Hello everyone, don’t usually post about purchases but I received my Nautilus about 2 months ago and have had a few requests to share my thoughts.
First off, I am not a reviewer and certainly don’t have a broad enough understanding of the market to provide reasonable comparisons. My aim is to share my experiences as a Nautilus owner for anyone that is interested. You might think of this as more testimonial than review.
For reference my system is:
POWER - PS Audio P12
TRANSPORT - Ifi Zen Stream
DAC - Holo Audio May DAC KTE
AMP - Ampsandsound Nautilus
OPEN HEADPHONES - ZMF Verite Open
CLOSED HEADPHONES - Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Closed
SPEAKERS - Klipsch r-51m (hilariously out of place I know)
THE AMPSANDSOUND EXPERIENCE
My time purchasing audio equipment has been almost universally positive but doing business with Justin has been a truly exceptional experience. I have had the pleasure of dealing with many interesting people that care about their products and their customers however even in this context Justin easily sets himself apart as one of the best. Buying this amp reminded me of buying tailored clothing or good meals at restaurants where you know the owner. Personal and wonderful.
USER EXPERIENCE AND USE CASE
When it comes to using the Nautilus two themes dominate, simplicity and versatility. There are many amplifiers that have the ability to drive both speakers and headphones but I have never used one that does so without feeling like a compromise on one or the other. So long as you understand the limitations of speaker/headphone sensitivity (more on that in the next section) the Nautilus can easily fulfil all your amplifier needs and it accomplishes this feat with only two switches and a volume knob.
SYSTEM MATCHING AND TUBE SELECTION
While the Nautilus is impressively versatile it is still a SET amp and that requires consideration for the sensitivity of speakers/headphones. In brief, headphones that are too sensitive for the tubes being used are subject to excessive tube noise and speakers that are not sensitive enough will be too quiet or sound weak/thin.
In my time with the Nautilus I have tried several combinations of tubes including the following:
INPUT - 12au7, 12ax7 and 5751
POWER - 7581a, kt66, kt88
Generally speaking this is a very quiet amp (very little in the way of hum or hiss) even with kt88s and sensitive headphones. I found that kt88s are too much power for the Verites because ANY flaw in the tube (ringing, rattling, etc.) came through loud and clear so I gravitated toward the 7581a and kt66 when listening with them. For speaker listening I was consistently surprised at how much volume I could get even with lower power tubes but I have a small room and speaker listening has not been my focus so far.
In the next two sections I will try to focus on the sound of the Nautilus irrespective of the tubes being used but that isn’t to say the tubes don’t matter. My general impressions of these tubes are below. Please note that the groupings (i.e. 12au7/7581a) do not necessarily refer to using the listed input and power tubes as a pair, these tubes just have similar effects on sound.
12au7/7581a - Softer/looser, increased romance and intimacy
12ax7/kt88 - Stiffer/tighter, increased linearity and space
5751 - Between 12au7 and 12ax7 but closer to 12au7
kt66 - Between 7581a and kt88 but closer to kt88
SOUND STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
This section is as close to proper review territory as I will get. I have chosen what I perceive to be the top and bottom two performance characteristics of the Nautilus. There are a couple things that I ask you to keep in mind here. The first is my lack of exposure to true competition at the price point. The second is that the overall performance of this amp is extremely strong. The weaknesses I list here are relative to the strengths. In actual use I have NEVER come away wanting more.
The greatest strengths of the Nautilus are:
- Vocal realism - Vocal timber sounds as close to real life as I have ever heard.
- Presence - Sounds have a weight to them that makes it seem like the sources are in the room.
The greatest weaknesses of the Nautilus are:
- Space - Spaces that should feel boundless (think Solar Fields) sometimes sound a bit enclosed
- Bass Speed/control - In music where bass is supposed to start and stop on a dime (mostly electronic) it sometimes sounds a little softer than would be ideal
LISTENING EXPERIENCE
For me there is one word to describe the Nautilus, emotional. In my time listening to music I have had many emotional responses but nothing quite like the Nautilus. This amp brings a unique combination of intimacy and realism to voices that gives a powerful sense that not only is the singer here, but that they are singing specifically to me. The music creating an emotional bridge between me and the artist is simply breathtaking and I’m not ashamed to say I was brought to tears more than once.
I don’t want to give the impression that the amp is only good for sentimental genres. The feeling invoked depends on the type of music but I am consistently drawn to experiencing the music rather than analyzing it. I suppose you could say that where some gear fools my head, the Nautilus fools my heart.
WRAP UP
This amplifier is not cheap, it weighs a ton and dominates the space it occupies. This cannot be mistaken for a lifestyle product but is a statement piece. It is a lifetime purchase that has already had a profound impact on how I engage with music and I look forward to hearing what it can do in a two channel setup when I have space for a proper listening room.