Reviews

quotes taken from Jim Merod
Positive Feedback Online Issue 41

"What's with this pairing, Robert? How come you've hooked your great little Adagios to those sexy wood-enclosed thing-a-ma-jigs?" Robert looked at me with that look of bemused inscrutability that I've sometimes accused him of offering in lieu of explanation. "Why not," he enthused, "they sound fantastic together."

And so they do. And that's the bottom line of my beflusterment upon finding that kindred listeners truly are (against other odds) partners in the audio crime of hearing with acute similarity. And that's the inner truth of my long listening months with these genuinely powerful, truly musical Red Dragon amplifiers.

Therefore, my covert confession: that I've indulged myself in far too much listening with (and "to" or "through") these beautiful creatures—and the Red Dragons ARE, in fact, "creatures" of a different sonic sort, given their raw animal power—more like panthers than somewhat scary old "dragons." But I digress for the sake of truth-telling here because I find these amps, strapped with Kubla-Sosna's Emotion speaker cables, to be magical.

the Red Dragons own a degree of musical and sonic transparency in the service of a necessarily "tactile" bulk of harmonic layering. Together they create an illusion of being in the room "with" the men and women who made it. Among audio illusions that conspire to craft the sense of (re-created) "musical reality," this one is the most fragile but satisfying.

...what the Red Dragons offer—both relatively, in comparison to these and other refined amps; and absolutely without the invidious tug of comparison—is a touch of musical magic which sounds and feels utterly right in the subjective but totally palpable "there-ness" of music in real space and time.

...Therefore, give me these Red Dragons. They combine the most virtuous tactile qualities of tube audio reproduction with the drop dead no nonsense "dig all the rhythm out of the basement" of the strongest, most seductive non-tube amplifiers you can reach for...

At $6000 a pair, the Red Dragons are not door-buster, cyber-market bargains. But, they're worth every dollar of their price in an audio universe that boasts $6000 plus one meter pair cables, and, alas, power conditioners that approach (and surpass) that price point. Do I want to keep these teasingly crafted softly-glowing boxes? Yup.

I dare anyone on a restricted budget, now de rigueur in our dried-up economic cosmos, to build a world-class audio system, beginning with superior amplification, to find a better price/value ratio than these hot rod audio engines with their sweetly purring silence locked on music brought to truthful glory for those who truly listen. Jim Merod

quote taken from Robert H. Levi & Dave Clark
Positive Feedback Online Issue 32

I was amazed how such powerful amps were so well mannered and made my very revealing Avalon Eidolons make such beautiful music. My previous experience with this much power and the Avalons is a glassy or etched sound, especially heard on violins and horns. What I heard now with the Leviathans was just the opposite. Layers and layers of rich, sophisticated, even frothy definition in the midband with never, ever any etch or glare. Not the last word in definition or the ultimate in micro dynamics or accuracy, the amps just make great enjoyable music. I would say the Leviathans are more equidistant sonically between what one hears in the better tube and solid-state amplifiers of today.

...You could call the highs romantic and forgiving. The Leviathans sound this way when they are putting out one watt or pumping out massive choruses. They are a nice break from over articulation and ear buzzing tweeters...Endless bass it's digital and it's powerful...The Avalons needed no reinforcement utilizing these powerhouse monoblocks. An easy recommendation for full range systems...

The Red Dragon Leviathans are powerful, musical, and portable with up to 1000-watts of luscious power to tap into with your music. They really tame a crispy, etched system and are unfailingly delightful to hear. Long listening sessions are truly complimented by these cutting edge digital amplifiers. Not the ultimate in accuracy or realism, they are astonishingly romantic with an all solid-state construction based around the new-ish ICE technology. They never run out of gas and should power up any speaker, no matter how inefficient...Gorgeous to look at and hear, the Leviathans will mightily entertain you into the wee hours of the morning. An auspicious beginning for a brand new American manufacturer who obviously loves great music.

(Dave Clark comments)
Well, okay... but I got to say at least this much ...Bob hits it right on the head when he suggests that the Leviathans fall squarely in the middle of the better tubed and solid-state offerings. I would take that a bit further and say that the amplifiers remind me of the best SET amps around, but with many of their faults minimized to a great degree. Like an SET they are magical in the mids and are as smooth and svelte as anything around. The Leviathans offer WAY more slam and dynamics can you say headroom? than any SET. Heck they are 1000-watts! There is no sense of compression or limiting to what one can muster from their speakers. The only limiting factors are the speakers, your room, and of course your ears. They change nadda the louder they go. What you get at soft is what you get at loud. You just get more of it louder. These amps have a gorgeous sound and really get music across to the listener. No fatigue, grain, grit, glare ...nadda. Smooth and very refined.

quote taken from Chris Martens review The Absolute Sound issue 166 November 2006
"...the Leviathans offer an immediately likeable sound whose defining characteristics include effortless dynamics, rock-solid 3-D imaging, and smooth, mellifluous voicing... Joseph Stalin once famously observed that 'quantity has a quality all its own.' Stalin's comment comes to mind because the Red Dragons produce such copious quantities of power that they reproduce music - especially loud and complex passages - with a disarmingly graceful yet muscular dynamic ease...While the same observation perhaps applies to other good high-powered amplifiers, the Red Dragons bring extra measures of expansiveness and - where the music warrants - explosive immediacy to the table. The Leviathans also produce vivid, three-dimensional images of almost sculptural solidity - a quality that became strikingly apparent on "Songbird" from the late Eva Cassidy's Eva by Heart [Blixstreet]. I never had the privilege of hearing Ms. Cassidy in concert during her too-brief lifetime, but those whose have report being struck by hearing a huge, ethereal voice emanating from a comparatively petite person, and that is precisely the image Dragons conveyed on "Songbird". Midrange is clear and articulate with a hint of almost tube-like lushness ...the Red Dragons command respect, not just because they're powerful, but also because their smoothness, warmth, and dynamic ease give listeners the priceless gift of relaxation."

Quote taken from Wes Philips of Stereophile Show Report HE 2006
I wandered into the ModWright/Red Dragon/Acoustic Zen/Golden Sounds room expecting good sound because Dan Wright's stuff always delivers, but I was wowed by the system's synergy. ModWright's SWLP 9.0SE preamp ($3995) was being driven by ModWright's upgrade on the Sony 9100ES CD/SACD/DVD player ($3500, including player). Red Dragon's Leviathan Signature monoblock amplifiers ($5995/pair) were feeding a pair of Acoustic Zen Adagio loudspeakers ($4300/pair) via Golden Sound cables. Wowsers! I'd never heard the Acoustic Zen or Red Dragon products before and they did not disappoint. I heard deep bass and liquid midrange that just made me swoon. Which component was creating the magic? I don't know, but everything certainly was passing it on, so I suspect the credit goes to all of them. Red Dragon's Leviathan Series monoblock amplifiers deliver 500W into 8 ohms for $5995/pair. Driving Acoustic Zen Adagio loudspeakers, they sure sounded sweet and powerful! They're packed with cool stuff, such as Neutrik silver XLR inputs and Cardas solid-copper binding posts, not to mention ERS paper, which is "employed at key locations to absorb and diffuse unwanted EMI." Maybe I'm just superficial, but I thought the Leviathan's wood cases and softly glowing logo lid just looked cooler than all get-out. Hey, sound is the crucial thing, but if you can look cool while performing well, I say go for it.

quote taken from Craig G. Fitzpatrick 2006 Review StereoTimes.com- "The presentation through these fire breathing dragons was wonderful and equaled amplifiers that retailed for more than twice the price. My recordings exhibited a rock solid image projected from a black background and soundstage depth, height and width were just the right size. The Leviathans exhibited a magical quality of being able to combine the very best traits of solid-state and tube amplifiers, and then unveil them in one complete package...In the midrange arena the Leviathans were just as remarkable and seductive. Their ability to separate performers and carve them out to allow them their individual space was exceptional. Each singer that I listened to, whether male or female, would sound as though they were right in front of me...I can state with extreme confidence that Red Dragon Audio has raised the bar and set a new standard for amplification. Highly Recommended!"

quote taken from Dave Thomas' CES/T.H.E Show 2006 Report StereoTimes.com-

"Easily the biggest surprise of the Show for me came from the Acoustic Zen/Red Dragon Audio room. I had heard all the whispers in the industry about a new Acoustic Zen loudspeaker called the Adagio but immediately blew it off by believing that Acoustic Zen chief Robert Lee was just trying his hand at building a loudspeaker. So when Frank Kraus of FLK Marketing, the distributor for Acoustic Zen, Red Dragon Audio, and others dragged me into the Acoustic Zen room at the end of the first day of the show, I was ready for his sales pitch. But coyly Frank sat quiet as he played the disc that I had been using in most of my listening, the soundtrack to the movie Space Cowboys [Malpaso/Warner Brothers]. This splendid disc features the classic Sinatra hit, Fly Me to the Moon that is reproduced with a tremendous amount of detail and jaw-dropping dynamics. Frank knew how good this system sounded and wanted an honest reaction from me without any guiding from him. Let me say this about this system: the Acoustic Zen speakers are gorgeous looking and a flat out steal and the attractively styled, ICEpower module-based Red Dragon Audio Leviathan monoblock amps are a must hear..."

quotes taken from Jim Saxon's review December 2005 soundstageav.com-

"Nothing I threw at the gorgeous Leviathan uncovered a flaw. It passed the Gary Karr bass test and the Aaron Neville texture test with Grade-A scores. On Schubert for Two, Gil Shaham close-miked violin needs increasing power in the midrange at the same time Göran Söllscher’s more distant guitar requires subtle low-level control. The Leviathan not only handled the violin robust highs and the guitar suave trail-off, it also captured each instrument's woody resonance. This ability to fill out the sound of an instrument is a virtue of tube amplifiers that few transistor amps have matched in my system. The volumetric sizes of pianos, cellos, and acoustic guitars are audibly defined on good recordings, with which I can separate amp pretenders from contenders. As the least transistor-sounding solid-state amplifier I have had in my system, the Red Dragon Leviathan is a leading contender for the title of Best All-Around Amplifier. Classical music fans, especially, should love it...

...Their soundstage was hugely hemispherical, and their frequency response was whole-cloth, with no holes or rolloffs. Their tonal balance was as my partnering tube components decreed: rich but honest...

Meanwhile, I feel confident in saying that in order to experience the full potential of ICEpower, you must audition Red Dragon Audio's Leviathan. Anyone looking to purchase a magnificent amplifier of any kind should do the same."

customer quote - Michael I. Keng - Salt Lake City, Utah

"This amp captures the dynamics, separation, and immediacy needed in order to portray a realistic soundstage. I've played in many orchestras as a violinist andI know when an instrument sounds right, and this amplifier delivers the goods. It gives you a real sense of the different concert halls each recording was performed at. Simply put, this amp will bring good recordings to life..."

customer quote - Todd Smithgall - League City, Texas

"I ran the amp naked and I was thrilled at the sound. Definitely a different animal altogether versus my late Melos tube amp, but WOW the detail and extension in both directions! I will have to adjust to the loss of even harmonics, distortion, that warmed the sound before, but this amp has incredible headroom and dynamic attack, yet remains grain-free and dead silent. Amazing! Roll Jordan from Fairfield Four projected a sound stage nearly 180 degrees wide, WAY outside the left & right speakers. My wife and I are both excited and look forward to getting to know the new sound by heart. I didn't just let the amp run for 7 or 8 hours today, I sat in front of it the whole time, spinning different favorite tracks!"

customer quote - Robert Lindsay - Seguin, Texas

"I don't think... I know that Red Dragon has created one fantastic amplifier. I have owned many high quality amps costing many times the price of this one (just sold a Rowland model 10) and can tell you it is a winner in every respect! Clean...powerful...articulate...etc..etc... and when you factor in the price in today's world of high end audio, "bargain" is an under statement! I'm telling you, here we have a powerful, refined, drive anything amp, at a real world price. One happy customer - Bob"

customer quote - Dan R. - USA

"After a long journey of attempting to find satisfying amps for my Dali Hellicon speakers I finally abandoned the massive Solid State and furnace based tube route and tried something different. I purchased the Leviathans and a wonderful new world of space and musicality opened up in my system; these amps are sonic gems. They can be subtle and large at the same time, are elegantly designed with a very small, classy footprint yet deliver a ton of detailed power, I am extremely happy with the purchase."