Dared VP-80, High performance

• Dared's DV-80 is an excellent push-pull tube amplifier. It offers the quality of this kind of equipment with almost no limitations.

• Price: €1,740

• Specialists' rating: 5

• Text: Ramon Sendra

That tube equipment has a certain visual appeal (because of its retro look) is nothing new. But that Dared is also capable of giving its equipment an aesthetic twist certainly is.

To date we have tested a couple of Dared units, simple ones no doubt, and above all affordable. But now its distributor, AudiotecHV, has bet on a unit that, besides working perfectly, manages to surprise us the moment we unpack it. The pictures accompanying these pages surely cannot show just how beautiful it is. A unit we will want to show off, to place in a spot of honor in our listening room. But of course, high fidelity does not live on good looks alone, so we must also find out whether its performance lives up to expectations.

I like the fact that Dared has shunned rectangular shapes to give the unit a symmetrical, rounded line; that it has turned to aluminum, in various forms, piano black and wood-effect finishes; but also that it has chosen a set of quality tubes, with four well-known EL34s plus 6N8P and 6N9P tubes. We know the EL34s from other tests of Dared equipment (and that of other tube equipment manufacturers). The 6N8P and 6N9P stand out on the market for their good frequency extension and for their dynamism and neutrality; something we will bear in mind during the listening session.

Up to four sources can be connected (line level via unbalanced stereo audio), although the selector for each one is placed right next to it, so bear in mind that changing source means reaching around the back. The connectors are gold-plated.

So are the speaker binding posts, which let us choose the most suitable connection according to the impedance of our loudspeakers: 4 or 8 ohms. Finally, the unit comes with a simple (and also attractive) wooden remote control, which only allows us to raise or lower the volume. We can also do this with the knob on its right side, opposite the on/off button. One of the "drawbacks" of tube amplifiers is their relatively low power output. The power ratings stated in the specifications of these units rarely exceed 40-50 W (exceptions aside). Our guest states some 40 W maximum per channel, which in itself is a generous figure. But what really matters is not power but current delivery. Our guest undoubtedly shows an excellent ability to drive a wide range of loudspeakers, even those not known for particularly high sensitivity.

I even tested this DV-80 with a pair of Jamo D4 floorstanders and got really good results. The reason is the amplifier's push-pull configuration: amplification of the signal is split in two, with one group handling the positive half of the signal and the other the negative half. Put simply, it is as if there really were two amplifiers which, at maximum output, only have to amplify half of the input signal to obtain twice the power at the output. In the case of our guest, it means that those 40 W are more than enough to spare us from having to look for very high-sensitivity loudspeakers.



TESTED



In addition to the Jamo D4s mentioned above, I also used a pair of excellent PMC TB2+ speakers. Their stated sensitivity is 90 dB and, without doubt, the combination with the Dared amplification is superb. Attacks, which tend to be critical in tube amplifiers, are handled masterfully, as at no point did I notice any sign of strain. It is quite fast, so we can feed the system almost any kind of music. Only at very high volume levels did I notice a certain "compression", although the warmth of the unit effectively lessened any possible unpleasant sense of choking. The Dared's frequency response is another piece of good news. Although the EL34s lend a certain smoothness to the high frequencies (they are never as cold as some more modern transistor amplifiers), they do not make the low frequencies disappear, as some other tube equipment tends to. Dynamic response is good, allowing us to enjoy the music without having to worry about too many problems. Overall, the balance of this DV-80 is sensational. It stays true to Dared's pricing policy of offering high-fidelity equipment at modest prices, so its retail price is, in short, more than attractive. The value for money is convincing, above all because of the naturalness and smoothness of the sound it delivers.

This DV-80 will allow us, for example, to enjoy music with the familiar characteristics of tubes without having to worry about, say, the volume level we can achieve. I would still opt for low-sensitivity speakers, to fill the music reproduction with nuance. Nuances that are reproduced with very good fidelity. I insist that, despite the expected "tonal distortion" (tubes will always stamp their own personality, of course), the result should not displease anyone. A well-achieved balance between power, features and sound quality. A DV-80 that I like for its versatility, its elegance and also its exquisite, attractive sound. There are fewer and fewer excuses not to revive a technology that seemed forgotten.

Xavier Grau, AudiotecHV.



The DV-80 represents the mid-range of Dared products. A rather exotic design that may produce a fairly pronounced WAF (Woman Against Factor) effect. In any case, and despite its postmodernist design, the most important things are its quality of finish and the design of its topology, which gives it exceptional warmth when reproducing music. The power it can deliver makes it very versatile for listening to any kind of music, even in relatively large rooms. So... enjoy it!

Dared VP-80, High performance

Specifications

TYPE Push-pull integrated amplifier. MAXIMUM OUTPUT POWER 40 W per channel. TUBES 4 x EL34, 2 x 6N8P (6SN7), 1 x 6N9P (6SL7). FREQUENCY RESPONSE 20-20,000 Hz

(±1 dB). DISTORTION ≤ 1%. SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO ≥ 85 dB. INPUT SENSITIVITY 370 mV. INPUT IMPEDANCE 100 kohms. OUTPUT IMPEDANCE 4/8 ohms. DIMENSIONS 420 x 265 x 154 mm. WEIGHT 18 kg.

DISTRIBUTOR AudiotecHV (934705343, info@audiotechv.com).

Price: €1,740