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Dream Audio Components — online and in-store — Dunaharaszti, Hungary (website)
Hey Now Hifi — online and in-store — St Kilda, Victoria, Australia (website)
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Musicadomia — in-store — Courbevoie, Île-de-France, France (website)
Nirvana Sound — in-store — Cheltenham, Victoria, Australia (website)
Onest Audio — in-store — Rehoboth, Massachusetts, United States (website)
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Ypsilon Electronics Phaethon

Name: Ypsilon Electronics Phaethon
Brand: Ypsilon Electronics
SKU: phaethon
Price: 19990.00 EUR
Availability: InStock
Rating: 90 (7 reviews)

Ypsilon’s Phaethon pairs laser-focused precision with a relaxed, richly textured musical flow. Fidelity Magazine found its dynamic shading, authentic vocals and disciplined imaging unusually natural, while the transformer attenuator supports a hushed, low-noise backdrop. This powerful hybrid integrated rewards serious systems with timbral richness, rhythmic authority and exceptional inner detail.

View at Ypsilon Electronics

Specifications 6 reviews & sources

WATT RECOMMENDS

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90/100

Nicely Roasted

Sound Quality

94/100

Build Quality

89/100

Features Connectivity

83/100

Value for Money

85/100

Pros

Exceptionally nuanced dynamics, combining rhythmic drive with fine shifts in intensity and instrumental timbre.

High resolution and precise imaging arrive without hardness, alongside authentic, relaxed vocal reproduction.

Transformer-based attenuation helps deliver a low-noise, black-background presentation.

Cons

Soundstage scale is realistic rather than especially wide or deep.

Engraved input and remote markings are difficult to read in low light, and the amplifier powers up muted.

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What Reviewers Are Saying

"The Phaethon enthralls with rhythm and laser-like precision, but without demonstrating the slightest hint of hardness."

— Fidelity Magazine

SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 94/100

Fidelity Magazine found the Phaethon exceptionally resolved, rhythmically convincing and free from hardness. Its presentation is described as natural and relaxed, with unusually fine dynamic shading and precise, realistically proportioned imaging rather than an artificially oversized stage.

Transparency Resolution

95/100

Fidelity Magazine praises the resolution of internal detail, laser-like precision and an unusually natural overall presentation. The transformer attenuator is also said to help create a black background by reducing noise as volume is lowered.

Tonal Balance Musicality

94/100

The amplifier is described as highly precise without even a hint of hardness, with timbral richness applied according to the recording rather than as a fixed coloration. Vocal reproduction was considered authentic and relaxed, making singers feel tangibly present in the room.

Dynamics

96/100

Dynamic expression is a major strength: Fidelity Magazine highlights excellent precision dynamics and says it had seldom heard such fine nuances in changing intensity and guitar timbre. The 110W output is reported to remain only slightly warm in use, supporting the impression of controlled power delivery.

Soundstage Imaging

89/100

Images are described as precisely located and naturally sustained, with events able to develop and decay convincingly. The stage is not considered exceptionally broad or deep, though its dimensions are judged realistic rather than constrained.

Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.

Build Quality

89/100

The review identifies elaborate transformer coupling between stages and specially specified transformer materials in the Silver Edition, describing these as costly, technically sophisticated choices. It says little about long-term durability, chassis execution, or day-to-day mechanical robustness.

Features Connectivity

83/100

The Phaethon provides three RCA inputs, one XLR input and a remote-controlled transformer attenuator. It is otherwise a deliberately analogue-focused design, with no reported phono stage, headphone output, digital inputs, streaming, or home-theater facilities; the engraved rear-panel and remote markings are also difficult to read in low light.

Value for Money

85/100

At $19,990, the Phaethon occupies a demanding high-end market segment. Fidelity Magazine calls it one of the best amplifiers to grace its listening room, but does not directly assess its value against similarly priced alternatives.

Reviews & Sources

Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.

Forum Mentions

No forum mentions found yet

Specifications

OUTPUT POWER BEFORE CLIPPING: 110Wrms @ 8 ohm 180Wrmss @4 ohm
BANDWIDTH: 11Hz -75Khz -3db
OUTPUT IMPEDANCE: 0,5ohm
INPUT IMPEDANCE: 47 Kohm
GAIN: X60
INPUTS: 3 RCA +1 XLR unbalanced
POWER CONSUMPTION: 125W @ idle
DIMENSIONS: 400x185x425 (W x H x D)mm
WEIGHT: 35 Kgr

Balanced Output

Manufacturer's Description — Ypsilon Electronics

Phaethon is a hybrid line level amplifier utilizing only three active gain stages two of them with low noise valves operating in single-ended class A fashion, for the input and driver stage. It uses a transformer attenuator build in-house, embedded in the preamplifier section in a novel post attenuation technique.

The tube driver stage is coupled to the output stage with a wide bandwidth inter-stage transformer that provides perfect phase splitting for the output stage.

The output stage combined by same polarity semiconductors for both phases in a “balanced single-ended architecture” offers the flavor of pure single-ended designs with the power of push-pull designs.

There are separate power supplies for the tube and output stage utilizing five power supply inductors for low noise filtering.

All these were designed in to one to operate in unison offering unmatched sound quality, making the platform of the integrated amplifier, a clear advantage.

All functions are remote controlled and are visible through a high quality LCD display with large characters so it can be read from across the room.

transparent sounding transformer attenuator
only three gain stages one of them the active preamp stage with tubes
unique “bridgedsingle-ended” output stage biased in class A for the ‘first most important watts’
full function remote control