General Asylum: REVIEW: Mesa Engineering baron Amplifier (Tube) by LowPhreak

Model:	baron
Category:	Amplifier (Tube)
Suggested Retail Price:	$4000-5000
Description:	High power tube amplifier with adjustable feedback, multi-tube
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available
Manufacturer URL:	Not Available

Review by LowPhreak on December 06, 2001 at 18:18:12
IP Address: 208.20.85.32

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for the baron

This opinion is for the stock 5881-equipped Baron. When these original tubes wear out, I'll
be getting the mod done so's I can roll with EL34's & KT-88's.
The Baron is a very versatile amp. If you're looking for subtle, warm, rounded "tube" sound
for light jazz, classical or vocal music - you can have it with the full-triode setting. If you're
hankerin' to really rock yo' crib, the full-pentode mode is your huckleberry. And you have
anywhere in between with either the 2/3 triode or 2/3 pentode settings.
It's also a great feature that the amp doesn't have to be shut down to switch between
settings: you can switch it on the fly and immediately hear what sounds best for the type of
speakers/music/mood you're into at the time.
Then, of course, you can set the soundstage perspective with the negative feedback
control, of which there are 4 different positions. Set at 0, you get a front-row perspective.
As you increase the feedback level, the soundstage moves back to finally - a
back-of-the-hall perspective at setting III. Now here's an amp I can use!
Tube biasing is easy and informative through the excellent large analog meters on the front
panel and adjustment pots on the rear top.
All of this tailoring is accomplished without detriment to the overall gestalt of the sound.
Don't let anyone kid you - a tube amp can have tight, visceral bass impact if it's done right.
The Mesa Baron has that in spades. Sometimes I think I'm listening to my old Krell or Adcom
or something, but actually their bass was a bit threadbare in comparison to the more fully
fleshed-out bottom end of the Baron.
All of the typical audiophile 'wish-list' attributes are there too (or most of them): detail,
transients, air, space, layering, etc. But the great thing about the Baron is that it's not cold,
dry, hard, glaring or piercing like the vast majority of transistor designs are (unless you run
full-pentode mode into the wrong speakers). I know - I've owned and/or heard no small
number of the supposed 'best' designs on the market.
If you like to roll your tubes for a different sonic signature, I'd suggest starting with the
input tubes. Kevin Deal at Upscale Audio in California can get you some NOS French
mil-spec, chrome-plated Mazda 12AX7's (no connection with the car company). They ain't
cheap, but anything that's good usually isn't. And they sound wonderful in the Baron.
Sorry to once again lay this on you arc-welder-amp,solid-state fans out there: tubes STILL
rule the audio world for the most realistic sound that's pleasing to the human ear. You can
call it second harmonic distortion or euphonic/colored sound, but music is a human thing -
our ears are not spectrum analyzers or oscilloscopes.
Randall Smith has come up with an eminently musical and useful product in the Baron. Too
bad more amplifiers aren't built like this.
As soon as my Baron gets back from Petaluma with the WIMA caps/Tri-Tube mods, I'll post a follow- up...after appropriate burn-in, of course! I'm also buying ANOTHER Baron, so's I can vertically bi-amp. Power may corrupt - but "Boogie-Power" corrupts? ABSOLUTELY!

Product Weakness: Slight hardness in upper midrange, but WIMA mod should cure this.
Product Strengths: Excellent timing. Imaging is solid, spacious, and complete. Outstanding retrieval of transient information. Incredible bass control. Dynamics. Soundstaging. Timbral beauty.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Mesa Baron on Sound Anchors filled custom amp stand w. Audio Points spikes.
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Ayre K-1x (newest version), w. phono stage.
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	C.E.C. TL-1X CD transport, Pass Labs D1 DAC, VPI HW-19 Mk III (custom modified by myself) w. PLC, Well-Tempered Labs Classic 'arm, Sumiko Blue Point Special, Van den Hul Frog (.65 mV/silver coil version), Mitsubishi HS-U770 S-VHS, Sony K679ES 3-head casse
Speakers:	B&W Nautilus 803 w. filled Sound Anchors N803 stands/spikes, REL Stentor III w/o REL spikes.
Cables/Interconnects:	AudioQuest Anaconda XLR, XLO Signature 2.1, NBS Mon. IV XLR, AudioQuest Quartz & Ruby RCA, Madrigal CZ Gel-2, Nordost SPM Reference spkr. cable (bi-wire). Dig. cable: NBS Mon. IV/HAVE-Canare Digiflex Gold/Silver Audio Silver Stream/Acoustic Zen MC2=Zen,
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	U name it, I've probably played it.
Room Size (LxWxH):	Approx. 20' x 13.5' x 8'
Room Comments/Treatments:	Living room furnishings.
Time Period/Length of Audition:	3 years.
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Adcom ACE-515, Shunyata Hydra, Voodoo "Dragon" Power Cords, Aurios M.I.B.'s, Sumiko cones.
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition):	Also, XLO Limited Edition Digital AES/EBU, Aural Symphonics Optimism AT&T.

Product Weakness:	Slight hardness in upper midrange, but WIMA mod should cure this.
Product Strengths:	Excellent timing. Imaging is solid, spacious, and complete. Outstanding retrieval of transient information. Incredible bass control. Dynamics. Soundstaging. Timbral beauty.