When it comes to very long term Hi Fi romances, the Italians are probably the ones to cement them. The verdant Riviera, the rolling countryside, the gentle colours, the aromas of pizza, pasta and antipasti set against the soft grandeur of Roman statues and grand mansions from the last century and earlier are all evoked by the sounds produced by this trio of PATHOS equipment. As with most PATHOS products, the prices reflect truly ‘High End’ quality, so I can afford what I review here only after spacing out my purchases over a few years….But this is a romance still in blossom. Firstly, it happened by design, followed by the conviction that the sound matches the superiority of its artistic appearances. Once again, in keeping with the fashion of my music review site, I have used albums from the Easy Listening genre to review the PATHOS sound. Additionally, I am also talking abo9ut buying into Hi Fi ART…yes, they also function as veritable museum pieces in your home.
PATHOS Classic One Mark III
This is a sight unlike anything on the market at the time of this review. I have read reviews that say that PATHOS designs are a fusion where designer Federico Fellini encountered Hi-Fi. Another way of appreciating the beauty of this intricate little integrated amplifier is to search for images of 1930s and 1940s luxury motorboat designs online such the site by Nautilus Restorations: http://www.nautilusrestorations.com/main/nautilus-marine-wooden-boat-restorations/. Then review two most recent Hollywood films set in maritime Italy – THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY and THE TOURIST – and you’ll instinctively understand why this amplifier must be collected by anyone with a penchant for art. Better still, the sound seduces the Hi Fi enthusiasts into appreciating the art of building sound boxes that appeal to the visual senses…I must say that after acquiring PATHOS kit, I cannot contemplate NAD ever again. [That is of course, a matter of taste so I shall not offend any NAD fans, since I had been one myself a long time ago.] First up, some technical details from PATHOS’own website (www.pathosacoustics.com):
“The pre-stage - or, better, the preamplifier - is purely tube, balanced, pure Class A, extremely low noise, with high intrinsic linearity and without any feedback. It provides an exquisitely tube sound in terms of transparency, air, harmonics and refinement… in one word, musicality.
The power stage is a solid state power amplifier, high bias current, Class A/AB in order to adequately drive every load. It provides the sound with speed and dynamics, without influencing the tube nature of the sound. The volume control is motorised and remote controlled, the remote itself is of solid wood. Power supplies are over-dimensioned and stabilised. Selected components, pure silver Pathos signal cable wiring, gold plated terminals, high quality materials, and refinement at its highest standard are additional benefits provided with the Classic One.”
In my own opinion, the sound is decidedly warm, inviting and richly layered to transport you far away from your living room. There is a pronounced airiness around voices, instruments and background tracks – where they are available in some studio recordings. In Part Two – the sequel – I will compare the Classic One Mk III against the Sonus Faber Musica, but right now, I’d say the Classic One stands in a class of its own. In a word, music comes to life. When operating the amplifier, be sure however to let it stand for some 10-15 minutes in order to experience its peak performance. A cold start of one minute from turn on may produce a flat sound for the first two tracks of any disc (or MP3 clip, if you listen to these connected via a suitable DAC). In fact, the warm up 10 second ‘no sound’ pause – signified by a ‘P’ on the miniscule LCD screen – ensures that the amplifier prolongs the life span of the two E88CC tubes. According to the instruction manual, it is the pre-amplifier section that gets its signals processed through the tubes, while the power amplifier housed in the rear rectangular hump acts as the force that rounds out the 70 watts promised for 8 Ohm speakers that are used here – also from PATHOS. And mind you, despite its size, the Classic One drives the mega-sized PATHOS Frontiers Prime with finesse. Out of its 100 step volume, I have rarely turned it up beyond 25 or 26. On good quality recordings the volume rarely goes beyond 21.
Aesthetically, there is so much to go on admiring about the Classic One. Scanning the structures above the black acrylic base plate, one imagines a typical art deco era electric power station complete with antique lamps, red colour step up or step down transformers, and the main power generators housed within serious looking steel casing with parallel bar patterns to keep air circulating and sensitive objects out. Looking on from the front, where the PATHOS logo is affixed to a paduk red wood faceplate, the motorboat helm analogy is all real. Looking even closer, one realizes there is neither numbering nor lettering on the paduk wood indicating input selections or volume level. Instead one is invited to turn the knobs rightward to increase volume or to change the input selection to a higher numbered one. Both share the same LCD screen – which means you have to familiarize yourself through the manual and toggle the knobs by intuition. The same principle applies to the handsome paduk wood remote control – the unmarked steel buttons are pendants of style – subtle, period-like and postmodern – all in keeping with the mystique of the Classic One. The feel of operating a modernized classic from a bygone era is irresistible. 
The PATHOS Frontiers Prime – The Fusion of Ferrari and Lounge
From the mere sight of it on the e-brochure on the PATHOS webpage, the PATHOS speakers grabbed my attention with his lyre-like shape, Ferrari orange automotive gloss, the swiveling top mounted cone and tweeter, and the ‘back firing’ upward angled cone and tweeter. The KEF Blade comes close in design with a side-firing cone but I haven’t tested that yet so I shall avoid commenting on it. Still, there is plenty of eye candy on the Frontiers Prime – through not in a TRANSFORMERS sort of way (recall ‘Optimus Prime’). Like the Classic One, the mystique begins with a design that blends the black of the suite of traditional looking cones and tweeters with the spunky orange of the bodywork. It is once again, classic yet modern, even postmodern. Some technical details:
Recommended amplifier rating: 15 - 200w
Drive Units:
2x 40mm tweeter (1 rear)
2x 165mm mid (1 rear)
2x 210mm bass
2x 165mm mid (1 rear)
2x 210mm bass
Frequency Range: 27Hz - 30kHz
Crossover Frequency: 200Hz, 4000Hz
Sensitivity: 91dB
Impedance: 8 Ohms
FRONTIERS PRIME Dimensions: Width 330mm; Height 1310mm; Depth 650mm
Weight (approx.): 40kg
Does the Frontiers Prime live up to its looks? An absolute YES! I have been listening to straightforward front firing one and a half to three way speakers for as long as I have been into this hobby, the Frontiers Prime does a very good job of eliminating the confines of the room in terms of its negative reverberation qualities, or conversely, enhancing its reasonable resonating space for realistic sound reproduction. PATHOS calls this ‘Sound Set Technology’. As you can see from my set-up, the walls are slightly over one metre distant from the rear firing cone and tweeter. The effect: a nearly perfect holographic sound especially if the remastering or original recording is good. The orchestra is in the room, and the piano keys are almost visible because the ear is taken for a ‘good’ ride by the neo-holographic sound. It helped that I started out with slightly better than average power cables from Hong Kong, and the holographic experience improved by leaps once I switched to the present combination of Crystal Cable Diamond Reference power cords for both the Classic One and the Digit CD player hooked up to a Qbase QB4 AC power distributor. The soundstage was wide enough to estimate the size of any orchestra. I experimented with swiveling the top section to target a ‘sweet listening spot’ in the middle in front of the equipment table, then refocused them ever more radically away from the sweet spot. Amazingly, I preferred the latter pattern over time because the cone and tweeter in tandem with their rear firing counterparts widened the sound stage very very considerably. Recordings by the Boston Pops orchestra under Arthur Fiedler and John Williams evoked a live concert hall atmosphere – literally a sonic teleportation without 3D cinema. Put on the newer FRANCE EMI Home Theatre quality remasters of Franck Pourcel, you’ll get a dolby surround effect without sound surround equipment. It was that thrilling! You don’t even think of being disengaged – ever! Sound Set Technology, plus the rear firing cone and tweeter, plus the sonically enhanced shape all added to Hi Fi magic – and there’s just no other way to describe it! These speakers will be my mainstay for a very very long time. One word of caution though: if like me, you are using a single pair of speaker cables – as most integrated amplifiers do – remember to affix the speakers ends of the cable to the positive and negative sockets/receptacles marked ‘front’ on the Frontiers Prime for the ideal sound. The Frontiers Prime is after all set up for tri-wiring, inclusive of woofer, and rear terminals – how more exotic can you get! ‘Woofer’, or ‘wF’ in short, gives you the most ‘concert hall like’ acoustics from the Frontiers Prime at the expense of bass and treble for vocals and instrumental solos, so it’s best to avoid it unless you listen to classical music all the time since this genre is mostly recorded ‘live’ without mixing and editing. I have tried playing a mixture of Baroque, Mozart and Italian opera and the ‘wF’ only position is worth a pair of front row seats in any house! The run of the mill jumpers connecting all three terminals exert a minimal effect on the proceedings so I’ve decided to stick with the factory supplied ones.
In keeping with PATHOS mystique and minimalist presentation, the speakers arrived in light coloured wooden crates accompanied by large cloth-like Styrofoam sheaths and no explanatory notes or certificates, except for a single page of installation instructions. Because each speaker weighed 40 kilogrammes, it required two men to lift, fix the smooth base spikes (that do not scratch any floor!), and then lift it erect in the desired position. THIS IS A SPEAKER THAT KEEPS GIVING AND GIVING despite its S$25,000.00 price tag….[I am also waiting at this time for the review by the European magazine MONO&STEREO, but here’s a detailed review from a Czech Hi-Fi site AUDIODROM: http://www.audiodrom.cz/en-version/364.html]
PATHOS DIGIT CD Player
To complete the scenery of sound and art, the PATHOS DIGIT CD Player takes you to a complementary classical futurist fusion of black backdrops and silver surfaces punctuated with the industrial circles that peek into the basic technology that puts the player a cut above the competition. These basic specifications are found on the PATHOS site: 
Dual differential 24-bit delta-signal DACs
Tube feature: Dual, fully balanced, tube, class A, zero feedback - 2 x Electro-Harmonix 6922 valves
Tube feature: Dual, fully balanced, tube, class A, zero feedback - 2 x Electro-Harmonix 6922 valves
Conversion rate: up to 192 KHz
Sonic range: 120 dB
THD + N: -100 db
Power supply: Stabilized dedicated digital
Level: 2 V,fixed
Analogue Outputs: 1 XRL; 1 line RCA;
THD + N: -100 db
Power supply: Stabilized dedicated digital
Level: 2 V,fixed
Analogue Outputs: 1 XRL; 1 line RCA;
Digital Output: Coaxial S/PDIF
Size: 23 x 46 x 8.5 cm
Weight: 9Kg
Weight: 9Kg
For this review, I picked four titles as shown in the picture below: Franck Pourcel for showcasing the latest remastered dynamics of vinyl sound; Paul Mauriat’s ‘Screen Music Three’ for displaying string bass, piano and electric guitar rhythms; the mixed compilation ‘Serrenade’ from the PACIFIC MOON label; and Dionne Warwick’s 2011 remastered ‘Valley of the Dolls’ 1968 LP on CD. The verdict: amazing transparency, studio or hall acoustics and the naturalness of instruments and voices, and add to that soundstage and excellent timing.
First off, Dionne Warwick’s alternately light, breezy soul tones were conveyed with great sensitivity, highlighting Burt Bacharach’s genius for capturing the hip and melancholic hues of her singing talent. ‘Valley of the Dolls’ and ‘Up, Up and Away’ were rendered with tremendous panache and ‘pathos’ as if Dionne were singing just for you. And there was a certain crispness to the entire album that I would dare any vinyl fan to compare with a record player. Paul Mauriat’s hip pop rock rhythms came across with a naturalness that defied the dates on which they were first recorded: the ‘Singin in the Rain/Over the Rainbow’ medley was spectacularly gripping for its sheer entertainment and the two tracks ‘Theme du ‘Histoire D’Or’ and ‘Theme from ‘Mahogany’’ that featured the wordless solo female choruses produced the unforgettable chills of a live performance – in my room. Next, the delicate Chinese violin-like instrument – the Erhu – was presented with a distinctive wail on its ending note each and every time on ‘Serenade’, played by virtuoso Jia Peng Fang, so much so that there was a poignant form of invisible poetry being communicated from the recording straight into your soul. Listen to Franck Pourcel remastered on ‘home theatre sound’ and you’ll easily mistake 40-50 year old recordings for the detail of a 21st century production using digital mixing. Particularly, ear grabbing were his interpretations of Saturday Night Fever’s ‘Manhattan Skyline’, ‘The Old Fashioned Way’ and ‘Chariot’ with its distinctive 60s’era guitar lead – each of these tracks put on a new majesty in their own way and dominated the imaginary concert stage in my living room..what a Riviera of sound it has been and time just passes without notice, flowing out of a pleasurable afternoon of pure audio listening…
Rgds,
ALAN
I was able to afford some tweaks following some advice I read on techradar.com. Switch out the stock 6922 tubes on the PATHOS Classic One and replace with a US$180.00 pair of Mullards. The latter are the midrange ones available on the market. They are mostly UK-made new old stock, as they are called, made in the 1970s. Of course, if you have the cash, you can go for the ultimate, Telefunken version of the Mullards costing US$448.00 a pair to get the best improvement - I'm told. I am now running the Classic One with the US$180.00 pair of Mullards as you can see in the picture below. This is not something PATHOS would officially recommend.
The results: the Classic One MkIII became a whole new smoother and warmer sounding amplifier overall! Every part of the sound - midrange, higher registers, lower registers - exhibited more detail, not just the warmth expected of the Mullards. Even the volume control did not need to be turned up beyond position 20 for an average sized room. For jazz saxophone, one could feel the soul in the horns, soundstage remaining as detailed as ever. Switch to jazz vocals of the likes of Ella, Rosemary Clooney and Laura Fygi, you hear the vocal chords with great naturalness and body. Switch to orchestras, you get the same depth and lots of dimensionality in the movement of strings, piano and percussion. That said, the Classic One may occasionally struggle to reproduce the correct aura of a remastered analogue recording from the 1970s - perhaps a 1 in 10 chance of a disappointment. But this should not deter you from enjoying the Classic One.
I am now experimenting with the same Mullard switching with a second hand PATHOS LOGOS Mk I. And the results are stupendously encouraging - this time, the LOGOS manages to rival my other cherished brand Sansui! My whole point about this short postscript is to draw music fans' attention to the possibilities of tube rolling with hybrid amplifiers. The LOGOS is now high up on my list of all time favourites! There will be a separate review of the LOGOS later in 2018. Meanwhile, enjoy the world of Hi Fi!
First off, Dionne Warwick’s alternately light, breezy soul tones were conveyed with great sensitivity, highlighting Burt Bacharach’s genius for capturing the hip and melancholic hues of her singing talent. ‘Valley of the Dolls’ and ‘Up, Up and Away’ were rendered with tremendous panache and ‘pathos’ as if Dionne were singing just for you. And there was a certain crispness to the entire album that I would dare any vinyl fan to compare with a record player. Paul Mauriat’s hip pop rock rhythms came across with a naturalness that defied the dates on which they were first recorded: the ‘Singin in the Rain/Over the Rainbow’ medley was spectacularly gripping for its sheer entertainment and the two tracks ‘Theme du ‘Histoire D’Or’ and ‘Theme from ‘Mahogany’’ that featured the wordless solo female choruses produced the unforgettable chills of a live performance – in my room. Next, the delicate Chinese violin-like instrument – the Erhu – was presented with a distinctive wail on its ending note each and every time on ‘Serenade’, played by virtuoso Jia Peng Fang, so much so that there was a poignant form of invisible poetry being communicated from the recording straight into your soul. Listen to Franck Pourcel remastered on ‘home theatre sound’ and you’ll easily mistake 40-50 year old recordings for the detail of a 21st century production using digital mixing. Particularly, ear grabbing were his interpretations of Saturday Night Fever’s ‘Manhattan Skyline’, ‘The Old Fashioned Way’ and ‘Chariot’ with its distinctive 60s’era guitar lead – each of these tracks put on a new majesty in their own way and dominated the imaginary concert stage in my living room..what a Riviera of sound it has been and time just passes without notice, flowing out of a pleasurable afternoon of pure audio listening…
Before I end this review, just a small caveat: I had used CRYSTAL CABLE POWER CORDS (Diamond Reference for the Classic One MkIII and Digit CD Player), CRYSTALCONNECT Diamond Standard for connecting the DIGIT to the Classic One, and NORDOST Blue Heaven 1.5 metre length speaker cables between the Classic One and the PATHOS Frontiers Prime (I may want to replace these with CRYSTALSPEAK Standard if I can afford them later). This combination had eliminated what I thought was an irritating load of ‘static feedback’ – audible in between tracks – coming from the DIGIT player whenever it was turned on. Moreover, the Crystal Cable wires worked harmoniously with the NORDOST speaker cables to produce an ‘out of [speaker] body’ effect on virtually all the orchestral tracks – ethereal but truly gratifying. Now you can guess why it took so long budget-wise to assemble such a cast of wonderful sound J Watch out for my next installment reviewing the SONUS FABER MUSIC and the Gato Audio CDD-1 player in tandem with the PATHOS Frontiers Prime.
Rgds,
ALAN
[Postscript, 21 August 2015: If you can spare the extra budget, upgrade even the speaker cables to at least the Crystal Cable Micro Diamond series (1.5 metres). The upgrade in sound quality will undergo a quantum leap. Jaw-dropping transparency, tightened bass, analogue recordings brought into almost three-dimensional effect etc. The next higher priced category for Crystal Cable is the Standard Diamond which is not a lot more expensive. But the next higher category, the Reference Diamond, is near stratospheric in price! So budget carefully, and you'll want to keep the PATHOS equipment for life since each cable change can only demonstrate their hidden vitality!]
POSTSCRIPT - 10 JANUARY 2018I was able to afford some tweaks following some advice I read on techradar.com. Switch out the stock 6922 tubes on the PATHOS Classic One and replace with a US$180.00 pair of Mullards. The latter are the midrange ones available on the market. They are mostly UK-made new old stock, as they are called, made in the 1970s. Of course, if you have the cash, you can go for the ultimate, Telefunken version of the Mullards costing US$448.00 a pair to get the best improvement - I'm told. I am now running the Classic One with the US$180.00 pair of Mullards as you can see in the picture below. This is not something PATHOS would officially recommend.
The results: the Classic One MkIII became a whole new smoother and warmer sounding amplifier overall! Every part of the sound - midrange, higher registers, lower registers - exhibited more detail, not just the warmth expected of the Mullards. Even the volume control did not need to be turned up beyond position 20 for an average sized room. For jazz saxophone, one could feel the soul in the horns, soundstage remaining as detailed as ever. Switch to jazz vocals of the likes of Ella, Rosemary Clooney and Laura Fygi, you hear the vocal chords with great naturalness and body. Switch to orchestras, you get the same depth and lots of dimensionality in the movement of strings, piano and percussion. That said, the Classic One may occasionally struggle to reproduce the correct aura of a remastered analogue recording from the 1970s - perhaps a 1 in 10 chance of a disappointment. But this should not deter you from enjoying the Classic One.
I am now experimenting with the same Mullard switching with a second hand PATHOS LOGOS Mk I. And the results are stupendously encouraging - this time, the LOGOS manages to rival my other cherished brand Sansui! My whole point about this short postscript is to draw music fans' attention to the possibilities of tube rolling with hybrid amplifiers. The LOGOS is now high up on my list of all time favourites! There will be a separate review of the LOGOS later in 2018. Meanwhile, enjoy the world of Hi Fi!
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