The other aspect of system matching for any amplifier is of cours, cable. Neodio also offer a full range of power and signal cables and the amp arrived with a pair of Origine 150 interconnects (€800 for a 1m pair) and the new Fractal 16 speaker cables (€1,500 for a 3m pair), which puts them right in the ballpark for a system built around a €5K amplifier: or makes them a bargain if you are exploiting the TMA’s ability to play with far pricier partners. Unsurprisingly, given Neodio’s holistic approach to systems in general, these delivered some seriously synergistic results, easily exceeding the musical performance of the (rather more affordable) Chord Epics I’d otherwise been using. The affect of the cables was to take the choke off of the system, allowing the amp to stretch its dynamic muscles and breathe considerably more easier, thus building further on its established strengths. It’s not that the TMA didn’t work with the Chord cables. Indeed, it was an impressive combination. It just worked even better with its own wires, to the extent that I’d be inclined to include them in the budget if at all possible.
The challenge with any product like the TMA that punches well above its weight – and especially if it does so in ways that escape nearly all its price peers – is the question of what exactly you equate or compare it to. My resident ‘reach for’ one-box solution is the Levinson 585 integrated. It’s significantly bigger than the TMA, much heavier, more versatile and incorporates a DAC. It’s also more expensive, so not really an equivalent, mechanically or conceptually. But, played along side the Neodio, the TMA makes it sound overweight, muscle-bound, sluggish and smudged. And let’s bear in mind that the 585 is here for a reason. Along with the Gryphon Diablo 120, it is the best all-round performer I’ve used, which coupled with its versatility and ability to drive pretty much anything makes it an invaluable and generally speaking, musically satisfying tool. The TMA leaves it exposed as clumsy and inarticulate, something the 585 normally does to other, more expensive integrated amps.
Acting up…
When it comes to musical structure and shape, the TMA is such an exceptional performer that it demands comparison to far more expensive equipment like the TEAD Vibe and Linear B mono amps, or the CH Precision L1/A1.5, pre-power combinations that share that lucid sense of time and space and place that allows us to hear the way in which the music is put together. In one sense, such comparisons are ludicrous, given the cost differential. But in another, they do serve to highlight not just what the TMA is capable of, but also where it falls short.
One casualty of the TMA’s sense of spatial and temporal integration and overall musical coherence is a lack of immediacy to go with its considerable instrumental and vocal presence. Combine that with a muted colour palette (at least when compared with the very best available) and you have the basis for its characteristic musical presentation. The Neodio is anything but forward. Whilst its presence, dynamic scaling and musical energy are anything but mid-hall, the coherent acoustic does sit back behind the plane of the speakers. Maybe mid-hall (but a very, very good hall) is the way to think about it. Listen to familiar voices and their scale, presence and dimensionality are impressive, their connection with the instrumental backing secure and articulate, making phrasing more obvious and the musical accents and emphasis applied by the musicians more effective. Throw in the natural sense of pace, the way the music breathes and you have all the ingredients for an engaging and powerful performance. The wistful ‘Separated’ (from Eliza Gilkyson’s Land Of Milk And Honey – Red House Records RHR CD174) is a perfect example. The gentle pulse of the rhythm section is effortlessly locked to the ebb and flow of Gilkyson’s deeply felt vocal, letting it soar without losing the grounded emptiness that underpins the track. The result is unquestionably beautiful – and affecting – even if it’s missing the intimate harmonics and inflexions that make the identity of the singer so unmistakable. It’s still Eliza Gilkyson, with all her lyrical brilliance and emotional power – but it’s not like having her voice here, in the room.
