the otherwise plain Jane faceplate. Not doing this
means instead of sipping one watt of juice the amp is gulping 54 watts 24/7.
That’s probably less important then protecting the amp in case of overnight
electrical storm or neighborhood transformer blowing up as they are want to do
in S Florida during the high electrical use summer months and
storms
