Ideon Absolute Epsilon

$47,000

The designers at Greece’s Ideon Audio have imbued their top-of-the-line Absolute Epsilon DAC with a host of proprietary technologies along with elaborate execution. Rather than use off-the-shelf parts, Ideon has created its own circuits or modified standard parts to achieve its unique performance. Couple this with an elaborate power supply and superb build-quality and you have a top-shelf DAC. When auditioned with Ideon’s Absolute Stream music server ($19,900) and the Absolute Time master clock ($9600), the system had stunningly lifelike reproduction of music’s dynamics. The sense of immediacy and presence—the impression of nothing between you and the music—was equally impressive. The Ideon trio’s vivid palpability brought to mind an analogy with a big horn speaker, with its verve and life. The Ideon’s sound conjures an analogy with a perfect crystal—a complete absence of haze, murkiness, or thickness. (327)