Blue Circle Audio BC101 Preamp and BC100 Amplifier.

Manufacturer: Blue Circle Audio, RR2. Innerkip, Ontario, Canada, N0J 1M0, 519/469-3215; www.bluecircle.com Price: $1,595 amp; $1,795 preamp Source: Manufacturer Loan Reviewer: Gary Lea

Those who meet Blue Circle Audio owner Gilbert Yeung generally are surprised by this affable audio engineer. Although there is absolutely no doubt that he takes his audio engineering very seriously indeed, it takes no time at all to find out that he takes himself less seriously. There is not a shred of the ego that accompanies many audio designers. No sense of over-hyped self-importance, just a great sense of humor and a tenacious desire to stick to what he believes to be true and right in the world as he sees it. He tells it as he sees it and never pulls punches.

One only needs to visit his website or his room at CES to get a sense of how he looks at the world around him. He is perhaps best known as that eccentric guy who brought a preamplifier and two monoblock amps built into a purse and a pair of spiked heel shoes to CES some years ago. (The combination sounded great, by the way.) Not only did he keep the setup and continue to feature it, he improved upon it. Last year "Mary Lou"--the purse, spiked heels and sundress housing two Gallo Nucleus speakers, placed in the bodice of the dress--made her debut at CES. I imagine next year we will see her with a well-designed subwoofer in the rump!

Last year I happened to catch him playing around with a set of mouse ears. He posed next to the pieces featured in this review and I took the picture. I then transformed it into a cartoon and gave him a copy of it. Not only did he thank me for it he promptly put it on the website (it also made it into a 6 Moons review)! Yet when the conversations turn to audio design one quickly understands that there is no playing around in that arena. Gilbert is as serious as it gets when it comes to designing a producing his products.

For some time now I have been using Gilbert's BC86 MKIII Power Pillow power line conditioners. Aside from power conditioners, Gilbert and Blue Circle are more readily known for tube and hybrid equipment. Generally his products reflect the small production and hands-on impact to pricing. That being said I was very interested in the BC100 and BC101 because of the lower price point and because these are fully solid state pieces.

The BC100 Stereo Amplifier is, in Gilbert's own words, a 50 watt per channel solid-state power amplifier utilizing Blue Circle's new specially designed, high current, high speed power supply capacitors. These caps resemble a thick hockey puck with two rectangular tabs instead of wire leads. The amplifier has a separate power supply and separate power transformer for the front end and is DC-coupled from input to output. The amp uses a 400-watt power transformer for the output stage and employs a soft start design.

The stated specs are as follows: Power is rated at 50 watts per channel. Residual noise reference to full power output: >-88.0dB or <700uV non weighted and residual noise reference to full power output: >-100.0dB or <180uV within audio band. Tracking error is stated at < +/-0.025dB and frequency response is (10W into 8 ohms): 10Hz to 30K +0.1db, -0.1dB; -0.5db at >100 kHz. The input sensitivity is rated: 0.95V and voltage gain at 26.5dB. Distortion at 10W into 8 ohms is less than 0.025%. This unit is sized to mate directly with the preamp at a rack-friendly 17.5" wide x 4" high x 9.125" deep with binding posts and 8.5" deep without binding posts and weighs in at a modest 15 lbs. An optional remote is available at additional cost.

The BC101 is a dual mono solid state line stage employing two Shallco attenuators. At a glance it looks like a BC21.1. Functionally it is the same except for the fact that the balance control has been replaced by another volume control. And the unit has no tubes! The Dual Shallco volume attenuators with high/low level switch to make 62 positions. There is a user-adjustable gain switch inside the unit. I was not aware of this feature, not having the manuals at the time, and it caused a great deal of consternation as the gain was in the lowest position when I received the unit. The preamp sports three pairs of line-level inputs. According to Gilbert the unit is somewhat customizable as you can spec additional inputs and outputs at additional cost. The unit uses the same high-speed polypropylene caps as the far more expensive BC103 and BC3000MKII. These preamps sell for $3500 and $6500 respectively

Stated specs for the preamp are: Residual noise reference to full rated output: >-100.0dB or <100uV non weighted and residual noise reference to full rated output: >-110.0dB or <30uV within audio band tracking error is stated at < +/-0.025dB and frequency response at 5V output: 10Hz to 30K +0.00db, -0.1dB; -1db at >100kHz. Distortion is rated at 5V output is less than 0.004% and Voltage gain at 13.5dB. The maximum output is 9.25V. Volume control range: -95dB to 0db in 62 steps standard with Shallco attenuators. Dimensions match the BC100 at 17.5" wide x 4" height x 8.5" deep and the unit weighs in at 10 Lbs.

Both units came in a black casing with machined stainless steel face plates. My samples also sported the wooden knobs that are standard issue. Other colors and knobs are available at additional charge. The setup that I received was very attractive and did not draw attention to itself but rather looked simplistic and elegant. Right in the center sits Blue Circle's trademark circular emblem which lights up blue. Fancy that? I did suggest that Gilbert step the wattage on the backing light so that the emblem might stand out a bit better. (While you are at it Gilbert you might consider having the edges of the face plates rounded off- mine were actually on the sharp side. Small complaint in the overall scheme of the performance of the components.

Well, how did this setup perform? The overworked old adage "tube-like" is somewhat accurate here. It is definitely a solid sate system, but it lacked the whitewashed sound that seems to define so many solid state components. For an amplifier of a moderate 50 watts per channel, the BC100 produced a prodigious bottom end with plenty of grunt and superb control. Although this ensemble did not produce quite the level of warmth richness that comes with tubes, the music sounded lifelike and truly believable. It did a fine job of emulating a tube setup with a bit more snap and a more forward presentation by comparison. In critical listening what really jumped out at me was that the combo produced music in direct relationship to the scale of the work. On cuts from Lee Ritenour's Overtime CD (Peak Records HPKD-8531-2), which was recorded live in the studio, the Blue Circles give the appropriate impression of a small and intimate setting. You feel up close and in the mix. The soundstage has a very wraparound feel to it, as though the musicians are arranged in a semicircle in front of you. Most notable is the old Temptations track, "Papa Was A Rolling Stone." I felt that Chris Botti was actually standing to the side of me as he played his muted trumpet. The sense of scale was exactly what the venue would have created.

On Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb," a perennial favorite of mine from the live Pulse CD (Columbia CK67096) I found myself smack in the middle of the front row with 20,000 of my closest friends. The presentation was so well done that I think I suffered a contact high! I was actually quite surprised at what a modest 50 watts would produce in terms of scale.

I am not known far and wide as being the foremost authority on classical music, but just for giggles I threw on Symphony No. 9 by Antonin Dvorak as performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of conductor Jascha Horenstein. Pushing the Usher CP6311s was no problem for the Blue Circles and I was able to get quite satisfying sound levels. Perhaps one of the strengths that showed itself as a result of this track was just how well the BCs handled the transitions from strong climaxes to the lower-level passages. The detail remained the same. This was true with not only the Ushers but also the AES Q5ers. The transients were lightning-quick but very subtle. The more I listen to this and other classical pieces, the more I am beginning to enjoy them. Paula even commented on the sudden surge in classical music around our house.

One thing I did take note of during my listening sessions was that headbanging metal and grunge were not this systems strength. Although it was acceptable in its presentation of tracks from Audioslave and Staind, the sound was simply not as coherent as with other musical styles.

During the extensive review time I never tired of the Blue Circle BC100/BC101 system. The music was consistently enjoyable and there was never a single glitch with the system. Blue Circle products are covered by a non-transferable limited 90-day warranty on parts and labor. To obtain the optional non-transferable warranty (3 years on parts and labor, complete the warranty/registration form and submit ir to Blue Circle Audio Inc. within 30 days of purchase.

Gilbert Yeung and Blue Circle Audio are the real deal. If you have a small to medium room the Blue Circle BC100 and BC101 would a great anchor for an affordable system. Hook them up to a set of moderate to high sensitivity speakers (I did get a chance to listen to this system driving a pair of Soliloquy 6.0s and it was a great match up) and a good source and you will have yourself a very satisfying system that will keep you enjoying the music for a long time. This setup will give you all the punch of solid state, coupled with a lot of the sweetness of tubes without any of the hassles. Of course it won't be Mary Lou, but it may be a whole lot easier to get past your significant other.