DAGOGO Review: Melody Hi Fi P1688 Signature preamplifier & S88 monoblock amplifiers



		MELODY & ITS HI FI Black is always in fashion, especially when it’s a piano gloss black on a Melody Hi-Fi P1688 Signature preamp and matching S88 Mono Block amps. One thing that’s sure to fire up the desire to hear music is looking at some svelte equipment, and the Melody Hi Fi tube gear is seriously nice-looking with or without its tube cages. As I put on Harvey Mason’s “Whatever It is” from his disc Ratamacue, and I enjoy the chime-like clarity to the vibraphones coupled with the clean, taut bass line, I’ll discuss the elegance of these components. And they are quite elegant, from their minimalist appearance to their built-in isolation feet. The preamp is minimalist with only three controls for power, volume and source. The S88 power amps sport a solitary power switch. All three use a low lumen lime green LED power indicator. It is a welcome relief to the eye as opposed to the laser-like blue LED’s I’ve been seeing lately. The P1688, Melody’s flagship preamp, has five pair of inputs (4 single-ended, 1 balanced) and three pair of outputs (high gain single-ended, low gain s.e., and balanced). The tube compliment of the P1688 consists of two 101D tubes for voltage stabilization, four 6SN7 tubes for signal amplification, and one 5AR4 for rectification of the DC supply. The attenuator for the level control is the DACT (Danish Audio ConnecT) CT-2, which has .5db stepped attenuation. The S88 mono blocks use a pair of KT88’s and a trio of 6SN7’s. The price of the P1688 is $3,488 and the S88 mono blocks are $2,588/pr. The Low Gain output is typically used for solid-state amps, while the High Gain output is more accommodating for tube amps. Because of the dual outputs, it is possible to passively bi-amp using both outputs: a solid-state amp connected to the low gain outs for driving woofers, and a tube amp on the High Gain outs running to the mids/highs. Shipping can be rough on tube equipment and with the first preamp sent to me, a little mishandling had done its damage. The unit’s attenuator was micro-phonic - just turning the knob one step sent a low level metallic ping through the speakers. A hum in the left channel also forced me to request a replacement unit. Mingus Chu of Melody never hesitated; a new unit reached me in two days in fine shape. Mingus is the head of Melody Hi Fi, the U.S. distributor for Melody Valve Hi Fi, the Australian company which makes its components in China. Shi He Wang, the president of Melody Valve is, also, its chief engineer. He introduced the SHW-1688 preamp in Asia in 1998 where it was well received. Having refined the design by the addition of balanced inputs, audiophile grade components, point-to-point hand soldered internal wiring, and a more sleek appearance, the P1688 was introduced to the U.S. in September of 2006. It is always a treat when quality products from overseas become available to the avid listener. Audiophiles owe a deep gratitude to the intrepid owners and distributors who are working to bring components overseas as they seek to make a living from the high-end. AUDITIONING A fully tube combo like the P1688 and S88’s quickly reveals just how rich all tube amplification can sound. I have used several fine solid-state separates and hybrids which have shown neither the clarity nor revealed as much of the music as these. As I listened to the Melody equipment, I was impressed by the uncolored presentation it provides. It is an exceptionally clear-sounding product, one which can be said as not adding a sonic signature. When I listened to it I kept getting images in my mind that it was producing the sonic equivalent of pure flowing water.




		The Signature preamp is very good at positioning voice and instruments in space. Case in point, Michael Hedges is known for his echoic, reverberant guitar style. While the lingering echoes of his picking sounds neat on almost any rig, the sharpness with which it is presented by the Signature is noteworthy, sounding like the acoustic equivalent of two mirrors opposite each other creating an infinitely reflected image. The ever lessening reverberations of Hedges’ guitar cascade over each other as they fade into oblivion. Listening to “The Streamlined Man” on the Pure Michael Hedges is pure joy with Von Schweikert VR-4 SR MkII speakers. Though rather large floor standing speakers, they have 93db sensitivity and were easily driven by the S88 amps. Depth of soundstage is one of the things that make the Melody combination stand out. The Hubble Space telescope has produced what’s called the “deep field” image by peering out some 10 billion light years from earth. The Melody combo seems to produce “deep field” audio right here in my room! The guitars on Acoustic Alchemy’s The Very Best of Acoustic Alchemy are quick and taut, and the acoustic reflections, although reproduced only feet away, reminded me of a crystal clear pool on a cave’s floor reflecting the ceiling above. The depth may appear to be thirty or forty feet, but is in reality about 3 feet - an amazing illusion. Similarly, the P1688 projects the depth of reverberation on the recording deep into the center of the soundstage. Hearing the Melody combo paired with the highly inefficient Eminent Technology LFT-8A planar speakers confirmed a lesser impact. Not that the ET’s are dull, but they seem to come alive with a solid-state signature in the signal. Too many tubes in the signal path and the ET’s grow very warm and enclosed-sounding, not allowing the listener to hear what the ET’s can do with the upper-end. The Melody equipment won’t sound poor on planars (I can’t imagine it sounding poor on most systems) but were born to play on highly efficient speakers, and with them they sound their best.




		The S88 amps are hand biased, however the manual, while stating that a voltmeter and small flat watch screwdriver are required, never states exactly how to bias the amps. I was informed that Melody Hi Fi is continuing to work on editing the U.S. manual as the product was just introduced in September this year. As some Channel Islands equipment was due to arrive in a week, I was momentarily without a solid-state preamp, so I turned to the preamp section of the Dussun V8i integrated to see how the S88’s sounded with it. In part, it was to simulate how the system would sound if the “worst possible scenario” was realized, that of a solid-state integrated’s pre being joined with the more limited tube power of the 50w S88’s. The result was surprisingly good. While the “eternal echo” effect was not as strong, the presentation was clean and tight. The Eminent Technologies LFT-8A’s perked up with the solid-state preamp. Their slightly rolled-off high-end benefited from a few less tubes in the signal path. I thought that the S88’s might run out of steam pushing the ET’s, but they showed no signs of hardship with the hybrid planars. It is hard to make a mistake with the S88 amps. I consider them even more bang for the buck than the P1688. They mated well with the Dussun’s preamp out, which bodes very well for them to be used with a dedicated solid-state pre. I found that they did not produce tremendous amounts of heat, a further plus. However, it should be reinforced that the Melody Signature and the Dussun V8i both performed most admirably within their own boundaries, when running together. Digital amps have become quite popular for their melding of seemingly limitless power and diminutive mass. I’ll compare the sound of the P1688 to the digital set-up of the Channel Islands PLC-1 passive preamp and D-200 mono block amplifiers. COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES The two major differences between the all-tube Melody Hi Fi gear and the all-solid-state/digital Channel Islands were in the areas of definition and authority.



		P1688

		Definition went to the Melody components. Even though they are all tube, I could hear distinctly the minutest details of passages. Mr. Wang indicated that the unique design of the P1688 preamp incorporates a 101 tube for stabilizing the voltage, and a 5AR4 tube for rectifying current, which is supposed to bring a clean, detailed, airy sound. That is a very good description of the strengths of the P1688. There were times when complex passages became a bit congested with the Channel Islands combo. However, as for sheer dynamic punch, the Channel Island amps had an edge on the S88’s. This should not be too disconcerting; the CI amps also equaled the authority of the Dussun V8i, a mighty strong solid-state amp. As mentioned above, if you do not intend to drive planars, you will likely never push the S88’s to their limits. The S88’s wrought wonderful sound regardless of the preamps used with them. I tried the Channel Islands passive preamp, as well as a new little number from Eastern Electric BBA which is technically a buffer amp but can be used as a preamp. The S88’s were strong, clear and forgiving on the ears with any preamp I paired with them. They exhibited somewhat more of that “air” and expansiveness with the P1688 but in no way sounded anemic with solid-state preamps and dynamic speakers. I did not find noise to be an issue with the S88’s. They were extremely quiet and never flinched at dynamic passages at higher listening levels. POINTS ASIDE… It needs to be noted (for readers who read reviews but not instructions) that caution is to be exercised in mating the P1688 with solid-state amplification, as the manual states, “…the DC output of the P1688 Signature may exceed the DC protection circuitry in your power amplifier.” Discuss any potential mates with your counselor (dealer). There are a couple of perplexing things about the P1688 which I experienced relating to listening level, chiefly the lack of remote. I am addicted to remotes, and I find it a minor annoyance to rise every time I want to change listening levels. Granted, I change levels occasionally since I may be writing, reading or sometimes conversing as I listen, sometimes even adjusting volume between tracks (as if there is some preordained level at which each piece must be heard!). There will be those who won’t give the P1688 a second glance because of this omission, which would be a shame since its sound is superb. Mr. Wang’s design philosophy is to make the signal path as simple as possible in pursuit of the ultimate sound. Anything that would interfere with the sound quality is rejected from the circuit. The purist approach taken in eliminating the remote yields rewards in the sound, but at times it’s frustrating it must be sacrificed. I would counsel an individual to be honest about their remote control usage habits as they consider purchase. This preamp is best suited for the listener who has the time and temperament to put on a disc or album, set the level and leave it. In such instances the owner will be highly rewarded.

		The Signature uses a high quality attenuator, the DACT CT-2, but it is slightly problematic for me. The issue is not sonically-related. If it’s not contributing to the sound, it is working right. It is the stepped attenuator, and I mean stepped! Especially when the P1688 is operating with the high gain outputs, the steps seem enormous. The increase in gain are large, more than I would like. This contributes to a remoteless-control problem. I found that it was challenging to set the preamp at an agreeable low level or an acceptable higher level when desired. Thankfully, there are two sets of outputs, “low gain” and “high gain”, which help to address the issue, though not completely. One cannot stop on the detents of the attenuator as the music may cut oof one channel momentarily and a slight noise may be introduced. As this was the case with the 1^st and 2^nd review samples, I must
		conclude that this is a design anomaly. Will it affect the sound as one listens when levels are set? No, but this deserves attention from Melody Valve, the manufacturer. If one is moving to the Melody equipment from solid-state, the stock tubes manufactured by Shuguang for Melody Valve will be acceptable. Unable to control my urge to tweak, I snatched a spare RCA Mullard 5AR4 and popped it into the P1688, making the presentation sweeter with a plumping of the low-end. If you are constantly running from the high-end and can’t stand the bite of the treble, try the Mullard. Gary Lamb’s solo piano on “Full Circle” from the Watching the Night Fall disc was more involving with the Mullard. The instrument sounded full-bodied as opposed to merely hammers upon strings. And as always, there was that crystal-pool-like reflectivity in the echoes of the music. Daryl Stuermer’s cover of “Turn It On Again” from Another Side of Genesis sizzled with speed, the delicacy and intensity of the guitar maintaining perfect hint of edginess to the lead guitar. Such effects on electric guitar played on inferior equipment make me want to run for the hills, or at least excuse myself to go to the bathroom. But the p1688 won’t let you go that quickly! It cuts to the soul of the sound without being edgy on the ears. FINALLY… I can understand the excitement in Asia over the Melody line of components. The P1688 and S88 acquit themselves admirably in presenting She Hi Wang’s no-nonsense approach to audio. Those who don’t fiddle around with controls every song, who want crystal-clear presentation and a tube sound that pleases at a pauper’s price needs to consider them. Mingus, the importer of the Melody equipment, told me that in China and Taiwan an audiophile is known as a “Friend of Fever” – burning with desire. I would like to thank Melody Hi Fi for bringing to America such lovely-sounding equipment and helping American audiophiles to burn with fever for audio! *After the publishing of this review, Melody Hi Fi informed us that the correct MSRP for the P1688 should be $3,488. Dagogoan Doug Schroeder, whose review this is, continues to consider the P1688 a good value at the correct MSRP. Our apologies for any confusion. -Editor



		Please send us your feedback: editor@dagogo.com ©Dagogo 2006



Doug Schroeder takes us into the world of affordable tube high-end amplification system: the Melody Hi Fi P1688 preamplifier & S88 mono blocks December, 2006



Melody Hi Fi P1688 Signature Preamplifier Specificatons: Vacuum Tubes: 101D×2, 6SN7×4, 5AR4×1 Frequency Response: 3Hz - 100KHz Input Impedance: 250KΩ Output: 3V (Max 28V) T.H.D.: 0.02% Channel Balance: <0.5dB (20Hz -100kHz) Total Gain: 20db S/N: >90db AC Power: 117V±5%, 50Hz/60Hz Dimensions(mm): 430(W)×185(H)×380(D) Weight: 23k MSRP: $3,488*			Melody Hi Fi S88 mono block amplifiers Specifications: Vacuum Tubes: KT88×2, 6SN7×3 Power Output: 50W Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20KHz Input Impedance: 250KΩ Output Impedance: 4Ω, 8Ω Input Sensitivity: 800mV S/N: ≥90dB T.H.D: 1% AC Power: 117V±5%, 50Hz/60Hz Dimensions (mm): 285(W)×185(H)×275(D) Weight: 18kg MSRP: $2,588/pr