Van den Hul The Grail
Van den Hul The Grail pairs near-silent transparency with explosive dynamics, delivering deep, tightly controlled bass and a holographic soundstage. Part Time Audiophile and Audiophiliac found it extracts exceptional ambience, air and detail without sounding edgy. Automatic MC impedance matching and flexible gain complete a meticulously built vinyl reference.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
94/100
Cartridge Compatibility
94/100
Build Quality
94/100
Value for Money
94/100
Pros
Exceptionally quiet, revealing presentation with abundant detail, air and ambience that remains musical rather than edgy.
Outstanding macro- and micro-dynamic contrast, with crisp transients and deeply controlled, tactile bass definition.
Automatic MC impedance matching removes loading guesswork, while multiple gain settings and two MC inputs add practical cartridge flexibility.
Super-solid, thoughtfully engineered construction with a separate power supply and effective attention to isolation.
Cons
Its roughly $8,000–$9,000 price places it firmly in high-end territory, even if reviewers consider the performance worthwhile for serious vinyl listeners.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 94/100
Reviewers describe an exceptionally revealing, lively presentation that remains composed rather than etched. The Grail combines very low apparent noise with outstanding transient clarity, deep bass definition, and unusually convincing space around performers and recordings.
Transparency Noise Floor
94/100
Part Time Audiophile calls The Grail “superbly quiet,” while its design and listening impressions consistently emphasize noise reduction and a clean signal path. Audiophiliac likewise notes that quiet passages remain genuinely quiet, alongside a notably deep view into recorded ambience and room acoustics.
Tonal Balance Musicality
94/100
The Grail is said to retrieve an exceptional amount of detail without becoming bright or edgy. Reviewers hear extra air, vividness, bass weight and definition, but also a coherent sense of how individual details relate to the musical whole.
Dynamics
96/100
Dynamic contrasts are a major strength: Part Time Audiophile heard crescendos and complex drum fills arrive with crisp certainty and real immediacy. Audiophiliac praised the pace, faster transient response, tactile bass-drum precision, and wide dynamic range.
Soundstage Imaging
94/100
Audiophiliac describes a three-dimensional, holographic presentation in which individual audience voices could be identified. Part Time Audiophile similarly found a stronger sense of live-performance electricity, while the Grail exposed more ambience and air around the musicians.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Cartridge Compatibility
94/100
The Grail accommodates both MM and MC cartridges, with three MM gain settings and high-gain MC options reaching 73 dB for very low-output designs. Its two MC inputs and automatic MC impedance matching simplify setup, though users seeking extensive manual loading and capacitance tailoring may prefer a more conventionally adjustable design.
Build Quality
94/100
Part Time Audiophile found the compact chassis unexpectedly heavy and carefully executed, highlighting the protective case, substantial separate power supply, acoustic PCB isolation, microphonic control, and gold conductive paths. Audiophiliac also calls the construction super-solid and very well thought out.
Value for Money
94/100
At roughly $7,950 to $8,995, this is plainly a costly phono stage, but both reviews argue that its performance justifies the outlay for committed vinyl listeners. Part Time Audiophile calls it an incredible value at $8,995, while Audiophiliac says it is absolutely worth it for collectors able to afford it.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
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Specifications
- Mains Power
- 115 or 230Volt, 50/60Hz
- Power consumption
- 7 Watts
- Temperature operating range
- from 15 up to 30deg. Celsius Use only in dry rooms
- Max. undistorted output voltage
- 25Vss (Accumulator driven version:19Vss)
- Output impedance
- 330 Ohms (real resistive)
- Input sensivity values
- for 250mV resp. 0,707Vss output level on amplifier output
- MM input Amplification factor 33dB
- 5,6 mV
- MM input Amplification factor 41dB
- 2,2 mV
- MM input Amplification factor 50dB
- 0,8 mV
- MM input impedance
- 47KOhm / 50pF
- MC input Amplification factor 56dB
- 0,4 mV
- MC input Amplification factor 64dB
- 0,15 mV
- MC input Amplification factor 73dB
- 0,05 mV
- MC input impedance
- autom. matching from appr. 40 up to 400 Ohms
Manufacturer's Description — Van den Hul
Phonograph Preamplifier
With this product you will be the owner of one of the most innovative and advanced phonograph preamplifier’s available at the moment.
“The Grail” is a really dulcet phonograph preamplifier, specifically designed bearing ultimate performance and reliability in mind.
Featurelist:
- a specific designed Phonograph preamplifier section, unique in the world
- Phonograph RIAA – equalization with coils only, no sound impairing capacitors in filters
- special printed circuit board material with gold conducting paths
- the printed circuit board has a special seating to evade microphonics
- special equipment foot made of selected wood avoids mechanical energy storage
- low noise moving coil input stage, no annoying noise even with low-output cartridges
- automatic adapting input stage for moving coil cartridges, no matching resistors needed
- possibility to compensate phonograph cartridge sensivity (level adjustment)
- cut out of coupling capacitors in the signal path as far as possible
- strictly separated amplifier sections and circuit layout deliver a very natural soundstage
- inputs: two phonograph inputs, one for MC cartridges, one for MM or MC high-output
- a shielded transformer is placed in an external housing to avoid hum and EMI noise
- power supply with Gyrators for each amplifier stage deliver very high noise cancellation
- the external transformer is available for different mains voltages
Designed to provide high-end audio, “The Grail” will deliver you outstanding sound quality with nearly every available modern phonograph cartridge.
Also available with a battery powersupply!:
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Authorized dealers for Van den Hul The Grail
- Acoustic Sounds — online and in-store — Salina, Kansas, United States (website)
- Alta Fedelta — online and in-store — Lombardia, Italy (website)
- Analogue Seduction — online and in-store — Whittlesey, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Artisan Fidelity — in-store — Dyer, Indiana, United States (website)
- Audio Advisors — in-store — West Palm Beach, Florida, United States (website)
- Audio Centrum — Hungary (website)
- Audio Evolution — online and in-store — Volla, Campania, Italy (website)
- Audio Influence — online and in-store — Fitzroy North, Victoria, Australia (website)
- Audio Sound Music — online and in-store — Paris, Île-de-France, France (website)
- AUDIOPHILE HIFI — online and in-store — Tours, Centre-Val de Loire, France (website)
and 55 more verified dealers