JEST WIĘC 432 EVO MASTER urządzeniem pod wieloma względami niepowtarzalnym. Jest dynamiczny i rozdzielczy, ale jest też bardzo skupiony na różnicowaniu barw, a przez to wyrazisty emocjonalnie. Rozdzielczość pozwala docenić przejście z plików 16-bitowych na 24-bitowe. Instrumenty grawitują z nim ku pierwszemu planowi, ale są one doskonale rozseparowane, a przez to czytelne. Średnica jest otwarta i mocna, także w jej wyższym zakresie. To dzięki temu czytelność jest tak dobra, podobnie jak selektywność.

Transport nie popada przy tym w przesadę w rysowaniu konturów. To nie jest też „ciepłe” granie, to nie ten typ. Traktowałbym więc to urządzenie jako precyzyjne narzędzie służące do „wyciągania” informacji z plików, a barwę kształtowałbym za pomocą przetwornika D/A i okablowania. Przy czym lepiej sprawdzi się ono w systemach, w których barwa sytuuje się po cieplejszej stronie niż w wyrazistych. To przykład na to, że odtwarzanie plików jest sztuką, która z czasem dojrzewa i która pozwala zbliżyć się do „studia” nawet nam, śmiertelnikom.

Link do recenzji: 432 EVO Master – HighFidelity.pl

432 EVO oferuje bowiem zupełnie inną plastykę i rozdzielczość obrazowania, które ani nie zabiegają o naszą atencję, ani nie biją po oczach, znaczy się uszach. One po prostu są, jednak ich jestestwo okazuje się tożsame z tym, co znamy z życia codziennego – otaczającej nas rzeczywistości i dlatego z taką łatwością przechodzimy nad nimi do porządku dziennego i uznajemy za coś absolutnie naturalnego. Dokładnie jak z powietrzem, a dokładnie z tlenem, którym zupełnie nie zaprzątamy sobie głowy do czasu aż nie zaczyna go brakować. A tu, znaczy się z 432 w torze, mamy go pod dostatkiem, więc oddychamy i to zupełnie bezwiednie pełną piersią. Warto przy tym wspomnieć, że o ile przy standardowym (440Hz) stroju uzależnienie przychodzi powoli i z autopsji mogę powiedzieć, że idzie z nim w parze pewna nerwica natręctw dotycząca zabawy upsamplingiem i dostępnymi filtrami, no bo a nuż zagra jeszcze lepiej (inaczej?), to po zmianie stroju na 432 zmiana „optyki” pod względem plastyki jest oczywista, natychmiastowa i mówiąc wprost staje się przysłowiowym biletem w jedną stronę. Pojawia się bowiem niepodrabialna organiczność i naturalność, dzięki czemu szczególnie niewymagające prądu instrumentarium brzmi na tyle realistycznie, że przestajemy się zastanawiać nad tym, czy obcujemy ze źródłem cyfrowym, czy analogowym...

Jak zatem finalnie oceniam 432 EVO Master? Nad wyraz pozytywnie, gdyż jest on ewidentnym dowodem na to, że to nie (w większości) ogólnodostępne komponenty grają a jedynie umiejętność ich właściwego zespolenia, aplikacji i wyciśnięcia z nich, m.in. za pomocą autorskiego oprogramowania, wszystkiego co najlepsze.

Link do recenzji: 432 EVO Master – Soundrebels.com

432 EVO Master 432 OS

There is more calm and silence, the bass has more pressure in precisely the right way and is more robust (without losing sight of the old definition and definition of virtues) and on the one hand a very well chosen balance between transparancy and light-footed character, and on the other hand expressiveness and depth.

I think that the most striking description is to name the 432 EVO Master the electrostat or magnetostat among the streamers. Everything is beautifully airy and transparant, and you can look deep into the music and immerse yourself completely in it. Yet everything remains one beautiful, grand, flowing and “analog” whole and as there are very few artifacts, there is also remarkably little listening fatigue. What is also striking is that the resolution is a lot higher than the previous version and it has an even more realistic presentation.

Although even for a seasoned reviewer it is sometimes difficult to put certain differences into words, I can best describe what I hear and experience as a higher degree of self-evidence. Everything arises even more spontaneously and out of nowhere, the high information density has an even more clear relationship with the singing voices and instruments, and with the beautiful acoustics of “De Vereeniging” you are even less aware that this is a reproduction. The several steps of the Archimago extremus filter choices are also extremely noticeable, where I prefer the highest step (stage 3) as the best. In that mode the reproduction is the smoothest and most refined and the hi-fi feeling is furthest in the background.

I continue with singer Cassandra Wilson and star guitarist Fabrizio Sotti and their single Another Country. An atmospheric interplay where the intimacy is so high that I unconsciously hold my breath. Or what to think about the sublime live recorded concert already from 2008 by Wende Snijders named Chante! Although there are many beautifully dynamic swirling songs, I often opt for the insistent track “Nuttelozen van de nacht”. Especially with these superior recordings, the 432 EVO Master can play all its strengths. Grand, but effortlessly played dynamic contrasts. A very high degree of refinement and transparancy, completely natural timbres and an expressiveness and 3D stereo image that quickly demonstrate that a music server is often even more important than the DAC!

Link do recenzji: 432 EVO Master 432OS– Hifi.nl

432 EVO Master

Because at the same time, a phenomenom happens which I can best describe as “de-hasting”. The Grimm also masters this, but the 432 EVO Master even goes a little bit further. With “de-hasting” I mean the feeling that you get as listener with music, to even process very complex passages. With some, and mainly less performing products, the music can become overly bloated and prominent in certain areas, and the music is almost forced onto you. None of that with this Belgian music server who continues to act like a gallant gentlemen.

There are also differences in the bass and even though it does not fully reach the authority of the Grimm MU1, Brinkmann Nyquist, Naim ND555 and some other very expensive top products, it has other charms at reference level. A nice track to demonstrate this, is A Trace Of Grace from the album Monteverdi: A Trace Of Grace. Here bass player Steve Swallow plays exactly the kind of bass which I mean, and that in the right setting can come across as very tangible and realistic. For sure the EVO Master is catching up at this aspect, and now is at the same level with other top streamers. Also the super beautilfully captured 3D sound field from this album comes to the fore in a very tangible and believable way. It is completely separate from the music in a beautiful way, but still manages to continuously connect with it. Properties that guarantee profound enjoyment.

With the last generation of the 432 EVO Master, Frederic Van den Poel has delivered his best music server to date. Both chassis look excellent and even though the webinterface (mainly used for the filter settings and switching between Roon and Logitech) have some resemblance with the well known Vortexbox interface, everything else is so very different that it cannot be compared. This is a totally different machine, which is obvious from the enormous amount of custom features and their sonic impact. Because no other Vortexbox based solution from the recent past comes close to the performance of this high-end machine.

Link do recenzji: 432 EVO Master – Hifi.nl

432 EVO Master 432 OS

My first impressions when I actually sat down to listen properly and intently were, as outlined above when listening to it uncritically, that the noise level of the system as a whole was dropped and this allowed me to hear further into a recording than with either of my other digital sources. This was particularly evident on acoustic recordings (voices and real instruments mic’d) where the tiny details of the recording and the spatial cues and decays of the room and instruments were really obvious. To my mind, the 432 EVO is not adding anything clever here, but rather it is taking away extraneous noise in the system to make what is presented to the listener without any smearing of the sound. Well recorded piano sounded live with each differently weighted fall of the hammer on strings being clear to hear, as well as the different points in the soundscape where the mic picked up the bass and treble strings – the bass strings were clearly picked up over to the left and the treble the right as they left the piano. I really enjoyed this detail and particularly the sense of liveness it gave to recordings of this type. Similarly, on vocals that were recorded in a live space, it was clear to hear an element of the room in the recording. The old audio show favourite of Hugh Masakela’s Stimela had all the percussive sound of Masakela’s voice presented gloriously with each carefully “spoken” part of the introduction coming across with rhythm and preciseness that was there with my other sources, but just a tad more so with the 432 in the system. Again, I think there is something to do with the noise floor going on here, but also something to do with the way the code in the 432 deals with the signal – I’m guessing here, of course. What was exceptionally apparent, though, was the vastness of the stage laid out in front of me on this track. I have no idea of where this was recorded or on what kind of stage, but what was laid before me was a big and wide physical stage with Masakela placed centre and the players quite apart. The backing singers I perceived as being closer and more to the front than the players. I could be absolutely wrong on this, and I’m sure if I am someone will be in touch to point it out, but that is what the recording and the 432 presented to me and, for whatever reason, I was more aware of it than I had been with my other digital sources playing the same tune. A similar spatial effect was evident on Kind of Blue.

Changing the mood only a little I popped on Cymbeline from Pink Floyd (24/192) and what I found most interesting in listening to this tune (I play it a lot) was the apparent increased hollowness of the percussion drum. Again, a small detail but one that made that part of the recording a little more live and a little more real. Again, I was taken by the way the track seem to hold together in a timing sense ever so slightly “better” than what I’m used to. Something is definitely going on with the timing with the 432 EVO! I note here that this is a really difficult bit of kit for me to review; its effects are clear to be heard when you compare directly with the products I have to hand, but also the kind of things that you very soon begin to take for granted as you fall into the musical performance – and I did just this with a good number of recordings that were mainly acoustic in their nature.

Link do recenzji: 432 EVO Master 432OS– Hifi Pig

432 EVO Master

But giving it time changed this and, in fact, the more I listen the more organic and akin to analogue I think it sounds – more relaxing, slightly less bright, and potentially less digital – but possibly on some works lacking that final edge and spark.  It’s here I know every Audiophile has their teeth on edge… fiddling with reproduction indeed! And I probably fall in that camp. But again, this is a unique approach and it does bring something new to the party. Does it sound better? The jury’s still out but certainly different and that decision is going to come down to your personal preference. On classical pieces, it’s certainly deeply engaging and draws you in. Mozart’s “String Quartet No16 in E Flat Major” by Quatuor Van Kuijk (Qobuz 24/96) feels less forced forward by the technology, more enveloping, more human – less hurried in a way – perhaps confirming the 432 Hz preference of classical music. Over time at 432 Hz it’s easy just to sit back for a long time and enjoy, perhaps it’s less fatiguing and does seem to overcome that digital edge that often lurks.

There is a lot to this system. Not only are you getting a ripper, storage, music server, separate master clock and Roon Core all in one solution, but you’re also getting a very impressive triple dedicated power solution and a unique level of configuration – including some very intriguing tuning options. The sound overall is beholden ultimately to your DAC, but implementation matters, and dedicated power, re-clocking, fanless designs and that tuning option make a big difference in my opinion – none more so that the tuning in fact. The overall sound is great, ripping is a bonus and having a Roon Core is gold for many users wanting to take advantage of what Roon has to offer. I’d have liked other connection options such as SPDIF/Coax or AES/EBU but that’s a fairly minor consideration for most. The 432 EVO Master Music Server just works – and works well – and that matters in digital audio. To use it is a joy – no glitches or stutters here. Adding that deep level of listener configuration and you get a hard to ignore solution here and one that very well worth exploring.

Link do recenzji: 432 EVO Master – Hifi Pig

Link: 432 EVO Master – Hifipig.com – Editor's Choice

Link: 432 EVO Master 432OS– Hifi.nl – Recommendation Award

Link: Manual