[ NEW! Grandinote CELIO mk IV Phonostage on Hifi Knights ]

Grandinote‘s little wonder, the Celio Phono-stage gain itself already quite a fame. From its 1st incarnation, to the recent one- the 4th it keeps growing on each reviewer or user who gets the chance too give it a go. It was no surprise with to Us at all as simply speaking we had been equally taken by its capability and the performance level, simply unmatched for the asking price. Check what Hifi knight – Marek found! 

Intro:

” …  I entered the room in Marriott Hotel, where Grandinote amplifier drove maybe not the most beautiful but absolutely great sounding Liberation open baffle loudspeakers by Swiss company Sound Chaos, … So I had a chance to just sit and listen for quite some time. Well, call me impressed! Sound was incredibly powerful, dynamic, rich but also exceptionally pure and transparent. It became even more obvious that Grandinote was worth my attention. Bit later we met with Massimiliano, talked a while (not too long because there were many people interested in his products especially after listening to their performance) and agreed a review of the latest (4th actually) version of his MM/MC phonostage called Celio. A few weeks later I received a package with this product inside and I could start my adventure with it. Now, after a few months spent with it I am finally ready to share my impressions and findings  … “

Sound description:

” … One of the first records I played was Antonio Forcione Quartet in Concert, a high quality release by Naim label. It seemed fitting, a brilliant Italian musician played using the Italian phonostage. One wouldn’t believe how dynamic a performance of purely acoustic instruments can get when played with Celio. On both levels, micro and macro Italian phonostage proved to be a worthy competitor even to much more expensive competitors I mentioned before. I really enjoyed the very fast, powerful, tight percussion, deep, tuneful sound of double bass, exquisite, vibrant sound of cello and last but not least amazingly vivid, vibrant performance of Antonio’s guitar. All the instruments were precisely placed on a not particularly wide but definitely deep sound-stage. I could hear and feel each instrument breathing, interacting with surrounding air while delivering palpable and tonally accurate performance. Celio took care of proper differentiation that made it easy to study selected instruments but at the same time the performance was so immersive that I didn’t really feel like “wasting” time for analyzing the recording or studying individual skills while instead I could simply enjoy a wonderful, harmonious performance of highly skilled musicians … Even thought I knew this recording by heart with Celio it sounded fresh, interesting and kept me on my toes until the very last sound decayed. … “

Summary:

” …  So have I found a worthy replacement for my trusted ESE Labs Nibiru? I believe I have. Celio mkIV is an easy to use, versatile phonostage capable of delivering delightfully dynamic, rich and natural sound. It was a great match for two top quality cartridges, my AirTight PC-3, and Lyra Etna, but also for less costly pickups (Kuzma CAR-30 or Dynavector DV 20X2) that it pushed to their limits. It turned out to not be picky – it played each music genre with the same effortless momentum and intensity turning all high quality recordings into truly immersive experience. Even most of the less than perfect recordings sounding uniquely well when played with Celio, as it was able to focus my attention on the musical qualities rather than on technical shortcomings. If I was to describe Celio’s mk IV performance with one word I would definitely use: accurate. All good recordings, all instruments and voiced sounded simply right, accurate. That’s what I expect from high-end component and that’s exactly what Grandinote Celio delivered. A highly recommended product! “

To read full review please follow the link.