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What's unique about the brand
Enleum is an amplifier maker founded by Soo In Chae, and its name joins "enlightenment" with eum, the Korean word for sound. The amplifiers use the company's Ensence circuit, built from discrete transistors with zero negative feedback. Volume is set by changing gain at the input stage instead of attenuating the signal. The AMP-23R is a compact amplifier suited to efficient speakers, and the HPA-23RM headphone amplifier has both voltage and current outputs to suit different headphones. The AMP-54R flagship takes optional phono and streaming DAC modules.
Brand overview
Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio liked to hide the Enleum AMP-23R in his rack when friends came over. "No one could believe this small amplifier could deliver such an exciting performance," he wrote. Grover Neville of Part-Time Audiophile would have guessed it was far more powerful than it is. Soo In Chae, who designs Enleum's amplifiers, started by rethinking the volume control. Most amplifiers boost the signal by a fixed amount and then throw some of it away to make it quieter. In the AMP-23R, as Dawid Grzyb of HiFi Knights explains, the volume knob uses a bank of relays, small electrical switches, to change how much the amplifier boosts the signal in the first place. Nothing is thrown away, so the background stays just as quiet at any setting. Enleum suits owners of efficient speakers and demanding headphones who want one small box for both.
The AMP-23R is the one to start with, and with it the speaker matters more than the power rating. Dorgay ran it with efficient Heretic and Zu speakers and found it never ran out of power, and for anyone who needs serious volume he suggests speakers of at least 90 dB. It doubles as a headphone amplifier. An email to Enleum confirmed to Dorgay that the headphone jack is fed straight from the output stage, and Sandu Vitalie of Soundnews called the AMP-23R "The One" for the hard-to-drive Hifiman Susvara. He warns never to use high gain with in-ear monitors. Neville's tip is to raise your DAC's output voltage for extra punch, since the amp accepts very hot signals. If you listen only on headphones, look at the battery-powered HPA-23RM, which has two outputs. Peter Pialis of Headphone Guru found its current output "works magnificently with planar magnetic headphones" and its voltage output better suited to dynamic models such as the Sennheiser HD800S.
Chae's interest began in a small college dormitory abroad, where, he told Soundnews, he looked for the best compact system he could find for both headphones and speakers. After an engineering career at a high-tech company, he founded Bakoon International in Seoul in 2009, and the AMP-31 was its first amplifier. Bakoon's amplifiers were built around Akira Nagai's current-mode Satri circuit, and Grzyb recalls the Bakoon AMP-13R causing a stir among Susvara owners. In 2021 Chae launched Enleum, a name that joins enlightenment with eum, the Korean word for sound. The AMP-23R kept the 13R's footprint and moved to his own Ensence input modules. It won a Red Dot award in 2021 and an iF Design Gold Award in 2022, and its official thread on Head-Fi passed 120 pages. Enleum amplifiers are designed in California and made in South Korea. Jason Kennedy of Hi-Fi+ thought the case alone made the Enleum "a cult product."
The AMP-23R is the one to start with, and with it the speaker matters more than the power rating. Dorgay ran it with efficient Heretic and Zu speakers and found it never ran out of power, and for anyone who needs serious volume he suggests speakers of at least 90 dB. It doubles as a headphone amplifier. An email to Enleum confirmed to Dorgay that the headphone jack is fed straight from the output stage, and Sandu Vitalie of Soundnews called the AMP-23R "The One" for the hard-to-drive Hifiman Susvara. He warns never to use high gain with in-ear monitors. Neville's tip is to raise your DAC's output voltage for extra punch, since the amp accepts very hot signals. If you listen only on headphones, look at the battery-powered HPA-23RM, which has two outputs. Peter Pialis of Headphone Guru found its current output "works magnificently with planar magnetic headphones" and its voltage output better suited to dynamic models such as the Sennheiser HD800S.
Chae's interest began in a small college dormitory abroad, where, he told Soundnews, he looked for the best compact system he could find for both headphones and speakers. After an engineering career at a high-tech company, he founded Bakoon International in Seoul in 2009, and the AMP-31 was its first amplifier. Bakoon's amplifiers were built around Akira Nagai's current-mode Satri circuit, and Grzyb recalls the Bakoon AMP-13R causing a stir among Susvara owners. In 2021 Chae launched Enleum, a name that joins enlightenment with eum, the Korean word for sound. The AMP-23R kept the 13R's footprint and moved to his own Ensence input modules. It won a Red Dot award in 2021 and an iF Design Gold Award in 2022, and its official thread on Head-Fi passed 120 pages. Enleum amplifiers are designed in California and made in South Korea. Jason Kennedy of Hi-Fi+ thought the case alone made the Enleum "a cult product."
Sources
https://www.tonepublications.com/review/full-review-enleum-23r-amplifier, https://pt.audio/2022/09/11/enleum-amp-23r-integrated-review, http://hifiknights.com/reviews/amplifiers/enleum-amp-23r, https://hifiknights.com/reviews/amplifiers/enleum-hpa-23rm, https://soundnews.net/amplifiers/power-amps/for-ears-and-years-enleum-amp-23r-review, https://headphone.guru/the-enleum-hpa-23rm-mobile-headphone-amplifier-packs-some-serious-punch, https://hifiplus.com/articles/enleum-amp-23r-integrated-amplifier
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Products overview
Every Enleum amplifier uses the Ensence circuit, built from discrete transistors with no negative feedback, and it changes volume by adjusting gain at the input, so the sound stays the same at quiet and loud levels. The HPA-23RM is the entry model, with voltage and current outputs so one small unit suits different headphones. The AMP-23R adds speaker outputs with 25 watts at 8 ohms, enough to run sensitive speakers in a compact box. The AMP-54R adds an MC phono input and a switchable output mode.
- Start here. Choose the HPA-23RM if you want headphone listening at a desk or on the move from one small battery powered unit.
- Sweet spot. The AMP-23R suits a buyer who wants one amplifier for both speakers and headphones, with 4 watts at 60 ohms for demanding headphones, a big step in capability over the HPA-23RM.
- All in. The AMP-54R is a flagship priced well above the AMP-23R, for buyers who want more control over how speakers are driven, with a mode for harder speakers and one for efficient ones, plus a turntable input.
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What reviewers are saying
We read all the reviews, and here's what stands out:
- Enleum designs amplifiers leveraging its proprietary "Ensence" circuit, emphasizing zero negative feedback and discrete transistors for an ultra-fast, wide bandwidth signal path, resulting in exceptional transient response and clarity.
- The brand employs a unique volume control method, adjusting gain at the input stage rather than traditional attenuation, which is said to preserve signal purity and performance at all volume levels.
- Enleum products often feature a distinctive aesthetic marked by minimalist design, high-quality materials, and meticulous craftsmanship, earning them awards and recognition in industrial design.
- Soo In Chae, the designer behind Enleum, emphasizes achieving exceptional sonic performance even at lower power outputs, optimizing circuit design to maximize musicality and driver control with efficient speakers and headphones.
Quotes we liked:
- "Imagine the highest transparency, the lowest distortion, the strongest grip over headphone/speaker drivers, the craziest dynamics hitting you relentlessly like bloodthirsty berserks, and the flow and holography of the big boy tube amplifiers. This tiny, almost shy-looking AMP-23R was exactly like that." (https://soundnews.net/reviews/amplifiers/headphone-amps/enleum-hpa-23rm-review-playing-in-a-league-of-its-own)
- "This amplifier can really bring out a stellar bass performance from your headphones, even if they are generally accepted for having a more "polite" presentation in this area. Both Robert's and Alison's vocals were upfront and as clear as I've ever heard them with incredible treble extension and transparency." (https://headphone.guru/the-enleum-amp-23r-headphone-speaker-amplifier-the-best-of-both-worlds)
- "Harmonic rightness is something I feel, I imagine most people do, as much a something I hear and the AMP-23R gets tone and portrays music in full bloom, so that familiar sounding instruments simply sound, and feel, right. Complete." (https://twitteringmachines.com/review-enleum-amp-23r-integrated-amplifier)
- "With the AMP23R small obscure hidden details that I never heard now seem to float in space in the room. Music sounds ethereal yet it keeps the pacing, rhythm and timing down perfectly." (http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2022/05/26/the-enleum-amp23r-left-me-breathless-review)
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