SILENT ANGEL RHEIN Z1 & FORESTER F2 - REVIEW
SILENT ANGEL RHEIN Z1 & forester f2
“A thing long expected takes the form of the unexpected when at last it comes.”
—Mark Twain
Expectations can, indeed, fulfill our hopes or dash them, if we let them. And often setting our sights too low is the path to dashed hope. One experience comes to mind in which I had set my sights relatively low and that was a recent search for a new home.
I searched out a new home in what would soon be the ‘Winter Wonderland’ of Minneapolis, MN. And as Winter was, certainly, nearing, the rush was on to find abode before the freeze and flurries and ice-turned lakes. My expectations or ‘want’s were a light-filled home, a decent view, a nice, open floorpan, and a Midcentury Modern motif.
Well, I found that or thought that I had found it in an older complex of buildings in St. Louis Park, MN. The complex and the home, specifically, seemed to encompass what I wanted. ‘Seemed’ being the operative word. Sometimes my expectations can cause me to be rash and to overlook the most obvious things. I would soon learn that closet space, sufficient water pressure, a microwave, and an elevator, when living on upper floors, after decades of sports had left me with battle-weary knees and a ruptured achilles tendon, were more important than my ‘wants.’
Yes, my one expectation of Midcentury Modern had been met, but all of the most important had not. And I was about to accept my quite low expectations, when my knees said otherwise, as they would be unable to handle the weekly climb-and-carry of heavy audio equipment up several flights of stairs.
The cover of the book—Mid-century Modern—did not give insight to its contents or my expectations. However, long story short, looking past the book’s cover to its contents—my needs not being met—facilitated a continuation of my search for a new home. Shortly, I found a rather brilliant home replete with needs and wants and more.
Nonetheless, I once again set my expectations low. I’m learning. I may not have been fair to the Silent Angel Rhein Z1 streamer or the Silent Angel Forester F2 Linear Power Supply as I had read only their ‘covers (read price).’ And there were several quite formidable streamers in-house, at the time, all multiples of the Silent Angel's combined pricing and they were in various stages of review.
That presumption, low expectation, however, would last only until the first few notes were imparted from the Silent Angel Rhein Z1 and then the combo to the Border Patrol SE-i DAC through the various systems (see Systems). As I listened for the next several hours, my ‘expectations’ cause a wee bit of consternation and they began to change.
REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start, below, with how the equipment actually sounds and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various parts, specifications, etc. Think of this review then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Arrival, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Terminator, In the Shadow of the Moon, The Queen’s Gambit, etc—that, likewise, starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning
The Sound
Wow! It did not take many notes to understand that the Silent Angel Rhein Z1 was special. After several hours of continuous music, I was amazed at what this petite, black, metal container was capable of. And after several days, it had banished all in-house computers to the basement, where they could do no further musical damage or expose their comparative weaknesses. And it put the ROON Nucleus Plus in the corner, its face to the wall, where it too could do no comparative musical damage. Yikes!
What did this translate to in terms of performance? Unimagined high-fidelity, replete with all the touchstones—resolution, transparency, nuance, air, breadth of soundstage, overall staging—and a rather profound and immersive musicality. And it all came from these small, relatively nondescript, black, metal boxes. Wow!
Silent Angel came to me, seemingly, from out of nowhere. I was not familiar with its history, its accomplishments, its ‘bonafides’ but they were quickly burned to heart, as I placed the Rhein Z1 at the head of literally every system in house with every DAC in house—DENAFRIPS Pontus II, DENAFRIPS Terminator II, Border Patrol SE-i, Bricasti M1SE, Mola Mola Tambaqui, etc. And the resulting music was always exceptional, always immersive, wonderfully natural, beautifully detailed. There were more than a few occasions when I thought to myself, “How is this possible?”
Yes, there were much pricier streamers in-house and one, in particular, that was multiples of the Rhein Z1’s price and very well-known to boot. I had, likewise, paired it to the various DACs and systems in-house and in every case the resultant music was… less than expected. It was not engaging, nor musical, nor able to surmount the Rhein Z1’s high-fidelity talents when coupled to the Silent Angel Forester F2 ($1,590). Their combined cost was still but a fraction of the ‘well known streamer.’ This too was shocking to me. That component will, of course, go unmentioned and unreviewed. It’s all about the music, not the name.
The best of the best streamers will provide more of the high-fidelity wants—more transparency, resolution, nuance, refinement, perhaps, a more varied tonal/timbral palette—but at a much, much greater cost than the Silent Angel Rhein Z1 and Forester F2 combo. Regardless, a great many may be blissfully content with the Silent Angel combo as their main streaming source. It will be difficult to part with the combo, that is if I part with it at all.
The Rhein Z1’s volumetric cube—its soundstage or how it recreates the original venue—is such that it can take on great width, when there are no limiting components in the chain of playback. And as our reference systems are vetted for not limiting any aspect of high fidelity reproduction, there were no issues here. However, when coupled to the Forester F2, the overall volume expanded and allowed for the combo to capture details buried at the depths of a soundstage, in a lesser system. This was one of the many ways that the Silent Angel combo continually rose well above its price category, its competitors therein, and my expectations. The combo’s soundstaging abilities—spacing, layering (front to back positioning)—were outstanding. And tone, timbre, refinement, ambiance left me wanting for nothing. Surprise? Yes and especially at their price point.
The Rhein Z1 and Forester F2 were paired with DACs from the Border Patrol SE-i to the Bricasti M1SE to the Mola Mola Tambaqui and the Silent Angel combination rose to the occasion with every DAC. The headphone amps employed were the Aurorasound HEADA, the HeadAmp GS-X MkII, the Blue Hawaii Special Edition, and the VIVA Audio Egoista STX. Headphones used were the Abyss AB1266 Phi TC, the ZMF Atrium, the STAX SR-009S, and the Dan Clark VOCE. Audience Front Row wires and AntiCable and RSX power cables connected the system. The TORUS RM 20 provided service as the power conditioner.
NOTE: You’ll want to pair the combo with very good cabling to get the best out of them, as poor cabling will stifle their abilities and price should not necessarily be a factor. I’m happy to provide recommendations.
BASS
I run a packet of digital information in the form of Mercedes Sosa’s, Misa Criolla (Universal Music Argentina S.A.) from the Silent Angel Rhein Z1 as allied to the Silent Angel Forester F2 to all manner of DACs—Border Patrol SE-i, Bricasti Audio M1SE, Mola Mola Tambaqui—to one of the aforementioned amp—Egoista STX—and the bass is potent, tight, fast. Further, the bass is wonderfully differentiated as talented fingers slide across the fingerboards of upright basses—Christian McBride “Fat Bach and Greens” (Conversation with Christian, Mack Avenue Records), Dave Holland’s “Emerald Tears” (Emerald Tears, ECM), or Marcus Miller’s “Power” (M2, Concord). Tone and timbre are wonderfully represented, when paired with the Silent Angel combo is outstanding.
Midrange
Beguiling. Transparent. Dynamic. In truth and, perhaps, at this price point, I did not expect the midrange to be handled so beautifully and with such refinement. Again, all the high-fidelity wants are there. The Silent Angel Rhein Z1 is transparent and resolved and the music is delivered up with bountiful details. Music passes quickly, until long hours have themselves passed, unnoticed and quickly.
The Elina Duni Quartet’s Lost Ships (ECM) begins with Ms. Duni singing “Bella Ci Dormi” and would end nearly an hour later with “Hier Encore.” There is an ease replete with detail and ambiance and a naturalness that the Silent Angel Rhein Z1 should not have been able to conjure. Yet conjure it did. And when again allied to the Forester F2, the combo moves into ‘big streamer’ territory, sporting a ‘little streamer’ price tag, relatively speaking. The stage expands, there is better articulation, greater refinement, and more air. The Roon Nucleus’s wall-wart power supply is clearly no match for the Forester F2 linear power supply.
TREBLE+
Haunting, deliberate, evocative is how Laura St. John’s “Gypsy Nocturne” (Gypsy, Ancalagon) opens with her violin on its skyward climb to the stratosphere of the treble regions. Yet her playing is always delicate and sweet, there is always air and ambiance, as she dances with and then discards the piano’s wanting, melancholy notes. The Silent Angel combo handles this piece beautifully as would a much higher priced streamer with levels of refinement and nuance that should not be. Bravo.
I put the Silent Angel combo through a phalanx of treble tortures with Patricia Barber’s Verse leading the pack. The Combo must deliver a coherent and well-resolved package to the top DACs—Bricasti Audio M1SE, Mola Mola Tambaqui—and via the unbiased HeadAmp GS-X Mk II (review coming) and the see-through electrostatics—Viva Egoista STX, STAX SR-009S, Dan Clark VOCE—less they be mercilessly unveiled. Their performance, however, in each and every case is exceptional. Raise the level of participating components, wires, and cables and the Silent Angel combo’s performance rises as well.
The Wrappings and Accessories
The Silent Angel Rhein Z1 and the Forester F2 are both packaged in robust, thick, black boxes that are printed on their tops only, with the Silent Angel logo centered. They are, decidedly, minimalist, clean, and straightforward.
The internals of the boxes that house the Rhein Z1 and the Forester F2 are heavily padded with thick, black, velvet-topped, foam cutouts. Internally, the boxes are just as minimalist, clean, and straightforward. Internal design also takes into account the protection of its inner contents and their overall presentation.
In addition to the Silent Angel Rhein Z1 and the Forester F2 the included contents are:
Power cords
Power adapters
Ethernet cable
Design—Look, Feel, and Technology
Compact. Substantive. Clean. The ridged, square, black, metal body of the Silent Angel Rhein Z1 will, literally, fit on any desk. And it will find itself but a small island of industrial chic on most equipment racks. In this respect, it is very efficiently designed. Likewise, so is the Forester F2 sans the ridges.
The Silent Angel Rhein Z1’s front panel bears a single clear, plastic, on/off push button that glows blue when active. Its back panel bears ports—ethernet, USB, power, HDMI—that are cleanly and clearly laid out. And its top panel bears the Silent Angel logo which mirrors its outer box. The Rhein Z1 is CNC’d from “aerospace industrial-grade aluminum alloy, wherein the entire chassis serves as a fanless “CPU heat-sink which reduces thermal noise by 15%.”
The Silent Angel Forester F2 bears a smooth front face with its product name spread across its top left and right front panel. A centered, rectangular mesh of small, round vents flank its right and left sides. Its back panel sports from left to right a voltage selector, an on/off switch which sits above an IEC socket, and beside it a range of current outputs (2-12VDC, 4-5VDC). Its top, likewise, bears the Silent Angel logo. The Forester F2 is housed in a metal enclosure with 8mm aluminum side panels and a galvanized steel top and bottom plate.
They are minimalist, beautifully executed components, whose solidity and weight speak to their inner substance and their, decidedly, high-fidelity abilities.
FUNCTIONALITY
Silent Angel Rhein Z1
The Rhein Z1 is a Roon Core and a Roon Bridge that allows the play of Spotify, AppleAirPlay, Amazon Music, Tidal, Qobuz, while also acting as a DLNA server, with the ability to process MQA files. It is, as well, a server of internally stored music or music present on memory sticks, etc.
The Rhein Z1 as enabled by its proprietary VitOS operating software allows for its quick enablement and recognition by one’s system and/or Roon. It took mere minutes to plug the ethernet cable, the USB cable, and then power it via its 12V power supply. Through the VitOS system I selected the Roon core as a streaming engine and it became immediately available for streaming.
Silent Angel Forester F2
The function of the Forester F2 Linear Power Supply is simple—to provide a clean, stable, continuous flow of power in order that all tethered devices “perform extremely accurate operations, allow network data packets to be transmitted at precise timing, and reduce possible jitter and latency.” Simple.
Conclusion
Wow! These grooved, little, metal, black boxes carry a wallop of high-fidelity goodness and compelling musicality that clearly sets them far above their combined price. And I must admit, having reviewed, auditioned, and owned some very high value/cost streamers, I am very impressed by the Silent Angel Rhein Z1 and the Forester F2 combo.
Your computer doesn’t stand a chance and the ROON Nucleus Plus doesn’t either. That blur that just passed them both by on the high-fidelity road to nirvana, well, it was the Silent Angel Rhein Z1 and Forester F2 combo moving at hypersonic speeds and the combo is miles ahead!
The Rhein Z1 and Forester F2 combo played far above the league that their combined price would indicate. For many, this $3,900 combo may well represent an endgame streamer/power supply capable of exceptional fidelity with DACs from entry level to those on the cutting edge. And they gave, without exception, notable performances across the board. Like I said, ‘Shocked!’
Hands down the Silent Angel Rhein Z1 wins the High Nines Award for a truly exceptional streaming product. However, when coupled to the Silent Angel Forester 2 the combo moves things up to the next level and wins, collectively, the Gold Keynote Award for excellence. I am truly impressed with the Silent Angel brand and these two products that have brought Silent Angel to my attention. Bravo!
Pros: Performance far beyond expectation and price range.
Cons: None.
THE SYSTEMS
1.
Silent Angel Rhein Z1
Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC
VIVA AUDIO Egoista STX
Abyss AB1266 Phi TC
ZMF Atrium
Meze Empyrean Elite
Meze Empyrean
Dan Clark STEALTH
Audience Front Row USB Cable, Interconnects (XLR, RCA)
Audience AdeptResponse aRS-T4 power conditioner
RSX MAX Power Cords
2.
Silent Angel Rhein Z1
BRICASTI AUDIO DESIGN M1SE DAC
Aurorasound HEADA HPA
Abyss AB1266 Phi TC
ZMF Atrium
Meze Empyrean Elite
Meze Empyrean
Dan Clark STEALTH
Audience Front Row USB Cable, Interconnects (XLR, RCA)
Audience AdeptResponse aRS-T4 power conditioner
RSX MAX Power Cords
3.
Silent Angel Rhein Z1
Border Patrol SE-i DAC
HeadAmp GS-X MkII HPA
Abyss AB1266 Phi TC
ZMF Atrium
Meze Empyrean Elite
Meze Empyrean
Dan Clark STEALTH
Audience Front Row USB Cable, Interconnects (XLR, RCA)
Audience AdeptResponse aRS-T4 power conditioner
RSX MAX Power Cords
The Technical Specifications
SILENT ANGEL RHEIN Z1
Color: Black/Silver
Power Input: (DC) 12V/3A at max
Power Use: 36W at max
Interface: USB Audio
Supports up to DSD 11.2M (DSD256), but DoP (only up to DSD64,
depends on DAC)
Native DSD up to DSD256Extension
USB3.0*1, USB2.0*2 for extra storage
1000Mbps Ethernet Port
Works well with high-performance NAS(Network Attached Storage)
Connecting to Gigabit LAN port of a router or audio switch
HDMI Port
Engineer test only (Do Not Use)
LED Indicator: Power LED (Blue)*1
Temperature: Operating 32 ~ 86 °F; Storage -4 ~ 158 °F
Humidity: Operating: 10% ~ 90% RH (non-condensing)
Storage: 5% ~ 95% RH (non-condensing)
Dimensions: 7.87(W) inch x 2.56(H) inch x 7.87(D) inch
Weight: 8.27 Ibs
SILENT ANGEL FORESTER F2
Color: Black
Power Input: IEC (AC) 115-230V or 120-240V, 1.5A at max
Power Use: 100W at max
Interface: (DC) 12V/3A plug*1, 5.5 x 2.5 mm; 12V/1A plug*1, 5.5 x 2.5 mm
(DC) 5V/2A plug*1, 5.5 x 2.1 mm; 5V/1A plug*1, 5.5 x 2.1 mm
(The same set of USB ports and DC plugs of 5V output cannot be
connected simultaneously.)
(The two sets share the same current output)
LED Indicator: Output Status*4
- Green light means power on and the condition is stable
- Red light means over current protection activated and power off
- No light means no power input
Output Over Temperature*2
- Yellow light means over temperature protection activated
- No light means temperature is normal or no power input
Temperature: Operating: 10% ~ 90% RH (non-condensing)
Humidity: Operating: 10% ~ 90% RH (non-condensing)
Storage: 5% ~ 95% RH (non-condensing)
Dimensions: 200 x 200 x 111 mm (with footstands)
Weight: 4.2 KG
The Company
Thunder Data, Co., Ltd.
Silent Angel Rhein Z1 $2,299
Silent Angel Forester F2 $1,599
Thunder Data Co., Ltd
www.silent-angel-audio.com