SoundStage! January 2005
Contents
1. Review Summary Sound Fairly neutral from top to bottom with a slightly soft laid back demeanor and grain free midrange proved the near equal of the superb Simaudio Moon W 5 in terms of low end pitch definition but l d be remiss if didn t point out the RGM175 s inability to render the last iota of air around and between instruments Features Somewhat quirky in design and execution three chassis of identical and relatively small dimension the MOSFET based monoblocks proper and a passive preamplifier that acts as a control unit for the amplifiers cooling fans and power up relays Use Three chassis design as well as the passive preamps dual volume controls the noisy variable speed cooling fans installed in the power amplifiers and the lack of a power on indicator subtracted from the RGM175 s overall ergonomics erred more frequently on the side of politeness which may suit some The passive preamplifier section of systems and listeners just fine the RGM175 provides RCA inputs for five line level sources CD Tuner Tape 1 Tape 2 and VCR The preamplifier s output signal is delivered via a pair of RCA Jacks Value If Redgum could find its way to deep six the passive preamplifier then we might just start to hear everything of which this already impressive amplifier is capable http www redgumaudio com au rg_frame html 06 05 2013 11 38 05 AM SoundStage arr soundstag2. REDGUM Audio Australia products Sonofa GUM info FAQ news reviews testimonials technical links amp credits sales Online Store contact us Home Audio Equipment Review January 2002 Redgum Audio RGM175 Mono Amplifiers by Andrew Chasin If Redgum Audio s intention was to distinguish the MOSFET based 175Wpc RGM175 monoblocks from their more conventional me too black box competition they ve certainly accomplished it With solid redgum wood faceplates and a key operated master power switch on the integral passive preamplifier the RGM175s make a unique visual and ergonomic statement The 3300 USD RGM175 consists of three chassis of identical and relatively small dimension 3 H x 16 1 2 W x 13 1 2 D Two of the chassis contain the monoblocks proper while the third is a passive preamplifier that acts as a control unit for the amplifiers cooling fans and power up relays Together the three units weigh 56 pounds A pair of supplied control cables terminated with locking BNC type connectors tether the passive preamplifier to each monoblock Neither the RGM175 user s manual nor the Redgum website sheds any light on the rationale behind this unorthodox arrangement I d rather see the preamplifier and the extra pair of interconnects required by it eradicated from the RGM175 package but the product s current design mandated its use for the purposes of this review
3. ars and came away with only a few minor scratches very impressive performance for this young Australian brand http www redgumaudio com au rg_frame html 06 05 2013 11 38 05 AM REDGUM Audio Australia I fear I m beginning to harp on this point but if Redgum could find its way to deep six the passive preamplifier then we might just start to hear everything of which this already impressive amplifier is capable I look forward to hearing that product Andrew Chasin andrew soundstage com Redgum Audio RGM175 Mono Amplifiers Price 3300 USD Warranty Seven years parts and labor Redgum Audio Pty Ltd Factory 3 25 Clarice Road Box Hill South 3128 Melbourne Australia Phone 61 3 9897 1277 Fax 61 3 9897 1399 E mail sales redgumaudio com Website www redgumaudio com North American distributor NuView Audio 446 Harrison St Sumas WA 98295 Phone 877 361 3630 Fax 250 833 4332 E mail info nuviewaudio com Website www nuviewaudio com Redgum responds As always thanks for an edifying read I cannot suggest any amendments to the facts or technical bits but I can offer an update as to where the product currently stands We have been fast on our feet recently here at the factory and yes we have been listening Namely as of the beginning of this year we offer the RGM175 amplifier e As a single volume model e As fan free amp with a heavy external he
4. atsink same as the RGM300 that does not affect the front visuals see www users bigpond net au redgumaudio rgm300s_interior html www users bigpond net au redgumaudio rgm300s_output html e With a power on indicator i e the key is illuminated when turned on via a sexy blue light e With the key switch as optional a choice of rocker or toggle e With a general cosmetic upgrade chassis badges and front panel finish The control cables are no longer a vital part of the hook up They are only necessary if http www redgumaudio com au rg_frame html 06 05 2013 11 38 05 AM REDGUM Audio Australia All Contents Copyright 2002 SoundStage SsoundStage All Rights Reserved http www redgumaudio com au rg_frame html 06 05 2013 11 38 05 AM
5. dwood and provides a very solid underpinning for the audio system Acoustical damping is provided by an overstuffed three seater couch and thick drapes covering the five large double hung windows which bathe the room in abundant sunlight Power to the audio system is provided by dedicated outlets with isolated grounds The proximity of these outlets to the electrical panel meant that less than eight feet of Romex was required for the connection The Gallo Nucleus Solo loudspeakers sit 8 apart and 4 from the rear wall The left loudspeaker is just over three feet from the side wall the right http www redgumaudio com au rg_frame html 06 05 2013 11 38 05 AM REDGUM Audio Australia speaker ten feet one portion of the listening space is shared with the dining room mandating that the speakers be positioned asymmetrically with respect to the side walls The listening seat is just over eight feet from the front plane of the loudspeakers Whatever the reason my wife and I continue to speculate my reference system in this room provides me with the best depth sharpest imaging and lowest noise floor I ve experienced at home Listening On the whole the RGM175 had no significant sonic character of its own If pressed l d characterize it as fairly neutral from top to bottom with a slightly soft laid back demeanor which made it easy to listen to for extended periods yet another exampl
6. e Com REDGUM Audio Australia and an IEC connector 1s provided to facilitate power cord swapping Aside from the keyed power switch the front panel of the preamplifier has an input selector and pair of non stepped volume controls Although Redgum s designer Ian Robinson readily admits that no one likes the dual volume controls they ve been employed here because according to Robinson they minimize both the number of contact points within the volume controls and the resultant distortion of the sound Each mono power amplifier boasts two pairs of sturdy five way binding posts for easy biwiring a pair of RCA input jacks to accept the output of the passive preamp and an IEC power jack Ergonomically and aesthetically the Redgum RGM175 is a bit of a mixed bag On the plus side the small chassis dimensions and ability to stack the three chassis vertically fully endorsed by the manufacturer in case you were wondering make for a relatively compact and unobtrusive package Also the redgum wood faceplates added some warmth and color to an otherwise cold sterile black anodized audio system And the key while quirky at first blush could be useful for preventing unauthorized use of one s audio system On the negative side was the passive preamp s dual volume controls which might have been more tolerable had I not been using an Audible Illusions Modulus 3A for phono duti
7. e of the recent convergence of solid state and tube sound Indeed the RGM175 seemed to elicit the best of both the tube and solid state worlds featuring the smooth highs and colorful but not colored midrange of valves coupled to the sheer power and bass definition of the best transistor devices Take low frequency percussion instruments for example Many amplifiers rob them of heft and weight and smudge their leading edges Not the RGM175 On the title track of Doug MacLeod s Come to Find AudioQuest AQ1027 LP the RGM175 did mastering maven Bernie Grundman proud as it managed to get all of the staccato bass drum kicks he so impressively cut into the LP s seemingly incapable grooves Similarly the fff tympani strokes heard in the dying moments of Ravel s Rapsodie Espagnole Decca Speaker s Corner SXL 2312 LP startled with their sheer power and impact via the diminutive Redgum monoblocks For more low bass thrills check out almost any track on the Classic Records double vinyl reissue of Holly Cole s Temptation Classic Records Blue Note JP5003 The lowest of the low notes here can turn into sonic muck if the gear and the listening room isn t up to snuff but the RGM175 proved the near equal of the superb Simaudio Moon W 5 in terms of low end pitch definition making it easy to follow the goings on down below On top the RGM175 continued to impress carefully walking the fine line between detail and smoothness and rarely stumblin
8. es itself with dual stepped volume controls the noisy variable speed cooling fans installed in the power amplifiers which seem out of place in dual mono solid state amplifiers of this power rating and the lack of a power on indicator on any of the three chassis Review system and space I listened to the RGM175s in the context of my usual reference system which consists of the VPI Aries Graham 2 0 Transfiguration Spirit analog front end the Audible Illusions Modulus 3A preamplifier with John Curl designed Gold moving coil phono board used here as a phono stage driving one of the line level inputs of the RGM175 s passive preamplifier and Anthony Gallo Acoustics Nucleus Solo loudspeakers Isolation for the Aries was provided by an Arcici Air Head platform The rest of the system save for the power amplifiers which were spiked directly to the floor was housed in a Target audio rack All interconnects speaker cables and power cords were by Harmonic Technology My usual Simaudio Moon W 5 power amplifier another 175Wpc solid state device was on hand for comparison A few brief notes on my listening room are in order as this is the first review I ve conducted in the new space The room s dimensions are a generous 20 x20 with an 8 ceiling The walls are 2 x6 construction and finished with plaster over lathe my Northern California home was built in the mid 1950s The floor of this ground floor space is covered with oak strip har
9. g too far onto one side or the other If anything the Redgums erred more frequently on the side of politeness which may suit some systems and listeners just fine In Rapsodie Espagnole Ravel s brilliant orchestration makes tantalizing use of tambourines triangles cymbals snare drum and castanets little of whose shimmer and sparkle eluded the RGM175 Clamp the superb Speaker s Corner vinyl reissue of Edgar Vares s Arcana Decca Speaker s Corner SXL 6550 LP to the platter and you ll hear the violent clangor of no less than 39 different percussion instruments exploding into the soundspace a torturous score handled gracefully by the Redgum monos which never turned bright or offensive throughout the sonic onslaught And although a little counter intuitive this is perhaps an example of one of the RGM175 s minor shortcomings a penchant to round the jagged edges of music like Arcana through its slight softening of high frequency transients No the RMG175 s rendering of the ghoulish Arcana never forced me to recoil or wince but it didn t have quite the requisite fear factor heard through the Moon W 5 either Lovers of the female voice will find much to admire in the RGM175 s liquid grain free midrange which lacked the bleached threadbare character for which solid state devices have been traditionally maligned Although sonically superb I d relegated Jacintha s debut album Here s to Ben Groove Note 1712 LP to the c
10. ntic 81645 1 LP Jamal tears into his Steinway with unbridled ferocity his pounding chords rumbling through the listening room yet the Redgum amps barely broke a sweat although the amps cooling fans could be heard grinding away in high gear between tracks Throughout Jamal s keyboard pyrotechnics the RGM175 steadfastly maintained the rhythmic underpinning of James Cammack s bass lines played in a style highly reminiscent of the late great Jaco Pastorius and the inspired percussion work of Herlin Riley and Manola Badrena Brilliant But I d be remiss if I didn t point out the RGM175 s inability to render the last iota of air around and between instruments manifest on recordings of acoustic instruments made in a real naturally reverberant space On Strunz and Farah s Misterio Water Lily Acoustics WLA CS 08 LP an all tube purist recording made at Christ the King Chapel in Santa Barbara California the space in which the brilliant guitar duo 1s immersed and the way in which the plucked strings of their guitars illuminate that space were somewhat diminished by the effects of the RGM175 in the signal path It would be interesting to hear the RGM175 sans passive preamplifier and the extra set of cables it requires to see if the latter isn t hindering the retrieval of the last vestiges of low level ambient detail on this recording and others like it Comparisons Comparisons to the 175Wpc single chassis Simaudio Moon W 5 the
11. only other solid state amplifier I had on hand proved somewhat surprising I expected the iron fisted Canadian brute to kick sand in the face of the scrawny Aussie monoblocks particularly in terms of dynamics and low end control and definition the W 5 s hallmarks While I did find that the W 5 had a hint more impact and control on the bottom and managed slightly more convincing macrodynamics the RGM175 was only a hair off the mark Where the W 5 did better the RGM175 was in the areas of top end extension and transparency in the rendering of low level ambient detail and spatial cues Some have thought the W 5 somewhat cool and bright in the treble but I don t agree certainly not with analog sources I d also give the W 5 the nod in terms of build quality ergonomics and aesthetics although the latter 1s certainly a matter of personal taste In purely sonic terms however the RGM175 was a close second to the Moon W 5 which given the almost unanimous acclaim for the Canuck design is high praise indeed especially considering that the W 5 checks in at around 1500 more than the pair of RGM175s and preamp Conclusions While the Redgum RGM175 is somewhat quirky in design and execution I came to forgive these transgressions when it was time to make music And make music it did unfailingly throughout the review period The RGM175 locked horns with the superb Simaudio Moon W 5 an amplifier I ve lived with happily for more than three ye
12. ure for insomnia pile It s another example of the great audiophile conundrum fantastic sound married to so so music But the RGM175 managed to imbue her insipid voice with a sense of life and body that I hadn t experienced before Holly Cole s covers of Tom Waits compositions on Temptation exhibit equal helpings of edge sardonic wit and painful longing all of which were communicated http www redgumaudio com au rg_frame html 06 05 2013 11 38 05 AM REDGUM Audio Australia in convincing fashion by the Redgums thanks to Classic s treatment the LP manages to kick the pants of the already great sounding CD and it has a couple of bonus tracks to boot I also had some memorable evenings listening to an original deep groove pressing of Ella Fitzgerald s Ella Swings Lightly Verve MG VS 6019 Even the slight surface noise and dated recording couldn t dampen my enjoyment of this disc aided by the Redgum s ability to articulate the superb phrasing and timing for which Fitzgerald was known The orchestra conducted by Marty Paich 1s similarly brilliant In the areas of dynamics and pacing the RGM175 was hard to fault tracking huge volume Swings and maintaining music s rhythmic drive with aplomb I don t usually pay much attention to specifications but the Redgum s impressive 65V us slew rate and 150A of peak current may play a factor here On Ahmad Jamal s Rossiter Road Atla
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