The Raysonic SE-30 MkII is a very emotional amplifier with unexpectedly tight and resilient bass, which makes it a versatile “fighter,” suitable for playing any music from classical to hip-hop.
Raysonic SE-30 MkII integrated amplifier
FEATURES
The Raysonic company is registered in Toronto, Canada, and its production facilities are located in China. For years the company has been marketing tube-based amplifiers and turntables.
The new line of SE-30 MkII has a solid aluminum chassis, which weighs 28 kg. Every detail of the amplifier inspires confidence, even the 7-button remote control has an all-aluminum shell.
The SE-30 MkII has three EL34 tubes arranged in triode in the final stage of each channel. They provide 2×18 watts of output power, which is small by the standards of modern transistor amplifiers but an achievement for tube-based units with SE-30 MkII construction. By the way, according to the developers, the amplifier works in pure class A.
In addition to six EL34 tubes, the circuit design features twin 12AU7 triodes driver stage and a 6922EH tube preamp . The power supply uses 5Z4 rectifiers and a big transformer covered with a metal case located on the right side of the case. On the left side there are two output transformers, covered by one “screen” for two. No printed circuit boards inside the unit, the entire circuit is mounted in a hinged fashion.
The front panel of the amplifier has a minimum of controls: a volume knob and a four-position source selector. Power button is located on the right side of the case. On the rear panel there are 4 line inputs and a set of acoustic terminals allowing to connect 4-ohm and 8-ohm load to the device.
The SE-30 MkII is available in two standard colors: silver and black.
Before listening to this amplifier it is desirable to warm up well and 15 minutes, which is recommended by the manufacturer, most likely, will not be enough. The SE-30 MkII runs very warm.
SOUND
One of the main listening impressions: the SE-30 mkII’s unexpectedly firm bass with well-crafted, natural-sounding timbres of instruments and human voices. Near maximum volume, the bass is still tight, though slowly the lower octaves sound begins to lose their naturalness.
In the middle the amplifier sounds much emotionally, with good articulation and “juicy” timbre structure, sometimes one would even want to blame it for excessively beautiful sound picture – it does not happen! On the treble this festivity continues, although the cymbals loops look already too “fluffy”, losing some of the clarity.
The scene of the SE-30 MkII is quite compact and doesn’t tend to go far beyond the boundaries delineated by the speakers. Solo instruments are skillfully highlighted, the parts of which are rendered with rare enthusiasm, even inspiration. Despite moderate volume, good localization remains at the back end of the sound field. I also like the smooth transition from one echelon to the next in the character of the scene, the scene does not have a pronounced layering characteristic of some amplifiers in this price range.
On the downside, the SE-30 MkII’s sound microdynamics are good, but not extreme. The focus on fine nuances of overtones or scene in orchestral compositions is still insufficient, although this problem will alert only lovers of ultra-detailed, analytical sound.
Price
: 83 510 Dollars.
Yamaha CD-S2000 CD player was used as a signal source. The amplifier boosts the source signal level in the bass, and does not change it in the treble. There is no amplifier’s frequency response roll-off in the bass 0 dB at 20 Hz , in the treble the response roll-off goes down from 11 kHz -0.1dB at 20kHz . The THD of the amplifier at 1kHz is under 0.131%, THD source 0.008% . The second, third and fourth harmonics are the largest contributors to THD, with the fourth being produced by the amplifier itself. All harmonics increase very strongly toward the low frequencies, starting at about 200-300 Hz, and above 1kHz harmonics above the 4th will be determined by the sound source, not the amplifier.
Can anyone provide their personal experience or review on the Raysonic SE-30 MkII amplifier? How does it perform in terms of sound quality, power output, and overall reliability? Is it worth considering for someone looking to upgrade their audio setup? Any insights would be greatly appreciated.
I’m curious to know about the performance and overall sound quality of the Raysonic SE-30 MkII amplifier. Can anyone share their experiences with this amplifier? How does it compare to other similar amplifiers in terms of power output and audio fidelity? Would you recommend it for a high-end audio setup? Any insights would be greatly appreciated.