In Reviewing the DREI I would like to compare it against my old head the THD Bivalve which is another high rated Class A head.
Comparison of the DREI vs my BiValve.
DREI and BiValve with a 2x12 Avatar Cab with 2 Celestion Blues
I'm only running in the studio and was usually using the hotplate with the BiValve, maybe also because the Celestion Blues don't take much to drive them, not sure about that but unattenuated the BiValve was too loud for me with the Blues.
Univalve would prob been better option for me.
Anyway, BiValve was my first Class A and I fell in love with the class A responsiveness to guitar volume. I'd had a Rivera 55-12 before that. BiValve certainly responds well. To totally change your tone with the BiValve though, I needed to change tubes, which is ok but also a pain and the range of the front controls is not that great.
With the DREI, I'm experiencing the most epic head I have ever heard. Every knob position has a gorgeous character and pure tone. The range of the sounds is incredible, much much broader than what can be achieved with the BiValve IMO. Mixing and loading the power sections can give you multiple tube characteristics at once and the harmonics are insane.
The volume knob has that characteristic class A response but can go from clean or chimey to amazing tube sag and compression very easily. I don't understand the tech behind it but Palmer uses a Tube GZ34 rectifier for the usually solid state rectification section in most modern class-As. Supposedly this creates a different sag compression effect. I don't understand it exactly. Anyway, what I notice is the sustain and natural tube compression even when driving clean is quite stunning. I was using an Empress Compressor with the BiValve and with the DREI, I don't need it at all, I can control compression with the volume knob this can be done with clean and chimey sounds as well as with the most aggressive distortions.
You've got an EL84 a 6V6 and a 6L6 Class-A amp all mixed together.
The gain controls are not tone controls, they instead mix the 3 power tubes sections in varying degrees and 2 small knobs control the loading of the powertubes at different freqencies, there is 1 tone control which would be similar to tone control on guitar. It's completely different than anything you've ever used but the result is that nothing is in the way of a pure Class A signal path, there are no dull sounds in this head. The different signal paths and loading essentially get you different tone mixes and the 1 tone knob controls the amount of overall tone character.
I've never known what they meant by the chimeyness of the Celestion Blues until now. This head and these speakers are just at another level from anything I've ever experienced. When I turn up the tone control, I get a chimeyness that is out of this world, characterized by a harmonically rich brightness that is not harsh at all but incredibly pleasing.
Like the BiValve the DREI is self biasing and there is a flip down access door to get to the tubes, so you can still experiment like with the BiValve except, you can use 3 different power tube sections at once.
Now this amp is not high powered at all. All three power sections add up to @15 watts. Each section is around 5 watts. If you use one section only, it's like driving a 5 watt amp which makes it easy to hit that sweet spot with low volume. With the Celestion Blues the volume level is perfect for me. It can be loud but never obnoxiously so. If you are playing clubs the amp would likely maybe need to be miked.
So the BiValve is now up on Ebay. It's been a great head and not taking anything away from it but the DREI is worth checking out if you get the chance. They just came out and they are difficult to find, but I did order one in the states and got it within 3 weeks.
The native sound and range of the DREI literally means that I have no use for at least 3 expensive pedals that I own. My compressor can go and my Effectrode Tube Drive can go and my WMD arcane preamp can go. Seriously.
Despite having very simple controls, the DREI achieves more range than any amp I have ever experienced. This is a game changer for me. I can't go back to push pull or a standard Class A ever again.
I'm sure people want sound samples. I can try to get around to it but no promises right now. I hope more reviews start coming in as these amps hit the market.
Oh yeah the case is gorgeous. Very different, kind of swedish retro. It's bomber and smells like a machine shop when it gets hot.
