They may not match visually, but this CD transport and converter from France have an eerie synergy.

Would we finally get to tell Audiomat's designers that they're not so hot after all, that what they make is not markedly different from the offerings of the people they're selling against? That they've finally made a ho-hum product?
     Well, perhaps next time.
     At a time when CD transports and converters all seem to be melding into single boxes, Audiomat has turned out this new converter, which seems to offer Cloud 9 to a jaded public that seems to be waiting for the Next Big Thing. And indeed, this DAC seems to be part of the Next Big Thing, because it uses a high resolution chip set, running at 96 kHz and 24 bits, just like those new hi-def players.
     Of course that implied promise should be taken with sodium chloride. Extra resolution in the chips doesn't mean more bits or extra samples on the same old, same old CD. Nor does it mean that this unit will be able to play either DVD-Audio or SACD someday (something Audiomat doesn't claim). We should be grateful if it manages to get decent music off a Red Book CD.
     And as we shall see it does. No surprise, really. After we had marveled at the Audiomat Phono-1 (UHF No. 56) and gushed over the Solfège (No. 60), we had pretty much figured out what this small company is up to. They spend a third of the time building the product, and two-thirds (we're guessing) fine-tuning it so it sounds the way they want.
     But we don't want to give away more than we already have. Like amplifiers of the same brand, this DAC is handsome, with a meticulous brushed finish on its substantial chassis and front panel. Underneath are three large black cones. The front panel has switches to choose among the digital inputs (coax, AES/EBU balanced, and -- for some reason -- TOSLINK). Another switch allows reversing the phase, to correct recordings (or systems!) that are out of absolute phase. It would be nice if this could be actuated from the listening position, but of course DAC's seldom come with remote controls. The outputs are unbalanced.
     The Crystal Semiconductors 8414 locks onto the input signal at any sampling frequency up to (of course) 96 kHz, and feeds not one but two Burr-Brown 1704 converter chips. The chips lock onto the master clock frequency, and indeed a front-panel light confirms the lock. Audiomat has put a lot of effort into the power supply, and actually has separate power supplies for the two DAC chips. The analog amplifier stages are simple, as the company's circuits usually are, without feedback.
     Though our Tempo was not brand new, we gave it lots more run-in time (Audiomat recommends an incredible 700 hours!), and moved it into the listening room. As usual, we listened to the chosen recordings with our reference player -- a Parasound C/BD-2000 transport and Counterpoint DA-10A converter -- and then substituted the Tempo for the DA-10A.
     It is not news that too many CD players sound shrill and harsh, and our first recording was designed to flush the bad ones from the bushes. It's Vivaldi's Four Seasons (Opus 111 OPS 56-9120), played with brio bordering on ferocity by the young violinist Fabio Biondi and his ensemble, Europa Galante. This CD is unlistenable on some players, thrilling on those that can tame it.
     Certainly the disc sounded different with the Tempo, a little more distant, which in this case is just as well. The greater distance gave us a better perspective on the sound of the hall, and for the first time we could make out the reverberation. The lower-pitched strings were solid, the rhythm excellent.

Model: Audiomat Tempo 2.5
Price: C$4990, US$3390
Warranty: 2 years, transferable
Dimensions: 44.5 x 31 x 9 cm

(And we were off on our voyage of discovery, which is of course complete in our print issue. But there was more to come...)

The Vecteur D-2 transport
     The people at Audiomat and at Vecteur know each other. The first company hadn't finished its own transport, and so it asked the second to supply a transport that could match the quality of the Tempo.
     The D-2 doesn't look much like the Vecteur Club 10 amplifier that was on the cover of UHF No. 56, but it does have the current Vecteur look. We were split on its looks, some of us liking it, others having reservations, but we agreed that the stylists of the two companies probably don't drink together. Butpossibly their designers do, as we shall see.
     The transport is in a large black and brushed chrome box. Like the Tempo, it is heavier than you would guess. Tiny buttons that look like lights allow basic functions from the front panel, but there is of course a remote control. The rear is disarmingly simple. There is a single coaxial digital output, and that's all. Rubber caps cover the holes for the analog outputs of Vecteur players, which share the same box. A rare detail: the D-2 comes with a premium power cord fitted with a Hubbell plug!
     Having completed the evaluation of the Tempo 2.5, we substituted the D-2 for our own Parasound C/BD-2000 transport. The "BD" in the model name stands for "belt drive," and it is actually made by CEC, which is well-known for the excellence of its drives. It is, in short, tough to beat.
     But beaten it can be, and the D-2 did it handily. Was it specifically designed to work with the Tempo? When we made the substitution the sound changed dramatically, and entirely for the better...

Model: Vecteur D-2
Price: C$1590, US$1090
Warranty: 2 years, transferable
Dimensions: 43 x 37 x 11.2 cm

(This is an excerpt from the full article. To read the entire review of both the Audiomat Tempo 2.5 and the Vecteur D-2, just order issue 61 at our secure server.)

Complete articles from this issue:
The Battle of the Super Discs, Cambridge Isomagic Converter, Soundcare Superspikes, State of the Art

Excerpted articles from this issue:
New Surround Formats, Defeating DVD Zoning, Vegas 2001, Audiomat Tempo & Vecteur D-2, Audio Refinement Pre 5 Preamp, Osborn Mini Tower Speakers, Mirage OM-9 Speakers