Eversolo AMP F10 Review
The headline is not an announcement to the readers of this publication but to the high-end competition: Something is coming your way that you will have a hard time swallowing.
by Holger Barske
Associated Equipment
Turntable: Transrotor Massimo Nero / Studio 12”
Cartridge: DS Audio DS-E3
Phono Preamps: DS Audio DS-E3
Preamplifier: NEM PRA-150
Speakers: PS Audio Aspen FR10, Klang + Ton Nada
Rival Equipment
Power Amplifiers: Yamaha P-2200
Music Played
Truckfighters
Mania
Leonard Cohen
You Want It Darker
Chet Baker
Chet
Rickie Lee Jones
Pirates (MFSL 45)
Eversolo
So it has happened. China has arrived in the high-end audio segment and is giving the established competition a run for their money. With the power amplifier under discussion here, I have for the first time a device on the table that presses all the audiophile buttons for the user and is available at an unbeatable price.
The “About Us” page of the company’s own website reveals that Eversolo “is led by a team with extensive HiFi industry experience.” Interestingly, among the nine gentlemen pictured there, not a single one is Chinese. Nevertheless, the company is based in Shenzhen, one of the high-tech centers of the Middle Kingdom.
No one in our cultural circle had ever heard of Eversolo until last year or the year before when various streamer models appeared that took the market by storm. The exceptionally well-built devices offer a full package of features and cover everything that is right and proper for the modern digital audio fan. Those of us who are analog enthusiasts look at such things with a half-interested eye but leave the intensive engagement with them to others.
Until now. Now, Eversolo is expanding its product range with two stereo power amplifiers, of which the larger AMP-F10 is clearly the more interesting. And so I stare quite bewildered at a perfectly crafted, net 18-kilogram, absolutely pure high-end device with plenty of power and stability at a suggested retail price of approximately $2,700. Of course, with a wonderfully playful pair of analog meters on the extremely massive metal front. With all due respect: I know of nothing comparable that could be had even at double the price. At four times the money, we’re slowly getting closer to the matter.
The AMP-F10 is a very straightforward power amplifier with plenty of reserves in all the right places. It delivers stable 180 watts into eight ohms and a good 300 watts into four ohms. Thanks to its luxuriously equipped output stage (ten hefty power transistors per channel), you can easily run it in bridged mode and, according to the manufacturer, get over 600 watts into eight ohms and 950 watts into four ohms. That might be only slightly exaggerated, but I haven’t tried it.
The device, even aesthetically demanding, largely comes without visible screws. The heat sinks are fortunately not sharp-edged; everything about the machine appears well thought out.
The rear features balanced and unbalanced inputs (selectable via switch) and a pair of binding posts for the speaker connection. These, and this is one of the very few criticisms, are so cheaply made that they seem a bit out of place here.
The input sensitivity is switchable; you can select between stereo and mono bridged operation via a toggle switch. There are options for signal-controlled power-on, which can also be done via control voltage. The package is complete, plain and simple. The instruments on the front are, of course, more decorative than real measuring devices, but the 340 watts into four ohms as a zero-decibel clipping point certainly make quite an impression.
It’s turned on via a standby button on the front; at the back by the power input, there’s also a “real” power switch.
Measurements
Measurement Technology Commentary
Even in measurement terms, the Eversolo is flawless.
The self-evidently perfectly linear frequency response extends up to just under 100 kilohertz. The signal-to-noise ratio at one watt into eight ohms is a clean 90 decibels(A), the channel separation an excellent 85.6 decibels(A), the distortion factor 0.037 percent. At four ohms, the values practically do not change. The output power is 183 watts into eight ohms and 303 watts into four ohms, which is certainly more than enough. The quite low power consumption of 83.7 watts at idle indicates that not too much quiescent current is being used here.
Inner Values
Shall we take a look inside? Absolutely. Removing the top plate turns out to be not trivial, but once you’ve found the small screws inset into the sides of the heat sinks, it’s quite easy. And anyone who thought that Eversolo had fired all its powder on the pretty and valuable exterior and that now only hot air could come is mightily mistaken. The construction of the device is nothing less than a feast for the eyes and also a real statement in terms of effort. You could indeed place the AMP-F10 next to a device from Japan that is unbeatable in this regard, and it wouldn’t need to hide—unbelievable at this price. I’d bet that Eversolo even paid attention to the coloring of the components to achieve a harmonious overall picture.
At the center of events sits an impressive toroidal transformer. The transformer, wrapped with mu-metal for shielding purposes, is specified with a load capacity of 1000 VA and is pleasantly quiet in operation. Not entirely unrelated is the fact that Eversolo has built in a DC filter that eliminates any DC components from the mains right from the start. The transformer is flanked by two banks of four smoothing capacitors with reassuringly large capacity, so we can consider the topic of “power supply” satisfactorily addressed. The input board directly at the rear panel houses a shielding metal box where the input amplification takes place. We don’t know exactly what happens inside; the manufacturer sticks to generalities. However, we may assume a largely symmetrical arrangement. From there, and I’ve actually never seen this in a HiFi device before, the signal goes via properly terminated high-frequency cables with plugs and sockets to the two amplifier boards mounted laterally on the heat sinks. There is another mysterious metal box, which handles the distribution of signals to the two current amplifier branches. These consist of two times five parallel-connected MosFETs, which leaves a pleasant feeling of reassuring over-dimensioning. Added to this are protection circuits against all kinds of troubles, so you can sleep peacefully in this regard as well.
Is the AMP F-10 a deliberately “audiophile” amplifier concept? Not necessarily. It is a generously dimensioned device with relatively high negative feedback and accordingly quite high damping factor. The distortion level is correspondingly low, and you could easily use the machine for smaller sound reinforcement jobs. That’s why I chose one of my approximately 45-year-old Yamaha P-2200s as the listening test opponent, which are in the same power class and famous representatives of the old “iron pigs.” Of course, also with analog meters, naturally.
The sonic similarity between the two concepts is unmistakable. Both amps act straightforwardly, unshakeably, and agilely. The Yamaha appears a touch more voluminous in the upper bass area than the Eversolo, which follows the path of virtue somewhat more meticulously in this regard. Both amplifiers are undoubtedly made for speakers that also demand the offered power reserves; in other words, high-efficiency transducers are not the means of choice here. In the publisher’s listening room, I had excellent experiences with the PS Audio Aspen FR 10, which sounded rich, punchy, and coherent on both amps.
A clear recommendation for people who sometimes like it a bit rougher; I hadn’t had so much fun with the Truckfighters, that Swedish desert rock band that knows how to get people out of their seats, in a long time. Already the opener “Last Curfew” impressively shows where the journey goes: Extremely dynamic, the AMP-F10 places the brutally heavy guitar riffs into the room; it peels the guitar with astonishing clarity out of the big picture (it does this even better than the Yamaha) and practically nails the listener to the sofa backrest. Absolutely fantastic.
The late Leonard Cohen might represent the exact opposite of this requirement profile. Here too, the AMP-F10 shows a very tidy performance with an excellently isolated voice. Those looking for delicate, ethereal vocal reproduction will probably have to save up for an Air Tight amplifier; the Eversolo does it rather unspectacularly and straightforwardly, but certainly not wrongly. This is an excellent amplifier for (almost) all situations.
The small switching power supply on the right supplies the circuitry active during standby mode
Specs
• Price | approx. $2,700 |
• Warranty | 2 years |
• W x H x D | 430 x 147 x 310 mm |
• Weight | approx. 18 kg |
Verdict
“Eversolo AMP-F10 is the ultimate power amplifier bargain: sonically powerful and unshakeable, technically perfectly made, and unbeatable in terms of value at this price.”
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