The CHoco Sound!
Contents
We can be quite brief about the CHoco Sound EMEI integrated amplifier. The sound is delicious. It’s generous, round and big. Much rounder than we expected, since the Kinki Studio sound is mostly light-footed and not necessarily round and warm. The CHoco Sound has a bit more warmth to it.
The bass kicks in Steven Wilson’s new album – The Harmony Codex – are powerful, but also a bit less tight than on the Pass. That’s no shame, considering that the X150.8 has more power AND is a factor of four the price of the entire CHoco Sound. It would be a shame if it wasn’t. However, those who don’t like a lot of warm bass; be careful with speaker choices.
Speed
And yet we must also say: that mid is downright delicious! The CHoco Sound manages to reproduce vocals incredibly convincingly. It is fast, crystal clear and incredibly detailed. On the track “Say It” from the album Do it Again by Royksopp, the CHoco Sound places the voice right in front of our noses and gives the computer voice a texture that we really only hear with high-end amplifiers. Again, this makes for unprecedented intelligibility. Very impressive!
Imaging
Finally, the imaging. We can only write down one word: BIG. Kinki Studio has the same characteristic: presenting with a lot of air. Creating a big bubble. And the CHoco Sound EMEI does the same thing.
Whatever album we put on: we hear effects flying through the room. Voices are slightly in front of the speakers. It’s very different from the Pass: it also plays with a lot of air and ambience, but does it a bit more subtly. The CHoco makes it more of a party!
Thank you Jaap. I also watched your video Nilai and Yamaha, considering Nilai is a very good option for the money. And now CHoco gets very good reviews, and it’s very hard to evaluate without the possibility of listening to them directly. I have very lively dynamic speakers (Audio Nirvana 10”Alnicos) with very good imaging and detail but sometimes gives fatigue, so I have to choose my amp accordingly. I managed to short list as 1) Nilai amp or 2) Nuprime Amg sta amp + a passive volume switch/preamp such as Schiit Kara and 3) CHoco integrated. It’s nice to see people have similar shortlists. I try to get as much as possible information, opinions and listening experiences… and you’re one of very few people with that experience. Thank you…
You are very welcome.
Curiously I was also deciding between the Nilai and the choco. I understand they are different proposals but I can work with either. My main concern is the fact that you report the issue with the fuse. You are the second reviewer to mention that.
I bought the choco a few weeks ago and am waiting for it’s arrival. DTC companies are a very interesting proposal but if they not deliver the support that may be a huge problem.
Keep up with your unique approach and you’re off to be a reference in the Hifi community.
Cheers
Thanks! An let me know what you think of the sound!
I know, it’s hard to evaluate the sound in mind, how would you describe the differences between Choko and Nilai? I’m also torn in between, in my research. With using a passive volume switch/preamp they are almost in the same price range. Which one would you prefer for highly efficient (95db) speakers?
They are very different amps. The CHoco is an integrated amp. The Nilai is a power amp. The CHoco is very open and loose sounding. The Nilai is much more tight and a tad dry maybe. Well: at least compared to the CHoco.