Restek

JANDL100

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Anyone else here like their kit?

I bought a Restek Consens pre-amp a bit over 2 years ago. T'was an eBay whim, as many things are for me. Just curious to try the brand as I'd heard positive opinions of them every now and then over the years.

Most of my eBay whims come, stay a brief while, and then head onwards again.

But not this Restek pre. After 2+ years it's still chez-Jerry and I'm looking forward to getting another power amp to try it with. At the moment I'm all integrateds, so the Restek is resting.



There's an open natural unforced high-rez-ness to the sound that just suits me down to the ground and that seems to go well with all the power amps I have owned during its stay. OK, it is a little on the 'brightly lit' side, but tbh I'd rather that than rolled off

Other pre-amps have come and gone, and I have enjoyed many of them. But the Restek seems to be a keeper.

http://www.restek.de/

Stock image...

1666272930634.png
 
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JANDL100

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Oh, and I had a Restek Challenger integrated for a while - it was OK, especially for the £400 or so they go for used, but the Consens pre is in a different sonic league, imo.

I have to confess lusting after Restek monoblock power amps ....

restek-extent-mono-power-amplifier-785-p.jpg
p1070315.jpg


Yum, big blue meters! :D

... perfect looking hifi, of its type! :love:

 

plasticpenguin

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Read some really good things about their 'Challenger' amp. Never had the opportunity to hear one though.

I love dancing VU meters.

(I know this thread is a few years old).

 

hiesteem

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The Restek cd and amps are serious pieces of audio equipment. I have had their Concret cd and Fantasy integrated amp since 1998.   They don't   change their equipment much and nor do they need to because when you buy their electronics there is no need to upgrade as far as sound quality and longevity is concerned.

I sent my cd player back in 2016 for servicing and swapping out old parts for updated electronics and the player came back with the ability to play HDCD and an upgrade to the internal DAC.

It is nice being able to play HDCD and they do sound different to ordinary cd recordings and a year later I purchased their external DAC and that will be my upgrades complete for another 20 years.

 

Womble from Wimbledon

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Oddly enough I have a Restek Concret cd player which I bought around 2000.

Just wondering how much the upgrades cost and did they actually make a difference ???

 

hiesteem

peacebro
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Oddly enough I have a Restek Concret cd player which I bought around 2000.

Just wondering how much the upgrades cost and did they actually make a difference ???
My apologies for not seeing your question until now. The digital audio converter in the original Concret is powerful in the bass and a bit unrefined in the highs.

The new dac is more civillised and less dramatic. It offers more detail through the mids and is refined but not as engaging perhaps as the old dac. My analogy might be pre circus lp12 compared to modern lp12.

IT did come back with HDCD compatability which is nice if you are a grateful dead fan as a lot of their stuff is HDCD.

What I did was later buy their Mdac+ which takes the sound up several notches on every level. Its built like their amplifiers and sounds like one. Very powerful presentation.

Upgrade for Concret was 900 euros back in 2015.

Mdac+ was 1200 euros in 2016.

 
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Bazzaah

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Hello!  I have seen a Restek Challenger for sale. I like the look if it but can find little on the way it sounds. 

Any opinions on this amp? Some seem to think that it's amazing others that it's merely ok. 

Thanks in advance

 

JANDL100

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Imo, the Challenger is "OK" . It doesn't have the sophistication and natural musicality of Restek's more expensive offerings.

It's powerful and direct and impressively robust sounding. But it's a bit coarse and unsubtle, lacking finer resolution and dynamic nuance .

It's not "high end" like their more expensive gear.

 

hiesteem

peacebro
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Hello!  I have seen a Restek Challenger for sale. I like the look if it but can find little on the way it sounds. 

Any opinions on this amp? Some seem to think that it's amazing others that it's merely ok. 

Thanks in advance
Hi there. I'm a happy restek owner for over two decades now. I really rate all there kit as you will notice from my profile. I would say Jandle's description of the challenger is accurate.

However I can't help compare it to similarly priced kit and that's where it gives great sound per pound value. The Challenger is powerful and will be an exciting listen and will drive any speaker for fun.

The Fantasy integrated is the better of the two and are similarly priced in the second hand market. It is equally as powerful, having two large toroidal power supplies but more detailed in its ability to seperate out instruments, especially bass notes. It will follow the bass line through , carrying the tune which underpins the musical message.

There is one for sale on eBay £900 and open to offers. The audio shop is in Worthing on the south coast of the UK.  

I sold my Naim 62, Hicap, 250, for the Fantasy amp, it simply has more of everything . Restek amplifiers and their flagship CD player are the best kept secrets in audio and I have not felt the need to change in over twenty years.

Audio equipment is very subjective but I prefer listening to music and spend far to much on music to be bothered to buy a new piece of equipment for the sake of change. 

 
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hiesteem

peacebro
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One other thing I would like to say through experience is Restek are masters of servicing their amplifiers and replacing any parts that are worn or in need of updating .

I have sent my CD player over to Germany whereby it was serviced and the dac replaced with HD reader, which is great as I am a massive Grateful dead fan and most of their stuff is recorded in HDCD. 

 
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Rockchild

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I Agree, highly desirable kit. Sadly not as well represented in the UK but having sampled one of their CD players ( dealer px loaned while mine was sent for repair), I should have purchased it. 

 

hiesteem

peacebro
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I Agree, highly desirable kit. Sadly not as well represented in the UK but having sampled one of their CD players ( dealer px loaned while mine was sent for repair), I should have purchased it. 
Their CD and amplifiers come up occasionally on eBay, but mainly in Germany. There equipment is similar to Sugden's philosophy in as much as it is built to last and to be repaired and upgraded over a lifetime.

Restek mention this in their policy on their website. Interestingly though I was looking at Sugden as a replacement last year when my Fantasy amp went into protect mode and couldn't ship it back to Germany because of the restriction's.

I was fortunate enough to find a good local service engineer who managed to bring it back to life after many months of sourcing parts. Sounds great again and saved me 5k in a replacement amp. 

How do you find your Copland pre power? They do look very well made and I was an admirer of there CD players. Not sure if they still make them now.

 
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hiesteem

peacebro
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There CD and amplifiers come up occasionally on eBay, but mainly in Germany. There equipment is similar to Sugden's philosophy in as much as it is built to last and to be repaired and upgraded over a lifetime.

Restek mention this in their policy on their website. Interestingly enough I was looking at Sugden as a replacement last year when my Fantasy amp went into protect mode and couldn't ship it back to Germany because of the restriction's.

I was fortunate enough to find a good local service engineer who managed to bring it back to life after many months of sourcing parts. Sounds great again and saved me 5k in a replacement amp. 

How do you find your Copland pre power? They do look very well made and I was an admirer of there CD players. Not sure if they still make them now.
 

Rockchild

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Their CD and amplifiers come up occasionally on eBay, but mainly in Germany. There equipment is similar to Sugden's philosophy in as much as it is built to last and to be repaired and upgraded over a lifetime.

Restek mention this in their policy on their website. Interestingly though I was looking at Sugden as a replacement last year when my Fantasy amp went into protect mode and couldn't ship it back to Germany because of the restriction's.

I was fortunate enough to find a good local service engineer who managed to bring it back to life after many months of sourcing parts. Sounds great again and saved me 5k in a replacement amp. 

How do you find your Copland pre power? They do look very well made and I was an admirer of there CD players. Not sure if they still make them now.
Sugden and Copland have a different presentation however the Copland is a hybrid whereas some of their amps are fully valve based. 
The Sugden oozes in low end texture and lovely midrange. The Copland power amp is more of a power beast but never hardens. I like them both in different ways. I prefer the Copland to the Pathos I once had and the Luxman. Given the types of music I like, the Sugden would win overall but play something like Yello on the Copland, you feel the bass firmly on your chest. It’s a difficult one. Also, a lot depends on the speakers you have.

 

hiesteem

peacebro
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Sugden and Copland have a different presentation however the Copland is a hybrid whereas some of their amps are fully valve based. 
The Sugden oozes in low end texture and lovely midrange. The Copland power amp is more of a power beast but never hardens. I like them both in different ways. I prefer the Copland to the Pathos I once had and the Luxman. Given the types of music I like, the Sugden would win overall but play something like Yello on the Copland, you feel the bass firmly on your chest. It’s a difficult one. Also, a lot depends on the speakers you have.
That's quite an acknowledgement for Sugden. That it can compete with a quality pre power such as Copland. Perhaps the Sugden matches your Harbeths really well.

 
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Rockchild

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That's quite an acknowledgement for Sugden. That it can compete with a quality pre power such as Copland. Perhaps the Sugden matches your Harbeths really well.
I prefer the a21a Signature to the A21Se signature and the ia4. 
I would like to try it on some PMC’s again one day. 
Using the Copland DAC 215 on the Copland poweramp, it’s pretty awesome tbh. The pre stage is valve based and delivers digital in a mesmerising fashion. The single analogue input does a decent job with my phonostage but not tried it long enough yet.  

 

hiesteem

peacebro
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I prefer the a21a Signature to the A21Se signature and the ia4. 
I would like to try it on some PMC’s again one day. 
Using the Copland DAC 215 on the Copland poweramp, it’s pretty awesome tbh. The pre stage is valve based and delivers digital in a mesmerising fashion. The single analogue input does a decent job with my phonostage but not tried it long enough yet.  
I really like the way you have crafted your system. I am getting an idea that your amps and speakers are put together to create textures and a certain type of tonal colour. 

 
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