Mystère CA21 Preamplifier and PA21 Power Amplifier

Mystère CA21 Preamplifier

Mystère PA21 Power Amplifier

Dick Olsher has posted a review of the Mystère CA21 preamplifier ($2195) and PA21 power amplifier ($2995) at AVGuide. His conclusions:

Even right out of the box my first impression was that the CA21 was no ordinary preamp. Of course, the 7AF7 substitution catapulted it to even a higher level in terms of clarity, upper-octave smoothness, soundstage transparency, and low-level resolution. It was able to reveal a venue’s reverberant signature with excellent fidelity. Its relaxed, totally edgeless presentation was devoid of gratuitous tube brightness or upper-midrange grain. Yet, unlike so many vintage preamps it did not gloss over detail with a broad brush. A slightly closed-in treble range highlighted the midrange. Tonally, the center of gravity was centered in the lower midrange enabling a big-tone portrayal of cello and upright bass…Harmonic textures were rich, luxuriant, with a textural density approaching the real thing…

The PA-21 very much sounded like a tube amp. Harmonic textures were slightly soft, liquid, and plush. Transient speed was slightly blunted. The soundstage was populated by robust image outlines and depth perspective was well delineated. Partnered with the CA21, the PA-21 produced a warm vibrant midrange with excellent microdynamic expressiveness. However, the upper mids and lower treble lacked the ultimate in purity, sounding a bit hard, grainy, and at times bright. The magnitude of the problem was not only load-dependent but was also exacerbated by the stock KT88 output tubes, which tend to run a bit strident through the upper mids…The 800-pound gorilla in the room is bass performance, since Mystère persists in marketing amplifiers with a high source impedance and consequently poor damping factors. Although subjectively a bit better than the previously reviewed IA21, bass definition continues to be a significant issue. A comparison with the recently reviewed Audio by Van Alstine Ultravalve power amp proved to be most telling. While the Ultravalve’s textures weren’t as plush or liquid, and it couldn’t reproduce the depth perspective and palpable image outlines of the PA21, its bass definition and bass impact were light years better. In the long run, the bane of flabby midbass was a real downer for me.

You can read the full review here.