Unison Research S6 Black Edition, the golden divo

Straight to the point. The S6 Black Edition is a large, very large integrated amplifier. Not so large that it needs to be placed on the floor, but it is necessary to take a good look at its measurements to see if it is feasible to place it in the desired location. I like to place all the pieces in a balanced way on the shelves of the Artesanía Audio rack for pure aesthetics. In this case, I had to go to the limit, as it is the same size as the shelf.

I plugged it in and the sound that came out of my RadioTehnika Giant FS100N almost made me jump back. I wasn't prepared for such momentum and such forcefulness of watts. Its 40 W in class A/B took me by surprise. An unglamorous start on my part. 35 years later, we're still learning. Haste makes waste...

In the amplification preamp we find two ECC83 Gold Lion and six KT77 Gold Lion in power amplification, working in parallel. This gives us 40 W at 6Ω. All the new Black Edition series are equipped with 3 digital inputs USB, SPDIF and Toslink. In addition to 4 RCA inputs.

Unlike other brands, where the name (Black Edition) would only indicate the color of the product's presentation, in this version the components have been optimized and improved over the previous version, both in terms of output power and optimization of internal signals and the cabling used in it.

Continuing with the new trend of taking a step backwards to improve sound and not so much the "comfort" of the user, the automatic bias is replaced by a manual one. It is really easy to use and anyone, absolutely anyone, is capable of optimally adjusting the six power valves. It is not necessary to obsess over it either, the manufacturer recommends doing it only in the case of a long period of inactivity or prolonged electrical disconnection. Can you live without the need to compulsively adjust the bias? Yes. But you won't deny me the morbid pleasure of checking from time to time if everything is going well thanks to the two configuration VU meters. If we were normal we would listen to Spotify on our cell phones.

First. I don't think the built-in DAC is up to the same standard as the rest of the equipment. I am somewhat (quite) critical of the fact that this component has integrated amplifiers, for this reason.

Second. The NuPrime DAC 9x DAC has remote control codes similar to the Unison Research S6 Black Edition, so when I wanted to turn down the volume with the S6 remote I would change the DAC output. Can the two elements coexist in the same music system? Yes. You should set the NuPrime to variable output, not fixed, and use the DAC knob to turn the music up or down, leaving the amplifier in a fixed position.

It really isn't as bad as my previous lines might have given the impression. The problem is that it is designed to deliver a very thick sound, with a big bass punch and an obvious loss of the micro-details that I value and like so much. It's true that they make it clear and direct to you how much sound energy the component can deliver. But it's not what I like, I leave that "wild" style for lovers of disco, party music and other gummy percussion herbs to the extreme.

The use of two DACs during the tests was the result of the progressive knowledge that I was acquiring during the hours of work and enjoyment of the same. With the knowledge acquired over time of the sonic characteristics of each of them, I could choose which of the two would be the protagonist of the next performance. In the same way that true lovers of the analog world have several capsules for their personal pleasure, what is so strange about replicating good customs in the digital realm?

As my dear readers know, in each review I choose an album as background music. As I have three dacs in my hands, I can tell you that the one chosen for this particular piece is the TEAC. The reason is the way it treats brass instruments. A question of minute details and prickling skin.

Having only one pair of RCA interconnect cables from the Spanish company Wires 4 Music and with the firm intention of being strict in everything, in the auditions carried out with the utmost attention, I carried out A / B tests with the two DACs. Unison Research S6 Black Edition allows you to savor the differences between two DACs, something really difficult when both have a similar quality profile.

Seeking the sound of a solid state in a valve amplifier is unfair. Nor have I ever said that I am fair. For this reason, seeking the limits of everything, I want a clear, diaphanous and very defined resolution of the scene. With a sound far from the easy valve curve and that delves into the beyond of its natural possibilities. In other words, I looked at everything that valves do badly, outside their comfort zone, in order to appreciate this device. And all this for a simple reason: after my first, somewhat condescending, encounters with it, I saw that more and more could be demanded of it. And if it goes, I go.

My living room could not absorb all the force that this radical Italian product gives off. The sound broke at the limits of my room, not of the amplifier. I don't know its limits, it brushed mine away without flinching. If I ever decide to set up a product rating system, I won't do it with stars but with smiley faces. This one racked up a lot.

Equipment used in the tests

Sound source:
» TEAC UD-301
» NuPrime DAC 9X
»Roon Server
» Qobuz Studio
Power amplification:
» Unison Research S6 Black Edition
Speakers:
» RadioTehnika Giant FS-100N
Cables:
» Wires4Music in cabling:
    » Horus Hybrid RCA interconnection
    » Evolution in speakers and mains power
Rack HiFi:
» Artesanía Audio Exoteryc Rack PRO

They say that music has no borders, but I think that's not true. Music does have borders, and that's wonderful and it should stay that way. Being able to escape from commercial music, music that's suitable for all markets, and being able to travel to a corner of this planetary wreckage called Earth is comforting and makes me feel integrated on a global level. Living, through attentive listening, another reality and culture is enriching, and I don't want to lose this musical and cultural richness to a depersonalized and uprooted commercial music that is easy to digest and consume.

I was not directly familiar with this composer's music. And at the same time, it was the soundtrack of my childhood. This musical style was common on Spanish radio stations at the time. There was a direct musical line with Mexican and Argentine music in those years. Over time, the influences of other countries in the area became more and more noticeable, especially in the more danceable rhythms; the first two losing a lot of weight in this area.

"Así fue" changed everything. One day I saw and heard a video on TikTok that highlighted the final brass section. The way those experienced musicians played, with the years behind them, captivated me. It gave me a sense of the end of a career, of life. I don't know, something like that. In the video, Juan Gabriel looked very worn out. I was reminded of Elvis Presley in Las Vegas in his last, legendary concerts. Would I find the final voice of this singer at his best, like the swan song of the Las Vegas performer?

From Mexico, a contact put me on the trail of what I was looking for: the full video of that performance. Unfortunately, Juan Gabriel was a memory of what he was in this video and that musical moment in his life. So I focused on a much earlier concert, with a beautiful voice and 25 years of experience on stage.

Bits and pieces of a great work. In this concert, the version of "Así Fue" is academic and correct, although it lacks all the emotion contained in the original video, which ignited in me the need to continue investigating this popular divo. "Hoy todos mis días" has an international musical input. It could follow any music, it could be a small plagiarism of another song or it could have been plagiarized, I don't know. It took me a long time to dig up those familiar sounds from my memory. To avoid legal problems, let's just say that in July, watching Iglesias, back in the Miami era, was compatible.

The second installment, 2 CDs, is more local and patriotic in terms of the music. If in the first installment I had a good time with many songs that were well-known or close to my musical culture, in the second it is a festival of sounds and ways of understanding the combination of them. It is the Mexico ridiculed by travel agencies, with their crude, mediocre campaigns of clichés. It is wonderful to be able to listen to popular music that makes its rightful audience get out of their seats, not clueless tourists. Juan Gabriel is great, be proud of him, Mexican friends.

Unison Research S6 Black Edition is more than just a change of color, it is the evolution of a product from good to better. An ability to move any speaker at will and fill whatever is needed. It exudes power and at the same time is very easy to control, with a potentiometer like the ones I like. With the feeling of doing what you want and not what it wants.

Impressive aesthetics, it's Italian, nothing more to say. The cult of image of products from that country is well known. And if you add to that the evolution of a good product, you have an S6 Black Edition.

The sound capacity of this integrated amplifier is the closest thing to a bridge between the two worlds, valve and solid state. Clean, neat, with no added sweetening of the sound. With a lowered curve in the voices and not sweet / cloying.