Symphonic Line RG2-MK3

Published: 19/05/2024

Manufacturing date: 1992

Author: Karsten Hein

Category: Gear & Review

Tag(s): Pre-Amplifiers

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More Room for High End

The RG2 MK3 is a preamplifier designed by Rolf Gemein and hand-crafted at Symphonic Line in Duisburg, Germany. Rolf Gemein was among the first audio designers in Germany to adopt the term ‘High End’ for his uncompromising audio products. He soon teamed up with other German developers of exceptional audio gear to form the ‘Deutsche High End Society’ and went on to initiate the High End audio fair in Munich, which has since become the largest event of its kind in the world.

The RG2 preamplifier in its third (MK3) iteration deserves to be thought of as a High End product in multiple ways. Its heavy body is made of 2mm-thick sheets of brass for superior RF protection. Its 10mm-strong face plate with turned full-metal knobs feels as though it was made for eternity; a quality impression that is underscored by its chrome-plated Aranja (or grapefruit) tinted-mirror shine. Everything about the look and feel of this preamp suggests that it is of exceptional quality. And those who have come in contact with Symphonic Line products would expect no less.

Connoisseurs of the brand will also appreciate that the RG2 MK3 is housed in the same enclosure format that already served well in its legendary integrated amplifier cousin, the RG9 MK3. In fact, the preamplifier section that works so well in the RG9 MK3 is also used in the RG2 MK3. Symphonic Line even employs the same large mumetal transformer to supply the stand-alone preamplifier section with lots of clean and fast energy. And, with the two 140 Watts per channel power amplifier boards of the RG9 missing, this transformer’s output is more than generous for the unit.

Having experienced the RG9 in our studio for a few weeks, I found myself much more at ease with the handling of the RG2’s front panel controls. While I had initially been taken aback by the power switch, input selector, and tape monitor knobs all having the same look and haptics, I meanwhile understood the principle of operating the unit from left to right: 1. turn on, 2. select source, etc. The only item that I still missed was a stepped attenuator for improved orientation when adjusting the volume.

The RG2 MK3 offers cinch/RCA input sockets for Auxiliary, Tuner, CD, and Tape. The MM/MC phono stage offers two pairs of sockets, of which one can be used with adaptors to increase input capacitance (where necessary for tonal adjustment). An oversized gold-plated turning clamp right next to the phono inputs assures that excellent phono grounding is always close at hand. When turning the unit on via the power switch, large internal relays can be heard clicking into place. A similar relay-clicking is heard when moving the toggle switch from MM to MC or back. There is one pair of cinch/RCA outputs available to connect to the external power amplifier. All cinch sockets are sufficiently far apart to accommodate all types of cinch/RCA plugs.

Without the need for internal power amplifier boards, the RG2 MK3 could potentially offer a reduced noise floor, improved dynamics, and possibly better protection from internal stray currents and rail fluctuations, which could all have a degrading effect the RG9’s preamplifier section. In other words, the stand-alone preamplifier unit had the potential to offer greater signal integrity than the combined unit. Its resulting overall performance would depend on how well it was matched with an external power amplifier, the loudspeakers, and the room, of course.

Setting the Stage

For my first listening setup, I connected the RG2 MK3 to a Dynavox VR70E-II tube amplifier using my trusted HBS1 Silver Solid Core cinch/RCA interconnects. The Dynavox amp offered 40 Watts per channel via EL34 tubes into an 8 Ohms load. The loudspeakers were a pair of Tannoy XT-8f with Tannoy's trademark dual-concentric drivers and a sensitivity rating of 91 dB at one Watt. In my initial setup, the speaker cables were Belden 9497, which tend to perform well with both vintage equipment and tube amplifiers. The Tannoys, however, were not exactly vintage speakers. I was therefore open to giving some alternative cables a chance if need be.

My music sources were a Denon DCD 1420 CD player, paired with Cambridge DAC Magic via HiViLux Reference cable,and a Sansui SR-525 turntable with Audio-Technica VM540 ML cartridge. The Cambridge DAC had a massive 100VA linear power supply at its side. As you can see, I was no stranger to the idea of oversized supplies and could appreciate Rolf Gemein’s approach in beefing up the RG2 with a high output transformer.

The DAC was connected to the RG2 by means of a twisted two-strand type of silver solid-core interconnect that had been sent to me by Marc Stager in New York for auditioning. My initial impression of the cable had been positive, and so I decided that it could stay in this first setup. As silver offers superior conductivity to copper (check out the Annealed Copper Standard Table here), the prevalent choice of silver cables on my setups has usually served to support a fast, dynamic, and engaging sound. As usual, the loudspeakers had been positioned using the room mode calculation sheets handed to me by Peter English and had then been fine-tuned by ear. The final stereo-matching was done using a laser distance measure.

There were no cables touching or crossing behind the rack as to negatively affect the tiny signals passing through them by means of induction. Sadly, it has not yet become common knowledge that this step is essential for the music signal to pass the cables uncorrupted. However, as my childhood friend Alec likes to tell from his days he was running a PA firm in Frankfurt: “We used to watch the power cords of our large QSC amplifiers dancing to the beat when they were hanging close to each other behind the PA rack.” The trouble is that our ears will notice cross-induction long before our eyes see the power cables dancing with the beat.

Construction on our 70 square meter listening room had been completed only recently. An assortment of carpets, rugs, drapes, and acoustic panels helped to reduce reverberation times to a realistic-to-live level. I was quite happy with the result. It felt bold and natural to be working on music-related subjects in this new dedicated space. And the first titles I was about to listen to were from Helge Lien’s 2008 Jazz LP “Hello Troll”.

First Impressions

Opening with ‘Gamut Warning’, I was instantly greeted by the superb depth and width of the RG2’s phono stage. Knut Aalefjoer’s drums, albeit sharply rendered, were slightly set back and smallish in the left third of the stage, whereas Frode Berg’s bass lines could be found in life-like dimension to the right. Helge Lien’s often delicate and sometimes highly dynamic piano keys were lingering freely suspended across the room, thereby holding the stage together. Although the Tannoys were connected in bridged mode (i.e. wired to the treble and jumpered to the bass driver by using the same Belden cable), I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of bass control and contour.

The RG2 MK3 presented individual instruments in a wonderfully separate and yet cohesive manner to preserve the individual playing styles of each artist. This was a Symphonic Line characteristic that I had already enjoyed immensely on the RG9. I was reminded that the Sansui SR-525 is a well-engineered direct drive turntable, even by today’s standards. It had once been far ahead of its time and could fully demonstrate its prowess in combination with the RG2. It probably also helped that the AT VM540 phono engine with ML stylus makes for an excellent-sounding MM cartridge.

There were two aspects, however, that I did not find instantly fulfilling: First, the dynamics of piano keys could have been slightly stronger to be absolutely realistic. And, second, the tonality of this HiFi system did not captivate me emotionally to the same extent as the two HiFi systems (using Epicure 500 and Martin Logan SL3 loudspeakers) in my RG9 tests had done. I suspected that the reason for the perceived lack was to be found in the wiring either between the turntable and preamplifier or perhaps between the VR70E-II tube amplifier and the Tannoy XT8 loudspeakers.

Adding Tonality to Music

Looking for a remedy, I first swapped the Belden speaker cables for original Symphonic Line Harmony HD ones that Heinz-Peter Völkel had given to me with the preamplifier for testing and added 4mm-thick solid-core copper jumpers to connect to the bass drivers. I then left the system playing random music for a while in order for the new gear to settle in. When I came back into the room, I could hear that the tonal balance had shifted towards a slightly softer treble and richer, more powerful low bass. There was still sufficient detail preserved in the music, however, the shift towards darker colours did not automatically translate to into a greater separation of tonal events as I had hoped. I noticed that the system played louder somehow, and I suspect this impression was caused by the superior conductivity of the Symphonic Line cables.

In a next step, I exchanged my HBS1 Silver Solid-Core with a Symphonic Line interconnect. The music again seemed louder and became more tangible in a general sense. There was a stronger presence of tonal colours, and it was now more easily possible to distinguish between them. I cannot say for sure that the extent of tonal nuances was on par with the listening test I had previously conducted with the RG9, however, I was definitely getting very close. I would have liked to possess a second Symphonic Line interconnect to replace the only remaining HBS1 interconnect that remained between the RG2 and the tube power amplifier, as I do suspect that this would have taken my listening adventure to the next level.

Changing over to my Denon CD player and Cambridge DAC combo with Marc Stager cinch/RCA interconnects, both tonal balance and soundstage impressions remained very similar. Even the volume appeared to be on the same level. Heinz-Peter had also sent me some of the Live||Tape recordings he had made in cooperation with the former Radio Bayern sound engineer Andreas Sandreuter. The recordings were intended to cultivate analog reel-to-reel studio sound, and the only reason he had sent them to me on digital medium was the fact that I did not yet have so much as a cassette deck in the house.

Through Heinz-Peter’s concession to my analog media shortcomings, I was able to listen to local German music highlights, such as Bad As We, the Senior Jazz Trio, Anna Boulic, the Sunday Morning Orchestra, Alexander Möckl, and others. And while I was listening, I forgot that I was listening for a review or that I was listening to HiFi components. Much rather, I was listening to the musicians and their instruments, to the rooms, to the music, and occasionally to the audience. It was perplexing to think what would happen, if I had had an even better power amp, interconnect running to it, or superior loudspeakers. The RG2 MK3, surely had the potential to eliminate the boundary between the live event and the recording even further with each new improvement.

Side Notes to History

It has sometimes been said that the Dynavox VR70E-II is a well-built tube amplifier that can keep up with equipment many times its price. And I would have tentatively agreed that this is the case from my own limited experience. However, it was not until my experiments with the RG2 phono stage in combination with the Symphonic Line interconnects and speaker cables that I personally became witness to how far this little amp was willing and able to go. The Tannoys, too, did surprisingly well in this combination, exhibiting tonal skills and dynamics that I had as yet been unaware of. Having said that, I do think it highly unlikely that many owners will ever hear these speakers in this way.

My longtime HiFi companion Luigi has a short explanation for this: Modern speakers tend to do lots of things well, have lots of bass, treble, midrange, and dynamics. And more often than not they will sound cold and lifeless despite all their wonderful skills. At the point of writing this article, the Tannoy XT8f have been in my possession for just over four years. And the RG2 MK3 with all Symphonic line cables in place has made them sound properly for the first time. We are talking about equipment that is many times more expensive than the speakers themselves. But who is going to spend that kind of money on a pair of mid-of-the-market Tannoys?

Both the Epicure EPI 500 and the Martin Logan SL3 loudspeakers delivered an excellent tonal performance based on the affordable Belden 9497 speaker cables, because they were designed to work well with small diameter cables. The same cannot be said for more modern speakers that tend to entice their owners to pay evermore for their equipment and periphery. I would therefore agree with my friend Luigi that modern HiFi love affairs tend to be rather calculated and run the risk of being unfulfilling.

While I Have You Here

Listening to Helge Lien’s album “10” has always been a treat to me. And, thus, I am still sitting here, listening to Helge’s performance on the RG2 MK3, wondering where this journey of discovery will take me next. At this moment it is difficult for me to imagine that anything could sound even more real. — Any ideas? Please feel free to share them with me in the comments section below.

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