Unison s6 amplifier review

In the right system the S6 is capable of sonic magic. Hear it working properly and we defy anyone not to fall for its charms. Some folk believe that technical specifications tell the whole story. In the midrange and treble the S6 is the real deal. Here, the Unison Research manages decent dynamic swings and delivers them with a confidence barely reflected by the 33W per channel power rating. The S6 even times decently, though if this aspect of performance is paramount we would point you to the Lavardins and Pliniuses of this world.

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• Unison Research
• Unison Research
• Unison Research S6
• Unison Research S6 Integrated Amplifier
• The Unison Research S6 Integrated Amplifier is in the house!
• Unison Research S9 Integrated Amplifiers
• Unison Research Simply Italy Valve Amplifier
• Unison Research S 6 Integrated Amplifiers
• Unison Research Valve Amplifiers & CD Players

WATCH RELATED VIDEO: Review: Unison Research Triode 25 Amplifier

Unison Research

A few months ago I realised that for the first time in decades I had no valve power amplifiers in my system. So I kept an eye out for any valve amplifiers that may be of interest. I like these local shows as the dealers get a better sound quality than trying to squeeze good sound from a less than ideal hotel room. One of the systems had a really great musical sound. I was sufficiently intrigued to go out and get a Unison Research S6 amplifier and try it in my system.

This amplifier is unusual and very Italian. Not too surprising as it is made in Treviso, Italy. Yes, 3 EL34s per channel. The S6 is heavy at 55lbs and that shows a lot of thought has gone into the design of the transformers, vital for a valve amplifier.

The valves are on each side of the backbone of the amplifier with the backbone housing the output and mains transformers.

When operating this backbone gets rather hot although not as hot as the protective cage around the valves required by EU law. Unlike a lot of protective cages, the S6 cages have been cleverly designed and do not look like add-on kludges. The whole amplifier is very Italian and really well designed and although it is fairly simple it is a real looker.

And she is right as always. Even the remote control volume only has a solid wood back that allows the remote to stand on its end. One of the real bugbears with valve amplifiers is the user has to bias the valves. In some amplifiers, this meant putting meter probes into the amplifier when it was turned on, whilst using a plastic screwdriver to adjust the bias.

At the same time, you have to avoid touching the very hot valves or even worse anything at a high voltage in some cases potentially lethal voltage. Oh, what fun!

Fortunately, more recent valve amplifiers bring the measuring and adjustment out of the deep innards of the amplifiers and onto the outside of the case. This makes life easier. To do this there are two meters, one for each set of three EL34s. To measure a power valve you press a button that shows the reading on the meter.

The meter has a centre line denoting the correct result. To adjust the bias each power valve has its own adjuster. So each valve is measured and then the individual bias can be set. Easy peasy and probably the easiest I have ever used. I adjusted the bias after a warm-up period and found it was pretty stable and only needed the smallest of tweaks every month or so.

A blast from the past. Unusually the S6 only has a single set of 6-ohm outputs. Unison Research only provides one set of outputs that should match the majority of newer speakers. Modern speakers have moved away from the standard 8 ohms and a lot are nearer to 4 ohms. I encountered no problems with my Audionote E Silver Signatures but they are an easy load being a resistive load close to 6 ohms.

Their very high efficiency helps as well. As we are all now energy conscious I should point out that the S6 consumes watts when being used and as it is Class A it consumes that power whether being driven flat out or not.

I used the Pass labs XA Oh, what an indignity for my Pass Labs!! I also used my vinyl system of Voyd 0. I turned on the amplifier and left it for an hour to let things really warm up. The valves looked superb, especially at night, when the EL34 glows could be seen and were very atmospheric. So I lined up my set of test tracks got out my reviewers pad and pen and set about listening to this amplifier. An hour later I had written……. I was captivated. This system was really telling me not only how well the music was recorded but far more importantly what the music was about, the musical message.

As I expected, the EL34s reproduced the mid-range superbly well and male and female vocals sounded very realistic. But what emotion was the singer putting into the song? It all came through. The S6 is a master at this. The Pass Labs does it extraordinarily well for an SS amplifier but the voices do not have the realism of the S6.

OK but what about the weak spot for triodes the frequency extremes and dynamics? Well, the bass is probably the tightest I have heard from a triode amplifier apart from the ultra-expensives and certainly better than a lot of pentodes.

No, it could not match the Pass Labs XA The bass was always weighty and drove the music along at a great rate. The tonal character of bass instruments was very well portrayed and it was easy to hear the tonal qualities of many string bass instruments instead of a hearing a heavy amorphous note that some amplifiers give. Yes the bass was a tad heavy and ultra-tight timing is not its forte but I would rather have this type of sound than one where the bass character and weight changes disappears depending on the frequency of a bass note.

Bass instruments were always clear and easy to hear. The S6 is a bright amplifier but it does not have the top end sparkle of some. However, with a lot of compressed, modern digital recordings that may not be a big disadvantage. Cymbals sound like metallic musical instruments, which is exactly what they are. But this dissecting of the music into bass, mid and treble completely misses the main point of music and this amplifier.

How well do all the musical instruments integrate and how well is the musical message communicated by an amplifier? The S6 is an expert at this. So much so that I can forgive the tiny problems it does have to get that realism of both the people making the music and the message they are trying to communicate. When you play the track do you hear a forlorn love or just a nice tune?

Dystopian Overture from Dream Theater is all about crash, bash and power music but what an awful future is being portrayed, one with no music. So if you are someone who must have all the details from a piece of music, with a flat frequency response, no colourations, then this may not be your kind of amplifier.

But if you want a very good reproduction of those qualities but with a clear musical message then the S6 is a great priced way to get there. The fact it comes in a beautiful package makes it that much better. Valves without the pain. A superbly musical sound. What is holding you back?? Nothing here, it stays and continues to play real music. Manufacturer: unisonresearch. Also a great little amplifier.

Thanks for the review and for hifi-advice. Jan, Thanks for your comment. I have heard them driving a Klipsch loudspeaker very efficient and they drove the speakers really well and did not accentuate the slight edge that these speakers can have. It was also pretty hot in summer. They were so good that i kept them after i sold the amp, just in case i will use them in future. Comments are curated manually which causes them to appear with a delay.

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Integrated Amplifier Reviews. George Sallit 14 July 3 Comments. By guest writer George Sallit A few months ago I realised that for the first time in decades I had no valve power amplifiers in my system. George Sallit, guest writer for hifi-advice. Unison Research. Share This: Facebook. George Sallit. Jan Brussels. Your comment Cancel reply Comments are curated manually which causes them to appear with a delay.

Unison Research

The Unison Research Unico has received countless kudos from reviewers and owners worldwide. This included our editor who thought highly enough of this terrific Italian hybrid integrated amplifier to bestow upon it the rarely issued Blue Moon Award as well as Best-Component-of recognition. But the twin subjects of today's writeup, the Underwood HiFi Level-1 and Level-2 Unicos, have had a little tinkering done under the hood to extract further performance gains. Rather than simply regurgitate the physical description of the stock unit, I urge you to point your browser to Srajan's review for the full skinny. The only overt external evidence of tweakery on my modded units was the replacement of one quartet of stock binding posts for WBT terminals, and the addition of a pair of Vampire RCA jacks for the CD input, connected to the main pcb via DH Labs Teflon tape-wrapped silver wire as used in DH's Revelation interconnects. It's on the inside where the real differences lie. The mods consist of the following:.

Unison Research S6

Ask a question about this product. Call or Email Us now for a better deal! Unison Research, founded in by a group of audiophile technicians, are a prestigious Italian manufacturer of valve-based premium high fidelity audio components. Specialising in the design and construction of amplifiers, CD players, headphone amps and phono stages that boast not only impeccable, effortlessly rich sound but also an artistic visual design. This is a new version of the popular integrated valve amplifier incorporating many design improvements and new styling to make the finished product better sounding and better looking. To enable the best matching to speakers in the range 4 to 8 ohms impedance, the output transformer is a new design and has a fixed output impedance of 6 ohms. The pre-amp power supply has been designed to give minimum hum by implementing multiple filters to reduce ripple. Five line level inputs provide ample connections for your stereo sources. Be the first to write your review!

Unison Research S6 Integrated Amplifier

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The Unison Research S6 Integrated Amplifier is in the house!

Read more here ». It offers 35W per channel in triple-parallel single ended mode which might not sound like a lot, but you're rarely aware of any limitation if matched with average sensitivity speakers. S6 offers excellent value for money with build quality and styling typical of a classic Unison Research products with a sound rich in refinement and authority. The S6 is supplied with a lift-up protective grill and infra red volume remote control. Lovely EL34 velvety sound, but with bags of detail, grip and dynamics.

Unison Research S9 Integrated Amplifiers

In case you are not familiar with the name Unison Research, it is an Italian company in business for some 20 years or so at Treviso, a municipality just to the north of Venice, with a well earned reputation for producing some excellent hifi components. Dominic Marsh has a play with their Triode 25 valve amplifier. At first glance this amplifier looks positively handsome. The sample supplied for review sported a real Cherry wood fascia which I found rather attractive and a welcome change from the ubiquitous black or silver finish. The remainder of the chassis is painted black however and as a foil to that the valve bases are inset into two polished alloy heat shields which extend from the front panel in a sweeping arc upwards, meeting the top plates of the transformer covers. The end user has a choice of power output modes between Pentode and Triode. Front panel controls consist of a machined alloy rotary knob to the left which is the source selector and an identical rotary knob for volume control to the right of the panel. To the rear we find from left to right, an IEC power inlet socket with integral fuse holder, the fuse rating depending upon mains input voltage, the value thoughtfully printed on the transformer cover above.

Unison Research Simply Italy Valve Amplifier

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Unison Research S 6 Integrated Amplifiers

Despite the fact that the single-ended Simply Two more known, the first integrated amplifier company was still two-stroke class AB four EL34 called Triode Modern P40 issued under the name of 40 watts per channel for a 6-ohm load is characterized as: two pairs pentodes EL34V ultralinear inclusion in the output stage operating in class AB. The manual states the presence of CAB depth of 14 dB, which covers only the last stages, the output transformers of special design and stable power filament lamps. Amplifier is gaining shape fairly quickly after switching on. When you remove the guard, except quartet pentodes, and other elements are found: one 12AX7 and two 12AU7A; all of them Russian. Italy assumes great design, and this statement can be regarded as an axiom.

Unison Research Valve Amplifiers & CD Players

Inside this month's issue: Auralic Altair G2. Search form Search. Integrated Amplifiers. Half-width amplifier with balanced inputs dresses to impress. Continue Reading ». The removable valve cover is exceptionally resonant, but the cover over the transformers appears to be filled with resin and is completely dead, acoustically.

A few months ago I realised that for the first time in decades I had no valve power amplifiers in my system. So I kept an eye out for any valve amplifiers that may be of interest. I like these local shows as the dealers get a better sound quality than trying to squeeze good sound from a less than ideal hotel room.